Daily WHUFC News - 25th August 2013

Stalemate at St James'
WHUFC.com
West Ham United drew 0-0 at Newcastle United on Saturday
24.08.2013

Newcastle United 0-0 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League

West Ham United kept their second clean sheet in succession as they
collected a useful point at Newcastle United on Saturday. Genuine chances
were few and far between on a wet afternoon on Tyneside as the Hammers kept
their hosts at arm's length. Their best effort came right at the death as
Sammy Ameobi's attempted cross came back off a post and Yoan Gouffran
knocked over the top, but had that gone in it would have been very harsh on
Sam Allardyce's men.
Newcastle, fresh from their 4-0 hammering at Manchester City on Monday, were
clearly happy to keep it tight in the opening stages and the first half was
a cagey affair. With seven minutes on the clock Newcastle won a free kick 25
yards from goal and Hatem Ben Arfa opted to take the shot on, but he could
not keep his effort down. Off-target Magpies shooting was a feature of the
afternoon's play - Newcastle had eleven efforts before the break, but all
were from range and all failed to trouble Jussi Jaaskelainen. The closest
Newcastle came before half time actually came from a Hammers foot as Winston
Reid intercepted a Ben Arfa pass intended for Papiss Cisse and only just
missed Jaaskelainen's far post. Reid was also involved at the other end on
27 minutes, beating Tim Krul to Modibo Maiga's knockdown following a
Jaaskelainen free kick, but he knocked over the top under pressure from the
home goalkeeper. Matt Jarvis also got in behind Mathieu Debuchy dangerously
and stood up a cross for Stewart Downing, but Mapou Yanga-M'Biwa marshalled
the ball behind for a goal kick with Maiga lurking.

The second period began with the home side trying to lift their side, but it
also began with the Magpies failing to hit the target, as Davide Santon
advanced from left back on 55 minutes, but sent his cross-shot comfortably
over the top. Four minutes later, Kevin Nolan had a great chance to notch
against his old club - just as he did at St James' Park last year, but did
not get his header right from a wickedly inswinging Stewart Downing cross
and the ball flew wide. As the game wore on, it became increasingly likely
that just one moment of magic would settle it, and it nearly came from Joe
Cole six minutes from time as he wrapped his foot around the ball to fire
goalwards following a lay-off from sub Ravel Morrison, but could not get
quite enough curl on his effort. At the other end, Sammy Ameobi's cross
sailed over Jaaskelainen and struck the far post in stoppage time, but there
was no way through as the Hammers made their point.

Newcastle United: Krul; Debuchy, Yanga-M'Biwa, Coloccini, Santon; Marveaux
(Sa.Ameobi 66), Anita, Sissoko, Ben Arfa; Sh.Ameobi, Cisse (Gouffran 72)
Subs: Elliot (GK), Gosling, Bigrimana, Vuckic, Dummett

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien; Nolan, Noble,
Diame (Morrison 75); Downing (Cole 63), Maiga, Jarvis
Subs: Adrian (GK), Tomkins, Rat, Vaz Te, Diarra
Booked: O'Brien

Referee: Phil Dowd
Attendance: 49,622

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Downing reflects on Newcastle draw
WHUFC.com
Stewart Downing was pleased to play a positive role in Saturday's 0-0 draw
at Newcastle United
24.08.2013

Stewart Downing believes West Ham United were unfortunate not to collect all
three Barclays Premier League points on his full Hammers debut at Newcastle
United. The England winger was in lively form as Sam Allardyce's side put in
a committed and resolute performance at St James' Park that, on another day,
would have been rewarded with a victory. Downing himself could have chalked
up his first goal and assist in claret and blue, seeing a goal-bound shot
saved by Tim Krul, a header bounce wide and a superb cross headed
uncharacteristically wide by captain Kevin Nolan. "I enjoyed and I certainly
thought we could have won the game with the chances we had," the new No23
told West Ham TV. "I think we played good counter-attacking football and
certainly had chances to win it. "It was always going to be difficult going
to Newcastle for their first home game but we got a result and I think we
did really well."

