Daily WHUFC News - 22nd December 2013

Big Sam on Red Devils reverse
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce admitted first-half mistakes cost West Ham United any chance
of victory at Manchester United
21.12.2013

Sam Allardyce admitted first-half mistakes cost his West Ham United side any
chance of achieving a positive result at Manchester United. The Hammers made
two fatal errors before the break, allowing Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj
to put the Red Devils into an unassailable 2-0 half-time lead.
While West Ham improved after the break at Old Trafford, substitute Ashley
Young curled in a superb third before Carlton Cole pulled a consolation goal
back late on. The visitors then had a penalty shout for handball by Tom
Cleverley turned down but, in truth, David Moyes' side deserved the three
points.

"They were two silly mistakes for the first and second goals, full-stop,"
admitted Big Sam. "You don't do that at Manchester United or else you'll get
punished and punished we got. "While we didn't those sort of errors on
Wednesday night at Tottenham, we have seen them here. We played against two
top sides and we've won against Tottenham because we didn't make those sorts
of errors, but we've made them against Manchester United and lost the
football match. "That gave Manchester United that little bit of relief that
they were looking for because they were going to be nervous if we carried on
sticking to the gameplan, which was very much as it was at Tottenham. We
wanted to get to half-time and then the opposition would tire and we would
have had more space to exploit and would have created more chances. "The
stats tell us that Manchester United, when only drawing at half-time are won
none, drawn two and lost three. We made our players very clear about that
and how important it was to get to half-time because Manchester United's
energy would all be at the beginning of the game "To relieve the pressure on
us, we told them to defend correctly and we'd always have a chance in the
second half. Unfortunately, because of our mistakes, we made life extremely
difficult for ourselves to come back."

Manchester United's first goal came when Mo Diame gave away a free-kick
inside his own half on 25 minutes. The set piece was taken quickly, allowing
Wayne Rooney and Welbeck to exchange passes before the latter fired low past
Barclays Premier League debutant Adrian. Then, as half-time approached,
youngster Januzaj benefitted when James Collins saw his clearance blocked.
The ball was worked to Welbeck, who found the teenager to turn Collins and
finish confidently past the Spaniard. "You can't afford to make simple
errors inside your own half," continued the manager. "We keep telling the
players the fact that you have to give yourself enough time and space to
play it the right way in your own half. "If you volunteer possession, then
one pass from opposition with this sort of quality can mean they score
against you. When we do our attacking play, we talk a lot about trying to
win the ball back as quickly as we can, as high up the pitch as we can,
because we're going to find Manchester United even more difficult to break
down than they will find breaking us down. "To promote that in our own
attacking play and then to do the opposite by giving possession to the
opposition in our half, and them score from it, was the big disappointment.
At the end of the day, fresh players came in and weren't as on top of their
game as I expected them to be. "After Wednesday, I thought everybody would
be dying to get out there and play, but in the first half I didn't think we
had the same belief that we had on Wednesday night against Tottenham."

West Ham did improve after half-time, but was that down to the Hammers
themselves or Moyes' men sitting back on their two-goal advantage?
"A bit of both, really," said the manager. "I still think we should have had
a penalty at 3-1, which would have made the last few minutes interesting. On
the balance of what referees give these days, I still think Cleverley has
handled the ball, but it didn't happen. We saw it happen here last year in
the FA Cup third round replay and it happened again here, but we haven't got
a penalty. "You can only ask the referee in those positions to give what he
sees and for me it was a definite penalty. That's not the crux of the
matter, though, because the crux of the matter was ourselves. "We need to
get our injured players back and I'm trying to move them back into the team
as quickly as possible. Our small squad is being really tested at the moment
and we really need as many players fit as possible at this stage of the
season."

The manager is not concerned about the Club's league position as much as he
is by the haul of 14 points from 17 league games played. "It doesn't matter
if we're in the bottom three or not - it's 14 points from 17 games and
that's fewer points than games played. That's got to be caught up as soon as
possible and that's a massive task that will take six, seven or eight games.
"Everyone talks about winning one game after the other and us being all
right but it has to happen when it hasn't happened since we got back into
the Premier League. It's got to happen now. It's a long haul through
Christmas and January now for us to get ourselves away from the relegation
zone. "Like I said, we'll be OK when we get everybody back - Andy Carroll,
Ricardo Vaz Te, Stewart Downing and Winston Reid. All these players need to
be fit and part of the squad. When they are, along with the others, we'll
achieve better results and pick up more points."

