Daily WHUFC News - 16th December 2012

Cole stoked for West Brom return
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole is looking to get one over his mentor and West Bromwich Albion
manager Steve Clarke
16.12.2012

Carlton Cole hopes to play just as big a part this Sunday against West
Bromwich Albion as he did the last time West Ham United visited The
Hawthorns.
Back in February 2011, Cole was among the scorers when the Hammers roared
back from 3-0 down at half-time to grab a thrilling 3-3 draw. The match had
plenty of drama, not only did the team claw their way back from defeat with
a brave header from Cole and a brace from Demba Ba, but it also saw an
inspirational half-time team talk delivered by then-Hammers midfielder Scott
Parker. Now flourishing under Sam Allardyce, whom Cole says is a 'top-notch'
manager, the No9 is looking to strike again and hopes that his team can
collect three points instead of one this time around. "I know we lost our
last game against Liverpool but I don't think it was a game we should have
lost," said Cole, "but the positives were that we played well against a team
like Liverpool. They are still a big team and no one can take away from us
the way we played against them. "We were just disappointed that we didn't
take the opportunity to win the game, but we are doing well and hopefully we
can do the same against West Brom and get a result."

Cole will come up against a West Brom side which is now managed by his
former Chelsea coach and ex-West Ham assistant manager Steve Clarke, as well
as another former West Ham man in coach Kevin Keen. "Steve was my coach when
I was a youth-team player at Chelsea. He was the one who pushed me through
to the first team. Jim Duffy had been there before that, but Steve replaced
him and I have always appreciated what he did for me. "He gave me a chance
and when he came to West Ham, it was like a blessing in disguise. I was
like, wow, Steve Clarke is here and he is going to get the best out of me,
because he knows me as a player. With him and Gianfranco Zola, it helped my
game. "I'm happy to see him with the No1 baton. He is doing what I thought
he could do because he knows about tactics. He learnt a lot from Jose
Mourinho and took it all on board. He is making West Brom into a good team
and I am pleased for him. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so hopefully
I can outwit him!"

While Cole had to play more of a role from the bench for much of this season
before Andy Carroll's injury saw him recalled to the starting XI in recent
weeks, he is enjoying life under Big Sam and being part of the team's solid
start to the season. The striker spoke to the press this week ahead of
Sunday's match and revealed how the manager has kept him concentrating on
the right things. "The gaffer has been top-notch to keep me in terms of
focus. It's a really hard skill to keep a player happy who has been playing
regularly but is then out of the team. When he first arrived, he said to me
that the secret to being a manager is keeping the ones that are not playing
happier than the ones that are playing. Full credit to him, because he's
doing his job and I know this is my chance now to make an impact. "In the
last two games I know I have made our fans happy and it's been a privilege
to play under Sam. The whole team is thriving under him and the atmosphere
is great around the place. "The manager has brought in the right people. He
may look to strengthen the team again, but we will also have injured players
coming back which will be key for us. Right now, we're looking to the future
and everyone's in a happy place."

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Captain's Blog
WHUFC.com
West Ham United skipper Kevin Nolan writes ahead of Sunday's trip to West
Bromwich Albion
15.12.2012

Hello to all and I hope everyone has had a good week. We put everything into
last Sunday's game against Liverpool and I think all of you who were there
and saw the match may have been going out of the stadium a bit bewildered by
the result. It was tough to take, especially after losing Mo Diame to injury
during the game. He had been such an influential figure for us in the team
and was having such a fantastic match, so to lose him for a few weeks now is
disappointing. But it was another good performance from us. We were
disappointed of course with the goals we conceded, but these have been
things we have been working on in training this week again to put right
ahead of our trip to West Bromwich Albion. We have just come out of what was
a tricky schedule of games for us. We break the games down into eight-game
slots with targets and we have met them both so far. It is now about
starting another little mini-league, with new targets for another eight
games and looking to achieve them again. If we can keep doing that, we can
look at the bigger picture and we can be where we want to be at the end of
the season.

As for West Brom, Steve Clarke and Kevin Keen are in charge there - two
former West Ham fellas who you will know well. We are really looking forward
to going there and matching them, because they are a fantastic side. We hope
that their bubble has burst a bit and we can go there on Sunday and get a
result. They will be a tough side to come up against, I don't think I have
ever been involved in an easy game at The Hawthorns, but we go there with
confidence.
We have a few injuries but it is about us all pulling together even more and
sticking close and working hard for each other and the team.I just think,
with us all mucking in together, we can get through times when we have a few
injuries or whatever. That is what we are all about as a team - if we put
the hard work in then hopefully we can get the results we deserve at the end
of it.

This week we saw what the possible plans could be if we are given the
Olympic Stadium to be our new home. I think it will be fantastic for the
club. Our Vice-Chairman, Karren Brady, came down to the training ground to
give us a presentation and to fill us in with what is happening at this
stage of the process and what the plans are. I must say, I was taken aback
about how superb it will look if we get the Stadium and I think it is going
to be absolutely magnificent for us, I really do. I think, as a club, we can
do the Olympic Stadium absolute justice. With our fans, we can not only fill
it but it will be fantastic for our club and for the whole of east London.
We would make sure it is a Stadium full of life and I think, as a club, it
will help us move on and build great teams for the future.
It will help us move towards bigger and better things, put us among the
elite facility-wise and help bring more top players to the club.

The last few days have seen us visit Whipps Cross Hospital and the Richard
House Children's Hospice.It was nice to get out in the community and spread
some Christmas cheer. Obviously the people we visited are going through
difficult times, but attending these events and visits is definitely
something myself and all the lads feel very passionate about. I would like,
on behalf of all of us, thank the hospital and the hospice for the time they
gave us to come in and see them. We know how much hard work and sacrifice is
made by the people working there. They are there for us if we need them, so
it was great to go there and put smiles on a few faces.

There is an update to the tea-making rota that I mentioned in my last blog.
Since then, I have seen our Head of Performance Analysis, David Woodfine
make a cup of tea - well, two to be fair - in the last three weeks. He made
one for himself and I think he made one for Jack Collison. That's
fantastic,, because he's learning and obviously he saw my comments on his
tea-making or lack of it in my last blog! So it is a thumbs-up for Woody, as
there has been a definite improvement on that front and it might mean I get
a cuppa off him as a Christmas present! I would like to finish off by saying
a big thank you to all of you who will be travelling to West Brom on Sunday
to cheer us on and, of course, all of you everywhere who will be willing us
to get a good result.

Come on you Irons!
Kevin Nolan
Captain

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West Bromwich Albion v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 15th December 2012
By: Preview Percy

Next we visit The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion for a 4pm kick-off
on Sunday. I can't see any engineering work is due to take place on any of
the normal routes up there but as ever check before you travel.

The Baggies (or "men in ill-fitting trousers" as it was once allegedly
translated into Chinese) have enjoyed a fine start to the season having won
eight, drawn two and lost six of their 16 matches so far. This leaves them
in sixth place on 26 points, four places and four points above us. Current
form has been slightly less impressive.

Whilst out of their last six they've won three (2-1 away at Wigan, 2-1 at
home to Chelsea and 4-2 away at Sunderland) and lost three (3-1 at Swansea,
1-0 at home to Stoke and 2-0 away at Arsenal) the three defeats have come in
their last three matches. They haven't won since November 24th and will
therefore be seeking to end the run that continued last weekend thanks to
yet another disgraceful display of diving at the Emirates. Assisted it has
to be said by yet another substandard performance in the middle from Mike
Jones. Incidentally, I am indebted to all 200 of you who chose to share the
"now he's been to Bradford, Corzola knows what a real dive is" text message
with me.

The run of defeats has come too late to avoid manager Steve Clarke from
picking up the dreaded "Manager of the Month" award (is it still sponsored
by Bells Whisky?). Clarke of course is no stranger to us having had the job
of assisting Gianfranco Zola in his ultimately unsuccessful spell at the
Boleyn, an era that preceded the even less successful Avram Grant era.

Zola and Clarke were unfortunate in that their tenure included the
"rudderless ship" period in which the club was owned by those Icelandic
chaps who had been charged with sorting out the mess left by the previous
Icelandic chaps. This included trying to save banks and effectively sorting
out a whole country, so it was possibly quite understandable that they
didn't get themselves overly involved in the running of a football club.

Unfortunately, this situation meant that funding for the club was
effectively done on a hand to mouth basis, investment in the team was next
to nothing, a situation not helped by the fact that what meagre resources
there were got wasted on the likes of Savio. When the current owners came in
they were keen to install their own man and, once Zola had been dismissed,
Clarke went soon after. After a spell working with Dalglish at Liverpool
(presumably as an interpreter) Clarke left to join West Brom, a job that
became his first full-blown managerial role.

First choice 'keeper is Ben Foster who finally abandoned what looked as if
it was going to be a whole career on loan from Man Utd when he signed a full
proper grown-up contract with the Throstles. Like myself, Foster has made
himself "temporarily unavailable" for England selection, citing his desire
to prolong his club career by giving himself more recovery time between
matches, the idea being that he would avoid niggling injuries.

There is therefore some irony (in the incorrect Alanis Morrissette-type use
of that word) in the fact that a recurring groin problem has kept him on the
sidelines in recent weeks and the usual sources suggest that a late fitness
test will be required to see if he is fit for Sunday. The weirdly-named Boaz
Myhill will deputise should Foster not make the cut.

Another on the Late Fitness Test list is defender Liam Ridgewell. Ridgewell
is, technically, an ex-Hammer having spent a nominal two years at the
Academy. However, he had effectively left the club long before his eventual
official move to Villa, with whom he was an FA Youth Cup winner. Maybe it's
the funny accent or something in the water but having moved up to the
Midlands he seems pretty settled in the area and his career now involves
spells with Villa, Birmingham City and West Brom.

It's probably fair to say that the local branch of Pickfords doesn't get any
excitement out of transfer speculation when his name is involved and
supporters of Wolves and Walsall are probably quietly waiting their turn for
him to turn up as his career winds down. Ridgewell recently hit the
headlines as photographs of him wiping his backside with £20 notes appeared
on the web. The photos were apparently taken 8 months ago but it's only
recently that the good people of the West Midlands took offence, mainly
because few people in that part of the world had ever seen a £20 note.

In midfield they will have James Morrison. Morrison, was capped at every age
level for England but when it came to full recognition he decided to pledge
his allegiance to Scotland having (like many others) discovered the
existence of a Scottish grandmother at almost exactly the same time that he
realised that his chances of a full England cap were virtually non-existent.


