Daily WHUFC News - 18th October 2017

Reid: We have to beat Brighton on Friday night
WHUFC.com

It is a little early in the season to tag games as 'must-win', but Winston
Reid says West Ham United 'have' to defeat Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday
evening.
Reid and centre-half partner Jose Fonte were left frustrated after a late
Chris Wood equaliser denied them a welcome Premier League victory at Burnley
on Saturday. The Hammers had taken the lead before being reduced to ten men
before the half-hour mark by Andy Carroll's red card, but looked like
holding onto their advantage thanks to a resilient defensive display at Turf
Moor. However, Wood's header from Johan Berg Gudmundsson's pinpoint
right-wing cross meant West Ham travelled back down south with one point
rather than three, placing even more importance on Friday's London Stadium
date with the newly-promoted Seagulls. "We would have liked to have kept
another clean sheet, but it didn't quite pan out that way," Reid observed.
"We will look to bounce back next week, we have a game against Brighton on
Friday night and we have to win that game. "They have had a good start to
the season, but for me personally we have better players than them and that
is no disrespect to Burnley. "We had a very poor first three games and we
have had some injuries, but we have got just about all our injured players
back now and you could see there are good players that can't even get on to
the bench. "Hopefully we will do well this season, but we need to start
picking up some more wins so that we can get further up the table."

Reflecting on Saturday's draw in more depth, Reid felt West Ham were good
value for the advantage given to them by Michail Antonio's 19th-minute goal,
but admitted the ten men had grown tired as the final whistle approached. "I
think when you concede with five minutes to go it feels like a defeat, but
it was a good ball in. It is difficult for us to defend against Chris. It
was a good ball in and he has a pretty easy header in to the net. "It was
disappointing to concede that late, but under the circumstances of how the
game panned out, we would have liked to have held on, but I guess a point
away from home is a pretty good outcome.
"I think we knew that we had to be solid. We knew that they would have a lot
of possession and that they would try and get crosses in and be a threat,
but I thought we dealt with it as best as we could. "We had a couple of
chances, especially at the start of the second half. We got a little bit
tired towards the end of the game "So, all in all, we are getting better. I
think the football we played at the start of the match was really good and
if we had eleven players on the pitch [for the whole 90 minutes] we would
have ultimately won the game."

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Nine things you need to know about Toni Martinez
WHUFC.com

Toni Martinez's superb hat-trick against Manchester United in Premier League
2 on Sunday proved that, like last season, the Spaniard means business. The
U23s were playing in front of a 1,400-plus crowd at London Stadium and
Martinez shone, bagging three goals to help secure a 4-2 win.
Now, we let you in on nine facts you may not have known about the No9...

It was the striker's second Hammers hat-trick

Martinez's three goals at London Stadium on Sunday wasn't his first
hat-trick for the Club. The striker, in his debut campaign with West Ham
last season, bagged three against Wolves away from home in Premier League 2
last season.

Dan Kemp scored the other goal that night in what was a complete performance
by both the side and Martinez himself. Terry Westley's men were 4-0 winners.

Martinez was on fire last season, too
It wasn't only the game against Wolves in which Martinez was on fire. He
scored braces against Newcastle - on two occasions - and Coventry City in
the Checkatrade Trophy to finish the campaign with a superb 15 goals.

Considering he spent time away from the Club on loan and was also out
injured for a period, 15 goals in 16 games was quite a feat!
Oxford United fans loved him
Toni was on loan at League One side Oxford United last season, and many Us
fans express their love for the forward on social media!

Scoring a debut goal in the FA Cup against Championship side Newcastle
United certainly helped.

He also scored in the next round against Middlesbrough and grabbed one
League One goal, when Oxford faced Sheffield United back in March.

The striker left Valencia for the Hammers
Martinez was on the books at Valencia before he signed for West Ham and was
prolific for the La Liga side's youth teams. It's similar in east London!

The forward signed for the club when he was 16 and went on to play in the
Segunda B division - the second level in Spain - for the side's B team.
He's a Spain youth international
Martinez, when he was younger, played for Spain's U17s, U18s and more
recently, the U19s.

The forward is yet to represent the nation's U21s but must be pushing for a
spot in the squad with the volume of goals he is bagging for the Hammers.

He has been compared to Harry Kane
It's not hard to see why Martinez has received so much praise from those
inside the Club - just look at his goal record.

Recently, after his double against Swansea City at Dagenham and Redbridge's
Chigwell Construction Stadium, U23 boss Terry Westley compared him to Spurs
and England forward Harry Kane.

"Toni is the type of a player – a Harry Kane, dare I say it – they know
they're going to get goals," Westley said. Some praise, that!
He loves scoring against Newcastle
Martinez has faced Newcastle United just three times in his career, but he
seems to be the Magpies nemesis nonetheless. The forward has five goals
against the north east outfit.

In the opening fixture of last season's Premier League 2 campaign, the
Spaniard bagged a brace, before moving on loan to Oxford and scoring against
them in the FA Cup.

Then, on his return to West Ham, he scored a double to help the Hammers win
promotion to Division 1 in last campaign's Play-Off Final! Slaven, you know
who to include in the team on 23 December!

He has eight goals already this campaign
Martinez is already set to beat last season's tally of 15, it seems. Before
we've even reached the midway point in October, the striker has eight goals,
and he's only played ten matches!

A real poacher is the best way to describe the striker, who seems to just be
in the right place at the right time.
He has first team experience
Martinez has already represented the first team, albeit not in a competitive
match just yet. He travelled with Slaven Bilic's squad to Austria, Germany
and Iceland in pre-season, playing a part in all five friendlies.

He was on the scoresheet against Werder Bremen - in the second tie which
ended 2-2 - as well as the 3-3 draw with Altona.

Going back to last summer, upon signing Martinez travelled to Seattle and
played for Slaven Bilic's men there, too.

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'Create chances for Chicharito and he will score'
WHUFC.com

If West Ham United create chances for Chicharito, the striker will score
goals. That is the view of former Hammers striker Bobby Zamora, who knew a
thing or two about finding the back of the net himself during a successful
17-year career. And, while he may be suspended for Friday's first-ever
Premier League meeting with another of his former clubs, Brighton & Hove
Albion, Zamora believes Andy Carroll can become an effective partner for the
prolific Mexican. "It's just down to strikers, for me," said the 2005
Championship Play-Off final hero, when asked how West Ham can carry a more
potent attacking threat. "Chicharito is a bit like Jermain Defoe for me in
that he's always got goals and going to get goals and if you put that ball
into the box he will take chances. If you give him the ball four times in
the box, he's going to score one. "We need Andy back, too. It's just about
how to do it, how to incorporate Andy into it and can they get that
understanding and work together? If they can, they'll be a very potent
force. "I love 'little and large' strike forces and had great understandings
with Carlos Tevez at West Ham and Andy Johnson at Fulham, when we did really
well. Defenders find it really hard because one striker is going to make it
difficult for you physically and the other one is going to run in between
your legs! "It's hard for defenders to go from one extreme to another, so
they are the partnership who can do real damage for me."

