Sunday, August 23

Daily WHUFC News - 23 August 2015

Sunday 23 Aug  Updated Sunday 23 Aug 01:00 
ON THIS DAY

On this day - 23 August

Anniversary

Name: James Collins
Born: Newport, Wales, 23 August 1983
Clubs: Cardiff City, West Ham United, Aston Villa, West Ham United
International: Wales - 41 caps, two goals

Hammers defender James Collins turns 32 today.

The Welshman is now in his second spell at the Boleyn Ground, and currently has 152 appearances for the Club to his name, along with six goals.

He initally arrived at the Boleyn Ground from first team Cardiff City in July 2005, spending four years in east London and forming part of the squad which competed in the 2006 FA Cup final against Liverpool.

Collins then played for Aston Villa for nearly three years and returned to east London with the Hammers back in the Premier League in 2012, scoring his first goals upon his return in the 2-2 FA Cup draw with Manchester United.

Classic match

West Ham United 3-2 Burnley
Division One
23 August 1975

The Hammers made it two wins from their first three fixtures of the season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Burnley at the Boleyn Ground on this day 40 years ago.

West Ham did not have it all their own way, but just about managed to prevail and collect both points.

They were helped by a double by Alan Taylor, which was added to by a Graham Paddon goal.

West Ham sat sixth after this victory and would go on to top the league in November, but their form tailed off to finish 18th, although they did enjoy a run to the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Complete record - 23 August

1947 Bradford Park Avenue 4-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1948 Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1951 West Ham United 1-1 Bury (Division Two)
1952 West Ham United 1-0 Southampton (Division Two)
1954 Blackburn Rovers 5-2 West Ham United (Division Two)
1958 Portsmouth 1-2 West Ham United (Division Two)
1961 Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1965 West Ham United 1-1 Sunderland (Division One)
1966 Arsenal 2-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1969 West Ham United 1-3 West Bromwich Albion (Division One)
1971 West Ham United 0-0 Ipswich Town (Division One)
1975 West Ham United 3-2 Burnley (Division One)
1976 West Ham United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers (Division One)
1978 Newcastle United 0-3 West Ham United (Division Two)
1980 Preston North End 0-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1986 West Ham United 1-0 Coventry City (Division One)
1989 West Ham United 2-0 Bradford City (Division Two)
1995 Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
1997 Everton 2-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
2000 Leicester City 1-0 West Ham United (Premier League)
2003 Rotherham United 1-0 West Ham United (Division One)
2009 West Ham United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)
2014 Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham United (Premier League)

Played 23, Won 8, Drawn 5, Lost 10, Scored 28, Conceded 33

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Saturday 22 Aug  Updated Saturday 22 Aug 18:39 
WEST HAM TV

Bilic - I want to apologise to the fans

Slaven Bilic could not hide his disappointment following West Ham United's error-ridden 4-3 home Barclays Premier League defeat by AFC Bournemouth.


The Hammers gift-wrapped the Cherries' first-ever top-flight victory, with two mistakes by Aaron Cresswell and a late blunder by Carl Jenkinson, who was sent-off, contributing to a difficult afternoon at the Boleyn Ground.

West Ham were two goals down at the break after Callum Wilson benefitted from Cresswell's slips, before Mark Noble's penalty and Cheikhou Kouyate's finish levelled things after half-time. However, Marc Pugh put Bournemouth back in front before Jenkinson was robbed by and then fouled Max Gradel, allowing Wilson to complete his hat-trick from the spot.

Modibo Maiga pulled one back for the ten men, and there were a couple of moments of panic inside the Bournemouth box in added time, but Bilic admitted his team had not deserved anything after committing so many gaffes.

"It was a tough day," the manager told West Ham TV. "It is tough to talk about it because if you talk about the first half you could talk for ages. I am so disappointed and I am sure the lads are.

"I want to apologise to the fans because it was not acceptable, not only in terms of quality because you can have a bad day, but I am talking about basics – determination, closing people down and putting them under pressure. They won the game because of that.

"You have to give Bournemouth credit of course, but any team will benefit if you give them space. In the first half, it was not just one thing. We were second best and were not near them. Because of that, they created a few dangerous moments on the flanks, but they didn't score from that.

