Daily WHUFC News - 14th August 2014

Hammers handed Blades tie
WHUFc.com
Capital One Cup Round Two draw details
13.08.2014

West Ham United have been handed a home tie against Sheffield United in
Round Two of the Capital One Cup. Wednesday's draw pairs the clubs for the
first time since they were last together in the top flight in the 2006/07
campaign. The Blades are now in Sky Bet League One and saw off Mansfield
Town in Round One by a 2-1 scoreline earlier on Wednesday. West Ham reached
the semi-finals of last year's competition, beating Cheltenham Town, Cardiff
City, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur before eventual winners Manchester City
ended their run. The game will be played at the Boleyn Ground in the week
commencing 25 August. Full fixture and ticketing details will follow in due
course on whufc.com

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Zarate ready for derby duel
WHUFC.com
Mauro Zarate would love to make his Hammers debut in a London derby against
Tottenham
13.08.2014

Mauro Zarate is fired up for his first taste of a London derby when West Ham
United take on Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The summer arrival from Velez
Sarsfield already has experience of English atmospheres from his spell with
Birmingham City in 2008, but is looking forward to it stepping up a notch at
the Boleyn Ground on Saturday. Tottenham appointed Zarate's countryman
Mauricio Pochettino as manager this summer and the new Hammers No10 is keen
to make sure his Spurs debut is a miserable one. He explained "It's not an
easy match for us - a derby. We have to win because we're playing at home,
so we have to do our best and win. "Pochettino is a good manager, I don't
know him, but people say he is like Marcelo Bielsa. He attacks always, and
he did very well at Southampton so it's a new chance for him."

Zarate revealed a former Tottenham - and West Ham - frontman used to catch
his eye when watching English football. He added: "For me, Defoe was great
for Spurs, fantastic. He is small, very fast and he showed that you don't
need to be big to play as a striker in England. "Now they have a lot of good
players, another from Argentina in Erik Lamela - he is much better this
year, and has got over his injury."

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The Big Interview - Winston Reid
WHUFC.com
Hammers centre-back Winston Reid cannot wait for the season to get underway
on Saturday
13.08.2014

After seven weeks of hard pre-season graft, West Ham United defender Winston
Reid cannot wait for the Barclays Premier League campaign to start this
weekend. The Hammers begin with a mouthwatering London derby duel against
Tottenham Hotspur at the Boleyn Ground, with Sam Allardyce's men keen for a
fourth straight win over the north Londoners. Reid played a pivotal role in
West Ham's successes over Spurs last year, opening the scoring in the 3-0
win at White Hart Lane last October. whufc.com caught up with the centre
half to chat Spurs, pre-season and the summer trip to his homeland.

Winston, it all gets underway for real this Saturday against Tottenham. That
fixture must bring back special memories both for you and the team from last
year?

WR: "Obviously we did really well against them last year. Hopefully we can
continue that when they come to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday. We're going
to give it our best shot and see what happens."

You got on the scoresheet there last year and you've made a habit of scoring
against a lot of our London rivals!

WR: "I'll be happy if we don't concede at the other end. They're a good side
and last year we did really well against them but I'm sure they'll give us a
difficult task this year. They've got a good squad, with some big players
and as I said before we'll give it our best shot."

It's funny the way it's worked out - we played them in the last home game of
last season and the first of this - do you expect them to give a lot tougher
test this time around?

WR: "You don't really know. They've brought in a new manager and might
change their play a little bit, so we'll just have to wait and see. It's the
first game of the season and everyone's going to be up for it. We've all
been looking forward to this ever since the last game finished and we've
been working hard over pre-season to get fit."

When you look at their strikers, the likes of Adebayor and Soldado with
their firepower, are these the kind of games you look forward to?

WR: "There are a lot of good quality players in this league so you get
tested all the time. This game will be no different."

From the supporters' point of view there's no better game to start with than
this. The atmosphere should be cracking on Saturday.

WR: "It means a lot to the supporters. We're rival teams and it's a derby so
I'm sure they'll be looking forward to the match."

You mentioned the hard work over pre-season - are you feeling fit and ready
to go now?

WR: "I think so. We've been improving gradually over the games we've played.
We finished with a win on Saturday, and it was important to get that under
our belts before the first game of the season."

Is that result a boost for us?

WR: "It was good for the players. We hadn't won in 90 minutes over
pre-season so it was nice to end that. It's not the main thing of course,
we're trying to perform, avoid injuries and get minutes under our belts."

Earlier in pre-season we had the chance to spread the West Ham word with a
trip to your home country. How much did you enjoy that?

