Big Sam on: Manchester United
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce met the media ahead of Saturday's game against Manchester
United
20.03.2014
Sam Allardyce spoke to the assembled media at Chadwell Heath on Thursday
morning ahead of Saturday's game against Manchester United in the Barclays
Premier League. Big Sam answered questions regarding the latest team news,
Manchester United's inconsistent season and Jack Collison's loan move to
Wigan Athletic.
Morning Sam, what's your team news ahead of the weekend?
SA: "We're in exactly the same place with the squad as we were last week.
There's only Joey O'Brien and Marco Borriello who aren't available for
selection so I've got a big strong squad to choose from for Saturday's game.
Our efforts at home are what I've been focusing on with the players, the
fact that we've won the last three home games on the trot and we have to try
and maintain that if we can to overcome this little blip. "We've had two
away games in which we haven't picked anything up in, so the focus is to
maintain our home results and try our best to pull off a big result. Try and
win, but if we don't then make sure we come away with at least a point.
Everybody's talking about Manchester United, but in their last away game
they disposed of West Brom, winning 3-0. David Moyes has got so many players
to choose from that fatigue won't come into it that much, because he can
change the side that played against Olympiacos with top international
players if he wants to. I think it's going to be a really tough game and
we'll have to be on top of our form to get anything out of it."
What did you make of United's performance against Olympiacos last night? Did
they rediscover some spirit?
SA: "I thought that they kept their nerve very, very well. In the end, the
opposition coach made a mistake by attacking them. He was 2-0 up and had he
sat back with a defensive blanket of two banks of four then I think
Manchester United would have found that much more difficult to break down.
In the end, opening himself up let Manchester United exploit those spaces
and there's nobody better to do that than Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.
"They took full advantage of the fact that Olympiacos thought they could
come and attack United, instead of looking to protect their two-goal lead.
They didn't have to score a goal to get through to the quarter-finals, all
they had to do was not concede one but he never set his tactics out like
that. David and his players took full advantage of that fact."
They're coming here 18 points off the top of the table, why do you think
they've fallen so far behind this season?
SA: "Transition I would say. I think that transition is a big thing when one
of the greatest men ever to manage a football club in the world leaves after
27 years. He has to be given time to establish himself and make the changes
that need to be made. It's a massive, massive job for David and this season
has been a massive learning curve for him. In the end, they haven't had as
good a season as they would have liked. I don't think it surprises many of
us that when someone like Sir Alex Ferguson leaves, it becomes a struggle
for whoever takes over."
You go into this game 12th in the table with games against four of the top
five to come. Does the table give West Ham a false sense of security?
SA: "Not really. I think that table-wise we don't really put any great value
in it. Our aim is always to obtain more points than games played, that has
been the case since the start of the season. Forget where you are in the
league, just make sure you get more points than games played to first secure
your position in the Premier League and then see how far you can go. We know
full well that we've got a little bit more to do.
"We've exerted a huge effort in the recent results, apart from the last two,
to get ahead on points per games. We have to make sure that when we come off
the field on Saturday that we've got a point, if not more and try to keep
that advantage in terms of how many points we've got and how many games
we've played."
How many points do you think will keep you up?
SA: "I think probably about 38. Then again, with nine games to go, some have
ten, it's swings and roundabouts more than ever before. Normally at this
stage of the season it's usually down to five or six teams rather than ten.
There's still ten teams, maybe nine now because I think Stoke will be safe,
so it's gone to nine now, any of those nine need to pick up as many points
as they can."
Does Jack Collison still have a future at the Club?
SA: "His consistent level hasn't been quite as good as last season. You
build a bigger squad, greater demands come on the players that are already
here and he needs to play some football. What better place to send him than
to Uwe Rosler and on Wigan's crusade to get into the play-offs. Jack isn't
cup-tied, he's not played in the FA Cup, and they've got a semi-final he
could play in. There's a call back option on him for us if we need him.