In the first half, Downing repeatedly benefitted from West Ham pressing high
up the pitch and winning back possession in the middle third of the pitch.
From one such attack, the winger rose high at the far post to head Matt
Jarvis' cross, knocking the ball back across goal when he could have aimed
for the target himself. "It wouldn't quite happen and wouldn't quite drop
for us in the first half. I think we did everything right until the final
bit, but in the second half when it started to get more open we had a few
chances we started to get the ball into the box "We had some chances in the
first half too, especially with my header which I didn't know whether to go
for goal or to pull it back. I should have gone for goal instead of pulling
it back. "I heard a shout 'Pull it back' and I was running that fast to get
on the end of it so that's what I did. The manager wants me to get on that
back stick. Maybe I should have gone for goal, but that's the way it is. "It
was unlucky, but I think if anyone was going to win the game it would have
been us."

In the second half, Downing saw one well-struck effort saved by Krul before
turning provider for Nolan, only for the skipper to head his cross wide when
well-placed. "I think he didn't realise how much time he had and it's quite
hard to head balls that come across your body. "The positive thing is that
we had people in the box and if we keep putting balls in like that, we've
got a chance of scoring goals."

Downing also showed his defensive qualities, using his pace and fitness to
track Newcastle's adventurous Italy international left-back Davide Santon.
The 29-year-old said he was happy to work up and down the flanks for his
team. "Away from home, especially, you have to work hard for the team. At
some places where they keep possession of the ball, you have to do more
running off the ball then you do with it. "The manager wants me to get up
and down and it was a tough 60 minutes. I've not played a lot of football so
this was a game I certainly enjoyed."

Having missed a section of pre-season before moving to West Ham from
Liverpool, Downing is now hoping to work himself closer to full fitness by
featuring in Tuesday's Capital One Cup second-round clash with Cheltenham
Town at the Boleyn Ground. Having reached the League Cup final with all
three of his former clubs - Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Liverpool - and
been named Man of the Match in the Reds' 2012 final victory over Cardiff
City, he has a lot of time for the competition. "I'm not sure if I'll be
involved at the moment, but I know the manager will want to do well in that
competition. "The squad is obviously not massive so I expect everyone will
be involved and the Gaffer might change around a few. For me personally, I
just want to keep playing and get as fit as I can and get a good run at it.
"A lot of teams disregard the League Cup a little bit but I always think
that if you go strong in it, you've got every chance. "Certainly at
Middlesbrough and Liverpool we had that and I also got to the final with
Aston Villa. I think we should just go for it because a few teams do
disregard it."

Looking further forward to next Saturday's home Barclays Premier League
fixture with Stoke City, Downing believes a victory would be the perfect way
to finish the first month of the 2013/14 season. "We're a little
disappointed we didn't get all three points at Newcastle but getting a point
is still good. "If we can win at home next week, that point looks even
better. We'll be up for it and Stoke will come and have a go at us, so I'm
looking forward to it."

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Hendon happy with Toon point
WHUFC.com
First-team coach Ian Hendon said West Ham United deserved a positive result
at Newcastle United
24.08.2013

Ian Hendon said West Ham United could be proud of their start to the 2013/14
Barclays Premier League season after earning a deserved point at Newcastle
United. The Hammers kept their second clean sheet in succession to secure a
goalless draw at St James' Park, and could even had won all three had Modibo
Maiga, Winston Reid or Kevin Nolan put presentable chances away. As it was,
Newcastle came within inches of stealing victory themselves when Sammy
Ameobi's 93rd-minute cross hit the inside of the post and Yoan Gouffran
fired the rebound over the crossbar with the goal gaping. First-team coach
Hendon reflected on a cagey game that could have gone either way in an
exclusive interview with West Ham TV. "I think, if you look at the chances
over the 90 minutes, we had better opportunities than Newcastle and should
possibly have got all three points," he said. "Having said that, we could
have lost it right at the end when they have hit one against the post and it
has fallen to their lad, who has put it over. "If you'd said before we got
to Newcastle that we'd have got a point, at the end of the day we'd have
probably taken it."

As a former centre-back himself, Hendon was rightly proud of the Hammers'
defensive efforts. In the first half, West Ham pressed their hosts high up
the pitch and repeatedly won possession in advanced areas. In the second
period, with Newcastle on the offensive, the whole team worked immensely
hard to restrict the Magpies to a grand total of zero shots on target. "I
think we've got to be proud of two clean sheets out of two so far. I can't
remember Jussi Jaaskelainen having to make a save in the two games we've
played so far, so that's credit to the back four and the rest of the team
for the way they are defending."

