WHUFC.com
The manager will have a positive attitude for the two big league matches to come this week
08.11.2010
Avram Grant is looking to attack in a bid to get the Hammers up and away from danger as they prepare for two big home matches this week. The manager lined up with three forwards at Birmingham City on Saturday and was rewarded with two superb goals from Frederic Piquionne and Valon Behrami. He also saw Carlton Cole and Victor Obinna denied by a combination of great goalkeeping and the woodwork before Lars Jacobsen showed real hunger in the closing stages to burst into the box only to be pulled back illegally. While that 'foul' on Jacobsen was waved away by the referee and meant it finished 2-2, the manager said the forward thrusts of his team showed his team had the will to shape their own destiny. They welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Boleyn for a major night under the lights on Wednesday before fellow Barclays Premier League newcomers Blackpool arrive in east London next weekend.
"We played very well, scored two fantastic goals and we also forced the keeper to make two unbelievable saves," Grant reflected. "Then they scored from a direct ball and a set-piece that we didn't defend well but we played very well going forward. "I am concerned we let two goals slip but I prefer to look at the positives. We played good football, we scored two good goals. What I want from now on is to continue to play our football like in the last two months.
"We will turn the corner. Sometimes when you are at the bottom of the league you might think the mentality is not good but we are playing good football and the results will come. We just need to continue doing the right things."
While Piquionne and Obinna were lively again in attack, Cole showed real hunger to be the stand-out forward on view with an energetic display from start to finish. It was just reward for his return to the starting lineup after biding his time on the bench of late. "Carlton was great," added Grant. "He was unlucky a little bit with Ben Foster's save which was one of the best I have seen in a long time. "Carlton is in good shape and is trying hard in training. We saw we can play three strikers and cause the other team a lot of problems."
Also encouraging for the visit of West Brom - when Manu da Costa will hope to return after sitting out with an ankle injury on Saturday - was the return off the bench of Kieron Dyer. A muscle problem had kept him out for the last three weeks but he was desperate to be involved after returning to training in midweek. "Kieron is good," added Grant. "He hasn't trained a lot but he felt better. I am sure he will help us as he looked good again. All the games he has played this season, he has done well but he had only trained twice before the match so we needed to manage him. I am disappointed in the result but not in the performance, there were plenty of positives as I say. "We didn't come for a draw. We played the football I believe in, and had the right balance between attack and defence. We were dangerous, we did everything right and we were very unlucky with the decision of the referee not to give us a penalty at the end. It cost us another two points but we will continue to play the right way."
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'It was definitely a penalty'
WHUFC.com
Lars Jacobsen insists West Ham United should have had a late spot-kick at Birmingham City
08.11.2010
Lars Jacobsen has lamented the decision - or lack of it - which could have cost West Ham United two valuable Barclays Premier League points at Birmingham City. The Denmark right-back was tugged back by Jean Beausejour inside the Blues' penalty area with two minutes of the 90 remaining at St Andrews on Saturday. However, instead of awarding the Hammers a spot-kick that would surely have clinched a 3-2 victory had it been successfully converted, referee Michael Oliver and his assistants waved away the appeals. "It was definitely a penalty. I saw it on the television and it's definitely a penalty. That's the kind of bad luck you get when you are down there. It's always the same. I thought the linesman could have seen it, but he didn't and that's football - you can't see everything. "Obviously I'm very disappointed with that but perhaps next time they'll give me the penalty."
That lack of luck at a crucial moment was not the only event to leave Jacobsen disappointed on Saturday - the two goals that saw the home side recover from 2-0 down with 26 minutes remaining also left the defender feeling down. However, the 31-year-old insisted the Hammers had plenty of reasons to be upbeat following an impressive display at a stadium where Birmingham had lost just once in their previous 24 matches in all competitions. "Obviously when you are 2-0 ahead in the second half, you expect to win the game. We're very disappointed because we threw it away, really. There are a lot of positive things we can take from the game. "The games are coming quick now and we have another one on Wednesday and we have to win it and keep collecting points. Even though we wanted three on Saturday, we only got one, but we played some decent football. "We hit the crossbar at 2-0 and 3-0 would have been a different story, so we were a bit unlucky there, but that's football isn't it. We're bottom of the league and you could sense a little insecurity sneaking in when they scored their first goal and we stopped the football that we had played for the entire game for ten or 15 minutes and that was enough for Birmingham to score two goals. "That was unfortunate, but we have to learn from that. Aside from that, I think we played brilliant football for 75 minutes away from home and we feel that we definitely don't belong in the last position in the league. "When you are standing there after a very difficult away game at Birmingham and are disappointed with getting one point, I think that's a positive. Now we have to build on it and get our points at Upton Park in the next two games. "If you look at our position and look at the way we played, it's clear we don't belong there."
