WHUFC.com
Avram Grant will have to wait for the chance to make it five games unbeaten for the first time since April 2009
04.10.2010
Avram Grant heads into the international break frustrated by the hold-up in domestic action but pleased with a run of form that has seen the club unbeaten in four games and move to within a win of mid-table. Although disappointed not to take all three points in Saturday's home match with Fulham, the manager said there continued to be signs of progress in the 1-1 draw. "A few weeks ago we would have lost that game, the players were saying that themselves after the match," he said. "It happened to us a few weeks ago against Bolton. One thing I like to see in my teams is that they are improving and learning. We were stronger in the second half, which wasn't the case at the beginning of the season. "I was delighted to see the way the players approached the second half. One of the problems when you go one-nil down is that the heads can go down, players can feel sorry for themselves. Now we are stronger and we could even have won the game in the second half. I like the spirit."
The manager will of course look to develop that spirit over the coming days, with a fortnight until the return to Barclays Premier League action away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. There was plenty of talking done as well at half-time against Fulham, with the manager changing things around after a sluggish first half. "I said to them that we need to play better. We made it too easy for them to pass the ball and we wanted to put pressure on them, move the ball forward more quickly. We were able to do that."
Grant added that he always expected his squad to improve and get stronger with every week together since they got together in the second week of September after the previous international break. Although still at the wrong end of the table, one more positive result could change everything. "We knew what we wanted to do from the beginning of the season but it was not easy until 31 August. Since then it has been much easier and you can see that on the pitch. "It is a ridiculous league, one more goal and we would have been out of the relegation zone. Between us and seventh place there is only a five-point difference. The league table is not important. We are not a team to be at the bottom of the league, we play football to be in a better place and we will get there. "The improvement pleases me. It is much quicker than I thought but there is still a lot to do. The organisation is better because we have been training with the squad now for three weeks. We have a long way to go, but we are on the right way."
The hold-up in top-flight action will naturally disrupt things, with several players likely to be away on international duty. Pablo Barrera and Herita Ilunga, for example, will go to North America and Africa, while Winston Reid, who has had illness and injury to contend with in the last few weeks, is off to New Zealand. "There is one thing I did all my life which is not to fight with something I cannot change. I will fight against things where I have only five or ten per cent chance of changing them but here is something that I cannot change. "We have an international break if we like it or not. We will try to make the best of it."
It remains to be seen which, if any, of Grant's England contingent will be selected to face Montenegro on Tuesday week, with Fabio Capello's team closely watching Saturday's contest at the Boleyn. Anyone called will stay with the squad until midweek before heading off, a welcome chance at least to review and assess the weekend first. When the squad regroup two days before the Wolves date, the manager will be confident of what his men are all about. "We have signed players that are hungry to succeed and hungry to develop, and they will help the team. It is good to have competition for places, it pushes you forward to be better and better."
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Mark of improvement
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble has praised manager Avram Grant for helping him to rediscover his best form
04.10.2010
Mark Noble believes he is getting back to his best under West Ham United manager Avram Grant. The former England Under-21 captain capped an impressive few weeks by being named man of the match in Saturday's 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw with Fulham. Noble puts his recent renaissance down to Grant playing him in his preferred position of central midfield. There, the 23-year-old has dovetailed superbly with Hammer of the Year Scott Parker, with both playing an influential role in the club's four-match unbeaten run. With Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger hoping to return to action soon after the international break, the lifelong West Ham fan knows he is going to have to keep producing the goods to stay in the starting XI. "I'm enjoying my football at the moment. I'm looking forward to every game and I just want to keep improving. I had a little spell when I lost a little bit of confidence and wasn't playing to my best. I was playing out of my position but now I feel I'm playing in my best position and slowly getting better every game. "The manager said 'Go out and play' and that's obviously what I want to do. I'm playing in the centre of midfield and that's where I want to play. I'm playing with Scotty and we obviously understand each other and we're keeping the ball well in games and controlling games when maybe two or three weeks ago we were off the cuff. "You have to have competition at clubs or else you get sloppy. Thomas is a fantastic player, we all know that, but I'll fight tooth and nail for my place in the team."
