Cole feeling sharp
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole is buzzing after inspiring West Ham United to victory for the
second game running
20.11.2011
Carlton Cole is feeling fit and strong after inspiring West Ham United to
victory for the second npower Championship match in succession. After
producing a fantastic display in the 2-0 win at Hull City a fortnight ago,
Cole was introduced as a half-time substitute again with West Ham trailling
1-0 at Coventry City. Cole scored the Hammers' equaliser and pulled the Sky
Blues back four all over the place both before and after fellow replacement
Frederic Piquionne's 75th-minute winner. "Whenever I get called upon I do my
best," he told West Ham TV. "Sometimes my best is not good enough for that
particular game, but I've been feeling sharp in training and everyday life
and I'm on the ball at the moment. "I had a nice little rest [when I was
recovering from a minor knee injury] and it's done me good, really. People
normally start to get tired around this time of the season but I've had a
little rest and I've come back stronger. When everybody else is tired, I can
still get some work done. "I was just relieved to see my goal go in because
we really needed it. It set us in a good position to go on and win the game.
"I said to Freddie on the bench during the first half that we only needed
one goal to open them up and try to make them feel more uncomfortable. They
played really well in the first half and were getting in amongst us, which
is what you're going to get when we go away from home. "We needed to be able
to hold them off and pounce on them like we did in the second half."
Cole was pleased not just with his own performance but that of his fellow
striker and friend Piquionne, who netted his first goal since scoring at
Stoke City in the FA Cup sixth-round on 13 March - a span of 21 matches in
all competitions. "We have both got be model professionals and apply
ourselves in the right way and be ready when called upon. Today, we were
ready and when we came on we gave our utmost best - that's the team spirit
we have got here and that's what we need to carry on throughout the whole
season. "We need to be able to graft out results all season. The next couple
of months are going to be a telling period with games coming thick and fast.
That's when you need every player in the squad to be up to the task. "It's
up to the fitness staff, the manager and the players themselvs to be
responsible to keep themselves in tip-top shape and be prepared for that."
Cole also hailed the assistant given by the 6,300 travelling Hammers packed
behind the goal both he and Piquionne scored in during the second half. The
atmosphere, noise and comeback stirred memories of last season's dramatic
3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion - a match in which Cole scored and
Piquionne produced a fantastic display off the bench. "It was crazy.
Obviously all the fans were willing us to win the game and when things
didn't go right, they got frustrated like we did on the pitch. "When the
fans are on our side, it really makes a difference and when I got my
equaliser theyt wanted us to go and get another goal. Then, when we got the
second, they wanted us to get another goal!"
The third goal should have arrived in added time when Jack Collison blazed
over from close-range when it looked easier to score. Cole revealed that the
midfielder had taken plenty of stick from his team-mates. "We started on the
field and it's carried on in the tunnel and in the showers! It's going to go
on the coach now, as well, so I don't think we'll let him forget about it
for a while! "Seriously, though, when we get back into training he'll
continue to work hard because he will be really disappointed that he missed
that. That's life and he'll be looking forward to score next time."
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Frank the main man
WHUFC.com
Frank Nouble made it five goals in ten league matches for Gillingham, while
Cristian Montano scored again
20.11.2011
Frank Nouble's fine form for Gillingham continued with the fifth league goal
of his loan spell helping them to a 2-1 win at home to Aldershot Town. Still
only 20, the on-loan Hammer is averaging a goal every two games in League
Two and not surprisingly the Kent club are keen to keep him for another
month. The loan window shuts this week and Sam Allardyce is committed to
sending out his young forwards in the hope of getting them regular action.
Cristian Montano has just joined his third loan club of the season in
Dagenham & Redbridge, scoring on his debut but unable to stop them losing
3-2 at home to Southend United on Saturday. Kane Ferdinand was the Southend
hero with a double.
