Daily WHUFC News - 25th August 2014

Downing delighted with Palace victory
WHUFC.com
Stewart Downing was thrilled to get on the scoresheet at Crystal Palace
24.08.2014

A beaming Stewart Downing emerged from the dressing room to explain why
Saturday's victory at Crystal Palace was an immensely satiasfying one. The
Hammers midfielder had extra reason to smile as he notched his first
Barclays Premier League goal of the season, which along with Mauro Zarate's
opener and Carlton Cole's second half finish saw West Ham deservedly get all
three points against the Eagles. Despite Maurouane Chamakh pulling a goal
back for the home side early after the break, the Hammers took the victory
in an entertaining game on the road. "It was really pleasing, a good
performance by us and I of course was delighted to score. I think we managed
to contain them well - it was their first home match of the season and this
is always a difficult place to come, but we had lots of momentum. "Last
season we came here, didn't make our chances count and we lost and that
happened to us last week against Tottenham, even though we had played well.
On Saturday we knew we were playing well enough to keep control of the game
and had the edge, so when we did concede which although was disappointing,
we held on well and came through that bit of pressure to get another goal
and wrap up the win."

For Downing himself, he was pleased to make his mark on the scoresheet.
After opening up space for himself with some clever play, the Hammers No11
stroked the ball into the bottom left hand corner from 20 yards for the
second goal. "Obviously I am eager as is the manager for me to get more
goals this season, so to get off the mark second game in, is nice. I want to
shoot more, get in the positions I need to be in. With the goal, I had it in
my head what I wanted to do and hit it where I wanted to and it worked."

Downing said a second bustling London derby was always going to be tricky.
"You don't tend to think too much about the managerial situation [Crystal
Palace] because they can be flat or galvanised by what is happening. This is
a hard place to come and play and we played really well in this game, we
passed it well, played some good football and scored some good goals. The
pleasing thing is we finished our chances which I am sure our manager is
very happy about."

Downing had praise for his team-mates across the park and said it had been a
very positive start to the season for several of West Ham's new additions.
"Mauro scored a tremendous goal. The manager has been easing him into
everything, making sure he was up to speed on his fitness. He's a clever
player and if he can get more goals like today, than that is going to be a
great help for the team. "He showed some nice touches and linked up well.
Cheik [Kouyate] got a lot of the ball, he has been very good, he likes to
help break up play and gets forward. He has had an excellent start for us
and if he can keep that up as much as he can, he'll prove to be a very good
signing for us. "I think all the new signings have settled in well and those
who have played have made good starts. We have a bit of a stronger squad
this season which I think helps the manager. Last season the team had to
literally pick itself at times because of injuries but we have a lot more
options now and can change it around a bit if needed. "We got the second
goal at a good time and the manager stressed that when we had the ball to
keep it as we were penetrating them well on attack. The only disappointing
thing for us was letting them back in a bit when Chamakh scored putting
ourselves under a bit of pressure. But apart from that, thought it was a
really good performance and a good win for us. "We might have even played
better in parts last week [against Tottenham] but we lost. We played really
well here against Palace and took our chances and won well and got the first
of what we hope are many more points to come."

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Kevin Nolan set to miss six weeks with shoulder injury
BBC.co.uk

West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is set to be out of action for six weeks with a
fractured shoulder, according to manager Sam Allardyce. Nolan damaged his
shoulder in training on Thursday, missing the Hammers' 3-1 win at Crystal
Palace on Saturday. Allardyce backed "the best and strongest squad I've put
together at the club" to handle the absence. "It didn't affect us at Palace
and maybe that's a sign there's more to come," he said. Mauro Zarate's
volleyed debut goal set West Ham en route to victory at Selhurst Park, with
Stewart Downing and Carlton Cole also on target.

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Sam Allardyce is pleased with Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate so far
Last Updated: 24/08/14 1:46pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he thinks new arrivals Cheikhou Kouyate
and Mauro Zarate will prove key performers for his side this season. The duo
both started against Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Zarate scored a fine
opening goal in the 3-1 victory at Selhurst Park. The Argentinian forward
had a fine campaign for Velez Sarsfield in his homeland last season after a
turbulent four years with Lazio, and Allardyce thinks the 27-year-old is
beginning to fully realise his potential. "The lad has grown up and
matured," said Allardyce. "I remember his loan spell at Birmingham six years
or so ago. He's been to Italy and back to Argentina since then, and scored
some goals. "I think he looks, at his age, a mature player with a lot of
quality in the final third, which is something different from what we have."


