Daily WHUFC News - 12th February 2014

Late blast fires Hammers to victory
WHUFC.com
West Ham United scored twice in the final six minutes to defeat Norwich City
on Tuesday night
11.02.2014

West Ham United 2-0 Norwich City
Barclays Premier League

West Ham United moved up to tenth in the Barclays Premier League as two late
goals fired them to a third straight win on Tuesday night. James Collins and
Mohamed Diame struck to see off a determined Norwich City side and secure
another vital three points. The clean sheet was West Ham's fourth in a row -
the first time they have achieved such a feat in the Premier League era -
and this one owed much to goalkeeper Adrian. The Spaniard denied Gary Hooper
three times en route to victory, as the Hammers punished the visitors for
their profligacy. Sam Allardyce named an unchanged side from the eleven who
defeated Aston Villa on Saturday, but it was the visitors who were quickest
out of the blocks on a chilly Boleyn Ground night. Hooper had a ninth minute
chance to strike when Nathan Redmond tricked his way past Guy Demel and
stood up a cross for the former Celtic striker, who headed downwards and
towards the corner, forcing a sprawling stop from Adrian. Hooper spurned an
even better opportunity nine minutes later, shooting at Adrian after Robert
Snodgrass' fine pass fed him through on goal. Norwich were forcing all of
the early chances and they broke quickly from a Hammers corner on 23
minutes, with only a superb saving tackle from James Tomkins denying Bradley
Johnson after Robert Snodgrass played the ball square. Three minutes later
Mark Noble looked to bend a shot goalwards, but could not direct it far away
enough from John Ruddy in the Norwich goal. West Ham grew in strength as the
half wore on and began to force the Canaries onto the back foot, but it was
Norwich who had the final chance before the break, as Alex Tettey committed
Collins to a block when opting to pass out wide rather than shoot, allowing
him a free run into the box to collect the return ball from Hooper and shoot
first time. Adrian reacted well to push the ball behind for a corner.
Just as at Villa, the Hammers introduced Marco Borriello for Carlton Cole at
the break as they looked to up the ante. They were reliant on another fine
save from Adrian midway through the half though, as Johnson's lovely pass
took Hooper beyond George McCartney, but once again the No13 stood firm to
prevent Hooper from opening the scoring. Redmond then tried his luck from
outside the area with 73 minutes on the clock, but dragged his right-footed
effort wide of the mark. For all Norwich's chances, the Hammers had a great
opportunity to open the scoring themselves 13 minutes from the end when
Kevin Nolan prodded through to Diame, and the No21 looked for the opposite
corner, only for Ruddy to pull off a fine save. The breakthrough finally
arrived with only six minutes left to play, and it went the Hammers' way
after they won a free kick down the left hand side. Mark Noble played the
ball short to Diame on the touchline, and he took a touch before delivering
a wickedly inswinging cross which Collins beat Ruddy to, glancing the ball
into the unguarded net. As Norwich left gaps as they looked for a route back
into the contest, Diame sealed it at the death when he picked up possession
inside his own half, drove clear of the Norwich defence, and netted with the
help of a deflection off Russell Martin.

West Ham United: Adrian; Demel, Collins, Tomkins, McCartney; Nolan, Noble,
Taylor (Nocerino 77); Jarvis (Diame 61), C.Cole (Borriello 46), Downing
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Reid, Armero, Collison
Goals: Collins 84, Diame 90+4
Booked: Nocerino

Norwich City: Ruddy; Martin, Yobo, Bassong, Olsson; Tettey (van Wolfswinkel
86), Johnson; Redmond (Pilkington 81), Fer, Snodgrass; Hooper (Elmander 76)
Subs: Bunn, Whittaker, van Wolfswinkel, Hoolahan, Garrido
Booked: Olsson, Johnson, Pilkington

Referee: Michael Oliver
Attendance: 31,153

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'We seem to be turning the corner'
WHUFC.com
James Collins believes West Ham United are on the right track ahead of
Norwich City's visit
11.02.2014

James Collins believes West Ham United are 'turning the corner' as they
prepare to tackle Norwich City on Tuesday evening. The Hammers sat 19th
following their New Year's Day defeat at Fulham, but a run of three wins and
a draw in five matches have lifted Sam Allardyce's side out of the bottom
three. A heroic goalless draw at Chelsea was followed by successive 2-0 wins
over Swansea City and at Aston Villa. Those results mean West Ham kick-off
their clash with the Canaries 15th and with a near full squad available,
save for the absence of Andy Carroll through suspension and Ricardo Vaz Te,
Joey O'Brien and Ravel Morrison through injury. "We were always confident
things would improve," said Collins. "You try not to make excuses about
things like injuries and decisions, but they were going against us. "We seem
to be turning the corner. We've got three massive results on the bounce,
which has turned our season."

