Daily WHUFC News - 31st January 2016

Liverpool 0 West Ham United 0
WHUFC.com

Darren Randolph was the West Ham United hero to help the Hammers earn an Emirates FA Cup fourth round replay after a 0-0 draw at Liverpool.
With Adrian returning to Seville as he awaits the birth of his first baby, Randolph once again showed why he is rated so highly at the Boleyn Ground with a superb display to keep his sixth clean sheet in eight Claret and Blue appearances. The Republic of Ireland international certainly enjoys playing at Anfield after he played his part in helping the Hammers come away with an emphatic 3-0 win in the league back in August.
And he was unbeatable once again as he made a number of impressive saves including a late triple stop from Christian Benteke and Joe Allen to ensure the Hammers will be in the hat for the fifth round draw on Sunday evening. West Ham also had their chances to win the tie and came the closest when Pedro Obiang fired a volley inches past the post early in the second period. The Hammers got off to a bright start and could have opened the scoring after just nine minutes when Dimitri Payet tried an audacious free-kick from outside the box which almost caught out Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal.

The away side came even closer on 16 minutes following a great move which saw Aaron Cresswell break clear down the left-hand side. The Hammers full-back crossed the ball in for Enner Valencia who was unmarked inside the box but the presence of Steven Caulker meant the No11 took his eye off the ball and headed well off-target.

Liverpool also had chances to break the deadlock and came close on 22 minutes. A corner was curled in by impressive young midfielder Cameron Brannagan and a flicked header from Benteke was cleared off the line by Cresswell on the post.

James Tomkins was forced to leave the action after 34 minutes after he clashed heads with Joe Allen in an aerial challenge. Tomkins was replaced by Joey O'Brien who was making his first appearance since 30 July 2015, when the Hammers drew 2-2 with Astra Giurgiu in the UEFA Europa League.

The Hammers suffered another injury blow on 37 minutes when Cheikhou Kouyate picked up a knock and was replaced by Nikica Jelavic. Bilic was forced to change the shape of the team with Payet switching flanks with Moses and Valencia playing up front with Jelavic in a 4-4-2 formation.
The changes did not affect West Ham initially and they created their best opening on the stroke of half-time when the ball fell to Obiang on the edge of the box and he fired a volley just past the post.

West Ham came close again on 50 minutes when Winston Reid flicked Payet's free-kick goalwards, but Jelavic just failed to slide the ball past Mignolet.

Replays showed that Steven Caulker may have handled the ball twice in the melee, but there was no action taken against the Liverpool defender.
The home side also had their chances and Allen had a good chance on the hour mark when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box but he fired a cross from Clyne high into the Kop.

Randolph then came to the Hammers rescue on 63 minutes when he made a fine save to parry Teixeira's half-volley around the right-hand post.
The keeper was at his best once again when he made a triple save to keep the Liverpool players at bay. Randolph first saved from Benteke, then kept out a shot from Allen and once again kept out a follow-up from Benteke as the Hammers held out.

There was late drama when Michail Antonio saw his header strike the post, but the referee blew his whistle for a push inside the box by the substitute on Jose Enrique.

Both teams had to settle for a replay which will take place at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday 9 February, unless the tie is selected for TV coverage the following night.

Liverpool: Mignolet; Clyne, Caulker, Lovren, Smith, Stewart, Allen ©, Brannagan (Sinclair 86), Ibe (Ojo 79), Teixeira (Enrique 89), Benteke
Subs not used: Ward (GK), Ilori, Randall, Chirivella

Booking: Lovren

West Ham United: Randolph, Tomkins (O'Brien 34), Reid ©, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Obiang, Song, Kouyate (Jelavic 37), Moses (Antonio 69), Payet, Valencia
Subs not used: Howes (GK), Collins, Oxford, Cullen

Referee: Martin Atkinson (Bradford)

Attendance: 44,007

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Liverpool replay ticket details
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to confirm that ticket prices have been reduced for the Emirates FA Cup fourth round replay against Liverpool.
The Hammers are set to host the Reds on Tuesday 9 February at 7.45pm for the right to progress to the last 16. Adult ticket prices for this mouth-watering FA Cup tie have been reduced to £20 for Season Ticket Holders and £25 for non-Season Ticket Holders in all Bands. Over-65s and Under-21s ticket prices have been set at £10 for Season Ticket Holders and £15 for non-Season Ticket Holders in all Bands. Under-16 Season Ticket Holders can secure a seat for just £5, while Under-16 non-Season Ticket Holder seats are priced at £10 each.

Tickets are on sale to Season Ticket Holders from 8pm on Saturday 30 January, with a priority window being open until 9am on Wednesday 3 February. Tickets will be on sale to Academy Members from 9am on Wednesday 3 February, with a General Sale starting from 9am on Thursday 4 February. The Hammers' Barclays Premier League trip to Southampton will now take place at St Mary's on Saturday 6 February at 5.30pm, with the match being broadcast live on Sky Sports.

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Randolph - I enjoy playing at Anfield
WHUFC.com

Darren Randolph has joked that he would love to play at Anfield every week after he produced another superb display to help the Hammers come away with a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the Emirates FA Cup. The Republic of Ireland international produced a man of the match display as he made a number of fine saves including a superb triple save in the second half to stop Christian Benteke and Joe Allen getting on the scoresheet. Randolph certainly enjoys playing on Merseyside after he also played a crucial role in helping West Ham record an emphatic 3-0 over Liverpool back in August. The Hammers keeper showed his quality once again on Saturday and is confident the club can now secure a victory in the replay and have a good run in the competition this season. Randolph said: "We have had two decent results this season at Anfield. We have had two good performances from the team and I like coming here! "I am happy to play whenever I can. The manager told me at the start of the week that I was going to start as it was the FA Cup. I am just happy to play. "Every game is an opportunity for me. When I get the chance I need to show the manager what I can do. It would be nice to have a good cup run. "We are full of confidence going into the replay. We are in good form and want to keep winning. It builds confidence. We have already had two victories against Liverpool this season and we came here thinking we could get a result. "It is never easy playing at Anfield and they have a good squad. It was always going to be tough regardless of who was playing and they have a point to prove if they are not getting much game time."

Randolph says he will be keeping in close contact with fellow keeper Adrian over the weekend after the Spanish keeper flew back to Seville to be with his family ahead of the birth of their first baby. He added: "Adrian still travelled up with us but he had to leave first thing on Saturday. I told him to text me when something happens. "The first I knew about him leaving was at 5am in the morning when he sent me a text message saying he was on his way to the airport. "I told him to let me know if there are developments. I will keep in touch with him to see how he is going."

