Daily WHUFC News - 17th December 2013

'We just need to keep digging deep'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to retain their confidence to
turn recent results around
16.12.2013

Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to 'dig deep' if they are to
turn recent results around and start climbing the Barclays Premier League
table.
The goalkeeper kept his eighth clean sheet in 16 league games, but was
forced to settle for a point in Saturday's goalless home draw with
Sunderland.
While things are not quite clicking in front of goal, Jaaskelainen and his
defenders were again on top form to shutout the Black Cats at the Boleyn
Ground.
"It was a little disappointing from the team because we didn't pass the ball
with the same fluency as we normally do in home games, so it was massively
important that we kept a clean sheet and got at least a point from the
game," said the Finn. "Sometimes when you don't play well you have to settle
for a point.
"I think they generally played a bit sharper than us and that hasn't been
happening since I've been here. Over the last season and a half we've been
very sharp at home and we've been better attacking-wise. "We just need to
keep digging deep. We've been a little low on confidence but we don't need
to be like that because we've not been playing badly. "We've got eight clean
sheets and we definitely should have a few more points, but if we keep
working hard and keep believing we will turn this around."

While confidence may not be at its highest in the camp, Jaaskelainen insists
this is no time for the Hammers to go into their shells. Instead, the No22
says the players need to knuckle down, learn from their errors and
experiences and go into each and every match believing they can achieve a
positive result. "Obviously you take the good and bad things from the games
before and you have to learn from your mistakes - that's the main thing as a
player, because you don't want to make the same mistakes again. "It's a
little bit easier to build on all those clean sheets, because we just need a
little bit of luck in front of goal and nick a goal because that's going to
make a massive change. "We're going to have a big Christmas period coming up
and hopefully we can go to Manchester United [and do well] and go on from
there."

Jaaskelainen's performance against Sunderland was exemplary, with the Finn
making a series of important saves, holding the ball well and punching and
parrying with authority. "That's my job and what I try to do every week. I
always try to work hard in training and take that into the games and
hopefully I can carry on the level I've been playing for the last few years
- that's my aim."

The 38-year-old was especially pleased with his display in the light of a
couple of recent fouls which led to penalties in defeats by Norwich City and
Chelsea.
"You always learn, even at my age. Against Chelsea I was a bit unfortunate
because Oscar wasn't even trying to score. "You realise now that players are
happier to get a penalty than try to score the goal, so if you go and commit
yourself you have to be 100 per cent sure you're going to get to the ball
first. If not, they will nick the ball away, go down and get the penalty.
"When a player goes through one-on-one with you, you'd expect him to try to
score, but that's not the case anymore."

Jaaskelainen says goalkeepers now have to act like defenders, in that
staying on their feet is often the best way to avoid conceding a spot-kick.
"The only way you can commit yourself is when you are 100 per cent sure
you're going to get to the ball first. That's the name of the game. "You can
see how many penalties come now from when the player kicks the ball towards
the corner flag and goes down to get the penalty. That's the way football is
going."

Jaaskelainen will be looking to produce two more unbeatable performances
this week, with the Hammers travelling to Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital
One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday before Saturday's league trip to Old
Trafford. "We'll see what's going to happen on Wednesday as to whether I'll
play [or Adrian continues to start in that competition], but whoever players
we want to go there and put in a good performance. "Every player knows that
the cup is not the priority, but we want to win every game and if we do
we'll be in the semi-finals. "If I look back on my career, the best memories
were in the cups - an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley [in April 2011] and the
League Cup final in Cardiff [in 2004]. Those were very nice experiences, but
the money is in the Premier League so we have to make sure the main focus is
on the Premier League."

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Dev Squad match postponed
WHUFC.com
Monday's U21 match has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch
16.12.2013

The Development Squad's Barclays U21 Premier League match at Reading, due to
be played on Monday night, has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
A new date will now have to be set for this fixture and will be announced on
whufc.com in due course.

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Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is planning to use an experienced team for Wednesday's Capital
One Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur
15.12.2013

Sam Allardyce is planning to name experienced line-up for West Ham United's
mouthwatering Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on
Wednesday. The West Ham United manager successfully utilised some of the key
players from the Hammers' Under-21 side in the earlier rounds of the
competition, but says that it will be his senior squad members who are
likely to get the nod at White Hart Lane this time around. The likes of Alou
Diarra, Joey O'Brien, Matt Taylor and Carlton Cole could all start as Big
Sam targets his second high-profile win at Spurs this season following the
3-0 win back in October.
"I remember Cardiff in the Capital One Cup third round at the Boleyn Ground
and playing the first team behind the first team," he said. "When we got
round to Burnley away the squad had diminished a lot with the injuries we
had then so we played a lot of the young players. "Now, we're in a position
where we have to see what we've got available for Wednesday night but there
won't be any young players in there that's for sure. But there will be
players who haven't played as much in the first team."

