Daily WHUFC News - 9th October 2012

Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is looking forward with optimism after running Arsenal close
on Saturday
08.10.2012

Sam Allardyce believes Saturday's match with Arsenal has shown that his
new-look West Ham United side need to hold no fear when mixing it with the
Barclays Premier League big boys. The Hammers matched the Gunners for much
of Saturday's sell-out encounter, but after Mohamed Diame had opened the
scoring in the 21st minute, two fine second-half strikes from the visitors
were decisive as they ran out 3-1 winners. Big Sam's side caused their north
London neighbours a host of problems, however, and had they taken one of the
number of good opportunities that had fallen their way, they could well have
maintained their position above Arsenal in the table. "We tried our best -
that's all we can do," Big Sam said. "We weren't overran. We might have been
a lot worse of in terms of possession - that's obvious - but in terms of
chances created and shots on goal, it was very close indeed.

"Whenever my teams have won against top teams in the past we have always
punished the opposition when we had the opportunity." Diame's first goal in
claret and blue is likely to be among the contenders for Goal of the Season
at the 2013 Player Awards night, while Arsenal's third goal - a long-range
effort from Santi Cazorla - was also worthy of praise, according to
Allardyce. "I'm not sure Cazorla's goal was better than Diame's. It was a
great strike but Momo beat two players and then smashed it in the net. They
were probably as good as each other. "The quality of both goals was
fantastic. It's a pity we couldn't show that quality with our chances in the
second half.

In addition to testing the Arsenal backline, West Ham United once again
defended their goal bravely and selflessly, with Jussi Jaaskelainen rarely
troubled. Big Sam was pleased with what he saw and will be demanding the
same level of performance when Southampton visit the Boleyn Ground on 20
October.
"For all of Arsenal's possession - which was fantastic considering the way
they move the ball around - our defensive unit did a fantastic job and
limited their chances. "In the second half we wanted to do a little bit more
in terms of testing their defenders. We did that but we didn't score and we
paid a heavy price for that as they punished us at the end."

Andy Carroll's return to the starting XI was another positive from the
afternoon and he carried on where he left off on his home debut against
Fulham. After winning countless headers and working hard to not afford the
Arsenal defenders any time on the ball, the West Ham No8 came close with two
headers - one from a corner in the first half and another from a George
McCartney cross in the second. "That's why we've got him - he's an
unbelievable player and he can only get better. For his second chance he
outjumped the goalie. The goalie can use his hands to catch the ball but he
goes and outjumps him. "Anybody that doesn't fear Andy Carroll is foolish.
As long as we can keep giving him the service I think he's going to be a
tremendous asset."

Like a number of other first-team and Development Squad players, Carroll
will be absent from Chadwell Heath this week as he reports for international
duty with England. Despite him lasting a full 90 minutes on Saturday, Big
Sam is hopeful he will return fully fit after the Three Lions' double header
against San Marino and Poland. "I'm not worried Andy could play for England
as he is really lacking in match practise. What I will speak to Roy about is
his fatigue level.
"Andy will be stiffer than everybody else after this because he hasn't
played a full 90 minutes in recent weeks. So he will take a bit more time to
recover.
"But he should be fine for Friday and hopefully he will get a game at some
stage to improve his match fitness."

The international break will give Big Sam a chance to look back over an
impressive start to lfe back in the top tier of English football, but also
an opportunity to look ahead, with a tough run of fixtures on the horizon as
the Hammers head into November. It's been a good start to the season and
it's been exciting. We've gelled a bit quicker than I thought we would.
We've got some real talent in the team with some good experience.
Southampton is our next game and it will be a big test for us. We'll need to
lift ourselves for that to try and get back on the winning trail again."

Allardyce and his West Ham United medical staff are also likely to use the
break to assess the extent of injuries picked up by Ricardo Vaz Te, Guy
Demel and Winston Reid on Saturday. Vaz Te is looking like the most serious,
with a dislocated shoulder set to keep him out for up to 12 weeks. Demel's
thigh injury forced him off in the secon half, while Winston Reid suffered a
back spasm that was still being looked at on Monday morning.

