The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
WEST HAM'S survival problems have deepened with a growing rift between the
players and Avram Grant's No 2. Zeljko Petrovic was only appointed in July
by new boss Grant but virtually the entire first-team squad are unhappy with
his training methods and his 'arrogant' personality. An insider said: "I
think to a man the players don't like him. They think he is full of himself
for someone with so little experience of football over here."
The players feel training sessions with Petrovic are too basic and not
challenging enough to bring the best out of them as they scrap for survival
at the foot of the Premier League table. The insider added: "It's his first
job in English football and he doesn't seem to work the players hard
enough."
West Ham were unbeaten in their seven-match pre-season campaign working
under coaches Paul Groves and Kevin Keen. Petrovic was brought in over their
heads by Grant on July 28 - just over two weeks before the season started.
The in-fighting has been largely kept secret until now, although Hammers
striker Carlton Cole appeared to make his feelings clear to the unpopular
Petrovic when he was substituted in the second half of West Ham's woeful 3-0
defeat by Liverpool on Saturday. West Ham have won only one league match
this season - a 1-0 victory over Tottenham in September - and are now five
points adrift of safety. The club's top brass, chairmen David Gold and David
Sullivan, plus vice-chair Karren Brady are determined to stick by Grant
despite awful results and feeble displays. They are hoping to bring in even
more new coaches to assist Grant in his job of turning around a disastrous
run of form and results. Saturday's home fixture against fellow strugglers
Wigan has already taken on massive proportions with so much at stake so
early in the season.
West Ham fans called for Grant's head at Anfield on Saturday evening,
chanting 'you're getting sacked in the morning' to their own manager as the
team put up little resistance to trail by three goals at half time. The
insider said: "The place is unhappy from top to bottom. Petrovic is just one
of problems in the mix of things."
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Vinny's Liverpool Report
Vinny - Sun Nov 21 2010
West Ham Online
Liverpool 3 West Ham United 0
There is not much to say which has not been said already. This performance
showed everything which is wrong with West Ham this season. There was no
quality, no fight and no desire. The West Ham travelling support who
travelled the long distance to Liverpool were provided with a pathetic
attempt to get anything out of the game.
The moment the game had started we quite clearly had no belief that we could
get anything out of the game. There are far too many players in our squad
who do not look interested in playing for the team and if they are then
their form is so bad it is giving off this impression. Tactically Grant does
not help himself because playing this formation which leaves Cole up front
on his own and our best strikers Obinna & Piquionne on the wings does not
work. It hasn't worked this season and will continue not to work. We concede
goals far too easily and have so little quality at the back it makes it
simply for teams to slice us open.
Ilunga is inept and has been for such a long time. He is not good enough to
be starting at the moment and is nothing like the player who had such a good
season and voted the WHO Hammer Of The Year in 2008/09. The fans turned on
Avram Grant yesterday. The chants of 'Sacked in the morning' were a tad
harsh you could think but I could understand the anger from the supporters
given the way we crumbled so easily against the worst Liverpool side we are
likely to ever play.
David Sullivan has intimated that Grant will not be sacked but surely a loss
against Wigan next Saturday will make his postion untenable. We are still
bottom of the league and have won just the one game this season. We cannot
continue like this. I've tried to support Grant and I hate sacking managers
but just like Zola last season the facts are there for all to see and we are
in big big trouble. I cannot write a full match report on this game mainly
because I cannot imagine anyone actually wanting to go through that game
again.
Team: Green, Jacobsen, Gabbidon, Upson, Ilunga (Tomkins 76), Kovac, Noble,
Boa Morte, Obinna (Barrera 46), Piquionne, Cole (McCarthy 69)
Subs Not Used: Stech, Spector, Reid, Nouble
Bookings: Noble
Man Of The Match: Robert Green
Attendence: 43.024
Goals: Johnson (18), Kyut (27 Pen), Maxi (38)
The View From Grant
"It was not a good performance, "In the last weeks we have performed well,
better than our opponents, but we didn't win. Today we deserved to lose.
"It was not easy but I can take some positives from the second half. It
showed that it is not easy to break us even in a bad situation. "We have to
take that spirit into the next game against Wigan because that is very
important for us. We need to win. Even if there are a lot of games left we
need to start winning now." "The movement was not good. We didn't play well.
