Safety and security update ahead of Southampton fixture
WHUFC.com
A series of measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of supporters attending Saturday's Premier League game against Southampton at London Stadium.
In light of the regrettable actions of a small minority of individuals during West Ham's fixture with Burnley, the Club has worked closely alongside stadium operators LS185, E20, the Metropolitan Police, London Borough of Newham and fans - via the Supporter Advisory Board – to implement a number of proactive steps with the safety and security of everyone coming to the game our foremost priority. Heightened measures will include a significantly enhanced number of police officers and security personnel at London Stadium, as well a dynamic pitch response team.
To assist with creating the safest environment possible for all and following direction from the Safety Advisory Group, several security gates will also be in operation throughout the Stadium both on the bridges within the lower tier and on the internal concourses, which will restrict fans' migration around the stadium. With these new measures in place, supporters are advised to allow extra time to take their seats before the 3pm kick-off. The Club are, as always, committed to providing fans with the best matchday experience possible, with these procedures only in place for the safety and security of all inside London Stadium.
Every ticket holder is an ambassador for this Club and we would like to remind those coming to London Stadium on Saturday of their responsibilities to themselves, their fellow supporters, the team and everyone associated with the Club to support West Ham United in a passionate, respectful manner. Lifetime bans were issued to individuals who crossed safety barriers to enter the field of play during the Burnley fixture, while a number of others were banned for life for violently throwing coins or objects with intent to injure or harm on the bridge directly in front of the Directors' Box. As part of an ongoing thorough investigation, the Club expect additional bans to be confirmed imminently. During the second half of that Burnley game, we witnessed scenes that none of us would like to see repeated and this Saturday we encourage you all to join us in backing the team in a hugely important fixture and make us all feel proud of West Ham United again.
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West Ham United hold emergency SAB meeting
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have met with the Supporter Advisory Board (SAB) in an emergency meeting at London Stadium. With the Club and stakeholders committed to ensuring the safety, comfort and securing of all supporters attending matches at London Stadium, following the events which marred the Premier League fixture with Burnley on Saturday 10 March, SAB members were invited to discuss the situation in detail. Representatives from across the Club's wide and diverse fanbase sat down with Vice-Chairman Karren Brady, Sir Trevor Brooking, members of the senior management team and stakeholders for a positive two-hour meeting focused on the key issues. Summarising, the Vice-Chairman said: "The scenes we saw at the Burnley game were very sad for all of us and for any supporter of West Ham United. "The objective of the meeting was to offer reassurance to our supporters in terms of the plans in place to ensure that London Stadium will be safe and secure for Saturday's match against Southampton and beyond. "The most important thing on Saturday is that all supporters attending feel safe and comfortable, and that our players have an environment that enables them to perform at their very best in what is a hugely important match."
The Vice-Chairman continued by telling the SAB that the Board accept the unhappiness and frustration of some fans and how they are absolutely committed to putting things right, on and off the pitch. She confirmed that the Club's number-one priority will always be the security of supporters inside London Stadium and explained the remedial actions taken to that end, including the imposition of life bans and introduction of enhanced safety measures at future matches. The Vice-Chairman also revealed the positive news that West Ham United has received the Premier League Equality Standard, showing the Hammers' commitment to achieving and promoting equality and diversity across all areas of the Club. SAB members were then invited to ask questions to the panel, with topics including stewarding, communications, safety and security for accessibility supporters, the Club's relationship with London Stadium stakeholders, enhancing the matchday experience and plans for improved supporter consultation.
Sir Trevor Brooking spoke passionately about his love for the Club and asked supporters to get behind the team and the Club for the remainder of the season and that, once Premier League safety is assured, the issues can be tackled. He stated his view that without Premier League status many of the things supporters wish to see happen would prove impossible to deliver so that must be the focus for everyone associated with the Club. The meeting closed with members being asked to provide ideas for potential themes for future matchdays at London Stadium, which the wider fanbase will vote on ahead of Saturday's fixture with Southampton.
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Carlton Cole calls for West Ham fans to get behind team as he hangs up his boots
WHUFC.com
If there is one person who knows the qualities needed to battle through adversity and tough times at West Ham United, it is Carlton Cole. The former Hammers striker, who made a total of 293 appearances for the Club in two separate spells between 2006 and 2015, experienced plenty of ups and downs in almost a decade in Claret and Blue. A member of the side that pulled off the Great Escape in 2007, he suffered the pain of relegation in 2011 and then played a key role in helping the Hammers to bounce back at the first attempt. In 2013, he was released but, having fought to prove his fitness and worth, was re-signed just months later and went on to make a valuable contribution over the next two years, cementing his reputation as a true hero among the fanbase.
In an exclusive interview with West Ham TV, he had a message of solidarity and strength for anyone who has Claret and Blue in their hearts. "The scenes I saw a few weeks ago at the Burnley game were upsetting, for me and my family, and I had a lot of people asking me what was going on," he said. "It's now time to come together and push in the same direction. Any qualms the fans have – let's just leave that until the end of the season and first make sure we are safe. In the summer, we can assess everything, but now is not the time. For now, the fans have got to get behind the team. "One thing every player must do is give 100 per cent every time he steps out on the pitch. You need to have strength of character when the pressure is on. West Ham definitely have the players who can lead the team to success, but they need the fans with them. "The support of the fans is vital right now and I hope they can see that. It's a massive game on Saturday, for both teams, and it is not going to be easy. We've got to go out there, put our battle gear on, and get the result we need."
Carlton, who until recently had been training with AFC Wimbledon following spells in Scotland, the United States and Indonesia, also revealed to West Ham TV that, after an illustrious 16-year playing career that began at Chelsea and also stopped off at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa, he has now turned his focus to developing the next generation of talented youngsters in his native London. "This is a bit of an exclusive actually!" he laughed. "I'm still getting offers to play, but the fact is that I feel I am in a different space right now and I want to move on with my life and help others. "I have been mentoring a few kids who are aspiring to play football and I've set up my own consultancy business aimed at youngsters – aimed at grass roots level, getting them off the streets and hopefully giving them better opportunities to make it at the top level. "It is something I am very passionate and serious about and I want to give it my full focus now."
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West Ham's Mr Versatile is willing to do anything to keep the Hammers up
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell has been West Ham United's Mr Versatile this season, and the No3 has insisted he will do whatever it takes to keep the Hammers in the Premier League. The Liverpool-born star has been an important figure for West Ham this season, at both ends of the pitch. Not only has he played 13 times as a centre-half, but he has also registered a team-high six Premier League assists and delivered 32 key passes for his grateful teammates. Cresswell has been committed, reliable and flexible, but he is experienced enough to know he cannot win games on his own. "To be honest, as long as we get three points or we get a result, I couldn't care less who scores, who sets the goals up or what position I play in," he told Saturday's Official Programme for the vital Premier League visit of Southampton. "For me, it's all about the team and if someone had said to me I'd play that many games as a centre-half this season last summer, I'd have probably laughed, but the circumstances we've had this season and the injuries we've had, I've happily played there and we've had some good games and results. "It's not just about individuals, though, and I know all the lads would put the team and winning games before themselves."
The Hammers kick-off the eight-match run-in with the visit of Southampton and, with the Saints sitting two points and one place below West Ham in the table, Cresswell says the hosts will need to be fully focused on the job in hand. "It's extremely tight at the bottom of the table and I think there are at least six or seven teams who are still right in it. "If you're asking me how many points will keep us up, I'd say another three wins and nine points should do it, especially if we win the big, important games against the likes of Southampton and Stoke. If we win those two games, that will take us a few points clear of them. "It's easy saying that, but we need to go out there and get those three-point hauls. We've got eight cup finals left and we've got to win a few of them, at least."
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West Ham United publish Gender Pay Report
WHUFC.com
Under government rules introduced last year - the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 - as a company with 250 or more employees, West Ham United are requested to annually disclose figures comparing men and women's average pay on 14 data points across the organisation.
West Ham United have conducted a review of its remuneration and employment procedures and, for the first time, today publish its figures on gender pay disparity. These numbers are solely for West Ham United and do not include West Ham United Ladies or West Ham United Foundation.
The findings as of 5 April 2017 show:
Across the organisation the mean gender pay gap currently stands at 87.4%
But when male first team players, management and coaches are removed, the gap currently stands at -9.76%
Breakdown
The mean pay gap of 87.4% for the whole workforce, including the male playing staff, is not a true representation of the gender pay gap because the highly-paid male football players and male football management salaries dominate the workforce and distort the figures. When male first-team players, management and coaches are removed, the gap stands at -9.76% - this reflects favourably on West Ham with a national pay gap at 18.4%. Over three quarters of the wage bill is spent on less than 15% of the core workforce which are all male first-team players.
Similarly, the mean bonus figure is also distorted by the male football-related staff whom make up 64% of the workforce receiving bonuses and they take over 50% of the total bonus payments.
Men and Women in each quartile
Women are under-represented in each quartile and only account for the third of the workforce, however, females represent 14% of the workforce in the first and second quartiles combined.
There are more males in the fourth quartile than expected because male scouts and male coaches are part-time, more than most workforces, and males make up almost half of the match day casual workforce.
It is important to note that the Club pays equal pay for men and women performing equal jobs. Categorically, men and women doing the same job are paid the same rate of pay.
What the Club has done so far
The Board has worked very hard in the last six years to address the gender issues faced in football. This has been achieved through the promotion and development of existing staff and positive action in external recruitment. We are now at a point where 50% of the Vice-Chairman's direct reports are female and two women sit on the Board. The Club undertakes equality audits on HR policies and procedures to promote equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination.
The Club is also very supportive of its female workforce who have children; 80% of female employees who have been on maternity leave in the past two years have returned to the Club and all flexible working requests have been granted.
Additionally, West Ham United FC has paid the equivalent of London Living Wage to all full-time and part-time permanent members of staff since June 2015 and became an accredited London Living Wage Employer in December 2017.
And, to recognise the good work West Ham United is currently undertaking, the Club was awarded the Premier League Equality Standard (preliminary level) in 2016 and the intermediate level in March 2018.
What West Ham United will do next
The Club will to continue to encourage women in its recruitment activities to increase the number of women working in the Club, particularly at management level. The Club already monitors recruitment data for applicants to ascertain where women are falling out of the process and we will take action to encourage more female applicants.
Over the next 18 months the Club will also work to achieve its advance Premier League Equality Standard. And, through the West Ham Skills School, the Club will continue to provide diversity and unconscious bias training to staff and focus on developing underrepresented groups within the workforce. The Club always values feedback and will reach out to the female workforce to assess gender inclusivity in the workplace.
Commenting on the report, West Ham United Vice-Chairman Karren Brady said: "As a woman working in football, I am of course pleased to see this report published and I would like to put on the record my thanks to all the highly dedicated and committed staff at the Club who work so hard to eradicate pay disparity.
"West Ham United believe that remuneration should always be based on merit and on individuals' talent and should never be a reflection of their gender. Of course, at a professional male football club the numbers will always be skewed, but West Ham can categorically state that men and women doing the same job will always receive the same rate of pay while working at the Club.
"When male first team players, management and coaching staff are removed from the figures, West Ham United's pay gap stand at -9.76%. With a national average of 18.4%, I believe this reflects favourably on West Ham and its current employment procedures.
"West Ham already has a proud record of internal promotion and development of existing female staff - we have two female Board members, 50% of my direct reports are women and we will work even harder to get more women into senior management positions over the coming year. I am also proud that all flexible working requests have been granted during my time at the Club.
"We know we cannot be complacent when there is so much more to do be done but we are proud of the work we have done off the pitch and we will continue to build on those good practices to make sure all those working at West Ham achieve their fullest potential."
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West Ham v Southampton: Extra security for London Stadium game to cost taxpayers £60,000
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport
About £60,000 of taxpayers' money will be used to pay for increased security at West Ham's home Premier League match against Southampton on Saturday.
The match will be the first at London Stadium since trouble flared at the 3-0 defeat by Burnley on 10 March. Twenty fans were given life bans, including four for invading the pitch. A substantially increased security presence includes measures to stop fans getting in front of the directors' box as occurred during the Burnley game. Under the terms of the Hammers' 99-year lease at the former Olympic Stadium, security is paid for by the centrally funded body that runs the venue. London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants West Ham to make a financial contribution for similar security arrangements at the club's remaining home matches this season.
The Safety Advisory Group, the body responsible for supplying the safety certificate to allow the game to proceed, has warned any repeat of the trouble will result in matches being played behind closed doors. Khan said: "The safety of all supporters and visitors to London Stadium is of paramount importance. Nobody wants to witness scenes like those during the last home game, which were caused by a small minority."
In a statement, West Ham reminded fans of "their responsibilities to themselves, their fellow supporters, the team and everyone associated with the club". Every ticket holder is an ambassador for this club," it read. "We encourage you all to join us in backing the team in a hugely important fixture and make us all feel proud of West Ham United again."
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Only one disabled fan moved, say West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United say that just ONE supporter has been moved to make room for additional security measures. Earlier this week a member of the KUMB Forum, who is also a disabled season ticket holder at West Ham, was informed that he was being re-seated with immediate effect in order to make way for the installation of new security gates by the Directors' Box at the Olympic Stadium. However a club source told KUMB the supporter in question is the ONLY season ticket holder to have been moved as a result of the stadium upgrades, which are understood to have been suggested by a Safety Advisory Group panel that met in response to the disturbances witnessed during the recent match against Burnley.
The source stated that it had been necessary to move the fan in question as "the gates has been installed too closely" to his seat - adding that the supporter has since accepted a seat in the Corporate area as an alternative. In additional to the new gates that have been installed around the Directors' Box ahead of Saturday's Premier League meeting with Southampton, several segregation gates have been added around the stadium to prevent the free movement of fans around the arena.
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'Moyes effect' results in small improvement
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
David Moyes' first 19 Premier League games in charge of West Ham have resulted in a minor improvement to West Ham United's form since parting company with Slaven Bilic. West Ham's 3-0 defeat at home to Burnley in their most recent Premeir League outing meant that Moyes had been in charge for 19 league meetings since succeeding the Croat - exactly half-a-season in terms of divisional fixtures. During that period his team has managed to secure an average of just 1.11 points per game - which represents a minor improvement to the 0.89 points per game Bilic secured during his final 19 Premier League fixtures.
However that form replicated over the course of an entire season would leave the Hammers on just 42 points (the number with which the club were relegated at the end of the 2002/03 season) and fighting relegation - as is the case now. The forme Everton and Manchester United boss, who is working on a short-term contract has achieved Premier League wins over just five teams so far since joining the Hammers - those being Chelsea, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Huddersfield and Watford. A sixth win - a 1-0 defeat of League One Shrewsbury in an FA Cup third round replay - was achieved in extra time at the Olympic Stadium thanks to youngster Reece Burke's very late winner. Additionally Moyes' average points per game figure falls slightly when taking into account all fixtures, including EFL and FA Cup dates. In total he has taken charge of 23 matches, with an equivalent average points tally of 1.09.
David Moyes: first 19 Premier League fixtures (half-a-season)
Won: 5
Drawn: 6
Lost: 8
Points: 21
Average Points Per Game: 1.11
Slaven Bilic: last 19 Premier League fixtures (half-a-season)
Won: 4
Drawn: 5
Lost: 10
Points: 17
Average Points Per Game: 0.89
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Smolov seeking West Ham move
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Sources in Russia say that Fyodor Smolov wants to secure a move to West Ham before the World Cup commences this June. The 28-year-old striker, who currently features for Krasnodar and has been repeatedly linked with a move to east London this season is reported to have told associates that he wants to complete his on/off move as soon as possible. However much will depend on the Hammers being willing to meet his asking price, said to be in the region of £12-£15million. West Ham were first linked with a move for the Russian captain, who already speaks fluent English, a matter of days after David Moyes was installed as the club's latest manager last November. Smolov is said to be particularly keen to move to London despite having also been linked with clubs such as Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen in recent months.
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Moyes wants players to 'instigate' positive mood
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
David Moyes has challenged his players to be the "instigators" of a positive atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium this weekend. The Hammers boss, speaking in his latest weekly piece for the Evening Standard called for the fans to get behind the team against Southampton this Saturday - but has also ordered his players to give the crowd something to cheer. Some sections of the 50,000+ crowd turned on the Board immediately after Burnley scored their first goal in the recent 3-0 defeat, leading the chaotic scenes and a number of frustrated fans invading the pitch.
And Moyes admits his team simply can't afford the same situation to arise this weekend. "My message to the players is we have to be the instigators," he said. "We need to be the ones to start things off, set the mood and give the supporters something on which they can focus their support. "I can tell our fans that the players are really together. They've been hard on themselves since the Burnley defeat and they are ready for the remaining eight games of this season. It will make our job so much easier if everyone is behind us on Saturday — and I'm sure they will be. "The problems which occurred against Burnley didn't help us. After the first goal there was a long break because of the issues on the pitch and the players' statistics dropped off dramatically. That proves the importance of the support — and if that can happen so spectacularly when things go wrong, then the opposite is true if we feel that unified support."
Moyes also welcomed the return of Arthur Masuaku, whose trickery and guile have been badly missed during the six matches for which he has been suspended. "Arthur gives us some balance on the left-hand side of the team and he has that pace which worries the opposition," he added. "The FA Cup tie at Wigan a couple of months ago was a big negative for us, not only because we lost but also due to Arthur's own stupidity and a nasty knee injury to Pedro Obiang, who we have really missed in midfield. "We've been patching up since then, and it's great to have Arthur back for the business end of the season."
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Carroll to return before end of season
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
David Moyes has revealed that he expects Andy Carroll to return to first team action earlier than previously predicted. The 29-year-old striker, who was linked with a loan move to Chelsea shortly before being sidelined was expected to miss the rest of the campaign with his latest injury, an ankle problem, sustained back in January. However manager Moyes has confirmed that the former England international is expected to return to first team action within the next few weeks - meaning that he should be able to play a role in West Ham's last "four or five" games this season. "Andy Carroll is still a very important member of our squad and I hope he will be available for the final four or five games, even if it is off the bench at times," Moyes told the Standard. "Before his injury, Andy scored two unbelievably good goals against West Brom in a really important victory for us and I wanted him in Miami to see how I work on a trip like that and also what I expect of him. He is ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery and I am positive that the trip helped him." Carroll has featured just 14 times for West Ham thus far this season, scoring twice and being booked on six occasions.
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West Ham United v Southampton
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th March 2018
By: Preview Percy
Preview Percy's back and he's not happy. And he has calmed down a hellova lot during the Cup/International break. Not that it shows. Here's his take on this weekend's visit of Southampton.....
And so, after what appears to have been a break that lasted a long as a close season without a World Cup or Euros to fill the gap, we return to action. Kick-off is 3pm and our visitors will be Southampton. Had the "most successful stadium move in the world, ever, it really was, honest" (Copyright K. Brady) not resulted in our home ground being unavailable at the start of the season this game would have been played on the south coast. It wasn't so here we are.
Trains are their usual shambles in and out of Liverpool Street and you can add some diversions into the mix on the C2C where there is nothing between Grays and Rainham. So if you have ever fancied a visit to Ockendon this weekend would be a good time to try it. Oh and if you happen to be coming up from Southampton RMT have called another one of their strikes but I don't expect anyone will notice the difference.