Collins was at his best again in Saturday's victory at former club Aston
Villa, making a team-high 22 clearances and two interceptions as West Ham
recorded their 12th clean sheet of the season. While Carroll missed that
match and will serve the second match of his three-game ban against Norwich,
Collins said the likes of Carlton Cole, Marco Borriello and Kevin Nolan have
made up for his absence in the attacking third. Captain Nolan, in
particular, has been in fantastic form, scoring four goals in the recent
wins over Swansea and Villa. "We were confident we could win at Villa Park,"
Collins confirmed. "We got a good draw at Chelsea and beat Swansea. Losing
Andy was a bit of a blow, but Carlton did well and Marco came on at
half-time and also did well, so we're delighted.
"We knew if we could get Kev scoring, he will be massive for us. He got two
against Swansea and two again on Saturday, so if he can carry on scoring
until the end of the season, I'm sure we'll be fine."

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Bonds 'looking forward' to OS move
WHUFC.com
Billy Bonds MBE says West Ham United's Olympic Stadium move is a big moment'
in Hammers history
11.02.2014

West Ham United legend Billy Bonds MBE has hailed the move to the Olympic
Stadium as a 'massive landmark' in the Club's history. Bonds, who made a
record 793 appearances for West Ham between 1967 and 1988, said the
announcement of the sale of the Boleyn Ground took the Club a step closer to
their new home in Stratford. Speaking to www.claretandhugh.info, the
two-times FA Cup winning captain pointed to the success other big Barclays
Premier League clubs had enjoyed since moving to their own new stadia. "This
is a big moment in the Club's history," said the four-times Hammer of the
Year, who was the inaugural recipient of the Club's Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2013. "We are moving into a great new stadium and, although I know
some older fans are upset and hurting, I think this is a time to look
forward and get on with it. "The younger ones will be relishing it and so
they should - it's a massive landmark in the Club's history."

Bonds played nearly 400 competitive matches at the Boleyn Ground before
taking charge of more than 100 more as West Ham manager between 1990 and
1994. During his 25 year-plus association with the famous stadium, the
67-year-old celebrated four promotions, endured three relegations, scored a
memorable hat-trick against Chelsea, thundered into hundreds of tackles and
rampaged up and down the pitch on thousands of occasions. While he will
always cherish his memories of West Ham's home of 110 years, Bonds says the
Club has to take the opportunities offered by a move to the 54,000-capacity
Olympic Stadium. "I had the greatest days of my life at the Boleyn - all my
great memories are there - I had wonderful days there but we all have to
move on," he insisted. "Many of the grounds I played on - Manchester City
and Arsenal for example - are not there anymore. It's called progress. We
have to move on now and trust the people in charge with our future."

While he is looking forward to a bright future for the Club he loves, Bonds
was also reassured by the decision to sell the Boleyn Ground to
award-winning local London developer Galliard Group. The Club was impressed
with Galliard Group's links to the local community and their commitment to
honouring the history of the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground as part of their
proposed development. Among the proposals are one for a beautiful central
landscaped garden, which would be named the Bobby Moore Memorial Garden,
providing a fitting tribute to Bonds' long-time team-mate and friend. "We
should always honour the past - we must never forget it - and I understand
there will be a centrepiece called the Bobby Moore Garden, plus a statue.
"That's nice, but for me personally I don't need a statue to remember Bob. I
was fortunate to know him as a friend and player at a very young age and
those memories will be in my mind forever.
"All those memories are upstairs in my head and that is good enough for me."

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Olympic Stadium time-lapse
WHUFC.com
whufc.com brings supporters the very latest footage of the Olympic Stadium's
redevelopment
11.02.2014

As the Hammers' future home continues to take shape, West Ham United are
delighted to unveil previously unseen time-lapse footage of the Olympic
Stadium's conversion. With the very latest pictures from the ArcelorMittal
Orbit and inside the Stadium bowl, supporters can watch as lead contractor
Balfour Beatty make preparations for the arena's magnificent new roof.*
With the existing roof to be dismantled over a period of four months, the
process, which began in November, firstly saw the lighting panels come down.

Temporary cables were strung across the field of play, thereby linking
opposite towers to one another. Those cables form a spider's web-like
structure to maintain the stability of the towers once the circumferential
cables are disconnected. Following the installation of this cable net, the
floodlights were removed in pairs. Each pair of lighting towers was lifted
and lowered to the ground using crawler cranes with 600 tonnes lifting
capacity. The lamps were then removed and the towers dismantled. Balfour
Beatty is carrying out the work using specialist company Pfeifer. A team of
around 20 abseilers erected all the temporary cables and removed the
floodlights. With the lighting towers down, attention has since turned to
the ceremonies' tripods, which are fixed on to the compression ring - the
outer circle of steel that runs around the top. They supported cables which
connect across the venue to allow scenery and staging for the opening
ceremony to 'fly' across the 'skyzone'. Balfour Beatty are now to embark on
taking down the fabric of the roof and gradually lower the existing
cable-net structure, which will mark the completion of the roof's
dismantling. Thereafter, construction of the new roof, twice the size of the
original, can begin in earnest in spring of this year. Measuring 84 metres
at its deepest point, the world's longest cantilevered roof will cover every
single seat. This will be the first of many time-lapse videos featured here
on whufc.com over the coming months, enabling West Ham United supporters to
keep right up to date with the Stadium's exciting transition.