WR: "I very much enjoyed it. Not so much the results, but apart from that it
was good. The people were very friendly and they were always going to be
like that, and the organisation was really good as well. For me, to go back
was nice personally as well."

Did the level of support for the Club take you by surprise out there?

WR: "Not really. They follow the Premier League a lot over there and are
very keen on it. It just shows how big the Club is and how popular the
league is over there."

You've had the chance to settle in with some new defenders in the backline
this summer. How is that shaping up do you think?

WR: "I think everything's shaping up well for all the new players who have
come in. We're improving and getting to know each other more and more so
things are looking bright."

For you personally, your season was disrupted by injury last year, so how
helpful has a full pre-season been?

WR: "Touch wood you don't get those sort of injuries again. You want to go
out there and play week in week out and train every day, but if you get an
injury as a footballer there's not really a lot you can do about it."

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Haycock: 'It wasn't a 5-0 game'
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock felt his charges were unlucky to finish on the wrong end of a
5-0 reverse on Tuesday
12.08.2014

Development Squad coach Nick Haycock felt his West Ham United side had
performed a whole lot better than the 5-0 scoreline against PSV Eindhoven
suggested. In the U21s' final pre-season outing, the Hammers were largely
the architects of their own downfall, spurning a series of early chances
before gifting PSV the opener at their Sportcomplex de Herdgang training
base on Tuesday. Once Amos Nasha's back-pass had slid beyond Sam Howes with
15 gone, Haycock's young men lost their way, with Olivier Rommens' deflected
effort, Rai Vloet's spot-kick and a Moussa Sanoh breakaway goal leaving the
Hammers four down at the break. Menno Koch nodded home a fifth shortly
after the hour and though the visitors ultimately had precious little to
show for their efforts, Haycock thought the game could and should have been
a much tighter affair. He told West Ham TV: "It's a great game for us to
play and a great learning experience for the boys. In the first 15 minutes,
I think our game plan was working well, putting pressure on the ball high up
the pitch and we took the ball off them three or four times. Arguably, we
could have been two or three nil up in the first 15 minutes and we never
looked in any real danger. "If you look at the stats at the end of the
game, I think they'd be an interesting read. Obviously the top line is the
one that counts, but final third entries, penalty box entries, pass
completion and so on, I think it would be a close contest. "But the
scoreline is what it is and the boys have to learn quickly from that. What
we're trying to achieve with the players is to become a Premier League
player. If you do make the mistakes that we did for the goals and then go
under for a 15-20 minute spell, the game can get away from you and I think
that's what happened."

Despite the severity of the scoreline, Haycock is still hopeful that his
young charges will take plenty from the experience, not least that the devil
is in the detail.
He continued: "It goes on the website as 5-0 but we know it wasn't a 5-0
game. The players have to realise that what's showing on the scoreline stems
from the little details, the finer margins. The final cross getting into the
right area, blocking the shot, not making the rash tackle for the penalty
and not switching off for a set-play. "Those little things, combined with
the general way we played, with and without the ball, then we've got a
decent side in there."

Under the circumstances, Haycock was particularly impressed with West Ham's
second-half showing and was just disappointed that they were unable to make
their pressure pay in front of goal. "At half-time, it's a question of
making adjustments, but tactically we didn't have to adjust anything. It was
just a case of, 'can you replicate the 15 minutes we had at the start of the
game' and I think we did that in the second half. "There were spells
throughout the game when we were on top and we just didn't quite get it over
the line to get that goal to get us back in the game. We always felt that if
we got one, there were more in us, but the final ball in the final third
wasn't quite there on Tuesday."

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Capital One Cup draw: the vulture returns
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 13th August 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United will face Sheffield United in the second round of the
Capital One Cup. The two clubs will meet for the first time since Sheffield
United won a settlement worth around £25million from West Ham following
their relegation from the Premier League in 2007. Full draw as follows. All
ties to be played during the week commencing 25th August 2014.

Burton Albion v Queens Park Rangers
Port Vale v Cardiff City
Middlesbrough v Preston North End
Stoke City v Portsmouth
Huddersfield Town v Nottingham Forest
Swansea City v Rotherham United
Watford v Doncaster Rovers
Millwall v Southampton
Bournemouth v Northampton Town
Brentford v Fulham
West Bromwich Albion v Oxford United
Scunthorpe United v Reading
Derby County v Charlton Athletic
West Ham United v Sheffield United
Swindon Town v Brighton and Hove Albion
Leicester City v Shrewsbury Town
Crewe Alexandra v Bolton Wanderers
Birmingham City v Sunderland
Gillingham v Newcastle United
Norwich City v Crawley Town
Bradford City v Leeds United
Aston Villa v Leyton Orient
Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday
Walsall v Crystal Palace
Milton Keynes Dons v Manchester United

