WHUFC.com
Neil McDonald says the Hammers are excited about the prospect of facing
Southampton on Tuesday
14.02.2012
Assistant manager Neil McDonald said the West Ham United squad was itching
to get Tuesday's npower Championship clash with Southampton underway. The
Hammers can extend their lead over the second-place Saints at the top to
four points should they win at the Boleyn Ground - gaining revenge for their
1-0 defeat at St Mary's in the reverse fixture in the process. In an
interview with BBC Radio 5Live's Football League show, McDonald said his
fellow staff and all the players could not wait to kick-off.
You must be looking forward to facing Southampton?
"It is a big game. It's a game we're really, really looking forward to as
well. It's a top-of-the-table clash. The last time we played them [at St
Mary's in October 2011] they were in front of us and they went five points
in front and now we've got a chance to get one back.
"If we can win the game we'll go four points in front again.
"Both clubs have got striking options and for us that is good for the team.
Sam said in the past that we're creating lots and lots of chances and not
putting them away to take the pressure off ourselves. We've certainly got
players who can score goals and that is great."
Were you happy with the three players you signed at the end of the January
transfer window - Ricardo Vaz Te, Nicky Maynard and Ravel Morrison?
"I think the gaffer was really, really pleased with the three that we got.
Obviously Vaz Te was scoring goals for Barnsley and Maynard was scoring
goals for Bristol City, so they were fantastic additions to give
competitions for places. "Obviously we've got the young Ravel Morrison
coming in who will probably take a little but more time to get match-fit and
be introduced on a week-to-week basis. "Ravel looks very good in training.
He is very comfortable on the ball and a very good passer so we're just
trying to top his fitness up and hopefully he'll come into the equation in a
couple of weeks' time."
Is it all about getting promoted this season over everything else?
"I think it is, but even the lads we have signed have got the potential to
play in the Premier League as well, so if you are looking that far ahead
then they are really good signings. "The most important thing is certainly
trying to get out of this league and that is what we're trying to do. We're
happy with the position we're in at the moment and if we can keep it going
or possibly kick on then we've got a great chance."
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New kick-off for Birmingham
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's game with Birmingham City will now kick-off at 5.20pm
14.02.2012
West Ham United's home game with Birmingham City on Monday 9 April has been
put back to 5.20pm. The game, which was originally set to start at 3pm, is
the return of the Boxing Day fixture that ended in a 1-1 draw at St Andrews.
Carlton Cole opened the scoring in the 4th minute before David Murphy
levelled the game with nine minutes remaining.
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Happy Valentines Day!
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 14th February 2012
By: Staff Writer
West Ham are looking to extend their lead at the top of the Championship
tonight by taking all three points against closest rivals Southampton at the
Boleyn. This time last season the teams were playing two leagues apart, with
Avram Grant's side set to finish bottom of the Premier League and Nigel
Adkins' Saints on their way to achieving automatic promotion courtesy of
finishing runners-up (to Brighton) in League One. However there has been
little to choose between the two sides this season, with United currently a
single point clear of Southampton with a game in hand. Adding extra spice
to the fixture is the fact that tonight's visitors to the Boleyn Ground
sneaked a 1-0 victory over the Hammers in the corresponding fixture at St
Mary's earlier in the season, with Jos Hooiveld scoring the game's only goal
on the stroke of half time.
And whilst the Hampshire club's form has beeen slightly more erratic since
those heady days when they won their first 12 home fixtures of the season -
and remained unbeaten in front of their own fans until 30th December - the
match is sure to prove a strong test to Sam Allardyce's squad. Despite being
boosted in recent weeks by the arrival of players such as Ricardo Vaz Te,
Ravel Morrison and Nicky Maynard, West Ham have found scoring goals an issue
for some time; the Irons have failed to win a match by more than a single
goal since November (some 12 games ago).
Meanwhile Southampton's 2-0 win against Burnley on Saturday was their first
three-pointer in six outings - and only their third win in their last ten
games. However despite the promise of freezing conditions and sub-zero
temperatures at the Boleyn tonight, West Ham are expecting a near-capacity
crowd for what promises to be a good old-fashioned humdinger under the
lights. For the few remaining tickets - thought to number around 2,000 -
cash turnstiles will be open ahead of the game; ticketless fans wishing to
attend can pay on the door at gates 17 and 18 (West Stand Upper). One player
hoping to make his mark tonight is striker and current top goalscorer
Carlton Cole, who posted the tongue-in-cheek image at the top of the page
via his Twitter account to celebrate Valentines Day.
