Daily WHUFC News - 22nd October 2013

Jarvo eyeing Swansea success
WHUFC.com
Matt Jarvis wants to win his place back and help West Ham United to victory
at Swansea City
26.10.2013

Fourteen months ago, club-record signing Matt Jarvis made his West Ham
United debut at Swansea City. The Hammers' first away game following their
return to the Premier League did not go to plan for Jarvis and his new
team-mates, however, as defensive errors and wasteful finishing saw the
Swans run out 3-0 winners. On Sunday, Jarvis and company will return to the
Liberty Stadium planning to make a better fist of things second time around.
"It was definitely a tough time there last season but obviously this season
we're going to be going there with a slightly different and hopefully
stronger squad, so hopefully we'll be able to build on our performance and
result at Tottenham," the No7 told West Ham TV. "Swansea are a very good
passing team and that all work well together. They inter-link and everybody
moves around the pitch to create space for others, so they are really
well-drilled and we'll have to be on our game."

Following Sunday's trip to South Wales, West Ham will return to action 52
hours later at Turf Moor, where they will take on Sky Bet Championship
leaders Burnley in the Capital One Cup fourth round. The Clarets have been
in outstanding form this term, winning 12 of their 15 matches in all
competitions, including the last seven, and losing just once - at Brighton
and Hove Albion back on 24 August. Jarvis played alongside no fewer than
four Burnley players at former club Wolverhampton Wanderers - centre-back
and captain Jason Shackell, midfielder David Jones, winger Michael Kightly
and striker Sam Vokes - and the winger is looking forward to facing them on
Tuesday evening. "It's not going to be easy at all, and it's a tough place
to go," Jarvis conceded. "I've played there a few times and I know a few of
their players as well and they really have started well, so it will be a
tough game. "Their two strikers [Vokes and Danny Ings] are scoring goals,
which always helps the team and that's why they are at the top of the
league. "It's quite a testing schedule playing Sunday and Tuesday, but we
have to do that and we have got a great squad, so if the manager wants to
change it up, then whoever plays will be good enough to go and get a win."

Looking further forward, West Ham host Aston Villa in the Barclays Premier
League on Saturday 2 November, continuing a run of games that Jarvis and his
team-mates will believe they can win. After the Kids for a Quid visit of
Villa, the Hammers host Chelsea, Fulham and Sunderland before Christmas,
while they also travel to Norwich City and Crystal Palace ahead of the
festive season. "We have to get back to winning ways at home in front of our
crowd, so hopefully the Villa game can be one where we can do that," said
Jarvis. "We'll be aiming to pick up points from those games to make up for
the ones we missed out on during the first eight games. "We'll be taking it
step by step but we have got a run of games we really hope we can make the
most of and that will be starting at Swansea."

On a personal level, Jarvis has been among the substitutes for the previous
two league games, having started the first six. He is naturally determined
to win his place back in Sam Allardyce's starting XI. "Of course, you always
want to play every week," he stated. "When you are out of the side, you want
to be in it and when you are in it, you want to stay in it. It's one of
those times when, if you get a chance you have to take it. "Hopefully I can
contribute to the way we are playing, because that is what I can do for the
team, getting in behind teams and using my pace to counter-attack. If I am
involved, then hopefully that's what I'll be able to do."

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Football turns 150!
WHUFC.com
Football as we know it celebrates its 150th birthday today!
26.10.2013

The year 2013 has seen The Football Association celebrating 150 years since
the eight Founding Fathers of the football met to create the game as we know
it today. The range of special events to mark the anniversary have included
everything from showcase England games against the likes of Brazil and
Scotland at an elite level, through to the Sir Bobby Robson National
Football Day and the honouring of 150 of footballs volunteers at an event
hosted by HRH The Duke of Cambridge at a grassroots level. On 26 October,
The FA will host a Gala Dinner at the Grand Connaught Rooms to mark exactly
150 years to the day since the first meeting took place which formed the
nation's favourite game.

How It All Began

In 1863, Ebenezer Cobb Morley (pictured), a solicitor and sportsman living
in Barnes in south-west London, but originally from Hull, thought that
football should have a set of rules in the same way that the MCC had them
for cricket. So, the captains, secretaries and other representatives of a
dozen London and suburban clubs met at the Freemasons Tavern in Great Queen
Street, near to where Holborn tube station is today. Their purpose was to
form an Association with the object of establishing a code of rules for the
regulation of football. The clubs represented at the first meeting were:
Barnes, Civil Service (War Office), Crusaders, Forest (Leytonstone), No
Names (Kilburn), Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Kensington School, Perceval
House (Blackheath), Surbiton, Blackheath Proprietary School and
Charterhouse. The intention of those original meetings was to standardise
the rules and to iron out differences in the forms currently being played,
not to create a new game. Morley became The FA's first secretary, later its
president, and he drafted modern football's first rules at his Thames-side
home in Barnes.

