Monday, October 31

Daily WHUFC News - 31st October 2011

Baldock using his head
WHUFC.com
Sam Baldock was delighted to net a rare header in his match-winning display against Leicester City
30.10.2011

Sam Baldock is using his head to aid West Ham United's promotion challenge. The striker nodded in just the third headed goal of his career to set the Hammers on course for a 3-2 npower Championship victory over Leicester City at the Boleyn Ground. The No7, who celebrated his match-winning display by taking his girlfriend out for dinner, smashed in an unstoppable second to secure three vital points for Sam Allardyce's side. "I think I've only ever scored two headers before and both of them were in the same game against Swindon [in August 2010]!" a smiling Baldock told West Ham TV. "As a striker you are pleased with every goal you score but I think these two have shown the fans something a little bit different. "I think I had the run on him, but to be fair it was a great ball from John as he has put it about two yards out. Any striker jumps a little bit higher when he has the goal in front of him and I managed to get a start and get above him and nod it in. "The third goal turned out to be vital in the end and I think the whole team heaved a sigh of relief when it went in. We then conceded a great goal to make it 3-2 and make it a little bit nervy at the end, but we don't do anything easily here - we give the fans value for money!"

Baldock has now netted four times in three home appearances and is quickly becoming a favourite among the Boleyn Ground faithful. The 22-year-old, who has netted ten goals in 13 games in total this season, is also enjoying the flourishing relationship he is forging with his new team-mates following his arrival from MK Dons in late August. "It's still early days and the honeymoon period, but I think the lads are starting to get to know me a bit better and I'm getting to know them and I think it's working quite well so far and long may it continue."

Having played his part in a 4-0 thrashing of Blackpool, the hard-fought 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion and Saturday's rollercoaster against Leicester, Baldock is now looking forward to Tuesday's visit of Bristol City. However, the Aylesbury-born forward knows the Robins will be no pushovers following their own 2-1 success at Barnsley on Saturday. "I think it's good that we're showing we can win in different ways because we're going to need to. We're not going to go through the season winning in only one way, so I think we've shown our versatility and how important that can be in recent weeks. "No games are easy in this division and Bristol City will be buoyed by their win. They've got a new manager and will be trying to impress him. "Their league position doesn't reflect the strength of their squad because they're a good side and I think they should be doing better than they are at the moment. "We'll go into the game again fancying ourselves as we do in every game and hopefully we'll come away with the three points."

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Allardyce on... Leicester City
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 30th October 2011
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce reflects on a win that his team were made to work for in his post-match press conference, which we once again bring you exclusively in full...

Sam: You might have thought that with all the late goals you've conceded at home that might have happened again today - but the boys held out?

Yeah, they did. When they put big Steve Howard on and started thumping the balls up there he was creating a few problems because he's so good in the air. But Leicester, going into the last few minutes were always going to throw everybody [forward] to try and get on the end of the flick-ons - which happened for the second goal, a wonderful strike - I don't think there's an awful lot we could have done about that one. But after that we saw the game out really, really well. So a great, entertaining football match, a great amount of goals from the game itself.

It looked like we were going to be very comfortable today [based] on the first half performance. We got ourselves 2-0 in front and it could have been more with the opportunities we'd had. Then a change of system and Leicester playing a little bit more direct caused us a few problems. But Robert Green made a couple of good saves - good to see him back - and Sam Baldock has going on with the headlines again because he's scored two, very unlucky not to have had three.

The quality of our three finishes today was really pleasing for me. Sam on the far post out-jumping somebody six inches bigger than him and he's headed it in; Julien Faubert's finish off the full-back and then of course Sam Baldock's volley off Freddie's flick. So all the goals were earned - rather than gifted by Leicester - by the quality of our finishing.

A great performance by [Mark] Noble as well?

Yes Mark Noble played very, very well. The whole team are giving everything they've got at the moment with the shortage of numbers we have at the minute. They're asked to continue to do that until other players come back, get themselves fit and get themselves back in the squad. So back-to-back wins, great entertainment and on the right end of the result to get three very important points.

How satisfying is it Sam to be in the situation you are in with so many key players out? Most Championship teams have to have a full squad to be where you are at the moment?

I've quoted this one before. Most teams, over the last five years when they've won automatic promotion they've used 29-33 players - and we haven't got that many in the squad at the moment. What we had on the bench, which is only five subs now... Had we been on the seven subs scenario we'd have had two very young professionals on the bench today, so our squad is tested to the full.

Being tested like that and continuing to get the results - because we're asking some players to play out of position, not quite where they want sometimes - we're doing very, very well. We changed our shape today and that meant Sam Baldock is looking like a big, big threat to everybody. I think the word will go reverberating around football, "you've got to keep your eye on him" when he plays here at Upton Park. He hasn't quite done it or had the same impact away but certainly here he's had a terrific impact for us on the Blackpool result and on today's result. We scored four against Blackpool and we scored three today.

Were you impressed with the way Noble's adapted to that new role you've gave him?

Well today was a 4-4-2 so it wasn't quite the sitting role that we've been playing, particularly when away from home. It's just when he gets on the ball, that's what we want to do with Mark Noble. His qualities in his passing and in his vision to set off attacks and play the right balls and stretch the opposition.

Like I said, if you look at the first half you probably thought, "well this is all over" - but I never do that. I expected a reaction from Leicester and in the end it was a great reaction from them because they pushed us right to the end. But it looked to be all over at half time by the fact that Leicester didn't look in terms of creating anything really dangerous. But second half, they got the boost with the goal and of course got a second boost by a great second goal. But we had already got our noses in front and managed to keep the lead, so it's great.

Do you feel that you lost some of your rhythm when [John] Carew went off?

Not particularly. I had to take John Carew off because of the referee, before he sent him off. I just can't believe it. I can't believe that why does a 6'5" man have to foul a centre half who's 6'1"? Body strength means that John Carew is going to be stronger than the centre half he's playing against. So when the centre half bounces off him and falls on the floor and the referee keeps giving a free kick, it baffles me. It really does baffle me.

John got five fouls given against him in 20, 25 minutes and got booked. So it would have been irresponsible of me to leave him on. So the referee spoilt our rhythm with his inability to weigh up the situation on what were coming-togethers of centre halfs and centre forwards, which happens in every single game. There wasn't a malicious challenge I could see from John in any of the incidents but the referee just [blew up] whenever anybody went down.

It's one of those where I say to John, "you get fouled John, stay on your feet". The opposition gets fouled, dives on the floor and the referee gives a free kick. It's always been one of my biggest bugbears of referees, that they don't give free-kicks to people who stay on their feet. So honest people don't get what they deserve. You all moan about simulation in the game and referees are promoting simulation.

Did he get booked for dissent or...

No, persistant fouling the referee told us. And then he gave another one just afer he booked him and we just said, "look, he gives one more and he's going to get his hand in his pocket again and send him off so we've got to bring him off". So I was very disappointed with that. I don't think the referee got anything too wrong in terms of major decisions today but that particular situation made it very difficult for me, having to change a player I want to be playing on the field, [a player] who's been outstanding in the last few games. He scored here against Blackpool and always looked a threat.

It's always going to be difficult without him but Freddie (Piquionne] is a great replacement to be fair. He made the third goal with a great flick-on and could have scored himself just after half time with a great run [when he] took the ball off the centre forward, cut inside - but they got a block on it. Freddie was a great asset to us today.

Did you take [Abdoulaye] Faye off for the same reason?

Faye was struggling a little bit with the bottom of his hamstring. I didn't really want to take him off when they put Howard on, but we really couldn't afford for him to extend that injury and to be out for [another] two weeks. We've got two games now before we can recover everybody - against Bristol City and against Hull City - and we need everybody fit. So I think he'll be available for Tuesday now.

Had we kept him on, he might have tweaked the hamstring and we would have been struggling for Tuesday - as we were struggling for Brighton. Had we had an injury to any of our back four against Brighton we didn't have a[nother first team] defender to play in any of the back four positions [today].

You know what it's all about going into clubs and changing their fortunes. Given that Leicester appear to have tried everybody and his uncle what would your message be to them to get some stability?

Don't sack Sven, give him longer. But it's too late for them, isn't it? Everybody's pays a price, as a manager today as a sacrificial lamb. Because the statistics will tell you that every year, 50 per cent or more of the managers lose their jobs in every single year so we just know that at the end of the day all we've got to do to stay in a job today is first and foremost, concentrate on winning football matches and then trying to make sure you entertain them and win football matches. Because it's only wins that keep you in the position today.

At what point did you decide that [Robert] Green was going to come back in?

He played behind closed doors on Monday afternoon, we played Tottenham. I told Ian Hendon to play so [that] Robert could get the sort of work that we would need to see him [get] in a game of football. [He played] for about 80 minutes, we lost 5-2 so he had plenty to do! [laughs] Martyn Margetson who watched him - he's my goalkeeping coach who is outstanding, by the way - just came back and said, "he's ready".

To be fair to Manny [Almunia], I spoke to Manny yesterday. An outstanding individual, because I offered him the place on the bench for his last game today but he said, "no no, listen, I'll go back [to Arsenal] and you give it to Ruud [Boffin]. He's here, he's at the football club, I've enjoyed my time". We've enjoyed having him so Ruud went on the bench, Manny's gone back and Robert made some very important saves today.

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Stowell and Rudkin on... West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 30th October 2011
By: Staff Writer

Leicester's temporary management duo reflect on a narrow defeat - whilst fending off questions regarding the departure of Sven Goran Eriksson...

Mike - You must be very disappointed not to have got something out of that game?

[Mike Stowell] Yeah. We was after the second half, maybe not after the first half. We put in a real shift i nthe second half and gave it a right good go up against a strong Championship team in West Ham who know how to win under Sam [Allardyce] at their own stadium, on their own ground - and we've had a real good go. With a little bit more good fortune we might have got something.

The players did seem to play for you, they wanted to play for you. They were geeing each other up from the start of the game and even when they were 2-1 down, 3-1 down. They kept on going for you?

[Mike Stowell] They kept on going and especially when that third one did go in. It might have knocked the stuffing out of them but they're resilient, they're good lads, they're good good players. They're desperate to do well for Leicester City and, personally, I think it's been good this week. It's been easy and that's because they are good players and want to do well. They were a little bit unfortunate but they've had a real good go today.

The six-million dollar question of course if would you want the job as a dual role?

[long pause, followed by laughs] [Mike Stowell] We're just happy to be employed be Leicester City! I love my job, John loves his I'm sure.

[Jon Rudkin] Our only interest at the moment is to oversee things until the new manager's in place. The board have obviously looked at the candidates and both myself and Mike, and the rest of the team that are working with us as well are looking to prepare as well as we can in preparation for the games. As Mike said, it's been helped massively by the fact of the application and the way that the players have been. I'm disappointed today but we can take a great deal of positives from the second half. Going forward, not just for Tuesday but for the rest of the season.

It's a wierd situation though, having joint managers in charge?

[Jon Rudkin] Well no, I've done it before. I won that game so maybe I won't get asked again! [laughs] No, it's happened before, then they brought Sven in. The owners will be searching and I'm sure they won't be rushed. But then again, it won't surprise me in football if we turn up for work tomorrow and there might be someone there. Eh, listen - the owners are good people and they're desperate to take this club into the Premier League so I'm sure they're seaching high and wide.

Sven said after he left that he still believed the club will end up in the Premier League. On that second half performance, it's still there isn't it?

[Jon Rudkin] Of course it is and we've got some good players in that dressing room. Whoever the appoint and whenever, they'll come in and they'll have the template to do that. Good players, a good training ground, good facilities. Fantastic travelling support, again today. It's just there, ready to fire.

Any idea why Sven was sacked? He'd been given all that money to assemble a squad?

[Jon Rudkin] No, not really. I mean, that's a decision by the owners and obviously the board, but we're in this position at the moment and we continue to look to prepare the team for the next trip.

You say they're ready to fire but I think it's 11 managers now since Martin O'Neill took you to the Premiership. That's quite a lot, isn't it? What is it about the club that doesn't seem to get the ability that other clubs do - or did?

[Mike Stowell] That goes to the owners, doesn't it. The owners want success and it's demanding, isn't it? It's a results business. I think the longest manager here since I've been here was Nigel Pearson who had two years, took us up and then got us to the play-offs. So he's had two successful years, so that's probably why he left!

Didn't he go of his own accord?

[Mike Stowell] He did, I believe. There's always stories but you don't know, that's up to the owners and the club to tell you about.

[Jon Rudkin] I think that the average tenure of managers is... the rewards of getting into the Premier League are so great it does put pressure on the club and the team to get there. You only have to look at the statistics that are produced right across football. It's tough, there's a lot of good clubs out there with good infrastructures - and we're one of them - that are gearing ready for the Premier League.

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Vinny's Leicester Report
Vinny 6:08 Sun Oct 30
West Ham Online
West Ham United 3 Leicester City 2

West Ham came out 3-2 winners with Sam Baldock hitting another brace in a pulsating game at Upton Park. This was a cracking game of football and had a number of twists and turns making it compelling viewing. It was heart in mouths stuff at times but if excitement is something that we want when playing at home we surely got it during this one.

Whilst the game was good to watch it is the result that will have most of the West Ham fans happy as we continued to keep up the pace at the top of the division with Southampton still three points clear.

It was perhaps a little disappointing that we let Leicester back into the game during the second half but they certainly had upped their game and even when we looked as though we had wrapped things up with the third goal the visitors almost immediately got back into the game with a wonderful strike.