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Another new date for your diary
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 14th February 2012
By: Staff Writer
Birmingham City's visit to the Boleyn Ground on Easter Monday will kick off
later than previously planned to allow for live TV coverage. West Ham host
the Blues, who are bang in form and hot on the heels of both West Ham and
Southampton having won seven of their last eight Championship fixtures on
the final day of the holiday weekend. The match had previously been planned
for a 3pm start but will now kick off at 5:20pm. Sky Sports will be
broadcasting the game, that could go some way to deciding the outcome of
this season's Championship, live. The two teams last met on Boxing Day last
year when the Hammers took an early lead through Carlton Cole before David
Murphy salvaged a point for the Blues 13 minutes from time. City - who were
relegated from the Premier League along with West Ham last season - won the
last meeting at the BG when Nicola Zigic's 65th minute strike was enough to
take all three points, almost a year ago to the day.
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No guarantees for Morrison
Allardyce wants teenager to prove his ability
Last Updated: February 14, 2012 9:41am
SSN
West Ham new-boy Ravel Morrison has no assurances of automatic first-team
football at Upton Park. The former Manchester United teenager joined the
Championship leaders in January after Sir Alex Ferguson's tolerance of the
midfielder's off-field antics ran out. England Under 19 international
Morrison is considered one of the most promising players of his age, but it
is the doubts about his personal life which have caused questions. And
Allardyce has told the youngster he is far from certain of a first-team
place at West Ham until he proves himself. The Hammers boss said in the
Daily Express: "We all know he has got the ability, it's just whether we
think that ability can go into the first-team right away. "If yes, then he
can play between now and the end of the season. If not, we'll develop him
for the start of next season - wherever we are."
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Allardyce planning a Valentine's Day to remember
By JIM MUNRO
Published: 13 Feb 2012
The Sun
WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce knows just what's needed to keep his wife happy
on Valentine's Day: "By winning against Southampton. Everything will be all
rosy when we get home then. We can celebrate Valentine's Day a little bit
later in the day and celebrate it much better if we've won." Big Sam's table
toppers take on a Saints side who sit just one point behind in second place
in the Championship. West Ham have a game in hand but Allardyce isn't going
to let his players think they already have one foot back in the Premier
League. "It's my responsibility to make sure the players do not take
anything for granted and don't let complacency slide in," said Allardyce.
The recent 2-1 win over Millwall came despite captain Kevin Nolan being sent
off after eight minutes. But this was preceded by a 5-1 thumping at
relegation-threatened Ipswich. "It's only a few days ago that still ringing
in my ears was Ipswich. It's not so long ago and the Ipswich performance was
dreadful," he added. "We had the worst of the season followed by the best of
the season in two games. We don't want history repeating itself. "From our
point of view we're up for it and prepared. The game being called off on
Saturday was a big disappointment for us but it's given us a better focus on
this game. "The players haven't had to recover from Saturday so every player
has to be ready to give their very, very best and hopefully if they produce
their best that's going to be enough on the night for what's going to be the
biggest game in the Championship since we last played them. "They beat us
1-0 before but for us to be in the position we're in, having overtaken them
recently, has been a massive undertaking and we don't want to waste it now
by slipping up against them.
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West Ham v Southampton preview: Big Sam backs Noble to break Saints' hearts
on Valentine's Day
Published 22:29 13/02/12 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
Mark Noble will mark his 200th West Ham appearance in style when handed the
captaincy for the top-of-the-table clash with Southampton. The midfielder is
already longest-serving player at Upton Park at just 24 and has experienced
every kind of emotion since his debut for the club back in 2004. With his
family living just down the road from the ground, Noble is a Hammers fanatic
and is determined to help the club bounce back into the Premier League. With
Kevin Nolan on a three-match ban for a red card against Millwall, Noble's
not-so-secret admirer manager Sam Allardyce will hand him the armband for
the Valentine's Day date with second-placed Saints.
Big Sam said: "I think Mark is about what runs in his blood. He is not just
a good footballer, he is a footballer who is born and bred West Ham. That
gives you a greater feeling to the football club because it is your boyhood
dream and your childhood dream to play in that stadium for that team. "You
always get that ability and commitment that perhaps you can't quite get out
of other players that have moved around. "He can drive other players on
because of his desire to be successful at West Ham."
