Daily WHUFC News - 28th February 2013

Der Kaiser pays his tribute
WHUFC.com
Franz Beckenbauer tells of his admiration for West Ham United's greatest
player, Bobby Moore
27.02.2013

Few players in the history of world football can be considered as equals to
the great Bobby Moore. Franz Beckenbauer is one of those players. Just like
his English contemporary, Beckenbauer enjoyed a glittering career with
Bayern Munich and West Germany, earning a reputation for being the greatest
defender his country has ever produced. Like Moore, he lifted the FIFA World
Cup as his country's captain, doing so on home turf in 1974, before
repeating the feat as a manager in 1990 - becoming the first individual to
complete that amazing double. Throughout his career 'Der Kaiser' - 'The
Emperor' - regularly came up against West Ham United and England's greatest
centre-half, most notably at the 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cup finals and
later in the North American Soccer League. As players and as human beings,
the pair developed a deep respect and friendship. Twenty years after Moore's
passing, Beckenbauer still holds his old adversary in the highest possible
esteem. "If you play football as long as I did, even internationally, you
get to know a lot of footballers. But only a few become true friends and
even remain so after your career has ended. Bobby was such a friend. As a
footballer he was great and as a person loveable."

"Bobby was one of the best players in the history of football. He was the
captain of the team which won the major title for England in 1966 at the
World Cup in their own country. "He was an exceptionally gifted player and a
true leader on the field, because he was a personality with charisma and he
was able to motivate his teammates. "His particular strength was his
intuition. Thus he had an incredible positional play."

The two legends enjoyed their greatest battle in the FIFA World Cup final at
Wembley in July 1966. There, 25-year-old Moore captained England to victory
over a West Germany side that included the 20-year-old Beckenbauer in
central midfield. Despite his country's defeat - and the controversy
surrounding whether or not England's third goal crossed the line -
Beckenbauer admits England deserved their 4-2 win and Moore to lift the
Jules Rimet Trophy. "You will never forget such a game. However, today the
dramatic is very difficult to explain. England certainly deserved to win,
although it is unclear still today - and probably will never be answered -
if the third goal was one indeed. "Anyway, England has rightly become world
champions."

It would not be the final time the pair would meet at international level.
In 1970, Moore's England raced into a 2-0 lead over West Germany in the FIFA
World Cup quarter-finals in Mexico, only for Beckenbauer's side to stage a
dramatic comeback to secure a 3-2 win. Two years later, the pair met as
captains in the UEFA European Championship quarter-finals. West Germany were
again victorious, winning 3-1 on aggregate. Finally, in 1978, 37-year-old
Moore and his Seattle Sounders faced 32-year-old Beckenbauer's New York
Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. The pair were joined by Brazil
greats Pele and Carlos Alberto, England internationals Rodney Marsh and
Trevor Francis, Wales defender Mike England and West Ham goalkeeper Phil
Parkes as attempts were made to make 'soccer' popular in the United States.
Beckenbauer believes their presence helped pave the way for the modern-day
success of the MLS.
"Bobby and I played a few times against each other. It's true that Bobby,
Pele, a few others and I were pioneers of football at that time. "I think
that we have contributed some things that helped football made the gap in
the USA and it has become increasingly popular."

Unfortunately, of course, Moore is no longer with us, having passed away in
February 1993 at the age of 51. Now 67, Beckenbauer spoke at the memorial
service held four months later at Westminster Abbey - an experience he will
never forget. "After Bobby's death, I experienced one of the most touching
moments of my life. His memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey.
Every seat was occupied and everybody of distinction was present. "I was
asked to read from the Bible during the funeral ceremony in the pulpit. I
was terribly humbled - it was a great honour to say 'Goodbye' to Bobby in
this way."

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O'Neil eyes Stoke success
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil believes West Ham United can cure their travel sickness at Stoke
City on Saturday
27.02.2013

Gary O'Neil says West Ham United need to get over the 'massive blow' of
Monday's 3-2 Barclays Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur when they
travel to Stoke City. The Hammers go to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday
having been edged out by a last-minute goal from Spurs' Gareth Bale and
seeking to end a run of six consecutive away league defeats. While the odds
may be against West Ham winning in the Potteries, midfielder O'Neil believes
Monday's performance should give the players and supporters belief that
better is just around the corner.

