Daily WHUFC News - 13th April 2013

Southampton match preview
WHUFC.com
All the background information and team news ahead of Saturday's trip to
Southampton
12.04.2013

SOUTHAMPTON v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
13 APRIL 2012
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: MIKE DEAN
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

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Introduction

• West Ham United take to the road once more, this time to Southampton, as
the Hammers embark on a fourth away day in five Barclays Premier League
fixtures.

• Fresh from Sunday's goalless draw at Liverpool, West Ham are on the hunt
for a first away win against the Saints since a 3-2 success at The Dell back
in November 2000.

• This will only be the Hammers' fourth trip to St Mary's, with the last
ending in a 1-0 reverse, courtesy of Jos Hooiveld's headed winner on the
stroke of half time.

• Sam Allardyce's side are bidding to record their first double of the
campaign, after running out 4-1 winners at the Boleyn Ground in October.

• Southampton, meanwhile, go in search of a fourth successive league win,
following victories at home to Liverpool (3-1), Chelsea (2-1) and most
recently away at Reading (2-0).

• The two sides are currently level on 37 points, though the Saints sit
above the Hammers virtue of being two goals better off.

• Saturday's hosts have toppled Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool at St
Mary's in recent weeks, though relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers
were 2-1 victors on the south coast on 2 March.

Last Time Out
Sunday 7 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Tomkins, (Pogatetz 83), O'Brien, Collins,
Demel, Nolan (Taylor 62), Jarvis, Diame, O'Neil, C.Cole, Vaz Te (Collison
62)
Subs not used: Henderson, Potts, Maiga, Chamakh

Saturday 6 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Reading 0-2 Southampton
Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw, Schneiderlin, S Davis
(Guly 88), Ramirez, (Lallana 63) ,Cork, Lambert, Rodriguez
Subs not used: K Davis, Fonte, Fox, Ward-Prowse, Puncheon
Goals: Rodriguez 34, Lallana 72

Previous meeting

Big Sam's side continued their fine start to the Barclays Premier League
season, with this thumping 4-1 home win against Southampton on 20 October
2012. After a goalless first half, the Hammers struck twice in the first
three minutes of the second period.

Just 58 seconds after the restart, Mark Noble's in-swinging free-kick
somehow found its way into the far corner, before skipper Kevin Nolan tapped
home Yossi Benayoun's centre. Adam Lallana's smart turn and finish briefly
gave the visitors hope, before a Noble penalty and Modibo Maiga's fine
individual goal propelled the Hammers to seventh.

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, McCartney, Nolan, Tomkins, (Spence 88),
Collins, Jarvis, Benayoun, Noble, Diame, (O'Neil 68), Carroll, (Maiga 82)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Chambers, Cole, Hall

Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fonte, Schneiderlin, S Davis
(Ward-Prowse 89), Lallana, Guly, Puncheon, (Mayuka 65), Rodriguez (Lambert
65)
Subs not used: K Davis, Seaborne, Reeves

Background
• West Ham United and Southampton have met 21 times in the Premier League.
The Hammers have won nine meetings, Southampton have come out on top in six
and six ended all square.

• The Hammers' most-recent league victory away to Southampton was a 3-2
success back in November 2000. On that occasion, Frederic Kanoute, Stuart
Pearce and Trevor Sinclair scored the goals to see the Hammers depart with
the points.

• In the intervening 12 seasons, the Hammers have only thrice visited
Southampton, losing two and drawing the other. Jermain Defoe is the last
West Ham player to score in this fixture, as he netted a late equaliser in a
1-1 draw in April 2003.

• Southampton full-back Frazer Richardson scored the only goal when Stoke
City won 1-0 against West Ham United on 9 December 2003. He was on loan from
Leeds United at the time.
• West Ham United have been drawn to meet Southampton three times in the FA
Cup - and have gone on to reach the final twice. The Hammers overcame the
Saints after two replays in 1922/23, when they were beaten by Bolton
Wanderers in the first-ever final at Wembley. In 1974/75, West Ham defeated
Southampton 2-1 at The Dell in the third round.
• The largest crowd to attend a West Ham United versus Southampton fixture
was the 35,000 who were at the Division Two fixture at the Boleyn Ground on
13 November 1948. The match finished in a 1-1 draw.

Last six meetings
(Barclays Premier League unless stated)

20 October 2012 - West Ham United 4-1 Southampton
14 February 2012 - West Ham United 1-1 Southampton (Championship)
18 October 2011 - Southampton 1-0 West Ham United (Championship)
5 April 2003 - Southampton 1-1 West Ham United
2 December 2002 - West Ham United 0-1 Southampton
30 January 2002 - Southampton 2-0 West Ham United
Overall record v Southampton (all competitions) W 37 D 27 L 30

Ten-year records
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th
2008/09 Premier League 9th
2007/08 Premier League 10th
2006/07 Premier League 15th
2005/06 Premier League 9th
2004/05 Championship 6th (promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th
2002/03 Premier League 18th (relegated to Championship)
Southampton
2011/12 Championship 2nd (promoted to Premier League)
2010/11 League One 2nd (promoted to Championship)
2009/10 League One 7th
2008/09 Championship 23rd (relegated to League One)
2007/08 Championship 20th
2006/07 Championship 6th
2005/06 Championship 12th
2004/05 Premier League 20th (relegated to Championship)
2003/04 Premier League 12th
2002/03 Premier League 8th

Referee
• Saturday's referee is Mike Dean, who will be taking charge of West Ham in
the Barclays Premier League for the third time this season.

