Daily WHUFC News - 17th October 2013

Rav delighted with England goals
WHUFC.com
Ravel Morrison scored twice as England beat Lithuania 5-0 in a UEFA European
Championship qualifier
15.10.2013

West Ham United's Ravel Morrison was delighted after producing a man of the
match display in which he scored twice for England Under-21s against
Lithuania in a European U21 Championship qualifier at Portman Road. The
midfield maestro scored his first after just two minutes when he turned home
a Wilfried Zaha cross to set the young Lions on their way on a night when
they racked up five unanswered goals in Suffolk. His second strike was
reminiscent of his magnificent solo goal against Tottenham Hotspur as he
glided past two defenders before sitting the goalkeeper down and calmly
slotting the ball into the net. Morrison deservedly won the Man of the Match
award and the midfielder was pleased with both his and his team's display.
He told West Ham TV: "I'm very happy with the performance on my second game
for the Under-21s. "My performance was good and so was the team performance
and we couldn't have hoped for much better tonight."

West Bromwich Albion forward Saido Berahino also scored twice with
Southampton's James Ward-Prowse also netting as Gareth Southgate's side
followed up their 4-0 win over San Marino on Friday in expert fashion. It
was an exciting performance in which Morrison linked up seamlessly with his
team-mates and displayed composure every time he received the ball, although
he admitted to a few pre-match butterflies. "No matter what game I'm going
into I always get nervous," he revealed. "Sometimes nerves can be a good
thing and they certainly were tonight. "I've found it great being part of
the squad, I've come in and the lads have treated me well and I've got on
with everyone really well so it's been good."

The young midfielder will have once again grabbed the headlines with his
second goal, which was a superb individual run and finish. Morrison himself
displayed refreshing modesty when describing the strike. He said: "I can't
remember it, I've not seen it back yet to be honest! "I just thought I might
as well drive it in because I drove it in before when I should have got my
shot off but it got intercepted. "I thought I might as well chance this one
and try and break through the lines and that's what I did."

The midfielder will have been pleased with the way he carried his excellent
club form into his two appearances in an England shirt. His goal against
Tottenham was Morrison's fourth for the Hammers this season but Morrison is
not about to be caught dwelling on the past and is instead relishing
Saturday's Barclays Premier League visit of Manchester City. "I'm very
excited because obviously I used to play for Manchester United but I never
played against their first team so I'm really looking forward to it. "Of
course we can cause a shock. We're a great team and we should have had a lot
of goals this season but for some reason we haven't. "Against Tottenham we
managed to get the goals which have been missing which was pleasing. The
defence has been solid so if we carry on doing what we're doing we can cause
an upset."

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Bonds excited by Morrison
WHUFC.com
West Ham United legend Billy Bonds MBE is excited by the form of youngster
Ravel Morrison
16.10.2013

West Ham United legend Billy Bonds MBE believes Ravel Morrison has all the
tools necessary to become a star for club and country. The four-times Hammer
of the Year told Sports Direct News of his excitement after seeing Morrison
inspire West Ham and England U21s to important victories in recent days.
Morrison netted an outstanding goal in the 3-0 Barclays Premier League
victory at Tottenham Hotspur before netting twice in the 5-0 UEFA European
U21 Championship qualifying win over Lithuania in Ipswich on Tuesday.
Bonds, who played nearly 800 games in claret and blue, is keen that too
much, too soon is not expected of the 20-year-old Morrison, who only made
his Barclays Premier League debut at Newcastle United in August this year.
"His goal over there [at Tottenham] was sensational," said Bonds. "His
ability is obvious but it's about more than that and we have to be careful
not to push him too fast. "Our problem in this country is that because we
don't produce that many great youngsters we hype them up much faster than we
should. "He's only played five games at Premier League level and he is being
described as the new great hope of English football. I've seen many young
players come and go but it's clear the lad has loads of ability and can do
the unusual."

Having seen so many young prospects emerge during his two decades as player
and manager at the Boleyn Ground, Bonds has encouraged Morrison to keep on
listening, learning and developing his game on and off the pitch. "Ravel has
had his problems. I understand Alex (Ferguson) couldn't work it out with him
and told Sam Allardyce if he could he'd have a great player on his hands.
"It looks as though he's listening because his early performances have been
great but he needs to listen and learn - there's a way to go."

