Daily WHUFC News - 15th December 2012

West Brom match preview
WHUFC.com
All the stats, news and records ahead of Sunday's trip to the Hawthorns
15.12.2012

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2012
KICK-OFF: 4PM
REFEREE: PHIL DOWD
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

Introduction

• West Ham United travel to the Hawthorns on Sunday to face West Bromwich Albion in what will be their second consecutive 4pm Sunday kick-off.

• The Baggies have lost just twice at home all season, to Manchester City and Stoke City, but have yet to win in December after losing to Stoke and then away at Arsenal last time out.

• West Brom did however enjoy a fine November, winning four games in a row for the first time in their Barclays Premier League history.

• Steve Clarke was subsequently named as the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month for November, becoming only the second West Brom manager to win the award. Roberto Di Matteo was the first to win it in September 2010.

• The Hammers enjoyed an encouraging start to December, after games against high-profile opposition. The month started in exceptional fashion as the Hammers beat Chelsea 3-1 and they came close to making it a stunning double win, only to see Liverpool stage a late comeback to win 3-2 at the Boleyn Ground last Sunday.

• West Ham United sit four points behind West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League in eleventh, with the Baggies currently in sixth position.

• The Hammers' visit to the Hawthorns is one of two games taking place on Sunday, the other sees Tottenham Hotspur take on Swansea City

Team news

West Ham United

• George McCartney is a doubt for Sunday's game after picking up a knee injury in training

• Momo Diame will also be missing after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-2 loss to Liverpool. Gary O'Neil or James Tomkins is likely to replace him.

• Jack Collison has made a return to training after missing the duration of the season so far, but he is not likely to play until the New Year.

• Yossi Benayoun has returned to Chelsea to receive treatment after a fresh injury setback.

• Andy Carroll (knee), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra are all making good progress but are still some weeks from making a return.

West Bromwich Albion

• Claudio Yacob, Ben Foster and Liam Ridgewell have all spent time on the sidelines but they could return on Sunday to face the Hammers.

Background

• West Ham United's biggest win over West Bromwich Albion was a 6-1 victory on 16 April 1965. Martin Peters opened the scoring before Brian Dear took centre stage scoring the other five.

• The Baggies went one better by beating the Hammers 7-1 on 24 October 1925 at the Hawthorns, James Ruffell got the consolation for the away side.

• There have been three penalties in the last four Barclays Premier league meetings between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion.

• West Ham United are the only Barclays Premier League side that have not yet conceded a headed goal yet.

• The last three meetings between the two sides have ended in draws but there have been ten goals in the last two meetings

Last time out

Sunday 9 December
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, O'Brien, Collins, Demel (McCartney 46), Nolan, Jarvis, Taylor (Maiga 86), Noble, Diame (Tomkins 73), Cole.
Subs not used: Spiegel, Spence, O'Neil, Moncur
Goals: Noble 36 (pen), Gerrard 43 (og).

Saturday 8 December
Barclays Premier League
Arsenal 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Reid, Olsson, Ridgewell (Popov 6), McAuley, Morrison, Brunt, Mulumbu, Gera (Rosenberg 75), Long, Odemwingie (Lukaku 62).
Subs not used: Daniels, Tamas, Dorrans, Fortune

Previous meeting

West Ham United 3-3 West Bromwich Albion

Demba Ba scored twice as West Ham United came from three goals down to earn a point against West Bromwich Albion. Graham Dorrans, Jerome Thomas and an own goal from Winston Reid gave the home side a 3--0 lead at half-time as their new manager Roy Hodgson watched from the stands. Ba pulled one back five minutes into the second half after latching onto Mark Noble's pass and slotting home, before Carlton Cole headed home eight minutes later. Ba equalised seven minutes from time and Freddie Piquionne almost won it for the Hammers but he blazed over with seconds remaining.

West Ham United: Green, Reid, Da Costa, Bridge, Jacobsen, Parker, Boa Morte (Piquionne 57), Noble, O'Neil (Spector 78), Cole, Ba.