This result leaves in a very healthy position in the league and after fourteen games you can't deny that things are going just about according to plan and we are bobbing along nicely.

With bottom club Bristol City to come on Tuesday night it gives us a great chance to get a run of results going and results only ever breed confidence especially at our football club who usually deal in negativity far too often.

I criticised the style of football we displayed in the game at Brighton last Monday but the same cannot be said for this one as at times I thought we played some excellent stuff with Mark Noble putting in a top performance as he took control of the game in the midfield.

The work rate of our team is so much better than the last few seasons and of course we shouldn't expect anything less from a team managed by Sam Allardyce but even so, it is great to see how hard the players are working.

The Team

Allardyce made a few changes from the side who were successful at Brighton in the previous game.

In Goal, Robert Green returned from injury and replaced Manuel Almunia whose loan spell was to finish after this game but it would appear that he had played his last game for the club already.

The defence was the same but we went to a 4-4-2 with Papa Bouba Diop dropping to the bench and Sam Baldock coming in to the starting eleven to play alongside John Carew.

Starting for Leicester City at left back was former Hammer Paul Konchesky. It was Alan Pardew who brought him to the club in 2005 and he started 68 times in all competitions scoring 2 goals in his two year spell at the club with one of those goals coming in the FA Cup Final of 2006 against Liverpool.

On the bench for Leicester was another former Hammer, John Pantsil. In two seasons Pantsil only started 10 games for the club but became a bit of a cult hero amongst the supporters despite his apparent lack of ability.

First Half

The opening quarter of the game was very poor with both sides doing little in the way of attacking. I had expected an tentative start from Leicester given that they had recently sacked their manager but our game plan again looked as though it was simply to get it long to Carew.

But we were gradually starting to get on top and Noble and Nolan were seeing more of the ball and getting it into wide areas. Faubert was in a lot of space on the right and he was also joining in with the attacks and saw a shooting chance spurned as he put his shot way over the bar into the Leicester fans.

With just over a quarter of the game gone we were awarded our first corner with Noble taking it and Faye meeting the ball with a flick into the danger area but it was cleared only as far as Collison who neglected to shoot first time and the chance was snuffed out.

A long ball towards Carew saw the big striker penalised for a foul and then shown the yellow card by Referee James Linington. This was a poor decision by the ref who was booking Carew for persistent fouling but all four free kicks given against him were questionable.

Whilst the crowd were incensed by this decision it was all forgotten just a minute later when we took the lead.

Nolan won the ball in midfield and gave it to Mark Noble who burst forward unopposed and thread the ball through for John Carew who clipped his cross to the back post for Sam Baldock to out jump his marker and head home from close range.

Whilst this goal was from close range it was a lovely passing move and a sign of a striker who really wants the ball and will make sure he is there score. A proper goal scorer you could say.

Up until that point the Leicester fans had been quite vocal and although the first goal went some way to quiet them down, just a minute later they would be looking on in shock as we struck again.

We hadn't long kicked off after the first goal when Noble picked the ball up in midfield and played a sublime pass over the head of Konchesky to Joey O'Brien who had raced forward. The Irish full back cut the ball back for Julien Faubert to send his low shot past Schmeichel and make it 2-0.

Faubert instantly ran over to a section of the ground where he has taken a lot of stick, most notably in the Peterborough game where he had an ongoing argument with a supporter.

Many of the fans could have been forgiven for thinking that this could quickly become another Blackpool game as we had proven once again to be clinical when we need to be. It was great to see us look a class above from the opposition and in that first half we were far the better team.

Just four minutes later and we nearly had the third when a pass towards Carew was taken down and given to Baldock whose curling shot crashed off the crossbar. It wouldn't have counted though because Carew had yet again been penalised for a foul.

Leicester began to get into the game more and a cross shot from Beckford was nearly turned in by David Nugent.

On the half hour mark Sam Allardyce made his first sub of the game with John Carew coming off and being replaced by Frederique Piquionne. Carew was slightly limping as he came off although it appears that he was not injured after all and this may have had something to do with the booking he received.

Piquionne meanwhile was in search of his first league goal in 2011. For any striker that is a pretty shocking statistic.

A corner for Leicester was claimed by Robert Green and his quick through released Faubert and the ball eventually found Piquionne whose shot was deflected wide for another corner. It was great to see us defending a corner one moment and up the other end forcing one of our own within 30 seconds.

Leicester so nearly got one back on 38 minutes when Peltier gave George McCartney the nutmeg and burst into the area and cross for Darius Vassell to turn his shot goalwards but the ball hit O'Brien and somehow went wide.

From the resulting corner we broke away on the counter again with Piquionne finding a lot of room. He fed the ball to his fellow countryman Faubert but his finish was poor.

Leicester's best chance of the half came with only a minute of normal time left. A long range effort from Wellans hit his own man Nugent and deflected out to Vassell on the left whose cross into the box found Jermaine Beckford who looked poised to score from close range but Robert Green got down to make an excellent save and keep the game at 2-0 going into half time.

Second Half

Two minutes into the second period and we should have made it 3-0. It was Piquionne was played in by Mark Noble and the striker got down the left wing, one on one with the defender and he cut inside and hit a shot which was well blocked by the defender. Piquionne should have just waited a moment so he could play it back for Baldock.

From the block the ball fell to Faubert who did the right thing and hit it first time but his shot was also charged down and the chance was unfortunately gone.

Leicester were still looking for a way back into the game and surprisingly took off Jermaine Beckford and replaced him with a big lump of a striker - Steve Howard.

A lump Howard may be but he made the impact that Leicester would have wanted with his physical presence unsettling our backline.

Just four minutes after his introduction and Leicester were firmly back in the came. A ball into the area saw Howard hit a shot which was blocked and it came to Wellens who put a cross to the back post for striker Andy King to send a thumping header past Green from close range.

The visitors were lifted by this and roared on by their vocal support they came at us in waves with West Ham fans looking on with discomfort.

Despite being under pressure it was us who came so close to scoring the next goal when a wonderful footballing move saw the overlapping McCartney getting down the left and his pinpoint cross found Baldock who must have thought he was certain to score but Schmeichel made a magnificent one handed save to deny him.

Leicester came at us again and despite a poor challenge from Faye the ref played the advantage and the ball was played into the feet of Andy King who went down under a challenge but the ref refused to give the penalty. Faye was subsequently booked for the previous challenge.

Any Leicester supporter at the game cannot accuse their side of not having a go and they were really putting us under some pressure but they were being met by a wall of West Ham players who were doing everything they could to stop them from equalising. We laud attacking play often but some of our defending was brave, committed and very necessary.

Whilst Leicester were convinced the equaliser was coming we did exactly the most devastating thing we could and that was to score again.

It was as route one as route one can be. Robert Green played a long ball forward, Piquionne flicked the ball on for Sam Baldock to volley past Schmeichel and surely wrap the points up.

So as we are all breathing a sigh of relief yet another twist was to unfold as three minutes after our goal Leicester managed to get themselves back in the game for the second time.

We can talk about closing players down but when an opposition player is going to hit the ball like Andy Kingdid then you really can't do much about it. A the ball dropped to King outside the area he hit a superb shot into the top corner giving Green no chances. Brilliant goal.

I think the last ten minutes aged me.

Leicester were all over us for a five minute period and I was convinced they were going to score. You could feel the tension amongst the fans as they piled forward.

The big chance came on the 81st minute when Konchesky put a cross in for Howard who won the ball but it hit off Tomkins (who had come on for Faye moments earlier) and left Green stranded but cannoned off the crossbar and was cleared.

It was a difficult last ten minutes and then to see an additional four minutes added on by the Ref we were all breathing a sigh of relief when the final whistle was blown.

We defended very well and showed the type of grit that we have lacked for such a long time. Late goals have been an issue this season but we saw this one out and I hope that this puts to bed this issue.

I can't deny that I thoroughly enjoyed this game and was really good entertainment. We saw a number of positives and we look mentally strong as well as clinical when we need to be.

Player Reviews

Robert Green
I mentioned in the last game that without Green we do not counter attack enough as he has the ability to spot a pass quickly and all though this game he was distributing the ball well. Made a couple of excellent saves especially the one in the first half from Beckford and was on top form when claiming crosses. It showed how much the victory meant to him at the final whistle as he gave a bit back to the Leicester fans who had been giving him some stick. If they are going to dish it out….

Joey O'Brien
Much better than against Brighton and was racing forward at every opportunity. He was difficult to beat and although he did pick up a yellow card this was a solid display from a consistent performer.

Abdoulaye Faye
Both Leicester Strikers had been easily snuffed out by Faye and Reid and it wasn't until Howard came on where we had any issues. Faye was a beast in the air and was first to nearly everything. He is a little awkward when the ball is at his feet but he is there to do a job and he does it well.

Winston Reid
A good display from Reid was equal to most that was thrown his way. He is continues to grow in confidence and his West Ham career is firmly back on track.

George McCartney
I am very pleased with his impact since he came back to the club. He again put in a strong performance, linked up with Collison well down the left.

Julien Faubert
He certainly stood up and was counted in this one. His performances are usually very hit and miss but this was certainly more hit. His goal was excellent but his work rate for the full 90 minutes is what really impressed me.

Kevin Nolan
A tenacious performance from the captain whose form might be slightly improving. Playing as part of a midfield two he has to cover a lot more ground as he cannot drift in and out of the game. This suits us and him much better because we can actually see his involvement and how many tackles he is putting in.

Mark Noble
The best player on the pitch. Won tackles, kept the ball, played passes, was involved in the first two goals, worked hard and was different class.

Jack Collison
A bit better, especially in the first half where he was linking up well with some nice short passing. But ultimately Collison doesn't get involved in the game enough.

John Carew
The referee seemed immediately against him and his booking would have probably led to another given the way Carew plays. Despite only being on the pitch for around half and hour he still managed to get an assist for Baldock's first.

Sam Baldock
He get's into those positions and scores goal. We needed a goal scorer and it would seem that we have one. Wonderful.

Subs Used

Frederique Piquionne (on for Carew 31 mins)
A chance to play down the middle and perhaps score his first goal in 2011. But it wasn't to be and he didn't really have many chances to score in all honesty.

James Tomkins (on for Faye 64 mins)
Got straight involved and had to deal with a lot coming into the area. Did it well as he usually does.

Freddie Sears (on for Baldock 86 mins)
Another bright display from Sears who saw quite a bit of the ball on the right wing and did well enough.

Subs Not Used: Boffin, Diop

Bookings: Carew, O'Brien, Faye

Man Of The Match: Mark Noble

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Bamba, St. Ledger, Konchesky, Abe, King, Wellens, Vassell, Nugent, Beckford
Subs: Weale, Pantsil, Dyer, Johnson, Howard

Attendance: 30,410

Overall

Two wins on the spin and it is also two wins in a row at home. Hopefully the early season jitters regarding our home form can be laid to rest and we go into our home games confident of beating anyone.

This was not all about the long ball game and we did get the ball down and played some good football throughout the game. It would have been nice to see us be a bit more dominant especially in the second half but credit to Leicester who threw everything at us.

We showed steel and determination and in a way were very unlike West Ham.

Next Game - Bristol City (h) Tuesday 1st November

Bristol City are bottom of the league with just 9 points accumulated this season. On paper this is an easy victory but I would be inclined to think it will be anything but.

When were in the Championship before it was these sorts of games which would cause us problems so we need to be focussed and come out with another three points.

We certainly should have enough but you never really know what is going to happen when West Ham are concerned. I would hope that we have now found some consistency in our performances.

The View From Sam

"Sam Baldock is going home with the headlines again," the manager said. "Sam Baldock is looking like a big, big threat for everybody. I am sure the word will reverberate around football, you have to keep your eye on him when he plays at Upton Park.

"He hasn't quite done it or had the same impact away from home yet. But he has been terrific here.

"Sam has scored two and was very unlucky not to have had three. The quality of our finishing today was really pleasing for me. The first goal saw Sam on the far post, outjumping someone who is six inches bigger than him to head it in.

"Then there was Julien Faubert's finish and finally Sam's volley off Freddie Piquionne's flick. All the goals were earned rather than gifted."

"The boys held out. Leicester started to pump balls up there. Their substitute Steve Howard was starting to create problems because he is so good in the air. Leicester were throwing everyone forward to try and get on the end of the flick-ons which happened for the second goal.

"I don't think there was an awful lot we could have done about their second goal - what a wonderful strike - but we saw the game out really well."

"It was a great entertaining football match, with a great amount of goals. It looked like we would be very comfortable today on the first-half performance. We got ourselves two-nil in front.

"It could have been more on opportunities we had and then a change in system and Leicester played a bit more direct. That caused us a few problems but Robert Green made a couple of good saves. It was good to see him back.

"Mark Noble played very well. We like to get him on the ball. Mark's quality is in his vision and his passing to set off attacks. He can play the right balls to stretch the opposition."

[On Carew] "It would have been irresponsible to leave him on.

"The whole team are giving everything they have got and at the moment with the shortage of numbers we have got at the minute, they are being asked to do that until other players come back. It was a fantastic victory to get back to back wins.

"It was great entertainment and we got three very good points."


