Daily WHUFC News - 16th March 2015

Cole ready to return
WHUFC.com

Carlton Cole is ready to return to training and help West Ham United end
their indifferent run of results. The centre forward has been ruled out with
a hamstring injury suffered in the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at
Tottenham Hotspur on 22 February. Speaking on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday
programme, the long-serving No24 will be back in training this week ahead of
next weekend's visit of struggling Sunderland. With the Hammers on a run of
just one win in their last 12 league matches, conceding a number of late
goals in the process, Cole wants to get back to playing and scoring goals in
Claret and Blue. "It's been a disappointing run but we'll come through it,"
said the striker, who has netted 68 goals for the Club. "Sam will just keep
drilling into our heads that what we're doing is unacceptable, so we'll come
good in the end. "We just need to get that win on the board. Once we get
that next win, I think we'll be fine, but right now we're in a lull and
we're trying to dig our way out of it and get some points on the table. "At
the start of the season, everything was going for us, but things have
started to tail-off a little bit. I think mentally we're a bit comfortable
because we're not fighting a relegation battle."

While he admits the Hammers are enjoying mid-table security, he denied that
the players have taken their foot off the gas, consciously or
sub-consciously."I don't think it is that, I think it is just our form and
once we get that next win then we'll start enjoying it again and it'll start
ticking over for us," Cole continued. "Right now, it's just our form that we
need to find and we can move on. "It is frustrating to concede late goals,
especially the ones against Spurs because they were a killer blow for us. It
hurts and knocks the stuffing out of you, but that's when you need to find
your character as a team and pull through. "We've got a great bunch of lads
and everybody pulls in the same direction and that's what we've got to do
again now."

Cole was also asked about his recent issues with social media. The
31-year-old is a prolific user of Twitter and Instagram, but recently fell
foul of the authorities after being fined £20,000 by the FA for an
inappropriate tweet – his second such fine following an earlier breach of
the rules in 2011. While he admitted he should not have allowed trolls to
wind him up, Cole called for stronger action to be taken against those who
bait footballers and others in the public eye. "The amount of abuse you get
on Twitter is sometimes unruly and you can't defend yourself as a
footballer," he explained. "Obviously I know I've got responsibility and I'm
a role model and some of the language that gets spouted at you, you can't
return it. You've got to be very aware of that and I did make a mistake.
"You can't defend yourself. You're a sitting duck really and you need to try
and be able to blank it out of your mind – but some of the stuff they say is
too much. "If you can't handle it you should stay off Twitter or else you're
going to be getting fined a lot. Forty grand hurts! I try to keep it
humorous on Twitter, but sometimes being humorous does get you into trouble.
"I like to interact with the fans and tell my jokes. I just like to show my
emotions. We're not robots, us footballers, and Twitter is a great avenue to
show our real character."

You can follow Carlton Cole on Twitter @CarltonCole1.

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O'Brien rues timing of Giroud's goal
WHUFC.com

West Ham United defender Joey O'Brien said conceding just before half time
took the wind out of the Hammers' sails as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat away
at Arsenal. French international Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in the
45th minute when he struck a fierce shot in off the far post to break the
deadlock. Late on in the second half, the Gunners sealed the three points
with goals from Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini. Speaking after the game,
O'Brien identified Arsenal's opener as the turning point: "I think conceding
right before half-time knocked the wind out of our sails a little bit. "If
you go in 0-0 at half-time you have a different game plan in the second
half. But with that goal, the pressures off them a little bit, they can sit
back and we're chasing the game. They have some quality players in their
side so it was always going to be difficult."

The Irish international has had limited first team opportunities due to Carl
Jenkinson's impressive form this season, making ten appearances. However,
the 29-year-old put in an assured performance against the likes of Mesut
Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. "It was nice to be back out there. I haven't played
as much as I would've liked and it's been tough. But these are the games you
want to be involved with. "As a kid growing up I was an Arsenal fan and I've
always enjoyed playing against them. This is a great place to play football,
if you can't enjoy playing at the Emirates, you're in the wrong job." "It's
hard when you're not playing but you have to stay professional and train
hard, do the extra bits of work with the fitness coach after the game. It's
not something you want to be doing but you have to make sure you're match
ready."

Despite the defeat, O'Brien is confident that the Hammers will bounce back
next weekend when they host Sunderland. With Carl Jenkinson eligible again,
O'Brien will also be hoping that his performance against the north London
outfit was enough to keep him in the side.
"We need a big win next Saturday against Sunderland. We haven't won in a
long time and that's taken the shine off how well we started the season. "We
need to kick on for the last nine games. We've got the big boys out of the
way now so hopefully we can kick on and get some points on the board. "With
Carl not eligible to play, it was my opportunity to show what I can do and
hopefully I've done enough."

