Young Hammer nets for England
WHUFC.com
Jahmal Hector-Ingram played his part as England U16 defeated Denmark on
Tuesday
12.02.2014
West Ham United Academy player Jahmal Hector-Ingram was on target as England
U16s defeated Denmark 4-1 in the UEFA Development Tournament on Tuesday.
Hector-Ingram notched the home side's third, when he raced clear to blast
past goalkeeper Viktor Anker just minutes into the second half. England held
a two-goal advantage at the break thanks to strikes from Yan Dhanda and
Zachary Dearnley. Hector-Ingram's goal increased the Young Lions' advantage,
and although Mark Brink Christensen pulled one back for the Danes, Dhanda's
second of the game soon re-established England's three-goal advantage. The
victory saw Kenny Swain's side bounce back from defeat to Spain in the
opening game of the tournament, which is being held at St George's Park.
They conclude their campaign with a game against Belgium on Friday.
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'We've got to continue like this'
WHUFC.com
Adrian has his sights set on yet more shutouts, after recording a fourth
clean sheet on the spin
12.02.2014
Prior to Tuesday evening, Phil Parkes was the last West Ham United
goalkeeper to keep four successive clean sheets in the top flight. Adrian is
in esteemed company. It has been little more than seven months since the
27-year-old signed for the Hammers and yet the Spanish stopper is already
making waves, not to mention saves, in Claret and Blue. The former Betis man
was at his instinctive and reliable best in the Barclays Premier League
against Norwich City, as Gary Hooper, Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey were
each denied by the Hammers' No13. Having not had a solitary save to make
against Swansea City last time out at the Boleyn Ground, this was a
well-earned clean sheet and one that rightly fetched a man-of-the-match
award too. Speaking exclusively to whufc.com after the 2-0 success, Adrian
explained that his faith in those around him, both on the pitch and the
training ground, is largely responsible for his fine performances of late.
He said: "It's only my job! It's my job to stop everything and Tuesday was a
great day, because that's another clean sheet. Four in a row is really,
really difficult in the Premier League and I am really happy. We have to
keep going in this direction. "As a goalkeeper, when you have confidence,
confidence in the manager and in the other players, you are happy on the
pitch. Sometimes I have to help my teammates and other times, not too much,
but on Tuesday I made three or four saves to help the team. "It's really,
really amazing. The clean sheets are important for the team and it's even
more important for me, because I'm the goalkeeper. "I work every day with
Marge [Martyn Margetson, goalkeeping coach], Jussi [Jaaskelainen], with Rafa
[Raphael Spiegel], with Hendo [Stephen Henderson] on the training ground for
that and this is my job."
Adrian is now determined to ensure that the Hammers consolidate upon their
return from warm-weather training in Dubai, with Southampton the visitors to
the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 22 February. The Hammers custodian is
confident that he and his colleagues will return refreshed from their stint
in the sun and primed to attack the season's final 12 fixtures. "We've got
to continue like this," he added. "Now we've got a week off, with no game
this weekend, and then it's Southampton. This is a great win because all the
teams are really tight together and three more points are really important.
"It's really important to get some rest because every so often you need to
relax, switch off and come back stronger. "For me, the heat's not a problem,
because in Seville, it's really, really hot. It's nice, because we have some
training, but it will be more relaxed. "We have another 12 matches to play
and we need to stay in this position and away from the relegation places."
Meanwhile, Adrian's stock continues to rise among the Hammers faithful, with
the 'keeper very much in awe of the fans too. He explained: "I gave my
gloves to a couple of young fans, because I think the fans are the most
important people in football. The West Ham fans, for me, they're the best in
the country, because every time, at home and away, they support us very,
very much."
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The Big Interview - Mohamed Diame
WHUFC.com
Mohamed Diame returned to action in style on Tuesday with a goal and assist
against Norwich
12.02.2014
Mohamed Diame returned to action with a bang on Tuesday night, coming off
the bench in the second half to lay on James Collins' opener against Norwich
City before sealing the points with a last-gasp goal of his own. The Senegal
international was delighted to be back to fitness after suffering a nasty
gash to the knee in the 0-0 draw at Chelsea at the end of last month, and
even happier to play his part in a winning cause. West Ham moved into the
top half of the table with victory over the Canaries, but as the No21
explained, the Hammers will not be resting on their laurels.
