Daily WHUFC News - 11th February 2015

Preview - Southampton
WHUFC.com
Everything you need to know about Wednesday's trip to Southampton
10.02.2015

SOUTHAMPTON v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
ST MARY'S STADIUM
WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
REFEREE: CRAIG PAWSON

In brief
West Ham United travel to the south coast to face in form Southampton just
four days after drawing with Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground. Earlier
in the season, the Saints won 3-1 in the reverse fixture and Sam Allardyce's
men will be looking for revenge come Wednesday eveing. Ronald Koeman's
Southampton have defied all the odds and proved the doubters wrong as they
currently sit in third, having taken 45 points from 24 games. However, the
Saints have lost their last two home league games, a 3-2 defeat by Crystal
Palace and a 1-0 defeat by Swansea City.


Who are they?
Southampton were formed in 1885 and have been known as the Saints ever since
due to their history as a church side, being known as St Mary's YMA in their
early days. Their high point was winning the FA Cup in 1976, famously
beating Manchester United in the final, while they also reached the final in
1900, 1902 and 2003 - when they were defeated by Arsenal. The Saints'
highest ever league finish is second in 1983/84 and, like the Hammers, they
are in their third season back in the top flight after being promoted from
the Championship in 2012. Other honours include the Football League Trophy,
which they won at Wembley in 2010, and the Southern League - which they won
six times around the turn of the 20th century prior to becoming a Football
League club.

Team news
West Ham United
The Hammers will still be without defenders James Collins and Winston Reid
who missed Sunday's draw with Manchester United. Likewise, Diego Poyet and
Doneil Henry are also likely to miss out. Captain Kevin Nolan faces a race
against time to overcome a foot injury sustained against Manchester United.
England international Andy Carroll faces a late fitness test to determine
whether is able to feature or not.

Southampton
Toby Alderweireld (hamstring) and Matt Targett (concussion) are unlikely to
feature as are Shane Long and Lloyd Isgrove. Jay Rodriguez is Southampton's
long term absentee while Ryan Bertrand is suspended.

Referee
The man in the middle for Wednesday's fixture is Craig Pawson. The Sheffield
based official has been in charge of one West Ham game this season - the
Hammers' 3-1 win over Liverpool in September. The 35-year-old referee also
refereed the Saints' 2-0 New Year's Day victory over Arsenal. The assistant
referees are Ian Hussin and Adrian Holmes, Neil Swarbrick is the fourth
official.

One to watch
West Ham United
Following his terrific display at centre-back against Manchester United
Cheikhou Kouyate has somewhat eased Sam Allardyce's defensive injury
problems. The Senegalese international was unfazed at the prospect of
marking Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, capping an excellent
performance with a quality goal which almost gave the Hammers a deserved
win.
Southampton Kouyate's Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane has been in impressive
form for the Saints this season, scoring six goals, most recently in the 1-0
away win at Queens Park Rangers. The Saints have never lost when Mane scores
so the Hammers will need to stop him in order to get a result at St. Mary's
Stadium.

Tickets
All Standard Tickets for this fixture have SOLD OUT. Wheelchair/Carer
Tickets are available but must be purchased in advance of the fixture.

Travel
For all your travel information on how to get to and from St Mary's please
click here.

Weather
Wednesday evening is set to be a cloudy night with a chance of rain starting
into the night. Temperatures at kick-off of are forecast to be 5C (41F).

Last away meeting
Southampton 0-0 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
15 September 2013
Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw (Chambers 77), Schneiderlin,
Wanyama, Lallana (Ward-Prowse 72), Lambert, Rodriguez, Osvaldo
Subs: Davis, Hooiveld, Davis, Ramirez, Do Prado
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, O'Brien, Collins, Demel (Rat 61) Nolan,
Jarvis, Morrison (Taylor 77) Noble, Diame, Maiga (Vaz Te 68)
Subs: Adrian, Tomkins, Collison, Lee

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Adrian keen to overcome late blow
WHUFC.com
West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian says the Hammers will take inspiration
from Sunday's performance
09.02.2015

Adrian may have been beaten late on by Manchester United's Daley Blind on
Sunday as Louis van Gaal's team snatched a point at the Boleyn Ground, but
the Spanish stopper will be focusing on the many positive aspects of the
Hammers' performance as they build towards Southampton. Sam Allardyce's men
travel to the South Coast on Wednesday looking for the maximum point haul
which eluded them at the weekend, despite taking the lead through Cheikhou
Kouyate and holding it right up until the final minute. While admitting that
came as a blow, Adrian said observers only had to look at how much busier
his opposite number was to show who should have won. "It was a good
challenge between Spanish keepers," he explained. "De Gea made some very
good saves on Sunday - he saved them really. "We absolutely deserved the
three points. "We played well and showed a good performance, but this is
football. "We didn't score the second goal to kill the game. They have good
players and scored in the last minute. "Of course it was difficult to come
off the pitch with a 1-1 draw after they scored in the 92nd minute, but we
felt good and deserved the three points. "We need to take that into the next
game against Southampton now because that will be a tough game."

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Big Sam on: Southampton
WHUFC.com
The manager talks to the press ahead of Wednesday's trip to Southampton
10.02.2015

Sam Allardyce faced the media on Tuesday ahead of West Ham United's Barclays
Premier League trip to Southampton. The Hammers are looking for maximum
points after only being denied at the death by Manchester United at the
weekend. Big Sam provided an update on injury news, his team's prospects at
St Mary's and more.

