Daily WHUFC News - 19th March 2013

Big Sam eyes big response
WHUFC.com
Big Sam sets target of claiming six points as quickly as possible for
Hammers to look upwards
18.03.2013

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce believes a further six points will secure their
Barclays Premier League position for another season. While goals from Frank
Lampard and Eden Hazard were sending West Ham to defeat at Chelsea on
Sunday, Wigan Athletic were registering a 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
That cut the Latics' deficit on the Hammers to six points, but Allardyce is
more concerned with his side fulfilling their targets, rather than the
issues of the clubs around them. The Hammers now face an international
break, but with a home fixture against West Bromwich Albion next on the
agenda, Big Sam wants the east Londoners to claim those six points as
quickly as possible. He said: "You're always looking at what could happen
and what couldn't, but my belief in our own record and our performances this
year say we're good enough to secure the points we need to be safe. "At the
end of the day it's not about Wigan being six points off us, it's about us
getting to 39 points. It wouldn't matter what Wigan do then or anybody else.
Not all of them will get to 39 points and that's us. Our concern is, forget
about what's happening down below - and I know it's difficult, but the
bottom line is, no matter how they get on, you get to 39 points or more and
you're all right."

Allardyce was left frustrated as his side drew a blank at Stamford Bridge,
especially as he felt they had created enough openings to worry the hosts a
little more. However, he did concede that an attacking performance from the
Blues, led by the outstanding Eden Hazard, was difficult to counter. He
continued: "We know we've got the talent, and I want the talent to be
maximised every game. I don't want them to underperform because I don't
think they should. I want them to maximise their performances whoever
they're playing and if the best isn't quite good enough at the end of the
day, then fair enough. "To ask a team who are newly promoted into the
Premier League to beat a top four team twice is a pretty big ask isn't it?
So, we have to be well satisfied that we actually beat Chelsea at our place
3-1 earlier in the season and on Sunday we weren't good enough to take
anything from the game."

With two weeks between games, Allardyce is hoping to use the break to nurse
some of his walking wounded back to fitness. He added: "It's always
important to get the players who are injured back. Those three [Joe Cole,
Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble] would have probably been on the teamsheet from
the start on Sunday, so while there's only three injuries, it's to three key
players for us at the moment. "I think that Mark Noble is the biggest worry
because he's had a recurrence of the injury we thought we had cleared up
after a four-week rest. That's a major problem for us. Nolan is a broken toe
and Joe's is a slight hamstring, and I'd expect him to be fully fit and
available for West Brom."

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'We win and lose as a team'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen said team spirit is strong despite Sunday's 2-0 defeat at
Chelsea
18.03.2013

Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United's team spirit remains strong,
despite Sunday's 2-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Chelsea. The stopper
was again at the top of his game, making a host of fine saves, but the
Hammers were unable to take advantage as they passed up a succession of
opportunities to beat his opposite number Petr Cech. Andy Carroll had one
goal disallowed and had four other efforts, while substitute Carlton Cole
was denied by the Czech late on. "We did create quite a lot of chances but
we need to be a bit more ruthless and punish our opponents by getting that
one goal or two goals because it would make a massive difference to how we
could play," the No22 told West Ham TV. "We just need to be more ruthless -
otherwise we played quite well.
"I always think we win as a team and we lose as a team. If we don't score
goals it's much the same as if we are conceding goals - it doesn't make any
difference. It's all about how we perform as a team and how we're going to
get points."

The Finn did appreciate, however, just how difficult it was for his
team-mates to keep tabs on Chelsea's outstanding midfield of Eden Hazard,
Juan Mata, Victor Moses and Frank Lampard, who opened the scoring with his
200th goal for Chelsea midway through the first half. Hazard himself added
an individual second after the break to make the game safe. Indeed, Chelsea
could have added to their tally had Jaaskelainen not made two outstanding
saves from former Hammer Demba Ba and a deflected effort from Hazard. "Mata
and Hazard are top-class players but the way we kept the ball in the first
half wasn't good enough because we gave them chances. We were a little bit
lucky not to concede more. In patches, we kept the ball well and created
chances. "We just have to keep going. We have a weekend off now and then we
have to go again in a massive game against West Brom in two weeks' time."