Mo, fantastic to see you back after the injury at Chelsea. You made an
impact against Norwich, setting one up then scoring the other.
MD: "It was great for me. I wanted to return well as I'd seen every game on
TV and that the team were doing well. I was happy to be back in the team and
I was determined to do my best for them."
Everyone is playing pretty well at the moment. It's going to be tough to get
back into the starting line-up but you certainly gave yourself a good chance
with your performance on Tuesday.
MD: "It's good that we've got a bigger squad now, and that players are
coming back from injury. Everybody has to give their best and work hard to
be in the eleven and that is only good for the team."
Let's talk about the goals tonight. The first one - just talk us through
your role for that goal.
MD: "It's one that we work on in training. Mark Noble has the first
intention to play it quick to the wingers, so I was ready for that. He gave
me the ball and I just crossed it for Ginge, who put his head in there. "For
the second one I got a bit lucky [with the deflection], but it's a goal so
I'll take it!"
That's three wins and four clean sheets on the trot. Confidence must be very
high at the moment?
MD: "It's great for our confidence. If you want to win games you have to
make sure you are strong in defence and not concede goals. If you don't
concede you can't lose, so the team is doing well. We need to keep going and
stay focused on what we're doing to make sure this break before our next
game doesn't stop the momentum."
Adrian in goal has been some player since he came into the side. His saves
tonight were very important.
MD: "Yes, I think he was unbelievable on Tuesday, Adrian is a very good
goalkeeper and good with his feet as well. He made a lot of saves on
Tuesday, and he's done that since he started to play for West Ham. I hope he
continues like that.
Just lastly, you're off to Dubai for a few days. There'll be some light
training over there and the chance to freshen up a little bit, which is
probably important at
the moment because it's been an intense month.
MD: "It is good to have the break, but as I said it is important to stay
focused on the next match and ensure the gap between matches doesn't affect
us. We are doing well and we have to jeep going until the end of the
season."
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Carr hails U18s form
WHUFC.com
Academy Director Tony Carr MBE has been delighted by West Ham United U18s'
recent winning form
12.02.2014
Academy Director Tony Carr MBE has hailed the form of West Ham United's
U18s. The Hammers made it seven wins in their last eight Barclays U18
Premier League matches by scoring a dramatic 2-1 success at a stormy Aston
Villa on Saturday. That victory left West Ham third in the table, just three
points behind leaders Fulham and level with second-place Tottenham Hotspur.
Striker Jordan Brown and goalkeeper Sam Howes were the heroes at Bodymoor
Heath, with the former scoring two goals and the latter saving a penalty
with the scores level at 1-1. "On the morning of the game, we were at
Villa's training ground and I have to say the game was spoilt by the wind,
which made it a bit farcical at times," Carr admitted. "It was very
difficult to get the ball down and play and, every time it went in the air,
it could end up anywhere. "At one time, Sam drop-kicked the ball out of his
penalty area but it caught the wind and flew back into his penalty area and
he caught it! I'd never seen that before, and it showed how strong the wind
was. "It was a game of two halves, with them having the wind in the first
half and us having it at our backs in the second half. In some respects, it
did spoil the game, but we did score a goal in each half and won the match.
"Jordan scored one in each half and we went a goal up at half-time before
they equalised. Villa then got a penalty and Sam saved it. That proved to be
the turning point in the game, because we broke forward in the last few
minutes and Jordan beat the last defender, dribbled around the goalkeeper
and finished from an acute angle. "It is a great three points for us because
it keeps our superb run going."
Carr praised the performances of both Howes and Brown. While still a
schoolboy, Howes has played Development Squad football this season and also
been capped by England at U17 level. First-year scholar forward Brown,
meanwhile, has gradually improved since making a summer switch from Arsenal
and now has eight goals to his name. Certainly, we feel Sam is one for the
future. He is very mature for his age and has done very, very well. It's
like everything else, he needs to keep it going, keep maturing and see where
he is between the ages of 18 and 20 and we'll see how far we can take him.
