Daily WHUFC News - 2nd May 2018

Moyes targeting at least one more win to secure safety
WHUFC.com

David Moyes is targeting at least one more victory from West Ham United's
final three Premier League matches to secure the Hammers' top-flight status.
The Scot takes his team to mid-table Leicester City next Saturday before
closing the season with back-to-back home games with Manchester United and
Everton
With his side sitting three points above the relegation zone, Moyes believes
three more may be enough to stay up, and says the fact two of those
remaining matches will be at London Stadium is in West Ham's favour. "I'm
not as anxious as I was when I first came in because we were in the bottom
three then," said the manager, speaking after Sunday's 4-1 home defeat by
champions Manchester City. "The big job is to stay out of the bottom three
and we've got three games to go. "In the main, our form at London Stadium
has been pretty good and up until Sunday's game, we'd won three, drawn three
and lost one, so I'm hoping we can turn those last two home games into
points. We'll also go to Leicester next week, so if we can turn that or one
of the two home games into a win, then I think we'll be OK. "We had a really
difficult period when I came in when we had all the big teams and we're in
that period now in the second round of games, facing Chelsea, Arsenal and
Manchester City. "We've got Manchester United and Everton still to come here
at home and I hope that somewhere along the line, seeing as we're in
relatively good form at London Stadium, that we'll get the win we need."
Reflecting further on Sunday's defeat, despite his meticulous planning,
Moyes admitted that Manchester City simply had too much for his West Ham
team. The Hammers were unfortunate to concede twice to a deflection and an
own-goal before half-time, but the champions dominated for long periods and
added two fine team goals after the break to complete an emphatic victory.
"I think everyone is in appreciation of what Manchester City can do. I
wanted to challenge them and do better than we did, so I'm disappointed
overall that we didn't do better. The next time I manage against them I'll
try and do something different to stop them, but it's very hard. "They were
very good. Because of the way they play, the minute you try to effect
something, they'll change. Everybody will have a go at trying to beat them,
but you have to have a level of quality in your team. "Some teams will find
a way of doing it, but it's been hard for just about every team in the
Premier League and that's why they're runaway leaders this season."

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Adrian aiming to keep starting place for Leicester City trip
WHUFC.com

If you were returning to play in goal in the Premier League after a
seven-week absence, the last opponent you would want to face was Manchester
City. But that was the task facing Adrian on Sunday, when he was back
between the sticks for West Ham United for the first time in six top-flight
matches. While the runaway champions deserved their 4-1 victory, the
Spaniard was not helped by City's first two goals came via a deflection off
Patrice Evra and an own-goal from Pablo Zabaleta. Gabriel Jesus and
Fernandinho added unstoppable second-half strikes to rub salt in the
Hammers' wounds, but the No13 was in philosophical mood as he reflected on
the manner of the defeat at London Stadium. "They showed that they are
champions and showed their quality, they played to another level and we
conceded we also conceded our first two goals to a deflection and an
own-goal," Adrian said. "After we scored to make it 2-1, we were into the
game, but then the first half finished and we conceded a third and a fourth
and they played passing football and we tried to defend as well as possible.
"They showed the quality and the pace they have all season and they have
great goalscorers and top-quality players to defend and the style they play
is hard to stop for 90 minutes."
Next up for West Ham is a trip to the King Power Stadium to face a Leicester
City side who have collected just one point from their last four matches and
lost 5-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday. While it may look to be a favourable
fixture on paper, Adrian says the Hammers cannot and will not take the Foxes
lightly. "Leicester is an opponent more in our league. We have to get points
as soon as possible and we will move onto the next one. "We can't forget the
City game because we have to learn from our mistakes, but we have to go to
Leicester with maximum confidence and strength to get the three points
there. "We know they lost 5-0 on Saturday, but their last result doesn't
matter. We also lost, so we have to prepare as well as possible this week."
With Joe Hart eligible again, Adrian knows he may have to make do with a
place on the bench again, but the Spaniard's professionalism means he will
be ready to play, whatever David Moyes' final selection decision is. "I
tried to help as many times as possible. It's hard when you concede four
goals and you can't be happy with the result, but I'm happy to be back in
the team and playing again after a few games out. "I will work hard to give
the manager a decision for the next one and I hope I can play until the end
of the season. "The best thing in football is that you have another game and
we have our next one on Saturday and we need to give our best."

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Haksabanovic: I have learned a lot in by first West Ham season
WHUFC.com

(gotta love the proof reading in the subject.. PeterR)

Many of the Premier League's very best talents have proved it often takes
time to adapt to new surroundings, a new country, a different style of
football. Didier Drogba found things difficult to begin with before becoming
a club legend at Chelsea. Dutch master Dennis Bergkamp's situation when he
first joined Arsenal was similar. And though at such a young age Sead
Haksabanovic has many years of progression ahead of him, the Montenegrin
admits his maiden campaign in England has been about learning and adapting.
Signed last summer from Swedish second tier side Halmstads BK – the club
which produced future West Ham United and Sweden midfielders Fredrik
Ljungberg and Niklas Alexandersson – the energetic winger has by his own
self-admission played fewer first-team matches than was hoped. But, one year
into life in east London, the 18-year-old believes he is much better for his
experience so far. "I would at this stage have liked to play more in the
first team than I have," he says. "That was the aim when I joined and that's
what I said when I signed in August. "But I have to look at the positive
things and the reasons why. I have learned a lot. The staff here have taught
me many things and I think I am a better player already than when I came
here. "Swedish football is very different. Here, it's more physical, it's
faster and it definitely took a while to get used to some parts of the game
over here. "But football is about learning and I am still young, so next
season will be about improving and hopefully progressing to play more
first-team football than I have this season."

