Daily WHUFC News - 30th November 2015

West Ham United 1-1 West Bromwich Albion

West Ham United drew 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion to climb to seventh in
the Barclays Premier League. In a tight affair, Mauro Zarate, the Hammers'
Man of the Match, opened the scoring with an inch-perfect free-kick after 17
minutes before Rickie Lambert equalised via a deflection shortly after the
re-start. On a chilly November day Slaven Bilic made three changes to the
side that lost to Tottenham last weekend. In came Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro
Obiang and Mauro Zarate in place of James Tomkins and Andy Carroll, both
started on the bench while skipper Mark Noble sat out through suspension.
The Hammers enjoyed the first chance of the game through Zarate as he fired
just wide after being played through by compatriot Manuel Lanzini. The
Baggies responded in kind through powerful striker Salomon Rondon who, with
seemingly little on, fired marginally wide of the left-hand post from
distance. On 17 minutes, Zarate more than made up for his earlier miss by
scoring an absolute peach of free-kick from 25-yards out. The forward made
the Baggies pay after Diafra Sakho was manhandled, he sized up his angles
and arrowed a shot that gave Boaz Myhill little chance of saving. Moments
later, Cheikhou Kouyate went close to doubling the lead following a superb
delivery by Aaron Cresswell. Kouyate timed his run to meet the pinpoint
cross yet his header nestled just wide of the far post. Lanzini and Zarate
continued to impress as the Hammers took their deserved lead into the
half-time break.

Sensing the Hammers' dominance, Tony Pulis made a change by bringing Rickie
Lambert on in place of Stephane Sessegnon and the changed paid dividends
five minutes into the second half as Lambert's shot took a massive
deflection off Winston Reid which wrong-footed Adrian. Having drawn level,
West Brom looked to take the initiative first as Rickie Lambert fired a
fierce free-kick goalward before Adrian somehow denied Rondon from point
blank range. The Venezuelan striker looked as though he could not miss from
two yards out however the Spaniard made himself big to keep his side in the
contest. In another wise sluggish second half display, the Hammers suddenly
sprung into life with a blistering counter-attack. Kouyate won back
possession with a typically strong challenge before Victor Moses tore
through the middle of the pitch to feed Diafra Sakho. His shot had Myhill
beaten yet Jonas Olsson flung himself in front of the strike to block
heroically.
With ten minutes remaining, Bilic turned the screw even further by bringing
on Michail Antonio for his home debut, he replaced the ever present Zarate
who had run himself into the ground. Both Hammers received rapturous
applause. With just moments left, Moses went agonizingly close to notching
what would have been the winning goal with a thundering volley. His
connection was superb yet he didn't quite have the necessary accuracy. Aaron
Cresswell tested Myhill's reflexes with a stinging free-kick in injury time
however the match finished level.

West Ham United: Adrian, Reid C, Cresswell, Kouyate, Zarate (Antonio 81),
Jenkinson, Obiang (Carroll 63), Sakho (Jelavic 71), Moses, Ogbonna, Lanzini
Subs not used: Spiegel, Song, Tomkins, Cullen
Goals: Zarate 17

West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Olsson, Yacob, Evans, Morrison, McClean,
McAuley, Fletcher C, Dawson, Sessegnon (Lambert 46), Rondon
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Chester, Gardner, Anichebe, Berahino, McManaman
Bookings: Olsson, Yacob
Goals: Reid (O.G) 50

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 34,914

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Under-18s pegged back by Arsenal
WHUFC.com

England U17 striker Jahmal Hector-Ingram stuck twice as the Under-18s
secured a 2-2 draw at home with Arsenal on Saturday morning. A week after
Norwich City condemned the Hammers to a 4-3 defeat at Little Heath, the
Academy got off to a brilliant start when Hector-Ingram fired in a brace to
give the hosts a healthy lead.
Just minutes later though, Gunners striker Eddie Nketiah finished past Tim
Brown to get the visitors back into the game, before the same player struck
early in the second half to drag the Gunners level. The Hammers made three
changes to the team that suffered heartbreak to Norwich a week earlier. U16
defender Abdoulahi Diallo made his first ever appearance at U18 level as he
replaced Jake Eggleton at right back, whilst winger Oscar Borg returned from
injury to take the place of Joe Powell in midfield and Ajibola Alese stepped
into the Hammers defence in place of the injured Ben Wells. Arsenal started
the game well and could have led after just ten minutes but after Yassin
Fortune stole the ball from Matty Carter around 20 yards out, he wasted an
opportunity to run clear on goal.