While Jacobsen is positive about his club's chances of climbing out of the relegation zone, the Odense-born star is also increasingly happy with his own performances. Having endured two injury-affected seasons with Everton and Blackburn Rovers, the three-times Danish Superliga winner is back to full fitness and has quickly established himself as a fans' favourite among the West Ham faithful. "I certainly have the legs to run for 90 minutes at the moment and in the first half they gave us a lot of space on the sides - me and Herita [Ilunga]. That's always nice because, as a full-back, you can join in.
"I feel well in my position and I feel well in the team. I think I have settled in quite well and I just want to build from now on. I think my performances will keep getting better and better. "I feel like I have a little bit more to offer every time I step on the pitch so I just have to keep on working hard and hopefully we'll get some results and some points for West Ham."
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U18s defeat Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Tony Carr's youngsters ended a five-match losing run by beating their London rivals 3-2 at Little Heath
07.11.2010
Academy Director Tony Carr has praised the spirit of his Under-18s after they ended a five-match losing streak with a stirring 3-2 victory over Chelsea.
The Hammers had plummeted to eighth in the ten-team FA Premier Academy League Group A table after being beaten by Crystal Palace, Southampton, Ipswich Town, Fulham and Charlton Athletic. Indeed, having been defeated 4-0 by both the Cottagers and Addicks in their previous two fixtures, the last thing the West Ham youngsters needed was to concede the first goal to Chelsea at Little Heath. That nightmare scenario is exactly what played out, however, as Todd Kane gave the visitors an early lead. Undeterred by the setback, though, the Hammers took control of the game and played some of their best football of the season. By half-time, goals from Dylan Tombides and Dominic Vose had put Carr's side in front. The second half followed a similar pattern, only for Chelsea to equalise through Ismail Seremba. Again, West Ham refused to lie down and substitute Sebastian Lletget (pictured) secured a thoroughly-deserved success with just 12 minutes remaining. Carr said the victory would not only boost the Hammers' league position, but also give his players a shot of much-needed confidence. "It was a good performance, especially in the first half. We went in deservedly 2-1 up at the break through good, well-worked team goals from Dylan and Dominic. "The first goal was a good passing movement started by Callum Driver, who made a run from right-back, played the ball infield and took a return pass from Robert Hall. He then squared the ball for Dylan, who finished first-time. "The second goal was another good passing movement through the midfield. Dominic made a run beyond the forwards and was picked out by Blair Turgott before shooting low into the corner. "What made me even happier was that both of these goals came after we had gone 1-0 down. To be fair to the lads, we played very well in the first half. In the second, we started in the same vein but they managed to equalise. "They broke out from the back and a long ball down the middle caught out Callum McNaughton and their boy has squeezed it in to make the score 2-2 and it was all to play for. "We sent on some substitutes and one of them, Sebastian, came on and scored the winner with a shot from the edge of the area. "We were very pleased because you always expect Chelsea to put out a strong side and that proved to be the case again on Saturday. I wasn't concerned who we were playing against but only about our own performance and winning the game. "We did that and it has given us a confidence boost. Confidence is everything and this result will give us a lift. Hopefully we can go on a run and get some results and even more confidence over the coming weeks. "We have the FA Youth Cup to look forward to in December and we want to be winning games when that competition comes around. "After being 1-0 down, it was very pleasing for everyone on Saturday. It will give the boys belief and confidence and they will take that on to the next few games."
