Daily WHUFC News - 4th January 2014

Nottingham Forest match preview
WHUFC.com
All the need-to-know information ahead of the FA Cup third round tie versus
Nottingham Forest
03.01.2014

NOTTINGHAM FOREST v WEST HAM UNITED
FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER THIRD ROUND
SUNDAY 5 JANUARY 2014
KICK-OFF: 12NOON
REFEREE: MARTIN ATKINSON
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

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Introduction
• Sam Allardyce's team will be hoping to carry their Capital One Cup form
into the FA Cup having beaten Cheltenham Town, Cardiff City, Burnley and
Tottenham Hotspur to set-up a semi-final with Manchester City.
• Coming into this match West Ham are without a win in seven Barclays
Premier League matches including a 2-1 defeat at Fulham on New Year's day.
• At this stage of the competition last year the Hammers suffered defeat
when they were knocked out by Manchester United after a replay. The tie saw
James Collins score two headers from assists by Joe Cole, who was making his
second 'debut' following his return to the Club.
• West Ham have won their last four meetings with Sunday's opponents,
including a 3-2 win the last time the sides met in the FA Cup - a fourth
round tie at the Boleyn Ground on 30 January 2011. Victor Obinna netted a
hat-trick in that tie.
• Nottingham Forest are currently fifth in the Sky Bet Championship after a
last-minute goal from Reading held them to a 1-1 draw last time out. That
result meant Billy Davies' side made it seven league matches without defeat
ahead of Sunday's match.
• In the third round last year the Reds slipped to a 3-2 home defeat by
League One side Oldham Athletic.
• The last time the two clubs were paired together at this stage of the FA
Cup, Forest travelled to the Boleyn Ground and were beaten 3-2 on 4 January
2003. Joe Cole scored in that game.

Team News

West Ham United
• Mark Noble picked up a calf injury against Fulham and will miss the game
with Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (foot) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder)
all other confirmed absentees.
• James Tomkins (groin) and James Collins (calf) will not be risked so Sam
Allardyce may choose to opt for Dan Potts and Leo Chambers to fill in at the
back.
• Ravel Morrison (groin) may be fit to feature but captain Kevin Nolan will
miss the game through suspension after picking up a red card against Fulham
on Saturday. He starts a four-match ban on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest
• Ex-Hammer Chris Cohen is definitely out of Sunday's clash with a knee
injury which is likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.
• On-loan Sunderland midfielder David Vaughan and Algerian winger Djamal
Abdoun will both be assessed after missing the 1-1 draw with Reading on New
Year's Day.
• Striker Darius Henderson is available following his three-match
suspension.

Last time out

Fulham 2-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday 1 January 2014
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, McCartney, Diarra, O'Brien, Noble (Rat
32), Diame (Downing 56), Taylor, Nolan, Collison, Maiga (C Cole 69)
Subs not used: Adrian, J Cole, Jarvis, Potts
Goal: Diame 7
Sent-off: Nolan

Reading 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Sky Bet Championship
Wednesday 1 January 2014
Nottingham Forest: Darlow, Jara, Lascelles, Hobbs, Lichaj, Chalobah
(Greening 81), Lansbury, Reid, Paterson, Mackie (Derbyshire 68), Halford
(Cox 68)
Subs not used: De Vries, Harding, Majewski, Osborn
Goal: Halford 36

Previous meeting

West Ham climbed to the top of the Championship summit as two Mark Noble
penalties helped them to a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn
Ground on 21 January 2012. A largely forgettable first half was brightened
right at the end when Noble converted after Guy Moussi was controversially
penalised for handball. The midfielder held his nerve from the spot for a
second time as Chris Gunter was the man adjudged to have handled Sam
Baldock's effort after 63 minutes. Lewis McGugan scored a long-range
screamer moments before the final whistle but the Hammers secured all three
points. The teams that afternoon were:
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney, Diop (Lansbury
45), Noble, Collison. Nolan, Cole (Piquionne 86), Baldock (Hall 79)
Subs not used: Faye, Carew
Goals: Noble 45 (pen), 63 (pen)
Nottingham Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Lynch, Cunningham (Anderson 23),
McCleary, Moussi, Greening (Blackstock 56), McGugan, Harewood (Miller 73),
Tudgay
Subs not used: Darlow, Reid
Goal: McGugan 90

Last six meetings (Championship/Division One unless stated)
21 January 2012 - West Ham United 2-1 Nottingham Forest
28 August 2011 - Nottingham Forest 1-4 West Ham United
30 January 2011 - West Ham United 3-2 Nottingham Forest (FA Cup fourth
round)
26 December 2004 - West Ham United 3-2 Nottingham Forest
26 September 2004 - Nottingham Forest 2-1 West Ham United
28 December 2003 - Nottingham Forest 0-2 West Ham United
Overall record v Nottingham Forest (all competitions) W 46 D 27 L 44

Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
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 via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Nottingham Forest
2012/13 Championship 8th (67 points)
2011/12 Championship 19th (50 points)
2010/11 Championship 6th (75 points)
2009/10 Championship 3rd (79 points)
2008/09 Championship 19th (53 points)
2007/08 League One 2nd (82 points - promoted to Championship)
2006/07 League One 4th (82 points)
2005/06 League One 7th (69 points)
2004/05 Championship 23rd (44 points - relegated to League One)
2003/04 Championship 14th (60 points)

