Daily WHUFC News - 6th March 2018

Moyes: Our next two home games could define our Premier League season
WHUFC.com

David Moyes says West Ham United's next two home games could 'define' their
Premier League season. The Hammers host Burnley and Southampton in their
only top-flight fixtures in March and know six points out of six would go a
long way to securing their safety. However, after losing 4-1 at Liverpool
and Swansea City in their last two matches, the manager has demanded more
energy, more quality and more resilience when they return to action at
London Stadium. "The next two games could define the season," he confirmed.
"We've got games now that we know we can get something from. Before, I
thought a point a game could get us to 40 points, as that was the
old-fashioned figure, but we're now finding we need to do more than that.
"We're having to make sure we pick up points, but obviously the games are
not easy against any of the teams, it doesn't matter who you are playing. "I
like the message to be that we're going to be fine, but the truth is we're
not fine yet. I want us to be positive and we are capable of winning games,
but at the moment we have to find a way of not conceding goals. "We have to
give our attacking players the chance to win us games. We're not fine yet,
but I want us to be positive and look forward. We have got a squad that can
do it, but on Saturday we went without four big players, including two
centre-halves. Angelo [Obgonna] was an illness, so he shouldn't be out too
long. Ginge [James Collins] felt a bit of tightness in his hamstring during
the week, so that made it a little bit difficult."

West Ham went on a fine run over Christmas and the New Year, picking up 20
points and losing just two of 12 Premier League matches, but their heavy
defeats at Anfield and the Liberty Stadium have led Moyes to call on his
players to go back to basics and rediscover that level of performance. "The
big thing for the players is that we're not reaching the standards we were
six weeks ago. We're not reaching the energy levels, or the quality or
making ourselves hard to beat – all the things we wanted to instil since we
came in. "To be fair, we probably have been playing better football, but
ultimately we need to get results. We're not in a good enough place, because
we need to win more games. "Saturday was miles away from where we want to be
going and if we play like that, none of those players will be here. The
players need to show a bit and I think they are good enough, but in the last
two games they didn't show anywhere near enough to win games. "At Swansea,
we should have saved the first goal, the second one was a corner kick which
we should easily deal with at the back post, the third one was a corner kick
we should easily deal with, and the fourth one was a penalty kick, so if you
go through it, it was a really poor performance because we didn't do the
basics well enough, and if we do the basics well enough we'll be OK."

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Loan watch: Oxford starts in draw, but snow puts paid to domestic action
WHUFC.com

Reece Oxford was the only one of West Ham United's five loanees to see
action over the weekend. The defender started Borussia Monchengladbach's 2-2
Bundesliga draw with Werder Bremen in snowy Germany at right-back, but was
powerless to prevent the visitors coming from two goals down to snatch a
share of the spoils at Stadion im Borussia-Park. Friday's draw leaves
Monchengladbach eighth in the table ahead of a trip to fifth-place Bayer
Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon.

Toni Martinez was an unused substitute as Valladolid draw 1-1 with Rayo
Vallecano in Spain's Segunda Division. Valladolid sit tenth in the table,
but just three points outside the Promotion Play-Off positions. They travel
to lowly Alcorcon on Saturday.

Closer to home, Reece Burke was also an unused substitute for Bolton
Wanderers in their 3-1 EFL Championship defeat by Preston North End at the
Macron Stadium. Burke's former West Ham Academy teammate Sean Maguire was
Preston's hero, scoring twice on his return from a three-month injury
layoff. Bolton and Burke will hope to return to winning ways at Reading on
Tuesday evening.

Elsewhere, the wintry weather put paid to Robert Snodgrass and Aston Villa's
home Championship game against Queens Park Rangers, Martin Samuelsen and
Burton Albion's Championship fixture at Sheffield United, as well as Moses
Makasi and Plymouth Argyle's League One trip to Rochdale.

Snodgrass and Samuelsen should be back in action in midweek, with Villa
travelling to Sunderland and Burton hosting Brentford on Tuesday.