Zamora spent the majority of his career in the Claret and Blue of West Ham
and blue and white stripes of Brighton, scoring 130 of his 190 career goals
for the two clubs and winning no fewer than three promotions. The two will
meet for the first time in five-and-a-half years at London Stadium on Friday
evening, and the Barking-born ex-forward admits his loyalties will be well
and truly split. "I think it'll be quite a tight game and a good matchup.
Both are quite similar teams in that they have big, really good
centre-halves who will put their heads in anywhere, full-backs who attack,
wingers who can do a bit, midfielders who can pick up the ball and play with
it and strikers who can score good goals. "Obviously, I absolutely love West
Ham but I also absolutely love Brighton, as they are my two teams and I
think they match up well. I'd love both teams to take a point; that'd make
me happy because I've got no real favourites in this game."

Zamora has warm words for the visitors, who signed him for just £100,000
following a successful loan spell in August 2000. The 36-year-old went onto
83 times in just 136 appearances, firing the Seagulls to back-to-back titles
and promotion to the First Division in 2002. Fifteen years on, under the
impressive stewardship of owner Tony Bloom and manager Chris Hughton, Zamora
was delighted to see Brighton reach the Premier League for the first time in
their history. "Brighton have done really well. When I was there initially,
we were at the Withdean Stadium and it had a running track around it, but
they have put money in and done it slowly and really well. "I hope they stay
up because they deserve it as they've done it with the right way. It's a
nice, family club so hopefully they can. I'd like to see them both in the
middle of the table so I don't have to worry about their results when I look
for them! "I want them both up the top end and enjoying their football."

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Leicester tickets on sale to Members now
WHUFC.com

Tickets for Leicester City's Friday Night Football visit to London Stadium
on 24 November are now on sale exclusively to Claret Members – so hurry to
secure your seat now.

Having secured two home wins last month, the Hammers will be looking to
continue that good run when the Foxes come to town.

With tickets now on sale, supporters are advised to act quickly to secure
their seats for this match.

Buy tickets here

Claret Membership not only gives you priority on tickets for every single
Hammers match at London Stadium, but also offers a host of additional
benefits, including:

Ticket priority on Premier League and Cup fixtures
Access to the Ticket Exchange – once a fixture is sold out, you can purchase
seats which have been relisted by Season Ticket Holders
£5 discount on official away coach travel
Exclusive Claret Member access card
Additional merchandise discounts and offers
Exclusive monthly competitions – prize draws for signed shirts, memorabilia
and money-can't-buy experiences
Invite to Junior Hammers party for Claret Kids
Attend PL2 matches at London Stadium for free*
Attend West Ham Ladies home matches for free
Claret Members will also receive an FREE West Ham branded portable phone
charger with Claret Kids receiving a FREE gift pack including face paint
sticks, a bedroom wall poster and an exclusive Claret Kids scarf which you
can't get anywhere else!
Membership is priced at just £40 adults and £25 kids and you can sign-up
today by clicking here.

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Reid blames Carroll dismissal for points dropped
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Central defender Winston Reid believes West Ham would have taken all three
points from Burnley last weekend - if Andy Carroll had not been dismissed.
The former England striker received his marching orders after just 27
minutes of the game at Turf Moor, having been booked twice within the space
of 90 seconds - leaving his team mates with only ten men for more than an
hour. And the Kiwi insisted that had the impetuous Carroll kept his head,
West Ham would have returned to London with all three points, rather than
just the one. "All in all, we are getting better," Reid told West Ham's
website. "I think the football we played at the start of the match was
really good and if we had eleven players on the pitch we would have
ultimately won the game. "I think when you concede with five minutes to go
it feels like a defeat. It was disappointing to concede that late. We would
have liked to have held on, but I guess a point away from home is a pretty
good outcome. "We would have liked to have kept another clean sheet, but it
didn't quite pan out that way - so we will look to bounce back next week
against Brighton on Friday night - and we have to win that game."

Although it is perhaps a little early in the season to refer to forthcoming
matches as 'must win' affairs, Reid is acutely aware of the need to move
away from the lower reaches of the Premier League table. The Hammers are
currently just three points above the relegation zone - although a win on
Friday night could catapult them into the upper half of the table. "We need
to start picking up some more wins so that we can get further up the table,"
he added.

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Phelan issues Hernandez warning
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Former Manchester United coach Mike Phelan has claimed Javier Hernandez is
not being given the right service at West Ham. Phelan, who worked with the
Mexican international during their time at Old Trafford told Sky Sports that
Hernandez had the ability to be one of the very best players in the Premeir
League - but only if provided with ample ammunition. "If you're looking for
a centre-forward with a history of scoring goals, it doesn't get any better
than Javier," Phelan told Sky Sports. "But there is another side to it: Can
you provide the service for him to score the goals? "If the service is
there for Chicha in and around the 18 yard box, you can guarantee he's one
of those players who will hit the target more often than not, which means
he'll score more goals than he'll miss. "It's just a question of how you
play to him." Hernandez, who moved to West Ham in the summer in a £16million
switch from Leverkusen has scored three times in his opening 10 appearances,
despite having been played out of position more often than not.

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Marca apologise for 'racist' claims
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Spanish newspaper Marca have been forced to issue a apology after they
claimed that fellow London clubs "hated" Tottenham and their fans as a
result of their Jewish links. In their coverage of the forthcoming Champions
League tie between Spurs and Real Madrid, the Spanish daily claimed that
"racist groups" existed within both West Ham and Chelsea - which led to a
furious response from both clubs. "We are shocked and disappointed by the
comments made by Marca in relation to Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and
Chelsea," a West Ham spokesperson told TalkSport. "Marca's accusations are
unfounded, offensive and wildly inaccurate. "There is no place in sport for
discrimination of any kind. West Ham United is an inclusive environment
where everyone that visits London Stadium feels welcome, regardless of
gender, age, race, religion or sexual orientation."

Meanwhile Chelsea similarly rejected the accusations, adding: "We know that
the vast majority of our fans share the club's view that racism is both
abhorrent and deplorable and will not be tolerated. "It is a great shame a
media publication such as Marca should choose to make such wide-ranging,
inaccurate and appalling accusations."

