Daily WHUFC News - 20th February 2013

Manchester United match postponed
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's home fixture with Manchester United will be re-arranged
for a new date
13.02.2013

West Ham United's Barclays Premier League home fixture with Manchester
United, originally scheduled for Saturday 9 March, has been postponed. The
Red Devils' visit to east London will now be re-arranged after Sir Alex
Ferguson's side reached the FA Cup with Budweiser sixth round courtesy of a
2-1 fifth-round victory over Reading on Monday evening. A new date for the
fixture has yet to be agreed and a further announcement will follow in due
course.

Match tickets previously purchased for the original match will still be
valid for the re-arranged fixture. To purchase your seat now for the visit
of Manchester United, click here. Supporters should note that two other
Hammers fixtures have been moved to new kick-off times. The Hammers'
Barclays Premier League trip to Liverpool has been put back a day to Sunday
7 April, with kick-off at 1.30pm. This is because the original date for the
fixture clashes with the Grand National at Aintree.

West Ham's trip to face champions Manchester City has been selected for live
television coverage by Sky Sports at 12.45pm on Saturday 27 April. However,
supporters should note that, if either Manchester United or Arsenal are
competing in the UEFA Champions League semi-final the following Tuesday, the
trip to the Etihad Stadium will be moved to Sunday 28 April 2013 at 4pm.

Ticket news for both of these away fixtures will be confirmed in due course
on whufc.com and in the Official Programme.

Supporters can purchase tickets for the Barclays Premier League 3pm kick-off
at Stoke City on Saturday 2 March now, as these are on General Sale. To do
so, click here or call 0871 529 1966 via Option 3 (Calls cost 10p per minute
plus network extras).

Seats are also selling fast for the 8pm visit of Tottenham Hotspur on Monday
25 February. The eagerly-anticipated London derby will see the club mark the
20th anniversary of the passing of the late, great Bobby Moore with a series
of special events and guests.

Fans should note that all standard tickets for the Barclays Premier League
trip to Chelsea on Saturday 16 March have now sold out.

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Ruddock adapting to defensive role
WHUFC.com
Pelly Ruddock is growing into his new role at the heart of the Development
Squad defence
19.02.2013

Though Pelly Ruddock joined West Ham United a box-to-box midfielder, the
former Boreham Wood youngster is now getting to grips with the demands of
playing centre-half, as he continues to impress in the Development Squad.
Ruddock, who made the switch from Boreham Wood in December 2011, has now
started each of the Hammers' last seven Barclays Under-21 Premier League
fixtures, having earlier featured six times as a substitute. The 19-year-old
took his place in an unfamiliar back-three in Friday's 1-0 reverse to
Southampton, alongside first-year scholar Amos Nasha and second-year Frazer
Shaw. Though West Ham were to come unstuck, Ruddock played a considerable
part in another accomplished defensive display. "It was different [playing
in a back three], you've got to have that in your armoury to play different
positions, so it was alright and I felt we played well," he told West Ham
TV. "We were very solid, firstly the back three worked well and then went to
the back four, which also worked well. We were unlucky to concede and we
felt very strong at the back. "Amos and Frazer were good. Being so young,
first and second years, it's a good experience for them and just helps them
with their development. It was a good performance by our boys, unlucky for
it to be 1-0 but hopefully next game we can correct that."

As for his new-found role at the heart of the back line, Ruddock is
embracing the experience, confirming he is very much learning on the job.
Meanwhile, the teenager remains hopeful that his performances might lead to
a first-team bow before too long. "I'm adapting to centre-back well," he
added. "It's just another position that I can play, showing the manager what
I can do. Central midfield is my natural position, but I'll happily play at
centre-back. "I'm playing well. Game by game I'm learning more and on the
training pitch, learning from other players so it's good at the moment.
Hopefully I can make the bench or play a senior game for the first team, and
go on from there, but we'll see how that goes."

Looking ahead to next Tuesday's trip to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers,
Ruddock is targeting a third win of their Elite Group campaign, with one eye
on closing the gap on runaway leaders Tottenham Hotspur. "Hopefully we can
get another three points there and climb up the table. It's possible to
catch Spurs, it was a close game between us, so hopefully they slip up and
we can get more points on the table."

