Daily WHUFC News - 1st March 2013

Macca on: Stoke City
WHUFC.com
The Hammers assistant manager spoke to the press ahead of Saturday's game at
Stoke City
28.02.2013

Neil McDonald believes West Ham United can solve their Barclays Premier
League away-day woes if they are able to replicate their showing on Monday
against Tottenham Hotspur, as they head to the Britannia Stadium.The Hammers
are set for the Potteries to take on Stoke City having earned just a
solitary point from their six previous league clashes on their travels. But
West Ham's assistant manager is confident they will buck the trend on
Saturday, provided they are able to produce the goods as a defensive unit.

What's the news on Kevin Nolan?

NM: "We're still waiting for the results to come back, his toe is very, very
sore. He's had problems in the past with it, all season really. And he got a
real good kick on it. So I'd imagine he won't be available for Saturday and
then we'll see how the results come back and see where he's at. As I said,
he has had problems with his foot all season, and he has been playing
through the pain barrier. It's probably worse than it has been with him
having the kick right on it. Guy Demel came off but he's OK now and
everybody else is fine. [McDonald later revealed that Mark Noble is a doubt
with an arm injury]"

What did you make of Pogatetz's performance on Monday?

NM: "Well it's always difficult coming into an atmosphere in a game at that
stage. But he has settled in OK. He has already played a game. He was
against a good player in Aaron Lennon. He had a few problems, he didn't stop
enough crosses to be fair. But it's always difficult for the last 20 minutes
coming into a game."

Six points off the relegation places, are you concerned?

NM: "Of course we are. We've always looked up the table this season and
we've always tried to get into the top ten and with a good result on
Saturday we can push ourselves a little bit closer to that.
"I think the away form hasn't been as good as we'd have liked. I think our
home form has been really, really good, even though we've lost a couple. We
have to address that, we've got to be a little tighter and a bit more
physical away from home and make sure we try and keep a clean sheet. And if
we can do that, that gives us a good chance to get back to winning ways on
our travels."

What sort of challenge do Stoke present?

NM: "Well I think they're very well organised. They're quite direct with the
way they play, into the forwards, and then knocking it down and getting it
wide. So we'll have to deal with crosses, and with knockdowns as well. So
it's a stern test but in our game plan, hopefully we can give them a bit of
a test as well. We're trying to put right what we haven't done over the last
four or five away games."

Stoke haven't been on the best run of form either, I think it's one win in
five, do you take something positive from that?

NM: "You always have to take something positive. Apart from Gareth Bale
scoring two brilliant goals, we've acquitted ourselves really well against a
top-four team [on Monday], and if we do that away from home we've got every
chance of getting a result."

What's the situation with Ricardo Gardner?

NM: "Ricardo has just been in for a few weeks trying to get his fitness back
and we've helped him out with a couple of games as well. We've got no space
in our 25-man squad, so there's nothing doing. We had a great relationship
with him at Bolton and he asked to come in and do a bit of training to top
his fitness
up, and that's what he has done. So he's ready and raring to go if somebody
needs a left-back, stroke left-midfielder."

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'We have to go to Stoke and give it a go'
WHUFC.com
James Collins believes West Ham United have to go to Stoke City with a
positive gameplan
28.02.2013

James Collins says there is more than enough quality in the West Ham United
squad to start turning strong performances into results. The Hammers have
performed to a decent level in their most-recent two Barclays Premier League
fixtures, only to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa and go down 3-2 at home
to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. Collins, who returned to the starting XI
against Spurs after six weeks out with a hamstring injury, said he and his
team-mates were disappointed not to have picked up points against Spurs.
Now, the Welshman wants to turn encouraging displays into points, starting
at Stoke City on Saturday. "We were talking afterwards and I think we felt
we could perhaps have done better with Tottenham's first goal but overall we
were very happy with how we played and how we created chances against what
is a top-three side and a team very much on form," said the centre-back. "It
was a tough game and a London derby. We had other chances that, if they had
gone in, would have made it 3-1 and then you are looking at a different
game. "It is gutting when you are only minutes away from getting something,
but we were strong on Monday night and that gives us plenty of confidence
and belief going to Stoke on Saturday."

Collins' Wales international team-mate Gareth Bale took the headlines on
Monday, scoring Spurs' first and third goals - the latter an unstoppable
90th-minute rocket into the top corner that won the game for his side.
Having trained and played with the 23-year-old for his country, the defender
was not surprised to see the Tottenham No11 shine at the Boleyn Ground. "His
goal is one where you just have to hold your hands up, there was nothing we
could have done I don't think. He is on fire at the moment, scoring and
creating goals, and has not got a weakness at all."

The centre-back will come up against another familiar left-footer this
weekend, when West Ham travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke, who
could include former Hammer Matthew Etherington. "We are looking up and
onwards. There are more tough matches coming up, but we have a great squad
and great team spirit. We have to go to Stoke and give it a good go, and I
feel we have more than enough in the team to do that. "The way we started
the season showed what we are capable of. We are training hard, we want to
win every game and that is no different against Stoke, who we know will be
tough on their own ground, but I strongly believe if we keep playing the way
we are playing, the results will come."