He is usually used on the wing or as an attacking midfielder but reports out
of Smethwick suggest that he may be used in a withdrawn role if Argentinian
midfielder Claudio Yacob fails to recover from a hamstring injury (another
late fitness test case). Meanwhile, Morrison is the only Midlands-based
Scottish international footballer to be interred in the famous Pere Lachaise
cemetery in Paris, though the Rugby League careers of Edith Piaf, Gertrude
Stein and Oscar Wilde are, of course, well-documented.

Up front they will have top scorer (seven goals) Shane Long. Think Kevin
Nolan but more irritating. Long was discovered in 2004 by a chap called Pat
Dolan who was then manager of Cork City. Dagenham-born Dolan left the
Leesiders in 2005 and shortly after Reading signed both Long and Kevin Doyle
having allegedly become aware of confidential release clauses in the
players' contracts.

Nobody's quite sure how Reading might have become aware of such release
clauses and we're sure that the fact that Reading coach (and former Hammer)
Eamonn Dolan is Pat Dolan's twin brother is totally coincidental. Long has a
habit of committing those horrible niggly fouls that wind players up almost
as much as the full over the ball two-footer so a spot of discipline won't
go amiss this weekend.

Also available up front will be Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku
famously refused to hold the Champions League trophy on the grounds that he
hadn't felt involved in winning it, an honourable position to take that
obviously didn't occur to John Terry. In his native Belgium Lukaku was
awarded the 2011 "Belgian Ebony Shoe" award, the oddly-named trophy given to
the best player in the Belgian League of African descent. Previous winners
of the award include Mido, who was most disappointed to discover that the
award was a "shoe" rather than a "chew".

Lukaku is second top scorer to Long having found the net five times this
season. However, the fact that 10 of his 14 league appearances have come
from the bench suggests that he's been used as an "impact sub" (as opposed
to all those substitutions that are made in the hope that the new player
will have no influence on the game at all, I suppose). Lukaku was at one
point linked with a move to the Boleyn, but only by a slightly hard of
hearing journalist after a good lunch.

Lukaku has been behind Uzbek-Nigerian Peter Odemwingie. Odemwingie arrived a
few years back having had horrible racist abuse from supporters at his
former club Lokomotiv Moscow, who presumably would rather have someone like
John Terry in the team. The Muscovites celebrated Odemwingie's departure
with the same sort of enthusiasm as a Scouser getting a dole cheque. It's
not recorded what punishment UEFA dished out but rumours persist that the
Russians were fined three packets of digestives for their actions, a fine
which, if confirmed, would still be a record today for a racial offence.

Unusually this week for Crimewatch corner we look to the coaching staff
rather than the players for the award recipient – though there is an
honourable mention for midfielder Scott Allan who is on loan at Pompey and
was questioned by Hampshire plod over his running over of a pedestrian last
month. However, Academy coach Mark O'Shea is the clear winner of this week's
award.

O'Shea was arrested back in April after allegations of a sexual nature were
made against him. A look at the internet failed to establish how the case
had progressed, though those of you who like to make up your own punchlines
to this sort of thing will no doubt be chortling over the fact that there is
a Mark O'Shea at a local safari park whose main job there appears to be
"snake handler".

Us? One was highly disappointed last week to not get anything out of that
one – heck I'd have been slightly miffed with a draw. The turning point was
obviously Diame's injury and he'll be a big miss for however long it's going
to be. The player himself suggested three weeks but I reckon there was
something lost in translation for that one. In Diame and Cole, who was a
revelation, we had the two best players on the pitch and neither deserved to
be on the losing side.

Hilariously, one thick scouser (tautology I know) pointed to the five
minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half as evidence of some
sort of FA conspiracy, ignoring the fact that Diame's injury, the various
second half substitutions and the scousers' habit of going down in fake
agony every few seconds during stoppage time all contributed to the added
time. Meanwhile if you want a conspiracy involving the most corrupt club in
the country you could do worse than look at the authorities' continued
failure to take any action over their transfer activities for which any
other club would have been in big trouble by now.

Injury news is not great. Apart from Diame, who joins the long termers
Carroll, Vaz Te Collison and Diarra (a name beginning to sound suspiciously
like Dyer), we'll also be without Benayoun whose been sent back to Chelsea
to get his knee sorted out, and probably McCartney who, having recovered
from a recent ankle problem, has now managed to do his knee in whilst
training. Bare bones then.

Now I'm an old codger who whiles away his days here at the Avram Grant Rest
Home For the Bewildered going all rheumy-eyed at all the matches that I've
seen over the years that have elapsed since I first suggested to a
10-year-old Arnold Hills that he might want to think about setting up a
football team when he grew up.

Whilst I wouldn't in anyway profess to be more of an expert than the
management, I would say that all the games that I have seen over those years
have given me some sort of knowledge about the game and one thing that I'm
pretty sure of is this: James Tomkins – fine defender. Not so fine in
midfield. Now I don't see them in training but the Tomkins in midfield
experiment is one that I've never felt too comfortable with – and I suspect
that the player may be of similar opinion so, if we have any left that are
fit to play, I'd prefer to see a midfielder in midfield this weekend. If
that's ok.

Prediction? Quite simply I think that this one will end up evens. With that
in mind, Mr Winstone will be receiving the contents of the Avram Grant Rest
Home Collection to provide Liam Ridgewell with something more suitable with
which to wipe his bum (£2.50 and a Liverpool scarf) with a view to the whole
darn lot going on a 2-2 draw and hang the consequences!

Enjoy the game!


When last we met at the Hawthorns: Drew 3-3 (February 2011). File this match
in the section marked "Bonkers". Winston Reid had a complete nightmare,
conceding an OG and being fortunate to get away with a clear penalty shout
as we went 3-0 down. Cole had a goal wrongly chalked off for offside. In the
second half full debutant Dember Ba picked up a couple either side of a
brave Cole header and both sides failed to take good chances to take all
three points. Winston Reid is much better these days.

Referee: Phil Dowd. Notoriously calorifically-challenged official who will
need a rest break just after the toss-up. Last seen at the Boleyn hauling
his carcass around during the 3-1 home defeat to Arsenal. Hopefully he's got
his breath back by now.

Danger Man: Shane Long. Top scorer and a right horrible little so and so to
boot.

Daft Fact Of The Week: The world of science and mathematics continues to be
baffled by a phenomenon called "The Hawthorns Paradox". The average home
gate up there is a shade over 25,000 each match. However, apart from Frank
Skinner, and the bloke who wrote "New Tricks" and gave all the characters
Baggies-related names, statistically speaking West Brom supporters do not
actually exist.

You don't believe me? Ok ask yourself this: Do you, or does anyone you know
actually know a West Brom fan? Thought not. It has been postulated that they
come from another dimension each week - a theory backed up by the fact that
their ground is the highest above sea-level in England which means that they
are closer to any wormhole in space that might exist over Smethwick. Or
something. (Note to Ed:– can we afford Dr Brian Cox to check this out? Ed's
note: No).

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says Carlton Cole could keep Andy Carroll out of
side
Last Updated: December 15, 2012 2:36pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists striker Andy Carroll has got a job on
his hands getting back into the starting line-up after the recent hot form
shown by Carlton Cole. The Liverpool loanee is expected to be sidelined
with a knee injury until mid-January, which has paved the way for stand-in
Cole to enjoy a rare run in the team. Cole scored a powerful header past
Petr Cech on his return to the side and set up another in the Hammers' 3-1
win against Chelsea,before turning in another eye-catching display in their
defeat to Liverpool last weekend. And Allardyce has backed the 29-year-old
to take his opportunity, with a busy Christmas period coming up for the
club.

He said: "Carlton has contributed well. He has not played quite as much as
he'd wanted to but, when he has got the chance, he's done the business. "We
now need him to continue that. With Andy out for a number of weeks, Carlton
can establish himself in the team and keep his place. It'll be Andy's
problem to get back in. "In fact if Carlton's playing that well when Andy
gets back, it's nearly impossible for me to leave him out. Allardyce admits
the Hammers are ahead of where he thought they would be at this point of the
season with the club having taken 22 points from their opening 16 games and
just four points off the top four. Allardyce added: "We're slightly ahead of
where we thought we might be in terms of points but that's good news for us.
"This period is a concern, though, as we are talking about having 14
first-team players fit. That's all, right now."

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West Ham captain Kevin Nolan looking to inflict fourth straight defeat on
West Brom
Last Updated: December 15, 2012 1:42pm
SSN

West Ham captain Kevin Nolan hopes that West Brom's recent poor form will
continue at The Hawthorns on Sunday. Steve Clarke's side were the big
surprise of the season as they stormed to third in the Premier League with
four wins in a row last month. But the Baggies have since lost their last
three matches, and Nolan believes his side have a great chance to atone for
last week's defeat to Liverpool. "We are really looking forward to going
there and matching them, because they are a fantastic side," he said. "We
hope that their bubble has burst a bit and we can go there on Sunday and get
a result. "They will be a tough side to come up against, I don't think I
have ever been involved in an easy game at The Hawthorns, but we go there
with confidence. "We have just come out of what was a tricky schedule of
games for us. We break the games down into eight-game slots with targets and
we have met them both so far. "We have a few injuries but it is about us all
pulling together even more and sticking close and working hard for each
other and the team."

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Double up for Diame
Exclusive
By PHIL THOMAS
Published: 15th December 2012
The Sun

MOHAMED DIAME is in line for a new double-your-money deal at West Ham —
despite being sidelined for the next 12 weeks. The Senegal midfielder, 25,
is out until March after tearing a hamstring during last week's 3-2 defeat
to Liverpool. But that has not stopped the Hammers offering to boost his
wages to £60,000 a week to scare off Arsenal. Diame will get the bumper pay
rise as long as he agrees to having a buy-out clause also doubled to
£7million. He has been a sensation since moving to Upton Park after Wigan
released him in the summer and the club are confident he will put pen to
paper.

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Cole: Clarke won't bully me
The Sun
By CARL LONG
Published: 15th December 2012

CARLTON COLE has vowed to beat Steve Clarke's 'bullying' tactics when he
faces his old mentor's West Brom side today. West Ham striker Cole credits
the Baggies boss with playing a big part in his development at both Chelsea
and Upton Park where the Scot was Gianfranco Zola's right-hand man. But
despite their relationship, he has promised not to go easy on Clarke's team
at The Hawthorns — and says the Scot could be in for a few surprises. Cole
said: "I worked with Steve Clarke when I was a youth-team player at Chelsea
— he was the one who pushed me through to the first team. I've always
appreciated him from then.
"I know he gave me my chance and when he came to West Ham, it was a blessing
in disguise. "I was like, 'Wow, we've got Steve Clarke here, he's going to
get the best out of me — I know he loves me as a player'. It helped me. "I
know he's going to try to bully me. He thinks he knows me but I've got a few
tricks up my sleeve nowadays. Hopefully, I can outwit him."