Season 2011/12 Scorers and Bookings

Carlton Cole - 4 (4 League)
Kevin Nolan - 4 (4 League)
Sam Baldock - 4 (4 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Mark Noble - 2 (2 League)
Own Goal - 2 (2 League)
James Tomkins - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Scott Parker - 1 (1 League)
Winston Reid - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Henri Lansbury - 1 (1 League)
Jack Collison - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Junior Stanislas - 1 (1 Cup)

Yellow Cards

Mark Noble - 3
Kevin Nolan - 3
Julien Faubert - 3
Henri Lansbury - 2
Joey O'Brien - 2
James Tomkins - 1
Carlton Cole - 1
Matthew Taylor - 1
George McCartney - 1
Sam Baldock -1
Winston Reid - 1
Abdoulaye Faye - 1
John Carew - 1


Red Cards

Callum McNaughton - 1 (vs Aldershot home)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (vs Portsmouth home)

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Now Can they Make it Three Wins in a Row?
October 30th, 2011 - 11:56 pm by S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

The 3-2 victory over Leicester City was a far closer contest than it should have been by rights. At 2-0 up we were cruising to the three points, but then one of those dreaded defensive lapses struck and King got their first goal with a header at the far post. That encouraged the Foxes and they started knocking it around well and for periods put us under pressure. During that period, Robert Green saved us with a world class save and we went on to get the third through a mighty Green punt up field, a deft Piquionne header and a clinical finish from Baldock. It was a direct and very good quality goal, which just goes to show that you do not have to exchange 25 passes, in the build up, to score a quality goal! I well remember Alan Taylor scoring a similar sort of goal against Man Utd in 1975-76, at Upton Park, from a Mervyn Day kick. Only in that case, there was no deft knock on, Taylor just brilliantly anticipated the bounce and finished strongly with a looping header over a totally exposed Alex Stepney. I do not recall any criticism of us playing it direct on that occasion!

Leicester City came back at us, scoring a 2nd with an impressive long range strike by, their outstanding player, Andy King. However, we held on to secure back-to-back wins. What a difference from the strong, hard working and tactical 0-1 defeat of Brighton. In this game we passed the ball, played some nice attacking football and were thoroughly entertaining. This is the style of football that we all admire as Hammers fans, but there was also a certain admirable quality about the Brighton victory, as there always is when a team set out their stall, implement a tactical game plan and totally neutralise and then defeat the opposition. The fact that Brighton had 69% of the possession and yet only really seriously threatened us once is a testament to Allardyce's tactics and the ability of this squad of players to put it into action. As a spectator, I was uncomfortable with the amount of possession that Brighton had, but I was also fascinated watching a durable and professional smash and grab raid by this West Ham side.

Against The Foxes, I was surprised that we did not use Diop in the second half to tighten up the midfield, but Noble was doing exceptionaly well and Nolan was never going to be substituted. It was a good performance, but we still demonstrated some vulnerability in letting the opposition back in to the game, when we should have killed them off by adding a another goal to make it 3-0. Still, that is only an observation at this stage, not a criticism, Allardyce will no doubt continue to work on it and I am sure that aspect will come right soon.

I was glad to see Mark Noble put two strong performances together on Tuesday night and Saturday. Against the Foxes, he played very well and was the fulcrum of most of our best passing moves, as well as consistantly seeking to find players with longer balls in to space. Sam Baldock is showing a real finisher's instincts now, with good movement and pace. Lets hope that he really goes on to terrorise opposition defences and have a key role in a successful promotion campaign. It was also good to see both Tomkins and Sears come on as substitutes. Tomkins is our best central defender and we need him fit and playing. Also, it is noticable that, along with Taylor's injury, his absence is one of the reasons that we have not been so dangerous at set peices in recent matches. Tomkins is a real threat on the far post and even when he does not meet the ball, he pulls defenders away, creating space and opportunities for others. While, Sears showed that he brings something diferent to the team with his pace on the right and ability to get in to the box. Indeed, I want to see Sears use his attributes more and deploy that pace to both give width on the right and also, crucially, time his runs in to the box to get on the end of goal scoring opportunities. I well remember the goal he scored last season at Upton Park against Wolves, when he made that late run in to the box, received a timely pass and finished it with aplomb, on the run. Lets see more of that please Freddie!

There was a report yesterday that Carlton Cole is back in training and could very well be on the bench on Tuesday evening against Bristol City. Lets hope so, because we need him back in first team contention for the centre forward position with Carew and Piquionne. Other interesting Sunday newspaper reports have suggested that having declined the chance to sign Diouf, Allardyce has now turned his attentions to securing Alan Smith, on loan from Newcastle Utd, for the remainder of the season. Personally, I am fairly agnostic about this move. You have to acknowledge that he is a fiery player, who has had more than his fair share of injury problems during his career. But he is also a very good player, who at 31 years of age will bring even more experience and quality to the squad. Also he did extremely well in the Newcastle Utd side that achieved a runaway promotion back to the PL, a couple of seasons ago, alongside a certain Kevin Nolan. So, there are both potential pros and cons attached to this potential loan signing. However, if he is fit and hungry to play, then it could just work out. We definitely need to compensate for our injury absentees, the price will presumably be right and, after all, he is not Diouf, is he?

I do not want make any assumptions, nor do I wish to tempt fate, but if we do achieve promotion this season and Leicester City remain in the second tier, then we could do a lot worse than attempting to sign Andy King as a goal scoring midfielder. We all saw the quality of his midfield play and finishing on Saturday. Arguably, he has attributes that could help a newly promoted Hammers squad next season.

Finally, we have secured back-to-back victories, the question is can we now make it three wins in a row on Tuesday evening? We should against Bristol City, but nothing can be taken for granted. We must go out and do the business and take the points, this is no 'give me' game. I certainly do not want us to put in another poor, spiritless, performance like that against Ipswich, because that is a sure way to come unstuck. Personally, I think that we will keep the momentum going and make it a run of three straight victories, with a 4-1 win. COYI!

SJ. Chandos.

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SAM ALLARDYCE BID ON WAY FOR ALAN SMITH
Daily Star
Alan Pardew
30th October 2011 By Clive Hetherington

WEST HAM are understood to be ready to test Newcastle's resolve to hang on to Alan Smith before the loan window closes next month. Boss Alan Pardew has insisted that Toon outcast Smith, who has played only four minutes as a sub this season, won't be allowed to leave on loan. But Hammers manager Sam Allardyce, who signed Smith from Manchester United for £6million four years ago, is ­interested in reuniting him with former Magpies skipper ­Kevin Nolan. Smith, now 31, won't be offered a new deal when his contract runs out next summer and his first club, Leeds – and Doncaster – have also been linked with him.

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Allardyce: Referees are promoting simulation
TalkSport
By Anton Stanley
Sunday, October 30

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes referees encourage footballers to dive when they don't give free-kicks to players who stay on their feet when tackled.
The Hammers boss was fuming after their 3-2 win over Leicester City about the performance of official James Linnington, who booked John Carew after just 20 minutes for persistent fouling even though he didn't commit a real tackle. And Allardyce believes rewarding players who fall over easily when fouled instead players who try stay on their feet promotes simulation within the game. He said: "I had to take John Carew off because of the referee, before he sent him off and I just can't believe it. Why does a six-foot-five man have to foul a centre-half who is six-foot-one? "Body strength means that John Carew is going to be stronger than the centre-half he is playing against. So when a centre-half bounces off him and falls on the floor and the referee keeps giving a free-kick it baffles me, it really does baffle me.
"John got five fouls given against him in 20-25 minutes and got booked, it would have been irresponsible of me to keep him on so the referee spoilt our rhythm by his inability to weigh up the situation on what were coming togethers, they happen in every single game. "I couldn't see a single malicious challenge by John in any of the incidents but the referee [gave a foul] whenever anybody went down. "So it's one of those ones where I say John, 'You get fouled John, you stay on your feet', the opposition gets fouled, dives on the floor and the referee always gives a free-kick. "It's always been one of my biggest bugbears with referees; they don't give free-kicks to people who stay on their feet. Honest people don't get what they deserve and people moan about simulation in the game and referees are promoting simulation."

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Sam Allardyce thinks big with West Ham after victory over Leicester
He may have dropped down a division, but there is no shortage of ambition for Sam Allardyce at Upton Park
Guardian.co.uk
Jeremy Alexander at Upton Park
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 October 2011 22.01 GMT

Little Sams make Sam Allardyce feel bigger than Big. At Bolton Wanderers the manager had some of his best years with Sammy Lee as assistant. At West Ham United since June, he signed Sam Baldock from MK Dons in late August for an "undisclosed" fee, believed to be about £2m. The 5ft 7in striker had just got a hat‑trick against Chesterfield, then another goal in a 4-0 win at Norwich City in the Carling Cup. On Saturday, for the second home game running, he scored two as West Ham beat Leicester City 3-2 to stay second in the Championship behind Southampton.

Pies are not humble in the north-west but Allardyce, sacked by Blackburn Rovers in December, has had to drop down a division, to London's sixth‑ranked club, to satisfy his aspirations. He gave Bolton four comfortable years in the Premier League but on leaving them in 2007 he said he wanted silverware. While at Blackburn, whom he left in 13th place, he said he would win trophies in abundance with Manchester United or Real Madrid. At 57, time may be running out. That those two Old Allardycians are in the Premier League's relegation places may enhance his standing.

West Ham, relegated in May, offer a different challenge, which he is enjoying more than West Ham's fans. He signs his programme notes "Big Sam", suggesting the comfort of a good relationship. At his appointment he vowed to try to "play the West Ham way" and respected the club's "great tradition and loyal supporters". Loyal they are, travelling in numbers and with home crowds holding up at just under 30,000. But they reckon to know more of the West Ham way than he does and there have been murmurings of discontent. "I don't know why they moan about winning when all they did before was lose," he said on Saturday. With eight wins they are only one short of last season's final total.

"I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't think we could bounce straight back," said Allardyce and the owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, lifelong fans, may be happier than most. With "the academy of football" wearing kit sponsored by an Asian betting company, style can wait and only get better after the Davids' disastrous first appointment of Avram Grant, who increasingly last season looked like a bloodhound that had lost the scent. Allardyce, positive and pragmatic, has the nose for promotion.

He brought in 14 players, including Kevin Nolan (Newcastle), Matt Taylor (Bolton) and, true to his readiness to go direct, John Carew. It was ironic, then, that the 6ft 5in Carew should cross for Baldock, rising above a taller defender, to head the first goal after 21 minutes. The second, a minute later by Julien Faubert, also came from a pull-back from the right byline. At the end of the team announcements there had been a rare and generous welcome for a former player, Leicester's left-back Paul Konchesky. Perhaps he was still wiping the tears from his eyes.

West Ham were fortunate to be receiving Leicester five days after the sacking of Sven-Goran Eriksson. Through the first half City were as anaemic as one of his match analyses, though a vestige of commitment from Jermaine Beckford would have converted David Nugent's cross. His substitution by Steve Howard ignited them and at once found a soft spot at the heart of West Ham's defence and proof that Nolan and Mark Noble do not add up to the midfield mainstay of Scott Parker.

Within three minutes Andy King had headed in Konchesky's cross and West Ham resembled sunshine strollers caught in a tornado. Baldock relieved the pressure, volleying home in his stride as Frédéric Piquionne headed on a punt from Rob Green, a goal perfected with Kevin Davies at Bolton, but Leicester capped it at once as the ball went from Kasper Schmeichel's boot via the heads of Howard and Nugent for King to volley into the roof of the net. There were still 15 minutes to go, in which Howard headed against the bar and Green made a second sharp, smothering save.

Big Sam called it "a great, entertaining match". He might have seen it differently with only one point. The England job comes up next summer and promotion would do him no harm. He is already big enough to have refused to talk to the BBC. He need not concern himself with the Olympic Stadium. He can see no further than Tuesday, at home to Bristol City, hoping Little Sam is still in golden form.

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Sam Allardyce hits out at 'moaning' West Ham fans after victory over managerless Leicester
Sam Allardyce says West Ham fans critical of his side's style of play should stop complaining as the club, 3-2 victors over Leicester in the Npower Championship on Saturday, were not winning matches before he took over.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Rajvir Rais10:57PM GMT 30 Oct 20111

Despite West Ham sitting three points behind Championship leaders Southampton there have been murmurs of discontent from sections of the Upton Park faithful at the tactics employed by their manager. "I don't know why some people moan about winning when all this team did before was lose," said Allardyce. "It doesn't make any sense to me. "I've been in this game all my life and not for the life of me would I expect a football fan to accept playing well and losing rather than playing well and winning, but if you are unable to play well then just win. Haven't met one yet and I think it is all b-------." Allardyce does, however, believe the dissenters are in the minority as most fans are "happy they are winning football matches". Importantly, he has the backing of chairman David Sullivan, who used his programme notes before Saturday's victory over Leicester to state that unfashionable football was acceptable as long as the club kept winning.

