Nocerino - The First Interview
WHUFC.com
Antonio Nocerino has spoken to West Ham TV following his loan move from AC
Milan
27.01.2014
Antonio Nocerino says he has huge motivation to impress after joining West
Ham United on loan from AC Milan. Not only does the Hammers' new No47 want
to help the Club climb clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone,
but the Italy international is determined to force his way into the
Azzurri's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. Capped 15 times, the 28-year-old
midfielder scored a penalty for Italy in their quarter-final win over
England at Euro 2012, but for now Nocerino is concentrating all his efforts
on helping West Ham's fight for top-flight survival. A veteran of 221 Serie
A and 15 UEFA Champions League appearances, the Napoli-born star spoke to
West Ham TV following his first training session at Chadwell Heath.
Antonio, welcome to West Ham United! What is your reaction to joining the
Club and moving to London?
AN: "I am very happy because it's a very, very important experience for me,
playing for a very traditional and historical Club such as West Ham. It is a
great honour."
How did the transfer happen?
AN: "The transfer came about very quickly. A request was made for me to join
West Ham and I accepted straight away. I am very pleased to have joined West
Ham United."
Are you fit and ready to play immediately?
AN: "I am ready to play and I am happy to play immediately, if the manager
wants to put me in the team. I am at the Club's disposal to play me as soon
as possible. "It will maybe take me a little time to settle in, but I am
ready to play straight away, if needed."
What do you know about West Ham United?
AN: "When I was told I was coming to West Ham, I was already aware of the
large following that the Club has in Italy. "When I realised how big the
fanbase is and the traditions and very, very important history that the Club
has, I was more than happy to come to England. "A lot of the traditions of
the Club, I learned from the West Ham fans who are already there in Italy."
What qualities will you bring to the squad?
AN: "I am really enthusiastic about playing for West Ham. I am aware of the
Barclays Premier League and what will bring with me is my enthusiasm.
"I want to show my qualities on the pitch and not just talk about them. I
feel I have got the ability and skill to adapt to the English game and I am
confident that, once I am ready to play, I will be able to show the fans
what I can do. "I feel my qualities match what is required in the Barclays
Premier League."
Do you see playing for West Ham as a chance to force your way into the Italy
squad for the 2014 World Cup?
AN: "I hope so, I hope so. I hope to get into the Italian squad. One of the
reasons I came to West Ham and to the Premier League is to play on a regular
basis.
"My first objective is to play for West Ham and help the Club to move up the
table. From that, if I am playing well and I get picked to go to the World
Cup in Brazil, that will be an added bonus. "The main priority is to play
for West Ham and to move up the table."
Finally, for our supporters, what is your message?
AN: "I hope to give the supporters great satisfaction with the way that I
play. I know many supporters come over from Italy to watch our games, so I
hope as a player and as a person to make them proud. "Our fans are colourful
and spend a lot of to watch us play, so I want to do the best I can for the
fans and for the Club and go from there. I hope my response will be the one
they are looking for."
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Big Sam lauds Serie A swoop
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is looking forward to working with West Ham United's two
Italian recruits
27.01.2014
Sam Allardyce is thrilled with the Club's latest January dealings, having
secured the signatures of Italian duo Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello
on loan until the end of the season. While the Hammers boss is confident
the pair will make a considerable impact in the coming weeks and months, he
insists that their arrival, alone, will boost all at West Ham United.
Experienced campaigners and Italy internationals, the Naples-born players
bring no shortage of quality to the party and are both said to be delighted
at the prospect of Barclays Premier League football. "At long last,
after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure two new
faces," said Big Sam. "We've found Antonio on the back of the fact it's a
one in, one out situation. They've taken Michael Essien from Chelsea, which
left the door open for Antonio to come and try and play in the Premier
League, which he's very excited about. He wants to play and wants to achieve
as much as he did in Italy, as well as wanting to get in the Italian squad
for the World Cup. "Marco wants to come and chance his arm, like most
players will, in the most exciting league in the world. He has got a good
track record for being a lively frontman scoring a few goals, even though
recently that's not been the case due to a few niggly injuries. "From a
fitness point of view, Antonio's fine to be selected whenever. I think
there's always a settling in period, but it has to be very quickly because
of the window that we're in and because of the games coming thick and fast.
