Daily WHUFC News - 5th May 2012

Cardiff match SOLD OUT
WHUFC.com
Tickets for Monday's Play-Off semi-final second leg have now sold out
04.05.2012

Tickets for Monday's home leg of the npower Championship Play-Off semi-final
with Cardiff City have now sold out as fans rush to see if West Ham United
can make it to Wembley.

Tickets went on sale to Season Ticket holders and Bondholders immediately
after Saturday's visit of Hull City and there was a rush of fans looking to
secure their seats for the 4.30pm kick-off. Tickets for Season Ticket
holders were priced at just £15 for Adult tickets and £5 for under-16s as
part of the Board's commitment to make football affordable for all.

The remaining tickets went on general sale at 9am on Thursday and the last
few were sold on Friday morning, meaning for the second home match in a row,
West Ham United will be playing in front of a packed house at the Boleyn
Ground.

For those who could not get a ticket in time, West Ham TV will be running
full match commentary of the game.

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Jack Goal-ison
WHUFC.com
Wales international Jack Collison upset his fellow countrymen with two goals
in Thursday's first-leg
04.05.2012

Wales international Jack Collison was all smiles after his two goals in
Cardiff gave West Ham United the perfect start to their npower Championship
Play-Off semi-final with the Bluebirds. The No10 bagged both goals as the
Hammers defeated Cardiff City 2-0 in south Wales on Thursday night, putting
Sam Allardyce's side in the driving seat ahead of Monday's second leg at the
Boleyn Ground. Collison opened the scoring on eight minutes when he headed
in after David Marshall had saved his initial volley, and doubled his
account four minutes before half-time with a rasping shot that flew in via a
slight deflection. "Obviously it is nice to be the one scoring the goals
but, more important than that, it was a massive team performance," he told
West Ham TV. "I think the boys were superb throughout. "I don't think Coley
[Carlton Cole] has played much better than that all season - I thought he
was unbelievable and really worked his socks off."

Collison's goals took his tally to three in two away games following his
thunderbolt at Leicester City ten days previously. In total, four of his
five goals this season have come on the road. "I was getting in the right
positions earlier in the season but perhaps not finding the net as much as
I'd have liked to. Thankfully they seem to be flying in at the right time
and it's a great boost to the team that we managed to score two goals. "The
first one I think I did my hardest to miss it, to be honest! It was a great
ball from Vaz [Ricardo Vaz Te] and he put it on a plate for me. I've hit the
keeper and luckily it has bounced out for me and I've managed to knock it
in.
"The second one, it has bounced out to me and Matty [Taylor] was in my ear
telling me to shoot so I thought 'Why not?' and I caught it quite sweet. It
took a little deflection but I think it was going in anyway! "They all count
and it's great to get the goals, but like I said it was a real team
performance."

Collison was quick to heap praise on his team-mates for their determined,
up-tempo performance that simply did not let Cardiff settle into any sort of
rhythm on their own pitch. Everybody has come into a good form at the moment
and we're on a good run. We've lost one in 19 and I think that is down to
teamwork. "We were superb right throughout from the back to the front and if
we play like that on Monday we're going to be very hard to deal with."

Collison said West Ham would play to win the second leg, rather than seek to
hold onto their two-goal advantage. "I think we'll treat it like any other
game. The manager has come in and said not to get too excited because it's
only half the job done. "If we play like that, work hard and do well as a
team, we'll be hard to beat."

Finally, Collison asked for forgiveness from his fellow Welshman, knowing
that he is sure to be back in Cardiff soon pulling on the red shirt of his
national team rather than the claret and blue of West Ham. "It's a great
place to play and Cardiff are a big club with a great fanbase, so it was
nice to come here and play in a proper game. It's nice to get a bit of stick
and it's good fun. "I really enjoy playing there. Obviously it was nice to
get the goal so we'll see what sort of reception I get when I'm back in
Wales!"

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Vaz is Player of Month
WHUFC.com
Ricardo Vaz Te has been named Championship Player of the Month for April
04.05.2012

West Ham United striker Ricardo Vaz Te has been named npower Championship
Player of the Month for April. Vaz Te scored six goals in as many games,
including a hat-trick in his side's 6-0 home win against Brighton & Hove
Albion. The treble included a stunning overhead kick that Hammers fans voted
as their Goal of the Season. West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce said:
"I'm delighted for Ricardo. He's had a massive impact since he arrived at
the club and the goals he scored throughout the month of April were key to
us remaining unbeaten. It is a very well deserved award and we hope that he
can now continue his run of form into the Play-Offs."