Despite apologising to all three English clubs, the newspaper nevertheless
continued to persist with its unfounded and baffling claims that racist
cells exist within both West Ham and Chelsea. "The 'hatred' that Tottenham
suffers is very focused on the radical and racist groups that are hiding in
society, especially among the fans of Chelsea and West Ham," read Marca's
statement. "Obviously, these groups do not represent the English game or
society. We regret the confusion that has been created in this respect. The
intention was not to damage the image of Tottenham - a club we respect,
value and admire. "We do not want to serve as a mouthpiece for these racist
minorities, which remain within football and which use any pretext to spread
their messages of hate, which we reject head-on."

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Patience is a virtue, says Parkinson
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Bolton manager Phil Parkinson say that Josh Cullen and Reece Burke will have
to bide their time at the Reebok Stadium. Neither of the two on-loan Hammers
have featured in Parkinson's starting XI for Bolton's last three
Championship fixtures, leading to criticism of the decision to place them at
the club for the entire season.
However Parkinson insisted that the duo would benefit from being involved at
first team level - even if that meant starting on the bench. "One of the big
talking points in British football, and certainly English football, is about
young players getting the opportunities to play first team football at a
young age," he told the Bolton News. "You look at the top teams – Chelsea,
Manchester City, Manchester United – are they going to throw youngsters in?
Probably not too many because there is always that element of a learning
curve for young players when they make a move into senior football. "But we
have been in a situation where we've had to put young players in. It's great
for their development and it will only improve it. We have played quite a
few of our own youngsters, who have done well when they got some game-time
this season, and they will go on and get more. "It's a tough industry
whatever league you are in but those two have got experience, they have
played quite a lot of league football and I think this last couple of months
will only stand them in good stead."

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Valencia owner requests OS meeting
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Valencia owner Peter Lim is reported to have requested a meeting with West
Ham chiefs - so that his club can avoid making the same mistakes United made
when moving to the Olympic Stadium. Los Che are preparing to leave the
Mestalla, Valencia's home for the last 95 years in the near future. And
according to local paper Super Deporte, Lim - a Singaporean businessman who
owns an 82.3 per cent stake in the club (in addition to 50 per cent of
Salford FC) - has written to West Ham to request a meeting regarding the
stadium move. Unlike West Ham, whose only interaction was via the
oft-derided 'Supporter Advisory Board', Valencia have appointed a
'supporters chief' to act as a bridge between the club and the supporters
ahead of their move. Construction of Valencia's new stadium - to be known as
the Nou Mestalla - actually began 11 years ago, but was halted in 2009 for
financial reasons with only the primary concrete structure in place. "The
club will start the proceedings with the town hall to get the permissions
required for a renewed project aimed at the optimal fans'experience," read a
recent club statement.

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Burnley 1-1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: HeadHammerShark

Two steps forward, two steps back. And so the dance continues.

West Ham with ten men? Yes, no, very strong


In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games, the BBC launched an under the
radar mockumentary called "Twenty Twelve", which very neatly satirised the
delivery team for the Games and successfully captured every type of office
stereotype imaginable in doing so.

Once the games were over, the idea probably should have died but instead
they moved the subject on to the BBC with a different-but-similar series
called "W1A". Against my expectations I found it pretty funny as the series
continued to nail all the office politics, incompetence and misplaced
entitlement that pervade most large professional organisations. And I say
that as an avowed lover of the BBC.

As such, when series 3 arrived I stuck it on looking for some mild amusement
and instead...I have never been more frustrated watching a TV show in my
life.

Instead of having the characters do or say anything interesting or
believable, they just repeat catchphrases at each other for the entirety of
the show, while a couple of them are now so stupid that I'm beginning to
wonder if the writers are actually attempting to mock people with mental
health issues.

And what, I can sense you wondering, could this possibly have to do with
West Ham? Well, as with W1A, I am getting very fucking frustrated with this
season.

***

West Ham played well in this game. There can't be any disputing that given
the circumstances. Indeed, should anyone disagree bring them before me and
we shall duel with pistols at dawn. This will, I imagine, be a lot less
dangerous than it sounds given that if we're both West Ham fans I strongly
suspect we'll both miss.

But here we are again basking in the glow of lost points and reduced to
wondering about tomorrow, while bemoaning the caveats of the present.

We finally got an answer as to how Slaven Bilic was planning to fit all his
attacking options into the team as he just selected every single one of
them, and then had them all play Rock, Paper, Scissors in the changing room
to determine that Cheikhou Kouyate would play the defensive midfield role.

This seemed particularly bonkers given that Burnley started with a five-man
midfield, but in fairness to Bilic it was all looking fairly rosy when
Michail Antonio opportunistically latched on to a Joe Hart hoof to round
Nick Pope and open the scoring.

I particularly enjoyed the Route One nature of the goal as you can't get
caught short in midfield if you just smash it over the top of them, after
all. "UEFA badges, I shit 'em" yelled Slav in celebration.

But again, in defence of Bilic the real assist on the goal belonged to
Kouyate whose prodigious work rate in midfield saw him break up a Burnley
attack and it was his backpass that Hart howitzered into the home half, and
past the sleeping Ben Mee for Antonio to finish.

I could have sworn I had a brain in here when I left this morning


Sadly, having taken the lead in the 19th minute, we were allowed all of
eight minutes of happiness, because West Ham, before Andy Carroll decided
that was quite enough of that and got himself dismissed for two identical
challenges in the space of 99 seconds.

In defence of our pissed Geordie Samurai, I felt the first challenge was
fairly unremarkable and was itself identical to a challenge by Burnley's
James Tarkowski on Carroll just moments before which went unpunished.
Several years of watching Carroll have probably inured me somewhat to the
sheer physicality of his play, but I felt he was a victim of his reputation
on the first yellow card.

Having been booked however, it would generally be considered sensible to
play within yourself for a while and only go into challenges where you're
absolutely certain of winning the ball. Instead, Carroll brainlessly
launched into another clash with Mee, leading with his arm albeit with his
eyes fixed on the ball, and was rightly sent off.

Thus, just like that, we lost the opportunity of seeing how could play with
all this attacking talent on display or how we would perform with the
comfort of a lead and instead had to watch yet another resilient,
brilliantly organised and ultimately heartbreaking rearguard action courtesy
of a frustrated front player too selfish to channel his anger into anything
constructive.

And so it was that we channelled W1A. The frustration of watching and
waiting. Of knowing yet another opportunity to progress had been spurned.
And now it's the same old catchphrases - "Yeah, no, sure" for "wait until we
get everyone fit" and "so that's all good" for "you can't judge us with ten
men". Great stuff, but can we hear something new, please, before I
completely lose my shit?

We must now wait another week for a first chance to decide what we have
here, and yet we're in October and other teams have long since been through
all that fine tuning. So, unlucky though he might-sort-have-been, Carroll
deserves nothing but opprobrium for leaving his team to spend an hour
defending a lead in a game they could easily have won.

