Daily WHUFC News - 29th December 2014

Hammers suffer Arsenal defeat
WHUFC.com
West Ham United were edged out by the odd goal in three against Arsenal at
the Boleyn Ground
28.12.2014

Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 1-2 Arsenal

West Ham United were caught cold by two Arsenal goals in the space of four
first-half minutes, as the Hammers succumbed to a 2-1 Barclays Premier
League defeat in a thrilling contest at the Boleyn Ground. Having been
felled by Winston Reid, Santi Cazorla slotted home from the spot in the 41st
minute, before Danny Welbeck converted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's centre to
hand the Gunners a two-goal cushion at the break. Cheikhou Kouyate headed
his first Hammers goal to give the home side hope with 54 gone, culminating
in a breathless last half hour. It was chances galore at both ends, but,
somehow, 2-1 it would remain, with the Gunners leapfrogging West Ham into
fifth. As expected, Sam Allardyce rang the changes following Friday's Boxing
Day defeat at Stamford Bridge. The fit-again James Tomkins came in for James
Collins, while Joey O'Brien made his first start since August, in place of
the ineligible Carl Jenkinson. Elsewhere, Alex Song and Morgan Amalfitano
got the nod in midfield, as did Diafra Sakho up front.

Song was always likely to be centre of attention against his former
employers and so it proved. Skipper for the day, the No30 thought he had
opened the scoring in spectacular fashion after just six minutes. When a
corner from the left fell to him 25 yards from goal, the stylish midfielder
lashed a volley into the bottom left corner of Wojciech Szczesny's goal.
Kouyate and Sakho, however, both had to take evasive action in front of the
Arsenal stopper and so the linesman's flag cut short West Ham celebrations.
At the other end, Arsenal were zipping the ball around menacingly, with
Alexis Sanchez tormentor in chief. Oxlade-Chamberlain sped down the right
and as Welbeck pleaded for it, O'Brien came to the rescue with a supremely
timed challenge. After 20 minutes, Amalfitano's cross from the right
isolated Mathieu Debuchy at the far post, allowing Andy Carroll to outmuscle
the full-back. But the No9's strike was wayward and cleared away. Santi
Cazorla's eyes then lit up as he was presented with acres of space on the
right-edge of the Hammers box. Thankfully, Aaron Cresswell was out quickly
to block the Spaniard's drive.

The chances continued to come and go, with Tomkins this time the guilty
party. Stewart Downing's delivery found the No5 unmarked at the back stick
and though the Basildon boy probably had time to take it down, he opted to
volley first time and sent it over.

But the contest was to turn on a penalty decision in the 41st minute.
Cazorla burst into the box and once Reid's attempted clearance had cannoned
straight back into the Spaniard, he was felled by the leg of a then grounded
Reid. Neil Swarbrick obliged in pointing to the spot and Cazorla did the
rest, slotting into the left corner and sending Adrian the wrong way. Just
three minutes later it was two, courtesy of the two Englishmen in the
Gunners' line-up. Oxlade-Chamberlain made his way into the box and his
cut-back went through the legs of Reid at the near post and there was
Welbeck to prod home. West Ham might have halved the deficit before the
interval, but Downing screwed wide from 18 yards. They would only have to
wait eight second-half minutes to get their goal, one that began with
Sakho's industry down the right, with his hanging cross forcing Per
Mertesacker into a last-ditch header at the far post. From the resulting
corner, Tomkins skipped past his man and then dinked a delightful centre
towards Kouyate, whose header ricocheted off Debuchy and past a flat-footed
Szczesny.

Back came Arsenal, through the familiar combination of Oxlade-Chamberlain
and Cazorla. The winger teed up the Spaniard on the edge of the box and his
strike forced Adrian into an excellent one-handed stop. West Ham's custodian
should have been busy again moments later, but
Debuchy wastefully nodded the resulting corner over the top.

With the hour approaching, Kouyate's cute cross had Sakho scampering at the
far post and despite his best efforts, the ball squirmed
behind for a goal-kick. For all West Ham's endeavour in the Arsenal half,
Adrian twice came to the hosts' aid in a matter of minutes, repelling
Oxlade-Chamberlain's point-blank header, before saving with his feet from
Sanchez. With time running out, West Ham became somewhat ragged at the back,
as Downing presented Welbeck with a gilt-edged chance to make it three. He
blazed over and Cazorla did likewise from the edge of the box soon after.
West Ham threw caution to the wind in the dying minutes and substitute Kevin
Nolan's low drive had Szczesny worried, though he managed to cling on. Even
Adrian marched forward for several a late set-piece as West Ham laid siege
to the Arsenal goal. Enner Valencia had the best of the late chances, but
could only head into the side-netting with Szczesny stranded, as Arsenal
consigned the Hammers to a first home defeat since August.

