Daily WHUFC News - 10th December 2012

'We got caught cold'
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble admitted West Ham United had been 'naive' in allowing Liverpool
to come from behind to beat them
09.12.2012

Mark Noble admitted West Ham United had been 'naive' in surrendering the
lead in Sunday's 3-2 Barclays Premier League defeat by Liverpool. The No16
drew the Hammers level after fellow Academy graduate Glen Johnson had
smashed the Reds into an early lead. Steven Gerrard then netted an own-goal
to put West Ham 2-1 up shortly before half-time. The loss of Mohamed Diame
to a hamstring injury with 17 minutes remaining appeared to change the
course of the match, with Joe Cole putting Liverpool back on level terms
before James Collins' inadvertantly diverted Jordan Henderson's cross past a
helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen.
"We were in control for long periods of the game," said the Hammer of the
Year. "We were really comfortable - probably a little bit too comfortable.
You know that Liverpool are going to have a lot of the ball, because that's
the way Brendan [Rodgers] has sets up his team, but we were comfortable and
then got a bit naive in the end, I think. "Last week we were 2-1 up against
Chelsea and we went on and got the third goal and I think we probably hunted
for that a little bit too much and got caught cold."

Noble admitted the loss of Diame did play its part in Liverpool's victory.
"We obviously had our shape set up and we were comfortable. We knew what
everyone else's job was and then obviously he got injured and we had to
change it around a little bit and it chucked a spanner in the works. "They
managed to get a couple of goals, which was disappointing, but it shows you
how far we've come that we're sitting in the dressing room absolutely gutted
that we haven't beaten Liverpool. It shows you how far we've had as a team.
"We knew these games were going to be tough but we've come out of the last
eight games with the number of points we wanted to come out with so we can
push on now and look forward to the Christmas period and try to get more
points again."

Noble netted his 14th consecutive successful penalty, expertly placing the
ball past Pepe Reina into the bottom left-hand corner. Afterwards, the
midfielder said he was delighted to beat the Spaniard from 12 yards for the
second time, having scored a last-minute spot-kick against Liverpool at the
Boleyn Ground in January 2008. "To be honest, I took a penalty here against
him in the 93rd-minute and he went the right way that time and got close to
it that day as well! I saw him after the game and he said to me 'I'm gonna
get one soon!'. "Obviously if they go in the corner it's rare that the
'keeper saves them and I managed to hit the inside of the side-netting and
claw us back to 1-1."

Noble was not the only Academy graduate to hit the target, however, as West
Ham old boys Johnson and Cole also scored with fine efforts. "I was here
when Glen was here - I was only a kid - and we've all seen what a player
Johno is. He is probably the best right-back in England for me and he's been
doing that for a number of years now. Noble said that, while West Ham had
been left disappointed by their defeat, they had hit their points target so
far this season and would go to West Bromwich Albion hoping to pick up a
positive result next Sunday. "To be honest, we're disappointed and it shows
you how far we've come that we were 2-1 up against Liverpool and are
disappointed to have lost 3-2. We were in control and are sitting in the
dressing room gutted that we haven't got a result against Liverpool. "We
have been in every game at home. Against Arsenal, we were in it until about
70 minutes until they scored a couple of goals on the break. Today, we were
solid and gutted that Johno has put one in the top corner from 30 yards,
Joey has scored a good goal and Ginge has scored an own-goal. "We felt we
could get something out of the game and we haven't and now we have to move
on."

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Jussi nets SBOBET player prize
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen has been voted SBOBET Player of the Month for November
09.12.2012

Jussi Jaaskelainen has been voted as November's SBOBET Player of the Month
by users of whufc.com after gaining 33.1% of the vote. The former Finland
international started the month with an excellent display against Manchester
City, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw at the Boleyn Ground. The stopper
then followed it up with another clean sheet eight days later as runner-up
Kevin Nolan scored to give the Hammers a 1-0 win against Newcastle United.
An impressive display at home to Stoke City soon followed before another two
fantastic outings against Manchester United and Chelsea. November is the
first month in which captain Nolan has not been named as the SBOBET Player
of the Month, with the former Newcastle having to settle in second place
this time around. The midfielder received 22.4% of the vote and was as
inspirational as ever. November began in controversial circumstances as
Nolan saw a strike chalked off against City for offside. He was not to be
denied however as one week later as he diverted Joey O'Brien's shot past Tim
Krul for a 1-0 victory over Newcastle. Defender Winston Reid finished up in
third place with 17.9% of the vote just ahead of fourth place Mark Noble on
14%. Joey O'Brien was fifth after securing 8.9% of the vote following his
first-ever Barclays Premier League goal in the 1-1 draw with Stoke City.