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Hammers sunk at Old Trafford
WHUFC.com
West Ham United fell to a 3-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday
21.12.2013

Manchester United 3-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League

West Ham United were unable to inflict a third straight home defeat on
Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League, as the Red Devils returned
to their
usual home form on Saturday. Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj struck before
the break to put the hosts firmly in control, and their position was
strengthened further in the second period by Ashley Young's curled shot.
Carlton Cole came off the bench to pull one back for the Hammers, but in
truth they were unable to build on Wednesday's victory at Tottenham Hotspur
as David Moyes' men controlled the contest from start to finish. Adrian was
handed his first Barclays Premier League start since joining the Club from
Real Betis in the summer and he was called into action very early on, diving
down to his left and raising his hand to claw away Tom Cleverley's
second-minute effort. Wayne Rooney was also given an early sighter when
Ravel Morrison fouled him on the edge of the box. He took the free-kick
himself and was only just off target with his curling effort.

Manchester United were looking the more purposeful and Adrian, who has
performed excellently in the Capital One Cup run, had to be alert again by
his near-post after Antonio Valencia's cross-shot deflected off George
McCartney and flew towards goal. The Hammers were not helping their cause by
giving the ball away cheaply, and a quick free kick proved their undoing
with 26 minutes on the clock. Welbeck and Rooney exchanged passes neatly,
allowing the former to advance into the area and drill across Adrian and
into the bottom corner, Ten minutes later it was 2-0, and again it was too
easy as Januzaj passed to Welbeck, received the return ball, cut inside
James Collins and stroked home. The hosts could even have made it three
before the break as, with 40 minutes played, they broke with pace following
a Hammers free-kick. Rafael flew down the right and laid back to Valencia,
but his shot was off target.

The second period began in much the same vein as a Januzaj cross almost
picked out Welbeck, and then from the resulting corner Jonny Evans' header
was cleared off the line. West Ham were struggling to make an impression in
the attacking third and the home side kept their possession ticking over as
they closed in on the points. Young came off the bench and sealed their
success 18 minutes from the end, whipping a right-footed effort into the top
right-hand corner from 16 yards. West Ham gave their supporters something to
cheer nine minutes from the end. Alexander Buttner dropped behind the line
of his defence to play Cole onside from Modibo Maiga's pass, and the striker
raced clear before finishing through David de Gea's legs. But it would prove
just a consolation, as the Hammers failed to mount an improbable revival in
the closing minutes.

Manchester United: de Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra (Buttner 80);
Cleverley, Jones; Valencia, Rooney, Januzaj (Young 69); Welbeck (Chicharito
54)
Subs: Johnstone, Giggs, Fletcher, Kagawa
Goals: Welbeck 26, Januzaj 36, Young 72
Booked: Januzaj
West Ham United: Adrian; Demel, Collins (Rat 75), Tomkins, McCartney; Noble,
Taylor (Collison 62); Diame, Morrison, Jarvis (C.Cole 71); Maiga
Subs: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Diarra, J.Cole
Goal: C.Cole 81
Booked: Morrison, Jarvis, Tomkins, McCartney
Referee: Mike Jones

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Man Utd 3 West Ham 1
21 December 2013
Last updated at 17:57
By Andy Cryer
BBC Sport

Danny Welbeck's first Old Trafford goal for 14 months helped Manchester
United to a fourth straight win to leave West Ham a point off the relegation
zone.
The England striker drove the ball low into the net from an angle early on
as the dominant hosts recorded a seventh consecutive win at home to the
Hammers.
Teenager Adnan Januzaj bent home his maiden Old Trafford goal, before
substitute Ashley Young curled in. Carlton Cole slotted in a consolation
goal after racing clear. Welbeck had not scored at Old Trafford since the
4-2 win over Stoke on 20 October 2012 but, from the moment he struck, there
only looked one winner.

However, the striker then limped out of the action after the break with what
looked like a knee injury, a troubling sight for United with Robin van
Persie already missing for a month with a thigh strain. There was better
news in the return of Wayne Rooney, who missed the midweek League Cup win
over Stoke with a groin strain. The England international was at the heart
of an impressive home display with two assists. West Ham fans have few good
memories of trips to Manchester United, having lost on 20 of their previous
23 visits, including a run of six straight defeats and not a goal scored in
the past five. But United's own recent problems at Old Trafford gave
travelling Hammers a bit more hope, David Moyes's men looking to avoid a
third consecutive home league defeat for the first time since 1978-79.