"If you add in a couple of mistakes that we did for their first and second goals [it does not help]. For those two goals the ball was at our feet and you wonder how it was possible that we made those mistakes. It was only because of Randolph that we went in 2-0 down.

"The second half was a different story and we got some extra gear from the penalty, then it took us up and were aggressive and a different team. We scored another one but then they scored twice and after the fourth goal, which again came from a moment that the ball was at our feet, and we had a player sent-off, it was tough.

"If you do so many mistakes, the only outcome is that you will lose the game."

Back to back home defeats – both of which saw West Ham 2-0 down at half-time – have seen the euphoria of the opening weekend win at Arsenal disappear in the space of a fortnight, but Bilic says his players must clear their heads and ensure they start games on the front foot in the future.

"We can talk about it being early days but we have to change the mentality and only we can change it," he continued. "It starts with me.

"Maybe after that game against Arsenal we were thinking we were going to cruise and that we only needed to turn up on the pitch and it was going to be OK, but I said it then and that is not just wrong, it is suicidal.

"I don't buy that this is just the beginning. I will turn this around. It is not a time to panic or a time for alarms, but we can't continue to start to play only in the second half.

"We need to start to play from the day before the game, let's be honest.

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Saturday 22 Aug  Updated Saturday 22 Aug 19:04 
REACTION

Disappointed Randolph laments slow start

Darren Randolph admitted West Ham United were shell-shocked by another slow start at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday, as Barclays Premier League new boys Bournemouth made off with the spoils.  


On his league debut for the Hammers, the 28-year-old stopper was blameless for the Cherries' four goals and even made eye-catching stops from Max Gradel and Marc Pugh along the way. 

But that came as little consolation to the Republic of Ireland international, who was naturally despondent after the Hammers' second home defeat on the spin.       

"The one thing we said before the game was don't start like we did last week, and yet we did," he told West Ham TV. 

"No matter who you play against, if you give teams a two-goal lead, it's hard to get back. You work as hard as you can to get back into the game and sometimes it's not enough, it's too late. 

"It took a while for the boys to realise what was happening, trying to get to grips with everything. We regrouped at half time and even though we conceded two more, we were a lot more solid, I think.

"There is plenty of fight, it would be nice to start the game like that and go two nil up, instead of having to chase the game and make everything hard for ourselves."   

Having hauled themselves off the canvas and back to two apiece, it was doubly disappointing to then fall behind once more. And Randolph later conceded that Pugh's goal, the Cherries' third, was probably the killer blow. 

"We did so well getting it back to 2-2, but we couldn't even hold on to a point. It's very disappointing.

"The place was rocking at that point and we needed that next attempt on goal, or that next goal, to go on. Losing the third took the sting out of everything." 

Though the result ultimately went against the Hammers at home, Randolph was nonetheless impressed by the Claret and Blue army and shared in their frustration.  

"The fans here are great once they see that everyone's trying and everyone's putting in a shift, they'll get behind you and give you that backing.

"At 2-2, we had their backing. The fans were right there with us. Yes, they showed their frustration in the first half and they had every right to. We regrouped at half time, we got back into the game and they were fully behind us." 
Saturday 22 Aug  Updated Saturday 22 Aug 17:03 
MATCH REPORT

West Ham United 3-4 Bournemouth

Barclays Premier League 
West Ham United 3-4 Bournemouth 

West Ham United slipped to a second successive home defeat in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, as a Callum Wilson hat-trick earned the Cherries their first ever top-flight points.     

In a topsy-turvy affair, the Cherries could well have been out of sight by the interval. Wilson was twice the beneficiary of Aaron Cresswell errors, with Eddie Howe's men two up inside half an hour.

But it was West Ham with all the momentum after the interval. Having been felled by Joshua King, Mark Noble halved the Hammers' arrears from the spot, before Cheikhou Kouyate completed the comeback on the rebound.

The pendulum, however, would swing once more. Marc Pugh restored the Cherries' advantage with a tidy right-foot finish and then Carl Jenkinson saw red for hauling down Max Gradel when in on goal.

