Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce thinks Andy Carroll will benefit from his first 90 minutes of
the season
23.11.2014
Sam Allardyce cited Andy Carroll's first 90 minutes of the season as a
positive point to take away on an otherwise frustrating afternoon for West
Ham United at Everton on Saturday. Carroll started alongside Carlton Cole
and Kevin Nolan for the first time under Allardyce and the trio of forwards
caused the Toffees' defence no end of problems in tense and fiercely
contested match. Big Sam did admit afterwards however that despite Carroll's
hard work to stay in shape, in an ideal world he would not have played the
England international for the full match had there not been such a late
influx of injuries. "Andy's fiancée is the owner of a gym and a yoga centre
and many times in his striving for fitness he's spent some time with her,"
Big Sam said. "She's helped him not so much get fit but stay in good
condition.
"We didn't want to play him for 90 minutes as he's not quite ready for 90
minutes but because of circumstances it had to be that. He coped with it
well and we know he's going to get better the more match fit he gets. "With
the opportunities of other strikers putting pressures on Andy he's got to
get on top of his game. The way Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho have played
this year, they've put big pressure on Andy and even Mauro Zarate's
performance as sub was really good. "Andy doesn't feel any pressure - he
looks after himself and thinks he should play every week and rightly so. At
this moment in time he has a little way to go to find his full match
fitness. He did very well for us to complete the 90 minutes. "We hope this
final operation will be one of the major reasons for him not having the same
injury problems as he's had over the last couple of years."
On the whole, the Hammers impressed when the five enforced injuries are
taken into consideration and those that Big Sam was able to select certainly
did their ongoing selection prospects no harm, with Mauro Zarate
particularly impressing with a goal from the bench. The manager started with
three central defenders and wing backs, three in midfield and two up in the
shape of Carroll and Cole. "Circumstance meant we had to look at the players
available and how we could fit them all into our system," he said. "I think
that the back three came because of that scenario. Our attacking full-backs
are that good that playing wing backs would be great for them and would give
us great defensive solidity with the three defenders. "I think with the
first 20-25 minutes we didn't pass the ball and that was a real frustration.
After they scored, we got better and better but unfortunately when we got
better again - Mauro Zarate's introduction made a real difference - we had
to find a goal but we didn't find the other one we should have done. "If
we'd had a point on Saturday I would have been very happy considering our
injury situation and really a point should have been the minimum we should
have taken."
As Big Sam starts his preparations for Saturday's game with Newcastle United
at the Boleyn Ground, his first priority will be to check on the five key
players that were forced to miss Saturday's game. Alex Song [knee], Cheikhou
Kouyate [knee], Stewart Downing [knee], Enner Valencia [knee] and Diafra
Sakho [back] were all ruled out and with only Song and Valencia injured on
Club duty, the manager rued the international fixtures that affected his
other stars. "As the week progressed and you're looking forward to the game,
we had a big disappointment and had to kept quiet about the injuries that
had been picked up by Song and Valencia, which were in the Aston Villa game.
"Then the messages came flooding in from three of our players that had been
on international duty and I think at the moment at least two of those could
have been prevented. For me it shouldn't have had an effect on the result as
we went to Everton with a game plan and I think it worked very well apart
from the first 25 minutes when we were allowing Everton to dominate the play
with our poor possession. We had some fantastic opportunities but we were
simply not clinical enough. "The bottom line is we get a goal and that upset
Everton, who had only won once at home this season and they looked a little
shaky, and it's then you take full advantage, show your killer instinct and
how ruthless you really are and unfortunately we couldn't show that on
Saturday."
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At cross purposes
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 24th November 2014
By: Staff Writer
A failure to provide enough service to the strikers cost West Ham dearly at
Goodison Park on Saturday. The team's game plan largely consisted of
providing supply to the two big front men - Carlton Cole and Andy Carroll -
from wide areas. However United's failute to feed the duo sufficient
ammunition from the flanks ultimately proved to be fatal.
Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell were charged with providing much of West
Ham's attacking impetus; between them, they provided no less than 26 crosses
(14 from Jenkinson, 12 from Cresswell).
Jenkinson's completion rate of 42 per cent (with five of his 12 centres
finding their target) was just about par or the course, although just two of
Cresswell's 12 crosses managed to find a fellow Hammer.
Everton's 62 clearances (compared to West Ham's 15) came mostly in or around
their penalty box
Andy Carroll, the target for many of those 26 crosses failed to find the net
in what was his first start of the season, but still managed six efforts at
goal - the most by any player on the pitch - whereas his strike partner Cole
failed to have a single shot.
Primarily employed to wear down the Everton defence prior to Mauro Zarate's
introduction, Cole did little to justify his inclusion in the starting XI.
His pass accuracy rate of just 40 per cent was the lowest in the team - and
he managed just 18 touches of the ball, again the lowest.
Zarate, upon being introduced five minutes into the second half looked far
livelier and made the most of his only shot at goal - West Ham's equaliser.
He enjoyed 30 touches of the ball in 40 minutes, with a pass success rate of
73 per cent - the best return from the strikers on show - and converted two
of his six crosses successfully.
Kevin Nolan, asked to perform a far more defensive role than usual, had just
one touch in Everton's penalty area
Another player whose inclusion is regularly questioned is Kevin Nolan, back
in the starting line-up to replace the likes of Cheik Kouyate and Alex Song.
Whilst he failed to provide anything noteworthy, the club captain did manage
to produce three key passes - the most from any Hammer - and cover more
ground than any other West Ham player (6.3 miles).
Everton vs West Ham Utd: In Comparison
Most touches
1. Leon Osman (Everton): 86
2. James McCarthy (Everton): 73
3. Tony Hibbert (Everton): 66
Pass Accuracy
1. Mark Noble (West Ham): 96% from 25 passes
2. Leon Osman (Everton): 93% from 72 passes
3. Ross Barkley (Everton): 93% from 39 passes
Shots at goal
1. Andy Carroll (West Ham): 6
2. Romelu Lukaku (Everton): 4
3. Morgan Amalfitano, Matt Jarvis (West Ham), Ross Barkley, Samuel Eto'o
(Everton): 2
Headers Won
1. Andy Carroll (West Ham): 15
2. James Collins (West Ham): 5
3. Carlton Cole (West Ham), Phil Jagielka (Eveton): 4
Tackles
1. James Tomkins (West Ham): 5
2. Tony Hibbert (Everton): 4
3. Mark Noble (West Ham), Steven Naismith (Everton): 3
Clearances
1. Phil Jagielka (Everton): 17
2. Sylvain Distin (Everton): 12
3. Tony Hibbert, James McCarthy (Everton): 7
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Bargain! West Ham could sign Allardyce's £9.5m summer target for free
HITC
Olly Dawes
West Ham United failed in a £9.5m bid for Yevhen Konoplyanka this summer -
but now they could sign him for nothing. Despite Saturday's 2-1 defeat to
Everton, West Ham are on course for a superb season. The Hammers have won
five of their opening 12 games this season, sitting sixth in the Premier
League table - and with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham all struggling to
find any consistency, manager Sam Allardyce has a chance of earning European
qualification for next season. Even after splashing out in the summer for
the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Alex Song, Morgan Amalfitano, Diafra Sakho and
Enner Valencia, West Ham will need to add more new faces in January if they
are to really push for a top six finish. Allardyce may well be backed with
more money to spend, and it would be little surprise to see him rekindle his
interest in Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk ace Yevhen Konoplyanka.
The Ukrainian winger, 25, was linked with Liverpool, Manchester United and
Tottenham over the summer, but West Ham made an audacious £9.5m bid - which
was rejected as Dnipro aimed to get £12m for him. That decision could prove
costly, as Konoplyanka is about to enter the final six months of his
contract with Dnipro, and doesn't look like he'll be signing a new contract
any time soon. That means that West Ham would be able to negotiate a
pre-contract agreement with Konoplyanka, enabling him to join the club for
free next summer. Alternatively, the Hammers could offer another fee to sign
Komplyanka in the hope that Dnipro will take a cut-price fee to avoid losing
him for nothing.
West Ham don't play with wingers anymore as Allardyce has switched to a
4-4-2 diamond, but Konoplyanka's skillset actually lends itself to playing
behind the strikers - the same switch made by Stewart Downing this season.
It would be an ambitious move by West Ham, but if they were willing to pay
£9.5m to sign him this summer, then he will surely be on their radar as a
potential free transfer - and signing Konoplyanka would be a huge statement
of intent for their rivals.
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Ecuador pinning Copa hopes on Valencia - coach
BY JAVIER LEIRA
SANTIAGO Mon Nov 24, 2014 6:09pm GMT
Oct 14, 2014; Harrison,
(Reuters) - Ecuador have a "spectacular" forward in West Ham United's Enner
Valencia who only needs to gain a bit more confidence in the English Premier
league to join soccer's elite, according to national coach Sixto Vizuete.
Valencia was his country's standout player at this year's World Cup, scoring
all three of their goals, and is sure to be at the forefront of Ecuador's
Copa America title challenge in Chile next year. "Enner is spectacular. I
hope God is with him and he enjoys the same bright form now he's in England.
He will complicate any defence there," Vizuete told Reuters in an interview
at the weekend ahead of Monday's draw for the June 11-July 4 Copa America
tournament. The 25-year-old made his international debut in 2012 and
gradually won a leading role in the team for whom he has scored 11 goals.
"He needs a bit more experience in England, be given more confidence. With
Ecuador he already has that confidence, all Ecuador's fans trust him. We
know that in Enner we have the goalscorer and everyone is sending those good
vibes for him to remain in form," Vizuete said.
Valencia's performances at the World Cup in Brazil and his top-scoring
exploits with Pachuca in the Mexican league in the first half of this year
earned him his transfer to West Ham. However, his early months in England
have not been easy for the South American with only three goals in a handful
of games. How Valencia plays in Chile will be vital for Ecuador, who have
never won the Copa America, the oldest active national teams competition in
the world, and have failed since 1997 to progress beyond the group phase.
Colombian Reinaldo Rueda survived Ecuador's poor 2011 tournament in
Argentina thanks to backing from the country's President Rafael Correa and
took the team to the World Cup after successfully seeing them through the
qualifiers. But after the team failed to reach the last 16 his contract was
not renewed with Vizuete, the national federation's head of development,
taking charge as caretaker. "We have to change Ecuador's history in the Copa
America, that's our main goal. We need to go further and then see what that
leads to," said the 53-year-old Vizuete, who hopes to be confirmed as head
coach in January. "No-one is going to give anything away at the Copa
America, the teams are all pretty even. Whoever has the most experience and
is in the best shape at the hour of truth will surely win the tournament."
Vizuete, who led Ecuador to their only international title, the soccer gold
medal at the 2007 Panamerican Games, said investing in the country's juniors
was the way forward. "A national team must have a work plan with the juniors
so that when it's their turn they won't disappoint in any way," said
Vizuete, who has promoted exciting forwards Joao Plata of MLS side Real Salt
Lake and Juan Cazares, who has spent his formative years in Argentina, first
with River Plate and now at Banfield. "The juniors are the starting point,
we have youngsters working with us from the age of 15 and when they get to
the senior team they won't have problems (slotting in)."
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West Ham striker Mauro Zarate turns to Shenfield cycling guru to help his
fitness
By PiersMeyler | Posted: November 24, 2014
Brentwood Gazette
Upton Park striker Mauro Zarate has turned to a Shenfield cycling guru to
help his fitness and keep him in West Ham's starting line-up.
Argentine Mauro, who set up home in Hutton Mount after signing for the
Hammers earlier this year, followed a long list of West Ham players to head
for The Discount Cycle Centre on Chelmsford Road, Shenfield to get fitted
for a new high-end bike. "I'm a big West Ham fan so it's always great to
help out the players when they come into the shop for their news bikes, "
said shop owner Tony Harries. "Mark Noble and Trevor Brooking were in
recently and I know Andy Carroll likes to get out on a bike. Maybe the
players are setting up their own bike team, " he joked.
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"Zarate – the perfect professional"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Mauro Zarate's cameo performance in the match against Everton has shown what
might happen should the manager Sam Allardyce finally decide to show real
faith in the player. Even Andy Carroll has joined the Argentinian's fan club
praising him to the skies of the club's official site and thus giving Sam
Allardyce a real decision to make. For given everything that we saw on
Saturday, it will come as a massive shock if Zarate again finds himself
playing second fiddle to Carlton Cole. Carroll sees him as a game changer
and a guy who can truly unsettle some of the best defences in the land. As
the big man prepares to for the visit of his hometown club – Newcastle – on
Saturday he would clearly get a big boost from having Mauro alongside him.
He told the official site: ""He is great. He has got quick feet, he is nippy
and he gets in and around defenders. He's a great player and he showed that
on Saturday because he changed the game when he came on."
I can't believe that Carlton Cole will get the shout ahead of Zarate of whom
one insider told ClaretandHugh: "At his best he is world class and is now
totally injury free. We all expected him to play on Saturday. "But fair play
to him. Despite his reputation for reacting when things go against him, he's
been the model professional since he arrived here and has just got on with
it. There's not been a single complaint. "He got lost when the play went
long in the last half an hour at Goodison but if we play to his strengths we
will definitely lessen the impact of the current injury situation."
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Tomkins behaviour was shocking!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
James Tomkins shocking play-acting at Everton on Saturday – during that
handbags confrontation with Ross Barkley – was quite simply shameful! A
couple of comments from the Facebook forum – and nobody excuses the Everton
midfielder – say it all: "Both players were a disgrace. I don't want to see
that from any player, regardless of what shirt they're wearing." And: "They
were cheating. Plain and simple. Just embarrassing. I'd be interested to
hear Tomkins explanation to my seven year old son asking me: "Why is he
pretending the other player hit him the face." In a word Tomkins behaviour
was inexcusable and you really have to worry when you see one of our guys
rolling around like that when absolutely nothing happened of any
consequence. The club will never tell us of course but if the bloke isn't
hit with a wage deduction as punishment that will be equally shameful. It's
not the first time he has been guilty of bad behaviour of course and it has
to stop. We can hardly be throwing stones in the direction of others when we
see that sort of behaviour going on from our own. Word to the co-chairman
and manager: "Punishment required AND NO REPEATS!"
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Gold's injury report dubbed "optimistic"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Chiekhou Kouyate was this morning reported to be making "decent progress" as
the Hammers medical staff work on the walking wounded which has made the
dressing room look like a set from "Casualty." And despite a tweet from co
chairman David Gold claiming all the injured players are in contention for
the weekend our own sources claim that Chiek is the only definite starter.
Stewart Downing is believed to have an outside chance of making it whilst
Diafra Sakho's back spasms are very much a matter for investigation. Gold –
giving his assessment of Saturday's performance – said: "We lost against
Everton because we had 5 of our best player out injured. It's bound to have
a bad effect on the result when you lose 5 players." He suggested that they
could be back for the weekend but we were told: "That seems a very
optimistic appraisal from where the medical staff are sitting. "Chiek looks
okay and likely to make it but the same question marks over the others as
before the Sarurday game but a week is a lot of time in football!"
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"Sharp words" for Tomkins after faking it
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
James Tomkins received a very strong dressing down for his play acting when
collapsing to the ground after a handbags confrontation on Saturday. The
central defender collapsed pretending he had been hit in the face when
clearly nothing of the sort had taken place between the two players. The
game had become highly bad tempered after the midfielder's blatant dive when
not being touched by Kevin Nolan.
But the match boiled over when McCarthy went over the top on Morgan
Amalfitano and Tomkins behaviour was clearly linked to the atmosphere
iniside Goodison as a result. A club source told us exclusively: "James
received some very sharp words. In reality he made a bad spontaneous
decision and we are certain he'll never do it again. The team were
frustrated at being kicked to bits by Everton – the McCarthy foul was an
obvious sending off."
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Hammers may sue FA over Downing
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham are discussing the "very real possibility" of suing the Football
Association after playing unfit Stewart Downing in the friendly
international against Scotland following a pain killing injection! The
rumour first emerged on Twitter last night via @Ironviews and was confirmed
as true by a highly placed source inside Upton Park to ClaretandHugh within
the last few minutes. Downing was reported to have taken a knock while
training with England but claimed after the game he was likely to play at
Everton on Saturday after being involved in the first 45 minutes of the
international. Now Boleyn officials and Sam Allardyce are utterly furious
that England boss Roy Hodgson chose to play this season's key man after
being given an injection. The original tweet declared: "Hearing a rumour
that Sam Allardyce is furious with Hodgson for playing Downing with a
painkilling injection. Club talking about suing FA." And when we approached
highly reliable sources inside the club a few minutes ago we were told: "Yes
that's 110 per cent true. It's possible we will sue although the FA may
accept responsibility and pay compensation."
