Daily WHUFC News - 4th September 2017

International round-up: Arnautovic's Austria bested by Wales
WHUFC.com

Saturday once again saw a number of West Ham United internationals in action with two of our first team players on opposing sides in one contest. That match was between Wales and Austria where Marko Arnautovic started for the visiting side, while James Collins was on the bench for Chris Coleman's Dragons. The centre-back was an unused substitute for the home team, and Arnautovic played the full 90 minutes, in a 1-0 win for Wales courtesy of a debut goal by Ben Woodburn. The result puts Wales three points clear of Austria in third place in World Cup qualifying Group D.

Chicharito was in action with Mexico in the early hours of Saturday morning as El Tri secured their place at next summer's World Cup thanks to a 1-0 win over Panama. Javier Hernandez played the full 90 minutes of the victory with Mexico becoming the fifth side to guarantee their place at the 2018 finals in Russia, courtesy of a Hirving Lozano finish.

Cheikhou Kouyate was a very late substitute for Senegal in their 0-0 World Cup qualifying contest with Burkina Faso. The midfielder was introduced in the 89th minute for his side, replacing Moussa Sow. The hosts, who had Kalidou Koulibaly sent off in the 84th minute, remain third in their World Cup qualifying group due to the draw.

At U19 level West Ham United's Anthony Scully got on the scoresheet for the Republic of Ireland as they claimed a 2-1 win against the Czech Republic.
Hammers youngster Conor Conventry was also in the squad for the friendly contest at Waterford.

Finally, Rihards Matrevics's Latvia U19s side bested Greece 2-1 in a friendly fixture on Saturday afternoon in Agrinio thanks to two goals in the second period.

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EXWHUEMPLOYEE COLUMN: QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS AND MORE QUESTIONS…
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 2 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 7:09PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

I decided to write this column on the back of transfer deadline and how I think the window has gone for us on the whole.

If you had asked me this question a week ago I would have told you that I was very pleased. I felt we needed a new goalkeeper to challenge Adrian-We got England's number one. I wanted a proper right back-we got one of the best Premier League Right backs in recent years on a free, although I felt he was a short term fix given his age. He also brought much needed leadership too. I wasn't too sure on the signing of Arnaultovic although I trusted Bilic as he was the target he really wanted, he had played some very good games against us in the past and we all know what a signing Hernandez is. Add to this we brought in the highly talented and skilful Montenegro international youngster, Sead Haksabanovic (yes I did look up that spelling) and it was all looking good.

I was under the impression that we would sign Carvalho and that this deal was very close and this was from various sources. I was pleased with this and felt it might sure up the goals that we were leaking as I had heard he was a top draw player. I also felt we could do with a new forward because you cannot rely on Sakho and Carroll for anything and if Hernandez got injured we would be in big trouble. I would also have brought in a new winger too after Snodgrass left. So when this didn't happen it turned being a good window for me into one that didn't deliver enough in terms of squad depth or net spend.

Now there are two arguments to each story of blame here with the window and I will attempt to look at both. It is the natural and understandable assumption that my information comes from the Sullivan's and only them but this really isn't the case, in fact I have found it very frustrating how little they will tell me when I see other sites being fed information all the time. My sources are luckily quite wide and in various different departments some of which are very close to the manager and players, so I try to be as balanced as I can in my opinions. Anyone who has listened to the radio show will know I have criticised the board and if you look at our events slogan "Fed up with soulless Stratford" you would see that I am not as brown nosing as is always implied.

I have been told many times throughout the window, from various people, that Slaven didn't want to sign any more players other than Carvalho. This is something that he also stated himself in interviews. I found this absolutely shocking, it was apparently his decision not to pursue Iheanacho and then not sign other targeted forwards. The more I heard about this the more wound up I got, surely experience of previous seasons shows Carroll and Sakho cannot be replied on.

Bilic also stated that he wanted domestically proven players and he wasn't interested in bringing in unproven players who have not played in the Premier League. This I don't understand because Carvalho was unproven in the Premier League but because of this he apparently turned down Renato Sanches and Grzegorz Krychowiak. Both players would have been massive additions to our squad and would have been what made this a good window for us if they had both joined us on loan. I am still left baffled by this; did he really turn them down?!

Following the Newcastle defeat, having defended Bilic against the two other presenters and good friends (Dave and Kev-SDCC) on The West Ham Way Radio for a long time now, I found it very hard to excuse the performance. Let's face it, if we had won the first three games the atmosphere around the club would feel very different and we possibly wouldn't have been as disappointed by the final outcome of the window. The truth is we have performed dreadfully, team selection has been all wrong, we don't look fit and the tactics have been dire. The buck lays with Bilic on this and not the board.

After the Newcastle game however there would have been the time to get rid of the manager if the board had lost confidence, which I believe they have, like many fans now. The decision to keep him on and then not sign the player he wanted makes me question why this has happened?! Was it financial reasons we didn't get rid of Bilic? Are they going to wait until someone else becomes available? Or do they really believe he is the man to take us forward?-if so they should have backed him and not released yesterday's statement. It is quite simple: Back or sack your manager but somehow we have met in the middle!

I have heard many reasons as to why we didn't sign Carvalho from the club. These have ranged from "Not representing value for money" "Clearly isn't that good because no top clubs have tried to sign him" "The player isn't fit" "Sporting are hard to deal with" to the strange revelation that we would have signed him but Sporting accepted the offer too late for a medical.

I find all of these very hard to believe. Firstly our net spend has been minimal this window so whether we thought he was slightly overpriced or not we should have signed him because the figure that was spoke off wasn't that high in this market given the calibre of the player. Secondly, if top six clubs were trying to sign him, he wouldn't have joined West Ham, so that would actually be a good thing. Thirdly, the player isn't fit and will not be able to play for us for three weeks-he played for the current Euro Champions Portugal yesterday and scored and got an assist so that clearly doesn't wash. Fourthly, a number of clubs from England have dealt with Sporting this window and none of them found it difficult to complete the deal. The fifth one and the one that has given me the most questions is Sporting accepted our bid but it was too late for a medical? There is a Premier League agreement which says you can sign a player, subject to a medical and complete the medical at another point. It just doesn't add up for me.

