Daily WHUFC News - 10th November 2013

Hammers undone by Canaries fightback
WHUFC.com
West Ham United saw a 1-0 lead go to waste as Norwich City recovered to win
3-1
09.11.2013

Norwich City 3-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League

West Ham United failed to take advantage of a dominant first half at Norwich
City as the Canaries recovered from a one-goal deficit to triumph 3-1 on
Saturday evening. The Hammers were the only team in the opening period as
they bossed proceedings and took the lead through Ravel Morrison. But after
handing Gary Hooper a gift-wrapped leveller from the spot after the break,
Norwich grew in strength and won the game with two goals inside the final 18
minutes. Robert Snodgrass notched the first, curving a free-kick into the
West Ham net before Leroy Fer clinched the points at the death. Norwich
started brightly as they looked to break quickly on the Hammers backline and
Jussi Jaaskelainen had to be off his line quickly to mop up after Gary
Hooper exchanged passes with strike partner Johan Elmander in the sixth
minute to make his way towards goal. The Hammers soaked up that early
pressure and soon set about taking control, going close for the first time
with 12 minutes on the clock. Morrison drew the defenders to him before
poking through to Kevin Nolan, whose shot was blocked by the foot of
goalkeeper John Ruddy. West Ham kept the intensity up and Guy Demel was then
denied by the crossbar after he got up highest to meet Mark Noble's left
wing corner. Razvan Rat was finding acres of room down the left hand side
and he supplied a cross for Nolan in the 28th minute, but the skipper's
guided effort was kept out by Ruddy. Sam Allardyce's men did not have to
wait long to take the lead though, edging in front with 32 minutes played
after Rat again got in down his flank to cross low to Nolan. His shot was
blocked, but he recovered to keep the ball in and roll across the six yard
box for Morrison to sweep home. The Hammers' first half dominance was
reflected in the statistics, which showed that they had forced nine attempts
on goal to Norwich's two and enjoyed 57% possession at that stage. But they
handed the hosts a route back into the contest nine minutes after the
restart with a real gift. Jaaskelainen was unable to hold a high ball as
Michael Turner applied the pressure, and as he scrambled to try and gather
possession, he took Hooper down. Referee Jon Moss pointed to the spot and
Hooper made no mistake from 12 yards to net his first Barclays Premier
League goal.

West Ham were not able to find and exploit the same kind of space as they
did in the first half and the hosts' unexpected goal galvanised their
efforts. James Collins did go close after Turner made a hash of clearing a
deep free kick immediately after the equaliser, but it was Norwich who were
to strike next, when Collins was penalised for a foul 28 yards from goal.
Snodgrass took the free kick and got his effort over the wall and down in
time to give Jaaskelainen no chance. After an opening period of such
dominance, the turnaround in fortunes was barely believable, but despite
introducing Mohamed Diame, Carlton Cole and Matt Jarvis from the bench West
Ham were unable to find a response. Instead, Norwich made the game safe in
stoppage time as Fer cut through the visitors and finished into the bottom
right hand corner.

Norwich City: Ruddy; Martin, Turner, R.Bennett, Olsson; Snodgrass, Fer,
Howson, Pilkington (Redmond 33); Elmander, Hooper (Johnson 87)
Subs: Bunn, Whittaker, Bassong, Hoolahan, Becchio
Goals: Hooper pen 54, Snodgrass 72, Fer 90
Booked: Turner
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Rat; Morrison, Noble (Jarvis
87), Collison (C.Cole 74); Downing, Nolan, J.Cole (Diame 72)
Subs: Adrian, McCartney, Maiga, O'Brien
Goal: Morrison 32
Booked: Nolan
Referee: Jon Moss
Attendance: 26,824

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Second half show disappoints Sam
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was not impressed with the way his West Ham United side
surrendered at Norwich City
09.11.2013