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The big Kevin Nolan question
Posted by Sean Whetstone on November 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Kevin Nolan's performance on Saturday at Goodison Park has received a lot of
criticism with many fans asking whether he is still up to the job. With
five injuries at the weekend Sam Allardyce was forced to start with his 32
year old enforcer but he looked off the pace and lacking quality in his
first full match back since being displaced. Many supporters have called the
early recall of Diego Poyet from Huddersfield to give another option in
midfield after Stewart Downing, Alex Song and Cheik Kouyate picked up
injuries. Whether Nolan is just lacking match fitness, confidence or is just
past it is the question on everyone's mind. It is claimed he has lost over a
stone in weight to improve his fitness this season but on Saturday Osman
sailed past him with ease to score the winner. There is no doubt he is a
great leader both on and off the pitch but should he command his £200,000
per month wages he currently costs West Ham. Nolan is contracted until 16th
2016 on his lucrative five year contract, We need to see more contribution
and chicken dances soon for him to pay his way.
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Tuesday, November 25
Monday, November 24
Daily WHUFC News - 24th November 2014
AC hails magical Mauro
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll hailed the impact made by Mauro Zarate after completing his
first 90 minutes of the season
23.11.2014
Andy Carroll felt a combination of pride, frustration and exhaustion after
West Ham United's 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Everton. The striker
made his first start of the season at Goodison Park, completing the full 90
minutes as he continues his return from summer ankle surgery. However,
Carroll's happiness at coming through the physical test was tempered by the
disappointment of seeing Everton snatch victory through a controversial
Romelu Lukaku opener and Leon Osman's late winner against the run of play.
Lukaku struck from what appeared to be an offside position after Ross
Barkley's shot had been blocked before substitute Mauro Zarate drew West Ham
level with a deflected effort. Just as the visitors looked like going onto
grab a winner, Everton broke from a Hammers corner and Osman converted
Samuel Eto'o's cross. "It was disappointing," Carroll lamented. "We
controlled a lot of periods in the game. We were disappointed with the first
goal which we've seen back on the replay and it shouldn't have been a goal.
"That put us down but we came out second half and I thought we played well,
with Mauro coming onto the pitch and I thought he changed the game. He got a
goal and that lifted everyone and we carried on playing well. "They then got
their goal and I thought we were a bit unlucky really."
After starting the game partnered by Carlton Cole, Carroll was joined by
Zarate just after half-time. The Argentine was in outstanding form, dancing
past defenders, popping up all over the pitch and netting just five minutes
after his introduction. Playing ahead of the No10, Carroll clearly enjoyed
combining with Zarate for the first time. "He is great. He has got quick
feet, he is nippy and he gets in and around defenders. He's a great player
and he showed that on Saturday because he changed the game when he came on."
While Zarate benefited from a deflection off Phil Jagielka for his goal,
Carroll himself unleashed six shots, but could not find a way past Tim
Howard. Just one of the six, a looping header, was on target. "I just wanted
one to drop nicely for me, but unfortunately it didn't. I had a chance when
Carl Jenkinson pulled it back and it was a little bit behind me, but I
thought I could have done a little bit better with that. Other than that, it
didn't really fall for me. "I was a bit tired by the end, but I was still
giving it my all and trying my best to run around. I didn't expect to be
starting and I certainly didn't expect to be getting 90 minutes, so it was a
big positive at the end of the day and was well-needed."
Now, the challenge for Carroll and his teammates is to regroup ahead of home
games with Newcastle United and Swansea City and trips to West Bromwich
Albion and Sunderland. "We played really well at Everton. We're just
disappointed that we did play so well but we just conceded the first goal
like we did, then conceded another one after we'd pulled it back level.
"It's really disappointing but all the lads are good lads and they'll get
over it and move onto the next games."
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U18s edged out by Leicester
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Under-18s were defeated 1-0 by Leicester City on Saturday
23.11.2014
West Ham United's U18s missed the chance to leapfrog Leicester City in the
Barclaus U18 Premier League South table on Saturday when they suffered a 1-0
defeat. Danny Rowe scored the only goal of the game with 22 minutes on the
clock to leave Steve Potts' men with nothing to show for their efforts. The
Foxes were in good form coming into this game, having defeated Norwich City
and Fulham 5-0, and they began in confident mood with Matty Miles setting up
Rowe, whose shot was saved. With 15 minutes on the clock, Jerry Amoo was
denied by a strong tackle from Hamza Choudhury, and seven minutes later the
home side had the lead as Keenan King made a burst down the right before
cutting back for Rowe, who took a touch before slotting past Sam Howes. Amoo
rattled the crossbar shortly afterwards as the Hammers looked to hit back,
but 1-0 was how it remained at the break. King went close twice at the start
of the second half for Leicester, but West Ham finished the game strongly
and twice forced home keeper Max Smith-Varnham into good saves. First, he
tipped Djair Parfitt-Williams' drive wide of the post, then denied the same
man with a brave block to frustrate the visiting Hammers.
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THE CURSE OF MANAGER OF THE MONTH
By Sean Whetstone 23 Nov 2014 at 18:27
West Ham Till I Die
Last season Sam Allardyce won manager of the month in February after four
wins out of four against Swansea, Villa, Norwich and Southampton.
Following his award, our first game in March saw a 1-0 loss against Everton
followed by another loss away to Stoke then a third loss in the row to
Manchester United at home. Despite two back to back 2-1 wins against
Sunderland and Hull in March we then continued with a winless April losing
all four games back to back which was only broken by a
2-0 win against Spurs at home before a final day of the season loss against
Manchester City.
This time Sam won the manager of the month for October after three wins out
our three against QPR. Manchester City and Burnley it appears our fortunes
have changed once again. Since the award we have yet to win a game in
November after two draws against Stoke and Villa and now the loss against
Everton on Saturday. Our last fixture against Newcastle will be a tall task
as they are in the form of their lives. After recording their sixth win on
the trot they have leap frogged us and relegated us back down to sixth.
The same curse appears to follow the Player of the Month for October, Diafra
Sakho who scored 3 goals in 3 games in October having scored in 5
consecutive league games up to the end of October. On 1st November those
goals dried up with Sakho suffering a shoulder injury and missing the trip
to Stoke, he has managed just 90 minutes on the pitch since November from a
3 possible games with zero goals and one assist. He is currently suffering
from a back injury and is doubtful for next Saturday.
The surprise injury list on Saturday of Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Stewart
Downing and Enner Valencia plus International fatigue for Chek Kouyate is a
massive blow for any chance of a win in November and I understand these
injuries will last between 7 and 21 days meaning some players will not be
fit this weekend to line up against Pardew's men.
Added to this recent injury list is a suspension for Winston Reid after
picking up this fifth yellow card plus concerns for James Collins, Mark
Noble and Morgan Amalfitano who appeared to pick up knocks at Goodison Park
on Saturday.
With the way our luck is going you will excuse me if I don't hold out too
much hope for our final game in November against the Magpies!
December brings games West Bromwich Albion, Swansea City, Sunderland,
Leicester City,Chelsea and Arsenal.
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ZARATE MUST START AND WHY NOT CONSIDER BRINGING BACK MORRISON?
By S J Chandos 23 Nov 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
One could only view the Hammers starting line up at Goodison with some
bewilderment. Carlton Cole is a decent professional, and a good servant to
West Ham, but we should not have voluntarily started with a Cole-Carroll
partnership up front. Certainly not when there was the much better option of
Zarate available. And this point was amply proven when Zarate came on as a
substitute, as he quickly underlined the specific qualities that he can
bring to the side. These include: creativity/vision, good technical ability
and the (refreshing) willingness to run at opposition defenders and make
things happen. West Ham's second half equalizer came from Zarate's ability
to carry the ball forward, put the opposition on the back foot and shoot
from distance. Yes, he had some good fortune with the deflection, but he
would not have benefited from that factor, if he had not had the bravery to
make the attempt on goal in the first place.
I can understand why Allardyce brought Kevin Nolan back in to the side, in
view of Downing's injury absence. I think that at 32 years of age, it is
probably asking a bit much of Nolan to achieve the level of graft/industry
shown by Noble, Kouyate and Song. However, one can expect him to play to his
strengths and that means posing a goal scoring threat in the final third (a
la the 0-2 win at Villa Park last season). Instead, he had one of those, all
too common, ineffectual and non-descript games at Goodison. Arguably, Nolan
needs to prove that he has a future role to play in this much improved West
Ham squad. And that inevitably means performing when selected and
underlining the fact that he continues to be 'worth his salt.'
Apart from Zarate, the other 'stand out' West Ham player was Amalfitano, who
constantly asked questions of Everton. And their solution seemed to be to
resort to foul and dangerous play. He was the victim of two examples of
dangerous play, at least one of which merited a red card. One must question
the leniency that referee Mark Clattenburg showed both McCarthy and
Mirallas. That, allied to failing to spot that Everton's opening goal was at
least 3 yards off-side, is more than enough to criticise the match
officials. Plus one might also ask how Clattenburg failed to book Barkley
for a blatant, simulated dive. And the Tomkins incident? yes, very silly
behaviour from Tomkins and I hope that the club have a serious word with
him. However, why book Tomkins, for his offence, and not only let Barkley
get away with simulation, but also reward him with a free kick!
Unbelievable, I certainly hope that the officials are held to account for
their performance, but I very much doubt it.
On the plus side, this match proved that we can cope with injuries to key
players and still put out a very competitive team. We went up to Goodison
with Kouyate, Song, Downing, Sakho and Valencia all sidelined. But the team
gave a good account of themselves and were very unfortunate to lose the
match. There are those out there who will probably tell you that this result
brings us back to earth and our current level of expectation (and league
position) is totally unrealistic. That, to me, is a loser mentality and one
that Hammers fans need to ditch once and for all. It is born of the
experience of years under-achievement and disappointment. It has led people
to accept low standards and expect the worst. Hopefully, this is a new era
for West Ham and success will eventually change such attitudes and
permanently raise expectations. We deserve, on merit, to be in the PL top
six and we must strive to stay there, not just this season, but consistently
hereafter. That is the challenge for the club going forward to the OS
migration. And the most immediate task, contributing to that, is to bounce
back with a home win against Newcastle Utd next week.
They say 'success breeds success' and that is very true. What is vital is
that the board keep the forward momentum going. Hard decisions were made
last summer and it is vital that the board do not now rest on their laurels.
They must continue to make the difficult decisions that facilitate
progression and continuous improvement. One of those decisions could
include, amongst other things, whether the present manager's contract should
be renewed next summer. I do appreciate Sam Allardyce's role (enforced or
otherwise), this season, in transforming the club's playing style and
improving results. As such, I have no real problem with him staying at the
helm, as long as he is able and willing to keep the club progressing to the
next level. However, the question that the board must consider is whether a
manager is theoretically any different to a player in at least one vital
respect? Successful clubs seek to recruit better players and, in doing so,
replace those deemed superseded and/or surplus to requirements. If West Ham
identify a manager, who they feel is better equipped to take the club on to
the next level, should they not bite the bullet and effect the transition?
Obviously, any new manager needs to be a significant upgrade, to make it
worth while, but if the club can attract them, why not? Controversial I
know, but it is a question which the board are arguably duty bound to
consider (as part of their end of season review) before agreeing to renew
the current incumbent's contract. Even if they ultimately conclude that the
current manager merits a new deal (and he in-turn agrees to sign it), they
should still review their alternative options first. After all, It is the
sensible way to proceed.
So, next week, we face a in-form Newcastle Utd with a long injury list and
Winston Reid serving a suspension. That means, in all probability,
Collins-Tomkins at centre-back, with Reece Burke on the bench. Hopefully,
one or two, such as Song, Downing and/or Valencia, will recover in time to
play. However, if Sakho and Valencia remain unavailable, then we need to
start with Carroll-Zarate up front. I just hope that Downing does recover
and replaces Nolan in the key role behind the strikers. If not, it looks
like we will be going with Nolan again. While, at the time of writing, the
biggest question mark, over selection, is regarding the composition of the
rest of the midfield unit?. What the current situation does emphasise is the
abject waste of leaving Ravel Morrison to stagnate at Cardiff City. Just
think what a great bonus a motivated and in-form Morrison would be to the
squad. Critics would say that is just it, Morrison is not presently in-form
nor seemingly particularly motivated. Perhaps, but why not gamble (in this
injury situation) and bring him back to use from the bench against Newcastle
Utd? It is clearly not working out at Cardiff City and Morrison might just
respond positively to a return to the club and PL football. It may prove
futile, but then again maybe it is worth a try?
SJ. Chandos.
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Zarate MUST be given a proper chance
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Like most of us I'm unable to can't come to a definitive opinion on Mauro
Zarate's abilities given the lack of action we've seen from him but what I
do know is I think is that he is better than a 53rd minute sub – ie fifth
choice.
His appearance at Everton showed us that this is a bright player with bags
of ability who can change things – what he needs is a chance to show that
over a run of games.
From what we are hearing at ClaretandHugh, his opportunity may come over the
next couple of games with the injury situation unlikely to improve for two
or three weeks.
Chiekhou Koutaye could be back next week but reports on the other four –
Downing, Song, Valencia and Sakho are not encouraging.and we may even have
to make do without them over the next couple of games.
Of course nothing is certain and that is the worst case scenario but surely
if that turns out to be the case there has to be a place in the side for the
Argentinian.
However, let's hope that if he does, he won't be involved in a "let's hump
it forward" situation that confronted him in the last 20 minutes. We'll
never see him at his best in such a scenario. I felt for him!
He was brought here in the first place to play off Andy Carroll and, to
provide some variation to the play. Whilst I prefer not to knock Carlton
Cole's contribution down the years, he and Carroll don't work as a pair.
There's little point in moaning about the fact that Sam Allardyce loves a
big man or two but yesterday against Everton proved again that these two
don't work too well.
I think the manager has to face the fact that Kevin Nolan too needs to be
looked at very hard indeed and that whatever reservations he may have about
Zarate, it's surely the time to give him his chance.
We also need to keep playing football and Zarate can provide a real spark in
those circumstances. A return to the style of play we saw in the last 20
minutes isn't the answer to our current problems.
Zarate, however, may prove to be part of the answer.
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Irons anxieties on four stars
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Chiekhou Kouyate is a "95 per cent certain starter" for the Hammers next
game against Newcastle on Saturday. The Senegal international return from
international duty "utterly exhausted" and was ruled out of the Everton game
a couple of days before the game. However, a source told Claretandhugh this
morning: "He's 95 per cent certain to play against Newcastle and is one of
those it's hard to keep down!
"However, there's no such certainty on the other four. Apart from Sakho they
all have knocks from the games against Stoke and Aston Villa and haven't
recovered as well as they or we had hoped. "It's impossible to say at this
stage but all of them look to be 7-21 day injuries. We may get one or two
back, maybe none. We aren't into false hope and need to be realistic."
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Tomkins slammed for feigning injury
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 23rd November 2014
By: Staff Writer
James Tomkins has been heavily criticised by supporters for pretending to
have been struck in the face by an opponent during yesterday's 2-1 defeat at
Everton. According to a number of fans sharing their opinion, West Ham's
Basildon-born centre half let himself badly when attempting to con referee
Mark Clattenburg into believing he had been head-butted by Everton's Kevin
Mirallas. "An almighty bollocking is in order," ludo22 wrote on the KUMB
Forum. "I don't care how many points we lose, I never want a West Ham player
to fake injury. We start doing that we might as well rip up the Claret and
blue."
Thoughts echoed by fellow KUMB member Harry Hound, who said: "I'm disgusted
with Tomkins and have very mixed feelings about him now as I can't
understand how he could pull such a stunt."
YWN continued the general theme of disappointment, adding: " I'm glad
Tomkins' got a dressing down, his reaction was almost as bad as Chico. I
don't want to see any West Ham player resort to that behaviour, even if they
had been diving or if Clattenberg and his assistants had been poor. Bad
darts."
And it wasn't only West Ham fans comparing the two incidents; Bradford City
fan Will Spivey, writing on Twitter said: "Just seen Match of the Day. I
assume West Ham fans will give James Tomkins the same level of abuse that
they gave Flores last year..."
