Daily WHUFC News - 19th October 2013

Manchester City match preview
WHUFC.com
A look ahead to Saturday's Barclays Premier League match against Manchester City
18.10.2013

WEST HAM UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY
SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER 2013
BOLEYN GROUND
KICK-OFF: 5.30PM
REFEREE: MICHAEL OLIVER
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

WELCOME TO OUR SPONSORS

West Ham United would like to welcome Saturday's Match Sponsors International Referral and thank them for their continued support of the Hammers.
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Introduction
• West Ham United welcome Manchester City to the Boleyn Ground in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday looking to follow up a tremendous 3-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
• The Hammers return home having last played on their own patch in a 3-2 win over Cardiff City in the Capital One Cup back on 24 September.
• In the Barclays Premier League however Sam Allardyce's side have lost their last two at the Boleyn Ground, a 3-2 defeat to Everton on their last appearance and a 1-0 loss against Stoke on 31 August.
• Only Chelsea and Southampton have conceded fewer goals than the Hammers in the league so far this season.
• West Ham United currently occupy 13th position in the table with Manchester City five points ahead in fifth.
• The Citizens have been travel sick so far in the Barclays Premier League this season and are yet to record an away win.
• Aston Villa and Cardiff City have both beaten Manuel Pellegrini's team with Stoke also holding them to a draw.
• Their last away trip in the league ended in a 3-2 defeat at Villa Park and their only away win of the season so far came against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League.
• Manchester City are the league's top scorers so far, racking up 17 goals in seven games thus far.

Team news
West Ham United
• James Collins is out of contention after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty with Wales.
• Andy Carroll and Alou Diarra are long term absentees whilst Carlton Cole could make an appearance after re-signing with the club.
• Jack Collison and Stephen Henderson are both out on loan at Championship side Bournemouth.

Manchester City
• Martin Demichelis is in contention to make his debut after recovering from a knee injury.
• Jack Rodwell is also hopeful of being involved after making his return in a Development Squad game on Wednesday.
• Vincent Kompany is unlikely to play after he was taken off after just 34 minutes in their last Premier League match.

Background
• West Ham United have played Manchester City on 94 occasions with the Hammers winning 35, losing 43 and 16 meetings ending as draws.
• The first meeting between the two sides came back on 26 April 1924 when a William Moore goal wasn't enough to prevent the Hammers losing 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground.
• Manchester City have lost just once in their last 12 meetings against the Hammers, winning eight and drawing three.
• West Ham United's biggest home and away victories over Manchester City both came in the same season - 1962/63. A 6-1 away Division One success on 8 September 1962 was followed by victory by the same scoreline here on 18 May 1963 - a result that relegated the Citizens.
• West Ham United have not scored more than one goal in any of their last 15 matches against Manchester City and have only done so once in the previous 20 meetings - a 2-1 FA Cup sixth-round win at the City of Manchester Stadium on 20 March 2006, when Dean Ashton netted both. Yossi Benayoun also started the game.
• The biggest crowd ever to witness a West Ham United versus Manchester City fixture at the Boleyn Ground was the 35,050 who turned out for a goalless Premier League draw on 21 September 2002.
• Tony Cottee is the only West Ham United player ever to score a hat-trick against Manchester City. His treble fired the Hammers to a 3-0 Premier League win at the Boleyn Ground on 17 December 1994.
• Peter Dobing scored hat-tricks for Manchester City in both Division One meetings with West Ham United in 1961/62.
• Manchester City have twice recorded 4-0 victories at the Boleyn Ground - both in the old Division One on 24 March 1962 and 6 December 1969.

Last time out
Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
6 October 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Rat, Nolan, Diame (Collins 80), Noble (O'Brien 90), Morrison, Vaz Te (J Cole 86), Downing
Subs not used: Adrian, Maiga, Jarvis, Petric
Goals: Reid 66, Vaz Te 72, Morrison 79

Manchester City 3-1 Everton
Barclays Premier League
5 October 2013
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kolarov (Clichy 58), Kompany (Nastasic 34), Lescott, Fernandinho, Milner, Toure, Negredo, Aguero (Nasri 79), Silva
Subs not used: Richards, Dzeko, Navas, Pantilimon
Goals: Negredo 17, Aguero 45, Howard og 69

Previous meeting
Manchester City produced an efficient home performance to see off West Ham at the Etihad Stadium. Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure scored the goals to put the home side two up before Andy Carroll thrashed a last minute consolation past Joe Hart.
Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
27 April 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien (Taylor 80), Reid, Collins, Demel, O'Neil, Diame, Nolan (C Cole 80), Vaz Te (Collison 66), Jarvis, Carroll
Subs not used: Henderson, Noble, Pogatetz, J Cole
Goal: Carroll 90
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Toure, Barry, Silva (Milner 78), Nasri (Toure 87), Tevez (Garcia 84), Aguero
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Dzeko, Kolarov, Nastastic
Goals: Aguero 28, Toure 83

Head to head
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
27 April 2013 - Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United
3 November 2012 - West Ham United 0-0 Manchester City
1 May 2011 - Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United
11 December 2010 - West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City

9 May 2010 - West Ham United 1-1 Manchester City

29 Sept 2009 - Manchester City 3-1 West Ham United

Overall record v Manchester City (all competitions) W 35 D 16 L 43

Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Division One 4th (74 points)

Manchester City
2012/13 Premier League 2nd (78 points)
2011/12 Premier League 1st (89 points - champions)
2010/11 Premier League 3rd (71 points)
2009/10 Premier League 5th (67 points)

2008/09 Premier League 10th (50 points)

2007/08 Premier League 9th (55 points)

2006/07 Premier League 14th (42 points)

2005/06 Premier League 15th (43 points)

2004/05 Premier League 8th (52 points)

2003/04 Premier League 16th (41 points)


Old boys
• Carlos Tevez scored seven goals in 29 appearances during the 2006/07 season, helping West Ham United to stave off relegation from the Barclays Premier League by scoring the winner in a 1-0 final-day success at Manchester United. The Argentina striker netted 74 goals in 140 games for Manchester City before leaving for Juventus in the summer.
• Richard Wright signed for West Ham United in July 2007 following his release by Everton. The goalkeeper did not make a first-team appearance for the Hammers and, after being loaned to Southampton in March 2008, joined Ipswich Town in July of the same year. He is currently with Manchester City
• Other players to have turned out for both clubs include Tal Ben Haim, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge, Ian Bishop, James Cumming, Justin Fashanu, Marc-Vivien Foe, Kevin Horlock, David James, Patrick Leonard, Steve Lomas, Trevor Morley, John Payne, Stuart Pearce, Trevor Sinclair, Paulo Wanchope and Mark Ward.
• Former West Ham United centre-back Malcolm Allison joined Manchester City as assistant manager in 1965. Under the guidance of Allison and manager Joe Mercer, the club enjoyed a sustained period of success, winning the Division One title in 1968, the FA Cup in 1969 and both the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970. After taking over from Mercer in 1971, Allison resigned in March 1973, later returning to Maine Road for a second spell in charge between 1979 and 1980.
• Allison's former West Ham United team-mate John Bond took charge of Manchester City following Allison's departure in October 1983, remaining in charge until February 1983.
• One-time West Ham United left-back Stuart Pearce took charge of Manchester City between March 2005 and May 2007.
Referee
• The referee for Saturday's match is Michael Oliver.
• Oliver was introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of 14. He quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to the National List of referees in 2007.
• In 2007 he became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium when he took charge of the 2007 Conference play-off final. He also went on to become the youngest fourth official for a Barclays Premier League match.
• The Oliver family enjoyed a referring double in 2009 when his father took charge of the 2009 League Two Play-Off final a day before he took charge of the League One play-off final.
• In August 2010 he was promoted to the Select Group of referees and soon became the youngest-ever Barclays Premier League referee when he took charge of Birmingham City versus Blackburn Rovers on 21 August 2010.
• Oliver last took charge of the Hammers in the Premier League on 17 March 2013 in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
• On Saturday, Oliver will be assisted by Stuart Burt and Darren England, while the fourth official will be Jonathan Moss.
General information
• There are a limited amount of tickets available for this fixture. For all ticketing information click here.
• The weather forecast for Saturday's game is overcast with a chance of showers and a maximum temperature of 17C.