West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, Cresswell, Tomkins, Kouyate (Nolan 78),
Carroll, Downing, Sakho (Valencia 62), O'Brien (Demel 78), Amalfitano, Song
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Noble, Collins, Cole
Goal: Kouyate 54
Booked: Carroll, Tomkins, Reid

Arsenal: Szczesny, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Oxlade-Chamberlain
(Chambers 89), Sanchez, Monreal, Cazorla, Flamini, Welbeck (Gibbs 84),
Coquelin
Subs: Ospina, Podolski, Walcott, Chambers, Campbell, Akpom
Goals: Cazorla 41, Welbeck 44
Booked: Sanchez, Debuchy, Coquelin
Referee: Neil Swarbrick

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Big Sam disputes disallowed goal
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce felt Alex Song's early strike should have stood in Sunday's
2-1 defeat by Arsenal
28.12.2014

Sam Allardyce pointed to Alex Song's controversially disallowed goal and
missed chances when asked for his defining moments in West Ham United's 2-1
home defeat by Arsenal. Song thought he had volleyed the Hammers ahead
against his old club after just five minutes on Sunday. However, referee
Neil Swarbrick ruled the spectacular strike out because Cheikhou Kouyate was
in an offside position when the ball passed through his legs on its way into
the bottom corner. Big Sam claimed the Senagalese midfielder was not in
goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny's line of vision, but the flag went up and
Swarbrick agreed with his assistant. The hosts were on top for the majority
of the first half, only for their frustration to be compounded by two goals
in four minutes at the end of it. First, Winston Reid was penalised for
tripping Santi Cazorla, and the Spaniard converted from the penalty spot,
then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got to the byline before crossing for Danny
Welbeck to slide home.

West Ham responded well in the second half, with Kouyate nodding in James
Tomkins' cross on 56 to give them hope, before both sides traded missed
chances for the remainder of the game - the last of which saw substitute
Enner Valencia head narrowly over in the sixth minute of added time. "The
biggest shock of the lot was that we were 2-0 down at half-time from our
point of view and we have ourselves to blame for that," said the manager.
"We just got the stuffing knocked out of us by the penalty and we didn't
recover from that.
"Arsenal nicked another and there really had been nothing in the game up to
then, except from us. We hadn't scored in that period when we were on top
for two reasons - one was the chances we missed and the second was a really
unbelievable decision to rule out Alex Song's goal, which was bewildering me
that it was disallowed. "When these things go against you at the wrong time
in a game, it can contribute to a massive part of the result, and that has
not allowed us to go 1-0 up when we should have done. We could have built
from there and we might easily have won the game. "We could also have lost,
but we would have lost through two teams playing against each other without
a big mistake and a big contribution from the officials."

The manager disputed that Kouyate's presence played any part in the 'goal'
being ruled out. "They said he was the line of sight, but when you see it
back, he clearly isn't. How can the assistant referee put his flag up and
judge from that position whether he is in front of the goalkeeper or not?
"There were several bodies in front of the referee Neil Swarbrick, so he
cannot see for definite. When you look at it, he is miles off the goalie!
"One of these decisions has never been given like that. Cheik has not
touched the ball, he is coming out away from goal and has let it through his
legs. He is nowhere near Szczesny or in his eye-line. If he wasn't there, he
wouldn't have saved it and that's the bottom line, but sadly we can't do
anything about that now."

While Big Sam was not happy with Song's strike being ruled out, he admitted
Reid's foul on Cazorla for West Ham's opener was a fair decision. "Having
seen it, Reidy sticks his leg up and while it's a bit soft, I can see why he
has given it, because if Reidy keeps his leg down there is no penalty.
Because he lifted his leg, he has dived over it. "Then again, Morgan
Amalfitano has rolled Nacho Monreal in the box later on and Monreal has both
arms around him, but because Morgan has tried to stay on his feet and get
the equaliser the referee has chosen not to give us what was a blatant
penalty. "They moan about players diving, but what do you say to your
player? You have to tell them to go down because the referee won't give it
to you if you stay on your feet. "It was a frustrating afternoon, and then
we missed our chances to boot. What we were in control of was our clinical
finishing, but we didn't do it. Even the one at the end, I did expect Enner
to score, but he probably headed it too well and it went over the bar. "It
was a tremendous effort and brilliant end-to-end entertainment, but sadly we
were on the wrong end of the result."

