On this day - 17 November
WHUFC.com
An emphatic win in 1971 sends the Hammers into the League Cup semi-finals
17.11.2013
Classic match
West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United
League Cup
17 November 1971
A Bryan Robson hat-trick fired Ron Greenwood's West Ham United into the last
four of the League Cup, as they eased past Sheffield United on this day 42
years ago. Robson's haul, in addition to a Clyde Best double, proved plenty
to book a semi-final tie against Stoke City. Following a 2-1 win in the
Potteries, the Hammers lost 1-0 at home, sending the tie to a replay. After
a goalless draw in a first replay at Hillsborough, Stoke prevailed 3-2 in
the fourth meeting, this time at Old Trafford, to see Greenwood's men out of
the competition.
Complete record - 17 November
1923 Burnley 5-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1928 West Ham United 0-1 Portsmouth (Division One)
1934 West Ham United 2-0 Sheffield United (Division Two)
1951 Doncaster Rovers 4-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1956 Middlesbrough 3-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1962 West Ham United 2-2 Fulham (Division One)
1965 Grimsby Town 2-2 West Ham United (League Cup)
1971 West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United (League Cup)
1973 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1979 West Ham United 2-0 Swansea Town (Division Two)
1984 West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland (Division One)
1990 West Ham United 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Division Two)
1991 West Ham United 0-0 Liverpool (Division One)
1997 West Ham United 4-1 Walsall (League Cup)
2002 West Ham United 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
Played 15, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 4, Scored 24, Conceded 21
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Chambers up for the Cup
WHUFC.com
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup
16.11.2013
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup after West Ham United were drawn against Bristol
City.
The Hammers will meet the Robins when they enter the competition at the
Round of 32 stage after City overcame Peterborough United 1-0 to earn a home
tie against Nick Haycock's Development Squad. A date has yet to be set for
the match, which will take place at Ashton Gate, and Chambers believes the
competition will provide a taster of what awaits in the future. He told West
Ham TV: "We've got a similar competition at youth team level with the FA
Youth Cup. "With the Under-21 Cup now it gets us ready for the real FA Cup
and the pressure that goes with being one loss away from going out, so I
think it will be good for us."
Chambers and his teammates have enjoyed a strong start to their Barclays
Under-21 Premier League season and currently sit proudly on top of the table
after nine matches. They've tasted defeat just once but the defender says
the squad will not underestimate their opposition. "We don't fear anyone but
we respect whoever we play against. Whether it's Bristol City or Arsenal we
show no disrespect to any team we play against and we'll try our best to
play to our maximum."
The versatile defender is comfortable at right-back or centre-back and has
not been limited to appearing for the Under-21s this season. Chambers has
played 90 minutes in all of the Club's three Capital One Cup wins and has
had further chance to impress the first team coaching staff over the current
international break. The 18-year-old played the whole match on Friday as a
West Ham United XI drew 2-2 with Millwall in a behind closed doors friendly
match and Chambers feels the match was an excellent test. "It was a very
good game. They came with a strong squad and we had a few seniors out there
ourselves. The young lads that came in, myself, Pottsy, (Dan Potts) and
Pelly Ruddock all did well and I think it was a good game. "It's always a
good experience playing against people that are playing in the football
league week in, week out. The guy I was up against today, Andy Keogh, did
well and like I said it was a good experience for me."
With the Development Squad currently experiencing a four-week break in
league fixtures, Chambers feels games against opposition such as Millwall
serve the players well. "Playing in these games is always a good experience
and training is good for us, but we're preparing ourselves to play against
seasoned professionals, so these games are always helpful for myself and for
the senior lads who don't play week in, week out. "I wouldn't say it's hard
to keep focus because obviously we have a good training schedule to keep us
in top shape. These games always help when we don't have regular league
fixtures. I wouldn't say it's hard to keep focussed on the league because we
have games like this which are also good experiences for us."
