WHUFC.com
Captain Kevin Nolan says Tuesday's setback will simply spur the Hammers on
to put things right
29.09.2011
Captain Kevin Nolan has pledged he and his team-mates will put things right
when they go to Crystal Palace this Saturday. The skipper was in candid mood
following Tuesday's 1-0 npower Championship defeat by Ipswich Town at the
Boleyn Ground. He admitted the performance against the Tractor Boys was
simply not good enough for the players, the management or the supporters and
has vowed that the squad will work hard to put things right. Despite the
midweek setback, the No4 stated his faith that the Hammers squad posseses
the experience, ability and attitude to get their automatic promotion bid
back on track at the weekend, with the club still only two points off top
spot.
Do you echo the manager's disappointment about the overall performance and
the manner of the goal conceded in the 89th minute?
"We can't hide away from the facts. It was a very disappointing goal to give
away. We have a lot of experience in our team and we can't give sloppy goals
away, no matter what division we are in. "We haven't performed, to be
honest. We haven't performed as players, as lads or as a team. We would have
been quite lucky to come off with a point, but we haven't. "We go back to
the drawing board, we go back to the training ground and we regroup. We're
still coming together as a team, so we'll do that. We'll dust ourselves off
and we've got a game this weekend where we can get it out of our systems."
As a player, can you put your finger on why things didn't click on Tuesday?
"We've had a good win on Saturday [over Peterborough United] where we should
have scored more than one goal but we had one of those nights. "When you
have one of those nights, you've just got to grind out the result and we
didn't grind out a result - that's the most disappointing part of it. It's
not the fact that we didn't play well because we won't play well in every
game. "It's tough because teams are going to come here and enjoy it because
it's a fantastic stadium and a fantastic pitch and the pressure is on us to
go and attack. "They get the chance to play their football and do their
things, but fair play to Ipswich because they came here and did really well.
"You can't put your finger on it at this moment in time, but as a team we'll
all sit down and have our moans and groans and get on. "We've all got to
big, brave and ugly enough to admit that, as a team, we weren't good enough
and that's the be all and end all."
Is it important to go to Crystal Palace and get a result to ensure the team
goes into the international break on a positive note?
"That's good thing about this league - you play so many games. The
turnaround is so quick that you have another game where you can put it right
and that's what we've got to do now. "We can't sit there and pity ourselves
and feel sorry for ourselves because if we do we're not going to achieve
what we want, which at the end of the day is automatic promotion. "If we
can't get that, then it's the Play-Offs, but we've got to go up this year.
We know that. That's our ultimate goal and none of us is shying away from
saying that. "We are putting pressure on ourselves to do that and we're
going to make sure that we work hard on the training pitch so that,
collectively, we start getting the performances that we want. "I know for a
fact that it's coming and I want to thank the fans for turning out again.
They had the right to have their opinions at the end of the game and boo us
off because it simply wasn't good enough."
Why does the team keep conceding last-minute goals?
"I wish I could put my finger on it because then we wouldn't do it. It's
just one of those things but it's something we've got to address. "On
Tuesday, the worst thing about it was that it came from a set piece. I think
there are a lot of experienced players and internationals in our team and
we've got it wrong and that's something that can't be accepted and it won't
be. "In that dressing room, we can dig people out and wave fingers and
people have got to take it on the chin. "As a group, we win together, we
lose together and we draw together and that's what we're going to do. We're
going to stick together in this time and make sure when we go to Crystal
Palace on Saturday."
Do you remember something similar happening when you were with Newcastle
United in the Championship two seasons ago?
"Yes. When we got relegated at Newcastle, the state of that club at the time
was probably a lot worse than it was at West Ham. "The owners were brilliant
and kept us together and we came together as a team. We know we've got to
come together as a team and we're still learning. "I've only known these
lads for ten or 12 weeks and it's tough. We've only had eight or nine proper
games and we're going to get better as the season goes on. "It's about how
we react to it. If we react in a good positive manner on Saturday and go
away and get something, whether it is a point or all three, we can't afford
to give sloppy goals away."
Are you happy with your own form?
"Not really, to be honest, I'm not really happy with it. "I know that I've
got to start playing and lift my game up. It's easier to do well when teams
are playing well and when we're not winning games and playing the
free-flowing football, I'm the worst critic of myself. "I'm not happy [with
my form] but I think I can still add something to the team. I'm happy with
my move has gone, but I think if you asked the players in our team if they
are happy with their form at the moment, I think every one of them would say
'No'. "We haven't really found the form we want, but we feel that we will
and it's coming."
Do you feel any added pressure as captain to lead the younger players?
"I've had that all my life at Bolton and Newcastle where I've taken it on
and I'm quite happy to take that mantle on. "At the end of the day, we have
got a good group in there who stick together and when we're not playing
well, we'll make sure we help those young boys out of it. "We haven't been
happy with some of the performances this season, but when we're not happy we
have to grind out the result - that's a fact."
