WHUFC.com
The club remains committed to east London and always has been
18.10.2011
West Ham United continue to press ahead with our legacy proposals for the
Olympic Stadium. The club remain committed to east London and believe we are
the right choice. In contrast, back in May 2009, our neighbours Leyton
Orient were looking at a move away to Harlow or Basildon. The Olympic
Stadium is in Newham and Leyton Orient is in Waltham Forest. We will not
move away from Newham, after all its our home borough. We have always
focused on our legacy plan for the stadium, and in turn the East End and
London as a whole, and already have the right permissions from the game's
governing bodies to tender again. We know we can make the Olympic Stadium
work for the capacity required for a successful staging of major sporting
events like the 2017 World Athletics Championships. Our attendances and
fanbase are both on the up and we are confident that we have a revenue model
and ability to generate the income that will make the stadium legacy a
lasting success.
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Saints setback frustrates Sam
WHUFC.com
The manager could not hide his disappointment at seeing the team's unbeaten
run ended on Tuesday
18.10.2011
Sam Allardyce rued a solitary defensive lapse that cost his side dear away
to Southampton on Tuesday night. While the npower Championship table may
still show the Hammers in second spot, they are now five points adrift of
the Saints, who made it 17 straight home victories with their 1-0 triumph in
front of a biggest-ever St. Mary's crowd. It came from a Jos Hooiveld header
just before half-time, something Big Sam felt should have been avoided with
his team's aerial capabilities. "It was disappointing to lose our unbeaten
away record but even more disappointing to lose it off a set-play," the
manager said. "We didn't really do anything in the first half although still
had some chances. We conceded a soft goal from a situation we practice
regularly. We are one of the biggest sides in the league but that didn't
stop us going one-nil down. "We deserved something out of the game for our
second-half performance. Unfortunately, our sharpshooting centre-forwards
who were magnificent on Saturday didn't have their shooting boots or the
heading ability to score today. At least we came back and showed something
of what we are really like in the second half. We took the game to them,
were creative and created chances."
Those chances were all spurned with John Carew, Kevin Nolan and Sam Baldock
all unable to convert good opportunities. Carew might even have equalised in
the few seconds between Hooiveld's goal and the half-time whistle while
Nolan was perfectly placed late on when substitute Mark Noble's ball into
the box was deflected on to a post, only for it to run behind rather than
out to the waiting skipper. Allardyce's plans were complicated by Matt
Taylor's new calf injury in the first half, while he had travelled without
James Tomkins (groin) and, for the second game running, Carlton Cole (knee).
Abdoulaye Faye and Henri Lansbury came in, meanwhile, with Jack Collison
dropping to the bench. Joey O'Brien returned from his hamstring injury late
in the proceedings but he and fellow sub Freddie Piquionne could not affect
a positive change. Big Sam, regardless, was not making excuses. "Injuries
happen to players and squads throughout the season," he said. "You have to
cope for it. The thing that was disappointing was that we could not maintain
our clinical form from Saturday. "Perhaps it wasn't our day and it is a big
disappointment to lose to Southampton, to lose our away record and find out
when we wake up that they are five points clear of us. On the balance of
play we should have still only been two points behind them. "We knew it
would be a difficult game because they have the best home record in the
league. They are a good team but we should have rescued a point."
Allardyce will take Wednesday - his 57th birthday - to take stock but is not
expecting too much in the way of festivities. "I don't celebrate birthdays
at all at my age," he said with a wry smile when asked. "I try to forget
them." Points not presents were more on his wish list and he was clear what
defeat meant to his men as they look towards Monday's trip to Brighton &
Hove Albion.. "It can take between eight and ten games to make up five
points. That is how important it was not to lose but we have. "At the end of
the day, we cannot complain about the chances we have made at the best home
record in this league. With our quality I would have expected us to score at
least one or two. "When we wanted it right at the most important time
against someone in direct competition it hasn't happened. We are second but
still have a lot of ground to catch up. We will try and do that as quickly
as we can."
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Hearn: I'm here to stop West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th October 2011
By: Staff Writer
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has admitted that the driving force
behind his Olympic Stadium campaign is to prevent West Ham United from
taking occupancy.
