Daily WHUFC News - 31st October 2015

Preview - Watford
WHUFC.com

The background

West Ham United travel to Watford on Saturday as they look to continue their seven-match unbeaten run.

The fine form enjoyed by Slaven Bilic's men has seen them rise up to third in the Barclays Premier League table – and if results go the Hammers' way on Saturday they could sit top by 5pm.

West Ham are also defending an unbeaten record on the road, which has seen them win four and draw one of their five away games to date.

Watford are back in the Premier League following their promotion last term and have enjoyed a decent start to life in the top flight again, with 13 points from their opening ten games.

Victory at Stoke City last weekend was their third from the last six matches, with Swansea City and Newcastle United also being stung by the Hornets.

The history

West Ham United enjoy an outstanding record against Watford, having won 40 of the previous 69 meetings.

The Hornets have only defeated West Ham on 17 occasions, with 12 draws being played out by the Clubs.

Of the last 22 league meetings, Watford have only won once, with West Ham taking the spoils 17 times.

The last trip to Vicarage Road was a successful one for the Hammers, as goals from Joey O'Brien, James Tomkins, Scott Parker and Carlton Cole secured a 4-0 victory in the 2011/12 promotion season.

The match

Team news

West Ham United

Slaven Bilic has plenty of options in defence, with all four senior centre halves fit and available for selection after Winston Reid returned to training this week.

Victor Moses is also available again after being ineligible to face his parent club Chelsea last weekend, while Alex Song continues to close in on a comeback from his ankle injury.

Watford

Midfielder Juan Manuel Jurado could return for the Hornets after resuming training this week following a hamstring problem.

However, Joel Ekstrand and Tommie Hoban are out with knee and groin injuries respectively.

Match facts

Saturday's referee is Keith Stroud. He will be assisted by Stephen Child and Derek Eaton, while the fourth official is Craig Pawson.
West Ham are currently enjoying their best start to a top flight season since 1975/76, when they won six and drew three of their opening ten league matches.
No West Ham United player has been involved in more goals in their first ten Premier League appearancess for the club than Dmitri Payet - five goals, three assists
West Ham United are unbeaten in their last 11 league visits to Vicarage Road - 8 wins and 3 draws - last suffering a league defeat away to Watford in April 1985
West Ham United are unbeaten in seven Premier League matches - one short of their record of eight achieved in December 2000 and May 1995
West Ham United's last visit to Watford ended in a 4-0 Championship victory on 16 August 2011 - the Hammers' biggest league win at Vicarage Road
Watford pair Valon Behrami and Alessandro Diamanti played alongside one another for West Ham United in the 2009/10 season
Among those to play for both clubs are Manuel Almunia, Jobi McAnuff, Carl Fletcher, Calum Davenport and David James
Tickets, travel, coverage and other info

Tickets for this fixture have SOLD OUT.
Watford Junction station is around a 15 minute journey from London Euston, and is approximately 20 minutes walk to the ground. Watford High Street station, on the London Overground network, is closer to the stadium. Click here for train information.
Sunny intervals are predicted for kick-off tomorrow, with temperature reaching 14C (57F).
If you're not heading to the game, make sure you stay up to date on our digital channels, which will be bringing you the action at it happens from Vicarage Road. Visit the whufc.com match centre for live audio commentary, in-running stats, pictures and more, while you can join the conversation on social using the hashtag #WATWHU.

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Tactically speaking - Watford
WHUFC.com

Watford have been exactly what any newly-promoted Barclays Premier League side would aspire to be – solid, hard-working and difficult to beat.

In ten Premier League matches since securing promotion as Championship runners-up – new manager Quique Sanchez Flores' first league matches in charge of the Hornets, to boot – Watford have conceded just ten goals and lost just three times.

With 13 points in the bank already, the club which boasts Elton John as honorary life president is already a third of the way down the yellow brick road to safety.

Watford's new rocket man is undoubtedly manager Flores, who has arrived in Hertfordshire with an outstanding pedigree, having won the UEFA Europa League with Atletico Madrid and the Portuguese title with Benfica.

The 50-year-old former Spain international and godson of Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano has instilled a calm confidence that should have been difficult to establish in a club which has a large and cosmopolitan squad of players, many of whom have been with the club for only a short period.

Tactically, Sanchez Flores has set his Watford side up to be compact and resolute, playing with a conservative 4-4-1-1 formation anchored by two deep-lying midfielders.

Up front, Troy Deeney has reverted from Championship goal machine to a more defensively-minded deep striker, who drops into midfield when Watford do not have possession. Deeney and strike partner Odion Ighalo work hard to stop their opponents playing out from the back and into midfield, either pressing their defenders or screening their own central midfielders to close down passing lanes.

Watford's secret weapon this term has been Nigeria striker Ighalo, who has scored five times in ten appearances in the league, using his pace and elusiveness to get in behind and finish.

In midfield, Watford possess pace in the wide areas in Swiss left winger Almen Abdi and Scotland flyer Ikechi Anya, who belts up and down the right flank with great speed and directness. When they are not running at their full-backs, both may also look to lift balls over the top for Ighalo to latch onto.

Ighalo's partnership with Deeney will often see him and his wingers racing onto flick-ons from the big centre forward, or being brought into play if Deeney could hold the ball up himself.

At the back, Watford do not knock the ball around quite as much as some of their more-established Premier League rivals, instead getting it forward quickly towards Deeney.

If they do clear long, it will most likely come from the left foot of Uruguayan Miguel Britos, who will most likely be partnered by former Blackpool man Craig Cathcart – part of the Tangerines squad for the 2012 Championship Play-Off final defeat by the Hammers.

In goal, Brazilian Heurelho Gomes loves to come for high balls and launch his team on the attack as quickly as possible. Gomes' long throws out from his own penalty area will be a regular sight at Vicarage Road, that's for sure.

