Daily WHUFC News - 20th August 2012

Nobby delighted by Villa victory
WHUFC.com
Match-winner Kevin Nolan was all smiles after leading the Hammers to an
opening-day win over Aston Villa
19.08.2012

Kevin Nolan revealed his delight after West Ham United's 1-0 Barclays
Premier League home win over Aston Vila, with the skipper claiming the
Hammers had come away with everything they wanted. After a fractious opening
period the hosts settled well and dominated large parts of the game creating
a host of good opportunities. Nolan grabbed the winner in the 40th minute
after good work from Ricardo Vaz Te. Speaking post-match, the skipper
praised his side for making a perfect start. "We got exactly what we wanted
from the game," he said. "We spoke before about how important it was to get
off to a winning start and we have done that, while we also kept a clean
sheet. "We could have scored three or four. The lads were terrific,
especially in the heat, as I'm sure many people can imagine it was hard
enough simply watching the game. "The lads were terrific and we have
hopefully given ourselves a stepping stone ahead of what will be another
tough game [at Swansea City] next weekend."

There was a hint of controversy surrounding Nolan's goal with the assistant
referee raising his flag, but the skipper believes the correct decision was
eventually made as replays showed the ball was flicked-on by VIlla defender
Ciaran Clark. "I was under no illusions that it wasn't a goal. The ball came
off a defender so I knew Ricardo was onside and knew that if I converted the
chance we would go in front. "That is why I went off celebrating because I
was extremely happy, it was nice to get off the mark and hopefully it will
be the first of many."

The second half saw the Hammers dominate and Nolan could have had a second
past former Newcastle United team-mate Shay Given but for some commendable
last-ditch defending. "I beat Shay but the defender managed to get his body
in the way. I was absolutely gutted about that one because it would have
been nice to score another past him but one is good enough. "We worked very
hard for it. Last season was tough because teams came here and they sat
behind the ball, but this year you can already see things are going to be a
lot different."After the perfect start to their campaign you could forgive
the players for getting a little carried away, but Nolan insisted that
everybody understands the challenge ahead. "It's going to be very tough and
we know that, but we are up for the battle and we are happy with who we have
brought in. Hopefully by the end of the window there will be a few other new
faces to improve us and take us forward. Nolan also paid tribute to the mind
set of his team, commending them on their patience during a testing opening
period. "In the Premier League you sometimes have to be a little patient. In
the first 20 minutes they controlled the ball well but we managed to
restrict them from creating many chances. "As the half wore on we got more
of a foothold in the game and as soon as the goal went in we controlled it."

After the perfect start to their campaign you could forgive the players for
getting a little carried away, but Nolan insisted that everybody understands
the challenge ahead. "It's going to be very tough and we know that, but we
are up for the battle and we are happy with who we have brought in.
Hopefully by the end of the window there will be a few other new faces to
improve us and take us forward."

Manager Sam Allardyce compared his skipper to former England international
David Platt, who made a name by scoring important goals. It was a comparison
Nolan gladly accepted. "I have never heard the gaffer say that about me
before - but it is a compliment obviously because David was a great player
who played for England and scored a lot of goals during his career. "I
haven't modelled myself on him I must admit, but I wouldn't mind his
goal-scoring record when I finish my career. "Scoring goals has always been
a huge part of my career, I just have to carry on popping up in the box and
hopefully they will keep going in."

With a trip to Swansea next on the agenda for Big Sam's side, Nolan is
hopeful that they can go to the Liberty Stadium and pick up another positive
result. "We are a building a team for the Premier League and hopefully over
the next few years you will see us execute our plan and see West Ham United
back where they belong.
"This is just a small stepping stone for what will be a tough yet ultimately
good season for us. We are not going to get carried away with our wins, and
we are not going to be too disheartened by our losses. "Our ultimate aim is
to be sitting pretty in the table come May and to be ready to build and
improve for another season in the top flight.

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Allardyce on... Aston Villa
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 19th August 2012
By: Staff Writer

A delighted Sam Allardyce reflects on a wonderful start to the season - a
clean sheet and three very valuable Premier League points...

Sam: You must be very satisfield with that performance today?

Yes. In the end I thought we might have won by a goal more based on chances
created and certainly when Maiga - his nickname's Van by the way - went
through as cool as he did at the end. I thought he was going to finish a
great team performance off for us today.

But 1-0, a clean sheet and defensively very solid. In terms of creating
chances, we created them and scored the goal that won us the game off a free
kick. I have to say we had a very good decision by the referee Mike Dean on
the goal because when you look at it, it's clearly come off the Aston
Villa's player's head.

It was a very good decision; often the referee looks at a linesman putting
his flag up, doesn't question it and disallows the goal - so that was a
really good decision for us. I thought we just got better as the game went
on. Kevin Nolan had a good chance and I thought we should have had a penalty
for the push on Carlton Cole just after half time.

We limited Aston Villa to little or nothing in terms of chances at goal. Any
efforts they had came from outside the box, so all round it was a very good
day for West Ham and a very good start to the Barclay's Premier League.
We're so delighted to be back and even more delighted now we've got off to a
winning start.

I know it's a bit left-field but there's been a lot said about the Olympics
whilst [Richard] Scudamore spoke about football needing to have a bit more
of a responsible attitude. Do the players feel a responsibilty? There were
no rucks today.

We can't always be angels on the field because of the emotion that the game
brings, you know - but I think most times, 95 per cent of the time, we're
very responsible. But when we do get ourselves into trouble it's going to be
splashed across all sides of the media so it's something you try and control
and we talk about.

Today was a very placid game in terms of collisons, dirty tackles, free
kicks or fouls. Most of the Premier League has gone like that by the fact
that we all coach to stay on our feet today; we don't really coach to tackle
any more and I suppose that's brought about a game that's a lot cleaner.
They're more niggly fouls than they are dirty.

[Mo] Diame was tremendous today?

Wait 'til you see him settled in, he'll be even better. Yes, I think we've
got a nice footballer, an all-round talented midfield player. He's got the
biggest smile you've ever seen in your life, he loves football, he is happy
to be here and extend his ability with us. He can only be a major bonus for
us.

His energy levels were incredible today?

Yeah, and under such extreme heat today. Both teams had to suffer playing
under extreme heat today but I thought we mastered it better than them in
the end. They faded away and we continued right the way through to the end.

It's not an easy task playing any game in the Premier League when you're
first back. I know we've only been out for a season but when you're first
back you've got a few anxieties, you don't quite know if your team will be
right or wrong or whether they'll be able to cope.

We found it difficult at the start to get any emotion into the game because
Aston Villa were just keeping the ball. When we overcame that and started
winning the ball back - started to assert a little bit of pressure on the
defence - we saw one or two weaknesses there and in the end we exposed it
and won the game.

It's only one game but especially as a newly promoted team, how important is
it to get off to a new start?

Well it's everything, you know. Good starts are the basis for securing a
Premier League position as early as possible. I've had some good starts and
I've had some poor starts [at previous clubs] and a poor start has caused so
much pressure on the players that we've barely got out of the bottom three
until Boxing Day. It took that long.

Then, once we got out of it we stayed out of it - but we started the season
poorly and stayed in the bottom three [for a while]. We were six points
adrift from fourth from bottom, then eight points adrift and to make it up
took a whole two to three months.

Was that at Bolton?

Yeah, second season. First season we got 15 points in ten games and even
then we we had a sticky spell. But we only entered the bottom three twice in
the entire season.

A good start means the pressure is off the players and they'll enjoy playing
in the Barclays Premier League more. That's the important side of trying to
say to the players: "Hit the ground running, hit the ground at 100 per cent
- that's your responsibility. We might get caught up later on in the season
but if we've got the points in the bag, that's the most important thing."

Another of your new signings, James Collins, was fantastic today?

Yeah. Ginge got a great reception from the West Ham fans here which was nice
for him. Both he and Winston Reid did a sound, solid job on one of the most
lethal goalscorers in this division, Darren Bent. Did he have a shot at goal
today?

No. Three touches!

No. So you've got to give them credit for that. Well he can have three
touches and score two, Darren Bent, by the way!

You said in the first half your players were a bit tentative. Do you think
that was because last season the team made some silly mistakes which you
were very vocal and unhappy about that?

I think there was just a little bit of anxiety about playing again here.
What was it going to be like, what were Aston Villa going to be like?

Of course, the opposition keeping the ball and making it difficult - even
though they weren't causing us any problems, they were keeping the ball but
without really getting anwhere - meant we couldn't get the ball and couldn't
get the atmosphere up, couldn't get the crowd on the edge of their seats. We
couldn't create an atmosphere that might imtimidate the opposition.

Eventually we overcame that and started to do it. Like, I said a lot of the
problems today were heat-related but in the end, the game always lasts over
90 minutes - and over 90 minutes we mastered it better than them.

Kevin Nolan has scored so many incisive goals for you down the years. The
fact that he scored for you in your first Premier League game at Bolton...

Did he? Well you've got a better memory than me! [laughs]

Yes. But he is a goalscorer, isn't he. A lot of the people in the game of
football say although he's a midfield player he's not a creative midfield
player. Kevin is a David Platt; he gets on the end of things and ghosts into
the box without people knowing how he's got there.

You saw Kevin Nolan get there today; he got there out of instinct, he got
there out of the fact that he's took the chance. If he gets himself in those
areas he can get himself a goal. While the rest of the players are standing
watching, he's on the move. Then, the ball gets popped along and he pops it
in the back of the net.

That's what he's all about. He's a quality finisher in the box, he's as good
as any Premier League forward at finishing in the box. That's his
outstanding quality which had been proven over many, many years in the
Premier League.

Was it a gamble to play him today?

It was a little bit, because he's missed a lot of training. But he's my
captain, he's got grit and determination written all over him and he 's got
the desire. He pushes himself through the pain barrier; he knew he wasn't
quite 100 per cent today but he extended his body to near exhaustion.

That's gong to be really good for his and the rest of the lads' fitness. Now
it'll be about their recovery, keeping a nice steady flow to training and
improving on what we did today. We go to what's going to be a very difficult
game at Swansea next week. What a fantastic start they've got off to, 5-0 at
QPR.

You've stated that you're still a few players short of a full squad. So a
busy next two weeks ahead?

Always, yeah. On the phone, on the email. I don't lose my keys and I don't
lose my phone at the moment, because I can't afford to!

Thank you lads.

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Ready to go?
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Connor Geelan

Please join us in welcoming another budding young writer to KUMB.com -
Connor Geelan. Connor describes himself as "a 16-year-old avid supporter"
and opens his account for KUMB by examining the current first team squad...

As you all probably know, West Ham United need to make improvements in many
areas.

However one area we don't need to improve is central midfield. We have got
players of good quality in that area; Mark Noble (West Ham legend) and Kevin
Nolan, a very good player who has proved he can play in the Premier League.
Yet Big Sam has signed both Mohamed Diame and Alou Diarra. Both are
brilliant signings for West Ham United but do we really need them?

Does this signal a change in formation? Three defensive midfield players and
one attacking? This might mean West Ham move to a more defensive formation,
such as 4-2-3-1 like Manchester City and Real Madrid. This I think would
work at West Ham, as long as we play fluent football which isn't just
kicking the ball up field and hoping Carlton Cole can get a touch.

But I'm sure Big Sam knows what he is doing; I guess we'll find out when we
kick off the 2012/13 season against Aston Villa at the Boleyn Ground this
afternoon.

Our defence as a whole is weak. We have a three central defenders - James
Tomkins, Winston Reid and James Collins - which isn't enough. What happens
if one of them gets injured during next season? We are left with two to play
every week. Alou Diarra can play in that position, but I'd like to see a
signing in that area of the pitch.

On to our full backs. We have decent players there but are they good enough
for the Premier League? To be honest, I don't think so. We need a full back
who can offer great defence as well as being effective on the counter. For
example, Glen Johnson, in the Euros; he proved to be a quality player for
England.

He did well defensively, but when attacking he proved he could deliver a
well-placed ball into the box for the likes of Andy Carroll to get his head
on. Although this may not have worked for England as we only reached the
quarter finals, it could in the PL. There are many examples of good full
backs out there such as Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and Gael Clichey. These
are all players who do what I have just talked about (though probably out of
our price range).

On the wings we have the options of Modibo Maiga and Ricardo Vaz Te. Maiga
is a winger who can play well there, but Vaz Te dosen't look comfortable on
the flanks. He is a proven striker (obviously, as he scored three against
Brighton & Hove Albion and the crucial winner at Wembley in May) but I feel
he may not be up to PL standard. Matt Taylor can play on the wings, but he
will easily be beaten by pace and skill. I can't see him playing well as a
winger in the PL.

Finally I come to our striker dilemma. Carlton Cole had a good season in the
Championship but he hasn't really made an impact in the PL. Rumours have
linked us with Adebayor but this is silly if true - he's another overpaid
player who no longer makes a major impact on games. If we break the bank for
his wages, I won't be happy.

But what can we do; I'm just writing about it, I can't really change Big
Sam's mind (and I suspect he doesn't listen to the supporters). So let's
leave the professionals to do what they need to do. You never know, some of
these signings may have a postive impact.

Anyway that's me for today, I hope you enjoyed my first article for KUMB.
All I know is whatever happens, West Ham United fans will stay with the
club. No matter where you go you will find a West Ham fan; we are West Ham's
claret and blue army!

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Building a fortress
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Tom Kilbey

Last season, our indifferent home form was heavily highlighted.

We might have won 11 of our matches at the Boleyn, but anyone who frequented
the stadium would agree that, at times, the football was far from pretty.
Our lack of creativity was regularly exposed when we were forced to take the
game to other sides.

