Daily WHUFC News - 2nd April 2013

'It was nice to see one go in'
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil scored his first goal in a year to inspire West Ham United to a
valuable victory over West Brom
01.04.2013

Footage of West Ham United leaving the pitch after Saturday's 3-1 Barclays
Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion showed Gary O'Neil with a wide
grin on his face. O'Neil had good reason to be cheerful. The No32 scored his
maiden Boleyn Ground goal for the Hammers as Sam Allardyce's side took
another step towards safety. The midfielder's goal was also his first since
netting in the Championship victory at Peterborough United a year ago and
came two years after he suffered a career-threatening injury in a home
defeat by Aston Villa. O'Neil's 28th-minute strike put West Ham 2-0 up
against the Baggies and came courtesy of a technically superb first-time
right-foot curler into Ben Foster's top left-hand corner. "It was similar to
one I had up at their place this year that just missed the far post," the
29-year-old recalled to West Ham TV. "I can't kick it as hard as some of the
younger lads so I have to go for placement!
"It was nice to see one go in. It's about two years to the week since I got
my injury in the game against Aston Villa here, so it's nice to get a
Premier League goal. Obviously I got a couple in the Championship last year,
but it's nice to get back on the scoresheet in the Premier League."

Prior to his goal, O'Neil had also played a part in the Hammers' opener on
16 minutes, providing the inch-perfect corner for Andy Carroll to power into
the net with a trademark header. "Corners are something we work on because
we've obviously got a big side. If you get the delivery right, as I managed
to on the first one, Andy is going to be favourite. He was also unlucky with
the one in the second half that he got on the end of as well. "It's all
about the delivery because, if you can get it right, they are difficult to
defend."

O'Neil's fine defensive display helped West Ham to achieve an important
victory - one he hopes will propel the Hammers to a top-ten Barclays Premier
League finish. The No32 also revealed that the hosts' gameplan had worked
almost perfectly during a dominant performance. "We said before the game
that it was a big game for us - not for safety reasons but for the targets
we have set ourselves. We want be looking upwards and pushing into the top
half if we can. "It was a big game because West Brom have achieved that this
year. They have had a fantastic season and are on 44 points - a fantastic
tally - so to beat them so convincingly apart from the last 15 minutes when
it got a bit chaotic with injuries [to George McCartney] and the sending-off
[of Youssouf Mulumbu] and stuff, it was fairly comfortable. "It was a good
performance, especially the first half. We took our chances well and did
everything we had worked on. We knew they were going to sit off a bit so we
tried to drop balls into Andy and get balls wide to Jarvo and I thought it
worked quite well. "I've enjoyed it since I've been in there in that
slightly deeper role. I used to play there in the youth team so I knew I
could play in there. "It was probably a bit easier in the first half because
they only had two in the middle of the park, so we had the extra man which
gave me a little bit of space. The second half was a bit tougher and we were
defending a little bit more, but I've enjoyed my little role there so far."

After a difficult opening half to the season in terms of playing time,
O'Neil has taken advantage of an injury to the unfortunate Mark Noble to
impress in a defensive midfield role. "I just have to be slightly more aware
of the defensive side of things. Whereas when you are playing in one of the
two more advanced positions like Nobby [Kevin Nolan] and Mo [Diame], you can
get a bit carried away and make forward runs and follow the ball, which is
my tendency sometimes, I have to make myself aware of my new
responsibilities. "The lads behind me have been great. Winston [Reid] and
Ginge [James Collins] have been shouting at me non-stop 'left shoulder' or
'right shoulder' - there's always someone on one of my shoulders! "It's been
good and we've had some decent performances, barring Chelsea when I didn't
think we were too good. The other three games I have played in I have really
enjoyed."

Finally, one moment in Saturday's success that O'Neil did not enjoy quite so
much was the ball being booted into his backside by Baggies midfielder
Mulumbu. The incident saw the Congolese player dismissed by referee Andre
Marriner. "I caught his boot when I was chasing him. It was nothing
intentional, just one of those things, and he had probably trodden over me
all afternoon as well. "It was just one of those things that happens in
midfield and he just decided that he had had enough so he picked the ball up
and booted it at me. It was a strange little episode but at least we got the
three points."

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Ok, ok
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 1st April 2013
By: Staff Writer No.3

Barry Hearn may or may not have had another U-turn on the subject of the
Olympic Stadium. The day is young after all. However, we are pretty sure
that he hasn't arranged for the re-release of Snooker Loopy. We would
therefore unreservedly like to apologise for any distress and worry that the
prospect of being force fed a video of Sean Bean, Piers Morgan and the cast
of The Only Way Is Essex clutching headphones and singing along to a Chas &
Dave backing track might have caused anyone this April 1st. However, if it
turns up on the jukebox of the Boleyn Tavern which is being moved brick by
brick to the Olympic Park, we accept no responsibility at all. Ok?