Possible team: Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Ake, Capoue, Watson, Abdi, Anya, Deeney, Ighalo

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Adrian confident ahead of Watford test
WHUFC.com

Adrian is backing West Ham United to continue their fine run of form when they travel to Watford on Saturday. The Hammers are seven games unbeaten and currently sit third in the Barclays Premier League table after toppling the champions Chelsea last week. Adrian says his team are there on merit and are determined to show that at Vicarage Road. He explained: "We had a great result against a big team last week - the champions of last season - and we have some good momentum. "We deserve the position we are in the table because we are playing well. We are feeling strong on the pitch and we need to keep going like this. "I think the West Ham fans deserved a win like we had against Chelsea, because we have shown great performances away from home, but at Upton Park we hadn't matched that. "So it was great to beat Chelsea like that, for the fans, for the Club and for us. It was really important in a London derby to stay at the top of the table."
West Ham's away form has been outstanding and Adrian says that bodes well for the trip to Watford, where he will come up against another Spaniard in the form of Hornets boss Quique Sanchez Flores. He added: "Away from home we have had great results, four victories and one draw so we want to continue on that line at Watford. We need to show the same performance and stay strong from the start, because there are a new team in the Premier League playing at home. "I don't know the manager personally, but I know him from when I was in La Liga. He is a good manager, who likes to play. They are a strong team, who are organised in defence and play well on the counter attack. "It will be a tough game for us also, but we are in a good moment and want to get the three points. "We want to get this victory, a third in the London derbies, so we need to show the same performance and we have a good chance to get another result away from home."

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From the Boardroom
WHUFC.com

Last weekend's victory against Chelsea was incredible and it will linger in my mind for years to come. Not just the victory but the way the whole event panned out. It had everything. It had controversy and two close calls for Chelsea goals that could have gone either way.

And of course our much discussed centre forward Andy Carroll scored the winner. What we know about Andy that many people don't know is that he has been working hard to get back in the team. He got his chance and how much more Roy of the Rovers could it have been than him coming on and winning the game in the way he did with just ten minutes left. So when I say it had everything, it did, with the winning goal from our record signing to prove he is still a top, top striker.

Whilst I was thrilled to win at Palace, which is not an easy place to go as they were fourth at the time, for me, to win at home against the Premier League champions is just so satisfying. To endorse that I think the fact we had 30,000 fans staying on to applaud the team at the end of the game spoke volumes.

It was one of the best atmospheres we've had at home for a long time and I'd like to pay tribute to our supporters for the role they played in the win.

It's great to see such big smiles on the faces of Hammers fans again. Something we have to remember is that their football club was in serious trouble six or seven years ago.

We managed to stay up that first season but then got relegated and spent a year in the Championship and fans were beginning to think it was the same old West Ham.

Arguably they've been through hell and back but they've been rewarded for their diligence, determination, loyalty and their faith in their football team. At last we've put together a squad of players, it's taken two-three years to do, and it's culminated with Slaven coming to the club and it's all come together.

We now go to Watford on Saturday and although a lot of people are expecting us to win, I don't think we have to concern ourselves about motivation. I can promise you that Slaven will ensure that they are motived because the fans are right behind them, they are third in the table and they are outplaying some very good sides.

We've got players coming back like Alex Song, but with the squad we've got now there are no guaranteed starting places for anyone.

It's a cliché but there are no easy games in the Premier League. There are less difficult games and you'd rather be going to Watford than Man City. But the difference this season to previous years is we go there believing we can win the game. If you go back over the last six years when did fans last go to away games expecting to win? We would win two or three games a season and this year we've already won four.

We're going to Watford, we're third in the table and we've got players coming back. We're stronger today than we were five games ago. Our confidence is high and our optimism is high and that's everybody at the club from the players to the management team. It's great to see the camaraderie with Slaven hugging the players and his staff. It shows his passion that arguably has been lacking.

Finally, I enjoyed seeing the picture doing the rounds on social media this week of us all celebrating Andy Carroll's winner wildly in the Directors' Box.

I think the picture demonstrates the whole tension of the day. As Andy rose to score with a brilliant header time almost moved in slow motion. That was the winning goal and we knew it. Forgive me but I got a little carried away!

Let's hope there are more scenes like that over the coming weeks.

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Ludo's delight for old pal
WHUFC.com

One West Ham United legend has been watching Slaven Bilic's encouraging start as Hammers manager with considerable interest and pride.
Ludek Miklosko played alongside Bilic during the closing months of his Claret and Blue career in 1997, and forged a close friendship with the Croatian. That relationship has endured for nearly 20 years, and Miklosko has rightly been impressed by his old pal's start to life in the Boleyn Ground dugout. "It's unbelievable," said Miklosko, who played 373 times in goal for the Hammers between 1990 and 1997. "Slaven has done a fantastic job beating the teams at the top of the table – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and then Chelsea last weekend. Those were fantastic results. "I was a bit unlucky because I have only been at one match this season and it was the home match with Bournemouth, that we lost, which was not the best performance. "I had a meeting with Slaven after that game and he said he was confident that he had a good team and since then the team has not lost in the league. It's great. "I am keeping in touch with Slaven regularly, calling him and sending him text messages and he knows the team needs to keep their run going."

West Ham go to Watford on Saturday defending a seven-match Barclays Premier League unbeaten run and a near-perfect away record. Following the upcoming international break, Bilic will then head into his first managerial winter in English football – a period that Miklosko knows will test his old friend, his staff and his players. "The difficult time will come at Christmas time, then there are lots of games and the going can get tough with the weather and some injuries. "However, I know Slaven has great experience from his time managing his country, Croatia, and from managing clubs in Russia and Turkey. "He went through a lot with his national team and playing in European competitions and he knows all about football and how to rises to these challenges."

A host of individuals have stood out during West Ham's rise to third in the table, but Miklosko says that the Hammers have relied, and will continue to rely, upon teamwork if they are to maintain their place in the top four. "I never look to single out one player in a team, because it needs the whole team to play well for a team to go on a run like we have been on recently," Miklosko continued. "All the players deserve the praise for the job they have been doing."

So, can West Ham keep it going at Vicarage Road this weekend?

"This Saturday is a big chance to go there and get another win," the 53-year-old concluded. "Sometimes it is not as easy to go to a club like Watford than it is to go to the so-called 'bigger' clubs like Manchester City or Arsenal. "Expectations from the fans will grow with every good result, and that can make it more difficult to get the wins, but I know Slaven will not let the players relax and will continue to do a good job."

