Daily WHUFC News - 26th October 2012

Vaz on the mend
WHUFC.com
Ricardo Vaz Te has started his rehabilitation after undergoing surgery on
his dislocated shoulder
24.10.2012

Ricardo Vaz Te is determined not to let injury ruin his return to the
Barclays Premier League. The West Ham United winger had made an outstanding
start to the 2012/13 campaign, only for his progress to be slowed by a
dislocated shoulder suffered against Arsenal on 6 October. Vaz Te, who had
chalked up two assists and a goal in his opening seven league appearances,
underwent keyhole surgery on Monday evening and has already begun his
rehabilitation. "I've got four weeks now during which there is not much I
can do, so I just have to make sure I relax and look after myself," said the
No12, who was in upbeat mood at Chadwell Heath this week despite having his
right arm supported in a sling. "Basically, I was at Chadwell Heath until
Friday and now I have a week off to either go home or simply to chill out
and relax. "Then I'll come back for two weeks and that completes the first
four weeks, which are just steady recovery. After that, I will begin to
increase my workload for the next six weeks. "After that, the socket
involved should be totally healed and only then can I push on. Until then,
the work is mild and I just have to relax and make sure I get the movement
back."

Vaz Te knows he will have to be patient as he recovers, having experienced
an extended period on the sidelines with a serious knee ligament injury
earlier in his career. "I have learned from my experiences over the years,
because I have had many injuries. The initial stage is the most important
one because that is when the healing process starts. If you don't heal
properly then you are never right and are always playing catch-up. "I have
to make sure I fully relax and let the socket and everything heal and only
after that can I actually push. Overall, they have given me 12 weeks, but
obviously if I can return earlier I will do but only if it is safe to do
so."

Vaz Te's knee issues saw him make just three Premier League appearances
during his final three seasons with Bolton Wanderers between 2007 and 2010.
After regaining his fitness and form, the winger fired West Ham back to the
top-flight with a memorable npower Championship Play-Off final winner
against Blackpool at Wembley in May this year. He is now determined to make
up for those lost seasons by stamping his mark on the Barclays Premier
League second time around. "It was very painful. Any injury is devastating
at any stage of your career but for me now I just have to concentrate on
recovering properly and making sure that, when I get back, I am fully fit
rather than halfway there and break down again. "I did that in the past, so
this time I have to make sure that when I do come back I make it count,
rather than forcing it. It is frustrating because I have to put my plans on
hold. I have got a lot of things I want to achieve, obviously. "Football has
moments when you have to take your opportunities and I felt like I was doing
so. I was part of a great team, which we are, and now somebody else is going
to get the chance. I wish the team well and I just have to make sure that
I'm ready to challenge for my place again when I come back.

Vaz Te's rehabilitation has already been aided by the support he has
received from his Hammers fans and team-mates, friends and family. "The
support has been overwhelming. Before, when I got my injuries, people didn't
know about them and I always used to get blamed for not playing but I
actually couldn't play.
"Now, it is great to know that they have the knowledge and the fans know
that I can't do my work. It's not that I'm not trying my best or that I'm
relaxing too much. Hopefully they will see me back to my best soon. "One
thing I have learned about this league is that it is such a hard physical
challenge. I could have come back at 80 per cent after six or eight weeks
without having an operation, but that wouldn't have been right. I would have
been a liability to the team and I didn't want to do that. If I am on the
pitch, I want to make it count. That is why I'd rather take a little extra
time to come back stronger than before. "My best friend is always around me
and he's always making sure my frame of mind is in the right place. My
family always support me, too. "I have no reason to not be in the right
frame of mind because everything is going perfectly, really. This injury
slows me down a little in my plan but it's OK because it's part of football.
I lost three years to injury before, so as long as I don't let it get me
down and I see the bigger picture, I'll be fine. "A friend of mine once said
to me 'Every setback is an opportunity to make a greater comeback' so it's
OK."

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Big Sam on Wigan Athletic
WHUFC.com
Big Sam has spoken to the media ahead of Saturday's trip to the DW Stadium
25.10.2012

Sam Allardyce has held his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's
Barclays Premier League visit to Wigan Athletic. Big Sam revealed the latest
team news, injury concerns and his hopes for Saturday's trip to the DW
Stadium. With the Hammers suffering a 4-1 Capital One Cup third-round defeat
last time out against Wigan in September, the Hammers will be hoping to
avenge that result and earn another three points in the process.