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Tactically speaking - Manchester City
WHUFC.com
An in-depth look at how Saturday's battle between the Hammers and Citizens could be won and lost
18.10.2013

Tactically Speaking

The Official Website takes an in-depth look at West Ham United winger Stewart Downing's outstanding deliveries, while also looking at how visitors Manchester City could line up on Saturday. Now that the international break is over, the Barclays Premier League resumes and WhoScored.com have analysed where West Ham United can win the game when Manchester City travel to the Boleyn Ground this Saturday tea-time. When Stewart Downing put pen to paper on a four-year deal to sign for the Hammers in August, the deal was viewed as a real coup for the club. The 29-year-old has consistently provided natural width on the flank for both club and country to offer a direct threat from out on the wing. While the wideman picked up an injury early into his West Ham career, his return to starting action coincided with the memorable 3-0 win over Tottenham last time out. Downing deserved his WhoScored.com rating of 7.43 that day, with no West Ham player executing more key passes (five) than the former Liverpool man.

The visit of Manchester City may be a daunting task, but with the confidence garnered as a result of the win at White Hart Lane, the team will be in a positive frame of mind for the encounter. The Citizens are yet to secure a league victory away from the Etihad Stadium this season, picking up just one point from a possible nine.

Sam Allardyce's side will aim to heap more misery upon City in the late kick-off on Saturday and Downing will be key to this. The winger has put in an accurate cross for the Hammers every 32 minutes, which is more regularly than any of his team-mates. In all, Downing has delivered 26 crosses in just five appearances, eight of which have successfully reached one of this team-mates. The England winger also completed 89 per cent of the 91 passes he has attempted - second only to Alou Diarra, who made just four passes during his sole substitute appearance.

Putting the ball into the box will be crucial if West Ham are to pressurise Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who has made two direct errors that have led to goals this season. With Cardiff City scoring twice from corners in their own 3-2 home win over City earlier this term, Downing's crossing ability from open play and set plays could be crucial. City have not enjoyed their trips to east London in recent seasons, picking up only one win from their last five trips to the Boleyn Ground. In those games, the visitors have failed even to score on three occasions, including in last season's hard-fought goalless draw. West Ham have kept four clean sheets in seven matches so far - second only to Southampton (five) - so another low-scoring game could be in the offing. However, with Downing unleashing dangerous cross after dangerous cross from wide areas, the Hammers will be confident of breaking the deadlock against a City side that has kept just two clean sheets in seven league matches and conceded six goals in three away games. *WhoScored.com is a website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Follow @WhoScored on Twitter.

Manchester City
Probable starting XI
Hart
Zabaleta Nastasic Lescott Kolarov
Milner Fernandinho Toure Silva
Aguero Negredo

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has an embarrassment of riches available to him in terms of top-class international players in all positions.
So far this season, City have seemingly targeted the UEFA Champions League, with the Chilean opting to pick what many would consider to be his strongest XI for the continental competition. With an important trip to CSKA Moscow to come on Wednesday night, Pellegrini may opt for the same approach today.

However, in the light of away defeats at Cardiff City and Aston Villa, City will be anxious not to drop any more points on the road as they seek to maintain their Barclays Premier League title challenge. City have conceded six goals in three away games so far, having conceded just 19 in the same number of matches on their travels last term. The visitors' cause will not be helped by the absence of captain and centre-back Vincent Kompany, who has a thigh problem. His place is likely to go to Serbian Matija Nastasic, who had previously lost his starting role following an uncertain start to the season. Pellegrini opted for a more solid approach in City's most-recent Premier League game at home to Everton, drafting in Joleon Lescott at centre-back and fellow England international James Milner on the right-hand side of midfield. The decision paid off as the Sky Blues ended a run of two defeats with a 3-1 victory. While many managers have switched to a 4-3-3 formation in recent seasons, City usually line up in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation - a tactic that saw them over-run by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League recently.

Against Bayern, goalkeeper Joe Hart endured an evening to forget, but he will be between the sticks on Saturday after helping England to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in midweek. In front of him, Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandr Kolarov - who has made a team-high 13 interceptions in five games - started in the full-back positions against Everton. Zabaleta is an outstanding all-round defender and City's top tackler with 34 in seven matches. The Argentina international is also capable of contributing in attacking areas and has chalked up two assists already. Nastasic will play to the right of Lescott in the centre.
In midfield, Milner is likely to start wide on the right again. A hard-working player, the versatile Yorkshireman also possesses the ability to make and score goals with either foot.

On the opposite flank, Spaniard David Silva is a mercurial talent who also returned to the starting XI against Everton. The diminutive winger has played more key passes (14) than any other City player and will have to be watched carefully by Hammers right-back Guy Demel. The central midfield area will be populated by Brazilian Fernandinho and Ivorian powerhouse Yaya Toure. The athletic Fernandinho is a more defensive player who breaks up play and provides a shield in front of the back four. Alongside him, Toure is quick in thought and movement, strong in the air and on the ground and is capable of scoring goals from anywhere. The Ivorian has four league goals already this term.

Deep-lying forward Argentine Sergio Aguero has been City's best forward so far this term and has four league goals to his name too. Stocky, powerful and two-footed, Aguero has acceleration to burst past defenders and is razor sharp inside the penalty area. Ahead of him, Spain international Alvaro Negredo started against Everton. An all-round centre forward, Negredo has good technique, strength and movement and is capable of both running in behind and playing with his back to goal. The former Sevilla man has three league goals and two assists in seven appearances, illustrating his important role in the City side. Should Pellegrini change his forward line, he could opt for one of two Eastern Europeans. Bosnia and Herzegovina star Edin Dzeko is tall and strong and has unleashed more shots than any other City player (17), while Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic is shorter and more skilful and elusive. Other options include France pair left-back Gael Clichy and creative midfielder Samir Nasri, powerful England defender Micah Richards and lightning-quick Spain right winger Jesus Navas.

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Sky's Tyler cannot wait for City clash
WHUFC.com
TV commentator Martin Tyler is looking forward to the return of Barclays Premier League football
18.10.2013

Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler says nothing can be taken for granted in a season of surprises in the Barclays Premier League. As well as West Ham United's unforgettable 3-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur last time out, the first seven matchdays of the new campaign have seen a number of shocks, including West Bromwich Albion's win at Manchester United and Manchester City's own slip-up at Cardiff City. Now with the Hammers set to take on City on Saturday, Tyler is intrigued as to whether the odds can be upset once again. "I was fascinated by the West Ham win at Spurs in the last game," he told West Ham TV. "I know all about the rivalry and how much it means for the fans to get any sort of result against Tottenham. "To do it like that, and for West Ham to out-manouvre Tottenham tactically was a great achievement. Andre Villas-Boas is a clever manager, but all credit to Sam, the staff and the players for putting a plan into practice. "I know there have been a couple of home defeats, which is unusual for West Ham, their strength in the home games last season was very important to where the Club finished. "So after a good away win, the next thing you want to do is win at home and West Ham are playing a Manchester City who haven't won away. "There are lots of imponderables going into the game, which is what makes it such a fascinating match and why I'm delighted to be commentating on it."

