Daily WHUFC News - 3rd December 2012

Hammers to host Red Devils in FA Cup
WHUFC.com
West Ham United will take on Manchester United in the FA Cup third round in
early January
02.12.2012

West Ham United will host Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. The
tie will be played over the weekend of 5/6 January 2013. The Hammers have
won the FA Cup three times in their history, in 1964, 1975 and 1980, and
were runners-up in 1923 and 2006. Manchester United have won the competition
a record eleven times, lifting the trophy in 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983,
1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004. West Ham met the Red Devils as
recently as last Wednesday evening, when Robin van Persie's deflected
first-minute strike gave Sir Alex Ferguson's men a narrow 1-0 Barclays
Premier League victory at Old Trafford. The Hammers have met Manchester
United seven times previously in the FA Cup, with the east London club
coming out on top on four occasions.
The first-ever meeting between the two clubs was an FA Cup third-round tie
played on 25 February 1911, when Danny Shea and Thomas Caldwell scored in a
2-1 Hammers victory. West Ham also famously beat Manchester United 3-1 in a
semi-final at Hillsborough on 14 May 1964, when Ronnie Boyce (two) and Geoff
Hurst got the goals. Manchester United tasted victory at home in the third
round in January 1983 and the sixth round in March 1985. More recently, West
Ham won a fifth-round replay at Old Trafford in March 1986, while Paolo Di
Canio netted an unforgettable winner at Old Trafford in the fourth round on
28 January 2001. The Red Devils gained revenge two years later, when they
won a fourth-round meeting 6-0 at Old Trafford.

Ticket details will be published on whufc.com as soon as they are confirmed.

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Man of the Mo-ment
WHUFC.com
Mohamed Diame produced an immense performance to inspire West Ham United to
victory over Chelsea
02.12.2012

A huge beaming smile shone out from Mohamed Diame's face as he spoke about
West Ham United's magnificent victory over Chelsea. The midfielder, who made
a massive impact after coming on as a substitute at half-time, helped Sam
Allardyce's men to hit back after the Blues had taken the lead in the first
half through Juan Mata. After Carlton Cole scored his first goal of the
season to level, it was then Diame who put the Hammers in front after he met
a sliding pass from the striker and struck the ball into the back of the
net. Fellow substitute Modibo Maiga then scored West Ham's third to seal a
famous victory. For Diame, who made an immediate mark as soon as he was on
the pitch, it was a great feeling to not only score but win against the
reigning European champions. Smiling broadly, the No21 said: "I was very
happy to score, but also to help the team to come back from a goal behind
and then go on to win the game. "The three points, especially against a team
like Chelsea, was a very good for us and we are very happy. The result keeps
us in the top half of the table, which is good, and it was a wonderful
feeling to win this game, a London derby, in front of our fans at home. "Our
fans were unbelievable again. They were behind us, always pushing us and I
am glad for them we won this big London derby game."

Such was the devastation Diame caused to Rafa Benitez's team when he came on
to the pitch that many asked why the Senegal midfielder had not started the
match. However, Diame explained that it was a decision by manager Sam
Allardyce that he was happy with and that it had worked well. "I was feeling
the effects from the last few games. The last couple of games have been
close together this week and so the gaffer decided to rest me a bit and put
me on the bench. I felt this was good and I would benefit from this, because
I had my energy back again when I came on."

Diame said Big Sam had given him simple instructions when he went on
alongside fellow team-mate Matt Taylor at half-time. "The gaffer asked me to
get on the pitch to do my best and to try to drive the ball forward and help
create more opportunities for our team. He said to me just to go and make
something happen, to help with the attack, to help us as a team to have more
confidence to attack Chelsea, which we did. We came together to do that in
the second half.
"I tried to get in everywhere to do something, make things happen and we did
that and think we deserved our victory over Chelsea."

Diame said confidence is high after victory over the UEFA Champions League
winners and that the team want to take this into the next match against
Liverpool at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. "We have a lot of confidence and
we worked hard, the two defeats [against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester
United] didn't affect us in a negative way, we just worked hard because we
know what we can do. This result gives us a lot and we must take that into
when we play Liverpool in the next match."

