Song proud to captain Hammers
WHUFC.com
Stand-in skipper Alex Song was delighted to wear the armband for Saturday's
game at Manchester United
29.09.2014
Alex Song feels that a point was well within West Ham United's grasp after
they fought back with a resilient display to run Manchester United right
to the wire on Saturday. Despite losing 2-1, Song, who captained the side
for the match at Old Trafford, felt that it was important the Hammers
recovered from what he said was a disappointing start to the game, which saw
United race into a 2-0 lead through goals from Wayne Rooney and Robin van
Persie. The Hammers found their composure, grabbed a goal back through
Diafra Sakho and went into the half-time break on the up. They came out for
the second half and put pressure on Louis van Gaal's team and were
dramatically denied an 89th minute equaliser when Kevin Nolan's effort was
deemed off-side. Song felt that collective spirit meant that the Hammers
were not far away from taking a point back to east London. "We didn't start
the game as we wanted, they scored the two goals and we weren't happy with
the beginning, not like how we played last weekend against Liverpool," he
explained. "But we got a goal back which made the score close, we were
putting the pressure on them as this was important. In the second half we
were much better and in the end yes, we are disappointed that we went away
with nothing, because what we deserved in the second half was much more, we
deserved the point."
Song collected a man of the match award from supporters of both clubs at Old
Trafford on Saturday following the match and he was also proud of another
accolade on the day, captaining Sam Allardyce's side against the Red Devils
in what was his second Barclays Premier League game for the Hammers. In the
absence of vice-captain Mark Noble, who was ruled out of the match after
picking up a calf injury in training on Friday, and club captain Kevin Nolan
only just back on the bench following a spell on side with a fractured
shoulder, it fell to Song to take on the skipper duties, something he was
very proud to do. "It was a great honour for me," he added. "I wanted to
take on this responsibility well to thank the manager for giving this
opportunity to me for the match, my team-mates and to do well for our fans,
who were all fantastic in backing us throughout the match. "It was very good
for me and I was delighted to do this. We did not win in this match but we
have confidence to take from this and now we look to our next match, at home
to QPR to do again what we can do and hopefully get the right result for
us."
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Manager on Monday
WHUFc.com
Sam Allardyce is demanding a defensive improvement from his West Ham United
side
28.09.2014
Sam Allardyce wants his West Ham United side to start turning performances
into points when Queens Park Rangers visit the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. The
West Ham United manager saw encouraging showing sadly yield no return as his
side were narrow losers at Manchester United on Saturday. He demanding more
of his squad this Sunday and is clear that the primary area for improvement
is a defence that he feels is shipping goals far too easily at present.
"Overall I wouldn't say it's been a great start [to the season] in terms of
points as we should have at least nine or maybe ten points so far,"
Allardyce said. "There have been some great performances but great
performances need to accumulate points and they're not accumulating enough
points. "Our team seriously has to start thinking about not conceding too
many goals. At the moment we have to score a minimum of two goals a game and
I don't think we're quite there at the moment where we can score two or more
goals every game to get where we want to."
Tellingly, some generous defending from the visitors played a part in both
of the host's first-half goals at Old Trafford, with two clinically-taken
efforts from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie leaving Adrian with no
chance. Big Sam's side did pull one back through Diafra Sakho's fourth goal
in as many starts just before the break, before they laid siege to the Red
Devils' goal in the second half following Wayne Rooney's dismissal for a
kick at Stewart Downing. "We set up to try and attack and if we hadn't have
made the silly mistakes we might have won," Allardyce exaplained. "But even
after they scored we had a golden chance for Enner Valencia to make it 1-1
and you've got to take your chances when you come to Old Trafford. Then,
after we made a bad mistake for the second, there was a good comeback, but
not good enough."
The travelling Claret and Blue Army - who were superb throughout - thought
their outstanding support had been rewarded when the returning Kevin Nolan
prodded in a Carl Jenkinson cross in injury time. Sadly for the West Ham
United captain and the thousands of visiting fans, the goal was
controversially ruled out by the assistant referee for offside, a decision
Big Sam was somewhat disappointed with.
"We patiently waited to break down the ten men that were camped in their box
to try and hang on for the victory. We got behind them and Kevin timed his
run and put it in the net but the assistant referee has blown it for us
sadly. "But we have our own blame to take for the way we gave the first two
goals away and then not taking our chances at the other end."
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FT - Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland U21
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee's doubled gave the Hammers a 2-0 win over Sunderland U21 on
Monday evening
29.09.2014
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD v SUNDERLAND U21
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE
BOLEYN GROUND
MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: ANTHONY SERRANO
FT: Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland
We'll bring you reaction as soon as possible. COYI!
The final whistle blows and the Hammers have won 2-0. Two goals from Lee
secured a hard fought victory.
90+3: Credit to Sunderland they haven't given up as they still try to play
their passing game. Lawson shots fiercely but Spiegel is equal to it. He
wants his first clean sheet of the season badly.
90+1: Just a few minutes remaining. The first win is surely West Ham's now.
90: Kevin Nolan has gone to centre-back for the last few minutes.
88: Late controversy here at Reece Burke is given a second yellow card. The
crowd don't like it. He certainly got the ball but the referee judged it
reckless. Very harsh decision.
86: The Hammers are playing keep ball now, happy to see the game out. Just
under five minutes of normal time to play.
83: Brown looking to make his mark almost immediately. He runs at the back
four but they eventually crowd him out.
81: Jordan Brown replaces Matt Jarvis. A very encouraging run out for the
winger, he looked in good nick.
79: Bywater goes close to sealing the win as he fires a fierce shot from
distance. Lee running into the box trying to grab his hat trick!
78: GOAL for West Ham! Elliot Lee scores again as his curls a wonderful shot
from the edge of the box. 2-0.
76: Having just said that the Black Cats go close through Lawson's shot. It
beats Spiegel but lands on the roof of the net.
75: Sunderland pushing for an equaliser but not creating any real chances.
Their frustration is clear to see.
73: Elliot Lee battles his way to the edge of the box. His shot is deflected
and flashes narrowly wide.
71: The tackles are really flying in here! Both teams working hard to win
the ball. Neither side giving the other an inch.
69: GOAL! From the resulting corner Lee rises highest to head home from six
yards. Superb cross from Jarvis. 1-0.
68: Jarvis goes for a shot this time but it is blocked.
66: Cartwright fires a fierc shot from distance but Spiegel has it covered.
64: Let off for West Ham. Watmore has another free-kick just outside the
box. His effort goes tamely into wall.
61: Excellent chance for West Ham. Jarvis beats his man and chips a
wonderful cross for Bywater to head back across goal. Somehow the goalkeeper
Dixon gets a glove to it. Best chance of the second half so far.
59: Substitution for West Ham. Nathan Mavila replaces Ricardo Vaz Te.
57: Vaz Te robs the right-back on the edge of the box. He sets up Nolan on
the edge of the box, but his shot scoops wide. Vaz Te is down receiving
treatment.
55: More good defending from the Hammers. This time Page comes to rescue
hooking a clearance off Lawson's foot just as he was about to pull the
trigger.
53: Excellent defending from Oxford. Watmore appears to have beaten him but
he slides superbly to clear the danger. Had he got that wrong it would have
been a penalty and a red card.
50: Just as the first half, West Ham have started the brighter. Whitehead
and Bywater are seeing more of the ball and feeding the channels well.
48: West Ham win a corner early on. Jarvis to float it in again but the
defence stands tall.
46: The Hammers are unchanged for the second half. Nolan, Jarvis and Vaz Te
appear to be fine, we'll see how long they last in the next 45 minutes.
46: The Hammers are back out on the pitch first, waiting for our hosts to
rejoin us.
HT: Dev Squad 0-0 Sunderland
HT: 0-0 still at the Boleyn ground. Chances galore for both sides.
Sunderland having the better of them and should really have been two or
three up.
46: A last chance this half for the hosts. Vaz Te looks to turn provider
with Knoyle on the overlap. The pass is delayed a fraction and the
right-back is flagged offside.
45: Two minutes of time to be played here at the Boleyn.
45: Same routine for the Hammers. Jarvis, down the line for Vaz Te to
header. Again, his effort goes tamely wide.
43: Another good chance for the visitors as they work it down the left
flank. The ball comes in and McNamee seems to dummy it for the striker yet
in evades him. Had he not ben so selfless he would have almost certainly
scored.
40: Free-kick to West Ham after McNamee handballs it. Poor delivery from
Jarvis as it is cleared by the first man.
37: Excellent save from Spiegel, Watmore places it and just as it's about to
nestle in the top corner, Spiegel gets a firm glove to it and put it out for
a corner. Excellent goalkeeping.
37: Free-kick to Sunderland just outside the box. This is a real
opportunity...
34: Jarvis and Page combine down the left well to force a corner. Jarvis'
delievery is eventually cleared into touch.
31: Seconds later No10 Carl Lawson bends a shot just wide of Spiegel's far
post.
30: Watmore dances his way through the defence to drag a ball across the six
yard box. Lewis Page is on hand to block the shot on the line. West Ham
lucky again.
27: Another chance goes begging! A free kick is whipped in from the
right-hand corner and the ball breaks for Vaz Te in the six yard box who
slides it wide. There's a stoppage in play as Reece Burke receives
treatment. He's up now but walking very slowly.
24: The game is incredibly open. Bywater goes full blooded into a challege
which his opposite number did not like. A combination of the referee and
Jarvis are on hand to calm everything down. Good mentoring from the England
international there, good to see him back playing at the BG.
22: The Black cats have the ball in the back of the net but it is chalkedoff
for offside by the assistant referee. The Sunderland forward moved just a
fraction too early.
20: From the resulting corner, Lee connects well from a Jarvis delivery but
his header goes agonizingly wide.
19: Good play from the hosts. Burke heads a corner away for Lee to run with.
He checks his run before laying a perfect ball to Jarvis. He runs to the
byline as Vaz Te's header to scooped out for a corner.
18: Sunderland coming into the game more, getting a hold of possession in
midfield. Jarvis chests the ball down before trying his luck from 30 odd
yards, what a goal that would've been. The goalkeeper clutches the shot
gladly.
16: Sunderland claiming a penalty after Spiegel collided with Watmore.
Referee says play on as the goalkeeper looked to get to the ball first. Good
decision.
13: Sunderland construct a nice move which eventaully comes to nothing after
Cartwright's cross is too deep. West Ham respond with a cross by Vaz Te
aimed at Jarvis yet the keeper collects calmly.
12: Kevin Nolan plays a good ball for Elliot Lee to run onto. He tries to
cut in and shoot but his effort is blocked by the defender Oliver.
9: Watmore looks to be the danger man for the Black Cats. A stray ball finds
him one on one with Spiegel, his shot hits the post when he really should
have scored. A huge let off.
8: West Ham have started the better team here. Bywater winds up for a shot
from distance but doesn't get the connection right.
5: Reece Burke goes into the book for a foul on Watmore. The resulting free
kick is cleared away for Jarvis to race down the wing. He tees Vaz Te up who
on the stretch shoots high and wide.
3: Reece Burke plays a long ball forward for Lee to chase but the Sunderland
'keeper Dixon gathers.
1: A frantic, fast paced start to this game. West Ham winning a series of
throw-ins down the left wing looking to set Jarvis free. Captain Nolan
orchestrating the proceedings.
The teams are out! Handshakes and coin toss completed and we're all set. The
Hammers go into their pre-match huddle and burst out into all corners of
their half. The hosts in their traditional claret and blue while the
visitors are in their customary red and white stripes.
Less than five minutes to go here at the Boleyn. COYI!
Just under 20 minutes to go here at the Boleyn Ground. The floodlights are
on, the pitch looks immaculate and the fans are beginning to come in.
Tonight's referee is Anthony Serrano, Assistant referee's are Rick Bloy and
Jacob Miles. Robert Claussen is the fourth official.
Both teams are out on the pitch warming up. Half an hour till kick-off.
The Black Cats recorded their first victory of the season last week as they
beat Tottenham 2-1. Goals from David Ferguson and Martin Smith secured the
victory over the Londoners.
On to news of our visitors, Sunderland.
Last time out Haycock's men recorded a deserved point as they drew 1-1 away
with Fulham. The Cottagers took the lead through Marcello Trotta, however
the Hammers equalised almost immediately through Elliot Lee's first goal of
the campaign.
The Dev Squad have had a difficult start to their league campaign having
only taken two points from their opening five games. However the Hammers'
points tally has not reflected their good performances so far.
There are also two changes on the subs bench as U18s goal machine Jordan
Brown and playmaker Grady Diangana make the step up to U21 football. Brown
has been on fire this season scoring five goals in six league games. Both
Brown and Diangana netted against Reading on Saturday in a convincing 4-0
win. To read the match report, click here.
Nick Haycock makes three changes to the starting XI as first team players
Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te all start in their bid to gain
match fitness. Nolan and Jarvis are returning from injuries and we'll be
keeping a close eye on their fitness for you throughout the evening.
The teams are in…
West Ham United: Spiegel, Knoyle, Page, Nolan, Oxford, Burke, Jarvis,
Bywater, Lee, Whitehead, Vaz Te
Subs: Mavila, Boness, Nasha, Brown, Diangana
Sunderland: Dixon, Cartwright, Robson, Oliver, McNamee, Ferguson, Watmore,
Agnew, Smith, Lawson, Greenwood.
Subs: Sukar, Burke, Robson, Blinco, Ledger
We'll have team news very shortly...
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's match as the West Ham
United Development Squad take on Sunderland U21, here at the Boleyn Ground.
KO 7pm.
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West Ham's James Tomkins fined over police assault
James Tomkins
BBc.co.uk
A Premier League footballer has been fined for assaulting a police officer
outside an Essex nightclub. West Ham defender James Tomkins, 25, was refused
entry to the Sugar Hut in Brentwood on 21 December last year, and security
staff called police. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police
constable, being drunk and disorderly in public and obstructing a police
constable. He has been fined £3,500 for the assault.
'Blot on character'
Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Martin Everett, told him:
"It is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial and witnesses".
"This is a blot on your character," he said. He added he had "no doubt" that
West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Tomkins, of Hutton
Mount, Shenfield, was also ordered to pay £3,785 in court costs, £200
compensation to the police constable and a £120 victim surcharge.
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Sakho in the clear...
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer No. 2
Striker Diafra Sakho will face no further action over his alleged
involvement in an incident that left Manchester United Luke Shaw with a
black eye."Sources close to" the 19-year-old, ex-Southampton full-back
claimed that Sakho had head-butted Shaw during the second half of Saturday's
2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Referee Lee Mason's match report made no mention
of the supposed clash, potentially allowing the FA to take retrospective
action. However, following a review of match footage by a three-man
disciplinary panel the FA has confirmed that the Irons' top scorer, who has
scored in all four of his first team starts this season, had "no case to
answer" and that the matter is now closed.
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Slap on the wrist for Tomkins
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's James Tomkins has been fined after pleading guilty to
assaulting a police officer. The 25-year old was ordered to pay a fine of
£3,500 plus costs as a result of the incident which took place outside
Brentwood's Sugar Hut nightclub in December 2013. Tomkins was arrested a a
matter of hours after West Ham's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old
Trafford. He was said to have injured a Police officer in the ensuing
brouhaha, who was awarded the nominal sum of £200 compensation as a result
at Southend Magistrates Court earlier today. Rupert Bowers, defending, told
the court that Tomkins believed he had let himself down. "He has been
extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his reputation and the
coverage it has had," he said. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his
club by way of a financial penalty."
The defender admitted assaulting and obstructing a police constable and
being drunk and disorderly.
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West Ham's James Tomkins fined for assaulting policeman
Last Updated: 29/09/14 2:13pm
SSN
West Ham defender James Tomkins has been fined £3,500 for assaulting a
police officer. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police constable,
being drunk and disorderly in a public place and obstructing a constable
outside the Sugar Hut nightclub in Brentwood, Essex on the night of December
21. Martin Everett, chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court,
Essex, told him "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial
and witnesses". Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to
pay £3,785 court costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120
victim surcharge. He was told there would be no further penalty for the
other offences.
The 25-year-old, of Hutton Mount, Shenfield, had been partying at the
nightclub made famous by the TV series The Only Way Is Essex. Mr Everett
told Tomkins, who stood quietly in the dock during sentencing, that "this is
a blot on your character". He also said he had "no doubt" that West Ham
"will take their own action" to punish him. He added: "You were in this
particular case, pushed quite hard by a member of staff but your reaction,
as you have admitted, was an over-reaction."
He told the footballer that in the police car he had dealt with the
situation "inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Tomkins, a former England Under-21 international who appeared for Team GB at
the Olympics in 2012, had played for West Ham hours before the incident in
their 3-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Rupert Bowers,
defending, had told the court that as a footballer Tomkins gets "a lot a
attention, much of it unwanted". He said: "They receive training and receive
guidance from the FA. Mr Tomkins accepts that on this occasion he let
himself down. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his club by way of a
financial penalty.
"He has been extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his
reputation and the coverage it has had." He also described him as a " young
man of previous good character (who is) usually looked up to."
Tomkins left the court and in to a waiting car without comment.
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TOMKINS FINED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY
By Sean Whetstone 29 Sep 2014 at 14:27
James Tomkins has been fined a total of £7,605 including costs for
assaulting a police officer today in court. Tomkins changed his plea to
guilty on charges he assaulted a police constable, was drunk and disorderly
in a public place and obstructing a constable outside the Sugar Hut
nightclub on the night of December 22nd after a 3-1 loss against Manchester
United. the Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Essex, Martin
Everett, told Tomkins "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a
trial and witnesses".
Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to pay £3,785 court
costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120 victim surcharge.
Mr Everett told Tomkins "this is a blot on your character".He also said he
had "no doubt" that West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Mr
Everett told Tomkins: "You were in this particular case, pushed quite hard
by a member of staff but your reaction, as you have admitted, was an
over-reaction."
