Daily WHUFC News - 4th February 2013

Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was suitably impressed with West Ham United's first clean sheet of 2013
03.02.2013

Sam Allardyce will be hoping West Ham United can replicate their dominant display from the Swansea City match when they visit Aston Villa on Sunday. Big Sam's side were thoroughly good value for their 1-0 win against The Swans on Saturday, with a relentlessly offensive display matched only by a defensive team effort that was far more reminiscent of the side that had looked so hard to score against earlier this season. The West Ham United manager clearly felt that goals had been offered up to cheaply in the recent away games at Arsenal and Aston Villa, so after some detailed analysis and hard work on the Chadwell Heath training pitches, he was delighted to see his team stand tall to thwart the usually potent Swansea attack. "We were compact as a unit, getting back to how we know we can defend together," Allardyce said. "When you see that Swansea had not lost for seven games and one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League in Michu has been limited to little or no chances, it tells you that it must be the basis of any team being successful. "Clean sheets are hugely important and of course if you keep one and score a goal it means you win the game. Nothing you can do can be better than that other than when you look at a game like Saturday's and think it should have been two or three goals to the good rather than one."

Andy Carroll scored the only goal of the game to cap an energetic display, but his performance was not just about goalscoring as he set up a series of chances for his team-mates and in particular Kevin Nolan, who was unlucky not to register with two fine efforts that were saved by Gerhard Tremmel in the Swansea goal. The Hammers captain and the on-loan Liverpool striker were up to their old tricks again straight from kick-off and combined to cause Michael Laudrup's side no end of problems. "Kevin is ultimately disappointed that he hasn't put either of his two chances in the back of the net," Big Sam explained, "you've got to give the goalkeeper a lot of credit for the saves he made but Kevin will always be disappointed when he's in that position that he didn't score. "Andy and Kevin seem to have this natural instinct when they play together. They didn't play for too long together at Newcastle but since he has been here, Kevin has got quite a few goals off Andy's play. "It wasn't just Andy's contribution to the game with the goal he scored but also the contribution in how well he helped the other lads create chances to score as well."

The West Ham No8 was making his first start since picking up a knee injury against Manchester United on 28 November and his return seemed to add an extra zest to the hosts' attacking play. With Carlton Cole, Modibo Maiga and Marouane Chamakh all an option to provide competition to Carroll, Big Sam is delighted with his bolstered striking options. "If your front man plays well then the team plays well. If the ball is held up well then the whole team can break well. The likes of Mo Diame, Matt Jarvis, Ricardo Vaz Te, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole can all go on from there and get in the opposition's box, take the full-backs on and sustain a bit of pressure on the opposition's back four. "What happens is if the ball is played up there and it doesn't stick then the lads stop making the runs, they start sitting back and waiting and then you don't get the forward movement that you'd like. "When you consider Andy has come back from nine weeks out, I'm impressed that he could last for the full 90 minutes. He played about 15 minutes at Fulham on Wednesday and we thought we'd get the first hour out of him and see how he was. We thought he might be walking around puffing and blowing but that wasn't the case. "If he can produce that when he hasn't played for nine weeks, when he gets on top of his match fitness, I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can produce."

Momo Diame also demonstrated that the media scrutiny he was subjected to during the January transfer window has not affected him with another blockbuster display in the heart of the Hammers' midfield. Big Sam reiterated how happy he is to have kept the Senegal international and is looking forward to helping him continue the improvement he has shown since he oined from Wigan in the summer. "You see a lot of ability in the way that he keeps the ball and wriggles his way past the opposition midfield, although sometimes he gets a little frustrated with his final shot or his pass. He's settled now the window is shut and he knows he's got to produce his best performances this season and to just keep enjoying his football."

Looking back at the window as a whole, Big Sam is happy with the work West Ham did and is looking forward to seeing what his improved squad can achieve in the remaining 13 Barclays Premier League games. "We got Wellington from Brazil and he may be the goalscorer we're looking for. We also got some cover from the back - Emanuel Pogatetz experienced Premier League football before playing in the German league for four or five years. "We all know what Joe Cole can do if we can keep him fit, Vaz Te's back from three months out and Matt Jarvis is starting to show the kind of form that he did at Wolves. Kevin Nolan is our leading goalscorer and could have scored a couple more on Saturday so if he keeps that up he'll get into double figures and if someone can get up and near him we'll be OK."

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Ladies lose out
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies suffer narrow FA Cup defeat at Leeds
03.02.2013

A stirring second half fightback was not enough to prolong West Ham United Ladies' FA Cup campaign as Julia Setford's team suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Leeds United in the third round on Saturday. The Hammers were slow out of the blocks in Yorkshire and trailed 3-0 to the FA Women's Premier League National Division side at the break. Leeds' double strike from Danielle Sheen and Hayley Sharp just before the interval, which allowed them to build on Carey Huegett's ninth minute opener, appeared to have killed the game off as a contest, but the visitors came roaring back in the second half and came so close to completing their comeback. A freak own goal from Leeds keeper Jules Draycott, after her sliced clearance was caught in the wind and flew back past her into the net, gave the Hammers hope, and Leeds' nerves were jangling 10 minutes from the end when Hannah Gowland finished neatly. But the visitors could not force an equaliser as Leeds' first half work proved enough to claim victory.