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'It's a massive win for us'
WHUFC.com
Man of the match Carlton Cole bagged his first goal of the season in
Saturday's 3-1 victory over Chelsea
01.12.2012

Carlton Cole was crowned king of the Boleyn Ground as his stunning all-round
performance inspired West Ham United to a 3-1 Barclays Premier League
victory over Chelsea. The former Blues striker returned to the starting XI
to score one goal and make another as the Hammers scored their first win
over the Blues since May 2003. Cole was unplayable, winning headers and
free-kicks galore and holding the ball up with outstanding strength and
awareness. The No9 netted his first goal since the npower Championship
Play-Off final by outmuscling Branislav Ivanovic to equalise just after the
hour-mark. The man of the match then turned provider, chesting down a
throw-in before sliding the ball into the path of Mohamed Diame, who slammed
past Petr Cech. After Cole had been substitute Modibo Maiga with three
minutes remaining, his replacement smashed in the third in added-time. "With
my performance, I turned up today and obviously the result is the most
important thing - Even if we had won 1-0 today and I hadn't got on the
scoresheet, I'd still have been happy" Cole told West Ham TV. "We just
needed the points on the table and we produced today. "At the start of the
game, like any game, you've got to feel out the defenders and see what
they're all about. In the second half, we got a little more confident going
forward and I got a bit more support with Momo Diame coming on and Kevin
coming closer to me. "Obviously we had the service from Jarvo from the
left-hand side and Matty [Taylor] from the right-hand side and they were
linking up play really well. All the players did really well and you can't
knock anybody today. "It's a massive win for us. Forget the fact they are
UEFA Champions League winners - we just needed the points. We've just come
off two straight defeats. We were very unlucky at Old Trafford the other
night and we didn't turn up at Tottenham. We're self-critical in the
dressing room and we knew that we had to perform today and we did and we got
the result that we deserved."

Cole agreed that the introductions of Diame and Taylor at half-time had
changed the course of the game, allowing West Ham to bully their opponents
and wipe out Juan Mata's 13th-minute opener. "The changes made a difference
and that's what football is about. Sometimes it's about the formation and
the personnel and it suited us today and we were really on top of them and
everybody was happy with it."

The striker's outstanding performance was epitomised by his goal, which saw
him beat Ivanovic to the ball when Matt Jarvis's cross looped high into the
air off the head of Gary Cahill. "Yeah, I wanted to win the ball badly. The
referee could have given a free-kick but I think it was my day today. I've
had so many free-kicks given against me so it was about time I had one given
in my favour. The one today was a goal so I'm really happy about it."

With Andy Carroll set to be out of action for the next six weeks with a knee
ligament injury, Cole can expect to play an important role over the
Christmas and New Year period. "Andy is obviously a top-class player and
he's going to be sorely missed, but it gives me a chance to try to stake my
claim and make myself a nuisance up front the way he has been doing as well.
Hopefully I'll score some goals too. "My heart goes out to Andy and
hopefully he'll be back soon scoring goals as well."

Cole also said he would be staying away from eating with close friend and
regular dining partner Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole after Saturday's
victory. "Ash wants me to go over to his house but I'm not going. I'm
steering clear of him because he'd probably try and poison me or something!"

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FA Cup draw: Man Utd await
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 2nd December 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United will play Manchester United in the third round of the FA
Cup. Drawing the balls out of the pot on behalf of the FA today were
Tottenham's Ledley King and Fabrice Muamba. All ties are scheduled for the
weekend of 5th/6th January 2013.