Tomkins himself had nothing to say about the incident in a piece published
by the club this morning, although he did state that "it wasn't to be and
it's a hard one to take."
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Sullivan: "We deserved more from Everton"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Sullivan has sent a "we move on" message to the Irons fans after the
disappointing defeat at Everton. The co-chairman steered clear of the
obvious first goal controversy and the edgy nature of the game but was
clearly frustrated at the outcome. And like most other neutrals he believes
the Irons are likely to have come out victorious had they not been hit with
injuries to our best players. Speaking exclsusively to ClaretandHugh, he
said: "They came to five new arrivals who have been performing so well. It's
an unfortunate situation for the club. "Having said that we deserved more
from the Everton match and had we had our two first first choice strikers I
think we would have won, but we move on'"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ross Barkley conned Mark Clattenburg with a clear dive during Everton
victory while James Tomkins was lucky to escape a red
Ross Barkley appeared to dive during Everton's win over West Ham
Referee Mark Clattenburg had to deal with a number of incidents during
heated match
West Ham defender James Tomkins held his face after being pushed in the
chest by Everton wideman Kevin Mirallas
By GRAHAM POLL FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:12, 23 November 2014 | UPDATED: 17:18, 23 November 2014
Daily Mail
Mark Clattenburg makes headlines on and off the field and this week is no
different. However, following a tough match at Goodison Park, it was Ross
Barkley and James Tomkins who should be highlighted after poor conduct
during Everton's clash with West Ham on Saturday.
Disappointingly, Barkley fooled Clattenburg with a clear dive when the
Everton man went down without contact from West Ham's Kevin Nolan; the blame
for this must lie with Barkley but Clattenburg will be cross with himself
for being conned. Everton's opening goal was clearly offside as Romelu
Lukaku was in an offside position before Barkley's shot was deflected to
him. of course assistant referees are the judges of offside so again the
Geordie referee should escape blame.
The melee which followed after Clattenburg awarded a free kick for James
McCarthy's very strong challenge on Morgan Amalfitano seemed to be down to
the referee's uncharacteristic casual approach to the incident. It was
clear that West Ham's players were angry at the tackle and looked to get
back at McCarthy. Usually, Clattenburg would have diffused the situation but
instead allowed players to confront one another. One could argue whether a
red card could have been shown but replays showed both players going in with
raised boots and so a yellow card for each player looked appropriate.
Fifteen minutes into a spiky second half, Clattenburg's 'laissez faire'
approach allowed the heat to rise again by failing to award Kevin Mirallas a
free kick. The angry Everton man then chased back and chopped Amalfitano
down – a clear caution. Before Clattenburg could issue a card, Tomkins
pushed Mirallas who responded by shoving him back. Both players clearly
pushed each other in the chest but embarrassingly Tomkins went down holding
his face, simulating where contact had occurred. Both men were fortunate to
escape with yellow cards. At least Clattenburg ended the game with some
credit as an excellent advantage led to the home team's winning goal but
this will not be a performance which he will list as one of his finest.
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Umbro rumoured to trump Adidas with kit offer – The ExWHUemployee Column
IronViews
By ExWHUemployee on November 23, 2014 in ExWHUemployee column
Zarate deserves to start
Well that was such a frustrating game. We deserved to win it in my opinion
and to come away with nothing was very disappointing. Everton should have
had two players sent off and the first goal shouldn't have stood. I know
Everton had a lot of injuries but for us to perform like that up there with
Song, Kouyate, Sakho, Valencia and Downing (arguably our five most important
players) out shows how far we have come. I tweeted these injuries on
Thursday and from then on didn't think we had a chance against Everton so
the fact that we did and deserved more means that it is only the Southampton
game and the Sheffield United one where we haven't played well.
I tweeted and had a discussion with a respected journalist during the
Everton game whether Zarate should have come on for Cole and, like most, I
really thought he should. Unfortunately Cole wasn't involved in the action
at all and I knew Zarate would be fired up for the game. He certainly made
all the difference. I would say that Morgan Amalfitano was my man of the
match and then I think Zarate comes a close second. I firmly believe that a
player should be selected on their last performance and therefore Zarate
deserves a start against Newcastle especially if some of the players are
still out.
David Gold has tweeted that they all have a chance to return but I would be
very surprised if all five did! Kouyate should do as he was very close for
Everton. I would imagine that Sakho has a good chance as his injury was back
pains related to travelling around and the physical demands of the Premier
League. Song's injury is one that he has had many times before and one that
has to be managed. I would expect these three to be back but the Newcastle
game may come too soon for Downing and Valencia. I think we have a recall
option on Poyet's loan which is only for a month anyway. Had the club felt
that Song and Kouyate would be out for longer I think he would have been
recalled.
Fringe players should go in January
In my anger I tweeted that Nolan, Cole, Vaz Te and Jarvis need to be moved
on in January. Despite what some people remarked I wasn't basing this on
that result but on their current impact (in the last two seasons) when
selected. Nolan has been a great servant to us and without him I do not
think we would be where we are now and he played alright against Everton.
His leadership and goals have been vital for us in recent years and whilst
he is a good player to have on the bench he just doesn't contribute enough
for me in games to be deserving of a first team start.
Carlton is a player who I really love after his loyal service to the club
and for being such a top man. Unfortunately his ability to hold up the ball
and be a physical threat is diminishing each season and I think it is now
time for him to move on.
Vaz Te is another player who we owe a lot to but the step up to the
premiership appears too big for him and he hasn't performed for us in the
top flight. His only real contribution when coming on was a dreadful cross
that went out for a goal kick.
Jarvis is the one that seemed to cause the biggest reaction. Many people
said I was wrong to suggest he was bought for his crossing ability and I was
in fact narrow minded! Here is my point: if you remember back to when we
signed Jarvis the figures of how he had put the most crosses in during a
season at Wolves were constantly referred to. He was essentially bought to
beat players and put crosses in to assist goals and that is the bottom line.
If you buy a goal scorer you expect goals, if you buy a hard man in midfield
you expect him to win the ball, if you buy a tall centre back you expect him
to win headers and so on. He hasn't provided many assists and, while he
hasn't had Carroll around much to aim for, his overall his contribution
hasn't been enough. I still maintain (and I have harped on about this for
the last two season) that I would like to see him on the right where he can
whip it in rather than checking back all the time. This seems unlikely and
if we could get even half of what we paid for him (approximately £5m) I
would take it. Those of you who follow me know I am not a negative fan and
regularly stick up for and praise players. However, I just believe that
with Financial Fair Play in place and players needing to move, those are the
ones I would look to send packing
Umbro set to replace Adidas
The new Supporters Advisory board appears to have been elected (shortened in
numbers now) and their first agenda item is apparently to design the final
kit for the Boleyn where the kit sponsorship is likely to be Umbro. This
does disappoint me as the Adidas kits are so much nicer than we have had in
recent years but it seems that Umbro have currently offered us the largest
sum. This is not confirmed, however.
Increasingly unlikely Reid will stay
Winston Reid apparently didn't travel to meet up with the New Zealand squad
during the international break so that he could sort out his plans for next
season apparently. It is looking increasingly unlikely that he will stay and
I do find his silence on the issue quite frustrating. Winston has been
brilliant since he has been here (excluding a few dodgy appearances when he
first joined). I cannot be grudge him a move to a big club – most likely to
be Arsenal – but I just wish he would talk on the matter. Winston is
extremely shy but even if he tweeted something it would put us fans more in
the loop. Unfortunately he is now suspended for Newcastle having picked up
his fifth yellow at Everton so we will get a chance to see Collins (assuming
he recovers from a knock) and Tomkins together again. Mark Noble also was
substituted off with an injury and the current load of injuries is something
that we have all got used to down the years.
It is a shame that the main talking part of this column has been the
injuries but hopefully during the week we will have positive news on this
front. If I hear anything I will update on Iron Views and my Twitter
account. Have a great week. COYI.
ExWHUemployee
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Ross Barkley is NOT a diver says Everton FC boss Roberto Martinez
Nov 23, 2014 12:43 By David Prentice
Barkley has received condemnation from many including MOTD pundit Alan
Shearer
Liverpoool Echo
Everton's Ross Barkley and West Ham United's Kevin Nolan (centre) battle for
the ball during the Barclays Premier League match at Goodison Park,
Liverpool. Everton FC boss Roberto Martinez has defended Ross Barkley from
accusations of diving – and claims his young midfielder probably "expected
contact" when he tumbled under pressure from West Ham's Kevin Nolan during
Saturday's victory at Goodison. There was no contact from the West Ham
player which resulted in a free-kick for Everton and the incident drew
condemnation from BBC pundit Alan Shearer on Saturday night. But Martinez
leaped to his player's defence. "I was not surprised because Ross Barkley
always tries to hold the ball so strong and the amount of knocks that he
gets is incredible," said the Blues boss. "I could show you his legs after
the game and he has so many signs of the amount of kicks that he gets. "In
that action maybe he was expecting a leg to come in and maybe tried to avoid
it. "Ross Barkley's not the type of player that goes down easy or doesn't
want contact, but I can understand at times if you get two or three knocks
then the fourth one you will try to avoid it. "I don't think it is something
he looks for, it is just a reaction."
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WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll hailed the impact made by Mauro Zarate after completing his
first 90 minutes of the season
23.11.2014
Andy Carroll felt a combination of pride, frustration and exhaustion after
West Ham United's 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Everton. The striker
made his first start of the season at Goodison Park, completing the full 90
minutes as he continues his return from summer ankle surgery. However,
Carroll's happiness at coming through the physical test was tempered by the
disappointment of seeing Everton snatch victory through a controversial
Romelu Lukaku opener and Leon Osman's late winner against the run of play.
Lukaku struck from what appeared to be an offside position after Ross
Barkley's shot had been blocked before substitute Mauro Zarate drew West Ham
level with a deflected effort. Just as the visitors looked like going onto
grab a winner, Everton broke from a Hammers corner and Osman converted
Samuel Eto'o's cross. "It was disappointing," Carroll lamented. "We
controlled a lot of periods in the game. We were disappointed with the first
goal which we've seen back on the replay and it shouldn't have been a goal.
"That put us down but we came out second half and I thought we played well,
with Mauro coming onto the pitch and I thought he changed the game. He got a
goal and that lifted everyone and we carried on playing well. "They then got
their goal and I thought we were a bit unlucky really."
After starting the game partnered by Carlton Cole, Carroll was joined by
Zarate just after half-time. The Argentine was in outstanding form, dancing
past defenders, popping up all over the pitch and netting just five minutes
after his introduction. Playing ahead of the No10, Carroll clearly enjoyed
combining with Zarate for the first time. "He is great. He has got quick
feet, he is nippy and he gets in and around defenders. He's a great player
and he showed that on Saturday because he changed the game when he came on."
While Zarate benefited from a deflection off Phil Jagielka for his goal,
Carroll himself unleashed six shots, but could not find a way past Tim
Howard. Just one of the six, a looping header, was on target. "I just wanted
one to drop nicely for me, but unfortunately it didn't. I had a chance when
Carl Jenkinson pulled it back and it was a little bit behind me, but I
thought I could have done a little bit better with that. Other than that, it
didn't really fall for me. "I was a bit tired by the end, but I was still
giving it my all and trying my best to run around. I didn't expect to be
starting and I certainly didn't expect to be getting 90 minutes, so it was a
big positive at the end of the day and was well-needed."
Now, the challenge for Carroll and his teammates is to regroup ahead of home
games with Newcastle United and Swansea City and trips to West Bromwich
Albion and Sunderland. "We played really well at Everton. We're just
disappointed that we did play so well but we just conceded the first goal
like we did, then conceded another one after we'd pulled it back level.
"It's really disappointing but all the lads are good lads and they'll get
over it and move onto the next games."
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U18s edged out by Leicester
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Under-18s were defeated 1-0 by Leicester City on Saturday
23.11.2014
West Ham United's U18s missed the chance to leapfrog Leicester City in the
Barclaus U18 Premier League South table on Saturday when they suffered a 1-0
defeat. Danny Rowe scored the only goal of the game with 22 minutes on the
clock to leave Steve Potts' men with nothing to show for their efforts. The
Foxes were in good form coming into this game, having defeated Norwich City
and Fulham 5-0, and they began in confident mood with Matty Miles setting up
Rowe, whose shot was saved. With 15 minutes on the clock, Jerry Amoo was
denied by a strong tackle from Hamza Choudhury, and seven minutes later the
home side had the lead as Keenan King made a burst down the right before
cutting back for Rowe, who took a touch before slotting past Sam Howes. Amoo
rattled the crossbar shortly afterwards as the Hammers looked to hit back,
but 1-0 was how it remained at the break. King went close twice at the start
of the second half for Leicester, but West Ham finished the game strongly
and twice forced home keeper Max Smith-Varnham into good saves. First, he
tipped Djair Parfitt-Williams' drive wide of the post, then denied the same
man with a brave block to frustrate the visiting Hammers.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE CURSE OF MANAGER OF THE MONTH
By Sean Whetstone 23 Nov 2014 at 18:27
West Ham Till I Die
Last season Sam Allardyce won manager of the month in February after four
wins out of four against Swansea, Villa, Norwich and Southampton.
Following his award, our first game in March saw a 1-0 loss against Everton
followed by another loss away to Stoke then a third loss in the row to
Manchester United at home. Despite two back to back 2-1 wins against
Sunderland and Hull in March we then continued with a winless April losing
all four games back to back which was only broken by a
2-0 win against Spurs at home before a final day of the season loss against
Manchester City.
This time Sam won the manager of the month for October after three wins out
our three against QPR. Manchester City and Burnley it appears our fortunes
have changed once again. Since the award we have yet to win a game in
November after two draws against Stoke and Villa and now the loss against
Everton on Saturday. Our last fixture against Newcastle will be a tall task
as they are in the form of their lives. After recording their sixth win on
the trot they have leap frogged us and relegated us back down to sixth.
The same curse appears to follow the Player of the Month for October, Diafra
Sakho who scored 3 goals in 3 games in October having scored in 5
consecutive league games up to the end of October. On 1st November those
goals dried up with Sakho suffering a shoulder injury and missing the trip
to Stoke, he has managed just 90 minutes on the pitch since November from a
3 possible games with zero goals and one assist. He is currently suffering
from a back injury and is doubtful for next Saturday.
The surprise injury list on Saturday of Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Stewart
Downing and Enner Valencia plus International fatigue for Chek Kouyate is a
massive blow for any chance of a win in November and I understand these
injuries will last between 7 and 21 days meaning some players will not be
fit this weekend to line up against Pardew's men.
Added to this recent injury list is a suspension for Winston Reid after
picking up this fifth yellow card plus concerns for James Collins, Mark
Noble and Morgan Amalfitano who appeared to pick up knocks at Goodison Park
on Saturday.
With the way our luck is going you will excuse me if I don't hold out too
much hope for our final game in November against the Magpies!
December brings games West Bromwich Albion, Swansea City, Sunderland,
Leicester City,Chelsea and Arsenal.
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ZARATE MUST START AND WHY NOT CONSIDER BRINGING BACK MORRISON?
By S J Chandos 23 Nov 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
One could only view the Hammers starting line up at Goodison with some
bewilderment. Carlton Cole is a decent professional, and a good servant to
West Ham, but we should not have voluntarily started with a Cole-Carroll
partnership up front. Certainly not when there was the much better option of
Zarate available. And this point was amply proven when Zarate came on as a
substitute, as he quickly underlined the specific qualities that he can
bring to the side. These include: creativity/vision, good technical ability
and the (refreshing) willingness to run at opposition defenders and make
things happen. West Ham's second half equalizer came from Zarate's ability
to carry the ball forward, put the opposition on the back foot and shoot
from distance. Yes, he had some good fortune with the deflection, but he
would not have benefited from that factor, if he had not had the bravery to
make the attempt on goal in the first place.
I can understand why Allardyce brought Kevin Nolan back in to the side, in
view of Downing's injury absence. I think that at 32 years of age, it is
probably asking a bit much of Nolan to achieve the level of graft/industry
shown by Noble, Kouyate and Song. However, one can expect him to play to his
strengths and that means posing a goal scoring threat in the final third (a
la the 0-2 win at Villa Park last season). Instead, he had one of those, all
too common, ineffectual and non-descript games at Goodison. Arguably, Nolan
needs to prove that he has a future role to play in this much improved West
Ham squad. And that inevitably means performing when selected and
underlining the fact that he continues to be 'worth his salt.'
