Daily WHUFC News - 10th April 2018

Rice's 'crazy day' caps rewarding Chelsea return
WHUFC.com

Five seasons ago, Declan Rice was playing Academy football for Chelsea, only
for the Blues to release him at the age of 14. The schoolboy was initially
left 'deflated', his dream of playing for the club his family supported
shattered, but within 48 hours he had been snapped up by West Ham United -
and the rest is history. Rice's redemption story went full circle on Sunday,
when the 19-year-old played a starring role against his old club at Stamford
Bridge, helping the Hammers win a heard-earned Premier League point. "I've
come back here after being released by Chelsea at 14 and five years later
I'm playing for West Ham in the Premier League," said Rice, who has made 25
first-team appearances since debuting at Burnley on the final day of last
season. "Sunday was a crazy day and one which me and my family are very
proud of. "Coming to Chelsea games as a kid, joining the club at seven and
being released at 14, I don't think I need to prove anything, but today I
felt I came back and made a statement and I was happy with my performance."

The 19-year-old still has many friends at Chelsea and regularly meets up
with former Blues captain John Terry to discuss his career and life paths.
And with his family, who hail from nearby Kingston-upon-Thames and many of
whom are Chelsea supporters, watching on from the stands, Rice showed all
the composure and ability that have already marked him out as one of the
Premier League's top prospects. Playing alongside his experienced defensive
colleagues and goalkeeper Joe Hart, who produced his best display for the
Hammers, the 19-year-old relished the opportunity to show his old club what
they had missed out on. "Joe was outstanding and I thought Angelo, Cressy,
Patrice, Arthur and myself were excellent as well," he observed. "In the
second half, when we had the chance to put pressure on their defence, they
started to crumble a little bit and obviously Arnie potentially could have
had a penalty too. "On the day, we had a game plan and we stuck to it. We
came out with a point and that's massive for us going into the final six
games of the season. "It's all about learning. I'd watched clips and
obviously I know how Eden Hazard plays and how Willian plays, but you can't
really tell off a video until you face them in real life as you come up
against different challenges. "They played a few tricky one-twos and they
did get in a couple of times, but in the second half we started to suss it
out. It's only going to help me build as a player, going up against these
types of world class players."

West Ham could easily have crumbled themselves after falling behind to Cesar
Aziplicueta's close-range finish nine minutes before half-time, but instead
came out after the break with the resolve and determination to grab a share
of the spoils, at least. And their reward came with 17 minutes remaining,
when substitute Chicharito swept Marko Arnautovic's cut-back into the bottom
corner, sparking wild celebrations both on the pitch and among the
3,000-strong Claret and Blue Army. "If you let your heads go down against
these sorts of players, you're going to be four or five-nil down. The goal
was a scrappy one to concede from a set piece and that was disappointing as
we'd worked on them during the week, but we kept at it, kept going and we
knew we'd get a chance. "Arnie had one in the first half and then Chicha
came on and made a great difference, held the ball up well and stuck it
away. He was excellent when he came on. "Arnie got in around the back and
set it back for him and Chicha, with his striker's instinct, has pulled off
and he's found a great finish into the corner past a few bodies and the West
Ham fans went crazy. "Two seasons I was in the away end celebrating with
them, but this time I was out there playing, so it was a special moment."

West Ham have now picked up four points from two matches and sit 14th in the
table with six matches remaining, the next of which sees Stoke City – seven
points below the Hammers on 27 – visit London Stadium on Monday 16 April.
"We won't be able to relax, but if we beat Stoke we'll be in a good
position. We've still got some really tough games towards end of the season,
but three points against Stoke will be crucial. "We've just got to push on
and get the results."

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Hart's heroics: Analysing Joe's outstanding display at Chelsea
WHUFC.com

Speaking after Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Chelsea, Joe Hart said
simply that it was 'nice to make a few saves and help get a result for the
team at an important time of the season'. But the straight-talking
goalkeeper was vastly underplaying the role he played in securing a deserved
point at Stamford Bridge.
Put simply, without Hart's heroics between the sticks, West Ham United would
have lost. After seeing Eden Hazard and Willian fire shots narrowly wide and
Alvaro Morata have the first of two 'goals' correctly ruled out for offside,
the 30-year-old was called into action for the first time on 35 minutes. A
slick move involving Hazard and Morata, ended with Willian bearing down on
the West Ham goal, but Hart denied the Brazilian with a superb save with his
outstretched left foot, diverting the ball over the crossbar. The stopper
admitted to being 'disappointed' that Chelsea scored a 'sloppy' goal from
the resulting corner, but he could not be held accountable for Cesar
Azpilicueta's scrambled opener.