Wednesday's London derby marks the start of a hat-trick of three
tough-looking fixtures for the Hammers - on paper at least. After Tottenham,
Big Sam will take his team to Manchester United on Saturday, followed by a
Boxing Day derby at home to Spurs' neighbours Arsenal. "We've got some tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday and then
Manchester United away and Arsenal here. We've got to try to do what many
teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points. If we
play our best we'll have a chance. "When I got to the Carling Cup final with
Bolton Wanderers I played the strongest possible team I had available at
that particular time because we were about eighth in the Premier League. Now
I've got to get a team ready to get some points at Manchester United next
Saturday. "That's not just my remit, that's everybody's remit here, not just
the owners. Premier League safety is the most important thing at the club."

While Big Sam will be burning the midnight oil on a strategy to get the
better of his Tottenham counterpart Andre Villas Boas once more, he is also
dedicating time to signing the new striker he so desperately desires.
Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland highlighted the Hammers' struggles
in front of goal and their manager has hinted he is moving ever closer to
agreeing a deal with one of his primary targets. "We're looking at a
frontline attacking player, there's no doubt about that. We've been in
negotiations, not just for one but for many others. We're moving onto the
next phase and there are possibilities and we're talking to the club and the
players agents to see whether they're going to join us or not. "We've tried
to get a quick decision. We'll try to do the deal as soon as possibly can.
[Joint-Chairman] David Sullivan's the quickest owner of a football club that
I've ever had. He makes a decision and tries to do a deal. He doesn't ah and
um like some of the other owners that I've been involved with so if it's a
yes then bang, we try and get it done."

In an interview on Saturday, Joint-Chairman David Sullivan voiced his belief
that Big Sam and his management team will soon have the Hammers climbing the
table again once the spate of injuries clears up. The need for improvement
in results is a view shared by the manager, especially given the exciting
opportunity of a move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016 on the horizon. "As the
Joint-Chairman said and as I've said, going into the new stadium this club
has to be in the Premier League. If the club has to be in the Premier League
then we have to make sure we have a team capable and sustainable enough to
stay there. "At the moment we're not quite there but I think that's down to
the injuries to players and the players missing on a regular basis. Once we
get them back in the team then we'll be ok. Bearing in mind we can't do that
at the moment, we've got to get the players fit and try and do what we can
until we get them back."

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Loan watch - Spence plays in Dons win
WHUFC.com
Jordan Spence played his part as Milton Keynes Dons defeated Wolves on
Saturday
16.12.2013

Jordan Spence helped his loan club Milton Keynes Dons to a fine 2-0 win at
Wolverhampton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One on Saturday. The 23-year-old
defender played the 90 minutes as his team defeated the promotion contenders
thanks to goals from Patrick Bamford and Ben Reeves. Spence has now played
eight games for Karl Robinson's side since joining them on loan, with the
Dons currently sitting twelfth in the table. Meanwhile, Dan Potts was unable
to help Portsmouth halt their poor run of form as they lost 2-0 at Newport
County in League Two. Pompey have slipped down to 18th in the division after
a run of six games without a victory. They face fellow strugglers Bristol
Rovers in their next fixture. Pelly Ruddock enjoyed more success as his
Luton Town side knocked holders Wrexham out of the FA Trophy. The Hatters
won 2-0 thanks to a goal from Mark Cullen and an own goal from Wrexham's
Neil Ashton. They are now into the last 16 of the competition, which they
will be looking to win for the first time.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce in talks for mystery striker
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 16/12/13
10:04am
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has revealed they are in advanced talks about
signing a mystery striker in the January transfer window. Allardyce is
desperate to bolster his attacking options after seeing West Ham struggle
for goals in the absence of the injured Andy Carroll. West Ham's co-owners
David Gold and David Sullivan have promised Allardyce they will fund a deal
for a new striker and the Hammers boss has confirmed they are close to
landing a new addition to the squad. Allardyce has been linked with the
likes of Rickie Lambert, Obafemi Martins and Diego Forlan, but the Hammers
boss refused to reveal the identity of his target. "It is an attacking
player there are no doubts about that," said Allardyce. "We are moving on to
the next phase and we are talking to the club and the player's agent to see
if he is going to join us or not. "We are moving on to the next phase and we
are talking to the club and the player's agent to see if he is going to join
us or not." "We will try and do the deal as quickly as we possibly can,
David Sullivan is the quickest owner of a football club I have ever had. He
doesn't 'ooh' 'ahh' and 'um' like most of the other owners I have been
involved with."