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U18s triumph against Royals
WHUFC.com
Djair Parfitt-Williams netted a treble as the Hammers' U18s came out on top
against Reading
16.11.2013
A hat-trick from the returning Djair Parfitt-Williams fired West Ham United
Under-18s to a convincing 3-1 victory over Reading on Saturday morning. The
winger returned to Steve Potts' starting XI after missing four games through
injury and he turned in a brilliant display at Reading's training ground,
providing the goals that extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to eight games.
The victory also sees the U18s move above the Royals into fifth place in the
Barclays U18 Premier League and coach Tony Carr MBE insists it was a
comprehensive win. He told whufc.com: "We thought Aston Villa last week was
as good as we've played this season, I would agree with that and I think
we've carried on from that performance. "It was a very complete performance,
we played well, created good goal-scoring opportunities and took them. I
thought they were gracious in defeat. "Eamonn Dolan, an ex-West Ham United
player, is their Academy Manager and he came up to me after the game and
said we were the better team and we thoroughly deserved the victory. We were
pleased with our performance and hopefully we can keep it going until the
Christmas break."
In an open contest the Hammers forged a two-goal lead early in the first
half, before Reading struck back to halve the deficit by half-time. Both
sides hit the bar in an entertaining second half before Parfitt-Williams
sealed both his hat-trick and the three points. The winger's goals added to
the two he has already bagged this season and Carr was pleased that the wide
man was on hand to finish off three of the numerous openings created by the
away side. "I thought he played very well, but having said that I wouldn't
say we were a one man team today," he added. "It was very much a team
performance and Djair was on the end of some very good team movements, so
credit to him. "It doesn't take away from the fact that it was a very good
all round team performance and I wouldn't like to single anyone out although
Djair will grab the headlines because of the hat-trick which ought to be
noted."
After a rough start to the season of only one win in five games, the team
are now flying under the guidance of Potts and Carr. With the team's
unbeaten run fast approaching double figures, Carr reckons the team are full
of belief in their ability right now. "We've put consistent results together
and the boys are playing with lots of confidence. We're going into games now
believing that we can win them so it's breeding more confidence and that's
good for them, their futures and their progress."
The Under-18s are next in action when they take on Fulham at Little Heath on
Saturday 23 November, with a kick-off set for 11am.
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REMEMBERING CLYDE BEST
By Tony Hanna 16 Nov 2013 at 14:58
West Ham Till I Die
Quick for a big man, powerful and strong, a more athletic looking player you
will never see. Clyde had it all but never became the finished article. That
may seem a bit unfair on a player who is somewhat of a legend at Upton Park,
but for those who did see him play, I am sure most would agree he never
fully realised his true potential. Clyde had all the assets to be a
superstar of the game. When he did score it was normally a beauty – a net
ripping shot or an unstoppable header. Whilst he did infuriate all too
often, he is very warmly remembered.
He played seven seasons at West Ham from 1969 to 1976 and played 221 games,
scoring 58 goals. Born in Bermuda, Clyde Best was one of the first pioneers
for the modern black footballer in England. There weren't many black players
playing in the old first division back then and Clyde suffered taunts and
abuse from away fans on a regular basis. Clyde just had to get on with it as
there were no laws or guidelines to protect such things happening forty
years ago. Black or foreign players were very few and far between in the
early seventies and racism was completely unbridled.
At just 19 he made his first big mistake but at least he did learn from it.
Clyde joined Bobby Moore, Brian Dear, Jimmy Greaves and physio Rob Jenkins
in a late night, or should I say early morning, drinking session the night
before an FA Cup tie at Blackpool. The Hammers were favourites to win the
game but were beaten 4-0. The booze party was splattered all over the sports
pages just a few days after the game. Ron Greenwood was not happy! He wanted
all four sacked but was persuaded that fines would be sufficient. However,
Dear left the club within weeks and Greaves retired some months later. Clyde
kept low for a while! He was probably lucky that Bobby Moore had been one of
the culprits or perhaps Ron would have got his way? In his early seasons
Clyde benefited from playing alongside Geoff Hurst and in the 1971/2 season
he scored 23 goals. Following Hurst's move to Stoke though, Clyde scored
just 34 more times in a Hammers shirt and in 1976 moved away to play in the
United States.