Hi Sam, is there any news on the injured players who weren't available for
United on Sunday?

SA: "The possibility would be Andy Carroll. He may be fit but it'll be touch
and go right up until we leave tomorrow morning. Kevin Nolan has a bruised
instep which is causing us some concern, at the moment we don't know if
he'll be able to but his boots on or not. That's obviously a blow to us and
the rest who were unavailable are still out. We're short on numbers but very
high on confidence."

James Tomkins took a bit of a bashing, and was talking about Robin van
Persie perhaps getting a red card for an elbow. What did you think of that
argument?

SA: "He broke his nose but it's not serious enough to keep him out. From a
challenge point of view I thought it was pretty naughty, he had a look to
see where the defender was and then took him out basically. The assistant
referee gave a foul but he didn't think it was more serious. Tomkins should
be fit to play tomorrow night which is the most important thing for us."

Your comments about long ball Manchester United have certainly created a
buzz. Are you surprised at how much of a fuss has been made out of it?

SA: "No. The media love a bit of a tale, something to write about. It was a
fact and everyone loves facts. On Sunday it was Man United playing direct
football to try and overcome a defeat and it paid off for them. That's how
they got back into the game and sadly for us there wasn't time for us to
react."

Playing Southampton on Wednesday tonight. West Ham have never won at St.
Mary's, what would a win do for your season?

SA: "I think for us, it's just trying to take each game as it comes. With 14
games left we're coming to the end of the season, we've done so well and
come far. We want to get more wins than draws because we've slipped down the
table a little bit. Southampton have managed to keep on winning, but we've
let leads slip and ended up drawing too many times. They've lost their last
league game against Swansea City which we've studied."

Is there any more news about your contract situation?

SA: "Not yet. There's still a way to go but we'll talk when the time is
right."

Would you like to be here next season?

SA: "We'll have to see what the contract says! But seriously, there's a lot
of work to be done here and the potential of the squad is very exciting. The
way the club is going with the new stadium round the corner it is an
exciting time."

Lassana Diarra has been training with you for a few weeks, what is the
situation with Diarra at the moment?

SA: "I'm not sure what the state of negotiations are but he has been
training with us recently. As soon as he is fit and ready he'll be a great
addition to our squad."

He's a vastly experienced player and he's played at several big clubs, what
is his state of fitness at the moment?

SA: "He's not ready to be involved in first team but hopefully he's not too
far away. We're not in any rush but he would be a good addition if and when
it happens."

A disappointing result in the end, but plenty of positives to take from
Sunday games?

SA: "Exactly, and we have to pick up from where we left against United. They
gave everything they possibly had and we want to maintain that level in
every game for the rest of the season. The main difficulty is recovery,
because we haven't had much time. Southampton playing on Saturday have also
had an extra day to recover. So Wednesday night is all about our attitude
and determination. We're going to
need to push ourselves in order to win. We had a bit of a lull in our
performances recently but to see us back to near our best was a big
boost. We don't want our season to fade away."

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Hammers to honour Peters
WHUFC.com
Martin Peters MBE will become the third recipient of the Club's Lifetime
Achievement Award at the annual Player Awards
10.02.2015

West Ham United are pleased to announce that Martin Peters MBE will become
the third recipient of the Club's Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 1966 World Cup winner will be honoured at the annual Player Awards
brought to you by Betway and in aid of the Academy, which this year take
place on Wednesday 6 May at the London Hilton on Park Lane. 71-year-old
Peters came through the famed Academy at West Ham to play a pivotal role in
the golden period of the 1960s, even though he missed out on an involvement
in the 1964 FA Cup winning effort. The following year he played a full role
as the Hammers lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup and then returned to
Wembley a year later to win the World Cup with England. He would go on to
score exactly 100 goals for the Hammers in 364 appearances - a fine record
for a midfielder - before enjoying further success with Tottenham Hotspur
and Norwich City, ending a remarkable 22-year professional career with
Sheffield United. The complete midfielder, Peters' versatility was such that
he played in every position for the Hammers - including in goal when
replacing the injured Brian Rhodes in just his third game for the Club.
Peters was made an MBE in 1978 and follows in the footsteps of Billy Bonds
MBE and Sir Trevor Brooking in receiving the Hammers' Lifetime Achievement
Award. Born in Plaistow on 8 November 1943, Peters came through the ranks at
his local Club to sign as an apprentice under manager Ted Fenton in 1959. He
would make his first team debut on Good Friday 1962 in a 4-1 home victory
against Cardiff City. Peters' first goal for the Club would follow in
September of that year.
Peters made 36 League appearances in 1962/63 and 32 in 1963/64, but would
not be involved as the Hammers won their first FA Cup that year. He would
not miss out twelve months later as West Ham defeated TSV 1860 Munich to win
the European Cup Winners' Cup. A further chance for Hammers silverware
arrived in 1966 when they reached the League Cup final, in those days played
over two legs. Peters scored in the second game, but West Bromwich Albion
triumphed 5-3 on aggregate. However, Peters, Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst
bounced back from that disappointment to lead England to World Cup glory.
The 1968/69 season would be Peters' most prolific for the Hammers, as he
knocked in 24 goals from 48 matches, and a year later he was on the move to
north London, as Tottenham Hotspur paid £200,000 for his services.
Peters' run of success would continue at White Hart Lane as he won the
League Cup in 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA Cup in 1972. Five-and-a-half years
with Norwich and a half-season at Sheffield United followed, before he
ventured into a brief foray in management with the Blades. In total he made
882 appearances in professional football, scoring 220 goals and adding a
further 20 to that in 67 England caps.
Following football, he moved into the insurance business and still works as
a matchday host to this day with the Hammers.