***

I reckon the very best and worst of Slaven Bilic was on display here.

The strength of his management seems to be very much around how he relates
to his players and converting that into a loyalty towards him and the wider
cause. The reason I thought Newcastle was the end for him was that it was
the first time I felt I had visibly seen his team stop playing for him, in a
game where they had no reason to do so.

But, whether you agree with his team selections or the fact that he falls
out with fringe players with a frequency rarely seen outside of Game of
Thrones, it can't be denied that there is a resilience to his team. Here, as
at Southampton, they battled gamely for over an hour with a man down and
were again only denied at the death.

I often attempt to use statistics and metrics in my analysis on here, but I
think this is a weekend to abandon that in favour of some amateur
psychology. Let's face it, people like me write about tactics and Expected
Goals because we have no insight into what goes on in the changing room or
within the team dynamic. I write about those things because it's legitimate
to have an opinion about them, but when fans talk wistfully of 4-4-2 or
3-4-3 we should always remember that we know nothing really.

We have no idea who is carrying an injury, who is in the middle of a bitter
divorce, who is suffering with depression, who is in debt to local bookies,
who has a family member with a terminal illness, who is trying to engineer a
move away and who is little more than a drain on the morale of the wider
group. All of this is hidden away from us and it's worth remembering when we
clamour for the likes of Diafra Sakho to be in the team, that the dynamics
of a football team probably don't differ that much from those of the office,
the building site or the oil rig.

Still, in looking at Andy Carroll, it's tempting to try and figure out what
is happening there. Here is a man who has gone six months - but typically,
just six games - without a goal, and who had the indignity of being booed by
his own fans when named Man of the Match last time out. He has seen the
arrival of Chicharito and hears the jeers when the Mexican is withdrawn
instead of him.

But beyond all of that, Carroll must see the team and the players in it and
realise that he is the odd man out. He can't have failed to notice how much
more attractively we played yesterday after he went off, even with a man
down. Twice in the early stages of the second half Michail Antonio could
have doubled our lead after splendid team moves.

The first, in particular, was a joy as we put together a move of angular
precision, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Zola era and which
nearly culminated in a goal that would have been a spiritual cousin to
Carlton Cole's wonder strike at Wigan.

And I think Carroll sees all of that and feels the frustration that we all
do. I sympathise with him because even when we play long ball we don't do it
all that well, and when we try and play shorter it doesn't really suit him.
Equally, he hasn't had Lanzini to play off either, and no doubt would be
looking for the Argentine to provide him some of that service he has been so
sorely lacking. Indeed, we are eight games into the season and only
Chicharito of our attacking royalty has been available for them all. Carroll
might very well feel that he's entitled to get a crack playing alongside
them all as well.

So, it's amateur psychology alright, but if I was looking for evidence of a
player frustrated and unhappy with his existence I might look at the guy who
smashed into two opposition players in a minute and got himself sent off
when we were 1-0 up away from home.

***

But if the best of Bilic is seen in how his players stick with him, the
worst most be in his tendency to crowbar players into the team rather than
make more difficult decisions about dropping them. Antonio at right back was
the start of all this but we've also seen Hernandez and Lanzini marooned out
wide and today it was his deployment of Kouyate in a holding role.

I thought Kouyate did well in the first half but it doesn't seem like the
best use of his talent or mobility to deploy him this way. It also feels
like it would be borderline suicidal to do this against better teams than
Burnley. The dismissal of Carroll forced a change as Obiang was introduced
at half time in place of Arnatuovic, who I imagine was fairly sanguine about
the whole thing, and we looked far more solid from that point on.

The problem with that was it pushed Lanzini out wide, although one would
hope that was simply the necessity of the situation. But in the grander
scheme of things, I would like Bilic to return to a basic stratagem of
playing his men in their correct positions and only when completely,
undeniably fit.

In my rush to live and die by the merits of xG and xA metrics, it's true
that from time to time I think I've forgotten some of the more intangible
things in life. Confidence is a good example of this, being as how it's
somewhat immeasurable but you sure as hell know when a team doesn't have it.


Passion. But also brown shoes with a blue suit


And so it goes that I think Bilic can sometimes impinge on the confidence of
his own team, simply by virtue of his apparent belief that good players can
play anywhere. The irony of this is apparently lost on him, who as a rugged
centre half didn't spend many games playing wide on the right.

I like Bilic, even if I think he should have been dismissed a long time ago.
He is erudite and articulate in a second language, and engaging in his
manner. He doesn't seem to lean as heavily on ranting at his players or some
nebulous concept like "passion", in the same way as the typical British
manager. I still want him to succeed because if he does, I can at least
accept that it will be enjoyable for me as a fan. That's slightly different
to his predecessor Sam Allardyce, where success frequently meant further
entrenchment of an already unwatchable style of play.

But we can't complain about this result or performance. His team did him
proud here, and having too many players for the spots available, and a
multitude of possible formations isn't actually a bad thing. When that
happens at Manchester United and Chelsea, it's considered a positive thing,
after all.

***

For all that, we rode our luck a bit here at times. Just after Carroll was
dismissed, Joe Hart appeared to bring down Chris Wood with a challenge that
was about as well timed as Donna Karan's defence of Harvey Weinstein.

Referee Stuart Attwell waved that one away, perhaps still considering that
he'd just sent Andy Carroll off but possibly left the referees changing room
unlocked, and our luck held when a second half Gudmundson effort hit the
post, then hit Hart and somehow didn't go in.

All in all, I think we have to be happy with a point as the Burnley
equaliser was deserved and a long time in the making, even if our defending
looked pretty knackered by the time it went in. Winston Reid and Jose Fonte
having earned the right to be exhausted by virtue of a day of dominant
defensive work.

Many seem to be pointing the finger at Aaron Cresswell for his failure to
prevent the cross from coming in, but I think that ignores the fact that
Arnautovic and Lanzini in front of him have the kind of work ethic that
makes The Stone Roses look like Amazon employees.

In the surge of demand for Arthur Masuaku it's surely worth remembering that
he too would have nobody in front of him as cover, whilst it seems eminently
likely that Bilic has told his full backs not to press too far forward as
everybody else in his team is already doing that.

***

I'll tell you what else I could do without; the now trademark Chicharito
shake of the head and mini strop every time he gets substituted. While I
appreciate the desire to play and the overall general lust to remain on the
pitch, it's not really that egregious to take off a centre forward who
hasn't scored or looked like scoring, especially when his strike partner has
already been sent off for throwing an elbow around like he was trying to
break the emergency glass.

This is what Ben Mee looks like to Andy Carroll


Of course, if there is an upside to Carroll being dismissed it's that Bilic
will be forced to try and find a way to play without him next week. We have
those opening thirty minutes against Spurs to fall back on, as some kind of
evidence that hope lies this in this direction, or at least it did until
Antonio pulled damaged a hamstring and apparently also the fabric of time
between the London Stadium and the Underworld and the next thing we knew we
were 3-0 down to Spurs.