• Dean oversaw West Ham's 1-0 home win over Aston Villa on the opening day
of the season, while he was also the man in the middle for the Hammers' 1-0
success at Newcastle's St James Park.
• Dean began refereeing in 1985, starting out his career in senior football
in the Northern Premier League.
• In 2004, Dean took charge of his first international match, a friendly
between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland at Amsterdam ArenA. That
same year, he took control of the FA Community Shield between Arsenal and
Manchester United.
• In May 2006, he refereed the Championship play-off final between Leeds
United and Watford at the Millennium Stadium. In 2008, he was the
man-in-the-middle for the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City
at Wembley Stadium.

• Dean will be accompanied by assistant referees Simon Long and Ceri
Richards, while Mick Russell is due to be the fourth official

Team News

• Sam Allardyce's attacking options are bolstered by the return of frontman
Andy Carroll. The Liverpool loanee was ineligible to face his parent club in
Sunday's goalless draw at Anfield and will likely battle it out with Carlton
Cole for the lone striker berth.

• Big Sam will have to make do without Winston Reid (thigh), George
McCartney (knee), Joe Cole (hamstring), Mark Noble (trapped nerve), all of
whom are set to miss out.

Old Boys

West Ham:
• West Ham United's all-time leading goalscorer Vic Watson moved to
Southampton after 15 seasons as a Hammer in 1935. Watson would spend the
1935/36 season at The Dell, scoring 14 goals in 36 appearances to finish as
the Saints' leading goalscorer in Division Two before retiring in summer
1936 at the age of 38.
• Among the other players to have played for both clubs are William Adams,
Eyal Berkovic, Wayne Bridge, Henri Camara, Alistair Campbell, Frank
Costello, Christian Dailly, Calum Davenport, Iain Dowie, Bob Fairman, Jack
Foster, Horace Glover, Richard Hall, Jimmy Harris, Fred Harrison, Joe
Kirkup, George Kitchen, Alex McDonald, Walter Pollard, Nigel Quashie, Albert
Roles, Robbie Slater, David Speedie, Vic Watson, Arthur Wilson, Richard
Wright.

Southampton:

• Saints trio Jay Rodriguez, Jason Puncheon and Luke Shaw are all said to be
doubtful for Saturday's clash, having been laid low with a virus. Otherwise,
Mauricio Pochettino has a full squad from which to choose.
General Information

• Tickets for Saturday's clash are now SOLD OUT. For all other ticket sales,
you can access the Box Office here.

• Saturday looks set to be a predominantly cloudy with heavy rain forecast
for the afternoon. Temperatures are unlikely to peak much in excess of 10°C
(50F).

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Six of the best - Southampton
WHUFC.com
A look back at six memorable trips to the south coast to take on Southampton
12.04.2013

West Ham United hit the road again this Saturday when they travel to the
south coast to take on Southampton. The Saints pipped the Hammers to the
second automatic promotion spot in the npower Championship last term, but
Sam Allardyce's men restored their pride with a 4-1 Barclays Premier League
victory over Saturday's opponents back in October. Now they will hope to
register their first St Mary's success on their fourth visit to
Southampton's new home - recording their first 'double' of the season in the
process. In this article, whufc.com takes a look at six Hammers victories at
Southampton's previous ground, The Dell.

Southampton 2-3 West Ham United
Premier League
25 November 2000
West Ham's most-recent victory at Southampton came on their final visit to
the Dell, in the 2000/01 season. The Hammers were hovering in mid-table,
occupying eleventh position in the Premier League going into this fixture,
and by prevailing by the odd goal in five, they moved up to ninth, It was a
real see-saw affair, with the Hammers overturning a 1-0 deficit to Matt
Oakley's early goal to lead 2-1 at the break thanks to Frederic Kanoute and
Stuart Pearce. James Beattie levelled again, but Trevor Sinclair's
69th-minute strike won it for the Hammers. Although the Hammers would go on
to complete a double over the Saints with a 3-0 Boleyn Ground success, they
ended the season in 15th place.

Southampton 0-2 West Ham United
Premier League
29 November 1993
Having won promotion to the Premier League the previous year, West Ham
climbed into the top ten with this 2-0 win on the south coast. Following a
2-0 victory over Oldham Athletic and a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal, Ludek
Miklosko was celebrating a third clean sheet in a row when West Ham
triumphed at The Dell. Trevor Morley and Lee Chapman scored 27 goals between
them that season and they were both on the scoresheet on this occasion. By
the season's end, West Ham were a comfortable 12th, while Southampton
avoided relegation by just a point.

Southampton 2-3 West Ham United
Division One
1 September 1984
The Hammers travelled to a Southampton side who finished as top-flight
runners up the previous season, and handed them an early blow as they looked
to better that. It was a high-scoring affair, with the Hammers eventually
coming out on top thanks to two goals from Paul Goddard and one from Alan
Dickens, allowing them to celebrate their first victory of the campaign.
West Ham went on to enjoy a strong autumn, reaching as high as fifth in late
November, but a poor run of form after Christmas see them finish in 16th,
just a couple of points clear of the drop zone.

