Daily WHUFC News - 24th September 2013

Joey reflects on Everton setback
WHUFC.com
Joey O'Brien was in typically honest mood following Saturday's disappointing
home defeat
23.09.2013

Joey O'Brien was in typically honest mood following Saturday's disappointing
3-2 home Barclays Premier League defeat by Everton. The West Ham United
right-back left the Boleyn Ground with stitches in the back of his head
after challenging Toffees striker Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian powerhouse
nodded in the match-winning goal five minutes from time. The defeat was
difficult to take for West Ham, who had controlled the first half and went
into the final ten minutes leading 2-1. Then Mark Noble was sent-off for a
second bookable offence, Leighton Baines curled in his second magnificent
free-kick of the game and Lukaku thundered home Everton's winner. "It was
very disappointing," said the No17. "I don't think we created an awful lot
of chances, but I thought in the first half we were the better side really.
"In the second half they improved their team with a couple of changes
[bringing on Lukaku and James McCarthy], but to get done by two free-kicks
and losing a player to a red card in the build up to the second one was
always going to make it hard with the players that they have and that led to
their third."

While Baines' set pieces were of the highest order, West Ham have now
conceded three goals from direct free-kicks in their last two home games
following Jermaine Pennant's match-winner for Stoke City. O'Brien admitted
that the Hammers need to stop giving free-kicks away within shooting range
to prevent the same scenario from happening again. However, he refused to
blame Noble for Saturday's defeat. "Of course in an ideal world that would
be the thing to do, but in the heat of the moment, when players are going
through players make decisions and if they think that they are going to get
shots away, that is the reason they are trying to make those tackles. But
when the ball then flies into the top corner, it is hard to take. "Of course
[Noble's sending-off was pivotal] and they had the momentum with their two
free-kicks as well as us going down to ten men. The way they play, with a
lot of possession, certainly frustrates you, and with only ten men it makes
it even more difficult. "We have conceded four goals this season and three
of those have been from free kicks. It is just one of those things at the
moment."

O'Brien himself saw a change in roles on Saturday, moving from left to
right-back in place of the injured Guy Demel. As a natural right-footer, the
Irishman had no trouble settling back into a position he has filled many
times before during his career. I have been training there all week as I
knew it was coming after the injury to Guy. It was grand. There are perhaps
always a couple of moments in games where I was slightly out of position,
but I am trying to get back into the swing of things."

Looking ahead, O'Brien may be rested for Tuesday's Capital One Cup
third-round visit of Cardiff City, but he is already determined to get back
to winning ways in the Barclays Premier League at Hull City on Saturday.
There, he could come up against fellow Dubliner Robbie Brady, with the
winger enjoying a fine start to the season. "It is a massive game at Hull
City on Saturday and we will be going up there to get three points and
bounce back."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on: Cardiff City
WHUFC.com
The West Ham United manager has spoken to the press ahead of Tuesday's
meeting with Cardiff
23.09.2013

Sam Allardyce will celebrate his 100th game in charge of West Ham United
when Cardiff City visit the Boleyn Ground for a Capital One Cup third round
tie on Tuesday. The Hammers manager spoke to the press to preview his side's
second meeting with Cardiff in a little over a month. It's a landmark game
for you tomorrow night against Cardiff, your 100th game in charge.

Your record is played 99, won 42, drawn 27 and lost 30, how proud are you of
that record?

SA: "Obviously I'm very pleased with the record we had in the Barclays
Premier League last year and the year before we were expected to do well in
the Championship. If you look at the stats for how many teams are promoted
the season after they were relegated you'll find that there are very few,
around 20 per cent who actually manage it. We've done everything that we
said we would do, not just me and the backroom staff, but also the Chairman
and the Vice-Chairman and everyone else behind the scenes. "We set out with
the plan to get promoted in the first year, we did that. The second year we
planned to stay up and in the end we surpassed expectations and finished
tenth. Now we've got to bring a sustainable balance to the squad which is
going to keep us in the Premier League for many, many years. We need to grow
slowly, it's probably unacceptable in today's football but we have to
convince everybody that growing slowly is the right way. It sustains the
ability to get better and better and when you do that you are then able to
achieve more and you can start looking at bigger things."

