Daily WHUFC News - 25th October 2014

Preview - Manchester City
WHUFC.com
All the essential pre-match information ahead of Saturday's game against Manchester City
24.10.2014

WEST HAM UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
BOLEYN GROUND
SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 12.45PM
REFEREE: MARTIN ATKINSON

In brief

West Ham United welcome Manchester City to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday, with both teams in the top four of the Barclays Premier League.
The Citizens currently sit second, having taken 17 points from their first eight games. They are unbeaten in their last five league games and defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 last weekend.
Sam Allardyce's team are four points and two places behind, having tasted victory in their last two starts. Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia and Carlton Cole were all on target as Saturday as the Hammers defeated Burnley 3-1.
The Hammers will be hoping to improve on last season's showings against the Citizens, when they lost all four meetings with Manuel Pellegrini's men.

Who are they?
Manchester City were formed in 1880 as St Mark's (West Gordon), eventually taking on their current name in 1894.
They have played at the Etihad Stadium since 2003, having previously turned out at Maine Road from 1923. Their most successful period until recent times came in the late 1960s and early 1970s when they won the league, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
More recently, they have won the Barclays Premier League twice in the last three years, as well as the FA Cup and Capital One Cup.

Team news
West Ham United
Cheikhou Kouyate and James Tomkins return to the Hammers squad after both overcoming groin injuries to train this week.
Andy Carroll is also back in training but not yet ready to return to the first team.

Manchester City
Frank Lampard will miss out for Manchester City after suffering a thigh injury in last week's win at Tottenham.
Lampard's fellow midfielder Samir Nasri is also absent after undergoing groin surgery.

Referee
Saturday's match referee will be Martin Atkinson. A referee since the age of 16, Atkinson was promoted to the Football League list of assistant referees in 1998. In 2000, Atkinson was promoted to the Select Group of assistant referees, allowing him to run the line in Premier League matches.
He joined the National List of referees for the Football League at the start of the 2003/04 season before taking charge of his first Premier League fixture on 20 April 2005 when Manchester City entertained Birmingham City. He was the man in the middle at the 2006 FA Community Shield between Chelsea and Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He also took charge of the 2008 FA Trophy final between Ebbsfleet United and Torquay United at Wembley Stadium.
Atkinson also refereed the Hammers on the final day of last season, when Manchester City clinched the Barclays Premier League title with a 2-0 win at Etihad Stadium, and in the 2-2 draw at Hull City on 15 September.

One to watch
West Ham United
Diafra Sakho's goalscoring form has really caught the eye since his summer move from French side FC Metz. Last Saturday's goal at Burnley was his sixth in as many starts for the Club, and meant he has scored in his last five consecutive Premier League games. He becomes only the second player to achieve that feat for West Ham in the Premier League era, alongside Carlton Cole.

Manchester City
Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is in irrepressible form at the moment, having scored in his last five appearances. He bagged four against Tottenham last week, and could even had added a fifth had he not missed a first half penalty. The 26-year-old now has 61 league goals for the Citizens in just 95 appearances, with his goals helping the club win Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014.

Tickets

Standard tickets for this game have now sold out. However, tickets may become available online as Season Ticket Holders relist their tickets.

TV coverage
Click here for a list of broadcasters for Saturday's game.

Travel
The District Line will be suspended between South Kensington and Aldgate East, but services will be running on the eastern branch of the line to serve Upton Park.
Click here for up to the minute news from TfL and here for National Rail.

Weather
A sunny day is predicted for Saturday, with temperature at kick-off of 14C (57F)

Last meeting
Manchester City 2-0 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
11 May 2014
Manchester City secured the league title with a 2-0 win over the Hammers on the final day of last season. A goal in each half did the trick, with Vincent Kompany's close-range finish supplementing Samir Nasri's earlier strike.

Manchester City: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Demichelis, Nasri, Garcia, Silva (Milner 76) Y.Toure (Negredo 86), Dzeko (Fernandinho 69), Aguero
Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Clichy, Jovetic
Goals: Nasri 39, Kompany 49

West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, McCartney, Tomkins, O'Brien, Nolan (Jarvis 64), Taylor, Noble, Diame (J.Cole 81), Downing, Carroll (C.Cole 72)
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Armero, Collins, Vaz Te

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Noble excited by City clash
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Mark Noble is relishing Saturday's clash with Manchester City
24.10.2014

West Ham United midfielder Mark Noble is hoping the Hammers can continue their excellent run of form against Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday. The 27-year-old midfielder has played an integral part of the Hammers' good start to the season, captaining the team to victories over Liverpool and Burnley. The West Ham Academy graduate has now been a mainstay in the first team for a decade as he closes in on West Ham's record Premier League appearance maker. Having made 200 appearances he is just four games behind current record holder Steve Potts. Speaking ahead of the match against Manchester City at the Boleyn Ground, Noble said: "Obviously we're all enjoying being fourth while it lasts. I'm enjoying the way we're playing at the moment, I think most of the players are. The form the boys are in is very enjoyable. "Last year I said we needed to buy good players if we're going to move on, and we've done that. By the time we move to the New Stadium we want to be a top six or seven club."

