Peters happy with Hammers progress
WHUFC.com
Martin Peters MBE was delighted to return to the Boleyn Ground to see the Hammers defeat Cardiff
21.08.2013
One of West Ham United's World Cup winners, Martin Peters MBE, dropped in at the Boleyn Ground this week for a chat with West Ham TV. The legendary former Hammers midfielder was delighted to see Sam Allardyce's men start the season with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff, with both goals coming from midfield - a trait he was known for in his playing days. "I always love coming back to West Ham after all the years I spent here," he told West Ham TV. "I enjoyed watching them play on Saturday, they won 2-0 and they won very easily I thought. "When you haven't got a big striker up front, the midfield men have got to go beyond the centre forward and get in the box. That's what they did and Kevin Nolan is very good in the position he plays because he floats around behind the striker but he also works back. "I'm pleased to see Joe Cole back too and he took the goal very well."
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The Big Interview - Iain Dowie
WHUFC.com
whufc.com caught up with Iain Dowie to discuss the Hammers' prospects for the new season
21.08.2013
Former Hammers striker Iain Dowie is excited by the prospect of another season of progress at the Boleyn Ground. Sam Allardyce's men made the perfect start to the new campaign by defeating Cardiff City 2-0 on Saturday, continuing the fine home record they enjoyed last year. Dowie believes Allardyce has made the right additions to his squad and is expecting big things in E13 this term.
What do you make of West Ham's prospects for the season?
ID - "If last season was anything to go by, then I'm really looking forward to it. I thought the job Sam did was amazing and he was a little bit unlucky not to be considered for Manager of the Year. They've made some exciting signings, and there's Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan, who hopefully will continue to do what he does, which is score goals at every level, and I think one of the most exciting players this year will be Jarvis. "Late last year he hit some great form, he can go both ways and cross the ball. Add that to the good defensive record, and you've got players like Diame with power and pace, so it's a recipe for another good season. Whatever happens you know Kevin Nolan and Sam will have their team organised."
Just how big a coup was it to get Andy Carroll?
ID - "It was a big coup. I think a lot of people were looking at him and I saw Andy almost go back to the way he played at Newcastle last year. I worked briefly with him there and he's got two or three great things. He's got a rocket launcher of a left foot, when he hits it it stays hit, and it's very difficult to stop if it's on target. Heading for goal, I'm not sure there's too many better in the division, if there's anyone better. "If you put the right ball in the box for him, with Downing or Jarvis, he's unplayable at times. It's a little reminiscent of the side Sam built at Bolton, if you think of Jay-Jay Okocha and Djorkaeff, Anelka, Hierro, Campo, quality players. "He likes to do that, he likes to surround himself with good technical players. People underestimate what Sam's about, and I as a West Ham fan am certainly looking forward to the season."
What sort of impact do you think Stewart Downing can have here?
ID - "I think it's a big coup as well. I'm a little bit surprised Liverpool moved him on, because he did really well for a period last season and was in vogue again. Maybe they feel Coutinho will play there, but Sam again has got a big player to come. "He's done well to get him here. If he can get to the form he had two years ago and three years ago at Aston Villa, he was arguably the best winger in the Premier League. "He must have that desire to reignite that form, and there'll be big expectations with a big player coming to West Ham. They like their wingers here and Sam's good at getting the best out of players."
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Driver's delight at rare goal
WHUFC.com
He may not have meant it, but Callum Driver will not let that take the gloss off his goal at Everton
21.08.2013
With goals coming as rarely as they do for Development Squad full back Callum Driver, he will take one however it comes. The young full back opened the scoring in Monday night's 2-1 Barclays U21 Premier League win at Everton with his first goal since netting whilst on loan with Burton Albion in February 2012.
That his effort which sailed over goalkeeper Taudul and flew into the net was actually a cross will not bother him as he was delighted to play his part in a deserved victory. Sebastian Lletget's last minute strike settled the contest in West Ham's favour and came as just reward for a dominant Hammers display.
Driver told West Ham TV: "If I'm honest then no, I didn't mean it [as a shot], but I'll take a goal - I'm a full back, I don't score. "I'm going to tell everyone I meant it though! It was a great feeling to put us 1-0 up because Moncs was unlucky with the missed penalty, we'd been on top and needed to keep going.
"We carried on pushing and the goal came eventually, so it was good to get it. "The lads are buzzing. it's the best feeling when you get a goal just at the end. Everyone's head dropped when they scored, so to get back in the game and get the win, everyone's buzzing around the changing room."