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Jack Sullivan Column
WHUFC.com

Jack Sullivan is the youngest son of West Ham United Joint-Chairman David Sullivan and is a huge Hammers fan. Jack will be giving his exclusive views to the official website in a regular column...

Hello everyone,

It has been an unbelievable start to the season and things got even better last weekend when we managed to beat the Premier League champions.

We have got players like Payet, Lanzini and Zarate who have come into the team and we have got so much flair on the pitch. These are exciting players to watch every week.

We have been playing well both home and away and are the second top goalscorers in the Premier League behind Manchester City. It has been a fantastic start.

It was great to see Andy Carroll score the winning goal last weekend and I think it brings a lot of competition into the squad which maybe we didn't have last season.

Having Andy back brings out the best in Sakho because he wants to keep his place in the side.

It takes a lot of pressure off Andy's shoulders getting back on the scoresheet and as Slaven Bilic has said, he has a new training regime so hopefully he will be here for the long-run.

What more can I say about the way Dimitri Payet has settled into the Club. He has been absolutely unbelievable to watch in the opening ten games.

I said to dad when we were interested in buying him that we are never getting him, but we managed to clinch his signature.

His flick against Chelsea last week when he almost set up Lanzini for a goal was amazing and then when he chipped the ball over Willian and fired it across the goal, it was a fantastic piece of skill.

That is just one feature of his game. He scores goals and as we all know, he creates goals.

He is among the top names in the Premier League for creating the most chances this season and I think he helps other players like Lanzini, Sakho and Zarate. They all flourish playing alongside him.

The younger players can only learn from someone like him and I think he lifts team morale.

I have been teaching dad the words to his new song and it was great to see all the fans singing it against Chelsea.

I thought it was a hostile atmosphere at the Boleyn Ground last Saturday and that is something I like. I like the ground to be someone where opposing teams hate to come.

It fires our players up and makes their players feel a bit intimidated. The fans were fantastic and it makes their players feel smaller.

The England manager Roy Hodgson was also at the Chelsea game and I really hope that a few of our players can break into the squad.

You have seen it with Jamie Vardy of Leicester who has scored goals and got into the England set-up.

Maybe sometimes we get overlooked but Tomkins has been very good this season and has become first choice. There is nothing stopping our players getting into the squad.

We have got Cresswell, Jenkinson and of course Andy Carroll. He is someone that England have not got at the moment.

He is a big centre-forward who can do something special when he comes on.

I honestly feel our story has only just begun. Dad and David Gold feel the same. There is nothing that can stop West Ham.

We have always been a sleeping giant and it is time to grab onto that. I can't believe how big the new stadium is and it will be unbelievable.

It will be the same when we bring big players there and show them the facilities. They will want to be a part of it. I hope the fans buy into it and there is nothing stopping West Ham from doing something big.

I wouldn't mind seeing Champions League football at the new Stadium. I have been to Andorra and loved it and would love the chance to go to Barcelona !!!

I hope we can extend our unbeaten seven match run against Watford on Saturday and continue this great start to the season.

I look forward to speaking with you all again soon.

Jack

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Eggleton delighted with unbeaten run
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's Jake Eggleton is relishing the young Hammers match with London rivals Fulham on Saturday 31 October. The U18s are aiming to extend their phenomenal unbeaten run to eight games, which included a run of seven straight wins before drawing 2-2 with Swansea City last time out. Speaking ahead of the London derby, Eggleton said: "There's a great atmosphere among the boys at the moment, everyone is really confident. "We were all very down not to have beaten Swansea last weekend. It was a game we felt we should have won, to have conceded in the last ten seconds was very disappointing. "The games before that, we were very happy with the results."

The youngster is hoping his side will set the record straight come Saturday lunchtime as the Cottagers secured a 3-1 win over their east London neighbours on the opening day of the season. While George Dobson scored on his Hammers' debut yet goals from Aron Davies, Joshua Walker and Ryheem Sheckleford got the Cottager's season off to a strong start. Reflecting on Saturday's opposition, the talented right-back continued: "We played Fulham in the first game of the season. They are very patient, good on the counter-attack and are a very quick team overall. "Having watched a few clips of them, they look a bit vulnerable on crosses so that's something we'll look at and try and exploit."

However, ten games on and the Hammers have turned the tables round. Currently fourth in the Barclays U18 Premier League south division, Eggleton is confident of his side's chances. "We're seven games unbeaten now and the coaches are demanding a lot from us. Clearly, with the results we've got recently, it's paying off. "Training is going really well at the moment; everyone is working really hard to maintain our unbeaten run. "All the boys are desperate to continue this unbeaten run and try and win as many games as possible."

West Ham United U18 host Fulham U18 at Little Heath on Saturday 31 October, kick off is 11am.

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Watford v West Ham
KO 15:00
30 October 2015
Last updated at 12:00

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Vicarage Road Date: Saturday, 31 October

TEAM NEWS

Watford midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado is in line for a return, having resumed training this week following a hamstring injury. Joel Ekstrand and Tommie Hoban remain sidelined with knee and groin injuries respectively.
West Ham defender Winston Reid could return from the thigh injury that ruled him out of the win over Chelsea. Victor Moses is back, having been ineligible against the Blues, but Alex Song's ankle injury will keep him out.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

Alan Green: "If you look only at Watford's miserable home record and West Ham's superb away form then you'll quickly mark this down as a Hammers win. I would have done too before Watford's victory at Stoke. "There I saw three unexpected points claimed by the impressive team ethic. They have no stars. Instead, working unselfishly, they are clearly determined to try to survive amidst the Premier League's glamour. "Usually, West Ham are among the also-rans. But look at the table. Think of their superb away wins this season and their Chelsea victory last weekend. "I find both clubs refreshing. I hope to relish this game. No, I don't know who's going to win."

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

Watford head coach Quique Sanchez Flores: "For me, at this moment, Troy Deeney is really good. From the first moment in this league he played like a striker. "Now he is settled, he has put in good performances. His impact on the team is very important. The team-mates, they say, it's perfect for us because our strikers finally score."