You made eleven changes in the last round against Cheltenham, will you do
the same for Cardiff?

SA: "We will make some changes. We're in a difficult position with our
points total which we're very disappointed that we haven't achieved more. We
had a huge blow to us on Saturday losing the game against Everton which we
didn't deserve, but that happens. This is a ruthless league and if you don't
do what you should do then it ends up punishing you. "I watched Norwich
versus Aston Villa before our game and Chris Hughton will have been
absolutely gutted when he woke up to review that game and saw how many
chances they had to bury Aston Villa, they didn't and ended up losing. In
our case it wasn't quite like that because we had the lead twice but Mr
Baines was on top form. I don't think he's ever scored two in a game,
particularly like he did. Our fault came in giving the free-kicks away,
that's where the responsibility lies for us. All the lads know about his
quality, everybody does, the ordinary supporter in the stand knows. The last
thing you do is commit fouls and give them free-kicks in dangerous areas, we
did that twice and got punished heavily."

Will Joe Cole and Stewart Downing feature against Cardiff?

SA: "No they won't feature in this game. I would have loved the match to be
next week rather than this week as they both would have played. They won't
be involved on Tuesday because both of them are only due back in training
with the other players on Monday and putting them into what will be a hugely
competitive game has come too early for them. It will be a hugely
competitive match because there will be a lot of players out there who will
be trying to convince both myself and Malky [Mackay, Cardiff manager] that
they should be playing in the first team on a more regular basis."

You've reached the 100 game mark here, something which is becoming rarer in
today's climate. Are you proud when you reach a landmark like this?

SA: "I enjoy working in football and have enjoyed it for so many years now
that it's the only thing I really know. When you're in the job you're
obviously fearful of getting the sack. It's a survival game no matter what
anybody says, particularly for young managers. They've got to learn how to
survive and then evolve. When you reach 100 games and people say well done,
it worries me. If it's 300 games or 400 games, fine, but 100 games should be
more commonplace than it is. The constant change of managers which we're now
faced with has turned reaching 100 games into a bit of an achievement. For
me, that's pretty disappointing that in our professional leagues we change
managers so much."

You've had a good result against Cardiff already this season and since then
they've shown some resilience. Are they a side in the mould of their
manager?

SA: "I think that Malky and his staff do a really good job in terms of
playing to their strengths and organising the team. He's learnt over his
time at Watford and now at Cardiff that his job is about results and using
his squad to the best of their ability. When we played them at our place,
him, his team and his players have adjusted very quickly to life in the
Premier League. "We won that game comfortably on the day but since then
they've reorganised themselves and had some fantastic results. Malky's done
a great job, his team are well organised and they know what's expected of
them. We had a tough match against Cheltenham in the last round and I'm
expecting another tough game against Cardiff."

Mladen Petric made a positive impact from the bench on Saturday. Will he
start against Cardiff?

SA: "I don't think a start because we're talking about a player who's only
had half-an-hour in a highly competitive game in the Barclays Premier
League. The physicality is greater than anywhere else in the world and he's
only in week two of his pre-season. Normally he would be playing 45 minutes
against Cork City but instead he's had 30 minutes against Everton so he's
feeling the stresses and strains of that. We have to be careful because we
don't want him to get injured, but he will be in the squad."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Cardiff
KO 19:45
23 September 2013
Last updated at 12:51

CAPITAL ONE CUP THIRD ROUND
Venue: Upton Park Date: Tuesday, 24 September
Coverage: Watch highlights on The League Cup Show on Wednesday at 23:05 BST,
BBC One.

West Ham midfielders Joe Cole (hamstring) and Stewart Downing (knee) will
not feature as they have only just returned to training after injury. Mark
Noble will also definitely be absent as he serves a one-match ban. Like
Hammers' manager Sam Allardyce, Cardiff boss Malky Mackay will also rotate
his squad.
New signing Peter Odemwingie could make his first start but Andreas
Cornelius is still struggling with an ankle injury picked up in the last
round.