Allardyce also seems to have a great relationship with his players. Having rewarded Mark Noble, who returned to action after missing the last two games with a toe injury, for his man-of-the-match performance with a kiss, he was also full of praise for Sam Baldock, a £2.75 million signing from MK Dons, who netted his second brace in as many home games. "He has been an outstanding purchase and hopefully he will continue what he has done in the last two home games," said Allardyce.
The only negative from Saturday's game for Allardyce was the absence of Sven Goran Eriksson, who was sacked as Leicester manager last week. And his treatment has Allardyce fearing for young British managers. "I fear for the young talented managers who get cast aside without being given a chance," he said. "They will probably not get the chance to manage at the highest level. It is a great shame we don't promote our own as much as all the other European countries do." Andy King, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with two goals of his own, said the Leicester players are concentrating on football and not on who their new manager might be. "We are paid to play and we trust the board to bring in the right man," he said.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Sunday, October 30

Daily WHUFC News - 30th October 2011

Big Sam hails Little Sam
WHUFC.com
Sam Baldock's two-goal show against Leicester City rightly earned him plenty
of plaudits
29.10.2011

Sam Allardyce was full of praise for young forward Sam Baldock after his
second two-goal haul in successive home matches helped the Hammers to a 3-2
defeat of Leicester City. The word around the dressing room after the
five-goal thriller was 'Boom Boom Baldock', and the 22-year-old is
determined to keep on going after his match-winning double. His manager has
certainly been delighted with his efforts to date, as he also scored two
goals a fortnight ago at the Boleyn against Blackpool.
"Sam Baldock is going home with the headlines again," the manager said. "Sam
Baldock is looking like a big, big threat for everybody. I am sure the word
will reverberate around football, you have to keep your eye on him when he
plays at Upton Park. "He hasn't quite done it or had the same impact away
from home yet. But he has been terrific here. "Sam has scored two and was
very unlucky not to have had three. The quality of our finishing today was
really pleasing for me. The first goal saw Sam on the far post, outjumping
someone who is six inches bigger than him to head it in. "Then there was
Julien Faubert's finish and finally Sam's volley off Freddie Piquionne's
flick. All the goals were earned rather than gifted."

Reflecting on the match as a whole, which saw Leicester fight back well in
the second half and push the hosts all the way to the end, the manager
admitted it was a nervy contest at times. "The boys held out. Leicester
started to pump balls up there. Their substitute Steve Howard was starting
to create problems because he is so good in the air. Leicester were throwing
everyone forward to try and get on the end of the flick-ons which happened
for the second goal. "I don't think there was an awful lot we could have
done about their second goal - what a wonderful strike - but we saw the game
out really well."

The Hammers deserved the points despite the spirited Foxes fightback, the
perfect tonic before Tuesday's visit of Bristol City which young fans can
see for a fiver. Fit-again Robert Green was also a star after four weeks out
following knee surgery, while Mark Noble won the man of the match award for
a scintillating display. Allardyce added: "It was a great entertaining
football match, with a great amount of goals. It looked like we would be
very comfortable today on the first-half performance. We got ourselves
two-nil in front. "It could have been more on opportunities we had and then
a change in system and Leicester played a bit more direct. That caused us a
few problems but Robert Green made a couple of good saves. It was good to
see him back. "Mark Noble played very well. We like to get him on the ball.
Mark's quality is in his vision and his passing to set off attacks. He can
play the right balls to stretch the opposition."

Certainly the manager can have no complaints about the attitude and
application of his men, and with Carlton Cole a potential returnee on
Tuesday, his options should improve. One forced change today was not because
of injury but rather because the manager was worried John Carew would be
sent off after earning a "baffling" yellow card for persistent fouling. "It
would have been irresponsible to leave him on," explained the manager.
Still, the positives of the day far outweighed the negatives. "The whole
team are giving everything they have got and at the moment with the shortage
of numbers we have got at the minute, they are being asked to do that until
other players come back. It was a fantastic victory to get back to back
wins. "It was great entertainment and we got three very good points."

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U18s downed in derby
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee could only manage a consolation as the young Hammers lost out at
Fulham
29.10.2011

Fulham U18s 4-1 West Ham United U18s

The young Hammers went down to only their second defeat of the season in a
tough London derby on Saturday morning. Elliot Lee scored a consolation for
the Academy side but they were three-nil down at that point and while
chasing the game at the end, were to concede a fourth. Although the
scoreline appeared one-sided, Tony Carr said his team had never given up on
the cause. "We started the game quite brightly," he told whufc.com. "Elliot
lee had a great chance when one on one only for the Fulham goalkeeper to
make a good save. For half an hour there was nothing in the game at all. It
was nip and tuck between two teams at the top of the table."

Fulham struck first though before the interval and it was to be decisive.
The goal came about after a Jake Larkins' punched clearance hit Kenzer Lee
on the back and landed kindly for a home forward to score. Carr described
it as a "freak goal" but it was to be even tougher for the Hammers after the
break. "We started the second half very brightly. Blair Turgott had a great
chance to equalise but shot wide. Fulham broke back on us and scored the
second from a long-distance shot. To be fair, they took command at that
point and got to three-nil."

Despite trailing heavily, Elliot Lee was able to pull one back when he
followed in to score from close range after a Turgott shot was parried.
However, as the visitors tried to make it a close finale, Fulham went on to
add a game-killing fourth. "The final result was a little bit harsh but
Fulham deserved the win. We started to chase the game and they punished us.
It is a good test for the lads to see how they come back from this after
going so well this season. We rested a couple because a lot have been
playing development football and we have been stretched for numbers."

With Danny Potts and Kieran Sadlier coming off the bench, and the injured
Leo Chambers missing, Carr and coach Nick Haycock will at least feel they
have got the chance to look at some more of their options - both in the U18
and U16 ranks.

West Ham United: Larkins, Siafa, Shaw (Potts 25), K Lee (Boake-Yiadom 70),
Young, Powell, Hurley, Miles (Sadlier 46), Fanimo, E Lee, Turgott

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Remembering Ron
WHUFC.com
The late, great Ron Greenwood will be honoured at the visit of Bristol City
on 1 November
26.10.2011

Legendary West Ham United manager Ron Greenwood CBE will be honoured at next
Tuesday's npower Championship visit of Bristol City. The late, great
Greenwood, who would be celebrating his 90th birthday on 11 November,
oversaw the greatest period in the club's history during his 13 years in
charge at the Boleyn Ground.
After a successful playing career with Chelsea and Fulham and coaching
England's Under-23 side, Greenwood moved to east London in 1961. As well as
overseeing the development of the Academy of Football and helping the likes
of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters becoming FIFA World Cup
winners in 1966, Greenwood led West Ham to their maiden FA Cup success in
1964 and European Cup Winners' Cup glory the following year. In 1977, after
serving three years as the club's general manager mentoring John Lyall, his
achievements with the Hammers were rewarded when Greenwood was appointed as
England manager - a post he held until 1982.

To mark the great manager's unrivalled career, Tuesday's match will see
1960s legends Peter Brabrook, Ronnie Boyce, Eddie Bovington, Ken Brown, John
Bond and Brian Dear join host Phil Parkes in the Legends Restaurants, where
they will share their memories from the club's glory days. A pitchside
tribute will also take place before kick-off, giving all supporters the
chance to show their appreciation for Greenwood and the players who played
such a large role in his success.

Corporate hospitality packages to be part of this unique event are still
available, priced at just £49 per person, plus VAT.

Elsewhere on a packed evening of entertainment on and off the pitch, 1966
FIFA World Cup winner Peters will be the host in The 66 Club and 66
Champagne Bar.
For fans who would like to spend the evening with former Hammers midfielder
Martin Allen, the current Notts County manager will be joining host Allen
McKnight in the Greenwood & Lyall Lounge on the same evening. A number of
the 1960s greats will also be joining McKnight in the same lounge after the
final whistle.

For details of all the exciting corporate hospitality packages on offer for
Tuesday's fixture and other npower Championship matches in the run up to
Christmas, call
0871 221 2700, email corporatesales@westhamunited.co.uk or visit
www.hospitality.whufc.com

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West Ham 3 - 2 Leicester
Page last updated at 16:28 GMT, Saturday, 29 October 2011 17:28 UK
BBC.co.uk

Two goals from Sam Baldock helped promotion-chasing West Ham to victory over
managerless Leicester. Baldock headed home to give the Hammers the lead
before Julien Faubert's drive made it 2-0 barely a minute later. Leicester,
who had Jon Rudkin and Mike Stowell in charge following Sven-Goran
Eriksson's departure this week, pulled one back through an Andy King header.
But Baldock ran clear to slot in a third for the home side before King
smashed in a consolation. A trip to the favourites for promotion was always
going to be a tough test for City, with academy boss Rudkin and coach
Stowell having little time to prepare the side following Eriksson's
departure on Tuesday. And there was no respite for the Foxes as West Ham
secured their eighth win of the season to remain second in the Championship,
while a second successive defeat left Leicester well short of the automatic
promotion places with 19 points from 14 games. The Hammers' own form had
been patchy with only two wins in their previous five games but they
dominated the opening stages and made the breakthrough after 20 minutes when
Mark Noble surged forward unchallenged to the edge of the area before
playing in John Carew, who chipped back across goal from the byeline for
Baldock to head in at the far post.

Leicester had barely kicked the ball before they had conceded again, this
time Faubert collected the ball 20 yards out and rifled home his first goal
since February 2010. It could have been worse for the visitors had the
crossbar not denied Baldock with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
Leicester did finally wake up and home keeper Robert Green was forced into a
point-blank save from Jermaine Beckford. After the break, the Foxes grabbed
a lifeline when when former Hammer Paul Konchesky crossed from the left and
King nodded the ball back past Green. Leicester thought they had a penalty
when King tumbled in the box but their appeals were waved away by referee
James Linington. With 15 minutes to go Baldock appeared to have won the game
for the home side when he finished coolly after running clear of the
Leicester defence. However, King fired into the top corner from 20 yards to
set up a tense finish, during which they came agonisingly close to snatching
a point when James Tomkins deflected Steve Howard's header on to the
crossbar.

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West Ham Utd 3 Leicester City 2
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 29th October 2011
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce's side secured a second successive Championship win at the
Boleyn Ground - but once again had to survive some nervous moments before
doing so.
Goals from Sam Baldock (2) and Julien Faubert were enough to see the Hammers
through to a fourth home win of the season, although Allardyce's side were
pushed all the way by the managerless Foxes - led today by Academy Director
Jon Rudkin and first team coach Mike Stowell in the wake of Sven Goran
Erikkson's sacking during the week.

West Ham, who were coasting at 3-1 with 20 minutes to play - having
previously held a two-goal lead at the half time break - were guilty of
hitting the panic button as a game in which they were cruising suddenly
became a backs-against-the-wall battle to hold on for a win as City pushed
on for an unlikely equaliser.

Rob Green - back in the side following a month on the sidelines - was forced
to produce his very best saves to deny Leicester a late equaliser, although
there was nothing even he could do about Steve Howard's 81st-minute header
that deflected off James Tomkins before cannoning back off the crossbar.

Had that gone it, it would have been incredibly unfair on West Ham who were
as good going forward as they have been at any point under Sam Allardyce
(even though they were hindered by the enforced substitution of John Carew,
who had been the victim of an number of inexplicable refereeing decisions).
United threatened to blow away their opponents with an outstanding first
half-an-hour from which they scored twice and were denied a third by the
crossbar.

Both first half goals arrived within 90 seconds of each other; Sam Baldock
scored his first of the day with 20 minutes on the clock when he was
well-placed to nod home a deflected John Carew cross. Just over a minute
later Julien Faubert notched his second goal for the club when cooly
converting a Joey O'Brien pull-back, giving West Ham what should have been
an unassailable lead.

Mark Noble, who has really found his form again in recent weeks was involved
in both goals; his threaded through ball gave Carew the opportunity to cross
for Baldock's opener whilst a clever ball over the top of the City defence
fed O'Brien for the chance to pull the ball back to Faubert shortly after.
It was no surprise that he was announced as the sponsor's Man of the Match
at the final whistle.

Despite coming out of the blocks faster after the break it was Leicester who
scored next when an unmarked Andy King converted a deep Richie Wellens cross
to bring the Foxes back into a game on the hour mark. However West Ham's
nerves were settled - albeit briefly - when Baldock grabbed his second of
the afternoon with a route one goal that began from a long clearance by Rob
Green and ended up in the back of the net courtesy of a Baldock volley (via
the head of Freddie Piquionne).

With 19 minutes remaining at that stage West Ham should have had the points
in the bag. However regulars at the Boleyn Ground this season know better
than that, having seen the Hammers concede so many late goal this season -
hence it was no surprise when King grabbed his second of the day with an
admittedly splendid volley with quarter-of-an-hour left to play.

That signalled a desperate push by the visitors for an equaliser and they
certainly had their chances; David Nugent perhaps being guilty more than
most for missing from close range as the final whistle approached. But West
Ham managed to do what they had failed to against Cardiff, Aldershot, Leeds
and Ipswich and keep the opposition at bay to secure an eighth league win of
the season - much to the relief of (most of) the 30,410 crowd.

West Ham Utd 3 Leicester City 2: match facts

West Ham Utd: Green, O'Brien, McCartney, Faye (Tomkins 64), Reid, Nolan,
Collison, Noble, Faubert, Baldock (Sears 86), Carew (Piquionne 31).
Subs: Boffin, Diop.
Booked: Carew (19), O'Brien (40).
Goals: Baldock (20, 71), Faubert (22).

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Bamba, St. Ledger, Konchesky, Abe,
King, Wellens, Vassell (Dyer 45, Johnson 73), Nugent, Beckford (Howard 55).
Subs: Weale, Pantsil.
Booked: Konchesky (29), Wellens (62).
Goals: King (58, 74).

Referee: James Linington (4).
Assistants: Brett Huxtable, Richard Kendall.
Fourth Official: Michael George.
Attendance: 30,410.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Baldock bags two in Irons win
Last updated: 29th October 2011
SSN

Sam Baldock scored twice as West Ham boosted their promotion bid and left
managerless Leicester's in tatters with a 3-2 win at Upton Park. The Foxes
had Academy boss Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell in charge following
Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure earlier this week. But there was to be no
respite for City under the makeshift management duo as Baldock's double,
either side of Julien Faubert's rare strike, secured victory for the
Hammers. The hosts were hanging on at the end, though, after Andy King's two
goals kept Leicester in the game and only the woodwork denied them a point
late on. Nevertheless, Sam Allardyce's second-placed side have now won three
of their last four outings to keep the pressure on leaders Southampton. They
bossed the opening stages and made the breakthrough after 20 minutes when
Mark Noble surged forward unchallenged to the edge of the area before
playing in John Carew. The big Norwegian striker chipped the ball across
goal from the byline and Baldock outjumped Lee Peltier at the far post.