Tyler has not commentated on a match at West Ham's home ground since a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in 2009, and he hopes this match will provide just as much drama. "I'm looking forward to the game enormously," he continued. "I look forward to every game, but this will be the first time I've done a West Ham game at the Boleyn Ground for four years, I think. That was a great game, with West Ham coming from two-down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal. "I don't get to choose my games, my bosses do that for me and it's just complete coincidence [that it has been so long]. "I have fantastic memories of West Ham - in my playing days I was in the same team as Ron Greenwood's son, so long before I was a journalist I'd get all sort of titbits about what was going on here. "So at the end of a week where England have qualified for the World Cup, to come to the Club which won the World Cup for England, as all West Ham fans know, it also feels appropriate."

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On this day - 19 October
WHUFC.com
Geoff Hurst scored a double hat-trick to sink the Mackems on this day in 1968
19.10.2013

Classic match
West Ham United 8-0 Sunderland
First Division
19 October 1968
Geoff Hurst ran riot against The Black Cats netting an incredible double hat-trick as the Hammers recorded a huge win on this day 45 years ago. Hurst stole the show with six goals of his own but Trevor Brooking and Bobby Moore also managed to get their names on the score sheet. The striker's haul helped to take him to an impressive 31 goals by the end of the season as he helped fire West Ham to an eighth place finish whilst Sunderland were well below them finishing 17th.

Complete record - 19 October
1929 Manchester City 4-3 West Ham United (Division One)
1935 Plymouth Argyle 4-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1946 West Ham United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Division Two)
1957 West Ham United 1-1 Doncaster Rovers (Division Two)
1963 West Ham United 4-2 Everton (Division One)
1968 West Ham United 8-0 Sunderland (Division One)
1974 West Ham United 1-0 Ipswich Town (Division One)
1985 West Ham United 4-1 Aston Villa (Division One)
1991 Oldham Athletic 2-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1996 West Ham United 1-0 Leicester City (Premier League)
2002 Sunderland 0-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
2004 West Ham United 2-0 Stoke City (Championship)
2008 Hull City 1-0 West Ham United (Premier League)
Played 13, Won 7, Drawn 3, Lost 3, Scored 30, Conceded 17

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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat on reaching the FIFA World Cup Play-Offs, Andros Townsend and his new Ratmobile
18.10.2013

Hello everyone,

It has been a busy international break for me, as I have been away with my national team, Romania. The most important thing for us were the results and we are in the World Cup Play-Offs. For me personally, I was suspended for our first game but I went with the squad to Andorra to be together and to support them and we won 4-0. After that we came back to Bucharest for the game against Estonia and we were thinking all the time in our sub-conscious about the other match in our group between Turkey and Holland. A lot depended on that game because we needed Holland at least to draw. Then, if we won, we would finish second in our group. The most important thing was for us to win against Estonia and we got a penalty kick after half-an-hour and scored. We got a second goal and secured the win. In the middle of the first half, we heard the reaction of the public in the stand and knew that something positive for us had happened in Turkey, so that made us more comfortable on the ball and made it easier to manage the game. Now we are waiting for the Play-Off draw on Monday, where we can face Croatia, Greece, Portugal or Ukraine. It will be tough, but we go into it with a second chance to qualify and that's why football is beautiful because anything can happen. Even the smallest team can beat a better team, so we think we can do good things and big things in the Play-Offs.

Looking back at the game at Tottenham, first of all the result was amazing. I didn't expect my first London derby to have a very good end with a very good result. Personally, I was playing against Andros Townsend and he's a very good player, as everyone knows as he is playing for England. I did my best to stop him and it is up to you to analyse how I did against him! I did what I try to do every time - to play the best that I can and to stop my opponent. It doesn't matter what name they have. These days, teams play wingers on their opposite wing, with left-footers cutting inside from the right wing. This makes it more difficult for the left-back and the most difficult thing for a defender is when their opponent is two-footed. Then, you really don't know if he will go down the left side or the right side, so you have to be very careful and sometimes to feel or smell when and where he will go. You can be caught out sometimes but this is normal because you are playing against good players and big players.

On Saturday, I will face Manchester City and more than likely be directly up against James Milner or Jesus Navas. To be ready, first of all I will prepare mentally. Physically, we are all fit, so in football to be prepared mentally is the most important thing. Also, it's very important to analyse your direct opponent because each player has skills but also some movements that they are doing all the time. I will try to stop those movements and not let him make dangerous things for his team.

Finally, I have recently bought a new car and the lads have been having some fun at my expense! As you will know, I have been nicknamed 'Roland' because of the TV character Roland Rat, so the boys put some new number plates on the car with 'RAT 1' and 'ROLAND RAT' written on them, like the real Ratmobile!
My car is red, but the Ratmobile was pink and a bit slower, but it is nice. This is another opportunity for us to laugh and joke and have a good atmosphere in the team. If this makes a nice atmosphere in the team, it is fun for me also so I'm not upset about it. I really like these kind of jokes so they are OK by me!
I also found out this week that Guy Demel's middle name is Roland, but I am the famous one!

Come on you Irons,
Roland

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Chambers pleased after tough test
WHUFC.com
Leo Chambers was impressed with the Dev Squad as they stood up to the test against Cambridge United
18.10.2013

Leo Chambers was pleased with the way the Development Squad acquitted themselves after overcoming a strong Cambridge United side at the R Costings Abbey Stadium. Two goals from striker Elliot Lee saw the young Hammers claim a deserved win against the Skrill Premier outfit ,who named several first teamers among their starting XI. It was a test un-akin to that presented to Chambers and his team-mates in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League and the defender was pleased with how they met a physical challenge. He told West Ham TV: "To win 2-1 against a team who are top of the Conference represents a very good win for us. "Playing against men is a good experience for us physically and I think we coped well with that on Wednesday. "It's good for our development, as I said, playing against men, physically it's a big challenge for us and we did ourselves justice."

Chambers and the defence saw out a rocky spell after a Cambridge equaliser with 15 minutes left had cancelled out Lee's strike in the 36th minute. Lee's second strike of the game proved to be the winner in a match which the 18-year-old believes provided a good test for the team ahead of Monday's league encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers. "When it got back to 1-1 they were on top of us but we coped with the pressure well which made us relax a bit and we saw the game out well once we'd got our second. "Wolves will play a similar way to how Cambridge played, quite direct at times but also try to play out from the back when they can. That's what Cambridge did and it will be a good test for us on Monday."

Chambers played the full 90 minutes at right-back, a position he has found himself playing in on two occasions for the first team this season, although he is equally adept at playing centre-back. Wherever he plays the composed defender is just happy to be in the team with competition for places rife amongst the Development Squad. He said: "I've been playing right-back for a few weeks now and I'll always play wherever the gaffer wants me to play. Now that I'm playing right-back I'm enjoying it there and wherever the game takes me I'll be happy. "The squad's quite strong at the moment. The gaffer, Nick Haycock, has got a big job on his hands with everyone fit. We've got Matthias coming back, Paul McCallum coming back as well so he's got a big squad to pick from. We're all fighting for a place and it's healthy for us."

