Daily WHUFC News - 12th March 2015

Kouyate scoops awards double
WHUFC.com

Cheikhou Kouyate has scooped a West Ham United awards double after taking
the whufc.com fan vote for Player and Goal of the Month for February. The
Senegal international enjoyed an outstanding month, scoring against both
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as filling in at centre
half in the draws with the Red Devils and Southampton. His performances have
been recognised by West Ham fans, with Kouyate polling a huge 71% of the
vote for Player of the Month, beating Aaron Cresswell (16%) in to second and
Mark Noble (6%) into third.

For Goal of the Month, Kouyate's stunning strike against Manchester United,
when he controlled the ball, before juggling and finishing on the turn, won
the vote by an even bigger margin, taking 80% of the poll. Kouyate also took
second place for his towering header at Tottenham, which polled 8% of the
vote. Enner Valencia's strike from the edge of the box against Crystal
Palace was third with 5%.

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From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com

Winston Reid suffered a minor Grade 1 hamstring strain in the home game
against Chelsea on 4 March. Winston has been rehabbing well and will return
to training next week.

Carlton Cole suffered a Grade 2 hamstring injury at Tottenham Hotspur on 22
February. He has rehabbed well and will also return to training next week.

Andy Carroll is progressing very well following the reconstructive surgery
he underwent after sustaining a medial knee ligament injury at Southampton
on 11 February. For the first two weeks his knee was not weight-bearing, and
for next two weeks it is partially weight-bearing, which means he is still
on crutches and cannot walk normally. However, he is progressing very well.
The knee is not swollen and we are on schedule. Next Tuesday, 17 March, he
will start walking normally and we will increase his rehabilitation
programme.

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Former Player Blog - Jack Collison
WHUFC.com

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well and enjoying what has been a good season overall for
West Ham United. As many of you will know, I spent the opening half of the
season with Ipswich Town, but at present I am not with a club and am working
to get myself fit for the start of next season. West Ham have been good
enough to allow me to work at Chadwell Heath and it's been nice to see so
many familiar and friendly faces again.

It's been a bit of a tricky one but I feel I'm at the stage of my career
where I need to think about my body. I had a few offers to get back into
playing between now and the end of the season, but I have decided to take a
step back and work with some people who I know and trust and get myself
right.

One of those people is Taka Yamamoto, a therapist who I know well from my
time with West Ham. I've been working closely with him and I'm looking to
come back somewhere in pre-season and get back to playing and enjoying my
football again. I'm not finished just yet! I could have been playing now,
but I'd have been fighting an uphill battle again and putting myself at
risk. I'm now experienced and self-disciplined enough to say 'No' and do
what is right for me, my body and my career in the long-term. I've been
keeping myself really busy, writing a book about my experiences of becoming
a footballer, setting up my own Jack Collison Soccer Schools and studying
for a degree in Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University.
I've also got a two-year-old daughter running about at home, too!

Everyone knows I've had my fair share of injuries over the years, but it's
been great to get my teeth into setting up my own Soccer Schools – something
I am really passionate about. We started in Bedfordshire during the February
half-term and had some really good reviews. Now we're looking to expand and,
with my link with West Ham, we're hoping to come over to the Essex area and
train up a few future Hammers! It has been nice to get my teeth into
something I am really passionate about that I want to make it good for the
kids and give something back.

I have set it up with my friend Russell Short, who I played with at
Cambridge United as a youngster and who is now a player-coach with Bury
Town. We've been working hand in hand with a good set of coaches, including
former West Ham player David Blackmore who has been training up the
goalkeepers.

I've really enjoyed it. I remember attending soccer schools as a kid myself
and it's nice to be in the position to offer them proper coaching. If we can
unearth one or two players along the way for a club like West Ham, Cambridge
or Peterborough United, then all the better.

There is so much energy at the Soccer Schools that I've probably taken more
enjoyment from them than I have from playing football over the last couple
of seasons.

If you are interested, please visit jackcollisonsoccerschool.com or follow
us on Twitter @ jcsoccerschool

I am still in contact with a lot of the lads at West Ham and the boys had a
great start to the season, with the new signings settling in really quickly
and having a massive impact. You don't often see that. Sakho and Valencia
have been different gear and if Aaron Cresswell keeps playing the way he has
been then I don't think he is too far from an England call-up. The
consistent performers like Tonks and Nobes have been doing it week-in
week-out again and have been rewarded with long-term contracts, which is
fantastic news for the Club moving into the Olympic Stadium.

It's a bit of a dry patch at the moment, but I'm sure it'll pick up and
there is no better place to start than at Arsenal in a London derby. The
boys have been away warm-weather training and I'm sure they will be raring
to go on Saturday. I made my debut at the Emirates and then scored a bit of
a worldy there two seasons ago, when we ended up getting spanked 5-1! I had
mixed feelings that night, for sure.

It will be nice to get back out there playing myself next season, so watch
this space!