United have not lost more home games in a season since 2001-02, but three
wins on the road in the past 11 days - including securing a League Cup
semi-final against Sunderland - went some way to quieten the dissenting
voices. West Ham have won just two of their last 16 Premier League matches,
a run that has included nine defeats. And the hosts would have made the
perfect start had it not been for goalkeeper Adrian, on his Premier League
debut, beating out Tom Cleverley's close-range strike. The former Real Betis
man, given his chance ahead of Jussi Jaaskelainen after impressing in West
Ham's midweek League Cup win at Spurs, quickly repaid Sam Allardyce's faith
in him with a second important save, turning away Antonio Valencia's angled
drive wide. He was beaten soon after, however, as Welbeck, played in by the
energetic Rooney, fired low across the goalkeeper and into the corner of the
net. And United extended their lead before the break as 18-year-old Januzaj
played a one-two with Welbeck, cut inside a defender, and bent an
unstoppable shot past Adrian from an angle.
Play media

After the break Jonny Evans saw a header cleared off the line and Javier
Hernandez had a goal disallowed for offside before Young, on for Januzaj,
curled the ball into the top corner after Rooney and Valencia combined. The
Hammers did pull a goal back late on as Cole, kept onside by substitute
Alexander Buttner, raced clear and calmly slotted past David de Gea but it
never looked like being enough to threaten their hosts. See a photo gallery
of all the action from Saturday's Premier League matches on the BBC Sport
Facebook site.

Manchester United manager David Moyes: "We played well today. I'm a wee bit
disappointed we didn't take some more opportunities and I was disappointed
not to keep a clean sheet but we got done on the break. "The job is to keep
our head down and keep winning games. There is confidence among the players.
We are creating a lot of opportunities right now. "Adnan Januzaj is doing
really well. We are always hard on him, we always want more but he is doing
remarkably well. He can score goals, he is a real talent. "We would like to
be doing much better, we want to be right at the top but we will continue to
keep going."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "My disappointment was we played so well at
Tottenham away a short time ago. We changed the team around to play some
fresh legs but you didn't see the resilience and determination today.
"United were always going to come out fighting as they had lost two home
games in a row but we didn't make life difficult for them. "I looked at the
stats and Manchester United are not very good in the second half if they are
drawing at half-time. But we gave them two goals early on with some poor
play and made it easy for them. The referee should have given us a penalty -
I've seen them given here, but it wasn't given to us."

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Manchester United ease past West Ham 3-1 at Old Trafford
Last Updated: 21/12/13 7:03pm
SSN

Manchester United continued their resurgence by recording a fourth straight
win which proved enough to see off a disappointing West Ham outfit 3-1 at
Old Trafford. Danny Welbeck's first goal on home soil since October 2012 was
followed by a superb effort from Adnan Januzaj as United took command before
the break.

Best of the match

Goal of the match: Januzaj tricked his way past Collins inside the area and
found the bottom corner beautifully. The giant defender had no answer to his
brilliance all afternoon. Superb piece of skill in a tight area.
Moment of the match: Januzaj's goal illuminated Old Trafford and provided
the home side with that vital second goal.
Man of the match: Rooney had a hand in all three goals. He found space all
afternoon and West Ham struggled to cope with him.
Save of the match: Adrian saved early on from Welbeck. He did well with that
Welbeck effort but not so well with the later attempt.
Talking point: United back?

Substitute Ashley Young then produced the perfect first-time finish to Wayne
Rooney's lay-off to ensure Carlton Cole's late strike was nothing more than
a consolation. It was not all good news for United manager David Moyes.
Welbeck departed with an injury early in the second half and Januzaj blotted
his copybook when he was booked for diving.

However, their present winning streak equals the best United have managed
since Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer and represents an
encouraging entrance to the festive campaign, when the reigning champions
really need to hit the accelerator if they are to mount any challenge
towards the top end of the table.

A brilliant reaction save from Adrian to deny Tom Cleverley inside the first
minute, followed by an extended period of possession without creating too
much hinted at another difficult afternoon for the Red Devils.

Staring at the potential of losing three successive home games in the league
for the first time since 1979, any anxiety at Old Trafford that had
previously been suggested, might just have been starting to show itself.

Yet, with the home supporters remaining resolutely behind their team, United
retained the confidence to attack.

And when Welbeck found the returning Rooney and was on hand to collect the
return, he had sufficient self-belief to drive an effort goalwards.

David Moyes feels things are starting to click into place as his United side
beat West Ham 3-1 at Old Trafford.
Making his Premier League debut, Adrian did not really cover himself in
glory as the ball flew under him.

