Preview - Sunderland
WHUFC.com
All you need to know about the Hammers' trip to the Stadium of Light on Saturday
12.12.2014
SUNDERLAND v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
STADIUM OF LIGHT
SATURDAY 13 DECEMBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: PHIL DOWD
In brief
West Ham United travel to Wearside to face Sunderland on Saturday as the Hammers look to extend their winning run to four games. The Black Cats currently sit in 14th place with 15 points from 15 games.
Gus Poyet's men are looking for their first win in five games, however they have drawn four of those matches, including meetings with Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton.
Sam Allardyce's men are ten places higher, lying in fourth with 27 points. The 3-1 victory over Swansea City was their eighth of the season and the Hammers are now joint third top scorers with Manchester United on 26 goals scored.
Who are they?
Sunderland were founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers, by James Allan, who taught at Hendon Board School. They won their first league title back in the 1891/92 season and have been crowned champions six times in total, most recently in 1935/36. Further honours include winning the two FA Cups, in 1937 and 1973. More recently, they came close to winning the League Cup last season, however they lost to 3-1 to Champions Manchester City in the final. Historically a yo-yo team between the top two divisions, they have now established themselves as a Premier League club, having played in the top flight for the last seven years.
Team news
West Ham United
Mark Noble is doubtful through injury as he battles a problem with his Achilles tendon, picked up against Newcastle United. Otherwise, Sam Allardyce has a full squad to choose from.
Sunderland
The Black Cats will be without Patrick van Aanholt who is to undergo surgery for a dislocated shoulder.
They will also be without Billy Jones (Hamstring) and Emanuele Giaccherini (Ankle), both of whom could return to face Newcastle on Sunday 21 December.
Referee
Saturday's referee is Phil Dowd. This is Dowd's first West Ham assignment of the season, but last year he was in charge of the Hammers' 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, 0-0 draw away with Swansea City and 3-1 defeat by Arsenal.
The Assistant Referees are David Bryan and Peter Kirkup, while Darren Bond is the Fourth Official.
Statistics
(2014/15 season - Barclays Premier League only)
Matches refereed: 10
Yellow cards shown: 48
Red cards shown: 2
Penalties awarded: 1
One to watch
West Ham United
In form midfielder Stewart Downing has been in excellent form all season, earning a recall to the England squad. While at Middlesbrough, Downing had a brief loan spell at the Black Cats, scoring three goals in seven games back in 2003.
So far this season Downing has scored twice as well as contributing six assists, most recently he set up James Tomkins' winner against West Bromwich Albion and Andy Carroll's second goal against Newcastle United, both from corners.
Sunderland
Having just signed a four-and-a-half year contract Connor Wickham will be looking to repay Gus Poyet's faith in him. The 21-year-old striker is a real talent and has scored 12 goals in a Red and White shirt. The Hammers' defence will need to keep him quiet if they are to get the victory.
Tickets
Tickets are available on the day of the game. Adult and Concession tickets will be available for cash sales only from the Black Cat House and Ticket Office from 11am.
Adults can gain entry through away turnstile 74 at the Stadium of Light from 1.30pm onwards.
Any Duplicate tickets, requested via the Club, will be available to collect from the Main Reception area of Black Cat House, from 11am.
Travel
For all travel information of how to get to the Stadium of Light, click here.
Weather
Saturday afternoon is set to be sunny day but cold as temperature at kick off is forecast to be a chilly 2C (36F) with temperatures dropping throughout the match.
Last meeting
Sunderland 1-2 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Monday 31 March 2014
Andy Carroll powered the Hammers into an early lead and midfielder Mohamed Diame doubled it five minutes into the second half.
Substitute Adam Johnson gave Sunderland, who had earlier seen strong penalty appeals turned down, hope when he pulled a goal back with 25 minutes remaining. Adrian had to pull off a double save to deny Ki Sung-yueng and Connor Wickham to secure the three points.
Sunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Brown, O'Shea (Gardner 60), Vergini, Alonso, Ki Sung-Yong (Scocco 79), Bridcutt, Cattermole (A. Johnson 53), Wickham, Borini
Subs not used: Ustari, Cuellar, Colback, Altidore
West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, McCartney (Armero 45), Tomkins, Demel, Nolan (Nocerino 84), Taylor, Noble, Diame (R.Johnson 79), Downing, Carroll
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, J Cole, C Cole
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Date set for Everton FA Cup tie
WHUFc.com
West Ham United will travel to Everton on Tuesday 6 January
12.12.2014
West Ham United's FA Cup third round tie at Everton will be played on Tuesday 6 January with a 7.45pm kick-off. The Hammers were paired with the Toffees for an all-Barclays Premier League clash in Monday's draw, giving the Hammers a second trip to Goodison Park in as many months. Everton came out on top in that recent meeting, but West Ham have a fine FA Cup record against the Merseysiders, winning on each of the last four occasions they have been drawn together. Roberto Martinez's men are five-time FA Cup winners, with their last success coming in 1995, while the Hammers have lifted the trophy on three occasions - 1964, 1975 and 1980.
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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Adrian on the Hammers' form, Sunderland, Christmas time and more!
11.12.2014
Hello everybody,
We are all looking forward to Saturday's game at Sunderland because the last week was excellent for us. We got nine points in three hard
games and now we have another chance to get another three points. The team deserves to be in this position because we are showing every week that we can play well. Every game in the Premier League is tough and Sunderland will be no exception. I'm happy with how we're defending, but I would be more happy with clean sheets! Sometimes it is impossible to save shots, but we need the mentality to keep the clean sheets because if you do you only need to score one goal to win the game. We have come back from losing positions in the last two games and it's good for us because we've been playing well and keeping control of the games.
We kept going with hard work and managed to turn it around. We hope for another good match on Saturday to keep our run going. The West Ham fans are great and it's going to be fantastic to be cheered on by close to 2,000 fans on Saturday. They travel long distances and we need to win the three points for them and for us. Finally we had our Christmas lunch at the training ground on Thursday. It was great and everybody's happy and we need to enjoy this moment,.
Players, staff and all the people here - it's a happy place!
See you at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Adrian
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West Ham's Winston Reid going nowhere - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk
West Ham United defender Winston Reid is "not going anywhere" in January, according to manager Sam Allardyce. The 26-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season, when he could leave for free, but the Hammers won't accept a cut-price offer next month. With the Hammers chasing a European place, Allardyce believes it is vital to keep the New Zealand international. "He isn't going anywhere," the West Ham boss said. "Unless someone bids £20million or something like that."
West Ham are fourth in the Premier League after winning eight of their opening 15 games, with Reid featuring in 14 of those matches.
Allardyce added: "If somebody flirts around with a measly offer because he is in the last year of his contract, we would make more money by keeping him and finishing where we are in the league than selling him and putting our good season in jeopardy."
Reid is currently in negotiations over new contract with West Ham and Allardyce hopes the club's good form persuades the centre-back, who is a reported target for Liverpool and Arsenal, to stay at Upton Park. The 60-year-old said: "In the end, I just hope he decides what is happening this season here and what is happening with us now has a telling factor on the decision that he makes in the end and it is not just money."
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Sunderland v West Ham
KO 15:00
12 December 2014
Last updated at 12:27
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Stadium of Light Date: Saturday, 13 December
TEAM NEWS
Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher is expected to start after overcoming the back injury which restricted him to a place on the bench against Liverpool. Sebastian Coates is available after being ineligible to face his parent club but Emanuele Giaccherini and Billy Jones are not yet fit to return.
West Ham will once again be without midfielder Mark Noble, who remains sidelined with an Achilles problem. Leading scorer Diafra Sakho could return to the starting line-up.
MATCH PREVIEW
Andy Carroll might have been getting carried away the other day when he said of West Ham: "I think there's no limit, we can go all the way to the top," but it will be interesting to see if they can remain genuine top-four contenders as the season unfolds. Confidence is sky high at the moment and will have been reinforced by the nature of last week's 3-1 victory over Swansea, in which they came from behind with Carroll scoring his first two goals of the season. Those goals were actually Carroll's first since being on target last March in a 2-1 win over this weekend's opponents at the Stadium of Light."West Ham have been outstanding of late, and their manager Sam Allardyce deserves the plaudits he has been getting. They have got so many attacking options, and on current form you would expect them to go to Stadium of Light and win."
