Daily WHUFC News - 12th August 2014

Loan watch - Moncur scores on debut
WHUFC.com
George Moncur scored on debut for Colchester United on Saturday
11.08.2014

George Moncur enjoyed a goalscoring debut for his loan club Colchester
United on Saturday, coming off the bench to net the U's equaliser in a
pulsating 2-2 draw with Oldham Athletic in Sky Bet League One. The
midfielder, who signed for the Essex club on a half-season loan last week,
powered home following a Freddie Sears rebound, after Oldham Athletic
cancelled out Magnus Okuonghae's opener with two goals of their own from
Jonathan Forte before the interval.
Elsewhere, Sean Maguire started as Sligo Rovers moved up to fifth place in
the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division with a 2-1 victory over Athlone
Town on Saturday.
Young Swiss goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel, meanwhile, was an unused substitute
for Crawley Town as they opened their Sky Bet League One campaign with a 1-0
win at Barnsley.

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On this day - 12 August
WHUFC.com
A classic moment from this date in the West Ham United archives
12.08.2014

Classic match
West Bromwich Albion 0-0 West Ham United
Division One
12 August 1972

West Ham United's sole first team assignment on this date came way back in
1972 when they travelled to the Midlands for their first game of the season.
West Bromwich Albion provided the opposition as the Hammers looked to
improve on their 14th place finish of the previous season. They got off to
an unbeaten start at the Hawthorns, with a defence including Tommy Taylor
and Bobby Moore protecting their goal expertly. Bobby Ferguson (pictured)
kept a clean sheet to ensure Ron Greenwood's men travelled back south with a
point to their name. A 1-0 victory over Coventry City in the following match
propelled West Ham to the head of the table, and they would go on to enjoy a
successful campaign, finishing the season in sixth place.

Complete record - 12 August
1972 West Bromwich Albion 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
Played 1, Won 0, Drawn 1, Lost 0, Scored 0, Conceded 0

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Connor Wickham: Sunderland reject £4m West Ham United bid
BBC.co.uk

Sunderland have rejected a bid for striker Connor Wickham from West Ham, BBC
Newcastle understands. West Ham are believed to have offered £4m for the
21-year-old Englishman, who helped Gus Poyet's side avoid Premier League
relegation last season. His five goals in three matches in April secured the
Premier League Player of the Month Award. West Ham are seeking cover for
striker Andy Carroll, whose ankle injury is set to keep him out until
November. Wickham joined Sunderland in an £8.1m move from Ipswich Town in
2011. He struggled to hold down a regular first-team place, starting just 28
Premier League games in his first two seasons. He spent time on loan last
season at Championship sides Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, before
being recalled in March.

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McDonald on... Sampdoria
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 11th August 2014
By: Staff Writer

Assistant manager Neil McDonald faced the press on Saturday afternoon
following the encouraging - and Academy-inspired - 3-2 win over Sampdoria...

Neil: how's Aaron Cresswell?

He's fine, just knee-to-knee, a little bit sore. He started stiffening up so
we took no chances and brought him off. He'll be fine.

Was that pleasing for you? It was a terrific second half.

I thought the first half was terrific. We only had 14 senior players to
choose from; the young kids have been with us all pre-season and it was nice
for them to get involved in the second half.

We tried a little bit of a different system first half and I thought it
worked really well. Lots of passing, lots of receiving the ball, a good
tempo and we got behind them. Our final ball possibly wasn't the best but
overall, apart from the goal we conceded which was finished clinically, I
thought the first half was excellent.

Second half we changed the system again and grew into the game more than
anything. We gave the ball away for their second goal, which we have to
improve upon and make sure we don't give it away in the wrong areas.

We pushed on and Mo's goal was fantastic, wasn't it? A great individual
goal. Then the last one where Elliot Lee's got in behind and we're expecting
him to pick somebody else out - and it happened to be Reece Burke who drove
forward and continued his run, which was fantastic.

It must be great when you get two Academy players like that who've come
through the club like that. Lee stopped, didn't he, for just a second - he
didn't just cros it blindly, he made sure he had a look?

