Daily WHUFC News - 31st January 2013

Macca on Fulham defeat
WHUFC.com
Assistant manager Neil McDonald on Wednesday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League
defeat at Fulham
31.01.2013

Neil McDonald believes West Ham United can take heart from their performance
in Wednesday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Fulham. The Hammers'
recent indifferent run of results continued at Craven Cottage, but the
assistant manager believes his side were unfortunate to lose in west London.
West Ham fell behind to a controversial Dimitar Berbatov goal early on,
despite the Bulgarian appearing to be offside, and were still behind going
into the break. The visitors roared out of the blocks after half-time and
were level within three minutes when Kevin Nolan expertly finished Mark
Noble's low free-kick. However, just 60 seconds later, slack defending
allowed Hugo Rodallega to head in Damien Duff's cross to put Martin Jol's
side back in front. And West Ham's misery was complete when Joey O'Brien
deflected the ball into his own net in added-time, condemning the Hammers to
a defeat that drops them to 13th in the table. "We were disappointed because
our performance was higher than it has been away from home," said McDonald.
"I thought we played some excellent stuff and mixed the play up really well,
playing through the midfield and dominating the second half. "I thought we
created chance on chance so to come away with nothing is hugely
disappointing considering how we played. "We feel as if their first one is
offside and we could have maybe had a couple of penalties ourselves so that
makes it even worse. We're all disappointed but we'll be in on Thursday
licking our wounds and ready for the game on Saturday against Swansea, when
we need to get some points on the board."

The assistant manager admitted the nature of Fulham's ultimately decisive
second goal was particularly difficult to stomach. "At the training ground
we work on it so that when we do score, we don't concede as quickly as what
we did. It's not just one person, but the whole team who have to try to win
the ball back and try to force Fulham back so they can't create a chance.
"We haven't stopped the cross, which is disappointing, and we certainly
haven't dealt with the ball inside the box, so we've been clinically put to
the sword, I suppose. "We certainly shouldn't have conceded a second goal
like that and we haven't conceded a goal like that during the season. We've
got to make sure we don't do it again, because when we scored the goal we
were right on top and we had Fulham under pressure. "We were hoping it was
only a matter of time before our goal came, so it knocks the stuffing out of
you to concede so soon afterwards when we were putting them under pressure."

Last season, West Ham plundered a club-record number of away wins, but it is
now just one point from a possible 21 on the road. So, why are the Hammers
failing to impose their high-pressure game on teams away from home like they
did in the npower Championship? "First, it is certainly a lot harder when
you come away from home in the Premier League, but we are vastly more
encouraged by our performance. "At Arsenal, I think we had ten minutes when
they were absolutely outstanding and everything they did dropped to them and
they put the ball into the back of the net, they were clinical and killed us
off. I don't think Fulham were like that. "What encouraged us was how many
chances we created and how much football we played in their half. We put
them under pressure, we need to be more clinical ourselves."

One player West Ham hope will help them to punish their opponents in front
of goal is Andy Carroll, who returned from two months out with a knee injury
as a second-half substitute. The England centre forward worked Mark
Schwarzer with a low shot within seconds of his introduction and later fired
an effort over.
"He is going to be very important," McDonald confirmed. "We have lots of
players back fit and that's probably the strongest bench we've had this
season. Everyone is coming back to fitness now and there is going to be one
hell of a competition for places and that's good."

West Ham return to the more plentiful surroundings of the Boleyn Ground on
Saturday, when Swansea City are the visitors. Michael Laudrup's team have
recently reached the Capital One Cup final, and the assistant manager is
hoping they may have one eye on their big day out at Wembley, instead of
being fully focused on the Barclays Premier League. "Our home form has been
very good and we'll try to play on the front foot and create chances. We'll
certainly be doing that against Swansea on Saturday. "We have to try to take
advantage of everything we possibly can and we need to win our home games if
we want to go up the league and put ourselves in a better position than we
are at the moment. "All newly-promoted teams go through these little
patches. We were encouraged by the performance even if we were hugely
disappointed with the result, because we played on the front foot and
created chances. If we can keep that going for the rest of the season, we'll
be fine."

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Fulham 3 West Ham 1
By Tim Oscroft
BBC Sport

Fulham fought back after squandering an early lead to beat West Ham at
Craven Cottage. A header from Dimitar Berbatov saw Fulham take the lead
after 10 minutes despite suspicions of offside. Kevin Nolan reacted to a
quickly-taken free-kick to equalise just after half-time but Hugo
Rodallega's header restored Fulham's lead within a minute. Mladen Petric's
shot from a tight angle went in off West Ham's Joey O'Brien to secure the
win in stoppage time. The result saw Fulham leapfrog over West Ham, now
without a win since New Year's Day, to ease worries after a run that had
seen Martin Jol's side slip down the table. The game's first chance came
after less than 30 seconds when Joe Cole spurned a good opportunity to shoot
wide, but it was the home side who took the lead after just 10 minutes.