Apart from Zarate, the other 'stand out' West Ham player was Amalfitano, who
constantly asked questions of Everton. And their solution seemed to be to
resort to foul and dangerous play. He was the victim of two examples of
dangerous play, at least one of which merited a red card. One must question
the leniency that referee Mark Clattenburg showed both McCarthy and
Mirallas. That, allied to failing to spot that Everton's opening goal was at
least 3 yards off-side, is more than enough to criticise the match
officials. Plus one might also ask how Clattenburg failed to book Barkley
for a blatant, simulated dive. And the Tomkins incident? yes, very silly
behaviour from Tomkins and I hope that the club have a serious word with
him. However, why book Tomkins, for his offence, and not only let Barkley
get away with simulation, but also reward him with a free kick!
Unbelievable, I certainly hope that the officials are held to account for
their performance, but I very much doubt it.
On the plus side, this match proved that we can cope with injuries to key
players and still put out a very competitive team. We went up to Goodison
with Kouyate, Song, Downing, Sakho and Valencia all sidelined. But the team
gave a good account of themselves and were very unfortunate to lose the
match. There are those out there who will probably tell you that this result
brings us back to earth and our current level of expectation (and league
position) is totally unrealistic. That, to me, is a loser mentality and one
that Hammers fans need to ditch once and for all. It is born of the
experience of years under-achievement and disappointment. It has led people
to accept low standards and expect the worst. Hopefully, this is a new era
for West Ham and success will eventually change such attitudes and
permanently raise expectations. We deserve, on merit, to be in the PL top
six and we must strive to stay there, not just this season, but consistently
hereafter. That is the challenge for the club going forward to the OS
migration. And the most immediate task, contributing to that, is to bounce
back with a home win against Newcastle Utd next week.
They say 'success breeds success' and that is very true. What is vital is
that the board keep the forward momentum going. Hard decisions were made
last summer and it is vital that the board do not now rest on their laurels.
They must continue to make the difficult decisions that facilitate
progression and continuous improvement. One of those decisions could
include, amongst other things, whether the present manager's contract should
be renewed next summer. I do appreciate Sam Allardyce's role (enforced or
otherwise), this season, in transforming the club's playing style and
improving results. As such, I have no real problem with him staying at the
helm, as long as he is able and willing to keep the club progressing to the
next level. However, the question that the board must consider is whether a
manager is theoretically any different to a player in at least one vital
respect? Successful clubs seek to recruit better players and, in doing so,
replace those deemed superseded and/or surplus to requirements. If West Ham
identify a manager, who they feel is better equipped to take the club on to
the next level, should they not bite the bullet and effect the transition?
Obviously, any new manager needs to be a significant upgrade, to make it
worth while, but if the club can attract them, why not? Controversial I
know, but it is a question which the board are arguably duty bound to
consider (as part of their end of season review) before agreeing to renew
the current incumbent's contract. Even if they ultimately conclude that the
current manager merits a new deal (and he in-turn agrees to sign it), they
should still review their alternative options first. After all, It is the
sensible way to proceed.
So, next week, we face a in-form Newcastle Utd with a long injury list and
Winston Reid serving a suspension. That means, in all probability,
Collins-Tomkins at centre-back, with Reece Burke on the bench. Hopefully,
one or two, such as Song, Downing and/or Valencia, will recover in time to
play. However, if Sakho and Valencia remain unavailable, then we need to
start with Carroll-Zarate up front. I just hope that Downing does recover
and replaces Nolan in the key role behind the strikers. If not, it looks
like we will be going with Nolan again. While, at the time of writing, the
biggest question mark, over selection, is regarding the composition of the
rest of the midfield unit?. What the current situation does emphasise is the
abject waste of leaving Ravel Morrison to stagnate at Cardiff City. Just
think what a great bonus a motivated and in-form Morrison would be to the
squad. Critics would say that is just it, Morrison is not presently in-form
nor seemingly particularly motivated. Perhaps, but why not gamble (in this
injury situation) and bring him back to use from the bench against Newcastle
Utd? It is clearly not working out at Cardiff City and Morrison might just
respond positively to a return to the club and PL football. It may prove
futile, but then again maybe it is worth a try?
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Zarate MUST be given a proper chance
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Like most of us I'm unable to can't come to a definitive opinion on Mauro
Zarate's abilities given the lack of action we've seen from him but what I
do know is I think is that he is better than a 53rd minute sub – ie fifth
choice.
His appearance at Everton showed us that this is a bright player with bags
of ability who can change things – what he needs is a chance to show that
over a run of games.
From what we are hearing at ClaretandHugh, his opportunity may come over the
next couple of games with the injury situation unlikely to improve for two
or three weeks.
Chiekhou Koutaye could be back next week but reports on the other four –
Downing, Song, Valencia and Sakho are not encouraging.and we may even have
to make do without them over the next couple of games.
Of course nothing is certain and that is the worst case scenario but surely
if that turns out to be the case there has to be a place in the side for the
Argentinian.
However, let's hope that if he does, he won't be involved in a "let's hump
it forward" situation that confronted him in the last 20 minutes. We'll
never see him at his best in such a scenario. I felt for him!
He was brought here in the first place to play off Andy Carroll and, to
provide some variation to the play. Whilst I prefer not to knock Carlton
Cole's contribution down the years, he and Carroll don't work as a pair.
There's little point in moaning about the fact that Sam Allardyce loves a
big man or two but yesterday against Everton proved again that these two
don't work too well.
I think the manager has to face the fact that Kevin Nolan too needs to be
looked at very hard indeed and that whatever reservations he may have about
Zarate, it's surely the time to give him his chance.
We also need to keep playing football and Zarate can provide a real spark in
those circumstances. A return to the style of play we saw in the last 20
minutes isn't the answer to our current problems.
Zarate, however, may prove to be part of the answer.
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Irons anxieties on four stars
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Chiekhou Kouyate is a "95 per cent certain starter" for the Hammers next
game against Newcastle on Saturday. The Senegal international return from
international duty "utterly exhausted" and was ruled out of the Everton game
a couple of days before the game. However, a source told Claretandhugh this
morning: "He's 95 per cent certain to play against Newcastle and is one of
those it's hard to keep down!
"However, there's no such certainty on the other four. Apart from Sakho they
all have knocks from the games against Stoke and Aston Villa and haven't
recovered as well as they or we had hoped. "It's impossible to say at this
stage but all of them look to be 7-21 day injuries. We may get one or two
back, maybe none. We aren't into false hope and need to be realistic."
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Tomkins slammed for feigning injury
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 23rd November 2014
By: Staff Writer
James Tomkins has been heavily criticised by supporters for pretending to
have been struck in the face by an opponent during yesterday's 2-1 defeat at
Everton. According to a number of fans sharing their opinion, West Ham's
Basildon-born centre half let himself badly when attempting to con referee
Mark Clattenburg into believing he had been head-butted by Everton's Kevin
Mirallas. "An almighty bollocking is in order," ludo22 wrote on the KUMB
Forum. "I don't care how many points we lose, I never want a West Ham player
to fake injury. We start doing that we might as well rip up the Claret and
blue."
Thoughts echoed by fellow KUMB member Harry Hound, who said: "I'm disgusted
with Tomkins and have very mixed feelings about him now as I can't
understand how he could pull such a stunt."
YWN continued the general theme of disappointment, adding: " I'm glad
Tomkins' got a dressing down, his reaction was almost as bad as Chico. I
don't want to see any West Ham player resort to that behaviour, even if they
had been diving or if Clattenberg and his assistants had been poor. Bad
darts."
And it wasn't only West Ham fans comparing the two incidents; Bradford City
fan Will Spivey, writing on Twitter said: "Just seen Match of the Day. I
assume West Ham fans will give James Tomkins the same level of abuse that
they gave Flores last year..."
Tomkins himself had nothing to say about the incident in a piece published
by the club this morning, although he did state that "it wasn't to be and
it's a hard one to take."
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Sullivan: "We deserved more from Everton"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Sullivan has sent a "we move on" message to the Irons fans after the
disappointing defeat at Everton. The co-chairman steered clear of the
obvious first goal controversy and the edgy nature of the game but was
clearly frustrated at the outcome. And like most other neutrals he believes
the Irons are likely to have come out victorious had they not been hit with
injuries to our best players. Speaking exclsusively to ClaretandHugh, he
said: "They came to five new arrivals who have been performing so well. It's
an unfortunate situation for the club. "Having said that we deserved more
from the Everton match and had we had our two first first choice strikers I
think we would have won, but we move on'"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ross Barkley conned Mark Clattenburg with a clear dive during Everton
victory while James Tomkins was lucky to escape a red
Ross Barkley appeared to dive during Everton's win over West Ham
Referee Mark Clattenburg had to deal with a number of incidents during
heated match
West Ham defender James Tomkins held his face after being pushed in the
chest by Everton wideman Kevin Mirallas
By GRAHAM POLL FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:12, 23 November 2014 | UPDATED: 17:18, 23 November 2014
Daily Mail
Mark Clattenburg makes headlines on and off the field and this week is no
different. However, following a tough match at Goodison Park, it was Ross
Barkley and James Tomkins who should be highlighted after poor conduct
during Everton's clash with West Ham on Saturday.
Disappointingly, Barkley fooled Clattenburg with a clear dive when the
Everton man went down without contact from West Ham's Kevin Nolan; the blame
for this must lie with Barkley but Clattenburg will be cross with himself
for being conned. Everton's opening goal was clearly offside as Romelu
Lukaku was in an offside position before Barkley's shot was deflected to
him. of course assistant referees are the judges of offside so again the
Geordie referee should escape blame.
The melee which followed after Clattenburg awarded a free kick for James
McCarthy's very strong challenge on Morgan Amalfitano seemed to be down to
the referee's uncharacteristic casual approach to the incident. It was
clear that West Ham's players were angry at the tackle and looked to get
back at McCarthy. Usually, Clattenburg would have diffused the situation but
instead allowed players to confront one another. One could argue whether a
red card could have been shown but replays showed both players going in with
raised boots and so a yellow card for each player looked appropriate.
Fifteen minutes into a spiky second half, Clattenburg's 'laissez faire'
approach allowed the heat to rise again by failing to award Kevin Mirallas a
free kick. The angry Everton man then chased back and chopped Amalfitano
down – a clear caution. Before Clattenburg could issue a card, Tomkins
pushed Mirallas who responded by shoving him back. Both players clearly
pushed each other in the chest but embarrassingly Tomkins went down holding
his face, simulating where contact had occurred. Both men were fortunate to
escape with yellow cards. At least Clattenburg ended the game with some
credit as an excellent advantage led to the home team's winning goal but
this will not be a performance which he will list as one of his finest.
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Umbro rumoured to trump Adidas with kit offer – The ExWHUemployee Column
IronViews
By ExWHUemployee on November 23, 2014 in ExWHUemployee column
Zarate deserves to start
Well that was such a frustrating game. We deserved to win it in my opinion
and to come away with nothing was very disappointing. Everton should have
had two players sent off and the first goal shouldn't have stood. I know
Everton had a lot of injuries but for us to perform like that up there with
Song, Kouyate, Sakho, Valencia and Downing (arguably our five most important
players) out shows how far we have come. I tweeted these injuries on
Thursday and from then on didn't think we had a chance against Everton so
the fact that we did and deserved more means that it is only the Southampton
game and the Sheffield United one where we haven't played well.
I tweeted and had a discussion with a respected journalist during the
Everton game whether Zarate should have come on for Cole and, like most, I
really thought he should. Unfortunately Cole wasn't involved in the action
at all and I knew Zarate would be fired up for the game. He certainly made
all the difference. I would say that Morgan Amalfitano was my man of the
match and then I think Zarate comes a close second. I firmly believe that a
player should be selected on their last performance and therefore Zarate
deserves a start against Newcastle especially if some of the players are
still out.
David Gold has tweeted that they all have a chance to return but I would be
very surprised if all five did! Kouyate should do as he was very close for
Everton. I would imagine that Sakho has a good chance as his injury was back
pains related to travelling around and the physical demands of the Premier
League. Song's injury is one that he has had many times before and one that
has to be managed. I would expect these three to be back but the Newcastle
game may come too soon for Downing and Valencia. I think we have a recall
option on Poyet's loan which is only for a month anyway. Had the club felt
that Song and Kouyate would be out for longer I think he would have been
recalled.
Fringe players should go in January
In my anger I tweeted that Nolan, Cole, Vaz Te and Jarvis need to be moved
on in January. Despite what some people remarked I wasn't basing this on
that result but on their current impact (in the last two seasons) when
selected. Nolan has been a great servant to us and without him I do not
think we would be where we are now and he played alright against Everton.
His leadership and goals have been vital for us in recent years and whilst
he is a good player to have on the bench he just doesn't contribute enough
for me in games to be deserving of a first team start.
Carlton is a player who I really love after his loyal service to the club
and for being such a top man. Unfortunately his ability to hold up the ball
and be a physical threat is diminishing each season and I think it is now
time for him to move on.
Vaz Te is another player who we owe a lot to but the step up to the
premiership appears too big for him and he hasn't performed for us in the
top flight. His only real contribution when coming on was a dreadful cross
that went out for a goal kick.
Jarvis is the one that seemed to cause the biggest reaction. Many people
said I was wrong to suggest he was bought for his crossing ability and I was
in fact narrow minded! Here is my point: if you remember back to when we
signed Jarvis the figures of how he had put the most crosses in during a
season at Wolves were constantly referred to. He was essentially bought to
beat players and put crosses in to assist goals and that is the bottom line.
If you buy a goal scorer you expect goals, if you buy a hard man in midfield
you expect him to win the ball, if you buy a tall centre back you expect him
to win headers and so on. He hasn't provided many assists and, while he
hasn't had Carroll around much to aim for, his overall his contribution
hasn't been enough. I still maintain (and I have harped on about this for
the last two season) that I would like to see him on the right where he can
whip it in rather than checking back all the time. This seems unlikely and
if we could get even half of what we paid for him (approximately £5m) I
would take it. Those of you who follow me know I am not a negative fan and
regularly stick up for and praise players. However, I just believe that
with Financial Fair Play in place and players needing to move, those are the
ones I would look to send packing
Umbro set to replace Adidas
The new Supporters Advisory board appears to have been elected (shortened in
numbers now) and their first agenda item is apparently to design the final
kit for the Boleyn where the kit sponsorship is likely to be Umbro. This
does disappoint me as the Adidas kits are so much nicer than we have had in
recent years but it seems that Umbro have currently offered us the largest
sum. This is not confirmed, however.
Increasingly unlikely Reid will stay
Winston Reid apparently didn't travel to meet up with the New Zealand squad
during the international break so that he could sort out his plans for next
season apparently. It is looking increasingly unlikely that he will stay and
I do find his silence on the issue quite frustrating. Winston has been
brilliant since he has been here (excluding a few dodgy appearances when he
first joined). I cannot be grudge him a move to a big club – most likely to
be Arsenal – but I just wish he would talk on the matter. Winston is
extremely shy but even if he tweeted something it would put us fans more in
the loop. Unfortunately he is now suspended for Newcastle having picked up
his fifth yellow at Everton so we will get a chance to see Collins (assuming
he recovers from a knock) and Tomkins together again. Mark Noble also was
substituted off with an injury and the current load of injuries is something
that we have all got used to down the years.
It is a shame that the main talking part of this column has been the
injuries but hopefully during the week we will have positive news on this
front. If I hear anything I will update on Iron Views and my Twitter
account. Have a great week. COYI.
ExWHUemployee
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ross Barkley is NOT a diver says Everton FC boss Roberto Martinez
Nov 23, 2014 12:43 By David Prentice
Barkley has received condemnation from many including MOTD pundit Alan
Shearer
Liverpoool Echo
Everton's Ross Barkley and West Ham United's Kevin Nolan (centre) battle for
the ball during the Barclays Premier League match at Goodison Park,
Liverpool. Everton FC boss Roberto Martinez has defended Ross Barkley from
accusations of diving – and claims his young midfielder probably "expected
contact" when he tumbled under pressure from West Ham's Kevin Nolan during
Saturday's victory at Goodison. There was no contact from the West Ham
player which resulted in a free-kick for Everton and the incident drew
condemnation from BBC pundit Alan Shearer on Saturday night. But Martinez
leaped to his player's defence. "I was not surprised because Ross Barkley
always tries to hold the ball so strong and the amount of knocks that he
gets is incredible," said the Blues boss. "I could show you his legs after
the game and he has so many signs of the amount of kicks that he gets. "In
that action maybe he was expecting a leg to come in and maybe tried to avoid
it. "Ross Barkley's not the type of player that goes down easy or doesn't
want contact, but I can understand at times if you get two or three knocks
then the fourth one you will try to avoid it. "I don't think it is something
he looks for, it is just a reaction."
