Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham United
WHUFC.com
The wait for a first away Barclays Premier League win of 2015 goes on, as
West Ham United succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Aston
Villa on Saturday. FA Cup finalists Villa bossed proceedings prior to the
interval and broke the deadlock after half an hour when Tom Cleverley
profited from Jack Grealish's low cross. The Hammers were vastly improved
after the break, with Nene, in particular, giving the visitors some
much-needed impetus going forward. The Brazilian himself flashed one over
the top from distance, while Enner Valencia had a headed effort chalked off
for offside. With Sunderland's win at Everton in the early kick-off dragging
Villa to within a point of the bottom three, it was the hosts who made all
the early running here. Leandro Bacuna was the first to take aim, fizzing a
25-yard free-kick narrowly over Adrian's crossbar. Then, a corner from the
left resulted in pin ball in the West Ham box, allowing Jose Okore to tee up
Charles N'Zgobia, who slammed his effort into Kevin Nolan. Still inside
quarter-of-an-hour, Fabien Delph picked out Cleverley at the far post, whose
excellent first-time volley was palmed away by Adrian. The clearest chance,
however, fell to the in-form Christian Benteke. Latching onto an Okore flick
from a Delph free-kick, the Belgian was unable to make sufficient contact to
steer inside the near post.
Villa were fluent and neat in possession around the box, particularly the
young Jack Grealish and he was the architect of the opener. The 19-year-old
burst past Stewart Downing to the by-line and drove across goal for
Cleverley to prod into the empty net. It had been coming.
An on-running dispute between Morgan Amalfitano and Cleverley made the
former pantomime villain for the afternoon, though Downing too was treated
to a hostile reception against his former employers. After a lacklustre
first 45, Sam Allardyce shuffled his pack at the break, with Nene and Alex
Song replacing Nolan and Amalfitano. It meant the Hammers reverted to the
diamond formation that served them so well prior to Christmas.
And it so nearly worked. Downing squared to Nene, who needed no second
invitation to let fly, flashing a vicious effort goalward. Shay Given had no
chance but it cleared the crossbar as well. At the other end, N'Zogbia
slalomed his way into the box and then lashed an effort into the side
netting. As the hour-mark approached, James Collins rose above Ron Vlaar to
meet a Mark Noble corner, but Given was on hand to comfortably tip it over
the top. Then Nene ducked inside onto his left foot but his ambitious curler
sailed behind. West Ham did at least get the ball in the Villa net, but
Valencia was flagged offside as he nodded Nene's centre into the left-hand
corner. Big Sam threw on Carlton Cole for the final 12 minutes, but
West Ham carved out very little of note in the closing minutes. In fact,
Villa came closer to extending their lead, not once, but twice. Ashley
Westwood's daisy cutter drifted past Adrian's right-hand upright, before
Gabriel Agbonlahor skewed wide with only the 'keeper to beat.
Aston Villa: Given, Vlaar, Okore, Bacuna (Hutton 78), Cleverley, Westwood,
Delph, Richardson, Benteke, N'Zogbia, (Agbonlahor 71), Grealish (Sanchez 90)
Subs: Guzan, Weimann, Cole, Senderos
Booked: N'Zogbia
Goal: Cleverley 31
West Ham United: Adrian, Cresswell, Nolan (Song 46), Kouyate, Downing, Noble
(Cole 78), Jenkinson, Collins, Amalfitano (Nene 46), Valencia, Burke
Subs: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Cullen, Cole, Jarvis
Booked: Song
Referee: Lee Mason
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On this day - 10 May
WHUFC.com
Classic match
West Ham United 4-3 Leicester City
Premier League
10 May 1998
The Hammers closed the 1997/98 season with a mid-table battle against Martin
O'Neill's Leicester City. Neither team had much to play for, but that was
not apparent in the way the game was approached, with plenty to entertain
the 25,781 Boleyn Ground crowd. West Ham were in a rich vein of goalscoring
form, having drawn 3-3 at Crystal Palace in their previous match, and it did
not take them long to get off the mark this time, with Frank Lampard's15th
minute strike opening the scoring. Samassi Abou made it two on 31 minutes to
give West Ham a position of strength before the break. Leicester pulled one
back on 59 through former Hammer Tony Cottee, but it was soon 3-1 thanks to
Trevor Sinclair. The drama continued and the Foxes again closed the deficit
thanks to Emile Heskey, before the hosts could relax again due to Abou's
second of the game. Cottee struck again with seven minutes to go, but West
Ham had done enough to secure a thrilling victory which gave them an
eighth-place finish.