In typical fashion, the opposition punished them for that mistake as the
Hammers' opening goal came when a misplaced pass in the Arsenal defence was
latched onto quickly and finished confidently by Hector-Ingram. West Ham
immediately pushed again for a second but Dan Kemp, who recently joined the
Hammers from London rivals Chelsea, could only manage a tame shot straight
at Ryan Huddart. The second goal did come just a minute later though as Kemp
managed to find Hector-Ingram in the middle with a looping cross, with the
free-scoring striker allowed plenty of time to head home from five yards
with a diving header. Just two minutes later though, Arsenal masterminded a
way back into the fixture when Nketiah took on Alese in the box and fired
low across Brown into the far corner. The hosts raised the pressure once
more as both Borg and Hector-Ingram were causing Arsenal all sorts of
problems. Firstly, Borg watched his lobbed effort get cleared off the line,
before Hector-Ingram curled a shot just round the far post. After the break,
the visitors grabbed their equaliser when winger Joe Willock was allowed too
much time and space to run to the edge of the box and fire a shot at Brown,
who parried the ball straight to the feet of the hungry Nketiah who scored
his second goal of the game. The Academy were still strong in the second
half though and could have put themselves in front again when Diangana fired
wide, Kemp was denied a penalty and Hector-Ingram headed over from Vashon
Neufville's cross. In the final minutes of the game, West Ham had one last
chance to steal a victory when Diangana headed towards goal from Longelo's
cross, but Gunners keeper Huddart managed to make an incredible reaction
save to secure a share of the points for the visitors.

Under-18s Brown, Diallo, Akinola, Alese, Neufville, Carter, Lewis, Diangana,
Borg (Longelo), Kemp, Hector-Ingram

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Bilic - It was a fair result
WHUFC.com

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic felt the 1-1 draw against West Brom was
a fair result but was disappointed that his side could not make the most of
their best opening 45 minutes display this season. Bilic was thrilled with
how his team responded in the first half following the disappointing result
against Tottenham last week and saw his side get off to the perfect start
when Mauro Zarate fired the home side into the lead in spectacular fashion
with an impressive free-kick. Zarate and Manuel Lanzini had chances to
extend the lead and stole the show in the first half as they caused all
kinds of problems for the West Brom defence. But the Hammers failed to make
their superiority count and the Midlands side grabbed an equaliser shortly
after half-time when Rickie Lambert saw his shot deflect off Winston Reid
and into the back of the net.

Bilic's side were unable to find the crucial second and had to settle for a
point at the Boleyn Ground for the second consecutive home game. Bilic said:
"At the end you cannot say it wasn't a fair result. In the first half it was
one of the best in this part of the season. "We played really well and
created good chances. Their keeper made a couple of great saves. We were
pleased at half-time with the way we played. "I asked the players to
continue like that and keep the momentum high. We started the second half
well but then we conceded a goal and it affected us a lot. "It gives a boost
to the team who scores. We had a few more chances but the game was not so
fluent from us in the second half. "Manuel and Mauro were involved in most
of the moves and they dropped a bit in the second half because they used up
a lot of energy in the first half. "When they dropped a little bit we also
dropped and we are not happy with one point but we have to admit it was a
fair result."

Bilic was not surprised to see Zarate open the scoring with a superb
free-kick and says he practices set-pieces all the time in training. Bilic
added: "Mauro has got it and it is a natural talent he has got with the way
he shoots the ball. Whether it is from free-kicks or open play when he
scored against Chelsea. "He practices that every day in training and it
wasn't a surprise to see him do that. It was a great goal."

Diafra Sakho was forced to leave the field on 74 minutes after he picked up
an injury when he struck the ball into the side netting. The Senegal forward
will now see a specialist to see how long he will be ruled out of action.
Bilic said: "We still have to wait and the specialist will see him to give
an opinion. It looks like a muscle injury and the first news is not the
best. It is a big blow. "You can see injuries in every Club and to be fair
the number who are missing is not a lot, but the ones missing are key
players who play in the same position. It is very hard to replace them."

Bilic will now focus his attention on the next big away game against
Manchester United next Saturday, but he sees no reason why the team cannot
repeat their heroic displays against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City
and pick up another memorable away victory. "We have shown home or away that
we can take the game to any side and I am expecting something from this
game."