We have areas when we get into that position, past the back four, that we
have to try and hit and try and cover. Reece has driven down the middle,
which was great, but Elliot Lee showed a lot of composure to pick the man
out and finish the game off - which was great. I think we fully deserved the
victory, to be fair.

There's stories all overt the web at the moment saying Cardiff have made a
£3m bid for Ravel Morrison. Is there naything you can tell us about that?

I couldn't, I don't know anything about that at all. There's lots of
speculation aboput players all the time coming in and going out but I don't
know anything about that.

Do you have any information about a new striker coming in?

Well we're working very hard behind the scenes. I think it's widely known
that we've made bids for players and hopefully we can secure one, possibly
two. That would be fantastic if we could bring another couple in but that's
ongoing at the moment. Fingers crossed that we can nail it and get it past
the line. We're hoping there's at least one coming in next week.

How important is a performance like that coming into a new season? I know
friendlies don't really count but to send 14,000 people away with a little
bit of a buzz is certainly better than losing?

We've tried to play some really good football. We've passed and moved it in
the right areas, even in tiight areas. The boys have been working hard in
training and that work on the training ground has come through really good.

We've got to believe in ourselves, believe that we are decent on the ball
and it's not just about free kicks and corners. I thought our open play was
excellent. Our final ball can always improve, of course it can, but the
chances that we had we've been very clinical with.

We've been criticised for that in the past and it's great getting the first
victory of pre-season. It gives everybody loads of confidence and puts us in
good stead in the final week leading up to Spurs. It's great.

Good to see more decent young players?

Well they've always produced them, you know. We probably had too many of
them in the [FA Cup] game against Nottingham Forest all at once. There's a
few of them who played there and Reece was one of them. They've dusted
themselves down as they took a little bit of a hammering on that day but
that was because there were too many young players playing. But we have a
few coming through, we'll blood them whenever we can. We've seen one or two
make a contribution today and I'm sure the fans will be very excited by
that.

How did you pick the players up psychologically after that 5-0 defeat? As
you say, they got a bit of a pasting.

Well, it's feedback on what they did well and how they can improve. We said
before that game that we know we're down on numbers and didn't have many
players as we had a few injuries. The most important of those [two Cup]
games was the Man City game to a certain extent, but the most important game
out of the three [that week] was the Cardiff game which we won.

So we'll take it on the chin about how we went about those two games. We
were outplayed by Manchester City but we had a young team against Forest.
It's a learning curve for the young players, they had to take it on the chin
[too] and learn from it - and it looks as though they have. They've come
back strong and contributed today which is great. Young Pottsy also played
really well when he came on, so there's three young kids who've done
themselves justice.

And he won the penalty?

Yes, he did - by winning the seconds, which is great, and driving forwards.
It's excellent for those three.

Thank you.

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West Ham launch £5m striker bid
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 11th August 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham have made a bid worth around £5million for Sunderland striker
Connor Wichham, according to reports this morning. The 21-year-old striker
is entering the final year of his contract with the Black Cats and Black
Cats boss Gus Poyet recently revealed that he would be sold, should he fail
to agree a new contract. With the prospects of that occurring now considered
slim, at best, West Ham are understood to have moved for the former Ipswich
player, who switched from Suffolk to the North East for £8million three
years ago.

* In other transfer news, West Brom are said to have made an audacious bid
to take wide man Matt Jarvis on loan for the season. The former Wolves
winger joined West Ham in 2012 but has thus far failed to live up to
expectations.

Now 28, the once-capped England international was missing from the squad
that beat Sampdoria 3-2 at the Boleyn on Saturday, leading to speculation
that he may be on his way. Jarvis cost West Ham around £7.5million when
signing a five-year contract two years ago this month.

* Sporting have insisted that they will not accept less than £12m for
striker Islam Slimani, who was the subject of serious interest from West Ham
earlier in the transfer window. The 26-year-old Algerian international is
said to earn around £8,000-per-week currently and would be extremely
interested in a move to the Premier League where he could quadruple his
salary instantly.