Ravel Morrison is another youngster with massive expectations following his
move from Manchester United in January. He is regarded as the best talent to
come through the ranks at Old Trafford since Paul Scholes, although
Allardyce is unsure if he will play a part for West Ham this season. Big Sam
added: "Ravel is a very talented player but we have got some massive games
ahead of us. He is a bit of an unknown quantity because he has not
established himself as a first-team player yet anywhere. "He has not even
gone on loan to get experience. To be thrown into a promotion push is a
difficult decision for me. "We know he has the talent but it is a timing
issue on whether that talent will play a part in us going for promotion."
Saints boss Nigel Adkins is backing his new strike pairing of Rickie Lambert
and Billy Sharp to knock the Hammers off the top of the Championship.
Second-placed Southampton head for sell-out Upton Park one point behind West
Ham but having played one match more. Adkins saw stuttering Saints record
their first home win since Boxing Day when they beat Burnley on Saturday
with £1.8million signing Sharp claiming his first goal for the club. Adkins
said: "Billy and Rickie have got more than 30 goals between them this season
and we like to think there are more to come. "Rickie has been superb for us
and Billy has shown he can get goals on a regular basis. Put them together
and I think they can cause teams all sorts of trouble. "West Ham is going to
be a great match, a big occasion for us all, but there is no fear."
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Sam Baldock plays West Ham Tellytubby but knows that Southampton will not be
child's play
It's the game of the season in the Championship on Tuesday night,
table-topping West Ham United colliding with second-placed Southampton.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Henry Winter6:50AM GMT 14 Feb 2012
The stakes are high, each side determined to steal the initiative in the
pursuit of the Premier League dream. Upton Park will be rocking. "The fans
are so passionate, so driven,'' reflected the West Ham striker, Sam Baldock.
"Just to hear the fans singing my name boosts me that extra bit more. I
won't stop running for them. I try to reward them with goals."
An intelligent individual who was heading to university until football
intervened, Baldock gives an insight in to what makes Sam Allardyce's side
tick. "The manager's very thorough. He's big on his meetings and big on his
stats. He prides himself on preparing his team correctly. That's how he has
made such an impact in the game.
"People say he's long ball but he's not. He's worked with Jay-Jay Okocha! He
has said he's always going to let players express themselves."
Allardyce has attempted to inject more invention with the recruitment of the
likes of Ravel Morrison and Ricardo Vaz Te. "Ravel has a wealth of
ability,'' said Baldock. "We have enough people in the dressing room to keep
him on the straight and narrow. If we can get him in the right frame of
mind, he could be a real asset.
"Everyone says Ricardo can be a real genius on the ball, bringing a bit of
extra creativity that we could do with. Maybe we haven't played the most
attractive football at times but we are where we want to be - top of the
league. "The Premier League is where everyone wants to be; it's why I
snatched with both hands the opportunity to come here from MK Dons. I back
myself to play in a Premier League team.''
When Baldock first drove into the Chadwell Heath training ground last
August, he impressed staff by stopping at the gate, getting out of his car
and introducing himself to the gate-man. An innate politeness cannot mask a
steely streak. Baldock is up for the challenge posed by the proliferation of
attackers, also including Nicky Maynard.
"Competition for places is always good. I came to the club with Freddie
Piquionne, John Carew and Carlton Cole who have a wealth of experience. This
(new influx) is going to push me on again. I'm only 22. But I want to be
playing and scoring. "The team spirit here is really strong. Kevin Nolan
(suspended for the game) and Mark Noble are the main talkers, encouraging
everyone to keep going, don't let the heads drop. Kevin is a good captain,
getting the lads together off the pitch. "At the Christmas party, we had to
go head-to-toe in one colour. There were five quite rascal colours to choose
from. I went as a Teletubby - Po. James Tomkins was the purple one Tinky
Winky. Jack Collison was Laa-Laa. We weren't allowed green so we didn't have
a Dipsy."
It's all a world away from the Royal Latin School, Buckingham. "There were
some real bright sparks there. Every year there's a big thing of hitting
double figures for Oxford and Cambridge. Not me, although I would definitely
have gone to uni. It's a grammar school which meant I had to pass the 11+.
Both of my brothers went there and my mum is deputy head. That's not why I
got in! I enjoyed chemistry and maths and loved PE."
