WHUFC.com
The reserves play their second consecutive London derby on Tuesday evening
03.11.2009
West Ham United reserves will be looking to build on an encouraging result
in Poland last week when they return to league action on Tuesday evening
Alex Dyer's side shared four goals with Polish side Arka in a special
friendly last week as they bounced back from two straight defeats in the
Barclays Premier Reserve League South. Dyer is expected to once again name a
youthful team, but can call upon Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson and Anthony Edgar
once more following their return from loan spells at Cheltenham Town and
Bournemouth respectively. "We've got another young side playing and they're
going to have to come to the table and work and learn this is part of their
development," Dyer said. "It doesn't matter what side we put out, we are
representing West Ham United and they should be at that level now where they
can handle reserve-team football. "As long as they give 100 per cent and
work hard everything else will come with it. The team has got enough to go
to Fulham and get the right result."
Both teams are level on four points each but the Hammers' superior goal
difference means they sit sixth in the table with the Cottagers a place
below. As usual, whufc.com will have live text updates from Motspur Park
this evening. Kick-off is at 7pm.
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Carr backing Bondz
WHUFC.com
Tony Carr thinks that Bondz N'Gala will get a lot from his loan spell at
Scunthorpe United
02.11.2009
Academy Director Tony Carr believes that Bondz N'Gala will benefit from his
loan spell at Scunthorpe United. Carr has overseen the imposing central
defender's development since he joined the club as a 13-year-old as he has
gone from schoolboy to the fringes of the first team and he believes the
temporary move to Glanford Park will be another key stage of the
20-year-old's development. "It's great experience for any of these young
boys to go out and play league football," Carr said. "It brings home the
reality of what the game is about. Every point is vital, every win is three
points and every defeat brings pressure. "It's a great learning curve for
these young boys to go out and play with that little bit of pressure and
that little bit of sharp edge in front of fans and to places that they
haven't been before. They can only come back better for it."
N'Gala made three appearances during a loan spell at MK Dons last season,
but Carr believes the step up to the Championship with Scunthorpe, where he
will team up with fellow loanee Jordan Spence, will test the Forest
Gate-born youngster further. "Jordan Spence is there as is our old player
Grant McCann, who is doing very well, so we'll have three Academy players
playing there at once. Bondz needs to get out and play if he's not in the
first-team mix and try to get to as many games possible."
Spence has already admitted that living away from the familiarity of London
has been a rewarding experience for him and now N'Gala must learn those same
lessons. "I think moving away will help them grow up and find out what they
are about as individuals. Things like having to familiarise themselves with
digs they are not familiar with or the loneliness of staying in a hotel in
an area they're not familiar with and he will have to get to know the other
players. "So it's as much about his development on the pitch as about
adjusting to everything, he's just got to adjust and show what he's about."
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Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Gianfranco Zola has two major matches this week and has already taken on
board the lessons of the weekend
02.11.2009
The Boleyn Ground will be busy this week as Aston Villa and Everton arrive
for two matches in quick succession that could go a long way to defining the
season's fortunes.
A win on Wednesday against Villa would lift the Hammers out of the bottom
three. A second success on Sunday against Everton could propel the team into
mid-table and would surely raise hopes of a season looking up rather than
down. With the team back in training since Sunday - around 12 hours after
they returned from the north-east - there is certainly a determination in
the squad to get back to winning ways.
Gianfranco Zola's men head into the matches on the back of two contrasting
2-2 draws that have delighted and frustrated the manager in equal measure.
First was the thrilling fightback against Arsenal before last Saturday's
showing at Sunderland, when the home side gave the Hammers a taste of their
own medicine by themselves battling for a draw from a losing position.
The knowledge that Arsenal and their manager Arsene Wenger had been through
what he had experienced at the weekend did not offer any comfort when
reflecting further on the Stadium of Light drama. "It's not possible for the
team to play like it did in the first half and then we let them in as we
did," said Zola. "That's something that we have to correct because it's
keeping us in a position in which we don't deserve to be. It's all down to
these problems. We have to sort it out.
"When you are in a position where you are in control against a team that it
is one man down, we have to keep it that way, no matter what. I believe that
in the second half, the atmosphere and their willingness and desire to come
back impressed us and we didn't play."
The manager was understandably encouraged by Carlton Cole's sixth goal in
ten league games - he is already just four short of the tally achieved in 27
top-flight outings last season - and the impact of Guille Franco, who scored
a fine opener for the visitors and so nearly converted a second-half header.