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Sunday, November 23
Daily WHUFC News - 23rd November 2014
Big Sam baffled by Everton reverse
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce cut a frustrated figure after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at
Goodison Park
22.11.2014
Sam Allardyce cut a frustrated figure after his injury-hit West Ham United
side were edged out 2-1 at Everton in the Barclays Premier League. The
Hammers lost five important players in the build-up to their trip to
Goodison Park, before insult was added to injury when a clearly offside
Romelu Lukaku fired the Toffees in front on 26 minutes. To their credit,
West Ham recovered to equalise through substitute Mauro Zarate's deflected
effort eleven minutes after half-time and looked by far the more likely team
to go on and win what was, at times, a feistily contested game. However, the
visitors were struck by a sucker punch with 17 minutes to go. From defending
their own corner, Everton broke the length of the pitch through Lukaku
before Samuel Eto'o crossed low for Leon Osman to score on his 400th Toffees
appearance. Even then, James Collins came within a whisker of equalising for
a second time, only for Tim Howard to save his close-range shot with his
legs. Rather than blame the match officials for his side's defeat, the
manager bemoaned his players' inability to convert chances - Andy Carroll,
Matt Jarvis and Collins all went close - and the nature of Everton's winner.
"I think we've got two major things that have not allowed us to get anything
out of the game today," Big Sam began. "The first is that we missed too many
chances when in very good possession and in control of the game, and allowed
the opposition to break out on a punt down the middle and score their
winner."We discussed it before and there was one person we couldn't afford
to get the ball at his feet and run at us and that was Lukaku. If they had
managed to score through their passing game, then that's difficult to stop,
but to allow them to do it the way we did was extremely disappointing. "The
most frustrating thing was how many chances we had and didn't convert, apart
from the one we scored, of course."
West Ham started the game in a 3-5-2 formation but it was after the manager
introduced Zarate and Jarvis and switched to a 4-2-3-1 system that West Ham
took seemingly full control of the game. "We were in the ascendancy just
before half-time and Andy and Morgan had good opportunities. We were taking
control of the game better, getting our wing-backs down the sides and
getting our crosses in better. "That got even better when we changed to
4-2-3-1. We ended up with James Tomkins in midfield with Kevin and Mauro in
the hole. We also brought Matt Jarvis on, who has been waiting patiently,
and he had some really decent ball. Being super-critical, he should have
scored or at least made the 'keeper make a save. "Those are the things I'm
frustrated about. When we got to 1-1 that's enough. Let's be patient and
wait for the second, but I think we were really pushing that hard that we
lost concentration."
When asked about Lukaku's controversial opener, the manager almost shrugged
his shoulders, admitting that his frustration would not change referee Mark
Clattenburg's decision. Ross Barkley's shot hit Winston Reid and looped to
Lukaku, who was standing at least a yard beyond the last man, and the
Belgian fired past Adrian. "I can't control that," he said. "Only the PGMOL
and its chairman Mike Riley and the people who work under him can work to
get those decisions better. "It's a baffling decision. I'm totally and
utterly baffled by the decision so I'll ask for an explanation but sadly the
one I will get will not be enough to satisfy me, but there we go."
The frustration of conceding that goal may or may not have played a part in
two altercations between players from both sides following tackles on Morgan
Amalfitano. Winston Reid and James Tomkins were both booked for their
involvement in the handbags, with the former picking up his fifth yellow
card. Reid is now suspended for next Saturday's visit of Newcastle United to
the Boleyn Ground. Big Sam refused to criticise his players for showing
'passion' when their teammates had been 'unfairly treated'. "I can
understand why, particularly as Morgan got two and the third one on Mark
Noble from Steven Naismith was as bad as any challenge in the game," he
observed.
Finally, the manager was asked about the five absent players - Diafra Sakho,
Alex Song, Enner Valencia, Cheikhou Kouyate and Stewart Downing - and
whether any or all would be fit to return against Newcastle. Senegal pair
Sakho and Kouyate and England midfielder Downing all returned from
international duty with knocks, while Song and Valencia are nursing injuries
suffered in training. "We hope they are not too long or too serious," he
said. "It's the worst international break I've had in my time at West Ham
United."
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Tomkins disappointed with Everton loss
WHUFC.com
James Tomkins felt three points were there for the taking at Everton on
Saturday
22.11.2014
James Tomkins was disappointed that a valiant West Ham United effort did not
gain tangible reward at Everton on Saturday. The Hammers were shorn of five
of their star performers of the season to date for the Goodison Park trip
due to injury, yet they still departed Merseyside with the sense that they
should have taken something from the game. It looked for a while that they
would after Mauro Zarate cancelled out Romelu Lukaku's opener, but a
breakaway goal from Leon Osman 17 minutes from time settled it and left
Tomkins - and the rest of his team - cursing their luck. He said: "When we
got back into the game and made it 1-1, we looked the stronger team so we're
disappointed to lose it in the end. "The lads gave it all they had and
towards the end we tried to play off Andy. We showed a good effort and on
most days we would have gone on from making it 1-1 to winning the game. "It
wasn't to be and it's a hard one to take."
WIth Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Stewart Downing, Alex Song and Cheikhou
Kouyate all missing with injury, the Hammers may have been up against it at
Everton, but Tomkins said the level of their performance was an indicator of
the strength in the squad. "We had a lot of players out and it shows the
squad depth we have now," he continued. "It was a good effort from us but
[the result was] not quite there."
Tomkins had to play the last 40 or so minutes in midfield when Mark Noble
hobbled off and he was happy to do his bit in the engine room of the team.
He continued: "I've played there a few times, mainly in the Championship,
but also in the Premier League, and I just want to do a job for the team
wherever I play. "When Nobes got injured I had to go in there and do a job
and I'm just disappointed we didn't get a result."
Next up for the Hammers is a home game with Newcastle and the No5 is looking
forward to putting the wrongs of Saturday right. "There were positives to
take as we go into Newcastle next week," he said. "We had a lot of crosses
and we're still looking good for the next game.
"If we can get a couple of the players fit who are out too we'll be in good
shape."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Everton 2 West Ham 1
22 November 2014
Last updated at 17:58
By James McMath
BBC Sport
Leon Osman marked his 400th Everton appearance with the winning goal in the
Toffees' victory over West Ham United. The 33-year-old midfielder slid in to
convert Samuel Eto'o's low cross as Everton made it six matches unbeaten.
Romelu Lukaku's fifth goal of the season gave Everton the lead after Ross
Barkley's blocked shot fell into his path. Substitute Mauro Zarate had
levelled for West Ham after his shot struck Phil Jagielka and looped over
Tim Howard. Osman's goal - his 55th for his club - proved decisive in a
heated encounter as Everton made it 13 Premier League matches against the
Hammers without defeat.
Sam Allardyce could point to the absence of five key players through injury,
with top scorer Diafra Sakho joined on the sidelines by Enner Valencia,
Stewart Downing, Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyate. Andy Carroll came in, and
started brightly, releasing Carl Jenkinson with a crossfield pass and
looping a header over from a Aaron Cresswell delivery. However, it was
Everton who opened the scoring midway through the first half after a slice
of good fortune. West Ham's last Premier League victory over Everton came in
April 2007, when Bobby Zamora scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Upton
Park. Barkley's shot deflected off Winston Reid and James Collins before the
ball broke for Lukaku. The Belgian appeared to be offside but the flag
stayed down as he fired his fifth goal of the season beyond goalkeeper
Adrian.
James McCarthy was in the Everton XI, despite controversially pulling out of
the Ireland squad for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland. And the
midfielder was at the centre of a heated exchange in the latter stages of
the first half when his foul on Morgan Amalfitano prompted an angry reaction
from several West Ham players. McCarthy was booked, as was Reid for
confronting the Everton man.
Allardyce, whose side were looking to make it six league matches unbeaten
for the first time since 2009, brought on Matt Jarvis and Zarate in place of
Carlton Cole and Mark Noble six minutes into the second half and it paid off
within five minutes as the visitors levelled.
Zarate's shot from 25 yards took a big deflection off Jagielka and looped
beyond Tim Howard in the Everton goal. The tactical switch had given West
Ham greater attacking threat but it also left them more vulnerable at the
back. And Everton took advantage, creating the winning goal with a swift
counter attack. Referee Mark Clattenburg allowed play on after Collins
brought down Lukaku and it proved a good decision as Eto'o broke and
delivered a low cross to pick out Osman sliding in at the back post. Eto
should have made it 3-1 in time added on but side-footed wide from Osman's
low cross from the right.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Everton 2-1 West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 22nd November 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's five match unbeaten run came to a predictable end at Goodison
Park this afternoon - courtesy of another baffling decision by the match
officials. Mark Clattenburg has a long history of making game-changing
decisions and so it was the case once again when he allowed Romelu Lukaku's
clearly offside goal to stand. And although the Hammers corrected that
particular wrong shortly after the restart, Leon Osman's 76th minute strike
was enough to earn the home side all three points and condemn Sam
Allardyce's side to a first defeat since the end of September.
Sam Allardyce already had his hands tied before the interference of
Clattenburg, having lost an incredible FIVE players during the international
break - Alex Song, Cheik Kouyate, Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and Stewart
Downing all being ruled out of contention.
That meant a first start of the season for Andy Carroll, who was to end the
game deeply frustrated at the lack of service he was provided with during
the afternoon - much the same as the rest of his team mates who were unable
to grab a second equaliser, having initially restored parity 11 minutes
after the half time break courtesy of a Jagielka own goal.
Everton started the game strongly and Mirallas, Lukaku and Naismith all
squandered early chances to break the deadlock. When they finally did it was
through Lukaku's 26th-minute offside effort; Ross Barkley's shot was blocked
by James Collins before falling to the offside Belgian who slammed the ball
into an empty net, with Adrian wrong-footed.
Just 11 minutes later the striker was disappointed to find the net again
only to see his effort ruled out - correctly this time - for offside.
Moments later Clattenburg again angered the travelling contingent when a
dreadful challenge from behind on Morgan Amalfitano by Naismith resulted in
a yellow card, not red. Annoyingly, Winston Reid was also booked in the
melee for his reaction to Naismith's challenge - a caution that will see him
miss next week's match against Newcastle having reached the five-game limit.
Just five minutes into the second half Sam Allardyce decided to throw
caution to the wind and introduced Matt Jarvis and Mauro Zarate. Just five
minutes later the Argentinian levelled the scores when his shot took a
wicked deflection off Jagielka, looping over Howard into an empty net.
At that stage of the game it seemed as if only one side would win the game -
that being the Hammers, who began to pile on the pressure as Everton visibly
creaked. However a classic counter attack by the visitors was to cost West
Ham a share of the spoils.
Having broken from a United attack, a long ball found Lukaku who laid the
ball out wide before James Collins cynically attempted to prevent him from
progressing any further. Eto'o made for the byeline before crossing for
Osman, who steered the ball home at the far post.
Although West Ham huffed and puffed in search of what would have been a
second equaliser, there was to be no repeat of the 2-2 draw at Stoke
recently.
And whilst the Hammers will feel aggrieved at losing the game due to
a(nother) dreadful call by a so-called top-class referee, Allardyce will at
least be able to take comfort from another decent performance - even if it
was one that ultimately ended in failure.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lukaku and Osman goals help Everton to 2-1 win over West Ham
Last Updated: 22/11/14 7:54pm
SSN
Leon Osman's second goal of the season sealed a 2-1 victory for Everton over
high-flying West Ham at Goodison Park. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for
Everton in the first half with Osman's 73rd-minute strike sandwiching a West
Ham reply by Mauro Zarate.
Best of the game
Man of the match: Leon Osman, rounding off his 400th appearance for the
Toffees with the winning goal in the second half.
Attempt of the match: James McCarthy's long-range shot in the second half
fizzed just over the bar.
Save of the match: Adrian made a smart stop with his legs when it looked
easier for James Collins to score from around five yards out.
Talking point: Never nice to highlight an embarrassing dive, but Ross
Barkley throwing himself to the ground when not even touched by Kevin Nolan
should be addressed.
Goal of the match: With the other two goals rather scrappy, Osman's winner
takes the honour and it was great work from the vastly-experienced Samuel
Eto'o to set him up, not to mentioned some excellent refereeing by Mark
Clattenburg to wave 'play on' in the build-up.
The win takes Everton up to 17 points in the Premier League, one behind West
Ham, who started the day in fourth place. In the 26th minute, Ross Barkley
cleverly controlled a headed pass from Naismith to wrongfoot a defender but,
as he shaped to strike the ball, it was blocked.
The wild deflection fell kindly to Lukaku, in space on the left of the
six-yard box, and the Belgium international calmly gave West Ham's Spanish
keeper Adrian little chance as he swept it in for the opening goal. Eleven
minutes later Lukaku put the ball in the back of the net for a second time
but was ruled off-side.
In the second half, Argentine striker Zarate, who had only just come on for
West Ham as a substitute, picked the ball up on the right in the 56th
minute, ran across the top of the Everton box and fired through several
defenders. The ball hit Jagielka's out-stretched leg and took a big
deflection over the advancing Tim Howard, who could do nothing to prevent
the ball looping high over his head and into the net for the equaliser.
James McCarthy went close for Everton three minutes later after running at
James Tomkins, cutting inside and curling a beautiful shot just past the far
corner of the goal.
Close
The decisive goal came in the 73rd minute after Lukaku broke quickly over
the half-way line and James Collins took him out. Ref Mark Clattenburg
played an excellent advantage and Samuel Eto'o, on as a substitute for Kevin
Mirallas, collected the ball to thread a perfect ball across the box to
Osman racing in on the far side. And midfielder Osman made no mistake to put
Everton back in front with his second goal of the season. Moments later
Howard kept Everton in front with a point-blank save with his legs from
Collins. In the dying minutes Osman and Eto'o again combined with a
wonderful one-two on the edge of the West Ham box, Osman pulling it back in
front of the goal only for the Cameroon international to hit it hard - but
wide.
Paul Merson
Paul Merson said Sam Allardyce will feel disappointed with the result,
despite West Ham having a lot injuries. I was quite impressed with West Ham.
With the amount of injuries they had, they did alright. You take five
players out for a team like West Ham and send them to Everton and you think
they'd get done, but they were really good. Lukaku might have been offside
for Everton's first goal, the equaliser. I think he got lucky. But then West
Ham were very good, moved the ball quickly and put crosses in and put
Everton under pressure. Then, against the run of play, Everton went down the
other end of the park and Osman scored.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce 'baffled' by referee's opening goal decision
Last Updated: 22/11/14 7:08pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce was annoyed with the officials for not ruling
out Everton's first goal in their 2-1 defeat at Goodison Park.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he was "baffled" by the decision which
handed Everton their opening goal in the 2-1 win at Goodison Park. Even a
post-match explanation from referee Mark Clattenburg as to why Romelu
Lukaku's strike was allowed to stand - despite him being offside immediately
before Ross Barkley's shot rebounded to him - failed to appease the Hammers
boss.Allardyce said he will be taking up the matter with officials' chief
Mike Riley next week. "A little bit of it was our fault but that decision
baffled me so we have to be frustrated," said Allardyce. "The first shot was
blocked by Winston Reid and it falls to Lukaku who is two yards offside.
"For me there will be some way forward next week for an explanation. "I have
had an explanation from the referee but I won't discuss that publicly, I'll
discuss it privately with the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials
Limited) next week."
After a couple of meaty challenges from Everton's James McCarthy - who
provoked an all-out melee after going over the top on Morgan Amalfitano -
and Steven Naismith, Allardyce, whose sides down the years have been accused
of being over-physical, claimed they asked Clattenburg for greater
protection."I think they were yellow cards. Naismith's challenge on Mark
Noble was probably the worst of all and because there wasn't a furore it
went unnoticed," he added. "Noble ended up coming off injured because of
that. "They showed a certain degree of physicality and we had to ask the
referee to protect us and I don't think he did that too well."It is a part
of the game we accept but the most frustrating thing is our controllables.
"We have been very good this year at converting chances with very good
delivery in the final third but our finishing was not good enough and
because of that we have ended up losing and a referee's decision has
contributed to it."
