Daily WHUFC News - 12th October 2012

Gary feeling good
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil is feeling fighting fit and enjoying West Ham United's return to
the Barclays Premier League
11.10.2012

Gary O'Neil believes the combination of a quality squad and some fine form
will see West Ham United through the tough challenges of the next few months
of the Barclays Premier League. Midfielder O'Neil says that while the side
were disappointed to lose against Arsenal last weekend - only their second
home league defeat in 2012 - a foundation is forming that the players and
manager Sam Allardyce want to build on. After the next two tricky-looking
fixtures against Southampton and Wigan Athletic are completed, the Hammers
enter an unenviable run of games that include both Manchester teams,
Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but O'Neil feels the squad should
hold no fear. "We have made a good start and want to get better as the
season goes on," O'Neil said "We have had good results in first few weeks
and started to build the foundations of what we want to achieve. "In the
last week, we had the great win away at Queens Park Rangers and then against
Arsenal, we came out and made a great start to the game, but ultimately came
away disappointed after losing to what is a very good Arsenal side. But we
have to look to build on what we have done well so far in the next few weeks
again."

While there may be some tough fixtures ahead, O'Neil is confident there is
enough quality and spirit in the squad to ensure West Ham United continue to
head in the right direction. "There is a really good vibe around the place.
The lads have done fantastically so far this season. We have had a decent
start and coming up from the Championship is hard, so getting a good
beginning to the campaign is important. "Yes, we have tough games coming up
but the form we have been in and the squad we have, we are all looking
forward to the challenges ahead and believe we are capable of meeting them."

Spirit is in good supply at the Hammers' Chadwell Heath training ground as
O'Neil and his other team-mates who have not gone away on international duty
this week have been put through their paces with daily double training
sessions. As well as hard work, though, there has been plenty of banter as
the team trained in the autumn sunshine. Those kind of light-hearted
moments were incredibly important for O'Neil on as he recovered from the
serious ankle injury he suffered against Aston Villa back in April 2011.
That injury saw O'Neil miss the rest of the 2010/11 season and much of last
season, but the midfielder battled through and returned four months sooner
than expected to play a key role in the Hammers' successful promotion
campaign. Although the initial prognosis was not good, the former England
Under-21 international stayed positive in his belief that he would play
again. He credits the surgeon who performed his operation and with Hammers'
caring medical and sports science staff for his quick recovery. "I have said
that it was a shock when we all realised how serious and how bad it was. It
was frightening and I took a while to come to terms with it. But I never
accepted that I wouldn't play again and always had in my mind that I would
play again. "I am really lucky. Everyone here - the staff, medical and
sports science staff - have been great and I have managed to get back out
there. The surgeon did a fantastic job and here I am back playing and
enjoying being in this squad. "It was hard being away from the rest of the
team for most of that time. It was all about the long-term goal, though, and
I knew I had to train on my own and work hard. So when I came back four
months early to play against Derby - which was quicker than we expected - it
was all worth it. "But yes it was hard. The lads were doing a fantastic job
trying to get us promoted and one of the
best things about getting back is not just playing but being part of the
team properly again."

During the endless hours and days spent in the Chadwell Heath recovery
rooms, O'Neil says he built up a firm bond with the medical staff at West
Ham.
"Even to this day I spend a lot of time with them still! I think you get
used to it. The ankle will need some managing here and there, but they have
all been fantastic here. "Also, sports science and medicine has moved on so
much I think that if I suffered this injury 20 years ago, I would not have
been able to come back. "The gaffer is big on sports science and the role it
plays in football and it has certainly played its part with me recovering
from this injury."

Such was the injury that O'Neil had to think - albeit temporarily - about
what else he could do should the worst happen. Coaching was the realistic
choice but there were dreams of being a professional golfer, with O'Neil
well-known at West Ham for his skills on the green. "I did look at coaching.
It wouldn't be the same as playing, but I would like to play a part in
helping young footballers come through, so I had to look at my badges and
all of that to be prepared. "If I had a choice? It would be golf - I did try
and qualify for the Open in the summer, but didn't do as well as I would
have liked, but I did it for the experience and enjoyment. But being
realistic, it would be coaching. "Luckily I am still playing and those
thoughts can hopefully wait a while yet. I am enjoying being part of this
team and hope to be playing my part this season as we look to do as well as
we can."

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Wayne eyes promotion push
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies goalkeeper Toni-Anne Wayne believes this season can
be a successful one
11.10.2012

While West Ham United's first team find themselves back in the Barclays
Premier League, the Ladies side have just missed out on promotion from the
FA Women's Premier League Southern Division in the past few years. During
the summer, the squad was strengthened with the addition of 29-year-old
goalkeeper Toni-Anne Wayne, who returned to West Ham United Ladies for the
second spell of her career. "When I left two years ago, I always said that
West Ham will always be in my heart and having the chance to come back, I
couldn't say 'No'" said former England Under-20 international. "Every team I
have been at, I have enjoyed my time for many different reasons. However,
there is something you cannot explain about West Ham, it's like a family."