So Southampton then. They currently occupy the final relegation spot with 28 points from the 30 played so far. Which is 3 points and one place behind us. They've won 1 drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 6 in the league, a run of form that saw them dispense with services of Pellegrino and turn to the oh so subtle talents of Mark Hughes. The general impression one gets of the appointment is that Hughes wouldn't have been the average Saints fan's first choice to take the helm but needs must when the devil vomits in your kettle as it was so eloquently put in one of the Blackadder series.
Hughes got off to a winning start with a 2-0 win at Wigan in the Cup with the home side finally having run out of referees willing to give penalties like the one they got against us. However, the vagaries of the international break system mean that this will be Hughes' first league match in charge so, having had a free pass for his first game it's from here where the real work starts.
A quick look at the transfer window courtesy of the work experience kid of as yet to be determined gender wearing a hoodie who seems only able to communicate with some strange grunting noises might suggest that the departure of Virgil Van Dijk (imagine Thunderbird 2 piloted by a chimney sweep with a dodgy cockney accent) to Liverpool (where else?) might have led to a slump in form. However, the player effectively left for Liverpool back in the summer when yet again the Scousers got caught red handed breaching every transfer rule in the book. In fact the Dutch defender played only 12 times in the league this season and his last match in Saints colours was as early as 13 December. Just after Christmas it was announced that the player would officially be a Liverpool player with effect from 1 January. There were dark mutterings that the £75m fee contained some sort of premium in Southampton's favour in return for leaving the player out of their December squads and for not taking the transfer rule breaches any further. Let's put it this way, it wouldn't have been the first time Liverpool have paid off rival clubs to avoid trouble with the authorities – eh Tottenham?
The £75m received for Van Dijk didn't send Pellegrino rushing out to the shops, though they did break their transfer record in spending a reported £19m on Monaco's Argentinian striker Guido Carillo. Carillo netted 21 times in 95 appearances in all competitions in the principality. Prior to Monaco Carillo plied his trade at Estudiantes, an Argentinian club that those of us of a certain age will remember getting involved in a brutal Intercontinental Cop tie with Man Utd back in 1968. The Estudiantes side contained a number of players from the Argentinian squad labelled as "animals" by Sir Alf Ramsey in the 1966 World Cup and their conduct two years later did little to counter that description. All of which has nothing to do with this weekend's game but hey it was an amusing diversion down memory lane nonetheless. Back here in Blighty Carillo has yet to open his account in a Southampton shirt which probably only means one thing…..
Top goalscorer at present is Charlie Austin who has 6 in 16 league appearances. Austin was, of course, the subject of one of those "public relations disasters" that never take place according to the Baroness, when David Sullivan opened his gob and proved once again why he should leave the running of a football club to someone who might know what they are doing. George out of Rainbow, for example, wouldn't have done anything as stupid as claiming another club's player was shot as Sullivan did with Austin who, understandably, had slightly different views on the matter. The aftermath was that Sullivan ended up having to issue another of those apologies for a public relations disaster of the sort that never take place according to the Baroness. Worryingly, it seems that Austin is winning his battle against a thigh injury and has, at the time of writing, a 50-50 chance of appearing at the weekend, which probably means only one thing…….
Another who is likely to be fit is full-back Ryan Bertrand. Bertrand withdrew from the England squad for the recent friendlies against The Netherlands and Italy suffering from a back problem though the withdrawal seems to have been "precautionary" in nature, though not as precautionary as Man Utd's constant withdrawal of fully fit players from international friendlies as a precaution against them possibly getting injured over the years. Now that Giggs is managing Wales I do so hope managers start treating him in the same way as he treated Wales managers over the years – what was it one friendly in 9 years?
But I digress.
So what has happened since last we met? Well every time I think this club can't get any lower it does. Let's look at Burnley then. Now as a very old supporter who was brought up on the promise of a thick ear from my Dad if I so much as thought about running onto the pitch, I can't condone incursions of the nature we saw at Burnley. However, I sure as hell understand the sentiment behind them. And there has been a complete load of utter twaddle spoken about the situation much of it from people who know the square root of sod all about football in general and our club in particular.
Take Mayor Khan for example. According to him the crowd unrest was "planned and co-ordinated". Now I don't know who is feeding him such b*llocks but as a senior elected politician really he ought to know better than to open his gob on stuff he knows nothing about. Apparently the evidence for the "planned and co-ordinated" trouble was that it all kicked off at the same time. Clearly Khan and his info suppliers have never tried to make a mobile call within the confines of the stadium. Remember last year even the old bill couldn't get their radios to work in the place. The only communications system that would really work would be a series of tin cans linked with string and I didn't see too many of those about did you?
No, unrest had been building up over a number of weeks culminating in the cancellation of the march that had been due to take place that day. By all accounts the club had been going out of its way to try and ensure that the march didn't take place. If that was the case it was a plan that blew up in their faces in the most spectacular manner with the pitch incursions (and please let's not pander to the gutter press by referring to them as "invasions") and the protests in front of the directors' seats garnering infinitely more publicity than the march ever would have done.
The fact that unrest started simultaneously had more to do with the fact that it had Burnley's first goal as a trigger. Or do they think we ring each other up on those rare occasions we actually score a goal and say "ready to cheer in 3,2,1……."?. So yet another public relations disaster of the sort that we never have according to the Baroness then.
As mentioned column miles have been written about the protests, some wise some less so. A number of columnists have made great play about David Gold's age. Now rightly or wrongly Gold is portrayed as the junior partner of the ruling junta and maybe there is some truth in the notion that his involvement is far less than Sullivan's. Gold's public utterances are certainly less "foot in mouth" than those of his co-chair or his vice-chair. He usually shoehorns in the fact that he lived opposite the Boleyn much in the same way as dodgy Dave Whelan mentions that he broke his leg in a cup final, but that's about it. However, the idea that his age somehow exempts him from criticism is a bit ageist. I do believe that the chap isn't in the rudest of health – and I sincerely wish him no ill in that respect – but football matches always take place in something of a confrontational atmosphere and directors up and down the country know that. Given that, outside some video channels and the occasional other website or blog, only three people in the world think our club is actually well-run, if the criticism is too much for someone of advanced years wouldn't it be a good idea to plan for a comfy retirement? How about a word with that woman who was putting together a group to buy Newcastle until she got fed up with Ashley messing her about? We would probably cost more than the Geordies but on the up side we are in London – I know this because it says so on the bloody badge.
I 'spose I ought to talk about football at some stage (please – Ed). The injury list looks like this:
1) Andy Carroll – broken foot – estimated return possibly Arsenal if they can make their bloody minds up when it's being played
2) Sam Byram – ankle – looks like he's out for the season
3) Pedro Obiang – knee ligaments – he's definitely out for the season
4) Manuel Lanzini – "knock" – picked up a worryingly vague mystery spot of "muscular discomfort" on international duty and is rated 50-50 for this one
5) Cheikh Kouyate – sick – apparently he's been under the weather with an attack of the vapours or some such. Nothing too serious and is 75% likely to play
6) Winston Reid – knee ligaments – out for the season
7) James Collins – hamstring – as predicted Collins' hamstring flared up after the Burnley game and he his rated with only a 25% chance of playing.
On the brighter side Fernandes' ankle has healed enough for him to be in contention. Masuaku is available for selection having a) served out his deserved suspension and b) emerged unscathed from the international break having joined three other players in walking out from the DR Congo squad in a Roy Keane stylie due to a "complete lack of organisation". A spokesman for DR Congo said "We thought he was missing West Ham. We were only trying to make him feel at home" I expect.
With Arthur having decided that the delights of playing for a country hitherto famous only for its appearance as a pointless answer on that quiz show that I can't remember the name of are not for him, and Ogbonna thankfully not being thrown on for the England Italy match, we came away from the international break relatively clear of injury – assuming Lanzini's "knock" isn't too serious. We are struggling at the moment for numbers in defence with Collins' advancing years meaning that he will take a while to recover and Reid's ligaments being horrifyingly knackered pro-tem. With Byram also having an early summer holiday to avoid school holiday time you can expect to see a lot more of young Rice in the starting XI. By the way congrats are due to the lad for his full international debut for Ireland during the break.
Arnie looked in good nick in midweek. On Saturday he should be reminded of a few things and wound up and told to channel his anger at beating this weekend's opponents in the same way he vented his spleen at Stoke away this season. Just remind him of the elbows to the face he took down at their place only to be punished for retaliation. With Mark Hughes now pitch side tell him it's Stoke again, there's the goal now get on with it. Incidentally Hughes's foul-mouth tirade at Arnie when the player was subbed at Stoke this season saw no action from the authorities. Odd that.
So prediction time. Up to now the crowd have been content to boo when the performances have been sub-standard. Burnley changed all that. Although the protests were rightly aimed at the board, the pent-up rage they contained should have brought home to the players just how dissatisfied we all are at the moment infinitely more than half a season's worth of booing has done. So that will have gone down one of two ways. Either we get a reaction which involves sleeves rolled up, teeth gritted and some sheer bloody-mindedness and a determination to win. If we get that Burnley will turn out to have been the low point and the catalyst and kick up the backside that was needed to get something out of the players. If we don't get that reaction Burnley will just turn out to have been a yet another stopping off point en route to the inevitable.
The latter option doesn't bear thinking about and whilst I don't think I will be right I am going to predict a nervy home win on the grounds that I really want to be proved wrong so it's off to Winstone's I will go with the £2.50 I was going to chip in to the club's coffers for a new corner flag (every little helps) and place it on a nervy 2-1 win to us.
Enjoy the game!
When last we met at the Olympic: Lost 0-3 (Premier League 2016)
Remember how we rolled over against a mediocre Brighton side at home this season? It was like that with different coloured stripes.
Referee: Jon Moss
Won his place having successfully completed the phrase "I think I should be a referee because" on the coupon cut out from the side of cornflakes packet. Spent the rest of the week hoovering up cornflakes that had fallen out of the hole in the packet as a result. Incidentally it was confirmed this week that no English referees wold take part at the World Cup. Nice one Riley.
Danger Man: Charlie Austin
Inevitable, isn't it.
Percy's poser:
Last time out we asked you why the good burghers of Burnley are getting in a tizzy about something called "Pexit" as well as the "now in it's 30th year" matter of "Brexit". Thanks are due to Mrs Juliette Disgruntled of Great Baddow who was first out of the digital hat with the answer that "Pexit" is the name given to the plan by a number of East Lancashire's local authorities to leave Lancashire and set up their own unitary authority as a reaction to being "ruled by Preston". Quite what they are going to do with the Yorkshire border remains to be see, Well done Juliette.
For this week's poser we look at the world of public transport. We're not big fans of buses here at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered – too many poor people from council estates all in one place for our liking. However, we do have to slum it once in a while and we are very quick to fill out the compensation forms whenever our journey is delayed or otherwise interrupted. So this week we ask you what happened on a Southampton bus this week that would have had us demanding eye-watering levels of compo? Clue: It involved some horrific crimes against music – and Southampton has produced enough of those for you to be getting on with….
First prize will be a set of ear plugs.
Good luck!
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.
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Russia striker Fyodor Smolov wants to join West Ham before the World Cup
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 29/03/18 11:51am
SSN
Russia striker Fyodor Smolov wants to join West Ham before the World Cup starts this summer, Sky Sports News understands. A source close to the player says West Ham "can end the Cold War" by signing the Krasnodar striker. The 28-year-old scored for Russia in their 3-1 loss to France in St Petersburg on Tuesday. He also scored twice in a friendly against Spain in November 2017. Smolov is valued at between £10m and £13m by Krasnodar and Sky Sports News understands he is expected to leave the Russian club this summer. West Ham were in talks to sign him last summer but manager David Moyes was not convinced that he was strong enough to play in the Premier League. Ligue 1 side Marseille are also interested in a deal for Smolov but the player himself would prefer to move to London. Smolov has scored 50 goals in 67 games for Krasnodar and 12 times in 30 games for Russia.
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BUILDING A FORTRESS
By Blind Hammer 29 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID
Blind Hammer argues for proudly building atmosphere.
We are entering the business end of a campaign which could define our future for the next decade. In an extraordinary season all sections of the Club, from Board, management, Players and finally , some supporters, have lurched towards pressing a self-destruct button. This year will mark my 50th anniversary of my first visit to Upton Park. With the possible exception of the Bond Scheme, I have never known a time in during which we have shot ourselves in the foot not once but regularly in a weird kind of masochistic frenzy.
The determination for self-annihilation has at times astonished me. Despite what people think I am not blind to issues. We can, at the end of the Season, reflect on multiple areas. In future THE Board should refrain from denigration of players still on our Wage bill. Tony Henry's surreal RACIST assertion to, of all people, an agent of a Cameroon player, that West Ham would not recruit African players defies not only decency but basic intelligence. The inexplicable continuation of playing Antonio by successive Managers in anything but his strongest position defies logic. Throughout the season we have suffered from various acts of avoidable player madness, the lowlight of which was Masuaku losing his discipline if not his mind by spitting at Wigan's Nick Powell. No I am not blind to these issues but they most definitely need parking.
What we can do from now until the end of the season is provide the best environment in which our players can perform. It is often said that a Football Club is not defined by its Board, not its Manager, or its Players. All these move on. The constant is its supporters. I will add one more condition; a club is also not defined by its Ground. I loved going to Upton Park but I am a West Ham United and not an Upton Park supporter. Football clubs move. My Father lived through the transition from the Memorial Ground to Upton Park. I am living through the transition from Upton Park to the London Stadium. All Football clubs will, over time, change and move on. West Ham will carry on at the LS just as they carried on after leaving the memorial Ground. Yet the sadness I felt at departing Upton Park is now overwhelmed by despair at the destructive futile negativity from those, even now, determined to create a feel bad climate about the London stadium. Quite how they feel this helps our club in its current predicament bewilders me. Even with Upton Park demolished, some are still loudly branding the LS as a "soulless Athletics Bowl". I respect the right to free speech but I am genuinely puzzled by how anybody can think how this helps our team?
It is also manifestly untrue. Last season, hours before the Spurs game , the Guardian ran its normal lazy and gleeful anti- West Ham article declaring how West Ham were now playing under the handicap of a Stadium with no atmosphere. On the night my sighted guide was a Sheffield Wednesday supporter. He was awestruck by the atmosphere both during and after this memorable victory. He described it as the loudest game he had ever attended. Paul has returned to guide me this season. Although West Ham is gradually becoming his second team he remains essentially neutral and has no axe to grind. He recently attended Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and was amazed at the lack of atmosphere despite their 4-1 victory. He is convinced that comparatively there is far more atmosphere at the LS. If West Ham were winning 4-1 there would have been scenes of delirious excitement.
He is not alone in this assessment. Another Guide, actually an Ipswich town supporter, compared the LS with his attendance at Chelsea, his nearest club. He found criticism of our atmosphere odd. He not only believes the Stadium is far superior to Stamford Bridge, but also that atmosphere exceeds what he experiences at Chelsea.
It is a myth that we are disadvantaged amongst rival cauldrons of positive atmosphere in the Premiership. The atmosphere at grounds with traditionally loyal supporters like West Brom and Stoke has been described as toxic this season. Atmosphere is an issue even for successful clubs like Manchester United. Despite their huge 75,000 capacity, Mourinho has consistently criticised their quietness. Last week the BBC reported United's efforts to wake up their sepulchral crowd with plans for cheerleaders with megaphones and the distribution of Song Sheets. Imagine the field day the Guardian would have had if this was an idea emanating from West Ham.
This is not a problem limited to the united side of Manchester. Over the last 12 months Guardiola and city players have complained about the quiet Etihad atmosphere. In response the City Fan group 1894 launched a campaign to try and rectify this.
This is also not a phenomenon restricted to new Stadia. Only a few months ago Paul Merson was commenting on how quiet it was at Everton's Goodison Park compared to years gone by.
Now of course atmosphere when we are playing badly at the LS is poor. Despite what people say this was also true for Upton Park. It is also clear that when we play well, especially against the best teams, we can make the Stadium rock. The atmosphere early in the season, when we beat Chelsea, was fantastic.
So negative whining about a soulless athletics bowl is precisely that. It is negative and self-defeating. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Our atmosphere can be as good as and probably better than the majority of clubs in the league. It is our job to deliver this in the crucial weeks ahead.
COYI
David Griffith
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WEST HAM FACE STRONG COMPETITION FOR SOUTH AMERICAN MIDFIELDER
ELLIOTT CUFF @CuffWrites
ReadWestHam
West Ham are keen on signing Argentine midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia this summer, according to Portuguese sources. The Hammers have made signing a new midfielder one of their highest priorities, and the Sporting Lisbon enforcer is the latest man to be linked with a switch to the English capital. Portuguese outlet O Jogo, as reported by Sport Witness, claim that several clubs are interested in signing the 26-year old this summer, one of whom are West Ham. Reportedly, West Ham attempted to sign Battaglia in the January transfer window but were unsuccessful. The Lions expect an offer of €30million to begin talks, whereas David Moyes' side only offered €20million, which was rejected. The London Stadium outfit are still pursuing the midfielder, although they haven't yet made another offer. Meanwhile, Italian trio Roma, Napoli and Inter Milan are all said to be interested. Sporting are expected to make a decision on Battaglia's future next month, and given the amount of interest in his services, could well demand more money if they decide to sell.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Friday, March 30
Wednesday, March 28
Daily WHUFC News - 29th March 2018
Positive Patrice Evra plans to keep making fans smile
WHUFC.com
Every Monday, Patrice Evra's latest Instagram video is a must-watch for his
four million-plus followers. The West Ham United defender posts a weird and
wonderful clip of himself to kick-off each week, all of them with a positive
message and all of them ending with his inspiring catchphrase 'I love this
game!' and his infectious laugh. The Frenchman loves making his videos, and
spreading positivity, almost as much as he loves football. "For me, a lot of
people ask me where my ideas come from, but it's just me," he explained.
"Like I always say, the Patrice Evra is the one on the pitch, and Patrice is
the one you see sharing happiness and smiling and being funny and positive.
"To be fair, I don't prepare anything. I just wake up and it's just my brain
playing with me. I'm happy giving a lot of positive attitude to the people
and sometimes I receive messages from people saying they have watched my
video and it's given them a smile during a tough time. "It's funny, but it's
helping a lot of people so I'm really happy because I'm honest with people.
It's not because I'm a football player, but it's because it's me and I'm not
fake and I'm doing it with pleasure."
Evra posted a hilarious video featuring a phone box and some outstanding
dance moves on signing for West Ham in February, but perhaps his most
memorable post since joining the Hammers featured the defender and his
brother riding in a traditional London black cab. The Frenchman revealed
that the securing the vehicle had taken some serious persuasion! "The taxi
driver didn't want me to borrow his taxi. I saw the taxi and asked if I
could drive it, but he said he could lose his licence and he didn't want to
do it. He recognised me and said 'OK, because it's you!' so we did it! "It
was a crazy idea. It was outside my house and I asked him and at the
beginning he thought I wanted him to take me somewhere, but then I asked him
to use the taxi for a video. He said 'No chance', so I said 'Please! It's
really quick! I won't show your registration in the pictures' and then he
accepted and now his cab is really famous. "I have created a monster, to be
fair. I was already known as a footballer, but now people stop me not for a
picture, but for a video of me saying 'I love this game!'. It's nice, and I
created this monster, so I will never complain."