West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Olsson, Shorey, Jara, Brunt, Thomas (Barnes 61), Dorrans (Tamas), Mulumbu (Morrison 14), Scharner Odemwingie, Fortune.
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
12 February 2011 West Bromwich Albion 3-3 West Ham United
10 November 2010 West Ham 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
16 March 2009 West Ham United 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

13 September 2008 West Bromwich Albion 3-2 West Ham United

1 May 2006 West Bromwich Albion 0-1 West Ham United

5 November 2005 West Ham United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion


Overall record v West Bromwich Albion

Ten-year records W 35 D 19 L 37

West Ham United

2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)

West Bromwich Albion

2011/12 Barclays Premier League 10th (47 points)
2010/11 Barlcays Premier League 11th (47 points)
2009/10 Championship 2nd (91 points, promoted to Premier League)

2008/09 Premier League 20th (32 points, relegated to Championship)

2007/08 Championship 1st (81 points, promoted to Premier League)

2006/07 Championship 4th (76 points)

2005/06 Premier League 19th (30 points, relegated to Championship)

2004/05 Premier League17th (34 points)

2003/04 Championship 2nd (86 points, promoted to Premier League)

2002/03 Premier League 19th (26 points, relegated to Championship)


Referee

• Sunday's referee will be Phil Dowd.

• Phil Dowd is in his 12th season as a Select Group official, having initially been promoted to the Barclays Premier League list of referees in 2001.

• Dowd began refereeing in local leagues in 1984, officiating in the Staffordshire Senior League and Midland Football Alliance. He was appointed to the Football League list of assistant referees in 1992, before joining the League's full list of referees in 1997, aged 34.

• The 49-year-old is commonly considered to be one of England's best match officials, an opinion backed by his appointments as the referee for the 2012 FA Cup and 2010 Football League Cup finals.

• Previously, Dowd was the fourth official at the 2006 FA Cup final between West Ham United and Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

• Dowd has refereed 19 West Ham fixtures in total, the most-recent being a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in October.

• He will be assisted by Scott Ledger and Lee Betts, the fourth official will be Neil Swarbrick.

Old boys

• West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke spent just under two-years at the Boleyn Ground as assistant manager to Gianfranco Zola. During his first season at the club the Hammers had a relatively successful year, finishing ninth in the Barclays Premier League. Clarke left the club by mutual consent in June 2010 before joining Liverpool as first-team coach in January 2011.

• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are David Cross, Gary Strodder, Tommy Green, Vincent Hayes, Geoff Hurst, Thomas Kinsell, Tudor Martin, Nigel Quashie and Chippy Simmons.

General information

• For ticket information, click here.

• Sunday's weather forecast in West Bromwich is for light rain with temperatures reaching a maximum of 6C.

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Big Sam on: West Brom
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce looks ahead to Sunday's meeting with West Bromwich Albion
14.12.2012

Sam Allardyce hosted his weekly press conference at Chadwell Heath on Friday morning, where he looked ahead to Sunday's trip to West Bromwich Albion.
The West Ham United manager will be coming up against two familiar faces in the opposing dugout, with former assistant manager Steve Clarke now manager at The Hawthorns. Former Hammer Kevin Keeen has taken the role of assistant manager at the West Midlands outfit and the duo have made an impressive start to life with The Baggies so far.

West Bromwich Albion have lost three Barclays Premier League matches on the trot. Does that statistic mean this is a good time to play them?

SA - "I think they are still playing well and competing very well. I saw how unfortunate they were to lose at Arsenal last week. Only two very poor refereeing decisions cost them the game so they may well have got something against Arsenal. At this moment in time, they are still playing very well but results have not matched the performances they have given. Their home form has been very good this year. Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that. We have our own problems with injuries so we have to rely on the players we have available to give their best again like they did against Liverpool and I hope that will be enough to get us a result at West Brom."

The table is incredibly tight, so presumably the Christmas and New Year period will be crucial?

SA - "If you can pick up a couple of wins back-to-back or get a few points in the bag you can climb the table. You saw recently with Stoke, who had not won away from home and had drawn a lot of their games, all of a sudden they strung two or three wins together and they are back at the top end of the Premier League. Sticking a few wins together is where you want to be over Christmas because it sends you into the New Year in a relatively comfortable position - particularly in our first year back in the Premier League. Hopefully we can overcome our injury crisis and can continue to pick up the results we've been getting this season."

Are you planning to try to turn Yossi Benayoun's loan into a permanent transfer from Chelsea in January?

SA - "My only concern with Yossi at the moment is to try and get him fit - that's our big problem. He broke down in training last week after we thought he would be OK and he's back with Chelsea at the moment trying to recover from that injury. We would obviously make any decision on his future in January as is stipulated in his loan agreement."