Not that Welbeck was complaining. His first goal in this stadium for an
incredible 427 days took him to six for the campaign.

After that, Januzaj took centre stage.

The 18-year-old received a rebuke from Mark Noble when he went down in the
box, yet the West Ham man had levered him out of the way and was fortunate
not to concede a penalty.

Within a minute, Januzaj was exchanging passes with Welbeck and powering
home his first goal on home soil.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is disappointed with some of his players effort
against Manchester United.
It was not a moment James Collins will remember with any affection. As
experienced as he is, Collins was made to look foolish by the ease with
which Januzaj stepped aside him.

Clearly a player with huge promise, whom Moyes confirmed on Friday had far
exceeded expectations, the wide-man evidently has some learning to do.

A blatant dive by the touchline drew a deserved booking from Michael Jones.
Moyes has already spoken to Young about this unsavoury tactic, with some
success, and doubtless will do the same to Januzaj.

Tom Cleverley was happy with Manchester Utd's improved home performance in
their 3-1 over West Ham.
For Ravel Morrison, dumped by Ferguson as the Scot grew weary of trying to
get him to concentrate on fulfilling his immense talent, it was a rather
inauspicious return.

The contest itself rather passed him by and, whilst Morrison was not the
only West Ham player to suffer that fate, he was also booked for a crude
swipe at Cleverley.

Welbeck's departure 10 minutes after the re-start with what appeared to be
an ankle injury was not the greatest development for Moyes given his already
lengthy list of absentees.

United do have options though, as substitute Javier Hernandez proved when he
fired home from 12 yards, only for the effort to be incorrectly ruled out
for offside.

The hosts did not need to wait long for their third though, with Young
continuing his superb week by applying the finish to Rooney's lay-off.

Moyes took the opportunity to give hard-working full-back Patrice Evra a
break and it was the Frenchman's replacement, Alexander Buttner, who lost
his concentration to allow Cole to break the offside trap for the Hammers'
late strike, which denied United their biggest home win of the campaign.

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Sam Allardyce expected more from West Ham following 3-1 defeat at Manchester
United
Last Updated: 21/12/13 7:31pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce says that he expects more from West Ham following their 3-1
defeat at Manchester United on Saturday. United raced into a three-goal lead
before Carlton Cole grabbed a late consolation for the visitors. Speaking to
Sky Sports after the game, Allardyce could not hide his disappointment at
the result.
Allardyce said: "I think we made the victory too easy for them. I didn't
think we made them work hard enough for it. "We made silly mistakes and when
Manchester United get a sniff like that they are not going to turn it down.
We did get better in the second half and played a little more like we know
we can but it was too late for us to try and get any points. "From my point
of view there were a few players who didn't play against Tottenham in the
week who I expected more from. Those that did play were tired at the end but
some should have contributed more." Allardyce handed a Premier League debut
to goalkeeper Adrian and thought he performed well. Allardyce added: "I
haven't seen the goals but from our point of view we'll look at his overall
performance tomorrow, as we do all the players, but it looked like he had a
good game." West Ham entertain Arsenal on Boxing Day before rounding off
2013 with a game against West Brom at Upton Park next Saturday.

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West Ham's Jack Collison relishing Andy Carroll's return
Last Updated: 21/12/13 12:25pm
SSN

West Ham's Jack Collison has "a new lease of life" after going out on loan -
and is now relishing Andy Carroll's return. The Wales international
midfielder made his 100th league appearance for the Hammers last weekend,
and played 90 minutes in midweek as Sam Allardyce's won 2-1 at Tottenham to
reach the Capital One Cup semi-finals. In October, Collison was sent out on
loan to Championship side Bournemouth for a month by Allardyce, in a bid to
get a run of games under his belt. The 25-year-old, who has suffered serious
knee problems in the past, made four 90-minutes appearances for the Cherries
and returned back raring to go again. "I jumped at the chance and it was
great to get some games," Collison told The Sun. "I have come back a lot
fitter and sharper and ready to get back into the team here. "I felt I'd hit
a bit of a brick wall at West Ham. I wasn't really anywhere near the team. I
just don't want to sit here and pick up my dough. "To play four games back
to back is something I had not done for a long time. "It did me the world of
good. It has given me a new lease of life. I have come back determined to
win back a place in the team."

