Daily WHUFC News - 20th November 2012

Big Sam boosted by second-half show
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce felt West Ham United deserved more than a point after a 1-1
draw with Stoke City
20.11.2012

Sam Allardyce was encouraged by West Ham United's second-half performance as
they came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Stoke City on Monday night.
Joey O'Brien was the unlikely goalscoring hero as he grabbed his first-ever
Barclays Premier League goal in front of the Bobby Moore Stand to level the
scores three minutes after half time. The strike helped launch a stirring 45
minutes from the hosts after Stoke had taken the lead when Jonathan Walters
finished a well-worked corner routine on 13 minutes. "It was a tough first
half for us and their main threat was set plays," Allardyce said. "They
build up in open play and once they get a few set plays around your box they
are very dangerous. Unexpectedly though the goal was from John Walters
rather than a header from one of their taller players. It was a great move
from them and a great finish. "We were a little disappointed at half time
that we were getting in to the final third but our balls into their box were
not good enough. We were doing it from the wrong areas rather than the wide
positions pushed out towards the touchline.
"We pushed our full-backs on in the second half and told them to get forward
and we started to change play from left to right and right to left rather
than just down the middle. We wanted to get the ball behind their defence
and right from kick-off in the second half, Kevin Nolan should have scored
and then Joey O'Brien did score before we had several other chances to get
that winner. "We worked a brilliant corner ourselves and Gary O'Neil hit it
just wide, their keeper made some good saves and there were some scrambles
in the box. "Sadly we couldn't find the ultimate winner that we deserved on
the second-half performance. We've got 19 points from 12 games with nearly a
third of the season gone. "We can say it's a really good start - if you're
five or six games in and you're fifth of six in the league that can happen,
but when you're 12 games in and you're seventh in the league then you know
it's a good start."

Big Sam was forced into two changes as both Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun
failed to recover from injuries picked up at Newcastle United, meaning Gary
O'Neil and Modibo Maiga were handed starting places. Understandably, the
Hammers took a little time to gel and the Potters took full advantage by
edging the better of the first half. "I was particularly pleased with the
squad as we didn't have Matt Jarvis, Yossi Benayoun, Alou Diarra, Ricardo
Vaz Te or Jack Collison. There are a lot of players missing but we still put
a performance together like we did in the second half and I thought the
crowd went home a little disappointed that we didn't win it on the way we
played in the second half."

O'Brien featured on the front of the matchday programme under a feature
entitled 'Unsung hero', but there is no doubt who would be taking the
plaudits in Tuesday morning's press. His manager took particular pleasure in
seeing his long-term servant tap in Gary O'Neil's cross after snapping him
up from an uncertain future in the game last summer. "He's playing better
and better," Allardyce said of O'Brien. "This lad was a brilliant player at
19 in the Premier League at Bolton and then got lost in the wilderness of
injuries and got forgotten about by everyone. I knew the potential so what
he needed was for someone to show some belief in him again. "Slowly but
surely he's made his way forward and has proven that he's over his injuries
that caused him all those problems. He's had a few niggles here and there
but this season he has come on and we've seen the best of him and long may
that last."

The Hammers squad will be in at Chadwell Heath early on Tuesday morning for
a warm-down session and thoughts will immediately turn to Sunday's trip to
Tottenham Hotspur. The fourth-consecutive Boleyn Ground crowd were once
again in fine voice on Monday and a similar atmosphere is bound to greet Big
Sam's side as they exit the White Hart Lane tunnel. "We go to Tottenham full
of confidence and hope to get some of the injured players back. We'll need
to be as good if not even better than we were in our away wins at Queens
Park Rangers and Newcastle as an attacking force. "We've got to rely on our
superb defensive qualities and then we've got to try to work on the areas
that Tottenham leave exposed, particularly when we get got hold of the ball.
If we can marry those two together then hopefully we can give a performance
similar to our recent ones and try to get a result. "We'll have to be on top
of our game, as we had to be against Stoke. We played our top game in the
second half and deserved to beat them but couldn't quite do it."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moncur hails young Hammers
WHUFC.com
George Moncur believes West Ham United's Under-21 side have become a force
to be reckoned with
18.11.2012

George Moncur has hailed the Development Squad's consistency as the main
reason why they have taken the Barclay Under-21 Premier League by storm.
West Ham United's Under-21 side clinched a place in the post-Christmas Elite
Group Stage by defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Rush Green on Friday
evening - their ninth victory in 12 Group 1 fixtures. The midfielder has
started all 12 matches, scoring one goal, and has played an influential role
in a successful season so far for Ian Hendon's side. Concentrating on
Friday's win, Moncur was proud to play a part in another hard-fought
victory. "It was one of those games that is not necessarily the most easy on
the eye but the type that I love playing in," said the 19-year-old. "The
important thing was to get the job done and we have done just that by
qualifying for the Elite Group Stage."