Looking back to last Saturday's 3-1 win over Burnley, Noble explained: "I think Burnley were probably the better side in the first half on Saturday but we came out strong in the second half and blew them away in the first 20 minutes. "The two goals the strikers scored against Burnley were proper striker's goals. They were two excellent headers from good crosses from the boys out wide, hopefully that will continue."

Speaking about the fantastic impact new signing Diafra Sakho has made since moving from FC Metz, the midfielder said: "Having a top goal scorer is very helpful. It's the difference between winning and losing. Some games last year we were losing games we really should have won but we couldn't get the goals we needed. "Sakho's done extremely well but so has Valencia too. Carlton's made important contributions from the bench and then Andy Carroll is back in full training so the manager has got a lot of options."

Another player who has made an impressive impact is Alex Song. "Alex is a top footballer, we've seen that over the years. He played in the Barcelona team who were arguably the best team ever. It was a big deal that he wanted to come to us. To play alongside a player as good as he is only going to improve my game. "He's thoroughly enjoying the way he's playing here at the moment. He's got a smile on his face
everyday, he looks like a happy man when he's out there playing."

Looking ahead to Saturday's clash with Manchester City, Noble says the Hammers are in a confident mood: "It's a good atmosphere here now, it helps when you're winning games. But we know it's early days we're not going to get carried away with being fourth. Saturday is a massive day against Man City. I know the boys are buzzing for it and hopefully we can give them a good game. "This is certainly the best start to a season I've ever been involved with. There's a buzz around the place and I'm really enjoying it."

Despite City playing away the Champions League in midweek, Noble knows the Hammers will be in for a tough test this Saturday. He concluded: "I don't think there is ever a good time to play them. They have got such a big squad full of top quality players. But at the moment we're playing well, we can go out and attack and be confident. We'll take the game to them and see what happens."

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Haycock happy with Dev Squad effort
WHUFC.com
Dev Squad coach Nick Haycock was pleased with his side's effort against Manchester United
24.10.2014

West Ham United Development Squad manager Nick Haycock was pleased with his sides' effort against Manchester United despite a narrow 2-1 defeat. The visitors took the lead in the first half through the highly rated James Wilson before Elliot Lee equalised with his fifth goal in four matches for the Hammers. The Red Devils claimed the three points late on in the second half after Will Keane finished from close range. Speaking after the game, Haycock said: "When I saw their team sheet before the game I knew it was going to be a tough ask. They had a lot of Premier league experience in there. I think their quality showed tonight, they had a higher calibre of player out there. "I thought we did well in the first half to contain them well. We limited them to only few chances. All week we worked on being more resilient because against Bilbao we conceded too many sloppy goals. "In the second half it was slightly disappointing because we wanted the team to pass the ball. We don't set up a team just to defend, we didn't keep the ball well enough which put us under pressure."

After conceding five goals against Athletic Bilbao last week, the Hammers put in a much more resolute performance. "Yeah I think you can say that because we kept them down to two goals. We're disappointed with the second goal because we think it's a foul and we were on the attack at the time. In terms of defending as a group as think we were better tonight."

Manchester United fielded a strong side including ex-West Ham graduate Michael Carrick as well as experienced first team players such as Anders Lindegaard, Tyler Blackett and James Wilson. Haycock continued: "I said to the boys in there if you can compete against Manchester United you'll be able to beat most sides in the league. I think come the end of the season, they'll be up there. "Warren always has a good work ethic about his team. His young players are trying to catch the eye of Louis van Gaal. There as good a side as we'll play, there's no doubt about that. I couldn't fault them in terms of effort."

Another positive for Haycock is striker Elliot Lee's return to goal scoring form. The captain has now netted five goals in four games.
"Yeah, Elliot's always got a goal in him. He'll be disappointed a bit tonight because he was starved of the ball for too long. I can understand his frustration at not receiving the ball enough. "With him in the team, and his attributes there's always a chance. He's got five goals in four games now and he's still working on other areas of his game."

The Development Squad's next game is away to Norwich City on Thursday 6 November, 2014.