Clyde Best played twice for Bermuda, amazingly his debut was at fifteen.
This again illustrates the natural raw talent that Clyde was. He also
coached the Bermuda national side from 1997 to 1999. In 2004 Clyde was the
first athlete to be inducted into the Bermuda Sports Hall of Fame and in
2006 he was awarded an MBE for services to Bermudian football and to the
community.
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ALOU DIARRA COMEBACK?
By Sean Whetstone 16 Nov 2013 at 09:00
West Ham Till I Die
Alou Diarra is poised to return to first team action after originally being
ruled out for the rest of the season after anterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction in August.
Diarra needed surgery after injuring his knee in the Capital One Cup 2-1 win
over Cheltenham. After making it through three West Ham Development games it
is claimed he is now in the first team squad and available for selection for
the Chelsea home match. Diarra, played 90 minutes in West Ham 9-0 win over
Gillingham game on Tuesday and said after the match 'I am happy to now be
doing my job, playing football, and my recovery has been amazingly quick'.
He also played in West Ham XI friendly against Millwall on Friday.
West Ham are believed to have paid a fee of around £2.5 million in August
2012 for Diarra from Marseille who were keen to get his hefty £60,000 a week
wages of their books. By January this year his days seemed numbered after he
claimed he was lied to by West Ham & agents.
After just five appearances in a West Ham shirt, Diarra claimed he was
deceived by West Ham when they tried to lure him to Upton Park in the
summer.
'The speeches were so positive,' Diarra told L'Equipe. 'I was told that I
was a priority for the manager' 'At 31-years-old, I wanted to find another
league, and Marseille needed to reduce their wage bill, so it suited
everyone 'It was England, London, West Ham, a popular club with a true
identity. It was an opportunity to settle in the Premier League. I did not
ask, I trusted 'After a few weeks, I realised that there were a lot of lies.
This agent has fooled me. Some people have made money on my back.
Admittedly, I have three year contract but I'm not unhappy financially, but
I came to play, not to take an early retirement. I am positively at breaking
point.'
Allardyce responded at the time saying "It is a fact of life, I look at the
situation and play what I consider the best team, and because of Alou's
long-standing injury he has found it hard to adjust to what is needed in the
Premier League. If he is unhappy, he just has to tell me what he wants to do
and we'll see how we go from there. We'll have that discussion and we'll
make a decision after that on his future."
Not long after these exchange of words in the media he was shipped out to
Rennes on a six month loan and his West Ham career seemed at an end.
However, pre-season he was back seemed ready to make peace with West Ham. He
told the club website "I want to fight this season with West Ham, I'll give
100 per cent in training and I'll wait for my chance. I want to give my best
for West Ham and we'll see. I'm ready to play in the Premier League now.
Pre-season has gone well. We work hard every day, and we've only lost one
game so it has been a good start for us"
The question is where exactly will Diarra fit back into the team and is he
likely to be given a chance to repay some of the estimated £5 million we
have invested in transfer fees and wages?
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Andy Carroll fitness lift to give West Ham boss Sam Allardyce early
Christmas present by returning to action
16 Nov 2013 22:28
The Mirror
Andy Carroll is set to give West Ham manager Sam Allardyce an early
Christmas present by returning to action next month. The £15million striker
has been absent all season, plagued by a succession of injuries. Carroll has
been sent to Amercia and Belgium in a bid to regain fitness after he damaged
an ankle during pre-season. He suffered a setback after returning to
training but intensive treatment looks ready to pay off. The 24-year-old has
pencilled in a comeback against Sunderland at Upton Park on December 14 in
the Premier League for his first appearance of the season, but may have to
wait a week after that.
Allardyce will be looking to re-inforce his squad in January and may make a
move for former Fulham and Tottenham striker Clint Dempsey, who is available
on loan from Seattle Sounders during the MLS close season. Longer-term,
Allardyce could move for Finnish star Tim Vayrynen, 20. He is out of
contract in a year and it would take only £500,000 to sign him from his club
FC Honka.
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Sunday, November 17
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