Noble wants more of the same
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble wants West Ham to keep up the momentum after taking four points
in four days
03.02.2014
Mark Noble believes West Ham United are beginning to rediscover the form
that propelled them to tenth spot upon their return to the Barclays Premier
League.
Wednesday's battling stalemate at Stamford Bridge, coupled with a convincing
2-0 win over Swansea City sees the Hammers back within just a point of
safety and 26-year-old Noble is convinced that things are looking up. Though
Saturday's victory was only the third of the league campaign at the Boleyn
Ground, the Canning Town-born midfielder felt the display was reminiscent of
last season's dominance in front of their own fans. He told West Ham TV:
"Confidence wasn't a problem before, we knew were getting chances and
playing well, we just weren't finishing them. Saturday was a West Ham
performance of last year, you could say, a 2-0 win, great defending and we
came away with three points. "It has been a tough four days. Obviously the
result against Chelsea was massive and gave us the confidence to come here
[and win] against a good team in Swansea. They won last week as well and
picked up a bit of confidence themselves. "We did well on Saturday and with
Kevin [Nolan] supporting off Andy, it works, it worked in the past and it's
good to finally get them back together."
Having now spent the best part of three seasons alongside Nolan, Noble
expects the net to bulge more often than not when the Hammers' skipper is in
front of goal. And so it proved on Saturday, not that Nolan was the only
star of the show, with yet another superlative rear-guard action to admire.
"That's what Kevin has got, that's what he has done his whole career, I
don't know why everyone is so surprised. I know he hasn't got that many this
year, but when he gets the chance he normally finishes it. You can see what
effect Andy coming back had on him on Saturday. "Wednesday obviously was a
tough one, we didn't get that many chances, we just defended for our lives
and had to do that again on Saturday for the last 40 minutes or so and
deserved the three points. "I think we're top of the league now in clean
sheets, but obviously at the beginning of the season we didn't score enough
goals and that was the problem. But two clean sheets in a week and a 2-0 win
on Saturday, which was fantastic and the lads deserved it."
Fantastic though it was, joy was at least partially tempered by the
second-half dismissal of Andy Carroll. Noble believes the big man was
unfortunate to see red and hopes that he will still play a full part in the
coming weeks. On that same note, Noble was delighted to see the fit-again
Winston Reid back in the fold, with the squad now looking a whole lot
stronger. "Hopefully we get justice in Andy's decision being overturned.
Michael Laudrup has come out on TV and said it wasn't a sending off, so
that's good honesty from the man. If we can keep him and Kev firing
together, with Jarvo [Matt Jarvis] and Stewart Downing producing crosses,
hopefully we can stay solid and push up the table. "It was lovely to get
Winston back out there. We all know what a good player he is, we've missed
him this year and to have him back, Kev back from suspension and big AC
back, the full squad's back together now and hopefully we can keep them fit
and produce more wins like that. "You need that [competition] in the team,
otherwise you can get sloppy. We brought the two Italians in, we've got a
left-back in from Napoli. It's good to have competition and we're going to
need it over the next couple of months."
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'Everyone's fighting for each other'
WHUFC.com
Matt Jarvis believes the character of the squad has been evident in their
last two performances
03.02.2014
Matt Jarvis has praised the commitment of his West Ham United teammates
following a haul of four points from their last two Barclays Premier League
fixtures.
A superb rear-guard display earned a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge last
Wednesday night before the Hammers saw out the final half hour of Saturday's
2-0 win over Swansea City with ten men. Claret and Blue shirts flying in the
line of goal-bound shots was a noticeable feature in both games and Jarvis
felt the performances showed the determined nature of the squad. Speaking
after Saturday's game the winger said: "It was a fantastic performance from
us defensively against Chelsea. Everyone worked extremely hard to earn the
point that we always wanted. "On Saturday, when we went down to ten men
everyone had to do exactly the same and I think we defended absolutely
fantastically and that's what we have to keep doing. "It shows the character
of the squad. Everyone's fighting for each other and I think it's showed in
the last two games that we're digging in and throwing bodies in front of the
ball. "We're doing everything we can to stop a cross or a shot, everyone's
doing it and it's paying off."
Victory against the Swans came courtesy of two first half goals from captain
Kevin Nolan, who profited from two assists by the returning Andy Carroll.
Whilst the No9 later saw red after an aerial tussle with Chico Flores,
Jarvis was delighted to have the frontman back on the pitch and revealed
Carroll's frustration at his dismissal. "We came back into the changing room
and everyone's delighted that we've got the win but he was sat there fuming.
It's one of those things, I haven't seen it back yet but obviously I'm
disappointed for him. "Sometimes you know that you don't even have to look,
because if you put it in a certain area he's going to run through anything
to try and get on the end of it. "It's great to have someone like that in
the box. If he's not going to get a header at goal himself then he'll always
try and set someone else up and that's what he did against Swansea."
Saturday's victory was the Hammers' first at the Boleyn Ground in 2014 and
comes at the start of a month in which Sam Allardyce's side play fellow
bottom half of the table sides Aston Villa and Norwich City before a home
encounter with Southampton. It is a run of games which Jarvis believes the
Hammers can look forward to with confidence as they look to capitalise on
victory over Swansea and push themselves out of the bottom three. "It was a
massive win for us, especially after the great performance and result which
we got against Chelsea in midweek. It's a big win and hopefully it will be
pivotal. "It was big lift for everyone to get that point and we came here
today in front of the home crowd and get a good win which was smashing for
everyone. "We have to get as many points as we can, no matter what the
situation is. We've got a run of games against teams that are in and around
us and we need to pick points up."