Into the second half and Spaniard Morata had a second strike ruled out by
the assistant referee before Chicharito levelled the scores from Marko
Arnautovic's pass to give West Ham something to cling onto. And cling onto
it they did thanks in the main to Hart, who took to the air to make a
spectacular one-handed save to help Marcos Alonso's rasping shot over the
top. With time running out and both teams throwing men forward in search of
a late winner, the England international was called into action thrice more
in the closing stages. First, he was in the right place to smother Hazard's
low shot. Then, with two minutes of the 90 remaining, his excellent footwork
allowed Hart to scramble across his goalmouth and tip Olivier Giroud's
goal-bound header onto the post and out for a corner. Hart's fifth and final
save, in the second minute of added time was his most comfortable, as Gary
Cahill's looping header from a Cesc Fabregas cross fell into his grateful
grasp.

In his post-match interview, the on-loan Manchester City man said his late
save from Giroud (pictured, above) was his pick of the quintet. "The last
one was my favourite," he told his former City teammate Joleon Lescott on
BBC Radio 5 Live. "The earlier ones, I didn't really know much about, but
with Giroud coming on, you know what's coming because he is so strong and
can hold anyone off and win headers and they've gone past me before. "I
remember when we lost 2-0 against Arsenal [with Manchester City in January
2015], so it was nice to get a little touch on it."

Hart was keen to share the limelight with the likes of Arnautovic and
Chicharito, but those outside the Club did not hold back in their praise for
the two-time Premier League champion. Former England midfielder Jamie
Redknapp in The Star, ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker Garth Crooks for BBC
Sport, the Daily Telegraph's Jason Burt, ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti and
talkSPORT all named Hart in their Premier League Team of the Weekend. With
England manager Gareth Southgate among the spectators at Stamford Bridge, a
more meaningful endorsement could follow in the shape of a place in the
Three Lions' 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.

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Chicharito: The ball came to me and I decided I would score!
WHUFC.com

Chicharito has explained how his clinical equaliser at Chelsea was down to
far more than just chance. While some strikers might hit and hope when
presented with a similar opportunity on such a big stage, West Ham United's
Mexican marksman instead weighed up his options in a split second and sent
an unstoppable curling shot into the bottom corner of Thibaut Courtois' net.
The goal, which, alongside Joe Hart's Man of the Match performance in goal,
earned the Hammers a precious Premier League point at Stamford Bridge, came
just moments after the No17 had been introduced as a 70th-minute substitute,
"Marko made a good run and then a clever pass behind him, because I think it
was like a 'no-look' pass and the ball came to me and thankfully I decided I
would score and I did!" Chicharito smiled.
"When I saw the ball coming, I know where I am and when I'm looking back to
the ball to shoot it, I saw a blue shirt, Cahill I think, moving to my left,
so I decided to shoot it at the near post. I also knew Courtois was on the
other side, thinking I was going to shoot the long way, but I shot at the
near post and thankfully the ball went in." "After that, in the final ten or
15 minutes, we created two or three more chances, but unfortunately we
didn't take one. Chelsea also created some good chances, but Joe was the MVP
with his unbelievable saves."

Chicharito is hoping his eighth goal of the season will earn him more
game-time over the closing half-dozen matches as he and his teammates strive
to keep West Ham in the Premier League. "I'm looking to play 90 minutes
every game. I want to give a headache to the manager so he has to decide,
like all the squad. You can see Patrice Evra also came in and did a good
job. "We have some players who are injured who are trying to come back and
we have a very good squad and we all want to play more than 20 minutes,
that's for sure. We also know that everybody wants to give everything to
help the team."

With that in mind, Chicharito says the whole squad is determined to make it
seven points from a possible nine when West Ham take to the pitch again next
Monday night against Stoke City. "We are all happy because, after the good
performance the team put in against Southampton at home [in winning 3-0], we
wanted to show consistency and I think we did it. "We showed consistency in
our concentration and Joe put in a great performance, as did the rest of us,
and we got a very important point. "With this point, it's going to be pretty
good this week. We can work with confidence after getting three points at
home and a good point at Stamford Bridge, knowing how difficult it is to go
there, and now we have a very important match, another final, against Stoke.
So, we're going to fight to get another three points at home and that can
take us out of the relegation battle completely."

