Daily WHUFC News - 11th November 2012

Mo to use inside knowledge
WHUFC.com
West Ham United midfielder Mo Diame knows all about the Newcastle United
squad
10.11.2012

Mohamed Diame will be able to supply Sam Allardyce with plenty of inside
knowledge about Sunday's opponents Newcastle United. West Ham United's No21
regularly lines up alongside Magpies strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Ciss for
the Senegal national team, while he came through the ranks at the famous
Clairefontaine Academy in France with midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa. Diame is
looking forward to catching up with his friends at St James' Park, but is
also confident of ruining their Sunday afternoons by helping the Hammers to
build on last weekend's goalless home Barclays Premier League draw with
champions Manchester City. "After the game against Wigan, I think we needed
to have this reaction against Manchester City. We did it, so now we have to
maintain that and take the three points from Newcastle. "There are a lot of
fans there and it is a big stadium. I have some friends there, both
Senegalese and Frenchmen, so it's going to be a good game. "I know Demba and
Papiss very well and I also know that they have scored a lot of goals. We
have to make sure we don't give them a lot of chances to score. They are
different players, but they both work every day in front of the goal and are
strikers who know how to score, so we have to try to restrict their chances.
"I also know Hatem Ben Arfa very well. I was in Clairfontaine with him so I
know he is a very good player. He has had a lot of injuries, but he is a
very good player so we have to be careful about him as well."

The midfielder played at St James' Park twice during his three-year spell
with Wigan Athletic, but did not finish on the winning side on either
occasion. In October 2010, the Magpies and Latics drew 2-2, while in October
2011 France international Yohan Cabaye netted the only goal in a 1-0
Newcastle victory.
Diame's ability to speak French may come in useful when it comes to
attacking and defending set pieces, as he will be able to understand the
likes of Ba, Cisse, Ben Arfa and Cabaye should they choose to communicate in
their native language. However, the Senegal midfielder played down any
potential advantage his linguistic skills may give the Hammers on the pitch.
"Football is the same in any language, whether it is English or French. We
are just going to go there and try to replicate the game we played against
Manchester City. These are the games I enjoy and I am sure it will be the
same for Andy [Carroll] and Nobby (Kevin Nolan) as well. It is going to be a
good game and we are going to enjoy it and hopefully get the three points."

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Lee fires U18s to victory
WHUFC.com
West Ham United beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Barclays U18 Premier League on
Saturday
10.11.2012

West Ham United ended a four-match winless run by scoring an impressive 2-0
Barclays U18 Premier League Group 1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday. Having
taken the lead through an own-goal from a Gunners player, striker Elliot Lee
netted his fourth goal in five youth-team matches this season to complete a
fine win at Little Heath. Perhaps just as pleasing for the coaching staff
was the fact that the Hammers kept their second clean sheet in eleven league
matches this term. West Ham also gained revenge for the 3-0 defeat they
suffered in the reverse fixture at Arsenal in September. Academy Director
Tony Carr MBE was justifiably pleased with the team's efforts, saying: "It
was a good performance and I thought we just about edged it and deserved our
win. We created some good chances and got our goals at good times."

Lee was partnered in attack by Walter Figueira (pictured), a 17-year-old
forward on trial from Chelsea. The West Ham youngsters will return to action
next Saturday, when they travel to West Bromwich Albion.

U18s: Baxter, Alexander, Page, Nasha, Harney, Cullen (Onnariase), Bywater,
Miles (Sadiler), Mavila, E.Lee (Boakye-Yiadom), Figueira

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Newcastle United v West Ham United
KUMb.com
Filed: Sunday, 11th November 2012
By: Preview Percy

Next we make the looooong trek north to Newcastle Upon Tyne for a match
moved to Sunday due to the Magpies' involvement in the poisoned chalice that
is the Europa League. Kick-off is at 3pm and those of you who are staying up
there on the Saturday night (or arriving early enough on the Sunday) might
care to pay a visit to Eldon Square in the city centre where the people of
Newcastle will be gathering from 10.30am to commemorate Remembrance Sunday.

I suspect that the club will also be marking the day with an appropriate
ceremony at St James's Park. If I have one piece of advice to offer it is
that, if you are one of those who tends to arrive just before kick-off, have
a think before starting a chant just outside the ground or in the communal
areas outside the pitch viewing area at about 3pm.

