Daily WHUFC News - 10th March 2013

Mavila snatches draw for U18s
WHUFC.com
Nathan Mavila's late equaliser saw West Ham United U18s draw 1-1 with Stoke
City at Little Heath
09.03.2013

West Ham United put defeat at Tottenham Hotspur behind them by earning a
creditable 1-1 Barclays U18 Premier League Tier One draw against Stoke City
at Little Heath on Saturday. Stoke went ahead early on when Kieran Monlouis
diverted Kris Scott's shot low into the Hammers net, but Nathan Mavila
volleyed the Hammers level with less than ten minutes remaining on the
clock. Mavila's late intervention ensured a share of the spoils and ended a
run of three straight league defeats for the Hammers, who began Saturday's
match with just three second-year scholars in their starting XI - goalkeeper
Sam Baxter and midfielders Taylor Miles and Kieran Sadlier. The match
started with a West Ham chance on goal. A long punt forward from Baxter
caught the whole Stoke team out, with Nana Boakye-Yiadom collecting the ball
through on goal, and he drew an impressive low save from Dale Eve. Despite
the Hammers' strong start, it was Stoke who pushed forward and grabbed the
opening goal of the game. The majority of the visitors' attacking moves came
down the right wing, where they opened up the angle to spot Scott unmarked
in the middle. He sliced his effort into the path of Monlouis, who was free
to roll the ball past Baxter and into the net. The goal shocked the young
Hammers, as they had been punished from a single lapse in concentration
during the first half. As half-time approached, West Ham had two close
efforts on goal that bought impressive saves out of Stoke captain Eve in
goal. Firstly, Boakye-Yiadom was bought down 20 yards from goal, allowing
Lewis Page to bend a left-footed free-kick towards the top left-hand corner,
but Eve was there to foil the left-back by pushing the ball around the post.
Then, from the resulting corner, Kieran Sadlier picked up the ball on the
edge of the penalty area. He fired a shot towards the top right-hand corner,
but again Eve stood up to keep his side ahead.

The hosts needed to push on after half-time to avoid a fourth consecutive
loss, with manager Steve Potts bringing Ben Marlow and Rob Girdlestone into
the match and changing to a more attacking formation. West Ham continued to
search for an equaliser, looking dangerous in attack through Sadlier and
Boakye-Yiadom, who both found space in the box, but their efforts were
blocked by a the legs of Stoke defenders. The visitors were not out of the
game, though, and tricky midfielder Scott had a chance to double Stoke's
lead, but he disappointed himself by blazing his shot wide. With the game
entering its final stages, Stoke's impressive defensive resolve finally
broke. The Hammers won a corner which was whipped in by Sadlier and met on
the head of a Stoke defender. The clearance fell to the feet of Mavila
standing 22 yards from goal, and the summer arrival from Wycombe Wanderers
unleashed a powerful low volley through the crowd and into the goal. The
Hammers took confidence from Mavila's goal and started to believe they could
snatch all three points late on However, it was Stoke who had the best
chance to take the win when Charlie Ward broke forward and passed to Scott.
The No10 decided against taking a shot and instead created the opportunity
yet again for scorer Monlouis, but the Hammers defence reshaped and cleared
the danger. Having ended their run of defeats, Potts' side will have renewed
confidence as they begin preparations for their next Barclays U18 Premier
League Tier One match at Liverpool on Saturday 16 March

West Ham United U18s: Baxter, Homans, Burke, Onaraise, Page (Girdlestone),
Makasi, Miles (Marlow), Freeman (Gogo), Sadlier, Boakye-Yiadom, Mavila

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Cole lauds community effort
WHUFC.com
Hammers striker attends Football Mash Up event at Dagenham Goals
09.03.2013

Carlton Cole took time out this week to pay a visit to the FA Vauxhall
Football Mash Up event at the Dagenham Goals Centre, in conjunction with
West Ham United Community Sports Trust. The Hammers striker was on hand to
give advice to a group of local youngsters who, as part of the FA's 150th
anniversary's emphasis on shining a light on grass roots initiatives, had
been provided with the opportunity to play the nation's favourite game. Cole
was joined for the afternoon by rapper Lethal Bizzle as the pair assisted
the FA and West Ham coaches in directing the local youngsters. 29-year-old
frontman Cole was full of praise for the Hammers' work in the community. He
told West Ham TV: "Obviously West Ham are very interested in the community
around us and we're trying to help in any way we can. "I'm always there to
help the club promote our work around the community and it's these kids who
need to stay out of trouble and have something to do after school.
"Football's always a good place to start - any sport in fact - and I'm
pleased to be able to lend a helping hand. "People need good role models. I
try to give advice to the youngsters coming up. My brother and sister are
always asking me for advice. Youngsters don't get to see Premier League
footballers for advice every day, so that's why I like to show my support
and any questions they have for me I try to answer them. "This is a massive
scheme that contributes to the well-being of kids staying out of trouble."