Southampton 1-2 West Ham United
FA Cup third round
4 January 1975
The road to the Hammers' second victorious FA Cup campaign began with a
third-round tie at Southampton. The Saints were a division below the
top-flight Hammers, but John Lyall's men nevertheless had to fight hard to
overcome their challenge. In the end, goals from Frank Lampard and Bobby
Gould were enough to see off Southampton and begin a run in which the
Hammers defeated Swindon, QPR, Arsenal and Ipswich before defeating Fulham
2-0 in the final. Southampton, of course, would win the FA Cup the following
year, 1976, as a Division Two side.

Southampton 1-2 West Ham United
Division Two
20 December 1952
West Ham completed a second consecutive 2-1 victory away at Southampton when
they journeyed down to Hampshire in December 1952. The sides were locked in
mid-table of Division Two when they met the previous year, but this time
Southampton were in a relegation battle and the Hammers showed them no mercy
to claim both points. Terry Woodgate and Fred Kearns were the men on the
scoresheet in front of a 12,184 Dell crowd, and the Saints were to go on to
lose their second-tier status by finishing second bottom.

Southampton 2-4 West Ham United
Division Two
26 December 1935
West Ham and Southampton fought out a Christmas double header in the 1935/36
season, and following a Boleyn Ground 0-0 draw on Christmas Day, the Hammers
claimed bragging rights by triumphing 4-2 at The Dell on Boxing Day. This
win represented West Ham's first-ever success away at Southampton and helped
them on the way to a strong Division Two season. Dave Magnall netted twice,
while Len Goulden was also on target and the visitors were helped on their
way by a Charlie Sillett own goal. The Hammers went on to finish fourth,
just three points behind Charlton Athletic in the second promotion slot.

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Marlow targets late charge
WHUFC.com
Ben Marlow reckons the Under-18s are in fine shape ahead of a crunch clash
with Sunderland
12.04.2013

First-year scholar Ben Marlow insists West Ham United are brimming with
confidence, as they plot to topple Barclays U18 Premier League Tier One
leaders Sunderland at Little Heath on Saturday. After six winless outings,
Steve Potts' side are now firmly back on the victory march, courtesy of
convincing 3-1 wins over both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich
Albion. Back-to-back successes have propelled the Hammers to within just six
points of table-topping Sunderland and 17-year-old midfielder Marlow is
planning on closing the gap yet further come the weekend. "Everyone's sky
high with confidence, we've been training well over the last couple of weeks
and we're taking it into the games," he told West Ham TV. "We had a great
3-1 win at West Brom on Tuesday afternoon, against a strong side as well, so
it was good to get the three points and make it two on the bounce. "We
played them at the start of the year and lost 2-0 against that side. We've
got a young side because players are pushing up to the Development Squad, so
it was a good 3-1 win and we're all very pleased. "Hopefully we can make it
three against Sunderland on Saturday, because they are top of the league.
We're moving up the table at the moment and we're certainly looking to carry
that on. We're only six points off the top and hopefully we can push on and
maybe make the top two or top three. You never know."

As for the visit of Sunderland, Marlow's involvement with the Development
Squad means the young Mackems are something of an unknown quantity to the
teenager. That said, with them being top of the league, Marlow reckons he
hardly needs know any more. "I didn't play in the first game against
Sunderland because I was involved in one of the Development Squad games," he
added. "But they're top of the table, so they must be a decent outfit and it
should be a good game and certainly one that I'm looking forward to. "It's a
great challenge, because of course you want to be playing the best teams in
our league. Sunderland are clearly one of them, so everyone's up for it."

Such is Marlow's ability, the midfield man has been flitting between the
U21s and the U18s thus far this term. And while he was only too glad to get
a taste of life in the Hammers' second string, Marlow reckons that game time
is every bit as important at this level. "It has been a great experience
travelling with the Development Squad and being involved. But equally it's
nice to get 90 minutes under my belt with the 18s and hopefully I can keep
pushing on and be involved in the U21s even more. As a first-year scholar
playing against top players is great and I'm hoping to just can carry it on
and keep playing well. "I think I've been doing alright, I'm confident at
the moment and I just want to take that into my game and keep playing well
on a consistent basis and hopefully I can continue to do that."

Kick-off at Little Heath on Saturday is set for 11am, with admission and
parking both free of charge.

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Olympic Stadium update
WHUFC.com
Vice-Chairman Karren Brady updates supporters with the latest news on the
Olympic Stadium process
12.04.2013

It is now exactly three weeks since the monumental day that we were named
anchor concessionaire of the Olympic Stadium, set in the prestigious
surrounds of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There has been a lot of work
going on behind the scenes to do everything we can to keep you, our
supporters, fully informed and updated regarding the next steps. Much of
that time has been spent finalising the plans for the detailed independent
supporter consultation we have always promised you. As we announced last
week, we have selected highly respected pollster YouGov to undertake this
work on our behalf. I know first-hand just how important this is to you and
as a result I have made sure that our work with YouGov moves along at an
accelerated rate so that we can gauge your opinions and act on them at the
earliest possible opportunity. They are currently programming data and
devising a poll that enables you to give your opinion on all aspects of the
move including, most crucially, your overall feelings towards it.

YouGov have indicated that they hope to launch the consultation within the
next 14 days. I will of course update you further when we are ready to
start.
This is the first opportunity to have your say since the plans and details
of the agreement were announced. That is why it is so vitally important that
you take this unique opportunity to engage in the process and give your
opinions, whatever they might be.