West Ham complete 2014 having collected 56 points from their 38 league games
in the calendar year, with 31 coming in 19 this season so far. "Fifty-six
points in one year is a pretty good record and that would probably finish us
in the top eight at least. "We just need to carry that on and make sure we
get 56 this season, or more, because if we can do it one year, let's try and
do it in one season and see where it gets us."

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Hammers duo in Senegal squad
WHUFC.com
Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate have been named in Senegal's provisional
Africa Cup of Nations squad
28.12.2014

West Ham United pair Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate have been named in
Senegal's provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The duo have been in outstanding form for the Hammers since joining from
Metz and Anderlecht respectively in the summer and have been rewarded with
their call-up to the 28-man squad, which will later be cut to 23. Kouyate
has long been established with the Teranga Lions, having won 14 caps since
his 2012 debut. Sakho is more of a newcomer on the international scene,
following his stunning rise from the lower divisions of French football to
the top flight in recent seasons. The 25-year-old debuted earlier this year
and has three caps to his name. Senegal will start their training camp for
the tournament in Dakar on 2 January, before departing for Morocco on 7
January - the same day coach Alain Giresse is expected to name his final
squad. The tournament in Equatorial Guinea gets underway on 17 January.
Cameroon's Alex Song was not named in his country's squad.

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West Ham 1 Arsenal 2
28 December 2014
Last updated at 20:19
By Andy Cryer
BBC Sport

Arsenal moved above West Ham in to the Premier League top five after
inflicting a first home defeat on the Hammers since August. Alex Song had a
20-yard volley ruled out for offside for the hosts. Santi Cazorla put the
visitors ahead from the penalty spot, following a foul by Winston Reid,
before Danny Welbeck put Arsenal further in front. Cheikhou Kouyate's header
gave the hosts hope but West Ham were unable to avoid a second successive
defeat. It was Arsenal's ninth win in a row in all competitions against West
Ham as they moved level on points with fourth-placed Southampton and just
three points behind Manchester United in third. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce,
who opted to rest key players Song and Diafra Sakho for the 2-0 defeat at
Chelsea on Boxing Day, disagreed strongly with the decision to disallow
Song's goal, claiming Sakho was not in the eyeline of the goalkeeper when he
was adjudged to be offside. The Hammers had won six of their last seven
league home games but, despite heavy late second-half pressure, lacked the
quality needed for the leveller. Former Arsenal man Song, on loan from
Barcelona, almost made an instant impact with a low volley into the bottom
corner of the net from 20 yards early on. Sakho was penalised for standing
in an offside position in front of goal, though, despite not touching the
ball.

While Allardyce's men have exceeded expectations this season, Arsenal have
had a mixed start to the campaign and they were very much on the back foot
in the opening stages. But the Gunners had failed to score in only one of
their last 11 away matches in the Premier League and they were at it again
before the break. Cazorla punished Reid's high leg in the box to roll home
the resulting penalty for the opener. The lead was doubled minutes later as
Welbeck was on hand to slide the ball in to the net from close range after
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's low cross from the right. Stunned by the deficit,
West Ham restored hope soon after the break with Kouyate bundling Sakho's
cross from the right in to the net via Mathieu Debuchy. But it was Arsenal
who had the better chances, with Hammers keeper Adrian brilliantly denying
Alexis Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain, before the visitors survived a late
aerial bombardment.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "We had a committed and united performance.
The keeper made some good saves. We knew we needed to be good in the air
today. "I didn't know why Alex Song's goal didn't stand, I thought it would.
We scored a good second goal and had many opportunities to score another. It
didn't come and at 2-1 I thought the last 30 minutes would be difficult. "We
did dig deep. It is down to consistency and we are slowly getting there."

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West Ham: Sam Allardyce angry with "nonsense" decision
BBC.co.uk

A "baffled" West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says the decision to disallow an
early Alex Song goal was "complete nonsense" as his side lost a second
straight Premier League match. The Barcelona loanee had a volley ruled out,
after Diafra Sakho was flagged for offside, before the Hammers went on to
lose to Arsenal 2-1. "The officials clearly got it horribly wrong," said
Allardyce. "Frustrated is an understatement. Baffled is more the feeling."