Head to our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the day to remember our
1980 FA Cup victory, which also fell on 10 May.
Complete record - 10 May
1980 West Ham United 1-0 Arsenal (FA Cup final)
1982 West Ham United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Division One)
1983 West Ham United 1-3 Arsenal (Division One)
1995 West Ham United 3-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
1998 West Ham United 4-3 Leicester City (Premier League)
Played 4, Won 2, Drawn 1, Lost 1, Scored 10, Conceded 8
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'We have no cutting edge'
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce admitted a poor first-half showing cost West Ham United
anything from Saturday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Aston Villa.
A lifeless showing from the Hammers in the opening 45 minutes was compounded
when Jack Grealish danced to the byline unchallenged before crossing for Tom
Cleverley to tap home just past the half-hour mark. Despite throwing on Alex
Song and Nene at the break and producing an improved performance after the
interval, Sam Allardyce's side had just one shot on target and failed to
navigate a way past or repeatedly test Villa goalkeeper Shay Given. When
West Ham did get the ball into the Irishman's net midway through the second
period, Enner Valencia's well-placed header was ruled out for offside
against the Ecuador forward - a decision that led to lively debate among
television and radio pundits and supporters on social media alike. "I was
baffled by the lack of quality shown by the whole team in the first half,
considering how much we train and how many passing drills we do," Big Sam
told West Ham TV. "We were kicking the ball straight to them or kicking it
out of play to the opposition, which was hugely frustrating. "We had to make
a change to the system and to the personnel and said to them 'If you want to
get something out of the game, you need to play better, especially in
possession'. That got better in the second half, but our old problem arose
again and that is that we can't score in open play. "That's been a problem
for weeks now and shows you how much we miss Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho
and it hammers it home. We might play well here and there and play as well
as Villa did in some parts of the game, but we have no cutting edge at the
minute. "The longer it has gone on and the more we look at it, the more
apparent it is that we have got a big problem there. No matter who gets the
chance, they can't put it in the back of the net and because of that, life
is very difficult for us to try to win a game at the moment."
After a toothless first-half performance, West Ham at least put some
pressure on Tim Sherwood's men after the break, but had just one shot on
target - a James Collins header tipped over by Given - to show for their
efforts. "We didn't think Enner's goal was offside. We thought the header
was onside and that it was a bad decision from the assistant referee. Enner
could have had a penalty for a foul by Bacuna in the first half, but we are
not finding the quality to hit the target enough or score goals. "I thought
Ginge had scored off the corner and it was a good save by Shay Given, but we
are disappointed we haven't scored a goal or created enough overall."
One of the few positives the Hammers could take from their trip to
Birmingham was the performance of Reece Burke on his third Barclays Premier
League start. The 18-year-old helped to shackle in-form Christian Benteke,
while he was blameless when Jack Grealish got past Stewart Downing and
crossed for Cleverley's winner. "He was great and him and Ginge handled
Benteke very well. I thought the goal we gave away was a gift, though. We
should have done a lot better with the run from Grealish and made sure he
didn't get that far, but he did. "It was very disappointing overall. We are
not under the pressure Aston Villa are under, but when they were getting a
bit nervous late in the game, we should have produced a bit more quality and
got back in the game but didn't."
With mid-table Everton at home and relegation-threatened Newcastle United
away to close out the the season, Big Sam should be optimistic of picking up
points, but he knows his team need to find ways to score if they are going
to do so. "If we can't score a goal, how are we going to win? That's a real
problem for us at the moment. No matter what system or combination I try,
nobody out there is capable of scoring a goal in open play. "It's going to
have to change dramatically in the last two games if we are to get the
points on the board and get up to that 50-point mark we are desperate to get
to."