The 24-year-old Kouyate has also impressed his new manager. "I think he's
got the modern-day midfield player written all over him," said Allardyce.
"The one thing maybe he might be missing is a goal or two, I don't know yet,
but certainly he gets in that area a few times. "He's high-energy,
two-footed, great box-to-box, committed in the air, and he tackles. "I think
it's great to see a player that comes in with a big smile on his face every
day. He's living his dream by playing in the Premier League."

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Fractured shoulder sidelines West Ham captain Kevin Nolan
Last Updated: 24/08/14 11:13pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that Kevin Nolan has fractured
his shoulder and will be out of action for up to six weeks. Allardyce said
club captain Nolan suffered the injury during training on Thursday and was
forced to miss the Hammers' 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace on
Saturday.
The West Ham boss admitted Nolan's influence will be missed, but backed "the
best and strongest squad I've put together at the club" to handle his
absence.
"Kevin fractured his shoulder and that's a massive blow to us, along with
all the other players we've got injured," said Allardyce. "He will be out
for probably six weeks I would think. "It isn't a dislocated shoulder, it's
a fractured shoulder, but I don't know just how long that will keep Kevin
out. "We dealt with it brilliantly at Palace and let's hope we can continue
to do that. "It didn't affect us at Palace and maybe that's a sign there's
more to come."

Allardyce believes the comfortable victory over Palace indicates his squad
has decent strength in depth. The Hammers boss added: "We were missing five
players who play a big part in our squad, so to win the game comfortably
with as many injuries as that was extremely pleasing. "So perhaps this might
be the best and strongest squad I've put together at the club - I hope it
is."

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KEVIN NOLAN OUT UNTIL NOVEMBER
By Iain Dale 24 Aug 2014 at 21:14
West Ham Till I Die

In the last hour several sources are reporting that Kevin Nolan's shoulder
injury is worse than feared and that he will be out for around two months.
The injury curse that has afflicted Upton Park for some time now shows no
sign of being lifted.

I have little doubt that some people will greet this news as a silver
lining, but I am not sure they should be so pleased. Whatever his faults,
Nolan delivers goals from midfield and has done so consistently throughout
his career. I thought he had a decent game against Spurs as well.

However, having said that I think that after Zarate's performance yesterday
there would have been a revolution if Nolan were to return in place of
Zarate next weekend. We are well served in midfield at the moment and have
plenty of cover, and it's not often you can say that about West Ham. Apart
from Zarate we also have Ravel Morrison and Mo Diame who can fit into that
role.

CARLTON'S FUTURE UNCERTAIN

In other news Carlton Cole is reportedly interesting Bournemouth who are
said to be weighing up a £1 million bid. Although we have quite a few
strikers on our books at the moment, and he will inevitably drop down the
pecking order, I wonder whether he would really be interested in dropping
down to play for a club which is unlikely ever to seriously challenge for
promotion to the Premier League. I suppose stranger things have happened.
But I for one would be sad to see him go.

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LET'S RECOGNISE THE LOYALTY OF CARLTON COLE
By Iain Dale 24 Aug 2014 at 17:27
West Ham Till I Die

I saw this post on the Stop! Hammertime! Facebook Page and thought it
deserved a wider audience. It's by Jim Dean Dolan, who wants to applaud the
loyalty of Carlton Cole.

You hear the question "Where's the loyalty in football nowadays?" and with
good reason. The season we were relegated, Scott Parker was the pride of the
East End. He was every West Ham fan's hero and could do no wrong. I'd wager
he could ask for the shirt off of any fan's back and get it within seconds.
We loved him and we thought he'd forever be a legend to us. However, he was
given an easy way out of the Championship as well as European football with
Spurs and was gone in a flash.

"Where's the loyalty in football nowadays?" we'd ask ourselves again.
Conversely, Carlton Cole was offered £60k a week to transfer to Stoke. He
turned it down flat stating "It was us, the players, who got us into this
mess so it's down to the players to get us out of it." Little did we know
but not only did he turn down a pay rise to leave but he also took a 50% pay
cut to stay and fight the good fight.

In that season in the Championship he scored 15 goals. Correct me if I'm
wrong but that made him joint top goal scorer with Nolan. Those goals –
including one in the playoff final – ensured an immediate return to the
Premier League.

