Tuesday, July 29

Daily WHUFC News - 29th July 2014

Academy boys help England to victory
WHUFC.com
Reece Oxford and Vashon Neufville both played as England U17 defeated
Iceland on Monday
28.07.2014

Academy players Reece Oxford and Vashon Neufville started as England U17s
began their Nordic Cup campaign with a 5-1 win over Iceland on Monday
evening. The pair both played 46 minutes as the Young Lions turned in a
ruthless performance to see off their opponents in Denmark. England took
their time to get going, but once Liverpool attacker Yan Dhanda gave them a
25th minute lead there was no looking back. Dhanda turned provider 12
minutes later, placing a ball over the right back for Admiral Muskwe of
Leicester City to power on to and drill home. England continued to dominate
after the game's resumption and Tottenham's Marcus Edwards made it three
soon after the restart. Edwards grabbed his second - from another Dhanda
assist - on 49 minutes and within five minutes of that strike they had a
fifth. This time Muskwe was on hand to complete his brace, and with the game
won by England, Iceland managed a consolation through Dagur Hilmarsson.
England are back in action on Tuesday when they take on Finland, with
Thursday's game against Sweden rounding off the group phase.

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Young Hammers compete in Ruhr Cup
WHUFc.com
A young West Ham United team placed eighth in the Evonik Ruhr-Cup
International
28.07.2014

West Ham United's Academy team placed eighth in the Evonik Ruhr-Cup
International in Germany over the weekend. A young Hammers side travelled to
the west of Germany for the tournament, which drew Under-19 teams from
across Europe. West Ham's team included several Under-16s players, with only
Amos Nasha, Nathan Mavila, Jaanai Gordon, Kieran Bywater and Moses Makasi
representing the older end of the age scale. The tournament got off to an
inauspicious start from the Hammers when, on Thursday, they opened the group
phase with a 2-0 defeat to Schalke 04 and a 3-0 loss at the hands of
Borussia Monchengladbach. A third defeat, on day two of the tournament, to
Galatasaray by a 3-1 scoreline threatened to leave the Hammers pointless,
but they recovered to defeat Israeli outfit Maccabi Netanya 2-0 and secure
fourth place in the group. That set up a play-off for seventh place against
the team who came fourth in the opposite group. That team was tournament
organisers Borussia Dortmund and the hosts came out on top, triumphing 4-1
to leave the Hammers in eighth. Georgian outfit Dinamo Tiblisi took the
overall honours, defeating Galatasaray on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

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Ladies open pre-season in style
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies scored a 5-0 win over Maidstone United in their first
pre-season match
28.07.2014

West Ham United Ladies opened their pre-season programme with a 5-0 win over
Maidstone United Ladies on Sunday. Goals in the first half from Alma Donohoe
and Emma Sherwood put the Hammers on course for victory, before Lily
Mellors, captain Stacey Little and Emily Masters made sure of the result in
the second period. New West Ham Ladies manager and former Hammers left back
Julian Dicks took charge of the club for the first time in a match situation
at Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium. Dicks named several members of the
side that beat Barking Ladies in the Essex Cup Final back in April in his
starting line-up, including defenders Vicki King, Danica Revell and Katie
Bottom, with captain Little again lining up alongside Lindsey Morgan in the
heart of the midfield.
After a quiet opening to the game, the Hammers started pushing forward and
forced several important saves from the home goalkeeper as wide midfielder
Zoe Lipley-Hinton and the attacking partnership of Sherwood and Vicky Bruce
aimed shots at goal. The Hammers' pressure increased and they finally broke
through when Donohoe picked up the ball and fired a low shot at the
Maidstone goal, which found its way through the goalkeeper and into the back
on the net.
Just a short while later, West Ham doubled their lead when Sherwood ran
unmarked into the box to meet King's right wing cross and head into the back
of the net. After half time the difference between the two sides was really
starting to show. West Ham began having long spells of possession, before
regularly attempting shots at goal to add to the scoreline. It was the level
of fitness that spoke volumes for the Hammers third goal during the second
half as substitute Mellors used her pace to run clear of the home defence
and slot past the goalkeeper at the second attempt. Mellors was then
involved in West Ham's fourth goal, putting the home goalkeeper under
pressure and blocking her clearance on the edge of the box, before Little
finished with a long range strike from 35 yards.
Maidstone worked hard to try and get back into the game, but it Emily
Masters put the game to bed late in the second half with a finish to make it
5-0.
The West Ham Ladies' opening league match of the season will be away to QPR
Ladies on Sunday 24 August at 2pm, with their first home fixture against
Tottenham Hotspur Ladies on Thursday 4 September at 7:45pm.

