Daily WHUFC News - 6th March 2014

'We have turned the season around'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United must kick-on after their recent run
of good form and results
05.03.2014

Jussi Jaaskelainen may not be in the starting XI at present, but the
experienced goalkeeper has still played his part in West Ham United's recent
improved form. The goalkeeper has recently seen Spaniard Adrian take his
place in Sam Allardyce's team, but the 38-year-old says the Hammers'
renaissance has been a real squad effort. With players returning from injury
and suspension, the intensity of training sessions has risen, resulting in a
run of five victories in the last eight Barclays Premier League matches.
Now, Jaaskelainen has challenged his squad-mates to maintain their charge up
the table and equal or better last season's tenth-place finish. "We have
turned the season around, but we need to keep going and try to finish as
high as we possibly can," said the No22, who has kept eight clean sheets in
18 league appearances this term. "For next season, we need to learn from
what we have done wrong this season. Things have gone a little bit against
us in certain parts of the season, but we've really bounced back so
hopefully we can finish high and can build on two successful seasons in the
coming years."

Jaaskelainen has won praise from goalkeeper coach Martyn Margetson and
team-mate Guy Demel for his reaction to being left out in recent weeks. The
goalkeeper has maintained an immaculate, professional approach to training
and preparation that has undoubtedly benefitted fellow goalkeeper Adrian.
"It's part and parcel of the way I'm thinking - I have been fortunate enough
to play for many years in the Premier League and at the start of this
season, so when you lose your place there is no point in sulking. "I am just
trying to work as hard as I can and to support Adrian in every possible way.
As I said, it's about how we finish the season as a team, not as
individuals. "It's a big team and hopefully, if I get one more chance, I
will try to to grab it and keep the shirt as long as I can. That's why I
keep working hard, because you never know what is happening in the future in
football."

Looking further forward, Jaaskelainen is sure to be in the running for the
Save of the Season at the 2013/14 Player Awards, which will take place on
Tuesday 6 May at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane. A year
ago, the Finn unsurprisingly took that trophy home with him, while also
being voted as runner-up for the Hammer of the Year award following an
outstanding first season at the Boleyn Ground. "It was a good evening, but
for me at the end of the day it's about the success of the team and it's
great that we've turned things around this season. We are doing well and
hopefully we can carry on the way we've been playing in the last six or
seven games. "Hopefully, we can finish as high as we did last season and we
can have a very good night at the Player Awards ceremony. "It was nice
because it was my first season here and obviously I wanted to carry on from
that. Obviously things change quickly in football, but you have to just keep
on working and hopefully get back in the team and get back playing."

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International round-up
WHUFC.com
James Collins scored as Wales defeated Iceland on Wednesday - check out how
all our international players fared
05.03.2014

James Collins scored for Wales as Chris Coleman's side began their
preparations for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 friendly win
over Iceland on Wednesday night. Collins netted Wales' first goal at the
Cardiff City Stadium, flicking home a Gareth Bale free-kick, only for an
Ashley Williams own goal to level matters before half-time. The Hammers No19
was withdrawn at the break, but goals from Sam Vokes and Bale ensured the
home side would claim victory against an Iceland outfit who only missed out
on this summer's World Cup finals due to a play-off defeat to Croatia. Jack
Collison came off the bench with 14 minutes left to play, as he played his
part in Wales seeing out the victory.

Pablo Armero played 66 minutes for Colombia in their 1-1 draw with Tunisia
at Espanyol's Estadi Cornella-El Prat in Barcelona. Monaco midfielder James
Rodriguez gave the South Americans the lead, but Tunisia levelled through
Bastia's Whabi Khazri as the game ended in stalemate.

West Ham's fourth player in senior international action on Wednesday was
Mohamed Diame, who skippered Senegal to a 1-1 draw against Mali in Paris.
Senegal lost out in World Cup qualifiying at the final stage, but took the
lead against Mali thanks to Sadio Mane of Red Bull Salzburg before Bordeaux
frontman Cheick Diabate levelled 12 minites from time.

At age group level, Ravel Morrison helped England U21 to another victory in
their 2015 UEFA U21 Championship qualification campaign. Nathan Redmond
scored the only goal to see off Wales at Derby County's Pride Park and keep
the Young Lions six points clear of second placed Moldova in their group,
Morrison, who is currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers, played 71
minutes as he gained his fourth cap at that level.

In the same competition, young Hammers goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel was an
unused substitute as Switzerland defeated Liechtenstein 5-1 in Thun. The
Swiss have gained 12 points from their six games to date and currently sit
three points behind group leaders Croatia.

