Daily WHUFC News - II 20th April 2016

From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues an update – in
association with Spire Roding Hospital...

Hello everyone,

We have all players fit and all players available for selection for
tonight's Barclays Premier League visit of Watford to the Boleyn Ground.
Diafra Sakho returned to full training a few days ago after recovering from
a minor right knee injury. We were all disappointed not to reach the FA Cup
semi-finals last week, but we have five cup finals left in the Premier
League.
We have a fixture-free weekend coming up but, after a couple of days' rest
after the Watford game, the players will be in over the weekend for training
ahead of our next game at West Bromwich Albion. Looking further ahead, we
are planning the off-season and pre-season, which will be very short for
some players and a bit longer for others. We have players going off to the
Euros 2016 in France, to South America for World Cup qualifiers, to Africa
for Cup of Nations qualifiers, younger players to qualifiers and tournaments
and, potentially, players going to the Olympic Games in Rio. With all that
in mind, we are preparing individual off-season plans for every single
player, to give them the best-possible chance of returning for pre-season.
With regard to the pre-season, these plans are approaching finalization and
I am sure the Club will release the details to supporters in due course.

Enjoy the game tonight!

Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science

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Tomkins - Watford pair are a 'real handful'
WHUFC.com

James Tomkins has warned West Ham United's Official Programme that Watford's
front pair of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney are a 'real handful'. The No5
started at of centre-half at Vicarage Road when West Ham travelled around
the A406 to take on the newly-promoted Hornets – who visit the Boleyn Ground
in the Barclays Premier League this evening – last October. The Hammers sat
third in the table, while Watford went into the game in 13th, but the form
guide went out of the window as Quique Sanchez Flores' side secured a
deserved 2-0 victory. Both goals that horrible Halloween afternoon were
scored by Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo, who has gone on to enjoy a fine
debut season in England's top-flight with 14 Premier League goals to his
name.
Ighalo's partnership with captain Troy Deeney has been key to Watford's
seemingly secure position in mid-table, and Tomkins knows whoever is tasked
with marking the pair will need to be on their game this evening. "They are
a good team and obviously their front two are a real handful," Tomkins told
the Official Progrmame. "We obviously need to deal with them at our place,
because we didn't at theirs. "With Watford being a new team to the Premier
League, we didn't know a lot about them and we got a bit of a shock, because
it was a very hard game. We didn't underestimate them, but they were just
too good on the day."

Another Watford player Tomkins will need no second introduction to is the
Hornets' all-action midfielder Valon Behrami. The Switzerland international
spent two-and-a-half years in Claret and Blue between summer 2008 and
January 2011, lining up alongside the home-grown defender on dozens of
occasions. While he has been in and out of Flores' starting XI following his
£2.5 million move from German club Hamburg last July, Tomkins knows Behrami
possesses the quality to hurt his former employers this evening. "Yeah,
Valon, he was at West Ham and he always loved a bit of contact!" Tomkins
laughed, remembering his erstwhile colleague's non-stop, physical approach.
"That was Valon and the way he played. He always did his best for the team
and I'm sure he's doing the same for Watford. "I'm not sure he plays as
regularly for them as he did for us, but he's a good player among a lot of
good players who Watford have got."

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West Ham United v Watford
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 19th April 2016
By: Preview Percy

Due to circumstances beyond our control Preview Percy has been away. And due
to circumstances beyond our control, he's back.....

Where were we before I was interrupted. Right. Watford next. Home. 7:45pm on
a Wednesday. Just the usual rush hour rubbish to contend with on the tubes
then.

Our opponents come into the match limping along in the league in 12th place
with 41 points from the 33 games played thus far. They're not going to
trouble the European scorers through their league position and they are far
enough away from the relegation places for them not to be looking up results
from St James Park, Carrow Road or The Stadium of Light every Saturday
evening.

League form has not been that inspiring. Until their 1-0 win at the
Hawthorns last weekend you had to go back to February 13 for their last win,
a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park over Crystal Palace, who they meet in the Cup
semi-final this weekend, their progress having not been decided by the
increasingly unfit for purpose PGMOL. Since that win they have gained five
points from the seven matches played, the three points at West Brom being
accompanied by singletons from home draws with Bournemouth (0-0) and Everton
(1-1). Other than that it's been defeats all the way: 1-0 away at Man Utd
and at home to Leicester, 2-1 at home to Stoke and 4-0 away at Arsenal.

