Daily WHUFC News - 26th February 2015

Police investigate offensive chanting by Tottenham supporters
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 25th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

Tottenham Hotspur could face a Police probe after it was revealed that
offensive chants aimed at West Ham supporters during Sunday's derby at White
Hart Lane are being investigated by the FA. Both the Police and the FA have
been informed of the offensive chanting - which included references to
"pikeys", a derogatory term for members of the travelling community - by
Kick It Out, football's equality and inclusion organisation. And the north
London club now face a potential fine after their supporters were filmed -
by their own fans, no less - singing songs with racist overtones at visiting
supporters. Spurs supporters are no strangers to being caught participating
in songs featuring offensive lyrics. In 2008 they were accused of racist
chanting when referring to the father of African striker Emmanuel Adebayor -
who ironically now plays for Tottenham - as an "elephant washer" and his
mother as "a whore". And for several years, references to West Ham
supporters as "pikeys" - an offensive reference to Roma, Gypsies and
Travellers - have been heard on the terraces at White Hart Lane and whenever
they have visited the Boleyn Ground. West Ham fans are also being
investigated as a result of Sunday's game for referring to Spurs striker
Harry Kane as a "mong" - a derogatory term for someone with Downs Syndrome.
Meanwhile a video purporting to feature a group of West Ham fans singing an
offensive chant on a tube at some stage on Sunday has been dismissed as
potentially fraudulent, despite featuring in most of the national newspapers
since.

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Sullivan sympathises with fans who confronted his father
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 25th February 2015
By: Staff Writer

The son of co-owner David Sullivan has expressed sympathy for the supporters
who accosted his father following West Ham United's recent FA Cup exit at
West Brom.

18-year-old Dave Sullivan, the Chairman's eldest son was not present when
his father was besieged by enraged fans after West Ham were unexpectedly
thrashed 4-0 by Albion on Valentine's Day, as he was leaving for a short
holiday with younger brother Jack.

The appalling scenes - which saw the club's co-owner surrounded by a small
but vocal group of furious supporters demanding the dismissal of manager Sam
Allardyce - were posted for the world to see on You Tube a matter of hours
after the game had ended.

But despite the fact that his father was clearly shaken by the incident
Sullivan Jnr admitted he empathised with the fans who confronted his dad,
some of whom had spent hours stuck in traffic jams travelling to the West
Midlands - only to see the team fail to arrive.

"It sounds weird, but you can see why they're annoyed," said Sullivan,
talking exclusively on the latest episode of the KUMB West Ham Podcast. "But
it's not the right way to react.

"The thing is, me and Jack would have been there if we hadn't been going
away. It's the first away game we've missed so we were very lucky we weren't
there, but it does happen. You can see in some games there's a bit of
tension - and you don't get security at every club.

"At West Brom, Dad had to walk past the station where you had a lot of angry
West Ham fans going home. He had to walk past - and it's inviting trouble.
There was nowhere else for him to go, so he had to walk past it.

"He's a fan. He's as upset as everyone else. He was going to see his mum,
who's ill in hospital, so it's not like he was just leaving early. He was
upset, but there's a certain feeling of sympathy with the fans who are
angry. But that's not the way to react."

Sullivan, who spoke at length on the Podcast about his experiences at the
club since Sullivan Snr and co-owner David Gold gained control in 2010, was
happy to quash concerns regarding any lasting effects on his father.

"He's fine. You haven't got to worry, he's alright!" he laughed, before
adopting a more serious tone. "It's not right, but for some reason football
does have that effect on some people. You've just got to deal with it,
because it's going to happen to varying degrees."

However he admitted that scenes such as those witnessed outside the
Hawthorns can take their toll - with Sullivan Snr having considered his own
future as the club's owner at times, if only momentarily. "If you've got
people screaming at you, that's always going to happen," he said.

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REMEMBER DYLAN TOMBIDES ON 38 MINUTES
By Sean Whetstone 25 Feb 2015 at 14:09
West Ham till I Die

Hammer Dylan Tombides, who tragically passed away in April 2014, will be
remembered this weekend when the DT38 Foundation is launched at West Ham's
game with Crystal Palace. West Ham made a touching tribute of retiring his
No.38 jersey last year.

Dylan was robbed of a future that he dreamed of as a young boy. It robbed
Taylor of a brother and it robbed my husband and I of watching our beautiful
son grow and fulfil his dreams. Please do not let this happen to your son,
brother, friend or father," writes Tracy Tombides on the DT38 Foundation
website.