MATCH PREVIEW
West Ham and Cardiff go into Tuesday's League Cup tie locked together in the
Premier League, with both teams having won one, drawn two and lost two of
their five league matches so far. In fact, the only difference lies in the
goals conceded column, where Cardiff have let in two more than the Hammers -
goals that can be traced back to their 2-0 defeat at Upton Park on the
opening day of the season. West Ham's only subsequent win was against League
Two Cheltenham in this competition, and they have suffered home defeats to
both Stoke and Everton. The League Cup has been bitter-sweet for Cardiff in
recent years. The Welsh club reached the final in 2012, only to suffer the
heartbreak of losing to Liverpool in a penalty shoot-out. And they fell at
the first hurdle last year, with League Two side Northampton dumping them
out.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

The two sides have met five times before in the League Cup, including in
1966, when West Ham won the two-legged semi-final 10-3 on aggregate and went
on to lift the trophy.
West Ham have won the last four meetings with Cardiff in all competitions,
including the Premier League meeting between the two sides in August.

West Ham

The Hammers have won eight of their last 10 League Cup matches played at
Upton Park (W8, L2).
This match will be Sam Allardyce's 100th in charge of West Ham. His record
so far is P99, W42, D27, L30
West Ham have not won any of their last four league matches (D2, L2).

Cardiff

Cardiff have won just one of their last seven away games in all competitions
(W1, D4, L2).
The Welsh side have lost both their matches against London clubs so far this
season.
They have won just one of their last 12 League Cup clashes against
top-flight sides (including replays), with that victory (against Blackburn)
coming on their way to reaching the 2012 final.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Paolo Di Canio: Sam Allardyce says sacking was 'knee jerk'
BBC.co.uk

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believes Sunderland have made a knee-jerk
decision by sacking Paolo Di Canio. Italian Di Canio, 45, was dismissed as
Black Cats manager on Sunday after only five Premier League games this
season. The former Swindon boss was appointed in March to replace Martin
O'Neill.

Di Canio's journey
Born in Rome, 9 July 1968
Played in Italy for Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Cisco Roma
Played in Britain for Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton
Fined £10,000 in 1998 by the FA for pushing referee Paul Alcock to the
ground after being sent off against Arsenal
Wins Fifa Fair Play award for sportsmanship in 2001 for catching ball and
stopping play v Everton to allow injured keeper Paul Gerrard to receive
treatment
Criticised in 2005 for making fascist-style salute in Lazio game
Appointed Swindon boss in May 2011; guides them into League One a year later
Resigns as Swindon boss in February 2013 citing issues with the club's
hierarchy after sale of star player Matt Ritchie
Replaces Martin O'Neill as Sunderland boss in March 2013; club avoid
relegation
Sacked after four defeats in five league games of 2013-14

"If it doesn't go well they seem to be making a knee-jerk decision to change
the manager," said Allardyce, who left Newcastle in 2008 after eight months
by mutual consent. None of Sunderland's last four managers, Ricky Sbragia,
Steve Bruce, O'Neill and Di Canio, have lasted 100 games - which is the
landmark Allardyce will achieve at West Ham on Tuesday when they face
Cardiff. "They've been pretty quick at pulling the trigger recently, in the
last three managers," continued the ex-Bolton boss. Di Canio won only three
of his 13 matches after replacing O'Neill and took one point from five
top-flight games this campaign.
Sunderland had brought in 14 new players in the summer with Di Canio working
with director of football Roberto De Fanti and chief scout Valentino
Angeloni on their transfers. "I find it very difficult to see where the
logic lies in it, particularly when there has been a full clear-out [of
backroom staff]," said Allardyce. "To go through that process in a
particular season which has got under way is a huge task for whoever is
going to be the next head coach."

Di Canio immediately attracted controversy following his appointment in
March but Sunderland narrowly avoided relegation last season, thanks partly
to a famous 3-0 win over Newcastle - their first victory at St James' Park
over over their local rivals in 13 years. However, public criticism of his
squad at the end of last season was followed by bans on mobile phones,
tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and ice in Coca-Cola at the club's training
ground. After Saturday's 3-0 loss to West Brom, Di Canio was verbally abused
by travelling supporters and further criticism of his players led to anger
among the squad. Allardyce believes the controversial manager may have to
change his style if he is to return to the Premier League. "The man says
he's not going to change and I think you are what you are," he said. "You've
got to be true to yourself; if that's your style, that's your style. If it
doesn't work you've got to hold your hands up and say, 'it might have worked
at Swindon but in the Premier League it hasn't worked'. "You have to look at
yourself and say, 'if I get the next job do I do it like that or don't I?'"

