Daily WHUFC News - 18th December 2013

Tottenham Hotspur match preview
WHUFC.com
A look ahead to Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final against Tottenham
Hotspur
17.12.2013

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v WEST HAM UNITED
CAPITAL ONE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
REFEREE: NEIL SWARBRICK

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Introduction
• West Ham United visit White Hart Lane for the second time this season on
Wednesday night as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup
quarter-finals.
• The Hammers first trip to north London this season back on 6 October ended
in a brilliant 3-0 win in the Barclays Premier League, which represented the
Club's first away win over Spurs in 14 years.
• Sam Allardyce's team overcame Cheltenham Town and Cardiff City at the
Boleyn Ground in rounds two and three before they saw off Burnley at Turf
Moor to reach this stage of the competition.
• Ravel Morrison netted against both Cheltenham and Cardiff and returns to
the stadium where he scored a brilliant third goal in the league win over
Spurs.
• There will be no Andre Villas Boas in the home dugout after the Portuguese
was relieved of his duties following Sunday's heavy 5-0 defeat to Liverpool.
• Tim Sherwood has been placed in temporary charge of a team which has
beaten Aston Villa away and Hull City at home to earn their place in the
quarter-finals.
• Spurs have so far enjoyed more wins on their travels than at home in the
league this season, with the 3-0 defeat to West Ham one of three home
losses.
• Former Hammer Jermain Defoe is Tottenham's leading scorer in the Capital
One Cup following his brace in the third round win over Aston Villa.

Team news
West Ham United
• Andy Carroll (foot), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Stewart Downing (ankle),
Winston Reid (ankle) and Mladen Petric (calf) are all definitely out.
• James Tomkins will undergo a fitness test ahead of the game on Wednesday
after the recurrence of a groin injury.

Tottenham Hotspur
• Tottenham have injury doubts over Vlad Chiriches (knee), Younes Kaboul
(quad) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle), but Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose
should be fit enough to feature.
Background
• West Ham United first met Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup on 14
September 1966 at the Boleyn Ground, when Geoff Hurst scored the only goal
of the game to put the Hammers through to the third round.
• When these two teams last met in the quarter-finals of the League Cup the
Division Two Hammers hosted their top flight opponents. David Cross scored
the winning goal in a 1-0 win on 2 December 1980.
• Overall the sides have met on seven occasions in the League Cup with West
Ham winning two, Tottenham winning three times and two matches ending in
draws.

Last time out
West Ham United 0-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
14 December 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins,
McCartney, Noble, Morrison, Diame, J Cole (C Cole 75), Jarvis (Collison 56),
Maiga
Subs not used: Adrian, Rat, Diarra, Taylor

Tottenham Hotspur 0-5 Liverpool
Barclays Premier League
15 December 2013
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Capoue, Dawson, Naughton (Fryers 46),
Dembele (Townsend 61), Lennon, Sandro (Holtby 30), Soldado, Paulinho, Chadli
Subs not used: Friedel, Lamela, Defoe, Sigurdsson
Red card: Paulinho 62

Previous meeting
West Ham fans celebrated a famous win after a flawless team performance
earned the Hammers a first victory at White Hart Lane in 14 years. A
13-minute spell in the second half saw the visitors rack up three goals and
blow away their opponents. Winston Reid opened the scoring after 66 minutes
before Ricardo Vaz Te ran through to double the lead after 72 minutes. The
crowning glory came seven minutes later when Ravel Morrison picked the ball
up in his own half before beating two defenders and lifting the ball over
Hugo Lloris to jubilant scenes in the away section.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
6 October 2013
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton (Holtby 81),
Dembele, Townsend, Paulinho, Eriksen (Soldado 74), Sigurdsson (Lamela 63),
Defoe
Subs not used: Friedel, Chiriches, Chadli, Sandro
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Rat, Morrison, Diame
(Collins 80), Noble (O'Brien 90), Nolan, Downing, Vaz Te (J Cole 86)
Subs not used: Adrian, Jarvis, Maiga, Petric
Goals: Reid 66, Vaz Te 72, Morrison 79

Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
06.10.13 Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United
25.02.13 West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
25.11.12 Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United
19.03.11 Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 West Ham United
25.09.10 West Ham United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
28.12.09 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United