My question marks about the deal were written before the statement came out from Sporting officials claiming that David Sullivan did in fact not make an official bid for the Portugal midfielder and accused him of "lying". This is very concerning. Whilst at this point we cannot say whether it is true or not because Sporting maybe trying to avoid the £5m that they had to pay the player if he remained at the club, Sullivan is going to have to prove that he did otherwise there will severe question marks on his integrity. If it then transpires to be true and he didn't bid; lying to your close contacts, manager and more importantly fans is not acceptable.

The other question I have as well when it comes to Slav not wanting players is that in the past the board have still gone ahead with them despite the wishes of the manager sometimes. The fact that David Sullivan released a statement saying that Slav was offered both Renato Sanches and Grzegorz Krychowiak and didn't want them, why didn't we just sign them anyway, particularly if we are thinking of replacing the manager at some point soon too?

The problem I think many fans have is that we are often linked with and in the past promised big name signings: Bathsuayi, Lacazette, Bacca and now Carvalho and it seems our regular inability to land these players builds up expectations but also makes you question how genuine our intentions are to sign these players now? Yes it would always be difficult to land top class players but if it is a question of us not reaching the asking price then this is not what we were promised when we moved.

Moving to the new stadium was meant to project us onto the next level and make us compete with the best and be challenging for Champions League football. A number of things that we were told about the stadium have proven to not be entirely accurate and this is becoming a worrying trend because you can now throw in the non-spent "increased budget" too.

We were told that the club was operating a one out and one in transfer policy towards the end of the window yet players left and no one came in. I was told that the club did offer players to Slaven and he turned many of them down. The problem here is that Slaven Bilic hasn't given his take on the story. He has said in interviews that he is happy with his squad but how does he feel about Carvalho not coming in and did he turn down all these top players? It is his time to speak. Yes I understand it makes his position difficult and he may not wish to be unprofessional but his reputation will be in tatters if this proves to be true and he doesn't turn it around with results. He needs to come out and let us know. There are ways to do it for example "Yes, I did turn down these players as I didn't think they would benefit us" or "The players that have been mentioned were not names given to me or at the time were not transfers that we would have been able to conclude"

I offered David Sullivan the chance to come on our radio show but it wasn't accepted (not directly by him) but I think it would be a good move to answer some of the many questions our fans have and hopefully go some way to appeasing the fans. David Sullivan was also advised not to put out the statement on Bilic that he did but he wanted to do so. I think he should either meet the accounts that Brady has or open a forum to fans to apply to attend. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do this with Brady and previous chairmen and it is a good way for them to answer their critics.

A very frustrating event occurred on the West Ham Way twitter account on deadline day. There are about 10 people who have access to the account and they were spread across the world at that time (Malta, Northern Ireland, Marbella, Essex, USA ) although only one person was tweeting; BKHammer from Northern Ireland who is very Anti Bilic and Anti Board. His tweets were showing from Malta, Northern Ireland and most significantly Marbella. Understandably this made suspicions that Jack or Dave Jnr had tweeted the Bilic comments. This is what I had thought when I first saw them having got back from the pub with a couple of West Ham friends. My first action was to question both Sullivan's and they said it wasn't them and then to check with our admins of which BKHammer laid claim to the tweets. Now I understand why some people are continuing to not believe me when I say this but I actually would rather they had tweeted it. The tweets got a lot of exposure for the account and had I confirmed it was them, the profile of the account would have grown. Unfortunately this was not the case and this can be proven to anyone who would like to come to our events at the East Ham Working Man's club. Here is the link for the tickets where Mark Ward is our guest before the Spurs game and will be speaking his mind: bit.ly/TWHWTICKET11 The abuse Jack and Dave Jnr get on social media is quite simply is not on, admittedly both would admit they haven't helped themselves at times however. Neither of them control what is going on at the club and actually Jack has made a very positive start leading the ladies team. Had they tweeted those comments about the manager they would have deserved a backlash but in all honesty they didn't.

I don't doubt for one second that the Sullivan's probably feel the same way as our admins though. Jack had access to the account when it first started because he did a number of Q and As for us and he must still have the login on his phone hence Marbella coming up. He hasn't done anything for the website and twitter in a long while now. I know how it looks and if I was lying I wouldn't go to all this trouble to say I am not. At the end of the day none of the tweets had anything to do with me but I feel it is important to put this message out.

The manager and the chairmen are now under a lot of scrutiny and really need something positive to turn us around. The only positives I can think of at the moment is that we did sign five good players, we kept Lanzini and we have a nearly fully fit squad to choose from. Another good thing would be some of the youth players such as Nathan Holland and Dan Kemp getting a chance to play if injuries do occur. Results have played a big part in the negativity that cannot be forgotten.

The bottom line is the fans need questions answered. Ms Brady said to us at the Bloggers meeting that this would be our best window and that a substantial budget was being prepared for players. Again, we haven't seen this and whilst this is not really anything to do with her it is yet another failed promise. I think the club need to think very carefully about statements and promises that are made because it seems more often than not they are not fulfilled. The board may have the initial intentions of meeting these pledges but too frequently they haven't and it just creates resentment. West Ham fans are a passionate bunch and one thing that won't be tolerated is false promises and lies. The club really needs to think about this going forward and start delivering the big statements to go some way to appeasing the negativity that has been created now. I am stating the obvious here but the Huddersfield game is huge for everyone involved. A good performance will shift things in the right way, a bad performance and things will continue to turn very toxic.

We will be talking about this in a lot more detail on the radio show on Wednesday at 7pm.