The manager also pointed out that the Mexico striker's disappointment at his
substitution was solely down to personal frustration.
"Carlton Cole is very difficult to handle when he's playing like he is now,
and he was impressive. I was pleased for him that he scored a goal and he
should have got another one but that's okay. I was pleased with Franco, too.
I don't think he was angry because I took him off - I think it was because
he mis-controlled the ball a couple of times."
Jack Collison also earned praise for his two assists but the manager's
overriding sensation was one of what might have been had the first-half
tempo been sustained. "We didn't play in the second half, we didn't play.
Otherwise the game would've finished with a different result. It could have
been much more than two goals and I'm upset about that. It's a pity to see a
team play like we did in the first half and not get a victory."
Zola left his players in no doubt about his annoyance at the weekend. "I am
hard enough with the team, when it is necessary," he said when quizzed about
his post-game response once the team had returned to the dressing rooms.
However, he also could not ignore that his team have gone toe-to-toe with
two good teams in successive outings and more than held their own.
"I have mixed feelings because it's not the first time we've played like
that. In recent weeks we've been playing really good football and, really,
it's a pity because we should have more points than we've got."
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Captain targets Villa victory
WHUFC.com
Matthew Upson believes West Ham United have the quality to beat Aston Villa
on Wednesday night
02.11.2009
Matthew Upson said victory against Aston Villa this Wednesday would provide
a 'massive' boost to everyone connected with West Ham United. Speaking to
WHUTV, the Hammers captain told of his belief that Gianfranco Zola's side
are fully capable of putting together a string of wins that would see them
shoot up the Barclays Premier League table.
To do so, however, the England defender admitted they would have to learn
how to 'kill off' their opponents after seeing a two-goal lead disappear in
Saturday's 2-2 draw at Sunderland.
"It does feel different to the Arsenal game. In the end, after the chances
they had, I guess it was a good result for us," he said. "It was
disappointing the way we didn't really kill off the game and take all three
points. It does feel like two points dropped."
When asked why the Hammers had been unable to hold the Black Cats at bay at
the Stadium of Light, Upson said he and his team-mates would be looking deep
within themselves to find answers.
"It's a difficult thing to talk about, really. It's something we need to
sort out between ourselves and have a good look at the reasons as to why
that's happening and we need to deal with it. It's something we need to
focus on.
"We should win the game, it's as simple as that. I'm really stuck for words
trying to explain the game, but we have to move on and take positives out of
it. We've come to a tough place with good home support and really have
looked like a good side."
As skipper, senior professional and England international, the 30-year-old
is experienced enough to know that one victory can turn things around, and
he is determined to secure that victory when Villa visit the Boleyn Ground
in midweek.
West Ham will welcome back Scott Parker following a one-match ban and,
despite the difference in league position between the two sides, Upson
insisted there is little, if anything, to choose between them in terms of
overall quality.
"We don't look like we should be at the bottom, but we are and that's the
reality of the situation. We need to analyse the reasons why we're there and
do something about. I'm sure we'll pick up and start to climb the table, but
until those things come into action, we're going to keep dropping points
like we did on Saturday.
"It would be massive to beat Villa. We need a win. We need those three
points to drag us back in. We can go on a run and we can win matches. We're
a good enough team to win matches. There is no doubt about it. That next win
with will be a big boost for us."
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Bruce blasts Hammers' 'theatrics'
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 2nd November 2009
By: Staff Writer
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has accused West Ham of play-acting following
Saturday's 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light. Bruce's anger centred on the
incident involving Herita Ilunga and Kenwyne Jones that saw the Trinidadian
striker instantly dismissed by referee Andre Marriner for shoving the
full-back to the ground. The Sunderland boss accused the African left-back -
who has only recently recovered from a jaw injury - and the club's medical
team of over-egging the pudding for their reaction to the incident.
"Kenwyne's wrong - he's pushed him. We know the law of the game," an angry
Bruce told the BBC. "But is there any need to go down the way he does?
"Then I see a medical man with an ice pack on his eye as if he's got
battered... there's nothing there, he pushed him in the chest. "All the
theatrics, we don't want to see it. We've got a marvellous spectacle here
and that's one thing we've got to guard against. We all know Kenwyne was
wrong, I'm not going to try and defend it - however the boy's falling around
the place as if he's been poleaxed. We don't want to see that. "Referees
have a difficult job but the players have got to look at themselves and say
'come on, we've got to stop this nonsense'. Feigning injury and rolling
aorund the pitch when there's nothing wrong with you."