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Bilic - We deserved the replay
WHUFC.com

Speaking after the 0-0 stalemate with Liverpool away at Anfield, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said his side's defensive efforts had earned the FA Cup fourth round replay. The draw means both sides will do battle again under the lights at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday 9 February. Reflecting on the hard-fought result, Bilic said: "Overall, I am happy with the result and I congratulate my guys. Drawing at Anfield is tough; it is also tough to keep a clean sheet an Anfield. "They had a few moments, we had a few moments. From my point of view there were a few moments when we were missed the final ball to put us in a great position."

Standout players for the Hammers included goalkeeper Darren Randolph who made a string of fine saves, including a fantastic triple save to keep his side in the tie. Winston Reid, captain in Mark Noble's absence, put in a typically dominant and courageous performance at the heart of the defence. Bilic continued: "Second half, yes they were better. They could run more; they were better on second balls and were starting to be a bit tired. "Nobody wants to play a replay because of the schedule, but we can live with that. It's much worse for them. We didn't deserve more than a replay tonight, but we also deserved it because we defended really well. We were dangerous at times but I would like us to be more dangerous more of the time."

As a result of the replay, the Hammers trip to the St Mary's Stadium to face Southampton has been brought forward to Saturday 6 February, kick off is 5.30pm.

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Young Hammers sink Swans
WHUFC.com

Midfielder Dan Kemp netted his third goal in as many games as the West Ham United U18's secured a 2-1 win over Swansea City at Little Heath.
The visitors went ahead early in the first half through Brandon Griffiths, before Kemp found the back of the net for the third game in a row to level the scores. Then, for the second week running, it was England U17 international Jahmal Hector-Ingram who fired the hosts to victory.

In this, their penultimate game of the regular season, Grady Diangana started his first Academy game for a month, while Swiss midfielder Noha Sylvestre was named on the bench after recovering from injury. In the opening ten minutes, chances were limited at both ends, although when they did come, both sides could've broke the deadlock. First, Swans star Matthew Blake was denied by the upright, before Hammers' centre-half Declan Rice headed narrowly over the bar from Kemp's corner.

The opening goal of the game came on 14 minutes when Griffiths latched onto a long ball allowing him to race through on goal, only for Rice to catch up and make a last ditch tackle that unfortunately put the ball past Rihards Matrevics, giving the visiting forward the opportunity to roll the ball into an empty net.

However, it only took just over ten minutes for the hosts to level. After a spell of possession where the Academy were pushing for the equaliser, the ball finally found Idris Kanu on the left hand side of the penalty area where he was tripped, allowing Kemp to step up and bury into the corner past Swans keeper Lewis Thomas.

After the break, West Ham appeared to be much the dominant side as they looked to come from behind for the second week in a row, with Hector-Ingram spurning several opportunities to score.

The hosts continued to push, but the young Hammers seemed to struggle to find the final pass.

That was until the 70th minute when Idris Kanu beat the offside trap, rounded Thomas and fired a low shot across the face of the goal which was finished off by Hector-Ingram at the back post.

Straight after that, West Ham went forward to attack the Swansea defence yet again, but Diangana, Hector-Ingram and Borg could not get enough on the ball to find the back of the net.

With just one minute left, Diangana had a golden opportunity to seal the points when he smashed a low shot off the base of the post from 12 yards, yet it did not matter too much as the hosts held on to win the match 2-1.

The win takes West Ham to fourth place in the Barclays U18 Premier League South with just one game left of the regular season, which is a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday 6 February.

After all teams have played their 22 Southern fixtures, the North and South leagues will split into three four-team groups based on league position where Northern and Southern teams will compete against each other for their final 2015/16 league position.

U18: Matrevics, Eggleton, Akinola, Rice, Borg, Carter (c), Lewis (Sylvestre), Kanu, Diangana, Kemp, Hector-Ingram.
Subs not used: Coventry, Leonard, Henry, Hammam.

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Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
By Michael Emons
BBC Sport

An inexperienced Liverpool side were frustrated by West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph as their FA Cup fourth-round tie ended in a goalless draw.
The Hammers had early chances but an unmarked Enner Valencia misjudged a header and Pedro Obiang volleyed wide. Randolph twice blocked powerful Joao Teixeira efforts and also saved shots from Cameron Brannagan, Joe Allen and Christian Benteke. But neither side could score and they will meet again in a replay in London.

The worst possible result for Liverpool?

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp played a youthful side in the third-round match and subsequent replay against Exeter, but included a mixture of first-team players and youngsters for the visit of the Hammers. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, 27, was the oldest player in the Reds' starting line-up, which also included four players - Brad Smith, Cameron Brannagan, Kevin Stewart and Joao Teixeira - who had never started a Premier League match. This was the ninth game that Liverpool had played in January, and they desperately did not want another match, but that is exactly what they got. It means their schedule in February will now include at least seven matches, including the League Cup final, two Europa League matches, three Premier League games and one, maybe two, FA Cup ties. Nevertheless, Klopp will feel his side should have won. A poor touch when only six yards out to waste a chance summed up another ineffective performance from an out-of-form Christian Benteke. Liverpool were the better team in the second half and created numerous chances, but stand-in captain Allen shot harmlessly over, and Brannagan, Teixeira and Benteke had shots saved by Randolph.

How did Liverpool's youngsters do?

Generally, they were very impressive. Brannagan, 19, who consistently impressed with his set-piece delivery, nearly opened the scoring with a powerful shot from 20 yards out, but goalkeeper Randolph did well to push the ball around the post. Brad Smith, 21, produced an energetic performance at left-back, often getting forward to help his side's attacks, while handling the threat from the quick Victor Moses with maturity.
Kevin Stewart, 22, a tough-tackling central midfielder, worked hard, making six tackles and two interceptions, and 23-year-old Joao Teixeira, playing on the left side of Liverpool's front three, was twice denied by a diving Randolph.

A wasted opportunity for West Ham?

Three-time winners West Ham were aiming to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the fourth time in the last eight seasons - and will have been buoyed when they saw the Liverpool line-up. They themselves made five changes, although fielded a team rich in Premier League experience apart from Randolph, who played because regular goalkeeper Adrian was back in his native Spain for family reasons. Yet the Hammers could not take full advantage. They kept trying to utilise Victor Moses' pace against Brad Smith down the right wing, but the defender often came out on top before Moses was withdrawn midway through the second half. Slaven Bilic will argue that West Ham should have had a penalty, when Steven Caulker appeared to handle in the penalty area, but the Hammers took 50 minutes to have their solitary shot on target.

Man of the Match - Darren Randolph (West Ham)
West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph made six saves to deny Liverpool

What the managers said

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: "We had the bigger chances, but now we have to play again. West Ham have good quality in their team and play well in the league. We tried everything - you need a bit of luck. "I was pleased with the whole team. Steven Caulker played for the first time in his position in defence and did well, but I cannot fault anyone, they tried and gave all. We played much better than we did at West Ham [in the league], but we didn't score so it is not over. "The players we changed had the day off today so hopefully nothing happened to them."