Full draw as follows:

Crystal Palace v Stoke City
Brighton & Hove Albion v Newcastle Utd
Tottenham Hotspur v Coventry City
Wigan Athletic v AFC Bournemouth
Fulham v Blackpool
Aston Villa v Ipswich Town
Charlton Athletic v Huddersfield Town
Barrow or Macclesfield Town v Cardiff City
Barnsley v Burnley
Manchester City v Watford
Swansea City v Arsenal
Leicester City v Burton Albion
Millwall v Preston North End
Cheltenham Town or Hereford Utd v Everton
Derby County v Tranmere Rovers
Crawley Town v Reading
Aldershot Town v Rotherham Utd or Notts County
Middlesbrough v Harrogate Town or Hastings Utd
Accrington Stanley or Oxford Utd v Sheffield Utd
Southampton v Chelsea
Queens Park Rangers v West Bromwich Albion
Peterborough Utd v Norwich City
Lincoln City or Mansfield Town v Liverpool
Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland
Nottingham Forest v Oldham Athletic
West Ham Utd v Man Utd
Hull City v Alfreton Town or Leyton Orient
Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City
Leeds Utd v Birmingham City
Bury or Southend Utd v Bradford City or Brentford
Luton Town v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield Wednesday v MK Dons

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Benitez on.... West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 2nd December 2012
By: Staff Writer No.2

Chelsea's Interim Manager Rafa Benitez does his best to maintain his dignity
in the face of some tough questioning during the post-match press
conference, which, as usual, we bring to you in full....

Rafa: How do you explain being so in control of the game then letting it
slip like that?

As everybody has seen in the first half we could have scored two or three
goals and finished the game. We were totally different, we didn't do it in
the second half. We didn't start well, they were on top of us and we
couldn't manage. The first goal was a bit controversial and made a big
difference.

We had a reaction but we weren't in control. We were giving the ball away
easily and we were not comfortable in possession and they were pushing.

It's difficult to explain when you are so good in the first half how you
cannot manage in the second half.

You mentioned fitness yesterday. Is that part of it?

It's a bit of everything. You can physically control the second half easier
if you are 2-0 or 3-0 up. We didn't do that and we were suffering.

What do you have to do to turn it around?

The only way is to keep working in training sessions and to do the right
things. We have two games every week and it's not easy in terms of what you
can improve. We usually have a light training session before and a light
training session after.

We've been a little bit better in defence - we've kept two clean sheets and
today we've had a lot of chances so we've been a lot better in attack. But
now we've had this situation in defence so we'll have to improve again.

There seemed to be a lack of fighting spirit in the second half. West Ham
seemed to be more......

The kind of players that we have, sometimes they have to be in possession.
If you're not in possession physically you have to manage and be strong and
we didn't [today].

You haven't got those type of players then?

We have some of them. But we also have some players injured and they will
come back and give us another....character, something different, but we'll
still have to improve on the second half.

Some of the Chelsea fans were singing 'you're getting sacked in the
morning...

We know we have to win games to change things around.

Is part of you not worried that this just isn't going to work?

My concern is to improve the team, to recognise what is going wrong on the
pitch and to start winning games and to turn things around.

Do you fear for your job at this stage?

As I said before, the main thing for me is to improve the team. I don't
think about anything else.

Is it a tougher, more difficult challenge than perhaps you thought at first?

Could be, it's a top side, it's the middle of the season and obviously the
results were not the best. We will try to improve things - it will take some
time maybe. We will see.

What things are you doing that Robbie Di Matteo wasn't doing?

I know of the things they were doing but I know what we are trying to do, to
keep the balance...

Do you know what Robbie was doing?

Yes but I will not talk about these things here. We are working the defence,
trying to improve transitions and to create chances. The first half today,
the previous two games we had two clean sheets and as I said before we were
stronger in defence. Today we had a lot of chances so we were improving the
attack at the same time. They didn't have chances so we had the right
balance in the first half. In the second half we didn't start well and we
couldn't manage.

Do you feel that your title challenge could already be over? If Man Utd win
later on they could be ten points clear of you...

I don't want to think about the other teams. I will think about my next
game. Our next game in the Champions' League which we will try to win and
see what happens. And after we will think about the next one. You cannot be
watching the table every day when you know you have to improve things.

Ten points is a big gap...

