Daily WHUFC News - 15th March 2013

Hurst eyes big future with Olympic move
WHUFC.com
Legendary former West Ham United striker Sir Geoff Hurst is excited by the
club's proposed move
14.03.2013

Legendary former West Ham United striker Sir Geoff Hurst has expressed his
excitement about the club's proposed move to the Olympic Stadium. Sir Geoff,
who famously formed part of a trio of Hammers who helped England lift the
World Cup in 1966, says the move will help the club drive forward. He
notched 249 goals in a prolific 500-game career at the Boleyn Ground, which
included FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup triumphs, and eyes success in
the future on the back of the proposed move. Speaking to the Mail Online, he
said: "It's [a big future] not beyond the realms of possibility if we go to
the stadium and with the support we've got. "West Ham has a huge supporter
base. If you could make a comparison to another club of a similar stature
and I would say Manchester City is it. "Look what has happened to them after
they went to a new stadium. "I think it has been great for Chelsea with
[Roman] Abramovich and for Manchester City. It has been great for the game.
Of course I'd be thrilled to bits if it happened to West Ham. "I do strongly
believe that for the club to move forward we need to move to a bigger
stadium. '"Nobody has a greater connection to Upton Park than I have as a
player or a fan. I've had some great days and I have a great connection with
the club. "I firmly believe it [moving to the Olympic Park] is the future
for us. We need to be there."

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Cole hopes for happy homecoming
WHUFc.com
West Ham United striker Carlton Cole is looking to get one over his former
club at the weekend
14.03.2013

Carlton Cole is eyeing a Barclays Premier League double when West Ham United
travel to Chelsea on Sunday. The former Blues striker headed the Hammers'
first goal in their 3-1 win over Sunday's opponents earlier this season. He
spent five years as a pro at Stamford Bridge prior to linking up with the
Hammers in 2006 and is looking forward to going back to his old stamping
ground on Sunday. "I always enjoy going back to Chelsea," he told West Ham
TV. "I see old friends - there's a lot of backroom staff still there and the
captain's the same. I've got good good friends there like Ashley Cole. "I've
got loads of connections and i love playing against them. When you play
against your old teams you want to impress. If I get the opportunity I'll be
on it."

Cole was certainly on form the last time the sides met back in December,
getting West Ham's comeback going with a 63rd minute header to cancel out
Juan Mata's opener. Sam Allardyce's men went on to claim all three points
thanks to further strikes from Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga and Cole says
his team should take inspiration from that success. He continued: "When we
played them at home it was a fantastic win, a fantastic day. The boys all
pulled in the same direction and the second half was unreal. "Hopefully
we'll have the same opportunity to do that again and it would be a good
thing to have on your CV to do the double over Chelsea. "You don't fear the
opposition, but you have to respect them. We want to get something out of
the game - I haven't actually ever gone there and won in my career. "That's
not a good record, but then again I hadn't beaten them anywhere until this
season so hopefully we can do it again. Never say never."

The Hammers will arrive at Stamford Bridge having ended their nine-game wait
for an away victory with a welcome success at Stoke City on their last road
trip. Cole added: "The Stoke game is a massive turning point for us. Our
away record hasn't been great this year and we really needed to get a result
there.
"Jack [Collison}, funnily enough, said he had a feeling we'd turn it around.
He's the one who scored the winning goal, so we'll be plugging away to try
to do Chelsea some damage on Sunday."

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Six of the best - Chelsea
WHUFC.com
A look back at half-a-dozen outstanding West Ham United displays at Stamford
Bridge
14.03.2013

West Ham United travel to Chelsea on Sunday looking to record back-to-back
away wins for the first time this season. To get Hammers fans in the mood
for this weekend's Barclays Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge, we take
a look into the archives to remember six fine claret and blue victories at
Stamford Bridge. A ten-goal show during the Second World War, a four-star
performance from the Boys of '86 and a match-winning performance from Paolo
Di Canio all feature in our Six of the Best against Chelsea.