Things are looking up for West Ham and the tally of 27 points from 15 games is their best return in the top division for 31 years.
The Hammers have only lost one of the last nine league games and travel to the North East aiming for a fourth win in a row. Sunderland's record in winning only two games so far doesn't look quite so bad when you realise they have also only been beaten four times. But nine draws from 15 games leaves them just a couple of points above the relegation zone, with Gus Poyet acknowledging "it's about winning now".
Sunderland have just taken a creditable two points from a run of three games against Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool but this encounter won't be any less tricky.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light last season with goals from Mohamed Diame and Andy Carroll.
The Hammers have failed to score in four of their last six Premier League games against Sunderland.
Sunderland
Sunderland are without a win in five matches, although they have drawn four of those games.
Gus Poyet's side have already drawn more matches this season (nine) than in the whole of 2013-14 (eight).
They have been involved in five goalless draws this season in the Premier League - more than any other side.
Sunderland have failed to score in seven of their last 11 Premier League games, and three of their last four.
West Ham
West Ham are looking for their fourth consecutive league victory - a feat they last achieved in February last season.
The Hammers' tally of 27 points is their best return from 15 matches in the top division since 1983-84 (30 points).
They have scored in all of their away matches this season, but have only won two of their last six (D2, L2).
West Ham have scored 12 headed goals this season, twice as many as any other Premier League side. Eight of Andy Carroll's last 12 Premier League goals have been headers.
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Ex-Hammer hopes to land Albion deal
KUMb.com
Filed: Friday, 12th December 2014
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Alou Diarra is hoping to land a contract with Brighton & Hove Albion. The 33-year-old former French international has been without a permanent club since leaving West Ham on a free transfer back in May. And for the past week, Diarra has been training with the Championship club so that they may assess his fitness ahead of a possible deal until the end of the season. Diarra spent two years at West Ham during which he made just two Premier League starts. He agreed to terminate his three-year deal a year early having been told he had no future at the club. Reaction to Diarra's impending arrival has met with mixed views from Brighton fans. "On paper he's just what we need but he fell out with Allardyce at West Ham and was accused of a lack of effort at Rennes a couple of years ago," wrote spring hall convert. "I really hope we've done due diligence on this one, I have a bad feeling about this guy's intentions." However the right footed denilson was less than enthused by Diarra's potential arrival. "Totally pointless. 33, not match fit. Dubious past regards ability and commitment," he said. "If he was an English and had his kind of history we'd not be excited at all."
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Stewart Downing delighted with West Ham form
Last Updated: 12/12/14 12:15pm
SSN
Stewart Downing says West Ham are loving being one of this season's surprise packages after gatecrashing the Premier League top four.
The Hammers are fourth in the table and Downing reckons breaking the 'big four' stranglehold on the Champions League places is important for the good of football. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce spent a reported £31m in the summer on the likes of Diafra Sahko, Cheikhou Kouyate and Aaron Cresswell but that was dwarfed by the spending of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. "It's good, teams have spent a lot of money and people expected them to be in the top four because of what they've spent but it doesn't always work that way," Downing said.
"We have bought very well, the players coming in have settled well. Sometimes you see players coming to the Premier League struggle to adapt. It's a big plus for us." Southampton and the Hammers have shocked the big clubs with their form during the first half of the season and Downing says that is a good thing. "I think it would be good for the league," he added. "We've beaten Liverpool and Manchester City and ground out a win against Newcastle, which we would have lost last season. We have shown good qualities." "If you looked at the league at the minute you'd say it was false but we're there on merit, we've done well and we've played some big teams and played them off the park on the day. "We've beaten Liverpool and Manchester City and ground out a win against Newcastle, which we would have lost last season. We have shown good qualities."
The Hammers head to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Saturday and the ex-Liverpool winger thinks they can maintain their challenge for a European spot. "We have to look at each game as it comes. It's a big thing for us, Christmas, hopefully we can get lucky with injuries and suspensions," said the 30-year-old. "We had a difficult year last year, found it hard and were sucked in (to the relegation scrap) so this year we're playing with confidence. "Selection gets hard and it's one the manager would like because he's never really had it. Everyone is fighting for their place and the step up in quality has been good this year."