Background
• The largest crowd to witness a West Ham United versus Nottingham Forest
fixture was the 36,589 who turned out for the Hammers' 3-0 Division One win
over the Tricky Trees on 12 April 1968. Brian Dear scored twice and John
Sissons once for the hosts.
• West Ham United caused a massive upset when they beat Nottingham Forest
2-1 in the FA Cup first round on 14 January 1911. Then a Southern League
First Division club, the Hammers scored a victory over their Football League
Division One opponents thanks to two goals from forward Danny Shea.
• West Ham United defender Tony Gale was infamously sent-off in the 1991 FA
Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on 14 April 1991
after a foul on Gary Crosby. Referee Keith Hackett later revealed that he
had been given a directive before the game on the interpretation of the
professional foul rule. Forest would go on to win the game 4-0 but lost 2-1
to Tottenham Hotspur in the final. Future Hammers Gary Charles and Stuart
Pearce filled the full-back positions for Forest in the semi-final.
• Nottingham Forest striker Matt Derbyshire was plucked from the obscurity
of non-league Great Harwood Town by Blackburn Rovers in 2003, having been
recommended to then Rovers chief scout and present West Ham United head of
player recruitment Martyn Glover. Derbyshire appeared for Birmingham City in
the Carling Cup semi-final victory over the Hammers in January 2011.
• Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick in West Ham United's 3-2 FA Cup
fourth-round win over Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn Ground on 30 January
2011. The Nigeria forward is one of four players to score a hat-trick
against Forest alongside Dave Mangnall (September 1935), Frank McAvennie
(May 1992) and Syd Puddefoot, who netted four times in a 5-1 Division Two
victory in April 1920. McAvennie's treble came in his final game for the
Hammers and after the Scot had appeared as a substitute for Mitchell Thomas.
• Nottingham Forest player Chris Cohen played 21 times in all competition
for the Hammers between 2003 and 2006, having come through the youth ranks
at the Boleyn Ground.
• Jim Barrett, Horace Brown, Franz Carr, Gary Charles, Charlie Craig, Colin
Foster, Marlon Harewood, Andy Melville, Ian Moore, Adam Nowland, Stuart
Pearce, Teddy Sheringham and Fred Wallbanks are among those to have worn the
colours of both clubs.
• Fifteen players have made their West Ham United debuts against Nottingham
Forest - Frank Birchenough (April 1920), Vivian Gibbins (December 1923),
William Kaine (October 1924), Arthur Tonner (September 1935), Robert Black
(February 1937), Brian Moore (May 1955), Geoff Hurst (February 1960), Paul
Heffer and Bill Kitchener (March 1967), Bryan 'Pop' Robson (February 1971),
Alexander Clarke (August 1982), Robbie Slater (August 1995), Dani (February
1996), Hayden Mullins (October 2003) and Gavin Williams (December 2004).

Old boys
• Chris Cohen started his career at West Ham United making 22 first team
appearances before leaving to join Yeovil Town in June 2006. The left-footed
player can ply his trade in midfield or defence and has made 251 appearances
for the Tricky Trees since joining the club in July 2007. Cohen will not
feature in Sunday's game due to a knee injury which has ruled him out for
the rest of the season.
• Henri Lansbury made 24 appearances for the Hammers after joining on loan
for the 2011/12 season from Arsenal. A talented midfielder Lansbury made 14
starts and appeared from the bench on ten occasions. The 23-year-old scored
once during his time in east London, the goal coming on his debut against
Portsmouth on 10 September 2011. Lansbury joined Nottingham Forest at the
start of the 2012/13 season and has since gone on to make 55 appearances for
the Tricky Trees and scoring ten goals.
• Nottingham Forest's Danny Collins is a 33-year-old defender who joined
Forest from Stoke City in July 2012. The former Wales international
previously played on loan for West Ham between March and May 2012. During
his stay, Collins made eleven Championship appearances, scoring a last-gasp
equaliser on his full debut at Leeds United on 17 March 2012.
• Jim Barrett, Horace Brown, Franz Carr, Charlie Craig, Colin Foster, Marlon
Harewood, Andy Melville, Ian Moore, Adam Nowland, Stuart Pearce, Teddy
Sheringham and Fred Wallbanks are among those to have worn the colours of
both West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

Referee
• Sunday's match referee will be Martin Atkinson.
• A referee since the age of 16, Atkinson was promoted to the Football
League list of assistant referees in 1998. In 2000, Atkinson was promoted to
the Select Group of assistant referees, allowing him to run the line in
Premier League matches.
• Atkinson joined the National List of referees for the Football League at
the start of the 2003/04 season before taking charge of his first Premier
League fixture on 20 April 2005 when Manchester City entertained Birmingham
City.
• Atkinson was the man in the middle at the 2006 FA Community Shield between
Chelsea and Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He also took
charge of the 2008 FA Trophy final between Ebbsfleet United and Torquay
United at Wembley Stadium.
• Atkinson is refereeing West Ham for the second time this season after
taking charge of the Hammers 3-0 win over Fulham in the Barclays Premier
League in November. He also took charge of the Club's appearance in the
third round of the FA Cup last year when they drew 2-2 at home to Manchester
United.

General information
• Tickets will be available to purchase (cash only) at the Matchday Prices
shown below from the Away Ticket Office (located at the back of the Brian
Clough Stand) from 9am on matchday.
Matchday Standard Ticket Prices
Season Ticket Holders* = £17 Adults, £12 Senior Citizens (aged 65 years and
above), £10 Under 18s and £1 U12s
General Sale = £22 Adults, £16 Senior Citizens (aged 65 years & above), £12
Under 18s and £1 U12s
* Valid Season Ticket Cards must be produced in order to qualify for the
discounted STH rate.
Duplicate tickets previously requested will also be available for collection
from the Away Ticket Office on the matchday.
• Please note that Coach Travel has now SOLD OUT for the above fixture.
• The weather forecast for Sunday is cloudy with heavy rain predicted and
temperatures around 5C (41F).
• There are no trains which arrive in Nottingham in time for Sunday's
kick-off but for returning travel information click here.
• The City Ground is the destination for West Ham United on Sunday as they
play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup with Budweiser third round.

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Haycock backs youngsters to shine
WHUFC.com
Development Squad manager Nick Haycock believes his U21s can impress at
Nottingham Forest
03.01.2014

Development Squad manager Nick Haycock believes West Ham United's young
professionals can seize their chance in Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser
third-round tie at Nottingham Forest. Injuries and suspensions mean Hammers
manager Sam Allardyce will take a number of the Club's U21 squad to the City
Ground. The likes of Dan Potts, Leo Chambers and Elliot Lee have already
featured for the first team this season, while Matthias Fanimo, Blair
Turgott - back from a successful loan spell at Colchester United - and new
signing Jaanai Gordon will hope to bolster the attack if called upon. "It's
pleasing because we've had our own successes with having players in and
around the first team this season," said Haycock. "It is difficult for
players to break through into the Premier League because of the financial
pressures of staying in there. "It's four-year plans that we have in place
with these players [from the age of 18]. The Board and the manager have
backed the system and the long-term planning we have with these players. "In
the short-term, if players get chances in the cup competitions then it's an
ideal opportunity for them to stake their claim. Opportunities come at
different times in people's careers, so when they get it, they have to take
it."

On Sunday, that opportunity could come against an experienced Nottingham
Forest team which sits fifth in the Championship and has lost just four
league games out of 24 this season. "In terms of attitude, I have no
concerns over the boys who will travel up for the game," Haycock continued.
"What they'll have to do is handle the extra pressure and expectation levels
of playing in front of a crowd and against league opposition. "I've got full
confidence that they will hold their own and it'll be nice for the manager
to see that first-hand as he is taking a team with young players in it and
gets a feel for them. I think it's a fantastic opportunity for them. "All
players talk but talk is cheap. In football it is about your performance and
if they go and perform and do the basics right, as they have done regularly
in the U21 league, then they can show the manager that they can play at
first-team level."