Evra's entertaining clips may have gone viral on a weekly basis, but he is
quick to point out that his number one responsibility is not to make people
laugh, but to work hard and win football matches. "I am not encouraging
people to do what I am doing, because I am doing it after I have fulfilled
my different responsibility on the pitch. "If young guys want to make silly
videos and make people laugh, but not take any responsibility on the pitch,
this is really difficult. I can manage that with my experience because I
don't think I would do that kind of video when I was 20 because now I know
how to focus on my work. "It's only one minute in my life. Some people think
I spend all morning but, actually, I do one shot and it's nothing for me.
It's not changing my life, but it's changing the lives of other people."
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West Ham rookie Rice aiming to make history
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice wants to help Republic of Ireland U21s make history after
securing a dramatic victory over Azerbaijan on Tuesday evening. Rice, who
had returned to U21 duty after making his senior debut in Turkey on Friday,
and his fellow Boys in Green had dominated their European Championship Group
5 qualifier in Dublin, but found Azeri goalkeeper Karim Ibrahimov in
unbeatable form at Tallaght Stadium – until the ninth minute of added time!
It was then that Queens Park Rangers midfielder Ryan Manning curled a
free-kick into the penalty area, the ball was knocked down and Yeovil Town's
Shaun Donnellan bundled it into the net, sparking wild celebrations on the
pitch and in the stands. Leading those celebrations was Rice – alongside
jubilant West Ham United teammate and captain Josh Cullen – and the teenager
now has his sights set on helping Ireland's U21s qualify for the European
finals for the first time in their history. "To motivate myself to get back
[for the U21 match] was an easy thing to do," Rice told RTE Sport. "It was a
must-win game and after the high that I had in Turkey, I knew that this
would be a more important game to be honest, as it was a qualifier. "I was
just looking forward to getting out there for the 21s, getting another
appearance and getting a win." "We want to be the first team to do it. I've
come back tonight to play a massive game, it's great been away but it helped
that was the week before and I could come back again and play for Ireland
Under-21s. I think it's important that I keep playing international football
whatever level it is."
The 19-year-old's composed performance in a deep-lying midfield role earned
praise from his U21s manager Noel King, who was delighted with the Hammers'
commitment and maturity. "It was a very difficult evening for Declan to come
back," said King. "He is a terrific player and the expectation maybe that
people had on him to be a Messi because of what he's done [against Turkey,
when he was named Man of the Match]. He acquitted himself excellently."
Tuesday's victory means Rice, Cullen, King and company sit second in Group
5, three points behind leaders Germany, but with a game in-hand against
Kosovo in early September. Win that and the Irish will take on the Germans
in two winner-takes-all ties to complete the qualifying round. The nine
qualifying group winners qualify for next summer's finals automatically,
while the four runners-up with the best records will play-off for two
remaining spots. Rice is determined that Ireland are among the 12 teams
competing for the big prize in Italy. "To get the win coming so late makes
it special. With Germany and Kosovo drawing, that works in our favour with
us winning. "Noel and the backroom team have been excellent throughout the
campaign. The boys, we're all level-headed lads. We're all looking to Italy
in 2019 and that's where we want to go. No one has qualified before and we
want to be the first team to do it."
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Hammers U18s claim 2-0 win over Tottenham
WHUFC.com
Goals from Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry earned West Ham United U18s a
2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and extended the side's winning run to four
matches. A close first half saw both sides miss opportunities but Spyridis
continued his fine goalscoring form since his return from injury with a
confident effort ten minutes into the second period. Korrey Henry would then
double West Ham's advantage, powering home from the penalty spot after
Spyridis was fouled in the area. The result continues the U18s' excellent
form, with the side winning their last four fixtures. It took the Hammers
just 15 seconds to register a decent chance on goal as Rosaire Longelo burst
into space on the left flank. Just before he could pull the trigger, a
strong tackle saw the ball go out for a corner. Spyridis fired an effort
just over from the right before Bernardo Rosa just missed after a good move.
A terrific period of play then allowed Jeremy Ngakia to drive forward and
cause trouble for Tottenham on the right, but once again the ball was over
the bar. Despite controlling the first half possession, Tottenham saw
opportunities limited and could only muster one effort – a shot from
distance that went over the cross-bar.
Debutant goalkeeper Joseph Anang was forced into a good save just a few
minutes after the restart, before the Hammers opened the scoring a few
moments later.
Spurs goalkeeper De Bie failed to deal with a ball into the box, which fell
kindly for Spyridis, with the Cyprian gratefully slotting home for his
fourth goal in three contests. The striker was heavily involved for West
Ham's second as well. Excellent work from Spyridis got the forward into the
box, where he was brought down. Henry stepped up and confidently dispatched
the resulting penalty. There were also chances for Rosaire Longelo and
Jeremy Ngakia, while Tottenham pressed to get back into the game. The
closest the away side came almost resulted in a goal, only for captain Ben
Wells to cap an excellent performance with a block on the line.
West Ham United: Anang, Barrett, Mingi, Wells, Nkagia, Henry, Lewis, R
Longelo, Bernardo, Watson (Adarkwa 78), Spyridis (Wilson-Esbrand 81)
Subs not used: Matrevics, El Mhassani, Constaninou
Goals: Spyridis 55, Henry 74
Tottenham Hotspur: De Bie, Hinds, Reynolds, Oakley-Boothe, Skipp, Dinzeyi,
Mukendi (Markanday 60), Shashoua (Thorpe 71), Griffiths, Patterson, Richards
Subs not used: Lock, Freeman, Statham
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Wells praises 'great team effort' in Spurs victory
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U18s captain Ben Wells has hailed the tremendous team effort
by the side in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Second-half finishes by
Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry secured a fourth straight win for the
young Hammers after a tough fought match in difficult conditions at Little
Heath. Wells recognises the quality that Wednesday's opponents possessed
but is delighted with how West Ham worked as a unit to earn another three
points. "It was a great team effort by the boys," Wells told whufc.com. "We
knew our tactics and the guys kept to it really well. We worked our socks
off so credit to the entire team. It was really a great team effort and,
when we got our chances, we took them. "Tottenham deserve praise as well,
they're a good side and they are good technically. They pass the ball well
and we had to be patient and wait for our chance. We knew our opportunities
would come and, once they did, we took them and scored the two goals. It's a
great result of us."
The win over Spurs means the U18s have now claimed victories in their last
four league matches, having also beaten Norwich City, Brighton and Hove
Albion, and Leicester City. Wells puts that run of form down to a switch in
formation, with the side now operating with a three-man defensive line, and
insists that the consecutive wins have been a major boost for the side. He
continued: "This run of form we're on has been amazing for our confidence.
We've changed our formation to play with three centre-backs and then
wing-backs, and I think we've been more solid because of that. "We all know
our roles and our responsibilities, and everyone is taking a real interest
in how we can be better. The mood because of that has been excellent."
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Chicharito dreams of World Cup glory after reaching 100 caps
WHUFC.com
Chicharito is dreaming of winning the FIFA World Cup after making yet more
history with the Mexico national team. The West Ham United striker won his
100th cap in a friendly with Croatia in Miami on Tuesday evening, joining a
select band of just 13 players to have reached a century of appearances for
El Tri. While Mexico ended up on the losing side as Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic
scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot, Chicharito is not giving
up on fulfilling his ambition of adding a World Cup winner's medal to an
already impressive collection of titles. "Nobody told me that I couldn't
join the best leagues in the world, win the Premier League twice, reach a
Champions League final," said the 29-year-old, who is just one goal short of
50 for his country. "No one told Hugo [Sanchez] that he couldn't go to the
best club in the world, Real Madrid, be the 'Pentapichichi' (leading
goalscorer in Spanish football). No-one told Rafa [Marquez] that he couldn't
win two Champions Leagues or play in all the World Cups he has. "We want to
be world champions, of course, and that's why we're going [to Russia]. We
don't want to put limits in any way. A lot of people complain that it's not
realistic and we're not realists, but the reality is that people who don't
dream and aspire to more and more are maybe the ones that are confused."
Chicharito is set to go to his third World Cup finals with Mexico, having
appeared in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, but he will be acutely
aware that they have never gone past the quarter-finals in 16 previous
attempts. Juan Carlos Osorio's squad have been drawn in Group F alongside
reigning champions Germany, Sweden and South Korea at this summer's finals.
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Sparky's nightmare
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 28th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Marko Arnautovic will be aiming to make new Southampton boss Mark Hughes eat
his words when the latter visits the Olympic Stadium this weekend. Hughes -
known as 'Sparky' during his playing career - was recently appointed as the
new Saints manager, but was still in charge of Stoke when he accused the
Austrian international of "burning his bridges" with City supporters last
December. The Welshman was also seen gesticulating angrily towards
Arnautovic - whom he referred to as a "f***ing ungrateful f***er" - when the
latter was substituted by David Moyes towards the end of West Ham's 3-0 win
at the bet365 Stadium.
And now West Ham's number seven will be hoping to rub further salt into
Hughes' wounds when the two go head-to-head again this weekend in what is a
must-win game for both teams, given their precarious positions in the
Premier League. Arnautovic goes into the game in peak form having scored
twice for his country on Friday evening against Slovenia before grabbing
another goal on Tuesday night in a 4-0 win over European minnows Luxembourg
(see above). He has already scored seven times for West Ham so far in his
last 14 games, having failed to score in his first 13 appearances after
moving from Stoke in a club record £25million switch.
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SOME TIMES YOU JUST NEED TO TAKE A BREAK, BUT .....
By S J Chandos 28 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID
Firstly, apologies to my readers for not posting on the site recently. This
was partly because I was a bit over-extended at work, but also because I was
genuinely stunned and disappointed by the relative lack of activity in the
winter transfer window. That allied to the decision to sell Ayew to Swansea
City (a obvious relegation rival), put Burke back out on loan and flog Fonte
were moves that I struggled to comprehend. It made a dangerously 'thin'
squad even thinner and particularly vulnerable to the adverse impact of
injuries and suspensions. Do not get me wrong, I can understand the club
wanting to sell these players, but just not in the winter transfer window,
in the midst of a relegation battle. In my view, if they were to be sold it
should have been delayed until the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that
the club made the decision to take the inflated fees offered by other clubs
at that juncture, which presumably may not have been on offer in the summer.
But with no adequate replacements coming in to the squad it was always a
decidedly dicey strategy and so it proved.
When the almost inevitable happened, Reid, Collins, Byram, Obiang, Lanzini,
Arnautovic et al all fell injured (at various times and durations), the
squad become very stretched. Of the players brought in Mario looks decent,
without so far overly impressing, and one can only speculate on the
rationale for bringing Jordan Hughill in to the club. He has looked out of
his depth, when he has appeared, so far, and this is probably the reason for
his failure to hitherto start any PL matches. Perhaps there are hidden
depths to Hughill's talents, if so lets hope he reveals them soon, because
if Arnautovic and Hernandez get injured over the next few key matches, he is
going to have to be pressed in to first team action!
In short, the squad was left far too thin in the summer. Admittedly
Hernandez and Arnautovic were good additions, but too many players were
allowed to leave without signing replacements. Then those mistakes were
further compounded in the winter window. Remember this was the opportunity
to augment the strength of the squad and better equip us for the impending
relegation battle. And the club blew it right royally. Why? It appears from
reports that the club did not have the transfer funds readily available to
buy new players outright and they ended up scrambling around trying to get
players in on loan with a view to a permanent deal. The board might say that
it was all down to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, well maybe so, but
one has to ask why these seem to regularly restrict/limit our transfer
activities more than other PL clubs (and I am not referring to the so-called
top four elite)?
Naturally, all of this led to fan unrest and the formation of action groups
protesting the situation at the club. In turn, this gave rise to plans to
stage a protest march prior to the Burnley game, which was then subsequently
postponed at the last moment. And on the back of that occurred the horrible
spectacle at the Burnley match. I fully understand the anger of fans and the
feeling that they have been misled and badly let down. In essence the board
broke a golden rule, which is that if you raise expectations to
unprecedented levels (i.e. promises of Champions League football played in a
world class arena) then you bloody well better deliver! In fairness,
expectations were probably also raised by the performance of the team in the
final season at Upton Park. However the subsequent two seasons at the London
Stadium have been extremely disappointing. In both of the last two seasons
the club have had c.57,000 sell outs at the LS and that is a clear
demonstration that the fans bought in to the board's vision of the club's
future. And there is also no escaping the conclusion that they have been
badly let down in that respect.
In all honesty I am ok with the London Stadium and I recognise its potential
(in the right circumstances) to assist the club's future progress. There is
undoubtedly a lot of residual nostalgia for Upton Park and that was
inevitable to a certain extent. However, I firmly believe that if we were
watching an exciting and aspirant team every week, challenging at the top
end of the PL, most fans would be, if not happy, at least accepting of the
LS as our new home. In a nutshell, the poor performance of the team has
focused and exacerbated the malcontent that we are witnessing. A successful
team would have facilitated our acclimatisation to a new (and very
different) stadium environment, lack of success has done the opposite. So,
if the board are feeling the heat from fans than they must recognise that
they bare ultimate responsibility for that unfortunate state of affairs.
Now, in addition, we have the media and others using the Burnley
disturbances as a stick to beat the club. The Mayor of London would
obviously like to re-negotiate key aspects of the club's agreement with the
Stadium company. Unfortunately for him, West Ham's board have a water tight
99 year contract and that can only be revised with the club's consent. The
club are probably prepared in principle to stomp up more cash, but the price
for that must be more control over the stadium. In turn, the Mayor's only
current weapon is to use the weight of public opinion against the club to
force concessions. Within that context, the Burnley disturbances were
probably a bit fortuitous for the Mayor and he arguably was not above
exploiting for his own purposes. Hopefully, the recent meeting between the
Mayor and Brady will see an end to posturing on both sides and the adoption
of a more realistic and co-operative approach. We shall see?
And on the pitch, can we pull away from the relegation zone in the coming
weeks? The current relegation battle is the closest that I can remember.
Usually, a bit of daylight forms between the bottom three or four clubs and
the rest. This year it is so close that any one of eight or nine teams could
be relegated. The pundits have grown pessimistic about West Ham's chances
because of the dramatic decline in our results since the Watford victory.
After all, losing three matches in a row 4-1, 4-1 and 3-0 is not exactly
good at this vital stage of the season. Fortunately the three week FA
Cup/International break may have come at just the right time for us. It has
allowed Moyes to give the squad warm weather training and concentrate upon
sorting out the problems on the pitch. Was the Miami trip worthwhile? As
they say, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' and we will see if the
team's form takes an upturn this Saturday, versus Southampton.
The importance of this match cannot be over-stated and the
performance/result will tell us much about the probability of our survival.
In essence, we must defeat Southampton and follow it up with another home
victory against Stoke City. I think that our survival necessitates a minimum
of six points from our next three matches. As for Chelsea away, I am not
banking on getting a positive result, but if we could grind out a draw (a la
the home match against Arsenal and the away fixture at Spurs) so much the
better for our chances of survival.
The one thing that cannot be stressed enough is that we supporters must be
totally focused on supporting the team in the next two vital home matches.
Protests can wait, we are entering the business end of the season and it is
absolutely crucial that we end it as a PL club. If we stay in the PL, we can
hopefully turn things around, if we are relegated it becomes a whole
different, unstable and problematic situation. This is not the 1970s, 1980s
or even early 1990s, PL finance is king, clubs do not necessarily bounce
straight back and relegation can lead to a club being stripped of key
playing assets and going in to long-term stagnation. The fans have made
their views known, now they must give the team 100% support as only West Ham
fans can. Remember, at the end of the day players come and players go, but
the fans are constant. We, the loyal fans, will be the only ones without an
escape clause from Championship football. So, lets do all we can, personally
and collectively, to make sure that toxic scenario does not transpire. Our
club is in trouble and we must answer the call to arms via our staunch
support.
As I said, in the title, sometimes you just need to take a break, but ……
love of this club always draws you back to the fight!
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Every Monday, Patrice Evra's latest Instagram video is a must-watch for his
four million-plus followers. The West Ham United defender posts a weird and
wonderful clip of himself to kick-off each week, all of them with a positive
message and all of them ending with his inspiring catchphrase 'I love this
game!' and his infectious laugh. The Frenchman loves making his videos, and
spreading positivity, almost as much as he loves football. "For me, a lot of
people ask me where my ideas come from, but it's just me," he explained.
"Like I always say, the Patrice Evra is the one on the pitch, and Patrice is
the one you see sharing happiness and smiling and being funny and positive.
"To be fair, I don't prepare anything. I just wake up and it's just my brain
playing with me. I'm happy giving a lot of positive attitude to the people
and sometimes I receive messages from people saying they have watched my
video and it's given them a smile during a tough time. "It's funny, but it's
helping a lot of people so I'm really happy because I'm honest with people.
It's not because I'm a football player, but it's because it's me and I'm not
fake and I'm doing it with pleasure."
Evra posted a hilarious video featuring a phone box and some outstanding
dance moves on signing for West Ham in February, but perhaps his most
memorable post since joining the Hammers featured the defender and his
brother riding in a traditional London black cab. The Frenchman revealed
that the securing the vehicle had taken some serious persuasion! "The taxi
driver didn't want me to borrow his taxi. I saw the taxi and asked if I
could drive it, but he said he could lose his licence and he didn't want to
do it. He recognised me and said 'OK, because it's you!' so we did it! "It
was a crazy idea. It was outside my house and I asked him and at the
beginning he thought I wanted him to take me somewhere, but then I asked him
to use the taxi for a video. He said 'No chance', so I said 'Please! It's
really quick! I won't show your registration in the pictures' and then he
accepted and now his cab is really famous. "I have created a monster, to be
fair. I was already known as a footballer, but now people stop me not for a
picture, but for a video of me saying 'I love this game!'. It's nice, and I
created this monster, so I will never complain."
Evra's entertaining clips may have gone viral on a weekly basis, but he is
quick to point out that his number one responsibility is not to make people
laugh, but to work hard and win football matches. "I am not encouraging
people to do what I am doing, because I am doing it after I have fulfilled
my different responsibility on the pitch. "If young guys want to make silly
videos and make people laugh, but not take any responsibility on the pitch,
this is really difficult. I can manage that with my experience because I
don't think I would do that kind of video when I was 20 because now I know
how to focus on my work. "It's only one minute in my life. Some people think
I spend all morning but, actually, I do one shot and it's nothing for me.
It's not changing my life, but it's changing the lives of other people."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham rookie Rice aiming to make history
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice wants to help Republic of Ireland U21s make history after
securing a dramatic victory over Azerbaijan on Tuesday evening. Rice, who
had returned to U21 duty after making his senior debut in Turkey on Friday,
and his fellow Boys in Green had dominated their European Championship Group
5 qualifier in Dublin, but found Azeri goalkeeper Karim Ibrahimov in
unbeatable form at Tallaght Stadium – until the ninth minute of added time!