* West Ham are one of several clubs being linked with a move for Liverpool's
wantaway centre half Daniel Agger. However United's chances of landing the
£12m-rated Denmark international appear slim, with the likes of Barcelona
and Arsenal taking an interest. Spurs are also said to be monitoring the
situation.

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West Ham's Connor Wickham bid rejected by Sunderland
Last Updated: 11/08/14 3:58pm
SSN

Sunderland have rejected a bid from West Ham for striker Connor Wickham. The
Hammers, who are in need of a target man with Andy Carroll expected to be
out until December with an ankle injury, submitted the undisclosed bid on
Monday morning. But Sunderland are keen to keep hold of the 21-year-old, who
had a superb end to last season, scoring five goals in nine games to help
the club avoid relegation from the Premier League. This came after the
striker had spent a successful loan spell in the Championship with Sheffield
Wednesday, where he scored eight goals in 11 games, and a less impressive
temporary stint at Leeds, during which he failed to score in five
appearances. Wickham began his career with Ipswich and joined Sunderland for
£8m in June 2011.

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No Cardiff approach for West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison
Last Updated: 11/08/14 7:35pm
SSN

Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists the club have made no approach
for troubled West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison. Solskjaer knows Morrison
well from his time on the coaching staff at Manchester United and has
already signed several former United players since arriving at Cardiff in
January. Reports have linked the Championship club with Morrison, who is due
to appear at Manchester Crown Court on August 28 after being charged with
two accounts of common assault against his former girlfriend and her mother,
and harassment. The 21-year-old is training with West Ham and can still play
for the club if selected. Speaking at the press conference ahead of
Cardiff's Capital One Cup tie at Coventry, Solskjaer said: "I can't speak
about other clubs' players and Rav is a West Ham player. "But we've not made
any offers whatsoever."

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WHO DREAMS OF COMING FOURTH FROM BOTTOM?
By Iain Dale 11 Aug 2014 at 18:00
West Ham Till I Die
Guest Post by Chris Lowestoft

We are changing our home ground… We are changing out club crest… Should we
now consider changing our club song? Now before you all scream and throw
insults in my general direction, I admit that I am making this suggestion
with my tongue very firmly placed in my cheek… Let me explain further..

Bubbles, as we all know, is a song about dreaming, and watching those dreams
fade and die. Now I am from a generation of Hammers that have experienced
success.. Three FA cup wins, one FA cup final defeat, but a glorious defeat.
A European cup winners cup final victory, and a defeat. Plus almost winning
the first division championship, well, at least still being in the race up
until the final hurdle…

Of course I have also had more than my fair share of failures and
disappointments, as all of you have. But I have blown my bubbles. I have had
dreams. Yes, I have watched them in the main, fade and die. But just on the
odd occasion I have watched my dreams come true. And those memories I shall
take to my grave. But I am beginning to think that times have changed.
Football has changed. Football supporters have changed. The world I live in
has changed.

Let's us take the Premier League. The so called, best league on the planet.
Not so called because of the quality of the teams in that league, but so
called because of its wealth and commercial clout.

We have the "best league in the world" not because of it's quality, but
because of the buckets full of cash thrown at it by Sky TV and the various
other sponsors queuing up to throw money into the players pockets. But the
result as I see it is this.. not losing has become more important than
winning. Reaching the Premier League, and surviving in it, is now the holy
grail. Teams that finish fourth from bottom celebrate on the pitch as though
they have won the league title, because they have managed to stay in the
division, which financially is probably more important than actually winning
it. My generation used to dream of winning the FA cup. Today it seems fans
dream of finishing fourth and gaining a place in the champions league.
Fourth used to mean nothing, now it means everything.