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Big Sam loves having 'top-class' Carroll available at West Ham
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
PUBLISHED: 23:58, 3 February 2013 | UPDATED: 23:58, 3 February 2013
Daily Mail

Sam Allardyce isn't the sort for showy demonstrations of affection, but he sounded as though he wanted to kiss Andy Carroll on Saturday evening. Carroll had battered Swansea's tippy-tappy kings in West Ham's 1-0 win despite it being his first start in nearly 10 weeks after injuring his left knee. 'There is no one of his type who is being thought about for England so if he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances you get picked, don't you?' said Allardyce when asked about his chances of an international recall. 'Everyone says that is playing to his head but it's not. It's playing to his feet or chest. He is good at holding the ball up and then you can break from there.'

For his part, Carroll, whose headed goal late on clinched the points, is glad to be back after his second serious injury this season. He said: 'It was very hard keeping sane, to be honest. Seeing all the lads go out training when I had to go to the gym and the treatment room, it was difficult. But I am back and I have got the goal.'

The challenge for Allardyce now is to keep Carroll fit. Then, it is to decide whether his form merits West Ham exercising their option to sign him permanently from Liverpool in the summer.

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Andy Carroll has 14 games to make up mind on future as West Ham beat Swansea City
West Ham United 1 Swansea City 0
JACK PITT-BROOKE SUNDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2013
The Independent

Andy Carroll's West Ham United career starts now. With 14 games left this season Carroll, finally fit, can focus on playing and scoring for the team to whom he is on loan, and where he could well move permanently in the summer ‑ if he enjoys himself.

If he replicates his performance on Saturday, when he dominated Swansea and scored the game's only goal – just "the tip of the iceberg" according to team-mate Matt Taylor – Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, hopes he can settle.

"I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and looking at the end of this season and asking himself 'what have I achieved here this season?' We just hope that he has an injury-free 14 games and produces better form. If he gets on top of his full match fitness I am looking forward to what he can produce," Allardyce said.

This was Carroll's first start for two months but Allardyce admitted he was "surprised" how fit he was. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday, you think, 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is'. Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. He made such a big contribution, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."

More of this and Carroll could well be picked again by England soon. "There is no one of his type who is being thought about being selected," Allardyce said. "If he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances in the Premier League you get picked again, don't you?"

Match facts
Goals: West Ham Carroll 77.

Substitutions: West Ham Cole (Jarvis, 62), O'Neil (Diame, 86), Pogatetz (Nolan, 90+2).

Swansea Moore (Britton, 57), Dyer (Routledge, 75).

Bookings: West Ham Vaz Te. Swansea Chico.

Man of the match Carroll.

Match rating 4/10.

Possession: West Ham 36%. Swansea 64%. Attempts on target: West Ham 7. Swansea 3. Referee L Probert (Wiltshire).

Attendance 34,962.

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Andy Carroll's endurance delights and surprises bubbly West Ham
• Sam Allardyce praises Andy Carroll's worth after winner
• Michael Laudrup upbeat despite Swansea defeat
Jacob Steinberg at Upton Park
The Guardian, Sunday 3 February 2013 22.29 GMT


The overriding emotion provoked by Liverpool's decision to spend £35m on Andy Carroll two years ago is still one of disbelief but for West Ham United he is worth his weight in gold. Sam Allardyce's side had toiled badly during his two-month absence, their form unravelling to the extent that there has even been talk of them being dragged into the dogfight down at the bottom, but Carroll's return was the catalyst for a richly deserved victory over Swansea City, West Ham's first since New Year's Day.

Michael Laudrup said he knew what to expect from West Ham – a direct, physical game centred around getting the ball forward quickly and profiting from set pieces – although he might have been surprised to see Carroll on the pitch when he headed Mark Noble's corner past Swansea's outstanding goalkeeper, Gerhard Tremmel, after 77 minutes.

Making his first start after his return from injury, the striker was not supposed to last 90 minutes yet his performance provided a reminder of what persuaded Liverpool to make him the most expensive English player of all time. Allardyce could not take him off.

"I was surprised," Allardyce said. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday and you think: 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is.' Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. There was no need to bring him off. He made such a big contribution with the way he played, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."

Last week West Ham's co-owner, David Sullivan, said that the club had an agreement with Liverpool to make Carroll's loan move permanent at the end of the season. Carroll still has to agree and Allardyce is not looking too far ahead yet. "I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and asking himself: 'What have I achieved here this season?'" he said. "The disappointment was being let go by Liverpool and the disappointment for us was that he had too many injuries. We just hope before we think about the end of the season that he has an injury-free 13 games."

For West Ham, this was a first clean sheet in 10 games and Allardyce praised his defence for snuffing out the threat of Michu, who has gone six games without scoring. Just as pleasing was the contribution made by Mohamed Diamé, whose release clause made him the subject of interest from Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur during the transfer window.

Relieved to have held on to the influential Senegalese midfielder, West Ham's challenge now is to agree a new deal with him. "I think he is settled," Allardyce said. "The window is shut now. He knows he has to produce his best performances from now until the end of the season and he just has to keep enjoying his football and then at the end of the season we can pick up where we left off at the end of this window and start talking again."

Despite a first defeat in seven matches, Laudrup was pleased with how Swansea had fared. The danger for them, with the Capital One Cup final against Bradford City three weeks away, is a loss of focus and Laudrup has warned his players not to rest on their laurels after their victory over Chelsea in the semi-final.

"We are talking about a major event for the club," he said. "Beating the European champions in two legs. I thought there would be a reaction and it hasn't arrived. I said it was important to be more mature as a team. Even as I said it I thought there would be a reaction but it didn't come.

"I don't like to lose, not even in training so imagine a game. It's several weeks since we last lost in the league and I think we have had a very positive run. Sometimes you will lose games and you have to get back on the horse."

Man of the match Andy Carroll (West Ham)

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