Song's 20-yard volley flew through the legs of Sakho and in to the net early
on, only for the Hammers striker to be penalised for offside, before Arsenal
went ahead on 41 minutes through a penalty from Santi Cazorla. Danny Welbeck
doubled the visitors' lead and, despite Cheikhou Kouyate pulling a goal back
after the break, Allardyce was furious at referee Neil Swarbrick's early
decision."They said the attacker was in the eyeline of the goalkeeper," said
Allardyce. "Complete nonsense. It is impossible for the assistant referee to
say that. They are wrong, Sakho is not in the eyeline of the goalkeeper.
"Neil Swarbrick could only guess he might be in front of the goalkeeper.
Sakho is running away from goal and lets the ball through his legs - 99 out
of 100 are given as a goal this year. I am totally and utterly confused. "If
we'd been allowed that goal we wouldn't have lost. We would have kicked on
and Arsenal would have found life very difficult from then on."

Allardyce also disputed the first-half penalty that enabled Cazorla to open
the scoring, after Swarbrick ruled that the Spaniard had been tripped in the
box by Winston Reid. When asked if he thought it was a spot-kick, Allardyce
said: "No. Reid stuck his leg up and he's gone over on it. I just wish
Morgan Amalfitano had done something similar when he got tugged by Nacho
Monreal in the last minute. "He stayed on his feet. He was being fouled but
didn't go down. There's another scenario for you - simulation is not nice,
but when you don't get free-kicks for staying on your feet, you're in a
difficult situation."

The West Ham boss added: "I've not spoken to the ref because I don't see any
point in confronting him when you know you're 100 per cent right and he
hasn't had the visuals. You can't get anything out of telling him how wrong
he's been." Allardyce's comments came hours after Jose Mourinho's
suggestions that the West Ham boss has played a part in a campaign to
influence referees' decisions against his Chelsea side. Speaking after the
Blues' 1-1 draw with Southampton, during which Mourinho felt his side were
denied a clear penalty, the Portuguese made reference to the meeting between
his side and West Ham on Boxing Day, after which Allardyce accused Branislav
Ivanovic of going down "looking for a penalty".

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Allardyce on... Arsenal
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 28th December 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce was a frustrated man having witnessed his team denied an early
lead by a dubious call - one of many - by referee Neil Swarbrick in today's
Premier League clash with Arsenal...

Sam: You must be wondering, after such a good opening 40 minutes in the
first half, how you go in 2-0 down?

Hmm! It was a real blow for the way we started the game, the way we
approached it and the style we wanted to attack Arsenal with. A combination
of a couple of bad misses and a very poor decision to disallow the goal was
a key element to how we ended up behind, falling asleep in the last couple
of minutes.

After the first, conceding the second was a bit of a blow. It was a great
recovery in the second half but we couldn't recover enough to get anything
out of the game. The way we're going at home, if we'd been allowed that goal
- as we should have been - I don't think we would have lost to Arsenal
today.

Having won six and drawn one in the last seven here, with the confidence we
have, going one-nil up that early would have kicked the lads on and I think
Arsenal would have found it very difficult from thereon. It wasn't to be and
sadly we've ended up losing a game which was probably a great spectacle.

I thought we'd captured it in the end in the last minute, which would have
been nice. There's nothing better than something happening in the last
minute for you to give you the result, but Enner headed the one over the bar
and it wasn't to be today.

There's no doubt in your mind that the goal should have stood? Did you speak
to the ref?

Not really, because I don't see any point in confronting a referee after a
game when you know you're 100 per cent right and he's only got the visuals
of when it actually happened. You get nowhere by telling him how wrong he's
been in terms of the decision he's given.

For me, it's more what we're told at the start of the season - more what
we're shown, what is and what isn't offside. You base your opinion on your
experience and your life as a manager. You base your opinion on what they
tell you and from what they told us, he [Swarbrick] has got it horribly
wrong.

He wasn't in the eye-line of the goalkeeper; he didn't touch the ball; yes,
he was in an offside position but we've seen so many of those been allowed
as goals and I've never seen one that's actually not been given.

If you cast your minds back to Everton away, Lukaku was stood offside
although the ball ricocheted off our player to him and that was onside. So
can you tell me what is offside and what isn't, because now I'm totally and
utterly confused and bewildered.

How frustrating are those inconsistencies?

I think there's far too many of them. The responsibility for me as a manager
like the PGMO itself is a responsibility to get the referees better and
better. I think some of the major decisions that seem to keep appearing more
often than ever before, sadly.

There might have been more than one player offside, which one were you
referring to?

It's gone through Sakho's legs, who's two or three yards to the right of
Szczesny so he's not in his eye-line. He's not obstructing his eye-line. If
you talk about obstructing his eye-line then there's six players obstructing
him. The shot has come through six players, it's come through everybody!
Clearly Neil Swarbrick cannot have a clear view of whether Diafra Sakho is
directly in Szczesny's eye-line.