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic said: "They had a few moments, we had a few moments. They were better in the second half - they could run more and were better at winning the second balls so it is a great result for us. "We lacked that kind of quality we normally have in the last third of the pitch, so overall I am happy with the result. "When you make two subs in the first half your hands are tied in the second half. It limited our options and we had to wait to make a third substitution. Kouyate should be OK for Tuesday hopefully." Asked if they should have had a penalty for a Steven Caulker handball, Bilic said: "I didn't see the replays so I can't comment. I shouted a few times, they shouted a few times, the crowd shouted a few times, but that is part of the game."

The stats you need to know

Liverpool have now not lost in their last seven FA Cup meetings with the Hammers (won four, drew three).
The Hammers have won just one of their last nine FA Cup games away from home (drew two, lost six).
In all competitions, West Ham United have won just two of their last 11 away matches (won two, drew five, lost four).

What next?

Both teams are next in Premier League action on Tuesday. Liverpool travel to Premier League leaders Leicester City, while West Ham welcome the division's bottom team Aston Villa to Upton Park.

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I didn't see hand ball incident, says Bilic
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 30th January 2016
By: Staff Writer

Slaven Bilic says that he "didn't see" the double hand ball by Liverpool's Steven Caulker that should have resulted in a penalty to West Ham during this evening goalless draw at Anfield. Bilic, whose team have now kept three clean sheets against Liverpool this season watched his under-strength side eke out a fourth round replay, despite failing to live up to recent performances. Yet many Hammers fans are convinced that West Ham should already be in the next round, believing that referee Martin Atkinson should have awarded Bilic's side a second half penalty when a Dimitri Payet free kick was handled by Caulker - twice - on the edge of the six-yard box. Bilic himself was rather more diplomatic when pressed about the decision during his post-match press conference, stating that he failed to see the incident. "I didn't see the replays so I can't comment," he said. "I shouted a few times, they shouted a few times, the crowd shouted a few times, but that is part of the game."
Overall the Hammers boss felt his side deserved a second bite of the cherry - even if they were often second best against an equally-depleted Liverpool team. "They had a few moments, we had a few moments," he surmised. "They were better in the second half - they ran more and were better at winning the second balls, so it is a great result for us. "We lacked that kind of quality we normally have in the last third of the pitch, so overall I am happy with the result. "When you make two subs in the first half your hands are tied in the second half. It limited our options and we had to wait to make a third substitution. But Kouyate should be ok for Tuesday hopefully."

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Liverpool 0-0 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 30th January 2016
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are in the hat for tomorrow afternoon's FA Cup fifth round draw after earning a goalless draw at Anfield this evening. The Boleyn Ground will see at least one more FA Cup tie after tonight's highly-anticipated clash ended 0-0, after both teams effectively cancelled each other out in a drab affair on Merseyside. However West Ham - minus the likes of goalkeeper Adrian, Mark Noble and new signing Sam Byram - could have been celebrating successive wins at Anfield had erroneous official Martin Atkinson spotted a blatant hand ball midway through the second half.

A tedious opening 45 minutes resulted in neither team creating more than the odd half chance, although Darren Randolph, deputising for regular number one Adrian - who is in Spain with his heavily pregnant wife - was forced to tip away a Brannagan effort ten minutes ahead of the interval.
Meanwhile the nearest West Ham came to scoring in the first half came from a Pedro Obiang effort, which missed its intended target by a matter of inches in the closing seconds of the half. In their defence, Slaven Bilic's side had already been (further) weakened by the enforced removal of James Tomkins (head wound) and Cheik Kouyate.

However the game's main talking point occurred just four minutes after the restart when a Dimitri Payet free kick was arrowed into the penalty box where it clearly struck the arm of defender Caulker's arm - not once, but twice. West Ham's players may not have appealed en masse, but quite how the errant Atkinson managed to miss it will be much debated tonight.

Overall Atkinson experienced an error-strewn evening, making a string of bad calls - including a blatant back pass by Smith to Mignolet that should have resulted in an indirect free kick to West Ham on the edge of the box and a shirt tug by Winston Reid that, had it been spotted, would have resulted in a penalty to the hosts.

Yet the referee's shortcomings aside, both teams struggled to make an impact in the final third although Liverpool did at least hit the target on six occasions, to West Ham's miserly single effort on target (from a total of seven efforts).

And the Hammers had Man of the Match Randolph to thank for ensuring Liverpool failed to breach United's defence on the rare occasion they fashioned a worthy effort on goal; the Irish international made two great blocks within 60 seconds in the final quarter-of-an-hour and also denied Teixeira from the game's best move on the hour mark.

The replay is scheduled for Tuesday, 9th February - tickets are already on sale to season ticket holders (priced £20 for adults and £10 for juniors).

West Ham Utd: Randolph, Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Obiang, Song, Kouyate, Moses, Payet, Valencia.
Subs: Howes, O'Brien, Collins, Oxford, Cullen, Antonio, Jelavic.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Caulker, Smith, Allen, Brannagan, Stewart, Ibe, Teixeira, Benteke.
Subs: Ward, Enrique, Ilori, Chrivella, Ojo, Sinclair, Randall.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire).
Attendance: 44,057

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Liverpool 0-0 West Ham: Hammers earn FA Cup replay
By Patrick Surlis
Last Updated: 31/01/16 7:25am
SSN

A blunt Liverpool attack failed to break down West Ham in a goalless FA Cup fourth-round match at Anfield on Saturday evening. Hammers goalkeeper Darren Randolph denied Christian Benteke twice and Joe Allen once as the Reds pushed for a winner late on, but a much-changed Liverpool line-up lacked a cutting edge. Enner Valencia wasted West Ham's best opportunity after 16 minutes, the forward miscued his header when left unmarked in the Reds box. The away side were forced into two first-half changes as Cheikhou Kouyate and James Tomkins were both forced off, and West Ham had a penalty appeal turned down when Steven Caulker appeared to handle in the box midway through the second half. After hitting five past Norwich at Carrow Road, the Reds have now been held scoreless in back-to-back games while their struggles at Anfield continue. Klopp's side have managed 75 shots on goal in their last four home matches, but have scored just three times, all against League Two Exeter in their third-round replay.
Having played eight games in 2016 already, Klopp made 10 changes from the shoot-out victory over Stoke as only Simon Mignolet kept his place, and the Reds looked disjointed in a sluggish first half. Slaven Bilic made five changes himself, and his side started the brighter, carving out the first opportunity for Valencia. The West Ham striker found himself free seven yards out after Dejan Lovren was caught underneath the flight of Aaron Creswell's cross, but Valencia mistimed his jump. Liverpool were made to wait until the 21st minute for their first meaningful attempt on goal, as Christian Benteke's near-post flick was cleared off the line, although it looked to be drifting just wide. The Hammers had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned down by referee Martin Atkinson midway through the half as Kouyate's header struck Brad Smith on the arm, before West Ham were hit by a double injury blow. Tomkins clashed heads with Joe Allen that required 12 stitches with ten minutes to play, before Kouyate limped off just three minutes later.