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Zarate - 'It wasn't enough'
WHUFC.com

Mauro Zarate's superb free kick against West Bromwich Albion would normally
be a source of great joy for the Argentine - but he admitted most of the
gloss was taken off by his team's failure to claim all three points.
Zarate's goal capped a fine first half from the Hammers, which saw them lead
1-0 against West Brom, only for a deflected Rickie Lambert strike to ensure
the points would be shared. The No10 now has five goals for the campaign,
but would have preferred the victory.
"We didn't feel so good with the result," he said. "We worked for the three
points, and thought all week about taking them - doing the pressing, doing a
good job, but it wasn't enough today. "We had to be 2-0 up after the first
half. We were dangerous, with Manu, Sakho and me we had many options. "But
in the second half they scored so quickly and that killed us."

Zarate's free-kick was real postage stamp stuff, right in the top corner and
out of goalkeeper Boaz Myhill's grasp, and he revealed that it was a case of
practice makes perfect. He added: "I practice the free-kicks every day, in
every training session with Rapha [Spiegel] or Adrian. It's a good way to
score and to give a goal for the team. "That one in the first half went in
the top corner, and I had another after half time but I couldn't put it in
the same place.

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Song - I have unfinished business
WHUFC.com

On the morning of what could be Alex Song's first start for West Ham United
since returning for a second spell in east London, the midfielder described
his "unfinished business" with the claret and blues. With Mark Noble
suspended having picked up a fifth booking last weekend, Song is a contender
to fill the gap left by the captain. Speaking to the Sunday Times ahead of
the Hammers' fixture with West Bromwich Albion, Song said: "It was easy for
me to come back. Coming back to West Ham is a big challenge, which is why I
had to do it. I was very happy here last season so that's why I came back to
West Ham."
When Song first signed for the Club in the summer of 2014 it was hailed as a
major coup, and it wasn't long before the Cameroonian international won over
the West Ham faithful with a series of dominating performances. Now, back
following a lengthy spell on the side-lines through injury, Song is more
motivated than ever to impress the fans once more. However he stated that he
is willing to be patient after such a long time out, he continued: "It is my
first time coming back from such a long time out so I will be patient; I
have to take it step by step. "When I am 100% I know what is coming, for
sure I am confident in myself. So I won't rush, if the manager gives me
another ten minutes today then I will take it. But I know that when I am
ready I will fly. "It might take a while to get there, that is fine with me
because I want the fans to see the best Alex Song there is. I don't want
them to see the player from the second half of last year; this is why I am
here. This is my challenge; I have unfinished business."

While Song's heart always looked set on a return to the Boleyn Ground after
his loan finished last year, it was his wife Olivia who finally convinced
him that West Ham was the best place for him and his family. He explained:
"It was my wife who first said 'Go to West Ham'. I had options from clubs in
the Champions League but she knew how much I had enjoyed it here last
season. We both love London and so do my kids so it was easy really. "I
already wanted to come here, but she was the one who helped me make my mind
up. She knows we better than I know myself, definitely!"

Listening to the former Arsenal and Barcelona man, his positivity is
infectious while his on-pitch style - gloves with rolled up shorts - is as
unique as his manner is off the pitch. If his boots today are anything to
go by, he could be back with a bang - or rather 'pow': "I've always wanted
to achieve as much possible, Arsenal did well when I was there, as did
Barcelona, now it is West Ham's time. "I was fortunate with the
opportunities I have had, joining Arsenal at 17, getting the opportunity to
play for Barcelona and now West Ham, they are all privileges. "Whenever I'm
on the pitch I just want to give my best. I want to make the fans happy and
play with a smile on my face. When I was at Arsenal and Barcelona, even if
we lost, we played with an identity, a style. "In football, mistakes are
going to happen, but as long as what you were trying to do is good, then it
is worth the risk. That is very important for me."

While Song is clearly in a positive frame of mind at the moment, he is just
as animated about the Club's future as he is about his own. "The way the
Club want to be and the way they want to go is unbelievable. The next stage
is the new stadium, then the new players. This has already started with
Lanzini and Payet, Mauro is back after being away last season and I think
this is just the start. "This season we have to finish very well, the new
manager has set very high standards for what we want to achieve. So if you
have the right manager, the players and the fans then you have all that you
need to succeed and West Ham has got all of those things. That is the right
environment for the team, and then it is down to us to perform. "Next season
I am sure more good players will come in. For me, I am sure that in the five
years' time West Ham will fight for first place. We are talking about five
years' time, but I am sure, the future will be very, very great."