He told the defender that in the police car he had dealt with the situation
"inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Rupert Bowers, defending, had told the court that as a footballer he gets "a
lot a attention, much of it unwanted". He said:"They receive training and
receive guidance from the FA (Football Association). Mr Tomkins accepts that
on this occasion he let himself down.He will no doubt also be disciplined by
his club by way of a financial penalty.He has been extremely stressed about
these proceedings, about his reputation and the coverage it has had." His
lawyer also described him as a "young man of previous good character (who
is) usually looked up to."
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West Ham striker Diafra Sakho won't face FA action over alleged Luke Shaw
headbutt
Sep 29, 2014 16:51 By Alex Richards
The Manchester United defender left Old Trafford with a black eye on
Saturday evening following a supposed incident with the Hammers goalscorer
The Mirror
West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho will NOT face retrospective action from
the FA after an alleged headbutt on Manchester United defender Luke Shaw.
The England left-back was spotted sporting a black eye following the Red
Devils 2-1 win on Saturday, during which Sakho scored the Hammers only goal.
Shaw, who cost United £28million when signed from Southampton during the
summer, complained to officials following an off-the-ball incident, which
was missed by referee Lee Mason. Shaw was seen remonstrating with a linesman
during the second half. However, after reviewing video footage of the match,
the offence hasn't been deemed serious enough to warrant a red card, had the
officials seen it at the time. That means Sakho, who has scored in each of
his first four West Ham matches, won't face a three-match ban.
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Tuesday, September 30
Monday, September 29
Daily WHUFC News - 29th September 2014
'It was a day I'll never forget'
WHUFC.com
Diego Poyet reflects on a memorable first Barclays Premier League start for West Ham United
28.09.2014
Diego Poyet felt a mixture of pride and disappointment after his full Barclays Premier League debut for West Ham United ended in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United. The 19-year-old was drafted into the starting XI on Friday after fellow midfielder Mark Noble suffered a calf injury in training. Facing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Angel di Maria, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao was always likely to be a baptism of fire for the teenager, but he recovered from the shock of falling two goals down within 22 minutes to produce an increasingly assured display in front of the back four. Diafra Sakho pulled a goal back on 37 minutes before Rooney was sent-off and Poyet was replaced by Kevin Nolan with 15 minutes to go. Nolan then saw a late goal controversially disallowed for offside, which only served to heighten the Hammers' frustrations Speaking to West Ham TV, the former Charlton Athletic youngster looked back with mixed emotions on his maiden top-flight start. "It all happened very quickly, as Nobes picked up an injury on Friday in training and the Gaffer put me straight in, so it was a hard first start for me but a day I'll never forget, despite the disappointment of the result," said the No23. "They had two chances and scored them both and we found ourselves 2-0 down. We knew we would have a chance or two and we took one to go in 2-1 at half-time. We knew we'd get a few more chances in the second half and we did, especially after the sending-off. "We were a bit disappointed not to get a point at the end, with Nobby's goal which was ruled offside, but we've only got ourselves to blame after going 2-0 down after 25 minutes. It's very difficult to come back from 2-0 down, especially at Old Trafford."
Poyet himself clearly grew into the game as he got to grips with the sheer pace and intensity of Barclays Premier League football. Now he has had a taste, it is no surprise that the young midfielder wants more opportunities to prove himself at the highest level. "It was my first taste of it from the start - I got on at Crystal Palace but that wasn't the same - and to play against top-class players like they have got at Man United was hard, especially at the start. "I was trying to do my job and, after having a chat at half-time, I felt more comfortable in the second half and I think we played well as a team in the second half as well. "This is a day I will never forget, for the right reasons. I know we have got a big squad, but I'm going to keep my head down, keep training hard and take it one game at a time. Hopefully we can pick up some good results, too."
Rather than shuffle his midfielders around to bring in a more experienced attacking option, manager Sam Allardyce showed great faith in Poyet by giving him the anchor role - faith he hopes to repay repeatedly over the coming weeks and months. With a father Gus who has guided his career after himself playing for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Uruguay, it should come as no surprise that the youngster has the maturity, ability and temperament to deal with the challenges in front of him. "I've been patient and I'm very happy to be here. I have to say thanks to the Gaffer for giving me a chance of making my first start in the Premier League and I hope I repaid him because I did as well as I can."
Having made his full league debut, Poyet now hopes to feature again in Sunday's home fixture with Queens Park Rangers. "It's obviously a bit disappointing that we didn't get anything at Man United, but we have a big chance at home next weekend to get at least a point on the board and hopefully three. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll be back at training on Monday and working as hard as I can."
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Bywater ready for Black Cats
WHUFC.com
Kieran Bywater is hoping to drive the Dev Squad to their first win of the season at the Boleyn Ground on Monday
26.09.2014
West Ham United midfielder Kieran Bywater is optimistic ahead the Development Squad's game with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on Monday evening. The 19-year-old has continued his good form from last season where he scored 17 goals in 30 appearances for the U18s, by netting against Tottenham in the opening game of this season. The Dev Squad are still searching for their first win after five league games, however Bywater is confident their first win is not far away. Assessing the season so far, Bywater said: "We feel we should have more points than we've got. In our first couple of games we played well but were unlucky not to get a win. Then we had a blip against Liverpool but otherwise we've done ok. I'm really looking forward to the game against Sunderland on Monday night."
Bywater's performances last season saw him nominated for the Dylan Tombides Award, given the club's outstanding Academy scholar for 2013/14. Although he missed out on that to Josh Cullen, Bywater's efforts were rewarded later in the summer as he signed his first professional contract. Speaking about how his transition from U18 to U21 football went, he said: "I found it pretty comfortable to be honest. I played a few U21 games when I was 17. So now I've played quite a few U21 matches. I'm trying to stamp my mark on U21 football and I'll try to push on from there."
Last time out the Dev Squad put in a good performance as they drew 1-1 away with Fulham: "Yeah I think we played well. We were much more solid than we were in the previous game against Liverpool. We had a lot more passes but we still could have moved it quicker. I was played in a slightly different position so it was about adapting to that."
Speaking about his excitement at playing at the Boleyn Ground again, Bywater said: "Yes it's always exciting. Hopefully we'll get a win and that will help us push on for rest of the season. So I'm definitely looking forward to that." Sunderland have also struggled at the start of this season having taken four points from their first four games. However, they beat Tottenham 2-1 in their last match as they look to get their season back on track. "I think it will be a tough game. All the games this year have been tough games, they all are at this level. We have to be on our game and concentrate. I'm ready to give a good performance for the team and try and get a win.
In the same fixture last season, Bywater scored a last minute winner that sealed West Ham's status as an U21 Premier League Division One team.
Bywater remembers the game well: "It was the last game of the season - it was meant to be a cross but it got a deflection. They credited me with the goal so that was nice. I've scored once this season so hopefully I can add that too. It can only benefit the team if I have a good performance."
West Ham play Sunderland on Monday at the Boleyn Ground, with kick-off at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £4 for adults and £2 for U16s. Admission for season tickets holders is FREE.
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ANDY CARROLL TO BE FLOGGED IN THE JANUARY SALES?
By Iain Dale 28 Sep 2014 at 12:09
West Ham Till I Die
This is what appears in the Mail on Sunday today concerning the future of Andy Carroll at Upton Park. Rob Shepherd is a West Ham fan and very well informed…
West Ham will put Andy Carroll up for sale in January. But just who do the Hammers offload the injury-stricken striker to? Newcastle would take him back, but only if he agreed to drop his wages – which are in the region of £85,000-a-week. They would only be prepared to pay a transfer fee around £8million for a player they sold to Liverpool for £35m. West Ham paid £17m for Carroll two summers ago. I am told co-owner David Sullivan wants Carroll off the books. Stoke may be interested. Or possibly QPR.
If this is true, I think it's madness. Carroll, when fit, is a superb player and strikes fear into any team that he plays against. Because of his injury record we wouldn't stand a hope of recouping the majority of the £17 million we paid, or indeed the millions he has cost in wages. He needs to be given at least a season to prove himself and then we need to take a judgement, but to get rid of him in January would be ridiculous. In my humble opinion!
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Hayden Mullins jokes HE should be Argentina captain after keeping Javier Mascherano out of West Ham team
Sep 28, 2014 14:54 By Dean Jones
Mascherano played for Argentina in the World Cup final this summer but he remembers the time he was unsettled in London and was resigned to the bench
The Mirror
Hayden Mullins became an unlikely World Cup talking point over the summer. As Argentina's Javier Mascherano booked a place in the final in Rio de Janeiro, someone reminded him that eight years earlier he could not get a regular place in the West Ham team – and it was Mullins who kept him out. Mascherano said: "When I could not play at West Ham I went to train every day to be a better player. "I did not have the chance to play in the games I wanted to but when I went to Liverpool I had the chance to show my quality."
Mascherano had arrived in east London with Carlos Tevez to sign for the Hammers in August 2006, only to have defensive midfielder Mullins keep him out of the side. But as Mascherano prepared to face Germany in the Maracana in July, Mullins was busy plotting his pre-season schedule at Notts County."I should be captaining Argentina!" Mullins laughs. "What went wrong?"
Mullins, who spent six years at Upton Park, said: "In all seriousness Mascherano is a top guy and an absolute world class player. It wasn't really me keeping him out the team, it was more to do with the fact that he had just arrived in English football. "He really is a top pro, everyone can see how good he is. I remember when him and Carlos arrived at West Ham, they really were a cut above the rest. It was only a matter of time before he got into his stride. "As soon as he went to Liverpool and had a manager who spoke Spanish you could see he was flourishing. When he ended up at Barcelona it was no surprise to me at all."
Mullins, now 35, is not the type of player to buy into hype but he caused a bit of a stir himself when he first arrived on the scene.
He broke through as a teenager at Crystal Palace and Terry Venables gave him a debut at the age of 19.Showing the type of form to suggest he would become a great English talent, he became Alan Pardew's first signing at West Ham in 2003. He made 179 league appearances for the Irons, who clearly still hold a place in his heart. Mullins added: "Those days are up there as highlights in my career. As well as playing with Tevez and Mascherano, playing with Teddy Sheringham was a real big thing as well because he was a class act. "You only learn from people like that, and as you play with them you also hear their stories. It would be a crime if you didn't learn from experiences like that. "As you get older you try to look after yourself so that you can play as long as possible, but you never know for sure what exactly you should be doing. "One year you are told you should be doing yoga, the next you are told you should be going swimming! But I have been lucky with injuries and I've tried to look after myself."
As a result of that professionalism, Mullins is still going strong. Shaun Derry gave him a permanent deal at Notts County in June and he is desperate to stay in the game as long as possible. He said: "Players can find it hard to get a club as they get older. "Darren Ambrose is a good example of how tough it can be. He only just joined Ipswich recently and has been a top player. "People my age like Peter Lovenkrands and Clinton Morrison haven't got a club at the moment. "But I am loving it at County. Shaun Derry seems to be taking this job in his stride and the team is really starting to gel. "And I have dropped back to centre-back where there is less running involved. It is a lot easier on the lungs and legs! "I'm 35 now and have started to think about what I'll do next. This summer I'm going to do the B coaching licence and try to stay in the game. "It only seems like yesterday that I was breaking through at Palace and I remember you used to hear older players talking about how quick your career goes by. "That really is true – and I want to be involved in the game for as long as I can."
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Gold: 'I really liked Jenkinson'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Gold is sticking to a prediction he made several weeks ago that Andy Carroll will be back in action by November. The co-chairman told ClaretandHugh: "Talk to Andy and he will say the end of October, talk to the medics and they will say the end of November. "I've always been in the middle so I'll be surprised if he's not back by mid November. "He's going to be kicking ball this week an isn't that far away from rejoining the first team squad. "He has had both his major injury problems sorted out and should be good for the long term now – we are looking a stronger and stronger squad." And commenting on yesterday's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford he said: "Considering we had three top players out I thought we were great and I really liked Jenkinson."
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"Poyet/Sakho show top class recruitment policy'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
I was delighted to seem Diafra Sakho destroy my 26 year old record of a new Hammer scoring in his first three games. God, that makes me feel old! Diafra has now scored in his last four and that record could stand for even longer than mine. Let me be the first to congratulate him. He's a real sparky character and one of my favourite Hammers for some time. Watching him you would think he'd been at the club a few years rather than a few weeks. He was excellent again at Old Trafford yesterday and is already a huge terrace favourite – that's gonna grow and grow. I thought the team – with three regular first teamers missing – put in an outstanding performance and I would single out Diego Poyet for a special word of praise. He was called up late and to be launched into a game like that really was a baptism by fire but he was outstanding and was entirely unfazed. He looks a real prospect and shows the club's recruitment policy this season has been absolute top class.
Morgan Amalfitano did very well and overall it was a performance which promised an awful lot for the future. There's real quality in this Irons side and I'm at the stage where I am looking forward to every game. We look better and better with each outing but there was one big low point for me – the first goal by Rooney. Everybody is giving it the big one and calling it a great goal but I think Winston Reid could have done a lot better. He should have held his position better until hopefully players got in around him – he's a good defender and I don't like to knock but I think he has some responsibility for the goal.
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Shaw's nonsense on disallowed Nolan 'goal'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Just occasionally – and this is such a time – footballers say such utterly stupid things it simply takes the breath away! Step forward Luke Shaw! Before we go any further let me say straight away that my first reaction when watching Kevin Nolan's disallowed goal yesterday was that it was offside. Equally, I also thought that had Wayne Rooney acted towards Stewart Downing in the street as he had done on the pitch he could justifiably be facing charges of common assault or worse in court. Shaw, meanwhile, is either ridiculously loyal to his mate Roo or doesn't actually understand the rules of the game for here is his assessment of why Nolan's strike should have been chalked off. He said: "My heart sank [when Nolan's shot went in]. It was close. We haven't had much luck either with decisions. "We have actually had a lot of bad luck, especially with Wazza's red card as I would say there was a handball before that but the referee didn't stop play."
Listen son, it's only a handball if the ref says so and taking someone down at the knees isn't acceptable in any circumstances. Trying to sugar coat such a horrendous 'attack' from his captain at club and perhaps eventually international level, may make him feel better but to everyone with a sense of balance and fair play it makes him mug of the week! And all those fans who applauded Rooney (oh sorry) WAZZA (sigh) off the pitch, stand beside the one eyed geezer from Southampton.
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Selling Carroll not an option
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret * Hugh
Much speculation is arising over whether the club may be preparing to accept a bid should they receive one in January or next summer, given the striker's various injury problems. However, the club believes that with the plantar fascia problem he suffered last season is now totally under control and the 'loose ankle problem' – rebuilt via surgery – will see him return fine for the long term given normal circumstances We were told that at this moment the club believe he is probably worth around £10 million on the open market. But a well placed insider added: "Four or five goals on his return and that would go up to around £15m-£20m."
And he added that the club were very aware of the rumours that they would be ready to sell if the right offer was made but that this was not in the "smallest part of their thinking." Sam Allardyce made it clear that Carroll needs to keep himself in top nick and that further long term injuries are unacceptable. But our source said: "The idea of selling Andy is not an option – we have waited a long time to see the lad at his best. The idea of selling has never been mentioned"
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West Ham's Diafra Sakho could still face action from FA over clash with Manchester United's Luke Shaw
Forward appeared to butt teenager during 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford - with the defender insisting his complaint to assistant referee was ignored
Telegraph.co.uk
By Mark Ogden10:30PM BST 28 Sep 2014
Diafra Sakho could be facing retrospective action by the Football Association and a three-match ban for violent conduct after the West Ham United forward appeared to butt Luke Shaw during the second half of the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United. Shaw, the England full-back who made his competitive debut for United on Saturday following his £28 million summer transfer from Southampton, emerged from Old Trafford with a heavily bruised left eye following the clash with the Senegalese forward. Shaw refused to comment on the alleged incident, but sources close to the 19-year-old defender have claimed that he complained to the assistant referee Andrew Garratt, who chose not to alert the referee, Lee Mason. Such a move could have led to further action at the time. Mason had earlier dismissed Wayne Rooney, the United captain, for a professional foul on Stewart Downing. The alleged incident between Shaw and Sakho was not highlighted by television coverage over the weekend, but the FA has access to the footage from over thirty cameras in position at every Premier League game and is within its power to request any video evidence of alleged infringements.
The former United defender Rio Ferdinand was given a four-match suspension in January 2010 as a result of an off-the-ball incident with Hull City forward Craig Fagan, which was not broadcast on television but later identified by the FA's disciplinary unit. Sakho, a summer signing from the French club Metz, scored West Ham's goal during the defeat at Old Trafford and received a second-half booking for a foul. But with neither Garratt nor Mason taking action for the alleged incident with Shaw, the 24-year-old forward's fate is now set to rest in the hands of the FA and its decision over whether to take action against the player.
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WHUFC.com
Diego Poyet reflects on a memorable first Barclays Premier League start for West Ham United
28.09.2014
Diego Poyet felt a mixture of pride and disappointment after his full Barclays Premier League debut for West Ham United ended in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United. The 19-year-old was drafted into the starting XI on Friday after fellow midfielder Mark Noble suffered a calf injury in training. Facing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Angel di Maria, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao was always likely to be a baptism of fire for the teenager, but he recovered from the shock of falling two goals down within 22 minutes to produce an increasingly assured display in front of the back four. Diafra Sakho pulled a goal back on 37 minutes before Rooney was sent-off and Poyet was replaced by Kevin Nolan with 15 minutes to go. Nolan then saw a late goal controversially disallowed for offside, which only served to heighten the Hammers' frustrations Speaking to West Ham TV, the former Charlton Athletic youngster looked back with mixed emotions on his maiden top-flight start. "It all happened very quickly, as Nobes picked up an injury on Friday in training and the Gaffer put me straight in, so it was a hard first start for me but a day I'll never forget, despite the disappointment of the result," said the No23. "They had two chances and scored them both and we found ourselves 2-0 down. We knew we would have a chance or two and we took one to go in 2-1 at half-time. We knew we'd get a few more chances in the second half and we did, especially after the sending-off. "We were a bit disappointed not to get a point at the end, with Nobby's goal which was ruled offside, but we've only got ourselves to blame after going 2-0 down after 25 minutes. It's very difficult to come back from 2-0 down, especially at Old Trafford."