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THE SITUATION AT WEST HAM
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 2 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 12:25PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
This is an article written by @whufcbulletin

Following this afternoon's 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United, the club finds itself in a minor crisis at the very start of this 2017/2018 Premier League Campaign. As a result of the defeats, many fans, including myself have called for a change, however, the problems at the club span far beyond the three defeats at the beginning of this season. As well as poor management, there are also problems with the club's training, facilities, ownership, and organisation. All of these problems seem to now be coming to a head and have led to poor results on the pitch for over a year now. As I previously said, the problems at West Ham have been apparent for far longer than this season, as a club, we have been underachieving massively for over a year.

I will first start by talking about the manager, Slaven Bilic. From what I understand, Bilic is seriously considering resigning. I think it would be better for him than prolonging the wait for the inevitable sack. He can go with some reputation still intact rather than suffer the indignation of being told to go. He had a great first season, in our last season at the Boleyn and fans still remember him for that, if he walked out the door, he would come out less tainted than he would if he waited and was sacked. Unfortunately, at least from my point of view, Slaven Bilic has proved that in many ways he is tactically lacking and is simply manipulated by the board room to save his position thus producing some very strange and contradictory decisions. Bilic struggles to set up defences and that has led us to concede ten goals in our first three matches. Furthermore, Bilic's selection has also become more than questionable. In the game today, he decided to play Declan Rice, Mark Noble and Edimilson Fernandes in midfield ahead of Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Manuel Lanzini. It is this sort of decision making which makes many fans very wary of him and unsure of his tactics. I don't want to attack him or be anti-Bilic, he is a great guy and i'm sure he will be a successful manager in the future, however, he has lost his way and made his stay at the club untenable. Furthermore, whatever tactics Bilic is trying to use, they clearly aren't working. Either he is not delivering them properly or the players aren't suited to them as the team seems confused and without a gameplan whenever it comes out to play, today's defeat to Newcastle being the perfect example of this. As a side, we failed to cope with a team which was essentially from the championship. Our defence was all over the place and there was no gameplan whatsoever. It is for this reason especially that I believe Slaven Bilic must be replaced, however, do believe that he may well walk himself in the near future. As I have already said, it's not just three games, it's a continuation from last season & the manner of the 3 defeats. There is too much baggage from the season before & there are too many problems still apparent & growing. It's been clear for a long time that he's lost the players even the new ones. No one buys into what he's doing nor do they understand it. The board have to take the blame as they made a decision at the end of last season to stick with him when it was clear a fresh start was needed for both parties.

Furthermore, the Training regime is still poor. The training is permanently set at very low work levels and there is little attention paid to tactics during sessions. Coaches such as Julien Dicks are brought in to make the fans believe that training is successful and efficient, however, I can assure you, Julien Dicks does little more than put out the cones and hand our bibs, he has little to no say in the way the team play. This lack of tactical understanding between the players and the coaching staff leads to yet more confusion on matchday and this is simply more of a reason for why the team is coming out with such horrendous results. This somewhat leads into the next point about facilities. Although some document that Rush Green is an excellent training complex, it misses a number of key features. It is no coincidence that West Ham's injury list is one of the longest in the league, and it is not just because we play 'a physical style of football'. The complex misses out key features which help with the fitness of the players, the absence of an ice bath for muscular recovery being an example of this. Players such as Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho must train in an environment where injuries can be dealt with easily and avoided, however at the current complex, this is not so.

Moreover, there are still problems with the ownership too. The new manager that will inevitably come in must be allowed to manage the team with out interference or pressure from the chairman. An appointment of a knowledgeable director of football such as Txiki Begiristain is also important to oversee the development of the club from transfers, the academy to ensuring the training ground has up to date facilities to ensure the proper growth and development of the club, players and stadia.

The club has catapulted in size and stature and the Board must bring in professionals in the right areas, they cannot continue to attempt to micro manage everything if we are to be successful. David Sullivan has always tried to do everything by himself and this has often led to him being overwhelmed. This is the majority of the reason for why Lanzini has not been offered a new contract. Sullivan is so busy working '22 hours a day' that he is too involved in the transfers and then doesn't have time to negotiate new contracts with players. A director of football would deal with these issues and make sure every part of the club is working well.

The club has grown significantly in the past few years and so it is no surprise that it is enduring these problems, however, it is important to solve them and get them out of the way before they turn into long-term issues and we get relegated!

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Greedy agent cost Quina loan move
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 3rd September 2017
By: Staff Writer

The deal taking Domingos Quina to Sheffield United fell through eight hours before the transfer deadline after Sheffield United were asked to increase their offer.
The Portuguese attacking midfielder was all set to join the Blades on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, but the deal collapsed after Quina's agent - who was also representing Watford forward Jerome Sinclair - asked for improved terms for both players.
A video, filmed by the Bleacher Report from Sheffield United's base on deadline day captured the exact moment Blades' boss Chris Wilder turned down the deal.
"We can't do that, we've agreed a deal with West Ham and we've agreed a deal with Watford," Wilder can be seen saying in response to a text message from the players' agent. "Everything is done, we're at our budget."
And two hours later, at 6pm, Wilder reluctantly accepted that both deals were off - after claiming that Quina and Sinclair's agent had demanded an additional "50 per cent" for his part in the transfers. Disappointing news for the two players involved - especially Watford youngster Sinclair, who had already made his own way to Sheffield by train only to be told by his agent at 7.30pm that the deal was off. "He wanted to play, he wanted to come here. So did Quina," said Wilder. "That's two lads who wanted to be here but who have been messed about by the system. "We'll be walking out in front of 40,000 at Sunderland next week; they'll be walking out in front of 400 at under-23 games. Crazy."

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Sporting chief denies Sullivan claims
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 3rd September 2017
By: Staff Writer

The director of Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon has called into doubt the veracity of a statement made by David Sullivan on West Ham's website regarding William Carvalho. Sullivan, speaking via whufc.com on Sunday evening claimed that Sporting had offered the Portuguese international to West Ham on deadline day at the same terms which had intially been rejected. However that prompted to a furious response from Sporting's Nuno Saraiva, who insisted that West Ham had made no such bid, that Sullivan's claims were damaging his club's reputation and that his comments equated to "intellectual pornography".