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Spence: I'm not done yet
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 3rd February 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United full-back Jordan Spence says he still harbours hopes of
becoming a first team regular. The 23-year-old, currently on loan at MK Dons
has been at the Club since he was just 15 years old but has made just a
handful of first team appearances in the intervening eight years. Once
tipped as a potential future England star, Spence's stock has fallen since
having failed to impress a succession of West Ham managers. However he
remains positive about his future which, he hopes, can still be at West Ham.
"I'm not where I thought I would be, doing the things I thought I'd be
doing, at this stage in my career. But I know that everything happens for a
reason," he told Wine & Bow Ties. "I have a great desire to play for West
Ham regularly and up until now I've been unable to do so. So at the moment
I'm trying to show how good I am to whoever wants to see. If that fashions
into playing regularly for West Ham, then great. If not, we'll cross that
bridge when we get there. "I've been at West Ham since I was 15 so there's
definitely an affiliation and love I have for the team and a certain rapport
I have with the supporters of the club. I'm on loan at the moment, so it's
all about performing well and if I do well, West Ham will do well and I'm
contracted to them. "Being on loan has strengthened me and has helped shape
me as a player. It has been frustrating in the sense that a couple years
ago, I felt that I was on the cusp of really breaking out as an athlete,
having played for the England U21 team, and it looked as if I was really
going to get a chance to play regularly for West Ham. "
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West Ham appeal to FA over Andy Carroll red card
Last Updated: 03/02/14 3:37pm
SSN
West Ham have notified the Football Association that they wish to appeal
against the sending off of striker Andy Carroll in Saturday's win over
Swansea.
Carroll was shown a straight red card by referee Howard Webb following an
altercation with Swansea defender Chico Flores. The Upton Park club had
until 1pm on Monday to inform the FA of their intention to challenge the
dismissal and now have a further 24 hours to collate and submit their
evidence. Sam Allardyce accused Chico Flores of getting Andy Carroll sent
off and says they will appeal against his red card. A three-person
independent panel will be convened to assess written evidence from the match
officials and the Hammers, as well as footage of the incident. A three-match
suspension would rule Carroll out for the rest of February and would see him
miss matches with Aston Villa, Norwich and Southampton. The 25-year-old made
just his third start of the season following a heel injury and set up both
goals for Kevin Nolan in the 2-0 victory. Hammers manager Sam Allardyce
declared his intention to contest Carroll's dismissal after the match and
was critical of Flores. Allardyce said: "We will hope that the appeal will
work. Hopefully we don't lose Andy for three games. "He's gutted. He's
absolutely beside himself. We'll just have to go through the process and see
what happens."
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OLDHAM REPORT WEST HAM TO THE FA
By Sean Whetstone 3 Feb 2014 at 16:05
West Ham Till I Die
Oldham Athletic have reported West Ham United to the Football Association
amid claims they sold them winger Cristian Montano despite knowing he had
been arrested on suspicion of a serious offence. It is understood that
League One side Oldham paid around £50,000 for the Columbian, who has also
been arrested on suspicion of spot fixing. The winger, 22, was one of six
people arrested and bailed as part of an investigation into spot-fixing by
the National Crime Agency, which was acting on information from the Sun on
Sunday newspaper. Montano made 48 appearances for Oldham, scoring four
goals.
Oldham are believed to have witheld handing over the final installment of
that sum to West Ham after it was revealed he had been charged with an
offence and was due in court in March. Oldham officials have launched their
own investigation and it is thought they believe West Ham knew about the
arrest but failed to tell them before they signed the player.The transfer
went through in August 2012. Montano was arrested the previous month amid
claims a serious offence had taken place. West Ham and The FA have made no
comment so far.
An Official statement on Oldham's website says "Oldham Athletic (2004) AFC
Limited can confirm that they have reported West Ham United Football Club to
the Football Association with regard to the transfer of the registration of
Cristian Montano between the two clubs in August 2012. Whilst this is the
subject of an enquiry by the authorities Oldham Athletic will not be making
any further comment on the matter"
Montano, 22, was arrested in December last year after a sting by the Sun on
Sunday newspaper which appeared to catch him at the centre of a betting
scam. In a video obtained by the paper he was seen talking about his
apparent attempts to get booked on purpose in the first half of a match
Oldham lost 2-0 at Wolves in October.The former hammer is seen in a covert
video saying "From minute one I was hacking people down. People running past
me and I would go clip.I run against one player and barged him"
Cristian Montano "vehemently denies" any involvement in spot-fixing after
being sacked by Oldham and attended an Oldham appeal hearing last month
against his dismissal for gross misconduct. A statement by Montano's lawyers
says "he vehemently denies being involved in spot-fixing and welcomes the
criminal investigation, with which he will fully co-operate."
The Colombia-born 20-year-old joined the Hammers as an Under-12 and was
named Academy Player of the Year for 2008/09. Montano spent time on loan at
Notts County, Swindon Town, Dagenham and Redbridge and Oxford United during
his time at West Ham.
The Romford Recorder reported that Cristian Montano, of Caspian Road,
Greater Manchester and two other men were charged with one count of raping a
woman at Axiom Apartments, Mercury Gardens, on July 8, 2012, all three
pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to stand trial in Snaresbrook crown
court next month.
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