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Big Sam happy with three in a row
WHUFC.com
The manager was delighted to see his West Ham United side make it a
hat-trick of important victories
12.02.2014

Sam Allardyce was all smiles as West Ham United chalked up a third straight
Barclays Premier League win by beating Norwich City on Tuesday. The Hammers
rode their luck and were saved by goalkeeper Adrian on at least three
occasions before two late goals from James Collins and Mohamed Diame secured
victory over the Canaries at the Boleyn Ground - lifting Big Sam's side into
the top half of the table. Speaking to West Ham TV, Big Sam hailed his team
for achieving a hat-trick of top-flight wins for the first time since spring
2007 and their fourth top division clean sheet in succession for the first
time since 1985! "It's a massive turnaround for us all," he said. "This was
a really hard-fought game between two teams going at it head-to-head, both
wanting to win to try and ease that pressure on them being close to the
bottom. "In the end, as you always need to do, if you can take a chance then
you can win it, and Ginge did that for us. Apart from his really good
performance at the back again, with James Tomkins, he has got the winner for
us in terms of starting the process of a win. I think Ginge would stick his
head in a fire if he thought he could get us a few points or a clean sheet!
That's the attitude you need to have in this league - tough and brave and
with ability and desire. You need all of those aspects to deliver at this
level. "You may think Mo Diame's [94th-minute] goal was irrelevant but it
wasn't, because as everybody says it only takes a second to score a goal.
When Mo went from one end of the field to the other with the ability that
he's got and got a deserved deflection, anything could have happened if we
didn't score. Norwich had got six players up and if John Ruddy had knocked
the ball down the middle, anything could have happened. "It was a really
hard-earned victory for us and another magnificent clean sheet. To get that
clean sheet, our goalkeeper Adrian made three outstanding saves, which he
hadn't had to do recently because he hasn't been stretched in terms of
making those type of saves. He made them at critical times for us and that
gave us the opportunity to get the win. "When you win as late as we did, it
sends everybody home happy and relieved and very grateful that we've got
another three points. "Tenth in the league now, but it doesn't mean an awful
lot because there aren't many points between tenth and third from bottom, so
hopefully we'll continue onwards and upwards with Southampton in ten or
eleven days time."

West Ham have found different ways to win in recent weeks, stifling
possession-hungry Swansea City, dominating Aston Villa and now sneaking past
Norwich in a game that could have gone either way. "It's very important to
have a strong squad. We had Mo Diame back and he has contributed by making
and scoring a goal and he could even have got one earlier but for an
unbelievable save from Ruddy. "Having the options to come on, like the two
Italians [Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello] and Pablo Armero, who we
haven't seen yet, is brilliant. It's difficult for me to change the team
because we keep winning, so they have to be more patient. "I'm pleased for
everybody and the squad of players we have, seeing smiles on their faces
instead of the heads between their knees as we saw over Christmas. It's
great to see their heads up and smiling and really enjoying their football
again. "At the moment we're the team in form, picking up points left, right
and centre. It's really pleasing because the games are starting to run out
now. Our form at this stage is very important, and even more important are
the results we're getting as well."

Big Sam and his squad will now pack their bags for a four-day warm-weather
training camp at the Dubai Sports City in the United Arab Emirates. The
manager has taken his players away in each of the last two years at around
this time of year - both times resulting in improved physical and mental
fitness levels on their return to action. "It's already benefited us now,
because once the lads knew the trip was booked four or five weeks ago, it
has been part of our turnaround. It was something for them to look forward
to, to strive for and to know that they are going to do what I've done every
year for the last 14 years.
"The critical need for it for every player we have is there for them to get
a bit of sun on their back, do a little bit of light training and ease the
pressure on the mind, soul and body. They will come back refreshed. "We've
already had a massive response because they've been looking forward to it so
much, and now they can look forward to it even more because of what they've
just achieved. When we get back, we'll be ready to go again. "It's about the
data, rather than results. You judge it on whether they are re-energised and
doing more than before they went, and all my data has proven over the last
14 years that the answer to that is 'Yes'."

Finally, the manager was delighted to welcome former undisputed world
heavyweight boxing champion and lifelong Hammers fan Lennox Lewis to the
dressing room prior to kick-off against Norwich. "I could hardly get my arm
round him when I was having a photo taken! I got my own photo taken as
meeting a world champion is something a bit special. He seemed a nice guy,
was only born down the road and is a big West Ham fan, so it is always great
to see him."