He was not alone. "Craig Pickering was two years above me; he's gone on to
great things as a sprinter. Another sprinter, Joey Duck, came in to the
sixth form as I left. Michelle Cheung, the badminton player, was my age.
Being a grammar school, they were big on badminton and rugby. I played
outside centre, used to get the ball and run. I took some big hits, gave
them out as well. I was quite aggressive. Our big game was against Stowe. A
couple of the coaches wanted me to do rugby seriously but I didn't want to
get injured for my football."
Football runs in the family. "My dad claimed to be a rapid right-winger.
I've not seen any medals! We had a goal in the garden, but would sometimes
break the greenhouse next door. It couldn't have been my finishing! My
brother James is a striker; him being two years older gave me the
competitive edge to beat him. My younger brother George is a centre-mid at
MK."
Baldock graduated through the ranks at MK, learning under a range of
contrasting managers. "Danny Wilson was good, gave me my debut at 16 when we
were losing (to Colchester United in 2005). He said: 'There's 10 minutes
left, enough time for you to get a hat-trick'. As a kid going on, a bundle
of enthusiasm, he gave me that confidence to express myself. I didn't score
a hat-trick!
"Martin Allen was inspirational. He's got unusual techniques but they seem
to work. Before one FA Cup tie, he got everyone over to the far side of the
training ground where there was a thorn bush. He said: 'This is the FA Cup.
It's not going to be nice and it's not going to be pretty but we need to get
through it.' And he jumped through the thorn-bush. "'Who's with me?' he
asked. He made everyone jump through the thorn-bush. Some crept through one
foot at a time. I saw a gap and jumped. "He was very passionate in his
beliefs. Someone tried to pass out from the back and the ball got stolen.
'If you are going to clear it, clear it to Row Z,' he said. He then picked a
ball up and kicked it out of the training ground in to the road. He did it
twice. I don't think the kit-man was happy. "Paul Ince had been a legend
with England and Manchester United and his reputation preceded him. He would
stay after training, practising extra shooting. He's so confident that it
made me think I needed the confidence to get where he'd been. I can always
get advice from Incey. "He texted me when I came to West Ham saying 'great
move, you deserve it, keep working, it's a huge club, embrace it'. "Like
Incey, Roberto di Matteo had the 'player factor'. He said to me in
pre-season: 'Me and you are going to surprise a few people this year.' Karl
Robinson was also inspiring. His man-management skills are up there with the
best."
So are Allardyce's. West Ham will need them against Southampton.
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Nicky Maynard itching to make his West Ham debut against Southampton
14 Feb 2012
Evening Standard
Nicky Maynard is confident that he will be able to score tonight if called
upon to make his West Ham debut in the club's top-of-the-table showdown
against Southampton. West Ham will take a big step towards promotion to the
Barclays Premier League if they can extend their lead at the top of the
npower Championship to five points with a win over Southampton at Upton
Park. The Hammers have a game in hand over Saints after their match at
Peterborough was postponed on Saturday - a situation that left manager Sam
Allardyce and his new £2million striker highly frustrated. Maynard had hoped
to make his first appearance for West Ham at London Road after watching his
first game since signing against Millwall from the bench. The former Bristol
City man is itching to don the famous claret and blue shirt for the first
time and has promised Allardyce that he will deliver if given the nod for
tonight's crucial game. "The manager said he was bringing me in to score
goals and that I'll get all the chances I need here," Maynard told West
Ham's website. "All I want is to get chances to score and I'm sure I'll take
them when they come. "Hopefully I'll be involved - the sooner the better for
me because I can get to know the lads and get to play in front of the West
Ham faithful."
Southampton new boy Billy Sharp, who scored for the first time for his new
club at the weekend, is confident his team can topple the Londoners,
however. "It's a top-two clash and the pressure is on them. We can go there,
be positive and try to bring the three points back," Sharp told Saints
Player. "Their fans will be expecting to win, but we believe we can go there
and get the win to go above them." Manager of the month Chris Hughton will
be hoping his third-placed Birmingham side can keep up the pressure on the
top two with a home win against Hull, who climbed back in to the play-off
places with a 3-0 win over Bristol City at the weekend. Cardiff, who are
level on points with the Blues, are looking to bounce back from their
disappointing defeat at Leicester with a home win over Peterborough while
fifth-placed Blackpool travel to strugglers Doncaster. With the league so
tight at the moment, Reading, Brighton and Middlesbrough could all climb
into the play-off places tomorrow night if they beat their respective
opponents, Derby, Millwall and Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, Leeds caretaker manager Neil Redfearn will get another chance to
persuade chairman Ken Bates that he deserves to take over the Elland Road
hotseat on a permanent basis as the Yorkshire club visit rock-bottom
Coventry. Elsewhere, Watford will be looking to climb further towards the
play-off places with a win over Leicester at Vicarage Road while the
Hornets' London rivals Crystal Palace visit Bristol City. In the league's
other two games, Portsmouth host Ipswich and Barnsley travel to Burnley.