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Paolo Di Canio - If He's Good Enough for Swindon...
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

I make a point of trying not to bring my politics onto this blog. It's meant
to be about football, not politics.But there are some rare times when
football and politics cross over. The appointment of Paolo Di Canio at
Sunderland seems to be one of those times. So today I wrote a blogpost on it
for my political blog at www.iaindale.com. Anyway, since it also concerns
West Ham, and the possibility of him becoming our manager, I have reposted
it, in its entirety, here.

Oh the hypocrisy of the Left. It was OK for Paolo Di Canio to play for
Sheffield Wednesday, Celtic, West Ham and Charlton. It was OK for him to
manage little old Swindon Town in League One, but oh no, the thought of him
managing Premier League Sunderland is repellent. No, I'll tell you what is
repellent – it's the so-called 'liberal left' deciding who should do what
based on whether someone conforms to their own idea of normality or
political acceptability. And then, only deciding to enforce their own
illiberal ideas when it suits them. Where were the howls of indignation when
Di Canio took over at Swindon Town? No one cared, because, well, it was only
little old Swindon, wasn't it?

Only it's not anymore. Its Sunderland. Big old Premier League Sunderland.
And poor 'ickle' David Miliband has spat out his dummy and resigned as Board
adviser. I'm not surprised. He was paid £75k a year for offering advice, and
if the Board asked him for his advice on their new manager, they clearly
ignored it. His friends are pointing out that Miliband resigned because his
parents were Jews who fled the Nazis. He issued a statement which said…

"In the light of the new manager's past political statements, I think it
right to step down."

I wonder how much time David Miliband invested in actually researching what
Paolo Di Canio believes. Did he actually look beyond the headlines, or did
he just write it in blind acceptance that Di Canio believes what he thinks
he does? I don't know if Paolo Di Canio is a Fascist or not, but surely
David Miliband understands there are some very marked differences between
Fascism and National Socialism. That does not mean that I have any sympathy
with anyone who has Fascist leanings, I do not. I regard the ideology as
politically repugnant and morally abhorrent. I wouldn't vote for a political
candidate with Fascist leanings, but we're not talking about an election
here, we're talking about football.

I'd like to think David Miliband might have taken some notice of people who
know Di Canio, people who count him as friends. Like Trevor Sinclair and
Chris Powell. Like the respected football writer Gabriele Marcotti. He told
5 Live: "I've known him very well for the last 15 years. There's no question
that he's not a racist. His record, his friendships, his relationships
pretty much speak for themselves. Marcotti is not some cheap tabloid
journalist looking for a headline. He is a serious writer.

Di Canio's former chairman at Swindon commented today…

"It is a sad knee-jerk response. I doubt David Miliband has ever met Paolo
Di Canio. I've known him for two years. I don't think politics was ever
discussed once. Paolo will have many strong views. He probably has a strong
view on whether Italy should be in the Euro, gay marriage or the endangered
Siberian tiger, but I doubt if it's really relevant to keeping Sunderland in
the Premiership. I think anybody's political views and their private views –
as long they're private and how they conduct themselves away from their job
– are pretty irrelevant. Nothing of that was ever discussed during his time
at Swindon. He was focused on success for us and that's what he'll do for
Sunderland."

Di Canio himself has released a statement, defending himself against
accusations of political extremism. Here's an extract…

"I don't have a problem with anyone. I haven't had a problem in the past and
I don't know why I have to keep repeating my story, to be defending myself
on something that doesn't belong to me every time I change clubs. "Talk
about racism? That is absolutely stupid, stupid and ridiculous. The people
who know me can change that idea quickly. When I was in England my best
friends were Trevor Sinclair and Chris Powell, the Charlton manager – they
can tell you everything about my character. "I don't want to talk about
politics because it's not my area. We are not in the Houses of Parliament,
we are in a football club. I want to talk about sport. I want to talk about
football, my players, the Board and the fans. My first priority is my family
and my daughters, that's obvious, and secondly to have the responsibility
for thousands of people. This is my priority and I want to be focused on
this aspect. I don't want to talk any more about politics – I am not a
politics person."