Haycock's youngsters enjoyed an outstanding first half of the season, losing
just one of their ten Barclays U21 Premier League matches and defeating
Bristol City to advance to the last-16 of the Barclays U21 Premier League
Cup. "We did a big staff presentation over at Rush Green before Christmas
where all members of staff fed back on their departments and the targets
they had been set and it was a good day," he confirmed. "It culminated in a
presentation I gave about developing a winning mentality among the 17 to
21-year-olds. "If you look at the work Steve Potts has done with the U18s,
who are also sat near the top of their table, the only blight was the
Accrington game. Even then, if you look at the stats, it was a game we
should have put to bed but never did. Those U18s will now push into the
U21s. "The target at the start of the season was to develop a winning
mentality and to push players through the age-groups and we now do that on a
regular basis from the U9s upwards. "You'll now see two different squads
after Christmas with U21s going up into the first team or out on good
Football League loans, with the U18s being given the chance to play in the
U21s. We're in a good position. "The league positions may drop a little, but
our goal is to give Sam as many players at the highest quality that we can."

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Andy Malcolm - 1933-2013
WHUFC.com
West Ham United great Andy Malcolm has passed away at the age of 80
03.01.2014

Everyone at West Ham United was deeply saddened to learn that Andy Malcolm
has passed away at the age of 80. A true West Ham great, Malcolm was voted
the very first Hammer of the Year in 1958 after being ever-present in the
Division Two title-winning side of the same year. A wing-half famed for his
ability to nullify even the most talented of opponents, Malcolm played 306
first-team games for the Club between 1953 and 1961, scoring four goals. A
tough-tackling, limpet-like man marker who never gave his opponents a
moment's peace, Malcolm was born just a stone's throw from the Boleyn Ground
on 4 May 1933.
After joining from Dury Falls Secondary School in Hornchurch and coming the
junior ranks, Malcolm became West Ham's first-ever England youth
international.
He was handed a first-team debut at the age of 20 on 5 December 1953, when
he lined up alongside the likes of Ernie Gregory, John Bond, Frank
O'Farrell, Malcolm Allison, Dave Sexton and John Dick in a 2-1 Division Two
defeat at Notts County. Over the next seven-and-a-half seasons, he would
rarely miss a game, and was ever-present as West Ham won the Division Two
title in dramatic fashion in 1957/58.

Indeed, that season was also Malcolm's most prolific as he netted three of
his four career goals for the Club, scoring against Swansea Town, Bristol
City and Cardiff City. The following campaign, 1958/59, Malcolm shut down
some of the finest attackers in the country, including Chelsea's Jimmy
Greaves and Fulham's Johnny Haynes, as West Ham finished sixth on their
return to Division One. Although a senior England cap eluded him, Malcolm's
form saw him named in the Football League representative side alongside Bond
which took on the Scottish League in October 1958. The popular wing-half's
time at the Boleyn Ground came to an end in November 1961, when he joined
London rivals Chelsea in a deal which saw a £11,000 fee and player Ron
Tindall move in the opposite direction.

Malcolm spent just a few months at Stamford Bridge before moving to Queens
Park Rangers in October 1962. There, under manager Alec Stock, he played his
part as the Hoops embarked on the greatest period in the club's history.
After leaving Loftus Road in 1965, Upton Park-born Malcolm played for South
African sides Westview Apollon and Port Elizabeth City before returning to
England with non-league Brentwood Town. Following his retirement in the late
1960s, Malcolm was landlord of three public houses in Essex before returning
to South Africa on a permanent basis in 1986. It was there, in the city of
Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province, that he passed away following a
short illness on Boxing Day 2013. Tributes have poured in from Malcolm's
former West Ham team-mates, including Frank O'Farrell - West Ham's oldest
surviving Hammer at 86 - and European Cup Winners' Cup winner Joe Kirkup. "I
knew Andy very well as he played right half while I played left half," said
O'Farrell. "He was a very determined player, a tough tackler with a good
attitude. It is very sad news and I will include Andy and his family in my
prayers."

"I had just joined the West Ham staff when I first met Andy Malcolm," added
Kirkup. "He was very good to me. I remember both Andy and Ken Brown helped
me to buy my first car. I was only 17 and they came with me to Elephant &
Castle to ensure everything was fine. He was such a tough tackler and I
would back Andy against anyone. "I remember we were playing a friendly in
Wales and I got hit hard and was concussed on the pitch. Andy came over to
ensure I was ok and I said I was seeing two of everyone. 'Kick the one that
moves' was his response!"

Tim Crane is the editor of EX Magazine and spoke to Malcolm by telephone
just last month while researching for his upcoming book 'They Played with
Bobby Moore'. "You talk to the players who played with him and they all hold
him in the highest possible esteem, telling me he is the best man-marker
West Ham have ever had," said Crane. "Some players called him a 'Shadow'
because they were more likely to get a kick from Andy than a kick of the
ball! "I spoke to Andy myself just a month ago and he obviously loved his
time at West Ham. He was part of the group of players that included the
likes of John Bond and Ken Brown and was in the team when a young Bobby
Moore came through. "There are lots of great stories about Andy. In the
early 2000s he bumped into Johnny Haynes at an airport and Johnny went up to
him and said 'You are still following me around closely after all these
years!'."

Malcolm will be laid to rest at a funeral service in Port Elizabeth on
Friday 10 January. Everyone at West Ham United would like to pass on their
sincere condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.

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'You can only control the future'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United cannot afford to dwell on past
disappointments
04.01.2014

Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United have no choice but to give
everything to end their recent struggles. The Hammers have endured a
difficult 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season so far, winning just three
of their opening 20 matches and sitting 19th in the table, three points from
safety. On top of the indifferent results, West Ham are dealing with a
lengthy injury list and will be without captain Kevin Nolan, who starts a
four-match suspension by missing Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser third-round
trip to Nottingham Forest. Goalkeeper Jaaskelainen has also had a
rollercoaster campaign, keeping eight clean sheets in his opening 16 league
appearances before being left out of two matches over the Christmas period
and returning to the side against West Bromwich Albion on 28 December. A
veteran of more than 700 senior appearances, the 38-year-old has seen it all
before and is no panicking about either his own or his Club's position. "It
is tough times at the moment and it seems that everything we do is going
against us," said the No22. "We need to keep believing that we will turn it
around. It is just the little fractions that we are getting wrong."

Jaaskelainen has found himself playing behind an unfamiliar back four - or
three - in recent games, with centre-backs Winston Reid, James Collins and
James Tomkins all missing games due to injury. The constant chopping and
changing of the defence in front of him has presented the goalkeeper with
the challenge of trying to organise and communicate with a different back
line in virtually every game. "You do cope with it," he explained. "You try
to prepare the same for every individual game and go from there really. You
just have to work hard and do your best. "If you look at the team, we have
got loads of injuries at the moment - that's not an excuse, but it is a
little bit against you. I think we still have enough quality to come to
places like Fulham and get something out of the game. But we must keep doing
what we are doing and hopefully turn it around. "With regard to the
defensive injuries, you just have to get it on with it, really. Joey O'Brien
and George McCartney are both experienced players and they can cope with
that for a few games and hopefully then we can start getting our
centre-halves back."

