Daily WHUFC News - 12th December 2014

Big Sam on: Sunderland
WHUFC.com
The manager talks to the press ahead of Saturday's game at Sunderland
11.12.2014

Sam Allardyce held his pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of
Saturday's trip to Sunderland. The manager faced questions on team news, his
side's league position, the test awaiting the Hammers at the Stadium of
Light and more.

A lot of West Ham fans are getting nose bleeds at the moment, at the start
of the season did you think this was achievable?

SA: "I wouldn't have thought it was achievable before we started playing
because we had so many new players. But like I've said many times the new
players have done a particularly fantastic job. The other players have done
a job to welcome them in and make them feel comfortable. Our team spirit and
family feel has played a part and everyone is on top of their game. "I think
the Swansea performance typified that, we're a very good team character wise
as we came back from a goal down again. Our determination shone through as
did our ability and quality. We don't just play one way, we're flexible and
can adapt to the style we need to at that particular time. I think the lads
have picked up on that really well and opposition defences don't know what's
coming next. That causes unrest and I think our performance on Sunday was
the best of the season."

Fifteen games into the season, have you adjusted your expectations or
targets?

SA: "If we're still here towards the end of January then we'll reassess our
aims. By that point we'll have played 20 games, we'll have played everybody
once so we should have a good indicator of where we are. So we'll see what
everybody has got in their locker, everybody would've seen what we have in
ours so it'll be a question of whether we can carry it on. "We might have a
little worrying spell during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, that's
why I'm not prepared to do any more predictions until they come back.

It would nice to say goodbye to the Boleyn Ground with some Champions League
football?

SA: "I'm not sure about that, we don't want to get carried away. We just
want to keep on playing the football we're playing at the moment. Everyone
is enjoying themselves, there's a good buzz around the training ground which
is always a good sign. I think competition for places keeps everyone hungry,
there's quite a few disappointed players because they haven't played as much
as they wanted and that is very healthy from my point of view. It keeps them
on their toes and gets the best performances out of them."

Is Andy Carroll playing his best football in a West Ham shirt? Arguably his
career?

SA: "I think he's still getting back to full fitness and he can get better
once he's 100% ready. He's had a long layoff and only a handful of games
played. His confidence will get better the more he plays, his goals will
help that too. Certainly in the games he's played so far have been good and
I think there's more to come. "We're the third highest scorers in the
League, with nine different scorers before the Swansea game. So we're
getting goals from all over the team. With our options up front with
Valencia and Sakho back as well as Carlton Cole and Mauro Zarate it is a
very strong frontline that we can change if and when we need to."

Any injury news ahead of Sunderland?

SA: "Mark Noble is still injured with a problem with his Achilles tendon.
Other than that we don't seem to have many problems."

With an almost full squad, is it unlikely Diego Poyet will feature?

SA: "He's in the squad so he has a chance. He's had some first team football
up in Huddersfield, now's he back here, and we're happy he's back. At any
point we could pick up injuries, we played Aston Villa and picked up five
injuries that couldn't play against Everton. So having Diego back is
important."

Has he been knocking on your door asking to play this weekend against his
Dad's side?

SA: "No we haven't talked about that, he's in the squad so he's got a chance
but we haven't discussed it."

In terms of scoring more goals and playing more attacking football was that
a conscious decision?

SA: "Not really, you play the best way you can with the team you've got. We
were never short of creating chances in my time here. I wouldn't say we're
attacking more we're just scoring more goals then we did before and
converting more chances.
"We're slightly down on our clean sheet ratio so that's the only bit of
negativity. If we continue to score the goals then it won't matter as much."

A quick word on Sunderland, how do you rate them as opponents?

SA: "There hugely difficult at home, playing them away has been tough for
us. They've been struggling for goals recently, I think Connor Wickham and
Steven Fletcher would've wanted a few more goals than they've got and if
they had they would have converted their draws to wins. Hopefully we can
keep those guys quiet on Saturday and deliver another good away
performance."