Martin Peters' Lifetime Achievement Award will be one of a host of
prestigious trophies awarded at the 2014/15 Player Awards, bought to you by
Betway, in Aid of the Academy.
Who will take the honours this season? You can be there at the Hilton London
on Park Lane on Wednesday 6 May to find out!
Our annual Player Awards night promises a night of fine dining and Hammers
entertainment as we look back at the highlights of the year.

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Tomkins signs new contract
WHUFC.com
James Tomkins has signed a new long-term contract with West Ham United
10.02.2015

West Ham United are delighted to announce that James Tomkins has signed a
new contract with the Club until summer 2020. The new deal will take the
Academy of Football graduate past 20 years of service to the Hammers, who he
joined as a seven-year-old schoolboy in 1996.
The Basildon-born centre-back has been in outstanding form this season,
helping the Hammers to a record-breaking Barclays Premier League start and
the FA Cup fifth round. "I think it's brilliant that the Club has shown
faith in me and offered me this deal and I'm delighted to sign it," said the
25-year-old, who made his first-team debut at 18 in March 2008. "I've been
here since I was seven and this is a long-term deal which is going to take
me up until I'm in my thirties, so it's nice to commit my future here. "It's
been a good season, but it's still got a little way to go yet and the job is
not done. We've had a good year so far and we want to continue it. I feel
like my performances have come along a lot this year and I am just enjoying
playing really."

While in previous decades West Ham might have allowed a home-grown hero like
Tomkins to leave the Club, the Hammers are now committed to keeping their
best players for the future. With excitement growing around the move to the
Club's 54,000-capacity new home in 2016, the defender says it is a great
time to be part of West Ham United. "Being a West Ham fan, I want to spend
my future here as it is exciting times with the Olympic Stadium move coming
up in 2016," continued Tomkins, who has played 205 times in Claret and Blue.
"The Club is going in the direction I wanted it to go and I want to be
involved in. It's exciting all-round, for the Club and for me. "It's a good
time and this year has been a great step forward. Now we just need to see it
out. I look back at all the times I've been in the team, from when I made my
debut at 18-years-old, and this is as well as we've done. Now we need to
keep it going until the end of the season, because we have a lot of hard
games coming up. "What the Board and everyone at the Club has done to get
the new Stadium shows the direction we want to be taking - we want to be
going forwards and not backwards and that's certainly where we're heading.
It's a great time for us. We want to leave Upton Park on a high, so it's
important we do the very best we can over the next 18 months leading up to
the move."

Looking to the more immediate future, West Ham face two exciting and
challenging fixtures on the back of Sunday's thrilling draw with Manchester
United. On Wednesday, the Hammers go to Southampton in the Barclays Premier
League ahead of Saturday's FA Cup tie at West Bromwich Albion. "Southampton
are doing really well at the moment and they're obviously a great team,
which they are proving week in, week out with their consistency," Tomkins
observed. "It's a hard place to go as they don't concede many goals, but
it's a game we're all looking forward to on the back of a good performance
against Manchester United. "We showed signs of where we are at the minute by
competing against such a good team, and now we face another one in
Southampton and we need to approach it in the right way. "It's hard to focus
on the FA Cup just yet because of the game on Wednesday, but it's exciting
being involved in an FA Cup run. West Brom will be hard to beat with Tony
Pulis in charge and you know his teams don't give away much. It's going to
be tough but hopefully we can get a win. If we get to a quarter-final, who
knows how far we can go?"

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James Tomkins: West Ham defender signs new deal until 2020
BBC.co.uk

West Ham United defender James Tomkins has signed a new contract at the
club, which will keep him at Upton Park until 2020. The 25-year-old joined
West Ham as a schoolboy in 1996 and is a graduate of the club's academy.
"It's brilliant that the club has shown faith in me and I'm delighted to
sign [this contract]," Tomkins said. Tomkins, whose new deal will take him
past 20 years of service at West Ham, has made 205 appearances for the club.
He suffered a broken nose in Sunday's draw against Manchester United.

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Louis van Gaal uses diagrams to defend Man Utd 'long-ball' claims
BBC.co.uk

Louis van Gaal displayed a series of diagrams to journalists as he hit back
at Sam Allardyce's claim that Manchester United are a long-ball team. West
Ham boss Allardyce described Van Gaal's side as "long-ball United" after the
teams drew 1-1 at Upton Park.
But Van Gaal disputed the assertion. "Because I expected this question, I
have made an interpretation of the data for this game and then I have to say
that it is not a good interpretation from Big Sam," said the Dutchman. "You
have to look at the data and then you will see that we did play long balls,
but long balls wide rather than to the striker."