Fellow defender Harney started as Northern Ireland U19s lost the first match
of their friendly double-header with Switzerland 3-0 in Belfast on Tuesday.
Robin Kamber of FC Basel put the Swiss in front on 19 minutes before
club-mate Cedric Itten doubled the lead 14 minutes from full-time. The
scoring was completed in added time by Lyon forward Kilian Pagliuca. The two
countries will square-off again in Dungannon on Thursday 6 March.

Academy defenders Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle both started as England's
U18s' lost the first game of their own friendly double-header with Croatia
at St George's Park on Monday, going down 2-1. England were on top before
the break and were a whisker away from doubling the advantage when
Liverpool's Cameron Brannagan curled a shot just past the post. Croatia
turned the game on its head in the second half to claim the spoils thanks to
goal from Dinamo Zagreb's Marko Stolnik and Hadjuk Split's Nikola Vlasic.
The pair were unused substitutes as England suffered another loss by the
same scoreline to the same opponents on Wednesday.

Finally, Academy goalkeeper Sam Howes featured once in England U17s' three
matches at the Algarve Tournament in Portugal, starting a 2-2 draw with the
host nation on 28 February. England finished the tournament as runners-up.

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International round-up
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's international players are involved in a busy week of
action for their countries
05.03.2014

A host of West Ham United players are in action for their respective nations
during a busy week of international football at all levels. At senior level
James Collins, Jack Collison, Pablo Armero and Mohamed Diame all hope to
pull on their country's colours, while Ravel Morrison, Raphael Spiegel,
Jamie Harney, Reece Burke, Kyle Knoyle and Sam Howes are in age-group
action.
Four seniors could all be in friendly action on Wednesday 5 March. Collins
and Collison are in the Wales squad to face Iceland in Cardiff, Armero's
Colombia take on Tunisia in Barcelona and Diame's Senegal take on Mali in
Paris. Collins and Collison will hope to boost Chris Coleman's Wales after
they missed out on qualification for this summer's FIFA World Cup finals,
while opponents Iceland were edged out in a Play-Off by Croatia.

Armero will hope to cement his spot in José Pékerman's squad for Brazil
2014, having featured in all but one of Colombia's South American qualifiers
for the tournament.

Diame, meanwhile, will hope to erase the disappointment of an African
Play-Off defeat by Ivory Coast when Senegal take on their West African
neighbours in Saint-Leu La Forêt.

Morrison and Spiegel could both be in competitive action in UEFA European
U21 Championship qualfiers. Unbeaten England top Group 1 ahead of the visit
of third-place Wales to Derby County's Pride Park on 5 March, while
Spiegel's Switzerland are second in Group 5 ahead of their home fixture with
winless Liechtenstein in Thun on the same evening.

Fellow defender Harney started as Northern Ireland U19s lost the first match
of their friendly double-header with Switzerland 3-0 in Belfast on Tuesday.
Robin Kamber of FC Basel put the Swiss in front on 19 minutes before
club-mate Cedric Itten doubled the lead 14 minutes from full-time. The
scoring was completed in added time by Lyon forward Kilian Pagliuca. The two
countries will square-off again in Dungannon on Thursday 6 March.

Academy defenders Burke and Knoyle both started England's U18s' lost the
first game of their own friendly double-header with Croatia at St George's
Park on Monday, going down 2-1. England were on top before the break and
were a whisker away from doubling the advantage when Liverpool's Cameron
Brannagan curled a shot just past the post. Croatia turned the game on its
head in the second half to claim the spoils thanks to goal from Dinamo
Zagreb's Marko Stolnik and Hadjuk Split's Nikola Vlasic. The pair will meet
again at the same venue on Wednesday 5 March.

Finally, Academy goalkeeper Sam Howes featured once in England U17s' three
matches at the Algarve Tournament in Portugal, starting a 2-2 draw with the
host nation on 28 February. England finished the tournament as runners-up.

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The Big Interview - Jack Collison
WHUFC.com
The West Ham United midfielder is looking forward to returning to Wales duty
04.03.2014

Jack Collison returns to Wales duty for the first time since August 2013 on
Wednesday evening, when Chris Coleman's side take on Iceland in Cardiff. The
West Ham United No10 has great memories of playing at the Cardiff City
Stadium, having helped the Hammers to a Play-Off semi-final victory there in
May 2012, as well as a pair of other important league wins in recent
seasons. With Wales drawn alongside Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel,
Cyprus and Andorra in qualifying for the 24-nation 2016 UEFA European
Championship, the 25-year-old is hoping to represent his country at their
first major finals since the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Jack, you have a big game with Wales to look forward to in the shape of an
international friendly with Iceland in Cardiff. I expect you are looking
forward to
pulling on the red shirt again?

JC: "Yeah, it's our first game since the group was drawn for Euro 2016, so
it'll be good to get together and obviously look ahead to the games we have
got in qualifying over the next 18 months or so. It's a great place to
start, at home against Iceland."