Meanwhile, Allardyce insists he has no problem with Sullivan's comments that
he regrets signing Carroll on a permanent basis in the summer with the
striker yet to feature this season due to injury. "David is the owner and he
can always say what he thinks because he pays for and looks after the club,"
added Allardyce. "The way he is as a person, he gets extremely anxious about
the situation. The pressure comes on him as much as it does on to me and
everyone else. "Dealing with that is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "The commitment to go forward is a big responsibility for us all
because this club has to be in the Premier League when we go to the new
stadium."

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REMEMBERING THE 1923 FA CUP FINAL
By Tony Hanna 16 Dec 2013 at 14:51
West Ham Till I Die

Another part of my "remembering" series and I have to own up as to not
having been around for this game! The 1923 FA Cup Final is another part of
football history for West Ham. It was the first final ever to be played at
Wembley Stadium and we are in the history books as being the first team to
lose a Cup Final there. Our opponents on the day were Bolton Wanderers and
they beat us by two goals to nil. However, the football match was, in
comparison, a small part of what happened on this historic day. The match
has been for years remembered as the "White Horse" final.


The White Horse Cup Final was to go down as one of the most extraordinary
events in sporting history. The then new Wembley, officially known as The
Empire Stadium, was completed just 4 days prior to the 1923 Cup Final and
was considered to be the Worlds greatest sporting arena. The capacity was
believed to be 127,000 and it was considered ample as the previous year's
final had attracted a crowd of just 53,000. However, the organisers had not
taken into account the lure of the new National Stadium and before you could
say "make it all ticket", nearly half a million people were converging on
the ground.

By 1.45pm the gates were closed as the capacity limit had been reached.
However, a quarter of a million more people were swelling outside the
stadium in a tide that was not going to go away. The locked out crowd began
breaking down gates and scaling the walls to get in as the surge to get in
became overwhelming. Before long an estimated additional 100,000 fans had
made it into the ground and the groundswell had seen spectators spill from
the terraces and onto the pitch . We will never know how many people were
crammed into the stadium that day, estimates range from 240,000 to 300,000,
but it will go down as "unofficially" the highest non racing sports
attendance in World sport.


At 2.45pm after the King had overseen the singing of the National anthem, it
was unclear if a game could be played at all? The pitch was completely full
of spectators and it seemed impossible to see how the chaos could be
rectified. Then along came the hero's of the day – a police constable named
George Scorey and his white horse "Billy". He carefully picked his way to
the centre of the pitch and then started to circle, edging the crowd back
bit by bit. The horse nudging here, nudging there, as he continued to
enlarge the territory which was the green blades of grass of the playing
field. George persuaded the front ranks of spectators to link arms and push
backwards as the horse kept manoeuvring the crowd back until after 45
minutes the crowd had been retreated all the way back to the edge of the
pitch. It was then realised that any more retreating was impossible.

The game eventually started which often saw players, unable to stop
themselves near the touch lines, hurtling into the crowd and struggling to
get back onto the pitch amidst the mass of supporters. At half time both
teams had to stay on the field and several times in the second half play was
stopped as the crowd again spilled onto the playing area. Goals from David
Jack and Jack Smith ensured a 2-0 win to Bolton who were one of the
strongest teams of that era. In honour of Billy the white horse, the
footbridge outside the new Wembley was named the "White Horse Bridge".

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Sam Allardyce remains under pressure after owner writes-off painfully poor
West Ham's season
15 Dec 2013 22:30
The Hammers could field a weakened team this Wednesday, but fans (and maybe
David Sullivan) will be asking: "Can it get any weaker?"
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce plans to pick a weakened team against Spurs in the League Cup
on Wednesday. But after watching this goalless draw West Ham fans will ask:
'How can it get any weaker?' On the day co-owner David Sullivan went public
with his frustration and declared the season a "write-off" , the Hammers
were painfully poor in their latest goalless draw. Until the cavalry arrive
in January – either a new striker or the return of Andy Carroll –
Allardyce's side simply do not look like scoring. With their best players
Kevin Nolan and Stewart Downing also out, Saturday's team made the Hammers
side relegated in 2003 – including Joe Cole and Paolo Di Canio – look like
Brazil in 1970. And with Manchester United and Arsenal their next two
Premier League opponents, the trip to White Hart Lane is looking daunting.
Especially with Tottenham hurting from West Ham's 3-0 win there in October.
"I have to try and get a team ready to get some points at Manchester
United," Allardyce said. "Our Premier League status is the most important
thing at the club. The more important game for me, as much as I don't like
to say it, is Man U and getting points (rather than) Tottenham on Wednesday,
based on the position in the league and the squad I have available at the
moment. "There won't be any young players – that is one thing for sure – but
there will be some players who haven't played as much in the first team."