Sam, could you start by giving us the latest team news ahead of Saturday's
game?

SA: "We have only got Joey O'Brien back fit from our injury list so we will
still have five players out. It is very important for us because we were
very short on defenders last week and young Jordan Spence had to play as a
substitute in the end. There is obviously a lot of confidence in the team
going to Wigan, but we would have liked to have a few more players back
fit."

You have had an excellent start to the season, but do you feel that these
injuries could derail your season?

SA: "I think that you want your strongest squad available for selection in
every game. With no international breaks coming up, the games come thick and
fast so those players will be very important for us. The quicker we get them
back the better. There is very little we can do about some injuries such as
Ricardo Vaz Te's because it is simply a question of time. We have also had a
long layoff for Jack Collison, who has missed the entire summer and all of
the season so far, so we need to get the likes of Matt Taylor and Guy Demel
back as quickly as we can."

Andy Carroll has made a fantastic start to his West Ham United career but is
yet to score. Does that play on his or your minds?

SA: "I hope not because it does not play on my mind at all. Strikers always
want to get off the mark,so I am sure he has thought about it but the most
important thing is to win games of football. In my short time here, getting
our strikers to score goals has not been very important because we have not
needed them much until now. Modibo Maiga scored a great goal last week, but
Carlton Cole and Andy are yet to get off the mark, so hopefully they can
step up and score a few goals."

I suppose a positive of that is that you are still winning games and it
shows there are goals coming from all areas of your team?

SA: "Yes, of course. We have been spreading them around a bit and I think
that we have had good diversity in our goalscorers. Kevin Nolan is our top
scorer with four goals, having had an outstanding start to the season, and
Mark Noble scored two last week. It is quite ironic, really, because 90 per
cent of our goals have been scored in the first half and last week we scored
all four in the second half. We have got a chance to go to Wigan and repeat
the performance we gave against Queens Park Rangers and if we can do that we
will give them a hell of a game on Saturday."

Despite Wigan Athletic being an established Barclays Premier League side,
will your side go there confident of winning the game?

SA: "I think that getting three points away from home is a very difficult
task in the Barclays Premier League. I suppose you could say it looks a
possibility because Wigan have yet to win a game at home this season and we
have been playing very well. Every game is difficult and I was very pleased
we got out first away win at QPR which followed the draw at Norwich. Any
points are a positive and we hope we come away with the win but if we take
anything from the game I will be pleased."

You will have had expectations and targets prior to the start of the season
but, after such a good start, have they shifted at all?

SA: "No, not really. I think we have had an excellent start but if you look
at the next few fixtures after Wigan it is going to be extremely difficult.
I do not think the target has shifted but I think what we have got is a nice
cushion of points if things get a little bit tight in the next month or so.
It is likely it could because of the size of teams we are playing but the
cushion we have means we will still be able to stay around mid-table."

Have you been surprised by the start West Ham United have made to the
season?

SA: "I have been pleasantly surprised but I think we knew we had to hit the
ground running. I am not overly surprised because we worked hard in the
summer and completed most our transfer business pretty early. The effort
made during the summer by the staff to ensure the players were physically,
mentally and tactically ready was excellent. The fixture list was also very
kind to us and only Arsenal in our first eight games was a team in the top
six. That said we have taken full advantage of that opportunity and the only
real disappointment has been the 3-0 defeat to Swansea City."

West Ham United were relegated following their last trip to the DW Stadium,
so do you think Saturday will be a mentally tough game for some of the
players?

SA: "I am not so sure how many are here still to be honest with you. Looking
at the side I think there are only Winston Reid, Mark Noble, James Tomkins
and
Carlton Cole so I do not think that will be an issue on Saturday. Those
players will remember the bitter disappointment of being 2-0 up and losing
3-2 but I do not think it is our make up for that to happen again. We are a
very different team now and if we go 2-0 up I believe we can protect that
lead."

You held a Disabled Fans' Forum earlier this week. Was that something you
enjoyed taking part in?

SA: "Yes, I did, but a couple of the players turned up before me which is
always very important too. Like any supporters having a good Q&A session and
interacting with them makes them feel appreciated and good about themselves
and the club."