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Dale Gordon reflects on West Ham's historic first Premier League goal
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's first-ever Premier League goalscorer Dale Gordon still
keeps an eye on the Hammers' fortunes. Michail Antonio hit the east
Londoners' 1,000th Premier League goal in Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Swansea
City, nearly 25 years since winger Gordon netted the very first in a 1-1
draw at Coventry City on 21 August 1993. Having been promoted from the old
Division One, West Ham had lost their opening two matches, 2-0 at home to
Wimbledon and 1-0 at Leeds United, to drop to the bottom of the 22-team
table. In contrast, Coventry had won their first two games, 3-0 at Arsenal
and 2-1 at home to Newcastle United. The Hammers upset the form book, going
ahead through Gordon's scrambled effort on the stroke of half-time.
Two-and-a-half decades on, the 51-year-old remembers the goal he scored in
front of just 12,864 fans at Highfield Road clearly. "I remember we had a
really bad start against Wimbledon at home and that getting a result at
Coventry was going to be difficult," recalled Gordon, who had joined the
Club from Rangers for £750,000 the previous month. "We started well and got
the lead and showed good character. "As for my goal, it wasn't the 25-yard
screamer I wanted to score! It was a tap-in from two yards, but they all
count and goes down in history so I guess I can live with that. "So, a 1-1
draw was a good response after the defeats against Wimbledon and Leeds."

After injury ended his career at the age of 30 after a short spell with AFC
Bournemouth, former Norwich City star Gordon returned to his native Norfolk
to coach young footballers. He is now based in Dubai, where he runs his own
Academy and also works as a radio pundit. "I have been in Dubai for six
years now. I was director of football for an academy here and have now set
up my own academy called DG PRO FC. I have age groups from U8s up to U12s
and will be coming back to UK at the end of March with my U12s team for a
tour, playing against my old club Norwich City, Ipswich Town and to take
part in an international tournament."
While Gordon is busy coaching young footballers in the United Arab Emirates,
he still keeps up to date with how the Club he was part of for three seasons
between 1993 and 1996 are faring, and believes David Moyes is the right
manager to lead West Ham forward. "I still keep an eye on all the teams I
played for and their results, especially lately when Slaven Bilic was the
manager, as I was at the Club as a player with him. "Focusing on this
season, even though they had a tough start and a change of manager, David
Moyes has settled the team and brought back the confidence in the group, and
players who have great ability have now showed their true potential to help
them climb the table. "I think they will survive this season and, with David
Moyes and good summer in the transfer market, they do need to push on next
season and a maybe a good cup run will give the west ham supporters some
welcome cheer after a couple of inconsistent seasons."

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Smith hails 'tremendous effort' in Ladies semi-final win
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Ladies assistant coach Myles Smith was impressed with the
side's effort in the 3-0 WPL Plate semi-final win over Hull City. Two goals
from Kelly Wealthall put the Irons on their way to victory on Sunday before
a terrific strike from Andria Georgiou sealed the result. The semi-final win
comes after a difficult week for the Ladies, with training interrupted due
to the snowy conditions, but Smith was thrilled with how his team conducted
themselves in the contest. "I think the effort and the hard work from all
the girls this week has been tremendous," Smith told whufc.com. "It's been a
difficult week with the weather, but the way the girls and the staff have
reacted has been magnificent. Everyone involved has put in a maximum effort,
and that has been huge, and we've got the rewards for that in this win."

On the match itself, he added: "Before the game we knew Hull were going to
be a challenging opponent. We never underestimated them and we always knew
it was going to be tough. At half-time we recognised that further. "One of
the things we said was asking Kelly to get higher and stretch their defence
a bit more, which would allow our midfield attackers to have more space on
the ball. Today, the credit goes to the players. They recognised where the
space was on the pitch and where to move the ball to."

As an active coach in the West Ham Ladies Academy, Smith took particular
delight in the performance of 16-year-old Wealthall, with her two goals
putting the Hammers on their way to the win. "For me, Kelly's performance
was absolutely fantastic," the coach continued: "To have a 16-year-old
player who has come through the ranks, scoring twice in a semi-final, is
massive. "She had a great tournament away and now she's come back and
continued that form. She showed on the pitch today that she's a quality
player and she's given us a lot of think about, which ultimately is what we
want. We want these young players to come through and push for their spots."

With two cup finals now in the imminent future for West Ham United Ladies,
Smith admits there is a growing excitement among the squad for the chance to
win silverware this campaign. "Part of the challenge now is keeping the
player's heads level and feet on the ground. We said to our girls that this
game, in a way, was like a final. Now we're in two actual finals and we will
need to manage that. "The major part though, is to keep doing what we've
been doing. We have to keep putting in the same effort every single week and
we have to keep improving. We've had a fantastic 2018 and if we keep doing
what we've doing and keep pushing to be better, we will enjoy a successful
end to the season."

