Monday, October 24

Daily WHUFC News - 24th October 2016

Stat's a Fact - Edi's dazzling debut
WHUFc.com

Any player would be forgiven for not producing their best performance on
their full Premier League debut.

When that player is a 20-year-old central midfielder asked to fill in at
left wing-back on just your fourth appearance for your new club, in a new
country, you might even expect him to freeze on the big occasion.

Not Edimilson Fernandes.

The Switzerland U21 star was outstanding on his first full Premier League
appearance for West Ham United.

Athletic and dynamic, calm and composed, resilient and determined, the
former Sion player looked like he had graced England's top flight for many
years, rather than just the 20 minutes he had played before Saturday's visit
of Sunderland.

Replacing the suspended Aaron Cresswell, Fernandes was among the stars of
the show.

Despite being naturally right-footed, the 6'2 youngster provided width and
balance to Slaven Bilic's team down the left flank.

When it looked like the Hammers were running out of ideas as the goalless
game entered its final stages, it was Fernandes who was among those who
drove the team forward.

Statistically, the £5.5 million summer signing was just as impressive.

With West Ham dominating possession and territory against an ultra-defensive
Sunderland, Fernandes touched the ball 74 times – a figure bettered only by
Dimitri Payet, Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Pedro Obiang.

Fernandes turned those 74 touches into 45 passes, completing 43 of them for
a staggering 95.6% pass-completion rate!

As those figures also suggest, the full debutant was also adept at taking
multiple touches each time he collected the ball, embarking on three
dribbles.

As a wing-back, Fernandes carried an attacking threat that many fans may
have felt would disappear with Cresswell's enforced absence.

While centre forward Simone Zaza led the way with five goal attempts, the
wing-back was just behind him with four – one more than Payet and two more
than match-winner Winston Reid.

Defensively, Fernandes was also heavily involved, making four clearances and
three tackles as Sunderland threatened on the counter-attack.

He may have shown his inexperience on occasion by committing three fouls,
including one dangerous challenge on Javier Manquillo that earned him a
booking on 32 minutes.

However, it was a mark of his maturity that Fernandes was able to safely
play out the remainder of the game without further punishment.

In short, both to the eye and on paper, Edimilson Fernandes produced an
extremely encouraging full Premier League debut.

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WEST HAM U18 – TOP OF THE LEAGUE
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 23 OCTOBER 2016 AT 10:01PM
The WestHamWay.co.uk

This article is written by Katie S @flump9

We all know the West Ham first team haven't had the best start to the
season, but you might not be aware of what an impressive start our U18 team
have had. After beating Swansea 3-2 at home on Saturday, they are currently
sitting at the top of the table, two points clear of Arsenal in second
place.

Mark Phillips had warned his team not to be complacent against Swansea and
they certainly weren't. Rosaire Longello opened the scoring, after just 11
minutes, from a Joe Powell cross. They conceded a goal, but Jake Eggleton
ensured we were in front before the half-time whistle, after yet another
Powell cross. Swansea pulled level again, but Korrey Henry continued his
impressive form. After scoring a hat trick against Norwich the previous
week, he went on to score a 95th minute winner to beat Swansea and secure
the all-important three points.

Next up for our youngsters is a trip to Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, to
take on Aston Villa, who are currently fifth in the league. Steve Potts and
Mark Phillips must be incredibly proud of their team and the way they are
playing, but credit must also go to both of them, for their part in this
fantastic start.


You might be interested to know that West Ham U18's next home match is
against Arsenal on Saturday, 5th November, at Little Heath Training Ground.
This is a huge match and I have no doubt, will be thoroughly entertaining.

The U18's are making progress each year and there are a lot of exciting
prospects for the future. The West Ham Way want to congratulate all the
players and management team involved and we hope this fine form continues.
COYI!

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Winston Reid says belief is returning for West Ham after latest win
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 23/10/16 1:09pm
SSN

Winston Reid insists the belief has returned to the West Ham squad following
their last-gasp win over Sunderland. Defender Reid was an unlikely
match-winner when, four minutes into injury time, he collected Dimitri
Payet's square ball on the edge of the area and rifled home through a crowd
of players. The late, late strike made it back-to-back 1-0 wins for the
Hammers after a miserable run of five games without a victory. It also
provided their second win of the season at their new London Stadium, where
West Ham have struggled since making the switch from Upton Park. "It was
really good for us," said Reid. "We needed the win, especially at home
because we haven't been doing well lately at home, so it was very important.
"I was a bit surprised to find myself in that position. Dimi has got the
ball and I was expecting him to shoot, but he passed it to me. "I managed to
get my head up, fired off a shot and it went in. Now we need to pick up more
points. We'd like to be up near the top of the table. "We've got a young
squad so it's important that they don't feel there is pressure on them, and
a lot of us senior players have been talking about that. "We've got a strong
squad, we've got great belief and it's nice to get back-to-back wins."

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