Daily WHUFC News - 2nd February 2013

Swansea City match preview
WHUFC.com
All the background information ahead of West Ham United's Saturday home
match with Swansea City
01.02.2013

WEST HAM UNITED v SWANSEA CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: LEE PROBERT
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST

Introduction
• West Ham United are back at the Boleyn Ground this Saturday looking to
make it four home games unbeaten with Swansea City travelling to east London
in the Barclays Premier League.
• The Hammers have defeated Norwich City and drawn with Manchester United
and QPR in E13 in recent weeks.
• Swansea haven't visited the Boleyn Ground for a league fixture since
December 1982, but they did take on the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground in an
FA Cup third round game in 1999, which ended 1-1.
• Michael Laudrup's side are in their second season in the Barclays Premier
League and have reached this season's Capital One Cup final after defeating
Chelsea in the semi-finals.
• Sam Allardyce's side will be looking to avenge a 3-0 defeat suffered at
the Liberty Stadium on the second weekend of this Barclays Premier League
season, which formed part of a three-game winning streak for the Swans at
the start of the campaign.
• The Hammers will also be looking to put Wednesday's loss at Fulham behind
them, with Kevin Nolan netting their goal in the 3-1 defeat.
• Emanuel Pogatetz could be in line for a debut after joining the Hammers on
loan from German side VfL Wolfsburg on Monday. The 30-year-old defender has
a wealth of Barclays Premier League experience from a five-year spell at
Middlesbrough between 2005-10.
• The Hammers clash with Swansea City is one of eight games taking place in
the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. The following games will also take
place; QPR v Norwich is the early kick-off at 12.45pm, the 3pm fixtures are
Arsenal v Stoke City, Everton v Aston Villa, Newcastle United v Chelsea,
Reading v Sunderland, Wigan Athletic v Southampton and Fulham v Manchester
United is the late kick-off at 5.30pm.

Statistical analysis
Head of Performance Analysis David Woodfine said statistics suggested West
Ham United were hugely unfortunate to lose at Fulham on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers out-passed the Cottagers by 374 to 285. Of those, 152 passes
went forward to Fulham's 103, while the visitors crossed the ball 27 times
to eleven and won eight corners to Fulham's two.
Physically, West Ham also out-performed their hosts, running more than 1,200
metres more than Fulham in total. The Hammers' players also ran more than
2km more than their opponents at high intensity.
"From these statistics, we can see that the team are producing a lot of the
key ingredients required for winning football matches," said Woodfine.
"We passed the ball far more often and in more dangerous areas than Fulham,
crossed the ball more than twice as many times as our hosts and ran further
and at a higher intensity than the Cottagers, but did not reap the rewards
of our work.
"We have reached a consistently high level in our home matches this season
and, if we can replicate this level of performance, we will be able to turn
it into points."

Last time out
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday January 30 2013
Fulham 3-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (Taylor 67), Reid, Tomkins, O'Brien;
Diame, Noble, Nolan; J Cole (Carroll 76), Chamakh (C Cole 56), Jarvis
Subs not used: Henderson, Vaz Te, Pogatetz, O'Neil
Goals: Nolan 48
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday January 29 2013
Sunderland 0-0 Swansea City
Swansea City: Tremmel; Tiendalli, Williams, Chico, Davies; Dyer, de Guzman,
Britton (Graham 75), Hernandez (Lamah 66); Shechter (Ki 60); Michu
Subs not used: Cornell, Bartley, Routledge, Rangel

Previous meeting
• Saturday's visit of Swansea City will be the first time the South Wales
side have travelled to the Boleyn Ground since January 1999 when the two
sides were paired together in the third round of the FA Cup. Swansea led for
much of the second period, but Julian Dicks' 87th minute strike secured a
1-1 draw and a replay at the Vetch Field.

West Ham United: Hislop, Potts, Ruddock, Dicks, I.Pearce, Sinclair,
Lazaridis (Omoyinmi 82), Lomas, Berkovic (J.Cole 65), Hartson (Abou 70),
I.Wright
Goal: Dicks 87
Swansea City: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Bound, Smith, Cusack, Roberts,
Thomas, Coates, Watkin, Alsop
Goal: Smith 61

Background
• West Ham United and Swansea City have met 52 times over a period of 90
years, the Hammers have won 23, Swansea have won 17 and 12 have ended in a
draw.
• The first meeting between the two sides came on 7 January 1922 in the FA
Cup and ended in a 0-0 draw. The replay on 11 January also ended 0-0, and
the two sides met for the third time in nine days on 16 January when Swansea
won 1-0 to progress.
• West Ham visited Wales twice last season, beating Cardiff City 2-1 in the
npower Championship in March before winning 2-0 in the Play-Off semi-final.
• Joe Cole made his first West Ham debut as a substitute in the 1-1 FA Cup
third-round draw against Swansea City on 2 January 1999.

Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
25 Aug 2012 Swansea City v West Ham United L 0-3
13 Jan 1999 Swansea City v West Ham United L 1-0 (FA Cup third-round replay)
02 Jan 1999 West Ham United v Swansea City D 1-1 (FA Cup third round)
07 Oct 1985 Swansea City v West Ham United W 2-3 (Milk Cup)
24 Sep 1985 West Ham United v Swansea City W 3-0 (Milk Cup)
05 Apr 1983 Swansea City v West Ham United W 1-5 (Division One)
Overall record v Swansea City (all competitions) W 23 D 12 L 17

Ten-year record
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Swansea City
2011/12 Premier League 11th (47 points)
2010/11 Championship 3rd (80 points)
2009/10 Championship 7th (69 points)
2008/09 Championship 8th (68 points)
2007/08 League One 1st (92 points)
2006/07 League One 7th (72 points)
2005/06 League One 6th (71 points)
2004/05 League Two 3rd (80 points)
2003/04 League Two 10th (59 points)
2002/03 League Two 21st (49 points)
2001/02 League Two 20th (51 points)

Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lee Probert.
• Forty-year-old Probert will officiate a West Ham United fixture for the
second time this season, having also been the man in the middle for the 3-2
defeat to Liverpool on 9 December.
• He began refereeing in 1986 before being promoted to the Football League
assistant referees' list in 1998, and made the step up to referee in the
league five years later.
• Probert was promoted to the Select Group of Premier League referees in
summer 2007.
• In 2010, he took charge of the FA Trophy final between Barrow and
Stevenage Borough at Wembley, before returning to the Home of Football to
act as fourth official for the 2011 FA Cup final between Manchester City and
Stoke City.
• In 24 matches this season, Probert has issued 69 yellow cards and sent off
two players. His last assignment was for last Sunday's FA Cup tie between
Oldham Athletic and Liverpool, which saw the League One Latics shock Brendan
Rodgers' side.
• On Saturday, Probert will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Ron Ganfield,
while the fourth official will be Phil Dowd.