Former Blackburn boss Allardyce believes managers should be given more time
to settle in at clubs but fears management has now become about just
surviving. "What you fear for is the sack, obviously, and it is a survival
game," said the Hammers manager. "Particularly the young managers who come
in, you've to learn how to survive and then evolve. "When it is seen to be
100 games well done, it really does worry me. If it's 300 games or 400
games, fine. But 100 games? "This should be more often across the board than
it is now because of the constant changing of managers and coaches that we
are now faced with, that 100 games is now something of an achievement. For
me, I think that is pretty disappointing."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nice one, centurion
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce celebrates what will be his 100th game in charge of West Ham
when his team faces Cardiff City tomorrow night. The Welsh club return to
the Boelyn Ground for the second time this season after they were beaten 2-0
on the opening day of the campaign - West Ham's only Premier League win so
far.
For Allardyce, who succeeded Avram Grant in the summer of 2011, it will be
the 100th occasion on which he leads his team out - and a spell which, all
things considered, Allardyce considers to be a successful one. "I'm very
pleased with the record we had in the Premier League last year, the year
before we were expected to do well in the Championship," he said. "We've
done everything that we said we would do. "We set out with the plan to get
promoted in the first year, we did that. The second year we planned to stay
up and in the end we surpassed expectations and finished tenth. Now we've
got to bring a sustainable balance to the squad which is going to keep us in
the Premier League for many, many years. "It's probably unacceptable in
today's football but we have to convince everybody that growing slowly is
the right way. It sustains the ability to get better and better and when you
do that you are then able to achieve more and you can start looking at
bigger things."

Yet despit having reached the milestone, Allardyce maintains that his
biggest fear remains getting the sack. "I enjoy working in football and have
enjoyed it for so many years now that it's the only thing I really know -
but when you're in the job you're fearful of getting the sack," he revealed.
It's a survival game no matter what anybody says, particularly for young
managers. "When you reach 100 games and people say well done, it worries
me. If it's 300 or 400 games fine, but 100 games should be more commonplace
than it is. The constant change of managers which we're now faced with has
turned reaching 100 games into a bit of an achievement."

Sam's Five Finest

5. West Ham Utd 6-0 Brighton: Fellow promotion candicates Albion came to the
Boleyn at the back end of the 2011/12 campaign and were blitzed by a
six-goal drubbing; chief architect being Ricardo Vaz Te whose hat-trick
included an overhead kick.

4. West Ham Utd 1-0 Aston Villa: The first game back in the Premir League is
always a nervy occasion. Featuring new signings such as James Collins and
Jussi Jaaskelainen, this was the perfect start as Allardyce got everything
right tactically.

3. Blackpool 1-4 West Ham Utd: The demolition of a side who were, at the
time, our promotion rivals. 2-1 up when Rob Green was (incorrectly)
dismissed, Henri Lansbury took his place as the ten men added further goals
through Gary O'Neil and Ricardo Vaz Te.

2. West Ham Utd 2-1 Blackpool: A nervy, less than convincing performance at
Wembley - at last! - but still the best day out long-suffering Hammers fans
have had in years. Ricardo Vaz Te is immortalised as Big Sam is spotted
singing 'Bubbles' on the big screen.

1. West Ham Utd 3-1 Chelsea: A simply stunning second half performance from
the Hammers as they recorded a first win over the Blues for a decade. We
were that good, even Modibo Maiga got himself on the scoresheet.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Paolo pushed
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Former West Ham favourite Paolo Di Canio has been sacked from his post as
manager of fellow Premier League club Sunderland. The 44-year-old Italian,
who spent five years at West Ham between 1998 and 2003 has received his
marching orders less after just 13 games in charge at the Stadium of Light.
A statement on the Black Cats' website late last night confirmed that Di
Canio had been given the push. "Sunderland AFC confirms that it has parted
company with head coach Paolo Di Canio this evening," it said. "Kevin Ball
will take charge of the squad ahead of Tuesday night's Capital One Cup game
against Peterborough United and an announcement will be made in due course
regarding a permanent successor. "The club would like to place on record its
thanks to Paolo and his staff and wishes them well for the future."