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Cullen ready for Canaries
WHUFC.com
U18s vice-captain Josh Cullen wants a fourth straight win when the Hammers entertain Norwich City
18.10.2013

West Ham United Under-18s will go for a fourth consecutive Barclays U18 Premier League victory when they welcome Norwich City to Little Heath on Saturday morning. The Hammers have beaten Liverpool (5-0) at home before recording away wins at West Bromwich Albion (2-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (3-2) in recent weeks, with outstanding team performances being turned into nine points out of nine. While free-scoring captain Kieran Bywater has taken the headlines, the successes have been based on fine all-round displays from Steve Potts' side - a sentiment echoed by vice-captain and midfielder Josh Cullen.
"We started the season with a great victory against Manchester United and then we had a little bit of a rocky patch results-wise," explained Cullen. "The performances were there but it was just a case of not killing the games off or conceding sloppy goals or penalties with silly mistakes. "We knew if we cut them out that the run would come which we're on now. We started off with a fantastic 5-0 win over Liverpool and then we had two tough away games at West Brom and Tottenham and we've got over the line, which is what we're looking for. "I definitely think the games we've lost were little bits going against us and we knew it would change sooner or later. Against Liverpool, our finishing was brilliant and we scored five goals. We'd been working on hitting the net in training because we knew that once we started scoring, we'd start winning matches. "We had a little bit of luck at West Brom with a last-minute deflected free-kick which got us the three points, so it's changing and we just want to keep on performing and picking up three points and results to move us up the table."

Saturday sees West Ham welcome Norwich to Little Heath, with a number of the Canaries' squad having lifted the FA Youth Cup last season. As such, Cullen is expecting a testing 90 minutes. "They are always tough games against Norwich, especially when you go away and play them up there. They are always well organised and will put up a good fight, so we know it's not going to be easy. "We got a great result at Tottenham so now we need to come back to Little Heath and put in another good performance and, if we play as well as we know we can, getting a result shouldn't be a problem. "They won the FA Youth Cup last year and a few of the boys involved in that will be playing, so they're going to believe they can do well. We need to stick with what we're doing and the result will come, which I'm sure it will."

The U18s have players performing well all over the pitch - attacking midfielder Bywater has nine goals in nine games, forwards Jordan Brown and Djair Parfitt-Williams are also scoring, while defenders Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle recently made their debuts for England at U18 level and Jamie Harney turned out for Northern Ireland U19s in their recent UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign. For former England U16 international Cullen, it has been a real team effort so far this term. "From the start of the season everyone has been performing well and the team has been doing well. It's been a case of people chipping in with the goals, even if Kieran has got the majority of them. He's done great, but everyone has been chipping in and the performances have been good from all the lads. "We want to keep moving on as a team. As long as the individual performances are there, then that will benefit the team."

Having seen Burke and Knoyle play for England and Harney for Northern Ireland, Cullen himself is eager to earn a recall to the England age-group squad.
"It's always a great achievement to be called up by your country, whatever age-group it is, but you've got to keep focusing on playing for your club. You can't get carried away and think about international football. "If you keep performing well for your club, you're going to get noticed and that will come with it. If the international thing starts up again, that would be great, but at the minute it's about putting the performances in for West Ham."

While the Barclays U18 Premier League is the youth team's bread and butter, they also have another important role to perform at West Ham - imitating the first team's next opponents. Cullen and company took pride in the Hammers' 3-0 win at Tottenham, as they had mimicked Andre Villas Boas' side in Sam Allardyce's training sessions in the lead-up to the match. "We don't really get told to impersonate a particular player, but we get told the style of football we're expected to play. We were impersonating Tottenham, so we were told to keep a high line because we knew that is what they do and playing in behind could be our strength, and that is where Ricardo Vaz Te's goal came from the ball in behind from Mark Noble. "I suppose we help them to get used to what they'll be up against and whether a team is going to be in their face or drop off and let us play. Then, when we've got the ball, we we get told to pass the ball or be a bit more direct and we try to carry that out as well as we can. "It's all about the first team getting three points at the weekend, so that's all we're worried about really, trying to help them out to get the result. This week, we'll be Manchester City and it'll be tough trying to replicate Yaya Toure but we'll try to do our best and help the first team to get another good result!"

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West Ham v Man City
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 19 October

West Ham defender James Collins will miss out after suffering a hamstring injury playing for Wales in midweek. Striker Carlton Cole, who rejoined on a short-term deal last week, is not yet match fit. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is still out with a thigh injury but could return next week. This game also comes too soon for summer signing Martin Demichelis, who continues to build up his fitness after a knee injury.

MATCH PREVIEW
While Tottenham fans will rightly be talking of the impact Andros Townsend has made for England over the past week or so, those of a claret-and-blue persuasion in the East End have a young talent of their own who's had quite a fortnight. "West Ham's win over Tottenham last time out was a superb result. But what Hammers boss Sam Allardyce tends to do after a win like that is to try to not lose for the next few games. And it might sound daft for a team that won 3-0 at White Hart Lane, but West Ham are short of firepower."

Ravel Morrison grabbed everyone's attention with a wonderful individual goal in West Ham's surprise 3-0 win over Spurs at White Hart Lane, and has followed it up with two eye-catching performances for Gareth Southgate's England Under-21 side The 20-year-old made his debut in the game with San Marino, and scored twice on Tuesday against Lithuania. Despite an on-pitch altercation with team-mate Wilfried Zaha, he does seem to have turned the corner in terms of tapping into the talent and potential we've all heard about since his time with Manchester United.

I'm intrigued to see what the rest of the season brings for him after making such a strong and promising start. This game's an interesting one, with West Ham off-colour at home recently and Manchester City less than impressive on the road up to this point. The Hammers have lost their last two league games at the Boleyn Ground while City have taken just one point from a possible nine on their travels. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that West Ham have struggled to score consistently, while City are the highest scorers in the Premier League going into the weekend so they'll fancy extending their unbeaten run over West Ham to seven matches.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham haven't won any of their last six league meetings with Manchester City (D2, L4) and have won just one of the last 12 (W1, D3, L8).
City are unbeaten on their last three visits to Upton Park (W1, D2).
West Ham
West Ham are aiming to avoid a third consecutive home league defeat.
West Ham have kept four clean sheets in their seven league matches but have also failed to score in four of their seven matches.
Mark Noble has created more goal-scoring chances than any other Premier League player this season (17).
Man City
City have a 100% home record in this season's Premier League but have picked up just one point from a possible nine away.
They have scored 17 league goals this season, more than any other team in the top flight.
City have won 28 and drawn two of the 30 Premier League games in which Sergio Aguero has scored.

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Joe Cole: England can win 2014 World Cup in Brazil
By Alistair Magowan
BBC Sport

West Ham midfielder Joe Cole believes England can win the World Cup next year with a team that "excites" him. Cole, 31, has 56 England caps and says he has not given up hope of being in Roy Hodgson's 23-man squad for Brazil. "I'm thinking England can go there and win it," Cole told BBC Sport. "I know the gaffer will want to play things down and rightly so, but it excites me because I think there is enough talent in the country." Former Chelsea and Liverpool player Cole has played in the last three World Cups and was part of a so-called "golden generation" which also included current skipper Steven Gerrard, Chelsea's Frank Lampard and former Manchester United midfielders David Beckham and Paul Scholes. But that team could not go beyond the quarter-finals, and Cole thinks the current crop will be free from the burden of expectation. He added: "Andros Townsend gets you off your feet and Daniel Sturridge is as good as any centre forward in the country at the moment, so there is no reason not to be positive. "I look to the emergence of those two, Raheem Sterling, Ravel Morrison and Ross Barkley. These kids are top, top players and they will go there with no baggage of expectations." England failed to make it past the second round of the last World Cup in 2010, and reached the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006. Hodgson's side go into next year's tournament unseeded, having dropped to 17th in the Fifa world rankings earlier this year - their lowest standing for 12 years. They have since recovered to 10th. Cole, who last played for England when they lost 4-1 to Germany in second round of the 2010 World Cup, scored on the opening day of the Premier League season against Cardiff and could return to West Ham's starting line-up to face Manchester City on Saturday after a hamstring injury. He said of his own chances of going to Brazil: "I had a good start to the season but unfortunately injury struck again, but if I can keep myself fit, I still have plenty of confidence in my ability. But first things first, I just need to be playing regularly and playing well. "Playing in a Brazil World Cup would be the ultimate for any footballer. There would be nowhere else in the world you would want to be. It would be the pinnacle."