Team news
• Andy Carroll made his comeback from a knee injury in Wednesday's defeat at
Craven Cottage and the striker will be looking to play some part again when
Swansea City come to east London.
• James Collins and George McCartney remain sidelined with injury, but new
loan signing Emanuel Pogatetz will add to Sam Allardyce's defensive options.
• Swansea sold striker Danny Graham to Sunderland on transfer deadline day,
and Swans boss Michael Laudrup opted not to make any last minute additions
to his squad,
• Neil Taylor and Kemy Agustien are both missing for the visitors with ankle
injuries.

Old boys
• The only player to have had an affiliation with both clubs who could take
part on Saturday is Swansea's Leon Britton. The London-born midfielder
joined West Ham United in 1998 for a fee of £400,000, a record fee for a
16-year-old at the time. He didn't however make a single appearance for the
Hammers and left the club to join Swansea in 2003 after a successful loan
spell.

General Information
• Tickets are sold out for Saturday's fixture. For all other ticket
information, the box office can be accessed here
• The weather forecast for Saturday is a bright, but cold one, with the sun
due to be shining at 3pm with a temperature of 5C.
• Please be aware that engineering works on the London Underground District
Line means there will be no service between South Kensington and
Bromley-by-Bow on Saturday. There will also be no service on the Hammersmith
and City Line between Kings Cross and Barking. Replacement buses will
operate on both lines.
• In addition, there is no service on the Metropolitan Line between Baker
Street and Aldgate and on the Docklands Light Railway between Canning Town
and Beckton
• Greater Anglia and c2c services will be operating as normal.
• Supporters who drive to the Boleyn Ground should take note of new parking
restrictions in the London Borough of Newham

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Big Sam on: Swansea City
WHUFC.com
Big Sam speaks to the media ahed of West Ham United's clash with Swansea
City
01.02.2013

Sam Allardyce is delighted the transfer window has finally slammed shut, so
that he can get back to concentrating solely on matters on the pitch.
Swansea City are Saturday's visitors to the Boleyn Ground and Big Sam
insists that it is the Swans' defensive prowess, as well as their attractive
brand of possession football, that has laid the foundations for a second
successful season in the Barclays Premier League. The Hammers, meanwhile, go
in search of a first league win since New Year's Day and Allardyce remains
confident that his side's excellent home form will stand them in good stead
for Saturday.

Sam, how glad are you that the transfer window has finally closed?

SA: "Well I think we're all waking up this morning and whether we've done as
much as we wanted to or not, we'll all be pleased that we can focus purely
on the football matches we've got between now and the end of the season. I
think that all the usual mayhem has taken place yet again and we've all been
in the middle of it at some stage or another. Of course the distraction is a
huge part of trying to get through this period and still trying to produce
the results. For us, we haven't got the results we wanted for one reason or
another. We've strengthened the team as best we possibly can and the most
important thing at the end of yesterday was that we kept Mohamed Diame.

"You're always disappointed in this window, because it has always been so
ferocious in terms of what you want to do. We've brought in players to
strengthen a squad that has already proven that they can cope at this level
at the first of time asking back in the Barclays Premier League. We've tried
to strengthen that to give us a little boost and hopefully we've done that."

How do you think you can lift the team and squad to pick up more points?

SA: "It's pretty simple really. We've got to get back to being defensively
solid as a unit. If you look at the team we're playing on Saturday, the
reason they're so successful is contrary to what you all think, it's because
they have the best defensive record in the league. When they score a goal
they win a game of football and they don't concede many, in fact they hardly
concede any. When you win, that brings you the greatest reward of all,
because three points for a win and only one for a draw make a massive
difference to anybody in the league.

"Swansea have been outstanding both in and out of possession, that's what
has impressed me the most. From our point of view, I don't think we've had a
clean sheet since West Bromwich Albion away and because of that we have not
managed to secure the wins we wanted to. The games we should have won we
ended up drawing and those we should have drawn we've lost."

You're taking on a Swansea team in top form...
SA: "They're in top form. I watched the Sunderland game and they should have
won it right at the very end. But then you look at the statistics and
Sunderland played 90 minutes at home with no shots on target whatsoever.
That shows you how good a team Swansea are.

Are you concerned that you haven't won since New Year's Day?
SA: "We're very concerned at this moment in time. We've only taken five
points out of the last eight games, which we all know isn't good enough. But
you can have these spells, it's not unique to us. For Fulham it was only a
third win in 16 matches, Norwich have been the same. Lots of teams like us
have had this spell just now, where we've gone a considerable amount of time
without enough wins. We know that we've got to put that right.

"We started the season absolutely brilliantly and the rest of the season had
been going very well until the injuries hit and once the injuries hit, it
devastated the team at the time and we've now suffered in terms of results."

The biggest boost for you must be Andy Carroll, is he ready to play a full
game against Swansea?
SA: "I wouldn't say Andy's ready to play a full game, but he's ready to play
some part of the game. Because he hasn't played a competitive game, apart
from the 15 minutes he got at Fulham, after eight or nine weeks out. Having
a fit squad is the main objective of everyone at the football club at the
moment. Because that is our major concern and has been our over the last
four to six weeks. Particularly defensively and even at the moment, we've
got James Collins and George McCartney injured, which is why we had to bring
in Emanuel Pogatetz.

How do you approach Saturday's game?

SA: "I have to say our home performances, nearly all season, have been
nothing other than very, very good. Results haven't followed some of the
games. We've got to continue with that form and that will give us an
opportunity to win. We have to be aware of how good Swansea are out of
possession. They're going to be looking to play on the break against us and
if anything a foreign coach is probably better at planning his strategy
playing on the break than perhaps we are. We have to be aware of that and
not get caught by the spaces that we leave behind when trying to break that
very solid defence down.

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Carroll eyes Swans start
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll wants to shoot the Hammers back to winning ways on Saturday
01.02.2013

Hammers striker Andy Carroll is itching to make up for lost time after
stepping up his comeback from a knee injury with a 14-minute substitute
appearance in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat at Fulham. The big Geordie has been out
since late November but returned to the Barclays Premier League fray at
Craven Cottage with Sam Allardyce's men looking to close a deficit caused by
goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega. West Ham couldn't rescue a
point on this occasion, but Carroll was happy to be back and he is looking
forward to helping the team as they move on to Saturday's visit of Swansea
City. Speaking exclusively to West Ham TV, Carroll said: "Obviously we were
disappointed with the result but to be back on the pitch was great for me
because I've been out injured for a while now. "I've been wanting to get out
there since I've been injured - I've been in the gym and treatment room
working hard to get fit. It's taken a while but I'm back and it was a great
feeling to get those few minutes under my belt."

The England international forced a save from Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer
with his very first touch after replacing Joe Cole on Wednesday, and the
former Newcastle man felt his side were a little unfortunate not to take
something from the contest after a strong start to the second period which
saw them briefly level through Kevin Nolan. He continued: "I had a little
chance as soon as I came on with my first touch, I caught it quite well but
the keeper was there in the right place, right time. I think overall we were
unlucky not to get a result. "The gaffer had a word with us at half-time to
tell the lads what he expected, and we went out there and showed in the way
we started what we're about. We put the ball in the box, got a few chances
and Kev put his away for a good goal. The disappointing thing was that they
got straight back in the lead, because we were on top of them at that stage
and we could have pushed on to get the win.
"They put the first chance they created after our goal away and it's
disappointing for the lads, but we've got to keep at it and think about the
next game now.
"Straight away our focus goes on to Swansea at the weekend. We've had a
tough run lately, we need to put points on the board, the lads know that,
and I'm sure once we get that result, the others will follow."