While the team make-up may change, Hendon wants to see a similarly resolute
display when West Ham host League Two outfit Cheltenham Town in the Capital
One Cup second round on Tuesday evening. "It will be a different sort of
challenge. It's going to be their cup final and, as we saw a couple of years
ago against Aldershot, these games are never easy. "We need to be up and at
them from the start. We want to progress in this competition. "I'm not sure
what the team will be yet, but I'm sure one or two lads will get their
opportunity and it's up to them to stake their claim for a place in the team
on Saturday."

Looking further forward, Hendon is relishing next Saturday's Barclays
Premier League visit of Stoke City to the Boleyn Ground. The Potters picked
up their first win of the season at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday and
the former Notts County captain knows Mark Hughes' side will be a tough and
physical unit to break down. That said, Hendon believes the Hammers have the
necessary qualities to continue their unbeaten start to the Barclays Premier
League campaign.
"Of course, we want to build on our good start against Stoke. We've got an
international break after that and, if we can go into that with seven points
out of nine, that would be nice. "It's not a foregone conclusion, but it
would be good to get through the first three games without a defeat with
seven points on the board. "We'll have a little break and a few lads will be
away and then we'll pick up and be ready to go again."

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Under-18s edged out by Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Hammers' youngsters lose in Barclays Under-18 Premier League clash with
Chelsea
24.08.2013

West Ham United's Under-18s were defeated 2-1 by Chelsea in their latest
Barclays Under-18 Premier League game at the Blues' Cobham training complex
on Saturday. Kieran Bywater gave the visitors an early lead, but Chelsea
turned the game on its head by the break to take the spoils. Bywater's goal
was one to remember, however, as he showed great technique to hammer a
volley home off the underside of the crossbar. West Ham enjoyed their fair
share of possession, but Chelsea showed a greater clinical edge on their way
to victory. Under-18s boss Steve Potts still took heart from his youngsters'
display. He said: It was a good test for us, even if the result did not go
our way. We've played Manchester United and Chelsea now and that's the
benchmark at this level.
"We beat Manchester United last week and were a little unlucky not to get a
result against Chelsea. We've come out with a lot of credit from both of
them.
"That said, there are elements to our game which we know we can improve on
and Chelsea showed the clinical side that you need to win games."

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Newcastle 0 West Ham 0
24 August 2013
Last updated at 17:41
By Tim Oscroft
BBC Sport

Newcastle picked up their first Premier League point this season with a
goalless draw against West Ham. West Ham's Winston Reid went close to
scoring an own goal in the first half before twice just failing to get a
touch to set-pieces at the other end. Hatem Ben Arfa was the home side's
main threat with several efforts from long range, while Joe Cole shot just
inches over the bar for the visitors. Yoan Gouffran wasted a fine chance for
Newcastle late on from close range. While West Ham created the better
chances throughout, Gouffran's missed opportunity deep into time added on
was the closest the game came to a goal. It means that West Ham boss Sam
Allardyce left Tyneside unbeaten for the third time since being sacked by
Newcastle in 2008. The Hammers have picked up four points from their opening
two games, following a 2-0 opening-day win over Cardiff. Alan Pardew, in his
100th Premier League game as Newcastle manager, was without Yohan Cabaye for
the second match in a row. The France midfielder was also left out of the
4-0 defeat by Manchester City in the wake of what Newcastle deemed a
"derisory" offer of £10m from Arsenal.

