WHUFC.com
Steve Lomas and his players will hope for some pleasure when they travel to
Bloomfield Road
22.03.2011
West Ham United continue their quest for the Barclays Premier Reserve League
title when they travel to Blackpool on Tuesday. Steve Lomas' side have been
in superb form ahead of their trip to Bloomfield Road, winning four and
drawing one of their previous six matches, and head north on a four-match
unbeaten run. The most recent of those games saw the Hammers defeat
Newcastle United 4-2 at the Boleyn Ground, with Robbie Keane, Freddie Sears
and Zavon Hines all on target. Exclusive highlights from that fixture are
available on West Ham TV now.
Sears and Hines could both be involved on Wednesday when West Ham will seek
to achieve a victory that would take them to within four points of Southern
Group leaders Arsenal - with two games in-hand on the Gunners - and above
second-placed Chelsea on goal difference. Click here to view the league
table. The duo will be joined in Lomas' squad by Matt Fry, back from loan at
Charlton Athletic, and young professionals Olly Lee, Cristian Montano, Ahmed
Abdulla, Callum McNaughton and Anthony Edgar, while a number of scholars
will also be eager to catch the eye as the season approaches its climax. The
manager, who has enjoyed an unbeaten start since taking charge in February,
will continue his policy of handing the captain's armband to a young player
to help him to gain more leadership experience. "I want all the young boys
to have a go at it because I want them to be vocal because they don't talk
enough around the senior players," said the former Hammers midfielder. "I
understand that it is difficult to demand things of them, but if they are
going to train with them and play with them, then they've got to be able to
tell them if they are doing something wrong and if they want the ball. "For
me, I want all the young lads to captain because they're the ones who are
going to be with me the majority of the time."
Blackpool themselves have also been in decent Barclays Premier Reserve
League form, defeating Liverpool and Manchester United in their previous two
fixtures to climb off the bottom of the Northern B Group table.
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O'Neil the real deal
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil showed no ill effects from an enforced lay-off to play his part
at Tottenham
22.03.2011
After three weeks out of action, tracking the combined talents of Gareth
Bale, Aaron Lennon and Benoit Assou-Ekotto was a tough assignment for Gary
O'Neil. Thankfully, West Ham United's No32 was up to the task, combining
superbly with right-back Lars Jacobsen to keep Tottenham Hotspur's left-wing
raiders at bay. The pair's efforts helped the Hammers to earn what could
prove to be a priceless Barclays Premier League point from a hard-fought,
breathless goalless draw at White Hart Lane. O'Neil, who missed the recent
league and FA Cup sixth-round meetings with Stoke City, returned to the
starting XI with a typically energetic display.
"The gaffer changed it against Stoke [in the league] and then I was cup-tied
so I've had three weeks without a game," he told West Ham TV. "I was feeling
it a little bit towards the end. In the last 15 minutes my legs felt a
little bit heavy. "I felt Lars and I did well down our side and contained
Bale as much as possible and Assou-Ekotto is a good player as well. We tried
to stop the supply a bit, which I thought we did well. "We could have done a
little bit more on the ball, but we were working so hard without it, it's
hard to have enough movement when you have it to cause them problems."
O'Neil's non-stop running typified a resilient performance from Avram
Grant's side. From front to back, the players ran their hearts out. "It was
hard work. It was a good team performance. It wasn't the prettiest.
Tottenham worked us hard and are a good side at home and had a lot of the
play, but we stuck at it and it was a vital point at the end. "Spurs had a
couple of clear-cut chances - probably not as many as they regularly create
at White Hart Lane - but I've seen them play against some of the top sides
in Europe and create a lot more than they did on Saturday, so the overall
protection that the midfield and front lads gave the team was good. When
they were needed, [Robert] Greeny and the back lads were fantastic."
Having picked up seven points from their last three league games, climbing
out of the relegation zone in the process, O'Neil said the Hammers would
look forward to the visit of Manchester United on 2 April and forthcoming
match-ups with Chelsea and Manchester City with renewed optimism. "Everyone
has spoken about how difficult our games are coming up, so I think it's
important that we keep our [points] tally ticking over. We've had a good
spell since Blackpool, really, so it's important that we keep that tally
ticking over. "We could easily pull away. We can start looking up at the
teams in eleventh and twelfth because they're not too far away. It's
important that, no matter how tough the games are, that we keep taking
something out of them. "We've had two different games [against the top
sides]. We played really well against Liverpool, controlled the game and
passed it well and created it chances. Saturday was the other side, we had
to dig in and keep a clean sheet.
"We needed everyone to work hard and we did. It was just a terrific team
performance."
