Daily WHUFC News - 26th May 2014

Nolan goes on the offensive
WHUFC.com
Captain Kevin Nolan says West Ham United fans can expect a more attacking
approach in 2014/15
25.05.2014

Kevin Nolan says West Ham United will be looking to replicate their
outstanding home display against Tottenham Hotspur by going on the offensive
time and again in 2014/15. The Hammers ripped into their north London rivals
from the kick-off, creating chance after chance and securing a fully
deserved and comprehensive 2-0 Barclays Premier League victory in their
final home game of the campaign. With manager Sam Allardyce given a remit by
the Board to play attacking, entertaining and winning football next season,
captain Nolan insists the Hammers squad will be going out to do exactly that
on a regular basis. "I am sure, without all the injuries next season, we can
show you what we have really got," said the skipper. "I think a little taste
of that was what we did against Spurs in the last home match and beating a
team like that three times in a season. "We have got to take massive
positives from what we have done this year, but we also have to see why we
are where we are, as we firmly believe and the Gaffer firmly believes we
could have done a lot better - we know that."

Nolan played under Big Sam previously at Bolton Wanderers, where the manager
guided the Trotters to eighth place, the League Cup final and European
qualification in their third season back in the top flight in 2003/04. A
decade on and the No4 is backing his boss to reproduce a similar level of
achievement with West Ham in 2014/15. "You want to stick with Sam because
you have to look at what he has did at Bolton - he took the club from a
Championship side to competing in Europe in five years and his record speaks
for itself when he is given the time to develop the team the way he wants it
to be. "We have always been playing for him, without a shadow of a doubt, if
you ask any of the lads in our dressing room. The Gaffer has got the full
backing of every one of us. He has done a magnificent job here over the last
three years. "I have been a part of that with him, so I have seen the
difference of when I first walked into the Club and what he has done. The
lads and the staff all recognise the magnificent job he has done, so
although it hasn't gone to plan this year in respect of what we expected to
do, I don't think many other teams would have dealt with that as we did. "I
honestly believe it is because of the characters Sam has produced inside
this Club that is why we have been successful in staying in this league."

A busy summer awaits, with the Board, the manager and an overhauled scouting
and recruitment department targeting the attacking players that will
complement the squad and pose a threat to any Barclays Premier League
defence. "This year has been tough for us all, but we have a team who really
want to play well for this Club and want to do well for the Club. "If Sam is
given time with this squad and hopefully, with a few new additions in the
summer, it will make a difference to us next year."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Former Hammers back Big Sam
WHUFC.com
Teddy Sheringham and Kenny Brown say Sam Allardyce's achievements should not
be under-estimated
25.05.2014

They might not have played under Sam Allardyce, but former West Ham United
favourites Teddy Sheringham and Kenny Brown know a good manager when they
see one. Sheringham played under arguably the greatest manager in history,
Sir Alex Ferguson, at Manchester United, while Brown learnt much while under
the guidance of father Ken at Norwich City and Plymouth Argyle. Both men
believe Big Sam's managerial ability, vast experience and ability to get the
best out of his players under the most severe pressure mean he is the right
man to take West Ham forward. "It was a bit hard going at times and they had
injury problems as well, so it's nice to come through and be performing in
the Premier League again next year," said Sheringham, who played against Big
Sam's Bolton Wanderers for both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and
later won promotion to the Premier League with the Hammers in 2005.
"From where they were at Christmas time, it was an achievement to finish
relatively comfortably. At the start of the season they'd have expected to
go better than that, but when you struggle at times it's nice to come
through."

West Ham started 2014 19th in the table, but a tally of 25 points from their
closing 18 matches saw Big Sam guide the Hammers to a finishing position of
13th, a comfortable seven points above the bottom three. Sheringham remains
in close contact with many of the West Ham squad - including former
team-mate Mark Noble - and he was not surprised to see his old club rise to
the challenge under Big Sam's leadership. "I've spoken to a lot of the
players at West Ham and they love Sam. That's the main thing - that the
players are responding to the manager. "A lot of times when you're
struggling down the bottom, the players say things like 'I'm not having the
manager' and all that. "When the players openly say he's good to play for
and he looks after you, that's half the battle."