"David Sullivan lies," read a translated version of Saraiva's response, posted via social media. "There was no proposal presented for the player William Carvalho.
"The football industry is not the plateau of an adult film in which all obscenities are allowed. For this reason, the boss of a club requires much more than this intellectual pornography. 'Mr Sullivan has a duty to prove what he says. For this reason, Sporting CP challenges him to publicly show the proposals he says have been made, as well as the evidence that Sporting CP has received them."

And the chances of West Ham snapping up Carvalho in the January transfer window - or any subsequent window - appear to be slim to none, after Saraiva inisisted that he would no longer have anything to do with individuals that act in such a reprehensible manner. "We'll have nothing to do with businessmen or relatives who live at the expense of players and who are offering them from club to club at a price of balance, without a mandate, as if cheap merchandise supermarket," he added. "This devalues the athlete and the club, and creates lamentable situations that have already forced, in this case, Sporting Clube de Portugal to take drastic measures to defend against these characters that are parasitises in the lives of some players."

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West Ham chairman's William Carvalho claim disputed by Sporting Lisbon
Last Updated: 02/09/17 10:59pm
SSN

Sporting Lisbon's communications chief Nuno Saraiva has disputed a claim by West Ham's David Sullivan that the east London club made an offer for William Carvalho. Sullivan, joint-chairman of the Hammers, used the club's website on Friday to explain that his club had had an initial bid for the 25-year-old Portugal international midfielder rejected. And he went on to say that Sporting had contacted West Ham close to the deadline to accept the offer, only for Sullivan to turn the opportunity down. A statement from Sullivan on the West Ham website on Friday read: "It is no secret that we made a club-record bid for Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho but unfortunately our offer was rejected a couple of weeks ago. "Late last night, Sporting Lisbon made contact to accept the original offer but, unfortunately, it was just too late in the day, and we simply did not have enough time to put the player through a medical. "We were not prepared, as a club, to buy a player for that amount of money without him having gone through adequate medical checks."
However, Sporting have now disputed this claim, with Saraiva taking to Facebook to respond: "No proposal arrived for the player William Carvalho. "Mr Sullivan has a duty to prove what he says. For this reason, Sporting Clube de Portugal challenge him to publicly show the proposals he says have been made, as well as the evidence that Sporting CP has received them."

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AND WHAT ARE THE POSITIVES?
By S J Chandos 3 Sep 2017 at 17:00
WTID

No one is satisfied with the way in which the transfer window ended. I had thought that we would bring in a couple of last minute signings, probably a defensive midfielder and another wide player. However, it was not to be and David Sullivan's subsequent account of events on deadline day has opened up a real can of worms, particularly with Sporting Lisbon. It has also given rise to widespread recriminations amongst Hammers fans, largely aimed at the motives and ambitions of the West Ham board.

I do not want to add to those recriminations or further promote the negativity in this article. Instead, I want to focus on some of the positives and discuss the problems(s) constructively. First up, I do believe that we possess a potentially very good forward line. In Antonio and Arnautovic we have two powerful and pacy wide men, who have the ability to trouble the majority of PL defences. In the central striking role, we have a genuine goal scorer in Hernandez, who can also hold up the ball and link up play. Behind that front three, there is the power of Kouyate, the experience of Noble and the creativity of Lanzini; as well as Ayew's ability to weigh in with his fair share of goals. We also have Sakho and Carroll, who can offer different qualities up front, whether that is replacing Hernandez or playing alongside him in a front two.

Providing that we can keep key players fit, and the forward line gels, I do not feel that we have huge problems in attack. However, defensively, it is entirely a different matter. We are just leaking far too many goals, 10 in the first three matches. Now that the transfer window is closed, Bilic obviously has to work with the players available. in doing so, he needs to decide on whether he will continue with a back four or play a back three with two wing-backs. If he goes with the latter formation then that takes a man out of the forward line, but hopefully it will create a tighter defence and capitalise upon the attacking strengths of Zabaletta and Cresswell down the flanks. If Bilic opts for a back four then both Zabaletta and Cresswell are going to have to be more disciplined in playing as conventional full-backs. Our strongest defensive unit (as a back four) is probably: Zabaleta, Cresswell, Ogbonna and Reid. As a back three, it is probably Rice, Reid and Ogbonna, with Zabaleta and Cresswell as the wing backs.

Slaven Bilic is in a tough situation. In response, he needs to be decisive and adopt the best system to address our damaging defensive vulnerabilities. If we can stop leaking goals then we have the forwards to win matches. Moreover, Bilic needs to use his man management skills to motivate the players and get the best out of them both individually and as part a unit. In football, confidence is a very important factor. Sometimes all it needs is a good performance and win to transform a team's prospects.

Bilic's total focus must be the Huddersfield Town match on 11 September 2017 and motivating the players to the performance and victory that we so badly need.

SJ. Chandos.

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CROSSED HAMMERS & THREE LIONS: DAVID JAMES
By Dan Coker 3 Sep 2017 at 08:00
WTID

Welcome to the fourth in a series of articles designed for international weekends – a look back at former Hammers players who wore the Three Lions of England. Today, as England prepare to face Slovakia at Wembley, we look back at a former Hammers and England goalkeeper – David James.

David James was born in Welwyn Garden City on 1st August 1970 and grew up as a Luton supporter. He signed for Watford though and, after helping the Hornets win the FA Youth Cup, made his full debut in August 1990 at the age of 20. He earned 10 caps for England Under-21s before moving to Liverpool in the summer of 1992. He won the League Cup in 1995 and received an FA Cup runners-up medal the following year before making his England debut under Glenn Hoddle in a friendly against Mexico on 29th March 1997. He signed for Aston Villa in the summer of 1999 and was once again on the losing side in an FA Cup Final, this time in 2000, the last Final to be played at the old Wembley.