DT38 is a foundation which aims to "change the way testicular cancer is
diagnosed". The disease is the most common cancer for men between the ages
of 15 and 40, and the foundation hopes to raise awareness as well as educate
to help prevent the disease. The club will be putting a picture of Dylan up
on the big screens at 38 minutes and it would be fitting way to remember
Dylan if all home and away fans joined in one minute applause.

Dylan's mother Tracy Tombides details his final years on the foundation
website from joining West Ham in 2008 to his untimely death in 2014.

"In 2008, Dylan joined West Ham United and he flourished. He scored many
goals in the Under 16s and quickly found himself playing in the Under 18s,
the reserves, and finally in and around the first team. Dylan proudly spent
his 17th birthday with the first team in Portugal where he won the crossbar
challenge and made a commercial. He returned to England and continued to
shine.

In April 2011, at the age of 17, Dylan found a lump in his testicle. He
didn't say anything straight away because he felt no pain or discomfort. He
was playing so much football that when he did start to feel pain he put it
down to all his exercise. When the discomfort became a little more
consistent Dylan visited his General Practitioner. His GP informed Dylan
that he had a cyst and that there was nothing to worry about as many people
live with cysts. So Dylan continued on with his feeling of being on top of
the world – by firstly finishing the Barclays Premier League season on the
bench against Sunderland on 22 May. and He then travelled to Australia four
days later to join up with his Aussie teammates to prepare for the Under-17
World Cup in Mexico."

While in Mexico, Dylan caught the eye of Nike and he was offered a five-year
contract. However, following the last game of the tournament for Australia,
Dylan had a random drugs test and the results came back positive for a
tumour. Dylan was finally diagnosed with testicular cancer – three months
after his initial GP consultation. Dylan fought very hard to maintain his
fitness and strength while going through chemotherapy. He amazed everyone
with his determination and his constant smile and banter. He once described
himself as the happiest kid with cancer, but his cancer would not go
away.Every time Dylan had treatment, the tumour would return within
six-eight weeks. It returned stronger and more resilient than before."

In January 2012, he had RPLND (Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection)
surgery to remove his lymph nodes, but by June his cancer returned.
Amid Dylan's brave battle came his brightest day, his senior West Ham United
debut on 25 September 2012. Dylan replaced Gary O'Neil in the 84th minute of
a third round Capital One Cup tie with Wigan Athletic. Though the Hammers
lost 4-1, it was a moment that Dylan would never forget. The culmination of
a life-time's determination and desire, a dream come true.In December 2012,
Dylan had high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant twice within eight
weeks."

"In March 2013, Dylan was preparing for the Under-20 World Cup and his
cancer resurfaced in his liver and he had to have his liver resected and was
out for the next three months.During this time Dylan went into the Club
every day and worked on his banter, snooker and the exercise bike. He
continued to do mild exercise until he was allowed to do more physical
training.Dylan had a couple of minor procedures throughout July – October
and in November 2013 Dylan's cancer returned again. He was determined to
have his three-week course of Chemotherapy and be fit for the Under-22
tournament in Oman in January 2014. Dylan completed his course of
chemotherapy and played for Australia in January just three weeks later. But
by the time he returned he was informed the cancer had not responded to the
treatment and the doctors said that they could no longer offer Dylan a cure.
Dylan travelled to Germany where they offered hope and treatments not
available in the UK. Dylan stayed strong throughout his next phase of
treatment but Dylan's cancer was rare and he had had so much chemotherapy
that they were worried that his organs would fail.

"On 18 April 2014, Dylan's organs failed and we said goodbye to our beloved
son and brother. His West Ham family thought so highly of him they retired
his number 38 shirt. It breaks our heart to think that this could have been
prevented. If we had known about testicular cancer and what we needed to do
to catch it early, we would have insisted on an ultra sound when we went to
the GP. Dylan was robbed of a future that he dreamed of as a young boy. It
robbed Taylor of a brother and it robbed my husband and I of watching our
beautiful son grow and fulfil his dreams. Please do not let this happen to
your son, brother, friend or father."