Wayne has played for a host of top women's football teams throughout her
career, starting with a full scholarship with Arsenal before moves to
Bristol Academy, Charlton Athletic and Gillingham. The current interest and
funding in women's football continues to prevent West Ham's players turning
professional, but Wayne is hoping that situation may change. "I currently
work as a warehouse supervisor six days a week, as well as studying for an
AAT level two certificate in accounting, so fitting everything in is very
time consuming. I had the privilege of training full-time when I was at
Arsenal but feel that I was a little too young to fully appreciate it.
Playing full-time again would be a dream come true."

Since returning to West Ham, Wayne has been full of compliments for the
Hammers coaching staff, believing that the management team of Julia Setford,
Paul Blanchflower and Kate De Costa could make the difference in the search
for promotion. "They are by far the best coaching team from previous
experience. My former team-mate Julia has taken to management like a duck to
water. She is fair and passionate but hard when she needs to be. Kate and
Paul were not there last time I was at West Ham and I feel that they could
be the difference."

Wayne also reserved a special mention for goalkeeping coach Julian Roberts.
"I work mainly with Julian who is a fantastic coach. He tests me every
session, even if I do have to wind him up to make him shoot harder. He
listens to the things that I feel I need to work on and he will always go
the extra mile to help."
The Hammers have started the season brightly, with two wins from their
opening three games giving them a stable base in their hunt for promotion.
"I think a lot of the credit needs to go to our team defensively. We have
had a lot of changes and everyone has adapted well. We have a fairly young
defence so we know that the hard work they are doing in training is paying
off in games and this will increase their confidence".

"There are a few new faces but the core of the team is still the same so I
feel that I have settled in well, they know the way I work as much as I know
them. Over the last few years we have been pipped to the post [for
promotion] so getting as many points on the board as soon as possible
settles the nerves and allows us to play the way we want to."

"I think that the good part about our squad is that we have a mixture of
youth and experienced players, but all the girls have great banter. When we
are struggling we have some great players like Jess Barling, Lindsey Morgan
or Becky Merritt who try and lift the team, but I think that every player in
our squad plays their part in their own little ways."

"Personally, I didn't come back to West Ham to come second or third again, I
want to win the league and go up. I think we have some quality players and
great coaching staff so anything else other than promotion is not an option.
We have always been in and around there at the end of the season, so with
the additions we have made, along with the youth that we have, I think this
could be a very successful season for West Ham Ladies."

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Clark denies Morrison rift
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 11th October 2012
By: Staff Writer

Birmingham manager Lee Clark has rubbished rumours suggesting that he wanted
to send Ravel Morrison back to West Ham. The 19-year-old midfielder is
currently on loan with the Blues for the season having made just one
substitute appearance for West Ham since moving to east London from
Manchester United in January of this year. Earlier in the week, reports
suggesting that Clark wanted rid of the teenager emerged - reports that,
according to both Morrison and the City boss, are wide of the mark. Speaking
to deny that he wanted to out Morrison, Clark told the Birmingham Mail: "I
have had a good chat with Ravel this week and he knows where he wants to be
and he knows how he's got to get there. "We brought him in because he's a
talented young man but there's more than talent that gets you in the team.
Ravel understands that and he's going to be working extremely hard over the
coming weeks to get that sorted."

Morrison - who claimed on Tuesday that he was "having a good time at BCFC" -
has not appeared for Birmingham's first team since the opening day of the
season.

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The Julian Dicks Column: 11th October
KUMb.com
Filed: Thursday, 11th October 2012
By: Julian Dicks

It's with great pleasure that we welcome West Ham United FC legend Julian
Dicks to KUMB.com. Julian shares his thoughts with the readers of Knees up
Mother Brown on a regular basis via his weekly column, the latest of which
begins a review of last weekend's defeat against Arsenal...

Arsenal

We all knew Arsenal was going to be a tough game and that everybody would
have to be at their best to beat them. For 75 minutes West Ham did well and
although the lost in the end, I think 3-1 flattered the Gunners a bit.

West Ham started off well, but over the 90 minutes Arsenal passed them off
the park. They miss Robin Van Persie but they've still got some exceptional
players there. Still, Kevin Nolan had a couple of good chances and you'd
expect him to put those away. You can't really knock him for missing them
because he's the club's top scorer, but it could have been a better result
for West Ham.

You have to put your chances away. You can look back over every single game
and say, "If we'd have put that in we'd have won four or five-nil!" - but
when you're playing teams like Arsenal you have to take your chances,
because you know they're going to score goals and that you're going to be
under pressure for periods of the game.