Looking ahead to this season, our home form may be critical to our success,
and ultimately our survival. Below, I'll outline a few reasons why I think
our home form won't be a hinderance next season, and why this will
contribute to our survival.

1). History tells a story

Previous Premier League seasons tell us that we've always had to rely on our
home form. After a ridiculous run, spanning 26 away games and acheiving the
dubious honour of being the second-longest winless run in the history of the
Premier League, our away form has never been anything to write home about.

With the exception of the 2010/11 season, we have always pulled results out
of the bag against top clubs, and do just about enough at home, and I expect
us to claim some more scalps this season which will make up for any lack of
points we might encounter away from home.

2). It's hard to compare the Championship and the Premier League

Its a illogical statement to say that because we dropped lots of points at
home in the Championship, we'll do the same in the PL. Take Norwich from two
seasons ago. They picked up just four more points than we did at home, but
enjoyed fantastic success the following season at Carrow Road, picking up an
impressive 27 points.

Although the players in the Premier League are obviously technically
superior, many other factors play into our hands. The expectation is
massive, the motivation isn't always there, and almost every team came to
Upton Park last year with no pressure, and with West Ham in their mind as
their biggest potential scalp of the season. But the main factor that will
change our fortune next season is Sam's tactics.

3). Big Sam's style of play

Despite all the mixed feeling towards Allardyce amongst fans, the vast
majority would agree on one word to describe him: stubborn. On occassions,
it worked in his favour, and ultimately resulted in our promotion. But at
times, even his biggest fan must have been infuriated by his tactics,
especially at home.

Sitting back at home against the likes of Doncaster and Watford, and playing
the ball long when we had the likes of Nolan, Collison, Lansbury and Noble
in our midfield just didn't make any sense, and ultimately resulted in poor
results, and even worse performances. Our style of play will suit us when
teams bring the game to us, which the better sides will, and hopefully the
addition of a couple of techically gifted creative midfielders will allow us
to break down teams on the rare occasions they decide to park the proverbial
bus.

4). The Fans

I thought the idea that the Hammers fans were contributing to poor
performances at Upton Park last season was fairly ridiculous. Granted, the
atmosphere wasn't always great, but it was hardly Ewood Park. What's more,
the fans weren't disgruntled for the sake of complaining, and those that
chose to show their disapproval at the team's performanced felt obliged to
do so. That being said, if we can create the atmosphere of a few years back
with the help of some good performances on the pitch, I believe the fans can
once again be the 12th man and help us pick up a few extra points.

All these factors should help contribute to a successful home campaign next
season. Although it's a side point, I think we can continue our success away
from Upton Park this season. If we can stay solid at the back, there's
reason to expect a few good away results next year. BFS's tactics are
perfect for playing away, and hopefully we can capitalise on experiences
last season to ensure we pick up points even when we're away from the
Boleyn.

That all being said, I think its absolutely essential we get off to a good
start, and a good performance against Aston Villa will give us the perfect
platform for a successful season. So when the whistle blows at 3pm this
afternoon, let's make sure we play our part in making Upton Park a fortress
this season!

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Vinny's Aston Villa Report
Vinny 12:50 Sun Aug 19
West Ham Online

West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 0

The opening game of the season saw West Ham claim all three points in a hard
fought battle against Aston Villa as the season got off to a perfect start
for the Hammers. It feels as though it has been an age since Ricardo Vaz Te
was firing the club into the Premiership with his goal at Wembley and with
the European Championships, the Olympics, Pre Season and so much transfer
speculation so much seems to have been going on since that wonderful day at
Wembley.

I actually have found the reaction to Pre Season results and transfer
rumours difficult to stomach. So much crap has been written by West Ham fans
it does make you wonder about the mentality of some. I wonder if anyone is
complaining about a result against Oxford or Dresden now.

This performance against Villa was pretty much as we would have expected it
to be. We were solid, not really great going forward but we kept going to
the end and despite Villa's dominance in possession I actually thought we
just shaded it and deserved our win.

I cannot deny, I loved being back at the Boleyn. I had been counting down
the weeks and could not wait for the entire day. Last season gave me a bit
of a different perspective supporting the club and I have to admit I did
enjoy the season in terms of going to the games.

Villa fans travelled in numbers to see their side have a lot of the ball and
pass it in pretty triangles but fail to really test our new keeper
Jaaskelainen. This was as much down to us keeping them out than their
failure to find the break through with two new signings James Collins and
Mohammed Diame putting in excellent displays.

The summer had seen a number of comings and goings with Abdoulaye Faye, Papa
Bouba Diop, John Carew and Robert Green leave the club and Henri Lansbury
returning to his parent club Arsenal.

All players have been replaced and most with better quality with
Jaaskelainen, Collins, Diame, Maiga and Alou Diarra all coming in as well as
the permanent acquisitions of Stephen Henderson and George McCartney.

You always want to sign top quality players and I can perhaps understand
some of the frustrations regarding bringing in players but the amount of
stick the board of have taken regarding some players who have simply been
linked with the club is a bizarre to me.

This good result doesn't mean too much in the grand scheme of our season but
it is an excellent start and hopefully proof that we are not going to be out
of our depth. I personally never thought we would be as I don't see a lot of
quality in the Premiership and really, are West Ham any worse than Wigan,
Norwich, QPR, Reading, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea or West Brom? I
don't think there is much in it to be honest and if we are organised and can
get results at home like this then we will do just fine.

The Team

37 year old Jussi Jaaskelainen was between the sticks with Robert Green
having opted to leave the club to go to Queens Park Rangers. In defence,
Guy Demel was at right back with George McCartney on the left. The centre
half positions saw the only surprise of the day with James Tomkins only on
the bench and Winston Reid given the nod to play alongside James Collins who
was back at the club having left for Aston Villa in 2009. The three centre
midfielders were Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and debutant Mohammed Diame. On the
left was Matthew Taylor, the right Ricardo Vaz Te and up front was Carlton
Cole. On the bench were new signings Modibo Maiga and Alou Diarra.

The referee was Mike Dean.

First Half

I don't know if I was still on the high from Wembley or that I was feeling a
little drunk but I enjoyed singing 'Bubbles' as much as I ever had. I belted
the thing out like I'd just won a gold medal and as 3pm hit I was
unquestionably ready for another chapter in the West Ham saga.

The stadium looked just about full as we kicked off shooting towards the
Trevor Brooking Stand where the Villa fans were in good voice on an
extremely hot day in East London.

The opening stages of the game saw Villa looking slightly the better side
and it was clear that we were going to take a little while to settle.
As the game began to get a little more physical the referee Mike Dean bore
the brunt of the home fans frustrations as he was letting a lot go as
Matthew Taylor looked to have been clearly fouled but nothing was given.

If there was ever a moment which epitomised James Collins it came around 20
minutes into the match when a shot from El Ahmadi was brilliantly charged
down and then Collins rushed out to block the follow up shot from Stephen
Ireland.

A ball forward from Reid saw Taylor latch onto the ball but was brought
down. The resulting free kick into the area by Noble was poor and straight
into the hands of Villa keeper Shay Given.

We were beginning to realise that we needed to work a little harder when
Villa had the ball and you could see that we were starting to close them
down quicker which forced them into more misplaced passes.

Nothing was really falling for Carlton Cole and he was engrossed in a
physical battle with Villa's Ron Vlaar. Cole was on the ground quite a bit
and at first the referee didn't want to know but then the free kicks began
to come.

Cole won a free kick a few yards outside the area which Noble rolled to
Kevin Nolan who smashed his shot low but wide. If this was on target it
would have flew past the keeper in what was our first good chance of the
game.

Diame was starting to really impress with his ability to win the ball and
drive forward. One of these bursts saw him taken out unceremoniously by
Villa's Ciaran Clarke which saw the defender booked.

From this free kick we would opening the scoring.
Noble saw his free kick drifted into the area as Collins went up with the
defender, flicked the ball on to Vaz Te who crossed for Kevin Nolan to steer
the ball into the back of the net.

I saw the linesman's flag go up straight away when Vaz Te had received the
ball and did not even bother to celebrate. But the referee Mike Dean was
adamant that it was a goal, went over to the linesman to have a quick word
and indicated that the goal had indeed been awarded.

Replays show that the flick on was actually by a Villa player which is why
Vaz Te could not have been offside.

I don't think there would have been too many complaints if the goal had been
ruled out as it was quite difficult to see but the call from referee was
spot on and in the rules of the game the goal was absolutely legitimate
which in fairness to Villa manager Paul Lambert he freely admitted after the
game and had no complaints.

We saw the final five minutes of the half out and went in at half time a
goal to the good.

Second Half

We began the half well, forcing a couple of corners but both amounted to
little despite our physical presence in the area with Reid, Collins, Cole
and Diame.

Three minutes into the second half and we should have had a penalty. From
where I was sitting it looked a clear foul as a ball clipped towards Cole
saw Vlaar push him in the back. The West Ham crowd appealed as did the
players but nothing was given.

People will complain that Cole goes down to easily but that was a push, and
that was a penalty. A poor decision from Mike Dean not to award it.

Diame won the ball back after losing it and saw a shot go wide but it was a
bit more of an indication of what Diame is all about and he was very
impressive.

A wonderful piece of skill from Vaz Te on the right saw him nutmeg the Villa
player Barker and race into the area. He probably held onto the ball a bit
too long but his cross did find Kevin Nolan who saw his low shot cleared off
the line as Villa in their ugly Lime colour kits had put up a wall of
players on the line to stop the ball.

The visitors were not doing too much in the way of creating chances and I
felt confident that we would be able to see this out as simply Villa had not
probably tested Jaaskelainen all day long.

Our first substitution of the game came when Joey O'Brien replaced George
McCartney at left back. I can only presume McCartney had picked up a knock.

A few minutes later we made another sub with captain and goal scorer Kevin
Nolan coming off and being replaced by James Tomkins.

With 15 minutes remaining Villa began to get desperate with Ron Vlaar
pushing forward from centre back to hit a 35 yard effort on goal which was
well struck but held well by Jaaskelainen.

A good chance came our way when a free kick was on the right hand side and
Taylor whipped in a delightful cross for Cole to meet the ball with a head
which he put wide when he should have at least hit the target.

That was to be the last involvement for Cole as he was replaced by Modibo
Maiga.

Four minutes of added time were announced which was odd but every time we
are leading by one goal there is always four minutes. Just watch how many
times this happens this season.

I was concerned that Villa would get that one golden chance to score but
instead it was us who created it and should have made it two.

Noble played a first time pass through to Maiga who showed great pace and
was through on goal, he looked composed, rounded the keeper but his finish
was cleared off the line by Clarke. He had done so well and was unlucky
although if this was Carlton Cole I wonder what the reaction would have
been?

Despite not scoring we were still able to see the remaining couple of
minutes out and secure the victory that we had worked hard to achieve.

It wasn't a rampant performance nor even that exciting but it was a win and
I reckon there will be a few more of these throughout the season and more
than many might expect.

Player Reviews

Jussi Jaaskelainen
A clean sheet on his debut will be pleasing for him as we begin life without
Robert Green. I have to say I expected Jaaskelainen to be called into action
a little more than he was. He barely had to do a thing other than a couple
of routine saves. The defence in front of him offered better protection than
a durex. 6

Guy Demel
A player many still have doubts about. I know he was prone to the odd
mistake last season but I was still impressed with him and in this game he
showed nothing to concern me or indicate that he may be out of his depth.
Time will of course tell. 7

James Collins
A great display from Collins who showed us all what he is all about. He may
have no pace and will get caught out by trickier forwards but he is gutsy,
solid, good in the air and will put his body on the line to make sure
nothing gets through. This was a fitting way to reintroduce yourself to the
West Ham faithful. 8

Winston Reid
I think we had all expected to see Tomkins line up alongside Collins but
Reid came and did very well. This time a couple of years ago he made his
debut against Aston Villa in a 3-0 drubbing at Villa Park where he was
dreadful. He has come on leaps and bounds and he is showing us that he can
step up. 7

George McCartney
Like Demel he has been questioned on whether he is good enough for the
Premiership but on this evidence he shows that he is solid and dependable
than ever. I like McCartney, and he has certainly worked on his movement
going forward. He linked up well with Taylor on the left and just needs to
work on getting early crosses into the area. 7

Mark Noble
Sat very deep in the first half and for most of the second until Tomkins
came on. His ability to switch play helped us out a few times and when in
possession he was very rarely robbed of it. Not involved in the game enough
for my liking as we look better when he is able to take hold of a game. 6

Kevin Nolan
Another goal for Kevin Nolan really doesn't come as a surprise. The goal he
scored was typical of him and he is usually in the right place at the right
time. He was blowing out of his arse for most of the second half and I was
not too surprised to see him come off. His ability to get goals makes him
indispensable and he is one of the best goal scoring midfielders in the
league. 6

Mohammed Diame
An exceptional display from Diame who was my man of the match. Strong in the
tackle, difficult to get the ball from, full of energy and just what we will
require this season from our midfield. 8

Matthew Taylor
Needed to be a little stronger when going up against the opposition players
and he seemed to look as though he was going to lose the ball the moment he
received it. He was closed down well and prevented from putting in those
important crosses which is something Villa had obviously worked on. 6

Ricardo Vaz Te
In an out of the game and we will want him to be more involved throughout
the entire 90 minutes. He can make things happen out of nothing and a lovely
piece of skill in the second half showed us just what he can do. He will
also come out of this game with an assist which I would think he will have a
lot of come the end of this campaign. 6

Carlton Cole
An indication of just how tough the season will be for Cole was evident in
this game as he was in a battle with Villa's Ron Vlaar for just about the
entire time he was on the pitch. Cole kept going, won a number of free
kicks, should have done better with a chance in the second half and should
have also had a penalty. Workman like display without any guile or real
quality. 6

Subs Used

Joey O'Brien (on for McCartney 71 mins)
In an unfamiliar left back role he had little trouble adapting to this and
looked reasonable comfortable.