Moncur is now relishing the opportunity to test himself against England's
top Under-21 teams, including Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and
Liverpool.
"It is brilliant to qualify because it allows us to progress and play
against a higher level of opposition after Christmas. That is no disrespect
to the teams in the league we are in right now but we will be competing
against the top clubs in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League, which will be
a great test for us."

Despite his relative youth, as a player with npower Football League
experience on loan at AFC Wimbledon last season, Moncur has taken on a
leadership role within the Development Squad. With scholars like Leo
Chambers - currently sidelined with a thigh injury - Frazer Shaw and Sam
Baxter all featuring this season, the midfielder is relishing the extra
responsibility. "You have to get the lads going sometimes and as a senior
player I feel it is my responsibility to help do that. We have a very young
team and sometimes you need to put an arm round the younger lads and help
them out. "The younger lads who have made the step up have done
exceptionally well. Leo Chambers in particular has done really well for us.
He is great to play with and despite only being 17-years-old he reads the
game really well so he will be a big loss for us after Christmas and we wish
him all the best in his recovery."

Many could forgive Moncur and his team-mates for relaxing in their final two
Group 1 fixtures before the Christmas break, but he insists that will not be
the case. The Development Squad travel to Norwich City on 26 November before
rounding off the opening stage at home to Blackburn Rovers at Rush Green on
30 November. "Even though we have qualified, we will not lose focus and we
will go back into training as we always do and work hard.
"West Brom gave us a tough game and Norwich will be looking to get three
points off us next week. We want to continue our form and hopefully we can
get another win."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1 Stoke 1
FT 90 +5
HT 0-1
19 November 2012
Last updated at 22:37
By Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Joey O'Brien scored his first Premier League goal as West Ham fought back
from a limp first-half performance to earn a point against Stoke. The
Hammers were fortunate to only trail to Jonathan Walters' stinging drive at
the break, with Steven Nzonzi rattling the bar for the visitors. Kevin Nolan
went close after the interval before O'Brien steered in Gary O'Neil's low
cross from the right. Modibo Maiga almost poked home before Stoke recovered
to secure a point. West Ham began the evening in the knowledge that victory
would send them into fifth place and mark their best start to a league
campaign since 1986. Stoke's draw sets a new club record of 16 away Premier
League matches without a win. Fulham hold the Premier League record with a
run of 33 away matches without victory.

The history that Stoke were attempting to make was more short term - a first
away win in the league since beating Blackburn on 2 January. The Potters
would have been optimistic of ending their search for three points on the
road after comfortably containing West Ham before the interval, but had to
settle for just one after being hounded through a barnstorming second half
that defied cynics' expectations. Both Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis have
been irritated by attempts to characterise their teams' style as
uncomplicated and direct but neither did much to dispel that impression
early on. Stoke's attempts to send long balls towards the head of Peter
Crouch proved more promising than West Ham's crosses towards Andy Carroll at
the opposite end. Charlie Adam shanked a volley over the top from a
knock-down before Crouch himself could only direct a tame nod into the
gloves of Jussi Jaaskelainen. A reputation for well-worked set-piece
routines is something that Pulis has been happier to earn and a perfectly
executed training-ground move delivered the opener.

West Ham play a top-eight side in six of their next seven games.

25 Nov: Tottenham (A)
28 Nov: Man Utd (A)
1 Dec: Chelsea (H)
9 Dec: Liverpool (H)
16 Dec: West Brom (A)
22 Dec: Everton (H)
26 Dec: Arsenal (A)

