Daily WHUFC News - 2nd January 2014

Hammers begin 2014 with Fulham loss
WHUFC.com
West Ham United were defeated 2-1 at Fulham on New Year's Day
01.01.2014

Fulham 2-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
There was no New Year's Day cheer for West Ham United as they saw a lead go
to waste at Fulham. Mohamed Diame fired the Hammers into an early lead, but
Steve Sidwell's equaliser, coupled with Kevin Nolan's red card, meant the
Cottagers went into the break happier. Fulham made their extra man count in
the second period with Dimitar Berbatov notching the winner 24 minutes from
time. The defeat leaves the Hammers in the bottom three ahead of another
crucial Barclays Premier League match at Cardiff City. West Ham started
brightly in the driving rain at Craven Cottage and Nolan found himself clear
in the left channel on five minutes, but couldn't beat David Stockdale in
the Fulham goal from a tight angle. Two minutes later though, the home
stopper was powerless to prevent Diame from giving West Ham the lead when he
collected Jussi Jaaskelainen's long free-kick, turned and fired into the
net. West Ham looked capable of getting at the home defence early on and
Nolan had a great chance to double the advantage on 23 minutes when Diame
picked him out with a cross to the back post, but the skipper's header was
blocked by Stockdale, whose star jump provided an effective barrier. That
sparked the Cottagers into life and as they began to dominate possession,
the chances started to come. With 28 minutes played, Fernando Amorebieta
beat Jussi Jaaskelainen to Damien Duff's right wing corner, but Modibo Maiga
was stationed on the line to knock clear. Their next corner, four minutes
later, proved more profitable, as Sidwell got on the end of Duff's delivery
to crash a header home. A minute later the home side almost completed the
swiftest of turnarounds when Richardson got in down the left. His clipped
effort travelled all the way across the area, where Adel Taarabt picked up
possession and fired a low shot against the base of the post. Then on the
stroke of half-time, the Hammers' task was made all the more difficult when
Nolan saw red for kicking out at Amorebieta as the pair chased a ball into
the channel. Fulham kept up the pressure at the start of the second period
as John Arne Riise skipped past Joey O'Brien in the area, but couldn't force
the ball past Jaaskelainen. The Hammers keeper then had to save from George
McCartney as his header following Berbatov's cross skidded towards his own
goal. Fulham were getting closer and closer and Jaaskelainen had to claw
Taarabt's back post header onto the upright, before the home man fired the
rebound wide. The Hammers could not hold out, and midway through the half
Fulham made the most of a three-on-one situation, with Scott Parker steering
Alex Kacaniklic's cross into Barbatov's path to tap home. Sub Darren Bent
had a golden chance to add to the lead on 71 minutes when he raced clear
only to shoot at Jaaskelainen, and while Alou Diarra headed a Matt Taylor
free-kick over the top and Stewart Downing shot wide, the Hammers were
unable to trouble Stockdale again as Fulham claimed the derby spoils

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, O'Brien, Diarra, McCartney, Taylor;
Nolan, Collison, Noble (Rat 32), Diame (Downing 56); Maiga (C.Cole 69)
Subs: Adrian, Jarvis, J.Cole, Potts
Goal: Diame 7
Booked: Rat
Sent off: Nolan

Fulham: Stockdale; Riether, Senderos, Amorebieta, Riise; Parker, Sidwell;
Duff (Kasami 78), Taarabt (Bent 69), Richardson (Kacaniklic 56); Berbatov
Subs: Bettinelli, Hughes, Dejagah, Dembele
Goals: Sidwell 32, Berbatov 66
Booked: Berbatov, Amorebieta

Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Attendance: 25,335

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'Key moments' leave Sam frustrated
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce said a miraculous save, an injury and a sending-off all cost
West Ham United dear at Fulham
01.01.2014

Sam Allardyce said key moments had conspired against West Ham United to make
it an unhappy New Year courtesy of a 2-1 defeat at Fulham. 2014 looked set
to start on a Barclays Premier League high when Mohamed Diame fired the
Hammers into an early lead at a wet and wild Craven Cottage, only for Mark
Noble be forced off with a calf injury. Within seconds, Steve Sidwell had
headed Fulham level before Kevin Nolan was sent-off for the second time in a
month for inexplicably aiming a kick at Fernando Amorebieta a minute before
half-time. Down to ten men, Big Sam's side battled hard in the face of heavy
Fulham pressure, only for Scott Parker's miss-hit shot to tee-up Dimitar
Berbatov for the simplest of winners.

