Daily WHUFC News - 16th February 2013

Taylor raring to go ahead of Spurs derby
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor says Hammers will come back ready for a performance against
Tottenham on 25 February
15.02.2013

West Ham United return from their week of warm-weather training in Dubai on
Friday and Matt Taylor is convinced they will be refreshed and ready to go
for the London derby with Tottenham Hotspur on 25 February. The Hammers flew
out to the Middle East Emirate straight after last Sunday's game at Aston
Villa, just as they did at a similar time last year before their successful
promotion push. Taylor was part of the squad that helped secure that
Play-Off success and he is ready to push on again over the final 12 games of
this campaign.

He told whufc.com: "I think the trip has been beneficial for the team. It
was nice to get away from the weather here and get the sun on our backs, but
most importantly it was to keep the team together. We've got over two weeks
between games and maybe there's the chance for some downtime but it's
imperative that we focus on our next game. "We're hoping for the same effect
as last year. It's something the manager has always done throughout his
career with his teams and if he continues to do it, he must believe that it
works. The proof is in the pudding. "We've got a difficult period of
fixtures coming up and we've just to make sure that we continue to put in
performances like we did last Sunday, only put the ball in the back of the
net when we've got chances. Ultimately goals win games and we didn't get
enough of them at Villa."

Taylor felt the Hammers may have been rewarded more greatly for their
efforts at Villa Park last weekend, after weathering an early storm from
Paul Lambert's men and growing into the contest. He continued: "Aston Villa
started the game extremely well and in the first 20 minutes they put us
under a lot of pressure, but we came into the game a lot more towards the
end of the first half. "We came out strongly in the second half and probably
didn't make the pressure and chances count by scoring. In the end, we've
been punished first of all by a penalty and then by a fantastic free kick.
We still had chances to get a point after that, but I think frustrating is
the word to describe last Sunday. "In the Premier League it's so difficult
to win football matches, but to win football matches you've got to score
goals. First half we limited them to a few opportunities - the best one they
had was inside the first couple of minutes but we weathered the storm and
got better. "The half time team talk was a positive one because we thought
we were in a good position. You get punished at this level for mistakes and
that's what happened on Sunday. "Every time you don't win a football match
in the Premier League it's an opportunity missed. That was a great win for
Aston Villa and you could see at the end the euphoria around the ground for
them. For us it was disappointing, because we felt that we dominated the
game for large spells and should have taken something from it."

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Under-18s set for Sunderland test
WHUFC.com
Under-18s boss Steve Potts looks for another strong performance in the north
east this weekend
15.02.2013

West Ham United's Under-18s travel to Sunderland for their next Barclays U18
Premier League Tier One fixture on Saturday and manager Steve Potts is
looking for more of the same performance-wise from his team. The Hammers
suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat at West Bromwich Albion last weekend, but Potts
was satisfied with the display and believes a repeat would this time result
in victory. "We're looking for a continuation from last week's peformance
really," he told whufc.com. "We played some good stuff, but just couldn't
quite get the result - the one thing we do need to be is more ruthless.
"It's a long journey to Sunderland for this game - we went up on Friday and
it's good for the team to experience an overnight stay. It's something that
they'll experience more of in their careers ahead so it's good for them to
get used to it now. "We've won one, drawn one and lost one of our three
games so far in this phase, but I've been more pleased with the
performances. Hopefully we can find that same level of performance at
Sunderland, but this time gain more reward in terms of the result."

Like the Hammers, Sunderland have a perfect symmetry to their record in Tier
One, having also taken four points from three starts. They suffered a 5-1
defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last week after finishing fourth in the
seven-team National Group Two in the first half of the season. Saturday's
game will take place at the Sunderland Academy of Light training ground with
an 11am kick-off.