Reaching the World Cup has come at a time when the Football Association has set up a commission to improve the performance of England teams and assess whether the Premier League hinders their progress. Only 31% of players in the top flight are English compared to 72% when the Premier League was formed in 1992, while playing time for English under-21s has dropped to a new low. Solutions have ranged from issuing quotas for foreign players to the re-introduction of a national academy. But the Premier League has invested £320m into its Elite Player Performance Plan, which has graded academies across the country.
Cole, who was a graduate of the previous national academy at Lilleshall, which closed in 1999, said he would like to see something similar again. And having experienced football in France with Lille last season, he believes English football does not value the coaching of youngsters. He said: "Lilleshall was starting to bear fruit towards the end of its time. The likes of Wes Brown, Michael Owen, Scott Parker, Francis Jeffers, myself; there were regular players who came through and played at the top level. "It was like the Barcelona academy, they go and hoover up the best talent around Spain and put them all in the same place and they all bounce off each other. "I was basically a professional from 14 years old and I think it helped me become the player that I am."

Cole joined the West Ham academy before making his first-team debut aged 17. He added: "The biggest issue for me is that the coaching of under-8s to under-12s is still seen as a stepping stone. "I wouldn't imagine it's a massively paid job. I think in other countries, just from what I know, it is seen as a well-paid profession because you're developing them at the stage where they are most able to take in information."

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Billy Bonds on Harry Redknapp: exclusive
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 18th October 2013
By: Staff Writer

Coming on KUMB.com next week: a world exclusive as Billy Bonds talks about his relationship with Harry Redknapp for the first time. It's nearly 20 years since Hammers legend Bonds last spoke with his former best friend and assistant manager, following his acrimonious departure from Upton Park in August 1994.
Ever since Bonds, who previously captained United to FA Cup success in 1975 and 1980 has refused to discuss his sudden exit - or his relationship with Redknapp. Last week, Redknapp's new autobiography - in which he accused Bonds of running "a shambles" at West Ham and of being "a man out of time" - was serialised by the Daily Mail. And now the man affectionately known as 'Bonzo' by the claret and blue faithful has finally decided to end his two decade-long silence in order to set the record straight, in an exclusive interview for the KUMB Podcast. As well as his thoughts on Redknapp's new book, you'll find out what Bill really thinks about 1991 FA Cup semi-final referee Keith Hackett, West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium and his view on Sam Allardyce and the current squad.

In the meantime, you may listen to the first part of our exclusive interview with Billy Bonds MBE in this week's episode of the KUMB Podcast.

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West Ham United v Manchester City
KUMb.com
Filed: Friday, 18th October 2013
By: Preview Percy

Preview Percy spent his week off laughing at Spurs. So no real change to any other week then really. He paused between giggles for long enough to write this though.......

Next up we play host to Manchester City at the Boleyn. Kick-off thanks to the tv chappies will be 5:30pm which means that those of us who attend from the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered will be cutting it fine to get back before Matron turns the electric fences on. Still, there's no engineering work in the area, the change of kick-off time seemingly having fooled those responsible for messing up people's travel plans.

Our opponents currently sit in 5th spot with 13 points from their 7 matches played thus far. Like last week's opponents it's not much of a return on the not inconsiderable investment that the owners have put into the plying staff. It's really been all Jekyll and Hyde. The good stuff has been saved for home where they've beaten Newcastle (4-0), Hull (2-0), the Salford lot (4-1), and Everton (3-1). They also stuck five past Whelan's whingers in the League Cup as well. Contrast that with their away form where they got beaten by Cardiff and Villa (both 3-2) between which matches they took a point from Stoke away. They've won one and lost one in the so-called Champions League, their last match being a rather humbling 3-1 reverse to Bayern Munich.

They changed the boss at the end of last term. Mancini was shown the door shortly after the Cup Final defeat to Wigan and he was replaced by the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. As a player Pellegrini retired in 1984 at the age of 33, citing the unusual reason that, as a qualified civil engineer, he'd be of more use helping the country recover from earthquake damage. I'm sure it's only coincidence that he arrived in Manchester only a few months before they announced an expansion to their stadium though.

After spells coaching in Chile and Argentina he pitched up on this side of the Atlantic with Villareal, spending five years with the amusingly-monkiered "Yellow Submarines". His next move was not without its Redknapp-esque moments. On 31 May 2009, in response to speculation, he announced that nobody had spoken to him from Real Madrid, he was contracted to Villareal for the foreseeable and, with the season being over, he was now going to go on holiday. On 2 June 2009 he was unveiled as the new boss at Real Madrid. I'm sure the Redknapp comparisons end there though. I mean it's unlikely that various Pellegrini friends and relations were banging on the door of the Local "El Betto" or whatever they call the bookies over there to profit on the increased odds his denial will have prompted.

He lasted a little over a year at the Bernebau, being "released" following the club's failure to win the So-Called Champions League. Pellegrini was scathing over Real's transfer policy: "It's no good having the ten best guitarists in the world when you need a pianist. At Real we have the guitarists but they are no use if I ask them to play the piano". Real's board countered: "Maybe if the players had spent more time on the training field instead of dicking about with musical instruments we'd have won something" they probably didn't say.

He then spent a couple of years at Malaga who he guided to the knockout bits of the So-Called Champions League spending a shed load of euros en route. He left the beaches and palm trees for the delights of Manchester (as you do) with Malaga struggling for cash and bereft of European competition after falling foul of the Financial Fair Play rules. He wasted no time in getting to work spending City's petrodollars, with four major signings all unpacked and on the training ground by the end of July.

In came winger Navas for £17m from Seville. Navas's given name is Jesus but you can make up your own punchlines regarding how good he is with crosses.

Another £20.6m went on forward Negrado, a forward of more direct style than they've been used to up there in recent years. His first name is Alvaro and if you can get a punchline out of that good luck to you.
In midfield they brought in Brazilian Fernandinho, whose first name ought to be Rio, but isn't.. He was one of those Brazilians who beat a path to Eastern Europe, spending 8 years or so in the employ of Shaktar Donetsk before turning up at the City Of Manchester Stadium for a cool £30m – their most expensive acquisition of the last window. He's a defensive midfielder who commutes between the two boxes and has apparently got a bit of a shot on him.

Further options in attack arrived in the form of Steven Jovetic. The so-called "Montenegran Baggio" cost £22m from Fiorentina and can either play as an out and out striker or in a slightly withdrawn role.

With all that money chucked around (still a lot less than Spurs ho ho) the £4.2m outlay on Argentinian centre half Martin Dimichelis is the sort of stuff they probably found down the back of the sofa in the players' bar. At 32 Dimichelis is clearly there to provide cover for the likes of Kompany and, er, company. So the fact that he has a knee injury at the precise time as Kompany is injured must be a tad annoying. Kompany, however, would appear to have made a spectacular recovery from a nasty muscle tear sustained in the pre-break win over Everton, and his presence this weekend cannot be totally be ruled out.