There was an element of high farce about their win over the Baggies at the
weekend where a woeful West Brom contrived to lose despite being awarded
penalties in the plural, something that came as quite a shock to us watching
the highlights on Match Of The Day who had been under the misapprehension
that once awarded a penalty no team that isn't Liverpool or Man Utd is
allowed another one until Halley's Comet has reappeared. Apparently that's
not the case but, just in case it was Berahino elected to tap both of them
gently back to Heurelho Gomes to give the 'keeper some practice lest the
weekend's Cup Semi-Final go the distance.

Gomes is the one confirmed starter for this one as Flores shuffles the pack
ahead of the Cup semi-final. The work experience kid with the Harry Potter
spectacles tells me that Pantilimon is the preferred custodian for the cup
games. He came in during the January window for an undisclosed fee in the
region of £5m, the move ending a spell at Sunderland that was less than
happy as he swapped places time and time again with the equally hapless Vito
"8-0" Mannone.

I suppose some of the more gullible amongst the Watford support might have
been taken in by the "Suarez Signs For Watford" headlines but not that many.
The headlines did, of course, refer to the Spanish defensive midfielder
Mario of that ilk tarther than the racist diving biting cheat currently with
Barcelona. The Spanish lad came in from Fiorentina for around £4m having had
an unsuccessful spell in Florence (no that's not a "Magic Roundabout" joke)
who he had joined in the Summer window from Atletico Madrid, where he did
spend some time being managed by Hornets' boss Quique Flores. He does have
full representative honours for Spain but three caps in as many years, with
the last coming over a year ago, suggests that he'll be on a beach somewhere
when his compatriots open their campaign in Toulouse against whatever the
Czech Republic will be called by then.

Another winter arrival was the Dutch-born Moroccan Nordin Amrabat who
pitched up at Vicarage Road from Malaga who received a reported £6m for
their trouble, The work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles
highlighted the following comment from the player's Wikipedia page: His
father recommended that Amrabat play at the amateur level while studying for
a different profession. He washed dishes, made desserts and vacuum cleaned
his school while playing for SV Huizen in Almere. Now that's a trick I'd pay
good money to see. Amrabat was once sent off for making a gesture that
suggested that a referee required glasses. I'm not quite sure how he would
have reacted to Jon Moss last weekend – if there is a gesture that signifies
that a brain transplant is required I have yet to encounter it, useful
though it might be here at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The
Bewildered.

Top scorer is Odion Igalho who may have been one of the last people to have
been named after the cinema in which they were conceived. Let's face it even
the chavviest single parent (and there is one around here who called her
pair Talullah and Leonardo) is probably going to baulk at saddling her
youngest with the name "Multiplex". Meanwhile (back on planet earth – ed)
Igalho has a haul of 16 goals in all competitions this season, 14 of those
coming in the league. Having said that, he's not notched in the league since
the home win in the league against Newcastle back in January, though he did
score in the Cup matches against Forest and the quarter-final against
Arsenal at the library.

The ex-Hammer in their midst is Valon Behrami. The Swiss international's
tenure at the Bo;eyn was punctuated by injury, though the one that he had
that mysteriously disappeared the second a transfer window closed did
somewhat call his commitment to the cause into question, especially as he
was gone as soon as the next window opened.

So what has happened over the past few weeks while I've been tending to the
needs of my even more aged parent, the malingering invalid? Not much. Every
game we have had has been decided one way or another by the failure of
referees to apply the laws of the game in a correct and proper manner. So
much the same as ever. The fact that the penalty given to us up at Leicester
was the first away penalty in the league since October 2010 (according to
the work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles) tells you
everything you need to know really. Especially as we now know that Halley's
Comet isn't due to make an appearance until 2061.

There are two sorts of referee in PGMOL. The arrogant and the incompetent.
The arrogant like to be the centre of attention at all times and are not
above making the odd controversial decision to ensure that that continues to
be the case. The incompetent have much the same effect on matches only they
do it by accident. There are those of you who like to defend the
indefensible, usually opening the argument with the phrase "it's a really
difficult job…." I agree. Which is why we should ensure those employed to do
the job are up to it. How would you like a clearly substandard airline pilot
to be taking charge of your flight to whichever Costa you great unwashed go
to these days purely because BALPA decided to scrap regular pilot
assessments to protect the ones that aren't very good? (I have dismissed
Matron's comment that you would probably want the plane to crash if you were
stuck in the seat next to that occupied by Kerry Katona on the grounds that
I haven't the foggiest idea who or what she is talking about). Well that's
where we have got to today – much as I predicted many years ago when first
Hackett and then Riley were given the job of illustrating the concept of
lunatics taking over the asylum.