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Determined Dominic
WHUFC.com
Dominic Vose is setting his sights high after starting the new season in
impressive form
29.09.2011
Having played for the reserves at the age of 16, it is easy to forget that
Dominic Vose does not turn 18 until November. The attacking midfielder, who
signed his first professional contract with West Ham United in November
2010, has continued his development and improvement this season. A strong
and elusive runner with an eye for goal, Vose has played his part in the
Under-18s' unbeaten start to the FA Premier Academy League season and also
made his mark for the development squad.
Vose, who netted twice in Tuesday's 4-4 draw at Dagenham & Redbridge, has
big ambitions after his goalscoring display in front of the watching
assistant manager Neil McDonald and first-team coach Wally Downes. "I think
I did all right," he told whufc.com "I wanted to do my bit for the team, so
I got my two goals and I'll crack on again for Saturday. "I started wide on
the right and tried to cut in off the touchline, then I went in the middle
of a flat 4-4-2 with George Moncur and I think I did all right in there. I
went wide on the left and got my second goal from there, so it went well for
me. "I got a last-minute call to play and I came in and I think I took my
chance so hopefully I'll be involved in the next game. "Hopefully I've shown
the senior management what I'm about and I'll get a look-in sooner rather
than later. I want to get more reserve-team games under my belt and push on
from there."
Vose is one of a host of youth team players who have shone this season, with
the likes of Robert Hall, Blair Turgott, Elliot Lee, Kieran Sadlier and Leo
Chambers all earning rave reviews for their performances. Hall has recently
been loaned to League Two club Oxford United - a move that has further
stoked the fires in Vose's belly. "Of course it motivates me. It's better
for Rob to be out there playing in League Two than playing in the
development squad. It's better for him, so hopefully I can do the same. "I
feel I can come on and do a bit at senior level. It's all about getting the
opportunity to show what I can do."
While a loan move may be in Vose's long-term future, he is likely to be
involved in the Hammers' youth-team fixture at Portsmouth this Saturday.
After winning their opening five matches, the Under-18s had to battle back
to draw 2-2 with Southampton last weekend. "We've been doing well and we're
six unbeaten. We drew on Saturday which was a bit disappointing, but we go
away to Portsmouth and hopefully we can get a win under our belts. "We've
been strong at the back. We've got Leo Chambers at the back who is an
England player, then Dan Potts, Jake Young and Kenzer Lee - defensively
we're very good. "Attacking-wise, we're great, and the coaches have done
well for us. The training sessions are good, so it's a team effort. "Us
second years found it a bit hard last year, but as senior players we are now
trying to show the first years the way forward and there's a great work
ethic in the team at the moment."
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Big Sam on Palace
WHUFC.com
The manager is looking for an instant reaction when the Hammers go to south
London on Saturday
29.09.2011
Sam Allardyce is backing his players to show the perfect response to their
midweek setback when they go to Crystal Palace. The Hammers manager spoke to
the press on Thursday afternoon at the Boleyn Ground, and revealed his team
had stepped up their efforts in training in a bid to wipe away the memory of
the 1-0 defeat by Ipswich Town on Tuesday. Despite that defeat, the Hammers
are still just two points off top spot and are looking to continue their
four-match unbeaten run on the road this season in the npower Championship.
West Ham have won at Doncaster Rovers, Watford and Nottingham Forest, as
well as drawing last time out at Millwall.
What's the team news?
SA: We are still going to have to wait until tomorrow to decide on Matt
[Taylor] and Winston [Reid]. We have another couple of players who are
doubtful including Joey O'Brien who at this moment in time is feeling a
hamstring. He did it in the last minute of the game on Tuesday trying to
stop the goal that Ipswich scored. He is a little bit of a concern. Other
than that it is about recovering mentally and getting a positive attitude
going to Crystal Palace after the disappointment against Ipswich.
Have you discussed conceding late goals in training?
SA: We are all aware of the disappointment of conceding in such a late
period of the game and what the costs might be in the long term for
automatic promotion. As I have said before, teams that want to win promotion
really do the reverse of what we have done recently and that is win points
in the last minutes and not throw points away. On the basis of what we have
done in the first five home games, it is a little bit disappointing. We want
to eradicate that from now on.
Is Upton Park a factor?
SA: Teams do want to come and prove in front of a big crowd that they are
capable of taking on a team that throughout the world of football is fancied
to get automatic promotion. The fans want to see good performances and good
results at Upton Park. We all have to live with that pressure and accept it
for what it is. Pressure is a pleasure, not a hindrance, in our game. We
have to focus better.
Is Kevin Nolan still to get into his stride?