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West Ham must put "embarrassing" defeat behind them against Burnley
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 5th March 2018
By: Staff Writer #3

West Ham United host Burnley on Saturday desperately needing to pick up
three points to boost their fight for Premier League survival. With West
Bromwich Albion looking doomed, there are 12 clubs still nervously looking
over their shoulders as the season heads into the final couple of months.
Just 10 points separates eighth-placed Leicester City and Stoke City in
19th, and the Hammers remain bang in trouble after picking up just one in
their last five matches.
Last Saturday's dismal 4-1 defeat at Swansea City saw the Welsh club draw
level on points with West Ham and manager David Moyes' assessment of his
team's performance was damning. "Embarrassing" and "impossible to assess"
were the standout comments from Moyes' post-match interview, but the Scot
needs to quickly find some answers if he is to keep West Ham safe this
season.
Despite the defeat, West Ham are priced at 23/20 to beat Burnley. The
visitors are available at 13/5, with the draw on offer at 21/10. The
Hammers can take plenty of encouragement from their recent record against
Burnley, having lost just one of their last nine meetings with the
Lancashire club in all competitions.
The two sides drew 1-1 at Turf Moor earlier in the season, although the
Hammers could count themselves unfortunate not to have picked up all three
points.
Chris Wood's header for the home side five minutes from time cancelled out
Michail Antonio's opener to rescue a point for Burnley, as West Ham played
the majority of the contest with 10 men following Andy Carroll's stupid
first-half dismissal. A repeat of that scoreline can be backed at 51/10, but
it's getting to the point in the season where home draws simply aren't good
enough for the Hammers.
Burnley head into the match having ended an 11-game winless run with a 2-1
victory at home to Everton to move on to 40 points for the season. However,
they haven't won away from home since last November and this is a game West
Ham must win if they are serious about staying in the Premier League. Sean
Dyche's side are functional rather than spectacular and the fact they remain
7th in the table must be a serious source of embarrassment for plenty of
clubs below them.
Last season's corresponding fixture finished 1-0 to West Ham and Moyes would
undoubtedly be delighted if that particular 5/1 punt came home.

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David Moyes warns his West Ham players they are 'miles' from where they
should be
By Matthew Treadwell
Last Updated: 04/03/18 11:27pm
SSN

West Ham boss David Moyes has warned his players they must improve if they
are to secure their futures at the club. The Hammers were beaten 4-1 by
Swansea on Saturday, a result that leaves them just three points above the
Premier League relegation zone. West Ham boss David Moyes apologised to the
supporters and says the players are disappointed with their own performances
after a heavy defeat at Swansea. Former West Ham striker Andre and his
younger sibling Jordan, who scored the Swans' final goal at the Liberty
Stadium, consistently caused problems for a rejigged defence. "They have
been told this was miles and miles away from where I'm going - or they are
going," said Moyes, himself under-fire after guiding his side to just one
win in their last six matches. "If they are going to play like that, then
there'll be none of us here. The players need to show a wee bit, but I think
they are good enough to do that. "But they definitely all need to up their
levels, because this wouldn't be good enough to win the games we've got
coming up."

Two goals in each half helped Swansea thrash West Ham 4-1 at the Liberty
Stadium to climb out of the bottom three. West Ham are 14th in the Premier
League table having picked up 30 points from 29 games. Moyes' side have the
joint-worst defensive record with Stoke - both having conceded 54 goals -
and successive home games against Burnley and Southampton have now taken on
added importance. "Those games could define our season," Moyes added. "We
are down to nine games now. Before I was thinking, a point a game will get
you to about 40 points. "That's always been the old-fashioned figure [for
safety], but we are now having to do more than that. "I'd like the message
to be that we'll be fine, but the truth of the matter is we're not. I want
us to be positive and look forward, but we have to stop conceding goals."

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ANOTHER BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE ? I THINK IT'S A BAD OFFICE AT WEST HAM
By HamburgHammer 5 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID

Inept, poor, lackluster, shambolic, spineless, pathetic – choose any
adjective with a negative connotation and it should fit West Ham's
performance at Swansea. Bear in mind that this is a Swansea rummaging around
the basement of the table, desperate for any point to escape relegation – so
not exactly powerhouse opposition.
But there is an awful lot going on and going wrong at West Ham this season –
and when your paper-thin squad gets reduced further by illnesses and
injuries you shouldn't be surprised to see a team with their backs to the
wall struggling to play anything resembling Premier League quality football.

Like in so many other games this season though, just like under Bilic during
his bad run, a lot of the players look disinterested, as if the game (which
should be the highlight and focus of the week and the centerpiece of their
professional pride) is nothing but a distraction of their everyday routine.
I can sympathise that it's probably not wall to wall fun to be a West Ham
player at the moment, but they are professionals and should act accordingly.