So we hope that's going to be a quick integration."
With players steadily returning from injury too, Big Sam believes there is
now plenty of reason to be positive ahead of Wednesday's trip to Stamford
Bridge and four crucial February fixtures. As for his new additions, Sam
has suitably high hopes for their Hammers careers, confident that two
intelligent footballers will have little trouble adapting to the demands of
English football. He continued: "With the reintroduction of Andy [Carroll]
now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more optimism to everyone at
West Ham at the moment, with the fact that these players are coming back,
new players have signed and obviously some big games coming up for us.
"Antonio is a box-to-box midfielder with a certain quality of understanding
where the space is, finding space and knowing the position of linking, but
also getting up into the final third. Playing at the top level in Italy
brings a great deal of experience with the talent that he has got. "When you
come into this league and play in this league, you need intelligence. What
goes between the ears is the most important thing and certainly he's an
intelligent footballer and that's what we're looking forward to him
hopefully bringing. More at both ends, in terms of out of possession and in
possession, as every midfielder has to do today. "With Marco, it's about
getting him on the field and talking about nothing else other than scoring
goals. I think that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing
too much outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need
now. We need someone in that to start being productive in terms of how many
goals they score and when they get a chance, they only need one or two to
score. Goals are what we want from him."
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March fixture changes
WHUFC.com
New kick-off details have been announced for the Hammers' games with Man Utd
and Sunderland
27.01.2014
Two of West Ham United's Barclays Premier League fixtures in March have
moved from their original slots. The home match with Manchester United will
now kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday 22 March, and not 3pm as originally
scheduled. Meanwhile, West Ham's trip to Sunderland will now be on Monday 31
March with an 8pm kick-off.
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Big Sam on: Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce has spoken to the assembled press ahead of facing Chelsea on
Wednesday night
27.01.2014
The media gathered at Chadwell Heath on Monday morning to quiz Sam Allardyce
ahead of Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League match against Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge. Big Sam answered questions regarding the latest team news,
the Club's business in the transfer market and how to stop Jose Mourinho's
men on Wednesday night.
Morning Sam, four days to go until the end of the transfer window, do you
expect to do any more deals?
SA: "I don't expect to be that busy now. I think that at the moment, with
our two new signings, we're at our 25-man squad limit. So unless somebody
leaves within the next four days I can't see us doing any more business than
the business we've just done. We achieved two signings over the weekend, at
long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally managed to
secure two signings."
What's your team news ahead of the Chelsea match?
SA: "Things are looking good on the injury front again. For the first time
in many, many, many weeks we have got our defensive players back into
training. Winston Reid is actually training with the squad for the first
time today but he won't be considered at all for Wednesday after a ten-week
break. James Collins is ok, George McCartney is back and Joey O'Brien's
back. For the first time, and I don't want to tempt fate, there's only Joe
Cole that's injured and I can't ever remember having just one player injured
over the last three months. Let's hope it's an injury free 2014 because that
would certainly make a big difference to us and the fight we have over the
next 16 games."
Chelsea will present a very tough game for you but do you think that not
having played on the weekend gives you an advantage?
SA: "Yes, but he changes his squad and he's got 25 international players to
choose from so that's never been a particular problem for a club like
Chelsea. Keeping that amount of players and rotating them keeps them
relatively happy. Their massive programme throughout the season means that
players that don't play so much, generally play 20-plus games. We're happy
in our squad if players are getting to the 25-game mark, 28-game mark
because we will only play 40-plus games whereas they will play 60-plus."