Monday's victory backed up a 3-0 success over Aston Villa in the Development Squad's first fixture of the season and now Driver cannot wait for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to the Boleyn Ground this Friday evening. He added: "It's two wins out of two and you couldn't ask for a better start. We'll go into the Spurs game on Friday full of energy and confidence, and we hope to get a good result there as well. "We did well to keep Everton out on Monday, they've had a couple of chances so obviously we'll look back and see what we need to work on ahead of the Tottenham game, so we can cut that out. "We're a good team, we don't have just a starting eleven, we're a good group of lads who push each other. There are no individuals, we're all one team."
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Big Sam and West Ham should push for the Capital One Cup this year
21 Aug 2013 12:10
The Mirror
Up in the Upton Park stands on Saturday was West Ham hero Billy Bonds. As well as his status as a revered player, Bonds has another claim to fame and it is one he could without in all honesty. In May 1980, Bonds lifted the FA Cup after the win over Arsenal. Take out the Inter-Toto Cup and the win in the Championship play-off last year, and that was the last major trophy West Ham won... 33 long years. Manager Sam Allardyce now has a golden opportunity to rectify that record. Next Tuesday, West Ham start their campaign in the Capital One Cup. They play Cheltenham Town at Upton Park and a healthy crowd looks likely with a heavy reduction in ticket prices. A bit of an atmosphere rather than a sparsely populated stadium - and a squad from which Allardyce can select a more than decent team. The Capital One trophy is a realistic target for West Ham this season and hopefully Allardyce will go for it rather than just pay lip service to competing. Yes - survival in the Premier League is the priority but with the players available, West Ham can make a genuine push for a place at Wembley early next year. It is the chance to blood untried youngsters for the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United but in truth the CIC is the fourth-ranked of the ambitions for the season behind the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup.
Allardyce made the point himself after the 2-0 win over Cardiff at the weekend. He is clearly delighted at the depth he now has at West Ham and pointed to the likes of Matt Taylor and Jack Collison who could not even make the bench - which by the way, included Stewart Downing, Ricardo Vaz Te, Razvan Rat and Abou Diarra. Experience and talent there.
And the match will also be the chance for born-again striker Ravel Morrison. Morrison's talent and natural ability have never been doubted. His professionalism, however, has been open to question.
Allardyce has now given him an opening to rebuild a career that once promised so much but has produced so little. But for Allardyce and his instincts, Morrison could well have been playing for Cheltenham rather than be considered for a part against them.
The chance is there for West Ham. Hopefully, Allardyce will take it. And Bonds will be the first to agree. Mind you, Bonzo got the hump if he lost a training game five-a-side so his commitment was never in question.
Over to you Sam.
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Juventus Striker Nearing West Ham Switch
ForzaItalianFootbal.com
Fabio Quagliarella - JuventusDespite reports to the contrary last week, it seems that Juventus forward Fabio Quagliarella is now close to joining Premier League side West Ham. He had been strongly linked with a move to Qatari club Al-Gharafi last week but it now seems that England is his likeliest destination.
Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio reports that the Hammers have offered €1 million to loan the player for the coming campaign and then €6m to sign him permanently next summer. Juventus had hoped to offload the former Napoli man on a more permanent transfer but it is understood that they would be open to it. Quagliarella had also been linked with a switch to the Premier League earlier in the mercato as Norwich City continually had their attempts to sign him rebuffed.
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West Ham owner David Gold ready to reject Arsenal if they come calling for Mo Diame
Daily Express
By: Charles Perrin
Published: Wed, August 21, 2013
WEST HAM UNITED owner David Gold says he is doing everything in his power to keep hold of Mo Diame. Mo-Diame-was-connected-to-Arsenal-in-the-January-transfer-window Mo Diame was connected to Arsenal in the January transfer window The midfield powerhouse was heavy linked to Arsenal during the January transfer window, but were unable to close out a deal. The Hammers have been busy in the transfer window thus far, and completed a £6m deal for Stewart Downing last week. Gold has tried to reassure fans that they have no intention of letting Diame go on Twitter after a fan asked whether they will reject Arsenal should a bid be forthcoming. "We are doing everything possible to keep Diame. dg," tweeted Gold. West Ham, Mo Diame, transfer windowStewart Downing became West Ham's latest signing last week Meanwhile, Gold believes the club need some more firepower up front despite beating Cardiff in their opening game of the season. "I think it's clear that we are still short of a striker," Gold recently told Sky Sports. "David Sullivan agrees with that, Sam agrees with that, but until we release those wages by players leaving there is little we can do. "The next couple of weeks, we will see what happens." West Ham owner David Gold ready to reject Arsenal if they come calling for Mo Diame
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