Robert Hall has gone back to Oxford United after six goals in ten matches
during his initial stay but drew a blank in their 4-1 reverse away to
high-fliers Crawley Town. The other Hammer on loan in League Two is defender
Callum McNaughton and he got another 90 minutes in the 1-1 home draw with
Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town.
It was Nouble who was the main man this weekend for the Hammers loanees. As
well as getting first-team experience, he is also adapting to a new
position. Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler is playing him in an advanced
position on the right wing and it is allowing the imposing front-man to
create havoc on defences. Speaking to Gillingham's website, Nouble said: "I
have been here two months and the manager has given me a lot of confidence
and I am playing well. I am happy that [the manager] wants me to stay. We
will hopefully get that sorted, we have a few days to sort it out. "I want
to sign and hopefully it will be sorted. I want to carry on doing what I am
now."
Despite his short-term goal of getting goals for the Gills, the long-term
ambition is to return to the Boleyn Ground and make an impact. "I always
want to go back to West Ham. I want to do well for them but at the same time
I need to realise what the realities are there. There are a lot of players
there and the manager just asked me to go out on loan, do well, and see what
happens. "I am enjoying it and I am waking up in the morning and going into
training and enjoying it. My main focus would be getting into the West Ham
team but you can only do well for where you are at the present time and I
want to do well for Gillingham."
His manager Hessenthaler is certainly happy. "We are absolutely delighted
with him," he said. "When it goes up to him something happens. Is he a
centre-forward? He will tell you he is, but I quite like him out on the
right-hand side because he makes things happen. I am delighted with his
performance."
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Allardyce on... Coventry City
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 20th November 2011
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce looks back on a hard-fought three points - West Ham sixth away
win in the Championship already this season...
Sam: another good away win - but you had to fight for it?
A lot of credit to Coventry on their first half performance, I thought they
really played well - and a terrific goal they scored. Actually it was the
only chance they had on target but they scored with it, but it was a
fantastic goal.
They really dominated the play too much and too often for me in the first
half, so a change of system and a change of personel was why we got a good
substitutes bench again today. I think that when Carlton [Cole] and then
Freddie [Piquionne] came on that's when we really took control of the game.
I know both of them lads have scored and got us the victory but the
contribution they made as well in possession; [they] created, opened the
opposition up more and more. It's a good victory in the end - and in the
end, I still don't know how Jack Collison missed that sitter!
A couple of scruffy goals, but they way they were created and the chances
opened up were fantastic. They've gone in the back of the net and that's all
you can ask.
Your heart must have sunk when that one went over from Collison with a
minute or so left?
Well you never know what happens. One ball goes up the middle, somebody
makes a mistake and they might nab an equaliser. But I have to say, the lads
defensively - Faye and Tomkins again, an outstanding pairing at centre half
and it really makes life very difficult for the opposition. Like I say,
Coventry were the better side in the first half but hadn't created much
because of Faye and Tomkins' good defending.
The second half was a completely different story, attacking flair came more
to the front and got us the chances to come back. It's the first time we've
had to come back away from home from a goal down which shows a lot of
character, for me, and a lot of determination.
As such you were throwing caution to the wind really, it was 433 - but the
team really responded?
We had to get at Coventry's back four. You look at their goals conceded
record and that's where the problems lay for most of this season. So we put
the two up top and one in the hole behind and it's come through and worked
perfectly for us.
[Mark] Noble looked like he had a very good day in the centre of the park as
well, I thought?
Yeah, well second half, I think everybody contributed. Our full backs got
forward and started to provide better service for the front men, midfield
got in possession more and started passing and moving the ball more. Jack
Collison would have finished off a good second half performance if he'd
scored that one, that would have been three goals in as many starts nearly.
But yeah, satisfying in the end; worrying after 45 minutes, delighted after
90.
But an outstanding away record just continues?
Yes, six [wins], two [draws] and one [defeat]; pretty good, pretty good.
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Away day delight
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 20th November 2011
By: Paul Walker
Take a bow, West Ham's travelling army, you were brilliant at Coventry on
what was a great day out. all apart from that first 45 minutes, that is!