Like I said, I haven't seen one of these chalked off this season. If I
revert back to Everton away then you can see why I'm so angry and
frustrated. Winston Reid blocked a shot, it goes to Lukaku who's offside.
Lukaku puts it in and the referee says 'that's a goal'. So I'm totally and
utterly bemused by that.

That said, we missed too many chances in the first half as well. We went for
broke in the second and our goalkeeper did some brilliant work again,
fantastic goalie that he is and we nearly got a result, a draw, in the end -
which I think we probably deserved.

Was it a penalty?

No, no. Reidy stuck his leg up and he's gone over on it. You know, he's done
well. I just wish Morgan had done similar when he got tugged in the last
minute by Monreal, who put both arms around him - but Morgan stayed on his
feet and tried to get us an equaliser.

He'd been fouled but didn't go down - there's another scenario for you, with
everybody moaning about simulation. It's alright talking about not doing it,
it's not nice, but what do you do when you don't get free kicks when you're
being honest and stay on your feet? Then you're in a difficult position
again.

That said, I thought it was a great game really, considering we both had to
play twice in 48 hours. End to end stuff but unfortunately for us, the wrong
result.

Did Adrian go up with five minutes left with your blessing?

Yes! Throw caution to the wind and try and get an equaliser. That pressure
nearly paid off in the end with the final free kick from Alex Song where
Szczesny actually came and missed that one. Aaron Cresswell headed it back
in and Enner just had to nod it in the net, which would have made a
fantastic few days for him because his girlfriend has just given birth to
his daughter in the last couple of days. So that would have been very nice
for him and for us.

Southampton have just proved that if you lose a few games...

We've only lost two, not five. We want to bounce back as quickly as we can
against West Brom. I'm pleased with the performance of the players, really
pleased with their application, commitment and attitude but sad for them
that they haven't got a result today.

Are you happy with your team's pace on counter attacks? Are they fast
enough?

We're relatively okay as a counter-attacking side. There are some teams who
are a little bit quicker than us on the counter, Arsenal being one of them.
They're pretty good at it. We're not too bad.

You've got to be quick and accurate with your passing but we didn't have to
rely too much on counter-attacking today. It was more about us trying to
break Arsenal down and them counter-attacking, rather than us
counter-attacking Arsenal.

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Arsenal withstand second-half fightback to beat West Ham
By James Walker-Roberts. Last Updated: 28/12/14 6:24pm
SSN

Arsenal moved above West Ham in the Premier League after withstanding a
strong second-half fightback to win 2-1 at Upton Park. The hosts enjoyed the
better of the opening 45 minutes but fell behind shortly before the break
when Winston Reid fouled Santi Cazorla in the box and the Spaniard
dispatched the subsequent penalty. Danny Welbeck doubled Arsenal's advantage
a couple of minutes later as he tapped in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross
from a few yards out. Sam Allardyce was angered with the match officials
following Alex Song's early disallowed goal. The Hammers halved the deficit
early in the second half as Cheikhou Kouyate headed in his first goal for
the club. But despite piling on the pressure they could not grab an
equaliser as Enner Valencia headed over the bar in injury time and the
Gunners held on for all three points. The win is the perfect end to the year
for Arsenal, who largely coped well with the Hammers' physical presence and
also looked threatening throughout on the break during an entertaining
encounter. Both sides made a number of changes from their Boxing Day outings
48 hours earlier, with Sam Allardyce preferring Diafra Sakho ahead of
Valencia and Arsenal replacing the suspended Olivier Giroud with
Oxlade-Chamberlain and handing a first start since January 2013 to Francis
Coquelin. Former Gunner Alex Song thought he had broken the deadlock early
on when he drove in a brilliant volley from 25 yards, only for it to be
ruled out for offside.

It looked to be a harsh decision as no West Ham player touched the ball on
its way through a crowd, but the linesman ruled the players in an offside
position in front of Wojciech Szczesny were interfering with play. The
Hammers were also aggrieved a few minutes later as Sakho went down in the
box under a challenge from Mathieu Debuchy and the penalty appeals were
waved away. At the other end, a crucial block from Joey O'Brien prevented
Alexis Sanchez closing in on goal before the Chilean miscued a header from
Cazorla's free-kick.
Andy Carroll served warning of his threat as he easily outmuscled Debuchy as
they competed for a high ball, only to then drag his volley well off target.