Although West Ham could perhaps have settled for a point I don't think it
was naive to push on for a winner. They were at home and it's not in the
players' nature to sit back and say "yeah, we'll take a draw here". In the
13 years I played football I never thought like that and I don't think the
majority of footballers think like that.

Regardless of who you're playing you want to go out and get three points -
and I thought West Ham might have gone on and won the game.


Wenger-baiting

The amount of abuse I used to get as a player meant it was water off a
duck's back - and it'll be the same for Arsene Wenger because he's a
seasoned manager. But I always thought if I was getting abuse I must have
been a threat to their team, which meant I was doing something right. It's
not nice, but you know it's going to happen.

At the end of the day, black players used to get racially abused so they're
not going to stop with the likes of Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson. It's
part of the game. Yes, it's wrong - but you're never going to stop it.


Six pointers

It's imperative now that West Ham pick up maximum points in their next two
games - and I'd expect them to beat both Southampton and Wigan. The Saints
are going through a rough time and Wigan aren't the best of sides. When you
look at the teams we've got to play after that you wonder where the points
are coming from; it's going to be very tough.

However West Ham have started off well and with that team and Sam as manager
I would imagine they think they can go out and beat most teams. When you
play teams like Man City and Man United of course it's going to be tough.
There are points there they can pick up - but you really want six points
from the Southampton and Wigan games.

Mentally the players shouldn't need geeing up for the tough run of fixtures
that lie ahead because if they can't get motivated for those games, they
shouldn't be playing football. I don't think Sam will have to do that for
any player against any team in the Premier League.

In terms of approaching those games, it's a difficult one. You either sit
back and try and take the pressure - and you know against your Chelseas and
Manchester Citys you're going to be under the cosh for most of the game,
that they're going to get chances and they're going to score - or you can
take the game to them, playing a 4312 or whatever.

However if you sit back you're inviting pressure - just as Sunderland did at
Upton Park a few weeks ago. Unfortunately if you do that against the best
sides, like your Man Citys and Chelseas, it's going to be tough just to sit
back and soak it up.

Step up to the plate

Ravel Morrison is a great talent, according to people like Alex Ferguson.
But whilst you need a bit of arrogance and confidence in football you can't
step over the line - especially with the people who are employing you.

If he keeps doing it, teams and clubs aren't going to continue to take a
chance on him. He's still young and he's got a great future in the game but
if he doesn't sort it out people will say "we're not going to bother" - and
he'll end up not playing football at all. He's 19 now so he's an adult; he's
not a kid any more.

Ravel has got everything going for him, he's paid well and he's a very good
player. Sometimes you have to take a look at yourself and ask, "hang on a
minute, what am I doing?" We all make mistakes in life - I've made plenty! -
but when you get booted out of Man Utd and then West Ham after only a few
months there's obviously something amiss.

I don't believe the money the players earn these days has anything to do
with their behaviour though. Some people gamble and get in trouble that way
but this is about Ravel being disruptive, so money doesn't come into it
unless he thinks he's got enough now and can do what he wants. Still, he'll
have to knuckle down at some point.

The danger is that we'll still be saying this when he's 23 or 24 - by which
time it could be too late. If you're lucky, your career lasts until you're
32, 33 - but then it's over. He has a long life ahead of him, so it's time
to settle down and let his football do the talking.

Patience, Paolo

Paolo Di Canio was an exceptional footballer. Unfortunately I didn't play
much with him but we got on really well - even though we had our spats.

Not so long ago I spent 45 minutes with him in his office before a Swindon
game. I came out knackered; he's so enthusiastic and animated and kicks
every ball! He's a nice bloke to be around because everything is great.
What's he's done at Swindon so far is exceptional and you have to take your
hat off to his Chairman as it's Paolo's first management job and he's gone
in and done absolutely fantastically well.

Being physical with your players though - as Paolo has been - wouldn't work
for me as a manager - and if any manager of mine slapped me round the head
I'd punch them back! There's a way to get through to your players and that's
not it. But they all look up to him at Swindon and rightly so, because he's
an exceptional footballer and he's done a fantastic job as a manager.

He has been linked with the vacancies at Blackburn and Bolton but I think
it's a little bit too early for him. At the end of the day only Paolo will
know if that's the case - and with his ego, they're probably not big enough
clubs for him! But he's done a fantastic job and he deserves everything he
gets; who knows - he could go to either and set the world alight.

Looking back: my toughest opponents

Mick Harford was a really nice bloke - but very tough. I was at Birmingham
with Mick when I was a young player and he could look after himself. I
remember playing against him after he'd moved to Luton and he cracked my eye
socket in four places. I don't think he did it on purpose but I remember
saying, "look at my eye" - and he just said, "Oh, I didn't mean that!"
That's the way he was.