The fact is that, due to substandard refereeing we are out of the cup and a
good load of points behind where we should be in the league. In fact, the
fact that we are so far up the table in spite of PGMOL is little short of a
miracle really.

Team news is that Sakho's mystery "minor right knee knock and in no way a
falling out with the boss" (hmmmm) seems to have got all better so he might
be in contention. Young Byram is available and I'd like to see him start if
fit if only to give Antonio more of a run further forward. Tone has done ok
at right back for someone for whom right back is not a natural position.
Sakho's possible return means that only Jenkinson of the registered squad
will be unavailable. That's unprecedented in the million or so years I've
been doing this (no, it just seems that long – ed.

Prediction? Well I did contact PGMOL to ask them what the score is going to
be since they clearly have it all arranged in advance these days. However,
they told me if I called them one more time they would call the police.
Strangely, when I offered to give them the number of the Fraud Squad they
sounded very worried and pretended to be a Chinese takeaway. So my
prediction is based on the result being decided by the relative merits and
strengths of the two teams involved. I realise that this is a radical
concept that will never catch on amongst the refereeing classes but hey I
think they ought to give it a go.

I've therefore stuck the £2.50 that would have gone on a get well soon card
for Knowledge Norman on a 2-1 home win down at Winstone's The Turf
Accountants. If that's alright with the officials.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Boleyn: Drew 1-1 (Championship March 2012). A "park
the bus" performance from the visitors who had taken the lead with a cruelly
deflected goal against the run of play early in the second half. A late Vaz
Te equaliser saw us share the points as we blew the chance to go top. Still
it all ended up ok in the end I suppose.

Referee: Mike Dean. like it matters. Falls into the arrogant pompous idiot
camp so he will do whatever he wants.

Danger Man: Mike Dean Let's face it the men in the middle have done us more
damage than any opponent this season and this particular clown has previous.


Irritating Celebrity Supporter Of The Week: XXXXX XXXX The name has been
removed due to an injunction. Apparently we're not allowed to tell you that
his XXXXXXX has a habit of indulging in XXXXXXXXX with XXXXXXX. Or that he
supports Watford. Well you would keep that quiet wouldn't you.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be
attributed to, KUMB.com.

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Robbed..and it hurts like hell
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 20th April 2016
By: Paul Walker

We are being robbed, aren't we? Robbed of the best season of our lives.
Systematically mugged off at every turn.

We are the victim of circumstance, never (well, almost never)getting the rub
of the green, never the beneficiary of 'things evening themselves out.'
Utterly devoid of anything that looks faintly like luck.

It hurts, doesn't it? We have longed for this season all our lives, to see
our team playing with such style, defiance and collective spirit. Slav and
the boys have not once let us down, they have been on the front foot and
going for it. A credit to our shirt. We are not getting what we deserve.

But it's not a conspiracy. There are no dark moves afoot to deny us success,
there's no refereeing mafia who are going out of their way to ruin our
dreams. We are just the victims of incompetence. Referees who make mistakes,
referees who cannot handle the pressure of a bear-pit like Leicester,
officials who are paid to do one thing right-- see offsides accurately--but
fail game after game.

Up until now it is us fans, via websites, forums and bloggers, who have
moaned and complained about the string of very poor decisions that have cost
us so much. But this time a player has lost patience, has broken cover and
said it like it is.

Our joint owners have tweeted and twirled it. Our vice-chairman has used her
Sun column to point out the facts--like no away penalty for five
years--while the surveys show we have had more game-changing bad decisions
go against us than any other top flight club this season.

But I insist that referees are not bent. They do not go out of their way to
harm us. They call it like it is. Our referees, maybe not as good
collectively as they were, are still the best around. Honest to a man. Slav
came to the defence of Jon Moss, explaining the horrendous pressures he
faced at Leicester. I would not have wanted to be in his shoes.

Now, finally, a player--Andy Carroll--has revealed what the players think,
what infuriates them as hours of hard work, training and planning go up in
smoke. They feel cheated. Simple as that. Andy, at the moment he talked
freely to a TV interviewer, became one of us.