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Loanee round-up
WHUFC.com
Five West Ham United loanees were in action for their respective clubs on
Saturday afternoon
09.12.2012

Five West Ham United players who are currently out on loan featured on
Saturday as Stephen Henderson, Rob Hall, Ravel Morrison, Dan Potts and Blair
Turgott all featured. Henderson was the man of the moment, keeping a clean
sheet as Ipswich Town ended Millwall's 13-game unbeaten run in spectacular
fashion. Two goals from DJ Campbell either side of half-time and Danny
Murphy strike gave the Tractor Boys a 3-0 npower Championship win, ending
Millwall's best run in over 41 years. Henderson was a standout performer for
Town, denying Andy Keogh, Liam Trotter and James Henry with a string of
impressive stops. Also in the Championship, Hall and Morrison both featured
for Birmingham City, with the former starting and the latter coming on as a
second half substitute as they lost 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at
Molineux. Hall, who has been in impressive form throughout the season,
started up front alongside Marlon King, who scored the only goal of the
game, but unfortunately it was at the wrong end.

The npower League One clash between Colchester United and Oldham Athletic
had an extra Hammers' twist as Potts lined up alongside Freddie Sears to
take on former Hammers Academy team-mate Cristian Montano. It was Montano
who took the glory as the Latics scored either side of half-time to take a
2-0 win.
Turgott came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Bradford City in their
npower League Two clash at home to Torquay United. The winger appeared with
the game still goalless as Bradford went on to win 1-0 courtesy of an Alan
Connelly goal with eight minutes remaining. Turgott will hope his impressive
showing will earn him a starting XI place when the Bantams take on Arsenal
in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night. To hear Turgott's
thoughts on that game, click here.

Declan Hunt was an unused substitute for Braintree Town in their 2-0 Blue
Square Bet Premier victory at Southport. Paul McCallum missed AFC
Wimbledon's 1-
1 League Two draw at Barnet through suspension.

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Retractable seats important to Olympic Stadium, says Ed Warner
BBC.co.uk

Retractable seating is key to the Olympic Stadium's success, according to UK
Athletics chairman Ed Warner. West Ham United were named on Wednesday as
preferred bidders to become the stadium's main tenant. Warner says
retractable seating will mean "a stadium that can be used 52 weeks a year"
between football, athletics and entertainment events. He said the seating
would "be very commercially viable for West Ham and the other users". But
Warner, who previously branded the planned timescale to reopen the Olympic
stadium between 2015 and 2016 "a farce", admits there is frustration for
athletics surrounding the delay. "They say the stadium will reopen in August
2015 at the earliest, which is a frustration for athletics because it takes
out the summer 2015 season," he said. "I guess that means West Ham could be
there for the 2015-16 season - but that all requires planning permission,
commercial agreements being put in place, it going out to tender and it
being built on time. "Let's hope it can get open for then because they could
possibly use it for a match at the Rugby World Cup, and that would open it
up for the 2016 summer athletics season, and we're desperate to get in
there."

Although work on transforming the Olympic Stadium into a multi-sports venue
is not scheduled to begin until next autumn, it has been suggested London's
2013 Diamond League meeting may be held at the venue, with the one-year
anniversary of the London 2012 opening ceremony falling on day two of the
meet. Mayor of London Boris Johnson says West Ham's market value would be
increased significantly by winning the 99-year lease and therefore any deal
rests on club owners David Sullivan and David Gold meeting the key
condition. With so much public money invested in the stadium - first to
build it and now to convert it for top-flight football - Johnson is
concerned that the taxpayer could be left out of pocket if the duo later
decided to sell the club on. Adding retractable seating and fully extending
the roof on the venue will cost between £130m and £150m, on top of the £429m
it cost to build the stadium for the Games. The vast majority of that
conversion money will come from a mix of public funding, including a £40m
loan from Newham Council, the local authority. For some time, there has been
concern over a shortfall in the funding, especially with West Ham only
willing to commit around £15m, but sources tell me that is now less of a
problem. But when building work does begin, Warner - who became the
inaugural chairman of UK Athletics in January 2007 - says the installation
of retractable seating "allows us to use the stadium for all the athletics
we need each summer, big rock concerts, and for a full football season".

He added all levels of athletics would benefit from the year-round use,
"whether you're a school kid, a masters, a Paralympic athlete [or] an elite
Olympic athlete". "At whatever level, you get a chance to compete in that
stadium each year," Warner told BBC Sportsweek. Other bids for the stadium's
future use had been made by League One side Leyton Orient, UCFB College of
Football Business and a consortium linked to Formula 1. And Warner sees no
negatives for athletics with West Ham potentially moving to the stadium - as
long as retractable seating is implemented. "Retractable seats can be moved
very quickly in a matter of days, over the track and back again," he added.
"If that can be put together, we will get a stadium that can be used 52
weeks a year and can be very commercially viable for West Ham and other
users."