It was then that Queens Park Rangers midfielder Ryan Manning curled a
free-kick into the penalty area, the ball was knocked down and Yeovil Town's
Shaun Donnellan bundled it into the net, sparking wild celebrations on the
pitch and in the stands. Leading those celebrations was Rice – alongside
jubilant West Ham United teammate and captain Josh Cullen – and the teenager
now has his sights set on helping Ireland's U21s qualify for the European
finals for the first time in their history. "To motivate myself to get back
[for the U21 match] was an easy thing to do," Rice told RTE Sport. "It was a
must-win game and after the high that I had in Turkey, I knew that this
would be a more important game to be honest, as it was a qualifier. "I was
just looking forward to getting out there for the 21s, getting another
appearance and getting a win." "We want to be the first team to do it. I've
come back tonight to play a massive game, it's great been away but it helped
that was the week before and I could come back again and play for Ireland
Under-21s. I think it's important that I keep playing international football
whatever level it is."
The 19-year-old's composed performance in a deep-lying midfield role earned
praise from his U21s manager Noel King, who was delighted with the Hammers'
commitment and maturity. "It was a very difficult evening for Declan to come
back," said King. "He is a terrific player and the expectation maybe that
people had on him to be a Messi because of what he's done [against Turkey,
when he was named Man of the Match]. He acquitted himself excellently."
Tuesday's victory means Rice, Cullen, King and company sit second in Group
5, three points behind leaders Germany, but with a game in-hand against
Kosovo in early September. Win that and the Irish will take on the Germans
in two winner-takes-all ties to complete the qualifying round. The nine
qualifying group winners qualify for next summer's finals automatically,
while the four runners-up with the best records will play-off for two
remaining spots. Rice is determined that Ireland are among the 12 teams
competing for the big prize in Italy. "To get the win coming so late makes
it special. With Germany and Kosovo drawing, that works in our favour with
us winning. "Noel and the backroom team have been excellent throughout the
campaign. The boys, we're all level-headed lads. We're all looking to Italy
in 2019 and that's where we want to go. No one has qualified before and we
want to be the first team to do it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers U18s claim 2-0 win over Tottenham
WHUFC.com
Goals from Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry earned West Ham United U18s a
2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and extended the side's winning run to four
matches. A close first half saw both sides miss opportunities but Spyridis
continued his fine goalscoring form since his return from injury with a
confident effort ten minutes into the second period. Korrey Henry would then
double West Ham's advantage, powering home from the penalty spot after
Spyridis was fouled in the area. The result continues the U18s' excellent
form, with the side winning their last four fixtures. It took the Hammers
just 15 seconds to register a decent chance on goal as Rosaire Longelo burst
into space on the left flank. Just before he could pull the trigger, a
strong tackle saw the ball go out for a corner. Spyridis fired an effort
just over from the right before Bernardo Rosa just missed after a good move.
A terrific period of play then allowed Jeremy Ngakia to drive forward and
cause trouble for Tottenham on the right, but once again the ball was over
the bar. Despite controlling the first half possession, Tottenham saw
opportunities limited and could only muster one effort – a shot from
distance that went over the cross-bar.
Debutant goalkeeper Joseph Anang was forced into a good save just a few
minutes after the restart, before the Hammers opened the scoring a few
moments later.
Spurs goalkeeper De Bie failed to deal with a ball into the box, which fell
kindly for Spyridis, with the Cyprian gratefully slotting home for his
fourth goal in three contests. The striker was heavily involved for West
Ham's second as well. Excellent work from Spyridis got the forward into the
box, where he was brought down. Henry stepped up and confidently dispatched
the resulting penalty. There were also chances for Rosaire Longelo and
Jeremy Ngakia, while Tottenham pressed to get back into the game. The
closest the away side came almost resulted in a goal, only for captain Ben
Wells to cap an excellent performance with a block on the line.
West Ham United: Anang, Barrett, Mingi, Wells, Nkagia, Henry, Lewis, R
Longelo, Bernardo, Watson (Adarkwa 78), Spyridis (Wilson-Esbrand 81)
Subs not used: Matrevics, El Mhassani, Constaninou
Goals: Spyridis 55, Henry 74
Tottenham Hotspur: De Bie, Hinds, Reynolds, Oakley-Boothe, Skipp, Dinzeyi,
Mukendi (Markanday 60), Shashoua (Thorpe 71), Griffiths, Patterson, Richards
Subs not used: Lock, Freeman, Statham
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wells praises 'great team effort' in Spurs victory
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U18s captain Ben Wells has hailed the tremendous team effort
by the side in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Second-half finishes by
Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry secured a fourth straight win for the
young Hammers after a tough fought match in difficult conditions at Little
Heath. Wells recognises the quality that Wednesday's opponents possessed
but is delighted with how West Ham worked as a unit to earn another three
points. "It was a great team effort by the boys," Wells told whufc.com. "We
knew our tactics and the guys kept to it really well. We worked our socks
off so credit to the entire team. It was really a great team effort and,
when we got our chances, we took them. "Tottenham deserve praise as well,
they're a good side and they are good technically. They pass the ball well
and we had to be patient and wait for our chance. We knew our opportunities
would come and, once they did, we took them and scored the two goals. It's a
great result of us."
The win over Spurs means the U18s have now claimed victories in their last
four league matches, having also beaten Norwich City, Brighton and Hove
Albion, and Leicester City. Wells puts that run of form down to a switch in
formation, with the side now operating with a three-man defensive line, and
insists that the consecutive wins have been a major boost for the side. He
continued: "This run of form we're on has been amazing for our confidence.
We've changed our formation to play with three centre-backs and then
wing-backs, and I think we've been more solid because of that. "We all know
our roles and our responsibilities, and everyone is taking a real interest
in how we can be better. The mood because of that has been excellent."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chicharito dreams of World Cup glory after reaching 100 caps
WHUFC.com
Chicharito is dreaming of winning the FIFA World Cup after making yet more
history with the Mexico national team. The West Ham United striker won his
100th cap in a friendly with Croatia in Miami on Tuesday evening, joining a
select band of just 13 players to have reached a century of appearances for
El Tri. While Mexico ended up on the losing side as Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic
scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot, Chicharito is not giving
up on fulfilling his ambition of adding a World Cup winner's medal to an
already impressive collection of titles. "Nobody told me that I couldn't
join the best leagues in the world, win the Premier League twice, reach a
Champions League final," said the 29-year-old, who is just one goal short of
50 for his country. "No one told Hugo [Sanchez] that he couldn't go to the
best club in the world, Real Madrid, be the 'Pentapichichi' (leading
goalscorer in Spanish football). No-one told Rafa [Marquez] that he couldn't
win two Champions Leagues or play in all the World Cups he has. "We want to
be world champions, of course, and that's why we're going [to Russia]. We
don't want to put limits in any way. A lot of people complain that it's not
realistic and we're not realists, but the reality is that people who don't
dream and aspire to more and more are maybe the ones that are confused."
Chicharito is set to go to his third World Cup finals with Mexico, having
appeared in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, but he will be acutely
aware that they have never gone past the quarter-finals in 16 previous
attempts. Juan Carlos Osorio's squad have been drawn in Group F alongside
reigning champions Germany, Sweden and South Korea at this summer's finals.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sparky's nightmare
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 28th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Marko Arnautovic will be aiming to make new Southampton boss Mark Hughes eat
his words when the latter visits the Olympic Stadium this weekend. Hughes -
known as 'Sparky' during his playing career - was recently appointed as the
new Saints manager, but was still in charge of Stoke when he accused the
Austrian international of "burning his bridges" with City supporters last
December. The Welshman was also seen gesticulating angrily towards
Arnautovic - whom he referred to as a "f***ing ungrateful f***er" - when the
latter was substituted by David Moyes towards the end of West Ham's 3-0 win
at the bet365 Stadium.
And now West Ham's number seven will be hoping to rub further salt into
Hughes' wounds when the two go head-to-head again this weekend in what is a
must-win game for both teams, given their precarious positions in the
Premier League. Arnautovic goes into the game in peak form having scored
twice for his country on Friday evening against Slovenia before grabbing
another goal on Tuesday night in a 4-0 win over European minnows Luxembourg
(see above). He has already scored seven times for West Ham so far in his
last 14 games, having failed to score in his first 13 appearances after
moving from Stoke in a club record £25million switch.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SOME TIMES YOU JUST NEED TO TAKE A BREAK, BUT .....
By S J Chandos 28 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID
Firstly, apologies to my readers for not posting on the site recently. This
was partly because I was a bit over-extended at work, but also because I was
genuinely stunned and disappointed by the relative lack of activity in the
winter transfer window. That allied to the decision to sell Ayew to Swansea
City (a obvious relegation rival), put Burke back out on loan and flog Fonte
were moves that I struggled to comprehend. It made a dangerously 'thin'
squad even thinner and particularly vulnerable to the adverse impact of
injuries and suspensions. Do not get me wrong, I can understand the club
wanting to sell these players, but just not in the winter transfer window,
in the midst of a relegation battle. In my view, if they were to be sold it
should have been delayed until the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that
the club made the decision to take the inflated fees offered by other clubs
at that juncture, which presumably may not have been on offer in the summer.
But with no adequate replacements coming in to the squad it was always a
decidedly dicey strategy and so it proved.
When the almost inevitable happened, Reid, Collins, Byram, Obiang, Lanzini,
Arnautovic et al all fell injured (at various times and durations), the
squad become very stretched. Of the players brought in Mario looks decent,
without so far overly impressing, and one can only speculate on the
rationale for bringing Jordan Hughill in to the club. He has looked out of
his depth, when he has appeared, so far, and this is probably the reason for
his failure to hitherto start any PL matches. Perhaps there are hidden
depths to Hughill's talents, if so lets hope he reveals them soon, because
if Arnautovic and Hernandez get injured over the next few key matches, he is
going to have to be pressed in to first team action!
In short, the squad was left far too thin in the summer. Admittedly
Hernandez and Arnautovic were good additions, but too many players were
allowed to leave without signing replacements. Then those mistakes were
further compounded in the winter window. Remember this was the opportunity
to augment the strength of the squad and better equip us for the impending
relegation battle. And the club blew it right royally. Why? It appears from
reports that the club did not have the transfer funds readily available to
buy new players outright and they ended up scrambling around trying to get
players in on loan with a view to a permanent deal. The board might say that
it was all down to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, well maybe so, but
one has to ask why these seem to regularly restrict/limit our transfer
activities more than other PL clubs (and I am not referring to the so-called
top four elite)?
Naturally, all of this led to fan unrest and the formation of action groups
protesting the situation at the club. In turn, this gave rise to plans to
stage a protest march prior to the Burnley game, which was then subsequently
postponed at the last moment. And on the back of that occurred the horrible
spectacle at the Burnley match. I fully understand the anger of fans and the
feeling that they have been misled and badly let down. In essence the board
broke a golden rule, which is that if you raise expectations to
unprecedented levels (i.e. promises of Champions League football played in a
world class arena) then you bloody well better deliver! In fairness,
expectations were probably also raised by the performance of the team in the
final season at Upton Park. However the subsequent two seasons at the London
Stadium have been extremely disappointing. In both of the last two seasons
the club have had c.57,000 sell outs at the LS and that is a clear
demonstration that the fans bought in to the board's vision of the club's
future. And there is also no escaping the conclusion that they have been
badly let down in that respect.
In all honesty I am ok with the London Stadium and I recognise its potential
(in the right circumstances) to assist the club's future progress. There is
undoubtedly a lot of residual nostalgia for Upton Park and that was
inevitable to a certain extent. However, I firmly believe that if we were
watching an exciting and aspirant team every week, challenging at the top
end of the PL, most fans would be, if not happy, at least accepting of the
LS as our new home. In a nutshell, the poor performance of the team has
focused and exacerbated the malcontent that we are witnessing. A successful
team would have facilitated our acclimatisation to a new (and very
different) stadium environment, lack of success has done the opposite. So,
if the board are feeling the heat from fans than they must recognise that
they bare ultimate responsibility for that unfortunate state of affairs.
Now, in addition, we have the media and others using the Burnley
disturbances as a stick to beat the club. The Mayor of London would
obviously like to re-negotiate key aspects of the club's agreement with the
Stadium company. Unfortunately for him, West Ham's board have a water tight
99 year contract and that can only be revised with the club's consent. The
club are probably prepared in principle to stomp up more cash, but the price
for that must be more control over the stadium. In turn, the Mayor's only
current weapon is to use the weight of public opinion against the club to
force concessions. Within that context, the Burnley disturbances were
probably a bit fortuitous for the Mayor and he arguably was not above
exploiting for his own purposes. Hopefully, the recent meeting between the
Mayor and Brady will see an end to posturing on both sides and the adoption
of a more realistic and co-operative approach. We shall see?
And on the pitch, can we pull away from the relegation zone in the coming
weeks? The current relegation battle is the closest that I can remember.
Usually, a bit of daylight forms between the bottom three or four clubs and
the rest. This year it is so close that any one of eight or nine teams could
be relegated. The pundits have grown pessimistic about West Ham's chances
because of the dramatic decline in our results since the Watford victory.
After all, losing three matches in a row 4-1, 4-1 and 3-0 is not exactly
good at this vital stage of the season. Fortunately the three week FA
Cup/International break may have come at just the right time for us. It has
allowed Moyes to give the squad warm weather training and concentrate upon
sorting out the problems on the pitch. Was the Miami trip worthwhile? As
they say, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' and we will see if the
team's form takes an upturn this Saturday, versus Southampton.
The importance of this match cannot be over-stated and the
performance/result will tell us much about the probability of our survival.
In essence, we must defeat Southampton and follow it up with another home
victory against Stoke City. I think that our survival necessitates a minimum
of six points from our next three matches. As for Chelsea away, I am not
banking on getting a positive result, but if we could grind out a draw (a la
the home match against Arsenal and the away fixture at Spurs) so much the
better for our chances of survival.
The one thing that cannot be stressed enough is that we supporters must be
totally focused on supporting the team in the next two vital home matches.
Protests can wait, we are entering the business end of the season and it is
absolutely crucial that we end it as a PL club. If we stay in the PL, we can
hopefully turn things around, if we are relegated it becomes a whole
different, unstable and problematic situation. This is not the 1970s, 1980s
or even early 1990s, PL finance is king, clubs do not necessarily bounce
straight back and relegation can lead to a club being stripped of key
playing assets and going in to long-term stagnation. The fans have made
their views known, now they must give the team 100% support as only West Ham
fans can. Remember, at the end of the day players come and players go, but
the fans are constant. We, the loyal fans, will be the only ones without an
escape clause from Championship football. So, lets do all we can, personally
and collectively, to make sure that toxic scenario does not transpire. Our
club is in trouble and we must answer the call to arms via our staunch
support.
As I said, in the title, sometimes you just need to take a break, but ……
love of this club always draws you back to the fight!
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Daily WHUFC News - 28th March 2018
A message from our captain Mark Noble
WHUFC.com
Dear fellow Hammer,
I am writing to you as a proud captain and lifelong supporter of our great
football club, West Ham United. We have eight Premier League matches left to
play and, if we win three or four of them, we should achieve what every one
of us wants to achieve and that is stay in this division. Five of those
eight games are at London Stadium and, with your energy and support from the
stands, we will have a much better chance of getting the wins we need. As
I've said many times, results are all that matter, and that is true now,
more than ever. Our last home game against Burnley was one of my toughest
days in nearly 20 years at West Ham, and I never want to see scenes like
that again. None of us do. I desperately want us to do well and for everyone
to be happy, players and fans, but that day was one which none of us can
look back on with any pride.
We need everyone to be together and to be behind the team, because positive
vibes really do inspire the players on the pitch. On the flip side,
negativity can undoubtedly affect players' concentration and confidence, as
I believe it did in the second half against Burnley. We need you all,
full-stop, and we cannot perform to our best and win the matches we need to
win without you. When you are on song, there really are no supporters better
at inspiring their team than West Ham supporters. I can understand the
frustrations some of you are feeling. This season has not gone how we'd all
hoped it would, but I would ask you to channel your passion to get behind
the team, help us get through the season with our Premier League status
intact, and we can sit down and reassess things in the summer.
We need the London Stadium to be buzzing for our five remaining home games,
so please unite behind the lads and give us the best possible chance to
deliver the results we need to stay up.
Come on you Irons!
Mark Noble
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Birthday boy Mullins recalls West Ham's 'fantastic' Great Escape
WHUFC.com
Amazingly, it is nearly eleven years since West Ham United pulled off what
has become known as the 'Great Escape' from relegation from the Premier
League.
After suffering a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at the
Boleyn Ground on 4 March 2007, the Hammers were ten points from safety with
just nine matches left to play. Then, something special happened, as Alan
Curbishley's squad turned things around in sensational style, winning seven
of those remaining nine games to stay up after winning 1-0 at champions
Manchester United on an unforgettable final day. Among the 14 heroes who
helped the Hammers pull off the greatest escape in the Club's long and
illustrious history that famous afternoon was midfielder Hayden Mullins, who
replaced match-winner Carlos Tevez for the eight final nerve-wracking
minutes at Old Trafford. "Despite the fact that they had already won the
Premier League, going to Manchester United on the final day of the season
knowing that we probably needed to get something from the game to stay up
was quite a daunting prospect," recalled Mullins, who celebrates his 39th
birthday on Tuesday. "We'd had a rollercoaster of a season and it was sad
that Alan Pardew lost his job halfway through, because I think if he had
been able to bring in the players that came in the January – the likes of
Lucas Neill, Matty Upson and Luis Boa Morte – then I'm sure we would have
also stayed up under him.
"We went on a magnificent run at the end of the season, though, inspired by
Carlos Tevez, and he was our hero again at Old Trafford. "I remember after
about 60 minutes, they brought on Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul
Scholes – and we all just looked at each other and thought: 'Here we go!'
"Somehow, though, we held on to win and the feeling at the final whistle was
absolutely fantastic. It's up there with the biggest achievements in my time
at West Ham."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Every West Ham United player in international action on Tuesday
WHUFC.com
Tuesday promises to be a busy day for West Ham United's internationals, with
a potential 19 players in action for their countries all the way from senior
level to under-16s.
Topping the bill is a possible head-to-head between two Hammers with Angelo
Ogbonna's Italy taking on England's Joe Hart at Wembley Stadium (kick-off
8pm)
Ogbonna will be hoping to win his 14th cap for the Azzurri, who are looking
to bounce back from a 2-0 friendly defeat to Argentina on Friday, and the
29-year-old has fond memories of Wembley, having headed home the winner in
the Hammers' Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season.
England boss Gareth Southgate has indicated that Stoke City goalkeeper Jack
Butland will start the friendly match, but Hart will be waiting in the wings
for a chance from the bench.
Marko Arnautovic scored his 17th and 18th international goals in Austria's
3-0 win over Slovenia on Friday and will have the chance to add to that
tally on Tuesday when Franco Foda's team travel to Luxembourg for their
latest friendly. This match kicks-off at 7.30pm.
Senegal, skippered by Cheikhou Kouyate, will continue their preparations for
the summer's FIFA World Cup finals by taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina in
the northern French city Le Havre at 7pm.