James Tomkins (On for Nolan 73 mins)
Did well in the defensive midfield role and was winning header after header.
As time wore on Villa tried to pump balls into the area but with Reid,
Collins and now Tomkins this was futile.

Modibo Maiga (On for Cole 81 mins)
Showed how fast he is with that chance in stoppage time and he looked
composed until his finish which although was good defending his reaction to
the miss said it all as he knew he should have finished it. Promising signs
though.

Subs Not Used: Henderson, Diarra, O'Neil, Maynard

Bookings: Villa – Clark

Scorers: Nolan (40 mins)

Man Of The Match: Mohammed Diame

Aston Villa:Given, Baker, Vlaar, Clark, Lowton, El Ahmadi, Delph,Ireland,
N'Zogboa, Holman, Bent
Subs: Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Gardner, Bannan, Weimann, Burke

Ref: Mike Dean, 6

Attendance: 34,172

Overall


Many of us looked at the opening fixtures and saw an opportunity to get some
points on the board.

The home form is obviously going to be the indicator into how well (or not)
we can do this season this result against a pretty average Aston Villa side
is just what we needed.

It took us a while to get into the game but when you are playing a side who
look as though they have no idea what to do in the final third it gave us
time to settle.

We didn't create enough chances for my liking but then on the flip side we
took one of the few that we actually had. There was not much in the game but
under Sam Allardyce I kind of expect us to get over the line in close
encounters such as this.

A couple more signings before the transfer window shuts would be helpful and
if one of these is to be Matt Jarvis it is difficult to deny that it would
be an improvement on what we currently have.

Whilst people may baulk at the price tag for such a player, in the scheme of
things looking at how much other players go for then Jarvis is probably
worth the money being touted.

Next Game – Swansea City (a) Saturday 25th August 12.45pm Kick Off

The last time we played Swansea City in a league game was back in 1983 at
the Vetch Field in a 5-1 victory with Alan Devonshire, Geoff Pike (2) and
Alan Dickens (2) getting the goals. How we would love to repeat such a score
line against a side who have just put five past QPR at Loftus Road with
Robert Green having a bit of a nightmare.

Our away form was excellent last season and I am sure we will set ourselves
up and be hard to break down. Whether we have the quality to hurt them is
what is going to be interesting and I am looking very forward to watching
the contrast of styles.


The View From Allardyce

"It was a pretty low-key start due to two things - Villa were just intent on
keeping the ball and not really going anywhere with it and the weather. It
was so hot that it made it difficult to continue the sort of pressure that
you would do if it was a much cooler day.

"We had to be patient and then we built our way into the game and grew into
the game, if you like, and once we started we finding a quality of pass then
we started putting pressure on Aston Villa from corners, free-kicks and
final-third entries."

"In the end, they cracked and the referee made a huge decision for us -
which was the right decision - by not allowing the goal to be scrubbed out
for offside. The ball came off the Villa defender and not a West Ham player.
The linesman had flagged and the referee ignored that flag and gave the
goal, which was the right decision.

"We got better as the second half went on and started getting more of the
ball and started probing Aston Villa and we created some good opportunities.
Coley should have had a penalty after half-time, Kevin Nolan had a shot
inside the box and then cool-hand Maiga rounded the goalkeeper with ease and
we all thought he would put it into the net for 2-0 but up popped the Villa
defender to block it which was a great shame.

"It's a great day for us and a great result and one that we fully deserved."

"There was actually more energy expended than in a normal game. Because of
the drain of fluid and the heat, the body starts shutting down more quickly
than it normally would. The players lost three or four kilos during the
game, even though they were topping up on fluids before, during and
afterwards.

"It shows the extent of the energy they had to expend to win the game and in
the end our fitness told. We looked a little fitter than Aston Villa and saw
the game out better and could have won it by more in the end."

Finally, Big Sam was happy with the contributions of his goalkeeper and
defenders, who kept a clean sheet on the back of outstanding displays from
Man of the Match James Collins and WInston Reid.

"There was some good solid defending. A goalscorer with a great reputation
in Darren Bent was snuffed out of the game by Winston and James effectively
well. It didn't matter how well people were playing because if you let Bent
have a chance he'll score at any stage - they didn't even give him a chance
to day.

"They gave us the perfect platform from which to win this game."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Adam Johnson Up for Grabs and Might Sam Baldock Be the Key to a Deal for
Matt Jarvis?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

Man City have confirmed that they will listen to offers for Adam Johnson.
The richly gifted winger is apparently surplus to requirements and there
seems to be a recognition by City that the players needs regular football,
something that is increasingly unlikely at his current club. A number of PL
clubs are bound to interested, including West Ham Utd FC! Personally, I feel
that Johnson is the type of player that we need to inject that extra bit of
class in to the squad. He is pacy, highly skillful and can play on either
flank. Indeed, Johnson could be the perfect alternative to Matt Jarvis, if
Wolves continue to refuse to agree a deal.

With regard to Matt Jarvis, West Ham have reportedly had three bids
rebuffed. The rumour is that we could go back in with a fourth and final bid
this week. Another interesting aspect to this story is that Wolves allegedly
have a keen interest in signing Sam Baldock! Could it be that the inclusion
of Baldock as a makeweight might be the decisive factor that facilitates a
deal for Jarvis? On one level, It would be a shame if Baldock left after
only one season at the club. Baldock has potential, but my only reservation
is that he appears too lightweight. If he could increase his upper body
strength then we could just make the grade as a PL striker. However, he
seems to have fallen out of favour and rather than stagnate in the
Development Squad there is obviously an argument for sacrificing him to
bring Jarvis to the club. We could live to regret it, but Sam Allardyce is a
good judge of a player and the alternative scenario is that he does not have
what it takes to make it at this level. If we do want a deal for Jarvis then
we need to move quickly, because Everton are also now showing an interest.
And they have the £15m burning a hole in their pockets from the sale of
Rodwell to Man City!

Yesterday, was a very good and disciplined performance by the Hammers. We
looked well organised and solid at the back. Collins was dominant at centre
back (Ivan Ramis who?) and Diame looked a dynamo in the middle of the park.
What is clear about Diame is that he is not just a 'win the ball and pass
it' defensive midfielder, he obviously also has a great deal of ability on
the ball. In particular, he made a number of powerful, surging runs forward
that really caught the eye. Guy Demel also showed what he is all about with
a solid defensive display at right-back. There should also be a mention in
despatches for Vaz Te, who showed some clever touches, McCartney who was
solid as ever defensively and supported the attack well and Kevin Nolan, who
scored a typically opportunistic goal from midfield. But overall, it was a
good team performance and everyone gave 100% to get the season off to a
winning start.

I found our organisation and defensive solidarity particularly encouraging
because it gives us a solid base from which to move forward. We can work on
our midfield and forward play and hopefully bring in some extra class before
the window closes, but a tight defence is a priceless starting point. The
other defining feature of the match was the way in which Allardyce set us up
to deal with Villa's main threats, N'zogbia and Bent. If those two are given
too much room they can hurt you severely, as we well know from previous
seasons! Yet, we contained N'zogbia, ensuring that two players challenged
him every time he got the ball; while Bent was not only given no room on the
ball, but we also crucially cut off the supply to him. Here was a defensive
plan very well executed. Indeed, although Villa had a lot of the ball and
passed it around, a good deal of it was in their own half, where they could
do us no harm. The very fact that they were mostly passing square and had
difficulties playing through us, illustrates the fact that West Ham
defensive set up effectively neutralised their attacking options.

Going forward, we did play too many high aimless high balls forward. We need
to be intelligent and vary in our play, playing it long at times, passing
through midfield on others. Hopefully, as this team gels our approach will
settle and our midfielders will start putting their foot on the ball and
playing it. Mark Noble did an awful lot of hard work yesterday, but in
future matches he needs to dictate play ore and add creative input. This is
especially true now that we have Diame and Diarra in the squad to anchor the
midfield. Matt Taylor is a very good squad player and he has a role to play
this season, but what we need to add some more speed, skill and creativity
on the flanks. Which brings us back to the possibility of adding Johnson or
Jarvis to the squad.

The other point about too many aimless high balls forward is that it does
not necessarily play to Carlton Cole's strongest suit. He is better
receiving the ball on the ground and using his strength and skill to disrupt
opposition defences. I thought Vaz Te contributed some wonderful play on the
right flank, some real skill to get behind the Villa defence. There can be
little doubt that Vaz Te can excel at this level and play on the right of a
front three. But there will be occasions, this season, when Allardyce will
want to push Vaz Te inside to play as a conventional second striker, perhaps
in a 4-4-2. Finally, Maiga looked promising when he came on and was very
unlucky not to score with that late chance. He did everything right, but was
frustrated by some 'last ditch' Villa covering play on the line. Sam
Allardyce obviously rates Maiga and has stated that he can become one of the
best finishers in the PL. Lets hope that he is right!

And so we head to Swansea with a solid performance, and a win, under our
belts. This will be a test of the organisation and discipline of the team.
Swansea are a team playing with real confidence, as demonstrated by their
0-5 away demolition of QPR. If we get a result in this match it will be
another positive indicator that we are on the right track. No doubt we will
see Sam Allardyce set up to replicate the successfull away displays last
season. Playing it solid and hitting the opposition with sharp
counter-attacks and via our height and strength at set pieces. What will be
really interesting is whether Allardyce will use Diame and Diara in a
4-2-3-1 formation? My guess is that he will deploy that formation in some
away matches this season, particularly against the the top four sides.
Playing away at Swansea, he is more likely to go with the one midfield
anchor.

So, it's a positive start, now we need to build upon it. I said in a recent
blog post that West Ham will be no 'soft touch' this season and the Villa
display sent out a clear message of intent to the rest of the PL. It is
admittedly still very early days, but so far so good!

SJ. Chandos

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sport Football News West Ham United FC
By Neil McLeman Comments 19 Aug 2012 22:30
Owe yes we do! West Ham still have 'eight-figure' debt from Tevez pantomime
The Mirror

Hammers owner confesses that the club owes big balance of compensation to
Sheffield United over illegal registration of Argentine...

David Sullivan has revealed West Ham still owe more than £10million to
Sheffield United over the 'Carlos Tevez affair'. The Hammers have made eight
signings this summer and manager Sam Allardyce said he is still looking for
"two or three" new players before the window shuts. But co-owner Sullivan
said the Upton Park club's transfer activity has been restricted by the
compensation due over the illegal registration of Tevez back in 2006/07.
"We've done some good business and brought in some real quality despite our
still-limited resources," he said. "We have an eight-figure sum still
outstanding over the Tevez affair, even though we have been paying it down
over the past two years. "That amount has to be paid off over the next 12
months, which does take its toll on our transfer activity."

West Ham were initially fined £5.5m by the Premier League over Tevez and
then agreed a £26.5m out-of-court settlement with the Blades in March 2009.
The Hammers, who hope to secure a move to the Olympic Stadium in the next
six weeks, still carry a total debt of £80-90m, including £5m to cover
ticket income that was sold in advance.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Iron heart: Collins gets his revenge over Villa to give Big Sam perfect
start
The Mirror

James Collins plays Total Football the Sam Allardyce way. Totally committed
to winning every challenge and every match back in the Premier League. And
the returning centre-back totally deserved this victory and a little
personal revenge against his former club Villa still struggling with Paul
Lambert's Dutch-style revolution. The Wales defender was sold by then
Hammers boss ­Gianfranco Zola in 2009 to bring in flash forward Alessandro
Diamanti. And then Lambert decided not to offer the 28-year-old a new deal
this summer as he brought in three players from the land of the Clockwork
Orange. But while Villa need more time, no-nonsense Collins hit every high
ball running yesterday in a typically robust display just two weeks after
leaving Villa Park. "It was strange," he admitted. "One minute you are
playing with them and the next minute you are not. But as soon as I got out
on the pitch, I was just concentrating on getting three points for West Ham
and playing well. "I got a great reception. Obviously I've got a love for
the club from when I was previously here, when I left when I didn't really
want to. The club was struggling for money and sold me. "But I think the
West Ham fans knew I didn't want to go. So to come back to that reception –
and come back a better player – is great."