Going through the out door have been Gareth Barry – on loan to Everton – and some chap called Tevez. When Tevez arrived in the country Sheffield United had somehow bludgeoned their way into the top flight. With them sitting at a more realistic bottom of the third tier clearly Carlos's presence in England was no longer required, what with him having been sent to this country charged with the specific task of getting them relegated. Or alternatively Sheffield United were a two bob outfit who weren't good enough to be in the league in the first place and, having proved the fact beyond all reasonable doubt, who ought to repay the £25m they conned out of our previous owners with interest. Or maybe we could sue Lord Griffiths.

In goal Joe Hart has been copping a bit of stick of late. There have been a few high-profile errors in recent matches. I believe I mentioned in a previous preview that he's probably not as good as everyone was saying at the time. Conversely, he's not as bad as the same pundits are making out twelve months later, though he has shown a certain penchant for getting beaten at the near post.

Incidentally David Silva is a talented Spanish international footballer who was once described by Carlos Tevez as the "best player we ever signed" and not (as we managed to convince some passing Tottenham fans) a tribute act who goes about doing personal appearances in the guise of our co-chairman.

And so to us. Well I'm glad that our last match had a break after it. It's so difficult to write previews through hysterical laughter. The nearest chemists to the Rest Home have run out of linement, so many of us have aching sides after the 3-0 win at what wags are already calling the 0-3 Arena. We were well worth the points as well – this was no bus-parking smash and grab exercise.

There is, of course, a down side to all this. The high-profile nature of the win meant that suddenly people have started to notice both Winston Reid and Ravel Morrison – particularly Morrison who followed his marvellous goal at three-point Lane with a couple of fine performances for the England U21s. Typically the papers chose to pick up on his spat with Zaha rather than his two goals against Lithuania.

Reid's performance, though less publicised than that of Morrison, was none the less impressive. Scoring the first (did I mention that we got three?) his performance in the "day job" at the back was one of strength and composure, leading at least one of the proper papers to refer to the Kiwi as "the Premier League's most underrated defender". To which I say "No he isn't. Nothing to see here. Titus Bramble's still about somewhere". (That'll confuse the vultures for a while).

Reid's central defensive partner James Tomkins also had a decent 90mins and would have retained his place even had James Collins (restored to the Wales side now that their intellectually-challenged manager has worked out how to do a proper call-up) not done his hamstring in during midweek.

We have a new/old signing to welcome back as well. Carlton Cole has (eventually) done enough on the fitness side of things to earn himself a short-term deal. How much we see of him this weekend will depend partly on whether or not Mr Allardyce sticks with the system that left Spurs' players as confused on the pitch as their supporters always seem to be off it. Cole is said to still be a couple of behind closed doors friendlies away from serious consideration so Petric will probably be in pole position should we opt to field a traditional striker. Otherwise, Collins apart, it's almost a full squad to select from – Carroll and Diarra are the usual suspects clogging up the treatment suites.

Prediction? Well of course optimism is at its height at the moment – though I would urge a spot of caution. After all it's not like we beat anyone any good yet is it? However there ought to be a decent mood about the place – it was an all too rare away win after all. After consideration,I think that I'll be spending the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered's collection to buy Mr Howlett a disposable razor (£2.50) on a 1-0 home win, in time for us to sneak back into the home through the secret tunnel we always use when Matron's in a bad mood.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Boleyn – Drew 0-0. Another Saturday evening match saw us battle to a draw, though we did have a perfectly good goal by Nolan disallowed because he was only two yards onside.

Referee: Michael Oliver – One of the younger referees – last seen chalking off a goal scored by Andy Carroll at Stamford Bridge. Doesn't do to upset Roman does it.

Danger Man: Sergio Aguero – tricky cove who was the subject of a "we hope you die" banner from the delightful support at Atletico Madrid. Will never have to buy a a beer in Manchester again.

Daft Fact Of The Week: Former City favourite Mike Summerbee appeared in the so-bad-it's-wonderful WII film "Escape To Victory" alongside his good friend Bobby Moore. It was Summerbee who was charged with having to utter the infamous "we can still win this" speech when the Allies were "only 4-1 down" at half time in a match with a bent ref. Unsurprisingly, Summerbee and the other players involved kept bursting into fits of laughter every time he tried to make the speech. Sylvester Stallone (who spent the whole movie being out acted by a set of goalposts) was said to be "unamused".

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More Redknapp claims denied
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 18th October 2013
By: Staff Writer

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has become the latest member of the footballing fraternity to question the validity of Harry Redknapp's new autobiography. Already this week both Billy Bonds - speaking in an exclusive Podcast interview with KUMB.com - and former club captain Julian Dicks have dismissed sections of the former West Ham manager's new book as having little in common with actual events. And now Rodgers has denied claims by Redknapp that he was set to follow him into the England set-up, should Redknapp be offered the managerial post (which eventually went instead to current incumbant Roy Hodgson). Speaking in his book, which was recently serialised by the Daily Mail, Redknapp insisted: "If I had become the England manager I would have taken Brendan Rodgers as my No 2. He was up for it. "If I got the job, he said, he would speak to the people at Swansea to get their permission. But it didn't work out." However Rodgers himself paints a distinctly different picture. Speaking to ITV Sport, he said: "That April, when I was manager at Swansea, Harry had asked me after the game when we played. "It was a unique conversation because he was obviously very confident - as was the nation - he was going to be offered the national team job. It was a quick conversation. I was aware he was very keen for me to team up with him if he was given the role. "But there was no decision either way. Out of the respect I have for Harry I was going to consider it."

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Carroll to confound predictions?
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 18th October 2013
By: Staff Writer

Andy Carroll could be back in action as early as next month, according to fresh reports. Hugh Southon, writing for Sports Direct News believes that the England international may be back as early as mid-November, despite most reports hinting at a December return. According to Southon, the trip to Norwich three weeks from now is a possible target - although the London derby with Chelsea on 23rd November is a more likely prospect. "It's good news all the way at the moment," said a source. "He's happy and making a very good recovery indeed."

Meanwhile Sam Allardyce believes that Carroll, who is now back in basic training, will be motivated by England's qualification for next summer's World Cup Finals. "I think that the Andy Carrolls of this world will want to get fit and play well for West Ham as soon as he can," said Big Sam. "It will be at the back of his mind that the World Cup is coming and he wants to be a part of that squad. "He forged his way into the England set-up with his performances at the back end of last season after maintaining his fitness. Now he's got this unfortunate injury but hopefully he can be a part of it as well.

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Sam Allardyce hopes Manchester City endure another bad away day
Last Updated: October 18, 2013 4:46pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce admits West Ham will take confidence from Manchester City's stuttering away form ahead of Saturday's match at Upton Park. The Hammers head into the game on a high after the 3-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane before the international break. Manuel Pellegrini's men won at home against Everton in their last match, but have suffered problems on the road, losing at Cardiff and Aston Villa. Allardyce is fully aware of this frailty and hopes the Hammers can take full advantage. "In terms of results they've been a little bit Jekyll and Hyde," he said. "[They are] absolutely fantastic at home and unfortunately for them they've not won away from home yet - lost two and drawn one. "We have to be encouraged by that. Last year we had a fantastic 0-0 against them."

The absence of James Collins, who suffered a hamstring injury on international duty with Wales, has left Allardyce with a defensive headache. Winston Reid and James Tomkins are the only fit centre-backs and Allardyce admits his squad has been stretched to the limit. "I am concerned about the fact that we only run with three centre-halves," he said. "So James being out is a particular problem for me because I have to run with only two central defenders now, James Tomkins and Winston Reid, for however long it takes James to get fit again, that is my big concern. "He [Collins] has been excellent and he has been very unfortunate that I decided to leave him out. "It wasn't that he was playing badly it is just that I thought James [Tomkins] in the Cardiff game in the Capital One Cup gave a fantastic performance and that fantastic performance got him in the team."