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Holland to put friendships aside in Everton clash
WHUFC.com

Nathan Holland wants to show his former Everton teammates what they are
missing when West Ham United's Premier League 2 side travel to the Toffees'
Southport FC home on Monday night. The Hammers youngsters head into the
rearranged clash four days after clinching three points elsewhere in the
north west – against Manchester City in a 1-0 victory on Thursday. And
Holland – who traded Merseyside for east London in January 2017 – is hoping
Terry Westley's Academy side can build some momentum for their final two
games with a second successive victory. He said: "The team are feeling very
confident after the win at Man City. it's always nice to get a win,
especially with a clean sheet against a team like City. "We played really
well in that game and I think everyone left the match thinking we can be a
match for any team. Now we have to kick on and do the same at Everton. "City
play a different style to many of the teams we face, but I think the squad
can adapt well to different situations, and we did that on Thursday. "We
know every team plays differently and so we have to treat each game like a
new one."

Everton were crowned Premier League 2 champions last season as they clinched
the league title but have found things more difficult this campaign with
neighbours Liverpool surpassing their record for the majority of the season.
The Reds have now slipped off the top spot in the division though, with
Arsenal and Leicester City gunning for the title. A win for West Ham on
Monday would see the Irons leapfrog Everton – and Chelsea – into fifth and
Holland is keen to return to his former club and do exactly that. "It'll be
strange to head back to the team where I spent so many years of my football
career," the winger continued. "But at the end of the day it is a game that
we want to win and I will give 100 per cent to try and get the three points.
"I still remain friends with many of them, however now that I live in London
I don't get a chance to see them very often, so it will be nice to see my
old teammates."

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Meet Club Captain Noble at final Coaching Association session
WHUFC.com

There are still spots available for local coaches to attend West Ham
United's fourth and final Official Coaching Association evening of the
2017/18 campaign
There is plenty to look forward to at the night, including meeting a pair of
exciting Hammers guests, which takes place at Chadwell Heath on Tuesday 10
April.
The Association, hosted by the famed Academy of Football, will first welcome
club captain Mark Noble – who of course came through the system as a
youngster – for a question and answer session. The local coaches present
will get the chance to grill the Hammers skipper on everything from coming
through a Premier League's club's youth structure to his coaching influences
at the highest level.
Next, first team coaching assistant Alan Irvine – one of manager David
Moyes' right-hand men – will conduct a training session with some of the
Academy's young players, providing an insight into a top flight footballer's
daily training regime. Irvine – who managed West Bromwich Albion in the
Premier League – has over 20 years of coaching experience and will be on
hand to answer questions from the audience at Chadwell Heath. Each of the
Coaching Association's previous three sessions has attracted more than 50
local coaches, and the likes of former Hammers Matt Upson, Paul Konchesky,
Stuart Pearce and Steve Potts have shared their knowledge at the evenings.
Josh Cullen and Declan Rice attended March's night to talk about growing up
in the Academy of Football, while the FA's Technical Director Dan Ashworth
was a guest at the previous session. The fourth night will be concluded by
Academy Manager Terry Westley, who will review – with the attendees – this
campaign's meetings and outline a plan of what is set to come in 2018/19 as
the Association grows. The evening on Tuesday 10 April begins at 6pm. To
book your place on the session, visit https://www.eticketing.co.uk/whufc,
head to 'find tickets' and look for the Coaching Association, or click
hereto be directed straight to the booking page.

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CHELSEA 1-1 WEST HAM – MATCH REPORT
AUTHOR: BRIAN KNOX. PUBLISHED: 9 APRIL 2018 AT 10:33AM
TheWesthamWay.co.uk
Chelsea FC 1- West Ham United 1
Match Report by @WestHamAmerican

A second half goal by Javier Hernandez earned West Ham a much needed away
point today as the Hammers traveled to Stamford Bridge for a Premier League
London Derby on a rainy Sunday afternoon in East London. The equaliser
coming after a first half Cesar Azpilicueta goal from a poorly defended
Chelsea corner kick gave the hosts the early lead.

For West Ham, they began their day still firmly in the bottom half of the
table and watching many of their fellow relegation threatened peers secure
at least a point in a busy Saturday for the bottom clubs. The Hammer's
remaining schedule features a number of top six opponents and between the
success of the Southampton win and the embarrassment of the Burnley defeat,
one never really knows which team will turn up on match day.
For most of the match it was Chelsea on the front foot. They had the margin
in overall possession and shots, but West Ham defended well. Joe Hart,
reassuming his role as the feature goalkeeper, showed great form today.

Álvaro Morata had not one but two goals disallowed for being offside.
Willian almost opened the scoring himself as he had another sure goal from
short range blocked by Hart. That block set up the corner kick which led to
the Chelsea's only appearance on the score sheet.