West Ham United U18: Cowler, Driver, McNaughton, Sanchez, Fanimo, Wearen, Powell (Hurley 75), Vose, Turgott, Hall (Lletget 70), Tombides
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Yeung ends Hammers row
Birmingham owner and West Ham counterpart have "great" meeting
Last updated: 7th November 2010
SSN
Warring owners Carson Yeung and David Sullivan appear to have mended their differences following the much publicised spat between the West Ham and Birmingham hierarchies. A frosty atmosphere was expected in the boardroom when the sides met at St Andrewsfollowing Birmingham's decision to ban Sullivan's business partner David Gold from the game. The move came after Gold reportedly described Peter Pannu, Birmingham's acting chairman, as "disgusting" in a newspaper interview. Sullivan, who jointly owned Birmingham with Gold until they sold the club to Yeung last year, did attend the game and met with Yeung following the 2-2 draw. After emerging from the boardroom, Yeung said: "I'm very happy. It was a great meeting." Birmingham director Michael Wiseman added: "The day has gone very well and there was a very nice atmosphere in the boardroom."
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Jacobsen targets revival
Defender says Hammers are too good to be struggling
Last updated: 7th November 2010
SSN
Lars Jacobsen has insisted that West Ham 'do not belong' at the bottom of the table and is confident they will soon climb to safety. Avram Grant's men have endured a dismal start to the Premier League season, picking up just one victory from their opening 11 games. They looked set to double that tally on Saturday after taking a 2-0 lead away to Birmingham, before being pegged back to 2-2 by the final whistle. The result left West Ham two points adrift at the foot of the table but defender Jacobsen has no doubts about the quality of his team-mates. He said: "We just have to get out of there (the bottom three). When you look at the team, look at the players, the way we play, we don't belong there.
Insecurity
"We have to get away from that position. We are bottom of the league and you could sense, when they scored the first goal, a little bit of insecurity started to creep in. "We stopped playing the football we had been playing for about 10-15 minutes and that was enough for Birmingham to score two goals and that was unfortunate. "We have to learn from that but, having said that, we played 75 minutes of brilliant football away from home and showed we definitely don't belong in the last position in the league."
Jacobsen added: "There are a lot of positive things we can take from the game. "When you are disappointed at getting only a point from a very difficult away fixture at Birmingham, that is a positive I think. "We just have to build on that and make sure we get our points at home in the next two games."
Penalty
Jacobsen believes the Hammers should have been awarded a penalty after he appeared to be pulled back by Birmingham substitute Jean Beausejour.
He said: "I saw it again on TV and it was definitely a penalty. It is the kind of bad luck you have when you are down there. "It is always the same and I thought the linesman could have seen it but he said he couldn't see it and that's football. "You can't see everything, I am disappointed but they can't see everything and, perhaps next time, they will give me the penalty."
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Hammers supremo snubbed from Birmingham peace meal
Published 23:00 07/11/10 By James Nursey
The Mirror
David Sullivan and Birmingham supremo Peter Pannu are going out for a meal - but David Gold is not invited. West Ham co-owner Sullivan, 61, made his first return to St Andrews in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Birmingham since selling up a year ago. Fellow Hammer' co-chairman Gold, 73, was banned for labelling Pannu "disgusting" following Carson Yeung's stormy takeover 12 months ago. But Sullivan still took up the Hammers' allocation of 10 directors' tickets - though ex-MD Karren Brady skipped the occasion. With Gold absent, there was no animosity in the Brum boardroom and Sullivan even got a cordial welcome from fans. Now ex-Blues chief Sullivan and Pannu have agreed to share a meal out in London in the future. Sullivan and Pannu, a former Hong Kong cop and barrister, formed a mutual respect for each other during tough negotiations after the takeover. They ended with Gold and Sullivan repaying around £4million to Yeung who complained at the state of City's finances after buying the club for £80m. The deal was carved up in an out-of-court compromise agreement in May following Yeung's £7m High Court writ. But Pannu insists Gold's recent derogatory remarks constitute a breach of the settlement terms. Gold remains bitter over claims City reneged on a promise to keep him in an honorary capacity which the club argue was inappropriate after going through the books. City officials could still send a copy of their post-acquisition due diligence report into the club's finances to the 2012 Olympic Legacy Committee. West Ham are vying for use of the new Olympic stadium in future and Pannu has threatened to scupper their hopes if they behave objectionably again.