They played well yesterday, only getting the one goal, but you have to stop
them getting free-kicks on the edge of the box as they're pretty lethal from
them, aren't they?
SA: "It's not just free-kicks. You've got to stop the quality of player
which they rely on to turn the game in their favour. The defensive unit has
become so difficult to breakdown again which shows that Jose has been
concentrating on that. It was apparent yesterday when I was watching them
against Stoke City. Stoke found it very, very difficult to create any
opportunities against Chelsea and it frees up their quality players.
Stopping Oscar, Hazard, Eto'o is one of the elements for us which we have to
be very careful of. When those players get the ball we have to make sure
we're very sharp and that we close them down, otherwise their skills and
abilities will make life difficult for us."
How difficult is January for a manager when you have to deal with the
transfer situation as well as the pressures of getting results?
SA: "I've never liked January anyway. It's been particularly difficult this
time because of what we've been suffering from in terms of injuries and
results. That heaps even more pressure on you as a team, as a squad and as a
manager particularly. You've got to try and see the light at the end of the
tunnel and stay positive. The re-introduction of Andy that's coming forward
now should bring a bit more optimism to everybody at West Ham. Players are
coming back, new players have come in and we obviously have some big games
coming up. If we try and go on a bit of a run, an undefeated run at first, I
know everybody's desperate to win but first and foremost it's about not
losing. Building the confidence up, not losing in the hope that we start
producing more goals which will give us more victories. Scoring goals has
been our Achilles heel this season and on too many occasions we haven't
converted opportunities into goals."
Is it fair to say that, whilst it would be great to get something against
Chelsea, the focus is on upcoming games against Swansea City, Norwich City
and Aston Villa?
SA: "We can't go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think
that we're not going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich
Albion should have beaten Chelsea this season. In a one-off game, if you
play to your best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can
get to the end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time
in any one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
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New signings choose squad numbers
WHUFC.com
Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have taken the No46 and No47 shirts
respectively
27.01.2014
West Ham United's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have
chosen their squad numbers ahead of Wednesday's Barclays Premier League game
at Chelsea. Striker Borriello, who joins on loan from AS Roma, will wear the
No46 shirt during his time with the Hammers, while midfielder Nocerino, on
loan from AC Milan, takes No47. The pair trained with their new team-mates
for the first time at Chadwell Heath on Monday, after completing their moves
to London on Saturday.
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Travelling fans ignored again
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's trip to Sunderland has been moved to a Monday night - for for the
benefit of TV. Hundreds of Hammers fans who would have otherwise made the
long, gruelling trip to the North East for a fixture originally planned for
the previous Saturday afternoon will now miss out due to the decision to
postpone the fixture by 48 hours. With many having to get up for work the
next morning, hundreds of regular away supporters will now miss out on what
will be a vital trip for the Hammers as they fight to avoid relegation from
the Premier League - a trip the team will now face without the full backing
of the Club's tremendous away following. United's home match against Man U
on Saturday, 22 March has also been moved - from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. That is
also for the benefit of TV.
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Forty-somethings
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have been
assigned their new squad numbers. For the reminder of the current season,
striker Boriello will wear the number 46 shirt and midfielder Nocerino the
number 47, it was confirmed today. According to whufc.com, the two players
were allowed to select their shirt numbers personally. The highest squad
number previously handed to a West Ham United player is 48, which was
allocated to Academy players Ashley Miller (now with Bishop's Stortford FC)
in 2008/09 and Danny Potts in 2011/12. However whereas Miller failed to
make a single first team appearance, Potts made four during 2011/12 meaning
that he holds the record for the highest number to be featured by a Hammer
on the field of play.