Warner also admitted athletics alone could not help sustain the stadium,
though he is keen for the sport to play an important part. "We have lobbied
vociferously for the athletics track and for use of the stadium," he said.
"The difficulty we have is it's a very short window each summer when the
best athletes peak, and what we don't want to do is be accused for the next
99 years of being a burden on the public purse. "The solution we have come
up with allows the stadium to be used all year round and allows us to get
the right athletics in there." He also noted the lack of foresight has
caused problems for the Olympic Stadium. "If they designed in retractable
seats from the start, we wouldn't be where we are now," he said. The delays
have seen costs rise on a stadium which cost £431m to build, with the
funding provision largely remaining the same. Warner also admitted the delay
was partly due to the legal bids of Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient
surrounding the take over of the Olympic Stadium.

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West Ham: Olympic Stadium move needs successful team - Allardyce
BBC.co.uk

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has warned that a move to the Olympic Stadium
will not work without a successful team. The Hammers are considering
relocating from Upton Park and have been named as preferred Olympic Stadium
bidders. "There are years of good financial management needed as well as
success on the field," Allardyce said. "There is one thing you have to bear
in mind, you cannot build a white elephant and the white elephant is a great
stadium and no team - disaster." The London Legacy Development Corporation
announced on Wednesday that West Ham were their first choice to move into
the Stratford venue, ahead of bids from League One side Leyton Orient, UCFB
College of Football Business and a consortium linked to Formula 1. The
£429m venue, which had an 80,000 capacity for the London Olympics, is likely
to be reduced to 60,000 for football matches, with retractable seating in
operation, and is not expected to fully reopen before August 2015. West Ham
vice-chairman Karren Brady has told supporters they will not make the move
unless the stadium is judged to be acceptable for hosting football. "There
is always a lot of disruption when a club decides to move form somewhere
which has a huge history," said former Bolton manager Allardyce, who has
been at the West Ham helm since June 2011. "It is always going to be
upsetting to some of the very loyal supporters we have but in the end, when
you look to what happened at places like Bolton, I couldn't have built that
sort of success without those fantastic facilities - not that a facility has
ever produced a player but it doesn't half help." West Ham returned to the
Premier League this season after beating Blackpool in the Championship
play-off final, and are eighth in the table after victory over London rivals
Chelsea last week.

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West Ham: Hamstring tear to sideline Mohamed Diame
BBC.co.uk

West Ham's Mohamed Diame could be out for three months after tearing his
hamstring during Sunday's 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool. Diame, 25, was
stretchered off with his team in the lead but Liverpool scored twice in the
closing stages to win. The Senegal midfielder has excelled since joining
from Wigan in the summer. "I would expect, in medical terms, for it to be a
grade three [injury] and that could be anything up to 12 weeks," Hammers
boss Sam Allardyce said. "It does not take a medical expert to know it is a
serious hamstring tear when he falls and stopped the way he did. For us he
is about the start and build-up of most of the creative side of our game -
he runs at them [defenders] with pace and ability that puts them on the back
foot. "That is what we have lost and what we will be missing for a number of
weeks so we are going to have to be a bit more dogged and resilient with the
players we have got available, rather than have the more creative side we
have had from Mo."

Diame returned to West Ham's starting line-up after coming on as a
substitute and scoring against Chelsea in last weekend's 3-1 victory and he
was a dominant figure at Upton Park once again. However, he was forced off
in the 73rd minute after he pulled up abruptly and fell down clutching his
leg in agony. If the French-born battler is sidelined until mid-February he
could miss 10 Premier League fixtures, as well as the FA Cup third round tie
against Manchester United on 5 January. On Friday, West Ham chairman David
Gold confirmed rumours that Diame had a release clause in his contract
after he was linked with a move away from the club following the impressive
start to his career in east London. Allardyce stated he would rather deal
with speculation about his player's future in the January transfer window
than be without him for the coming months. "I would sooner have that
aggravation in January with people trying to get him than lose him for the
period of time, eight to 12 weeks," he said. "I have had a number of
hamstring injuries myself in my time, when you go down like that you know
you have really got [a bad] one. We will wait until it has settled down and
then scan it, we will find out exactly how big the damage is and move on
from there."

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West Ham 2 Liverpool 3
9 December 2012
Last updated at 18:28
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport

Liverpool scored two goals in three second-half minutes as they fought back
from 2-1 down to beat West Ham thanks to a late James Collins own goal. The
Reds took an early lead through a spectacular Glen Johnson strike. Mark
Noble equalised from the spot after Joe Allen handled and Steven Gerrard
headed into his own net to put the Hammers ahead at half-time. But Joe Cole
made it 2-2 with an angled drive before Jordan Henderson's cross span in off
Collins at the near post. Eight days ago, West Ham turned round a half-time
deficit to beat Chelsea but this time it was Sam Allardyce's side who were
on the wrong end of a stirring second-half comeback. Following last
weekend's win over Southampton, Liverpool have now won back-to-back Premier
League games for the first time in a year, when Kenny Dalglish was in charge
and the Reds beat QPR 1-0 on 10 December and Aston Villa 2-0 on 18 December.