Hammers defender Reid featured in the first half's three best chances, the
first of which saw him touch the ball wide of his own goal posts under
pressure from Papiss Cisse. The New Zealander twice nearly latched on to
set-pieces inside the Newcastle area, while the home side's main openings
before half-time were Ben Arfa's three off-target shots from distance.
Stewart Downing, making his first start for West Ham since his transfer from
Liverpool, set up Kevin Nolan with a cross on the hour but, having found
space, the Londoners' skipper headed wide against his former club. With
heavy rain falling after the break, neither side could threaten despite a
number of substitutions from both managers, including Cole replacing Downing
shortly after Nolan's chance. Cole went close to his second goal of the
season when he lashed a Matt Jarvis cross just a few inches over the corner
of Krul's post and bar. But with time beginning to run out, both sides went
close to grabbing a goal with West Ham's Modibo Maiga flagged for offside as
he netted from a deflected Ravel Morrison shot. However the hosts nearly
grabbed a 93rd-minute winner when Sammy Ameobi hit the inside of the post
with a looping effort and Gouffran could not hit the target with Jussi
Jaaskelainen stranded.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "It's really disappointing to have had three
golden chances, and then we got a goal that would have killed off Newcastle
but that was ruled offside, although that was probably correct. "On the
other side, defensively we were absolutely superb. Playing away from home,
and the home team having zero shots on target in 90 minutes, shows our
defensively resilient qualities today. "Sadly our creative qualities were
there, but there was nobody on the end to finish it off and make us go home
very, very happy with three points instead of one."

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Roger Rojas to join West Ham on loan?
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 25th August 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are set to sign Honduran forward Roger Rojas on loan for the rest
of the season, say reports in his native country tonight. Rojas, 23,
currently plies his trade for reigning HPNFL champions Club Deportivo
Olimpia whose president, Rafael Villeda, claimed via social network Twitter
on Saturday night that the striker - whose nickname is 'Rorro' - will fly to
the UK tomorrow [Sunday] to complete a season-long loan. Tegucigalpa-born
Rojas - who stands just 5'8" tall and on whom Villeda says West Ham will
have the option to make the deal permanent - has spent his entire career at
Olimpia, for whom he has made in excess of 100 appearances and scored over
50 goals including three in his first three matches of this season. He made
his debut for Honduras in 2010 and has since gone on to represent his
country 18 times - meaning that the issue of insufficient international
appearances, which ended Colombian Duvan Zapata's hopes of joining West Ham,
should not be an issue this time. Rojas is understood to have told the media
following last night's 1-0 win over Grills One, in which he played for 67
minutes before being substituted, that reports he was heading to England
were indeed correct.

Since David Sullivan and David Gold took control of the Club three years
ago, West Ham have signed a series of South Americans as varied as Ilan,
Wellington Paulista, Brian Montenegro and Pablo Barrera. Talking in his
recent exclusive interview with KUMB - the second and final part of which
we'll bring you this week - Sullivan revealed that the club maintain an
active presence in that corner of the globe. "We've got an agent who
supplies [players] and Martin [Margetson, West Ham's Head of Recruitment]
has been down there two or three times on scouting missions," he explained.
"We nearly signed Duvan Zapata, but we didn't think we could get a work
permit."

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Newcastle Utd 0-0 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 24th August 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are still to concede a goal in the Premier League this season after
they nullified an admittedly toothless Newcastle attack at St James' Park
this afternoon.

Alan Pardew's side, heavily beaten in their opening fixture at Manchester
City failed to fashion a single shot on target out of their 16 efforts on
goal as Jussi Jaaskelainen enjoyed one of the easiest afternoons he will
ever have in the Premier League.

However his opposite number Tim Krul wasn't exactly pushed either, with only
Stewart Downing's 49th minute effort being on target from a West Ham
perspective.

Sam Allardyce opted to start with the same team that comfortably disposed of
Cardiff last weekend but for one exception, with new signing Stewart Downing
replacing the unlucky Joe Cole - who had been superb against the Premier
League newcomers - to make his first start.

Newcastle, still smarting from Monday's 4-0 defeat proved just as toothless
again in a dire opening half in which their best attacks emanated from the
foraging runs of Hatem Ben Arfa - even if the Frenchman's three efforts on
goal ended up either wide of the target or somewhere close to Row Z.

The closest Newcastle came to scoring ahead of the break came (predictably
perhaps) from the boot of a West Ham player, when Winston Reid's hurried
back pass just 13 minutes in wrong footed Jussi Jaaskelainen before rolling
inches wide of the far post, much to the relief of the big Finn.

Ironically it was Reid who came closest to opening West Ham's account when a
long punt from James Collins on the half hour mark found its way to the Kiwi
who had stolen behind the home defence. Unfortunately for the Hammers, Reid
was unable to find the slightest touch which was all that was needed to
divert the ball beyond Tim Krul.