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West Ham end interest in Connor Wickham after Sunderland reject final bid
By Lyall Thomas | Last Updated: 13/08/14 3:13pm
SSN

West Ham have ended their interest in Sunderland striker Connor Wickham
after the Wearside club rejected a final bid of £5million for the player,
according to Sky Sources. The Hammers have been chasing the former England
Under-21 international as they desperately search for a frontline forward to
replace the injured Andy Carroll. But manager Gus Poyet insists Wickham, who
scored five vital goals in Sunderland's last six matches to keep them up
last season, is not for sale. "There has been an offer for Connor but he is
a player we want to keep," Poyet told Sky Sports. "He (Wickham) was a
massive part of our miracle last year. He showed he is ready to play in the
Premier League and I am looking forward to playing him this season." He's
had a great pre-season and if we started the season now he'd be in the
starting line-up. I will try my best to keep him. He's a very important part
of our plans."

Wickham, 21, signed for the North-East club for over £8million in 2011 but
fell out of favour with previous managers Martin O'Neill and Paolo Di Canio.
But he enjoyed resurgence under Poyet last season, scoring 15 goals with
striker partner Fabio Borini. Borini returned to Liverpool after his loan
deal expired at the end of last term but Poyet remains confident of signing
him on a permanent basis after a fee was agreed for his transfer earlier
this summer. He said: "He's a player we know very well and is important to
the fans and to us both on and off the pitch. We are still confident in the
next few days we can do something with him."

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WHERE WILL WE BE IN FIVE YEARS' TIME?
By Iain Dale 13 Aug 2014 at 21:00
West Ham Till I DIe
Guest Post by Ray the Hammer

It's clear to all that we're soon about to enter a new chapter in the Club's
history. Like it or not, and I know many don't, in two seasons time West Ham
will say a fond farewell to the Boleyn Ground and make the short trip to The
Queen Elizabeth Stadium, and so will begin the new era. Much has been
written about the Club's long and eventful history, the multitude of
articles around the crest saga have reminded us of the Club's humble
beginnings as The Thames Ironworks and how West Ham United came into being
on 5th July 1900. On top of that, our own Tony Hanna, has provided visitors
to this site with some wonderful, colourful, funny and sometimes tear
jerking potted histories of former players and tales of our glories past.

However, it's not the past I want to talk about, it's the future. Where do
you want this great club of ours to go? What do you want it to become?
Humour me for a moment and take it that we have the half decent season that
we're all hoping for, hopefully looking to consolidate somewhere around mid
table and moving up a place or two next season. I see that overused cliché
'the next level' as top eight, pushing towards sixth and challenging the
likes of Everton for the Europa league spots. Taking into consideration the
expected increase in revenue from the move and the absence of debt that will
be hanging over the club, which is required by the LLDC to allow the move to
take place, I would suggest that reaching that next level is probably just
about within the budget of our current owners.

Bearing in mind that each step up the ladder, moves us further away from the
club we are now, the 'Family Club' we all love and grew up with, some of you
might be happy to stay at that level, some of you might not even want to
make that leap, you might be happy with mid table and the odd cup run. Some
of you will want more.

Progressing any further than that and breaking into the top four would
require massive investment from elsewhere. That investment could come from
someone joining forces with Gold and Sullivan or, an outright sale to
completely new owners. I don't think there's anyone here in the UK that
could provide that level of investment, so we'd be looking towards the oil
rich Arab nations or maybe a Russian oligarch, which would you prefer? Would
you like to be thought of as the next Chelsea or Manchester City, with all
the 'plastic fan' and 'prawn sandwich brigade' jibes that will inevitably
follow? Is that even a fair comparison, given the different backgrounds of
those clubs to ours?

Many think that the whole reason G&S have pushed for the move is to turn a
quick profit and to look to sell the minute we are safely ensconced in our
new home. I'm not so sure about that, I think they see themselves leading
West Ham to future glory and they want the accolades that would go with it.
Whether they can achieve that though, remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, staying still is no longer an option. The Club is going to
move it is going to change and to grow and evolve, so the question I would
like to pose is; where do you think West Ham WILL be in five/six/seven years
time, where would you LIKE us to be and how would you like us to get there?

My personal view would be to go all in and go for it. Once we move, there's
no turning back.

Just to finish, Johnsey set me certain criterion for an article. I hope I
have managed to fill most of them but he insisted it should be funny. So, I
thought I'd tell you a story that Phil Parkes relayed at the recent Stadium
Tour that I attended.