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Collins ready to return
WHUFC.com
Ginge is looking forward to returning to first team action against Tottenham
Hotspur
16.02.2013

James Collins is looking forward to getting back into action and helping
West Ham United finish February on a high. The Wales international defender
has been laid low by a hamstring injury since the away match at Sunderland
last month, but after working hard at the club's Chadwell Heath training
ground over the last few weeks, he is set to return to full training next
week. He exclusively told West Ham TV: "I feel good; I am raring to go and
can't wait to get back into training with the rest of the lads. It is
looking like I can do this next week, in the lead up to the Tottenham game,
and see how I go. "It has been frustrating and a pain, being out injured,
but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say it is an injury and get
on with it. During the match [Sunderland] I felt good and my body was fine,
but I then over-stretched, which can happen, and I have just been working
hard to get back ever since . "The medical team here have been great with me
and I am back sooner than was hoped, so that is a good thing. I am ready to
push through and if I can be involved against Tottenham, than that will be
great for me."

With the injury Collins suffered, it was a case of letting the muscles heal
and then a gradual step up in the work he has been able to do. He continued:
"The first couple of weeks you can't do anything, as it is a muscle injury,
so you have to let that recover. It is literally massages and on the
machines, doing gentle stuff and in the medical room. "Then it progresses on
from that as the weeks go on and then you can start running. You then have
to do a certain amount of tests before they feel you can go back on the
training field and take part fully. I have done all of that now, just
waiting to get in back in the swing of it all and can't wait."

Collins says you have to set a goal on doing things properly and being
patient so that you can return fitter and completely ready to play. He
explained: "The hardest thing about being injured is not playing and the
fact you are in the gym, working on your own pretty much, and you look out
of the window and the rest of the lads are out there training together. "So
it is hard, as you are also missing out on all the banter and camaraderie as
well. It was tough as it was the first time in a long while I have had an
injury like this and touch wood that is over and I am just looking forward
to getting stuck in again with the lads."

While he has been on the sidelines, Collins has attended to watch and cheer
on his team-mates in the games he has not played, but says no amount of
watching can make up for being out there on the pitch. "I am not the best
watcher I would admit," he added. "I find I revert back to watching the game
like a fan, not as a player though. I have family and friends with me at the
games, but it is tough as you just want to be out there playing your part
for the team.
"There have been games recently where we have not picked up as many points
as we would have liked. It is frustrating for us as it is for our fans, but
we will keep working away at it all and you find the results will come.
"Obviously for me, watching from afar, you can see something that you don't
always see when you are on the pitch, but you can't do anything. All I could
do was do my best to cheer the lads on and shout support for them along with
the rest of our fans."

With Collins eager to be back involved on playing field, he is also looking
forward to exciting times off the pitch, with another addition to the
Collins household about to arrive at any moment. The No19 and his wife
Samantha, who are already proud parents to two-year-old son Dylan, are about
to welcome a daughter. And Collins said he is looking forward to being a dad
again and combining that with being back to do his bit for the Hammers. "We
can't wait and neither can our little boy," he said. "My missus is getting a
bit impatient now for our little girl to arrive, as we all are, so we are
really excited about having a new addition to our family. "People are saying
I won't be getting much rest off the pitch, but to be fair, my wife is
unbelievable and if I am fit and ready to be playing, she will make it easy
for me to go out there and do my job. As I said, I am raring to go and
looking to help the team get some results on the pitch so we can finish in a
strong position."

- James Collins took the honours in the Hammers' Goal of the Month vote for
January.
West Ham fans had the chance to vote for their favourite strike from the
month on our official Facebook page and Collins took 63% of the vote for his
second header against Manchester United in the home FA Cup with Budweiser
third-round tie.
Jack Collison's powerful strike at Arsenal took second place.