Clarke, who is in his first job as a manager, has excelled since arriving in
the West Midlands this summer, with the Baggies launching a shock assault on
the Premier League's top four. Cole says he is not surprised by how well the
49-year-old has adapted from being a No 2 to becoming a manager. He added:
"I'm so happy to see him as a No 1. "He's doing what I always knew he could
do because he knows a lot about tactics. "He learned a lot from Jose
Mourinho and took a lot on board, and that's what's happening now. "He has
taken West Brom from being a mediocre team to a really good team, so I'm
really happy for him."

Cole has thrived during fellow striker Andy Carroll's injury absence. He
scored and provided an assist during the 3-1 win against his old club
Chelsea and then troubled Liverpool's defence in last week's 3-2 defeat. But
he feels the arrival of the giant Geordie on loan from Anfield has helped
him to up his game. Cole, who has been at West Ham since the summer of 2006,
said: "I had to up the level again and you need that as a striker.
"Sometimes you need someone to push you. "You can always learn from someone
else's game, you can learn from other people's strengths. "Andy Carroll is a
fantastic player and I need to show what I can do as well. "He's doing the
same thing, showing what he can do — and now I'm pushing him."

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Hammered: West Ham have just 14 fit players for tricky trip to West Brom
The Mirror
15 Dec 2012 09:30
By Graham Moody

Sam Allardyce's injury headache at West Ham has left him with just 14 fit
first-team players for their game against West Brom on Sunday. George
McCartney jarred his knee in training this week to join six other first-team
regulars on the treatment table, and leave Allardyce to fill his bench with
players from his development squad. Although Jack Collison resumed training
this week after a knee injury, he will not be risked until the New Year at
the earliest and, with no one else near a comeback, Allardyce is keeping his
fingers crossed the jinx doesn't strike again at the Hawthorns "At this
moment in time, we needed not to have any more injuries, unfortunately, we
have," he said. "I think we're talking about 14 fit first-team players fit,
that's all. I've had this kind of crisis before, you work so hard to avoid
this type of thing but when you look at the injuries, apart from Mo Diame
(hamstring), all of them are trauma injuries, which mean they've happened in
a tackle or a change of direction. "It's a huge concern for us, but, like
everything else, it will be no excuse, because nobody allows you to use
injuries as an excuse, so we've got to go and get on with it. "What we can't
afford is any more injuries. And we can't afford any suspensions to either
James Collins or Winston Reid, who are the two who are on four bookings at
the moment. "They've been on four bookings for the last four games and
neither of them has got booked. But now I've mentioned it, knowing my luck
they'll both get booked on Sunday."

One player to benefit from the injuries is Carlton Cole, who has started the
past two games, since Andy Carroll was ruled out for six weeks with a knee
problem, and will lead the line again on Sunday. "When Carlton has got the
opportunity he's done the business and we need him to continue that," added
Allardyce. "Because Andy is out for a number of weeks he can establish
himself in the team and he can keep his place if he continues like that,
because it will be Andy's problem to get back in. "If Carlton continues to
play as well as he's played and score goals, then when Andy gets it will be
nearly impossible for me to leave him out." Yossi Benayoun (knee), Ricardo
Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra (thigh) are West Ham's other crocks.

Clarke: 'Don't make me angry...'
By Brendan McLoughlin

Steve Clarke has insisted he can be 'Mr Nasty', after defending his time at
West Ham with Gianfranco Zola. Boss Zola and No.2 Clarke were axed by the
Hammers in 2010 after escaping the drop by a place. West Ham insiders
claimed the pair were too nice – but the club were relegated under Avram
Grant the following year. "I've never actually been called too nice before,"
said Clarke. ­"Obviously the owners didn't know me too well. "I think people
who know me realise there's an edge there if it needs to be there. Hopefully
the players here never see it. "It doesn't mean to say you have to go around
being a nasty guy all the time to get that image."

Clarke believes the credit crunch wrecked any hopes of success for him and
Zola under then-owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. The Hammers were then bought
in January 2010 by David Gold and David Sullivan, who by May had sacked the
duo. Clarke added: "There were a lot of extenuating circumstances. When I
first went into that job it was on the promise that we'd always have money
to spend and would push on into the top six. "But within a fortnight of
being in the club, the credit crunch collapse happened. The Icelandic
owner's bank went bust and the circumstances changed completely. "There was
a gradual erosion of the squad and it was an achievement just to keep West
Ham in the Premier League that year. "That second season was a lot more
difficult, the year before we'd finished ninth. "They had to decide what is
the best way forward for their club, and that's what Mr Sullivan and Mr Gold
did at the time."

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Loic who's talking: West Ham plan move for Marseille striker Remy
The Mirror
15 Dec 2012 23:00

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will target Marseille striker Loic Remy in the
January transfer window, writes the Sunday People. The Hammers manager fears
that the lack of a prolific goalscorer will scupper their season. Joint
Upton Park owners David Sullivan and David Gold are willing to back
Allardyce – and Remy is Big Sam's top choice. The France striker, 26 next
month, has scored 39 goals in 95 games for Marseille since joining them for
£13million in 2010. Marseille want around £10m for Remy, who is also on
Arsenal's radar. Allardyce is ready to give Momo Diame a new deal – to make
his £3.5m release clause null and void. The Senegalese midfielder has been a
big hit since signing on a free from Wigan. Meanwhile, Allardyce is also
chasing Argentinian centre-half Lisandro Lopez, writes Alan Nixon. Allardyce
sent his chief scout to watch the classy defender and is keen on the
£3million-rated Arsenal de Sarandi star, who is also wanted by Brazilian
side Palmeiras in the January window. Lopez is a ball-playing centre-back
who would bring a touch of style to the Hammers side as Allardyce looks to
build on an impressive start. The 23-year-old is open to coming to the
Premier League and holds an EU passport so would not need a work permit,
while his wage demands are also sensible.

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Magic man: Carlton Cole warns West Brom boss he has some new tricks
The Mirror
15 Dec 2012 22:30

Carlton Cole has warned West Brom boss Steve Clarke to watch out for his box
of tricks when West Ham travel to The ­Hawthorns today. The Hammers striker,
restored to the first-team in Andy Carroll's injury-enforced ­absence, knows
Clarke from their time ­together at Chelsea and Upton Park. Cole hailed the
Scot for helping him make his breakthrough at Stamford Bridge, but ­insists
he will be going all out to outfox his old pal. He said: "When I was a
youth-team player at Chelsea, Steve Clarke was the one who pushed me through
to the ­first-team. I've always appreciated him from then. "When he came to
­Upton Park, I was like, 'Wow, we've got Steve Clarke here, he's going to
get the best out of me, I know he loves me as a player', and it helped me. I
know he's going to try and bully me, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.
Hopefully, I can outwit him."

Cole also hailed strike rival Carroll for getting the best out of him. "I
had to up the level again and you need that as a striker," he said. "Andy
Carroll is a ­fantastic player and I needed to show what I could do as well,
and now I'm pushing him." Meanwhile, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will target
Marseille striker Loic Remy in the January transfer window.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 15th December 2012

West Brom match preview
WHUFC.com
All the stats, news and records ahead of Sunday's trip to the Hawthorns
15.12.2012

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2012
KICK-OFF: 4PM
REFEREE: PHIL DOWD
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

Introduction

• West Ham United travel to the Hawthorns on Sunday to face West Bromwich Albion in what will be their second consecutive 4pm Sunday kick-off.

• The Baggies have lost just twice at home all season, to Manchester City and Stoke City, but have yet to win in December after losing to Stoke and then away at Arsenal last time out.

• West Brom did however enjoy a fine November, winning four games in a row for the first time in their Barclays Premier League history.

• Steve Clarke was subsequently named as the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month for November, becoming only the second West Brom manager to win the award. Roberto Di Matteo was the first to win it in September 2010.

• The Hammers enjoyed an encouraging start to December, after games against high-profile opposition. The month started in exceptional fashion as the Hammers beat Chelsea 3-1 and they came close to making it a stunning double win, only to see Liverpool stage a late comeback to win 3-2 at the Boleyn Ground last Sunday.

• West Ham United sit four points behind West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League in eleventh, with the Baggies currently in sixth position.

• The Hammers' visit to the Hawthorns is one of two games taking place on Sunday, the other sees Tottenham Hotspur take on Swansea City

Team news

West Ham United

• George McCartney is a doubt for Sunday's game after picking up a knee injury in training

• Momo Diame will also be missing after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-2 loss to Liverpool. Gary O'Neil or James Tomkins is likely to replace him.

• Jack Collison has made a return to training after missing the duration of the season so far, but he is not likely to play until the New Year.

• Yossi Benayoun has returned to Chelsea to receive treatment after a fresh injury setback.

• Andy Carroll (knee), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra are all making good progress but are still some weeks from making a return.

West Bromwich Albion

• Claudio Yacob, Ben Foster and Liam Ridgewell have all spent time on the sidelines but they could return on Sunday to face the Hammers.

Background

• West Ham United's biggest win over West Bromwich Albion was a 6-1 victory on 16 April 1965. Martin Peters opened the scoring before Brian Dear took centre stage scoring the other five.

• The Baggies went one better by beating the Hammers 7-1 on 24 October 1925 at the Hawthorns, James Ruffell got the consolation for the away side.

• There have been three penalties in the last four Barclays Premier league meetings between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion.

• West Ham United are the only Barclays Premier League side that have not yet conceded a headed goal yet.

• The last three meetings between the two sides have ended in draws but there have been ten goals in the last two meetings

Last time out

Sunday 9 December
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, O'Brien, Collins, Demel (McCartney 46), Nolan, Jarvis, Taylor (Maiga 86), Noble, Diame (Tomkins 73), Cole.
Subs not used: Spiegel, Spence, O'Neil, Moncur
Goals: Noble 36 (pen), Gerrard 43 (og).