"If you have a concern with your testicles please see a doctor straight away
and insist on an ultrasound – it may just save your life
We miss you so much Dylan. You have left a void that no one can fill.Tracy
Tombides"

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ZERO TOLERANCE IS BUT ONE HALF OF THE EQUATION!
By S J Chandos 25 Feb 2015 at 08:00
West Ham till I Die

It is regrettable that the club is once again the focus of controversy in
the aftermath of a match at White Hart Lane. There have been various reports
that a group of Hammers supporters were recorded (by public spirited Spurs
fans!) singing anti-Semitic songs, on public transport, whilst travelling to
last Sunday's match. Moreover, TV pundit, Kevin Kilbane (even though he was
not present at WHL and did not personally witness the alleged behaviour),
has formally reported alleged chants made by a section of the West Ham
support that have been interpreted as mocking disabled people. And the FA,
urged by groups such as Kick it Out, are said to be taking swift action to
investigate the claims. We await the outcome of those investigations and, if
proven, it is only right that appropriate action is taken.

At the same time, video evidence of the Spurs support singing songs
referring to Hammers supporters as 'pikeys,' (a similarly discriminatory and
offensive term) have so far received less media and official attention. That
is disappointing, because Kick it Out and the FA must be seen to be even
handed in investigating all incidents of discriminatory conduct, whatever
its origins. So far, West Ham's official position has been that any Hammers
fans found guility of such conduct will be banned from Upton Park. That is
the correct position to adopt, but zero tolerance is arguably but one half
of this particular equation

In November 2012, there was there incidents of anti-Semitic chanting in the
3-1 defeat at White Hart Lane. The club's initial response was swift and
extremely positive. It both adopted a zero tolerance position (which remains
in place today) and began a number of anti-discrimination and inclusion
initiatives that gave leadership and set a strong example for all
supporters. This included the club's high profile public support for a
number of equalities campaigns, being the first club in the country to
commemorate Holocaust Memorial Month in January 2013 and developing some
promising grass root equalities activities via the club's community Trust.
Indeed, West Ham deserved real praise for the strength of its response and
the initial work that was undertaken, with strong leadership being supplied
from the very top of the club.

Unfortunately, after that initial phase of positive activity, the club
appeared (for whatever reason) to take its foot off the accelerator. Perhaps
the club felt that it had done sufficient on the
inclusion/anti-discrimination agenda to address the issues? Maybe I am
wrong, but the turning point seemed to be the very public (captured on
U-Tube) incident involving hostility towards Muslim fans at a match vs
Manchester City and later fan criticism of discounted ticket schemes for
excluded groups. Certain elements raised a fuss and the club seemed to back
off. At least that is the way that it appeared to me. Subsequently, as part
of this trend, it was noticeable that the flag ship Holocaust Memorial
annual event at the ground was quietly dropped this season.

In the summer of 2013, far from backing off, I argued that the club needed
to continue to systematically build on its good work. What was needed, in my
view, was a joint Club-Community Trust led equalities initiative that
promoted grass root work with youngsters and, indeed, the wider fan base. A
proactive 'West Ham Together' campaign modelled on the hugely successful
initiative piloted by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Such a campaign would
have brought all of its separate equalities initiatives together and
provided a standing vehicle to organise and deliver an ongoing programme of
engagement with the fan base. It would have disseminated the view of West
Ham Utd as an inclusive organisation, with a valued diverse and
international fan base. And the key message would be that all fans proudly
support the club, regardless of diverse origins or identity/background, and
it is a factor that unites us all. Within that, it would be a positive
lesson to visually underline the true richness and diversity that exists
within our fan base via a colteral advertising/publicity campaign.

The probability is that discriminatory and reactionary elements will always
be part of any large fan base. The objective, however, is to maintain
positive social values at the mainstream of the club's ethos/ethics and, in
doing so, unite the vast majority of decent supporters around those shared
progressive values. That way, you effectively side line the reactionaries
and ensure that they are marginal and non-representative. A 'West Ham
Together' type initiative would provide the means to do this, in an ongoing
fashion. Because the thing with successful equalities strategies is that
they are invariably long-term projects that are led at all levels of the
organisation, mainstreamed, reach/empower key stakeholders and are
continuously/corporately driven forward.

Zero tolerance positions are right and proper, but they are but half of the
equation. It should be accompanied by a programme of grass root engagement
work to 'win hearts and minds' and help set the mainstream values of the
club's support to a progressive default. In this way, you can proactively
work to ensure that discriminatory incidents are less likely to occur, in
the first place, and when they do they are widely seen as the actions of an
unrepresentative fringe. Indeed, an ultimate objective should be to create a
climate in which fans feel confident to report and, to a degree, self-police
by challenging all such behaviour and making clear to transgressors that it
is unacceptable. As well as encouraging many more fan based interventions
like the excellent West Ham video response to the Paris train incident.
Proactive work with fans groups can surely harness more of that type of fan
led initiative that utilise humour to challenge discrimination and
positively influence other fans. Thus, ensuring a multi-faceted approach
that enlists the skills and initiative of fans/fan groups themselves in
support of that which we wish to achieve.