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Potts enjoying life on the touchline
WHUFC.com
Steve Potts hopes defeat in the FA Youth Cup is now all but forgotten for
his Under-18 side
31.01.2013

Steve Potts admits he has been bitten by the coaching bug, as he prepares
for Saturday's visit of West Bromwich Albion to Little Heath in the Barclays
U18 Premier League Tier One Stage. Though it has barely been 18 months since
he joined the staff at West Ham United's Academy, the Hammers' long-serving
full-back is quickly growing accustomed to life on the other side of the
touchline. Following a spell at the helm of the U16s, Potts takes charge of
only his third contest as U18s coach on Saturday, having made the step up at
the turn of the year. "All in all I've only been doing it for a year and
half and you're forever learning," he said. I played the game for a number
of years, but this is the other side of it. It's a big learning curve for me
as well. I'm enjoying it, I've grown into it really, I must admit. When I
first came in, it gets a grip of you, that's for sure."

Potts' young side head into the weekend's clash bidding to make it two wins
out of two in the Barclays Premier League U18 Tier One. Tottenham Hotspur
avenged a 1-0 league defeat at the hands of West Ham with a 5-2 FA Youth Cup
win at the Boleyn Ground ten days later, but Potts is not envisaging a
hangover from that evening. "Some of the boys have been involved in the
Development Squad, but for the majority of the players this will be the
first game since [the FA Youth Cup exit]," Potts confirmed. "It was a
disappointing result, very disappointing for the boys but they've just got
to try and put that behind them and push on to the next game on Saturday.
"The players have been fine. Obviously everyone took a big knock that night,
result wise, in such a big competition as the Youth Cup is. We got back in
over the next day or two and you can see everyone's disappointment, you can
see it in their face, which is natural. But once they've been out training I
can't fault them. They've been really training well."

West Ham ran out comprehensive 4-0 winners at home to the Baggies in Group 1
earlier this season, before falling to a 2-0 defeat in November's reverse
fixture. Potts, however, insists with the likely change of personnel, that
previous encounters are of no great import. "I think our team make up and
the opposition's changes depending on Development Squads and first-team
squads, with players getting pulled into those. So I don't think it has much
bearing at all. The classic example of that was Tottenham. We played them in
the league and then in the cup and obviously got two different results. So I
don't think you can read too much into it. "I just hope we can play to our
potential on Saturday, that's the main thing. I personally think there are a
number of good players here at this level and levels below. The main thing
is pushing the boys as much as we can. Whether they're in the U18s, or
hopefully if they're doing well, they get pushed on further into the
Development Squad. Obviously the ultimate thing is getting to the first
team, and that's all that matters."

Kick-off at Little Heath on Saturday is at 11am, with admission and parking
both free of charge.

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West Ham v Swansea
KO 15:00
1 February 2013
Last updated at 13:33
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 2 February

TEAM NEWS

West Ham's Andy Carroll is likely to again start on the bench as he builds
up match fitness after a knee injury. The Hammers are still without
defenders George McCartney (knee), James Collins (hamstring) and Dan Potts
(concussion).

Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm is still sidelined by a knee injury and will
again be replaced by Gerhard Tremmel. The Swans will have fewer attacking
options to select from after Danny Graham's departure to Sunderland on
transfer deadline day.

MATCH PREVIEW

Sam Allardyce was one of the busier managers during the transfer window,
adding Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh, Wellington Paulista and Emanuel Pogatetz
in an attempt to give his West Ham squad a bit of a boost. An excellent
autumn which saw them perform above expectations has been replaced by a
slightly more concerning run of results in which they've won just one of the
last nine matches in the Premier league.

The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle between the excellent
start of just three defeats from the opening 12 games and the recent run of
just two wins from the next 12, of which eight have ended in defeat. They
are neither as good as the first run nor as bad as the recent one, so their
current mid-table placing of 13th strikes me as about right. Swansea arrive
in rude health with a Wembley final to look forward to against Bradford in
the Capital One Cup, a brand of football that is easy on the eye and a
seven-match unbeaten run that further cements their current place in the top
half of the table. It's all a far cry from when they last played at Upton
Park in the third round of the FA Cup 14 years ago. Swansea were a mid-table
team in the fourth tier back in those days, a whopping 72 places behind West
Ham at the time, and yet they came within a whisker of winning the tie at
the first attempt. Jason Smith headed Swansea into the lead after an hour,
and as West Ham tried to get back in the game, Harry Redknapp, their manager
at the time, threw on a 17-year-old by the name of Joe Cole for his debut.
In the end, Julian Dicks earned the Hammers a replay with a late equaliser
but Swansea weren't to be denied and won the second game 1-0.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
Swansea beat West Ham 3-0 in their only previous Premier League meeting,
which came last August.
The Swans have not won on any of their last nine visits in all competitions.
Their last victory was a 2-1 success in August 1956.

West Ham
West Ham have had just one win in their last nine league matches. They have
lost three of the last four.
The Hammers have only claimed eight points from the last 36 available.
West Ham have won just one of their 11 matches against top-half teams this
season (W1, D3, L7).
Andy Carroll has scored once in his last 17 Premier League matches.

Swansea
Swansea are unbeaten in seven league games.
The Swans have kept five clean sheets away from home in the league this
season and conceded just nine away goals - they are the only team yet to
concede double figures away from home in the Premier League.
Three of Swansea's last four away matches have been 0-0 draws.
Michu has scored four league goals in London this season.

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David Sullivan and West Ham player 'threatened by agent'
BBC.co.uk

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan alleges he and a player were threatened
with violence by an agent during January's transfer window. Sullivan has
called for the FA to look into agents' conduct and cap fees. He said: "I can
see it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is
legislation from the FA. He was previously an owner of Birmingham City from
1993-2010 where he brought in Karren Brady as managing director "I had an
agent threaten me and one of our players with physical violence, because he
thought he was being cut out of a deal."

QPR manager Harry Redknapp, whose club were one of the more active teams in
the market during the transfer window, had earlier said: "Every agent seems
to be trying to screw each other. It's like gang warfare out there. "It is
scary. If you've got a deal for a player, another agent will try to scupper
that deal if he is not involved in it. It's unreal. It's unbelievable what's
going on. They're all fighting for big money, that's the problem."

Sullivan claimed the financial demands by agents had got out of control
adding: "We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. Agents who would once demand £50,000 for their part
in a transfer now want £500,000 to £1m to either bring a player or keep a
player. It is quite outrageous and the FA should cap the amount paid to
agents for their work. "I heard of one agent, who took over representation
of a player for one day, and he wanted to be paid between £1.25m and £1.5m
for his part in negotiating a new contract."