Youngster Sead Haksabanovic could bolster his international experience when
Montenegro take on Turkey in Podgorica at 6.10pm. Haksabanovic, who has
played 14 games for the Hammers' U23 side this season, will be hoping to
earn a second full cap for his country.
Meanwhile, Manuel Lanzini scored his first Argentina goal in their win
against Italy on Friday and La Albiceleste face another prestige friendly
against Spain at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano this evening at
8.30pm.
Overnight, Chicharito could earn a landmark 100th Mexico cap when his nation
take on Croatia in the United States (kick-off 2.30am BST). The striker
would become the 14th Mexican to reach three figures when it comes to senior
international appearances. He is also just one goal short of reaching 50 in
the green and white of the Central American country.
Declan Rice made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland on Friday and
he links up with U21 skipper Josh Cullen for the Boys in Green's vital UEFA
U21 Euro qualifier against Azerbaijan at 7.30pm.
Another U21 who could feature this evening is Edimilson Fernandes, whose
Switzerland side take on Portugal in another UEFA U21 Euro qualifier at 5pm.
In the same competition, Martin Samuelsen is in line to play for Norway, who
face Israel away from home.
Academy goalkeeper Nathan Trott kept a clean sheet as England U20 defeated
Poland last week and the Young Lions play another friendly against Portugal
at 7pm this evening.
At U19 level, Domingos Quina's Portugal play a UEFA U19 Elite Round
Qualifier against Ireland needing just a point to secure their place as
Group 5 winners. Conor Coventry may feature on the other side for the young
Irish, who could still steal top spot with victory.
Lativa U19 could call upon goalkeeper RIhards Matrevics in their final Elite
Round match against Hungary. Latvia are currently level with their opponents
on three points, but face a tall order to catch group leaders England, who
boast a perfect record and take on bottom-of-the-group FYR Macedonia.
Serbia U17 are involved in Elite Round qualifiying too, and play Spain at
1.30pm needing a victory for a chance of progressing to the summer's Euro
Championship finals.
Ben Wells could feature for Republic of Ireland's U18, who play Romania in a
friendly match at 11.30am.
Last but not least, Academy duo Serine Sanneh and Daniel Jinadu are in the
England U16 squad for their Montaigu Tournament opener against Russia at
6.15pm
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ray thrilled with team effort in Swindon Town win
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies' 6-0 win over Swindon Town shows that the group want
to 'push the bar higher', something that delights interim head coach Karen
Ray.
Two goals apiece for Kelly Wealthall and Ellie Zoepfl, plus fine finishes
from Leanne Mabey and Molly Clark, secured a huge win for the Hammers
against Swindon, stretching the side's unbeaten run in 2018 to nine matches.
With a particularly impressive second half performance from the Ladies, Ray
feels her team showed that they want to continue improving and pushing
themselves to be even better. "We know if we come out to games with a
dominant and aggressive start, we will create opportunities and score
goals," Ray told whufc.com: "Our defenders are protecting us and yet again
have a clean sheet, an admirable stat for any team.
"When we are on the front foot we are at our best, if we continue to push
the bar higher we have a good chance of continuing this success. Today I
learned that the girls want this, the girls trust me and they are ready to
leave a legacy. "Rosie Kmita and Molly Clark particularly impressed me
today. Their link up play and desire to create opportunities for their
teammates was a key factor in the second half success. We scored a few team
goals today and for a coach that is the most rewarding thing to see."
With her side going nine games unbeaten, the general manager continued: "It
is a great achievement for the players, staff and supporters. Everyone works
tirelessly to create an environment that not only stimulates players to want
to win, but also to influence their preparation. "Practicing under pressure
enables players to trust themselves, each other and maintain clarity in the
expectations needed to be part of this Club. They should be very proud of
their achievements."
With five goals coming in the second half, the Hammers had taken the lead at
half-time thanks to Mabey's finish, but Ray was unhappy with her team's
showing in the first period. However, the interim head coach was thrilled
with how the team responded to the half-time team talk. Ray added: "The
first half was sloppy, I reminded the girls at half time that our standards
cannot slip and that the first 45 minutes was unacceptable. They have set a
new precedent with performances and I now have to push them beyond that. "I
made a couple of tactical points about how to break down their defensive
block and the girls came out and executed, all the credit is on them. It's
hard to score five goals against a team who are throwing themselves at every
ball, and Swindon deserve full credit for their tenacious work off the
ball."
West Ham United Ladies' next match is a huge contest, in the final of the
Women's Cup against Charlton Athletic. Ray knows the test the Addicks will
pose in next Wednesday's match but insists her side will be ready for the
final. "Charlton are a very strong team and deservedly at the top of our
league, we will respect that but certainly not fear it. Every training
session is an opportunity for players to develop and for us to evolve as a
team. "I am fortunate enough to have a strong group of staff who support
the players' preparation and we will go into this game with a winning
mentality and ensure we give ourselves the best opportunity to win our first
piece of silverware.
"One thing for sure is the more support we have the better, please join us
on Wednesday 4th April and cheer the girls to victory."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers forward Arnautovic scores again in Austria victory
WHUFC.com
Marko Arnautovic continued his fine goal-scoring form with his third of the
international break in Austria's 4-0 friendly international win over
Luxembourg. The West Ham United forward, who had netted twice in his
country's victory over Slovenia on Friday, hit the target within four
minutes at the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City on Tuesday evening. The
28-year-old played for 68 minutes before being replaced. Arnautovic's strike
took him to 19 goals in 69 appearances in national team colours, and he has
now scored ten in his last 15 games for club and country.
Young midfielders Josh Cullen and Declan Rice were both in the starting XI
and completed the full 90 minutes as their Republic of Ireland U21 scored a
late, late winner to see off Azerbaijan in a UEFA European Championship
qualifier at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Ireland dominated for long periods
and were finally rewarded when Stoke City's Ryan Sweeney scored nine minutes
into added time. Victory means they sit three points behind leaders Germany,
but with a game in-hand, and could still secure automatic qualification for
next summer's final tournament in Italy.
Nathan Trott was also in action, keeping a clean sheet as England U20s
defeated Portugal 3-0 at Manchester City's Academy Stadium. The West Ham
goalkeeper was making his fourth appearance at that level, and followed up
an unbeaten performance in the 1-0 friendly win over Poland on Thursday with
another shutout.
Sticking with the stoppers, 15-year-old Daniel Jinadu also blanked the
opposition as England U16s kicked-off their quest to win the Montaigu
Tournament in France with a 2-0 win over Russia. England face Cameroon on
Thursday and Brazil on Saturday in their other group-stage fixtures. Either
Jinadu or West Ham squad-mate Serine Sanneh will keep goal for the U16s in
those fixtures.
Elsewhere, Joe Hart and Angelo Ogbonna were both handed watching briefs as
England drew 1-1 with Italy in a friendly at Wembley, while Sead
Haksabanovic was an unused substitute in Montenegro's 2-2 draw with Turkey.
Manuel Lanzini (Argentina), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Arthur Masuaku (DR
Congo) and Martin Samuelsen (Norway U21) were not involved for their
respective nations on Tuesday evening.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fernandes returns, Quina qualifies and Belic scores!
WHUFC.com
West Ham United youngsters Edimilson Fernandes, Domingos Quina, Kristijan
Belic, Harrison Ashby and Rihards Matrevics all enjoyed positive experiences
UEFA European Championship qualifying on Tuesday afternoon Fernandes made
his return from four months out with an ankle injury in Switzerland's 4-2
defeat by Portugal in the U21 qualifying tournament. The 21-year-old wore
the No10 shirt as he earned his sixth U21 cap in Neuchatel, and completed 76
minutes before being substituted. Defeat leaves Portugal fourth in their
group and with an increasingly remote chance of reaching next summer's
finals in Italy, but Fernandes' return will be welcome news for West Ham
manager David Moyes.
Quina's Portugal secured their place at the U19 finals with a win, Belic
netted Serbia's goal in their U17 Elite Round qualifying draw with Spain,
Ashby helped Scotland to a memorable 1-0 win over Germany in the same
competition, while Matrevics kept goal for Latvia in their U19 Elite Round
qualifying win over Hungary.
Quina completed another 90 minutes as Portugal made it a perfect nine points
out of nine with a 4-0 win over Republic of Ireland on home turf in
Barcelos. The Portuguese, who finished as runners-up to England last summer,
with Quina in the starting XI, scored ten goals without reply in their three
group-stage matches, also defeating Kosovo and Slovakia. Quina's West Ham
teammate Conor Coventry played the full game for the Irish, who finished
second in the group but missed out on qualification.
Matrevics and Latvia looked on course for defeat before Marko Regza
completed a memorable hat-trick with two goals in the final two minutes to
snatch a 3-2 victory in Skopje, Macedonia. Unfortunately for the West Ham
goalkeeper, Latvia missed out on qualifying for this summer's final
tounament in Finland on goal difference, with England's 3-0 win over the
Eastern European nation on Saturday meaning the Young Lions finished top of
their group, despite losing 2-0 to Macedonia on Tuesday. Midfielder Belic
scored his first competitive goal on his third appearance at U17 level,
levelling after Real Madrid's Gutiérrez Ortega had put the Spanish ahead
from the penalty spot. Despite being held to a draw, Spain topped Group 1 to
go through to this summer's finals in England.
Elsewhere, schoolboy Ashby played in a three-man midfield as Scotland scored
a famous victory over Germany in Nafpaktos, Greece, where Glasgow Rangers
striker Adedapo Awokoya-Mebude scored the only goal of the game 12 minutes
into the second half. Ashby, 16, was making his debut after missing
Scotland's defeats by Greece and group winners Norway.
Meanwhile, Ben Wells was involved as a substitute as Republic of Ireland
U18s were edged out 1-0 by their Romanian counterparts in a friendly in
Whitehall, Dublin.
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Birthday boy Obiang willing to wait for perfect present
WHUFC.com
Birthday boy Pedro Obiang says he is willing to wait for the perfect present
– West Ham United securing their Premier League safety. The Spanish
midfielder, who is currently working his way back from a knee injury
suffered at Wigan Athletic in January, was inundated with messages from the
Claret and Blue Army as he celebrated turning 26 on Tuesday. Obiang thanked
the fans for their support before issuing an update on his rehabilitation.
"I'm happy to say that many supporters messaged me and wished me a happy
birthday and remembered me, so that's good!" he said. "I have had so many
messages that I didn't open Instagram yet, but I will do at the end of the
day to thank the fans for those messages. "Obviously while I am happy for
these messages, I would be happier if I was training and playing with the
team. It's difficult to be out and watching the games, with the situation we
are in. "I am not far away and I am working hard, but I am waiting for the
right time to come back. I want to help the team, but the best way to help
the team is to wait until I am in the right condition to do so, because if I
am not in the best situation, I probably cannot help the team. "I would
prefer to be fit and to come back and bring my energy. I am totally focused
on coming back and I feel good, but I still need two or three steps before I
am ready to come back."
Obiang admits he is a frustrated spectator, but the No14 has made sure to
retain a positive outlook at the Hammers' Rush Green training ground. That
uplifting approach was never more apparent than on his birthday, when the
Madrilenian brought two birthday cakes to the canteen for his teammates and
the backroom staff to enjoy. And while he is convinced his colleagues have
the character to stay up, he has urged the same fans who sent him their best
wishes to get behind the team in their remaining eight Premier League
matches. "We have the experience and the spirit to be OK, but I know that
everything around has become difficult. I know the supporters are a little
but angry, but I can understand this because I lived in a similar situation
at my former club Sampdoria (who were relegated in 2011). "I would ask the
supporters to be focused on the most important thing and that is to try to
be safe as quickly as possible and help the team as much as they can. "At
the same time, I'd ask the guys to give everything they have. At the moment,
they are trying to do everything. I can see how hard they are working at
Rush Green every day."
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Lanzini rested from Spanish debacle
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Manuel Lanzini was forced to watch from the sidelines tonight as his
Argentina side were thrashed by Spain in Madrid. The 25-year-old Hammer was
greatly missed by the South Americans, who were smashed 6-1 by Julen
Lopetegui's team in a bad-tempered affair at the Wanda Metropolitano. The
hosts scored in the 11th, 27th, 52nd, 55th, 73rd and 74th minutes, with
Argentina's sole response coming from Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi six
minutes ahead of the half time interval. Lanzini, whose fitness has been
the cause of much speculation in the last few days was not included in the
match day squad and instead sat grim-faced, alongside Barcelona's Lionel
Messi, from a private box in the stands. According to sources from
Argentina, West Ham's number 10 was rested from tonight's fixture having
"felt a muscular discomfort" following Friday night's 2-0 win against Italy
(who held England to a 1-1 draw at Wembley tonight).
Lanzini, who flies back to England tomorrow will be assessed by club medics
upon his return, just 72 hours ahead of this weekend's vital Premier League
fixture with Southampton. Until then Hammers fans will be left waiting
anxiously to learn the full extent of the injury to a player who has been
interested clubs such as Liverpool in recent months, due to his good form
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers legends call for 'complete overhaul'
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
West Ham legend Tony Cottee has called for "a complete overhaul" at "every
level of the club" this summer. The former striker, who featured for the
club in two spells during the 19080s and 1990s told Sky Sports on Tuesday
that the club should review its organisational structure - but only when the
season is finished and the club has hopefully retained its top flight
status. "There needs to be a complete and utter overhaul at the club, at
probably every level," said Cottee. "[Although] I'm not so sure you can do
that now as there are [only] eight games left. "It is important that
everybody sticks together, the fans, the players, the management. "Everybody
has to stick together to try and get the results to stay in the Premier
League. "Then, at the end of the season, everything needs to be sorted out -
and I mean everything. There is a lot wrong at the club but they cannot
afford to get relegated."
Cottee's thoughts were echoed by former team mate Tony Gale, who also works
for Sky. The defender also called for an end-of-season review - whilst
urging fans to defer any protests until the summer. "There's so many
consequences of going down, it'll be catastrophic really for the new stadium
and everything," he said.
"They've got to get behind the team - and I think they will as well. They're
really good fans and they'll realise they're not supporting the stuff that's
going on off the pitch, but are going to support our team and hopefully stay
in this Premier Leaue. "Then we can see about things at the end of the
season, that's the way to go about it. I was at the game against Burnley and
it was a sad state of affairs. I understand the crowd's frustrations, that
they wanted to protest, but that is not the way to do it. "That club has
been mismanaged. I'm not talking about managers, I'm talking from the top.
They've admitted it, they've been in the newspapers saying sorry, sorry,
sorry - but that's not good enough. Basically, it has been a shambles."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Disabled fans moved - to protect directors
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
A West Ham season ticket holder who sits in a disabled area at the Olympic
Stadium has been told to move - so that barriers may be erected in order to
protect the Directors' Box. Eastbourne Hammer, who has been a member of KUMB
for 14 years received a call from the club on Tuesday morning to inform him
that he would be moved to another area of the ground for the rest of the
season - and possibly beyond.
And that's because his existing seat - which happens to be directly
underneath the Directors' Box - is no longer available as a result of
barriers being erected to prevent supporters from congregating on the
platform below, as was the case for the recent match against Burnley. "I'll
no longer be able to sit there," the season ticket holder told KUMB. "I
believe I sat right where all the trouble kicked off, but I couldn't make
the last game as I wasn't well enough. I was offered a move to a downgraded
seat which I refused - I paid for the best view and that's what I'd like.
"I was told that was no longer an option [and asked again] where would I
like to move to? My response was 'nowhere', you can refund me the rest of my
season ticket. They told me that they'll call me tomorrow [Wednesday] to let
me know what they'll be doing."
* Meanwhile a KUMB Forum poll asking whether David Sullivan, David Gold and
Karren Brady should stay away from the Olympic Stadium for the rest of the
season saw 85 per cent of supporters who voted agree. And just 12 per cent
of supporters who expressed a view voted against the motion, with the
remainder undecided.
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Club statement calls for unity
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
A statement published on behalf of West Ham captain Mark Noble has called
for fans to remain "united" for the rest of the season. Published on the
club's website under the title "a message from our captain", the statement
asks fans to remain patient and "together" for the remainder of the campaign
in order to ensure the club retains its Premier League status. And it pulled
no punches with regards to the disturbances during the 3-0 defeat against
Burnley, intimating that the disruptive actions of those supporters who
entered the field of play or protested underneath the Directors' Box was
responsible for the final result. "We have eight Premier League matches left
to play and, if we win three or four of them, we should achieve what every
one of us wants to achieve and that is stay in this division," read the
statement. "Five of those eight games are at London Stadium and, with your
energy and support from the stands, we will have a much better chance of
getting the wins we need. As I've said many times, results are all that
matter, and that is true now, more than ever. "Our last home game against
Burnley was one of my toughest days in nearly 20 years at West Ham, and I
never want to see scenes like that again. None of us do. I desperately want
us to do well and for everyone to be happy, players and fans, but that day
was one which none of us can look back on with any pride. "We need everyone
to be together and to be behind the team, because positive vibes really do
inspire the players on the pitch. On the flip side, negativity can
undoubtedly affect players' concentration and confidence, as I believe it
did in the second half against Burnley."
The statement has been released just as two separate groups of supporters
are preparing to stage anti-Board demonstrations, prior to this weekend's
Premier League meeting with Southampton at Stratford. One group are planning
to meet at Stratford Park before marching towards the stadium, whilst
another group are planning to meet outside Stratford station before
continuing their own protest. Both are expected to be finished well before
kick off, allowing those involved to enter the stadium and offer their full
backing to the team in what is a must-win game for the club.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham need complete overhaul at every level, says Tony Cottee
Last Updated: 27/03/18 12:30pm
SSN
West Ham need a "complete and utter overhaul" at the end of the season even
if they avoid relegation from the Premier League, according to Tony Cottee.
The Hammers are two points above the drop zone with eight games remaining in
the season, and the club is currently beset by off-field problems in the
wake of the recent fan protests against the board. West Ham issued lifetime
bans to five supporters earlier this month after pitch invasions and crowd
violence marred the 3-0 defeat the Burnley at the London Stadium.
Cottee believes changes need to be made "at every level" at West Ham but has
urged the club's supporters to get behind the team between now and the end
of the season. "There needs to be a complete and utter overhaul at the club,
at probably every level," he said. "Can you do that now? I'm not so sure.
There are eight games left. It is important that everybody sticks together,
the fans, the players, the management. "Everybody has to stick together at
the club to try and get the results to stay in the Premier League and then
at the end of the season everything needs to be sorted out, and I mean
everything. "There is a lot wrong at the club and they cannot afford to be
relegated."
Former Hammers defender Tony Gale says he sympathises with the club's fans
but insists the disturbances against Burnley were unacceptable. "I was at
the game against Burnley and it was a sad state of affairs. I understand the
crowd's frustrations, that they wanted to protest, but that is not the way
to do it," he said. "How do you protest? That club has been mismanaged. I'm
not talking about managers, I'm talking from the top. "They've admitted it,
they've been in the newspapers saying sorry, sorry, sorry - but that's not
good enough. Mismanaged going to the stadium, mismanaged with their buying,
basically it has been a shambles."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I GOT YOU BABE
By Tony Hanna 27 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID
Fifty weeks ago I wrote an article with the header "Our biggest game since
Blackpool?" The game I was alluding to was the home fixture with Swansea in
early April 2017. At that time we were heading towards the relegation places
at an alarming rate on the back of five successive losses and just two
points from the past seven matches. When I say "biggest game" my intention
was to portray the importance of points to the team, not to compare it to
any of the memorable wins against Manchester United, Chelsea or Spurs where
the atmosphere has been rocking. We went on to win that game against Swansea
and only suffered one more defeat in a season where we eventually finished
11th. This weekend we take on Southampton and in many ways we are in a very
similar position to where we were before last seasons victory over Swansea.
