WHUFC.com
All the early team news and background for Wednesday night's home match
against West Brom
09.11.2010
WEST HAM UNITED v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
WEDNESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2010
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
Introduction
• West Ham United take on Midlands opposition for the third time this season
looking to build on Saturday's match at Birmingham City. The Hammers drew
2-2 at St. Andrews and could have won but for a late penalty shout being
denied. Previously, Avram Grant's men were also unlucky at Wolverhampton
Wanderers on 16 October, drawing 1-1 but seeing Frederic Piquionne denied a
last-gasp winner because of a wrong handball decision.
• This is the 75th league meeting between the two sides. West Brom have won
33, West Ham have won 30 and there have been eleven draws.
• West Brom have not scored on their previous two visits to the Boleyn
Ground and are looking for a first win in east London since 2002 when Jason
Roberts scored the only goal.
• West Ham's biggest home win against West Brom was a 6-1 success on 16
April 1965, while the Baggies' best performance at the Boleyn Ground was a
5-1 triumph on 7 November 1931
• Two of Nigeria's FIFA World Cup strikers could be going head to head with
the Hammers' Victor Obinna and the Baggies' Peter Odemwingie likely to be on
view.
Team news
West Ham United
• Manager Avram Grant is definitely without Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh) and
Jack Collison (knee). Collison is hoping to return around the turn of the
year, Hitzlsperger has a February comeback date having had surgery on his
torn muscle.
• Mark Noble was ruled out for a month after having his appendix removed a
week ago last Monday. Tal Ben Haim has been sidelined with a foot injury
while Junior Stanislas is battling to overcome a groin problem.
• Robert Green and Scott Parker will both hope to maintain their
ever-present records this season in the Barclays Premier League. Green is on
a run of 137 consecutive league starts for the club.
• Manu da Costa has been working hard to overcome an ankle injury that kept
him out of the Birmingham match.
• Julien Faubert will serve the second match of a three-game suspension for
his red card in the reserves at Arsenal last month.
West Bromwich Albion
• West Brom are without DR Congo midfielder Youssuf Mulumbu, after his red
card at the weekend. Gonzalo Jara will be serving the second game of his
two-match suspension following his dismissal at Blackpool a week ago.
• Jonas Olsson is out with an injured achilles, while there are doubts over
Nicky Shorey (ankle), Steven Reid (achilles) and James Morrison (knee)
Last time out
West Ham United
• West Ham United were pegged back to a 2-2 draw by by Birmingham City on
Saturday. Goals early in the second half from Frederic Piquionne and Valon
Behrami put the Hammers in a commanding position, only for Cameron Jerome
and Liam Ridgewell to earn the Blues a point.
6 November 2010
Barclays Premier League
Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Gabbidon, Jacobsen, Upson, Ilunga, Parker, Behrami,
Boa Morte (Dyer 83), Piquionne, Cole, Obinna (Kovac 89)
Subs not used: Stech, Reid, Tomkins, Barrera, McCarthy
West Bromwich Albion
• West Brom were beaten at home by big-spending Manchester City on Sunday.
Mario Balotelli's two goals in quick succession midway through the first
half settled the contest. To make matters worse for the Baggies, Youssuf
Mulumbu was sent off in the closing stages
7 November 2010
Barclays Premier League
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Manchester City
West Bromwich Albion: Carson, Ibanez, Cech (Barnes 60) , Tamas, Shorey,
Thomas, Scharner (Miller 81) , Brunt, Mulumbu (sent off 82), Fortune
(Odemwingie 60), Cox
Subs not used: Myhill, Dorrans, Reid, Tchoyi
Last meeting
West Ham United were held to a goalless draw in a tense relegation battle at
the Boleyn back on 16 March 2009. The point would eventually help the
Hammers to beat the drop but West Brom were to be relegated at the end of
the season.