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West Ham United programme
WHUFC.com
Subscribers should take notice of an important announcement regarding the
matchday programme
22.03.2011
The West Ham United matchday programme will no longer be produced by Cre8
Publishing Ltd. For contractual reasons, the club has terminated its
publishing agreement with Cre8 and while the club will continue to produce a
matchday programme for the remaining four home matches this season, all
existing subscribers should do the following:
Contact your bank and cancel any direct debit payment with immediate effect
Contact the club at programme@westhamunited.co.uk with proof of their
existing subscription for the 2010/11 season
Although the matter was out of the club's control, we apologise for any
inconvenience caused to subscribers. West Ham United will confirm new
arrangements for the matchday programme as soon as possible.
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Bellars was a happy Hammer
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 22nd March 2011
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Craig Bellamy has described his spell at West Ham as the
happiest time of his career. 31-year-old Bellamy, currently plying his trade
at Championship side Cardiff revealed that his year-and-a-half year spell in
east London was the best time of his professional career which has spanned
some 15 years so far. "The happiest time in my career was probably at West
Ham," he told the Mail. "The first year I was injured but the people were
great. They just had that humour, and the supporters were funny. Even if
they were giving you stick, it'd be funny stick. "The training facilities
were poor but if you bitched about it the first thing you'd hear was, 'Well,
it was good enough for Bobby Moore'. How do you answer that? You can't."
Bellamy, signed on Alan Curbishley's watch for a club record fee of
£7.5million joined West Ham from Liverpool in the summer of 2007. However
he was restricted to just 20 Premier League starts during his time at the
club due mainly to an ongoing abdominal problem - and joined Manchester City
for a fee in the region of £14million during the January 2009 transfer
window.
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Millen requests Spence stay
Young defender also eager to remain at City
Last updated: 22nd March 2011
SSN
Bristol City manager Keith Millen has requested an extension of Jordan
Spence's loan from West Ham. The 20-year-old is due to return to Avram
Grant's Premier League Hammers at the end of March, when his 28-day deal
expires. But Spence has done well with City and Millen believes that West
Ham head coach Wally Downes will want the right-back to continue playing
first-team football in the Championship. The Robins boss said: "We've been
pleased with him, West Ham are delighted that he is getting regular
first-team games and he is enjoying himself. "Jordan has good composure and
you can see that he is a natural athlete. Like any young kid, he is still
learning the game and he is going to make mistakes. "I'll have a look at his
situation during this two-week break and will talk to Wally Downes (head
coach) at West Ham and see if they are happy for him to stay with us for the
remainder of the season." Spence himself added: "Hopefully, the two clubs
can sort something out and I can carry on here until the end of the season
in May."
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Fry returns to Hammers
Last updated: 22nd March 2011
SSN
Matt Fry has returned to parent club West Ham United following the expiry of
his loan spell at Charlton. The 20-year-old was drafted in from Upton Park
on a four-month youth loan at the beginning of the season by previous
manager Phil Parkinson. Fry has made 32 appearances for the Addicks, mainly
on the left side of defence, and has twice had his loan spell extended this
year.
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There is Such a Thing as …..
West Ham Till I Die
a thoroughly captivating 0-0 draw! Saturday's excellent match at WHL
provided ample proof of that.
In the final analysis, it was a game that could possibly have gone either
way. We defended superbly, but still rode our luck on a number of
occasions. On the other hand, we had three or four clear cut chances that
could have resulted in a winning Hammers goal. The best of these was,
undoubtedly, Demba Ba's sharp turn and shot, that Gomez just managed to
push around the foot of the near post. On another day, we might have taken
all three points, but a point was probably a good result for us at the end
of the day. Spurs will certainly be less happy with the result, because it
has probably puts a big dent in their aspirations to capture the fourth CL
place for a second successive season.
As always, Modric was Spurs' principle font of creativity. He is certainly
a class player and the Croatian International posed a real threat whenever
he was on the ball. In the first half we probably gave him a bit too much
room, but overall we contained him reasonably well. Van der Vaart was
totally off the pace and Lennon had a fairly indifferent game as well.
Similarly, I thought that Gareth Bale was dealt with very effectively by
Jacobsen and O'Neill. Whilst Jermaine Defoe had, what is commonly referred
to as, 'an absolute mare.' As a result he failed to lodge his 100th PL goal
and, in to the bargain, was denied the opportunity to antagonise the Hammers
faithful with an egotistical, little public display with that T-Shirt
message!
Rob Green had a great game. That save from Bale, in the 84th minute, was
world class, there is no other term to adequately describe it. The back
four defended admirably and resisted wave after wave of Spurs attacks. The
midfield worked industriously and contributed no small part to our defensive
solidarity. More critically, for large parts of the match, we were playing
the ball forward, but failed to hold up the ball and link the play.
Consequently, all too often, no sooner had one danger been averted, than
Spurs regained possession and re-applied the pressure on our rearguard. The
frustrating thing was that the Spurs defence looked vulnerable when we got
forward and if we had been able to raise our attacking play, just a bit, we
could have caused them a lot more problems.