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic on Andy Carroll: "His quality, as I said 20 times, was never an issue. When he is fit he is capable of everything. "We are good in the air without Carroll - we have Diafra Sakho and Nikica Jelavic who are good in the air. But with that he is maybe the best in England - definitely when he is fit. "If the good balls come in an area where he is, it is almost impossible to mark him."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

On the face of it, West Ham's away form makes them favourites at Vicarage Road but Watford do not look like a side that has just been promoted and they might surprise a few more people this weekend.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
Watford have only won one of the last 22 league meetings (D4, L17)
The last meeting at Vicarage Road ended 4-0 to the Hammers in a Championship match in August 2011.
Watford
Watford's tally of one home goal this season is the lowest in the Premier League.
Their victory over Stoke City last time out was their first in a Premier League game in the month of October (W1, D4, L6).
They have won one of their last four games (D1, L2).
Odion Igahalo has been involved in Watford's last seven Premier League goals, scoring five and setting up two.
West Ham
West Ham have the best away record in the Premier League this season (W4, D1).
Their tally of 12 away goals is also a league-high.
Twenty points from 10 games represents West Ham's best-ever Premier League start.
They are undefeated in their last seven matches (W5, D2), one short of their best-ever Premier League unbeaten run of eight games.

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Flores 'confident' ahead of West Ham clash
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th October 2015
By: Staff Writer

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores says that his team are looking forward to facing in-form West Ham at Vicarage Road this weekend.

The Hornets, one of the three clubs promoted from the Championship last season have taken 13 points from their opening ten games of the campaign - a tally that includes wins over established top flight clubs Swansea, Stoke and Newcastle plus draws against Everton, West Brom, Southampton and Bournemouth.

And despite having lost their last two home games to Crystal Palace and Arsenal, Flores believes his team - which includes former Hammers Valon Behrami and Alessandro Diamanti - have the ability to upset Slaven Bilic's high-flyers.

"We respect the opponents a lot, and in this case it's West Ham," he said. "We have to work very hard to get the result. We respect the coach Slaven Bilic and we respect the players too, but we are confident we can reach our objective.

"We are really comfortable playing at home, I like playing at Vicarage Road. Sometimes the results haven't been so good, but we need to remain confident. And I love to play with our fantastic fans close with us. After promotion it's important that we started well.

"We are happy with our first quarter [of the season]. We are happy and know we can improve. But there is respect from a lot of teams coming to Vicarage Road. It will be a tough game as they [West Ham] have done very well, but we will fight until the last moment."

One player key to Watford's success this season according to Flores is striker Troy Deeney, who opened his account for the season in last weekend's win at Stoke. "From the first moment in this league he played like a striker," said Flores. "Now he is settled, he has put in good performances. His impact on the team is very important.

"He is amazing, he is fast and he is passionate. He is ambitious and he has everything we need. He is a leader for the team in the dressing room and has a connection with the strands. Now he has scored we are confident he will score a lot."

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Bilic: I won't tell Hodgson how to do his job
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 29th October 2015
By: Staff Writer

Slaven Bilic believes that his contingent of home-grown players are close to being given the chance to represent England - but says that he won't be constantly on the phone to Roy Hodgson.

The Three Lions manager was present last weekend when Bilic's side beat reigning Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1 at the Boleyn, thanks to a winning goal that was made in England - a pinpoint cross from Aaron Cresswell, converted by Andy Carroll.

However Bilic, speaking to the press this morning ahead of Saturday's trip to Watford refused to be drawn on whether the likes of Cresswell, Carroll, Carl Jenkinson or James Tomkins should get the nod.

"I was the manager of my country for six years and I don't want to be telling the manager who he should or shouldn't pick," he said. "Especially as he's got ten wins out of ten [in qualifying]. They have the best record in Europe and are doing really well.

"But of course we have some players [who could be considered for selection]. I rate my players, they are doing really well and if they continue to play like this then of course they have every reason to hope they're going to be involved in the England team."

Despite refusing to push his players' individual claims, Bilic admitted that he was delighted with the form of striker Carroll in particular.

In addition to scoring the winning goal against Chelsea, the big forward provided assists for goals against Norwich and Crystal Palace - leading the manager to hail him as the best aerial striker in England currently.

"He's definitely the best when he's fit," insisted Bilic. "When the balls come in that area it's almost impossible to mark him. But his game is not just about that, he's also got a sense and feeling for the game - which makes him a great player.

"He should be more consistent. He should stay away from the injuries. It's the same old story. His quality was never in doubt, it was never an issue - the issue was either bad luck or Andy not looking after himself. But it's a fact that he hasn't been consistent.

"He's in a good way now but I would rather make him do that and then talk about England - rather than talk about it after three good games.

"But in the game against Norwich he came on and within 15 minutes we'd created three chances and scored a goal. Against Palace he got an assist again, then he came on against Chelsea and scored a goal. So he is an important player, but he must stay fit."

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Watford v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 30th October 2015
By: Preview Percy

According to a recent report Australians are "drunk, inarticulate and use a 23 letter alphabet". Preview Percy only has 3 more letters to learn before he can emigrate then....

Next up we venture into darkest Hertfordshire to Watford. Saturday 3pm kick off is the order of the day. Trains? Well if your journey involves use of the stopping services provided by London Overground between Euston and Watford Junction (the orange lines on the map) there are no trains on the bit between Wembley Central and Queen's Park. Similarly there are no Bakerloo Line trains north of Queen's Park on the day. The faster services provided by London Midland appear to be unaffected though and the more circuitous route to Watford (Met) on the Metropolitan Line is also unaffected, though the camel link between Harrow and Vicarage Road will be suspended due to a damaged hoof.

So Watford then. The stomping ground of Preview Alastair when they allow him out of his room here at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered and he's not on a pilgrimage to his Geordie homeland. An odd place to be sure and an odd football club to match. For a start they seem to take the concept of "Manager Of The Month" literally.

In December 2013 they parted company with a certain Gianfranco Zola, who was replaced by Beppe Sannio who held the reins into the 2014/15 season. Well for a month or so of it anyway. There were rumblings of discontent from within which had nothing to do with Preview Alastair's Guinness and Curry diet regime and at the end of August, with the club in second place following a run of four wins out of five, Sannio resigned.

Sannio was replaced by former Brighton head coach Oscar Garcia. He lasted 27 days before resigning for health reasons, having been rushed to hospital suffering from chest pains after a match against Charlton.