It took six meetings for The FA to finally approve those rules. The first
match under them was played at Limes Field, a couple of minutes' walk from
Morley's home, on Saturday 19 December 1863. Barnes and Richmond drew 0-0.
The Freemasons' Tavern was extended and remodelled from 1905 and was renamed
the 'Connaught Rooms' in honour of the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught.
At around the same time, Limes Field was built on with housing that is now
in 'Limes Field Road'. Before The FA was formed, football was in a hybrid
state. Today it spans a world that is caught up in its magic. To those men
of a clear vision and high resolve who first gathered together at the
Tavern, The FA, and all football fans, owes a great debt

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Swansea City v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 26th October 2013
By: Preview Percy

It's an international special from Peview Percy, this week. Ok it's not
particularly special but it does involve going to Wales.....

For our next match we go on a European tour as we visit the Principality
(geo-political term for area that thinks it's a proper country) of Wales
where our hosts will be Swansea City. The match is on Sunday thanks to them
playing in the Europa League, qualifying by virtue of their actually having
won a trophy, as opposed to being given a place as a consolation prize for
not being nearly as good as your deluded fans thought you were, like some
other clubs I could mention. Kick-off is at 4.00pm.

Travel news is that, whilst there are trains running between Paddington and
Swansea, there are engineering works in the Severn Tunnel which means that
you'll be diverted around other parts of Mr Brunel's network en route.
Expect it to take about four hours each way if you're lucky.

Our hosts currently lie in 11th spot with 10 points from the 8 matches
played so far this season, winning three, drawing one and losing four in the
process. Their last six have seen them beat West Brom away (2-0), draw with
Liverpool (2-2 in a match that will forever be remembered as "the Jonjo
Shelvey match), beat Palace away (2-0), lose at home to Arsenal (1-2), lose
at Southampton (2-0) and win last weekend at home to Sunderland (4-0). Last
weekend's win was therefore their first at home of the season, somewhat
surprisingly. In between all that, their defence of the League Cup they
lifted last season came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Birmingham.

On Thursday they played host in the Thursday Night League to Kuban
Krasnodar. Can't help feeling that the good people at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
have missed a "rebranding" opportunity there. Swansea were held to a 1-1
draw by the Russians at home, a result that contrasts sharply with their
earlier 3-0 win in Valencia, a result admittedly assisted by the Spaniards
having a player sent off inn the early stages of the match.

After a relatively quiet start to the transfer window, during which manager
Michael Laudrup's agent was spouting out complaints that his client wasn't
getting backed in the transfer market, they suddenly found themselves making
a beeline for the European player tuck shop in the manner of a schoolboy
whose postal order from Gran has finally turned up after being deayed for a
week or two while the postman counted his profits from the Royal Mail share
issue.

They broke their club transfer record in bringing in striker William Bony in
from Vitesse Arnhem for £12m. Bony was one of the strikers we were supposed
to have spoken with during the window. In fact there were few we didn't
speak with or try to sign in that period. Except Darren Bent of course. When
his name came up there was a shuffle, a cough and an awkward silence, before
someone piped up "let's have another look at that 4-6-0 idea again". Bony is
their top scorer at the moment having netted on four occasions. Two of those
have come in the league, including a spot-kick in last week's stroll against
the Mackems. He was top scorer in the Dutch league last term and also picked
up the Dutch "Player Of The Year" award.

Jonjo Shelvey arrived from Liverpool for a relatively modest £5m. In the
match against his former club he ventured from good to 'mare in the blink of
an eye, having as he did a hand in all four goals in the 2-2 game. He
probably had one eye over his shoulder looking for Harry Potter (this
reference has been inserted at the insistence of the Avram Grant Olympic
Rest Home For The Bewildered's zero-hours work experience herbert, who
informs me that he saw it in a film once).

If Swansea (the City rather than the club) didn't have some sort of Latin
quarter it jolly well does now. They signed another three Spanish players in
the form of Alejandro Pozuelo (from Real Betis), Jose Canas (also from Real
Betis) and Jordie Amat (who would have signed from Real Betis but for the
fact that he played for Espanyol). With striker Alvaro Vazquez also on loan
from Getafe I make that seven Spaniards in the Swansea squad at the moment.
I bet you don't find too many Seat Ibizas in the club car park though.

