Cole welcomes competition
WHUFC.com
The Hammers No9 has spoken about a welcome win, the fans and the arrival of
John Carew
14.08.2011
Carlton Cole is moving closer to his first start of the season after an
impressive cameo off the bench in the 1-0 weekend win at Doncaster Rovers.
With the manager admitting on Friday that the No9 has not yet been ready for
a first-eleven appearance because of his stop-start summer, Cole gave notice
of his intentions with a lively display off the bench for the last half-hour
on Saturday. He will hope to take that on for Tuesday's short trip around
the M25 to Watford, having shown some neat touches and strong running at the
Keepmoat Stadium. He also went very close with a lashed effort that just
went wide but, goal or not, Cole was just pleased to be involved in a rare
awayday success for the Hammers. "The lads played well enough to get the
result," he told whufc.com. "A few of the lads came in a bit disappointed
about the way we won it but a win's a win. I was pleased just to get the
three points on the table. You need to come to places like this and get the
result. "An away win is valuable. We haven't had one for ages and we are
really pleased with that."
Also pleasing for the England striker was hearing the 3,400-strong fans
singing his name once he entered the fray. The Hammers travelling army
certainly understand and appreciate the effort he puts in for the cause. "It
made me feel privileged to be a footballer. I love the whole aspect of the
supporters at this club. When they get behind me, they really get behind me.
I want to give them some good times back because they have suffered the last
couple of years and let's get them used to winning again. "You come to a
game like this and the fans are very vocal. They outsung Doncaster. I could
hear them. That's what it is all about. We need to give them lots to sing
about and be happy about. When they are happy, we are happy."
Cole has had to watch as the tireless Frederic Piquionne has begun in the
team as the main striker this season and knows that new recruit John Carew
is also nearing his Hammers bow. Never one to shirk a challenge, the club's
second-longest serving player is prepared to fight for his place in the
side. "As I've said, I am a committed player to West Ham. I always want to
do well for the club. They gave me the opportunity when things were not
going for me in football and I'll never forget that. "I am comfortable where
I am but obviously the manager has brought in some very good players. There
is real competition for places and hopefully he will get the best out of me.
"We have got good quality up front and good players to support us and a good
defence. Now it is up to us strikers to shine. Competition for places is
good and I am happy who the manager has brought in to give us a kick up the
backside."
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Loan watch: week 2
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 14th August 2011
By: Staff Writer
Jordan Spence was on the losing side for the second week in a row as Bristol
City went down 3-1 at Cardiff this afternoon. The Bluebirds - who narrowly
beat West Ham 1-0 at the Boleyn last week - preserved their 100 per cent
record this season with a comfortable win against Spence's Robins, who have
now lost both their opening games of the Championship season and sit bottom
of the table. Spence, on a season long loan from West Ham got another 90
minutes under his belt but was powerless to prevent his side slipping to
defeat. He also picked up his first caution of the season for a late
challenge on Cardiff's Joe Mason 15 minutes into the first half.
Yesterday saw both other loanees - Olly Lee and Cristian Montano - feature
for their new sides, Dagenham & Redbridge and Notts County. Like Spence,
both suffered defeat although Montano's performance saw him nominated by Sky
as County's 'Key Player'. The Columbian striker also grabbed his first
competitive goal since turning pro despite his side going down 2-1 at home
to Charlton. The Londoners raced into a 2-0 half time lead before Montano
gave the Magpies hope with a 60th minute effort. Meanwhile Lee also played
a full 90 minutes for the Daggers, who went down 2-0 at home to league
new-boys AFC Wimbledon.
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O'Driscoll on... West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 14th August 2011
By: Staff Writer
Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll says that he was pleased with his team's
performance - despite Kevin Nolan's goal winning West Ham all three points.
Nolan struck after just five minutes to score his first competitive goal for
the club - and secure Sam Allardyce's side their first win of the new
Championship campaign. However Rovers boss O'Driscoll remains pleased with
his side's contribution - especially so after the half time break when they
threatened to steal a point.
"I'm probably more disappointed with the players reaction to things in the
first half," he told doncasterroversfc.co.uk. "We know we're going to come
up against good teams in this division and we have a team like West Ham, who
we know are going to be strong. It's not always going to be perfect for us
so when we get disappointments we need to react a bit better.
"We said second half that we're not going to tick all the boxes every time,
but if things don't go well we need to make sure we do the basics right. "We
need to get into the right shape for goal kicks, keep the right shape all
the time when the ball's dead, that doesn't matter if you've got injuries or
less resources than anybody else, all we're asking them to do is everybody
can do - you've just got to value it more. "The goal came from a poor pass.
We committed a similar sin against Tranmere and didn't get punished , but
we're up against sides in this division that will punish you if you give the
ball away in a sloppy manner."
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Allardyce on... Doncaster Rovers
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 14th August 2011
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce was full of praise for captain Kevin Nolan after his goal
earned West Ham all three points at the Keepmoat Stadium. Allardyce made
Nolan his first signing upon being appointed as successor to Avram Grant
earlier in the summer and his foresight paid off when the West Ham captain
scored the game's only goal after just five minutes. "Kevin Nolan could have
had two or three goals today," Allardyce said post-match. "He's got a good
mentality and he knows what it's all about. He knows what it takes to get
out of this division - quality with team-work. "He builds team spirit in the
dressing room and demands things from players and that helps me with my job.