Sam Allardyce admitted a poor second-half performance cost West Ham United
dear in Saturday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Norwich City. The
Hammers looked to be in control and on the way to a valuable three points at
half-time courtesy of Ravel Morrison's 32nd-minute goal, with Big Sam's side
dominant in almost every area during the opening 45 minutes. After the break
it was a completely different game, with Jussi Jaaskelainen's mistake
allowing Gary Hooper to level emphatically with a 54th-minute penalty.
Robert Snodgrass then scored with a direct free-kick after James Collins had
fouled Jonny Howson before Leroy Fer wrapped up the home victory in added
time. "All the West Ham fans who travelled to Norwich have seen us play away
all season with a fantastically resilient record, conceding one goal at Hull
City from a penalty that should have been a penalty," said Big Sam. "Then we
put in a performance in the first half here and completely dominated the
game and finally got the goal we were searching for to give us the platform
to go on and get three points rather than drawing. "Our defending then threw
it away from our point of view, rather than actually showing that resilience
yet again to gather the three precious points we should have won. "The
disappointed lies in the fact that when the opposition beats you because
they have been better than you, you accept that, but when you have gifted
the opposition three points that is so difficult to take based on our first
half performance."

Big Sam admitted that Norwich's penalty early in the second half altered the
course of a game his team should have won. The spot-kick was awarded when
Jaaskelainen dropped a routine catch and then tripped Hooper as he tried to
retrieve the situation. However, replays suggested that the Finn may have
got to the ball first. "It was a soft one but at the end of the day there
was contact from Jussi's arm and the player has made the best of it and the
referee has seen it as a penalty," observed Big Sam. "So you could say you
have seen them given and you've seen them not given. "The bottom line is
that Jussi doesn't normally make that sort of mistake and you'd hope he
would get away with it, but this time he didn't get away with it and it
resulted in a penalty. He shouldn't have gone diving for the ball, but
because he knew he had made the mistake, he got over-anxious trying to put
it right and ended up making another mistake by sadly giving the penalty
away. "What really surprised me was that it seemed to kill the spirit of the
team for a bit and then we recovered from it. We then conceded a second goal
which was another blow for us. Snodgrass put the free-kick, which was the
fourth one against us in eleven games this season, when in two years
previously at West Ham I haven't had four scored against me. That's a
bizarre stat because Leighton Baines and Jermaine Pennant haven't scored one
since and it will probably be a while before Snodgrass gets another one. "He
got it when it mattered for Norwich and it was a killer for us."

The manager also offered his opinion on why West Ham dominated the opening
half but failed to reach the same heights after the interval. "The first
error by Jussi gave them the massive lift they were looking for and we
gifted them the boost of confidence that they were searching for but looked
like they were never going to get. It's a psychological thing in that it
lifted the crowd. They were booing at half-time but ten minutes after, they
were cheering, which makes a massive difference and that was our fault. "We
gifted Norwich three points and made life difficult for ourselves when we
shouldn't have done, but there we are. We've faltered in our defensive side
for the first time this season when we were one-nil up and ended up with no
points when you'd have thought at half-time that we'd be stood here with a
very valuable three points. "Had the game gone on at one-nil for another ten
or 15 minutes I think we would have been stood here saying we'd won two-nil
because they would have got more and more desperate, thrown more and more
men forward and lost their confidence. That would have given us more chances
to add a second, but unfortunately it didn't pan out that way and we only
have ourselves to blame."

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Norwich 3 West Ham 1
9 November 2013
Last updated at 20:15
By Andy Cryer
BBC Sport

