WHUFC.com
Injuries to two defenders left the U18s up against it in Saturday's 1-0
league defeat at Ipswich Town
07.03.2011
Injuries and a dogged defensive performance saw Ipswich Town sneak a 1-0 FA
Premier Academy League victory over West Ham United. Academy Director Tony
Carr watched his side dominate the match at Ipswich's Playford Road training
centre, only for an early goal to leave the Hammers with nothing to show for
their efforts. Carr chose to blood a number of first-year scholars and
schoolboy Elliot Lee, and the young starters responded with a spirited
display in Suffolk on Saturday. To add injury to the insult of defeat, West
Ham also lost two centre-backs, with Kenzer Lee being hurt in the pre-match
warm-up and Declan Hunt suffering a blow to the head during the opening
half. "We conceded the only goal really early on in the game. We conceded a
corner needlessly and from that corner one of their boys got free in the box
and headed the ball into the net. "To be honest, I thought we deserved
something from the game because we dominated for long periods, especially in
the second half. We created a good number of chances, but we just couldn't
score. "Everything conspired against us on the day. We lost Kenzer Lee in
the warm-up and then Declan Hunt suffered a head injury, meaning Paul
McCallum ended up playing at centre-back. "Before he moved into the defence,
Paul had one shot pushed away by the goalkeeper. Robert Hall also had a
couple of good chances and their goalkeeper made a few decent saves. Dylan
Tombides came on as a substitute with a few minutes remaining and he had two
half-chances but he just couldn't take them. "We had lots of possession but
just couldn't turn it into goals. We certainly didn't play badly but it was
just one of those games where the opposition defended for their lives and
the ball just wouldn't go in for us."
West Ham have won nine, drawn one and lost ten of their 20 league matches so
far. With eight games remaining, the Hammers sit sixth in the ten-team Group
A table, eight points behind leaders Southampton.
The youth team return to action on Saturday, when Cardiff City visit Little
Heath for an inter-group fixture. Kick-off is at 11am, with both admission
and parking free of charge.
West Ham United U18: Wootton, Young, Potts, Hunt (Lletget), Sanchez, Hurley,
Hall, Moncur, E.Lee (Tombides), McCallum, Purdy (Turgott)
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'It definitely has a value'
WHUFC.com
Matthew Upson believes the squad will benefit hugely from a three-day
warm-weather training camp
07.03.2011
West Ham United captain Matthew Upson is hoping the team's Portuguese
training camp has the same effect as their recent team-bonding session.
Since spending a day clay pigeon shooting and go-karting on 17 February, the
Hammers have won three matches out of three, scoring eleven goals and
conceding just two. The recent good form has taken West Ham out of the
Barclays Premier League relegation zone and into the FA Cup sponsored by EON
sixth round. Upson believes three days of warm-weather training in Portugal
this week can only add to the feel-good factor running through the club.
"It definitely has a value, absolutely. There's a place for it," he told
West Ham TV. "If you get the time and the right scenario and the right group
and get it together, there's a definite advantage in doing that with the
team. "I think we'll get some golf in, definitely. It's a big part of it. At
this stage of the season everyone's been working hard and training hard for
six, seven months now, so it's nice to get that mental relaxation as well as
physical."
Before flying out to warmer climes, Upson was a leading figure in West Ham's
convincing 3-0 league victory over Stoke City at the Boleyn Ground. The
Hammers passed the ball well and created numerous chances, while also
defending superbly in the face of the Potters' trademark aerial threat.
Upson combined strongly with the re-called Manuel da Costa, while right-back
James Tomkins and forwards Frederic Piquionne and Carlton Cole also put
their heads in where it hurt to repel everything the visitors could kick and
hurl into the home penalty area. The success came seven days after a 3-1
home win over Liverpool, meaning Avram Grant's side recorded back-to-back
successes for the first time in 2010/11 at a vital stage of the season. "I
think it was a more comfortable game [against Stoke]. I thought we dominated
it most of the time and had a good tempo. We started off very well and
passed the ball well. I said to the lads before that if we passed the ball
well against them, we'd beat them, and we did that well. "I was a bit
surprised when their team came out and it was only [John] Carew and [Jon]
Walters up front. I thought they would play [Kenwyne] Jones or one of their
other bigger players as well and really put balls into the box, but I
thought we dealt with it well."
