Daily WHUFC News - 20th October 2016

Lanzini - We hope this is the start of a good run
WHUFC.com

Manuel Lanzini has stressed the importance of getting another victory
against Sunderland at London Stadium on Saturday and hopes the Club can
force their way into the top half of the table. Lanzini was the match-winner
as the Hammers finally got back on the winning trail with an impressive 1-0
victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Slaven Bilic's side showed the
character and desire to beat an in-form Palace team who had taken ten points
from their previous four games. The Hammers manager had nothing but praise
for the way his team fought for every ball and showed the spirit which saw
them enjoy such a successful final-season at the Boleyn Ground. Lanzini
played a major role in the victory and now hopes it can be a major turning
point in the Club's season. Lanzini said: "I'm very happy and we needed the
three points. We were coming into the game off the back of some poor results
and had made a bad start to the season. "But we managed to get the win in
what was a tough game and we have to carry on in this vein. "We will have to
get used to playing at home and that's what we want to do. I think we are
improving and let's hope this is the start of a good run."

Lanzini suffered a frustrating start to the campaign after he picked up a
knee injury for Argentina on the eve of the Olympic Games, but he has now
regained full fitness and scored his second goal of the campaign at Selhurst
Park. The 23-year-old hopes he can build on last season where he scored
seven times in his opening year in the Premier League and has nothing but
praise for the way Bilic allows him to play his attacking game. Lanzini
added: "He expects me to score as many goals as I can because of the way the
team plays. He always gives me confidence so that the goals come. "He
congratulated me after the game. He has shown faith in me and I have faith
in him. I'm very happy for the team because we needed the win."

Lanzini hopes to maintain his good run of form against Sunderland this
weekend as he looks to catch the eye of Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza and
earn a call-up to the national squad. "I hope I can get a call-up. I'm
always striving for that because it's my target and dream to play for the
national team. "I know that if I can keep doing well, I could get an
opportunity and I hope to be involved. "I always watch Argentina play. There
are so many good players who are doing well for their teams and most of them
are stars at their clubs."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers host first pro clubs esports tournament
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's London Stadium was the backdrop for the historic first
ever esports tournament involving pro clubs.

The Hammers' own Sean 'Dragonn' Allen joined players from Manchester City,
Schalke, Wolfsburg, Sporting Lisbon and Spencer Owen's Hashtag United for
the right to be crowned champion.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues his latest
update - in association with Spire Roding Hospital...

Hello everyone,

I want to start by congratulating the team on achieving a big win at Crystal
Palace. The Medical and Sports Science team were particularly pleased for
Aaron Cresswell, who has worked hard on his rehab and made a successful
return from three months out with a knee injury.

We will continue with positive news, which is that Andre Ayew has returned
to full training from the quadriceps injury he suffered at Chelsea in
August. Andre has worked hard on his rehabilitation and joined the group on
Monday. His fitness levels improve with every day that passes and we are all
looking forward to seeing him back in action soon.

Diafra Sakho is another whose fitness levels are improving every day and he
will start training in controlled U23 sessions on Monday. He will then join
the first-team squad the following week.

Both of these pieces of news are positive, as is the news that Arthur
Masuaku is progressing very well following the knee injury he suffered
against Accrington Stanley in August. Arthur is continuing his rehab and
started running on the pitch with first-team physiotherapist Frazer Young.
We hope to see Arthur back in full training in November.

Andy Carroll has been out since suffering a knee injury at Astra Giurgiu in
August. The rehabilitation is taking longer than our initial prognosis.
However, I would reiterate that he is making steady progress and continues
his rehab.

Sam Byram and Gokhan Tore are both continuing their rehab.

Sam is recovering from surgery on his hamstring and is using crutches. On
Saturday he will make the next step and walk with one crutch instead of two.
The following week, we will progress to a more active stage of rehab, but
for now he remains in a period of healing and gym work.

Gokhan is in the gym working hard on his rehab after suffering a quadriceps
injury in training during the international break.

Finally, Darren Randolph came back from international duty with Republic of
Ireland with a minor knee injury. He is continuing his rehab and will be
reintroduced to training by the end of the week.

Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hutchison - This is a fantastic opportunity
WHUFC.com

Don Hutchison was thrilled to see his former team-mate Slaven Bilic get back
on the winning trail last weekend and feels it could be major turning point
in the Club's season.

The former West Ham and Sunderland midfielder can only see one outcome at
London Stadium on Saturday and feels the Hammers fans can make a major
difference....


Sunderland are in big trouble at the moment and you can see that David Moyes
team are lacking confidence.

West Ham got a good win against Crystal Palace last weekend and will take a
lot of confidence from that result heading into the game at the weekend.

Slaven got the desire and spirit from his players that he has been looking
for and I thought Aaron Cresswell made such a big difference on his return
to the team. I thought he was excellent.