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West Ham travel to Sunderland aiming to continue fine run
Last Updated: 12/12/14 3:43pm
SSN
West Ham are flying high but the 300-mile trip north to Sunderland will again test their European credentials as they enter the busy Christmas period. Three wins on the trot against Newcastle, West Brom and Swansea have placed the Hammers in the Champions League places while their opponents Sunderland are dropping fast with no win in five games. The Black Cats are the Premier League's draw specialists having totted up nine in 15 games and manager Gus Poyet would prefer to approach Sunday week's Tyne-Wear derby at St James' Park with a victory under his belt. But with Andy Carroll back to his best having scored twice against Swansea, Sunderland's defence will have a job on their hands stifling the giant striker. And West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will want more points in the bag before Christmas, when they face Chelsea and Arsenal in the space of three days following next week's visit of Leicester.
Team news
Steven Fletcher could return to the Sunderland starting line-up after being an unused substitute in last week's goalless draw at Liverpool on his return from a back injury. Sebastian Coates is available after being ineligible for the trip to Anfield, but Emanuele Giaccherini (ankle) and Billy Jones (hamstring) are still ruled out.
Midfielder Mark Noble is West Ham's only injury concern for the trip to the Stadium of Light. The 27-year-old recently broke the club's record for Premier League appearances but will not add to his tally due to a problem with his Achilles tendon. Allardyce has a selection headache in attack with Carroll, Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Carlton Cole and Mauro Zarate all fully fit. Midfielder Diego Poyet is back from his loan spell at Huddersfield and could be in the squad to tackle his father's side.
Opta Stats
Diafra Sakho has scored four headed goals from just five headers on target this season
Adam Johnson has netted in two of his three Premier League appearances for Sunderland against West Ham.
Kevin Nolan has scored six Premier League goals against Sunderland.
Diafra Sakho has scored four headed goals from just five headers on target in the Premier League this season.
Stewart Downing has more Premier League assists this season (6 in 14 appearances) than he managed in 65 games during his Liverpool career (5).
West Ham's 27 points after 15 games is their best return in Premier League history.
Sunderland have been involved in five 0-0 draws this season in the Premier League; more than any other side.
Merson's prediction
"The Premier League is that good that it's so hard to predict these scores. West Ham are flying at the top and Sunderland are not doing great but, again, I just can't separate these teams. West Ham have done great but I don't see them winning here. The Stadium of Light is a hard place to go and I think Big Sam will be silently thinking 'I'll settle for a point here'. "Obviously they want to win but you've got to make sure you don't lose as this is where the points mount up across the season. Suddenly, going to Sunderland and getting a draw is a good result. I think this is a hard game and I think Sunderland are alright. I know they got beat by City but they went to Liverpool and were very comfortable."
PAUL PREDICTS 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)
Betting
Sky Bet have found this match a tough one to call, going 13/8 both teams and it's easy to see why. The Hammers have won their last three en route to a place in the top four, while Sunderland have proved hard to break down, drawing four of their last five. The Black Cats have recorded three goalless draws during that period and another goalless stalemate is a 9/1 shot this time around. Taking that into account, under 2.5 goals in the match is sure to have appeal at 8/11. Andy Carroll (11/2) is behind Diafra Sakho (5/1) in the first goalscorer market despite scoring twice last week.
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West Ham sharpshooter Diafra Sakho reminds Big Sam of Michael Owen
Dec 12, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
The Senegalese striker has netted eight goals in just ten appearances for the Hammers, including a comeback goal against Swansea last weekend
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce has claimed Diafra Sakho will become as deadly as Michael Owen. Andy Carroll stole the headlines in last weekend's win over Swansea with his first goals of the season. But the Senegal striker came off the bench to score his eighth goal in 10 games despite suffering his own injury problems since signing for a summer bargain £3.5m. Allardyce named Nicolas Anelka, Mark Viduka and Owen as the three most clinical strikers he has ever worked with. And the Irons boss said: "He will be as good eventually. I think the way he is going at the moment he will get there. He is learning all the time. "He is a terrific lad with a great attitude and he has the desire to be successful as a footballer and a goalscorer. "All we are doing is getting him to play to his strengths and tell the other players to play to his strengths. "It is using the spaces in behind the opposition defences where he can really hurt them. It is our players having the capability to play the balls into those areas to get him in where he can hurt the opposition and they fear him the most."