So, where are we? Oh yes. 29 September. Enter Billy McKinlay, who had joined the club in a more junior coaching role all of three days earlier. Barely had McKinlay chosen the colour scheme for his new office than the owning Pozzo family decided that the past eleven days had not been the greatest of their lives and McKinlay was replaced by Slavisa Jokanovic who, much to everybody's surprise, lasted all the way to the end of the season.

At the end of the season a win over Brighton late in April coupled with other results falling their way spared them the travails of the playoffs and they were promoted. At which point you'd have thought that the managerial position would have been in no doubt. Er, no. Contract negotiations floundered and Jokanovic's contract expired with either side willing to compromise.

The Pozzo family decided to, er, cast a net and brought in flamenco dancer's nephew Quique Flores, whose name has a pleasing ring about it. At time of writing he's still in charge but, hey, it's quite early in the week so who knows what the case will be by the time the short chubby one and the bald one who run this site finally post these words of wisdom up on the web.

It's been a not too good/not too bad start to their latest sojourn in the top flight. They opened up with three draws and, overall, they have won three, drawn four and lost three of the ten played to date, leaving them in 13th place with 13 points. Hope they're not superstitious.

Last week they came away from Stoke with all three points courtesy of a 2-0 win. The opening goal came from skipper Troy Deeney, who, the work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles tells me, had up to that point spurned no fewer than 24 goalscoring opportunities over the course of the season. Last season he became the first Watford player to net over 20 goals in three consecutive seasons. He seems to have sorted himself out after serving three months of a ten-month spell inside following a conviction for affray. If only he'd changed his name to, oh, say, Steven Gerrard he'd have gotten away with it.

Deeney's striking partner has been Odion Igalho. Igalho originally came in on loan from Watford's sister club Udinese at the start of last season, having previously spent most of his time there out on loan with the Pozzo's other plaything Granada. There's a joke in there somewhere using the Cinema names Odion and Granada but they don't pay me enough to work out the punchline. The loan period was terminated and the player joined on permanent terms last October. Handy when the club you're buying from is owned by the same people who own you isn't it?! Igalho netted 20 times in last season's promotion campaign. And has hit the target 5 times already this term, form that saw him called up by his native Nigeria for whom he has a brace in 5 appearances.

There has been a large turnover of players in recent years to the extent that their longest serving players (Mensah, Smith & Hoban) all joined the club only as far back as 2011. They brought in no fewer than 16 players over the course of the summer, 13 of whom came in on permanent deals. Of the permanent deals the most notable from our point of view was the arrival from Hamburg of Valon "Pep" Berahmi. The Swiss international came in for a rumoured £3m and will be remembered for an injury-punctuated spell at the Boleyn a few years back. He missed a fair while after an horrific knee ligament injury sustained in a home win over Man City in 2009. Subsequent injury absences were a bit dodgy though. Let me put it this way, he was immediately fit and available for selection the second the summer transfer window closed in 2010 and he was off as soon as the window re-opened the following January. Behrami missed a few games recently after a deserved straight red for a nasty tackle on whichever of the Ayew brothers it is who played for Swansea.

On the loan front they brought in the much-tattooed Alessandro Diamanti who was a useful little player for us a few seasons ago and who went on to have a decent run in the Italian national side after he left the Boleyn. Skilful and mildly bonkers he always put me in mind of a "Happy Shopper" DiCanio during his spell with us. Diamanti arrived on a season-long loan from Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande.

They also have the obligatory loan in from Chelsea in the form of Dutch defender whose be-dreadlocked appearance puts one in mind of a young Ruud Gullit. Ake came in, according to interviews he gave at the time, on the strength of Flores' history of giving young players a chance. So he must be a bit disappointed with the three appearances in the league he's been able to muster this far.

The biggest expenditure of the summer was the two lots of £6m laid out to rescue Etienne Capoue from Tottenham and on midfielder Jose Jurado, who arrived from Spartak Moscow.

Capoue, capped seven times by the French, had two years at Spurs but managed only 24 appearances in the league during that time. In contrast, since arrival at Vicarage Road he's featured in all ten games in the league thus far.

Meanwhile Jurado started life on the fringes of the Real Madrid first team squad before hopping across town to join Atletico. Spells at Mallorca (loan) and Schalke followed before a loan deal to Spartak was made permanent in 2013. His international career seems to have run aground about 6 years ago at Spanish U21 level. He's featured in 7 of their league matches this season but has been missing in the more recent outings with hamstring problems, though there's a chance of seeing him this weekend.

So that's them. What of us? Well the season continues to provide us with entertainment and fun, last week at the expense of a hapless Chelsea who, if they were a person rather than a club, would surely be on a psychiatrist's couch by now. A quick word about the ref. I'm first to criticise PGMOL and the system that protects the mediocre and rewards the corrupt. However, Mr Moss grew an unprecedented pair in the face of the usual bullying and intimidation and his performance gave me a gliimer of hope that there might be a spark of honesty amongst the whole rotten heap.

For some reason when I went out for my constitutional on Sunday morning – a brisk quarter of a mile ending in the snug of the Swan and Superinjunction – the local kids seemed a bit scared by my limping gait coupled with the silly grin that I'd been unable to get rid of since the final whistle. Even a concerned parent's comment of "don't worry dear – it's just an old man celebrating Halloween early in case he doesn't make it that far" didn't annoy me as much as it might have normally have done.

I do note that yet again the FA have decided to use us to finance the staff Christmas Party by charging us with failure to control our players. The amount they've had out of us must mean that there's a five day break in Mauritius on the cards for the pen-pushers behind the scenes at Wembley Stadium come yuletide this year.

On the injury front the usual listings show us down to two on the treatment table. Winston Reid is shown as possibly ready for this weekend whilst Alex Song is "still a long way off" which apparently means he may be ready to make some sort of squad appearance for the Everton match. Other than that, unlike Mourinho, Bilic will be playing with a full deck. Which gives some nice selection problems. For example, in defence with Reid available do we revert to what is nominally our first choice of Reid and Tomkins, bearing in mind how well Ginge has played in recent weeks. What about Ogbonna? Further forward does Moses get back in now he's not "league-tied" (I'll get that expression into common usage if it kills me) or do we reward Zarate for his not inconsiderable efforts?