Dangerous

The Hammers continued to look dangerous from set pieces and spurned a decent
chance to take the lead when James Tomkins wastefully volleyed over the bar
from an excellent position. The miss would prove costly as the Gunners then
stunned the home side with two goals in as many minutes just before
half-time. There was a hint of fortune about the first as the ball
ricocheted through kindly for Cazorla, but he was then clearly fouled by
Reid inside the box and made no mistake from the penalty spot. That was
Arsenal's first shot on target and they made it 2-0 with their second as
Oxlade-Chamberlain combined well with Debuchy down the right and then
crossed for Welbeck to tap in.

Stewart Downing went close to halving the deficit as he dragged a shot wide
from just inside the box before Sanchez saw an effort deflected just wide at
the other end. While the home side would have been disappointed to be 2-0
down at the break, it didn't take them long to get on the scoresheet in the
second half. After Per Mertesacker did well to beat Carroll to a header, the
ball was lofted back into the box by Tomkins and Kouyate easily rose above
Debuchy to head home. The goal was just what the Hammers needed and Sakho
was inches away from turning in Kouyate's cross to equalise moments later.
With the Arsenal box under regular bombardment, the visitors' best moments
came on the break, with Adrian pulling off excellent saves to deny both
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sanchez. Welbeck, though, should have put the game to
bed when a misplaced pass from Downing gave the England striker a clear run
at goal, but he shot over the bar.The Hammers piled on the pressure in the
closing stages, with Adrian even going forward for a few set pieces, but
Valencia headed their last chance over the bar in the dying stages.

Phil Thompson says Arsenal just about deserved to win a thrilling London
derby against West Ham. "For the neutral this was absolutely stunning, it
was a magnificent game. It was a second game in three days, with both sides
giving everything. I didn't want the game to end, it was that good. Szczesny
deserves great compliments because he has made a big decision that anything
in the air he is going to come and get and control the air in the penalty
area. He had to be precise."

Player ratings

West Ham: Adrian (7), O'Brien (5), Reid (5), Tomkins (5), Amalfitano (6),
Downing (5),Kouyate (7), Song (5), Carroll (6), Sakho (6).
Subs: Demel (5), Nolan (5), Valencia (6).

Arsenal: Szczesny (7), Debuchy (5), Mertesacker (6), Koscielny (6), Monreal
(5), Coquelin (6), Flamini (6), Cazorla (7), Oxlade-Chamberlain (7), Welbeck
(7), Sanchez (7).

Subs: Chambers (5), Gibbs (5).
Man of the match: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

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Sam Allardyce accuses referee of guessing wrongly over disallowed Alex Song
goal
Last Updated: 28/12/14 7:02pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allarydce said referee Neil Swarbrick 'guessed wrongly'
when he disallowed Alex Song's early goal for offside in the 2-1 defeat to
Arsenal. The former Gunner thought he had given West Ham the lead when he
drove in a brilliant volley from outside the box through a crowd of players.
But the effort was ruled out for offside as Hammers players were deemed to
be interfering with play and in the eyeline of keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Allarydce, though, said the decision proved extremely costly and accused the
referee of guessing that players were blocking Szczesny's view. "I asked the
fourth official why he disallowed it and he said our player was in front of
the keeper, so I then said how can you judge that from where the assistant
is," he told Sky Sports. "It had to be the referee who judged that was the
case, so having looked at it at half-time both of them are wrong and sadly
we have not the goal we deserved.
"If the referee has given it for being in front of his eyeline then he has
guessed and guessed wrongly sadly. We would have been 1-0 up and on the
basis of our form at home I would have banked on us not losing. "But because
that was taken away from us we couldn't gain that advantage and then fell
asleep for five minutes at the end of the first half and ended up bizarrely
2-0 down."

After falling behind, the Hammers did stage a spirited second-half fightback
and halved the deficit shortly after the break through Cheikhou Kouyate. But
they could not grab an equaliser and Allardyce was also disappointed they
weren't awarded a penalty. "I think we should have had a penalty when Morgan
Amalfitano was wrestled to the ground by (Nacho) Monreal," he said. "It was
a disappointing day but a great effort. "To finish with nothing and a
defeat, the way we have had to accept it, is very disappointing indeed. "We
have had two of the hardest games in 48 hours, Chelsea away and Arsenal
home. We didn't deserve anything at Chelsea but we did today and we have to
take it on the chin, not let it affect our confidence and hope we get back
to winning ways and better decisions against West Brom."

Despite his disappointments, Allardyce admitted he was delighted with how
his side have progressed in 2014. "In one year 56 points is pretty good
going," he said. "To try and get 56 or more in a season would be one hell of
a season. It's been a terrific 2014, it's been a fantastic recovery from
where we were at the end of the January, particularly from the players."