One player they allegedy missed out on during the window was a certain
Ricardo Vaz Te. There was a bt of a tussle with Crystal Palace for the
plyer's services, all of which became a bit academic once our failure to
pick up forward before the window shut meant RVT was going nowhere.

One of the Iberian signings from last season, Michu, recently made his full
international debut for Spain. An absolute steal at £2m from Rayo Vallecano,
he scored highly in last season's "signing of the season" sections of those
end of term reports the papers like to do. He has been quoted as saying that
he has no intention of leaving Swansea, though if rumours are to be believed
the Scousers are set to test that resolve with a £22m bid when the window
next opens. Actually, being Liverpool they are probably already trying to
open "unofficial" (for that read "illegal") lines of communication as we
speak. Michu also found time to become the 13th ruler of the Korean state of
Silla during the first century, and if you're out that way, you can still
see his tomb to this day in Gyeongju. Another tomb that you will soon be
able to visit is that of the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The
Bewildered's work experience herbert who did the research this week.

On the injury front the big miss for them will be the absence of skipper
Ashley Williams. Williams is held in high regard by the Swansea support –
there had been talk of him going to Liverpool so when the news came out that
the scousesrs tapping up had been unsuccessful there were murmurs of
approval all round. Only in Welsh. Williams has a dodgy ankle at the time of
writing and has been out for 5 matches. Definitely out is Williams' fellow
defender Ben Davies who also has an ankle problem, Obviously it's
contagious.

One ought to mention the ex-Hammer in their squad. Leon Britton never made
te grade at the Boleyn – his own comment on his spell with us was that he
"wasn't good enough" - a degree of honesty unheard of in football. Britton
has played in all four divisions for the Swans and is so well regarded the
local town of Briton Ferry is actually named after him, though they were
short of letter "T"s for the roadsigns. I expect.

Us? Well last week proved that going into matches strikerless will work
against lesser teams but when you come up against a half decent side it may
be a different story. Having said that, there was no shame in losing to a
City side for whom both Aguero and Silva were a bit good.

The main injury concern is likely to be Guy Demel, who missed the closing
exchanges of last weekend's match with a "dead leg". Should he not be
available, expect Joey O'B to start on the right hand side of the defence.
Collins is still out with a hamstring problem so the central pairing will
remain unchanged.

The big question is whether or not we will be fielding a striker. The
manager was quoted as saying that Carlton Cole is "miles away" from full
fitness, even though he got through another development squad 90 minutes in
midweek. Should Carlton's fitness level turn out to be closer to that
assessed by his manager than the levels he himself thinks he's at, this
would leave us with Petric or Maiga as the two options should we actually
play a forward. Which means I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if we
saw 4-6-0 again.

Prediction? Well Swansea are better than Spurs and probably not as good as
Man City. Which points me in the direction of parity. Like us they lack
consistency this season. Whilst there's usually an advantage to be gained
from playing a team 72 hours or so after they've had a European tie, I'd
have fancied us a wee bit more had they just been travelling back from
Russia rather than been simply recovering from a home tie. I'll therefore be
putting the AGORFTB fund to hire Harry Redknapp his own work experience
herbert to work as a fact-checker (£2.50) on a 1-1 draw.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Liberty Stadium – Lost 0-3 A bit of a wake up call
after a win on the previous opening week of the season. We had our chances
but failing to take them cost us dear.

Referee: Phil Dowd – Not as portly as he once was referee, whose biased
performance at Old Trafford last term cost us three points and Sam £8,000
after the manager pointed out the obvious.

Danger Men: William Bony – I have a feeling our failure to sign him might
come back to bite us in the proverbial.

Daft Fact Of The Week: Last year Swansea University felt the need to put up
posters, complete with diagrams mind, with instructions for students on,
wait for it, how to sit properly on a toilet seat. A university spokeswoman
told the BBC: 'Swansea University is a multi-cultural campus community and
the informational posters were produced, for use in both male and female
facilities, to help address cultural differences that were unfortunately
causing damage and hygiene issues.' That's what happens when you make
A-levels so easy even Spurs supporters can get to University.