It is believed that Di Canio, whose unique management methods previously
ruffled feathers at Swindon was fired after a training ground bust-up with
some of his first team players. That followed a dreadful start to the season
for the Wearsiders, who currently sit bottom of the Premier League having
amasseda total of just one point from their opening five fixtures. News of
Di Canio's sacking comes almost exactly a decade after Glenn Roeder - who Di
Canio was a fierce critic of during his time as a player - was sacked by
West Ham, having failed to maintain the Club's Premiership status.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United v Cardiff City
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd September 2013
By: Preview Percy

Preview Percy has written another preview about Cardiff City. It's just as
bad as the previous one. Let's hope and pray we don't get them in the FA Cup
as well....

Next up we play host to Cardiff City in the 3rd round of the League Cup.
Kick off on Tuesday night is 7.45pm and I believe that the usual requirement
for Cardiff supporters to pick up their tickets from a disused, uncharted
and unlit North Sea oil rig by 3am has been dispensed with. As ever in this
competition, extra time and penalties are available to settle matters on the
night should they be required. Don't wait up luv.

League form in their first visit to the to flight for a jolly long time has
been patchy. They looked a bit overawed on the opening day as we coasted to
a relatively easy 2-0 victory. This was followed up by an unexpected 3-2 win
over Man City at the City of Cardiff stadium, a match in which the Citizens
gave a whole new meaning to the word "complacent". Draws at home to Everton
(0-0) and away to Hull (1-1) gave them a three match unbeaten run which came
to an end at the weekend with a stoppage time defeat to Spurs. All of which
has left them in one place behind us, level on points and two goals worse
off on the goal difference front. In the previous round of this particular
competition they went up to Accrington and won 2-0.

Like us they can claim to have suffered at the hands of the referee this
weekend, Loris's handball outside the box was close enough for Clattenburg
to get the benefit of the doubt in that case. Spurs went on to have some
silly number of efforts on goal before finally winning in stoppage time.

On decent form in the Spurs match was 'keeper David Marshall. Marshall has
been first choice in the league so far this season, though he did miss out
on a trip to Hull with a hip injury. Let's face it which one of us wouldn't
feign some sort of injury to avoid a trip to Humberside? In the modern style
Joe Lewis was preferred to Marshall for the League Cup trip so we should
probably expect that again.

It is thought that the match may see a first start for Peter Odemwinge. He's
been about this lad hasn't he. The place where he was born – Tashkent. –
used to be part of the USSR. By the time he was 10 it was part of
Uzbekistan. His early career was spent in the youth systems of KAMAZ and
CSKA but he went to Nigeria (his father's birthplace) to play for his first
grown-up club, the wonderfully named Bendel Insurance. From there he went to
Belgium, winning the Belgian Cup with La Louviere. His next trip was from
Belgium (where they speak French even though they don't have to) to France
(where they do), spending three years or so at Lille. Next stop was a return
to the former USSR where Lokomotiv Moscow were his employers for a few
years. The knobhead racist element of the Moscow support celebrated his
departure for West Brom with banners saying "Thanks West Brom".

Even though his passport stamps read USSR, Nigeria, Belgium, France, Russia
and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it is a rather
more prosaic journey for which he became noted, journeying down the M6 where
he was under the mistaken impression that he had a deal to join QPR. I can't
imagine for the life of me how he might have come about that impression.
After all, it's not as if their manager would have had any illegal contact
with the player or his agents, is it? The journey saw him stuck in the car
park with everyone at QPR hiding behind the curtains pretending not to be
in, prompting chants of "he went to QPR, they left him in his car" and "what
a waste of petrol" from opposition fans at the end of last season. He
eventually left the Hawthorns on deadline day for Cardiff and is presumably
disappointed that he didn't get another stamp in his passport, having been
persuaded by Cardiff that Wales was a proper country, rather than just
somewhere England keeps the mountains that there wasn't room for in
Scotland.

Record signing (for a few days anyway) Andreas Cornelius is likely to miss
out. He had ankle issues during pre-season and had the bad fortune to
exacerbate his injury early on in the Accrington match in the last round.
This may mean a start for ex-Hammer Nicky Maynard. Maynard was on the bench
against Spurs and remained unused. So his will be one of the fresher pairs
of legs available to Malky Mackay, given the mere 48 hours or so between the
end of Sunday's match and the start of this one.