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Ladies relishing Colchester tie
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies visit Colchester United in the Essex FA County Cup
semi-finals on Sunday
16.02.2013

West Ham United Ladies need no extra motivation going into Sunday's Essex FA
County Cup semi-final with old rivals Colchester United. The Hammers were
beaten on penalties by the U's in last season's final, while two of the West
Ham's recent signings, Hannah Gowland and Lily Mellors, will be facing their
former club. Manager Julia Setford said she and her squad are relishing the
opportunity to get one over their Essex neighbours and FA Women's Premier
League Southern Division counterparts when they travel to Shrub End
Community Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon. "We don't have to get anybody
up for this game," Setford confirmed. "We had a great training session in
the week and all the girls are buzzing for the game on Sunday. "Hannah and
Lily want to win this game, that goes without saying, and they want to play
well and score some goals for us. For us all, getting through to the final
is the job in hand and I am confident we can do it. It's a massive game for
us. "It is always our aim to be the best team in the county and, if we want
to prove that we are, we need to win this competition every single year. We
let ourselves down in the final last year and we need to pick it up this
year. It's a big, big task but one we are certainly up for."

West Ham and Colchester have monopolised the County Cup in the past five
seasons, with the Hammers lifting the trophy in 2009 and 2011 and the U's
doing so in 2008, 2010 and 2012. While Setford will likely name her
strongest XI this weekend, the manager admitted she has a selection headache
after last weekend's 13-2 quarter-final victory over Witham Town. April
Bowers scored four times and Gowland and Kelley Blanchflower netted
hat-tricks, but substitutes Sam Rowland - who also scored - and Zoe
Lipley-Hinton also impressed. "Last weekend was brilliant," said Setford.
"We knew that it was going to be a game where I could put players in who
have not played too much recently, but it didn't make much difference
because we have such a strong squad.
"In the second half we let ourselves down and conceded two silly goals,
which the girls were not happy about, but overall we showed some great play
and some great finishing. I was delighted, really. "Sam is starting to come
good and Zoe is back from injury and it is difficult to ignore her work-rate
and commitment, which are really good. Our three strikers (Bowers, Gowland
and Blanchflower) are in form, but the others are definitely pushing them.
"At the back, Vicky King sat out against Witham and Lily came in at
right-back and did really well in a new position. They are giving me
problems all over the park in terms of who to pick, which is good!"

Sunday's tie kicks-off at 1.30pm. For directions to Shrub End Community
Sports Centre, click here.

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Another 'Golden Generation' of Academy Stars on the Rise?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

West Ham Utd FC's Academy is rightly celebrated for its long track record of
producing outstanding footballers.The first golden age was the late 1950s
and 1960s, which saw the production of such outstanding talent as Bobby
Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Ronnie Boyce, Jack Burkett, Joe
Kirkup,Trevor Brooking and Frank Lampard Snr. In the 1970s and 1980s, the
production line continued to roll, with players like John McDowell, Kevin
Lock, Geoff Pike, Alan Curbishley, Alvin Martin, Paul Allen, Paul Ince,
George Parris and Tony Cottee making the first team grade and, in many
cases, earning honours at U-23 and Full international level.

A second golden age emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s, with the
development of a group of players that were destined to be the back bone of
the England squad. The names are familiar, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard Jnr,
Micheal Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Joe Cole and Glen Johnson. Their careers
were the mirror image of that of Moore, Hurst and Peters. Whereas Ferdinand
et al enjoyed more successful club careers (unfortunately with Man Utd,
Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool), they never won the ultimate prize, the FIFA
World Cup.

Since the exit of the Second golden generation, the Academy has continued to
produce good quality professionals, such as Mark Noble, Jack Collison and
James Tomkins, who have graced the first team and gained international
honours at U-21 and full level. However, is the illustrious old Hammers
production line gearing up to deliver another golden batch? One hope so and,
arguably, the signs are promising. We have very useful prospects at the
club, who could verywel go on to have both successful club and international
careers. Principally, I am referring to Hall, Potts, Fanimo, Turgott and
Lee; as well as perhaps Moncur, Lletget and Chambers. However, there are
others such as Morrison, Ruddock, McCallum and McGuire who could yet develop
in to important players.