Allardyce was also unhappy about the way his side conceded the winner. It
came from a quick counter-attack and saw Clattenburg make the right choice
in playing advantage when Lukaku was fouled. Clattenburg's decision allowed
Leon Osman to score on his 400th appearance after Mauro Zarate had equalised
four minutes after coming off the bench. "One punt up the middle was a
hugely disappointing way to concede," said the West Ham boss. "There are
opportunities when Everton try to get Lukaku in to get running at players
but to allow him to get in from a clearance, defensively that was the only
disappointing thing today and unfortunately it has cost us a goal."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Kevin Nolan unhappy with Romelu Lukaku's goal for Everton
Last Updated: 22/11/14 10:28pm
SSN
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is unhappy referee Mark Clattenburg allowed
Romelu Lukaku's opener stand in the 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Lukaku appeared to collect the ball while in an off-side position after Ross
Barkley's shot was cleared off the line by a combination of Winston Reid and
James Collins. Several West Ham players remonstrated with Clattenburg after
he awarded the goal and Nolan was far from amused with the explanation that
he was offered by the referee. "It was quite strange what he said," Nolan
told Sky Sports News HQ. "He said our defender passed the ball to him which
I don't really get. "It's a block and it's a cop-out if the referee and the
linesman are saying that because at the end of the day it was a block. The
lad's shooting at goal and the defenders on the line are throwing themselves
at the ball and Lukaku was in an off-side position. "That's the be all and
end all and you can never ever defend it. You've just got to hold your hands
up and say 'I got it wrong'. Then we've got to take it on the chin and he's
got to take it on the chin.
"It's just disappointing when they come up with silly things like that."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
EVERTON 2, WEST HAM 1. RE-ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE.
By David Hautzig 22 Nov 2014 at 19:08
West Ham Till I Die
If I'm exaggerating here, it's only by a little bit. We could win 150 games
on the trot, and Everton could be winless for month's…. and we would all
expect to lose at Goodison. Hell, we wouldn't expect much better at Upton
Park. We don't beat Everton. The last time we did was 2007. Before that, I
think you have to go back to the parting of the Red Sea. And to add insult
to injury, or in this case injury to possible insult, after being relatively
knock free of late we come into today's game missing some key players;
•Stuart Downing hurt his knee playing for England. Well done, Roy. You play
him out of the position that got him the call up in the first place, making
it an utter waste of his time. I hate International Breaks.
•Diafra Sakho, after looking like he could be a Superhero flying around
London saving damsels in distress when he's not playing football, has a back
injury.
•Enner Valencia is hurt. I don't know where it happened. I don't care. I'm
just pissed off about it.
•Cheikhou Kouyaté injured his knee. He played in the ACN on Wednesday and
only trained with us yesterday. Have I told you I hate International Breaks?
•Alex Song. Huh? Where the hell did that come from? First cup of coffee,
kids are still asleep, and I see that. Great. Bet you I open the door now to
find my car stolen.
The starting lineup caused a stir on Twitter (as if that's any surprise).
For the longest time we called for Sam to play two up front. Today, with so
many of the players we have depended on to do just that unavailable, nobody
would have been shocked to see us revert back to a lone striker and a
prayer. So the fact that both Carroll and Cole started at least cemented the
two up top plan. I would have much rather seen Zarate, but Cole has played
fairly well so far this year. Sam got the benefit of the doubt from me, but
not many others. As for his decision to go with five at the back, that
seemed very risky. Why play all three center backs when you only have three
in the squad?
The game began in the way many West Ham supporters expected. Everton had the
lion's share of the ball, and we tried to play crosses into our returning
Big Man. In the third minute Jenkinson played what would be the first of
many balls into the box, only to have Tim Howard grab it before AC could get
there. A few minutes later Carlton Cole won the ball from James McCarthy,
although he didn't actually do anything other than chase McCarthy so closely
that the ball popped out. That led to Andy Carroll feeding Jenkinson down
the right side, who slid a low cross across the goalmouth. Jagielka
deflected it away, but to be honest the only West Ham player trying to
attack the ball was Carroll and he wasn't that close.
The ninth minute gave a glimpse of what Sam's plan seemed to be. Tomkins
launched a ball into the box that Carroll won. To be fair, regardless of
what anybody might say about him, Andy wins most of the balls launched at
him. Maybe if somebody else had been on the end of his knock down the
results would have been different. But it was Carlton Cole, and he couldn't
handle it. Then a cross from Cresswell found Carroll, but it lacked the pace
needed for any header off the end of it to be effective, and it sailed high.
Even with a second striker out there, Carroll looked isolated. Kind of like
when you are asked to move a sofa and the guy on the other end can barely
lift it off the ground.
Despite the home side having close to 80% possession in the opening ten
minutes, it didn't look all that bad for West Ham. Any time an Everton
player touched the ball, he was hounded. Harassed. Bothered. They didn't
have any time to turn with the ball and plan their next move. That was
encouraging, and I'm guessing Sam was happy about that.
In the 14th minute, Steven Naismith should have made it 1-0. The reason he
didn't was because after he passed to Lukaku in what he expected to be a
give and go, Lukaku decided it was just a give. No go. Adrian handled
Lukaku's shot easily.
A few minutes later the home side had another opportunity that should have
opened the scoring, but didn't. Osman laid a terrific through ball for
Coleman, who cut the ball back to a wide open Naismith. But his shot went so
far over the bar that Adrian barely moved.
Fans of the English Premier League often chide the fans and players in Serie
A and La Liga for their propensity to simulate. OK, I'll just call it what
it is. Diving. But today, we saw some pretty shameful play acting from both
sides. The first was from Ross Barkley, who dove through the air without
even being touched by Kevin Nolan's breath, to win a free kick. Thankfully
nothing came of it. Then Naismith worked himself into another dangerous
position when he took advantage of a deflected ball off his chest, but his
shot was from an extreme angle.
The pressure from Everton was mounting, and you could feel a goal coming. It
did, when Diving Barkley's shot deflected off of Winston Reid's heel, right
to Lukaku. Adrian was moving to his left, the direction Barkley's shot was
going. So when it fell Lukaku, the net was wide open. Not going to miss
that. Replays showed that Lukaku was definitely in an offside position when
Barkley took his shot. I asked my Twitter mate @RockyWHU to clarify the rule
there. We may both be wrong, but since the ball deflected off a West Ham
player was Lukaku still offside? I'm just putting it out there.
Everton 1, West Ham 0.
The pre-game fears about our formation, with only three in the midfield,
were playing themselves out to be more like premonitions. Without Song or
Kouyate available to get the ball from the back line, we couldn't play the
ball through the midfield. Nolan was….uhhhhh…..ineffective. So the full
backs were left to try and push the ball upfield, which was probably part of
Sam's plan. Most of those attacks came down the right side, with Jenkinson
trying to find Carroll. That happened again in the 30th minute, but despite
showing good athleticism Carroll's header sailed wide. Another one minutes
later was from too far out. Then a low cross from Jenkinson, followed by a
dummy from Cole was just behind Carroll. The ideas were there, but the
execution wasn't. Oh, to have Valencia or Sakho.
The 32nd minute presented the first real opportunity for West Ham when a
sloppy pass from Distin was intercepted by Nolan and laid off for
Amalfitano. His shot was off target, but to be fair that was his only bad
moment of the game. In fact, Morgan was our best player in the first half.
Running at the Everton defense, showing glimpses of the creativity that made
him so effective against Liverpool and Unreal City. The Everton players knew
it, too, and they decided to do something about it.
Minutes after Noble was roughed up by a cynical challenge from Naismith,
McCarthy went after Amalfitano. He came a long way to get to his target, and
with studs right on top of Amalfitano's foot he got it. The proverbial ice
hockey game broke out, with pushing and shoving on all ends. McCarthy saw a
yellow card, as did Winston Reid. The latter means Reid won't be available
for next week's game against Newcastle. Clattenburg is usually a pretty good
ref for us. Not so today.
West Ham had one final mini opportunity right before halftime when Carroll
used his strength to win the ball in midfield. He ran with it towards the
box and fired, but his shot was wide.
Halftime.
Most West Ham fans took to Twitter to demand that Cole be taken of for
Zarate. It didn't happen at first, but in the 50th minute the clubs official
Twitter account not only acknowledged the fans demands, but announced that
Zarate was indeed getting ready to enter the game. Seconds later, he did
just that along with Matt Jarvis. Cole and a limping Noble came off,
possibly still feeling the effects of the Naismith challenge. Tomkins was
moved out of the five man defense and into midfield. Sam did that a lot in
the Championship, with mixed results. OK, mostly bad. But today the options
were limited.
The new formation paid dividends immediately. Zarate won West Ham their
first corner of the game by doing nothing more than running at a defender.
See, Sam? It worked. The corner came to Carroll, who fired a ball right into
Barkley's chest. After his first half dive I was sort of hoping it broke one
of his ribs. No such luck.
Then, instead of waiting for some luck, West Ham made some. Zarate and
Amalfitano worked a nice one-two. When Zarate got the ball back, his shot
deflected off of Jagielka and over Howard. Zarate wants to run. He wants to
get into the area. Does he do everything Sam wants of him all the time?
Probably not. But you need players like that, and when you have them you can
make your own good fortunes when they were otherwise hiding.
Everton 1, West Ham 1.
West Ham looked energized by their equalizer. Carroll made a great pass to
Jenkinson, who then played a cross into the box that Howard had to punch out
of danger. Everton looked like they wanted to prevent West Ham from feeling
too optimistic when McCarthy got the ball on the left, cut inside, and fired
a long range shot wide.
Amalfitano was still West Ham's best player, so Everton decided one nasty
challenge in the first half wasn't enough to take him down. Mirallas decided
to take his best shot and received a yellow card for his troubles. That's
when West Ham got into the acting game. Tomkins reacted to the Mirallas
tackle with a silly push. Mirallas pushed back, touching Tomkins chest.
Obviously the chest pain shot up to his cheeks, and JT grabbed his face.
Maybe he was angling for a move to Sampdoria? Embarrassing.
In the 63rd minute Naismith skillfully controlled a long pass from Osman
with his chest and sent Lukaku through on goal. His pass was just a bit too
far to the left, forcing the hefty Belgian into a bad angle. Then came the
kind of substitution you simply know will have an effect on a game. Mirallas
off, Eto'o on. I bet each and every one of us had some vision of him hurting
us at some point.
From the West Ham point of view, everything was going through Zarate. Both
good, and a little bad. In the 67th minute he tracked back to win the ball
right outside of our box…only to lose it seconds later. I wonder which
moment Sam will remember? Zarate then won a free kick down the left side.
The ball eventually found its way to Amalfitano whose shot was deflected
wide for a corner.
This is not Nolan bashing, but he had a lousy game. His only decent moment
came in the 71st minute when his long pass fell perfectly into the path of
Matt Jarvis. But instead of putting his shot across the goal, he went for
the near post….and it was nowhere near the goal. Moments later Jenkinson won
another corner, but nothing came of that either.
The visions of Eto'o hurting us turned into reality a minute later when
Everton launched a counter attack. Collins brought down Lukaku a few yards
past the center circle, but Clattenburg rightfully played the advantage. The
ball fell to Eto'o. A younger player may have rushed it, passed too early,
or shot it wildly. But class is class, and Eto'o has oodles of it. He slid a
ball perfectly to Osman who tapped it in.
Everton 2, West Ham 1.
West Ham came very close to a second equalizer when Matt Jarvis's low shot
found James Collins directly in front of Howard. Ginge tried to redirect the
ball into the net, but Howard made a fine save.
Ross Barkley came off in the 79th minute for Muhamed Besic. Not particularly
noteworthy, but figured since I made a note of it I'd include it.
The next substitution was beyond baffling to me. In the 82nd minute, Vaz Te
climbed out of whatever hole Sam had been keeping him in and entered the
game. OK, fine. But when every single West Ham fan likely expected Nolan to
come off, Amalfitano got the hook.
Our best player overall on the day. Off.
Our worst player overall on the day. Stayed.
Zarate won another corner in the 84th minute, and Carroll once again got to
it. His header was off target, and he tried to claim it deflected off
Naismith. Replays showed no such thing.
Five minutes of added time gave West Ham a bit of hope that at least there
was time to salvage a draw. Problem was, Everton controlled the majority of
those five minutes. It should have been 3-1 when Eto'o couldn't convert a
pass from Coleman right in front of Adrian.
West Ham had one chance. A deflection off of Jenkinson landed right in front
of Vaz Te, with space on the right side. Here was his chance to show who he
was. Which he did, with a useless ball that flew over the bar for a goal
kick. A final cross by Jenkinson, his 732nd of the game, was grabbed by my
fellow American and Everton ran out the clock.
I guess it's time to release the parachute, fire the retro rockets, and
prepare to come back down to earth. I can't say I didn't expect the result.
I did. I actually put a 2-1 loss down in my pool. But with so many of our
best players out, a bus parking attempt at a 0-0 draw like we tried last
year wouldn't have shocked me. Instead, we played. And at times played well
enough to have gotten a result. Would things have been different had Zarate
started instead of Cole? Who knows. I won't get in to those "what ifs". We
were in it. It could have ended differently. Most trips to Goodison don't
even let us think that.
I'm looking forward to seeing them at our place later this year.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham fans react to Zarate's display against Everton
HITC
Olly Dawes
West Ham slipped to a 2-1 loss at Everton, but fans were full of praise for
striker Mauro Zarate. West Ham striker Mauro Zarate has been out of picture
lately, which has led to speculation that he could head back to Italy and
sign for Torino In January. That led to manager Sam Allardyce demanding that
the Argentine fought for his place rather than leave the club, and with his
Hammers side 1-0 down at Everton this afternoon, he turned to the former
Inter Milan forward for help. Just six minutes into the second half, Zarate
was brought on in place of Carlton Cole, and he made an almost instant
impact, cutting inside from the right and hitting a deflected shot over Tim
Howard to bring West Ham level. Zarate continued to cause problems for the
Everton defence throughout, but could do nothing as Leon Osman slid in to
convert Samuel Eto'o cross into the net to give the Toffees the win. It was
a blow for West Ham to lose the game having fought back to equalise, but
Zarate's display was a welcome boost given his recent absence. West Ham fans
took to Twitter after the game to praise Zarate for his performance, with
some fans comparing him to his compatriot Lionel Messi and West Ham legend
Paolo Di Canio. That's high praise for Zarate, but some were still concerned
over his lack of defensive ability.
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Two more Irons injury worries
Posted by Sean Whetstone on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
There are concerns for two more Hammers tonight following this afternoon's
physical game with Everton at Goodison Park. Mark Noble hobbled off in the
51st minute to be replaced Matt Jarvis. Earlier in the match Noble was
fouled an flattened by Naismith who himself was stretchered off later in
the game. Morgan Amalfitano seemed also to take a battering especially from
a bad foul from McCartney which could easily have seen the Everton player
sent off. Amalfitano was also limping during the game and was subbed on 82
minutes to be replaced by Ricardo Vaz Te, hopefully as a precaution. The
latest injury scares come on the back of injuries to Valencia, Sakho,
Downing, Song and Kouyate all of which were declared unfit to play today.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Injured five may be out for a while!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham's injury crisis looks set to stretch into the next two or three
weeks! ClaretandHugh has learned over the last few minutes that the five who
missed today's game are struggling with knocks and problems which could see
them miss the games against Newcastle or WBA.
We understand that Chiekhou Kouyate is the most likely to be available and
he was absent today after returning from his international duties exhausted.
We were told by a source: "There's a variety of reasons for the injuries –
knocks from the Stoke and Aston Villa games from which recovery has been
slower than expected whilst the Senegal boys had problems while on
international duty. "Given the circumstances we thought the team produced a
highly spirited performance in very difficult circumstances today and we
deserved better than a 2-1 defeat."
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LEROY: Unlucky Hammers show great spirit
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham can consider themselves very unlucky to have lost a game from which
they definitely deserved a point! For starters Everton's opener from Lukaku
was at least two yards offside and that's the kind of break you can do
without when stripped of five of your best players. But despite that, the
Hammers battled well, particularly in the second half, and were worth at
least a point against a very average Everton side. It was a little
surprising to see Cole and Carroll line up together and to be honest I
didn't see much link up work going on between them. And not surprisingly –
shorn of so many good players – we lacked quality where it mattered. Having
said that nobody could fault their attitude in a game which was nasty and
niggly at time. Mauro Zarate was nice and bright and scored soon after he
arrived and showed he really should have a first team future at the club.