Whether Bilic plays Sakho or Hernandez as the rapier point of his attack, he
will surely restore Obiang to the line up for a bit of defensive ballast and
deploy the others in advance of him.

In that scenario, I see Carroll as a near perfect supersub upon his return.
It's not so much that Carroll is a knife being brought to a gunfight, but
that he is an old fashioned cannon from a Lord Nelson era warship. He's big,
heavy, cumbersome, slow to load and absolutely deadly when you eventually
get it lined up properly, but don't take too long because the other guy
undeniably has something quicker.

That kind of option off the bench could be gamebreaking against tiring
defences, but the idea that he can do that from the start seems fanciful,
and mostly destroyed by the evidence of 2017. If there is encouragement to
be gleaned from history, one can look at the 2014/15 season when Sam
Allardyce was forced into playing a diamond behind Sakho and Valencia due to
injuries to Carroll and Nolan, and we were fourth at Christmas.

That side had Alex Song in the holding role, which is a touch of quality
missing from this current outfit, but you'd also think that between them
Antonio, Lanzini, Arnautovic and Hernandez offer more quality than was
available then.

But we can't spend too much time looking back. This is the time to start our
season and get some - any - forward momentum. Whatever Bilic does it would
really be rather brilliant if it wasn't frustrating or in the style of a
mockumentary.

After all, I don't want to be frustrated any more - I want our season to
start and not be waylaid by yet more setbacks and excuses.

To paraphrase Ian Fletcher - another false start?

Yes, no, that's not all good.

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.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
You'll never play for England... again
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th October 2017
By: Paul Walker

One thing's for certain, big Andy, you can book your holidays next year in
June because you will be nowhere near England's World Cup squad in Moscow.

If I may dare to suggest that Andy Carroll finds another nice beach, maybe
Hawaii again, to get as far away from football as he can between June 14 and
July 15.

'Andy for England' comes around with as much boring regularity as an
uninspiring England international, where some daft person suggests that Andy
Carroll could liven things up and provide Gareth Southgate with a Plan B.

Andy then does meaningful TV, website and newspaper stuff appearing to be
articulate and that the suggestion is not silly season stuff but that he
thinks he could do England a good turn. Yeah, right!

Now I've always had a lot of time for Carroll, I agree that once in a blue
moon he appears on the pitch and is "unplayable"...I'm sure that's the
expression. And I have sympathy for the lad who gets no protection from the
sort of blatant battering that James Tarkowski handed (or was it elbowed)
out at Turf Moor on Saturday, before the red mist came down in about 99
seconds and Andy was marching away pleading innocence.

Carroll survives in the Premier League because we play by a different
interpretation of the laws of the game than the rest of Europe. There is a
reason that Andy does not get a regular call from England managers, and it's
not only the catalogue of injuries that allows him to spend too much time in
Dubai mid-season!

Occasionally England managers toy with the idea of giving him a go in the
squad again. Then someone takes them aside and mentions that referee outside
these shores would tolerate him now for no more than, say, 99 seconds.

It's pretty much as simple as that. For what it's worth, I felt he was a
little unlucky to be booked for the first time against Burnley, most pundits
from Iain Dowie to Sam Allardyce on TV this weekend suggested he was just
using his arms for leverage. But when you have a referee as poor as Stuart
Attwell (he really was that poor for the rest of the match), you don't upset
him again.

Certainly not within a couple of minutes with a high-speed charge across the
pitch to launch himself at yet another high ball, clattering Ben Mee as you
do. Stupid doesn't come into it.

Carroll needed to assess the situation better, and not to produce primary
school playground revenge tactics,…you pinch me, I'll pinch you. So there.
Mind you, Carroll and his team mate Marco Arnautovic are still trying to
graduate from that same primary school class, because their approach to such
situations is very similar.

So, mental note for Southgate, come to your senses and scrub Carroll from
any further scouting trips, you having been at the Spurs game just to have a
check on the daft Geordie. If you didn't know before, you do now. You can't
trust Carroll when he sees the whites of a centre backs' eyes - heaven
forbid if they are European defenders.

Now there was a lot of good things to come out of the trip to Lancashire,
one of my favourite away trips, largely because of the excellent way away
fans are catered for at the adjacent Burnley Cricket Club pavilion. It's the
away fan pub in the town, three bars, plenty of hot food wall-to-wall Sky
TV, so we could all watch just how much it has cost Manchester United to
'park the bus' Jose Mourinho style. Stuff entertaining the punters, Jose.

Our away contingent frequent a world where you can see the names on players'
shirts, you have an endless collection of songs about Karren Brady…and you
don't mind the very beautiful ride up from Manchester Victoria through the
Lancashire hills on trains that are still in use since Burnley won the title
in 1960.

There is also a feeling that it's all old school. Turf Moore reminds me a
bit of the Boleyn. Smallish, tight and intimidating.

And amongst our lot there's a lot of talk of the old days, a real football
stadium and more than a few belligerent scarves around the place. Too many
wistful memories for the good old days at Upton Park.

Before I get onto the good bits of our performance, let's get Arnautovic out
of the way. He's been here since July, he's played six matches for us, got
himself sent off, completed 90 minutes only twice and in total has managed
356 minutes on the pitch.

Now forgive me for being picky, but I expect more from our record £25m
signing. He gives off an attitude of languid indifference, always seems to
be in second gear and I have yet to see him get his shorts dirty or any
sweat on his shirt.

He has got fine control, balance, quick feet and has power and ability to
cause plenty of trouble down the left. Blink though, and you've missed it.
OK, got that off my chest.

Elsewhere Pablo Zabaleta is showing us what players from a different, higher
level are really like. Forgotten is all that nonsense about his legs when we
lost our first three games and let in ten. Nothing to do with him.

Since, he has shown leadership, great quality, energy and everything you
would expect from a player who has won the league title twice with a
Manchester City side, who have now moved on themselves to a higher level.
Seven goals they managed on Saturday while Jose's United were boring their
way to a goalless draw. I know what I would rather watch on TV.

So once again any fortnight of planning that Slaven Bilic had managed was
blown out of the water by Carroll's indiscretion while we were deservedly
leading. But still we defended with outstanding diligence and organisation.
Jose Fonte is beginning to look like a decent signing now he hasn't got
Michel Antonio playing right-back alongside him and has Zabaleta's massive
experience instead.

Joe Hart has managed six clean sheets in his last eight matches for club and
country and handled the aerial stuff well despite taking a battering from
all and sundry. A bit fortunate with that first-half penalty shout, but it
was right in front of that and it looked like he got a faint touch on the
ball first. But only just.