Saturday 8 December
Barclays Premier League
Arsenal 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Reid, Olsson, Ridgewell (Popov 6), McAuley, Morrison, Brunt, Mulumbu, Gera (Rosenberg 75), Long, Odemwingie (Lukaku 62).
Subs not used: Daniels, Tamas, Dorrans, Fortune

Previous meeting

West Ham United 3-3 West Bromwich Albion

Demba Ba scored twice as West Ham United came from three goals down to earn a point against West Bromwich Albion. Graham Dorrans, Jerome Thomas and an own goal from Winston Reid gave the home side a 3--0 lead at half-time as their new manager Roy Hodgson watched from the stands. Ba pulled one back five minutes into the second half after latching onto Mark Noble's pass and slotting home, before Carlton Cole headed home eight minutes later. Ba equalised seven minutes from time and Freddie Piquionne almost won it for the Hammers but he blazed over with seconds remaining.

West Ham United: Green, Reid, Da Costa, Bridge, Jacobsen, Parker, Boa Morte (Piquionne 57), Noble, O'Neil (Spector 78), Cole, Ba.

West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Olsson, Shorey, Jara, Brunt, Thomas (Barnes 61), Dorrans (Tamas), Mulumbu (Morrison 14), Scharner Odemwingie, Fortune.
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
12 February 2011 West Bromwich Albion 3-3 West Ham United
10 November 2010 West Ham 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
16 March 2009 West Ham United 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

13 September 2008 West Bromwich Albion 3-2 West Ham United

1 May 2006 West Bromwich Albion 0-1 West Ham United

5 November 2005 West Ham United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion


Overall record v West Bromwich Albion

Ten-year records W 35 D 19 L 37

West Ham United

2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)

West Bromwich Albion

2011/12 Barclays Premier League 10th (47 points)
2010/11 Barlcays Premier League 11th (47 points)
2009/10 Championship 2nd (91 points, promoted to Premier League)

2008/09 Premier League 20th (32 points, relegated to Championship)

2007/08 Championship 1st (81 points, promoted to Premier League)

2006/07 Championship 4th (76 points)

2005/06 Premier League 19th (30 points, relegated to Championship)

2004/05 Premier League17th (34 points)

2003/04 Championship 2nd (86 points, promoted to Premier League)

2002/03 Premier League 19th (26 points, relegated to Championship)


Referee

• Sunday's referee will be Phil Dowd.

• Phil Dowd is in his 12th season as a Select Group official, having initially been promoted to the Barclays Premier League list of referees in 2001.

• Dowd began refereeing in local leagues in 1984, officiating in the Staffordshire Senior League and Midland Football Alliance. He was appointed to the Football League list of assistant referees in 1992, before joining the League's full list of referees in 1997, aged 34.

• The 49-year-old is commonly considered to be one of England's best match officials, an opinion backed by his appointments as the referee for the 2012 FA Cup and 2010 Football League Cup finals.

• Previously, Dowd was the fourth official at the 2006 FA Cup final between West Ham United and Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

• Dowd has refereed 19 West Ham fixtures in total, the most-recent being a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in October.

• He will be assisted by Scott Ledger and Lee Betts, the fourth official will be Neil Swarbrick.

Old boys

• West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke spent just under two-years at the Boleyn Ground as assistant manager to Gianfranco Zola. During his first season at the club the Hammers had a relatively successful year, finishing ninth in the Barclays Premier League. Clarke left the club by mutual consent in June 2010 before joining Liverpool as first-team coach in January 2011.

• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are David Cross, Gary Strodder, Tommy Green, Vincent Hayes, Geoff Hurst, Thomas Kinsell, Tudor Martin, Nigel Quashie and Chippy Simmons.

General information

• For ticket information, click here.

• Sunday's weather forecast in West Bromwich is for light rain with temperatures reaching a maximum of 6C.

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Big Sam on: West Brom
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce looks ahead to Sunday's meeting with West Bromwich Albion
14.12.2012

Sam Allardyce hosted his weekly press conference at Chadwell Heath on Friday morning, where he looked ahead to Sunday's trip to West Bromwich Albion.
The West Ham United manager will be coming up against two familiar faces in the opposing dugout, with former assistant manager Steve Clarke now manager at The Hawthorns. Former Hammer Kevin Keeen has taken the role of assistant manager at the West Midlands outfit and the duo have made an impressive start to life with The Baggies so far.

West Bromwich Albion have lost three Barclays Premier League matches on the trot. Does that statistic mean this is a good time to play them?

SA - "I think they are still playing well and competing very well. I saw how unfortunate they were to lose at Arsenal last week. Only two very poor refereeing decisions cost them the game so they may well have got something against Arsenal. At this moment in time, they are still playing very well but results have not matched the performances they have given. Their home form has been very good this year. Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that. We have our own problems with injuries so we have to rely on the players we have available to give their best again like they did against Liverpool and I hope that will be enough to get us a result at West Brom."

The table is incredibly tight, so presumably the Christmas and New Year period will be crucial?

SA - "If you can pick up a couple of wins back-to-back or get a few points in the bag you can climb the table. You saw recently with Stoke, who had not won away from home and had drawn a lot of their games, all of a sudden they strung two or three wins together and they are back at the top end of the Premier League. Sticking a few wins together is where you want to be over Christmas because it sends you into the New Year in a relatively comfortable position - particularly in our first year back in the Premier League. Hopefully we can overcome our injury crisis and can continue to pick up the results we've been getting this season."

Are you planning to try to turn Yossi Benayoun's loan into a permanent transfer from Chelsea in January?

SA - "My only concern with Yossi at the moment is to try and get him fit - that's our big problem. He broke down in training last week after we thought he would be OK and he's back with Chelsea at the moment trying to recover from that injury. We would obviously make any decision on his future in January as is stipulated in his loan agreement."

There have been reports that Frederic Piquionne wants to move away from the club. Would you be happy to allow that?

SA - "Yes. Freddie has been available all season to be released."

Will there be funds available for you to strengthen the squad in January?

SA - "We will be trying to buy some players and those players will be determined on what we want to do and then we'll try to make the moves happen. Like anything else in that window, it's a hard window to deal with and it becomes very disruptive for everybody, but we've got to try to do our best to try to strengthen the squad where we can."

What is latest news on Jack Collison?

SA - "He is training but not available for selection. He's looking OK but he's been out of the game since the end of last season's Play-Off final so it will be at least two weeks before we should consider him, unless we become absolutely desperate on the injury-front - and it does look a little bit like that. I want to try to resist at all costs throwing Jack into the fray and risk another injury, but I make have to do that."

Do you have anybody else nearing a comeback?

SA - "No. We picked up another injury this week with George McCartney so we're not sure if he's going to make Sunday's game either, which unfortunately leaves us very light on numbers."

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Harney using his head
WHUFC.com
Scholar Jamie Harney nodded in a superb goal in West Ham United's FA Youth Cup third-round victory
14.12.2012

West Ham United first-year scholar Jamie Harney put his head to good use in Monday's 3-1 FA Youth Cup third-round win at Aldershot Town. The Northern Ireland Under-17 centre-back was called into action to make a series of aerial clearances during a nervy first half before nodding in the Hammers' second goal with a bullet header midway through the second period. Speaking to West Ham TV for the first time since starting his full-time scholarship in the summer, the 16-year-old said he has settled in quickly in east London. "I thought it was a very good start for us in the Youth Cup and a good team effort in the end," said Harney. "It was one of those tough games where we had to dig in as a team and try to dig out the result and I think we did that. "I think it was a case that some of the players were nervous in the first half, but in the second we showed what we could do and we finally got the victory and everybody was happy with it. "We had our strongest team out against Aldershot, aside from Leo Chambers who is injured, but I thought we did well as a team and I hope we can on forward now and try to win the FA Youth Cup."

Harney was particularly pleased to score his first goal at Under-18 level when he powered in Nathan Mavila's right-wing corner with 25 minutes remaining.
"I was very happy with it. It was all in the delivery because the ball in was perfect and it landed on my head. I closed my eyes and it went into the back of the net so I was very happy with that one. "I like my heading so I'll have to try and keep it up in the next round of the FA Youth Cup and try to get another goal."

For the teenager, success in a claret and blue shirt will vindicate his decision to leave his family home in Northern Ireland to join the club earlier this year. That said, Harney still gets to meet up with his felllow countrymen regularly as part of his national side, who he recently helped to reach the UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite Round of qualifying. "I come from a small village called Plumbridge in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland and I represent my country and play centre-back as most people know. I moved over in the summer and I'm loving it, so I just want to keep it going now. "I think I've adapted well and am settling in well with the other lads - everyone says that. The other lads have been brilliant and I get on with them really well and love living in the Academy House. I just want to keep it up and push on. "Leo is a brilliant player and one of the best in the club and nobody likes to see him injured. His absence gives me the chance to start and hopefully I can take it. Let's now push on as a team and see what happens."

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West Brom v West Ham
KO 16:00
14 December 2012
By Alistair Mann
BBC Match of the Day commentator

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The Hawthorns Date: Sunday, 16 December
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (0) & SUBSTITUTIONS (0)

TEAM NEWS

West Brom manager Steve Clarke says he has six injury doubts ahead of Sunday's clash with West Ham. Goalkeeper Ben Foster, defender Liam Ridgewell and midfielder Claudio Yacob are all battling to be fit, but Clarke would not say who else is struggling.

West Ham fear midfielder Mohamed Diame could be sidelined for up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury. Full-back George McCartney is a major doubt after injuring his knee in training.

MATCH PREVIEW

A year ago West Brom sat 15th in the Premier League and West Ham were in the Championship, so now to find the two in sixth and 11th at the start of this weekend shows the genuine progress the clubs can be proud to have made. Though both are currently in deflating form, their encouraging starts to the season have more than offset recent blips.

Steve Clarke is facing his first true challenge in management, with the Baggies on a run of three straight defeats. Only below the Champions League positions on goal difference prior to the latest round of fixtures, he can at least negotiate this puzzling run from a relative position of comfort thanks to the Baggies' 12-point haul in November, which earned Clarke his first manager of the month award. Should West Brom win their next two home games, with Norwich next up at The Hawthorns, they will be three points clear of Chelsea before the European champions return to their domestic schedule. With just four points from their last five games, West Ham have fallen out of the top half of the table, where they resided in sixth as recently as the middle of last month.

The Hammers' recent run has coincided with a large list of absentees that has now seen Mohamed Diame join Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te, Jack Collison, Yossi Benayoun and Alou Diarra. This is the first of five games in 16 days, so Sam Allardyce will certainly need his medical staff to work overtime as he attempts to arrest the slide at a venue where they've lost just once in nine visits.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
The last three meetings between the sides have ended in draws. West Ham recovered from three goals down to draw 3-3 at The Hawthorns when the sides last met on 12 February 2011.
The Hammers have only lost one of their last nine league and cup matches away to the Baggies (W5, D3, L1).
West Bromwich Albion
The Baggies have lost their last three league games. Defeat on Saturday would represent their longest losing streak since a run of five straight losses between December 2010 and January 2011.
Steve Clarke's side have won all five league matches in which they led at half-time this season, but have lost all four in which they trailed at the break.
West Brom have recorded seven clean sheets in their last 12 league games at The Hawthorns, but only one in their last five.
They have gained just one point from losing positions this term, the joint-worst record in the top flight.
West Ham United
Sam Allardyce's men have lost three of their last four league matches, and have kept two clean sheets in the last 12 games.
The Hammers are the only team yet to concede a headed goal in this season's Premier League.
They are also the only team to have used all three substitutes in every Premier League game so far this season.