Chelsea 2-3 West Ham United
Premier League
28 September 2002

Paolo Di Canio (pictured, celebrating with Jermain Defoe, Scott Minto and
Sebastian Schemmel) took centre-stage on the occasion of West Ham United's
most-recent victory at Stamford Bridge - and their long-awaited first win of
the 2002/03 Premier League season. After Jermain Defoe had equalised Jimmy
Floyd Hasselbaink's penalty opener before half-time, the Italian forward
took control of proceedings after the interval. On 48 minutes, Di Canio
allowed a throw-in to bounce before controlling on his thigh and sending a
rasping volley past a stunned Carlo Cudicini in the Chelsea goal. Future
Hammers manager Gianfranco Zola then made his own case for goal of the match
by curling an exquisite free-kick high into David James' net with 16 minutes
remaining. Di Canio would have the last laugh, however, firing a low shot
between Cudicini and his near post after William Gallas's clearance had
ricocheted off Defoe's head.

Chelsea 1-2 West Ham United
Premier League
17 February 1996
West Ham United arrived at Stamford Bridge having been humbled 3-0 at
Division One side Grimsby Town in an FA Cup fourth-round replay in their
previous fixture - missing out on a potential fifth-round meeting with
Chelsea. However, Harry Redknapp's Hammers turned things around by pulling
off a stunning Premier League victory over the Blues in west London. With
Julian Dicks playing in a central defensive role, West Ham stormed to their
fourth consecutive Premier League win, despite falling behind to Gavin
Peacock's 13th-minute opener. Dicks himself headed in the equaliser just
after the hour-mark before midfielder Danny Williamson completed the
turnaround with 18 minutes remaining, silencing the majority of the
25,252-strong crowd inside the three-sided Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea 0-4 West Ham United
Division One
29 March 1986
Easter Saturday 1986 is a date that will be forever remembered by West Ham
United supporters. On a muddy quagmire of a pitch, the Hammers turned on the
style to rip Chelsea to shreds at Stamford Bridge. Alan Devonshire put West
Ham in front on 23 minutes before the Hammers truly turned on the style
after half-time. Tony Cottee scored twice in the space of nine minutes - the
first to complete a sweeping counter-attack led by George Parris and the
second a clinical finish from Frank McAvennie's square pass - before
McAvennie himself completed the rout by smashing Cottee's mis-hit high past
goalkeeper Tony Godden. Victory took West Ham up to sixth in the table and
continued a fine second half to the season that ended with John Lyall's side
finishing in a club-record high finish of third in Division One.

Chelsea 0-3 West Ham United
Division One
28 November 1964
Six months on from lifting the FA Cup at Wembley for the first time in the
club's history, Ron Greenwood's West Ham United chalked up another memorable
victory. Having defeated Arsenal and Leeds United in their previous two
league fixtures and scored a 2-0 win over Sparta Prague in the European Cup
Winners' Cup second round first leg in midweek, the Hammers travelled to
Chelsea full of confidence. Alan Sealey, who would scored both goals in West
Ham's Cup Winners' Cup final victory over TSV Munich 1860 the following May,
opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge after just eight minutes. Martin
Peters and Geoff Hurst then made the game safe. Amazingly, West Ham's win
meant they had scored at least one goal in every one of their 19 league
matches played so far in the 1964/65 season. The Hammers would complete the
'double' over Chelsea the following April, but the Blues would knock the
holders out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage in January 1965.

Chelsea 2-4 West Ham United
Division One
19 September 1959
John Dick (pictured) scored twice as West Ham United stunned Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge in September 1959. The centre forward kick-started an
injury-affected season in claret and blue by scoring his first two goals of
the 1959/60 campaign in a 4-2 Division One victory. Amazingly, Dick failed
to score in any of his next six appearances before going on a tear for the
remainder of the season, netting ten goals in 14 appearances between
November and early March.
Concentrating on the 4-2 win that lifted West Ham up to seventh in the
Division One table, Phil Woosnam and Malcolm Musgrove also found the net at
Stamford Bridge in front of a bumper crowd of 54,349.