Overall record v Tottenham Hotspur (all competitions) W 68 D 48 L 77
Ten-year records

West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)

Tottenham Hotspur
2012/13 Premier League 5th (72 points)
2011/12 Premier League 3rd (69 points)
2010/11 Premier League 5th (62 points)
2009/10 Premier League 4th (70 points)
2008/09 Premier League 8th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 11th (46 points)
2006/07 Premier League 5th (60 points)
2005/06 Premier League 5th (65 points)
2004/05 Premier League 9th (52 points)
2003/04 Premier League 14th (45 points)

Old boys
• Spurs striker Jermain Defoe came through the ranks at West Ham before
scoring 29 goals in 93 league appearances between 1999 and 2004. He is in
his second spell at White Hart Lane after returning in January 2009.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Calum
Davenport, Ilie Dumitrescu, Dave Dunmore, Matthew Etherington, Les
Ferdinand, Jimmy Greaves, Fred Griffiths, Pat Holland, Chris Hughton, Bill
Joyce, Bill Kaine, Frederic Kanoute, Kenny McKay, Fred Massey, Fred Milnes,
John Moncur, Jimmy Neighbour, Tony Parks, Martin Peters, Sergei Rebrov, Mark
Robson, Peter Shearing, Teddy Sheringham, Mauricio Taricco, Mitchell Thomas,
Michael Carrick, Bobby Zamora and Scott Parker.

Referee
• Wednesday night's referee will be Neil Swarbrick.
• Swarbrick began refereeing at the age of 29 and within six years he had
been promoted to the National List of assistant referees in 2005.
• Now 42, Swarbrick made his way up the leagues via the Football Conference
and the npower Football League before receiving his first Barclays Premier
League appointment on 11 December 2010. He was officially promoted to the
Select Group of top-flight referees in June 2011.
• The official last took charge of the Hammers in their 3-0 defeat to
Sunderland at the Stadium of Light back on 12 January 2013.
General information
• All standard and disabled tickets for this fixture are sold out.
• There are no planned engineering works on the London Underground network
on Wednesday. You can view live travel updates across the Underground here.
• Heavy rain is forecast for the game with temperatures expected to be
around 10C.

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Big Sam on: Tottenham Hotspur
WHUFC.com
Big Sam faces the media ahead of Wednesday night's Capital One Cup
quarter-final
17.12.2013

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has spoken to the media ahead of
Wednesday night's Capital One Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Big Sam was asked about Spurs' recent managerial sacking, the Club's form in
the Barclays Premier League and the latest team news ahead of the trip to
White Hart Lane.

Morning Sam, is it a good or bad time to be facing Spurs?

SA: "We'll only know at the end of the game. Whatever the situation is at
Spurs from our point of view you look at the squad of players they've got
and they have an excellent squad. They had a very, very poor result against
Liverpool and that ultimately resulted in them removing Andre Villas-Boas
which was a surprise to me. From our point of view it's about the same
players that we all know about. We all know the quality of the team and the
quality of their squad. Whatever team they turn out against us on Wednesday
night is always going to be an exceptionally difficult game for us. "We had
one of the games of the season, or for us the game of the season against
them last time. That doesn't mean to say it's going to be any easier now
there's been a change, it may be more difficult. I have enough of my own
problems with injuries and suspensions with games coming up rapidly to have
too much concern about Tottenham other than what team I'm going to play, how
we're going to play and what we can do to combat them and get through to the
semi-finals."

You said you were surprised that AVB was sacked, why do you think that? And
also do you feel partly responsible after your win over them earlier in the
season?

SA: "Not really, no. At that stage it was their second defeat and they'd
only conceded two goals at the time. We had a fantastic 12 or 14 minute
spell when we took full advantage of a very good situation for ourselves and
we finished them off by scoring on the chances that we created. Before that
and since then we've played similar games on several occasions but failed to
score and ended up losing football matches so we're in a very difficult
position in the league. "We're now in the quarter-finals of the Capital One
Cup and it's a less pressured game than has fallen upon us recently in the
Barclays Premier League, so we've got to go out and give it all we've got.
It's a one-off tie, at the end of it it won't be a draw, one team will have
won and one team will have lost. It could be the end of your cup competition
or you go to the exciting semi-finals in the New Year. It's a different type
of game, a different pressure and hopefully the players will come out and
give their all on Wednesday night."