This was the first time in nine attempts this season that Liverpool have won
a league game immediately after a Europa League tie. But it was an
especially unlikely Reds recovery - not only had they toiled in attack just
before their late burst of goals, they nicked the points despite being
without the suspended Luis Suarez, their only fit striker. The absence of
Suarez did not seem to matter when Johnson put Liverpool ahead in
spectacular style after 11 minutes. Gerrard spread the ball to Johnson on
the right, who cut inside before turning back on to his right foot and
rifling a ferocious drive beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen and into the top corner.
That meant Johnson has now scored in his last three league games against his
former club, and he appeared keen add to that tally whenever he picked up
the ball.

Another one of his raids down the same flank saw him leave Matt Jarvis in
his wake before teeing up Raheem Sterling who screwed a shot wide. Jarvis
was clearly struggling to fulfil his defensive duties but he fared much
better when his side came forward. From one of his crosses, Mohamed Diame
had a shot deflected wide off his own team-mate Carlton Cole, and from
another, Daniel Agger had to stretch to stop Cole from turning home. By now,
it was Liverpool under pressure but their resistance was ended in
controversial circumstances after 35 minutes. Agger cleared another Jarvis
delivery as far as Guy Demel, whose fierce first-time shot hit Allen's arm
at point-blank range. Referee Lee Probert pointed to the spot and Noble
stepped up to slot his penalty into the bottom corner beyond Pepe Reina's
dive. Probert did not endear himself any further to the travelling fans when
he chose only to caution Matt Taylor for a high and wild challenge on
Sterling soon afterwards. And things got even worse for the visitors when
Gerrard headed a Jarvis cross into his own net just before the break. There
seemed no chance of any sort of turnaround as West Ham continued to press in
the second half and Liverpool's passing game deserted them when they found
themselves near the home side's penalty area. Shelvey, who was having a
frustrating time as Suarez's replacement in the Reds' attack, saw a
deflected shot tipped over and steered a header wide.

But, just as against the Blues last weekend, Diame's participation was to
prove decisive. Against Chelsea his introduction off the bench changed the
game - this time a hamstring injury that forced him off did likewise.
Liverpool began to find a foothold in midfield and drew level thanks to
another Hammers old boy - Joe Cole providing a precise finish from
Sterling's slipped pass. Three minutes later, Collins lunged in to beat
Jonjo Shelvey to a low front-post cross from Jordan Henderson but the ball
looped off his leg and over Jaaskelainen into the net. From looking
comfortable, West Ham were left chasing the game and, despite them pumping a
series of balls into Reina's area, they were unable to rescue a point. West
Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "We were never in control of the game completely
especially against a side like Liverpool, we were not going to dominate for
the whole game. "We gave everything we could. We can't continue to play and
dominate teams we play, when we did today we got ourselves in the lead. "We
just got promoted, we are in a good run of form and there are expectations
from fans "

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers on Jonjo Shelvey's role as stand-in striker:
"In this country it is always a very traditional target man, a clear number
nine.
"Give credit to Carlton Cole today, I know him from my time at Chelsea, he
is a real handful and was outstanding today. "But you see young Jonjo at 20
years of age playing the number nine role in a different way - dropping into
midfield and combining with the midfield players to make the fourth man,
being a threat when he is in around the box, showing great feet and I
thought he was outstanding today the kid."

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Rodgers on....West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 9th December 2012
By: Staff Writer No.2

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers gives a strangely sycophantic press corps his
views after his side's slightly fortunate win at the Boleyn...

Brendan, your thoughts on today's victory?...
It's a brilliant win for us. Sam's done a terrific job here and in
particular he's made it very difficult for teams coming here as we saw when
Chelsea arrived last week. But I thought my players were brilliant. We've
been through a lot this week in terms of travel so to get the victory and
the win I thought we thoroughly deserved it. I'm delighted for them because
they put so much into the game.

After going behind it was a great second half for you

I thought we were outstanding for the first 25 minutes with some of our play
which was capped off with a great goal from Glen Johnson, who's been
brilliant for me this season. The penalty knocked us back a bit, probably
because we thought it was a wee bit unjust. Then all of a sudden the last 20
minutes of the first half we stopped playing.

Half time was just about reinforcing to the players you've been good for 25
minutes but you have to keep playing. Keep passing and the opportunities
would come for us. In the second half we done that. Terrific spirit. We
showed that bit of steel today to get that result and it was a great
testament to the players and how hard they worked.

How do you think Shelvey did today?

Outstanding

I think today you saw the two ways of playing the no.9 role. I know Carlton
Cole from my Chelsea days he's a real handful and I thought he was
outstanding today. But you were seeing 20 year old Jonjo Shelvey playing the
no.9 role in a different way, coming into midfield and combining with the
midfield to make the fourth man. He was a threat in and around the box, he
had great feet.

I thought he was outstanding today the kid. Great credit to him because
there was a lot of pressure on him. People were trying to compare him with
Luis Suarez. He's been terrific in my time here. He's only 20 so he has a
great future ahead of him.