And for a change, it has to be said that the local police played their part
in making the day out for the Cockney army a pleasure.
It's not always the case. Away-day cops can be heavy-handed, disinterested
and genuinely unhelpful (I recall last season at Stoke a local bobby told me
he didn't know the way to walk back to the railway station when I asked;
sometimes you can't make it up).
But this lot of old Bill were helpful, cheerful, full of advice on
designated away fans' pubs, and the way to catch buses around a city that is
now not blessed with a user-friendly football stadium.
The Ricoh Arena is an excellent ground, but it's three-and-a-half miles from
the city centre, with only buses and inflated taxi fares to get you there
and back. Not too much of a problem on the way out with many sharing taxis,
but trying to get back to the station with many thousand of others is not
the easiest... thankfully it wasn't raining.
And the city's bus and railway stations are, unhelpfully, someway apart. But
the hard-earned excellent victory made it all OK.
Being in the front row behind the goal did not give me the best perspective
of what Coventry's South Stand actually looked like. But the helpful
pictures on the club's website gave a very graphic view of what the players
could see. A soaring, packed bank of noisy fans. It was a pleasure to be
involved.
And Big Sam is right, we created an atmosphere that helped towards the
victory, especially with the team kicking towards us in the second-half and
trying to recover from being a goal down after the first 45 minutes of
nonsense.
No self-respecting player would want to let down a following like that, so
passionate, so determined to roar them back to the top flight. In fact, it
was something of a watershed really.
There was no booing or abuse when we let in that Coventry goal, with the
hard-working Jack Collison knowing he should never have let the cross into
the box in the first place.
Maybe it was the day that belief spread from manager to players to fans. The
collective feeling that this was a real club effort, spread through the
fans. Now there is a nice little gap opening up between ourselves and third
spot, and certainly with seventh place.
We just have to keep it going, to start picking up regulation victories at
home - starting with Derby on Saturday - and making sure we keep up the
excellent away form at Middlesbrough on November 29. I doubt we'll have
6,300 at the Riverside for a midweek trek to the north east, but 2,000 to
3,000 wouldn't surprise me.
It's one of the closer away trips to my home in the north west, so I'll be
there, as will no doubt the vast amount of northern based Irons fans.
There's a lot of us.
My train from Manchester to Coventry on Saturday even surprised me. It
stopped at Stoke, Stafford and Wolverhampton, and when it reached Coventry,
hundreds of Hammers fans got off, I think we surprised even ourselves to
discover the amount of like-minded fans there are north of Birmingham who
loyally follow the team.
As I said, the fans roared the team on to a recovery. Our first-half display
was disjointed and handicapped by the now obvious attitude amongst referees
that John Carew should be penalised every time he goes for the ball.
He gets tugged, pulled, held and kicked constantly by defenders who seem
capable of falling over at every opportunity, with referees underlining how
poor officials are in this division. I find myself praying to see the likes
of Martin Atkinson, Mark Clattenburg and Andre Marriner again!
I am beginning to dread reading in the match programme that 'today's
official is in charge of West Ham for the first time.' It means it is the
biggest game of their career and they are intent on making a name for
themselves.
Keith Stroud on Saturday was no better than all the rest we have seen. And
how he could not see when Mark Noble was chopped down in the box right in
front of us on Saturday , is beyond me and I'm sure 6,000 others.
But for all the lackings of the first half, Big Sam's astute tactical
changes and the arrival of Carlton Cole, turned the game. Cole looks a
different player this season to the uncertain figure of the last campaign,
and his strength and power won him that first goal.
That Freddie Piquionne can then arrive, stumble into the six yard box and
somehow fumble the ball home off his knee - he knew nothing about the
contact really - maybe shows that some of the luck is turning our way.
The experiences of away fans over the past few years has left us not really
expecting to feel in anyway joyful when we are heading home. Well, all that
seems to be changing for the good.