A trio of second-half goals moved Norwich City out of the relegation zone
and above 16th-placed West Ham to ease the pressure on manager Chris
Hughton.
Gary Hooper scored his first league goal for Norwich from the penalty spot
after Jussi Jaaskelainen's foul, before Robert Snodgrass curled in a
free-kick.
Leroy Fer secured Norwich's third win of the season with an injury-time
goal, slotting in from 18 yards. Ravel Morrison's close-range goal gave West
Ham a deserved half-time lead. The Hammers looked like they were going to
make it a miserable evening for Hughton after a dominant first-half display
but Jaaskelainen's 54th-minute error turned the game in Norwich's favour.
The Finland goalkeeper sent Hooper tumbling after dropping a
comfortable-looking cross and the former Celtic striker emphatically
levelled from the spot. From there Norwich, who were poor before the break,
took control and a first Premier League goal of the season from Snodgrass
and Fer's individual late effort capped a rousing second-half comeback. The
defeat leaves West Ham with just two wins this season and just one point
above the relegation zone, with Norwich a position and a point above them.
The Norwich fans would have been expecting a reaction from their side after
last weekend's 7-0 thrashing at Manchester City but they did not initially
get it as West Ham bossed the opening 45 minutes.
Former Newcastle boss Hughton has been quick to point out his side have
already played Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham but
Morrison's opener deservedly left his side trailing at the break. In a spell
of concerted pressure, the visitors went close on 13 minutes when Guy
Demel's powerful header cannoned off the bar to safety. Sam Allardyce's side
were now in control and Morrison rewarded their dominance on 32 minutes,
converting Kevin Nolan's pull-back from close range after Razvan Rat's
left-wing cross had caused problems. After being gifted a route back into
the game by Jaaskelainen, Norwich looked a different side as Jonny Howson
hit the bar from 25 yards before Snodgrass brilliantly curled the hosts
ahead on 72 minutes. And their second-half control was rewarded when Fer
finished low into the net after breaking from from midfield.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton: "It's a bit of relief. The level of
performance has not been that bad. On the back of some difficult results
against the Manchester clubs there was some nervousness. "We told the
players we have to build on this. We had a similar start last season. We
beat Arsenal and that was a bit of spring for us to go on to better things
and let's hope that this is the same. "We'll enjoy it during the
international break but we'll look forward to playing Newcastle in a few
weeks."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "When we got the first goal today I thought
the lads would be the same as they have been all season. But we've
capitulated with our own errors. "We should have picked up a win on the
balance of play. We've only got ourselves to blame and I didn't expect that
error from Jussi Jaaskelainen. We needed that clean sheet and didn't get
that. "I warned the players that Chris Hughton would change something and
try to shut us down more. At the end of the day we lost was because it was
such an unusual error. It killed the players and played on their minds."

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Norwich City 3-1 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 9th November 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are heading for another relegation battle following a dreadful
second half performance at Carrow Road. Despite producing some of the best
football they've played all season in the opening half Sam Allardyce's side
capitulated after the break, conceding three goals in the space of 37
minutes against a Norwich side that conceded seven without reply at
Manchester City last weekend. The kind of performance that had relegation
written all over it, a series of awful individual errors combined with a
worrying lack of drive and intent condemned Allardyce's shellshocked side to
a second away defeat of the campaign.
Yet it had all started so brightly for the Hammers, who enjoyed near total
domination in the first half and deservedly lead at the break thanks to
Ravel Morrison's fifth goal of the season. However both Allardyce and his
players will have felt disappointed that they hadn't managed to fully
capitalise on their supremacy by adding further goals. The deadlock was
broken on the half-hour mark following a clever move on the left involving
Razvan Rat and Kevin Nolan.
The Romanian's low cross found Kevin Nolan whose initial shot was blocked,
before the Hammers captain managed to turn the ball back into the centre to
meet Morrison's run. Nolan in particular enjoyed the freedom of Carrow Road
in the first half, where Norwich's four-man midfield simply couldn't cope
with West Ham's 4-6-0 formation. He should have scored after only 12
minutes when his telegraphed shot was stopped by the feet of City 'keeper
John Ruddy - and also 14 minutes later when he failed to connect properly
with one of several good crosses from the left by Rat. However he more than
atoned for those errors with his part in West Ham's only goal. The half time
break couldn't have come soon enough for Chris Hughton, whose team had been
completely overrun up to that point. But whatever it was he said to his team
at the break worked wonders, for they looked a different prospect after the
break.

It took City just nine minutes after the restart to draw level - and not for
the first time in the second half, West Ham only had themselves to blame. As
Jaaskelainen rose to collect a cross, he fumbled it before tripping
Norwich's Gary Hooper as he scrambled to reach the loose ball. Hooper
stepped up himself to blast City level from the spot. West Ham then survived
a major scare when Johnny Howson's dipping volley crashed against the
crossbar. Once again it was a West Ham error - this time by Mark Noble who
gave the ball away 30 yards from goal - that led to the chance. But the
Hammers failed to heed that warning and two minutes later Norwich took the
lead when Robert Snodgrass despatched a curling free kick into the near
post. Jaaskelainen, as is too often the case, failed to move from his
standing position as the ball flew past him. Not for the first time this
season West Ham had been a victim of a terrible decision by the referee,
with James Collins penalised for foul play when he accidentally collided
with an opponent just outside the penalty box. But that was of little
concern to the home side who had somehow managed to completely turn the game
around. The home side still had time to rub salt into West Ham's wounds
however - and Leroy Fer, who would usually have trouble picking up the banjo
let alone hitting a barn door with it shrugged off a weak challenge from
James Tomkins before sliding the ball past Jaaaskelainen from 12 yards deep
into injury time. In the end it was a combination of personal moments of
madness and a dodgy refereeing decision that cost West Ham dearly today.
However had they made the most of their numerous chances in a first half
which they dominated, Norwich would have been all but beaten before the
second half even started. That lack of goals has been West Ham's Achilles
heel all season - and shows no sign of abating.