Bruce - who conveniently failed to comment on Steed Malbranque's dive that
led to Sunderland's first goal - admitted that the Hammers could have won
the game in the closing stages, but claimed that for much of the time it was
his team who appeared to have the numerical advantage. "It was a
breathtaking spectacle," he added. "2-0 down is always difficult in the
Premier League against any team. To go with ten men and the way they did it
was absolutely magnificent. At times you would have thought it was West Ham
with ten men. "Fatigue started to come into it in the last ten minutes. West
Ham had more of the game in the last ten minutes than they did in the whole
of the game probably. "But I couldn't complain."
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Zola on ... Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 1st November 2009
By: Staff Writer
A point gained - or two lost? Gianfranco Zola shares his thoughts on the 2-2
draw at Sunderland...
Their determination and desire was better than ours. They overcame the man
short that they had and the story was in that. We lost control of the game
from a game that was ours and we let them in, left an open door for them -
and you can't do that in this league. We paid for it. We had chances after
but it was too late.
It's not a matter of tactics as we were in control of the game and we had a
spare man, but we couldn't find a spare man. They were superior to us and
that why we are here crying because we should have had two more points.
Kovac didn't even see the guy. The guy took the ball and Kovac kicked the
player. There was no intention and he didn't even see him. Their player
could have had a yellow card but it was silly what he has done, and he
shouldn't have done it.
I was too upset to ask the referee anything and I didn't have the
opportunity to speak to him but you can see the game at any time and Kovac
didn't see Bent. He was kicking the ball and Bent was coming from behind so
he didn't see him. You can have a look on the video and confirm my words.
It is the second time we have had a man sent off where he didn't deserve it.
It's OK but I want to make it clear that it is not a complaint.
I'm not anxious about the situation. I am upset as it is not the first time
that we had the game under control and then leave the points behind. That
upsets me because we did not deserve it for the way we played. It is
something that we will have to come to terms with before the situation gets
worse.
For me, if the team plays like that then we should come out with a victory.
Their comeback was an easy situation like it was last week for us. It was
remarkable, the fighting spirit that they had and the desire to come back,
but we have to be a little more cynical in situations like that as in my
opinion the game was finished.
It's not a matter of being ten or eleven. You have to be a little more under
control and we lost it a little bit. That is why we are here with one point
and not three points. We lost control of the game and I cannot tolerate
that.
I don't like to criticise referees as they are human beings and sometimes
they can be put under pressure. The atmosphere was quite intense so that is
understandable. I have no blame for the referee, I'm just upset about our
second half.
We are not down, just upset. There have been other moments when we've been
feeling down but this is not the case. We are upset about what happened but
it won't happen again.
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Collison remains confident
Hammers midfielder insists winning run is close
By Chris Burton Last updated: 2nd November 2009
SSN
Jack Collison is adamant that West Ham are heading in the right direction
despite their lowly standing. The Hammers currently sit second from bottom
in the Premier League table, with only goal difference keeping them above
Portsmouth. They have experienced contrasting fortunes in their last two
outings, with consecutive 2-2 draws taken from fixtures against Arsenal and
Sunderland. Gianfranco Zola's side showed commendable resilience to snatch a
point against the Gunners, after falling 2-0 down, but were left
disappointed on Saturday after allowing a two-goal lead to slip against the
Black Cats. Those results prove that West Ham are capable of competing
against the best sides in the country, but they have done little to steer
them clear of trouble. Collison, though, feels that the Hammers can take
heart from their recent outings and is confident that the club can return to
winning ways in the not too distant future. "We are definitely getting
closer to stringing a few wins together," the Welsh midfielder said in the
Evening Standard. "There is a real desire in the squad and we are certain
there are some good results just around the corner. "The next two home games
(against Aston Villa and Everton) could mean six points and that might
change our season. The main plus is we are creating chances."