Haksabanovic's one and only start in a West Ham shirt – for the senior team
– came back in September against Bolton Wanderers in a Carabao Cup tie,
while he also got some minutes on the pitch more recently in an Emirates FA
Cup clash at Wigan Athletic in January. He has impressed for the Hammers'
U23s, who look on course for a top-half finish in their first season at
Premier League 2 Division 1 level. And alongside the likes of Nathan
Holland, Dan Kemp, Grady Diangana and Martin Samuelsen, he is just one of an
exciting group of wingers hoping to burst onto the senior scene next season.
"We have a lot of great players in my position at the Academy," he
continues, "and we all learn from each other all the time; in training and
in matches. "Competition is healthy in any squad, because it pushes you to
be better and to prove that you are worth a place in a team ahead of
somebody else. It's the same in the first team; there are a lot of fantastic
footballers in the squad and training with them always helps me to be
better. "You learn from the coaches, from playing games, while picking up
things from your teammates and the more experienced players is also a big
help for any younger player. "The short-term target is to have a really good
pre-season, and then hopefully I can continue to perform to push forward and
progress."

If Haksabanovic can develop as well as the likes of Drogba and Bergkamp –
and Ljungberg and Alexandersson – did as their careers in English football
progressed, a big future at West Ham could be ahead of the teenager.

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Hammers youngsters end season with stirring comeback
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's youngsters ended the 2017/18 season in dramatic style as
Bernardo Rosa secured a 2-2 U18 Premier League South draw with Aston Villa
with the last kick of the game. The Hammers were trailing 2-0 going into the
closing stages at Little Heath and looked set to end the campaign with a
home defeat.
However, schoolboy striker Veron Parkes halved the deficit on his full U18
debut, firing home a clinical finish, before Rosa (pictured, above) netted a
late, late leveller in the fifth minute of added time. A young starting XI
saw recent signing Joseph Anang in goal and schoolboy Josh Wilson-Esbrand
start at left-back alongside captain Ben Wells, Kevin Dalipi and Will
Greenidge. The midfield consisted of Rosa, Jay Mingi and Louie Watson, with
Parkes playing alongside Sean Adarkwa and the in-form Odysseas Spyrides in
attack. However, it was Villa who took control in the early stages, opening
the scoring through Michael Tait's goal within nine minutes. The visitors
looked to have secured all three points when substitute Jacob Ramsey put
them two goals clear with 13 minutes to play, but Parkes and Rosa had other
ideas. The 17-year-old's fourth and final goal of the season meant the
Hammers finished tenth in the 12-team South table, having won six, drawn
three and lost 13 of their 22 league matches. With 19 starts, Rosa topped
the appearance charts, while Spyrides and Korrey Henry each scored five
goals.

West Ham United: Anang, Wilson-Esbrand, Wells (c), Dalipi, Greenidge
(Appiah-Forson 63), Mingi, Watson, Rosa, Adarkwa (E.Longelo 70), Spyrides,
Parkes
Subs not used: Jinadu (GK), El Mhassani

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Loan watch: Martinez off the mark and Snodgrass shines
WHUFC.com

West Ham United loanee Toni Martinez scored his first goal for Real
Valladolid at the weekend. The striker swept home from seven yards to open
the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Cadiz on Saturday, keeping his side's hopes
of finishing in the promotion play-offs alive. Martinez, who was included in
the starting XI for just the second time since returning to his homeland in
January, believes Valladolid can make up the four-point gap between
themselves and the top six over the closing five rounds of the season. "We
are not going to throw in the towel," he told the club's official website.
"We have played very well and we believe that we can achieve it. We have
five finals and we will go for them, the first of them next Saturday at
Numancia. "The goal was a great play from the whole team. The change of
orientation of Michel, the patience of Toni, Nacho's well-timed run and
cross. "Now I do not think about whether I'm a starter or substitute, as
always, I just think about working to help the team."

Closer to home, Robert Snodgrass returned to the Aston Villa starting XI in
style, completing an impressive 90 minutes in Saturday's 1-1 Championship
draw with Derby County. The Scot was in superb form at Villa Park,
unleashing six shots, making five key passes and embarking on four dribbles,
as Steve Bruce's side came from a goal down to snatch a point through Lewis
Grabban's late equaliser. Villa are guaranteed to finish fourth with one
game to play and will most likely take on Middlesbrough in the Play-Offs.

At the other end of the same division, Reece Burke missed Bolton Wanderers'
2-0 defeat at Burton Albion. Martin Samuelsen was an unused substitute for
the Brewers, who won their third consecutive league match to climb to 22nd
in the table. Samuelsen's Burton need to secure at least a draw at Preston
North End – who need a win themselves to have any chance of leapfrogging
Derby into the final Play-Off place – to give themselves a chance of
avoiding relegation. Burke's Bolton need to beat Nottingham Forest at home
and hope both Burton and Barnsley, who travel to Derby, fail to win to stay
up.

In Germany, Reece Oxford missed Borussia Monchengladbach's 1-1 Bundesliga
draw at Schalke 04 through injury.

