Daily WHUFC News - II 22nd September 2015

Preview - Leicester City
WHUFC.com

The background

West Ham United begin their Capital One Cup campaign when they take on
Leicester City at the third round stage on Tuesday night. The Hammers enter
at this round having been involved in Europe this season and have been
handed an all-Premier League tie first up, against a team who beat them in
league action little over a month ago. On that occasion Shinji Okazaki and
Riyad Mahrez hit the back of the net to ensure Mark Noble's second half
penalty counted for little. Adrian also saw red late on to complete a
miserable first home game of the season for the Hammers. Leicester are the
only unbeaten side left in the top flight, and like the Hammers have 12
points from their opening six games. In the Capital One Cup they saw off
Bury by a 4-1 scoreline at Gigg Lane. Claudio Ranieri's men have a
remarkable record of coming from behind to claim a positive result in their
last four matches, so Slaven Bilic will remind his team that they will have
to remain on their guard throughout.

The history

Leicester are three-time League Cup winners, having lifted the trophy in
1964, 1997 and 2000. In 1964, the Foxes defeated West Ham in the semi-finals
before defeating Stoke City to lift the trophy. The Hammers, meanwhile, have
finished as runners-up in this competition on two occasions – in 1966 and
1981. They have reached the semi-finals twice in recent times – in 2010/11
and 2013/14. West Ham and Leicester have met on 124 previous occasions, with
the east Londoners having won 51 times. Leicester have 44 victories to their
credit and there have been 29 draws. Bilic's men will be aiming to snap a
two-game losing streak against the Foxes, having lost 2-1 at the King Power
Stadium in April, then falling by the same scoreline a month ago.

The match
Team news

West Ham United

Andy Carroll could be in line for his first start since recovering from a
long-standing knee injury having recently returned to the first team squad.
The likes of James Collins and Darren Randolph could also be involved, while
Mauro Zarate and Cheikhou Kouyate will both be looking to return after
missing out with injury recently .The League Cup could also provide an
opportunity for youngsters Reece Oxford and Josh Cullen, but Michail Antonio
and Nikica Jelavic are both cup-tied having featured in the first round for
Nottingham Forest and Hull City respectively.

Leicester City

Claudio Ranieri is set to make a number of changes to the team which drew
2-2 with Stoke City at the weekend. Young striker Joe Doodoo, who scored a
hat-trick in the previous round against Bury, looks set to make his home
debut for the club.

Match facts

Tuesday's referee is Peter Bankes. He will be assisted by Ronald Ganfield
and Timothy Wood, while Trevor Kettle is the fourth official.
The clubs met in the League Cup in 1963/64, with Leicester winning the
semi-final tie 6-3 on aggregate.
Leicester striker Joe Doodoo scored with every shot he attempted at Bury in
round two, notching a hat-trick.
West Ham's previous four third round ties have produced 17 goals.
Leicester haven't played a home League Cup tie as a top flight side since
2001, when they were thrashed 6-0 by Leeds United
Ticket, travel, coverage and other information

Approximately 200 tickets will be available to purchase by West Ham United
supporters at the King Power Stadium (cash only) from the Sub Ticket Office
2 (located between the East and South Stands) from 6.15pm. Matchday prices
are £15 Adults, £9 Over-65s/Under-22s, £6 Under-18s, £1 Under-12s
If you're not heading to the game, you can follow the game live on our
digital platforms. whufc.com's live match centre will have live text
updates, audio commentary, in-running stats and images, while you can get
involved on social using the hashtag #LEIWHU.
Supporters travelling by road can find traffic info here and train news can
be found here.
Early morning rain is set to clear in Leicester in time for kick-off.
Temperatures this evening will drop to around 12C (54C).

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Slaven Speaks - Leicester City
WHUFC.com

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic says the Club have a strong chance of
winning the Capital One Cup this season and will be looking to maintain
their impressive away form when they travel to the King Power Stadium. The
Hammers have enjoyed a superb start on their travels picking up memorable
wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City last
Saturday. The players were back in for training on Monday before making the
short trip to the Midlands and are full of confidence as they prepare for
the first major cup competition this season. Bilic is taking the Capital One
Cup seriously and hopes the latest victory over the Premier League leaders
will give everyone in the squad the confidence to achieve a similar kind of
result when they face Leicester. Bilic said: "The greatest manager of the
Croatian team said that after a big win he would not like to play for a
couple of months and to enjoy it. "But we have the game on Tuesday and it is
a big game for us. It is a competition where we know we have a chance. "You
never know what will happen but what I can say is that we will give our
best. "We are approaching the competition with the aim to win it if
possible. We are not the favourites but that will be our approach."

Bilic is hoping to utilise his squad for the game on Tuesday night, but will
be unable to choose new signings Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic as they
are cup-tied. Mauro Zarate, Andy Carroll and James Collins will all be
pushing for a starting place and the Hammers manager reveals he will look to
rest some players who have worked so hard in the recent victories over
Newcastle and Manchester City. Bilic added: "We will try to look at other
players. It is a shame that Michail and Jelavic cannot play as they have
already played in the competition and are cup-tied. "But we will try to
maintain our chances and keep the same quality on the pitch. "If possible it
will be good to rest a couple of players who played against Newcastle and
Manchester City on Saturday." Youngsters Reece Oxford, Josh Cullen and
Elliot Lee could all come into contention, while Cheikhou Kouyate is also
hoping to make a return to the squad after missing the City victory with a
minor niggle.

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Brown happy with first goal of the season
WHUFC.com

West Ham United striker Jordan Brown was delighted to open his account for
the season with a well taken finish for the Dev Squad, just four minutes
into their game against Newcastle United.
The 18-year-old striker collected the ball on the edge of the area, burst
through the defence and slotted coolly past Magpies' goalkeeper Brendan
Pearson. Speaking after the game, the No9 said: "I'm happy to score my first
goal of the season but disappointed we didn't get the win. "I'm happy with
my goal; I just composed myself and put it in the back of the net."

The young Hammers started the brighter side, and had further opportunities
to score. Brown went close several times as did Marcus Browne, Djair
Parfitt-Williams and George Dobson. However the visiting Magpies rallied,
equalising through Ivan Toney's finish before Callum Roberts scored late on.
However, Martin Samuelsen managed to salvage his side a point with a 90th
minute penalty which he confidently tucked away. "We were the team with most
chances, I'd like to see the possession stats but we definitely had the most
chances. "That is a big positive. We got our first point which is good for
confidence, even though we've played better this season and lost."

Another positive for the Hammers was Michail Antonio's impressive
performance. The winger looked dangerous every time he was on the ball
before being replaced, as planned, by Lewis Page on his return from injury,
after an hour. "Michail is a great player, it was nice to get the
opportunity to play with him. It was good that he came down and wanted to
play with the U21s. "He's got a lot of experience in the Championship, he's
strong and powerful, a pacey winger and he gave me a couple of really good
balls."

Brown continued to thank the number of fans who turned up to support the
U21s on a wet Monday evening before looking ahead to the Hammers' next game,
away at Stoke City on Saturday 26 September. "It's always special to play at
the Boleyn Ground, particularly in the last season here. Whenever we play
here it gives us that extra motivation to go and do well. "The fans that
came certainly got right behind us and that helped us too. I'm not sure we
would have found our second goal without them. "Hopefully we'll get our
first win of the season away at Stoke on the weekend. If keep the positives
tonight and play to our potential, I'm confident we can do that."

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Hard work the key for Lanzini
WHUFC.com

Manuel Lanzini has enjoyed a superb start to life with West Ham United,
helping the team to victories in all three Barclays Premier League games he
has started. Having won at Liverpool, Lanzini was then involved in victories
against Newcastle United and Manchester City as the Hammers climbed to third
in the table. The Argentine credits the team's fine form to their hard work
and says the focus is on ensuring that continues. He explained: "It was an
unexpected victory and we did it because of our hard work. There are a lot
of good players here and hopefully we can keep doing this. "Slaven Bilic is
a very good manager and a very good person. Everything he tries to teach us
is reflected on the pitch. He reads the game very well so we hope to keep
getting the kind of results we're getting. "We are very lucky to have Adrian
as a keeper. He was very good on Saturday, he made good saves and thankfully
for him we won."