Wilson tucked home the spot-kick to earn the match ball and though Modibo Maiga strode through to bring West Ham back within one, it was to merely prove a consolation.              
      
Slaven Bilic had earlier made three changes to the side beaten at home by Leicester City last time out, with Mauro Zarate and Reece Oxford both missing through injury, while Adrian, of course, started the first of his three-game ban. 

In their place came skipper Kevin Nolan, Pedro Obiang and, making his Barclays Premier League bow for the Hammers, Darren Randolph. 

The Hammers started brightly enough. Kouyate's near-post cross had Nolan interested, but Artur Boruc snaffled it. And Winston Reid had the ball in the Cherries net inside seven minutes. The New Zealander's header from a Dimitri Payet corner ricocheted past Boruc, only for referee Jonathan Moss to penalise the No2 for a rather blatant push on Tommy Elphick.     

But just as they were against Leicester, West Ham were caught cold. After eleven minutes, an indecisive Aaron Cresswell was robbed on the by-line by Simon Francis, whose cross was met flush on the volley by Wilson and positively flew into the roof of the net. 

In response, Payet tried to play in Kouyate down the middle. His ball was a delicate one inside the full-back, but Boruc fell on it and gathered at the second attempt.  

Cresswell's afternoon was to get worse still on 28 minutes. The Hammers retrieved possession on the edge of the box but the left-back, in trying to roll it back to Randolph, only succeeded in gifting Wilson with another gilt-edged chance. He made no mistake, lashing it past the exposed West Ham stopper once more.     

The Cherries were rampant. Wilson skipped in behind for the umpteenth time and, but for the intervention of Randolph, Matt Ritchie would have tapped in at the far stick. 

Then Francis waltzed down the right and this time Joshua King volleyed over the top from eight yards. It could and should have been three. 

Bilic's response was to introduce James Tomkins for Angelo Ogbonna and switch Reid to the left side of the hosts' central defensive pairing.   

But still the chances came and good chances at that.  Tormentor-in-chief Wilson squared for Gradel, who, with all the time and space in the world, saw his effort repelled by an excellent Randolph stop.    

Matt Jarvis replaced Nolan at the interval, as the Hammers set about clawing their way back into the contest. They weren't made to wait long, less than three minutes to be precise.  

A less-than-convincing Boruc punch eventually fell to Noble, who, with Bournemouth players all around him, was tripped by an injudicious King challenge.

Moss had no hesitation whatever in pointing to the spot and Noble made no mistake, slotting clinically into the left-hand corner.   

Five minutes later it was all square. Diafra Sakho spun and fired goalward, and Boruc's strong right hand could only parry it back into the path of Kouyate, who slammed into the roof of the net. Some response, that.     

But Bournemouth were not done yet, far from it. When Gradel squared for substitute Marc Pugh on the edge of the box, Randolph had to be at his very best to fling out a right arm and repel the stinging drive. 

It was a warning that was not heeded. Moments later, Gradel played in Pugh down the West Ham right and once Pugh had cut inside the sliding challenge of Jenkinson, the No7 curled sweetly beyond Randolph.   

And the game was effectively over as a contest with ten to play. Jenkinson should have cleared his lines but Gradel got the better of him and the full-back, in a last-ditch effort to make amends, upended the Ivorian in the box. 

Jenkinson was given his marching orders and Wilson made it four from 12 yards, though Randolph, down low to his left, was actually very close to keeping it out. 

At the other end, Maiga strode through the Bournemouth backline to make for a grandstand finish. And with the last kick of the game, a Payet corner threatened to beat Boruc at his near post, but the Cherries were somehow able to hack it behind to earn their first points of the campaign. 

West Ham United: Randolph, Jenkinson, Reid, Ogbonna (Tomkins 35), Cresswell, Obiang, Noble, Kouyate, Nolan (Jarvis 46), Payet, Sakho (Maiga 73)
Subs: Spiegel, Collins, Lanzini, Cullen 

Goals: Noble 48, Kouyate 53, Maiga 82

Sent off: Jenkinson 

Bournemouth: Boruc, Francis, Cook, Elphick (c), Surman, Gradel (Gosling 85), Daniels, Wilson, King (Pugh 51), Ritchie (Smith 90), O'Kane  

Subs: Federici, Mings, Smith, Kermorgant, Distin

Goals: Wilson 11, 28, 80, Pugh 66  

Booked: Boruc   

Referee: Jonathan Moss 
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A QUESTION OF MENTALITY OR FORMATION ?