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Browne nominated for Player of the Month award
WHUFC.com

Marcus Browne has been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the
Month award for the second time this campaign with his inclusion on the
shortlist for April. The 20-year-old has enjoyed a fine month, captaining
the Hammers' U23s as they finished the season in – as it stands – a top half
position in Division 1. The playmaker, who was also shortlisted – as voted
by opposition managers – for the February award, played a huge part in the
side's impressive performances throughout the month. He began April by
scoring the only goal of the game – an unstoppable 25-yard free-kick – as
Terry Westley's men picked up an impressive three away points at Manchester
City. Not satisfied there however, Browne was at it again days later as he
scored all his side's four goals in the thrashing-to-nil victory over
Everton on Merseyside to take his tally for the season to six, a fantastic
total given his campaign has been hampered by injuries. Defeats to Derby
County away from home and Arsenal at London Stadium followed, though the
youngster did pick up an assist against the Gunners as he set-up Domingos
Quina who grabbed a late consolation strike in the 3-1 loss. Browne has been
named on the first team bench on two occasions so far this season, for the
clashes against Swansea City away and Burnley at home.

The five other nominees for the April Player of the Month award are as
follows; Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Jack Clark (both Aston Villa), Aaron
Connolly (Brighton and Hove Albion), Daniel Barlaser (Newcastle United) and
Sam Smith (Reading).

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Ray: West Ham Ladies will bounce back for season finale
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Ladies General Manager says her team will bounce back from
Sunday's 2-1 loss to Lewes by ending the FA Women's Premier League Southern
Division season on a high. Ray's side had a 13-man unbeaten run prior to
their unfortunate Lewes reverse, but have a final chance for victory in
2017/18 when they host Queens Park Rangers at Rush Green on Sunday 20 May.
Tickets for this match are free for Season Ticket Holders, Claret Members
and all Under-16s, and can be booked here now. Ray felt her team deserved
better against Lewes and has every faith that they will recover to see off
QPR in the season finale. "Sometimes the better team doesn't win, and we
have to learn a hard lesson," she said. "Lewes' goalkeeper was deservedly
player of the match and that says how busy we kept her. "We have to regroup
and focus on the next game. The thing I love most about coaching this team
is that we will undoubtedly dust off and get ready for our next battle. Our
strongest armour is our togetherness. "One loss doesn't define our season,
not many teams have done what we have and I remain extremely proud of this
group of players. It is now my job to pick them up and add some fuel to
their fire."

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West Ham: Andy Carroll sent home after row with manager David Moyes
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport

West Ham striker Andy Carroll was sent home from training on Monday
following an argument with manager David Moyes. It is understood Moyes spoke
to Carroll about his conduct after he left the substitutes' bench during
Sunday's 4-1 home defeat by Manchester City. The pair had a heated exchange
before Carroll, 29, was told to go home. After Moyes made a triple
substitution during the second half against City, Carroll went to the
dressing room and did not return before full-time.
Moyes was known to be irritated at Carroll's behaviour, believing the former
England international should have remained to support his team-mates. It is
not known whether there will be any further disciplinary action, although
West Ham's players are not training on Tuesday as they have been given the
day off. The news comes as the Hammers continue to battle for their Premier
League future.
In West Ham's previous home game, Carroll came off the bench to score a late
equaliser against relegation rivals Stoke. But after successive 4-1 defeats
by Arsenal and Manchester City, the Hammers are three points above the
relegation zone with a worse goal difference than third-bottom Southampton.
The uncertainty over the club's position means no decision has been made
about the future of Moyes, or goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is on loan from City
until the end of the season.

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AN UNWRITTEN CODE
AUTHOR: KEVIN SLADE. PUBLISHED: 30 APRIL 2018 AT 5:54PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @KevinSladeSdcc

Manchester City are a football club that we've always had an 'unofficial
bond' with. Their supporters are a carbon copy of our own; they've had the
good times, mainly bad (up until the past decade), but they stuck with the
club through thick and thin. Our mutual respect for each other stems back to
9th May, 1987, in a game where Manchester City had to beat us to avoid
relegation in front of an 18,000 crowd at Upton Park. The final score ended
2-0 to West Ham, which inevitably sent City down into the old Division 2.
Following a pitch invasion from the faithful was something what cemented
this unwritten code between the two sets of supporters for life…

Hundreds of West Ham supporters approached the away end which caused a bit
of a fright to policemen & stewards in the ground, only to witness an
applause to the travelling supporters after their relegation was confirmed.
"Bubbles" was chanted out by the City supporters, scarfs were swapped, and
it was overall an atmosphere of respect between the two. The majority of the
Manchester City fan base who're old enough to remember that day will tell
you that they've always respected us since that moment, which now brings me
to the game yesterday. As I was leaving Stratford station to make the 15
minute walk to the stadium, I overheard many conversations between the two
sets of supporters – mainly how they understand the current situation &
frustrations amongst our fan base since the move to Queen Elizabeth Park, as
it replicated a similar effect to their immigration.