There were a few boos at the end of the Capital One Cup third-round defeat
by Wigan Athletic, but will this game be a lot different?

SA: "There are a lot of boos after every game you lose but I made eight
changes for that game which was obviously too many as a lot of youngsters
came in. We deserved to lose but our ability to come back from that has been
excellent. Everybody likes a cup run but our fantastic position in the
Barclays Premier League has a lot to do with me resting players in the cup
competition. Sadly we lost but we have benefited in the long run."

You currently sit seventh in the Barclays Premier League, so do you still
see this season as a relegation battle?

SA: "We never saw it as relegation battle from the star. We were simply
focused on finishing as high up the table as we could. The players all know
what we have to do to go where we want to go and that is mid-table, so
hopefully it happens at the first time of asking. Of course survival is the
ultimate but, if we can do better than that in year one, I will be
delighted."

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Allardyce confident West Ham's QPR win will provide confidence ahead of
Wigan trip
Last Updated: October 25, 2012 4:46pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce is confident West Ham's win at QPR will provide the side with
the confidence needed ahead of their clash with Wigan. The trip to Loftus
Road on October 1 was the side's first away win of the season and the
Hammers go into Saturday's game at the DW Stadium sitting seventh in the
table. And following his side's 4-1 thrashing of Southampton last weekend,
Allardyce is challenging his players to replicate that performance on their
travels. "We have got a chance to try and go back-to-back," said Allardyce.
"We had a very, very good performance and a very good victory at QPR last
time out away from home so that should give us a lot of confidence going to
Wigan."

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has regularly been using a 3-4-3 formation this
season and Allardyce knows his players must adapt their approach
accordingly.
Allardyce added: "I just think we have got to be tactically right on
Saturday because of the system they play, we come across that system hardly
ever. "So we have got to make sure we can combat that system tactically and
make sure we nullify its strengths and try and expose its weaknesses, if we
do that we will give ourselves a great chance of getting a result." West Ham
have recorded four wins in their opening eight league games on their return
to the top flight.

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Rio's Return?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

You knew it was bound to happen. Once differences of opinion were aired
between Sir Alex and Rio Ferdinand over the recent 'kick it out'
controversy, you knew that the prospect of a return to West Ham would be
floated sooner or later. And so it has come to pass, with various sources
suggesting that Rio has reached a stage of no return at Man Utd and West Ham
are keen to give him a contract. Now, apparently, Sam Allardyce has been
quoted confirming that he would consider a move for Rio Ferdinand next
summer if he was available on a Bosman move. Of course, he qualified this by
also stating that it would all come down to whether he was released by Man
Utd and what other clubs were interested in him.

At least publicly, Rio now appears to have reconciled his difference of
opinion with Sir Alex. However, at 33 years of age, it is more than probable
that Ferdinand is coming to the end of his time at Old Trafford. If so, it
is possible that Ferdinand's current contract could expire this summer and a
Bosman move might be on the cards. He is an experienced defender and could
be a short-term asset for another club. Granted, he suffered a recent period
of reccurring injury problems, but he seems to overcome that so far this
season. So, the question is, would a West Ham move for Rio be a good one?
Would such a deal be advisable purely on footballing grounds, as opposed to
the inevitable sentimentality attached to a prospective move back Upton
Park? After all, Rio's return is likely to be very sentimentally appeaing to
most fans. Yet, based on his statement, Allardyce obviously feels that he
could still do a job for us. And it is unlikely Allardyce would even
consider it if he was not totally convinced that it would be a positive move
for the club.

Elsewhere, Sam Allardyce has spoken of the importance of getting it right
tactically for the Wigan match. Apparently, Wigan are deploying an unusual
3-4-3 formation, which needs to be countered. Perhaps by starting with a
4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formation? Whatever formation Allardyce adopts, we will
probably need to use width effectively to expose their three man defence. In
the recent League Cup defeat, Wigan bossed the midfield, had too much time
on the ball and passed right through us. Arguably, they will not be able to
do that with Noble, Diame and Nolan giving the Wigan players minimal time on
the ball and our team, as a unit, pressing and defending high up the pitch.
This really is another testing match for us, but I am confident that we will
rise to the occasion and get a result. As a Hammers fan, you are always
cautious when you are playing a team that have not won at home, or a striker
who can not buy a goal, because invariably, in the past, we have always
seemed to be the fall guys against whom they inevitably break their duck!
Hopefully, that unfortunate tendency, along with many others, have been
eradicated under the Allardyce regime. We shall see?