"If we have any problems here then we'll get him back. Jack got himself in
the side when he came back from being at Bournemouth on loan and stayed in
the side for a few games before his form dipped a little bit. It worked well
at that specific time and like I said, he hasn't played any games for a
while. Games are what he wants to play and he can enjoy his football at
Wigan for the time being."
2007 is the last time West Ham beat United in the league, is this the best
chance you've had of taken all three points against them recently?
SA: "Well like I said before, you've got to look at the last away game they
played which was West Brom and they disposed of them quite comfortably.
There's a lot of people saying Manchester United are playing better football
away from home than they are at home, because there's not quite so much
pressure on them. The last away game they played against a Premier League
side they won 3-0 at West Brom so I think it's going to be a difficult game
with the talent they've got. They can always come out and deliver at any
specific time."
United will be on a bit of a high after last night, do you think that's a
good or a bad thing?
SA: "If Manchester United deal with these things year in, year out, and
Manchester United players know exactly what's expected of them. They've got
their own standards. I think they're always very dangerous when they're not
doing as well as they should. This is not the manager that I'm talking
about, this is the players saying 'I'm letting myself down, my team down, my
manager and the fans down. We're Manchester United let's go and do something
about it.'"
How much of a boost has it been to have Andy Carroll back after his
suspension?
SA: "He managed to score last week, which was very good, but unfortunately
it meant nothing at the end of the game. Scoring early away from home should
be a very good thing to do, but unfortunately our defensive qualities let us
down badly last week. Andy's goal meant nothing in the end, but it meant a
lot to Andy, it got him on the way. He made two goals for Kevin against
Swansea before he got sent-off. He managed to get on the scoresheet and may
have scored two. We hope he can continue that as well as all the other
players on the frontline. Players on the frontline are the key element when
we're in possession to try and score goals when they get the chances.
"We do want to rely on somebody that gets past ten every year, but we do
also have to rely on other people contributing more and that's been one of
the problems in our team that other players haven't contributed what they
did last season. That's made life that little bit more difficult for us.
Defensively, we've been brilliant, 13 clean sheets in 29 games is fantastic.
Our goal rates and conversion rates hasn't been what it should have, and if
it had then we would be comfortably in the top-half."
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Cole eyes Man United repeat
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole would love to repeat his 2010 two-goal show against Manchester
United on Saturday
19.03.2014
The snowy evening of 30 November 2010 was arguably Carlton Cole's finest
hour in a West Ham United shirt. Along with his goal and assist in the 2012
Championship Play-Off final win over Blackpool at Wembley, Cole's two-goal
League Cup quarter-final show in the 4-0 victory over Manchester United will
always bring a smile to the striker's face. As the No24 prepares to face the
Red Devils at the Boleyn Ground again on Saturday - the 15th time he will
take them on in a West Ham shirt - Cole's memory was cast back to that
famous cup success. "It's a massive fixture and I think all the lads are up
for it," said Cole, who also scored at Old Trafford in the reverse Barclays
Premier League fixture this season. "We always play well under the lights as
well, so we'll give them a good game. "Of course we can beat them. We had a
great win against them in the League Cup one time, which I think ended 4-0
and I notched two goals! "The big games are what you live for and all the
players live for that and the manager wants to get one over them and get an
upset."
With two home games in five days - Manchester United followed by the visit
of Hull City on Wednesday 26 March - the Hammers have the opportunity to
collect the points they need to secure Barclays Premier League safety as
soon as possible. "Obviously we need to get the points under out belts now
at home and, with the games we have coming up away from home, any sort of
results there would be good for us. "We can start steering our way to safety
and secure a top-ten finish." Should Cole and company do just that, they
will certainly be able to enjoy the 2013/14 Player Awards, which will be
held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane on Tuesday 6 May.