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Six of the best - Sunderland
WHUFC.com
A look back at six West Ham United wins over Sunderland
11.12.2014

The Hammers travel to Sunderland on Saturday looking to record a fourth
straight victory. Here whufc.com takes a look back at six memorable wins
over the Mackems.

Sunderland 0-1 West Ham United
Premier League
23 November 2008
The Hammers won at the Stadium of Light in November 2008 as the first part
of a double over the Black Cats. Valon Behrami notched the only goal of the
game as the Londoners kept a second successive clean sheet. They went on to
finish ninth in the Premier League, while Sunderland were down in 16th, just
two points clear of relegation.

Sunderland 0-2 West Ham United
Championship
4 December 2004
West Ham were en route to promotion when they made the long journey to
Sunderland in December 2004. It was a successful trip as Alan Pardew's side
notched twice without reply to take all three points. A red card to the
hosts' Steven Caldwell helped West Ham on their way, and they took the lead
on 59 minutes through Marlon Harewood. Teddy Sheringham's final minute goal
sealed the victory.

West Ham United 2-0 Sunderland
Premier League
22 March 2003
West Ham moved out of the bottom three for the first time in four months
with a much needed victory at home to Sunderland. The attacking trio of
Jermain Defoe, Frederic Kanoute and Les Ferdinand gave the Mackems defence
the run around as the Hammers took all three points.
Defoe got the first midway through the opening period when he swivelled and
placed a shot past Thomas Sorensen. Kanoute replaced the injured Ferdinand
at half-time and put the game to bed with a cool finish.

West Ham United 6-0 Sunderland
First Division
11 October 1992
A brace from Mark Robson inspired West Ham to a thumping win over Sunderland
in 1992. There were also goals for Alvin Martin, Martin Allen, Trevor Morley
and Kevin Keen as the Wearsiders left east London empty handed. The emphatic
win sent the Hammers up to fifth in the table in a season which they went
onto finish second in the league, gaining promotion to the Premier League.

West Ham United 5-0 Sunderland
Second Division
18 October 1989
Eamonn Dolan was the catalyst for a big home win over the Mackems as the
Hammers continued their good early season form. A crowd of just over 20,000
turned up to see Dolan net twice, half of his tally for the season, with
three of his teammates also getting in on the act.
Kevin Keen, Martin Allen and Stuart Slater scored a goal apiece to round off
a miserable day for their visitors from the North East.
Eamon Dolan

West Ham United 8-0 Sunderland
First Division
19 October 1968
Geoff Hurst ran riot against The Black Cats, netting an incredible double
hat-trick as the Hammers recorded a huge win. Hurst stole the show with six
goals of his own but Trevor Brooking and Bobby Moore also managed to get
their names on the scoresheet. The striker's haul helped to take him to an
impressive 31 goals by the end of the season as he helped fire West Ham to
an eighth place finish whilst Sunderland were well below them finishing
17th.

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Burke - 'We were better than them'
WHUFC.com
U18's captain Reece Burke believes he side should have beaten Southampton
10.12.2014

West Ham United U18's captain Reece Burke said he believes his side were
good enough to beat Southampton in the FA Youth Cup Third Round on Tuesday
evening. The Hammers took an early lead when Josh Pask diverted Djair
Parfitt-Williams' corner past Harry Isted. However the Saints rallied as Dan
Demkiv equalised as he ran onto to Josh Sims sublime through ball. Into the
second half and the Hammers' task was made much harder when Manny Onariase
was sent off for fouling the on rushing striker. The Saints took the lead
through Callum Slattery's blistering effort as he beat Sam Howes from 25
yards out. Speaking after the game, Burke said: "I thought we started the
game really well. The first 20 minutes we had opportunities to go at least
2-0 and maybe 3-0 ahead. We conceded a sloppy goal to let them back into the
game. Going down to ten men didn't help either. Once they scored the second
goal it was very hard to get back into the game. "Credit to Southampton,
they're a good team. But the team we brought today was much better than
them. Going out today I thought we would win. "I thought I did well today. I
tried to get the boys going. Obviously you need some leaders out there, I
tried to do my bit but you need everyone to be a leader particularly when
you go down to ten men."