There have been reports that Frederic Piquionne wants to move away from the club. Would you be happy to allow that?

SA - "Yes. Freddie has been available all season to be released."

Will there be funds available for you to strengthen the squad in January?

SA - "We will be trying to buy some players and those players will be determined on what we want to do and then we'll try to make the moves happen. Like anything else in that window, it's a hard window to deal with and it becomes very disruptive for everybody, but we've got to try to do our best to try to strengthen the squad where we can."

What is latest news on Jack Collison?

SA - "He is training but not available for selection. He's looking OK but he's been out of the game since the end of last season's Play-Off final so it will be at least two weeks before we should consider him, unless we become absolutely desperate on the injury-front - and it does look a little bit like that. I want to try to resist at all costs throwing Jack into the fray and risk another injury, but I make have to do that."

Do you have anybody else nearing a comeback?

SA - "No. We picked up another injury this week with George McCartney so we're not sure if he's going to make Sunday's game either, which unfortunately leaves us very light on numbers."

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Harney using his head
WHUFC.com
Scholar Jamie Harney nodded in a superb goal in West Ham United's FA Youth Cup third-round victory
14.12.2012

West Ham United first-year scholar Jamie Harney put his head to good use in Monday's 3-1 FA Youth Cup third-round win at Aldershot Town. The Northern Ireland Under-17 centre-back was called into action to make a series of aerial clearances during a nervy first half before nodding in the Hammers' second goal with a bullet header midway through the second period. Speaking to West Ham TV for the first time since starting his full-time scholarship in the summer, the 16-year-old said he has settled in quickly in east London. "I thought it was a very good start for us in the Youth Cup and a good team effort in the end," said Harney. "It was one of those tough games where we had to dig in as a team and try to dig out the result and I think we did that. "I think it was a case that some of the players were nervous in the first half, but in the second we showed what we could do and we finally got the victory and everybody was happy with it. "We had our strongest team out against Aldershot, aside from Leo Chambers who is injured, but I thought we did well as a team and I hope we can on forward now and try to win the FA Youth Cup."

Harney was particularly pleased to score his first goal at Under-18 level when he powered in Nathan Mavila's right-wing corner with 25 minutes remaining.
"I was very happy with it. It was all in the delivery because the ball in was perfect and it landed on my head. I closed my eyes and it went into the back of the net so I was very happy with that one. "I like my heading so I'll have to try and keep it up in the next round of the FA Youth Cup and try to get another goal."

For the teenager, success in a claret and blue shirt will vindicate his decision to leave his family home in Northern Ireland to join the club earlier this year. That said, Harney still gets to meet up with his felllow countrymen regularly as part of his national side, who he recently helped to reach the UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite Round of qualifying. "I come from a small village called Plumbridge in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland and I represent my country and play centre-back as most people know. I moved over in the summer and I'm loving it, so I just want to keep it going now. "I think I've adapted well and am settling in well with the other lads - everyone says that. The other lads have been brilliant and I get on with them really well and love living in the Academy House. I just want to keep it up and push on. "Leo is a brilliant player and one of the best in the club and nobody likes to see him injured. His absence gives me the chance to start and hopefully I can take it. Let's now push on as a team and see what happens."

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West Brom v West Ham
KO 16:00
14 December 2012
By Alistair Mann
BBC Match of the Day commentator

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The Hawthorns Date: Sunday, 16 December
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (0) & SUBSTITUTIONS (0)

TEAM NEWS

West Brom manager Steve Clarke says he has six injury doubts ahead of Sunday's clash with West Ham. Goalkeeper Ben Foster, defender Liam Ridgewell and midfielder Claudio Yacob are all battling to be fit, but Clarke would not say who else is struggling.

West Ham fear midfielder Mohamed Diame could be sidelined for up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury. Full-back George McCartney is a major doubt after injuring his knee in training.

MATCH PREVIEW

A year ago West Brom sat 15th in the Premier League and West Ham were in the Championship, so now to find the two in sixth and 11th at the start of this weekend shows the genuine progress the clubs can be proud to have made. Though both are currently in deflating form, their encouraging starts to the season have more than offset recent blips.