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Tomkins, Upson (Spector 29), Ilunga, Noble
(Boa Morte 82), Kovac, Parker, Savio (Stanislas 68) , Di Michele, Sears
Subs not used: Lastuvka, Lopez, Tristan, Payne
West Bromwich Albion: Carson, Zuiverloon, Martis, Olsson, Robinson, Morrison
(Teixeira 88), Koren, Dorrans, Greening, Brunt (Simpson 80), Fortune (Moore
80)
Subs not used: Kiely, Hoefkens, Cech, Bednar
Head to head
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
16 March 2009 West Ham United 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
13 September 2008 West Bromwich Albion 3-2 West Ham United
1 May 2006 West Bromwich Albion 0-1 West Ham United
5 November 2005 West Ham United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
6 December 2003 (Championship) West Bromwich Albion 1-1 West Ham United
8 November 2003 (Championship) West Ham United 3-4 West Bromwich Albion
Overall record v West Bromwich Albion (all competitions) W 35 D 17 L 37
Ten-year league records
West Ham United
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via
play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
2000/01 Premier League 15th (42 points)
West Bromwich Albion
2009/10 Championship 2nd (91 points, promoted to Premier League)
2008/09 Premier League 20th (32 points, relegated to Championship)
2007/08 Championship 1st (81 points, promoted to Premier League)
2006/07 Championship 4th (76 points)
2005/06 Premier League 19th (30 points, relegated to Championship)
2004/05 Premier League17th (34 points)
2003/04 Championship 2nd (86 points, promoted to Premier League)
2002/03 Premier League 19th (26 points, relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Championship 2nd (89 points, promoted to Premier League)
2000/01 Championship 6th (74 points)
Background
West Ham United
• Scott Parker and Freddie Piquionne are West Ham's leading scorers this
season with four goals. Parker has scored twice each in the Barclays Premier
League and the Carling Cup, while Piquionne has three in the top-flight and
one in the cup.
• Danny Gabbidon's yellow card against Fulham on 2 October was the quickest
caution given to a top-flight player this season. It came after just one
minute and 25 seconds.
• The Hammers ended a run of eleven games without scoring more than once in
a Barclays Premier League contest at Birmingham on Saturday - the longest
run in the top-flight. It is 22 games since the Hammers won by more than one
goal.
• West Ham have now gone 24 league games without an away win and 23 matches
since winning by more than one goal at home or away.
West Bromwich Albion
• Scott Carson and Chris Brunt are the only players who can make it a dozen
starts this season - and maintain an ever-present place in the Baggies first
eleven. Youssuf Mulumbu was on eleven starts but is suspended after his red
card at home to Manchester City on Saturday
• West Brom have two players in the Barclays Premier League top ten assists
table - with Chris Brunt on six and Jerome Thomas on four.
• Peter Odemwingie is the club's leading league scorer with three goals to
his name since his summer arrival.
• The Baggies are on a run of 43 matches since being involved in a goalless
draw, 13 ahead of their nearest rival Stoke City.
Referee
• Wednesday's referee is Mike Dean, who took charge of the Hammers'
opening-day 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
• Dean began refereeing in 1985, starting out his career in senior football
in the Northern Premier League.
• In 2004, Dean took charge of his first international match, a friendly
between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland at Amsterdam Arena. That
same year, he took control of the FA Community Shield between Arsenal and
Manchester United.
• In May 2006, he refereed the Championship play-off final between Leeds
United and Watford at the Millennium Stadium. In 2008, he was the
man-in-the-middle for the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City
at Wembley Stadium.
Old boys
• West Ham defender Danny Gabbidon started his career with West Brom, making
27 league and cup appearances between August 1998 and September 2000.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are David Cross,
Gary Strodder, Tommy Green, Vincent Hayes, Geoff Hurst, Thomas Kinsell,
Tudor Martin, Nigel Quashie and Chippy Simmons
Next up
• Avram Grant's side welcome Blackpool to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 13
November for a 3pm kick-off.
• West Brom travel to Everton on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.
Travel information
• For directions to the Boleyn Ground, click here.
General information
• For ticket information, click here
• The weather forecast for Wednesday night is for a chilly evening, with
temperatures around the 5C mark.