Villa opted to sell Collins for £2.5million with a year left on his deal.
"We had a tough couple of seasons and they were looking for a change and I
was looking for a change," he said. "So it was not going to be possible for
me to stay and as soon as West Ham came in it was a no-brainer." Allardyce
compared his captain Kevin Nolan to David Platt for his finishing ability
after his 40th-minute winner which saw both managers praise Mike Riley.
Linesman Simon Long flagged for offside in the build-up but the FIFA
­official correctly ruled Ricardo Vaz Te had been played on by Ciaran Clark.
Villa actually enjoyed more possession but failed to find their own player
with 10 crosses – and provided Darren Bent with only three touches all game.
Lambert admitted his side were missing the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor as
Bent was left isolated. "We have got to give him [Bent] service, because I
thought we had a lot of the ball, especially in the first half-hour," said
the Villa boss. "Losing Agbonlahor is a blow. His strength and pace is a
major plus."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce hails 'new Platt' after Nolan hammers home
West Ham 1 Villa 0
ALEX LOWE MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2012
The Independent.co.uk

Kevin Nolan was compared to the former England midfielder David Platt by
manager Sam Allardyce following the captain's decisive goal in West Ham's
1-0 victory over Aston Villa. The 30-year-old was presented with a simple
finish by Ricardo Vaz Te, but what impressed Allardyce was his ability to
"ghost into the box".
"I have never heard the gaffer say that about me before but it is a
compliment, obviously, as David was a great goalscorer throughout his
career," Nolan said. "I haven't modelled myself on him I must admit but I
wouldn't mind his record of goalscoring when I eventually finish." Nolan's
goal came with a hint of controversy, with Aston Villa convinced Vaz Te had
been offside when Mark Noble's free-kick fell to him. Assistant referee
Simon Long initially raised his flag but then changed his mind and Villa's
manager, Paul Lambert, accepted that it had been the right decision in the
end. For Villa, Darren Bent was never a threat as the Hammers centre-back
James Collins shone against the club he had left just a fortnight ago. "It's
been a very, very good day for us because we won our first game of the
season," Allardyce said. "A good start is so important to a team such as us,
because it helps secure your Premier position as early as possible."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Payback time over Tevez saga still hurting Hammers in transfer market
By SAMI MOKBEL
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 19 August 2012 | UPDATED: 22:30, 19 August 2012
Daily Mail

West Ham's summer transfer business is being hampered by a £10million debt
still owed to Sheffield United as part of the Carlos Tevez saga. The
Hammers settled an out-of-court compensation package — understood to be in
the region of £24million — with the Yorkshire club over fielding Tevez
ineligibly, something the Blades successfully argued cost them their Premier
League status in 2007. Tevez scored six goals during the 2006-07 season,
including a decisive winner against Manchester United on the final day of
the season which effectively condemned Sheffield United to relegation in
place of the Hammers. West Ham have been paying the fee to the Bramall Lane
club in instalments and owe another £10m in two payments over the next 12
months.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan said in his programme notes ahead of
Saturday's win over Aston Villa that the financial burden is having a
massive impact on Sam Allardyce's transfer kitty. He wrote: 'We've done some
good business and brought in some real quality despite our still-limited
resources. 'We have an eight-figure sum still outstanding over the Tevez
affair, even though we have been paying it down over the past two years.
'That amount has to be paid off over the next 12 months, which does take its
toll on our transfer activity.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham take heart from Collins on strong opening day for Allardyce's men
By SAMI MOKBEL
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 19 August 2012 | UPDATED: 22:30, 19 August 2012
Daily Mail

James Collins left Upton Park after his second West Ham debut with his right
ankle strapped up. 'It's fine, just wear and tear... like every game,' said
the Welshman. That will be music to manager Sam Allardyce's ears after
Collins' brilliant display in the heart of the West Ham defence on Saturday.
If Hammers supporters had forgotten exactly what Collins is all about, then
it would not have taken them long to remember during the opening day 1-0 win
over Aston Villa.

What they need in the window...
West Ham: More creativity in midfield. Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Mohamed
Diame were all solid performers but they need a spark. Would the Wolves
winger Matt Jarvis provide it?
Aston Villa: More potency in the attacking third. Paul Lambert's new team
saw plenty of the ball in the early stages of this game but created almost
nothing.

The 28-year-old was magnificent: headers, last-ditch blocks and well-timed
interceptions galore. 'Obviously, I've got love for West Ham from when I was
previously here — when I left I didn't really want to,' said Collins, who
went to Villa in 2009. 'The club were struggling for money and sold me. But
I think the West Ham fans knew I didn't want to go. So to come back, and
come back a better player I think, is great.' Given that Collins left Villa
on August 1, Allardyce is likely to have tapped into his knowledge when
perfecting Saturday's game plan. But as the central defender admits, there
was a degree of apprehension about facing his former club so soon after his
exit. 'I'm not sure me knowing Villa so well helped me personally because
obviously you don't want to make a horrendous mistake against your old
club,' said Collins. 'On the other hand, I do have an insight into their
team which could have helped. It was always going to be a strange one for
me. The start of my second spell at the club and playing against boys I left
two weeks ago, it was strange in the lead-up to the game. 'One minute you
are playing with them and the next minute you are not. I still speak to a
lot of the Villa boys on the phone because it was only two weeks ago that I
left. 'But as soon as I got out on the pitch, I was just concentrating on
getting three points for West Ham and playing well.

'Was there any thought of me staying at Villa? I don't think it was there
for me to say, if I'm honest. 'We had a tough couple of seasons and Villa
were looking for a change and I was looking for a change. 'So it was never
going to be possible for me to stay, not for any other reason than there was
no contract offered to me. So as soon as West Ham came in it was a
no-brainer.' Collins was key in stemming an eye-catching early Villa tide as
Paul Lambert's side threatened to overrun West Ham. Despite the first-day
defeat, the new passing style under Lambert offers cause for optimism at
Villa Park. 'We have got to give Darren Bent more service, because I thought
we had a lot of the ball, especially in the first half-hour,' said Lambert.
'I thought we knocked it about really well and started well. But we never
worked the ball and we had to try to create. When we had that ball, we have
to try to be more penetrative. 'My players are footballers. I don't have
anybody who just kicks the ball up the pitch. We try to play the right way,
I don't want to see the ball just smacked up long. If we can pass, we must
pass.' In contrast, Collins added: 'We knew that Villa would pass the ball,
I played a couple of games for them out in America and that's his
philosophy: to pass the ball. 'I don't mean to be disrespectful, but as much
as they passed it, they didn't get near the goal.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 19th August 2012

Big Sam hails winning start
WHUFC.com
The manager was happy with a deserved opening-day victory over Aston Villa
18.08.2012

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce was justifiably happy following the Hammers' 1-0 Barclays Premier League opening-day win over Aston Villa. The Boleyn Ground was rocking before, during and after a game that was settled by Kevin Nolan's 40th-minute goal. In truth, West Ham could have won by a more comfortable margin had debutant Modibo Maiga not had his effort saved by a miraculous goalline clearance. Big Sam told West Ham TV of his pride at earning a victory over an established top-flight side in uncomfortably hot conditions. "It was a pretty low-key start due to two things - Villa were just intent on keeping the ball and not really going anywhere with it and the weather. It was so hot that it made it difficult to continue the sort of pressure that you would do if it was a much cooler day. "We had to be patient and then we built our way into the game and grew into the game, if you like, and once we started we finding a quality of pass then we started putting pressure on Aston Villa from corners, free-kicks and final-third entries."

That growing pressure told when Mark Noble's free-kick hit an Aston Villa defender and fell to Ricardo Vaz Te, whose cut-back was converted by captain Nolan. The assistant referee initially flagged for offside, but referee Mike Dean was sure the ball had hit a defender and played Vaz Te onside. After a short conversation with his colleague, Dean gave the goal. "In the end, they cracked and the referee made a huge decision for us - which was the right decision - by not allowing the goal to be scrubbed out for offside. The ball came off the Villa defender and not a West Ham player. The linesman had flagged and the referee ignored that flag and gave the goal, which was the right decision. "We got better as the second half went on and started getting more of the ball and started probing Aston Villa and we created some good opportunities. Coley should have had a penalty after half-time, Kevin Nolan had a shot inside the box and then cool-hand Maiga rounded the goalkeeper with ease and we all thought he would put it into the net for 2-0 but up popped the Villa defender to block it which was a great shame. "It's a great day for us and a great result and one that we fully deserved."

It took West Ham six matches to record a victory in their most-recent Barclays Premier League campaign in 2010/11, leaving the Hammers playing a game of catch-up they never managed to win. This time around, they will start the week in the top half of the table. Naturally, the manager was delighted that his side showed the belief, fitness and maturity to close the game out in temperatures of 85 degrees. "There was actually more energy expended than in a normal game. Because of the drain of fluid and the heat, the body starts shutting down more quickly than it normally would. The players lost three or four kilos during the game, even though they were topping up on fluids before, during and afterwards. "It shows the extent of the energy they had to expend to win the game and in the end our fitness told. We looked a little fitter than Aston Villa and saw the game out better and could have won it by more in the end."

Finally, Big Sam was happy with the contributions of his goalkeeper and defenders, who kept a clean sheet on the back of outstanding displays from Man of the Match James Collins and WInston Reid. "There was some good solid defending. A goalscorer with a great reputation in Darren Bent was snuffed out of the game by Winston and James effectively well. It didn't matter how well people were playing because if you let Bent have a chance he'll score at any stage - they didn't even give him a chance to day. "They gave us the perfect platform from which to win this game."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
U18s start with Royals draw
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee scored twice as the Under-18s were held to a 2-2 draw at Reading in their opening league match
18.08.2012

Elliot Lee scored twice as the Under-18s were held to a 2-2 draw at Reading in their Barclays Under-18 Premier League match. Striker Lee bagged two goals before half-time to send the Hammers in well ahead at the break, but the Royals struck back after half-time to earn a share of the spoils. Academy Director Tony Carr was pleased with his team's performance and admitted Reading had deserved a point on the basis of their second-half revival. "We were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to two typical Elliot Lee goals," Carr confirmed. "The first one he received the ball to feet on the edge of the box and turned his defender, cut inside and drove a low shot to the goalkeeper's right and into the corner. "The second one was very similar but this time he went out side his defender and slammed the ball inside the near post as the goalkeeper advanced. Both were typical individual Elliot Lee goals. "Reading got a goal back after half-time and then equalised a short time after that. At the end of the day it was a draw and I think it was probably a fair result. "It was a good workout for the boys and we played very well, particularly in the first half, but we ended up with a share of the spoils."

The Under-18s return to action next Saturday, when they host Everton in an 11am kick-off. West Ham TV will exclusive highlights from Saturday's draw at Reading soon.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
FT 90 +5
HT 1-0

18 August 2012
Last updated at 19:21
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport

West Ham marked their Premier League return with a win over Aston Villa, who were beaten in new manager Paul Lambert's first game in charge. The Hammers went ahead when Ricardo Vaz Te pulled the ball across for Kevin Nolan to sidefoot home. "West Ham's win was secured by Kevin Nolan's goal shortly before half-time. Villa didn't have the inspiration or the drive up front to trouble a West Ham defence in which James Collins was outstanding against the club he left in the summer."

West Ham later had a penalty shout for a shove by Villa centre-back Ron Vlaar on striker Carlton Cole waved away. Villa rarely troubled their hosts and Cole should have extended West Ham's lead but headed wide from close range. Hammers substitute Modibo Maiga also came close in injury-time when he raced clear and rounded keeper Shay Given only to see his shot cleared from the goalmouth by backtracking defender Nathan Baker. The miss did not prove crucial against a Villa side who started brightly but ultimately showed little improvement on the side that only avoided relegation by two points last season.

In contrast, West Ham's victory served to continue the feelgood factor around east London after London 2012. The shadow of the Olympic Stadium - the Hammers' prospective new home - looms large over Upton Park and could yet provide inspiration in a campaign where Premier League safety remains the first target. However, the home side began in a subdued and stuttering fashion, with Villa - in particular, central midfielder Fabian Delph - possessing the greater enterprise.
Lambert has promised Villa fans more of an attacking style but, while his side showed intent, they could not find the incisiveness to pierce the Hammers defence.
West Ham gradually shook off their apprehension and started to pose more of a threat, with the strength of striker Cole unsettling Villa's summer signing Vlaar.

West Ham v Aston Villa fast facts

The Hammers netted more goals from set pieces than any other side in the Championship in 2011-12 (33).
Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals against Villa (5) than any other team.
Aston Villa have won none of their last nine Premier League away games.
Villa players did not find a single teammate with any of their 10 crosses in this match.

Nolan fizzed an 18-yard free-kick just wide after a foul by Vlaar on Cole before the Hammers breakthrough. A floated Mark Noble free-kick was headed on to Vaz Te and he squared the ball for Nolan to provide the finishing touch. The assistant's flag had gone up for offside against Vaz Te but referee Mike Dean awarded the goal after correctly ruling that Villa's Ciaran Clark had headed the ball on and not West Ham's James Collins. Vlaar was being given a testing workout on his Premier League debut and cut a relieved figure when referee Dean waved away West Ham's penalty appeals for a shove on Cole. A Vlaar shot, saved by Hammers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, was Villa's only real effort on target as they surrendered tamely to defeat.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "We grew into the game. We started to expose Aston Villa's defence and got the goal with a perfectly good goal and a perfectly good decision with the referee overruling the linesman. "I think there was a definite penalty on Carlton Cole after half-time. "It ended up as a very good day as we won 1-0 and kept a clean sheet. James Collins was back and solid in defence which gave us a platform to win the game and there were lots of good performances."

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "We started the game really well but we just never really created as much as we wanted to. "I couldn't fault the effort. We will pick ourselves up and go again. There is a long way to go and we'll see what happens. "I have great belief in [the players]. They will do fine. If we can stick together and the fans stick with us we'll be OK."

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West Ham want Matt Jarvis, says chairman David Gold
BBC.co.uk

West Ham chairman David Gold says the club are still hoping to sign Wolves winger Matt Jarvis. Wolves have rejected bids for one-time England international Jarvis, 26, with chief executive Jez Moxey saying the club's valuation of the player has not been met.