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Matt Jarvis hoping West Ham form keeps World Cup dream alive
Last Updated: October 26, 2013 1:48pm
SSN

Matt Jarvis hopes his domestic form at West Ham United will put him in
contention for a place in England's World Cup squad. The tricky winger has
been capped on one previous occasion by his country, during his time at
Wolves. He has seen others edge ahead of him in the creative pecking order
since then, with Tottenham Hotspur's Andros Townsend the latest to shine on
the international stage. Jarvis is refusing to throw in the towel, though,
and believes eye-catching outings for the Hammers will help to put him in
Roy Hodgson's plans for Brazil 2014. The 27-year-old told The Sun: "I want
to play as well if not better than last season - score more goals and add
assists. "And if I can do that, I'll try to get in the England squad. Of
course Andros has given me hope. You can always use that belief that he's
done it, so why can't I?"

Jarvis also believes that Upton Park team-mate Ravel Morrison will come
under consideration next summer following a hugely impressive start to the
season for the Hammers and the England U21s. He added: "I don't see any
reason why Ravel can't make that England squad. He is a fantastic talent.
"He's had a fantastic start to the season and if he can keep playing well
week in, week out he can go very far. "I joined last season and he was out
on loan so I've only really seen him this season. But from what I have seen,
he's been as good as gold."

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Joe Cole back West Ham team-mate Ravel Morrison as future England star
Last Updated: October 26, 2013 11:06pm
SSN

West Ham midfielder Joe Cole believes team-mate Ravel Morrison has all the
attributes to become a future star for England. Morrison has made an
impressive start to the campaign, earning his first England U21 caps and
scoring twice in the recent 5-0 victory over Lithuania at Portman Road.
Cole, during his first spell with the Hammers, and Arsenal winger Theo
Walcott both earned their full international debuts as teenagers. And the
31-year-old is confident Morrison is developing well with the World Cup in
mind, and England manager Roy Hodgson keen to promote youngsters. "He's 20
now," said Cole. "That's young but I think Theo went at 17 and I was 19.
"He's got a chance. I think any English players will be thinking they have a
chance. Certainly the young ones because Roy has come out and said he's
going to go with youth over experience. "His attitude is spot-on. He loves
football, which I look for in a player the most. He loves his football. You
can see the joy when he's playing. "You can see him listening when you're
talking to him. He's got a great attitude and that's why he is where he is."

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Sam Allardyce hoping to take advantage of Swansea's Euro exertions
Last Updated: October 26, 2013 1:57pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hoping his team can take advantage of
Swansea's European exertions on Sunday. Michael Laudrup's side drew 1-1
against Russian outfit Kuban Krasnodar in their Europa League group match in
south Wales on Thursday evening, with a last-minute penalty preventing the
Capital One Cup holders from making it three wins out of three in the
competition. A 2-0 defeat at Southampton followed their last Europa League
outing and Hammers boss Allardyce is hoping fatigue may be a factor.
"There's a chance it can, there's no doubt about that," he said. "Having
experienced the same situation myself when I was at Bolton the most
difficult game to win was always the one after we'd played in Europe.
"Michael Laudrup did make a lot of changes, six changes to the side that
beat Sunderland so we'll have to wait and see. "If there is any advantage we
might be able to take with a few of their players having a bit of fatigue
then hopefully we can capitalise on that. "It's really about our players
going and playing as well as they know they can and that's line has been set
by the performance at Tottenham and I'll be looking for the players to
achieve that at Swansea. If we can achieve that type of performance then
we'll give them a hell of a game."

Allardyce has examined Swansea's 4-0 victory over Sunderland last week -
their first in the Premier League since March - and was impressed. "I think
prior to the Sunderland game I would have talked to the players about any
nervous frailties they (Swansea) might have suffered because of the time
they have gone without winning at home," he said. "I suppose it sounds a lot
longer than it really was, because there was a break when this record was
calculated from last season into this season. "They'll have taken a lot of
confidence from the fact they ended up breaking down Sunderland and getting
four goals so that fear might now have left them. "It's always a difficult
game. They've had a terrific amount of progress over a few years and haven't
looked back for many, many years and they have some really good players.
"Michael will be expecting them to try and turn home games into another
victory and our format is to go and play like we did against Tottenham and
see if we can win the game. "Certainly we need to get some points out of it
because we're way down on the points total I expected after the first eight
games. It's a big game for us to make sure we play our best and get some
points out of."

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18 YEAR WEST HAM FAN BANNED FOR USING A UNDER 16 TICKET
By Sean Whetstone 26 Oct 2013 at 16:47
West Ham Till I Die

Following the discounted community ticket debate of this week there has been
much talk on twitter and West Ham forums about a 18 Year West Ham fan
allegedly fined £1,100 and banned for Life from West ham for using an under
16 ticket.