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Sky Sports Vault
The Sky Sports Vault has been opened once more, enabling us to pick out another football classic from yesteryear for you to watch and enjoy once again. West Ham fans are in for a treat this week, as Tony Cottee recalls his timely treble against Manchester City back in December 1994...
By Jon Holmes - @jonboy79 | Last Updated: October 18, 2013 4:03pm

It's fair to say Tony Cottee's second coming at West Ham in September 1994 didn't get off to the best of starts. Having returned to the East End from Everton in a swap deal with David Burrows, Cottee was back on Merseyside just three days later for a Premiership match against Liverpool. Early in the second half, the 29-year-old was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Rob Jones - only for referee Paul Danson to allow play to continue. Cottee was incensed, but quickly back on his feet, and launched into Jones to reclaim the ball, clattering the right-back far worse than he had been clattered himself moments earlier. Despite profuse apologies, Cottee looked up to see Danson flourishing a red card, and trudged off down the Anfield tunnel - sent off for the first and only time in his career.

Cottee had come back to his roots at the calling of Harry Redknapp, in his first season in charge of the Hammers. With 10 men, they ground out a goalless draw at Liverpool that day, although the result still left them in the relegation places. The following Saturday, Cottee hauled them out by netting the only goal of the game against Aston Villa at Upton Park. Yet after serving his suspension, a dreaded drought set in - and a full three months later, Cottee was still searching for his next goal.

West Ham picked up the odd victory here and there - a 2-1 triumph at Chelsea, and home wins over Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leicester - but as the week before Christmas rolled around, Redknapp's team found themselves back in the drop zone. Cottee was toiling away in vain up front, while his team-mates also lacked firepower to an alarming degree. In total, the Hammers had only bothered the scoresheet 12 times in 18 league games.

"There was pressure on me because West Ham had signed me to score goals - and they just weren't going in," Cottee recalled to Sky Sports. "But I was really enjoying my time working under Harry. I found him a good manager and coach, and he was very patient with me. We had the players, but we just hadn't clicked as a team."

Visiting the Boleyn Ground that Saturday were Manchester City, riding high in sixth spot under Brian Horton, and boasting a formidable attacking triumvirate of Paul Walsh, Niall Quinn and Uwe Rosler. The City forwards had already plundered 21 Premiership goals between them by that stage of the season. They were expected to give a defence containing 36-year-old Alvin Martin a thorough runaround.

Understandably at that time of year, with household funds tight, the attendance dipped slightly - but the majority of the 17,286 crowd got their money's worth within the first 10 minutes. West Ham went for the jugular right from the kick-off, carving out several early chances, and when Andy Dibble could only parry a Cottee shot right back at the striker, he side-footed home to finally break free of those demons of doubt. And like the proverbial London bus, another goal followed in double-quick time. A raid down by the right by Tim Breacker, from a move originally instigated by Cottee in his own penalty area, ended in the latter turning cleverly in the area and scoring past a stunned Dibble.

Ian Bishop ran the game against his former club, while Dibble made several fine saves, but in the 57th minute, Cottee completed his hat-trick - running onto Bishop's excellent through-ball, taking on Alan Kernaghan and curling a left-footed shot in off the far post. "That first goal was a huge relief - you can see it etched on my face," said Cottee. "The second was a good team goal, and the third came from a great through-ball from Bish. It was a resounding victory.
"I loved playing with Bish because he was such a creative midfielder player. Being a City old boy as well, it added spice to the game from his point of view, and he played great that day."

Scoring hat-tricks was not unusual for Cottee - he had notched two trebles the previous season at Goodison - but this one stands out for him. "It's the only time I ever got a league hat-trick for West Ham at home," he noted, "so it's a very special memory for me."

Cottee's strike partner at the time was 6ft 4in Dutchman Jeroen Boere, who had bagged a brace the previous weekend to earn a 2-2 draw at Leeds. In Redknapp's recently-released autobiography, the former Hammers manager mentions the players' Christmas party that year. Organiser Dale Gordon hired minivans to ferry the players around and for reasons that are unexplained, Boere - known as 'Yozza' - set fire to the seats of one of the vehicles. The story quickly came to the attention of the press. "I was on one of the minibuses, but not the one that was potentially on fire!" said Cottee. "We ended up at a nightclub in Romford and we had a boxing ring with big boxing gloves, and people were launching themselves off the balcony... it was all in good fun, in the days when there were no mobile phones around to capture the images. Because Yozza had damaged the back of the minibus, the company put a claim in to the club. It became common knowledge and made the newspapers."

Such parties are seriously frowned upon nowadays, but the lifestyle and occasional drinking culture of players was under much less scrutiny in the early 90s. As Cottee explains: "We worked our socks off to win a football match, and it was a time when a bonus meant something - we used to celebrate and enjoy ourselves. It's just a different world now, because of the amount of money involved."

Only 13 goals are scored across eight Premiership fixtures. Leaders Blackburn draw 0-0 at Leicester, while second-placed Manchester United lose 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest. The National Lottery completes its first month, having created seven new UK millionaires. 'Stay Another Day' by Walthamstow's finest East 17 is in a five-week stretch at the top of the UK singles charts. The box office tills ring for Sir Richard Attenborough's turn as Kris Kringle in a remake of 'Miracle on 34th Street'. Redknapp describes Boere as "a strange guy" and the tale of his life after leaving English football (he also played for Crystal Palace and Southend) is certainly unusual, and ultimately tragic. Boere went to play in Japan and after dinner with his wife Ann in a Tokyo restaurant one night in May 1999, he was attacked and stabbed by two men, resulting in the loss of an eye. He had to retire from playing and after a spell running a pub back in the East End, he became an estate agent in Marbella. Then news filtered through in August 2007 that he had been found dead, at the age of just 39, leaving behind Ann and a three-year-old son called Brandon. "Yozza was a typical Dutch boy, very confident in himself," remembers Cottee. "He was actually a good player when you played to his strengths, and I enjoyed playing up front with him. "I think he got in with the wrong crowd once he'd retired from football. He lost his eye in that one incident, and eventually he committed suicide which was horrible. We put on a fundraising dinner for the family - the footballing community looking after each other, which often happens."

Beating City took West Ham back up to 17th, but their struggles went on. They were still third from bottom in early March, but a 1-0 win at Arsenal kick-started a strong finish which saw them lose only two of their last 13 league games. They eventually finished 14th, five points clear of danger and a point ahead of City, who only won three league games for the rest of the season, leading to new chairman Francis Lee deciding to sack Horton and put his own man in charge. That man was Alan Ball; City were relegated the following season on goal difference, and would slide further down to the third tier before recovering.

"I ended up as top scorer with 13 goals, which was always my aim at the start of the season," added Cottee. "I got a calf muscle injury towards the end, so I missed some dramatic games, such as a win at Blackburn and the match that everyone remembers: the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on the final day, which stopped them winning the title. In terms of epic Sky moments, that's right up there with Aguero's clincher for Manchester City last year."

Cottee will be at Upton Park this Saturday night, hoping to see his beloved Hammers build on their win at Tottenham last time out, when Sam Allardyce pulled off a tactical masterstroke. "I'm guessing they might look to do the same formation," said Cottee. "Undoubtedly it was the formation that won them the game - they didn't play with a central striker, so it was effectively six midfield players, with four central and two wingers. "It was a tactic that worked very well. I know they're at home, but I think with it being against one of the big boys - Man City - I wouldn't be surprised if West Ham go for it again. I'm not a fan of that system because I love to see strikers on the pitch, but it was fantastically effective against Spurs. And if West Ham win without a forward, I'll be as delighted as everyone else."