Saturday's victory also saw West Ham keep their fourth clean sheet in 29
league matches. Naturally, Upson is hoping to record a few more blanks
before the season is out. "It was great to get the clean sheet, but the win
was most important. Clean sheets are vital between now and the end of the
season, because the more of them we can get, the better chance we give
ourselves."
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Ladies march on
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies are through to the FA Women's Cup fifth round with
victory over Colchester United
07.03.2011
West Ham United Ladies maintained the feel-good factor sweeping through the
club by completing a 4-2 FA Women's Cup Sponsored by EON fourth-round win
over Colchester United. Nina Downham (pictured) scored twice and Emma Thomas
and Kayleigh Xidhas once apiece as the Hammers moved through to a last-16
meeting with South East Combination League side Enfield Town. Downham netted
twice before half-time before their FA Tesco Women's Premier League rivals
pulled a goal back through Emily Heaslip five minutes after the break. West
Ham refused to panic and reinstated their two-goal advantage when Thomas
blasted home two minutes later, only for Helen Bass to halve the deficit
again. A thrilling tie was finally settled when youngster Kayleigh Xidhas -
one of a number of fringe players to impress for the hosts at Thurrock FC's
Ship Lane - headed Thomas' cross into the net on 62 minutes.
Manager Julia Setford was all smiles after seeing her side come out on top
and remain on course for a memorable league and cup double. "We changed a
lot of things round and brought some players in and I thought everyone did
fantastically. It didn't go as smoothly as I wanted it to in the first few
minutes as it took a bit of time for people to settle in, but once we got
into our stride and got our two goals it was pretty straightforward for us.
"I thought Nina was fantastic. She shows her qualities week-in, week-out.
She's been through a bit of a dry spell recently, but once she got one it
just went for her. It put us in great stead with two great goals. "We've
played Colchester five times this year and every time we've played them,
they've given us a game, so we knew they would come at us and throw
everything at us. "They got their goal back, but we didn't panic and went
straight up the other end and managed to get another one ourselves, so it
settled us."
While the men will be in FA Cup action at Stoke City this coming Sunday, the
Ladies will continue down the road to a final date at Coventry City's Ricoh
Arena when they travel to Enfield Town on the same afternoon. Kick-off at
Brimsdown Sports and Social Club in Goldsdown Road, Brimsdown, is at 2pm.
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Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
A change of scenery will help Avram Grant to prepare for Sunday's big FA Cup
showdown at Stoke
07.03.2011
Avram Grant and his squad will have hard work high on the agenda on Monday
on their first full day of a mini-training camp in Portugal . Despite the
fantastic form of late, with the Hammers making it three straight home wins
with the weekend 3-0 win against Stoke City, Avram Grant is keen to not let
momentum slip. The squad has headed to the Algarve in the hope a change of
scenery - and some warmer weather - will give an added boost. A further
factor was that rain in recent weeks has taken its toll on Chadwell Heath
while the manager also believed - as was the case a fortnight ago with an
awayday go-karting and clay-pigeon shooting - in giving every opportunity
for the squad to bond. It will be near-on a full complement as well, with
every one of his 25-man squad in full training this week, plus all the
youngsters bar Junior Stanislas, who is still getting over his hernia
surgery. Those involved will all be pushing hard to stake their claim. "We
are going to Portugal. We have a problem with our training pitch. We are
taking them to some very good pitches to train. "Training is the main reason
but we use every opportunity to be together. The players like to be together
and there are good facilities.
"Maybe there will be some bonding things, in their free time they can do
what they want, but the main reason is to be there and train. We will train
every day. It will be good to train on normal pitches."