Nobody in English football has embraced this "new dawn" of football than our
current manager Mr Sam Allardyce. Fear of failure has made him a wealthy
man. I doubt any modern day coach has made more from not winning anything
than Sam. His CV is unimpressive if you dream of winning but beyond reproach
if you have a morbid fear of failure. "Then like my dreams they fade and
die"…

Now I do not know about you, but I have never dreamed of not being
relegated. I have dreamed of winning cups, league tittles, even champions
leagues, but never of not being relegated. Surely failure is a consequence
of attempting to succeed. So failure for me is a risk I wish the club I love
would take. So that I and others can dream again

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LET'S BANISH THE TROLLS
By Iain Dale 11 Aug 2014 at 12:18
West Ham Till I Die

Guest Post from Lofty Perch

As we head towards a new season, with new players, new kit, new hopes, new
attacking mindset (hopefully) and with a new stadium on the horizon, I
wonder, is it beyond hope that we can unveil a new-style West Ham supporter?
Actually, when I saw new style, what I actually mean is old style. Old
style, as in about 10 years ago.

It was around that time when the DNA of a football supporter began to
change. We've always had the capacity to have a good old moan up, but our
whinging and whining back then was usually shared among pals, fellow fans
and anyone unlucky enough to ask: How are the Hammers doing these days?

Depending on the previous half dozen results, we'd either go way over the
top with the praise or, more likely dig out a couple of performances and
performers, start laughing and trot out the well-worn mantra: Of well, it's
West Ham, what do you expect?

All well and good. Yer pays yer money, you're entitled to have a grin, groan
and gripe.

So what changed? Well, a lot changed, actually.

Without sounding like a luddite, the internet, with all its spin-off social
media outlets (including good old WHTID) has a bloody lot to answer for.
That, and its new running mate, sports radio phone-ins.

What they have done is provide platforms for any Tom, Dick and Ahmed to tell
us what they think.

Well, that has to be great, doesn't it? Real people with real voices able to
share them with the world. In theory, yes. In practice…a big fat NO.

In my opinion (or IMO as my daughter would say) what we have created is a
new breed of football fan. One no longer content with sharing match
experiences, views on players, new kits and the price of hot dogs.

What we have now are sizeable numbers of mean, nasty, vicious, rude,
cretinous characters who have been handed a world-wide audience to assault
with their bile and venom.

It's all got angry and it's all got personal. Especially when the trolls
have players and managers in their cross-hairs. Take aim, shoot, kill.

On Monday, Sam Allardyce spoke about the personal abuse Andy Carroll has
received from West Ham fans. His injury appears to have unleashed a torrent
of comment from so called supporters, and very little of it reasonable,
sensible or supportive.

I've seen the Twitter traffic on Andy's account, read with dismay the
grenades hurled at him on fans' forums and, quite honestly, it stinks. The
guy has been accused of everything from being a money-grabbing Geordie ****,
total waste of space, a cheat, a drunk, a drug-taker, a thug…the list is
endless. And all because he got injured and is out of action for four
months.

If Carroll was the sole victim, we could maybe write it off as a blip, a
rush of blood, an abnormal over-reaction. But, as we all know, it isn't a
blip and it's not abnormal. It's now totally normal and totally predictable.

The targets are many and the abusers are rising in numbers. Allardyce, Kevin
Nolan, Ricardo Vaz Te, Mo Diame, Carlton Cole (the list is endless) have all
suffered at the keyboards of the witless who feel it is their right to
criticise in the most personal, vicious and disgusting manner possible.

I've followed and posted on WHTID for about five years. It's been
knock-about fun which I've generally enjoyed. Some decent posters, some
proper donuts (me included), some good insight nicely mixed with the insane.

But even here, which I regard as one of the more reasonable and temperate
fans' sites, the temperature has been steadily rising. The level of personal
attacks on players, coaches and owners is getting beyond the acceptable.

There are ways of getting your message across, it doesn't have to be abusive
and, in my mind, it should never get personal…especially in print. We are
all capable of blurting out unconsidered nonsense in the heat of a good
verbal debate. But when we write something, we all have the chance to think
and delete.

I've just re-read this article and realise it's beginning to sound like it
should be spoken from the pulpit on a Sunday. I apologise for that, but I
really think we all have to rein it in a bit.

The players all have families, are probably decent blokes and don't deserve
the treatment they are getting right now. It's only football. Have a moan by
all means, offer insight, alternatives and derision. God knows, we are even
allowed to praise should the performance merit. But I would ask that we cut
out the crap.