Steve Clarke is facing his first true challenge in management, with the Baggies on a run of three straight defeats. Only below the Champions League positions on goal difference prior to the latest round of fixtures, he can at least negotiate this puzzling run from a relative position of comfort thanks to the Baggies' 12-point haul in November, which earned Clarke his first manager of the month award. Should West Brom win their next two home games, with Norwich next up at The Hawthorns, they will be three points clear of Chelsea before the European champions return to their domestic schedule. With just four points from their last five games, West Ham have fallen out of the top half of the table, where they resided in sixth as recently as the middle of last month.

The Hammers' recent run has coincided with a large list of absentees that has now seen Mohamed Diame join Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te, Jack Collison, Yossi Benayoun and Alou Diarra. This is the first of five games in 16 days, so Sam Allardyce will certainly need his medical staff to work overtime as he attempts to arrest the slide at a venue where they've lost just once in nine visits.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
The last three meetings between the sides have ended in draws. West Ham recovered from three goals down to draw 3-3 at The Hawthorns when the sides last met on 12 February 2011.
The Hammers have only lost one of their last nine league and cup matches away to the Baggies (W5, D3, L1).
West Bromwich Albion
The Baggies have lost their last three league games. Defeat on Saturday would represent their longest losing streak since a run of five straight losses between December 2010 and January 2011.
Steve Clarke's side have won all five league matches in which they led at half-time this season, but have lost all four in which they trailed at the break.
West Brom have recorded seven clean sheets in their last 12 league games at The Hawthorns, but only one in their last five.
They have gained just one point from losing positions this term, the joint-worst record in the top flight.
West Ham United
Sam Allardyce's men have lost three of their last four league matches, and have kept two clean sheets in the last 12 games.
The Hammers are the only team yet to concede a headed goal in this season's Premier League.
They are also the only team to have used all three substitutes in every Premier League game so far this season.

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Downes departure 'amicable', says Allardyce
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 14th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has confirmed that first team coach Wally Downes has left the club. KUMB.com exclusively revealed on Monday afternoon that the former Wimbledon defender had suddenly parted company with West Ham. And speaking to the press this morning ahead of this weekend's visit to West Bromwich Albion, Allardyce spoke for the first time about Downes' departure. However he refused to confirm exactly what had led to the 51-year-old leaving, stating simply that it had been an "amicable" split and a decision agreed between himself and Downes. "I can confirm he has left by mutual consent," said Allardyce. "That's all I'm prepared to say on the matter because I don't think I need to go any further publicly. "He's sorting out his terms and agreements with the club. It was amicable between the pair of us and we move on."

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Benayoun back at Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Filed: Friday, 14th December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Yossi Benayoun has been ruled out of West Ham United's trip to the Hawthorns this weekend. The 32-year-old midfielder, who is at the Boleyn on a season-long loan from parent club Chelsea broke down in training this week and will miss his fifth successive match as a result. Benayoun, who was accused of 'going missing' by some supporters during the second and final season of his initial spell at West Ham between 2005-2007 was close to returning for last weekend's visit of Liverpool but, according to Sam Allardyce, is definitely out of this weekend's game too. And, as a result of his persistent problem, the Israeli has been sent back to West London until he recovers from his latest knock. "Our big problem with Yossi at the moment is to try and get him fit," Allardyce said today. "He broke down in training last week after we thought that he would be okay. At the moment he's back with Chelsea trying to recover from that injury."
And when questioned as to whether Allardyce would like to make Benayoun's loan deal permanent, the Hammers boss replied: "We would make that decision in January, because it's stipulated in the loan agreement." Benayoun returned to West Ham United on the final day of the summer transfer window, since when he has made just six appearances. His most recent outing was at St James' Park against Newcastle on 11th November, a game in which he sustained the knee injury that has kept him out of action ever since.

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West Brom v West Ham preview
By Tim Oscroft.
Last Updated: December 14, 2012 1:29pm
SSN

West Brom and West Ham will both be keen to put last weekend's defeats behind them when they meet at the Hawthorns. Three straight defeats have taken the gloss off West Brom's eye-catching start to the season after four wins on the bounce had seen the Baggies reach the giddy heights of third place, before a disastrous first half at Swansea heralded a change in fortunes. The changes made by Steve Clarke for the Stoke game did not work out, and the defeat at Arsenal pushed West Brom down into sixth place. Ben Foster has been absent for the last six games, with West Brom's last clean sheet coming in the goalkeeper's most recent appearance before his groin surgery.