Blind Hammer examines Slaven Bilic's post match analysis of the Bournemouth defeat

Losing a game of football is not necessarily a disaster or a definer of a team's ability. Arsene Wenger often declares that how Arsenal are playing is more important than any single Premiership result. Leicester City is a good example of a team which, building upon confidence from promotion, retained belief in their manager, even whilst rock bottom, and eventually came good. All the time Leicester were losing reports appeared which pointed out how close matches were and that they were often unlucky.

Having said that, the worrying thing about the last two West Ham home games is that we were not unlucky in either game. In both games we were beaten by two teams who were better set up and played superior football. Yesterday at West Ham it appeared that there were some Bournemouth players no West Ham player matched. For example, Wilson, Francis and Ritchie. A similar list could have been produced after the Leicester game.

Whilst this should not be a cause for panic it is clearly a cause for concern. In two home games we have now conceded six goals and had two of our key defenders sent off with straight red cards. This follows a similar trend in our European games where our defence leaked goals against moderate opposition. In these games two more of our defenders, Collins and Tomkins also received straight red cards. Sackho of course joined this particular club at an early stage. It is still August but we have had five players sent off already this season, four of them in defence.

Against Bournemouth Creswell and Jenkinson had their worst games in a West Ham shirt. In Jenkinson's case this is the second poor game in a row.

By any sober analysis this is a defence in disarray. It clearly needs to be sorted. The most difficult thing to do in the Premier League is score goals. A team playing with the handicap of a leaky defence is a sure-fire way to court relegation.

In his post-match interview Bilic focussed on the attitude of his players and their lack of aggression. In particular he described them as needing a better mentality.

This is a worrying analysis as he has some clear responsibilities here. Given the player skill sets available to a manager in any game there are three inter-related areas in which a manager can influence play. The first is by team selection before and, via substitutions, during the game. The second is strategy and tactics including team formation, and finally by providing motivational/inspirational abilities to enable players to play, despite adversity, to the best of their ability.

Bilic's post-match comments places some doubt on his leadership abilities. The team on the pitch should mirror his personality, including aspects of discipline and concentration.

What can we make of Bilic in the other key areas of management? He has only some limited influence over the composition of his squad. Nevertheless it is a concern that one of his signings, Obonna, who was to be our key defensive lynch-pin this season, was tactically substituted before half time.

Where Bilic has complete responsibility is in team formation, tactics and for want of a better word morale. Can we really explain Cresswell's and Jenkinson's errors as being simply caused by "mentality"? Cresswell in particular had no such problems with mentality last season. My suspicion is whilst we obviously need a stronger squad the problems are also deeply rooted in team setup. We are no longer playing a long ball game. Instead we are playing a passing game with a back four supported by a holding midfielder, with three in a diamond supporting an up top and deep lying striker.

However the switch from the long ball, whilst pleasing on the eye, has also placed more pressures on the defensive sector of the team. We are becoming vulnerable on the flanks. Jenkinson and Cresswell are not only becoming exposed in defensive situations but are also under game pressure to provide the attacking width as well. Whilst this was spectacularly successful against Arsenal who failed to provide hardly any pressure on the flanks by playing a narrow midfield, it has not impressed in either of our own two home games or the European adventure.

West Ham is far too feeble defensively at the moment and too much is being expected of Jenkinson and Cresswell. This pressure lays, to my mind behind the fragilities these once dependable players are now exhibiting.