The Wales manager Chris Coleman has been quite bullish about your
qualification chances. Do you share his optimism?

JC: "Definitely. Especially with the players we have got, the boys who were
young and up and coming are starting to come into their own a little bit
now. They will be peaking over the next year or so. "Gareth Bale has gone on
to be an absolute superstar at Real Madrid and Aaron Ramsey has been
magnificent this season for Arsenal, while the likes of Sam Vokes has scored
about 20 goals this season in the Championship. It's a fantastic group of
players and, as Chris Coleman has already said, if he can get his team
together and everyone fit, I think we can give anyone a good game on the
night. "It's a very tricky group, as every group is, but you've got to fancy
your chances of doing as well as you can. We've got a nice start [away to
Andorra] and we'll look to build off that, really."

Iceland at home may not have been an attractive fixture a few years ago, but
they got to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Play-Offs and have a few players in the
top European leagues, so it should be a competitve game.

JC: "Everyone is looking forward to it. It's a nice chance for everyone to
meet up and, for me, I haven't had a Wales game in a while so it's good.
Even though it's a friendly, there's going to be a lot riding on it.
"The group for the Euros has been drawn, so it gets a bit more real. For
Wales, it's about qualifying for Euro 2016 and everything is geared towards
that.
Everyone will be looking to put in a good performance for the manager."

And, of course, you love playing at the Cardiff City Stadium...

JC: "Yes, we always seem to do well at Cardiff. Here at West Ham we got
another magnificent win there this season and it was nice to play a part in
that game. On a personal level, hopefully I'll get on the pitch and put in a
good performance."

Talking of West Ham, our recent positive run of results and lack of injuries
has led to a settled side and less opportunities for some players. Has that
been frustrating?

JC: "That's part and parcel of the game. If you look at the quality of our
squad, there are 22 outfield players and there is a lot of quality not even
making the bench, let alone the starting XI. There is a lot of competition
for places.
"The boys have been magnificent, so there has been no reason for the manager
to change it too much. They have got the shirts at the moment and, if they
keep producing, they deserve to keep them. "The likes of myself and others
are disappointed and are working hard in training so when that opportunity
comes, it's up to us to take it and keep hold of the shirt."

Our next Barclays Premier League game is at Stoke City, where you scored the
winner last season. So, it would be the perfect place to break into the side
and do it again!

JC: "Definitely! That win last year came at a very important time in the
season for us. We were down in 14th and had lost four of our previous five
league games and struggling a little bit, so the win was massive.
"The run we've been on, we'll look to go there and do the same again and get
the three points. It would be nice to get another clean sheet and keep
progressing, because we've been on a good run of form and want to keep
looking forward rather than behind us."

Just lastly, going back to international football, the England squad was
named for the friendly with Denmark but there were no places for West Ham
players.
Were you surprised?

JC: "When I looked at the squad, I was hoping one or two of our boys would
be in it. Obviously, Andy Carroll is desperate to be playing not just for
us, but for England.
"If you look beyond Andy, James Tomkins has been magnificent for us since he
has been in the side. We'd kept four clean sheets in five games before the
weekend and he's been fantastic.
"Mark Noble is what he is and I don't know if he can do much more. Not only
has he been our best player this season, but he's been the best player on
the pitch a lot of the time. For him, it must be disappointing, and for us
we want our players knocking on Roy Hodgson's door and making the England
squad.
"If you look at Southampton with four players in, it does show it is
possible for slightly smaller clubs to get there, so hopefully our lads will
keep doing well and, sooner or later, they will get their chance."

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U16s have their SPARQ measured
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U16s were put through a series of physical tests at Chadwell
Heath
05.03.2014

West Ham United U16s have been put through a series of physical tests at
Chadwell Heath. The Academy schoolboys were the latest age-group to undergo
the SPARQ tests - a standardised set of five components which will allow the
Club's coaching staff to measure each player's individual development. The
results of the five exercises - a 20-metre dash, kneeling power ball toss,
agility shuttle, a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test (beep test) and a
vertical jump - can be compared against other players from both within the
Acdemy and other Barclays Premier League clubs. Academy sports scientist
Josh Ewens (pictured) explained the value of SPARQ testing. "The Premier
League ask all the clubs in Categories 1 to 4 to do their SPARQ testing
twice a year," he said. "They are a battery of tests which you do and then
they feed back the data and averages for each age-group, so you can see
where you are as a Club. "It involves a 20-metre dash, an agility test on
the left and right side, a jump test to look at peak power, the ball toss
and the Yo-Yo intermittent test, so all of those things combine to give us a
good idea about a player's top speed, how good they are at changing
direction at speed and their endurance capacity."

