Daily WHUFC News - 21st November 2012

The Big Interview - Joey O'Brien
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's No17 was delighted to net his first-ever Barclays Premier
League goal on Monday night
20.11.2012

West Ham United right-back Joey O'Brien was wearing the biggest smile of
anyone inside the Boleyn Ground after scoring the first Barclays Premier
League of his career on Monday evening. The Republic of Ireland
international ghosted into the Stoke City penalty area three minutes after
half-time to smash home Gary O'Neil's powerful cross and secure a
hard-earned 1-1 draw. The 26-year-old, whose only previous Hammers goal came
in the npower Championship at Watford in August 2011, was naturally happy to
talk about his strike, as well as the club's forthcoming trip to Tottenham
Hotspur on Sunday.

Joey, you got the goal on Monday that secured a point, so why don't you
start off by talking us through it?

JOB: "I picked up the ball and tried to play a one-two with Momo Diame but
it did not come back to me, as it went wide to Gaz O'Neil instead. He has a
lot of quality on the ball and his delivery is very good so I continued my
run and took a chance. He smashed it across goal and I was in the right
place at the right time and the ball was just where I wanted it."

It was somewhat of a pile-on celebration after the goal. Does that underline
how much that goal meant and how close you are as a team?

JOB: "It was a great bit of banter between the lads and I do not often score
goals so it was great because I pretty much celebrated with every single one
of them. I score goals like that in training every day (laughs), but really
it was very enjoyable because it will probably be another two or three years
until it happens again. I think, at the moment, I am averaging one goal a
season."

Do you feel that the goal came at the perfect time because the team
struggled to gain a foothold in the game in the first half?

JOB: "I think so. They are a very hard team to play against and an even
harder team to beat. They have been in the Premier League for a while now
and their players are very experienced so it was a difficult game. They got
what they wanted in a set-piece goal but I think in the second half we
showed just how good we can be."

What did Sam Allardyce say to the team during the break, you really changed
the tide of the game after half-time?

JOB: "The manager did not have to say a lot at half-time because we knew we
had to improve. We talked and he gave use a fresh game plan that changed how
we did a couple of things and we really benefitted from it. The midfield
also worked very hard and got around a lot. Momo, Nobby and Mark put them
under a lot of pressure, which forced them into making mistakes and limited
the time they had on the ball."

Do you feel you did enough in the second half to come away with all three
points?

JOB: "Yeah, of course. We played really well in the second half and
dominated it in terms of chances, so it is a little disappointing we did not
win the game. We were by far the better team and we played some very good
football particularly down the left where George (McCartney) had a lot of
joy."

Guy Demel has returned to full fitness in recent weeks but you kept your
place and scored a goal which must be very pleasing?

JOB: "Yeah I think I have done alright but I do not think it mattered that
another player was fit again. It would have been hard to change the team who
won 1-0 at Newcastle and I do not think the manager would have wanted to
make any changes unless he had too. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to
perform and so does the manager. It is essential that we do because, if you
do not, somebody will be ready to step in and take your place."

Next up is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Will you go into that game
full of confidence after three games unbeaten?

JOB: "We will go there to get at least a point, but we know it is going to
be a very tough game because they a top team. We have shown in recent weeks
how well we can defend against Manchester City and Newcastle United. Nobody
expected those results so we know, if we play well, we can take something
from the game."

Providing you keep your place for that game you will come up against
Tottenham's speedy left winger Gareth Bale. How much of a test will that be
for you?

JOB: "He is a super player but, at the end of the day, he is just a
footballer so hopefully I can keep him quiet. He is a millions times better
than me so hopefully he does not have a good day, let's leave it at that!"

Looking ahead a little further, you then face Manchester United, Chelsea and
Liverpool. Just how important has this excellent start been for you in the
light of that run of fixtures?

JOB: "Of course they are going to be very tough games but what a development
from playing in the Championship last year. The main reason we wanted to be
promoted last season was so that we could play against the likes of
Manchester United, so it is great for the players and for the the football
club. I am really looking forward to it and hopefully we can cause a shock
or two."

Finally, have your aims as a team changed after what we have already said is
a very good start to the season?

JOB: "I do not think so. It is first and foremost all about staying in the
league and that is our main aim at the moment. If we reach that target and
rack up the points to ensure our safety sooner than originally thought, we
can start to look at a top-half finish. Until then it is all about
survival."