Poyet himself clearly grew into the game as he got to grips with the sheer pace and intensity of Barclays Premier League football. Now he has had a taste, it is no surprise that the young midfielder wants more opportunities to prove himself at the highest level. "It was my first taste of it from the start - I got on at Crystal Palace but that wasn't the same - and to play against top-class players like they have got at Man United was hard, especially at the start. "I was trying to do my job and, after having a chat at half-time, I felt more comfortable in the second half and I think we played well as a team in the second half as well. "This is a day I will never forget, for the right reasons. I know we have got a big squad, but I'm going to keep my head down, keep training hard and take it one game at a time. Hopefully we can pick up some good results, too."
Rather than shuffle his midfielders around to bring in a more experienced attacking option, manager Sam Allardyce showed great faith in Poyet by giving him the anchor role - faith he hopes to repay repeatedly over the coming weeks and months. With a father Gus who has guided his career after himself playing for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Uruguay, it should come as no surprise that the youngster has the maturity, ability and temperament to deal with the challenges in front of him. "I've been patient and I'm very happy to be here. I have to say thanks to the Gaffer for giving me a chance of making my first start in the Premier League and I hope I repaid him because I did as well as I can."
Having made his full league debut, Poyet now hopes to feature again in Sunday's home fixture with Queens Park Rangers. "It's obviously a bit disappointing that we didn't get anything at Man United, but we have a big chance at home next weekend to get at least a point on the board and hopefully three. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll be back at training on Monday and working as hard as I can."
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Bywater ready for Black Cats
WHUFC.com
Kieran Bywater is hoping to drive the Dev Squad to their first win of the season at the Boleyn Ground on Monday
26.09.2014
West Ham United midfielder Kieran Bywater is optimistic ahead the Development Squad's game with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on Monday evening. The 19-year-old has continued his good form from last season where he scored 17 goals in 30 appearances for the U18s, by netting against Tottenham in the opening game of this season. The Dev Squad are still searching for their first win after five league games, however Bywater is confident their first win is not far away. Assessing the season so far, Bywater said: "We feel we should have more points than we've got. In our first couple of games we played well but were unlucky not to get a win. Then we had a blip against Liverpool but otherwise we've done ok. I'm really looking forward to the game against Sunderland on Monday night."
Bywater's performances last season saw him nominated for the Dylan Tombides Award, given the club's outstanding Academy scholar for 2013/14. Although he missed out on that to Josh Cullen, Bywater's efforts were rewarded later in the summer as he signed his first professional contract. Speaking about how his transition from U18 to U21 football went, he said: "I found it pretty comfortable to be honest. I played a few U21 games when I was 17. So now I've played quite a few U21 matches. I'm trying to stamp my mark on U21 football and I'll try to push on from there."
Last time out the Dev Squad put in a good performance as they drew 1-1 away with Fulham: "Yeah I think we played well. We were much more solid than we were in the previous game against Liverpool. We had a lot more passes but we still could have moved it quicker. I was played in a slightly different position so it was about adapting to that."
Speaking about his excitement at playing at the Boleyn Ground again, Bywater said: "Yes it's always exciting. Hopefully we'll get a win and that will help us push on for rest of the season. So I'm definitely looking forward to that." Sunderland have also struggled at the start of this season having taken four points from their first four games. However, they beat Tottenham 2-1 in their last match as they look to get their season back on track. "I think it will be a tough game. All the games this year have been tough games, they all are at this level. We have to be on our game and concentrate. I'm ready to give a good performance for the team and try and get a win.
In the same fixture last season, Bywater scored a last minute winner that sealed West Ham's status as an U21 Premier League Division One team.
Bywater remembers the game well: "It was the last game of the season - it was meant to be a cross but it got a deflection. They credited me with the goal so that was nice. I've scored once this season so hopefully I can add that too. It can only benefit the team if I have a good performance."
West Ham play Sunderland on Monday at the Boleyn Ground, with kick-off at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £4 for adults and £2 for U16s. Admission for season tickets holders is FREE.
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ANDY CARROLL TO BE FLOGGED IN THE JANUARY SALES?
By Iain Dale 28 Sep 2014 at 12:09
West Ham Till I Die
This is what appears in the Mail on Sunday today concerning the future of Andy Carroll at Upton Park. Rob Shepherd is a West Ham fan and very well informed…
West Ham will put Andy Carroll up for sale in January. But just who do the Hammers offload the injury-stricken striker to? Newcastle would take him back, but only if he agreed to drop his wages – which are in the region of £85,000-a-week. They would only be prepared to pay a transfer fee around £8million for a player they sold to Liverpool for £35m. West Ham paid £17m for Carroll two summers ago. I am told co-owner David Sullivan wants Carroll off the books. Stoke may be interested. Or possibly QPR.
If this is true, I think it's madness. Carroll, when fit, is a superb player and strikes fear into any team that he plays against. Because of his injury record we wouldn't stand a hope of recouping the majority of the £17 million we paid, or indeed the millions he has cost in wages. He needs to be given at least a season to prove himself and then we need to take a judgement, but to get rid of him in January would be ridiculous. In my humble opinion!
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Hayden Mullins jokes HE should be Argentina captain after keeping Javier Mascherano out of West Ham team
Sep 28, 2014 14:54 By Dean Jones
Mascherano played for Argentina in the World Cup final this summer but he remembers the time he was unsettled in London and was resigned to the bench
The Mirror
Hayden Mullins became an unlikely World Cup talking point over the summer. As Argentina's Javier Mascherano booked a place in the final in Rio de Janeiro, someone reminded him that eight years earlier he could not get a regular place in the West Ham team – and it was Mullins who kept him out. Mascherano said: "When I could not play at West Ham I went to train every day to be a better player. "I did not have the chance to play in the games I wanted to but when I went to Liverpool I had the chance to show my quality."
Mascherano had arrived in east London with Carlos Tevez to sign for the Hammers in August 2006, only to have defensive midfielder Mullins keep him out of the side. But as Mascherano prepared to face Germany in the Maracana in July, Mullins was busy plotting his pre-season schedule at Notts County."I should be captaining Argentina!" Mullins laughs. "What went wrong?"
Mullins, who spent six years at Upton Park, said: "In all seriousness Mascherano is a top guy and an absolute world class player. It wasn't really me keeping him out the team, it was more to do with the fact that he had just arrived in English football. "He really is a top pro, everyone can see how good he is. I remember when him and Carlos arrived at West Ham, they really were a cut above the rest. It was only a matter of time before he got into his stride. "As soon as he went to Liverpool and had a manager who spoke Spanish you could see he was flourishing. When he ended up at Barcelona it was no surprise to me at all."
Mullins, now 35, is not the type of player to buy into hype but he caused a bit of a stir himself when he first arrived on the scene.
He broke through as a teenager at Crystal Palace and Terry Venables gave him a debut at the age of 19.Showing the type of form to suggest he would become a great English talent, he became Alan Pardew's first signing at West Ham in 2003. He made 179 league appearances for the Irons, who clearly still hold a place in his heart. Mullins added: "Those days are up there as highlights in my career. As well as playing with Tevez and Mascherano, playing with Teddy Sheringham was a real big thing as well because he was a class act. "You only learn from people like that, and as you play with them you also hear their stories. It would be a crime if you didn't learn from experiences like that. "As you get older you try to look after yourself so that you can play as long as possible, but you never know for sure what exactly you should be doing. "One year you are told you should be doing yoga, the next you are told you should be going swimming! But I have been lucky with injuries and I've tried to look after myself."
As a result of that professionalism, Mullins is still going strong. Shaun Derry gave him a permanent deal at Notts County in June and he is desperate to stay in the game as long as possible. He said: "Players can find it hard to get a club as they get older. "Darren Ambrose is a good example of how tough it can be. He only just joined Ipswich recently and has been a top player. "People my age like Peter Lovenkrands and Clinton Morrison haven't got a club at the moment. "But I am loving it at County. Shaun Derry seems to be taking this job in his stride and the team is really starting to gel. "And I have dropped back to centre-back where there is less running involved. It is a lot easier on the lungs and legs! "I'm 35 now and have started to think about what I'll do next. This summer I'm going to do the B coaching licence and try to stay in the game. "It only seems like yesterday that I was breaking through at Palace and I remember you used to hear older players talking about how quick your career goes by. "That really is true – and I want to be involved in the game for as long as I can."
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Gold: 'I really liked Jenkinson'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Gold is sticking to a prediction he made several weeks ago that Andy Carroll will be back in action by November. The co-chairman told ClaretandHugh: "Talk to Andy and he will say the end of October, talk to the medics and they will say the end of November. "I've always been in the middle so I'll be surprised if he's not back by mid November. "He's going to be kicking ball this week an isn't that far away from rejoining the first team squad. "He has had both his major injury problems sorted out and should be good for the long term now – we are looking a stronger and stronger squad." And commenting on yesterday's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford he said: "Considering we had three top players out I thought we were great and I really liked Jenkinson."
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"Poyet/Sakho show top class recruitment policy'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
I was delighted to seem Diafra Sakho destroy my 26 year old record of a new Hammer scoring in his first three games. God, that makes me feel old! Diafra has now scored in his last four and that record could stand for even longer than mine. Let me be the first to congratulate him. He's a real sparky character and one of my favourite Hammers for some time. Watching him you would think he'd been at the club a few years rather than a few weeks. He was excellent again at Old Trafford yesterday and is already a huge terrace favourite – that's gonna grow and grow. I thought the team – with three regular first teamers missing – put in an outstanding performance and I would single out Diego Poyet for a special word of praise. He was called up late and to be launched into a game like that really was a baptism by fire but he was outstanding and was entirely unfazed. He looks a real prospect and shows the club's recruitment policy this season has been absolute top class.
Morgan Amalfitano did very well and overall it was a performance which promised an awful lot for the future. There's real quality in this Irons side and I'm at the stage where I am looking forward to every game. We look better and better with each outing but there was one big low point for me – the first goal by Rooney. Everybody is giving it the big one and calling it a great goal but I think Winston Reid could have done a lot better. He should have held his position better until hopefully players got in around him – he's a good defender and I don't like to knock but I think he has some responsibility for the goal.
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Shaw's nonsense on disallowed Nolan 'goal'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Just occasionally – and this is such a time – footballers say such utterly stupid things it simply takes the breath away! Step forward Luke Shaw! Before we go any further let me say straight away that my first reaction when watching Kevin Nolan's disallowed goal yesterday was that it was offside. Equally, I also thought that had Wayne Rooney acted towards Stewart Downing in the street as he had done on the pitch he could justifiably be facing charges of common assault or worse in court. Shaw, meanwhile, is either ridiculously loyal to his mate Roo or doesn't actually understand the rules of the game for here is his assessment of why Nolan's strike should have been chalked off. He said: "My heart sank [when Nolan's shot went in]. It was close. We haven't had much luck either with decisions. "We have actually had a lot of bad luck, especially with Wazza's red card as I would say there was a handball before that but the referee didn't stop play."
Listen son, it's only a handball if the ref says so and taking someone down at the knees isn't acceptable in any circumstances. Trying to sugar coat such a horrendous 'attack' from his captain at club and perhaps eventually international level, may make him feel better but to everyone with a sense of balance and fair play it makes him mug of the week! And all those fans who applauded Rooney (oh sorry) WAZZA (sigh) off the pitch, stand beside the one eyed geezer from Southampton.
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Selling Carroll not an option
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret * Hugh
Much speculation is arising over whether the club may be preparing to accept a bid should they receive one in January or next summer, given the striker's various injury problems. However, the club believes that with the plantar fascia problem he suffered last season is now totally under control and the 'loose ankle problem' – rebuilt via surgery – will see him return fine for the long term given normal circumstances We were told that at this moment the club believe he is probably worth around £10 million on the open market. But a well placed insider added: "Four or five goals on his return and that would go up to around £15m-£20m."
And he added that the club were very aware of the rumours that they would be ready to sell if the right offer was made but that this was not in the "smallest part of their thinking." Sam Allardyce made it clear that Carroll needs to keep himself in top nick and that further long term injuries are unacceptable. But our source said: "The idea of selling Andy is not an option – we have waited a long time to see the lad at his best. The idea of selling has never been mentioned"
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West Ham's Diafra Sakho could still face action from FA over clash with Manchester United's Luke Shaw
Forward appeared to butt teenager during 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford - with the defender insisting his complaint to assistant referee was ignored
Telegraph.co.uk
By Mark Ogden10:30PM BST 28 Sep 2014
Diafra Sakho could be facing retrospective action by the Football Association and a three-match ban for violent conduct after the West Ham United forward appeared to butt Luke Shaw during the second half of the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United. Shaw, the England full-back who made his competitive debut for United on Saturday following his £28 million summer transfer from Southampton, emerged from Old Trafford with a heavily bruised left eye following the clash with the Senegalese forward. Shaw refused to comment on the alleged incident, but sources close to the 19-year-old defender have claimed that he complained to the assistant referee Andrew Garratt, who chose not to alert the referee, Lee Mason. Such a move could have led to further action at the time. Mason had earlier dismissed Wayne Rooney, the United captain, for a professional foul on Stewart Downing. The alleged incident between Shaw and Sakho was not highlighted by television coverage over the weekend, but the FA has access to the footage from over thirty cameras in position at every Premier League game and is within its power to request any video evidence of alleged infringements.
The former United defender Rio Ferdinand was given a four-match suspension in January 2010 as a result of an off-the-ball incident with Hull City forward Craig Fagan, which was not broadcast on television but later identified by the FA's disciplinary unit. Sakho, a summer signing from the French club Metz, scored West Ham's goal during the defeat at Old Trafford and received a second-half booking for a foul. But with neither Garratt nor Mason taking action for the alleged incident with Shaw, the 24-year-old forward's fate is now set to rest in the hands of the FA and its decision over whether to take action against the player.
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Sunday, September 28
Daily WHUFC News - 28th September 2014
Big Sam feels Old Trafford frustration
WHUFC.com
The manager said three main factors contributed to an unwarranted 2-1 defeat
at Manchester United
27.09.2014
Vital errors, missed chances and a disallowed goal left Sam Allardyce hugely
frustrated as West Ham United were edged out 2-1 at Manchester United. The
Hammers yet again produced an eye-catching attacking performance at Old
Trafford, highlighted by Diafra Sakho's fourth goal in four starts, only for
two early goals and Kevin Nolan's disallowed late strike to leave them
pointless.
West Ham dominated the second half, both before and after Wayne Rooney's
sending-off for a wild kick on Stewart Downing, but ultimately had nothing
to show for their efforts. Speaking to West Ham TV, Big Sam lamented the
circumstances which combined to condemn his side to an unwarranted defeat.
"There were three main factors - one is that we gifted Man United two goals
when we shouldn't have done. If you gift that quality of player a chance, as
we did on both occasions, then they will punish you. "They were good
finishes by Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie but that is why they pay
millions and millions of pounds for them. "We've created more chances than
them, but we haven't taken those chances and that's the second reason why
we've lost the game. We created chance after chance after chance,
particularly after their first goal when Enner Valencia got a clean shot at
goal from 12 yards out with only the goalie to beat and he blasted over the
bar, then after we got back to 2-1. "I'm a little sick on that basis, then
thirdly we have the decision at the end with Kevin Nolan's goal which I've
looked at four times and we now know was the wrong decision. "We leave Old
Trafford extremely frustrated, having played well, but that means absolutely
nothing to me because we didn't get anything from the game. The game is
about getting the result but we've lost and that's more our fault than the
assistant referee's. "He's made one crucial decision that's wrong, but we
made two bad decisions and they scored two and missed too many chances to
get back to 2-2 before the assistant referee's mistake."
While the manager was rightly annoyed with the decision to disallow Nolan's
89th-minute tap-in, he felt the decision to send-off Wayne Rooney just
before the hour-mark was justified. "We'll have to see what [PGMO chief]
Mike Riley says about it, but I'm sure he'll say it was reckless and if it's
reckless and dangerous then it's a red card. "Wayne made it too obvious.
Instead of doing what some players do when their opponent gets away from
them, which is just trip them up and get a yellow, he just hacked him down.
It looked pretty bad from where I was."
While naturally disappointed to see his side lose on the road for the first
time this season, Big Sam was content to see Sakho score for the fourth
consecutive game. The Senegal striker nodded in when James Tomkins' header
from Stewart Downing's corner bounced back off the crossbar and later saw a
superbly controlled second-half volley saved by David de Gea. "Sakho is
looking great, isn't he? He could have had a hat-trick and he has scored
again. He had a volley on the far post which was beautifully saved by De Gea
and a header on the far post which he could have done better with. "Him and
the other lads have had enough chances. A couple have just gone the wrong
side of the post and stuff like that, but when we finally broke the then men
down the goal was disallowed. We know how hard it is to break ten men
down because we won with ten men ourselves twice last season."
The manager was also asked about the performances of full Barclays Premier
League debutants Diego Poyet and Morgan Amalfitano, who were drafted into
the starting XI due to injuries to Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate. "They
did OK. I think Morgan is finding is feet after joining us on the last day
of the transfer window, so he still isn't 100 per cent match-fit, and it's
the same with Alex Song. Mark has a calf injury and Cheikhou is going to be
out for a while, as we know, so they did all right. "We just didn't do well
enough in the first 25-30 minutes, but we got back to 2-1 and we had chances
to get a point. Once we scored, we found our feet and the team responded
well after a miserable start. They showed what they are made of, so from
that point of view I was really pleased with how we stuck at it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers edged out at Old Trafford
WHUFC.com
West Ham United succumb to a slender 2-1 defeat by ten-man Manchester United
27.09.2014
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
A spirited West Ham United were edged out by ten-man Manchester United at
Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, as the Hammers were beaten on their
travels for the first time in the Barclays Premier League this season. Wayne
Rooney's stylish finish and a typically clinical Robin Van Persie fired
Louis Van Gaal's men into a two-goal lead inside 21 minutes, before Diafra
Sakho halved the Hammers' arrears from point-blank range. Goalscorer Rooney
saw red on the hour mark for a wild challenge on Stewart Downing and yet for
all their second-half pressure, Sam Allardyce's men were unable to make
their numerical or territorial advantage count.