"There were three key moments in this game," said the Hammers manager, whose
side sit 19th in the table and three points from safety. "The first was our
goal, which was great, and then Kevin's header which we all thought was a
goal until the unbelievable save from Stockdale, which was a great shame for
us.
"If we'd gone 2-0 up, we wouldn't have seen Kevin Nolan sent-off from there,
but we shouldn't have seen Kevin Nolan sent-off anyway, but we did. "For
whatever reason, he's had a rush of blood and the red mist has descended and
he has acted irresponsibly and it's something that has made life extremely
difficult for us. He has let himself, his team-mates and the Club down by
his actions and he has to shoulder that responsibility and accept what he
has done was not right. "The rest of the lads battled right until the very
end trying to get something out of the game, all the way to the final
whistle in very difficult conditions, to try to get the goal. "Whatever
happens at the moment, whether it's a deflection or a knockdown or a break,
it's not seeming to go our way at the minute. "All we can do is pursue what
we can change, which is getting the injured players fit, getting some new
players in through the window and getting more results as quickly as
possible because that gap between points and games played has got that
little bit bigger and makes life so much more difficult to make the
difference up."

It had all started so well at Craven Cottage, too. West Ham scored and then
harried and harassed Fulham as the home side repeatedly tried to play out
from the back, frustrating the home supporters. From one interception by
Matt Taylor, Diame crossed for Nolan, only for Stockdale to make a
miraculous save with his right foot and keep the score at 1-0. "We nicked
lots of balls of them trying to pass it out and then Mo put in a fantastic
ball and I don't think Kevin could have headed it any better. Stockdale just
threw himself at it in hope and that bit of hope went his way and it didn't
go in the back of the net. "If Fulham had gone 2-0 down having lost 6-0 at
Hull City, it would have put a lot of fear into them, but it wasn't to be.
"We were in a good position but then our marking let us down on their goal
and the big key moment was the sending-off, sadly."

The manager was also left to lament the loss of Noble to a calf injury which
he blamed on the heavy Christmas fixture list. The midfielder has started
every one of West Ham's 20 league matches this season and Big Sam said the
physical effort had taken its toll on the No16 - as it has on countless
other Barclays Premier League players in recent weeks. "If it's not bad
enough that Mark Noble gets injured down to his fatigue levels because he's
played too many games over the Christmas period, "I watched Liverpool
against Chelsea and five players went off with muscle injuries in that game
on its own. Right across the board we're losing millions of pounds worth of
talent because the fixture load is being shown to be too much for players at
this time of year."

While he now has to contend with arrival of Noble in an already packed
treatment room, the manager did at least welcome Stewart Downing back after
four weeks out with a badly cut ankle. The England international was quickly
back into his stride at Craven Cottage, providing the rare bright moments of
a gloomy second half with his ability to keep possession and drive the team
forward with his direct running and accurate passing. "He got us back in the
game and got us going forward because he holds the ball up and receives the
ball when he is marked, wriggles around and gets us on the front foot. "We
saw a big lift in our attacking play when Stewart came on and ultimately got
us into areas where we might have nicked a draw, but we couldn't find the
ultimate finish."

West Ham now take a break from Barclays Premier League action until the trip
to Cardiff City on 11 January. In the meantime, the Hammers travel to
Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round on Sunday before making the
journey to Manchester City for a Capital One Cup semi-final first leg next
Wednesday evening. With so many players unavailable and new faces possibly
arriving over the next few days, the manager admitted he would have to make
changes to his starting XI for those two fixtures. "Well, the trouble is
that you have to put players out to play who can get injured again. It would
be lovely at this moment in time to go into these games with a fully fit
squad - we wouldn't be in the position in the league we are now for one,
because our points total would be better, and two, we'd all be looking
forward to the semi-final and the side we are going to put out. "At the
moment, I haven't got a clue what team I'm going to put out on Sunday or
next Wednesday because of all the problems we have got."

Finally, when asked for his one New Year's resolution, the manager was clear
- Barclays Premier League safety. "Obviously it's just about getting points
on the board now for me. The only thing we have got to do in this profession
is to get enough points to stay in the Premier League - that's the only goal
and only ambition and that's what we have got to push ourselves as hard as
possible to do."