Chelsea 3-10 West Ham United
War League South C Division
30 March 1940
With many regular players away serving their country and others making guest
appearances for clubs, weird and wonderful scorelines were something of the
norm during the Second World War. Indeed, during their seasons in the War
League South, West Ham United chalked up 10-3, 8-4, 6-2, 5-0 and 4-3
victories over Chelsea. The biggest and most eye-catching of those occurred
on Saturday 30 March 1940, when the Hammers scored ten times on their visit
to the Blues. Sam Small bagged four goals, while Ted Fenton helped himself
to a hat-trick. Alec George Foreman netted a brace and Joseph Stanley Foxall
was also on target for Charlie Paynter's side. Foreman would end the
campaign with an amazing 42 goals in 43 appearances to his name.

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Support the Dev Squad at the Boleyn
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Under-21s are in action at the Boleyn Ground against
Arsenal on Friday night
14.03.2013

West Ham United's Development Squad are back at the Boleyn Ground for their
next Barclays U21 Premier League Elite Group Stage fixture on Friday 15
March. Nick Haycock's (pictured) side will be playing host to Arsenal as
they go for a fourth victory of the season over the Gunners. Having
triumphed home and away in the first stage of the campaign, the Hammers
followed that with a 2-0 win at Arsenal's Training Centre at the end of
January. Three points could take West Ham back up to fourth in the table as
they chase a top-three play off spot. Kick-off is at 7pm and admission is
free for season ticket holders and just £3 for adults and £1 concessions.
The Stadium Store will also be open up until kick-off at 7pm, giving
supporters the chance to make great savings in our sale on the Macron range,
and much more.

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West Ham off to Sweden?
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 14th March 2013
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce could be set to take his squad to Scandinavia this summer,
according to reports. And the Hammers may be in line to open a brand-new
multi-purpose stadium based in Stockholm. The £2.7bn Tele2 Arena - a brand
new, 30,000 all-seater stadium complete with a retractable roof - is due to
open for business this summer. And according to reports emanating from
Scandinavia, West Ham are being lined up to open the stadium against an
as-yet unnamed opponent later this year. Both Hammarby or Djurgårdens, who
are both set to play at the Tele2 from next season are strong favourites to
face United in the planned friendly. West Ham have not visited Sweden since
2005 when Alan Pardew took his freshly-promoted squad to Sweden for three
pre-season fixtures against Trollhatten, Gothenburg and Ljungskile. United's
last visit to Scandinavia came two years ago when Freddie Sears scored the
only goal in a 1-0 win over Copenhagen.

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France midfielder Alou Diarra keen to put permanent end to West Ham spell
Last Updated: March 14, 2013 1:59pm
SSN

West Ham's forgotten man Alou Diarra does not see a way he can return to the
club when his Rennes loan expires. The France midfielder was signed from
Marseille last summer after playing at Euro 2012 but featured just six times
before heading back to Ligue 1 in January. And the 31-year-old told French
newspaper L'Equipe his lack of action in east London continues to affect his
fitness. He said: "People expect a lot of me but it's hard to forget what
happened in my first six months at West Ham. "I am concentrating on
improving my physical condition and playing for Rennes. But it is true that
I don't want to relive what I went through at West Ham. "It is impossible to
go back under the same conditions. I wanted to prove that I could play in
the Premier League but they never wanted to give me the opportunity. "I
don't blame Sam Allardyce but rather the agent commissioned by West Ham. It
is incomprehensible to buy a player, give him a three-year contract, and
then ignore him."