Here are some of the key points I made in that article nearly a year ago.
"We have a left back (Cresswell) who has lost all form"……… "Kouyate is a
shadow of his former self"……… "Noble has got slower"………." (Obiang) who
looked most likely to win HOTY has been lost for the season"……… "The fact is
that even with all these excuses, we have been poor for just about the whole
season"…….." A few tantalising sprinklings of what may or could have been
with wins over Palace, Boro and Saints have been overshadowed by a team that
cannot defend, crumbles once it concedes and lacks any real consistency on
any level"………." Last season should have been a platform for the club but the
transfer policy actually just threw us back into Premiership mediocrity".
It sounds like Groundhog Day doesn't it? Albert Einstein said that you can't
keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.
Now I'm not Einstein and fifty weeks ago I was only stating the bleedin'
obvious – yet I still keep waking up to Sonny and Chers "I got you Babe". At
least weatherman Phil Connors made the necessary changes to his life and
eventually escaped the time loop. West Ham fans are not so fortunate. There
may be bigger and more important games to come this season but for now this
game against Southampton is huge. It really could be a catalyst for what
transpires for the rest of the season. Indeed, our future as a club. Whilst
we hope for a game where our supporters create an uplifting atmosphere for
the team, the reality is it is going to be very tense. I haven't seen a lot
of Southampton's games in recent months but I did watch their cup tie at
Wigan. They were fortunate not to be two or three down by half time. They
barely created anything and they had players bottling challenges and visibly
not wanting the ball. But a few touches of top flight class and a few slices
of luck saw them through. It was new manager Mark Hughes first game in
charge and with a two week break in front of him the Saints fans will be
hoping for a "bounce". They will also have their much missed Charlie Austin
back for the visit to the OS.
As I wrote last week, Southampton have only won five Premier League games
this season. That includes two against bottom side West Brom and one against
a ten man West Ham – the other two were both last year against Everton and
Crystal Palace. They are the draw specialists of the division though with
thirteen in thirty games. The stats suggest this one has a draw written all
over it too. West Ham have scored just five first half goals at home all
season whilst Southampton have scored six away from home in the same period.
Both teams have conceded ten. The Hammers fare marginally better with second
half home goals; scoring eleven and conceding ten – the Saints are seven for
and thirteen against in their second half away fixtures. Whilst the draw
seems the bet, historically one of the sides normally finds a way to win
with just eleven draws in the past 59 encounters – although five of those
draws have come in the past fourteen matches played. In the past eleven
meetings between the two clubs both sides have tasted victory on four
occasions. Southampton are the bookies favourites to win this game. It is a
rarity that an away team placed below the home team on the table, at this
stage of the season, should be shorter odds or more fancied than the home
team. I would suggest this is based purely on the toxic atmosphere at our
last home game. I just hope if we do go a goal down again this weekend it is
not yet another Groundhog Day.
Personally, I would like to see Masuaku come straight back into the side
following his six match suspension. He does have the odd mistake in him
(don't they all) but we have really missed his drive forward down the left.
I would also like to see Adrian re-instated. Other than that, I would love
to see "post" and "rub of the green" make long awaited appearances. They
have been sorely missed.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Dear fellow Hammer,
I am writing to you as a proud captain and lifelong supporter of our great
football club, West Ham United. We have eight Premier League matches left to
play and, if we win three or four of them, we should achieve what every one
of us wants to achieve and that is stay in this division. Five of those
eight games are at London Stadium and, with your energy and support from the
stands, we will have a much better chance of getting the wins we need. As
I've said many times, results are all that matter, and that is true now,
more than ever. Our last home game against Burnley was one of my toughest
days in nearly 20 years at West Ham, and I never want to see scenes like
that again. None of us do. I desperately want us to do well and for everyone
to be happy, players and fans, but that day was one which none of us can
look back on with any pride.
We need everyone to be together and to be behind the team, because positive
vibes really do inspire the players on the pitch. On the flip side,
negativity can undoubtedly affect players' concentration and confidence, as
I believe it did in the second half against Burnley. We need you all,
full-stop, and we cannot perform to our best and win the matches we need to
win without you. When you are on song, there really are no supporters better
at inspiring their team than West Ham supporters. I can understand the
frustrations some of you are feeling. This season has not gone how we'd all
hoped it would, but I would ask you to channel your passion to get behind
the team, help us get through the season with our Premier League status
intact, and we can sit down and reassess things in the summer.
We need the London Stadium to be buzzing for our five remaining home games,
so please unite behind the lads and give us the best possible chance to
deliver the results we need to stay up.
Come on you Irons!
Mark Noble
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Birthday boy Mullins recalls West Ham's 'fantastic' Great Escape
WHUFC.com
Amazingly, it is nearly eleven years since West Ham United pulled off what
has become known as the 'Great Escape' from relegation from the Premier
League.
After suffering a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at the
Boleyn Ground on 4 March 2007, the Hammers were ten points from safety with
just nine matches left to play. Then, something special happened, as Alan
Curbishley's squad turned things around in sensational style, winning seven
of those remaining nine games to stay up after winning 1-0 at champions
Manchester United on an unforgettable final day. Among the 14 heroes who
helped the Hammers pull off the greatest escape in the Club's long and
illustrious history that famous afternoon was midfielder Hayden Mullins, who
replaced match-winner Carlos Tevez for the eight final nerve-wracking
minutes at Old Trafford. "Despite the fact that they had already won the
Premier League, going to Manchester United on the final day of the season
knowing that we probably needed to get something from the game to stay up
was quite a daunting prospect," recalled Mullins, who celebrates his 39th
birthday on Tuesday. "We'd had a rollercoaster of a season and it was sad
that Alan Pardew lost his job halfway through, because I think if he had
been able to bring in the players that came in the January – the likes of
Lucas Neill, Matty Upson and Luis Boa Morte – then I'm sure we would have
also stayed up under him.
"We went on a magnificent run at the end of the season, though, inspired by
Carlos Tevez, and he was our hero again at Old Trafford. "I remember after
about 60 minutes, they brought on Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul
Scholes – and we all just looked at each other and thought: 'Here we go!'
"Somehow, though, we held on to win and the feeling at the final whistle was
absolutely fantastic. It's up there with the biggest achievements in my time
at West Ham."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Every West Ham United player in international action on Tuesday
WHUFC.com
Tuesday promises to be a busy day for West Ham United's internationals, with
a potential 19 players in action for their countries all the way from senior
level to under-16s.
Topping the bill is a possible head-to-head between two Hammers with Angelo
Ogbonna's Italy taking on England's Joe Hart at Wembley Stadium (kick-off
8pm)
Ogbonna will be hoping to win his 14th cap for the Azzurri, who are looking
to bounce back from a 2-0 friendly defeat to Argentina on Friday, and the
29-year-old has fond memories of Wembley, having headed home the winner in
the Hammers' Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season.
England boss Gareth Southgate has indicated that Stoke City goalkeeper Jack
Butland will start the friendly match, but Hart will be waiting in the wings
for a chance from the bench.
Marko Arnautovic scored his 17th and 18th international goals in Austria's
3-0 win over Slovenia on Friday and will have the chance to add to that
tally on Tuesday when Franco Foda's team travel to Luxembourg for their
latest friendly. This match kicks-off at 7.30pm.
Senegal, skippered by Cheikhou Kouyate, will continue their preparations for
the summer's FIFA World Cup finals by taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina in
the northern French city Le Havre at 7pm.
Youngster Sead Haksabanovic could bolster his international experience when
Montenegro take on Turkey in Podgorica at 6.10pm. Haksabanovic, who has
played 14 games for the Hammers' U23 side this season, will be hoping to
earn a second full cap for his country.
Meanwhile, Manuel Lanzini scored his first Argentina goal in their win
against Italy on Friday and La Albiceleste face another prestige friendly
against Spain at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano this evening at
8.30pm.
Overnight, Chicharito could earn a landmark 100th Mexico cap when his nation
take on Croatia in the United States (kick-off 2.30am BST). The striker
would become the 14th Mexican to reach three figures when it comes to senior
international appearances. He is also just one goal short of reaching 50 in
the green and white of the Central American country.
Declan Rice made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland on Friday and
he links up with U21 skipper Josh Cullen for the Boys in Green's vital UEFA
U21 Euro qualifier against Azerbaijan at 7.30pm.
Another U21 who could feature this evening is Edimilson Fernandes, whose
Switzerland side take on Portugal in another UEFA U21 Euro qualifier at 5pm.
In the same competition, Martin Samuelsen is in line to play for Norway, who
face Israel away from home.
Academy goalkeeper Nathan Trott kept a clean sheet as England U20 defeated
Poland last week and the Young Lions play another friendly against Portugal
at 7pm this evening.
At U19 level, Domingos Quina's Portugal play a UEFA U19 Elite Round
Qualifier against Ireland needing just a point to secure their place as
Group 5 winners. Conor Coventry may feature on the other side for the young
Irish, who could still steal top spot with victory.
Lativa U19 could call upon goalkeeper RIhards Matrevics in their final Elite
Round match against Hungary. Latvia are currently level with their opponents
on three points, but face a tall order to catch group leaders England, who
boast a perfect record and take on bottom-of-the-group FYR Macedonia.
Serbia U17 are involved in Elite Round qualifiying too, and play Spain at
1.30pm needing a victory for a chance of progressing to the summer's Euro
Championship finals.
Ben Wells could feature for Republic of Ireland's U18, who play Romania in a
friendly match at 11.30am.
Last but not least, Academy duo Serine Sanneh and Daniel Jinadu are in the
England U16 squad for their Montaigu Tournament opener against Russia at
6.15pm
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Ray thrilled with team effort in Swindon Town win
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies' 6-0 win over Swindon Town shows that the group want
to 'push the bar higher', something that delights interim head coach Karen
Ray.
Two goals apiece for Kelly Wealthall and Ellie Zoepfl, plus fine finishes
from Leanne Mabey and Molly Clark, secured a huge win for the Hammers
against Swindon, stretching the side's unbeaten run in 2018 to nine matches.
With a particularly impressive second half performance from the Ladies, Ray
feels her team showed that they want to continue improving and pushing
themselves to be even better. "We know if we come out to games with a
dominant and aggressive start, we will create opportunities and score
goals," Ray told whufc.com: "Our defenders are protecting us and yet again
have a clean sheet, an admirable stat for any team.
"When we are on the front foot we are at our best, if we continue to push
the bar higher we have a good chance of continuing this success. Today I
learned that the girls want this, the girls trust me and they are ready to
leave a legacy. "Rosie Kmita and Molly Clark particularly impressed me
today. Their link up play and desire to create opportunities for their
teammates was a key factor in the second half success. We scored a few team
goals today and for a coach that is the most rewarding thing to see."
With her side going nine games unbeaten, the general manager continued: "It
is a great achievement for the players, staff and supporters. Everyone works
tirelessly to create an environment that not only stimulates players to want
to win, but also to influence their preparation. "Practicing under pressure
enables players to trust themselves, each other and maintain clarity in the
expectations needed to be part of this Club. They should be very proud of
their achievements."
With five goals coming in the second half, the Hammers had taken the lead at
half-time thanks to Mabey's finish, but Ray was unhappy with her team's
showing in the first period. However, the interim head coach was thrilled
with how the team responded to the half-time team talk. Ray added: "The
first half was sloppy, I reminded the girls at half time that our standards
cannot slip and that the first 45 minutes was unacceptable. They have set a
new precedent with performances and I now have to push them beyond that. "I
made a couple of tactical points about how to break down their defensive
block and the girls came out and executed, all the credit is on them. It's
hard to score five goals against a team who are throwing themselves at every
ball, and Swindon deserve full credit for their tenacious work off the
ball."
West Ham United Ladies' next match is a huge contest, in the final of the
Women's Cup against Charlton Athletic. Ray knows the test the Addicks will
pose in next Wednesday's match but insists her side will be ready for the
final. "Charlton are a very strong team and deservedly at the top of our
league, we will respect that but certainly not fear it. Every training
session is an opportunity for players to develop and for us to evolve as a
team. "I am fortunate enough to have a strong group of staff who support
the players' preparation and we will go into this game with a winning
mentality and ensure we give ourselves the best opportunity to win our first
piece of silverware.
"One thing for sure is the more support we have the better, please join us
on Wednesday 4th April and cheer the girls to victory."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers forward Arnautovic scores again in Austria victory
WHUFC.com
Marko Arnautovic continued his fine goal-scoring form with his third of the
international break in Austria's 4-0 friendly international win over
Luxembourg. The West Ham United forward, who had netted twice in his
country's victory over Slovenia on Friday, hit the target within four
minutes at the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City on Tuesday evening. The
28-year-old played for 68 minutes before being replaced. Arnautovic's strike
took him to 19 goals in 69 appearances in national team colours, and he has
now scored ten in his last 15 games for club and country.
Young midfielders Josh Cullen and Declan Rice were both in the starting XI
and completed the full 90 minutes as their Republic of Ireland U21 scored a
late, late winner to see off Azerbaijan in a UEFA European Championship
qualifier at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Ireland dominated for long periods
and were finally rewarded when Stoke City's Ryan Sweeney scored nine minutes
into added time. Victory means they sit three points behind leaders Germany,
but with a game in-hand, and could still secure automatic qualification for
next summer's final tournament in Italy.
Nathan Trott was also in action, keeping a clean sheet as England U20s
defeated Portugal 3-0 at Manchester City's Academy Stadium. The West Ham
goalkeeper was making his fourth appearance at that level, and followed up
an unbeaten performance in the 1-0 friendly win over Poland on Thursday with
another shutout.
Sticking with the stoppers, 15-year-old Daniel Jinadu also blanked the
opposition as England U16s kicked-off their quest to win the Montaigu
Tournament in France with a 2-0 win over Russia. England face Cameroon on
Thursday and Brazil on Saturday in their other group-stage fixtures. Either
Jinadu or West Ham squad-mate Serine Sanneh will keep goal for the U16s in
those fixtures.
Elsewhere, Joe Hart and Angelo Ogbonna were both handed watching briefs as
England drew 1-1 with Italy in a friendly at Wembley, while Sead
Haksabanovic was an unused substitute in Montenegro's 2-2 draw with Turkey.
Manuel Lanzini (Argentina), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Arthur Masuaku (DR
Congo) and Martin Samuelsen (Norway U21) were not involved for their
respective nations on Tuesday evening.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fernandes returns, Quina qualifies and Belic scores!
WHUFC.com
West Ham United youngsters Edimilson Fernandes, Domingos Quina, Kristijan
Belic, Harrison Ashby and Rihards Matrevics all enjoyed positive experiences
UEFA European Championship qualifying on Tuesday afternoon Fernandes made
his return from four months out with an ankle injury in Switzerland's 4-2
defeat by Portugal in the U21 qualifying tournament. The 21-year-old wore
the No10 shirt as he earned his sixth U21 cap in Neuchatel, and completed 76
minutes before being substituted. Defeat leaves Portugal fourth in their
group and with an increasingly remote chance of reaching next summer's
finals in Italy, but Fernandes' return will be welcome news for West Ham
manager David Moyes.
Quina's Portugal secured their place at the U19 finals with a win, Belic
netted Serbia's goal in their U17 Elite Round qualifying draw with Spain,
Ashby helped Scotland to a memorable 1-0 win over Germany in the same
competition, while Matrevics kept goal for Latvia in their U19 Elite Round
qualifying win over Hungary.
Quina completed another 90 minutes as Portugal made it a perfect nine points
out of nine with a 4-0 win over Republic of Ireland on home turf in
Barcelos. The Portuguese, who finished as runners-up to England last summer,
with Quina in the starting XI, scored ten goals without reply in their three
group-stage matches, also defeating Kosovo and Slovakia. Quina's West Ham
teammate Conor Coventry played the full game for the Irish, who finished
second in the group but missed out on qualification.
Matrevics and Latvia looked on course for defeat before Marko Regza
completed a memorable hat-trick with two goals in the final two minutes to
snatch a 3-2 victory in Skopje, Macedonia. Unfortunately for the West Ham
goalkeeper, Latvia missed out on qualifying for this summer's final
tounament in Finland on goal difference, with England's 3-0 win over the
Eastern European nation on Saturday meaning the Young Lions finished top of
their group, despite losing 2-0 to Macedonia on Tuesday. Midfielder Belic
scored his first competitive goal on his third appearance at U17 level,
levelling after Real Madrid's Gutiérrez Ortega had put the Spanish ahead
from the penalty spot. Despite being held to a draw, Spain topped Group 1 to
go through to this summer's finals in England.
Elsewhere, schoolboy Ashby played in a three-man midfield as Scotland scored
a famous victory over Germany in Nafpaktos, Greece, where Glasgow Rangers
striker Adedapo Awokoya-Mebude scored the only goal of the game 12 minutes
into the second half. Ashby, 16, was making his debut after missing
Scotland's defeats by Greece and group winners Norway.
Meanwhile, Ben Wells was involved as a substitute as Republic of Ireland
U18s were edged out 1-0 by their Romanian counterparts in a friendly in
Whitehall, Dublin.
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Birthday boy Obiang willing to wait for perfect present
WHUFC.com
Birthday boy Pedro Obiang says he is willing to wait for the perfect present
– West Ham United securing their Premier League safety. The Spanish
midfielder, who is currently working his way back from a knee injury
suffered at Wigan Athletic in January, was inundated with messages from the
Claret and Blue Army as he celebrated turning 26 on Tuesday. Obiang thanked
the fans for their support before issuing an update on his rehabilitation.
"I'm happy to say that many supporters messaged me and wished me a happy
birthday and remembered me, so that's good!" he said. "I have had so many
messages that I didn't open Instagram yet, but I will do at the end of the
day to thank the fans for those messages. "Obviously while I am happy for
these messages, I would be happier if I was training and playing with the
team. It's difficult to be out and watching the games, with the situation we
are in. "I am not far away and I am working hard, but I am waiting for the
right time to come back. I want to help the team, but the best way to help
the team is to wait until I am in the right condition to do so, because if I
am not in the best situation, I probably cannot help the team. "I would
prefer to be fit and to come back and bring my energy. I am totally focused
on coming back and I feel good, but I still need two or three steps before I
am ready to come back."
Obiang admits he is a frustrated spectator, but the No14 has made sure to
retain a positive outlook at the Hammers' Rush Green training ground. That
uplifting approach was never more apparent than on his birthday, when the
Madrilenian brought two birthday cakes to the canteen for his teammates and
the backroom staff to enjoy. And while he is convinced his colleagues have
the character to stay up, he has urged the same fans who sent him their best
wishes to get behind the team in their remaining eight Premier League
matches. "We have the experience and the spirit to be OK, but I know that
everything around has become difficult. I know the supporters are a little
but angry, but I can understand this because I lived in a similar situation
at my former club Sampdoria (who were relegated in 2011). "I would ask the
supporters to be focused on the most important thing and that is to try to
be safe as quickly as possible and help the team as much as they can. "At
the same time, I'd ask the guys to give everything they have. At the moment,
they are trying to do everything. I can see how hard they are working at
Rush Green every day."