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Fulham 2 West Ham 1
1 January 2014
Last updated at 17:57
By Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport

Dimitar Berbatov's fifth goal of the season helped Fulham climb out of the
Premier League drop zone with a victory over fellow strugglers West Ham. The
Hammers had taken the lead when Mohamed Diame slotted home from a long ball
but Steve Sidwell equalised with a header from a corner. West Ham captain
Kevin Nolan was sent off just before half-time for an off-the-ball kick at
Fernando Amorebieta. And Fulham made the extra man count when Bulgarian
Berbatov tapped home. New Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen used the
festive period to beef up his backroom staff with the appointments of Alan
Curbishley as technical director and Ray Wilkins as assistant head coach.
However, it was the return to fitness of striker Berbatov, 32, who had not
played since the Cottagers' 4-1 defeat at Everton on 14 December because of
a groin problem, which could prove a more timely boost for Meulensteen.
Berbatov was one of seven changes the Dutchman made from the team thrashed
6-0 away to Hull City while West Ham also rotated with six different players
from the side which drew 3-3 with West Brom. It was the Hammers, without a
league win since a 3-0 success over Fulham at Upton Park at the end of
November, who took the lead after a positive start. A long kick up field
from goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen bounced on the edge of the Fulham area
and was controlled by Diame who planted a low shot on the turn into the
corner of the net. Fulham eventually found some rhythm and Bebatov
registered their first meaningful effort on goal with an acrobatic effort
while Amorebieta saw his goal-bound header from a corner cleared off the
line by West Ham striker Modibo Maiga.

"West Ham shot themselves in the foot when Kevin Nolan got himself sent off
after a fairly even first half and that proved the turning point. "It was
Nolan's irresponsible sending off for an off-the-ball incident which changed
the course of the game. "Fulham made use of the extra man and grabbed a
deserved winner through Dimitar Berbatov which lifts them out of the
relegation zone. West Ham, though, are in a whole heap of trouble."

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce believes the key to survival for his side will be
the return of the club's injured players but they were dealt a blow on the
half-hour mark when Mark Noble went down clutching his leg and was replaced
by Razvan Rat. West Ham's depleted defence - soon to be bolstered by the
arrival of Everton defender Johnny Heitinga - had looked suspect from
set-pieces throughout the first half, so it came as little surprise when
Fulham equalised from a corner. Damien Duff's flag kick picked out the run
of Sidwell, who escaped the attentions of George McCartney and planted a
header past Jaaskelainen.
It got worse for Allardyce's side on the stroke of half-time when Nolan was
shown a straight red card for a needless off-the-ball kick at Amorebieta
which proved to be the turning point in the game.

Nolan had only recently returned from suspension having been sent off in
West Ham's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool. Fulham signalled their intent to make
the extra man count after the break and John Arne Riise brought a reaction
save out of Jaaskelainen at his near post. Adel Taarabt missed a great
chance to put Fulham ahead when his initial header was saved by Jaaskelainen
but could only strike the rebound back across goal.

Fulham's persistence eventually paid off in the 66th minute when Alexander
Kacaniklic's low cross from the left was steered into the path of Berbatov
by Scott Parker which left the experienced former Manchester United striker
with a simple tap-in. West Ham threw on striker Carlton Cole as they
attempted to get back into the contest but Fulham's defence stood firm.

Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen: "The key for us was getting the points
and moving out of the bottom three. It doesn't mean we've turned a corner
but we're looking confident. "We all know that when you're in our position,
home games are very important. I thought we played well. "We deserved the
equaliser and the sending off helped us because you get more space and more
possession. At 2-1 they obviously thought they still had a chance and put
balls into the mixer but we dealt well with it."

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "I am disappointed because we went down to 10
men and that was a turning point. "Our captain was irresponsible, not just
for today but for the future because he is suspended. He's let everyone down
and himself. "Kevin is an experienced player and I'm surprised because he
had a silly challenge at Liverpool. That's two in the space of the month and
it's something I will not allow to happen."

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West Ham: Sam Allardyce angry with "irresponsible" Kevin Nolan
BBC.co.uk

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce called captain Kevin Nolan "irresponsible"
after the midfielder was sent off against relegation rivals Fulham. Nolan
was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball kick at Fernando
Amorebieta just before half-time in the Hammers' 2-1 defeat at Craven
Cottage. Allardyce says the 32-year-old can have no excuses for his poor
discipline. "Our captain was irresponsible. Not just today but for the
future because he is suspended," Allardyce said. "He's let everyone down and
himself. I just don't quite understand where he's lost his cool and why it's
happened. "I know their centre-half fouled him, and I also know that
[referee] Mark Clattenburg didn't give a free kick and he should have done.
"But it's still not an excuse for what Kevin did, and he ends up getting
himself sent off."