On our return to the top flight he found himself playing second
fiddle…actually probably fourth fiddle, but he stayed. He stayed to be with
the club he loves as much as you and I do. Eventually he was released but,
as soon as our new, improved and upgraded striker was injured he was
recalled back into the fold and returned gladly – although a little out of
shape.

And so it has been that whenever the most recent flavour of the month falls
off a barstool or twists their ankle on the way out of a kebab shop, Carlton
is there to step up.

Last year in the limited chances he had, he had the eighth best
goals:minutes ratio in the entire Premier League. Whenever we've needed him
most, he's stepped up.

Consider the above. Consider the comments about Cole on this page. And
consider: Where's the loyalty in football nowadays?

Is he frustratingly inconsistent? Yes! Do we wish he'd score more
frequently? Yes! Do we wish he'd learn to control a ball? F*** yes!

But does he also deserve a lot more respect than some give him? Yes. Yes he
does. I don't think he's a world beater. I don't think the history books are
going to have volumes on the great Carlton Cole. But he plays for us and
he's ONE of us! When we've needed him, he's been there. So before wishing
him off for the next mercenary, please take a moment to remember that.

Where is the loyalty in football nowadays?

Quite. There aren't many Carltons left in top flight football nowadays.

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West Ham forward Mauro Zarate hoping to emulate Premier League exploits of
Carlos Tevez
Aug 24, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
The new summer recruit says he wants to follow in Tevez's footsteps and
reveals how Sergio Aguero told him to go to Upton Park
The Mirror

He is an Argentine No.10 who wants to be West Ham's next Carlos Tevez after
seeking advice from Sergio Aguero. But Mauro Zarate's super strike on his
return to the Premier League was definitely made in England. Sam Allardyce
has been given orders to entertain – and, in Teddy ­Sheringham, a new
attacking coach. Former Birmingham forward Zarate revealed additional
sessions with the ex-Three Lions star were the key to his volley which sent
West Ham on their way to a stylish win. "He has really helped me," said the
Argentine. "We have been practicing volleys like that in training. From the
edge of the box – the same.
P "He was very happy and ­celebrated the goal, too. I am very happy because
I scored. That is my job."

Former football commentator Barry Davies – briefly out of ­retirement to
celebrate Match of the Day's 50th anniversary – certainly enjoyed the
striker's sublime volley. 'Oh, Mauro Zarate', shouted the 76-year-old as the
ball struck the back of the net 11 minutes before the break. Zarate played
on loan at St Andrew's in 2008 and then went to Lazio and Inter Milan before
returning to his first club Velez Sarsfield last year. He was top scorer as
they won the Supercopa Argentina but Zarate, 27, had unfinished business
here. "I really like the Premier League so I wanted to come back," said
Zarate, who escaped after a nasty challenge on Stuart O'Keefe. "I speak with
Aguero and ­sometimes we have dinner together. Always I told him that I
wanted to come back to England. He said: 'Come, come'. He said West Ham was
a good move for me."

Jamie McDonaldSergio Aguero celebrates after scoring the second goalCareer
advisor: Sergio Aguero told Zarate to move to West Ham
The Hammers have only just finished paying off the £20million compensation
to ­Sheffield Unted for the illegal third-party ownership of another
­Argentine in 2007. o in the week they host the Blades in the Capital One
Cup, have they found the next Tevez? "He is a star, he won everything,"
Zarate said. "The Champions League with Manchester United, everything with
Manchester City. Now he is with Juventus. I am very different. "Thank you
for comparing me with him. I know he was very popular with West Ham fans. I
hope I can have the same impact. "He scored some very important goals for
West Ham but I am another person, another player, so I want to go step by
step."

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Blades aiming to nail Hammers
Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough
by James Shield
Published on the 24 August
SheffieldTelegraph.co.uk

Nigel Clough has vowed Sheffield United will enter tomorrow's grudge match
at West Ham with all guns blazing after rubbishing claims his team is
prepared to sacrifice a place in the Capital One Cup to enhance its
promotion credentials. The second round tie, which marks the first meeting
between these two clubs since the Carlos Tevez Affair seven years ago, pits
United against opponents who reached the semi-finals of the competition last
season before being crushed 9-0 on aggregate by Manchester City. Clough,
appointed as United manager in October, has refused to be drawn into the
politics which surround the fixture despite conceding it is "an interesting
draw."