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Lanzini rested from Spanish debacle
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Manuel Lanzini was forced to watch from the sidelines tonight as his
Argentina side were thrashed by Spain in Madrid. The 25-year-old Hammer was
greatly missed by the South Americans, who were smashed 6-1 by Julen
Lopetegui's team in a bad-tempered affair at the Wanda Metropolitano. The
hosts scored in the 11th, 27th, 52nd, 55th, 73rd and 74th minutes, with
Argentina's sole response coming from Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi six
minutes ahead of the half time interval. Lanzini, whose fitness has been
the cause of much speculation in the last few days was not included in the
match day squad and instead sat grim-faced, alongside Barcelona's Lionel
Messi, from a private box in the stands. According to sources from
Argentina, West Ham's number 10 was rested from tonight's fixture having
"felt a muscular discomfort" following Friday night's 2-0 win against Italy
(who held England to a 1-1 draw at Wembley tonight).
Lanzini, who flies back to England tomorrow will be assessed by club medics
upon his return, just 72 hours ahead of this weekend's vital Premier League
fixture with Southampton. Until then Hammers fans will be left waiting
anxiously to learn the full extent of the injury to a player who has been
interested clubs such as Liverpool in recent months, due to his good form
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers legends call for 'complete overhaul'
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
West Ham legend Tony Cottee has called for "a complete overhaul" at "every
level of the club" this summer. The former striker, who featured for the
club in two spells during the 19080s and 1990s told Sky Sports on Tuesday
that the club should review its organisational structure - but only when the
season is finished and the club has hopefully retained its top flight
status. "There needs to be a complete and utter overhaul at the club, at
probably every level," said Cottee. "[Although] I'm not so sure you can do
that now as there are [only] eight games left. "It is important that
everybody sticks together, the fans, the players, the management. "Everybody
has to stick together to try and get the results to stay in the Premier
League. "Then, at the end of the season, everything needs to be sorted out -
and I mean everything. There is a lot wrong at the club but they cannot
afford to get relegated."
Cottee's thoughts were echoed by former team mate Tony Gale, who also works
for Sky. The defender also called for an end-of-season review - whilst
urging fans to defer any protests until the summer. "There's so many
consequences of going down, it'll be catastrophic really for the new stadium
and everything," he said.
"They've got to get behind the team - and I think they will as well. They're
really good fans and they'll realise they're not supporting the stuff that's
going on off the pitch, but are going to support our team and hopefully stay
in this Premier Leaue. "Then we can see about things at the end of the
season, that's the way to go about it. I was at the game against Burnley and
it was a sad state of affairs. I understand the crowd's frustrations, that
they wanted to protest, but that is not the way to do it. "That club has
been mismanaged. I'm not talking about managers, I'm talking from the top.
They've admitted it, they've been in the newspapers saying sorry, sorry,
sorry - but that's not good enough. Basically, it has been a shambles."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Disabled fans moved - to protect directors
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
A West Ham season ticket holder who sits in a disabled area at the Olympic
Stadium has been told to move - so that barriers may be erected in order to
protect the Directors' Box. Eastbourne Hammer, who has been a member of KUMB
for 14 years received a call from the club on Tuesday morning to inform him
that he would be moved to another area of the ground for the rest of the
season - and possibly beyond.
And that's because his existing seat - which happens to be directly
underneath the Directors' Box - is no longer available as a result of
barriers being erected to prevent supporters from congregating on the
platform below, as was the case for the recent match against Burnley. "I'll
no longer be able to sit there," the season ticket holder told KUMB. "I
believe I sat right where all the trouble kicked off, but I couldn't make
the last game as I wasn't well enough. I was offered a move to a downgraded
seat which I refused - I paid for the best view and that's what I'd like.
"I was told that was no longer an option [and asked again] where would I
like to move to? My response was 'nowhere', you can refund me the rest of my
season ticket. They told me that they'll call me tomorrow [Wednesday] to let
me know what they'll be doing."
* Meanwhile a KUMB Forum poll asking whether David Sullivan, David Gold and
Karren Brady should stay away from the Olympic Stadium for the rest of the
season saw 85 per cent of supporters who voted agree. And just 12 per cent
of supporters who expressed a view voted against the motion, with the
remainder undecided.
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Club statement calls for unity
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 27th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
A statement published on behalf of West Ham captain Mark Noble has called
for fans to remain "united" for the rest of the season. Published on the
club's website under the title "a message from our captain", the statement
asks fans to remain patient and "together" for the remainder of the campaign
in order to ensure the club retains its Premier League status. And it pulled
no punches with regards to the disturbances during the 3-0 defeat against
Burnley, intimating that the disruptive actions of those supporters who
entered the field of play or protested underneath the Directors' Box was
responsible for the final result. "We have eight Premier League matches left
to play and, if we win three or four of them, we should achieve what every
one of us wants to achieve and that is stay in this division," read the
statement. "Five of those eight games are at London Stadium and, with your
energy and support from the stands, we will have a much better chance of
getting the wins we need. As I've said many times, results are all that
matter, and that is true now, more than ever. "Our last home game against
Burnley was one of my toughest days in nearly 20 years at West Ham, and I
never want to see scenes like that again. None of us do. I desperately want
us to do well and for everyone to be happy, players and fans, but that day
was one which none of us can look back on with any pride. "We need everyone
to be together and to be behind the team, because positive vibes really do
inspire the players on the pitch. On the flip side, negativity can
undoubtedly affect players' concentration and confidence, as I believe it
did in the second half against Burnley."
The statement has been released just as two separate groups of supporters
are preparing to stage anti-Board demonstrations, prior to this weekend's
Premier League meeting with Southampton at Stratford. One group are planning
to meet at Stratford Park before marching towards the stadium, whilst
another group are planning to meet outside Stratford station before
continuing their own protest. Both are expected to be finished well before
kick off, allowing those involved to enter the stadium and offer their full
backing to the team in what is a must-win game for the club.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham need complete overhaul at every level, says Tony Cottee
Last Updated: 27/03/18 12:30pm
SSN
West Ham need a "complete and utter overhaul" at the end of the season even
if they avoid relegation from the Premier League, according to Tony Cottee.
The Hammers are two points above the drop zone with eight games remaining in
the season, and the club is currently beset by off-field problems in the
wake of the recent fan protests against the board. West Ham issued lifetime
bans to five supporters earlier this month after pitch invasions and crowd
violence marred the 3-0 defeat the Burnley at the London Stadium.
Cottee believes changes need to be made "at every level" at West Ham but has
urged the club's supporters to get behind the team between now and the end
of the season. "There needs to be a complete and utter overhaul at the club,
at probably every level," he said. "Can you do that now? I'm not so sure.
There are eight games left. It is important that everybody sticks together,
the fans, the players, the management. "Everybody has to stick together at
the club to try and get the results to stay in the Premier League and then
at the end of the season everything needs to be sorted out, and I mean
everything. "There is a lot wrong at the club and they cannot afford to be
relegated."
Former Hammers defender Tony Gale says he sympathises with the club's fans
but insists the disturbances against Burnley were unacceptable. "I was at
the game against Burnley and it was a sad state of affairs. I understand the
crowd's frustrations, that they wanted to protest, but that is not the way
to do it," he said. "How do you protest? That club has been mismanaged. I'm
not talking about managers, I'm talking from the top. "They've admitted it,
they've been in the newspapers saying sorry, sorry, sorry - but that's not
good enough. Mismanaged going to the stadium, mismanaged with their buying,
basically it has been a shambles."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I GOT YOU BABE
By Tony Hanna 27 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID
Fifty weeks ago I wrote an article with the header "Our biggest game since
Blackpool?" The game I was alluding to was the home fixture with Swansea in
early April 2017. At that time we were heading towards the relegation places
at an alarming rate on the back of five successive losses and just two
points from the past seven matches. When I say "biggest game" my intention
was to portray the importance of points to the team, not to compare it to
any of the memorable wins against Manchester United, Chelsea or Spurs where
the atmosphere has been rocking. We went on to win that game against Swansea
and only suffered one more defeat in a season where we eventually finished
11th. This weekend we take on Southampton and in many ways we are in a very
similar position to where we were before last seasons victory over Swansea.
Here are some of the key points I made in that article nearly a year ago.
"We have a left back (Cresswell) who has lost all form"……… "Kouyate is a
shadow of his former self"……… "Noble has got slower"………." (Obiang) who
looked most likely to win HOTY has been lost for the season"……… "The fact is
that even with all these excuses, we have been poor for just about the whole
season"…….." A few tantalising sprinklings of what may or could have been
with wins over Palace, Boro and Saints have been overshadowed by a team that
cannot defend, crumbles once it concedes and lacks any real consistency on
any level"………." Last season should have been a platform for the club but the
transfer policy actually just threw us back into Premiership mediocrity".
It sounds like Groundhog Day doesn't it? Albert Einstein said that you can't
keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.
Now I'm not Einstein and fifty weeks ago I was only stating the bleedin'
obvious – yet I still keep waking up to Sonny and Chers "I got you Babe". At
least weatherman Phil Connors made the necessary changes to his life and
eventually escaped the time loop. West Ham fans are not so fortunate. There
may be bigger and more important games to come this season but for now this
game against Southampton is huge. It really could be a catalyst for what
transpires for the rest of the season. Indeed, our future as a club. Whilst
we hope for a game where our supporters create an uplifting atmosphere for
the team, the reality is it is going to be very tense. I haven't seen a lot
of Southampton's games in recent months but I did watch their cup tie at
Wigan. They were fortunate not to be two or three down by half time. They
barely created anything and they had players bottling challenges and visibly
not wanting the ball. But a few touches of top flight class and a few slices
of luck saw them through. It was new manager Mark Hughes first game in
charge and with a two week break in front of him the Saints fans will be
hoping for a "bounce". They will also have their much missed Charlie Austin
back for the visit to the OS.
As I wrote last week, Southampton have only won five Premier League games
this season. That includes two against bottom side West Brom and one against
a ten man West Ham – the other two were both last year against Everton and
Crystal Palace. They are the draw specialists of the division though with
thirteen in thirty games. The stats suggest this one has a draw written all
over it too. West Ham have scored just five first half goals at home all
season whilst Southampton have scored six away from home in the same period.
Both teams have conceded ten. The Hammers fare marginally better with second
half home goals; scoring eleven and conceding ten – the Saints are seven for
and thirteen against in their second half away fixtures. Whilst the draw
seems the bet, historically one of the sides normally finds a way to win
with just eleven draws in the past 59 encounters – although five of those
draws have come in the past fourteen matches played. In the past eleven
meetings between the two clubs both sides have tasted victory on four
occasions. Southampton are the bookies favourites to win this game. It is a
rarity that an away team placed below the home team on the table, at this
stage of the season, should be shorter odds or more fancied than the home
team. I would suggest this is based purely on the toxic atmosphere at our
last home game. I just hope if we do go a goal down again this weekend it is
not yet another Groundhog Day.
Personally, I would like to see Masuaku come straight back into the side
following his six match suspension. He does have the odd mistake in him
(don't they all) but we have really missed his drive forward down the left.
I would also like to see Adrian re-instated. Other than that, I would love
to see "post" and "rub of the green" make long awaited appearances. They
have been sorely missed.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 27
Daily WHUFC News - 26th March 2018
Hammers midfielder Joao Mario appears in Portugal defeat
WHUFC.com
Joao Mario earned his 33rd cap for Portugal as a late substitute in a 3-0
friendly international defeat by the Netherlands on Monday evening. The West
Ham United midfielder, on loan from Inter Milan, replaced Sporting Lisbon's
Bruno Fernandes with just 12 minutes remaining, but which time the European
champions were three goals down and had been reduced to ten men by full-back
Joao Cancelo's red card. The Dutch scored all their goals in the first half,
with former Manchester United player Memphis Depay, Liverpool's Virgil van
Dijk and ex-Reds winger Ryan Babel all on target. Former West Ham defender
Jose Fonte played the full 90 minutes. Portugal will hope for better
results when they resume their 2018 FIFA World Cup finals preparations at
the end of May, when they tackle Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria in warm-up
matches.
Elsewhere on Monday, Academy of Football defender Aji Alese was in the
England U17 squad for a 1-1 friendly draw with Brazil in Murcia in southern
Spain. The South Americans won a penalty shootout. With Alese in the
starting XI, England had won the first of two meetings at the same venue on
Friday.
A host of West Ham's senior internationals, including Marko Arnautovic, Joe
Hart, Angelo Ogbonna, Manuel Lanzini, Declan Rice, Josh Cullen, and
Edimilson Fernandes, could all be in action for their respective nations on
Tuesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rice 'proud' of performance in Republic of Ireland bow
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice admits his Man of the Match performance on his senior
international debut for the Republic of Ireland has left him filled with
pride. The 19-year-old was named in the Ireland starting XI for the first
time for Friday's friendly fixture with Turkey, and although Rice and his
teammates fell to a 1-0 defeat, the defender impressed on his first showing
for the nation. Rice's efforts saw the youngster named Ireland's standout
player, and the West Ham centre-back is delighted with his showing. "I
thought I did well for only being 19 years old on the international scene,"
Rice said after the match. "I was proud of myself. You're only out there for
90 minutes and you have to give it everything you've got. It's a game of
football at the end of the day."
An excellent individual evening for Rice began with the Hammer taking part
in the Irish national anthem and, having qualified to play for the nation
through his grandparents, it was a moment the defender admits left him
feeling emotional. He continued: "If I'm honest, it brought a little bit of
a tear to my eye singing the national anthem and thinking of my nana and
granddad. It was a special moment. I knew the anthem well to be fair! "But
I've come away, played in the game and loved every minute of it. I've loved
being around the team and at the moment I'm fully focused on playing with
Ireland."
Having made his international bow, Rice will return to the Ireland U21s for
a UEFA U21s Championship qualifier with Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Following
this Rice and his West Ham teammates will return to club duty, with a home
fixture against Southampton this Saturday. With the Irons just outside the
Premier League bottom three, Rice knows the importance of claiming a win in
this fixture. "It's tough and nobody likes being in the situation we're in,
We're out of the bottom three at the moment and we have a massive game
coming against Southampton, they're on 28 and we're on 30 points. We have to
go and win the match."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham star Lanzini targets Argentina improvement
WHUFC>com
Manuel Lanzini says there is more to come from him in an Argentina shirt
after scoring his maiden international goal at the weekend. The West Ham
United attacking midfielder netted the Albiceleste's second in a 2-0
friendly win over Italy in Manchester on Friday evening, curling home
superbly past Gianluigi Buffon after being teed-up by Gonzalo Higuain.
Lanzini, whose performance won praise from Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli,
harbours growing hopes of making his country's FIFA World Cup squad, but
says he will need to improve his performance levels still further if he
wants to join the likes of Higuain, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero in
Russia. "I felt good, comfortable, at times I could not get the ball, but
those are situations of the game," the 25-year-old told TyC Sports. "When I
went a little deeper I found the spaces, where Jorge [Sampaoli] told me to
be, behind the Italy number five (holding midfielder). This was important,
and I think I'm going to improve over time."
Playing for the first time since losing 4-2 to Nigeria in November,
Argentina were the better team against the Italians, despite being without
the rested Messi and Aguero. And their display was capped by the performance
of Lanzini, who was involved in both goals on his third appearance for his
country. First, the diminutive Hammer won the ball back for Ever Banega's
opener, then he curled an unstoppable shot into the top left-hand corner of
Buffon's net from 20 yards, celebrating his goal with a broad grin and
knee-slide. "We played a good game, at times we saw good football, it was a
great match," said the Hammers star, who also found time to describe his
goal. "It's a ball that Pipa (Gonzalo Higuain) gives me, the defenders just
backed up a bit and I hit it well."
Reports from Argentina suggest Sampaoli would like to see Lanzini play
alongside Messi for an extended period, with the pair lining up together for
just nine minutes previously – on the West Ham man's international debut
against Brazil in Melbourne last June. That could happen on Tuesday evening,
when the South Americans take on Spain in Madrid in an international
friendly that will be screened live on Sky Sports Football from 8.30pm UK
time.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
London Stadium: West Ham meet Sadiq Khan over safety & finances
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has met West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady for the
first time to discuss finances and safety at London Stadium. Khan has been
criticised for the delay in meeting given the significance of the club's
tenancy at the former Olympic Stadium, which began in 2016. Twenty people
were arrested after ugly scenes during the Hammers' 3-0 home defeat by
Burnley on 10 March. Saturday's game against Southampton is their first
match at the ground since.
Khan described the events of earlier this month as "a disgrace" and said the
trouble at London Stadium had been "apparently planned and co-ordinated",
though many West Ham fans have rejected those claims. In December, Khan
announced he was taking control of the stadium after a report established it
was losing about £20m a year. West Ham pay £2.5m annually as part of the
99-year lease they signed, which also signalled their exit from Upton Park,
a decision which many fans now claim was a mistake.
Last week, Khan confirmed the stadium operators - not West Ham - would be
responsible for meeting the extra cost incurred by the demand for greater
security, policing and stewarding in the wake of the trouble at the Burnley
game. A Football Association investigation into the trouble is ongoing but
West Ham have been warned by the body responsible for sanctioning fixtures
to proceed that any repeat will result in them being forced to play matches
behind closed doors. West Ham are 17th in the Premier League table, two
points and one place above Southampton, who occupy the final relegation slot
with eight games of the season remaining.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan: West Ham co-owner 'used club to avoid paying £700,000 tax'
BBC.co.uk
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan used the club to avoid paying £700,000 in
tax, a tribunal has ruled. He has been told to pay back the money after it
was found he deliberately tried to benefit from the transfer of £2m from his
family business in 2010. West Ham and Sullivan declined to comment although
it is understood he intends to appeal against the decision. The news emerged
at a time when West Ham's board have faced protests from fans unhappy at how
the club is run. Sullivan, 68, was forced to leave the directors' box after
being hit by a coin at the club's last home game, against Burnley at London
Stadium. The first-tier tax tribunal heard that Sullivan used his family
business, Conegate Ltd, to buy £2m of shares in the holding company that
owns West Ham. On the same day the shares were converted to "deferred
shares", which were deemed practically worthless and sold back to the
holding company for £1. Conegate then used the £2m loss to reduce its tax
bill by £700,000, as first reported by The Times.
Tribunal judge Jane Bailey acknowledged the "overarching" reason for the
transactions was to provide funds for the club. But she added: "It is clear
from our findings of fact that there was more than one way to provide
funding to the football club and that one of the reasons that Mr Sullivan
chose to provide funds to the football club in the specific way that
transpired was so that the appellant (Sullivan) could claim a capital loss.
"Therefore we consider securing a tax advantage to have been 'one of the
main purposes' of the arrangements."