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Rav's row with Man Utd flop
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 16th October 2013
By: Staff Writer

Ravel Morrison became embroiled in a fresh row last night after the West Ham
star was seen raising an arm to team mate Wilfried Zaha during last night's
England Under 21s win. Morrison - who was on his way to being named Man of
the Match in England's 5-0 thrashing of Lithuania having scored two goals
and made a third - clashed with team mate Zaha following a set piece. The
former Crystal Palace winger appeared to take a kick at West Ham's Morrison
as the two walked back towards the centre circle, which the young Hammer
reacted to by angrily pushing his team mate away. Before the situation was
allowed to escalate, Norwich's Nathan Redmond stepped in to separate the
two. However the incident has been widely reported in the media this morning
with Morrison - unsurprisingly perhaps, given his baggage - cited by many as
the instigator.

Zaha, who joined Manchester United in a £15million switch from Palace last
year recently closed his Twitter account following continuous abuse. His
future at Old Trafford is already in doubt following a string of
less-than-convincing performances. Conversely, Morrison's early-season form
has seen the young Hammer tipped as a potential World Cup star now that
England have qualified for the tournament (courtesy of last night's 2-0 win
over Poland). The brouhaha was reminiscent of Lee Bowyer's on-field
disgareement with Kieron Dyer back in 2005, whilst the pair were both at
Newcastle.

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It's all about the money
KUMb.com
Filed: Wednesday, 16th October 2013
By: Daniel Barnard

Despite spending millions upon millions on developing their academy, Chelsea
FC, the former champions of Europe, have failed to bring a local player
through since their captain John Terry. In an age where top clubs desire
instant glory many choose to overlook their own teenage talent. Instead,
they scour other countries' clubs for the top young players. Adam Scott has
been involved in the game for his whole life and knows a thing or two about
spotting young talent having worked for both Ipswich and West Ham.

West Ham's Academy of Football has produced some of best English talent the
game has seen in recent times. Champions league winners such as Rio
Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard all learnt their trade on the
pitches at Chadwell Heath. Adam believes that the cost of ferrying boys back
and forth to training every week is preventing some players from breaking
through. He said: "It's all about money. As a parent you've got to put so
much money into your child. A boy I scouted for Ipswich lives here in
Harlow. He has to go to Ipswich on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights after
school. It's about a 140 mile trip each way and then he has to play on
Sunday somewhere as well. "The parental support he needs to be able to get
to training and matches every week is massive and the cost is even bigger.
You get a lot of boys who don't get that kind of support. These are boys
usually living in inner city areas who are very technically good players but
don't get the kind of support they need to fulfil their potential."

While many parents give family life over to driving boys to training three
nights a week and matches on a Sunday, the reality is that just 1 per cent
of the trainees will ultimately play football for a living. To be able to
make it as a professional, Adam believes that technical ability is key.
"You're never going to get another Julian Dicks playing in this day and age
because he wouldn't be technical enough," he explained. "Down at West Ham
now they want everyone to be playing like Rio Ferdinand at the back. It's
like they want a Lionel Messi playing at centre back. "I've got a lad at
West Ham who's currently in year six. His dad brought him to me when he was
three years old and you could tell even then that he'd be a footballer. He
was dribbling past eight-year-olds for fun. The funny thing is his dad
didn't know a thing about football, sometimes kids are just blessed with a
natural ability. Adam admits that ability alone isn't always enough to get
you noticed. "What I would say is that in a footballer you need to have
talent. Secondly, you've got to have someone in the club that likes you. It
doesn't matter who it is, it could be the under nines coach or the Academy
director. They've got to like something about you; on top of that you've got
to have technical ability and desire. You need to really want it."

After marking his West Ham debut with a winning goal at the tender age of
17, Freddie Sears failed to live up to people's expectations. Adam feels
that the step up from youth football to senior football is huge. "You get
lots of child stars who don't fulfil their potential. The hardest thing is
that when boys get to the age of 18 they need to be playing about 40 or 50
matches a season in a men's league. "When you're 15, 16 or 17 you might be
a wonderkid but it's a different story when you make the step up from youth
football to senior first team football. It's like 'whoops, you just stepped
up into the real world didn't you?' - and some players can't handle it."