We conceded in the second phase of a corner [for the Johnson goal] and a
penalty [for the second from Kuyt] that was not a dangerous situation. "As
well as Parker, we missed a lot of players that were in good shape. Even
without them we should have performed better - as we did for the second
half." "The fans are always right. They came all the way. They wanted to see
a good performance and they didn't see that. That is what is important. It
was not because of the supporters that we didn't perform. They are always
right behind the team." "I am concerned only with my job and what I can
affect. "I will not only analyse this game but will remember the way we
played in the other games in recent weeks. We can still do a good job in
this situation and take ourselves out of it."
Season 2010/11 Scorers and Bookings
Scorers
Frederique Piquionne 5 (4 League, 1 Cup)
Scott Parker 5 (3 League, 2 Cup)
Victor Obinna 2 (2 Cup)
Mark Noble 2 (2 league)
Carlton Cole 1 (1 League)
Valon Behrami 1 (1 League)
Manuel Da Costa 1 (1 Cup)
Bookings
Noble - 4
Parker - 3
Boa Morte - 3
Cole - 2
Upson - 2
Gabbidon - 2
Tomkins - 1
Faubert - 1
Behrami - 1
Piquionne - 1
Obinna - 1
Ben Haim - 1
Ilunga - 1
Kovac - 1
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Taunted Avram Grant is safe for the time being at West Ham
By JOHN EDWARDS
Last updated at 1:32 AM on 22nd November 2010
Daily Mail
It was an attempt, at least, to sound supportive, but West Ham co-owner
David Gold could do no better than offer backing for Avram Grant 'as we
speak', moments after his side's capitulation at Anfield. Grim-faced after
a performance that had relegation stamped all over it, Gold chose his words
with care, as he considered how much longer the Barclays Premier League's
bottom side might stick by their tormented manager. Those West Ham fans who
made the journey north might have hoped he had chosen differently, and there
was a case for wondering whether the same may even have applied to Grant
himself. Pride has so far prevented him walking away, but the limits to his
endurance cannot be too far off, after a public humiliation by the side of
the pitch. His motive for lingering at the edge of the technical area may
have been to pass on instructions, but its effect was to make him a sitting
duck for the away section at the Anfield Road end. They opened fire with
'You're getting sacked in the morning' and, as Liverpool cruised into a 3-0
lead inside 38 minutes, followed up with 'It's just like watching Brazil'
and 'Ole' at any semblance of a passing move. Finally, when Victor Obinna
ballooned a shot yards over, just before half-time, a refrain of 'That's why
we're going down' filled the air. Gold interpreted a solitary chant of
'Avram, Avram give us a wave' as a flicker of hope for Grant but misread
what was, without doubt, more mischief-making. It came within seconds of
another taunt about facing the sack and was delivered in mocking tones. Had
he responded, it would have met with howls of derision, and he knew it. His
hand stayed in his pocket. In a brief press conference afterwards, before
being ushered off to the waiting team coach, he looked downbeat and
despondent but did his best to sound defiant.
'We were very poor in the first half and did not come to the game,' he said.
'The fans? They are always right. They have come a long way and wanted to
see a good peformance, but, instead, we deserved to lose. It was not their
fault we did not perform. 'Will the owners let me see the job through? You
can only ask me about things I can control. I am concentrating on my job.
'The minute I think I cannot do it, I will not be here, but I know I can
take this team forward.'
Asked about the way Grant was ridiculed throughout, Gold said: 'It was
sardonic singing - it is what fans do. 'They are disappointed and there is
no question that we have to do better. We have got to do more. The situation
is worrying. 'As we speak, we are standing by the manager. We all have to
stick together now. It is not a time to run scared. But, by the same token,
we know we have to do a lot better.' Glen Johnson opened the scoring in the
18th minute, then revealed how he had cleared the air with Roy Hodgson after
the Liverpool manager claimed he had not been playing like an England
right-back. 'Today felt good and was more like it,' he said. 'I'm an honest
man, and I don't need to hear it from the manager that I haven't been
playing well. I know when I'm playing well and when I'm not. 'Believe me, no
one wants me to find my best form more than me, and I was aware of what I
had to do. 'It was a little reminder from the boss, and he told me that was
what he meant by it. 'We spoke, and he explained he wanted it to help me, to
push me, and I said to him then, I don't need people to tell me. I know
where I'm at in terms of form, and I knew it all already. 'The gaffer told
me he has faith in my ability, so we spoke about it and cleared things up.
'Sometimes comments like that can be made to look more negative than they
are meant.
'The boss explained that he didn't mean it in a negative way, just that he
knew I had more to offer than I was showing.'