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Mediawatch - 11 December
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at West Ham United in the news
11.12.2014

The Evening Standard carries an article asking Hammers fans to share
memories of their favourite kits in readiness for the final season at the
Boleyn Ground.

In the Daily Mirror, former Hammers man Slaven Bilic says his old team could
go on to claim a Champions League place.

The Mail Online says West Ham are keeping tabs on Valencia midfielder Javi
Fuego.

In the Daily Star, Modibo Maiga's future at Metz is discussed.

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Sam Allardyce considers setting West Ham new target for season
BBc.co.uk

West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce says he is prepared to reassess his
side's target of a top-10 Premier League finish, provided the club are still
going strong at the end of January. The Hammers sit fourth having taken 27
points from 15 league games and beat Swansea 3-1 last time out. Allardyce
told West Ham's website: "If we're still here towards the end of January
we'll reassess our aims. "We'll have played 20 games, we'll have played
everybody once. "So we should have a good indicator of where we are. "We'll
see what everybody has in their locker, everybody would've seen what we have
so it'll be a question of whether we can carry it on."

Allardyce said the setting of a loftier target would depend on how those
players due to feature in the Africa Cup of Nations coped.
West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce "I think Andy Carroll's still getting
back to full fitness and he can get better once he's 100% ready.
"His confidence will get better the more he plays, his goals will help too."
Senegal pair Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate, along with Cameroon
midfielder Alex Song could all be missing next month. "We might have a
little worrying spell during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, that's
why I'm not prepared to do any more predictions until they come back,"
Allardyce said. Striker Andy Carroll, 25, scored two goals in the 3-1 win at
home to Swansea and appears to have put his injury problems behind him.
Allardyce added: "I think Andy's still getting back to full fitness and he
can get better once he's 100% ready. "He's had a long layoff and only a
handful of games played.
"His confidence will get better the more he plays, his goals will help too.
"Certainly the games he's played so far have been good and I think there's
more to come."

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Allardyce fears Song and Sakho departure
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 11th December 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce says he is delighted with his team's current form - but
slightly concerned about the effect the African Cup of Nations will have on
his team. Chiek Kouyate, Diafra Sakho (both Senegal) and Alex Song
(Cameroon) will almost certainly be involved in the tournament, which begins
in Equatorial Guinea on 17 January with the Final taking place in Bata on 8
February. And that is bad news for Big Sam and West Ham, for whom the trio
of new signings have been a major part of this season's success. "We might
have a little worrying spell during the Africa Cup of Nations in January,"
he told the media this morning. "That's why I'm not prepared to do any
predictions until they come back. "The new players have done a particularly
fantastic job. The other players have done a job to welcome them in and make
them feel comfortable. Our team spirit and family feel has played a part and
everyone is on top of their game. "I think the Swansea performance typified
that, we're a very good team character-wise as we came back from a goal down
again. Our determination shone through as did our ability and quality."

Despite the team's sterling start to the season, Allardyce was in no mood to
entertain talk of Champions League qualification either - as hinted at by
one journalist at this morning's pre-match press conference. "We don't want
to get carried away," he added. We just want to keep on playing the football
we're playing at the moment. Everyone is enjoying themselves, there's a good
buzz around the training ground which is always a good sign. I think
competition for places keeps everyone hungry. "If we're still here towards
the end of January then we'll reassess our aims. By that point we'll have
played 20 games, we'll have played everybody once so we should have a good
indicator of where we are. "So we'll see what everybody has got in their
locker, everybody would've seen what we have in ours so it'll be a question
of whether we can carry it on."