But he warned Sam Allardyce's side that United will not be intimidated by
what promises to be a highly-charged atmosphere inside the Boleyn Ground.
"As far as we are concerned, this is another step towards Wembley," Clough,
who led the visitors into the FA Cup semi-finals last term, said. "That's
the way we approach all of these games. "We don't like losing and we want to
win. We want to do as well as we possibly can no matter what the occasion,
be it this tournament, the FA Cup or the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. They all
offer a chance of getting to Wembley and walking out there is an honour as
we know."

An independent arbitration panel awarded United, 12th in the League One
table following Saturday's victory over Crawley Town, compensation worth
£20m after West Ham were found guilty of breaching rules governing third
party ownership of players when they signed Tevez and his compatriot Javier
Mascherano during the 2006/07 Premier League campaign.

Although Mascherano joined Liverpool five months later, Tevez remained in
London and scored the goal which preserved West Ham's top-flight status
while United, who had argued they should have been docked points rather than
fined, were relegated to the Championship following a 2-1 defeat by Wigan
Athletic.
"We might make some changes but the team we select will be one we think is
capable of winning and doing a job," Clough, speaking before last weekend's
contest, said. "We don't know what Sam will do but that's beyond our control
and, in any case, West Ham are a Premier League team so whoever is out there
for them, well, you know they are going to be very good players."

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Gold: "The Twitter bullies will never beat me"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

David Gold has made it clear the Twitter bully boys will never beat him! The
Hammers co-chairman has received a shed load of abuse since arriving on the
social network. He now has over 94,000 followers but last week suffered a
vicious attack by a fake Carlton Cole account. It produced a picture that
saw his face superimposed onto a newspaper front page with a 'Face of
Maddie Suspect' headline. Gold responded on Twitter, saying: "You are a
disgrace and completely out of order. This is not funny or banter."

And in his first interview on the matter he told ClaretandHugh exclusively:
"The Twitter bullies will never ever beat me. That was so far out of order
but they won't close me down." "Ever since I was a kid growing up in the
east end I have faced down bullies even though I was the smallest kid in the
street. These trolls will never beat me." "The vast majority of followers
are excellent but there's always the noisy minority who want to make life
hell if they can. Well they don't and they won't. "I have no intention of
deleting my Twitter account and if I ever do it will be in my time – not
theirs."

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Dicks gets Ladies off to a winning start
Posted by Sean Whetstone on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

New West Ham Ladies manager Julian Dicks got his ladies off to a perfect
start thanks to a late goal in injury time by Kelley Blanchflower. West Ham
Ladies started their season kicking off at 2pn this afternoon in West
Drayton, Middlesex against QPR Ladies. The starting line up consisted of
Runnacles, King, Barling, Baxter, Revell, Morgan, McCrea, Kinsman,
Blanchflower, Sherwood and captain Stacey Little. Substitutes: Donohoe,
Powles, Mellors, Lipley-Hinton, Bowers.

The Ladies went one down after 24 minutes against the run of play as Kasha
Petit scored for QPR Ladies. It took 61 minutes for the West Ham Ladies to
break through and equalise through a Lindsey Morgan looping header. The
Hammers Ladies left until 92nd minute to win it late in injury time 2-1
through a Kelley Blanchflower goal.

The Ladies next game is against Keynsham Town in the League Cup next Sunday
2pm followed by an evening match against Spurs Ladies on Thursday 4th
September Kick Off 7.45pm

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Carlton Cole linked with AFC Bournemouth
Posted by Sean Whetstone on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

There are rumours circling the Internet this afternoon that AFC Bournemouth
are preparing a £1 million bid for Carlton Cole to tempt him away from the
Irons.

Whether Carlton Cole who scored the Hammers third goal yesterday would
consider a drop down to the Championship remains to be seen but when Enner
Valencia and Diafro Sakho are fully match fit and with Andy Carroll around
two months away from a return Cole must realise he is likely to drop down
the striker pecking order significantly.

Carlton Cole signed a 18 month contract with West Ham in January 2014 which
will take him up to the end of this season after he was previously released
in May 2013. Cole admitted he once took a 50% pay cut when the Hammers
dropped down the championship and has remained loyal to the club since
joining from Chelsea in 2006. Whether the rumours have any substance remains
to be seen.