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Carlton Cole rues fine for 'trying to be humorous' on Twitter
Last Updated: 15/03/15 12:59pm
SSN

Carlton Cole believes his £20,000 fine is a heavy price to pay for trying to
be funny on social media. The West Ham striker admitted breaking the FA's
social media rules this week after posting an abusive term on his Twitter
account in response to a post from a Tottenham fan following the 2-2 draw on
February 22. Cole was fined £20,000 – just as he was for a Tweet he posted
in 2011 – and he has conceded he made a mistake by responding. "I was
disappointed I got done," he told Goals on Sunday. "The amount of abuse you
get on Twitter is sometimes unruly and you can't defend yourself as a
footballer. "Obviously I know I've got responsibility and I'm a role model
and some of the language that gets spouted at you, you can't return it.
You've got to be very aware of that and I did make a mistake. "You can't
defend yourself. You're a sitting duck really and you need to try and be
able to blank it out of your mind – but some of the stuff they say is too
much. "If you can't handle it you should stay off Twitter or else you're
going to be getting fined a lot. "Forty grand hurts! I try to keep it
humorous on Twitter, but sometimes being humorous does get you into
trouble." However, Cole vowed the incidents would not deter him from using
Twitter to talk to supporters. "I like to interact with the fans and tell my
jokes," he added. "I just like to show my emotions. We're not robots, us
footballers, and Twitter is a great avenue to show our real character."

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Cresswell linked with Arsenal
Posted by Sean Whetstone on March 15, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

According to a report in the Sun on Sunday, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is
lining up a summer move for Hammers left-back Aaron Cresswell. The
25-year-old joined West Ham from Championship team Ipswich Town for £3.75m
last summer. Cresswell's debut campaign in the Premier League has been a
massive success so far with many tipping him as an early contender for
Hammer of the year. "Arsenal are ready to make a summer swoop for Aaron
Cresswell. The Gunners boss is eyeing up competition for Kieran Gibbs as
Nacho Monreal could be heading back to Spain after two years at the Emirates
Stadium," The Sun reported

In recent weeks Cresswell has also been linked to a bid from Manchester
City, however Allardyce ruled out a new deal on the basis of a few rumours.
"I wouldn't think he'd need a new contract just yet because I think he
signed a four-year deal. Just because people put in the paper that
Manchester City are interested in him is no need for giving him a new
contract – just on rumour. I wouldn't think it's in the chairman's mind at
the moment to look at that contract." said Allardyce.

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Hammers showing relegation form
Posted by Sean Whetstone on March 15, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

The official Premier League form guide shows that West Ham are demonstrating
relegation form in 18th place just above QPR and Leicester City despite
being 4th place in the Premier League on Christmas day last year. The
Hammers have not managed a win in the last six games and only managed one
home win in the past twelve matches. We have earned just eight points since
Christmas day.

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EXCLUSIVE: DS reacts to 'Tevez return' story
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 15, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Carlos Tevez is NOT going to make a West Ham United return. Irons co
chairman David Sullivan has reacted quickly to newspaper speculation this
morning (Sun) that the 31 year old is set for a Hammers return. The Mail
claims that the club want him as their marquee signing as they bid to sell
season tickets for their new home believing too it would encourage other
high quality players to join the club. Currently with Juventus, the former
Iron would be a hugely popular signing but the chances of it happening are
next to zero according to Sullivan.
Speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh the club chief explained that there
were problems on two fronts which made the move all but impossible. He said:
"We'd love to sign him, but he's indicated as recently as the Argentina
friendly at Upton Park he's not interested in coming. "Also, with the wage
cap and Financial Fair Play rules I doubt we could afford him either."

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Gold and Sullivan still undecided on Big Sam's future – The ExWHUemployee
Column
By ExWHUemployee on March 15, 2015 in ExWHUemployee column

The Arsenal game was a disappointment. I thought 3-0 was a bit harsh but
that said we didn't really look like scoring. I didn't expect much from the
game and with so many injuries I expected even less.

The main frustration for me was the crossing and set pieces. When you play
the big teams you have to make sure that you take these chances as not many
come along. I felt our wide players, especially Matt Jarvis, got into good
positions yet time and time again failed to deliver any sort of decent
delivery into the box. Our set pieces were dire and something I had
previously associated as being a major strength of Big Sam's teams. You have
to at least beat the first man or keep the ball in the box to have any sort
of impact! (stating the obvious I know). I don't like to slate players but
Jarvis has been such a let-down and I would much rather have seen Morgan or
Nene play there. I also think it is fair to say that Sakho shouldn't be
employed as a lone forward; he doesn't have the physical presence to be
effective against big centre backs. I would put Carlton Cole in against
Sunderland with Sakho and revert back to the diamond. Stewart Downing just
simply isn't the same player when not at the tip of the diamond. Revert back
to this formation and put him there – simples. I would go Adrian, Jenkinson,
Collins, Reid, Cresswell, Song, Kouyate, Noble, Downing Sakho and Cole
assuming there are no further injuries and that Reid and Cole can return but
not Valencia and Tomkins.

Speaking of injuries, I heard about the Valencia injury quite early on but
was told that the club wanted to keep it secret so that Arsenal didn't know
that news before the game. I made sure I didn't tweet it out but of course
with the joys of social media many others had also heard the news and did.
Our luck with injuries this season has been comical. Sakho nearly burnt his
flat down making a cup of tea and Valencia gets injured on a mug, all clubs
ban alcohol before a match and I think we should also do the same with tea!
Andy Carroll's injuries are well documented and now Zarate is back training
with us because of a knee injury although he hasn't been recalled
permanently.