Antonio is getting his confidence and game together, even if he wasted our
best chance of the match with that great once-touch move at the beginning of
the second-half. Manu Lanzini has the touches and class, he only needs
fitness now.

And, on Lanzini. When he raced down that wing, kept the ball in play and
then found Sean Dyche in his path a foot or so over the line, the referee
should have stopped the game. It's up to Dyche to get out of the way, not
the other way round. Then the ref could have checked that Lanzini was OK and
re-started the game with a drop ball that would have returned possession to
us. Is that not sense, or me being biased?

Pedro Obiang looked neat and sharp when he came on and must now be given a
run in the side. Not sure where though with Lanzini playing alongside
Cheikhou Kouyate in the centre of midfield and the need to pair Javier
Hernandez with Diafra Sakho up front.

You would assume that Arnautovic and Antonio will continue as the wide
midfield/attackers. The side against Brighton will be interesting, because I
feel that Slav has been very brave (or forced?) to play 4-4-2 in the last
two games.

It gets five attacking players onto the pitch at once and a lot of work and
covering for Kouyate. Mind you, I have seen our formation described as
4-1-4-1; 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-1-1 on TV and in the media this weekend. It's 4-4-2
as far as I'm concerned, but then I used to watch an England side under Sir
Alf that actually won things.

Sorry to end on a sour note though. I can understand Hernandez being a
little browned-off when he is taken off in matches, but with 15 minutes left
at Burnley and with the side tiring rapidly, Slav opted for the fresh legs
and strength of Sakho.

What followed was Chicharito sloping off, shaking his head and then knocking
away Slav's offer of a handshake. Not good in my book, can't remember him
doing anything like that when Sir Alex substituted him at Old Trafford, he
would not have dared!

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.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll could lose West Ham spot to Javier Hernandez, says Tony Gale
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 17/10/17 12:46pm
SSN

Andy Carroll could lose his West Ham place to Javier Hernandez after he
serves a one match ban following his red card against Burnley says former
Hammers defender Tony Gale. Andy Carroll's "stupid" red card could see him
lose his West Ham place on a permanent basis to Javier Hernandez, says Tony
Gale.
Carroll was booked after referee Stuart Attwell judged he led with his elbow
in a challenge with James Tarkowski against Burnley on Saturday, and 99
seconds later he launched himself into another aerial challenge with Ben
Mee, earning the third red card of his career. West Ham were leading 1-0
when the sending off occurred but were eventually pegged back to 1-1 with
five minutes remaining, and former Hammers defender Gale believes Carroll's
ill-discipline could cost him his place in the starting line-up long term.
"It was a stupid challenge," Gale told Premier League Daily. "It's a shame
for him because he's just getting back to fitness. He needs six games to get
back to fitness, then bang he does that - he's out. "All of a sudden West
Ham might change the way they play, Hernandez goes up front, [Diafra] Sakho
goes up front, he may not get back in the team."

Hernandez has been forced into a wide position by West Ham boss Slaven Bilic
on occasions this season in order to accommodate Carroll, but Gale believes
the summer signing could now take centre stage. Javier Hernandez arrived at
West Ham to high expectations but he is struggling with a lack of service.
Asked why Hernandez has struggled to replicate his impressive goalscoring
record at West Ham, Gale said: "He's playing out of position, simple. "At
Southampton he got two opportunist's goals in the six-yard area. That's
where he's got to be because he sniffs out a chance like nobody in the
Premier League. "If you're looking at Hernandez up front, [Marko] Arnautovic
one side, [Michail] Antonio the other and [Manuel] Lanzini in behind, you're
looking at a lot of creativity there and maybe West Ham getting the
performance they've been edging towards."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Javier Hernandez struggling with a lack of service at West Ham
Last Updated: 17/10/17 6:01am
SSN

Slaven Bilic is struggling to get the best out of Javier Hernandez at West
Ham. Ahead of their Friday Night Football clash with Brighton, Nick Wright
examines his tricky start to life in London with help from Mike Phelan, who
coached him at Manchester United. Having watched no fewer than 30 strikers
come and go in seven years under owners David Gold and David Sullivan, West
Ham supporters were understandably delighted when the club completed the
signing of Javier Hernandez in the summer. Here, at long last, was a proven
goalscorer with the pedigree to be different. Hernandez arrived in east
London having hit 39 goals in 76 games for Bayer Leverkusen, and his scoring
feats for Manchester United were still fresh in the memory too. The Mexican
had a reputation for netting big goals at key moments during his time at Old
Trafford. In total, he scored 59 times - despite nearly half of his 157
appearances coming from the bench. He started brightly enough for West Ham,
scoring twice against Southampton on his second appearance, but he has only
netted once in eight games since then. The optimism that surrounded the club
in pre-season has ebbed away. Ahead of the visit of Brighton on Friday, they
sit two points above the relegation zone.

From Ilan to Ashley Fletcher, Hernandez has already outscored 20 of the 30
West Ham strikers that came before him, but that remarkable statistic says
more about the club's recruitment policy than his own form. Hernandez has
struggled to make an impact more often than not. In their last two games, he
has not even registered a shot on goal. The 29-year-old has cut a frustrated
figure, but as those who have worked with him will tell you, Chicharito is
only as good as his service. "If you're looking for a centre-forward with a
history of scoring goals, it doesn't get any better than Javier," Mike
Phelan, Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant at Manchester United, tells Sky
Sports. "But there is another side to it: Can you provide the service for
him to score the goals? If the service is there for Chicha in and around the
18-yard box, you can guarantee he's one of those players who will hit the
target more often than not, which means he'll score more goals than he'll
miss. It's just a question of how you play to him."

So far, it has been a problem. Nobody expected Hernandez to receive the same
level of service at West Ham as he did at Manchester United - especially
with Dimitri Payet long departed from the London Stadium - but the lack of
ammunition has still been striking. West Ham rank 12th in the Premier League
for chances created with 65, and only five of those chances have been deemed
clear-cut. In that category, only Huddersfield, Brighton and Bournemouth
have created fewer. Hernandez has fed on scraps, in other words. And having
converted three of those five clear-cut chances, he can hardly be accused of
wastefulness. West Ham simply aren't getting him into the right positions
with enough regularity. Only Swansea have had fewer touches in the
opposition box than Bilic's side this season. For Hernandez, a striker who
has spent his career at some of the biggest clubs in Europe, it is a
dramatic change. He is averaging fewer shots per 90 minutes than at any
point in the last eight seasons.

Hernandez has not been helped by Bilic's so-far fruitless attempts to fit
him into the same side as Andy Carroll. Against Huddersfield and West Brom
last month, he found himself stationed out of position on the left. "You
just hope that Chicha isn't judged on a couple of indifferent games in a
position which isn't his strongest," says Phelan. "From his point of view,
he'll want to be at the top of the pitch."

