Daily WHUFC News - 26th April 2013

'It's nice to be looking up'
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil hopes to keep the momentum going as the Hammers travel to
Manchester City
25.04.2013

After a punishing schedule of three games in a week, Hammers midfielder Gary
O'Neil has been glad of the opportunity to prepare more normally for
Saturday's trip to Manchester City. West Ham had to take on Southampton,
Manchester United and Wigan Athletic all in the space of eight days, and
despite the taxing run, Sam Allardyce's men came out of the sequence with
five points. They now have a five-game unbeaten run to protect, so former
Portsmouth man O'Neil is full of confidence going into the season's
finishing straight. He told West Ham TV: "Three games in a week like that is
tough on the legs and tough mentally as well, getting yourself up, down, and
then back up again. "So to keep the unbeaten run going was really important.
Manchester City will be a tough one at the weekend but we're looking forward
to the last few games of the season. "It's nice to be able to look up
without having to worry about what's behind you at all. We're looking
forward to seeing if we can finish in the top ten. "City are out of the
title race now, so hopefully that'll make it slightly easier for us. It's a
tough place to go, but we have been a little more solid on the road recently
so hopefully that can continue."

Following an eye-catching performance against the champions Manchester
United, the Hammers had to show a different side to their game to grind out
the result against Wigan - but O'Neil didn't mind that. He added: "The way
Wigan play maybe made it look more frustrating than it was. They had the
ball a lot, but they do leave themselves open at the back. We managed to
capitalise on that twice and do our job without the ball. "If they want to
keep the ball all game without really hurting us then that's fine. We
managed to punish them twice and it was a big three points for us."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on: Manchester City
WHUFC.com
Manager Sam Allardyce spoke to the press ahead of West Ham's trip to
Manchester City
25.04.2013

Sam Allardyce hopes that his side can play with even greater freedom in the
final four games of the Barclays Premier League season, now that they have a
top ten finish within their sights. Having amassed 42 points to date, and
sitting pretty in tenth, Big Sam urged his players to end the campaign on a
high. First up is Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at Manchester City's Etihad
Stadium, one that the Hammers' boss accepts is a sizeable challenge.

How much satisfaction does it give you, that you could finish not just
top-half but potentially eighth?

SA: "I think that I said from the very start that our goal was to try and
finish around mid-table. I always felt that tenth was the highest possible
position for this year. It would be great to try and achieve it. We're there
with four games to go.
"We've not been lower than 14th all season, so it shows the consistency
really, that the players have shown. Like every team, in some period of the
season we went several games with only one win. That happens to everyone
who's in and around that area of the Premier League and, of course, if it's
only one period then it's not too bad. "We haven't done that apart from
around December and January, so we've come out of that bleak spell and now
we're moving into the final throes of the season in a very comfortable
position. And I think we can enjoy and relax without detracting from
performance. In fact, I'm hoping that it will enhance the lads to perform
even better than they've already done. While we're not mathematically safe,
it's going to be very difficult for the teams below us to catch us and put
us into a relegation-threatened position."

How great an achievement do you think this is, given that the team who won
the Championship last year are going to get relegated…

SA: "I don't get any satisfaction out of what other teams haven't achieved
or should have achieved. It's just about me doing my job at West Ham United
that I came to do. Whatever I came to say I was going to do I've done, so
that gives me great satisfaction.
"We could easily lose our last four games or we could still continue our
undefeated run. We've got two very difficult away games against Manchester
City and Everton. And then two very difficult - on paper they don't look as
difficult - Newcastle haven't performed that well away from home this season
and of course Reading, who are struggling at the bottom. "So we just look
forward to Manchester City. First and foremost focus on that, concentrate on
that, trying to give the best performance we possibly can and see whether
that gets a result at a very difficult place to go and play football."

Sam, there must be a bit of next season in your mind, are you tempted to
bring in a few of the younger players?

SA: "Well, we've talked about that, but at £800,000 a place in the league,
it's something that I have to consider. The higher we finish in the league
the more revenue it generates, the better budgeting figures we can attain
for next season. We will, inevitably, I think try one or two younger
players, but it will not be a big change to the team, it might just be the
odd change here or there, or bringing them on as a substitute.