The U16s were just the latest age-group to take part in the SPARQ tests,
with every year-group from U9s up to U18s taking part in some or all of the
components. We actually do a few of the tests with the Under-9s - not the
Yo-Yo - to give us an idea of where they are maturation-wise. Their size has
a big impact on the scores that they get. We do the tests right up to
Under-21 level."

The Academy will receive data from the Premier League covering all the clubs
involved in the SPARQ scheme, allowing Ewens and his colleagues to compare
and contrast West Ham's results with the average. "We don't get specific
numbers from individual clubs, but we do get the national averages from
different age-groups and different Academy categories, so we'll get the
Category 1 average and Category 2 average and so on. "Alongside that, we'll
get national records, which are always quite interesting to compare your own
results against."

So, just how beneficial are the results of SPARQ tests when it comes to
identifying a schoolboy footballer's chances of developing into a future
professional?
"The U18s and U21s wear GPS monitors in every training session and every
game, so that will tell us everything we need to know about them from a
physical point of view," explained Ewens. "With the younger players, from
U15s and downwards, it gives us something to go off in terms of where they
are on a broad level physically and how they have improved across the
season. "The tests are not particularly specific to football, so the results
have to be taken with a pinch of salt in that regard, but they do give us an
idea about where they are."

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Would you Adam n'Eve it?
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 5th March 2014
By: Staff Writer

Stoke's influential midfielder Charlie Adam has been ruled out o f West
Ham's visit to the Britannia Stadium next weekend after being handed a
three-match retrospectively. West Ham return to Premier League action
following the international break when they face the Potters at their
fiercely partisan home ground next weekend. However City will have to fare
without the former Liverpool midfielder, who was handed an instant
three-game ban today after an FA Panel decided to take retrospective action
following an incident in Stoke's clash with Arsenal last weekend. Adam was
found guilty of stamping on the ankle of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud
during the match at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, which Stoke won 1-0
courtesy of Jonathan Walters' second half penalty.
However the home side should have been down to ten men before Walters had
the chance to score with Adam's offence occurring well before the game's
only goal was scored. The decision to punish Adam retrospectively will leave
many Hammers fans scratching their heads after Chico Flores escaped
scot-free when feigning injury in order to get Andy Carroll sent off in the
West Ham v Swansea clash last month.

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Ravel Morrison says playing in Championship is tough
Last Updated: 05/03/14 1:24pm
SSN

On-loan QPR midfielder Ravel Morrison says the Sky Bet Championship is
actually a lot harder in some ways than the Premier League. The West Ham
man, who had a spell on loan with Birmingham last season, is back in the
second tier after making a temporary switch to QPR. Morrison, who made his
home debut for Rangers in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Leeds, said: "It's
very different to the Premier League. "I actually think it's a lot harder in
some respects. You get a lot more time on the ball in the Premier League.
"In the Championship you don't get much time on the ball and you have to
make decisions very quickly."

Having fallen out of favour at Upton Park following an impressive start to
the season, Morrison is hoping Rangers boss Harry Redknapp can help get his
career back on track. "I think it's pretty obvious that he's a really good
manager," added the 21-year-old. "From what I can tell, he is one that looks
after his players. I'm just hoping he can get the best out of me."

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Ravel Morrison throws tantrum as England Under-21s see off Wales in Euro
qualifying
Mar 05, 2014 22:43 By Brendan McLoughlin The Mirror

Nathan Redmond finished life as a teenager on a high - as Ravel Morrison
threw a tantrum at the iPro Stadium. Man-of-the-match Redmond, who turns 20
on Thursday, notched the winner to strengthen Gareth Southgate's team's grip
on top spot in Euro Under-21 Championship qualifying. But bad boy Morrison,
21, found himself back at the centre of controversy after 71 minutes when he
sulkily shook Southgate's hand when replaced by Will Hughes before storming
down the tunnel. Southgate said of the QPR loanee: "He lives for football
and he is disappointed probably not to get into the game as he would have
liked. "He had a tightness in his thigh, so we were never going to play him
for more than 60-65 minutes. I had a good chat with him after and he was
fine."

Having been named in the starting XI, Michael Keane was forced to pull out
before kick-off after the FA messed up his registration for the game with
Uefa.
After thrashing San Marino 9-0 in their last game, Southgate admitted this
was his team's "toughest task" to date and they "didn't flow" like in
previous matches. Wales should even have led on the hour-mark when Wes Burns
sped clean through only to drag his shot wide. They at least improved after
the break with Joe Walsh first almost diverting Saido Berahino's cross into
his own net and then Redmond seeing a devilish curler creep wide. But he
made no mistake from an almost identical position in the 56th minute when he
darted inside from the channel before driving a low shot inside the left
upright.

A string of decent chances went begging as Berahino, Tom Ince and substitute
Danny Ings all came close but in the end it proved enough.

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