I still cannot understand how he was sent-off. The first booking he received
was a stone-cold penalty and he never touched Zaha for the second booking.

It is ridiculous that he is not able to get it overturned.

I have spoken to Slaven and he has always maintained that wanted to get his
best players fully fit again and then you will see a difference.

I think we all started to see that on Saturday with Cresswell back in the
team and both Payet and Lanzini getting back to full fitness.

It was totally unfair on Slaven and the players that people have been
jumping on the bandwagon and criticising the bad start to the season.

I can tell everyone it has absolutely nothing to do with the move into
London Stadium.

I am sure the West Ham fans would have showed their disapproval if the team
had suffered a similar run of form playing at the Boleyn Ground this season.

Having played in front of the West Ham fans I know the passion they can have
for the team and this is a fantastic opportunity to perform in a wonderful
Stadium.

I cannot think of anywhere else I would want to play if you have nearly
60,000 West Ham fans making it an unbelievable atmosphere on Saturday. They
need to make it intimidating for the opposition.

From what I have witnessed I am 100 per cent confident that the Hammers will
get things right at London Stadium and turn their season around.

West Ham need their best players to perform but you cannot just rely on
Dimitri Payet to do everything. You wouldn't expect that at Barcelona with
Messi or Real Madrid with Ronaldo.

You need your other players to be at their best as well and I think we
started to see that against Palace last weekend.

Manuel Lanzini obviously got the crucial goal and played very well. He needs
to maintain that now.

Slaven changed the system around and it worked very well. I thought Cheikhou
Kouyate was excellent and whenever he has played there, he has done a very
good job.

The victory would have given the players a lot of confidence and they now
need another three points and a good performance against Sunderland.

I cannot see Sunderland winning the game and feel they are weak at the
moment. They cannot keep a clean sheet and I expect West Ham to get the
victory.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Terraces
WHUFC.com

Fan blogger Joe Difford looks back at a return to winning ways.

The last couple of months since we beat Bournemouth at the London Stadium
have felt like an eternity. Since we picked up those first three points of
the season, we have had to endure more unfortunate injuries, frustrating
results and poorly timed international breaks.

But on Saturday at Selhurst Park, just as we did last year, Slaven Bilic's
men walked away with all three points after showing glimpses of the elusive
'West Ham Way'.

With a couple of enforced changes resulting in a back three, Cheikhou
Kouyate dropping deep, and the return of Aaron Cresswell as a left wing
back, Palace appeared a little unprepared for the way we approached the
game.

Our left back, who has missed most of the season through injury, was back to
his fantastic self, running down the line and linking up with Dimitri Payet,
who was able to drift into a more central role, subsequently.

The only goal of the game came from some brilliant build-up play in
midfield, before the phenomenal Pedro Obiang sprayed the ball out wide to
Cresswell, who exchanged passes with Payet before whipping in a perfect low
cross for Manuel Lanzini to turn home.

It was Lanzini's sixth goal away from home in a Hammers' shirt and you could
see how much it meant to the boys as they all ran over to celebrate in the
torrential rain.

Obiang was the stand-out performer, but many impressed, with Simone Zaza
excellent in the air and at closing down the defenders, and Winston Reid
back to his best with a vast array of blocks and challenges.

Angelo Ogbonna was unlucky when he conceded a penalty, going to clear the
ball before Benteke ran in and got in front of the defender's already
swinging leg. But it didn't matter, because the Belgian forward smashed his
spot kick into the stands, much to the away fans' relief.

There was a little controversy as the game entered the final knockings, as
Aaron Cresswell was clearly brought down in the Palace penalty area, but got
booked for simulation. Mere seconds later, he was shown a second yellow card
for a 'foul' on Wilfried Zaha, although replays showed the winger to go down
a tad too easily for a yellow, especially a second one.

Unfortunately for Bilic he cannot appeal the wrong decision, but Adrian made
sure that the Hammers left in good spirits, saving a point-blank header from
Connor Wickham to deny Palace a point.

There is a long way to go, but Saturday's win will hopefully be the turning
point in our season, and if we perform just as well this weekend, we should
take three points off Sunderland.

For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those
of West Ham United

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole nominated for NASL Most Valuable Player award
Telegraph.co.uk
Bob Williams
18 OCTOBER 2016 . 10:22PM

Joe Cole has been nominated for the Golden Ball award, handed to the best
player in the North American Soccer League. The former England, Chelsea and
West Ham player joined the Florida club in May and he has made an immediate
mark by being selected to the 10-player shortlist. Cole, 34, has scored
seven goals and registered seven assists so far this season and he was named
Player of the Week once. Among his highlights was a stunning bicycle kick
against Puerto Rico FC in July. The Tampa Bay Rowdies have an outside
chance of making the end-of-season play-offs with three matches remaining.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com