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West Ham: Diafra Sakho injury concerns Slaven Billic
BBC.co.uk

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has concerns over an injury Diafra Sakho picked
up against West Brom. The striker immediately signalled he was unable to
carry on after having a shot blocked in Sunday's 1-1 draw with the Baggies.
"That worried me more than the result. I don't know if it's too early before
the scan but it looks like a muscle injury," said Bilic. "It's a big blow
for us after Enner Valencia and Dimitri Payet." Attacking midfielder Payet
was ruled out for three months with an ankle injury in early November.
Meanwhile, Valencia has been out since July after suffering an ankle injury
in a Europa League qualifying match.

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Slaven Bilic frustrated by West Ham's draw with West Brom
Last Updated: 29/11/15 6:48pm
SSN

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was left frustrated by the 1-1 draw with West
Brom but he had no complaints over the result. The Hammers went ahead in the
17th minute after a fantastic free-kick from Mauro Zarate, but a Winston
Reid own goal, as he deflected in Rickie Lambert's shot, saw the spoils
shared at Upton Park.
"At the end of the day, we're not happy but it is a fair result," Billc told
Sky Sports. I think if we were up two or not to mention three in the first
half, we probably would have held on in this game. But I have to be
realistic, that in the second half, they deserved the goal that was enough
to give them the point. "In the first half, we played really well and at
half-time I was pleased with the way we played, especially after we scored
the goal. "We deserved to be a minimum of 2-0 ahead because after Zarate's
magnificent goal, we were all over them and we created three or four great
chances and their keeper made three or four really good saves.

"In the second half, we started well but after they scored the goal, it gave
them the confidence and it blocked us. We came back, created some chances
and they had one good chance, but the game wasn't as fluid as it was in the
first half. So if I take the first half and second half, it's probably a
fair result." Bilic also praised the quality of Zarate's strike as he earned
his reward for dedicating time to set-pieces in training. "Mauro has got a
special kind of shooting skill," said Bilic. "Whether it is from a dead ball
or a free-kick or from open play, like he did against Chelsea for example,
he's just got it. "He's always practising. When it comes to free-kicks,
it's all about if he's going to hit the wall because he hits it too hard and
usually if the ball goes over the wall the way he wants, it's very difficult
for a goalkeeper to stop it. It was a great strike and a pleasure to see."

Bilic also expressed concern over an injury to Diafra Sakho, who was
replaced by Nikica Jelavic late in the game. "That worries me more than the
result," Bilic added.
"It's still too early before the scan to give a diagnosis but it looks like
a muscle injury. It's a big blow for us after losing Valencia and Payet and
it's a bit too much if I'm honest."

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West Ham 1-1 West Brom: Points shared at Upton Park
By Charlotte Marsh
Last Updated: 29/11/15 6:44pm
SSN

Mauro Zarate scored a stunning free-kick as West Ham drew 1-1 with West
Bromwich Albion at Upton Park. Winston Reid diverted Rickie Lambert's strike
into his own net early in the second half to level the scores, and despite
plenty of chances for both sides, neither could find the winner as the
points were shared. West Ham stay eighth after the weekend's fixtures, but
have gone above Everton, while West Brom stay in 13th, one point behind
Stoke and Watford. Darren Fletcher believes West Brom did enough in their
1-1 draw with West Ham to take all three points. Darren Fletcher believes
West Brom did enough in their 1-1 draw with West Ham to take all three
points.The Hammers are now unbeaten in their last five on home turf but have
gone four league games without a win, while Tony Pulis' men are now unbeaten
in two. It was certainly a game of two halves, with West Ham superior in the
first and West Brom looking better in the second. The Baggies started the
game with four centre-backs in defence, with Jonny Evans deputising at
left-back and Craig Dawson on the right.
West Ham had the first chance of the game around the 10-minute mark, and it
was a mistake by Jonas Olsson that gifted the ball to Diafra Sakho, who
played in Victor Moses to run towards goal. The Chelsea loanee in turn
picked out Manuel Lanzini to his left, and he fed the ball through to Zarate
on a tight angle but his shot could only find the side of the net. It was
the first flash of what the Hammers attack had in store. At the other end,
Zarate lost out to Darren Fletcher, who picked out an advancing Salomon
Rondon at the edge of the box, but it ended up going just wide of the post.
West Ham struck in the 17th minute as Zarate fired a sublime free-kick,
awarded after Gareth McAuley had held back Sakho, over the top of the Albion
wall and into the net. It was all West Ham for the remainder of the first
half and they could have scored a quick second when Aaron Cresswell sent in
a cross from the left, picking out the run of Cheikhou Kouyate, who got his
head on the ball but it whistled past the far post.