The role seemed to suit him a little bit more when Joe Cole came on..

That was the idea. When you have a moving no.9 it causes the back four
problems. If any of them get drawn out you have two wingers who can get
behind and penetrate.

Joe Cole's was a terrific goal. Two wingers, one combining and creating the
goal, the other breaking the line. When you see it again it's a wonderful
finish. He's had to wait for that split second for his left foot.

I'm pleased for Joe. It took him a while to get the speed of the game.
Second half he was first and foremost he was fighting for the team. After
that his quality came through.

It was a terrifically weighted pass from Sterling as well. Shows how
important it is to sort out his situation. Is there any progress on that?

Yeah that'll be fine. Raheem, as you see in that move, he was confronted by
three players, plays a great combination between them, follows the pass. His
pass was deadweight perfect for Joe.

Psychologically Brendan what does it mean to win without Luis Suarez? Some
people thought it would be the end of the world..

Well you guys did! For us there was no drama. For us my focus was about the
collective. We all share the ball, we must share the goals, share the
workload. We're not asking anyone to do more than anyone else. I had great
belief in the players, that we could score goals and create goals.

We've been doing that all season, we just haven't at times been clinical
enough and had the good fortune to rack up the goals.


You said after the Chelsea game top 8 would be an achievement. Are you
starting to re-evaluate that now?

We're trying to build a momentum. We had a difficult opening fixture list
and trying to couple that with playing in a certain was was always going to
be difficult.

Certainly over the last couple of months we've been progressing. Let's just
see where we finish. This is one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Everyone knows where it should be. We're making progress and climbing the
league. It's important for us to continue to do that.

As I said it's a massive credit to the players and how hard they've been
working. Then they'll get the reward from it.

Any thoughts on the Champions League places?

Yeah it's a very tight league this season and we're one of the top teams. We
didn't make the start but it's more about how you finish. We've supposedly
had an unbelievably bad season. Once we really hit form we'll be alright!

Jose Enrique went off early?

He was just a wee bit tight. He's suffered again. he's just come back into
the team. He played during the week and he felt a bit tight. With all the
travel he was really stiff yesterday. We gave him a go but he couldn't quite
move the same. Big credit to Stewart Downing - he'd started really well with
Glen Johnson on this side. He was maybe a wee bit disappointed to be pushed
across but I though he was terrific. He stood up to the challenge well and
got forward well. I was pleased for him.

Jordan [Henderson] did really well as well. there seemed to be a lot more
purpose about his play...

He's understanding what his role is and the importance that he has within
the group. He's done very very well. He's a terrific lad. The most important
thing is that he wants to learn. He works very hard at his game. he scored
the winner in midweek and you saw today that his ability to press and pass
the ball today was good. He made that run that created one of the goals so
I'm delighted.

You've beem at Chelsea and Swansea but the spirit in this team with all that
you've beeen through - is it comparable to, say when you were at Chelsea?

This is a unique club. It's pleasure to manage because the history that
comes with being a Liverpool player or manager is incredible. But that
spirit doesn't just happen. It comes from simplicity, from working hard,
doing the nuts and bolts of the game. Developing, learning, that's what this
group are doing. Young players have been asked to do big jobs for a club of
this status. They've been showing the mentality to come in and do it.

We'll just keep moving steadily. We don't want to be a flash in the pan. We
want to keep making progress, developing our game, developing the team. That
spirit is there for everyone to see, especially at a place like West Ham.
This is a real tough place to come. Sam's done great here.

Having to stay an extra night, all that travel, it does take its toll but
our condition was superb. That's a testament to our staff and players.

Cheers.

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Eye eye: Carroll row rumbles on
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 9th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

The photographer who claimed to be assaulted by West Ham's Andy Carroll has
hit out at the club after they attempted to play down the incident. Paddy
Cummins, who was working whilst West Ham's first team squad were in Dublin
for their Christmas party last weekend insisted that his eye had been
'gouged' by Carroll, who is said to have become annoyed at the
photographer's continued presence. Cummins' version of events - in which he
claimed to have been attacked by Carroll - have been disputed by West Ham.
"Andy agreed to have a number of pictures taken at the request of a
photographer who was waiting on the street," said the club in a statement.
"The photographer then carried on taking photos in the close proximity of
Andy and was politely asked to stop by the private security team. When he
then continued taking more photos, he was restrained by the security team
for Andy's safety. "Eyewitnesses state at no point was there any physical
contact between Andy and the photographer." However Cummins, who insists
that he was treated at Dublin's Eye & Ear hospital after the alleged
incident maintains that he was the victim of assault - whilst accusing West
Ham of jumping the gun. "They made a statement that witnesses said there was
no contact but that was less than 24 hours after the event," he told the
Herald. "And they're claiming they talked to all the witnesses. They're
claiming witnesses have come forward to them and not the Gardai." Cummins
has since handed over all of the photographs he took during the evening to
Irish police, who are yet to act.