SA: A lot of players are still only going to grow and get better. I think
based on our new the team and staff are, we are sitting in a comfortable
position overall in the nine games we have competed in. I personally think
that we can wonder what might have been with just a couple of the home
games. We need to get the points when they are available, and not chase
points to make them up. That is what we have to do now at Palace.
Three points would keep you on track?
SA: We have to make sure we try and win but the main thing is not to lose as
everyone will see it as a disaster if we lose two games on the trot. That is
what we have to avoid. We have to take our away form and our away results
into the Palace game, look at that and say to ourselves 'We are a major
force away from home and let's go and prove it at Palace'.
It will be a difficult game because I watched them beat Wigan in the Carling
Cup a couple of weeks ago. I was very impressed with how they played on the
night. They were worthy winners. That wasn't a win they pinched, it was
thoroughly deserved and they outplayed a Premier League side that still had
most of its players in.
It is a very tight table. Will it stay like that all season?
SA: It looks like it. It looks like someone will always slip up when not
expected. I certainly didn't expect to lose against Ipswich, even if I
expected it to be a tough game. Their side matched us in nearly all
departments in terms of quality and experience. The players didn't respond
to the fact the challenge was so good, so we underachieved while Ipswich
played to their maximum. We must realise that in every game we must be at
the top of our game to get a result and move further on.
Palace have had troubled years but are on the way back?
SA: I was very pleased to meet the new owners and directors when I went to
the Palace-Wigan game. I was pleased to see how much stability they have
brought and are taking it forward and of course a good young manager who
knows the club inside and out because he has played there for so long. They
have a good old head in Lennie Lawrence and they are building and growing
gradually, which is always the best way to be successful. The result they
achieved at Brighton on Tuesday means we know we are in for a difficult game
on the form they are in. It is also a local derby. It might not be as
intense as Millwall but it will still be intense going down there.
A lot of West Ham fans would like to see Carlos Tevez back on loan? Is that
feasible?
SA: At this stage, I don't really know!
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Man United chance for Jordan
WHUFC.com
Hammers youngster Jordan Brown may line up against the likes of Wayne Rooney
and Co on 25 October
29.09.2011
Jordan Brown could face Manchester United in the Carling Cup fourth round
after his loan spell at Aldershot Town was extended. The left-back has spent
the past month with the League Two club and played in their 2-1 third-round
defeat of Rochdale on 20 September. That earned a fourth-round visit from
United on Tuesday 25 October, with Brown due to stay at the Recreation
Ground until the following day.
Brown is one of several Hammers youngsters out on loan. The others are
Jordan Spence (Bristol City), Cristian Montano (Notts County), Callum
McNaughton (AFC Wimbledon), Robert Hall (Oxford United), Olly Lee (Dagenham
& Redbridge), Ahmed Abdulla (Swindon Town) and Frank Nouble (Gillingham).
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Nolan targets Palace boost
West Ham captain eager for return to winning ways this weekend
Last Updated: September 29, 2011 11:27am
SSN
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is confident the Hammers will get back to
winning ways against London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Upton
Park club slipped to a poor 1-0 defeat at home to Ipswich in midweek, their
second reverse on home turf this season. However, Sam Allardyce's side are
unbeaten on their travels and Nolan is determined to keep that run going at
Selhurst Park. The skipper told the club's official website: "The good thing
about this league is you play so many games. The turnaround is so quick that
you have another game where you can put it right; that's what we've got to
do now. "We can't sit there and feel sorry for ourselves; if we do we're not
going to achieve what we want, which at the end of the day is automatic
promotion."
Got it wrong
West Ham have developed a nasty habit of conceding late goals this season,
which happened again against Ipswich, and it's something Nolan admits they
need to quickly eradicate. "I wish I could put my finger on it because then
we wouldn't do it," he said. "It's something we've got to address. "On
Tuesday, the worst thing about it was that it came from a set piece. There
are a lot of experienced players and internationals in our team and we've
got it wrong. That's something that can't be accepted, and won't be. "In the
dressing room we can dig people out and wave fingers, and people have got to
take it one the chin. "If we react in a positive manner on Saturday and go
away and get something, whether it is a point or all three, we can't afford
to give sloppy goals away."
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By NEIL CUSTIS and RICHARD MORIARTY
Published: Today
The Sun
WEST HAM have made an audacious bid to sign Carlos Tevez on loan. A senior
Hammers figure contacted Manchester City in the wake of the striker's
refusal to come on as a substitute in Munich. But City have knocked the move
back as the controversy still rages over Tevez's behaviour in the Champions
League encounter against German giants Bayern on Tuesday night. City are not
prepared to do any deals while they take legal advice over the extent to
which they can punish Tevez, who is on a two-week suspension. They are also
leading a full investigation into the Argentine's actions at the Allianz
Arena. The Hammers are understood to have been ready to pay a percentage of
the player's £250,000-a-week wages for a three-month spell. That would have
taken them up to the January window, when City will look to sell him. Tevez
spent the 2006-07 season at West Ham but controversy surrounded his move
there from Corinthians over third-party ownership. Tevez famously scored on
the last day of that season at Old Trafford to keep West Ham in the top
flight, before going on to join Manchester United. West Ham, under boss Sam
Allardyce, must have believed City wanted Tevez out. He can only move on
loan to a club in this country outside the Premier League while the transfer
window is closed.