Allardyce had earlier been forced to shuffle his winning pack, with
midfielders Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate both injury absentees. It meant
a first start for last weekend's hero Morgan Amalfitano and 19-year-old
Diego Poyet. Elsewhere, skipper Kevin Nolan, having recovered from a
fractured shoulder, was restored to the matchday 18.
If Manchester United were still a little nervy from their second-half
collapse at Leicester City, they certainly did not show it first up. With a
patched up back-four, Van Gaal's men made sure it was the Hammers doing all
the defending early on.
Rooney's second-minute free-kick just evaded Radamel Falcao at the far post
and had Adrian scurrying across his goal too. Alex Song had a second nibble
at Angel Di Maria, prompting Lee Mason to produce an early yellow card. And
while the Argentine looked menacing over on the left-hand side, the opener
came from the opposite flank. Rafael Da Silva burst free, swung in an
inviting cross towards Rooney, who hardly broke strike to brilliantly sweep
into the far corner beyond the dive of Adrian.
But just as they did against Leicester City, the Reds switched off from the
restart. A woeful attempted back-pass sent Enner Valencia in the clear, but
he rushed his effort, blasting high into the Stretford End.
Daley Blind then fed Di Maria on the left edge of the box, who shifted it
onto his right foot but curled over. Midway through the half and the hosts
should really have had a second, courtesy of the same duo who conjured the
first. Rafael again picked out Rooney 12 yards from goal, but this time he
scuffed it and James Tomkins headed away.
That second, however, was not long in coming. Song was robbed in his own
half and once Falcao fed Van Persie, the Hammers' goal was in serious peril.
Faced with Winston Reid, the Dutchman worked half a yard and angled a low
drive across Adrian and in off the post.
But West Ham's response was a spirited one and they were well and truly back
in it after 38 minutes, thanks to that man Sakho, again. Downing's
right-wing corner caused all sorts of bother in the hosts' box, with
Amalfitano the first to challenge and his header only partially repelled by
David De Gea. The rebound dropped kindly for Valencia and though his header
came back off the bar, Sakho gleefully nodded into the unguarded net.
Allardyce's side started the second half in positive fashion and twice
produced half chances in the opening exchanges. Valencia's cleverly flighted
free-kick landed on the chest of Reid, but with no West Ham man in close
attendance, the Reds smuggled it away. Then, Aaron Cresswell's long ball
flicked off the head of Sakho and just ran away from the advanced
Amalfitano.
Back at the Stretford End, Falcao let fly from distance once more and though
Poyet flung himself in the line of fire, the deflection forced Adrian into
an eye-catching stop away to his left.
But West Ham continued to force the issue and went close with 55 on the
clock. Cresswell's deep cross found the unmarked Sakho at the far post,
whose side-foot volley was well saved by De Gea. The resulting corner, not
for the first time, caused chaos and so nearly fell for Tomkins.
The real drama, however, was still to follow, as Rooney unwisely aimed a
wild kick at the shins of Downing, as the Hammers man looked to race across
half way. Referee Lee Mason sent the England man packing, much to the horror
of most inside Old Trafford. Allardyce responded by introducing Carlton Cole
for the flagging Amalfitano, while Darren Fletcher replaced Falcao for the
Reds.
As the Hammers piled on the pressure, Valencia's deflected effort drifted
the wrong side of De Gea's left-hand upright, before Jenkinson's cross was
brilliantly cleared by youngster Patrick McNair from under his own crossbar.
West Ham looked to have bagged a dramatic leveller in the 89th minute, but
the linesman's flag cut short the Hammers' celebrations after substitute
Nolan had turned home Jenkinson's cross. Try as they might, an equaliser
would ultimately prove elusive as Allardyce's men departed Old Trafford
empty handed.
Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, McNair, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Herrera
(Valencia 74), Di Maria (Thorpe 90+4), Rooney, van Persie, Falcao (Fletcher
65)
Subs: Lindegaard, Pereira, Mata, Januzaj
Goals: Rooney 5, Van Persie 22
Booked: Herrera
Sent off: Rooney
West Ham United: Adrian, Demel (Jenkinson 64), Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell,
Poyet (Nolan 75), Song, Amalfitano (Cole 60), Downing, Sakho, Valencia
Subs: Zarate, Vaz Te, Collins, Jaaskelainen
Goal: Sakho 38
Booked: Song, Sakho, Adrian
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan - 'We deserved a draw'
WHUFC.com
Kevin Nolan was disappointed that a positive performance was not rewarded
with a result at Man Utd
27.09.2014
Kevin Nolan returned from injury with a 15-minute run-out in West Ham
United's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday and the skipper came so
close to earning the Hammers what would have been a richly deserved point.
Nolan converted Carl Jenkinson's low cross in the penultimate minute, only
to see the linesman's flag go up for a marginal offside decision. On another
day the goal could well have stood and Nolan was of the firm belief that it
should have done so. Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie struck early to give
the hosts their advantage, but Diafra Sakho hit back before half-time and
the No4 could not believe his side came away from Old Trafford empty handed.
"It's a feeling of disappointment," he admitted. "I thought we thoroughly
deserved a draw and we're gutted we didn't get it, but there are lots of
positives to take away."If we carry on playing the way we have done in the
last few weeks we'll get the results we deserve."It's fantastic to be part
of it again. I only trained on Thursday with the boys and actually was due
to have a day off on Friday, but with Nobes [Mark Noble] going down injured,
I got the call and I was delighted to that the gaffer put me on."I was even
more delighted when I scored because I knew I wasn't offside. Jenks
[Jenkinson] put a great ball in. I knew he was going to whip it, so I just
had to try and get something on it. I couldn't believe it when I saw the
flag had gone up - I'd even started to celebrate - and I think they've
gambled on it really. That's the biggest disappointment, "We fully deserved
to get a result and we're just disappointed that we gave two sloppy goals
away. "That's how the cookie crumbles sometimes and we'll get the luck later
in the season."
Nolan, who has been out since the season's opening week after fracturing his
shoulder in training, has nonetheless been impressed with the team's
performances in his absence and expects them to build on their positive
start with several an absentee still to return. He continued: "We were
missing Andy Carroll, Mark Noble, Matt Jarvis and Joey O'Brien, while Carl
Jenkinson has only just come back We've had a long injury list, but because
of the acquisitions we've made this summer, we've shown we can keep the
level of performance really high."It's exciting times for us and as we get
the injured players back there'll be great competition for places. It means
you know you've got to perform, because if you don't, you won't be picked.
"I think we have to get in and around that top ten. That;s a realistic aim
for this year, but we'll get to Christmas, see where we are and sit down and
talk about it again."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
U18s produce four-star display
WHUFC.com
Jordan Brown was on target again as West Ham United U18s comfortably beat
Reading
27.09.2014
West Ham United's scholars maintained their unbeaten start to the 2014/15
Barclays U18 Premier League season with a fantastic 4-0 win at Reading on
Saturday. The Hammers produced a convincing display in Berkshire as goals
from Josh Pask, Grady Diangana, Jordan Brown and substitute Oscar Borg saw
them make it six league games without defeat. Steve Potts' side created
chance after chance and England U16 international Jahmal Hector-Ingram had
already gone close twice before Brown fired a shot narrowly over the
crossbar. It was defender Pask who broke the deadlock, however, diverting
Kieran Bailey's strike into the net after Reading had failed to clear a
Djair Parfitt-Williams corner. Having fallen behind, the Royals enjoyed
arguably their best period of the match, but Pask's central defensive
partner Emmanuel Onariase threw his giant frame in the way of a goalbound
shot to maintain West Ham's lead. Bermuda-born Parfitt-Williams shot
narrowly over the top as the first half came to a close with the Hammers
still in the ascendancy. After the break, it took just a few moments for the
visitors to double their advantage. Again, a Parfitt-Williams corner led to
the goal, with Diangana scrambling the ball home after Onariase's header had
been blocked. Brown went close yet again before finally netting his fifth
goal in six league matches when he latched onto a pass from Onariase and
slotted into the net for 3-0. West Ham were now in top gear and could have
had a fourth when Hector-Ingram showed good strength to hold off his man
before cutting back for Diangana, whose shot was blocked behind for a
corner. The Hammers' dominance was rewarded with 15 minutes to go when
Parfitt-Williams showed good awareness to pick out Brown, whose low cross
was converted by substitute Borg. With three wins, three draws and 15 goals
scored under their belts, the Hammers will seek to extend their unbeaten
start to seven matches when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion next
weekend.
U18s: Bogard, Sylvestre, Neufville, Bailey, Pask, Onariase, Hector-Ingram,
Browne (Elsom 80), Brown (Sheriff 85), Diangana (Borg 70), Parfitt-Williams
Subs not used: Boness, Rice
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Man Utd 2 West Ham 1
27 September 2014
Last updated at 17:30
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Wayne Rooney was sent off for Manchester United as his side clung on to
resolutely beat West Ham for their second league win of the season. The home
side were cruising after Rooney swept in a Rafael cross and Robin van Persie
rifled in a low shot. But Diafra Sakho nodded in for the Hammers before
Rooney was sent off for a reckless tackle on Stewart Downing. Enner Valencia
shot wide and Kevin Nolan had an effort ruled out for offside as the home
side held on. The relief was palpable around Old Trafford at the final
whistle, while there was also anger at referee Lee Mason for his decision to
dismiss Rooney just before the hour mark. However, the England striker
kicked out at Downing as the Hammers threatened to launch a counter-attack
and is now set to miss games against former club Everton, West Brom and
Chelsea. West Ham will be left to rue being on the wrong end of a close
offside call when Nolan's last-gasp prod was disallowed but they have now
lost 20 of their last 22 league games at Old Trafford.
Robin van Persie is the second non-British player (after Dwight Yorke) to
score 40+ Premier League goals for two different clubs. Wayne Rooney and
Robin van Persie have scored in the same Premier League game for the first
time since February against Crystal Palace.
West Ham had 13 attempts on goal during the match compared to Manchester
United's eight. Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal had been looking for a
response from his side following their 5-3 humbling at Leicester last Sunday
and, although his side won, it was almost a similar story. Injuries in
defence saw the Dutchman start with 19-year-old Paddy McNair in central
defence and £27m summer signing Luke Shaw at left-back as both made their
club debuts. But, for all of the home side's struggles at the back, they
still had a vast array of attacking artillery and it did not take long for
that to fire. Rafael raced down the right flank and delivered a cross which
Rooney converted with a first-time glanced shot to the far post. Van Gaal
has questioned the England international's ability to play as a striker but
Rooney's finish was clinical and took his tally to 175 as he overtook
Thierry Henry to move into the outright third position in the Premier
League's record of all-time top scorers.
The home side almost ruined their eye-catching forward play when a poor back
pass from midfield released Enner Valencia on the home goal only for the
Ecuadorian to blaze his effort over. United's second came when Ander Herrera
dispossessed Alex Song before Radamel Falcao slid a pass through to Van
Persie, who angled in a right-foot shot.
BBC pundit Phil Neville on Match of the Day "When Rooney made the foul I
thought United must have been in trouble at the back but United were four
against two and all the defenders were in good positions. It's just a
reckless tackle. There's no need to make the foul because of the position
the United defenders were in."
But, Van Gaal's side had shown against Leicester that they have a propensity
for hitting the self destruct button and they again made life difficult for
themselves. Referee Lee Mason denied the Hammers a penalty when Morgan
Amalfitano's hooked cross appeared to strike the arm of Falcao before the
visitors pulled a goal back. Home keeper David De Gea missed punching away a
corner and, after Valencia's header came back off the crossbar, Sakho was on
hand to nod home for his fourth goal in five games. Rooney's red card then
gave the visiting side hope but, despite a Sakho header into the
side-netting and Nolan's late effort, Van Gaal's side secured a much-needed
victory.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal: "The win is very important, you
can imagine that. We played a very good first half with attractive football.
We conceded again a goal from a set play. "But OK, I am very happy that we
hold the result until the end because it is very difficult to play against a
team who not only have have one more player but who also play a lot of high
balls. I am very pleased with the attitude of my players."
On Rooney red card: "It was a break out of a set play of ours and he makes a
professional foul, I think you can call it like that. I don't think Wayne
wanted to do it that way but he did it and you can give a red card."
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "I've looked on the laptop and Kevin Nolan made
a good run from deep and put the ball in the net. Unfortunately for us, the
assistant saw something we didn't. "It's unfortunate when you've worked so
hard to get back in the game.
"We gifted Manchester United two goals and at 11 v 11 we had the best
chances. Diafra Sakho could easily have had a hat-trick."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan: I was onside
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 27th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
Kevin Nolan has accused referee Lee Mason of taking a gamble by ruling out
what would have been an 89th-minute equaliser for West Ham at Old Trafford
this afternoon. With West Ham trailing 2-1 Nolan, on as a second half
substitute latched on to a Carl Jenkinson centre to fire home - only to see
referee Lee Mason, who hails from Greater Manchester, rule the 'goal' out on
the advice of a linesman. That decision left the club captain - who also won
the penalty that Mark Noble failed to convert against Tottenham on the
opening day of the season - bitterly disappointed. "I thought we thoroughly
deserved a draw and when it's a referee's decision that takes it away from
you it's even more disappointing," he said. "It was either Sakho or Song who
played Jenks in. I knew he was going to whip it so I knew I just had to try
and get something on it. I couldn't believe when I got up out of the net to
start celebrating the flag was up. "I think the referee was behind me and he
just sort of gambled on it. He's definitely gambled on it because if he had
seen it, he wouldn't have given it offside - so that's the biggest
disappointment."
Despite the defeat, Nolan admitted that he was delighted to make his return
from a shoulder injury. "I couldn't wait to get on and I was even more
delighted when I scored because I knew I wasn't offside," he added."But
that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes; hopefully I will get the luck
later on in the season."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester Utd 2-1 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 27th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's unbeaten away record ended at Old Trafford this afternoon
- albeit in the most controversial of circumstances. At 2-1 down and with
less than two minutes of normal time remaining the Hammers thought they had
grabbed a late equaliser when substitute Kevin Nolan - who initially
appeared to be onside - bundled a cross over the line, only to see the
'goal' ruled out by a linesman's flag.
That moment of controversy came at the end of a second half in which West
Ham had battered their hosts - who were reduced to ten men on the hour mark
following the dismissal of captain Wayne Rooney - without finding the
clinical touch necessary to restore parity.
And ultimately, West Ham - who were missing their engine room in the shape
of Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble (a late withdrawal from the squad) - only
had themselves to blame for a third Premier League defeat of the season.
A poor start resulted in the Irons being two goals behind inside 25 minutes
as pre-match fears regarding the strength of the opposition attack
manifested themselves in devastating fashion.
There were just five minutes on the clock when England striker Rooney got in
front of West Ham's Spanish goalkeeper Adrian to convert Rafael's cross from
the right - not the last time the hosts would exploit space on West Ham's
left side - to give Man U an early advantage.
Alex Song may have enjoyed a wonderful start to his time in east London but
he was at fault for the goal that left his new team two behind, with 22
minutes on the clock. A poor goal kick from Adrian was collected by Song,
who promptly conceded possession inside his own half.
With West Ham stretched Falcao played in van Persie, who had pulled wide of
Winston Reid, and the Dutch striker stroked the ball into the far corner to
make it 2-0.
Many West Ham teams in the past would have folded at that stage, so it was
encouraging to see the Hammers continue to seek to attack where possible.
Having made a slight tactical change, United left Enner Valencia - who'd
missed a sitter at 0-1, just moments after Rooney's goal - alone up front
and got their reward from a corner.
Stewart Downing's floated centre was met by Morgan Amalfitano, who forced a
save from David De Gea. Valencia pounced upon the rebound only to see his
header crash off the bar, but Sakho was present to nod the ball over the
line.
By doing so, the former Metz man continued his prolific run of form having
scored in every game he's started since moving to London - a total of four
goals in four games.
The second half exploded into life in bizarre fashion seconds ahead of the
hour mark when Rooney, whose petulance has cast a shadow over his entire
professional career received a straight red card for kicking out at Stewart
Downing in order to prevent him starting a counter attack.
Whilst the challenge was cynical rather than dangerous, and perhaps more
deserving of a comedy award than a red card, the rules stated that Rooney
had to walk and so he did, leaving an already under-pressure Man U to face
the final half-hour with a man disadvantage.
What followed afterwards was almost equally as bizarre - the sight of West
Ham bossing a game at Old Trafford. Desperate to protect their narrow
advantage having shipped five at newly-promoted Leicester last week, the
Reds resorted to defending desperately as the Hammers threw everything but
the kitchen sink at their hosts.
Ultimately it was to no avail, but only by the narrowest of margins - and
the eagerness of a referee's assistant to err on the side of caution/the
more high-profile team by raising his flag when the game-changing 50/50
incident arose two minutes from time.
Although the linesman's call will almost certainly be hailed as the correct
one by the media, there's no doubt that he got lucky. Nolan, if offside at
all could only have been so by a fraction, inches maybe - and to detect that
with the naked eye would require superhuman powers.
So not for the first time this season it was an encouraging performance by
West Ham - for which their reward was zero points, but perhaps a little more
respect amongst their peers for the manner in which they took the game to
their purportedly more-illustrious opponents.
Next up for Big Sam and his continually improving squad come Queens Park
Rangers eight days from now, the first of the three promoted clubs to visit
the Boleyn Ground this season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Kevin Nolan unhappy with disallowed goal against Man United
Last Updated: 27/09/14 10:26pm
SSN
West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan is convinced referee Lee Mason took a
'gamble' by ruling out what appeared to be a perfectly good goal for
offside. Nolan latched on to an 89th minute cross from right-back Carl
Jenkinson to poke the ball into the back of the net only to see the
assistant referee's flag up as he turned to celebrate. And the 32-year-old
was left to rue a decision which condemned West Ham to their 20th defeat in
their last 22 visits to Old Trafford. "I thought we thoroughly deserved a
draw and then when it comes down to a decision from the referee that takes
it away from you it's even more disappointing," Nolan said. "It was either
(Diafra) Sakho or (Alex) Song who played Jenks (Carl Jenkinson) in and I
knew he was going to whip it so I knew I just had to try and get something
on it.