Modibo Maiga, standing in once again for Andy Carroll was also heavily
involved in West Ham's other two chances of the first half. The Mali
international should have done better when Guy Demel wriggled his way to the
byeline before delivering a great cross that he could only head wide.

Maiga was heavily involved again seven minutes before the break when Matt
Jarvis lost his man before delivering a deep cross towards Stewart Downing.
Downing's decision to nod the back into the centre instead of going for goal
was a poor one, even before Maiga stumbled as he tried - but failed - to
make contact.

After Coloccini had nodded an early corner wide of its intended target,
Downing was involved once more when set through on goal - however the
England winger drifted wide before firing a weak shot straight at Krul. It
was to be the game's only shot on target.

Kevin Nolan, who loves scoring goals against his old club was presented with
a golden opportunity to do it again with an hour played when the cross of
the day from Downing found West Ham's captain free at the near post.
Unusually, Nolan made a complete hash of his header which floated harmlessly
over the bar.

As the home side continued to huff and puff, it was West Ham who were
looking the more dangerous and likely to score the goal which would almost
certainly win the contest. As the game entered its closing stages Cole, on
for (a very disappointed) Downing went close with a dipping effort that
curled inches wide of the post.

Modibo Maiga, who had been anonymous for much of the game did eventually
have the ball in the back of the net in the final minute but was
disappointed to discover that his effort - a tap-in from substitute and
Premier League debutant Ravel Morrison's deflected shot - was ruled out for
offside.

That was before the home side almost stole what would have been a hugely
undeserved three points when Sammy Ameobi's misdirected cross looped over
Jaaskelainen and cannoned back into the path of fellow sub Gouffran, who
somehow poked the ball over the bar from just three yards out.

It was Newcastle's 16th effort on goal in the game - and the 16th time
they'd missed the target.

So in the end the draw was probably a fair result, as neither team managed
to supply any invention or creativity in the final third of the pitch. Look
forward to West Ham - currently second in the Premier League with four
points from two games - being last on Match of the Day tonight.


Match Facts: Newcastle Utd 0-0 West Ham Utd
West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, O'Brien, Collins, Reid, Noble, Diame
(Morrison 75), Nolan (c), Downing (Cole 63), Jarvis, Maiga.
Subs not used: Adrian, Rat, Tomkins, Diarra, Vaz Te.
Booked: O'Brien (44).
Possession: 45%.
Shots (on/off target): 6 (1/5).

Newcastle Utd: Krul, Debuchy, Santon, Coloccini (c), Yanga-Mbiwa, Anita,
Sissoko, Marveaux (Sa.Ameobi 65), Ben Arfa, Sh.Ameobi, Cisse (Gouffran 72).
Subs not used: Elliott, Bigirmana, Gosling, Vuckic, Dummett.
Possession: 55%.
Shots (on/off target): 16 (0/16).
Referee: Phil Dowd.

Assistants: S Bennett, D Bryan.
Fourth Official: K Friend.
Attendance: 49,622 (2,200 away).

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Newcastle draw 0-0 with West Ham at St James' Park
Last Updated: August 24, 2013 7:05pm
SSN

Newcastle are still looking for their first win of the season after being
held to a goalless draw by West Ham at St James' Park.

Best of the match

Man of the match: No one really stood out over the course of 90 minutes, and
a little bit more, of goalless action, but Matthew Jarvis showed great
enterprise and pace out wide for West Ham, and delivered several searching
balls into the 18-yard area.

Moment of the match: Substitute Yoan Gouffran fluffed Newcastle's best
chance of the game deep into added time after he failed to tap in Sammy
Ameobi's rebounded cross-come-shot off the right upright.

Attempt of the match: Clear-cut chances on goal were few and far between,
but the Hammers came close through Modido Maiga's header on from Jussi
Jaaskelainen's ball forward in the 27th minute to Winston Reid, but the
defender just could not keep his attempt on goal down and over Tim Krul.

Save of the match: Neither 'keeper had much to do in terms of heroics, but
Jaaskelainen did have to make a hasty clearance under pressure in the 51st
minute from Shola Ameobi and Papiss Cisse.