Jaaskelainen also had to contend with losing his own place for the first
time since joining the Club in summer 2012, missing the Barclays Premier
League defeats by Manchester United and Arsenal either side of Christmas.
"Obviously I was disappointed to be on the bench, because of the way we
started the season with eight clean sheets in 16 games, but that is part and
parcel of football - sometimes you get dropped. "But you just need to
approach the next game and leave everything behind you. The only thing you
can control is the future."

Jaaskelainen returned for the 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion and kept
his place at Fulham on New Year's Day. At Craven Cottage, the Finn was
powerless to prevent the home side prevailing against a West Ham team
weakened by a calf injury to Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan's sending-off.
Indeed, the defeat could have been heavier had Jaaskelainen not made fine
second-half saves to deny Adel Taarabt and Darren Bent. "The sending-off
obviously changed the game a little bit, but even when you have got ten men
you still have chances and you are still in the game. They passed it very
well in the second half, though. With the way they scored the second goal we
can see that. "That is the way it goes sometimes, but we have to make sure
that we do the right things in the cup game on Sunday, though everybody
knows the main focus is definitely on the Premier League and we need to
start getting on an unbeaten run."

That unbeaten run could start at the City Ground on Sunday, where the
Hammers take on Sky Bet Championship promotion-chasers Nottingham Forest in
the FA Cup with Budweiser third round. Following that, West Ham travel to
Manchester City for a Capital One Cup semi-final first leg next Wednesday
evening and Jaaskelainen believes a break from Barclays Premier League
action could benefit the squad. "Maybe it is a good thing with the injuries
we have at the moment.
It gives us a little bit more time for the boys to recover and obviously it
is good for our skipper that his suspension goes through the cup as well."

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Big Sam on: Nottingham Forest
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce spoke to the media ahead of Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser
third-round tie
03.01.2014

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce said youth will be given a chance when
the Hammers travel to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup with Budweiser third
round. Big Sam will take his weakened squad to the City Ground for a Sunday
lunch-time tie, with a place in the last 32 up for grabs. With Andy Carroll,
Winston Reid, James Collins, James Tomkins, Mark Noble, Ricardo Vaz Te and
the suspended Kevin Nolan all unavailable and Ravel Morrison struggling with
a groin injury, the manager will shuffle his pack. The fit-again Stewart
Downing, Adrian, Matt Jarvis, Joe Cole and Carlton Cole could all start
against Billy Davies' side. Defenders Leo Chambers and Dan Potts could be
given further chances to impress, while fellow young professionals Pelly
Ruddock and Blair Turgott have been re-called from loan spells at Luton Town
and Colchester United respectively and could also feature. Speaking to the
media ahead of Sunday's tie, Big Sam admitted he has no choice but to rotate
his squad ahead of next week's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at
Manchester City and Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Cardiff City.
"It's backs to the wall at the minute as far as players available are
concerned for the games that are coming up," the manager admitted. "So, we
have to roll with what we've got and with the games coming as thick as fast
as a they are, a lot of the younger players will now be escalated into the
first-team level to see if they can master the challenge and show us what
they've got in terms of ability, starting at Nottingham Forest on Sunday."

The manager - who returns to the city where he won the Division Three title
with Notts County in 1998 - said Ravel Morrison returned to training after a
groin injury on Friday and could also be involved on Sunday - one of a
number of promising young players who will look to make their mark against
the Sky Bet Championship promotion-chasers. "At the moment, my senior squad
comprises about 14 fit players, so that's why all the U21s will be promoted
up into the squad of 25 to face these next group of fixtures. "The younger
professionals will be tested. They were all tested in the summer when we
took them away [on pre-season] and we've got to make the squad up with at
least seven or eight U21 players, who will get the opportunity to play
against Nottingham Forest and show us what I can do. We'll ask them 'Are you
good enough to play for West Ham?'. "Everyone says 'When are you going to
start playing your youngsters?' so we're going to start playing them. If we
don't win, they'll say 'He's undermining the FA Cup', so here I am in a
no-win situation. "We had one or two little digs before we played Tottenham
in the Capital One Cup about the team we were going to play and we won! My
job is to put the best available team out, bearing in mind what I've got
after that and the injuries I've got."

"Before the U21 league shut down before Christmas, they were top of it. We
all know there is a big jump between there and the first team, but they are
top of that league so they are proving that around the country, whoever
they've played, they've been better than their opponents. "Most of them,
we've tried to put out on loan at first-team level somewhere, and now these
lads will get a chance alongside a number of experienced players on Sunday.
"Nottingham is a fantastic city with two fantatic clubs, so it's a very good
fixture. The team we send out should really look forward to the game because
it's one for them to prove an awful lot of what they can do in the future."

While he will not be available on Sunday, Big Sam also revealed that Andy
Carroll is now training with the first-team squad. "Andy will be assessed
after every training session and he'll be out training with the lads on
Friday, which he has done for a few days now. Andy playing football is
something we have to take big care about, because he is fit from the injury
but not match-fit. "If he or any player plays too many games too soon, it
can only promote more injuries - not in the same area but in different areas
in terms of muscle fatigue and strains. I have to be very careful about when
I play him and how often I play him. "As soon as we can, he'll start from
the bench and we'll arrange games behind closed doors to get his
match-fitness up, as we will sooner or later with Ricardo Vaz Te and Winston
Reid, who are both getting closer to training. Andy is the nearest at the
moment."

While stories have circulated suggesting some managers are not concerned
about progressing in the FA Cup, Big Sam said he had nothing but the utmost
respect for the world's most famous knockout competition. At the same time,
he said the relative lack of pressure of FA Cup football presents him with a
great opportunity to test young professionals in a first-team fixture away
from the intense spotlight of the Barclays Premier League. "My view of the
competition is that it's fabulous and has great history and tradition. There
is no doubt about that, but if you are in the position we are and have the
injuries that we have, then there is only one major priority at this
football club - the Barclays Premier League. Tthat won't change for any
football club, irrespective of who they are.
"The FA Cup is a great competition but at this stage of the season, when we
face a third-round tie on the back of a heavy, heavy schedule, it becomes
less of a priority to all of the other competitions we're involved in -
especially when we have a League Cup semi-final at Manchester City up at the
Eithad Stadium three days later."