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Nobby's Hammers hat-trick
WHUFC.com
Kevin Nolan has been voted SBOBET Player of the Month for the third
successive month
19.11.2012

Kevin Nolan has again been voted as the SBOBET Player of the Month after
earning 37.3 per cent of the public vote. Captain Nolan has already been
voted as the SBOBET Player of the Month for August and September and the
former Newcastle United man has now got his hat-trick after collecting the
October award. His midfield partner Mark Noble finished a close runner-up
with 32.7 per cent of the vote after another stellar run of games. October
began with a bang as the Hammers picked up their first away win of the
campaign beating QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road. A Boleyn return followed and a
shock looked on the cards with Big Sam's side pushing Arsenal every step of
the way before losing 3-1 late on.

Following the international break, the Hammers returned to the Boleyn Ground
once more to face Southampton, who they put to the sword in a stunning 4-1
win. Runner-up Noble scored twice but it was captain Nolan who sent the
Hammers on their way, putting them in front after 48 minutes at the back
post.
Winston Reid completed the top three with 13.9 per cent of the vote,
followed by Momo Diame in fourth on 10.6 per cent, Jussi Jaaskelainen came
fifth on 4.3 per cent and Ricardo Vaz Te wrapped up the voting on 1.2 per
cent.

With all still to play for in November it remains to be seen who will be
crowed as the next SBOBET Player of the Month, but you would not back
against the captain after inspirational displays against Newcastle United
and Stoke City already.

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Pulis on... West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 20th November 2012
By: Staff Writer

Barely had he sat down before a reasonably content Tony Pulis was off again.
Here's his (brief) post-match press conference, exclusively in full...

Tony: pleased with the point?

I thought we played well in the first half and created the better
opportunities buit we needed that second goal. The worst thing that happened
to us was half time, because that took the momentum away from us.

We started the second half very sloppy; the number of times we gave the ball
away in the first ten minutes, quarter-of-an-hour. Then we just invited West
Ham on to us and they scored their goal. From that point onwards we had to
show a lot of resiliance and determination as a group not to concede a
second.

So I was very pleased first half and a little bit disappointed second half -
but not with their commitment and their effort.

How long have you been working on that little routine that led to the goal?

We've worked on it for the past three days, we've done it about five or six
times. John Walters has never scored a goal from it s oit was lovely that he
saved it for today.

Was that something that you targeted West Ham specifically for?

No. I spend a lot of time watching videos and watching teams play. I just
felt that if we could do this it would come off. You work on it millions of
times in training; all my career I've always looked for little angles,
little areas that we can exploit from set plays and it's lovely when it
comes off.

There was a question off offside to West Ham's goal; was that something
you...

Massively offside! [laughs]

It's a decision that went against us and we have to take it on the chin, you
can't change it. There were two decisions; that one and when John Walters
went through second half that looked very contentious as well. But they've
given it to West Ham and you just get on with it.

Thank you.

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Allardyce on... Stoke City
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 20th November 2012
By: Staff Writer

A disappointed Sam Allardyce respects the point - even though he felt it
should have been three. His post-match press conference for you exclusively
in full...

Sam: Did that feel like a missed chance for you today?

In the end we were disappointed that we didn't win it based on our second
half performance, but when you put that much pressure on the opposition
you've got to try and be a little more ruthless in front of goal. With a
little bit more quality and composure we probably could have won, but at the
end of the day it's another point and I can't be too critical of the
players.

They took the game to Stoke in the second half, completely dominated them
and penned them back, but sadly we couldn't quite find the winning touch in
front of goal.

It's a really good come back for us; like I said, we're disappointed we
haven't won it but we've got another point and it's a real good start with a
third of the season gone. We're what, seventh in the Premier League? So we
can't be too disappointed even though we know we should have won that one.
But we move on and face another difficult fixture on Sunday at Tottenham -
just as this was a very difficult fixture, as we found out in the first
half.

Are you going to be frustrated tomorrow morning when you see you're not
fifth [in the table]?

I don't know if I'll be frustrated; I'm a bit disappointed at the moment
that we didn't win it. In the end, finishing in the box and creating chances
is hard but scoring chances is the most difficult thing in this league. The
quality of player needed is hugely expensive if you want to buy the top
ones, so you pay £50million for a Torres or £24million on a Van Persie in
the last year of his contract. It shows you how expensive it is to find the
one who will put the ball in the back of the net for you.

At the moment we've only really got Kevin Nolan doing it on a regular basis
- and he was particularly disappointed that he didn't score with that chance
at the start of the second half. But we created chances and our second half
performance was very good, with the full backs pushing on and getting behind
a stubborn Stoke defensive unit which has been very stubborn all season.
Yes, we created chances - but we couldn't find the finishing touch.