Five of the Premier League managers have gone before Christmas so it's been
a relatively bleak season in those terms so far, what have you made of it?

SA: "It's about the money now. The money's so big that the fear of losing
that status of being in the Premier League and losing that revenue is so big
now that it causes lots of thinking by owners of football clubs to try and
make sure they continue with that type of revenue. For Tottenham, not so
much, because they're not going to worry about getting relegated and it's
probably more about budgeting for Champions League football and what that
brings on top of what they've spent. "The removal of managers at this level
is probably the highest it's been in the entirety of the Premier League. I
don't think this many managers have ever changed this early in the Premier
League since it was born. More importantly you see the downside in the
Championship now where there are more and more managers being changed by all
the clubs that want to try and get back to the Premier League and that
creates a very volatile industry. You have to be well aware of that when you
step through the door and sit behind the desk, it's all about winning and
making sure your team lives up to the reality of where it should be with
what it spends and the quality of players you have, not perception. The
perception of where you should or shouldn't be compared to reality is always
that little bit greater at every football club."

With all these sackings, do you fear for your job?

SA: "No, I don't fear for my job. When you're a senior manager in the years
that I've been managing now, then that becomes one of those things that you
face on some occasions of your career. There's always going to be a time
when there's a difficult period and my responsibility is to manage the
players through that. You have to make sure you bring stability back to the
club and get where you want to be. My particular situation will ease and
will get better as long as we get our inured players fit, and our
communication between the Board of Directors and myself with everyone at the
Club is clear and precise. "I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen but we're
supportive in terms of trying to do something in January to help the players
and try to bring back the injured players to get the squad back to where it
was at the start of the season, which even if it didn't include Andy Carroll
was a very good squad. It's fraught with injuries and suspensions at the
minute and that is a great difficulty for us to deal with. I worry more
about my team than my own position, I always have done and I know everyone's
feeling the pressure; it's always going to happen to someone. We all can't
finish tenth, we all can't finish top and we've all got to find our place in
this league and we've got to continue to strive to do that."

Any news on the attacking player you're trying to bring in?

SA: "Not particularly, no. I've said before it's not an easy task to bring
players in at this time of the season. We're looking at loan players rather
than a permanent and I think it makes it that little bit more difficult. Who
knows if someone turns up and wants to talk then it can happen very swiftly.
When David Sullivan and David Gold make a decision, the reaction to the
decision is almost immediate and they try and get the deal done, we don't
dither. If we can't, we say 'thank you very much' and get on with it."

You've always said that you should stick with managers, are you looking
forward to proving that point this season?

SA: "I don't have to prove a point to anybody. The only thing I do is
continue to do my job and all the outside press can do and say what they
want to because that's their right and their industry. My confidence is in
myself and how I run a football club and I've been doing that for many, many
years now. We're in a difficult time and a difficult period, I know why.
We've got to go all out to try and get the squad back together, that's the
main reason why we are where we are at the moment. We've got to make sure we
do one thing better than we've done up to now. "We have the same amount of
clean sheets that Everton have had so it doesn't take a genius to know what
our problem is. We've been a few goals short of what would have been a very
good position in the league. We don't often go and lose by many goals
because we're that good defensively. What we have failed to do is score the
goals to win games that we should have done. Everton are near the top of the
league with eight clean sheets, we're fourth from bottom with eight clean
sheets so we know the one thing we've got to put right and that's score more
goals."

Why did it click so brilliantly on that day at White Hart Lane? And why have
you not been able to replicate that since?

SA: "We've got the same performance on a regular basis but we haven't
converted our chances into goals. In our last eight games we've had 71
chances to score a goal and scored five, that's our problem."

Does this game come at a time when you'd rather concentrate on the league?

SA: "I would have loved to have come to this game with a bigger squad; I'm
not saying a full squad because everybody has the odd injury or suspension.
We will use the squad to its full intent and play the team on Wednesday
night that hopefully has the desire and the energy to go out there and give
a great account of themselves against a very good side. I would expect there
to be a reaction from them after Sunday's defeat against Liverpool."