Hearn, speaking with BBC FiveLive ahead of West Ham's Championship clash
with Southampton tonight also revealed that he wouldn't consider moving
Orient to Stratford should the current plans to make the stadium a 60,000
seater venue post next summer's games be adhered to. "My whole driving force
behind this is I totally believe that if West Ham take occupancy [of the
Olympic Stadium], Leyton Orient will go out of business," he said. "I don't
believe enough people have spent enough time thinking about us. "Obviously
we don't want West Ham on our doorstep so we'd like the opportunity to bid.
But there is no way that Orient will move in as a football club and play
with 50 yards of athletics track between the fans and the footballers. "But
if we do it and can restrict the capacity down to the original plan of
25,000, we're players."
Hearn also raised the possibility of reaching agreement with, "a consortium
of people interested in a variety of sports", with whom to share use of the
£500million stadium - echoing West Ham's previously accepted proposal which
included Newham Council (whom he suggested had "thrown the towel in"), Essex
Cricket Club plus a worldwide concert promoter. Despite having been partly
responsible for the breakdown in the previous process by continuing to
proceed with legal action against the OPLC's decision to award use of the
stadium to West Ham United - a stance that could hit the taxpayer with an
unexpected £95million bill - Hearn claimed that forcing a new completely new
application process would actually be for the benefit of the public purse.
"It gives us the chance to create a better funding vehicle so that the whole
episode does not come at a huge cost to the public purse in these difficult
times," the former accountant surmised, without a trace of irony. "I'm more
hopeful now the whole thing has blown up that people will exercise a little
more common sense and a little more restraint when it comes to spending the
Government's money. This is my primary concern. "We've all got to pull in
the same direction. We don't want anything to detract from the spirit of the
Olympic Games."
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Southampton 1 West Ham Utd 0
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th October 2011
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce will be getting the jitters tonight after his side fell to a
third league defeat of the season, going down 1-0 to Southampton at St
Mary's tonight. Speaking at the beginning of the 2011/12 campaign, Allardyce
highlighted the point that teams likely to win promotion from the
Championship are unlikely to do so should they lose more than eight games.
Tonight's defeat - which yet again saw Allardyce's team concede in the final
minute of a half - means that West Ham are almost halfway towards that
figure with just a third of the season played. Yet they remain second in the
table as both Derby and Middlesbrough failed to capitalise on United's
misfortune. The Irons were a shadow of the team that comprehesively beat
Blackpool at the BG lat weekend, yet they suffered more than their fair
share of bad luck in falling to defeat tonight. An early injury to Matt
Taylor, a shot cleared off the line and another effort that hit the post
were key moments in a game that ebbed and flowed with both sides enjoying
plenty of chances.
Also key to the game were Sam Allardyce's tactical choices - both chosen and
enforced. Having surprised many by starting with John Carew and Sam Baldock
in a 4-4-2 formation - including, it seemed, Southampton themselves - the
Hammers started the stronger of the two teams and continued to command the
game until Taylor, who was a risk having been injured against Blackpool
limped off just 20 minutes in. Despite having Joey O'Brien and Jack Collison
on the bench (both of whom were still short of match fitness and presumably
considered unlikely to last for 70-plus minutes), Allardyce introduced
Freddie Piquionne and changed shape to 4-3-3.
That suited the home side who began to look far more at ease and, as the
half wore on, a goal for the Saints began to look inevitable. For it to
arrive in the final minute of the half, with Sam Allardyce having reinforced
to his players the need to stay alert until the final whistle will no doubt
have led to a few heated words being said by the manager in the visitors'
dressing room at the break. With the half-time whistle literally seconds
away, big defender Jos Hooiveld rose highest to meet a Dean Hammond corner
to nod the Saints ahead - a huge blow to West Ham who had coped adequately
with the pressure exerted by Southampton prior to that point.
As far as goals were concerned, that's how it remained until the final
whistle - although both sides had a number of opportunities to add to
Hooiveld's effort. At the heart of nearly every West Ham chance was the
lively Sam Baldock, full of confidence from his two-goal show at the BG on
Saturday. It was the former MK Dons striker's effort that was prevented from
crossing the line by Kelvin Davis' outstretched foot late in the first half
and his alertness that almost caused goalkeeper Davis to err in the final
minute of the match.