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From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com

It is unbelievable what is happening to us at the moment. I don't think many
people would have predicted we would go and beat Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester City. It tells me that we have got a serious squad of players. At
the start we said our aim was to finish in the top ten, but who knows what
could happen now this season. We brought in great players like Payet, Moses,
Obiang, Ogbonna and it is hard to believe we would have this amount of
success so early on in the season – especially after the home defeats
against Leicester and Bournemouth. But we then go and beat Liverpool,
Newcastle and the Premier League leaders last weekend and now have three
wins from the last three games. We need to avoid any serious long-term
injuries and if we manage to do that I think this could be a very special
season. Of course you need your best players to be on top of their game and
there is no doubt that Winston Reid was one of the best players on the pitch
against City. He showed his desire to win and he was outstanding. I think if
someone had driven a bus from the half-way line, he would have headed it
away! He is a top class central defender and we showed with his new
long-term deal how much we wanted him to stay. We are building a team and a
squad that is good enough to compete when we move into the new Stadium next
summer and Winston remains a key part of that. I also want to highlight the
performance from James Tomkins who was also magnificent and has showed his
versatility this season producing outstanding displays at both right back
and centre-half. It certainly gives us options if a player gets injured
during a game that James can easily fit into another position. I know Slaven
picked out Diafra Sakho for his superb display leading the attack and his
work-rate throughout the game. Sakho is a very unusual centre-forward in
that most of the players who play in his position don't work as hard as what
he does. Diafra runs for the team and pulls defenders out of position. He
never stopped with his work-rate and was rewarded with a goal as well. I
believe there is nothing stopping him scoring 20 goals this season. There
are not many strikers outside the top four club who can do that, but if he
stays fit, why can't he achieve that? I know we are only six games into the
season, but we have beaten three of the best teams in the Premier League and
it does lay down a marker. Our expectations are sky high.
I feel this is the best squad of players in our time in charge of the Club
and they are capable of taking us onto the next level. We now switch our
attentions to the Capital One Cup and a big game against Leicester on
Tuesday night. I look back at the history of being a West Ham United fan and
some of our finest moments have come in the cup competitions. We won the FA
Cup back in 1964, 1975 and 1980 but that is a long time-ago and it would be
a fitting way for us to finish our final ever season at the Boleyn Ground if
we could win some major silverware.
It is disappointing that our new signings Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic
are cup-tied but I am excited at the prospect of seeing Andy Carroll get
some more game time under his belt.
He had a few minutes against Newcastle last week and Andy is looking as fit
as I have ever seen him. He is raring to go. We were very disappointed to
lose against Leicester in the league, but they have continued their amazing
form from the end of last season. If we manage to win there, we would have
beaten a very good side.

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Leicester City v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 22nd September 2015
By: Preview Percy

This will probably be the only match preview you read that tackles the
"Great Crisp Packet Controversy". Here's Preview Percy to show why this is
not necessarily a good thing.....

'Tis to the Midlands we next wend our jolly way where our hosts in the
League Cup 3rd round will be Leicester City. Kick-off is 7:45pm, with extra
time and penalties both being available to decide the tie on the night if
required. By the way, the last train back from Leicester to St Pancras
leaves at 21:58 – the next one being at 04:45 the following morning. Best
hope for a long penalty shootout to save on the hotel bills then.

Leicester have had a decent start to the season sitting in 4th place.
They've had to work a bit for that over the past couple of weeks, going 2-0
down to Villa before coming back to take all three points. And just this
weekend they had to come back from a similar deficit to pick up a point at
Stoke. Three of their points came courtesy of their 2-1 win at the Boleyn,
after which Anthony Taylor was suspended, fined £50,000 and barred from all
football-related activity until he had satisfactorily completed a course of
retraining. Or at least that's what would have happened had the same
principles of justice applied to the criminal organisation that supplies
referees to the Premier League as does to clubs and players.

Leicester's path to the third round was relatively relaxed. The first round
was obviously a rest day for Premier League clubs, whilst they eased past
Bury 4-1 at Gigg Lane in the second. They did require two late goals to make
the score look slightly more comfortable though, youngster Joe Dodoo netting
in the 86th and 90th minutes to complete his hat-trick on his first-team
debut. Dodoo was one of the fringe players to be given a run out in the
second round and it is in the nature of this competition these days that
players are rested in favour of those who don't usually get a place in the
starting line-up on a Saturday (or, I suppose to be more accurate, on a
Saturday, Sunday or Monday). The England U19 striker started instead of
Jamie Vardy in the last round and has since got a few league minutes under
his belt, coming on in the 72nd minute of the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth to
replace Marc Albrighton who, like Vardy, was excused boots in the previous
round.

Amongst those regulars who did appear at some stage of the Bury match was
striker Leonardo Ulloa. As mentioned in a previous preview, his surname came
from the "Steve McClaren school of pronunciation" with a couple of "Js"
appearing randomly in there. He scored 13 in all competitions last season
but has yet to find the mark this term, his last goal coming in the 5-1
defeat of QPR at the end of last season.

One place where we probably will see a change from the league XI will be
'twixt the sticks where the veteran Mark Schwarzer. This time last year
Schwarzer was one of the 4,362 players registered with Chelsea, having
signed a one year deal to act as cover for Courtois and Cech. In fact
Schwarzer stayed only until the January window, when he moved to Leicester
on a free. Schwarzer actually received a Premier League winners medal for
his efforts in Chelsea's title-buying side last season, a season in which,
according to the work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles, he
made precisely zero league appearances. Now I'm sure there used to be rules
on this sort of thing – minimum number of appearances etc. However, I always
fancied a Premier League winners medal to go along with my Southern Amateur
League Champions gong so I wrote to the authorities and pointed out that I'd
played as many games for Chelsea as Schwarzer had so could I have one? They
told me to go away, but they did add that, since I hadn't played for
Millwall either, they were happy for me to claim responsibility for their
relegation, which, frankly, is probably a bigger honour really.

Another player who started against Bury but who has not been otherwise
employed this season is striker Andrej Kramaric. Kramaric arrived from
Rijeka in his native Croatia in January for a club record £9.7m. The Foxes
don't really seem to be getting value for money out of hi so far though. He
was used sparingly last season with half of his 16 appearances coming from
the bench. In 5 of the remaining 8 games he was withdrawn meaning that he
only lasted the full ninety on three occasions. This season the Bury match
has marked his sole appearance, though it was a match capped he with a goal
set up by the aforementioned Dodoo. However, even then he didn't get through
the full match, being replaced on 65 minutes by the wonderfully-named
Schlupp.

Another who has been in and out of the side is Franco-Malian midfielder
N'golo Kante. Kante was a summer arrival from Caen and his first three
appearances of the season came as sub, including one in the match at the
Boleyn. He started the Bury and Bournemouth matches, getting MOTM plaudits
from some for his performance in the latter fixture, before dropping to the
bench against Villa. He started at Stoke being taken off in the closing
moments. At 5ft 6 tall he's even shorter than the short chubby one who turns
up here at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered every week
to pick up these words of wisdom.

What about us then? Saturday was good wasn't it? Unlike the wins at
Libraries at both Arsenal and Liverpool (which were pieces of cake) we had
to dig deep and put in a defensive performance which was, well magnificent
probably isn't too strong a word. Winston Reid was foremost amongst the
defence but Tomkins wasn't half bad either. All eleven worked their
collective backsides off and, if Adrian did have a couple of "moments"
(punching one he should have caught and that rush of blood in the first half
spring to mind), he more than made up for it in the second half.

One of the interesting things to note is the fact that the win came without
the presence of the influential Kouyate, who pulled up lame the day before
the match. In the past that's the sort of injury in a key position that
would have disrupted things no end. However, whisper it, but we now appear
to have a genuine squad. This will be more fully illustrated should Mr Bilic
elect to make his own chunk of League Cup changes. Randolph has proven
himself an able deputy for Adrian in recent weeks, there's the possibility
of a start for Ginge.