The club has adopted the strapline 'Moore than a football club.' Well it was
never more true than within this context. The club has enormous influence
and can give inspiring community leadership. Hopefully, the club will
respond to this latest episode in the right way. The aim should be to
transform West Ham Utd FC in to a model football club in all matters
pertaining to equalities and inclusion. It is possible to achieve and,
what's more, it is essential in support of the club's core business
objectives pertaining the move to the Olympic Stadium and delivering the
Olympic legacy in East London.

Even if the social justice argument for equalities/inclusion action does not
convince everyone at the club, the business case should!

SJ. Chandos.

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est Ham tracking young Ghanaian sensation Bernard Mensah after impressive
season in Portugal
18:41, 25 February 2015 By John Cross
Mensah has scored four times in 20 appearances for Premeira Liga side
Vitoria De Guimaraes, sparking interest from a host of European teams
The Mirror

West Ham are tracking Ghanian midfielder Bernard Mensah. The 20-year-old
midfielder is currently at Portuguese club Vitoria De Guimaraes who have
also had interest from Juventus in a part-ownership deal. West Ham scouts
have been looking at Mensah in the past couple of months and may make a move
in the summer. Mensah has played 20 games in the Primeira Liga so far this
season, finding the net on four different occasions, including a striker
against Porto in September. He signed a deal with Vitoria until 2018
following an impressive season with the club's 'B' team last season, which
saw him promoted to the senior ranks.

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38th minute applause in memory of Dylan
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 25, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

ClaretandHugh is today calling on all followers/readers to join a 38th
minute round of applause on Saturday afternoon for Dylan Tombides who
tragically passed away in April last year. He is to be especially remembered
when the DT38 Foundation is launched at West Ham's Premier League clash with
Crystal Palace where his family will be in attendance. A picture of Dylan up
on the big screens at 38 minutes when the Upton Park crowd are urged to
remember one of the finest prospects – and young men – to emerge from the
club in years.

Tracy Tombides – writing on the DT38 Foundation website – said: "Dylan was
robbed of a future that he dreamed of as a young boy.
"It robbed Taylor of a brother and it robbed my husband and I of watching
our beautiful son grow and fulfil his dreams. Please do not let this happen
to your son, brother, friend or father."

CANDH AGAIN URGES YOU TO REMEMBER THIS FINE YOUNG MAN ON 38 MINUTES!

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Lampard's ghastly Mooro/Terry comparison
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 25, 2015 in Whispers
Claret 7 Hugh

Sorry everybody – I just can't let this pass!

Here's what Frank Lampard has had to say about the great Mooro and his
personal bestie John Terry. "It's not easy to compare to Bobby Moore but in
terms of the ability that they have on the football field I think the
closest you could get would be John Terry in the modern day. "He'd [Moore]
take a moment and kick a ball about like I always used to do with my Dad at
the time. I remember stories from my Dad telling me 'this is the type of
player you want to be, but also more than that this is the type of man you
want to be'."

I think the clue is in his Dad's words: "the type of man you want to be'." I
won't go into details because we all know enough about Mooro's lifestyle and
Terry's to merely say: "Shut up Frank and talk about things of which you
actually have some knowledge because you were far too young to ever watch
the great man."

For the record Lampard was born in 1978 and Mooro played his last league
game in 1977 – enough said!
Disgraceful comparison which makes Lampard a laughing stock!

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Hammers: The missing top six link
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 25, 2015 in Whispers
Claret 7 Hugh
By Rich Sprent

The last three league games have highlighted a multitude of unreported
issues! Yes we've all read about poor refereeing decisions, manager
decisions, substitutions, Sam out/Sam in, next manager, injuries, singing,
diving and late, late leads thrown away. However, the real story, as ever,
is the team.

Look at the table and it clearly shows that West Ham currently sits in
eighth place in the Premier League. The team is only a couple of wins away
from challenging for a European place. The last three league results have
been draws against the 4th, 5th and 6th place teams.

Many would have taken eighth place at this stage before the season started.
There is no doubt that the team has progressed fantastically from the mess
of the last relegation.