Remember, this will be YOUR Stadium so it is crucial that you tell us what
you think. Together we can create a stunning new home for West Ham United,
but it will only work if we work together to create it.

To ensure transparency, we will be publishing the key results of the
consultation on our website and in our programme after the poll closes. We
are also planning to release further images and video footage ahead of the
start of the consultation as they are supplied to us. I would like to thank
those of you that have taken the time to email the club with your comments
and questions relating to our proposed move. I have personally read hundreds
of them and it's great that so many of you are so excited about the move. We
will be answering another selection of the most common questions in the
third instalment of Olympic Stadium Q+As, which will be going live on
whufc.com soon.

I'm sure many of you still have questions to ask so please do keep your
emails coming in to yourosquestions@westhamunited.co.uk as we really do want
you to be able to make as much of an informed decision as possible . We are
grateful for your patience over the last few years and are delighted that it
is now being rewarded. Together we can take these exciting steps to make
sure we maximise this huge opportunity for our Club.

Karren Brady
Vice-Chairman

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Matt aims for positive finish
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor has told West Ham TV he wants the club to end the season on a
high
12.04.2013

Matt Taylor has told West Ham TV he wants the Hammers to end the 2012/13
season the same way they began it. The midfielder was part of the squad that
took 14 points from their opening eight Barclays Premier League matches - a
start that paved the way for a campaign that has seen West Ham United sit
safely in mid-table throughout. With seven games to go and Sam Allardyce's
side just one win away from the magical 40-point mark, the No14 wants the
squad to collect as many points as possible - starting with victory over
Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday. "Southampton is not a place where I've
particularly excelled at personally in the past" Taylor admitted. "I gave a
penalty away there in the last couple of minutes in an FA Cup tie about six
or seven years ago [for Portsmouth] and got injured there last season so
hopefully it'll be a better game for all of us this time! "We want to pick
up points but they are in a great vein of form themselves. We're level on
points going into the game so it's going to be an exceptional encounter and,
if we take last Sunday's performance at Liverpool into Saturday's game, then
we can get a positive result."

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Monte's boot auction
WHUFC.com
Hammers coach Mathew Monte-Colombo is auctioning off signed boots in memory
of his late mother
12.04.2013

West Ham United strength and conditioning coach Mathew Monte-Colombo has
teamed up with the first-team squad to raise thousands of pounds in memory
of his late mother. Monte, as he is known to everyone at the club, lost his
mother to cancer in the spring of 2012 and he and brother Mark have paid
tribute to her by raising funds for Cancer Research UK. While Mark has
raised £5,000 by trekking to Everest Base Camp, Monte has enlisted the help
of the Hammers' players, each of whom have donated a pair of signed boots
for auction. The unique action began on 1 April and, since then, Monte has
raised more than £2,500 by auctioning off boots worn by the outfield players
and gloves worn by the goalkeepers. The charity sale will continue until the
end of the month, with boots worn by the likes of captain Kevin Nolan and
Hammer of the Year Mark Noble and gloves worn by Jussi Jaaskelainen still
waiting to go up for auction. "My mother passed away in March last year and
my brother and I wanted to do something to raise money for Cancer Research
UK," Monte confirmed. "Mark has taken on the Mount Everest Base Camp
challenge with 34 work colleagues from Tesco - hence his fundraising motto
'Everest Little Helps'. "To do his challenge, each person had to raise a
minimum of £3,500, so they have done brilliantly. "I decided to ask the lads
if they would be willing to donate something for auction to raise money,
which they were only too happy to do. I collected the boots and got
everybody to sign their pair and have been auctioning one pair every day
through my twitter feed. "It has gone very well so far, but there is still
time for supporters to bag themselves a unique pair of boots, with some of
the big-hitters being saved until the end of the month!"

Full details of how to bid for the remaining pairs of signed boots between
now and 30 April, start following Monte on twitter now @Monte_the_bear

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Southampton v West Ham
KO 15:00
12 April 2013
Last updated at 11:47
By John Roder
Match of the Day commentator

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: St Mary's Stadium Date: Saturday, 13 August
Continue reading the main story

West Ham have Andy Carroll back at their disposal after he was ineligible
for last week's goalless draw with parent club Liverpool. Joe Cole is still
unavailable with a thigh injury, and Mark Noble is out with a shoulder
problem.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino could be without three players who
have been struck by a virus. Luke Shaw, Jason Puncheon and in-form forward
Jay Rodriguez are all battling against illness.

MATCH PREVIEW

Both sides would surely take some satisfaction in this being considered an
end-of-season mid-table match. Remember that these two clubs were both
promoted last May, so the fact that they are not far from guaranteeing a
second season in the top division is a tribute to all concerned. Southampton
sit 11th, a place above West Ham, with both teams six points above the
relegation zone and within touching distance of another season of Premier
League football.