Our hosts currently sit in 10th place, one point and one place behind our
good selves with 14 points from the 10 games played thus far. At home
they've won 3 (Spurs 2-1 (tee hee), Norwich 1-0 and West Brom 2-1), drawn 1
(1-1 with Villa) and lost just the one (3-0 to Man Utd). On the road they've
lost just the once (2-0 at Chelsea) picking up draws at Everton and Reading
(both 2-2) and Sunderland and Liverpool (both 1-1). So, overall, a pretty
solid start to the season, not to dissimilar to our own then.

The club is owned by Mike Ashley, a man who made – and continues to make –
his fortune by becoming the gentlemen's outfitter of choice to Millwall and
Spurs fans. Since buying the club in 2007 his popularity has gone up and
down like the lines on the graph produced by that machine they have me wired
up to here at the Avram Grant Home for The Bewildered. It is said that on
purchasing the club Ashley failed to complete a due diligence process
(accountant-speak for having a proper look at the books) and that, as a
result, was a bit shocked to find that he would have to pump in another
£100m just to keep the club from ruin.

One of his early moves that gained favour with the Geordies was to replace
the unpopular manager – some chap called Allardyce – with Kevin Keegan. This
was a move destined to end in tears, partly due to Keegan's limited tactical
nous, but mainly thanks to the ludicrous idea of appointing the thick as two
short planks Dennis Wise as "Director of Football". Players arrived and
departed with barely a passing nod in Keegan's direction and the former
England boss eventually quit, citing interference from Wise as the reason.
Wise, who seemed to spend more time watching Chelsea than he did on Tyneside
eventually left himself a few months later.

Another move that annoyed the locals was the sacking of Chris Hughton a
couple of years ago. Hughton – who gained a lot of respect over the
dignified way in which he'd carried himself both during and after his tenure
at SJP- was replaced in 2010 by Alan Pardew. The kumb.com legal team (a full
time organisation whose sole job is to edit this column each week) have been
through what I have written about Mr Pardew and, following extensive use of
the blue pencil, the following remains: Alan Pardew managed West Ham United
between 2003-2006.

On the pitch Pardew has plumped for Dutchman Tim Krul in goal. Krul now has
the Magpies' no.1 shirt with second choice custodian Steve Harper being
allotted the coveted no.37 top. Harper hasn't been the luckiest of chaps,
having had to play second fiddle for years to Shay Given for both club and
country and he's picked up injuries at crucial stages in his career, often
just at the point when an extended run in the first XI looks likely. Krul,
on the other hand, is now regarded as first choice for both Newcastle and
the Netherlands. In the Netherlands he's picked up the nickname "Bakkers
Handen" which translates as "Bakers' Hands". Those wacky Dutch eh?!

In front of Krul there will be absentees from the usual first choice
defence. My good Geordie friend, Preview Alastair, informs me from his cot
in the Joe Kinnear Centre For Tourettes Research that James Perch, who has
also been employed in midfield on occasion, is likely to miss out with the
knock he picked up against the mickeys last weekend. Nicknamed "Perchinhio"
by some – possibly more in irony than admiration – he holds the record for
being the first player to reach five cautions (and therefore an automatic
suspension) over the first five games of a Premier League season.

Another who will be missing is skipper Fabricio Coloccini, who will be
entering the first of a three match suspension having kicked out at Luis
Suarez. There must surely be some scope for a change in the laws of the game
to allow players to kick lumps out of the likes of Suarez, Kebe, Terry etc
without fear of reprisal from over-zealous referees (or in this case
linesmen). In fact there ought to be some sort of prize fund for doing so.
They have a song about Coloccini up there. It suggests that his reputation
on Tyneside is such that most male Geordies would allow him to engage in
sexual relations with their spouses and that, in his honour, they would also
like to have curly hair. A most amusing chant. If only we'd thought of it
all those years ago when Christian Dailly was on our books eh?!

Steven Taylor is likely to appear in central defence where he will come up
against Andy Carroll. This might be an interesting part of the ground to
keep an eye on both on and off the ball as there is what you might call a
spot of "history". This dates back to when the two were team, well mates
probably isn't quite the correct word to use. It seems that there was some
sort of "altercation" between the pair – Preview Alastair mentioned an
exchange of text messages regarding a mutually-admired member of the
opposite sex which led to fisticuffs. Taylor ended up with a broken jaw
whilst Carroll's hands also sustained some damage. It'll be interesting to
see if time and distance have mellowed the relationship between the two.