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Cresswell frustrated as goal touch deserts Hammers
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell admitted the Hammers felt a familiar frustration as they
slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday. With four goals in their
last nine games to their name and missing Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll
through injury, West Ham's recent struggles to find the net surfaced again
at Villa Park. That meant Tom Cleverley's 31st minute goal was enough to
hand the hosts maximum points and leave Cresswell and his teammates still
searching for a first away league win of 2015. "We're disappointed," he
admitted. "We just need to take one of the chances we're creating, but
unfortunately we couldn't do that on Saturday and we paid the price with the
goal they scored in the first half. "I think we had a couple of chances.
Enner had his header ruled out for offside, but I think if we score the
first goal it's a different game. "We were disappointed with the way we
conceded. Grealish pulled it back from the line and unfortunately for us
it's gone through James Collins' legs and the lad's tapped it in. "They're
fighting for their lives down at the bottom and that's never nice for
anyone, including the players. "They were 1-0 up and they were always going
to sit back in the last 15, 20 minutes. We just needed that goal which we
couldn't get."
The Hammers now face a home meeting with Everton and an away trip to
Newcastle United to finish the season and Cresswell is determined to help
his team rediscover their shooting boots. He added: "We want to finish with
a flourish by taking six points from the two games against Everton and
Newcastle, to try and finish as high up that table as we can."
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Lletget joins LA Galaxy
WHUFC.com
West Ham United can confirm that midfielder Sebastian Lletget has joined MLS
club LA Galaxy on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee.
Lletget, 22, returns to his native California after six years with West Ham,
during which he graduated from the Academy and made one first-team
appearance in the FA Cup third-round defeat at Nottingham Forest in January
2014. Having initially been scouted by the Hammers' International Academy,
the American also made more than 70 appearances for the Development Squad
during his time in east London.
San Francisco-born Lletget will join a Galaxy squad that also includes
former Hammers loanee Robbie Keane and will soon be augmented by the arrival
of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. West Ham United would like to thank
Sebastian for his hard work and commitment and wish him all the very best
for his future career.
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Foxes too strong for youthful U18s
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U18s closed their season with a 2-0 defeat by Leicester City
at Little Heath on Saturday.
The final-day loss saw the Hammers, who fielded no less than five U15
schoolboys during the course of the match, finish sixth in the Barclays U18
Premier League Tier Two table.
After a strong opening 40 minutes, a mistake in the midfield by West Ham
midfielder Noha Sylvestre allowed Leicester to break forward and take the
lead through Harvey Barnes' goal.
The Hammers tried to fight back in the second half against their older
opposition, but Foxes substitute Admiral Muskwe confirmed the result by
doubling the visitors lead with the final kick of the season.
After Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at home Reading, U18s coach Mark Phillips made
three changes to his starting line-up. Alex Pike, Emmanual Onariase - away
with the first team at Aston Villa - and Grady Diangana all missed out,
allowing Phillips to give 14-year-old trio Mason Barrett, Ben Wells and
Alfie Lewis their first starts at U18 level.
At the other end of the experience scale, goalkeeper Sam Howes captained the
Hammers on his 54th appearance for the youth team, while Oscar Borg and Joe
Powell joined another U15 star in Idris Kanu in attack.
To further lower the average age of the squad, Phillips' substitutes' bench
was made up of goalkeeper Clarke Bogard and more 14-year-olds in Malyk
Hamilton and Korrey Henry.
The Hammers came out the blocks positively and caused the Leicester backline
several problems from set pieces. Winger Powell is known for his crossing
ability so was placed on free-kick and corner duty, but the visiting defence
dealt with his whipped crosses into the penalty area.
It was Leicester that went to closest in the opening stages, though, when
Vashon Neufville gave away possession on the edge of the box, giving Foxes
striker Daniel Rowe the time and space to fire just wide of the post.