I believe Bilic needs to sort this out. My amateur advice is that if he wants Jenkinson and Cresswell to act as wing backs to provide support up and down the pitch, he needs to have a more cautious defensive setup. Specifically we need three defenders nominated to support rather than the current two. Reid Tomkins and Obonna should provide the insurance which could release Cresswell and Jenkinson into more familiar marauding roles with greater safety. The casualty in this setup would be either the second striker which would make life much tougher for players like Maiga, or potentially abandon the diamond to revert to a 5-3 -2. Of course 4-4-2 is also an option with wide players helping to cover the flanks with Jenkinson and Cresswell.

For the moment I really hope that this is simply a question of Bilic getting to know the Premier League and adapting formations to suit the players he has rather than persisting with ideal formations for which he currently does not have the talent.

What is undeniably true is that if he does not sort this out then problems with mentality, attitude and confidence will not improve. He now needs to show the practical leadership which can re-inspire a team.

David Griffith

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This past week has taken a lot of the excitement about the new season, new manager, a bright future, etc, and turned into anxiety and cynicism. Significant funds for strengthening the squad now looks to be in the neighborhood of 20 million net, Adrian's red card had many expecting Randolph to keep watching Bournemouth shots fly by him as if they were shot by a tennis ball machine, and Nolan started. The narrative was being set up on a tray. A team in desperate need of a goal let alone a result was coming to town, and the fear was they had come to the perfect place. Because I'm overtly emotional about West Ham and those feelings change every few minutes, this gloom and doom didn't surprise me. Nor do I expect it to leave me anytime soon.

Bournemouth started the game with the speed and aggression we expected from them, and wished from us. In the 4th minute, Francis and Gradel combined with some clever short passes to earn a corner, but the ensuing free kick was missed by Francis. West Ham answered minutes later with an attack of their own when Nolan, playing as a de-facto second striker, was on the receiving end of a Sakho back heel pass but Cook got their first to force a corner. The free kick came to Reid, who guided it into the back of the net right after he pushed Elphick to the ground, and the goal was disallowed.

In all of the years I've watched West Ham, I've seen plenty of shocking individual performances. Mostly by players whose uselessness was a foregone conclusion. But last year's Hammer Of The Year, Cresswell, decided to buck that trend and transform from a player I expect at least decency out of into a bad Sunday League sub. In the 11th minute, Cresswell gave the ball away to Francis on the touchline. Without hesitating, Francis sent a cross into Wilson who volleyed it past a helpless Randolph.

West Ham 0, Bournemouth 1.

West Ham tried to answer in the 14th minute when Payet sent a through ball that Kouyate couldn't run onto and Boruc got their first. Minutes later Noble sent a long pass to Sakho that he controlled and forced a corner. The initial set piece was cleared but Cresswell brought it back and crossed for Kouyate whose shot was high.

In your wildest nightmare, you couldn't have conjured up how badly our fullbacks played today. In the 22nd minute, Jenkinson lost the ball to Gradel deep in West Ham territory. He got back and eventually blocked the shot, but the tone for his awful display was set.

In the 28th minute, Cresswell did what I thought was impossible. Screw up even worse than he already had. With the ball pinging around the West Ham penalty area, Cresswell literally served the ball up for Wilson on a silver platter with the worst back pass imaginable. Italian defenders on the take a few years ago would be proud, and Wilson's mom will probably demand her son send Aaron a Thank You Card. Randolph had no chance whatsoever.

West Ham 0, Bournemouth 2.

The Cherries had more than a few chances to increase their lead before halftime but couldn't find the back of the net. In the 32nd minute Wilson and King worked a clever one-two before King tried to beat Randolph to the near post but hit the side netting instead. Bilic then made what looked like an odd substitution. Tomkins coming on wasn't that odd, but instead of Jenkinson taking a seat it was his seven million pound choice, Ogbanna.

Just before the whistle, Wilson ran at the West Ham defence, drawing three defenders to him. He passed to Gradel, who cut to his right before unleashing a rifle shot that Randolph was able to get his right hand to for a terrific save.

Halftime. West Ham 0, Bournemouth 2.

West Ham came out for the second half with another substitution, Matt Jarvis replacing Kevin Nolan. The other replacement was in the form of defensive foul ups, with Bournemouth replacing West Ham. In the 47th minute, Payet sent a free kick into the box that Boruc failed to handle with authority. His weak punch ended up at the feet of Noble, who cut to his right and invited a challenge in the box. King accepted the invitation and brought Noble down for a penalty. Noble slotted it home and West Ham were back in the game.