After struggling for goals last season, the Hammers are now joint third top scorers in the Premier League with Enner Valencia also offering an option up front. Before the visit to Sunderland, Allardyce added: "There will be some miserable faces no doubt about that because they won't be playing as often as they think they should and that's always a problem when you've got the strength and depth of squad."
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Southampton lining up January swoop for West Ham striker Mauro Zarate
Dec 12, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
The 27-year-old is third choice at Upton Park behind Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll, and Ronald Koeman wants to add firepower to his forward line
The Mirror
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman wants West Ham striker Mauro Zarate. The Dutchman is looking to add more firepower to his frontline to take the pressure off Graziano Pelle and Shane Long. Pelle netted in Monday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. But that strike was his first in six games after nine goals in his first 12 matches. Long, who missed two sitters against United, has scored just three times for the Saints this season. Koeman is keen on a loan deal for Zarate, 27, who is third choice at Upton Park behind Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll. But the Hammers want to hold on to Zarate as Sakho leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations next month. West Ham are confident that Winston Reid will not leave the club during the January transfer window. The defender, 26, has been linked with Chelsea and Arsenal, but an insider said: "There's never been a bid for him from a top-five club. "That is unlikely to change, despite his contract expiring in the summer."
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Sunderland boss Gus Poyet: 'It's not nice' preparing to come up against son Diego
Dec 12, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
Poyet junior will be part of the West Ham travelling party to the Stadium of Light this weekend, with the Black Cats boss urging his side to start finding the net
The Mirror
Gus Poyet has admitted Sunderland have got to stop being 0-0 draw specialists. The Wearsiders have failed to score in eight of their 15 league games including five goalless draws this season. Poyet conceded yesterday that his side are not even playing 50% like he wants them too, saying: "I don't think we have an identity yet." Sunderland are hard to beat, have drawn nine times, but have only won twice in the league. They face West Ham, where Poyet's son Diego plays, looking for an upturn. Asked about the dour statistics his side are collecting, the Sunderland boss responded: "The challenge for us is to win as many games as possible. Not in a million years would I be happy going out in each game to earn a point."We need to win. We need to score, we need to play better and we need to be more clinical.
"We're not playing even 50 per cent of the way I want to play. One of the words I tried to use a lot last year was that I don't think we have an identity yet. That's the future, that's my challenge. "That's in the next year, in two years' time that we'll have something unique, something where people look at Sunderland in a different way. We're still a long way from that because of the personnel. "We started from the back, with making sure about the basics then slowly you progress from that. "The more players we bring in to certain positions, the better and easier it will be for me. We're not playing even 50 per cent of the way I want."
January will bring another chance to reshape the squad but Poyet is insisting on high standards. He added: "It's quality or nothing, not quantity. Quantity in this club is finished. We're not signing quantity any more."I don't want any more, 'maybe if in three months time' no. There were too many of those in the last three years and in the end the team suffers. You can't progress with too many changes. "We're looking for quality and that's money of course. How much? That's something we're working on." Diego Poyet has played three times for the Hammers this season and just returned from a month on loan with Huddersfield. Poyet snr added: "I'm trying to stay away from him, so there's no misunderstandings or any kind of doubts. It's not nice but it's only for a few days, it's not like I'm not going to talk to him any more. "I think it's better not to call him or for him to call me. People might think we've been on the phone but no. This is the first time we'll have come up against each other. "I hope he doesn't play, because it will be a strange feeling. Normally I'll look for his result after our game is finished because I want him to do well. "On Saturday I don't care how he does, I don't care. We say in Spanish there are no friends on the pitch - and it's no family as well. I don't care. After the game, we're find, but during it, no,"
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Must be nearly time for a Nolan red card!
Posted on December 12, 2014 by Headmaster — 4 Comments ↓
Claret & Blues.com
Will this be the first December since 2008 that Kevin Nolan avoids a December suspension? Looking forward to today. Saturday afternoon at 3pm is always a favourite of mine. It just feels right that football is played then. It's an age thing, I guess. I really can't see many goals this afternoon. Under 2.5 seems nailed on to me. Poyet has them much more disciplined and together of late and it should be an interesting encounter. I certainly don't expect an easy ride, if such a thing even exists in this league. Sakho to start alongside Carroll up top, perchance?