Finally Sam, what's your team news ahead of the game?

SA: "We wait for James Tomkins until tomorrow morning as he's had a slight
recurrence of the groin injury which he picked up last Saturday. Kevin's out
with a suspension and all the others that were injured before Sunderland are
still injured. To remember them all I'd need a list in front of me. Stewart
Downing, Andy Carroll, Winston Reid and Ricardo Vaz Te are all out. That's
where we have to work very, very hard to get them back into the squad as
soon as we can."

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Tottenham Hotspur away
WHUFC.com
All at West Ham United are looking forward to an exciting London derby at
Tottenham Hotspur
17.12.2013

West Ham United would like to thank all supporters who have purchased a
ticket to support the team in the Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham
Hotspur on Wednesday 18 December. The Barclays Premier League fixture at
White Hart Lane in October was a memorable afternoon for all concerned with
West Ham United, with the resultant press coverage rightly focusing on the
action on the pitch following our stunning 3-0 win. Wednesday's game is
likely to be another passionate affair and, as ever, we know the players
will be backed by a loud and proud travelling support. However, the Club
seeks to remind all fans attending the match at White Hart Lane that they
will be acting as ambassadors for West Ham United and their behaviour should
reflect the values and standards of our Club. Any inappropriate behaviour is
completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by West Ham United. The
Club, along with the Metropolitan Police, will continue to adopt a zero
tolerance policy towards any form of discriminatory behaviour this year and
any fan found to be acting inappropriately - including racist, anti-Semitic
and homophobic behaviour - will be punished to the full extent of the law
and banned from attending matches.
West Ham United is rightly proud of its world-famous support home and away
and will not allow the reputation of the tens of thousands of Hammers fans
who follow the Club over land and sea to be tarnished by any unacceptable
conduct from a small minority.

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'We all follow the West Ham'
WHUFC.com
The Martelli d'Italia Supporters' Club in Italy can be found in force at
most Hammers games
17.12.2013

The flags of the Martelli d'Italia West Ham United Supporters' Club are a
common sight at Hammers games across the country. Their presence reveals a
dedicated core of support for the Club from Italy, as members travel across
Europe to watch their team in person. West Ham TV caught up with several
members of the group on a recent trip to the Boleyn Ground, to discover more
about their passion for the Hammers. Luca Argiolas, from Sardinia, takes up
the story: "Twenty-two of us came over for the Chelsea game recently, from
every part of Italy - north to south and even the islands. "As a group, we
have 2,000 people who have liked our Facebook page, and 50 or 60 people who
come over to London at least once per season. On special occasions, like the
derbies, or Wembley two years ago, lots of people come over. "We are the
only group in Italy who have so many people who come over to matches in
London. It's a big sacrifice because we have to take flights and spend
money, but we do it for our passion for West Ham."

For the members who cannot make the journey to London, the group also
arrange meeting points at pubs in their homeland to watch games on
television.
"We have meet-ups in Italy to watch matches too, in the bigger cities like
Milan and Rome we have more people than in the smaller ones, so we make
meetings called Match Pint to see the games on TV in the pubs, whether
that's on Italian or English TV. "We go to away games too. Some of us went
to Liverpool the other week, and we'll travel for the League Cup too."

A love for the English game drives their passion for the Hammers, with the
Club's roots in the community behind their support for the east Londoners.
Argiolas explained: "I think that the good thing about West Ham is the
spirit - it maintains the English spirit. It's great for us to arrive here,
to come on the Tube and go to Green Street, see the people and see that it's
a club of the people. "We all prefer a club that maybe wins one time every
20 years, than a club that wins all the time. If we wanted a club that wins
a lot we'd support Chelsea or Manchester United, but we come here for West
Ham and we came here even when we were in the Championship. "We don't mind
about the category, we only want to come and see West Ham. "We enjoyed
seeing Italians like Di Canio and Diamanti playing for West Ham, but for us
it's the same - Italians, English, we want first all of them to wear the
shirt of West Ham. "The people who play for West Ham are what matters for
us, not the nationality."