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'Moose' remembers John Bond
WHUFC.com
Ian 'Moose' Abrahams talks to Kevin Bond about his late, great father and
West Ham United legend John
08.10.2012

The changing face of football was bought home to me last month with the sad
passing of former West Ham defender John Bond, who I was lucky enough to
meet last season in the Legends Lounge here at Upton Park at the home game
with Bristol City. John joined West Ham in March 1950 from Colchester
Casuals. He'd been spotted playing by West Ham assistant manager Ted Fenton
when he was manager with Colchester United and he convinced Hammers manager
Charlie Paynter to offer Bond a contract and he duly turned professional in
March 1950
John was a popular figure with the Upton Park fans and was nicknamed
'Muffin' because of his ability to kick like a mule. While here, John won
the old Division Two title in 1958, the FA Cup in 1964 and played his part
in the successful run to the European Cup Winners' Cup final at Wembley the
following season.
I am lucky enough to know John's son Kevin - a successful player and coach
just like his Dad - and he has paid a glowing tribute to his father.
"From when I was born we lived in Vaughan Road, which was around 200 yards
from Upton Park, and we stayed there all the time that my father played for
played for West Ham. I was born in 1957 and remember being in such close
proximity to the stadium and of course the 1964 FA Cup final at Wembley.
"That day I remember my sister and my mum sat in stands with me and being so
pleased and delighted with West Ham's win. I was only seven at the time and,
being so young, the day passed me by but it was a fantastic day for all of
us. What I do remember are the celebrations on the open-top bus which went
around east London and how crazy it all was with all the streets lined with
so many supporters.
"Probably my biggest memory with regards to my father's time at West Ham is
that whenever we spoke when we spent time together, he told me how much he
adored the club and how much he adored his time at the club.
"It was different to how it is today and that's not being critical of how
things are today, it's just the nature of how things are. In my father's day
so many of the players knew each other and came from the same culture. These
days many come from different parts of the world, but that's just the way it
is.
"His team-mates were his friends and until the day he died they remained his
friends. He stayed in touch with lots of them I still speak to Peter
Brabrook as he did. He spoke to Kenny Brown and Martin Peters for 50 or 60
years and he knew them all.
"He loved West Ham as a club and he adored Ron Greenwood, who he said taught
him so much about football. He had magnificent times at the club and I don't
believe he would've swapped his time at West Ham for a dozen medals playing
for anyone else. He just loved it at West Ham being around the people I've
mentioned and more, including the likes of Noel Cantwell."
As Kevin alluded to, his father played during a very different era when
players staying ten or 15 years at a single club was not uncommon. John
himself was at Upton Park 16 years.
"I remember him saying once that Ron Greenwood came up to him and said that
QPR wanted to sign him. I don't know if he was having a difficult time at
the club, but QPR wanted him. Anyway my father told Ron he didn't want to
leave, even when Ron told him he may not get a game.
"My father told Ron it was his decision and it's a good thing he did stay
because he went on to win the FA Cup. There was never any question of him
leaving. He was happy there and always happy there. It was only when he
wasn't good enough anymore for West Ham, at the end of his career, that he
had two fantastic years with a few of his old West Ham mates down at
Torquay. But he never had any desire to leave West Ham, he never thought
about leaving West Ham or moving anywhere else, he loved it at West Ham."
John Bond went into management and was successful at many clubs. It was
during this period that he helped Kevin on his way into the game. Kevin
started his career as a trainee at Bournemouth under his father and when
John moved to Norwich he took Kevin with him, handing him his league debut
came at Leicester City in April 1976.
"I had to work hard to earn my place in my Dad's team and to get a living
out of the game. I'd be the first to accept this and many who worked with my
Dad thought I'd struggle to be a footballer. As the manager, though, he had
the opportunity to give me a chance and he did. No-one else thought I'd
become a footballer, but I repaid his faith in me as I became a player in my
own right."
John's management style came as result of his upbringing at the Academy of
Football.
"Having come out of West Ham it was clear to him how he wanted the game to
be played. He knew what he wanted and knew how to get the best out of
people. He was comfortable on the training ground, but said it how it was.
If he upset people, it wasn't in a nasty or aggressive way. It was just that
he said it as saw it or felt it. I don't think you'll see that breed of
manager anymore."
It is clear from speaking to Kevin that John had a very special relationship
with West Ham and the fans and that is why I know there will be a real sense
of loss around Upton Park today.
"He was comfortable at West Ham and with the fans. He didn't necessarily
have any more of a special rapport with the fans than anybody else, but I
think if you speak to any of the players at the time they will say the same
the fans were great and they all seemed to get on amazingly well with
supporters.
"I remember he told me that one day somebody in the Chicken Run had a moan
at him during the game. He walked up to him in the stand and said 'If you
don't like it, why don't you go home?'!
"There was an association between the players and supporters, more than
there is today. It's well-documented the players and fans used to meet in
the cafe's round the corner from the ground.
"My dad lived 200 yards from the ground, he related to the fans and they
related to him. He adored his 16 years at West Ham United."
Follow Ian Abrahams on twitter @BroadcastMoose

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Allardyce on... Arsenal
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 8th October 2012
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce feels - with some justification - that his team were hard done
by against Arsenal in the weekend's big London derby. His full post-match
press conference exclusively in full for you here on KUMB...