James signed for Glenn Roeder's West Ham United in July 2001 for £3.5m but a serious knee injury picked up in a collision with Martin Keown whilst playing for England against the Netherlands at White Hart Lane would keep him out until late autumn. The 31-year-old finally made his Hammers debut in a 1-0 home defeat to Tottenham on 24th November 2001 – he went on to keep ten clean sheets in 29 appearances in his first season, a campaign which saw no other Premier League team win more matches at home than the Hammers. The club finished seventh but were to nosedive the following season, culminating in relegation. James was an ever-present in 2002/03, keeping nine clean sheets in 42 appearances during a season in which he became England's first-choice goalkeeper, replacing David Seaman.

James remained with the club for the first half of the First Division campaign of 2003/04, seeing many of his team-mates depart in a fire sale and playing under three managers – Roeder, caretaker boss Trevor Brooking and Alan Pardew – as the Hammers adjusted to life in the second tier. 'Jamo' kept ten clean sheets in 31 games before returning to the Premier League with Manchester City in a £2m deal in January 2004. He had made 102 appearances for West Ham in all competitions, his final match being a 2-1 home defeat to Preston on 10th January 2004. James had retained his position as Sven-Goran Eriksson's England number one but his return to the top flight all but secured his place as England's goalkeeper at the upcoming Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal.

After two and a half years with City, James returned south to join Portsmouth in the summer of 2006. While with Pompey, he broke the Premier League record for clean sheets and consecutive appearances. He stands fourth in the all-time Premier League appearances list with 572 games played – only Ryan Giggs, Gareth Barry and ex-Hammer Frank Lampard have played more. James moved to Bristol City in the summer of 2010 having captained Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final, James again picking up a runners-up medal after defeat at Wembley to Chelsea. The goalkeeper also played three of England's four matches at the 2010 World Cup, having lost his place to Paul Robinson during qualification for the 2006 World Cup – former Hammer James replaced then-Hammers custodian Rob Green in the tournament held in South Africa after Green's unfortunate error against the USA.

The 42-year-old James was released by Bristol City in the summer of 2012 and signed for Bournemouth in September of that year. His final appearance for Bournemouth, and in English football, was against Walsall in a 3-1 defeat at the Bescot Stadium on 19th January 2013.

James went on to play in Iceland for IBV, teaming up with former team-mate Hermann Hreidarsson in order to gain coaching experience. James was also player-manager of Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, owned by Sachin Tendulkar, in 2014, helping the side to runners-up position in the inaugural campaign of the ISL. James played 956 matches during his career and, now 47, he is a regular pundit on BT Sports. My video below is a compilation of some of his saves in a West Ham shirt.

England v Slovakia

England face Slovakia on Monday in a World Cup 2018 qualifier – it will be the sixth meeting between the two nations. James played in the only previous competitive match between the two on these shores – a 2-1 win for England in a Euro 2004 qualifier in front of 35,000 at the Riverside Stadium on 11th June 2003, a month to the day after the Hammers were relegated. Evanesence were number one with 'Bring Me To Life', The Matrix Reloaded topped the UK box office and, the day after, American actor Gregory Peck passed away.

Former Hammer Frank Lampard and future Iron Matthew Upson joined James in Sven-Goran Eriksson's starting line-up. Slovakia had Vladimir Labant at left-back – Labant had spent a short spell with the Hammers between January and August 2002, making 15 appearances in claret and blue before returning from whence he came to Sparta Prague.

James was forced into a fine block on 14 minutes after Slovan Bratislava's Robert Vittek had been allowed far too much space behind England's backline to fire in a volley. The visitors did score the opening goal just after the half-hour mark – Austria Vienna's Vladimir Janocko curled in an angled free-kick which eluded everyone and spun into the far corner of the net.

With just over an hour played, England skipper Michael Owen was brought down in the penalty area and converted the resulting spot-kick himself. The Liverpool double act of Owen and Steven Gerrard combined to provide England's winner, Gerrard crossing for Owen to head home on 72 minutes for his 22nd goal in his 50th international appearance.

England: David James (West Ham), Danny Mills (Leeds), Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough), Matthew Upson (Birmingham), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Phil Neville (Man Utd), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Paul Scholes (Man Utd), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Wayne Rooney (Everton), Michael Owen (captain, Liverpool).

Subs: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich) for Mills, Darius Vassell (Aston Villa) for Rooney.

Slovakia: Miroslav Konig (FC Zurich), Michal Hanek (Dinamo Moscow), Marian Zeman (Vitesse Arnhem), Martin Petras (Sparta Prague), Vladimir Labant (Sparta Prague), Vladimir Janocko (Austria Vienna), Igor Demo (captain, Borussia Monchengladbach), Radoslav Zabavnik (MSK Zilina), Rastilav Michalik (Sparta Prague), Robert Vittek (Slovan Bratislava), Szilard Nemeth (Middlesbrough).

Subs: Ondrej Debnar (Artmedia Petrzalka) for Labant; Marek Mintal (MSK Zilina) for Demo, Lubomir Reiter (Sigma Olomouc) for Nemeth.

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West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan issues response to Sporting Lisbon director's 'parasite' claims
Sporting's Nuno Saraiva called Sullivan a 'liar' for his comments regarding West Ham's pursuit of William Carvalho.
Rhodri Cannon By Rhod Cannon
September 3, 2017 17:31 BST
IB Times

West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has rubbished Sporting Lisbon's communications chief Nuno Saraiva's claims that the Irons never submitted a bid for midfielder William Carvalho and insists Slaven Bilic's side made an offer for the Portugal international. Saraiva responded to Sullivan's recent comments about the Hammers' pursuit of Carvalho by calling him a "liar" and a "parasite" and stressed that Sporting received no offer for their esteemed midfielder, who has attracted plenty of interest from Premier League clubs in recent seasons.