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Downes departure 'amicable', says Allardyce
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 14th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has confirmed that first team coach Wally Downes has left the club. KUMB.com exclusively revealed on Monday afternoon that the former Wimbledon defender had suddenly parted company with West Ham. And speaking to the press this morning ahead of this weekend's visit to West Bromwich Albion, Allardyce spoke for the first time about Downes' departure. However he refused to confirm exactly what had led to the 51-year-old leaving, stating simply that it had been an "amicable" split and a decision agreed between himself and Downes. "I can confirm he has left by mutual consent," said Allardyce. "That's all I'm prepared to say on the matter because I don't think I need to go any further publicly. "He's sorting out his terms and agreements with the club. It was amicable between the pair of us and we move on."

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Benayoun back at Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Filed: Friday, 14th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Yossi Benayoun has been ruled out of West Ham United's trip to the Hawthorns this weekend. The 32-year-old midfielder, who is at the Boleyn on a season-long loan from parent club Chelsea broke down in training this week and will miss his fifth successive match as a result. Benayoun, who was accused of 'going missing' by some supporters during the second and final season of his initial spell at West Ham between 2005-2007 was close to returning for last weekend's visit of Liverpool but, according to Sam Allardyce, is definitely out of this weekend's game too. And, as a result of his persistent problem, the Israeli has been sent back to West London until he recovers from his latest knock. "Our big problem with Yossi at the moment is to try and get him fit," Allardyce said today. "He broke down in training last week after we thought that he would be okay. At the moment he's back with Chelsea trying to recover from that injury."
And when questioned as to whether Allardyce would like to make Benayoun's loan deal permanent, the Hammers boss replied: "We would make that decision in January, because it's stipulated in the loan agreement." Benayoun returned to West Ham United on the final day of the summer transfer window, since when he has made just six appearances. His most recent outing was at St James' Park against Newcastle on 11th November, a game in which he sustained the knee injury that has kept him out of action ever since.

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West Brom v West Ham preview
By Tim Oscroft.
Last Updated: December 14, 2012 1:29pm
SSN

West Brom and West Ham will both be keen to put last weekend's defeats behind them when they meet at the Hawthorns. Three straight defeats have taken the gloss off West Brom's eye-catching start to the season after four wins on the bounce had seen the Baggies reach the giddy heights of third place, before a disastrous first half at Swansea heralded a change in fortunes. The changes made by Steve Clarke for the Stoke game did not work out, and the defeat at Arsenal pushed West Brom down into sixth place. Ben Foster has been absent for the last six games, with West Brom's last clean sheet coming in the goalkeeper's most recent appearance before his groin surgery.

West Ham will be keen to earn their third away win of the season following on from their home defeat by Liverpool. The Hammers had hit back after conceding an early goal to take the lead before half-time, only to see old boy Joe Cole equalise. James Collins' own goal sent West Ham to defeat when hopes had been high of following up the stirring win over Chelsea a week earlier with another three points. Their last visit to the Hawthorns, in February 2011, saw the Hammers claim a point despite conceding three goals before half-time.

West Brom
Last 6
2-0
0-1
3-1
2-4
2-1
1-2

Claudio Yacob, Ben Foster and Liam Ridgewell are all doubtful despite returning to training this week. Yacob was forced to miss last weekend's defeat to Arsenal with a hamstring problem, while Ridgewell limped off with an ankle injury against the Gunners. Foster has missed the last six games following groin surgery, but it seems unlikely that he will be risked with Boaz Myhill set to continue.

West Ham
Last 6
2-3
3-1
1-0
3-1
1-1
0-1
George McCartney's knee injury, suffered in training this week, has added to an already lengthy injury list for West Ham. The defender is a major doubt, while Mohamed Diame is out until January with a hamstring problem picked up against Liverpool. Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll and Jack Collison (all knee), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra (thigh) will all miss out.

Opta stats

There have been three penalties awarded in the last four Premier League meetings between West Brom and West Ham.
The last three Premier League meetings between the Hammers and the Baggies have ended as draws.
The Hammers have fashioned the highest percentage of attempts from set pieces in the Premier League this term (40%).

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce wants one or two signings in January transfer window
Last Updated: December 14, 2012 3:15pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will be looking to secure "one or two players" in the January transfer window. After confirming the absence of George McCartney for Sunday's game at The Hawthorns, and with a string of players sidelined, Allardyce has made it clear a venture into the transfer market in January is essential. "I think with our injury list at the moment, which is pretty severe and very concerning as far as I'm concerned, and we obviously need to look in the market and see what we can do in January, it is critical for us to try and get one or two players in during that period," he said.
Commenting on the Hammers' opposition ahead of Sunday's clash with West Brom, he added: "Their home form has been very good this year. Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that."

Allardyce has also spoken out following the recent incident involving a coin being thrown at Rio Ferdinand during Sunday's Manchester derby. While there have been calls this week for the introduction of netting in front of certain areas of the grounds, Allardyce deems using video footage and issuing lengthy bans will act as a deterrent, while installing netting could do the opposite. "I think the more we use CCTV to weed out these individuals and ban them for life, the less chance we have got of this kind of thing happening again. "We don't want to start caging people in again, I know it is only netting but is more like they are trying to cage people in and I don't think that works, I think that creates a more volatile situation in the fan-base area. "I think that, when it happens, we have got the technology today to weed them out and ban them for life."

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Is it Time to Recall Danny Potts and Robert Hall?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

As Iain has previously reported, George McCartney has picked up a knee injury in training, to worsen the current injury situation at the club. With this development, we are vulnerable at left full-back, having to now rely on either O'Brien or Taylor to cover the position. Similiarly, it seems that Yossi Benayoun's return is not as imminent as we had originally thought and he has returned to Chelsea for further treatment. Diarra and Collison are supposedly nearing physical fitness, but will be well short of match fitness, and then there is the issue of them achieving any sort of decent form in shorter term. Realistically, it is probable that neither are going to make a first team impact until the New Year.

Sam Allardyce has stated in his Evening Standard column that it is imperative that we sign at least a couple of players in the January window. Otherwise, Allardyce feels that there is a danger that an injury weakened squad may not be able to capitalise on the excellent results in the first two phases of this season. And the feedback from club sources is that the club are gearing up to make the necessary signings, based on Allardyce's assessment of the squad's needs and his priority player targets. It can be difficult to do business in the January window, with other clubs either holding on to their players or quoting inflated prices. But at least this time, our transfer dealings will not be contextualised within the acute desperation of a relegation struggle. If we can get reasonable results against WBA and Everton, we should go in to Christmas in the top 10 and look to launch a New Year assault on the top 6-8. That would be a strong position to be in and one that prospective new signing are more likely to respond to positively.

In the meantime, we need to galvinize the squad, make the best possible use of our available playing resources and continue to pick up the points in the period until the Window opens. We need to aim to pick up at least 4 points from WBA and Everton matches, but back-to-back wins and the full 6 points would be absolutely excellent. A 4 point return from the next two matches would see us achieve the upper end of my projected 10-12 point minimum target for the 2nd phase matches up to the New Year. Then we can go to the Emirates, on Boxing Day, with some real breathing space. However, do we need to recall Danny Potts and Robert Hall from their respective loan deals at Colchester Utd and Birmingham City, presuming that we have the option to do so? Surely, it is now imperative that Potts reinforces the defence, particularly the vulnerable left-back spot; while we also need Hall to strengthen our depleted forward line? Both Potts and Hall must be on the verge of regular first team football and sometimes necessity acelerates the introduction of young players. If we do not give these promising youngsters a first team opportunity in the current circumstances, when are we going to do so?

It seems some outline details of the stadium conversion plans have been revealed to the club's Supporters Advisory Board. Although confidentiality requirements do not allow the specific details to be revealed at this stage, it appears that the initial feedback is very positive from the supporters present at the meeting. And the club board have given the assurance that they will continue to negotiate to get the best possible outcomes for the football club and its supporters. At the end of the day, we really cannot take a final, definitive pro or contra position on the probable football spectator experience at the OS until the finalised conversion plans are made public. It was always technically possible to make the stadium in to a venue fit to stage PL football, it was just whether the necessary works would actually be undertaken to make it happen? If they are undertaken, to the club and its supporters satisfaction, then the OS can become an iconic football and multi-sports/events venue that works for the club, its fans and the other sporting, community based & commercial stakeholders.

Although the squad is currently injury depleted, we should still have enough to get a result at the Hawthorns on Sunday. Overall, WBA have done very well this season, but their more recent results have not been good. It will be a real test of the character of the Hammers squad and the ability of the available players to knuckle down and grind out results. I think that we can go there and get at least a point, and possibly all three, if we set up correctly, employ the right tactics and the players apply themselves well to the task at hand. I am going for West Ham to grind out a very useful 0-1 away win. COYI!

SJ. Chandos.

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A View From the Supporters Advisory Board
By Iain Dale About 10 hours ago 4 comments
By Anonymous
West Ham Till I Die

Just to give you a bit of background, I applied to join the SAB mainly as I was as sick as most other supporters were of having our club mismanaged for decades. If this current board was going to give me a chance to have my say then I was going to have it!

I had to work really hard to go to the Supporters Board meetings with an open mind but given the continuous debacles of previous Boards such the Bond scheme, the Icelandic farce and selling our 'golden generation' of future England players, I did have more than a hint of cynicism and was pretty much ready to challenge anything that looked like we were going down the same route. I have to concede though that I was actually very impressed. I couldn't question David Gold and Sullivan's commitment to our club from what I've seen. Their message mirrored mine and probably every other supporters view. Why aren't we more successful, why haven't we won a trophy for thirty-two years. They come across as supporters who are in a position to do something about it.

Karren Brady is a superb business woman. Her previous experience of long and difficult times at Birmingham have given her a vast knowledge of running a football club ( bought BFC for £700,000 & sold it for £82m). Her credentials are up there with the best. Just look at how successful she is in everything she touches. But you know what really did it for me it was that you can feel the passion, drive and commitment to succeed from all of them.