And here endeth the sermon.

Love and Peace,

Lofty Perch

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DON'T WE NEED TO SIGN A TOP CLASS GOALKEEPER?
By Iain Dale 11 Aug 2014 at 08:48
West Ham Till I Die

Sam Dickeson wrote an article last week explaining why he is unconvinced by
Adrian. It struck a real chord with me as I too have been less than
impressed by Adrian in pre-season. He seems to me to be the kind of
goalkeeper who plays a blinder one game and then has a stinker the next,
which inevitably costs us three points. He needs to be more consistent and
make fewer mistakes. Don't get me wrong. I acknowledge that he has kept us
in some games – the 0-0 at Chelsea being a good example, but is he
consistently of Premier League Standard? I think the jury is out on that
one.

It's also clear that Jussi's best days are behind him, so isn't it time we
looked at buying a first class goalkeeper before the end of the transfer
window? I'd take a serious look at John Ruddy from Norwich City. He's a
class act and I suspect he'd jump at the same move that Rob Green made all
those years ago. He's consistent, a good shot stopper and he commands his
area. He was very unlucky to miss out on the England World Cup squad and is
coming into his best goalkeeping years.

A younger option is Stoke's Jack Butland who is being kept out of their
first team by Begovic. He was sent out on loan to Birmingham, Barnsley and
Leeds last season but has only appeared for Stoke three times.

Either way, I think it's something we may live to regret if we don't sign a
new goalkeeper in this transfer window.

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Sunderland slap £8m price tag on Connor Wickham after rejecting West Ham
offer for the striker
Aug 11, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
The Hammers are ready to go back in but believe the fee being sought is
excessive given that the striker scored just five Premier League goals last
season
The Mirror

Sunderland want £8million for Connor Wickham. The Black Cats have rejected a
bid which Mirror Sport understands to be around £5m for the striker. West
Ham are ready to go back in for the 21-year-old frontman but believe the fee
being sought is excessive given that Wickham scored just five Premier League
goals last season. The former Ipswich striker, who had loan spells at
Championship sides Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds last season, is also out of
contract in a year. The Hammers have looked at a number of strikers to bring
in following the injury to Andy Carroll which will keep the England marksman
out for the first half of the season. They would prefer, however, a striker
who knows the English league so that he is able to make a quick impact.
Wickham impressed at the back end last season with crucial goals to spark a
sensational run of form which kept Sunderland in the Premier League. First
he netted a brace in a 2-2 draw at Manchester City - his first goals since
October 2011. Then he hit the first goal in Sunderland's shock 2-1 win at
Chelsea. Then he followed that up with the first and last goals as the Black
Cats crushed Cardiff 4-0. He will not sign a new deal at the Wearside club
however, and boss Gus Poyet has already warned that he will be sold if he
does not commit himself to the club.

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Irons set to break £30m barrier
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 11, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham are ready to push their summer spending through the £30 million
barrier as they continue pursuing Sunderland striker Connor Wickham. So far
the Hammers owners have invested close to £25 million with the arrivals of
Enner Valencia ( £12 million), Cheikhou Kayoute (£8 million), Aaron
Cresswell (£3.75m) and Diego Poyet (£700,00). Now ClaretandHugh understands
that David Sullivan and David Gold are considering making a £6m bid for
Wickham as they bid to consolidate in the Premier League. But the £30 odd
million splashed on signings doesn't reflect the true cost for in every case
there are agents to be paid which can account for up to another £3-£4
million. An Irons source told ClaretandHugh "If we get Wickham then the
spend this summer will have passed all previous by the club. "When you
realise that there are all the 'hidden' payments to agents and so on it
shows the level of commitment."

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet is moving heaven and earth to hold onto Wickham
and the Irons negotiators reckon their chances of getting the player are no
better than 50/50. But whatever the outcome they are ready to push hard for
another striker and leave previous spending records behind them.

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Making sure he signs a new deal should be West Ham's priority
Jay Williams
August 11, 2014
Westhamworld.co.uk

As our move to the Olympic Stadium draws nearer each season, there are a
number of things which we need to ensure in this transition period.