West Ham face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

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Diego Poyet hoping West Ham win at Sunderland, managed by father Gus
Last Updated: 10/12/14 12:47pm

Diego Poyet will be at Sunderland cheering against his dad Gus on Saturday,
even if he fails to make the West Ham squad. The 19-year-old is back at the
Boleyn after a short loan spell at Huddersfield and is available for
selection this weekend's game against the side managed by Poyet Snr. West
Ham go to Wearside on the back of three straight Premier League wins and
Poyet, who has started just once since joining from Charlton in the summer,
will have his work cut out to earn a place in Saturday's 18-man squad. But
family loyalty will come second to club commitments anyway, and the
midfielder told West Ham's website: "Even if I'm not involved, I'll still
try and make the journey to support the boys. Hopefully we'll get another
three points. "I'd love to be play in the game against Sunderland. The squad
is pretty much all fit at the moment so it will be difficult but I'd love to
be part of it. "I've never played against a team my dad's managed, he'd left
Brighton by the time I was playing for Charlton so we haven't crossed paths
just yet. "We're both looking forward to it happening one day, we've been
joking about it recently. We won't talk about it this week, after the game
I'm sure whoever wins will have something to say."

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce warns Sunderland there's more to come from Andy
Carroll
Last Updated: 11/12/14 3:42pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he is happy with Andy Carroll's return
from injury which leaves him with an array of talented striking options.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has warned Sunderland there is more to come
from Andy Carroll after the England forward's man-of-the-match display last
time out. The former Newcastle and Liverpool striker scored twice in the 3-1
home win over Swansea to lift the Hammers to fourth in the Premier League
table. The goals were the first of the campaign for Carroll who had been
sidelined for four months after suffering an ankle injury in pre-season.
Allardyce said: "I don't think he is as good as he can be, on the back of a
long lay-off and a handful of games back in the team. "The overall
performance first and foremost and, more importantly, the goals will give
him a massive boost in confidence. "I think we're the third highest
goalscorers in the league at the minute. Let's keep doing that. Whoever
scores them, let's keep scoring them. "I said, before Andy scored, the last
nine goals had nine different goalscorers, prior to the Swansea game, so
there are a lot of goals being shared all over. "There is also Enner
Valencia, with the likes of Andy and Diafra Sakho, Carlton Cole and Mauro
Zarate. It's a very, very good strong front line."

Allardyce admitted a spot in the top-four was beyond his wildest
expectations at the start of the season and added: "I wouldn't have thought
it was achievable before we started playing because we had so many new
players. "But like I've said many times the new players have done a
particularly fantastic job. The other players have done a job to welcome
them in and make them feel comfortable. Our team spirit and family feel has
played a part and everyone is on top of their game."

The Englishman revealed, however, that he had not begun to envisage leaving
the Boleyn Ground for the Olympic Stadium next season with Champions League
qualification secured. He said: "If we're still here towards the end of
January then we'll reassess our aims. By that point we'll have played 20
games, we'll have played everybody once so we should have a good indicator
of where we are. "We'll see what everybody has got in their locker,
everybody would've seen what we have in ours so it'll be a question of
whether we can carry it on.
"We might have a little worrying spell during the Africa Cup of Nations in
January, that's why I'm not prepared to do any more predictions until they
come back."

Sunderland are next up for West Ham on Saturday afternoon, with only
midfielder Mark Noble still struggling to be fit due an ongoing Achilles
tendon injury. Allardyce said: "They're hugely difficult at home, playing
them away has been tough for us. They've been struggling for goals recently,
I think Connor Wickham and Steven Fletcher would've wanted a few more goals
than they've got and if they had they would have converted their draws to
wins. "Hopefully we can keep those guys quiet on Saturday and deliver
another good away performance."