Bilic moved Hernandez back into a central position for West Ham's last two
games, deploying him alongside Carroll in a 4-4-2 formation. The big-man,
little-man combination is a throwback which makes sense on paper, with
Carroll capable of winning aerial balls for Hernandez to run onto, but there
have been few signs of chemistry so far.

Their time on the pitch together was curtailed by Carroll's sending off in
the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday, and before that, in West Ham 1-0
victory over Swansea, they only exchanged three passes together all game. In
fact, it was only after Chicharito's 78th-minute substitution that West Ham
finally broke the deadlock through his replacement, Diafra Sakho.

Carroll's suspension means yet another change of system against Brighton on
Friday night, but Hernandez can at least take heart from the fact that his
only goals this season have come when he's played as a lone striker. The
return of Manuel Lanzini, who created more chances than any of his West Ham
team-mates last season, could also be beneficial.

BIlic is under pressure to make things work sooner rather than later, but
according to Phelan, who spent three years with Hernandez at United, he can
count on the striker's buy-in. "He's a joy to work with," he says. "He comes
in, he's prepared to train, he works hard, he smiles but he also gets
annoyed. He's always had all the ingredients of a top player.

"For him to come back to England was a big decision for him. He's not
Mexico's top goalscorer for nothing and he's not had the career he's had for
nothing. It's up to West Ham to get him in there and show everybody that
he's the player who can turn their fortunes around."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Winston Reid says West Ham vs Brighton is a must-win game
Last Updated: 17/10/17 8:27pm
SSN

West Ham defender Winston Reid says the Friday Night Football clash with
Brighton is a must-win game for Slaven Bilic's men. Ten-man West Ham were
denied three points on Saturday when Chris Wood's 85th-minute header
salvaged a 1-1 draw for Burnley, and Reid is looking for an immediate
response against Brighton at the London Stadium, live on Sky Sports Premier
League. The Hammers sit 15th in the Premier League table, level on points
with Brighton, who they will face without banned striker Andy Carroll after
he was sent off against Burnley at the weekend. The defender told the club's
website: "We will look to bounce back, we have a game against Brighton on
Friday night and we have to win that game. "[Burnley] have had a good start
to the season, but for me personally we have better players than them and
that is no disrespect to Burnley. "We had a very poor first three games and
we have had some injuries, but we have got just about all our injured
players back now and you could see there are good players that can't even
get onto the bench. West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says a player of Andy
Carroll's experience should know better, but insists neither of his elbow's
were deliberate. Slaven Bilic says a player of Andy Carroll's experience
should know better, but insists neither of his elbows were deliberate
"Hopefully we will do well this season, but we need to start picking up some
more wins so that we can get further up the table."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham goalkeeper hints at January exit after frustrating few months
Adrian has spoken with Radio Marca in his homeland regarding a potential
exit from the London Stadium
Football London
COMMENTS
Rob Guest
15:30, 17 OCT 2017

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian has revealed that he is looking to seek a move
away from the Hammers once the transfer window reopens in January. After
losing his starting spot to Darren Randolph for the majority of last season,
the Spaniard has once again found himself on the bench following Joe Hart's
arrival at the club on a season-long loan deal. The 30-year-old is clearly
not happy with his current situation and he told Radio Marca in Spain that
he needs to move elsewhere after only making two appearances for the club in
the Carabao Cup this season. With the former Real Betis shot-stopper still
eyeing a call-up to the Spain squad, he has explained he is happy to seal a
move away from the Premier League for regular first-team football. "The
coach is not giving me much ball this year, but the data is there. It only
remains to fight," the goalkeeper told Radio Marca. "Without playing, I
repeat the call with the Spanish team disappears. "The market will be
reopened and an agreement must be reached because I am not happy in this
situation. "Try other leagues? I would not mind. I want to enjoy every
Sunday and that is achieved by playing."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
TEN MEN, NOBLE, MY TIN HAT AND A KNEES UP!
By Tony Hanna 17 Oct 2017 at 08:00
WTID

So far this season we have huffed and we have puffed in our two wins against
Swansea and Huddersfield, although the latter was a pleasingly more dominant
display. Arguably though, the best football we have played this season has
been when we are down to ten men? Away to Southampton and again against
Burnley on the weekend, elbows have reduced us to ten men for two thirds of
both games. Yet, on each occasion not only did we show resilience and fight,
we also knocked the ball about like a proper football team. All indications
show that the players are right behind the manager but why it takes a
reduction in playing personnel to bring the best out in us beats me!

Back on the 15th August I wrote in my Tuesday column that there was no need
to panic after our poor start to the season. For many years it has been my
view that the eight game mark is the earliest time where a real and proper
assessment can be made. In my opinion anything earlier can be simply driven
by panic or often misguided on the back of emotions – good or bad. So, here
we are then, the eight game mark. This season has thrown up more variables
than usual though – we have only played three games at home instead of the
usual four and in a quarter of our games we have played with ten men for
over an hour. Personal judgements on whether we have been lucky or unlucky
will differ but for me we have dropped three points due to our sending offs
and gained two points with a fortunate win against Swansea. I could argue
that we should have got two more points at West Brom but I will let that one
slide through to the keeper. So in essence I agree with David Gold's
comments the other day that a fairer assessment of "where we are" should be
considered after the Brighton game? Eight points from eight games is where
we are now though and taking into account the five away fixtures it looks
like we are in for a season sliding up and down between a very congested
10th and 15th?

Two things that Slav has done recently have impressed me. I think his
preseason plan was to play a back four and for some matches that is the
right thing to do. However, there are also matches that demand a back three
with wing backs and he is now showing that adaptability in his team
selections. Slav is showing some versatility at last and we do have the
players to play both systems. The other thing which has happened, and whilst
we have all been aware of it, it has had little air time probably due to
Andy grabbing most of the spotlight. He has been prepared to drop his
captain Mark Noble. I am sure Mark will be back for the Spurs Cup game but
it took courage to make this decision. In no way am I writing Mark off, but
if the likes of Lanzini, Obiang and Kouyate remain fit and healthy then
Noble will have a job getting back into the side. Personally, I think he
will be up for the challenge and it may bring the best out of him? Whilst
Kouyate has been slow to gain anywhere near his best form this season his
work rate to cover against Burnley was excellent. Obiang's second half
performance gave all the indicators that he may be in for another fine
season and Lanzini just brings the X factor that the team needs to play at a
higher level.