West Ham will be keen to earn their third away win of the season following on from their home defeat by Liverpool. The Hammers had hit back after conceding an early goal to take the lead before half-time, only to see old boy Joe Cole equalise. James Collins' own goal sent West Ham to defeat when hopes had been high of following up the stirring win over Chelsea a week earlier with another three points. Their last visit to the Hawthorns, in February 2011, saw the Hammers claim a point despite conceding three goals before half-time.

West Brom
Last 6
2-0
0-1
3-1
2-4
2-1
1-2

Claudio Yacob, Ben Foster and Liam Ridgewell are all doubtful despite returning to training this week. Yacob was forced to miss last weekend's defeat to Arsenal with a hamstring problem, while Ridgewell limped off with an ankle injury against the Gunners. Foster has missed the last six games following groin surgery, but it seems unlikely that he will be risked with Boaz Myhill set to continue.

West Ham
Last 6
2-3
3-1
1-0
3-1
1-1
0-1
George McCartney's knee injury, suffered in training this week, has added to an already lengthy injury list for West Ham. The defender is a major doubt, while Mohamed Diame is out until January with a hamstring problem picked up against Liverpool. Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll and Jack Collison (all knee), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra (thigh) will all miss out.

Opta stats

There have been three penalties awarded in the last four Premier League meetings between West Brom and West Ham.
The last three Premier League meetings between the Hammers and the Baggies have ended as draws.
The Hammers have fashioned the highest percentage of attempts from set pieces in the Premier League this term (40%).

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce wants one or two signings in January transfer window
Last Updated: December 14, 2012 3:15pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will be looking to secure "one or two players" in the January transfer window. After confirming the absence of George McCartney for Sunday's game at The Hawthorns, and with a string of players sidelined, Allardyce has made it clear a venture into the transfer market in January is essential. "I think with our injury list at the moment, which is pretty severe and very concerning as far as I'm concerned, and we obviously need to look in the market and see what we can do in January, it is critical for us to try and get one or two players in during that period," he said.
Commenting on the Hammers' opposition ahead of Sunday's clash with West Brom, he added: "Their home form has been very good this year. Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that."

Allardyce has also spoken out following the recent incident involving a coin being thrown at Rio Ferdinand during Sunday's Manchester derby. While there have been calls this week for the introduction of netting in front of certain areas of the grounds, Allardyce deems using video footage and issuing lengthy bans will act as a deterrent, while installing netting could do the opposite. "I think the more we use CCTV to weed out these individuals and ban them for life, the less chance we have got of this kind of thing happening again. "We don't want to start caging people in again, I know it is only netting but is more like they are trying to cage people in and I don't think that works, I think that creates a more volatile situation in the fan-base area. "I think that, when it happens, we have got the technology today to weed them out and ban them for life."

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Is it Time to Recall Danny Potts and Robert Hall?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

As Iain has previously reported, George McCartney has picked up a knee injury in training, to worsen the current injury situation at the club. With this development, we are vulnerable at left full-back, having to now rely on either O'Brien or Taylor to cover the position. Similiarly, it seems that Yossi Benayoun's return is not as imminent as we had originally thought and he has returned to Chelsea for further treatment. Diarra and Collison are supposedly nearing physical fitness, but will be well short of match fitness, and then there is the issue of them achieving any sort of decent form in shorter term. Realistically, it is probable that neither are going to make a first team impact until the New Year.

Sam Allardyce has stated in his Evening Standard column that it is imperative that we sign at least a couple of players in the January window. Otherwise, Allardyce feels that there is a danger that an injury weakened squad may not be able to capitalise on the excellent results in the first two phases of this season. And the feedback from club sources is that the club are gearing up to make the necessary signings, based on Allardyce's assessment of the squad's needs and his priority player targets. It can be difficult to do business in the January window, with other clubs either holding on to their players or quoting inflated prices. But at least this time, our transfer dealings will not be contextualised within the acute desperation of a relegation struggle. If we can get reasonable results against WBA and Everton, we should go in to Christmas in the top 10 and look to launch a New Year assault on the top 6-8. That would be a strong position to be in and one that prospective new signing are more likely to respond to positively.