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West Ham 2 Norwich 0
11 February 2014
Last updated at 22:07
By Marc Higginson
BBC Sport

West Ham moved four points clear of the relegation zone thanks to late goals
from James Collins and Mohamed Diame against Norwich. Collins headed home
Diame's left-wing cross in the 84th minute, before the midfielder sealed a
third successive win with a late breakaway goal. Norwich trio Gary Hooper,
Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey were all denied by Adrian in the first
half. And the Hammers made them pay with two goals which lifted them up to
10th. After starting last weekend's round of fixtures 18th in the Premier
League, the result continues a rapid but deserved rise up the table for Sam
Allardyce's vastly-improved side, who have kept 13 clean sheets in the top
flight this season. Since holding Chelsea to a draw at Stamford Bridge on 29
January, they have beaten Swansea, Aston Villa and Norwich - all by a 2-0
scoreline. West Ham have kept four consecutive clean sheets in the top
flight for the first time since December 1985. They enjoyed some good
fortune against the Canaries, with Adrian their hero for the first 80
minutes of the contest. The Spanish goalkeeper made a fine save low to his
left from Hooper's header, before denying Snodgrass when the Norwich
midfielder was put clean through on goal. Both chances were created by
19-year-old winger Nathan Redmond, who was causing problems with his pace on
the counter. James Tomkins made a superb tackle to deny Bradley Johnson
while, at the other end, John Ruddy dealt easily with straightforward
efforts on goal from Matt Jarvis, Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan. As the first
half drew to a close, Adrian made arguably his best save of the match when
he turned away Tettey's shot following Hooper's pass. West Ham improved
after the break, slowly winning the midfield battle as Norwich's raids down
the flanks became less frequent - Hooper spurning another good chance to
open the scoring. Substitute Diame should have done better when played in by
Nolan but Ruddy made a fine save, while Joseph Yobo lifted a shot over the
bar after Adrian had failed to collect a corner. As the game opened up in
the final 10 minutes, West Ham took the lead when Collins evaded his marker
and beat Ruddy to Diame's high ball from a short free-kick to bury a header
into the back of the net. With Norwich pushing forward for an equaliser,
Diame ensured a flattering margin of victory by breaking away from his own
half before beating Ruddy with the aid of a deflection.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton: "I am very, very frustrated. When you come
here, you know you'll be up against a direct and physical game and you have
to match them. "For nearly all the game we were able to do that but you rely
on getting a little release by scoring goals. "It is a bit too familiar,
creating chances and not putting them away. We put more pressure on
ourselves."

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Sam Allardyce: West Ham boss praises defensive solidity
BBC.co.uk

Sam Allardyce praised West Ham's defensive solidity as his side recorded
their 13th clean sheet of the season - the most in the Premier League - in
their 2-0 victory over Norwich. A fourth shut-out in a row helped the
Hammers move up to 10th in the table. "To keep clean sheets in 50% of our
games is the sort of record you normally get when you are going to finish in
the top six," said Allardyce. "We had 11 clean sheets last year and finished
10th and we've got 13 now."

Late goals from James Collins and Mohamed Diame helped West Ham pick up
their third successive 2-0 victory, but the Londoners were made to work hard
for their victory by the Canaries. Goalkeeper Adrian made fine saves from
Gary Hooper, Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey to keep his side in the
contest and ultimately help move them four points clear of the relegation
zone. "There was nothing between the teams today apart from the fact we were
the ones who took our chances when they came our way," said Allardyce. "Our
goalkeeper made some outstanding saves when needed to keep it at 0-0 and our
patience paid off. "Three wins on the trot is a brilliant ask from the
players and a brilliant response to what we wanted to do and what we knew we
were capable of."
West Ham now have an 11-day break until they return to action with the visit
of Southampton to Upton Park on 22 February.

Keeping it tight
West Ham have kept four consecutive clean sheets in the top flight for the
first time since December 1985. And Allardyce, 59. says he will be taking
his players away for a short break ahead of that clash against the Saints.
"We're going to go away for some warm-weather training, which is important
at this stage of the season," said the former Bolton, Newcastle and
Blackburn manager. "Players feel good with a bit of sunshine on their backs
and they can get their minds rested and become physically rested. "I've been
doing it for the last 13-14 years now and I know by the data I have
collected over that time how important it is to get these players away.
"That's why we've been fighting for many years for us to have a break like
the rest of Europe. "I always religiously fit one in because it's the right
thing to do irrespective of where you are in the league and what you are
doing in terms of form."