One player I simply have to mention, irrespective of whether or not Mackay
chooses to start him is French defender Kevin Theophile-Catherine who is
currently leading the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home for the Bewildered
competition for "Most Splendidly-Named Opponent". Theophile-Catherine
(brilliant isn't it) came in just before the deadline from Rennes for a fee
of a shade over £2m, most of which will be recouped as soon as one or two
supporters decide to stick his name on the back of their shirts.

Us? Well here at the Avram Grant Rest Olympic Rest Home or the Bewildered
were frankly gobsmacked at the refereeing at the weekend. Lee Mason gave the
impression that he belonged in one of the padded rooms they have here for
the more "difficult" residents. Ron Vibbentropp, our German resident,
reckons that back in his home country a panel reviews every refereeing
decision and those referees who fail to consistently score a high average
find themselves going down the leagues. It's all open and clear to all,
unlike our own PGMOL, who are responsible for their own marking and hide the
results from everyone, thus ensuring that the likes of Mason don't get what
they deserve. In Mason's case that would be a long stay in Guantnamo Bay
being forced to listen to Bon Jovi 24 hours a day.

In truth, Lukaku's introduction was the catalyst for Everton's revival but I
reckon we would have deserved the point stolen from us by Mason's dishonesty
on the strength of the first half performance.. Thankfully the moronic
decision to send off Noble wasn't more costly. He'll only miss this game –
which he would probably have been rested for anyway.

We may see a start for Petric as he attempts to gin a bit of match fitness.
It was his hard work that led to the penalty and he has to be a better bet
than Maiga who appears to veer between interested and not bothered at the
drop of a hat.

Squad rotation may see us start with a similar side to that which saw off
Cheltenham, especially when you consider the injury list which contains the
likes of Cole, Downing, Demel, Downing and Carroll. So maybe it's time for
another run out for Leo Chambers perhaps? I'd certainly expect to see Adrian
to be given a run out – with possibly Henderson sitting on the racing car in
the squad last time seats to give Jaaskalainen a night off.

Other youngsters who were in the squad for the last round included Seb
Lletget – for whom the editors have been saving the headline "Lletget's
ready to rumble" for several years now - and Elliot Lee for whom they'll
have to be more creative, so expect a similar bench this time round.

Prediction? Well as ever with this competition much will depend on how
strong a team the respective managers elect to put out. I'd fancy us to win
comfortably if the respective first teams were fielded. However, the
permutations are pretty flexibe on both sides – though with the relatively
short time since their match against Spurs you'd have though that there'd be
a few rested. I'll still plump for a win though and I'll be putting the
AGORHFTB Lee Mason Straitjacket Fund (£2.50) on us to win 2-1 though don't
be too surprised if it all goes to extra time.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Boleyn – Won 2-0 August 2013. Joe Cole in the first
half and Kevin Nolan in the second sealed the points. Blimey if you can't
remember that maybe you should be here at the rest home instead of me! I
mean I only mentioned it up there near the top of the page. Do try to pay
attention.

Referee: Roger East – last seen in our 6-0 defeat of Brighton the season
before last, when he booked Carlton Cole (who is famous) for complaining,
rather than the defender who was kicking him (who wasn't famous).

Danger Man: Nicky Maynard – difficult to predict a danger man when you have
little idea what side the opponents will put out. The "law of the ex" will
apply assuming Maynard gets the nod.

Daft Welsh Fact Of The Week: The current incarnation of Dr Who is largely
filmed in the Welsh capital. Bit of an obvious location really when you
think about it – all that strange unearthly barren scenery and a strange
almost but not quite human-like population, whose origins are betrayed by
the strange alien tongue that they insist on writing half the road signs in.
I bet they think it's a documentary down there.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
At least we are not Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd September 2013
By: Paul Walker

Five games into the Premier League campaign and we are struggling. No it's
not a crisis yet, and the time now is for calm, patience and strong nerve.

Thankfully we are not Sunderland. Now there is a crisis, a full-blown
shambles. Millions spent on a new squad, new manager, new staff etc, etc,
etc. And our old mate Paolo Di Canio gets the boot five games into the
season. Anyone surprised? No , me neither.