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Gold backs Grant but Hammers fans sing a different tune
Liverpool 3 West Ham 0
Independent
By Simon Hart at Anfield
Monday, 22 November 2010
The sight of a beleaguered manager and the sound of his club's supporters
singing an old favourite's name is not exactly a novelty at Anfield this
season. That he was in the away dugout may explain why Roy Hodgson expressed
sympathy for Avram Grant's plight after the West Ham fans turned on their
manager with chants of "Paolo Di Canio" and "You're getting sacked in the
morning" during this hammering.
Hodgson has been a target himself during his first few months on Merseyside
and believes the fickleness and impatience he frowned upon when working
abroad have filtered into the English game. "Today you know what is coming –
you are losing at half-time and you go in to jeers and catcalls, at
full-time there are boos and the next day everyone is going to get sacked
and every player is going to get thrown out."
But while Hodgson can point to an upturn in Liverpool's fortunes – his side
are back in the top half and have lost just once in eight games – the jeers
for the Premier League's bottom team were fully justified and Grant, who has
overseen just one win in 14 matches, may be running out of time. Saturday's
defeat at a ground where the Hammers have not won since 1963 was no surprise
but it was the ease with which Liverpool dismissed opponents – sorely
missing Scott Parker, absent with a chest infection – which led their fans
to mock Grant.
West Ham's failure to turn draws against Birmingham, West Bromwich and
Blackpool into wins came back to bite them and next Saturday's game with
Wigan has a make-or-break look to it for the Israeli. He is struggling to
inspire confidence in a squad whose morale has plummeted and arguably the
biggest thing in Grant's favour is that West Ham's owners are desperate to
avoid another change of manager six months after sacking Gianfranco Zola and
handing him a four-year contract. Joint-chairman David Gold said: "We have
to accept we are bottom of the league but there's no question of a change of
manager now. But we must do better."
Hodgson, by contrast, was happy to reflect on a display that, in Steven
Gerrard's absence, "stops people accusing us of being a one-man or a two-man
team". Man of the match Glen Johnson got the first goal against his old
team, an impressive low finish after controlling a corner on his chest, and
provided the perfect response to his manager's recent suggestion he had not
played like England's best right-back this term.
Liverpool had the match won by half-time with Dirk Kuyt converting a penalty
after Danny Gabbidon's handball and Maxi Rodriguez profiting from slack
marking to head in.
West Ham fielded three forwards – Victor Obinna and Frédéric Piquionne
supporting Carlton Cole – but the biggest threat to Pepe Reina's goal was
accidental, a Piquionne cross that dipped beneath the bar.
Scorers: Liverpool Johnson 18, Kuyt 27 (pen), Rodriguez 38
Substitutes: Liverpool Shelvey (Meireles, 83), Babel (Torres, 84), Aurelio
(Ngog, 73). Unused Jones (gk), Kyrgiakos, Kelly, Eccleston. West Ham Tomkins
(Ilunga, 76), McCarthy (Cole, 69), Barrera (Obinna, 46). Unused Stech (gk),
Reid, Spector, Nouble.
Booked: West Ham Noble.
Man of the match Johnson Match rating 6/10
Possession Liverpool 62% West Ham 38%
Shots on target Liverpool 11 West Ham 1
Referee L Probert (Gloucestershire) Att 43,024
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West Ham fans ridicule Avram Grant after defeat to Liverpool at Anfield
Liverpool 3 West Ham United 0
Telegraph.co.uk
By Graham Chase 6:00AM GMT 22 Nov 2010
The attempts of West Ham United's great and good to support Avram Grant may
be admirable but his hold on the manager's position looks shakier than ever.
Just a few days after vice-chairman Karren Brady gave assurances that Grant
is safe and will have money to spend in January, another abject performance
was ridiculed by the club's fans. Saturday's match against Wigan is already
being viewed as his last chance to save his job. West Ham's travelling
support have had little choice but to turn to self-mocking at Anfield over
the years, but rarely has a manager ever been taunted by his own club's fans
in such a way as Grant was.
There was a clear message behind the chants of "Paolo Di Canio". It was
reminiscent of the reception received by Gerry Francis as his Tottenham side
slipped to a 4-0 defeat at Anfield just over 13 years ago, when each
Liverpool goal was greeted with chants of "Bye, bye Gerry". One week and
another defeat later, Francis had resigned. Grant also retains the support,
publicly at least, of co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan and maintains
he can sort out a squad who have won just once in 14 Premier League matches
and are five points from safety. "We've played 14 games now and have a lot
of time to improve it but we need to start quickly," Grant said. "I'm
optimistic. The next game is very important and we need to win."