When Gold & Sullivan bought West Ham, Karren Brady wrote in her column "To West Ham fans I'll make a single pledge - while we are on the board, we will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down" - Now whilst I don't think we can actually hang any football board members (though supporters at some clubs might think its not a bad idea!) I understand the sentiment she is trying to convey. At the SAB meetings they are desperately trying to get the message across to fans that they really do have the interests of West Ham United and want us to be as successful.

Regarding the Olympic Stadium (OS) move they have taken the same stance. They will not do anything that is not in the clubs best interest. I got the impression that they are working with one hand tied behind their back with the London Legacy Development Corporations' (LLDC) insistence on confidentiality. I and all the other SAB members have had to sign a confidentiality clause which is a legal contract in order for us to be consulted on the OS move. This is on the LLDCs insistence. However whilst respecting the process the club have their own stipulations regarding the stadium in that it must be fit for purpose and these are the negotiations that have been taking place. The emergency SAB meeting was to tell us that following the announcement of West Ham becoming the first ranked bidder then the LLDC had submitted stadium plans to the Club to see if the design met their stipulations for the stadium. We were shown the floor plans and artist impressions of the Stadium. I can not give you all the details but what I can say is that the seating goes completely across the track right up to the pitch. The lower stands that go across the track are built on a bridge type mechanism that can be retracted whenever its needed. The roof goes right over all the seating and looks low so the sound will be trapped inside . The artist impression looks absolutely superb. The club will look at the detail of the plans and decide if it meets their requirements. I would say that during the discussions in the meeting every thing that I thought would be a problem was being considered by the board and issues and advice that the SAB members raised were readily received by Karren Brady & David Gold. I really must stress that nothing has been decided regarding the move. The West Ham Board are continuing to negotiate so a lot of the things being banded about are speculation. Karren Brady stressed that they are anxious to get the plans and the details finalised to allow them to put the information in the public domain as soon as possible so the fans can make an informed choice.

For me personally its a no-brainer. There are a million pros and very few cons for the move. We all know moving to the Olympic Stadium doesn't mean automatic success - football doesn't work like that. But at the moment were aren't even in the ball park. This gives us a chance to compete with the best.
I know the identity of the author of this guest post. He wants to contribute to the site anonymously, and I respect that.

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Injury Crisis Gets Worse - McCartney Out For Weeks
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

In Sam Allardyce's regular Friday Evening Standard column it is clear that he is worried by the mounting injury crisis at West Ham. We're not quite down to Redknappian 'bare bones' levels yet but we're not far away. This week George McCartney has added to our woes by tearing some ligaments in training. Yossi has also suffered a setback and won't be available on Sunday. Sam says there will be four youngsters without a Premier League game between them on the bench against West Brom. All this means that there will potentially be more activity in the January transfer window than the club had intended. It seems clear to me that we need another centre back, and a Diame style central midfielder at the very least.

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Pitch to be closer than Wembley's
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 14th December 2012
The Sun

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8

I HATE the idea of an after-match panel checking non-injury incidents with a remit to punish players for cheating referees. I dare say Santi Cazorla's self-propulsion on to the Emirates turf warranted a sending off and West Brom have every right to cry 'diver' at him. After all, from the heat of the text I got from a bigwig at WBA, referee Mike Jones' misinterpretation cost them a penalty and possibly the points. Simply, though, once video takes final responsibility from the referee, we are in football's equivalent of the police state. Someone should tell him that other 'divers' have learnt referees will eventually treat even their genuine claims as kidology.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9

WOMEN have more sense than to do things like throwing coins at people. Missile-throwing at players is what male cowards do. They think they can harm and not be caught. Our job as football administrators is to catch and then ban them from all grounds for ever. And the security cameras are so sensitive we will.
After being hit with a 2p piece just above the eye, Rio Ferdinand was perilously close to being blinded and there's no funny side to that. I hope the perpetrator goes to prison. Later, my favourite chairman sends me a 'well done' text when we are beating Liverpool, his own team having grabbed a late win earlier today.
Bad timing I say, as it arrives just as we concede a goal and go on to lose 3-2!

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10
THE club with star-spangled appeal are the Hammers. Not only are we the favourite team of President Obama, it seems Bart and the rest of The Simpsons have joined our fan club. Our name and crest are on a banner in the bedroom of Bart's new pal T-Rex this evening. One fan suggested the connection is Simpsons' writer Harry Shearer who is a known Hammers man. This is almost as exciting as our theme tune being played at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. We now have the coolest of supporters, from Robert Pattison, to Russell Brand. On this form, I can't wait for the Queen's Christmas speech, we may even get a mention!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11
OFF to the training ground to show the players our plans for the conversion of the Olympic Stadium for West Ham's use. They are genuinely excited by the thought of performing regularly on a stage of sheer majesty. Then it is off to a three-hour meeting of 124 long-term season ticket holders, who make up our Supporters Advisory Board. I show them the visuals of just how close to the action fans will be. For our fans, the idea of watching across the great divide of an eight-lane athletics track was always the biggest drawback. Well, the answer is that it will be bridged by retractable seats and the gap between pitch and nearest seating will, at 9.7metres, hardly be much further than the Greg Rutherford jump which won Olympic gold. At Wembley, it is 14.8m. We have a vote. Two are against (and I suspect there would be even if the stadium was gold-plated and free for everyone), 11 are unsure and 111 vote in favour. Now we must have a full poll and reach a final agreement with the legacy board. I believe we are on the first step to becoming a football giant.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12
MY least favourite Premier League chairman — short man, big chest and fabulously wealthy, which is not a criticism just an observation — sends me a Christmas card with the following message. 'I see they named an orchid after you'. This is indeed correct. I joined Hillary Clinton, Princess Kate, Prince William and Nelson Mandela — to name a few — who have the pleasure of an orchid being named after them. Then he says 'I heard that they aren't great in a bed but fantastic up against the wall?' clearly using a planting analogy. I'll add crass to the list as well, shall I?

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13
AMAZING what a footballer will do to get his kicks. St Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gets his by wearing Spiderman masks and sporting a £2,500 pair of glittering green crystal boots in the warm-up. Who does he think he is? Elton John? With an ego that size, he really should be appearing at the Folies Bergère.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14
THIS isn't a good time for the reputation of English football but for all that I abhor yobbish behaviour on and off the pitch, the truth is that there isn't much of it.
Yes, there has been a rise in one-off incidents recently but people are being told to believe the game is returning to the bad old days. It really isn't and I can give you a different perspective. At Sunderland a couple of nights ago the home crowd stood to cheer Danny Rose as he left the pitch with an injury.
It happens all the while and as it's not new, no one gets excited.

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Cole too hot for Carroll
By VIC HOLLY
Published: 14th December 2012
The SUn

SAM ALLARDYCE says Andy Carroll will not walk back into West Ham's side if Carlton Cole continues his red-hot form. Carroll, who joined on loan from Liverpool at the end of August, is sidelined until mid-January with a knee injury. Cole, 29, has stepped up in the £35million striker's absence and turned in some top displays. He terrorised old club Chelsea two weeks ago, grabbing a goal and an assist, before troubling Liverpool's backline during their 3-2 defeat last Sunday. Cole is set to lead West Ham's line when they travel to West Brom tomorrow. Hammers manager Allardyce said: "Carlton has contributed well.
"He has not played quite as much as he'd wanted to but, when he has got the chance, he's done the business. "We now need him to continue that. With Andy out for a number of weeks, Carlton can establish himself in the team and keep his place. It'll be Andy's problem to get back in. "In fact if Carlton's playing that well when Andy gets back, it's nearly impossible for me to leave him out."

West Ham have enjoyed a fine start to life back in the top flight and are just four points off the top four. Allardyce added: "We're slightly ahead of where we thought we might be in terms of points but that's good news for us. "This period is a concern, though, as we are talking about having 14 first-team players fit. That's all, right now."

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Big Sam in Rickie watch
By GUY THOMPSON
Published: 14th December 2012
The SUn

WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce wants to sign Rickie Lambert. Big Sam is a long-term fan of the Southampton striker and with interest cooling on Andy Carroll as a £17million end-of-season option, Lambert, 30, has come into the frame. The Hammers will test the water during next month's transfer window but they do not expect Saints to let their top scorer go until the summer. Allardyce declared last March during the promotion battle with the Saints: "If we'd had Rickie Lambert in our team we'd have have won Championship already." The Hammers are moving away from a Carroll bid. A source said: "For the sort of money we are paying you would expect around 20-25 goals a season — and the lack of goals plus injuries is concentrating minds."

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Big Sam hoping to Bag a result
Published: 14th December 2012
The Sun

SAM ALLARDYCE has warned his West Ham side to be wary of wounded West Brom. After reaching third In the Premier League table, the Baggies have begun to stutter. They have lost three consecutive matches but Hammers boss Big Sam said: "I think they are still playing well and competing very well. "I saw how unfortunate they were to lose at Arsenal last week. Only two very poor refereeing decisions cost them the game so they may well have got something. "At this moment in time, they are still playing very well but results have not matched the performances they have given. Their home form has been very good this year. "Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that. "We have our own problems with injuries so we have to rely on the players we have available to give their best again like they did against Liverpool and I hope that will be enough to get us a result at West Brom." Allardyce is sweating on the fitness of defender George McCartney ahead of the match at the Hawthorns. McCartney hurt his knee at training this week and is unlikely to feature as the Hammers look to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool last Sunday. He joins Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te and Alou Diarra on the sidelines and, while long-term absentee Jack Collison is back in training, he is not yet ready for a return. Despite the injury toll West Ham are still in 11th spot, and picking up points during the crowded holiday period was crucial in ensuring the club kept their Premier League status in its first season back in the top flight. Allardyce said: "Sticking a few wins together is where you want to be over Christmas because it sends you into the New Year in a relatively comfortable position — particularly in our first year back in the Premier League. "Hopefully we can overcome our injury crisis and can continue to pick up the results we've been getting this season."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 14th December 2012

Reid aiming for World Cup double
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid is planning to represent New Zealand at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
finals in Brazil
11.12.2012

Winston Reid is hoping his fine form at West Ham United will lead to his
appearance at a second FIFA World Cup finals. Victories over New Caledonia,
Solomon Islands and Tahiti have put Reid's New Zealand in good shape to
advance from the Oceania Group 3 phase to a two-legged play-off with the
fourth-placed nation in the North, Central America and Caribbean region.
Having scored a memorable goal for his country against Slovakia at the last
World Cup finals in South Africa, Reid would love to appear at a second
tournament in Brazil in 18 months' time. "We're pretty much on track right
now. We have two games left in our group and, if we're lucky enough to go
through, we have to play the fourth-place team in the CONCACAF qualifiers. I
think the opportunity is there for us. We certainly fancy ourselves and back
ourselves to come through over the two legs. We'll see how it goes but
hopefully we can get to Brazil in 2014. "I hope they don't expect us to play
like Brazil if we get there! It would be an amazing experience to go to
Brazil and play in a World Cup there. I was fortunate enough to play in one
World Cup and there aren't a lot of people who get the opportunity to do
that, so to play in two would be really cool and something I would look
forward to."