Sam Allardyce, when reflecting upon the game will no doubt refer to a
Snodgrass "worldy" that put Norwich ahead for the first time in the game, in
much the same vein as he did when speaking of Leighton Baines' brace for
Everton and Jermaine Pennant's free kick for Stoke earlier this season- all
of which beat Jussi Jaaskelainen from a similar distance.

But if Big Sam is seeking a common denominator he should perhaps look no
further than his goalkeeper - for as keen observers will have noticed,
Jaaskelainen failed to move from his standing position for any of the above
goals, something that must have been noted by our opponents. Basically, hit
the target and it's a goal.

Whilst Jaaskelainen looks far from reassuring in goal, at the other end of
the pitch captain Kevin Nolan is currently a shadow of his former self. As
calls for him to be dropped as a result of poor form increase, it remains to
be seen how long Allardyce will persist with a player who is clearly
struggling right now.


Norwich City v West Ham Utd: Match Facts

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, Rat, Noble, Nolan (c),
Collison, Downing, J.Cole, Morrison.
Subs: Adrian, O'Brien, McCartney, Maiga, Jarvis, Diame, C.Cole.

Norwich City: Ruddy; Martin, Turner, R Bennett, Olsson; Snodgrass, Howson,
Fer, Pilkington; Elmander, Hooper..
Subs: Bunn, Whittaker, Johnson, Bassong, Hoolahan, Becchio, Redmond..

Referee: Jonathan Moss.
Referee's Assistants: M Mullarkey, D Eaton.
Fourth Official:A Haines.

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Norwich climbed out of bottom three with 3-1 win over West Ham
Last Updated: November 9, 2013 8:21pm
SSN

Norwich responded to last weekend's 7-0 humiliation at Manchester City with
a valuable 3-1 win against West Ham at Carrow Road. Ravel Morrison handed
the Hammers a first-half lead but Norwich bounced back with three
second-half goals. Gary Hooper scored from the penalty spot to restore
parity before a wonderful Robert Snodgrass free-kick handed City the lead
and Leroy Fer settled the contest deep in stoppage-time. Both sides also saw
efforts come back off the woodwork but it was Norwich, who had started the
day in the bottom three, who held on to take all three points and climb
above the Hammers and up to 15th place.

Best of the Match:

Man of the match: Robert Snodgrass - The Scotland international was an
inspirational figure in the Norwich side as he led them to victory.
Goal of the match: Snodgrass' free-kick from the edge of the area was pure
class. He lifted the ball over the wall and beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Moment of the match: Leroy Fer wrapped up the win deep in stoppage time and
the relief inside Carrow Road was palpable.
Chances of the match: Both sides also saw efforts come back off the woodwork
through Guy Demel and Leroy Fer.
Stat of the match: It was the first time Norwich had scored more than once
in a league game since the opening day 2-2 draw with Everton.
Talking point: Will Hammers boss Sam Allardyce persist in using a
strikerless formation after today's defeat?

West Ham started to exert their authority on the game with Norwich proving
wasteful in possession all too often, looking nervous. Norwich goalkeeper
John Ruddy was forced into the first meaningful save of the game on 12
minutes as he pushed away Kevin Nolan's effort. The ball was eventually
turned behind for a corner with Guy Demel's header coming back off the
crossbar. It was Nolan who had the next good chance as the West Ham skipper
opened up his body to take Razvan Rat's cross first time, but his shot was
too close to Ruddy to cause the England goalkeeper problems. Nolan was once
again heavily involved as the visitors deservedly broke the deadlock through
Morrison. After seeing his initial shot blocked, Nolan collected the ball on
the byline and pulled it back perfectly for Morrison to tuck his chance away
and give Allardyce's side the lead after a long spell of dominance from the
Hammers. Nathan Redmond was introduced from the bench by Chris Hughton in
the immediate aftermath of the goal as Anthony Pilkington appeared to have
been struggling with a knock for some time.

