West Ham United 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United drew 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion to climb to seventh in
the Barclays Premier League. In a tight affair, Mauro Zarate, the Hammers'
Man of the Match, opened the scoring with an inch-perfect free-kick after 17
minutes before Rickie Lambert equalised via a deflection shortly after the
re-start. On a chilly November day Slaven Bilic made three changes to the
side that lost to Tottenham last weekend. In came Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro
Obiang and Mauro Zarate in place of James Tomkins and Andy Carroll, both
started on the bench while skipper Mark Noble sat out through suspension.
The Hammers enjoyed the first chance of the game through Zarate as he fired
just wide after being played through by compatriot Manuel Lanzini. The
Baggies responded in kind through powerful striker Salomon Rondon who, with
seemingly little on, fired marginally wide of the left-hand post from
distance. On 17 minutes, Zarate more than made up for his earlier miss by
scoring an absolute peach of free-kick from 25-yards out. The forward made
the Baggies pay after Diafra Sakho was manhandled, he sized up his angles
and arrowed a shot that gave Boaz Myhill little chance of saving. Moments
later, Cheikhou Kouyate went close to doubling the lead following a superb
delivery by Aaron Cresswell. Kouyate timed his run to meet the pinpoint
cross yet his header nestled just wide of the far post. Lanzini and Zarate
continued to impress as the Hammers took their deserved lead into the
half-time break.
Sensing the Hammers' dominance, Tony Pulis made a change by bringing Rickie
Lambert on in place of Stephane Sessegnon and the changed paid dividends
five minutes into the second half as Lambert's shot took a massive
deflection off Winston Reid which wrong-footed Adrian. Having drawn level,
West Brom looked to take the initiative first as Rickie Lambert fired a
fierce free-kick goalward before Adrian somehow denied Rondon from point
blank range. The Venezuelan striker looked as though he could not miss from
two yards out however the Spaniard made himself big to keep his side in the
contest. In another wise sluggish second half display, the Hammers suddenly
sprung into life with a blistering counter-attack. Kouyate won back
possession with a typically strong challenge before Victor Moses tore
through the middle of the pitch to feed Diafra Sakho. His shot had Myhill
beaten yet Jonas Olsson flung himself in front of the strike to block
heroically.
With ten minutes remaining, Bilic turned the screw even further by bringing
on Michail Antonio for his home debut, he replaced the ever present Zarate
who had run himself into the ground. Both Hammers received rapturous
applause. With just moments left, Moses went agonizingly close to notching
what would have been the winning goal with a thundering volley. His
connection was superb yet he didn't quite have the necessary accuracy. Aaron
Cresswell tested Myhill's reflexes with a stinging free-kick in injury time
however the match finished level.
West Ham United: Adrian, Reid C, Cresswell, Kouyate, Zarate (Antonio 81),
Jenkinson, Obiang (Carroll 63), Sakho (Jelavic 71), Moses, Ogbonna, Lanzini
Subs not used: Spiegel, Song, Tomkins, Cullen
Goals: Zarate 17
West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Olsson, Yacob, Evans, Morrison, McClean,
McAuley, Fletcher C, Dawson, Sessegnon (Lambert 46), Rondon
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Chester, Gardner, Anichebe, Berahino, McManaman
Bookings: Olsson, Yacob
Goals: Reid (O.G) 50
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 34,914
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Under-18s pegged back by Arsenal
WHUFC.com
England U17 striker Jahmal Hector-Ingram stuck twice as the Under-18s
secured a 2-2 draw at home with Arsenal on Saturday morning. A week after
Norwich City condemned the Hammers to a 4-3 defeat at Little Heath, the
Academy got off to a brilliant start when Hector-Ingram fired in a brace to
give the hosts a healthy lead.
Just minutes later though, Gunners striker Eddie Nketiah finished past Tim
Brown to get the visitors back into the game, before the same player struck
early in the second half to drag the Gunners level. The Hammers made three
changes to the team that suffered heartbreak to Norwich a week earlier. U16
defender Abdoulahi Diallo made his first ever appearance at U18 level as he
replaced Jake Eggleton at right back, whilst winger Oscar Borg returned from
injury to take the place of Joe Powell in midfield and Ajibola Alese stepped
into the Hammers defence in place of the injured Ben Wells. Arsenal started
the game well and could have led after just ten minutes but after Yassin
Fortune stole the ball from Matty Carter around 20 yards out, he wasted an
opportunity to run clear on goal.
In typical fashion, the opposition punished them for that mistake as the
Hammers' opening goal came when a misplaced pass in the Arsenal defence was
latched onto quickly and finished confidently by Hector-Ingram. West Ham
immediately pushed again for a second but Dan Kemp, who recently joined the
Hammers from London rivals Chelsea, could only manage a tame shot straight
at Ryan Huddart. The second goal did come just a minute later though as Kemp
managed to find Hector-Ingram in the middle with a looping cross, with the
free-scoring striker allowed plenty of time to head home from five yards
with a diving header. Just two minutes later though, Arsenal masterminded a
way back into the fixture when Nketiah took on Alese in the box and fired
low across Brown into the far corner. The hosts raised the pressure once
more as both Borg and Hector-Ingram were causing Arsenal all sorts of
problems. Firstly, Borg watched his lobbed effort get cleared off the line,
before Hector-Ingram curled a shot just round the far post. After the break,
the visitors grabbed their equaliser when winger Joe Willock was allowed too
much time and space to run to the edge of the box and fire a shot at Brown,
who parried the ball straight to the feet of the hungry Nketiah who scored
his second goal of the game. The Academy were still strong in the second
half though and could have put themselves in front again when Diangana fired
wide, Kemp was denied a penalty and Hector-Ingram headed over from Vashon
Neufville's cross. In the final minutes of the game, West Ham had one last
chance to steal a victory when Diangana headed towards goal from Longelo's
cross, but Gunners keeper Huddart managed to make an incredible reaction
save to secure a share of the points for the visitors.
Under-18s Brown, Diallo, Akinola, Alese, Neufville, Carter, Lewis, Diangana,
Borg (Longelo), Kemp, Hector-Ingram
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Bilic - It was a fair result
WHUFC.com
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic felt the 1-1 draw against West Brom was
a fair result but was disappointed that his side could not make the most of
their best opening 45 minutes display this season. Bilic was thrilled with
how his team responded in the first half following the disappointing result
against Tottenham last week and saw his side get off to the perfect start
when Mauro Zarate fired the home side into the lead in spectacular fashion
with an impressive free-kick. Zarate and Manuel Lanzini had chances to
extend the lead and stole the show in the first half as they caused all
kinds of problems for the West Brom defence. But the Hammers failed to make
their superiority count and the Midlands side grabbed an equaliser shortly
after half-time when Rickie Lambert saw his shot deflect off Winston Reid
and into the back of the net.
Bilic's side were unable to find the crucial second and had to settle for a
point at the Boleyn Ground for the second consecutive home game. Bilic said:
"At the end you cannot say it wasn't a fair result. In the first half it was
one of the best in this part of the season. "We played really well and
created good chances. Their keeper made a couple of great saves. We were
pleased at half-time with the way we played. "I asked the players to
continue like that and keep the momentum high. We started the second half
well but then we conceded a goal and it affected us a lot. "It gives a boost
to the team who scores. We had a few more chances but the game was not so
fluent from us in the second half. "Manuel and Mauro were involved in most
of the moves and they dropped a bit in the second half because they used up
a lot of energy in the first half. "When they dropped a little bit we also
dropped and we are not happy with one point but we have to admit it was a
fair result."
Bilic was not surprised to see Zarate open the scoring with a superb
free-kick and says he practices set-pieces all the time in training. Bilic
added: "Mauro has got it and it is a natural talent he has got with the way
he shoots the ball. Whether it is from free-kicks or open play when he
scored against Chelsea. "He practices that every day in training and it
wasn't a surprise to see him do that. It was a great goal."
Diafra Sakho was forced to leave the field on 74 minutes after he picked up
an injury when he struck the ball into the side netting. The Senegal forward
will now see a specialist to see how long he will be ruled out of action.
Bilic said: "We still have to wait and the specialist will see him to give
an opinion. It looks like a muscle injury and the first news is not the
best. It is a big blow. "You can see injuries in every Club and to be fair
the number who are missing is not a lot, but the ones missing are key
players who play in the same position. It is very hard to replace them."
Bilic will now focus his attention on the next big away game against
Manchester United next Saturday, but he sees no reason why the team cannot
repeat their heroic displays against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City
and pick up another memorable away victory. "We have shown home or away that
we can take the game to any side and I am expecting something from this
game."
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Zarate - 'It wasn't enough'
WHUFC.com
Mauro Zarate's superb free kick against West Bromwich Albion would normally
be a source of great joy for the Argentine - but he admitted most of the
gloss was taken off by his team's failure to claim all three points.
Zarate's goal capped a fine first half from the Hammers, which saw them lead
1-0 against West Brom, only for a deflected Rickie Lambert strike to ensure
the points would be shared. The No10 now has five goals for the campaign,
but would have preferred the victory.
"We didn't feel so good with the result," he said. "We worked for the three
points, and thought all week about taking them - doing the pressing, doing a
good job, but it wasn't enough today. "We had to be 2-0 up after the first
half. We were dangerous, with Manu, Sakho and me we had many options. "But
in the second half they scored so quickly and that killed us."
Zarate's free-kick was real postage stamp stuff, right in the top corner and
out of goalkeeper Boaz Myhill's grasp, and he revealed that it was a case of
practice makes perfect. He added: "I practice the free-kicks every day, in
every training session with Rapha [Spiegel] or Adrian. It's a good way to
score and to give a goal for the team. "That one in the first half went in
the top corner, and I had another after half time but I couldn't put it in
the same place.
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Song - I have unfinished business
WHUFC.com
On the morning of what could be Alex Song's first start for West Ham United
since returning for a second spell in east London, the midfielder described
his "unfinished business" with the claret and blues. With Mark Noble
suspended having picked up a fifth booking last weekend, Song is a contender
to fill the gap left by the captain. Speaking to the Sunday Times ahead of
the Hammers' fixture with West Bromwich Albion, Song said: "It was easy for
me to come back. Coming back to West Ham is a big challenge, which is why I
had to do it. I was very happy here last season so that's why I came back to
West Ham."
When Song first signed for the Club in the summer of 2014 it was hailed as a
major coup, and it wasn't long before the Cameroonian international won over
the West Ham faithful with a series of dominating performances. Now, back
following a lengthy spell on the side-lines through injury, Song is more
motivated than ever to impress the fans once more. However he stated that he
is willing to be patient after such a long time out, he continued: "It is my
first time coming back from such a long time out so I will be patient; I
have to take it step by step. "When I am 100% I know what is coming, for
sure I am confident in myself. So I won't rush, if the manager gives me
another ten minutes today then I will take it. But I know that when I am
ready I will fly. "It might take a while to get there, that is fine with me
because I want the fans to see the best Alex Song there is. I don't want
them to see the player from the second half of last year; this is why I am
here. This is my challenge; I have unfinished business."
While Song's heart always looked set on a return to the Boleyn Ground after
his loan finished last year, it was his wife Olivia who finally convinced
him that West Ham was the best place for him and his family. He explained:
"It was my wife who first said 'Go to West Ham'. I had options from clubs in
the Champions League but she knew how much I had enjoyed it here last
season. We both love London and so do my kids so it was easy really. "I
already wanted to come here, but she was the one who helped me make my mind
up. She knows we better than I know myself, definitely!"
Listening to the former Arsenal and Barcelona man, his positivity is
infectious while his on-pitch style - gloves with rolled up shorts - is as
unique as his manner is off the pitch. If his boots today are anything to
go by, he could be back with a bang - or rather 'pow': "I've always wanted
to achieve as much possible, Arsenal did well when I was there, as did
Barcelona, now it is West Ham's time. "I was fortunate with the
opportunities I have had, joining Arsenal at 17, getting the opportunity to
play for Barcelona and now West Ham, they are all privileges. "Whenever I'm
on the pitch I just want to give my best. I want to make the fans happy and
play with a smile on my face. When I was at Arsenal and Barcelona, even if
we lost, we played with an identity, a style. "In football, mistakes are
going to happen, but as long as what you were trying to do is good, then it
is worth the risk. That is very important for me."
While Song is clearly in a positive frame of mind at the moment, he is just
as animated about the Club's future as he is about his own. "The way the
Club want to be and the way they want to go is unbelievable. The next stage
is the new stadium, then the new players. This has already started with
Lanzini and Payet, Mauro is back after being away last season and I think
this is just the start. "This season we have to finish very well, the new
manager has set very high standards for what we want to achieve. So if you
have the right manager, the players and the fans then you have all that you
need to succeed and West Ham has got all of those things. That is the right
environment for the team, and then it is down to us to perform. "Next season
I am sure more good players will come in. For me, I am sure that in the five
years' time West Ham will fight for first place. We are talking about five
years' time, but I am sure, the future will be very, very great."
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West Ham: Diafra Sakho injury concerns Slaven Billic
BBC.co.uk
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has concerns over an injury Diafra Sakho picked
up against West Brom. The striker immediately signalled he was unable to
carry on after having a shot blocked in Sunday's 1-1 draw with the Baggies.
"That worried me more than the result. I don't know if it's too early before
the scan but it looks like a muscle injury," said Bilic. "It's a big blow
for us after Enner Valencia and Dimitri Payet." Attacking midfielder Payet
was ruled out for three months with an ankle injury in early November.
Meanwhile, Valencia has been out since July after suffering an ankle injury
in a Europa League qualifying match.
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Slaven Bilic frustrated by West Ham's draw with West Brom
Last Updated: 29/11/15 6:48pm
SSN
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was left frustrated by the 1-1 draw with West
Brom but he had no complaints over the result. The Hammers went ahead in the
17th minute after a fantastic free-kick from Mauro Zarate, but a Winston
Reid own goal, as he deflected in Rickie Lambert's shot, saw the spoils
shared at Upton Park.
"At the end of the day, we're not happy but it is a fair result," Billc told
Sky Sports. I think if we were up two or not to mention three in the first
half, we probably would have held on in this game. But I have to be
realistic, that in the second half, they deserved the goal that was enough
to give them the point. "In the first half, we played really well and at
half-time I was pleased with the way we played, especially after we scored
the goal. "We deserved to be a minimum of 2-0 ahead because after Zarate's
magnificent goal, we were all over them and we created three or four great
chances and their keeper made three or four really good saves.
"In the second half, we started well but after they scored the goal, it gave
them the confidence and it blocked us. We came back, created some chances
and they had one good chance, but the game wasn't as fluid as it was in the
first half. So if I take the first half and second half, it's probably a
fair result." Bilic also praised the quality of Zarate's strike as he earned
his reward for dedicating time to set-pieces in training. "Mauro has got a
special kind of shooting skill," said Bilic. "Whether it is from a dead ball
or a free-kick or from open play, like he did against Chelsea for example,
he's just got it. "He's always practising. When it comes to free-kicks,
it's all about if he's going to hit the wall because he hits it too hard and
usually if the ball goes over the wall the way he wants, it's very difficult
for a goalkeeper to stop it. It was a great strike and a pleasure to see."
Bilic also expressed concern over an injury to Diafra Sakho, who was
replaced by Nikica Jelavic late in the game. "That worries me more than the
result," Bilic added.
"It's still too early before the scan to give a diagnosis but it looks like
a muscle injury. It's a big blow for us after losing Valencia and Payet and
it's a bit too much if I'm honest."