Is it a bit incongruous that you're flying so high in the table and yet Andy
Carroll hasn't scored? Is it almost as if opposition defenders are
concentrating on him?

Yes; he's going to attract attention as his hold up play is very good, as is
his heading ability. People are going to need to pay particular attention to
him, so he's going to attract one or two defenders which creates space
elsewhere. Andy's not to get too frustrated at the fact that he's not
scoring at the moment. Today he didn't really get too much of a chance to
score either but sooner or later, if we continue to work on him making runs
into the box and on the service that we give, then eventually he will score.

He didn't seem too pleased when he came off? Does that show the desire he's
got?

Yes it does. He wants to score a goal and he wants me to leave him on for 90
minutes, but he put that much effort in - like all the players - and there's
some fresh players on the bench like Carlton Cole who's bursting to get on
and do something. There's also Matthew Taylor and there's Guy Demel who came
on and continued to give us a bit more energy to find the winner.

The players who started the game were beginning to feel the pace, especially
in the second half, so fresh players with fresh legs came on and continued
to press the opposition to try and get the goal. He's disappointed but in
the end you make the substitutions for the benefit of everybody to try and
win the game. I wanted to try and win the game and I felt that was the best
way forward after the effort he, Modibo and Joey O'Brien had put in.
Fresh legs, desperate to get on might have got us the winner. It didn't
quite, but it could have done.

You were forced to change things with [Matt] Jarvis and [Yossi] Benayoun
out. How pleased were you with the players who came in?

I was very pleased with the second half performance and the fact that the
squad has performed very well yet again. Whilst our numbers are not great,
our quality seems to be pretty good.

Again, our defensive unit was very good - apart from the corner. I have to
say I thought the corner was undefendable - and if the referee had eyes in
the back of his head he would have given a foul on the block from Adam on
George McCartney who was marking Johnny Walters. But Walters had to finish
that first time - and it was a brilliant finish.

But you nearly got one yourself?

Nearly, yes; Gary O'Neil worked a great one which caught them by surprise
but that went two inches past the post instead of inside [it]. Like I said,
we weren't quite clinical enough in front of goal but at least we created a
second half performance with a lot of chances.

Have you been doing some work on that corner on the training ground?

I didn't, Wally Downes did. Wally has been working on that for a couple of
weeks. As we were live on Sky we probably won't be able to do it again as
everyone's seen it! It was two inches away from paying off; theirs paid off
and now they won't be able to use theirs either! You bring one or two
changes in now and again and you hope that they work for you. Theirs did,
ours nearly did.

Towards the end the fans seemed a bit frustrated because you weren't lumping
the ball forward quickly enough?

Ha! You can't push the ball down the middle, even with Andy Carroll, with
Stoke City because Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross are so strong so we had to
get the ball in wide areas and then into the box. On several occasions we
got in behind the back four which is what we wanted. Sometimes we couldn't
find the final ball - and we couldn't find the final finish, unfortunately.

It's a sign that you're playing a bit of football now though, isn't it?

I think everybody's enjoying what they're seeing at the moment, particularly
at Upton Park. I could hear the fans willing the lads on to get that goal.

Thank you.

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Terry Mcdermott is tipping Ravel Morrison to make it to the top
Last Updated: November 20, 2012 3:52pm
SSN

Birmingham assistant manager Terry McDermott believes Ravel Morrison has the
potential to play at the very highest level. The 19-year-old joined Blues on
a season-long loan from West Ham and has quickly made an impression in the
Championship. Morrison scored his first senior goal on Saturday, a superb
volley against Hull, and McDermott says he has what it takes to cut it with
the very best. "He's a great talent," he said. "I know he's got a reputation
but he's a great kid and he wants to do well here. He loves being here and
wants to be involved. "He's got the ability to go right to the top and he
will do if he listens to the right people, like the manager and the coaching
staff. We've all helped him but we know there's more to come. "He is
thriving on the pressure. He should score more goals with the ability he's
got. He scored a fantastic goal Saturday and long may that continue."

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Sam Allardyce says West Ham can go and win at Tottenham on Sunday
Last Updated: November 20, 2012 3:25pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce has told his West Ham team they are in a good position to pull
off their first victory at Tottenham in 13 years on Sunday. The Hammers,
promoted as Championship play-off winners, have surpassed all expectations
so far this season and currently sit in joint sixth position in the Premier
League after 12 matches. The Londoners last week earned a creditable win at
Newcastle,but they now embark on a difficult run of fixtures that includes
games at Spurs, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. West Ham have not
won at White Hart Lane since Ian Wright and Marc Keller guided them to
victory in 1999, but Allardyce thinks his team are shaping up well ahead of
the short trip across London. He told the club website: "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."