The reigning SBOBET Player of the Month continued his recent fine form with
a succession of saves and catches, but Jaaskelainen was typically modest
when asked about his own performance. "It's my job and if I didn't make
those saves then somebody else would be there in my place. That's my job. We
just need to go away and get that first goal and that will help us to win
games. The key point is that when we get the chance away from home, we have
to take it,.
"It would have been nice to get back-to-back wins and get a double over
Chelsea, but now we know we have performed well in the home games and we
have to keep that level up when West Brom come."

After an unwelcome 15-day break following the 1-0 win at Stoke City on 2
March, West Ham now have 13 days to prepare for the visit of West Bromwich
Albion. This time around, however, Jaaskelainen said the squad would welcome
the opportunity to get injured players back into the fold before a vital
meeting with the Baggies. "Sometimes you don't want to have a break - after
the Stoke game we thought it would be great to have a game the next week.
Now it comes at a good time because we'll get three or four players back in
and we'll be stronger. Hopefully we can benefit from that. "We just need to
make sure we prepare well for the game and we look at what we need to do
tactically against them to beat them. We need to keep a clean sheet and
build from there,
"At the end of the day, we just need to get a positive result in our next
home game."

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Loanee round-up
WHUFc.com
Stephen Henderson kept a clean sheet as Ipswich Town recorded a 1-0 win over
Bolton on Saturday
18.03.2013

It was a busy weekend for West Ham United's trio of loan stars in the npower
Football League, with Stephen Henderson excelling in Ipswich Town's 1-0
Championship victory over Bolton Wanderers. The young Hammers goalkeeper is
in his second loan spell of the season with the Tractor Boys and Saturday's
shutout was his second in succession. Ipswich's three-point haul was a
welcome one, as it maintained their four-point advantage over Peterborough
United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the relegation zone, who also both
triumphed over the weekend.

Staying in the second tier, Ravel Morrison, who is on a season-long loan at
Birmingham City, was involved in a winning effort on Saturday too. The
20-year-old played the 90 minutes as Lee Clark's Blues won by the only goal
at Middlesbrough. The St Andrew's club are safely in mid-table at present,
ten points off the play-offs but seven clear of relegation.

In League 2, Paul McCallum's Aldershot Town suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to
his former loan outfit AFC Wimbledon. The striker played 45 minutes and has
scored one goal in three games since joining the Shots earlier this month.

Over the Channel, Alou Diarra played an hour in Rennes' 1-0 defeat away at
Reims in the French Ligue Un. Mohamed Fofana scored the only goal of the
game to leave Rennes tenth in the table, seven points behind the European
places.

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Ladies frustrated in Essex derby
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies paid the penalty for a missed spot-kick in a 1-1 draw
with Colchester United
18.03.2013

West Ham United Ladies missed the chance to keep pace with FA Womens Premier
League South leaders Millwall Lionesses, as they were held to a 1-1 draw
with Essex rivals Colchester United. At a sodden Ship Lane, the contest
was to hinge on three penalties, as Julia Setford's side had to battle from
a goal down to claim a share of the spoils. The struggling U's broke the
deadlock just five minutes prior to the interval, as Karissa Rodney went to
ground in the area. Maegan Doyle was charged with the responsibility from
the spot and duly slotted home. West Ham, however, were to reply before the
half was out, in the fifth minute of additional time, no less. A right-wing
cross struck the arm of Megan Lawler, enabling Becky Merritt to level
matters, as she slammed her spot-kick off the underside of the bar to notch
her ninth of the campaign. In unrelenting rain, the Hammers were handed the
chance to complete the turnaround, as Lindsey Morgan was impeded by Megan
Jiggins. Merritt again stepped up from 12 yards, but this time her strike
came crashing back off the bar. It was to prove a costly miss, as West Ham
would ultimately have to settle for the point, a second draw in as many
weeks. The frustrating stalemate leaves Setford's side in fourth, some ten
points behind frontrunners Millwall, albeit with two games in hand. Next up
for the Ladies is a trip to Tadley Cavella for Sunday's crunch clash with
second-placed Reading, the first of back-to-back meetings with the Berkshire
club.