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Spurs demand West Ham must never be able to rip up Olympic Stadium running
track
By MATT LAWTON and CHARLES SALE
Last updated at 11:22 PM on 29th September 2011
Daily Mail
Tottenham are demanding a government guarantee that stops West Ham from ever
being able to rip up the Olympic running track in Stratford and ending up
with a stadium superior to their own. While West Ham have already given
assurances that they will honour any agreement to keep the 2012 track,
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants to make sure they cannot rival the
stadium Spurs are to build. On Wednesday, Spurs refused to abandon their
legal challenge to West Ham's occupancy of the stadium, despite being made a
'final offer' of £17million by London mayor Boris Johnson.
The row could yet impact on London's bid for the 2017 World Athletics
Championships. Inspectors from the IAAF are in London next week and Johnson
was desperate to conclude a deal before then. But if there is no agreement,
Spurs will press ahead with a full judicial review on October 18 - Levy
arguing that without a firm commitment to keep the track West Ham would be
handed a huge competitive advantage. They would effectively receive a £600m
stadium for £30m. West Ham's promise to retain the track was the central
reason they were awarded the stadium ahead of Spurs, who wanted to remove
it.
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn described Johnson's offer to Spurs as 'a
bung' to keep them out of court. Speaking to talkSPORT, Hearn said: 'Boris
has made his move to try and placate Tottenham and, if I'm being cynical, it
looks like a bung just to get him out of a court case. I can recognise a
bung when I see it. 'We're in the High Court in mid-October against Newham
Borough Council and against the OPLC, to claim state subsidy that is
affecting a resident business. (West Ham co-owner) David Gold said, and I
quote: "We know the stadium's not perfect but this is a £600m stadium and
we're getting it for £30m, so it's too good a deal to turn down".
'If that's not state aid then I don't know what is. 'If West Ham do take
off they'll put us out of business. The one outfit being completely
overlooked is little Leyton Orient Football Club. We seem to be the
forgotten tribe of the East End.'
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Hearn claims Mayor has offered Spurs 'bung' in stadium dispute
By Robin Scott-Elliot, Sports News Correspondent
Friday, 30 September 2011
The Independent
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn: 'Boris has made his move to try and
placate Tottenham and if I'm being cynical, it looks like a bung just to get
him out of a court case. I come from the real world and I can recognise a
bung when I see it'
Tottenham Hotspur and the Mayor of London remain confident of settling their
differences over the club's future whereabouts, an outcome which would lead
to the club abandoning next month's High Court appeal against the decision
to award the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United. But the judicial review
still looks likely to go ahead as Leyton Orient, Tottenham's partners in a
legal objection to West Ham winning the tenancy of what will become a
60,000-seat arena in Stratford, have no plans to drop their appeal.
The High Court is due to begin the judicial review – which revolves around
whether a loan from Newham Council to West Ham to help fund their takeover
of the stadium constitutes state aid – on 18 October and Barry Hearn,
Orient's colourful chairman, yesterday maintained that his club were
continuing with their action, while claiming that Boris Johnson's offer to
Tottenham was "a bung."
Representatives from Johnson's office and Haringey Council have met over the
last two days with Spurs, who are under greater pressure to remain in the
area in the wake of last month's riots, having been offered £17m towards
their Northumberland Park project, which would see the redevelopment of an
area around White Hart Lane.
"Boris has made his move to try and placate Tottenham and if I'm being
cynical, it looks like a bung just to get him out of a court case. I come
from the real world and I can recognise a bung when I see it," Hearn told
Talksport yesterday. "We're in the High Court in mid-October against Newham
Borough Council and against the OPLC [Olympic Park Legacy Committee] as
well, to claim state subsidy that's affecting a resident business."
Hearn believes that Orient would be forced out of business if West Ham move
into the Olympic stadium, which is visible from the club's Brisbane Road
ground. Hearn has expressed an interest in moving Orient to the nearby
Olympic hockey stadium post-Games.
Tottenham are also faced with the likelihood that even were they to win the
review and the bidding process started again, a requirement to keep the
track in the stadium – something Tottenham are opposed to – would be one of
the criteria.
Johnson and Hugh Robertson, the sports minister, are keen to resolve the
problem as soon as possible so it does not impact on London's bid to hold
the 2017 athletics World Championships.
Yesterday David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, said: "It's decision time. The
community in which the club belongs hangs in the balance."
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