Midfielder Cheik Tiote is also out thanks to suspension following his
sending off at Sunderland, although Yohan Cabaye appears to have recovered
from a knock picked up at Anfield.

Hatem Ben Arfa seems to have settled down a bit. Whilst in France he had a
bit of a reputation for being "difficult" to work with and his history is
littered with mention of the word "bust-up". Many players will get involved
in the odd training ground incident at some stage in their careers. Howeve,
few can have required separating from a team-mate on the pitch during a
pre-match warm-up as happened a few years ago. He also once refused to
warm-up from the bench, an incident that predated the phrase "doing a Tevez"
by a couple of years. Ben Arfa is happily recovered from the shocking tackle
from Nigel De Jong that broke his leg a few seasons ago. The tackle was so
awful that the Dutch national team dropped De Jong for disciplinary reasons
as a result. Would that our own FA had acted in similar fashion with John
Terry.

Up front we'll be reunited with Dember Ba who spent a few months with us
during the relegation season. Unfortunately for us he wasn't 100% match fit
at the start of his spell with us and by the time he hit form it was
probably too late. The relegation clause in his contract, without which he
wouldn't have signed in the first place, meant that he was offski at the end
of the season, pitching up at Newcastle where he's been sticking them away
in spectacular style. He's their top scorer this season but, more amusingly,
he's also second top scorer for Sunderland having put away an OG of a
Dowie-like nature up there a few weeks ago.

Also available up front is one of the 462 players in the league with the
surname "Cisse". Papiss (make your own jokes up on that one) arrived last
term and, like his compatriot Ba, has a penchant for the spectacular goal,
his effort against Chelsea last season being a prime example. Mind you, even
that was put in the shade by his effort against West Brom in which a Shammy
Ameobi effort was diverted into the net by, and there's no nice way of
putting this, his arse. If only we'd thought of that tactic while Neil
Ruddock was on the books.

Described by Preview Alastair as a "dick" there can only be one player in
contention for Crimewatch corner this week. Serial idiot Nile Ranger is
currently on the thinnest of thin ice with the Magpies' management who must
now be questioning the wisdom of giving the player a contract extension that
doesn't expire until 2016.

As a 15 year-old he did time in a Young Offender's Institution for his part
in armed muggings in North London. It will therefore come as little surprise
that Ranger is part of the legacy left behind by his fellow criminal Dennis
Wise, who brought the player to the club in 2008. The player's current
rap-sheet includes an arrest for an assault in 2011, a conviction for drunk
and disorderly behaviour earlier this year, a fine from the FA for
publishing homophobic tweets, various assorted assault charges, arrests for
breaching bail conditions relating to those various assorted assault charges
and, most recently, an arrest on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a
house in Enfield.

Newcastle have given the player a final written warning over his persistent
lateness for training – though how much attention he pays to this sort of
thing can be gauged by the fact that he even turned up late for a meeting
between him, the club and a representative from the PFA to discuss his
lateness. He's currently in the middle of a probation period requiring him
to turn up on time for six solid weeks before he'll be allowed to train with
the first team squad again. Even if he manages that, the chances of the
player keeping his nose clean for long enough to see him through to 2016
appear to be remote in extremis.

Our turn now. I enjoyed the overall performance last week which saw us pick
up a well-earned point. There were a few elements that caused concern mind,
particularly the frequency with which we ceded possession at times in the
second half. However, the main worry has to be the burgeoning injury list
that we seem to be developing at the moment. There are doubts about both
Tomkins (groin) and Collins (hamstring). It is to be hoped that one of those
two will be fit to line up alongside Reid, who would seem to be the only fit
central defender at in the squad at the moment. Fitness tests are due on
Saturday so by the time you read this you may have more idea than I have as
to their availability.

On the brighter side Guy Demel may be back following a hernia problem,
though Matt Taylor is still out. Other than that the usual suspects are
still unavailable.