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Spurs 'would demolish Olympic Stadium'
Published 12:07 07/11/10 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
Tottenham would demolish the Olympic Stadium and build a new ground from scratch if they won their battle for the London 2012 site, it has been claimed.
Spurs are battling West Ham for the right to land the prestigious East London structure after the Games. And while they are delighted with the planned infrastructure - including 12 high-speed trains per hour from central London - they are said to be unimpressed with the stadium itself. Bosses have pinpointed a lack of merchandising and corporate hospitality opportunities, while fans would be concerned with being too far from the action as a running track will surround the pitch. Tottenham are understood to be planning to bulldoze the ground and start afresh on a new 80,000-seater which they would finance by selling off White Hart Lane to property developers. They would also fund a new purpose-built athletics stadium for London - or fund a redevelopment of the Crystal Palace national sports centre. A decision is expected by March.
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Vinny's Birmingham Report
Vinny - Sun Nov 7 2010
West Ham Online
Birmingham City 2 West Ham United 2
West Ham threw away a two goal lead as they had to share the points with Birmingham at St Andrews in another disappointing result which leaves the Hammers rooted to the bottom of the league.
This was arguably the most frustrating result of the season given how comfortable we were looking when we scored the second goal. Birmingham were never in the game but then their decision to play direct and our decision to drop deep saw us fall apart.
I can't imagine there will be many West Ham fans leaving St Andrews happy with the point although many would have taken it before the game. To get out of the mess we are in we cannot throw away two goal leads and certainly not in the way we did.
Having been unlucky against Arsenal we knew the next three games would shape our season and despite still being on course for the seven point minimum this was a wasted opportunity. I do believe there were positives to take out of the game but it is difficult not to just feel fucked off with yet another game we should have won.
Avram Grant was forced to make two changes to the side who were beaten at Arsenal. The first change was in defence where Manuel Da Costa was out with injury and replaced by the returning Matthew Upson.
The WHO player of the month Mark Noble was out after having his appendix out and Grant replaced him with Carlton Cole. This saw us go to 4-3-3 with Cole down the middle and Piquionne and Obinna either side of him.
The substitutes bench saw the return of both Kieron Dyer and Winston Reid while on the bench for Birmingham was former Hammer Lee Bowyer who had two spells at the club in 2002-2003 and 2006 - 2009 making over 50 appearances for the club.
There wasn't much to report regarding the first ten minutes only that the sprinklers turned on as Victor Obinna was fouled. This was probably one of few things left remaining that I hadn't seen in football. (Well that and West Ham winning a trophy).
Our first shot on target was a tame one with Parker playing the ball into the feet of Cole who turned but his left foot shot was more of a pass back.
We created a similar move a few minutes later with Obinna and Piquionne combining to play the ball into the feet of Cole but despite another good turn his left foot shot went wide.
With 18 minutes of the clock we had the best chance of the first half and were very close to taking the lead. A free kick was won on the right hand side which Obinna swung into the area for Carlton Cole to meet the ball with his left foot but Birmingham keeper Ben Foster made a quite remarkable save to push the ball onto the post and it was eventually scrambled away by the Birmingham defence.
We had take over the game at this point in terms of possession and looked far the superior team. We were able to find space going forward with the three strikers causing the Birmingham backline problems and the midfielders getting forward to join the attack.
Obinna should have done a lot better when the ball fortunately spun into the path of the Nigerian but he took his shot too early and it went wide when he had a lot more time. Obinna would frustrate throughout the game with many of the things he tried going a little wayward.
The Birmingham fans were starting to get very frustrated with their team as they were second best in just about every area of the pitch.
As away performances go this was as good as we have seen for quite a while and it was just disappointing to go in at half time still level. It was a worry that Birmingham would up there game and our chance would be lost.
But the opening fifteen minutes of the second half were quite outstanding and it was a joy to watch West Ham be so ruthless.
Just three minutes of the second period has elapsed when Boa Morte played a quite wonderful pass through to Frederique Piquionne which saw the Frenchman drive a low powerful shot past Foster to put West Ham 1-0 up.