The statistics, contained in four A4 sheets of paper, were put together by
Van Gaal's analysis team. They claim West Ham sent a higher percentage of
their long passes forward than the visitors. According to the figures, West
Ham attempted a total of 200 passes during the game and United 343. Of those
passes, 45 (22.5%) of West Ham's were long - more than 25 metres - compared
to 83 (24.2%) of United's.
However, United claim fewer than half of their 83 long passes went forward
(49.9%), compared to almost three-quarters (71.1%) of West Ham's 45.
Diagrams generated by United showed that many of the visitors' passes went
sideways or diagonally, rather than forward. Van Gaal insisted his team only
started playing long balls forward after 6ft 4in Marouane Fellaini came on
in the 76th minute of the draw at Upton Park. Daley Blind rescued a point
with a 93rd-minute equaliser after Cheikhou Kouyate's volley put West Ham
ahead. According to Opta, Van Gaal's United do play more long balls - under
their definition "launches of the ball by a team that have no clear aim" -
than the sides of David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson during the previous two
seasons.

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West Ham: Lassana Diarra close to Hammers deal - Sam Allardyce
BBc.co.uk

Former Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra is training with West Ham and
close to signing a deal with them. The Frenchman, 29, has been without a
club since being released by Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow in August 2014.
"He is training with us," said Hammers boss Sam Allardyce. "The deal is very
close to being finalised. "Once fit he will be a good addition. I hope, with
a good few days' training, he will be close in seven to 10 days - if he
finally signs the contract." Diarra has previously had spells at Arsenal,
Chelsea and Portsmouth during spells in England. "He won't be in any good
shape in terms of being on the bench on Wednesday or on the bench on
Saturday against West Brom," added Allardyce.

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Southampton v West Ham
KO 19:45
10 February 2015
Last updated at 12:46
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: St Mary's Stadium Date: Wednesday, 11 February

TEAM NEWS

Southampton have problems at left-back with Ryan Bertrand still suspended
and Matt Targett out with a head injury. Morgan Schneiderlin is an injury
doubt, but new signing Filip Djuricic could play after receiving his work
permit.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says Andy Carroll is "touch and go" to return
from a knee injury, while Kevin Nolan could miss out with a foot problem.
James Tomkins is available despite breaking his nose on Sunday as Winston
Reid and James Collins remain absent.

MATCH PREVIEW

Whatever happens at St Mary's, it's highly unlikely we'll hear Sam Allardyce
talking about any long-ball tactics from Southampton in his post-match
interviews. He was left lamenting how Manchester United had found a
93rd-minute equaliser on Sunday but was right to feel so positive about how
his team had played. Injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations haven't helped
lately, but this was a timely return to form for West Ham, who haven't
performed at quite the same level since Christmas.
Lawro's prediction
"Southampton were not great against QPR at the weekend but they still won.
They have key players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama coming
back to full fitness too, and it will make a big difference when they get
the heartbeat of their team back."
Predictions: Lawro v Arsenal Ladies star Kelly Smith I've seen them on the
road twice in the last three weeks and felt they were professional in
overcoming a potentially awkward fixture at Bristol City in the FA Cup, but
struggled in a 2-0 league defeat against Liverpool.

After winning only one of their last seven in the Premier League, the
Hammers go looking for a first win at Southampton in nearly 15 years. They
weren't the only team to concede in the 93rd minute at the weekend - QPR did
too against Southampton . Sadio Mane's late goal secured all three points
and he's a man in form in front of goal, having scored in his last four
Premier League starts. Saturday's result moved Ronald Koeman's team up to
third in the table and they've now won six of the last eight in the league,
which has left their pre-Christmas blip firmly in the rearview mirror.
Southampton strolled to a 3-1 victory when the teams last met at the end of
August, giving Koeman his first league win as manager. West Ham's campaign
hadn't made it out of first gear at the time, with defeat by Saints meaning
they had started the season with three in a row at home in all competitions.
Things have clearly moved on and, while Southampton have the meanest defence
in the Premier League and are in fine form, this could be a really good game
if West Ham can play as well as they did against Manchester United on
Sunday.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham have gone five games without a win at Southampton since a 3-2
victory in November 2000.
Southampton can do the double over West Ham in the Premier League for the
first time since 1997-98.

Southampton
Following five successive wins, Southampton have lost three of their last
six Premier League home matches (W2, D1, L3).
Southampton have conceded the fewest Premier League goals this season (17)
and no side has kept more clean sheets. Both Saints and league leaders
Chelsea have 11.
Ronald Koeman's side have dropped just two points from a winning position
this season, the fewest in the Premier League.
Saints have hit the woodwork 14 times in the league this season, more than
any other team. Graziano Pelle is responsible for six of these.
Top scorer Pelle has not found the net in seven league games.

West Ham United
The Hammers have won just one of their last seven Premier League away games
(W1, D3, L3).
They haven't kept a clean sheet away from home in 17 league games.
West Ham have 37 points from 24 matches, their best tally at this stage of a
top-flight season since 1985-86 (48pts), when they finished third.
They have scored a league-high 14 headed goals this season. Diafra Sakho has
scored five of those - two more than any other player in the league.