"We've got some big, strong, physical players who can hopefully deal with
Stoke's physical threat, then hopefully we'll have the chance to get it down
and play," the 29-year-old told West Ham TV. "We got the chance to play a
little bit on Monday night and show people what we can do, getting it down
the sides to Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole with people driving in. Hopefully we
can work on some more of that. "We hope to stop getting so many little
injuries as well. We had to take people off, which wasn't ideal. It spoils
your rhythm when you lose your captain after half-an-hour and then we lost
our right-back Guy Demel. It makes it tough, so hopefully we can stop that
as well. "We need a reaction because our away form hasn't been good enough.
I thought we played a bit better at Aston Villa, but came away with nothing
which is no good. Saturday is a big game and we need something from it."

For O'Neil, seeing his name in the starting line-up at Stoke will be
incentive enough to produce his best. "It's been a long time since I started
a Premier League game in the middle of the park," said the No32, who started
his first league game since the 1-0 defeat at Reading on 29 December. On
Monday I played in a slightly new role a bit deeper with Mark Noble missing
through injury, and I enjoyed it. I thought we did well as a team and looked
fairly comfortable. It was just a massive blow at the end that made me
forget about all the rest of it, really. "It was tough to take so late in
the game but it was such a good goal by Bale, and especially as we'd had
some good chances at 2-1 to make it three. I thought the lads worked hard
against a good side with one outstanding player, as well. We were a little
bit unlucky but we've got to dust ourselves down and we've got another big
game on Saturday. "I don't think Spurs looked too dangerous until Bale got
the ball. They kept it comfortably and we knew they'd try to keep the ball
as they like to pass it, then as soon as he got hold of it there seemed to
be an extra edge to their play. He scored a great first goal and, with the
second one, I still can't believe he's managed to do what he did from where
he was. It was a real sickener."

For O'Neil, Bale's late winner was particularly tough to take as he had
tracked the Welshman half the length of the pitch before the Spurs No11
unleashed an unstoppable long-range shot into the top corner. In assessing
the situation again, midfielder summed up the difficulty of dealing with a
player with pace, power and the ability to score goals from anywhere. "It
was a tough one for me. It was about 35 yards out, I was on a yellow card
and I had to decide whether to try and go tight and risk him going by me.
Maybe I gave him a yard too much space but I didn't expect him to do what he
did. "I've had a look at it again to see if there is anything I could have
done and the ball misses my foot by about a millimetre. Maybe I could have
got a bit tighter but we'll discuss it over the next few days and see what
we could have done better about all three goals."

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'There are lessons to be learned'
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock insists that disappointment at Wolves will stand his U21s in
good stead for the future
27.02.2013

Nick Haycock admitted his Development Squad had learned the hard way after
two late goals consigned West Ham United to a Barclays Under-21 Premier
League Elite Group defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.Sebastian
Lletget's first goal of the campaign seemingly had Haycock's men on course
for a valuable away win, only for calamity to strike twice in the final
eight minutes. A suspiciously harsh penalty award allowed Jake Cassidy to
slam home from the spot, before the hosts seized upon Frazer Shaw's
defensive mishap, with Robbie Parry the man to fire Wolves ahead in the 90th
minute. While defeat was certainly scant reward for a perfectly good
showing, Haycock was adamant that Wolves' late show will prove an invaluable
experience in the long run.
"It's probably the first time that I do feel really aggrieved," Haycock told
West Ham TV. "Every game that we've played has been competitive and this was
no different. We've come to a good club in Wolves and I think the
environment was exactly what the boys are going to experience out on loan.
The game played that way as well and it's a great game for the boys to have
played in. There are some young lads out there who are learning by the day
and this was no exception. "We nearly gave them a goal at 1-0 when we were
playing out the back and dropped it short to the 'keeper, but we'll learn
from that. That's key. If they don't make mistakes they may never learn.
Sometimes you have to be harsh and tell them a few home truths. I think
that's part and parcel of football as well. That's the world they are coming
in to. At this level you can't afford to make mistakes like that because you
get punished."