Adam feels it is important for young players not become too disheartened if
they are released from their clubs. He said: "It's not the end of the world
if you get released. You can find boys at any age, there are a lot of
talented 15 and 16-year-olds out there. I go to places like Hackney Marshes
and you can literally find them off the park at 16. You only have to look at
players like George Boyd; he started out in non-league football."

It is recognised by many that there is limited opportunities for English
talent. England could benefit from taking a leaf out of Spain's book. 75 per
cent of the players appearing in La Liga every week are Spanish. Compared to
that, just 35 per cent of the players in the Premier League are English.

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Hammers release new 'Cuddly Hooligan' merchandise
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 15th October 2013
By: David Meagher

Who would ever have thought that the artistic types down the Boleyn would
ever find themselves associated with 'ugly' or 'effective'football as per
the Allardyce method?

Similarly, who would ever have envisaged the Hammers moving home away from
the hallowed turf at Upton Park? In similarly unexpected developments, the
current crop of Hammers fans have found themselves top of the Premier
League's good behaviour league!

Premier League fair play standings for fans are scored per match for
unacceptable loutish thuggery (a negative score) and positive points for
enthusiastic encouragement of one's own chaps along with polite clapping of
good play by opposing players (Errr!?).

After six matches of the 2013-2014 season, it's time to crack open the
ginger ale as those spiffingly well behaved Bubbles boyz find themselves
clear at the top of the Premier League good guys league!

The result represents a remarkable turnaround for the club and once again
demonstrates our versatility under the Twin-Davids & Mrs Brady-old-lady
regime–the Hammers can play it pretty or ugly depending on the prevailing
philosophy of the day.

While previous generations have witnessed the pretty on-field soccer
artistry matched by mindless thuggery on the terraces, the Allardyce era has
seen a switch to the Hammers apparently having the most polite and cuddly
supporters paired with the brutal physicality of our current highly muscular
squad.

While the ratings serve as encouragement to Hammers chiefs, it is probably
worth noting that those 'terrifying' monsters who support the likes of
Fulham (?!?) and outrageous animals who follow Hull City (Meeow!) are rated
amongst the worst behaved fans of the Premier League so far. I guess that
their negative ratings must be for not properly disposing of their match day
programmes, eating unhealthy foods at matches or other 'horrific' behaviour.

Since the last included rating the Hammers have made the treacherous trip to
White Hart Lane where sensitivities currently run super-high. However, the
fans exemplary behaviour during that trip will undoubtedly further stretch
their lead at the top of the table.

In contrast, the growing comedy down at White Hart Lane will undoubtedly
catapult Spurs to the bottom of the league as, having identified a racial
sensitivity to put opposing fans under the spotlight, they have quickly
discovered the need to get the self-stigma of their own 'Y-Army' in order
before criticising their neighbours for potential name-calling.

Meanwhile, back at the pinnacle of the good behaviour ratings, those
merchandising masterminds at the Boleyn are rumoured to be about to release
a range of must have products for the discerning Hammer.

In addition to a Danny Dyer like teddythug, they have designed a selection
of harmless paper stickers to stick on opposing fans who fall asleep during
matches. There are also plans for a Ray Winstone-style envelope opener and a
Russell Brand-based dog toy.

It's hard to know what all those glorified faux-hooligans of Hollywood fame
will make of it all, but already HBO are considering plans to seize upon the
opportunity with a new series to fill that 'difficult' early evening slot
usually occupied by saccharine sweet sitcoms of the Brady Bunch ilk.

Their new show will feature West Ham fans getting into all sorts of sticky
situations while doing wholesome volunteer work or attending worthy
community events and the like and will be called 'Trouble in the Bubble'.

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Ravel Morrison hoping to maintain standards set for West Ham and England
Last Updated: October 16, 2013 10:21am
SSN

Ravel Morrison hopes he can maintain his form for club and country when West
Ham United face Manchester City on Saturday. Morrison has been one of the
standout performers in the 2013/14 campaign, with the 20-year-old starting
to fulfil the promise he showed in Manchester United's academy system. It
has taken longer than many anticipated for the highly-rated midfielder to
deliver on his potential, with a move away from Old Trafford followed by a
testing start to his time at Upton Park. Morrison spent the 2012/13 campaign
on loan at Birmingham City in the Championship, but used that spell to
rebuild his confidence and burst onto the Premier League scene this term. He
has already opened his top flight goal account for the season and earned his
first two caps for the England U21 side - with two goals scored in a 5-0
mauling of Lithuania on Tuesday.