With no further chances for either side, West Ham led at the break and the
home fans vented their frustration as the teams headed towards the dressing
rooms. The toxic atmosphere inside Carrow Road soon changed as referee Jon
Moss awarded Norwich a penalty eight minutes into the second half.
Jussi Jaaskelainen failed to hold a tame header from Michael Turner and,
after clambering around to deal with his spillage, the experienced Finn
brought down Hooper, who stepped up to tuck away the resulting spot-kick.

The lead was almost very short-lived as the Norwich defence could not deal
with a ball into their box, with the returning James Collins thrashing a
volley wide for the visitors. Fer then bent an effort high over the crossbar
after being afforded far too much time and space on the edge of the West Ham
box as the Canaries continued to come back into the game. West Ham enjoyed a
spell on the ball before Jonny Howson went much closer in the 70th minute
with a dipping long-range effort cannoning off the crossbar with
Jaaskelainen well beaten. The ball bounced out to Snodgrass, who was brought
down by Collins and the Scotland winger curled the free-kick over the wall
and into the net to put the home side ahead.

The goal seemed to inject new belief into the Norwich players and they
continued to create chances as good work from Fer resulted in Hooper letting
fly with a well-struck effort that was too close to Jaaskelainen. The best
chance to add a third was spurned by Snodgrass, who hacked at a clever
knockdown by Johan Elmander when well placed in front of goal. But the
Canaries did manage to make it 3-1, with Fer tucking away a coolly taken
chance in stoppage-time as Norwich sealed their third win of the season and,
if Allardyce is to be believed, helped convert the pressure from Hughton on
to the West Ham boss.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce blames 'errors and mistakes' for Norwich defeat
Last Updated: November 9, 2013 9:19pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce said West Ham had only themselves to blame after suffering a
3-1 defeat by Norwich at Carrow Road. The Hammers surrendered their
first-half lead given to them through Ravel Morrison to come away with
nothing from the game. The hosts fought back with goals from Gary Hooper,
Robert Snodgrass and Leroy Fer to seal victory for the Canaries. "What
disappoints me more is that the confidence we have gained from our
away-performance results was there for all to see in the first half,"
Allardyce told Sky Sports 1. "I expected that one of the things we'd been
short of was getting the first goal and going ahead, and I thought once we
got that the lads were going to be as good as they've been all season -
having conceded one goal away from home from a penalty that shouldn't have
actually been a penalty. "But then our own errors and our own mistakes have
let Norwich back into a game that they shouldn't have got back into and
we've ended up with no points instead of picking up points and a win. "We've
only ourselves to blame. "When we needed that all-important clean sheet
today to get the three points it's deserted us on our own failings rather
than Norwich's good play."

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REMEMBERING THE 37,404 WEST HAM PALS KILLED IN WW1
By Sean Whetstone 10 Nov 2013 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die

This Remembrance Sunday at 11am please remember the 37,404 West Ham Pals
killed in the first world war. One of the reasons why the First World War
was so traumatic an event to British society was that so many of the new
infantry Battalions formed to fight in the trenches were the so called "Pals
Battalions". Where men could serve with local friends, neighbours or
workers. The West Ham Pals were officially called the 13th Battalion of the
Essex Regiment. Unofficially they were West Ham football team supporters who
joined on mass with their mates and whose battle cry (and bayonet charge)
was "Up the Irons".

The Battalion fought in some of the worse battles in the War and suffered in
total 37,404 causalities killed, wounded or missing. The impact of all these
deaths and casualties in battle on the local community was therefore
immense. When you imagine more than a sold out Boleyn ground home crowd
being slaughtered or baldy injured you begin to understand the enormity of
the whole thing. The West Ham Pals website can be found
http://westhampals.blogspot.co.uk/ or on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/west.pals

In 2009 Sir Trevor Brooking unveiled a plague at the Boleyn ground to
remember the West Ham Pals. I always feel proud when the army march around
the Boleyn ground at the home match before Remembrance Sunday like they did
in the game against Villa. Just a shame a minority of Aston Villa fans
couldn't keep their mouths shut for the one minute silence.