And Leicester had barely kicked off when they found themselves two goals
behind, Faubert collecting the ball from Joey O'Brien 20 yards out and
thumping his first goal since February 2010 past Kasper Schmeichel. It could
have been three five minutes later when Baldock took aim from the edge of
the box but his deft curler came back off the crossbar. Leicester finally
woke up towards the end of the first half, and Robert Green, back in the
West Ham goal after a knee operation, pulled off a fine point-blank save to
deny Jermaine Beckford. After the break substitute Freddie Piquionne should
have added a third after a mazy run into the area but the Frenchman dawdled
on the ball and his shot was eventually blocked.

Instead Leicester pulled one back on the hour when former Hammer Paul
Konchesky crossed from the left and King nodded the ball back past Green.
West Ham almost hit straight back but Schmeichel pulled off a stunning save
to deny Baldock from six yards out. Leicester claimed they should have had a
penalty when King theatrically tumbled in the area but referee James
Linington was not fooled. And their chances looked bleak with 15 minutes
left as Baldock ran through on goal and coolly beat Schmeichel for his
fourth goal for the Hammers. But King smashed a fine 20-yard effort into the
top corner to set up a tense finish, and they came agonisingly close to
snatching a point but James Tomkins deflected Steve Howard's header onto the
crossbar.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce hails Hammers
Big Sam delighted with his players
Last Updated: October 29, 2011 7:02pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce labelled his West Ham side great entertainers after a
thrilling 3-2 win over managerless Leicester. West Ham maintained their push
for promotion thanks to goals from Sam Baldock (two) and a rare Julien
Faubert strike with Andy King scoring twice for Leicester. Allardyce was
full of praise for his players as they followed up Monday's win at Brighton
with another three-point haul.

Entertaining

"It was a great, entertaining football match," said Allardyce. "It looked
like we would be comfortable on the first-half performance, we got ourselves
two goals in front.
"But then a change of system and Leicester playing more direct caused us
some problems. "But Robert Green made some good saves and Sam got his two
goals. "The quality of all our three goals was very pleasing. All the goals
were earned rather than gifted. "The whole team are giving everything
they've got. It's back-to-back wins, great entertainment and the right
result."

Baldock scored either side of Faubert's second goal in four years, but his
strike partner John Carewdid not fare so well. Allardyce revealed he had to
take off the Norway international in the first half before referee James
Linington sent him off. "The referee said he booked him for persistent
fouling," added Allardyce. "His body strength means he is bigger than the
centre-half, but when the centre-half kept bouncing off him the referee was
giving free-kicks. "It would have been irresponsible of me to keep him on so
the referee spoiled our rhythm."

Disappointing

The Foxes had Academy boss Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell in caretaker
charge following the sacking Sven-Goran Eriksson. Stowell was disappointed
to lose the game, but was full of praise for their second-half showing at
Upton Park. "It's a disappointing result after that second-half
performance," said Stowell. "We gave it a right good go and with a bit more
fortune we might have got something. "They are resilient, they are good
lads, good players and they are desperate to do well for Leicester. "We are
just happy to be employed by Leicester. There are good players in that
dressing room and whoever does come in, it's all there for them."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Match Report: West Ham 3 Leicester City 2
October 29th, 2011 - 7:03 pm by Iain Dale
West Ha, Till I Die

After 45 minutes you'd have thought we'd have had this game well and truly
sewn up. Two nil up against a side which appeared to be one of the worst
teams to have played us this season. But this is West Ham we are talking
about. Sam had always said that teams he manages never lose from 2-0 up.
Well our lot did their best to prove him wrong today. But all's well that
ended well, eh?

Mark Noble was simply brilliant today. He sprayed the ball round the pitch
like he was Glenn Hoddle and tackled like he was Joey Barton. Our first two
goals were in large part down to him. And it was a 90 minute performance.
Scott Parker, eat your heart out. It was as near as a 10/10 performance as
you're going to see. And Sam Baldock wasn't far behind. When I see him play,
I see Tony Cottee. Yes, he looks that good. He could teach Piquionne a bit
about taking chances. He's now got 4 in 4. Carew has 3 in 3. Well, if they
both keep up this strike rate we should be in for some entertaining times.
Carew's importance to the team was emphasised by the fact that as soon as he
was taken off, we didn't look the same side. Piquionne just doesn't cut it.
He played better than he normally does, by never looked that dangerous.
Indeed, I can't remember the last time he scored. Luckily he doesn't appear
to be injured. David Gold has just tweeted he was taken off as they were
worried about a second yellow. The ref was so appalling that it was probably
the right decision.

Leicester's goals were both well taken by Andy King. The second was an
absolute screamer which Green could not have done anything about. The first
was avoidable, although I didn't see who should have been marking King. But
that's enough about Leicester. Let's talk Baldock.

His first goal was a typical poacher's goal. Indeed, when the ball was
crossed by Carew, I just couldn't see him getting to it first. But he did,
and that really set us up. The second, which followed a matter of seconds
later was the result of a superb crossfield pass from Noble. It was then
played back to Faubert who controlled it, then drilled it across the goal
into the far corner. A great finish. Interestingly he didn't run to any of
his teammates to celebrate. He ran back into the West Ham half and made a
gesture at friends in the West Stand. The third goal was an Allardyce
special. Baldock ran onto Green's long punt, ran at the defence down the
left and coolly placed the ball home. Pure class.

The only negatives from the game was the performance of Jack Collison who is
nowhere near his best. I wonder if he is playing in the right position.
Under Zola he always seemed to be at his best on the right. Elsewhere in
midfield I felt that Nolan played better and Faubert played well. He should
really have scored two, though.

Southampton won too, but we remain second, three points clear of third
place. And if we play our cards right and wallop Bristol City, we could be
top on Tueesday night.

It's been a good fortnight.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 3-2 Leicester: Sunday Mirror match report
Published 21:50 29/10/11 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce had to be cruel to be kind yesterday.
Allardyce took striker John Carew off during the first half of the 3-2 win
against Leicester to save the Norwegian from a red card. Carew was booked by
referee James Linington after 20 minutes for persistent fouling. Ten minutes
later, the Hammers coach sent substitute Freddie Piquionne on to replace
him. "I had to take him off before he was sent off," said Allardyce. "He had
five fouls given against him in the first 20 minutes. And once he was
booked, I was afraid he would get another card. "It disrupted our rhythm
having to change so early and the situation was difficult for me.
"There was nothing malicious in any of his challenges."

But Carew may still be in trouble. As the players came off at half-time, he
confronted Linington and there was finger-pointing while he made his case to
the official.
West Ham must now wait to see if Linington includes the exchange in his
match report. If he does, then he could face a ban – and with Carlton Cole
out with a knee injury, that would hit West Ham hard.

However the plus-point for the club is the form of Sam Baldock, who is
looking the bargain of the season after his £2.5million move from MK Dons.
He ended the deadlock after 21 minutes. Man-of-the-match Mark Noble broke
clear and gave Carew possession in the area. He floated up a high ball for
Baldock to convert with a header. Moments later West Ham went further ahead.
Joey O'Brien pulled the ball back and Julien Faubert drove home. Leicester
may be without a manager since the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson last
week but what they lack in leadership they make up for with grit. Cue a
second-half recovery in which Andy King headed home a cross from Ritchie
Wellens just before the hour. Cue West Ham unease. And cue another strike
from Baldock in the 71st minute. A long ball forward was headed on by
Piquionne and there was Baldock to sweep it past Kasper Schmeichel. But
Leicester were in no mood to surrender and King turned and shot from the
edge of the area three minutes later. Joint caretaker-manager Mike Stowell
said: "The players put in a good shift in the second half. We gave it a
right good go and with a bit more fortune we might have got something."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
COMEBACK FOR WEST HAM'S CARLTON COLE
Daily Express
Carlton Cole will hand West Ham a major boost when he makes his return
against Bristol City
Sunday October 30,2011
By Sunday Express Reporter

CARLTON COLE will hand West Ham a major boost when he makes his return
against Bristol City on Tuesday night. Cole has been out for nearly a month
with a knee injury and has missed the last three games. However, the England
striker has now resumed training. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce said: "We
aren't worried by Carlton's knee because it is long-standing. It just needs
some tender loving care."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM 3 LEICESTER CITY 2: WAKE-UP CALL FROM BALDOCK
Sam Baldock bagged another impressive brace to keep West Ham's promotion
charge on track
Sunday October 30,2011
By Sunday Express Reporter
Sundey Express

WHOEVER gets Sven-Goran Eriksson's job at Leicester will need to make an
alarm clock his first purchase. If Leicester had not taken last night's
extra hour's sleep early, the scoreline might have looked a whole lot
different. As it was West Ham stayed wide awake long enough to see off what
turned out to be a spirited challenge.
And as Sam Allardyce watched with relief, Sam Baldock bagged another
impressive brace to keep West Ham's promotion charge on track – thanks to
Eriksson's over generous old boys. Allardyce beamed: "Word will now be
reverberating around football that Sam has to be watched. "The quality of
our finishing was outstanding. Sam got up to a ball ahead of a defender who
was six inches taller than him. And all our goals were earned."

Big John Carew, not the speediest merchant, was allowed to get clear and
cross for Baldock (above) – not the tallest – to head the Hammers in front
as the Foxes dozed. Two minutes later Leicester were asleep again when
Julien Faubert was allowed all the room in the world to fire home the second
from 20 yards after man of the match Mark Noble set him up. Andy King headed
Leicester right back in it less than 15 minutes after the break. West Ham
really ought to have cleared Richie Wellens cross. They didn't and the
Hammers appeared to have paid the price for indolence . . . until young
Baldock popped up again. Frederic Piquione provided the pass but the little
man the Hammers paid MK Dons more than £2million for paid off another slice
of the fee with a superbly struck third goal.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 3 Leicester 2: Baldock brace sends Foxes crashing after Sven's exit
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 6:02 PM on 29th October 2011
Daily Mail

Two goals from Sam Baldock sent managerless Leicester spinning to defeat as
West Ham's promotion bid gathered pace. The Foxes had academy boss Jon
Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell in charge following Sven-Goran Eriksson's
departure earlier this week. But there was to be no respite for City under
the makeshift management duo as Baldock's double, either side of Julien
Faubert's rare strike, secured victory for the Hammers. The hosts were
hanging on at the end, though, after Andy King's two goals kept Leicester in
the game and only the woodwork denied them a point late on. Nevertheless,
Sam Allardyce's second-placed side have now won three of their last four
outings to keep the pressure on leaders Southampton. They bossed the opening
stages and made the breakthrough after 20 minutes when Mark Noble surged
forward unchallenged to the edge of the area before playing in John Carew.
The big Norwegian striker chipped the ball across goal from the byline and
Baldock outjumped Lee Peltier at the far post. And Leicester had barely
kicked off when they found themselves two goals behind, Faubert collecting
the ball from Joey O'Brien 20 yards out and thumping his first goal since
February 2010 past Kasper Schmeichel. It could have been three five minutes
later when Baldock took aim from the edge of the box but his deft curler
came back off the crossbar. Leicester finally woke up towards the end of the
first half, and Robert Green, back in the West Ham goal after a knee
operation, pulled off a fine point-blank save to deny Jermaine Beckford.

After the break substitute Freddie Piquionne should have added a third after
a mazy run into the area but the Frenchman dawdled on the ball and his shot
was eventually blocked. Instead Leicester pulled one back on the hour when
former Hammer Paul Konchesky crossed from the left and King nodded the ball
back past Green. West Ham almost hit straight back but Schmeichel pulled off
a stunning save to deny Baldock from six yards out. Leicester claimed they
should have had a penalty when King theatrically tumbled in the area but
referee James Linington was not fooled. And their chances looked bleak with
15 minutes left as Baldock ran through on goal and coolly beat Schmeichel
for his fourth goal for the Hammers. But King smashed a fine 20-yard effort
into the top corner to set up a tense finish, and they came agonisingly
close to snatching a point but James Tomkins deflected Steve Howard's header
onto the crossbar.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Baldock brace sees off Foxes
ESPN

Two goals from Sam Baldock sent managerless Leicester spinning to defeat as
West Ham's promotion bid gathered pace following a 3-2 win. The Foxes had
Academy boss Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell in charge following
Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure earlier this week. But there was to be no
respite for City under the makeshift management duo as Baldock's double,
either side of Julien Faubert's rare strike, secured victory for the
Hammers. The hosts were hanging on at the end, though, after Andy King's two
goals kept Leicester in the game and only the woodwork denied them a point
late on. Nevertheless, Sam Allardyce's second-placed side have now won three
of their last four outings to keep the pressure on leaders Southampton. They
bossed the opening stages and made the breakthrough after 20 minutes when
Mark Noble surged forward unchallenged to the edge of the area before
playing in John Carew. The big Norwegian striker chipped the ball across
goal from the byline and Baldock outjumped Lee Peltier at the far post. And
Leicester had barely kicked off when they found themselves two goals behind,
Faubert collecting the ball from Joey O'Brien 20 yards out and thumping his
first goal since February 2010 past Kasper Schmeichel. It could have been
three five minutes later when Baldock took aim from the edge of the box but
his deft curler came back off the crossbar.