I need to be a bit careful on the prediction front for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this being West Ham we're talking about, we're only ever a heartbeat away from something going pear-shaped. If I had a pound for every time I'd uttered the words "typical West Ham" over the years I'd probably have more money than Abrahamovic. With a slightly better taste in yachts obviously. We nearly messed up at Sunderland remember, only a few weeks after beating Man City on their own patch, so a tough time at Watford only days after handing Chelsea their blue-flag enhanced backsides on a plate wouldn't totally be out of character, would it?

The second reason for my reluctance to go all guns blazing is that over the past few matches, even when I've thought we were more than capable of getting a win, my natural caution has stopped me from actually predicting such and, when I've gone for the draw (for example at Palace) we've gone and won. So call me a superstitious old sod if you will (er we had something different in mind – ed) but I think that I'll stick the £2.50 That the Rest Home was going to be spending on a copy of the Chilcott Report on a 2-2 draw in the hope that we actually win 3-1 or something.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At Vicarage Road: Won 4-0 (August 2011). Goals from Tomkins, O'Brien, Cole (Carlton) and what turned out to be a farewell effort from Scott Parker before his career went down the drain at Spurs were enough to give us back-to-back away wins for the first time in aeons.

Danger Man: Troy Deeney –May be one of those players that, now his duck has been broken...

Referee: Keith Stroud We haven't had him for a while as he's not actually a member of the so-called "select" group. This is because he is a member of a pretty exclusive club, being one of only five referees ever to be demoted from the select group in the 14 years they've been going. More people have walked on the moon. Whilst his selection might be applauded if it's an example of opening up the closed shop, it's more likely that he's getting a game due to a combination of injury and absence on FIFA U17 duty….

Irritating Celebrity Supporter Of The Week: Well it's got to be Elton hasn't it. A performer whose diva-like excesses have increased as his talent has gone on the wane. Incredible to think that an artist who put out an album as good as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road could also have produced such dross as "I'm Still Standing" and "Sacrifice", a track which incredibly, given all the good stuff he did in the 70's, was his first no.1 hit single. And don't get me started on that nauseating Diana thing....

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Watford v West Ham preview: Hammers aim for another away win
Last Updated: 30/10/15 4:59pm
SSN

West Ham will be aiming to continue their impressive away form when they travel to Watford on Saturday. The Hammers have already won at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City to climb up to third in the Premier League. They beat defending champions Chelsea in their last outing at Upton Park and are the second-highest scorers in the league behind Manchester City.

Watford, on the other hand, have struggled for goals, managing just eight in 10 games, the joint-lowest in the league. Two of those came last weekend as the Hornets won 2-0 at Stoke to end a run of three matches without a victory. Captain Troy Deeney netted his first goal of the season at the Britannia while Odion Ighalo is the club's top scorer with five.

Team news

Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores is hoping Jose Manuel Jurado may be fit in time to face the Hammers. The midfielder has been missing with a hamstring strain but has returned to training and could be involved against the Hammers.

Former West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench in the win over Stoke last week following a calf injury - while Joel Ekstrand (knee) and Tommie Hoban (groin) are still out.

The Hammers could welcome back defender Winston Reid for Saturday's clash with Watford. The New Zealand international missed the win over Chelsea with a thigh problem but could be involved for the Hammers when they travel to Vicarage Road.

Victor Moses is also back after being ineligible against his parent club but Alex Song (ankle) is still missing while Bilic has to decide whether to hand last weekend's match-winner Andy Carroll his first start since January.

Opta stats

Watford have won just one of their last 22 league meetings with West Ham, drawing four and losing 17.

West Ham are unbeaten in their last 11 league visits to Vicarage Road (W8 D3), last suffering a league defeat away to Watford in April 1985 (0-5).

Watford have lost their last two league games at Vicarage Road; they last lost three consecutive home league games in December 2013 (five home defeats in a row).

No West Ham player has been involved in more goals in their first ten Premier League appearances for the club than Dmitri Payet (eight - scored five, assisted three); level with Ian Wright and Diafra Sakho.

Watford have used a league-low two English players this season in the Premier League (Troy Deeney and Ben Watson).

Merson's prediction

Troy Deeney got on the scoresheet with a very good goal so they'll definitely pose a threat. But you can't overlook West Ham's phenomenal away record, they should come through this one with another victory.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2

Betting

Watford are Sky Bet's 7/5 favourites with West Ham up against odds of 19/10 despite their impressive form. Slaven Bilic's men are now 18/1 for a top-four finish and just 4/1 to be in the top six come the end of the season, while the Hornets went out to 11/2 for relegation following last weekend's win at Stoke. Ighalo is the 5/1 favourite in the first goalscorer betting, while Diafra Sakho head the market from the Hammers' side at 6/1.

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LIKE PRETTY BUBBLES, THEY KEEP GOING UP AND UP - WEST HAM BEAT CHELSEA BUT THE PAPERS REPORT THE 'SOAP OPERA' NOT THE FOOTBALL.
By Tony McNulty 30 Oct 2015 at 15:15
WTID

I have never been the sort of politician who blamed the nasty media for all of my party's political problems. I never moaned about the nature of coverage, it is all a part of our rich democracy. But football is different.

I guess it was really too much to ask. I was looking forward to reading the back pages over the weekend – to read about derring-do from West Ham, graceful football, Carroll's comeback goal, how beating Chelsea meant that West Ham had arrived and weren't just benefitting from the woes and malaise of others. I wanted to read banner headlines about West Ham's football, Bilic's tactical master-strokes, another performance from the whole team and not just the odd individual and a discussion about how good this West Ham team could really be this season.