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West Ham Utd 2-0 Norwich City
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 11th February 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are back in the top half of the Premier League after an amazing
couple of weeks culminated with a 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Norwich
at the Boleyn Ground tonight. Late goals from James Collins and substitute
Mo Diame gave United their third successive win in the Premier League for
the first time in seven years as they weathered a Canaries storm before
striking at the death in this evening's vital encounter. And a third
successive 2-0 win - following those against Swansea and Aston Villa - has
catapulted West Ham away from the danger zone and into the upper half of the
Premier League for the first time since last September. Although it was
smiles all round at the final whistle for Sam Allardyce and his squad, they
had goalkeeper Adrian to thank - again - for keeping them in the game with a
string of top-class saves prior to scoring the two late goals. The Spanish
'keeper, who has only been considered first choice ahead of Jussi
Jasskelainen since Christmas foiled Norwich time and time again as West
Ham's defence was frequently breached by clever, incisive passing from the
visitors.

Robert Snodgrass was the first to falter in front of goal when his 18th
minute strike was smothered by the advancing stopper. Team mate Alex Tettey
was left frustrated in first half injury time by an equally-superb stop.
Gary Hooper was next to be denied, twice, after the break; firstly when
shooting straight at the 'keeper with the goal at his mercy and then by
Adrian's feet as the Spaniard spread himself as the Loughton-born striker
found himself clean through on goal.
Adrian could do little when he watched Joseph Yobo volley onto the roof of
the net with the goal gaping after West Ham had failed to deal with a corner
with just 12 minutes of normal time left. Perhaps sensing their chance of
winning had gone, Norwich boss Chris Hughton hauled off their best
performer, the dangerous Nathan Redmond - and West Ham took full advantage.

Without the threat of the former Birmingham winger to worry about, West Ham
were able to push higher up and jeers of frustration from the crowd soon
turned to cheers of joy when James Collins rose highest to meet a Mo Diame
cross from the left wing and open the scoring with six minutes left to play.
Though joy was soon replaced by nail-biting tension as the Hammers sat back
in order to defend their slender advantage, all concern was finally
dispelled in the fourth minute of injury time when Diame - who'd previously
missed a far easier chance, forcing a great save out of John Ruddy - pounced
on a loose ball deep in West Ham territory.

Running the entire length of the Norwich half unopposed, the midfielder - a
61st-minute replacement for Matt Jarvis - found the back of the net via a
wicked deflection that left Ruddy completely wrong-footed. 2-0, game over.
That two goal winning margin was perhaps more than the Hammers deserved and
more than a little harsh on a Norwich side who, on this showing, should have
enough to beat the drop, but it gives Allardyce and his squad breathing
space at the bottom for the first time in some considerable time. West Ham's
tally of 28 points - 10 of which have come from the last four fixtures, a
run that began with the goalless draw at Chelsea - takes them four points
clear of the relegation zone with Southampton next up. The two meet here at
the Boleyn 11 days from now, before which Allardyce will take his squad for
some warm-weather training in Dubai. Which will no doubt prove far more
enjoyable than it would just a fortnight ago, when the Hammers were
languishing in the bottom three with just 18 points on the board.

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Sam unconvinced by Morrison injury
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 11th February 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has finally broken his silence over the Ravel Morrison affair.
Rumours regarding the youngster's fitness and availability have been filling
the pages of the KUMB Forum for several months - since when Allardyce has
refused to comment on the situation bar to stress that Morrison has been
carrying an injury. However Allardyce, for one, is far from convinced that
the midfielder is genuinely carrying an injury. "Listening to our medical
staff, there is no problem that he can carry on - not at all," Allardyce
said. "He says he feels it occasionally. Instead of gritting your teeth and
getting on with it, he's not the type. Lots and lots of players throughout
the country will be playing with a similar type of injury that the medical
team say 'you can carry on, it's not a problem'. "Some come, rise to the
occasion and then don't realise how far they have risen, then all of a
sudden when they start realising where they have gone that can be a little
bit of a problem". "You have a lot of other players that are challenging his
position and doing a better job than him. I'm always disappointed if no one
gives me selection problems. I like the fact that you have to see how
players deal with being left out - are they going to be professional or
unprofessional about it?" Morrison, who is still West Ham's top goalscorer
this season looks set to complete a move to Championship Club QPR on loan
within the next 48 hours.

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A new home
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 11th February 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United have released a time-lapse video detailing Phase One of the
project to convert the Olympic Stadium into a home fit for football.

In little more than two years from now West Ham will move across the Borough
of Newham from Upton Park to Stratford, ending a 109-year association with
the former. Meanwhile work on the £430million construction that hosted the
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is already well under way.

As the video - shot from the top of the nearly Orbit structure -
illustrates, the first significant change in the stadium's appearance was
the removal of the 14 huge lighting towers, each of which hovered 230ft
above ground level before being lowered. A team of 20 abseilers were drafted
in to assist with the removal, which was overseen by lead contractor Balfour
Beatty and Pfeifer.

The next phase in the conversion is the removal of the existing roof in
order to make way for a £41million replacement twice its size. Work on the
new structure, said to be the longest example of its kind (cantilevered) is
set to commence in Spring of this year.