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Allardyce on... Liverpool
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 9th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Big Sam reflects on a game from which his side managed to snatch defeat from
the jaws of victory - and a game that resulted in more injury woes. His
post-match press conference exclusively in full...

Sam: I thought we were going to end up with a repeat of the Chelsea game,
but perhaps Diame's injury didn't help and was the turning point?

Possibly. For me we had to start the second half the way we finished the
first, the way we finished the last 30, 35 minutes. Unfortunately we didn't
get to that tempo or that level of quality and started to sit a little bit
too deep. I thought we'd seen that out and were going to come strong towards
the end like we normally do. Maybe they'd over-extend themselves, we could
hit them on the break and maybe get the third [goal].

Momo going off was obviously a blow to the more creative side of our game
today. That was lost because he was at the head of most of the attacks that
we built. So that was a blow, and then to lose the second goal was a bit of
a sickener for us again. At that point I thought "see it out today lads and
if it's not going to be, then take the draw and move on". To lose it with a
bit of a freaky own goal from Ginge was a little hard to take. It was a
bizarre game because I wouldn't have expected five goals today.

Liverpool generally keep it tight and don't concede many, but they don't
score many at the other end either - especially when they've lost Suarez who
has more than 50 per cent of the goals. You wouldn't expect us to concede
three and you wouldn't expect two players who used to be West Ham players to
score two goals either, would you? So we've got to take it on the chin.

I think that we've done the best we could and we've played as well as we
could. We're disappointed that we haven't got anything from it. More
importantly, the biggest disappointment of all is when your most creative
player leaves the field with a serious injury - or what looks like a serious
injury - on top of all the other injuries we've got at the moment. Today's
been even more disappointing because we've lost Mo as well as the game.

What are the signs on his injury?

Not good. It doesn't take a medical expert to know it's a serious hamstring
tear when you fall and stop the way he did and the pain that you get from
that. I'd expect it to be a Grade 3 in medical terms and that could be
anything up to eight, ten or 12 weeks again. We've got far too many of them
unfortuantely - not hamstrings but trauma injuries.

Andy Carroll; Yossi Benayoun; Jack Collison; Alou Diarra and now Mo. It's a
big blow to us but we'll have to try and continue with what we've got, try
and continue our good form and performances and, most importantly, try and
continue to get results.

On Diame's injury, every cloud has a silver lining - he won't be passing any
medicals in January, will he?

Ha! No, probably not now. Mind you I didn't look at that as a silver lining
after it happened; I hadn't thought about that! [laughs]

Or his agent!

Yeah. But I'd sooner have the aggravation of agents, people trying to buy
him and him playing for us like he is than do without him, let me tell you
that. We've had a really difficult period and whilst we're disappointed that
we've lost today, we've picked up some points the last eight games. We've
managed to get three points off Chelsea and Newcastle away and we drew here
with Man City and Stoke. We played well and might have won that one. So we
haven't done too bad in this period with the size of the teams that we've
played. Like I said, the most disappointing thing is the injuries that we've
collected in this period.

Can you quantify what you're losing with Diame? What sort of a player is he?


For us he's about the start and the build-up of most of the creative side of
our game. He'll receive a ball and he'll instinctively know where the
opposition player is, turn away from him and get through that barrier of
defence that the opposing team put up and then he runs at the back four. He
runs at them with pace and ability and that puts then on the backfoot and
drives their back four back into their own box. Then it's about the sort of
quality we need to find to open the opposition up.

As well as Mo Diame, the service from Matt Jarvis today was key and one of
the reasons why we got back in front. Johnson was causing us problems going
forward but Matt was causing Liverpool huge problems with his ability and
balls into the box which obviously paid dividends for us in the end. So
that's what we've lost and what we'll lose for a number of weeks. We'll have
to be a bit more dogged and resilient now with the players that we've got
having lost that creative side in midfield that we've had from Mo.

I know we're joking about passing medicals but everyone knows about the
interest in him. Have you maybe looked to secure him?

We'll he's only got a four-year contract... [laughs] There you go.

But there's a clause in his contract that everyone's talking about?

Well I don't know anything about the clause. Do you?

That's why I'm asking.

Whatever's in his contract, whatever there might be, the most disappointing
thing is I'd sooner have that aggravation in January with people trying to
get him than lose him for a period of time like eight to 12 weeks. I'm
guessing at the moment obviously because I'm not a medical man and the
medical lads can't tell. But in my experience - and I had a number of
hamstrings myself in my time, so I was quicker than people thought! - when
you go down like that you know you've really got one.

That would, for me, be a considerable period of time. You can work as hard
as you possibly can and reduce it by maybe seven to ten days or so, but that
would be the maximum. We'll wait until it settles down then we'll scan it
and find out exactly how big the damage is and move on from there.