Cartoon of West Ham towing away Chelsea
What I got to read was nothing of the sort. What I got to read was a real disappointment. The Sunday papers were the rough equivalent of Match of the Day – however good West Ham play, the key topic is always about some other more fashionable team, with West Ham's footballing prowess ignored or swiftly dismissed.
Here is just a sample of the headlines on the day after our magnificent victory over Chelsea:-

"Carroll adds to Mourinho's woes – more misery for Chelsea manager who is sent to stand as his 10-man team make a meek attempt to arrest their decline." Independent on Sunday

I suppose I should be grateful that buried at the end of Miguel Delaney's piece was recognition that this was a 'deserved West Ham win'. The rest of the article concentrated on Chelsea's woes. The implication was clearly that it was Chelsea disarray, ill-discipline and sometime anxiety and panic that caused the result, not West Ham's football.
"Carroll sinks 10-man Chelsea." Sunday Times

Carroll goal vs. CHE. at Upton Park 2015
Apparently, according to the text box above Jonathan Northcroft's story in the Sunday Times, it was 'goal-line technology' that denied Chelsea. Not West Ham's tactics, endurance or skills but a bloody machine. It didn't deny Chelsea – it wasn't a goal – full stop. This story followed a similar pattern to the Independent on Sunday. Blink and you would have missed it, but the second paragraph said that "Not that Chelsea's continued unravelling should detract from West Ham's continuing exploits. Like pretty bubbles, they keep going up and up."

He even tried to suggest that Chelsea's policy on loans was the cause of West Ham's first goal because Zarate only played because Victor Moses was ineligible as Chelsea is his home team. Aaaaggghh!

"Where now Jose? Mourinho humiliated in stand as jubilant West hams stun Chelsea." "Carroll joy as Jose loses plot. Chelsea boss sent off before super sub Andy sends West Ham third. " Mail on Sunday

It took Rob Draper in the Mail on Sunday some time to even mention West Ham in his report on the game. Buried in the piece, at the start of the ninth paragraph, he finally gets there – "For the record, West Ham were excellent even before the mini-meltdown from Chelsea…" Nice of you to say so Rob, very nice indeed.

"Mourinho meltdown" "Mourinho funks West Ham stress test" The Observer

Hurray – at last. The opening line of Paul Doyle's report on the match said "West Ham deserved to win." He continued "It is worth highlighting this fact lest it be obscured by the fallout to Chelsea's disciplinary meltdown." No shit Sherlock!? He went on to describe how West ham 'ran a serious stress test and Chelsea failed it' but the piece, just as most of the rest of the media coverage, focussed on Chelsea's demise and meltdown, rather than West Ham's prowess.

"Mourinho and Matic sent off as Chelsea's latest implosion turns screw on manager." Sunday Telegraph

Once again, this time courtesy of the Sunday Telegraph's Sam Wallace, we had to wait until the ninth paragraph of his piece to read that "It was easy to overlook West Ham's achievement in the midst of all this, with a first goal from Andy Carroll this season winning the game for them." If you knew that it was so easy to overlook our achievement then why did you and the rest of the Sunday sports journalists do just that? Give West Ham a little credit at least for our football.

I know I am starting to sound like a broken record – but it is rooted in exasperation and frustration. I have read the Guardian on each and every day it has been published for the best part of the last forty years or so. Maybe it would give the West Ham performance the merit it deserved – but no. The Monday headline read "West Ham twist the knife in wounded Chelsea as Mourinho cries foul once more." Just as all the others, the clear inference is that somehow a less than full strength Chelsea lost a game it should have won. It took the Guardian's Jacob Steinberg the tenth paragraph in a long piece before he recognised that "West Ham, a surprising presence in the top four, were the better side…"

Where's Jose?
Hopefully, as we go from strength to strength and keep on playing so good solid and entertaining football, the press will eventually afford us the coverage that we deserve, rather than this sort of 'sports journalism as soap opera' nonsense. Or at the very least, give us some solid stories based on the football and save the soap opera for broader editorial pieces. I know the plight of Mourinho and his team is an important concern for most football fans – but surely as a secondary consideration to the beautiful game, not as a substitute for it.

P.S For all his ups and downs, his whingeing and his digs at other managers, Mourinho has contributed significantly to British football. I don't like his style, his football or his gob, but he has left his mark. The one thing I don't understand and would condemn him entirely for is his appalling treatment, almost bullying it seems, of Dr. Eva Carneiro – it just doesn't make sense and leaves a very bad taste. And it's not because, apparently, she used to work for West Ham.

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West Ham were "lucky" to be fourth at Christmas last year, claims Hammers manager Slaven Bilic
22:30, 30 OCT 2015
BY DAVE KIDD
The new Hammers boss is chasing an unlikely Champions League dream as his side sit third in the Premier League
The Mirror

Slaven Bilic believes West Ham were "lucky" to be fourth at Christmas last year – but does not blame his predecessor for their poor second half of the season. The new Hammers boss is chasing an unlikely Champions League dream as his side sit third in the Premier League. But he claims he is not concerned by the fact they imploded under Sam Allardyce to finish 12th last term. Bilic (below) said: "We are not thinking about last year, the fact we were fourth at Christmas and all that. We're just approaching games totally individually. "If it was all about learning lessons then Sam would have changed it. Or whoever is in deep crisis now would change it. "Sam knows the business. So he would see it, smell it and say, 'OK let's change it'. "The reason is maybe very simple. I think in the first half of the season, in some games, we were a little bit lucky last year. "And then, in the second part, in some games, we were unlucky."

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists smaller clubs must "dream" and challenge for Champions League spots
22:30, 29 OCT 2015
BY DAVE KIDD
The Hammers are third after their fantastic start to the season and Bilic believes the rest of the top-flight may as well give up if they can't challenge the big boys
The Mirror