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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Enner Valencia reflects on a productive international break and his goal at Burnley
23.10.2014

Hello everyody,

We have Manchester City at home on Saturday and it is a game everybody is looking forward to. We are all happy wih the way the team is going at the moment and we have to keep working to keep it the same way. I was really pleased to score at Burnley, after getting three for my country during the international break. I scored one against the United States which swerved away from Brad Guzan and I practised that sort of shot in training. I'm happy that it is paying off. I try to give my all for the national team, so I am happy with what I have contributed.

To then back it up at Burnley was great and we have a very strong squad this season. All the players are giving their best. In all positions, we have very good players that can give you assists. This makes things easier and we have to keep it the same way. I hope to score my first goal at the Boleyn Ground very soon and it will be nice to score in front of our home fans. I hope I can score in front of them and get them the three points on Saturday. It's great to play up front with Diafra. He is doing really well and scoring goals at pivotal points of the game. He's been doing very well and he is a nice guy, so I am happy for him. I am confident we can get three points against Manchester City. We play in front of our fans in our stadium and I think this gives us a good opportunity to get three points.
The team is training hard every day to achieve those kind of performances. Hopefully we can repeat the performance we had against Liverpool and Manchester United and beat Manchester City and get the three points on Saturday.

Come on you Irons!
Enner

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Joint-Chairman's pride in Enterprise win
WHUFC.com
Joint-Chairman David Gold joined the Club's Premier League Enterprise winners at the Commons
24.10.2014

Joint-Chairman David Gold shared in the celebrations of West Ham United's Premier League Enterprise Challenge winners on Wednesday, as the triumphant Hammers group took centre stage at the House of Commons. Managed by West Ham United Community Sports Trust and delivered by WHU inspire Learning Centre, the Hammers cohort told a gathering of MPs and special guests, including former Premier League duo Graeme Le Saux and Jason Roberts, of how the Enterprise Challenge has helped them. The Enterprise Challenge is the highlight of Premier League
Enterprise, a project which uses the hook of football and the knowledge and expertise of the clubs to engage young people in the world of business and enterprise. The initiative has engaged 90,000 young people since its inception in 2008. Joint-Chairman David Gold meets West Ham's triumphant youngsters "I am so proud of them," Mr Gold said. "I am proud they have come from schools where I was born and proud they are here representing West Ham United. It's just wonderful to see. "We ignore our young people at our peril. They need all the support and encouragement we can offer. Young people get such bad press but when a young person does a good thing, we don't see it in our newspapers. I am just thrilled that this project is succeeding. "It's a momentous occasion for these young men. Here they are in the Houses of Parliament, in front of MPs, and it's incredibly daunting. I couldn't have done this when I was their age. It would have terrified me. "I came from humble beginnings and my life would have been a lot easier if I had had the mentors and encouragement these young men have been given, through the funding and efforts of the Premier League and all the people associated with this scheme."

So impressed was the Joint-Chairman by the West Ham team that he has invited them as VIP guests to the Boleyn Ground, where he plans to discuss the business ideas with the students in more detail. "Going to Downing Street and the House of Commons in one day has been great," said team member Ismaeel Haqq. "Opportunities like this make you more ambitious, they make you aim higher because you know it is possible. I will remember this for a long time. "A lot of people doubted us but I am happy we stuck together as a team, got through it and turned up here. We've now been selected as ambassadors of this competition so we will be mentoring the kids that represent West Ham this year. We hope to take them all the way."

The extension to the long-running partnership between the Premier League and Comic Relief will involve £2.7 million being invested into an expanded Premier League Enterprise programme. The scheme will target hard-to-reach young people who are underachieving or at risk of not realising their potential, with the aim of engaging 7,000 people a year in enterprise education activities.

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Hammers catch Mimms
WHUFC.com
The experienced Bobby Mimms has been appointed as West Ham United's new goalkeeper coach
24.10.2014

West Ham United are pleased to announce the appointment of Bobby Mimms as the Club's new goalkeeper coach. The former Everton and Tottenham Hotspur stopper has joined the Hammers after a spell working with the Bahrain national side. The 51-year-old is a vastly-experienced coach who spent eight years at Wolverhampton Wanderers before working under Sam Allardyce during a four-year spell at Blackburn Rovers. Mimms has joined West Ham following the departure of Martyn Margetson.