In between the two substitutions, Cameron Brannagan tested Randolph with a stinging shot from 25 yards that the goalkeeper, standing in for Adrian who returned to Spain to attend the birth of his first child, tipped around the post. Brannagan hit the wall with a free-kick on the edge of the Hammers box shortly after, but the visitors ended the half on top as Pedro Obiang guided a volley narrowly wide. And they had a stronger case for a penalty five minutes into the second half as Jelavic's header appeared to strike Caulker on the arm, but Liverpool survived to hack clear. Klopp's side improved as Allen and Benteke both squandered presentable opportunities, while Joao Teixeira kept Randolph involved, drawing a stop with a firm strike from just inside the box having been teed up by Jordon Ibe. The West Ham 'keeper then produced three smart saves in quick succession, first denying Benteke after the Liverpool striker was set through before reacting quickly to keep out Benteke again and Allen on the follow-up.

The Hammers responded to Liverpool's flurry and closed the game out on top as substitute Michail Antonio caused problems on the break. His long throw was poorly punched by Mignolet, but Valencia went down too easily under pressure from Brannagan. Antonio struck the post in stoppage time with a header, but referee Atkinson had already whistled for a push on Jose Enrique as both sides settled for the draw in the final stages, and the opportunity to do it all again at Upton Park. The replay, Liverpool's second in as many rounds, adds another game to an already crowded fixture list for both sides, with the Reds also set to contend with Europa League action and the Capital One Cup final next month.

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Slaven Bilic praises West Ham's No 2 goalkeeper Darren Randolph after draw at Liverpool
By Press Association
Last Updated: 30/01/16 9:12pm
SSN

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic praised No 2 goalkeeper Darren Randolph for earning his side a replay after the goalless FA Cup fourth round draw at Liverpool. Liverpool dominated the game after West Ham lost James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate to injury in the first half and the visitors were indebted to back-up goalkeeper Randolph for a string of saves, who came in for No 1 Adrian with the Spaniard awaiting the birth of his child. Now Liverpool must travel to Upton Park for the replay, just as they did in the previous round against Exeter. "Adrian flew this morning to Seville. His wife's baby delivery is due tomorrow and we wish him luck and for that to go smooth but Randy would have been in goal anyway," said Bilic. "He was in goal against Wolves in the cup and we decided he would play against Liverpool and in the replay. "Randy is great and deserved to be in goal and proved again he deserves it. He is the Republic of Ireland No 1 and because of him Ireland are in the European Championships so we have a great goalkeeper."
With more injuries added to his list - Tomkins had 13 stitches in a head wound and Kouyate was taken off as a precaution because of a groin problem - Bilic was also not that enamoured with an extra game. "Nobody is crazy about the replays but we can live with that," he said. "We have injuries but make no mistake, we would have liked to be without the replay. "We got the clean sheet and deserve the replay and now it will be one of those historic FA Cup nights at Upton Park. "The first half it was a very even game, both clubs had some moments up front but not clear-cut chances, and in the second half until the last 10 minutes they were better than us. "Maybe some people did not expect this Liverpool team to be so good but it was not a surprise to me."

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TRANSFER NEW ROUND UP FINAL WEEK
By Sean Whetstone 30 Jan 2016 at 23:20
WTID

So this is my final weekly round-up before transfer deadline day on Monday which I am sure will be a quiet one for West Ham.

Galatasaray general secretary Fatih Ibecer has broken silence on Burak Yilmaz confirming that West Ham made a loan bid for him. "We were made a loan bid from West Ham but we are after a permanent transfer deal so the deal fell through,"Ibecer told reporters. The latest statement conflicts with Galatasaray's president Dursun Özbek claiming he knew nothing about West Ham interest and that no offer had been made. "I have received no offers Burak is our player and it really annoys me that these speculations have been made," Özbek told reporters in Istanbul.

West Ham have confirmed that they are holding a back-up interest in Sunderland striker Steve Fletcher should it prove impossible to complete a deal for Emmanuele Emenike. A top source told us "We have inquired about Steven and hold an interest in him.He is a possible back-up target if we can't sort out a deal for Emenike."

At the time of writing Emmanuelle Emenike was currently going through the second part of his West Ham medical but there are still problems in completing the deal. The striker passed through Phase One of his medical successfully Thursday and no problems are foreseen with the second part but the snags in completing the deal are apparently still not resolved.We have been told that should he make to move to the Boleyn by Deadline Day it will involve a loan fee of less than £1 million. We were told by a well placed source: "It remains quite complicated. The player wants to sign and his agents too of course but the two club syndrome is proving tricky. "We are working hard and hopefully will get it done by deadline day but yes it's fair to say there are a few issues to overcome."

Nikica Jelavic appears to be be moving closer to a West Ham exit with rumours he has agreed personal terms with Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande the front runner to sign him. Another rumour suggests another as yet un-named chinese club has asked about his availability too. Slaven Bilic confirmed last Thursday that Jelavic could be China bound saying "We have Jelavic who might go to China, but they are in pre-season at the moment, so he is staying with us until he might sort the deal out."

On Thursday Reece Oxford's loan to Charlton has been cancelled by the Addicks' boss as the Belgian coach has no idea who the young defender come midfielder is. Until yesterday, I had never heard of Charlton manager Jose Riga either.

Sligo Rovers have signed Jaanai Gordon on loan from West Ham ahead of the start of the 2016 SSE Airtricity League season. The 20-year-old striker has signed a short-term loan at the Showgrounds, which will see his initial period at the Bit O'Red last until August this year.

"I need to go and play games," Joey O'Brien told London24 Sport. "The Euros are in the summer. I need to be playing games to try and get into the next squad for the friendlies. Then we can see what happens from there but I need to be playing.Ireland hasn't been to many major championships, so this is a big deal. I will have to see what the manager thinks. If he sits me down and says he wants me to go out on loan then I will look at that. It is down to the manager, if he wants me to hang around here then that's what I will do. But if he wants me to go out on loan, then I will look at that."

West Ham admitted for the first time that Marseilles striker Michy Batshuayi is their No 1 summer target. A top Irons source told us: "Yes, he's the one we want but we have not -as has been suggested – signed any pre contract arrangements. The truth is that half of Europe are after him. Obviously, the Payet factor could help – we hope so."