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Five more years for James Tomkins
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's James Tomkins has signed a new five-year deal with West
Ham. The 25-year-old Basildon born defender has been at the club since the
age of seven and has since made 205 first team appearances for the club -
the same as legendary sixties striker Johhny 'Budgie' Byrne (205) and more
than eighties legend Frank McAvennie (191). His existing four year deal was
set to expire next summer (2016) and whilst West Ham had the option of
triggering a further 12 months, they opted instead to secure Tomkins' future
with a new five-year deal that potentially keeps him at the club until 2020.
"I think it's brilliant that the Club has shown faith in me and offered me
this deal - and I'm delighted to sign it," Tomkins told whufc.com this
afternoon. "I've been here since I was seven and this is a long-term deal
which is going to take me up until I'm in my thirties, so it's nice to
commit my future. "Being a West Ham fan, I want to spend my future here as
it is exciting times with the Olympic Stadium move coming up in 2016. The
club is going in the direction I wanted it to go and I want to be involved
in. It's exciting all-round, for the club and for me. "It's a good time and
this year has been a great step forward. Now we just need to see it out. I
look back at all the times I've been in the team, from when I made my debut
at 18-years-old, and this is as well as we've done. Now we need to keep it
going until the end of the season, because we have a lot of hard games
coming up. "We want to be going forwards, not backwards - and that's
certainly where we're heading. It's a great time for us. We want to leave
Upton Park on a high, so it's important we do the very best we can over the
next 18 months leading up to the move."

James Tomkins: season stats

2007/08: Pld 6 Bkd 0 Red 0 Gls 0
2008/09: Pld 15 Bkd 0 Red 1 Gls 1 (Derby Pld 8 Bkd 1 Red 1 Gls 0)
2009/10: Pld 26 Bkd 0 Red 0 Gls 0
2010/11: Pld 28 Bkd 3 Red 0 Gls 1
2011/12: Pld 47 Bkd 6 Red 0 Gls 4
2012/13: Pld 29 Bkd 5 Red 0 Gls 1
2013/14: Pld 35 Bkd 6 Red 1 Gls 0
2014/15: Pld 19 Bkd 5 Red 0 Gls 1

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Koeman cool on Carroll threat
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

Ronald Koeman admits his tactical approach to Wednesday's clash with West
Ham depends much upon the potential inclusion of one player.
Southampton's 51-year-old Dutch manager admitted today that if Andy Carroll
plays at St Mary's on Wednesday, his entire game plan will change - due to
the distinct styles which he believes West Ham employ when either with or
without the big target man. According to Koeman, whose team are currently
third in the Premier League having enjoyed a fantastic season so far, the
Hammers are far more likely to play direct should Carroll feature in the
side. However he admitted that Sam Allardyce's side have the ability to mix
it up and play more possession-based football - as was the case against
Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday afternoon. "It'll be a
difficult game. I watched the game last Sunday and I think they played very
well and were physically strong," he said during this morning's pre-match
press conference. "Much depends on whether they start with [Andy] Carroll,
as with him they can play a little bit more direct. [On Sunday] they showed
they can play good football without him. It was difficult but they had very
good opportunities to kill the game and very a little bit unlucky to only
get one point. "West Ham always have options to play in a different style.
What you have to do as a manager is to play with the best qualities the
players have. The easiest way to attack is a long ball - like we do.
Sometimes we play a long ball to [Graziano] Pelle because in one pass,
you're close to the opponent's box. Then you can begin pressing your
opponent. "I always prefer to play football but sometimes it's a good
option, if you have a player like [Andy] Carroll or [Marouane] Fellaini at
Manchester United, to do something different. To try a different way to
score goals is allowed."

With specific regard to Carroll - who failed a late-fitness test before
Sunday's game but is expected to be available tomorrow - and the threat
posed by the England international -Koeman plans to keep him as far away
from goal as possible. "We'll try to keep him out of the box. We know we
have to prepare ourselves for that," he surmised. "If he is playing then we
have to press the goalkeeper, we have to press the defenders and try to keep
out the long ball they like to play. "If he's not playing that means a
different style with Sakho and Valencia. They are very fast; good players,
good attackers. That means we'll need to defend against our opponents a
different way. "It's two different styles of playing. With Carroll it's more
long ball and second ball, without it's much more about ball possession and
much more movement from the two fast attackers. That means we have to defend
differently, but it's no so difficult [to change]."

* West Ham face Southampton at St Mary's tomorrow night (Wednesday). 7.45pm
(GMT) kick off.

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Press officer gives the game away
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

There was a priceless moment at this morning's Manchester United press
conference when the club's Media Officer presented documents relating to
Sunday's game with West Ham to the press. Red Devils boss Louis Van Gaal had
insisted that a series of documents, setting out why Manchester United
should not be hailed as a 'long ball' team be distributed to journalists
present at a club press conference this morning. However his media officer
appeared to inadvertently expose her true feelings about the matter when she
grimaced visibly when handing the documents from Van Gaal to the press - as
you may see in the video below! West Ham manager Sam Allardyce referred to
last weekend's opponents as 'long ball United' during his post-match press
conference on Sunday evening (which you may read exclusively in full here).
West Ham took the lead in Sunday's Premier League clash against Manchester
United through Cheik Kouyate four minutes into the second half - before the
visitors snatched a point they barely deserved thorough a 93rd-minute Daley
Blind effort.

