Daily WHUFC News - 30th November 2015

Kouyate - We've worked hard to bounce back
WHUFC.com

Cheikhou Kouyate says the Hammers have left no stone unturned in their bid
to bounce back from last weekend's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Hammers
came up short at White Hart Lane as they suffered a 4-1 defeat, but Senegal
midfielder Kouyate is confident of getting back on track against West
Bromwich Albion. The Hammers have defeated Chelsea and drawn with Everton in
their last two home games, so will be confident of continuing that run of
form. "We have prepared well for Sunday," Kouyate said. "Last week at
Tottenham was not a good day and we didn't want to lose, but that's done
now. "Tottenham were very well organised, they started the game well and
carried it through. They played very aggressively and that's how you win a
derby. "We were doing ok for the first 10-15 minutes, but went 1-0 down and
it's up to us to show it in the upcoming games that we're on the same level
as them. "We were very frustrated to lose, not just because of the result
but because of the way we played. It's up to us to look at what went wrong
and get back to winning ways against West Brom."

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Cult Heroes to return to the Boleyn!
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted that a host of the Club's most popular Cult
Heroes are back at the Boleyn Ground for Sunday's visit of West Bromwich
Albion.

As part of the commemorations to mark the Farewell Boleyn season, a number
of home fixtures are being given special themes – with the theme this
weekend being 'Cult Heroes'.

Nearly 20 former favourites spanning five decades of Hammers history will
say a personal goodbye to West Ham's home of 112 years, and will be
personally presented to you at half-time.

1950s
Bill Lansdowne – Half-back who was part of the West Ham United side which
won the Division Two title and promotion to the top flight in 1958.

1960s
Peter Brabrook – England winger who set up Ronnie Boyce's late winner in the
1964 FA Cup final win over Preston North End.

Eddie Bovington – Hard-working defensive midfielder who was part of Ron
Greenwood's all-conquering side of the 1960s.

Brian Dear – Prolific centre forward who starred in the 1965 European Cup
Winners' Cup success and scored five in 2ian 1 minutes against today's
visitors in April of the same year.

Dennis Burnett – Defender who came through the Academy ranks before scoring
three goals in 66 appearances.

Peter Bennett – Home-grown forward who won the FA Youth Cup in 1963 and
spent eight years in Ron Greenwood's first-team squad.

Colin Mackleworth – Bow-born FA Youth Cup-winning goalkeeper who debuted in
a 4-0 Division One victory over Blackpool in December 1966.

Eddie Presland – Loughton-born Academy graduate defender who scored on his
debut in a 2-1 win over Liverpool in February 1965.

1970s
Alan Devonshire – Supremely talented winger who made the transition from
non-league to international football during 15 fabulous seasons at the
Boleyn Ground.

Dudley Tyler – Winger who was part of Hereford United's giant-killing side
of 1972 who spent a season in east London before returning to The Bulls.

1990s
Ludek Miklosko – Czech-born goalkeeper who went on to make 373 Hammers
appearances over eight seasons and become a true Claret and Blue legend.

Ian Bishop – Long-haired playmaker who spent nearly a decade pulling the
strings in the centre of the midfield, playing 284 times and scoring 16
goals.

Martin Allen – 'Mad Dog' was a tenacious midfielder who never backed down
from the battle, but could also play a bit too!

John Moncur – Another enigmatic, creative midfield player, the Stepney-born
player spent nine seasons wowing the Boleyn Ground faithful.

Kenny Brown – The famous son of a famous father, Ken, the Barking-born
defender is most famous for scoring the goal that denied Manchester United
the title in 1992.

2000s
Steve Lomas – German-born Northern Ireland international midfielder who
became a respected and, at times, feared club captain during eight years at
the Boleyn Ground.

Jimmy Walker – Diminutive, charismatic goalkeeper who won the hearts of West
Ham United fans when he suffered a serious knee injury in the 2005
Championship Play-Off final.

The Cult Heroes will be to the fore in Sunday's Official Programme, with
exclusive interviews with Ludek Miklosko and modern-day counterpart Adrian!

Issue 11 of the 2015/16 season will be available for just £3.50 in and
around the Boleyn Ground on matchday, or you can order online here. To make
sure you don't miss a single issue of the Farewell Boleyn campaign, order a
subscription for just £90 here.

Alternatively, the Digital Official Programme will be available to download
to your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices alongside PC and Mac
from 9am on matchday.

The Digital Programme comes with all the content you would expect from the
print edition, as well as exclusive video footage, meaning fans from all
over the globe can get ahead of the action and read their Programme and
enjoy exclusive video interviews and highlights.

If you live overseas, that means you can download your Digital Programme
before kick-off, with the game being televised live in a large number of
countries across the world. The print edition will be available to buy in
and around the Boleyn Ground on matchday as usual, packed with all the usual
exclusive content.