Alex Song will need to maintain the level of performance he displayed in his man of the match display against Manchester City on Saturday evening if he is to cash in with a permanent deal at the end of the season. One insider told us "One swallow doesn't make a summer does it? It's obvious the club would love to get him on a permanent deal if he can keep things going – he likes us. We like him. We have no reason to make a decision at this stage – we will watch him, assess him and make our decision in the summer."

And now for something completely different. A light hearted look at The Brentwood Gazette humourous headline section of the week.

West Ham and Spurs have moved into the lead to land West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino after reports the club are willing to listen to offers in the region of £20 million.

West Ham have entered the race for Southampton forward Sadio Mane and are confident of beating Manchester United to his signature.

West Ham could be set to make a £25 million summer move for Watford striker Odion Ighalo

West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur are set to make an approach for Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson.

West Ham United's French star Dimitri Payet is being lined up Turkish giants Galatasaray in a surprise swoop

West Ham are in the race to sign Senegal striker Baye Oumar Niasse from Lokomotiv.The 25-year-old could cost as much as £15 million

West Ham United have been joined by Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in the race to sign Toulouse striker Wissam Ben Yedder.

Keep taking those tablets Brentwood Gazette, the end of the transfer window is in sight we will miss your funny headlines.

As David Gold would say "Don't go to bed!"

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West Ham close on striker Emmanuel Emenike after Fenerbahce chairman reveals loan fee has been agreed
19:48, 30 JAN 2016 UPDATED 19:49, 30 JAN 2016
BY JAMES WHALING
The Hammers will pay £750,000 for the forward's services, with the option to buy him permanently for £8.5m, according to Aziz Yildirim
The Mirror

West Ham are closing in on the signing of Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike. The Turkish giants' chairman Aziz Yildirim revealed a loan fee of €1million has been agreed between the two clubs, and that the Hammers will have the option of buying the player for €11million [£8.5m] in the summer. Irons boss Slaven Bilic admitted talks were underway, but said they had reached a 'complicated situation'. Emenike is currently on loan at Abu Dhabi outfit Al Ain from the 19-time champions of Turkey. "We're about to loan [Emenike] to West Ham United," Yildirim said. "They will give €1million to us for this agreement and they will have the option to purchase him for €11m. But the deal hasn't been completed yet." Injuries to Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll has left West Ham short of numbers up front.

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Hammers on Jelavic 'exit' and loan options
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 30, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Nikica Jelavic's move to China remains "very much on" but may not happen until the end of February with the window remaining open until then in the country.

We were told this morning that there is no urgency over the player's departure from Upton Park for that reason although the club is still continuing to try finding a replacement before the Premier League's slams shut.

A source told ClaretandHugh: "There is still no conclusion to the Emanuelle Emenike situation other than thathe has come through his medical and unlike many loanees is 100 per cent fit and ready to start should it be completed.

"That may not happen until the very end of deadline day or it may not happen at all. The Steve Fletcher option is indeed correct and there are others we have looked at ."

However, despite the regular updates on the Emenike situation, the club remains entirely relaxed about the situation over maybe being unable to get a fourth striker.

Our source admitted: "We are not desperate for somebody to lift us from relegation trouble are we? It would be great to have a fourth striker to cover emergencies but we have Enner Valencia fit and both Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho on the way back within two weeks.

"The Emenike deal is still dependent on arranging things with Fenerbache and if we get him in that's great as it will give us a real chance to have a good look at him.

"We are not in a desperate position and we are very relaxed about things however it pans out."

He added however, that Jelavic would "99 per cent certain be gone" adding: "It hasn't really worked out and it would be good to look at options."

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Nigerian 'Hazard' invited to West Ham for trials
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 31, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham are clalimed to have invited 19 year old Nigerian forward Ezekiel Bassey for trials."Bassey has been invited for trials by West Ham," a report claims on the Africa Football website. Last year, Nigeria defender Azubuike Egwuekwe also trialed with 'The Hammers' but his club Warri Wolves later turned down a £1m bid for Egwuekwe. "We rejected a bid from West Ham because we had disagreement with the agent handling the issue," his club spokesman told the press. Bassey has already been capped at full international level by Nigeria, when he made his debut in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Swaziland in October in Port Harcourt. The left-sided player is claimed to have 'dazzling footwork and dribbling' which earned the nickname 'Hazard' after his first season at Nigerian champions Enyimba. But it is left to be seen if he could be granted a work permit should he impress trying out with the Hammers.

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Still in the hat but it was all a bit too friendly!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 30, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

First things first…if anyone had told me I'd have been unhappy coming away from Anfield with a draw before this season started I'd have laughed 'em out of the place. Having said that, but for a series of Darren Randolph saves we wouldn't have done – the bloke was superb – our clear man of the match who kept us in the FA Cup. Personally, I'd give him the replay on the 9th or 10th of February because but for him there wouldn't be one taking place at the Boleyn.

The other West Ham turned up at Anfield today. There was little attacking impetus in a match which at times felt far too friendly with both sides seemingly intent on giving each as much space as they needed to have a go. Yet we were never able to find that killer ball or penetrating ball and watched Liverpool pounce on most second balls. Thank God they were incredibly wasteful and Randolph was so impressive. Even the two managers were engaging in conversation which saw them erupting in laugher. Nothing wrong with that I guess but you began to wonder whether we might have been better off in the old Liverpool Empire theatre. It really was that kind of game.

Liverpool had the lion's share of it but saw the majority of their shots fly wide or well over the top despite testing Randolph into a triple save at one point from Benteke and Allen. And the No 2 – only playing because Adrian was allowed the weekend off to welcome his new baby – pulled off another couple from Teixeira. With Payet having rare off day and Valencia misfiring up front we rarely looked likely to get a win but as the old saying goes: If you can play badly and not get beat you ain't a bad team. Special words for Winston Reid and Michail Antonio who came on as a late sub and made things happen but this was another day Alex Song and Victor Moses will want to forget. The replay is actually set for February 9 unless it becomes a TV match in which case it will be played on Wednesday the 10th

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Slav happy to take them back to our place
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 30, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic congratulated his squad on a clean sheet and claimed they deserved the replay against Liverpool on the basis of their defensive display but was disappointed we lacked that killer edge in the final third.

The manager told BT Sport immediately after the game: "I have to be happy with a replay and I have congratulated the players. It's always tough to keep a clean sheet but we just needed a more penetrating ball at the other end."

He revealed that James Tomkins had had 13 stitches inserted into a head would after a collision with Joe Allen and admitted that the quick injuries to him and Cheik Kouyate had maybe disrupted the Irons .

He said: "Kouyate felt something and it got a little worse so we took him off as a precaution and believe he'll be ready for Tuesday night (Aston Villa)."

He added: "Nobody wanted a replay but we'll take it and get them back to Upton Park."