Our lot were singing in the bus queue, singing on the buses and back at the
station, without seeming to bother the police in anyway, Long may it
continue.
My son and his mates were missing from this one, being down in Bournemouth
for a stag do - Danny, your planning leaves a lot to be desired, and with
bride to be Vicky a West Ham fan too - so it was left to the old man to
carry the flag.
And it was a real pleasure, thanks to 6,300 people who really believe.
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Allardyce - We're on course
Hammers boss happy; City chief credits players
Last Updated: November 19, 2011 7:12pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes the Hammers are on target for an
automatic promotion spot after their win at Coventry. Allardyce could point
to his double substitution as a turning point in the win, after City, the
better team in the first-half, took a deserved lead through a Clive Platt
strike. However, Allardyce sent on reinforcements in the shape of Carlton
Cole and Freddie Piquionne who scored a goal apiece. Allardyce said: "We
changed it round at half time and I told the players that they were
attacking the end where we had 6,500 fans who had travelled all the way to
support us and we'd not played well enough to get them behind us. "We
changed the system and once we got Freddie Piquionne and Carlton Cole on, it
was then that the game changed in our favour. For me, it was only a matter
of time before we started to score goals. "I can call myself the master
tactician! It's another valuable three points towards our target and for
only the second time we are exactly where we want to be which is 34 points
after 17 games. "Two points a game is going to get you automatic promotion
and we are right on the brink of our busiest period with no more
international breaks and we are getting the squad fit again."
Disappointed
Meanwhile Sky Blues boss Andy Thorn was disappointed with how they conceded
the two goals, particularly the second which was helped by a huge
deflection.
"I thought we acquitted ourselves really well, played some really good
stuff. I thought everybody was a credit," he said. "The first goal we felt
was a foul on Keogh but we didn't get much all afternoon so that I didn't
expect to get that. The second goal we should deal with but it came from a
ricochet and that's our luck at the moment. "When you are bringing Carlton
Cole and Piquionne off the bench, it gives you a good armoury but I can't
fault my players because I thought we stuck to our principles, mixed it up
and played some good stuff but it wasn't to be. "I am sure the neutral would
say we deserved something from the game. People who aren't here will see
another defeat but we are trying to play the right way and we have to keep
going and the big man upstairs has got to give me an ace some time soon."
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Vinny's Coventry Report
Vinny 11:17 Sun Nov 20
West Ham Online
Coventry City 1 West Ham United 2
A second half turnaround saw West Ham come from a goal behind to take all
three points against Championship strugglers Coventry City.
The changes made at half time were key to our comeback although many will
question why Sam Allardyce did not choose to play this way from the
beginning.
It was a very similar game to that at Hull where the first half performance
was simply not good enough yet in the second period we came out like a
different team, played a different way and scored two goals.
Around 6,500 West Ham fans made the trip to the Ricoh Arena in what was a
phenomenal show of support. West Ham fans can be criticised for being a tad
fickle or critical of their team but they always turn up and this was a
quite exceptional turn out for a league game against Coventry.
This was our third away win in a row and quite clearly evidence that we are
a very strong team when playing away from home but in none of those games
were we dominant and we seem to have knack of making things hard for
ourselves by playing a negative first half formation with players out of
position.
You can argue that it was the changes made by Allardyce that won us the game
but after the Hull game it seemed clear that Carlton Cole was looking sharp
and that Sam Baldock is out of his depth when playing on the left wing.
I know we all think we are football managers (I've had a good stint on
Football Manager with West Ham you know) but surely this observation could
not have been lost on Allardyce. Also, this was a struggling Coventry who
were second from bottom so to take the game to them wasn't such an odd thing
to expect.
But as we have proven all season, we generally get the right result and all
the West Ham support could leave the Ricoh on a high as we had claimed yet
another three points and keep up pace with Southampton at the top of the
league.
The Team
The team that started the game was exactly the one which started at Hull
City a couple of weeks ago.