With their attention drawn by Crouch and Ryan Shawcross's runs to the near
post, the Hammers defenders failed to track Walters who appeared in a pocket
of space to swipe home Glenn Whelan's precise corner. Reverting to a more
patient build-up, West Ham had glimpses of goal - Mohamed Diame missing his
kick after a cute backheel from Kevin Nolan before the skipper himself fired
straight at Asmir Begovic - but Stoke finished in the ascendancy with Nzonzi
crashing a half-volley against the bar. Stoke emerged early for the second
half, but West Ham swarmed all over them from the first whistle. Nolan had
already failed to apply a telling touch from two yards when O'Brien stole in
front of Shawcross to stab O'Neil's low cross into the roof of the net. The
Stoke rearguard was flustered and was almost breached again soon after as
Maiga side-footed against the legs of Begovic from Carroll's knockdown. With
his side reeling, Pulis introduced Wilson Palacios at the expense of Whelan
to apply the brakes to a rampant West Ham. The switch, combined with some
streetwise delays over goalkicks, succeeded in stabilising the visitors and
drawing the sting from the hosts' attacks out wide. West Ham were unable to
rediscover the penetration over the final quarter as Stoke dug in and
defended stoutly to close out the game.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "I thought we deserved three points in the end.
"Stoke were slightly better than us in the first half and we had to recover
from what was an extremely good goal. "Having to come from 1-0 down in any
game in the Premier League is difficult. "It's another point on the board,
we move on reasonably happy. "Andy Carroll is not to be frustrated by the
fact that he is not scoring at the moment and in fact today he didn't get
much of a chance to score. "He wants to score a goal and he wants me to
leave him on for 90 minutes but at the end of the day he put that much
effort in, there are a lot of fresh players on the bench."

Stoke boss Tony Pulis: "First half I thought we played well and created the
better opportunities and really we needed that second goal. "The worst thing
that happened to us was half-time. That took the momentum away from us. "We
started very sloppy in the second half, we invited West Ham onto us and they
scored a goal and from that point onwards we need to show a lot of
resilience and determination. "We have worked on it for the past three
days, we tried it five or six times and Jonathan Walters has never scored
from it so I'm glad he saved it for today. "All of my career I have always
looked for little angles and little areas that we could exploit from
set-plays and it is lovely when it comes off."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Utd 1 Stoke City 1
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 20th November 2012
By: Staff Writer

It's a measure of how far West Ham have come in such a short space of time
that tonight's 1-1 draw with Stoke City will be considered a slightly
disappointing result.

Despite extending their unbeaten run to three games Sam Allardyce's side
will have left the Boleyn Ground with a deep feeling of frustration having
failed to take all three points against a team now firmly established in the
top flight.

After falling behind early on and surviving a scare when the visitors were
the width of a crossbar from doubling their lead, United never looked back
and can consider themselves unfortunate not to have secured a fourth home
win of the campaign.

Jonathan Walters had given the Potters an early lead when he fired home from
the edge of the penalty area having escaped his marker at a corner.

Whilst it cannot be argued that the goal arose from a well-worked move, West
Ham - who went into the game with only Manchester City having conceded fewer
goals in the league - uncharacteristically switched off to allow Walters the
opportunity to score.

However there was little they could do about Steven Nzonzi's 20-yard effort
that came crashing back off Jussi Jaaskelainen's crossbar eight minutes
ahead of the break; had that found the back of the net it may have been a
very different story come full time.

As it was West Ham - who were missing half-a-dozen key squad members - had
the opportunity to consolidate and take stock at the break.

Having done that, they got off to the perfect start in the second half by
wiping out Stoke's single-goal advantage just three minutes after the
restart when man-of-the-moment Joey O'Brien slammed Gary O'Neil's low cross
from the right into the roof of the net.

O'Brien - who has been the recipient of some glowing praise from both
supporters and his manager in recent weeks - gambled by staying forward
during an early second half attack and got his reward when O'Neil's driven
cross across the face of the six-yard box was perfectly placed for the Irish
full back to pounce on.

From that moment on the visitors spent most of the game in their own half
fighting off wave after wave of West Ham attacks. Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan
and Mo Diame all went close but the Irons just couldn't find that
all-important second goal that would have taken them to fifth in the table -
and in the end, it was Stoke who eere probably happiest with the point.

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, McCartney, Reid, Tomkins, Noble, Diame,
Nolan, O'Neil, Maiga, Carroll.

Subs: Spiegel, Collins, Taylor, Cole, Hall, Spence, Demel.

Stoke City: Begovic, Cameron, Huth, Shawcross, Wilkinson, Whelan, N'Zonzi,
Adam, Etherington, Crouch, Walters.