Ray Woods, a Manchester City supporter, sent this in to me earlier today,
explaining what it was like for their supporters prior to their stadium
move:

"I actually signed a petition not to move to the Etihad Stadium (Common
Wealth Stadium as it was known), in the Sherwood Bar, not too far from Maine
Road. I wasn't happy about the move at all, most City fans weren't. In
hindsight, it looks to be a good move, but I think most fans would have
liked to have stayed where we were. It was a proper ground in a proper
community, everyone knew each other and the atmosphere was top. City fans of
that era, and before, fully understand the anger at West Ham, as we had a
chairman called Peter Swales that had driven us into financial turmoil that
would eventually lead us into the third tier of football. Like West Ham's
current board, although he may not have been responsible for all of our
downfall, he was the catalyst for a traumatic few years. We're without a
doubt the luckiest set of supporters in world football now, but we also know
what it's like to be the laughing stock of world football. As I always say,
our success isn't the reason City fans love City. Success doesn't define our
club. Supporting your club lasts a lifetime, & whatever happens in between
is all part of the journey. It's the love for the club that defines a club,
that's why we have so much in common with the Hammers. I hope West Ham &
it's wonderful supporters get to where they need to be, and I sincerely hope
you stay up and gain some success along the way. Maine Road with its
imperfections will always be our home, and the Etihad will never feel like
home. Will I ever be fully happy in it? Probably not! But I'm a football
fan. We're a strange but lovable breed, that's why we will always respect
the Hammers as they're so similar to us. Best of luck! @Kippax73"

@Jxnnymcfc also wrote in to me today as he too feels the frustration on
current affairs after visiting the London Stadium twice in as many seasons:

"West Ham have always been a club that City fans respect. For me, they're a
great club with a fan base that could rival the top clubs in the country.
There's always been a mutual respect there and they don't deserve it."

Although the Blue side of Manchester has had success in abundance since they
moved into their new stadium, let's not forget that it didn't happen
overnight. They left Maine Road in 2003 under a similar basis to ours. After
five years of mediocrity & flirting with relegation, they were eventually
bought out by their current owner for £210m. Albeit Monsour having oil wells
scattered over the globe which boasts his bottomless pit of capitol, the
club also recorded a loss of over £500m not so long ago. Unfortunately,
success in modern day football is only possible with a huge financial
backing, which is vastly becoming the end all & be all for club owners. Our
current situation consists of losing sight to what is happening on the pitch
in my opinion. Whilst i do understand football clubs need to be run like a
business, there is also an obsession with earning as much money as possible
whilst spending as little as possible, which is the problem we are currently
facing and we simply cannot afford to scrape by on the bare minimum in this
league.

It took five years in City's new stadium before they were picked up by a
suitable buyer, who has also gradually introduced their history, original
crest, and respect of their supporters since the takeover…

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Carroll dismissed as row erupts
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st May 2018
By: Staff Writer

Andy Carroll was told to leave the club's training ground after an argument
with David Moyes. The striker, who has spent the vast majority of his time
at West Ham on the bench was spotted leaving the dugout on Sunday
immediately after Moyes made his third and final substitution in the 4-1
drubbing against Manchester City.
And Moyes is understood to have sent Carroll home from training the
following day, on Monday, after the two had what had been described as "a
heated exchange".
Moyes - who in recent weeks has publicly criticised Manuel Lanzini and
teenage defender Declan Rice - is understood to have reprimanded the former
England international for his behaviour. And according to eye-witness
accounts, the 29-year-old was then dismissed from the session after become
embroiled in a very public spat with the temporary manager, whose stock
continues to fall with each passing day. Carroll - who has featured for West
Ham on just 16 occasions this season - is understood to have claimed he
needed to use the toilet as an excuse for his disappearing act during
Sunday's match.

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Browne nominated for award
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st May 2018
By: Staff Writer

West Ham youngster Marcus Browne is one of six players nominated for the PL2
Player of the Month award. The 20-year-old midfielder,w ho can play
centrally or as a winger made the shortlist as a result of an impressive
four-goal haul against Everton, which followed a goal against Manchester
City at the beginning of the month. The other nominees are: Daniel Barlaser
(Newcastle United); Jack Clarke (Aston Villa); Aaron Connolly (Brighton &
Hove Albion); Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Aston Villa) and Sam Smith (Reading).
The only Hammer to win the award previously this season was Declan Rice, who
was named PL2 Player of the Month for October 2017 prior to being promoted
to the first team squad. West Ham ended the season fifth in Division One of
PL2, 11 points behind eventual champions Arsenal, with 31 points from their
22 matches.

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Match day programme under threat
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st May 2018
By: Staff Writer

The match day programme is under threat after the Football League decided to
take a vote on whether to continue with the practise. The humble programme
has been a staple of domestic football for more than a century now, with
some rare publications worth many thousands of pounds. Meanwhile lofts
around the country are creaking under the weight of thousands of
carefully-collated collections.
However that may soon be a thing of the past if the 72 member clubs opt to
remove the obligation to provide a programme ahead of every home match -
with the Premier League keeping tabs on the situation. "A number of clubs
have asked the EFL if the mandatory publication of a match programme can be
addressed as a result of an overall decline in sales and the proliferation
of digital and social media," read an EFL statement. However at least one
club have vowed to fight the plans to kill prgramme "We'd always have a
programme because it's a voice from the club to the fans and it's something
some people keep religiously," said Mansfield CEO Carolyn Radford. "It's
part of the fabric of the club and an important piece of memorabilia, a
collector's item. It costs us more to produce than it raises, so I can see
commercially why some clubs would want to get rid and I know we're moving
more online, but it's different having something to hold."

West Ham United currently produce both physical and digital versions of the
match day programme, although the latter is considerably cheaper at £1.99,
compared to the print version's £3.50.