Down the other end, Lewis' tricky feet enabled him to skip through the
Leicester midfield before feeding Powell, who fired low at Max Smith-Vernam.
With 42 minutes of the clock, the visitors took the lead. Sylvestre
attempted to switch the ball to the opposite wing, but his pass was
intercepted by King. The Foxes player beat Ross Elsom inside the penalty
area and crossed low to Barnes, who slid the ball into the back of the net.
As half-time approached, the Hammers produced one more effort on goal.
Powell's corner was headed straight back to him on the right wing and, after
cutting in, his bending effort was just tipped over the bar by Smith-Vernam.
In the early stages of the second half, the visitors looked like they had
finally gained control over the young Hammers and were starting to pass the
ball around the pitch smoothly. Defenders Elliott Percival and Cedric Kipre
both found themselves in advanced positions and tested Howes in the the West
Ham goal.
Phillips then introduced his two U15 substitutes into the action. Hamilton
replaced Browne, who was playing his second game since returning from a
long-term injury, while Henry replaced Lewis in the centre of midfield.
The Hammers tried to fight back and grab an equaliser but it was Leicester
who were to score the second goal of the game and secure the three points
for themselves.
It was substitute Muskwe who retrieved the ball to feet inside and after
being given far too much room to turn, he placed the ball confidently past
Howes and into the corner of the net.
With the season's fixtures now all completed by Phillips' side, the Hammers
finished in sixth place in the Barclays U18 Premier League Tier Two Play-Off
Stage with seven points from their seven fixtures. Prior to the play-off
stages, West Ham finished the regular season in sixth place, with 32 points
from their 22 Barclays U18 Premier League South fixtures.
The Hammers will now take a squad away to the HTFC Citibank Soccer Sevens in
Hong Kong at the end of this month. It will be the fourth time that the club
have sent a squad the tournament. In both 2008 and 2009, the Hammers
finished as runners-up before winning the Plate competition in 2012.
Among the squad selected for the tournament are highly-rated winger Djair
Parfitt-Williams, striker Jordan Brown and Saturday's substitute goalkeeper
Bogard.
U18s: Howes, Barrett, Elsom, Wells, Neufville, Browne (Hamilton), Sylvestre,
Lewis (Henry), Borg, Kanu, Powell
Subs not used: Bogard
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Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 9th May 2015
By: Staff Writer
West Ham slumped to yet another miserable - and entirely predictable -
defeat against one of the Premier League's strugglers at Villa Park this
afternoon.
A first half strike from Tom Cleverley was enough to secure a much-needed
win for Villa, who are now four points clear of the drop zone with just two
fixtures to play.
And what better opposition for them to face on an afternoon when they
desperately needed to take all three points than a West Ham side who
continue to appear disjointed, dispirited and disinterested?
The Irons' season, effectively over the moment David Sullivan was attacked
by angry fans in the car park at West Brom in the FA Cup has lurched from
one disappointment to another since that particular Valentine's Day
massacre.
Since then, West Ham have managed to win just two games - both by a single
goal - against Sunderland and Burnley. So badly have the goals dried up that
as things stand, United have scored just three more goals this season than
during the 2013/14 Premier League campaign.
Indeed, since the defeat at the Hawthorns - a total of 11 games - West Ham
have scored a pitiful tally of just seven goals. With Carlton Cole, Enner
Valencia and Nene looking lost without the additional firepower of Diafra
Sakho and Andy Carroll, the writing was on the wall this afternoon from the
moment Cleverley scored.
The Hammers started the game poorly and with an emphasis on defence (a
strange decision, given the almost meaningless nature of the game). With
Enner Valencia ploughing a lone furrow in attack - a role he simply fails to
shine in - the only surprise was that it took the hosts a full 13 minutes to
fashion a decent shot at goal.
Benteke and Delph then went close, before the deciding goal arrived. A break
on the left-hand side saw Grealish find the byeline before pulling the ball
back to Cleverley, in acres of space, to add the finishing touch.