While Noble is pleased with his own form, he was also quick to praise the contribution of his manager and team-mates. Striker Frederic Piquionne has hogged the headlines by scoring in each of West Ham's last three matches, but the midfielder also highlighted the form of Victor Obinna and Carlton Cole. "The manager knows the players here like to play football and when you've got the likes of Freddie and Victor up front and Coley to come on, we know we've got a threat now and teams will be scared of us. We played really well in games and lost, but we're gelling together and looking forward to the games coming. "Sometimes the gaffer needs to make changes and he's done that. Victor and Freddie are playing fantastic at the moment and Coley is when he's coming on. He's not sulking or throwing his toys out of the pram and he's being a fantastic pro. We all know what sort of player Coley is and he'll get back in the team, I'm sure of it. "The manager is paid to make decisions like this and it's paid off for him at the minute because Freddie is on fire and scoring goals and that's what we need."
At the other end of the pitch, Noble also had words of encouragement for goalkeeper Robert Green, who has been in scintillating form in recent matches. After making a match-saving stop from Dickson Etuhu on Saturday, the No16 believes the stopper must be close to an England recall. "Greeny is the same every week. During the week he trains hard and is the same every day. I haven't noticed much of a difference. I'm sure goalkeepers make mistakes and they get highlighted more than players' [mistakes] do. Greeny is going to be as good as he always is. "He's had a couple of mistakes in the last few months but hopefully they're gone now and he can crack on. We all know what a fantastic goalkeeper he is. "He's an English player and I understand what people think about England - they are so proud of their country - but it was a genuine mistake and he obviously didn't mean it. He's a good bloke and sometimes he was unworthy of the criticism that he got. Then again he's bounced back and has been fantastic the last two weeks and we can't complain. "Hopefully [he'll get his English place back], but you'd have to ask Greeny about that. If he keeps playing like that, it'll be hard to keep him out."
Focusing on Saturday's draw with the Cottagers, Noble admitted the Hammers had not played to their best, but pointed to the resilience shown to come from a goal down to grab a share of the spoils. "We've got mixed emotions - we wanted to win but obviously Fulham are a tough team, a well-organised team and they play well together and have been together for a couple of years as a team and they play like that. In a way, it was a good point but we wanted more out of the game. "We came back well. If we'd gone one down two or three weeks ago, we would have crumbled but we aren't doing that now. We're playing together and we're sticking together as a team and that's what we're going to need. "It's just a case of players getting to know each other and getting to know how the manager wants us to play, the systems the manager wants us to play and we've gelled. We're looking forward every week to the games because we know we can win them."
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Got a question for Jack?
WHUFC.com
Jack Collison will answer your questions in the matchday programme for the visit of Newcastle United
04.10.2010
Have you ever wanted to ask West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison a question, but never thought you would get the chance? Well, the official matchday programme is now offering you the opportunity to quiz the Wales international in the forthcoming issue for the Barclays Premier League visit of Newcastle United. Fans' Mailbag gives supporters the chance to send in questions for their favourite players to answer, with the best being put directly to a different member of the first-team squad in each edition. The supporter who asks the best question will receive a signed matchday programme. To put your questions to Jack, simply email programme@westhamunited.co.uk with 'Fans' Mailbag' in the subject line before 9am on Wednesday 13 October.
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Grant on ... Fulham
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 3rd October 2010
By: Staff Writer
Avram Grant reflects on a result that extends West Ham United's unbeaten run to four games...
Avram: happy with a point today?
We went from 0-1 to 1-1 and played much better in the second half. First half, they dominated the game; they didn't create chances but they passed the ball better than us, they passed the ball very well. Second half we came into the game - we changed the shape to help us push them. We scored, we could have scored more but they almost scored from a counter attack in the last [few] moments - so it's okay.