Waves of West Ham attacks kept coming and a Claudio Yacob mistake gifted the
ball to the impressive Lanzini, who shot from just inside the box but Boaz
Myhill made a reaction save with his shins. Zarate and Lanzini were the
stars of the first half and they linked up once again a few minutes later,
with Zarate nicking the ball from just outside the box, picking out Lanzini
for the shot but the Baggies 'keeper was there again to make a good save.
Pulis knew he had to change something after being over-run in the opening 45
minutes, replacing Stephane Sessegnon with Lambert and he was rewarded for
his swap just four minutes into the second half.
Carl Jenkinson's clearing header was met by man-of-the-match Darren
Fletcher, who kept the ball alive, knocking it down to Lambert who shot from
distance with the effort taking a huge deflection off Reid. The ball
originally looked to be going wide but the West Ham captain, who was making
his 150th appearance for the club, diverted it towards goal and caught
goalkeeper Adrian off-guard. The Hammers 'keeper was kept busy after that,
making two great saves in quick succession to keep West Brom from taking the
lead. Lambert took a free-kick that flew under the wall but Adrian was there
to palm it away before saving from a Rondon header at point-blank range,
after another great through ball from Fletcher, while James McClean skied
the rebound. However, it was West Ham who had the better chances to nick the
winner in the final 15 minutes. Yacob, who misses next weekend's game
against Spurs after picking up a fifth yellow card, again gave the ball away
to Moses in the middle of the park and he played in Sakho on his right, but
the striker fired it into the side of the net and injured himself in the
process, eventually being replaced by Nikica Jelavic. Moses had another
glorious chance in the 89th minute and after a bit of pinball in the area,
Lanzini looped the ball across the box to find the winger, who hit the ball
on the volley first time but his effort fizzed wide. McClean also had the
chance to poke home the winner in injury-time after being played in by
Lambert, with Cresswell's late free-kick well saved by Myhill as the game
ended all square in east London.

Player ratings

West Ham: Adrian (7), Jenkinson (6), Reid (6), Ogbonna (6), Cresswell (7),
Obiang (6), Kouyate (6), Zarate (8), Lanzini (7), Moses (7), Sakho (6).
Subs: Antonio (5), Carroll (6), Jelavic (5).

West Brom: Myhill (7), Dawson (6), Evans (7), Olsson (6), McAuley (6),
McClean (7), Yacob (5), Fletcher (8), Morrison (6), Sessegnon (5), Rondon
(7).
Subs: Lambert (7)

Man of the Match: Darren Fletcher

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Kouyate stars as Irons snatch point
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Irons 1 WBA 1

Mauro Zarate's wondrous goal was cancelled out by one of the luckiest we are
likely to see in a long time as the Hammers were held to a draw. The No 10
lifted a magnificent free kick into the top corner in the 16th minute after
Sakho had been held by Olssen to set us on what looked like a
straightforward three points against a poor Baggies team in the first 45.

Kouyate should have put us further ahead but somehow managed to head wide in
front of goal from Cresswell's cross before Myhill went low to save from
Lanzini.
The little Argeninian had a great afternoon and saw another fierce drive
parried by the Baggies keeper. He was then at the heart of another move
involving Zarate and Moses before seeing his shot fly for a corner. The
manager had recalled Ogbonna for Tomkins and he looked in good nick at the
back and opted to play Sakho through the middle with Carroll on the bench.
Obiang came in for Noble. It looked far far better and anything other than a
Hammers win looked impossible on the basis of a dominant first 45 minutes.
Albion boss Tony Pulis thre two up at the start of the second half and
within five minutes of the break they were level when Lambert's wayward
drive deflected off Reid, wrong footing Adrian. A shocker. But they bossed
the second period with Adrian being called on to make a wonder save from
Rondon as the visitors poured forward. The Hammers were second best
throughout the second half but might have nicked it at the death when Myhill
saved well from a well struck Cresswell free kick. Carroll had entered the
action on the hour and saw one goal bound effort well blocked and Jelavic
appeared late on for Sakho who went of holding his thigh. Perhaps the
biggest cheer of the afternoon though - apart from the goal - came when
Michail Antonio was introduced in the 83rd minute for Zarate. In the end a
draw was probably a fair result and at least helped us up to seventh place
tonight.