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Dev Squad at the Boleyn on Friday
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock is looking forward to pitting his Dev Squad against the very
best at the Boleyn Ground
25.02.2013

West Ham United's Development Squad are in action at the Boleyn Ground this
Friday evening when they play host to Manchester United. Nick Haycock's team
will be swapping their usual Rush Green home for the bigger stage of the
Hammers' main stadium, and with season ticket holders being admitted free of
charge, there's no excuse to miss out. Kick-off is at 7pm and admission for
non-season ticket holders is priced at £3 adults and £1 concessions. The
Hammers follow this Boleyn Ground run-out with two more before the end of
April, against Arsenal (March 15) and Tottenham Hotspur (April 8). The
Stadium Store will also be open up until kick-off, giving supporters a
chance to make the most of the club's half-price sale on the Macron replica
kit and accessories range.
Haycock cannot wait for the challenge. He said: "It will make a big
difference playing at the Boleyn Ground, as that's ultimately where we'd
like the boys to play. The more games you can get at your main stadia the
better. "That just raises the environment for the boys to prepare themselves
for the biggest challenge, namely when they do step out in that domain for
the first team. "We can hopefully get back to the passing style that we have
got and I think the boys will be looking forward to the occasion as well."

Boleyn Ground Development Squad fixtures
Friday 1 March - Manchester United (7pm)
Friday 15 March - Arsenal (7pm)
Monday 8 April - Tottenham Hotspur (7pm)

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Lletget makes good on promise
WHUFC.com
Sebastian Lletget spoke of his mixed emotions after scoring in a 2-1 defeat
by Wolves
28.02.2013

Sebastian Lletget was thrilled to repay West Ham United's continued faith in
him, as he celebrated a new two-year contract with his first goal of the
season for the Development Squad. It was, however, to end a bitter-sweet
evening for the American, as his first-half strike could not prevent the
Hammers from falling to defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Last time
out, Lletget had vowed to break his goalscoring duck this term, and now that
he has, he is planning to make sure he has plenty more to celebrate between
now and the season's end. "I was just very happy to give back to the club
what they've given me through the past couple of years so hopefully I can
keep moving on and getting some goals," Lletget told West Ham TV. "It was
particularly pleasing to score. With Nick being the new Dev Squad manager he
has pushed me forward a bit and has really got on to me to score more goals.
"We've worked on it in training and it's working out, so I'm happy. It
worked out well, thank you to my teammates. It was good build up as well,
they set me up and I was just glad to finish it off."
Positive though he is, Lletget couldn't fail to be somewhat deflated after
surrendering a lead so late in the day against Wolves. But far from being
all doom and gloom, he believed West Ham should have had something to show
for their efforts. "We played our hearts out," he added. "It's unfortunate
that the last ten minutes didn't go our way but we did our best. We were
hanging in there. I thought we were going to win it. I think we were good
enough to win it. The referee made a call and even though we disagree with
it, it happens so we can't take it back. "There are a couple of young ones
in there and I think it's a good lesson for them. For our experienced
players in the squad, like myself, there are always lessons to be learned
out of these games especially."

Casting his mind to Friday's showdown with Manchester United, Lletget is
relishing the prospect of showcasing his talents at the Boleyn Ground, in
the hope the Hammers can topple the heavyweights. "It's going to be a big
stage for a lot of us and managers will be watching and a lot of scouts, so
it will be a good opportunity. Manchester United will have a lot of good
players but we have a lot of good players as well and we're well up for the
challenge. Every season that's our aim, to play the best and beat the best."


Entry for Friday night's 7pm kick-off is free for Season Ticket Holders,
while all other adult tickets are just £3 and under-16s £1. The main car
park and Stadium Store will also be open to supporters.

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Sculpting a legend
WHUFc.com
Philip Jackson is the man who created two fantastic sculptures of the late,
great Bobby Moore OBE
28.02.2013

Philip Jackson is the sculptor whose works of Bobby Moore stand outside the
Boleyn Ground and Wembley Stadium. Jackson is a renowned sculptor with an
outstanding international reputation. Born in Inverness in 1944, Jackson now
lives and works in West Sussex. He was appointed Commander of the Royal
Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2009. As well as
his two fine works depicting Bobbby Moore, Jackson has also sculpted public
works of 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey, Manchester
United trio George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, King George VI and HM
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In an exclusive interview with West Ham
United, Jackson discusses the process behind his two magnificent sculptures
of the late, great Hammers and England captain: "The first Bobby Moore
statue I worked on was the one at West Ham. It was to celebrate the 1966
World Cup victory, with Bobby as captain. It's based on an iconic
photograph, showing three of the players holding Bobby aloft. "As Bobby was
unfortunately no longer with us, we were relying on photographs to make sure
his features were correct. West Ham were very helpful with supplying images
from their archive, and Bobby's widow Stephanie too. "When you're working on
a piece, you start by identifying your audience. In this case there were
three - the panel who have put forward the commission, who you work very
closely with, the people involved, in this case Stephanie, who would see
them differently from the panel, and the fans too, who would have a very
high appreciation of what he looked like.