Ironically perhaps, the occasion on which West Ham came closest to scoring
in the second half had little to do with the energetic forward. Mark Noble,
on as a second half sub - and possibly West Ham's best player in the latter
stages of the match, which saw United revert to a 4-4-2 formation - sent a
cross towards the far post that was erroneously deflected by a defender off
his own post with the 'keeper well beaten. By that stage of the game -
there were just four minutes left on the clock when the woodwork denied West
Ham - Sam Allardyce must have known the game was up. Southampton, who had
found Manuel Almunia in good form throughout, thought they had a second in
injury time when the keeper was beaten by sub Steve De Ridder's shot -
although the Hammers were saved, somewhat controversially, by referee Darren
Deadman who pulled play back for an earlier infringement.
However that decision, jeered as it was by the majority of a record crowd of
32,150 inside St.Mary's tonight, made no difference to the final outcome
which leaves Sam Allardyce with plenty of food for thought ahead of next
Monday's trip to Brighton. One player he will be keen to have available for
what promises to be another tough away trip is Matt Taylor, without whom the
Hammers have looked bereft of guile and creativity recently. Another is
centre half James Tomkins, perhaps Sam Allardyce's most consistent performer
so far this season. And whilst the supporters have expressed their extreme
disappointment at Sky's insistence on switching the game from Saturday to
Monday at short notice, Sam Allardyce will no doubt be grateful for the
extra 48 hours afforded to him with which to patch up the likes of Tomkins
and Taylor. Regardless of their availablility, tonight's defeat raises the
pressure slightly on Big Sam to get a result against Albion at the AmEx
Community Stadium.
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Hooiveld header beats Hammers
Last updated: 18th October 2011
SSN
Southampton stretched their lead at the top of the Championship as Jos
Hooiveld's header beat second-placed West Ham 1-0 at St Mary's. On-loan
Celtic defender Hooiveld powered home the winner on the stroke of half-time
in front of a St Mary's record crowd of 32,150, but they were put under
immense pressure by the Hammers, who hit the post late on through Mark
Noble's cross-shot. The visitors - with an unbeaten away record - started
brightly, with Matt Taylor testing Kelvin Davis with a low drive inside the
opening minute. Saints' response came from returning skipper Dean Hammond
who fizzed a shot over the crossbar from 30 yards and then tried his luck
again from distance but with the same outcome shortly afterwards. West Ham
were forced to make an early substitution when Taylor limped off to be
replaced by Frederic Piquionne with what looked to be a recurrence of a calf
injury. It was the home side who were on top as the half progressed. Richard
Chaplow should have done better with a close-range volley. The Hammers hit
back as Piquionne sent John Carew clear down the left. He picked out captain
Kevin Nolan but his 22-yard curling shot flew inches past the upright.
Striker Sam Baldock, who scored his first goals for West Ham on Saturday,
looked set to get his name on the scoresheet again in the 36th minute but
his hooked effort from eight yards was well blocked by the legs of Davis.
That sparked Southampton back into life, and after David Connolly saw a
first-time volley gathered by Manuel Almunia, they opened the scoring on the
stroke of half-time. Hammond's corner from the right picked out Hooiveld and
the on-loan Celtic defender powered a header past the keeper. It was the
home side who bossed the opening stages of the second half, with a
succession of corners ending with Winston Reid blazing over.
A Rickie Lambert free-kick was deflected wide for Saints and at the other
end Baldock found himself one on one with Davis but sent his curling strike
past the post as the game opened up. A slip from Papa Bouba Diop allowed
Connolly to race forward and bend a shot just wide, and the same player
spurned another chance moments later. Sam Allardyce's side continued to
press, though, and a well-worked free-kick saw Nolan roll his marker and
bring another good stop from Davis. Chaplow was not too far away with an
angled drive and Guly Do Prado curled an effort past the far post as Saints
came back into it. Guly was presented with another opportunity when a mix-up
between George McCartney and Noble allowed Lambert to pick him out, but the
Brazilian saw his shot blocked by Almunia. In a frantic finish, Noble saw a
free-kick tipped onto the roof of the net and from the resulting corner his
cross flicked off the head of a defender and came back off the far post but
Southampton held on to maintain their 100% home record.