Sadly Antonio and Jelavic, who, under other circumstances, would be looking
for places in the top half of the team sheet, will be cup-tied and since the
days of "Mannygate" hopefully we're a bit more careful about these things.

Up front, Andy Carroll looks a strong possibility for his first start since
the injury. Throw in the likes of Zarate, Oxford, and possibly even
Samuelson (who looked good to me in pre-season) and it will be seen that we
do have some genuine talent in depth for a change.

What will be interesting is to see is whether Amalfitano has served his
sentence or whether there is to be no parole. If there is no sight of
Amalfitano in the matchday squad I think we can probably say goodbye to him
in January.
Predictions are always a bit of a pain for this sort of match – you're never
quite sure what sort of teams are going to take the field and what their
relative strengths are going to be so inevitably a lot of guesswork will be
required.

However, based on what I believe are the relative strengths of the backup
squads I actually fancy us to win this one, albeit possibly after extra
time. I'll therefore be placing the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For the
Bewildered's monthly pig's head budget (£2.50) on us to win in extra time
after, say, a 2-2 draw.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At Their Place: Lost 2-1 April 2015. Unusually for us in an
away game this was a match in which we actually had chances going forward.
Cambiasso opened the scoring and Adrian saved a Nugent penalty. Kouyate
equalised in the second half and also hit the post in the second half before
King's late scrambled winner gave them some hope in their fight against
relegation.

Danger Man: Riyad Mahrez Costing them two and a tanner, he's had a fine
start to the season so far both scoring and creating goals. Of course this
being the League Cup they may rest him…..

Referee: Peter Bankes As usual in the League Cup, it's a bit pot luck with
the referees. Mr Bankes, not to be confused with the late Yes guitarist of
similar name, appears to be in his first full season as a Championship ref,
though he has experience of running the line in the top flight, taking
charge of one of the flag/buzzer things when we beat Cardiff 2-0 on their
own patch a couple of years ago.

Irritating Celebrity Supporter Of The Week: It's still the crisp salesman
Gary Lineker who should be first up against the wall for his crimes against
potato-based bar snacks never mind all his other sins. Consider this: in the
good old days you had a choice between Golden Wonder and Smiths. It worked
well by and large. Dark blue for ready salted or plain, light blue for salt
& vinegar, green & yellow for cheese & onion, yellow for anything poultry
related, pink for prawn cocktail (if you had to) and a brownish colour for
anything vaguely meat related. Then Lineker's employers came along and
changed the colours so nobody had a clue. Never mind the railways Corbyn
sort that one out first.

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LEROY: Slav must keep winning momentum going
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 22, 2015 in Leroy's Blogs, News,
Whispers
C and H

It's going to be very interesting to see the kind of team Slaven puts out
against Leicester City tonight but he will know better than anyone how
important it is to keep out momentum going.
I don't expect to see Sakho or Payet and were it not for the fact that
Antonio is Cup tied I don't think we would see Victor Moses either. After
the amazing result at the Etihad at the weekend there are going to be some
very tired bodies around but the manager has shown us enough so far for us
to believe he will get it right. Claudio Ranieri has made it clear there
will be a lot of changes in the Leicester team which is hardly a surprise –
he's not known as the Tinkerman for nothing! I fully expect to see Andy
Carroll lead our line and it will be fascinating to see how Slav changes
things to suit the big fella's game if that's the case. Until we see the
teams it's a very hard game to call but such is the confidence running
through the team I expect the Irons to edge it. Winning at Manchester City
is about as big as it gets and there will be players coming in who know they
have to do everything to nail down a place in the future so we'll see a team
that has real edge. We have so many options now that we can go anywhere and
get a result which is why I reckon we'll put it across the midlands outfit
tonight. I'm going for a 2-1 and some big performances from the boys who get
a chance perhaps for the first time this season.

COYI

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Hammers U21's scrape a point
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 22, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham's Development team scraped their first point last night at the
Boleyn Ground after drawing with Newcastle Development team in the 90th
minute thanks to a Martin Samuelson penalty.
It gives the under 21's their first point of the season after five games and
four loses but they are still rooted to the bottom of division two, one
point above Newcastle. The Hammers took thje fourth-minute lead through
striker Jordan Brown. West Ham included Michail Antonio in the starting
lineup, as the 25-year-old who joined from Nottingham Forest in the summer,
is cup-tied for the League Cup clash against Leicester this evening. It was
left up to Martin Samuelsen to convert a late penalty for Irons to rescue a
point
U21: Starting XI Spiegel, Knoyle, Hendrie, Dobson, Chambers, Onariase,
Parfitt-Williams, Browne, Brown, Samuelsen, Antonio U21: Subs Nasha,
T.Brown (GK), Page, Pask, Belic

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Dimitri Payet surprised by West Ham's flying start
Last Updated: 22/09/15 10:41am
SSN

Midfielder Dimitri Payet admits he has been surprised by West Ham's flying
start to the Premier League campaign. The Hammers have been outstanding this
season, especially their away form which has included a hat-trick of
victories at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. They have won four of
their six league games and sit third in the table. "I might have been a
little sceptical if you told me where we'd be, but we've shown that our
position has not happened by chance," the French midfielder told the club
website. "We continue to take points, that's the important thing. "I
wouldn't necessarily say we're winning away with ease, but it's true that
we've got a defensive unit that's tough to budge," said the 28-year-old
summer recruit from Marseille. West Ham won 2-1 at the Etihad to become the
first team not only to beat City in the league but to score against them
this season. "We've sprung a few surprises - we've beaten City, so people
are beginning to speak a lot more about us. Naturally, victories bring
confidence. Saturday was the third win away from home," he added. "When
we're winning we grow and grow in confidence. We're quite sure of ourselves
because we have faith in our quality. I'm trying to continue where I left
off with Marseille last season. It's going very well."

Team-mate Diafra Sakho, who scored against Liverpool and City, attributed
their impressive away success to hard work and discipline. "Every player has
worked so hard for the team and had a big motivation to win the game," the
25-year-old striker said. "The manager spoke to every player and we knew we
had to give 100 per cent. Our tactics were very important."

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Who runs furthest in the Premier League? James Milner has covered most
ground
By Pete Smith and Joel Barnett
Last Updated: 22/09/15 1:47pm
SSN

James Milner has covered more ground than any other Premier League player so
far this season. The Liverpool midfielder is renowned for his industrious
play and the stats show he has clocked an incredible 74.8km (46.48 miles) in
the Reds' six games this season. That's the equivalent of just over 202 laps
of the Anfield pitch. Newcastle United's Jack Colback is second on the list
(71.8km), followed by Bournemouth's Andrew Surman (70.8km).

West Ham shocked Manchester City on Saturday to move into the top three of
the Premier League but there has been plenty of hard work behind their fast
start - three of their players make the top 20 furthest runners list: Mark
Noble (70.4km), Dimitri Payet (65.2km) and Aaron Cresswell (64.6km).

Everton also have three players in the top 20, with Gareth Barry (68.9km),
James McCarthy (65.0km) and Ross Barkley (64.6km) putting in the hard yards
for boss Roberto Martinez.

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Bilic looks at Leicester options
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 22, 2015 in News
C AND H

Slaven Bilic approaches tonight's Capital One Cup game at Leicester
declaring:"It is a competition where we know we have a chance." And he added
– speaking to www.whufc.com: "You never know what will happen but what I can
say is that we will give our best." "We are approaching the competition with
the aim to win it if possible. We are not the favourites but that will be
our approach." OxfordMichail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic are both Cup-tied
and Mauro Zarate, Andy Carroll and James Collins will all be hoping to get
starts." The manager said: "We will try to look at other players. It is a
shame that Michail and Jelavic cannot play as they have already played in
the competition and are cup-tied but we will try to maintain our chances and
keep the same quality on the pitch. "If possible it will be good to rest a
couple of players who played against Newcastle and Manchester City on
Saturday." Youngsters Reece Oxford, Josh Cullen and Elliot Lee could all
come into contention, while Cheikhou Kouyate is also hoping to make a return
to the squad after missing the City victory with a minor niggle.