LAWRO'S PREDICTION
Mark Lawrenson
Football Analyst
"I'm tipping Southampton to beat West Ham, not to silence the Saints fans
who have given me stick on Twitter, but because I think they are playing
well enough to break down a Hammers team that will probably see a point as a
decent return as they edge towards safety." I have been fortunate enough to
commentate on both clubs recently for Match of the Day. I saw Saints beat
Liverpool at St Mary's a month ago, the first of three successive victories
for the club. I was also at Upton Park a fortnight ago to witness the
Hammers' victory over West Brom. Both matches featured some excellent goals,
with Andy Carroll's second for West Ham winning Match of the Day's Goal of
the Month award for March. Carroll will return for West Ham, having been
ineligible to play at parent club Liverpool last weekend, and it will be
interesting to compare him with 14-goal Rickie Lambert. West Ham won 4-1
when these sides met back in October in east London; it surely won't be
anything like as one-sided this Saturday. Despite West Ham's poor
goalscoring record away from home this season, I have a sneaking suspicion
it might end up as a draw - a point which would take both sides a touch
closer to safety. A point would also take Sam Allardyce to the target he has
set before he'll consider extending a contract that currently expires at the
end of this season.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
West Ham beat Southampton 4-1 in the corresponding fixture in October.
Defeat left Saints with just one win from their opening eight Premier League
games.
Southampton have only lost one of their last 10 home league clashes with
West Ham.

Southampton
Southampton are enjoying a three-match winning streak in the Premier League
for the first time since December 2003.
Jay Rodriguez has scored in all three of those wins, the first Saints player
to score in three successive Premier League games since James Beattie in
April 2004.
Across the last eight games, Saints sit fifth in the form table with four
wins, two draws and two defeats. They have only lost three times in 2013.
Victory at Reading last time out lifted Southampton to 11th, their highest
league placing all season.
Frazer Richardson is awaiting his 50th league start for Southampton.

West Ham
The Hammers have won only three league games away from home this season.
Aside from their 1-0 win at Stoke on 2 March their last victory on their
travels was at Newcastle on 11 November.
West Ham's away goals tally is just nine, the joint-worst record in the
league with Stoke.
The Hammers have only secured six points from losing positions in the league
this season. Only Sunderland and Fulham have a worse record.
Kevin Nolan scored in his last game against Southampton and he is the club's
top scorer in the league with six goals. However, he's only scored once in
his last 17 league outings.

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New deal for Jaaskelainen
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 12th April 2013
By: Staff Writer

Jussi Jaaskelainen has extended his stay at West Ham by a further year after
triggering an extention clause in his contract. The veteran Finn initially
signed a one-year deal upon joining United on a free transfer from Bolton
last summer, with an option for an extra 12 months depending upon certain
conditions being met. And according to Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, talking
ahead of this weekend's trip to Southampton, the extention has now been
triggered as a result of the 37-year-old having featured in a predetermined
number of league fixtures. "It's sorted," said Allardyce. "The option is
linked into this year and kicked in with him completing the games. There is
no doubt about the value of his signing."

Jaaskelainen has been in particularly good form of late, although some early
poor performances left much of the Boleyn faithful questioning whether or
not he was still up to the rigours and demands of Premier League football.
"He's been a very good shot-stopper this season, a few rickets maybe but
most goalkeepers are guilty of those," said KUMB member whitechapel h ammer
in response to news of Jaaskelainen's new deal. "I've been pleasantly
surprised by him. I fear that he is not the most agile of keepers any more,
but has done a good job."

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Southampton v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 12th April 2013
By: Preview Percy

Next we return to the sacred and holy time of 3pm on a Saturday where we are
on the road once more down the M3 or, if you prefer, the London & South
Western Railway (they're still going right?) to visit Southampton at St
Mary's.

Strangely, I can't find any mention of engineering works on any of the
appropriate routes between East London/Essex to Waterloo and thence to
Southampton, which means that you'll have to be delayed by a broken down
train or something else for a change.

Our hosts for the weekend currently lie one place above us in 11th spot
having gained 37 points from their 32 matches played thus far. We are level
on points with us having a goal difference inferior to the tune of two
goals, though we do have a game in hand.

They're in a decent run of form at the moment having won their last three
(2-0 at Reading, 2-1 at home to Chelsea and 3-1 at home to Liverpool). Their
previous three gathered them a goalless draw at Norwich and defeats at home
to QPR (1-2) and away at Newcastle (4-2). The recent run has lifted them out
of the drop zone and, like us, they're just about safe barring something
daft occurring. Of course this good news to them has been tempered by the
news that Portsmouth now appear to have been saved by a Supporters
Trust-backed deal.

The big news of the last few months was the dismissal of the rather annoying
Nigel Adkins who found a marriage made in heaven when taking the job at the
even more annoying Reading. The timing of the move raised as few eyebrows,
coming as it did after a spell in which they had gotten themselves out of
the drop zone. Adkins' last game in charge was a creditable 2-2 draw at
Stamford Bridge, in which they had come back from 2-0 down.

In came former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino, whose arrival had clearly
been pre-arranged by owner Nocola Cortese. Pochinetto had left Espanyol "by
mutual agreement" a couple of months previously during a spell that had seen
"Barcelona's other club" struggling in the basement areas of La Liga.
Despite gaining one point from their opening six matches, the Espanyol fans
directed their ire at the board for a perceived lack of investment, rather
than Ponchinetto, who benefitted from an added store of goodwill arising
from a decent playing career at the club. It'll be interesting to see if
Southampton sign anyone from Espanyol in the close season, especially with
them being short of dosh over there at the brilliantly-monikered Estadi
Cornella-El Prat. Adkins' fans would point out that the recent improvement
in form has been merely a continuation of the process started by the former
manager, though I don't suppose the locals will be all that bothered about
the fate of their former boss assuming they stay up.

Three players have played 'twixt the sticks this season. 20-year old
Argentinian Paulo Gazzaniga came in from, of all places, Gillingham in the
close season. The most interesting thing about Gazzaniga is possibly his
birthplace which was Murphy, Argentina.