Please note that West Ham United Ladies have moved their home ground. They
no longer play at Thurrock FC's Ship Lane and have moved to Aveley FC.

West Ham United Ladies: Runnicles, King (Powles), Bottom, Morgan (Masters),
Baxter, Revell, Bruce (Cleary), Little (c), Sherwood, Lipley-Hinton
(Mellors), Donohoe (Kelly).

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West Ham Utd 5-0 Maidstone Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 28th July 2014
By: Dave Maslen

West Ham United Ladies opened their pre-season programme with a 5-0 win over
Maidstone United Ladies. New manager and former KUMB columnist Julian Dicks
took charge of the team for the first time against Maidstone at the
Gallagher Stadium. Dicks had several members of the side that beat Barking
Ladies in the Essex Cup Final back in his starting line-up, including
defenders Vicki King, Danica Revell and Katie Bottom with captain Little
lining-up alongside Lindsey Morgan in the midfield. After a quiet opening to
the game, the Hammers started to edge their way into the game, forcing
several important saves from the Maidstone 'keeper. Following some
sustained pressure the Hammers finally broke the deadlock when Donohoe
picked up the ball and fired a low shot that found its way into the back on
the net. Moments later West Ham doubled their lead when Sherwood ran into
the box to meet a right wing cross that she nodded into to the back of the
net, giving the Hammers a two goal advantage. After the half time interval
West Ham began to dominate, enjoying long spells of possession.Their third
goal arrived when second half substitute Mellors sprinted clear of the home
defence and slotted past the goalkeeper. Mellors was again involved in West
Ham's fourth goal, putting the home goalkeeper under pressure and blocking
her clearance leaving Little to finish with a long-range strike from 35
yards. Emily Masters put the game to bed late in the second half with a
finish that made it 5-0. West Ham Ladies' opening league match of the season
will be away to QPR on Sunday, 24 August at 2pm, with their first home
fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, 4 September (7:45pm).

* Please note that West Ham United Ladies have moved their home ground. They
no longer play at Thurrock FC's Ship Lane and are now based at Aveley FC.

West Ham Utd Ladies: Runnicles, King (Powles), Bottom, Morgan (Masters),
Baxter, Revell, Bruce (Cleary), Little (c), Sherwood, Lipley-Hinton
(Mellors), Donohoe (Kelly).

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West Ham are set to sign Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson on loan
Last Updated: 28/07/14 10:01pm
SSN

Sky Sports understands West Ham are poised to win the race to sign Arsenal
defender Carl Jenkinson on loan. Arsenal are willing to loan out Jenkinson
following the recent arrivals of Mathieu Debuchy and Chambers meant the
England international's first-team chances limited this season. Gunners boss
Arsene Wenger sees Jenkinson as part of Arsenal's long-term future, but is
happy for him to go out on loan to get regular first-team football under his
belt. There has been no shortage of takers for Jenkinson with West Ham, Hull
City, Swansea City and Sunderland all thought to have enquired about the
22-year-old. However, West Ham are in pole position to land the former
Charlton man after holding talks with the player earlier on Monday. West Ham
boss Sam Allardyce is thought to be an admirer of Jenkinson and sees him as
a valuable addition to his defensive options next season. Jenkinson is happy
to go out on loan to play regularly next season as he looks to win his place
back in the England squad and the move to Upton Park is expected to be
sealed within the next 24 hours.