Matt Jarvis
Born: 22 May, 1986
Position: Winger
Gillingham: 2003-2007
Wolves: 2007-present
England caps: One

"We are still pursuing Jarvis, that is where we are at the moment," Gold said. Gold also confirmed a deal for Liverpool's Andy Carroll is dead but that "things can change overnight." Jarvis began his career at Gillingham, making 122 appearances for the Kent club, before joining Wolves in the summer of 2007. He was one of Wolves' stand-out performers as they were relegated from the Premier League, scoring seven goals in 14 appearances at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Gold says he hopes to learn whether West Ham's bid to move to the Olympic Stadium has been successful within the next six weeks. The Hammers want to take over the 80,000-capacity venue after the Paralympic Games end next month."We are still waiting," said Gold. "I think we will hear within four to six weeks and we wait patiently for the outcome. "If successful we could move in the 2014-15 season. That is when the alterations would be completed and all being well when we could move in."

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West Ham Utd 1 Aston Villa 0
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham's 2012/13 league campaign got off to the best possible start thanks to captain Kevin Nolan's first half winner. In front of a near capacity crowd, Nolan scored the only goal of the game to get United up and running in their first game back in the Premier League since last May's play-off Final win over Blackpool.
With the August sun burning overhead - the temperature inside the Boleyn Ground was touching degrees - Sam Allardyce's new-look team took a while to get going but eventually found their feet and, in the end, were fully deserving of the three points. Villa, who looked the better side in the opening exchanges produced exactly what you would expect from a team managed by Paul Lambert - bar, most importantly, an end product.

England striker Darren Bent, who nearly joined West Ham four years ago, was a virtual bystander throughout the game despite the visitors seeing plenty of the ball in the first half such was the dominance of West Ham's central defensive pair of Winston Reid and James Collins, making his second debut for the club.

Collins, playing against his old club and no doubt out to prove a point was absolutely outstanding and deservedly named Man of the Match by the sponsors.

But just as influential on the day was fellow debutant Mo Diame, who took the game by the scruff of the neck and almost single-handedly swung it back in West Ham's favour when Villa looked the more likely to score.

The game's only goal came with five minutes of the first half remaining.

Mark Noble's free kick - one of several West Ham were awarded in quick succession - found its way to Ricardo Vaz Te at the back post. The Portuguese forward pulled the ball back and, as was so often the case last season, Nolan was on hand to prod the ball over the line.

Villa, for all their early promise produced little after the break and if anyone was going to score a second West Ham looked the more likely.

Carlton Cole was denied what appeared to be a fairly obvious penalty when he was shoved in the back by Ron Vlaar just moments after the restart, whilst substitute Modibo Maiga saw an effort cleared off the line in injury time after he had rounded Villa 'keeper Shay Given as West ham countered.

But those missed chances mattered not come the end of the game and the final whistle was greeted with jubilant scenes inside the Boleyn Ground as West Ham secured their first win back in the big time at the first attempt.


Match facts: West Ham Utd 1 Aston Villa 0

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, McCartney (O'Brien 71), Diame, Noble, Nolan (Tomkins 73), Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (Maiga 81).

Subs not used: Henderson, Diarra, O'Neil, Maynard.

Goals: Nolan (40).

Possession: 49%.

Shots on/off target: 4/4.

Corners: 6.

Fouls committed: 17.

Aston Villa: Given, Baker, Vlaar, Clark, Lowton, El Ahmadi (Weimann 61), Delph (Bannan 77), Ireland, N'Zogbia (Gardner 74), Holman, Bent.

Subs not used: Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Burke.

Booked: Clark (39).

Possession: 49%.

Shots on/off target: 6/4.

Corners: 4.

Fouls committed: 8

Referee: Mike Dean (7).

Attendance: 34,172.

Did you know? Today's clean sheet was the first West Ham have kept on the opening day of a Premier League season at the Boleyn Ground since beating Tottenham 1-0 in August 1999.

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Under 21s: West Ham Utd 3 Reading 1
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's development squad kicked off the new season in perfect fashion by beating Reading 3-1 at Rush Green last night. Ian Hendon's young team made short work of their Berkshire rivals to open their Barclays Under-21 Premier League campaign with a win in their first competitive match at their new home, which is being shared this season with homeless Grays Athletic. Paul McCallum put West Ham in front three minutes before the break, scoring from close range, before doubling his tally after 55 minutes by converting a Robert Hall cross. The Royals reduced the deficit 18 minutes from time but victory was secured for Hendon's with just four minutes of normal time remaining when an unnamed triallist - believed to be Rennes winger Razak Boukari* - made it 3-1. A happy Hendon, speaking to whufc.com after the game said: I'm delighted with the result because it gives us an excellent platform going into the season. Reading are a big team who tried to knock the ball long up to the front three and I felt we dealt with that. "It was a little disappointing conceding from a corner, but that may have more to do with a little lapse in concentration due to being 2-0 up. It's early days and that is something we can focus on ironing out on the training ground, but I'm delighted with the result and to have got off to a winning start."

Next up for Hendon's side is the trip to Everton, who they face at Finch Farm on Sunday, 26th August (1pm kick-off). * As was the case in the Olympic Games, each team in this season's Barclays Under-21 Premier League may feature a maximum of three over-aged players in their match day squad.

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Lambert on....West Ham United
KUMb.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer No.2

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert looks for the positives after his side's 1-0 defeat this afternoon at the Boleyn. As ever we bring you the post match press conference in full....

Paul: On the balance of the 90 minutes was that a fair result or do you feel hard done by?

Well we started the game really well. I thought that for 30 minutes or so we were excellent. We controlled the ballbut we didn't score. You can' fault the lads' effort. He effort was there but there wasn't much in the game.

The actual goal: there was a lot of confusion between the linesman and the ref. Your thoughts?

I wasn't sure at the time but I've seen the tape and the ball came off one or other of the lads so the ref's called it right. The ref I can't fault. We made mistakes all over but there were a lot of positives to take. You pick yourself up and start again.

You looked very bright to start off with. Is the challenge now to convert that extra possession into chances?

Yeah – you summed that up brilliantly! You'd be better off sitting up here! (Laughter)

You have Darren Bent who everyone knows is a goalscorer but he only got a few touches today...

Yes it was difficult today. Whether the heat contributed to that..it probably did. Darren will score that's for sure. He's a goal threat – we just have to get the service to him.

Paul how far off are you squad-wise? Do you need more bodies?

I'm not so sure. I was asked that yesterday If something comes up and it's worth our doing then we'll look at it. If we get one or two injuries back – losing Gabby (Agbonlahor) has been a bit of a blow for us. He's a big player. He was playing very well in pre-season. We're still talking two or three weeks for him.

As a former manager did you wince at the Norwich result?

No – what was it?

5-0...

For?...

Fulham.

Fulham???? Listen I can't speak highly enough of Norwich. Good luck to Chris and the lads – there's a long way to go. It's one game for everybody and it's a long old season.

Mark Hughes is probably saying the same thing - QPR lost 5-0 at home.

There's been some strange results about – Liverpool got beat 3-0 so I heard.

Sam just said that, although it's just one game it's important to get a good start. Do you feel as if you are going to need some wins just around the corner?

I think you get a bedding-in time of about three and a half milliseconds! I never think of anything other than trying to win. Ever. That's just me as a person. Last season at Norwich – you get a point away at Wigan then you get beat the next game and think 'where's the next point coming from?' I think the crowd were good today – they came a long way to watch us but we need them to be there when things are not going right for us.

Stephen Ireland looked as if he wanted the ball, he looked energetic and was always looking for angles. Is he a key part of what you're trying to do?

It's unfair to single out any player – it's as a team we have to gel. I also thought Ron Vlaar was excellent, Karim (El Ahmadi) had a lot of the ball and did fine. Matt Lowton has just come out of League One he was excellent as well. We just need to pull as a team. If we can do that we'll be fine.

Ron Vlaar didn't even know he was bleeding when he came off for treatment.

He's a big lad and a top pro. He was excellent.

Do you think that the team will grow together?

We have to. We have to grow together. We have to win together and to lose together. There's no blame culture. I'm not one for a blame culture.

Thanks.

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Big Sam pleased with win
Hammers boss delighted with correct decision to award goal
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 6:40pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce was relieved that the assistant referee made the right decision as West Ham marked their return to the Premier League with victory against Aston Villa. Kevin Nolan's disputed goal five minutes before the break handed the Hammers a 1-0 win at Upton Park. The midfielder tapped-in Ricardo Vaz Te's cross, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind. Referee Mike Dean ruled the West Ham striker was onside as Villa defender Ciaran Clark had touched the ball into his direction. Allardyce told Sky Sports: "I saw it straight away and then I had a quick glance at Mike Dean and saw him pointing to the spot, so I was then delighted because I thought, well, he's given the goal so it's clearly come off the Aston Villa player on the way through to Vaz Te. "And then of course you've got a little concern because he went over to the assistant referee, but I think it was just a matter to satisfy himself and everybody that he was correct. "He asked the assistant probably 'why did you give that' and he would have said 'offside' and he'd have said 'look, I know that came off a Villa defender' and so it was the right decision and when you look back at it, it was. "So, those major decisions, it would have been goalless here right now, rather than one-nil to us had he actually taken the linesman's decision and he'd have got it wrong and it would have been a major decision gone the wrong way for us. "Because he's got it right, we have to thank him for doing his job really well."

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Nolan hails important win
Skipper wants Hammers to go on winning run now
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 6:14pm
SSN

West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan praised his side's opening day victory at home to Aston Villa thanks to his goal five minutes before the break. The midfielder, who scored 14 goals for the club last season, turned a low cross from Ricardo Vaz Te, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind, into the back of the net. And the 30-year-old admitted that he was not at all worried about the controversy which followed because he knew the ball had touched defender Ciaran Clark on the way through. He told Sky Sports: "I knew that it had come off the defender so I knew it couldn't have been that and I knew that I wasn't offside. I couldn't see where the linesman was, so that's why I went off celebrating. "I would have been very unhappy if it would have been chalked off. The referee got it spot on with his decision."

And having secured such an important win on the opening day of the season, Nolan said: "It's what you work all pre-season for with this first game and obviously to get the goal and keep a clean sheet. "It's a fantastic day all round for us and overall it's a very good start and hopefully we can go on a bit of run now."

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Nolan nails hapless Villa
Midfielder grabs controversial first-half winner at jubilant Upton Park
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 7:02pm
SSN

West Ham made the perfect start to the new Premier League season thanks to a 1-0 victory at home to Aston Villa. Man of the match: Former Aston Villa defender James Collins was making his second West Ham debut and the big centre-back was a towering presence all afternoon. Controversy of the match: Villa players stood and watched as referee Mike Dean awarded West Ham the opening goal by Kevin Nolan despite the assistant raising his flag as the ball was launched into the box. Skill of the match: Ricardo Vaz Te produced a moment of magic to nutmeg Nathan Baker on the near touchline deep in the second half. The Hammers fans certainly enjoyed that moment. Talking point: Big Sam is still in the process of moulding his Hammers side. How far can they go this season? Paul Lambert is focused on ball retention at Villa. But will today's result alter his ideas about the way his side should be playing? Stat of the match: Villa have now failed to win in their last six away opening Premier League fixtures of the season, since a 1-0 victory at Newcastle in 1999. Kevin Nolan's controversial close-range finish five minutes before half-time was enough to seal all three points. The skipper turned home a low cross from Ricardo Vaz Te, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind. Villa players complained but referee Mike Dean confirmed the goal pointing to the centre circle. Substitute Modibo Maiga should have added a second deep into second-half stoppage-time, but Nathan Baker got back to make a superb clearance off the line. Villa were short of ideas and failed to muster a real opportunity in front of goal.

Dangerous

West Ham featured two debutants in goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and midfielder Mohamed Diame plus the returning James Collins, who lined up against his old team. With Paul Lambert in charge for the first time, Aston Villa fielded four summer signings, including Brett Holman whose early 20-yard drive briefly had Jaaskelainen worried. Holman was involved again after receiving a reverse pass from Stephen Ireland but his cross was cleared by Winston Reid, one of three timely interventions from West Ham's Kiwi defender. West Ham did not create any real pressure until Matt Taylor played Carlton Cole into the box, forcing Villa to concede a 14th minute corner. But nothing came of it. Villa looked marginally the more dangerous going forward - in relative terms - but they were denied by a double block from the dominant Collins, who charged down Karim El Ahmadi and then Ireland. The game began to spark into some sort of life after 36 minutes, when Cole was brought down on the edge of the Villa box by Ron Vlaar. Mark Noble touched the free-kick to Nolan, who drilled it low and through the wall but just wide of Shay Given's right-hand post. Four minutes later, West Ham had the lead. Noble's lofted free-kick fell to Vaz Te, who pulled the ball back for Nolan to score from close range. But there was more than a hint of controversy about it. Assistant referee Simon Long initially flagged for offside, in the belief that Collins had flicked the ball on to Vaz Te before changing his mind. Villa players complained immediately as West Ham celebrated, and referee Dean consulted with his assistant before confirming the goal.

Pressure

West Ham began to grow as the game went on and Cole was convinced he should have had a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Vlaar. The Hammers could have doubled their lead on 65 minutes, when Vaz Te skipped brilliantly past Nathan Baker and cut a low cross back to Nolan, whose shot was blocked by Vlaar and cleared. Just after the hour mark, Taylor swung in a dangerous free-kick from the right touchline which Cole rose to meet but the former England striker directed his header wide. Vlaar tried his luck from 35 yards out but the final word could have gone to West Ham replacement Maiga on his debut.
The Mali striker, on for Cole, was released by a long ball as Villa chased the equaliser and he rounded Given but Baker got back to clear off the line.