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STEWART DOWNING IS A DIAMOND
By Iain Dale 11 Dec 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
Guest Post by Neil Clack

UPDATE: I owe Neil an apology. I forgot to put his name to this article when
it was put up. More haste, less speed, as my mother used to day. I'm very
sorry.

Be honest. Who thought at the time Stewart Downing was not a good signing
for West Ham? Many of us felt we desperately needed another striker with the
last of that summer's transfer budget, rather than spend the 5 million on a
29-year-old underperforming winger. David Sullivan even went public, wishing
to make it perfectly clear that the signing of Downing was Sam's decisión,
and not the board's – it looked like the beginning of some tension between
the two men (one that manifested itself last May when the owners deliberated
over whether to sack Sam or not – personally, I reckon the reports that they
were divided, with Sullivan wanting him out, and Gold and Brady sticking up
for the manger are not far from the truth).


It was a gamble by Sam, putting all the eggs in one Andy Carroll-laden
basket, and it nearly cost us relegation, but we survived, and are now
reaping the benefits of the multi-functional Downing, and finally having a
big squad – we've gone from one extreme to the other as far as striking
options are concerned!

And what a revelation Downing is proving to be, in his new position at the
point of the diamond in a 4-3-1-2 formation. It makes you wonder if perhaps
he's been held back all his career, stuck out wide by Steve McClaren, Martin
O'Neill, and Kenny Dalglish in rigid 4-4-2 systems. Brendan Rodgers even had
him playing at left back! (Downing had 0 goals and 0 assists in the season
before we signed him!)

Downing's delivery of corners and free kicks has been superb lately too. How
is it that by playing in a new position, a player even manages to deliver
better set pieces? – it can only be confidence and momentum, I guess?

The diamond formation, as it's dubbed in England, requires a 'number 10' at
the point of the diamond, with the other three midfielders tucked in more
central. Downing has thrived in this role. The width is provided by the two
forwards, and, of course, the number 10, who pull out wide whenever they
feel it's required, and that calls for a good understanding between the
three of them, aswell as a good reading of the game. Downing, Sakho, and
Valencia pulled it off to a tee in the home victories over Liverpool and Man
City.

When Sakho went wide, either to the left or the right, Valencia moved into
the centre more, and vice-versa. At times, it can look as if you're playing
without a centre forward, and then suddenly you have 3 in the centre forward
position – a nightmare for central defenders, especially for some British
defenders, who haven't been brought up to face such mobility.

In the diamond formation, the full backs, with no wide midfielders/wingers
in front of them, also have a lot more room to push forward and link up with
the forwards or the number 10 down the wing, and that's why the formation
can be a very attacking one – full backs playing almost like wing backs.

Some of us wondered whether And Carroll would fit into 4-3-1-2; whether he
had enough tactical nous or mobility to pull out into those wide areas and
open up the space in the middle for the number 10 to move into, and it was
noticable that when Carroll first returned, against Newcastle, Sam changed
the system. playing Jarvis and Downing on the wings.

And it was very much 4-4-2 first half at West Brom – the Carroll/Zarate
partnership clearly needs a bit of working on – and then we went 3-5-2 in
the second half (or 5-3-2 more like) to stem the flow as West Brom began to
over-run our Song & Noble-less central midfield.

The great thing about the win over Swansea last Sunday though, is that even
with Carroll in the team, we successfully played the diamond formation and
continued to get the best out of Downing, while also playing to Carroll's
strengths.


Carroll's never looked that great on the floor, but in the air, he's
probably one of the best in the world at the moment? As long as we don't
become dependent on the long ball upto Carroll then having that option is
fine. Geoff Hurst, David Cross and John Hartson were also great in the air,
but played in good West Ham passing teams – the ball in the air was just one
option. Carroll can also take heart that both Hurst and Cross improved
immensely as all-round players during their time at West Ham.