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West Ham fans arrested over Chelsea match race offences
BBC.co.uk

Two West Ham fans have been arrested over racially-aggravated public order
offences following Sunday's Premier League match against Chelsea. The men
have been released on bail until later this month, the Met said. The arrests
come as the police force launched a separate investigation after coins were
thrown when Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea. As Lampard
celebrated with substitute John Terry, objects were thrown from the crowd in
their direction. The incidents took place as the two sides clashed lashed in
the London derby match at Stamford Bridge in west London, which Chelsea won
2-0.
Officers are studying CCTV footage from the stadium and no arrests have been
made as yet over the coin throwing. The Football Association said it would
liaise with the police and the two clubs involved. Nine years ago England
midfielder Lampard, who moved to Chelsea from West Ham in 2001, was hit by a
coin during a League Cup tie between the clubs.

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Allardyce disputes Carroll call
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 18th March 2013
By: Staff Writer

A naturally disappointed Sam Allardyce slammed referee Michael Oliver for
ruling out what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate 'goal' by Andy
Carroll.
Carroll appeared to have scored an equaliser just three minutes after
Chelsea had taken the lead in yesterday's Premier League London derby at
Stamford Bridge, when he bundled the ball over the line having shaken off
the attention of defender David Luiz. However Luiz's theatrical fall was
enough to convince match official Oliver that a foul has been committed,
resulting in the strike being chalked off and a free kick given to the home
side - something that infuriated Allardyce. "I thought the free kick on
[David] Luiz was a soft one, when Andy scored," said Allardyce. "If that had
happened outside the box I think the referee would have waved play on. "But
losing at Stamford Bridge is not going to define our season, and it wasn't
so long ago we were celebrating beating Chelsea. Beating them once in a
season is enough, beating them twice is getting a bit greedy."

It was the second time this season that Allardyce was left to question the
validity of a referee's decision against Chelsea this season after Kevin
Nolan saw an effort ruled out in the corresponding fixture at the Boleyn
Ground back in December. However he admitted that even if the goal had been
allowed to stand, his team were very much second-best on the day. "Sometimes
you come to places like this and you have to hope their top players are not
quite 'on song', but today young [Eden] Hazard made life extremely difficult
for us all the way through," he continued. "The quality of the players in
that area - [Juan] Mata as well, with the support of Frank Lampard - was too
much for us on the day, as hard as we tried. "We had a couple of chances and
when you get them at Stamford Bridge, you've got to try and put them in the
net. We didn't do that and we've suffered for it in the end. They deserved
to win, they were better on the day and we have to accept that."

Allardyce also has a special word of praise for the revitalised Jussi
Jaaskelainen, who made a string of fine saves during the game. "Most of the
time, particularly at home, he hasn't had a lot to do this season," said
Allardyce. "But when we needed him, he's kept us in the game."

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Addicted to drama?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 18th March 2013
By: Tim Keen

West Ham fans have an addiction to excitement. Just as the vast majority of
fans want to be entertained, supporters of West Ham United are no different.
However the West Ham fan's addiction is not just to entertainment; we are
also hooked on drama.

The recent history of the club is such that we have become used to being
relegated or narrowly avoiding such tragedy in highly dramatic
circumstances. We have been winning promotion at Wembley or Cardiff or being
denied that uncontainable joy. There was also the small matter of last
minute disappointment in the FA Cup Final in an almost unimaginable finale.