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MATCH REPORT: NORWICH CITY 3 WEST HAM 1
By Iain Dale 9 Nov 2013 at 19:32
West Ham Till I Die

Well that must have been some kind of team talk from Sam Allardyce at
half-time. As my LBC colleague Steve Allen would say "dreadful, Ladies and
Gentlemen, dreadful". Having dominated the first half we yet again paid the
price for missing chance after chance as we went in only 1-0 up. We had 57%
of the possession and Norwich looked there for the taking. But we looked a
totally different team in the second half. Razvan Rat seemed to hardly give
a damn and Kevin Nolan looked positively Dowie-esque in his inability to
control the ball when he received it. And as for Jussi's performance, don't
get me started. Was he Joe Hart in disguise? I suppose every goalkeeper has
an off day, and Jussi has fewer than most, but he was to blame, at least in
part, for all three goals. He gave away the penalty having flapped, he
remained rooted to the spot for the Snodgrass free kick and should have
easily parried the last goal from Leroy Fer.

But there are plenty of other candidates for anti-man of the match. Stewart
Downing did nothing during the game. Carlton Cole might as well not have
been on the pitch after he came on for all the difference he made.Even Mark
Noble was invisible in the second half and gave away the ball which led to
James Collins's foul, which led to the Snodgrass goal. James Collins looked
fairly ring rusty, and James Tomkins wasn't at the top of his game either.
But for me, Rat and Nolan vie with each other for worst West Ham player on
the pitch, Twice in the second half Rat was in a good attacking position but
failed to receive the ball properly. He was constantly out of position and
made Joe Cole's task even harder than it ought to have been. As for Kevin
Nolan, yes he passed the ball for Morrison to score, but what else did he
actually contribute during the whole game? More than Diame would have? It
has to be said that after last week's good performance against Villa, Jack
Collison was off his game too.

Has anyone noticed that we have conceded at least 6 goals from free kicks
outside the area this season so far. For a shot stopper Jussi needs to do
far much better with these, and the wall does too. They didn't even jump up
today. Had they done so, they might have stopped the shot. Jussi didn't even
seem to see it and remained rooted to the spot. He's done that far too often
for my liking.

All very depressing. It's the last result you'd want before a two week
international break, which is then followed by a home match against Chelsea.
The thing is, when Andy Carroll does eventually return (around Christmas, I
imagine) it will take at least seven or eight games for him to gel into the
team.

I am depressed. Cheer me up.

Jussi 4 – All over the place
Tomkins 5 – Distinctly average, partly to balme for the final goal
Collins 6 – Ring rusty – gave away the foul for the Snodgrass screamer
Demel 8 – Great game
Rat 4 – Truly awful. Come back Joey.
Morrison 6 – Faded badly in the second half
Noble 6 – Failed to orchestrate midfield in this usual manner
Collison 5 – Largely anonymous
Downing 4 – Might as well not have played. No threat at all
Nolan 5 – Only redeeming factor was the pass which led to the goal
Joe Cole 6 – Flashes of brilliance but what did he achieve
Carlton Cole 4 – Did nothing. Nichts. Nada.

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West Ham 'should sign Jermain Defoe' says former striker Dean Ashton
9 Nov 2013 15:35
The Mirror

Former West Ham United striker Dean Ashton feels that the club should target
Spurs striker Jermain Defoe when the transfer window opens. The Hammers are
currently short of options upfront as Andy Carroll continues to recover from
a heel injury that has wrecked his season following his record breaking £15m
move from Liverpool in the summer. Modibo Maiga, Ricardo Vaz Te and Mladen
Petric have all failed to find the net regularly, while Carlton Cole was
recently re-signed on a free transfer last month. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce
has preferred to field a team without a recognised striker on a number of
occasions this season, and Ashton, who played for the club from 2006-2009
before he was forced to retire, feels Defoe would be an ideal solution to
their striking woes.
Ashton told talkSPORT: "He's certainly the type of player West Ham could do
with at the moment, a player that is going to get goals. "I think the West
Ham fans wouldn't mind having Jermain back even though he divided the club
when he left. "I'm like a lot of players who have played with Jermain Defoe
who will definitely say he's up there with the best finishers we've ever
played with."

Defoe is currently behind team-mate Roberto Soldado in the pecking order at
White Hart Lane following the Spaniard's £26m move from Valencia in the
summer. The England striker has been restricted largely to starts in the
Europa League, but recently became Spurs' all-time leading scorer in
European competition when he netted his 23rd goal in the 2-1 win against
Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday . The 31-year-old has been linked with a move
to North America, but recently claimed that leaving the Hammers in 2003 was
a "massive mistake" .

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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