Just like Leighton Baines at Everton who made it clear he felt there was a
lack of chemistry at Goodison Park. Shamefully he was hauled in and made to
apologise. Even worse, that smarmy Roberto Martinez then went into a press
conference to claim Baines had been misquoted. Rubbish. He just said what
Everton fans feel. They produced banners saying 'Baines is one of us' and
big Andy deserves the same treatment from the Boleyn faithful.

He said it like it is. Like the non-penalty at Chelsea that cost us victory,
the red card for Cheikhou Kouyate against Palace that cost us victory, the
wrongly disallowed Manuel Lanzini goal against Arsenal that cost us victory.
And now the ridiculous Leicester penalty on Sunday that cost us victory.

Eight points he rightly said that would have seen us in third spot. Faced
with this level of adversity--and nobody will ever convince me that clubs
like Manchester United ,Arsenal and Liverpool would ever be in our
position--our team has stuck their chests out, kept going forward and
refused to buckle.

We should be proud of them. Carroll rightly says that the refereeing is not
acceptable. He is perfectly entitled to that opinion as long as he does not
doubt an official's honesty and integrity. Even saying he felt that Moss was
trying to even things up just about stops short of that charge.

Mind you, I don't expect the FA to see it that way. Certainly having decided
to throw the book at Jamie Vardy , and charging Leicester with not
controlling their players, they will want to even things up by 'doing' one
of ours.

But it had to be said. We have been robbed. And it started really at Old
Trafford, when we outplayed Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-final
and were robbed when Darren Randolph was smashed into the back of the net by
Bastian Schweinsteiger as United equalised. And don't forget the
trip(faintly I admit) on Dimitri Payet in the box by Marcos Rojo that failed
to produce a penalty.

Louis van Gaal slaughtered Payet after that, and have you seen how few
decisions have gone his way since. Danny Simpson's first tackle on Sunday
was straight through the back of the Frenchman's ankles, it was a foul, but
no yellow card.

If Moss had penalised that properly, maybe some of the intimidatory stuff
that followed from Leicester for a full half hour would not have happened.
Funny isn't it? I have kept my opinions of Leicester to myself this season
(my old fella used to say, if you can't say something nice, don't say
anything).

But I have never bought into this miracle club, all the small-fry Cinderella
stuff hasn't washed with me. They are no paupers against the big boys with
all that Thai money pouring into their coffers.

What I have seen is a cynical, hard-bitten team who get away with murder.
Who hit long balls at Vardy while relying on a couple of thugs in Robert
Huth and Wes Morgan--two players whose careers were going nowhere--to a
shore up the back, anyway they wanted.

Leicester have a world class goalkeeper and two excellent midfielders, but
this is not a team I can be proud of as champions. I have never warmed to
them, and tried not to be swept up in the rags to riches hype.

And that brings me to Vardy. He does very little to dispel the theory that
he is a spiteful piece of chav street vermin. His attitude to Moss'
authority stinks, and every game I see him in there is always a
confrontation and a mouthful of venom aimed at someone.

His journey to fame via a pub brawl, police cell and days wearing an ankle
tag along with a curfew is the stuff of dreams for the Hollywood people on
his case. I dread to think what the outcome of their film will be, a real
backstreet victim for sure.

Don't get me wrong. He has great talent, stunning pace, big heart and
clinical, brilliant finishing. High quality. But part of his game is the
high speed, high press that Leicester operate in which he gives defenders
hell. No problem with that, but he plays as if the phrase 'leaves his foot
in' was invented just for him.

That accumulation of poor tackles got him booked in the first place on
Sunday, and paved the way for his red card for a blatant dive. And of
course, his manager Claudio Ranieri claims he doesn't dive. Yea, right, tell
that to fans up and down the country who know better.

Enough of Leicester. If it comes to it, I want them to win the title in lieu
of anyone else, because I could not bare Spurs winning it. Enough said
there.

As for Sunday, our penalty came because Moss had three times warned
Leicester's defenders. Morgan and Huth individually and then as a pair. Moss
had had enough, and was going to give the next indiscretion. He didn't have
to wait long.

Sure, he could have given 100 such infringements, as in every other game you
witness these days. But Leicester pushed it just too far. We could have
suffered the same way, clearly, it is that easy to give penalties for the
all-in wresting that goes on every game. But in the end Moss found a way to
penalise us, and Carroll suffered.