When asked about his own future, Big Sam said his discussions with the Board
had focused on players and improving results and the Club's league position.
"The position is that we're talking about trying to bring new players into
the football club and trying to overcome the injury problems that we've got.
"In terms of my discussions with David Sullivan, David Gold and Karren
Brady, when they're talking to me it's about positive action to get us out
of the situation that we're in, which I'm very grateful for."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nottm Forest v West Ham
KO 12:00
3 January 2014
FA CUP THIRD ROUND
Venue: City Ground Date: Sunday, 5 January Kick-off: 12:00 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio, Final Score

Nottingham Forest midfield duo David Vaughan and Djamel Abdoun both face a
race to be fit for Sunday. Darius Henderson will be available again after
serving his suspension.

West Ham captain Kevin Nolan starts a four-match ban while Mark Noble (calf)
is also sidelined. They join a lengthy list of absentees which will force
Sam Allardyce to give game time to up to seven of his youth players.

Stats

Forest beat West Ham 4-0 in the 1991 FA Cup Semi-final at Villa Park. Brian
Clough's team went on to lose to Tottenham in the Final.
The teams have met five times in the FA Cup. Forest's victory in the 91 Semi
Final is their only FA Cup success against West Ham. The Hammers have won
each of the other four FA Cup meeting between the two.
They most recently met in the fourth round in 2011, when West Ham won 3-2 at
Upton Park. The last two FA Cup meetings between the two have ended in a 3-2
win for West Ham at Upton Park.
Forest have won the Cup on two occasions. They first won the trophy in 1898
and most recently in 1959.
West Ham won the Cup in 1975 and 1980 but were beaten on penalties by
Liverpool in the 2006 Final in Cardiff.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Malcolm
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammer Andy Malcolm has died at the age of 80.

A key member of Ted Fenton's 1958/59 promotion-winning side, Malcolm - who
was born just a short distance from the Boleyn Ground - spent nine years as
a pro at the club which he joined shortly after the cessation of war in
1948, before making his first team debut some five years later at the age of
20.

Within the space of six years he had became one of the club's most important
players, and along with fellow luminaries such as John Dick, Vic Keeble,
John Bond, Ken Brown, Noel Cantwell, Malcolm Musgrove and John Smith he
helped West Ham take their place in the first division for the first time
since 1932 when winning the Second Division in 1957/58.

A right-sided wing half by trade, Malcolm was the club's very first England
Youth international and also the first recipient of West Ham United's Hammer
of the Year award in 1958. He went on to make 283 appearances for West Ham
before joining Chelsea in 1962, having been frozen out by Fenton's
successor, Ron Greenwood.

After just one season at Chelsea he moved to Queens Park Rangers for a
further two years before moving to South Africa briefly to play - a country
to which he would return in 1986 in order to live the reminder of his life.

After retiring from football in 1968 at the age of 35 - a decent innings for
a pro of the day - Malcolm turned to the pub trade, as so many players did
in the '60s, to become the landlord of Essex pubs The Ship and Anchor (at
Maldon, Essex) and The Lion (Latchingdon).

Malcolm died on Boxing Day, 2013, just five months after former team mate
Phil Woosnam passed away and little over a year after Jimmy Andrews. He will
be laid to rest in Port Elizabeth on Friday 10th January.

The thoughts of all at KUMB.com are with Andy's family at this sad time.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam: it's my fault
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has taken full responsibility for West Ham's current malaise,
telling supporters "it is my responsibility".

Of the five clubs at the bottom of the table, the Hammers manager is the
only coach who began the season in charge to remain in place with
Sunderland, Cardiff, Fulham and Crystal Palace all having twisted (to
varying degrees of success) since August.

Despite being heavily criticised in the media, Allardyce continues to enjoy
the backing of at least half the club's fan base, according to a poll on
KUMB.com, and more importantly that of his employers.

However he had no qualms in holding his hands up to accept full
reponsibility for the mess West Ham currently find themselves in. Speaking
to the Evening Standard, he said: "When you are going through a bad time, as
we are, there is often the human reaction of it's somebody else's fault.

"The bottom line though, as manager, is that it is my fault because it is my
responsibility. That's life and experience helps. I know the reasons why and
I do my best to explain them. If some people outside the club won't accept
the explanation, I can do nothing about that.

"What everyone here at the club must do is get these injured players fit
and, more importantly, keep them fit for the rest of the season. We have to
maintain an above mid-table performance level now to get ourselves into a
position of safety.

"That's perfectly possible, but we need everyone fit and staying fit."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers hoping to take giant strides forward
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are poised to take giant Monaco-bound striker Lacina Traore on loan
for the rest of the season. The Mail Online claim that Monaco are prepared
to allow Traore to leave on loan for the remainder of the current campaign -
a situation that is said to have alerted the Hammers, who are now considered
favourites to land the player. Traore moved to the French club earlier this
year after they beat off challenges from the likes of Manchester United and
Liverpool to land the promising youngster from Russian club Anzhi
Makhachkala, for whom he had scored 15 goals in 28 starts - the last of
which came in a 2-2 Russian Premier League draw with Lokomotiv Moscow last
July. The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international stands an impressive 6'8"
tall - the same height as Manchester City's Romanian goalkeeper Costel
Pantilimon, who is the tallest player ever to feature in the Premier League.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce denies having crisis talks at Upton Park
Last Updated: 03/01/14 7:05pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce has denied having crisis talks at West Ham and claimed his
position is not under threat. The Hammers go into their FA Cup third-round
clash with Nottingham Forest on Sunday sitting 19th in the Premier League
after losing 2-1 at fellow strugglers Fulham on New Year's Day. Allardyce's
side have picked up just two points from their last seven games but the
59-year-old has denied reports that he has been the subject of crisis talks
with the club's owners.
"I talk to the board members all the time, but what I say with them has
nothing to do with you," he said when asked if he had spoken to the owners
following the Fulham loss. "In terms of support from David Gold, David
Sullivan and Karren Brady, at the moment when they are talking to me it is
about positive action to try and help get ourselves get out of the situation
we are in, which I'm very grateful for." "What happens is internal with
those people as far as I'm concerned, not what happens publicly. "If it was
a crisis position we are in they would come and sack me, the position we are
in is that we are talking about bringing new players in to the football club
and overcome the injuries we have got. "In terms of support from David Gold,
David Sullivan and Karren Brady, at the moment when they are talking to me
it is about positive action to try and help get ourselves get out of the
situation we are in, which I'm very grateful for."