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Collison aims for Cup boost
WHUFC.com
Jack Collison is eyeing another memorable White Hart Lane trip for the
Hammers
17.12.2013

Jack Collison is hoping Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final at
Tottenham Hotspur can prove to be a springboard for West Ham United's
season. The Hammers are aiming to inflict a second defeat on the north
Londoners at White Hart Lane this term, following their 3-0 success in the
Barclays Premier League in October. Collison says the players like himself,
who have featured regularly in the cup run, are hungry for the chance to
shine once again. He told whufc.com: "I wouldn't say that the Tottenham game
is a distraction [from our position]. We have a big squad and the manager
has normally rotated the team for the Capital One Cup. "It's a good chance
for the players who haven't been playing so much in the league - the likes
of myself, Matty Taylor and boys like that who have been working hard in
training - and this is a chance to try and impress and try to force your way
into the team in the Premier League, where everyone wants to be playing.
"It's going to be a fantastic game on Wednesday. It's a massive game for the
fans, they love going to Spurs and beating them in the league this season
was the highlight of the season for them so far. "Hopefully we can give them
something to cheer about. They pay their money week in, week out, and we're
working hard to turn it around."

Following Saturday's 0-0 draw with Sunderland, the Hammers No10 is as
frustrated as anyone at the lack of goals, yet remains convinced that his
team will soon eliminate that issue from their game. He continued: "It's
frustrating for us as players, and I think the fans understand that we go
out there to win. We don't not win on purpose, we want to be winning games,
playing good football and scoring goals. "We're working hard on the training
pitch and we have every confidence that we can turn things around and pay
them back by treating them to good football, lots of goals and lots of
points. "It's a team game and we have a squad full of good players. It's up
to us - players like myself, Kevin Nolan and the wide players to chip in
with goals. If we can do that it takes the pressure off the front boys and
then hopefully they can start scoring and we can start winning games. At the
moment we'll take any sort of goal. "t's a very real position we're in,
we're not silly and the table doesn't lie. It's up to us as a group of
players to turn it around because to be fair to the staff and the management
they're working their socks off at the moment. We're working hard too to do
the right things, it's not quite going right for us at the moment but we
have every confidence we can turn it around."

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Reid happy at injury progress
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid is recovering well from the ankle surgery he underwent recently
17.12.2013

Winston Reid can see the light at the end of the tunnel following his recent
ankle injury. The 25-year-old defender has been absent since suffering a
high ankle sprain in early November, an injury which required surgery. Reid
is well along the road to recovery now and is looking forward to returning
to training sooner rather than later. "The recovery has been going okay," he
told West Ham TV. "I'm coming along and it'll be another month or so before
I'm back fit. "I've just been recovering from the operation so far - doing
my gym work in the first four weeks, so I probably couldn't have done as
much as I'd have wanted to, but I'm steadily getting better. "The hard bit
is those first couple of weeks when I was lying on my couch not able to do
much, but now I can try to get my fitness back so hopefully that won't take
so long."

Reid suffered the injury just before a run of crucial Hammers games, as well
as New Zealand's FIFA World Cup Qualification Play-Off with Mexico. The No2
was disappointed to miss out on those, and is keen to make up for lost time
upon his return. He continued: "The timing wasn't ideal with important games
for West Ham and World Cup qualifiers for New Zealand, but whenever you get
an injury it's never going to be ideal. "You just have to deal with these
things. I've sort of managed to put it behind me and get on with my everyday
life. Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. "The staff around me
have been working well and trying to give me the best options to get back as
quickly as possible."

Reid has been happy to see the team remain defensively sound since his
injury-enforced absence, and he is hoping their fortunes in front of goal
will start to improve from Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final at
Tottenham Hotspur onwards. He added: "Since I've been away the guys have
done okay, maybe not points-wise, but they've played some good games and
been unlucky. "That's the way the cookie crumbles, and hopefully we'll get
better. Our problem since the season started has been putting the ball in
the net. "Hopefully the boys can get a win and get through in the cup too,
as it would be great if we could get another win there."