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West Ham 1-1 West Brom: Points shared at Upton Park
By Charlotte Marsh
Last Updated: 29/11/15 6:44pm
SSN
Mauro Zarate scored a stunning free-kick as West Ham drew 1-1 with West
Bromwich Albion at Upton Park. Winston Reid diverted Rickie Lambert's strike
into his own net early in the second half to level the scores, and despite
plenty of chances for both sides, neither could find the winner as the
points were shared. West Ham stay eighth after the weekend's fixtures, but
have gone above Everton, while West Brom stay in 13th, one point behind
Stoke and Watford. Darren Fletcher believes West Brom did enough in their
1-1 draw with West Ham to take all three points. Darren Fletcher believes
West Brom did enough in their 1-1 draw with West Ham to take all three
points.The Hammers are now unbeaten in their last five on home turf but have
gone four league games without a win, while Tony Pulis' men are now unbeaten
in two. It was certainly a game of two halves, with West Ham superior in the
first and West Brom looking better in the second. The Baggies started the
game with four centre-backs in defence, with Jonny Evans deputising at
left-back and Craig Dawson on the right.
West Ham had the first chance of the game around the 10-minute mark, and it
was a mistake by Jonas Olsson that gifted the ball to Diafra Sakho, who
played in Victor Moses to run towards goal. The Chelsea loanee in turn
picked out Manuel Lanzini to his left, and he fed the ball through to Zarate
on a tight angle but his shot could only find the side of the net. It was
the first flash of what the Hammers attack had in store. At the other end,
Zarate lost out to Darren Fletcher, who picked out an advancing Salomon
Rondon at the edge of the box, but it ended up going just wide of the post.
West Ham struck in the 17th minute as Zarate fired a sublime free-kick,
awarded after Gareth McAuley had held back Sakho, over the top of the Albion
wall and into the net. It was all West Ham for the remainder of the first
half and they could have scored a quick second when Aaron Cresswell sent in
a cross from the left, picking out the run of Cheikhou Kouyate, who got his
head on the ball but it whistled past the far post.
Waves of West Ham attacks kept coming and a Claudio Yacob mistake gifted the
ball to the impressive Lanzini, who shot from just inside the box but Boaz
Myhill made a reaction save with his shins. Zarate and Lanzini were the
stars of the first half and they linked up once again a few minutes later,
with Zarate nicking the ball from just outside the box, picking out Lanzini
for the shot but the Baggies 'keeper was there again to make a good save.
Pulis knew he had to change something after being over-run in the opening 45
minutes, replacing Stephane Sessegnon with Lambert and he was rewarded for
his swap just four minutes into the second half.
Carl Jenkinson's clearing header was met by man-of-the-match Darren
Fletcher, who kept the ball alive, knocking it down to Lambert who shot from
distance with the effort taking a huge deflection off Reid. The ball
originally looked to be going wide but the West Ham captain, who was making
his 150th appearance for the club, diverted it towards goal and caught
goalkeeper Adrian off-guard. The Hammers 'keeper was kept busy after that,
making two great saves in quick succession to keep West Brom from taking the
lead. Lambert took a free-kick that flew under the wall but Adrian was there
to palm it away before saving from a Rondon header at point-blank range,
after another great through ball from Fletcher, while James McClean skied
the rebound. However, it was West Ham who had the better chances to nick the
winner in the final 15 minutes. Yacob, who misses next weekend's game
against Spurs after picking up a fifth yellow card, again gave the ball away
to Moses in the middle of the park and he played in Sakho on his right, but
the striker fired it into the side of the net and injured himself in the
process, eventually being replaced by Nikica Jelavic. Moses had another
glorious chance in the 89th minute and after a bit of pinball in the area,
Lanzini looped the ball across the box to find the winger, who hit the ball
on the volley first time but his effort fizzed wide. McClean also had the
chance to poke home the winner in injury-time after being played in by
Lambert, with Cresswell's late free-kick well saved by Myhill as the game
ended all square in east London.
Player ratings
West Ham: Adrian (7), Jenkinson (6), Reid (6), Ogbonna (6), Cresswell (7),
Obiang (6), Kouyate (6), Zarate (8), Lanzini (7), Moses (7), Sakho (6).
Subs: Antonio (5), Carroll (6), Jelavic (5).
West Brom: Myhill (7), Dawson (6), Evans (7), Olsson (6), McAuley (6),
McClean (7), Yacob (5), Fletcher (8), Morrison (6), Sessegnon (5), Rondon
(7).
Subs: Lambert (7)
Man of the Match: Darren Fletcher
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Kouyate stars as Irons snatch point
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Irons 1 WBA 1
Mauro Zarate's wondrous goal was cancelled out by one of the luckiest we are
likely to see in a long time as the Hammers were held to a draw. The No 10
lifted a magnificent free kick into the top corner in the 16th minute after
Sakho had been held by Olssen to set us on what looked like a
straightforward three points against a poor Baggies team in the first 45.
Kouyate should have put us further ahead but somehow managed to head wide in
front of goal from Cresswell's cross before Myhill went low to save from
Lanzini.
The little Argeninian had a great afternoon and saw another fierce drive
parried by the Baggies keeper. He was then at the heart of another move
involving Zarate and Moses before seeing his shot fly for a corner. The
manager had recalled Ogbonna for Tomkins and he looked in good nick at the
back and opted to play Sakho through the middle with Carroll on the bench.
Obiang came in for Noble. It looked far far better and anything other than a
Hammers win looked impossible on the basis of a dominant first 45 minutes.
Albion boss Tony Pulis thre two up at the start of the second half and
within five minutes of the break they were level when Lambert's wayward
drive deflected off Reid, wrong footing Adrian. A shocker. But they bossed
the second period with Adrian being called on to make a wonder save from
Rondon as the visitors poured forward. The Hammers were second best
throughout the second half but might have nicked it at the death when Myhill
saved well from a well struck Cresswell free kick. Carroll had entered the
action on the hour and saw one goal bound effort well blocked and Jelavic
appeared late on for Sakho who went of holding his thigh. Perhaps the
biggest cheer of the afternoon though - apart from the goal - came when
Michail Antonio was introduced in the 83rd minute for Zarate. In the end a
draw was probably a fair result and at least helped us up to seventh place
tonight.
Ratings: Adrian 7; Jenkinson 5, Reid 7 Ogbonna 6 Cresswell 7; Obiang 6 ,
Kouyate 8, Lanzini 7 Zarate 7, Moses 6, Sakho 7. Subs: Carroll 5 Jelavic 5
Antonio 5
MAN OF THE MATCH: KOUYATE
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Bilic gets a January transfer warning
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has been told there is no cash to strengthen the
squad in the January transfer window. Despite a growing injury list of key
players it has been made clear to the manager that there is no cash left in
the kitty and he will have to sell if he wants to buy. The warning came
after ClaretandHugh checked out the latest speculation that Inter Milan
full-back Danilo D'Ambrosio was a January target. But we were immediately
told "that is nothing more than a piece of guesswork and just not true."
Diafra Sakho is the latest injury victim and could possibly join Dimi Payet
and Enner Valencia as a long term victim after sustaining a thigh injury
this afternoon against West Brom. But this evening (Sun) we were told by a
top insider that if the manager wants to strengthen there will have to be
departures to fund them. We were told: "It's tiring to continually be saying
it and not being believed but there is no cash for transfers in January.
"The club has spent 100 per cent of allowed wages under FFP. So unless
somebody goes nobody is coming in.If you exceed the wages cap you get a fine
or possibly even a points deduction."
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Sakho injury blow: Club sweats it out
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Diafra Sakho is understood to have suffered an injury similar to that which
kept Pedro Obiang out of action for several weeks. ClaretandHugh learned
this evening that the striker has sustained a quadriceps injury but - as is
always the case - the full extent of the problem won't be known until the
player has been scanned.
However, we have been told within the last few minutes that the medics
believe that's the problem and we will be sweating it out, probably until
Wednesday, before we know how serious or otherwise the injury maybe. Sakho
looked to have taken a relatively straightforward fall but he was signalling
he needed to come off as soon as he hit the ground. A thigh strain or
quadriceps strain is a tear in one of the quadriceps muscles at the front of
the thigh. It can range from a mild discomfort to a full blown tear of most
of the muscle resulting in severe pain and inability to walk. Thigh strains
are graded 1 to 3 depending on how bad the injury is with a grade 1 being
mild and a grade 3 involving a complete or near complete tear of the muscle.
A source said: "We are hoping for the best but there could be another
lengthy problem."
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Zarate nails the key issue
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Mauro Zarate has nailed the problem we gave ourselves against West Bromwich.
Not long had elapsed after the final whistle than the Argentinian was out on
Twitter giving his take on what had gone wrong. And it's difficult to
disagree given the amount of possession we had during the first 45 minutes
along with the chances we created. He and Manu Lanzini were at the heart of
every good thing produced by the Hammers and this may even go down as his
best performance in a Hammers shirt. The free kick was absolutely sublime
and he slammed another into goalkeeper Myhill's arms in the second half. In
between times he and midfield partner produced some scintillating moments to
keep us all on the edge of our chairs. But for all the great first half
football, we only had the one set piece goal to show for our efforts and
there was always the feeling we might live to regret that. A valuable point
but as Mauro says we probably contributed to our own downfall.
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Baggies honour the Boleyn memory
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Fair play to West Bromwich Albion. No sooner had the the teams battled to a
1- draw at the Boleyn this afternoon than the official Twitter account of
the club provided a really nice touch. They are the first visiting outfit so
far to remember publicly that this would be their proud old club's last
visit to the ground and they were quick to remind us and their own fans of
the battles the two have enjoyed down the years.
Using the picture seen here the club tweeted: #FarewellBoleyn Thanks for the
memories and many matches over the years #WBA
That really was a seriously nice touch and will surely be received with
pride by their own and our supporters. Thanks guys!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Unhappy Bilic gives his verdict
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic declared this afternoon's draw against West Bromwich Albion a
"fair result" but after a fine first half performance admitted: "We aren't
happy." And he believes that had we nicked another goal - our first half
performance had deserved - that would have been enough to get the three
points. He: "The one goal lead gave them the confidence to come and have a
go at us but for all that we created our chances and could have won it. "In
the end they got their goal and might have had another but I believe we
could have gone on to win it so we are not happy. "In the end though I have
to admit that on the way the game went it was a fair result."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Monday, November 30
Sunday, November 29
Daily WHUFC News - 30th November 2015
Kouyate - We've worked hard to bounce back
WHUFC.com
Cheikhou Kouyate says the Hammers have left no stone unturned in their bid
to bounce back from last weekend's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Hammers
came up short at White Hart Lane as they suffered a 4-1 defeat, but Senegal
midfielder Kouyate is confident of getting back on track against West
Bromwich Albion. The Hammers have defeated Chelsea and drawn with Everton in
their last two home games, so will be confident of continuing that run of
form. "We have prepared well for Sunday," Kouyate said. "Last week at
Tottenham was not a good day and we didn't want to lose, but that's done
now. "Tottenham were very well organised, they started the game well and
carried it through. They played very aggressively and that's how you win a
derby. "We were doing ok for the first 10-15 minutes, but went 1-0 down and
it's up to us to show it in the upcoming games that we're on the same level
as them. "We were very frustrated to lose, not just because of the result
but because of the way we played. It's up to us to look at what went wrong
and get back to winning ways against West Brom."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cult Heroes to return to the Boleyn!
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted that a host of the Club's most popular Cult
Heroes are back at the Boleyn Ground for Sunday's visit of West Bromwich
Albion.
As part of the commemorations to mark the Farewell Boleyn season, a number
of home fixtures are being given special themes – with the theme this
weekend being 'Cult Heroes'.
Nearly 20 former favourites spanning five decades of Hammers history will
say a personal goodbye to West Ham's home of 112 years, and will be
personally presented to you at half-time.
1950s
Bill Lansdowne – Half-back who was part of the West Ham United side which
won the Division Two title and promotion to the top flight in 1958.
1960s
Peter Brabrook – England winger who set up Ronnie Boyce's late winner in the
1964 FA Cup final win over Preston North End.
Eddie Bovington – Hard-working defensive midfielder who was part of Ron
Greenwood's all-conquering side of the 1960s.
Brian Dear – Prolific centre forward who starred in the 1965 European Cup
Winners' Cup success and scored five in 2ian 1 minutes against today's
visitors in April of the same year.
Dennis Burnett – Defender who came through the Academy ranks before scoring
three goals in 66 appearances.
Peter Bennett – Home-grown forward who won the FA Youth Cup in 1963 and
spent eight years in Ron Greenwood's first-team squad.
Colin Mackleworth – Bow-born FA Youth Cup-winning goalkeeper who debuted in
a 4-0 Division One victory over Blackpool in December 1966.
Eddie Presland – Loughton-born Academy graduate defender who scored on his
debut in a 2-1 win over Liverpool in February 1965.
1970s
Alan Devonshire – Supremely talented winger who made the transition from
non-league to international football during 15 fabulous seasons at the
Boleyn Ground.
Dudley Tyler – Winger who was part of Hereford United's giant-killing side
of 1972 who spent a season in east London before returning to The Bulls.
1990s
Ludek Miklosko – Czech-born goalkeeper who went on to make 373 Hammers
appearances over eight seasons and become a true Claret and Blue legend.
Ian Bishop – Long-haired playmaker who spent nearly a decade pulling the
strings in the centre of the midfield, playing 284 times and scoring 16
goals.
Martin Allen – 'Mad Dog' was a tenacious midfielder who never backed down
from the battle, but could also play a bit too!
John Moncur – Another enigmatic, creative midfield player, the Stepney-born
player spent nine seasons wowing the Boleyn Ground faithful.
Kenny Brown – The famous son of a famous father, Ken, the Barking-born
defender is most famous for scoring the goal that denied Manchester United
the title in 1992.
2000s
Steve Lomas – German-born Northern Ireland international midfielder who
became a respected and, at times, feared club captain during eight years at
the Boleyn Ground.
Jimmy Walker – Diminutive, charismatic goalkeeper who won the hearts of West
Ham United fans when he suffered a serious knee injury in the 2005
Championship Play-Off final.
The Cult Heroes will be to the fore in Sunday's Official Programme, with
exclusive interviews with Ludek Miklosko and modern-day counterpart Adrian!
Issue 11 of the 2015/16 season will be available for just £3.50 in and
around the Boleyn Ground on matchday, or you can order online here. To make
sure you don't miss a single issue of the Farewell Boleyn campaign, order a
subscription for just £90 here.
Alternatively, the Digital Official Programme will be available to download
to your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices alongside PC and Mac
from 9am on matchday.
The Digital Programme comes with all the content you would expect from the
print edition, as well as exclusive video footage, meaning fans from all
over the globe can get ahead of the action and read their Programme and
enjoy exclusive video interviews and highlights.
If you live overseas, that means you can download your Digital Programme
before kick-off, with the game being televised live in a large number of
countries across the world. The print edition will be available to buy in
and around the Boleyn Ground on matchday as usual, packed with all the usual
exclusive content.
The Digital Programme offers supporters a number of great additional
features, including:
Easy to use page-turning technology
Simple content navigation and skip-to-page features
Interactive content including exclusive video footage
Our programmes remember the last page you were viewing
Fans can order back-dated issues
Apple users will have all their issues hosted in one place on Newsstand for
easy access
Hammers supporters can subscribe for the whole season from just £24.99 (fans
receive all back issues) or buy individual issues for only £1.99.
The Digital Programme is available on Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as
Android and via the Pocketmags app on kindle fire and Blackberry Playbook.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moses confident of Baggies' bounce-back
WHUFC.com
Victor Moses says he and his teammates are confident of bouncing back from
the defeat to Tottenham when they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday 29
November.
The winger has been an skilful addition to the Hammers' squad since joining
on loan from London rivals Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Since then, the 24-year-old scored a cracking goal to help the Claret and
Blues secure a famous 2-1 win away at Manchester City, and has impressed in
his nine appearances so far.
