Daily WHUFC News - 23rd September 2013

Rat reckons Hammers were unlucky
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat was disappointed to see his full Barclays Premier League debut
end in defeat
22.09.2013

Razvan Rat reckons West Ham United were unfortunate to depart the Boleyn
Ground empty handed on Saturday, as Leighton Baines' wizardry propelled
Everton to a 3-2 Barclays Premier League win. Having made his Premier
League bow a week earlier as a substitute against Southampton, the Romanian
left-back was rewarded with a first league start against the Toffees. It was
not, however, how the vastly experienced defender wanted to mark the
occasion, as Romelu Lukaku's late header consigned Sam Allardyce's men to a
second successive home defeat. "I'm disappointed, because I wanted it to be
in a different way, to celebrate another game and to be happy," he told West
Ham TV. "But sometimes in football, you can't win all the time. I'm really
disappointed for my full game debut."

Disappointed though he was, Rat could hardly fail to be impressed with his
opposite number, as Baines twice beat Jussi Jaaskelainen with sublime
free-kicks.
He continued: "I don't think they had too many moments, too many chances to
score. But Baines had the best free-kicks and two in a row is really
interesting.
"This doesn't happen very often. It's really amazing for the same player to
put in one in the left (corner) and one in the right. So, amazing
free-kicks!"

With Mark Noble's controversial dismissal and Baines' set-piece brilliance,
Rat had every reason to feel hard done by and explained how the visitors'
winner had a slice of luck about it too. "I think for us, we were unlucky
on Saturday. The third goal, when Mirallas crossed, it took a deflection off
Ginge and the ball goes directly to Lukaku's head, so, for me, we were
unlucky."

Setbacks aside, Rat insists he and his Hammers colleagues will continue to
put in the hard yards, hopeful that the results will soon follow. "We just
need to keep going, to try to get better results and get some wins!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce on... Everton
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Disappointed yet not too downhearted, Sam Allardyce reflects on a game that
once again left him watching his words very carefully...

Sam: you must be disappointed with that result?

Right up to Mark Noble getting sent off I thought the players were great.
When you get a goal in front and you lost your last home game you want a
response from your players and I felt we got that. We were playing against a
very good side and we matched them.

The goal for Rav [Morrison] was great, it gives him a lot of confidence for
his development and growth, but we found a difference when McCarthy came on
and we had to make sure we controlled that situation which was Everton
getting more and more into an attacking mode so playing off him was more
dificult for us to cope with.

Our defensive qualities really shone through again because there were no
chances created by Everton in terms of goalscoring opportunities. I can't
remember Jussi having to make a save up to Baines putting the ball in the
back of the net with the first goal. So we contained them really well, then
we got the penalty on the break. I thought Pet did great for the ball to
Kevin after they tried to let it roll out.

I thought that if we do our defensive job like we have been then we'll be ok
today and we'll probably get the win. Then the game changes, it tos-and-fros
and none moreso than the Mark Noble sending off. Baines not only puts one in
today but he puts in two; how often do you see that? Not very often. It's
three out of two games at home here because Pennant did the same to us for
Stoke. You don't expect three in two games, you might expect three in the
entire season but he's scored two in one game.

Mark Noble's sending off? I've had a look at it and whilst it's easy for me
to say that Mark played the ball, he did because I can see it on the laptop.
The referee sees it from where he is but he's got to be certain as it's a
sending off for Mark Noble. It's an ordinary tackle and it doesn't affect
the game. Baines might put the free kick in but we're still level at 2-2
with 11 men and not 10. Straight after that, having tried to get organised
Lukaku scored the winner and there's little you can do from there, unless
you hope Everton slip up. So it's left us very frustrated at the end of the
game and I'm really disappointed that we lost it.

Mark Noble's first booking seemed harsh as well?

Yeah; I've got to be careful what I say today, unfortunately. We all have to
be careful because what we say about the referees gets brought up and we get
fined. Do I agree with the decision though? No. Why? Because that's the
wrong sort of protection from referees as far as I'm concerned.

If you want to make the referees better then they've got to be open to
criticism like all of us. We all get criticised in this game. But for me to
say too much in terms of how the referee played today will get me in trouble
- and the last thing I want to do is give the FA any of my money that I've
worked really hard for. I'll take it up with their delegate and Mike Reilly,
look again at the performance of our team and the referee tomorrow and make
my report how I see fit. That's all I can do within the system that we have
today.