We're trying to get the other players back - Yossi Benayoun, Vaz Te, Jack
Collison and Alou Diarra who we haven't seen. Andy Carroll as quick as we
can now, as well. That's really what the medical staff must focus on -
forget about everybody else, just focus on them and get them as fit as we
can because we're going to need them.

Are any of them close?

Well Yossi trained yesterday but still felt his knee slightly. George
[McCartney] came back yesterday as well so Yossi's probably the closest to
starting. Alou Diarra hasn't played a Premier League game yet, he hasn't
felt what it's like to play there so that would be difficult for him to go
into it in December having come back from a three-month injury lay-off.

To at least have the bodies back and bring them on from the substitutes
bench is going to be important to us - and focusing on getting Andy Carroll
back as quickly as we can. Jack Collison might be close in the next couple
of weeks to actually joining in and starting to be in the squad but he
hasn't kicked a ball since being in the play-off Final last year.

And what about Vaz Te?

Another three weeks, I think. Thank you.

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Diame facing extensive lay-off
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 9th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham midfielder Momo Diame could be out for up to three months after
tearing a hamstring against Liverpool this afternoon. The Senegalese
midfielder pulled up midway through the second half before being stretchered
off. And Sam Allardyce revealed after the game that Diame could be facing
"eight to twelve weeks" out as a result. Diame, who was instrumental in West
Ham taking a 2-1 lead in today's game will undergo a scan to determine the
extent of the injury tomorrow. West Ham were beaten 3-2.

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Liverpool come from behind to beat West Ham 3-2 at Upton Park
Last Updated: December 9, 2012 7:23pm
SSN

Liverpool came from behind to stun West Ham 3-2 at Upton Park and move into
the top half of the Premier League. A second-half effort from ex-Hammer Joe
Cole and an unfortunate James Collins own goal turned the game around late
on for Brendan Rodgers' side. Another former West Ham man, Glen Johnson, had
given the visitors the lead with a superb strike but a Mark Noble penalty
and a Steven Gerrard own goal put the home side in front at the break.
Liverpool began the brighter and looked set to make light of the loss of the
suspended Luis Suarez with Jonjo Shelvey playing out of position as a
makeshift centre-forward.

Best of the Match

Man of the match: Mohamed Diame. Until his substitution through injury, the
West Ham midfielder was pulling all the strings and Liverpool looked
incapable of breaking the Hammers down. He was sorely missed and his
departure proved the catalyst for the Reds' comeback.
Goal of the match: Glen Johnson's opening strike was absolutely outrageous,
unleashing a stunning strike from 20 yards which nestled beautifully into
the top corner.
Moment of the match: Diame's injury and withdrawal really limited West Ham's
presence when going forward and as they sat back more, Liverpool were able
to carve out the opportunities they did to win the game.
Talking point: Liverpool prove they can win without Luis Suarez, could this
be a victory that inspires a much-needed winning run for the Reds?

Johnson, in particular, was causing Matt Jarvis real problems defensively
and the England right-back got his reward with the opening goal as he fired
a right-footed shot into the top corner. But West Ham had beaten Chelsea
last week after conceding the first goal and they seemed undeterred by the
setback as they pushed for an equaliser. That came when Joe Allen blocked a
fierce but wayward Mohamed Diame shot with his hand and referee Lee Probert
pointed to the spot. Noble converted the penalty in fine style with a
measured finish to the right of Pepe Reina and the momentum of the game had
shifted. So had the balance of power down the flanks as Jarvis began to
trouble Johnson in the opposite direction and it was a cross from the
£10million summer signing that provided West Ham's second. The Hammers took
a quick free-kick to Jarvis in a wide left position and he was allowed space
to curl in a right-footed cross that Gerrard could only divert with his head
past his own goalkeeper. With Carlton Cole leading the line well, West Ham
looked comfortable but it was his namesake Joe who came off the bench to
stun his old club with a neat left-footed finish on the turn. Fellow
substitute Jordan Henderson then whipped in a low cross that Shelvey and
Collins challenged for at the near post and the ball looped off the
defender's foot over the head of Jussi Jaaskelainen to complete a
topsy-turvy game and snatch all three points for the Reds.

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West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame facing three months out after suffering
hamstring injury against Liverpool
Last Updated: December 9, 2012 8:43pm
SSN