The squad will return to London on Wednesday and then have three full days
to train for the FA Cup trip to face Stoke again on Sunday. Make no mistake,
the manager is well aware of the importance of the coming 90 minutes to the
Hammers' season. Another triumph at the Britannia Stadium would mean much
more than the considerable bonus of a Wembley semi-final. That said, Grant
has learned much more about his team from the disappointing first half of
the season. "When I speak with young coaches they ask me how you get a team
in a good spirit and the right spirit? "I reply: 'Don't look when they are
winning as when they are winning everyone is a genius and everyone knows
everything about everything. The real character comes when you are not in
the good days'."
The manager has been impressed with the way his players have stayed true to
their task. "when we were bottom of the league, we were fighting and
fighting. We always wanted to find a solution and the spirit was very good.
"Of course no one was happy when we lost. but from every bad situation we
became stronger and stronger. That is the reason why we now have good
momentum. You cannot push a button and be good. You need to do the right
things even when things are going wrong. "I know what I want from this team
and I know what I want West Ham to be in the next few years."
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Irons hit Champions League form
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 7th March 2011
By: Staff Writer
West Ham have risen to fourth place in the Premier League's current form
table courtesy of the weekend win over Stoke. Based on the last six matches
the Hammers are behind only Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in the current
form table having amassed 11 points during that period. The stats look even
better if you take only away games into consideration, with the Hammers -
unbeaten on the road since January 5th - in second place behind
title-challengers Arsenal alone. However West Ham's Champions League
credentials are likely to be tested to the hilt in the coming weeks with
games against Tottenham (a), Manchester United (h) and Bolton (a) to follow
next weekend's FA Cup quarter-final tie against the Potters.
Premier League: current form table
1. Arsenal P6 W4 D2 L0 Pts 14
2. Chelsea P6 W4 D1 L1 Pts 13
3. Liverpool P6 W4 D1 L1 Pts 13
4. West Ham Utd P6 W3 D2 L1 Pts 11
5. Tottenham P6 W3 D2 L1 Pts 11
6. Bolton P6 W3 D1 L2 Pts 10
Premier League: current away form table
1. Arsenal P6 W3 D2 L1 Pts 11
2. West Ham Utd P6 W2 D3 L1 Pts 9
3. Chelsea P6 W2 D2 L2 Pts 8
4. Tottenham P6 W2 D2 L2 Pts 8
5. Man City P6 W2 D2 L2 Pts 8
6. Birmingham P6 W2 D2 L2 Pts 8
West Ham's last six matches
West Ham Utd 3-0 Stoke City (Ba, Da Costa, Hitzlsperger)
West Ham Utd 3-1 Liverpool (Parker, Ba, Cole)
West Bromwich Albion 3-3 West Ham Utd (Ba 2, Cole)
West Ham Utd 0-1 Birmingham
Blackpool 1-3 West Ham Utd (Obinna 2, Keane)
Everton 2-2 West Ham Utd (Spector, Piquionne)
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Hammers hit the sun
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 7th March 2011
By: Staff Writer
Avram Grant and his squad have flown to Portugal for a short break ahead of
this weekend's FA Cup quarter final. The manager and his players flew out of
the UK last night for a four-day break in preparation for the trip to Stoke
this Sunday. Grant - who has seen his team hit no less than FOURTEEN goals
in their last four games - was in relaxed mood as he faced the press
following Saturday's emphatic 3-0 win over Stoke, a result that lifted
United out of the bottom three for the first time in several weeks. And
looking ahead to this weekend's rematch, he said: "It's a game that we want
to win, but It will not be easy because it's Stoke and it's not easy to play
there. "I'd like to be at Wembley - but not in the stands!"
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Cole aiming for top ten
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 7th March 2011
By: Staff Writer
Carlton Cole has insisted that West Ham can still achieve a top ten Premier
League finish this season. The in-form striker, who has scored four goals in
his last four appearances told Talksport: "Some of the performances this
season have been unacceptable. "But the players have got together, shown
great team commitment and we're brushing it under the carpet. It's now time
to work hard, look to the positives and get ourselves out of the mess that
we're in.