John Carew was up front on his own with Baldock on the left wing.
Returning from injury and back on the substitutes bench was Joey O'Brien.
First Half
Before the match kicked off a minute silence took place to commemorate
Remembrance Day and also the Coventry Blitz of 1940. This was slightly
tainted by a number of loud West Ham fans but in their defence while waiting
to get into the ground everyone was singing and chanting and if there had
been a minute silence I wouldn't have known it either.
We never got going at all in the first half and our game plane was one
dimensional with the long ball to Carew being our only outlet. If Carew did
not win the ball then that was the end of the attack and this gave Coventry
a lot of the ball which saw them grow in confidence as the half went on.
Carew was having a bit of a nightmare with anything he tried to do and
continued to give away countless free kicks in the opening twenty minutes.
Papa Diop found himself yellow carded for the softest of challenges on
Bigirmana. It seemed as though he went into the book for persistent fouling
but it was just one bad challenge the moment before which I could recall and
the ref needed to take into context what his next foul actually was.
Our best method of play was when we could get the ball out to Julien Faubert
who despite playing at full back was always willing to bomb down the right
and found himself with a lot of space. Jack Collison who seemed to be
playing on the right hand side was never actually there and kept drifting
infield.
Our first shot came after 25 minutes when Baldock was there to lay the ball
off to Mark Noble who saw his strike go over the bar.
Just after the half hour mark Coventry took the lead and although we had not
been playing well I hadn't seen this coming because if we had produced few
chances, the home side had produced less.
But a goal they did score and it was a poor one to concede as the challenge
from Collison on Christie was very weak and the right back continued on, put
his cross in for Clive Platt to control, turn and fire past Robert Green
with his left foot.
Abdoulaye Faye saw a good chance go begging when Noble crossed into the area
from a free kick but the centre half could only see his head go wide.
As the half time whistle blew the majority of the travelling West Ham fans
let the team and manager know that they were not happy with what they had
seen as boo's rang out from the away end.
Listening to people downstairs at half time it seemed clear that a lot of
supporters wanted to see us go to 4-4-2 and they would get their wish.
Second Half
Just like at Hull one change was made at half time and it was the exact same
change with John Carew being replaced by Carlton Cole. This change would
make a massive difference as would the change in formation as Sam Baldock
joined Cole up front.
Whilst the long ball forward was still part of our game, it wasn't the only
part as we looked to play some football on the floor.
Ten minutes into the second half and we won our first corner of the game
courtesy of Sam Baldock. The corner taken by Noble was put out for another
corner by a Coventry defender and Noble took again but this time the referee
spotted an infringement on the keeper and a Free Kick was given.
Whilst nothing in terms of goal chances had happened you could sense the
game was starting to turn as we were the team on the ball and the team
moving forward.
Saying that, a really smart long range effort from Jutkiewicz was
brilliantly saved by Robert Green to keep the score at 1-0.
With a half hour to play Allardyce made his second change of the game with
Papa Diop coming off and Frederique Piquionne replacing him.
A much better move saw Faubert cross into the area for Cole but the ball was
only cleared as far as Noble who lashed his shot over the bar. These were
much better signs though and we just needed to keep coming at them.
And on the 69th minute we found the equaliser and it was pretty much a route
one exercise.
A long kick forward by Robert Green saw Cole go up for the header and he
managed to do enough for the ball to miss the defender and Cole was through
on goal. As he got into the area his goal bound shot was deflected past the
keeper and Carlton Cole had his 5th goal of the season and made it 1-1.
The away support were completely pumped up now and with twenty minutes to
play we could sense that another goal was coming.
On 75 minutes the second goal did come and what a bizarre goal it was.
Cole received the ball from a throw in and spread it out to the right hand
side for Faubert to cross deep into the area for Christie to meet the ball
with a header which hit Frederique Piquionne who was stumbling to the floor
and went past the keeper.