That he was afforded so much room was due to marker Kevin Nolan - who had
been tracking his run - shutting off a second too early, allowing the former
Man United midfielder to roam into the box unattended.
Having barely made an impression ahead of the break Sam Allarydyce rang the
changes, altering his team's shape to the 442 diamond that proved so
fruitful in the first half of the season. The ineffective Nolan was hooked
for Alex Song whilst Nene replaced the equally anonymous Morgan Amalfitano.
The new shape worked - to a degree, at least - for it took Villa until the
85th minute to fashion their first shot at goal following the half time
interval. West Ham were not exactly raining shots down upon Shay Given
though, and the Irish stopper rarely had to intervene; only once, when a
James Collins header was looping under the crossbar was he forced to make a
save.
Bar Collins' nod there were chances for Nene (a dipping volley inches too
high) and ... Nene (another volley that narrowly missed its intended target)
- although too often the Hammers failed to make the most of Villa's
reluctance to break forward in numbers.
Valencia briefly thought he'd grabbed the equaliser when finding the net
through Nene's delivery, although TV replays appeared to suggest the
linesman was right - just! - to flag for offside.
And in the end substitute Gabriel Agbonlahor should have wrapped the game
with a glorious chance in the fourth minute of added-on time but a fantastic
tackle from Hammer of the Year Aaron Cresswell meant the chance went
begging.
Next up for West Ham is the visit of Everton for the final home league game
of the season. If anyone can be bothered to turn up, that is.
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Sam Allardyce says his West Ham side are lacking a cutting edge in front of
goal
Last Updated: 09/05/15 7:32pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce has questioned the linesman's decision to rule Enner Valencia
offside during West Ham's defeat at Aston Villa. Manager Sam Allardyce
bemoaned West Ham's failures in front of goal after they suffered a 1-0
defeat at Aston Villa. Tom Cleverley scored Villa's winner to ease their
relegation fears while Allardyce admits his side "can't score goals" at
present, with just eight in their last 14 Premier League games. Saturday's
loss meant West Ham have continued their miserable run in the Premier
League, having picked up just three wins since December 20. For a number of
weeks now we have tried and tried and tried to find the goals you need and
we can't find them. Simple as that," said Allardyce. "Whatever we do,
whatever chances we create, none of our players seem to convert them into
goals. Because of that, life is extremely difficult. "Our last two goals
were an Aaron Cresswell free-kick and a Mark Noble penalty. We failed in
front of goal and because of that we end up losing the game 1-0."
Enner Valencia had a header ruled out for offside in the second half and
Allardyce added: "In saying all that, I think Valencia's header is a goal.
"The assistant referee is in no position to give a decision one way or the
other. He is four yards in the wrong position, so he guesses. I find that
rather difficult to take." However, Allardyce praised his makeshift defence
for keeping the Hammers in touching distance, adding: "I did think we were
pathetic with the way we let the goal in, but considering we have James
Tomkins and Winston Reid out, Ginge (James Collins) and Reece Burke have
done a fantastic job."
The Hammers were improved after making two changes at the break and
Allardyce said: "Our overall play got better at half-time when we changed
it, it wasn't very good in the first half. "I thought that our passing was
nothing short of awful, so we changed it around and it got better. "But,
like I said, no cutting edge sadly."
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Liverpool defender Glen Johnson poised for surprise free transfer back to
West Ham
22:30, 9 May 2015 By Neil Moxley
The England international is believed to be in discussions over a free
transfer back to his first senior club after six years at Anfield
The Mirror
Glen Johnson is poised for a return to West Ham, writes Neil Moxley in the
Sunday People. The Hammers are understood to be in negotiations to bring the
England international back to Upton Park. Johnson, 30, began his career with
the Eastenders before moving to Chelsea as the first signing of the Roman
Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge. Having spent the last six years with
Liverpool, Johnson is out of contract in the summer with no prospect of
being offered a new deal. Carl Jenkinson has performed well for Sam
Allardyce in the right-back slot this season but is poised to return to
Arsenal at the end of the campaign. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirmed
last week that he intends to keep Jenkinson. And West Ham's pursuit of
Johnson shows that Jenkinson is unlikely to return for the club's final
season at Upton Park. The Hammers are confident of landing their man after
making an early move to grab his signature. And Johnson could find his
former England boss Steve McClaren in charge if he signs. The Derby manager
has committed his future to the Rams after turning down Newcastle last week.