Allardyce has seen his squad decimated by injuries in the past couple of
months and will be without defensive trio James Collins, Winston Reid and
James Tomkins against Forest with Ricardo Vaz Te and Mark Noble also injured
and captain Kevin Nolan banned. With those key players absent, and a Capital
One Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City just three days later,
Allardyce will turn to his Under-21 players for the trip to the East
Midlands on Sunday and he is hoping they will see it as a chance to impress
on a bigger stage. "At the moment, my senior squad comprises about 14 fit
players, so that's why all the Under-21s will be promoted up into the squad
of 25 to face these next group of fixtures," he said. "The younger
professionals will be tested. They were all tested in the summer when we
took them away [on pre-season] and we've got to make the squad up with at
least seven or eight Under-21 players, who will get the opportunity to play
against Nottingham Forest and show us what I can do. We'll ask them 'Are you
good enough to play for West Ham?'. "We all know there is a big jump between
there and the first team. Most of them we have tried to put out on loan at
first-team level somewhere and now these lads will get a chance alongside a
number of experienced players on Sunday."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nottingham Forest face West Ham United at the City Ground
Last Updated: 03/01/14 5:35pm
SSN

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce will be looking to deploy young
players during his side's FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest. With captain
Kevin Nolan starting a four-match ban and fellow midfielder Mark Noble
sidelined with a calf injury, the Hammers boss is likely to use seven of his
youth team squad at the City Ground for their third-round clash with the
Championship outfit. James Tomkins and James Collins are both sidelined with
groin injuries, while Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (heel) and Ricardo
Vaz Te (shoulder) are also injured. Mladen Petric has been released after
his short-term deal expired. Meanwhile, Forest may have to stage an upset
against their Premier League visitors without midfielders David Vaughan and
Djamel Abdoun. While Vaughan, on loan from Sunderland, is struggling with a
thigh injury, Abdoun has issues with match fitness after pulling himself out
of the squad against Reading on New Year's Day. However, manager Billy
Davies will have striker Darius Henderson back from suspension for
Saturday's encounter, while midfielder Jamie Paterson should start yet again
for Forest.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce confident Andy Carroll will come good at West Ham
Last Updated: 03/01/14 6:23pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has defended his decision to sign Andy
Carroll and insists the striker will be a success at the club. Carroll
scored seven goals during a loan spell at West Ham last season, but has been
out of action since arriving at the Boleyn Ground in a £15m transfer from
Liverpool last June.
The 24-year-old has been on the sidelines because of a heel problem since
signing a six-year contract with the Hammers, but is back in training with
the first-team. The Hammers are second bottom in the Premier League having
won just three games this season, and focus has turned to the absence of the
club's record transfer. Allardyce said: "We thought Andy would be fit around
August. In the long term I'm convinced it will be a great thing for Andy to
be at this club."

The Hammers boss admitted he was frustrated by defender Johnny Heitinga's
decision to reject a loan move from Everton. Allardyce told a London evening
newspaper: "I spent three hours with him on Wednesday and everything seemed
fine and rosy. For whatever reason, though, by yesterday morning he had
changed his mind. "I suspect a better offer had come his way but I can't be
sure of that. Anyway, the reality is that the deal is dead."

Meanwhile, Allardyce is likely to play some of his fringe players when his
team play Championship high-fliers Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this
weekend.
"A lot of the younger players will be escalated into the first team to see
if they can master it, particularly in the cup on Sunday," Allardyce added.
One of those players could be Pelly Ruddock who has returned to West Ham
from his loan spell at Luton, where the centre-back impressed manager John
Still. "I can't speak for West Ham but I can tell you he's a good player
with good potential if he gets a chance I think he will do okay," Still
said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
STEVE BRUCE SUCCESS MUST BE HARD TO TAKE FOR DAVIDS!
By Hugh Southon 3 Jan 2014 at 18:59
West Ham Till I Die

You can't help getting the feeling that the two Davids feel somebody up
there really is trying to rub salt into some weeping wounds right now!

And no I'm not talking about the injuries which have at best turned the club
into a near episode of 'Casualty' and at worse a 'Hammers House of Horrors.'

I'm talking more of events up in Hull where the Irons co-chairmen's former
favourite boss Steve Bruce has turned a squad, not unlike our own, in terms
of age and quality, into an outfit which currently holds the 10th place in
which we finished last season.

Bruce has probably been the most under-estimated boss of the season and his
team's 6-0 defeat of Fulham last weekend put ours by them into the sharpest
possible perspective on New Year's Day.

Were it not for a fall-out between the two Davids former Birmingham City
boss and themselves over image rights at St Andrew's a few years back you
wonder whether he wouldn't have been the West Ham manager some little time
ago.

Bruce – who is ironically a great mate of Sam Allardyce's – has done one
heck of a job at Hull and could easily have done the same at Upton Park.
Current events do get you thinking in some diverse directions don't they?

The whole issue of Allardyce's current plight has been discussed ad nauseum
and a poll on my own website at www.claretandhugh..co.uk produced an
overwhelming response that he should go.

Elsewhere on Kumb.com the split has been about 50-50 and as one person
commented: "That's probably because those voting for him to stay can see no
one to replace him."

I have been told privately that at a meeting between himself and the owners
yesterday Big Sam gave a 100 per cent guarantee that the club would remain a
Premier League club this season.

He pleaded privately, apparently, what he has said publicly on several
occasions, that once all the injured players return we will be fine but
there's something of a flaw in that logic for me…SAM THE RESULTS WEREN'T
VERY GREAT WHEN EVERYBODY WAS FIT!

In the meantime you look around and wonder who the hell could possibly save
a team rock bottom on confidence, results and with a skipper who has
disgraced himself to way beyond acceptable limits.

A very good friend of mine said to me today: " I believe West Ham needs need
a huge momentum shift – a grand gesture involving a big name football person
whose appointment would send out a clear message to the dressing room that
things are going in a totally different direction."

He then mentioned the widely respected Gary Neville or even United coach
Ryan Giggs. It's an interesting thought but were Steve Bruce to ever become
available and former differences with DS and DG patched up maybe, just maybe
that could work!

At least it's different and a step off the same old merry go round or
arguments….Thoughts?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's transfer window task almost impossible admits
relegation-threatened Sam Allardyce
Jan 03, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has claimed signing players in January is virtually impossible
with West Ham in the bottom three. The Hammers' boss revealed Dutch defender
Johnny Heitinga had agreed to join their relegation fight, before opting to
stay on the Everton sidelines. With only 14 fit first-team players, Big Sam
will send out kids from his Under-21 team in the FA Cup against Nottingham
Forest on Sunday. Those young stars are also set to play in the Capital One
Cup semi-final first leg at Manchester City on Wednesday and then in the
Premier League, unless new players are brought in soon. Joleon Lescott,
Asamoah Gyan and Nikica Jelavic remain on the wish-list, but Allardyce said:
"I knew it was going to be nearly impossible anyway in this window. "As
always, the window is an impossible scenario to deal with. To have to work
in it under the circumstances we have makes it even more difficult - you
have got players who will look around and say, 'Do I want to go to a team in
the bottom three? Do I want to go for that fight?' "Perhaps some of them
will say, 'No. I might as well stay and play the odd game'. You just keep
searching and looking." Allardyce met Heitinga after Wednesday's defeat to
Fulham and thought he had struck a deal.
"I don't know what changed his mind," said the frustrated Irons boss. "By
the following morning he'd had a change of heart and decided it wasn't for
him. Did he call me direct? No."