Leicester finally woke up towards the end of the first half, and Robert
Green, back in the West Ham goal after a knee operation, pulled off a fine
point-blank save to deny Jermaine Beckford. After the break substitute
Freddie Piquionne should have added a third after a mazy run into the area
but the Frenchman dawdled on the ball and his shot was eventually blocked.
Instead Leicester pulled one back on the hour when former Hammer Paul
Konchesky crossed from the left and King nodded the ball back past Green.
West Ham almost hit straight back but Schmeichel pulled off a stunning save
to deny Baldock from six yards out. Leicester claimed they should have had a
penalty when King theatrically tumbled in the area but referee James
Linington was not fooled. And their chances looked bleak with 15 minutes
left as Baldock ran through on goal and coolly beat Schmeichel for his
fourth goal for the Hammers. But King smashed a fine 20-yard effort into the
top corner to set up a tense finish, and they came agonisingly close to
snatching a point but James Tomkins deflected Steve Howard's header onto the
crossbar.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 29

Daily WHUFC News - 29th October 2011

Olympic Stadium update
WHUFC.com
The club will continue to make sure supporters are at the heart of plans for
the future
28.10.2011

Following the club's recent communication on 11 October updating you on the
developments regarding the proposed Olympic Stadium move, we are aware that
supporters have many new questions.

West Ham United's bid, as we have advised supporters throughout the process,
focuses on delivering a world-class multi-use venue for the benefit of our
supporters, the local community, the rest of the UK and an international
audience.

Our entire plan focuses on ensuring first-class views for our supporters
whilst delivering a legacy for athletics. We see the move just down the road
as a move home to our origins in West Ham. Our commitment is and always has
been to driving West Ham United forward to enable us to compete at the
highest level.

You our supporters, the heartbeat of the Hammers, have been the driving
force behind our ambitions to grow the club to a level deserving of your
support.
Every step of the way our proposals have been fully informed by your
passionate responses to our questions, surveys and the ongoing dialogue
through fan forums, presentations and the Supporter Advisory Board. We know
that your priorities are seating, sightlines and security for the club's
future. These are our priorities too.
We still await further information regarding the Government's plans for the
Olympic Stadium post Games. These plans have always involved a tenancy of
some nature. This type of arrangement has proved successful elsewhere and
brings with it potential new benefits for the club.
Until we are fully informed of the proposed process going forward, we are
unable to share further information. We are closely monitoring the feedback
we sought following our recent statements. As the process moves on there
will never be a better time for consultation to help inform our decisions
going forward.
West Ham United with our partners the London Borough of Newham, great
diligence and a lot of hard work were able to deliver a robust bid to occupy
the Stadium from 2014/15.

Our bid was unanimously endorsed back in February. We re-state our belief
that our stadium works for football. It would be a world-class venue to
rival all others - a fitting stage for our proud club. Rest assured, it has
to work for you to work for us. We would never act in isolation and, as we
know more, so will you.
Please continue to provide us with your feedback via
olympicproject@westhamunited.co.uk

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Leicester City match preview
WHUFc.com
All the early team news and background for Saturday afternoon's big Boleyn
date with Leicester
29.10.2011

WEST HAM UNITED v LEICESTER CITY
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 2011
KICK-OFF: 3PM
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST

Introduction
• West Ham United entertain Leicester City in their 14th npower Championship
fixture of 2011/12 seeking their fourth home league victory of the season in
seven attempts. The Hammers have previously beaten Portsmouth (4-3),
Peterborough United (1-0) and Blackpool (4-0), drawn with Leeds United (2-2)
and lost to Cardiff City and Ipswich Town (both 0-1).

• The Hammers know a victory over the Foxes could put them top of the table,
with leaders Southampton hosting third-place Middlesbrough at St Mary's.

• Both of West Ham United's home defeats have come by way of goals in the
89th minute or later. Kenny Miller netted for Cardiff City on the opening
weekend of the season, while Lee Bowyer scored for Ipswich Town last time
out. Ross McCormack also secured a point for Leeds United with a last-minute
strike on 21 August.

• Leicester City are without a permanent manager following the departure of
Sven-Goran Eriksson on Monday. Academy director Jon Rudkin, goalkeeper coach
Mike Stowell and development coach Steve Beaglehole will take
joint-caretaker charge of the squad this afternoon.

• The Foxes go into the weekend 14th in the npower Championship table
following a 3-0 home defeat by Millwall last Saturday.
• Sam Allardyce and his players are seeking a second straight home victory
following their 4-0 win over Blackpool a fortnight ago.
• Victory will take West Ham United's all-time total of league points to
4,000.
• West Ham United have helped their hosts set stadium record attendances in
each of their previous two away matches at Southampton (St Mary's) and
Brighton & Hove Albion (American Express Community Stadium).
• Leicester City have not won away since the opening-day trip to Coventry,
drawing four and losing one of the five subsequent games and failing to
score in the last three.

Team news
West Ham United
• Robert Green (knee) and James Tomkins (groin) have been added to the
matchday squad.
• Carlton Cole will be absent agan after a minor ligament issue that saw him
miss the club's last three matches. He could be fit for Tuesday's visit of
Bristol City
• Matt Taylor (calf) is hoping to be back after the international break.
Henri Lansbury is definitely out for several weeks with a knee injury.
• Guy Demel is still being treated for a hamstring injury that has delayed
his debut.
• Gary O'Neil (ankle) is out with long-term ankle injury.
• Pablo Barrera and Jordan Spence are on season-long loans at Real Zaragoza
and Bristol City respectively. Ahmed Abdulla and Cristian Montano (Swindon
Town), Robert Hall (Oxford United), Herita Ilunga (Doncaster Rovers), Olly
Lee (Dagenham & Redbridge), Callum McNaughton (AFC Wimbledon), Frank Nouble
(Gillingham), Marek Stech (Yeovil Town) and Dominic Vose (Braintree) are all
out on temporary loans.
Leicester City
• The Foxes will be without captain Matt Mills, who is suspended after being
sent-off at Birmingham City on 14 October.
• Striker Paul Gallagher is available after coming through 70 minutes of a
reserve-team outing against Coventry City on Tuesday.
• Leicester City have allowed England Under-21 striker Martyn Waghorn to
join npower Championship rivals Hull City on loan until January 2012.

Last time out
Monday 24 October 2011
npower Championship
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Almunia, O'Brien, Reid, McCartney, Faye, Faubert (Baldock
90), Nolan, Collison, Noble, Diop (Sears 54), Carew (Piquionne 65)
Subs not used: Boffin, Moncur
Goals: Nolan 17
Saturday 22 October 2011
Leicester City 0-3 Millwall
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Konchesky, Bamba, St. Ledger, King,
Johnson (Fernandes 74), Wellens, Abe (Dyer 45), Beckford (Vassell 45),
Nugent
Subs not used: Weale, Pantsil
Last six meetings
18 March 2005 West Ham United 2-2 Leicester City (Championship)
7 August 2004 Leicester City 0-0 West Ham United (Championship)
12 January 2002 West Ham United 1-0 Leicester City (Premier League)
22 December 2001 Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
23 December 2000 Leicester City 2-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
23 August 2000 West Ham United 0-1 Leicester City (Premier League)
Overall record v Leicester City (all competitions) W 48 D 29 L 42
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2010/11 Premier League 20th (relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th
2008/09 Premier League 9th
2007/08 Premier League 10th
2006/07 Premier League 15th
2005/06 Premier League 9th
2004/05 Championship 6th (promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th
2002/03 Premier League 18th (relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th
Leicester City
2010/11 Championship 10th
2009/10 Championship 5th
2008/09 League One 1st
2007/08 Championship 22nd
2006/07 Championship 19th
2005/06 Championship 16th
2004/05 Championship 15th
2003/04 Premier League 18th
2002/03 Division One, 2nd (promoted to Premier League)
2001/02 Premier League 20th (relegated to Division One)

Referee
• Saturday's referee will be James Linington.
• Linington was appointed to the Select Group of assistant referees in 2006,
but has yet to be promoted to the Select Group of referees who officiate in
the Barclays Premier League.
• Linington will be taking charge of a West Ham United first-team fixture
for the second time in his career this evening, having previously controlled
the Hammers' 1-0 Carling Cup victory over Oxford United in August 2010.
• After giving up playing football at the age of 15, Linington moved into
refereeing and originally specialised in being an assistant referee through
his career in the professional game.
• After running the line in the 2006 League One play-off final at Cardiff's
Millennium Stadium, the official took charge of the 2010 League Two play-off
final between Dagenham & Redbridge and Rotherham United at Wembley in May
2010, having joined the National Group as a referee in 2008.
• Linington has yet to officiate at a West Ham or Leicester City fixture
this season, but has been in charge of three previous npower Championship
matches in 2011/12.
• He will be assisted by Brett Huxtable and Richard Kendall, while the
fourth official will be Michael George.

Us and them
• The following players have worn the colours of both West Ham United and
Leicester City during their careers - Syd Bishop, David Connolly, Tony
Cottee, Brian Deane, Les Ferdinand, George Hebden, Andrew Impey, Dai Jones,
David Kelly, Paul Konchesky, Colin Mackleworth, William Oakes, John Pantsil
and Norman Proctor.
• Barking-born Paul Konchesky played 70 times for West Ham United between
August 2005 and March 2007, scoring twice. The left-back netted one of those
goals in the 2006 FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool in May 2006.
• Ghana international right-back John Pantsil made 24 appearances for West
Ham United between August 2006 and May 2008.
• The largest crowd to witness a West Ham United versus Leicester City
fixture was the 39,000 who turned out to watch the Hammers defeat the Foxes
3-2 in Division Two on 10 April 1936.
• West Ham United's largest home victory over Leicester City was the 6-2
Division One success recorded on 21 September 1974. Billy Jennings and Bobby
Gould both scored twice, with Billy Bonds and Keith Robson also hitting the
target. Frank Worthington netted both goals for the Foxes in front of a
21,377-strong crowd. West Ham also recorded 4-0 home wins over Leicester
City in March 1928 and November 1968.
• Leicester City's biggest-ever win at the Boleyn Ground came in the shape
of a 5-2 Division One success on 11 September 1965. Geoff Hurst put West Ham
United two goals up before braces from Derek Dougan and Jackie Sinclair and
a late goal from Jimmy Goodfellow completed the Hammers misery. The result
constituted the third straight league game in which West Ham had conceded
five goals following defeats by Sheffield United (3-5) and Liverpool (1-5).
• Fifteen players have made their West Ham United debuts against Leicester
City - William Waugh (January 1922), Wally St Pier (October 1929), Frederick
Gamble (April 1931), Jack Weare, Charlie Walker (both September 1936), Ken
Wright (September 1946), Eric Parsons (January 1947), Bob Wyllie, Eddie
Lewis (both November 1956), Alan Sealey (April 1961), Roger Hugo (March
1964), Ian Bishop, Trevor Morley (both December 1989), Sergei Rebrov and
Teddy Sheringham (both August 2004).
• Mark Noble is the sole survivor from West Ham United's previous meeting
with Leicester City on 18 March 2005. The midfielder started the
Championship fixture which finished in a 2-2 draw at the Boleyn Ground.
• Kasper Schmeichel made his Manchester City debut in Sven-Goran Eriksson's
first match in charge - a 2-0 Premier League win at West Ham United on 11
August 2007.
• Sam Allardyce has an unbeaten record against Leicester City as a manager.
In five matches at Bolton Wanderers, Big Sam guided the Trotters to two
victories and three draws against the Foxes.
• Kevin Nolan netted twice in Bolton Wanderers' 5-0 Premier League victory
at Leicester City in August 2001. Nolan also scored in the reverse fixture,
a 2-2 draw at the Reebok Stadium in December 2001.

Up next
• West Ham United will play host to Bristol City at the Boleyn Ground on
Tuesday, while Leicester City will go to Burnley.

General information
• Fans can pay on the day. For the latest ticket information, click here. To
order online, visit www.whufcboxoffice.com
• Saturday's weather forecast is for a cloudy day with sunny intervals. The
temperature is set to peak around the 18C mark.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on Leicester
WHUFC.com
The manager admitted he did not know how Leicester City would react to their
tough week on Saturday
28.10.2011

Sam Allardyce was in good spirits when facing the press before Saturday's
major meeting with Leicester City at the Boleyn Ground. The manager began
with a special statement regarding El Hadji Diouf that he wanted to address
before getting the news conference up and running. He then went on to
confirm positive squad news and confirmed his belief that his Hammers would
be facing a difficult test against Leicester, even with the departure of
manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

What is the latest with El Hadji Diouf?

El Hadji Diouf, all considerations taken by myself and myself only, I feel
that he needs a lot of catching up with regard to his lack of conditioning
at the moment. He is not ready to play for a considerable period of time. By
the time he would be fit enough to play, all my injured players would be
back and available to play. The fan response, of course, I have considered
as well - so all three things in consideration, I haven't offered El Hadji
the short-term contract we were first talking about.
Obviously I had to bear in mind the situation at the club with the fans. It
was sensible to take everything into consideration and the most important
thing is we are going pretty well at the moment and there shouldn't be any
distractions. The sensible thing to do always is to consider all the
possible consequences and then make the decision. He's a good player and he
did well for me at Bolton, but I'm aware of the issue with the fans here at
West Ham.

What's the team news?