Let's cut out the moralistic crap we've heard today from the Telegraph's Dan
Hodges and others. It's the politics of the student union to talk about
'boycotting' Sunderland. Especially if you're not a Sunderland supporter. If
I were a Man U supporter, would I boycott them because their manager is a
devout left wing Socialist? Of course not. Would I boycott West Ham if they
appointed a Chinese Communist as manager? No. Because the club is always
bigger than any manager or player.

Paolo Di Canio is the greatest player I have ever seen in a West Ham shirt.
Some of his goals for the Hammers were truly breathtaking. He was an
inspiration. When he comes back to Upton Park nowadays and is spotted in a
corporate box, the crowd chant his name to the tune of Rigoletto. He will
always be a bit of a hero to us at West Ham. Many would happily have him
back as manager if Sam Allardyce comes to grief.

Sunderland fans have every right to question Di Canio's qualifications to
manage their club. He did very well at Swindon but his methods were, shall
we say, unconventional. They were methods which may have been acceptable in
a League One club, but time will tell how they translate to the Premier
League. If West Ham had been in Sunderland's position – and they very nearly
appointed Martin O'Neill two years ago – would I have wanted West Ham to
appoint di Canio? The truth is, no I wouldn't. He would be too much of a
risk. But it would have nothing to do with his political views (even if we
were certain as to what they were), it would be because of his managerial
unpredictability.

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Tony Cottee Interview Part 3: 'I Had No Doubts About Returning to West Ham'
By Iain Dale About 14 hours ago 6 comments
West Ham Till I Die

Let's talk about Everton. How different was it. When you arrived on the
first day was there part of you thinking, 'what the hell have I done?'
It was a culture shock. Listen, I'm a London boy, a cockney boy, a West Ham
boy. I had only ever known West ham. At the time it was a record transfer
fee. I had the option of Arsenal or Everton. To be really, really honest, if
you want me to be honest I will be, if Arsenal had come in and offered the
correct amount of money, then I would have probably signed for Arsenal
because I was a London boy. I knew that Everton were a great club, they were
flying high, they had won the League in 87. They had some fantastic players,
Sharpie, Reidy, Kevin Sheedy, Kevin Ratcliffe, Neville Southall, wonderful
players. I knew what there was up at Everton but I was a little bit
concerned because it was 200 odd miles away. If I was going to go to play
for Everton I couldn't commute backwards and forwards, I'd have to go and
live there. I'd be away from my Mum and Dad and the rest of the family…

Invest in some hubcap protectors…
Your words, not mine, Iain! There were a lot of things for me to be
concerned about. So the Arsenal move would have made sense. George Graham
was the manager, Arsenal didn't pay the big money and from a financial point
of view, I had to sign for Everton. That was the right move for me.

Also you weren't really a George Graham type of player, were you?
I don't know. Eventually he went out and bought Ian Wright. Arsenal fans
sometimes say to me, 'oh you should have signed for Arsenal' and I always
say 'well if had signed for Arsenal, you would never have got Ian Wright'.
It normally shuts them up because Ian Wright was a real hero for them. I
spoke to George, there were obviously problems with the manager. He tried to
sell the club to me, saying 'you'd be proud to play or Arsenal, wouldn't you
be proud to wear a blazer with the Arsenal Football Club badge on it?' I
looked at him and thought 'why? I'm a West Ham fan, why would I want to wear
an Arsenal blazer?' That was what I actually thought when he said it to me.
He didn't quite win me over. With Everton, Colin Harvey was the manager and
I looked at him and said 'Colin, why do you want to sign me?' He said 'I
want you to score 25 goals a season for me. I think we've got the players
who will give you the service, that's why I'm buying you.' It was music to
my ears. I wanted to go somewhere and be looked after and well thought of,
and being bought for the right reasons. I didn't want to chase full backs
around and be made to do what I wasn't good at. I wanted to do what I was
good at, which was to score goals. Ultimately, I think there was a clash
between what I had been used to at West Ham and the way Everton played their
football, but I still managed to score the goals for the club. I guess the
worst thing I ever did was to score a hat-trick on my debut. Where do you go
from there? The only possible way you can go is down.

Who was your best strike partner at Everton?
I had a great understanding with Graeme Sharp. He was a fantastic player to
play alongside. I loved playing with Peter Beardsley. I only had one season
with him but he was a dream to play alongside. He wasn't dissimilar to
McAvennie. Frank was very unselfish. He would work for the team. Frank
didn't mind passing to me and I'd have a tap in, whereas the other way
round, I'd run through and shoot, I wouldn't pass to Frank because I was a
selfish goalscorer. It was the same with Peter Beardsley. He would beat
three players, come up to the goalkeeper, square it to me and I'd tap it in.
Everyone would be cheering me and going mad, and yet I hadn't done anything.