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Ladies suffer cup exit
WHUFC.com
The Hammers ladies fell to a 4-2 London Capital Cup defeat at KIKK United on
Sunday
17.12.2013

West Ham United Ladies suffered a disappointing exit from the London FA
Capital Cup on Sunday when they were defeated by KIKK United. The Hammers
were below par in a game made difficult by the rain and blustery wind, and
the size of their task became clear when a deflected shot put the hosts in
front on 20 minutes. KIKK extended their lead on 43 minutes which a shot
which crept in under the crossbar, although the Hammers gave themselves hope
by reducing the deficit just before the interval thanks to a fantastic
strike from Sarah McCrea. Her left-footed drive from the edge of the box
gave the home keeper no chance, but West Ham were unable to move on from
there as KIKK pushed them back at the start of the second period. The hosts
scored two further goals to make it 4-1, meaning Stacey Little's late header
counted for little as the Hammers crashed out of the cup.

West Ham United Ladies: Lauren Picton, Sophie Reed, Katie Sorenson, Danica
Revell, Emily Masters (Olivia Sammons 46), Abbie Solly, Lily Mellors, Stacey
Little, Katie Bottom, Zoe Lipley-Hinton, Sarah McCrea
Subs (not used): Faye Picton

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Tottenham v West Ham
KO 19:45
17 December 2013
Last updated at 15:25
CAPITAL ONE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Wednesday, 18 December

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham's interim head coach Tim Sherwood is without the suspended duo of
Paulinho and captain Michael Dawson. Sandro has a calf injury and will not
feature, but Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Younes Kaboul and Danny Rose
could return.

West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan serves the second game of a three-match ban.
Also missing are Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Mladen Petric, Winston Reid
and Ricardo Vaz Te, plus James Tomkins is a doubt with a groin problem.

MATCH PREVIEW

Christmas cheer has been thin on the ground for Tottenham fans this week as
the 5-0 mauling at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday resulted in Andre
Villas-Boas leaving his post at White Hart Lane. That result proved to be
the final straw for chairman Daniel Levy as he ruthlessly pulled the plug on
the man who had failed to get the best out of the £107m worth of new talent
that arrived over the summer - or cope with the departure of Gareth Bale.
One thing that would help put the smile back on the faces of the Spurs
faithful, though, would be revenge on rivals West Ham, who enjoyed a famous
3-0 victory at White Hart Lane two months ago. It has arguably been Sam
Allardyce's finest win in the Premier League during his tenure as Hammers
boss, but it is one of the few bright sparks of an otherwise dreadful season
that will could see him go the same way as Villas-Boas unless the club have
a swift upturn in fortunes. Allardyce says he is too busy worrying about the
current situation of his side, who lie just one point above the relegation
places, than what has been going on at Spurs.
"I have enough of my own problems with injuries and suspensions with games
coming up rapidly to have too much concern about Tottenham other than what
team I am going to play, how we are going to play and what we can do to
combat them and get through to the semi-finals," he said. "My particular
situation will ease and will get better as long as we get our injured
players fit, and our communication between the board of directors and myself
with everyone at the club is clear and precise."

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

West Ham ended a run of 12 league games without a win at White Hart Lane
that stretched back to 1999 when they won there in October
Tottenham are unbeaten against West Ham in their last three League Cup
clashes.
Their last meeting in the competition came back in 2003 with Tottenham
winning a third round tie 1-0 courtesy of a Bobby Zamora goal.

Tottenham

This is Tottenham's 22nd appearance in a League Cup quarter-final - only
Arsenal (25) have reached this stage more often.
Tottenham have won only one of their last six League Cup games against
fellow top-flight sides (D2 L3).
Their only defeat in their last 19 home League Cup games came against
Arsenal in the 2010-11 season.
They have only won one of their last six league matches at home.
They have won the competition four times - in 1971, 1973, 1999 and 2008.

West Ham

Their victory over Tottenham, and the win over Burnley in the last round of
this competition, are their only victories away from home this season.
The Hammers have scored in 20 of their last 21 League Cup games, including
the last 14 in a row.
They have not drawn any of their last 30 games in this competition, winning
19 and losing 11.

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Tottenham needed time to gel - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce claims it would have taken a "miracle worker"
to have got the best out of Tottenham this season. Spurs sacked coach Andre
Villas-Boas on Monday following indifferent form after signing seven players
in the summer. "You would have to be a miracle worker to get everybody
functioning to the best of their ability," said Allardyce. "They've arrived
from foreign countries in a different culture and an arena that they've
never played in before."