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BIG SAM - TIME TO SEE HOW GOOD HE REALLY IS
By Sean Whetstone 28 Jul 2014 at 13:36
West Ham Till I Die

Guest Post by Bourne_Iron

Every so often, life throws you a curve ball and you have to face up to it
and make hard decisions – how you carry out those required decisions
determines how good you are at management – whether that be work, personal
life, money, football. Those having the nerve to make tough decisions and
difficult calls normally are the best managers – and carry out the changes
in a ruthless, focused and determined way leading to success (via initial
turmoil and criticism)

Big Sam has to be realistic – there is a very real potential that Andy
Carroll will not play again. As hard as that is to accept. With every month
out and with every new injury to already delicate feet, the % chances of him
returning as a top class footballer are reduced. This is an unacceptable
risk if not mitigated. When you don't mitigate obvious risks ventures fail
and you exhibit poor management.

Once you accept that conclusion and start to mitigate that risk, you come to
the following realizations very quickly. Without Carroll (or a Carroll
clone) there is no point in playing Nolan (no knock-downs / no "dream"
partnership) and no point employing wingers to float in crosses as there is
no target man.

So, you either go and get a Carroll clone (weak management choice as he is
unique in my opinion) or make the harder choice (which is what brave and
good managers do) and carry out the following:-

Accept that the current formation is now pointless and change it.
Drop the wide wingers playing crosses and long ball to target man mentality
Sell Nolan and make another player captain.
Sell Jarvis or Downing as two wingers in the new formation are no longer
required.
Look at new acquisitions and plan around them (otherwise no point in getting
them)
When working through it, you are left with a formation mindset of:-
Back four with:-

Keepers – covered
Solid defensive core – covered.
Attacking Full backs – covered at left back (cresswell / potts) but
attacking right back is an obvious shortfall.
Midfield of:-

2 defensive midfielders – covered here (Poyet, Noble, cheeky youth like
moncur)
3 Attacking flair players – covered here – Morrison, Whitehead, Zarate,
downing (not in winger mode), RVT, Fanimo, Turgott, Lletget
1 Fast counter attacking, running onto a ball striker – Valencia, Lee,
Gordon.

With the removal of Maiga, Jarvis, Nolan and Diame you would have funds
(hopefully) for a quality attacking right back.

The brave choice for Sam is to move to a 4-2-3-1 and fully utilize the youth
players with a quality signing at right back and one more striker- in this
type of fluid, counter attacking team someone like Agbonlahor or of a
similar type would be ideal.

In the coming weeks – a brave, risk aware manager would set the team up for
life without Carroll and carry out changes to personnel and players similar
to above – in my opinion, a weak manager would go and try and find a Carroll
clone. We are about to see how good Sam really is – if I was a director /
chairman I would act quickly and ruthlessly if Sam came to me for funds for
Crouch / Traore or similar as this is the ultimate sign of weakness.

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WELL, THE NZ TOUR CERTAINLY DID WEST HAM'S GLOBAL BRAND AMBITIONS A POWER OF
GOOD!!
By S J Chandos 28 Jul 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die

West Ham are quite rightly concerned with propagating the West Ham United
brand on a global basis. Not least because merchandise/commercial income
streams are unrestricted and allow the club to circumvent FFFP constraints
and thus boost their transfer/salary budges. So, maximising overseas income
could eventually help transform the financial position of the club. In
English football, the pre-dominant club internationally is undoubtedly
Manchester Utd, with an instantly recognisable brand, world-wide shirt
sales, lucrative overseas tours and income streams to match. While Chelsea,
for instance, are very visible in Africa and their coaching and charitable
schemes are particularly strong in West African countries such as Ghana.