Damien Duff's free-kick from the right of the West Ham box floated over a
packed penalty area, before flicking off Brede Hangeland's chest to the
lurking Berbatov on the far post. The Bulgarian nodded the ball past
Jaaskelainen for a simple goal but, together with the West Ham defence, he
looked to the officials to check whether he would be flagged for offside.
Despite replays suggesting that he was, the goal stood to give Berbatov his
eighth of the season. The former Manchester United striker, celebrating his
32nd birthday, was at his languid best as Fulham held their visitors at bay
on the cushion of the early goal. Bryan Ruiz and Rodallega built on neat
work from Berbatov in several moves, with Ruiz drilling a shot at
Jaaskelainen, who also reacted quickly to dive at Rodallega's feet to snuff
out another chance. Cole's early miss apart, West Ham's only other chance of
note in the first half came on the half-hour, when Kevin Nolan saw his
close-range header bounce a yard wide of the post.

Only their second league victory of 2013, Martin Jol's side leapfrog above
Sam Allardyce's West Ham, with a 3-1 victory which they had to work ever so
hard to get. Hugo Rodallega's goal came only 40 seconds after the equaliser
from Kevin Nolan. Berbatov, brilliant in the first half, got the first
albeit from an offside position. Berbatov continued to pose a threat, going
on a loping run late in the first half before shaving the post with his shot
from just outside the area. West Ham looked like a different side in the
opening exchanges of the second half, and they were level three minutes
after the re-start when Kevin Nolan span away from Berbatov at a
quickly-taken free-kick to shoot home from an angle. But Fulham hit back
immediately through Rodallega, who climbed above two West Ham defenders to
head a Damien Duff cross past Jaaskelainen. The flurry of goals roused both
sides, with Mark Schwarzer making a fine save low to his left to deny
another angled effort from Nolan. Berbatov was in the action again with a
shot flashing across Jaaskelainen, but after appearing to tweak a hamstring
his contribution ended with 15 minutes remaining. Andy Carroll went close to
marking his first taste of action since 28 November with a goal within a few
seconds of replacing midfielder Cole, forcing Schwarzer into action with a
low shot from the edge of the area. But the hosts held firm and they sealed
their three points on 90 minutes when Petric, who had replaced Berbatov, saw
his shot from the tightest of angles finally roll in off the unlucky
O'Brien.

Fulham manager Martin Jol said : "West Ham were two points above us, so we
needed this win. We had some good games lately, but could not get the
results. We had a lot of draws, we should have won the Swansea game so we
were struggling. "We had to play Man City and Man United away from home, and
we've got to play United again on Saturday which is not going to be easy for
us. In between we had to play West Ham, and we did what we had to do
tonight. "They were very important, vital points to us and it was vital to
them as well. I'm happy because we got the points, and we're on 28 points
now."

West Ham assistant manager Neil McDonald said : "We work very hard in
training that when we do score we have to keep it tight, unfortunately we
didn't stop the cross and we let him (Rodallega) get his chance which was
disappointing for us. We very rarely concede goals like that. "We have a lot
of positives to take, we created a lot of chances and we have people coming
back, which adds to the squad and hopefully we'll have better results in the
remaining games."

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Paul Robinson: West Ham close in on deal for goalkeeper
BBC.co.uk

West Ham are closing in on a deal for Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
The 33-year-old former England international has fallen out of favour at
Ewood Park in recent months.

Paul Robinson factfile
Born: 15/10/1979 in Beverley
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 14.2st
Honours: 2008 League Cup
Clubs: Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds Utd, Blackburn Rovers.
England career: 41 caps

The clubs are close to reaching an agreement on a deal that could see West
Ham goalkeeper Stephen Henderson move in part-exchange. Robinson has yet to
agree personal terms with West Ham, but his relationship with manager Sam
Allardyce is expected to ensure a deal is struck. The former Leeds
goalkeeper was first choice at Blackburn under Allardyce during his spell as
manager. Robinson has privately expressed a preference to remain in the
north of England because of family reasons, but the offer from West Ham may
prove too good to turn down.

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Fulham return to winning ways with 3-1 victory against West Ham
Last Updated: January 30, 2013 11:01pm
SSN

Fulham returned to winning ways after recording just their third victory in
16 Premier League games thanks to a 3-1 home success against West Ham.
Birthday boy Dimitar Berbatov gave the hosts the perfect start with a goal
after just 10 minutes.

Best of the Match

Man of the match: Dimitar Berbatov gets the award after scoring on his 32nd
birthday and proving he's still got it.
Goal of the match: Hugo Rodallega's effort to put Fulham ahead was an
important goal, but Damien Duff's left-wing cross was simply sublime
Moment of the match: Andy Carroll looked a handful when he came on and
immediately tested Mark Schwarzer. Maybe a sign of things to come!
Save of the match: The Australian made an important stop to deny Nolan
scoring his second goal of the game in the second half as he tipped his
curler wide of the far post.
Talking point: Are West Ham in freefall? And can they hang onto their main
man Mohamed Diame? Will this win inspire Fulham to surge up the table?
However, the visitors hit back three minutes into the second half with Kevin
Nolan netting to restore parity, but the lead lasted just 33 seconds as Hugo
Rodallega fired the Cottagers back in front.