However, what this game did show was how absolutely excellent Sakho and
Valencia are as a strike force and the other missing players were obviously
badly missed. However, to see the team show so much fight and spirit and
come within a tiny margin of getting the result they deserved really does
demonstrate how far we have come this season.
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WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce cut a frustrated figure after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at
Goodison Park
22.11.2014
Sam Allardyce cut a frustrated figure after his injury-hit West Ham United
side were edged out 2-1 at Everton in the Barclays Premier League. The
Hammers lost five important players in the build-up to their trip to
Goodison Park, before insult was added to injury when a clearly offside
Romelu Lukaku fired the Toffees in front on 26 minutes. To their credit,
West Ham recovered to equalise through substitute Mauro Zarate's deflected
effort eleven minutes after half-time and looked by far the more likely team
to go on and win what was, at times, a feistily contested game. However, the
visitors were struck by a sucker punch with 17 minutes to go. From defending
their own corner, Everton broke the length of the pitch through Lukaku
before Samuel Eto'o crossed low for Leon Osman to score on his 400th Toffees
appearance. Even then, James Collins came within a whisker of equalising for
a second time, only for Tim Howard to save his close-range shot with his
legs. Rather than blame the match officials for his side's defeat, the
manager bemoaned his players' inability to convert chances - Andy Carroll,
Matt Jarvis and Collins all went close - and the nature of Everton's winner.
"I think we've got two major things that have not allowed us to get anything
out of the game today," Big Sam began. "The first is that we missed too many
chances when in very good possession and in control of the game, and allowed
the opposition to break out on a punt down the middle and score their
winner."We discussed it before and there was one person we couldn't afford
to get the ball at his feet and run at us and that was Lukaku. If they had
managed to score through their passing game, then that's difficult to stop,
but to allow them to do it the way we did was extremely disappointing. "The
most frustrating thing was how many chances we had and didn't convert, apart
from the one we scored, of course."
West Ham started the game in a 3-5-2 formation but it was after the manager
introduced Zarate and Jarvis and switched to a 4-2-3-1 system that West Ham
took seemingly full control of the game. "We were in the ascendancy just
before half-time and Andy and Morgan had good opportunities. We were taking
control of the game better, getting our wing-backs down the sides and
getting our crosses in better. "That got even better when we changed to
4-2-3-1. We ended up with James Tomkins in midfield with Kevin and Mauro in
the hole. We also brought Matt Jarvis on, who has been waiting patiently,
and he had some really decent ball. Being super-critical, he should have
scored or at least made the 'keeper make a save. "Those are the things I'm
frustrated about. When we got to 1-1 that's enough. Let's be patient and
wait for the second, but I think we were really pushing that hard that we
lost concentration."
When asked about Lukaku's controversial opener, the manager almost shrugged
his shoulders, admitting that his frustration would not change referee Mark
Clattenburg's decision. Ross Barkley's shot hit Winston Reid and looped to
Lukaku, who was standing at least a yard beyond the last man, and the
Belgian fired past Adrian. "I can't control that," he said. "Only the PGMOL
and its chairman Mike Riley and the people who work under him can work to
get those decisions better. "It's a baffling decision. I'm totally and
utterly baffled by the decision so I'll ask for an explanation but sadly the
one I will get will not be enough to satisfy me, but there we go."
The frustration of conceding that goal may or may not have played a part in
two altercations between players from both sides following tackles on Morgan
Amalfitano. Winston Reid and James Tomkins were both booked for their
involvement in the handbags, with the former picking up his fifth yellow
card. Reid is now suspended for next Saturday's visit of Newcastle United to
the Boleyn Ground. Big Sam refused to criticise his players for showing
'passion' when their teammates had been 'unfairly treated'. "I can
understand why, particularly as Morgan got two and the third one on Mark
Noble from Steven Naismith was as bad as any challenge in the game," he
observed.
Finally, the manager was asked about the five absent players - Diafra Sakho,
Alex Song, Enner Valencia, Cheikhou Kouyate and Stewart Downing - and
whether any or all would be fit to return against Newcastle. Senegal pair
Sakho and Kouyate and England midfielder Downing all returned from
international duty with knocks, while Song and Valencia are nursing injuries
suffered in training. "We hope they are not too long or too serious," he
said. "It's the worst international break I've had in my time at West Ham
United."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tomkins disappointed with Everton loss
WHUFC.com
James Tomkins felt three points were there for the taking at Everton on
Saturday
22.11.2014
James Tomkins was disappointed that a valiant West Ham United effort did not
gain tangible reward at Everton on Saturday. The Hammers were shorn of five
of their star performers of the season to date for the Goodison Park trip
due to injury, yet they still departed Merseyside with the sense that they
should have taken something from the game. It looked for a while that they
would after Mauro Zarate cancelled out Romelu Lukaku's opener, but a
breakaway goal from Leon Osman 17 minutes from time settled it and left
Tomkins - and the rest of his team - cursing their luck. He said: "When we
got back into the game and made it 1-1, we looked the stronger team so we're
disappointed to lose it in the end. "The lads gave it all they had and
towards the end we tried to play off Andy. We showed a good effort and on
most days we would have gone on from making it 1-1 to winning the game. "It
wasn't to be and it's a hard one to take."
WIth Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Stewart Downing, Alex Song and Cheikhou
Kouyate all missing with injury, the Hammers may have been up against it at
Everton, but Tomkins said the level of their performance was an indicator of
the strength in the squad. "We had a lot of players out and it shows the
squad depth we have now," he continued. "It was a good effort from us but
[the result was] not quite there."
Tomkins had to play the last 40 or so minutes in midfield when Mark Noble
hobbled off and he was happy to do his bit in the engine room of the team.
He continued: "I've played there a few times, mainly in the Championship,
but also in the Premier League, and I just want to do a job for the team
wherever I play. "When Nobes got injured I had to go in there and do a job
and I'm just disappointed we didn't get a result."
Next up for the Hammers is a home game with Newcastle and the No5 is looking
forward to putting the wrongs of Saturday right. "There were positives to
take as we go into Newcastle next week," he said. "We had a lot of crosses
and we're still looking good for the next game.
"If we can get a couple of the players fit who are out too we'll be in good
shape."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Everton 2 West Ham 1
22 November 2014
Last updated at 17:58
By James McMath
BBC Sport
Leon Osman marked his 400th Everton appearance with the winning goal in the
Toffees' victory over West Ham United. The 33-year-old midfielder slid in to
convert Samuel Eto'o's low cross as Everton made it six matches unbeaten.
Romelu Lukaku's fifth goal of the season gave Everton the lead after Ross
Barkley's blocked shot fell into his path. Substitute Mauro Zarate had
levelled for West Ham after his shot struck Phil Jagielka and looped over
Tim Howard. Osman's goal - his 55th for his club - proved decisive in a
heated encounter as Everton made it 13 Premier League matches against the
Hammers without defeat.
Sam Allardyce could point to the absence of five key players through injury,
with top scorer Diafra Sakho joined on the sidelines by Enner Valencia,
Stewart Downing, Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyate. Andy Carroll came in, and
started brightly, releasing Carl Jenkinson with a crossfield pass and
looping a header over from a Aaron Cresswell delivery. However, it was
Everton who opened the scoring midway through the first half after a slice
of good fortune. West Ham's last Premier League victory over Everton came in
April 2007, when Bobby Zamora scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Upton
Park. Barkley's shot deflected off Winston Reid and James Collins before the
ball broke for Lukaku. The Belgian appeared to be offside but the flag
stayed down as he fired his fifth goal of the season beyond goalkeeper
Adrian.
James McCarthy was in the Everton XI, despite controversially pulling out of
the Ireland squad for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland. And the
midfielder was at the centre of a heated exchange in the latter stages of
the first half when his foul on Morgan Amalfitano prompted an angry reaction
from several West Ham players. McCarthy was booked, as was Reid for
confronting the Everton man.
Allardyce, whose side were looking to make it six league matches unbeaten
for the first time since 2009, brought on Matt Jarvis and Zarate in place of
Carlton Cole and Mark Noble six minutes into the second half and it paid off
within five minutes as the visitors levelled.
Zarate's shot from 25 yards took a big deflection off Jagielka and looped
beyond Tim Howard in the Everton goal. The tactical switch had given West
Ham greater attacking threat but it also left them more vulnerable at the
back. And Everton took advantage, creating the winning goal with a swift
counter attack. Referee Mark Clattenburg allowed play on after Collins
brought down Lukaku and it proved a good decision as Eto'o broke and
delivered a low cross to pick out Osman sliding in at the back post. Eto
should have made it 3-1 in time added on but side-footed wide from Osman's
low cross from the right.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Everton 2-1 West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 22nd November 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's five match unbeaten run came to a predictable end at Goodison
Park this afternoon - courtesy of another baffling decision by the match
officials. Mark Clattenburg has a long history of making game-changing
decisions and so it was the case once again when he allowed Romelu Lukaku's
clearly offside goal to stand. And although the Hammers corrected that
particular wrong shortly after the restart, Leon Osman's 76th minute strike
was enough to earn the home side all three points and condemn Sam
Allardyce's side to a first defeat since the end of September.
Sam Allardyce already had his hands tied before the interference of
Clattenburg, having lost an incredible FIVE players during the international
break - Alex Song, Cheik Kouyate, Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and Stewart
Downing all being ruled out of contention.
That meant a first start of the season for Andy Carroll, who was to end the
game deeply frustrated at the lack of service he was provided with during
the afternoon - much the same as the rest of his team mates who were unable
to grab a second equaliser, having initially restored parity 11 minutes
after the half time break courtesy of a Jagielka own goal.
Everton started the game strongly and Mirallas, Lukaku and Naismith all
squandered early chances to break the deadlock. When they finally did it was
through Lukaku's 26th-minute offside effort; Ross Barkley's shot was blocked
by James Collins before falling to the offside Belgian who slammed the ball
into an empty net, with Adrian wrong-footed.
Just 11 minutes later the striker was disappointed to find the net again
only to see his effort ruled out - correctly this time - for offside.
Moments later Clattenburg again angered the travelling contingent when a
dreadful challenge from behind on Morgan Amalfitano by Naismith resulted in
a yellow card, not red. Annoyingly, Winston Reid was also booked in the
melee for his reaction to Naismith's challenge - a caution that will see him
miss next week's match against Newcastle having reached the five-game limit.
Just five minutes into the second half Sam Allardyce decided to throw
caution to the wind and introduced Matt Jarvis and Mauro Zarate. Just five
minutes later the Argentinian levelled the scores when his shot took a
wicked deflection off Jagielka, looping over Howard into an empty net.
At that stage of the game it seemed as if only one side would win the game -
that being the Hammers, who began to pile on the pressure as Everton visibly
creaked. However a classic counter attack by the visitors was to cost West
Ham a share of the spoils.
Having broken from a United attack, a long ball found Lukaku who laid the
ball out wide before James Collins cynically attempted to prevent him from
progressing any further. Eto'o made for the byeline before crossing for
Osman, who steered the ball home at the far post.
Although West Ham huffed and puffed in search of what would have been a
second equaliser, there was to be no repeat of the 2-2 draw at Stoke
recently.
And whilst the Hammers will feel aggrieved at losing the game due to
a(nother) dreadful call by a so-called top-class referee, Allardyce will at
least be able to take comfort from another decent performance - even if it
was one that ultimately ended in failure.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lukaku and Osman goals help Everton to 2-1 win over West Ham
Last Updated: 22/11/14 7:54pm
SSN
Leon Osman's second goal of the season sealed a 2-1 victory for Everton over
high-flying West Ham at Goodison Park. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for
Everton in the first half with Osman's 73rd-minute strike sandwiching a West
Ham reply by Mauro Zarate.
Best of the game
Man of the match: Leon Osman, rounding off his 400th appearance for the
Toffees with the winning goal in the second half.
Attempt of the match: James McCarthy's long-range shot in the second half
fizzed just over the bar.
Save of the match: Adrian made a smart stop with his legs when it looked
easier for James Collins to score from around five yards out.
Talking point: Never nice to highlight an embarrassing dive, but Ross
Barkley throwing himself to the ground when not even touched by Kevin Nolan
should be addressed.
Goal of the match: With the other two goals rather scrappy, Osman's winner
takes the honour and it was great work from the vastly-experienced Samuel
Eto'o to set him up, not to mentioned some excellent refereeing by Mark
Clattenburg to wave 'play on' in the build-up.
The win takes Everton up to 17 points in the Premier League, one behind West
Ham, who started the day in fourth place. In the 26th minute, Ross Barkley
cleverly controlled a headed pass from Naismith to wrongfoot a defender but,
as he shaped to strike the ball, it was blocked.
The wild deflection fell kindly to Lukaku, in space on the left of the
six-yard box, and the Belgium international calmly gave West Ham's Spanish
keeper Adrian little chance as he swept it in for the opening goal. Eleven
minutes later Lukaku put the ball in the back of the net for a second time
but was ruled off-side.
In the second half, Argentine striker Zarate, who had only just come on for
West Ham as a substitute, picked the ball up on the right in the 56th
minute, ran across the top of the Everton box and fired through several
defenders. The ball hit Jagielka's out-stretched leg and took a big
deflection over the advancing Tim Howard, who could do nothing to prevent
the ball looping high over his head and into the net for the equaliser.
James McCarthy went close for Everton three minutes later after running at
James Tomkins, cutting inside and curling a beautiful shot just past the far
corner of the goal.
Close
The decisive goal came in the 73rd minute after Lukaku broke quickly over
the half-way line and James Collins took him out. Ref Mark Clattenburg
played an excellent advantage and Samuel Eto'o, on as a substitute for Kevin
Mirallas, collected the ball to thread a perfect ball across the box to
Osman racing in on the far side. And midfielder Osman made no mistake to put
Everton back in front with his second goal of the season. Moments later
Howard kept Everton in front with a point-blank save with his legs from
Collins. In the dying minutes Osman and Eto'o again combined with a
wonderful one-two on the edge of the West Ham box, Osman pulling it back in
front of the goal only for the Cameroon international to hit it hard - but
wide.
Paul Merson
Paul Merson said Sam Allardyce will feel disappointed with the result,
despite West Ham having a lot injuries. I was quite impressed with West Ham.
With the amount of injuries they had, they did alright. You take five
players out for a team like West Ham and send them to Everton and you think
they'd get done, but they were really good. Lukaku might have been offside
for Everton's first goal, the equaliser. I think he got lucky. But then West
Ham were very good, moved the ball quickly and put crosses in and put
Everton under pressure. Then, against the run of play, Everton went down the
other end of the park and Osman scored.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce 'baffled' by referee's opening goal decision
Last Updated: 22/11/14 7:08pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce was annoyed with the officials for not ruling
out Everton's first goal in their 2-1 defeat at Goodison Park.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he was "baffled" by the decision which
handed Everton their opening goal in the 2-1 win at Goodison Park. Even a
post-match explanation from referee Mark Clattenburg as to why Romelu
Lukaku's strike was allowed to stand - despite him being offside immediately
before Ross Barkley's shot rebounded to him - failed to appease the Hammers
boss.Allardyce said he will be taking up the matter with officials' chief
Mike Riley next week. "A little bit of it was our fault but that decision
baffled me so we have to be frustrated," said Allardyce. "The first shot was
blocked by Winston Reid and it falls to Lukaku who is two yards offside.
"For me there will be some way forward next week for an explanation. "I have
had an explanation from the referee but I won't discuss that publicly, I'll
discuss it privately with the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials
Limited) next week."
After a couple of meaty challenges from Everton's James McCarthy - who
provoked an all-out melee after going over the top on Morgan Amalfitano -
and Steven Naismith, Allardyce, whose sides down the years have been accused
of being over-physical, claimed they asked Clattenburg for greater
protection."I think they were yellow cards. Naismith's challenge on Mark
Noble was probably the worst of all and because there wasn't a furore it
went unnoticed," he added. "Noble ended up coming off injured because of
that. "They showed a certain degree of physicality and we had to ask the
referee to protect us and I don't think he did that too well."It is a part
of the game we accept but the most frustrating thing is our controllables.
"We have been very good this year at converting chances with very good
delivery in the final third but our finishing was not good enough and
because of that we have ended up losing and a referee's decision has
contributed to it."