Sam: You gave it a good go today and you caused them problems?

Yes. The clinical thing for us was defending properly in the early part of
the game because it was difficult to get the ball off of Arsenal - but our
defending as a team and a unit was excellent which allowed us to frustrate
them. Yes, they had great possession but in terms of chances created, or
shots at goal, they were very few and far between of course.

For Mo [Diame] to get us off to that wonderful start with that brilliant
piece of skill from our first real sustained attack was brilliant. I was
just hoping we'd get in [to half time] at 1-0 - but we didn't. It shows you
that when we didn't have that protection and we made that little mistake how
the much the opposition, when they're as good as they are, can punish you.

Mo looks like he's going to be in good possession on the half-way line. He
pops it off, the Arsenal player picks it up and they've scored within a
whisker. 1-1 wasn't bad at all considering; I wanted to really test
Arsenal's defence and we did that. But because we didn't score when we did
test it they punished us in the end.

Obviously the second goal was a killer because we were in a fantastic
position to create another chance to score at that stage. Because we picked
out the wrong pass all of a sudden the opposition go from one end of the
pitch to the other, we've opened ourselves up to try and get in front and
they've severely punished us yet again.

Between that, Kevin Nolan had a couple of great chances and also Andy
Carroll when he out-jumped the 'keeper. That could have dropped in the back
of the net, but it didn't. Then [Santi] Cazorla scored a wonder-goal and
that was the end of it. We tried our best, it wasn't quite good enough - but
we're pleased with our performance. Just perhaps a little disappointed we
didn't get a draw.

Carroll was a handful but he looked fit. Was he okay?

He's okay, he's fine. We didn't want to play him for 90 minutes because he's
only just come back from that spell out injured and hasn't played that much.


Unfortunately, our injury plight worsened as the game progressed which is a
little worrying because we picked up injuries against QPR and we got three
more today. Winston Reid was struggling badly with sciatica, back spasm -
but we'd used all of our subs; Guy Demel came off with a thigh and [Ricardo]
Vaz Te with a dislocated shoulder. So we're disappointed with the result and
disappointed with those injuries that we've picked up - but I'm not
disappointed with the lads' application and performance.

Will Ricardo be long term or do you think he'll be alright after the
[international] break?

No, he won't be alright; it'll be six to 12 weeks depending on how [bad it
is]. We can't get it back [in place], he's going to have to go to hospital
to have an anaesthetic to slot the shoulder back in the socket. Then the
specialist will determine how long it takes to sort that out.

It's a bit of a shame but we all suffer injuries. We just have to use the
squad that we've got and make sure we don't pick any more injuries up on
international duty. I think if we keep performing like we have, here at West
Ham particularly, we'll give ourselves a great chance of beating Southampton
and get back to winning ways.

[Question from Matt Law of the Sunday Mirror] There was some pretty nasty
abuse for Arsene Wenger; would you rather not hear that from your fans?

From..? I didn't hear it to be honest. I was obviously concentrating on the
game, I'm not sure what the fans were saying. But if they are, it's not
right.

It seemed as if Theo Walcott made the difference coming on there today.
Wenger descirbed his goal as "the killer goal". Is that fair comment?

Yeah. Like I said, if you look back to what we were doing at that time we
were threatening Arsenal and they were on the back foot. Mo Diame flicked a
little ball in behind [Carl] Jenkinson and got in down the left-hand side,
their right. He's free just outside the box and what we wanted him to do was
either the same thing as he did in the first half - have a shot and score -
or smash it across the middle of the defenders and the goalkeeper like they
did for their first goal.

But he scuffed it, it hit an Arsenal player and dropped down. The first pass
goes off and you can see from where I am, we've opened ourselves up so much
because we've loaded the box to try and score. With Theo Walcott's pace,
you're not going to stop him, are you?