A rather astonishing Facebook post from Saraiva read: "David Sullivan lies. At Sporting Clube de Portugal, as has already been said by our president, no proposal was made for our player William Carvalho. "The football industry is not the set of an adult film in which all obscenities are allowed. So the boss of a club demands a lot more than this intellectual pornography." "Mr David Sullivan has a duty to prove what he says. That is why Sporting Clube de Portugal challenges him to publicly show the proposals he claims to have been made as well as the evidence that Sporting CP received them. "One thing is certain: Sporting CP, as has already been said, does not cut the legs off its players. But we have nothing to do with the performance of entrepreneurs or relatives who live at the expense of players and who are offering them to clubs as if they were cheap supermarket merchandise. "It creates regrettable situations that have already forced the sporting club of Portugal to take drastic measures to defend itself from these characters who parasitize the lives of some players."

Sullivan was quick to defend himself, insisting that West Ham's bid for Carvalho was submitted to Sporting via the player's agent and their Portuguese representatives but the club's president Bruno de Carvalho did not want the public to know of Sporting's willingness to sell one of their prized assets. The 68-year-old also said that the troubled Irons submitted a written bid, while his David Sullivan Junior branded Saraiva's statement as "serious libel" in a brief Twitter post.
"They are NOT TRUE!" Sullivan told West Ham fanzine Claret and Hugh. "But he (Bruno de Carvalho) can't admit publicly that he was prepared to sell him. Our bid was submitted via the player's agent and our negotiators in Portugal. We also put in a written bid."
Reports suggested that West Ham were prepared to offer £31m for Carvalho, valued at €40m by Sporting, but a deal never materialised despite Sullivan claiming that Sporting eventually accepted their original proposal. The whole sorry episode comes at a rather bleak time for West Ham, who currently lie at the bottom of the Premier League table with no points from their first three games. Their woeful start to the season has led to concerns over the future of Bilic, who may be relieved of his duties if his side fail to get a decent result at home to Huddersfield Town after the international break.

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West Ham confirm they will take legal action against Sporting Lisbon over failed move for William Carvalho
David Sullivan jnr has claimed West Ham will take action against Sporting Lisbon
The two clubs have been embroiled in a bitter war of words this transfer window
Issues arose following West Ham's interest in midfielder William Carvalho
By Danny Gallagher For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 17:25, 3 September 2017 | UPDATED: 17:43, 3 September 2017

West Ham United have confirmed they will be taking legal action against Portugese side Sporting Lisbon. Both sides have been embroiled in a bitter war of words following the summer transfer window, in which speculation grew surrounding a move for midfielder William Carvalho. In the aftermath of the window closing, Sporting's director claimed an offer was never made by the East London club. The news wasn't taken kindly by the Hammers, who will now take legal action against the Primeira Liga side. Writing via his personal Twitter account, David Sullivan Jnr said: 'West Ham are commencing legal proceedings against the communications director of sporting Lisbon as a written offer for the player was made.
'To Bruno de Carvalho the president of sporting Lisbon. To say we never made an offer is nonsense and serious libel.' The Sporting chairman had recently come out and given a statement on the failed transfer, saying: 'I want to give an information that has come out on both sides that I would like to emphasize. 'I have always defended Sporting to the last, it is often not easy to reconcile the interests of the club and the athletes, but I always strive to do so, but I liked it here that they had a notion that for William there was not a single proposal. 'You could see millions and millions on newspaper covers and televisions, but the fact is that Sporting did not refuse too much or too little because there were no proposals.'
Tensions were further stoked when the Portuguese club's director Nuno Saraiva also came out with a strongly worded in statement, in which he referred to the West Ham co-owner as a lying parasite. In a long-worded post which was distributed via social media platform Facebook, Saraiva wrote: 'Mr David Sullivan lies. No proposal arrived for the player William Carvalho. 'The football industry is not the plateau of an adult film in which all obscenities are allowed. For this reason, the boss of a club requires much more than this intellectual pornography. 'Mr Sullivan has a duty to prove what he says. For this reason, Sporting Clube de Portugal challenges him to publicly show the proposals he says have been made, as well as the evidence that Sporting CP has received them. 'One thing is sure: Sporting CP, it has been said, does not cut its legs for its athletes. 'But we have nothing to do with the performance of businessmen or relatives who live at the expense of players and who are offering them from club to club at a price of balance, without a mandate, as if cheap merchandise supermarket, thus devaluing the athlete and the club, and creating lamentable situations that have already forced, in this case, Sporting Clube de Portugal to take drastic measures to defend against these characters that parasitise the lives of some players.'

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'Lie after lie after lie' - Angry West Ham fans plan banners and protests at Hudderfield match
A number of Hammers supporters have had enough
Football London
BYADAM JONES
16:00, 3 SEP 2017UPDATED16:01, 3 SEP 2017

Angry West Ham fans are planning protests and banners against the club's board in the first Premier League match at the London Stadium this season. Next week's Monday Night Football match sees the visit of Huddersfield Town to east London in what will be the first home match of the campaign for the Hammers thanks to their stadium being used for the recent IAAF World Athletics Championships. However, it seems it will be an unhappy return home regardless of the result for West Ham's board - with a number of banners and protests being suggested by seriously disgruntled supporters. Fans are unhappy with the way the club conducted their business late in the transfer window - with results on the pitch also declining and manager Slaven Bilic being placed under enormous pressure.
A Crowdfunding page has been set up for flags and banners to protest the running of the club at the Huddersfield match - with numerous suggestions already being floated. One suggested banner reads: "Formed by the working class, ruined by the rich, sold a dream built on lies. Brady, Sullivan, Gold and co., enough is enough, it's time to go". Another banner reads: "Lie after lie after lie, enough is enough. Brady, Sully and co., time to go."
A number of Hammers supporters on social media have also voiced their support of the movement - claiming that something needs to be done to show the owners that fans of the club are unsettled.