As fans we have become so familiar with these epic struggles that cause
anxiety and joy in almost equal measure that we have forgotten what the
normality of being a football fan feels like.

West Ham have seen involvement in end of season relegation, promotion or FA
Cup drama in all but two of the last ten seasons. It has become normal for a
season finale to be high-pressured and adrenalin inducing. Each and every
game matters, in many cases to the very last game or minute.

We've spent the majority of the last decade being dragged along on a
footballing rollercoaster and experienced the extremes of emotions as a
result. The exhilaration has become not an incidental occurrence, but our
staple diet.

In addition to the on-field theatre, there has been no shortage of
restlessness behind the scenes also. We've seen a manager collapse with a
brain tumour that brought about the return of a Hammers legend, a dream-like
Icelandic takeover that after its initial promise soon brought about
horrific consequences.

And then there was Carlos Tevez - who can forget the day he signed along
with Javier Mascherano? - the Argentinian genius who helped keep us up but
whose third-party ownership dragged the club's reputation through the mire,
the cost of which is still impacting the club's finances today.

The only period of our recent history in which saw a glimpse of stability
was under Alan Curbishley. After keeping us up he then set about using the
Icelandic money to turn us into a solid mid-table team, but we were
dismissive of the style in which he achieved the stability that the club
needed and he was largely derided.

The football may not have been what we had hoped for under Curbishley but
perhaps we got a bit greedy, perhaps we were a little bored when he didn't
keep up the drama we had grown accustomed to. Perhaps under Sam Allardyce we
have become ever so greedy and slightly bored again?

The nature of the modern day top-division in English football is that only a
select handful of teams can win it. The rich are getting richer and more
dominant across European football. Several sides have the resources to be in
the chasing pack; they won't win, but they won't go down. Then there are the
rest who compete for the scraps from the table and a slice of glory in one
of the cups.

As dedicated followers of the club we have the right to be disappointed with
the style of football, though possibly not as critical of it as some have
been. We are entitled to be frustrated at the neglect shown towards cup
competitions, though maybe not surprised at the prioritising of the league
by the manager.

Amongst all the unrest though, there is a real danger of failing to
appreciate what we do have and where we have come from.

2012/13 could be a season where we are not looking over our shoulders with
trepidation at the relegation zone and may even finish in a comfortable
mid-table position. That is in stark contrast with the final seasons of
Gianfranco Zola and Avram Grant's tenures (35 and 33 points respectively).

If a mid-table finish is seen by many as mediocre then it is significant to
note that mediocrity is not a quality restricted to Sam Allardyce, it is the
reality for many in the Premier League, and indeed numerous clubs crave it
including recently promoted clubs. We can hope for more, but how much more
can we realistically expect?

How much does the modern day Premier League allow us? The qualities of
stability, hard-work and organisation are being devalued in football,
players and managers that do their jobs are under-rated compared to the
set-piece specialist who can't defend or the boss who has flair but no
substance.

Society has become more demanding, every supporter has an opinion and they
can voice it through social media and on forums. 24-hour sports news means
there is a desire for stories to fill the minutes and football fans are in
need of constant entertainment, we'd almost rather have 'fake' news than no
news at all.

This all leads to over-analysis; football forums are able to debate the
detail of every game, of every selection and each decision by the manager.
As a result there are more knee-jerk reactions and less patience afforded.

If there is a brief period of inactivity in the transfer window then there
is not understanding of why, there are questions about the club's entire
transfer policy. After a defeat there is not sympathy for the difficult
choices being made with limited resources, but huge criticism of the
approach and tactics.
So at a time when the football supporter has become more demanding, the
football world and particularly the Premier League has become less generous.
It charges more for less. As West Ham fans we want entertainment, success
and we've become used to the drama, but achieving that has become harder and
there are plenty of other clubs trying to achieve the same with varying
degrees of success.