Penny Ciniewicz, HM Revenue and Customs director general for customer
compliance, said: "Conegate built tax structures to avoid paying the tax
that was rightfully due."
West Ham say 20 fans have been banned for life following disturbances at the
Burnley match on 10 March. Additional police and stewards are likely to be
in place for the Premier League home game against Southampton on Saturday.
The Hammers are currently 17th in the Premier League, one place and two
points above Southampton and the relegation zone.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan ordered to repay £700,000
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United co-chairman David Sullivan has been ordered to pay £700,000
to the treasury after being found guilty of using West Ham to reduce his
personal tax burden. According to a story in today's Times, a tribunal has
heard how Sullivan used a family business - Conegate Ltd - to buy £2million
of shares in the holding company used to purchase West Ham United in 2010 in
order to reduce his company's tax bill. The tribunal subsequently found
against 68-year-old Sullivan, who has since been ordered to pay HMRC
£700,000. It is understood that he intends to appeal against the decision.
"It is clear from our findings of fact that there was more than one way to
provide funding to the football club," said Judge Jane Bailey. "That one of
the reasons that Mr Sullivan chose to provide funds to the football club in
the specific way that transpired was so that the appellant could claim a
capital loss. "Therefore we consider securing a tax advantage to have been
'one of the main purposes' of the arrangements."
Last year, in April 2017, West Ham's offices at the Olympic Stadium were
raided by officers representing HMRC in relation to player transfers and
unpaid taxes.
Deals under the spotlight included the transfers of Dimitri Payet from
Marseille and Demba Ba to Newcastle Utd, although a total of some 150
transfers were said to be under investigation. Meanwhile Sullivan and his
business interests were also subject to an earlier investigation in 2009,
when a a joint two-year probe by City of London Police and HMRC took place
during his ownership of Birmingham City.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irish legend backs Rice
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Former Ireland star Richard Dunne has backed Declan Rice to be a major
success at both domestic and international level. Dunne, who also featured
for the Irish at centre half was full of praise for the 19-year-old after he
received the Man of the Match award following Ireland's 1-0 defeat against
Turkey in Ankara on Friday night. "I went to an Under 21s game when he
played in midfield and he just dominated the game," Dunne told RTE. "He's
got energy, his passing was excellent and he wins tackles. "Higher up the
field, he has got an eye for a pass and he is that good he can't be a
centre-half. He has so much to offer going forward. He could be a huge, huge
plus for Ireland."
Equally impressed by the teenager's performance was Irish boss Martin
O'Neill. "I thought he did excellently in the game," said the former
Leicester and Aston Vill amanager. " He's played left-sided centre-half for
West Ham, his club, and at this minute I think he's getting accustomed to a
number of positions. I had no hesitation in putting him into the middle of
the field. "It was a man-of-the-match performance and I thought he was
excellent for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Brady going nowhere
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Karren Brady has told a journalist that she intends to stick it out at West
Ham - despite having lost the backing of many supporters. Brady was in the
Directors' Box for the recent home game with Burnley and was, along with her
two fellow Board members David Gold and David Sullivan, subject to a barrage
of criticism from demonstrators before leaving her seat early. However the
48-year-old stold the Guardian's Simon Hattenstone that she had no intention
of stepping down from her position as vice chair at the club, a role she has
held for eight years. Asked whether the time had come for her to move on,
having lost the support of the fans, Brady replied: "I've never walked away
from anything I've done, and I'm not going to start now. " I've taken every
opportunity, pushed myself in ways I'm not sure I knew were even possible,
I've made the best of my life and career. So yes, I do feel proud of myself.
"The toughest thing about being a success is you've got to keep on being a
success. You have to do the things you're passionate about, that you love.
"Who the hell wants to get to 48 and think: 'I wish I would have, I should
have, I could have done this, I might have done that.' You don't really do
much in life unless you take risks, push yourself and find your passion."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lanzini's mystery knock?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Manuel Lanzini scored his first goal from Argentina at the weekend - but
could be a doubt for this weekend's big Premier League clash with
Southampton. West Ham's attacking midfielder did his chances of appearing in
this summer's World Cup Finals in Russia no harm at all by netting the
latter goal in his country's 2-0 win against Italy at the weekend. However
he is said to have sustained a knock that could keep him out of tomorrow's
friendly against Spain in Madrid - and, more worryingly, against the Saints
this Saturday. Despite the potential injury concern, Lanzini - who also had
a hand in Ever Banega's opening goal - says he is delighted to be off the
mark at international level. I felt good, comfortable," he told TyC
Sports."At times I could not get the ball, but those are situations of the
game. "When I went a little deeper I found the spaces, where [coach] Jorge
[Sampaoli] told me to be, behind the Italian [defensive midfielder]. This
was important, and I think I'm going to improve over time."
Argentina v Spain is being broadcast live on Sky Sports from 8.30pm (GMT) on
Tuesday evening.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Arthur Masuaku leaves DR Congo squad early amid claims of travel
frustration
JAMES BENGE
ES Sport
West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku is one of a quartet of DR Congo players to
have dropped out of their national team amid claims of "disorder" within the
organisation. Masuaku, Standard Liege winger Paul-Jose M'Poku, Guingamp
defender Jordan Ikoko, and Gael Kakuta - once of Chelsea but now at Amiens -
will play no part in the friendly against Tanzania on Tuesday and are set to
return to their club sides. A statement from the Congolese Association
Football Federation (Fecofa) said that the players "lamented some
organisational aspects... which unfortunately, are neither within the
competence of the Federation, much less the technical staff of the Congolese
national team. "Some have cracked, shunned and asked to leave."
The problems appear to have stemmed from the DR Congo squad's flight to the
Tanzanian city Dar-es-Salam via Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Fecofa claim
that the country's sports minister Papi Niango did not agree to a proposed
charter jet to take the Leopards to their friendly match. Fecofa will hold
the quartet "accountable" for their decision, which in Masuaku's case means
he will have to wait for his international debut after opting to declare for
DR Congo, having previously played in the French youth setup.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Joao Mario earned his 33rd cap for Portugal as a late substitute in a 3-0
friendly international defeat by the Netherlands on Monday evening. The West
Ham United midfielder, on loan from Inter Milan, replaced Sporting Lisbon's
Bruno Fernandes with just 12 minutes remaining, but which time the European
champions were three goals down and had been reduced to ten men by full-back
Joao Cancelo's red card. The Dutch scored all their goals in the first half,
with former Manchester United player Memphis Depay, Liverpool's Virgil van
Dijk and ex-Reds winger Ryan Babel all on target. Former West Ham defender
Jose Fonte played the full 90 minutes. Portugal will hope for better
results when they resume their 2018 FIFA World Cup finals preparations at
the end of May, when they tackle Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria in warm-up
matches.
Elsewhere on Monday, Academy of Football defender Aji Alese was in the
England U17 squad for a 1-1 friendly draw with Brazil in Murcia in southern
Spain. The South Americans won a penalty shootout. With Alese in the
starting XI, England had won the first of two meetings at the same venue on
Friday.
A host of West Ham's senior internationals, including Marko Arnautovic, Joe
Hart, Angelo Ogbonna, Manuel Lanzini, Declan Rice, Josh Cullen, and
Edimilson Fernandes, could all be in action for their respective nations on
Tuesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rice 'proud' of performance in Republic of Ireland bow
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice admits his Man of the Match performance on his senior
international debut for the Republic of Ireland has left him filled with
pride. The 19-year-old was named in the Ireland starting XI for the first
time for Friday's friendly fixture with Turkey, and although Rice and his
teammates fell to a 1-0 defeat, the defender impressed on his first showing
for the nation. Rice's efforts saw the youngster named Ireland's standout
player, and the West Ham centre-back is delighted with his showing. "I
thought I did well for only being 19 years old on the international scene,"
Rice said after the match. "I was proud of myself. You're only out there for
90 minutes and you have to give it everything you've got. It's a game of
football at the end of the day."
An excellent individual evening for Rice began with the Hammer taking part
in the Irish national anthem and, having qualified to play for the nation
through his grandparents, it was a moment the defender admits left him
feeling emotional. He continued: "If I'm honest, it brought a little bit of
a tear to my eye singing the national anthem and thinking of my nana and
granddad. It was a special moment. I knew the anthem well to be fair! "But
I've come away, played in the game and loved every minute of it. I've loved
being around the team and at the moment I'm fully focused on playing with
Ireland."
Having made his international bow, Rice will return to the Ireland U21s for
a UEFA U21s Championship qualifier with Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Following
this Rice and his West Ham teammates will return to club duty, with a home
fixture against Southampton this Saturday. With the Irons just outside the
Premier League bottom three, Rice knows the importance of claiming a win in
this fixture. "It's tough and nobody likes being in the situation we're in,
We're out of the bottom three at the moment and we have a massive game
coming against Southampton, they're on 28 and we're on 30 points. We have to
go and win the match."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham star Lanzini targets Argentina improvement
WHUFC>com
Manuel Lanzini says there is more to come from him in an Argentina shirt
after scoring his maiden international goal at the weekend. The West Ham
United attacking midfielder netted the Albiceleste's second in a 2-0
friendly win over Italy in Manchester on Friday evening, curling home
superbly past Gianluigi Buffon after being teed-up by Gonzalo Higuain.
Lanzini, whose performance won praise from Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli,
harbours growing hopes of making his country's FIFA World Cup squad, but
says he will need to improve his performance levels still further if he
wants to join the likes of Higuain, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero in
Russia. "I felt good, comfortable, at times I could not get the ball, but
those are situations of the game," the 25-year-old told TyC Sports. "When I
went a little deeper I found the spaces, where Jorge [Sampaoli] told me to
be, behind the Italy number five (holding midfielder). This was important,
and I think I'm going to improve over time."
Playing for the first time since losing 4-2 to Nigeria in November,
Argentina were the better team against the Italians, despite being without
the rested Messi and Aguero. And their display was capped by the performance
of Lanzini, who was involved in both goals on his third appearance for his
country. First, the diminutive Hammer won the ball back for Ever Banega's
opener, then he curled an unstoppable shot into the top left-hand corner of
Buffon's net from 20 yards, celebrating his goal with a broad grin and
knee-slide. "We played a good game, at times we saw good football, it was a
great match," said the Hammers star, who also found time to describe his
goal. "It's a ball that Pipa (Gonzalo Higuain) gives me, the defenders just
backed up a bit and I hit it well."
Reports from Argentina suggest Sampaoli would like to see Lanzini play
alongside Messi for an extended period, with the pair lining up together for
just nine minutes previously – on the West Ham man's international debut
against Brazil in Melbourne last June. That could happen on Tuesday evening,
when the South Americans take on Spain in Madrid in an international
friendly that will be screened live on Sky Sports Football from 8.30pm UK
time.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
London Stadium: West Ham meet Sadiq Khan over safety & finances
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has met West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady for the
first time to discuss finances and safety at London Stadium. Khan has been
criticised for the delay in meeting given the significance of the club's
tenancy at the former Olympic Stadium, which began in 2016. Twenty people
were arrested after ugly scenes during the Hammers' 3-0 home defeat by
Burnley on 10 March. Saturday's game against Southampton is their first
match at the ground since.
Khan described the events of earlier this month as "a disgrace" and said the
trouble at London Stadium had been "apparently planned and co-ordinated",
though many West Ham fans have rejected those claims. In December, Khan
announced he was taking control of the stadium after a report established it
was losing about £20m a year. West Ham pay £2.5m annually as part of the
99-year lease they signed, which also signalled their exit from Upton Park,
a decision which many fans now claim was a mistake.
Last week, Khan confirmed the stadium operators - not West Ham - would be
responsible for meeting the extra cost incurred by the demand for greater
security, policing and stewarding in the wake of the trouble at the Burnley
game. A Football Association investigation into the trouble is ongoing but
West Ham have been warned by the body responsible for sanctioning fixtures
to proceed that any repeat will result in them being forced to play matches
behind closed doors. West Ham are 17th in the Premier League table, two
points and one place above Southampton, who occupy the final relegation slot
with eight games of the season remaining.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan: West Ham co-owner 'used club to avoid paying £700,000 tax'
BBC.co.uk
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan used the club to avoid paying £700,000 in
tax, a tribunal has ruled. He has been told to pay back the money after it
was found he deliberately tried to benefit from the transfer of £2m from his
family business in 2010. West Ham and Sullivan declined to comment although
it is understood he intends to appeal against the decision. The news emerged
at a time when West Ham's board have faced protests from fans unhappy at how
the club is run. Sullivan, 68, was forced to leave the directors' box after
being hit by a coin at the club's last home game, against Burnley at London
Stadium. The first-tier tax tribunal heard that Sullivan used his family
business, Conegate Ltd, to buy £2m of shares in the holding company that
owns West Ham. On the same day the shares were converted to "deferred
shares", which were deemed practically worthless and sold back to the
holding company for £1. Conegate then used the £2m loss to reduce its tax
bill by £700,000, as first reported by The Times.
Tribunal judge Jane Bailey acknowledged the "overarching" reason for the
transactions was to provide funds for the club. But she added: "It is clear
from our findings of fact that there was more than one way to provide
funding to the football club and that one of the reasons that Mr Sullivan
chose to provide funds to the football club in the specific way that
transpired was so that the appellant (Sullivan) could claim a capital loss.
"Therefore we consider securing a tax advantage to have been 'one of the
main purposes' of the arrangements."
Penny Ciniewicz, HM Revenue and Customs director general for customer
compliance, said: "Conegate built tax structures to avoid paying the tax
that was rightfully due."
West Ham say 20 fans have been banned for life following disturbances at the
Burnley match on 10 March. Additional police and stewards are likely to be
in place for the Premier League home game against Southampton on Saturday.
The Hammers are currently 17th in the Premier League, one place and two
points above Southampton and the relegation zone.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan ordered to repay £700,000
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United co-chairman David Sullivan has been ordered to pay £700,000
to the treasury after being found guilty of using West Ham to reduce his
personal tax burden. According to a story in today's Times, a tribunal has
heard how Sullivan used a family business - Conegate Ltd - to buy £2million
of shares in the holding company used to purchase West Ham United in 2010 in
order to reduce his company's tax bill. The tribunal subsequently found
against 68-year-old Sullivan, who has since been ordered to pay HMRC
£700,000. It is understood that he intends to appeal against the decision.
"It is clear from our findings of fact that there was more than one way to
provide funding to the football club," said Judge Jane Bailey. "That one of
the reasons that Mr Sullivan chose to provide funds to the football club in
the specific way that transpired was so that the appellant could claim a
capital loss. "Therefore we consider securing a tax advantage to have been
'one of the main purposes' of the arrangements."
Last year, in April 2017, West Ham's offices at the Olympic Stadium were
raided by officers representing HMRC in relation to player transfers and
unpaid taxes.
Deals under the spotlight included the transfers of Dimitri Payet from
Marseille and Demba Ba to Newcastle Utd, although a total of some 150
transfers were said to be under investigation. Meanwhile Sullivan and his
business interests were also subject to an earlier investigation in 2009,
when a a joint two-year probe by City of London Police and HMRC took place
during his ownership of Birmingham City.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irish legend backs Rice
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Former Ireland star Richard Dunne has backed Declan Rice to be a major
success at both domestic and international level. Dunne, who also featured
for the Irish at centre half was full of praise for the 19-year-old after he
received the Man of the Match award following Ireland's 1-0 defeat against
Turkey in Ankara on Friday night. "I went to an Under 21s game when he
played in midfield and he just dominated the game," Dunne told RTE. "He's
got energy, his passing was excellent and he wins tackles. "Higher up the
field, he has got an eye for a pass and he is that good he can't be a
centre-half. He has so much to offer going forward. He could be a huge, huge
plus for Ireland."
Equally impressed by the teenager's performance was Irish boss Martin
O'Neill. "I thought he did excellently in the game," said the former
Leicester and Aston Vill amanager. " He's played left-sided centre-half for
West Ham, his club, and at this minute I think he's getting accustomed to a
number of positions. I had no hesitation in putting him into the middle of
the field. "It was a man-of-the-match performance and I thought he was
excellent for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Brady going nowhere
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Karren Brady has told a journalist that she intends to stick it out at West
Ham - despite having lost the backing of many supporters. Brady was in the
Directors' Box for the recent home game with Burnley and was, along with her
two fellow Board members David Gold and David Sullivan, subject to a barrage
of criticism from demonstrators before leaving her seat early. However the
48-year-old stold the Guardian's Simon Hattenstone that she had no intention
of stepping down from her position as vice chair at the club, a role she has
held for eight years. Asked whether the time had come for her to move on,
having lost the support of the fans, Brady replied: "I've never walked away
from anything I've done, and I'm not going to start now. " I've taken every
opportunity, pushed myself in ways I'm not sure I knew were even possible,
I've made the best of my life and career. So yes, I do feel proud of myself.
"The toughest thing about being a success is you've got to keep on being a
success. You have to do the things you're passionate about, that you love.
"Who the hell wants to get to 48 and think: 'I wish I would have, I should
have, I could have done this, I might have done that.' You don't really do
much in life unless you take risks, push yourself and find your passion."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lanzini's mystery knock?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 26th March 2018
By: Staff Writer
Manuel Lanzini scored his first goal from Argentina at the weekend - but
could be a doubt for this weekend's big Premier League clash with
Southampton. West Ham's attacking midfielder did his chances of appearing in
this summer's World Cup Finals in Russia no harm at all by netting the
latter goal in his country's 2-0 win against Italy at the weekend. However
he is said to have sustained a knock that could keep him out of tomorrow's
friendly against Spain in Madrid - and, more worryingly, against the Saints
this Saturday. Despite the potential injury concern, Lanzini - who also had
a hand in Ever Banega's opening goal - says he is delighted to be off the
mark at international level. I felt good, comfortable," he told TyC
Sports."At times I could not get the ball, but those are situations of the
game. "When I went a little deeper I found the spaces, where [coach] Jorge
[Sampaoli] told me to be, behind the Italian [defensive midfielder]. This
was important, and I think I'm going to improve over time."
Argentina v Spain is being broadcast live on Sky Sports from 8.30pm (GMT) on
Tuesday evening.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Arthur Masuaku leaves DR Congo squad early amid claims of travel
frustration
JAMES BENGE
ES Sport
West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku is one of a quartet of DR Congo players to
have dropped out of their national team amid claims of "disorder" within the
organisation. Masuaku, Standard Liege winger Paul-Jose M'Poku, Guingamp
defender Jordan Ikoko, and Gael Kakuta - once of Chelsea but now at Amiens -
will play no part in the friendly against Tanzania on Tuesday and are set to
return to their club sides. A statement from the Congolese Association
Football Federation (Fecofa) said that the players "lamented some
organisational aspects... which unfortunately, are neither within the
competence of the Federation, much less the technical staff of the Congolese
national team. "Some have cracked, shunned and asked to leave."
The problems appear to have stemmed from the DR Congo squad's flight to the
Tanzanian city Dar-es-Salam via Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Fecofa claim
that the country's sports minister Papi Niango did not agree to a proposed
charter jet to take the Leopards to their friendly match. Fecofa will hold
the quartet "accountable" for their decision, which in Masuaku's case means
he will have to wait for his international debut after opting to declare for
DR Congo, having previously played in the French youth setup.
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