Talking point: Maiga tapped in from close range a minute from full-time off
Ravel Morrison's parried shot from Tim Krul, but the linesman's flag was up
for offside and it looked to be a good call.

Chances were few and far between in a disappointing affair, and the closest
either side came to scoring was in stoppage-time when substitute Sammy
Ameobi's cross came back off the post and Yoan Gouffran somehow missed the
rebound from four yards out. After a quiet start West Ham almost gifted
Newcastle the lead on 12 minutes when Winston Reid, under pressure from
Papiss Cisse, rolled the ball just wide of his own far post with goalkeeper
Jussi Jaaskelainen stranded. West Ham created the first chance of the game
five minutes later when Guy Demel dug out a cross from right to the unmarked
Modibo Maiga, but he could only head his effort wide of the target.

Newcastle were struggling to deal with long balls into their box and on 26
minutes West Ham went close to scoring when Reid got on the end of Maiga's
flick-on, but under pressure from Tim Krul the defender could only lift his
shot over the crossbar. Newcastle's defence was all at sea again on 32
minutes when they failed to deal with James Collins' deep free-kick into the
box and Reid was just inches away from diverting the ball into the net.

All the home side could offer in response were a couple of efforts from
Hatem Ben Arfa and Moussa Sissoko which both flew well wide of the target.
Stewart Downing, on his full debut for West Ham, should have done better
eight minutes before the break when Matt Jarvis burst down the left and
picked out the former Liverpool man inside the six-yard box, but the winger
failed to direct his header on target and the chance went begging.

Alan Pardew believes his Newcastle side should have beaten West Ham in their
first home match of the season. The visitors continued to look the side most
likely to score at the start of the second half and West Ham really should
have broken the deadlock on the hour mark when Downing sent over an inviting
cross to an unmarked Kevin Nolan inside the box, but the former Newcastle
midfielder got his attempted header all wrong as it ended up coming off his
shoulder and drifted wide.

Newcastle continued to huff and puff in search of a goal, but they could not
get past a resolute West Ham defence with Jaaskelainen rarely troubled. West
Ham boss Sam Allardyce says he is disappointed to leave St James' Park with
only a point after their game against Newcastle. West Ham substitute Joe
Cole was inches away from scoring on 84 minutes when he turned on the edge
of the box and fizzed his curling shot just wide of the target. West Ham
thought they had won it in the closing stages when Maiga slotted home from
close range, but his celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.
Newcastle then almost stole the three points deep into stoppage-time when
Sammy Ameobi's cross came back off the far post and Gouffran then somehow
missed the rebound with the goal at
his mercy.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce felt his side should have won at Newcastle
Last Updated: August 24, 2013 6:22pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce was left to rue missed chances after seeing his
side draw 0-0 with Newcastle at St James' Park. In a disappointing
encounter, West Ham had the better chances in a tight contest, but could not
find a way to goal, with Kevin Nolan missing the best opportunity to net the
winner against his former club. Allardyce was happy with his side's
performance, but felt they should have been rewarded with all three points
after restricting Newcastle to no real goalscoring opportunities. "We are
not disappointed, but we know we should have won this game and can only
blame ourselves for our lack of finishing quality," Allardyce told Sky
Sports. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says he is disappointed to leave St
James' Park with only a point after their game against Newcastle. It is not
that often when you play away from home and create three or four clear-cut
goalscoring chances - one for Stewart Downing, one for Modibo Maiga and one
for Kevin Nolan, but unfortunately our heading ability was not up to
scratch. "The point is well received, but we all know we should have had all
three today. "It is very satisfying to come away from home and get a point,
so four points from two games is a good start."

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NEWCASTLE: A GOOD POINT BUT WE SHOULD HAVE GOT THREE
By Iain Dale 24 Aug 2013 at 16:55
West Ham Till I Die

I only heard the radio commentary so I can't do a full match report, but
from what I heard, we were phenomenally unlucky not to come away with three
points. It just goes to show what happens when you don't have a proven
goalscorer in your team. There seemed to be at least two cast iron chances
which a predatory striker would have undoubtedly tucked away. But the fact
is we put in a great performance and the two central defenders can be very
proud of the shift they put in.