Speaking after West Ham's loss at Old Trafford, Kevin Nolan insists that his
goal was perfectly good after it was ruled out for offside.
"I couldn't believe when I got up out of the net to start celebrating that
the flag was up but I think even the referee was behind me and he just sort
of gambled on it. Well I know he's definitely gambled on it because if he
had of seen it, he wouldn't have given it off-side so that's the biggest
disappointment. "I couldn't wait to get on and was delighted that he
(manager Sam Allardyce) put me on and I was even more delighted when I
scored because I knew I wasn't off-side. But that's just how the cookie
crumbles sometimes and hopefully I will get the luck later on in the
season."
Nolan insisted his team-mates can take positives from the defeat and hopes
they can use their performance at Old Trafford as a springboard to push on
in the Premier League this season. "I think we've got to get in around that
top 10 and above it really," he added. "I think that would be a realistic
aim for us this year but I think we'll get to Christmas, see where we are,
and then we can have a sit down and have a good talk about what our
realistic aim will be really."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wayne Rooney sent off as Manchester United beat West Ham
Last Updated: 28/09/14 6:05am
SSN
Manchester United survived Wayne Rooney's moment of madness as their captain
scored and was then sent off in the 2-1 victory over West Ham at Old
Trafford. Rooney was red carded just before the hour mark after a rush of
blood saw him kick out at Stewart Downing, but Louis van Gaal's men held out
with teenage defender Paddy McNair impressing on his debut for the club
alongside Marcos Rojo.
Best of the match
Man of the match: Paddy McNair. The teenage defender was making his
Manchester United debut but looked composed in the first half and stood firm
in the second.
Goal of the match: Wayne Rooney's opener was a sublime first-time finish,
guiding Rafael's cross beyond Adrian with a very deft touch that used the
pace of the cross to beat the keeper.
Moment of the match: Rooney's second half red card was totally unnecessary
and put his side on the back foot for the remainder of the game.
Controversy of the match: Kevin Nolan thought he had levelled when he turned
home Carl Jenkinson's cross late on, but the flag had gone up for offside. A
very close call.
Rooney had opened the scoring with just five minutes on the clock, applying
a superb first-time finish to Rafael's run and cross down the right to guide
the ball across Adrian and into the back of the net. United made it 2-0
midway through the half, Robin van Persie feinting past Winston Reid before
shooting low across goal into the bottom corner from Radamel Falcao's pass
after Alex Song had been robbed of possession in his own half.
But the home side's frailties returned to haunt them once again as David de
Gea came and missed Downing's corner, allowing Enner Valencia to head
against the bar and Diafra Sakho nodded home the rebound. The home side were
sluggish at the start of the second period and were left clinging on after
Rooney was rightly dismissed by referee Lee Mason, with McNair producing one
excellent defensive header and Kevin Nolan seeing an effort ruled out for
offside.
Rooney's red card is set to rule the United skipper out of the forthcoming
games against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea - three games United will want
to win to put themselves firmly back in the hunt for the Champions League
places. The desire to put last week's capitulation at Leicester to bed was
clear from the first whistle as United hit West Ham with attack after
attack, and it took less than five minutes for the hosts to break the
deadlock.
Rafael sprinted down the right flank after dinking the ball over Aaron
Cresswell. The Brazilian paused and crossed for Rooney, who fired past
Adrian after one bounce. The expert execution across the West Ham goalkeeper
was befitting of a striker whose Premier League scoring record is now only
bettered by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer. United's creaky defence almost cost
them the lead within one minute of Rooney's goal. Daley Blind's miscued
clearance landed straight into the stride of Valencia, but he blasted into
the Stretford End.
It was a let-off for the hosts, who quickly sought to settle the nervy home
crowd with a second goal. Rooney found Van Persie at the back post with a
delightful cross, but the Dutchman headed wide. Manchester United manager
Louis van Gaal told Sky Sports he accepts Wayne Rooney's red card in his
side's 2-1 win over West Ham. Angel di Maria shot high and wide from inside
the West Ham box and Rooney then fluffed a shot inside the area, but Van
Persie had no such trouble in the 22nd minute when he put United 2-0 up.
Ander Herrera nicked the ball off Barcelona loanee Song and Van Persie
angled his shot past West Ham goalkeeper Adrian after a clever pass from
Falcao. For all their attacking brilliance, at the back United still looked
suspect. Song slipped Sakho in behind, but Rojo raced across to put in a
vital tackle. Sakho found the net a few minutes later due to a rare error
from De Gea. Valencia hit the bar with a header after the Spaniard flapped
at a corner and the ball fell to Sakho, who headed into an empty net.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes his side were denied a point after
Kevin Nolan's goal was ruled offside in their loss to Manchester United.
After the break, West Ham continued to press and aside from a shot by
Falcao, United offered little on the attack.
Slack marking from debutant Luke Shaw allowed Sakho to sting De Gea's palms
with a fierce volley. United looked shaky in the face of West Ham's
attacking play, and their task was made much harder when Rooney was sent off
just before the hour. The United captain, unable to catch Downing,
needlessly kicked the midfielder from behind while he was at full pace,
earning his first red card for United in five-and-a-half years.
Van Gaal looked to shore up his team by bringing Darren Fletcher on for
Falcao after West Ham sent Carlton Cole on and looked to press home their
numerical advantage. Herrera hobbled off with a back injury before McNair
made an outstanding defensive header deep inside the home box. Nolan turned
in Carl Jenkinson's cross in the 89th minute, but linesman Andrew Garratt
flagged for offside and United held on to record the second win of Van
Gaal's tenure.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce questions Manchester United offside decision
By Rob Parrish - Follow me on Twitter @RobParrish75 | Last Updated: 27/09/14
7:00pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce claimed his side were denied a deserved
equaliser after going down 2-1 to 10-man Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Kevin Nolan thought he had equalised for the visitors in the 89th minute of
an absorbing contest when he converted fellow substitute Carl Jenkinson's
cross, only to be denied by the offside flag. Allardyce was left frustrated
by the decision, claiming that the midfielder was 'blatantly onside' as
United were left clinging on following Wayne Rooney's red card for kicking
out at Stewart Downing. Rooney had earlier given United an early lead, which
was doubled by Robin van Persie before Diafra Sakho pulled one back before
the interval. Allardyce told Sky Sports: "Somebody told me his nose or his
head might be offside, but I don't think you can base a decision on the fact
that it's a nose or a head offside. "There's no way if that's the case that
the assistant referee can see it.
For me it's blatantly onside and it should have stood as a goal. Nobody else
can convince me any other way. "The linesman shouldn't have seen it that
way, but we're all under pressure when we play at Old Trafford and he was
under enough pressure to make the wrong decision. "It cost us a very
valuable point today after a fantastic comeback against Man Utd."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce pleased with West Ham's improved form
Last Updated: 27/09/14 10:00am
SSN
Sam Allardyce is delighted with the reaction his West Ham players have put
in following a recent "kick up the backside". The Hammers boss was upset by
their performance in the 3-1 defeat by Southampton, when they lost a second
successive game at Upton Park, but things have started to look up since the
international break. Allardyce has been pleased with the turnaround, which
sees them go to Manchester United on Saturday in good form having drawn at
Hull and beaten Liverpool. "We were off form but Southampton were a good
team on the day and every game since," he said. "I think we have had the
kick up the backside and the lads have responded brilliantly to that
disappointing performance. "We had to wait a long time to put that right -
we had to wait 16 days before we played Hull City away after the
international break. "Players like Enner Valencia and Cheikhou Kouyate
played two games in that time so our response has been very good.
"It has been a good reaction. We have looked at the players and changed the
system and it looks like they are very adaptable to different ways of
playing which is nice for me. "I think it is good if you can change the
shape of a team in any stage of the game or have it for one game and
different for the next, there's an old thing about why change it, but you
have got to accommodate the opposition you're playing when you're in my
position. "Certain ways of playing have to be adjusted sometimes if you want
to get the best out of your players against that team to try and win."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MANCHESTER UNITED 2, WEST HAM 1. EXPECTED WORSE, WANTED MORE.
By David Hautzig 27 Sep 2014 at 18:31
West Ham Till I Die
The other night, my wife took our son out to an event in a nearby town,
leaving our daughter and I to wing it. I do the majority of the cooking, but
on nights like that I prefer to slum it. Pizza and a movie that I recorded
on the DVR; The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I may be in the minority
here, but I think that film is a damned riot. It also turned out to be
insightful for today's game. Somehow, I deduced, we have accidentally
activated our own version of something called the Infinite Improbability
Drive.
According to The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, if a spaceship has one of
these toys, once it reaches what is known as infinite Improbability, it
passes through every conceivable point in every conceivable universe
simultaneously. Side effects of using the Infinite Improbability Drive
include temporary (and sometimes permanent,) changes to environment and
morphological structure, hallucinations, and the calling into being of large
marine mammals. There is no other rational explanation to explain a universe
in which West Ham United enter a game at Old Trafford as a team full of
optimism, hope, and verve, while the home side is…well….a complete and utter
wreck. Someone in East London, maybe on their way home from the Liverpool
Game, activated an Improbability Drive inside of their Vauxhall and we are
all now collectively coming out of it. Will the changes be temporary or
permanent? Today would probably clear a bit of that up.
I was convinced last week while watching Man U build a comfy 3-1 lead at
Leicester City that Louis Van Gaal was doing what he has done many times in
his highly impressive career. Yeah, we know he was won enough silverware to
fill many a granny's dining room armoire. But what's more interesting is
that in a few of those seasons at clubs in Holland, Spain, and Germany his
teams have started poorly and ended up on top. Yet the reality of
dismantling the core of their back four, with literally months of notice and
time to set up for the future yet doing bubkus (an absolutely great Yiddish
synonym for nothing), threw a crow bar in that narrative. That is the kind
of negligence that a team like, say, US would do. But not these guys.
That's not to say I went into today's game brimming with confidence. Hell
no. I don't do confidence when The Hammers are involved. I still believe Man
U will right their ship, and today was as good a day as any to anticipate
that happening. If the big red bear wakes up from hibernation with us
sitting on his paw, there will be hell to pay.
As has been the case since the start of the season, the announcement of the
starting eleven is a pretty big event in Twitterland. Kouyate's injury
sparked the debate once again, so before I crashed into my kids induced coma
last night I asked a few of my fellow Twitter nutters what they expected. I
figured Zarate was the most likely to step up, the question was if he would
play in the #10 role or if he would be pushed wide to accommodate Downing
staying there. But other ideas were floated around.
Lee Clayton of The Daily Mail was nice enough to join the chat, saying
"Could go three at the back, with Collins coming in, could bring in
Amalfitano. Or Poyet?" My less famous yet equally football savvy friend
@RockyWhu suggested Jenkinson replacing Kouyate, and @MarkHarrison23
wondered if Amalfitano could slot in there. No mention of Zarate from
anyone. Then, right after returning from the garbage dump, I see the news
from ExWHUemployee that Noble picked up an injury and Poyet might get the
call. Minutes later, in what has become a pretty common occurrence, Ex was
spot on.
Not that I was happy to see Noble out, which would be nuts, it did add a bit
of unpredictability to the squad. Amalfitano and Poyet are players I doubt
Van Gaal spent a lot of time planning for. And that's not to say it will
help us at all. But it's a far cry from seeing Matty Taylor and Vaz Te play
in a pinch.
I remember a game a few years ago at Stoke. Matthew Etherington was playing
very well for Stoke at the time, and early in the game Lucas Neill made it
clear he wanted that to stop. Any player on the New York Rangers ice hockey
team would have been proud to have delivered the shoulder check Neill did to
Etherington, and Matthew was invisible the rest of the day. I wondered if
Song was doing the same thing early on with not one, not two, but three hard
and somewhat reckless challenges. Risky game to play, Alex. And in
hindsight, it was more a sign of a very bad day at the office then a few bad
decisions. The less said about Mr. Fashion's game the better.
When Rafael streaked down the sideline with a green ocean of space in front
of him I was pretty sure it wouldn't end well. For us, it didn't. Rooney was
breaking into the box un-marked and casually redirected Rafael's cross past
Adrian. You could make an argument that Diego Poyet should have been closer
to Rooney, but the re-direction of the ball could have happened in a shoe
box.
1-0 to Manchester United.
Yet only two minutes later, Blind acted like he was his surname and headed a
back pass right to Enner Valencia. The dictionary says adrenaline is
released by the body at times of strong emotion, such as excitement. It
should add that it can cause wildly bad football shots that sail into the
crowd. It should be 1-1, but the gift was not used.
In the 9th minute Rooney almost found RVP with a looping pass but Cresswell
does a nice bit of defending to bock the Dutchman off. A little later
DiMaria gets the ball after some nice interplay between Rooney and Blind.
Then it was Déjà vu all over again with Rafael down the right but Rooney's
finish was not there.
Their attack is as good and as dangerous as we all feared it would be. But
at the same time we seem to have forgotten how to attack. Granted, we
haven't seen much of the ball but going down a goal shouldn't make you
abandon what you have been working on effectively the past few games. They
need to worry a little as well.
In the 22nd minute we had our first real attempt of the game, but Rojo made
perhaps his best play in his early Manchester United career by blocking
Sakho's attempt from Valencia. And a minute later, our captain and enforcer
for the day, Alex Song forgot he was back in England and took way too much
time on the ball. Falcao said "I'll take it, thank you" and passed it to
RVP. He always scores against us. Today would be no different.
2-0.
It could have been, and probably should have been, 3-0 when Rafael passed to
RVP after another impressive run down the right. RVP then got the ball to
DiMaria but this time he played like a mortal and missed the target
completely. If Rafael plays this well more consistently, and doesn't melt
down as consistently, Man U will have a handy player for a long time.
At this point I feel bad for my son, who wants me to play Harry Potter with
him. Normally, down 2-0 at Old Trafford, I'd happily take a break and grab
my wand. But Iain would be mad, unless I can cast a spell that puts the ball
behind de Gea.
Goaliarmus!
Holy cow. It worked!
Downing takes a corner and puts it on Tompkins noggin, the ball bounces off
the bar and right to our current goal scoring machine Sakho and he gets it
in there to pull a goal back. It felt like an interesting combination of old
and new. We used our new on the floor stuff to work the corner, and our old
get it in the box style to score. I take that as a good sign, not reverting
to hoofball.
2-1 at the half.
Today's lunch. Bolognese sauce from the side of beef I buy every year,
served over pappardelle made by a guy using a local variety of New York
wheat. Best pasta I've ever had. Seriously.
The first ten minutes of the second half were pretty good from our point of
view. We didn't capitulate the way we so often have when playing at one of
the bigger clubs. Downing started to move a bit more, forcing Herrera to
bring him down and get the first yellow card of the game. Sakho was ohhhh
soooo close to bringing us level in the 55th minute when he got on the end
of a Cresswell cross and forced a good save from de Gea. We started to make
their defenders work, and think, in their penalty area. Will their youth
rise to the challenge or fail them?
What should have been the game changer came in the 59th minute when Wayne
Rooney tried to perform a vasectomy on Stuart Downing. A bag of frozen peas
should have been part of our physio's treatment. He was probably mad that
Manchester United were not awarded a hand ball seconds before, and he let
his emotions get the better of him. I'm biased, but it was a really dumb
move. The red was deserved, and he will be lucky not to be charged with
violent conduct.
Twitter, as well as yours truly, was dumbstruck in the 61st minute when
Amalfitano came off for Carlton Cole. At a time when we have just been given
more space to work in, Sam chose to take off a guy who can get into said
space and cause them problems and replace him for a guy who stays in one
space and causes us problems. That is NOT Cole bashing. I respect him
tremendously. But that made no sense to me.
Sakho came close again on a pass from Downing in the 62nd minute, leading to
me to jot down this question. Is Sakho more of a threat on long balls than
Andy Carroll? Not looking for answers or debates just yet, just musing.
Jenkinson came on for Demel in the 64th. That's more like it, Sam.
Yet our first ten minutes up a man didn't look much different than the
previous 59 minutes we played at even strength. In fact, Manchester United
barely looked threatened at times. They have so many quality players I
shouldn't have been that shocked. But I was annoyed.
In the 74th minute, Ander Herrera came off. He had been one of their better
players on the day, so it was more or less good news. But could it have been
a blessing in disguise when Antonio Valencia came on.
Like Sakho last week, let's get it straight. Good Valencia, and Bad
Valencia.
Van Gaal was rightfully angry when his team couldn't kill off Leicester
City. Bad Valencia has the experience needed to do that job. Experience on
the whole as an invaluable tool was in evidence moments later when Sakho got
the ball on a break but hurried his pass to Good Valencia when a wee bit of
patience…and experience…might have done wonders.
With Kevin Nolan out, I've been pondering a theory. It's a theory I made up,
so I've had a lot of time to ponder it. With Good Valencia and Sakho working
well together, moving in and around the box, could there be more opportunity
for Nolan to do his poaching regimen than he has with Carroll as a lone
target? So when Nolan came on for Poyet, with Twitter going apoplectic, I
was a bit intrigued. Zarate might have been a better choice, but with 15
minutes to go I understood the argument.
In the 82nd minute Good Valencia started something that looked a bit like
the moves he used to score his rocket at Hull. Move to his right, move a bit
more, and fire. I prayed, but the prayer wasn't answered. Blind deflected
the shot wide and we did very little with the corner.
He then made two plays in quick order that I am going to punish him by
dropping the word Good from the paragraph. Because he was awful. He took a
corner that didn't come close to reaching the box, and wasn't high enough
for my seven year old to head it. Then he wasted a free kick by trying to do
it himself when they were so vulnerable in the box. I swear every human
being associated with West Ham threw their hands up and said "what are you
doing"?
I watched the final few minutes while on the phone with my best mate, Jon.
For whatever reason he was about two seconds ahead of me. He screamed "YES"!