But West Ham could be ready to part company with Sam Allardyce and have
added McClaren's name to a list of possible replacements.
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West Ham will replace Alex Song with a big name signing when his loan deal
ends
22:28, 9 May 2015 By Dean Jones
Song, on loan from Barcelona, has previously stated that he could remain at
Upton Park because he loves living in London
The Mirror
Alex Song will leave West Ham this summer - but the club plan to replace him
with another big-name signing. Song, on loan from Barcelona, has previously
stated that he could remain at Upton Park because he loves living in London.
But it is understood no permanent deal will be taken up and the Hammers will
look at other options. There is currently uncertainty over who will be in
charge next season but whoever the long-term manager is will be given the
go-ahead to pursue two marquee signings - one in midfield and one in attack.
It is part of the club's plan to invest in quality players to try to keep
them clear of any relegation fight before they make an exciting move to the
Olympic Stadium. Carl Jenkinson was one loanee they wanted but they may now
look elsewhere for a right-back, as Arsene Wenger has hinted he will be
given a chance at Arsenal. Good news for West Ham is that player-of-the-year
Aaron Cresswell is committed to staying at the club and will be rewarded
with a new contract.
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Football bad boy Ravel Morrison reunited with girlfriend he was accused of
attacking
21:50, 9 May 2015 By Vaz Sayed
The former Manchester United and West Ham player was pictured cuddling Reah
Mansoor, 20, at Alton Towers
The Mirror
Football bad boy Ravel Morrison has been taken back by his ex, fewer than
four months after he was cleared of attacking her. Morrison, 22, was
pictured cuddling pouting Reah Mansoor, 20, at Alton Towers theme park in
Staffordshire. Yet charges that the ex-Manchester United and West Ham player
assaulted Reah and her mum Parveen were only dropped in January. A
harassment charge was withdrawn in November after Morrison was initially
accused of threatening to throw acid in Reah's face and have her shot. A
source told the Sunday People : "It is unbelievable they are back together
after all that has happened. But they love each other. They want to put the
past behind them and give their relationship another go."
Reah posted a selfie on Twitter of them cosying up while she pouts at Alton
Towers. She also posted an emoji of a man and woman holding hands. Charges
were dropped in January after Morrison was accused of hitting Reah and her
mum following a night at a club in his home city of Manchester in July.
Morrison, once considered England's best prospect since Paul Gascoigne, has
signed a pre-contract agreement with Italian side Lazio for next season.
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Baffled Allardyce returns to his old script
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on May 9, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
It's becoming increasingly difficult to report Sam Allardyce press
conferences and make them sound any different to the ones that have gone
before. Today he admitted to West Ham TVC: "I was baffled by the lack of
quality shown by the whole team in the first half, considering how much we
train and how many passing drills we do. "We were kicking the ball straight
to them or kicking it out of play to the opposition, which was hugely
frustrating. "We had to make a change to the system and to the personnel and
said to them 'If you want to get something out of the game, you need to play
better, especially in possession'. That got better in the second half, but
our old problem arose again and that is that we can't score in open play."
What he failed to add was that the same lack of quality has been present in
many games since Christmas which is why the pressure on his job is now at
bursting point. However, we are then treated to the familiar old story of
the missing Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho as he grinds on: "That's been a
problem for weeks now and shows you how much we miss Andy Carroll and Diafra
Sakho and it hammers it home.
"We might play well here and there and play as well as Villa did in some
parts of the game, but we have no cutting edge at the minute.
"The longer it has gone on and the more we look at it, the more apparent it
is that we have got a big problem there. No matter who gets the chance, they
can't put it in the back of the net and because of that, life is very
difficult for us to try to win a game at the moment."