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Poyet: There is nobody else like Andy Carroll playing football
HITC
John Verrall
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has sung the praises of West Ham United centre forward Andy Carroll. Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is wary of the threat that Andy Carroll could pose to his side when they take on West Ham United this weekend. The Black Cats face Carroll's team tomorrow looking to pick up only their third win of the season, but Poyet is under no illusions as to how tough it could be. Carroll has been a revelation since coming back into the team after injury and Poyet believes he is a unique player in modern day football. "Andy is special and different and I don't think you can find another one of him in the game right now," he said to the Daily Mail. "The adrenaline of being out for a while has brought him back at the highest level you can have and you need to be able to deal with that.
"It's a difficult game and we haven't had that kind of challenge yet of a player like Carroll, so the goalkeeper and the centre-halves and everyone else are going to have a difficult afternoon."
The damage that Carroll can cause to opposition teams was particularly evident in the Hammers' last fixture. A battering ram centre forward, Carroll bludgeoned his way through the Swansea City defence to score twice in the side's 3-1 win and he was a constant threat throughout the match. His partnership with Diafra Sakho already looks as if it could be a deadly one, despite the fact that the pair were only united up front for a brief period. The duo are likely to be paired up from the start against Sunderland and if they can be similarly as effective, West Ham should come out of the fixture at the Stadium of Light victorious.
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Sam weighs the Noble/Song balance
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 12, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce may be facing a tricky selection issues tomorrow with news arriving into ClaretandHugh's offices that Mark Noble is fit for action. We were told earlier today that Mark has let it be known that he is almost certain to be available for selection and is feeling fine. The manager claimed the midfielder was suffering an Achilles problem but with everybody else fit he may be looking for a way of solving the Noble/Song dilemma which both he and assistant boss Neil McDonald have mentioned in the past. The other alternative maybe to relegate Cheik Kouyate to the bench after a middling performance against Swansea last weekend and play them both. We were told: "To all intents and purposes we have a fully fit squad. There will always be the odd niggle here and there but as far as we can see the manager has a fully fit squad to select from. "There seems little question of course that he will go with Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho up top with Enner Valencia filling a spot on the bench."
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DG's belief is on the rise big time
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 12, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Co chairman David Gold admits is slowly accepting that the West Ham United of 2014-15 is "a very good side." The co-chairman is the most careful of men and in an exclusive interview with ClaretandHugh said: "When you reach the stage we are at and keep winning games you start to believe this is as good a team as we thought earlier. "I found myself wondering last Sunday when we went behind 'Uh ha has the bubble burst' but then we bounced back and won convincingly. "It spreads from the players. These are confident young men sure of their own ability and they are performing in a way which is spreading confidence into us all. "Everybody has had a difficult time processing what's been going on at the club this season but we should now start believing that we are as good as we think we are. "Every team has its good little run but when it reaches this number of games I think we can be confident – I don't want to tempt fate but you have to start believing don't you?" Gold is off to Sunderland tomorrow (Sun) knowing that the players, fans and club employees are in great heart and expecting a win. He said: "We have to believe that we will come away with something. It's the biggest cliche in the world but the league table doesn't lie. We disrespcet no team but it's fair to say it will be a big disappointment if we don't come back with something."
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CandH Exclusive: DG unveils PL/Euro success plan
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 12, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Gold has pledged that the Hammers policy of reinvesting funds into the team season on season will go on and that will could secure a golden European future. Many have questioned the prospect of European football at the club and how it will affect the team's bid to improve or maintain a healthy League position. Gold is aware that clubs such as Fulham and Ipswich have hit the Euro scene and that it may have been a contributing factor in their eventual decline and fall. But he told ClaretandHugh in an exclusive interview: "Unlike many clubs we re-invest all our cash in the squad which is improving all the time. "Should we reach Europe nothing will change. The funds will continue to go into creating a good squad and adding to it, strengthening it year on year. "During my 20 years in the game I have never seen a stronger squad under our charge than this one and it will be stronger again next season. "We need to be pushing towards the top of the Premier League whilst ensuring that European football doesn't harm that. Not many clubs reinvest in the squad to this extent but it's our policy to strengthen year on year and become a top Premier League club."
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