What did you make of Robert Green's performance? After conceding he could have caved, but he played quite well?
[sighs] He's a good goalkeeper; every [press] conference I need to answer how he's doing. He's a good goalkeeper, he was good today. Every goalkeeper, every football player sometimes has bad moments. He had his at the beginning of the season, to some players it happens in the middle of the season. Because of the World Cup everybody's speaking about him but he was a good goalkeeper and he's still a good goalkeeper. His performance was good, his character was good and again, like last week, we saw the other team had a good goalkeeper. Schwarzer also is a very good goalkeeper.
Is it ironic that you produced a good performance against a team that's still unbeaten yet you've gone bottom tonight?
I think the most important things are first to take points and second to show that we are improving in many things that were not so good. Part of this is the spirit - when you remember what happened at the beginning of the season and the season before when we were 1-0 down. The players became stronger in the second half and we made [it] 1-1. The position, at this time, in the league is not so important because one win can take you four or five places forward. You see Fulham [are having] a good season with a lot of confidence and we are only four points from them, so it is not so important at this stage of the season.
You seemed unhappy with the referee. Did you have to speak to him afterwards?
I think the referee didn't have a good day today. It happened to Rob Green in the World Cup, today it's happened to him. He was a little bit...
I understand what you're saying about your [league] position but the next two games are surely must-win games? You can't be bottom after ten games, can you?
No - we don't want to be bottom of the league at the end of the season. This is our target, but we want to do it in the right way - to improve our football, to improve our spirit, to improve our character - and we are doing it the right way. Points don't come from there, you need to do something to take the points. There are a lot of teams in our area, one win can take us forwards so of course we want to take points.
How's Carlton Cole responding to being on the bench?
We've shown that we have four good strikers. We've been training for only two or three weeks together and you can see that the organisation is better and the team play better as a team. Today we played with Freddie Piquionne and Obinna but it can change because Carlton Cole is a good player and also Benni McCarthy is a good player. Our target for each one of them is to score goals for us. He [Cole] will do it but sometimes other players are playing.
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Grant expects to beat drop
Hammers boss confident of steering a route to safety
By Chris Burton Last updated: 3rd October 2010
SSN
Avram Grant is adamant that West Ham United will pull clear of trouble this season and remain a top flight outfit. The Hammers prop up the Premier League table at present, with just one win taken from their seven fixtures to date. That solitary success, recorded against Tottenham last week, momentarily lifted them off the bottom, but they returned to the foot of the division over the weekend. Victories for Everton and Wigan, coupled with a 1-1 draw of their own against Fulham, saw the Hammers slip back down the standings. There is, however, still plenty of time in which to claw their way to safety and Grant is confident that his side will not be playing Championship football next term. "We are not a team to be on the bottom of the league," said the Israeli, who suffered relegation with Portsmouth last season. "We are not heading for relegation. We play football to be in a better place and we will do it." Key to West Ham's survival plans will be their ability to get goals.
Important
They do have a number of attack-minded players on their books and Grant has called on one of those, loan signing Victor Obinna, to maintain his recent fine form. "Obinna didn't play for a long time before he came to us and he was good for us (against Fulham)," said Grant. "He can play in many positions. He can play left or right and he can play better also. "He sometimes does things on his own but I do think he is a team player as you saw with his two assists in the last two games."
Grant has also been quick to praise summer signing Frederic Piquionne, with the French striker having found the target three times in his last three appearances. "Last year when I was at Portsmouth, he scored some important goals for us," he added. "He has scored three in the last three. If he continues like this then he will be good. "He is working hard. He is a team player and you saw the difference in his movement (against Fulham)."