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Points the point for Grant
WHUFC.com
Tonight's showdown with West Bromwich Albion is all that is occupying the
manager
10.11.2010
Avram Grant has said he is fully focused on the task at hand - getting more
points starting tonight and guiding West Ham United up the Barclays Premier
League table. While much of the pre-match debate before the visit of West
Bromwich Albion has been on the issue of controversial calls, the manager
was eager to just get on with two big home fixtures in four days. "It
doesn't matter about referees or not," he said. "We need points and that is
what I am concentrating on. In life I don't think about what happened
before."
Grant knows his team face a tough test against the Baggies, and has been
impressed with the "very good" way they play football on their return to the
top flight. Equally, he has been happy that his own side have kept to their
attacking instincts and is looking to them to maintain the "style of
football we want to keep" while adding points to the performances. Injuries
to Manu da Costa and Mark Noble have complicated matters in recent days but
the manager has been impressed with the players that have come into the
side. Kieron Dyer is one of those and Grant hinted that the pacy midfielder
could be involved on Wednesday night. "He's better, so we will see," he
said. "He has a good chance to play. It's good because this season we have
been suffering lot injuries especially with players that were in a good
shape like Thomas Hitzlsperger or Mark Noble. Da Costa is another example as
well. "We need points. But if anyone thinks that someone needs to remind us
and the players that we need to take points then they are wrong. We have a
squad that can handle this and we will do it. "I don't think we deserve to
be on the bottom. But we are on the bottom of the league and we are trying
to find the right way to take the points. If you saw our [drawn] games you
could not complain if we had won them. But the fact is we have seven points
and we need points. If we continue to do what we have until now then we will
get them."
Grant acknowledged his team allowed a two-goal lead to slip on Saturday at
Birmingham City but backed his players to learn from that - as they had from
other setbacks this campaign. "You did not see us do the same things twice.
If we have made a mistake, we have improved. We are improving slowly but
improving. "We deserve more points. But the word 'deserve' is not in the
dictionary."
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Pay on day for West Brom
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole is up for Wednesday night, make sure you are there to show your
support
09.11.2010
Fans coming along to the big Barclays Premier League encounter with West
Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night will be able to pay on the day. Cash
turnstiles will be open for the West Stand Upper from 6.15pm, while fans can
also purchase tickets online and over the phone for collection from the
Ticket Office in advance of the 7.45pm kick-off. It promises to be another
special night under the lights at the Boleyn, with the team hoping to repeat
the result in the last home game - when they roared to a 3-1 win against
Stoke City a fortnight ago. With demand expected to be high, fans are
advised to get to the stadium early. Supporters should also note that this
match will not be televised, as previously advertised.
Carlton Cole is hoping he and his team-mates can repay the supporters' loyal
backing against the Baggies, and has pledged to do his best to follow his
man of the match display for the Hammers at the weekend. The England striker
may only have one goal to his name this season, having bided his time behind
Frederic Piquionne and Victor Obinna, but was superb on Saturday in the 2-2
draw at Birmingham City. "We are confident and we are playing at home," said
Cole. "We've got the fans behind us as well to help us try to get the win we
deserve. I felt really good against Birmingham and now I want to get out
there now against West Brom and build on that. "The confidence is there. We
don't deserve to be at the bottom at the moment but we are where we are. If
we keep working hard, things will pan out well for us. We need to start
turning draws into wins, and it is up to all of us to put it right. We know
what we have to do for the fans."
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Noble delight at fan award
WHUFC.com
The fans have voted Mark Noble as the latest winner of the SBOBET player of
the month
09.11.2010
Mark Noble has been voted the SBOBET player of the month for October 2010.
The midfielder was terrific last month, notably keeping his nerve to score
from the penalty spot in the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers and then
inspiring a fightback at home to Stoke City in the Carling Cup. Noble made
the two extra-time goals that took the Hammers through to the quarter-final
with Manchester United. Noble earned 41 per cent of the fan vote, with Scott
Parker his closest rival on 29 per cent. He follows Kieron Dyer and Manuel
da Costa, who took the awards for August and September respectively. The
award was a great boost to the 23-year-old, who was back at Chadwell Heath
this week to start light fitness work after having his appendix removed a
week ago. "Obviously I want to thank the fans for voting for me," Noble told
whufc.com. "It means a lot and whenever it is something like this from the
fans, it is great to have - but we are all working hard as a team together.