SJP has not been the happiest of hunting grounds in recent seasons. There
are, however, a few things in our favour this time round. The injuries and
suspensions they have are in key areas and they did of course play the other
night, though there will obviously be changes from the line-up that drew 2-2
in Belgium. Against that we need to add the Nolan/Carroll factor into the
equation. I can't imagine much affecting Nolan up there – indeed if he gets
stick from the crowd he'll probably thrive on it. However, by all accounts
Carroll had an awful day up there with Liverpool last season and he'll need
to concentrate on the task in hand.

With us having our own potential absentees in defence I reckon that this one
will end up with honours even. The contents of the collection we took up for
the Joe Kinnear Centre For Tourette's Research (£2.50) will therefore be
winging its way towards Mr Winstone with the instruction that it be wagered
in full on a 2-2 draw.

Enjoy the game!


When Last We Met: Lost 0-5, January 2011. An abject performance gifted the
opposition five goals as Best (3), Lovenkrands and Nolan enabled the home
side to stroll to all three points. Our performance was so poor that Mike
Dean didn't have to bother helping them.

Danger Man: Demba Ba. Likely to be fit not only does he have a habit of
scoring rather special goals, he will also have that unwritten rule about
players scoring against former clubs on his side. Over to you Mr Carroll and
Mr Nolan.

Referee: Mike Dean. Along with his fellow "Mike" Jones, Dean is the least
trustworthy of a group of officials who consider themselves to be bigger
than the game. Regarded as the best referee in the country. By Mike Dean.

Daft Fact Of the Week: Following his recent heroics, asked whether he'd be
attending this match as the guest of the Hammers away fans, space-diver
Felix Baumgartner replied: "The away section at Newcastle? No chance. You're
not getting me up there".


Stat man John: Northcutt's corner

Head to Head
Pld 121; West Ham Utd 37, Newcastle Utd 49, Draws 35.

First Meeting
1st February 1908: Newcastle Utd 2-0 West Ham Utd (St James' Park, FA Cup)

Last Meeting
5th January 2011: Newcastle Utd 5-0 West Ham Utd (St James' Park, Premier
League)

Biggest Win(s)
21st April 1986: West Ham Utd 8-1 Newcastle Utd (Boleyn Ground, Division
One)

Heaviest Defeat(s)
5th January 2011: Newcastle Utd 5-0 West Ham Utd (St James' Park, Premier
League)

Memorable Match
21st April 1986: West Ham Utd 8-1 Newcastle Utd (Boleyn Ground, Division
One)

With just six games of the 1985/86 season remaining, John Lyall's West Ham
were sitting third in the Canon League Division One. The Geordies were
having a fairly decent campaign themselves so there were few signs of the
annihilation that was to follow as West Ham equalled their record number of
goals scored in the top flight. What was even more notable was the fact that
centre half Alvin Martin scored not only a hat-trick, but a hat-trick
against three different goalkeepers.

Martin opened the scoring after just three minutes when he converted Alan
Devonshire's free kick from close range. Further goals were added ahead of
the break by Ray Stewart, Neil Orr and Newcastle's Glenn Roeder, who was
left red faced when scoring a peach of an own goal. Newcastle goalkeeper
Martin Thomas, who had carried an injury into the game, was replaced at half
time by midfielder Chris Hedworth as reserve 'keeper David McKellar was also
injured. There was little Hedworth could do to stop Martin's crashing header
hitting the back of the net on 64 minutes; minutes later he returned to play
on field with Peter Beardsley now having a go between the sticks. The
England striker fared little better than either of his predecessors and
after Paul Goddard and Frank McAvennie had added goals six (81 mins) and
seven (83 mins), Beardsley was left to face Martin from the penalty spot (84
mins). Martin stepped up confidently before sending his international team
mate the wrong way to complete yet another unique West Ham United
achievement.

Early Bath
1992-93: Julian Dicks (A); 1993-94: Jeroen Boere (A); 1995-96 Steve Potts
(A); 2005-06: Paul Konchesky (A, Rescinded)

They Played For Both
Demba Ba; Lee Bowyer; Franz Carr; Les Ferdinand; John Dowsey; Keiron Dyer;
Paul Goddard; Marlon Harewood; Shaka Hislop; James Jackson; Vic Keeble; Matt
Kingsley; Paul Kitson; Robert Lee; Joe Loughlin; Scott Parker; Stuart
Pearce; Abdoulaye Faye; Wayne Quinn; Bryan Robson; George Robson; Keith
Robson; Harold Smith; Nobby Solano; David Terrier; David Kelly; Andy
Carroll; Kevin Nolan.

