Daily WHUFC News - 9th April 2013

Ginge revels in Reds result
WHUFC.com
James Collins was proud of West Ham United's performance in Sunday's
goalless draw at Liverpool
08.04.2013

James Collins produced arguably his best performance in a West Ham United
shirt to inspire the Hammers to a goalless Barclays Premier League draw at
Liverpool. 'Ginge' cut an imperious figure at Anfield, making numerous
important interceptions and clearances and stifling the the considerable
threat of Reds striker Luis Suarez. Time and again the Uruguayan ran at
Collins, but the Welsh giant stood firm. Whenever a cross came into the
penalty area, he and partner James Tomkins headed or hacked it clear. In
short, it was an imperious display from the No19. Speaking to West Ham TV,
the defender was literally too tired to smile, but was naturally delighted
with his own and the team's resilient performance at a ground where the
Hammers have not won since September 1963.

"It was great and it's always nice to play well at places like Anfield," he
confirmed. "The whole team was spot-on in terms of our defensive performance
and, going the other way, we've had chances so it's a massive point,
especially with West Ham's performance at Anfield. "Suarez nutmegged me
twice, to be fair, but I thought about how I was going to defend against him
before the game. If you drop off he's turning and running at you, so I
thought if I could get as tight as possible and try to tackle him as high up
the pitch as possible, even if I fouled him there it is better than him
running into the box. That was the gameplan really and luckily it worked. "I
was wary of the fact he goes over as well and that's why you have to stay on
your feet as much as possible and to win the ball you've got to just go for
it sometimes. It was one of those games when it's come off for me."

After a difficult few months on the road, West Ham look a far more
formidable team away from home these days. A 1-0 win at Stoke City in March
was followed by a determined display at Chelsea and another clean sheet at
Liverpool. "We do look more confident away from home," Collins confirmed.
"Our away record hasn't been great but we have had some good clean sheets
away from home [at Norwich City, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion,
Stoke and Liverpool] and got some good wins. "The Gaffer [Sam Allardyce]
said before the game, if we can come here and play and defend how we did at
Stoke, we'd get a result and he has got his tactics spot-on again as usual
so all credit to him."

With Winston Reid sidelined with a leg muscle injury suffered in training,
Tomkins made his first start in two months, but the No5 looked like he had
never been away. "Tonks was superb," Collins confirmed. "He has been so
unlucky this year, especially after doing so well last year and even in the
games he has played he has been spot-on and played well. He has probably
been unfortunate not to play more. "His attitude has been great and in any
game he comes into he is spot-on, so fair play to him because he was great
at Liverpool."

Collins has recently become a father for the second time and has been
involved in some big games for club and country in recent weeks. For those
many reasons, he is enjoying his life and his football at present. "I am
enjoying it and I'm fit too. Since I came back the second time I've put the
stupid little injuries I used to get behind me, touch wood, and I'm playing
in a great team with great team spirit and a great bunch of lads. "I enjoy
going into training for the banter with the lads so I want to do well for
the boys because we're that close."

For a team that came up through the npower Championship Play-Offs last
season that has been in mid-table in the Barclays Premier League all this
term, some might say the Hammers are not getting the recognition they
deserve. However, that is a situation Collins is more than happy about.
"Sometimes it's nice to slip under the rader and not have people talking
about you too much. We've done great and we've set our sights on coming
tenth and we don't to slip-up now, especially with the start we had. "We
started off great and got loads of points and then had a dodgy middle of the
season and now we're playing well again. We just want to get as many points
as we can. We were looking at tenth and that's still a possibility."

After the challenge of shackling the diminutive Suarez at Anfield, Collins
will tackle the more physical threat of Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez at
Southampton on Saturday - one he is relishing. "I watched them on Saturday
[winning 2-0 at Reading] and their front-two were superb. I'll be resting my
legs up for the week and I'll be ready to go for three points on Saturday.
"It's going to be a tough game. They beat us down there in the Championship
last season so there's going to be a score to settle, but we're playing well
are full of confidence so there is no reason we can't go there and get three
points."