After stints with Oldham Athletic and in the Middle East, the one-time England U21 international is relishing a return to the Barclays Premier League. "It's a pleasure to be here," Mimms confirmed. "I got a phone call from Sam and he asked me if I would be interested to come down here and work with the goalies, and I was more than interested. "I've just come back from Bahrain, where I was working with the national team and this opportunity came along. "Sam is a great character who has a lot of knowledge of the game, and I learned a lot from him in the two years I worked with him at Blackburn. He obviously trusts what I do, or else he wouldn't have made the call to ask me to come here. It's great to meet up with him again and to be able to work with him. "Things are going well at the Club at the moment, so hopefully I can add a little bit to that and we can keep it going."

Mimms held his first training session with Jussi Jaaskelainen and Adrian on Thursday and he hopes to build on the work done by his predecessor. "I said to the goalkeepers that I'm not here to rip their game to pieces, but as we go along I hope to pick up bits that I can add to their game. With their knowledge and ability, and my knowledge, hopefully we can add to their skills and make everybody better."

Saturday sees West Ham take on one of Mimms' other former clubs, Manchester City, and he knows whoever starts in goal will face a challenge to keep the ball out of their net. "I am looking forward to returning to the Premier League," he confirmed. "Everybody out in Bahrain was talking about the Premier League and this is the place to work. "I was lucky enough to get this opportunity and I cannot wait for Saturday's game. Hopefully we will carry on how we've been going. "I went to Burnley last weekend for a look and we produced a great performance and a great result, so with a home game coming up hopefully we can build on that."

As a player, Mimms played for Halifax Town and Rotherham United as a youngster before joining league champions Everton in 1985. There, he mainly served as understudy to Neville Southall but he did start the 1986 FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool. After a host of loan spells, the York-born stopper moved to Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent basis in 1988. Two years later, he began a long association with Blackburn, helping Rovers to win promotion to the Premier League, and he was part of the title-winning squad in 1994/95. After spells with a number of Football League clubs, Mimms retired in 2001, having made 552 senior appearances for 13 different clubs.

Mimms' predecessor Margetson joined the Hammers in 2011 and played a role in helping the Club regain and establish its Barclays Premier League status. The Welshman won praise from his fellow coaches and goalkeepers alike for his innovative approach and was central to the signing of Spaniard Adrian in summer 2013. The Club would like to thank Martyn for his efforts and wish him all the best for his future career.

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Potts plotting Villa victory
WHUFC.com
U18s manager Steve Potts is hoping his side can return to winning ways against Villa
24.10.2014

West Ham United U18 manager Steve Potts is looking forward to the opportunity of bouncing back from a first loss of the season after the 3-1 defeat by Fulham last Saturday. The Hammers missed a spot-kick before the Cottagers roared into a three-goal lead at Motspur Park, with a second penalty converted by Alex Pike providing a late consolation. Elijah Adebayo, Josh Walker and Stephen Humphrys got the goals for the hosts, who ended West Ham's eight-match unbeaten run to start the 2014/15 campaign. Summarising his thoughts about the defeat ahead of Saturday's game against Aston Villa, Potts said: "It's always disappointing to get beat. Afterwards, we looked at a game as a whole and I thought we did well enough. "In the three games before that we kept clean sheets and didn't give anything away. We've also been taking our chances in games recently. "Last Saturday we didn't keep it tight enough at the back. We did have some chances at the other end. We had a penalty at 0-0 that didn't go in as well as a few other chances. On the day they were more clinical than us."

Saturday's opponents Aston Villa have had a tough to their season, in particular losing 12-2 to Chelsea, having been 2-0 up. However Villa responded strongly by beating Leicester 2-1 and Potts knows his U18s will have improve from last weekend's display. "It's important they learn the lessons from last weekend. We need to be tighter at the back and sharper in front of goal. We need to move the ball around as well as we have been doing in parts of the season." "They're a good team, I remember playing them last year. They were a very good side. We got two results against them but I think they were the better team in at least one of the games. "They'll probably think they were unlucky not to do better in the games against us. I expect a tough game, Aston Villa always have good teams."

Following the U18s' good start to the season which included an eight game unbeaten run, five of the team featured for the Development Squad in their Barclays Premier League International Cup against Spanish giants Athletic Bilbao. The five players involved were free scoring Jordan Brown, Djair Parfitt-Williams, Manny Onariase, Josh Pask and Grady Diangana. Assessing their performances in the eight goal thriller, Potts said: "They did OK, I think it was difficult for them. Some of them were making their first starts for the Development Squad this year. "A couple of them were making their first starts at the Boleyn Ground and that can be tough in itself. They will have learnt a lot of lessons from that game so going forward that will benefit them. "We gave some poor goals away that night and made it very difficult for ourselves but there was some OK stuff in there too."

West Ham United U18s play Aston Villa on Saturday 25 October at Little Heath, kick-off is 11am.