It's a good goal from their point of view; they've exploited the space
brilliantly in the space of just a few seconds with their quality and pace.
It's just a great shame that we didn't make more of our opportunity. It was
sort of a double-punishment if you like; we didn't take advantage of our
great opportunity there and they won the ball back and scored at the other
end.

You can see why he [Walcott] wants to be a centre forward so much from that
finish, would you say?

[shrugs shoulders] [laughs] It's not for me to tell Arsene Wenger what to do
or not what to do! It's obviously a problem for Arsene and for Theo to sort
out - not me.

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Work in process
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 8th October 2012
By: Paul Walker

So now we know, at last we have an idea of just where we are and what level
of improvement we are making under Sam Allardyce.

Like him or loathe him, and I meet fans of both persuasions, Sam has just
completed 60 games in charge of our club, and lost just 13...three of which
were cup ties, and we all know how disinterested big Sam is when cup
competitions come around. They get in the way of the real job in hand,
firstly promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt and now
staying in the Premier League.

Yes, I know most of that 60 were outside the top flight so the achievement
is relative. So any real early-season assessment has had to wait as far as I
was concerned, until we played a true top of the range club. And until
Arsenal arrived at the Boleyn on Saturday, we did not really know how far we
had progressed under Sam.

And I left the ground on Saturday, gutted we had lost but also relieved we
had been able to hold our own against one of Europe's genuine heavyweights,
and impressed with what I had witnessed.

We didn't just play long ball, we mixed things up and produced a performance
of strength and organisation. Only when we got tired and got caught pushing
forward in the last 13 minutes did Arsenal cut us open to score twice and
achieve a deserved victory, but one that left them aware that the had not
totally outclassed us.

In fact, two mistakes by Momo Diame, after he'd scored a stunning goal, cost
us victory. First he turned in midfield into traffic and had the ball
pinched from him, and that led to Theo Walcott's goal, and then soon after
when he made the wrong choice of pass as he sought to lift the ball into
their box. Again the ball was lost, and in the back of our net within
seconds.

It says something that we can isolate small incidents to pinpoint where we
lost the game. The previous time Arsenal were at our place was January 2011,
we were totally outclassed, embarrassingly humiliated. We lost 3-0 and it
was a stroll for the Gunners.


We have seen lots of statistics these past few days, some which must have
made Sam think Christmas had come early. So I'm going to throw in a few more
for good measure.

Of that team who lost so badly back in January 2011, only five of the 18
Hammers players on show that day, are still with us. Mark Noble, James
Tomkins, Winston Reid, George McCartney and Carlton Cole.

Sam says 40 players have gone from our club since then, and we have a very
different squad now. The likes of Upson, Bridge and Kovac played that day,
do I need to say more. We were on a different planet to our opponents.

We were going down and were just not able to compete. On Saturday we at
least did that, and with a little more luck could have scored a couple more
in the second period.

Sam has changed so much, even the first team selected in his reign - the 1-0
home defeat to Cardiff on the first day of last season - has seen a massive
alteration. Eight of the 16 used that day have since left (or been dumped);
Green, Ilunga, Barrera, Parker, Piquionne, Faye, Boffin and Sears to be
exact.

It has been a major work in progress, and I defy anyone to say that our
current squad is not a world away from the beginning of last term or that
shameful display the last time Arsene Wenger's team played at the Boleyn.

But even that is not enough for some people. I still blink at some of the
stuff on message boards from fans who reckon we should be able to compete
with the likes of Arsenal, and cannot see the stark reality of football
these days.

Arsenal have been in the Champions League for the last 15 seasons. That
means, at a conservative estimate, £20m of Champions League money a season.
So that's around £300m they have had, plus a fine new stadium, that we have
not had access to.

If you add in all the Premier League prize money and the rest of the cash
that floods into the top clubs, you could say Arsenal have had well over
£500m to play with over those 15 seasons while we have been floundering from
one ownership shambles to another.

Now look at us. Why on earth do some fans believe we can compete against
that sort of financial muscle? It's the same for Manchester United, Chelsea,
Liverpool (then maybe, but probably not now) and even Spurs who have been in
Europe consistently for the past few seasons.

So when Sam sends out an organised team who are not over-run and are able to
compete to a decent standard, that's an achievement little over 14 months
since he arrived.

Just look across London to QPR and see a manager in Mark Hughes who has
behaved like a kid in a chocolate factory and used 23 players this season
but has not put together anything like a proper team. And up at Anfield
where Brendan Rodgers is the short-passing flavour of the month but just
cannot win matches.