The Digital Programme offers supporters a number of great additional
features, including:
Easy to use page-turning technology
Simple content navigation and skip-to-page features
Interactive content including exclusive video footage
Our programmes remember the last page you were viewing
Fans can order back-dated issues
Apple users will have all their issues hosted in one place on Newsstand for
easy access
Hammers supporters can subscribe for the whole season from just £24.99 (fans
receive all back issues) or buy individual issues for only £1.99.

The Digital Programme is available on Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as
Android and via the Pocketmags app on kindle fire and Blackberry Playbook.

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Moses confident of Baggies' bounce-back
WHUFC.com

Victor Moses says he and his teammates are confident of bouncing back from
the defeat to Tottenham when they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday 29
November.

The winger has been an skilful addition to the Hammers' squad since joining
on loan from London rivals Chelsea on transfer deadline day.

Since then, the 24-year-old scored a cracking goal to help the Claret and
Blues secure a famous 2-1 win away at Manchester City, and has impressed in
his nine appearances so far.

Speaking ahead of the game with the Baggies, Moses said: "We're ready for
West Brom, we're all looking to bounce back from last weekend. We all
believe in ourselves and the players we've got.

"I think we need to work harder than we did against Spurs and make sure we
stick together. We've got a game plan and we need to make sure we execute
that.

"We got good players up front who can score goals – Diafra and Andy are both
big threats but also we've got good players all over the pitch."

Just as the Hammers did in wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and City, Moses says
scoring as early as possible will be crucial in overcoming Tony Pulis' side.

He continued: "We need to make sure we start well and score early, then see
the game out as early as possible.

"West Brom will be a difficult opponent, there are no easy games in the
Premier League anymore, they beat Arsenal last weekend so that shows how
good they are."

While still relatively young at 24, Moses has already built up a wealth of
playing experience at a range of different clubs.

Having enjoyed loan spells at Liverpool and Stoke City, Moses insisted he
has settled in at West Ham and is enjoying his football more than ever.

"I'm really enjoying my football here at West Ham, all the players, the
manager, coaches and staff are all good people. I just want to play
football, as long as I'm out there on the field, I'm happy. I enjoy what I
do and that's the most important thing.

"To be honest moving around clubs is just part of football, you've got to
expect it really. It's not that hard to gel with a new group of players, you
start bonding from the first day. We're all footballers so we have a similar
mentality and focus to our roles. Like I said, I'm really enjoying my
football.

"I learnt a lot from each club I've played for, now I'm fully committed to
West Ham and I want us to do as well as possible."

Ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule, Moses praised manager Slaven Bilic for
the impressive start the Hammers have had.

Currently sixth in the Barclays Premier League, Moses identified the next
month as the defining period of the season.

Moses explained: "Slaven is a great manager; he's played here before so he
understands West Ham but also English football. He understands what it is
like to be a player which is very important; he wants us to enjoy ourselves
as much as possible and not to worry about making mistakes. Players do make
mistakes, that's a part of football but he wants us to be adventurous and
try things.

"We weren't expecting to get off to such a good start, but we always
believed we could beat the big teams.

"Around Christmas with all the fixtures, I think that's when a lot of
seasons are decided. We need to recover from each game quickly; I think
we've got enough quality to maintain our position. But Christmas will be the
crucial time, wherever we are by early January is unlikely to change too
much by May."

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West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate postponed trip to Brussels following Paris
terror attacks
22:30, 28 NOV 2015
BY MIRROR SPORT
Senegalese midfielder who spent eight years in Belgian capital before
joining Hammers last summer was told by friends to stay here in wake of
atrocity
The Mirror

Cheikhou Kouyate has revealed that he postponed a trip to Brussels last week
after a plea from his friends in the Belgian capital. Kouyate spent eight
years there before he moved to West Ham in June last year for £5.25million.
He still has close ties and was both alarmed and horrified at the terror
attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives nine days ago, and the lock-down in
Brussels that followed. "It is my home from home. I have lots of friends who
live there," said the Senegalese midfielder . " I was supposed to go to see
them earlier last week, but they told me to stay here and not go. "I wanted
to support them and be by their side, but they ended up coming here. The
situation in Brussels, Paris and all over the world is terrible and I hope
things calm down in the coming weeks."