"We're still on the road to where we want to be, that was the top half of
the table and hopefully we can still get there because it's a funny old
Premier League season. We can really push on with the form we're in at the
moment."
Although he failed to score during Saturday's 3-0 thumping of Stoke City,
Cole once again impressed. According to Avram Grant, his recent upsurge in
form is mainly due to the new arrivals in January. "We have competition
between the forward players and that pushes you forward," said Grant. "Coley
was very professional when he didn't play; he trained very, very well and
very hard so now he's in good condition to play football."
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Upson eyes Portugal boost
Hammers set for break abroad
Last updated: 6th March 2011
SSN
Matthew Upson believes a trip abroad this week can benefit West Ham in their
fight for Premier League survival. The Hammers squad will embark on a
three-day mid-season training camp in Portugal ahead of their FA Cup match
against Stoke next Sunday. Fulham went on a similar journey last month,
taking part in activities such as golf and fishing before returning
refreshed to draw at high-flying Manchester City and beat Blackburn. Upson
feels such bonding sessions can prove helpful as West Ham prepare for a
tough run of league fixtures against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester
United. It has a value, absolutely. There's a place for it," said Upson. "If
you get the time and the right scenario and the right group and get it
together, there's a definite advantage in doing that with the team." He
added: "I think we'll get some golf in, definitely. "Everyone's been working
hard and training hard for six, seven months now. "So it's nice to get that
mental relaxation as well as physical."
Da Costa praise
West Ham clambered out of the drop zone courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Stoke
on Saturday, with Upson impressive in the heart of defence alongside Manuel
da Costa. Da Costa also performed well to help the Hammers keep their first
clean sheet in the league since New Year's Day, while he also scored the
second goal. Upson has been pleased with the development of the French-born
Portuguese player but feels he can get even better. "If you're going to
criticise him in any way, you'd say experience-wise and his decision-making,
he could be a bit calmer at times," said Upson, who revealed he mostly uses
'eye contact' and 'sign language' to communicate with a player who hardly
speaks a word of English. "But when you want somebody in a game to go and
attack a ball and get physical with someone, there's not many better.
"Physically, he's one of the best players I've seen."
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Grant salutes Hammers spirit
Boss believes tough times helped to strengthen players
Last updated: 7th March 2011
SSN
Avram Grant has praised his West Ham players for the character they have
shown in battling towards safety. Saturday's 3-0 victory lifted the Hammers
out of the relegation zone in which they have languished for virtually the
whole campaign. With key men back from injury and January signings such as
Demba Ba making an immediate impact, Grant is confident West Ham can build
on their recent good work and beat the drop. However, the manager also feels
the experience of going through such a tough period earlier in the season
helped to strengthen his players. "When we were bottom of the league, we
were fighting and fighting. We always wanted to find a solution and the
spirit was very good," Grant told the club's official website.
Momentum
"Of course no-one was happy when we lost. But from every bad situation we
became stronger and stronger. That is the reason why we now have good
momentum. "You cannot push a button and be good. You need to do the right
things even when things are going wrong." West Ham face a tricky run-in but
they are now one point clear of the bottom three and Grant has set his
sights on a bright future for the club. "The real character comes when you
are not in the good days," he said. "I know what I want from this team and I
know what I want West Ham to be in the next few years."
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Avram's a twister
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
AVRAM GRANT reckons there is at least one more twist in the title race - and
West Ham will play a massive part in it. In-form Hammers have still to play
Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs. Boss Grant said: "I
am sure we will win one or two of those, if not draw. "But it is not my top
priority to affect the title race or the race for places in the top four.
"Keeping West Ham in the Premier League is the only thing I really care
about."