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Brabrook pays tribute to Moore
WHUFC.com
Hammers and England winger Peter Brabrook shares his memories of the late,
great Bobby Moore
19.02.2013

Twenty years ago this Sunday, West Ham United and England's greatest-ever
defender passed away. Bobby Moore OBE, the first Hammers captain to lift the
FA Cup and the only man to skipper England to FIFA World Cup glory, was just
51 when he lost his battle with bowel cancer in February 1993. In a
week-long tribute to Moore, the official website, West Ham TV and the
Official Programme for the Barclays Premier League visit of Tottenham
Hotspur on Monday 25 February will feature a series of interviews and
features paying homage to West Ham's No6. Former West Ham and England winger
Peter Brabrook shared victory in both the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 Cup
Winners' Cup finals with Moore, a player and a person he holds in the very
highest regard. "He's probably the greatest player this football club has
ever had and probably the greatest they will ever have," Brabrook told West
Ham TV."One of the nicest people you'll ever meet as well. A lovely fella, a
lovely fella to be around, a lovely fella to be out with! He was a
tremendous lad. "Twenty years seems a long, long, while ago, it will be
great to be at the ground on Monday to honour a great player."

This week, West Ham TV will bring you interviews with those who knew Moore
best, including his daughter Roberta and his former West Ham, Fulham and
England team-mates. A special 100-page commemorative Official Programme is
also being published for the visit of Spurs, complete with exclusive
interviews with West Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, broadcaster Jonathan
Pearce and many, many more.

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Len Hurford
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's first Youth Development Officer Len Hurford has passed
away at the age of 74
18.02.2013

Everybody at West Ham United would like to express their sincere condolences
to the family of former Youth Development Officer Len Hurford, who has
passed away aged 74. Hurford, who was the first person to take up such a
role at the club, played a leading role in bringing the likes of Paul Allen,
Paul Ince, George Parris and Tony Cottee to the Hammers in the late 1970s
and early 1980s. The scout, who also worked for Ipswich Town, Chelsea and
the Football Association during a long and distinguished career, was
appointed to work alongside chief scout Eddie Bailey. "Len was our very
first Youth Development Officer," said Academy Director Tony Carr. "Len had
done some very important recruitment work and it was decided that we wanted
to take on someone full-time in that role. "John Lyall appointed him and he
and Eddie Baily took over organising the young players who came into the
club after the retirement of Wally St Pier. "Eddy moved on to a more senior
scouting role with the first team, which opened up the position for a Youth
Development Officer to be appointed. Len came in and recruited the likes of
Paul Allen and helped to bring through youngsters in the early 1980s."

Peter Wheelband has been a scout for West Ham for more than 35 years and
worked under Hurford during the latter's time at the club. "I knew Len for
40 years," said Wheelband. "He made the decisions over which players would
go on at Under-14 to Under-16 levels. "I worked with Len throughout the
years he was at the club and he was a really nice fellow. He was a gentleman
and he knew how to work with people properly. "I was one of the youth scouts
at the time and he helped to bring in and develop players like Paul Allen,
Tony Cottee and Alan Dickens. "We worked under Len and the chief scout Eddie
Baily and they were two people who always told you the truth."

A funeral service for Len Hurford will take place at Forest Park Cemetery &
Crematorium in Hainault on Thursday 21 February at 12.45pm.

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West Ham chief David Gold gives backing to manager Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk

West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has given his backing to manager Sam
Allardyce. Gold retweeted posts on Twitter from two West Ham fans calling
for Paolo Di Canio to replace Allardyce after the Italian's exit from
Swindon, then two more supporting the current manager. "Always interesting
to see the different opinions from people on Twitter," Gold himself then
posted. "My view is clear though - Big Sam is our man! dg."

Allardyce's current deal expires at the end of the season, but Gold insists
the club will not enter talks about extending the contract of the former
Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers manager until the Hammers have secured
Premier League safety. "We will sit down and discuss Sam's contract
situation once our Premier League status has been confirmed and not before,"
he said in a statement. "This is purely because the three of us [Allardyce,
Gold and co-chairman David Sullivan] don't want anything to distract
attention from our aim of finishing as high up the league table as
possible."

West Ham are 11th in the Premier League with 30 points, but have won only
one of their last six league games.