And finally, any team news for Saturday?

SA: "No, we've got no extra injuries. Just James Tomkins and George
McCartney at the moment, the rest of the squad are fine and enjoyed a couple
of well-earned days off after the week that they had and are back in and
ready to go against Manchester City."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Supporter consultation under way
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 25th April 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United season tickets holders and members have been voting in their
numbers as the club's Olympic Stadium Supporter Consultation process gets
under way. The YouGov-led survey, in which supporters are invited to have
their say on a number of issues relating to the club's relocation to
Stratford started on Tuesday, since when many supporters have registered
their comments. However the consultation process has not been universally
welcomed by all supporters - with some claiming that is it little more than
a "marketing exercise".

Peter Caton, whose campaign group WHU's View? ran an independent poll last
year that resulted in the vast majority of voters rejecting the move to
Stratford said: "This is not the objective poll we hoped for. "It is an
exercise in sales and marketing, dressed up as a questionnaire, which was
preceded by the club wheeling out a succession of past players to endorse
the move. "Sadly neither is it a questionnaire that will provide much useful
information to the club which would help take account of supporters' wishes.
It was clearly designed to elicit the answers the club wants - a rubber
stamping exercise."

However Caton acknowledged that, at the very least, supporters have been
given the opportunity to register their objection to the move.

"To their credit the club have included a yes/no question (albeit strangely
worded) which we didn't expect to get", said Caton. "At least this allows
those opposed to the move to register their opposition."

Meanwhile another supporter has posted a video on YouTube under the title
'WHU CONsultation', listing their objections to the move; you may view this
here.

Finally, you may have your say by completing the club's poll here. The poll
is open until midnight on April 30th.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham striker Carlton Cole in dark over new deal reports
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo. Last Updated: April
25, 2013 2:41pm
SSN

West Ham striker Carlton Cole is bemused by reports that he has been offered
a new deal to extend his stay at Upton Park. Reports on Thursday claimed
that Cole had been issued a deadline of the last day of the season to agree
fresh terms that had been verbally offered to him. Cole is out of contract
at the end of the season and his long-term future at West Ham has been the
subject of conjecture. The 29-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular
place in the Hammers side this season with Sam Allardyce preferring to play
a system of one striker his starting XI, while the loan signing of Andy
Carroll has also pushed Cole down the pecking order However, Cole's
representatives insist there has been no new contract offer from West Ham
and they have not heard anything from the club since pre-season. "There was
one offer that was discussed in pre-season after which nothing has been
discussed since," read a statement from Cole's representatives to Sky
Sports. "Carlton's only focus has been to do his best for the team to help
them stay in the Premier League. "Carlton is out of contract in the summer
and he has always performed at his best whenever he has been called upon."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce confident West Ham can finish on a high
Last Updated: April 25, 2013 5:25pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce is confident that West Ham can end the season on a high having
achieved their initial target of a mid-table finish. A run of five matches
unbeaten sees West Ham sitting comfortably in 10th place but Allardyce is
demanding no let up in performance. "I said from the start that our goal was
to finish around mid-table, 10th would be the highest," he said. "We're
there with four games to go, it shows the consistency that we've had. "Bad
runs happen to everybody, but if it's only one period it's not too bad, we
only did that around December and January. "We're in a very comfortable
position and we can relax without that detracting from our performance.
"We've got two very difficult away games and two home games which on paper
don't look as difficult, but which are. "We'll look forward on Manchester
City and try our best to get a result out of a very difficult game. "I saw
an excellent performance from them against Tottenham the other day, apart
from them slipping up in the last 10 or 15 minutes."

Allardyce reiterated that the situation with loan players - including Ravel
Morrison and Andy Carroll - could be influenced by their finishing postion.
"At the end of the season, all our loan players, all our players out of
contract, we'll look at their situations," he added. "At £800,000 a place in
the league, we have to consider that the higher we finish the more revenue
it generates. "We'll inevitably try one or two of the young players over the
rest of the season, but it won't be a big change, it'll be a minor change.
"We have no extra injuries, just James Tomkins and George McCartney at the
moment. The rest of the squad is fine."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com