Brown, who enjoyed five years as a West Ham player between 1991 and 1996,
agreed with Sheringham. The Barking-born defender said his old Club should
not downplay the significance of staying in the Barclays Premier League at
the end of a season which saw established top-flight clubs like Fulham and
Norwich City relegated to the Championship. With the move to the
54,000-seater Olympic Stadium due in summer 2016, the 46-year-old is also
convinced that Big Sam remains the right man for the job. "At the end of it,
when Sam came in, the criteria was to get us up," said Brown."Then it was to
keep us up and we've done it again, finishing comfortably in 13th. "What's
really important is that we're in the Premier League when we move to the
Olympic Stadium, and for that, who would you want in charge? "Not just that,
you have to take your hat off to him because you can't go against the
results and he's obviously producing them."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United agree Mauro Zarate deal
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 25/05/14 8:24pm
SSN

West Ham have agreed terms with Argentine striker Mauro Zarate, Sky sources
understand. Sky Sports revealed earlier this week that the Hammers were in
talks with the 27-year-old former Birmingham front-man. Now West Ham have
won the race for his signature, with the player expected in England in the
next 48 hours. Sky Sports understand that Zarate has agreed a three-year
deal to move to Upton Park. Zarate returned to Velez Sarsfield from Lazio
last year and has just finished the Argentine season as top-scorer. A source
told Sky Sports: "Mauro is very excited about a move to England, he enjoyed
his spell last time with Birmingham and is ready to play in the Premier
League again."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SUMMER TRANSFER RUMOURS AND DEALS
By ExWHUemployee 25 May 2014 at 17:48
West Ham Till I Die

So it is the start of the transfer window and I expect there to be a lot of
activity at the club. It has been well reported that there will be a
transfer shift in policy. No longer will older players who have been there
and done that be considered and we are looking at more flair to be brought
in. The chairmen have therefore ruled out the likes of Joleon Lescott and
Rio Ferdinand players who we have previously been considered with younger
players with potential more like to be bought.

Those of you who follow me on twitter will know that I tweeted a number of
tweets regarding potential players who are joining last Wednesday. The first
I mentioned was Mauro Zarate. The Argentine forward is currently playing for
Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina and has been prolific this year. He has played
in Italy for Lazio and Inter Milan and had a relatively successful loan
spell at Birmingham City where our chairmen knew him. He is expected to fly
to London on Monday to complete his move and with his wife Natalie Weber
starting to follow some West Ham related sites on twitter. He will bring a
different kind of attacking style to what we are used to with Carroll and
Cole. He can also take a good free kick, something I think we have really
missed since Diamanti played for us.

The next player that I discussed was M'Baye Babacar Niang who plays for
Milan and spent some of the season on loan at Montpellier and is likely to
sign a similar deal with us. He has played for France at under 21 level and
is mainly a winger who can also play upfront. He is known to be a bit of a
live wire who is blessed with flair. A bit of an unknown quantity who could
prove to be a bit of a gamble but an exciting one at that. Just don't let
him near any cars as he has been in trouble a couple of times with the
police for driving related offences.

Left back is a position that we really need to solve especially now that
George McCartney has joined Jack Collison and Joe Cole in leaving the club
on a free. Thimothee Kolodzieczac (definitely not a name to get on the back
of your shirt) thankfully he is also known as Kolo has been heavily linked.
Although he is likely to command at least an eight million transfer fee
which maybe beyond our budget. If Southamp ton lose Shaw to Manchester
United they are expected to rival our interest. Another left back that we
are said to be looking at his Martin Olsson the Swedish international
defender who is just off the back of a good season, despite their relegation
at Norwich. It is well known that we bid for him two January windows ago and
Big Sam's relationship with the Blackburn board was said to mean that
Blackburn were very difficult to negotiate with and the deal broke down.

The latest player to be linked to the club and someone that we did scout a
month or so ago is Cheikhou Kouyaté. A player who stands at 6 foot 4 and can
play in central midfield and defence and has represented Senegal.

We will no doubt sign a couple of players on free transfers and I know that
we had looked at three players who were out of contract at Sunderland:
Bardsley, Larsson and Colback. Bardsley has since joined Stoke City as he
was offered a three year deal, large wages and wanted to stay up North so
this deal didn't take off. I have heard that Colback is likely to join the
team he supported as a boy (Newcastle) although this has yet to be confirmed
and other reports have suggested he may have had a change of heart at the
last minute. Larsson was a player who was very popular with the chairmen
whilst at Birmingham and is another who is great from set pieces and could
provide midfield option, although he is 29 in a few days so may fall outside
our new age bracket.