Sullivan also praised West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace over his
handling of Peter Odemwingie, who was refused a transfer to QPR and has now
been told not to attend training until next week. Sullivan said:
"[Odemwingie] drove down to QPR and was actively trying to force a transfer,
but Mr Peace refused to cave in. He held his ground. "He would not be
bullied. You cannot give in to players like this. It is the same as giving
in to terrorists or kidnappers. If you pay the ransom, they will only come
back for more. "Consequently, Mr Peace has done a great service to
football."

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It was vital Mohamed Diame stayed - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk

Manager Sam Allardyce says it was more important West Ham retained
midfielder Mohamed Diame rather than make any more signings on transfer
deadline day. Speculation had surrounded Diame, 25, but the window closed
with the Senegalese still at the club. Allardyce said: "The most important
thing at the end of yesterday was probably keeping hold of Mo Diame." West
Ham had brought in three players earlier in January, though Allardyce failed
to add to that on Thursday. Diame has made 19 appearances in the Premier
League since joining on a free transfer in July after he turned down a
contract extension with Wigan.
Allardyce had suggested Diame could still leave if any side met the release
clause in his contract. Despite links to Arsenal, this did not occur, with
fellow defensive midfielder Alou Diarra and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson
making the only late exits. On the other side of the market, defender
Emanuel Pogatetz, midfielder Joe Cole and forward Marouane Chamakh had all
been acquired by the Hammers. "For us we haven't got the results we wanted
to try and get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too heavy into
the financial side of the market," Allardyce added. "You're always
disappointed in this window, I've never been delighted at the end of a
window, in January anyway. It is always ferocious in terms of what you want
to do but we have done as well as we possibly can do."

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Barnet sign Dominic Vose and release Taiwo Atieno
BBC.co.uk

Barnet have signed former West Ham midfielder Dominic Vose on a one-year
deal and released striker Taiwo Atieno. The 19-year-old Vose, who was
released by the Hammers in December, had a loan spell with Braintree in Blue
Square Bet Premier last season. Atieno, 27, made four appearances for the
Bees after joining in December. The much-travelled Kenyan scored in the win
over Bradford at the start of January but the club have opted not to extend
his deal.

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Sullivan reveals threats of violence
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's co-owner David Sullivan has claimed he was threatened with
physical violence by a football agent during the transfer window. The
64-year-old, who celebrated three years as co-owner of the club last month
insists he is "glad" that the winter window has now ended after he was
forced to endure threats from an unnamed agent who believed he was being
overlooked. Sullivan, who also called for a cap to the fees agents can
charge told the Daily Mail: "People do desperate things when they are
desperate. We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. "There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. In this window, I have had an agent threaten me and
threaten one of our players with physical violence, because he thought he
was being cut out of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to
jump in on other deals. Some of these people are like scavengers. I can see
it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is legislation
from the FA to curb the practices. "It was all deeply unpleasant and I'm
glad it's over. Now we can get on with the football."

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Just Chamakh it in the net!
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Charlie Clayton

A veteran shot-stopper, a defensive fortress and a powerful midfield. What's
missing? Goals.

Coming up from the Championship, we knew we had to invest in a goalscorer
and over the summer and buying Mobido Maiga looked like a good start. I was
hopeful. Him and our Carlton up front looked like a decent partnership.

Then, out of nowhere, we signed a seemingly deadly partnership; Matt Jarvis
and Andy Carroll. Everybody could see it, Jarvis with his deadly pace and
ability to beat a man before drifting a ball across for one of the greatest
headers of the ball in English football. Surely we had that missing piece of
puzzle to keep us where we belong.

An opening win against Aston Villa was a good start, a game followed by the
best performance of the season so far - a 3-0 walkover against Fulham. It
was a more than convincing start. Andy Caroll was on fire; even without
being on the scoresheet he played a big part in two of the goals. It all
looked so good.

However getting your hopes up, as a West Ham fan, is not the cleverest thing
to do and it rarely pays off. Carroll limped off in his opening game with a
hamstring injury. It was worthwhile though; a great win over Fulham and
everyone expected him to be back in a couple of games and be just as good,
if not better.

Walking out of Upton Park that night, everybody's hopes were high. If we
could perform like that every week, there wouldn't be a relegation battle in
sight.

Being a West Ham fan however, nothing is ever as good as it seems. Making
his comeback against QPR, Big Andy wasn't on the goal sheet for the next
seven games he played in. Things started getting worrying and he needed to
score fast before we became the second club - along with Liverpool - to
label him a flop.

So who better to score against than our biggest Premier League opponents,
Tottenham? West Ham had the chance to be heroes. Most of all though, Andy
had the chance to be a hero. Unsurprisingly, this didn't happen and in a
unconvincing 3-1 loss at at White Hart Lane, the fact that Andy had finally
netted was more relief than joy. The England international had to be on the
right path now though, coming back from injury and scoring a few games
later?

Well, not exactly.

Coming off for what looked like a routine substitution in a good performance
against Manchester United, it was later revealed he had twisted his knee. He
was to miss the next two months which, coincidently, was our toughest period
of the season with visits to and from teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton
and Liverpool. It was a deadly blow to be dealt.

The festive period came and went with losses to Arsenal, Everton and
Liverpool and a surprise win against the Blues of Stamford Bridge. More
importantly, the january window was in full flow with the purchase of Joe
Cole to give the same service Jarvis had been providing but from the other
side of the pitch.

Service to who though? We needed a striker who could take Carroll's place
until he was fully fit or take his place permanently, if he didn't step back
in with all guns blazing.

Big Sam didn't disappoint on the business side of things with a loan deal
for Arsenal's Moroccan striker Mauroane Chamakh being put through early on.
People immediately labelled him a flop which I thought was extremely harsh;
Arsene Wenger doesn't buy a player for nothing and 90 per cent of the time,
the buy pays off.

Just because Chamakh struggled at the Gunners doesn't mean he's a bad
player. Stepping into any Premier League side is a challenge, let alone a
side with the reputation and expectations of the Gunners. Anyhow, he must
have something for Arsene to buy him in the first place and knowing
Allardyce and the way he plays, it was most likely a strong heading ability.

Chamakh made his claret and blue debut against Queens Park Rangers at home.
It was a very frustrating game finishing 1-1. On the positive side though,
it was a good performance from West Ham and, more importantly, a good
performance from Chamakh. However, much like Mr. Carroll, he failed to net
having one effort cleared off the line and another well save thereby denying
the striker his debut goal.

On a positive note, he didn't get injured - which I suppose counts as moving
in the right direction.

His second game, against Fulham, wasn't the greatest performance I've seen
from the Hammers this season. In fact, I would even go to say it was one of
the worst. Once again, our much-talked-about solid midfielder Mo Diame
played well but our defence couldn't handle Dimitar Berbatov. Chamakh failed
to put the ball in the net once again with Nolan scoring our only goal in a
disappointing 3-1 loss away from home.