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Southampton 1-0 West Ham: Saints march on in promotion six-pointer
Published 22:09 18/10/11 By Mike Walters
The Mirror
Fancy that – Sam Allardyce was undone by a set piece as plain as the scowl
on his face as it went in. Big Sam was furious as West Ham surrendered their
unbeaten away record and Southampton moved five points clear, in front of a
record St Mary's crowd of 32,150, at the Championship summit. Hammers
manager Allardyce cursed his luck as Julien Faubert's late, deflected cross
rebounded to safety off the foot of a post. But for all the drama of a
hair-raising finish, shaven-headed Faubert did not deserve redemption in the
last chance salon. And Allardyce, 57 on Wednesday, chuntered: "When you get
to my age, you don't celebrate birthdays - you try to forget them. And it's
a big disappointment to lose our away record to the softest of goals. "We
put so much practice into defending set plays, and we have arguably one of
the biggest sides in the League, but for all our big men we didn't have one
who could head the ball clear and prevent us from going 1-0 down. "And after
being so clinical against Blackpool on Saturday, it's even more
disappointing that we fell woefully short of those standards [tonight] in
terms of taking our chances. "Our sharp-shooting goalscorers couldn't find
their shooting boots, so when we wake up in the morning we will find
Southampton are five points ahead of us when, on the balance of play, we
should still have been within two points of them."
Saints were worthy winners, even if this top-of-the-table duel lived down to
most expectations, and the only goal - Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld's header
from a Danny Fox corner - was closer to Bansky graffiti than a Rembrandt
masterpiece for artistic impression. The minute before the interval proved
pivotal, Sam Baldock snatching horribly at a yawning chance six yards out at
one end before Hooiveld, on loan from Celtic, galloped upfield to smuggle
his header past Faubert on the line.
Fortified by 17 consecutive home wins on the bounce, Southampton have
prospered since they subscribed to Nigel Adkins' cocktail of enthusiasm,
high tempo and energy. But this Adkins diet is no passing fad. Saints are
serious contenders for back-to-back promotions, and their ultra-positive
manager said: "There is a belief here that we are moving in the right
direction. "We want to get back in the Premier League, and if we don't do
it this season we will come back and have another go next year. But we are
here on merit because we have good players and a winning mentality.
"Although we didn't keep the ball so well in the second half, we have no
divine right to dominate West Ham."
Baldock, scampering clear after Jose Fonte's slip, planted one chance the
wrong side of the woodwork and saw another smothered by Kelvin Davis as the
Hammers - lacking creativity and composure in the final third - fought in
vain to salvage a point But the Saints marched on, leaving Allardyce holding
out for a halo in vain.
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Southampton 1 West Ham 0: Saints display title credentials with hard-fought
win
By GRAHAM OTWAY
Last updated at 11:30 PM on 18th October 2011
Daily Mail
Southampton will not face too many greater physical challenges in the months
ahead as they attempt to turn their best league start for 52 years into
promotion to the Barclays Premier League. West Ham were uncompromising in
their bid to extend their unbeaten away record this season against the only
team above them in the table. But having instilled such discipline in his
side, Sam Allardyce forgot to allow for flexibility once they had fallen
behind to Dutchman Jos Hooiveld's header a minute before half–time. As a
result entertainment was a scarce commodity all night, but it didn't matter
to the home majority among the 32,152 crowd, which represented a club record
since the move to St Mary's from the Dell in 2001. Heading for goal: Jos
Hooiveld beats the West Ham defence to give Southampton the lead just before
half-time On the final whistle, Saints fans were ecstatic to hear that
Middlesbrough had also lost and their lead at the top had been extended to
five points.
Southampton boss Nigel Adkins refused to go over the top about a victory
that maintained their unbeaten start to the season and to a run of 17
straight home victories in all competitions stretching back to last season.
But he did say: 'Twelve games into the season, that's a quarter of the way
through the season, we are top of the table, five points clear and
justifiably so. 'We knew it would be a tough game against West Ham who have
just come down from the Premier League and are looking to get straight back
up. 'But I thought we played some good passing football in the first half
and then when we had to defend in the second half we did it well.'