Slaven Bilic has led West Ham into fantasy land – and is adamant that the Premier League's smaller clubs have a duty to believe they can gatecrash the European elite. With co-chairman David Sullivan even claiming the Hammers could win the title, the bubble-blowers seem to have forgotten the words to their club anthem about dreams which 'fade and die'. West Ham are third after a miraculous start to the season, including victories over Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, who - along with Manchester United and Tottenham - are the only English clubs to play in the Champions League over the past decade. But there is a belief among ambitious mid-ranked clubs that this cartel can be smashed - especially with Premier League TV revenues making the likes of West Ham more attractive destinations for quality imports. Boss Bilic concedes it will not be easy for West Ham to sustain their early-season form but insists the rest of the top flight might as well give up if they cannot dare to dream. He said: "You have a lot of surprises in every league, Celta Vigo in Spain at the moment, in Italy, Germany and England. But if you are talking about wonders, then the real wonder is if you are doing it for the whole season. "It is very rare - but it is possible, of course. And we should all - all the clubs outside these top six as you call them - should hope or dream or even plan, in a positive way, about finishing in the top four because otherwise what is the point of playing? "In every country you have surprises in Cups - here you have three Championship clubs in last eight (of League Cup) but in a league it is very difficult, every year you have someone, you can call it a wonder or a surprise package or one club isolated because they are there for one part of the season but it can be done."
Sullivan is more bullish than his manager, claiming that winning the Premier League is not impossible - even before the state-subsidised move to the Olympic Stadium, which is likely to boost their long-term Champions League hopes. He said: "We're very, very optimistic. I'm not talking it down I want to talk it up, I believe it's achievable. "It's a big myth, I mean look at what's gone wrong with Chelsea - that looked an impossibility - so why shouldn't the opposite happen to us? "In football, we're here to dream. At the start of the season we were in four competitions and the aim was to win those four. "Now we're down to two - we've got the big double left - and it's very, very unlikely but not impossible. "If you'd asked about the Champions League at the start of the season I would have said it's impossible this year - but it's not. Forget dreaming in the future. "The unfortunate thing is that if you finish fourth you have to play a qualifying game - and no doubt we'd get a real toughie - like the fourth best team in Spain or Italy! "Realistically, I'd love fourth place and we'd take our chances. I know it's unlikely, but it really is possible. "One more win and we could be top of the table, looking down! "I'm not sure how clever that would be as it'd really put pressure on people but it's not bad to be two points off the lead."

With masterstroke signings like that of midfield playmaker Dimitri Payet and high-profile recruits like the currently-injured Alex Song, the Hammers are already leading the way for clubs outside the 'elite'. And despite West Ham having fallen away after a strong start under Sam Allardyce last season, Bilic does not foresee a dramatic collapse. He said: "It has been a good start. There will be ups and downs results-wise, but I don't see why we should drop dramatically. "We hope to continue like this, because we have good players, good team spirit, a good pattern. We're working hard, respecting the opponents and not fearing them."

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Leroy: Slaven's AC honesty absolutely top stuff
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 30, 2015 in Leroy's Blogs, News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic has to be the brightest and perhaps cleverest manager in West Ham's history and he showed it again today when discussing Andy Carroll.

You only ever get the truth from this bloke so when asked if he had heard the stories about AC not looking after his body as he might have done he said: "Yes, and there's probably something in it – that's usually the case when these stories get around" (or words to that effect).

It's so refreshing and it gives him and the club a really good image because there so much secrecy, half truth and downright lies told in this game of ours.

He tells it as it is and that is exactly the right thing to do at the moment because there's such a feel good factor around the place people will take all of that and be proud of their manager.

Mind you, had we had lost a lot of games they'd probably be on his back and claiming that he needs to get some discipline in the place particularly when he said he's not going to be a personal policeman to AC or any other player. Slav knows exactly how to play things!

It was the same yesterday when he came out saying that he wanted to become West Ham's Sir Alex Ferguson in years to come – a great line and one which he clearly means. The board should be very very happy that Slaven Bilic agreed to become our manager.

I meet a lot of old pros in my work as a commentator and the Irons boss is getting a very good name for himself as we go from strength to strength and he has carried himself with such dignity.

Tomorrow it's Watford and I have no hesitation predicting a 2-1 away win because the Hornets are a team that likes to counter attack. The midfield doesn't get much beyond the halfway line and Deeney and Ighalo are the only goal threats.

I think we should be far too strong for them. With Winston Reid back to partner James Tomkins we should be able to look after those two and I reckon t will then be goood night Vienna for the Hornets.

We have to play our strongest team so that means no place for James Collins. That's hard on the bloke cos he's done well but that's the squad Ginge is in I'm afraid.

Watford 1 Irons 2

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Hammers react to AC Milan transfer link
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 30, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Morning reports that West Ham are eyeing a cut price move for AC Milan playmaker Keisuke Honda have been ruled out by the club.

The report emerged in The Sun where it was reported the 77 times capped Japan international has attracted our attention and that a £5 million fee could be involved.

The 29 year old AC Milan player has managed fewer than 300 minutes of Serie A action this term in seven appearances – three of which have been as a substitute.

And this morning CandHh sources declared "no interest" and repeated their position of last night saying: "We are out of cash and up to our limits on FFP.

"Players will definitely have to leave for anything to happen on us bringing players in but as the manager has explained very adequately, we did our business in the summer and are not looking to add to the squad at this stage."

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Epic fail by Mark Lawenson
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 30, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

BBC pundit Mark Lawenson is at it again predicting his seventh loss of the season for the Hammers.

Lawro told the BBC Sport website : "Every time I think Watford are about to get sucked into the relegation fight, they come up with a big result like last week's win at Stoke, generally away from home. West Ham also had an impressive win – yes they were at home but they were up against Chelsea and had to show great resolve in a game I thought they would lose.

The Hammers have claimed a few scalps on the road this season but I would argue that was as good as any of their previous results. On the face of it, their away form makes them favourites at Vicarage Road but Watford do not look like a side that has just been promoted and they might surprise a few more people this weekend.

After beating the Blues, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic said he had not set up his team as if they were at home and I think the Hornets will do the same. Watford will not be easy to break down and will do what it takes to get a win. Lawro's prediction: 2-0″

As the graphic above from www.myfootballfacts.com shows Lawro is way out of touch, West Ham would be in 18th place with 5 points in a relegation scrap if all his woeful predictions had come true this season.

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Payet's amazing pics show squad joy
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 30, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Hammers man of the moment Dimtri Payet posted an picture on Instagram yesterday to show the amazing togetherness and bond of the squad as they trained to face Watford on Saturday. Payet said "So Hilarious, all the team laugh at the training with Enner Valencia, Manuel Lanzini, Pedro Obiang, Mauro Zarate and Chek Kouyate." West Ham sit in third place in the Premier League table with 20 points and a goal difference of plus nine. An away win over Watford on Saturday could mean West Ham top the Premier League on 23 points after 11 games but we need to rely on Norwich beating Man City at the Etihad and Swansea getting a draw or better against Arsenal.

It has been a crazy Premier League this season so you never can predict what may happen.

Come on you Irons!

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