Allardyce was also unhappy about the way his side conceded the winner. It
came from a quick counter-attack and saw Clattenburg make the right choice
in playing advantage when Lukaku was fouled. Clattenburg's decision allowed
Leon Osman to score on his 400th appearance after Mauro Zarate had equalised
four minutes after coming off the bench. "One punt up the middle was a
hugely disappointing way to concede," said the West Ham boss. "There are
opportunities when Everton try to get Lukaku in to get running at players
but to allow him to get in from a clearance, defensively that was the only
disappointing thing today and unfortunately it has cost us a goal."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Kevin Nolan unhappy with Romelu Lukaku's goal for Everton
Last Updated: 22/11/14 10:28pm
SSN
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is unhappy referee Mark Clattenburg allowed
Romelu Lukaku's opener stand in the 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Lukaku appeared to collect the ball while in an off-side position after Ross
Barkley's shot was cleared off the line by a combination of Winston Reid and
James Collins. Several West Ham players remonstrated with Clattenburg after
he awarded the goal and Nolan was far from amused with the explanation that
he was offered by the referee. "It was quite strange what he said," Nolan
told Sky Sports News HQ. "He said our defender passed the ball to him which
I don't really get. "It's a block and it's a cop-out if the referee and the
linesman are saying that because at the end of the day it was a block. The
lad's shooting at goal and the defenders on the line are throwing themselves
at the ball and Lukaku was in an off-side position. "That's the be all and
end all and you can never ever defend it. You've just got to hold your hands
up and say 'I got it wrong'. Then we've got to take it on the chin and he's
got to take it on the chin.
"It's just disappointing when they come up with silly things like that."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
EVERTON 2, WEST HAM 1. RE-ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE.
By David Hautzig 22 Nov 2014 at 19:08
West Ham Till I Die
If I'm exaggerating here, it's only by a little bit. We could win 150 games
on the trot, and Everton could be winless for month's…. and we would all
expect to lose at Goodison. Hell, we wouldn't expect much better at Upton
Park. We don't beat Everton. The last time we did was 2007. Before that, I
think you have to go back to the parting of the Red Sea. And to add insult
to injury, or in this case injury to possible insult, after being relatively
knock free of late we come into today's game missing some key players;
•Stuart Downing hurt his knee playing for England. Well done, Roy. You play
him out of the position that got him the call up in the first place, making
it an utter waste of his time. I hate International Breaks.
•Diafra Sakho, after looking like he could be a Superhero flying around
London saving damsels in distress when he's not playing football, has a back
injury.
•Enner Valencia is hurt. I don't know where it happened. I don't care. I'm
just pissed off about it.
•Cheikhou Kouyaté injured his knee. He played in the ACN on Wednesday and
only trained with us yesterday. Have I told you I hate International Breaks?
•Alex Song. Huh? Where the hell did that come from? First cup of coffee,
kids are still asleep, and I see that. Great. Bet you I open the door now to
find my car stolen.
The starting lineup caused a stir on Twitter (as if that's any surprise).
For the longest time we called for Sam to play two up front. Today, with so
many of the players we have depended on to do just that unavailable, nobody
would have been shocked to see us revert back to a lone striker and a
prayer. So the fact that both Carroll and Cole started at least cemented the
two up top plan. I would have much rather seen Zarate, but Cole has played
fairly well so far this year. Sam got the benefit of the doubt from me, but
not many others. As for his decision to go with five at the back, that
seemed very risky. Why play all three center backs when you only have three
in the squad?
The game began in the way many West Ham supporters expected. Everton had the
lion's share of the ball, and we tried to play crosses into our returning
Big Man. In the third minute Jenkinson played what would be the first of
many balls into the box, only to have Tim Howard grab it before AC could get
there. A few minutes later Carlton Cole won the ball from James McCarthy,
although he didn't actually do anything other than chase McCarthy so closely
that the ball popped out. That led to Andy Carroll feeding Jenkinson down
the right side, who slid a low cross across the goalmouth. Jagielka
deflected it away, but to be honest the only West Ham player trying to
attack the ball was Carroll and he wasn't that close.
The ninth minute gave a glimpse of what Sam's plan seemed to be. Tomkins
launched a ball into the box that Carroll won. To be fair, regardless of
what anybody might say about him, Andy wins most of the balls launched at
him. Maybe if somebody else had been on the end of his knock down the
results would have been different. But it was Carlton Cole, and he couldn't
handle it. Then a cross from Cresswell found Carroll, but it lacked the pace
needed for any header off the end of it to be effective, and it sailed high.
Even with a second striker out there, Carroll looked isolated. Kind of like
when you are asked to move a sofa and the guy on the other end can barely
lift it off the ground.
Despite the home side having close to 80% possession in the opening ten
minutes, it didn't look all that bad for West Ham. Any time an Everton
player touched the ball, he was hounded. Harassed. Bothered. They didn't
have any time to turn with the ball and plan their next move. That was
encouraging, and I'm guessing Sam was happy about that.
In the 14th minute, Steven Naismith should have made it 1-0. The reason he
didn't was because after he passed to Lukaku in what he expected to be a
give and go, Lukaku decided it was just a give. No go. Adrian handled
Lukaku's shot easily.
A few minutes later the home side had another opportunity that should have
opened the scoring, but didn't. Osman laid a terrific through ball for
Coleman, who cut the ball back to a wide open Naismith. But his shot went so
far over the bar that Adrian barely moved.
Fans of the English Premier League often chide the fans and players in Serie
A and La Liga for their propensity to simulate. OK, I'll just call it what
it is. Diving. But today, we saw some pretty shameful play acting from both
sides. The first was from Ross Barkley, who dove through the air without
even being touched by Kevin Nolan's breath, to win a free kick. Thankfully
nothing came of it. Then Naismith worked himself into another dangerous
position when he took advantage of a deflected ball off his chest, but his
shot was from an extreme angle.
The pressure from Everton was mounting, and you could feel a goal coming. It
did, when Diving Barkley's shot deflected off of Winston Reid's heel, right
to Lukaku. Adrian was moving to his left, the direction Barkley's shot was
going. So when it fell Lukaku, the net was wide open. Not going to miss
that. Replays showed that Lukaku was definitely in an offside position when
Barkley took his shot. I asked my Twitter mate @RockyWHU to clarify the rule
there. We may both be wrong, but since the ball deflected off a West Ham
player was Lukaku still offside? I'm just putting it out there.
Everton 1, West Ham 0.
The pre-game fears about our formation, with only three in the midfield,
were playing themselves out to be more like premonitions. Without Song or
Kouyate available to get the ball from the back line, we couldn't play the
ball through the midfield. Nolan was….uhhhhh…..ineffective. So the full
backs were left to try and push the ball upfield, which was probably part of
Sam's plan. Most of those attacks came down the right side, with Jenkinson
trying to find Carroll. That happened again in the 30th minute, but despite
showing good athleticism Carroll's header sailed wide. Another one minutes
later was from too far out. Then a low cross from Jenkinson, followed by a
dummy from Cole was just behind Carroll. The ideas were there, but the
execution wasn't. Oh, to have Valencia or Sakho.
The 32nd minute presented the first real opportunity for West Ham when a
sloppy pass from Distin was intercepted by Nolan and laid off for
Amalfitano. His shot was off target, but to be fair that was his only bad
moment of the game. In fact, Morgan was our best player in the first half.
Running at the Everton defense, showing glimpses of the creativity that made
him so effective against Liverpool and Unreal City. The Everton players knew
it, too, and they decided to do something about it.
Minutes after Noble was roughed up by a cynical challenge from Naismith,
McCarthy went after Amalfitano. He came a long way to get to his target, and
with studs right on top of Amalfitano's foot he got it. The proverbial ice
hockey game broke out, with pushing and shoving on all ends. McCarthy saw a
yellow card, as did Winston Reid. The latter means Reid won't be available
for next week's game against Newcastle. Clattenburg is usually a pretty good
ref for us. Not so today.
West Ham had one final mini opportunity right before halftime when Carroll
used his strength to win the ball in midfield. He ran with it towards the
box and fired, but his shot was wide.
Halftime.
Most West Ham fans took to Twitter to demand that Cole be taken of for
Zarate. It didn't happen at first, but in the 50th minute the clubs official
Twitter account not only acknowledged the fans demands, but announced that
Zarate was indeed getting ready to enter the game. Seconds later, he did
just that along with Matt Jarvis. Cole and a limping Noble came off,
possibly still feeling the effects of the Naismith challenge. Tomkins was
moved out of the five man defense and into midfield. Sam did that a lot in
the Championship, with mixed results. OK, mostly bad. But today the options
were limited.
The new formation paid dividends immediately. Zarate won West Ham their
first corner of the game by doing nothing more than running at a defender.
See, Sam? It worked. The corner came to Carroll, who fired a ball right into
Barkley's chest. After his first half dive I was sort of hoping it broke one
of his ribs. No such luck.
Then, instead of waiting for some luck, West Ham made some. Zarate and
Amalfitano worked a nice one-two. When Zarate got the ball back, his shot
deflected off of Jagielka and over Howard. Zarate wants to run. He wants to
get into the area. Does he do everything Sam wants of him all the time?
Probably not. But you need players like that, and when you have them you can
make your own good fortunes when they were otherwise hiding.
Everton 1, West Ham 1.
West Ham looked energized by their equalizer. Carroll made a great pass to
Jenkinson, who then played a cross into the box that Howard had to punch out
of danger. Everton looked like they wanted to prevent West Ham from feeling
too optimistic when McCarthy got the ball on the left, cut inside, and fired
a long range shot wide.
Amalfitano was still West Ham's best player, so Everton decided one nasty
challenge in the first half wasn't enough to take him down. Mirallas decided
to take his best shot and received a yellow card for his troubles. That's
when West Ham got into the acting game. Tomkins reacted to the Mirallas
tackle with a silly push. Mirallas pushed back, touching Tomkins chest.
Obviously the chest pain shot up to his cheeks, and JT grabbed his face.
Maybe he was angling for a move to Sampdoria? Embarrassing.
In the 63rd minute Naismith skillfully controlled a long pass from Osman
with his chest and sent Lukaku through on goal. His pass was just a bit too
far to the left, forcing the hefty Belgian into a bad angle. Then came the
kind of substitution you simply know will have an effect on a game. Mirallas
off, Eto'o on. I bet each and every one of us had some vision of him hurting
us at some point.
From the West Ham point of view, everything was going through Zarate. Both
good, and a little bad. In the 67th minute he tracked back to win the ball
right outside of our box…only to lose it seconds later. I wonder which
moment Sam will remember? Zarate then won a free kick down the left side.
The ball eventually found its way to Amalfitano whose shot was deflected
wide for a corner.
This is not Nolan bashing, but he had a lousy game. His only decent moment
came in the 71st minute when his long pass fell perfectly into the path of
Matt Jarvis. But instead of putting his shot across the goal, he went for
the near post….and it was nowhere near the goal. Moments later Jenkinson won
another corner, but nothing came of that either.
The visions of Eto'o hurting us turned into reality a minute later when
Everton launched a counter attack. Collins brought down Lukaku a few yards
past the center circle, but Clattenburg rightfully played the advantage. The
ball fell to Eto'o. A younger player may have rushed it, passed too early,
or shot it wildly. But class is class, and Eto'o has oodles of it. He slid a
ball perfectly to Osman who tapped it in.
Everton 2, West Ham 1.
West Ham came very close to a second equalizer when Matt Jarvis's low shot
found James Collins directly in front of Howard. Ginge tried to redirect the
ball into the net, but Howard made a fine save.
Ross Barkley came off in the 79th minute for Muhamed Besic. Not particularly
noteworthy, but figured since I made a note of it I'd include it.
The next substitution was beyond baffling to me. In the 82nd minute, Vaz Te
climbed out of whatever hole Sam had been keeping him in and entered the
game. OK, fine. But when every single West Ham fan likely expected Nolan to
come off, Amalfitano got the hook.
Our best player overall on the day. Off.
Our worst player overall on the day. Stayed.
Zarate won another corner in the 84th minute, and Carroll once again got to
it. His header was off target, and he tried to claim it deflected off
Naismith. Replays showed no such thing.
Five minutes of added time gave West Ham a bit of hope that at least there
was time to salvage a draw. Problem was, Everton controlled the majority of
those five minutes. It should have been 3-1 when Eto'o couldn't convert a
pass from Coleman right in front of Adrian.
West Ham had one chance. A deflection off of Jenkinson landed right in front
of Vaz Te, with space on the right side. Here was his chance to show who he
was. Which he did, with a useless ball that flew over the bar for a goal
kick. A final cross by Jenkinson, his 732nd of the game, was grabbed by my
fellow American and Everton ran out the clock.
I guess it's time to release the parachute, fire the retro rockets, and
prepare to come back down to earth. I can't say I didn't expect the result.
I did. I actually put a 2-1 loss down in my pool. But with so many of our
best players out, a bus parking attempt at a 0-0 draw like we tried last
year wouldn't have shocked me. Instead, we played. And at times played well
enough to have gotten a result. Would things have been different had Zarate
started instead of Cole? Who knows. I won't get in to those "what ifs". We
were in it. It could have ended differently. Most trips to Goodison don't
even let us think that.
I'm looking forward to seeing them at our place later this year.
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West Ham fans react to Zarate's display against Everton
HITC
Olly Dawes
West Ham slipped to a 2-1 loss at Everton, but fans were full of praise for
striker Mauro Zarate. West Ham striker Mauro Zarate has been out of picture
lately, which has led to speculation that he could head back to Italy and
sign for Torino In January. That led to manager Sam Allardyce demanding that
the Argentine fought for his place rather than leave the club, and with his
Hammers side 1-0 down at Everton this afternoon, he turned to the former
Inter Milan forward for help. Just six minutes into the second half, Zarate
was brought on in place of Carlton Cole, and he made an almost instant
impact, cutting inside from the right and hitting a deflected shot over Tim
Howard to bring West Ham level. Zarate continued to cause problems for the
Everton defence throughout, but could do nothing as Leon Osman slid in to
convert Samuel Eto'o cross into the net to give the Toffees the win. It was
a blow for West Ham to lose the game having fought back to equalise, but
Zarate's display was a welcome boost given his recent absence. West Ham fans
took to Twitter after the game to praise Zarate for his performance, with
some fans comparing him to his compatriot Lionel Messi and West Ham legend
Paolo Di Canio. That's high praise for Zarate, but some were still concerned
over his lack of defensive ability.
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Two more Irons injury worries
Posted by Sean Whetstone on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
There are concerns for two more Hammers tonight following this afternoon's
physical game with Everton at Goodison Park. Mark Noble hobbled off in the
51st minute to be replaced Matt Jarvis. Earlier in the match Noble was
fouled an flattened by Naismith who himself was stretchered off later in
the game. Morgan Amalfitano seemed also to take a battering especially from
a bad foul from McCartney which could easily have seen the Everton player
sent off. Amalfitano was also limping during the game and was subbed on 82
minutes to be replaced by Ricardo Vaz Te, hopefully as a precaution. The
latest injury scares come on the back of injuries to Valencia, Sakho,
Downing, Song and Kouyate all of which were declared unfit to play today.
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Injured five may be out for a while!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham's injury crisis looks set to stretch into the next two or three
weeks! ClaretandHugh has learned over the last few minutes that the five who
missed today's game are struggling with knocks and problems which could see
them miss the games against Newcastle or WBA.
We understand that Chiekhou Kouyate is the most likely to be available and
he was absent today after returning from his international duties exhausted.
We were told by a source: "There's a variety of reasons for the injuries –
knocks from the Stoke and Aston Villa games from which recovery has been
slower than expected whilst the Senegal boys had problems while on
international duty. "Given the circumstances we thought the team produced a
highly spirited performance in very difficult circumstances today and we
deserved better than a 2-1 defeat."
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LEROY: Unlucky Hammers show great spirit
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 22, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham can consider themselves very unlucky to have lost a game from which
they definitely deserved a point! For starters Everton's opener from Lukaku
was at least two yards offside and that's the kind of break you can do
without when stripped of five of your best players. But despite that, the
Hammers battled well, particularly in the second half, and were worth at
least a point against a very average Everton side. It was a little
surprising to see Cole and Carroll line up together and to be honest I
didn't see much link up work going on between them. And not surprisingly –
shorn of so many good players – we lacked quality where it mattered. Having
said that nobody could fault their attitude in a game which was nasty and
niggly at time. Mauro Zarate was nice and bright and scored soon after he
arrived and showed he really should have a first team future at the club.
However, what this game did show was how absolutely excellent Sakho and
Valencia are as a strike force and the other missing players were obviously
badly missed. However, to see the team show so much fight and spirit and
come within a tiny margin of getting the result they deserved really does
demonstrate how far we have come this season.
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