Speaking ahead of the game with the Baggies, Moses said: "We're ready for
West Brom, we're all looking to bounce back from last weekend. We all
believe in ourselves and the players we've got.
"I think we need to work harder than we did against Spurs and make sure we
stick together. We've got a game plan and we need to make sure we execute
that.
"We got good players up front who can score goals – Diafra and Andy are both
big threats but also we've got good players all over the pitch."
Just as the Hammers did in wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and City, Moses says
scoring as early as possible will be crucial in overcoming Tony Pulis' side.
He continued: "We need to make sure we start well and score early, then see
the game out as early as possible.
"West Brom will be a difficult opponent, there are no easy games in the
Premier League anymore, they beat Arsenal last weekend so that shows how
good they are."
While still relatively young at 24, Moses has already built up a wealth of
playing experience at a range of different clubs.
Having enjoyed loan spells at Liverpool and Stoke City, Moses insisted he
has settled in at West Ham and is enjoying his football more than ever.
"I'm really enjoying my football here at West Ham, all the players, the
manager, coaches and staff are all good people. I just want to play
football, as long as I'm out there on the field, I'm happy. I enjoy what I
do and that's the most important thing.
"To be honest moving around clubs is just part of football, you've got to
expect it really. It's not that hard to gel with a new group of players, you
start bonding from the first day. We're all footballers so we have a similar
mentality and focus to our roles. Like I said, I'm really enjoying my
football.
"I learnt a lot from each club I've played for, now I'm fully committed to
West Ham and I want us to do as well as possible."
Ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule, Moses praised manager Slaven Bilic for
the impressive start the Hammers have had.
Currently sixth in the Barclays Premier League, Moses identified the next
month as the defining period of the season.
Moses explained: "Slaven is a great manager; he's played here before so he
understands West Ham but also English football. He understands what it is
like to be a player which is very important; he wants us to enjoy ourselves
as much as possible and not to worry about making mistakes. Players do make
mistakes, that's a part of football but he wants us to be adventurous and
try things.
"We weren't expecting to get off to such a good start, but we always
believed we could beat the big teams.
"Around Christmas with all the fixtures, I think that's when a lot of
seasons are decided. We need to recover from each game quickly; I think
we've got enough quality to maintain our position. But Christmas will be the
crucial time, wherever we are by early January is unlikely to change too
much by May."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate postponed trip to Brussels following Paris
terror attacks
22:30, 28 NOV 2015
BY MIRROR SPORT
Senegalese midfielder who spent eight years in Belgian capital before
joining Hammers last summer was told by friends to stay here in wake of
atrocity
The Mirror
Cheikhou Kouyate has revealed that he postponed a trip to Brussels last week
after a plea from his friends in the Belgian capital. Kouyate spent eight
years there before he moved to West Ham in June last year for £5.25million.
He still has close ties and was both alarmed and horrified at the terror
attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives nine days ago, and the lock-down in
Brussels that followed. "It is my home from home. I have lots of friends who
live there," said the Senegalese midfielder . " I was supposed to go to see
them earlier last week, but they told me to stay here and not go. "I wanted
to support them and be by their side, but they ended up coming here. The
situation in Brussels, Paris and all over the world is terrible and I hope
things calm down in the coming weeks."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate living the dream in England - and wants to help
others do the same
22:30, 28 NOV 2015 UPDATED 22:45, 28 NOV 2015
BY STEVE STAMMERS
The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten his roots and has invested time
and money in an academy near the Senegalese capital Dakar
The Mirror
Hammer Cheikhou Kouyate is living the dream – and now he wants to help young
players in his native Senegal to realise their own ambitions and play
professional football in Europe. The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten
his roots and has invested time and money in an academy near the Senegalese
capital Dakar. It is called AfricaFoot and is run on the lines of the
Diambars project established by Patrick Vieira. He said: "You support not
just your own family, but also anyone that needs that kind of help. "Senegal
is a football country, everyone loves the game there. "There are two or
three million youngsters trying to get into the game, so, if we can help
them, that is fantastic. It is a dream for me to see academy players do
well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sweet IRONy as injured McCarthy forced off
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
What goes around comes around they say and that appears to be the case with
Dimi Payet's attacker James McCarthy. After putting our star man out of
action for three months with one of the most reckless tackles seen at the
Boleyn in a long time it seems the Everton player is now in trouble. He
will have to be assessed before his team's next match against Crystal Palce
next Monday after picking up what could be a problematical injury at
Bournemouth today. He apparently landed awkwardly in trying to clear a
Bournemouth corner, but according to manager Roberto Martinez has
over-extended his groin. He said: "James McCarthy over extended his groin.
It is a concern because he doesn't usually have to come off. He'll be
assessed."
Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke eh! Hope it's nothing too trivial!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slav's harmony desire puts paid to return
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic has no intention of bringing Ravel Morrison back to the club.
Speculation has been intense this week that the midfielder could land
another chance at the club but that has already caused a split of opinion
from board level downwards. However, it's unlikely to become any sort of
issue as the manager puts incredible importance on dressing room harmony and
Morrison's history gives the impression that it could be at risk were he to
return.
The manager demonstrated the tough side of his personality when ensuring the
club was forced into shelling out around £1.5m to pay-off Morgan Amalfitano
after disciplinary problems . And a source told us that whilst it is well
known insde the club that Ravel wants a Hammers return, the manager is "very
unlikely to have any of that." And he added: "Even if there was an interest
where would he fit in – he's not going to be selected ahead of the likes of
Manuel Lanzini and Dimi Payet."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mesmerising Samuelsen can "win Posh the league"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Martin Samuelsen was in sensational touch for Peterborough United this
afternoon providing the WOW factor in the club's 4-0 win at Scunthorpe.
The young Norwegian appeared for the last 25 minutes and following a
mesmerising display, Posh director of footall Barry Fry said: "If we can
keep this kid until the end of the season we'll win the league. He is
absolutely brilliant and going right to the top. "He had only been on a few
minutes when he went on a run which took him past five players and after
laying on the chance, Marcus Maddison hit the post. And it was Martin who
supplied the pass for the final goal in the 90th minute. It was an amazing
first apearance and we couldn't be more excited. "I've been in this game a
long long time but this lad is as good as any I've seen at this age and he
has a brilliant attitude towards everything. We will do all we can to hang
on to him. He makes mincemeat of defenders."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic orders player to get over it!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic has told his players to get over themselves and the loss of
Dimi Payet. The hangover from the French playmaker's injury appears to have
reached far beyond the terraces and into the dressing room and the manager
appears to have had enough of it! The White Hart Lane wipe out may have had
a lot to do with things and Bilic has made it clear the moping stops here.
He said: "We have two options: one is continue to talk about it and the
other is to get together and play better even without him. "He's a player
who has made a huge impact. He's a key player for us and is doing the things
that every club needs. "In my team I have enough players who can make his
absence to feel it less. "We have enough quality to play without Dimitri. We
were hugely disappointed and angry with the way we played."
Bilic has worked hard to ensure against a dressing room loss of confidence
post Spurs saying: "We want to to put [last week] in the bag as quickly as
possible. You do not want to go down in confidence. "We watched some clips
as we would do after our wins. We highlighted some areas where it was very
clear how we helped Spurs to achieve that win."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Midfielder winning Irons race for WBA
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Pedro Obiang may be edging the race for a place in the team ahead of Alex
Song.
ClaretandHugh understands that the midfielder has been "extremely sharp" in
training this week and could well get the call from Slaven Bilic to replace
the suspended Mark Noble.
Alex Song's long injury lay off is likely to see him take a place on the
bench with a training ground source saying: "Ninety minutes may ell be too
much for him at this stage.
"Some would have preferred him to get more than the 10 minutes he received
at the weekend against Spurs but whatever the state of the game on Sunday he
should certainly get on for longer.
"Slaven could go the other way, give him a start and take him off later but
most people are seeing that as unlikely. Pedro has looked good this week and
is probably the more likely starter."
Andy Carroll has played a full part in training this week but there is no
word on whether the club's record signing will get the call.
One source said: "It hasn't worked so far but the manager doesn't simply
accept situations. He may well try to find way of making it work!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Cheikhou Kouyate says the Hammers have left no stone unturned in their bid
to bounce back from last weekend's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Hammers
came up short at White Hart Lane as they suffered a 4-1 defeat, but Senegal
midfielder Kouyate is confident of getting back on track against West
Bromwich Albion. The Hammers have defeated Chelsea and drawn with Everton in
their last two home games, so will be confident of continuing that run of
form. "We have prepared well for Sunday," Kouyate said. "Last week at
Tottenham was not a good day and we didn't want to lose, but that's done
now. "Tottenham were very well organised, they started the game well and
carried it through. They played very aggressively and that's how you win a
derby. "We were doing ok for the first 10-15 minutes, but went 1-0 down and
it's up to us to show it in the upcoming games that we're on the same level
as them. "We were very frustrated to lose, not just because of the result
but because of the way we played. It's up to us to look at what went wrong
and get back to winning ways against West Brom."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cult Heroes to return to the Boleyn!
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted that a host of the Club's most popular Cult
Heroes are back at the Boleyn Ground for Sunday's visit of West Bromwich
Albion.
As part of the commemorations to mark the Farewell Boleyn season, a number
of home fixtures are being given special themes – with the theme this
weekend being 'Cult Heroes'.
Nearly 20 former favourites spanning five decades of Hammers history will
say a personal goodbye to West Ham's home of 112 years, and will be
personally presented to you at half-time.
1950s
Bill Lansdowne – Half-back who was part of the West Ham United side which
won the Division Two title and promotion to the top flight in 1958.
1960s
Peter Brabrook – England winger who set up Ronnie Boyce's late winner in the
1964 FA Cup final win over Preston North End.
Eddie Bovington – Hard-working defensive midfielder who was part of Ron
Greenwood's all-conquering side of the 1960s.
Brian Dear – Prolific centre forward who starred in the 1965 European Cup
Winners' Cup success and scored five in 2ian 1 minutes against today's
visitors in April of the same year.
Dennis Burnett – Defender who came through the Academy ranks before scoring
three goals in 66 appearances.
Peter Bennett – Home-grown forward who won the FA Youth Cup in 1963 and
spent eight years in Ron Greenwood's first-team squad.
Colin Mackleworth – Bow-born FA Youth Cup-winning goalkeeper who debuted in
a 4-0 Division One victory over Blackpool in December 1966.
Eddie Presland – Loughton-born Academy graduate defender who scored on his
debut in a 2-1 win over Liverpool in February 1965.
1970s
Alan Devonshire – Supremely talented winger who made the transition from
non-league to international football during 15 fabulous seasons at the
Boleyn Ground.
Dudley Tyler – Winger who was part of Hereford United's giant-killing side
of 1972 who spent a season in east London before returning to The Bulls.
1990s
Ludek Miklosko – Czech-born goalkeeper who went on to make 373 Hammers
appearances over eight seasons and become a true Claret and Blue legend.
Ian Bishop – Long-haired playmaker who spent nearly a decade pulling the
strings in the centre of the midfield, playing 284 times and scoring 16
goals.
Martin Allen – 'Mad Dog' was a tenacious midfielder who never backed down
from the battle, but could also play a bit too!
John Moncur – Another enigmatic, creative midfield player, the Stepney-born
player spent nine seasons wowing the Boleyn Ground faithful.
Kenny Brown – The famous son of a famous father, Ken, the Barking-born
defender is most famous for scoring the goal that denied Manchester United
the title in 1992.
2000s
Steve Lomas – German-born Northern Ireland international midfielder who
became a respected and, at times, feared club captain during eight years at
the Boleyn Ground.
Jimmy Walker – Diminutive, charismatic goalkeeper who won the hearts of West
Ham United fans when he suffered a serious knee injury in the 2005
Championship Play-Off final.
The Cult Heroes will be to the fore in Sunday's Official Programme, with
exclusive interviews with Ludek Miklosko and modern-day counterpart Adrian!
Issue 11 of the 2015/16 season will be available for just £3.50 in and
around the Boleyn Ground on matchday, or you can order online here. To make
sure you don't miss a single issue of the Farewell Boleyn campaign, order a
subscription for just £90 here.
Alternatively, the Digital Official Programme will be available to download
to your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices alongside PC and Mac
from 9am on matchday.
The Digital Programme comes with all the content you would expect from the
print edition, as well as exclusive video footage, meaning fans from all
over the globe can get ahead of the action and read their Programme and
enjoy exclusive video interviews and highlights.
If you live overseas, that means you can download your Digital Programme
before kick-off, with the game being televised live in a large number of
countries across the world. The print edition will be available to buy in
and around the Boleyn Ground on matchday as usual, packed with all the usual
exclusive content.
The Digital Programme offers supporters a number of great additional
features, including:
Easy to use page-turning technology
Simple content navigation and skip-to-page features
Interactive content including exclusive video footage
Our programmes remember the last page you were viewing
Fans can order back-dated issues
Apple users will have all their issues hosted in one place on Newsstand for
easy access
Hammers supporters can subscribe for the whole season from just £24.99 (fans
receive all back issues) or buy individual issues for only £1.99.
The Digital Programme is available on Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as
Android and via the Pocketmags app on kindle fire and Blackberry Playbook.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moses confident of Baggies' bounce-back
WHUFC.com
Victor Moses says he and his teammates are confident of bouncing back from
the defeat to Tottenham when they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday 29
November.
The winger has been an skilful addition to the Hammers' squad since joining
on loan from London rivals Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Since then, the 24-year-old scored a cracking goal to help the Claret and
Blues secure a famous 2-1 win away at Manchester City, and has impressed in
his nine appearances so far.
Speaking ahead of the game with the Baggies, Moses said: "We're ready for
West Brom, we're all looking to bounce back from last weekend. We all
believe in ourselves and the players we've got.
"I think we need to work harder than we did against Spurs and make sure we
stick together. We've got a game plan and we need to make sure we execute
that.
"We got good players up front who can score goals – Diafra and Andy are both
big threats but also we've got good players all over the pitch."
Just as the Hammers did in wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and City, Moses says
scoring as early as possible will be crucial in overcoming Tony Pulis' side.
He continued: "We need to make sure we start well and score early, then see
the game out as early as possible.
"West Brom will be a difficult opponent, there are no easy games in the
Premier League anymore, they beat Arsenal last weekend so that shows how
good they are."
While still relatively young at 24, Moses has already built up a wealth of
playing experience at a range of different clubs.
Having enjoyed loan spells at Liverpool and Stoke City, Moses insisted he
has settled in at West Ham and is enjoying his football more than ever.
"I'm really enjoying my football here at West Ham, all the players, the
manager, coaches and staff are all good people. I just want to play
football, as long as I'm out there on the field, I'm happy. I enjoy what I
do and that's the most important thing.
"To be honest moving around clubs is just part of football, you've got to
expect it really. It's not that hard to gel with a new group of players, you
start bonding from the first day. We're all footballers so we have a similar
mentality and focus to our roles. Like I said, I'm really enjoying my
football.
"I learnt a lot from each club I've played for, now I'm fully committed to
West Ham and I want us to do as well as possible."
Ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule, Moses praised manager Slaven Bilic for
the impressive start the Hammers have had.
Currently sixth in the Barclays Premier League, Moses identified the next
month as the defining period of the season.
Moses explained: "Slaven is a great manager; he's played here before so he
understands West Ham but also English football. He understands what it is
like to be a player which is very important; he wants us to enjoy ourselves
as much as possible and not to worry about making mistakes. Players do make
mistakes, that's a part of football but he wants us to be adventurous and
try things.
"We weren't expecting to get off to such a good start, but we always
believed we could beat the big teams.