The Hammers might have had a two-goal lead to protect had Elliot Lee enjoyed
better fortune, as his strike, just seconds after the restart, cannoned off
the inside of the post and rolled across the face of goal. Haycock reckoned
it was a pivotal moment on the night, while he was disappointed with the
penalty that handed Wolves a route back into the contest. "If Elliot's
chance just after half-time goes in, it's probably a different game at 2-0,"
he added. "I don't think Elliot could have done any more really. He's hit
the post, and it could have gone in off the post. They are game-changers and
I think we've had a week of it with the first team. It was a good
performance against Spurs and it was no different on Tuesday night. "They
had their chances as well and I'm not going to gripe about a referee but
it's never a penalty. I've seen it on the DVD. That's given them the lift to
push on and get the winner, albeit in the last few minutes. We're very
unfortunate just to be sat on six points, I think we deserve far more than
that. But there are lessons to be learned."

Next up for Nick Haycock's charges is the visit of Manchester United to the
Boleyn Ground on Friday 1 March, with kick-off set for 7pm. Season Ticket
Holders are to be admitted free of charge, while Adults will pay just £3 and
Under-16s £1. The main car park and Stadium Store will also be open to
supporters.

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John Carew leaves Inter Milan trial after concerns over his fitness
BBC.co.uk

Former Aston Villa and West Ham striker John Carew has left Inter Milan
after the Italian club expressed concerns over the trialist's fitness. "His
present physical condition would need a lengthy period of fitness work not
compatible with the needs of the club," said the Serie A side. Carew, 33,
has been a free agent since leaving Upton Park last summer. The Norwegian
linked up with Inter after forward Diego Milito suffered a serious knee
ligament injury. "We would like to thank John for the willingness and
professionalism he has shown," added Inter in a statement on their official
website. Since his release by West Ham in May, Carew has taken part in an
action film and also been linked with a return to Premier League strugglers
Villa. But he was given a surprise opportunity by the Nerazzurri as boss
Andrea Stramaccioni looks for cover for Argentina international Milito. "I
wasn't expecting the call - life is full of surprises. But I'm ready, I feel
good and I've worked with the team over the last two weeks," said Carew
before his trial ended. Inter, who will play Tottenham in the last 16 of the
Europa League in March, are fifth in Serie A, 14 points behind league
leaders Juventus. However, Inter are on a poor run of form and have only won
two of eight league matches in 2013. Carew, who scored 24 goals in 91
appearances for Norway, has previous experience of Italian football, after a
loan spell at Roma in the 2003-04 season.

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Allardyce: this round's on me
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 27th February 2013
By: Staff Writer

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce treated his backroom staff to a pre-Christmas
'jolly' the night before a Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion,
it has been revealed. Allardyce and his team were staying at the Hilton
Hotel - which is adjacent to the new National Football Centre in Burton upon
Trent - on Saturday, 15th December ahead of the following day's visit to the
Hawthorns. A hotel receipt published by a tabloid newspaper today reveals
that the West Ham contingent, which included up to 15 backroom staff plus
interns ran up a bill of around £1,200 the night before the game - a bill
that Allardyce met in full as a 'thank you' for his staff's efforts in 2012,
a year in which West Ham returned to the Premier League. However there is no
suggestion that any of the players - who earned a well-earned point the
following day with a 0-0 draw - were drinking alcohol. A club source told
KUMB.com: "Sam decided to treat his staff. It was a Christmas treat from the
manager who picked up the bill."

Details of the bill were first published by The Sun this morning. The
tabloid claimed that the bill was "posted by mistake to a firm whose staff
were stunned".
However a strapline claiming that "stars including Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole
were present" was quickly removed from their website once it was explained
that Cole was still a Liverpool player at the time of the West Brom trip.

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West Ham interest for former Porstmouth man Nadir Belhadj
By Giscard Gourizro. Last Updated: February 27, 2013 8:51pm
SSN

Reported West Ham United target Nadir Belhadj has hinted he might be
interested in a return to the Premier League. The former Portsmouth
full-back is currently with Qatari outfit Al Sadd having left Fratton Park
in 2010 after winning the FA Cup. But West Ham, Benfica and Lazio are all
being linked with Belhadj and the 30-year-old Algerian has not ruled out the
possibility of moving back to Europe in the summer. He said:" I am happy to
be linked with prestigious clubs, such as Benfica, Lazio and West Ham.
"Benfica have been linked with me before but nothing happened. They are a
great club with great tradition and infrastructures. "West Ham are also a
great team with a good reputation and I always enjoy the English league. To
be honest, nothing has been decided yet so wait and see."