Once the roof has been fitted, Balfour Beatty - who were recently awarded
the entire £154million contract to convert the 80,000-capacity stadium into
a 54,000-capacity UEFA Category 4 venue - will oversee the remaining
upgrades to the arena including spectator and hospitality facilities plus
additional, external enhancements.

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West Ham United beat Norwich City 2-0 at Upton Park
By Ben Hampshire | @BH92. Last Updated: 11/02/14 11:26pm
SSN

West Ham scored twice in the final six minutes as they picked up a crucial
2-0 victory over Norwich City at Upton Park on Tuesday evening. The Hammers
recorded a third successive top flight win for the first time in seven years
as they beat their fellow strugglers to move into 10th after a fiercely
contested affair.

Best of the Match

Man of the Match: Mohamed Diame. Provided West Ham with the added impetus
and creativity before setting up the first goal and scoring the second.
Goal of the Match: A quickly taken set-piece allowed Mohamed Diame to
provide James Collins with an inch-perfect pass
Save of the Match: Three fine first half efforts from Adrian. Kept West Ham
in the game when Norwich were in the ascendancy.
Talking Point: Are Norwich heading deep into the relegation mire? Is this
run enough to save West Ham?

Mohamed Diame created the first goal of the match with a precision flat
cross from the left wing, which found centre-back James Collins in the
middle of the box and he bravely headed beyond John Ruddy. With Norwich
committing all their men to attack, Diame sealed victory for the Hammers
when he raced through the Norwich half unchallenged before sliding beyond
Ruddy for the second.

After a sedate start it was Norwich, and striker Gary Hooper, who passed up
a number of gilt-edged chances to secure the three points, with Hammers
goalkeeper Adrian again in top form. Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey also
found the Spaniard in the way as they looked to secure a third away league
win of the campaign, with West Ham rarely able to trouble Ruddy in the
Canaries' goal.

Sam Allardyce's side were lacking the spearhead of Andy Carroll and only
Diame truly tested Ruddy before the England goalkeeper went missing for
Collins' late show. Hooper, whose first league goal for Norwich came in
their 3-1 win over the Hammers back in November, came close to opening the
scoring on nine minutes as his header from Nathan Redmond's cross forced
Adrian to push the ball away and it was cleared behind for a corner to the
visitors.

Allardyce praises Adrian

It was Adrian who once again came to West Ham's rescue as Snodgrass timed a
forward run to perfection and was found by the busy Redmond. But the
Scotland winger took a heavy touch, giving the goalkeeper time to narrow the
angle and keep out the resulting shot. The Norwich defence then almost paid
for their collective inability to clear the ball as Matt Jarvis curled an
effort towards goal but it proved simple for Ruddy to collect. The
slow-starting Hammers were reduced to looking for spectacular ways to beat
Ruddy and it was Mark Noble who was next to send a long-range effort
straight at the England man.

As the half wore on the hosts started to enjoy more sustained pressure on
the Norwich goal as Stewart Downing fired over before delivering a teasing
cross that was well cleared by Norwich skipper Sebastien Bassong. Adrian was
again on hand to keep the scores level, this time pushing Tettey's shot
behind for a corner as the visitors worked their way through the West Ham
backline. Hooper spurned another chance to open the scoring early in the
second half, this time collecting Tettey's speculative effort but only
managing to roll a tame effort into the gloves of Adrian when free on the
edge of the penalty area. The former Celtic striker was the man who looked
most likely to provide a winning goal for the visitors but he was thwarted
by Adrian yet again as he shot from an acute angle after being picked out by
Johnson. Ruddy made a great save moments later as Kevin Nolan slipped the
ball through to substitute Diame, whose low effort was turned behind by the
Norwich goalkeeper.

West Ham, on the ropes for much of the contest, then came out fighting at
the death as a short free-kick to Diame was crossed towards Collins and,
with Ruddy rushing out and getting nowhere near the ball, the Wales defender
steered the ball home to put West Ham ahead. As Chris Hughton's side
searched in vain for a dramatic, and deserved, equaliser, Diame was freed
into a barren Norwich half and turned the ball home courtesy of a heavy
deflection to send the home fans into raptures at the final whistle.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce delighted with West Ham's rich vein of form
By Ben Hampshire | @BH92 | Last Updated: 11/02/14 11:17pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce is delighted with West Ham United's form as they recorded a
third successive Premier League win for the first time in seven years,
beating Norwich 2-0 on Tuesday night. West Ham were teetering on the brink
of the relegation zone going into the game, level on points with their
opponents, but victory sees them rocket up to 10th in the top flight
standings. Allardyce was made to sweat for the three points as West Ham left
it until the final six minutes to break the deadlock. Substitute Mohamed
Diame provided a precision cross for James Collins to head home his first
Premier League goal in six years. With Norwich committing all their men to
attack, Diame doubled the tally in added time, racing the length of the
field before slotting beyond John Ruddy, with the aid of a deflection. "We
are delighted in the end because it was a hell of a game Norwich gave us
tonight," Allardyce told Sky Sports. "It was a really hard fought game but I
think in the end our goalkeeper has kept us in the game and then the set
pieces have put us on the right track. "Obviously when you score that late
on it's difficult for the opposition to come back and when they throw
everybody forward, Mo Diame was able to finish it off for us." West Ham are
now unbeaten in four and Allardyce admits the mood in the dressing room is
one of elation.