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West Ham's owners put 20 per cent stake in the club up for sale
Last Updated: 28/12/14 1:24pm
SSN

West Ham's owners have put a 20 per cent stake in the club up for sale in a
bid to reduce debts of £110m. David Sullivan insists there was no danger of
Sam Allardyce being sacked in the summer and says he played a part in
bringing Diafra Sakho to the club. Hammers co-owner David Sullivan told the
Sunday Telegraph that he and fellow owner David Gold are seeking to raise
£80m to help reduce debts which currently stand at £110m, of which £55m is
owed to Gold and Sullivan. Sullivan claims that West Ham's upcoming move to
the Olympic Stadium at the end of next season means the club is worth £400m
- almost four times its value when he and Gold bought the Hammers in January
2010. "We've no desire to give up the whole club," Sullivan said. "But we're
still £110m in debt - albeit now £55m of that is to ourselves. So the
third-party debt has been halved, but only because we've put the money in.

Market value

"We lost £30m when we went down (to the Championship in 2011) and we made
£10m on paper last year. What's on paper is not cash-flow and we have to pay
down the debt all the time and we have to be clear of bank debt when we move
to the Olympic Stadium. "I'd love someone to come in and buy 20 per cent and
the money would not go to us, it would go to the club. But we won't be
giving it away and we'd want market value for it. "Going to the Olympic
Stadium we are a £400m club and that would pay down most of the debt. But if
it doesn't happen we'll dig deep in our pockets and keep the club afloat."

Sullivan also revealed that he does know if manager Sam Allardyce, who has
led West Ham to fifth place in the Premier League, will sign a new contract
with the club. "I must say if come April we are where we are now, which is
extremely unlikely but is possible, we'd probably sit down a month early and
say, 'Look Sam, do you want to stay or do you want to go?' Sam may decide he
wants to go out a winner," Sullivan said.

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Leroy: "Oh Winston and with Wenger watching!"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

I have no complaints about the team's performance against Arsenal nor should
any other fan because we gave it absolutely everything against a very good
side and on any other day would have come out with something. But my
overwhelming impression was of Winston Reid who showing again that he's
simply not a top four club player and if he was trying to impress Arsene
Wenger he failed miserably. He could have no complaints about the penalty
yet there he was jumping up and down pleading the case. Sorry mate, you
brought him down plain and simple and for much of the game looked pretty
average. Everybody who was inside the ground or watching on a stream could
feel nothing but sympathy for the Irons but I'm afraid I can't agree with
Sam and the others who believe the early strike by Alex Song should have
stood. Diafra was offside plain and simple and I don't believe the official
had any other decision to make than to raise his flag.

Arsenal were strong and showed great movement at times but no better than us
and all in all it was a great game which we weren't allowed to enjoy
properly because of the final result. However, the supporters will have left
a lot happier than they did at Chelsea where the team showed nothing. You
can't con Irons supporters. If you put in the shift and given it your best
they will stay with you. Obviously Adrian was outstanding and as Hugh wrote
yesterday the Spanish national team should be beckonng very soon. Morgan
Amalfitano was a revelation. He has real skill and invention and a terrific
work ethic. But for Adrian he would have been my man of the match.

I think we can take terrific encouragement and confidence from the Arsenal
game and get right back on track against West Brom.And as we head towards
the end of the year I'd like to thank and congratulate everybody at the club
for a terrific first half. You've all done a great job. Let's kick on –
we're a top six or better club!

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Things we learned in defeat by Gunners
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 28, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Match verdict

They tell me today's game was a thriller and hugely enjoyable. Well I
watched it and didn't enjoy it at all because we lost and didn't manage to
take a single point from the Christmas matches. Nor is the prelude to a Sam
Allardyce blast because I didn't hear too many complaints about his team
selection before the match. However, the defeats by Chelsea and Arsenal has
shown us one or two things quite clearly:

O that we are now in a position seemingly where our strike force will be
Andy Carroll and one other;
O that Mauro Zarate is on his way;
O that Morgan Amalfitano may be a better option anyway
O that Winston Reid may not be a top four club player after all
O and that Adrian needs to be watched by the Spanish national coach.