With two Premier League strikers on loan and a budget that seems very tight,
the only option for cover for the two loanee strikers and Carlton Cole was
Modibo Maiga who is also beginning to fall away from the team. Therefore,
Big Sam looked across the Atlantic for a goalscorer. The decision was made
to bring Cruzeiro striker Wellington Paulista to West Ham United.

The Brazilian has an impressive scoring record and is hungry for goals. This
can only be positive. Once again a deadly header of the ball he seems to be
one of the best on the ground back in his home league. Nevertheless, much
like Chamakh, it is a big step up from a smaller league like the Liga Da
Brazil or the French Ligue 1 to the Premier League. It doesn't matter how
much hunger and commitment you show, if you're not good enough, you wont
make it.

Scoring in his first reserve game and getting him back up to fully fitness,
Paulista looks to be the most promising out of all of our singings this
window as he can be back-up to the striker and play down the wing, letting
Joe Cole rest or rotate with the Brazilian. This is why I believe he could
be a key player nearer the end of the season for West Ham United - but will
it be enough?

Is he the one who will keep us up? Is Chamakh? Is Carroll?

We're currently in a downward spiral that's engulfing my beloved Irons at a
disastrous rate. Anyone willing to step up and put the ball into the back of
the net should start for this club. Players today don't have the same loyal
feeling that used to come with waring the Claret and Blue strip. Hopefully
this will return in the coming weeks because come the end of the season, I
still think we are going to need all the help we can get.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United v Swansea City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Preview Percy

Next up we return to the green green grass of home where we play hosts to
Swansea City. Kick-off is at the right-thinking person's preferred time of
3pm on Saturday.

It's been a while so I bid you pray welcome for the return of the tube
engineering works which we've missed so much of late. Basically the District
Line is running only between Bromley-By-Bow and Upminster and the
Hammersmith & City line is also out of action. So if you use the District
from central London you might wish to entertain the thought of using the
Jubilee line as far as West Ham then waiting for what will probably be a
much reduced District service to Upton Park from there. You're welcome.

Our visitors this weekend sit in rude health, occupying as they do 8th spot
with 34 points from their 24 matches played so far. However they've been one
to mark your "X" next to on the pools coupons of late, having drawn 4 of
their last 6 matches. Three of these have been 0-0 draws away from home, at
Reading, Everton & Sunderland, so it may be worth having a think before
going for your first goalscorer bet. The other draw was a 2-2 home share of
the spoils against Villa whilst the remaining two matches resulted in
victories over Fulham at Craven Cottage (2-1) and 3-1 at home to Stoke.

Of course the big news down that way in recent weeks has been their
qualification for the League Cup final by defeating Chelsea in the Battle of
Ballboygate. This can be summed up as follows: Spoilt brat who probably
deserves a kicking holds onto ball and gets a kicking. Overpaid Chelsea
muppet gets deserved red card for violent conduct. Meanwhile the poor little
podgy soul who was at the centre of the affair has apparently received death
threats, which is something that that bloke who keeps forgetting to mention
that he's fatboy's ghost writer when he slags us off appears to have made no
comment on. Funny that.

We've just completed transfer deadline day. The current transfer window
system is a ludicrous innovation of the past few years and seems to have
been invented purely to give Sky the opportunity to fill their sports news
channel with stuff on what would otherwise be a quiet month. They go a bit
OTT don't they. It only takes the announcement that someone's reserve team
'keeper is on their way to a League 2 side for a month's loan for Jim
White's head to explode. Swansea had a relatively quiet window, with the
major news being the departure of striker Danny Graham off to Sunderland.
Newcastle fan Graham was roundly booed when coming on as a sub up there last
week. That one is destined to end in tears I tells ya.

The Swans main transfer dealing happened in the summer when they picked up
Michu, who is being described by many as the signing of the season.
Tottenham were offered him for free when he was at Celta Vigo, and then
again last year for £2.2m, which was the buyout clause in force while he was
at Rayo Vallecano. So that's another one they nearly signed then.

There's a bit of a doubt over their first choice 'keeper. Dutchman Michel
Vorm has been suffering with a 'knee problem of late. He's said to be close
to a return but if he's not ready they will turn to the German Gerhard
Tremmell, who had a spell as a kid with our old chums 1860 Munich.

Leon Britton, the two foot tall ex-Hammer is likely to feature in midfield.
He cost us a cool £400,000 as a 16 year old but never quite made it at the
Boleyn. When asked about this his response was quite refreshing: "I wasn't
good enough". In the recent match against Chelsea he finished the game with
a bandaged head after a stray elbow from Ramires. Who knows what damage he
might have sustained had he thrown himself onto the ball. There were some
stats published recently that suggested that Britton was statistically the
best passer in Europe or something. Whilst I'm not a fan of these Opta
things – it lists Jamie Carragher's occupation as "footballer" for example –
he's certainly not looked out of place at the top level.

Michu is the club's top scorer this term with 13 in the league. Next in the
League list is Jonathan De Guzman with 6. De Guzman is on a season's loan
from Villareal and is a pretty cosmopolitan character all told. He's
Canadian by birth, and, in addition to Canada, he also qualifies to play at
international level for Jamaica and the Philippines. However, having seen
his big brother up sticks to seek a football career in France, he did
something similar, ending up in Rotterdam where he signed for Feyenoord.
En-route he picked up Dutch citizenship and a few (Carry-on style joke
warning) er, Dutch Caps at U21 level. A spell at Mallorca followed before a
transfer to Villareal where, following a change in coach, he found
opportunities limited, hence his presence in South Wales.

Us? Well the transfer window ended quietly, despite all the speculation over
Diame. A new 'keeper and a left back would have been nice but since we are
still relatively broke we were always going to be short of options. We
therefore need to make the best use of what players we do have available to
us. Which is what made Wednesday night so worrying. I'm not one to jump on
the "anti-manager" bandwagon and start calling for his head but I do think
it was a mistake to start with Chamakh against Fulham. On the evidence of
his appearances so far he doesn't seem to have brought much to the table so
far. Furthermore, in Carlton Cole we had a forward who has scored more times
against Fulham than any other club and, unlike Chamakh, he would have, at
least made something of a nuisance of himself.

Of course things weren't helped by yet another indefensible display from the
officials. Now one can understand marginal offside decisions getting missed
but ntheir first goal had three players, including the goalscorer, all
sitting 3-4 yards offside. This sort of thing is happening every week and
standards have slipped so far that the rest of Europe regards our officials
as a joke. They're right. The sooner match officials are controlled by
someone willing to take action against those who are not up to standard,
rather than protecting them the better.

Injury news is that the usual long-term absentees will still be out. We're
one down in midfield where Alou Diarra seems to have talked himself into a
swift departure from the Boleyn and is off to Rennes. The good news is that
Carroll is now on the available list. I'd hope that Pogatetz is being
considered to partner Reid. No disrespect to Tomkins but Reid always seems
more at home with the more traditional central defensive partner and we've
not been at our best at the back since Ginge caught hamstring.