Right-back Joey O'Brien was the unlikely goalscorer in the 1-1 draw with
Stoke and the 26-year-old is also feeling positive ahead of the game at
Spurs.
He added: "I picked up the ball and tried to play a one-two with Momo Diame
but it did not come back to me, as it went wide to Gaz O'Neil instead. He
has a lot of quality on the ball and his delivery is very good so I
continued my run and took a chance. "He smashed it across goal and I was in
the right place at the right time and the ball was just where I wanted it.
"We will go (to Tottenham) to get at least a point, but we know it is going
to be a very tough game because they are a top team. We have shown in recent
weeks how well we can defend against Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Nobody expected those results so we know, if we play well, we can take
something from the game."

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Any old Irons: West Ham want to sign Beckham to help Olympic Stadium bid
The Mirror
20 Nov 2012 22:31
Harry How

West Ham want David Beckham to bring the curtain down on his career by
coming home to his East End roots. Beckham fired the starting gun on the
last scramble for his signature when he announced that the MLS final on
December 1 would be his farewell appearance for Los Angeles Galaxy after
five years as a football missionary in the States. Despite the reservations
of the likes of Andy Dawson, Twitter's Profanity Swan, suitors are queuing
up. The Irons' co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan are ready to offer
the former England captain, now 37, an encore in the Premier League. A
clutch of Australian A-League clubs, including Melbourne Heart and Perth
Glory, have already launched bids, while Paris Saint-Germain – bankrolled by
super-rich Qatari royalty – are intrigued by the celebrity circus that
develops wherever brand Beckham pitches its big top. Melbourne will offer
him £1.2million for just 10 games at the start of next year, but there is an
open ­invitation for Beckham to end his career with the Hammers - who regard
him as a statesman who will deliver them to the Olympic Stadium. The Hammers
tried to lure local boy Beckham to Upton Park two years ago and Gold said:
"He was an ambassador for the London 2012 bid and it would be a fantastic
statement if he came to us. "He's an East end boy and it would be a fitting
end to his career. We've also been mindful of his value as an ambassador to
help us secure the Olympic stadium."

As bookies William Hill installed the Hammers as second favourites to land
Beckham on his last crusade, ex-West Ham captain Alvin Martin insisted he
would be a perfect fit - not least for struggling on-loan Liverpool striker
Andy Carroll. England centre-forward Carroll has not scored in 630 minutes
of club football after again firing blanks in Monday night's draw with
Stoke, and Martin said: "Becks would be perfect at delivering crosses for
Andy Carroll. "He's still got another year or two left in him because he's
not all about pace and athleticism. He should go to West Ham - if they are
doing as well towards the end of the season as they are now, then why not?"

Beckham has won league titles in three different countries with Manchester
United, Real Madrid and the Galaxy. Since he left Madrid in 2007, after
helping clinch the La Liga in his last appearance at the Bernabeu, he has
scored 18 goals and provided 40 assists in 98 regular-season games for the
Galaxy. The family home in Beverley Hills is valued at £14 million and he
has earned £29m in 2012, making him the highest-paid footballer in the
world. According to the Sunday Times' Rich List, Beckham's net worth is now
estimated around £190m. All this after watching the Spice Girls perform on
TV during an England World Cup qualifying excursion to Georgia in 1996 and
announcing, "I'm going to marry the one with the legs".

The inquest can now begin.

Where did it all go wrong, Goldenballs?

In truth, Beckham has frittered away the last five years of his career in an
irrelevant league when he was still good enough to embarrass Steve McClaren
for shovelling him towards the knackers' yard with England and to play in
the Champions League for AC Milan. His decision to chase fistfuls of dollars
in the California and District Sunday League turned him from the
standard-bearer of English football's 'golden generation' into a long-haul
missionary. Beckham's record tally of 115 England caps, more than any
outfield player in Three Lions history, was bloated towards the end of Fabio
Capello's reign by walk-on parts as a substitute. And the last time we saw
Beckham on the bench, he was wearing his three-piece M&S England suit in
South Africa as a celebrity cheerleader on Capello's ill-fated World Cup
campaign. That said, Don Fabio's ham-fisted treatment of a patriot who
served England in three World Cup tournaments, branding Beckham "a little
bit too old" and offering him a farewell appearance at Wembley when he had
no intention of retiring, was a travesty.

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