"The backing of the fans is important and they have been fantastic for us in
every game this season. We want them to know we are all doing our best to
turn results around so we can move up the table."
Noble will have a watching brief for the next two home games but is aiming
to be back in action sooner rather than later. "Although I won't be able to
play a part against West Brom and Blackpool this week, I will be like
everyone else in supporting the lads. "If we can play like we have been
doing lately, there is no reason why we can't pick up points in these games.
"I am feeling fine after the operation. I have been resting up but I am now
looking forward to getting back playing and I will be ready to do my bit for
the team as soon as I can."
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Parker on the offensive
Hammers midfielder hopeful club can build on Birmingham draw
By James Dall Last updated: 9th November 2010
SSN
Scott Parker was encouraged by West Ham United's attacking showing against
Birmingham at the weekend. The Hammers took a two-goal lead at St Andrews
only to relinquish their advantage as the Blues fought back to claim a
point. West Ham are currently bottom of the Premier League table and are
next in action on Wednesday versus West Brom. Parker is hopeful his side can
build on their performance in the Midlands as they look to turn their season
around. "I enjoyed [the way we attacked]," Parker said.
Threat
"It was good. I thought we looked a threat on the break on Saturday and
every time we went forward we looked like we could score. "That was the case
in the first half and second half, so that was pleasing." He added: "We
wanted to win the game and we came away with a draw. Probably we'll look
back and think it was a good point. "We deserved to win the game and it's
our fault because at 2-0 up we shouldn't have lost the lead. "We have to win
games like this. We need to learn from this and just keep going. Saturday
wasn't meant to be but we're looking forward to Wednesday now."
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ISG could Hammer bid
The Sun
Published: Today
THE company behind Wembley's premium seats system is the third bidder
wanting to take over the running of the London Olympic stadium after the
2012 Games. International Stadia Group are taking on rival bids involving
two football clubs, according to Estates Gazette. West Ham/Newham council
and Tottenham/AEG are also bidding to take over the stadium but the identity
of the third bidder has been a mystery until now. ISG has also been involved
in stadium projects in Brazil, Galatasaray's Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul
and the Swebank Arena in Stockholm.
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I Av to get away from the bottom
The Sun
By ROSS GREGORY
Published: Today
AVRAM GRANT is confident he can soon say goodbye to the drop zone for the
first time in a year. The West Ham boss took over at crisis club Portsmouth
12 months ago but could not save them from the drop. And at the moment the
Hammers are rock bottom of the Premier League with just one win in 11
attempts. But winnable home games against West Brom tonight and Blackpool on
Saturday are looming and Grant is desperate for a change of luck. He said:
"We want to be out of the bottom three by Saturday evening. That is our
target. "It was not a nice experience last year and even this year I knew it
would be a difficult season. But I don't think we deserve to be on the
bottom. "If you saw our games you could not complain if we had won them."
Baggies boss Roberto di Matteo has defended their disciplinary record and
insisted: "We're not a dirty team." Albion have had three players sent off
in their last two games — Gonzalo Jara and Pablo Ibanez in the defeat at
Blackpool and Youssuf Mulumbu in Sunday's 2-0 reverse against Manchester
City. The Ibanez decision was wiped out on appeal and Mulumbu collected a
second yellow card after failing to realise he had been booked. But Di
Matteo said: "We're not a dirty team at all. Jara's was a bad one, but all I
ask my players to be is competitive."
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Sears hoping to end Iron goal fears
Tuesday 9th November 2010 16:22
TeamTalk
On-loan Scunthorpe striker Freddie Sears has set his sights on putting an
end to his personal drought in front of goal. The 21-year-old forward, on
loan from Premier League West Ham, has had to wait nearly two years to find
the back of the net at first-team level since his Hammers debut against
Blackburn in March 2008. The former England Under-21 international is
confident that staying with the Iron will help him to rediscover the
prolific touch he showed in his teens. "I would be lying if I said it wasn't
frustrating, as a striker I always want to score goals." he told the
Scunthorpe Telegraph. "As long as I keep working hard and hitting the target
then I am sure they will start to go in. Manager Ian Baraclough has
confirmed he has already started talks on extending the loan, Sears adding:
"I would be happy to stay here at Scunthorpe for the rest of this season."