I watched Nolan attack the cross, and yelled "YES"! My yelling made it
impossible for me to hear Jon then say "Flag Up". When I saw that two
seconds later I didn't say that. I'm confident in your ability to guess what
I did say.
A little bit more flurrying in the final moments gave us slim hope, but
despite the man advantage for over half an hour we couldn't get it done.
After a game it can be very hard to separate how you feel about the result
from what your expectations were. I expected Sam to revert a bit back to old
form, not go after them, and we get flogged. That didn't happen. So despite
the loss, in a game most expected us to lose, I'm looking at the positive
signs of a work in progress. Yes, I still question Amalfitano coming off for
Cole. I think even if Morgan was spent, Zarate would have been a better fit.
And I understand the questions about Nolan, but as I said before that is a
role he might be suited for. And if it weren't for a very close offside call
it would have turned out to be a master stroke.
We went to Old Trafford. We lost. But if things continue on the path we are
on, normal service has most definitely not been restored.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wayne Rooney's third Man United red card leaves Van Gaal refusing to discuss
his role as captain
Sep 27, 2014 22:31 By Simon Mullock
The Mirror
Louis van Gaal leapt to the defence of Wayne Rooney after seeing his captain
sent off for an ugly professional foul during his side's 2-1 victory over
West Ham. The England skipper took Stewart Downing out at the knees to halt
a 59th-minute Hammers counter-attack. But, when asked if the red card had
given him reason to rethink his decision to hand Rooney the armband, Van
Gaal reacted angrily. "For me, it is not a good analysis or a good
question," said the Dutchman. "It is my right not to answer it." He added:
"Wayne's foul was too unfriendly. That was his biggest mistake. "Wayne could
have made the foul in a more friendly way. "Wayne has spoken to me and said
he didn't mean for it to be like that. But, whether you like to hear it or
not, football is a professional game with professional fouls - I've seen
five or six other professional fouls today that didn't get a red or even a
yellow card."
It was the sixth red card of Rooney's career and the third time he has been
dismissed playing for United. He will now miss ALL of October through
suspension, ruling him out of games against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea,
before returning for the Manchester derby on November 2. Rooney had put Van
Gaal's men ahead with a glorious fifth-minute finish and then seen Robin van
Persie double the advantage in the 22nd minute. But West Ham hit back
through Diafra Sakho before the break, and boss Sam Allardyce thought Kevin
Nolan had grabbed a last-minute equaliser - only for celebrations to be cut
short by the offside flag of assistant referee Andy Garratt. Allardyce said:
"The assistant referee has dropped a massive b*****k. The Superman linesman
has got X-ray vision. "If he has seen the Kevin Nolan's head is offside,
then he must have super-human vision."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MATCH VERDICT – Many reasons to be cheerful
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Manchester United 2 Irons 1
Claret & Hugh
Match verdict
by Hugh Southon
To come away from Old Trafford feeling sick that we didn't win tells me one
thing: This squad has come one hell of a long way and we should all feel
very content with the way things are heading. Our man of the season Cheikhou
Kouyate was missing and the late withdrawal of Mark Noble could have proved
seriously harmful. Instead it gave us the opportunity to take a look at
Morgan Amalfitano and Diego Poyet and both looked more than comfortable in
what is always seen as one of the toughest tests of the season. These are
big reasons to be very cheerful. That United cruised into a two goal lead
was down to the fact that captain for the day Alex Song made a colossal
ricket for the first goal – but for that we would have come away with a
point we always richly deserved.
What I believe we saw this afternoon was that Sam Allardyce and David
Sullivan ( because trust me that's what it amounts to ) have assembled a
squad which Noble describes as the best he's been involved in over his 10
years at the club. We looked very strong throughout but what's changed is
that there is now a touch of class about the Hammers with a squad of players
having been assembled who can play in several different ways. I really like
the look of Amalfitano and I believe Enner Valencia will be one of those who
brings moments of delirium and desperation but I'd sooner have him in my
team than in the opposition's. The player who excites though – a guy who I
believe will still be going at the end of the season as he has started – is
Diafra Sakho. He's always involved, always sniffing out chances, playing
simple lay offs to get things set- up and SCORING GOALS. At one stage – when
a far post volley was saved by David De Gea at close range – Diafra's first
reaction was to wind-up the Irons fans. Love it.
But what's better than anything is that we really do have our West Ham back
although the sight of Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan arriving on the pitch
wasn't the best. West Ham 2014/15 are light years in front of what we have
been looking at over the last two or three seasons and this is no time to
call the manager or anyone else. Let's just see how well this develops
because it truly is looking very good. One final thought on the game: Wayne
Rooney's sending off was 100 per cent deserved. He scythed Stewart Downing
down with a knee high kick. And unbelievably the United fans cheered and
clapped him off. If that's what they have come to, Manchester United is
really is in trouble!
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This was the Davids most important decision of all
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Of all the decisions that were made at the end of last season the most
important was that the board were going to take a much closer interest in
who came into the Boleyn during the summer transfer market. The likes of
Modibo Maiga and Alou Diarra has sharpened and concentrated minds – David
Sullivan and David Gold were not ready to entertain anymore flops. The
public announcements that this was set to happen brought the normal chorus
of disapproval in some places with the usuaal murmurs that the board wanted
to pick the team and other such nonsense. What it actually meant was that
there would be much closer cooperation between the manager and the owners –
no longer would a player be suggested and bought just like that - there
would be greater discussion. It really was as simple as that!
All the talk of Sam Allardyce's job being undermined was ridiculous – like
any other employer in any other walk of life, he became more
accountable…nothing wrong with that. And the outcome has been first class.
We have seen some terrific players come through the doors such as Kouyate,
Song, Valencia and Sakho and in total we spent around £31 million. It's
been a success story we should celebrate. OK it's very early in the season
but it's clear we have a great squad and for me, with absolutely no axe to
grind on behalf of anybody I would say one thing. The board – as is their
total right because it's their money – gave a great lead on the issue, Sam
Allardyce concurred, everybody has been working together and we are seeing
great benefits as a result. For now, it's the supporters' job to unite as
strongly as we tend to divide when it all goes tits up – now that would be
nice wouldn't it?
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Sakho financial package brings boardroom smiles
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
The Irons top brass deserve to be giving themselves some hefty slaps on the
back after watching Diafra Sakho start his season with four goals from four
starts. For they put a truly top class deal together when finally deciding
to offer the former Metz striker a permanent deal at the club. And after his
storming start to the campaign, the financials involved are looking very
good indeed. It now seems astonishing that the deal nearly broke down when
the club tried to change it from a permanent to loan deal but it's now a
very clever package from our point of view Co-chairman David Sullivan is the
man who put the deals together and he finally agreed a fee of £3.5 million
with add-ons. And ClaretandHugh has discovered exclusively from club
insiders that the add ons were all based on appearance with the money only
rising to £7 million after 130 games – or in around three to four seasons!
And additionally the French outfit won't receive another penny until the
player has made a minimum of 35 appearances. After their shocking luck with
Modibo Maiga and injury-stricken Andy Carroll, the board finally has an
investment to bring a smile to their faces.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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WHUFC.com
The manager said three main factors contributed to an unwarranted 2-1 defeat
at Manchester United
27.09.2014
Vital errors, missed chances and a disallowed goal left Sam Allardyce hugely
frustrated as West Ham United were edged out 2-1 at Manchester United. The
Hammers yet again produced an eye-catching attacking performance at Old
Trafford, highlighted by Diafra Sakho's fourth goal in four starts, only for
two early goals and Kevin Nolan's disallowed late strike to leave them
pointless.
West Ham dominated the second half, both before and after Wayne Rooney's
sending-off for a wild kick on Stewart Downing, but ultimately had nothing
to show for their efforts. Speaking to West Ham TV, Big Sam lamented the
circumstances which combined to condemn his side to an unwarranted defeat.
"There were three main factors - one is that we gifted Man United two goals
when we shouldn't have done. If you gift that quality of player a chance, as
we did on both occasions, then they will punish you. "They were good
finishes by Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie but that is why they pay
millions and millions of pounds for them. "We've created more chances than
them, but we haven't taken those chances and that's the second reason why
we've lost the game. We created chance after chance after chance,
particularly after their first goal when Enner Valencia got a clean shot at
goal from 12 yards out with only the goalie to beat and he blasted over the
bar, then after we got back to 2-1. "I'm a little sick on that basis, then
thirdly we have the decision at the end with Kevin Nolan's goal which I've
looked at four times and we now know was the wrong decision. "We leave Old
Trafford extremely frustrated, having played well, but that means absolutely
nothing to me because we didn't get anything from the game. The game is
about getting the result but we've lost and that's more our fault than the
assistant referee's. "He's made one crucial decision that's wrong, but we
made two bad decisions and they scored two and missed too many chances to
get back to 2-2 before the assistant referee's mistake."
While the manager was rightly annoyed with the decision to disallow Nolan's
89th-minute tap-in, he felt the decision to send-off Wayne Rooney just
before the hour-mark was justified. "We'll have to see what [PGMO chief]
Mike Riley says about it, but I'm sure he'll say it was reckless and if it's
reckless and dangerous then it's a red card. "Wayne made it too obvious.
Instead of doing what some players do when their opponent gets away from
them, which is just trip them up and get a yellow, he just hacked him down.
It looked pretty bad from where I was."
While naturally disappointed to see his side lose on the road for the first
time this season, Big Sam was content to see Sakho score for the fourth
consecutive game. The Senegal striker nodded in when James Tomkins' header
from Stewart Downing's corner bounced back off the crossbar and later saw a
superbly controlled second-half volley saved by David de Gea. "Sakho is
looking great, isn't he? He could have had a hat-trick and he has scored
again. He had a volley on the far post which was beautifully saved by De Gea
and a header on the far post which he could have done better with. "Him and
the other lads have had enough chances. A couple have just gone the wrong
side of the post and stuff like that, but when we finally broke the then men
down the goal was disallowed. We know how hard it is to break ten men
down because we won with ten men ourselves twice last season."
The manager was also asked about the performances of full Barclays Premier
League debutants Diego Poyet and Morgan Amalfitano, who were drafted into
the starting XI due to injuries to Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate. "They
did OK. I think Morgan is finding is feet after joining us on the last day
of the transfer window, so he still isn't 100 per cent match-fit, and it's
the same with Alex Song. Mark has a calf injury and Cheikhou is going to be
out for a while, as we know, so they did all right. "We just didn't do well
enough in the first 25-30 minutes, but we got back to 2-1 and we had chances
to get a point. Once we scored, we found our feet and the team responded
well after a miserable start. They showed what they are made of, so from
that point of view I was really pleased with how we stuck at it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers edged out at Old Trafford
WHUFC.com
West Ham United succumb to a slender 2-1 defeat by ten-man Manchester United
27.09.2014
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
A spirited West Ham United were edged out by ten-man Manchester United at
Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, as the Hammers were beaten on their
travels for the first time in the Barclays Premier League this season. Wayne
Rooney's stylish finish and a typically clinical Robin Van Persie fired
Louis Van Gaal's men into a two-goal lead inside 21 minutes, before Diafra
Sakho halved the Hammers' arrears from point-blank range. Goalscorer Rooney
saw red on the hour mark for a wild challenge on Stewart Downing and yet for
all their second-half pressure, Sam Allardyce's men were unable to make
their numerical or territorial advantage count.
Allardyce had earlier been forced to shuffle his winning pack, with
midfielders Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate both injury absentees. It meant
a first start for last weekend's hero Morgan Amalfitano and 19-year-old
Diego Poyet. Elsewhere, skipper Kevin Nolan, having recovered from a
fractured shoulder, was restored to the matchday 18.
If Manchester United were still a little nervy from their second-half
collapse at Leicester City, they certainly did not show it first up. With a
patched up back-four, Van Gaal's men made sure it was the Hammers doing all
the defending early on.
Rooney's second-minute free-kick just evaded Radamel Falcao at the far post
and had Adrian scurrying across his goal too. Alex Song had a second nibble
at Angel Di Maria, prompting Lee Mason to produce an early yellow card. And
while the Argentine looked menacing over on the left-hand side, the opener
came from the opposite flank. Rafael Da Silva burst free, swung in an
inviting cross towards Rooney, who hardly broke strike to brilliantly sweep
into the far corner beyond the dive of Adrian.
But just as they did against Leicester City, the Reds switched off from the
restart. A woeful attempted back-pass sent Enner Valencia in the clear, but
he rushed his effort, blasting high into the Stretford End.
Daley Blind then fed Di Maria on the left edge of the box, who shifted it
onto his right foot but curled over. Midway through the half and the hosts
should really have had a second, courtesy of the same duo who conjured the
first. Rafael again picked out Rooney 12 yards from goal, but this time he
scuffed it and James Tomkins headed away.
That second, however, was not long in coming. Song was robbed in his own
half and once Falcao fed Van Persie, the Hammers' goal was in serious peril.
Faced with Winston Reid, the Dutchman worked half a yard and angled a low
drive across Adrian and in off the post.
But West Ham's response was a spirited one and they were well and truly back
in it after 38 minutes, thanks to that man Sakho, again. Downing's
right-wing corner caused all sorts of bother in the hosts' box, with
Amalfitano the first to challenge and his header only partially repelled by
David De Gea. The rebound dropped kindly for Valencia and though his header
came back off the bar, Sakho gleefully nodded into the unguarded net.
Allardyce's side started the second half in positive fashion and twice
produced half chances in the opening exchanges. Valencia's cleverly flighted
free-kick landed on the chest of Reid, but with no West Ham man in close
attendance, the Reds smuggled it away. Then, Aaron Cresswell's long ball
flicked off the head of Sakho and just ran away from the advanced
Amalfitano.
Back at the Stretford End, Falcao let fly from distance once more and though
Poyet flung himself in the line of fire, the deflection forced Adrian into
an eye-catching stop away to his left.
But West Ham continued to force the issue and went close with 55 on the
clock. Cresswell's deep cross found the unmarked Sakho at the far post,
whose side-foot volley was well saved by De Gea. The resulting corner, not
for the first time, caused chaos and so nearly fell for Tomkins.
The real drama, however, was still to follow, as Rooney unwisely aimed a
wild kick at the shins of Downing, as the Hammers man looked to race across
half way. Referee Lee Mason sent the England man packing, much to the horror
of most inside Old Trafford. Allardyce responded by introducing Carlton Cole
for the flagging Amalfitano, while Darren Fletcher replaced Falcao for the
Reds.
As the Hammers piled on the pressure, Valencia's deflected effort drifted
the wrong side of De Gea's left-hand upright, before Jenkinson's cross was
brilliantly cleared by youngster Patrick McNair from under his own crossbar.
West Ham looked to have bagged a dramatic leveller in the 89th minute, but
the linesman's flag cut short the Hammers' celebrations after substitute
Nolan had turned home Jenkinson's cross. Try as they might, an equaliser
would ultimately prove elusive as Allardyce's men departed Old Trafford
empty handed.
Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, McNair, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Herrera
(Valencia 74), Di Maria (Thorpe 90+4), Rooney, van Persie, Falcao (Fletcher
65)
Subs: Lindegaard, Pereira, Mata, Januzaj
Goals: Rooney 5, Van Persie 22
Booked: Herrera
Sent off: Rooney
West Ham United: Adrian, Demel (Jenkinson 64), Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell,
Poyet (Nolan 75), Song, Amalfitano (Cole 60), Downing, Sakho, Valencia
Subs: Zarate, Vaz Te, Collins, Jaaskelainen
Goal: Sakho 38
Booked: Song, Sakho, Adrian
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan - 'We deserved a draw'
WHUFC.com
Kevin Nolan was disappointed that a positive performance was not rewarded
with a result at Man Utd
27.09.2014
Kevin Nolan returned from injury with a 15-minute run-out in West Ham
United's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday and the skipper came so
close to earning the Hammers what would have been a richly deserved point.
Nolan converted Carl Jenkinson's low cross in the penultimate minute, only
to see the linesman's flag go up for a marginal offside decision. On another
day the goal could well have stood and Nolan was of the firm belief that it
should have done so. Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie struck early to give
the hosts their advantage, but Diafra Sakho hit back before half-time and
the No4 could not believe his side came away from Old Trafford empty handed.
"It's a feeling of disappointment," he admitted. "I thought we thoroughly
deserved a draw and we're gutted we didn't get it, but there are lots of
positives to take away."If we carry on playing the way we have done in the
last few weeks we'll get the results we deserve."It's fantastic to be part
of it again. I only trained on Thursday with the boys and actually was due
to have a day off on Friday, but with Nobes [Mark Noble] going down injured,
I got the call and I was delighted to that the gaffer put me on."I was even
more delighted when I scored because I knew I wasn't offside. Jenks
[Jenkinson] put a great ball in. I knew he was going to whip it, so I just
had to try and get something on it. I couldn't believe it when I saw the
flag had gone up - I'd even started to celebrate - and I think they've
gambled on it really. That's the biggest disappointment, "We fully deserved
to get a result and we're just disappointed that we gave two sloppy goals
away. "That's how the cookie crumbles sometimes and we'll get the luck later
in the season."
Nolan, who has been out since the season's opening week after fracturing his
shoulder in training, has nonetheless been impressed with the team's
performances in his absence and expects them to build on their positive
start with several an absentee still to return. He continued: "We were
missing Andy Carroll, Mark Noble, Matt Jarvis and Joey O'Brien, while Carl
Jenkinson has only just come back We've had a long injury list, but because
of the acquisitions we've made this summer, we've shown we can keep the
level of performance really high."It's exciting times for us and as we get
the injured players back there'll be great competition for places. It means
you know you've got to perform, because if you don't, you won't be picked.