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West Ham against Southampton is more bare-knuckle than beauty pageant
Local beauty queens due at Upton Park but match could decide Championship
title and a thriller is in store
Simon Burnton
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 February 2012 10.00 GMT
Southampton's manager, Nigel Adkins, admitted: 'West Ham have clawed us back
and gone top'. Photograph: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
Fans at Upton Park for Tuesday night's match between West Ham and
Southampton will as an extra bonus get to see two local models who between
them have been named Miss Commonwealth International, Miss Galaxy UK, Miss
Galaxy International and Miss Essex. The two teams can only dream of being
so garlanded.
It still seems likely that one of them will end the season as champions, but
the race to that goal is turning out to be more bare-knuckle fight than
beauty pageant. And if Southampton started the season with a cocksure
catwalk strut – since a 3-1 win over Leeds on the opening day they have
never been out of the top two, and have mostly been the top one – more
recently they have developed a worrying limp. Saturday's 2-0 win over
Burnley was just their second league success since Boxing Day.
Having at one point been five points clear at the top of the division, by
the end of November Southampton had averaged 2.2 points and 2.2 goals per
game, conceding 1.1. But in 10 games from the start of December until last
week they won exactly one point per game, still conceding on average 1.1
goals but now scoring just 0.9. Then they conceded a 92nd-minute goal to get
knocked out of the FA Cup at home by Millwall.
Thanks to their early-season successes the Saints remain within the
promotion places, just a single point behind West Ham having played a game
more. But on current form they will not be there long: Birmingham, 16 points
behind them at the start of December, are now just five points away with a
game in hand. Blackpool and Hull have each turned a 15-point deficit into a
gap of just six.
Nigel Adkins, the Southampton manager, downplayed the depressing statistics.
"You can spin it whichever way you can spin it. We led the Championship for
over four months and West Ham have clawed us back and gone top, but if we
win the game then we go back above them," he said. "It's swings and
roundabouts whichever way you look at it."
But Dave Merrington, the former Southampton manager who now works on their
matches as a summariser for BBC Radio Solent, says the club's season is at a
critical stage. "When you've got a five-point lead, you can have a couple of
bad results and still be up there. You're not too worried about a the odd
match," he says. "But when you have a wobbly period like Saints have all
that starts to change. Now they are seriously under pressure. I don't think
Southampton can afford any slip-ups any more."
In could be that their performance on Saturday, against a side with the
division's third-best away record, proves to be key. "When you lose at home
like Saints did against Millwall, it can have a detrimental effect on the
dressing-room in terms of team spirit. What concerned me was the next game,"
says Merrington. "But in fairness I thought they were terrific on Saturday.
And that's set up what I would call a classic at Upton Park. With West Ham
having overtaken Southampton to go top, everything is set up for an
absolutely cracking match."
Both sides will feature unfamiliar strikers: Saturday saw Southampton give a
first start to their £1.8m January purchase from Doncaster, Billy Sharp. On
Tuesday night Nicky Maynard, a £2m arrival from Bristol City, should make
his debut for West Ham, whose captain Kevin Nolan is suspended. Maynard's
arrival should offer some encouragement to the fans whose discontented
mutterings about the team's negative playing style, particularly at home,
have accompanied West Ham's ascent to the top. "Any criticism of the way we
play doesn't make any sense to me," their manager, Sam Allardyce, said last
week. "All this team did before was lose."
Their preparations for tonight's game were aided by the postponement of
Saturday's visit to Peterborough (despite 200 fans turning up at 7am in
temperatures of -11C to clear the London Road pitch of snow). And if
Southampton aren't fatigued a look at their away record, just the 11th best
in the division, could induce an ugly headache on its own. "If they can
improve that away record they should be OK," says Merrington. "I think if
they could win tonight, that would really be a confidence booster. What West
Ham will not be able to do is stand off Southampton in midfield, like
Burnley did. They've got very, very good technical players who can knock the
ball around and interchange [positionally] very well. If West Ham do that
they will be in trouble."