Sky Sports' Football League expert Peter Beagrie sits on the npower Player
of the Month judging panel. He said: "Ricardo has been an outstanding
success since his transfer from Barnsley in January. He's adjusted to his
new club brilliantly and has proved to be a real threat in the air and on
the ground. He could have a massive impact on The Hammers' promotion
pursuit."

npower Head of Sponsorship Emma Collins said: "Ricardo was in top form
during April, contributing six goals and providing a constant attacking
threat for his team. I'm sure his spectacular bicycle kick at home to
Brighton will live long in the memory of West Ham fans. On behalf of npower,
I'd like to congratulate Ricardo, and wish him the best of luck for next
season."

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It ain't over 'til it's over
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th May 2012
By: Staff Writer

Neil McDonald was delighted with West Ham's performance in the first leg of
the play-off semi final at Cardiff last night - but warned that the job is
far from done.
Assistant manager McDonald, who stood in for Sam Allardyce at the pre-match
press conference was thoroughly satisfied with the 2-0 win that gives West
Ham a massive advantage going into Monday afternoon's second leg at the
Boleyn Ground. However he insisted that all celebrations were on ice until
the job was complete and West Ham's place in the Championship play-off Final
has been sealed. "Everyone knew their job, and everyone did their job
tonight," said McDonald. "It was an all-round team performance that we are
very pleased with. But we have another professional job to do on Monday.
"The performance and the goals against Brighton and Hull have got that
monkey off our backs of too many draws at home. We have scored eight goals
at home in the past two games and we know that the crowd will be right
behind us. "We have got our head around trying to win through to the Final
and we have 90 minutes to do that. But there is still a game to go and we
need to be on our guard to kill the game off. "Two-nil is always a dangerous
lead, but you would prefer to be two-nil in front rather than two-nil
behind."

McDonal also reserved special praise for two-goal hero Jack Collison, whose
brace killed off the challenge of the home side. "Collison took his goals
very well, he is very comfortable on the ball and that's another two on his
tally for the season," he added. "We are starting to see the best of Jack.
"He has played a lot of games this season, even though he is still having to
man-manage his injury, but he is getting through it very well and he is a
vital player for us."

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Vaz dazzles
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th May 2012
By: Staff Writer

Ricardo Vaz Te has been named as the nPower Championship Player of the Month
for April 2012. The 25-year-old Portuguese forward, who signed for West Ham
in January scored six goals in just six appearances for the Hammers
including a hat-trick against Brighton during the month. Sam Allardyce, who
was shortlisted for the Manager of the Month award but lost out to
Millwall's Kenny Jackett, said of his recent signing: "I'm delighted for
Ricardo. "He's had a massive impact since he arrived at the club and the
goals he scored throughout the month of April were key to us remaining
unbeaten. It is a very well deserved award and we hope that he can now
continue his run of form."

Peter Beagrie, one of the memebrs of the adjudicating panel added: ""Ricardo
has been an outstanding success since his transfer from Barnsley in January.
He's adjusted to his new club brilliantly and has proved to be a real threat
in the air and on the ground. "He could have a massive impact on the
Hammers' promotion pursuit."

Vaz Te was one of three players nominated for the award alongside Adam Le
Fondre of Reading and Millwall goalkeeper Maik Taylor. In addition to former
Bradford striker Beagrie, Football League Head of Communications John Nagle,
BBC Sport's Mark Clemmit and npower Head of Sponsorship Emma Collins
comprise the four-strong judging panel.

April, come he will: six in six

6th April: Barnsley 0-4 West Ham Utd (1 goal)
9th April: West Ham Utd 3-3 Birmingham City (2 goals)
14th April: West Ham Utd 6-0 Brighton & HA (3 goals)
17th April: Bristol City 1-1 West Ham Utd
23rd April: Leicester City 1-2 West Ham Utd
28th April: West Ham Utd 2-1 Hull City 1

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Can We Buck the Trend, as Monday's Show Down Beckons?
By S J Chandos About 10 hours ago
West Ham Till I Die

Well, what a fanatic win on Thursday evening. The journey down to Cardiff is
always a bit of a tiring trawl. It inevitaly brings back memories of the
three back-to-back trips there between 2004-06, when we experienced the
jubliation of the play off victory in 2005, the dejection of failing to beat
Palace in 2004 and the glorious failure of the penalty shoot out defeat to
Liverpool in 2006. But this result, and performance, was worth every bit of
effort that it took to get down there on a Thursday afternoon/evening.