Jack

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From the Academy
WHUFc.com

Hello everyone,

While the first team have been away in Dubai on a warm-weather training camp
during a break in the fixture list, it has been a busy time at the Academy.

The Development Squad travelled to Sunderland in the Barclays U21 Premier
League on Monday evening, but unfortunately were beaten 3-0 by a strong home
side.

They have seven league games remaining and we will continue to blood young
players and give them experience of Development Squad football as the season
approaches its conclusion.

With the first team away, we were able to use the facilities at Chadwell
Heath during the early part of the week. It was really pleasing to be able
to come to Chadwell and to work with one or two of the first-team players
who did not travel and combine that with training with the younger players.

It was great to see a player of Alex Song's experience working with players
like 15-year-old Vashon Neufville, the England Under-16 left-back. That can
only help everybody.

Alex said some nice things about the sessions we put on and how they have
helped him to raise his fitness levels. He and the other seniors who joined
us gave 100 per cent at all times and that's the really important thing from
a coaching point of view. They've had four hard days, on Wednesday they are
having a day off and then the senior players are back on Thursday.

Alex was helping the young players through the session but also demanding a
lot of them, which is what we wanted. He wants to improve his fitness and
hopefully we have helped him with that. I can only praise his attitude and
speak highly about him when the first team staff get back.

From the youngsters' point of view, they can only dream or think about
playing with a player who has played at Arsenal and Barcelona. To share a
pitch with someone like that is great for everyone. It's great for all of
them who were out there. You can only learn from experiences like that.

The senior players took it seriously which is great. We often integrate the
squads to help the first team as and when it is necessary, but the last few
days gave the whole squad a chance to train alongside senior professionals.
The Development Squad's home match with Manchester City on Friday has been
postponed, but the Under-18s return to action on Saturday morning, when they
host Brighton & Hove Albion in their first Play-Off round fixture.

We've tried to do two things with the U18s this season. We want to be
competitive and we were only two points off finishing in the top four. The
horrible 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City in February was the one game that
we should have won. We dictated the game, missed opportunities and we should
have won and that would have put us in the top four.

However, we are in the middle group with Liverpool, Wolves, Derby and
Sunderland too, which should be good fixtures.

We also need to remember that we have had more U16s play for the U18s than
ever before, as well as a high number of schoolboys playing for the U21s.
The boy Joe Powell played again on Monday night. Fast-tracking players and
really testing them will be the aim for the seven games coming up.

On Saturday we've got Brighton at Rush Green and I see Vashon, Powell and
Declan Rice starting, along with some of the older players to give us some
stability. We'd like to finish strong and do well. I'm intrigued by the
young players about how well they've done, and I've said from day one that
we have some talented players here.

I saw our younger teams play Chelsea across a range of age-groups and we
were competitive. We were up against one of the best Academies in the
country and we matched them.

Come July, when it will have been a year since I joined, everyone will know
what we want to achieve and how to go about doing it.

Finally, while the first team may have just returned from the United Arab
Emirates, we are sending an U17 squad to the Hazza Bin Zayed International
Tournament in Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, at the end of March.

These tournaments help massively with player development. If you do not play
international football, and a lot of players do not, then you do not have
many opportunities to play against foreign players.

You could make your first team debut against Sergio Aguero, for example, so
it is important our players have previous experience of that and know to
handle all the different types of players.

Our various age-groups will be part of ten tours in total – this is a big
club and we've been welcomed by some of the tournaments. The first one is in
Dubai in a few weeks and it should be a great experience for everyone
involved, but with a purpose.

In the meantime, we look forward to another busy weekend for West Ham
United.

Terry Westley
Academy Manager

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Alex Song feels West Ham can beat Arsenal on Sunday
Last Updated: 11/03/15 5:02pm
SSN

Alex Song believes West Ham can follow Monaco's example and beat his former
club Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The Hammers head across
London looking to kickstart their Barclays Premier League campaign, having
slipped to 10th place after no wins in their last six games. And despite
Arsenal's run of seven straight home victories in the league, Song believes
West Ham can repeat Monaco's performance after the French side stunned the
Gunners with a 3-1 Champions League victory last month. "I know this stadium
very well and I know when you play with Arsenal it's very hard, but I think
Monaco is how you want to play when you play in the Emirates," Song told
West Ham's website. "The best thing to do is to try to be together, defend
together very well and when you have the opportunity to go on the counter
attack, you have to do it very well like Monaco did it. If you want to go to
the Emirates and try to play you will not have any chance to win the game
there because this stadium is very hard to play in. "You have to stay
together very compact and not give them any room, then take the opportunity
on the counter attack. "If we do this very well like Monaco did, then we can
get a good result there."

Arsenal have climbed back into the top four and are into the FA Cup
semi-finals after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday night.
But the Cameroon midfielder, who is on loan from Barcelona until the end of
the season, feels the Hammers can raise their game against Arsene Wenger's
side. "We have shown a lot of things this season as a team, especially when
we play against teams at the highest level like Manchester City and
Liverpool or Tottenham," he said. "We've done very well and we need to
continue to improve in this way."