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West Ham players lacked pride in Man City defeat, says Dean Ashton
By Liam Grace
Last Updated: 30/04/18 12:31pm
SSN

Dean Ashton has told West Ham players to "show a bit of pride" after losing
4-1 to Manchester City at the London Stadium on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's
side, who clinched the title earlier this month, registered a
record-equalling 30th Premier League win in a game which saw Hammers striker
Andy Carroll leave the substitutes' bench before the end of the match. West
Ham have now gone four games without victory and sit 15th on 35 points -
three points clear of the drop zone with three games remaining - and Ashton
is concerned about his former club's prospects. "There just wasn't that
pride from the West Ham players that I could see to keep City out," he told
Premier League Daily. "Even at 2-0, make sure it stays 2-0. Show a bit of
pride. That was disappointing from my point of view. "For Fernandinho's
goal, there were four City players and two West Ham defenders. When you're
near the bottom of the league that just can't happen."
Ashton also thinks the lack of clarity on David Moyes' future could be
affecting the team's performances. "It is performances like this which could
affect whether he stays or goes," said Ashton. Moyes says he'll deal with
Andy Carroll after the striker headed to the changing room early after not
being brought on against Manchester City "They weren't expected to win but
there is a way you play against City or one of the other top sides, the way
you approach the game. "Either Moyes has done a lot of work during the week
and the players have just ignored it, or they haven't done enough work in
terms of how they set up. "There are a lot of things wrong at West Ham this
season, not just on the pitch."

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Andy Carroll sent home from West Ham training after David Moyes bust-up
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 01/05/18 8:59am
SSN

West Ham's Andy Carroll was sent home from training yesterday following a
furious bust-up with manager David Moyes, Sky Sports News understands. The
striker was clearly frustrated during Sunday's home defeat to Manchester
City, remaining on the bench as an unused substitute before disappearing
down the tunnel towards the end of the match. In his post-match interview,
Moyes promised to "deal with it", and yesterday the pair were involved in a
heated exchange before Moyes sent Carroll home.
After a 4-1 loss to the champions left the Hammers just three points outside
the drop-zone with three games left, Moyes told Sky Sports: "In this
situation, what you need is everybody to be a team member. So if he has done
that, I'll look at it and I'll deal with it." Carroll, 29, has made 16
appearances for West Ham this season, as he has continued to struggle with
injury problems. He was also sent off against Burnley last October.

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TENSIONS RISING AS WE ENTER THE FINAL WEEK
By Tony Hanna 1 May 2018 at 08:00
WTID

The last nine days of the PL season are fast approaching and to be honest I
can't wait until it is all over. New broom and all that springs to mind.
Three games; away to Leicester, home to the Moaning ones and Everton are the
last course of what has mostly been an unpalatable season. One more win or
two draws should be enough to see us survive but I know a lot of our fans
are expecting the same menu to be dished up next season. Our odds of staying
up barely flinched despite the result on the weekend and this was based on
the fact the bookies expected nothing less than a comprehensive Manchester
City victory and had factored their prices for same. Before the game on the
blog I wrote that I would take a 2-0 defeat right then to protect our goal
difference. Dan Coker backed me up and whilst we both wanted a better
performance from our team we were both being realistic. Whilst saying taking
a 2-0 defeat prior to the event sounds defeatist, it was a hypothetical
viewpoint and it does not mean you accept defeat –it just means as a fan you
hope for the best but fear the worst. It didn't start well with our "guard
of honour." What the hell was that about? I can understand it happening on
the day they are crowned but anything after, especially for a team fighting
relegation, is absurd.

I won't dwell on our game against City. Dave and HH have written their views
in the past couple of days and I have little to add other than the ref
disallowing Arnie's goal was a disgraceful decision and taking goalkeeper
protection rules way too far. I was also disappointed when Evra was picked
ahead of Masuaku and my annoyance only increased when that players
deflection started the rot. Evra has started three times for the Hammers
now, all for 4-1 losses. What is most concerning to me though is there seems
to be an underlying discontent within the playing group. There are several
players who look quite disinterested and I just don't get the vibe – the
group isn't putting in anywhere near the effort our supporters deserve.
Stoke City lack the quality we have and will probably go down, but watch
their games and tell me their players don't care. They are giving it their
all. I can't say that about West Ham at the moment. Apparently, now we have
Andy Carroll walking off down the tunnel before the end of the game because
he was an unused sub. Rumours abound that he was sent home from training on
Monday. I like to see players show emotion but it has to be tempered with
the right team ethos. Moyes has been openly critical of players in recent
weeks and there is little doubt tensions are high behind the scenes. All
this when we really need everyone pulling together. We rarely handle three
games in a week well and it is likely we will use the majority of our fringe
players at some stage next week so we need them all to be correctly focused.

A few weeks ago I was torn between wanting Moyes to stay as manager next
season or not – not that my thoughts carry any weight but hey, we all like
to have an opinion. Last week I wrote that I thought he would be given at
least a year providing we stay up. It is fair to say that he is still
working with the previous managers team, not his own, but if the January
window signings of Evra and Hugill are anything to go by I am rather
sceptical that he is what we need. Moyes joined at a time when many thought
Bilic was taking us down. It is hypothetical as to what would have happened
but apart from the wins against Stoke, Huddersfield and Southampton I have
not enjoyed what I have seen under his tenure. At one point we moved up to
11th and whilst we were not clear of the relegation zone points wise, we did
seem to be comfortably edging away from the drop zone. Since those heady
days it has become quite bland at best. Whoever does manage us next season
will have a task ahead as unless there are some considerable changes I fear
what may be put off this season will come home to roost next season. There
must also be a full scale investigation using independent experts in their
field into why we are having so many injuries at the club. When something
keeps happening season after season, to a greater degree than the majority
of our opponents, there just has to be an underlying reason. Whether it is
buying the wrong players, keeping the wrong players, training grounds,
incorrect warm ups and warm downs, training techniques, how players handle
their physical well being – all these questions must be asked together with
do we have the correct medical team in place? I still recall another West
Ham fan site writing last August that the signing of Gary Lewin could be the
best signing of the season. I shook my head at the time but hoped they were
right. I don't think they were.