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Did we touch a nerve? Van Gaal takes umbrage to 'long ball' claim
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce's cheeky reference to last weekend's opponents as 'long ball
United' may have raised a few smiles amongst Hammers fans - although
Manchester United's Louis Van Gaal was far from impressed by the tag. The
under-pressure Dutch manager was so incensed by Allardyce's jibe that he
arrived at a press conference today armed with sheets of data designed to
counter Big Sam's claims - which were the subject of the first question
asked of the 63-year-old. "When a colleague of mine is saying this kind of
thing then you have to put the data in the right context," he said. "I think
the media is also coming to the match and you have a lot of opinions about
me. "You have to look at the data and then you will see that we did play
long balls, but long balls wide, rather than to the striker. A ball to the
forward striker is mainly caused by long-ball play. "Because I expected
this question, I have made an interpretation of the data for this game and
then I have to say that it is not a good interpretation from Big Sam. "I am
sorry, but we are playing ball possession play and after 70 minutes we did
not succeed, in spite of many chances in the second half, so I changed my
playing style. Then, of course, with the quality of Fellaini we played more
forward balls and we scored from that, so I think it was a very good
decision of the manager.
"But, when you see the overall long ball percentage, West Ham have played 71
per cent of their long balls to the forwards and we 49. When you have 60 per
cent ball possession you cannot play long balls. "So again, they did it 71
and we 49, and I give it you, you can copy it and then maybe you can go to
Big Sam and he will get a good interpretation."

According to stats site Who Scored, Manchester United enjoyed 57 per cent
possession to West Ham's 43 per cent during Sunday's match, which ended 1-1
- making a total of 414 passes to the Hammers' 284. Whilst West Ham made 57
long passes, Manchester United made 86 - regardless of the direction.
Additionally 49 of West Ham's passes were played aerially, compared to 65
from Manchester United.
West Ham made a total of 226 forward passes compared to the Red Devils' 316
- playing the ball back 105 times, in contract to the visitors' 152 passes
toward their own goal.

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Poyet learning his trade, happy as back-up
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

Diego Poyet has revealed he is happy being a squad member at West Ham - for
now. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who would no doubt be banging down
the manager's door demanding a place in the first team, the 19-year-old
midfielder displayed a refreshing attitude to life as a Premier League
footballer. And instead of complaining about his lack of opportunities -
Poyet has featured on just five occasions for West Ham so far - the
youngster insists that he is enjoying his time learning from his peers. "I'm
really enjoying it at West Ham," he told kicca.com. "People sometimes think
I'm not enjoying it as I'm not playing as much as I was last year at
Charlton, but I'm part of a great team and a great club who are doing well
in the Premier League and the FA Cup.

"I'm very, very happy here and happy to be a squad player for now and wait
for my chance. If I need game time I play for the club's Under-21 side so it
keeps me ticking over, get minutes under my belt and then I'll be ready
should my chance come. "I'm only 19 and there a lot of quality players in
front of me, but I'll just keep training and be prepared when I get my
chance. Quality-wise it's been a big step up from Charlton but now I've got
used to it. It was quite tough as a new player at the start but now I really
feel part of it."

The Zaragoza-born Poyet, who learnt to speak both English and Spanish as a
child - the result of his father Gus' Uruguayan roots - also revealed that
he has developed a close relationship with fellow Spanish speaker Enner
Valencia, who along wih Diafra Sakho "have been on fire".

But it is another Spanish speaker in the squad - on loan Barca star Alex
Song - who he feels mostly connected to as a player. "He's a fantastic
person as well as a fantastic player," added Poyet. "Although he plays in
the same position as me and limits my chances I learn so much off him.
"When I watch the games I just watch him as that can only help me. He
assists more than people think, has got a great pass on him and is so
comfortable on the ball. He's a very important player for us."

Poyet's five appearances for West Ham since making the switch from Charlton
last summer have included three in the Premier League (at Crystal Palace,
Manchester United and Swansea), one in the FA Cup (Everton away) and just
the one appearance in front of the Boleyn faithful (Sheffield United in the
Capital One Cup). He also featured twice for Huddersfield during a
month-long loan spell last November.

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West Ham closing in on former Chelsea star Lassana Diarra
Last Updated: 10/02/15 11:39am
SSN

Former Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra is training with West Ham with
a view to earning a short-term contract. Diarra is a free agent after having
his contract at Lokomotiv Moscow terminated last August following a fall-out
with coach Leonid Kuchuk. The 29-year-old has been linked with Newcastle,
Queens Park Rangers and Celtic in the last few months. But the former
Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth player hopes to secure a deal at West Ham
until the end of the campaign. Upton Park boss Sam Allardyce confirmed the
news at his press conference ahead of Wednesday's Premier League match at
Southampton. "He is training with us," he said. "I'm not so sure whether
we've finalised a deal yet but he has been doing a little bit of training
with us. "I think the deal is very close to being finalised and I think on
the basis of where we are at the minute with our squad and the injuries, as
soon as we get him fit he'll be a really good addition based on his previous
record as a footballer. "He won't be on the bench on Wednesday or Saturday
against West Brom but I certainly hope with a few good days training with
the lads he'll be close in seven or 10 days... if he signs the contract."