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Match Report: West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

It may not have been pretty on the eye, but three points are three points. And I suspect that is what we'll be saying quite often this season. So, first of all, the positives, and I think they were plain for all to see - Mo DIame and James Collins. It's always good to see two new signings do well making their debuts, and we certainly couldn't have asked for anymore from these two. Diame was a monster. The guy I sit with reckoned he played a bit like Behrami without the headless chicken moments. I could see what he meant. What an engine! And James Collins played possibly his best ever game for us. It has to be said that Villa never really threatened and I reckon they only had one shot on target in the whole game. But there's a reason for that and James Collins was a large part of it. However, that should not detract from the rest of the back four, who were also magnificent in keeping Villa at bay. especially Demel and Reid.

After twenty minutes, I will admit that a lot of negative thoughts were passing through my mind. Villa were dominating possession even if they weren't creating goal opportunities. They played some nice passing football, but after that we started to get into our swing and the midfield started intercepting Villa passes quite well. But if Villa didn't have any real chances in the first half, we hardly had more, and it was a surprise to us all when we scored. Indeed, so much of a surprise was it to me and my neighbour that we didn't even cheer, as we had seen the linesman raise his flag. It is very rare that a referee overrules a linesman in these circumstances, but this referee, who gave us nothing in the rest of the game, decided that Kevin Nolan deserved to get off the mark, and gave the goal. It was several minutes before I even realised who had scored. I gather a Vila player had headed the ball through to Vaz Te, who gave it Nolan for a tap in.

From then on in we never looked in danger, and how often can you say that about a West Ham side? Very rarely. Our defence and midfield were superb even when we might have been disrupted through three substitutions. Tomkins came on for Nolan in midfield and was dominant, and he allowed Diame to get forward more.

Towards the end Carlton Cole put a header wide that he really should have buried. He should also have got a penalty, and in any other game it would have been given. Cast iron. The only player who put in a disappointing performance was Matthew Taylor. He seemed unable to control the ball in the first half and seemed very slow. Personally, I think he will play at left back more than he will on the left wing. We badly need a nippy left winger who can get past people. On the right Vaz Te and Demel seemed to be building quite a good understanding and Demel seems to like to get forward.

There will no doubt be moans about our style of play today, and I have to say that if we have a season of that, I'm not sure how patient I will be, but three points are three points. Perhaps when we have got 35 points after 25 games we can afford to play a bit of the pretty stuff, but don't expect much before then!

Jaaskelainen 7
Demel 8
Reid 8
McCartney 6
Collins 9
Tomkins 8
Noble 6
Nolan 6
Diame 9
Vaz Te 6
Taylor 5
Cole 6
Madiba 5
O'Brien 6

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West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
The Sun
By JUSTIN ALLEN
Published: 18th August 2012

SOME things just never change for Sam Allardyce. Back in the Premier League, a 1-0 win and Kevin Nolan popping up with the decisive goal. The Allardyce-Nolan partnership has been going for the good part of 13 years. And the last time Big Sam was taking a Premier League bow — after taking Bolton up — guess who was on the scoresheet? Yep, Nolan — as Bolton saw off Leicester in 2001. Nolan only had to roll the ball into an empty net from a few yards in the 40th minute after getting on the end of Ricardo Vaz Te's centre to get West Ham off to flier in their return to the big time. Allardyce said: "Kevin's a goalscorer. A lot of people look at him as a midfielder. "But he is a David Platt. He gets on the end of things, ghosts into the box without people understanding how he got there. It was through instinct he found that chance. While all the other players are standing watching, Kevin is on the move and he pops it into the back of the net. "Kevin is as good as any striker in the box. He's a great finisher and that's his outstanding quality, proven over many years."

His goal caused some controversy. Linesman Simon Long raised his flag as he adjudged Vaz Te was offside as Mark Noble pumped a free-kick to the right side of the box. All the Villa defenders stood still but Mike Dean overruled his assistant — and Vaz Te stayed composed, spotting Nolan's late run. Video highlights later proved the referee right. West Ham deserved the three points — but before the goal they were poor. You could sympathise with the Hammers faithful in The Boleyn Tavern boozer before kick-off continuing to complain about Big Sam's "long ball" game.

With the club eyeing a move to the Olympic Stadium, some observers believe there will not be much difference between watching a Big Sam team pump long balls sky high and an athlete chucking a javelin. But that is harsh as the opener showed West Ham are more fluid than that. And what a fantastic piece of business to get James Collins back from Aston Villa. The Welshman was in the thick of everything at centre-back — getting in tackles and throwing his body on the line. Despite all Villa's early possession, they never looked like getting behind West Ham. And it was the hosts who had more attempts at goal.

WEST HAM boss says Nolan is as good a finisher in the box than any Premier League striker Nolan nearly squeezed an opener from a free-kick routine with Noble before he fired the Hammers in front. West Ham thought they should have had a penalty moments after the restart when Villa's debut-boy Ron Vlaar appeared to push Carlton Cole. Hammers debutant, Mali striker Modibo Maiga, almost put the icing on the cake at the death with a second. But the sub, having rounded the keeper, saw his shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Nathan Baker. Manager Paul Lambert has lifted spirits at Villa Park since replacing Alex McLeish — but he needs to find a cutting edge. He admitted: "I thought we looked bright but we must turn our possession into chances. If we can just get a finishing touch on that then we'll be OK. "It was difficult for us to get service to Darren Bent. The heat probably contributed. But the effort was there and Darren will score, that's for sure. He's a goal threat, we just have to get the service to him."

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney (O'Brien 71), Noble, Diame, Nolan (Tomkins 73), Vaz Te, Cole (Maiga 81), Taylor. Subs not used: Henderson, Maynard, Diarra, O'Neil. Goals: Nolan 40.

Aston Villa: Given, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Holman (Weimann 61), El Ahmadi, Delph (Bannan 77), N'Zogbia (Gardner 74), Ireland, Bent. Subs not used: Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Burke. Booked: Clark.

Att: 34,172
Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

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Big Sam's back! Allardyce's West Ham make winning return to the Premier League
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce's West Ham side scraped a narrow 1-0 victory against Aston Villa, thanks to a controversial Kevin Nolan finish . Just the start Sam Allardyce wanted.
And just the start that new Villa manager Paul Lambert must have feared. True, this was not the ­traditionally fluent West Ham of one-touch passing and ­eye-catching invention. But there was enough to ­suggest that the organisation and energy that Alladyce has instilled into his team will give them enough weaponry to survive in their return to the Premier League. There was a hint of ­controversy about the goal that decided this often ­attritional affair in the ­sweltering heat of East ­London. But there can be no question about the justice of the ­result. Indeed, but for a goal-line clearance in the last minute from Nathan Baker to deny Modibo Maiga his first ­competitive goal for West Ham, the cushion would have been more comfortable. Allardyce has had his fair share of confrontations with officialdom in the past. Yet he had nothing but praise for referee Mike Dean, who, five minutes from half-time, ignored a linesman's flag as Mark Noble's free-kick ­penetrated the Villa area. Ricardo Vaz Te was indeed a fraction offside, but Mr Dean saw what his lieutenant missed – that the last touch belonged to Ciaran Clark. Play went on, Vaz Te crossed and Kevin Nolan converted. "I have to say it was a very good decision by Mike Dean because the ball clearly came off a Villa player's head. ­Sometimes, though, the ­referee just acts on the ­linesman's flag." And that gave West Ham the platform they needed. Villa looked impressive in the first half hour. "Villa kept the ball very well," said Allardyce. "We found it hard in that spell."

His counterpart Lambert agreed. "But when you have the ball, you have to do something with it," he said. "We have a proven goalscorer in Darren Bent, but you have to give him chances and we didn't do that. "But we will learn. As for the goal, yes, the referee made the right call." The strike gave West Ham confidence.
"You have to hit the ground running," said Allardyce. His men certainly did that – and no one ran further or with more commitment than ­Mohamed Diame, who ­covered acres, despite the energy-­sapping temperatures. "An all-round midfield ­player who has the biggest smile you have seen in your life," said Allardyce, of the Senegal man signed on a free transfer after leaving Wigan. "A winning start is so ­essential. We may hit a sticky patch later, but if we have the points on the board, that will help us through." Villa lacked a cutting edge to go with their endeavour. And Lambert admitted that the pace and penetration of injured Gabriel Agbonlahor was sorely missed – and ­revealed that it will be well into September before he can call on the England ­international. "It has been a blow to lose him, but we will have to learn from this match," said Lambert. "We win together or we lose together. The effort was there, but the goal threat was not. Now, we have to grow as a team. There is no hiding place in the Premier League."

West Ham have the thrust of the unpredictable Vaz Te and Carlton Cole, the dynamism of Diame and the defensive strength of James Collins. They are a good bet for ­survival. Villa have the talent, they have the excellent philosophy of Lambert and they have ­Agbonlahor to come back. What they need now is a ruthless streak.

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Golden balls: West Ham United's co-owner reveals his cunning plan for the Olympic stadium
Brought up in abject poverty by a petty criminal, abused by a relative, written off as a greedy porn baron... David Gold has had to deal with plenty in his life – which means he's not about to give up on his dream of taking over the Olympic Stadium with his beloved West Ham United.
ROBERT CHALMERS SUNDAY 19 AUGUST 2012
Independent.co.uk

Twelve years ago, on Radio Five Live, presenter Nicky Campbell challenged David Gold to give a description of his Surrey estate in less than 60 seconds.

"I believe you have your own golf course," Campbell prompted his guest, in an ominously mischievous tone.

"Yes," Gold replied. "I am very proud of it."

"Outdoor Jacuzzi?" the presenter continued.

"I have an indoor Jacuzzi," Gold replied before describing, without irony, the "swimming pool, with the logo of Ann Summers [his jointly owned chain of shops selling lingerie and adult electricals] on the bottom. The greens on my golf course are each named after my various companies." Conversation then turned to David Gold's watch, and its unusually generous allocation of diamonds.

"I must say," Gold told his hosts, "that, all through my life, I have been very sort of, erm… what's the word…"

"Greedy?" volunteered one of Campbell's co- presenters. It was an unusual radio moment, not least for the fact that some of the laughter provoked by this impressively sharp intervention came from the man who had been introduced as "Britain's Mr Erotica". When the hilarity had subsided, though, Gold, rich as he may be, sounded humbled, almost mortified.

"This watch was chosen for me by my girlfriend, Lesley," he explained, quietly. "She has persuaded me to be a bit more flamboyant."

I have kept a copy of that broadcast, I tell Gold, when we meet in one of the reception rooms at his mansion, a recording I originally made because the news that day was dominated by a court decision relating to the Bulger case. I can remember, I tell the West Ham United co-owner, how amusing his appearance had seemed at the time. Listening back to those exchanges now, though, there's something less than generous about the way he was treated that day. Gold is a chronic dyslexic who left school with no qualifications. Outnumbered by university-educated BBC professionals, he sounded apprehensive, even daunted.

"I remember that interview," says the businessman. "At the time I did laugh, but afterwards, when I was going home, I thought that maybe it wasn't a very nice thing to say to me."

"So are you greedy?"

"I don't believe so. I don't think 'greedy' is a fair word. I am guilty of pursuing success. In the main I am at ease with people. In that studio, I didn't really feel comfortable."

David Gold is not a difficult man to mock. We live in an age in which many privileged figures strive to disguise their public-school accents by injecting a hint of estuary English. Gold, on the other hand, grew up in Green Street, opposite West Ham United's stadium and, even today, you can tell that he is at pains to speak as properly as he can; to the point that he will use a word like "whom", where appropriate, and generally maintains a level of grammatical perfection that many of his more formally educated contemporaries have long abandoned.

West Ham, the team Gold has supported for more than six decades, and now jointly owns, stand at a crucial point in their history. Having returned to the Premier League this season, they can contemplate the possibility – should they succeed in their stated ambition to take over the 2012 Olympic Stadium – of rising to join the elite names in English football, playing as they would at a ground holding 60,000 spectators. (The subject of the Olympic Stadium, I was warned by Gold's publicists, is one that I must on no account raise during this interview.)

Some people are born with the name they deserve (Keith Moon and Ed Balls spring to mind). Gold, in the minds of many, is another. The love of bling might be considered a forgivable – even enviable – trait in the young. When you're 75 and a permanent fixture in the Sunday Times Rich List, it's a different matter.

This mid-19th-century mansion, where he lives with fiancée Lesley Manning, 18 years his junior, is imposing, but not untastefully decorated. The interior, give or take the odd china swan and grand piano, is, if anything, understated. The 55 acres of grounds, though, are on a regal scale. His rolling lawns are immaculately kept. From the closest window I can see two spectacular ponds without even trying. I have to admit to an instinctive belief that a man who's a goldfish enthusiast, and has springer spaniels romping around the grounds, can't be all bad.

Gold appears wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt and black casual trousers. The only elements of his outfit that might be designed to impress are the famous watch, the black patent-leather shoes, and a ruby ring. He wears this last accessory on the little finger of his right hand where, you can't help thinking, it would be most effective in enhancing the effect of an uppercut, should our conversation render one necessary. So why is it that some people accuse Gold (whose business empire, founded as it was on the sale of titillating fiction, has had him described as a "Porn Baron") of ostentation?

"I got a tweet the other day," he replies. "It said, 'Why, in every interview that you do, is your helicopter in the background?' It ended, '#show-off'. I replied: 'When I was a boy, every picture of me had, in the background, an outside toilet and a tin bath.' My helicopter normally sits on the front lawn. I don't leave it there now, because I was affected by that criticism. I didn't read that message and say, 'Piss off. I don't care what you think,' as you could imagine Alan Sugar might do. I do care. I am what I am," says Gold, in a phrase that will recur. "And I want to do the right thing."