I am going to stick my neck out and predict a 1-2 away win for the Hammers.
COYI!

SJ. Chandos.

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London calling: West Ham admit interest bringing Rio Ferdinand back
The Mirror
25 Oct 2012 22:30

Rio Ferdinand could be offered a dramatic return to West Ham this summer -
according to boss Sam Allardyce. The defender, who has yet to sign a new
contract at Old Trafford, could be available on a free transfer at the end
of the season with the Hammers keen to lure the player back to east London.
Ferdinand, who turns 34 next month, began his career at Upton Park before
making an £18million move to Leeds back in 2000 before switching to
Manchester United two years later. The Peckham-born star, whose brother
Anton also played for West Ham, is already reportedly being tracked by Major
League Soccer clubs Chicago Fire and Thierry Henry's New York Red Bulls. But
a return to London for the exiled England star could hold appeal with West
Ham still close to Ferdinand's heart. The Hammers are no strangers to
launching extravagant bids having tried to sign Carlos Tevez on loan from
Manchester City while in the Championship last season. Allardyce also
managed to convince Liverpool to give up their £35million signing by sending
him down to London on a season-long loan after lengthy negotiations.

And while the Allardyce has ruled out an immediate move for Ferdinand, he
insists a summer swoop for the defender remains a real possibility. He said:
"I think it's highly unlikely that we would consider Rio Ferdinand at the
moment. "But if it's at the end of the season and he hasn't got a new
contract and he is going to leave Manchester United then we would be
interested if we can sustain our Premier League status. It depends entirely
on Rio. "The chairman likes to think big and it's nice to have a chairman
who thinks big. "Everything has to be in place. If Rio wants to come back,
the financial package and so on and so forth and whether they want to
release him or not. "If he wants to live back in London eventually, which is
were he comes from, which is what quite a few players like to do before the
end of their careers then that might be an advantage for us."

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Going global: Allardyce could work anywhere in the world, insists Martinez
The Mirror
25 Oct 2012 22:30

Sam Allardyce has the ability to work anywhere in the football world
according to rival Roberto Martinez. West Ham boss Allardyce has long been
tarred with the old-fashioned English-style brush but Wigan chief Martinez
reckons there is far more to him than that. And Allardyce, sometimes mocked
by his critics when he says he could work at Real Madrid or Barcelona, has a
staunch supporter in Spaniard Martinez who faces him tomorrow. Martinez has
become pals with Allardyce and learned the thinking qualities behind the
gruff mask and the image that he gets. He said: "What you don't see with Sam
is the approach he has with sports science. You don't expect that from him
straight away, but you find out when you dig deeper. "You can also see that
he brings in incredible experience of the game. He is very curious about all
of these things. He looks for the different percentages to use to help the
players. "It's why he has been so successful with foreign players. Look at
the side he had at Bolton with Youri Djorkaeff, Fernando Hierro, Jayjay
Okocha and Ivan Campo. "You have to be something special to understand those
cultures and get them to play together. That is the hardest part, making a
team out of that. "I don't think he would have a problem working anywhere in
the world and managing a dressing room. "There are not many dressing rooms
that have been so multi-cultural. It is a real skill for a manager to get
the best out of players if they have cultural differences and you can
understand them. "Sam has done that in a great manner."

Meanwhile Martinez has told sidekick Graeme Jones to stay with him - rather
than take off to become a manager at Burnley. Assistant Jones is on the
short-list at Turf Moor but Martinez said: "We are in the middle of a very
important season. I would never allow the staff to be distracted until we
finish what we set out to achieve. "I wouldn't look into it now, we are
really focused on what we want to do. He is a massive part of it. It is the
wrong time, halfway through the season, to speak about any individual's
future roles. "In the summer is when you need to speak about that. He is
developing into a very special man in football. We don't want to lose him."
Meanwhile, Allardyce has admitted interest in bringing Manchester United
defender Rio Ferdinand back to Upton Park.

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