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High-flying Southampton take on West Ham at St Mary's Stadium
Last Updated: 10/02/15 4:20pm
SSN

High-flying Southampton will look to maintain their challenge for Champions
League football when they host West Ham at St Mary's Stadium.
Saints needed a stoppage-time goal from Sadio Mane to beat Queens Park
Rangers 1-0 at Loftus Road at the weekend and are now third in the Premier
League table with 14 matches remaining after Manchester United, Arsenal and
Liverpool all dropped points over the weekend.
The Hammers will hope to respond from a result which felt like a loss after
they were denied maximum points when Daley Blind cancelled out Cheikhou
Kouyate's opener at Upton Park on Super Sunday. Sam Allardyce's side have
been hit by a spate of injuries over the last few weeks and have slipped
from fourth spot in late December to eighth in the table with just one win
in their last seven league games.
United will also face Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal before the middle of
March, but the Hammers will take heart from their display against United as
they head to the south coast.

Team news

Southampton will be once again be without Ryan Bertrand (suspension) and
Toby Alderweireld (hamstring). Matt Targett deputised for Bertrand at QPR,
but is doubtful after suffering a first-half head injury, even though
manager Ronald Koeman confirmed the youngster had escaped serious damage.
Sam Allardyce will be forced to field James Tomkins, despite the defender
suffering from a broken nose. Tomkins was caught by Robin van Persie's arm
in Sunday's draw with Manchester United but, with fellow central defenders
Winston Reid and James Collins (both hamstring) still missing, he will again
partner stand-in Cheikhou Kouyate at St Mary's. Allardyce was full of praise
for the Senegal international's performance, which he crowned with a
delightful goal that saw him juggle the ball twice before volleying home.

Allardyce is hopeful Andy Carroll may be available after recovering from an
ankle injury but captain Kevin Nolan (foot) is a doubt whilst Diego Poyet
and Doneil Henry are missing with unspecified problems. Former Real Madrid
midfielder Lassana Diarra is training with the club who are considering
offering the Frenchman a short-term deal until the end of the season.

Opta stats

Southampton have won only one of their last seven home Premier League
matches where the opposition has scored.
The Hammers have won just one of their last seven Premier League away games
(W1 D3 L3).
Following five successive wins, Southampton have lost three of their last
six Premier League home matches (W2 D1 L3).
Southampton have hit the woodwork 14 times in the Premier League this
season; more often than any other team. Graziano Pelle is responsible for
six of these.
West Ham's next Premier League defeat will be their 300th in the
competition.

Merson's prediction

There's not a lot between these two teams. Southampton are still up there,
playing well, and they've had a bit of luck at the same time, but the games
are reeling off now. Before you know it, we'll be down to single-figure
games, and if they're up there, they have a big chance. This is a test for
both teams, who have been surprise packages this term. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

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Sam Allardyce backs James Tomkins' claim Robin van Persie deliberately
elbowed him
14:35, 10 February 2015 By Darren Lewis
The Hammers boss has come out to support his player, while he has also
confirmed that the club are close to landing Lassana Diarra on a free
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has has backed James Tomkins' claim that he was deliberately
elbowed by Robin van Persie and accused the Dutchman of trying to "take him
out". Mirror Sport revealed earlier on Tuesday that Tomkins has been left
annoyed by the challenge - which took place in West Ham's 1-1 draw at home
to Manchester United on Sunday. Tomkins, 25, had his nose accidentally
broken by Reds midfielder Marouane Fellaini during the match. But he was
left more incensed by what he described as a "malicious" act by Van Persie.
Allardyce said: "I thought it was pretty naughty. The old: 'Have a little
look see where the defender is' then take him out. "But the assistant
referee decided to flag for a foul and I thought it was much more than
that."

Tomkins had said: "It is tough to say he does it deliberately. But with the
Van Persie one, I think he has a look at me first then he has gone for me."
The Hammers are also frustrated by the lack of action taken by the officials
over the incident. The FA have already confirmed there will be no
retrospective punishment as it was seen by the assistant referee. Allardyce
revealed Tomkins remains in line to play in tomorrow night's crunch clash at
Southampton with both clubs pushing for the top four. He added: "He has
broken his nose but I dont think its severe enough to concern us abut
leaving him out. So that's okay. "As long as he is fit and available to play
on Wednesday that's the most important thing for us."

Meanwhile Allardyce is hopeful of signing ex-Real Madrid midfielder Lassana
Diarra on a free transfer after confirming the France international is
training with the Hammers. Diarra, 29, has been without a club since a
bust-up saw him quit Lokomotiv Moscow in August. He was close to signing for
QPR last summer but the deal was blocked by the Russian club who still held
his registration. Once that situation was resolved West Ham tried to do a
deal with the ex-Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth star. But they balked at
his wage demands and turned their attentions to Manchester United's Darren
Fletcher. With that deal breaking down, however, the Hammers have turned
back to Diarra who has worked hard to impress in training and is close to
match fitness. A deal is expected to be completed in the coming days.
Allardyce said: "He is training with us. "I'm not so sure whether we have
finalised a deal yet but he is doing a little bit of training with us. The
deal is very close to being finalised and on the basis of where we are with
our squad and the injuries, once we have him fit he will be a very good
addition based on his previous record as a footballer." "He won't be in any
good shape in terms of being on the bench on Wednesday or on the bench on
Saturday against West Brom," added Allardyce. "But I certainly hope that,
with a good few days training with the lads, he will be close in seven to 10
days if he finally signs the contract."

If the move comes off, it could be seen as something of a coup for the
Hammers as Diarra brings experience and has also tasted trophy success,
winning the FA Cup with both Chelsea and Portsmouth and the Spanish title at
Madrid.