One is left pondering if only! If only we had been able to reproduce this
type of efficient and masterful performance more frequently at home this
season. As we all know it is our failings at home that have cost us
automatic promotion. Those terribly wasteful draws against the likes of
Doncaster, Boro, Watford and Palace are what ultimately did for us. Indeed,
looking back at our results this season, it is clear that all too often we
secured impressive away results only to fail to press home the advantage in
the following home match. The Brighton and Hull City victories have
hopefully dispelled the insecurity that the team have often shown playing at
home. But there is defnitely I trend there needs to be bucked. We must come
out on Monday and bury Cardiff City's remaining play-off hopes. We must
strive to score the first goal, early, to put the tie beyond doubt and allow
us to relax and play without tension. In short, we must ensure that another
good away display is not followed by a disappointing one at home.

Certainly, West Ham need to be 'shot' if they muck up this one! But Malky
knows all about West Ham's relative under-perfomance at home this season and
the fact that an early Cardiff City goal, on Monday, would raise doubts in
the Hammers players minds and unsettle the crowd. That's what he is hoping
and praying for, hence his paradoxical comment about a 2 goal victory being
'a dangerous result.' In response, we need to go out and crush those last,
lingering hopes straightaway. And I get the distinct feeling that West Ham
will do exactly that on Monday afternoon. Why, because I was impressed by
the mental strength shown on Thursday and the confidence of our play. One
gets the feeling that West Ham are in a positive groove as a team and are
peaking at just he right time for the play-offs. Sam Allardyce stated that
his squad are now the fittest they have been all season and that was amply
demonstrated in the 1st leg of the semi-final, where we not only outplayed
Cardif, but beat them on workrate and effort as well.

Famous last words? Perhaps, but I sincerely hope not. It is just a pity that
we did not get the third goal that our dominance deserved. If only Cole's
excellent header or Nolan's point blank chance had gone in then we would
have all felt that bit more confident. But, lets not be greedy, a two goal
lead going in to a home second leg should be sufficient, as long as we do
the business and buck the aforementioned trend!

Another encouraging thing from our perspective is the way in which Carlton
Cole seems to be hitting good form at this, the climax of the season. His
finishinhg was outstanding against Hull City and he play really well on
Thursday, leading the attack and giving Cardiff City's defence endless
problems. This is the positive Carlton Cole, the centre forward who is very
difficult for opponents to play, as opposed to the frustating and
disappointing Cole, who disappears up blind alleys. Lets pray that we see
more of the former and none of the latter, because at 28 years of age, it
really is time that Carlton Cole finally showed consistency and proved his
ability beyond all doubt. Vaz Te has been a revelation since his arival in
January, he is obviously a player who is certainly starting to realise his
potential. I have no doubt that he is a player that can potentially win
these play-offs for us. I was also encouraged by Matt Taylor's form, his
season was disrupted by injury and suspension, but he is starting to look
back to his best on the left flank. His delivery of the ball in to the
Cardiff City box was fanastic and created scoring opportunities on a number
of occasions. Similarly, Demel is starting to look good at right-back and
the Tomkins-Reid central defensive partnership continues to look very solid.
Finally, what about that lad Collison, he looked liked his old self in
getting forward and scoring those two vital goals. Perhaps some supporters
should show more patience with a talented player, obviously recovering from
serious injury, rather than rushinhg to condemn and prematurely write him
off.

Apparently, Collison also did well in the 1-2 away victory over Leicester
City. Unfortunately, I missed the match as I had to go on a business trip to
Berlin. My German asociates took me for a tour of Berlin, as part of the
social side of the trip, and it included a visit to the Berlin Olympic
Stadum. Anyone who has visited it will know that the Berlin OS is an
imposing, Nazi built, Sand Stone and granite structure, which was the scene
of Jessie Owens' famous 1936 triple gol medal triumph and Herr Hitler's,
equally famous, resulting strop! Hertha Berlin play at the stadium and I got
a chance to view the pitch from the stands. I have no idea about the
comparative dimensions of the Berlin and Stratford OS, but the sight lines
were not too bad, even allowing for an uncovered running track. Of course,
it was worse at the two ends, but not too bad at all at the sides.

My hosts insisted that the atmosphere at Hertha matches was very good and I
can only take their word for that. Although the spectator sight lines did
not seem that bad, it did re-affirm that culturally it is was very different
from the traditional British football experience of spectators being right
on top of the action. Can we adapt to watching our football in the Stratford
OS? Possibly, the decisive factor will be the degree to which the
post-Olympic restructure of the stadium can recreated something of the
football spectator experience of which we are all so familiar.