I'm beginning to wonder if he is some kind of one-trick pony who has ridden
on the back of Roberto Martinez to get a top job. After working under Jose
Mourinho at Chelsea but not pulling up any trees at Watford and Reading
before moving to Swansea, he walked into a club put together by Martinez
that was impressing everyone. It got him a move to Liverpool, after Roberto
had turned the job down, and now he can't win a home match for love nor
money.

Our start to the season has been ok considering the fact that the first few
games were against sides who will be around us in the table this season.
Arsenal were the first of the big boys, and we managed to cope.

Sam must also be smiling that the long-ball tag has been rubbished somewhat.
Unless you are reading the Mail on Sunday, which I will come to later.

Last week a very decent piece of writing from the Mail's Neil Ashton
produced statistics to show that Real Madrid and Barcelona use the long ball
about as much as us. I hear you all laughing, and Sam also would have smiled
knowing you can produce stats to prove anything.

The criteria for what is a long ball was also open to interpretation. In
effect, any pass forward more than 25 yards counted. So balls swept out to
the wings counted, as did Xavi's perfectly weighted passes threaded through
the eye of a needle for Messi to run onto. Not quite the same as balls hung
up for Cole to fight for.

But the Sunday Supplement boys of Sky the previous Sunday morning had
started the ball rolling when they suggested Sam's long-ball tag was a myth.
Neil Ashton was 'chairing' that programme - taking over from the sadly
departed Brian Woolnough - and just carried on the theme in his own paper
later in the week.

The point being made was that Sam does mix-up his tactics, it is not all hit
long and hope for a flick on. But he is the only manager who gets stick for
it.

You just have to look at Everton, under the excellent David Moyes, to know
that long-ball is acceptable. And just watch how Alan Pardew's Newcastle lob
the ball up for Ba and Cisse to relentlessly battle for.

And Martin O'Neill at Leicester (Emile Heskey) and Aston Villa (John Carew)
has never been afraid to hit it long. Now he has Steve Fletcher, and it's
the same tactics.

Which brings me back to the Mail on Sunday where the outstanding veteran
Patrick Collins has clearly got a thing about us. He wrote a snearing,
sarcastic piece recently about Sam's debatable relationship with his agent
pal Mark Curtis, and then was cruelly dismissive of our efforts against
Arsenal. The previous home game against Sunderland, saw another Collins
writing the report for the same paper, Mark Collins. I do hope there's no
nepotism there.

In that report, it looked as if the scribe has written down every anti-Sam
cliché he could muster while he was on the Tube coming to the game, and then
listed them through an annoyingly biased article which implied Sunderland
were unlucky.

We had managed four times as many shots and twice as much possession than
O'Neill's team, but those facts were somewhat lost in a piece that set out
to rubbish Sam from start to finish.

Now he is no angel, yes the ball does go long to Andy Carroll, but that is
not the only way we play. That is my point. But we do not seem to be given
the sort of understanding that Moyes, Pardew and O'Neill seem to get.

One more stat. And that was on Sky, who showed that Sam was in the top six
of 'wins to matches played' in the Premier League. So what do we have?

My view is that we have a strong, professional manager who has knocked our
club into shape, and now we have the character, team spirit, desire and work
rate to hold our own in the top flight.

But it is only so far so good. If we are nine points off the relegation zone
after 20 matches, I will suggest we can stay up.

But now, having done ok against the Gunners, we have Manchester City,
Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton before
the new year. That means the matches against Southampton, Wigan, West Brom
and Reading in that spell are ones we must get points from.

Tough, for sure, but at least we know we can compete against the big teams,
and that has been a long time coming for a club like ours.

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Academy round-up - plus Jack Collison interview
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 8th October 2012
By: Willis Jamieson

WHU U18s 0-1 Blackburn Rovers; WHU U16s 3-2 Blackburn Rovers

As a result of his knee injury, Jack Collison has been out of first team
action all season. On Saturday he used his spare time today to go back to
Little Heath, where he made his name at the Academy, to support the youth
teams in action against Blackburn Rovers.

The two Academy teams had mixed success with the under 16s coming back
brilliantly from a goal behind to win 3-2. Sadly, the under 18s went down
1-0 in a close battle against their Northern opponents.

Collison said it was his first time back for a while but was impressed with
the technical ability and skill of the youths and said he would try and get
back again to show his support while he is out injured. He was looking
forward to seeing the "kids coming through".