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Police step up security for Stoke and West Ham's FA Cup tie following
clashes between supporters
By SAMI MOKBEL
Last updated at 1:13 AM on 8th March 2011
Daily Mail
Staffordshire Police will consider increasing security ahead of the FA Cup
quarter-final between Stoke and West Ham after nasty clashes between rival
supporters on Saturday. The Hammers climbed out of the relegation zone with
a 3-0 win over Tony Pulis' side - but the match was marred by ugly scenes
outside Upton Park between opposing supporters. Metropolitan Police made a
total of six arrests during the scuffles - four for public disorder, one for
drunk and disorderly and another for a drugs offence. Hammered: Parker and
Hitzlsperger were on target for West Ham during the League encounter at
Upton park on Saturday With emotions already likely to be running high given
a place in the FA Cup semi-final is at stake, the unsavoury scenes will fuel
the possibility of further trouble ahead of this weekend's encounter. And
Staffordshire Police could bolster their resources and alter tactics to
combat further flare-ups that may have stemmed from Saturday's brawls when
the two sides meet again at the Brittannia Stadium. Officers from
Staffordshire travelled to London on Saturday and information from the visit
has been relayed back to the match commander who will decide whether to
increase policing measures in light of the brawls.
Staffordshire Police said last night that security measures for the clash
have been agreed but may be changed if the force deem it is necessary.
Meanwhile, West Ham's Chadwell Heath training ground will undergo intensive
repair work this week after criticism from manager Avram Grant. The freezing
winter has taken its toll on the pitches and Grant revealed after the win
over Stoke that it even caused talisman Scott Parker an injury. West Ham
will return from a mid-season training camp in Portugal tomorrow (WEDS) and
club groundsmen have worked to ensure the pitches are in a better state
ahead of the squad's arrival. The pitches at the Hammers' Essex base will be
re-laid in the summer.
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The Resurgent Hammers Squad Retreats to the Algarve ..
West Ham Till I Die
For three days of warm weather training, team bonding and rest and
relaxation. While at home, we fans continue to bask in the reflected warmth
of the Liverpool and Stoke City performances. Well, they certainly did not
disappoint, as the team faced up to the very different challenge of Stoke
City's physicality and came through with flying colours!
The adaptation of the back line, in moving James Tomkins to right-back and
playing Da Costa alongside Upson, was spot on tactically. It gave us far
more height and ariel strength to counter Stoke City's route one tactics. I
was personally pleased to see Tomkins cover so well at right-back, because I
have long wanted to see him tested there in the PL. Last season, under
Zola, we were struggling to cover the right-back berth and I suggested
playing Tomkins there as an auxiliary option. It did not happen then, but
it is nice to see that Tomkins did eventually get a successful run out in
that role. Whilst Cole, Demba Ba and Piquionne combined very well, up
front, to give us pace, power, movement and a genuine goal scoring potency
in the final third.
Our midfield triumvirite of Hitzlsperger, Parker and Noble are outstanding
both individually and collectively as a unit. I would go as far as to say
that they are as good a combination as you will find anywhere in the PL.
And the way in which we are moving the ball and playing sharp passing
football is a delight to behold. Some of our football in the last two
matches has been excellent, even good enough to match the Spurs, Man Utds,
Chelskis and Man Citys. And if we are to continue our move up the table,
secure safety and avoid a tense last day of the season, we are probably
going to have grab an away win against one of the top five sides.
We need another three wins to reach 40 points and the obvious target matches
are the Villa, Blackburn and Sunderland fixtures at home. I would not bet
against us getting a result against Man Utd either, but the key to avoiding
a tension packed final day of the season, is picking up a win or two away
from home. If I was a betting person I would go for Spurs, Bolton and Wigan
as the best possibilities for three points. I am confident that we can
match Spurs, as long as we do not freeze at WHL. We are well overdue a win
against Bolton and we should be able to beat a distinctly average Wigan
side. Getting results away against Chelski and Man City are admittedly
longer shots, but having said that neither of those teams have been very
consistent this season, so who knows? For instance, Blackpool, yesterday
evening, proved that Chelski can be vulnerable at the back, when put under
pressure.