"Around Christmas with all the fixtures, I think that's when a lot of
seasons are decided. We need to recover from each game quickly; I think
we've got enough quality to maintain our position. But Christmas will be the
crucial time, wherever we are by early January is unlikely to change too
much by May."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate postponed trip to Brussels following Paris
terror attacks
22:30, 28 NOV 2015
BY MIRROR SPORT
Senegalese midfielder who spent eight years in Belgian capital before
joining Hammers last summer was told by friends to stay here in wake of
atrocity
The Mirror
Cheikhou Kouyate has revealed that he postponed a trip to Brussels last week
after a plea from his friends in the Belgian capital. Kouyate spent eight
years there before he moved to West Ham in June last year for £5.25million.
He still has close ties and was both alarmed and horrified at the terror
attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives nine days ago, and the lock-down in
Brussels that followed. "It is my home from home. I have lots of friends who
live there," said the Senegalese midfielder . " I was supposed to go to see
them earlier last week, but they told me to stay here and not go. "I wanted
to support them and be by their side, but they ended up coming here. The
situation in Brussels, Paris and all over the world is terrible and I hope
things calm down in the coming weeks."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate living the dream in England - and wants to help
others do the same
22:30, 28 NOV 2015 UPDATED 22:45, 28 NOV 2015
BY STEVE STAMMERS
The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten his roots and has invested time
and money in an academy near the Senegalese capital Dakar
The Mirror
Hammer Cheikhou Kouyate is living the dream – and now he wants to help young
players in his native Senegal to realise their own ambitions and play
professional football in Europe. The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten
his roots and has invested time and money in an academy near the Senegalese
capital Dakar. It is called AfricaFoot and is run on the lines of the
Diambars project established by Patrick Vieira. He said: "You support not
just your own family, but also anyone that needs that kind of help. "Senegal
is a football country, everyone loves the game there. "There are two or
three million youngsters trying to get into the game, so, if we can help
them, that is fantastic. It is a dream for me to see academy players do
well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sweet IRONy as injured McCarthy forced off
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
What goes around comes around they say and that appears to be the case with
Dimi Payet's attacker James McCarthy. After putting our star man out of
action for three months with one of the most reckless tackles seen at the
Boleyn in a long time it seems the Everton player is now in trouble. He
will have to be assessed before his team's next match against Crystal Palce
next Monday after picking up what could be a problematical injury at
Bournemouth today. He apparently landed awkwardly in trying to clear a
Bournemouth corner, but according to manager Roberto Martinez has
over-extended his groin. He said: "James McCarthy over extended his groin.
It is a concern because he doesn't usually have to come off. He'll be
assessed."
Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke eh! Hope it's nothing too trivial!
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Slav's harmony desire puts paid to return
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic has no intention of bringing Ravel Morrison back to the club.
Speculation has been intense this week that the midfielder could land
another chance at the club but that has already caused a split of opinion
from board level downwards. However, it's unlikely to become any sort of
issue as the manager puts incredible importance on dressing room harmony and
Morrison's history gives the impression that it could be at risk were he to
return.
The manager demonstrated the tough side of his personality when ensuring the
club was forced into shelling out around £1.5m to pay-off Morgan Amalfitano
after disciplinary problems . And a source told us that whilst it is well
known insde the club that Ravel wants a Hammers return, the manager is "very
unlikely to have any of that." And he added: "Even if there was an interest
where would he fit in – he's not going to be selected ahead of the likes of
Manuel Lanzini and Dimi Payet."
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Mesmerising Samuelsen can "win Posh the league"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Martin Samuelsen was in sensational touch for Peterborough United this
afternoon providing the WOW factor in the club's 4-0 win at Scunthorpe.
The young Norwegian appeared for the last 25 minutes and following a
mesmerising display, Posh director of footall Barry Fry said: "If we can
keep this kid until the end of the season we'll win the league. He is
absolutely brilliant and going right to the top. "He had only been on a few
minutes when he went on a run which took him past five players and after
laying on the chance, Marcus Maddison hit the post. And it was Martin who
supplied the pass for the final goal in the 90th minute. It was an amazing
first apearance and we couldn't be more excited. "I've been in this game a
long long time but this lad is as good as any I've seen at this age and he
has a brilliant attitude towards everything. We will do all we can to hang
on to him. He makes mincemeat of defenders."
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Bilic orders player to get over it!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic has told his players to get over themselves and the loss of
Dimi Payet. The hangover from the French playmaker's injury appears to have
reached far beyond the terraces and into the dressing room and the manager
appears to have had enough of it! The White Hart Lane wipe out may have had
a lot to do with things and Bilic has made it clear the moping stops here.
He said: "We have two options: one is continue to talk about it and the
other is to get together and play better even without him. "He's a player
who has made a huge impact. He's a key player for us and is doing the things
that every club needs. "In my team I have enough players who can make his
absence to feel it less. "We have enough quality to play without Dimitri. We
were hugely disappointed and angry with the way we played."
Bilic has worked hard to ensure against a dressing room loss of confidence
post Spurs saying: "We want to to put [last week] in the bag as quickly as
possible. You do not want to go down in confidence. "We watched some clips
as we would do after our wins. We highlighted some areas where it was very
clear how we helped Spurs to achieve that win."
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Midfielder winning Irons race for WBA
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Pedro Obiang may be edging the race for a place in the team ahead of Alex
Song.
ClaretandHugh understands that the midfielder has been "extremely sharp" in
training this week and could well get the call from Slaven Bilic to replace
the suspended Mark Noble.
Alex Song's long injury lay off is likely to see him take a place on the
bench with a training ground source saying: "Ninety minutes may ell be too
much for him at this stage.
"Some would have preferred him to get more than the 10 minutes he received
at the weekend against Spurs but whatever the state of the game on Sunday he
should certainly get on for longer.
"Slaven could go the other way, give him a start and take him off later but
most people are seeing that as unlikely. Pedro has looked good this week and
is probably the more likely starter."
Andy Carroll has played a full part in training this week but there is no
word on whether the club's record signing will get the call.
One source said: "It hasn't worked so far but the manager doesn't simply
accept situations. He may well try to find way of making it work!"
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, November 28
Daily WHUFC News - 28th November 2015
Preview - WBA
WHUFC.com
The background
West Ham United will look to get back to winning ways this Sunday when they
play host to West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League.
The Hammers were defeated 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur in their last outing so
will be wanting to put that heavy defeat behind them as soon as possible.
In fact, since defeating Chelsea in late October, they have picked up just
one point from their last three games – in their last home match against
Everton – a run that manager Slaven Bilic knows needs to end.
West Brom, meanwhile, are six places below the Hammers in 12th, four points
worse off having won five, drawn two and lost six of their 13 league games
to date.
The Baggies secured the notable scalp of Arsenal in their last match, as a
goal from James Morrison and Mikel Arteta's own goal gave them a 2-1
success.
That ended a run of two straight defeats for Tony Pulis' men, who had been
beaten by Leicester City and Manchester United in their previous matches.
Remember Sunday is our Cult Heroes day, so make sure you are in your seats
at half time to welcome back a whole host of iconic figures back to the
Boleyn Ground.
Important security information
With enhanced security checks taking place around the Boleyn Ground for
Sunday's game against West Bromwich Albion, supporters are advised to arrive
earlier in order to allow time to clear security.
As every bag will be checked thoroughly, supporters are therefore advised
not to bring any large bags or rucksacks where possible as this will delay
their entry.
The Stadium will be opening earlier than usual to accommodate these extra
checks ahead of the 2.05pm kick off, but the Club would like to stress that
security will not be reduced in the event that queues form.
So please arrive earlier than normal to ensure you do not miss kick-off
against the Baggies.
The history
This will be the 100th meeting between West Ham and the Baggies, with West
Brom just leading the head-to-head record 39-38.
West Ham will hope to bring that back to level pegging having lost out in
their last encounter – in the FA Cup fifth round in February.
In the league meetings last term, goals from Kevin Nolan and James Tomkins
secured a 2-1 win at the Hawthorns, before Saido Berahino cancelled out
Diafra Sakho's opener for a 1-1 Boleyn Ground draw.
The match
Team news
West Ham United
The Hammers will be without the suspended pair of Mark Noble and James
Collins for Sunday's match. Noble is out having picked up five yellow cards
this term, while Collins serves the final game of his three-match ban for a
sending off in the 2-0 defeat at Watford.
Slaven Bilic will choose between Alex Song and the fit-again Pedro Obiang
for the right to replace Noble in the Hammers midfield.
West Bromwich Albion
Chris Brunt is suspended for the Baggies, but as one player starts a ban,
another finishes with defender Gareth McAuley available for selection again.
Baggies head coach Tony Pulis was keeping his cards close to his chest when
he admitted he had a number of injury worries, but Jonas Olsson could
continue at the back, while Salomon Rondon has been leading the line with
Saido Berahino on the bench.
Match info
Match facts
Sunday's referee is Martin Atkinson, with Mike Mullarkey and Stephen Child
running the line. Kevin Friend is the fourth official
Six of the last nine Barclays Premier League meetings between West Ham and
West Brom have ended as draws (West Ham two wins, West Brom one victory).
Four of the last five at Upton Park have ended all square (one West Ham
win).
Saido Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham
in all competitions.
West Ham have used 26 players in the Premier League this season, a figure
only Manchester United can match.
65% of the goals West Ham have conceded have come in the first half, the
highest proportion in the top division (13 out of 20).
The Hammers have gone eight games without a clean sheet and won just two of
their last seven Premier League games (W2 D3 L2).
Only Aston Villa (34) have fired in fewer shots on target than West Brom
this season (39).
The Baggies have won five of their last 10 Premier League away games, losing
just three (D2).
Manuel Lanzini has scored in each of the last three Premier League matches
where he has played the full 90 minutes.
Tickets, coverage, travel and other info
Tickets for this fixture have SOLD OUT.
A rainy Sunday is expected, with temperatures of 12C (54F) at kick-off.
There will be no Hammersmith & City line services to Upton Park on Sunday,
but the District line is set to run as normal. Supporters who use the London
Overground line between Barking-Gospel Oak should note that rail replacement
buses will be running on that route. Click here for the latest info on the
TfL network and here for National Rail.
If you're not heading to the game make sure you keep up to date with all the
action on our digital channels. Our live match centre has audio commentary,
text updates, in-running stats and the best pictures, and you can get
involved with the conversation on social using the hashtag #WHUWBA.
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Chadwell Chatter - Alex Song
WHUFC.com
Hello,
I am very happy to be back on the pitch because I have been ruled out of
action for a long time. I was happy to play the last 10 minutes against
Tottenham and now I am looking to come back slowly, step-by-step and then we
will see what happens in the future. When I am 100 per cent fit I will be
ready to play. Last Sunday was very disappointing against Tottenham. We
don't want to lose a derby, but we have to move forward and put the game
behind us. We have a very big game on Sunday and it is a game that we want
to win. We need to work hard in training and show a different kind of
performance against West Brom. It is very important for us to show the fans
that we have a good character and that we want to put things right after
what happened last weekend. At home we need to show the fans what they want
to see. They expect us to play football and it will be a different game. We
have to score more goals and we need to be the boss at home. The way we
played against Spurs was not good and we want to get back playing how we
performed at the start of the season when we had some great results –
especially away from home. We want to show something different on Sunday. I
have played against West Brom a couple of times and I remember the 1-1 draw
against them last season. We have to dominate the game and show them how we
want to play from the opening part of the game. I know we have some Cult
Heroes returning to West Ham United this weekend. My heroes growing up were
Rigobert Song and Claude Makelele. It is always good that West Ham have
players who the fans look up to. We have to give them a very good welcome.
It is always a pleasure to see the people who have done so well.
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Slaven Speaks - West Bromwich Albion
WHUFC.com
Ahead of the Hammers' game with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, Slaven Bilic
held his pre-match press conference.
The manager answered a range of questions from bouncing back from the defeat
to Tottenham Hotspur and Alex Song's fitness ahead of facing the Baggies...
Slaven, you haven't won in three games, how do you turn that around?
"We've only got one point from the last three games which is below our
expectations. Every game in the Premier League is tough, but it is still
below what we wanted to achieve. We have a home game on Sunday against a
very good team, but are plan, of course, is to win it. We need to win it
because we haven't got enough recently."
After a defeat like last weekend, how do you react in the dressing room?
"Sometime you have to show your emotions, but the feelings were all the same
from the staff and the players, we didn't feel any different. Like the fans,
we were hugely disappointed and we were angry to represent West Ham like
that.
"Sometimes you can be satisfied with your performance even when you lose,
but not last weekend. We had only ourselves to blame, and we all knew that
straight away, which was good because we didn't hide or make any excuses. We
will do everything we can do bounce back on Sunday."
Is Alex Song near to coming back?
"Alex is a great player, we also have Pedro Obiang coming back too. The
situations are a little bit different given the length of injuries they had.
Pedro was only out for four weeks, now he is back and looking good in
training.
"Alex is back in full training, he played ten minutes against Spurs and in
training he is also looking very good. We have to be patient because his
break was a lot longer, he hasn't played for almost half a year, so we will
have to make a decision between the two."
What have you been doing differently from this week to last?
"We haven't done anything differently, after a game like Spurs you want to
put it to bed as quickly as possible because you don't want to let it affect
confidence too much. We always analyse our performances after every game,
and that's no different win or lose. We already knew mainly where we went
wrong anyway."
How confident are you that you can bounce back on Sunday?
"I am very confident, I am very optimistic generally. I believe in our
players, I know what we are capable of doing. We haven't dropped in form
because it is only a few games, but we have dropped points. I am also
confident because in our last two home games, against Everton and Chelsea we
played really good so we shouldn't allow our confidence to go down."
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Diangana aiming to inspire Hammers
WHUFC.com
After his hat-trick scoring heroics last weekend, explosive winger is
looking forward to facing Arsenal's U18s at Little Heath on Saturday 28
November.
The 17-year-old flair player has been in outstanding form for the young
Hammers this season, netting six times in eleven starts. Reflecting on his
man-of-the-match display last weekend, he said: "I was very happy to score a
hat-trick last weekend, but obviously it was disappointing to lose to
Norwich, that's the main thing. "I think my first goal was definitely the
best, I've scored a few goals so far which I'm happy with. I haven't set
myself a target but I'd like to score as many as possible, and create as
many as possible too."
Diangana's creative influence has had a notable impact on the U18s this
season who after a difficult start, have won an impressive eight matches out
of the last 12 games. Despite Diangana's best efforts, the Hammers slipped
to a 4-3 defeat to Norwich City thanks to a last minute winner. This weekend
Steve Potts' side will be looking to bounce back against a skilful Arsenal
side. Looking ahead to the London derby, Diangana continued: "Arsenal are
always a passing side, they like to dominate possession, they're usually a
very good side and hard to beat. "I think everyone has been good this
season, which is why we've been doing so well lately. We're all in good
form, working hard for each other and it's paying off. "It's good to see
younger players get given opportunities, it's very important. "I really
enjoy working with Steve and Mark, it's a lot of fun. Obviously, it's
serious when it has to be and they push you to be the best you can be but I
really enjoy working with them. "A top four finish is the aim, and then
hopefully we can do well in the next phase. I'm confident in myself, my
teammates and the staff that that is something we can achieve."
As for Diangana himself, the teenager is hoping to maintain his sparkling
form for the rest of the campaign and try and force his way into the U21
side.
"I've been quite consistent this season, I'm pleased about that because
that's something I've been working on. "I've played a couple of times for
the U21s this season, the aim is definitely to play more regularly for them
and try and impress at that level. "I'd describe myself as a skillful,
attack-minded and a creative player, I like to make things happen. I really
like Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, away from West Ham I really like
Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool too."
The West Ham United U18s host Arsenal at Little Heath on Saturday 28
November at Little Heath. Kick off is 11am, FREE admission for all fans.