It was a tough match and the young Hammers were fortunate to go into the
break still level with Blackburn having enjoyed a large amount of
possession.

The home side did have a couple of chances; the best of the first half being
after Josh Cullen won a free kick on the edge of the Blackburn penalty area
and Sadlier saw his effort just tipped over the bar. The defence worked very
hard with Cheye Alexander at right back being the standout player of the
half, tackling strongly and trying to get forward.

The second half was more positive for West Ham and it brought back good
memories for Collison who said he loved his time here from when he joined at
the age of 16. The midfielder spoke about a couple of great goals he scored
on "the pitches where it all began" as a youth and was enjoying watching the
attacking display.

Kieran Sadlier and Nathan Mavila caught Jack's eye a number of times.
Sadlier, with his close control through the middle cut into the box a couple
of times only to see his shots blocked. Mavila caused Blackburn problems on
the wing, with one particular piece of skill where he drew the defender in,
dummied the ball and let it run down the line before getting the cross in,
leading an impressed Collison to joke "I might have tried that on FIFA".

Sadly, despite the improved second half it would be Blackburn who would
snatch the win. Aa low cross was stabbed home at the back post past a
faultless Sam Baxter in the West Ham goal to send the visitors home with
three points.

The under 16s had a better result as they came from behind to win 3-2,
Collison particularly enjoying a (calmly taken) penalty from Lamarr Douglas
after the goalkeeper tried to put him off. Ahmed and Marcio Martins scored
the others.

As Collison left for Upton Park to watch the game against Arsenal he said he
had been "really impressed" with the work of the first team this season and
the way they have "picked up some excellent points" in the games so far.

"My injury has been frustrating," he said, "but I hope to be back sooner
rather than later. If the boys can continue to do well I look forward to
getting back in to a successful team".

Until then, he hopes to use his free Saturdays to see a few more of the
Academy games.

My thanks go to Jack Collison for taking the time to share his thoughts on
the game, the Academy and his progress - and I hope to see him back in the
first team soon.

Willis Jamieson may also be found on Twitter at twitter.com/WillisJamieson.

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I'm having kittens...
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 8th October 2012
By: John Rolls

With the Arsenal game now behind us, we can use it as a benchmark to look at
the team and the squad and draw some conclusions.

It is fair to say that Arsenal were the the first team with real quality we
have faced this season. I think it also fair to say that in a match so
heated with emotion West Ham really needed someone out there with a cool
head to have calmed us down a bit.


I was surprised that Kevin Nolan missed for him what would have been on any
other day certain goals, but we must forgive him as he has been outstanding
for us over the whole of last season. Everyone has an off day and hopefully
this was his.

I am still undecided about Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Jarvis on a day where the
Arsenal back four were sh*tting themselves trying to deal with Andy Carroll.
What was needed was the two of them running at the full backs and getting
the crosses in as it was evident the Arsenal centre backs couldn't handle
Carroll at all. But all too often Vaz and Jarvis started to run and went the
easy route the square ball inside; I don't know if it's a confidence thing
or instructions.

I am at a loss as to why Sam Allardyce started with George McCartney instead
of Matt Taylor; Taylor is a better crosser of a ball and on a day when we
were going to use Carroll's dominace of the air why did we take one weapon
out of the armoury?

Now I come to the title of this piece. I really am worried about our defence
- and I include Jussi Jaaskelainen in that.

Living as I do in Cardiff, I once saw a young ginger-haired centreback make
his debut and play for Cardiff City. He looked a real hot prospect and with
the right coaching could perhaps progress a bit.

He did have this annoying habit of stopping to pull up his socks every few
minutes, it got to be that me and a few mates would have a bet on how many
times he would do it during a match. However he played well, he fitted in as
a make-piece striker and centre back and alongside Danny Gabbidon formed
quite an effective pairing.

When Gabbidon left for West Ham and Ginge went with him, everyone here in
Cardiff thought he had gone as a make weight. Personally I thought he was
the better part of the deal.

His first spell with the Hammers was good - not outstanding - and he was the
centre back we needed. When he decided that another claret and blue team was
preferable to us, I mentally wished him well, but he came back. There's a
old saying; "never go back". Well, he has - and I'm sorry to say the
concentration level has dropped again.

After the absolute howler against Swansea, I have kittens everytime he makes
a back pass or makes a tackle. I know Swansea was a one-off and he has in
some way atoned for it. But answer me this: against the Arsenal, when
Walcott made the run to score, who was standing in the centre of the defence
clearly playing Walcott onside by a couple of yards with arms aloft calling
for offside?