Ratings: Adrian 7; Jenkinson 5, Reid 7 Ogbonna 6 Cresswell 7; Obiang 6 ,
Kouyate 8, Lanzini 7 Zarate 7, Moses 6, Sakho 7. Subs: Carroll 5 Jelavic 5
Antonio 5

MAN OF THE MATCH: KOUYATE

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Bilic gets a January transfer warning
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has been told there is no cash to strengthen the
squad in the January transfer window. Despite a growing injury list of key
players it has been made clear to the manager that there is no cash left in
the kitty and he will have to sell if he wants to buy. The warning came
after ClaretandHugh checked out the latest speculation that Inter Milan
full-back Danilo D'Ambrosio was a January target. But we were immediately
told "that is nothing more than a piece of guesswork and just not true."

Diafra Sakho is the latest injury victim and could possibly join Dimi Payet
and Enner Valencia as a long term victim after sustaining a thigh injury
this afternoon against West Brom. But this evening (Sun) we were told by a
top insider that if the manager wants to strengthen there will have to be
departures to fund them. We were told: "It's tiring to continually be saying
it and not being believed but there is no cash for transfers in January.
"The club has spent 100 per cent of allowed wages under FFP. So unless
somebody goes nobody is coming in.If you exceed the wages cap you get a fine
or possibly even a points deduction."

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Sakho injury blow: Club sweats it out
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Diafra Sakho is understood to have suffered an injury similar to that which
kept Pedro Obiang out of action for several weeks. ClaretandHugh learned
this evening that the striker has sustained a quadriceps injury but - as is
always the case - the full extent of the problem won't be known until the
player has been scanned.
However, we have been told within the last few minutes that the medics
believe that's the problem and we will be sweating it out, probably until
Wednesday, before we know how serious or otherwise the injury maybe. Sakho
looked to have taken a relatively straightforward fall but he was signalling
he needed to come off as soon as he hit the ground. A thigh strain or
quadriceps strain is a tear in one of the quadriceps muscles at the front of
the thigh. It can range from a mild discomfort to a full blown tear of most
of the muscle resulting in severe pain and inability to walk. Thigh strains
are graded 1 to 3 depending on how bad the injury is with a grade 1 being
mild and a grade 3 involving a complete or near complete tear of the muscle.
A source said: "We are hoping for the best but there could be another
lengthy problem."

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Zarate nails the key issue
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Mauro Zarate has nailed the problem we gave ourselves against West Bromwich.
Not long had elapsed after the final whistle than the Argentinian was out on
Twitter giving his take on what had gone wrong. And it's difficult to
disagree given the amount of possession we had during the first 45 minutes
along with the chances we created. He and Manu Lanzini were at the heart of
every good thing produced by the Hammers and this may even go down as his
best performance in a Hammers shirt. The free kick was absolutely sublime
and he slammed another into goalkeeper Myhill's arms in the second half. In
between times he and midfield partner produced some scintillating moments to
keep us all on the edge of our chairs. But for all the great first half
football, we only had the one set piece goal to show for our efforts and
there was always the feeling we might live to regret that. A valuable point
but as Mauro says we probably contributed to our own downfall.

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Baggies honour the Boleyn memory
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Fair play to West Bromwich Albion. No sooner had the the teams battled to a
1- draw at the Boleyn this afternoon than the official Twitter account of
the club provided a really nice touch. They are the first visiting outfit so
far to remember publicly that this would be their proud old club's last
visit to the ground and they were quick to remind us and their own fans of
the battles the two have enjoyed down the years.

Using the picture seen here the club tweeted: #FarewellBoleyn Thanks for the
memories and many matches over the years #WBA

That really was a seriously nice touch and will surely be received with
pride by their own and our supporters. Thanks guys!

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Unhappy Bilic gives his verdict
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on November 29, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic declared this afternoon's draw against West Bromwich Albion a
"fair result" but after a fine first half performance admitted: "We aren't
happy." And he believes that had we nicked another goal - our first half
performance had deserved - that would have been enough to get the three
points. He: "The one goal lead gave them the confidence to come and have a
go at us but for all that we created our chances and could have won it. "In
the end they got their goal and might have had another but I believe we
could have gone on to win it so we are not happy. "In the end though I have
to admit that on the way the game went it was a fair result."

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