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From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
There is no question that we are looking to bounce straight back against
West Brom on Sunday following the defeat against Spurs. I am sure we will
see a much improved performance. We have to find a way to be at our best
without Dimitri Payet and it is about finding a formation that works without
him. I am sure that Slaven would have worked that out. We looked very
comfortable before Tottenham scored their opener and you could easily argue
that it was a bit of luck that led to the first goal with a ricochet that
fell perfectly for Harry Kane. The ball bounced around in the box and on
another day it would have fallen nicely for one of our players to clear. You
could feel the disappointment among the players and we need to bounce back
quickly.
I still felt at 2-0 down that we could get back into it but the third goal
just minutes after the break killed the game. But we have a new game to
prepare for on Sunday and we will have great determination to get straight
back on the winning trail. It will not be easy as West Brom had a good
result against Arsenal last weekend and we know how Tony Pulis makes his
side hard to beat. But we have enough talented players to break them down
and we want to make the Boleyn Ground a fortress again and make us hard to
beat. We also want to attack teams and have an attacking formation. You can
see the quality from players like Zarate, Song, Lanzini who can unlock a
defence.
It is a great boost for us to see Alex Song back in first-team action and on
his day he is unplayable. I don't think anyone doubts his quality. He is as
fit as can be, but just needs more game time as he has not had a lot of
match fitness over the last six months. But I would not bet against a man of
his experience coming straight back into the team as if he has never been
away.
I know we are welcoming back some of our Cult Heroes to the Boleyn Ground on
Sunday. There is no doubt of the fondness and the relationship that fans
have with former players and it is great that there is a platform for them
to experience coming back to the stadium and sharing some of their memories
once again with the fans. My Cult Heroes go back a long way, but I will
never forget looking up to people like Eric Parsons, who was nicknamed 'The
Rabbit' and Ken Tucker who was a left winger. He was someone who I tried to
emulate. In recent times my heroes would be Sir Trevor Brooking and Alan
Devonshire. Like many supporters I will never forget Sir Trevor's winning
goal against Arsenal in the Cup Final. I hope everyone has a great day on
Sunday and we can come away celebrating another victory.
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West Ham v WBA
KO 14:05
27 November 2015
Barclays Premier League
Venue: Upton Park Date: Sunday, 29 November
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (0) & SUBSTITUTIONS (0)
TEAM NEWS
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has confirmed either Pedro Obiang or Alex Song
will start against West Brom in place of suspended captain Mark Noble.
Obiang has been out for a month with a thigh injury, while fit-again Song
made his first appearance of the season as a substitute last weekend.
Chris Brunt must serve a suspension for West Brom but Gareth McAuley is
available after a ban. Head coach Tony Pulis admits he has several players
nursing injuries.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
John Roder: "On New Year's Day, Tony Pulis was at Upton Park ahead of his
appointment as West Bromwich Albion's head coach. "The Baggies were in
trouble and had turned to the man who has never been relegated in his
managerial career to keep them in the Premier League. "Almost 11 months on,
West Brom travel to London on the back of victory over Arsenal, but Slaven
Bilic has given West Ham a fresh perspective and they come into this match
unbeaten in their last four at home. "Back on 1 January it was a 1-1 draw;
don't be surprised if it ends the same way this weekend."
Twitter: @johnrodercomm
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "The players, like the whole staff, were
hugely disappointed after the game on Sunday and angry with the way we
played [against Tottenham]. "In the last three games we have got only one
point and that is not what we want. We have a home game now and our plan is
to try to win. "We will do everything we can to bounce back on Sunday."
West Brom head coach Tony Pulis compares the club to Crystal Palace, who he
managed previously: "They are clubs who have potential to be top 10 and
better Premier League clubs, and ones which can win cup competitions.
"That's what you have to strive for but you need time. "There's a big job on
at this football club. I haven't been in the job a year yet. There are
things which can be changed and improved but that doesn't happen for a
period of time. "You have to win games to have a chance and opportunity to
change things."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
West Ham were taken apart by Spurs, and were very poor. However, the Hammers
might chuck Andy Carroll up front because they are at home on Sunday, and I
think they will pose much more of a threat this time.
Head-to-head
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
This is the 100th meeting between the clubs in all competitions. West Brom
have registered 39 wins, one more than West Ham.
The Hammers have gone six home matches without defeat in this fixture since
a 4-3 loss in the second tier in November 2003. Albion also won at Upton
Park in the Premier League the previous year.
Six of the last nine Premier League meetings have been drawn.
West Ham
The Hammers are winless in three matches (D1, L2), their worst run under
Slaven Bilic.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight league
games, conceding 14 goals. It's the longest current such streak in the
division.
West Ham have won just five of their last 16 Premier League games at home
(W5, D5, L6).
Bilic's side have scored in all but one game this season, a record only
bettered by Leicester.
West Bromwich Albion
Albion's five wins this season have all come by the odd goal.
West Brom's first-half record is only bettered by Manchester United. The
Baggies have been ahead in five games at half-time and behind in only two.
Four of their six clean sheets have come away - only Manchester City (5)
have more.
Saido Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham
in all competitions.
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Slaven Bilic column: West Ham boss talks Tony Pulis, Jamie Vardy, Alex Song
and more
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
Tony Pulis gets criticised for his brand of football but he doesn't hide it,
like others. There are a lot of clubs playing exactly the same way in many
parts of the game. In England, they all sit back when opponents have a
direct attacking style. He is a great coach and a very honest man. I have
been a TV pundit with him and he called me a few times when I was at
Besiktas to ask about a few players in Turkey. He is very passionate and
understands football in many different leagues across Europe. I respect him
also because he never tells lies, even though you can bend the truth in
football when the result allows you to. His West Brom team, who we face at
Upton Park on Sunday, achieved a big win against Arsenal but he said they
were lucky and needed to defend very well. He is pragmatic. He uses what he
has to achieve reasonable objectives. When critics put a label on you, it
sticks — even if your teams are not like that week in, week out. I watched
Albion against Everton in September when they lost 3-2 at home. They were
winning 2-0 and scored the second goal after 54 minutes. They played good
football which was enjoyable to watch. They weren't 2-0 up because of
set-pieces alone or negative tactics.
Of course, Pulis's teams are very well organised. And every team in the
Premier League have quality now. They have Saido Berahino, Salomon Rondon,
Rickie Lambert and Stephane Sessegnon — all players who give them pace,
goals and a physical presence. That is the strength of this League. It has
always been the most demanding in the world. Look at the results. Crystal
Palace losing against Sunderland, Liverpool beating Manchester City — in any
other country people would think it was match-fixing!
The league that produces the Champions League winners in any given year is
usually heralded as the best but the Premier League is always the toughest.
And the greater financial income for all clubs means the smaller ones can be
stronger when it comes to the possibility of losing their best players.
Clubs have more options. They might agree to sell a player but can hold out
for a high price because they, too, have money and do not have to accept a
cheap price. Or, and this is a big difference, a club such as West Brom may
not sell at all and could still add another player to their squad.
What West Brom did with Berahino was brilliant. It is very hard to be that
resilient. It was like the situation with John Stones at Everton, who
rejected big money from Chelsea but still bought Ramiro Funes Mori for
£9.5million.
West Brom resisted Tottenham over Berahino but paid £15m for Rondon.Okay,
Berahino might go in January but if so West Brom will do it on their terms.
That is the best way to show to everybody that you are a serious, big club.
It should be like that because many 18-21-year-olds think they are bigger
than the clubs. I'm not saying that is the case with Berahino but so many
kids earn big money very young and believe they have made it.
For us, we need to get back to winning ways. We are a really good team and
have showed that on a lot of occasions this season. But we are only good if
we are totally focused, moving and thinking as a unit. We can't continue to
make individual mistakes that are leading directly to goals. The statistics
show we are by far the worst team in the League for that. Firstly, we must
stop those errors but also we have to react quicker as a team when they are
made.
We can make a mistake but it doesn't have to automatically mean a goal
against us. Take the third goal against Tottenham last weekend. James
Tomkins gave the ball away but it was not in the middle of our box. Harry
Kane scored but it was avoidable if we reacted faster to the danger from 35
yards out. Our recoveries in those situations are not good enough.
Going forward, coaches often talk about transitions and even for Barcelona
they are the most important part of the game because if you do it quickly,
your best players have the space to play. We were second best in that
aspect, too, against Spurs.
If we improve our transitions and tighten up defensively, we can get the
positive result we want.
Every player starting out should look up to Vardy
I didn't know a lot about Jamie Vardy until I began watching a DVD of
Leicester's opening game of the season against Sunderland because we were
playing them in week two. They were already well ahead in the match when he
got the ball from a throw-in just inside Sunderland's half. He sprinted all
the way down the wing, cut inside and hit the post. I called my assistants
and said: "Who is this guy?" This was in the first game of the season and he
hasn't stopped sprinting since. His story is great. He should be the example
for every kid who starts in football or is already playing in a lower
division in any country, anywhere in the world. Vardy has probably been
assessed many times by coaches, directors or agents and told he is not good
enough. He made it to the top regardless and still at a great age. He shows
you should never take the criticism as a final verdict and, equally, he is
in such good form because he has not been carried away by a lot of praise. I
hope he scores for the 11th successive Premier League game against
Manchester United to break that record.
Alex is back on song but we must still tread carefully
It is important to have Alex Song back but we have to remember he has been
out for six months and don't want to jeopardise the long-term quality of his
performances by rushing him into action. He is physically ready but short
of match fitness. We are not in pre-season so we need to find the right
opportunities for him to get some game time. We will be without our captain
Mark Noble on Sunday after he picked up five bookings and that is a blow
but, to be fair, we have a couple of options. Alex is there but we also
missed Pedro Obiang, too. He is available and has looked good in training.
Unless we change the system, it will be one of those two who replaces Mark.
Olsson's tactic is really a foul… let's not be caught out by it
We saw West Brom's set-piece tactic which helped them turn the game against
Arsenal and must be ready if they try it again on Sunday. For their
equalising goal, Jonas Olsson stood in an offside position to block off Per
Mertesacker, allowing James Morrison to run into space and volley home Chris
Brunt's free-kick. All football coaches are clever lawyers trying to find an
angle — and that's what West Brom have done here. A lot of teams do it. In
football, you have a rule about passive or active offside. It is a grey
zone. For me, offside should be offside and that is it. There is too much of
that grey zone. This tactic is a problem. Olsson is not just in an active
position — it is his assist! It should be a foul but the referee cannot see
it. And according to the rule book, he is not offside. You can stop it in a
couple of ways. Firstly, you talk to the referee to make him aware of what
is happening. Your team can also avoid it with a different type of marking.
But when you prepare players properly, they are so concentrated on the
moment, they are in a trance. They don't remember all the tactical details
you tell them. At set-pieces, they recall who to mark or what runs to make
when we have the ball and maybe they remember one combination play you told
them. But midway through the second half, when they are tired, the game is
moving at a fast pace and the crowd are up, they aren't going to remember
that Olsson is there to block off a specific player. That's why you need
your leaders on the pitch. It is impossible for all 11 to remember but your
two or three leaders must do the thinking for the rest. They have to be able
to stay calm in key moments and say, "Hey, remember what Olsson does" and
mark him differently.
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West Ham v West Brom preview: Hammers aiming to end winless run
Last Updated: 27/11/15 9:26pm
SSN
West Ham are looking to end their worst run of form this season when they
welcome West Brom to Upton Park on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. The Hammers
are without a win in three games following their defeat by Tottenham at
White Hart Lane last Sunday, and they face a West Brom side buoyed by their
recent 2-1 victory over Arsenal. After a strong start to the Premier League
season, Slaven Bilic's side have now gone eight games without a clean sheet,
a run that includes just two wins from their last seven league games,
although the form of Manuel Lanzini has been a positive.
As for the Baggies, manager Tony Pulis has them tough to beat on their
travels, and they have only lost three of their last 10 league games away
from The Hawthorns. Three wins from their last five matches has lifted West
Brom into mid-table, but they face challenging tests on the horizon with
games at Liverpool and home to Spurs to come.
Team news
Chris Brunt is suspended with Pulis also admitting he has several injury
worries. The former Stoke boss refused to name those who are doubtful, but
Gareth McAuley is available after missing the win over Arsenal through
suspension. Jonas Olsson replaced McAuley against the Gunners and impressed,
while Saido Berahino may continue on the bench with Salomon Rondon leading
the line.
Bilic has a decision to make as to who will replace suspended captain Mark
Noble. The midfielder received his fifth yellow card of the campaign in the
Hammers' loss to Tottenham, and Bilic has confirmed either Pedro Obiang or
Alex Song will start in his place. Both have been struggling with injury
this season but are available for selection, while Dimitri Payet (ankle),
Enner Valencia (ankle/foot) and Darren Randolph (knee) are all still out.
Opta stats
Six of the last nine league meetings between the two clubs have ended as
draws (West Ham two wins, West Brom one victory).
Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham in all
competitions.
Bilic has used 26 players in the league this season, a figure only
Manchester United can match.
Only Aston Villa (34) have fired in fewer shots on target than West Brom
this season (39).
The Hammers have won just five of their last 16 top flight games at Upton
Park. (W5 D5 L6).
Lanzini has scored in each of the last three league matches when he has
played the full 90 minutes.
Merson's prediction
West Ham need to get moving. They need to win. They're starting to all of a
sudden become the team we expected them to be at the start of the season.
I know they miss Payet, but you can't rely on one player, and that's
disrespectful to the rest of the players too. West Brom had a phenomenal
result last week against Arsenal. For them to go and win was just amazing,
nobody gave them a chance. I've watched them away from home, and I know how
they play. They'll turn up, stick 10 behind the ball and frustrate West Ham.
If West Ham don't score first they're in trouble, but I think you'll see a
reaction here from the hosts.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Sky Bet make West Ham even-money favourites against 11/4 shots West Brom.
Four of the last five meetings have seen both teams find the net and it's
5/6 for that trend to continue.
This season the Baggies have seen only seven goals scored in their six away
matches and they are 4/1 to win by exactly one goal. It's 6/1 for a Baggies'
win and under 2.5 goals in the match.
Diafra Sakho scored the opener last season and is 11/2 to net first on
Sunday with Rondon a 9/4 shot to get his name of the scoresheet. Check out
the Sky Bet tips from pundits Jamie Redknapp, Charlie Nicholas, Matt Le
Tissier and Phil Thompson here.
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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic to be patient with Alex Song
Last Updated: 27/11/15 4:09pm
SSN
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic admits he will need to treat Alex Song's
return to action with caution. Song made his long-awaited comeback from an
ankle injury in last Sunday's 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, playing the
final 10 minutes at White Hart Lane following six months out. Song, on a
second season-long loan from Barcelona, is in contention to make his first
start of the season against West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground on
Sunday with captain Mark Noble ruled out because of a suspension.
Midfielder Pedro Obiang is also back in full training following four weeks
out with a thigh problem and Bilic says both players will come into his
thinking for the visit of Tony Pulis' side. "Alex [Song] is a great player,
we also have Pedro Obiang coming back too. The situations are a little bit
different given the length of injuries they had. Pedro was only out for four
weeks, now he is back and looking good in training," Bilic said. "Alex is
back in full training, he played ten minutes against Spurs and in training
he is also looking very good. We have to be patient because his break was a
lot longer, he hasn't played for almost half a year, so we will have to make
a decision between the two."
Having enjoyed a superb start to the season - winning six of their opening
10 matches - West Ham are now without a victory in their previous three
games. Despite the recent slump in results, Bilic is confident his side can
rediscover their best form and claim their first home league victory over
the Baggies since March 2013. "We've only got one point from the last three
games which is below our expectations. Every game in the Premier League is
tough, but it is still below what we wanted to achieve," he said. "We have
a home game on Sunday against a very good team, but are plan, of course, is
to win it. We need to win it because we haven't got enough recently."