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Iron bring in Hammers defender
Spence backing N'Gala to make an impact at Glanford Park
Last updated: 2nd November 2009
SSN
Scunthorpe United have snapped up West Ham United defender Bondz N'Gala on
an initial month-long loan deal. N'Gala made his Hammers debut against
Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup in September and had a spell on loan at
MK Dons last season. He has now been allowed to link up with Scunthorpe, who
also have another Hammers youngster in Jordan Spence on the books. Spence is
confident that his team-mate can make an impact at Glanford Park and has
outlined the qualities N'Gala will bring to Nigel Adkins' squad. "I played
with him for about five years, so I know him very well," Spence told the
Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. "He and I are quite close back at West Ham, so
it will be nice to have him up here and I know he certainly has a lot to
offer. "I'll let him show that in his performances, but he is a good solid
player with massive potential. "I think he will work great with the boys, he
is a good honest professional and, like a lot of us, is just trying to make
his way up through the ranks."
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Cana curses Ilunga 'cinema'
Black Cats skipper wants team-mates to learn from Jones' dismissal
Last updated: 2nd November 2009
SSN
Sunderland captain Lorik Cana feels Herita Ilunga's reaction was the key
factor in Kenwyne Jones being sent off against West Ham United. Jones was
dismissed just before half-time during Saturday's 2-2 draw at the Stadium of
Light after primarily pushing Ilunga in the chest. The Hammers full-back
fell to the ground clutching his face and Black Cats striker Jones was
promptly shown the red card by referee Andre Marriner. Black Cats boss Steve
Bruce has confirmed he will punish Jones for the dismissal, but expressed
his disappointment at Ilunga's reaction. It is a view shared by his skipper
Cana, who believes Sunderland need to learn from such situations in the
future. "He didn't really want to hurt him, he just pushed him a little
bit," said Cana. "It was the reaction of the opponent which got him the red
card. It should have been a booking, but he made a lot of cinema out of it.
"We must learn to be a little bit more experienced in these situations."
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The only way is up for bullish Jack Collison
Evening Standard
02.11.09
Jack Collison remains confident that West Ham will get out of trouble, even
though goal difference is the only thing keeping his side off the bottom of
the Premier League.
The midfielder created both goals in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland on
Saturday which earned his side a point after they had led 2-0. "We are
definitely getting closer to stringing a few wins together," said Collison.
"There is a real desire in the squad and we are certain there are some good
results just around the corner. The next two home games could mean six
points and that might change our season. The main plus is we are creating
chances."
Gianfranco Zola's team led through goals from Guillermo Franco and Carlton
Cole before Kenwyne Jones was sent off for pushing Herita Ilunga to the
ground. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was unhappy that the Hammers' medical
team treated Ilunga for an apparent head injury. He said: "Kenwyne was
stupid. He has pushed Ilunga - but that's all. When you see the play-acting,
then the medical people running on with an ice pack for an eye injury, it is
all just a ploy."
Andy Reid replied and 10-man Sunderland equalised through Kieran Richardson
in the 77th minute. West Ham also finished with 10 men, when Radoslav Kovac
was sent off for
his second yellow card three minutes from the end and will miss Wednesday's
home game against Aston Villa.
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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce fury over 'play-acting' in draw with West Ham
United
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, has delivered a withering critique of
Premier League footballers by warning they need to cut out "play-acting" and
start behaving like rugby players.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Rob Stewart
Published: 7:00AM GMT 02 Nov 2009
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, has delivered a withering critique of
Premier League footballers by warning they need to cut out "play-acting" and
start behaving like rugby players. Bruce lamented falling standards after
striker Kenwyne Jones was sent off for a push on Herita Ilunga that saw the
West Ham United defender's over-reaction prompt medical staff to rush to his
aid. Sport on television "They need to take a leaf out of a rugby player's
book," Bruce said. "A rugby player wouldn't fall over like that; get an ice
pack like that, for something as trivial as that. I'm embarrassed by his
actions really and would certainly be embarrassed if it was one of my
players. "Fair enough, he's pushed him but he goes down as if he has been
poleaxed. Refs have a difficult enough job without all this carry-on which
is creeping into our game: this diving, this play-acting, trying to get
people sent off."
Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, later confirmed Ilunga was unscathed.
Sunderland trailed 2-1 when Jones lost his temper but overcame his departure
to salvage a draw thanks to Kieran Richardson's late goal after Guillermo
Franco and Carlton Cole gave West Ham a two-goal lead - halved by Andy
Reid's excellent free-kick before Ilunga's theatrics. A win would have eased
West Ham's relegation worries but Jack Collison remains bullish about his
club's prospects despite their lowly status and Radoslav Kovac's sending off
for two bookable offences. "There is a real desire in the squad and we're
certain there are good results just around the corner," Collison said.
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