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Nolan injury may be "serious"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Kevin Nolan will know early this week whether he faces surgery on a shoulder
injury he picked up in training on Thursday. ClaretandHugh was told a few
minutes ago that the West Ham skipper will have a second scan on the injury
which early indications suggest could be serious. Nolan is understood to
have fell awkwardly in the training and early signs are that he has
suffered a collarbone injury which could involve an eight to 12 week
lay-off. A Hammers training ground source said: "Kev is likely to have a
scan tomorrow or Tuesday but early indications are that it's not good and he
may need surgery. "It's impossible to know exactly what the injury is but
things are not that encouraging and he could be missing for a while yet. At
the moment it looks quite serious."

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Cole enters Cherries talks
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Carlton Cole is tonight talking terms with AFC Bournemouth for a possible
switch to the Championship club. Rumours have been rife on the internet this
evening that a deal for the Hammers loyalist may be underway. And
ClaretandHugh can confirm from a well placed Upton Park source that talks
between the Cole and the Cherries are being held. Manager Eddie Howe is very
keen to sign the player and Cole has to decide whether he's ready to drop
down a level with an accompanying cut in wages. However, given there was
little interest last summer before he returned to the Boleyn, he may believe
that a two or three year deal is worth taking at this stage of his career.
ClaretandHugh's source told us exclusively: "They like him and they are
talking to him but the big question is can they afford him?"

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An away day to remember
Posted by Sean Whetstone on August 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

2014-08-23 14.57.47I have just recovered from a tremendous Saturday away
day. When I wrote my 'Apathy at the Boleyn ground' piece last weekend what I
failed to mention is away days are completely different and they were most
of last season too! There is a completely different atmosphere at away games
and a great day is usually had by all, win, lose or draw. We had not beaten
Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park since 1991 until yesterday and our last win
at home was 11 years ago on in Division one in October 2003.

Palace were becoming a bit of our bogey side and the omens were not good
when I was allocated row 13 to watch the match from. The pubs outside the
ground were buzzing full with West Ham fans buzzing for their first away day
of the season. When I arrived at the ground the Selhurst Park bar prior to
kick off, the Hammers were celebrating like we had already won the match,
you can sample the atmosphere on the video clip below.

News filtered to the bars around the ground that Kevin Nolan was carrying a
shoulder injury and that Mauro Zarate would start and Carlton Cole would
also start instead of Sakho or Valencia, Vaz Te inclusion was also a
puzzlement to many of the 2,600 Hammers fans around the ground. The away
support was brilliant as usual and the Hammers sung their hearts for 90
minutes only briefly muted for a few minutes by Chamakh's consolation goal.

Mauro Zarate, Chekihou Kourate, Aaron Cresswell all stood out for me and
were out to prove they needed no time to adjust to the Premier League pace
and skill. Captain Mark Noble also worked his socks off and was key to the
first half dominance. I told my mate standing next to me it is was like
watching Brazil in the first half as we went in two nil up thanks to two
well taken goals in three minutes by Zarate and Downing. In fact we should
of been more than two nil up at half time but we didn't care, the sun was
shining and we were winning away. Another thing worth mentioning is the
passion Adrian shows every time we scored, he ran over to the away fans and
celebrated close to us when each of the first two goals went in, he has a
great relationship with the away fans.

Second half Palace came at us and as normal with West Ham we had a dodgy ten
minutes when they scored their goal and looked like they were going to score
one or two more. Everything in the team did their piece to turn things
although Ricardo Vaz Te stood out as out of his depth and I wondered why Sam
started him, I was saying the same about Carlton Cole just before he proved
me wrong by scoring a goal. I am a Carlton Cole fan but I was eager to see
Sakho or Valencia. It was a surprise to see Sakho and not Valencia come on
in the 83rd minute, after just 7 minutes in the Spurs game I assumed
Valencia would get more time on the pitch in the second half to build up his
match fitness. Diego Poyet also came on second half to the song 'He tweets
what he wants, he tweets what he wants, Diego Poyet, he tweets what he
wants". There was was some great banter and songs with the Palace fans.
When the final whistle went and the score was 3-1 we celebrated late into
the night and there were many sore heads on Sunday.

However in the sober light of evening we must remember the manager-less
Palace were poor and I can see them struggling this season, I can't see us
playing like Brazil against the Saints next weekend and I am trying to keep
my feet firmly on the ground incase I let optimism creep back into my head
with regards to this season. I look forward to my next away day at Old
Trafford.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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