In a recent interview, Sam Allardyce argued that Academies up and down the
country needed to be 'more selfish' in recruiting and developing domestic
talent, over overseas prospects, for the sake of the future of the England
team. Well, the West Ham Academy certainly has enough domesic talent within
its ranks. The issue is whether the club will give its Academy graduates the
first team opportunities essential to realise their talent. You can talk of
PL pressure, and its adverse impact upon the progression of youth products,
but ultimately it requires the bravery and vision to play the youngsters
when they are ready. Otherwise, it does not matter how many domestic
prospects Academies recruit, they cannot come through and make the grade.

Could Hall, Potts, Turgott, et al form a third golden age of West Ham
Academy graduates? There is certainly talent there, its just a matter of
whether it is realised? If it is, can we retain them this time around,
unlike in the case of Ferdinand, Cole, Carrick, etc? or will we once again
just end up producing talent for Man Utd, Chelsea and Spurs to utilise?

SJ. Chandos.

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Karren Brady's football diary
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 15th February 2013
The SUn

SAT, FEB
9
SPURS' Emmanuel Adebayor flew to London from his stint with Togo at the
African Nations Cup on a private jet - paid for by the club - but still
managed to be two days late. My own player Modibo Maiga was also two days
late. Having 'lent' them our talent, it would be nice for the Federations to
deliver players back on time.

SUN, FEB 10
WEST HAM'S away form is confirmed at Villa Park. The players are off for
some warm weather training, I hope the change of scenery does them good.
To complete my blue Sunday, an 'insider' says it would be no surprise if Sam
Allardyce is replaced as manager at the end of the season. It ruddy well
would, pal. We're not Blackburn here. We know when we are well off.

MON, FEB 11
WITH the Hammers move to the Olympic Stadium close to being agreed, for us
there remains the most important factor - the support from our fans.
The club can cheer next week's announcement as much as we like but it's at
that point that the consultation process can begin and we can start to share
the
vision for the stadium with our supporters.

TUES, FEB 12
FOOTBALL used to be a man's game. Now I'm not so sure. First, there are
pictures of Fernando Torres baking cupcakes and now we hear that Frank
Lampard is to write a series of children's books. More worrying for English
fans is Frankie going to Hollywood, joining LA Galaxy while he is still a
far more serious footballer than David Beckham was when he went there.
Lampard, 34, has proved convincingly this season - scoring 11 times in 18
games - that Rio 2014 is well within his range. And if Chelsea don't want
Frank, we would love to have him back.

WED, FEB 13
PIERS MORGAN tells me in the studio recording my Life Story that he and a
few pals have clubbed together to try to help Paul Gascoigne. Well done,
him.
And well done, too, to the PFA who have been outrageously attacked by people
who are not aware - and should be - of the fortune in funds they have spent
trying to save Gazza from alcoholism and other demands over the years.
Gascoigne is close to being a lost soul. And while we must never give up on
such people, there must be a point where Gazza will actually start to help
himself.

THURS, FEB 14
A PREMIER LEAGUE director phones to let me know the pressure he's under to
pop the question tonight. His new love interest has really caught the love
bug.
He tells me that last week she started wearing a wedding ring, which she
bought herself, claiming she liked the look of it, but he felt it was really
more of a very big hint. Is she going to succeed in her quest? No chance.
There's no way he's going to commit bigamy! Just up the road from him,
Gareth Bale is playing a sensational game. A director there tells me that
three years ago the Spurs team trained at the Virgin gym in Chigwell. Bale
was the only player who went back every afternoon to put in extra sessions.
Just goes to show, you get back what you put in.

FRIDAY, FEB 15
THE name Millwall frazzles me - many other people in football, too. But
nowhere are they more feared than in Luton, where 28 years ago for a sixth
round FA Cup-tie their followers wrecked the ground, fought rival fans and
the police with bottles, bricks and bits of hoarding then terrorised the
whole town. A decade or so ago after a problem at St Andrew's, I criticised
their fans and was threatened with murder. This, I think, rather makes my
point. Millwall are back at Kenilworth Road in the fifth round and I hope it
can go off peacefully.

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