Cole's own inspiration as he was growing up was provided by his uncle Duncan
King and, having now forged a career in top level football, he is only too
happy to give back to the local community. He added: "I always had my uncle
to support me - he told me about myself and let me know when I was going
wrong. He's still by my side every step of the way. "He's been my mentor,
and obviously there are other stars in the public eye - as a young black guy
I always looked to Johnny Barnes, Ian Wright, John Fashanu, all these other
players that I could relate to. I wanted to be where they were. "Football
clubs have the tools and they have to use them. West Ham are up there in
terms of their work for the community. I've been to loads of schools and
schemes like this one. They've always looked out for the community around
them and that's great."

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Ladies primed for Millwall showdown
WHUFC.com
The second instalment of our three-part feature on the Ladies looks to
Sunday's clash with Millwall
09.03.2013

For manager Julia Setford and her West Ham United Ladies, games rarely come
any bigger than Sunday's showdown with local rivals and league leaders
Millwall Lionesses. Having lost the reverse fixture on the opening day of
the season, revenge is on the agenda, while three points would put the
Hammers right back in the promotion picture. A repeat of last weekend's
results would do very nicely indeed, with each of the top three dropping
points and West Ham taking full advantage courtesy of a 1-0 home win over
Lewes. As it stands, the Hammers are some eight points and three places
behind Millwall, but having played two games fewer, a win at Thurrock FC's
Ship Lane on Sunday would certainly put the frighteners on the south
Londoners. Nineteen-year-old Kelley Blanchflower will pose as big a threat
as anyone to the visitors' goal and, having suffered an injury-blighted
campaign, she was thrilled to bag the winner last time out. "It was
brilliant to get the winner last Sunday, I really was happy," she told West
Ham TV. "This season didn't start so well and then breaking my collarbone I
was really on a low, so to score on Sunday really helped my confidence. "We
definitely deserve to be promoted. I know it's only my second season but
they've been up there, that's why I joined West Ham. With our games in hand,
that's a good positive thing for us, knowing where we've got to be, I think
we can do it. It's game on!"

Meanwhile, boss Setford is banking on her side's unrivalled defensive record
to help them topple the league leaders. What's more, she is convinced that
momentum is firmly with her side going into the business end of the
campaign. "It's always a massive game against Millwall, it doesn't get any
better," Setford said. "The girls are going to be up for it, they won't need
a team talk. They're ready to go. They beat us first game of the season, so
we're hoping to get three points on Sunday. We can really go at them. "We've
got the best defence in the league, we've only let in four goals in nine
games and I think the next best is actually Millwall who have conceded ten.
So I'm not too worried about letting too many goals in. It's just about
putting the ball in the back of the net and hoping that brings three points.
"We started off slowly, but after the Christmas period we've really started
to pick up. Hopefully on Sunday we can go there strong and get the win."

Vicky King knows better than most just what a fixture with Millwall means,
having donned the claret and blue for some 15 years now. The club's longest
serving player expects the next month to decide the Hammers' fate, with the
visit of Colchester and back-to-back clashes with Reading still to come in
March.
"Millwall's a big game, we lost to them on the first day of the season, but
I think it will be a very different game this time around. "Promotion is
definitely possible. The next four games are vital for us. March is going to
be a very important month, it's pivotal for us and our season."

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Olympic Stadium cannot be called West Ham's home for just 25 days
One questions whether this move is really about West Ham, or whether it is
more likely a great opportunity to put the club in a lucrative shop window,
for sale to the highest bidder come 2016
David James
The Observer, Saturday 9 March 2013 22.00 GMT

If I were a West Ham fan I would be worried right now. As early as next week
the club are expected to sign a 99-year lease to relocate to the Olympic
Stadium, but I am unconvinced that the move will guarantee benefits for the
club and their supporters. My concerns are not merely rooted in nostalgia,
although I admit I do love the atmosphere of Upton Park – the sense of an
old-fashioned East End, jellied eels and 1960s football icons. The thought
of all that history being wiped away and replaced with a bunch of corporate
box prawn sandwich munchers from the City breaks my heart.