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Joe Cole Excels Once Again at Upton Park!
By S J Chandos
West Ham till I Die

Losing to Spurs in the final minutes of Monday evening's match was tough on
a batting West Ham side, who also gave probably the best passing display of
the season. So much for the stubborn myth that Sam Allardyce's teams only
play one way and, indeed, the elements that perpetuate it. We knew that
Spurs would be a major challenge and that we needed both the 'rub of the
green' and a 110% performance to win. However, we came very close to it and
I was hugely encouraged by the quality of much of our play. It bodes well
for the rest of the season, because if we play like that consistently, for
the remainder of the season, we will win fooball matches. Certainly enough
to comfortably secure our PL status this season and then re-group and
strengthen th squad further in the summer.

I thought Joe Cole was outstanding yet again. He seems to reserve his best
performances for our home games. His vision and passing in the final third
was excellent and he exhibited a growing fitness that was self-evident. He
made a number of decisive passes in the final third, most notably that
intelligent slide rule pass that played Taylor through on goal. Its a pity
that Taylor could not convert, because going 3-1 up would have probably
secured the win. Similarly, Cole's turn and shot to put us 2-1 up, was
extremely well executed. In fact he scuffed his shot, but that probably
helped to beat the Spurs keeper. Those who wrote Cole off as 'finished' have
been proven absolutely wrong. And the rest of us are very grateful for it.
Coming home to West Ham really was the right move for Joe Cole, it's just a
pity he did not join us rather than Liverpool a couple of seasons ago. Still
better late than never.

Matt Jarvis was also excellent down the left flank and was a constant
problem for the Spurs defence. If Jarvis is to reach his best form, he needs
to play regularly and be given the latitude to express himself. He is a good
player and can be a real asset once he finds his best form. Much has made of
the wisdom of the substitutions in the second half. It appears that Demel
was injured and that is the reason that he was substituted. But I must admit
that putting Pogatetz up against Lennon did seem ill advised. Surely, Danny
Potts would have been better equipped to cope with his pace and trickery on
the ball, dispite his relative inexperience. But I am nots ure if he was
even included on the bench on Monday? Also, I agree that substituting Diame
was a major factor in the tide turning against us. Diame is a massive
presence in midield and he constantly makes powerful forward runs that
Parker and co had to cover. When he was substituted, that created the space
and the opportunity fo them to push forward more readily. I am not sure if
there was a specific fitness reason why such a key player was withdrawn? Of
the three substitutions, only Taylor for Nolan seemed a good move. But be
honest, and given a choice, which of those two players would you have
preferred Cole to play in to a 1-on-1 with the Spurs keeper? For me, its
Nolan everytime!

Of the Spurs goals, the first was an absolute 'gift' from our perspective.
How did Demel make that mistake? When it fell to Bale you just knew that we
would be punished for it. The second and equaliser was a messy and
unfortunate affair. Spurs certainly were lucky in the way that the ball fell
for them, because on another day it would have fell kindly for the West Ham
defenders and we would have cleared it. As for the third goal, you really
cannot legislate for a strike of that quality. Of course, O'Neill gave him a
bit too much space, but what is done is done. It was just hugely
disappointing that it occurred so late in the match.

As I predicted, there was no cricket score and West Ham actually gave a very
good account of themselves. If you do not believe me, check out Gary
Neville's post-match assesment on Sky. The truth is that some fans were so
convinced of a trouncing that they completely lost sight of the threat that
our team could, in turn, pose to Spurs. The match proved that West Ham have
more than enough ability to give Spurs a tough game, pushing them all the
way. And that is a positive at this stage of our progression as a club,
because at the end of the day, West Ham are a promoted team, in their first
season back in th PL. We can build upon this season, and the current squad,
and progressively bring in the extra quality that we need to challenge the
top 6-8 of the PL.

The team need to build on the many positive aspects of that performance and
get a good result at Stoke City. Stoke are a very physical, tough side, who
are not above practising the 'dark arts' of the game. We need to meet their
physical challenge, watch out for under hand stuff and get the ball down and
play like we did against Spurs. I am sure that a effective combination of
physical strength, effective passing & movement and posing a constant threat
at set peices can deliver the points for us on Saturday. Say, a 1-2 victory.