Sullivan's interview on BBC's Football Focus was surprisingly timed but
totally accurate. Carroll has not offered a return on his big investment.
And although Sullivan insisted he was backing Allardyce, he added
­tellingly: "But let's judge him at the end of the season." Allardyce chose
his words carefully in response to the "write-off" comment, and effectively
urged his boss to hold his nerve. "David is obviously in a position where he
gets extremely anxious of the situation," he said. "That's the way he is as
a person. "The pressure comes on him as much as it does on me and everyone
else. I think dealing with pressure is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "And he can always say what he thinks because he is the owner. But
it's a big responsibility for us all and going into the new stadium, this
club has to be in the Premier League. "So we have to make sure we have a
team capable of staying there. At the moment, we're not quite there but I
think that is down to the injured players and the players missing on a
regular basis. "Once we get them back and ready and back in the team and
hopefully staying in the team, we will be OK."

Sub Jack Collison admitted: "It's frustrating for us as players. It's not
through a lack of effort and the fans have to know we are trying hard."

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West Ham, Sunderland and Hull set for January transfer battle over Lorient
defender Lamine Kone
16 Dec 2013 22:30
English trio chasing 24-year-old former France under-20 centre-back who is
on the market for £2.2million
The Mirror

Premier League rivals West Ham, Sunderland and Hull are in a three-way fight
to land Lorient defender Lamine Kone in the January transfer window. The
powerhouse centre-back is available for £2.2million - despite signing a new
three-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit only last summer. But he wants a
move to either England or Spain, and the French side will not stand in his
way if their valuation on the 24-year-old is met. Kone, who is also being
tracked by La Liga pair Malaga and Celta Vigo, confirmed:"I extended for
three years but, if there is a good offer, Lorient will not say 'no.'"
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, Black Cats manager Gus Poyet and Tigers chief
Steve Bruce have all had Kone watched as they look to strengthen their
squads for the survival battle ahead of them in the second-half of the
season. Kone, a former France under-20 international who can also play at
right-back, is rated as one of his country's most solid and reliable
defenders. And his series of consistently impressive performances have
helped hoist Lorient into the top half of the table.

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An open letter to Sam Allardyce
Date: 16th December 2013 at 9:15 pm
Written by: Spencer Pratten |
ForeverWestHam.com

After watching the latest woeful West Ham home performance against bottom of
the table Sunderland. I think now I can now suggest to Big Sam Allardyce,
after suffering a series of dull, defensive minded efforts over several
months now, that packing the midfield and sitting the defence deep on top of
your own goalkeeper isn't working for us. Furthermore, this will fail to
produce goals for as long as this tired and predictable system is allowed to
operate.

The way we play simply allows opposition sides a starting platform 20 yards
closer to our goal, allows unemployed defenders to push into midfield and
overload us, and forces us to defend for our lives for most of the match. We
have neither the required pace or skill to counteract with any fluidity or
regularity, and all we succeed in doing is isolating the poor individual who
has been selected as 'striker' (that's the bloke who is supposed to be
scoring goals by the way), who we now require to make runs across the width
of the field, find space against two or more defenders, control the ball,
bring others into play and stick the ball in the net. Not much to ask then
Mr.Allardyce?

Do you know I actually feel sorry for Modibo Maiga and Carlton Cole. Even
the worlds best strikers would have their hands full as the lone man up
front, and even then with the benefit of clever and frequent support from
the midfielders. We are expecting journeyman players to do all of this with,
at times, no support at all, or at best one player looking to help our
overworked front man. It's an impossible job Sam, and that's precisely why
we have such a shocking goals for record. Surely you can see that…because we
can !

Sure, when (if ?) Andy Carroll finally makes an appearance we can give the
system another go, but until then, please do us a favour…at least try two
strikers…. one linking just behind the other, and see how we get on. Do you
really think things will be any worse than they have been of late Sam?

When you first came here you put a lot of backs up by claiming the famed
"West Ham way" was a losing way. Well that may well have been the case but
at least we lost with some style my friend and us fans went home having seen
some shots at goal. What exactly is the Allardyce way, Sam? Packed defence
and midfield? Lone striker or even none at all? Wingers with no one to hit?
The ball moving backwards or sideways, as forward options are hard to find?