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DG sends clubs a clear 'hands off' message
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 22, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

David Gold has made it clear that West Ham is no longer a selling club. The
co chairman has grown heartily fed up "down the years" of seeing the club
sell its prize assets and as a fan became particularly annoyed with those
who had travelled to White Hart Lane. Now, speaking on Twitter – and to
ClaretandHugh – he has sent a clear hands-off message to clubs who may be
eyeing up the likes of Diafra Sakho and Aaron Cresswell. Speculation has
been doing the rounds that Cressie could become a Manchester United target
given the injury to Luke Shaw. But Gold made it clear that none of our
players are available as we head for a new era at the Olympic Stadium next
season. He told us: "I and everybody else has become heartily fed up with
the 'West Ham are a selling club' tag that' been attached to us. We are
going to turn that round. We are building not selling." And he told a
wound-up Twitter follower @chriscoyi84 the same after receiving a tweet
wheich read: "I just read an article saying westham would sell
cress,sakho,payet inJan to balance the books if true we should shut up shop
now!!!!! Gold responded: There are no plans to sell any of our best play
ers. dg

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No nonsense Nobes first on scene
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 22, 2015 in Videos, Whispers
C and H

West Ham born and bred captain Mark Noble has shown there is more to being
the leader than barking out orders to his fellow team mates. The 28 year old
Canning Town born captain picked up Carl Jenkinson on Saturday when the
Arsenal loanee appeared to making a meal out a tackle and seemed intent on
wasting a bit of time as the Irons hung on big time after taking a second
half battering. Nobes was having none of that and was the first one on the
scene to immediately pulled Carl to his feet who miraculously found he could
walk again. Fair play to Mark Noble, he showed himself a guy who will only
ever play in the true spirit and ClaretandHugh applauds him – the man is an
inspiration to all captains and the game itself. In sorting out what he
clearly believed was a dodgy scenario, he will have sent a message to the
squad in general that needs to be heard.

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James Collins: I'm part of the best West Ham squad I've seen but want my
chance to play
Tuesday 22 September 2015 09:52 BST0 comments
Evening Standard

James Collins believes West Ham's squad is "by a distance" the best he has
seen in his considerable time at the club. Good news, then, for Slaven Bilic
and his first-choice team but, as Collins also points out, not necessarily
to his own advantage. The experienced Wales international is hoping for his
first competitive start — if you ignore the Europa League qualifying
competition — in West Ham's Capital One Cup third-round tie at Leicester
tonight. If so, the 32-year-old defender admits the pressure is on to
convince his manager that he is worth a longer run in what is fast becoming
one of the surprise early season packages of this campaign. Collins, who
came on for the last five minutes of the thrilling victory at Manchester
City, is in the final year of his contract and his future is, as he points
out, still uncertain. "I spoke to the gaffer at length about the
situation," he said. "I wasn't playing as much as I wanted to and having
just turned 32, that's not ideal.There were a couple of opportunities to go
before the deadline but it didn't seem right for me. "I didn't want to drop
down to the Championship, I feel I have something to offer in the Premier
League and I'm enjoying it here. I know I'm not playing but the gaffer
emphasised that things can change. "I love being here, I love the club — the
fans. I did think that maybe I was going to have to leave but I didn't
really force it. "We've just had our third child — a son named Jesse — so
the timing wasn't right. I decided to stay and hopefully get some more game
time."

Collins has had two spells at Upton Park totalling seven seasons
interspersed by three years at Aston Villa. "When I came back [in August
2012], the plan was to finish my career here," he added. "It was nice to be
involved at City on Saturday and help see out the game. It has been a long
time coming so it was good to get out there and show people I'm still here!
"We know now that if we defend well, the boys we have in the attacking third
are some of the best we've had at West Ham in my time. We defended well in
games last year but if we conceded first, we'd wonder where would we get two
goals from to win."

Bilic will make changes tonight but will want to do better in the Capital
One Cup than in the Europa League, when his team failed to make the group
stages. "It's a strange one," admitted Collins. "The boys who played in the
Europa League and who haven't been regulars since would have wished we had
stayed in it so they could get some game time. "But the League form of some
of the teams who have been playing in it in recent seasons has suffered
terribly. "We're looking to do well in the cups. This is the best squad I've
seen at West Ham by a distance. The players we've signed now are used to
playing in high-profile games. That's the way this club are going and it's
going to be huge over the next couple of years."

Collins has a similar challenge internationally, where he must force his way
back into a Wales team who are expected to qualify for next summer's
European Championship. Wales are hoping that Gareth Bale will have recovered
from injury in time for their two qualifying matches against Bosnia and
Herzegovina, followed by Andorra. "I've spoken to Gareth," said Collins. "He
has a little problem with his calf but he'll rest up and be ready. "I told
him, 'Don't worry about playing for Real Madrid — just make sure you're fit
for Wales!'

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West Ham's youngsters have the chance to cast a spell with Leicester's
magician absent
PATRICK BARCLAY Tuesday 22 September 2015 10:30 BST0 comments
Evening Standard

With all due respect to Aston Villa and Birmingham the Capital One Cup tie
of the night has to be West Ham's visit to Leicester. We've seen and admired
the first teams; while Slaven Bilic's men have won at Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester City to go third in the Premier League, Claudio Ranieri's
triumphs, including one at Upton Park, stand even higher. If Manchester
didn't exist, they'd be the top two. The King Power Stadium has remained
what it became during the routing of relegation last season — one of the
game's citadels. Yet why should West Ham, with their away record under
Bilic, fear it? Especially as Leicester are likely to rest their most
inspirational players, the magician Riyad Mahrez and defence tormentor Jamie
Vardy.
It's time for the clubs to test their strength in depth and West Ham, of
course, have plenty to prove in this respect after being knocked out of the
Europa League at the third qualifying stage. My view was that Bilic showed
strategic intelligence in fielding a diluted side then. But it might not
look so clever if West Ham also make an early exit from the Cup, leaving the
fans to wait and hope for an FA Cup run to spice the second half of their
season. He'll no doubt omit Dimitri Payet, who, when it comes to making the
purists purr, has been up there with Mahrez. But the travelling fans won't
be too disappointed if they see more of young Manuel Lanzini, while the
home-grown teenager Josh Cullen is another who can win a place in their
hearts, as Reece Oxford did at Arsenal. So good luck to Bilic. For nothing
could better prepare West Ham for the move to Stratford than the successful
promotion of youth

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West Ham's Mark Noble is the most fouled player of the Premier League season
so far
0 COMMENTS 10:56, 22 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY DAVID DUBAS-FISHER
The midfielder has been sinned against a total of 19 times in his six league
appearances in 2015-16, an average of 3.2 per game
The Mirror

West Ham's Mark Noble has been the most fouled player in the Premier League
this season. Players have been pulled up for a foul on Noble 19 times in his
six league appearances in 2015-16, an average of 3.2 per game. That's more
often and more frequently than any other player in the league. Swansea's
Andre Ayew is the next most fouled player with 18 against him at an average
of three per game. Aston Villa's Idrissa Gueye also has also been fouled at
a ratio of three per game, 12 times in total. Alexis Sanchez has suffered 17
fouls so far this season (2.8 per game), Eden Hazard has suffered 16 (2.7
per game), while Ross Barkley and Sadio Mane have both suffered 15 fouls
each at a ratio of 2.5 per match. Attacking midfielders are perhaps
unsurprisingly the ones who are usually on the receiving end of the most
fouls. Eden Hazard topped the list last season, with players being judged to
have fouled him 113 times at an average of three times per match. Raheem
Sterling was second with 94 fouls against him, followed by Sadio Mane (76),
Alexis Sanchez (72), Santi Cazorla (61) and Connor Wickham (61). These
figures are for fouls awarded by a referee and do not include fouls that
have not been given.