He said, that shortly after Maiga joined the club, Allardyce and Wally
Downes were taking a training session that Maiga was involved in. As he was
barking out instructions, Wally kept shouting "Hoops, tuck inside" or
"Hoops, look to turn your man" Confused, Allardyce turned to him and said,
"Why do you keep calling him Hoops?" Wally laughed and said, " It's not
Hoops, it's oops!, as in oops! there goes six million quid!".

If you've got this far, thanks for reading. Ray

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AN OPEN LETTER TO RAVEL MORRISON
By Iain Dale 13 Aug 2014 at 17:00
West Ham Till I Die

Guest Post by McVitie

Dear Ravel,

I hope you read the post earlier from a life long West Ham supporter this
week because it may give you an inkling of what we think about you and your
behaviour.

I know absolutely nowt about your family life, your friends, your troubles
or your aspirations.

All I do know is that there are West Ham supporters left right and centre
that want you to do well. Of these there are obviously some that will give
you gip for the choices that you have made. Most people think they are wrong
and think you need to own up to them, more importantly you need to take
responsibility for them, admit you are a dick, and then try and move on.

You have a choice, be the boy who proved them all right, or, be the man that
proved them all wrong.

Good luck Mr Morrison, I will either see you play for England one day or I
will read about you in a google search about 'if onlys'.

Yours sincerely

A concerned hammer

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THE SEASON OPENER
By Tony Hanna 13 Aug 2014 at 08:46
West Ham Till I Die

Well, the much anticipated opening weekend of a new Premier League season is
nearly upon us. Only two or three more sleeps to go, depending on when this
article goes to air. I am not sure whether the fixture list Gods have dealt
us a good or a bad hand by throwing up a match against arch rivals Tottenham
in our first match of the season? Time will tell. Recent history tells us
that we are up for the job when it comes to dealing with our North London
rivals. An unlikely double over them last season in the Premier League and
just for good measure we knocked them out of the League Cup at their place
as well to make it three wins from three matches.

So, is the first weekend of the season a good time to play Spurs or does it
really matter? One thing is for sure, if the West Ham players and supporters
can't lift for this game then it will not augur well for the rest of the
season. In a "what comes first, the chicken or the egg" scenario, any lack
of urgency from the players could transpire into a negative crowd reaction –
and indeed, if the home crowd support is edgy the effect could transfer
itself to the players on field performance. Hopefully, the West Ham support
will lift the team right from the start and promote a positive vibe both on
and off the field in what is to most supporters, the biggest game of the
season.

Our record against Tottenham is pretty decent considering that for the
majority of football history they have enjoyed much loftier league positions
than ourselves. Our record against them in the old first division was 24W,
16D and 26L and in the Premier League we have seen 12W, 7D and 17L. In all
competitions, including friendlies, we have played them 244 times for 84W,
60D and 100L. The match has thrown up a few classics including the 4-0 David
Cross drubbing and last seasons against all odds 3-0 victory where we played
with no strikers! The three victories last season broke a worrying sequence
where Tottenham had won nine and drew twice in the previous twelve games
against the Hammers.

So, how do we fare in first up games? If you look back at games in the
Premier League only, the last eight opening days have seen us win six and
lose two. One thing we rarely do in first matches of the season is draw! Not
recently anyway. Whilst the start of a new season always brings new hope,
and in some cases old fears, whatever happens against Spurs is really just a
small part of what is a very big picture. On the first of January this year,
we were second from bottom after 20 games and that is something no West Ham
fan wants to see repeated this season. Strangely, all bottom three teams on
that date went on to survive. That stat alone just shows how tough it is to
survive in a league where three from realistically only thirteen teams will
get relegated every season for the foreseeable future. Anyway, back to this
Saturday and let's hope we are singing "it's happening again" around 4.40pm.

FOOTNOTE. How fantastic to see so many guest posters contributing articles
over the past two weeks whilst some of the regular authors have been away.
It is a sign of a fabulous West Ham community that Iain has fostered on this
site, that so many readers have come forward to help out with the demand for
new material. I think all would agree that much of the content has been
excellent.