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Gold talks up Parker claims
Co-chairman feels Hammers midfielder should be in England squad
Last updated: 3rd October 2010
SSN
West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has expressed his surprise that Scott Parker continues to be overlooked by England coach Fabio Capello. Parker was the Hammers' stand-out performer during a difficult last campaign, but was left out of England's final World Cup squad after being in the provisional 30-man party. He has enjoyed a strong start to this season, but has again missed out on a call-up from Capello, much to Gold's bemusement. Gold believes the 29-year-old would bring an added dimension to the England team and is hoping Parker will be selected for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro.
Interesting
"I find it quite interesting that he keeps getting overlooked because he is so different to anything else we have got," said Gold. "Scotty Parker would bring something to the midfield that England have been lacking for the last couple of years. "He's someone who can make goals, who can score goals and he can track back. He has every attribute that most managers dream of. "He could slot in to the team easily. The argument has always been that (Steven) Gerrard and Lampard cannot play together, but I promise you that Gerrard and Scotty Parker can play together. They're made for each other."
Gold has been impressed with Parker's contribution to West Ham so far this season and is confident the midfielder will go from strength to strength for the remainder of the campaign. "He has scored three goals and has moulded the midfield around him ," said Gold. "He's has made us stronger as a team and I think we'll see a lot of goals from midfield this season. I'm very optimistic he'll continue playing well."
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Noble gets an Upton Spark
The Sun
Published: Today
MARK NOBLE is prepared to spill claret and blue blood to keep his West Ham place. The tough-tackling midfielder wants to stay in the thick of the midfield battle. And he believes it is English steel which will fire the Hammers clear of the relegation zone. Noble, 23, said: "Me and Scott Parker have got West Ham in our blood so it's good we're at the centre of it in midfield. "We're two full-hearted players. I'm playing where I want to be. "I had a little spell where I was playing out of position and lost confidence as I wasn't performing to my best. But now I'm enjoying my football again. "It'll be tough to keep my place when Thomas Hitzlsperger is fit. But I'll fight tooth and nail for my position."
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We will not go down - roars Hammers boss Grant
Published 22:30 03/10/10 By Martin Lipton
The Mirror
Avram Grant looked up from the bottom of the table but insisted: "We will not go down." Although Grant's Hammers extended their unbeaten run to four games in all competitions, the draw with Fulham saw them go back down to the foot of the table. But the Israeli has no doubts that the renewed belief in his squad will ensure the only way is up. Grant said: "We are not a team to be at the bottom of the league, we are not a team for relegation. We play football to be in a better place and we will do that. "One thing I like to see now is my team are improving and learning from the things we do. We come strongly in the second-half which didn't happen to us in the beginning of the season. "In the second-half I was delighted to see our determination. All of our problems before was when we were 1-0 down the heads were down and everybody felt sorry for themselves. Now we are stronger and we could have gone on to win the game."
Grant, of course, spent most of last season trying to defeat the force of footballing gravity at Portsmouth but he maintained: "What we have here is totally different to last season. "Portsmouth were not just a team at the bottom of the league, it was a package of problems that got worse every week. "Here we know from the beginning what we want from ourselves. It was not easy up to 31st of August because there were a lot of question marks about who was going and coming. Since then it's been much easier for us and we are playing much more like a team."
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West Ham United goalkeeper Robert Green lets hands do talking in draw with Fulham
West Ham United 1 Fulham 1
Telegraph.co.uk
By Jonathan Liew
Published: 6:00AM BST 04 Oct 2010
Kermit the Frog was right: it's not easy being Green. You try making a crucial mistake in your country's opening World Cup game. Ever since that fateful spill against USA in June, Robert Green has had to deal with its largely deleterious consequences. Confidence is a goalkeeper's most prized but most fragile commodity, and at times this season, Green's appeared to have reached its nadir. Having lost his England place, he committed similarly facile errors against Chelsea and Stoke, generating scorn from sections of his own fans. But if Green's international career is to have an autumn, this autumn could be its gestation.