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Piquionne departs - at last
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 19th February 2013
By: Staff Writer

Forgotten striker Freddie Piquionne could finally be set to leave West Ham -
having spent the last year playing with the under 21s. The former Portsmouth
forward is poised to join MLS outfit Portland Timbers on trial later this
week, with view to a permanent deal should he impress sufficiently. Now 34,
Piquionne's last game for the Hammers came in the 2-1 win over Nottingham
Forest in January 2012, just over a year ago - since when he has been
featuring, occasionally, for the Development Squad as one of their permitted
overage players. A short loan spell at Doncaster at the back end of last
season - during which he managed to score twice in eight appearances - came
to nothing and the once-capped French international, who was left out of
West Ham's 25-man Premier League squad this season, appeared set to see the
remainder of his contract out at West Ham until Portland's intervention.
Estimated to be earning around £40,000 per week, Piquionne's current deal
ends this summer.

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Celebrating Bobby
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 19th February 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United will mark the 20th anniversary of the passing of Hammers and
England legend Bobby Moore OBE around the weekend of the Barclays Premier
League fixture with Tottenham Hotspur. The Hammers' 1964 FA Cup and 1965
European Cup Winners' Cup-winning captain passed away at the age of 51 on 24
February 1993 following a dignified battle with bowel cancer. To honour his
memory, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the Heroes statue on the
corner of Green Street and Barking Road at 11am on Sunday 24th February.
There, club officials will pay their respects on the 20th anniversary of
Moore's death, and supporters are invited to attend too. The following
evening, at West Ham's home match with Spurs on Monday 25th February, a
series of special events are planned to commemorate the life of the man who
skippered England to FIFA World Cup glory in July 1966. A host of Moore's
contemporaries have been invited to attend as special guests of the club,
including fellow World Cup winners and West Ham team-mates Martin Peters and
Geoff Hurst, and five-times Hammer of the Year Sir Trevor Brooking. Prior to
kick-off, a minute's applause will be held in memory of the man who made 544
appearances for the Hammers between 1958 and 1974. Supporters sitting in the
Bobby Moore Stand will also be invited to take part in displaying a special
mosaic depicting Moore's famous claret and blue No6 shirt, which was retired
by the club in August 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the defender's
West Ham debut.

The Match is also one of this seasons designated Bobby Moore Fund matches
and the Fund will be the beneficiary of all charitable activity carried out
at this fixture. A special 100-page Official Programme is also being
produced for the occasion, including exclusive memories of Moore from those
who knew him best, on and off the pitch.

Priced at £4, a donation of 50 pence from the sale of each programme will be
made to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.

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West Ham co-chairman David Gold backing manager Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: February 19, 2013 9:33pm
SSN

West Ham co-chairman David Gold insists he is fully behind manager Sam
Allardyce. Paolo Di Canio's exit from Swindon, coupled with West Ham's dip
in form, had led to speculation that Gold and his partner David Sullivan
were thinking of bringing the Hammers icon in to replace Allardyce at the
end of the season.
Gold this morning retweeted posts from two West Ham fans calling for Di
Canio to replace Allardyce, as well as two more of the opposing view. Gold
insists the club will not enter talks with Allardyce about extending his
contract until the team are safe from relegation. But he did throw his
weight behind the former Blackburn and Newcastle manager this evening with a
tweet of his own. It read: "Always interesting to see the different opinions
from people on twitter. My view is clear though - Big Sam is our man! dg."
Allardyce brought West Ham up from the Championship in his first season at
Upton Park and they currently sit seven points above the Premier League
relegation zone with 12 games of the season remaining.

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David Gold plays down Paolo Di Canio to West Ham talk
Tuesday 19 Feb 2013 7:08 pm Football
Metro.co.uk

West Ham co-chairman David Gold has played down talk of Paolo Di Canio
returning to Upton Park, instead reaffirming his commitment to current
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce. Gold caused controversy on Tuesday morning when
he retweeted the views of Hammers fans on Di Canio, hours after the former
West Ham striker had resigned as manager of League One Swindon. Gold's
actions, and the fact Allardyce is out of contract in the summer, fuelled
speculation he and co-chairman David Sullivan could be preparing a populist
move for Di Canio. However, Gold returned to Twitter on Tuesday evening,
assuring Hammers fans that Allardyce remains his choice as manager. 'Always
interesting to see the different opinions from people on twitter,' he wrote.
'My view is clear though – Big Sam is our man! dg.' Allardyce has earned
West Ham an impressive 30 points from 26 games in their first season back in
the top-flight, but a direct style of play and a recent downturn in results
has led to speculation that he could be replaced, either immediately, or
when his contract expires. Di Canio tendered his resignation at Swindon on
Monday after growing frustrated at the club's protracted change in
ownership. The Italian also cited a number of 'broken promises'. However, by
Tuesday night some bookmakers were making the former Swindon boss favourite
to also be the club's next permanent manager.