There, the England international will hope to secure his fifth Top
Goalscorer award, but he knows he faces strong competition from last year's
winner Kevin Nolan. "Hopefully I'll add to my tally a few more before the
end of the season. I'd love to win it again but I've got a tough competitor
in Nobby, who pushed me right to wire the year before last. "I ended up
nicking it that year at the end and hopefully I can nick it again this
season. I'm looking to notch so he better be aware!"
Tables of ten for the Player Awards, which include a drinks reception and
three-course luxury meal with petit fours, are available priced from £2,750
+VAT.
Individual packages at a shared table, complete with a drinks reception and
three-course luxury meal with petit fours, are available priced at £300
+VAT.
To book your table or seat now, please call 0871 091 1811 (Calls cost 10p
per min plus network extras).
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Sam Allardyce sets West Ham 38-point target ahead of Manchester United game
Last Updated: 20/03/14 6:21pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce reckons seven more points should be enough to secure West
Ham's Premier League status for another year. West Ham go into this
weekend's Saturday Night Football clash against Manchester United on 31
points - six clear of third-bottom Sunderland, who have played two fewer
games. Allardyce believes almost half the division - including his own side
- are still under threat from relegation with an average of nine matches to
play. And ahead of the champions' visit on Saturday the West Ham manager has
set a 38-point target for survival. "I think probably about 38 points (will
be enough)," he said. "Then again, with nine games to go, some have 10, it's
swings and roundabouts more than ever before. "Normally at this stage of the
season it's usually down to five or six teams rather than 10. There's still
10 teams - maybe nine now because I think Stoke will be safe - any of those
nine need to pick up as many points as they can. "Our aim is always to
obtain more points than games played, that has been the case since the start
of the season. "Forget where you are in the league, just make sure you get
more points than games played to first secure your position in the Premier
League and then see how far you can go. We know full well that we've got a
little bit more to do."
West Ham have won three home games in succession, but Allardyce is wary of
opponents who have taken seven points from nine in their past three away
fixtures and who travel to London on a high following their UEFA Champions
League victory over Olympiakos. He said: "The focus is to maintain our home
results and try our best to pull off a big result. Try and win, but if we
don't then make sure we come away with at least a point. "Our aim is always
to obtain more points than games played, that has been the case since the
start of the season." "Everybody's talking about Manchester United, but in
their last away game they disposed of West Brom, winning 3-0. "David Moyes
has got so many players to choose from that fatigue won't come into it that
much, because he can change the side that played against Olympiakos with top
international players if he wants to."
Despite their decent away form United could be 21 points off the top of the
table by the time kick-off comes on Saturday, and Allardyce says United's
struggle to adapt to Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement is no surprise. "David
Moyes has to be given time to establish himself and make the changes that
need to be made," he said. "It's a massive, massive job for David and this
season has been a massive learning curve for him. "In the end, they haven't
had as good a season as they would have liked. I don't think it surprises
many of us that when someone like Sir Alex Ferguson leaves, it becomes a
struggle for whoever takes over."
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Uwe Rosler tips Jack Collison to impress at Wigan
Last Updated: 20/03/14 11:36am
SSN
Wigan manager Uwe Rosler has backed Jack Collison to cope with the high
stakes which await Wigan in the season's final stages. The Wales midfielder,
25, was confirmed as a Latics player on Tuesday night after he had witnessed
the dramatic 3-3 draw with Yeovil at the DW Stadium, in which five goals
inside the last 12 minutes denied the hosts a ninth straight victory. Rosler
claimed that the fact the Glovers scored a treble in those closing throes
showed just how fatigued some of his squad are. Their fixture list, which
has included European trips to Russia, Slovenia and Belgium, will comprise
of at least 60 games while they have an FA Cup semi-final date with Arsenal
at Wembley next month as they look to defend the trophy they won last May.