West Ham 1, Bournemouth 2.

Four minutes later, as the adrenaline rush from Noble's PK was just starting to subside, Cook let a West Ham throw get past him and onto the chest of Sakho. He turned and shot from a tight angle that Boruc couldn't handle and Kouyate stepped in to drill the rebound into the top of the net.

West Ham 2, Bournemouth 2.

Conventional wisdom would have said the more experienced Premier League team would continue their surge against the newcomers. Instead, Bournemouth asked most of the questions. In the 57th minute, Gradel collected the ball 35 yards from goal and let fly but his shot went wide. A minute later, not to get lost in the horror show that was our defending, an awful pass by Reid invited pressure that Noble eventually cleared. In the 63rd minute, Surman found Pugh at the top of the penalty area and drove a low shot on goal that forced a great save from Randolph. The pressure finally paid off in the 66th minute when Gradel won the ball in midfield before finding Pugh on the left with space abandoned by Jenkinson to work with. Pugh cut into the area, let Jenkinson slide by him as if he was in some kind of Ice Capades show sans a sequined dress, and curled a shot into the net at the far post.

West Ham 2, Bournemouth 3.

Five minutes later, Bilic used his final substitution and again it was a head scratcher. Maiga coming on was enough to groan about. Sakho coming off when we needed a goal just made it worse.

In the 78th minute, the worst day Carl Jenkinson has had to live through as a professional footballer came to an end in a way befitting such a description. Following a West Ham corner, Bournemouth broke on the counter. The ball came to Gradel on the left of the West Ham area. He ran past Jenkinson, who then pulled him down inside the box. Red card, penalty, hat trick for Wilson.

West Ham 2, Bournemouth 4.

Maiga…..odd to be typing that in anything other than a pseudo obituary about a footballer seemingly cut down in his prime… cut the lead in half when he collected the ball near the top of the area, ran past Francis and rolled it past Boruc. The final kick of the game came from a West Ham corner and the ball sat tantalizingly close to the goal before being kicked out.

Final Score. West Ham 3, Bournemouth 4.

Losing our first two home games of the season puts us in a position to have only three points from our first five matches. That would be the same start as we had under Grant. While I firmly believe today wasn't about a manager or money, that it was about a stunningly horrible display by our fullbacks, the end result is very worrying. These are the same defenders as last year. And I don't have enough faith in the board to bring in the kind of reinforcements needed to truly guarantee a safe season. Yes, I said safe season. My notion of a top half finish is, at least currently, out the window. Maybe that's an extreme over-reaction.

Maybe it isn't.

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West Ham transfers: Wissam Ben Yedder approach line up in attempt to solve striker crisis
• 0 COMMENTS
• 22:30, 22 AUGUST 2015

• BY TOM HOPKINSON , NEIL MOXLEY
The Irons want another forward having already lost Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll to injury PLUS: Joey Barton hasn't given up hope of a move to Upton Park

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Hammer time? Ben Yedder is seen as a like-for-like replacement for Enner Valencia
West Ham have turned to France to solve their goalscoring problems and are lining up a move for Toulouse forward Wissam Ben Yedder, writes Neil Moxley in the Sunday People.

The striker will cost the Hammers around £6m and is seen as a like-for-like replacement for Enner Valencia who has been sidelined with ligament trouble.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has been scouring the European leagues for a replacement who can make a difference for Slaven Bilic during Valencia's absence and is mulling over a move for the speedy finisher.

In pictures - West Ham 3-4 Bournemouth:


VIEW GALLERY


Meanwhile, Joey Barton hasn't given up hope that a move to West Ham could resurface, writes Tom Hopkinson in the Sunday People.

The free agent is wanted by several Championship clubs, including Nottingham Forest and Charlton, but still has his heart set on joining a Premier League side following his release from QPR.

He trained at West Ham, his most likely option, a couple of weeks ago and underwent a medical, but the club decided not to sign him after serious opposition from fans.