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There's no place for Di Canio in the top flight. He's higher maintenance
than the Sistine Chapel
By MARTIN SAMUEL
PUBLISHED: 23:00, 19 February 2013 | UPDATED: 00:04, 20 February 2013
Daily Mail

Paolo Di Canio resigned as manager of Swindon Town this week. It was no big
deal. Obviously it was in Swindon, and to Swindon as well. The club are
chasing promotion to the Championship. Di Canio has done an excellent job.
To lose the manager at such a crucial stage in the season is a significant
blow. Nationally, however, Di Canio's departure was a footnote, an asterisk
at the bottom of the page compared to Arsenal's last-16 match in the
Champions League, Manchester United's FA Cup victory over Reading, or
further conjecture about the ability of Manchester City manager Roberto
Mancini. Di Canio did make a brief appearance on one back page, but only in
the context of what his resignation meant for Sam Allardyce at West Ham
United. It was a West Ham story, really. Allardyce's future has been under
scrutiny of late, West Ham's form has nosedived and there has been no offer
of a new contract when his present one expires at the end of the season. Di
Canio was always a favourite at Upton Park and the link is an obvious one.

Much depends on what owners David Sullivan and David Gold regard as success
in Allardyce's first Premier League season, how motivated they are to make a
populist decision, and their appetite for aggravation. For Di Canio is high
maintenance, even compared to the majority of modern footballers. To be
fair, he is high maintenance compared to the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

A gifted manager, though, no doubt about it. Swindon won promotion from
League Two last season, and have a very reasonable chance of repeating that
achievement in League One. On Monday when Di Canio left, Swindon were in
sixth place. Then they beat Tranmere Rovers 3-1 to go top.
Even so, the news was no big whoop. Since relegation from the Premier League
in 1994, the manager of Swindon, no matter his name, has had little more
than a walk-on role in the drama of the season.

When Di Canio hooked his goalkeeper after 22 minutes against Preston North
End it got a mention in the press, as did his invitation to return the
season- ticket money of any supporter who disagreed with this decision. Yet
the ripples barely extended beyond the county. Di Canio's excesses remained
local news for local people. The mainstream media might glance across at
some of his more outrageous outbursts, but would quickly return to the
latest twist at Chelsea, Manchester United, or even Queens Park Rangers.
There were headlines when Di Canio called his players stupid donkeys after a
1-1 draw with Hartlepool, but only in lower-division round-up columns tucked
away in the corner of an inside page. The will-he, won't-he saga around his
resignation has dragged on for weeks, beginning with minute-by-minute
coverage on Sky Sports News, quickly relegated to the margins as time
passed. On the day Di Canio finally quit, all eyes were on Arsene Wenger,
who was similarly overwrought, but whose next opponents were Bayern Munich,
not Tranmere Rovers.

It is different for a manager in the Premier League. Had Di Canio walked out
on West Ham with a broadside at the owners on Monday it might have knocked
Wenger's tantrum off the back pages. Indeed, if Di Canio behaved at West Ham
as he has done at Swindon these last weeks — considering his first threat
to resign came on February 1 — the club would have dominated the news agenda
since, and not in a good way. Those in east London still coveting the return
of a local hero — very local, when you look at his record of playing
difficult away games — should be very careful what they wish for. Di Canio's
passion play unfolding in the spotlight could have a ruinous effect on a
smaller Premier League club — one West Ham can scarcely afford as the
imminent tenants of the Olympic Stadium. The treatment of Di Canio's
departure by the Swindon Evening Advertiser told its own story. The Italian
confirmed he would be leaving what the Advertiser called SN1, the Swindon
postcode that houses the County Ground.