After that contest, Morrison told West Ham TV: "I'm very happy with the
performance on my second game for the U21s. "My performance was good and so
was the team performance, so we couldn't have hoped for much better. "No
matter what game I'm going into I always get nervous. Sometimes nerves can
be a good thing, and they certainly were tonight. "I've found it great being
part of the squad, I've come in and the lads have treated me well and I've
got on with everyone really well, so it's been good."

Next up for Morrison is a meeting with Manchester City - a contest he is
looking forward to as an ex-United man and one he feels West Ham can spring
a surprise in after returning to winning ways last time out against another
title hopeful in the form of Tottenham Hotspur. He added: "I'm very excited
because obviously I used to play for Manchester United but I never played
against their first team, so I'm really looking forward to it. "Of course we
can cause a shock. We're a great team and we should have had a lot of goals
this season, but for some reason we haven't. "Against Tottenham we managed
to get the goals which have been missing, which was pleasing. The defence
has been solid so if we carry on doing what we're doing, we can cause an
upset."

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Jussi Jaaskelainen hopes West Ham have turned a corner
Last Updated: October 16, 2013 5:57pm
SSN

West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen is hopeful the team can build on
their recent victory over London rivals Tottenham. A stuttering start to the
campaign left the Hammers teetering above the foot of the table before their
impressive 3-0 victory at White Hart Lane. Jaaskelainen is looking to add to
the points tally against Manchester City this weekend, and is confident a
positive result could have a bearing on their season. "Spurs was a great win
at a great time because we were drifting towards that bottom three and we
didn't want to stay there for long," Jaaskelainen said. "We need to keep
going, but if you look at the Man City game, if we can get anything out of
that then it could be a turning point for us and make it a decent start
because at the moment it is an iffy start. "Playing-wise we have done very
well, but we have just been missing a little bit of luck and maybe one or
two decisions have gone against us."

Jaaskelainen admits he is expecting a tough encounter with City on Saturday
though, but the stopper believes home advantage could help West Ham. "If
City turn up and play their best it is going to be extremely difficult for
us to do anything, but we will see," Jaaskelainen added. "Last season our
home form was fantastic, but this season we have had two defeats already so
we want to make sure that if we can't win the game, we don't lose it, that
is our main aim.
"I wouldn't take a draw now, but if things don't go our way and City plays a
good game, it is going to be hard to beat them, but we have to make sure
that we are hard to beat as well."

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CAN RAVEL MORRISON MAKE THE WORLD CUP SQUAD?
By Iain Dale 16 Oct 2013 at 09:13
West Ham Till I Die

What a few weeks for Ravel Morrison. He makes his West Ham debut, rattles in
a few goals, scores a spectacular effort against Tottenham, gets picked for
the England Under 21s, makes his debut in San Marino and then scores two
goals last night against Lithuania. It doesn't get a lot better than that.

Before virtually every World Cup finals there is always one young player who
manages to fight his way into the squad. In 1990 it was Gazza. Could it be
Ravel Morrison in 2014?

There's no doubt that there will be some stiff competition for midfield
places and there are plenty of players ahead of him, but if his season
carries on like this he will be difficult to avoid. I just hope Sal and the
senior players can keep his feet on the ground. Even the most level headed
player might get his head turned by the kind of publicity young Ravel is
getting, I suppose, but how he reacts to the current dollop of plaudits will
go a long way to informing us as to whether he is the real deal or not.

It was great to see England put on a real show last night and play with the
kind of flair which has so often been lacking. Andros Townsend proved that
his debut wasn't just a one off and ran Poland ragged down the right, while
Wayne Rooney put in the kind of performance that we wondered if we might
ever see again. OK, defensively we looked somewhat frail at times, and Joe
Hart always makes me nervous, but when we were attacking we looked very
classy indeed. I thought Leighton Baines, when attacking, did more than
Ashley Cole has done in his last ten games. He gives us real width and is
able to put in the kind of slide-rule dangerous balls which strikers love to
get on the end of. I thought Danny Wellbeck looked very good last night,
even if his final control often lets him down. Perhaps he is the one who is
vulnerable to a Ravel Morrison challenge.