Also it looks like Moyes's honeymoon is finally over. I have been an
advocate of finding a manager and then giving him a long term deal to lay a
foundation for a long term strategy and gameplan for the entire club. I have
my doubts though if Moyes is the right man to succeed with this particular
bunch of players. I always try to find positives to talk about in my column
when it comes to West Ham, but like the team I'm struggling.
Rice was the best player on the pitch yesterday and when a 19 year old is
the only player coming out of a game with any professional dignity it's a
worrying sign.

Our league position is still perilous, we may still have a three point
cushion, but have destroyed our goal difference in the last two games which
can be a relegation clincher at the end of the season. If we have to lose we
cannot afford to concede a shipload like we tend to do. We don't just lose,
we capitulate, waving white flags all over the shop.
The entire club is in turmoil, from top to bottom, and I am sick and tired
of hearing claims that the fans are putting a millstone of negativity around
the club's neck, affecting the players.

Pardon my French, but this is hogwash. The fans so far have been remarkably
patient and unwaveringly positive and supportive, especially the travelling
parties creating a fantastic atmosphere for our away games. I don't remember
too many occasions when the team actually repaid the away supporters with a
great performance on the pitch.
The fans have done their bit, it's about time the players, the manager and
yes, the bloody board gave something back – and I am not talking about
letters promising all kinds of things, beer shelves or flags of former
Hammers legends being draped all over the concourse. Those are minor issues
that should have been sorted the moment we moved into the new place.

Every week another thing happens that easily opens up the board for more
criticism. Reid going down the way he did of course was a freak injury, a
stroke of bad luck and by the looks of it he could now be out for the rest
of the season and beyond. This is significant because we just recently
happened to allow Fonte to leave to China, getting in some funds to balance
the books.

Sorry, but surely the priority this transfer window should have been to add
to our squad in preparation for the relegation battle, not make it weaker.
What was the point in letting so many players leave ? And what if we get
relegated ? Expect plenty of transfer requests to arrive on Sullivan's desk
within days after the final game.
Talking of relegation I would be sad, angry, disappointed, distraught, but
probably not for long.

It would be much harder for me to watch games of course in terms of finding
internet streams for Championship games, but that's not really the main
issue. The issue is that once you're down there it's incredibly hard to get
back up again, especially in the current circumstances. We could easily do a
Leeds, a Forest or a Bolton.
Would I be happy to see the Daves take a financial hit in case of relegation
?

Well, not really. They are so rich that a financial hit for them is very
relative. They could still keep their Bentleys including chauffeur, their
crystal panthers at home would be safe and they could also still afford two
warm meals a day.
But West Ham, fans and club, would suffer going down and I don't want West
Ham to suffer. Parachute payments alone won't guarantee anything anymore.

The board may well be gone in a few years, but the fans would still be there
in the Championship in their droves and that's why I can sympathise with any
fan who still feels the desire and need to march.

The frustration and anger simply needs to go somewhere. Is a march the best
way to let off steam ? I don't know. Will it help the club ? Maybe not.
Is it better instead to vent your anger at home games inside the stadium
with chants and banners ? Probably not, it may affect the players, but can
they honestly play any worse than they did in recent weeks and for most of
the season ? And that was with solid support from the West Ham faithful
throughout.

As you can gather from my ramblings, I don't have any answers really and
even if I had it wouldn't matter really as the decision makers are elsewhere
and they seem to think their decisions have been spot on and they are the
best people really to make this club a success. If you define success by
just staying up in the Premier League even that task becomes quite tricky
with every game we fail to win.

It's gonna be a tense remainder of the season and not for the faint of
heart. You reap what you sow and it could be argued we have sown little and
sown badly in recent years.
A Championship team as anchor tenant in the Olympic Stadium. A bizarre
thought. But then again our club are the masters of the bizarre and we make
the surreal possible.
COYI!!!

PS: Not much else to report on a personal level. All lower level football in
Hamburg got postponed due to the weather conditions. Hamburg only drew
against Mainz, edging ever closer to relegation, getting a goal disallowed
after VAR ruled it offside. And my brother is off on rehab in a place in the
middle of nowhere near Mölln, the Eulenspiegel town. Eulenspiegel was a
legendary trickster exposing vices many hundred years ago.
Tricksters aren't a thing of the past though, some of them are still alive
and kicking, running football clubs…

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ANGELO OGBONNA EXPECTED TO RETURN FOR BURNLEY GAME
STE HOARE @Stehoare
ReadWestHam

David Moyes expects to have centre-back Angelo Ogbonna available for this
weekend's Premier League fixture with Burnley. The Italian international was
missing from the Hammers squad as they were heavily beaten 4-1 at Swansea
City on Saturday. At one point, West Ham were forced to full-back Pablo
Zabaleta at centre-back as Winston Reid went off injured and with the New
Zealander set to miss a significant period of time, the timing of Ogbonna's
return will be welcomed.