Allardyce was remarkably upbeat on Friday - and revealed spending time with
his grandchildren had lifted his mood. But he was less keen to talk about
the future of his captain and double red-card villain Kevin Nolan, or the
nature of his talks with the club's owners. "I speak to the board all the
time but what I say to them has nothing to do with you," he snapped. "If it
was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me. The situation is that
we are talking about bringing in new players to this football club and
overcome the injuries we have go."

Allardyce said he was considering stripping Nolan of the captaincy after his
Fulham sending off, but "I haven't made that decision yet."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce: I would have been sacked if there was a crisis at West Ham
Jan 03, 2014 14:22 By Neil McLeman 3 Comments
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has claimed he would already have been sacked if there was a
real crisis at Upton Park. The West Ham boss saw his injury-hit team slip
into the bottom three after picking up only two points in December and will
field U21 players for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Championship side Nottingham
Forest.
But asked if he had been given a vote of confidence by the club's owners,
Big Sam said: "I talk to the board members all the time but what I say to
the board has got nothing to do with you. "If it were a crisis position,
they would come and sack me. The position is that we are talking about
bringing in new players to the club and trying to overcome the injury
problems that we have got. "In terms of support from David Gold, David
Sullivan and Karren Brady - at the moment when they are talking to me it is
about positive action to try and get us ourselves out of the situation which
I am very grateful for."

With West Ham also facing a Capital One Cup semi-final at against Manuel
Pellegrini's Manchester City next week, Allardyce admitted the FA Cup is not
a priority. "There is no change in my point of view - it is a fabulous
competition, it has got great history and tradition," he said. "But if you
are in a position where we are with the injuries that we have, then there is
only one major priority at this football club at all levels, and when I say
all levels that is from the owners all the way down, lies with the Barclays
Premier League and that won't ever change for any football club irrespective
of where they are. "The FA Cup has got great history and tradition but at
this stage of the season, when we face the third round on the back of a
heavy, heavy, heavy schedule, then it becomes less of a priority to all the
other competitions you are involved with, especially if you have got three
days later, like I have, a semi-final against Manchester City up at the
Etihad Stadium."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
No transfer bids for West Ham's Ravel Morrison yet says manager Sam
Allardyce
Jan 03, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman 0 Comments
The Mirror

West Ham have received NO bids for Ravel Morrison, Sam Allardyce revealed on
Friday. The Hammers are willing to listen to offers for the England Under-21
midfielder, who has 18 months on his contract, with any cash raised to be
used to strengthen the Upton Park club's injury-hit squad. But Allardyce
said: "We haven't had an offer yet." Morrison, signed from from Manchester
United for an initial £650,000, faces a fitness test on a groin injury
before Sunday's FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United Make Attempt To Sign Atalanta Centre-Back
ForzaItalianFootball.com

West Ham United are reportedly pushing hard to sign Atalanta defender
Guglielmo Stendardo in the January transfer window. The Hammers are known to
be in the market for a new defender, and have recently targeted Roma's
Argentine international Nicolas Burdisso, but they have now also turned
their attentions to 32-year-old former-Lazio stalwart Stendardo. The
player's contract at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia runs out in June
2015, but according to Tuttomercatoweb, London club West Ham could become a
strong candidates for his signature should he not extend his current deal.
Stendardo has scored four goals in 61 appearances for the Nerazzurri since
making the move to from capital club Lazio in 2011.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam Allardyce hoping Demba Ba will return back to West Ham
Express.co.uk
By: Tony Banks
Published: Sat, January 4, 2014

WEST HAM manager Sam Allardyce made a fresh move to reinforce his depleted
squad last night with a £6million bid for Chelsea striker Demba Ba.
Allardyce badly needs to add firepower to his struggling side, although Andy
Carroll is finally back in training after injury, but former Hammer Ba
turned down a move in August. The 28-year-old has since found himself
marginalised at Chelsea by Jose Mourinho, making two Premier League starts
and scoring once. He netted seven goals in a dozen games for West Ham in
2011, but joined Newcastle before a £7m Chelsea move. The Hammers have also
made a move to take 6ft 8in Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore, 23, on loan
from Monaco, subject to a work permit application.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce is hoping for some Fergie magic when West Ham take on
Nottingham Forest
WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce is facing his "Fergie moment" at Nottingham
Forest tomorrow.
By: John Wragg
Published: Sat, January 4, 2014
Express.co.uk

Allardyce takes his struggling Hammers to the City Ground nearly a quarter
of a century since Sir Alex Ferguson survived his make-or-break FA Cup tie
there with Manchester United. United had not won a league game since
mid-November and were 15th in the table. Ferguson has since admitted he did
not know if the board would back him if they lost. But United won with a
Mark Robins goal and went on to lift the cup – Ferguson's first trophy off
what turned out to be a conveyor belt. Allardyce's Hammers are next to
bottom of the table, three points short of safety and with only three league
wins all season. Owners David Sullivan and David Gold are patient men in an
impatient world and the fact that West Ham are in the semi-finals of the
Capital One Cup could give Allardyce a reprieve even if they are giantkilled
by Championship Forest. Garry Birtles is a Forest hero from when they were
the kings of Europe and played against Allardyce when he was an
uncompromising centre-half for Bolton. "This could be a Big Sam moment,"
said Birtles. "It might be a bit different to the Sir Alex scenario, and you
wonder what sort of team West Ham will put out. "West Ham are desperate to
stay in the Premier League so maybe Allardyce will play a weakened side. But
he has so many injury problems, and Kevin Nolan suspended, it will be a
weakened side anyway. The team he puts out against Forest might be the
strongest he has. "This can be a catalyst. If West Ham do come to Forest,
who are going well – and you could say are possibly favourites to win – and
get something out of this tie it could be a season-changer for them. "West
Ham have done well in the League Cup, but that hasn't turned their fortunes
round in the league, has it? "If West Ham do lose it will put a lot of
pressure on Allardyce. The owners there are very good at giving managers a
chance but when you come to this part of the season and you are in the
bottom three, which wasn't expected, and then you get knocked out of the FA
Cup, boards and owners panic. "That's football now. Very few have got the
bottle to give managers time. "It could be Big Sam's Fergie moment. You
don't want to see him out of the game. I played against him when he was at
Bolton, you know what a player he was, how he played the game, and he
manages the same. There are a lack of characters in football and you want
Sam involved, but the position he is in is not good. "There are ridiculous
decisions made – Harry Redknapp at Spurs, the sacking of Malky Mackay, Nigel
Adkins – and you think, 'What's going on?' And it appears to be getting
worse. "West Ham have got problems and it's the best time for Forest to be
playing them."