Birmingham were rattled and we kept piling forward. Obinna saw his shot blocked after a good run as we looked to increase the lead and we went close again soon after when Obinna played the ball into the area for Cole whose header went over.
But a second goal was to come and what a brilliant goal it was as Parker won the ball and played it up to Cole who did well to lay the ball to Valon Behrami who finished really well to score his first goal of the season.
There couldn't have been many West Ham fans who were not going crazy at this point as our first league away win since August 2009 seemed in sight.
Being totally honest I could not see Birmingham coming back. We had controlled the game up to then and we deserved our two goal lead and they had done nothing to suggest they would make the comeback they did.
It seemed as though we would further our lead just a couple of minutes later when Obinna went on a brilliant run and hit a shot which smashed off the cross bar.
But then we started to drop deeper. We dropped so deep that our midfielders had become defenders and all this happened over the course of just a few minutes. Birmingham reacted to this by playing very direct and knocking balls long to the tall striker Zigic and this would be there way back into the game.
The goal came out of nothing with a long ball into the area from Liam Ridgwell for Zigic to knock down and Cameron Jerome got in front of Gabbidon to bundle home from a few yards out.
Then we fell apart.
The home side upped their game and we fell back completely capitulating. It was horrible to watch a team who had been in so much control turn into a side who were just waiting to lose their lead.
From a free kick Larrson hit a shot which was saved by Robert Green but only came out as far as Beausejour who smashed his left foot goal wards but Upson was there to block it inside the six yard box.
With just under twenty minutes remaining Parker was adjudged to have fouled Gardener (harshly in my opinion) and once again Larsson took the kick. It was identical to the one earlier on and once again Robert Green parried the ball out but this time Ridgwell was on hand to follow up the rebound and equalise.
In the space of just thirteen minutes we had lost out two goal lead. I was concerned that we were in danger of losing the game but apart from one chance Birmingham threatened very little which was surprising.
For me this was an example of how conservative Premiership sides are. When we got ourselves into a two goal lead instead of continuing to attack them we sat back and let them come at us and the same sort of thing can be said for Birmingham who got back on level terms but instead of searching for the winner sat back like they had been doing for the first hour.
We started to attack once again I really believe if the game had last ten more minutes we would have found a goal.
Saying this, Birmingham somehow failed to score on 78 minutes when indecision from Ilunga let Jerome nip the ball past Green only for Gabbidon to stop the ball from going on by smashing it off the cross bar.
We were the only team who likely to get the winner in the last ten minutes and to give us something else going forward Boa Morte was taken off and replaced by Dyer.
There was to be one big controversial moment with under five minutes left when Jacobson burst into the area but was clearly tugged back by Beausejour but the referee gave nothing. It was clear for everyone to see - you didn't need a replay to see it.
Four minutes of added time were awarded by no clear cut chances were produced.
We may have got a point but I couldn't shake the feeling that this was like a defeat.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
Thought he may have done better with the second goal as he parried the ball into the same dangerous area he had done with a free kick just a few moments earlier. Apart from the goals he wasn't called into action on many occasions.
Lars Jacobson
Saw a lot of the ball and really worked hard to support the midfield when going forward. A solid performance from the Dane who should have had a penalty in the second half.
Matthew Upson
A good display from the Captain although I thought he could have done a little more as Captain to push the team forward when we had clearly dropped deeper. Made some excellent blocks and interceptions.
Danny Gabbidon
Very composed on the ball and seems to have re-gained his confidence that seemed to be lack in his displays coming back from injury. Might have been caught napping for the first goal but saved us later on.
Herita Ilunga
Not exactly an inspiring performance from Ilunga who to me seems well out of form. Looks as though he is always going to lose the ball when he gets it as he looks clueless on where to actually play the ball. Poor distribution throughout but like Jacobson got forward well to support the midfield.
Luis Boa Morte
His aggression in midfield is important and if he can play passes like he did for the Piquionne goal he is can be quite a valuable player. I thought Boa Morte had a good game covering a lot of ground and working really hard.
Scott Parker
Another busy performance from Parker as like all our midfielders during this game he never hid and was frequently making tackles and driving the team forward.