The incoming corner kick was headed from Morata across the goal and
Azpilicueta had a slow moving volley from five yards out easily find the
back of the net with some poor defending from the visiting club.

But other than the one goal, West Ham's defenders kept Morata and Willian at
bay. Later when Pedro and Oliver Giroud were brought on, they too, were held
in check by some stout defending from the Claret side.

Moments into the second half, Javier Hernandez was brought on and his
stellar scoring history against Chelsea continued. Arnautovic took
possession from Cahill and Arnie wisely pulled it back for Chicharito who
was positioned in the middle of the area for an easy shot.

With 15 minutes remaining, West Ham took the momentum and had some spirited
efforts to take all three points, but by the final minutes of play, they
were content to play behind the ball and leave Stamford Bridge with a point.

In the second minute of the stoppage time Hart grabbed a Cahill header, and
in the final minute Pedro received a corner but sent his shot over the
crossbar. Finally after playing five minutes added time, West Ham's team and
supporters were able to relax and enjoy the hard-earned point.

The Hammers have a bit of a break, as they don't return to Premier League
play until a Monday night match with Stoke City at the London Stadium. Even
though West Ham have been inconsistent at home, everyone wants to see
Arnautovic continue to torment his former club. A victory Monday night would
get West Ham very close to the mythical safety of 40 league points.

With the tight mass of clubs in the relegation side of the table, any
separation is important, especially with the challenging set of opponents
West Ham must face in the final weeks of this season.

Keep checking TheWestHamWay.co.uk for all our updates on injuries,
transfers, and the latest news from @ExWHUemployee .

Chelsea: Courtois, Rudiger, Alonso, Moses, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Fabregas,
Kante, Hazard, Willian, Morata.
Subs: Caballero, Christensen, Emerson, Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Pedro (78'),
Giroud (78')

West Ham: Hart, Cresswell, Rice, Ogbonna, Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Masuaku,
Fernandes, Joao Mario, Arnautovic.
Subs: Adrian, Evra (64'), Pask, Cullen (85'), Diangana, Hugill, Hernandez

Ref: Kevin Friend

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MONDAY'S NEWS ROUND UP: HART FOCUSED ON HAMMERS, RICE A 'PROUD MAN',
HERNANDEZ 'ONE OF THE BEST'
AUTHOR: DAN CHAPMAN. PUBLISHED: 9 APRIL 2018 AT 2:34PM
TheWesthamWay.co.uk

Good afternoon, Hammers. Here is what is in the news regarding the club
today:

Joe Hart says that he is currently fully focused on West Ham, rather than
England. (Independent)

I have to admit that I have been one of Joe's biggest critics this season,
but he has proved me wrong since he returned to the side. He was absolutely
brilliant yesterday and he showed just how good he can be. I am glad that he
is fully focused on us, and I wouldn't expect anything less. Hopefully he
keeps his form up from now until the end of the season, and if he does then
I think David Moyes has a big decision to make in terms of his future.

David Moyes has downplayed links to Tom Cairney, after the Fulham midfielder
and recent Hammers target was seen sitting behind the West Ham dugout
yesterday. (Evening Standard)

David Moyes is a well known admirer of Cairney, and we know that he was a
target in January. I can see us going for him again in the summer and I do
hope we get him, because he s a very good player.

Everton and West Ham are battling to sign former Manchester United
midfielder Shinji Kagawa in the summer. (HITC)

Kagawa is a player that does not interest me. He has played in the Premier
League before, but he never really got going. I do think that there are
better options out there for us to be considering.

Declan Rice says he is proud to have proved a point against Chelsea
yesterday, years after being released by the Blues. (Evening Standard)

Declan was absolutely outstanding yesterday, and it is quite unbelievable to
think that he is only 18 years old. He is so mature for a young player, and
he looks like he has been playing at the top level for years. He has a very
big future ahead of him, and I fully believe that we are looking at our next
club captain.

Javier Hernandez has called on David Moyes to give him more starts, after
the Mexican striker rescued a point for the Hammers yesterday. (Daily Mail)

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp says that West Ham forward Javier Hernandez
is one of the best finishers in the world, after his goal against Chelsea
yesterday. (Sky Sports)

Javier Hernandez is a natural goalscorer. He has scored goals at every club
he has played for, and I agree with Redknapp when he says he is one of the
best. Yesterday is a perfect example as to why we signed him, and he
deserves more starts in this team. We have a very good squad when they are
all playing at 100%, and we need to start building the team around Hernandez
in my opinion.