Leicester were delighted, and aggrieved in equal measure. Their fans have
discovered a form of entitlement, they believe they are everyone's heroes
and deserve their place in history. So we had their fans abusing our
chairmen and their families, while little boys sobbed on their mother's
laps. Sometimes you cannot make it up.

Our boys were robbed at the end, the way we have been robbed blind for
weeks. But don't anyone try to tell you that it is all a massive conspiracy.
I know we deserve better, Carroll knows we deserve better. Good on you pal
for speaking out. To hell with whatever the FA may decide to do, you are one
of us now.

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Slaven Bilic not against West Ham players diving
By Michael Kelleher
Last Updated: 20/04/16 11:47am
SSN

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed he has no problem with his
players "occasionally" diving. The Hammers' 2-2 league draw with league
leaders Leicester City on Sunday garnered a lot of attention after referee
Jonathan Moss awarded two controversial penalties, one to each side, and
gave a second yellow card to striker Jamie Vardy for simulation. West Ham's
penalty came when Foxes captain Wes Morgan was penalised for grappling with
Winston Reid during a corner kick. That penalty was just West Ham's second
of the season, compared to seven conceded, and while Bilic says he does want
his players to become serial divers, he is keen to see them win more
penalties. "I would like us to get a penalty, but also we as a club don't
want to get that label [of divers]," Bilic said. "Occasionally I wouldn't
mind it, but I'm proud that we're not that kind of club."
Bilic is no stranger to diving controversy having been involved in an
incident when playing for Croatia against France in the 1998 World Cup
final. With France leading 2-1, Bilic went down clutching his face after
being shoved in the chest by French defender Laurent Blanc as the two
grappled at a corner. Blanc was sent off for the first time in his career
and was suspended for the final which host nation France won 3-0 over
tournament favourites Brazil. Asked about the 1998 incident with Blanc,
Bilic said: "I'm not proud of that. I didn't want him to get sent off, no
way. Why? For him to miss the final? The final is not against us. "I wanted
to protect myself there. I didn't want the referee to come with what they
were usually doing then - yellow, yellow - and it's my second yellow and I
don't play in the final if we go to the final. "Maybe I should think more
about Laurent Blanc but I was thinking more about myself. I only wanted to
protect myself."

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Dimi's terraces tribute after "bizarre" decision
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on April 20, 2016 in News
C and H

Dimi Payet believes his nomination as the PFA Players of the Year has
justified his decision to sign for the Irons – which he claims may have
seemed "bizarre." The front runner in ClaretandHugh's Iron of the Year poll
told the official site: "There is a lot of quality on the list and just to
be nominated is really something special. Some people thought that it was a
slightly bizarre decision to come to West Ham, but like I have done in all
the clubs I have played for, I have improved and taken my game to the next
level." "I have worked very hard and now I am reaping the rewards and
enjoying my time here. I am making the most of every moment here as things
are going well. The fans here are great, there are lots of things being
created for me. Some t-shirts with the song they sing about me which is
really nice. It's touching to have been welcomed so nicely and the love the
fans give me is absolutely incredible." Totally professional, Dimi declares
that he isn't even thinking about the European Finals with France because
there's too much to think about at West Ham. He said"No (to thinking about
the Euros) , I am still fully focussed on my game here. We have had game
after game in the past few weeks. "There are too many important things to
think about before then, with so many games that can have an impact on a
final position in the League."

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Mahindra may be a Hammers magic wand
Posted by Sean Whetstone on April 20, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Should Indian company Mahindra, win the naming rights for the former Olympic
Stadium it could open up the massive Indian market for West Ham. India has a
population of over 1.27 billion people which is growing and expected to
surpass China by 2050. Star sports owns the TV rights to broadcast all the
Premier League games which continues to grow in popularity with young
Indians. Only Manchester United have an established brand in India many
thanks to David Beckham's high-profile but maybe now West Ham can raise it's
profile big time. Mahindra is the world's number one seller of tractors and
farm equipment although the £11 billion per year group is much more diverse
involved in the production of cars, technology and IT as well.
The firm produces some of the best Moto GP bikes. Mahindra are now set to
launch a new electric car in the UK very soon. West Ham's vice president has
a link with Mahindra when she spoke at their European conference in 2013 as
a motivational speaker. Should Mahindra win the naming rights they will pay
an estimated £120m over 20 years with West Ham receiving £20m of that in
rent rebates. Their name is not very well known in the UK at the moment but
West Ham will hope it is a two way street with Mahindra becoming a household
name in the UK while West Ham United becomes a household name to over a
billion Indians.