Also looking to return to the Hammers side soon is £19million striker
Carroll, who is back in light training after fracturing his foot. Collison
hopes the England international can be involved in the two-legged cup
semi-final against Manchester City. "You only have to watch him (Carroll)
back out there on the pitch in training, you can see the hunger and desire
in his eyes." "Andy looks as though he is not too far away and his return
will be a massive boost for everyone," added Collison. "He's taken a bit of
stick for growing a beard but fair play to him for getting himself back
after what he has been through. "The semi-finals of the Capital One Cup
would be nice games for him to come back into. "I've experienced what it's
like to have a tough, long-term injury and what it takes to get back. "Andy
has worked morning, noon and night to get back training again. We don't want
to put pressure on him but he's a fantastic talent and he will make a
massive difference to our team."

Collison says all the Hammers squad have rallied around Carroll as he has
gradually battled back from injury. "We are a very close group of lads and
we've all been there to help pick Andy up when he has needed it in his dark
days," said Collison. "He knows I've been through it so we've had a few
chats. I think he just knows he is going to come back and start scoring
goals again. "You only have to watch him back out there on the pitch in
training, you can see the hunger and desire in his eyes. "He's been a
massive miss for us and looks determined to make up for lost time."

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West Ham's Ravel Morrison maturing, says Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: 21/12/13 12:04pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes midfielder Ravel Morrison has
matured since leaving Manchester United to join the Hammers. Morrison will
return to Old Trafford on Saturday as Allardyce's team aim to pile yet more
home misery on David Moyes' struggling side. And Allardyce has been full of
praise for the 20-year-old England Under-21 international, who initially
spent a year on loan at Birmingham before re-joining West Ham, with whom he
has flourished this season, scoring five goals so far. "Sir Alex [Ferguson]
let Ravel go for his own benefit," he said. "He [Ferguson] said that if he
comes down to you, hopefully he will find a new life and a new way of
living. "His ability will then start to come through because all he asks and
all he wants in his life is to play first-team football, that was all he
said he wanted to do and why he wanted to leave. "In actual fact, he
struggled to look like he was capable of playing football in the first team
with us. That's why we sent him on loan to Birmingham and I thought since
that year, he's grown up. "Somewhere along the line, the lad has woken up
and I think he's changed himself and delivered." However, despite Morrison's
impressive displays, Allardyce is keen to keep the player focused and also
not to allow expectations to put too much pressure on him. "The expectation
becomes 'will it come every single week?' and that can't really happen at
such a young age," Allardyce added. "It's nice if it does. We've got to
manage the situation and just try and keep encouraging him. "I think from
our point of view, if he gets selected for Old Trafford on Saturday, that
the real message from me to him would be to try and get a result as a team
and play one of your top performances in a team situation when you would
help to get us that result by using your abilities in a team performance.
"When you've got his ability, there is going to be the temptation to go out
and think 'look at me' - and I have to try and guard and avoid that
situation."

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Moyes defends Januzaj dive
442.com

Manchester United manager David Moyes defended Adnan Januzaj after he was
booked for simulation in the side's 3-1 win over West Ham. Januzaj scored an
excellent goal for United to double their lead during the first half on
Saturday at Old Trafford, showing excellent skill to skip past James Collins
and place an effort beyond West Ham goalkeeper Adrian. Danny Welbeck and
Ashley Young also scored for the Premier League champions as United moved to
seventh, but 18-year-old Januzaj was booked for diving late in the first
half. The teenager has already been booked for simulation this season – in
the same match he scored twice on his full debut at Sunderland – but
although Moyes reiterated his stance against diving, after previously
speaking out against Young for it, he stood up for Januzaj. Asked if he
supported players diving, Moyes said: "Definitely not. I've had a chance to
see it and I think he believes he is going to get sized. "He has been kicked
in every game, upside down. But we will make sure and do everything that we
can to make sure it doesn't happen. "Everybody can see the talent the boy
has got. He has got great composure and he is a very good player. "He is 18
– he has had a lot of games – maybe more than he would have thought. I
thought he has warranted his place, though."

Moyes hailed his team for their professional display against West Ham after
United won a league match at Old Trafford for the first time in nearly six
weeks.
"We are (delighted). We are pleased," he added. "We played well, we scored
three goals and on another day we might have scored more." Moyes added that
striker Welbeck – who went off early in the second half with an injury – was
suffering from a knee problem, while he also lauded the efforts of
substitute Young. Young, who also scored in United's 2-0 League Cup win at
Stoke City on Wednesday, came off the bench to seal the win before Carlton
Cole's late consolation. On Young's goal, Moyes said: "It was a magnificent
finish. "He got a great goal in midweek and really made sure he put the game
to bed with his goal."

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