Nolan had only recently returned from suspension having been sent off in
West Ham's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on 7 December. After picking up only two
red cards in his first 351 Premier League appearances, Nolan has now
collected another two in his last four appearances. Allardyce admits Nolan's
impending ban presents more problems because of the Hammers' growing injury
list. "Kevin is an experienced player and I'm surprised because he had a
silly challenge at Liverpool," Allardyce added. "That's two in the space of
the month now. It's not something I will allow to happen. "We have to rally
round now. We only have a few players to select from so losing Kevin and
Mark Noble injured is a massive blow."

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Johnny Heitinga: West Ham to sign Everton's Dutch defender
BBC.co.uk

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says the club are set to sign Everton's Dutch
international defender Johnny Heitinga. The Hammers have centre-halves James
Tomkins and James Collins out injured and Allardyce says a deal for the
30-year-old could be completed soon. "We've had the OK from Everton and
we're talking to his agent at the moment so hopefully that will happen in
the next day or so," Allardyce said. Heitinga has not played in the Premier
League for Everton this season. The Toffees signed him from Atletico Madrid
for £7m in 2009.

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Allardyce slams 'irresponsible' Nolan
KUMb.com
Filed: Wednesday, 1st January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has accused his captain Kevin Nolan of letting the Club down
after his dreadful dismissal at Craven Cottage this afternoon. Nolan was
issued a straight red card after inexplicably lashing out at Fulham's
Fernando Amorebieta in the closing stages of the first half with the game
delicately poised at 1-1. West Ham went on to lose 2-1 - and whilst
Allardyce stopped short of blaming Nolan, his anger was clear. "Our captain
was irresponsible today - not just for today but for the future because he
is suspended," said Allardyce. "He's let everyone down and himself. That was
a turning point. "Kevin is an experienced player and I'm surprised, because
he had a silly challenge at Liverpool. That's two in the space of a month
now. It's not something I will allow to happen."
Allardyce, whose extensive injury list was eased slightly ahead of the game
by the welcome return of Stewart Downing (who featured as a second half
substitute) also lost yet another key player when Mark Noble limped off
early on with what appeared to be a calf strain. "We have to rally round
now," he added. "We only have a few players to select from so losing both
Kevin and Mark is a massive blow."

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THE TIME IS NOW FOR A DECISION ON BIG SAM
By ExWHUemployee 1 Jan 2014 at 20:00
West Ham Till I Die

For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you will know I have regularly
backed Sam. I have written articles on it and have tweeted how I think he is
has done a good job for us. He got us promoted in our first season down with
a squad that had all its confidence and unity destroyed by the previous
management. He then got us a 10th place finish in the premiership which was
great for our first season back but perhaps it was this overachievement
which lead to some of the problems this season.

I really am losing my faith at the moment and think we have to act fast. If
we are to dismiss the manager it has to be now at the start of the window
where a new man can come in and make a difference to the squad and bring in
his own players. I am really worried that this season is beginning to
replicate the disastrous Avram Grant reign. There are many similarities:
beating Tottenham, Semi Finals of the League Cup, our main summer signing
picking up a long term injury and the underperformance of the club captain
being one of many.

I really hope I am not over reacting on the back of the defeat against
Fulham but I have been thinking this for a while. Firstly we played a team
who had just lost their last game 6-0 to Hull. I accept it was a changed
line up but this is the sort of team we should really be going out to attack
right from the start as their confidence would be very fragile. Let's also
take into account that we didn't have any fit central defenders anyway so we
couldn't really hope to defend too well, so attack was the best form of
defence. So for me he had to go with two up front in this game and he
didn't. We have a complete over reliance on one tactic which is largely
based around a fit Andy Carroll of course which we don't have!

Carlton Cole should have started this game. We all know he has dodgy knees
and that fitness can be an issue for him. He was however subbed off against
WBA and so could have been started today. He has a great scoring record
against Fulham, which their defenders and fans would have been aware of, so
they were probably delighted he was on the bench. I would have started with
him and Maiga up top.