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James Collins reveals secrets of eye-catching display against Liverpool's
Luis Suarez
Last Updated: April 8, 2013 2:03pm
SSN

James Collins says forward planning was the key to keeping Luis Suarez quiet
at Anfield on Sunday. The West Ham centre-half won rave reviews for
successfully shackling a Liverpool striker who has 29 goals this season, and
his performance helped secure a goalless draw for the visitors. "I thought
about how I was going to defend against him before the game," Collins said.
"Suarez nutmegged me twice to be fair but I knew if you drop off, he is
turning and running at you. "I thought if I could get as tight as possible
and tackle him as high up the pitch as possible, even if I fouled him there
it was better than him running into the box. "I was wary of the fact he goes
over as well. That is why you have to stay on your feet. To win the ball,
you just have to go for it sometimes. It was one of those games where it
came off for me."

West Ham are now within two points of 10th-placed Fulham with seven games
still to play. Collins said: "Sometimes it is nice to slip under the radar
and not have people talking about you too much. "We've set our sights on
coming 10th and we don't want to slip up now."

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An Open Letter to Andy Carroll
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

US based Hammers fan David Hautzig has asked me to publish this open letter
to Andy Carroll. It's a corker.

Dear Andy,

Kind of ironic that any time I see something titled "An Open Letter" to
whomever I smirk. Will President Obama, or the CEO of Mega Company ever see
this thing? What's the point? And here I am writing one. Not about gun
control, or the sorry state of schools in my country. No, I'm writing to
professional footballer who is just as unlikely to see it as any of the
other ones I make fun of. It's a funny world. I'm going to treat it like a
paper for school as a kid. Make a point, then defend it.

Here's my point. You should sign for West Ham. Yeah, yeah. I'm a supporter.
So it's fair for you to dismiss that advice as totally self serving. And it
may be. But it's also good advice. Basically, if what we read in the papers,
blogs, twitter, tea leaves, and what have you is true, you currently have
three options to think about. Others may pop up. Stuff like that happens.
But for now, it's Liverpool, Newcastle, and West Ham

1) Liverpool. Without regurgitating the history, it's pretty well understood
that the style they play is not what the manager thinks you are suited for.
You can disagree, and if wearing their shirt under any circumstance is the
be all end all to you, then I guess you should go back. But you went out on
loan for a reason, and that reason hasn't changed. If the manager thinks
that way, that's the reality of Liverpool for you.

2) Newcastle. I totally understand the desire to go home. To live and work
in a place you know inside out is a great feeling. And no matter where you
end up next season, I not only expect you to one day end up back at St.
James Park but I'd encourage you to. Like I said, I get the "going home"
thing. But the pressure of expectations that smacks you in the back of the
head every day at Liverpool would follow you there at this point in your
career. At Liverpool, it's that damned number 35 that pounds you. Not your
fault that it happened that way, but it did and you are forced to deal with
the consequences. If you go home now, the expectations would be that BECAUSE
you went home everything will magically turn out right. Like flipping a
light switch. And hell, it could. But if it doesn't, if you don't live up to
what the supporters and press expect of you, where do you go from there? And
I'm not suggesting you wouldn't play well there. I'm sure you would. But
with all of the players Pardew has brought in recently, where would you fit?
Are Newcastle playing a brand of football suited to your particular
strengths? I think short of becoming the 20 goal scoring returning hero,
what will they all say? You just lived through that. Not fair for sure, but
as you know it isn't always fair.

3) West Ham. I get a kick reading supporters who say they want you, but then
get into money figures as if they have the foggiest clue how all that really
works. Want to meet a real life Merlin The Magician? Go see a really good
accountant. They make stuff disappear, re-appear, and change identity every
day of their lives. So when you take transfer fees, wages, things like that
out of the equation, the vast majority of supporters want us to sign you up.
Not because you've scored baskets of goals. You haven't. But they see the
impact you have on every game you play. Even the Chelsea game.