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Robin van Persie deserved FA ban for his elbow on James Tomkins, claims Jose
Mourinho
14:20, 10 February 2015 By Adrian Kajumba
Chelsea boss says Manchester United striker should have been punished for
clash with West Ham defender during Sunday's 1-1 draw at Upton Park
The Mirror

Jose Mourinho believes Robin van Persie deserved to be hit with an FA ban -
just like his star striker Diego Costa was. Chelsea boss Mourinho was
stunned Manchester United frontman Van Persie escaped punishment for
catching West Ham defender James Tomkins with a flailing arm in Sunday's 1-1
draw. Mourinho hit out at the inconsistency after seeing Costa receive a
retrospective three-game ban for stamping on Liverpool midfielder Emre Can
last month Referee Mark Clattenburg saw Van Persie's clash with Tomkins and
decided to only award West Ham a free-kick. Mourinho said: "I need a little
bit more time to forget why my player was suspended, to understand why some
people are punished and others aren't. "I need a little bit more time to
process that. I was with (had) lots of attention this weekend.
The same people who suspended my player didn't want to suspend a player this
weekend, and a player could have been suspended this weekend and he wasn't.
"I'm still processing that information."

Mourinho didn't name Van Persie but when asked who he was referring to, the
Blues boss mimicked the Dutchman's action at Upton Park by swinging his arm
in the air. The Special One said: "Somebody who did this in the face of
somebody, and nothing happened. I know that if it was one of mine…" And
Mourinho brought up two more cases from last season to back up his claims of
double standards when it comes to Chelsea and the punishments dished out.
That came after Manchester City's Yaya Toure was let off despite being
caught on camera kicking Norwich's Ricky van Wolfswinkel in another incident
missed by the officials. Mourinho said: "Last season, the same thing
happened when Ramires was suspended but a Man City player kicked a player at
Norwich who was on the floor and nothing happened. I'm used to it."

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West Ham set for multi million windfall
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 10, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

It has just been announced that Premier League TV Rights have been sold for
£5.136 billion for 2016-2019 up from £3.018 billion for the current deal
with Sky and BT. Sky will pay £4.176 billion – £11.04m per game while BT
will pay £960m – £7.6m per game The extra £2.1 billion will be shared by the
20 Premier League clubs meaning each club could receive as much as £33
million per season. Although a formula is yet to be worked out the money
will be divided according to an equal share, facility fees depending on the
number of games shown on TV plus a merit payment based on your final league
position. Last season the Hammers earned £21,631,444 in an equal share,
£11,584,228 in facility fees and £9,888,664 in a merit payment for finishing
13th in UK rights plus another £26,295,817 for overseas rights and
£4,270,850 from commercial rights. The total of £73,671,003 for last season
will be completely blown away by the new TV rights deal and as long as we
can stay in the Premier League for the 2016/2017 in the Olympic Stadium we
could be in line for as much as £150m of TV rights money for that season,
maybe more!

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Landslide could affect fans travel to Hawthorns
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 10, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Following a landslide on the rail route between London and Birmingham,
Chiltern Railways are currently unable to run direct trains from Marylebone
to the West Midlands. Trains are running from London to Banbury, and from
Leamington Spa to the West Midlands. Between Banbury and Leamington Spa a
"step-straight-on" replacement bus operates. Chiltern Railways say they are
aware that this may affect some West Ham fans that are travelling to the
Hawthorns on the 14th February who have already purchased train tickets, and
can provide the following advice below:

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Gold: "Nothing's changed with Sam"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 10, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

David Gold has told Tony Cottee there will be no contract talks with Sam
Allardyce until the end of the season! The former Hammers striker had used
this website to blast the two Davids for not getting a deal sorted out now
claiming the manager has done everything that could have been expected of
him. And he believes the end of season is thew wrong time anyway explaining
that it creates a climate of uncertainty throughout the club. But speaking
exclsuively to ClaretandHugh, the co chairman said: "It's the way we do our
business – it's the way things work with us and nothing will change.
"Whether we are top of the league or bottom we talk at the end of the
season. It's very simple and very straightforward and that's how it will be
again. "Sam Allardyce's west Ham future will be sorted out when the campaign
comes to an end – that's the top and bottom of it."

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Cottee blast for owners over Allardyce
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 10, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Tony Cottee has delivered an icy "what are you waiting for" blast at the two
Davids following Sam Allardyce's admission that there has been no contract
offer to him yet! Asked in his morning presser whether there had been any
discussions Allardyce said: "Not yet. There's still a way to go but we'll
talk when the time is right." And Cottee -talking exclusively to
ClaretandHugh admitted: "I don't get it – what are the owners waiting for?
They are playing Russian roulette with the club. "It's not what's right for
them, Karren Brady, Sam Allardyce or anyone else but what's best for West
Ham United. "I really don't know what else Sam and Neil McDonald have to do
to get a new deal. They have done everything required and this idea that the
owners only do business at the end of the season is wrong. "There are
pre-season tours to be organised and why would Sam be interested if he isn't
sure whether he will be here.
"The fact is he is standing there with a fantastic record and nobody has
made a move in his direction – I just don't get it because there are plenty
of clubs who will want Sam Allardyce . "He keeps teams in the division and
it's desperately important we stay up next season and the one after that as
our first in the new stadium. The owners need to get the deal done."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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