So, Monday's match awaits! Meanwhile, in the other Semi things are finely
balanced, with Blackpool taking a 1-0 advantage to St Andrews. Personally, I
think that we can beat either team if we play to our full ability, but
therein lies the variable factor in this particular play-off equation. Can
we make our undoubted superiority tell in the final, if we overcome Cardiff
City. One lives in eternal hope!

SJ. Chandos.

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Cardiff City plot remarkable play-off comeback against West Ham
By Terry Phillips
May 5 2012Comments
Wales Online


MALKY Mackay and his Cardiff City players will spend today plotting what
would be a remarkable comeback in their Championship play-off semi-final
against West Ham. The Bluebirds face a two-goal deficit going to Upton Park
on Monday (4.30pm), but there was an air of defiance among players after the
home leg. They spoke of their belief this tie is far from over, while Mackay
summed up that feeling, saying: "We remain focused on the final. "Nobody in
our dressing room has given anything up yet. It will be difficult, but our
situation is certainly far from beyond rescue. "Walking off the pitch there
was the immediate disappointment of defeat in the first leg, but that
changed quickly and everybody is up for the challenge head. "There will be
2,000 City fans at West Ham on Monday and we owe it to every one of them to
give them the sort of performance which allows them to get behind the team.
"The first goal will be crucial. If we score it can change momentum and a
nervousness could kick in, which is what happened to us after West Ham
scored their first goal. "We are 2-0 down with 90 minutes to go. We have
already won at Upton Park this season and have a solid away record. "Every
player, every member of staff is up for the challenge on Monday. "None of us
are under any illusions about the task ahead, but this group of players are
capable of overcoming the hurdle in front of us. "West Ham have a vastly
superior squad in terms of experience, but we have a team who will make sure
they go to West Ham and give everything we've got. "One goal and things
could change. "Everybody will be ready. We are going into a Championship
play-off second-leg game and nobody will need lifting. "It's 2-0 at
half-time and that can be a dangerous score."

City will have to keep things water tight at the back, which means keeping
the powerful and effective Carlton Cole under control, and somehow wrest
control in midfield. Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan were immense at Cardiff City
Stadium and the Hammers were clearly on top in that area. The Bluebirds
kicked away possession far too often in the first leg and for that reason
Mackay will surely turn to Stephen McPhail to help ensure cool heads,
composure and tempo. McPhail can release Peter Whittingham, who was
effectively shackled by West Ham's powerful midfield competitors in the
first leg, to create danger in forward areas. But with Kevin McNaughton
rated doubtful with his hamstring injury plus Rudy Gestede (knee) and Craig
Conway (ankle) ruled out there are few other options for Mackay to tweak his
team. Robert Earnshaw is a possible, but Mackay is likely to stick with
Kenny Miller and Joe Mason in attack. Miller dropped far too deep in the
first leg and their link-up, highly effective at times during the home draw
against Leeds United, could be a key factor if City have any chance of
fighting back. Any sort of recovery is a tough call against a West Ham team
already two goals in front, but the Bluebirds faithful will go to a sold-out
Upton Park hoping their team can cause the biggest semi-final comeback in 25
years of play-off football at Championship level.

Filip Kiss could add bite in midfield, while Mackay may be tempted to opt
for youth and go for Joe Ralls through the middle and speedy winger Kadeem
Harris out wide. But Mackay can't gamble at this stage. He must stick with
the tried and trusted which means McNaughton, if he is fit, for Darcy Blake
and McPhail, possibly for Liam Lawrence, are realistically the only changes
possible at West Ham. If City could score first at Upton Park they would be
back in contention and with that in mind Mackay will stick with experience
and know-how on Bank Holiday Monday. Joe Mason showed the way to goal for
City when he netted during the first leg, but his effort was ruled out by a
linesman. "If Joe was offside it was by a toenail and no more," said Mackay.
Mason has fired 11 goals in his first season and his partnership with Miller
at Upton Park is going to be crucial. "These play-off matches are bigger
than the Carling Cup final," said Mason. "Promotion was our number one
target at the start of this season and we won't give that up without one
heck of a fight."

Cardiff City's squad went through their recovery process with the sports
science department yesterday, light work and an analysis of the first leg.
The players are back at work today at their Vale of Glamorgan Resort
training ground and will have an hour and a half session tomorrow before
making the trip to London for an overnight stay. "We will be as thorough in
our preparation as ever – and we'll give it everything we've got at Upton
Park tomorrow," added Mackay. The match against the Hammers is Cardiff's
57th match of the season – and that's 10 more than the Hammers have played
in their campaign. Sam Allardyce has a big squad with a lot of Premier
Division quality. The task for Cardiff on Monday is huge, it looks at first
glance almost impossible, but the players are ready for the fight of their
lives.

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