Di Canio's style has been described as "management by hand grenade". You may
be able to get away with that at Swindon when substituting goalkeepers
before half-time, falling out with your players and lashing them in the
media can be dismissed as erratic and comical.

Do that with a squad of 20-something millionaires and you are dead in the
water. Sunderland knew what they were taking on, something our own board
declined to do even though, so says Ms. Brady, Di Canio did keep ringing the
club asking to be given a chance.

I recall the clamour from fans for Paolo to be appointed our manager. But I
always sensed that it was romance against reality. A few of our West
Ham-supporting journalists wrote pieces at the time warning of the devil we
didn't really know. Di Canio was high risk, high maintenance and highly
likely to explode at any minute. Too much of a risk, as Sunderland have
discovered.

Hands up out there anyone who secretly wanted Paolo to succeed at Sunderland
so he would one day march back into the Boleyn. Hands up those who thought
he could handle a Premier League club.

Hands up anyone who wants him back now. Not so many as before, I bet.

And it's a generational thing. My match day mates are all half my age, they
remember him as the great entertainer. My own son has named his Dalmatian
dog, Paolo. The dog is lovable, beautiful to behold at full speed, crazy as
a box of frogs and hugely unpredictable. Remind you of anyone?

When Paolo was at his peak at West Ham, I was working in the north and
heavily involved with big clubs there that win things. I barely had time to
get to the Boleyn those days. I only saw my beloved Irons when they came
north for their ritual beatings at Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton
etc. And in fact I rarely saw our Italian then either, because of his
obvious dislike for cold, wet northern grounds (so why go to Sunderland).

I did manage to wangle covering the FA Cup third round defeat at Tranmere in
1999, when Di Canio had managed to negotiate his way that far north. The
pitch was bare, bumpy and the day cold and bleak. We were awful and Paolo
was a waste of space.

I recall talking to Redknapp after the press conference that day, he
shrugged and was resigned to such a performance. Then there was the famous
"catching the ball" trick at Everton when their goalkeeper was injured.
Redknapp said all the right things about sportsmanship in that press
conference, but talking to him as we walked down the stairs together after
that match, and 'arry's view was very different. Basically, put the ball in
the net and then worry about their 'keeper.

The erratic side of Di Canio gets lost in the misty eyed memories of his
breathtaking talent. I also recall being in a Cardiff 'Aussie' bar on the
Sunday that Di Canio scored that amazing goal against Wimbledon. The place
was almost empty, apart from the professional afternoon drinkers, and there
I was jumping around screaming 'you beauty' at the TV screen on the wall,
almost begging the drunks to watch the replays!.

So I do understand the appeal of the man, the thrill of his talent and the
passion he showed us for the game. But, my God, he is a liability.

Our owners could have taken the plunge with Di Canio, and who knows what
would have happened. Di Canio certainly wouldn't have been able to predict
anything, such is his nature and desire for the unexpected.

Our owners must be happy now they did not go down that road. Now I know
Paolo is a hero at the Boleyn, a stunning, gifted footballer who brought
entertainment and joy on many a damp, cold, east London day.

And I know this will not go down well with plenty of our fans, but you must
have guessed by now that somewhere along the line I did not go for the Paolo
for Pope routine. There was too much baggage, too many things that went
wrong and far too much of the me, me, me character in the Italian.

We went down with him in the side - or to be accurate, we went down with him
home in Italy having fallen out with Glenn Roeder. Frankly, inexcusable
behaviour from a professional. He may not have liked the manager, but his
job was to play for the club. And too often he didn't.

Frequently we now see the amazing cameo of the game when he demanded that
'arry should take him off because he didn't like the referee. There were
times in that game when Paolo was playing in his own panto, oblivious of the
game going on around him.

Redknapp has made something of a living with amusing recollections of Di
Canio's antics and maybe in the pantomime that was Redknapp's management
style at Upton Park, it all fitted in. But a few seasons down the line, we
were relegated with a side that included Di Canio, Trevor Sinclair, Jermain
Defoe, Michael Carrick, David James, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole and Freddi
Kanoute in the side. An unforgivable shambles with such talent.