But fair play to Everton, they took full advantage of us going down to ten
men. The introduction of Lukaku made a huge difference for them but i still
thought we were going to do it; I thought we were going to get a victory,
never mind a draw but there you go. We've ended up losing which is a real
blow to us.

Lukaku was one of the players you were after in the summer; was that a real
kick in the teeth?

It was when he scored the winner, yes. I was talking to Jose [Mourinho] all
summer about will he, won't he and obviously it wasn't "no" until I believe
Demba Ba decided to stay. There was a quick shift around with a few hours
[of the transfer window] left to go and Everton got there before us and West
Brom. That's the way the cookie crumbles, as they say.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Allardyce rues luck as Lukaku scores winner
Last Updated: September 22, 2013 2:50pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce cursed his luck as transfer target Romelu Lukaku fired Everton
to a 3-2 victory over West Ham. Lukaku hit the winner six minutes from time
after two brilliant Leighton Baines free-kicks hauled the Toffees back into
contention as the Upton Park showdown reached a dramatic conclusion.
Allardyce pursued Lukaku throughout the summer only to be told by Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho he was staying at Stamford Bridge. But Demba Ba's
deadline-day decision to stay with the Blues forced a rethink and Everton
beat West Ham and West Brom to the signing of the 20-year-old, who
transformed the match with his arrival at half-time. "It was frustrating
when he scored. I'd been talking to Chelsea all summer - will he move, won't
he. I was told no, no, no," Hammers boss Allardyce said. "Then Ba decided to
stay and there was a quick shift around with a few hours to go and Everton
got there before us and West Brom. That's the way the cookie crumbles."

Allardyce disagreed with the dismissal of Mark Noble for two yellow cards,
the second coming shortly after he had scored a penalty and moments before
Baines fired his second equaliser. Choosing his words with care, Allardyce
indicated that he felt referee Lee Mason had endured a poor afternoon and
declared officials should be more open to criticism. "I have to be careful
about what I say - we all have to be careful because we get pulled up on
what we say to the referee. We get fined," Allardyce said. "Do I agree with
it? No, because that's the wrong sort of protection for referees as far as
I'm concerned. "If we want to make them better than they have to be
criticised like us all. For me to say too much about how I thought the
referee performed, I'd get myself into trouble."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Harry Redknapp expects QPR to miss out on Carlton Cole
Last Updated: September 22, 2013 3:56pm
SSN

Harry Redknapp is looking to bring another striker into Queens Park Rangers,
but doubts that he will secure the services of Carlton Cole. Cole is
currently available as a free agent after reaching the end of a previous
deal at West Ham United. Various clubs were linked with an approach over the
summer, but the England international is still without a club. He has
returned to training with West Ham as a result, in an effort to earn fresh
terms, and Sam Allardyce has admitted to being keen on getting the powerful
frontman back on board. With it expected that he will re-sign for the
Hammers, Redknapp concedes that he will have to look elsewhere for support
to Charlie Austin - his only fit forward. He said after a 1-0 victory over
Yeovil Town on Saturday: "We want a striker, but clubs won't let them out on
loan. "We need help up front, that's for sure. "Charlie's doing a good job
but he needs some help. He can't keep doing it in every game, we need to
take the pressure off him. "Carlton's a great player, but I think he's going
to sign for West Ham."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
PAOLO DI CANIO SACKED!
By S J Chandos 22 Sep 2013 at 23:52
West Ham Till I Die

It was reported, this evening, on BBC MoTD2 that Paolo Di Canio has been
sacked from the Sunderland managerial hotseat. That makes him the first PL
management casualty of the new season. Although results have not been good,
so far, it had been widely anticipated that the Sunderland board would grant
Di Canio more time to get it right, especially in view of the multi-million
investment that they made this summer on his transfer targets.

However, early reports suggest that there may have been some controversy
that sparked the sacking, perhaps relating to Di Canio's approach to the
players. This is a high possibility considering Di Canio's controversial
approach to player management in his short managerial career to date.
Alternatively, there could also have been conflict with the Sunderland Board
over the players or some other issue at the club. We ultimately await
official confirmation of the circumstances in which the dismissal took
place. And obviously, any response from Paolo Di Canio.

Paolo will always be considered a Hammers great and no one of a West Ham
affiliation will take any pleasure from this news. Hopefully, he will take
some time to think about his approach to management and find the right
appointment to get his career back on track.

However, I guess it has to be asked, in light of this development, would
Paolo's future appointment as West Ham Manager still be welcomed with open
arms by supporters? Alternatively, have fans cooled on that idea a little
now? Or, is it still a case of maybe, one day in the future?

SJ. Chandos.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com