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Daily WHUFC News - 22nd September 2015

Sakho - We want more big away wins
WHUFC.com

West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho was thrilled to play his part in a
memorable victory over Manchester City and says the players should not fear
anyone away from home this season.
The Hammers have won all three games on their travels which includes famous
wins over Arsenal and Liverpool in the opening month of the campaign.
Manchester City were unbeaten and had not conceded a goal going into the
game on Saturday, but Slaven Bilic saw his side produce another superb
display and goals from new signing Victor Moses and Sakho helped the east
London Club record their first victory at the Etihad Stadium since 2006.
Bilic said Sakho was one of the star performers with his work-rate for the
side, but the Hammers forward said the whole team played their part and is
now targeting more big away wins. Sakho said: "These are amazing results. I
am very happy for the team that we have been able to win at Arsenal,
Liverpool and Manchester City. They were all great performances. "This is a
very long season and now we want victories at Manchester United and
Chelsea!! "Every player has worked so hard for the team and had a big
motivation to win the game. The manager spoke to every player and we knew we
had to give 100 per cent. Our tactics were very important. "I wanted to
score as I have only got one goal at Liverpool. As a striker I want to score
and I am pleased to get my second goal at Manchester City. I want to score
more goals next week. "It is very important that we recover well and prepare
for the Leicester game on Tuesday. "Manchester City have very good
individual players like Toure and Silva. I am very happy that we managed to
get a win as they had not lost a game coming into the game so I am very
happy with the result."

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Manager on Monday

Slaven Bilic believes his determination to litter his West Ham United squad
with skilful players is one of the key reasons for his side's outstanding
start to the 2015/16 Barclays Premier League season. Bilic's men registered
their third straight away win of the season at Manchester City on Saturday
and, while the second half defensive display rightly won many of the
plaudits post-match, the West Ham United manager wanted to ensure his
attacking players also got the credit they deserved. "My staff and I want
players who play football," Bilic said. "We are defending well as a unit
like we have to with the ball in front of our box. "But we also have
'players' on the pitch. You can't have more skilful people on the pitch than
we have. We have Lanzini, Payet, Obiang, Moses and Noble among others. Aaron
Cresswell also is not a big strong left-back – he likes to play. "I don't
know how long it will last but the best thing is to get football players who
also fight for the team. Payet and Lanzini were still running for the team
at the end of the game, which is not very common for those type of players –
normally they are quite flashy. But they try so hard and that is why we are
winning this kind of game."

The result moved the Hammers to second place in the Premier League on
Saturday night and much of the post-match questioning from the media centred
around whether Bilic would now raise his targets for the side this season.
Rightfully, though, he would not be drawn on such things, instead insisting
his focus was solely on making sure his team continued to improve
match-by-match. "I don't lay targets down. Nobody is saying we are going to
fall. Targets are normal for the clubs at the top. My only target is to try
to improve day in and day out and where that is going to take us I don't
know. "Can we finish in the top four or five? Hopefully, but I am sure you
[the media] would be the first before the season to say it wasn't possible.
"But still it's unfortunate it's only six games gone so we have to maintain
our levels and we have to improve as there will be ups and downs. We have to
keep working and live for every game and every training session."

The win at the Etihad followed stunning away day victories at Arsenal and
Liverpool, but Bilic is not getting carried away. He believes there are many
unappreciated benefits of being the travelling team in the Premier League
and that is why there have been so many upsets thus far. "It is hard to win
away in the league, especially against the three teams we have beaten. But
sometimes playing away makes you more organised and means you don't lose
your shape. "It can also be hard to get the balance when you are playing at
home so it's sometimes easier to play away. In the first three rounds in the
Premier League, out of 30 games there were only six home wins. It won't stay
like that, but especially in the beginning when you are desperate for the
home win sometimes that pressure or rushing is your biggest enemy."

The manager will certainly be hoping his side can utilise the same tactics
when they travel to Leicester City for a Capital One Cup tie on Tuesday.
whufc.com will bring you the manager's exclusive preview ahead of the game.

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Loan round up
WHUFC.com

Matt Jarvis played the full 90 minutes of Norwich City's credible 1-1 draw
away at Liverpool. While Liverpool enjoyed the lion's share of possession
and chances they dug deep to earn a valuable point. Danny Ings scored three
minutes after coming on as a second half substitute however Russell Martin
equalised just after the hour. The point takes the Canaries to 11th in the
table with eight points.

Reece Burke played the full game as Bradford City drew 2-2 at home with
Sheffield United. The Bantams were two up thanks to goals from James
Meredith and Devante Cole however the Blades fought their way back into the
contest with as Meredith headed into his own net before Billy Sharp tapped
home the equaliser.

Diego Poyet played the full game as MK Dons suffered their fourth
consecutive defeat as they slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United.
Despite the defeat, the hosts put in an impressive performance however it
was the visiting West Yorkshire side who raced to a 2-0 lead by half-time
with a Chris Wood penalty and Charlie Taylor's finish. In the second half,
the Dons rallied and Simon Church gave them hope with a 74th minute goal yet
it proved to be too little too late. Toward the end Samir Carruthers was
sent off for a challenge on Stuart Dallas.

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Payet enjoying life under Bilic
WHUFC.com

Dimitri Payet says he is relishing the chance to show his best form under
Slaven Bilic and reveals his team-mates have made it easy for him to settle
into his new surroundings. Payet has been one of the star performers in the
opening part of the season and played a major role in helping West Ham
United win four of their opening six games. The France international stole
all the headlines when he scored both goals against Newcastle last week and
showed his quality once again when he played a crucial role in helping to
set up the first goal for Victor Moses as the Hammers recorded a memorable
2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

The Hammers are now sitting third in the Premier League and Payet hopes he
can keep the Club's impressive record going and maintain his superb start to
the campaign. Payet said: "I'm trying to continue where I left off with
Marseille last season. It's going very well.
"My team-mates have welcomed me in and given me confidence, it's important
for me too to have the trust of the coach and it's all going well. "I'm not
having English lessons, but I'm obviously learning day to day. 'I'm happy!
"Naturally, victories bring confidence. Saturday was the third win away from
home. "When we're winning we grow and grow in confidence. We're quite sure
of ourselves because we have faith in our quality. "We've sprung a few
surprises, we've beaten City, so people are beginning to speak a lot more
about us."

Payet admits he has been surprised by the Hammers amazing start to the
campaign, but feels there is enough quality in the squad to be a match for
any side in the country. The Hammers are joint-top scorers in the Premier
League and with the arrival of Victor Moses and Michail Antonio on transfer
deadline, day the 28-year-old sees no reason why they cannot stay among the
goals. Payet added: "We know that in view of the potential going forward,
we're capable of scoring at any given moment. If we're not conceding, that's
going to bring us points and that's what's happened. "I might have been a
little sceptical if you told me where we'd be, but we've shown that our
position's not happened by chance. We continue to take points, that's the
important thing. "I wouldn't necessarily say [we're winning away] with ease,
but it's true that we've got a defensive unit that's tough to budge. "We
scored with practically our first chance of the game and then from a
set-piece, with two goals behind you it's much easier to defend. Of course
we followed the manager's game plan to the letter. It's been some time now
since those defeats at home that we took a close look at our defensive
play."

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Reece Burke: West Ham defender extends Bradford City loan
BBC.co.uk

Defender Reece Burke's loan spell at Bradford City from Premier League side
West Ham has been extended by a month. Burke, 19, has played every minute of
the Bantams' five League One matches and not been on the losing side since
he moved to Valley Parade in August. The last game of his original deal was
Sunday's 2-2 draw against Sheffield United, but he will now remain with
Bradford until 25 October. Burke played for England Under-20s for the first
time earlier this month.

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Leicester v West Ham
KO 19:45
Claudio Ranieri
21 September 2015
Last updated at 17:30

CAPITAL ONE CUP THIRD ROUND
Venue: King Power Stadium Date: Tuesday, 22 September Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Coverage on BBC Radio 5 live. Live text commentary on the BBC
Sport website.

TEAM NEWS

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri is likely to make a number of changes to the
side that drew 2-2 with Stoke at the weekend. Forward Joe Dodoo - who scored
a hat-trick against Bury in the previous round - will make his home debut.

West Ham will be without Michail Antonio as the winger is cup-tied having
already played in this season's competition for Nottingham Forest. Carl
Jenkinson is a doubt after limping off in the win at Manchester City.