Speaking to Football.London, Moyes said: Angelo Ogbonna was an illness, so
he shouldn't be out too long. Despite an upturn in results since Moyes
arrived, West Ham are still not certain to be playing Premier League
football next season and as such, they'lll be targeting a win against a
Burnley side who had been on a winless run before they defeated Everton 2-1
at the weekend. The return of Ogbonna will be most welcome and he'll be
expected to start the game.

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WEST HAM DEFENDER SET FOR BIG CHANGE IN THE NEAR FUTUREFeatured Image
Date: 5th March 2018 at 9:05pm
Written by: Josh Challies

West Ham have plenty left to fight for in the remainder of the Premier
League season, after Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Swansea City left the Hammers
hovering just three points above the relegation zone, and one player in
particular has his sights on a new venture.

Left-back Arthur Masuaku recently declared his intention to represent DR
Congo at the 2022 World Cup, as he aims to help the African nation
qualifying for the tournament in Qatar- but he needs FIFA approval to switch
his allegiance from France.

However, reports from DR Congo state that Masuaku is set to be given the
green-light to make the international change- although the African nation
have stated that, as of yet, they're yet to receive official clearance.

It's unknown when an outcome will be made but it appears that everything is
in line for 24-year-old Masuaku to make the change to kickstart his
international career, as he has very little chance of representing France,
his nation of birth.

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West Ham fans plan protest march amid toxic atmosphere
KEN DYER
ES Football Newsletter

West Ham will go into their most important match of the season at home
against Burnley on Saturday amid an atmosphere of toxicity among a section
of their supporters. Saturday's 4-1 away defeat to relegation rivals Swansea
added to growing feelings of resentment towards the club owners, and the
anger spilled over straight after the match when co-chairman David Gold's
car was stopped and he was confronted by an abusive fan as he left the
Liberty Stadium. A planned protest march organised by the Real West Ham Fans
Action Group was cancelled on Friday following a meeting between fans'
groups and vice- chairman Karren Brady. But other factions, including the
West Ham United Independent Supporters Association, still hope to stage a
march before Saturday's match at the London Stadium. The association has
contacted the London Legacy Development Corporation, landlords of the London
Stadium, asking to stage the march on their property since arrangements
with the police on the original route had been cancelled.
A statement on the association website read: "WHUISA exists to represent our
members, and the feeling among fans, as best we can. Our members and the
wider fan base made it abundantly clear that they want the march to happen
so we have taken action. "We have worked with the FSF (Football Supporters'
Federation), the Met Police and spoken to Newham Council to save the march
and give our fans a chance to show their lack of confidence in the current
direction of West Ham United. "As it stands there will be a change of route
but the authorities are in consultation for a peaceful protest to go ahead
on Saturday March 10."
l
Meanwhile, amid this toxic atmosphere, West Ham manager David Moyes must try
to pick his team up following their morale-sapping defeat at Swansea, which
leaves them just three points above the bottom three in the Premier League.
Moyes offered no excuses for what he admitted was the team's worst
performance since he took charge in November. However, he was up against it
before the match started when he lost two of his central defenders, James
Collins (hamstring) and Angelo Ogbonna (illness), followed by a third during
the match when Winston Reid was taken off on a stretcher with a damaged knee
and suspected concussion.

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National Portrait Gallery remembers football legend Bobby Moore with new
exhibition
ROBERT DEX
11 hours ago
GO London Newsletter

Football legend Bobby Moore is being remembered with a new exhibition which
opens today at the National Portrait Gallery. Bobby Moore: First Gentleman
of English Football features family photographs tracing his career. The West
Ham and Fulham player, who died in 1993 aged 51, captained England to World
Cup victory in 1966. The photographs include one of him playing chess with
his West German opposite number and great rival Franz Beckenbauer who said
Moore was the "best defender in the history of the game". Another is of him
sheltering from the rain with West Ham teammate Johnny Byrne. There are also
images of the star at home in Chigwell, Essex, in 1975, left, with first
wife Tina, son Dean and daughter Roberta, who collected the pictures. She
said the new exhibition, which runs until January, is "a wonderful tribute"
to a man who "emanated grace both on and off the pitch".

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