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Fenerbahce chairman reveals Emenike finances
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 30, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yildirim has explained how much the 28-year-old could cost West Ham if he joins."We're about to loan [Emenike] to West Ham United," Yildirim said."They will give £760,000 (€1million) to us for this agreement and they will have the option to purchase him for £8.3m (€11m)." "But the deal hasn't been completed yet." he added Emenike's current contract, officially confirmed by Fenerbahce shows he earns €2.5 million Euros per year in Turkey as well as a €12,500 per-match appearance bonus. West Ham would probably pick up 100% of his wages while on loan meaning around a bill of around £36,000 per week as well as a £9,500 per match appearance bonus. At a combined £45,000 per game, he would still be cheaper than the current contract enjoyed by Jelavic thought to add up to £55,000 per week.

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Exclusive: Bilic shortlisted for the Manager of the Month Award
January 27, 2016
WestHamWay.co.uk
ExWHUEmployee


We are delighted to announce that Slaven Bilic has been shortlisted for the Barclays Manager of the Month award for January. Slaven masterminded wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth, drew with Manchester City and lost to Newcastle during this month. The winner will be announced in the coming weeks.

Here are the nominees for the Manager of the Month Award:

Ronald Koeman-Southampton
Slaven Bilic-West Ham
Manuel Pellegrini-Manchester City
Mauricio Pochettino-Spurs

Here are the nominees for the Player of the Month Award:

Sergio Aguero-Manchester City
Roberto Firmino-Liverpool
Jermain Defoe-Sunderland
Dele Alli-Spurs
Kasper Schmeichel- Leicester City
Virgil Van Dijk-Southampton

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 30th January 2016

Preview - Liverpool
WHUFC.com

The background

West Ham United's Emirates FA Cup campaign resumes on Saturday when Slaven
Bilic's men travel to Liverpool for their fourth round tie. The Hammers are
looking to book a place in the competition's last 16 after seeing off
Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round.

Liverpool needed a replay to defeat League Two side Exeter City, but have
already enjoyed plenty of cup success this term, having reached the Capital
One Cup final with a penalty shootout victory against Stoke City this week.

West Ham ended a 52-year wait for victory at Anfield by triumphing 3-0 on
Merseyside earlier this season, and completed a league double earlier this
month thanks to goals from Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll.

The Hammers are currently sixth in the Barclays Premier League, a place and
two points above the Reds, who have 34 points from their 23 games to date.
The history

West Ham's wait for success at Anfield was legendary in its length. 52 long
years had passed since Martin Peters and Geoff Hurts secured a 2-1 West Ham
win before Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho repeated the feat –
but by 3-0 this time.

West Ham completed a league double over Liverpool that term, and have
achieved that for the first time since this. Another good omen was that
double success over the Reds coincided with West Ham's first glorious FA Cup
campaign.

This will be the 132nd meeting between the Clubs, with Liverpool having won
70 of them, West Ham 27 and 34 ending in draws.

No Hammer will need reminding of the last FA Cup tie between the two, when
east London hearts were broken by the Reds in the 2006 final.
Match info

Team news

West Ham United

The Hammers welcome James Tomkins back into the fold after he sat out last
weekend's draw with Manchester City due to a minor injury.

However, right backs Carl Jenkinson and Sam Byram both sit out, the former
with a knee injury and the latter as he played in the FA Cup for Leeds
United this term prior to his transfer to the Hammers.

Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini remain sidelined by various
injuries, although the trio are all close to a return.
Liverpool

For Liverpool, Jon Flanagan made his first start in 20 months in the midweek
Capital One Cup victory against Stoke, but Nathaniel Clyne is in line to
return to the starting XI on Saturday following a minor problem.

This FA Cup tie will come too soon for Philippe Coutinho and Daniel
Sturridge, although the attacking duo are both thought to be close to a
return.
Match details

Saturday's match referee is Martin Atkinson. The Yorkshire official has
dished out 108 yellow cards but no reds in 30 appointments this term. His
last West Ham game was the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth earlier this month –
one of three Hammers matches in 2015/16. The assistant referees will be
Stuart Burt and Edward Smart. The fourth official is Geoff Eltringham.
West Ham have won three of their last four meetings with Liverpool,
including two league victories this season - a 3-0 win at Anfield back in
August and a 2-0 victory at home in January.
The Reds' last seven all Premier League FA Cup ties have ended in a 2-1
scoreline, with four wins and three defeats.
Enner Valencia has scored four goals in his last three competitive
appearances for West Ham, this after going seven in a row without a goal
prior to this run.
Tickets, travel, coverage and other info

Tickets for West Ham supporters for this match have SOLD OUT.
Click here for latest travel news by train, and here for news on the roads.
Please note that the final train back from Liverpool to London leaves at
1948 on Saturday.
A dry but cloudy day is expected on Merseyside, with temperature at kick-off
of 5C (41F).
If you are not heading to the game remember you can stay in touch with
proceedings on our digital channels. The whufc.com live match centre will
carry live audio commentary, text updates, in-running stats, photos and
more. You can also get involved in the conversation on social using #LIVWHU

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Joint-Chairman - How I won the Cup
WHUFc.com

Joint-Chairman David Gold is literally an FA Cup winner – at auction. Mr
Gold is the proud owner of the oldest surviving trophy presented to the
winners. "The Little Idol" was what the teams played for from 1872 until
1910 when it was replaced by the silverware we know and love today.
The actual original was stolen from a shoe shop window in Birmingham while
Aston Villa were holders - and never seen again. Mr Gold said: "For me, this
is a far classier trophy. They used to make them a lot better in the
Victorian times. "I bought the trophy at an auction at Christie's ten years
ago. It was purely to stop it going into foreign ownership. "It spends most
of its time at the Football Museum in Manchester but I do sometimes have the
trophy at home. It is a nice thing to have at the dinner table instead of a
vase of flowers! "But, seriously, I was surprised that the FA - and PFA -
did not step in to make sure that this fine piece of silverware stayed in
the country. "So I had to step in at the last minute because it was apparent
that it was heading to Germany. "At one stage, there was a mystery phone
bidder and we thought it might be Roman Abramovich - and, with him, at least
we knew the trophy would be staying in England. "But that bidder went by the
wayside - and I came in. "The guy doing the bidding for me at the auction
shouted to me on the phone, "We've won"! We were so happy - we'd just won
the FA Cup!"

Villa won the "Little Idol" four times and were actually fined £25 to pay
for the replacement trophy that Mr Gold owns today. The trophy was retired
in 1919 and presented to FA president Lord Kinnaird as a retirement gift. Mr
Gold said: "It was kept in the family's vault for nearly 100 years before
the family decided to sell it. "When you are holding this trophy, you can
feel the history … the first 39 winners are all listed on there."