Tottenham were seventh in the Premier League when they decided to dismiss
Villas-Boas and Allardyce believes there is a "lack of patience in the game
today", which he blames on the financial rewards on offer. Allardyce will
take his Hammers side to play Spurs in the quarter-final of the Capital One
Cup on Wednesday. "To get the [Spurs] team playing together and
understanding each other in such a short period of time is nearly
impossible," said Allardyce. "I think the fruition of the change around at
Tottenham starts more next season, not this season." Allardyce's own
position has been questioned with his side just a point and a place above
the Premier League relegation zone. He has not been helped by injuries to
striker Andy Carroll, who has not played a game this season, centre-back
Winston Reid and winger Stewart Downing. Midfielder Kevin Nolan is also
serving a three-game suspension. "I don't fear for my job," said Allardyce,
who says he plans to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.
"There's always going to be a time when there's a difficult period and my
responsibility is to manage the players through that. "My particular
situation will ease and will get better as long as we get our injured
players fit." He added: "We have the same amount of clean sheets that
Everton have had so it doesn't take a genius to know what our problem is.
"We've been a few goals short of what would have been a very good position
in the league."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE BARRY HEARN INTERVIEW PART 5 'WHAT HARM CAN IT DO?"
By Sean Whetstone 17 Dec 2013 at 08:01
West Ham Till I Die

I asked Barry Hearn why he wants to ground share with West Ham United?

BH "What do I really want? Despite what people think I do not want
compensation just to throw in the black hole called football. What I want is
ground share, so I am going flat out for ground share!"

BH "The European argument with ground share is removed partially anyway
because it's a broader sponsorship rather than an individual to a commercial
enterprise"

I asked Barry didn't you say you would give up your challenge if you lost
the Judicial review?

BH "No, No, the papers said that! If I lose the judicial review I would give
up on the bidding process, that's what I have given up. I have given up
opposing the bidding process. I have accepted that West Ham are the anchor
tenants in the Olympic Stadium because I have lost and I know when I have
lost"

BH "On the bidding process we all signed up to the principle of ground
sharing. Karren Brady said in the House of Lords we all agreed to it!"

BH "The truth came out at the last judicial review when the lawyers said,
the West Ham lawyers said, we don't want to ground share because it will
affect our brand value. They were their exact words, the judge said this is
not about brand value, we still lost but it was the first time someone from
West ham said we don't want to ground share"

BH "What we are saying is really is what harm does it do for us to share the
Stadium? and to give us a chance on our doorstep to live our dreams"

I told Barry in personal view it could only be the spiritual home for one
football club.

BH "It happens all over Europe, 17 clubs around Europe ground share"

Barry challenged me asking

BH "West Ham occupancy will be harmful to us, Do you accept that? With
10,000 free tickets going out?"

I replied no I didn't see that, in my view it is slightly disrespectful to
Leyton Orient fans to suggest they would change their football club like
they would their tooth paste. Football is in the blood.

BH "Your totally wrong on this, our fan base is 6 to 7% local, 93% drive in,
What I am saying is football has changed now. It is not local residents so
much, its people returning to their roots. Your position will now change
because you are going to be a massive club in this iconic stadium. Every
year I analyse what happens to my small number of season ticket holders.
Every year we lose about 400 sometimes 500 season ticket holders, natural
wastage/death, moving out of the area, losing interest. There are the three
categories. The report says fundamentally with the value of the Premier
league brand, every year in the past we have replaced those with, almost to
the number with local people which decide to start going to Leyton Orient.
The report says and I believe them. The vast majority if not all of those
will now be enticed to go to West ham with cheaper tickets, better football
and certainly iconic building rather than join their local club and we will
be mathematically on the slippery slope down the leagues as we operate our
60% rule as our income will naturally fall. I find it very difficult to
disagree with that"

SW "But I do, why do I support West Ham? Why would I not support a more
successful club?"

BH "Because of your birth right, the new fans don't come from birth right"

SW "Don't they? They come from families. Did my son have a choice what team
he supported?"