They are two leading examples, but of course, most of the PL clubs will have
their own international strategies. For West Ham's part, they have an
existing tie-up with the second tier of US football and, in the past, have
had partnership arrangements in Australia. This has served to raise the
profile of the Hammers in those countries and also supplied football talent
such as Stan Lazardis, Richard Garcia, the Tombides brothers and Sebastian
Lletget. Those existing international links need to be radically expanded.
And, of course, there are enormous potential financial rewards to be had in
the emerging markets of China, the far east and the Indian Sub-Continent.
Within this context, the club, and its charitable Trust, need to continue
not only to connect with the sizeable Asian communities in local boroughs
like Newham and Tower Hamlets, but also explore the possibility of overseas
charitable/coaching activity in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is a
powerful symmetry in pursuing a dual strategy of combining engagement work
with the Asian communities in East London (as part of delivering the 2012
sporting legacy) and coaching/charitable activity, further a field, in their
countries of origin. With each strategy reinforcing the other to produce
some very positive long-term outcomes in one of the key regions that the
club should prioritise.

The English PL is an amazingly powerful product, eagerly consumed
world-wide. It gives English clubs a great deal of positive exposure to a
huge international audience. The clubs seek to build upon that with
pre-season tours to their target continents/countries. This was obviously
the thinking behind the current tour to New Zealand. And judging by the
sizeable Hammers support at both matches it is clear that there is a strong
foundation to build upon. Unfortunately, those Kiwi and Aussie fans, and the
travelling UK contingent, were badly let down. Furthermore, it has to be
said that the ineptitude of our performances on the pitch probably
undermined the core commercial objectives of the tour. It is all well and
good 'winning friends and influencing people' off the pitch, but those gains
must be accompanied by positive performances on it. To be outplayed and
defeated by two local teams (equivalent in standard to English League 2)
does nothing to advance the club's popularity in New Zealand and Australia.
Quite the opposite, it holds us up to ridicule and probably affords the
likes of Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea even more of an advantage in
the region than they already possess.

The club's board have made real efforts to improve the squad this summer and
give the Manager the pre-requisite tools to play a more expansive game. The
key question was always going to be whether the manager was capable of
responding to the challenge? As I asked recently, can a leopard change his
spots? Now, apparently, we are being told that the transition from one style
of play to another takes time and it is the attempt to be more
attacking/expansive that is making us vulnerable defensively! Funny that we
were at our most attacking/expansive against Spurs, in the final match of
last season, and yet still retained our defensive solidarity. Yet we
(apparently) try the same approach in New Zealand and it causes a defensive
shambles against far weaker opposition! The truth is that in the two matches
in New Zealand there was no discernible new approach, it looked very much
like the same abject tactics that we suffered for the majority of last
season.

There are presently clear tensions within the club. Not only with respect to
playing style, but also last season's transfer strategy, the decision
(allegedly) to buy Zarate and the issue of whether to try to retain the
services of Ravel Morrison. The compromise reached, at the end of last
season, was clearly designed to paper over board room differences on the
wisdom of continuing with the present management. However, there was always
the probability that this would flounder as a result of old
inclinations/propensities re-asserting themselves. And we have arguably
started to see that occur, albeit it more quickly than one might have
anticipated. The obvious example being the managerial declaration
(presumably without prior consultation?) that Ravel Morrison was not part of
the club's first team plans this season. It was interesting to see David
Sullivan respond so swiftly to confirm that the board do actually see
Morrison as an part of their plans and the manager's subsequent public climb
down.

Can board and manager (to one degree or another) continue with the uneasy
compromise reached in May? Or will the tensions lead to managerial change
sooner rather than later? In my opinion the board must hold their line on
playing style, getting Morrison signed to a new contract and ensuring Zarate
is not marginalised. If that results in a parting of the ways with the
manager then so be it. West Ham cannot afford to continue with last season's
one-dimensional football, as they gear up for the move to the OS. That will
not fill 60,000 seats on a regular basis nor win new international
support/commercial income. To help change their style they need to deploy
the vision, skill and technique of a player like Zarate. His goal in the
first match in NZ was excellent and an obvious example of the type of flair,
skill and lethal finishing we have been lacking. They also need to persevere
with a talent of Morrison's magnitude. The idea of him leaving and fans
having to endure the spectacle of him realising his potential with another
club is horrendous to contemplate. Morrison's PL career may ultimately fall
short of expectations, but there is also a very good chance that he could
mature and realise his potential. The club should definitely make every
effort to sign him to a new contract. It would be a great pity to lose a
major young English talent on the assessment of a manager who is almost
certainly in his final season with the club.