Gold's main business collaborators are his brother Ralph, and David Sullivan; men who have also amassed huge fortunes from the marketing of erotica. Investigative journalist Mark Killick's unauthorised biography of Sullivan (creator of, among many other publications, the Sunday Sport) has the title The Sultan of Sleaze. David Gold's introspective tendencies, and sensitivity to criticism, are qualities less conspicuous in the character of Sullivan, who, in 1981, was found guilty of living off immoral earnings (relating to prostitutes operating in saunas). He appealed against his nine-month sentence, and was released – though not pardoned – after having served 71 days in prison.

Prime among the joint ventures of the three businessmen are the Ann Summers chain, and West Ham, whose vice-chairman is Karren Brady. Brady is a long-standing ally of the triumvirate, notably in their previous football adventure at Birmingham City, where she was managing director. The Gold brothers and Sullivan bought that club for £1 in 1993 and sold in 2009. David Sullivan took a profit of £30m; the Gold brothers emerged with £15m each.

David Gold is writing an online autobiography, updated every week or so. The prototype was his published life story, Pure Gold, which appeared as a hardback in 2005.

Pure Gold leaves the reader in little doubt as to the privations he endured as an infant. The prologue includes two paragraphs dealing with his childhood; they are too long to include in full, so I have abridged them as follows.

"Stench of poverty… poor, hungry, cold… awful smell… strength-sapping cold… stench of poverty… stench of poverty… stink… poverty… hunger… biting chill… stomach-cramping hunger… poverty… poverty… despair… dysentery… hunger… poverty… stench of poverty."

At one point in the book, Gold notes that the comforts afforded by his family's house were eclipsed by the facilities in an air-raid shelter that had been excavated in his neighbour's yard. It's a moment that enemies might seize on as being reminiscent of the classic Monty Python parody of romanticised poverty, "The Four Yorkshiremen", in which, to misquote the script slightly, one of the speakers remembers how, "We used to dream of living in a hole in the ground."

The true extent of Gold's suffering as a boy was no laughing matter. Diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of five, he spent months in Black Notley sanatorium, close to Braintree, Essex.

"My best friend there was Jimmy," he says. "We slept in this dormitory. One night, there's this commotion. Our curtains are hurriedly closed for us. Lights come on. I can hear they're trying to save Jimmy. The lights go out. Next morning, I said to the nurse, 'E's dead, inne?' 'No,' she said, 'Jimmy's gone to heaven. I'll get your porridge. I'll see if I can get you some treacle in it, as a treat.' I remember thinking: my best friend is dead. And I've got treacle."

Deprivation, I suggest to Gold, was not unfamiliar to Britain's urban population in the 1940s. But he, clearly, had it tougher than most. "That was because of my father. [Godfrey, known as Goddy.] He wasn't often around. He was a philanderer and he was often in prison. You had to be destitute to get help. There was this thing called RO. You got tokens that you took to shops. You were given RO boots" – footwear, Gold says, which invited contempt, especially when worn by a boy who was half-Jewish, on his father's side.

He has a younger sister, Marie; his brother Ralph, the middle child, is two years David's junior. The tensions between Godfrey, and their mother Rose, are described in each of the Gold brothers' autobiographies. (Good as Gold, Ralph's story, appeared in 1997.)

A gifted footballer, David was twice invited to sign apprentice forms: first by his beloved West Ham, then Fulham. His father withheld consent, and David trained as a bricklayer.

"What made him refuse? Envy?"

"Possibly. I remember once I was kicking a ball against our shed. My father was reading the paper. He said: 'Why don't you stop showing off?' There was nobody there except him. I was only practising. That sticks in my mind. If I see my daughters excel, I brim with pride."

Godfrey's criticism seems especially vindictive, given that his son had found something he really excelled at. Years later, when his daughter Jacqueline was a child, David's English was still so poor that, in her words, "He used to copy out words from the dictionary, and stick them to the dashboard of his car. He was that keen to better himself."

Gold did not become aware of his dyslexia "until I was 27. You carry around this feeling of, everybody else is clever, and you are a dummy."

David Gold married his first girlfriend, Beryl Hunt. He was 21. He says that he realised he'd made a mistake, even as he left for the honeymoon. The couple separated in 1972. Beryl, who died in 2003, was the mother of his only children: Vanessa (currently MD at Ann Summers ) and Jacqueline, the company's CEO, who was instrumental in building the Summers empire, through her introduction, in 1981, of salacious house parties, where ladies gather to compare notes on products such as PVC underwear, "Rampant Rabbit" vibrators and chocolate penises.

s I talk to Gold, I realise that I had arrived here with certain expectations, not all of which were fulfilled. "Modest" was one adjective I was not expecting to appear in this article, but if you read Ralph's book, you're struck by the number of David's achievements (as a builder, footballer and prize-winning aviator) that are downplayed in, or omitted from, the elder brother's own life story.

Undistinguished as he may have been by orthodox academic standards, Gold quickly demonstrated a flair for business. He was in his early twenties when he opened his first bookshop near Charing Cross, selling general fiction and "adult" titles by authors such as Hank Janson (Stephen Daniel Frances), the most popular British pulp-fiction author of the immediate post-war years.

For some reason, I tell Gold, I've never quite hit it off with the pornographers I've met; even a man with a strong sense of irony, such as Larry Flynt. Some of the publications in Flynt's Hustler stable, I suggest, resemble gynaecological course books.

"Well, Larry Flynt… he has to be disgusting… shocking, I mean. That's his mantra."

Pornographer is a title which, when applied to his own career, Gold contests with some vigour. It would be difficult to overstate the innocuousness of the magazines which got him into trouble in his early years as a publisher. In the interests of research I procured copies of his 1970s magazine New Direction (the stress is on the first syllable); a periodical that, today, would scarcely require elevating to the top shelf. Gold was tried (and acquitted) three times on charges relating to handling indecent material; books which, today, would only be destroyed by purchasers, on the grounds of primness and tedium.

"I watched a programme about Fifty Shades of Grey recently," Gold says. "All of the people involved would have risked prison 50 years ago, including the author."

"I came across a bizarre cutting from The Telegraph, dated September 1972," I tell him. "It complains that, at your company, adult books were stored in the same warehouse as children's annuals. 'The covers of the children's books show teddy bears and bunny rabbits,' the reporter complains. 'The sex books feature naked photographs.' It sounds as if the Telegraph had caught you storing Wensleydale next to raw pork."

"I remember that article. I think there was a fear in the ruling classes that sex would infect young people and turn them into monsters." k

One judge who tried Gold, Lord King Hamilton, was informed, during proceedings, that studies showed that 97 per cent of young men masturbate.

"He removed his glasses," Gold recalls, "raised his hand to his brow, and said, 'Whatever happened to restraint?' I could see the jury thinking: we know the real world. This man doesn't."

"Where would you draw the line now?"

"I think we all know it."

"You mean paedophilia?"

"Yes, and other things that are disgusting. The real problem is deciding at what age children can see certain images."

"You argued for a British Board of Book Censors 40 years ago, didn't you?"

"Yes. They could have made rules and we could have obeyed them. As long as the board didn't include someone like [prominent anti-obscenity crusader] Lord Longford, who was potty. If you don't separate soft and hardcore material, if you embrace it all, like Longford did, the silly sod, everything becomes pornography."

Gold has, he insists, "high moral standards".

Ironically – or, his critics might argue, appropriately – the intimate lives of David Gold and his family have been subject to gruesome turbulence. As a small boy he was molested by his mother's stepbrother, Johnny Cenci. He recalls three instances of serious sexual abuse.

"My mother was loyal to Cenci," he says. "Years later, I was giving her money every week. One day she is in tears. She says, 'I've got no money'. It turned out that she was paying £200 a week to keep Cenci – my abuser – in a nursing home. I couldn't bear her to be upset. Anyhow, he's blind and he's got cancer. I thought, how long can he live? I gave her an extra £10,000 a year. The bastard," Gold laughs, "lived for 11 years."

By the time he was 32, David Gold was prospering as a partner with brother Ralph and father Godfrey in their publishing business. This collaboration ended when Godfrey attempted an illegal manoeuvre that would have given him control of the company. The brothers terminated his involvement. "I never spoke to him again. He died at 92, four years ago."

"Did you go to the funeral?"

"Yes. I hadn't spoken to him for nearly 40 years. I suppose I was there to mourn the father I wish I'd had. My pals all had fantastic dads. Dads who encouraged them. Playing football, say. Where was mine?"

On the day he parted company with his father, Gold drove home early and saw Beryl having sex with his best friend, in the swimming pool. The couple were unaware that they had been observed. There followed a bizarre situation, described by his daughter Jacqueline in her first autobiography, whereby Beryl and her lover occupied the Golds' double bed, while David and the wife of Beryl's lover slept together in the spare room. (After he separated from Beryl, Gold spent 25 years with another girlfriend, Penny.) He met Lesley, the love of his life, at a tapas bar in Purley in 1998 .

Beryl, meanwhile, married her lover, and was awarded custody of Vanessa and Jacqueline. The latter, as the title of her first book (Please Let it Stop) would indicate, endured years of sexual abuse perpetrated by her stepfather.

"Jacqueline says that you only learnt of this when you read her book; she recalls that you said, 'I feel like killing the guy.' Is that correct?"

"Yes. I'd stayed in the family home for several years knowing that my wife was having an affair, for the sake of the children. Should I have stayed longer?"

"You must have had to restrain yourself. I imagine that you'd have known people who, once you discovered what had happened to Jacqueline, could have sorted that situation out for you?"

(In the mid-1960s, Gold met at least one member of the notorious Richardson gang, though there is no suggestion that he was ever connected with them either professionally or socially.)

"However," he replies, "had anything happened to him, the first suspect would have been me. And that is not a good way to resolve things, ever. But when the anger boils, there is definitely a tipping point."

"And her abuser is still alive?"

"Yes."

"How do you deal with that, emotionally, now?"

"If I'm at work, I'm not thinking about it. But talking about it to you now, I feel the anger, the remorse and the desire for revenge on my daughter's behalf."

"And on your own behalf, I imagine."

"Yes."

"Jacqueline fled to your house once, didn't she, and you, unaware of what was happening, drove her back to her mother."

"And had I known, I could have changed everything. Her mother was aware, which is not uncommon, as I have discovered, researching the subject of abuse. It was a tragedy. But hopefully it can inspire other people to believe that you can overcome this sort of trauma."

"Tony Soprano persuaded himself to see a psychoanalyst; did you?"

"I am not a psychoanalyst kind of a man," Gold replies. "I also hate hypnotists. And astrologers. I'll see both Jackie and Vanessa today and hug them, and I will be aware of what a lucky man I am."

Swift generation of wealth has never been a problem for Gold. By 1972, Gold Star Productions had a £1m turnover, 100 people on the payroll and an office in New York. Titles such as Lesbian Love and A Woman's Look at Oral Love were written by Sue Caron. Miss Caron, who matched the prolific output, if not the literary invention, of Charles Dickens, also edited magazines including New Directions and In Depth.

"Am I talking to Sue Caron now?"

Gold laughs. "No. She wasn't me. She was my brother's assistant."

"Somebody told me that [one of the saddest periodicals of all time] Readers' Wives is one of yours."

"No. That is [fellow top-shelf mogul and current owner of Express Newspapers] Richard Desmond."

"What do you think of him?"

"You have to say he is a remarkable success. He was competing with us – I say 'us' because we joined forces with David Sullivan – but at one time there were the Golds, Sullivan, Desmond, and Paul Raymond. We were the four main players in top-shelf magazines."

David Gold's business portfolio expanded to include sex-chat lines, and a company chartering luxury jets, which was sold in 2006. Probably his most felicitous business decision was the purchase of Ann Summers, in 1972. The company – now a vastly successful global brand – had been started by an eccentric bohemian, Michael "Dandy Kim" Caborn-Waterfield. An occasional actor and jockey, Waterfield was the lover of Diana Dors and, it seems likely, Princess Margaret. He ran guns to Cuba during the 1959 revolution, served a prison term in France after stealing £25,000 from the Riviera villa of American film producer Jack Warner and, in 1970, launched Ann Summers "for a laugh". A year later, the company, named after Waterfield's secretary Annice Summers, was heading for bankruptcy.

Dandy Kim is not unrelentingly sympathetic when he talks about his former friend. Gold, however, recalls Waterfield as "an amazing character; a genius who would make incredibly poor financial decisions".

"Like trousering that £25,000."

"Yes."

Some have suggested that he completed an autobiography and was dissuaded from publishing by you."

"He got beaten up. The implication was that I had arranged it. Of course that was not true."

"So what did happen?"

Gold alleges that Dandy Kim spoke to him on the subject of his book, and that he is not sure the manuscript was even completed. Waterfield's testimony on these matters differs radically, but he insisted that he could not be quoted on the record on any matter concerning the Golds, because (he added) legal action is pending.

Gold adds that he believes Waterfield's book would have suggested that "he could destroy the myth that the Ann Summers story revolved only around Jacqueline. But who would care?"

"Exactly. No libellous stories about you, then, involving wild parties?"

"I wish it had been the case. It might make me sound more interesting."

George Orwell," I remind Gold, "once wrote that every regional accent carries its own message, and that the Cockney accent implies meanness with money."

"I think that, in the main, is true."

And, Gold adds, he can understand that West Ham's famously dedicated supporters, Londoners though they themselves mainly are, may mistrust businessmen "coming into the club and talking about loyalty. But this is my manor. I worked on Stratford Market, where the Olympic Stadium sits now. I remember the bomb falling on West Ham football ground and thinking: my God, they're coming after me. West Ham is my passion."