Tomkins injury was unfortunate. It is also typical that we cannot recall
Henry from a month's loan. Henry seems to be really impressing at
Blackburn. I have seen Sam being abused by many for allowing Henry to go on
loan and I don't agree. Yes with hindsight it seems a silly decision but
that is easy to say. Henry hasn't got any English football experience and
was behind Reid, Tomkins and Collins at the time and also Kouyate. It makes
sense to give him some experience and match fitness at that moment but of
course we then lost Tomkins and Reid and the situation changed.

It is still unclear whether Sam will be here next season and I genuinely do
believe the club will make the decision based upon how we finish the season.
As I have said in many articles the club want someone with Premier League
experience and that Moyes is the preferred choice. Our next three fixtures
are Sunderland and Stoke at home, along with Leicester away. If we still
haven't picked up at least one win by then I would be extremely
disappointed. Apart from Manchester City away we also have QPR away, Burnley
at home, Villa away, Everton at home and Newcastle away. I really think we
should judge this season at the end of it because there are still many
points to be won. I understand Sam's flaws and why some fans are so
frustrated with him but let see where we end the season. If we finish in the
top ten then I think it will be a good season, as was suggested on this
week's episode of Iron Views TV. (Although I am sure many will still argue
otherwise).

Arsenal was a disappointment but we are playing the perfect team to play at
home next. I think we will comfortably pick up three points and things will
feel different than they do now.

Come on you Irons.

ExWHUemployee

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Ravel Morrison to train with Lazio as former West Ham midfielder prepares
for summer move
19:03, 15 March 2015 By Dean Jones
Morrison mutually agreed to terminate his contract with West Ham last month
after agreeing a switch to the Rome club on the Bosman ruling
The Mirror

Ravel Morrison is taking an early flight to Italy to prepare for his Lazio
adventure. Morrison signed a pre-contract with Lazio that will begin in the
summer - and he will train with their reserve team before then. He can not
play for the Italians until next season but club chiefs believe it would
benefit Morrison to join up early so that he can adapt to the country and
maintain a regular training programme.
With that in mind Morrison has agreed to jet off to Italy this month. The
move to Italy is a chance for Morrison to start afresh after a tough time in
English football. He was one of Manchester United's brightest stars as a kid
but struggled to fulfil his potential, spending loan spells with QPR and
Cardiff last year before West Ham terminated his contract.

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West Ham may have been outgunned by Arsenal, but Sam Allardyce is no closer
to losing his job
Julian Shea for Metro.co.ukSunday 15 Mar 2015 6:59 pm
metro.co.uk

Well who could have seen that one coming? Pretty much everyone. West Ham
fans may have gone to Arsenal talking a good game, but beneath the pre-match
bluster, realistically, hopes were not high. And that proved to be as a fair
assessment as, all too predictably, the home side ran out 3-0 winners.
Although it took two goals in the last 10 minutes to seal the win, as the
statistics and post-match comments from the Hammers' dressing room revealed,
their superiority was absolute. While a seventh win in eight games was
heart-warming news for Arsene Wenger, and the Irons, the numbers make less
positive reading: conceding 13 goals in five matches, one win in 12 league
games – an 11th visit to Arsenal without victory for manager Sam Allardyce.
And this match was the tenth last before his contract expires. It's almost
like there was some sort of countdown pattern emerging there…

Pre-match, Allardyce admitted West Ham's season – which saw them in fourth
in the table at Christmas, and thinking quite realistically about Europe –
had become 'a disappointment'. He has yet to make his views clear on what
bears do in the woods or the Pope's leanings, but that sense of
disappointment can only have grown greater after Saturday's defeat. However,
for all fans' frustration, it seems that this close to the end of his
contract, it would take Allardyce getting in touch with his inner Clarkson
for him not to see it out.

Never forget, this is the man revealed by the Daily Mail last season to be
the 13th highest paid coach in world football. Yes, you did read that right.
Presumably any such contract would have matching severance terms so to
off-load him with single figure matches left before his time is up anyway
makes no financial sense. Ironically, one rumour that has been swirling
round on a regular basis is that he is already pencilled in to take over
next season at Sunderland, one of the clubs where he played – and even more
bizarrely, their current manager Gus Poyet (whose son Diego, of course, is
already at the Boleyn) has been mentioned as a possible candidate for any
future Upton Park vacancy.

However, having previously blamed the media for turning Sunderland fans
against him – which won him no friends in either camp – Poyet's reputation
took another knock on Saturday as his struggling side began the second half
of their 4-0 home thrashing by Aston Villa with just 10 men on the pitch.

You will never guess who West Ham's next opponents are…

Allardyce will welcome the Black Cats crossing his path, because he
desperately needs some good fortune, and they are as likely as anyone to
supply it. With West Ham and their fans now starting to look towards the end
of the season with an increasing sense of relief, he can have a look at the
new team he may be working with next season Also, in case you were
wondering, in 12 league visits with Everton, David Moyes never won at
Arsenal either.

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