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London 2012: Third bidder emerges in race to take over Olympic stadium
International Stadia Group (ISG), a stadium management and financing
operation founded by sports management giants IMG, has emerged as a
potential tenant of the London Olympic stadium.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Paul Kelso 7:25PM GMT 09 Nov 2010
The group, which has worked on a number of high-profile projects including
the new Wembley and the failed Donnington Park debenture scheme, was
reported to be the third candidate bidding to take on the 2012 stadium in
competition with bids from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham. Estates Gazette
reported yesterday that ISG, which specialises in planning debentures and
other funding solutions for stadium building, had submitted a bid and made a
presentation to the Olympic Park Legacy Company last Friday. Contacted twice
on Tuesday, ISG said that no-one was available to answer queries from the
media, and chief executive Andrew Hampel did not return an email asking for
comment.
ISG's interest in the Olympic Stadium would mark a departure from its
previous projects, which have largely involved providing funding solutions
for stadiums based on market research. They came up with the Wembley funding
package under which premium seats in the Club Wembley and Corinthian
sections of the ground underwrote the borrowing for construction costs. At
Wembley the company claim this delivered £600million of revenue from just
20% of the seating. Most recently ISG was hired to manage the sale of the
premium seating at the remodelled Landsdowne Road in Dublin, now called the
Aviva Stadium. It is thought ISG may plan to run the Olympic Stadium without
an anchor football tenant, and would seek to attract regular events such as
the NFL's international round or eventually a London franchise to the arena.
West Ham have also held talks with the NFL about hosting matches but any
talks about NFL expansion are on hold while a new collective bargaining
agreement with the players union is thrashed out. ISG's potential
involvement emerged as the Olympic Delivery Authority revealed its latest
budget forecasts for the Olympic project, which show a small reduction in
the forecast final cost of the project. The final cost is now estimated at
£7.232billion, down £29million on the last quarterly forecast. The ODA also
revealed that overall savings of £750million mean that £500million of
contingency has been repurposed to cover additional security and venue
management costs, and that a surplus of £500million is currently forecast to
be repaid to the Treasury after the Games, Some £7million has been saved by
scrapping a planned fabric "wrap" around the main stadium. The wrap was
originally hailed as the stadium's unique selling point, with designers
insisting it would conceal the functional design of the largely temporary
seating and would come alive with projections and light shows. After it
emerged that the wrap was not necessary to control wind speeds in the
stadium, however, it was decided to scrap it as savings were sought for the
Comprehensive Spending Review. The London 2012 organising committee is now
trying to find sponsors willing to take on the cost of the wrap, which would
effectively see them gain naming rights over the arena.
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West Ham manager Avram Grant is more concerned with injury problems than
pressure surrounding his position
Avram Grant insists he is more concerned about West Ham's problems on the
pitch rather than growing speculation about his future at the club.
Telegraph.co.uk
By John Ley 10:30PM GMT 09 Nov 2010
Grant, who leads out West Ham against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, has
been at the foot of the Premier League for all but three weeks since
returning to management almost a year ago, having presided over Portsmouth's
relegation last season. Grant was warned by co-owner David Sullivan, before
Saturday's 2-2 draw at Birmingham – after they led 2-0 – that he wanted
seven points from the next four games. Now the manager needs six from games
at home to Albion and Blackpool and at Liverpool, so Wednesday's match
becomes crucial. "David didn't say anything to me, but you don't need to put
pressure on me to take points because I want to take points all the time,"
Grant said. "We share the same vision. We know the difficulties and we know
where the team is. The problem I concentrate on is the problem on the pitch,
off the pitch there is no problem and I don't want to point the finger at
anyone else except me."
Grant admitted that, in addition to the absence of Mark Noble, recovering
from an appendix operation, and Julien Faubert, suspended after receiving a
red card against Arsenal's reserves, there were "four players now with the
medical department."