Just a recap of what lies ahead next week and the odds for what set of
supporters will be crying on the last day of the season;

West Brom (36 games 28 points) are making a remarkable end of season surge.
Too late for them though and they have Spurs (h) and Palace (a) left to play
and the bookies aren't even pricing them in the markets.

Stoke City (36 games 30 points) are still scrapping but are just so
toothless up front. Their two remaining games are Palace (h) and Swansea
(a), the latter could be a last day cup final of sorts for both teams.
Bookies price is 1/10 for the drop. Put ten quid on to win a quid in other
words.

Southampton (35 games 32 points) are showing good recovery signs. Of all the
teams at the bottom they are the ones I personally want to see go down, but
my guess is they won't. They are left with Everton (a), Swansea (a) and
their only home game remaining is Man City on the final day of the season.
The exchanges have them at 5/4 (44% chance) for the drop which is a bit more
generous than the Corporate bookies who have them even money (50%).

Swansea (35 games 33 points) play Bournemouth (a) and then have critical
home games against Southampton and Stoke to come and likely hold the key to
who goes down. Bookies have them at 5/2 (28%) to be playing Championship
football next season.

Huddersfield (35 games 35 points) have the toughest run in and losing at
home to Everton on the weekend was a huge blow for them as a win would have
almost certainly made them safe. They finish the season with Man City (a),
Chelsea (a) and Arsenal (h) which will be Arsene Wenger's last game in
charge at the Gunners unless they reach the Europa League final which is
scheduled a few days later. Reaching the final or not will have a huge
impact on how seriously Arsenal take this game. Reach the final and Arsenal
will have their minds (and best players) elsewhere – miss the final and they
will be up for the Huddersfield game as Wenger bows out. The bookies have
Huddersfield at 13/8 (38%) to go down.

West Ham (35 games 35 points) have Leicester (a), Moan Utd (h) and bogey
team Everton (h) left to play. The bookies rate us as a 14/1 (6.67%) chance.

Just a side note here. Littlefork has been a poster on here since 2013 and
whilst I don't know the fella he has always been a well mannered and
balanced poster on the site. Yesterday he posted the following; "Life's hard
atm for the littlefork family as eldest grandson is fighting bacterial
meningitis. Out of immediate danger through cranial surgery but a long way
to go. Positive thoughts from the west ham family please". To one of our own
I send best wishes from the WHTID family

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'It's soulless here': why West Ham fans are in revolt
Football
The Observer
When a football club moves from its historic home to a shiny new stadium, it
leaves more than memories behind – as West Ham supporters are discovering at
the London Stadium
Andrew Anthony
Sun 29 Apr 2018 09.30 BST Last modified on Sun 29 Apr 2018 11.11 BST

It's a mild Monday evening in April and 56,795 people, officially at least,
have come along to London Stadium at the Olympic Park in Stratford to watch
West Ham United play Stoke City in a bottom-of-the-table Premier League
match. That's a large crowd, by any standards, but judging by the fans
milling around the huge concourse outside the ground, it's not a happy one.

Of course, football fans are not renowned for their cheery optimism. By and
large, it's a grim business being a supporter, a forlorn struggle between
daydreams and despair. As Nick Hornby wrote in Fever Pitch: "The natural
state of the football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the
score."

In March, during a match against Burnley, some West Ham fans were
sufficiently disappointed to invade the pitch in an act of protest. A much
larger number gathered beneath the directors' box to hurl insults and
objects at the joint chairmen of the club, David Sullivan and David Gold,
who were ushered away by security as the protesters – in a show of magical
thinking of which diehard supporters are reliably capable – demanded that
the board sack itself.

It's highly unlikely that this scene would have taken place had West Ham
been at the top end of the table, yet the animosity was about more than a
poor performance (they went on to lose 3-0 to Burnley).

West Ham are no strangers to setbacks. They've twice been relegated in this
century, and endured several spells in the second tier in the last century.
Such reversals are understood to be part of the twists in fortune that
inevitably attend competitive sport. What has upset the fans this season is
not the loss of a football match so much as the loss of an identity. As far
as the West Ham faithful are concerned, the move in 2016 from the old Boleyn
Ground in Upton Park, three miles to the east, to the London Stadium in
Stratford feels like a painful exile from their spiritual home.

A typical complaint I heard before the Stoke game came from Tom Girling, a
52-year-old who has been following West Ham since he was 13. "This place is
soulless," he said, gesturing at the stadium and the empty expanse in which
it's located. "It's got nothing. I used to go to Upton Park, grab a
programme, nip in the pie and mash, have a bet, into the boozer, meet my
pals, all good, have a laugh, then out afterwards. I've got nish here. I'm
out in the elements drinking beer out of a plastic glass."