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Hammers miss out on £60m OS windfall
Posted by Sean Whetstone on April 20, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Reports coming out of India, claim that American company International
Management Group (IMG) were originally the front runners for the naming
rights for the former Olympic Stadium. The report from www.sportskeeda.com
alleges that IMG were initially approached as stadium naming partners but
negotiations failed. IMG is a global leader in sports, events, media and
fashion, operating in more than 25 countries head quartered out of New York.
The company represents and manages some of the world's greatest sports
figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded
entertainment experiences annually; and is one of the largest independent
producers and distributors of sports media. The company was bought in 2014
for $2.4 billion dollars by WME. The article published by football writer
Khushwant Ramesh who is based in India says: "The LLDC – London Legacy
Development Corporation – initially approached industry giants IMG over a
£15 million-a-year deal but talks didn't progress and they were forced to
look elsewhere." At £15m per year, that deal would have raised over £300m
over the twenty year term which would have given West Ham up to £60m of free
rental, performance and league payments. This would have meant that West Ham
would have got the Olympic Stadium effectively rent free for the first
twenty years.

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Mooro would be so pleased with last day news
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on April 20, 2016 in News
C and H

It's a huge relief to be able to reveal that a hologram of Bobby Moore will
NOT be making it's way across the Boleyn on the final day of the season.
There's a very simple reason for this – the technology to create a walking
image in these hi tech terms simply doesn't exist. Reports have been
circulating for months that 'Mooro will live again on the last day' (SIGH)
via the new technology but trust us it's not going to happen. We had a good
look into the situation and have learned it is physically impossible to
create a hologram that would walk across the pitch (the famous ones like
Tupac and Golrillaz etc) have all been done on black background with a
contained staging area. The idea is dead as is the possibility of bringing
in Iron Maiden to do a last day gig – quite simply because they are touring
Australia. So why are we relieved that there's gonna be no hologram? Mooro
was the least fussy man in the world – he hated as he once put it "palaver,"
and in a column we wrote in The Sport with him he told me: "Please let's
have no statues of famous people anymore – the best camera for memories is
in our heads!"
The idea of seeing himself in the form of a hologram walking out over the
Boleyn would have absolutely horrified the great man.

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Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores describes West Ham United star Dimitri
Payet as special player
Guardian Series

Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores has described West Ham United attacker
Dimitri Payet as a special player but insists it is down to their whole team
to collectively stop his threat.
The Hornets will play their final game at Upton Park tonight and Payet has
been a huge part of the Hammers' success this season. The France
international has scored 12 goals in his first year at the club and is on
the shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year. Flores said: "Payet
is a very special player and I think one of the best in the league this
season. He plays on the right or the left and loves to go inside and create
trouble for the opponent. "He's very good from free-kicks and set pieces.
He's very important for West Ham and we know that. It's the same with the
other good players. We need to try to stop this player in a collective way."
The Boleyn Ground is considered one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the
top flight and it will be Flores' only chance to experience the venue with
West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium next season. Flores said: "I love to
have this kind of experience. I would love to go there and try to do
something really special for our team and fans. It's an incredible
opportunity to try to win at an amazing stadium."

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West Ham in talks over partnership with Croatian club Hajduk Split as
Premier League club look to agree 5% stake
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic began his career at Hajduk Split
Bilic met delegates of club after the draw with Arsenal earlier this month
The Hammers are looking to open up opportunities on and off the pitch
Agreement would be similar to that between Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem
By CHRIS WHEELER FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 00:28, 20 April 2016 | UPDATED: 00:47, 20 April 2016