The other concerning issue for me to come out of the Fulham game is the
Kevin Nolan situation. Our captain had a good game against WBA and I hoped
he would build on it. This season he has really struggled, admittedly he
plays better off a big target man but the bottom line is there has been
games when he should not have been selected to start or should have been
subbed off earlier. Sam clearly sees Nolan has his most important player and
his voice on the pitch. I saw someone on twitter describe him as "a manager
in a kit" which I thought did sum up a lot of his games this season. Sam and
the club have been badly let down by our "leader" today. What Kevin Nolan
did today is quite simply appalling from a club captain in such a crucial
game! When the manager is let down that badly by his captain you have to
question what is actually going on at the club.

We then have the off pitch problem with James Tomkins and apparent bust ups
with players, the latest apparently being Ravel Morrison. How much of this
is Sam's fault?!, I don't know, but one thing for certain at the moment is
that there is a lot of negative press going around about the club at the
moment. A new man could certainly change that in the short term.

There is the summer gamble of putting "all our eggs in one basket" – a quote
attributed to David Gold when buying Andy Carroll. I wanted us to sign him
and was delighted when we did. What I don't understand is how he passed a
medical when he was apparently injured in the last game of the season! This
is not necessarily Sam's fault but our failure to land another striker has
been a huge problem. I love Carlton Cole and am delighted he is back and
scoring but the whole situation of him being released and then being brought
back was a bit embarrassing for everyone involved.

Sam has been extremely unlucky with injuries without doubt, some referring
decisions and players underperforming. Not all the blame can be put solely
at Sam's feet and I do feel for him at times and I am not really convinced
on what the alternative is.

It just seems to me that in recent weeks it appears it is going to be very
hard to turn this situation around. The keeper rotation of recent weeks was
very odd in my opinion too as neither's confidence could have been
particularly helped by being dropped for games. I am not sure what was
really gained by those decisions. I have already mentioned the defensive
tactic today was a surprise but the team sheet was too. The midfield just
didn't set up right for me today and in my opinion Jarvis had a great game
against WBA. He should have started today to build on the last performance.

I am probably speaking from my heart and not my head here. I think Sam has
done a very good job for us and if he leaves tomorrow I will be grateful for
what he has done for the club. I just feel the chairmen have a very
important decision to make now and hiding behind "it will cost too much to
sack him" is not an acceptable excuse. It will cost us far more if we get
relegated I can assure them of that! One things for certain I couldn't have
predicted we would be in such a bad way at this point of the season, I had
us down to finish 8th!! I hate speaking about the club I love in such a
negative way but I really needed a medium to vent my frustrations and hope
to report on more positive things in future weeks on here and my twitter
account where I try to bring up to date transfer news!

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WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT KEVIN NOLAN?
By Iain Dale 1 Jan 2014 at 17:14
West Ham Till I Die

Let us remind ourselves that in their last match Fulham lost 6-0 to Hull. We
scored after 7 minutes. And then…

What on earth was he thinking? This was only his second match after coming
back from a three match ban having been sent off against Liverpool for
another needless attack on a Liverpool player. As a 31 year old and as team
captain, should he not know better?

That tweet got a massive reaction and was retweeted several hundred times.
And this was on my normal twitter feed – @IainDale -, not just my West Ham
one – @IainDaleWestHam. Many people are calling for him to be stripped of
the captaincy and even for him never to play for the club again.

That reaction is understandable not least because this was a game we should
have won, even with a makeshift side. Credit to the players for the way they
rallied in the second half, but the fact remains that we remain second from
bottom.

There are of course also calls again for Sam Allardyce to be sacked. We are
told that he is the best man to get us out of our difficulties, but the fact
is, he is the manager who put us there in the first place. If you want to
sack a manager you have to be pretty sure there is someone better out there
to put in his place. Remember what happened when Terry Brown got rid of
Harry Redknapp? We ended up with Glen Roeder. I don't see an obvious
replacement out there, much as though I'd like there to be.

Kevin Nolan should be fined the maximum amount possible and be publicly
rebuked by his manager. He should issue a televised abject apology and the
captaincy should now be transferred to Mark Noble. Except that it seems Mark
will now be out for a while too, having picked up a calf injury. This season
just gets worse and worse…

UPDATE: Watch Sam Allardyce's post match interview with Sky. He labels Nolan
"irresponsible to say the very least".

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