Obviously our focus is to remain in the Premier League and, in order for
that to happen, our board needs to prioritise a few things. Some big new
signings would stir up excitement but it is equally important to hang on to
our best players. Therefore, we must place Winston Reid's contract situation
at the top of our 'to do' list.

Reid was born in New Zealand but moved to Denmark at the age of 10 before
being signed up to play for FC Midtjylland. He represented Denmark through
all the age groups but decided to play senior international football for New
Zealand – where he teamed up with ex-Blackburn and Tottenham centre back
Ryan Nelsen.

They represented the All Whites in the 2010 World Cup as they enjoyed an
unbeaten campaign with Reid scoring an injury time equaliser against
Slovakia in the opening game. On the back of the World Cup, Reid signed for
West Ham for an undisclosed fee.

Reid initially struggled to adapt to the English game, with the level being
significantly higher than the Danish League. He was limited to just twelve
first team appearances in his first year under Avram Grant as we were
relegated. Reid stuck with the club, though, and really came to the fore in
our Championship year.

The 6'3'' centre half demonstrated his defensive capabilities with solid
displays both aerially and with the ball on the floor. Reid was fast
developing into a fans' favourite as his passionate displays boosted the
West Ham defence. He is a very commanding player who reads the game well and
can organise the back line. He has even stepped up to captaincy on occasions
where Kevin Nolan has not been present.

But the unforgettable Winston Reid moment of that season was his volleyed
winner against rivals Millwall to earn us a 2-1 victory.

The following year, our concern was whether or not Reid could reproduce his
Championship form as we stepped back up to the Premier League. But any
slight worries we had were quickly put to bed as he turned in match-winning
and match-saving performances in equal measure. At times doing the job of
both centre backs, he provided the foundations for a top-half finish and was
undisputedly awarded Hammer of the Year.

However, last season's injuries restricted him to a few appearances, but his
return was warmly welcomed as a replacement for the hapless Roger Johnson.
After a blip halfway through the season – coinciding with the absence of
Reid – some sort of defensive regularity was restored and conceding goals
became less frequent. He also managed another derby day goal as he opened
the scoring on our way to beating Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane.

A new contract should also be what Reid is looking for. We are an ambitious
club ready to complete a historic transition into the Olympic Stadium. If he
does sign, Reid will enter our new era as a senior player who is respected
by the fans, the players and the board alike.

I believe we are willing to improve our contract offer for him but other
speculation suggests that we will wait to see how he performs this year
before opening fresh talks. From his point of view, it would also be a good
move. He is the star performer in a Premiership defence, worshipped by the
fans and will earn a good sum of money for his efforts.

Ideally, I would like to see us start the season in the Olympic Stadium with
Mark Noble as captain and Winston Reid as his vice; two passionate leaders
with experience of the club and fine players themselves. Our owners need to
identify his contract situation as an alarming priority and get him to sign
before a top club swoops at a price probably less than he is worth.

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Defender Anton Ferdinand joins Reading
Last updated Mon 11 Aug 2014
Sport London
Itv.com

Former West Ham, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand
has signed a two year deal to play for Reading. The 29-year-old, who most
recently plyed his trade with Antalyaspor in Turkey, has made more than 300
career appearances for West Ham, QPR and Sunderland, who he joined for £8
million in 2008. The Peckham-born centre back, who is the brother of Rio and
cousin to former Reading striker Les, will wear squad number 4.

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Irons may try again for Sunderland ace
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 11, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham are likely to have another go at stealing Connor Wickham away from
Sunderland. But club bosses aren't too confident they will get their man
after being turned down flat with an opening bid of between £4m – £5m.
Despite the player being in the last year of his contract Sunderland are
taking an extraordinarily hard line. Gus Poyet hopes to team with fit again
Steven Fletcher – who himself was an Irons target at one point. A source
told ClaretandHugh exclusively: "The club are likely to prepare another bid
for the player but there's not huge confidence Sunderland will sell. "They
turned down the first bid out of hand which surprised our people but we are
likely to go in and test the water at least one more."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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