The injuries are improving. Robert Green is fit. He played a behind closed
doors game on Monday against Tottenham. He came through that fine. He has
trained for the rest of the week so joins the squad. James Tomkins has
joined in the squad for the last few days so he is back, which boosts the
strength in depth very well.
The rest of the players are obviously still not available. Guy Demel still
hasn't performed yet which has been a real disappointment. He is nearly
ready to join in the training. The long-term injuries of course are Henri
Lansbury and David Bentley. By the end of the international break, nearly
all we would hope - Gary O'Neil and David Bentley aside - will be ready with
Henri certainly a lot closer with his knee injury. Matt Taylor is a small
calf strain, not a tear. Carlton Cole's knee has responded to some treatment
and he could be available for Tuesday. We don't want to suffer any more
injuries from there on.

How much is a worry is Carlton's knee?

It is not really a worry because it is long-standing. You accept there are
times when the knee flares up and he just needs a little tender loving care
to get him back out playing again.

Have you looked elsewhere at any other players to potentially come in?

We have been but there is not enough availability of players with the type
of quality that we need to be able to loan. Loans are massively important
part of every football club outside of the Premier League today, even within
the Premier League lots of loans are occurring from one Premier League club
to another so those players that have been available we have got. We used
the loan system for three players and everyone is the same in the
Championship. We also have ten out on loan at the moment, gaining
experience. The loan system means everyone has done a lot of that. There is
very few players available and of the right quality to make an impact on
your team.

Do you have a big decision in goal on Saturday?

Manuel [Almunia] has done extremely well. The lad has been great for us and
he has really enjoyed the time he has spent with us. We will find out on
Saturday. Rob is back at least two weeks ahead of schedule. I have to give
some credit of course to the surgeon first and foremost ... and then the
rehabilitation by the medical staff. Robert's application as well is the
most important thing after you get the other two right. He has pushed
himself for hours and hours every day to speed up his recovery.

How does the situation at Leicester affect West Ham? Is it positive or
negative?

Generally, it is a team [without a manager] for some bizarre reason goes and
gives more. I can't think why a football player goes and plays better after
a manager has been sacked. It is talked about a lot in the media. The
disappointing thing for Sven is he wasn't given the time with a team he felt
was capable of promotion. He is very sad he didn't get the opportunity to do
that but he was sure that whoever takes the reins will get them up.
Certainly with the quality of player they have I understand what he is
saying.

Are they one of the main threats to you?

Anybody that goes into the transfer market puts themselves under extreme
pressure to be and do what it wants to do as quickly as possible. As always
the problem is building and bonding and uniting a new group of players with
yourself and your staff as quickly as possible. When you make a lot of
changes and you create a different atmosphere and a different infrastructure
that takes time for everyone to adjust to. The bottom line at the end of the
day is you have still got to get results. No matter how much you need the
time, you have to make your own time. The only way you can make time is to
get results as quickly as you possibly can. As difficult as it is, you've
got to make sure you do that. We will just have to wait and see [what
happens on Saturday] but it is about us being on top of our game. If we are
on top of our game, reverting back to the Blackpool performance then we are
going to cause Leicester a lot of problems.

How do you respond to people saying that wasn't a West Ham performance on
Monday?

What were West Ham's performances away from home before I came? Lose, lose,
lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, draw, lose, lose, lose, draw…If
they want me to play the West Ham way and lose, I don't want to be here.

Are the team scared to play here?

I wouldn't say scared. We have been anxious and sometimes the anxiety has
caused us to try and force a victory and try and force ourselves into
delivering the victory everyone wants and we have left ourselves exposed on
several occasions to the counterattack and not been able to cope with that.
We got a really good performance against Blackpool and, let's face it, it
should have been six or seven but then at the other end, there were little
or no opportunities for Blackpool to score or sneak a goal at an important
time of the game when it stood at maybe one-nil. A good side in control of
the game, finishes people off and that's what we are striving to do.
Hopefully we can do that again on Saturday. Every game here in the
Championship and away from home, is so competitive. The teams are very well
organised, players are committed and give their all. That's why every result
is a difficult one to get.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Leicester
Page last updated at 11:12 GMT, Friday, 28 October 2011 12:12 UK
BBC.co.uk

Npower Championship
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 29 October Kick-off: 1500 BST Coverage:
Watch highlights on The Football League Show; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and
BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website

TEAM NEWS
Henri Lansbury (knee) and Matt Taylor (calf) recently joined West Ham's
lengthy injury list. James Tomkins (groin), Carlton Cole (knee), Guy Demel
(hamstring), Gary O'Neil (ankle) and goalkeeper Robert Green (knee) are also
out.

Leicester are without Matt Mills, who is serving a three-match ban. But Jon
Rudkin and Mike Stowell, who are in caretaker charge, can call upon Paul
Gallagher following the forward's recovery from an ankle injury.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• West Ham have won 48 competitive matches against Leicester, and lost
42, with 29 drawn.
• This is their first meeting in seven seasons, and Leicester are
vying for a first league victory at Upton Park in 11 years.
• The Hammers need to score four times to total 200 league and cup
goals against the Foxes.

West Ham United

• Second-placed West Ham, three points behind Southampton, are aiming
to collect a fourth win in seven league outings, and an eighth of the
season.
• All their league wins have been against clubs outside the current
top 10.
• Victory will take their all-time total of league points to 4,000.

Leicester City

• Managerless Leicester have lost just four league games this season,
but two of those have come in the last three outings.
• Last Saturday's 3-0 home reverse to Millwall cost Sven-Goran
Eriksson his job, even though it left the Foxes just two points off the
play-off places.
• But they have not won away since the opening day trip to Coventry,
drawing four and losing one of the five subsequent games and failing to
score in the last three.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce rules out Diouf signing
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 28th October 2011
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has revealed that he will not be signing El Hadji Diouf. The
West Ham manager, who came under heavy fire this week for considering
signing a player who spat at West Ham supporters back in 2002 whilst a
Liverpool player has just revealed that the deal is off. Explaining the
decision, Allardyce said: "Everyone seems to be aware that we've had El
Hadji Diouf training with us but I've decided today not to offer him a
short-term contract. We've had a good look at him over the past few days but
because he's had no real football for some time his conditioning wasn't
good. "With that in mind - and the possibility that some of our injured
players will be hopefully have recovered in the not too distant future - we
won't be looking at a deal. "Obviously I had to bear in mind the situation
at the club with the fans. It was sensible to take everything into
consideration and the most important thing is we are going pretty well at
the moment and there shouldn't be any distractions."

Although Allardyce is understood to hold the final say with regards to
transfers it is thought that the board pleaded with him not to sign Diouf,
whose mere presence at Chadwell Heath in the past fortnight has caused a
great deal of bad feeling between the manager and the fans.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manny's swansong
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 28th October 2011
By: Staff Writer

Manuel Almunia could be in between the sticks for the last time tomorrow
when managerless Leicester City provide the opposition at the Boleyn Ground.
The on-loan goalkeeper's short stint as stand-in for the injured Rob Green
comes to an end after this weekend's fixture, with the England international
pencilled in to return for Tuesday's visit of Bristol City, Almunia's spell
at west Ham has seen Sam Allardyce's side pick up seven points from a
possible 12, with United having won twice (1-0 at Brighton in midweek and
4-0 at home to Blackpool), drawn once (2-2 at Crystal Palace) and lost once
(0-1 at Southampton) since his arrival. Meanwhile City, who fired manager
Sven Goran Erikkson earlier in the week following an underwhelming start to
their 2011/12 Championship campaign have placed Academy Director Jon Rudkin
and first team coach Mike Stowell in temporary charge for the game. "West
Ham away is one of the first fixtures you would have looked at so everyone
is very much looking forward to it," Rudkin told lcfc.co.uk. "It's a great
opportunity to go down there with the determination to get a result. "It
will be tough. They've got a number of good players, but we've got some very
good attributes ourselves and we'll be looking to maximise that and pose one
or two problems for West Ham."
West Ham supporters wishing to attend but currently without a ticket will be
able to pay on the door tomorrow, with cash turnstiles operating for the
West Upper and Bobby Moore Upper stands.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Utd v Leicester City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 28th October 2011
By: Preview Percy

We had to drag Preview Percy out of the pub to rewrite this following
Leicester's change in management this week.

We say 'pub'; it was 'Peppermint Hippo' - more of a lap dancing club where
they have an OAP special every Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, 'OAP
Special' refers to the women on show so we probably did him a favour.

Here's his look at Saturday's match followed by John Northcutt's look at
some of the history between the clubs.

And so the season moves on as we play host to Leicester City for a 3pm
kick-off at the Boleyn that, thankfully, the TV companies have forgotten all
about. Transport? Well whilst Upton Park is open there are closures to the
more central bits of the District lines and some parts of the DLR so you may
want to plan your journey. Weather? No idea – you're on the internet, look
it up.

The visitors come to the Boleyn in 13th place on 19 points, some five points
behind ourselves. Inconsistency seems to have been the watchword for our
opponents who have managed to beat Southampton and Derby but somehow managed
to contrive to lose at home to both Bristol City and Millwall.

Their overall record reads Won five, Drawn four and Lost four, whilst away
from whatever their ground is called this week they have won just the once
(1-0 at Coventry), drawn four (at Forest 2-2, Barnsley 1-1 goalless draws at
both Boro' and Cardiff), and lost once (at Birmingham).

It's probably fair to say that whilst the League table is remarkably
concertina-ed at present, 14th place is not quite where Leicester's owners
had anticipated them being at this time of the season. The Thai-based Asian
Football Investments group (which sounds suspiciously like the sort of mob
that used to sabotage floodlights a few years back) took over in August 2010
from Milan Mandaric, about whom I will say nothing since m'learned friends
seem to be all over any reporting of events linking him to a certain
ex-manager and ex-MD of ours.

Rather inconveniently, after I'd written the first 1,538 words of this
preview, the Thai owners decided to dispense with the services of Sven Goran
Eriksson meaning lots of radical rewriting has been required. And will I get
an extra bag of Werthers Originals for writing this from the editors? Of
course not. And the sell by date on the last packet they sent me was so long
ago I reckon they bought it off Ken Tucker as well.

Meanwhile, while the Thais work out who they want next, academy coach John
Rudkin and goalkeeper coach Mike Stowell will be in charge.

Pre-season, the bookies made them favourites along with us to go straight
up, largely on the back of the money spent by the owners in the summer. Much
of that money seemed to go on players familiar to the now former manager
Sven Goran Eriksson, who took over from Paulo Sousa just over a year ago
following a poor start to 2010/11.

Eriksson has, obviously, been all over the newspapers since he first arrived
on these shores. So much so that it may have escaped your notice that he is
actually a football manager by profession who once managed the England
national team, rather than just somebody who is just well-known for being
famous . Eriksson has made himself fairly rich on the back of his severance
pay from leaving managerial jobs over the years and no doubt this latest
agreement will put off his having to adopt a new career as a Big Issue
salesman for a little while yet.

First choice 'keeper is Kaspar Schmeichel. Schmeichel is of course son of
the famously red-nosed ex-Man Utd 'keeper Peter . Schmeichel junior started
his career at Man City where Eriksson was manager at the time. City's
signing of both Shay Given and Joe Hart meant that first XI opportunities
were severely limited and, following a spell or five on loan, he was allowed
to move to Notts County (manager Eriksson S) in 2009.

There were weird goings on at Meadow Lane in those times. Schmeichel arrived
whilst new owners seemed to be awash with cash and he was on a decent wedge
for the 4th Division. However much of the promised cash was illusory
(familiar story eh?) and when the dust settled the Magpies were struggling
to meet his wages.

At the end of 2009/10 County released the player from the final three years
of his four-year contract with Schmeichel in return sacrificing the three
years' worth of £15k a week he was contractually entitled to. He then went
to Leeds but when Leicester (Manager SG Eriksson) came knocking this summer
he was reunited with his old boss. If Eriksson ever returns to international
football expect a change of nationality.

Their skipper will be missing for this match. Matt Mills started off at
Southampton and had a spell at Man City where his career overlapped that of
a manager by the name of Eriksson, though Mills made but a handful of first
XI appearances at that time. Doncaster, then Reading followed before
Eriksson pounced in the summer to make Mills Leicester's record signing at
£5m (£5.5m with add ons), making Mills captain in the process.

His absence is down to a suspension for a two-footed tackle in their defeat
to Birmingham that I missed, nodding off while watching the match in the tv
lounge in the rest home, probably as a result of the stuff they put in the
tea. Regular readers will know that we do love a good middle name about here
so it is with great delight that I add Matthew Claude Mills to our list,
even if he's not playing.

Talking of names, we can't omit that of former Preston defender Sean St
Ledger. Or, to give him his full splendid moniker: Sean Patrick St
Ledger-Hall. St Ledger is a regular in the Republic of Ireland team and was
another of the summer signings, coming in for a reported £1.2m from the
Deepdale club.

St Ledger's first brush with fame saw him feature in the toe-curlingly awful
documentary that Sky did on Peterborough United a few years back. The
programme, featured Ron Atkinson acting as "advisor" to the club, managing
to nause everyone off in the process, with the reported exception of
Peterborough's bank managers who were more than happy with the £100,000 Sky
were said to have paid the club.

St Ledger was shown in heated arguments with the then manager Steve
Bleasdale who eventually walked out of the club an hour before a match. St
Ledger joked that he would sue Sky for making him look like a "bad boy", a
comment taken seriously by no one apart from our tabloid press for whom
"soccer star sues Sky" was an easy, if inaccurate, headline to print.