I often find although there is an element of truth in these internet rumours
some of the facts are wrong or misleading. I have spoken to a source close
to the club and the fan in question himself to get to the bottom of this
story. I understand the 18 year old fan was arrested in the East Stand
during the Manchester City game last weekend.

As there is an ongoing police investigation it wouldn't be fair to name the
fan or discuss any details to prejudice that investigation.

The price of East Stand renewal of Season Ticket (Band 2) for a young adult
(under 22) is £410 this season while the Under 16 season ticket is £255.
That works out a short fall of £155 per season. If you multiple this by two
seasons than you get £310 plus the difference of a large number of away
games which takes it up to the £1100 talked about in tweets and forums.

However this is not a fine imposed by the club. This is what they are asking
for back in lost revenue.

I understand the club has written to the fan this week and suspended his
season ticket card and banned him from the ground until the £1100 is paid
back. Not exactly the life ban that some have suggested unless the debt
remains unpaid for life.

We all know this is wrong but but I can't help feel sorry for this fan who
made a mistake as a young adult and is now paying the price.

Many will point to the high prices of season tickets for a 18 year but the
price of Band 2 ticket rises from Under 16 £255 to £410 for a Young Adult
until they reach the age of 22. That is a 50% discount on the full £820
price for an adult season ticket which many pay over the age of 22.

Some West Ham fans have pointed to a David Gold quote "back to those early
years in the East End. Back then, with no money, there was one thing I could
do. I could bunk into West Ham Football Club at half-time for free"

I suppose It all goes to prove we all do silly things when we are younger.
How much sympathy the police give to this young man remains to be seen.
Hopefully he may get a second chance in life but I don't think that is in
the hands of the club.

Amanda Jacks from the Football Supporters Federation recently blogged about
the right of appeal for Club bans. She says…

"Clubs have the legal right to ban whoever they like (so long as they don't
break equality laws). But surely there must be adequate appeals processes in
place for fans who feel they've been unfairly treated? Not always, and
different clubs handle things in very different ways. It's rare for a
football club to operate any type of "due process" when banning supporters
from their ground. We've heard from fans banned for all manner of reasons
and, in our experience, it can take considerable time to get their bans
lifted. We recognise that clubs have every right to refuse admission to
supporters but feel such a drastic step should only be taken after both
sides have been heard – a transparent banning process that gives a supporter
the chance to have their say. Even when a Football Banning Order has not
been handed out, or a fan has been acquitted by the courts, clubs sometimes
choose to ban fans from their stadium. Is this reasonable? The majority of
clubs offer no processes or procedures acting as judge, jury and
executioner, which leaves fans at the whim of the club Safety Officer who is
often behind such decisions. Thanks to ticket Terms & Conditions supporters
have no right to a refund for games missed if they are season ticket holders
meaning, effectively, clubs are imposing a financial penalty as well as
depriving the supporter of the ability to support his or her team"

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Ravel Morrison backed for England's World Cup squad by West Ham teammate Joe
Cole
26 Oct 2013 22:30
The Mirror

Joe Cole has given a telling insight into the pressures that surround
talented young players such as his West Ham team-mate Ravel Morrison. Cole -
who is 32 next week, and now back at the club where he launched his career -
believes Morrison has the ability to be part of the England squad that goes
to the World Cup finals in Brazil next summer. But Cole can warn the
exciting 20-year-old of the pitfalls of sudden fame. Cole was hailed as the
best of his generation when he burst on the scene with the Hammers as a
teenager - but it was fame at a price. He admitted: "This has been an
amazing journey for me, but it was very daunting at first."

He recalled how he was suddenly the victim of jealousy when there were
reports that, as a 15-year-old, he was earning more than the Prime Minister.
Cole added: "It was a ridiculous story. I was not earning anything at the
time. "The only money I got was £30 a-week pocket money from my mum. "And
when I signed my first contract as an apprentice, it was only £45 a-week.
"It was a harsh lesson. I remember going to school and everybody changed
towards me. It was my first taste of fame and it was not pleasant."

He also feels Morrison will benefit from the advice given at West Ham. Cole
added: "It's a case keep doing what you are doing. You have to keep level
and improve gradually. Ravel has got good experience coming from Manchester
United. "Maybe he wasn't around their first team enough, but he is very much
part of our team. "As for England, it is not premature to talk about that
with Ravel. "He's been outstanding. His attitude is spot on. He loves
football and you see the joy in him when he is playing. "Of course he has a
World Cup chance."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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