The West Ham fans went wild and Piquionne celebrated his first goal of the
season albeit the most fortunate goal you are likely to see. But they all
count.
With us leading Allardyce got into his panic mode and took of Sam Baldock
and replaced him with Joey O'Brien. We then decided to sit back and let
Coventry come at us.
A good cross from Clingan saw Platt win the header but it was wide of
Green's goal as he squandered the chance to double his tally and equalise.
We were certainly digging in with players throwing themselves in front of
shots but it was all a bit too desperate for my liking when we had shown
that taking the game to them was the best form of defence as they could not
cope with our movement.
As time went on Coventry were piling players forward and lost all discipline
at the back and we really should have scored at least one more goal.
With four minutes of injury time awarded we had hit the 93rd mark and had a
glorious chance to wrap the game up.
The Coventry defence had gone missing and Piquionne ran forward, laid the
ball to McCartney who took a poor swipe at his attempt but the ball found
it's way to Jack Collison who blazed his shot over the just a few yards out
when it looked easier to score.
Nevertheless we were not to be punished for this awful miss and we saw the
next minute out and leave with another precious three points.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
Claimed every cross he came for with ease, made a couple of good saves
especially in the second half and put in another solid display.
Julien Faubert
Clearly up for this game and put in a hard working shift. For me he is more
use to us as a midfielder as he is our only player with pace and is actually
comfortable playing on the wing. But he got forward well and was good
throughout.
Abdoulaye Faye
A largely excellent display from Faye who continues to be dominant in the
air and difficult for attackers to get past.
James Tomkins
Some of his passing was poor but his timing of tackles was superb and showed
great recovery throughout the game.
George McCartney
He is not a left winger and with no width in our team he was expected to
bomb forward, beat players and cross the ball. He doesn't have the ability
to do any of these things well and struggled especially in the first half.
But as a defender McCartney is and always has been solid.
Jack Collison
I'm struggling to work out what anyone sees in Collison. It's been so long
since I saw him play well I forget what the fuss was all about. He doesn't
compete enough, disappears from the game for large periods, does little when
he has the ball, wimps out of any header despite being over 6 foot and
offers little more than Freddie Sears could.
Papa Bouba Diop
Broke up the play and made a number of good challanges in the midfield area.
Kevin Nolan
To be honest, I'm in shock to see that he was even on the pitch. Anonymous.
Mark Noble
A good display from Noble who was on the ball quite a bit, rarely gave the
ball away and is our only player with any vision and ability to produce a
cross field pass.
Sam Baldock
Awful in the first half. Better in the second and his movement was dragging
defenders away from Cole who was finding a lot of space. Not a left winger.
John Carew
Pretty terrible really. Won little in the air, gave away a lot of fouls,
poor on the ball, poor off it. At times it was not his fault as he was very
isolated but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment.
Subs Used
Carlton Cole (on for Carew 45 mins)
He turned the game around and Coventry really struggled to deal with him.
Scored a goal and was the game changer.
Frederique Piquionne (on for Diop 62 mins)
Back amongst the goals finally despite it being a very lucky goal to score.
But he needed it and we will take it all day long.
Joey O'Brien (on for Baldock 80 mins)
On to give us a more defensive look. Did well enough in his time on the
pitch.
Subs Not Used: Stech, Sears
Bookings: Papa Diop, Faye, Faubert
Man Of The Match: Carlton Cole
Coventry City: Murphy, Christie, Hussey, Cranie, Keogh, Clingan, Thomas,
Bigirimana, McSheffrey, Jutkiewicz, Platt
Subs: Dunn, Cameron, Wood, McDonald, Baker
Attendance: 20, 524
Overall
We came, we saw, we took another three points. This seems to be the normal
service when it comes to West Ham playing away from home at the moment.
I am of course delighted to have seen us win but the last two games we have
made difficult for ourselves against opposition that frankly we are much
better than and when we step it up to a level that we should always be
playing at we beat these teams with a lot more ease.