I told him that I'd seen a pie and mash kiosk outside nearby Hackney Wick
station, and there is one on the perimeter of the stadium. He looked at me
as if I'd suggested becoming a Spurs fan.

"You mean the fashionista place?" he asked scathingly. "No, no, no. I'm not
being funny… you've got all these trendy bearded people and they've got all
these 13-hop ales I don't understand. I'm old school. I like a pint of
Carling. I'm a working-class boy. Football's a working-class man's game."

As we know, there are few tribes who feel more endangered than the white
working-class male. And while many will mock, the plight of disgruntled West
Ham fans is in many ways a symbol of a culture that is rapidly vanishing
from London life. Among the capital's big football clubs, West Ham long
enjoyed the reputation as being the most grounded in its community – the
working-class East End. It was the home of heroes such as former players
Billy Bonds and the late, legendary Bobby Moore.

But east London is in the midst of a huge transformation, and nowhere is
that process more evident than from the vantage point of the Olympic Park, a
concrete wilderness sitting between the advance forces of gentrification:
consumerism and hipsterism.

On the east side of the park looms the giant glass edifice of the Westfield
shopping centre, a glittering cathedral dedicated to the disposal of excess
income. On the west is an old industrial quarter now inhabited by artists
and canal-side bars with their craft beers and moodily hirsute clientele.
Neither place feels like home to people like Girling, and nor does the
"sterile wasteland" – as another fan, Mark Reynolds, describes it – that
lies between them.

"I don't smell any burgers and onions," Girling complains. Reynolds, a
56-year-old supporter of 43 years' standing, agrees: "You go down to Upton
Park and there's boozers right by the ground. It was all locals and the
market, and you had the Asian community. There was Nathan's, the pie and eel
shop, people used to queue up round the corner. It was just part of the
match-day experience."

But pie and eels don't transform a football team's fortunes, and football,
as we're constantly reminded, is a business. If you're going to be
successful you need to generate enough money to buy the best players. To do
that it helps if you can attract a large attendance. The capacity at Upton
Park, a tight little ground, was 35,000. It's 57,000 at the London Stadium.
As the saying goes, do the maths. Sullivan and Gold did, and they argued
that the new ground was the first step towards a bold, bright future. West
Ham fans understand that logic; they just believe that that future is a
cruel illusion.

"The move to Stratford was made on the promise of a world-class team in a
world-class stadium," says Brian Williams, another long-term fan and author
of Home from Home: A West Ham Supporter's Struggle to Reach the Next Level.
"After two seasons at the new place we know that that's not true, and that
we have given up our history, our heritage, our legacy, all of which was
focused on Upton Park. So we have a very poor team playing at a stadium that
is not fit for football."

History, heritage, legacy? Aren't those rather inflated concepts. After all,
it's only a football pitch surrounded by some seats. What's the big issue?

Back in the summer of 2009 I was taken around a vast building site at
Stratford by members of Sebastian Coe's London Organising Committee for the
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. At its centre was a giant stadium in the
mid-stages of construction, though its design – a rather bland modern bowl –
was even then clear. It was built to hold 80,000 spectators and then to be
disassembled to leave a capacity of around 25,000. Its legacy, which was the
buzzword of Olympic planning, was to provide an athletics stadium to replace
the decrepit National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace. Coe told me that
there was a "complicated stakeholder landscape" that included the
government, the mayor's office, five London boroughs, UK Sport and Sport
England, but everyone agreed that there should be no "white elephants" left
behind by the Games. He explained that what distinguished the Olympic
Stadium from previous ambitious public projects, like the Dome (now the O2
Centre), was "clarity of purpose".

Shortly afterwards it was decided that the idea of a national athletics
stadium should be shelved. Suddenly the stadium's longterm purpose was
looking distinctly murky. The talk turned to a multi-purpose venue, which in
fact was the concept originally discussed when London was bidding for the
Games. At that time West Ham had expressed an interest in an occupancy, but
were discouraged when a decision was made to design the stadium specifically
for athletics.

Once the Olympics were over, the stadium, having been built as an athletics
arena, became the subject of complex tenancy competition between two
football clubs – West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur – for what seemed like a
cheap way of using a large stadium with great transport links. E20, the
public company set up to run the stadium, offered a deal to the potential
occupants in which taxpayers would pay many of the running costs, like
policing, stewarding and turnstile operators. Tottenham's bid involved
knocking down the Olympic Stadium and building a football-specific arena in
its place, which they estimated would cost a total of £320m.

After much legal wrangling, and accusations of behind-the-scenes deals, it
was West Ham who emerged victorious. And rather than knock down the stadium,
the agreement was made to adapt it for football, at an estimated cost of
£190m. Last year an independent review commissioned by the London mayor,
Sadiq Khan, found that costs had escalated to £323m – more than it would
have cost to build a new stadium.

Inside the London Stadium, the first thing you notice is the low rake of the
terraces and the wide space between the pitch and the stands, where the
athletics track is placed. The space is filled by a green cover which,
according to West Ham's previous manager, Slaven Bilic, left his players
confused about the dimensions of the pitch. There was talk of changing the
colour to claret – West Ham's main kit colour – but that was blocked by the
stadium's owners.