Alex Song scored a great goal and the official who wouldn't take his flag
down deserved a 'slap.' That was a goal plain and simple.
It may or may not have been a different game after that but when that was
ruled out and James Tomkins blasted over the top when he had time to spare
in front of goal, an ominous feeling started to form in the pit of my
stomach. You just knew didn't you….! We gave it everything and it wasn't
enough and now we look to West Brom in order to get back on the straight and
narrow. We will do but there's one thing which continues to worry me more
than any other – that Andy Carroll now gets played regardless of team and
conditions.

No question this was a game for him against a dodgy Per Mertesacker but
Chelsea with John Terry winning everything against him in the air was not.
Other players it seems – Song, Sakho for example – need rests after injury.
The same rule clearly doesn't apply to AC.
It's obvious we played our best football earlier in the season when Sakho
and Valencia caused mayhem. Will we ever see them together again? I think
it's very very doubtful and that is a terrible shame. Having said all that
and although I was desperately unhappy with the attitude and tactics at
Chelsea, nobody can moan at the effort and no little skill at Upton Park
today. It just didn't go for us ….BUT onwards and upwards!

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Special clause in Nolan's contract? – The ExWHUemployee Column

By ExWHUemployee on December 28, 2014 in ExWHUemployee column
Ironsview.com

Well I am extremely disappointed writing this after the Arsenal game; a game
that we didn't deserve to lose. Although I haven't seen a replay, I really
do not think Alex Song's goal should have been disallowed. In the vast
amount of cases you would not see a side penalised in this kind of offside
situation so I was left shocked when the assistant ref raised his flag. We
seem to have been the victim of a number of dodgy offside calls with Nolan's
goal at Old Trafford and Lukaku at Everton being examples of this. There
were other decisions that seemed to go against us too. I think there was a
foul on Amalfitano leading up to the penalty as well. I was disappointed in
the refereeing display to say the least.

We really should be looking to beat WBA especially if they still have Irvine
as manager. I would personally put Andy Carroll on the bench for this one
and go back to the proven partnership of Sakho and Valencia. When these two
are up front it encourages us to play on the floor rather than using Carroll
as the target man. Once their pace has got at WBA, depending on the impact
of that, Andy could come on when the defence is tiring. He may need a rest
anyway with the amount of games he has played after a serious injury.

I thought Adrian was our man of the match again and he really has been
turning in some high quality displays in recent months. If he could learn to
dominate his area from set plays I think he would develop into one of the
best 'keepers in the league. I also thought Amalfitano deserved his place in
the team after his impressive performance against Chelsea and he was our
best outfield player against Arsenal. I thought Winston Reid and Alex Song
were quite poor against Arsenal but this may have done us an indirect favour
and hopefully put Arsenal off signing either one of them.

I have touched on this in my column before but I really do not agree with
booing players and again Kevin Nolan was booed by some when he came on. I
understand people's frustrations and I personally do not think he should
been playing as much is he is either but booing does not help anyone. All
players, no matter how good they are, would be negatively impacted by their
own fans booing them. His first pass was awful but other than that I thought
he did alright after coming on. I have been asked in someone's rage whether
it is in Kevin Nolan's contract to always have to feature at some point on
the pitch even if he is named as a substitute. I checked the record books
and it does appear that every single time Nolan has been named as a sub he
has come on in a league game since he has been with us, even if it is just
for a minute. He has been an unused sub in Capital One cup games but in
league matches he has always featured at some point. I am happy to be proven
wrong by someone if they can find the evidence, however. I do not think this
is written in his contract but I thought it was an interesting statistic.

I do sometimes think, however, that our fans are very harsh and quick to
turn on certain players. I was shocked in the week to read such negative
comments about Mark Noble – a player who plays his heart out for the club
and has for many years. He was Hammer of the Year last year and played
really well this season – most wanted him in the England squad at the start
of the year. He had a poor game against Chelsea but he was recovering from
an injury and probably rushed himself back too quickly. I have seen similar
comments about Collins and Carroll – two players who have played key roles
this season. I totally stand by the fact that we all have opinions and we
all have preferences over who should play and who shouldn't; it is what
makes the game interesting, but I do think we can be too harsh at times and
we should do more "supporting".

One player I would have liked to have featured more is Zarate. It does
appear that he is on his way out of the club – probably on a season loan –
and this would explain why he hasn't made the bench for the last few games.
It has been reported that he has secured a loan deal to QPR but I have not
heard that myself. It does appear that the club are about to take the
option of taking 40k a week of the wages which could be spent elsewhere. I
think this is a real shame as he does seem to have a lot of flair and
something different to what we already have.

Anyway I think we were very unlucky against Arsenal and must put this behind
us and go on and beat WBA to get our season back on track. This is the last
column of the year so I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! COYI

ExWHUemployee

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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