Jacob Steinberg, the Guardian's West Ham correspondent, described the way
the team played, and Allardici's tactics, as thoroughly modern after the win
v Man City. He s right in terms of British football, although 4-3-2-1 has
been the main formation used in Argentina, and also often in Italy, Spain,
and Germany too, for the last 30 years. As Steinburg pointed out, at times,
it looks like the team is playing without strikers, such is the
interchanging, roaming, and pulling out wide of the front free. That's the
beauty of the system.

With three central midefielders behind him, the player at the point of the
diamond is not required to track back as much as midfielders in 4-4-2,
something which British fans have had problems understanding, or adjusting
too – the number 10 is the thinking player, the one who should be postioning
himself as an outlet when his team are not in possession, ready to receive
the ball when they regain it, in any space he sees opening up, rather than
thinking about defensive duties.

The problem with the defintion of the 'Number 10' position in England is
that, unlike other countries, British football vernacular has never had a
proper name for the role, mainly because the position never really existed
here until recently. Some pundits, wrongly in my opinión, refer to 2nd
strikers like Rooney or Sheringham as playing in the number 10 position, but
that's not what we're talking about here.

Abroad, it's a clearly defined role, the attacking midfielder, at the point
of the diamond, who playes in a free role. It got dubbed 'number 10' in
other countries because invariably those players, like Riquelme, Baggio,
Totti, Socrates, Zico, Zidane tended to wear that shirt, but there are
proper terms for the position abroad eg, 'Enganche' in Spanish,
'Trequartista' in Italian, which are as much part of their football parlance
as full back or centre forward.

One wonders how much English players like John Barnes and Chris Waddle were
held back, especially at international level, where they were pigeon-holed
as wingers, and instructed to stick to the flanks?

In 1991, England manager Graham Taylor said he had sat down with Barnes, and
was fascinated by his knowledge of international football. Barnes had
pointed out that all the most skillful and creative players at international
level operated from more central positions, so, as a result, Taylor tried
Barnes in the number 10 role for a friendly v USSR in May 91, but he
reverted back to 4-4-2 at half time, and never varied from it again,
claiming the rest of the team didn't understand what was required.

Waddle, as a radio pundit, has always been scathing in his criticisms of
English football, especially the national team. He found a new lease of
life, playing in the number 10 role at Marseille, and has been ranting away
about the inflexibility of British football, and British managers, ever
since.

No one could deny that Joe Cole's career hasn't been a success (Premier
league titles, Fa Cup and Carling Cup winners medals, 56 England caps), but
personally I think he was unlucky in that his main managers, at the peak of
his career, at both club and international level (Mourinho, Eriksson,
Hodgson, were all defensive-minded, who saw him as a left midfielder,
requiring him to change his natural game and track back. If Joe Cole had
been in Argentinian, he would have been give the number 10 shirt, and told
to dribble and roam wherever he sees fit. I still can't help feeling that
Joe Cole could have been an even greater player than he was.

(There's an article on Joe Cole by Sam Wallace in the Independent here, in
which Cole himself says he always felt his best position was in the centre).

Who wouldn't have liked to have been a fly on the wall, during those
discussions between Sam and the board back in May. I would have loved to
have heard the tactical debate; how they proposed to provide the fans with
more attacking and entertaining football this season, but I doubt there are
any of us who envisaged the result would be 4-3-1-2, with Downing at the
point of the diamond?

Whether it happened by plan or accident – I think the late signing of Song
on the last day of the transfer window, to add to Kayoute & Noble in central
midfield, providing a platform for the number 10 to perform, has facilitated
the system enormously – credit must be given to Sam Allardidi, that most
thoroughly sophisticated of modern managers.

And what a great signing Downing has turned out to be. A bargain for 5
million!