The fightback is on. Green followed a string of fine saves last weekend against Tottenham by gesturing contumaciously to the press box. There was to be no repeat against Fulham. This time, Green let his performance do his bidding, rescuing a point for West Ham United. "If he keeps playing like that then it'll be hard to leave him out [of the England squad]," Mark Noble said. "He's made a couple of mistakes, but they've gone now and I'm sure he will be as good as he's always been."
Noble expressed his surprise at the level of abuse that has been directed at Green. "At the end of the day it was a genuine mistake [against USA]," he said. "Some of the criticism he got was unworthy, but he has bounced back." If any opponent was going to bring on the sweaty palms, it was his old assailant Clint Dempsey. But aside from a first-half goal which Green could do nothing about, he kept him at bay. He also made late saves from Simon Davies and Dickson Etuhu which extended West Ham's unbeaten run to four games. But despite Green's heroics and Frédéric Piquionne's second-half header, West Ham are at the foot of the table once more. "We are not a team to be at the bottom of the league, we are not a team for relegation. We play football to be in a better place," Avram Grant said. Mark Hughes was satisfied after extending his side's unbeaten start to the season. "I hadn't realised what talent there is here, and that makes my job less stressful," he said."I got bogged down for 12-14 months at Manchester City with things that were away from the pitch. But at Fulham everything is set up in the best possible way."
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Mark Hughes regains zest with Fulham while West Ham see cause for hope
Fulham maintain unbeaten record at Upton Park
West Ham show signs of steady improvement
Guardian report
James Callow at Upton Park
The Guardian, Monday 4 October 2010
Mark Hughes would balk at the suggestion that he is a man reborn after his seven‑month break from the game but the perky, purposeful manner with which he has begun his tenure as Fulham manager marks a stark contrast with the drawn and drained character so brutally sacked by Manchester City. "I've put weight back on, that's why I look better," he said, after watching his side retain their unbeaten record with a sixth draw in seven games. "[City] is a chapter in my footballing life that was closed and this is another one. I'm really pleased with my decision to come to Fulham. I hadn't realised what talent there is here – not just in the team but around the club. "That makes my job less stressful in terms of how you spread your energy because I got bogged down for possibly 12 to 14 months in my job at City with things that were away from the pitch. That can change your focus but at Fulham everything is set up in terms of allowing me to prepare my team in the best possible way so it's a great job."
While his side sit with Manchester United as the division's only unbeaten sides, there will need to be some fine-tuning. It was strange to see that Hughes, one of the finest centre-forwards of his generation, had dropped Zoltan Gera in favour of Eddie Johnson – a fast but loose striker who last started a Premier League game two and a half years ago.
Clint Dempsey, whose crisp volley put Fulham ahead, did his best to turn possession into a goal threat but, with Bobby Zamora out until the new year, the expected return of Moussa Dembélé and Andy Johnson to face Tottenham Hotspur in a fortnight could be a moment to savour. Maybe then there will be fewer draws.
West Ham are building an unbeaten run of their own – four games in all competitions – and, although they remain bottom of the league, they stand four points behind Fulham in ninth. Their defence is improving, Robert Green impressed again and there are signs of a partnership between their goalscorer Frédéric Piquionne and Victor Obinna.
"I think we'd have lost this game three weeks ago," said Mark Noble, one of West Ham's brighter sparks. "We are sticking together as a team and in Carlton Cole, Piquionne and Obinna we have forwards that can scare teams."
In Avram Grant West Ham have a manager who has experience relevant to their plight – he has spent the past year at the foot of the table, although he was keen to explain the distinction between Portsmouth and his current club.
"It's different to last season," he said, laughing off suggestions that he was the crucial common denominator between the two campaigns. "Portsmouth were not just a team at the bottom of the league, it was a package of problems that got worse every week."
"It was not easy up to 31 August because there were a lot of question marks about who was going and coming from the club. We are not a team to be at the bottom of the league, not a team for relegation. I like our spirit."
Man of the match Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
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