In the meantime, we need to galvinize the squad, make the best possible use of our available playing resources and continue to pick up the points in the period until the Window opens. We need to aim to pick up at least 4 points from WBA and Everton matches, but back-to-back wins and the full 6 points would be absolutely excellent. A 4 point return from the next two matches would see us achieve the upper end of my projected 10-12 point minimum target for the 2nd phase matches up to the New Year. Then we can go to the Emirates, on Boxing Day, with some real breathing space. However, do we need to recall Danny Potts and Robert Hall from their respective loan deals at Colchester Utd and Birmingham City, presuming that we have the option to do so? Surely, it is now imperative that Potts reinforces the defence, particularly the vulnerable left-back spot; while we also need Hall to strengthen our depleted forward line? Both Potts and Hall must be on the verge of regular first team football and sometimes necessity acelerates the introduction of young players. If we do not give these promising youngsters a first team opportunity in the current circumstances, when are we going to do so?

It seems some outline details of the stadium conversion plans have been revealed to the club's Supporters Advisory Board. Although confidentiality requirements do not allow the specific details to be revealed at this stage, it appears that the initial feedback is very positive from the supporters present at the meeting. And the club board have given the assurance that they will continue to negotiate to get the best possible outcomes for the football club and its supporters. At the end of the day, we really cannot take a final, definitive pro or contra position on the probable football spectator experience at the OS until the finalised conversion plans are made public. It was always technically possible to make the stadium in to a venue fit to stage PL football, it was just whether the necessary works would actually be undertaken to make it happen? If they are undertaken, to the club and its supporters satisfaction, then the OS can become an iconic football and multi-sports/events venue that works for the club, its fans and the other sporting, community based & commercial stakeholders.

Although the squad is currently injury depleted, we should still have enough to get a result at the Hawthorns on Sunday. Overall, WBA have done very well this season, but their more recent results have not been good. It will be a real test of the character of the Hammers squad and the ability of the available players to knuckle down and grind out results. I think that we can go there and get at least a point, and possibly all three, if we set up correctly, employ the right tactics and the players apply themselves well to the task at hand. I am going for West Ham to grind out a very useful 0-1 away win. COYI!

SJ. Chandos.

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A View From the Supporters Advisory Board
By Iain Dale About 10 hours ago 4 comments
By Anonymous
West Ham Till I Die

Just to give you a bit of background, I applied to join the SAB mainly as I was as sick as most other supporters were of having our club mismanaged for decades. If this current board was going to give me a chance to have my say then I was going to have it!

I had to work really hard to go to the Supporters Board meetings with an open mind but given the continuous debacles of previous Boards such the Bond scheme, the Icelandic farce and selling our 'golden generation' of future England players, I did have more than a hint of cynicism and was pretty much ready to challenge anything that looked like we were going down the same route. I have to concede though that I was actually very impressed. I couldn't question David Gold and Sullivan's commitment to our club from what I've seen. Their message mirrored mine and probably every other supporters view. Why aren't we more successful, why haven't we won a trophy for thirty-two years. They come across as supporters who are in a position to do something about it.

Karren Brady is a superb business woman. Her previous experience of long and difficult times at Birmingham have given her a vast knowledge of running a football club ( bought BFC for £700,000 & sold it for £82m). Her credentials are up there with the best. Just look at how successful she is in everything she touches. But you know what really did it for me it was that you can feel the passion, drive and commitment to succeed from all of them.

When Gold & Sullivan bought West Ham, Karren Brady wrote in her column "To West Ham fans I'll make a single pledge - while we are on the board, we will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down" - Now whilst I don't think we can actually hang any football board members (though supporters at some clubs might think its not a bad idea!) I understand the sentiment she is trying to convey. At the SAB meetings they are desperately trying to get the message across to fans that they really do have the interests of West Ham United and want us to be as successful.

Regarding the Olympic Stadium (OS) move they have taken the same stance. They will not do anything that is not in the clubs best interest. I got the impression that they are working with one hand tied behind their back with the London Legacy Development Corporations' (LLDC) insistence on confidentiality. I and all the other SAB members have had to sign a confidentiality clause which is a legal contract in order for us to be consulted on the OS move. This is on the LLDCs insistence. However whilst respecting the process the club have their own stipulations regarding the stadium in that it must be fit for purpose and these are the negotiations that have been taking place. The emergency SAB meeting was to tell us that following the announcement of West Ham becoming the first ranked bidder then the LLDC had submitted stadium plans to the Club to see if the design met their stipulations for the stadium. We were shown the floor plans and artist impressions of the Stadium. I can not give you all the details but what I can say is that the seating goes completely across the track right up to the pitch. The lower stands that go across the track are built on a bridge type mechanism that can be retracted whenever its needed. The roof goes right over all the seating and looks low so the sound will be trapped inside . The artist impression looks absolutely superb. The club will look at the detail of the plans and decide if it meets their requirements. I would say that during the discussions in the meeting every thing that I thought would be a problem was being considered by the board and issues and advice that the SAB members raised were readily received by Karren Brady & David Gold. I really must stress that nothing has been decided regarding the move. The West Ham Board are continuing to negotiate so a lot of the things being banded about are speculation. Karren Brady stressed that they are anxious to get the plans and the details finalised to allow them to put the information in the public domain as soon as possible so the fans can make an informed choice.