But that has to be part of the striker's success – to be in the right place
at the right time. That's why you scored goals and someone like Iain Dowie
didn't.
Yes, it's about anticipation, a sixth sense, but you also have to keep
trying. When midfielder shoots at goal and the goalkeeper spills it and the
forward taps it in, it isn't about luck. You've got to be where the ball is
going to come out to. Whenever anyone had a shot at goal, my instinct was
always to follow up on the goalkeeper because he might spill it. Nowadays
you should do it even more because the ball is moving everywhere. Sometimes
you'd have to make a run eight or nine times and then all of a sudden the
goalkeeper would spill one, you'd tap it in and they'd say 'it's easy for
that Tony Cottee, isn't it?' but they never see what you do beforehand. All
the top strikers will do that. When the ball is bobbling around in the box
and everyone gets attracted to the ball, as a forward you think 'I might
just pull out here because the ball might come to me', and then the ball
comes and you tap it in. It's like Frank's goal against Chelsea. Everyone
goes to the ball and all of a sudden Frank is in acres of space and he heads
it in. It's anticipation, a sixth sense.

That's why Kevin Nolan scores so many goals isn't it?
Yes, he' got a knack of being in the right place at the right time.

How did the move back to West Ham come about?
I'd done enough at Everton. I'd been there six years. It was hard for me at
times, living up on Merseyside away from my family. I did miss the London
way of life. I lived in Southport for six years. My daughter was born there
- a really happy, fantastic time, living in a lovely house. There was a lot
going on that I knew would be difficult to get back in London. But when
you're a London boy and having been brought up in Essex, I really wanted to
come back home. I got a bit fed up when Mike Walker joined the club. He was
a poor manager. He didn't fancy me for whatever reason. There was a clash in
terms of what he wanted me to do, and what I wanted to do. At the start of
what was my 7th season at Everton we fell out. He put me in the reserves an
didn't want to play me. My agent said he would speak to a few London clubs
but I didn't in my wildest dreams ever think I would get the chance to go
back to West Ham. Then the agent came back and said Harry's looking for a
striker. It was all about timing and I went back in September 1994. When I
first left the club the fans were a bit 50-50 with me. Half of them
respected what I had done as a player and appreciated me as a goalscorer and
the other half – even though they felt that – thought they would give me
stick because I played for Everton and abandoned West Ham. The half that
were sceptical about me ever coming back to the club had to be won over. The
year before I came back, and dear old Bobby died they announced there would
be a charity game – West Ham v a Premier League Eleven. There was to be a
player from each Premier League club and I was determined I would be the one
from Everton. I was praying they would let me. Bobby Moore meant the world
to me anyway. I got chosen for the squad and thought 'Thank Christ for
that'. I'd probably been back and played at Upton Park three times by then
and had had a very mixed reaction. This time I thought I would find out what
the fans really thought of me. At the start of the game they read out all
the players and their clubs. When it got to Tony Cottee, Everton, I thought,
here we go. You had to stand forward and do a wave. The whole ground stood
and clapped, and it was like a welcome home thing for me. It was very
emotional. I played the game, scored the goal, we lost 2-1 and I knew after
that game that if ever the opportunity came to go back, I knew I would take
it.

Did you have any doubts about coming back? It doesn't always work does it?
No, there were no doubts. I spoke to Harry and when I met him it was fine.
When I went back not a lot had changed. Mind you, at the training ground not
a lot has changed now, has it?! Same old faces, same old training ground. I
knew what I was getting. It wasn't a journey into the unknown, it was a
journey back to what I knew. I knew that I would be fine. The only question
was whether I could recapture the form I showed in my first spell. I think I
was never going to be as prolific I was younger, fitter and faster then. I
came back from Everton a slightly different player – more of an all-round
player than the individual goalscorer that left West Ham. In some respects I
was a better player but I was never going to end up getting the 25 goals a
season that I got first time round.

You were there at the start of Harry's foreign invasion. What was that like?

It was different and a bit frustrating at times. Slaven Bilic and Marc
Rieper were great lads. Paulo Futre was a fantastic player, but he obviously
had injury problems when he came here, but what a talent. I just treated
them as an English or British player and tried to get them involved in the
banter. You can't have foreign players coming into a club talking in their
own languages and not being a part of what was going on. We were lucky at
the time. As well as the foreign players arriving we had the likes of
Dicksy, Don Hutch, Martin Allen, Ian Bishop. There were some real characters
in that dressing room so there was a really good team spirit. The foreign
players had to muck in. Slaven would sit in the back of the bus having a
beer and a smoke, as you could in those days.