The Wanderers - a team that comprised mostly of former leading public school
pupils - won the very first final in 1872 by beating Royal Engineers 1-0 at
Kennington Oval in front of 2,000 fans. Royal Engineers were pioneers of the
passing game. They encouraged team-mates to pass the ball to each other,
rather than just kick the ball forward and chase it. That certainly sounds
very much like the sort of game that is encouraged at our Academy of
Football

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Moses set for emotional return
WHUFC.com

Victor Moses is preparing for an emotional return to Anfield, but says he
will put all his friendships to one side as he hopes to help steer the
Hammers into the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round. Moses enjoyed a season-long
loan with Liverpool back in 2013/14 and having missed the trip to Merseyside
earlier in the season, the Nigerian international is now hoping to put one
over his former team-mates. The 25-year-old forged close relationships with
several of the first-team squad at Anfield and relished the chance to play
in front of the Kop every week. But he is now determined to help the Hammers
have a lengthy run in the competition and will be doing everything he can to
help them come away with a victory.
Moses said: "It will be nice for me to go back to Liverpool and it will be
my first time back at Anfield since my loan spell there. "When we played up
there earlier in the season, it was just before I signed for the club but it
was a great victory for the Club. "I have still got a lot of good friends up
there like Coutinho, Sakho, Sturridge but I will have to put that friendship
to one side when we face them. "After the game we can shake hands, but the
football comes first and we will be looking to reach the next round. "It is
not out of the question that we could win the FA Cup and finish in the top
four this season."

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FA Chief pleased with Hammers approach
WHUFC.com

FA Chief Executive Officer Martin Glenn is thrilled to see Slaven Bilic
taking the FA Cup seriously and hopes the competition will provide even more
excitement this season. Bilic would love the chance to steer the Hammers to
their first FA Cup Final since 2006 and knows it would be a fitting way for
the Club to finish the final ever season at the Boleyn Ground if they could
win the tournament. The West Ham manager recently stated how much it would
mean to him if he could see his players lift the prestigious trophy and will
be doing everything he can to help his side achieve that goal. Glenn said:
"I saw Slaven's piece and I thought it was great. The FA Cup is such a huge
international property and we sell the rights all across the world. People
want to see it and Slaven gets that intrinsically. "It is a day out at
Wembley and it is a real inspiration. It is the big match pressure which you
test young players in and develops real fan excitement. "Nothing quite
captures it. The intensity of the FA Cup is not matched anywhere else in
Europe."

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SAT, 30 JAN 2016FA CUP - FOURTH ROUND
17:30
Venue: Anfield
Liverpool v West Ham United
BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio, Final Score

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge will not feature in the FA Cup fourth
round match against West Ham. Dejan Lovren could return to the Liverpool
line-up for the first time in six matches following a hamstring injury.

West Ham will be without three strikers, with Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and
Manuel Lanzini all injured Slaven Bilic is hopeful that Mark Noble will be
fit despite missing training on Thursday with flu.

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID

Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool): "I don't want a replay - I would like to win
without a second game. Yes. It will be a different team, for sure. We have
to make a few changes. We will make them, but only because we want to win
the game."

Slaven Bilic (West Ham): "It is one of the most difficult games we could
have got. But we are confident, we beat them twice and have the recent
memory of beating them, and we know what to do in the game to have a chance
of beating them again."

MATCH FACTS

Liverpool have never lost in six previous FA Cup meetings with the Hammers
(W4 D2), most recently in the 2006 final, when the Reds won on penalties
after a 3-3 draw.
However, West Ham have won three of their last four meetings with Liverpool,
including two league victories this season - a 3-0 win at Anfield back in
August and a 2-0 victory at home in January.
The Reds' last seven all Premier League FA Cup ties have ended in a 2-1
scoreline, with four wins and three defeats.
The Hammers have won just one of their last eight FA Cup games away from
home (D1 L6).
In all competitions, West Ham United have won just two of their last 10 away
matches (W2 D4 L4).
Enner Valencia has scored four goals in his last three competitive
appearances for West Ham, after going seven in a row without a goal prior to
the run.

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Brentford sign Emmanuel Onariase from West Ham for an undisclosed fee
Last Updated: 29/01/16 11:55pm
SSN

Brentford have announced the signing of young defender Emmanuel Onariase
from West Ham for an undisclosed fee. The 19-year-old moves to Griffin Park
on an 18-month development squad contract. Brentford's head of football
operations Robert Rowan told the club's official website: "Emmanuel has been
on our radar since the summer and he recently impressed the development
squad staff during his trial period with the club last week.
"What particularly stood out was his ability and composure on the ball,
leadership skills and his physical condition."

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Slaven Bilic confident of third West Ham victory over Liverpool
By Becky Lancashire
Last Updated: 29/01/16 3:05pm
SSN

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is confident his his side can chalk up a third
victory of the season over Liverpool on Saturday. The Hammers, who travel to
Anfield for the FA Cup fourth round tie, have already completed their first
league double over their rivals since 1964, having scored five goals and
conceded none. Despite the victories, Bilic admits an away trip to Liverpool
was not the draw he was looking for after they booked their place in the hat
with a 1-0 win over Wolves in round three. "I was not happy with the draw,"
he said. "We were on the coach to Bournemouth when we heard, and I didn't
think 'yes, we've beaten them twice'. I thought 'it's Liverpool'. "It is one
of the most difficult games we could have got. But we are confident, we beat
them twice and have the recent memory of beating them, and we know what to
do in the game to have a chance of beating them again. "We are very
ambitious for the FA Cup and we are looking forward to the game." Liverpool
fielded a team of youngsters as they scraped through their third-round tie
against League Two Exeter after a replay. And Jurgen Klopp's side also had a
gruelling 120-minute battle with Stoke on Tuesday night, which they won on
penalties to reach the Capital One Cup final. But Bilic does not feel the
Reds' midweek exertions will hand his side an advantage. "We will put a
very, very strong team out but we will make some changes. Some of the guys
who played in the last cup game against Wolves will play again," he said.
"We are going to do everything we can to beat them. Losing would be a blow
but it wouldn't be a shock - it is Liverpool at home. So make no mistake, we
are approaching the game full of respect for them. But we are confident and
we are hungry to progress in the FA Cup."

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Jack Sullivan's column: Byram had a great game
January 28, 2016
WestHamWay.co.uk
Jack Sullivan

Saturday was a great game, I think Bilic once again delivered some great
tactics and to get 4 points against City in two games is great. There were
some great performances again, with Enner getting two more goals and proving
himself as the number 9. Sam Byram also had a great game after coming on
for Jenko, doing some great passes and showing that we haven't wasted our
money. To come on against Man City and face great attacking players with
such confidence, shows great character. Other players like Song looked back
to their best and I really feel on our day we can beat anyone.