With Noble being dropped back to the bench Winston Reid has taken over as
skipper. My perception by reading this blog over the years has been that
most think Reid is too quiet for the job. Perhaps Zabaleta should be the
man? However, quite a few on here are getting fed up with the over reactions
displayed by Reid towards the referee's on any big calls made against us? It
is interesting to compare the make ups of several of our players because
they are quite a mixed bunch. If Andy Carroll gets the free kick for the
elbow into his face a minute before his first booking would things have
turned out differently? Andy rarely goes down easily and for this he does
cop a fair amount of " extra treatment" from opposition defenders. The same
thing happened with Arnautovic's dismissal at Southampton? At the other end
of the scale though Arnie will go down as though shot by a sniper and will
get the sulks or seek retribution as a response. In both instances the
players showed frustration and ill-discipline and the team paid the price.
At the other end of the spectrum we have Chico who can make the most out of
any situation with floor exercises that any Olympic gymnast would be proud
of. I know he is a fan favourite and he is our top scorer so I will just
grab my tin hat, but I just can't warm to some of his antics. I will take
all the goals he will score for us and accept he is a terrific player but
his theatrics just frustrate me. The constant arm waving and gesturing
together with the poor body language when being subbed does not warm my
cockles. I get the "it's good – he just wants to play" argument, but it is
also a team sport. In contrast we have Michael Antonio. Wholehearted and
almost innocent, a product of non-league football he plays with a smile on
his face. Despite the difference in physique he does remind me of Alan
Devonshire. Perhaps because both of them can be attributed to living the
dream of all non-league footballers and playing without the shackles that
often come with an over coached academy footballer.

Finally, another player who joins the mixed bunch of emotions group at West
Ham is Diafra Sakho. He scores when he wants but he also gets booked every
time he takes his shirt off when doing so. Two points to be made here. Why
is it a bookable offence when so many other goal celebration rituals aren't?
Why can you roll around the ground after performing a conga dance and a baby
rocking routine and not get booked but you will if you remove your shirt?
Inciting the crowd? The change to Law 12 quoted "A player who removes his
jersey after scoring a goal will be cautioned for unsporting behaviour". The
reasons quoted for the change also said "Removing one's shirt after scoring
is unnecessary and players should avoid such excessive displays of joy." You
would think that the sanitisation of our game has already gone far enough
but it makes no sense when a player can run to a corner flag and punch it
several times, followed by 38 cart wheels and that not be deemed an
excessive display of joy? Jumping into the crowd after scoring is arguably
correctly seen as excessive and we saw Frederic Piquionne get sent off at
Everton back in 2011 after racking up a second yellow for that celebration.
The second point is if the rule is in place why do players still do it?
Running up extra cards is detrimental to the team and the player himself.
Surely our players can choreograph a proper goal celebration with an Irons
salute followed by a Knees Up Mother Brown and reduce the card tally this
season at the same time?

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Liverpool chasing transfer of Sheffield United wonderkid David Brooks but
face competition from Arsenal
Newcastle and West Ham are also keeping tabs on Brooks' progress after his
impressive start to the season
The Mirror
Bill Cooper
22:30, 16 OCT 2017

Liverpool are heading the queue of Premier League big guns hoping to prise
exciting young midfielder David Brooks away from Sheffield United. Kop boss
Jurgen Klopp has been monitoring the 20-year-old's form since the start of
the season, and is planning to tempt the Blades with a £10million bid in the
January transfer window. Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham are also tracking
Brooks, who earned a call-up by Wales for their recent World Cup qualifiers
against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland. Since making his United debut
against Leicester under-23's in an EFL Cup clash 14 months ago, it has taken
Brooks just 15 outings to establish himself as one of English football's
hottest young properties. Blades boss Chris Wilder will fight to keep Brooks
at Bramall Lane, and insists the Warrington-born starlet has a crucial part
to play in his Championship high-fliers' bid to win promotion back to the
Premier League after an absence of 11 seasons. Wilder declared: "We are
building something here and, of course, there will be casualties along the
way. But David won't be going anywhere in January."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham loanees Reece Burke and Josh Cullen will benefit from tough time at
Bolton Wanderers
Marc Iles
Bolton News

PHIL Parkinson reckons West Ham pair Josh Cullen and Reece Burke will
benefit in the long run from a tough start to life at Wanderers. The
highly-rated Hammers youngsters have been benched for the last three games,
including Saturday's first win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday. It
has hardly been a comfortable introduction to the Macron for the two
21-year-olds, who both worked with Parkinson in League One at Bradford City.
But the Whites boss is confident they, and Wanderers' own developing stars
such as Jeff King, Jack Earing and Jake Turner, will have learned a lot from
the last few weeks. "One of the big talking points in British football, and
certainly English football, is about young players getting the opportunities
to play first team football at a young age," he told The Bolton News. "You
look at the top teams – Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United – are
they going to throw youngsters in? Probably not too many because there is
always that element of a learning curve for young players when they make a
move into senior football. "But we have been in a situation where we've had
to put young players in. It's great for their development and it will only
improve it. "We have played quite a few of our own youngsters, who have done
well when they got some game-time this season, and they will go on and get
more. "It's a tough industry whatever league you are in but those two have
got experience, they have played quite a lot of league football and I think
this last couple of months will only stand them in good stead."

Wanderers got a confidence boost with Saturday's win against Wednesday,
which coincided with the return of Josh Vela to the first team for the first
time since the opening day of the season. Parkinson believes his
reintroduction, alongside fit-again Sammy Ameobi, and others who are close
to full fitness like Derik Osede, Will Buckley and Aaron Wilbraham, have
given a natural impetus to day-to-day life at Lostock. "When you get lads
back on the training ground it does give the lads a lift – suddenly they are
seeing some key people back around them and when they play on the training
ground, when they get a goal it gives the place a buzz," he said. "I've
certainly felt over the last couple of weeks that the buzz has returned and
the standard of training has gone up a level. That is just the lads coming
back in and I think Karl Henry has added to it as well. "You look at the
league table and it's not what we want but I think we're in the best place
we possibly could be with all those things considered."

Parkinson has also praised the determination within the camp not to let
heads go down after a 12-game wait for a win. Written off by many as
relegation fodder, the Whites boss reckons the character of his squad will
be a valuable commodity in the coming months. "I think we have got the right
types, and that's vitally important," he said. "They are a good set of lads
who have stuck together. "They enjoyed the good times of last year but they
are working very, very hard to turn this around. "I believe we will. But it
will only come with hard work."

Both Parkinson and centre-half David Wheater have been nominated for prizes
at this year's North West Football Awards. Parkinson contests the Manager of
the Year award with Manchester United's Jose Mourinho and Blackpool's Gary
Bowyer. Wheater is up for the League One Player of the Year award with
Fleetwood's Cian Bolger – an ex-Wanderer – Rochdale's Callum Camps and
Oldham's Peter Clarke.

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