At the other end of the age scale Kelvin Davis – who is nearly old enough to
join us here at the Avram Grant Rest Home For The Bewildered – has also had
spells in goal though his run as first choice ended after a 6-1 tonking at
the library. They also picked up ex-Celtic custodian of the onion bag Artur
Boruc on an unattached free after the window has shut and, it is Boruc who
has had the shirt since the turn of the year.

At the other end of the pitch much has been made of the front pairing of
Lambert and Rodriguez who have been at the forefront of their climb to
safety. There have even been calls for England selection for the pair,
though I suspect even the most ardent of Southampton fans will secretly
admit to that prospect being a tad optimistic. They'll both need watching
though. Lambert, as well as being a decent goalscorer, not least from dead
ball situations, has in the past displayed that rather depressing habit
amongst footballers of diving or, as referees call it in a bid to give a
fancy name to something they tend to ignore, "simulation". During last
season's match at the Boleyn his antics were a pretty poor show as were
those of his partner in crime Billy Sharp who is away on loan at Forest.
We'll need a decent ref to keep an eye on things but having just seen the
appointments for the weekend we haven't got one I'm afraid.

Rodriguez, who has scored in his last three, tends to play just behind
Lambert with additional midfield attacking support coming from skipper Adam
Lallana. Lallana has actually made it into an England squad, being called up
last Autumn for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine but he didn't make
the pitch. It was he who hit what proved to be their consolation goal in the
return fixture at the Boleyn where we gave them a 4-1 revenge spanking. He's
just signed a deal to keep him at St Mary's for another five years.

On the right of that trio is usually last summer's big money signing Gaston
Ramirez. The Uruguayan from Fray Bentos (another place name that raises a
smile to those of us of a certain age) came in for a reported £12m from
Bologna at the close of the summer window, having played in the Olympic
tournament. He took a while to find his feet with injuries punctuating his
first few months with the club, missing the Boleyn match amongst others with
a dead leg but now he's had a run in the side is looking to be an important
part of their set up, to the extent that there has been reported interest
from Inter, Juventus and Fiorentina.

Their injury news is that there's a bit of a bug running through the camp
with the aforementioned Rodriguez, teenage defender Luke Shaw and midfielder
Jason Puncheon all having been laid low during the week. If it's anything
like the bug that's been running about the Rest Home this week it won't have
been pleasant.

Us? Well that was a good point up at the Merseyside Library. They've been
worried all week about the whereabouts of Luis Suarez and were about to file
a missing persons report with the local plod when they got a phonecall from
James Collins asking where to post the player that he found in his pocket
when he got home. It was disappointing to see Glen Johnson diving in the
first half though. I thought he'd been brought up better than that.

Funniest piece of commentary ever had to be the idiot on BBC 2's MOTD2 who,
presumably with a straight face, said something like "Steve Gerrard isn't
the sort of player to go to ground unnecessarily." Twelve of us spat out our
light and bitters when we heard that gem and we will be deducting the cost
of cleaning the Brian Moore Memorial TV Room here at the rest home from our
next tv licence, assuming that Matron ever bought one in the first place.

We still have some injury problems. Reid, Cole (J), McCartney and Noble are
all still hors de combat. James Tomkins, who also had a decent match at
Anfield, should be available after his calf injury turned out to be just
cramp. Andy Carroll should also be back from his loan-enforced absence,
though some sources say he's been "ill" this week. Mr Allardyce was being
coy as to whether Carroll would replace the "hard working in a thankless
role" Carlton Cole but assuming both are fit one would expect Carroll to get
the nod.

Prediction? Well confidence will be good in both camps after recent results.
Having said that, I probably rate Southampton as a better side than
Liverpool at the moment (despite the unbelievable BBC bias in favour of all
things scouse) so I think this will be a tougher match than last week. I'll
therefore plump for a draw and will be putting the Avram Grant Rest Home For
The Bewildered TV licence fund (£2.50) on a 1-1 draw leaving both sides two
points from the so-called magic 40 point mark.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At St Mary's: Lost 0-1 October 2011. A Hooiveld header on
half-time gave them all three points though we had our chances to take what
would have been a deserved point from the match.

Referee: Mike Dean. Precisely the sort of person who oughtn't be allowed to
referee a football match. Dreadful. End of.

Danger Man:Jay Rodruiguez. The exotically-named Lancastrian is in the middle
of a good run at the moment. (Pun intentional if he has that bug!)

Daft Fact Of The Week:Possibly the strangest person ever to come out of
Southampton (apart from Ken Russell) was John Stonehouse, who was born in
the city and also died there. A Labour MP, he was accused of being a
communist spy, something that wasn't actually confirmed until after his
death. Facing financial ruin as a number of business interests started to
fail, he decided to leg it abroad with his mistress. This he did in 1974 by
faking his own death by leaving a pile of clothes on a beach, thus inspiring
the "Reggie Perrin" tv series. He ended up in Melbourne and was arrested by
Aussie police who were convinced they had picked up Lord Lucan. On his
arrest Stonehouse was allegedly asked to drop his trousers so that Ozplod
could check for certain scars that Lucan had. Bizarrely, on his return to
the UK he continued to act as an MP for nearly a year before his trial, the
Labour Party not sacking him after realising that they'd be the minority
party in a hung Parliament as soon as he went. He got seven years for a
variety of offences much of which he spent complaining that prison workshop
radio played pop music

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Southampton host West Ham at St Mary's
By Daniel Storey - Follow me @danielstorey85. Last Updated: April 12,
2013 10:55am
SSN

Southampton and West Ham meet at St Mary's on Saturday, with both sides
knowing that a win should secure their Premier League survival. The Saints
have won three games in a row to move up to 11th in the table, and have won
their last two home games against Chelsea and Liverpool. Mauricio Pochettino
will be hoping that his side can win four Premier League games in a row for
the first time since 2001, when Glenn Hoddle was in charge at the club.
Southampton's recent success has coincided with a goalscoring streak from
Jay Rodriguez, who has scored in three consecutive Premier League games for
the first time in his career.