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Brazilian star set for West Ham bow against Chelsea
By talkSPORT | Thursday, March 14, 2013

West Ham striker Wellington Paulista could finally get the chance to make
his Premier League debut against Chelsea on Sunday after scoring once again
for the reserves this week. The Brazilian forward has had to wait patiently
for his chance following his loan move from Cruzeiro back in January.
Wellington netted his fourth goal for the east London club during the 3-3
draw against Liverpool last Monday. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is keen to
solve the club's goalscoring problems with Andy Carroll netting just three
goals this season and Carlton Cole scoring only two. Wellington could earn a
place on the substitute's bench for the London derby at Stamford Bridge on
Sunday as Joe Cole looks set to miss out with a hamstring injury and captain
Kevin Nolan is rated extremely doubtful with a broken toe.

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Cole wants Hammers to wrap up league double over former club Chelsea
By CHARLIE SKILLEN
PUBLISHED: 13:16, 14 March 2013 | UPDATED: 15:37, 14 March 2013
Daily Mail

Carlton Cole is hoping to get one over former club Chelsea and help West Ham
win at Stamford Bridge to wrap up a league double over their London rivals.
The Hammers won 3-1 at Upton Park in December in Rafa Benitez's third game
in charge of the Blues, and travel to the side where Cole started his career
on Sunday. The striker, who made 34 appearances for Chelsea, scored West
Ham's first goal in the December win and revealed his delight at the result.
'When we played them at home it was a fantastic win, a fantastic day,' he
told West Ham's official website. 'The boys all pulled in the same direction
and the second half was unreal. 'Hopefully we'll have the same opportunity
to do that again and it would be a good thing to have on your c.v. to do the
double over Chelsea.'
And the striker now wants to experience what it is like to win at Stamford
Bridge as an away player. You don't fear the opposition but you have to
respect them,' he said. 'We want to get something out of the game - I
haven't actually ever gone there and won in my career. 'That's not a good
record but then again I hadn't beaten them anywhere until this season so
hopefully we can do it again. Never say never.' The Hammers will arrive at
Stamford Bridge having ended their nine-game wait for an away victory with a
welcome success at Stoke City on their last road trip. Cole added: 'The
Stoke game is a massive turning point for us. Our away record hasn't been
great this year and we really needed to get a result there. 'Jack
[Collison], funnily enough, said he had a feeling we'd turn it around. 'He's
the one who scored the winning goal, so we'll be plugging away to try to do
Chelsea some damage on Sunday.'

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Joe Cole's Comments Ruffle a Few Feathers!
West Ham Till I Die

It seems that Joe Cole's admission that his move to Liverpool was a mistake,
and apparent indication that the Reds might no longer be the top club in the
land, has caused some consternation down Merseyside way! Former Pool player,
John Aldridge has been reported as stating that Cole's comments are a
disgrace. And I am sure that the nature of Aldridge's response is typical of
that of many Liverpool fans, if by no means all.

Now there is little doubt that Liverpool's post-1960 history is packed with
domestic and European honours. They may have not been the first British club
to taste European glory (beaten to it by Spurs, West Ham, Celtic, Man Utd,
etc) but they have probably tasted more of it, most often. They have had
excellent players (like Keegan, Dalgish, Souness and Gerrard) and great
teams. But are they increasingly in danger of living in a world of past
glories and contemporary delusion? I well remember, in the late 1980s,
former Liverpool captain Emlyn Hughes launching a stinging attack upon West
Ham's reputation and alleged delusions about itself as the 'Academy of
Football' in the sports pages of the Daily Mirror. His basic argument was
that West Ham suffered grand delusions about their standing and importance
in the English game.