BH Your in a time warp! This is a different world we live in now. Your'e
getting occasional visitors, you're getting new season ticket holders from
people that don't necessarily have an association because people die, people
move away. Your West ham through and through but not everyone shows your
depth of passion. People move off and they go somewhere else"

BH "We won't lose a hard core fan I know that, I am never saying that but
the numbers we are dealing with as so small. To lose 300 fans per year by
not being replaced because there is a better, more exciting, cheaper, much
more exciting version just across the road will have a negative effect on
us"

I said Leyton orient fans told me they have not been consulted on ground
sharing the Olympic Stadium

BH "Listen, Listen I am going spend a lot of time speaking to them aren't I?
To be honest with you NOT! At the end of the day I own the club, I run the
club, I will listen to them, I will sit down, I will listen to their
feelings but when you say, what is consultation? So we get everybody
together in a room, we discuss it, we let them to go away and talk to their
membership and to come back to us. Sometimes they do sometimes they don't!
but what is consultation?"

BH "I will listen to you and talk to you but that doesn't mean I going to do
what you want and I reserve that right as the owner"

You want to share the Olympic Stadium but your average gate al Leyton Orient
is around 5,500 when your current ground capacity is 9,271. Why aren't you
filling Brisbane Road now and how would you fill the Olympic Stadium?

BH "Two answers to that, firstly what the f**k has it got to do with you?, I
am tenant, I am not interested in whether you fill it or not, that's your
job, your West Ham, you shouldn't be interested in me, what the f**k has it
got to do with you if I have one person in it, I am paying my rent f**k off!
That's one answer! Right! The second answer, I believe we can get 9,000
Leyton orient fans in the lower tier if we are in the Championship. I think
that is realistic. I also believe that we will get , because I in the the
iconic status of the stadium a minimum of 3 to 4000 floating people because
this is going to a focal point of the whole of the East end, I also believe
I can go out certainly give away like West ham enough to fill the lower
tier, I think I can get to 18,000 if I am in the Championship! No More! I
think I will do well to get to 18,000 it may not happen quickly!"

You once said if you got a bung you would stop your challenge.

BH "That was a great line, that was on the back of Levy getting a bung and I
said to Boris. no-one gives me a bung and I am always up for a bung, hey do
you know what I am up for a bung!"

BH "The only person that I would look for compensation is the Premier league
for breaking in my view their own rules and that is something we will
decide, at the moment the action is stayed and we can re-open that action at
any time against the Premier League, that would be a compensation claim"

Since I did this interview Barry Hearn met with Denis Hone from the LLDC on
the 11th December. We are waiting to hear the outcome of that meeting.

The 1 hour and 20 minute interview can be heard in full on Moore Than Just A
Podcast Episode 15 which can be downloaded or listened to at
www.moorethanjustapodcast.co.uk

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham said interested in Brazilian striker
HITC.com

West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is said to have shown an interest in
signing Valencia's Brazilian striker Jonas. Allardyce has spoken of his
frustration at his side's lack of attacking options and went back and
re-signed Carlton Cole for added cover earlier this season. With Andy
Carroll out injured, West Ham have struggled up front, and a total of just
13 Premier League goals in 16 matches has left the Hammers perilously close
to the relegation zone. January, therefore, can't come quick enough for the
17th placed Londoners. And the name that has been linked with a move to The
Boleyn Ground is Valencia's leading scorer, Jonas. Jonas Gonçalves Oliveira
Felisbino, 29, also known as Jonas, started his career for Brazilian side
Guarani. He went on to play for some of Brazil's leading clubs, including
Santos, Gremio and Portuguesa. It wasn't until 2011 that Jonas finally made
the switch to Europe, with Valencia taking advantage of his low release
clause and confirming his signature for a bargain £1m. The Valencia striker
went on to be a hit at the Mestalla, scoring more than 30 La Liga goals
since January 2011. Amongst those goals was an eight minute hat trick as
Valencia comfortably beat 10 man Osasuna two weeks ago. The 6-capped
Brazilian has been in the form of his life this season, scoring eight goals
in 13 appearances so Sam Allardyce's reported interest surely isn't a
surprise. Although it's hard to believe that Jonas would be willing to leave
Valencia, who have recently been drawn against Dynamo Kyiv in the next phase
of the Europa League and are currently midtable in La Liga, but crippling
debts have forced the Blanquinegro's hand, and they have recently
acknowldged that they would be willing to listen to offers for key players,
including Jonas, Guaita and Banega.

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