They may have been happy at Bolton Wanderers or Blackburn Rovers to pay to
watch this bore-fest, but as Hammers we expect and want more than we are
getting. Start to think offensively because your way isn't our way!

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West Ham line up surprise January move for Southampton star Lambert
By James McLean
Monday 16 December 2013

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce could be set to make a shock move for
Southampton striker Rickie Lambert in the January transfer window, according
to The Independent. Lambert was thought to be on the Hammers; radar in the
summer, but any approaches were rebuffed as Saints sought to hold on to
their prized asset. With Dani Osvaldo's arrival at St. Mary's, however,
Lambert is no longer considered a sure-fire selection – at least not the
club's first choice striker – the forward could seek a move away from the
south coast in the hopes of maintaining his hopes of booking a seat on the
plane to Brazil for the World Cup in the summer. West Ham have appeared
considerably lackluster in attack this season, especially since losing
striker Andy Carroll to injury, and with only bottom club Sunderland having
scored less in the league this season Big Sam is thought to be keen on
taking Lambert to east London. Lambert's contract runs until 2016, but he
has only found the net four times so far this season – and so a move could
both freshen up the striker's campaign and help West Ham's struggling Goals
For tally.

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Why we owe a lot of Gold and Sullivan
Moorethanjustaclub.com

Due to the difficult times the club are going through at the moment there's
been a lot of negativity towards the owners and particularly David Gold
because he has twitter and fans can message him easily. I don't think the
hard time he's getting is fair because looking at the bigger picture he's
done a lot of good for the club.

I don't think we'd be in the premier league right now if they hadn't been
there to help out and really all fans want is for us to do well in the
league. The Olympic Stadium is notably the big thing that Gold, Sullivan and
Brady have achieved and at this moment it doesn't bare thinking about how
it's going to feel to leave Upton Park but the OS should help us move on to
bigger things. With some hope and luck we should still have Andy Carroll
maybe Ravel and some of our youngsters Lee, Chambers, Lletget etc. so
there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic as long as were still in the
premier league and I think we will be, this season will be a struggle but
we'll pull through. We're not the team or fans that give up. Another factor
that comes with the OS is that the debt will be cleared, we will never know
the complete ins and outs of what's going on money wise but if we are then
the club can focus on getting good players and I think the bigger stadium
will help attract good players.

The fact that David Gold has twitter automatically earns my respect, it
can't be easy, we are a very passionate group of fans and he puts up with
the tweets and often comes out with responses that make us laugh. I do
believe he tries to be as honest as he can but it's not like he can share a
lot of details that other teams may see. He has been very quiet recently
which hasn't looked great because it's a time when the fans want answers but
overall it's a good interaction to have with the fans.

He's a lifelong fan of the club but that doesn't mean he can go and do
whatever he wants, he has finance and business decisions to think about. At
the current time, like him or not he deserves respect for what he's done as
do Sullivan and Brady.

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Chelsea Legend and former West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola resigns as manager
of Watford
CHELSEA legend Gianfranco Zola has walked away from his role as manager of
Championship side Watford after struggling to recapture last season's form.
Daily Star
By Colin Harvey/Published 16th December 2013

Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea, Watford, West Ham,Gianfranco Zola feels the strain
as his former Watford are on a run of no wins in nine games. [GETTY]
His Hornets side hadn't won in nine games in the build up to the
resignation. Zola was unable to recreate the form that saw Watford reach
last season's plays-offs with a dramatic last-grasp win over Leicester on
the final day. They lost the final to Crystal Palace and haven't pushed on
this year. Watford lie in 13th, eight points adrift of the playoff places.
In an open letter addressed to the fans on their official site, Zola said:
"I am writing this today with a very heavy heart and after a lot of
consideration, to tell you that I have resigned from my Head Coach position
at Watford. "First of all, this decision has not been made quickly. I
mentioned after the game on Saturday that I wanted to think about things
overnight and that is exactly what I have done. "I feel that it is in the
best interests of the team that somebody new is given the chance to bring
the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard for" "I feel
that it is in the best interests of the team that somebody new is given the
chance to bring the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard
for. "It is for a variety of reasons, and not just over one matter or one
moment, that I feel this is the right decision for me, in the best interests
of the club - and I know I can trust you, the supporters, to respect my
decision fully. "Last season was such an amazing time, for the players, the
staff and the supporters. And I loved that journey. Every minute of it
brought a new challenge, different experiences and a lot of learning. "It
has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve this club and I am sure we will
see each other again one day."

He has been given odds of 10/1 to become the new West Brom manager.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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