For me personally its a no-brainer. There are a million pros and very few cons for the move. We all know moving to the Olympic Stadium doesn't mean automatic success - football doesn't work like that. But at the moment were aren't even in the ball park. This gives us a chance to compete with the best.
I know the identity of the author of this guest post. He wants to contribute to the site anonymously, and I respect that.

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Injury Crisis Gets Worse - McCartney Out For Weeks
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

In Sam Allardyce's regular Friday Evening Standard column it is clear that he is worried by the mounting injury crisis at West Ham. We're not quite down to Redknappian 'bare bones' levels yet but we're not far away. This week George McCartney has added to our woes by tearing some ligaments in training. Yossi has also suffered a setback and won't be available on Sunday. Sam says there will be four youngsters without a Premier League game between them on the bench against West Brom. All this means that there will potentially be more activity in the January transfer window than the club had intended. It seems clear to me that we need another centre back, and a Diame style central midfielder at the very least.

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Pitch to be closer than Wembley's
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 14th December 2012
The Sun

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8

I HATE the idea of an after-match panel checking non-injury incidents with a remit to punish players for cheating referees. I dare say Santi Cazorla's self-propulsion on to the Emirates turf warranted a sending off and West Brom have every right to cry 'diver' at him. After all, from the heat of the text I got from a bigwig at WBA, referee Mike Jones' misinterpretation cost them a penalty and possibly the points. Simply, though, once video takes final responsibility from the referee, we are in football's equivalent of the police state. Someone should tell him that other 'divers' have learnt referees will eventually treat even their genuine claims as kidology.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9

WOMEN have more sense than to do things like throwing coins at people. Missile-throwing at players is what male cowards do. They think they can harm and not be caught. Our job as football administrators is to catch and then ban them from all grounds for ever. And the security cameras are so sensitive we will.
After being hit with a 2p piece just above the eye, Rio Ferdinand was perilously close to being blinded and there's no funny side to that. I hope the perpetrator goes to prison. Later, my favourite chairman sends me a 'well done' text when we are beating Liverpool, his own team having grabbed a late win earlier today.
Bad timing I say, as it arrives just as we concede a goal and go on to lose 3-2!

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10
THE club with star-spangled appeal are the Hammers. Not only are we the favourite team of President Obama, it seems Bart and the rest of The Simpsons have joined our fan club. Our name and crest are on a banner in the bedroom of Bart's new pal T-Rex this evening. One fan suggested the connection is Simpsons' writer Harry Shearer who is a known Hammers man. This is almost as exciting as our theme tune being played at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. We now have the coolest of supporters, from Robert Pattison, to Russell Brand. On this form, I can't wait for the Queen's Christmas speech, we may even get a mention!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11
OFF to the training ground to show the players our plans for the conversion of the Olympic Stadium for West Ham's use. They are genuinely excited by the thought of performing regularly on a stage of sheer majesty. Then it is off to a three-hour meeting of 124 long-term season ticket holders, who make up our Supporters Advisory Board. I show them the visuals of just how close to the action fans will be. For our fans, the idea of watching across the great divide of an eight-lane athletics track was always the biggest drawback. Well, the answer is that it will be bridged by retractable seats and the gap between pitch and nearest seating will, at 9.7metres, hardly be much further than the Greg Rutherford jump which won Olympic gold. At Wembley, it is 14.8m. We have a vote. Two are against (and I suspect there would be even if the stadium was gold-plated and free for everyone), 11 are unsure and 111 vote in favour. Now we must have a full poll and reach a final agreement with the legacy board. I believe we are on the first step to becoming a football giant.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12
MY least favourite Premier League chairman — short man, big chest and fabulously wealthy, which is not a criticism just an observation — sends me a Christmas card with the following message. 'I see they named an orchid after you'. This is indeed correct. I joined Hillary Clinton, Princess Kate, Prince William and Nelson Mandela — to name a few — who have the pleasure of an orchid being named after them. Then he says 'I heard that they aren't great in a bed but fantastic up against the wall?' clearly using a planting analogy. I'll add crass to the list as well, shall I?