West Ham manager Allardyce admitted he was disappointed that his side could
not follow up their four-goal rout of Blackpool on Saturday and conceded
from a set piece. 'Our sharp-shooting goalscorers did not have their
shooting boots with them,' he said. 'And we lost to the softest of goals.
'We practise defending against set pieces and we have arguably the biggest
side in the league but those big men could not defend a set piece.' But
Allardyce denied that West Ham created barely a handful of chances all
night. In a bright start, Matt Taylor seized upon confusion in the home
defence following a corner to switch the ball to his favoured left boot and
force veteran Kelvin Davis to deflect the ball around his post with his
body. But the adventurous Taylor, a doubt with a calf injury before the
match, limped off after only 21 minutes and many of West Ham's attacking
ideas went down the tunnel with him.
Just after half-time, Sam Baldock seized on a slip by Jose Fonte to have a
clear run on goal but he shot too early and too wide. Had the deflection
which in the dying minutes diverted Julien Faubert's cross onto the Saints'
woodwork been more telling, it might have given Hammers a point, but one
their lack of forward movement did not deserve. Yet the visitors'
organisation at the back, with Abdoulaye Faye a man mountain as a
replacement for the injured James Tomkins, was effective in
making sure Southampton would struggle to add to their tally of 25 goals
from their previous 11 games. West Ham keeper Manuel Almunia was barely
troubled in the first half, although Fonte glanced a header wide in the 22nd
minute. Without their injured goal creator Adam Lallana for the second match
running, the home side struggled to find a way through and the goal that
turned out to be the match winner arrived from a set piece.
Hooiveld, on loan from Celtic until January, rose above the defence to meet
Daniel Fox's corner and his header was too powerful for Faubert, standing
sentry on the goal-line, to clear. Late in the game, Southampton substitute
Steve de Ridder squeezed the ball under Almunia's body to suggest the
winning margin might have been
doubled. But in the noise from the crowd he had failed to hear referee
Darren Deadman's whistle for an earlier infringement.
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Southampton 1 West Ham United 0: match report
By Oliver Brown10:45PM BST 18 Oct 2011 8 Comments
Telegraph.co.uk
Southampton are looking radiant on the 'Adkins diet'. Nigel Adkins might
cultivate the air of an unassuming PE teacher, but he is engineering a quiet
revolution on the South Coast, guiding his charges to an extraordinary
streak of 17 home matches unbeaten. These are auspicious times at St Mary's
Stadium, and never more so in the wake of this doughty thwarting of West
Ham, extending the club's lead at the Championship summit to five points.
Aptly enough, the ground drew a record gate of 32,150; truly, it is becoming
an even greater Southampton attraction than the QEII. And little wonder,
when Adkins' team can play so unconvincingly and yet still prevail in this
tense battle of the division's top two. Jos Hooiveld, the Dutch centre-back
on loan from Celtic, provided the decisive contribution here on the cusp of
half-time, heading in the goal that dispatched Sam Allardyce's physical but
one-dimensional West Ham.
Giddily, Southampton sought to digest their best league start for 52 years.
Even at this early juncture, theirs is the form of champions-elect: indeed,
the last side to beat them at St Mary's were Manchester United in the fourth
round of last season's FA Cup. Their last stumble in the league came, barely
credibly, in Dec 2010.
"There's a lot of positivity around Southampton," Adkins said. "And 12 games
in, a quarter of the way through the season, we sit justifiably at the top
of the league. We're trying to have a winning mentality about everything we
do."
For Sam Allardyce, the missed opportunities were maddening. It is the West
Ham's manager birthday on Wednesday, but he hardly felt like celebrating
after watching John Carew head wide from an enticing position, and Kevin
Nolan miscue in a one-on-one with Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davies.
There was also the anxiety of losing midfielder Matt Taylor to a calf
injury. "Unfortunately, our sharp-shooters didn't find their shooting boots.
At least we showed something about what we're really like. We conceded the
softest of goals from our point of view. We were woefully short in terms of
being clinical," he said. The relief was intense at the final whistle, as
Southampton surmounted their most onerous test yet. By the end, they were
simply lining up on the edge of the West Ham box as wave after wave of
attack were beaten back.