Forget the more recent Tevez controversy, the late 1980s was the juncture at
which the general perception of West Ham, as a club, shifted significantly.
From the 1960s onwards, West Ham were hugely respected for their style of
football and their contribution to the English game. Yes, it was recognised
that the club had massively under-achieved from 1966-67 onwards, but they
were nevertheless seen as representing everything that was good in the game.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Greenwood's teams were regularly out-muscled
by teams such as Leeds Utd, Chelsea and even Man Utd, who adopted a much
more physical and cynical approach to the game. But Greenwood's purists held
out against the trend and they were respected for it. The 'Academy of
Football' title originally developed in response to both the innovations in
training and tactics developed in the Fenton-Allison era and the number of
former Hammers players who subsequently went on to become top class
managers. Later it become more associated with the club's excellent youth
academy and the constant supply of quality players that it has produced down
the decades.

Yet, since the Hughes article, the same sentiments have been echoed many
times in the media down the years. Any paper article on West Ham is
incomplete these days without some side swipe like 'they like to think of
themselves as the Academy of Football' or 'the self-styled Academy of
Football.' An extension and variation of this is 'they like to claim that
they won the World Cup in 1966.' Well, those of us with long enough lives
and memories, know very well that this view of the club, as Academy/World
Cup winners, was not held solely by its supporters. On the contrary, it was
once a much more popular public perception. This due regard for the club and
its heritage was a reality in more respectful former times. The specific
historical branching point was probably occasioned by the relegation of
1988-89 and the subsequent sacking of the legendary John Lyall as manager.
That effectively both broke the continuous link with the Fenton-Greenwood
heritage and the magic reputational/attitudinal spell that it had hitherto
cast around the club. And that facilitated the shift to a new paradigam.

Nevertheless, perhaps it should be admitted that amidst the hostile and
partial opinion, there was a kernel of truth in the Hughes article. The
heritage and reputation of West Ham was and is real enough, but maybe as the
great days of Moore-Hurst-Peters gave way to less glorious times, as the
promise was unfulfilled and the honours won by other clubs superseded ours,
we were guilty of taking increasing refuge in our reputation and things that
made us stand apart. And perhaps that reputational focus helped our fans
come to terms with the infrequency of honours in later years. It is probably
reflected in the commonly heard fans lament, associated with the
Greenwood-Lyall years, that 'we may not win much, but at least we play the
game the right way.' As stated, its a speculative propostion, which if we
are being honest and self-critical, we might accept has some basis of truth.

Yet, irony of ironies, is a similar thing now besetting Hughes' mighty Reds?
Are the harsh realities of their failure to keep pace with the Manchester
clubs and Chelsea leading to delusions about their position at the apex of
the English game? Do they now live too much in the past glories of he
Shankley, Paisley and Dalgish's eras and are they guilty of hypostatizing
their past as their present and their future? Is that a reason why a person
so closely associated with Liverpool's past achievements responded badly to
Cole seemingly indicating that the self-image of the club may not conform
with the current reality?

Hughes did not live to see it, but are accusations akin to those he once
levelled at West Ham now applicable to Liverpool? If so, that would indeed
be ironic. Personally, I honestly have no axe to grind with Liverpool
Football Club, I have always enjoyed visits there, if not too many of the
actual matches. Nor do I blame Liverpool for an article written, a long time
ago, by one of their former players. It also has to be said they are more
than capable of being the beneficiaries of a resurgence of fortunes under
Brendon Roger's promising management. Of course, for many Hammers fan, the
ultimate proof of Liverpool's current, relative decline would be if the 50
year period without a win at Anfield was to come to a end this season. That
is some unwanted record! Surely that event would supersede the home win over
Chelsea (and even a double victory this coming Sunday) as the outstanding
highlight of the season!

SJ. Chandos

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Kev ready toe play on
Published: 14th March 2013
The SUn

KEVIN NOLAN is to have a pain-killing injection in his broken toe to ease
West Ham's injury crisis. The Hammers skipper has not played since the 3-2
home loss to Spurs three weeks' ago. And he faces a battle to be fit for
Sunday's London derby at Chelsea. A Hammers insider said: "The sick list
looks pretty grim at the moment. "But Kevin is determined to be there."

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