No disrespect to Sam, but to say we were unlucky not to get something from
that game is pretty nutty. But every report said you were terrific. And you
were. So it certainly seems that people see what you can do and are doing
apart from scoring goals that makes you valuable. ET could land at Upton
Park and see that Sam and his methods are tailor made for you. So if you are
wanted by a club and its supporters on the basis of your performance this
year, imagine what they will think as you continue to settle in and others
are brought in to support you? The bar is set, and you're up to it. Of
course there will be some pressure, but not like the two teams above. Nice
way to live and work in my book. Look, if it weren't for good methods of
birth control I could have a 24 year old myself. I'm 48. And I may not be
the sharpest tool in the shed, but I consider myself pretty smart. At least
my kids think so. And if you were at my kitchen table, I'd tell you to stay
at West Ham. Three, maybe four years. Become a leader and focal point of a
team where the pressures are manageable. Lead us into the Olympic Stadium.
Play for England regularly. Then if you want to go home, with lots of
football left in you, go ahead. We may moan about it a bit, but at the end
of the day most understand the value of home. And your stock will be in the
upper atmosphere. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Yours Truly,
David

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Collins: Shackling Luis was key
The Sun
Published: 8 hrs ago

JAMES COLLINS says keeping Luis Suarez quiet was the key to securing a
goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday. The West Ham defender revealed he was
willing to foul the Uruguayan if it meant stopping him from running free
towards the Hammers' box. And his plan worked a treat as the Liverpool
striker was unable to find the net - helping to ease West Ham's relegation
fears. He said: "I thought about how I was going to defend against him
before the game. "Suarez nutmegged me twice to be fair but I knew if you
drop off, he is turning and running at you. "I thought if I could get as
tight as possible and tackle him as high up the pitch as possible, even if I
fouled him there it was better than him running into the box. "I was wary of
the fact he goes over as well. "That is why you have to stay on your feet.
To win the ball, you just have to go for it sometimes. "It was one of those
games where it came off for me." The result saw the Hammers continue their
improved away form and Collins was full of praise for boss Sam Allardyce. He
said: "The gaffer got his tactics spot-on again. "We do look more confident
away from home."

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Unlikable and authoritarian, Paolo Di Canio has much yet to prove
Personality and politics are all part of the Paolo Di Canio package and
Sunderland may yet regret appointing him
Guardian.co.uk

We've got a chequered past, Paolo Di Canio and I. Nothing to do with
fascism, he just had a habit of behaving a bit like a dictator. He was a
flamboyant "character", as they say, but he certainly was not very popular
in the West Ham dressing room. When I think back to those days, I remember a
loud and extrovert person who was - despite all he had to shout about - very
much on his own. He never seemed to gel with the team.

It seems the feeling was mutual - Paolo described me in his book as a
"moron" and a "cretin" after I refused to shake his hand following a League
Cup game at Upton Park when I was playing for Aston Villa. Actually I did
more: I called him a cheat. He had deliberately stepped into me and kicked
me before going down for a penalty. It was outrageous and I could not
believe it. I was livid. When I refused to shake his hand he went ballistic,
effing and blinding, and stabbing his fingers into the back of my neck.

That was the beginning of the bad blood. Admittedly there was a brief hiatus
when I signed for West Ham and he cheerily came over to wish me luck, the
first of my new team-mates to do so. But the friendly tone did not last long
and we were soon back to clashing on the training pitch.

I just could not believe the front he had. During training sessions, if he
was not happy, he would simply walk off. He would be swearing away in
Italian, trudging back to the dressing room, leaving us all slogging our
guts out. One time I snapped and yelled: "You are not effing walking off!"
To be fair, on that occasion he did come back.

Paolo could talk for Italy but I never remember him talking politics. I
never even knew that he had a Mussolini tattoo. Certainly if he had ever
said anything racist to anyone in the team, it would have caused a stir. We
had a number of black players at West Ham at the time and, while none of
them would go so far as to describe him as a friend, I don't recall anyone
having a problem with him because of his political views. The fascist
salutes happened after he left West Ham, of course, and on hearing the news
I must admit they confirmed my view of him as an unlikable person.