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Statistically speaking, safety beckons
KUMb.com
Filed: Monday, 9th April 2018
By: Staff Writer

West Ham have a less than TWO per cent chance of being relegated after
picking up four points from their last two outings. Last week's 3-0 defeat
of Southampton coupled with a valuable draw at Stamford Bridge yesterday has
lifted David Moyes side to 14th in the Premier League table with 34 points
from 32 games - meaning that two more wins should be enough to guarantee
survival. And according to Euro Club Index, the Hammers are now only
joint-seventh likeliest to be relegated at the end of the current campaign.
Hot favourites to follow West Bromwich Albion - who looked doomed with a
potential survivial chance of less than 0.005 per cent - are Stoke City, who
West Ham face in another vital relegation clash at the Olympic Stadium next
Monday. The Potters' chance of relegation stands at 85 per cent following
their latest defeat at home to Tottenham last weekend. Meanwhile the final
relegation place appears to be a battle between Southampton (53 per cent
chance of relegation) and Huddersfield (44 per cent).
Crystal Palace and Swansea are both considered to have a six per cent chance
of suffering the drop, whilst West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion are level
pegging at two per cent each - as the graph below indicates.

West Ham Utd: Remaining Premier League fixtures

16 April: Stoke City (h)
22 April: Arsenal (a)
29 April: Manchester City (h)

5 May: Leicester City (a)
10 May: Manchester Utd (h)
13 May: Everton (h)

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Ref Watch: Dermot Gallagher
Last Updated: 09/04/18 3:37pm
SSN

Chelsea 1-1 West Ham
INCIDENT: Marko Arnautovic goes down in the area under a challenge from
N'Golo Kante

DERMOT'S VERDICT: Penalty, but impossible for the referee to give from his
position

DERMOT SAYS: Toughest decision of the weekend for a referee. The argument
is, does he [Kante] get the man first? I think he does get Arnautovic and
then he plays the ball to the left. But because of where the ball travels,
the referee is convinced that Kante has played that ball. Everything the
referee sees tells him that Kante got that ball.

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Javier Hernandez ready to quit West Ham in the summer after growing
frustrated by lack of regular football
The Mexican came off the bench at Chelsea on Sunday to score West Ham's
equaliser in the 1-1 draw but is open to offers
The Mirror
ByDarren Lewis
15:28, 9 APR 2018

Super sub Javier Hernandez is ready to quit West Ham this summer in search
of more regular first-team football. The Mexican goal machine, 29, revealed
to Mirrorfootball earlier this season that he'd been approached by rival
Premier League clubs in January - only to have their interest vetoed by the
Hammers.
On Sunday, however, he came off the bench at Chelsea on Sunday to score West
Ham's equaliser in the 1-1 draw. Mirrorfootball understands he is remains
open to offers and will consider his future this summer. He said: "I am
looking to play 90 minutes every game."

Sunday's game was the fourth time that Hernandez has scored after coming on
as a substitute at Stamford Bridge. The previous three came against Chelsea
when he was at Manchester United. Hernandez has only started, however, 16
games this season since moving to West Ham, coming off the bench on a
further nine occasions. In the meantime he has urged David Moyes to play him
more regularly as the Hammers fight their way out of relegation trouble. "I
want to give a headache to the manager like he has all over the squad. Some
players are injured and coming back. We all want to play more than 20
minutes."Everybody wants to give everything to be in the team. I say thank
you to the fans. Since my first day here, they have supported me well. "They
shout my name and sing my songs. It was a good weekend for us because they
were singing my name, then I scored and I could celebrate with them. It was
a very good point. We are all very happy."

West Ham's point came on the back of their impressive win over fellow
strugglers Southampton last week. Hernandez' equaliser at Chelsea cancelled
out the opening goal netted by Cesar Azpilicueta. Hernandez said: "After the
good home performance against Southampton, we wanted to show consistency. We
did it. We played better in the second half and tried to counter-attack
Chelsea. We showed that already in some bits, but they are Chelsea. "They
have unbelievable players, world-class, and you can never relax against
them. We showed great concentration and thankfully Joe Hart had a very good
performance. We got a very important point."
Hernandez also paid tribute to England goalkeeper Joe Hart who rolled back
the years to pull off three world class saves. He went on: "Joe was the Most
Valuable Player today. He helped us win the point. Now we can work with a
lot of confidence. We have another final next week, against another
relegation-threatened team in Stoke. "We will fight and give everything for
the three points which would help us get out of the relegation fight
completely."

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