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Have West Ham finally turned a corner ahead of the new Premier League
season?
Aug 13, 2014 10:30
OPINION BY STEVESTAMMERS
Steve Stammers feels that the new faces that shone against Sampdoria could
lend the Irons some new momentum this term
The Mirror

The real test, of course, will come on Saturday. But the omens for West Ham
are promising. Pre-season matches are notoriously inaccurate as a barometer
for what will happen when the meaningful action begins and for West Ham that
will be at Upton Park on Saturday afternoon against Tottenham. But there was
enough evidence against Sampdoria four days ago to suggest that the Irons
might just be evolving into the kind of team which a vociferous section of
supporters demanded last season. True, it should have been left to manager
Sam Allardyce to declare the adoption of a new, more expansive game during
this coming campaign. For the club hierarchy to go public with the policy
was less than impressive. It under-mined the manager big time. But with that
now in the past, it is the present that is important and there were some
impressive performances from several of the newcomers last Saturday in the
3-2 win over the Italians. The introduction of Elliot Lee was a
game-changer. Carlton Cole has not been the most difficult opponent but the
youthful energy and zest of 19-year-old Lee suddenly provided a new
dimension and new problems. And the way he set up the winning goal for
fellow academy graduate Reece Burke showed a touch of real class. Instead of
driving the ball blindly across goal in the hope of a connection from a
team-mate, he hesitated for a split second and picked out Burke who had the
most simple of tasks.

For the half-hour he was on, Aaron Cresswell looked strong and powerful and
foraged forward at every opportunity. He went off injured which should come
as no shock. These days, it seems West Ham players would get injured on
Question of Sport. Apparently, it was only a precaution with this weekend in
mind.
But by far the most impressive newcomer was midfielder Chiekhou Kouyate. At
£7million from Anderlecht, he looks a steal. He has a deceptively languid
running style. He covers ground quickly and has enormous reserves of energy.
The touch of the Senegal international is more than decent and he tackles
for fun.

If West Ham get some acceptable return from the first six matches, Allardyce
will be safe . And relieved. That is assuming he comes through unscathed
from the fans forum at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet. Traditionally, that is
a tough audience. Not easily impressed. Cabaret acts have been known to
settle for a show of hands as a mark of appreciation rather than applause
and the location is not unfamiliar to the police of South Essex. If
Allardyce survives that it will stand him in good stead for Saturday.

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West Ham back in for Diafra Sakho after Metz threaten them with UEFA
complaint
Striker had passed medical before potential £3.5million deal
Metz on verge of complaint to UEFA after transfer collapses
Matt Jarvis could be on his way out of Upton Park with West Brom to bid
By SIMON JONES
PUBLISHED: 22:23, 13 August 2014 | UPDATED: 22:23, 13 August 2014
Daily Mail

West Ham have revived their £3.5million deal for striker Diafra Sakho
following complaints from his club Metz. The French side threatened to
lodge an official complaint with UEFA after West Ham pulled out of the
transfer despite the player undergoing a medical. Personal terms had been
agreed with the striker but West Ham changed from wanting a permanent deal
to a loan move at the last minute according to the Metz. The newly promoted
Ligue 1 club criticised the Hammers' 'unacceptable lack of respect' during
the transfer procedure. Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion are poised to bid
£7.25million for West Ham winger Matt Jarvis. The 28-year-old has failed to
rediscover the form that earned him an England call-up while at Wolves and
the Upton Park club will sell.

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DS talks exclusively to ClaretandHugh
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 13, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham's co owner David Sullivan has been the busiest individual inside
the club this summer as he has master-minded a series of deals. The Irons
have rarely been out of the headlines with the body blow suffered via the
Andy Carroll injury still being felt. So – with the season just around the
corner – we were delighted that the co owner was happy to find the time to
answer some questions from ClaretandHugh's Editor Hugh Southon on one or
two burning issues.

CandH: How confident are you that we can – as a minimum requirement -
maintain our position as a strong Premier League force this season?

DS: ASK ME AFTER TEN GAMES, the loss of AC until late November is a big one.
A lot will depend on how quickly Mr Valencia adjusts, as he's a huge talent
and our big summer signing.

CandH: It must give you a lot of pleasure to see the kids coming through –
what are your thoughts on that as you were very frustrated at the raids on
the academy earlier?

DS: I'm still frustrated, agents are always tapping up our best youngsters.

CandH: You have been extremely busy ahead of the new campaign. Ideally how
many more players would you like to see arrive and how pleased are you with
the business we have done?

DS: I'm pleased, but we never planned on AC needing a serious ankle
operation. Hopefully we'll sign one, possibly two more players, but its not
easy.

The thought that Southampton are paying £12m for Shane Long is madness, as
was Fulham's signing of Ross McCormack for £11m. Where do you sign a striker
in this market ?

CandH: How soon can we expect a resolution to the Winston Reid situation?

DS: Who knows… maybe a few weeks, maybe never. Ask the player, we've made
him a fantastic offer.

CandH: Are you confident – given Sampdoria – that we are on our way to
become a more attacking side?

DS: I expect to score more goals this season than last

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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