Forest are unbeaten in seven games but confrontational manager Billy Davies,
who refused to talk to the media this week and banned his players from doing
so too, is agitating yet again for money to spend on a goalscorer in the
transfer window. Defender Greg Halford has been moved up into the attack and
has responded with three goals in three games. Birtles, who made the switch
the other way during his career, picks Halford as the danger to West Ham.
"He's very dangerous in the air," said Birtles. "If the game was at West Ham
it might be a different proposition, but they won't be looking forward to
taking on Halford at the City Ground."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce's hard-luck stories are wearing as thin as West Ham's defence
ROBIN SCOTT-ELLIOT SPORTS NEWS CORRESPONDENT Saturday 04 January 2014
The Independent

Sam Allardyce has long seen himself as one of football's innovators, a
groundbreaker at Bolton and now pushing the boundaries at West Ham. The man
who dabbled with sending out a striker-less side in the first part of the
season began the New Year by ushering an XI out of the away dressing room at
Craven Cottage on Wednesday without a single centre-half.

Allardyce would no doubt rather be regarded as an English Vicente del Bosque
than a southern Craig Levein, who four years ago fielded a Scotland side in
Prague with no front man. But the result at Fulham, which ensconced West Ham
firmly in the bottom three, shoved him a step closer to joining Levein in
football's dole queue.

Tomorrow's challenging FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest is unlikely to have
any bearing on his future – Allardyce will field a young team – nor next
week's first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City. It
is what comes after that that matters to those in charge at Upton Park.

Blessed with employers who operate with the safety catch on, Allardyce is
safe for now. The Davids, Gold and Sullivan, are not prone to impetuous
firings and have consistently backed their man; Sullivan did so again when
they met on Thursday.

However, there are limits to the co-owners' patience and the first two
months of 2014 will settle Allardyce's fate. By the end of February, they
will have been to Cardiff and Aston Villa and hosted Swansea, Norwich and
Southampton. If West Ham remain rooted in the relegation zone then the
thread by which Allardyce's job is hanging will be cut.

The manager's selection at Fulham was forced by injury as the club have had
misfortune heaped upon medical misfortune. West Ham's defensive solidity was
Allardyce's comfort blanket but since Winston Reid injured an ankle in
training in November, it has been whisked away. James Collins and James
Tomkins are also out, leaving the club without a centre-half – 11 goals have
been conceded in the last four games and there has been a solitary league
win since Reid was sidelined.

Of his 25-strong senior squad, Allardyce has 14 available. Kevin Nolan, so
long Allardyce's stalwart but badly off colour this season, has been fined
two weeks' wages for his second red card in little over a month. He will
serve the first of his four matches suspended tomorrow.

How many more games Andy Carroll will miss remains the £15m question. West
Ham invested much of their transfer kitty on the striker, believing he would
be fit by September. Carroll trained again with the first team, or what's
left of it, yesterday but Allardyce will resist the obvious temptation to
hurry him back. Mid-January is the latest date offered.

Allardyce can point to misfortune at the back but the failure to stock the
striking cupboard is his fault. He has much to do in the transfer window.
Johnny Heitinga said no but the Carroll-esque Lacina Traoré is set to arrive
on loan if he receives a work permit. The 6ft 8in Ivorian was part of Anzhi
Makhachkala's fire sale, joining Monaco but the Ligue 1 side are happy to
loan him out until next season.

Over all this looms the Olympic Stadium. The refitting of West Ham's
54,000-seat home-to-be is under way. In his Christmas message to supporters
Sullivan painted a happy picture of what to expect come 2016."The stadium
will attract better players," he said. "If we're perceived as a big club
with a great stadium in the heart of London, a lot of foreign players who
might not have come will be attracted to West Ham."

It is not a game plan that includes Championship football, as Allardyce is
all too aware. Right now, he admitted yesterday, "life is exceptionally
tough".

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Giant striker Lacina Traore set for West Ham loan
Robin Cottle, Reporter
Friday, January 3, 2014
10:21 PM
London24.com

West Ham are set to sign giant Ivorian striker Lacina Traore on loan for the
rest of the season. The 23-year-old looks to be heading to Monaco from
Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, but will immediately move to Upton Park on
a temporary basis - providing he can get a work permit. Traore is the latest
star Anzhi, bottom of the Russian League this season, are selling after
billionaire owner Sulyeman Kerimov decided to drastically cut funds. The 6ft
8in Ivory Coast forward has scored 21 goals in 29 games for Anzhi and
transfers he has cost £26million from transfers to FC Club in Romania, Kuban
Krasnador and his current club.
Traore has scored four times in seven caps for the Ivory Coast national team
and has faced both Liverpool and Spurs in the Europa League for his current
club - scoring a sublime lob against the former last season. The Hammers
have struggled for goals this season in the continued absence of record
signing Andy Carroll. Only four teams have scored less than 19 goals in the
Premier League this season, and they sit second bottom of the table with
relegation a real threat.

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Joe Cole interests Redknapp
West Ham news: Joe Cole interests Redknapp
Sportsdirectnews.com
Exclusive
by Hugh Southon
3rd January 2014 9:00pm GMT

West Ham United look certain to bid farewell to Upton Park favourite son Joe
Cole in the summer. Thirty-two-year old Cole has an indifferent record this
season and SportsDirect News has learned exclusively he interests his first
boss Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers. The Loftus Road manager is
heading back towards the Premier League with his team currently sitting in
third place, five points behind leaders Leicester City. Redknapp believes
that Cole is a player whom can still make an impact at the highest level
with the right handling but that he could prove a strong performer should
the club find itself still at Championship level. Cole himself will walk
away as a free agent in the summer and word from inside the club is that he
is likely to leave. Redknapp is currently eyeing another Hammer - striker
Carlton Cole - whose current contract at Upton Park runs out in mid January
and is known to be interested in adding his namesake. A source told us
exclusively: "Joe hasn't had the number of opportunities he would have
expected and is likely to move on."

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Blair Turgott heads back to West Ham after Colchester United loan ends
Last updated Fri 3 Jan 2014
Itv.com

Colchester United loanee Blair Turgott has returned to West Ham after his
loan spell came to an end. The 19-year-old winger joined the U's in
November, and scored his first goal for the club against Stevenage on Boxing
Day. Turgott made four appearances in total at the Weston Homes Community
Stadium.

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