Valon Behrami
Similar to Boa Morte he really did bust a gut throughout the game and was always making challenges, running after opponents (falling on his arse occasionally) and scored a quite delightful goal. I've always thought a player like Behrami should be scoring more goals than he does and hopefully this is the start.
Victor Obinna
Frustrating at times and wasted a number of chances but he was involved in so much of our attacking play. I thought he tore Carr apart in the second half and showed pace and a lot of skill. His final ball just needs to be better.
Carlton Cole
A much better display from the much criticised Cole. This shouldn't come as too much of a shock if we are going to play it into his feet because he does have ability holding the ball up and bringing others into the play. Play it to his head and he will fail more often than not but roll the ball into him and he can be a real threat. He was unlucky not to get a goal and this was much improved.
Frederique Piquionne
A great goal from Piquionne but I felt he wasn't as involved as he usually is. The claim that he is wasted on the right is one I am subscribing to at the moment despite his excellent goal.
Subs Used
Kieron Dyer (on for Boa Morte 83 mins)
An injection of pace for the last few minutes saw Dyer make a few drivers forward but nothing came of them.
Radoslav Kovac (on for Obinna 91 mins)
Didn't really understand this change other than Obinna looked as though he may get himself sent off.
Subs Not Used: Stech, Tomkins, Reid, Barrera, McCarthy
Bookings:Obinna
Man Of The Match: Carlton Cole
Birmingham City: Foster, Carr, Dann, Johnson, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Fahey (Gardner 58), Hleb (Beausejour 58), Zigic, Jerome (Bowyer 89)
Subs: Doyle, Parnaby, Derbyshire, Phillips
Attendance: 26,474
Overall
Before the game I may have been persuaded to take a point but to be in the position we were in having scored two great goals and dominating the game, only coming away with a draw cannot be seen as anything but a disappointment.
With our current plight results like this are magnified and whilst anyone who saw the game will be able to pick out the positives this was a game we should have won.
Next Game - West Bromwich Albion (h)
A win against West Brom is a must. Yes, that is stating the obvious but the importance of this game for me is greater than any other so far. The next two games give us a chance to get some points on the board and I believe they will determine our season.
I'm confident that we have enough in this side to pull away from trouble but we need to be stronger and a lot more ruthless.
The View From Grant
"I don't know if the word is 'unlucky', it's more 'farce' because the referee was just five metres away, when he saw that Lars Jacobsen's shirt was pulled and he didn't give us a penalty. What more can you ask for?
"I'm very disappointed because it's not the first time that it's happened [this season] I don't understand why he did not give the penalty. Perhaps it's because we are a polite team and do not jump on the referee. Maybe next time we will have to do things differently."
"It was a good performance today and that makes the referee's decision not to give a penalty even harder to take," ,we played well and I'm not even sure that it was a foul for the free-kick that led to their second goal. The performance was good, we played well."
"Our goals came from good combinations, good passes and good football. We could've scored a third one but Ben Foster made two unbelievable saves today from Carlton Cole and Victor Obinna. We deserved three goals. I'm happy with the performance but disappointed with the result.
"At 2-0, I think we tried to do the right thing we continued to pass the ball and we hit the bar but because Birmingham realised that they could not play how they wanted to, they started to play the direct ball.
"When we were winning 2-0 we needed to keep the ball. I cannot say that Birmingham scored great goals, they scored from direct play and a set-piece. Sometimes you need to be able to deal with these situations, too, but today we didn't do that.
"There were a lot of encouraging signs today. We were the better side. We played the football and were denied by their keeper, the post and the crossbar. The keeper was great - he saved them from two or three goals more."
"I want points and today we did everything to get a win and we deserved all three of them. I don't like to say the word deserved but we've deserved more in many matches on the football-side this season. If we continue with this attitude and effort then the points will come."
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'Crash, bang wallop' works for McLeish
Birmingham 2 West Ham 2
Independent
By Phil Shaw at St Andrew's
Monday, 8 November 2010
The sight of his coach Andy Watson heading into the night kitted out in what appeared to be a leather kilt startled even Alex McLeish. But then rapid makeovers were de rigeur here on Saturday, Birmingham achieving a positive new look after forsaking diamonds and West Ham's finery being all but transformed into tatters by the end.