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Ravel Morrison and Wilfried Zaha shake hands over Under-21s bust-up
• Spat came after Zaha demanded the ball from Morrison
• 'It's my job to bring them together,' says Gareth Southgate
The Guardian, Wednesday 16 October 2013 19.24 BST

Ravel Morrison and Wilfried Zaha clashed during England Under-21s win over
Lithuania after the Manchester United forward queried why his West Ham
United counterpart was not passing to him. Zaha had demanded the ball from
Morrison, who scored twice, at various times during Tuesday's 5-0 win at
Portman Road and so asked him to explain why he had not. There followed a
scuffle in which Morrison, who has appeared to find a renewed focus
following several off-field incidents when a United player, grabbed Zaha.
Yet after the European Championship qualifier the pair shook hands and joked
about the bust-up near the team coach with it being understood there is no
continuing ill-feeling between them. Gareth Southgate, the new Under-21
manager, admitted that he faces a challenge to ensure that there is no
repeat from any of his players and that he can build unity. "It's my job to
bring them together as a group, which is going to be a test. We spoke about
being a team before the game. We know the potential of the group of
individuals. "The key now is how we come together as a team and that will
take time because there is a lot of focus on individuals. Sometimes there is
pressure on individuals and one or two of those had a point to prove and did
that very well."

Nathan Redmond, the Norwich City winger who separated Zaha and Morrison,
said: "It was just a bit of a disagreement, nothing else. We got back in the
changing room and sorted it out. You get that with teams everywhere, there
is just a bit more of spotlight on this incident because it was for England.
We sorted it out behind the scenes."

Redmond hinted at the root of the problem Zaha had with Morrison: "Rav's a
class player, sometimes he just has to move the ball a little bit quicker.
Sometimes you do get a little bit frustrated with him but you just have to
let Rav be Rav because of the things he is capable of."

Morrison was sold to West Ham by United in January 2012, after Sir Alex
Ferguson decided he would not fulfil his potential while still living in
Manchester. The previous year he received a referral order for witness
intimidation and shortly after joining West Ham he was fined £7,000 by the
Football Association for making a homophobic comment on Twitter.

While the latest episode involving Zaha cannot be compared with those
incidents, the 20-year-old, who was the outstanding performer against
Lithuania, will be keen not to become embroiled in further controversy.

"I'm very happy with the performance," Morrison told West Ham TV. "I thought
the team performance was good and I thought my performance was good too."

Of what was only his second appearance for the Under-21s, he said: "I've
found it great. I've come in and the lads have treated me well and I've got
on with everybody. It's a lot different when you're older, everything has
been more calm."

On Saturday Manchester City, are at Upton Park for the late kick-off. "I'm
very excited because I used to play for Manchester United but I never played
against their first team so I'm really looking forward to it. Of course we
can cause a shock. We're a great team and we should have had a lot of goals
this season but for some reason we haven't."

West Ham did win their last league game 3-0 against Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane and Morrison said: "Against Tottenham we managed to get the
goals which have been missing which was pleasing. The defence has been solid
so if we carry on doing what we're doing we can cause an upset."

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Ravel Morrison: a better bet than Adnan Januzaj?
By talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) | Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Just over a week ago a debate was raging over whether England should attempt
to nab Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj, despite the non-existent
links between the winger and the English national team.

If one good performance for the Man United first team is enough to throw his
name into the England mix, isn't it therefore also worth talking about Ravel
Morrison, who was been producing consistently strong displays for West Ham
this season and has shone for England's U21s? talkSPORT looks at the
midfielder's credentials…

Morrison offers England something they distinctly lack, a composed dribbler
capable of unlocking an opposition back-line with a moment of genius and
true class. On top of that, his scoring rate this season has been excellent,
with four goals in only six starts for West Ham in all competitions. His
brilliant solo goal against Tottenham, picking up the ball in midfield then
dribbling past Spurs defenders before dinking in a finish, summed up how
deadly and effective the combination of those qualities can be.