Nobody outside Swindon recognises SN1, no more than it is possible to
pinpoint RH11 as Crawley Town or TW8 as Brentford. It is local knowledge.
And this is local news. Swindon's average attendance in League One for
2012-13 is 8,497. It makes them bigger than Doncaster Rovers, but not quite
up there with Milton Keynes Dons.

No doubt Di Canio will be much missed by the correspondent from the
Advertiser, and to Swindon fans this is a huge event, yet the reality is
that until now the club could jog along relatively untroubled, despite the
changing moods of the man in charge. Di Canio's results prove it. For all
his flaws, Swindon have thrived under Di Canio's stewardship. Try the same
act at Upton Park, however, and see what impact it has. There is a method
for achieving success in the Premier League and starring in your very own
daily soap opera should never be part of that plan.

Think of Chelsea. There are controversies over which the club have no
control: John Terry's abuse of Anton Ferdinand, for instance, or Eden
Hazard's clash with a ball boy. Then there are the decisions that will
obviously attract negative publicity: replacing Roberto Di Matteo with
Rafael Benitez, mid-season.
Finally, there are the narratives that occur purely by dint of being a major
Premier League club. Frank Lampard's contract; the lacklustre form of
Fernando Torres. Chelsea have done nothing to fan these particular flames.
They are simply going about their business: deciding which players to keep,
acquiring expensive talent in the hope it brings success. Others have then
made these issues an obsession. Cameras on the owner each time Lampard
scores, the trials of Torres minutely documented as results go awry.

Now imagine if, in addition to this, Chelsea had a manager who kept
threatening to quit, or called his players names for dropping two points, or
invited the fans to buy a season ticket at Arsenal if they did not like his
judgments. Chelsea would never be out of the news. Every press conference
would be an event, each nightly Sky Sports News bulletin a must-watch. There
would be uncertainty and the threat of upheaval in the dressing room with
the potential for cliques and camps; some players would roll with the chaos,
others would find it harmful and debilitating. Premier League managers are
as good as under surveillance. In the modern game so much is out of their
control that if they go rogue too, the club can quickly descend into chaos.
Di Canio in the Premier League would not have to be bland or soulless, but
his behaviour could not become detrimental to his club. Jose Mourinho was
hardly a modest presence at Chelsea but, when angered, his targets — albeit
some misplaced — were on the outside. He took on everybody, from UEFA to Sir
Alex Ferguson and the Reading Ambulance Service, but was not greatly given
to publicly humiliating his players or denouncing his employers.

One of the reasons Di Canio's donkey outburst was largely ignored is that
those the manager insulted were not household names. It would be a huge deal
if included in the attack was England striker Andy Carroll, currently on
loan at West Ham. In recent years, West Ham have also provided two England
goalkeepers: David James and Robert Green. A little more controversial if a
player of that stature was being replaced after 22 minutes, kicking water
bottles and marching off to sit with the away fans, as happened to Swindon's
goalkeeper Wes Foderingham. If Roberto Mancini even implies criticism of Joe
Hart at Manchester City it is a subject for national debate. Imagine if
Mancini responded to questions by inviting all dissenting season-ticket
holders to reclaim their money and then decamp to Manchester United. It
could make for an interesting atmosphere at City's next home match.

Maybe there was a reaction to Di Canio's demand that his critics switch
sides to Oxford United, too. Yet with only 8,000 in the County Ground, how
noticeable would any challenge be? There are protestors at Football League
matches up and down the country every week. If they are not carrying large
banners that read 'GLAZER OUT', however, nobody seems much interested.
There are some who thought this resignation was just another Di Canio
outburst, and he would soon be back at Swindon. But his assistant, Fabrizio
Piccareta, also left the club after the win at Tranmere, apparently marking
the end of their volatile reign.

And even if Di Canio can be persuaded back then, the higher Swindon rise,
the nearer the time will come when the club are subject to the same
scrutiny as humble clubs like Reading or Norwich City. And, yes, those
clubs do manage to fly beneath the radar most weeks. But that may be because
their managers, Brian McDermott and Chris Hughton, are not greatly given to
invective, dramatic resignations or withering substitutions and appreciate
that, at a smaller Premier League club, confidence and stability are key to
survival. Di Canio is wonderful for those who like a show, but whether a
leading club can afford to be part of his next psycho-drama is another
matter entirely.

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