West Ham are in discussions over a partnership with Croatian club Hajduk
Split. The Hammers are looking to open up opportunities on and off the pitch
and have held talks over taking a five per cent stake in Split where manager
Slaven Bilic began his career. Bilic met delegates of the club following the
3-3 draw with Arsenal earlier this month, and the respective club owners
have continued discussions over a partnership similar to that between
Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem. Hajduk are renowned for developing young talent
such as Croatia Under 19 winger Nikola Vlasic, and the partnership could
involve West Ham bringing their players to the Premier League. Hajduk's
marketing director Aljosi Basic confirmed further talks with West Ham
commercial director Felicity Barnard, saying: 'West Ham would like to enter
in the ownership structure of Hajduk, but is not interested in a majority
stake. 'Of course, most of the credit for this meeting belongs to Slaven
Bilic, who had half an hour after the match with Arsenal and received Hajduk
delegates in his office. His charisma encouraged West Ham to offer us
co-operation.'
West Ham have also held discussions over a similar deal involving League of
Ireland club Shamrock Rovers. West Ham co-chairmen David Sullivan and David
Gold have complained of being targeted for abuse by Leicester supporters in
Sunday's draw at the Walkers Stadium. The 2-2 result came as a blow to
Leicester's Barclays Premier League title ambitions, with only a late
penalty from Leonardo Ulloa sparing the Foxes from defeat. Leicester led
through Jamie Vardy's goal, but the striker was later sent off and Andy
Carroll's penalty drew the teams level before Aaron Cresswell fired West Ham
ahead. Carroll's challenge on Jeff Schlupp was punished with the
stoppage-time penalty from which Leicester forced the draw. Sullivan told
the Daily Mirror: 'We didn't stay to applaud our own players off as we felt
threatened. We've spoken to Leicester and they've told us they would look
into it.' Gold wrote on Twitter: 'Elderly Leicester fans turned into
monsters when WHU went 2-1 up then returned to nice old people when LCFC
equalised.' He added on Tuesday: 'I want Leicester to win the PL and I am
pleased for their fans but their behaviour towards us was unacceptable.'

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Slaven Bilic would not mind questionable decisions going West Ham's way
Slaven Bilic wants questionable decisions to go in West Ham's favour
West Ham boss did not blame Jon Moss for Leicester's late equaliser
The Hammers face Watford as they look to get back to winning ways
By OLIVER TODD FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 19 April 2016 | UPDATED: 01:15, 20 April 2016

Slaven Bilic will shun his image as West Ham's pacifist leader if it takes
indulging in the game's dark arts to boost his side's top-four bid. The
Hammers face Watford on Wednesday looking to get back to winning ways after
Sunday's controversial draw at Leicester City. Bilic chose not to blame
referee Jon Moss for the perceived injustice of Leicester's late penalty
equaliser, but he wouldn't mind some questionable decisions coming in his
team's favour now. Questioned on his ethical stance when it came to winning
decisions, Bilic said: 'I'm not Mahatma Gandhi! I'm not going to lie... I
would like us to get a penalty. 'But we, as a club, don't want to get that
label, though occasionally I wouldn't mind it. But I'm proud that we're not
that kind of club. 'In training sometimes they (the players) deliberately
dive to make a scene out of it, to make a show in training but when your
player comes into the box you want him to assist or to have a strike on
goal. 'His first idea shouldn't be to watch for a contact and all that.'
Sunday's draw at the King Power Stadium was littered with grappling
incidents inside the penalty areas of both sides – with one earning West Ham
a penalty of their own. Bilic believes it was a little rougher back in his
playing days at Upton Park but says the issue of hands in the box is now
much more prominent. 'It was rougher but at that time you were afraid,'
Bilic said. 'You couldn't hold the opponent like that and be sure that it
isn't going to be a penalty. 'I feel that it's happening like never before
but that's because of the cameras, now you see everything. 'This is a
contact sport, there's going to be contact but contact is different - you
can't hold a player like that in a box. 'If that's allowed then I'm going
to tell my players everybody do that, give them 50 corners a game and no
problem, you can counter-attack them! 'It's got to be punished but the
problem is when you see in different games you see in the same round there
are decisions that are given or not given, or in the same game, but it's
also hard for the referee because he can't give every one of them.'
Wednesday's visit of Watford offers an opportunity to get back to winning
ways for the Hammers in the Boleyn Ground's penultimate big night under the
lights. Bilic knows they need a victory to keep in touch with the likes of
Arsenal and Manchester City inside the qualifying placesfor the Champions
League. 'We are talking about top four. It is hard. We aren't going to give
up but it is hard, extremely hard now. 'It is not slipping away but we need
to win here and to win as many games as we can until the end of the season,'
he said. Meanwhile, Leicester are investigating West Ham co-chairmen David
Sullivan and David Gold's complaints that they were targeted by abuse from
fans during Sunday's draw.

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