Bilic added: "I am very confident, I am very optimistic generally. I believe
in our players, I know what we are capable of doing. "We haven't dropped in
form because it is only a few games, but we have dropped points. I am also
confident because in our last two home games, against Everton and Chelsea we
played really good so we shouldn't allow our confidence to go down."
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Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham eye transfer of £15m-rated Burnley striker
Andre Gray
22:30, 27 NOV 2015
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
The 24-year-old has 11 goals this season but has played for two clubs
already in the campaign so a summer move is more likely than a January one
The Mirror
Burnley hotshot Andre Gray is a wanted man again – after just three months
at Turf Moor. Everton and Aston Villa are monitoring striker Gray following
his blistering start to his Clarets career. Meanwhile West Ham are also
continuing to keep tabs on the 24 year-old, having considered a move for
Gray before he joined Burnley from Brentford. Gray has scored nine times in
just 12 starts for Sean Dyche's side this season. Gray was at the centre of
another scramble in the summer when Burnley beat Hull and Bristol City to
sign him for £9m. Gray's valuation has rocketed towards the £15m mark though
his suitors will almost certainly have to wait until next summer to make
their move. While players can be registered with three clubs in one season,
FIFA rules state they can only play for two. Gray played two games for
Brentford at the start of the campaign, scoring twice, before sealing his
switch to Turf Moor.
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Pulis on threat of Irons front man
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
West Brom boss Tony Pulis won't be taking Andy Carroll lightly should he
appear at any point tomorrow. The West Brom boss holds a healthy respect
both for the striker and the Hammers manager Slaven Bilic who has refused to
bow to criticism of the striker. Carroll has a fifty/fifty chance of making
the line up tomorrow but the odds are obviously high of him making an
appearance at some stage. And such is his respect for Bilic the West Brom
boss admitted: "He has been phenominally successful and it is a long haul
for a new manager at a club, however well he knows it, as Slaven does West
Ham
Of Carroll Pulis declares: "The game has evolved and it goes in circles but
Carroll's a good player whatever your ideas are. "I'm not sure if that sort
of player is dying out but he is still a useful acquisition. If you play him
the right way, he'll definitely get goals. "Whether you start with him or
bring him on, he can be effective — I really do rate him."
Bilic is under pressure to play Diafra Sakho in a central role and leave
Carroll on the bench but against a well organised and strong tackling
defence may defy expectations by choosing to go with the big man's aerial
power. He has a big call to make after gleaning just one point from three
games.
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Bilic breaks Antonio silence
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in Hugh's Blogs, News,
Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic appears to be sending out mixed messages on the future of
Michail Antonio. The manager's attitude towards the £7 million signing has
been closely examined over recent weeks and he has now broken his silence on
the player. He is reported in The Wharf as saying: " "We were short of
players in that position when we brought him to the club, then we got a few
more players in at the end of the transfer window. "He hasn't had the chance
because of the number of players we had. We were playing good and we didn't
change a lot." "I've had a few chats with him and he's working hard and is a
good player – that's why we brought him. Now we've had a few injuries that
we didn't want I've told him that his chance will come. Like any other
player he has to prove himself in training and to convince me and the member
of my staff. He's working hard and his chance will probably come soon."
It's an interesting explanation and appears to cover all ends against the
middle by declaring on the one hand his chance "will probably come soon" (my
italics) whilst at the same time saying "he has to prove he is a member of
his staff." ClaretandHugh revealed earlier today however, that the manager
had resisted the advances of five Championship clubs who had wanted to take
him in the emergency loan market so that will offer the player some hope
that he will soon be used. Michail – it would seem from that – is in the
manager's mind although at £7 million – a substantial amount of money in
West Ham terms – to still be having to prove himself is something of an
eyebrow raiser!
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Bilic plays a game of bluff with Pulis
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic and Alex Song appear to playing a game of bluff and double
bluff with West Brom over Sunday's team selection. Song has declared this
morning that he will take things slowly and on first appearances appears to
have been joined by the manager. Bilic – assessing the situation said: "It
is important to have Alex Song back but we have to remember he has been out
for six months and don't want to jeopardise the long-term quality of his
performances by rushing him into action. He is physically ready but short
of match fitness. We are not in pre-season so we need to find the right
opportunities for him to get some game time. We will be without our captain
Mark Noble on Sunday after he picked up five bookings and that is a blow
but, to be fair, we have a couple of options.
Alex is there but we also missed Pedro Obiang, too. He is available and has
looked good in training." Then comes the sting in the tail, designed of
course to keep Baggies boss Tony Pulis on the back foot when he says:
"Unless we change the system, it will be one of those two who replaces
Mark."
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FIVE clubs chase unhappy Antonio
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
EXCLUSIVE
Michail Antonio is becoming increasingly unhappy after ClaretandHugh
learned that the 25 year old has been refused the opportunity of a loan
move. ClaretandHugh revealed last night that doubts continue to grow around
his West Ham future and that the £7 million wideman could eventually be
forced into showdown talks with boss Slaven Bilic. We have learned
exclusively that no less that FIVE Championship approached the club
"desperate " to take the player on loan. But manager Bilic mad it clear
that he would not allow him to go as "he needs him" despite not having
given him a first team outing apart from a brief appearance at Manchester
City. It was described as "a strange situation" by one top insider who said:
" The manager wouldn't let him go on loan, as he said he needs him, yet he
never gives him a chance. It's strange. Five Championship clubs came in
desperate to borrow him so we wait with interest to see if he gets on
against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Obviously he's not entirely
happy!"
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Big player missing for WBA at Boleyn
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News
C and H
Influential West Brom winger/attacking Chris Brunt midfielder is banned for
Sunday's clash with the Irons at the Boleyn. And although he chose not to
name them, Tony Pulis admits he has several injury worries for the trip to
East London. Gareth McAuley is available after missing the 2-1 win over
Arsenal through suspension while Saido Berahino may continue to be benched
with Salomon Rondon leading the line.
Provisional squad: Myhill, Lindegaard, Chester, Dawson, Olsson, McAuley,
Evans, Pocognoli, Gamboa, McManaman, Gardner, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean,
Morrison, Rondon, Sessegnon, Berahino, Lambert.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Antonio doubts grow
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 26, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Fears are growing for Michail Antonio's West Ham future with Slaven Bilic
still keeping an eye on Beskitas winger Gokhan Tore. And the one way the
Irons could move for the player would be to offload the former Forest star
who still has to make a first team debut. The Hammers have again been linked
with Everton's Kevin Miralles who was a serious target in the summer before
signing a new deal but Bilic has spoken in the past of his great admiration
for Tore. He is on the record as saying that they would love to have brought
him to Upton Park last summer but said "the timing was wrong."
But he too finds himself in the cold at Goodison and commented that he may
again have to look at his position if things haven't changed in January
after struggling to force his way into Roberto Martinez's plans. The Hammers
have repeatedly claimed they have no cash in the kitty for a transfer market
raid in January but possibly significantly have consistently refused to give
an explanation of Antonio's current position. A senior source, however,
talking to ClaretandHugh has admitted that the 25 year old is likely to have
to show to show a lot of patience before adding with heavy emphasis that
"anything is possible in this game."
And it is well known that several Premier League outfits were tracking
Antonio which acted as a spur for the Irons to move in on deadline day. Our
source said: "The lad is showing fantastic character and it can't be easy
for him. Anything is possible in this game . Many inside the club are
surprised that we haven't seen him in action at all for the first team apart
from as a sub at Manchester City. It would be good to see him get his
chance, perhaps even this weekend."
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Another Hammer goes out on loan
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 26, 2015 in News
C and H
Elliot Lee is off to Blackpool on loan. He follows Doneil Henry and Martin
Samuelsen who have joined Blackburn Rovers and Peterborough United on short
term deals. He will join up with boss Neil MacDonald has worked with the
striker before during his time at Upton Park and will be available for
Sunday's derby match with Fleetwood. The 20-year-old provides Blackpool with
another striking option after Kwame Thomas returned to Derby on Thursday.
Lee has played six times for the Hammers including competing over the summer
in the Europa League and it is hoped he will bring some goals to a side who
have lost their last seven games. He has previous Football League experience
from loan spells with Colchester, Southend and Luton.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Midfielder plays down weekend hopes
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Alex Song has dampened down hopes that he may be ready to play from the
start against West Brom on Sunday afternoon. The match – being shown live on
TV – may come to soon for the midfielder who has made it clear he won't be
rushed back into action. He played just ten minutes last week at White Hart
Lane and can expect to step up on that against Albion but is unlikely to
feature in the starting line up. Having been out of the frame for the first
three months of the season he is determined to protect himself against
further problems. And that will please Baggies boss Tont Pulis who had
commented to CaretandHugh: "He is a very very good player and one we will
eed to keep quiet should he play."
Once again Slaven Bilic has kept his team plans very much under wraps with
uncertainty surrounding possible involvement by Michail Antonio – as
reported elsewhere on the site. Son, meanwhile, taking to the official site
said: "I was happy to play the last 10 minutes against Tottenham and now I
am looking to come back slowly, step-by-step and then we will see what
happens in the future. "When I am 100 per cent fit I will be ready to play."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons: "Morrison desperate to return"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
West Ham have again been forced to knock back pleas that Ravel Morrison is
given another chance at the club. With the player due to leave Lazio in
January for "personal reasons" the club has elaborated on the position
surrounding the former player and England under 21 international. A top
level source revealed to ClaretandHugh that the player is desperate for the
opportunity of a second chance at the Boleyn. His enthusiasm to return has
been relayed the the club through third parties but the likelihood remains
remote after yet another failed attempt to settle into a club – this time in
Serie A. It follows well known problems at Manchester United and with the
Irons, QPR and Cardiff where he was loaned out under the former manager. Our
source explained: "He would love to return to West Ham. We have been made
very well aware of that but given his history and the fact that he is now 22
presents a problem. "We have a very settled squad and we can't afford to
take any sort of chance on it becoming unsettled."
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Zamora couldn't betray Irons roots
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News
C and H
Former Millwall boss Ian Holloway has revealed how he was unable to sign
Bobby Zamora while in charge of the club because the striker refused to
betray his West Ham roots! The 34 year old – now finding real form at
Brighton and thriving at the age of 34 – grew up as an avid Iron and remains
a Hammers favourite. Now he will go even higher in the fans' estimation
after Holloway revealed how his love of the club kept him out of Millwall.
Holloway said: "Brighton have been playing excellent football for the last
few years but they've added a couple of lethal strikers this season in Tomer
Hemed and Bobby Zamora to finish off the chances. "I signed Zamora in my
first job at Bristol Rovers when he was 17 and tried to sign him while I was
at Millwall, but he was worried about the West Ham link. "I'm glad it's
worked out for one of us! Perhaps if we got him, I'd still be Millwall
manager – but such is life. "What a fantastic player to have around the
place. He's a winner and it's always good to see a player go back to a club
where he's loved."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
The background
West Ham United will look to get back to winning ways this Sunday when they
play host to West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League.
The Hammers were defeated 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur in their last outing so
will be wanting to put that heavy defeat behind them as soon as possible.
In fact, since defeating Chelsea in late October, they have picked up just
one point from their last three games – in their last home match against
Everton – a run that manager Slaven Bilic knows needs to end.
West Brom, meanwhile, are six places below the Hammers in 12th, four points
worse off having won five, drawn two and lost six of their 13 league games
to date.
The Baggies secured the notable scalp of Arsenal in their last match, as a
goal from James Morrison and Mikel Arteta's own goal gave them a 2-1
success.
That ended a run of two straight defeats for Tony Pulis' men, who had been
beaten by Leicester City and Manchester United in their previous matches.
Remember Sunday is our Cult Heroes day, so make sure you are in your seats
at half time to welcome back a whole host of iconic figures back to the
Boleyn Ground.
Important security information
With enhanced security checks taking place around the Boleyn Ground for
Sunday's game against West Bromwich Albion, supporters are advised to arrive
earlier in order to allow time to clear security.
As every bag will be checked thoroughly, supporters are therefore advised
not to bring any large bags or rucksacks where possible as this will delay
their entry.
The Stadium will be opening earlier than usual to accommodate these extra
checks ahead of the 2.05pm kick off, but the Club would like to stress that
security will not be reduced in the event that queues form.
So please arrive earlier than normal to ensure you do not miss kick-off
against the Baggies.
The history
This will be the 100th meeting between West Ham and the Baggies, with West
Brom just leading the head-to-head record 39-38.
West Ham will hope to bring that back to level pegging having lost out in
their last encounter – in the FA Cup fifth round in February.
In the league meetings last term, goals from Kevin Nolan and James Tomkins
secured a 2-1 win at the Hawthorns, before Saido Berahino cancelled out
Diafra Sakho's opener for a 1-1 Boleyn Ground draw.
The match
Team news
West Ham United
The Hammers will be without the suspended pair of Mark Noble and James
Collins for Sunday's match. Noble is out having picked up five yellow cards
this term, while Collins serves the final game of his three-match ban for a
sending off in the 2-0 defeat at Watford.
Slaven Bilic will choose between Alex Song and the fit-again Pedro Obiang
for the right to replace Noble in the Hammers midfield.
West Bromwich Albion
Chris Brunt is suspended for the Baggies, but as one player starts a ban,
another finishes with defender Gareth McAuley available for selection again.
Baggies head coach Tony Pulis was keeping his cards close to his chest when
he admitted he had a number of injury worries, but Jonas Olsson could
continue at the back, while Salomon Rondon has been leading the line with
Saido Berahino on the bench.
Match info
Match facts
Sunday's referee is Martin Atkinson, with Mike Mullarkey and Stephen Child
running the line. Kevin Friend is the fourth official
Six of the last nine Barclays Premier League meetings between West Ham and
West Brom have ended as draws (West Ham two wins, West Brom one victory).
Four of the last five at Upton Park have ended all square (one West Ham
win).
Saido Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham
in all competitions.
West Ham have used 26 players in the Premier League this season, a figure
only Manchester United can match.
65% of the goals West Ham have conceded have come in the first half, the
highest proportion in the top division (13 out of 20).
The Hammers have gone eight games without a clean sheet and won just two of
their last seven Premier League games (W2 D3 L2).
Only Aston Villa (34) have fired in fewer shots on target than West Brom
this season (39).
The Baggies have won five of their last 10 Premier League away games, losing
just three (D2).
Manuel Lanzini has scored in each of the last three Premier League matches
where he has played the full 90 minutes.
Tickets, coverage, travel and other info
Tickets for this fixture have SOLD OUT.
A rainy Sunday is expected, with temperatures of 12C (54F) at kick-off.
There will be no Hammersmith & City line services to Upton Park on Sunday,
but the District line is set to run as normal. Supporters who use the London
Overground line between Barking-Gospel Oak should note that rail replacement
buses will be running on that route. Click here for the latest info on the
TfL network and here for National Rail.
If you're not heading to the game make sure you keep up to date with all the
action on our digital channels. Our live match centre has audio commentary,
text updates, in-running stats and the best pictures, and you can get
involved with the conversation on social using the hashtag #WHUWBA.
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Chadwell Chatter - Alex Song
WHUFC.com
Hello,
I am very happy to be back on the pitch because I have been ruled out of
action for a long time. I was happy to play the last 10 minutes against
Tottenham and now I am looking to come back slowly, step-by-step and then we
will see what happens in the future. When I am 100 per cent fit I will be
ready to play. Last Sunday was very disappointing against Tottenham. We
don't want to lose a derby, but we have to move forward and put the game
behind us. We have a very big game on Sunday and it is a game that we want
to win. We need to work hard in training and show a different kind of
performance against West Brom. It is very important for us to show the fans
that we have a good character and that we want to put things right after
what happened last weekend. At home we need to show the fans what they want
to see. They expect us to play football and it will be a different game. We
have to score more goals and we need to be the boss at home. The way we
played against Spurs was not good and we want to get back playing how we
performed at the start of the season when we had some great results –
especially away from home. We want to show something different on Sunday. I
have played against West Brom a couple of times and I remember the 1-1 draw
against them last season. We have to dominate the game and show them how we
want to play from the opening part of the game. I know we have some Cult
Heroes returning to West Ham United this weekend. My heroes growing up were
Rigobert Song and Claude Makelele. It is always good that West Ham have
players who the fans look up to. We have to give them a very good welcome.