McLeish, the Birmingham manager, has been striving to "make things a wee bit more creative in the last third" by deploying Alexander Hleb at the apex of a midfield diamond. "It's not easy to fit him in given the style we've played over the past year – a lot of graft, hard work and more robust," said the Scot.
The formation had sparkled in Birmingham's previous home game, against Blackpool. However, by their manager's frank admission, it failed to provide a cutting edge to worry West Ham, who merited the 2-0 lead secured by Frédéric Piquionne and Valon Behrami.
Switching to a direct approach, and replacing Hleb's elegance with the energy of Craig Gardner, Birmingham swiftly drew level through Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell and would have claimed a winner had Daniel Gabbidon not diverted Jerome's effort on to a post. "If we're playing at breakneck speed, it's crash, bang, wallop and there's no time, Cameron's pouncing on things," said McLeish. "But when it's all methodical, then we probably need different personnel. It all comes down to getting the right formula."
Birmingham are just a point better off than after 11 matches last season, and despite having upgraded their squad with the signings of Hleb, Jean Beausejour and Nikola Zigic, they have won only three of their past 21 League matches. McLeish insisted he was not perturbed by that statistic but noted that a surfeit of home draws led to relegation in 2007-08, and this was the third stalemate in six games on their own ground.
The plight of West Ham, who are propping up the Premier League with seven points from a possible 33, is identical to Portsmouth's at this stage a year ago. Pompey finished bottom. The common denominator, manager Avram Grant, now faces home fixtures against promoted duo West Brom and Blackpool that could decide his future at Upton Park.
During the opening hour, his side's fluid attacking set up the prospect of a first League away win in 24 attempts and Ben Foster had to be outstanding in the home goal. Grant condemned as a "farce" referee Michael Oliver's failure to award a penalty when Beausejour pulled Lars Jacobsen's shirt late on. However, the more pressing issue was why high balls and set-pieces should have so easily disconcerted Robert Green, Matthew Upson et al.
Jacobsen, adopting the old too-good-to-go-down stance, stressed the need for results to match performances. "We just have to get out of there," said the Dane. "When you look at the team, the players and the way we play, we don't belong there."
Match Facts
Man of the match Foster Match rating 6/10
Possession Birmingham 54% West Ham 46%
Shots on target Birmingham 5 West Ham 8
Referee M Oliver(Northumberland) Att 26, 474.
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Birmingham City let back in but West Ham United co-owner David Gold stays frozen out
Birmingham City 2 West Ham United 2
Telegraph.co.uk
By Sandy Macaskill
Published: 7:00AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Birmingham City's acting chairman, Peter Pannu, and West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan have agreed to put their differences aside and meet at a dinner for two in London. However the invitation does not extend to Sullivan's business partner, David Gold, who started the controversy by insulting Pannu in an interview last week. For now though, the insults emanating from the respective boardrooms are over. The war of words erupted when Gold claimed Birmingham's new regime had signalled an intention to retain him as chairman in an offer document made to shareholders before reneging on the deal. This was denied by Birmingham and Gold was subsequently banned from St Andrew's. On the pitch, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish's remodelled side, the supposedly more sophisticated mark II machine, is suffering something of an identity crisis. Birmingham have picked up only 12 points this season and this game revealed again the problem McLeish has in finding a role for Alexander Hleb. the former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder.
Hleb tries to bring creativity honed on the training pitches of Barcelona but, more often than not, it has been wasted. "When we've got a player like Hleb in the team, we've got to try to play to his strengths, find him in between the strikers and midfield," McLeish accepted. "We obviously try and get the right link for him, bringing a player of his quality into the squad, but it's not easy to fit him in given the type of style we've played over the past year." That style — if one can call it that — was basically backs-to-the-wall defending interspersed with what McLeish described as "crash, bang, wallop" attacks. They were perfectly ponderous against West Ham until Frédéric Piquionne and Valon Behrami left them two goals behind. When Birmingham reverted to type, they broke down West Ham with Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell pulling them level.