The defender has enjoyed squaring off against the Pacific Island nations,
despite knowing little about the players and teams he has come up against.
"I've been to some weird and wonderful places to play for my country,"
confirmed the Hammers No2. "I've been to New Caledonia this year, which was
a real experience. It's a beautiful place and just visiting there is an
experience in itself. The teams we play down there are on a different level
and you never know what you are going to get because you don't have much of
a clue who the players are you are up against. "We played the Solomon
Islands at home in New Zealand and I remember I was in the Nike Store doing
a photo shoot and one of their coaches came in and bought 20 pairs of soccer
boots for their team! "The island nations obviously have less resource than
we do, but we still treat them with respect whenever we play against them.
It is always hot and muggy and they are more used to the conditions than we
are, so we never know what we're going to get. We are a big scalp so they
always want to beat us. We always have to try to put on the strongest
possible performance."

Aside from his World Cup experiences, Reid has also relished the challenge
of playing in front of huge crowds in friendly international matches across
the world since making his debut against rivals Australia in May 2010. "We
played China in Shanghai in a friendly recently and there were about 20,000
people there. We usually get big crowds when we play against Australia, too.
I think we played them at the Melbourne Cricket Ground once and there were
about 70,000 people in the crowd. Those sort of games are special because
Australia and New Zealand don't really like each other! "I remember we
played Mexico in Denver and there were 70,000 people there too and they were
all Mexicans - there weren't any Kiwis there! I get to travel around the
world and have experiences I would never have if I didn't play international
football, which is great."

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West Ham defender Guy Demel confirms he has retired from international
football
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo. Last Updated:
December 13, 2012 2:59pm
SSN

West Ham defender Guy Demel has confirmed to Sky Sports that he has retired
from international football with the Ivory Coast. Sky Sports revealed
earlier this month that Demel was poised to quit the international scene to
focus on his club commitments with West Ham. The full-back made 35
appearances for Ivory Coast and was a member of the squad for the 2006 and
2010 World Cup finals. Demel believes the time is right to quit
international football so that he can give his all to Sam Allardyce's side.
"I have decided to quit international football and it was not an easy
decision for me," Demel told Sky Sports. "I have enjoyed playing for my
country and going to the 2006 and 2010 World Cup and my country means a
great deal to me. "I wish Ivory Coast success in the future and I hope they
do well at the Africa Cup of Nations. "However, I am now 31 and it feel it
is the right to quit so that I can concentrate on West Ham. "Last season I
was injured a lot and I want to prepare and make sure I perform for West Ham
in the Premier League."

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Jack: I'm all right
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: 13th December 2012
The Sun

JACK COLLISON has given injury-hit West Ham a huge boost by returning to
training this week. The Hammers have been clobbered by knocks to some big
names. But Collison - out since the summer after knee surgery - could even
feature in this Sunday's crunch at West Brom. Midfielder Mohamed Diame is
out for three weeks with a hamstring strain and striker Andy Carroll is
crocked long-term with knee problems. Collison said: "It's been frustrating.
Just because it has been my knee injured, everyone has jumped to the
conclusion that I'm walking wounded and will never be the same again.
"That's not true. I've had surgery but I'll back as strong as ever and I'm
desperate to play in the Prem again. It's been a nightmare not being able to
help the lads." Collison, 24, missed a year with a serious knee injury in
2009. Hammers manager Sam Allardyce claimed it was a similar situation to
Tottenham defender Ledley King, who retired after years of battling a knee
problem. Collison said: "My knee will have to be managed to some extent but
it won't make me any less of a player. "I want to play on for as long as I
can. I met Ray Wilkins recently and he played into his 40s. He was such an
inspiration."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 13th December 2012

SAB success
WHUFC.com
West Ham United hosted a positive Supporter Advisory Board emergency meeting
on Tuesday night
12.12.2012

The West Ham United Supporter Advisory Board held a hugely constructive
emergency meeting on Tuesday night at the Boleyn Ground. The meeting was
called following the decision to name West Ham United as the Highest-Ranked
Bidder in the Olympic Stadium process last week and was led by a detailed
presentation from Vice-Chairman Karren Brady. The 120 members in attendance
were shown plans of what the stadium could look like if West Ham and the
LLDC can reach an agreement to name the club as anchor concessionaire for
the arena.

The Vice-Chairman then fielded questions from fans on a host of subjects,
from supporters' matchday experience, disabled access, the stadium being
West Ham's home and the possible timescales for when the first game may be
played.

The details of the supporter consultation, including the polling of fans,
was also discussed in much detail, with the SAB members tasked with
providing extensive feedback on what format and style the poll should take.
They will also offer advice on the best methods for ongoing consultation to
the wider fanbase.

Joint-Chairman David Gold then gave an impassioned speech to the room about
his journey from a youngster growing up on Green Street to the possilbility
of becoming the Joint-Chairman of the club playing in the Olympic Stadium.
The evening was then concluded with a brief speech from former Hammer Tony
Cottee, who outlined the reasons why he believes a move to Stratford would
be incredible for his boyhood club. West Ham United would like to thank
those supporters that attended the meeting for their helpful contributions
on the night. Their commitment has proved beneficial to the club as it
prepares for wider consultation with the supporterbase, the next stage of
which will be announced soon.

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Blair boosts Bantams
WHUFC.com
Hammers loanee Blair Turgott helped Bradford City to a Capital One Cup
quarter-final win over Arsenal
12.12.2012

Blair Turgott has thanked his West Ham United club-mates and fans for their
support after helping Bradford City to score a sensational Capital One Cup
quarter-final victory over Arsenal. The Hammers loanee appeared as an
extra-time substitute for the npower League Two club, who prevailed 3-2 on
penalties after a thrilling tie at the Coral Windows Stadium on Tuesday
evening. The 18-year-old winger kept a Gunners back-four containing Bacary
Sagna, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen and Kieran Gibbs occupied while his
team-mates held on heroically to earn a 1-1 draw at the end of extra-time.
Earlier, Garry Thompson had given Bradford a 16th-minute lead before
Vermaelan equalised with just two minutes of the 90 remaining. The England
Under-19 international revealed that he would have taken Bradford's sixth
penalty in the shootout had Vermaelen's spot-kick not hit the post, sparking
wild celebrations among the Bantams' players, coaching staff and supporters
among the 23,971-strong crowd. "That was the best game I have ever played in
in my life," confirmed Turgott, who helped the Development Squad to secure
two Barclays U21 Premier League wins over the Gunners earlier this season.
"The stadium was full and most of the fans were on our side. We came into
the game as underdogs and had nothing to lose, but I think we deserved our
victory in the end. "We were three minutes away from winning the tie in
normal time and the boys did brilliantly in the way they played and the way
we set up to stop Arsenal. We knew that we weren't going to be able to pass
Arsenal off the pitch, so I think the way we went about the game was great."

Bradford's success was their ninth consecutive victory in a penalty shootout
and added to the spot-kick win they recorded over Premier League Wigan
Athletic in the previous round - a tie that took place before Turgott joined
the club. "I was going to take our sixth penalty," he confirmed. "The club
has won a couple of penalty shootouts recently and the same boys who took
them against Wigan wanted to take them again, which was fair enough. "I told
the gaffer I wanted to take one and he said I could go sixth. When Ritchie
Jones missed our fifth one I thought 'Here we go, I can be the hero' but
then Vermaelen missed and we'd won and everything went wild! "To beat
Arsenal at any level is an achievement but to beat them with such a strong
team was amazing. They respected the competition by putting out so many of
their best players, but that maybe put added pressure on them and we were
able to come out on top."

Turgott, who received 'Good luck' messages from Development Squad coach Ian
Hendon and many of his team-mates before the game, admitted he thought his
chance to impress might have gone when Bradford went 1-0 up so early in the
tie. "I was thinking that I might not get on as we scored so early. As the
game was going on, we were getting put under pressure a bit and I expected
the manager not to want to change things because the boys were defending so
well. "The midfield was looking solid, so it was understandable that the
manager didn't want to change anything, but of course I wanted to get on and
show what I can do! "When Arsenal equalised and the game went to extra-time,
he told me to get ready and go on and liven things up and win the game for
us. It was a great experience when I got on the pitch and I was absolutely
buzzing. "Hendo rang me before the game to wish me luck and it's great that
the club is watching me and for me to know that they are keeping close tabs
on how I'm doing. All the boys texted or tweeted me too, which was
brilliant."

Turgott's loan is set to expire on 5 January 2013, meaning that, as things
stand, he will not be a Bradford player when the Capital One Cup semi-finals
come around. Regardless, he is determined to make the most of his time at
the Yorkshire club and has no fewer than six npower League Two fixtures to
look forward to between now and his scheduled return to West Ham. "I have
not spoken to the club about extending my loan yet, but we will cross that
bridge when we come to it. I am enjoying the experience and learning every
day. I have still got three weeks of my loan left and we've got lots of
games between now and then. "I am looking forward to Christmas as I've never
played over that period before. We've got something like four games in
eleven days, so it will be interesting to see how I deal with it."

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O'Brien aims to bounce back
WHUFC.com
Joey O'Brien is hoping to return to winning ways at West Bromwich Albion on
Sunday afternoon
12.12.2012

Joey O'Brien is aiming to get back to winning ways when West Ham United
travel to West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.
The Irishman admitted it last weekend's 3-2 defeat by Liverpool had been
difficult to accept after the Hammers went into the final 20 minutes holding
a 2-1 lead. The loss of Mohamed Diame to injury and a strike from Joe Cole
and own-goal by Hammers defender James Collins meant West Ham ended the
afternoon on a low. The No17 knows things will not get any easier at The
Hawthorns, but believes West Ham can pick up a positive result in the West
Midlands.
"Our aim now is to get back on track against West Bromwich Albion," said the
full-back. "We want to take the points but it is a hard place to go and they
have a good home record. Hopefully we can get a result but, as you saw
against Liverpool, the top teams can produce little bits of magic and you
are suddenly behind."