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WEST BROM'S GRAHAM DORRANS: WEST HAM ISN'T TO BLAME FOR POOR FORM
West Brom's Graham Dorrans says West Ham's pursuit of him isn't to blame for
his poor form
Wednesday November 10,2010
By Daily Express Reporter
GRAHAM Dorrans does not believe West Ham's public pursuit of him in the
summer is to blame for his poor Premier League form. Midfield man Dorrans
was West Brom's player of the year last season, but has admitted he is still
yet to fire in the top flight. The Hammers made three bids for Scotland
international Dorrans, but not even an offer of £4million could tempt the
Baggies to sell. Dorrans went on to sign a bumper new contract at the
Hawthorns and is expected to start at Upton Park tonight. But he says
Hammers' desperate attempts to sign him aren't the reason for his under-par
performances. He said: "West Ham was never a problem. I always set my stall
out to come back here and start the season. "I signed my new contract and I
am happy here. But I know I've not been at my best. I've missed a few games,
other players have come in and done really well and the team have got good
results when they have been in. "It has been tough to get back into the side
but I'll have to work hard in training and take my chances when they come
along. I can't really put my finger on the reasons for it. I just need to
get back to the form I was in last season."
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WEST HAM V WEST BROM: AVRAM GRANT WILL TAKE BLAME FOR HAMMERS SLUMP
West Ham boss Avram Grant could pay the ultimate price if his side are
beaten by West Brom
Wednesday November 10,2010
By Matt Law
AVRAM Grant has accepted he must take the blame for West Ham's slump to the
bottom of the table and could pay the ultimate price if his side are beaten
by West Brom tonight. Hammers co-owner David Sullivan set Grant the target
of taking at least seven points from four games before the draw at
Birmingham, which leaves him searching for six points from games against
West Brom, Blackpool and Liverpool. But a defeat at the hands of promoted
West Brom at Upton Park could seal Grant's fate, as Sullivan and David Gold
want to see proof the club's plight can be turned around.
Former West Ham boss Alan Pardew was considered as a candidate before Grant
was appointed and is available again after being sacked by Southampton.
Grant, though, insists he does not need telling just how desperate the
situation is becoming and can cope with the pressure of trying to save his
position. "My job is to be guilty," said Grant. "The problem I concentrate
on is the problem on the pitch and I don't want to point the finger at
anyone else except me. "It was the same with the Israel national team, the
same at Chelsea, the same at Portsmouth and it is still the same here. It is
our job – you cannot change it. Did you see any club without pressure? There
is no football without pressure. "I had the same questions three years ago
when I was at a top team and six years ago when I was in the national team.
But I don't think pressure is a bad word. "I was a few months without
pressure and I didn't know what to do with myself. Of course there is
negative pressure but if you take it as a positive it can push you to think
more and do more.
"If you think that someone needs to remind me and the players that we need
to take points, then you are wrong. David Sullivan didn't say anything to
me. I will speak to him. But I don't think David or anybody else saying we
need to take points will change anything because that's what we want to do.
"The situation is that we are bottom of the league but I don't see from any
of the 10 teams above us who has played better. Now we need points and that
is what I am concentrating on. Our target is to be off the bottom by
Saturday evening."
Grant's predecessor, Gianfranco Zola, found life impossible under Sullivan
and Gold, and was eventually sacked. But Grant claims his relationship with
the West Ham co-owners is good. "David Sullivan is a nice guy and we have a
regular dialogue," said Grant. "Until now the owners have not caused me any
problems, they are trying to help and trying to support. That's most
important. "I think I do have their backing because we share the same vision
and we know where the team is." Grant has now been the manager of the
Premier League's bottom club for all but three weeks in a period just less
than a year, having become Portsmouth manager on November 26, 2009. At
Pompey, Grant was in an almost impossible situation because of the club's
financial crisis.
He does not have the same off-the-field problems at West Ham but has
stressed that money must be spent to make improvements. "Before Portsmouth,
I was all my life used to other things," said Grant. "It was not a nice
experience last year. Even this year, I know we are going to face a
difficult season, but I don't think we deserve to be on the bottom. "With
money alone you cannot succeed, but without money also you cannot succeed. "
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Parker says attack is the way for Hammers to battle out of trouble
By Matt Somerford
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Independent.co.uk
Scott Parker believes attack could be the best policy if West Ham United are
to drag themselves off the foot of the Premier League table. The Hammers
have managed just one win this season to prop up the table with seven points
after 11 games.