If they don't Southampton could be: should the night go badly for Adkins
West Ham would be four points clear with a game in hand with Birmingham,
having also played one game fewer, just two points behind and closing fast.
For that to happen Blues – the division's form team having won six, drawn
three and not lost at all since Christmas – will have to beat sixth-placed
Hull at home. "I think we're within striking distance," Blues' midfielder
Wade Elliott said. "We've managed to move ourselves into a decent position
and hopefully in the second half of the season we can come strong."
Southampton's long stay at the top, and the more recent eminence of the
pre-season favourites, has lent this season's Championship an air of
stability. It remains to be seen just how deceptive that was.
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Sam Allardyce hails Mark Noble's commitment ahead of West Ham's clash with
Southampton
Ken Dyer
14 Feb 2012
Evening Standard
Mark Noble leads out West Ham for his 200th senior match tonight as his
manager Sam Allardyce emphasised the importance of a core of home-grown
players. With Kevin Nolan suspended, Noble, who made his first team debut,
aged 17, in a League Cup tie against Southend in 2004, captains Championship
leaders West Ham in a crucial clash against second-placed Southampton at
Upton Park to clock up his double century. "It's about what's in Mark's
blood," said Allardyce. "He's born and bred in the area and he's West Ham to
the core. When you have players like that it gives the player a greater
feeling every time he plays because it's his boyhood dream becoming reality.
"You always get that commitment that perhaps you struggle to extract from
some players who have moved around a bit. He can also drive other players on
because his desire to be successful at West Ham is paramount. "It's the same
with Jack Collison and James Tomkins. James never wanted to leave even
during the contract negotiations. It was always a case of 'I want to stay
but I want to be paid what I'm worth. "Having that core in your team is
always good because they're loyal, committed and it rubs off on the other
players."
West Ham will go four points clear of Southampton with a game in hand if
they win tonight but Allardyce is concerned about the fixture schedule as
the Championship season approaches its climax. "The great demand for us now
is that there will be eight games in March and seven in April," he said. "On
4 March we start the first of 15 matches and hopefully our last game will be
on 28 April. That's an awful lot of games in a short space of time. "It's
one match every 3.5 days and we will need to be so dedicated during that if
we want to clinch automatic promotion. That will be the key element."
Allardyce has new signings Nicky Maynard and Ricardo Vaz Te in his squad
while Southampton could pair prolific striker Ricky Lambert with new signing
Billy Sharp.
"We did look at Billy during the January transfer window but we had an
interest in Nicky Maynard back in the summer and when he became available
last month it was a very good deal for a player of his talent," said
Allardyce.
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Sharp out to break Hammers' hearts and shoot Saints back to the top
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 11:08 AM on 14th February 2012
Daily Mail
West Ham have been warned that the pressure is all on them when they meet
rivals Southampton in tonight's top-of-the-table Championship clash. The
Hammers have a one point lead with a game in hand over their promotion
rivals after their match against Peterborough was postponed at the weekend
due to a frozen pitch.
Southampton made sure they maintained their push to reach the Premier League
with a 2-0 victory over Burnley last Saturday. New boy Billy Sharp, who
scored on his home debut in that win, insists the Saints will be out to
break the east London side's hearts when they collide in this evening's
Valentine's Day fixture at Upton Park.
'It's a top-two clash and the pressure is all on them really,' said Sharp,
speaking to BBC Radio Solent. 'We can go there and be positive, their fans
will be expecting them to win. 'But we believe we can go there and get the
three points and go above them.' Southampton suffered a dip in form last
month and squandered their lead at the summit, seeing Sam Allardyce's
Hammers' overtake them at the top in recent weeks. But Nigel Adkins men can
reclaim top spot with a win and defender Jos Hooiveld hopes his team-mates
can repeat their 1-0 success over West Ham earlier this season but knows it
won;t be easy. 'They are a very strong side and very physical,' Hooiveld
said. 'They have bought a couple of new players in the January window but
that can make the camp restless and we have to benefit from that.
'It's always nice to compete with the best out there.' West Ham will be
without captain Kevin Nolan, who begins his three-match suspension, but
could hand debuts to striker Nicky Maynard and midfielder Ravel Morrison.
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