It is always a pleasure to see the people who have done so well.
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Slaven Speaks - West Bromwich Albion
WHUFC.com
Ahead of the Hammers' game with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, Slaven Bilic
held his pre-match press conference.
The manager answered a range of questions from bouncing back from the defeat
to Tottenham Hotspur and Alex Song's fitness ahead of facing the Baggies...
Slaven, you haven't won in three games, how do you turn that around?
"We've only got one point from the last three games which is below our
expectations. Every game in the Premier League is tough, but it is still
below what we wanted to achieve. We have a home game on Sunday against a
very good team, but are plan, of course, is to win it. We need to win it
because we haven't got enough recently."
After a defeat like last weekend, how do you react in the dressing room?
"Sometime you have to show your emotions, but the feelings were all the same
from the staff and the players, we didn't feel any different. Like the fans,
we were hugely disappointed and we were angry to represent West Ham like
that.
"Sometimes you can be satisfied with your performance even when you lose,
but not last weekend. We had only ourselves to blame, and we all knew that
straight away, which was good because we didn't hide or make any excuses. We
will do everything we can do bounce back on Sunday."
Is Alex Song near to coming back?
"Alex is a great player, we also have Pedro Obiang coming back too. The
situations are a little bit different given the length of injuries they had.
Pedro was only out for four weeks, now he is back and looking good in
training.
"Alex is back in full training, he played ten minutes against Spurs and in
training he is also looking very good. We have to be patient because his
break was a lot longer, he hasn't played for almost half a year, so we will
have to make a decision between the two."
What have you been doing differently from this week to last?
"We haven't done anything differently, after a game like Spurs you want to
put it to bed as quickly as possible because you don't want to let it affect
confidence too much. We always analyse our performances after every game,
and that's no different win or lose. We already knew mainly where we went
wrong anyway."
How confident are you that you can bounce back on Sunday?
"I am very confident, I am very optimistic generally. I believe in our
players, I know what we are capable of doing. We haven't dropped in form
because it is only a few games, but we have dropped points. I am also
confident because in our last two home games, against Everton and Chelsea we
played really good so we shouldn't allow our confidence to go down."
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Diangana aiming to inspire Hammers
WHUFC.com
After his hat-trick scoring heroics last weekend, explosive winger is
looking forward to facing Arsenal's U18s at Little Heath on Saturday 28
November.
The 17-year-old flair player has been in outstanding form for the young
Hammers this season, netting six times in eleven starts. Reflecting on his
man-of-the-match display last weekend, he said: "I was very happy to score a
hat-trick last weekend, but obviously it was disappointing to lose to
Norwich, that's the main thing. "I think my first goal was definitely the
best, I've scored a few goals so far which I'm happy with. I haven't set
myself a target but I'd like to score as many as possible, and create as
many as possible too."
Diangana's creative influence has had a notable impact on the U18s this
season who after a difficult start, have won an impressive eight matches out
of the last 12 games. Despite Diangana's best efforts, the Hammers slipped
to a 4-3 defeat to Norwich City thanks to a last minute winner. This weekend
Steve Potts' side will be looking to bounce back against a skilful Arsenal
side. Looking ahead to the London derby, Diangana continued: "Arsenal are
always a passing side, they like to dominate possession, they're usually a
very good side and hard to beat. "I think everyone has been good this
season, which is why we've been doing so well lately. We're all in good
form, working hard for each other and it's paying off. "It's good to see
younger players get given opportunities, it's very important. "I really
enjoy working with Steve and Mark, it's a lot of fun. Obviously, it's
serious when it has to be and they push you to be the best you can be but I
really enjoy working with them. "A top four finish is the aim, and then
hopefully we can do well in the next phase. I'm confident in myself, my
teammates and the staff that that is something we can achieve."
As for Diangana himself, the teenager is hoping to maintain his sparkling
form for the rest of the campaign and try and force his way into the U21
side.
"I've been quite consistent this season, I'm pleased about that because
that's something I've been working on. "I've played a couple of times for
the U21s this season, the aim is definitely to play more regularly for them
and try and impress at that level. "I'd describe myself as a skillful,
attack-minded and a creative player, I like to make things happen. I really
like Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, away from West Ham I really like
Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool too."
The West Ham United U18s host Arsenal at Little Heath on Saturday 28
November at Little Heath. Kick off is 11am, FREE admission for all fans.
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From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
There is no question that we are looking to bounce straight back against
West Brom on Sunday following the defeat against Spurs. I am sure we will
see a much improved performance. We have to find a way to be at our best
without Dimitri Payet and it is about finding a formation that works without
him. I am sure that Slaven would have worked that out. We looked very
comfortable before Tottenham scored their opener and you could easily argue
that it was a bit of luck that led to the first goal with a ricochet that
fell perfectly for Harry Kane. The ball bounced around in the box and on
another day it would have fallen nicely for one of our players to clear. You
could feel the disappointment among the players and we need to bounce back
quickly.
I still felt at 2-0 down that we could get back into it but the third goal
just minutes after the break killed the game. But we have a new game to
prepare for on Sunday and we will have great determination to get straight
back on the winning trail. It will not be easy as West Brom had a good
result against Arsenal last weekend and we know how Tony Pulis makes his
side hard to beat. But we have enough talented players to break them down
and we want to make the Boleyn Ground a fortress again and make us hard to
beat. We also want to attack teams and have an attacking formation. You can
see the quality from players like Zarate, Song, Lanzini who can unlock a
defence.
It is a great boost for us to see Alex Song back in first-team action and on
his day he is unplayable. I don't think anyone doubts his quality. He is as
fit as can be, but just needs more game time as he has not had a lot of
match fitness over the last six months. But I would not bet against a man of
his experience coming straight back into the team as if he has never been
away.
I know we are welcoming back some of our Cult Heroes to the Boleyn Ground on
Sunday. There is no doubt of the fondness and the relationship that fans
have with former players and it is great that there is a platform for them
to experience coming back to the stadium and sharing some of their memories
once again with the fans. My Cult Heroes go back a long way, but I will
never forget looking up to people like Eric Parsons, who was nicknamed 'The
Rabbit' and Ken Tucker who was a left winger. He was someone who I tried to
emulate. In recent times my heroes would be Sir Trevor Brooking and Alan
Devonshire. Like many supporters I will never forget Sir Trevor's winning
goal against Arsenal in the Cup Final. I hope everyone has a great day on
Sunday and we can come away celebrating another victory.
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West Ham v WBA
KO 14:05
27 November 2015
Barclays Premier League
Venue: Upton Park Date: Sunday, 29 November
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (0) & SUBSTITUTIONS (0)
TEAM NEWS
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has confirmed either Pedro Obiang or Alex Song
will start against West Brom in place of suspended captain Mark Noble.
Obiang has been out for a month with a thigh injury, while fit-again Song
made his first appearance of the season as a substitute last weekend.
Chris Brunt must serve a suspension for West Brom but Gareth McAuley is
available after a ban. Head coach Tony Pulis admits he has several players
nursing injuries.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
John Roder: "On New Year's Day, Tony Pulis was at Upton Park ahead of his
appointment as West Bromwich Albion's head coach. "The Baggies were in
trouble and had turned to the man who has never been relegated in his
managerial career to keep them in the Premier League. "Almost 11 months on,
West Brom travel to London on the back of victory over Arsenal, but Slaven
Bilic has given West Ham a fresh perspective and they come into this match
unbeaten in their last four at home. "Back on 1 January it was a 1-1 draw;
don't be surprised if it ends the same way this weekend."
Twitter: @johnrodercomm
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "The players, like the whole staff, were
hugely disappointed after the game on Sunday and angry with the way we
played [against Tottenham]. "In the last three games we have got only one
point and that is not what we want. We have a home game now and our plan is
to try to win. "We will do everything we can to bounce back on Sunday."
West Brom head coach Tony Pulis compares the club to Crystal Palace, who he
managed previously: "They are clubs who have potential to be top 10 and
better Premier League clubs, and ones which can win cup competitions.
"That's what you have to strive for but you need time. "There's a big job on
at this football club. I haven't been in the job a year yet. There are
things which can be changed and improved but that doesn't happen for a
period of time. "You have to win games to have a chance and opportunity to
change things."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
West Ham were taken apart by Spurs, and were very poor. However, the Hammers
might chuck Andy Carroll up front because they are at home on Sunday, and I
think they will pose much more of a threat this time.
Head-to-head
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
This is the 100th meeting between the clubs in all competitions. West Brom
have registered 39 wins, one more than West Ham.
The Hammers have gone six home matches without defeat in this fixture since
a 4-3 loss in the second tier in November 2003. Albion also won at Upton
Park in the Premier League the previous year.
Six of the last nine Premier League meetings have been drawn.
West Ham
The Hammers are winless in three matches (D1, L2), their worst run under
Slaven Bilic.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight league
games, conceding 14 goals. It's the longest current such streak in the
division.
West Ham have won just five of their last 16 Premier League games at home
(W5, D5, L6).
Bilic's side have scored in all but one game this season, a record only
bettered by Leicester.
West Bromwich Albion
Albion's five wins this season have all come by the odd goal.
West Brom's first-half record is only bettered by Manchester United. The
Baggies have been ahead in five games at half-time and behind in only two.
Four of their six clean sheets have come away - only Manchester City (5)
have more.
Saido Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham
in all competitions.
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Slaven Bilic column: West Ham boss talks Tony Pulis, Jamie Vardy, Alex Song
and more
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
Tony Pulis gets criticised for his brand of football but he doesn't hide it,
like others. There are a lot of clubs playing exactly the same way in many
parts of the game. In England, they all sit back when opponents have a
direct attacking style. He is a great coach and a very honest man. I have
been a TV pundit with him and he called me a few times when I was at
Besiktas to ask about a few players in Turkey. He is very passionate and
understands football in many different leagues across Europe. I respect him
also because he never tells lies, even though you can bend the truth in
football when the result allows you to. His West Brom team, who we face at
Upton Park on Sunday, achieved a big win against Arsenal but he said they
were lucky and needed to defend very well. He is pragmatic. He uses what he
has to achieve reasonable objectives. When critics put a label on you, it
sticks — even if your teams are not like that week in, week out. I watched
Albion against Everton in September when they lost 3-2 at home. They were
winning 2-0 and scored the second goal after 54 minutes. They played good
football which was enjoyable to watch. They weren't 2-0 up because of
set-pieces alone or negative tactics.
Of course, Pulis's teams are very well organised. And every team in the
Premier League have quality now. They have Saido Berahino, Salomon Rondon,
Rickie Lambert and Stephane Sessegnon — all players who give them pace,
goals and a physical presence. That is the strength of this League. It has
always been the most demanding in the world. Look at the results. Crystal
Palace losing against Sunderland, Liverpool beating Manchester City — in any
other country people would think it was match-fixing!
The league that produces the Champions League winners in any given year is
usually heralded as the best but the Premier League is always the toughest.
And the greater financial income for all clubs means the smaller ones can be
stronger when it comes to the possibility of losing their best players.
Clubs have more options. They might agree to sell a player but can hold out
for a high price because they, too, have money and do not have to accept a
cheap price. Or, and this is a big difference, a club such as West Brom may
not sell at all and could still add another player to their squad.
What West Brom did with Berahino was brilliant. It is very hard to be that
resilient. It was like the situation with John Stones at Everton, who
rejected big money from Chelsea but still bought Ramiro Funes Mori for
£9.5million.
West Brom resisted Tottenham over Berahino but paid £15m for Rondon.Okay,
Berahino might go in January but if so West Brom will do it on their terms.
That is the best way to show to everybody that you are a serious, big club.
It should be like that because many 18-21-year-olds think they are bigger
than the clubs. I'm not saying that is the case with Berahino but so many
kids earn big money very young and believe they have made it.
For us, we need to get back to winning ways. We are a really good team and
have showed that on a lot of occasions this season. But we are only good if
we are totally focused, moving and thinking as a unit. We can't continue to
make individual mistakes that are leading directly to goals. The statistics
show we are by far the worst team in the League for that. Firstly, we must
stop those errors but also we have to react quicker as a team when they are
made.
We can make a mistake but it doesn't have to automatically mean a goal
against us. Take the third goal against Tottenham last weekend. James
Tomkins gave the ball away but it was not in the middle of our box. Harry
Kane scored but it was avoidable if we reacted faster to the danger from 35
yards out. Our recoveries in those situations are not good enough.
Going forward, coaches often talk about transitions and even for Barcelona
they are the most important part of the game because if you do it quickly,
your best players have the space to play. We were second best in that
aspect, too, against Spurs.
If we improve our transitions and tighten up defensively, we can get the
positive result we want.
Every player starting out should look up to Vardy
I didn't know a lot about Jamie Vardy until I began watching a DVD of
Leicester's opening game of the season against Sunderland because we were
playing them in week two. They were already well ahead in the match when he
got the ball from a throw-in just inside Sunderland's half. He sprinted all
the way down the wing, cut inside and hit the post. I called my assistants
and said: "Who is this guy?" This was in the first game of the season and he
hasn't stopped sprinting since. His story is great. He should be the example
for every kid who starts in football or is already playing in a lower
division in any country, anywhere in the world. Vardy has probably been
assessed many times by coaches, directors or agents and told he is not good
enough. He made it to the top regardless and still at a great age. He shows
you should never take the criticism as a final verdict and, equally, he is
in such good form because he has not been carried away by a lot of praise. I
hope he scores for the 11th successive Premier League game against
Manchester United to break that record.
Alex is back on song but we must still tread carefully
It is important to have Alex Song back but we have to remember he has been
out for six months and don't want to jeopardise the long-term quality of his
performances by rushing him into action. He is physically ready but short
of match fitness. We are not in pre-season so we need to find the right
opportunities for him to get some game time. We will be without our captain
Mark Noble on Sunday after he picked up five bookings and that is a blow
but, to be fair, we have a couple of options. Alex is there but we also
missed Pedro Obiang, too. He is available and has looked good in training.
Unless we change the system, it will be one of those two who replaces Mark.
Olsson's tactic is really a foul… let's not be caught out by it
We saw West Brom's set-piece tactic which helped them turn the game against
Arsenal and must be ready if they try it again on Sunday. For their
equalising goal, Jonas Olsson stood in an offside position to block off Per
Mertesacker, allowing James Morrison to run into space and volley home Chris
Brunt's free-kick. All football coaches are clever lawyers trying to find an
angle — and that's what West Brom have done here. A lot of teams do it. In
football, you have a rule about passive or active offside. It is a grey
zone. For me, offside should be offside and that is it. There is too much of
that grey zone. This tactic is a problem. Olsson is not just in an active
position — it is his assist! It should be a foul but the referee cannot see
it. And according to the rule book, he is not offside. You can stop it in a
couple of ways. Firstly, you talk to the referee to make him aware of what
is happening. Your team can also avoid it with a different type of marking.
But when you prepare players properly, they are so concentrated on the
moment, they are in a trance. They don't remember all the tactical details
you tell them. At set-pieces, they recall who to mark or what runs to make
when we have the ball and maybe they remember one combination play you told
them. But midway through the second half, when they are tired, the game is
moving at a fast pace and the crowd are up, they aren't going to remember
that Olsson is there to block off a specific player. That's why you need
your leaders on the pitch. It is impossible for all 11 to remember but your
two or three leaders must do the thinking for the rest. They have to be able
to stay calm in key moments and say, "Hey, remember what Olsson does" and
mark him differently.