That season, Di Canio played when he felt like it. Trevor Brooking had to
almost go on bended knee to get him back into the team. And we still went
down. Now it is Sunderland picking up the pieces from the car crash. What do
they do with the 14 players he signed, the Italian agents he has worked
with, the Italian coaches and scouts on the pay-roll?

All this has hit us with the backdrop of our own less than stunning last
couple of weeks. The Andy Carroll saga rolls on. We can't get Carlton Cole
fit and have expensive people like Joe Cole and Stewart Downing on the
sidelines. Claims that we are a one-trick pony (Carroll) are hard to argue
against.

Successive home defeats to Stoke, a truly terrible game, and Everton - where
we were winning with 15 minutes left - has left us with a growing cloud over
our season. But it is not that bad.

If you compare like-on-like results to last season (and substitute QPR at
home for Cardiff), we are just two points down on last term. We drew at home
to relegated QPR and beat Cardiff on the opening day. We won last term at
Newcastle and drew this time, we drew with Stoke and lost this time around
while we lost to Everton last season as well

You could hear the moaning as we all walked back down Wakefield Street on
Saturday about Sam, tactics, transfers, style of play. It puts immense
pressure on us to get something at Hull, with tough games against Spurs,
Manchester City and Swansea to come next.

But it's not a crisis, not yet. But Sunderland, well are you glad you are
not in their boots. And maybe the clamour for Di Canio will take on a more
realistic look.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce proud of West Ham record ahead of 100th game
Last Updated: September 23, 2013 6:08pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce has declared himself proud of his West Ham record, ahead of
his 100th game in charge. The former Bolton and Blackburn boss reaches his
century on Tuesday when Cardiff visit Upton Park in the third round of the
Capital One Cup. A lone win has made for a difficult start to the new league
campaign but having secured promotion and then a top-10 finish back in the
Premier League, the 58-year-old is pleased with his overall achievements.
"Obviously I'm very pleased with the record we had in the Premier League
last year and the year before we were expected to do well in the
Championship," he said. "If you look at the stats for how many teams are
promoted the season after they were relegated you'll find that there are
very few, around 20 per cent who actually manage it. "We've done everything
that we said we would do, not just me and the backroom staff, but also the
chairman and the vice-chairman and everyone else behind the scenes. "We set
out with the plan to get promoted in the first year - we did that. The
second year we planned to stay up and in the end we surpassed expectations
and finished 10th. "Now we've got to bring a sustainable balance to the
squad which is going to keep us in the Premier League for many, many years.
It's probably unacceptable in today's football but we have to convince
everybody that growing slowly is the right way."

Allardyce, who has also managed at Blackpool, Notts County and Newcastle,
lamented the fact that managing a club for 100 games has now become a
celebrated achievement. Speaking after Paolo Di Canio became the first
Premier League casualty of the season, he added: "If it's 300 games or 400
games, fine, but 100 games should be more commonplace than it is. "The
constant change of managers which we're now faced with has turned reaching
100 games into a bit of an achievement. For me, that's pretty
disappointing."

Allardyce has already masterminded a league victory over Cardiff but expects
a tough test. "Malky (Mackay's) done a great job; his team are well
organised and they know what's expected of them. "We had a tough match
against Cheltenham in the last round and I'm expecting another tough game
against Cardiff."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mladen Petric confident he can get goals for West Ham
Last Updated: September 23, 2013 11:42am
SSN

Mladen Petric believes he can help to cover Andy Carroll's absence at West
Ham United and carry the goal-scoring burden. The Hammers remain without the
services of their record signing as he continues to nurse a foot complaint.
It is possible that Carroll will be out of action until January, leaving Sam
Allardyce short on attacking options. He has moved to bolster his ranks with
the capture of former Fulham frontman Petric as a free agent, and the
Croatian made his debut off the bench in Saturday's 3-2 defeat to Everton.
The 32-year-old is a proven marksman at domestic and international level and
is confident he can make an important contribution at Upton Park. Petric
said: "I am a striker and I want to score. I hope I can help the team not
only scoring goals, but in the games. "I feel I am getting better every day
and I'm sure I can help the team." Allardyce said of a player who is still
working on his match sharpness: "He's been tired and had aching limbs. "But
with a lot of massage and ice baths he's got through it well. We'll see him
again against Cardiff (in the Capital One Cup) on Tuesday."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com