West Ham have also taken a recent positive result against Liverpool, drawing
at Anfield last weekend. That result followed a home win against West Brom,
and has drawn the Hammers close to safety after a poor run of performances
had raised relegation concerns. It has been much publicised that manager Sam
Allardyce will not begin contract discussions until West Ham's safety has
been confirmed, but recent wins have made such a prospect more than likely.
Much of West Ham's troubles this season have come from inconsistency, and
the Hammers have failed to record consecutive Premier League victories since
March 2011. And West Ham have traditionally struggled against Southampton,
winning just one of their last ten away games against their weekend
opponents.

Southampton
Last 6
0-2
2-1
3-1
0-0
1-2
4-2
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino could be without a trio of players
for the game. A virus has sidelined Luke Shaw, Jason Puncheon and Jay
Rodriguez and all are now doubts for the visit of the Hammers. Other than
the three players fighting illness, Pochettino has a clean bill of health as
his side look for the win that would move them on to 40 points for the
season.

West Ham
Last 6
0-0
3-1
2-0
0-1
2-3
2-1
West Ham will have on-loan striker Andy Carroll available for the trip to St
Mary's after he was ineligible for last weekend's goalless draw against
parent club Liverpool. Midfielder Joe Cole (hamstring) and Mark Noble
(shoulder) are still sidelined. Defenders Winston Reid (hip) and George
McCartney (knee) also remain out.

Opta Stats

West Ham are the only Premier League team to have lost every game they have
fallen behind in (10 matches) away from home in 2012-13.
Southampton have benefited from more goals from English players (32) than
any other team in the top-flight this term.
If only second-halves counted, West Ham would be second-bottom on 30 points,
four adrift of safety (Reading bottom on 27).

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Mauricio Pochettino expects physical battle for Southampton against West Ham
Last Updated: April 12, 2013 1:47pm
SSN

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has warned his side they will face a
physical contest when they lock horns with West Ham at St Mary's on
Saturday.
The Hammers battled their way to a goalless draw at Liverpool last weekend
when there were plenty of questions asked about the system and style of play
deployed by boss Sam Allardyce. However, Pochettino says his players must
respect West Ham's approach if they are to claim the three points. "There
are always different tastes and different points of view in football," he
said. "I think they got a result that was positive for them [against
Liverpool]. Many people are interested in how you win and how you get
positive results and there are some that don't care about that, both points
of view are respected. "I think West Ham are going to be very direct, very
aggressive and play the long ball to try and keep us in our half. "There
were many times during the game against Liverpool when this was effective
for them - we have to take into account that their players are very tall and
aggressive, very physical. "We have to try and impose our brand of football,
be dynamic and keep going forward. We also need to be aware that we will
suffer against them when we don't have the ball."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Is Sam Allarydce About to Swap the Claret & Blue of West Ham For.....?
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

Now I don't want to overstate this, but I am hearing rumours that our
manager is of interest to a rival Premier League side which is rapidly
losing patience with its incumbent. Paul Lambert looks to be toast at Aston
Villa and their owner Randy Lerner is impressed with what Sam Allardyce has
achieved at West Ham and may try to tempt him away. So the longer contract
discussions between the club and Allardyce continue, the more one wonders
about whether his future might lay elsewhere.

Now in case anyone thinks this is a bit of stirring on my part and some
dastardly plan to edge Sam Allardyce out of Upton Park, that's way off beam.
I am an Allardyce convert. I have seen what he has achieved and I think we'd
be mad to let him go elsewhere. Quite why he would want to go to Villa would
be anyone's guess. In the past you could have made an argument for them
being a bigger club than us, but no longer. Why would any manager be tempted
away from Upton Park when in three years time he could be managing a team at
the Olympic Stadium?

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Karren Brady's football diary
The Sun
By KARREN BRADY
SunSport columnist
Published: 7 hrs ago

SATURDAY, APRIL 6

THE most feared experience in football is the freefall into the abyss that
they call the Football League. During the winter transfer window it fuels
the thoughts of every manager and board in mid-table and the victims this
year, Stoke and Sunderland, must be wondering what was missing in their
anti- relegation strategies. I'm certainly crossing my fingers here because
West Ham are not quite out of it — yet. My feeling is Stoke's admirable
chairman Peter Coates is not a man to panic. But this infamous race to the
bottom has already done for Martin O'Neill at what for the moment, anyway,
is the Stadium of Darkness. One of the two seem certain to stay up. But
which? Personally I hope both.