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13
AMAZING what a footballer will do to get his kicks. St Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gets his by wearing Spiderman masks and sporting a £2,500 pair of glittering green crystal boots in the warm-up. Who does he think he is? Elton John? With an ego that size, he really should be appearing at the Folies Bergère.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14
THIS isn't a good time for the reputation of English football but for all that I abhor yobbish behaviour on and off the pitch, the truth is that there isn't much of it.
Yes, there has been a rise in one-off incidents recently but people are being told to believe the game is returning to the bad old days. It really isn't and I can give you a different perspective. At Sunderland a couple of nights ago the home crowd stood to cheer Danny Rose as he left the pitch with an injury.
It happens all the while and as it's not new, no one gets excited.

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Cole too hot for Carroll
By VIC HOLLY
Published: 14th December 2012
The SUn

SAM ALLARDYCE says Andy Carroll will not walk back into West Ham's side if Carlton Cole continues his red-hot form. Carroll, who joined on loan from Liverpool at the end of August, is sidelined until mid-January with a knee injury. Cole, 29, has stepped up in the £35million striker's absence and turned in some top displays. He terrorised old club Chelsea two weeks ago, grabbing a goal and an assist, before troubling Liverpool's backline during their 3-2 defeat last Sunday. Cole is set to lead West Ham's line when they travel to West Brom tomorrow. Hammers manager Allardyce said: "Carlton has contributed well.
"He has not played quite as much as he'd wanted to but, when he has got the chance, he's done the business. "We now need him to continue that. With Andy out for a number of weeks, Carlton can establish himself in the team and keep his place. It'll be Andy's problem to get back in. "In fact if Carlton's playing that well when Andy gets back, it's nearly impossible for me to leave him out."

West Ham have enjoyed a fine start to life back in the top flight and are just four points off the top four. Allardyce added: "We're slightly ahead of where we thought we might be in terms of points but that's good news for us. "This period is a concern, though, as we are talking about having 14 first-team players fit. That's all, right now."

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Big Sam in Rickie watch
By GUY THOMPSON
Published: 14th December 2012
The SUn

WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce wants to sign Rickie Lambert. Big Sam is a long-term fan of the Southampton striker and with interest cooling on Andy Carroll as a £17million end-of-season option, Lambert, 30, has come into the frame. The Hammers will test the water during next month's transfer window but they do not expect Saints to let their top scorer go until the summer. Allardyce declared last March during the promotion battle with the Saints: "If we'd had Rickie Lambert in our team we'd have have won Championship already." The Hammers are moving away from a Carroll bid. A source said: "For the sort of money we are paying you would expect around 20-25 goals a season — and the lack of goals plus injuries is concentrating minds."

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Big Sam hoping to Bag a result
Published: 14th December 2012
The Sun

SAM ALLARDYCE has warned his West Ham side to be wary of wounded West Brom. After reaching third In the Premier League table, the Baggies have begun to stutter. They have lost three consecutive matches but Hammers boss Big Sam said: "I think they are still playing well and competing very well. "I saw how unfortunate they were to lose at Arsenal last week. Only two very poor refereeing decisions cost them the game so they may well have got something. "At this moment in time, they are still playing very well but results have not matched the performances they have given. Their home form has been very good this year. "Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that. "We have our own problems with injuries so we have to rely on the players we have available to give their best again like they did against Liverpool and I hope that will be enough to get us a result at West Brom." Allardyce is sweating on the fitness of defender George McCartney ahead of the match at the Hawthorns. McCartney hurt his knee at training this week and is unlikely to feature as the Hammers look to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool last Sunday. He joins Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te and Alou Diarra on the sidelines and, while long-term absentee Jack Collison is back in training, he is not yet ready for a return. Despite the injury toll West Ham are still in 11th spot, and picking up points during the crowded holiday period was crucial in ensuring the club kept their Premier League status in its first season back in the top flight. Allardyce said: "Sticking a few wins together is where you want to be over Christmas because it sends you into the New Year in a relatively comfortable position — particularly in our first year back in the Premier League. "Hopefully we can overcome our injury crisis and can continue to pick up the results we've been getting this season."

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