Green or claret, from where I'm sitting in the 35th row watching the Hammers
take on Stoke, that gap makes the action looks oddly remote, as if
disconnected from those watching it. From the 73rd row, at the back of the
stadium, it's more like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. The
atmosphere is a mixture of anxious and surly, with very little singing by
the home team. The exception is a couple of hearty renditions of West Ham's
club anthem, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles. The lyrics, written by three
Americans in 1918, are filled with a telling pathos.

I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air
They fly so high
Nearly reach the sky
Then like my dreams
They fade and die
Fortune's always hiding
I've looked everywhere
I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air

Who could sing with such conviction about fading and dying dreams but
football fans?

"We can make a din here," Girling had told me, but he felt that it was a
rare occurrence rather than the regular experience at Upton Park, where
opposing teams were "intimidated" by the noise.

Perhaps the only people who have been intimidated at the London Stadium this
season are the owners, Sullivan and Gold. In the club programme for the
Stoke match Sullivan wrote a defensive column, calling on the fans to
"produce the goods in front of the cameras" (the match was live on Sky). The
pair acquired a controlling stake in the club in 2010, buying out the
previous owners – the rump of an Icelandic consortium that was bankrupted by
the 2008 financial crisis. They had previously owned Birmingham City FC,
where they proved to be less than popular. Having made their money in the
porn business, then Ann Summers (Gold) and the Daily Sport (Sullivan), it's
fair to say they have seldom enjoyed a glowing public profile.

But it could be argued that they are well suited to West Ham. They're both
working-class blokes made good. Gold, the son of an East End criminal,
actually grew up a few yards from the Boleyn Ground and even played for the
West Ham youth team.

As the protests showed, however, that counts for little with the fans. There
is a belief that Sullivan and Gold are prone to grand statements on which
they can't or won't deliver. Williams suggests they're "too hands-on in
football matters", in which they are not expert.

This criticism, perhaps unsurprisingly in the still largely unreconstructed
world of football, has been particularly addressed to West Ham's
vice-chairman, and sometime sidekick of Alan Sugar on The Apprentice, Karren
Brady. One fan, who insisted on anonymity, told me: "I think she is probably
the most malevolent influence there is at West Ham."

She did not endear herself to the fans when she tweeted 15 minutes before
the Stoke match that her new TV show was starting at 8pm – the same time as
kick-off. "Give It a Year starts on ITV," she wrote, "hope you watch it and
I hope you enjoy it!"

"She seems more worried about her own ego than what's going on at the
clubs," says Reynolds.

"I'm not her biggest fan," says Williams, with ironic understatement.

Still, when all is said and done, at the time Sullivan and Gold bought the
club it was in financial crisis. Following relegation, they guided it out of
the Championship (the second tier league) and into mid-table Premiership
security, and moved it into a brand-new stadium with good transport links in
a part of London that is set to thrive.

Among the fans I spoke to, Upton Park was a link to a disappeared past for
the East End's white working class
The old Boleyn Ground was not suited to expansion. It has since been
demolished and new Barratt Homes are going up in a development called Upton
Gardens – more East End gentrification. Nor is the area around the ground
quite the pie and mash heaven of old cockney folklore; in fact it's largely
populated by Londoners of subcontinental origin, with Halal butchers and
sari shops. Reynolds says that this was another element of life that made
match days so appealing by contrast with the "soulless" experience of the
new location.

But perhaps it's significant that many of the West Ham fans lament the loss
of community to which they did not in any geographical sense belong.
Williams, for example, lives in Brighton, though his wife hails originally
from the East End, and Girling is a west Londoner with family roots in the
east London meat trade. Reynolds lives in St Albans, "out in the shires", as
he put it. Of half a dozen fans I spoke to at the Stoke game, none lived
near the old ground.

From that admittedly small sample, Upton Park represented a link to a
disappeared past for the East End's white working-class diaspora. Not that
West Ham followers are exclusively white or working class. You do see
different ethnicities, but nowhere like the make-up of either the West Ham
team itself or Newham, the borough that contains Upton Park and some of the
Olympic Park, which – at 16.7% – has the lowest percentage of white British
residents in London.

None of that is to suggest West Ham is unwelcoming of other ethnicities;
it's to note that football, like east London, is in the midst of social
transformation, and as with all change, some will find the new environment
more alienating. "Detached" was how Girling characterised his fellow West
Ham fans' feelings about their new home. But it's possible that to the next
generation of fans, which is likely to come from a more diverse base and for
whom the names of Billy Bonds and Bobby Moore may not possess the same
totemic power, the new setting could well appear more open.

One such candidate might have been 18-year-old Sami Sidhom from Forest Gate,
a West Ham season ticket holder who was at the Stoke game. After the match
he was stabbed to death outside his home in an apparently unprovoked attack,
the latest victim of London's epidemic of teen knife murders.

As they often say in football, such tragic events lend a sense of
perspective. Or as Williams acknowledges in his book, "relocating from one
football stadium to another is not the most serious crisis facing humankind
in these worrying times".

In truth, the London Stadium is not a ground best suited to watching
football or generating an atmosphere of intense – or intimidating –
togetherness. A restless, resentful feeling swirled around the bowl until
Stoke, against the run of play, scored a goal.

Then something more urgent and angry kicked in. The crowd bayed and cursed
and in the last minute, the substitute Andy Carroll hit a superb volley to
equalise. There was a sudden release of pent-up tension and the fans went
home, if not happy, then mollified.

West Ham will probably survive in the Premier League, but the culture and
community with which it has for so long been associated may be destined,
like those pretty bubbles, to fade and die.

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