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Your farewell to the Boleyn
WHUFc.com
The Club are reaching out to fans to gather your thoughts on how best to bid farewell to the Boleyn Ground
24.10.2014

August 2015 will see West Ham United kick off their final season at the Boleyn Ground, ahead of their historic move to the former Olympic Stadium in Stratford. With over a century's history to honour, the Club are determined to ensure that, with your help, the Boleyn bows out in style. So over the coming weeks and months we will be reaching out to Hammers fans to gather your thoughts on how best to bid farewell to the ground we have called home since 1904. Following an initial consultation with the Supporter Advisory Board (SAB) we have identified a shortlist of match themes to be incorporated into our final season's home fixtures. Now it is over to you. Each week we will be launching a poll on whufc.com and on Twitter, alongside a call for fans to share their personal highlights and memories within each theme.
We will also be asking you about your favourite kits from down the years and canvassing your ideas for inspiration for the final commemorative Boleyn kit.

We want all of our loyal supporters to play their part in this unique season, so whether you are a Season Ticket Holder or a fan from afar, we will be calling on you to share your personal highlights and the unforgettable moments that make the Boleyn Ground such a unique place. Keep an eye out next week for the first vote launching next week.

Supporters are already jumping at the chance to book their spot for the final farewell to our home of 110 years, with thousands having put their name down on the Final Season waiting list. To book your place in history, join the waiting list here.
2014/15 Season Ticket Holders will automatically qualify for renewal for the final season. Half-Season Tickets are now on sale and are available online at whufcboxoffice.com, by calling 0871 529 1966 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras) or visiting the Stadium Ticket Office in person.

A 2015/16 Season Ticket Holders will gain access to all 19 Premier League home games plus any cup fixtures and secure their place in the migration process to West Ham United's new world-class, iconic home ground at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

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Manchester City look to close gap on Chelsea with win at West Ham
Last Updated: 24/10/14 2:18pm
SSN

Manchester City head to face West Ham at Upton Park in Saturday's early kick-off looking to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to just two points. Jose Mourinho's men do not play until they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford as part of Sky Sports' Super Sunday so Manuel Pellegrini's side will be bidding to up the pressure on the early pacesetters. The Hammers will be hoping to maintain their own place in the top four, although Sam Allardyce's side have taken just one point from their last six Barclays Premier League encounters with City. They will have to deal with in-form City striker Sergio Aguero, fresh from his four-goal haul against Tottenham last weekend. The Argentine has the best minutes-per-goal rate of any player in Barclays Premier League history and will be looking to add to his tally.

Opta facts

The Hammers lost four times to City last season (twice in the league and both legs of the League Cup semi-final).
Sergio Aguero's record of nine goals in his team's opening eight games has never been bettered in Premier League history.
Diafra Sakho is only the second player in Premier League history (after Mick Quinn) to score in each of his first five starts in the competition.
West Ham have allowed the opposition fewer clear cut chances (7) than any other Premier League team this season.

Pellegrini's side have happy memories of their last clash with Allardyce's men, having secured the league title against West Ham on the final day of the previous season with a 2-0 win at the Etihad - a game in which the visitors failed to muster a single shot on target.
The home side's fine form aside, City's biggest problem could be coping with jet-lag after the long trip back from their 2-2 Champions League draw against CSKA Moscow.

Team news

West Ham will be boosted by the returns of James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate. Defender Tomkins and midfielder Kouyate have recovered from thigh and groin problems respectively while striker Andy Carroll is back in training but not considered ready for the clash at Upton Park.
Guy Demel (thigh), Joey O'Brien (knee) and James Collins (groin) are also out injured. Former West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard has an outside chance of returning for City after picking up a thigh injury against Spurs last weekend, but Samir Nasri is out following a groin operation.

Paul Merson's prediction

West Ham is a tough place to go these days. Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia play with a lot of pace and can't stop scoring goals and Stewart Downing is playing in a really good position. However, Man City have to win to put some pressure on Chelsea and I think it will prove a hard game for both sides with not a lot in it. Ultimately I think Sergio Aguero will be the difference and for that reason I am going for a narrow Man City win.