MATCH FACTS

The two sides met in the semi-final of the 1963-64 competition, with
Leicester progressing 6-3 on aggregate.
Foxes striker Doodo scored with every shot he had in the second round at
Bury, netting a hat-trick.
There have been 17 goals scored in West Ham's previous four third-round
games.
The last time Leicester met a Premier League side as a top-flight club in a
home League Cup game was October 2001, when they lost 6-0 to Leeds United at
Filbert Street.

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Enner's in step as rehabilitation continues
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 21st September 2015
By: Staff Writer

Enner Valencia has posted a short video of himself working out in the gym at
Chadwell Heath as he continues his comeback from injury. The 25-year-old
striker is yet to feature in West Ham's exciting start to the new Premier
League campaign, due to ligament damage sustained in the 2-2 draw with
Romanian outfit Astra Giurgiu in the Europa League qualifiers during the
summer. However Valencia - who is expected to return to first team action
within six weeks or so - has signalled that his rehabilitation is going well
by posting a short video of himself training on a mattress, in order to
strengthen his ankle and knee muscles. Last month the Ecuador international
was forced to retract comments he made criticising West Ham's medical team,
whom he had accused on SPanish radio of keeping him waiting with regards to
a clear diagnosis of his injury.

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Carlton Cole set for Premier League move
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 21st September 2015
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammer and free agent Carlton Cole is in talks with Scottish Premier
League champions Celtic. The 31-year-old has been without a club since
leaving the Boleyn Ground at the end of last season but could be set to join
the Bhoys on a free transfer. According to reports from north of the border
Cole is currently undergoing talks with Celtic chiefs. West Ham's former
number nine was spotted in the crowd at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon as
the hosts thrashed Dundee 6-0. "We will have talks with him and see him in
training this week," said Celtic manager Ronny Deila, speaking at the
weekend. "It is not [a trial]. He has been in London his whole life, so he
has to see what he is coming to and then we will see if it is something that
he likes and we like as well. "I think he is a very good football player and
he shown in the Premier League and also the Championship that he can score
goals and he is different to what we have. "He is a target man, very good in
the air and strong and that is something that, if everything fits, could be
good for us."

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Leicester v West Ham preview: In-form Premier League sides clash
Last Updated: 21/09/15 10:22pm
SSN

Two of the standout performers of the Premier League so far meet at the King
Power Stadium in tuesday's Capital One cup tie. West Ham have already
inflicted away day defeats to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City this
season, and will put their reputation to the test against high flying
Leicester City. This is Slaven Bilic's first game in the League Cup since
becoming the manager at Upton Park and will be hoping he can take his team
one step further than the semi-finals that West Ham managed last year.
Comeback kings Leicester currently occupy a Champions League berth and are
the only remaining team unbeaten in the top flight, but have not kept a
clean sheet all season.
In their last two games they have fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2
against Aston Villa and draw 2-2 against Stoke.

Team News

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri will once again make wholesale changes.
The Italian swapped all 11 players at Bury in the previous round and has
hinted he will do the same again. Mark Schwarzer will be in goal and
20-year-old forward Joe Dodoo, who scored a hat-trick against the Shakers,
will make his full home debut. Nathan Dyer is cup-tied but there could also
be starting places for the likes of Danny Simpson, Yohan Benalouane,
Christian Fuchs, Marcin Wasilewski, Dean Hammond, Andrej Kramaric and
Leonardo Ulloa. Youngsters Harry Panayiotou, Andre Olukanmi, Jonny Maddison
and Ben Chilwell may be included in the squad.

West Ham will be without winger Michail Antonio as he is cup-tied having
already played in this season's competition for previous club Nottingham
Forest. Carl Jenkinson could be a doubt after limping off at City while
Angelo Ogbonna (hamstring), Alex Song (ankle) and Enner Valencia (knee) are
still out.

Statistics

Leicester's 12 points from opening six games is their best Premier League
start since 2000-01. It took them 19 games to reach the same amount of
points last season.
The Foxes are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions this season (won
four), scoring 17 goals.
The two teams have already met this season, Leicester winning 2-1 at Upton
Park in August with goals from Shinji Okazaki & Riyad Mahrez. Dimitri Payet
scored for West Ham, who had Adrian sent off.
West Ham have reached the semi-finals in two of the last five seasons, but
lost 9-0 on aggregate to Man City in the 2014/15 semi-finals.
Both sides have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six meetings
in Leicester.

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West Ham away form like walking into a pub full of girls says boss Slaven
Bilic
0 COMMENTS 22:30, 20 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY DAVID MCDONNELL
Hammers won only three times on their travels last season but have done it
already after their FIRST three trips this term – at Arsenal, Liverpool and
Man City
The Mirror

Slaven Bilic summed up his West Ham's side dream start by saying: "It's like
when you come to a pub full of girls – you will like it!"
The Hammers continued their remarkable away form this season with a stunning
triumph at the home of Premier League leaders Manchester City. Victory ended
City's 100 per cent record and confirmed West Ham's status as the kings of
the road, having also won at Arsenal and at Liverpool already this term. The
East Londoners only managed three away wins ALL last term. Now they have
matched that feat in their first three games on the road this season. New
boss Bilic said: "Of course I like it when we're winning. Of course it's
brilliant. I don't know how long this is going to last, to be fair. I hope
it's going to last a long time."
First-half goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho gave West Ham the
platform for their remarkable victory. City's record £54million signing
Kevin De Bruyne pulled one back before the break with his first goal for the
club. But Bilic's men held out, despite a second-half onslaught from the
Blues, who slumped to a second straight home defeat after losing to Juventus
in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Bilic went on to insist it is no fluke West Ham are riding so high in the
Premier League this season. He claimed the blend of flair and graft he has
instilled is the reason they have emerged as the Premier League's surprise
package this term. Former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce mocked the 'West Ham
way' — the perceived nostalgic attacking tradition of the club down the
years. Sir Alex Ferguson, in his updated autobiography, went a step further,
with a sarcastic appraisal of the 'West Ham way', which he branded a myth:
"I hope that before I die someone can explain the 'West Ham way'. What is
it? They last won a trophy in 1980, the FA Cup. I never played against any
West Ham team that played football I was afraid of. They were always
surviving, or lucky as hell against us."

But Bilic has found the right formula, certainly on the road. He has West
Ham playing with a verve, underpinned by a solid defence and a fearless
attitude, that has re-established them as a side with a clear identity. "I
wanted that," said Bilic. "That's what I wanted, with my staff - to have a
team that plays good football. "We are defending, too, but we are defending
on the pitch as football players.
"You can't have more skilful people on the pitch than we have. We have
Lanzini, we have Payet, we have Cresswell, who is not a left-back who is big
and strong, he is also someone who likes to play. Noble likes to play. "The
best thing is to make football players fight for the team. Payet and
Lanzini, they fight for the team and they are running at the end. It's not
common for those type of players to do that, you know what I mean? They like
to be more flashy. That's why we are winning games."

West Ham's remarkable form on the road has been tempered by sobering home
defeats to Leicester and promoted Bournemouth. But the rot there was stopped
by a 2-0 win over visitors Newcastle last Monday. The challenge now is for
Bilic and his players to ensure the swagger they have on the road can be
matched at Upton Park and allow them to build on such an impressive start to
the season. "Sometimes, playing away makes you more organised — not losing
your shape," said Bilic. "No matter who you play away. "It's hard to get
that balance, but sometimes it's easier to play away. And, from that
patience, something may open, because you're not rushing things. It's why
there were many away wins in the Premier League in the first three round of
games. From 30 games, there were only six home wins. "It isn't going to stay
like that, it's impossible. But, especially in the beginning, when you're
desperate for a home win, that pressure, that rushing, is sometimes your
biggest enemy."

Bilic wisely played down expectations following West Ham's stunning start.
"Nobody is saying we're going to finish fourth," he said. "But what do
targets mean? What are targets? Targets are for a club like Manchester
United. "All my targets are about trying to improve us day-in, day-out.
Where is that going to take us? I don't know. "Unfortunately, only six games
have gone. I would love there to be zero games left, but we have to
maintain, we have to improve. There are going to be ups and downs, of
course. But we just have to continue working and live for every day of
training and every game. Then we have a chance."