Yeah but I have to concentrate on the next three [points].

When you're trying to come back in a game the chanting can't be helping the
players...

We have to improve on the pitch then the fans will be happy.

Do you fear that someplayers are affected by the negativity from the fans?
It does affect some professionals. Do you fear that your players pick up on
that? In the second half they didn't seem to have the fight to get back into
the game...

I'd hope that wouldn't be the situation. Why? Because we have experienced
players that have been playing at this level for a while so they know that
they have to manage and to cope with this.

Only three players went over to the crowd to show their appreciation at the
end of the game. Is that an indication that the players are worried about
facing the fans?

It's an indication of the disappointment that we had at losing the game.

Are you comfortable that you've got the support of the players?

After a week you can see how they train. They want to improve and they want
to win.

Rafa I know it does seem ridiculously early to be asking these questions but
when results are poor and the opposition from the fans is so obvious do you
not fear that it might not last very long, that you may not last out the
season?

Again I will say that it depends on the things we can do on the pitch. If we
improve on the pitch it will be easier for everyone.

So you are not 100% sure you can weather this?

We didn't win today. That is the main thing. We ran the first half. If we
could have done the same in the second half everybody is happy.

Did you ever think twice about taking the job given that you must have known
there would be some opposition?

I'm here because I wanted to be here.

So you didn't think twice?

I came in because it's a top side and you can compete for trophies.

Chelsea were a top side in March. Is it true that Chelsea approached you
when AVB was sacked?

I'm here after a defeat. This is the time to talk about the game.

You said you came to a top side, presumably they were a top side when AVB
left..

Again I will say that I'm not worried about the past. The future is to try
to improve the team and to try to win games.

Rafa: you seemed very unhappy with the equaliser - you had a long
conversation with the fourth official. Did you feel that that was unlucky
and that it changed the game a bit?

We could use some luck!

It must be disappointing when it changed the game?

I know that we didn't do well in the second half so I don't want to use any
excuse. But the first goal you can say that it was unlucky. If you want!

It was a foul wasn't it?

I will say "unlucky". [laughter]

Thank you.

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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce relaxed over contract situation
Last Updated: December 2, 2012 11:59am
SSN

Sam Allardyce says he is ready to discuss a new contract if and when West
Ham United's owners want to talk, but he will not force the issue. Allardyce
has just six months remaining on the two-year deal he signed at Upton Park
and would like to stay at the club beyond next summer and continue his good
work. He has already guided the Hammers to promotion last season and
established them in mid-table on their return to the Premier League, but he
knows the job is not yet done and is staying focused on securing survival.
Allardyce then hopes to be offered an extension but he is staying calm about
the situation, insisting that his managerial record is a great source of
confidence. "We will wait until we are safe and then see," he told The
People. "I've been in management 20 years and now my security is my CV." "I
am more than comfortable with that and although, of course, it's always
important to have a contract, to be in this situation at this stage of my
career is not such a desperate plight. "I've been in management 20 years and
now my security is my CV. My security is not looking for a big pay off -
it's knowing I have made a good impression on all the clubs I have been at.
"My enjoyment now is knowing I can turn a club round as quickly as I did at
West Ham. That gives me great confidence in my own ability and that is the
better line to take rather than getting hung up about contracts."

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Cole comfort
Published: 02nd December 2012
The Sun

CARLTON COLE admits he feels sorry for his former Chelsea team-mate Roberto
Di Matteo. Di Matteo was sacked as Chelsea boss last month just six months
after winning the Champions League and the FA Cup. Cole played with the
Italian midfielder at Stamford Bridge. He said: "It's been strange. I know
Robbie from my days at Chelsea. I know he's a nice guy. "I thought he did
extremely well and I wish him luck in whatever he does now because I know
he's a great manager. "He's done really well and won the Champions League
with Chelsea. His tactics were spot-on against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
"He did England proud by bringing the trophy back to this country. "Whatever
happens he did brilliantly because he won the Champions League - and not
many managers in the world can say that."

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