The full back berths in the squad include two ex-Hammers. Paul Konchesky is
an alumnus of the 2006 FA Cup final side, scoring with a finely placed shot
that was in no way a rather flukey, mishit cross. Since leaving the Boleyn,
Konchesky has had spells at Fulham and Liverpool.

Liverpool's supporters subjected the player to dogs' abuse throughout his
career and went ballistic when Konchesky's Mum ventured to suggest that they
were "scum" for doing so, thus breaking the unwritten law that thou shall
not criticise anything about the city or people of Liverpool. The arrival of
Dalglish saw the player move to Forest on loan before a permanent move to
Leicester was sealed this summer. Konchesky won a few England caps between
2003-05. Have a guess who the manager was then.

The other ex-Hammer is John Pantsil or Paintsil, depending on whether you
believe him or his passport. Pa(i)ntsil spent a short and not particularly
distinguished career at the Boleyn and most of his appearances were made
from the bench. His obvious keenness never quite compensated for a lack of
talent, though it did lead to his becoming something of a cult figure in his
time with us.

The "better than Kaka" chant was a particular hit amongst those who like
their football humour served with a large dose of irony. As far as I can
make out Pantsil has never before been at a club which has employed Sven
Goran Eriksson as manager, which is why he seems to have been on the bench
most of the time with Lee Peltier usually being preferred in the right back
slot.

In midfield they have Michael Johnson who is in on a season long loan at
Manchester City where he played under the managership of you know who.
Johnson's career never quite took off as one might have expected at
Eastlands and the arrival of the oil money up there meant that first XI
opportunities were going to be at a premium for the player.

Up front they have a number of familiar names to choose from. David Nugent
has been about for a while, winning one England cap as a scoring sub in a
Euro qualifier against Andorra joining Paul Goddard and Francis Jeffers in
that particular quiz question. No, Eriksson wasn't England manager at the
time – it was, of course, Steve McLaren. Nugent was another summer arrival,
coming in on a free once his contract at Portsmouth expired. Much of his
time at Fratton Park was actually spent on loan at Burnley with Pompey
struggling to pay wages at the time.

Another familiar name is that of Darius Vassell. Stop me if you've heard
this but the player was previously managed by Mr Eriksson at both Manchester
City and, before that, England. It was always a mystery to me how he used to
look half decent playing for England despite often failing to impress at
club level.

Ultimately it's your club form that gets you the international recognition
and it's a fair bet that he won't be adding to his 22 caps, the last of
which was gained in the defeat to Portugal in Euro 2004 during which he
added himself to the ever-increasing list of England players to have missed
in a penalty shootout. Vassell arrived in summer (yes another one) from
Turkish outfit Ankaragucu.

Yet another summer arrival was Jermaine Beckford. Beckford came in from
Everton where he failed to impress having joined from Leeds in 2010. That
didn't stop the Toffeemen charging Leicester £2.5m for his services.
Beckford is uncapped at international level. Former Hammer Tommy Taylor
asked him to turn out for Grenada in 2009 but nothing appears to have come
of the request and Beckford has been linked in recent months with Jamaica.

For us, my spies tell me that James Tomkins is progressing well but this
might be a few days early for the defender, similarly Matt Taylor is still a
doubt. Demel's hamstring is beginning to take on mythical status akin to
Devonshire Flu or Kieron Dyer Anything I presume we will see him eventually
but just not yet. Almunia will continue in goal I believe.

Monday night was a strange one wasn't it. How many times have we seen what
happened to Brighton happen to us at home over the years – particularly the
last time we were at this level. One was reminded that when eyebrows were
made at his appointment, Mr Allardyce made comment to the effect that we'd
be more likely to play football at home – away would be a different matter.

This was the ultimate embodiment of that statement, though I wonder if this
was a reversion to "away plan A" prompted by the defeat at Southampton,
where, initially at least until Taylor's injury forced a reshuffle, we'd
started with a more attacking outlook in mind.

Though being as pleasing to the eye as the first Mrs Percy first thing in
the morning (shudder) the plan was executed well I suppose, though had we
played Brighton a few weeks earlier before they went off the boil I wonder
would things have been different. The opposition showed a naivety and a lack
of patience that led to Almunia having but one save worthy of the name to
make and I have to say that, particularly when Sears came on and ran at
people, we looked to have a bit more cutting edge.

I would hope that we would have a bit more ambition for this one,
particularly at home against a team that must be in some sort of disarray
following the Swede's latest pay-off. I know we have this habit of being the
sequence busters of football – if you haven't won in ages, or have a player
who hasn't scored for eons or if you've just sacked your manager seeing West
Ham next up on the list will bring a smile to your face. The bookies must
have lost a fortune to Hammers fans when Torres scored against us last year.


However, I do think that we'll win this one – if we go for it more in the
manner of a home side chasing points rather than an away side aiming to
avoid defeat. My prediction this week is there fore for a 2-1 win –so, given
my track record, get your money on any score but that if you like a flutter.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met: You have to go back to March 2005 for this one as a brace
from Edward Sheringham saw us twice come from behind to pick up a point.
Marlon Harewood missed a late penalty which would have given us all three
points. Earlier we'd drawn 0-0 up there on the opening day of the season.

Referee: James Linington – another for whom this will be a first time in
charge at the Boleyn. Has spent most of his season in Divisions 3 and 4 –
this will be his third match at this level this term. Comes from the Isle Of
Wight so don't be surprised if he stops the match to point at the bright
shiny things when the floodlights come on.

Danger Man: David Nugent – top scorer this season. Also Beckford is without
much in the way of goals this season and given that sequence-busting record
we have….

Daft fact of the week: The double decker South Stand at their old Filbert
Street ground was an exact copy of our old West Stand, apart from the little
box precariously perched at the front of the upper tier from which Bill
Remfry played James Last records. They thought about copying the old Chicken
Run as well but didn't want to spoil the Midlands supporters with too much
luxury.

Stat man John: Northcutt's corner

Bad boys: sent off

Don Hutchison (h) 1994-95; Igor Stimac (h) 2000-01; Rufus Brevett (a).

They played for both

Sid Bishop; Albert Carnelly; David Connolly; Tony Cottee; Les Ferdinand;
Andy Impey; William Jackson; Peter Kyle; Colin Mackleworth; Fred Milnes;
Mike Newell; Chris Powell; Norman Proctor; Jimmy Quinn; Keith Robson; Nobby
Solano.

Three Hammers who became Leicester manager

Frank O'Farrell (1968-1971); Jimmy Bloomfield (1971-1977); Martin Allen
(2007).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
No West Ham deal for Diouf
Allardyce concerned about lack of fitness and 'bad-boy' image
Last Updated: October 28, 2011 3:19pm
SSN

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will not be signing
El Hadji Diouf. The Senegalese had been on trial with the Championship side
in a bid to win a contract after having his deal terminated at Blackburn in
the summer. But having previously signed Diouf while boss of Bolton and
Blackburn, Allardyce has decided against offering the former Liverpool
player a contract for a third time. The Hammers said on their official
twitter feed: "Sam Allardyce has confirmed that El Hadji Diouf will not be
signing for West Ham United."

Allardyce had been searching for a 'missing link' in his squad as he bids to
guide the Hammers to an immediate return to the Premier League. But Diouf,
who spent the second half of last season on loan at Rangers, will not be
staying at Upton Park due to a lack of fitness and fears over a 'bad-boy'
image.

Future

Allardyce said in his Evening Standard column on Friday: "Everyone seems to
be aware that we've had El Hadji Diouf training with us, but I've decided
today not to offer him a short-term contract. "We've had a good look at him
over the past few days, but because he's had no real football for some time
his conditioning wasn't good. "With that in mind and the possibility that
some of our injured players will be hopefully have recovered in the not too
distant future, we won't be looking at a deal. "Obviously I had to bear in
mind the situation at the club with the fans. It was sensible to take
everything into consideration and the most important thing is we are going
pretty well at the moment and there shouldn't be any distractions. "The
sensible thing to do always is to consider all the possible consequences and
then make the decision. "He's a good player and he did well for me at
Bolton, but I'm aware of the issue with the fans here at West Ham. "There's
always been so-called 'bad boys' in football - Eric Cantona is just one that
springs to mind - but it's not for me to criticise any West Ham supporter
for having a stance on this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I
respect that."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Leicester preview
Last updated: 28th October 2011
SSN

Team news ahead of Saturday's Championship clash between West Ham United and
Leicester City at Upton Park. West Ham will still be without a host of
players.
The Hammers recently lost loanees David Bentley and Henri Lansbury to
long-term knee injuries, fellow midfielder Matt Taylor has calf trouble,
defender James Tomkins a groin problem and striker Carlton Cole a knee
injury. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia plays the last game of his initial
month-long loan spell from Arsenal as Robert Green continues to recover from
knee surgery. Midfielder Papa Bouba Diop will be checked over after going
off with a dead leg during the 1-0 win at Brighton on Monday. Sam Baldock
could start alongside John Carew if boss Sam Allardyce opts to go with two
up front at home.

Leicester begin life after Sven-Goran Eriksson with a difficult away trip.
Academy director Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell have been preparing the
team since the Swede's departure on Monday. They inherit a squad with no new
problems following the surprise 3-0 home defeat to Millwall last weekend,
which proved to be Eriksson's final game in charge. Captain Matt Mills will
complete his three-match suspension but Paul Gallagher could be in
contention to return to the squad. The forward has been sidelined since
suffering ankle ligament damage during the 1-1 draw at Barnsley on September
10. Gallagher has been training with the rest of the squad for around 10
days now and played 70 minutes for the reserves this week. Rudkin and
Stowell must decide whether he is fit enough to be considered. Leicester
hope to have a new manager in place by the time Leeds visit the King Power
Stadium next weekend.

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West Ham fans' fury blocked Diouf deal
Published 22:00 28/10/11 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce admits that fan power played its part in not offering striker
El Hadji Diouf a West Ham deal. The Hammers boss has been hit by a major
injury crisis at a critical stage of the season and invited the Senegal
hitman to have a trial with the east London club. Hadji Diouf has faced
nothing but controversy after he was accused of spitting at Celtic fans
almost 10 years ago. He was then found guilty of the same offence against
Portsmouth defender Arjan de Zeeuw. Big Sam still felt he could get the best
out of a player who displayed his top form under his guidance at both Bolton
and Blackburn. But a number of Irons supporters lodged heavy objections to
the proposed move.

And with Hadji Diouf, 30, being well below the required fitness levels,
Allardyce pulled the plug on the deal. He said: "It is not my job to scroll
through everything that has been said, but I considered the response from
the fans. "I wanted to know what it was like and I took that into
consideration and made the decision. "Hadji Diouf's a good player and he did
well for me at Bolton, but I'm aware of the issue with the fans here at West
Ham. "With his lack of conditioning at the moment he needs a lot of catching
up and is not ready to play for a considerable time. "By the time he would
be fit enough, all my injuries would be back and available to play. Taking
those factors into account, I have not offered El Hadji the short-term deal
we first talked about."

Allardyce was upset with comments made about his team's 1-0 victory over
Brighton on Monday. He was accused of not getting West Ham playing
attractive football,­ but with the Irons second in the Championship, he
feels that is complete nonsense. The Hammers aim to heap more misery on
Leicester – who sacked Sven Goran Eriksson this week for not getting the
right results – at Upton Park on Saturday. But Allardyce is not prepared to
change his tactics. He added: "It is bull**** as normal. West Ham's displays
away from home before I got here were lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose.
"If they want me to play the West Ham way and lose, then I don't want to be
here. If we are on top of our game we are going to cause Leicester a lot of
problems."

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Steve Lomas in line to land SPL job
Published 21:29 28/10/11 By Footbal Spy
The Mirror

Steve Lomas is in talks with SPL side St ­Johnstone about a shock move to
become their boss. The former Northern Ireland skipper, who played for
Manchester City, West Ham and QPR from 1991-2007, met with Saints on Friday
and is the surprise favourite. Lomas, who was West Ham's reserves boss last
season, could get the nod over the weekend.

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SAM ALLARDYCE'S GOT IT JUST BRIGHT
Daily Star
29th October 2011 By BRIAN WOOLNOUGH

FANS who knock the tactics of West Ham boss Sam Allardyce should ask
themselves a question: Do you want to win or not? Allardyce has wrongly been
dismissed as a long-ball merchant for too long. Brighton fans baited him
during their 1-0 home defeat to the Hammers on Monday night. So who will
finish higher in the Championship this season – Brighton or West Ham? I know
who my money is on

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Allardyce turns down opportunity to sign out of shape bad boy Diouf after
trial
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 9:09 PM on 28th October 2011
Dialy Mail

El Hadji Diouf will not be signing for West Ham after manager Sam Allardyce
decided the striker wasn't in the right condition. The Senegalese
international has been without a club since the start of the season but has
had offers from the Championship and beyond. However the option of Upton
Park is no longer there. 'Everyone seems to be aware that we've had him
training with us, but I've decided today not to offer him a short-term
contract,' Allardyce said. 'We've had a good look at him over the past few
days, but because he's had no real football for some time his conditioning
wasn't good. 'With that in mind and the possibility that some of our injured
players will be hopefully have recovered in the not too distant future, we
won't be looking at a deal. 'Obviously I had to bear in mind the situation
at the club with the fans. It was sensible to take everything into
consideration and the most important thing is we are going pretty well at
the moment and there shouldn't be any distractions. 'The sensible thing to
do always is to consider all the possible consequences and then make the
decision. He's a good player and he did well for me at Bolton, but I'm aware
of the issue with the fans here at West Ham.' Doncaster Rovers remain
interested in the 30-year-old.

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