The West Ham man is also accumulating experience at a rapid rate. If he
stays injury free and keeps his form up, Morrison will likely play a part in
most of the Hammers' Premier League games from now until the end of the
season.

Considering a youngster like Januzaj, who will probably remain a bit part
player this season, was genuinely singled out by some observers as good
enough for a Three Lions appearance, then surely a proven Premier League
regular, as is likely to be the case with Morrison by the time the summer
rolls around, presents an even stronger argument for an England cap?

After only making his U21 debut this month, the ease with which Morrison
pulled Lithuania apart this week suggests that a further step up isn't
beyond him, and indeed, may actually be a necessity sooner rather than later
in order to continue testing him at the appropriate level.

It certainly wouldn't be unheard of for him to make some kind of appearance
in Brazil next summer; it is worth remembering that Mesut Ozil and Sami
Khedira found themselves playing for Germany at the 2010 World Cup only a
year after playing in the U21 European Championship final for their nation,
and while the pair are clearly exceptional talents, the case shows that the
transition from youth star to a useful option at senior level can often be
unpredictable and quicker than previously expected.

None of this is to suggest that Morrison should be a guaranteed pick for the
England 2014 World Cup squad. The West Ham man's issues are well documented,
and judging by his on-field incident with Wilfried Zaha in the Lithuania
game, he hasn't shaken them just yet.

What is important however is to not rule him out from any debates over which
players should make the trip to the tournament. If Januzaj is worth
discussing, then a more realistic option, Morrison, surely is too.

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Hodgson Delivers Verdict on Morrison's World Cup Selection Chances
By NICK HOWSON : Subscribe to Nick's RSS feed | October 16, 2013 5:10 PM BST

Morrison has scored four goals in eight appearances for West Ham. England
manager Roy Hodgson says Ravel Morrison faces a tough challenge to be
selected for the 2014 World Cup despite his impressive form for the
Under-21's and West Ham United. Prior to England's senior side securing
victory over Poland at Wembley, Morrison scored twice as Gareth Southgate's
Under-21's defeated Lithuania 4-0 at Portman Road. Having secured
qualification for Brazil attention has turned to whom Hodgson might
entrusted with leading England's 14th World Cup finals campaign, with
Morrison and West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino among the names mentioned
as a potential wildcard selection. But Hodgson says that the recent
emergence of another crop of England youngsters, including Everton's Ross
Barkley - who has been included in the last two squads - and the current
occupant of the No.9 shirt Daniel Sturridge, makes it difficult for Morrison
and co. to force there way in. "They could (be selected)," Hodgson said.
"But at the moment their first task is to get past the youngsters we already
have. "Ravel has done very well as has Saido, but on the other hand Daniel
Sturridge has been playing for the national team and Ross Barkley has been
very, very impressive in training. If he had played for the U21s he'd be
getting the sort of rave reviews that Ravel and Saido have been getting. It
won't be easy for them. "Luckily I've had players who are not only playing
for their clubs but are important players," he added. "Sturridge was getting
excellent reviews for Liverpool and has brought that with him and done it
for us. Danny Welbeck and Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere and Kyle Walker are
the same and long may that continue."

While Hodgson has downplayed Morrison and Berahino's chances, the selection
of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for England's Euro 2012 squad - less than a year
after his Premier League debut - suggests the manager could be willing to
take a gamble. Following a troubled period at Manchester United, Morrison
has found his feet at West Ham scoring four goals in eight appearances this
season including against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League prior to
the international break. His West Ham form earned him a call-up to the
England Under-21 squad for the Euro 2015 qualifying double-header against
San Marino and Lithuania and a pair of outstanding performances has
propelled him to the forefront of Hodgson's thinking. Such has been his form
for West Ham and the furore around his talent that Morrison has been
compared with former United midfielder Paul Scholes and ex-England
international Paul Gascoigne. With a core group of 15 players used through
much of England's qualifying campaign, Hodgson has a significant gap to fill
in the eight months leading up to Brazil. "I hope I have a tough job in
May," Hodgson admitted. "It would be nice not to be chasing around trying to
fill the quota. It would be nice to have the problem of who on earth can I
leave out because I've got too many," he said

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