The negative tactics from Allardyce baffle me a little because he must see
that we have more about us than most teams in the league and he needs to
have a little more faith in our ability in games against struggling sides
such as Coventry.
Next Game - Derby Country (h) Saturday 26th November, 5.20pm Kick Off
Derby are a funny team as they seem to go on a run of a couple of good
results then lose a number of games. They are inconsistent and another side
we should be beating at Upton Park. I don't mean this to sound arrogant but
we are better than Derby and if we play with some freedom and positivity we
will beat them.
We continue to move along nicely and I believe we can get even better.
Sam's View
"It is a satisfying afternoon, It is a great result to come back having gone
a goal down at half-time. It is the first time we have shown this type of
character.
"We were disappointed in our performance in the first half but we did
something about it. Me by changing the system [from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2] and the
players by performing better. They exerted pressure on Coventry which ended
up paying off for us."
"The win gave the outstanding supporters something to cheer. It was even
better for us to score both goals at their end. They made a real atmosphere
for us today and the lads knew they didn't want to let the fans down or
themselves down.
"They have come storming through, shown their quality and demonstrated why
we are in the position we are in."
"Defensively we were OK but Coventry were dominating the ball most of the
time. They scored a very good goal indeed.
"We changed it around at half-time. We changed the system and I think once
we put Frederic Piquionne and Carlton Cole on, the game changed in our
favour.
"We started to create more and more and I thought it was only a matter of
time before scored. In the end we carried on creating chances. It was a
satisfying 45 minutes and was because I have such a strong squad - not in
numbers but in terms of quality. We had talented players to come on and
change the game in our favour. "
"It was a really good and happy dressing room. It is another three points
towards our target. For only the second time we are where we want to be, 17
points from 34 games is two points a game. That gets you automatic
promotion.
"We are right on the brink of our busiest period, no more international
breaks and the games will come thick and fast. Having the squad fit again
and having this result means that last two-week break came at the right
time. More of our injured players are getting fit and that should hopefully
stand us in good stead going into a more ferocious fixture list."
Season 2011/12 Scorers and Bookings
Sam Baldock - 5 (5 League)
Carlton Cole - 5 (5 League)
Kevin Nolan - 4 (4 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Mark Noble - 2 (2 League)
Jack Collison - 2 (2 League)
Own Goal - 2 (2 League)
James Tomkins - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Scott Parker - 1 (1 League)
Winston Reid - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Henri Lansbury - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (1 League)
Junior Stanislas - 1 (1 Cup)
Yellow Cards
Kevin Nolan - 4
Julien Faubert - 4
Mark Noble - 3
Henri Lansbury - 2
Joey O'Brien - 2
James Tomkins - 2
Abdoulaye Faye - 2
Carlton Cole - 1
Matthew Taylor - 1
George McCartney - 1
Sam Baldock -1
Winston Reid - 1
John Carew - 1
Papa Bouba Diop - 1
Red Cards
Callum McNaughton - 1 (vs Aldershot home)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (vs Portsmouth home)
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Coventry 1-2 West Ham: Daily Mirror match report
Published 21:50 20/11/11 By Peter Squires
The Mirror
Carlton Cole hopes his 'super-sub' label doesn't stick - despite coming off
the bench to change the game for a second successive match. The former
England striker replaced the ineffectual John Carew at half-time with the
Hammers trailing to a Clive Platt goal at struggling Coventry. But, as he
did at Hull in their previous match, Cole changed the game, levelling before
Frederic Piquionne scored a flukey winner late on. But Cole was quick to
deflect any credit for the turnaround onto manager Sam Allardyce, while
insisting he wants to be starting games as soon as he regains full fitness.
"I think the tactical and -formation changes had a lot to do with it not so
much the personnel," he said. "He's an experienced manager, he does change
things, he does use players out of position as well and he knows what he is
going to get from his players. He had to change it and it worked in our
favour, Freddy Piquionne came on at the right time, scored a goal and we won
it. "I'm trying to do extra in training to get fit and sharp, and back into
the starting line-up. I'm not Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so I don't want to be
labelled a super-sub!"