Subs: Sorensen, Palacios, Jones, Upson, Kightly, Shotton, Jerome.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce after a 1-1 draw with Stoke
Last Updated: November 19, 2012 11:30pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce claims his side deserved more than a 1-1 draw
with Stoke at Upton Park. The hosts were outplayed by their visitors
throughout the first period as a neat corner routine allowed Jon Walters to
fire Stoke ahead, but came back strongly in the second period to earn a
point through Joey O'Brien's effort. Allardyce told Sky Sports afterwards:
"I thought we deserved three (points) in the end, over the 90 minutes. I
thought Stoke were better than us in the first half. "We had to recover from
an extremely good goal from Jon Walters. It was well-worked and an extremely
good finish. Having to come from 1-0 down in any Premier League game is
difficult. "The way we said to the full-backs at half-time: 'Let's get
forward more' was key. Kevin Nolan had a great chance from George McCartney
and that set the stall out for us. Then we scored from another chance.
"There were several other chances that we had. We needed to finish them off
because we created enough chances to win it, but we move on with another
point on the board reasonably happy. "You can see ours (corner routine) too
when Gary (O'Neil) was about five or six inches wide of the far post. It
nearly resulted in a goal - theirs did and I guess that ended up being the
difference today between winning and draw. "There were other chances. We
rarely let them out of their own half and that really pleased me after the
knock-back of going 1-0 down. I'm really pleased with the spirit and the
belief."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joey O'Brien sealed a 1-1 draw for West Ham at home to Stoke
Last Updated: November 20, 2012 12:29am
SSN

Joey O'Brien scored his first Premier League goal to cancel out Jonathan
Walters' opener and hand West Ham a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw with
Stoke at Upton Park. The Potters went ahead in the first half thanks to a
brilliant set-piece which saw Walters make a perfectly-timed run from the
far post to greet Glenn Whelan's ball with a clinical finish. But Sam
Allardyce's men came out fighting after the break and O'Brien proved the
unlikely hero as he prodded home Gary O'Neil's cross after some solid work
from Mohamed Diame. The hosts saw more of the ball in the opening 10 minutes
but Stoke showed their usual aerial threat on a couple of occasions, most
notably when Ryan Shawcross angled a long ball forward which Peter Crouch
knocked down into the path of the onrushing Charlie Adam, who could not keep
his shot down.

Best of the match:

Man of the match: James Tomkins gets the nod after contributing a dedicated,
diligent display at the back for the Hammers, working hard to help inspire
their comeback.
Goal of the match: Stoke's perfectly-executed opener from a corner was a
delight to watch as the set-piece unfolded like clockwork.
Moment of the match: Whatever Sam Allardyce said to his West Ham side at
half-time obviously did the trick as they came out with renewed purpose and
O'Brien's goal was the deserved result of their revival.
Attempt of the match: A lively Steven N'Zonzi was unlucky to see his
well-taken shot crash off the underside of the crossbar.
Talking point: West Ham missed a chance to go fifth in the table but can
they still keep climbing after another spirited display?

Unsurprisingly Stoke's opening goal came from a set-piece but it was not
scored in the manner usually associated with Tony Pulis' side. George
McCartney cleared the ball behind after 12 minutes and Whelan rolled the
corner across the ground and into the area where a clever run from the far
post allowed Walters to convert with a thumping effort past Jussi
Jaaskelainen. West Ham were struggling to break down a resolute Stoke
defence that had been given something to protect thanks to Walters' early
goal. The visitors came within inches of doubling their lead seven minutes
before half-time as Steven N'Zonzi fired in a shot from 25 yards that
crashed off the crossbar and bounced just in front of the goalline with
Jaaskelainen well beaten. West Ham should have equalised within a minute of
the start of the second half as Diame combined well with Modibo Maiga down
the left flank to free McCartney. The left-back's cross was perfect for
Nolan but the Hammers' skipper put his header too close to Asmir Begovic.
The leveller did come only moments later as Diame's shot was charged down
and O'Neil delivered from the right for O'Brien to convert from the middle
of the goal. West Ham may have missed out on the chance to move up to fifth
in the table but will have been pleased to take a deserved point after a
revived second-half display, while Stoke remain 14th.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan reflects on 1-1 draw with Stoke
Last Updated: November 19, 2012 10:50pm
SSN

West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan had mixed feelings after a 1-1 draw with
Stoke at Upton Park. The Hammers, who could have gone fifth with victory
over Tony Pulis' side, fell behind to a slick finish from Jon Walters and
had to produce a spirited second-half display to claim a point. Nolan told
Sky Sports afterwards: "We were unlucky in the end. I was guilty of two
missed opportunities but it was a great result after going 1-0 down. "These
lads make it tough for you and I thought they played well tonight and I
thought we did too. It was a good game. We're a bit gutted that we could
have gone fifth, but it was a good point in the end." The equaliser came
early in the second period when defender Joey O'Brien popped up in the box
to turn a Gary O'Neil cross into the roof of the net with the aplomb of a
striker. "Joey had a tough two years out with a bad knee injury but he's
come back fantastic," added Nolan. "He keeps getting stronger and stronger.
"I'm absolutely delighted for him to get his first goal in the Premier
League. He's a good friend of mine. You could see we were buzzing - there's
great camaraderie. "We were a bit gutted not to go on and win the game but
as I said, these boys are a tough nut to crack and it was a good point in
the end."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1 Stoke 1
The Sun
By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS
Last Updated: 20th November 2012