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West Ham v West Brom preview: Hammers aiming to end winless run
Last Updated: 27/11/15 9:26pm
SSN
West Ham are looking to end their worst run of form this season when they
welcome West Brom to Upton Park on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. The Hammers
are without a win in three games following their defeat by Tottenham at
White Hart Lane last Sunday, and they face a West Brom side buoyed by their
recent 2-1 victory over Arsenal. After a strong start to the Premier League
season, Slaven Bilic's side have now gone eight games without a clean sheet,
a run that includes just two wins from their last seven league games,
although the form of Manuel Lanzini has been a positive.
As for the Baggies, manager Tony Pulis has them tough to beat on their
travels, and they have only lost three of their last 10 league games away
from The Hawthorns. Three wins from their last five matches has lifted West
Brom into mid-table, but they face challenging tests on the horizon with
games at Liverpool and home to Spurs to come.
Team news
Chris Brunt is suspended with Pulis also admitting he has several injury
worries. The former Stoke boss refused to name those who are doubtful, but
Gareth McAuley is available after missing the win over Arsenal through
suspension. Jonas Olsson replaced McAuley against the Gunners and impressed,
while Saido Berahino may continue on the bench with Salomon Rondon leading
the line.
Bilic has a decision to make as to who will replace suspended captain Mark
Noble. The midfielder received his fifth yellow card of the campaign in the
Hammers' loss to Tottenham, and Bilic has confirmed either Pedro Obiang or
Alex Song will start in his place. Both have been struggling with injury
this season but are available for selection, while Dimitri Payet (ankle),
Enner Valencia (ankle/foot) and Darren Randolph (knee) are all still out.
Opta stats
Six of the last nine league meetings between the two clubs have ended as
draws (West Ham two wins, West Brom one victory).
Berahino has scored in four of his five appearances against West Ham in all
competitions.
Bilic has used 26 players in the league this season, a figure only
Manchester United can match.
Only Aston Villa (34) have fired in fewer shots on target than West Brom
this season (39).
The Hammers have won just five of their last 16 top flight games at Upton
Park. (W5 D5 L6).
Lanzini has scored in each of the last three league matches when he has
played the full 90 minutes.
Merson's prediction
West Ham need to get moving. They need to win. They're starting to all of a
sudden become the team we expected them to be at the start of the season.
I know they miss Payet, but you can't rely on one player, and that's
disrespectful to the rest of the players too. West Brom had a phenomenal
result last week against Arsenal. For them to go and win was just amazing,
nobody gave them a chance. I've watched them away from home, and I know how
they play. They'll turn up, stick 10 behind the ball and frustrate West Ham.
If West Ham don't score first they're in trouble, but I think you'll see a
reaction here from the hosts.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Sky Bet make West Ham even-money favourites against 11/4 shots West Brom.
Four of the last five meetings have seen both teams find the net and it's
5/6 for that trend to continue.
This season the Baggies have seen only seven goals scored in their six away
matches and they are 4/1 to win by exactly one goal. It's 6/1 for a Baggies'
win and under 2.5 goals in the match.
Diafra Sakho scored the opener last season and is 11/2 to net first on
Sunday with Rondon a 9/4 shot to get his name of the scoresheet. Check out
the Sky Bet tips from pundits Jamie Redknapp, Charlie Nicholas, Matt Le
Tissier and Phil Thompson here.
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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic to be patient with Alex Song
Last Updated: 27/11/15 4:09pm
SSN
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic admits he will need to treat Alex Song's
return to action with caution. Song made his long-awaited comeback from an
ankle injury in last Sunday's 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, playing the
final 10 minutes at White Hart Lane following six months out. Song, on a
second season-long loan from Barcelona, is in contention to make his first
start of the season against West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground on
Sunday with captain Mark Noble ruled out because of a suspension.
Midfielder Pedro Obiang is also back in full training following four weeks
out with a thigh problem and Bilic says both players will come into his
thinking for the visit of Tony Pulis' side. "Alex [Song] is a great player,
we also have Pedro Obiang coming back too. The situations are a little bit
different given the length of injuries they had. Pedro was only out for four
weeks, now he is back and looking good in training," Bilic said. "Alex is
back in full training, he played ten minutes against Spurs and in training
he is also looking very good. We have to be patient because his break was a
lot longer, he hasn't played for almost half a year, so we will have to make
a decision between the two."
Having enjoyed a superb start to the season - winning six of their opening
10 matches - West Ham are now without a victory in their previous three
games. Despite the recent slump in results, Bilic is confident his side can
rediscover their best form and claim their first home league victory over
the Baggies since March 2013. "We've only got one point from the last three
games which is below our expectations. Every game in the Premier League is
tough, but it is still below what we wanted to achieve," he said. "We have
a home game on Sunday against a very good team, but are plan, of course, is
to win it. We need to win it because we haven't got enough recently."
Bilic added: "I am very confident, I am very optimistic generally. I believe
in our players, I know what we are capable of doing. "We haven't dropped in
form because it is only a few games, but we have dropped points. I am also
confident because in our last two home games, against Everton and Chelsea we
played really good so we shouldn't allow our confidence to go down."
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Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham eye transfer of £15m-rated Burnley striker
Andre Gray
22:30, 27 NOV 2015
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
The 24-year-old has 11 goals this season but has played for two clubs
already in the campaign so a summer move is more likely than a January one
The Mirror
Burnley hotshot Andre Gray is a wanted man again – after just three months
at Turf Moor. Everton and Aston Villa are monitoring striker Gray following
his blistering start to his Clarets career. Meanwhile West Ham are also
continuing to keep tabs on the 24 year-old, having considered a move for
Gray before he joined Burnley from Brentford. Gray has scored nine times in
just 12 starts for Sean Dyche's side this season. Gray was at the centre of
another scramble in the summer when Burnley beat Hull and Bristol City to
sign him for £9m. Gray's valuation has rocketed towards the £15m mark though
his suitors will almost certainly have to wait until next summer to make
their move. While players can be registered with three clubs in one season,
FIFA rules state they can only play for two. Gray played two games for
Brentford at the start of the campaign, scoring twice, before sealing his
switch to Turf Moor.
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Pulis on threat of Irons front man
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
West Brom boss Tony Pulis won't be taking Andy Carroll lightly should he
appear at any point tomorrow. The West Brom boss holds a healthy respect
both for the striker and the Hammers manager Slaven Bilic who has refused to
bow to criticism of the striker. Carroll has a fifty/fifty chance of making
the line up tomorrow but the odds are obviously high of him making an
appearance at some stage. And such is his respect for Bilic the West Brom
boss admitted: "He has been phenominally successful and it is a long haul
for a new manager at a club, however well he knows it, as Slaven does West
Ham
Of Carroll Pulis declares: "The game has evolved and it goes in circles but
Carroll's a good player whatever your ideas are. "I'm not sure if that sort
of player is dying out but he is still a useful acquisition. If you play him
the right way, he'll definitely get goals. "Whether you start with him or
bring him on, he can be effective — I really do rate him."
Bilic is under pressure to play Diafra Sakho in a central role and leave
Carroll on the bench but against a well organised and strong tackling
defence may defy expectations by choosing to go with the big man's aerial
power. He has a big call to make after gleaning just one point from three
games.
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Bilic breaks Antonio silence
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in Hugh's Blogs, News,
Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic appears to be sending out mixed messages on the future of
Michail Antonio. The manager's attitude towards the £7 million signing has
been closely examined over recent weeks and he has now broken his silence on
the player. He is reported in The Wharf as saying: " "We were short of
players in that position when we brought him to the club, then we got a few
more players in at the end of the transfer window. "He hasn't had the chance
because of the number of players we had. We were playing good and we didn't
change a lot." "I've had a few chats with him and he's working hard and is a
good player – that's why we brought him. Now we've had a few injuries that
we didn't want I've told him that his chance will come. Like any other
player he has to prove himself in training and to convince me and the member
of my staff. He's working hard and his chance will probably come soon."
It's an interesting explanation and appears to cover all ends against the
middle by declaring on the one hand his chance "will probably come soon" (my
italics) whilst at the same time saying "he has to prove he is a member of
his staff." ClaretandHugh revealed earlier today however, that the manager
had resisted the advances of five Championship clubs who had wanted to take
him in the emergency loan market so that will offer the player some hope
that he will soon be used. Michail – it would seem from that – is in the
manager's mind although at £7 million – a substantial amount of money in
West Ham terms – to still be having to prove himself is something of an
eyebrow raiser!
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Bilic plays a game of bluff with Pulis
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Slaven Bilic and Alex Song appear to playing a game of bluff and double
bluff with West Brom over Sunday's team selection. Song has declared this
morning that he will take things slowly and on first appearances appears to
have been joined by the manager. Bilic – assessing the situation said: "It
is important to have Alex Song back but we have to remember he has been out
for six months and don't want to jeopardise the long-term quality of his
performances by rushing him into action. He is physically ready but short
of match fitness. We are not in pre-season so we need to find the right
opportunities for him to get some game time. We will be without our captain
Mark Noble on Sunday after he picked up five bookings and that is a blow
but, to be fair, we have a couple of options.
Alex is there but we also missed Pedro Obiang, too. He is available and has
looked good in training." Then comes the sting in the tail, designed of
course to keep Baggies boss Tony Pulis on the back foot when he says:
"Unless we change the system, it will be one of those two who replaces
Mark."
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FIVE clubs chase unhappy Antonio
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
EXCLUSIVE
Michail Antonio is becoming increasingly unhappy after ClaretandHugh
learned that the 25 year old has been refused the opportunity of a loan
move. ClaretandHugh revealed last night that doubts continue to grow around
his West Ham future and that the £7 million wideman could eventually be
forced into showdown talks with boss Slaven Bilic. We have learned
exclusively that no less that FIVE Championship approached the club
"desperate " to take the player on loan. But manager Bilic mad it clear
that he would not allow him to go as "he needs him" despite not having
given him a first team outing apart from a brief appearance at Manchester
City. It was described as "a strange situation" by one top insider who said:
" The manager wouldn't let him go on loan, as he said he needs him, yet he
never gives him a chance. It's strange. Five Championship clubs came in
desperate to borrow him so we wait with interest to see if he gets on
against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Obviously he's not entirely
happy!"
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Big player missing for WBA at Boleyn
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News
C and H
Influential West Brom winger/attacking Chris Brunt midfielder is banned for
Sunday's clash with the Irons at the Boleyn. And although he chose not to
name them, Tony Pulis admits he has several injury worries for the trip to
East London. Gareth McAuley is available after missing the 2-1 win over
Arsenal through suspension while Saido Berahino may continue to be benched
with Salomon Rondon leading the line.
Provisional squad: Myhill, Lindegaard, Chester, Dawson, Olsson, McAuley,
Evans, Pocognoli, Gamboa, McManaman, Gardner, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean,
Morrison, Rondon, Sessegnon, Berahino, Lambert.
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Antonio doubts grow
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 26, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Fears are growing for Michail Antonio's West Ham future with Slaven Bilic
still keeping an eye on Beskitas winger Gokhan Tore. And the one way the
Irons could move for the player would be to offload the former Forest star
who still has to make a first team debut. The Hammers have again been linked
with Everton's Kevin Miralles who was a serious target in the summer before
signing a new deal but Bilic has spoken in the past of his great admiration
for Tore. He is on the record as saying that they would love to have brought
him to Upton Park last summer but said "the timing was wrong."
But he too finds himself in the cold at Goodison and commented that he may
again have to look at his position if things haven't changed in January
after struggling to force his way into Roberto Martinez's plans. The Hammers
have repeatedly claimed they have no cash in the kitty for a transfer market
raid in January but possibly significantly have consistently refused to give
an explanation of Antonio's current position. A senior source, however,
talking to ClaretandHugh has admitted that the 25 year old is likely to have
to show to show a lot of patience before adding with heavy emphasis that
"anything is possible in this game."
And it is well known that several Premier League outfits were tracking
Antonio which acted as a spur for the Irons to move in on deadline day. Our
source said: "The lad is showing fantastic character and it can't be easy
for him. Anything is possible in this game . Many inside the club are
surprised that we haven't seen him in action at all for the first team apart
from as a sub at Manchester City. It would be good to see him get his
chance, perhaps even this weekend."
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Another Hammer goes out on loan
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 26, 2015 in News
C and H
Elliot Lee is off to Blackpool on loan. He follows Doneil Henry and Martin
Samuelsen who have joined Blackburn Rovers and Peterborough United on short
term deals. He will join up with boss Neil MacDonald has worked with the
striker before during his time at Upton Park and will be available for
Sunday's derby match with Fleetwood. The 20-year-old provides Blackpool with
another striking option after Kwame Thomas returned to Derby on Thursday.
Lee has played six times for the Hammers including competing over the summer
in the Europa League and it is hoped he will bring some goals to a side who
have lost their last seven games. He has previous Football League experience
from loan spells with Colchester, Southend and Luton.
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Midfielder plays down weekend hopes
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
Alex Song has dampened down hopes that he may be ready to play from the
start against West Brom on Sunday afternoon. The match – being shown live on
TV – may come to soon for the midfielder who has made it clear he won't be
rushed back into action. He played just ten minutes last week at White Hart
Lane and can expect to step up on that against Albion but is unlikely to
feature in the starting line up. Having been out of the frame for the first
three months of the season he is determined to protect himself against
further problems. And that will please Baggies boss Tont Pulis who had
commented to CaretandHugh: "He is a very very good player and one we will
eed to keep quiet should he play."
Once again Slaven Bilic has kept his team plans very much under wraps with
uncertainty surrounding possible involvement by Michail Antonio – as
reported elsewhere on the site. Son, meanwhile, taking to the official site
said: "I was happy to play the last 10 minutes against Tottenham and now I
am looking to come back slowly, step-by-step and then we will see what
happens in the future. "When I am 100 per cent fit I will be ready to play."
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Irons: "Morrison desperate to return"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H
West Ham have again been forced to knock back pleas that Ravel Morrison is
given another chance at the club. With the player due to leave Lazio in
January for "personal reasons" the club has elaborated on the position
surrounding the former player and England under 21 international. A top
level source revealed to ClaretandHugh that the player is desperate for the
opportunity of a second chance at the Boleyn. His enthusiasm to return has
been relayed the the club through third parties but the likelihood remains
remote after yet another failed attempt to settle into a club – this time in
Serie A. It follows well known problems at Manchester United and with the
Irons, QPR and Cardiff where he was loaned out under the former manager. Our
source explained: "He would love to return to West Ham. We have been made
very well aware of that but given his history and the fact that he is now 22
presents a problem. "We have a very settled squad and we can't afford to
take any sort of chance on it becoming unsettled."
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Zamora couldn't betray Irons roots
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 27, 2015 in News
C and H
Former Millwall boss Ian Holloway has revealed how he was unable to sign
Bobby Zamora while in charge of the club because the striker refused to
betray his West Ham roots! The 34 year old – now finding real form at
Brighton and thriving at the age of 34 – grew up as an avid Iron and remains
a Hammers favourite. Now he will go even higher in the fans' estimation
after Holloway revealed how his love of the club kept him out of Millwall.
Holloway said: "Brighton have been playing excellent football for the last
few years but they've added a couple of lethal strikers this season in Tomer
Hemed and Bobby Zamora to finish off the chances. "I signed Zamora in my
first job at Bristol Rovers when he was 17 and tried to sign him while I was
at Millwall, but he was worried about the West Ham link. "I'm glad it's
worked out for one of us! Perhaps if we got him, I'd still be Millwall
manager – but such is life. "What a fantastic player to have around the
place. He's a winner and it's always good to see a player go back to a club
where he's loved."
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