SUNDAY, APRIL 7
WHATEVER transformed good old Hammers boy Bobby Zamora momentarily into a
stupid and dangerous nitwit, we may never know. His scything kick at Wigan
ace Jordi Gomez's head warranted a fistful of red cards, possibly cost
struggling QPR two points and feasibly could have cost Gomez an eye. An East
End lad, Zamora was much liked at Upton Park and there is no back story of
this kind of assault. So why did he do it? I suspect even he couldn't say.
It is true, though, that pressure plays a part. And, to change the context a
little, West Ham's draw at Anfield today underlines how proud we are of the
way our manager and players have reacted to it.

MONDAY, APRIL 8
MY job in football is to get the best for West Ham but I would no more
advise the manager about players than I would the Pope about religion. So,
although my judgment may be flawed I am delighted to say that I thought the
three best players at Old Trafford tonight were all English — James Milner
and Gareth Barry for Manchester City and Phil Jones for United. City's win
makes the selling of United 'Champion20s' scarves a fraction risky. But
probably more to the point, the difference between the teams is not so much
United's acquisition of Robin van Persie as Roberto Mancini suggests, but in
the comparable ability of the managers.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9
THE cost of season-ticket seats for the disabled is a touchy subject and
when it was decided a review of them was needed at Upton Park, we knew we
were in a sensitive area. None of us has a problem with special prices or
with providing a free place for a carer with each wheelchair fan. But we
have had a big increase in the numbers of disabled, and we have not had a
price rise for 21 YEARS. It is on this basis that we are reviewing prices
and a 50 per cent rise would put us in the same region as London clubs of
similar standing. Some such as Spurs and Chelsea charge the full fee.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10
FOUL! Injustice! Racism! tweets Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani after Malaga
crash out of the Champions League quarter-final after a late goal in
Dortmund.
There's no doubt it was offside — as was one of Malaga's — but racism? The
charge could only have been aimed at the referee Craig Thomson. And while
the Scots may be prejudiced against many things — the English, non-battered
Mars Bars, spending — it would be perverse if he was anti-Malaga, unless he
had a bad holiday there. The Malaga club is owned by Qataris and if this is
the level of football criticism we can expect from the hosts of the 2022
World Cup, the sooner it is moved elsewhere the better.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11
THE barons of football have fiddled like old maids over allowing goal-line
technology. It is not before time I'm in London helping at a Premier League
meeting to decide that from next season onwards it will be a reality. So
where to now? I think we have already reached the limit and there is no
future in taking further power from our referees. The game has to be as
free-flowing as possible or fans will be forever having to wait while
experts scratch their heads over what a one-dimensional playback really adds
up to. That is not entertainment, it is dead boring. We all have to be big
boys and girls and accept refs very occasionally get it wrong.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12
WHEN I spotted the headline that Matt Le Tissier was returning to football,
I thought 'Heavens, that's a bit late at 44'. Then it became clear Le
Tissier would not be playing against West Ham tomorrow but for his home
island, Guernsey. You can see by his look of satisfaction when Saints are
mentioned that the only team he played for are improving by the match.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino was lucky to take over the side built by Nigel
Adkins and, credit to the Argentinian, he has given them a sweet style. And
by the way, how much would Le Tissier be worth now? £25million? More?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Simply the best: West Ham's James Collins reckons he has NEVER played this
well
12 Apr 2013 22:30
The Mirror

James Collins believes he is now playing the best football of his career and
has vowed to help West Ham secure a top-10 finish. Collins rejoined the
Londoners in August after three seasons at Aston Villa and came under fire
in the first half of the season after blundering against Swansea and Reading
to cost them crucial points. The Welsh defender was determined to cut out
those mistakes and has since put in some superb displays at the heart of the
Hammers defence, including a man of the match performance in last week's 0-0
draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Collins, speaking at a West Ham ­Community
Sports Trust event, said: "I feel like I am producing the best form of my
career. I made a couple of mistakes, which I have not been happy with, and
need to get them out of my game. "I was delighted with how I played last
Sunday. It feels like I have never been away from West Ham and I'm happy
with my form. Hopefully it can continue until the end of the season."

Victory at Southampton on Saturday will see West Ham move into the top half
of the table and Collins feels it would be a superb achievement if they
could finish there. The 29-year-old added: "The aim at the start of the
season was to make the top 10. We were in the top half in the early part of
the season and to get back there would be great."

Meanwhile, Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has refused to criticise
West Ham for their perceived negative approach in some games this season.
Following the draw with Liverpool, there were plenty of questions asked
about the system and style of play deployed by boss Sam Allardyce.
Pochettino, who has brought free-flowing and attacking football to St Mary's
since controversially replacing Nigel Adkins in January, has guided the
Saints into 11th spot in the table. But the former Argentina defender
accepted that there are different ways of picking up vital results in the
league and said he and his players must respect West Ham's approach if they
are to overcome Allardyce's side. "There are always different tastes and
different points of view in football," he said. "I think they got a result
that was positive for them [against Liverpool]. Many people are interested
in how you win and how you get positive results and there are some that
don't care about that, both points of view are respected. Asked how he
thought Allardyce would set his team up at St Mary's, Pochettino replied: "I
think West Ham are going to be very direct, very aggressive and play the
long ball to try and keep us in our half. "There were many times during the
game against Liverpool when this was effective for them - we have to take
into account that their players are very tall and aggressive, very physical.
"We have to try and impose our brand of football, be dynamic and keep going
forward. We also need to be aware that we will suffer against them when we
don't have the ball."

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