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The Julian Dicks Column: 9th November
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 10th November 2012
By: Julian Dicks

It's with great pleasure that we welcome West Ham United FC legend Julian
Dicks to KUMB.com. Julian shares his thoughts with the readers of Knees up
Mother Brown on a regular basis via his weekly column, the latest of which
begins a review of last weekend's goalless draw against the reigning league
champions...

City

It was a good result for West Ham last weekend. If you'd have said before
the game that we'd get a point out of it, I think everyone would have been
happy.

Kevin Nolan's goal, as we now know, was onside. It was a split decision; you
can look upon replay after replay and it's still tight. The officials have
got a hard enough job as it is and we all make mistakes; unfortunately it
went against us.

But City had some good chances - Mario Balotelli had two or three and Gareth
Barry had one as well - so overall the point was a decent point for West
Ham.

Captain Kev

As captain Kevin Nolan has contributed well for his goals - even though I'd
like to see him work a bit harder. But Sam's brought him in to do a job
which is scoring goals, which he's done - some important goals as well. If
you take his goals away then you might have an argument, but he's scoring
goals and that's what you want from him.

He's always gambling beyond the strikers and he's always in the right place
at the right time. He scores his goals so if he keeps doing that, you
persevere with it.

In the games I've watched he's not been far behind Andy Carroll and it looks
like we're playing 4-4-1-1 when he sits in there. But the good thing for me
is that when the ball goes into Andy Carroll, Kevin gambles. He does it all
the time. I used to try and get my players to do that at Grays but they
couldn't grasp it - but he does it naturally.

You have to give and take with him. Kevin's an intelligent footballer and he
has an understanding where that ball is going to go. He doesn't get it right
all the time - he might only guess right 50 per cent of the time - but he's
popped up to scores some very important goals, both this and last season.

Big Andy

So Roy Hodgson has dropped Andy Carroll from the England squad. Friendlies
don't really matter but when it comes to the European Championship in the
qualifiers you would expect Andy to be in the squad. He hasn't long been
back from his injury so Roy's probably given him an extra week or two to get
over his injury, but I'm sure if you spoke to Andy Carroll he'd want to
play. Still, West Ham's more important than England.

I don't know Andy but to me he looks a character and I suspect it doesn't
bother him too much. He contributes so much to the game and was different
class against Manchester City. He didn't score but there's more to him than
scoring goals. As a striker you want to score goals, but you have to look at
everything he brings to the game.

Andy quite often takes two or three defenders with him. That didn't use to
happen with us at West Ham because we had belief in the centre backs we
played with. I played with Alvin [Martin] who was quality in the air and
Galey, who wasn't the best in the air, but he could read the game
brilliantly. Then there's Rio [Ferdinand], Slav[en Bilic] and Marc Rieper;
they could all do a job.

Square pegs in round holes

Sam Allardyce could be short at the back this weekend and may be forced to
play one of his full backs at centre half. When I played, it wasn't
difficult for me as I was very good in the air for my height - which you
have to be because when you're a centre back, most things come down the
middle!

As a centre back, you have to be comfortable on the ball but at the end of
the day if that's all he's got he'll have to play them there, they'll have
to go and do the best job they can. It's fairly easy to adapt, it's not as
if you've gone from centre forward to centre back or left wing to defence.
If you play at left back you should be able to play as a left-sided centre
half; it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Carlitos

Carlos Tevez received a warm welcome last weekend. I think it's great that
he getsa good reception when he comes back to Upton Park. When he was here
he gave everything he had for West Ham, so it was nice when the fans
applauded him as he was substituted. But it's weird; I think he concentrates
more on the supporters than he does the game!

Often now you see ex-players refuse to celebrate if they score - but for me
that's all b*llocks. If you score for Man City, as a Man City player you
should celebrate. The players say that's not acceptable now but that's total
crap. When Tevez was substituted, he clapped the West Ham fans before the
Man City fans - and if I was a City supporter, that would have pissed me
off! It's nice and everything, but I think he needs to concentrate more on
playing for Man City than getting plaudits from West Ham fans.

Coming Home

I had a fantastic experience when I came back to West Ham with Liverpool,
although I didn't get taken off! Before the game the fans sang my name and
clapped, so I clapped them back which was fine. But I was a Liverpool player
and when we scored - we won 2-1 that day - I celebrated.