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Arsenal and Liverpool transfers: Winston Reid stays at West Ham unless I'm
offered £20m warns Allardyce
Dec 11, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
Premier League heavyweights are being linked with defender set to be a free
agent next summer but Hammers boss insists they won't sell him cheap in
January
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has claimed it will take a bid of £20million for West Ham to
sell Winston Reid in January. And Allardyce, the Hammers' manager, insisted
they would rather keep the Kiwi defender to help their unexpected bid for a
Champions League place than sell him on the cheap next month. Reid, 26,
joined the Upton Park club in 2010 and signed a two-year contract extension
in 2013 after winning their Hammer of the Year award. However, the New
Zealand captain is set to be out of contract next summer after declining to
sign a new deal and he has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and
Liverpool this season. But Allardyce, whose side sit fourth in the Premier
League after three consecutive wins, stated bluntly: "He ain't going
anywhere. "He is not going anywhere unless someone bids £20m or something
like that. There is obviously not a lot I can do about that. "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.
"Because replacing him in January - replacing anybody in January - is a very
difficult job indeed."

Reid, who has bizarrely finished runner-up to world champion woodchopper
Jason Wynyard in the Maori Sportsman of the Year Award voting, is a
first-team regular at Upton Park - and if he was to move to a club above
West Ham in the Premier League table then, as things stand, he'd only have
three options. "In the end, I just hope what is happening this season here
and what is happening with us now has a telling factor on the decision that
he makes and it is not just [about making more] money," Allardyce added. "I
just hope that the phone call is a yes when the chairman rings me up at some
stage. At the moment, it is neither a positive nor a negative. It is neither
a yes or a no from Reidie at the moment. "But it is today's football. It has
been on the news today that Raheem Sterling has been refusing to sign a new
contract with Liverpool. So, that happens in the world of football because
everybody want the big bucks, don't they? "If they don't think the big bucks
[they are already on] is good enough, they think they can get it somewhere
else, they will just wait now, they will just ride it out. That's life."

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Sam Allardyce urges West Ham to keep feet on the ground despite stunning
start to the season
Dec 11, 2014 11:59 By Neil McLeman
After Sunday's win over Swansea the Hammers are sitting fourth in the league
table but Allardyce isn't getting ahead of himself
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has insisted West Ham's season should not be judged until
January. The Hammers sit fourth in the Premier League - above Arsenal and
Tottenam - after three consecutive wins. But the Irons boss, who aimed for a
top 10 finish at the start of the season. said he will not reassess the
club's targets for the season until after the busy Christmas period and the
African Nations' Cup. "We will change our aims at the end of January if we
are still in this position," he said. "That will be 20 games in and more
than half the games played.
"We we would have played everyone by Christmas and the New Year and we will
see what everyone has got in their locker and everyone will see how much we
have got in our locker. And a little worrying factor is the African Nations
Cup in January. That is why I won't be making any predictions until
January."

Alex Song, Diafra Sakho and Cheikh Kouyate could all be missing next month
on international duty. But before Saturday's visit to Sunderland, Allardyce
insisted Andy Carroll will only get better as he regains form and fitness
following his ankle ligament injury sustained in pre-season. The England
striker scored his first two goals of the season against Swansea on Sunday.
"I don't think he is as good as he can be yet," said the West Ham manager.
"He is coming back after a long layoff and he has just had a handful of
games back in the team. His performance and his goals will give him a
massive boost. "We are the joint third highest scorers in the Premier League
- let's keep that going."

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£4m West Ham summer target available for free; should Allardyce try again?
HITC
Olly Dawes