Prediction? Well the run of form that we're going through has knocked my
usual optimistic mood into touch. My bunions are playing up as well and my
usual happy-go-lucky demeanour has been further dented by the Avram Grant
Rest Home's failure to sign a younger, more attractive Matron during the
recent Rest Home transfer window. I'm therefore going to place the Rest Home
transfer fund (£2.50) on a 1-1 draw for this one.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Boleyn: Drew 1-1 (FA Cup 3rd round January 1999)
Swansea were in whatever they called Division 4 at the time so, given our
traditional frailty against lower league teams, they were probably nailed on
to go through. A late Dicks effort (assisted by a 'keeper error) sent the
match to a replay. The match was notable only for marking the debut of Joe
Cole. We lost the replay. Obviously.

Referee: Lee Probert. Took charge of the home match against Liverpool. Let's
hope he and his assistants don't miss anything like, say, 5-yard offsides or
blatant penalties, or they might be punished by being promoted to a cup
final or something.

Danger Man:Michu. Their best player who Spurs will probably end up having to
pay £20m+ for one day.

Daft Fact Of The Week: Swansea's rise from the basement has been well
documented. The moment that they probably look back on and say "well we can
laugh about it now, but at the time…." took place in 1995/96. A consortium
was on the brink of buying the club and appointed a chap called Kevin Cullis
as manager. His previous experience had been with non-league Cradely Town.
Not as manager, mind, but as youth team coach. He was so out of his depth
that at half time in his second match a couple of the senior pros threw him
out of the changing room and gave the team talk themselves. The club's owner
cancelled the deal to sell the club and Cullis resigned or was sacked
depending on whose version you care to believe. Seven years later, Cullis
went on to do two 9 month spells inside for fraud and handling stolen
insurance certificates. Funny old world innit.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And that's a wrap
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer

Stephen Henderson has re-joined Ipswich Town on loan - thereby concluding
West Ham United's winter transfer window business. The former Portsmouth
goalkeeper has returned to Portman Road on loan for the remainder of the
season, leaving 20-year-old Raphael Spiegel as the club's back-up to current
number one Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Sam Allardyce signed four new players in total during January including
former fans' favourite Joe Cole, but failed to land the left back he had
been seeking or a goalkeeper to challenge Jaaskelainen, whose form has
dipped alarmingly in recent weeks.

The Hammers boss chased several full-backs during January including
Blackburn's Martin Olsson, Juve's Reto Ziegler and Aston Villa's Stephen
Warnock - and was strongly linked with a move for Olsson's team mate at
Ewood Park, Paul Robinson - but was left frustrated having failed to land
any of them.

However both Allardyce and the club's supporters will no doubt be heartened
by the news that influential midfielder Momo Diame remains at the club,
despite being strongly tipped to leave ahead of last night's transfer
deadline.


Transfer Window Ins and Outs
(first team squad only)

Ins
Joe Cole (free transfer, Liverpool)
Marouane Chamakh (loan, Arsenal)
Wellington Paulista (loan, Cruzeiro)
Emanuel Pogatetz (loan, Wolfsburg)

Outs
Yossi Benayoun (loan ended, Chelsea)
Alou Diarra (loan, Rennes)
Stephen Henderson (loan, Ipswich Town)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Swansea preview: Sam Allardyce has Premier League problems
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 12:10pm
SSN

Struggling West Ham United will be desperate to end their worrying slump in
form when they host Swansea City on Saturday. Sam Allardyce has seen his
side take just five points from their last nine games to fall down the table
after a previously promising return to the Premier League. Last season's
Championship play-off winners are now 13th in the top flight and seven
points from the relegation places, which will be a concern heading in to the
later months of the campaign. The midweek London derby defeat by Fulham was
the most recent setback for Allardyce, who has spoken of his relief at
making it through the transfer window with his key men. And his attention
will now be fully focused upon defeating Swansea and earning what would be
only West Ham's third league win in two months. But Michael Laudrup's
visitors will arrive in London with full confidence after an excellent
2012/13 to date. The Capital One Cup finalists, along with their manager,
are already contenders for the best performers of the season and they
arguably deserved more from Wednesday's draw at Sunderland. Swansea are
unbeaten in the Premier League in 2013 and will expect at least a share of
the points at Upton Park.

West Ham
Last 6
3-1
5-1
1-1
1-0
3-0
2-2
Andy Carroll will continue his return from injury when West Ham United host
Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday. The on-loan Liverpool
striker made his first appearance in two months after injury when appearing
as a second-half substitute in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat by Fulham. Manager Sam
Allardyce will be without George McCartney (knee) and Daniel Potts (head
injury). Struggling West Ham will also be unable to call on Alou Diarra
after the midfielder was loaned to Rennes on transfer deadline day.

Swansea
Last 6
0-0
0-0
3-1
1-0
0-0
0-2
Star man Michu will have to carry Swansea's striking responsibility at West
Ham after Danny Graham was sold to Sunderland on the final day of the
transfer window. Sixteen-goal Michu is therefore Michael Laudrup's main
striking option after the club failed to bring in any cover on Thursday.
Capital One Cup finalists Swansea are still without Neil Taylor and Kemy
Agustien due to ankle problems.

Opta Facts

West Ham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League
games at Upton Park
Swansea have drawn five of their last seven league games, winning the other
two
West Ham have put in more crosses than any other Premier League side this
season

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Liverpool and West Ham have Andy Carroll agreement
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 4:45pm
SSN

Liverpool have already agreed to sell striker Andy Carroll to West Ham at
the end of the season, according to Hammers co-owner David Sullivan. The
England international, a £35million signing from Newcastletwo years ago,
made the move from Anfield to Upton Park on a season-long loan deal in the
summer.
Carroll's time with the Hammers has been badly hampered by injury and he has
managed just one goal from nine Premier League starts and two substitute
appearances. Sullivan admitted that despite reaching an accord with their
Premier League rivals, they have yet to agree terms with the powerful
striker over a permanent switch and is keen for the 24-year-old to prove his
worth over the final 14 games of the Premier League season. In an exclusive
interview with MailOnline, he said: "I am often asked about Andy Carroll's
deal. It is a season-long loan. Liverpool had an option to take him back in
January, but he has been injured. "West Ham have an agreement with Liverpool
to sign him at the end of the season, but we have no agreement with the
player. "It was his desire to come to West Ham to prove himself to Liverpool
and that hasn't changed. "He has had injuries since he came, but he is back
to fitness now and we have 15 games left... we need some goals and some
points, so let's see."