At the end of the day I did everything I could for the club and if you get
sold, you get sold - although perhaps it's different with people like Paul
Ince! I didn't slag the club off when I left; when people do that and come
back of course they're going to get abuse.

That's all any supporter at any club wants, to see their players giving
everything they have. Certain players, when they're playing for a different
club? Yeah, they're going to boo you. But as long as you do everything for
the club you're at you can hold your hands up and say "yeah, I gave my best
and that's it".

Julian Dicks was talking to Graeme Howlett.

* Julian is currently available to coach both junior and senior football
teams. For more details, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JULIAN3DICKS.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists he has improved every club he has worked
for
Last Updated: November 10, 2012 12:58pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists he has improved every club he has worked
for as he prepares to take on former club Newcastle on Sunday. Allardyce was
fired from St James' Park in January 2008 - with the Magpies 11th in the
Premier League - after Mike Ashley had taken over the club the year before.
He subsequently went on to manage Blackburn, where he was also sacked in
December 2010 by new owners Venky's, before taking over at Upton Park and
leading them to promotion last term and a present ninth position in the
table, a point ahead of the Magpies. Defending his record, Allardyce told
the Daily Telegraph: "Ask the people who worked with me. I evolved the type
of football that they liked. The players who worked with me enjoyed the
journey that we took. "Every club of mine finished in a better position when
I left than when I took over. "The yardstick of a manager's success tends to
be, 'What have you won?' You can't measure mine like that. "Each club,
whether it was Limerick, Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Newcastle,
Blackburn or West Ham, I improved.
"It's not me blowing my trumpet, it's a fact. Look at it another way. Every
one of my former clubs has been relegated since. Is that a better
measurement?"

Harm career

Allardyce denied the sackings had affected his confidence but they had
harmed his career. "No (it didn't affect his confidence), because I didn't
deserve to be sacked from either of those positions," he said. "But it does
harm your career. Clearly West Ham are a bigger and better club than
Blackburn Rovers,but I had to take them while they were still in the
Championship." He added: "When I lost my job at Newcastle, I remember a few
press lads asking, 'Are you going to drop down to come back up again?' "I
said, 'Am I what? I'm one of the longest-serving Premier League managers
around and you're saying I should drop down to the Championship? Have you
seen my CV?' "It shows you how people forget in this game and how, over
time, they can lose the reality of what you have done."

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West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame is aware of Newcastle's attacking threat
Last Updated: November 10, 2012 7:09pm
SSN

Mohamed Diame knows it will be difficult for West Ham to contain the likes
of Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba but is determined to pick up three points
against Newcastle. Diame, 25, has impressed for West Ham since moving to
Upton Park in the summer from Wigan as Sam Allardyce's side have defied the
odds to sit ninth in the table. Newcastle are one point and one place below
the Hammers in the standings and Diame wants to utilise his knowledge of his
Senegal team-mates to help towards a win on Sunday. "After the game against
Wigan, I think we needed to have this reaction against Manchester City. We
did it, so now we have to maintain that and take the three points from
Newcastle," he told the club's official website. "There are a lot of fans
there and it is a big stadium. I have some friends there, both Senegalese
and Frenchmen, so it's going to be a good game. "I know Demba and Papiss
very well and I also know that they have scored a lot of goals. We have to
make sure we don't give them a lot of chances to score. "They are different
players, but they both work every day in front of the goal and are strikers
who know how to score, so we have to try to restrict their chances."

Midfielder Diame has also spent time playing alongside Newcastle playmaker
Hatem Ben Arfa . "I was in Clairefontaine with him so I know he is a very
good player," he said. "He has had a lot of injuries, but he is a very good
player so we have to be careful about him as well." Diame pinpointed the
performance against Manchester City in the goalless draw at Upton Park last
weekend as a yard-stick for the challenge ahead on Tyneside. "We are just
going to go there and try to replicate the game we played against Manchester
City," he said. "These are the games I enjoy and I am sure it will be the
same for Andy (Carroll) and Kevin Nolan as well. It is going to be a good
game and we are going to enjoy it and hopefully get the three points."