MERSON PREDICTS: 1-2

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Sam Allardyce hails the influence of Alex Song at West Ham
Last Updated: 24/10/14 1:35pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce has praised the influence of on-loan midfielder Alex Song in the West Ham changing room. Song joined the Hammers from Barcelona in August and Allardyce feels the 26-year-old has had the same impact for West Ham that Yaya Toure has had for Saturday's opponents Manchester City. West Ham's, who are fourth in the table, will be given a tough test when they host defending champions City on Saturday and when asked about his opponents' world-class stars, the Hammers boss said: "We've got that type of signing in Alex Song.
"That's a Yaya Toure-type signing for us. He's a top quality player of the highest calibre and he'll provide the sort of service our front line need. "He links everything together very well so we've got a top quality international player that's played for Arsenal, for Barcelona and in the Champions League. "He's obviously being slightly overshadowed by Enner Valencia and Sakho at the moment but he'll have a big impact for us."

Allardyce added: "He's a massive influence on the training ground and in the changing room - with his dress sense particularly. "Everyone has a lot respect for what he's done before. He hasn't hit top form yet but he's certainly a major influence for us." West Ham played City four times last season, losing on each occasion and conceding 14 goals while scoring just once. The worst of those defeats came in the Capital One Cup first leg in January when the Hammers were thrashed 6-0 but Allardyce is confident his side will do better this time around. "We've got a different team, a different set of players, some of them last season will remember the fact we didn't get anything against City," the West Ham boss said. "Everyone still talks about the semi-final of the Capital One Cup but there was little we could do with the injuries we had. "If we're going to challenge against them, it's at this moment in time - City have just come back from playing in the Champions League and we're in good, confident form."

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Ebola virus: West Ham star Alex Song says Africa Cup of Nations should be scrapped
Oct 24, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
The epidemic has so far claimed more than 4,500 lives since its outbreak, and the midfielder has called for the tournament to be cancelled
The Mirror

Alex Song has called for January's Africa Cup of Nations to be scrapped because of the Ebola virus. The Cameroon star also said football's high-profile African stars must help those affected. Song said: "If calling it off is the way to stop the spread of the virus then we have to do it. When you watch the TV you don't know where it is going next." The Ebola virus has killed more than 4,500 people since the outbreak in west Africa. Song added: "We have a lot of African players here in the UK - and around in the world - if we can find a solution together to help the people we have to do it. A string of Premier League stars are due to head to Africa for the tournament which runs from January 17 until February 8. Hosts Morocco have asked for it to be postponed but the Confederation of African Football has so refused. The two parties will meet on November 3 to discuss the issue. Song added: "You can't go somewhere and put your life and the lives of all the people coming in at risk. "I am worried because I have a lot of friends in the affected regions. Some people say: 'Its only in Guinea, its not going to come to Cameroon' but the truth is that people don't have any information because the information does not go everywhere. So something has to be done to help."

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Irons aim to make Noble a 'lifer'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 24, 2014 in Whispers
CANDH EXCLUSIVE
BY HUGH SOUTHON

West Ham are preparing to make loyalist Mark Noble an offer he can't refuse next summer and all but tying him to the club for life.
ClaretandHugh can exclusively reveal that the club will activate a two year option on the midfielder's deal and are ready to make him an improved contract offer at the same time. Noble is the man who is set to lead the club into its new Olympic Stadium era and the club want to tie him down for another six years. And the Canning Town-born Mr West Ham looks certain to sign away his footballing life to the club he has served since he was 15, Winston Reid's contract dispute has hogged the headlines over recent months but the club has been working on the Noble scenario for several weeks. And this afternoon a top insider told ClaretandHugh exclusively: "We have an option to extend his contract two years, which we will do and we are likely to be offering him an improved deal and a new four year contract."

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"WE DON'T WANT SPURS AT OS AND THAT'S THAT"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 24, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham have made it clear to the London Legacy Development Corporation they don't want Spurs as ground share "partners" at the Olympic Stadium in their first season at the new 'showpiece' Hammers home. London's mayor Boris Johnson ducked and dived under constant questioning in a video shown on this site yesterday hiding behind Premier League rules and suggesting Hammers approval would be required.
The Irons today made it clear to ClaretandHugh today the club has no intention of giving its approval and had made that clear to the LLDC.
That may explain why Johnson regularly argued that it would be very difficult for the owners of the stadium to agree to a Spurs ground share without the Hammers approval and his regular dismissal of the propostion as a "hypothesis." A well placed Hammers source told ClaretandHugh: We do not want Spurs in our stadium during the first year or any other year and have made our position clear. "This is coming up with monotonous regularity but the truth is there has been no approach from Spurs and we are not expecting one. "They would far sooner go to Wembley but our understanding is they are likely to end up at Milton Keynes!"