West Ham's summer target Ivan Strinic will soon be available on a free
transfer. Virtually all of West Ham's summer signings have impressed this
season, with great displays from the likes of Carl Jenkinson, Alex Song,
Cheikhou Kouyate, Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia.
Yet some fans may argue that Aaron Cresswell has been their best signing,
with the left back adjusting to the Premier League seamlessly since his move
from Ipswich Town. The 24-year-old should be West Ham's first choice left
back for years to come, but West Ham need to add depth and support behind
him - something that manager Sam Allardyce tried to do in the summer.
Reports just months ago suggested that the Hammers were close to securing a
£4m deal to sign Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk left back Ivan Strinic, but the move
fell apart late in July.
Now though, we're approaching the January transfer window, and with the
Hammers eyeing up a Champions League place, more spending could be granted
next month, and adding another left back could be something for Allardyce to
consider once again. However, West Ham could now land Strinic for nothing -
and here's why. The Croatian international will be out of contract at the
end of this season, meaning that the 27-year-old can sign a pre-contract
agreement when the transfer window opens again. If Allardyce was willing to
fork out £4m to land him less than six months ago, then the prospect of
adding him for free should be something that 'Big Sam' is interested in.
Napoli are also reportedly interested in adding Strinic for a knockdown
price, but the instability of manager Rafael Benitez means that a switch to
Italy could be risky - and West Ham are a club moving in the right
direction. Factor in that his former Croatia boss Slaven Bilic was a West
Ham hero, and maybe the former Hammer could help persuade Strinic to make
the move to Upton Park, keeping Cresswell on his toes in the process.

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No apologies…Afcon is a problem!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 11, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Earlier today ClaretandHugh nailed its colours to the mast and took plenty
of stick for doing so! Twas ever thus. We have always believed the African
Nations Cup is played at the wrong time of the year and some may argue that
given the ebola outbreak it may have been better to cancel or postpone it.
We are told it is now being played in a safe environment and all is well.
Let's pray so! West Ham face four games in nine days between the end of
December and early January after which Alex Song, Cheik Kouyate and Diafra
Sakho could be missing until February.

Sam Allardyce and the rest of the club believe our season could be derailed
by the event. It would be a super optimist who would disagree.
In our earlier piece on the subject we suggested that fans made their
feelings known whenever they met the players, wrote to them at the club or
even let them know from the terraces – via a chant – they would prefer them
to remain at Upton Park. This brought an "outraged" and "disgusted" reaction
from one kind soul who suggested I was either drunk when I wrote it or had
the mentality of a six year old who forgotten to hit the delete button. I
remain unapologetic despite arguments that the club knew what it was doing
when buying the Africans in a year when the tournament was being held. Err,
did anyone expect Sakho to be doing so ….!? I'm not a great lover of
international football at the best of times. Indeed I can't remember the
last time I watched England over 90 minutes. I do, however, love West Ham
United with a passion and care very much indeed how we perform for the rest
of the season in league and FA Cup. Sorry Senegal and Cameroon but I feel no
allegiance to you whatsoever.

Maybe I'm digging an even bigger hole for myself here but you know what – I
really don't care because even though my truth may be unpalatable to some,
it remains my truth. The injury suffered by Diafra on a Senegal treatment
table during his last trip on international duty was quite shocking and will
almost certainly mean our own medics will travel to the tournament with him
and Kouyate. Should the duo and Alex Song wish to represent their countries
they will and that's an end to the matter but please, let nobody start
claiming the moral high ground because some of us put our club before
countries with which we have no connection whatsoever. If the fans choose to
see the boys off in silence, no problem, but I for one believe this
tournament is ill timed and as a result tend to put my club first.

No apologies …no retractions!

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Hammers still paying huge Maiga price
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 11, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham are still paying a massive price for their Modibo Maiga nightmare!
The super-flop striker – who went AWOL from Metz when named as a sub for the
match against Marseilles at the weekend – is facing a disciplinary hearing
at the French club as a result. But as we reported this morning Hammers
officials claim there is no chance of him returning to Upton Park on the
basis of him having broken his contract. And we have discovered that Maiga's
move to Metz was of little help in offloading much of his £38k a week wages.
We were told that we are continuing to pay him £33k a week as Metz were only
prepared to put up £5k of the centre forward's weekly wage. He has managed
only four goals this season and has hardly made much of the shop window
offered to him after he was offered a pay off deal in the summer. However,
we were told the player wanted 100 per cent of the £38k a week for two years
– a total of around £3.6 million.

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