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Matthew Etherington claims bookies would chase his debts at West Ham
training during gambling addiction
0 COMMENTS 22:16, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY JAMES WHALING
The former Hammers and Stoke winger blew £1.5million on betting during his
career as he struggled with his addiction
The Mirror

Matthew Etherington claims bookmakers from Romford dog track used to turn up
to West Ham training to chase up debts he owed them. Etherington struggled
with a gambling addiction throughout his career, blowing £1.5million on
betting over the course of his time in football. It left him £800,000 in
debt and cost the ex-Stoke winger his marriage. The 34-year-old retired in
2014 after failing to recover from a back injury. He now admits his gambling
problems made him into 'a great liar'. "When a bill came through the
letterbox, I'd put it in the bin," he told The Times . "Mad. I was devoid of
any responsibility. Nobody knocked at my door, but people used to turn up at
West Ham's training ground, bookies from Romford dogs. 'Oh hi, yeah I'll see
you tonight!' "I had the gift of the gab. But I wouldn't turn up. I'd go to
a different track. They'd come back the next day, but as a gambler you
become a great liar. Ultimately, that's what I was."
Etherington now hopes to forge a career in managament, and regularly attends
Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

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Slaven Bilic's West Ham are the story of the season so far after their
latest giant-killing exploits
1 COMMENT 13:47, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015
OPINION BY DARRENLEWIS
The Hammers stunned Manchester City on Saturday and are barely recognisable
from the side of 2014/15
The Mirror

Power in midfield, pace and trickery down the flanks and cutting edge in
front of goal. This isn't the West Ham that we've come to know and love.
Certainly not for a few years. It certainly isn't the collections of
has-beens and cast-offs that have spent previous Premier League campaigns
trying (and sometimes failing) to keep their heads above water. This is the
most exciting squad to come out of Upton Park since the days of Cole,
Carrick, Kanoute, Sinclair, Ferdinand, Lampard and Di Canio. Even the squad
beaten so agonisingly in the FA Cup final by Liverpool nine years ago
(Ashton, Harewood, Sheringham, Reo-Coker, Benayoun, etc) had more than a few
weak links. Saturday's stunning result, to sink seemingly-invincible-at-home
Manchester City, is being eclipsed by Arsenal rage, Costa-fuelled
controversy at Chelsea and Anthony Martial's impressive start at Manchester
United. West Ham, however, pulled off one of the performances of the season
so far at the Etihad. Having worked hard over the last two summers to bring
in more steel and quality, the Irons are reaping the rewards through the
likes of Payet, Sakho, Moses, Cresswell and Lanzini.

Their approach in the transfer market may have appeared scattergun this
summer, raising the bar in bidding for practically anything decent that
moved, but it is paying off. In fact, Saturday's win was all the more
impressive when you consider the fact that the Hammers were without their
best midfielders, Cheikou Kouyate and Alex Song, and their most expensive
defender, Angelo Ogbonna. Yet Slaven Bilic has already fostered a fighting
spirit within his team, who have now won at Arsenal and Liverpool as well as
City. It does, of course, make it all the more curious that his side were
convincingly beaten at home by both Leicester and Bournemouth. Those defeats
(combined with the eventual disappointment of last season after the Irons'
hugely promising start) are keeping feet firmly on the ground behind the
scenes at Upton Park.

Bilic, however, has turned frowns into smiles after admitting himself that
he was up against it in the wake of Bournemouth's shock 4-3 victory. He has
done it with a squad possessing a greater variation in tactics and more
depth than the club were used to under Sam Allardyce There is no more
reliance on any one player returning to fitness while even without their
injured stars the Irons' bench at the Etihad included players able to come
on and change the game: Andy Carroll, Mauro Zarate, Nikita Jelavic and
Michail Antonio. With Enner Valencia still to return from injury it is easy
to see why the future is bright at Upton Park. Bilic is well aware that he
was fortunate to have landed the job in the first place after the likes of
David Moyes, Rafa Benitez, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti decided against
it.

Which is probably why, after that Bournemouth upset, he bizarrely claimed he
was under pressure - just three League games in. That said, the club had
spent the summer spent targeting a string of players superior to the level
that they had been used to at the Boleyn for some time - only for Bilic to
fail to reach the group stages. So when that Bournemouth surrender came on
the back of a home defeat to Leicester it looked as though the success in
winning at Arsenal on the opening weekend had been a fluke. Throw in the
rash of early red cards to suggest a lack of discipline at a stage of the
campaign when things haven't even warmed up yet and the Irons appeared in
for a bumpy ride. How they have responded since then, with character and
quality to leave many of the people deriding the club for hankering after
the so-called 'West Ham way' now claiming their style of play to be exactly
that. Even players not in the first team are understood to be impressed with
Bilic in terms of his management style and his training methods.

Tomorrow night's Capital One Cup tie at Leicester presents a chance for
those squad stars to force their way into the Croat's thinking for Saturday
at home to Norwich. And the team's performances over the next batch of games
- Norwich is followed by Sunderland and Palace away - will be interesting.
They've been consistent against the big teams with nobody expecting anything
of them. Can they now put together a run of form against the sides against
whom they will be favourites?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Diafra Sakho eyeing away wins at Man United and Chelsea to
complete stunning clean sweep
1 COMMENT 16:08, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
The Hammers have already recorded victories on the road against Arsenal,
Liverpool and Manchester City but Sakho wants more
The Mirror

West Ham striker Diafra Sakho has warned Manchester United and Chelsea:
You're next! Sakho is eyeing a clean sweep of away wins at all the Premier
League's big boys after helping West Ham to wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester City already this season. Slaven Bilic's side go to Manchester
United in December and visit Chelsea next March. And Sakho, who scored in
the victories at Anfield and the Etihad on Saturday, said: "These are
amazing results. "I am very happy for the team that we have been able to win
at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. They were all great performances.
"This is a very long season and now we want victories at Manchester United
and Chelsea!" West Ham are back in action against Leicester tomorrow
(Tuesday) in the Capital One Cup and Sakho added: "It is very important that
we recover well and prepare for the Leicester game."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
DG sends a big thank you
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 21, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

David Gold has sent a thank you message to both Hammers and Manchester City
fans following the Irons near miraculous victory at the Etihad.

Once again the Claret and Blue Army were in fabulous voice as the team
produced a result to die for and Gold couldn't praise them highly enough.

He said that despite the unbearable tension of the second half when even the
most diehard fan was expecting City to "equalise at the very least" the fans
had provided the kind of support that almost demands a response.

He said: They always amaze me. They really are incredible. If their feeling
were anything like mine they would have expected City to score at any time.
Their support was critical and as ever they were superb."

But he also had words of gratitude for the City fans whom he claimed despite
their disappointment had been excellent in defeat.

He said: It's a great club with great fans and they were very generous to us
– they can be proud of themselves. A great response from them."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gold: 'Hammers will field a strong team to win!'
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 21, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham Chairman David Gold has told West Ham fans that Slaven Bilic will
field a strong team tomorrow night to win although he admitted there might
be some changes.

Gold told his 123,000 twitter followers "I'm sure there will be a few
changes but we will take a strong team to Leicester to WIN dg"

Whatever happens Michel Antonnio and Nikica Jelavic will not be included in
tomorrow's action as both are cup tied.

AntonioAntonio played in the League cup first round for Nottingham Forest
scoring two late goals but it was not enough to overcome Walsall who won 4-3
after a 90th minute penalty.

Jelavic also played the first round of the League Cup for Hull City, after
he played the first 60 minutes of the draw against Accrington Stanley before
being substituted by Chuba Akpom. Hull eventually won the match 4-3 on
penalties after drawing 2-2 after extra time. Jelavic took no part in the
second round of the league cup when Hull beat Rochdale 1-0 to go through to
the third round. Jelavic joined the Hammers just six days later.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Good try Sam but no cigar
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 21, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

Well if you weren't to know it wouldn't take a lot of working out, Sam
Allardyce has a book coming out next month.