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Sam Allardyce: West Ham's owners are best I've ever had and deserve this success after not sacking me
By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent6:21PM BST 24 Oct 2014
Daily Telegraph

When West Ham United met Manchester City last season, Sam Allardyce's side conceded five goals in the Premier League and nine in the Capital One Cup, and many fans bayed for the manager's removal. Upton Park now hosts the champions on Saturday with West Ham in fourth place and Allardyce in a better place with supporters, given the improved quality of football. The club's co-owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, stayed strong in those dark days, backing Allardyce, reinforcing the squad in the summer, successfully installing Teddy Sheringham as attacking coach and quietly requesting football more in keeping with the club's "academy" traditions, "attacking a bit more" in Sullivan's words. "They are the best owners I've ever had," says Allardyce, sitting in his small but neat office at Chadwell Heath. "They are loyal. They could have cracked under pressure. At one stage I thought it might have been very, very close in December and January [to his sacking]. It's very difficult to take the pressure when you're the owner and every man and his dog is saying, 'Your manager's c---, you've got to get rid of him'. "They were saying it to them through social media, through abusive messages and emails. The owners are very easily contactable – personally, I'd say too easily. They get affected by it. I've no problem with that. My life's about adjusting to owners' needs. "When you come into a club – and this is where young managers slip up – the relationship with the owners is the most important thing, not the relationship with players. With owners, it's what do they want? What do they need? They said to me [in 2011 with West Ham in the Championship]: 'Get up – and stay there.' That was the first priority and then can you build on that. Everyone wants to have the best team, and play the best football, but that takes some building, some doing."

Just turned 60, Allardyce rankles over his old "long-ball" reputation. "That's other managers that did that. They used that as an excuse for the times when we beat them: Wenger, O'Leary, Souness, Benítez. It's not founded in fact. "You work with what you've got and get the best out of it. It's like now. People are saying, 'Sam's made this unbelievable change at West Ham' but the change has been evolving from day one. We've given ourselves enough time to evolve this team."

He noted in passing that some of the most lauded midfielders deliver the ball over long range. "Yaya Touré will turn round and ping the ball 60 yards behind our defence. City don't do short, short, short. It was one of the traits of Liverpool last season that Stevie Gerrard played more long passes than anyone else but they were more accurate than anybody else. He was unbelievable. We all sussed that one out, saying 'Stop Stevie Gerrard passing it' and slow Liverpool down as a team." They did last month, beating Liverpool, and playing well. It has taken into what Allardyce calls "Year Four", his fourth season in charge, to blend the styles. "It has got the 'academy' everywhere. I came into a club that got relegated in 2011, and it was all about sorting out the finances and can you put a team out on the pitch which says this is 'the West Ham way'? Can you go to difficult places in the Championship where they won't let you play 'the West Ham way'? What do you do? You do what you need to do to win.

"We have the great new stadium [the Olympic Stadium] that we're going to and that's exciting but that's an extra pressure [to make sure they arrive still in the Premier League in 2016]. At least as time has gone by we've improved, improved, improved. The only way is getting results, not playing 85 passes in midfield, looking pretty and not winning.

"It's not so much 'boring' football, it's about a winning culture that gives you the time to do what you need to do. Eleven managers out of 20 in the Premier League left last year. Half of them we'll never see again." He feared for his job. "The blip has only been November, December last year. It was brutal. Everything is brutal in football when it's not going well. It's brutal for Harry Redknapp at the minute. The Etihad [the 6-0 loss] was brutal. I cope with it because I'm experienced, I've seen it all before. I can't let it make me lose my focus. I can't let it destroy my belief in my own ability.''

Allardyce took the criticism on himself, shielding the players. "If it gets to your players you're finished. I take it on me.''
Allardyce cites Sir Alex Ferguson as the king of diversions in protecting the team. "Fergie was the master at it: create a controversy to take the pressure off the players, so the media would talk about him and not about Fergie's players not being so good for that particular week. They'd all talk about what a disgrace he was doing or saying something.

"There are two types of coaches. There's coaches like me who weigh up the opposition and ask the team to adjust. Fergie was similar. Jose [Mourinho] is similar. Then there's Arsène, who won't adjust. There's Brendan [Rodgers], who looks like he won't adjust. There's Manuel Pellegrini, who looks like he won't adjust, even in the Champions League. He seems to favour what he's got. City are quite open.
"Their [Wenger/Rodgers/Pellegrini's] philosophy is different to ours. Ours is more about who are we playing against. Their philosophy is more, 'We always play this way', and they won't change, they carry doing on the same thing. That's why you can beat them. "This squad is now looking better. Every fan at the moment is happy that we are not only winning but also we're entertaining them. We've scored 15 goals in the first eight games. If we carry on like that, that's 72 goals and that means we'll finish in the top four – unlikely but great. We might have a chance of Europe if we stay consistent."