Great mood

"It was a great end to a great run of fixtures for us," he added. "We have a
few days now where we can regroup, there is a lot of tired legs but not so
many tired minds. "We are in a great mood at the moment and this is a really
big and hard-earned three points for us." Another clean sheet for Adrian in
the West Ham goal further underlined their defensive authority, which has
seen them keep sides goalless in half of their fixtures this term. Goals
have been hard to come by for the Hammers, but their recent upturn in form
has impressed Allardyce as both defence and attack click into place.
"Thirteen is an unbelievable figure when you've been struggling in the
league," he said. "It's all been about not enough goals but now we've
started to score and for us it's about getting both ends right now. "We've
always had it defensively right apart from when we had a group of injuries
to the central defenders and full-backs but now the defenders are back." He
added: "We are defending extremely well and we are starting to take our
chances. "We didn't have many tonight so it's nice to see us taking them
when we don't have many."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
James Collins believes West Ham have turned corner after Norwich win
By Ben Hampshire | @BH92 | Last Updated: 11/02/14 11:43pm
SSN

Goalscorer James Collins claims the West Ham dressing room is over the moon
after beating Norwich 2-0 in the Premier League on Tuesday. The talismanic
centre-back latched onto the end of precision cross from Mohamed Diame to
head beyond a helpless John Ruddy in the 84th minute. Minutes later Diame
added a goal of his own as West Ham sealed a crucial victory which saw them
elevated to 10th in the Premier League table. Victory over Norwich leaves
West Ham unbeaten in their last four top flight outings and with 13 clean
sheets, records which Collins believes have boosted team morale. "I couldn't
tell you how long it's been since I scored," he told Sky Sports. "It's been
a tough three quarters of the season and we've turned a corner now, it's a
good place to be." "We are delighted, obviously, it takes us up the league
and with teams taking points off each other, the dressing room is over the
moon. "It's been a tough three quarters of the season and we've turned a
corner now, it's a good place to be."

Collins' header, which came deep into the second half, was his first Premier
League goal in six years the defender was relieved to see the deadlock
broken.
"It was about time to be honest," he said. "It didn't look like it was going
to happen. It seemed like one of those games where nothing quite went right
for both teams. "They had a lot of chances, Adrian kept us in the game on
three occasions and to pop up with the header is always nice." With the game
goalless and the clock edging towards full time, the Upton Park crowd made
sure their voices were heard and Collins claims the tension was clearly felt
on the field. "We were confident it would come but you are a little bit
nervous," he admitted. "I think we get a few moans off the crowd for taking
the quick free kick but then [Mohamed] Diame puts the cross in. "I think
that [the quick free kick] is why I scored because I wasn't quite ready to
take it."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rene Meulensteen gives up pursuit of West Ham's Ravel Morrison
Last Updated: 11/02/14 4:19pm
SSN

Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen has admitted defeat in his bid to lure West
Ham's Ravel Morrison to Craven Cottage. The Hammers striker appears surplus
to requirements under Sam Allardyce following the return of Andy Carroll,
and Morrison is widely expected to be loaned to Championship
promotion-chasers QPR. Rangers boss Harry Redknapp revealed he is hoping to
recruit the former Manchester United forward for the remainder of the
season, and QPR would be favourites to sign Morrison outright if they return
to the Premier League. The Hammers rejected a bid for Morrison from Fulham
in January and then accused the west London club of making an illegal
approach. Meulensteen insisted Morrison wanted to join Fulham when speaking
after his side's 3-0 FA Cup replay victory over Norwich on January 15,
sparking West Ham's grievance. "There's not very much we can do at this
time, and what other clubs do we can't affect," said Meulensteen. "The only
thing I can affect is what we're doing at Fulham." Fulham host Liverpool on
Wednesday night with confidence substantially higher after snatching a 2-2
draw at Manchester United on Sunday. Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have
been in devastating form this season, and Meulensteen believes trying to
shut down the Reds strikers will be one of the biggest challenges of the
season. He said: "How do you stop them? They've had an incredible season,
the pace and the penetration, the variety and the unpredictability in the
way they can all score goals. "So it has to be all hands on deck for us to
make sure that we defend in a good, compact manner, that we keep
communicating, don't leave gaps for them to get through and play through.
"But the defensive performance from Sunday was definitely a massive
improvement, and we can build on that."