"This piece was one from a snapshot in time, and when you're working from
photos they often span a greater period. The difficulty was that there
aren't too many of the players involved from before, and although there are
plenty from the event and afterwards, ideally you have photographs very
close up as you're producing a stature nine feet tall with their head
one-and-a-half times real size. You can't fudge the details. "I was lucky
that Stephanie provided such great access to photos from her own archive as
they were a huge help. "The other detail you need to get right is the kit -
it changes all the time and if you get it wrong there are hundreds of
experts out there who will point it out, so I had to study that very closely
too. "Having been commissioned for the piece at West Ham, that was helpful
when it came to the Wembley one. There was a public poll to decide which
iconic football figure would be standing in front of the new Wembley
Stadium, and more than 50 per cent said Bobby Moore. "For this one there was
a super panel, which included the architects of the stadium itself, the
Chairman of the FA and the other football authorities. They were of the
mindset that they would be telling us what to do, but I was of the mind that
I would do my study into the subject and then tell them what I thought
appropriate. "That involved giving all the people on the super panel a ring,
hearing what they thought about Bobby and finding out what it was that stood
out about him.

"It became clear that he wasn't the fastest footballer, although he was
captain he wasn't a shouter, and he wasn't a goalscorer. But he was a
leader, who gave the confidence to his team-mates to win. I found that very
interesting, along with the fact that as a defender he was a very difficult
man to get past. He was a player who was always thinking and that was why I
wanted to show him deep in thought, as a determined, thoughtful tactician.
"The fact there are statues commemorating Bobby at both the Boleyn Ground
and Wembley is fantastic, because his is an image which is seen by so many
people at both venues and his story is one which will live on. He's the only
England captain to lift a FIFA World Cup, and that remains a massive high
point in English football. "Bobby was so popular and liked by the public,
and it has been an honour to build up a picture of him in my own mind, from
researching his story so deeply and getting to know people who knew him. We
have images of him at both the Boleyn Ground and Wembley that will last for
100 or 200 years and that's fantastic."

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Kevin Nolan: West Ham skipper sidelined by broken toe
BBC.co.uk

West Ham are set to be without captain Kevin Nolan for at least a month
after he suffered a broken toe in Monday's 3-2 defeat by Tottenham. The
Hammers midfielder, 30, was substituted after 35 minutes following a tackle
by Spurs' Mousa Dembele. Reports claiming Nolan would be out for six to
eight weeks are "wide of the mark," a West Ham spokesman said. Nolan will
miss Saturday's game at Stoke, which is one of only three matches for the
Hammers in March.
As they are out of the FA Cup, Sam Allardyce's men are next in action at
west London rivals Chelsea on 17 March, and then host West Bromwich Albion
on 30 March after an international break. Ex-Newcastle player Nolan, who
suffered a toe injury in a pre-season friendly against Colchester United
last summer, is West Ham's top scorer with six goals. He joined the Upton
Park club from the Magpies on a five-year deal in 2011.

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Birmingham City: Newcastle's Shane Ferguson signs on loan
BBC.co.uk

Birmingham City have brought in young wide man Shane Ferguson on a month's
emergency loan from Newcastle United. The 21-year-old Northern Ireland
international, who can also play at full-back, has been signed to cover
Blues' six games up to and including Easter Monday (1 April). Ferguson's
arrival follows the return of injured on-loan winger Rob Hall to parent club
West Ham United. Teenager Hall has returned to West Ham for treatment on a
groin injury.
Play media The England Under-19 international has made 13 appearances for
Blues since first arriving at St Andrew's in November . But, having last
appeared in the 4-0 home defeat by Watford two weeks ago, Hall's current
loan spell ends on 16 March.

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West Ham suffer injury blow as captain Kevin Nolan breaks toe
Last Updated: February 28, 2013 5:31pm
SSN

Kevin Nolan suffered a broken toe during Monday night's derby against
Tottenham, West Ham have confirmed. The captain collided with Mousa Dembele
during the first half of the 3-2 defeat, exacerbating a long-standing
problem. Nolan is out of this weekend's trip to Stoke and will instead
undergo intensive treatment, but it is not yet known how long he faces on
the sidelines. West Ham assistant manager Neil McDonald said: "His toe's
very, very sore. He's had problems in the past with it - all season really -
and he got a really good kick on it. "I'd imagine he'll not be available for
Saturday and we'll see how the results come back and we'll see where he's
at. "He has been playing through the pain barrier. We'll assess it in the
next couple of days." West Ham have 15 days between the visit to the
Britannia and their next game - away at Chelsea on 17 March. Manchester
United's continued involvement in the FA Cup means their trip to east London
- originally scheduled for 9 March - has been postponed.

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