Allardyce reflects on his past, on the influences that shaped this resilience and helped get him here. "My old man always said you only get what you graft for. It doesn't matter how intelligent you are, how much education you've got, you'll only get there on work rate. My dad was a policeman for 25 years, a sergeant, and he taught me discipline. Any problems on our estate were always sorted out by Bob Allardyce. If we got into any trouble we'd be in trouble with my old man. So discipline was everything. Getting up for work on time, don't be late, shave, don't let anyone down. "We lack a lot of discipline today. It's society. As parents we're all guilty of not disciplining our children enough. I was strong-ish with my children. I don't think my son, who's married now, is as strong [on discipline] as I used to be. That's the way society has gone."

Managers are almost substitute fathers at times, especially with those such as Ravel Morrison who come from splintered families. Ravel's upbringing certainly had an impact on his football life. Then again, there are people who've had that sort of upbringing who fight their way out of that like Incey [Paul Ince] here. He's got that inner drive to succeed." So has Allardyce. He has always grafted, "working in the parks, cutting the grass" as a player, even doing up properties in Bolton during his time as a centre-half at Burnden Park.
"We modernised terraced houses. Buy the place for £6,000. It didn't have a damp-proof course and needed rewiring, so you'd do a rip-out job, revamp it and sell them for £10,000 to £12,000. I did a lot of the mortgages during the season and in the summer, I'd be in there with a sledgehammer, knocking down walls.'' He has fought his way up the managerial ladder, learning the trade at places such as Limerick. When the League of Ireland club were short of money for wages, the chairman, Father Joe Young, put out the word to his mates. "He called in a few favours. Divine intervention! I'd go and collect money with the priest. Fantastic. We'd pull up in the garage, the window would come down, and someone would pass this envelope over. I'd count the punts. Joe would then ring the club secretary, who'd say, 'We need another 200 punts'. Once we got enough, that was it. We had enough to pay the players for Sunday. The collar has mighty powers there.

"Watching Joe, with his faith, was a massive eye-opener for me. He looked after one of the poorest parishes in Limerick, working with people who were struggling, down and out, but it never got him down. We had a brilliant time together. We travelled all over the country in a little minibus, playing games and winning."

He now enjoys the attacking likes of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyaté at West Ham. "They've settled in fine but we didn't realise they would deliver potential into reality as quickly as this. They want to be successful.''

West Ham's record signing, Andy Carroll, is back in training, and should be available within "two to three" weeks. Allardyce laughs at the suggestion that he had a difficult decision to make. "No, I haven't. Andy has to wait. If those two [Valencia and Sakho] carry on, there's no way they can be put to one side for Andy. Andy will have to earn his place. He knows it."

For £3.5 million, West Ham have already been rewarded with six goals in seven games from Sakho. "He's a brilliant lad, brilliant pro, focused. His self-belief at the minute is sky high. He believes when he runs out on the field that he'll score, even Saturday against City. He did it against Liverpool. Him and Valencia tortured them. Kouyaté is top quality too. "It's exciting. The club has bought players who are younger, and seem to be really hungry. Alex Song has got the best gear we've ever seen, the best hats we've ever seen and unbelievable scarves. He wears glasses when he doesn't need them but they're fashionable. He fetches a chuckle when he comes wandering into the dressing-room."

Allardyce has experienced vibrant wardrobes, having worked with El Hadji Diouf at Bolton and Blackburn. "Dioufy was madder than Alex. Dioufy had a striped suit with 'El Hadji Diouf' written on all the stripes. Dioufy bought a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren [for £420,000] and had it wrapped in silver. Dioufy was the most likeable rogue I ever met."

His thoughts returning to the West Ham dressing room, Allardyce would like more of his players to have England recognition. "Mark Noble is a candidate, definitely. With the way Stewart Downing is playing, he's a candidate for central midfield for England. Stewart's playing great in there. "Whether Roy [Hodgson] thinks he's a player there he can only find out by sending his scouts to come and watch. Hopefully Andy will get back there if he strives forward and doesn't get any more injuries. While England are struggling at right-back, Carl Jenkinson should be in there.'' He talks to his players about England. "If you want to be an England international now, and dedicate your life to football, there's never been a better time in history to get in the squad. We have so few players to choose from with 70 per cent foreign in the Premier League now. We tell the players to 'keep believing, it will come through consistency and they can't not come and have a look at you'." And Allardyce himself? "England is too far away for me to think that way but I would love it. I'd have loved it last time [in 2006 when Steve McClaren got it]. They made a mistake not doing it. Never mind. That's life." Allardyce always recovers.

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