"I think we have to get in and around that top ten. That;s a realistic aim
for this year, but we'll get to Christmas, see where we are and sit down and
talk about it again."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
U18s produce four-star display
WHUFC.com
Jordan Brown was on target again as West Ham United U18s comfortably beat
Reading
27.09.2014
West Ham United's scholars maintained their unbeaten start to the 2014/15
Barclays U18 Premier League season with a fantastic 4-0 win at Reading on
Saturday. The Hammers produced a convincing display in Berkshire as goals
from Josh Pask, Grady Diangana, Jordan Brown and substitute Oscar Borg saw
them make it six league games without defeat. Steve Potts' side created
chance after chance and England U16 international Jahmal Hector-Ingram had
already gone close twice before Brown fired a shot narrowly over the
crossbar. It was defender Pask who broke the deadlock, however, diverting
Kieran Bailey's strike into the net after Reading had failed to clear a
Djair Parfitt-Williams corner. Having fallen behind, the Royals enjoyed
arguably their best period of the match, but Pask's central defensive
partner Emmanuel Onariase threw his giant frame in the way of a goalbound
shot to maintain West Ham's lead. Bermuda-born Parfitt-Williams shot
narrowly over the top as the first half came to a close with the Hammers
still in the ascendancy. After the break, it took just a few moments for the
visitors to double their advantage. Again, a Parfitt-Williams corner led to
the goal, with Diangana scrambling the ball home after Onariase's header had
been blocked. Brown went close yet again before finally netting his fifth
goal in six league matches when he latched onto a pass from Onariase and
slotted into the net for 3-0. West Ham were now in top gear and could have
had a fourth when Hector-Ingram showed good strength to hold off his man
before cutting back for Diangana, whose shot was blocked behind for a
corner. The Hammers' dominance was rewarded with 15 minutes to go when
Parfitt-Williams showed good awareness to pick out Brown, whose low cross
was converted by substitute Borg. With three wins, three draws and 15 goals
scored under their belts, the Hammers will seek to extend their unbeaten
start to seven matches when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion next
weekend.
U18s: Bogard, Sylvestre, Neufville, Bailey, Pask, Onariase, Hector-Ingram,
Browne (Elsom 80), Brown (Sheriff 85), Diangana (Borg 70), Parfitt-Williams
Subs not used: Boness, Rice
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Man Utd 2 West Ham 1
27 September 2014
Last updated at 17:30
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Wayne Rooney was sent off for Manchester United as his side clung on to
resolutely beat West Ham for their second league win of the season. The home
side were cruising after Rooney swept in a Rafael cross and Robin van Persie
rifled in a low shot. But Diafra Sakho nodded in for the Hammers before
Rooney was sent off for a reckless tackle on Stewart Downing. Enner Valencia
shot wide and Kevin Nolan had an effort ruled out for offside as the home
side held on. The relief was palpable around Old Trafford at the final
whistle, while there was also anger at referee Lee Mason for his decision to
dismiss Rooney just before the hour mark. However, the England striker
kicked out at Downing as the Hammers threatened to launch a counter-attack
and is now set to miss games against former club Everton, West Brom and
Chelsea. West Ham will be left to rue being on the wrong end of a close
offside call when Nolan's last-gasp prod was disallowed but they have now
lost 20 of their last 22 league games at Old Trafford.
Robin van Persie is the second non-British player (after Dwight Yorke) to
score 40+ Premier League goals for two different clubs. Wayne Rooney and
Robin van Persie have scored in the same Premier League game for the first
time since February against Crystal Palace.
West Ham had 13 attempts on goal during the match compared to Manchester
United's eight. Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal had been looking for a
response from his side following their 5-3 humbling at Leicester last Sunday
and, although his side won, it was almost a similar story. Injuries in
defence saw the Dutchman start with 19-year-old Paddy McNair in central
defence and £27m summer signing Luke Shaw at left-back as both made their
club debuts. But, for all of the home side's struggles at the back, they
still had a vast array of attacking artillery and it did not take long for
that to fire. Rafael raced down the right flank and delivered a cross which
Rooney converted with a first-time glanced shot to the far post. Van Gaal
has questioned the England international's ability to play as a striker but
Rooney's finish was clinical and took his tally to 175 as he overtook
Thierry Henry to move into the outright third position in the Premier
League's record of all-time top scorers.
The home side almost ruined their eye-catching forward play when a poor back
pass from midfield released Enner Valencia on the home goal only for the
Ecuadorian to blaze his effort over. United's second came when Ander Herrera
dispossessed Alex Song before Radamel Falcao slid a pass through to Van
Persie, who angled in a right-foot shot.
BBC pundit Phil Neville on Match of the Day "When Rooney made the foul I
thought United must have been in trouble at the back but United were four
against two and all the defenders were in good positions. It's just a
reckless tackle. There's no need to make the foul because of the position
the United defenders were in."
But, Van Gaal's side had shown against Leicester that they have a propensity
for hitting the self destruct button and they again made life difficult for
themselves. Referee Lee Mason denied the Hammers a penalty when Morgan
Amalfitano's hooked cross appeared to strike the arm of Falcao before the
visitors pulled a goal back. Home keeper David De Gea missed punching away a
corner and, after Valencia's header came back off the crossbar, Sakho was on
hand to nod home for his fourth goal in five games. Rooney's red card then
gave the visiting side hope but, despite a Sakho header into the
side-netting and Nolan's late effort, Van Gaal's side secured a much-needed
victory.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal: "The win is very important, you
can imagine that. We played a very good first half with attractive football.
We conceded again a goal from a set play. "But OK, I am very happy that we
hold the result until the end because it is very difficult to play against a
team who not only have have one more player but who also play a lot of high
balls. I am very pleased with the attitude of my players."
On Rooney red card: "It was a break out of a set play of ours and he makes a
professional foul, I think you can call it like that. I don't think Wayne
wanted to do it that way but he did it and you can give a red card."
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "I've looked on the laptop and Kevin Nolan made
a good run from deep and put the ball in the net. Unfortunately for us, the
assistant saw something we didn't. "It's unfortunate when you've worked so
hard to get back in the game.
"We gifted Manchester United two goals and at 11 v 11 we had the best
chances. Diafra Sakho could easily have had a hat-trick."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan: I was onside
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 27th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
Kevin Nolan has accused referee Lee Mason of taking a gamble by ruling out
what would have been an 89th-minute equaliser for West Ham at Old Trafford
this afternoon. With West Ham trailing 2-1 Nolan, on as a second half
substitute latched on to a Carl Jenkinson centre to fire home - only to see
referee Lee Mason, who hails from Greater Manchester, rule the 'goal' out on
the advice of a linesman. That decision left the club captain - who also won
the penalty that Mark Noble failed to convert against Tottenham on the
opening day of the season - bitterly disappointed. "I thought we thoroughly
deserved a draw and when it's a referee's decision that takes it away from
you it's even more disappointing," he said. "It was either Sakho or Song who
played Jenks in. I knew he was going to whip it so I knew I just had to try
and get something on it. I couldn't believe when I got up out of the net to
start celebrating the flag was up. "I think the referee was behind me and he
just sort of gambled on it. He's definitely gambled on it because if he had
seen it, he wouldn't have given it offside - so that's the biggest
disappointment."
Despite the defeat, Nolan admitted that he was delighted to make his return
from a shoulder injury. "I couldn't wait to get on and I was even more
delighted when I scored because I knew I wasn't offside," he added."But
that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes; hopefully I will get the luck
later on in the season."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester Utd 2-1 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 27th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's unbeaten away record ended at Old Trafford this afternoon
- albeit in the most controversial of circumstances. At 2-1 down and with
less than two minutes of normal time remaining the Hammers thought they had
grabbed a late equaliser when substitute Kevin Nolan - who initially
appeared to be onside - bundled a cross over the line, only to see the
'goal' ruled out by a linesman's flag.
That moment of controversy came at the end of a second half in which West
Ham had battered their hosts - who were reduced to ten men on the hour mark
following the dismissal of captain Wayne Rooney - without finding the
clinical touch necessary to restore parity.
And ultimately, West Ham - who were missing their engine room in the shape
of Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble (a late withdrawal from the squad) - only
had themselves to blame for a third Premier League defeat of the season.
A poor start resulted in the Irons being two goals behind inside 25 minutes
as pre-match fears regarding the strength of the opposition attack
manifested themselves in devastating fashion.
There were just five minutes on the clock when England striker Rooney got in
front of West Ham's Spanish goalkeeper Adrian to convert Rafael's cross from
the right - not the last time the hosts would exploit space on West Ham's
left side - to give Man U an early advantage.
Alex Song may have enjoyed a wonderful start to his time in east London but
he was at fault for the goal that left his new team two behind, with 22
minutes on the clock. A poor goal kick from Adrian was collected by Song,
who promptly conceded possession inside his own half.
With West Ham stretched Falcao played in van Persie, who had pulled wide of
Winston Reid, and the Dutch striker stroked the ball into the far corner to
make it 2-0.
Many West Ham teams in the past would have folded at that stage, so it was
encouraging to see the Hammers continue to seek to attack where possible.
Having made a slight tactical change, United left Enner Valencia - who'd
missed a sitter at 0-1, just moments after Rooney's goal - alone up front
and got their reward from a corner.
Stewart Downing's floated centre was met by Morgan Amalfitano, who forced a
save from David De Gea. Valencia pounced upon the rebound only to see his
header crash off the bar, but Sakho was present to nod the ball over the
line.
By doing so, the former Metz man continued his prolific run of form having
scored in every game he's started since moving to London - a total of four
goals in four games.
The second half exploded into life in bizarre fashion seconds ahead of the
hour mark when Rooney, whose petulance has cast a shadow over his entire
professional career received a straight red card for kicking out at Stewart
Downing in order to prevent him starting a counter attack.
Whilst the challenge was cynical rather than dangerous, and perhaps more
deserving of a comedy award than a red card, the rules stated that Rooney
had to walk and so he did, leaving an already under-pressure Man U to face
the final half-hour with a man disadvantage.
What followed afterwards was almost equally as bizarre - the sight of West
Ham bossing a game at Old Trafford. Desperate to protect their narrow
advantage having shipped five at newly-promoted Leicester last week, the
Reds resorted to defending desperately as the Hammers threw everything but
the kitchen sink at their hosts.
Ultimately it was to no avail, but only by the narrowest of margins - and
the eagerness of a referee's assistant to err on the side of caution/the
more high-profile team by raising his flag when the game-changing 50/50
incident arose two minutes from time.
Although the linesman's call will almost certainly be hailed as the correct
one by the media, there's no doubt that he got lucky. Nolan, if offside at
all could only have been so by a fraction, inches maybe - and to detect that
with the naked eye would require superhuman powers.
So not for the first time this season it was an encouraging performance by
West Ham - for which their reward was zero points, but perhaps a little more
respect amongst their peers for the manner in which they took the game to
their purportedly more-illustrious opponents.
Next up for Big Sam and his continually improving squad come Queens Park
Rangers eight days from now, the first of the three promoted clubs to visit
the Boleyn Ground this season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Kevin Nolan unhappy with disallowed goal against Man United
Last Updated: 27/09/14 10:26pm
SSN
West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan is convinced referee Lee Mason took a
'gamble' by ruling out what appeared to be a perfectly good goal for
offside. Nolan latched on to an 89th minute cross from right-back Carl
Jenkinson to poke the ball into the back of the net only to see the
assistant referee's flag up as he turned to celebrate. And the 32-year-old
was left to rue a decision which condemned West Ham to their 20th defeat in
their last 22 visits to Old Trafford. "I thought we thoroughly deserved a
draw and then when it comes down to a decision from the referee that takes
it away from you it's even more disappointing," Nolan said. "It was either
(Diafra) Sakho or (Alex) Song who played Jenks (Carl Jenkinson) in and I
knew he was going to whip it so I knew I just had to try and get something
on it.
Speaking after West Ham's loss at Old Trafford, Kevin Nolan insists that his
goal was perfectly good after it was ruled out for offside.
"I couldn't believe when I got up out of the net to start celebrating that
the flag was up but I think even the referee was behind me and he just sort
of gambled on it. Well I know he's definitely gambled on it because if he
had of seen it, he wouldn't have given it off-side so that's the biggest
disappointment. "I couldn't wait to get on and was delighted that he
(manager Sam Allardyce) put me on and I was even more delighted when I
scored because I knew I wasn't off-side. But that's just how the cookie
crumbles sometimes and hopefully I will get the luck later on in the
season."
Nolan insisted his team-mates can take positives from the defeat and hopes
they can use their performance at Old Trafford as a springboard to push on
in the Premier League this season. "I think we've got to get in around that
top 10 and above it really," he added. "I think that would be a realistic
aim for us this year but I think we'll get to Christmas, see where we are,
and then we can have a sit down and have a good talk about what our
realistic aim will be really."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wayne Rooney sent off as Manchester United beat West Ham
Last Updated: 28/09/14 6:05am
SSN
Manchester United survived Wayne Rooney's moment of madness as their captain
scored and was then sent off in the 2-1 victory over West Ham at Old
Trafford. Rooney was red carded just before the hour mark after a rush of
blood saw him kick out at Stewart Downing, but Louis van Gaal's men held out
with teenage defender Paddy McNair impressing on his debut for the club
alongside Marcos Rojo.
Best of the match
Man of the match: Paddy McNair. The teenage defender was making his
Manchester United debut but looked composed in the first half and stood firm
in the second.
Goal of the match: Wayne Rooney's opener was a sublime first-time finish,
guiding Rafael's cross beyond Adrian with a very deft touch that used the
pace of the cross to beat the keeper.
Moment of the match: Rooney's second half red card was totally unnecessary
and put his side on the back foot for the remainder of the game.
Controversy of the match: Kevin Nolan thought he had levelled when he turned
home Carl Jenkinson's cross late on, but the flag had gone up for offside. A
very close call.
Rooney had opened the scoring with just five minutes on the clock, applying
a superb first-time finish to Rafael's run and cross down the right to guide
the ball across Adrian and into the back of the net. United made it 2-0
midway through the half, Robin van Persie feinting past Winston Reid before
shooting low across goal into the bottom corner from Radamel Falcao's pass
after Alex Song had been robbed of possession in his own half.
But the home side's frailties returned to haunt them once again as David de
Gea came and missed Downing's corner, allowing Enner Valencia to head
against the bar and Diafra Sakho nodded home the rebound. The home side were
sluggish at the start of the second period and were left clinging on after
Rooney was rightly dismissed by referee Lee Mason, with McNair producing one
excellent defensive header and Kevin Nolan seeing an effort ruled out for
offside.
Rooney's red card is set to rule the United skipper out of the forthcoming
games against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea - three games United will want
to win to put themselves firmly back in the hunt for the Champions League
places. The desire to put last week's capitulation at Leicester to bed was
clear from the first whistle as United hit West Ham with attack after
attack, and it took less than five minutes for the hosts to break the
deadlock.
Rafael sprinted down the right flank after dinking the ball over Aaron
Cresswell. The Brazilian paused and crossed for Rooney, who fired past
Adrian after one bounce. The expert execution across the West Ham goalkeeper
was befitting of a striker whose Premier League scoring record is now only
bettered by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer. United's creaky defence almost cost
them the lead within one minute of Rooney's goal. Daley Blind's miscued
clearance landed straight into the stride of Valencia, but he blasted into
the Stretford End.
It was a let-off for the hosts, who quickly sought to settle the nervy home
crowd with a second goal. Rooney found Van Persie at the back post with a
delightful cross, but the Dutchman headed wide. Manchester United manager
Louis van Gaal told Sky Sports he accepts Wayne Rooney's red card in his
side's 2-1 win over West Ham. Angel di Maria shot high and wide from inside
the West Ham box and Rooney then fluffed a shot inside the area, but Van
Persie had no such trouble in the 22nd minute when he put United 2-0 up.
Ander Herrera nicked the ball off Barcelona loanee Song and Van Persie
angled his shot past West Ham goalkeeper Adrian after a clever pass from
Falcao. For all their attacking brilliance, at the back United still looked
suspect. Song slipped Sakho in behind, but Rojo raced across to put in a
vital tackle. Sakho found the net a few minutes later due to a rare error
from De Gea. Valencia hit the bar with a header after the Spaniard flapped
at a corner and the ball fell to Sakho, who headed into an empty net.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes his side were denied a point after
Kevin Nolan's goal was ruled offside in their loss to Manchester United.
After the break, West Ham continued to press and aside from a shot by
Falcao, United offered little on the attack.
Slack marking from debutant Luke Shaw allowed Sakho to sting De Gea's palms
with a fierce volley. United looked shaky in the face of West Ham's
attacking play, and their task was made much harder when Rooney was sent off
just before the hour. The United captain, unable to catch Downing,
needlessly kicked the midfielder from behind while he was at full pace,
earning his first red card for United in five-and-a-half years.
Van Gaal looked to shore up his team by bringing Darren Fletcher on for
Falcao after West Ham sent Carlton Cole on and looked to press home their
numerical advantage. Herrera hobbled off with a back injury before McNair
made an outstanding defensive header deep inside the home box. Nolan turned
in Carl Jenkinson's cross in the 89th minute, but linesman Andrew Garratt
flagged for offside and United held on to record the second win of Van
Gaal's tenure.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce questions Manchester United offside decision
By Rob Parrish - Follow me on Twitter @RobParrish75 | Last Updated: 27/09/14
7:00pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce claimed his side were denied a deserved
equaliser after going down 2-1 to 10-man Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Kevin Nolan thought he had equalised for the visitors in the 89th minute of
an absorbing contest when he converted fellow substitute Carl Jenkinson's
cross, only to be denied by the offside flag. Allardyce was left frustrated
by the decision, claiming that the midfielder was 'blatantly onside' as
United were left clinging on following Wayne Rooney's red card for kicking
out at Stewart Downing. Rooney had earlier given United an early lead, which
was doubled by Robin van Persie before Diafra Sakho pulled one back before
the interval. Allardyce told Sky Sports: "Somebody told me his nose or his
head might be offside, but I don't think you can base a decision on the fact
that it's a nose or a head offside. "There's no way if that's the case that
the assistant referee can see it.