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Nolan: I saved Andy's career
The Sun
By ROSS GREGORY
Published: 10th November 2012

KEVIN NOLAN believes that he played a major role in helping save Andy
Carroll's career. Now the West Ham ace hopes the talented striker — and chef
— can silence the Newcastle boo-boys on his return to St James' today.
Carroll, 23, was suffering a nightmare spell away from football two years
ago after being charged with assaulting his former girlfriend Laurie
Henderson. The charges were later dropped. This was just months after the
England forward pleaded guilty to a separate assault charge following an
incident at a Newcastle nightclub when he was fined £1,000. As part of the
initial bail condition Carroll was ordered to live with Nolan, who was then
Newcastle's club captain. Nolan jokes that he was the only one stupid enough
to take in Carroll but is glad he did after he emerged as superb cook and
made sure he was well fed while his missus was away in Liverpool. The
midfielder said: "At Newcastle, if something goes on, it gets exploded 10
times and with Andy, it was magnified 1,000 times. "He was on assault
charges but that sort of died quite quickly afterwards and all the charges
put up against him were suddenly dropped. "It was because he's 6ft 5in, he's
got long hair, he stands out in a crowd. I knew he just had to keep himself
out of those situations, and since then he's learnt so much. He's been to
Liverpool where he lived on his own with his girlfriend. "There is a
different lad standing there in that dressing room now. There's a man there
now who can look after himself. You'd have to ask Andy if I've had an
influence on that, of course I'm going to say 'yeah!' "Obviously, he was a
friend of ours and needed somewhere to stay. It wasn't for too long and my
missus was down in Liverpool for quite a lot of the time. We were just like
room-mates. "He's a good fella, he cooked a couple of times and he was quite
handy in the kitchen. He made pasta with tomato, chicken and all that type
of stuff. It was actually nice. "I think the club chose me because I was big
mates with Andy and I was captain. Plus I was probably the only one stupid
enough to let him stay!"

Nolan, 30, is also relishing the chance to make his first appearance back at
St James' Park since leaving the club in June 2011. The former Toon captain
became a fans' favourite after a superb run which saw him score 30 goals
from midfield in his 2½-year spell. He admits he never asked to leave but
the offer he was given by the Newcastle board was taken away from him. Nolan
added: "They told me 'we can sort all you want at the end of the season.'
Then two weeks before the end that offer went off the table. "I was on
holiday and must admit it ruined it. Me and my wife were going through a bad
time because she didn't want to move, she loved it in Newcastle. "We were
settled, had the kids in school, but that's just part of football. "I knew
that down here I could succeed. I knew Big Sam had come here and I thought
'yeah, let's make it happen'. I was only too pleased to answer the call. "It
was just the way everything went — how both chairmen really got behind the
move and how much they wanted me to join. I'm thankful I made that choice
because it's been a fantastic 17 months.
"But, as I say, no hard feelings. I'm delighted to be here now — and I had a
fantastic time there. "It was the best for both parties and I left shaking
hands with everyone. "I'm looking forward to going back and saying goodbye,
because I didn't get a chance to thank a lot of people who made my stay up
there really great."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes Nolan is the best signing he has
ever made and cannot understand why he has not played for England. The West
Ham skipper revealed: "Obviously when you see 31-year-old Leon Osman getting
the call-up, it sort of does tell you to not give up hope, but I don't
really know much more I could do to be honest. "I've scored goals
consistently now for a number of years — and yeah I dropped out of the
division but I consistently scored goals down there too. "Jay Bothroyd got a
call-up from being in the Championship and scoring goals, so I don't really
know what more I can do. "All I'll say is that I was born in an era where
we've had probably the best midfielders England have ever had in terms of
goal scoring. "It does hurt I haven't got the call but it's something I've
got to live with — I'm a big boy. "I spoke to one of the managers after he
got the sack. He said if he'd known the type of impact and everything I was
about BEFORE he was England manager, he would have called me up. "That was
nice to hear but then I sort of wanted to strangle him as well!"

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Collison on track
Published: 10th November 2012
The Sun

JACK COLLISON has given West Ham a massive boost by targeting a return at
Christmas. The Wales midfielder has been out all season with a chronic knee
problem which was aggravated during the Hammers' play-off push last season.
But he said: "I'm back training so hopefully around Christmas I should be
back in the mix." Collison, 24, was instrumental in getting West Ham back in
the Prem. He added: "I could hardly move during the play-off final but it
was a great day and West Ham are back where they belong."