That the club will be renting the stadium, 25 matchdays a year, exacerbates
that feeling of loss. I've heard that they plan to counter the lack of
homeliness with "dressing" – but what does that mean? Shipping in the Bobby
Moore statue once a fortnight? Putting up a few hoardings? What if you want
to go on a stadium tour on a non-match day? Will the corridors be lined with
photographs of Hammer heroes in claret and blue? Or are those only allowed
on the allotted 25 days? Crucially, how will this new arena promote the
club's history and identity?

Putting the emotional arguments to one side, the cold, hard facts are simple
enough: West Ham need more revenue if they are to grow as a club and that
means increasing gate receipts. The Olympic Stadium looks a cheap option
when you consider that Arsenal's Emirates Stadium cost the club a whopping
£390m while West Ham will pay £15m upfront for the Olympic Stadium and then
£2.5m per year in rent thereafter. A steal, no?

Unfortunately, those figures only stack up as value for money if the club
can attract enough supporters to fill a 60,000-seat stadium. And how will
the club attract new supporters if the team don't perform? Last season they
were in the Championship; what is to guarantee their enduring presence in
the Premier League? They are hardly the model of consistency, having spent
three seasons in football's second tier in the last decade alone. To me
that's worrying.

And where is the model of success for them to follow? Arsenal have not made
a footballing success of their own move. Since leaving Highbury, the club
have failed to win a single trophy. We can argue about why that is but to my
mind part of the problem has been that opposition teams simply love playing
there. And who could blame them? The away dressing room is like Claridge's –
a joy to behold. The experience is a world away from the old Highbury where
the radiators in the away dressing room – mysteriously – used to reach
unbearably high temperatures and the opposition would sit there roasting
before they had even stepped out on to the pitch.

For most top-end clubs no trophies in seven years would have the fans baying
for blood. Luckily for Arsène Wenger – and Arsenal – the club have a history
of success and that has bought them time and patience from the fans. But
West Ham won't have that luxury.

Manchester City is another example, and the club have been incredibly
successful since relocating to Eastlands, now the Etihad. But their model
differs to West Ham in that their attendances have hardly wavered over the
years. While West Ham's figures have leapt about inconsistently, Manchester
City's fans always seemed to turn up. Even when the club were relegated from
the Premier League in 1997, attendances dropped on average by a mere 1,200.
And then they went and got themselves a billionaire sheikh.

In contrast, West Ham have struggled to keep their gates consistent over the
past 10 years. Three spells in the Championship have not helped, but the
situation is as much to do with the club having successful big-name rivals
in Tottenham and Arsenal located a few miles away.

In short, West Ham's recruitment is challenged by the transient fan. On
moving to the new stadium they will have an extra 30,000 seats to fill, and
that cannot be done on "kids for a quid" days and extra corporate boxes
alone. And if the football isn't pretty, and the results are not
forthcoming, then why would business people, or anyone else for that matter,
want to pay to watch mediocre football? Even historically West Ham's best
Premier League finish was fifth under Harry Redknapp with a team stuffed
full of talent – players such as Paolo Di Canio and a young Frank Lampard.

All of which leads me to question whether this move is really about West
Ham, or whether it is more likely a great opportunity to place the club in a
shop window, for sale to the highest bidder come 2016. Arguably that might
be no bad thing. If an investor in the mould of Sheikh Mansour came along,
West Ham could soon out-rival their more high-profile neighbours in Arsenal
or Tottenham. Still, the venture seems like a gamble to me. In 2016 the club
could be handed the keys to their new stadium and be playing in the
Championship. Are an extra 30,000 fans going to want to start attending West
Ham games to witness that? I don't think so.

To think, Bobby Moore's statue, commemorating an England legend, consigned
to 25 days' exposure, or worse still, placed next to Costa Coffee.

David James has donated his fee for this column to charity

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WEST HAM STAR HEADING FOR UPTON PARK EXIT DOOR
Posted on Saturday, 9th March 2013 by Bud Hedges
ForeeverWestHam.com

2012 was one of the best years in recent times for West Ham United;
promotion, impeccable win rate, only losing 4 games at the Boleyn during the
entire calendar year, a year that we can truly remember for the unbridling
success that it brought us. Though one current Hammer may be regretting his
time at West Ham and publically expressed this in January and forced a loan
move away from the club, so I ask the question. Is it over for Alou Diarra?