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London Stadium move still at the core of West Ham's problems as unhappy supporters turn on board
JOHN DILLON
ES Sport
West Ham London Stadium

Normal service is about to be resumed at the London Stadium. And if you think that means West Ham's supporters will be happy that they've finally got a home match next Monday against Huddersfield Town after three miserable away defeats, you don't really understand the most persistently troubled of London's biggest four clubs. Protests are planned against the owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, at the game. Subscriptions are being raised for the purchase of #BoardOut banners. The manager, Slaven Bilic is on the brink and many fans have lost faith in their cult hero. Social media is on fire with abuse and anger. This is a startling and rapid turn-around from merely a month ago when, rightly, the directors were being hailed for a productive transfer summer which landed Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaletta and Joe Hart. But it's an apt and familiar illustration of what is meant by normal service at West Ham. Here's the root cause of the endlessly poisonous mood surrounding the club; 13 months after they moved in, the big, awkward and sterile Olympic bowl in Stratford is still, to my mind, at the core of the anger and resentment seething once again among many supporters. The ground breeds unhappiness, dissatisfaction and cynicism – no matter how hard the fans have tried to adapt. So setbacks and dissappointments become magnified. A bitter world weariness sets in too quickly because big promises have been made at the new place. They were offered in exchange for the wrench of leaving Upton Park. But far from being the gift from the taxpayers some purported the stadium to be, it is becoming a burden which could cost Bilic his job and blight the club's future. This sense of rootlessness and abandonment of tradition explains – partly - why the wind has turned so fiercely and suddenly against the owners. It is exacerbated by the high-speed turnover of opinion and belief promoted by Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, where the encouraging events of four weeks ago might as well be ancient history as they've now been obliterated by the failure to land William Carvalho on deadline day. Frankly, it's unfair. The summer signings could yet turn out to be excellent business. Yet conversely, despite the fans unhappiness with Bilic, there is also a swell of ill-feeling toward Sullivan because many fans believe he has too much to say in public about the manager's position – and much of it, they feel, undermines him. This makes for an unhappy relationship. It makes supporters wary and suspicious of the board's motives. That suspicion has increased following the extended saga of whether or not the Hammers actually tried to sign Sporting Lisbon's midfielder, William Carvalho. The fall-out prompted that furious outburst from the Portuguese club's communications director, Nuno Saraiva. Whoever is right, it's the timing that counts. It's chimed perfectly with the increasingly acrimonious mood among many West Ham supporters. And all this against a broader background of discontent about the move from Upton Park best summed up by the wording of a flag some supporters are planning to parade at away matches. It says: "Formed by the working class. Ruined by the rich. Sold a dream built on lies. Brady, Sullivan, Gold and Co, Enough is Enough. Time To go."
They are sentiments which could be echoed at many clubs where the fans feel marooned by the changing nature of modern football. And they are haunting West Ham and Bilic to a debilitating and intensified level. The immediate concern, however, after a three-match "road trip," enforced by the reconfiguration of the arena following those athletics championships, is that the team have conceded 10 goals while scoring only two. The return doesn't inspire much hope of a revival. West Ham were last seen there surrendering meekly in a risible 4-0 defeat by Liverpool last May. That was after two drubbings by Manchester City and a 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal. There have been two nights when things clicked in the new ground – the defeat of Chelsea in the League Cup and the hard-won victory against Spurs.
Bilic will require a similar intensity against Huddersfield and it's likely this will emerge once any pre-match protests subside. It's an irony that the board say they back him while a serious contingent of fans think his time should be up. Yet it's certain that those same supporters who doubt him so profoundly now will still get behind him at the critical point on Monday. There's a kind of football exorcism required at the London Stadium. It's taken far too long for West Ham to feel at home.

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West Ham co-owner David Sullivan heaps pressure on boss Slaven Bilic by claiming he turned down the chance to sign top players for the Hammers
David Sullivan has suggested Slaven Bilic turned down certain signings
Renato Sanches and PSG's Grzegorz Krychowiak were both considered
Sullivan remarked on the club's ability to bring in top four player targets
By Kieran Gill for The Mail on Sunday
PUBLISHED: 22:32, 2 September 2017 | UPDATED: 23:34, 2 September 2017

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has added to the pressure on Slaven Bilic by claiming the manager was not interested in the chance to sign Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches or Paris Saint-Germain's Grzegorz Krychowiak on deadline day. Following a quiet final week of the transfer window in which Sullivan stayed in Marbella, the 68-year-old released a statement to supporters in which he put the club's inactivity down to the manager. 'Overall Slaven is happy with the business we have done during the summer transfer window,' said Sullivan on the club's website. 'We received the manager's wish-list before the window opened and we have managed to get the top four players on it.'
Sanches joined Swansea on loan from Bayern and Krychowiak went to West Brom. Though retaining support from many Hammers fans, Bilic will need to beat Huddersfield a week on Monday after losing his first three matches of the season. Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez, who Sullivan came close to appointing as Hammers boss in 2015, would have to pay £5million in compensation if he walked away from Newcastle United following friction with owner Mike Ashley over the club's lack of transfer business. The Spaniard, who has two years left on his contract, is therefore effectively tied to Newcastle until another club offers to pay the penalty.

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Dave Sullivan suggests West Ham owner dad plans to buy the London Stadium outright one day
HITC
Damien Lucas