My concluding comment on the Spurs match, is to praise the club and its fans
for the 20th Anniversary commemoration of Bobby Moore's death and the
celebration of his life. It was very emotional and illustrated what a great
player and human being Bobby Moore was. Those that saw him play are blessed,
those that knew him and counted him as a friend or team mate much more so.
And also very well done to the Hammers support for heeding the mesages from
the club and eradicating any disciminatory chants towards the Spurs fans.
The club is genuinely committed to promoting equality, inclusion and
community cohesion and non-discrimination has become a key objective of the
club. That is a very good development and one that supporters should embrace
and actively support.

It has been reported that Kevin Nolan could potentially be sidelined for the
next six weeks with a broken toe. So, who fills in for the absent skipper?
In my opinion, we either go 4-4-2 and a 2nd striker partners Andy Carroll or
we stay 4-3-3 and either Joe Cole or Jack Collison goes into the advanced
central midfield position, with the other one playing on the right flank.
Probably Cole in the centre, with Collison on the right flank. This could be
an opportunity to give Collison a run in the team and play Joe cole in a
central or free role. Both player are skillful and undoubtedly have goals in
them.

Similarly, another report has appeared out of nowhere stating hat West Ham
may launch a summer move for Nadir Belhadj. The former Portsmouth
left-back/winger is currently with Qatari outfit Al Sadd having left Fratton
Park in 2010 their FA Cup victory. I am not sure if this is an actual
possibility or just an agent placed story,designed to generate interest? But
it is one to watch.

Finally, I had the great pleasure to meet a small group of WHTID readers
last week. We had a very interesting discussion over a drink or two and they
were most generous in the praise of my blog articles. It really renewed my
faith in the vast majority of people following WHTID. None of them had ever
posted a comment, but had loyally followed the site since around 2008 or
2009. Actually, the traffic for the site is massive, and still growing, but
only a tiny percentage of the readers actually post. Which is an amazing
fact and puts everything in to perspective. WHTID, of course, values every
single reader, including those that contribute comments. Due to my other
commitments I rarely get the time to read the comments these days, but I
know that Iain regularly suveys them and responds as necessary.

No doubt readers/contributors disagree with me in occasions, that is
inevitable and hopefully generates a good discussion and exchange of views..
The important thing is that we are all Hammers supporters, not enemies, and
we treat each other with respect and all due regard. Which I am certain that
the vast majority do. That is one of the characteristics that has always
made WHTID different to the rest. Long may it be the case. COYI !

SJ. Chandos.

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Parker hurt by West Ham boos
The Sun
Published: 27th February 2013

SCOTT PARKER admits he was gutted to get booed by some West Ham fans on
Monday. The 32-year-old moved to Tottenham at the start of last season in a
£6million deadline day move when the Hammmers were in the Championship. But
despite spending four seasons at Upton Park and winning the club's player of
the year award in the last of those, some sections of the crowd gave him an
earful during the 3-2 defeat to Spurs on Monday. He said: "I didn't expect
the West Ham fans to boo me and obviously it was a little bit upsetting. "I
don't know if it's because I went to their local rivals — I'm not sure. But
I just would have liked to think that maybe I would have got a better
reception after what I did in my time here. "I loved Upton Park, the fans,
and I loved the club. "I had four fantastic years here and it will always be
a club with a massive place in my heart. "I was looking forward to coming
back and I couldn't wait to go out there and play so I was disappointed."

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Hammer blow as Nolan is crocked
Exclusive
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: 5 hrs ago
The Sun

WEST HAM have suffered a huge blow with confirmation that skipper Kevin
Nolan has a broken foot. Nolan's injury, following a tackle by Spurs' Mousa
Dembele on Monday, could rule the midfielder out for up to eight weeks.
Medics will not know for another fortnight if he can play with pain-killing
injections.
Hammers are six points off the drop zone. Defender James Collins said: "
Relegation has not been mentioned."

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Wilson's ready for battle with Carroll
By GRAHAM HILL
Published: 5 hrs ago
The SUn

MARC WILSON is preparing for a baptism of fire against Andy Carroll. Stoke
midfielder Wilson is set to replace Robert Huth at centre-half against West
Ham on Saturday. Huth starts a three-match ban after yesterday accepting an
FA violent conduct charge for landing a forearm on Fulham's Phillippe
Senderos last weekend. Wilson said: "Carroll's a good player, he'll be a
challenge. But l'll play anywhere for the team."

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