WHUFc.com
The captain sent a message to supporters and said there was a determination
to put things right quickly
25.10.2010
Matthew Upson said the squad and coaching staff would return to work this
week determined to make amends for the weekend disappointment. The skipper
said the fans had every right to be frustrated and expected a positive
reaction within the camp to the 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle United on
Saturday. Carlton Cole had capped a bright opening spell with his first goal
of the season. Newcastle then roared back to score two unanswered goals
through Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton with the captain limping out in between
with a hamstring worry. "I absolutely understand the fans," Upson said. "We
do have an intelligent group of supporters who know what good football is
and have seen it over the years. They have every reason to be quite
bamboozled as to how we can play so poorly in the second half. "We have to
analyse that as a group, the manager has to figure out the answers to that
and we have to work on it. It is the only way to progress. I feel we have to
behave in a way all week that is going to make us better as a team. If we do
that we have enough to see us through this league campaign. It is just a
case of getting that out there on the pitch. "We have to go away, analyse
and find out the reasons why we underpformed in the second half especially.
It felt like we really the impetus to score again in the first half and all
of a sudden we were on the back foot. We have to look at those things and
why there was such a swing in the performance."
Upson said the team should take heart from the overall performances in the
previous five unbeaten matches, when results and performances had begun to
go hand in hand. "We know two wins is really going to pick you up out of
there and thrust you into mid-table area. I think that is an area we feel we
can realistically maintain. "On Saturday we let ourselves down and did not
get the result we needed at home to move forward. We have to analyse it, we
can't dwell on it and we need to improve."
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West Ham v Stoke
BBC.co.uk
Carling Cup fourth round
Venue: Upton Park Date: Wednesday, 27 October Kick-off: 1945 BST
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio & highlights
on The League Cup Show
TEAM NEWS
West Ham will assess centre-back Matthew Upson, who came off against
Newcastle because of a hamstring problem. The Hammers could also be without
striker Frederic Piquionne, who picked up a knock in Saturday's defeat.
Stoke midfielder Dean Whitehead is available after serving a one-game ban
against Manchester United. Turkey international Tuncay could be recalled
after coming off the bench to score against the Red Devils.
MATCH PREVIEW
West Ham, who claimed their first league point of the season in a 1-1 draw
with Stoke in September, will reach the League Cup quarter-finals for only
the second time since 1999 if they beat the Potters at Upton Park. Failure
to do so would increase the pressure on manager Avram Grant, who saw his
side limply surrender to Newcastle on Saturday. The Hammers were unable to
deal with the physical presence of Magpies striker Andy Carroll, a weakness
Tony Pulis' side will surely look to exploit. Stoke won the League Cup in
1972 but the last piece of silverware claimed by the Potters was the
Football League Trophy in 2000 at Wembley. A trip to the capital will hold
few fears for the visitors. Three of Stoke's four away league wins last
season came in London (at Tottenham, Fulham and West Ham).
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
. West Ham have won 31 of the 79 previous matches between these clubs - two
more than Stoke.
. They last met in the League Cup 20 years ago, when West Ham won a
second-round tie 5-1 on aggregate.
West Ham
. The Hammers beat Sunderland in the third round, eliminating a Premier
League team from the League Cup for the first time since 1997.
. The 1966 and 1981 runners-up are looking for a 101st victory in the League
Cup.
. They have failed to score in only two of their 11 games this season.
Stoke
. The Potters have reached the fourth round for the third successive season.
. Before that, they went out in the first two rounds seven years in a row.
. Stoke's win against Fulham in the last round was the first time they had
beaten a top-flight side in the League Cup in 10 years.
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Upson searches for solution
Skipper tells team-mates to take hard look at each other
Last updated: 25th October 2010
SSN
West Ham United captain Matthew Upson believes there is plenty for the club
to digest after the Newcastle United defeat. The Hammers are in dire
straights following Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Magpies, which left Avram
Grant's side marooned to the bottom of the table three points from safety.
Grant's men were booed off at Upton Park at the weekend and some supporters
were calling for the manager's head even though the Israeli has yet to reach
10 Premier League games in the West Ham hot-seat. The struggling East
Londoners must now prepare for Wednesday's visit of Stoke City in the
Carling Cup, where a morale-boosting victory will go a long way to silencing
the critics. And Upson, who picked up a slight hamstring problem in
Saturday's reverse, admits there will be soul-searching within the Hammers
camp as they look to turn their season around, starting in midweek.
Bamboozled
"The supporters have every reason to be quite bamboozled how we can play so
poorly in the second half, but we have to analyse that as a group," said the
England international centre-half. "The manager has to figure out the
answers and we have to work on it. That is the only way to progress. "If we
do that we have enough to see us through this league campaign. It's just a
case of getting it out there on the pitch."
Upson added: "We have to go away, analyse and find out the reasons why we
underperformed. "We know two wins is really going to pick you up out of
there and thrust you into mid-table area. I think that is an area we feel we
can realistically maintain."
After Stoke, Grant takes his side to title-chasing Arsenal. Owners David
Gold and David Sullivan have voiced their support for Grant over the last
few weeks despite the club being rooted to the bottom of the table. And the
Israeli remains defiant. He said: "We know that we are going through a tough
season, but even though we lost the game, we can still do it and we can stay
positive about it."
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We must silence boo boys
The Sun
Published: 25 Oct 2010
WEST HAM skipper Matthew Upson admits there will be plenty of soul-searching
within Avram Grant's squad as they aim to silence the boo-boys. The Hammers
remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League following Saturday's home
defeat by Newcastle - with the players met by jeers at the final whistle.