That could be just one of a number of titanic games to come for Rosler's
side given that they remain in the play-off spots and will almost certainly
have to go down that avenue if they are to be promoted back to the top
flight. And Collison, who is not cup-tied for the semi-final, knows all
about achieving promotion through the play-offs, having scored twice in the
semi-final first leg against Cardiff in 2012 and then starting in the final
when parent club West Ham beat Blackpool. "The injuries we've had in
midfield have been well documented," said Rosler, who has lost Ben Watson,
Chris McCann and Roger Espinoza to long-term problems recently. "We need
bodies in there, we need players with energy. Until the end of the season
now there will be prizes and high tension and we have to have players who
can cope with it. "Getting Jack - he's coming from a Premier League club, he
has experience. This season he's played 19 games and to get him for the
run-in is great for our squad. It gives us another option and I'm very happy
with this."
Wigan's recent run of form has been even more remarkable considering the
plethora of injuries they have suffered and James Perch became the latest to
go down against Yeovil. He collided with team-mate Callum McManaman early on
and despite soldiering on, made way before half-time. "We are injuring
ourselves now," Rosler joked. "James said he was right but obviously he
wasn't. He was limping. "It was unfortunate for us that we had to make that
early substitution because it restricted us in the end from bringing more
fresh bodies on. I'm not sure he'll be ready for Saturday, I hope so, but
I'm not sure."
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NOSTALGIA SERIES; RAY STEWART
By Tony Hanna 20 Mar 2014 at 09:14
West Ham Till I Die
Ray Stewart's career at West Ham will be fondly remembered by fans of that
era not just for his resolute defending, but also his fantastic penalty
taking record. Ray joined the Hammers from Dundee United in 1979 for 430,000
pounds for what was then a record fee for a British teenager. The Scot was
to go on to make 432 appearances for West Ham and scored 84 goals from right
back. All but eight of his goals were from the penalty spot and at least
three of those eight were from the goalkeepers initial saves from the
penalties. There are differing views on how many penalties Ray actually
missed during his West Ham career and Ray himself, when asked, does not
include the ones where he followed up with these rebounds. Initial misses
are most likely to be around ten as most stats say he scored 76 from 86
attempts. From my personal view the two most important penalties he ever
took were in the quarter final of the FA Cup in 1980 against Aston Villa and
in the League Cup final the following year at Wembley against Liverpool.
Both were highly pressurised and important and Ray belted both of them home!
And belt them he did. His style was no nonsense and hit with such power that
both his feet ended up off the ground after striking the ball. The one
against Villa was in the dying moments of the game and was to earn the
Hammers a place in the FA Cup semi-final. It sent Upton Park into a literal
frenzy. The one against Liverpool was to earn a League Cup final replay and
was with the last kick of the match. Pressure indeed, but Ray just walked
back and crashed them home.
However, Ray Stewart was not just a very good penalty taker. He added steel
and tenacity at right back and was to play throughout the halcyon days of
the eighties. He actually top scored in our FA Cup winning run in 1980 and
played 39 games in the 1985/86 season where we achieved our highest ever top
flight placing in third place. When Ray Stewart signed for West Ham in 1979
there was no internet, Sky Sports or Talksport. It was the Evening Standard
back in those days who would normally break any transfer news if they could
get their hands on the story before the Fleet Street elite. It was all over
the Standard back page that West Ham had broken the British teenage player
transfer record, and one who had only played 44 games in the Scottish
League! What were West Ham doing? Time would tell that it would prove money
very well spent.
But Ray, nicknamed Tonka, never did let the Hammers down. In his first
season he was second top scorer with fourteen goals. His penalty taking
style made him a fan favourite and his tackling style was often fearsome.
Julian Dicks who was breaking into the West Ham side just as Ray's career
was finishing, went on to model his penalty style after Ray's and he himself
became a penalty legend in his own right. Ray Stewart actually scored in
double figures four times in his first seven seasons at West Ham. His career
highlights include the FA Cup win of 1980, the League Cup finals the
following year and the quarter finals of the ECWC. Then there was the record
breaking second division title performance in 1981 and a few seasons later
the "Boys of '86". He went on to play ten times for Scotland but says the
"only time I ever had tears in my eyes was when Dalglish scored on that
final day of the season in 1986 and Liverpool won the title instead of us".