For me it's blatantly onside and it should have stood as a goal. Nobody else
can convince me any other way. "The linesman shouldn't have seen it that
way, but we're all under pressure when we play at Old Trafford and he was
under enough pressure to make the wrong decision. "It cost us a very
valuable point today after a fantastic comeback against Man Utd."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce pleased with West Ham's improved form
Last Updated: 27/09/14 10:00am
SSN
Sam Allardyce is delighted with the reaction his West Ham players have put
in following a recent "kick up the backside". The Hammers boss was upset by
their performance in the 3-1 defeat by Southampton, when they lost a second
successive game at Upton Park, but things have started to look up since the
international break. Allardyce has been pleased with the turnaround, which
sees them go to Manchester United on Saturday in good form having drawn at
Hull and beaten Liverpool. "We were off form but Southampton were a good
team on the day and every game since," he said. "I think we have had the
kick up the backside and the lads have responded brilliantly to that
disappointing performance. "We had to wait a long time to put that right -
we had to wait 16 days before we played Hull City away after the
international break. "Players like Enner Valencia and Cheikhou Kouyate
played two games in that time so our response has been very good.
"It has been a good reaction. We have looked at the players and changed the
system and it looks like they are very adaptable to different ways of
playing which is nice for me. "I think it is good if you can change the
shape of a team in any stage of the game or have it for one game and
different for the next, there's an old thing about why change it, but you
have got to accommodate the opposition you're playing when you're in my
position. "Certain ways of playing have to be adjusted sometimes if you want
to get the best out of your players against that team to try and win."
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MANCHESTER UNITED 2, WEST HAM 1. EXPECTED WORSE, WANTED MORE.
By David Hautzig 27 Sep 2014 at 18:31
West Ham Till I Die
The other night, my wife took our son out to an event in a nearby town,
leaving our daughter and I to wing it. I do the majority of the cooking, but
on nights like that I prefer to slum it. Pizza and a movie that I recorded
on the DVR; The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I may be in the minority
here, but I think that film is a damned riot. It also turned out to be
insightful for today's game. Somehow, I deduced, we have accidentally
activated our own version of something called the Infinite Improbability
Drive.
According to The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, if a spaceship has one of
these toys, once it reaches what is known as infinite Improbability, it
passes through every conceivable point in every conceivable universe
simultaneously. Side effects of using the Infinite Improbability Drive
include temporary (and sometimes permanent,) changes to environment and
morphological structure, hallucinations, and the calling into being of large
marine mammals. There is no other rational explanation to explain a universe
in which West Ham United enter a game at Old Trafford as a team full of
optimism, hope, and verve, while the home side is…well….a complete and utter
wreck. Someone in East London, maybe on their way home from the Liverpool
Game, activated an Improbability Drive inside of their Vauxhall and we are
all now collectively coming out of it. Will the changes be temporary or
permanent? Today would probably clear a bit of that up.
I was convinced last week while watching Man U build a comfy 3-1 lead at
Leicester City that Louis Van Gaal was doing what he has done many times in
his highly impressive career. Yeah, we know he was won enough silverware to
fill many a granny's dining room armoire. But what's more interesting is
that in a few of those seasons at clubs in Holland, Spain, and Germany his
teams have started poorly and ended up on top. Yet the reality of
dismantling the core of their back four, with literally months of notice and
time to set up for the future yet doing bubkus (an absolutely great Yiddish
synonym for nothing), threw a crow bar in that narrative. That is the kind
of negligence that a team like, say, US would do. But not these guys.
That's not to say I went into today's game brimming with confidence. Hell
no. I don't do confidence when The Hammers are involved. I still believe Man
U will right their ship, and today was as good a day as any to anticipate
that happening. If the big red bear wakes up from hibernation with us
sitting on his paw, there will be hell to pay.
As has been the case since the start of the season, the announcement of the
starting eleven is a pretty big event in Twitterland. Kouyate's injury
sparked the debate once again, so before I crashed into my kids induced coma
last night I asked a few of my fellow Twitter nutters what they expected. I
figured Zarate was the most likely to step up, the question was if he would
play in the #10 role or if he would be pushed wide to accommodate Downing
staying there. But other ideas were floated around.
Lee Clayton of The Daily Mail was nice enough to join the chat, saying
"Could go three at the back, with Collins coming in, could bring in
Amalfitano. Or Poyet?" My less famous yet equally football savvy friend
@RockyWhu suggested Jenkinson replacing Kouyate, and @MarkHarrison23
wondered if Amalfitano could slot in there. No mention of Zarate from
anyone. Then, right after returning from the garbage dump, I see the news
from ExWHUemployee that Noble picked up an injury and Poyet might get the
call. Minutes later, in what has become a pretty common occurrence, Ex was
spot on.
Not that I was happy to see Noble out, which would be nuts, it did add a bit
of unpredictability to the squad. Amalfitano and Poyet are players I doubt
Van Gaal spent a lot of time planning for. And that's not to say it will
help us at all. But it's a far cry from seeing Matty Taylor and Vaz Te play
in a pinch.
I remember a game a few years ago at Stoke. Matthew Etherington was playing
very well for Stoke at the time, and early in the game Lucas Neill made it
clear he wanted that to stop. Any player on the New York Rangers ice hockey
team would have been proud to have delivered the shoulder check Neill did to
Etherington, and Matthew was invisible the rest of the day. I wondered if
Song was doing the same thing early on with not one, not two, but three hard
and somewhat reckless challenges. Risky game to play, Alex. And in
hindsight, it was more a sign of a very bad day at the office then a few bad
decisions. The less said about Mr. Fashion's game the better.
When Rafael streaked down the sideline with a green ocean of space in front
of him I was pretty sure it wouldn't end well. For us, it didn't. Rooney was
breaking into the box un-marked and casually redirected Rafael's cross past
Adrian. You could make an argument that Diego Poyet should have been closer
to Rooney, but the re-direction of the ball could have happened in a shoe
box.
1-0 to Manchester United.
Yet only two minutes later, Blind acted like he was his surname and headed a
back pass right to Enner Valencia. The dictionary says adrenaline is
released by the body at times of strong emotion, such as excitement. It
should add that it can cause wildly bad football shots that sail into the
crowd. It should be 1-1, but the gift was not used.
In the 9th minute Rooney almost found RVP with a looping pass but Cresswell
does a nice bit of defending to bock the Dutchman off. A little later
DiMaria gets the ball after some nice interplay between Rooney and Blind.
Then it was Déjà vu all over again with Rafael down the right but Rooney's
finish was not there.
Their attack is as good and as dangerous as we all feared it would be. But
at the same time we seem to have forgotten how to attack. Granted, we
haven't seen much of the ball but going down a goal shouldn't make you
abandon what you have been working on effectively the past few games. They
need to worry a little as well.
In the 22nd minute we had our first real attempt of the game, but Rojo made
perhaps his best play in his early Manchester United career by blocking
Sakho's attempt from Valencia. And a minute later, our captain and enforcer
for the day, Alex Song forgot he was back in England and took way too much
time on the ball. Falcao said "I'll take it, thank you" and passed it to
RVP. He always scores against us. Today would be no different.
2-0.
It could have been, and probably should have been, 3-0 when Rafael passed to
RVP after another impressive run down the right. RVP then got the ball to
DiMaria but this time he played like a mortal and missed the target
completely. If Rafael plays this well more consistently, and doesn't melt
down as consistently, Man U will have a handy player for a long time.
At this point I feel bad for my son, who wants me to play Harry Potter with
him. Normally, down 2-0 at Old Trafford, I'd happily take a break and grab
my wand. But Iain would be mad, unless I can cast a spell that puts the ball
behind de Gea.
Goaliarmus!
Holy cow. It worked!
Downing takes a corner and puts it on Tompkins noggin, the ball bounces off
the bar and right to our current goal scoring machine Sakho and he gets it
in there to pull a goal back. It felt like an interesting combination of old
and new. We used our new on the floor stuff to work the corner, and our old
get it in the box style to score. I take that as a good sign, not reverting
to hoofball.
2-1 at the half.
Today's lunch. Bolognese sauce from the side of beef I buy every year,
served over pappardelle made by a guy using a local variety of New York
wheat. Best pasta I've ever had. Seriously.
The first ten minutes of the second half were pretty good from our point of
view. We didn't capitulate the way we so often have when playing at one of
the bigger clubs. Downing started to move a bit more, forcing Herrera to
bring him down and get the first yellow card of the game. Sakho was ohhhh
soooo close to bringing us level in the 55th minute when he got on the end
of a Cresswell cross and forced a good save from de Gea. We started to make
their defenders work, and think, in their penalty area. Will their youth
rise to the challenge or fail them?
What should have been the game changer came in the 59th minute when Wayne
Rooney tried to perform a vasectomy on Stuart Downing. A bag of frozen peas
should have been part of our physio's treatment. He was probably mad that
Manchester United were not awarded a hand ball seconds before, and he let
his emotions get the better of him. I'm biased, but it was a really dumb
move. The red was deserved, and he will be lucky not to be charged with
violent conduct.
Twitter, as well as yours truly, was dumbstruck in the 61st minute when
Amalfitano came off for Carlton Cole. At a time when we have just been given
more space to work in, Sam chose to take off a guy who can get into said
space and cause them problems and replace him for a guy who stays in one
space and causes us problems. That is NOT Cole bashing. I respect him
tremendously. But that made no sense to me.
Sakho came close again on a pass from Downing in the 62nd minute, leading to
me to jot down this question. Is Sakho more of a threat on long balls than
Andy Carroll? Not looking for answers or debates just yet, just musing.
Jenkinson came on for Demel in the 64th. That's more like it, Sam.
Yet our first ten minutes up a man didn't look much different than the
previous 59 minutes we played at even strength. In fact, Manchester United
barely looked threatened at times. They have so many quality players I
shouldn't have been that shocked. But I was annoyed.
In the 74th minute, Ander Herrera came off. He had been one of their better
players on the day, so it was more or less good news. But could it have been
a blessing in disguise when Antonio Valencia came on.
Like Sakho last week, let's get it straight. Good Valencia, and Bad
Valencia.
Van Gaal was rightfully angry when his team couldn't kill off Leicester
City. Bad Valencia has the experience needed to do that job. Experience on
the whole as an invaluable tool was in evidence moments later when Sakho got
the ball on a break but hurried his pass to Good Valencia when a wee bit of
patience…and experience…might have done wonders.
With Kevin Nolan out, I've been pondering a theory. It's a theory I made up,
so I've had a lot of time to ponder it. With Good Valencia and Sakho working
well together, moving in and around the box, could there be more opportunity
for Nolan to do his poaching regimen than he has with Carroll as a lone
target? So when Nolan came on for Poyet, with Twitter going apoplectic, I
was a bit intrigued. Zarate might have been a better choice, but with 15
minutes to go I understood the argument.
In the 82nd minute Good Valencia started something that looked a bit like
the moves he used to score his rocket at Hull. Move to his right, move a bit
more, and fire. I prayed, but the prayer wasn't answered. Blind deflected
the shot wide and we did very little with the corner.
He then made two plays in quick order that I am going to punish him by
dropping the word Good from the paragraph. Because he was awful. He took a
corner that didn't come close to reaching the box, and wasn't high enough
for my seven year old to head it. Then he wasted a free kick by trying to do
it himself when they were so vulnerable in the box. I swear every human
being associated with West Ham threw their hands up and said "what are you
doing"?
I watched the final few minutes while on the phone with my best mate, Jon.
For whatever reason he was about two seconds ahead of me. He screamed "YES"!
I watched Nolan attack the cross, and yelled "YES"! My yelling made it
impossible for me to hear Jon then say "Flag Up". When I saw that two
seconds later I didn't say that. I'm confident in your ability to guess what
I did say.
A little bit more flurrying in the final moments gave us slim hope, but
despite the man advantage for over half an hour we couldn't get it done.
After a game it can be very hard to separate how you feel about the result
from what your expectations were. I expected Sam to revert a bit back to old
form, not go after them, and we get flogged. That didn't happen. So despite
the loss, in a game most expected us to lose, I'm looking at the positive
signs of a work in progress. Yes, I still question Amalfitano coming off for
Cole. I think even if Morgan was spent, Zarate would have been a better fit.
And I understand the questions about Nolan, but as I said before that is a
role he might be suited for. And if it weren't for a very close offside call
it would have turned out to be a master stroke.
We went to Old Trafford. We lost. But if things continue on the path we are
on, normal service has most definitely not been restored.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wayne Rooney's third Man United red card leaves Van Gaal refusing to discuss
his role as captain
Sep 27, 2014 22:31 By Simon Mullock
The Mirror
Louis van Gaal leapt to the defence of Wayne Rooney after seeing his captain
sent off for an ugly professional foul during his side's 2-1 victory over
West Ham. The England skipper took Stewart Downing out at the knees to halt
a 59th-minute Hammers counter-attack. But, when asked if the red card had
given him reason to rethink his decision to hand Rooney the armband, Van
Gaal reacted angrily. "For me, it is not a good analysis or a good
question," said the Dutchman. "It is my right not to answer it." He added:
"Wayne's foul was too unfriendly. That was his biggest mistake. "Wayne could
have made the foul in a more friendly way. "Wayne has spoken to me and said
he didn't mean for it to be like that. But, whether you like to hear it or
not, football is a professional game with professional fouls - I've seen
five or six other professional fouls today that didn't get a red or even a
yellow card."
It was the sixth red card of Rooney's career and the third time he has been
dismissed playing for United. He will now miss ALL of October through
suspension, ruling him out of games against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea,
before returning for the Manchester derby on November 2. Rooney had put Van
Gaal's men ahead with a glorious fifth-minute finish and then seen Robin van
Persie double the advantage in the 22nd minute. But West Ham hit back
through Diafra Sakho before the break, and boss Sam Allardyce thought Kevin
Nolan had grabbed a last-minute equaliser - only for celebrations to be cut
short by the offside flag of assistant referee Andy Garratt. Allardyce said:
"The assistant referee has dropped a massive b*****k. The Superman linesman
has got X-ray vision. "If he has seen the Kevin Nolan's head is offside,
then he must have super-human vision."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MATCH VERDICT – Many reasons to be cheerful
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Manchester United 2 Irons 1
Claret & Hugh
Match verdict
by Hugh Southon
To come away from Old Trafford feeling sick that we didn't win tells me one
thing: This squad has come one hell of a long way and we should all feel
very content with the way things are heading. Our man of the season Cheikhou
Kouyate was missing and the late withdrawal of Mark Noble could have proved
seriously harmful. Instead it gave us the opportunity to take a look at
Morgan Amalfitano and Diego Poyet and both looked more than comfortable in
what is always seen as one of the toughest tests of the season. These are
big reasons to be very cheerful. That United cruised into a two goal lead
was down to the fact that captain for the day Alex Song made a colossal
ricket for the first goal – but for that we would have come away with a
point we always richly deserved.
What I believe we saw this afternoon was that Sam Allardyce and David
Sullivan ( because trust me that's what it amounts to ) have assembled a
squad which Noble describes as the best he's been involved in over his 10
years at the club. We looked very strong throughout but what's changed is
that there is now a touch of class about the Hammers with a squad of players
having been assembled who can play in several different ways. I really like
the look of Amalfitano and I believe Enner Valencia will be one of those who
brings moments of delirium and desperation but I'd sooner have him in my
team than in the opposition's. The player who excites though – a guy who I
believe will still be going at the end of the season as he has started – is
Diafra Sakho. He's always involved, always sniffing out chances, playing
simple lay offs to get things set- up and SCORING GOALS. At one stage – when
a far post volley was saved by David De Gea at close range – Diafra's first
reaction was to wind-up the Irons fans. Love it.
But what's better than anything is that we really do have our West Ham back
although the sight of Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan arriving on the pitch
wasn't the best. West Ham 2014/15 are light years in front of what we have
been looking at over the last two or three seasons and this is no time to
call the manager or anyone else. Let's just see how well this develops
because it truly is looking very good. One final thought on the game: Wayne
Rooney's sending off was 100 per cent deserved. He scythed Stewart Downing
down with a knee high kick. And unbelievably the United fans cheered and
clapped him off. If that's what they have come to, Manchester United is
really is in trouble!
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This was the Davids most important decision of all
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Of all the decisions that were made at the end of last season the most
important was that the board were going to take a much closer interest in
who came into the Boleyn during the summer transfer market. The likes of
Modibo Maiga and Alou Diarra has sharpened and concentrated minds – David
Sullivan and David Gold were not ready to entertain anymore flops. The
public announcements that this was set to happen brought the normal chorus
of disapproval in some places with the usuaal murmurs that the board wanted
to pick the team and other such nonsense. What it actually meant was that
there would be much closer cooperation between the manager and the owners –
no longer would a player be suggested and bought just like that - there
would be greater discussion. It really was as simple as that!
All the talk of Sam Allardyce's job being undermined was ridiculous – like
any other employer in any other walk of life, he became more
accountable…nothing wrong with that. And the outcome has been first class.
We have seen some terrific players come through the doors such as Kouyate,
Song, Valencia and Sakho and in total we spent around £31 million. It's
been a success story we should celebrate. OK it's very early in the season
but it's clear we have a great squad and for me, with absolutely no axe to
grind on behalf of anybody I would say one thing. The board – as is their
total right because it's their money – gave a great lead on the issue, Sam
Allardyce concurred, everybody has been working together and we are seeing
great benefits as a result. For now, it's the supporters' job to unite as
strongly as we tend to divide when it all goes tits up – now that would be
nice wouldn't it?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sakho financial package brings boardroom smiles
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 27, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
The Irons top brass deserve to be giving themselves some hefty slaps on the
back after watching Diafra Sakho start his season with four goals from four
starts. For they put a truly top class deal together when finally deciding
to offer the former Metz striker a permanent deal at the club. And after his
storming start to the campaign, the financials involved are looking very
good indeed. It now seems astonishing that the deal nearly broke down when
the club tried to change it from a permanent to loan deal but it's now a
very clever package from our point of view Co-chairman David Sullivan is the
man who put the deals together and he finally agreed a fee of £3.5 million
with add-ons. And ClaretandHugh has discovered exclusively from club
insiders that the add ons were all based on appearance with the money only
rising to £7 million after 130 games – or in around three to four seasons!
And additionally the French outfit won't receive another penny until the
player has made a minimum of 35 appearances. After their shocking luck with
Modibo Maiga and injury-stricken Andy Carroll, the board finally has an
investment to bring a smile to their faces.
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