Allardyce's players began positively enough, as Henri Lansbury drew a sharp
save from Kelvin Davies. Matt Taylor was also a dynamic presence, forcing
the goalkeeper to deflect the ball around the post. Gradually, though, the
natural hierarchy began to assert itself in an attritional game. Southampton
ratcheted up the pressure, as two chances fell to centre-back Jose Fonte.
Sam Baldock was also guilty of wasting a fine counter-attacking opportunity
for West Ham. Sure enough, the home guard punished the mistake, as Danny Fox
swung in a corner that Hooiveld, the towering Dutchman, headed powerfully
beyond Manuel Almunia. West Ham pressed remorselessly in search of their
point. One deftly-worked free-kick allowed Nolan to evade his marker,
bringing another impressive stop from the overworked Davis. Southampton's
incursions were growing ever fewer, although Guly do Prado was unfortunate
not to capitalise when a mix-up between Mark Noble and George McCartney put
him through. His shot, though, cannoned straight into Almunia's diving
frame. In a frenetic conclusion, Noble saw his free-kick tipped on to the
roof of the net. From the ensuing corner, his attempted cross struck the far
post as Southampton clung on. United, their last conquerors here, have
perfected the technique of winning when playing badly and Adkins' side —
promisingly for their hopes of converting this start into promotion — proved
last night that they could also be masters of that art.
Match details
Southampton (4-4-2): Davis; Richardson, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox; Hammond,
Chaplow (Harding 74), Schneiderlin, Guly; Lambert, Connolly (Cork 82).
Subs: Bialkowski (g), Harding, Martin, De Ridder.
Booked: Hooiveld, Chaplow.
West Ham United (4-4-2): Almunia; Faubert, Reid, Faye, McCartney; Lansbury,
Bouba Diop (Noble 66), Nolan, Taylor (Piquionne 20); Baldock, Carew.
Subs: Boffin (g), O'Brien, Collison.
Booked: Nolan, Baldock.
Referee: D Deadman (Cambridgeshire).
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West Ham hit back at Hearn, saying club should be Olympic Stadium tenants
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:49 PM on 18th October 2011
Daily Mail
West Ham have disputed the claim by Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn that
they should be ruled out of the running to be tenants of the Olympic Stadium
in east London after the 2012 Games. Hearn, who revealed Orient had applied
for permission to move to the Olympic Stadium, said the Hammers should be
ruled out under Football League rules. Hearn said last week that his club
would be interested in becoming tenants at the Stratford site after the
Olympic Park Legacy Company reopened the tender process to rent the stadium.
A deal with West Ham and Newham Council collapsed amid legal challenges,
with the Government announcing last week that the stadium would remain in
public ownership and be leased out.
Hearn believes the application to the Football League is significant,
arguing that they would not sanction another member club - West Ham - moving
closer to Orient's home if it affected their business. But West Ham have now
refuted that claim. A spokesman for the club said: 'West Ham have applied in
accordance with the rules and regulations and have been granted permission
to move to the Olympic Stadium.' Hearn told his club's official website: 'We
are asking for a 25,000-seat stadium and we want to see if we can get around
the athletics track. It has to stay, we know that. But can we build up, if
not down, and see if it's possible to get it covered while we play? 'If it
isn't possible, it isn't - and we wouldn't move in with a running track
between the pitch and the crowd.
'We have submitted an application for permission to move to the Football
League, and that permission is something that West Ham don't yet have. 'It
was the Premier League who gave them the green light to move in their
original plan, but they are no longer members of the Premier League. 'The
rules are that the Football League would not sanction a club moving closer
to another club if it affects the business of that other club, and there's
no doubt that West Ham moving there would affect us.
'West Ham can't just assume that they will be in the Premier League by then.
How, therefore, can the Olympic Park Legacy Company, whose job it is to
decide who takes over the stadium, allow West Ham to remain in the bidding
process? We want them thrown out because they don't have permission from the
relevant authority - the Football League.' The Football League were
unavailable for a response to Hearn's comments or West Ham's response.
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