Song stayed in London this week to work on his fitness ahead of the game
while the rest of the squad were at a warm-weather camp in Dubai.

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Song tunes up for Gooners clash…and a deal!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 11, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Alex Song is on a mission as he bids to impress his 'temporary' West Ham
paymasters and any who may be watching! On Saturday afternoon he returns to
Arsenal – the club he once considered "his family" – always assuming that
boss Sam Allardyce is ready to take a chance on his current deeply
disappointing form lines. In Cheltenham terms, Song has not been at the
races since Christmas with some of his harsher critics claiming that it was
his twin who returned from Africa in January! The early season talk of him
being a 'must have' player this season whilst Liverpool weighed up the
Barcelona loanee is no longer a subject of discussion in decent company
given his recent displays.

But today he emerged from a long silence to declare that because of a lack
of a proper pre-season he had stayed in England to do high intensity
training whilst most of the squad were in Dubai. He explained that he
desperately wants to make an impact back at the club he joined at 17 on
Saturday which is entirely understandable. It's hardly gone unnoticed that
the team's form has dipped at precisely the time Song's game went off the
boil and Saturday afternoon will be a key 90 minutes for him and the team. A
big performance could see us squeeze something from one of the toughest
fixtures of the season and prove again that he is the 'must have' player we
imagined him to be before Christmas.

Come on Alex. Play the right tune and all thins are possible again.

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Hammers to offer midfielder new deal
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 11, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Morgan Amalfitano is set to be offered a two year deal in the a summer as
the Hammers continue to secure their current squad before moving into the
transfer market.

The Frenchman will be offered a deal which takes his weekly wage from around
£20k a week to £30k after impressing on his appearances this season.

Sources inside the club have told ClaretandHugh: "Morgan is one of those we
want to keep and we are working on a deal to put in front of him.

"He certainly hasn't let himself down and is proving to be a player who can
make his presence felt.

"We have clinched the signatures of Winston Reid, Mark Noble and James
Tomkins which has made it a great late season.

"It's important that we clinch as many as we can among the current squad
before we move the strengthening in the summer market."

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Hammers look to hatch Jarvis deal
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 11, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham are ready to let Matt Jarvis go out on loan next season and will
pay up to a third of his wages to help make it happen if necessary. Thus far
there has been no interest in the £9 million record signing who signed a
five year Upton Park deal in 2012 when signing from Wolves. There have been
bits and pieces of loan interest from the likes of West Brom but the Hammers
are hoping that his £30k a week wages will be within the reach of interested
clubs this summer with the Irons paying up to £10k. A source explained: "If
a club comes in we will look at it and if the numbers are right then a deal
can be done. Matt has two years left on his contract and needs regular
football.."

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Midfielder to join Irons on a free
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 11, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Lassana Diarra will be free of the financial wrangle that has held up his
move from Lokomotiv Moscow this summer and will join the Hammers as a free
signing. Amid reports that the former Arsenal, Chelsea, Portsmouth and Real
Madrid midfielder is training at Chadwell Heath, ClaretandHugh can reveal
that the player can put all his problems behind him in June. A row between
Diarra and Lokomotiv has been rumbling on for months but with the player
entering the last year of his contract he is free to move on under a Fifa
rule.

Inter Milan and Celtic's negotiations faltered as a result of the impasse
between the player and his club but with the Hammers having provided
extensive training facilities since showing their hand a deal is very much
on for the 30 year old.

A source close to the player had told ClaretandHugh earlier: "Neither Inter
or Celtic could make the deal happen because of the financial thing but
there's a Fifa rule that a player can walk away in the last season of his
contract but in Lass' case that is from this summer."

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Moyes fits Irons bill on many fronts
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 11, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

David Moyes – with just over a year left on his Real Sociedad contract – is
emerging as a clear favourite to replace Sam Allardyce should the club
decide to part company with the current boss.

The Scot's profile fits the Hammers requirements on most fronts although
neither Marseilles coach Marcelo Bielsa or Slaven Bilic has been ruled out.

However, the two Davids have shown a preference for British bosses since
they arrived in ownership at Birmingham City and Moyes was a target last
summer.

ClaretandHugh's regular sources were reluctant to comment when asked
directly by us this morning but it became clear that the former Everton and
Manchester United manager is on their minds.

Although reported keen to continue his work in developing Vallecano, Moyes
may find it difficult to resist the opportunity of overseeing the last
Boleyn season ahead of the move to our showpiece Olympic Stadium.

And with only just over a year left on his contract the Hammers would only
pay a minimal amount in compensation to the Spanish outfit!

And the Hammers have another big edge with Moyes having worked with the
board's head of recruitment Tony Henry at Everton. Henry of course reports
solely to David Sullivan.

Our source said: "The scenario is interesting but the season still has to
play itself out. Much will depend on our finish and who the alternatives are
should we decide to make a change. Obviously experience of the English
Leagues is a factor."

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