It is a myth that we have to play like last season to survive in the PL. We
are at a stage now where we not only need to survive, but move forward and
prosper. The signing of Enner Valencia (subject to a work permit) is a very
good move. David Sullivan, from his reported comments, obviously sees the
signing of one or two extra strikers (adding extra height) as a priority
following Carroll's injury. And that is probably the correct call, but I
would be fascinated to see how Zarate/Valencia/Downing can combine, as a
front three, with Morrison playing just behind them. However, for that
strike force to work, we need to pass the ball and employ an approach a bit
more sophisticated than launching aimless high balls in to the opposition
box. Which neatly brings us back, full-circle, to the question of playing
style and whether the current management can deliver on the board's
ambitions? And if not, when it will finally be decided that enough is
enough?

SJ. Chandos.

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Arsenal's West Ham transfer target Carl Jenkinson poised to make loan move
to Hammers
Jul 28, 2014 22:30 By John Cross
East Londoners have beaten Hull and Swansea to the England right-back after
the Gunners' signings of Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers
The Mirror

Carl Jenkinson is set to join West Ham on a season-long loan. Arsenal
full-back Jenkinson will go to Upton Park to get regular first-team games
under his belt in the hope of still making it at the Emirates. We revealed
Sam Allardyce's interest in the England international on July 17 and the
Hammers have beaten Hull and Swansea in the battle to sign Jenkinson. Hull
boss Steve Bruce wanted to sign Jenkinson on a permanent deal, but the
Gunners are only prepared to loan him as they still believe he can have a
future at the club. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has signed France
international Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle to be his first choice
right-back following Bacary Sagna's free agent switch to Manchester City.
While £16m teenage signing Calum Chambers played the position for
Southampton last season, the Gunners see him as more of a centre-half in the
longer term.

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Defender reports "premature"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on July 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham have described reports that the club has settled on Croatian Ivan
Strinic as their second left back as "premature." The Croatian was described
as going through medical processes at the club by the commentary team in New
Zealand during the defeat by Sydney FC. But ClaretandHugh was told earlier
today that is not the case at this stage and that there "are several balls
in the air." The 27 year old Dnipro defender has been one of those on the
Hammers 'possible' list for some time. But our source said: "There's plenty
of time to make decisions and we have several balls in the air. "We
certainly aren't ruling the player out but we want to make sure we get every
decision correct."

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Ireland Messi scores
Posted by Sean Whetstone on July 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

When West Ham signed 18-year-old Sean Macquire from Republic of Ireland
club Waterford United he was compared to Messi by his then chairman.
Waterford chairman John O'Sullivan said "I'm a great fan of Lionel Messi at
Barcelona. When I look at Seanie, he really reminds me of him.Seanie has the
same kind of balance, burst of speed and he's powerful on the ball.He has a
great shot from any range and he's good in the air. He has everything going
for him. He still has to build up a bit of muscle, but there's no doubt West
Ham will help him do that. If Seanie keeps progressing the way he is, it
won't be long before he's getting first-team football at West Ham. There is
no question whatsoever he will be a star one day for the Republic of
Ireland."

The Republic of Ireland Under-19 international had previously scored 14
goals in 32 games for Waterford. One year later Macquire was loaned out to
Irish SSE Airtricity League Premier Division Sligo Rovers until the end of
July. After appearing as a substitute for most of loan period he finally got
his chance on Sunday against Shamrock Rovers when he got his first start for
Sligo. He quickly paid them back by scoring in 84th minute to secure a win
and picked up the man of the match accolade.

His loan with Sligo is set to finish on Thursday with no indication as yet
whether it will be extended or whether he will head back to the UK.
Macquire was signed on a two and a half year contract in January 2013
meaning it just has a year remaining on his contract.