A number of West Ham United fans are unhappy with how the club's heralded move to the former Olympic Stadium has panned out so far. General view inside the stadium prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on May 14, 2017 in Stratford, England. The Hammers' move to Stratford from their beloved Upton Park was beset by problems from the start. From in-fighting among the club's fans over persistent standing to segregation issues, violent scenes between home and away supporters and a general dissatisfaction with the atmosphere and feel of a ground many refer to as 'soulless', it left a bitter taste in what was supposed to be a memorable and historic campaign. Ahead of the stadium move, Hammers fans were promised a genuine retractable seating solution in communications from the club. In reality they have been left with a temporary lower tier built on a complex scaffolding which will reportedly take weeks to deconstruct and reconstruct each season at a cost of £8 million - some £7.7m more than the original estimate. The distance from the stands to the pitch is a major bone of contention for many fans with the bowl shape of the venue the biggest problem as the stadium was not built with football in mind. An aerial view of the London Stadium and ArcelorMittal Orbit is pictured during a flight over the capital London in a Cessna 172 plane on August 1, 2017. Having signed a 99-year lease many supporters are disillusioned at the prospect of a long-term future at the ground in it's current state. The club's owners David Sullivan and David Gold also pledged that the move would enable West Ham to spend more on quality players in the transfer market in a bid to compete with the Premier League's top six. But the club's net spend since moving to the ground has paled into insignificance compared to their rivals despite the extra ticket cash, commercial and merchandising revenue streams pushing the club into the prestigious European Deloitte Football Money League Top 20 for the first time, as proudly paraded on its official website back in January. Some supporters have suggested a lack of serious net spend could point to the club accumulating money to launch a bid to buy the stadium outright in the near future.
And in an interview with Sport Bible, Sullivan's son Dave remained coy but admitted it could be on the cards. When asked 'Is your dad looking into the possibility of buying the London Stadium outright in the future?' Sullivan told Sport Bible: "I cannot comment on that, but it is certainly a possibility." And when pushed on the situation surrounding the controversial "retractable" seating solution he added: "We are always looking for ways to improve the stadium, so if we think it will increase the fans experience then of course it is an option. "However, in the immediate future I do not think so because it has already cost a lot of money to install the normal seating. I reckon it could happen, but not for a few years." Whether the opportunity to buy the stadium outright - and potentially convert it into a fully fledged football arena - is this the real reason behind West Ham's low net spend since the big move remains to be seen and only Sullivan and Gold have the answers.

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'We are such an embarrassment' - West Ham fans react as club 'announce' Carvalho legal action
Co-owner David Sullivan's son has been tweeting about possible Hammers action against Sporting Lisbon
Football London
BYADAM JONES
17:53, 3 SEP 2017

West Ham fans have been reacting with embarrassment after the club seemingly announced legal action against Sporting Lisbon through co-owner David Sullivan's son, via Twitter. The Hammers were chasing a deal for William Carvalho throughout the summer, but the deal fell through late in the window with the clubs failing to agree in tough negotiations. The club reportedly made a late bid on transfer deadline day to reignite the deal - but co-owner David Sullivan claimed in a statement that it was too late in the day to sort out a medical to bring the midfielder to the London Stadium. However, Sporting Lisbon president Bruno de Carvalho has claimed that no such bid was received - and there wasn't a single offer for their player. No, co-owner David Sullivan's son has taken to Twitter to seemingly announce that West Ham are planning legal action against the communications director of Sporting Lisbon - claiming a written offer was made for William Carvalho.

DAVE SULLIVAN JNR @DaveSulley
West Ham are commencing legal proceedings against the communications director of sporting Lisbon as a written offer for the player was made
4:50 PM - Sep 3, 2017
214 214 Replies 97 97 Retweets 136 136 likes

DAVE SULLIVAN JNR @DaveSulley
To Bruno de Carvalho the president of sporting Lisbon. To say we never made an offer is nonsense and serious libel
4:50 PM - Sep 3, 2017 · Marbella, Spain
155 155 Replies 47 47 Retweets 78 78 likes


However, West Ham fans have not taken this news well. Many supporters are embarrassed by the way legal proceedings have seemingly been announced - and have directed their anger towards David Sullivan Jr.

Sean R @seanr1969
Replying to @DaveSulley @ExWHUemployee
Will you lot just clear off - talk about make matters worse - no-one likes you , your time is done
5:05 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies Retweets 3 3 likes

Adam @apmartinez19
Replying to @DaveSulley
No chance of signing Carvalho in Jan now. The club is so stupid and embarrassing at times
5:13 PM - Sep 3, 2017
1 1 Reply 1 1 Retweet 6 6 likes

Terry Ball @TerryBallwhu
Replying to @DaveSulley
The owners son announcing this on twitter is certainly a professional way to go about things. Stay classy lads.
5:12 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 1 1 Retweet 2 2 likes

Dan Lawless ⚒ @TheLawless
Replying to @DaveSulley
Be honest there was never any intention to get Carvalho if there was we would have signed him
4:56 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 3 3 Retweets 40 40 likes

Louise @louisewhufc
Replying to @DaveSulley
The club is embarassing why announce on your twitter its a joke if commencing legal actions it should be a written statement on the official
5:13 PM - Sep 3, 2017
1 1 Reply 1 1 Retweet 16 16 likes

Jonny Fuller @Bobblebad
Replying to @DaveSulley
Is it possible to run the club privately and not on twitter? You're making us look like idiots and surely putting clubs off dealing with us
4:57 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 5 5 Retweets 16 16 likes

TobyGreen @tobiasphex
Replying to @DaveSulley
Stop embarrassing us!
4:53 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 1 1 Retweet 13 13 likes

Bernard Montgomery @whostheguvnor
Replying to @DaveSulley
How is a little kid announcing this in the name of a top English football club We are such an embarrassment get you and your mob out my club
5:07 PM - Sep 3, 2017
1 1 Reply 1 1 Retweet 12 12 likes

DAVE SULLIVAN JNR @DaveSulley
West Ham are commencing legal proceedings against the communications director of sporting Lisbon as a written offer for the player was made
Follow
Andy Lampard @Alamps81
And this information comes via social media from our chairmans son... god we are an embarrassment sometimes
5:06 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 1 1 Retweet 9 9 likes

WHUFC @IRONSSSS
Replying to @DaveSulley
Can your dad explain why he said there wasn't time for a medical, when there clearly was?
5:08 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 1 1 Retweet 11 11 likes

Darren 父 Cox @hammersmad
Replying to @DaveSulley
Bravo waste money on a needless legal action. Still you don't spend it on transfers so I suppose it has to go somewhere
5:04 PM - Sep 3, 2017
Replies 3 3 Retweets 6 6 likes

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