David Sullivan is now on holiday for a week but has promised that we are
likely to sign at least six players so that it seems it will be another busy
summer but it is refreshing to be linked with these type of players. Of
course at the moment nothing is confirmed until it is on the official
website but let's hope we see some names appear there in the next few weeks.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SULLIVAN WANTS TOP SIX FINISH
By Sean Whetstone 25 May 2014 at 08:58
West Ham Till I Die

David Sullivan has shown he wants ambitious target next season saying Sam
should be aiming for a top six position to get us in Europe!
Sullivan speaking to Ken Dyer in the London Evening Standard said:

"I don't want to just aim for top 10. We should be aiming for top six. I
want to be looking down the table not up it next season. We have got five or
six players lined up, most are young players — the youngest is 19 but has
already played top-level football in two countries, while the oldest is 27.
I can't say more than that as you genuinely risk losing the deals.I know
people think we just say these things but we are working day and night and I
want to make sure we get as many of our targets as possible. Of course, we
won't get them all because it is tough out there. Every other club is out
there competing. I can say we will definitely have younger legs out there.
We are trying to buy experience but youthful experience. We want to see
players who can play in any of the three attacking positions and who have a
proven record of scoring goals. We want people who take on players and go
past them, people with movement because we need to add speed to our team. We
hope, by bringing in slightly younger players, we will also get a bit more
from the players we've got, because they know their name is not
automatically going to appear on that team-sheet every match — there is
going to be someone pushing hard for every place. We're going to have two
players in every position competing for every place in the team."
The 27 year old he refers to in the interview is thought to be Mauro Zarate
while the 19 year old is believed to be M'Baye Niang.

Sullivan followed this up with an interview with WHUFC.com yesterday

"We want results, goals and entertainment and if we just get a couple of the
players we hope and think we will get, these are players who the supporters
will find exciting, They will love to see them, players who like to go past
their defender, go into the box and slot it into the bottom corner or whack
it in from the edge of the box.We hope to sign a striker next week and he is
a fantastic player. He takes people on and he can be a special player, then
we have got other players as well. We might have another striker coming in
next week from Italy and a midfielder from Europe who is a 6'4" giant who
will dominate the midfield, so we have got lots of things up our sleeves.If
we don't have a much better season next year, it won't be through lack of
trying. My gut tells me that we're going to have a much better season and
much more fun. On the director of recruitment role, we want somebody who has
got gravitas and experience at a club and who has done well and bought well,
who has bought young players who have gone on to do very well,Hopefully that
will be tied up within the next few weeks. We want somebody who can dig up
gems, a couple of gold nuggets who other people don't recognise and, even if
we have to wait several years, we then have a top, top player.That's really
what we want and we think both of those new staff will make a
difference.It's a combination of all these factors, and attitude, and
supporters getting involved, that we think will produce better results for
the Club and that's the way forward"
Who is the 6'4" giant midfielder from Europe that the chairman speaks of?
Some have speculated it is Cheikhou Kouyate who is a centre back but can
play a defensive midfield role. While others believe it could be defensive
midfielder Raoul Loé.

Meanwhile former Hammer Teddy Sheringham has confirmed he has been
approached by Big Sam over the part time attacking coach role.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham and Sam Allardyce should have parted ways this summer as a split is
inevitable
May 25, 2014 11:27
OPINION BY ANDYDUNN
The Mirror