The Hammers performed well below their usual level in the first half and the
Sky Blues deserved their lead on 33 minutes when Platt turned and fired in
the box after Gary McSheffrey created space for him with a dummy. But Cole's
deflected shot found the back of the net on 69 minutes before Piquionne
bundled home the winner after it came back to him off Cyrus Christie, 11
minutes from time. Cole admitted the winner was a touch -fortunate. "I tried
to pull it into the right-hand corner but the defender came across and
slightly touched it and it ricocheted over the keeper," he added. "But you
will take those, we were all over them and deserved a goal."
Arguably the turning point in the match came when Abdoulaye Faye was shown
just a yellow card for kicking out at Lukas Jutkiewicz - an inexplicable
decision according to scorer Platt. "I don't know what he [the referee] has
done because if he didn't book Faye then you could say he hasn't seen it,"
said the striker, after netting his second goal in as many games. "But he's
booked Faye. It's off the ball, he's just booted Lukas and if he sees it he
either sends him off or does nothing and he booked him for booting a player
off the ball. It was a poor decision."
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West Ham on alert after Leeds defender's strike
Published 22:26 20/11/11 By Jeremy Butler
The Mirror
West Ham are on alert after Leeds defender Andy O'Brien went on strike. The
defender refused to play in his side's 2-1 win at Burnley on Saturday and
told boss Simon Grayson he wants to quit Elland Road. That news will bring
further interest from Hammers chief Sam Allardyce, who recently had a loan
bid knocked back for the 32-year-old former Republic of Ireland ace. O'Brien
(above) can expect a financial penalty after Leeds hold an investigation
into the matter this week. And boss Grayson insists O'Brien has played his
last game for the club. He fumed: "Andy O'Brien came to me on Friday and
said he didn't want to play for the football team again. "It was a massive
shock to the system because over the last few weeks I've privately and
publicly backed him. "I've said over the last four or five weeks that Andy
O'Brien has trained really well but my bottom line is that he will never
play for me again at this football club. "He will face the -consequences of
his -decision not to play as he would have probably played - but I won't be
trying to talk him round."
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Carlton Cole rules out January move after inspiring West Ham win over
Coventry at Ricoh Arena
By Rajvir Rai at the Ricoh Arena11:00PM GMT 20 Nov 2011
The Telegraph
After the traumas of last season, West Ham suddenly seem a happy club once
again. The east Londoners are nicely placed in Southampton's slipstream at
the top of the Championship, -supporters are gradually reconciling
themselves to Sam Allardyce's muscular, pragmatic football and a squad that
looked disgruntled last year is suffused with smiles. On Saturday, nobody
beamed broader than Carlton Cole. The striker had been widely linked with a
move away from Upton Park, with Marseille rumoured to be interested, but he
is more than happy to stay put. "I know there have been rumours about me
leaving but that is all they are," said the 28 year-old, who has impressed
since returning to action after missing most of October with a knee problem.
"People are trying to line themselves up for January and see what is
happening with players they might be interested in. That is normal, it
happens every window, but I am happy at West Ham. I am good and want to play
more."
Cole's words will delight manager Allardyce, who admits that after a string
of game-changing performances from the bench, the powerful forward has
earned the right to a starting spot. Having set up both his side's goals in
the win over Hull two weeks ago, Cole came on at half-time on Saturday and
inspired West Ham to come back from a goal down against Coventry. "Based on
his last two performances he warrants that he plays from the start and that
will probably be the case," Allardyce said. West Ham are unbeaten in five
games, but with seven games in 36 days over the winter period, Cole and
Allardyce know tough tests lie ahead. "We have to dig deep within ourselves,
physically and mentally, because the games will start coming thick and fast.
It is nitty, gritty time now," Allardyce said.
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