He has been in the Sunday papers claiming all West Ham managers have trouble
with our fans and that the owners were working behind his back to get a new
boss in.

Well yes, that's how it works as he explained – and it's no big deal – that
he would have known about it as he managed to explain to us all.

Sam's arrival on Twitter using the book cover as his profile picture tells
us all we need to know about what's going on and no doubt the autobiography
will contain a bit more juice.

I'm personally interested to see whether there will be anything surrounding
the Ravel Morrison situation in which Mark Curtis was allegedly involved.

However, the point of this is that the newspaper revelations this weekend
would have been in the paper much earlier in the week ahead of a match from
which we might have been expected to take a hammering, this providing
maximum impact for Sam's revelations.

In fact we won the most victory of recent years under his successor who has
made the most incredible start to his Irons career.

If the timing of the Mirror Group's story was accidental we apologise but if
not all that needs to be said is: Good try Sam but no cigar.

It will also be interesting to see how long the guy remains on Twitter after
his book has been published.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slav sets Capital One Foxes trap!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 20, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and H

Carl Jenkinson looks likely to continue on the right side of the back four
when the Irons take on Leicester City on Tuesday evening.

A crackerjack Capital One clash looks on the cards as Slav's Kings of the
Road look to score their fourth away win of the season.

The two teams are locked together in third and fourth places in the Premier
League table and with a home defeat to avenge the Irons will be putting out
a strong side.

Jenkinson left the action after 84 minutes at the Etihad to be replaced by
James Collins although we are told there are no injury problems.

It's likely that with a late return to training, and a one game lay off
because of a red card against Bournemouth, Jenks may have been feeling the
pace against City towards the end.

However, the Arsenal loanee is likely to retain his place in the team with
the alternative being, James Collins who came on as a late sub for him going
to central defence and James Tomkins switching to right back.

Andy Carroll is set to get at least an hour as Slaven Bilic gives Diafra
Sakho a well earned rest.

A source told ClaretandHugh: "Given the amazing start the boss can play a
very strong start. We are giving the cups a real go this season and are up
there to win!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Banished Iron's position described as a "mess"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 21, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

Morgan Amalfitano looks to have burned all his West Ham bridges. And
ClaretandHugh can reveal that a possible move to St Etienne broke down in
August. There is now very little chance of peace breaking out between
manager Slaven Bilic and the player after disciplinary problems saw him
banished to training with the Development squad. We understand that the
French club were interested in signing the player at around two million
euros but that they couldn't meet Amalfitano's personal terms. The
midfielder allegedly wanted around the same sort of pay deal as he has at
West Ham which was clearly unattainable and that the move broke down as a
result. We were told that with 21 months left on the player's deal it was
hoped something could be sorted out between the manager and player. But a
highly placed source said: "Nobody can see it happening. It's a stand-off
and to be honest a real mess."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ranieri plans wholesale changes
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 21, 2015 in News
C AND H

Claudio-RanieriClaudio Ranieri has pledged to make wholesale changes for the
visit of West Ham in the Capital One Cup. He says he will draft in
20-year-old forward Joe Dodoo who scored a hat-trick on his debut at Bury in
the last round believing he deserves another chance to impress. Yohan
Benalouane, Christian Fuchs, Marcin Wasilewski, Andy King, Andrej Kramaric
and Leonardo Ulloa are all expected to make appearances. Ranieri told the
Leicester Meruy: "I will change a lot of players. More or less the same team
that played at Bury will play. "More or less all 11 I will change, because
before the matches I look and everyone works hard and is very well, and then
I pick just 11. But the others deserve to play. "It is important to win
against a very good team. They have won three times away at fantastic teams
like Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. You can't ask for any more. But
we are ready."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Man City goal hero Sakho won't be happy until Man Utd and Chelsea
wins in bag
WEST HAM striker Diafra Sakho is targeting more big-name scalps after
scoring what proved to be the winner at Manchester City on Saturday.
By ADAM SKINNER
PUBLISHED: 13:03, Mon, Sep 21, 2015 | UPDATED: 13:29, Mon, Sep 21, 2015
Express.co.uk

Sakho bundled home after Victor Moses had opened the scoring and the Hammers
held on despite City rallying with a Kevin De Bruyne goal. Slaven Bilic's
side are the first Premier League club in 10 years to win at Arsenal,
Liverpool and City but Sakho is refusing to settle and wants their
impressive away form to continue. "These are amazing results for us," the
25-year-old said. "I am very happy for the team that we have been able to
win at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. "They were all great
performances. This is a very long season, though, and now we want victories
at Manchester United and Chelsea. "Every player has worked so hard for the
team and had a big motivation to win the game. The manager spoke to every
player and we knew that we had to give 100 per cent."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic must treat League Cup seriously with West Ham
ESPN

Slaven Bilic hailed his West Ham side's performance in their 2-1 win at
Manchester City. Following last Saturday's superb 2-1 win at Manchester
City, West Ham boss Slaven Bilic now needs to concentrate on the midweek
third round Capital Cup match against Leicester City. As if the Croatian
boss needed reminding that you're only as good as your last game, then the
difficult cup tie at the King Power Stadium should make him aware of the
demands of managing a Premier League side. Bilic's side gained a second
round bye in the cup because of their early involvement in the Europa League
and it's hoped to be an advantage that West Ham can benefit from. The League
Cup is a competition that has eluded the Hammers for too long. The club have
had difficult relationships with the competition in all its guises. Back in
1966 when the final was a two-legged affair, they lost to West Brom at the
final hurdle. They returned to the League Cup final in 1981 on the back of
the great FA Cup-winning side of the previous year, but lost out to
Liverpool in a replay at Villa Park. Outside of that, a large number of
semifinal defeats have left supporters frustrated. Perhaps losing to Stoke
City in 1972, largely thanks to a superlative performance by Gordon Banks,
can be excused and there seemed little that Sam Allardyce's side could do to
halt the 9-0 aggregate demolition by Manchester City in 2014. Staggeringly,
however, given how painful those losses were, there have been a number of
other defeats that were harder to stomach. The worst sequence must be the
1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. Losing 5-0 on aggregate to Luton Town in the
'89 semifinal was bad enough but when the team returned to the same stage a
year later, there were high hopes the Hammers could prevail against Oldham.
Both teams were in the second tier of the Football League at the time, but
West Ham could boast the likes of Liam Brady, Phil Parkes, Julian Dicks and
Alan Devonshire in their ranks. It made little difference. On the infamous
plastic pitch at Boundary Park on a miserably cold, sodden February night,
West Ham were hammered 6-0 by Oldham. They won the return leg 3-0 with some
comfort, but it mattered little.

Things have changed a lot from those days and the fans of many clubs now
view the Capital One Cup as a secondary competition of little importance.
It's long been the case that Champions League sides put out a second-string
team but over the years, many other Premier League and leading Championship
clubs have viewed the competition as a chance to get some faces off the
bench and blood some younger players too. However, the competition has a
proud history, it is a valuable piece of silverware, provides supporters
with a memorable day out at Wembley and a chance to qualify to Europe.
Perhaps some clubs need to protect their investments elsewhere, but it still
seems strange that the competition should be treated so lightly. The fact
that a strong Premier League side should, on paper at least, have a very
good chance of going deep into the competition before the big guns start to
bring out their best players should be an incentive to a club like West Ham.
There really is an opportunity to do well in the cup this season considering
the club's strong start. Leicester, of course, will view the tie in a
similar fashion and as they have already beaten the Hammers at Upton Park,
they will fancy their chances. Nevertheless, with some youngsters already
used in the Europa League and with players like Andy Carroll, James Collins,
Stephen Hendrie and Michail Antonio only performing bench duties so far,
Bilic might be able to point to a stronger back-up squad if the game is to
be turned into a second string affair.

However, fans don't really know how Bilic views the competition and how
strongly he feels about putting out his best side. For the sake of righting
a few historical wrongs, many of the claret and blue persuasion hope the new
manager will take this competition seriously. It may lead to another painful
semifinal but that's a bridge everyone can cross when they come to it.

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