Yes, it was Ginge. Instead of standing there he should have seen what was
coming and called for the line to push up. Isn't he the leader of the back
four? The one with the experience? I can't see me or my ticker taking a
whole season of this.

The Swansea howler will haunt me every day this season; FFS Ginge, step it
up mate. I want to go back to counting the sock pull-ups safe in the
knowledge that you'll be the rock at the centre of defence we so desperately
need.

I also have heart palpitations whenever the ball is passed back to
Jaaskelainen; it sets my pulse racing . I just have thoughts of him clearing
it short (has has done this a few times) and putting the pressure straight
back on us. Either that or he waits with the ball at his feet until the
opposition come towards him and then clears. Just get the ball forward!

In his time Jaas has been an excellent keeper, a great shot stopper
effective in what he did but never one to really command his box. I get the
same feeling watching him now as I got what watching that other West Ham
goalkeeping legend, Allan McKnight(mare, how many of you remember him?).

I know I shouldn't be this way and that I should have confidence in the man
but I still feel like it's watching a Norman Wisdom film. Something will
come along and cause a comical farce. I haven't seen enough of our reserve
keepers to make a valid judgement on them, but from what I have heard
Stephen Henderson seems the better of the 'keepers.

I know we only want to be assured of Premier League survival, but for the
sake of my nerves I'm only watching when we are in the opponent's half! Can
someone please reassure me that we have a 'keeper who can step in?

So in summary. With Ginge giving me the twitches whenever he has the ball
and Jaas giving me the heebie-jeebies whether he has the ball or not, I need
help, I need comfort - but most of all, I need them to inspire me.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce warns England about Andy Carroll's fitness
Last Updated: October 7, 2012 11:02pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce will ask England boss Roy Hodgson to keep a
close eye on Andy Carroll's fitness ahead of next week's World Cup
qualifiers.
Carroll has recently returned after a month lay-off with a hamstring injury,
but he was still called up for Friday's Wembley clash against San Marino and
the following match in Poland on Tuesday week. Alllardyce hopes Carroll will
get the chance to improve his match sharpness, although he thinks that
Hodgson must monitor his workload over the next few days. "Andy is really
lacking in match practice. What I will speak to Roy about is his fatigue
level," Allardyce said. "Andy will be stiffer than everybody else after this
because he hasn't played a full 90 minutes in recent weeks, so he will take
a bit more time to recover. "But he should be fine for Friday and hopefully
he will get a game at some stage to improve his match fitness."

Carroll played the full 90 minutes as the Hammers slipped to a 3-1 defeat to
Arsenal on Saturday and Allardyce thinks his team must continue to play to
his strengths. "Andy can only get better as time goes on," he said. "As long
as we can keep giving him the service, I think he is going to be a
tremendous asset."

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Ravel's unravelling: Birmingham want rid of the former Man United starlet
The Mirror
By Ian Edwards

Ravel Morrison's turbulent career is on the verge of hitting rock bottom
with Lee Clark desperate to boot him out of Birmingham. Blues boss Clark has
run out of patience with the former Manchester United starlet already, less
than three months after signing him on a 12-month loan from West Ham.
Morrison, who was previously booted out of Old Trafford by Sir Alex Ferguson
because of off-the-pitch issues, has not started a game for the Championship
club since the opening day of the season. Even though Birmingham are
struggling just three points above the relegation zone, Clark is refusing to
even include the 19-year-old in his squad.

Sources close to the Midlands club claim Morrison's attitude in training and
around the club has been unacceptable and they want to terminate the loan
agreement immediately. Under the terms of the agreement, however, all three
parties - Birmingham, West Ham and Morrison - have to agree to the
season-long loan agreement being ripped up. It is believed Hammers want
Morrison to remain at St Andrew's until June and are reluctant to terminate
the deal. In August, Clark vowed to help put the troubled midfielder, who
was once rated as the best prospect to emerge from United's academy since
Paul Scholes almost two decades ago, on the right path.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce felt the move was the perfect opportunity for
Morrison to rebuild his career before returning to the Premier League club.
Morrison joined West Ham for £1.4m in January 2012, after Ferguson ran out
of patience with the talented kid. The United manager decided it was time to
show him the door after Morrison admitted two charges of intimidating a
witness. Earlier this year, Morrison was fined £7,000 by the FA for posting
a homophobic comment on Twitter.