Iain Dowie was there then. Why do fans forgive Andy Carroll for not scoring
goals, yet they wouldn't with Dowie. Because in some ways they are similar
players – prolific in the air, good at holding the ball up.
I think the players appreciated what Iain did. Emile Heskey is another good
example. I played with him at Leicester for three years and although the
Leicester fans appreciated him, I don't think England fans did, but you talk
to Michael Owen about him. He raves about him. He would say he was his best
ever strike partner, and he was one of my top three too. He would be right
up there. He used to work for the team. The fans don't appreciate players
like that because ultimately, if you're a forward you've got to score goals.
That's what you are on the pitch for. This applies to Andy now. The goal
return isn't there yet but he's doing other thing for the team, bringing
other people into play. West Ham fans really want him to get the goals
because then you've got the complete package, a real handful. Iain Dowie was
respected in a way. People respected his 100% attitude. It's a myth that
West Ham fans want 'total football' as their first criteria. I don't think
that's true. The first thing they want is someone to give 100% effort. If a
player doesn't try they will get on his back. You could never criticise Iain
Dowie for not giving 100%. OK, there were times when he didn't have good
games. He went a long, long time without scoring a goal, but you could never
fault his effort. That's what they see with Andy Carroll. They see the
effort, but not the end product.

What was Harry Redknapp like to play for? What were the good sides and bad
sides of Harry Redknapp?
I really enjoyed working under Harry. But by the time I left, I got the
impression you had a two year lifespan with Harry. My first season I was
God's gift to football, everything I did, he said 'fantastic Tone, best
finisher I've ever worked with' – he'd give me all that sort of stuff. But
in the second season he seemed to have some doubts about me and my ability
as a forward to score goals. I'd only just turned 30 and in today's terms
that's still a youngster. I think Harry had a doubt that I was the right man
to lead the line and get the goals. That season I was playing with Iain
Dowie and Iain wasn't getting the goals either. I got injured at the start
of my third season, a lot of foreign players had come in – Porfirio,
Radicoiou, Dumitrescu – and although none of them were scoring as many goals
as I was Harry discarded me a little bit too quickly. That applied to a lot
of other players too and that probably still applies to his management
style. You get two years to impress and after that he spins the wheel again
and gets someone else in. He very rarely keeps players for 4, 5 or 6 years,
not that he stays at a club for that length of time! Harry's style is to
spin as many players round as possible. Obviously that didn't suit me. I
think he made a mistake by selling me to Malaysia. As soon as I left West
Ham were in massive trouble and they needed a goalscorer, and he'd just sold
his goalscorer. He said at one point he did try to re-sign me from Malaysia
but whether he did or not I really don't know. But then he signed Hartson
and Kitson and got out of trouble. It was a bit of an odd thing to do to
sell me. I had been top goalscorer for the two seasons I was there. I was
fit. My sole objective at the start of every season was to be the top
goalscorer and I did it those two seasons.

You mentioned Hugo Porfirio there. I thought he could have been a world
class player, but he seemed to get ideas above his station and in the end he
disappeared into oblivion.
He was a good player but I wouldn't say he was anything exceptional. Dani
was another one. A pretty boy who arrived, played nine games and then
disappeared. It felt like it was a revolving door. Harry kept doing his
wheeling and dealing and when he left the club in 2001 it was undeniably in
a stronger position than when he took over from Bill in 1994. You've got to
say he was a success from that point of view.

Tony Cottee's new book WEST HAM: THE INSIDE STORY is available now in
paperback at £14.99.

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Red faced: Youssouf Mulumbu apologises for silly sending off in defeat at
West Ham
The Mirror
1 Apr 2013 22:30
Steve Bardens

Youssouf Mulumbu has apologised for his red-mist at West Ham after picking
the ball up and kicking it at Gary O'Neil. West Brom midfielder Mulumbu was
ordered off by referee Andre Marriner for his astonishing petulant act.
Congo international Mulumbu lost his rag with Albion trailing 3-1 in the
90th minute.
He now faces a three-match ban and fine for picking the ball up and lashing
it at midfield rival O'Neil. Mulumbu Tweeted: "I'm really sorry about what I
happen it doesn't look like me. Not a good example for the kids and all WBA
supporters." The midfielder however appears to have the backing of
team-mates. Albion keeper Ben Foster Tweeted him: "don't you worry about it
mate, you're Mr Professional, everyone slips up some times."

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