West Ham fear midfielder Mohamed Diame will ruled out for up to three months
with a torn hamstring. Diame was hurt during Sunday's 3-2 defeat at home to
Liverpooland had to be stretchered off the pitch after pulling up near the
touchline with 17 minutes remaining. The Senegal international has been a
key player so far this season and it was after his premature exit that
Brendan Rodgers' side scored twice to complete a valuable fightback victory.
Diame will undergo medical tests but manager Sam Allardyce did not give a
positive early prognosis. "We will wait until it has settled down and then
scan it," Allardyce said. "But it does not take a medical expert to know it
is a serious hamstring tear when he falls and stopped the way he did. "I
would expect, in medical terms, for it to be a grade 3 (injury) and that
could be anything up to eight, 10 or 12 weeks. "(Diame) is about the start
and build-up of most of the creative side of our game. That is what we have
lost and what we will be missing for a number of weeks so we are going to
have to be a bit more dogged and resilient. "Mo (Diame) going off was
obviously a blow to the creative side of our game. He was in front of every
or most of the attacks we built so that was a blow. "We have got to take it
on the chin and I think we did the best we could and played as well as we
could and we are disappointed that we haven't got anything from it. "It is
disappointing to lose, but it is even more disappointing when your most
creative player leaves the field with what looks like a serious injury on
top of all the injuries we have got at the moment - so today has been
obviously more disappointing because we have lost Mo as well as losing."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce found defeat against Liverpool at Upton Park on Sunday 'hard
to take'
Last Updated: December 9, 2012 10:20pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce described Liverpool's winning goal at Upton
Park on Sunday as 'freaky'. The Hammers were beaten 3-2, with a James
Collins own goal 11 minutes from time sealing victory for the visitors. But
Allardyce said: "We have got to take it on the chin and I think we did the
best we could and played as well as we could and we are disappointed that we
haven't got anything from it. "It is disappointing to lose, but it is even
more disappointing when your most creative player (Mohamed Diame) leaves the
field with what looks like a serious injury. "The way we finished the last
30-35 minutes of the first half, unfortunately we didn't get to that tempo
and that level of quality and started to sit a little too deep after the
break. "I thought we had seen that out and we were going to come good at the
end like we normally do and maybe they would over-extend themselves and we
could hit them on the break and get a third. "To lose the second goal was a
bit of a sickener for us but I thought 'see it out today lads and if it is
not to be then let's get the draw and we move on'.
"But then to lose it to a freaky own goal is a little hard to take at the
minute."

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Diame KO hits Hammers
The Sun
Picture: RICHARD PELHAM
Published: 09th December 2012

WEST HAM fear midfielder Mohamed Diame could be out for up to 12 weeks with
a hamstring injury. Diame has been a key player for West Ham this season but
was forced off after 73 minutes in the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool. The
Senegalese star was taken off on a stretcher after pulling up near the
touchline. And Hammers boss Sam Allardyce said: "Not good, it does not take
a medical expert to know it is a serious hamstring tear when he falls and
stopped the way he did. "I would expect, in medical terms, for it to be a
grade three tear and that could be anything up to eight, 10 or 12 weeks."
Allardyce felt the loss of Diame could have been a factor in Liverpool's
comeback. WEST HAM manager reveals his star midfielder will be out for
around 12 weeks with a hamstring problem
He added: "Mo going off was obviously a blow to the creative side of our
game. "He was in front of every or most of the attacks we built so that was
a blow.
"We have got to take it on the chin and I think we did the best we could and
played as well as we could and we are disappointed that we haven't got
anything from it. "It is disappointing to lose but it is even more
disappointing when your most creative player leaves the field with what
looks like a serious injury on top of all the injuries we have got at the
moment. "So today has been obviously more disappointing because we have lost
Mo as well as losing."

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Taking liberties! Joe Cole gets East End welcome, then only goes and scores!
The Mirror
9 Dec 2012 22:33

Prodigal sons of the East End are not always afforded the warm homecoming
Joe Cole enjoyed in the land of rhyming slang, as Liverpool won 3-2 at West
Ham.
When you cross the good people of West Ham, a pie and mash is worth two in
the mush – just ask Paul Ince and Frank Lampard. So Cole, his career
blighted by serious injury and with a great future behind him, would have
been gratified by the ovation on his entrance as a substitute for the
injured Jose Enrique. For 75 minutes, it looked as if his assignment on
familiar territory would prove as thankless as one of his last appearances
at Upton Park two years ago. After helping Chelsea lift the FA Cup against
Portsmouth at Wembley in 2010, Cole dashed across town to see his mate Kevin
Mitchell get wiped out inside three rounds by Aussie Michael Katsidis in a
world title fight. But just when we thought Cole's salad days were behind
him, an assured left-footed finish from Raheem Sterling's pass changed the
course of a thrilling game and jogged a few ­memories.

In keeping with the fashion of refusing to celebrate when you score against
your old club, Cole remembered to keep it real. "I've scored a few against
West Ham for Chelsea and never celebrated," he claimed. "But it's nice to
come back to your former club and win." Cole's first Premier League goal for
20 months, and the James Collins own goal which crowned ­Liverpool's
comeback, was like a cold shower the morning after a Christmas party for the
Hammers. At the end of a euphoric week in which they had beaten the European
Cup holders and were handed the keys to the Olympic stadium, they forgot to
take care of business on the pitch. Matchday compere Jeremy Nicholas also
lived to regret gently mocking England captain Steven Gerrard's own-goal
when it was replayed three times at half-time. "It was a good own-goal,
wasn't it?," he crowed. In the spirit of reciprocal appreciation, doubtless
he would agree that Joe Cole can still play a bit, can't he?

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