If your captain builds a dressing room, it makes the manager's job a lot
easier."
Allardyce also admitted that he was slightly concerned with the failure to
convert chances to goals - but indicated that this was his only criticism of
his team. "We missed too many chances again to just make it more comfortable
for us but that aside everything else was very good today," he said. "It was
a lot like last Sunday. Lots of good play, lots of chances but this time we
got the result. We got the all important clean-sheet and the goal early on.
It was a very professional performance. It was one we can build on and it
will give the lads a lot of confidence. "We have talked all summer about
the poor away form at West Ham and we've started in a very positive manner
away. Hopefully we can continue to do that because we have got Watford away
on Tuesday."
Allardyce also had a special word for the travelling support that saw their
team win away for the first time since the 3-1 victory at Blackpool back in
February. "It was a terrific result for the fans," he added. "There were
more than 3,000 behind the goal and they saw a very professional
performance. They were superb."
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Doncaster 0-1 West Ham: Daily Mirror match report
Published 21:59 14/08/11 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
Kevin Nolan has warned his West Ham team-mates they will have to become a
bunch of battlers to stay on track for promotion. The Hammers skipper knows
the formula that gets clubs out of the Championship having achieved it with
Bolton as a teenager and Newcastle in 2009-10. West Ham fans love speaking
about their reputation for flowing football, but the new skipper has warned
that handbook will be torn to shreds, for now. After outclassing Doncaster
for 70 minutes, but with only Nolan's first goal for the club to show for
it, the -Championship aristocrats dug deep to hang on to three points.
Nolan, 29, said: "It's a new thing for West Ham being down in the
Championship and we have to get used to scrapping it out. "Once we scrap a
few results hopefully we can start getting the ball down and playing. I won
promotion from the -Championship with Newcastle and we romped the division.
"But for the first 18-20 games it wasn't easy. We had to go to teams and
knew we had to scrap it out. "We knew it was going to be tough for us, that
teams were going to raise their game. "It's going to be the same at West Ham
and the lads have got to get used to that. "If we can stick together and
play like we did and be together then we will be fine. "Doncaster came close
and sometimes you have to ride your luck.
"That's what we have got to do, earn the right to play and not expect teams
to lay down and let us play." Life isn't getting easier for Donny. They've
have lost their first two league matches and key players like James Hayter
and Billy Sharp are injured. Defender Mustapha Dumbuya groaned: "Billy gets
16-plus goals every season and a big loss. "For us it's like when Manchester
United lose Wayne Rooney but they have got players to fill in."
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Big Sam salutes skipper Nolan after notching his first win in charge of West
Ham
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:00 PM on 14th August 2011
Daily Mail
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is convinced he has the ideal captain after
Kevin Nolan's goal got the Hammers off the mark in their npower Championship
campaign. With promotion their stated objective after dropping out of the
Premier League, West Ham made a false start when they lost to Cardiff on the
opening weekend of the Football League season, but Nolan's strike at
Doncaster secured a 1-0 victory. Allardyce hopes his Hammers can respond to
Nolan's leadership and push on towards their target, and he knows the
29-year-old midfielder will both be orchestrating on the pitch and
motivating his team-mates away from matches.
'He's got a good mentality, Kevin, and he knows what it takes to get out of
this division. 'We know it's got to be quality with team spirit and he
builds that in the dressing room. 'He talks to players and demands things
from players which helps me with my job. 'As a captain you build a dressing
room and it's a lot easier to guide that team out with him,' said Allardyce.
West Ham have ground to make up at this very early stage of the campaign,
with the top of the table looking unmistakably similar to last season's
final League One standings.
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DONCASTER 0 WEST HAM 1: NOLAN SETTING RECORD STRAIGHT
Daily Express
Monday August 15,2011
By Graham Read
Doncaster 0 West Ham 1
AS English sport revels in centuries and success, Kevin Nolan wants West Ham
to enjoy a record-breaking season and pass their own big Test. He steered
Newcastle to the Championship title in 2010, scoring 18 times as they bagged
102 points. That was just four short of the league record, set by Reading;
but Nolan has challenged his promotion-chasing Hammers to emulate the Toon
after his first goal for his new club gave them this opening win of the
campaign. "We have got the quality to do that," he said. "We just have to
make sure we all believe scrapping out games is just as good a win as
playing teams off the park. "Everyone knows I did it with Newcastle - we
romped it really. But for the opening 18 to 20 matches it wasn't easy.
"Teams always put us under a lot of pressure because we were the big scalp.
It's going to be the same at West Ham, and the lads have to get used to
that. Sam made no secret of the fact that's why he bought me, to score goals
and lead the team. "We only lost four games that year with Newcastle and it
was a fantastic season. "That's what we at West Ham have to try to do, try
to put pressure on ourselves to beat their record."
Manager Sam Allardyce made Nolan captain after his summer arrival from
Newcastle and hailed the inspirational qualities of a player whose emergence
he oversaw at Bolton. It was Nolan's fifth-minute strike - ghosting in at
the back post to volley in Jack Collison's cross - which proved decisive. A
first away win since February would have been even more convincing had home
keeper Gary Woods not twice denied Nolan, touching a 25-yard chip on to the
bar and pushing over another close-range effort.
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