Sullivan also revealed how West Ham were keen to do more business during the
January transfer window, only to lose out to Leeds in their pursuit of
defender Stephen Warnock, while interest in Reto Ziegler and Paul Robinson
also came to nothing. He added: "For all the deals you have read about,
there were 30 others we were trying. I thought we had Stephen Warnock from
Aston Villa and he said he was signing. "Our contract offer was for six
months with an extension based on appearances and he accepted that. Then he
changed his mind and signed for a Championship team in the north. "We had a
deal for the Olympiakos left-back, but when Warnock said yes, we scrapped
that. Then, when we tried to get the other deal back on, the chap had gone
somewhere else.
"We then spoke to Juventus left-back Reto Ziegler, who's on loan in Russia
and tried to make that happen, but he went to Turkey. "We tried to bring in
goalkeeper Paul Robinson from Blackburn, but he had an injury and hasn't
played often and we had a bit of doubt."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham manager Allardyce happy to focus on football as transfer window
closes
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 2:28pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is pleased to be focusing on playing matters
again after the "usual mayhem" of the January transfer window. The Hammers
boss was delighted to keep hold of Senegal international Mohamed Diame, a
rumoured target for Arsenal and Tottenham, despite the midfielder having a
release clause in his contract. As well as retaining Diame, Allardyce signed
Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh and Emanuel Pogatetz in the window. "We will all
be pleased that we can focus purely on the games of football we have between
now and the end of the season," he said. "All of the usual mayhem has taken
place yet again and we've all been in the middle of it at some stage or
another and the distraction is a huge part of trying to get through this
period of time and still produce results. "For us we haven't got the results
we wanted to try to get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too
heavy into the financial side of the market."

Keeping Diame at Upton Park was top of Allardyce's list of aims in the
January transfer window and with that achieved he will now aim to improve a
recent record that has seen his side take just five points from their past
eight games. "We have strengthened and tried to strengthen the team as best
we can and the most important thing at the end of yesterday was probably
keeping hold of Mo Diame," Allardyce said. "We are very concerned at this
moment in time. We have only taken five points out of our last eight games
and we know that is not good enough. "But you can have these spells, it is
not unique to us. Fulham won (against West Ham on Wednesday) and it was only
their third win in 16 matches and Norwich have been the same. "Lots of clubs
like us have had this spell at this moment in time where we have gone a
considerable amount of time without the number of wins we wanted."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Is it Time to Shuffle the Pack and Check Out the Bosman Lists?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

There is no doubt that we are currently in the midst of a slump in results.
Ironically, the team negotiated that difficult second phase of fixtures,
against the top sides, only to suffer a dip thereafter. Still, we are where
we are, and there is little doubt that the current squad possesses the
ability to pick up the results and achieve a good final position in the PL.
The task for the management team is three fold. To (1) recapture the prior
'togetherness' and team spirit that characterised the first half of the
season, (2) work on defensive organisation and iron out the silly lapses
that have emerged of late (i.e. that awful second goal conceded against
Fulham) and (3) sharpen up in the final third and start finishing the
chances that we continue to create in abundance.

The overridng positive for me is that our general play remains good. We are
passing the ball well and creating chances. While that is the case, threre
is always improved prospects of turning around a poor run of results.
Another is that some of our most notable injury absentees are returning or
have returned from injury, notably Andy Carroll, Mo Diame, Jack Collison
and,hopefully, George McCartney. It is no coincidence that the recent dip in
results has coincided with the non-availablility of these players.
McCartney, in particular, is a big loss defensively, as he brings
experience, balance and 'know how' to the back four; plus good support play
down the left flank. He is an under-estimated player and has been very much
missed of late. In addition, the January additions to the squad need to
settle and achieve their best form. That is particularly true of Marouane
Chamakh, whose fitness and form has suffered due to his proloned inactivity
this season at Arsenal; while Emmanuel Polentz and Wellington Paulista face
a common challenge of proving that they can make a significant contribution
to the first team. Finally, so far, the outstanding success of the January
window has been Joe Cole's return to the club. He has shown his quality,
particularly in the home games against Man Utd in the FA Cup and QPR, and we
need to manage his fitness, keep him injury free and give him the licence to
continue dictating our forward play.

But more than anything, we need to draw upon the positive spirit in the
squad and get the key players, like Captain Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Winston
Reid and Joe Cole, showing real leadership on the pitch. Kevin Nolan in
particular is key in this respect, he must continue to assert his authority,
foster collective spirit and lead by example. He has recently experienced a
personal dip in form, but against Fulham he looked back to his best and,
with a bit more fortune, could very well have scored three goals in that
match.

We do, however, need to shuffle the pack in terms of selection. In
particular, we should look to bring in Polentz's drive and experience to the
defence. The question is whether we pair him with Reid in central defence or
slot him at left-back. Personally, I would retain the Reid-Tomkins
partnership in central defence and initially play him at left-back. There is
also a real temptation to give Spence a run at right-back, but it is almost
certain that Sam Allardyce will pump for experience and select either Demel
or O'Brien. While, the absence of a new keeper, means that we will continue
with Jussi between the sticks.

In midfield, it is likely, barring injury, that we will continue with the
successful triumvirite of Noble-Diame-Nolan, with Joe Cole and Matt Jarvis
either side of the centre forward. For me, there are two variables here,
whether to shuffle things to include either Collison or Vaz Te. There is a
case for seeking to accommodate Collison's strong forward running and
ability to get in to the box and finish. It would certainly be interesting
to combine Collison's forward play with Diame's powerful central midfield
presence. Vaz Te has not had a good season, but he is a talented player, who
possesses the ability to win matches. On current form, he is unlikely to
displace either Joe Cole or Matt Jarvis, but he could play a significant
role from the bench. In terms of the bench, the other big variable, is the
potental selection of Wellington Paulista. He is an unknown quanity and
offers something different up front, either playing as a second striker or
out wide. He appears 100% committed and can undoubtedly finish. Paulista
could yet prove an asset in the final months of this season. I doubt that he
is ready to start, but an introduction to the bench could be in order.
Finally, if Andy Carroll is fit enough, he needs to start, there is no
question about that. We need his hold up play and immense physicality
against Swansea, plus he has to start proving that he can find the back of
the net on a regular basis. If not suffciently match fit, he will be on the
bench and it is a toss up whether Carlton Cole or Marouane Chamakh start up
front.

I personally believe that we need to refresh things by introducing Polentz
at left-back, playing Jack Collison on the right and moving Joe Cole to the
left. That means Matt Jarvis starting on the bench and coming on in the 2nd
half. Up front we could really do with Andy Carroll starting and
recommencing his partnership with Nolan. If Carroll cannot start, go with
Chamakh and hope that he can recover his goal scoring touch. On the bench,
include Carroll or Chamakh, Paulista, Jarvis, O'Neill, Demel or O'Brien,
Speigel and Vaz Te or Carlton Cole.

We failed to add a keeper and left-back in the January window. The question
now is, will we settle for what we have, utilising Polentz at left-back and
waiting for the return of McCartney and Potts? Similarly, will we gamble on
Jussi and Speigel, with Henderson on emergency recall from his loan deal at
Ipswich Town? Or alternatively, will we take a look at the Bosman lists and
see if there are any bargains out there? While, Bosman deals do not involve
an up front transfer fee, they can be quite expensive in terms of sign on
fees and the players terms. Whether there are any further funds, this
season, to finance a Bosman deal(s) is open to conjecture. However, it does
not hurt to see who is available and ready to come straight in and make a
difference, does it?