What he didn't add was that in Nene - who until today has been barely used -
we have a player clearly capable of changing matches were he 100 pc Premier
League fit. He of course hasn't been given that opportunity! I'm tired of
Sam's script, of the season, of the regular excuses and refusal to admit
this may be a managerial problem. Watching a seemingly youthful Tim Sherwood
drive his Villa team on allowed me to see how it should be at our gaff. I
believe the change will be made. If it's not then all hell is likely to
break loose and rightly so. When a manager suffers this run of results and
effectively admits he doesn't know how to sort it there's only one solution.
No doubt there are some out there who will disagree and yer know what? That
baffles me
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Two games to go - oh God please make it end!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on May 9, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Beating Burnley 1-0 at home and losing to Villa away by the same scoreline
shows us all where we are! Despite the League position of tenth we are no
better than a relegation side at the moment and as miserable week follows
miserable week, nobody seems to have a clue how to make it better. Two more
games - oh God please make it end!
The goal that won it was of the quality we would all love to see West Ham
produce - sadly we never even hinted that we were capable of such stuff.
Jack Grealish created it when the 19-year-old burst past Stewart Downing to
flash as cross from the dead ball line Cleverley to prod into the empty net.
It had been coming. Earlier Bacuna fired a free kick narrowly over Adrian's
crossbar; Okore teed up Charles N'Zgobia, whose shot was blocked by Nolan
and Delph picked out Cleverley whose volley was palmed away by Adrian.
Sam Allardyce finally decided to give Nene some real time introducing him
at the start of the second period and immediately there was more impact. He
crashed a shot over Shay Given's crossbar before a Collins header was turned
over the top by the Villa keeper. Nene was busy throughout the second period
but there was no cutting edge to these Hammers and the inevitable
introduction of Carlton Cole did nothing to change that. In fact it was the
hosts who almost extended their lead when Ashley Westwood's effort went
wide and Gabriel Agbonlahor screwed his effort wide. It was poor but if any
of us are entirely honest I don't believe we expected anything else. Villa
wanted it more; Tim Sherwood prowling the dug out area demonstrated that,
as for the most part Sam Allardyce sat snugly in his seat.
A change of manager at Villa Park has shown what can happen at a club - how
quickly things have turned around for the other team in claret and blue.
Yes I am making a big point! They are now all but safe and just four places
behind us on 38 points. It tells me everything I want to know.
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Moyes says it again: "I want to stay"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on May 9, 2015 in Whispers
Clart & Hugh
David Moyes has given a new interview in which he appears to make it crystal
clear he definitely wants to remain at Real Sociedad.
And he has explained why he went there, how he is preparing for the next
season and why he turned down various jobs in the Premier League.
Speaking to The Guardian he said: ""I turned down Premier League jobs; I
didn't think they were right. I would never have left Everton if it hadn't
been Manchester United.
I was [supposed to be] there six years and you think United give managers
time. I'd worked incredibly hard to get to the top and it was taken away
from me very quickly.
"I didn't want the disappointment to last. I had to take a step back and
climb up again. I wanted somewhere I'd be allowed to work, where I could
enjoy football again."
"I want new analysts. We have a chief scout; I would like another. I'd like
scouts in different countries. I've started to put the [recruitment] process
in place and, in time, that will help.
"That costs but long term it's cost-saving. The TV money changes soon and
I'd like us to be ready so that if we do have money to spend we have a
process in place. The president's in favour and so is the sporting
director."
"I've told the president I want three or four players. I'm looking at the
English market, players out of contract, boys under 23, people I can get for
little money."
However, despite that, reports published a week ago claim the sporting
director and bosses won't stand in his way should he receive a Premier
League offer and it is know the Irons are seriously keen.
Moyes however continues: I'm a bit of a threat [to other teams] now because
I can go there and bring players to Spain. I'm looking at loans too. I'd
like to keep my [limited] money for one player, maybe two, but maybe bulk up
[the squad] with one or two [loans or free transfers].
And because la Real has a British tradition I hope it won't be outrageous if
two or three British players end up here."
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Sunday, May 10
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