For Liverpool, the return of Glen Johnson, who has struggled with an ankle
injury in recent weeks, made a significant difference but, like his team, he
will be better judged at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Against little
resistance, Johnson opened the scoring from a Raul Meireles corner, Dirk
Kuyt added a second from the penalty spot before Maxi Rodríguez claimed
Liverpool's third before half-time. Johnson's impressive performance came a
week after sources close to the player suggested his relationship with Roy
Hodgson had broken down completely in the wake of what were perceived as
negative comments from his manager.
On the evidence of much of this year, talk of Bayern Munich or Real Madrid
waiting in the wings is surely fanciful and it makes sense for Johnson to
attempt to resolve any remaining issues with Hodgson. After all of the
apparent discord, Johnson was clearly hoping to move the situation on, even
managing to say "nice" half a dozen times in the space of a minute. "I
didn't need to hear it from the boss that I wasn't playing well," he said.
"I'm an honest man and I know how well I can play and I hadn't been doing
that so it's nice to do well. "It's always nice to get back off the
treatment bench and nice to get back with a goal. It's nice to play again.
I'd missed six out of the last seven games so it's nice to get back into it
and it was nice to come back with a goal."
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WHATEVER HAPPENED TO FRANK MCAVENNIE?
Date: 21st November 2010 at 12:31 pm | Written by James Ireson
Football Fancast
Whenever I hear the name, Frank McAvennie, I instantly remember the legacy
he left after appearing on Soccer AM. After failing to get the ball through
the hole in the car-park game 'Wembley', he blasted the ball in frustration
straight into a ball-boys face. The car-park is still known to this day as
the 'Frank McAvennie car-park.' But after digging a little further, I
realised the former West Ham and Celtic striker represents much more than a
funny anecdote.
The story of McAvennie's career could be used as a warning to any young
professional footballer. Swept from a life as a street cleaner, the Scot's
life exploded into a tale of fame and fortune, which he now openly admits
contributed to the demise of his career.
He became the poster-boy of the '80s. Scoring goals for fun, winning medals,
drinking champagne and having glamour models hanging on his arms would have
been just an ordinary Saturday night for the striker. But as with most
celebrity-footballers, it was all too good to be true, and after becoming
involved in drugs McAvennie found himself broke, unemployed and facing jail
sentences.
Ironically, before becoming a professional footballer, McAvennie attempted
to join the British Army, only to be rejected for his inability to hit the
target but he soon started his career in Scotland playing for St. Mirren.
Good form and plenty of goals attracted the attention of clubs south of the
boarder, and in 1985, he signed for West Ham, forming a formidable
partnership up front with Tony Cottee. Macavennie scored 26 in his first
season, helping the Hammers to their highest ever league position; finishing
third, only four points off winning the league. Not bad for someone who
can't hit the target.
West Ham's failed to build on their promise and McAvennie became stale at
Upton Park. In 1987 he signed for his boyhood club, Celtic. The striker
earned himself a place in the record books at Parkhead. Chasing a league and
cup double, Macavennie scored twice in the final late on to win the game
2-1.
Despite recapturing his goal-scoring form at Celtic, McAvennie yearned for
the London lifestyle and resigned for West Ham in '89 for £1.2 million,
becoming the Hammers' record signing. Upton Park felt like home to the Scot,
but after turning down Arsenal to return to his old stomping ground, he
signalled the end of Frank McAvennie as a top quality striker. Arsenal went
on to win the league that season and West Ham were relegated.
A broken leg and lack of form saw McAvennie leave Upton Park once again for
Celtic, via Aston Villa for a brief and unsuccessful period. The next few
years were spent trying to find his feet at different clubs: Celtic,
Swindon, (where he suffered another relegation, this time for the Premier
League) Falkirk and he finally ended his career at 35, where it had begun,
St. Mirren.
Disappointingly for 'Macca', as he's known his Scotland, he now understands
the errors of his ways. In 2000, he gave a brutally honest interview to the
Guardian newspaper admitting that drugs have ruined his life. The thought of
his kids growing up knowing his dad was a drug-dealer and not a professional
footballer scares the former Scotland international, as does the thought of
some of today's stars following the same destructive path.
In 2009, McAvennie was handed a suspended four month jail sentence for
affray, so the troubled Scot still has his problems, but he is trying to put
right all of his wrong-doings. He often takes part in charity football
matches and drugs are officially off the agenda.
So, when trying to remember the 'good old days' it is worth taking the time
to really think about the career of Frank McAvennie; once, he really was a
quality footballer. But the warning is there for anyone who considers taking
the highlife.
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