This isn't the first time a Frenchman has made his intentions and feelings
about the club very clear. It was reported that during half time of game
against Stoke City, Julien Faubert stated his feelings for the club and his
intention on leaving due to the lack of games. He was bizarrely rewarded
with loan move to Real Madrid as he was frustrated by a lack of game time
under Gianfranco Zola. He was best remembered during his short-lived time at
the Bernabeu for falling asleep whilst on the bench.

The major difference between the potential exile of Diarra and the
questioned exit of Faubert was that Faubert never left the club until his
contract finished in the summer. Julien Faubert became somewhat of a
talisman during our promotion season and was part of the side that
playedagainst Blackpool at Wembley last year. Though, with the slightly
bizarre outburst from Diarra that Allardyce 'doesn't talk to him' claim is
there a future for Diarra with West Ham United?

Alou Diarra has a very different pedigree to the one that Julien Faubert.
Alou Diarra is a decorated international who has played with some of
Europe's top clubs, so for him to be out of favour is strange. Although it
wasn't long into his time that he picked up an injury that kept him out of
the team for a long period of time.

The problem that Alou has is that he seems to have burnt his bridges with
the club and it seems as though he wants to leave West Ham United when he
has the chance to do so, I would expect Diarra to be out of the club. We
cannot be sure of the full circumstances because Sam Allardyce claimed to be
as surprised as anyone about the remarks that Alou Diarra made a few weeks
ago. Allardyce was unsure about whose time he had wasted at the club,
Diarra's or the clubs time in getting him fit from an injury. I cannot see a
return to the side, at least Allardyce's side, unless they can come to an
agreement as I'm sure a negative influence and an unhappy one would not be
welcomed back to the squad. In my opinion, his time at the club will be at
an end in the Summer window, nevertheless we all said that about Faubert in
2009, didn't we?

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WHAT WAS THE POINT OF WEST HAM SIGNING HIM?
Posted on Saturday, 9th March 2013 by Sam Hodges
ForverWestHam.com

West Ham signed Wellington Paulista in January with not many people knowing
too much about him and it's now heading towards mid-March and we still don't
know much about him. The player has been in and around the Development squad
since he arrived and has scored a few goals for them but still hasn't been
around the first team squad to be given a game. Even when the squad flew out
to Dubai a few weeks ago for a training camp he decided to stay in England
to play for the development squad.

This makes me think what was the point in signing him if we aren't going to
play him? When he signed I was quite excited even though I didn't know
anything about him. But after doing some research on him I realised that he
had a good goal scoring record and would bring something different to the
team. I have said for ages now that we need a striker that is different to
all our others. He is a small striker and is a natural goal scorer which I
think all West Ham fans will agree we haven't had at all this season.
However Sam Allardyce doesn't feel the need to include him in any of the
first team games. It was rumoured when he arrived he wasn't match fit but he
must surely be fit enough now to just be on the bench. Maybe I am a bit
biased because all season I have been saying how it was wrong for the club
to sell both Sam Baldock and Nicky Maynard and not bring in a similar
striker to replace them. I think it is always good to have a striker like
them in team because they can bring something totally different and can be a
big impact from the bench. It also gives the manager more options when
changing tactics if we are losing or drawing the game.

Although saying this I haven't seen much evidence of Allardyce wanting to
change tactics during a game and go 442 for example. So this brings me back
to the question, what was the point in signing him if we aren't going to use
him?

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Avram Grant compares managing Chelsea to West Ham
London24.com
Saturday, March 9, 2013
8:20 AM

Former Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham manager Avram Grant believes that
managing the Blues is easy, compared to the Hammers. The Israeli guided the
west Londoners to the 2008 Champions League final but suffered relegation
with the east London outfit. Grant told The Sun: "I don't think Rafa
Benitez will be replaced any time soon. But, let me tell you something,
coaching at Chelsea is very easy."It's way easier than coaching West Ham,
for instance, because you have a very big budget and top players to choose
from. All you have to do is go after the win. "Things aren't going well at
Chelsea. They have made huge investments but the mood there is not good.
"They can't be happy when they are not challenging for the league. "They
don't like being in the Europa League and their players are not dreaming
about being in that final. "Their motivation would have been much greater in
the Champions League."

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