Brendan Rogers' side are only the second away side to win at the Boleyn
Ground, the other being Arsenal, but O'Brien said the points should have
been shared.
"They have got two goals in quick succession, which is very disappointing
but that is what can happen at this level and that is what this league is
all about. That said, after we conceded to make it 2-2, we should respected
the point on offer and made sure we got a point from the game."

While Liverpool's winner came from an own-goal, the 26-year-old said West
Ham could not complain too strongly after their own second goal was
inadvertantly scored by Reds captain Steven Gerrard. "At the time I did not
quite see who finished it but James Collins said he got the final touch. It
is hard to take but we had a bit of luck with our second goal. Steven
Gerrard has headed it into his own net so you could say it balanced itself
out."

West Ham have only lost back-to-back league matches once this season and
O'Brien believes they can maintain that record by bouncing back against
Steve Clarke's side. To do so, O'Brien believes winger Matt Jarvis could
play an important role this weekend. "I thought we played some decent stuff
and created some good chances particularly in the first half down the right
with Matt Jarvis. We looked good and that is what is disappointing because
Liverpool did not play us off the park."

One issue that may trouble West Ham at The Hawthorns could be a lack of
available bodies. With six first-team players out injured at present, the
Hammers will have to stick together if they are to pick up a point or three
on Sunday. "It is important for the lads who are fit to stay fit now, but we
do of course have players who can step in and do a job and hopefully take
their chance. "Carlton Cole has come in with Andy Carroll missing and he has
been unbelievable. We will miss Mo Diame but we have players like Gary
O'Neil who are waiting to come in."

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Martin mulls Mohsni mistake
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 12th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Southend United Chairman Ron Martin has told a local newspaper that he erred
by not accepting West Ham's bid for defender Bilel Mohsni back in August.
The 6'4" central defender, who can also operate as a striker spent several
weeks on trial with West Ham during the summer after which United made an
offer of £100,000 for his services. That bid was flatly rejected by Martin,
who now admits that he made an error by not accepting West Ham's offer -
which was dismissed as "paltry" at the time by Southend. "I hold my hands up
and admit I got that one wrong," he told the Echo. "I turned down the offer
of £100,000 and went back asking for £250,000. I thought Bilel was worth
that and thought a Premier League club would be able to pay a little bit
more. "But they didn't come back in and I think Bilel blames me for that
now. It wasn't intentional though and I was just trying to get the best deal
I could for the football club."

Mohsni marked his West Ham debut - a 4-1 defeat in a pre-season friendly at
Grays on July 20th - with a goal for each side. After appearing in the 2-1
win at Colchester 24 hours later, he joined the first team squad on their
pre-season tour of Germany for friendlies against Rot-Weiß Erfurt, Dynamo
Dresden and Energie Cottbus. Having departed West Ham at the beginning of
August, Mohsni made it clear that he had no intention of returning to the
Shrimpers and was subsequently allowed to join Championship side Ipswich
Town on loan.

However he had made just five substitute appearances for the Tractor Boys -
and none since 10th November, when he was an 89th replacement for DJ
Campbell. Despite failing to secure a first team spot at Portman Road,
Southend boss Paul Sturrock says that Mohsni will definitely not be
returning to the Essex club when his loan spell expires in Janaury. "He's a
great lad and has real talent but he's a disruptive influence behind the
scenes," he told the Echo. "He's also said he doesn't want to play for the
football club any more. "If Bilel goes back to France then he's in breach of
contract and every two weeks we fine him two weeks wages. I don't know what
will happen, but he's told us he only wants to go to a club playing in the
Championship or Premier League."

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West Ham United fans to be consulted over planned Olympic Stadium move
Last Updated: December 11, 2012 4:44pm
SSN

West Ham United are to consult their fans about the planned move to the
Olympic Stadium by holding an emergency meeting of their Supporter Advisory
Board (SAB) on Tuesday. The club were recently named as the No.1 choice to
move into the £429m venue and they will now give their fans the chance to
air their views. The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) made the
announcement last week, although there are a number of loose ends to sort
out before the deal is finally completed. The SAB will discuss the LLDC's
decision at Tuesday's emergency meeting which will be attended by
vice-chairman Karren Brady, joint-chairman David Gold and ex-West Ham
striker Tony Cottee. A statement on the club's official website reads: "The
LLDC decision represents a huge step forward but, as the club has stated
throughout, highest-ranked bidder status does not mean that West Ham have at
this stage agreed to the move and it remains the case that we will only do
so if the final proposal is right for the club and its supporters. "The time
for supporters to have their voices heard is now and a more intensive
consultation process will commence on Tuesday evening. "The club will
consult with SAB members to agree how the club takes that consultation
process forward. "The club stands by its commitment to conduct full
supporter consultation regarding the proposed move, including the polling of
supporters. "West Ham fans can be confident that wherever there is an
opportunity for West Ham to input in the decisions going forward, supporters
will be at the forefront."

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Frederic Piquionne admits he has endured a 'difficult' year at West Ham
By Patrick Haond. Last Updated: December 12, 2012 11:50am
SSN

Frederic Piquionne admits to having experienced a 'difficult' year at West
Ham United and is actively looking for a move elsewhere. The out of favour
striker has been cast aside by Sam Allardyce this season, preventing him
from taking in competitive action. He has been allowed to link up with
Martinique for the Caribbean Cup of Nations, but he is eager to kick-start
his club career in the New Year. A January switch would appear to be on the
cards, but the former Portsmouth and Doncaster Rovers forward says he will
not be holding out for another club in England. "Everyone knows that this
year has been difficult for me at West Ham because I don't play at all,"
Piquionne told L'Equipe. "My objective now is not necessarily to stay in
England. I just want to play football and be competitive. "I believe I still
have plenty of years left in me. I started professional football quite late
and I haven't suffered any serious injuries. I am keen to compete both
physically and mentally. "I want to find a challenge and show what I can
do."

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West Ham's Joey O'Brien says defeat to Liverpool was hard to accept
Last Updated: December 12, 2012 3:31pm
SSN

Joey O'Brien is aiming to put West Ham's defeat to Liverpool behind him when
they visit West Brom this Sunday. The defender was part of a Hammers side
that saw a half-time lead overturned when old boy Joe Cole equalised, before
James Collins put through his own net. The east London outfit now visit the
Hawthorns to take on a West Brom side seeking their first win after a run of
three straight defeats. "Our aim now is to get back on track against West
Bromwich Albion," declared O'Brien. "We want to take the points but it is a
hard place to go and they have a good home record. "Hopefully we can get a
result but, as you saw against Liverpool, the top teams can produce little
bits of magic and you are suddenly behind. "I thought we played some decent
stuff and created some good chances particularly in the first half down the
right with Matt Jarvis. We looked good and that is what is disappointing
because Liverpool did not play us off the park."

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Wally Downes leaves post at West Ham after two years
Last Updated: December 12, 2012 11:19am
SSN

Wally Downes has left his position as first-team coach at West Ham after two
years in the job. The 51-year-old joined the east London club in November
2010 as a defensive coach under then-manager Avram Grant and was promoted by
the Israeli's successor, Sam Allardyce, in the summer of 2011. He helped
Allardyce achieve promotion to the Premier League at the first time of
asking but is understood to have left on Tuesday evening. Downes had a stint
managing Brentford and also played for Wimbledon, Sheffield United and
Newport County during his career. He has already been linked with a return
to Reading, where he worked under Steve Coppell during the side's
record-breaking promotion season of 2005/6, but present manager Brian
McDermott, speaking after his side's defeat to Sunderland on Tuesday,
dismissed the rumours.

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Would Signing Joe Cole be a Good Move?
West Ham Till I Die

Well, how depressingly familiar, a former player struggles to get in his
current side and cannot buy a PL goal. Then he comes on as a substitute
against us, puts in a good performance and scores a crucial goal! Add to
that a fanastic strike by Glen Johnson, another ex-Hammer, who usually only
scores once in a blue moon, and our 'fall guy' tendency asserts itself once
again. These type of incidents happen to us too frequently to be a
coincidence. At least that is the way that it seems! Fate obviously has a
deeply ironic sense of humour where West Ham are concerned.

Regardless, this is a game that we should really have won. The fact is that
until Mo Diame went off with an hamstring injury, we were beating Liverpool
2-1, comfortably in control and looking likely to add to the score line. The
nature of the defeat does, however, raise two issues, (1) the importance of
Diame to the effectiveness of our midfield unit and (2) the failure of the
team to adequately adapt after his exit. The absence of Diame's strong
midfield presense resulted in us being pushed back and we subsequently began
defendng far too deep. This, in turn, gave Liverpool an open invitation to
attack us.The dramatic reversal in our fortunes was a product of that
crucial, pivotal change in the pattern of the match, although one has to say
that Liverpool had a huge amount of luck in securing the three points.

We now have a significant injury list, which has significantly depleted our
available playing resources. Hopefully, Yossi Benayoun will be available
soon, along with Alou Diarra and Jack Collison. While Ricardo Vaz Te is
apparently on schedule to return some time in January. Benayoun's return
will be most welcome, although it is doubtful that either Diarra or Collison
will be able to make an immediate impact, due to a lack of match fitness.
But it is a positive to get them back in to training and building towards a
first team return to a realistic time scale.

It is inevitable, after last Sunday's match, that the possibility of Joe
Cole returning to the club would be mooted once again. Especially in light
of the fact that the Liverpool manager, based on his recent press conference
comments, seems pretty non-committal whether Cole has a future at the club.
Joe Cole has had a bad time at Liverpool and it has been suggested that, at
30 years of age, it is in his best interests to look to move to another PL
club. So, putting 2 + 2 together, is it possible that a return to West Ham
would be an ideal final career destination? Sam Allardyce has certainly
spoken positively about a move for the player, providing that it is
financially viable. The major obstacle being the reputed £90,000 a week deal
that he is on at Liverpool. It is likely that he would need to compromise on
his wage demands to make the move, but against that must be weighed the
possibility of re-energising his PL career at a club where his ability is
valued.

We are all familiar with Joe Cole's ability and we saw a glimpse of it again
last Sunday.The question is whether he can stay fit and consistently deliver
the quality of performance we expect of him? So, would a potential move for
Joe Cole be an inspired move or one best avoided? Would West Ham and Joe
Cole be a good fit and one that would help him to get back to his best form?
Or is a bad idea to look back to former stars, rather than forward to
acquiring new, exciting players?

Putting aside the likely financial obstacles, there are legitimate pro and
contra arguments for the move. So, should West Ham consider making a move
for Joe Cole in the January transfer window?

SJ. Chandos.

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