Finally, the Fulham result was very disappointing and has increased the
pressure on the team to get a result against Swansea. It could be a
difficult match, because Swansea are a good side these days. To win, we need
to dominate the midfield, shackle Leon Britton, who makes their midfield
tick and neutralise their pacy forwards & the goal scoring threat of Michu.
Ironically, this is a match where we could have done with Diarra's defensive
midfield abilities, but that option is now gone, so Noble must perform that
role.. Hopefully we will be successful in disrupting them and imposing our
own high pace game, a la the QPR match, only with better finishing. With
home advantage, we should be looking to secure a 1-0 or 2-1 victory to
attain 30 points, which would crucially put us just 3 wins and a draw from
the magical 40 point PL safety bench mark.

In addition, we really do need the crowd to raise the temperature and get
behind the team. Upton Park is not what it used to be, but it can still be
intimidating when the fans are in the mood to generate the necessary noise.
This game is definitely one to create that type of partisan atmosphere.
COYI!

SJ. Chandos

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It's our sweet FA
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun

SAT, JAN 26
THE only Egyptian I know is Mido, whose stay at Upton Park was unproductive.
Still, he is a character and his heart will be bleeding as he hears today of
further slaughter in his country in a tribal war that exploded into a
football riot and has now claimed more than 100 lives. Politics have taken
over. They are even more dangerous in Egypt than football.

SUN, JAN 27
HOUSE-hunting in London and I walk around a nice pad. I spot a picture of
someone I recognise in football posing with Yasser Arafat. Oh my god, I work
out whose house it is and exit quickly. My husband tells me a similar story
— a footballer pal met a girl and went back to her house. As they get cosy
he sees a picture of his boss. He is in the house, and knickers, of his
manager's daughter!

MON, JAN 28
A FASCINATING battle of wills is in play at West Brom. Peter Odem-whingie is
busy living up to that name as he pushes hard to take a profitable dip into
QPR's accounts. Pulling for Albion's rights is chairman Jeremy Peace. I'm
cheering for Peace because he might register a rare win for the binding
agreement of contract. Or up the transfer fee.

TUES, JAN 29
MOST of you, I guess, woke up with a yawn after hearing a parliamentary
committee are again demanding changes at the FA. They want the FA to develop
a backbone and tackle the Premier League. The reality is they might as well
bark at the moon. The Premier League is a rich, powerful and efficient
business generating billions in revenue. While the FA largely are a bunch of
male jobsworths no longer strong enough to lay down the law to a referee let
alone the Premier League. Most fans will agree they like the Prem more or
less as it is. Certainly they like footballers more than they do
politicians.

WED, JAN 30
I THINK I am making progress with regards to the Olympic Stadium following a
meeting of the three principals today. The lawyers are missing, which may be
why so much progress was made. I'm told the plan is to make an announcement
in about three weeks' time. I am more positive than I have ever been that we
will be able to present a world-class stadium for the supporters to vote on.
It's as if Boris is on the penalty spot and only needs to roll the ball into
the net. But having been jilted at the altar before, you never know. My mood
is then then dented by the beating at Fulham.

THURS, JAN 31
MY phone is being t-bombed by players' agents. After I pick it up at 6am,
the average is one call every five minutes up to 1.30am. One of them is
actually asking for a conference call at 12.30am. Are agents crackers as
well as greedy? Generally, players' heads are being filled with figures that
are unrealistic by over-aggressive agents. The funniest thing of all is that
they want to torture me and then expect me to pay for the privilege. "I
ain't working for nothing," they moan. I say: "You aren't working for me."
Transfer window? Hell on Earth.

FRI, FEB 1
IT'S all over. The window closes and Mario Balotelli is an AC Milan player.
This is, of course, former Italian prime minister Berlusconi's club so it
would be as well for Milan citizens to lock up their daughters and their
fireworks. Yes, Bunga Bunga greets Banger Banger and there are cynics in
Italy who are saying that Balotelli's move is designed to help Berlusconi's
election hopes. As if. Anyway, I'd prefer my chances to rest on Coco the
Clown.

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Toast the MOment
Sam's window snifter
The Sun
By TOM GOODENOUGH
Published: 01st February 2013
0

SAM ALLARDYCE raised a glass to the end of the transfer window — after
winning the battle to keep Mo Diame at West Ham. Boss Allardyce spent the
whole of January fearing a big-money offer would come in for the midfielder,
which would be too good for the Upton Park board to refuse. But as the clock
ticked past 11pm, Big Sam cracked open a bottle of brandy and poured himself
a large one in celebration. He revealed: "Everything could have changed in
the flick of a text, an email or a phone call, so it's a massive relief
Diame is still here. "When the deadline passed, I must admit I celebrated
with a glass of brandy." The Hammers failed in a deadline-day bid for Aston
Villa left-back Stephen Warnock.

WEST HAM manager pleased the circus of the January transfer window is over -
and he kept star midfielder But they demonstrated how much they wanted to
keep Diame, 25, by offering the Senegal international a new improved
contract. Allardyce added: "It would not have mattered how much money we
would have got for Diame, it would have been a crushing blow because we
couldn't have done anything with the money at that late stage."

The Hammers boss will try to ease Andy Carroll back into action by playing
him against Swansea today, even though the hitman is not 100 per cent fit.
The £35million Geordie — on a season-long loan from Liverpool — made a brief
cameo in West Ham's 3-1 defeat at Fulham in midweek after coming on as a
substitute. And Allardyce is confident the 24-year-old will get another
outing against the Swans — even if it will not be for the entire match. He
said: "He hasn't played a competitive game apart from the 15 minutes or so
against Fulham after eight weeks out, so he's not ready for a full 90
minutes but he is ready to take part."

The Hammers have picked up only one point from their last five Premier
League games. But with the list of injuries reducing and the transfer window
closing, Allardyce is hopeful his side can get back to winning ways. He
said: "We are very concerned at the moment but these spells are not unique
to us and we know we've got to put that right. "It's about securing as many
points as possible and moving forward to get ourselves in a better position.
"There's been a slight drain of confidence because of the results we've had
and we've got to revert back to the form we had. "We need to keep a positive
mental attitude towards every game and make sure we work hard to get back to
the results we know we can get."

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Agent's threat to Sullivan
By PAT SHEEHAN
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun

DAVID SULLIVAN claims an agent threatened him and one of his players with
physical violence during the transfer window. West Ham's co-owner revealed
the full extent of how football's middle men try to make money at all costs.
Sullivan, 64, revealed: "In this window, I had an agent threaten me and one
of my players with physical violence because he thought he was being cut out
of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to jump in on other
deals. Some of them are like scavengers." QPR boss Harry Redknapp blew the
lid on what goes on behind the scenes during a month of transfer frenzy as
agents try to grab cash. SunSport columnist Redknapp said agents created a
situation that was likened to gang warfare as £124m was spent in January and
agents took 10 per cent upwards. Sullivan added: "Harry was right. It feels
like gang warfare and I can see it spilling over into violence. "Agents who
once demanded £50,000 for their part in a transfer now want £500,000 to a
million to bring in a player or keep one. "I heard of an agent who took over
representing a player for ONE DAY and he wanted £1.5m for his part in
negotiating a new contract."

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