Gary O'Neill is a good, honest professional. The strengths of his game are
based upon work rate and graft. He is not particularly well known for his
amazing dribbling and ball skills. So, the question has to be asked why, on
two or three occassions in the second half, he got in to good, advanced
positions on the right flank and then came over all Lionel Messi? Rather
than just deliver good balls in to the box, he apparently decided to run at
the full -back and engage in step overs and other such attempted trickery!
Needless to say, he came unstuck and lost the ball, much to the fustration
of our forwards who had taken up promising positions in the box. O'Neill
can make a real contribution to the squad, but it has to be by playing to
his strengths.
Carlton Cole toiled away up front, attempting to hold up the ball, usually
isolated and outnumbered. He had a couple of excellent chances in the first
half and probably should have done better with them. Demba Ba, similarly,
worked hard off the ball and showed his sharpness and opportunism when he
nearly converted with that turn and shot. Cole gave way to Victor Obinna in
the second half and the substitute, generally, failed to make any meaningful
impression. I have been a consistent advocate of Obinna's technical ability
this season and I remain convinced that he is a player that should ideally
be added permanently to our PL squad next season. Prior to picking up the
foot injury on international duty, Obinna had been on fire, form wise. Lets
hope that he can recapture that excellent form over the remaining PL
matches.
Finally, I was one of the West Ham fans at WHL that saw Scott Parker put in
his usual committed, inspiring and skillful performance. Little did any of
us guess that he was playing despite the emotional anguish of his father
sadly passing away. One can only admire and respect his fortitude, mental
strength and commitment to the Hammers cause. Scott Parker is a
contemporary Hammers hero, out of a mould that we thought had been long
broken. I recently wrote that Scott Parker had earned the right to enter
the Pantheon of West Ham warriors, alongside such legends as Billy Bonds,
Alvin Martin, Julian Dicks, Eddie Bovington, Andy Malcolm, Dickie Walker and
Big Jim Barrett. Who would now doubt that is, indeed, the case?
SJ. Chandos.
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Bridge bid is building
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
WEST HAM will try to sign Wayne Bridge permanently this summer if they beat
the drop. Hammers boss Avram Grant has been hugely impressed with the
on-loan Manchester City left-back, while ex-Chelsea man Bridge is lapping up
life back in London. Bridge, 30, has just eight league games left with
Grant's side but is enjoying the relegation scrap. His £90,000-a-week wages
would be a problem. But the Londoners are ready to take Bridge on a
full-season loan for 2011-12 with both clubs sharing his salary. A Hammers
insider said: "Wayne seems to have settled in quickly. West Ham's Premier
League status, though, will dictate everything."
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Ferdinand in frame for West Ham return
Published 23:00 22/03/11 By John Cross
The Mirror
West Ham boss Avram Grant is considering bringing Anton Ferdinand back to
Upton Park. Hammers defender Matt Upson has stalled on a new contract and is
set to leave the club this summer on a free transfer. Sunderland's
Ferdinand, a Hammer from 2003 until he joined the Black Cats in 2008, is on
their hit-list of potential replacements and manager Steve Bruce may allow
the 26-year-old to go. Ferdinand has struggled at Sunderland and a fresh
start back 'home' at Upton Park could relaunch his career, while West Ham
would gain an experienced defender.
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GIOVANNI TRAPATONI'S ROBBIE KEANE GAMBLE
Daily Express
Giovanni Trapatoni is confident skipper Robbie Keane will be fit to lead the
Republic of Ireland
Wednesday March 23,2011
By Ian Ridley
GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI is confident skipper Robbie Keane will be fit to lead
the Republic of Ireland into Euro 2012 battle with Macedonia on Saturday.
Robbie Keane, 30, has scored 45 goals in 104 senior appearances for Ireland,
but managed just a few minutes as a substitute in West Ham's FA Cup
quarter-final defeat by Stoke after a four-game lay-off with a calf injury.
He trained in Dublin yesterday and Trapattoni will have no qualms about
throwing one of his most experienced campaigners back into the starting
line-up. He said: "I am confident about Robbie. He can start the game and
maybe after 60 minutes we can look at other options.
"But we need experience in this game. We have to rely on pride and
experience. I saw Robbie Keane in training and I am very confident of
getting a good result. Giovanni Trapatoni Trapattoni is also hopeful
Richard Dunne will be able to take his place in the heart of the Irish
defence. Dunne, 31, had stayed at Aston Villa for a further day of physio as
he continued his recovery from a shoulder injury amid speculation over his
future at the club following a much-publicised outburst during a bonding
session. Whatever his status at Villa, Dunne remains a key member of the
Irish team and, with John O'Shea out with a hamstring injury, his presence
is vital.
Trapattoni added: "The Villa physio said it would be better to stay one more
day."
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