Coupled with the club's shrewd running and with such a low wage to turnover
rate, it makes it even more of an achievement. With our best XI on the pitch
it requires just a little more to push on and actively be a force in the top
six places.

Whether that best XI is deployed in a diamond or a more counter attacking
4-5-1, the team have shown that they are more than a match for the teams
above them. The squad is however creaking with a lack of midfielders.

The bench on Sunday had just Kevin Nolan representing the engine room. Diego
Poyet has had a calf strain and is only recently back in training. He has
not been entrusted in the first team squad as yet.

Morgan Amalfitano still has two games to sit out after his petulance at The
Hawthorns. If the three were blended then we'd have the answer. All three
however just don't make the grade… yet. For Poyet, there is time to develop.
If he does then he will save the club a lot of searching and money.

The defenders are all back in town; Nene is in to cover Carroll and Cole.
But why did we not have a plan B for Darren Fletcher failing his
medical/deal …cancelled by the board….chose a better deal at Smethwick ?

The arguments for not signing Fletcher were there for all to see. And yet,
with no fee involved he could easily have been the difference in turning the
last three draws into wins.

Song, Noble and Kouyate work so well together. Song: always available, on
the ball, creating space. In effect, he is class. Noble: endeavour,
enthusiasm, work rate and an excellent pass completion rate.

He's the heartbeat of the Irons but for him to raise himself to the level
above he requires a better player next to him. Kouyate: breaking play up and
then making those runs into the opposition box. He compliments the whole
team so well. He is always willing and seemingly always there. The three
allow Downing to play with freedom at the tip of the diamond at home and be
that wide threat on the road.

Next season? For me, Song must be retained. He has had his critics for his
performances since the AFCON squad debacle. But this team needs a player of
his class. And for Song to shine he needs players around him to be able to
play as well.

That fourth midfielder is required urgently. To either challenge the current
starters or improve the options off of the bench. Either way, until we can
rely on that fourth midfielder, through a transfer or Poyet stepping up,
then we will struggle to dominate top six sides for 90 minutes and make that
jump to Europe .

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Sam's situation unchanged despite Shearer
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 25, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Sam Allardyce's situation at West Ham remains unchanged despite an attempted
intervention by Alan Shearer. The former England striker believes the Irons
will be making a big mistake if they get rid of Sam Allardyce in the summer.
Writing in the Sun he says: "It now looks increasingly likely Sam Allardyce
will not have his contract renewed but West Ham fans need to be careful what
they wish for. "There are not many teams Big Sam has left that have gone on
to bigger and better things — just look at the state of Bolton, Newcastle
and Blackburn. Hammers fans need reminding the grass is not always greener."
However, it no seems that the 60 year old's chances of remaining in charge
are receding with a source saying: "The situation remains unchanged as far
as I know. The reports that the club are putting a list of candidates
together remain correct."

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Boleyn Ground flats plan in doubt
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 25, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales has hit out at Galliard homes plans to build
838 apartments on the former home of West Ham United. "This initial offer
from Galliard Homes is insulting, the developers need to drastically rethink
this ridiculous offer and ensure it offers a good mixture of tenures
including social, affordable and intermediate rents." Sir Robin told the
Newham Recorder. The mayor holds a season ticket at West Ham, and has
previously declared 35 gifts from the club over a three year period, mainly
of hospitality. The plans have also been criticised by local action group
Friends of Queen's Market for proposing 332 car parking spaces at a site
expecting more than 2,000 residents. The planning application will go to
Newham council's strategy and development committee, but no date has been
set for a hearing. There is a good chance that Galliard may need to go back
to the drawing board with their plans.

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£9m West Ham flop Savio Nsereko's debut with obscure Bulgarian club hits a
bump
HITC
Mathew Nash

Savio Nsereko is now plying his trade for Beroe Stara Zagora ... well,
maybe. When Gianfranco Zola spent £9 million, according to the Daily Mail,
on 19-year-old German youth international Savio Nsereko in January 2009 he
became the club's record signing. But after just ten games for The Hammers
he failed to score and left for Fiorentina. His time in Florence was also
poor. In that time he was consistently AWOL, out on loan and generally
misbehaving at La Viola. He spent time on loan with Bologna, Juve Stabia and
1860 Munich whilst also sampling football in Bulgaria and Romania with
Chernomerets Burgas and FC Vaslui respectively. He then moved back to
Germany with SpVgg Unterhaching and eventually found himself playing for
Viktoria Koln in German football's fourth tier. It is not only on the pitch
where he has struggled - In 2012 he spent three weeks in a Thai jail after
faking a kidnapping to extort money from a family member, according to
Metro.