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Tense situation as Sam sacking odds shorten
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on July 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Sam Allardyce has moved to odds-on to become the first managerial casualty
of the season with some bookies. Sky Bet for example have him priced up at
10/11 for the bullet but word from inside Upton Park is that the
relationship between himself and the owners will need to markedly
deteriorate for the axe to fall. Relationships between the board and the
manager could best be described as tense at the moment after David
Sullivan's Talk Sport interview last week displayed a big difference of
opinion over Ravel Morrison's future. ClaretandHugh has also learned that
Allardyce's decision to claim pre-season results may have been affected by
the new attacking policy demanded by the board has not gone down well.
However, the owners are great believers in keeping their word on contracts
and are always totally loathe to break them. A source told us: "The odds on
saking are too short at the moment given the two Davids' track record with
managers. "They believe in keeping contracts. They believe that to be the
right thing to do. " They have never been hire and fire people but of course
there is always a line which can't be crossed. "A lot has been said of late
and results so far haven't helped anything. Sam has had a lot of backing but
apparent public differences aren't helping things."

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David Gold hints on Twitter at eagerness to axe Sam Allardyce as West Ham
manager
WEST HAM co-chairman David Gold has used his Twitter account to hint that
Sam Allardyce could soon be sacked.
By: Alex Harris
Published: Mon, July 28, 2014
Express

West Ham, David Gold, David Sullivan, Sam Allardyce, WUFC, Transfer News,
Sam Allardyce Sacked, Upton ParkWest Ham manager Sam Allardyce already
appears to be under pressure[AFP] Gold favourited a tweet from Twitter user
@harris2011_s which reads: "Is today the day we get rid of BFS ?? @davidgold
fingers crossed". BFS is a widely-used internet nickname among West Ham
fans for former Bolton manager Allardyce. West Ham, David Gold, David
Sullivan, Sam Allardyce, WUFC, Transfer News, Sam Allardyce Sacked, Upton
ParkWest Ham co-chairman David Gold's Twitter profile [TWITTER] Gold, 77, is
a prolific tweeter having sent 11,500 messages on the site but has only
favourited 71 tweets since joining in May 2011. Reports emerged over the
weekend that Allardyce and the board are at loggerheads over midfielder
Ravel Morrison. Allardyce shipped out fan-favourite Morrison on loan to QPR
last season and is open to offers for the 21-year-old as he does not feature
in his plans for the new season. West Ham, David Gold, David Sullivan, Sam
Allardyce, WUFC, Transfer News, Sam Allardyce Sacked, Upton ParkRavel
Morrison was sent to QPR last season [GETTY] But co-chairman David Sullivan
made the point of going on to talkSPORT to give an opposing view. "Sam has
said Ravel is not part of his plans but we do - as a board - see him as part
of our plans," he said.
"I think he [Allardyce] said in a press conference, if I read it correctly,
he's not part of his plans for this season. I think he said that in New
Zealand but we don't agree with that. We would like to sit down and give him
a longer contract."

To compound Allardyce's woes big striker Andy Carroll is out for four months
to recover from ankle surgery.

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West Ham: Allardyce is fighting an unwinnable battle
Sam Allardyce is low on allies in West Ham's boardroom and crowd
Betfair.com

Despite being a pro-Big Sam West Ham fan, Michael Lintorn can't see the
manager lasting much longer...

West Ham don't handle breakups well, with their list of sticky separations
running almost as long as Taylor Swift's.

Alan Curbishley was forced to quit after two starters were sold behind his
back, successfully suing for constructive dismissal. Gianfranco Zola was
publicly criticised by the owners for months, then axed despite securing
survival, while Avram Grant was required to maintain his dignity during a
bungled attempt to hire Martin O'Neill in his place on a Premier League
matchday.

They seem determined to ensure that the divorce with Sam Allardyce is their
messiest yet, with this summer set to serve as a prototype for generations
of difficult-to-please chairmen to come on how to undermine your manager.