What pleased me most about the Stoke City game was the way that we matched
them physically, but did not get dragged in to playing their sort of
football. We negated their one dimensional offensive threat and then set
about playing them off the pitch. It showed that, as well as matching the
top sides, we finally appear to have overcome our long-standing phobia with
regard to the 'long ball teams.' And long overdue it has been as well! Now
hopefully Bolton (although they do, admittedly, play more expansive stuff
under Owen Coyle) will not succeed in muscling us out of the points up at
the Reebok Stadium.
If we do survive this season, then I feel that we have the basis of a very
good squad for 2011-12. It means stripping the remaining deadwood out of
the squad and building around the core of our best players and promising
youngsters. The club must promote some of the best Academy products to
first team duty (i.e. Brown, Spence, Fry, Lee and Montano), whilst investing
further in quality additions. Within that context, I was concerned to read
a recent report that David Sullivan has warned that the next two or three
seasons will be tough financially at the club. If that means starving the
squad of investment next summer, then they really have not learnt from the
turbulent events of this season. In the PL you must invest year on year and
keep continually improving the squad, otherwise you end up regressing. We
do not necessarily need a lot of new players, just add three or four of
significant quality in the right positions and then challenge the youngsters
to 'push on' to increase competition for places.
I guess a lot depends on outstanding issues like whether Matt Upson leaves
in the summer? I hope not, if he continues the form that he has shown
recently. However, it may be that, at 31 years of age, he will be tempted
by negotiating a lucrative Bosman move for himself? If he does then we are
going to be in the market for an experienced, left sided, central defender.
Other factors include whether the club continue to show faith in the ability
of Winston Reid and Pablo Barrera, if we sign Wayne Bridge from Man City,
to cover left-back, and whether Victor Obinna signs a permanent contract in
the summer? There are quite a few variables to ponder before we establish
our transfer priorities and targets. But, if we survive this season, the
club must get their signings right in the summer, for once, so we can look
forward to having a good 2011-12 season in the top half of the PL.
Talking of getting key decisions right, Avram Grant will be considering
whether to rotate the squad in the quarter-final match with Stoke City.
Whilst it is an FA Cup qQuarter-Final, I am sure that he will be tempted to
rest one or two key players and give some others much needed match time.
For instance, will he name Scott Parker on the bench? Grant will know that
Parker is our most important player, but he will also know that his body
probably needs a rest from its almost superhuman efforts and the effects of
the recent shoulder injury. The FA Cup is important, but it is even more
important to have Parker fit for the remainder of the PL programme. I am
sure that Hitzlsperger will play, as long as the medics monitoring his
former injury give the green light. On the one hand he needs to continue
building his match fitness, on the other he has played a awful lot of
football, in a very short period, for a player that was out injured for well
over six months! Grant will probably play the same defensive formation that
coped so admirably with Stoke City's ariel threat, but perhaps they will
re-jig the striker force to accommodate Victor Obinna's inclusion?
Perhaps, Grant will, indeed, throw caution to the wind and just select his
strongest first team line up? We shall see? But one thing is certain, we
stand every chance of going up to the Potteries and coming away with a
result. I know that it is a cliche, but we really do need to keep our focus
and take it one match at a time. The form and the winning momentum is with
us, at long last, and if we do that we can amass the points to guarantee PL
safety and progress in the cup. Of course, the real test will be if we lose
a match, can we we bounce straight back and maintain our direction of travel
towards safety? With this team, yes, I feel that we can!
SJ. Chandos.
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Double boost for West Ham as Keane and Collison return
By talkSPORT
Monday, March 7
Robbie Keane and Jack Collison are set to hand West Ham a major injury boost
by resuming full training this week. Keane has been sidelined for a month
after picking up a calf injury in just his second game for the club
following his loan move from Tottenham back in January. But the Republic of
Ireland international has already resumed light training and hopes to join
the rest of the first-team squad this week. Collison has been sidelined for
the last year with a knee injury, but has also stepped up his recovery and
is set to finally resume full training in the next few days. The news will
come as a major boost to manager Avram Grant who is hoping to have a full
squad to choose from as they look to move clear of the bottom three.
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