Joe's a no-go: Barton may be heading to Nottingham Forest unless West Ham do a U-turn on him

That prompted the midfielder, 32, to release a video in which praised the Hammers' 'knowledgeable' fans and told those who didn't want him at their club there were no hard feelings.

He has since met with Forest owner Fawaz Al-Hawasi and even though there are misgivings about signing him a move to the City Ground could materialise.

However, Barton still thinks he can do a job in the Premier League and hopes West Ham's mixed start to the season will see them re-approach him as Slaven Bilic looks to strengthen his squad.

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Irons end interest in former star
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 22, 2015 in News, Whispers

West Ham will make no further moves aimed at bringing Robert Green to Upton Park!

Club officials were absolutely delighted with the form shown by much-maligned Darren Randolph against Bournemouth and believe they have a decent number two on their hands.
Although four goals went by the Republic of Ireland international he could not be held responsible for any of them and but for a couple of fine saves the scoreline could have been worse.We were told: "Darren's form in the Europa Cup matches hadn't been encouraging and there were some worries which led to the Green moves. "But he was excellent against Bournemouth and there's a few relieved people around. On the back of that performance the club will stick with Darren."
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Exclusive

West Ham are set to settle on a new striker by the middle of this week.

David Sullivan is working day and night on the issue and senior sources revealed to ClaretandHugh this afternoon that they were expecting a breakthrough by Tuesday or Wednesday.

That coincides with Jack Sullivan's tweet from last night (Fri) and this afternoon we were told: "We will know where we are by midweek on two or three fronts.

"We have simultaneous moves going on as is usually the case and we'll do a deal one way or the other regardless."

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Big summer signing Angelo Ogbonna has made it clear he was unhappy at being subbed in the first half against Bournemouth this afternoon.

Slaven Bilic chose to take the Italian off fter 35 minutes, replacing him with James Tomkins at the heart of the defence.

Ogbonna tweeted this evening that he didn't believe he was having a poor game but is refusing to give up on things.

He said: "Haunted and unhappy match! I have to accept the coach's decisions but I was disappointed when i had to go back to the bench after 35′ 

"I was not playing badly. However I don't give up, we don't give up!"

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Irons 3 Bournemouth 4

It was summed up pretty accurately by Tony Gale in commentary: "I can't remember when two full backs played so badly in the same game!"

That may not be the precise top and bottom of it because Bournemouth at times played a brand of football we have been only able to dream about in recent years.

It's clearly the only way they can play with the ball going to feet 99 per cent of the time.

And apart from a 20 minute spell after the break when we came back from two down and looked as if we could go on to win, we really couldn't cope with it.

However, but for two shocking howlers by Aaron Creswell and an awful display which included a red card for Carl Jenkinson, after giving away a penalty, we may have got a result.

The Arsenal loanee twice lost possession in dangerous positions before his red card during by far his worst performance since arriving from the Emirates last season.

Cressie will have nightmares over his part in this defeat and so he should do, losing out on the right before the ball was crossed for Wilson to power home and then presenting the striker with a second from an awful attempted back pass.

The Hammers turned on the power at the start of the secon half and immediately got one back from the spot via Mark Noble after he had been brought down before Kouyate scored after Sakho's shot had come back off the keeper from Payet's corner.

There looked only one result after that as the irons poured forward but the Cherries slowly got their grip back ad  with Max Gradel particularly dangerous they broke and Pugh was found in space to curl a shot beyond Randolph.

They were further ahead three quarters of the way through the match when Jenkinson failed to clear his lines quickly and was left trailing in Gradel's wake before pulling him down and receiving his marching orders.

Wilson cracked home the fourth and to notch the first hat-trick of his career but the game had yet another twist when Mr Modibo Maiga arrived as a sub and turned well to fire home the third and his first for two years.

Sadly it was too little too late and the visitors got a hold of things playing some good possession football and hang on although it could have turned with the last kick of the match.

Dimitri Payet delivered a near perfect corner  which dipped low at the near post and was somehow scrambled away.

Yes, there are indeed reasons to be nervous but make no mistake, Bournemouth, like Leicester City last week, are a very good team who look set to get better.

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