More recently I met him at the Leaders in Football conference last year. We
were on a panel together and beforehand we shared a revealing exchange on
coaching philosophies. I spoke about wanting to develop players, create a
dialogue and reach an understanding about what they need to perform - but I
soon realised I was talking to a brick wall. Paolo just said: "Yeah, yeah,
yeah, but ." and it became clear that he was not interested in any of that.
His approach was more, how shall I say, authoritarian.

Certainly if the stories spreading like wildfire through the footballing
world are anything to go by, the Sunderland players will have been in for a
shock this week. Paolo has a reputation for employing some harsh and intense
training methods.

During his time as manager at Swindon, I'm told, he used to punish players
for a poor performance by dragging them in at dawn after a game the day
before. Compare that with the Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe's approach - he
gave the players three days off last week after the team won five games in a
row to reward them for their hard work. Even Guy Whittingham's relegation
battlers, Portsmouth, will still be given days off for rest and recovery. I
can't imagine Paolo giving the Sunderland players much time off between now
and the end of the season.

Whatever his political views are - and despite the official Sunderland
statement denying that he is a fascist, without some explanation of his past
it seems impossible to understand what his exact position is - I am very
surprised that Sunderland gave him the job in the first place. I can't argue
with Paolo's management skills. He has proved himself with what he achieved
at Swindon.

But an important aspect of any appointment is what the fans' response will
be and the Sunderland board should have seen this furore coming. Did they
not do their research? Even a quick Google search would have brought up the
controversial fascist salutes at Lazio.

Sure, his managerial record is good but, if you know a manager's political
affiliations might upset a large portion of your fanbase, it seems a very
risky decision to make. And with the Durham Miners' Association demanding
their banner back from the Stadium of Light, citing the number of miners who
died fighting fascism in the war, it is a PR move that has the potential to
backfire in a big way. Should Paolo fail to keep Sunderland in the Premier
League, the club will surely lose even more goodwill from the supporters.

On the other hand, as the saying goes, all PR is good PR. After all, how
often does Sunderland AFC make headlines outside the sports pages? Paolo is
certainly box office. He gets his teams to play attractive football and, if
he can save the club from relegation, he may soon be hailed as a hero.

He says his past misdemeanours were misinterpreted and misrepresented, in
which case perhaps we should give him the opportunity to prove himself in
the present and not just harp on about the past.

No more Cherries, bring on the puffins

While it may have seemed that everyone in the world was talking about Paolo
Di Canio last week I can assure you his name did not come up in my newly
adopted home of Iceland. Yep, it is true, I have relocated to the land of
geysers and northern lights. Hermann Hreidarsson, my old Pompey team-mate,
recruited me as a player/coach to help develop the first team at top-flight
side IBV. I cannot deny that the invitation was bizarre. Hermann called me
out of the blue and said only, "You will come and join me in Iceland."
Intrigued, I went over to have a look.

I liked what I saw. An opportunity to keep playing first-team football, and
perhaps creep a little closer still to that elusive 1,000 games mark, but
above all a chance to expand my coaching CV in a meaningful environment
where the results actually count. With Eddie Howe having made it clear that
my future did not lie with Bournemouth - I could stay on and train but I
would not be playing - rather than hang around in the gym like a piece of
dead wood it made sense to take up Hermann's offer and begin a new chapter.
We'll be fighting for a place in the Europa League this season, as well as
trying to win the league - which runs May to September - and that's a level
of experience I'm not sure I would be offered in England at the moment.

I've yet to eat puffin (a local delicacy, apparently) but the country's
scenery is absolutely stunning and I'm looking forward to getting to know
the football, culture and people here. I'm excited about the challenge that
lies ahead. Play up IBV!

David James has donated his fee for this column to charity. Follow him on
Twitter @jamosfoundation

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