Another who wasn't necessarily tough but exceptionally strong was Mark
Hughes. If you kicked him he wouldn't whinge or moan but get up, get on with
it and give you a whack back during the game sometimes!

For me, the toughest opponents I faced were players who were fast - players
like Franz Carr, Ruel Fox and Tony Daley - just because they were a lot
quicker than me! They always gave me a tough time. I often struggled against
those sorts of players - if they were quicker than you and had half a brain
they'd knock it past you and go.

The way to deal with those players was to put them in the stand within the
first five minutes. If you did, then they wouldn't fancy it for the rest of
the game - but if you went in and you missed them, then you knew you were in
for a tough game!

One player I came across many times was Roy Keane. He could look after
himself but he was a very good player as well - you don't play for or
captain Manchester United for that long if you're not a good player. They
had some fantastic players when we used to play against them - your
Beckhams, Scholes and Cantonas. It was an exceptional side, especially if
you had a midfield player like Roy Keane pulling all the strings.

Don't get me wrong, he put some bad, bad tackles in like the one on Alf-Inge
Haaland. That doesn't make you hard, that's the coward's way. But he was a
good player.

I also played against Dennis Wise and Vinnie Jones many times and we used to
kick sh*t out of each other, but we'd still meet up in the bar after and
have a drink and a chat. Then the next time comes around and in the first
five minutes we'd be off again. But that was it; we weren't enemies, we'd
kick sh*t out of each other on the pitch but after the game we'd have a chat
and a laugh - and that was it.


Julian Dicks was talking to Graeme Howlett.

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West Ham have confirmed they still want to become tenants of the Olympic
Stadium
Last Updated: October 11, 2012 7:13am
SSN

West Ham United have confirmed they are still fully committed to become
tenants of the Olympic Stadium. The applications to take over the Olympic
Stadium restarted last year after legal challenges from both Tottenham and
neighbours Leyton Orient prevented West Ham from buying the stadium in
conjunction with Newham Council in 2011. Nevertheless, despite their failure
to buy the stadium - the Hammers want to become main tenants at the
Stratford site for the start of the 2014-15 season. However, reports claim
the Premier League club are at loggerheads with the London Legacy
Development Corporation (LLDC) over changes to the stadium including
retractable seating which would cost around £160million - but West Ham
remain positive. In a statement, West Ham said: "It is now 20 months since
West Ham United were initially named as the preferred bidder to occupy the
Olympic Stadium post-Games. We are obviously disappointed, that three bids
later, a decision has yet to be reached. "We do however remain fully
committed to becoming the catalyst to galvanise the Olympic Park by bringing
people, jobs and a robust and sustainable commercial offer that guarantees a
return to the taxpayer of the money already invested."

LLDC chief executive Dennis Hone has indicated that should a decision not be
reached by the next board meeting later this month, then the matter could be
pushed back towards the end of the year. "If we can't come to a conclusion,
in the scheme of things if it slips another month or two I would rather get
the right solution. Yes, the stadium is tricky, but it's tricky because we
want to get it right," he said. "I would hate to bung someone in there and
see it fall apart in five years. If it takes a couple of extra months to get
there, then so be it. We have had discussions with all of the bidders. "The
difficulty is that we are balancing the adaptations we have to make to the
stadium against the proposals that have come in and the benefits - financial
and otherwise - that those proposals bring. If it was a knockout [verdict]
it would be an easy decision, but it's not."

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Gary O'Neil confident West Ham can build on positive start to season
Last Updated: October 11, 2012 10:50pm
SSN

West Ham United midfielder Gary O'Neil says there is a 'good vibe' around
the camp following an encouraging start to the Premier League campaign. The
Hammers have collected 11 points from their opening seven fixtures to occupy
a position in the top half of the table, although Sam Allardyce has always
said that he expects the games to become increasingly difficult during a
testing autumn and winter schedule. O'Neil nevertheless believes there is
enough quality in the squad, and a suitably strong spirit, to keep West Ham
on the right track. He told the club's official website: "We have made a
good start and want to get better as the season goes on. We have had good
results in the first few weeks and started to build the foundations of what
we want to achieve. "In the last week, we had the great win away at Queens
Park Rangers and then against Arsenal, we came out and made a great start to
the game, but ultimately came away disappointed after losing to what is a
very good Arsenal side. But we have to look to build on what we have done
well so far in the next few weeks again."

O'Neil added: "There is a really good vibe around the place. The lads have
done fantastically so far this season. We have had a decent start and coming
up from the Championship is hard, so getting a good beginning to the
campaign is important. "Yes, we have tough games coming up but the form we
have been in and the squad we have, we are all looking forward to the
challenges ahead and believe we are capable of meeting them."

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