Their nine league goals is also the second-lowest total in the Premier
League this term, but midfielder Parker thinks the Upton Park strikers can
inspire a rise up the table after an improved performance in Saturday's 2-2
draw at Birmingham City. His manager, Avram Grant, employed a three-pronged
attack at St Andrew's, with Carlton Cole returning to the line-up alongside
the new arrivals Frédéric Piquionne and Victor Obinna.
It looked a winning move when goals from Piquionne and Valon Behrami fired
the Hammers 2-0 ahead, only for the hosts to battle back for a draw. Parker
admitted that represented points lost for his side, but found enough
encouragement in their attacking play to suggest they can put their
early-season malaise behind them when West Bromwich visit east London
tonight.
"I enjoyed [the way we attacked]," Parker said yesterday. "It was good. I
thought we looked a threat on the break on Saturday and every time we went
forward we looked like we could score. That was the case in the first half
and second half, so that was pleasing. We wanted to win the game and we came
away with a draw.
"Probably we'll look back and think it was a good point. We deserved to win
the game and it's our fault because at 2-0 up we shouldn't have lost the
lead. We need to learn from this and just keep going. Saturday wasn't meant
to be but we're looking forward to Wednesday."
The West Ham captain, Matthew Upson, returned from a hamstring injury for
the draw at Birmingham – a match he said underlined the Hammers'
inconsistency this season. The England defender has told his team-mates
that, before they can climb out of trouble, they need to accept that their
performances so far have warranted their lowly position.
"I think some of our performances have been a mixed bag in the same game,
with good and bad that has just cost us in little areas," Upson said. "We've
made bad choices and we've been punished heavily this season. We need to get
back on a winning streak and a couple of wins will change everything. The
brutality of the Premier League is that, if you make the wrong choice,
you'll pay for it. We can't say we're not a 'bottom of the table club',
because the facts speak for themselves and we are. The table doesn't lie and
the points we have don't lie."
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West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion: match preview
Read a full match preview of the Premier League game between West Ham United
and West Bromwich Albion at Upton Park on Wednesday Nov 10 2010, kick-off
19:45 GMT.
By John Ley 6:00AM GMT 10 Nov 2010
Wednesday, November 10
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion
Upton Park
Kick-off: 19.45 GMT
TV: Highlights, BBC1 Match of the Day.
West Ham (Probable, 4-2-3-1): Green; Jacobsen, Upson, Gabbidon, Ilunga;
Behrami, Piquionne, Parker, Boa Morte, Obinna; Cole.
WBA (Probable, 4-4-2): Carson; Shorey, Tamas, Pablo, Cech; Dorrans,
Scharner; Brunt, Cox, Thomas; Fortune.
Referee: Mike Dean. Matches: 9. R1 Y29.
This is a crucial game for West Ham. After the 2-2 draw at Birmingham, they
have the chance to win for the first time in the league in six games.
At home they have won just once and lost three, but they beat Stoke, in
extra time, in the Carling Cup in what was their last Upton Park game and
return in upbeat mood. Albion lost 2-1 at Blackpool in their last away game
but there were mitigating circumstances with the Baggies reduced to nine men
before half time. One of those red carded, Pablo Ibanez, had the decision
overturned and is available. Albion are already with the banned Gonzalo Jara
and now miss Youssuf Mulumbu after the midfielder was sent off in Sunday's
2-0 defeat by Manchester City. Graham Dorrans could be his replacement.
Nicky Shorey is battling to overcome an ankle knock sustained against City
but Steven Reid (Achilles) and James Morrison (knee) should be fit. West Ham
are also without a player through suspension, with Julien Faubert serving
the second game of a three-match ban. And Mark Noble is still missing as he
recovers from an operation to remove his appendix, so they could be
unchanged.
Last season: N/A.
Stat of the game: No fewer than 13 of Albion's 15 points have been won in
games when they have conceded first.
Betting tip: West Ham are due a win. Cole to get the first goal comes in at
11-2.
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