Sadly, Ray was badly injured in a game at Derby County in January 1989 and
he was sidelined for fifteen months. He made a return in April 1991 and
played six games in 24 days in an attempt to get fit. However, hamstring
injuries had started to plague the fullback and he was released back to his
native Scotland to end his career playing at St Johnstone and he played
twice for Stirling Albion before bringing down the curtain on his playing
career. He went on to manage Scottish teams Livingston and Stirling Albion
before ending his football days at Forfar Athletic in 2004.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NOSTALGIA SERIES; RAY STEWART
By Tony Hanna 20 Mar 2014 at 09:14 52 comments
Ray Stewart's career at West Ham will be fondly remembered by fans of that
era not just for his resolute defending, but also his fantastic penalty
taking record. Ray joined the Hammers from Dundee United in 1979 for 430,000
pounds for what was then a record fee for a British teenager. The Scot was
to go on to make 432 appearances for West Ham and scored 84 goals from right
back. All but eight of his goals were from the penalty spot and at least
three of those eight were from the goalkeepers initial saves from the
penalties. There are differing views on how many penalties Ray actually
missed during his West Ham career and Ray himself, when asked, does not
include the ones where he followed up with these rebounds. Initial misses
are most likely to be around ten as most stats say he scored 76 from 86
attempts. From my personal view the two most important penalties he ever
took were in the quarter final of the FA Cup in 1980 against Aston Villa and
in the League Cup final the following year at Wembley against Liverpool.
Both were highly pressurised and important and Ray belted both of them home!
And belt them he did. His style was no nonsense and hit with such power that
both his feet ended up off the ground after striking the ball. The one
against Villa was in the dying moments of the game and was to earn the
Hammers a place in the FA Cup semi-final. It sent Upton Park into a literal
frenzy. The one against Liverpool was to earn a League Cup final replay and
was with the last kick of the match. Pressure indeed, but Ray just walked
back and crashed them home.
However, Ray Stewart was not just a very good penalty taker. He added steel
and tenacity at right back and was to play throughout the halcyon days of
the eighties. He actually top scored in our FA Cup winning run in 1980 and
played 39 games in the 1985/86 season where we achieved our highest ever top
flight placing in third place. When Ray Stewart signed for West Ham in 1979
there was no internet, Sky Sports or Talksport. It was the Evening Standard
back in those days who would normally break any transfer news if they could
get their hands on the story before the Fleet Street elite. It was all over
the Standard back page that West Ham had broken the British teenage player
transfer record, and one who had only played 44 games in the Scottish
League! What were West Ham doing? Time would tell that it would prove money
very well spent.
But Ray, nicknamed Tonka, never did let the Hammers down. In his first
season he was second top scorer with fourteen goals. His penalty taking
style made him a fan favourite and his tackling style was often fearsome.
Julian Dicks who was breaking into the West Ham side just as Ray's career
was finishing, went on to model his penalty style after Ray's and he himself
became a penalty legend in his own right. Ray Stewart actually scored in
double figures four times in his first seven seasons at West Ham. His career
highlights include the FA Cup win of 1980, the League Cup finals the
following year and the quarter finals of the ECWC. Then there was the record
breaking second division title performance in 1981 and a few seasons later
the "Boys of '86". He went on to play ten times for Scotland but says the
"only time I ever had tears in my eyes was when Dalglish scored on that
final day of the season in 1986 and Liverpool won the title instead of us".
Sadly, Ray was badly injured in a game at Derby County in January 1989 and
he was sidelined for fifteen months. He made a return in April 1991 and
played six games in 24 days in an attempt to get fit. However, hamstring
injuries had started to plague the fullback and he was released back to his
native Scotland to end his career playing at St Johnstone and he played
twice for Stirling Albion before bringing down the curtain on his playing
career. He went on to manage Scottish teams Livingston and Stirling Albion
before ending his football days at Forfar Athletic in 2004.
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