Meulensteen still holds veteran Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in high
esteem and added: "In my opinion he is a top player, definitely. Brendan is
looking at the players available and where he will best slot in as well. "If
Lucas would be fit, then probably Lucas would play a bit deeper and Gerrard
a bit freer.
"But he probably thinks Gerrard is the best to play the deeper role now, it
suits him, he's got the range of passing to do it, so he's still a very
important player for Liverpool."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 2-0 Norwich: James Collins and Mo Diame send Hammers flying up the
table
Feb 11, 2014 22:08 By Darren Lewis
The Mirror

Even Sam Allardyce must still be wondering how he has pulled this off. Think
daylight robbery or smash and grab. Even Dick Turpin used to wear a mask.
Norwich should have been home and hosed by the time West Ham scored their
two late goals to pinch all three points. They had a string of sitters
saved, however, as the Hammers' keeper Adrian produced an outstanding
display to mark his fourth clean sheet in a row. Then, with fomer
heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis looking on, James Collins and Mo Diame
produced the sucker punch to leave Chris Hughton and his Canaries crushed.
Never mind a bottle of the Man of the Match champagne, West Ham should send
Adrian a crate of the stuff. They have now racked up three Premier League
wins in a row for the first time since 2007. Their winter of discontent
looks to be drawing to an end with the club now up to tenth in the Premier
League. And all this of course is taking place with Andy Carroll suspended.
Suddenly all that talk about the Hammers' owners being clueless to stick
with Big Sam looks a world away. With the sale of Upton Park agreed and the
Olympic Stadium beckoning it is now an increasingly safe bet that West Ham
will have Premier League football to take there. Allardyce said afterwards:
"I'm delighted. It was a hell of a game Norwich gave us and a hard-earned
win - 13 points from six games is a terrific run of form considering where
we were and the troule we were in. "Even tenth might not be out of trouble -
we have to continue and get more results. "Our goalkeeper kept us in the
game and we scored late, when it is hard for anybody to come back into it.
But its a great end to an important run of fixtures. If Norwich continue
like that, they will have no problems."

Hughton will take little comfort from Allardyce's words. The Canaries sit
16th, one point off the relegation places because their players could not
finish. The powers that be at Carrow Road can moan in private all they like
and put their manager under pressure but what on earth is he supposed to do
when men like Gary Hooper and Robert Snodgrass couldn't finish their dinner
right now? Hooper should have buried his ninth-minute header from Nathan
Redmond's cross.
Instead, Adrian was able to get down low to his left to push it to safety.
Snodgrass raced clear in the 19th minute, but was worried out of it by
Adrian, who then produced a one-handed save when the Scot looked certain to
score. In the dying minutes of the first half, the Spaniard was at it again,
flinging himself to his right to keep out a close-range drive from
midfielder Alexander Tettey. And in the second half there was even more. The
Seville-born stopper first kept out Hooper's low shot that had been heading
for the bottom right corner. He then saved Sebastien Bassong's late header.
It was a wastefulness that Norwich would come to regret as, with six minutes
left, Diame crossed from the left and Collins headed home. Then, as the
visitors poured forward in search of a equaliser, Diame raced away to send a
low shot - deflected off midfielder Bradley Johnson - into the bottom
corner. Hughton was furious. And rightly so. "I am very, very frustrated."
he said afterwards, "It is a bit too familiar, creating chances and not
putting them away. "Their first goal is a ball we dealt with all game and on
that one occasion we didn't. When you don't get the lead you think you
deserve you are always under pressure. "It's the first goal that hurt us and
the missed chances."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
We are in a scoring mood', says Sam Allardyce after West Ham see off Norwich
for third straight win
Feb 11, 2014 23:32 By Darren Lewis The Mirror

Sam Allardyce saw his West Ham side surge into the top half of the table
with a win over Norwich - then warned: "We are in a scoring mood". James
Collins and Mo Diame struck late to give the east Londoners their second win
in a row without suspended star striker Andy Carroll, who watched from a
private box.
The victory was also the first time in seven years that the Hammers have won
three on the spin in the Premier League. They have also kept 13 clean sheets
- the highest number in the top flight. Big Sam said afterwards: "We are in
a scoring mood. And because we are so good at keeping clean sheets our
scoring mood is producing win after win. "Our destiny has always been in our
own hands. There have always been enough points for us to keep out of
trouble. The patient way for us had been to wait for our injured players to
come back. "Then obviously you've got our new additions. They may not have
played that much but they are good characters. "The lads have been lifted by
them and there is a confident squad of players now that believes each time
we go out we are going to get the victory."

Allardyce will now take his players on a sunshine break in Dubai later this
week ahead of their next game against Southampton on February 22. Norwich
boss Chris Hughton, meanwhile, was annoyed after Collins' opener - from a
routine cross - left the Canaries chasing the game. Hughton said: "I'm never
one to apportion blame but it's the type of ball we dealt with very well all
game. When you play West Ham you have to deal with a lot of them and we did
it well.
"No doubt the better chances fell to us. There was so much good about our
performance."

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