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West Ham host Manchester City in Saturday Night Football
Last Updated: October 18, 2013 1:23pm
SSN

West Ham will hope to build on their shock win last time out when they host Manchester City in Saturday Night Football. The Hammers recorded an impressive 3-0 victory away to London rivals Tottenham, lifting them out of the Premier League relegation zone in the process. It was their first three-point haul since the opening day of the season, and was made possible by a brave tactical approach from Sam Allardyce that saw him field a starting line-up with no recognised striker.

Whether Allardyce employs the same tactics again against third-placed City remains to be seen, but with Andy Carroll still out injured and Mladen Petric and Carlton Cole still considered to be not fully match fit, the formation may be repeated. Centre-back James Collins, who came on a substitute at White Hart Lane, is definitely out, while City's Vincent Kompany - who lasted only 34 minutes of their 3-1 home win over Everton a fortnight ago - is definitely out with a thigh injury.

Last season's equivalent fixture ended 0-0, and with only Southampton and Chelsea boasting a better defensive league record than the Hammers this season, goals may be at a premium. However City will feel confident they can break down their hosts as they have already netted a league-high 17 goals in the campaign thus far.

Paul Merson's prediction

After Soccer Saturday a fortnight ago, poor Jeff was certain that Hartlepool were going to win the Performance of the Week after they won at Exeter - and then the next day West Ham went and smashed Tottenham 3-0 and topped them in my opinion. Nobody saw that coming - even the West Ham faithful - but I don't see them repeating that on Saturday Night Football. They played with no strikers and it worked in a game where nobody was giving them a chance, but I don't think it will work against City at home. They will be expected to take the game to them a bit more. City are still my tip for the title. They are strong all over and have got a big squad so I think they're best equipped. Vincent Kompany is injured, but West Ham aren't really a threat without Andy Carroll and might not play any strikers again so I think City will cope and keep a clean sheet anyway.

PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3

West Ham Badge West Ham
Last 6
Tottenham (a)0-3
Hull City (a)1-0
Cardiff (h)3-2
Everton (h)2-3
Southampton (a)0-0
Stoke City (h)0-1

West Ham defender James Collins will miss the visit of Manchester City on Saturday evening after suffering an injury on international duty. The 30-year-old was replaced just before the hour in Wales' 1-1 draw with Belgium in midweek and Hammers boss Sam Allardyce confirmed he has a hamstring injury. He joins Andy Carroll (heel) and Alou Diarra (knee) on the sidelines whilst Carlton Cole, who rejoined the club on a short-term deal last week, is not fit enough to be involved.

Man City Badge Man City
Last 6
3-1
1-3
A Villa (a)3-2
Wigan (h)5-0
Man Utd (h)4-1
Plzen (a)0-3

Defender Martin Demichelis is not yet ready to play, but is closing in on a first-team debut after pulling on a City shirt for the first time in the elite development squad's 2-2 draw with Rochdale on Wednesday. The Argentinian defender joined City at the start of September from Atletico Madrid but damaged knee ligaments in his first week of training. Captain Vincent Kompany (thigh) is definitely out, but like Demichelis he could be available next week. City's next fixtures are away to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday, and away to Chelsea on Sunday 27 October. Midfielder Jack Rodwell also played in midweek and has declared himself fit and available for Saturday's game.

Opta facts:

West Ham have kept four clean sheets in their last seven Barclays Premier League games; but have also failed to score in four of their seven matches.
Man City have lost just one of their last 12 Barclays Premier League meetings with West Ham (W8 D3).
Man City have won just 46% of their Premier League games without Vincent Kompany since his debut; compared to 58% with him in the side.

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West Ham striker Andy Carroll sets sights on spot in England squad
Last Updated: October 18, 2013 9:28am
SSN

West Ham striker Andy Carroll admits that England's qualification for the World Cup has spurred him on to return from injury. Carroll has been ruled out for an indefinite spell with a heel injury and was unable to play his part for England as they reached next summer's tournament in Brazil with a 2-0 win over Poland on Tuesday. The former Liverpool striker featured early in England's qualification campaign and hopes to stake his claim for a spot in the World Cup squad, but the Hammers will not rush the £15million summer signing back into action. Carroll knows he must first prove his fitness at club level before he can even think about earning an England recall. "The lads did a great job and it's brilliant that England will be in Brazil," he told the Daily Mail. "It also gives me something to aim at and, once I get back playing, I might have a chance of breaking back into the squad. "The first objective, of course, is to get back playing well for West Ham. I want to do that because they've been so supportive but if England follows, that would be good, too."

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All eyes on West Ham's Ravel Morrison against Manchester City to see what he does next
18 Oct 2013 22:30
The Mirror

He has scored sensational goals in his last two games for club and country - England Under-21s on Tuesday and for West Ham against Spurs two weeks ago.
So all eyes will be on red-hot Ravel Morrison on Saturday night to see whether he can make it a hat-trick against the flash-the-cash big guns of Manchester City. The 20-year-old talent has had his problems avoiding trouble with the police, a chequered history that finally saw him cut loose by Manchester United.
But Hammers manager Sam Allardyce saw the new-look Morrison coming months ago, when he sparkled in pre-season and scored in friendlies against Hamburg and Sporting Lisbon. Asked when he first saw signs that the boy was a bit special, Big Sam said: "Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. A little bit in Germany.
"We started him wide to see how he did - centre midfield might have been a little too much for him. Then he scored twice against Lisbon and we started to get a little excited. "Then we thought we'd feed him into the first team as soon as the opportunity came – which was the Capital One Cup."

Morrison has scored in both West Ham's games in that competition so far - victories over Cheltenham and Cardiff. And it was at that point that Allardyce started to see even more potential. But just as quickly as he has begun to impress, his issues resurfaced while he was busy scoring two goals for England's Young Lions against Lithuania on Tuesday - including one of pure class. Before the game was finished however, he became involved in an ugly on-field bust-up with Wilfried Zaha, raising questions once more about his ablity to mature. Allardyce added: "It's his finishing ability that's emerged, that we didn't think he had.
"He didn't score too much at Birmingham [on a season-long loan from the Hammers]. But he can finish as well as create. My job is to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get carried away with all the good publicity he is getting at the moment. "I think that it's the individual that has to take control of himself. What we do is provide the support and the tools and the opportunity to develop as a person as well as a footballer. "Natural talent has no chance at being successful without it being developed - in every way, shape or form. "So we help develop his talent. He himself has decided that he is going to make himself a more mature person. He has certainly done that and it's because he has done that that he is now evolving that talent quicker than we possibly thought he would. "All I did was just encourage and watch to see what his growth was like. I don't bombard players too much with meetings or talks. The rest of the staff delegated to take up those duties, so he is talked to all the time. "When I talk to him I just ask him basically how he is. "My job is more about anything off the field rather than anything on it these days. That's where you get most of the problems that affects a player, on the field. "Off the field problems normally affect their in-house training then affect their performances on the pitch, not what generally happens on the training ground on a day-to-day basis because its all here for you. "Ravel is quiet and because he is a quiet lad we leave him to do what he is doing. But every day with the lads he joins in more and more and more with the banter that we have."

The Hammers are making provisions to ensure that the talented youngster is rewarded for his stunning start to the season with an improved deal in the new year. But Allardyce believes Morrison has more chance of sustaining his stunning resurgence if he ignores the finances and focuses on his football. Allardyce said: "It depends how Rav sees it. Does he see the development of football more important than the cash? "Hopefully Rav will think the development is more important. "Without development, he won't progress - you don't leave a great mathematician to evolve himself, do you? If he doesn't get the 10,000 hours in, he won't be a brilliant mathematician. "It's always the same, with sporting talent."

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