For Swansea City read Leeds United, for Stoke City read Wolverhampton
Wanderers. Every club, bar a select few, are toeing the line and flirt with
success and financial meltdown in equal measure if they get the balance
wrong.

The concern is that at West Ham we are creating a desire for change almost
because we want to see what happens. We are failing to appreciate what we
have achieved, how far we have come and that it may not be glamorous - but
the stability that the manager has instilled does in fact represent a form
of success.

Our rose-tinted specs think back to good times under Curbishley, Zola and
even Avram Grant and we think that maybe it would be different and better if
there was managerial change.

Do we want Di Canio? There are no guarantees about what he will bring to the
club, all we do know is that it will be different to Sam Allardyce and
because of our recent history there is a craving for more from our football
team.

We don't want mediocre, we want drama and excitement. Mid-table security is
too normal for a set of fans that have forgotten what normal is in football
and actually what represents success.

It would be a terrible shame for a manager to have regained West Ham's
Premier League status, and re-establish the club in the division to then be
shown the door. Allardyce has won promotion and in the process instilled
organisation, a strong work-ethic, as well as some stability. He deserves
far more appreciation than he has so far been afforded.

We've been used to the drama, to the emotion, the roller-coaster ride and to
dismiss the manager because we have become restless and maybe a little bored
would be a mistake. As fans we have forgotten that having a season or two,
or even three of normality is not such a terrible thing.

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Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens says fans caught
throwing missiles to be dealt with
Last Updated: March 18, 2013 1:52pm
SSN

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens says any supporters
caught throwing missiles onto football pitches or at players will be
punished by the full force of the law. Lord Stevens, speaking to Sky Sports
News HD in Doha at the start of the International Centre for Sport Security
summit, was unequivocal in his condemnation of coin throwing during the
Premier League London derby between hosts Chelsea and visiting West Ham at
Stamford Bridge. West Ham fans threw missiles onto the pitch after their
former player Frank Lampard celebrated his early opener with his Chelsea
team-mates, including club captain John Terry, in the 2-0 home victory. The
Hammers have revealed on their club website that they will assist Chelsea in
an investigation into the incident, while the Met Police have launched a
probe of their own. Stevens said: "Those people who have thrown those coins
are basically in possession of an offensive weapon let alone offences
against a public order act. "Those people need to be identified, and dealt
with by the criminal courts. The technology that's available for that is
considerable. "All of those spectators will be CCTV and it's just a matter
of identifying them and then dealing with them."

Asked whether he wouldd like to see netting at grounds to try and stop the
coins reaching pitchside, Stevens added: "Absolutely not. I think if you do
that you've actually given in to a very, very small minority "It'd be
horrible to see netting in front of you at a football match, cricket match
or tennis match. That's the last thing we should be doing. Let's deal with
those people who decided to throw coins and inflict, on occasions, some
serious injury on people."

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Chelsea v West Ham: Police arrest two men on alleged racially aggravated
public order offences
Last Updated: March 18, 2013 5:52pm
SSN

Police are investigating several ugly incidents that took place during
Chelsea's 2-0 derby victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Sunday's clash
was decided by goals for Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard - but focus has since
fallen on the behaviour of fans during the game. Police are in the process
of investigating what appeared to be a hail of coins thrown in Lampard's
direction as he celebrated the opener - and have already made two arrests
regarding alleged racially aggravated public order offences. A Met Police
spokesperson said: "We are investigating instances of coin-throwing at
Chelsea versus West Ham on Sunday, March 17. There have been no arrests.
Inquiries continue."

A West Ham statement read: "West Ham United will be working with Chelsea to
investigate the reports of missile throwing during Sunday's game at Stamford
Bridge. "Any individual found to have acted in an inappropriate way will
have to face the consequences of their actions." The fixture has a history
of coin-throwing incidents; Mateja Kezman was struck by a coin in October
2004 while playing for Chelsea against West Ham in a League Cup tie.

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