The Premier League veteran is the 2.54 favourite to be the next tactician to
go. However, there is as much chance of it occurring via a resignation - and
perhaps another constructive dismissal case - than by a firing, as his
superiors appear eager to get rid, but unwilling to pay an estimated £4
million in compensation to make it happen.

Most expected Allardyce to be sacked at the end of last term, with a growing
number of supporters vocalising their discontent even though he ultimately
evaded the danger of second-season syndrome by a seven-point margin.

The former Bolton boss held on, allegedly because David Gold and Karren
Brady didn't share David Sullivan's desire to dismiss, but - in the first
phase of power-stifling - was told that the style of play must change and a
top-ten finish was a necessity, while he surrendered final say on transfers.

Since then, several players who don't look an ideal fit for the Allardyce
mould have been acquired, like Mauro Zarate, while Sullivan has publicised
an internal conflict over Ravel Morrison's future, revealing that the board
want him to stay, yet fear that the coach won't pick him.

Pre-season has been a disaster, with draws at Stevenage and Ipswich being
followed by defeats to Wellington and Sydney on their New Zealand tour.

Friendly results clearly shouldn't carry much weight, but the combination of
the final two games being televised, the perception Allardyce isn't
involving the newcomers enough and his claim that the insistence on more
attacking play is to blame for the losses have dealt them undue
significance.

Adding to the carnage is the way the anti-Allardyce fanbase online,
encouraged by Sullivan's unsubtle hints at discord with the manager, have
cranked up the antagonism level, even launching a campaign to fund his
payoff.

It all points at an inevitable conclusion, with the 2.54 on West Ham being
the first club to renovate their dugout in 2014/15 increasing in appeal by
the hour.

Recommended Bet: Back Sam Allardyce to be the next manager to go @ 2.54

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Former Manchester United boss David Moyes 'favourite' to replace Sam
Allardyce at West Ham
Monday 28 Jul 2014 4:51 pm
Metro.co.uk

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has been tipped to replace Sam
Allardyce at West Ham next season. The Scottish coach is the 2/1 favourite
to become the Hammers' new boss in the coming months according to Paddy
Power – as questions remain over Allardyce's future at the East London club.
The Daily Star have reported that the West Ham board are 'at odds' with the
current manager after co-owner, David Sullivan, labelled the 59-year-old's
£15m signing of Andy Carroll in 2013 as a 'mistake'. The club's owners are
also reported to be unhappy that Allardyce does not see Ravel Morrison has a
long-term player in the squad. 'Sam has said Ravel is not part of his plans
but we do – as a board – see him as part of our plans,' Sullivan recently
said. 'I think he said in a press conference, if I read it correctly, he's
not part of his plans for this season. 'I think he said that in New Zealand
but we don't agree with that. We would like to sit down and give him a
longer contract.' West Ham co-owner, David Gold, also added fuel to the fire
when he favourited a tweet by a Hammers fan who had asked if Monday would be
the day that Allardyce left the club – although it is unclear whether it was
done by accident or not. Allardyce's rumoured replacement, Moyes, endured a
torrid time at Old Trafford after being named as Sir Alex Ferguson's
successor at United in 2013 and was sacked following just 10 months in
charge of the club.

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Jenkinson close to loan move
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th July 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are on the verge of signing Arsenal full-back Carl Jenkinson on
loan. The Mail, amongst others, reports this morning that Sam Allardyce has
beaten off interest from several other clubs to land the 22-year-old
right-sided defender on loan for the season. Arsenal are willing to allow
Jenkinson to move for the season having completed the signing of Southampton
youngster Calum Chambers and Newcastle's Mathieu Debuchy in recent days. It
was thought yesterday that Hull had beaten West Ham to the former England
under 21 international's signature, with reports of a deal in the region of
£4million having been agreed.
But Allardyce - who, despite previous spats with the Frenchman, enjoys a
good relationship with Arsene Wenger - appears to have hijacked that
particular deal to land his man at the eleventh hour.

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