Grant's men must now focus on Wednesday's visit of Stoke in the Carling Cup,
where victory would go some way to lifting the Upton Park faithful.
Upson, who picked up a slight hamstring problem on Saturday, believes there
is plenty for the squad to digest. He said: "The supporters have every
reason to be quite bamboozled how we can play so poorly in the second half,
but we have to analyse that as a group. "The manager has to figure out the
answers and we have to work on it. That is the only way to progress. "If we
do that we have enough to see us through this league campaign. It's just a
case of getting it out there on the pitch."
Upson added: "We have to go away, analyse and find out the reasons why we
unperformed. "We know two wins is really going to pick you up out of there
and thrust you into mid-table area. I think that is an area we feel we can
realistically maintain."
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Hammers set to discover extent of Piquionne injury
Published 23:00 25/10/10 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
West Ham will discover today if Frederic Piquionne has suffered a long-term
injury. The French striker landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge
during the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle on Saturday night and hobbled off the
pitch. Hammers manager Avram Grant has been boosted by the news that club
skipper Matthew Upson will be back to face Arsenal on Saturday after he was
taken off as a precaution during the Newcastle game with a hamstring injury.
Both Piquionne and Upson are sure to miss the Carling Cup-tie against Stoke
at Upton Park tomorrow night.
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We Suffer a Power Failure, as a Game of Two Halves Gives Way to One of 20/70
Minutes!
West Ham Till I Die
West Ham started the Newcastle Utd match like greyhounds out of the traps.
For the first 15-20 minutes they dominated possession and carved Newcastle
open with some bold, attacking play. Then we scored and ... we suffered a
power failure. In that opening period I anticipated us blowing Toon away
and recording a healthy victory. After Cole's goal, the prior purpose was
lost, along with the slick movement and passing game. In its place we
become a team that failed to press the play, defended suicidally deep and
left Newcastle Utd firmly in control of the midfield.
The strange thing was seeing Scott Parker have a relatively indifferent
match. Such are the high standards that Parker has set, and the consistency
achieved, that we have come to expect him to be outstanding in every game.
That is obviously too much expectation on one player. The truth is that far
too many Hammers players put in below par performances after establishing
that 1-0 lead. Apart from Rob Green (who did nothing wrong), only Jacobsen,
Gabbidon, Noble and, possibly, Piquionne emerged with any real credit. Of
course, losing Matt Upson at a crucial juncture did not exactly help. And
it is certain that Andy Carroll took advantage of the re-organised Hammers
defence to score the winner. But who can blame Carroll or Newcastle Utd for
exploiting our misfortune and the disruption in our rearguard?
Is it all down to West Ham? Or must we give more credit to Chris Houghton
for changing his tactics and, along with it, the prevalent pattern of play?
Moreover did Newcastle's win owe much to their ability to adjust and exploit
the extra man in midfield? Perhaps, but one thing is certain, when the tide
of play turned against us, the West Ham management team failed to make the
changes, quickly enough, to snatch back the initiative. When the equaliser
came, it was with the bitter realisation that it had been on the cards for
some time. While the winner was also the accumulation of a period of almost
total Toon domination. Where was the West Ham team that attacked, battled
and defeated Spurs so memorably?
All in all, it was a bad day at the office on Saturday. It is just so
disappointing, because the win would have done us a power of good.
Thankfully, we have the Carling Cup Tie against Stoke City, as a early
opportunity, to try to put things right and restore some confidence and
self- belief. But the team must be prepared to battle, as well as play
their football. Stoke will come with their trade mark physical approach
and, certainly, the defence needs to handle the likes of Kenwyne Jones
better than they did Andy Carroll! Hopefully, the Hammers players will
approach the game with the right attitude and we can progress still further
in the competition.
Just as one swallow does not make a summer, so a single abject performance
does not make relegation a certainty. Yes, the performance was
unacceptable, but the point is to identify the problems, fix them on the
training ground and win the next match up! Can Grant and his coaches do
that? We shall see on Wednesday evening? Prior to Saturday, the team had
improved results, having creditably gone five matches unbeaten. We need to
put the Newcastle Utd match behind us and quickly get back on track. While
draws are positive, we will need back-to-back victories to provide the
points and momentum to achieve blast off from the relegation zone. And that
may inevitably mean taking three points at forthcoming away matches at
Birmingham City and Sunderland.
Grant must work with this squad and get them performing at 110% and
converting their goal scoring opportunities. We are playing Blackpool
shortly, so maybe Grant might show the players coverage of some of their
recent displays, to underline just what commitment and sheer hard work can
achieve. Blackpool's bubble will undoubtedly burst, as the reality sets in
that no one can play at those levels indefinitely; and that once they flag
physically, the lack of quality will be exposed. A bit like Hull City in
their first PL season, it will really be a case of whether Blackpool can do
enough, in their current purple patch, to survive an end of season plunge
towards the relegation zone? Regardless, of what commentators may suggest,
after Saturday's result, this West Ham squad does have sufficient quality to
survive comfortably in the PL. They just need to ally that quality to the
pre-requisite organisation, hard-work and application necessary to escape
the bottom three and start pushing up the table.
I have been impressed with West Ham's forward play for most of the season,
even in the home defeats against Bolton and Chelski, and the defence has
undoubtedly improved. West Ham had started to look like a more cohesive
unit, but there is obviously still something missing from the mix! Whether
it is the management and/or the players at fault, there is an inconsistency
at play that allowed us to concede a whole 45 minutes against Wolves and
then, follow it up by conceding c.70 minutes to Newcastle Utd! It needs to
be sorted out now, as a matter or urgency!
SJ. Chandos.
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