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Avram Grant on borrowed time as West Ham let lead slip at Birmingham
Hammers stuck on bottom after losing two-goal lead
Birmingham switch tactics and fight back for point
Guardian.co.uk
Valon Behrami scored West Ham's second goal at St Andrew's but Birmingham battled back for a point. Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images
Alex McLeish spoke of "reinventing the wheel", Avram Grant must fear his has turned full circle as both managers find themselves in deja vu territory – in the same positions they occupied 12 months ago.
Each needed a win at St Andrew's on Saturday, neither got it, and they move on to midweek fixtures in increasing need of the lift three points would give their respective teams. Birmingham City are finding it difficult to get anything like optimum effectiveness from Alexander Hleb, their loan signing from Barcelona; West Ham United are just finding it difficult.
Blues have won only three of their past 20 matches, and are falling between two stylistic stools. They have compromised the direct approach which brought them a top-10 finish last season to accommodate Hleb in "the hole", and instead find themselves in one, their in‑your-face effectiveness diminished.
Grant's side are showing signs of improvement but remain anchored to the bottom of the table, just as his Portsmouth team were this time last year, and he needs no reminding of what happened then. The lugubrious Israeli is on borrowed time, his employers having indicated that they expect a minimum of six points from the next three matches, starting at home to West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
After taking only seven from their first 11 games it is a big ask, but they ought to have had three on Saturday. Not only did they let slip a two-goal lead, they were denied an 88th‑minute penalty which would, in all probability, have brought them victory.
After a dreadful, barren first half, Frédéric Piquionne and Valon Behrami scored well-taken goals early in the second to leave Birmingham staring down the barrel at an embarrassing home defeat. Drastic action was required, and McLeish withdrew Hleb and reverted to an orthodox 4-4-2 formation, to immediate effect.
Eschewing a composed passing game in favour of the long ball, Blues were reborn, deservedly regaining parity with close-range finishes from Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell. West Ham could – and Grant insisted they should – have won. With time running out, Lars Jacobsen's advance on goal was halted by a tug on his shirt from Jean Beausejour. It was an obvious penalty, Grant said. Echoing Harry Redknapp at Old Trafford a week earlier, he called the referee's decision farcical.
Jacobsen said: "We played good football away from home and showed we definitely don't belong in the last position in the league. It was a penalty, definitely. I've seen it replayed on TV. It's the kind of bad luck you have when you are down there at the bottom. I thought the linesman could have seen it but he said he couldn't, and that's football. They can't see everything."
McLeish admitted Birmingham lack confidence, but pointed out they are in roughly the same position they occupied a year ago, when they were 14th, with 11 points from their first 11 games. They now lie in 15th, with a point more from the same number of games. He said: "I'm aware that when we've got a player like Hleb in the team we've got to try to play to his strengths – to fit him in between the strikers and midfield. But it's not easy, given the robust style we've played over the past year, based on a lot of graft and hard work. We've got players who can pass the ball, and we've tried to make things a wee bit more creative, which I felt we lacked last season, but sometimes you try to reinvent the wheel. We've got great spirit and character here, but we do have to find the right formula."
Man of the match Valon Behrami (West Ham)
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Demolition job! West Ham outrage as Tottenham plan to bulldoze Olympic Stadium and build new ground on site
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:37 PM on 7th November 2010
Daily Mail
Tottenham's battle with West Ham for control of the Olympic Stadium took a new twist as the north London club have plans to DEMOLISH the venue and build a new ground on the site. Spurs plan to bulldoze the £538million London 2012 arena and build a replacement for their current White Hart Lane base in Stratford and invest in the track at Crystal Palace to ensure the Olympic Park Legacy Company has it's athletic legacy in the capital. Costs of building the new stadium in Tottenham have spiralled since the project began two years ago, rising from an initial £400m to £460m. Upgrading surrounding roads and transport links have proved prohibitive, compared with the substantial national and international links at Stratford which have prompted the club to pursue the revised plans in east London. Tottenham are confident the scheme makes economic sense because they will be able to sell White Hart Lane to property developers to part-fund the project. The news is sure to enrage London rivals West Ham who made a joint bid with Newham council to lease the stadium and sub-let it out for cricket and community events throughout the year.
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