And Martin Jol's side made sure of all three points after an unfortuante own
goal by Joey O'Brien in stoppage time. Jussi Jaaskelainen was forced into
action in the eighth minute, parrying away a fierce Bryan Ruiz effort from
20 yards. Fulham pressed and soon broke the deadlock, with Berbatov nodding
home just 10 minutes in. Damien Duff sent across a free-kick from the right,
which looked to take the slightest of touches off Ruiz as it made its way to
Berbatov to head home. It was a moment of luck for the hosts as the
Bulgarian was offside when the ball was whipped in - something the forward
seemed aware of given he looked at the linesman before celebrating. West Ham
showed impressive fight by the Thames, levelling things up through captain
Nolan in the 48th minute.
Mark Noble played a quick free-kick that caught the hosts off guard and
Nolan did well to fire a low left-footed strike from an acute angle past
Mark Schwarzer.
Parity lasted for just a minute, though, as Duff burst down the left flank
and sent in a cross that Rodallega reached ahead of West Ham's defenders to
bundle home. Andy Carroll replaced his former Liverpool team-mate Joe Cole
and forced Schwarzer into action moments into his first appearance since
November 28th. But the victory was secured in stoppage time when O'Brien
inadvertently put into his own goal from Mladen Petric's cross-shot. It was
just Fulham's second league win of 2013 as they moved above their opponents
into 12th position in the standings.

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Panic Stations or Steady As She Goes?
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

Presenting a radio show while trying to follow the Hammers' fortunes is
sometimes a depressing task. Especially on two successive Wednesday nights
in January. From the reports I have read this was yet another truly deserved
defeat. What on earth has happened to the team which until December boasted
the second best defensive record in the Premier League? Well, I have little
idea, but we have to hope that Sam Allardyce does, otherwise we are in for a
very difficult couple of months indeed. We're not scoring goals and we're
conceding them by the bucketload. A fatal combination. The rot needs to stop
on Saturday.

Many of you will be feeling a sense of panic at the situation we now find
ourselves in.but before we go overboard, let's recognise that we're still in
13th place, seven points off the relegation zone. It is indeed conceivable
that if we don't soon put a few points on the board, we will indeed find
ourselves in a relegation scrap, but let's not press the panic button too
soon.

But a key to our future will be the retention of Mo Diame. This might have
been his last game for us, and by all accounts he played appallingly. Let's
hope the Arsenal and Spurs scouts were present.

Tomorrow is transfer deadline day. I'll try to keep a thread running
throughout the course of the day, even though I will be at work from mid
afternoon. I suspect we will see a little action both in and out of Upton
Park.

Meanwhile, have a drink, put a cold towel over your forehead and keep calm.

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Rat catchers? West Ham chase Romania captain Razvan - and Blackburn's
Robinson
The Mirror
30 Jan 2013 22:30


West Ham are locked in a three-way European fight to land Shakhtar Donetsk's
Razvan Rat, writes Darren Witcoop. Rat, 31, who captains Romania from
left-back, is also wanted by French giants Marseille and Turkish outfit
Besiktas. The Hammers want extra cover at the back before Thursday's
deadline, despite already snapping up ex-Middlesbrough full-back Emmanuel
Pogatetz on loan this week.

* WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce is also swooping on former employers Blackburn
to sign forgotten keeper Paul Robinson, writes Alan Nixon. England
international Robinson has been told he can leave the Championship club to
get his wages off the payroll and he is set to sign for Hammers to compete
with fellow veteran Jussi Jaaskelainen. Blackburn manager Michael Appleton
is taking Hammers reserve keeper Stephen Henderson as part of the deal - the
pair worked together at Portsmouth before Henderson had to be sold by the
troubled club.

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West Ham assistant manager Neil McDonald upset with refereeing decisions
Last Updated: January 30, 2013 11:20pm
SSN

Assistant manager Neil McDonald slammed some of the decisions made by
referee Chris Foy after watching West Ham fall to a 3-1 defeat at Fulham.
Dimitar Berbatov set Fulham on their way with an earlier opener from what
appeared to be an offside position, only for Kevin Nolan to equalise three
minutes into the second half. Hugo Rodallega restored the hosts' lead and an
own goal by Joey O'Brien sealed only their second win of 2013, to lift them
above their opponents and back into mid-table. The Hammers are just seven
points clear of the relegation zone in 13th and are winless in four league
matches and six games in all competitions now. "We were disappointed that
we're not putting the chances away at the minute," McDonald told Sky Sports.
"That seems to be costing us as well as refereeing decisions. Their first
goal wasn't just one person standing in an offside position, but three of
them, so it's hard to take. "We came out in the second half and forced the
issue. We put Fulham on the back foot and we're pleased with lots of aspects
of our play but disappointed that we conceded another three goals. "Form the
start of the season, if we're in this position, then I'd say we would be
very, very happy. If we keep on playing the way we are playing and we
tighten up, then I'm sure we'll be fine and the form will turn around."

McDonald was pleased with the introduction of Andy Carroll as he made his
first appearance in 11 matches. He added: "We created some good chances and
felt we should have two penalties in the second half."

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