At the end of 2013 the West Ham flop was dealt a lifeline from an unlikely
location - Kazakhstan. Nsereko signed for Kazakh Premier League side FC
Atyrau in December 2013 and it proved to be a moderate hit. He scored a
sensational goal on his debut. It was his first goal in professional
football since he netted as a teenager for Brescia, against Pisa, in January
2009! He was player of the month in the Kazakh Premier League back in March
but at the end of the season he did not renew his deal with the club and
went to undergo a trial period at Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala back in
July. That deal never came to fruition and now he is back in Bulgaria, where
things have hit something of a snag. He joined Bulgarian side Beroe Stara
Zagora earlier this month after a successful trial period and made his debut
in the Bulgarian Cup match against Ludogorets Razgrad on the 15th February.
Now it has become clear that he should not have played in that fixture. A
report in Focus-Sport states that Beroe manager Petar Hubchev has confirmed
that he missed the second leg at the weekend, as he is still contracted to
Atyrau. However his Bulgarian adventure is not over yet. Hubchev also
confirmed that he should be signed on in time for the game with Lokomotiv
Plovdiv at the weekend.

Yet another bizarre twist in the career of this former West Ham record
holder, who at 25-years-old, has already done more than most veterans have
in their careers.

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Robert Lipovac 'flattered' after West Ham hand trial to Swedish teenage
striker
The BK Hacken striker will train with West Ham Under 21s this week
Robert Lipovac is 'flattered' according to his agent Linus Jacobsson
Hammers are currently without injured Carlton Cole and Andy Carroll
By SIMON JONES FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:23, 25 February 2015 | UPDATED: 17:23, 25 February 2015

West Ham are giving a trial to Swedish striker Robert Lipovac. The
18-year-old plays for BK Hacken but his club have given him permission to
visit West Ham this week where he is training with the club's U21 squad. His
representative Linus Jacobsson said: 'West Ham sent an official invitation
to Hacken, who thought it was good timing and a good experience for Robert,
so they released him for a week. The Hammers are currently short up front
following injuries to Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole, which could see new
signing Nene fast tracked into action against Crystal Palace. The
33-year-old Brazilian forward arrived last week on a free transfer and
manager Sam Allardyce admits recent injuries have forced his hand in
Saturday's team selection. 'Nene would have probably featured anyway but he
will definitely be involved now because we're down to the two strikers with
Andy Carroll's injury and Carlton Cole's new hamstring problem,' said
Allardyce.

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West Ham Cottee: I want to know if Kane goal should have been allowed
15:08 25 February 2015
London 24

Former West Ham star Tony Cottee questions the validity of Harry Kane's
late, late rebound

I was at White Hart Lane on Sunday with Tony Gale and was all ready to
celebrate what would have been a superb and throughly deserved victory
against our great rivals. Tottenham were not on their game and at 2-0 we
could have added at least one more, before it all went horribly wrong in the
last 10 minutes. You have to say that we were unlucky on the day. I don't
think Adrian did well enough for their first goal, though he has to be
forgiven as he has been so good this season. And then came the penalty and I
would like to make a point about the way they equalised in the last second.
The referee had allowed for five minutes of injury time and when Spurs won
their penalty, which I thought was definitely a spot kick by the way, he had
played six minutes extra. I would like to know how much time had elapsed
when Harry Kane's shot was saved because if time was up, the referee should
have blown for full time, before he had put in the rebound.

Mind you it would have been a brave referee to blow the whistle at that
point. Winston Reid returned to the team on Sunday and I thought he handled
Kane pretty well all afternoon. I think he is the best defender at the club
and he and James Tomkins are the best pair we have. We certainly need him in
the team. James Collins has also been excellent this season and is an
important part of the squad. Sunday saw us drop another two points from a
winning position and it is proving very costly. It is difficult to work out
the reason for it. It could prove very costly, but I still believe that we
are capable of making it into the Europa League this season. The way things
are panning out, finishing seventh could be enough to secure a spot and for
me that means catching Southampton, which we are certainly capable of.

To do that we must start holding on to leads, starting with Saturday's match
against Crystal Palace at Upton Park. Alan Pardew has galvanised Palace
since coming in as manager and I think they will stay up because of him.
They have lost their last two home games, though, and I think it might be a
good time to play them, so I am going for a 2-0 victory to keep us in the
hunt for Europe.

COYI!

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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