Highest Squad Number by Season
2013/14: Antonio Nocerino - 47
2012/13: Elliot Lee - 47
2011/12: Danny Potts - 48
2010/11: Jake Larkins - 46
2009/10: Junior Stanislas - 46
2008/09: Ashley Miller - 48
2007/08: Jordan Spence - 45
2006/07: Kepa Blanco - 37
2005/06: Matthew Reed - 41
2004/05: Gavin Williams - 35
2003/04: Chris Cohen - 35
2002/03: Sebastien Schemmel - 30
2001/02: David Forde - 41
2000/01: Svetoslav Todorov - 37
Read more at http://kumb.com/story.php?id=127316#vV7gfXbAg1MVTD1D.99
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Allardyce happy with double signing
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce says that he is unlikely to do any more business this transfer
window. It was a productive weekend for Big Sam as he made a double-swoop on
Serie A with the capture of Marco Borriello and Antionio Nocerino from Roma
and Milan respectively, both on loan, for the remainder of the season. With
his allotted 25-man squad now full, Allardyce will have to move one or two
out before bringing in any further new faces - although the manager insists
he is happy with the players at his disposal. "I don't expect to be that
busy now," he told the press this morning. "With our two new signings, we're
at our 25-man squad limit so unless somebody leaves within the next four
days I can't see us doing any more. "We achieved two signings over the
weekend, at long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally
managed to secure two signings."
New signings Nocerino and Borriello took part in their first ever training
session at Chadwell Heath this morning, with both set to be included in
Wednesday's squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge. And Allardyce hopes that
the duo can help the Hammers get a result at a venue that hasn't yielded too
many points in recent years. "Players are coming back, new players have come
in and we have some big games coming up," he said. "We need to go on a bit
of a run - undefeated at first. I know everybody's desperate to win but
first and foremost it's about not losing. "Building the confidence up, not
losing in the hope that we start producing more goals which will give us
more victories. Scoring goals has been our Achilles heel this season and on
too many occasions we haven't converted opportunities into goals. "We can't
go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think that we're not
going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich Albion should
have beaten Chelsea this season. "In a one-off game, if you play to your
best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can get to the
end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time in any
one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
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Transfer news: No more signings for West Ham, says Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: 27/01/14 12:27pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he does not expect to make any more
signings following the arrival of Italians Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello.
AC Milan midfielder Nocerino and Roma striker Borriello have both joined the
club on deals until the end of the season and Allardyce says that will be
the end of his transfer dealings in the January window. He said: "I don't
expect to be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit
so I don't see us doing any more business. "Antonio is very excited to play
in the Premier League. He's very excited and wants to get into the Italy
squad for the World Cup. He is a box-to-box midfielder who's capable in all
areas of the pitch. "When you come into this league, you need intelligence
and he has that. It's about what's in between the ears and he's a very
experienced player. "Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible,
whereas Marco needs a bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks."
Allardyce feels things are slowing getting better on the injury front, with
a number of players finally returning to training at Chadwell Heath.
"Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible, whereas Marco needs a
bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks." "Things are looking
good on the injury front," added the Hammers boss. "We've got our defensive
players back into training, including Winston Reid. "We hope it will be an
injury-free 2014, to help us fight over the course of the next 16 games."
Allardyce is looking forward to facing Chelsea on Wednesday night and feels
his side are capable of getting a result at Stamford Bridge. "Jose seems to
have made Chelsea very difficult to breakdown again and that frees up their
quality players to make an impact," he added.
"West Brom should have beaten Chelsea earlier in the season. So if we play
to our best we can get a good end result."
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West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans attracting interest
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 27/01/14 4:03pm
SSN
West Bromwich Albion have fielded a number of enquiries for Graham Dorrans,
who is out of contract at the end of the season. The Scotland international
almost joined Nottingham Forest in the summer and Sky Sports understands
that Billy Davies has rekindled his interest in Dorrans. West Brom have not
offered Dorrans new terms, and the 26-year-old is eager for first-team
football with just two starts under his belt this season. Reading and
Middlesbrough are also monitoring the situation, as are West Ham, who tried
to sign the player back in 2010 but had a £4million offer rejected
..