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West Ham delay Reid's departure to NZ
FRED WOODCOCK
Last updated 12:37 09/10/2012
Stuff.co.nz


The All Whites are assembling in Auckland today ahead of their Oceania World
Cup qualifier against Tahiti in Papeete on Saturday (NZT), but Reid won't be
joining them just yet. New Zealand Football chief executive Grant McKavanagh
said the 2010 World Cup star was due to have scans tonight (NZT). He was
hopeful they would reveal nothing untoward and Reid would be on the first
available flight out of Heathrow. ''We're very hopeful of getting him down,
if not directly to Tahiti to play then down for the Christchurch game,''
McKavanagh said today.''Winston wants to be here, he's just got to get
through the scan and make sure there's nothing untoward in it. It's pretty
positive.'' Reid suffered the spasms late in the match but had to play on as
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce had already made his three substitutions.
McKavanagh was confident Reid would be available for both matches against
Tahiti, the return leg being next Tuesday night in Christchurch. Reid had
indicated he wanted to play in both matches and if he couldn't make the
first one but was available for the second, he would still be flown out for
the Christchurch fixture. ''From Rick's (coach Ricki Herbert) point of view,
one of the things we're looking at is continuity with this team, between now
and next November,'' McKavanagh said. ''It's pretty important to get the
unit together playing as regularly as possible.''

The last thing West Ham will want to do is release Reid under any sort of
injury cloud but if the scans reveal nothing of concern, they have no option
as the matches are in a Fifa window and New Zealand have all the rights.
Meanwhile, about 4500 tickets have already been sold for next Tuesday
night's match at AMI Stadium, more than the total pre-sales of about 4000
for the match against the Solomon Islands in Auckland last month. ''The
Christchurch people are certainly getting out and supporting it,'' said
McKavanagh. ''To have that many pre-sales a week out is extremely
encouraging.'' Two wins against Tahiti could secure a berth in the World
Cup intercontinental playoff against the fourth-best team from CONCACAF
(North and Central America, and the Caribbean) next year, depending on the
results of the New Caledonia-Solomons matches on the same days.

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West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison in more trouble as Lee Clark and
Birmingham look to end loan spell early
Telegraph.co.uk
Ravel Morrison is facing further turbulence in his troubled career after it
emerged that Lee Clark wants to send him back to parent club West Ham.
By John Percy10:00PM BST 08 Oct 20123 Comments

Clark, the Birmingham manager, is already losing patience with the
controversial midfielder and is keen to strike a deal with Sam Allardyce and
cut his loan move short in January. Morrison, 19, joined the Championship
club on loan in August but has frustrated Clark with his general attitude
and alleged lack of commitment in training. The former Manchester United
trainee has not been included in Birmingham's first-team squad for the last
three matches and has made only one start in the league. Clark cannot send
the teenager back to West Ham until the transfer window reopens next year
but will still require Allardyce's permission to terminate the deal. If
Allardyce refuses, Birmingham could have Morrison on their books until June.
Morrison's behaviour is also believed to have infuriated senior members of
Birmingham's squad.

Morrison's problems at St. Andrew's are the latest in a long list of
acrimonious episodes ever since he broke through United's youth academy and
was touted as one of the country's most prodigious young talents. Two days
after winning the 2011 FA Youth Cup with United, Morrison was fined £600 by
a court for throwing his girlfriend's mobile phone out of a window during an
argument. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of witness intimidation last
year and has a police caution for assaulting his mother. His United career
was dogged by off-field disciplinary problems and absences. Rio Ferdinand
once denied on Twitter that Morrison had stolen his watch at the training
ground.

Sir Alex Ferguson had attempted to control him but eventually washed his
hands of him earlier this year, shortly after claiming he had made
"unrealistic" wage demands. United rejected a bid from Newcastle in January
before offloading him to West Ham later that month for an initial £650,000.
Barely weeks after signing he was fined £7,000 by the Football Association
and warned about his conduct after homophobic comments made on Twitter.
Allardyce farmed him out on loan to Birmingham with the intention of him
gaining first-team experience but he has not appeared since August. Clark is
understood to have held a series of meetings with Morrison in a bid to get
the youngster onside but despite Birmingham's run of three defeats in the
last four games has still not called on him.
Now the under-fire Birmingham manager is ready to cut his losses, barely a
month after describing him as a "magician". Now Morrison is facing the grim
prospect of his career going up in a puff of smoke.

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