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West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate living the dream in England - and wants to help
others do the same
22:30, 28 NOV 2015 UPDATED 22:45, 28 NOV 2015
BY STEVE STAMMERS
The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten his roots and has invested time
and money in an academy near the Senegalese capital Dakar
The Mirror

Hammer Cheikhou Kouyate is living the dream – and now he wants to help young
players in his native Senegal to realise their own ambitions and play
professional football in Europe. The West Ham star, 25, has never forgotten
his roots and has invested time and money in an academy near the Senegalese
capital Dakar. It is called AfricaFoot and is run on the lines of the
Diambars project established by Patrick Vieira. He said: "You support not
just your own family, but also anyone that needs that kind of help. "Senegal
is a football country, everyone loves the game there. "There are two or
three million youngsters trying to get into the game, so, if we can help
them, that is fantastic. It is a dream for me to see academy players do
well."

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Sweet IRONy as injured McCarthy forced off
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

What goes around comes around they say and that appears to be the case with
Dimi Payet's attacker James McCarthy. After putting our star man out of
action for three months with one of the most reckless tackles seen at the
Boleyn in a long time it seems the Everton player is now in trouble. He
will have to be assessed before his team's next match against Crystal Palce
next Monday after picking up what could be a problematical injury at
Bournemouth today. He apparently landed awkwardly in trying to clear a
Bournemouth corner, but according to manager Roberto Martinez has
over-extended his groin. He said: "James McCarthy over extended his groin.
It is a concern because he doesn't usually have to come off. He'll be
assessed."
Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke eh! Hope it's nothing too trivial!

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Slav's harmony desire puts paid to return
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic has no intention of bringing Ravel Morrison back to the club.
Speculation has been intense this week that the midfielder could land
another chance at the club but that has already caused a split of opinion
from board level downwards. However, it's unlikely to become any sort of
issue as the manager puts incredible importance on dressing room harmony and
Morrison's history gives the impression that it could be at risk were he to
return.
The manager demonstrated the tough side of his personality when ensuring the
club was forced into shelling out around £1.5m to pay-off Morgan Amalfitano
after disciplinary problems . And a source told us that whilst it is well
known insde the club that Ravel wants a Hammers return, the manager is "very
unlikely to have any of that." And he added: "Even if there was an interest
where would he fit in – he's not going to be selected ahead of the likes of
Manuel Lanzini and Dimi Payet."

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Mesmerising Samuelsen can "win Posh the league"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Martin Samuelsen was in sensational touch for Peterborough United this
afternoon providing the WOW factor in the club's 4-0 win at Scunthorpe.
The young Norwegian appeared for the last 25 minutes and following a
mesmerising display, Posh director of footall Barry Fry said: "If we can
keep this kid until the end of the season we'll win the league. He is
absolutely brilliant and going right to the top. "He had only been on a few
minutes when he went on a run which took him past five players and after
laying on the chance, Marcus Maddison hit the post. And it was Martin who
supplied the pass for the final goal in the 90th minute. It was an amazing
first apearance and we couldn't be more excited. "I've been in this game a
long long time but this lad is as good as any I've seen at this age and he
has a brilliant attitude towards everything. We will do all we can to hang
on to him. He makes mincemeat of defenders."

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Bilic orders player to get over it!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic has told his players to get over themselves and the loss of
Dimi Payet. The hangover from the French playmaker's injury appears to have
reached far beyond the terraces and into the dressing room and the manager
appears to have had enough of it! The White Hart Lane wipe out may have had
a lot to do with things and Bilic has made it clear the moping stops here.
He said: "We have two options: one is continue to talk about it and the
other is to get together and play better even without him. "He's a player
who has made a huge impact. He's a key player for us and is doing the things
that every club needs. "In my team I have enough players who can make his
absence to feel it less. "We have enough quality to play without Dimitri. We
were hugely disappointed and angry with the way we played."

Bilic has worked hard to ensure against a dressing room loss of confidence
post Spurs saying: "We want to to put [last week] in the bag as quickly as
possible. You do not want to go down in confidence. "We watched some clips
as we would do after our wins. We highlighted some areas where it was very
clear how we helped Spurs to achieve that win."

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Midfielder winning Irons race for WBA
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 28, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Pedro Obiang may be edging the race for a place in the team ahead of Alex
Song.

ClaretandHugh understands that the midfielder has been "extremely sharp" in
training this week and could well get the call from Slaven Bilic to replace
the suspended Mark Noble.

Alex Song's long injury lay off is likely to see him take a place on the
bench with a training ground source saying: "Ninety minutes may ell be too
much for him at this stage.

"Some would have preferred him to get more than the 10 minutes he received
at the weekend against Spurs but whatever the state of the game on Sunday he
should certainly get on for longer.

"Slaven could go the other way, give him a start and take him off later but
most people are seeing that as unlikely. Pedro has looked good this week and
is probably the more likely starter."

Andy Carroll has played a full part in training this week but there is no
word on whether the club's record signing will get the call.

One source said: "It hasn't worked so far but the manager doesn't simply
accept situations. He may well try to find way of making it work!"

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