He certainly has the potential to be a top goalkeeper. "It's worth
mentioning that we had lots of schoolboys playing at Villa at the weekend -
probably our youngest team of the season. All in all, it was a good result.
"Jordan is up there with our leading goalscorers now and is leading the line
well as a lone striker. He has taken a bit of time to settle in, but now
he's starting to get on a little run of form and starting to score goals on
a regular basis. Hopefully that can continue and he can get a run-out in the
U21s before the end of the season. Jordan just needs to concentrate on
continuing to play well and scoring goals and I'm sure that will happen."
West Ham return to Barclays U18 Premier League action on Saturday 15
February, when they welcome Reading to Little Heath for an 11am kick-off.
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West Ham goalkeeper Adrian hoping for more clean sheets
Last Updated: 12/02/14 4:22pm
SSN
West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian is hoping to build on a run of four
consecutive clean sheets and help to maintain his side's good form. The
27-year-old, who joined from Real Betis last summer, has recently dislodged
Jussi Jaaskelainen as the Hammers' first choice following a string of fine
displays. Adrian starred in the recent 2-0 wins against Norwich City and
Aston Villa, while he claimed the Man of the Match award after successfully
shutting out Chelsea in last month's 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. Sam
Allardyce's side have the most clean sheets in the Premier League and Adrian
is optimistic of holding onto that record on the back of their recent form.
"It's only my job! It's my job to stop everything and Tuesday was a great
day, because that's another clean sheet," he told West Ham's official
website. "Four in a row is really, really difficult in the Premier League
and I am really happy. We have to keep going in this direction.
"As a goalkeeper, when you have confidence, confidence in the manager and in
the other players, you are happy on the pitch. "Sometimes I have to help my
team-mates and other times, not too much, but on Tuesday I made three or
four saves to help the team. "It's really, really amazing. The clean sheets
are important for the team and it's even more important for me, because I'm
the goalkeeper. "I work every day with Marge [Martyn Margetson, goalkeeping
coach], Jussi [Jaaskelainen], with Rafa [Raphael Spiegel], with Hendo
[Stephen Henderson] on the training ground for that and this is my job."
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West Ham are reaping the benefits of their patience with Sam, and now
Norwich must do the same
Feb 12, 2014 11:440
The Mirror
They may not be every West Ham fan's cup of tea, but credit to the Upton
Park hierarchy of David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady. When the dark
days descended at the turn of the year, they publicly stood by manager Sam
Allardyce in the wake of the FA Cup humiliation at Nottingham Forest and the
tepid surrender at Manchester City in the Capital One Cup. Two cup ties
played, two defeats and eleven goals conceded. It could have been P45 time
for the manager at some clubs. Phone-ins and message boards poured scorn on
Allardyce and the easy decision would have been to submit. But they didn't.
They acknowledged the passion of the fans, they took on board their concerns
but stayed faithful to the manager. And they went public with their support.
Rather than the proverbial " vote of confidence " that often translates into
"kiss of death ", the board were genuine in their support. It has paid off -
and paid off handsomely. In their last four Premier League games, they have
drawn at Chelsea, won at Aston Villa and beaten Swansea and now Norwich at
home. Lose your head and you lose the game, is the old adage. The powers at
West Ham kept their cool and they are now tenth. Yes, tenth. Contrast that
to the bizarre utterances of Norwich Chief Executive David McNally who, in
all probability, is a sensible and educated individual if he holds a
position of such authority at a top flight club.
But for some reason, common sense goes out the window when football is
debated. It was always going to be an achievement to steal the limelight of
Norwich's delightful Delia Smith whose " Let's be 'aving you " tirade on the
Carrow Road pitch at half-time is part of football folklore. Enter Mr
McNally.
Given a public platform, he could have adopted the Gold-Sullivan-Brady
approach and given under-pressure manager Chris Hughton the support of the
club's power-brokers. Instead, he said in a radio interview he would take
"death over relegation". Think about that. Even if it was said in flippant
fashion, it is a ridiculous statement. Let's hope he is alive and well come
May. And that he will publicly thank Hughton - one the most decent guys in
football - the credit that is due to him if he is still breathing the
Norfolk air.
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