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SAM'S FANTASTIC FOUR
By Tony Hanna 27 Jan 2014 at 17:21
West Ham Till I Die
Just over ten years ago Sam Allardyce, manager of Bolton Wanderers,
conceptualised a rigid game plan around data sourced from a company called
Prozone. It was a total success as Bolton were promoted to the Premier
league and enjoyed many seasons in the top flight punching well above their
weight. With his background staff of analysts,(David Fallows a former
Prozone analyst, Gavin Fleig and Ed Sulley), they came up with a model for
the club called the "Fantastic Four". Sam sticks by these principles to this
day. These were the four areas that dictated success.
Over a season of 38 games they "knew" that if they had 16 clean sheets they
would avoid relegation.
If they scored first they would have a 70% chance of winning the game.
They knew that set pieces, corners and free kicks accounted for a third of
all goals and in-swinging corners accounted for 70% of goals scored from all
corners. So they practiced on their own set pieces and defending the
oppositions. Long throws were another set piece to put the ball into the
zone.
They also knew that if they outworked their opposition by covering more
distance at speeds above 5.5m/s they would increase their chances of winning
by 80%.
Other factors that were important were knowing that a team will score on
average once from nine shots. Also 80% of goals would be scored from
movements of less than four passes and that half of all goals scored would
be from winning possession back in the final third of the pitch.
Prozones player tracking stats are believed to be used by 19 of the 20 PL
clubs including West Ham. However, Sam's analytic plan from the early years
at Bolton may now be outdated? For instance, the scoring goals from less
than four passes stat is flawed. That stat is just because most movements in
football are like that, it was not that the odds of scoring were better. The
odds of scoring is actually higher if you maintain possession.
What I would be asking Sam is if we are playing to the Fantastic Four is; Do
you really think that if we keep seven more clean sheets this season we will
stay up? Why have we only scored 4 goals in the first 30 minutes of all
matches in the PL all season? Why have we not scored a goal direct from a
free kick in the PL this season and our opposition have scored four? Why
have we lost on four occasions this season when we have scored first? Why if
long throws are such an important strategy, do we not have any one with a
long throw? And finally, do you think our injury list this season may have
anything to do with our players expected to work harder and faster than the
opposition, rather than keep the ball?
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MAYBE ONE MORE TRANSFER!
By Sean Whetstone 27 Jan 2014 at 13:17
West Ham Till I Die
After the weekend's two Italian signing the chairman son Jack was asked is
that all the West Ham transfer business concluded? It replied "No maybe 1
more"
On Saturday the Daily Mirror claimed West Ham are having second thoughts
about signing Joleon Lescott from Manchester City. There are claims Fulham
and Aston Villa have entered the race and are keen to sign Lescott on loan,
but Man City still say they will keep him until the summer unless they find
a replacement before next week's transfer deadline. Manchester City are said
to be in the hunt for Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zouma.
West Ham are said to be getting cold feet about a loan deal because they are
unsure about matching Lescott's City reported £90,000 per week wages. It has
been claimed West Ham would offer him a £70,000 per week 3 year permanent
deal in the summer if a loan was successful but Lescott is believed to
reluctant to drop his wage demands for any loan period. It is also claimed
that Turkish club Besiktas made Lescott,, a lucrative offer, but he wants to
stay in the Premier League. Lescott cost Man City £24m when he signed from
Everton in 2009 but will be available on a free transfer from the end of the
season.
It is also curious how we would balance our £52m wage cap under FFP rules.
After a confirmed wage bill of £48m last season and the addition of Stewart
Downing adding around £3m we were already close to the cap at the start of
the season.
Roma has confirmed we paid 700,000 euros Loan fee for Borriello and Nocerino
is likely to be a similar amount so that's another £1m on top until the end
of the season. Lescott would add around £1.8m for 5 months. Roger Johnson is
believed to be on £20,000 per week and Carlton Cole is understood to have
agreed a £25,000 a week deal for a 18 month deal so that adds another
£900,000 to the wage until the end of the season.