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Change of Toon: Andy Carroll has grown up from the boy I 'saved', says Kevin
Nolan
The Mirror
10 Nov 2012 22:30
Matthew Lewis

Kevin Nolan has described the major role he played in salvaging Andy
Carroll's career. The pair are together at West Ham but it is while they
were team-mates at Newcastle that Nolan had such an impact on ­Carroll's
life. The big striker courted trouble and two years ago was ordered to stay
with Nolan – then Newcastle captain – while he was on bail for assualt
charges. Charges were later dropped and Nolan described how he and the
Newcastle backroom staff helped Carroll turn his life around. He said: "Did
I help to save his career? You can write that. When something happens in
Newcastle, it gets exploded 10 times. With Andy it is blown up even more.
"He needed somewhere to stay. He was in a hotel so I cleared it with the
missus and it was OK. He was a good fella and not a bad cook... pasta and
things like that. Why me? Because I was captain at the time and probably the
only one stupid enough to let him stay. I spoke to him and so did ­manager
Chris Hughton and the assistant Colin Calderwood. "But he was in trouble
really because it was him. He is 6ft 5in tall with long hair and he stands
out in a crowd. "He was brilliant for Newcastle and everything he did was
magnified 1,000 times. He knew he had to stay out of situations and he went
to Liverpool to stay with his girlfriend."

While Carroll was staying with Nolan his Range Rover, parked in Nolan's
driveway, was set on fire to compound their problems. West Ham reunited the
duo by signing Carroll on loan from ­Liverpool and Nolan insisted: "There is
a different lad standing there now from what he was when I first went into
Newcastle.
"He was just 19 then but there is a different man in the dressing room now
who can look after ­himself and do the right things."

Both Nolan and Carroll left the Toon without asking for transfers. Nolan's
contract talks had failed and he resumed a partnership with Sam Allardyce
that had been so productive at Bolton. Carroll was moved on when ­Liverpool
made a £35 million offer that Newcastle couldn't refuse. So will they get
abuse this afternoon when they return? "I'm hoping for a good ­reception,"
said Nolan optimistically. "I have a lot of friends there. I didn't think I
would ever leave. My wife didn't want to move. But I wanted to take the
chance to work with the gaffer again. "He gave me my chance. It hurt him
when he had to leave Newcastle but I knew he would bounce back. When I got
the chance to work with him again, it was a no-brainer." If Carroll scores
his first goal for West Ham, it is unlikely he will celebrate. Nolan, for
sure, will show restraint saying: "No, I won't ­celebrate out of respect."
One honour still to elude Nolan is an England cap. "That hurts," said the
30-year-old. "Maybe it will still come. "My son thinks I am 'Daddy West
Ham'. It would be nice for him to say 'Daddy England'."

Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew maintains the Magpies haven't missed
Andy Carroll thanks to Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.

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West Ham's Kevin Nolan: I deserve England call-up
Goal.com
11 Nov 2012 08:50:00
By Rhys Turrell

West Ham United captain Kevin Nolan believes he deserves the chance to
represent his country and show what he can do at international level.
Despite a long career in the top flight with Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle
United and the Hammers, Nolan is yet to receive any national team honours.
And after 31-year-old Everton midfielder Leon Osman received a surprise
call-up to Roy Hodgson's Three Lions set-up for the friendly against Sweden
on Wednesday, there remains a chance that the West Ham midfielder could be
considered in upcoming games, although Nolan remains philosophical about his
prospects. "It does hurt I haven't got one [England cap] I must admit, and
it does hurt a bit, but it is something I have got to live with and I'm a
big boy," the 30-year-old Liverpudlian told reporters. "I don't know what
more I can do to be quite honest. I've scored goals consistently for a
number of years, I dropped down a division but consistently scored goals
down there. "I think I have at least deserved a call-up and a chance to
prove myself at that level."

Nolan has been in impressive form for his club following their return to
England's top flight this season. Under the management of Sam Allardyce -
with whom Nolan enjoyed a lengthy and successful association at Bolton - the
Upton Park club have adapted to life in the Premier League far better than
fellow promoted sides Southampton and Reading. The Hammers currently sit
ninth in the table ahead of their visit to another of Nolan's former clubs,
Newcastle, on Sunday.

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