It was also good to see Ravel Morrison get on at the end, and he very nearly
tucked home a winner. Indeed, he would have done had Maiga not touched it on
from an offside position. Morrison will undoubtedly start against Cheltenham
on Tuesday.

Anyway, for a few hours at least, we are second in the league!

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Newcastle United 0-0 West Ham United: Magpies fans protest against Joe
Kinnear during dour stalemate
24 Aug 2013 22:30
The Mirror

Kevin Nolan could have dumped Alan Pardew in a ton of trouble in the
manager's 100th Premier League game in charge of Newcastle, writes John
Wardle at St James' Park. The former Toon midfielder failed to take a
glorious 60th-minute chance to extend his impressive scoring record against
his former club. A goal at that stage would certainly have put the Toon Army
in a sour mood, with Pardew one of the chief ­targets for their anger.
­Instead, Newcastle survived to earn their first point of the season – and
would have emerged with all three, if Yoan Gouffran had not been guilty of
an incredible miss from point-blank range after Sammy Ameobi's cross came
back off a post in the final seconds. That was among 16 ­Newcastle efforts
that failed to trouble keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and Pardew said: "Our
shooting was off today. We had so many ­off-target, which was ­unfortunate.
If we could have hit the target, we have a good poacher in Papiss Cisse.
"You want world-class quality and it was missing a little bit, but Loic Remy
will give us that when he is fit."

It was the first time in four visits, since he was fired by Newcastle, that
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce had failed to win at St James' Park. But
Allardyce, who lasted just 24 games on Tyneside, was still content as his
side built on their opening-day victory against Cardiff.He said: "There were
zero shots on our goal in 90 ­minutes and, when you are playing away from
home against Newcastle, that's a pretty good achievement. "We are satisfied
with a point and another clean sheet, but very disappointed we didn't take
any of the very good chances we created. "I watched Chelsea v Aston Villa in
midweek and ­Chelsea won 2-1, but didn't create as many chances as we did
here. I'd have been sick, though, if that fluke cross had gone in the back
of the net at the end, so I've got to be satisfied with a point."

Owner Mike Ashley was not at St James's Park to ­witness Newcastle failing
to score for the fourth ­successive home game – nor were a few other
regulars.
The attendance dropped below 50,000, suggesting a few thousand fans have had
enough of Ashley's failure to invest in new ­signings. At least the players,
who conceded 10 goals in their final three home games of last season, looked
far more equipped for the Premier League than they did at ­Manchester City
on Monday. But, for all the probing of Hatem Ben Arfa and the ­midfield
energy of Vurnon Anita, they struggled to ­create goal threats, particularly
before the break.

One came courtesy of West Ham defender Winston Reid, who almost nudged the
ball past his own keeper in the 11th minute, the other from Mapou
Yanga-Mbwia's 35th minute header. West Ham were little better before the
break. Modibo Maiga failed to hit the target with a header, while Reid
­exposed uncertainty in Newcastle's defence when he twice came close to a
decisive final touch in the ­six-yard area. The second-half was only
marginally more enterprising.

It saw Stewart Downing stretch ­Newcastle keeper Tim Krul with a ­long-range
effort in the 48th minute. And Downing's cross should have brought a goal on
the hour when Nolan failed to connect cleanly with a close-range header.
West Ham sub Joe Cole also drilled a shot narrowly wide and Maiga was
offside when he diverted the ball past Krul in the 89th minute. But the best
chance of breaking the deadlock came deep into stoppage time when Sammy
Ameobi's cross came back off the post and Gouffran poked the ball over from
three yards. "He'll be sweating on the Christmas gaffes of the season
feature," said Pardew.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce's Silvestre Varela plan
Express.co.uk

WEST HAM will switch their attention to Porto striker Silvestre Varela if
they fail to agree a deal for Juventus forward Fabio Quagliarella.
Varela-has-scored-25-goals-in-90-games-for-Juventus Varela has scored 25
goals in 90 games for Juventus Club record signing Andy Carroll is out with
a heel injury and with Modibo Maiga the only other recognised forward at
Upton Park, boss Sam Allardyce is keen to bring in another front man before
the transfer window closes. Varela has scored 25 goals in 90 games for the
Portuguese champions.

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