The cost of buying the club, in Gold's words, was "madness. The place was a car crash. The worst set of figures I'd ever seen."

"Still, I guess you made enough money out of Birmingham City."

"Because we got lucky. When we sold Birmingham, we planned to take a rest from football. Then we heard West Ham were in trouble."

"You probably know that I was asked not to talk to you about the Olympic site; but could you just confirm that West Ham are still interested in moving there?"

"Absolutely. Under the right circumstances. I am very hopeful that West Ham will end up at the Olympic Stadium. The reason why that move is so important to us – and I say this on the record – is that, if we're fortunate enough to be awarded the stadium, then the players we currently have, if they are approached by a bigger club, face losing the opportunity to play at the Olympic Stadium."

"Can you fill it?"

"Our research says so."

"The snag at West Ham," I say, "as at huge clubs such as Manchester United or Barcelona, is that tradition requires you to play attractive, attacking football. I belong to a minority which believes that [current manager] Sam Allardyce is capable of achieving that."

"I believe that too."

"What if you get relegated?"

"Well in that case, of course we couldn't fill it. But I believe that, with the Olympic Stadium comes the opportunity for greater success."

"I imagine a lot of taxpayers being pretty hacked off by all this. You'll know that Manchester City [who lease the 2002 Commonwealth Games stadium] are widely derided as the richest council house tenants on the planet. Couldn't you at least buy the stadium?"

"No. We tried to buy it. That was challenged by Tottenham Hotspur, whose model was to pull the stadium down."

s I say goodbye to Gold, I find myself wondering why a person born into poverty who develops a taste for luxurious accessories should be automatically mocked, with all the contempt that the English aristocracy traditionally reserve for "new money".

He is troubled by a recurring nightmare, in which "I arrive at my childhood home in my Bentley – bizarrely because, in the nightmare, I've lost everything. My mum is waiting for me. I take out my tool bag. I drive to the building site and see the face of Ben, the hod carrier, who can't understand why I'm there, especially with my Bentley. I'm wet and cold. It's the same dream every time. You fear slipping back. The fear of losing everything is a driving force."

Is it racist or patronising to note that, when you're socialising with black residents of the Southern states of the US, you quickly notice that, the more impoverished their upbringing, the more likely they are to be immaculately dressed at all times? I tell Gold how, some years ago, I visited an interviewee whose impeccable, slightly garish clothes, like the dazzling perfection of his property's décor, just screamed, to me at least, that he had been raised (as he had) in squalor. If poverty really is a trap, then Gold's diamond watches, dazzling patent-leather shoes and helicopter are, I imagine, simply his proud badges of escape.

I can see from Gold's face that this kind of talk, which might imply that he instinctively follows Zero Mostel's advice, in The Producers ("If you've got it baby, flaunt it! Flaunt it!"), isn't going down especially well.

"I am what I am," he replies. "I can teach myself to stop saying 'an 'ouse'. And learn words by writing them down 50 times, or sticking them to the car dashboard. But there are many things I can't change. I can't change the fact that I was brought up in poverty, by a petty criminal. I can't change the fact I was sexually abused as a boy. I regret that I didn't have a better education. But I do have experience. I do have opinions. And I am," he repeats, "what I am."

His remaining ambitions, aside from avoiding a return to his childhood address, are "for my family and businesses to thrive. For West Ham to be challenging at the top of the Premier League. And to play, and win, in Europe."

He might have added, but doesn't, that he'd quite like to shed the reputation he's acquired, in the minds of some, as an object of derision. But if his other hopes are realised, and he finds himself in the Olympic Stadium one evening, hosting Juventus or Real Madrid, you would have to ask yourself who – as the grammatically punctilious Gold would phrase it – will be sneering at whom.

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He's like Platt! Allardyce compares matchwinner Nolan to England legend
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 19:31, 18 August 2012 | UPDATED: 22:27, 18 August 2012
Daily Mail

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce compared Kevin Nolan to David Platt after his goal secured the Hammers' 1-0 win over Aston Villa. Nolan's close-range strike five minutes before the interval was enough for West Ham to make a successful return to the Barclays Premier League. The goal came with a hint of controversy after Ricardo Vaz Te had been flagged off-side in the build-up, only for the linesman to change his mind. Allardyce felt his side could have won by more - Carlton Cole had a penalty claim turned down and substitute Modibo Maiga saw a late shot cleared off the line. But he was relieved that West Ham had made a strong start to the season. Allardyce said: 'Kevin Nolan is like David Platt because he ghosts into the box without anyone knowing how he got there. 'We might have won by more. It was a good performance with a clean sheet. 'It was a very good decision by the referee because the ball clearly came off the Villa player (when it was flicked on to Vaz Te) but refs don't always question their linesmen. 'We should have had a penalty when Carlton Cole was shoved to the ground. 'I was a bit nervous because you never quite know how it's going to go after pre-season. A good start is so important to a team such as us because it helps secure your Premier position as early as possible.

'It takes the pressure off the players and the fans, and it makes everyone enjoy their football.' Allardyce hailed the Hammers' defensive performance, which was marshalled by man of the match James Collins. The Wales centre-back was making his second debut for West Ham against his old team, after returning to Upton Park in the summer from Villa. 'It's been a very, very good day for us today because we won our first game of the season and kept a clean sheet as well,' Allardyce said. 'To limit Darren Bent to three touches speaks volumes of our defensive performance and it seems we've hit the ground running.' Aston Villa players initially appealed against the decision to award the goal - but manager Paul Lambert accepted the right decision had been made.

Mark Noble's free kick glanced off the head of a Villa defender - not Collins as the linesman first thought - en route to Vaz Te, who cut the ball back for Nolan.
'I wasn't sure at the time but I saw a tape afterwards and it came off one of our lads so I can't fault the ref,' Lambert said. 'We started well but it's all very well having lots of ball but not if you don't score. 'We need to be able to service Darren Bent. Losing Gaby (Agbonlahor) was a big blow to us before this game. 'You've got about three and a half milliseconds to hit the ground running in the Premiership.'

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Nolan ignites the flames of hope and history
West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 0: Beating Villa 1-0 brings early joy to the Upton Park traditionalists, faced with the prospect of moving to an Olympic Stadium bereft of intimacy
MICHAEL CALVIN SUNDAY 19 AUGUST 2012
Independent.co.uk
17 August 2012 01:50 PM

The faithful trotted out the old anthems while the powerbrokers peered through the heat haze at West Ham's proposed new home on the horizon. The Olympic Stadium is little more than two miles away from Upton Park, but on days such as these it belongs on a different planet.

When the noise rolls around the main stand, which is bookended by huge portraits of Bobby Moore and Trevor Brooking, the game comes alive and the ghosts come calling. Kevin Nolan's goal, five minutes before half-time, was enough to guarantee the observation of celebratory traditions which unite the generations.

It mattered little that West Ham were unfortunate not to secure a more comfortable victory when Nathan Baker cleared off the line from the substitute Modibo Maiga in the last seconds of added time. A capacity crowd was in a mood to excuse the inelegant muscularity of a trademark Sam Allardyce team.

The Boleyn is unashamedly old- fashioned. Even the six bubble-blowers clustered around the dug-outs seem an unnecessary concession to modernity. It is an authentic English football ground. Its intimacy and intensity expose the artificiality of the modern, multi-tiered mausoleums which have transformed the landscape of the Premier League.

The fans are drawn into the action as participants in a passion play rather than as observers at a social function. They get up close and very personal. That may not be entirely good news for Allardyce, who is tolerated rather than admired, but it is a reminder of what West Ham are in danger of sacrificing in the name of financial opportunism. The Olympic flame had barely been extinguished when the club launched a PR campaign to acquire squatter's rights at a reconstituted Stadium in Stratford Park. No East End legend, real or imagined, was spared. Celluloid mobsters, celebrity comedians and athletic icons, in the form of Ray Winstone, James Corden and Sally Gunnell, were wheeled out to pledge allegiance to the cause. The rower Mark Hunter circulated before kick-off, allowing a succession of children to wear his Olympic silver medal. Boxer Nicola Adams, by all accounts a Leeds supporter, was nevertheless swathed in a West Ham flag. Boxing and mini-tennis demonstrations were staged at half-time, and the PA announcer shoehorned the L word – Legacy – into as many announcements as possible. Subtle it was not.

Allardyce has previous in the promotion of delusions of grandeur – his insistence he would be a natural Real Madrid manager was a classic of its kind. He has gone on record suggesting the move would elevate West Ham to the levels of Arsenal and Manchester United. His implication that only "a club with the history, fanbase and potential of West Ham" suit the Olympic site captured the hyperbolic mood.

Joint owner David Sullivan, never knowingly upstaged, believes it is "morally" right to install them as tenants. Oblivious to the dangers of using such a word in a football context, he subsequently suggested "it would be wonderful for the country". Repayment for West Ham winning the World Cup for England in 1966, presumably.

David Gold, his partner, used the start of the new season to unveil his plan to save the Premier League's soul: a debt cap to prevent clubs spending beyond their means. "Top- level football in this country is on the brink of diving into a financial abyss," he announced, ignoring inconvenient home truths.

West Ham have hardly been prudent since winning promotion. They have discarded 12 underachievers, but they have been a one-club transfer rumour mill. Allardyce has recruited eight new players, on substantial wages, and is agitating to sign at least another three.

Paul Lambert, by contrast, has a more difficult search for compensations. Villa lacked penetration and the manager will doubtlessly be reminding the owner, Randy Lerner, of the wisdom of reinvesting some of his billion-dollar windfall from the sale of his NFL team.

The frustrations were obvious – one misjudged cross prompted Lambert to pirouette across his technical area and punch the back of his seat – but he is at least attempting to fashion a team who play in the right way. The popularity of his appointment was crystallised by the travelling fans, who delivered a tart farewell to Alex McLeish.

"We're passing the ball," they sang in mock disbelief. "We're Aston Villa. We're passing the ball." This went down well with the locals, whose most cherished values were being vindicated by the opposition.

Allardyce's functional football is justified only by results. Villa were bombarded by a succession of high balls in a sterile first half, enlivened only by Nolan's contentious goal. The home fans didn't care about its lack of clarity. Linesman Simon Long put his flag up for offside against Ricardo Vaz Te, then changed his mind before the striker pulled the ball back for Kevin Nolan to score. The protests were long, loud, and tinged with desperation, but would not have made an Olympian blush.

Even the managers were on their best behaviour afterwards. Both praised referee Mike Dean for his diligence in spotting that Villa's Ciaran Clark got a fateful touch before the ball reached Vaz Te in the build-up to the goal. Whether they will be so even-handed as the season progresses remains to be seen.

West Ham 1 (Nolan 40) Aston Villa 0

West Ham (4-1-2-3): Jaaskelainen; Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney (O'Brien, 70); Diamé; Nolan (Tomkins, 72), Noble; Vaz Te, Cole (Maiga, 80), Taylor.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Given; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker; El Ahmadhi, Delph (Bannan, 76); Holman (Weimann 60), Ireland, N'Zogbia (Gardner, 72); Bent.

Referee: Mike Dean

Attendance: 34,172

Man of the match: Nolan (West Ham)

Match rating: 4/10

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West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 0: match report
Read a full match report of the Premier League game between West Ham United and Aston Villa at Upton Park on Saturday Aug 18 2012.
By Ben Findon, Upton Park
5:00PM BST 18 Aug 2012

The decisive goal was tinged with controversy, with an assistant referee's flag raised for offside, though television replays suggested that referee Mike Dean was correct to allow the West Ham captain's crucial interventon to stand. Newly-promoted West Ham started encouragingly, rarely looking under any threat from Villa's forward line. In fact, the visitors attacking was so limited that debut-making goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen could scarcely have hoped for a quieter opening 45 minutes.

Although the perceptive Stephen Ireland, always looking to thread in the clever through pass, was busy in the heart of Villa's midfielder, few options presented themselves in front of him, with Darren Bent finding little room between the outstanding James Collins, who moved between the two clubs during the summer, and Winston Reid.

Not that there was exactly a glut of action at the other end of the pitch on a sweltering day in east London. But Aston Villa were given a warning after Carlton Cole was fouled by Dutch debutant Ron Vlaar 20 yards from goal. Mark Noble rolled the ball for Nolan, whose low shot whistled narrowly wide of Shay Given's right-hand post.

There was to be no such reprieve when West Ham won another free-kick, four minutes later, when Ciaran Clark body-checked Mohamed Diame. Clark received a yellow card and there was further punishment for the visitors when Noble's deep free-kick was headed back by Ricardo Vaz Te for Nolan to side-foot past Given.
Although a linesman's flag was raised for a perceived offside, Villa's appeals were overruled by referee Mike Dean, who appeared to have made the right call, especially as Noble's free-kick seemed to brush Clark's head en route to Vaz Te.

Villa's response came within 40 second from the start of the second half, Ireland drawing a save from Jaaskelainen, but the greater alarm came at the visitors' end four minutes later when Cole went down under Vlaar's challenge but referee Dean waved away appeals for a penalty. West Ham continued to look the more likely to strike again, and some 66th-minute trickery by Vaz Te on the right led to a cut back that Nolan drilled goalwards, only to be blocked by Vlaar. The Dutchman powered a 30-yarder at Jaaskelainen but it ony served to underline the lack of attacking variations for the visitors. Cole headed Matt Taylor's cross wide with 12 minutes remaining and the West Ham striker's departure three minutes later gave the home support a first glimpse of Modibo Maiga, a £4.7 million signing from Sochaux. Maiga should have scored in added time but after rounding Given, saw his shot cleared by Nathan Baker.

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