I am confused how we will balance the books to meet the £52m wage cap unless
1) We ignore FFP and face the consequences or 2) Sell and/or release a
number of players in this week before the transfer window shuts!
Meanwhile Newcastle's Steven Taylor has been mooted as a possible
alternative target if the Lescott loan fails to materialise claims Matt Law
in the Telegraph.
UPDATE: In Sam's Monday Morning Press Conference he said "I don't expect to
be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit so I don't
see us doing any more business" Do we believe him?
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Deadline day looms large for Big Sam as he looks to lift the Hammers out of
trouble
Jan 27, 2014 06:56 By John Cross 0
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce will spend this week desperately trying to push through a last
minute rush of deals. The West Ham manager will not have the luxury of
putting together multi-million pound transfers for big names. Big Sam will
have to raid the loan market and hope that he can do a last gasp deal for a
defender or centre forward. Allardyce will not be alone as the final week of
the January window always represents panic deals which can seem even more
desperate than in the summer. You could sense Allardyce's frustration last
week when he stormed out of a press conference after being asked about
whether he would be able to do any deals. "Every time I line up a player -
someone else comes along and nicks them," Allardyce said angrily. He
actually swore as well but we'll leave that out as this is a family
newspaper. But you can understand his point. West Ham have gone for big
names like Rickie Lambert, loan deals like Lacina Traore from Monaco and
also the potential signing of Joleon Lescott. The problem is attracting
players who could be entering a relegation battle and they are taking a
gamble on their careers as well as the clubs they are joining. These are
desperate times at the bottom as well as the top and the loan market is one
area where some managers excel as they look to pull off deals which can make
or break their season. Everton boss Roberto Martinez did wonders with loans
in August in the final days. He got Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. Then
came in Gareth Barry from Manchester City. They have been great successes in
the first team. Martinez also signed Gerard Deulofeu on loan from Barcelona,
a great young attacking talent who will cost Everton less the more they play
him.
The loan market divides opinion as Arsene Wenger doesn't like it and
Martinez clearly does. But one thing is for sure: the final week will see
more and more clubs utilise loan signings if they cannot do permanent deals.
There will be a lot of movement even if clubs aren't spending on big fees.
The truth is that managers become more desperate. And the window has
generally been quiet apart from the odd mega deal like Juan Mata or Nemanja
Matic. But the final few days is when it hots up. And Allardyce and his
fellow strugglers know that the final days of the transfer window will hold
the key to their survival. Those who do well in the market will survive.
Expect West Ham, Crystal Palace and Sunderland to be busy. Those who fail
and don't get the reinforcements will go down. Over to you, Big Sam.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce excited to work with new recruits Marco
Borriello and Antonio Nocerino
Jan 27, 2014 14:42 By Liam Prenderville
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce is confident new West Ham signings Marco Borriello and Antonio
Nocerino will be successful in the Premier League. The Hammers completed the
loan signings of the Italian pair over the weekend after a frustrating time
in the transfer market. Nocerino arrives from AC Milan while his
international colleague secured his switch from Roma and Allardyce can't
wait to get both of them on the pitch. He told the club's website: "At long
last, after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure
two new faces. "I think there's always a settling in period, but it has to
be very quickly because of the window that we are in and because of the
games coming thick and fast. So we hope that's going to be a quick
integration." West Ham's struggles this season have been largely down to a
lack of options in the final third, with Allardyce often choosing to play
with no out-and-out striker. However he has been boosted by the return from
injury of Andy Carroll and the Hammers boss hopes the England international
can strike a great relationship with new recruit Borriello. He added: "With
the reintroduction of Andy now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more
optimism to everyone at the club. "With Marco, it's about getting him on the
field and talking about nothing else other than scoring goals. "I think
that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing too much
outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need now."
West Ham face London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night
and the duo could be in line to feature
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