Rory McIlroy knew something was wrong in his relationship with Caroline
Wozniacki - and it's clear Allardyce and the Hammers are not right for each
other either. Rory McIlroy got it right. He just knew there was ­something
fundamentally wrong with the ­relationship and took the painful decision to
end it . McIlroy could have given it more time, worked on what was wrong,
compromised, but he knew it was not going to work out. So, that was it.
That's how it should have been when West Ham's owners sat down with Sam
Allardyce. After three years, it is clear West Ham and Sam are just not
meant for each other. No hard feelings on either side, move on. Instead, the
issue has been fudged. Allardyce stays, but has to provide more
entertainment . What's he going to do? Wear a tutu? Allardyce's career has
been built on finding the most effective way to win matches with players not
drawn from the very elite bracket. Allardyce stays, but he has to deliver a
top 10 finish – at least. Why has that become minimum ­requirement? West
Ham's wage bill is not in the top 10 and we all know the correlation between
salary outlay and finishing position. The most recent set of financial
results – for the year ending May, 2013 – had West Ham as 14th highest
payers in the Premier League. In fact, a 10th and a 13th place have
­probably seen West Ham punching above their weight in these last two
seasons.
Allardyce stays, but in comes an attacking coach. A fresh perspective can't
be a bad thing, but this is a manager who prides himself on being a complete
coach.
He insisted the remark was 'tongue-in-cheek', but he was only half-joking
when saying he would be the boss of a top four club if his name was
Allardici.
Allardyce stays, but it seems the board will have a say on transfer targets.
Essentially, after Stewart Downing and Modigo Maiba, they no longer have
complete trust in his ­judgement. And there's more. "Although not everybody
understands the West Ham way, we do..." read a statement from co-owners
David Gold and David Sullivan. The 'not everybody' includes Allardyce. In
public, it seems, Sam is happy to go along with these new caveats. Indeed,
he claims to have embraced them. It was either that or walk away from the
£3m left on his contract. For their part, Gold and Sullivan – while
sympathetic to the clamour for prettier football – must ensure Premier
League status ahead of the 2016 move into the new stadium. And you suspect
they quite like Allardyce as a bloke.

Gold and Sullivan have to be admired for staying relatively loyal to their
managers. But this loyalty comes with too many clauses. It is a compromise.
And you can see that, deep down, they know West Ham and Big Sam is not a
perfect fit. They have agreed to work on it. But it will end – sooner rather
than later.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham offer Teddy Sheringham Upton Park return as Sam Allardyce's new
strikers' coach
May 24, 2014 22:30 By Steve Stammers
SSN

Teddy Sheringham is set to become the West Ham strikers' coach. The former
England star, 48, had three years as a Hammer from 2004. He was contacted by
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce last week and asked if he would take the new
role as the club try to produce more attacking football next season.
Sheringham said: "I spoke to Sam and asked for a few days to think it over.
It certainly appeals. "The job is on a part-time basis, a couple of days a
week and I'll be on the bench for home games. "The club is not far from me
and one for which I have a lot of affection. I really enjoyed my time there.
"It is also a chance for me to experience the coaching side of the game,
something I have never really done before. I would enjoy working with the
front players." Sheringham is going to Ireland on Saturday to get his
coaching badges on a two-week course. The move to bring in an experienced
former striker was decided last week in a meeting between the board of David
Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady. Allardyce then agreed to bring in a
specialist coach.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mauro Zarate set to complete West Ham transfer on three-year deal from Velez
Sarsfield
By DAVID KENT
PUBLISHED: 20:37, 25 May 2014 | UPDATED: 01:07, 26 May 2014
Daily Mail

Mauro Zarate is set to complete his move to West Ham from Velez Sarsfield
after agreeing a three-year deal. The Argentine striker has left Velez
Sarsfield and is due in London on Tuesday to sign his contract. He was the
top scorer in Argentina last season. The 27-year-old will return to the
Premier League having had a spell on loan at Birmingham in 2008. West Ham
boss Allardyce was told he must excite ans next season after keeping his
job. And the arrival of Zarate is sure to set pulses racing in the East End…
or at least his wife Natalie Weber will. Zarate was signed by West Ham's
owners David Sullivan and David Gold when they were at the helm at St
Andrew's with Birmingham back in 2008. He scored four goals in 14 outings
but a permanent deal failed to materialise after Birmingham were relegated
from the Premier League. He went on to move to Serie A where he had spells
with Lazio and Inter Milan. It was in Italy he met wife Natalie and they
married in Buenos Aires in 2011 before his return to Velez two years later.
Zarate, who plays best in an attacking left-sided role, was among a host of
targets for West Ham this summer with manager Allardyce given a budget of
£20million to spend. Free agents Joleon Lescott and Martin Olsson are wanted
by the 59-year-old boss, as he looks to beef up his defence for next season.


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com



---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com