WE expected a drab draw but this was a thriller. Full of guile, guts and
some moments of set-piece genius. This was not at all the hoof-it-up to Andy
Carroll and Peter Crouch tale of two long-ball teams. Joey O'Brien's first
Premier League goal just after the restart cancelled out Jon Walters' well
worked first-half opener. Although West Ham edged it and yet could not find
the winner, boss Sam Allardyce must be a happy bunny this morning. Who would
have thought his side would be level on points with Arsenal in late
November?

And that, even though Carroll has yet to score a goal for the Hammers. It is
now five months since he scored his last goal, for England against Sweden in
the Euros. But West Ham are doing fine, without his goals, thank you very
much. On the other hand for all the derision and criticism Potters boss Tony
Pulis gets for Stoke's percentage football, they are at times a joy to
watch. The visitors went in front in embarrassingly simple fashion after 13
minutes. Or so it seemed.
Glenn Whelan took a corner short and Walters appeared as if out of nowhere
to smash it home. The simplicity of the goal must have left Allardyce
fuming.
But give credit where it's due.Walters ran around the entire pack just as
Whelan was about to strike.

George McCartney bumped into a barrage of bodies and could not go with him,
giving the Stoke star time and space to execute. It shows the kind of
thinking that goes into Stoke's game. Yes, the ball is punted up an awful
lot but there is clearly method in the madness. The visitors are quite happy
with the 'long-ball' tag and mock their rivals with passionate renditions of
'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' a song they adopted after they were dubbed a rugby
team. West Ham would have gone fifth with victory here - quite a start then
for a team most people expected to flirt with trouble. If Carroll starts
scoring, they could be battling the likes of West Brom for a top-four spot.

Carroll drifted one header wide at 1-0 before Jussi Jaaskelainen tipped away
a Robert Huth header. The Hammers began to turn the screw and skipper Kevin
Nolan was denied by a smart Asmir Begovic block after 28 minutes. Potters'
midfielder Steven Nzonzi then almost broke the bar with a corker and it
bounced down a yard the wrong side of the line. Seconds after the restart,
Begovic was at it again as he pulled off a another great save when Nolan
looked certain to score. But the Hammers were not to be denied and after 48
minutes Stoke were flat-footed as Gary O'Neil squared and O'Brien got in
ahead of England centre-back Ryan Shawcross to force home the leveller from
close range. Now the Potters were on the back foot as Allardyce's men went
for the jugular.

After 56 minutes O'Neil swung in a corner, Carroll won the header that fell
to Modibo Maiga whose shot was hacked off the line. Maiga then crossed for
O'Neil who smashed it across the face of the goal but it came off Huth for
another flag-kick. After 64 minutes West Ham showed they have their own
mind-boggling corner routine. O'Neil took one short to Noble, he squared to
Maiga on the edge of the box and he slotted through back to O'Neil - who
curled a beauty just wide. It was brilliant and full credit to Big Sam too
for coming up with this one. Chances came and went for the home side and
with three minutes left, left-back McCartney was clear down the flank and
squared to Nolan. But Begovic kept up his record against the midfielder to
deny the Hammers again. And the Stoke keeper was there again to hold Winston
Reid's header in injury-time.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS
WEST HAM: Jaaskelainen 7, O'Brien 7, Tomkins 8 (STAR MAN), Reid 6, McCartney
7, Noble 7, Diame 6, O'Neil 7, Nolan 7, Maiga 6, Carroll 6
STOKE: Begovic 8, Wilkinson 6, Huth 7, Shawcross 7, Cameron 6, Whelan 6,
Walters 7, Nzonzi 7, Adam 6, Etherington 6, Crouch 6
Substitutes
WEST HAM - Demel (O'Brien 77) 5, Cole (Carroll 85) 5, Taylor (Maiga 85) 5.
Not used: Spiegel, Collins, Spence, Hall. Booked: Noble.
STOKE - Shotton (Wilkinson 32) 5, Palacios (Whelan 62) 6, Kightly
(Etherington 74) 5. Not used: Sorensen, Jones, Upson, Jerome.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com