On the other hand, to go ahead twice and let the lead slip isn't great, but
Aguero fit is world class and almost unstoppable! At the same time we could
have won the game, with Payet's great free-kick and Kouyate's header in the
last minute, both are always very strong for us and almost never have a bad
game. Liverpool is a huge game for us as we could beat them twice at
Anfield, after not winning there in 52 years! I'm really looking forward to
it and can see us getting something.

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: Liverpool are missing Steven Gerrard's
leadership
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard

I would like to begin with a question. Has any team beaten Liverpool three
times in one season? Maybe it has happened but not too many times, I think.
Yet that is what we will achieve if we manage to defeat them in the FA Cup
tomorrow. We were on the team coach travelling to Bournemouth when I heard
the fourth-round draw and I admit I was not happy because it was one of the
toughest options for us. I know we have beaten them twice already but that
is in the past and this is Liverpool we are talking about — at Anfield! So
it is a tough draw. On the other hand, although we are not big headed, we
are optimistic because we deserved to beat them at Upton Park this month and
also at Anfield early in the season. Of course, they have played many games
recently. Their Capital One Cup semi-final on Tuesday night went to extra
time and must have taken a lot out of them. Had they lost to Stoke, they
would have been very, very tired and the players would have felt their
knocks a lot more. However, they won so can look forward to Wembley and it
is amazing what something like that does to give you a boost of energy and
optimism. I watched the game on TV. Stoke were better on the night and did a
job on Liverpool, although the goal was offside.

Tomorrow's match has also revived memories of what I am told was a great FA
Cup Final between the teams in 2006. I haven't seen the match but have been
told often enough how marvellous it was — the best final of modern times.
Steven Gerrard broke West Ham fans' hearts that day when he equalised in the
dying seconds of normal time. Steven is almost unique in modern-day football
— a one-club man in this country and an icon for Liverpool — one of the
greatest players to play for that club, perhaps the greatest. These days,
players move clubs all the time, perhaps seeking a new challenge or more
money. He showed great commitment to Liverpool because he could have gone
anywhere in the world. Whether it was right for a parting of the ways last
year I don't know because I am not working there. In the end it was done in
the right way, I think. The manager at that time had different ideas. They
are missing Gerrard's leadership, though. He was Mr Liverpool, as John Terry
is Mr Chelsea or Mark Noble is Mr West Ham.

It is impossible to find a new Steven Gerrard. You can find a new player of
great quality but that will not make him a new Gerrard. It is most important
to have someone like him, Terry or Mark. A player such as this is the
manager's right-hand man on the pitch. When everything is going well you
don't need him so much but there are parts in every game where you need one
of your players to lead, to not think about his own game so much as helping
the team. The best sides have several of those players, those who the others
look to when things are not going smoothly. Jurgen Klopp is finding out very
quickly, as I have done, about life in English football. As for many things
in life, you can prepare meticulously in theory but until it happens, you
don't really know. He will have been prepared for the intensity of the
Premier League and the heavy Christmas programme and thought, "I can cope
with this, it is similar to the Bundesliga". But there are many things which
can take you by surprise. Of course, he will adjust, he is an experienced
coach who is used to the top level with Borussia Dortmund. He will find a
way but I am sure some things have surprised him, particularly the different
training and difficult schedule. We go into this game with plenty of
confidence after our performance against Manchester City. To be disappointed
not to have beaten the team who, on paper, are definitely the best in
England is good. It tells you that your standards are high. We were a bit
disappointed but we were also proud of our performance. Had it not been for
Sergio Aguero, surely one of the top five strikers in the world, we would
have won.

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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says no money will tempt them to sell Dimitri
Payet
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 28/01/16 11:32pm
SSN

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic claims there is "no money in the world" that
would force the club to sell Dimitri Payet. French playmaker Payet has
impressed since joining the Hammers from Marseille in the summer for £10m.
That has led to speculation the 28-year-old, back in action after injury,
could leave Upton Park during the current transfer window but Bilic is
determined to hold onto such a prize asset. "From my point of view there is
no money in the world that we would let him go for," Bilic said ahead of
their FA Cup fourth-round clash with Liverpool on Sunday. "The things he
does on the pitch, he also does in training. He is great to have in the
squad and at the club. "In previous seasons we were like a selling club, but
we are moving stadium, we are talking and acting like we want to go up as a
club, and for me the most important thing regarding that is not to sell your
best players. "Dimitri Payet, for me, no way. He is our player and he is
staying. "At this club there have been big players, but I think the last
player who made such a big impact, in basically no time, is Paolo Di Canio."
Payet has scored six goals in 19 appearances since joining West Ham.

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Liverpool v West Ham United preview: Hammers striker Andy Carroll to miss
Anfield return
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 29/01/16 10:50am
SSN

Liverpool entertain West Ham in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday having
already tasted cup success this week. The Reds won a dramatic penalty
shoot-out against Stoke City that carried them through to a League Cup final
meeting with Manchester City next month. Although Liverpool's inconsistency
has seen them fall behind in the chase for a top-four Premier League finish,
and a place in the Champions League, their cup form suggests Jurgen Klopp
could make an immediate trophy-winning start to his career as the Merseyside
club's manager. Liverpool are still hampered by a long injury list although
Dejan Lovren could return to the heart of the defence in place of Kolo
Toure, while Nathaniel Clyne is expected to step in at right-back for Jon
Flanagan, who made his first start in 20 months against Stoke.
Meanwhile, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic will shuffle his pack, but promised
he would still field a strong side at Anfield. Former Liverpool forward Andy
Carroll will not feature, however, as he is not yet fully fit and new
signing Sam Byram is cup-tied. The Hammers have already beaten Liverpool
home and away in the league this season, with their Anfield success their
first victory there since 1963. But Bilic revealed he had been disappointed
to have been sent there again. "I was not happy with the draw because it was
one of the most difficult we could get," he said. "We have beaten them twice
but it's still Liverpool away. When I heard the draw I didn't think: 'We
beat them twice, come on!' I was like: 'Why Liverpool?' But we are confident
and we know what we have to do to have a chance to beat them again."

Paul Merson's prediction
I just can't see Liverpool winning this game. West Ham have done the double
over them and Liverpool have just played 120 mins plus penalties. I know
they won and that puts more air into your lungs, but West Ham are a very
good team. We saw that on Saturday Night Football against Manchester City.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)

Opta stats

Liverpool have never lost in six previous FA Cup meetings with the Hammers
(W4 D2), most recently in the 2006 final, when the Reds won on penalties
after a 3-3 draw.

However, West Ham have won three of their last four meetings with Liverpool,
including two league victories this season - a 3-0 win at Anfield back in
August and a 2-0 victory at home in January.

The Reds' last seven all-Premier League FA Cup ties have ended in a 2-1
scoreline (W4 L3).

The Hammers have won just one of their last eight FA Cup games away from
home (D1 L6).

In all competitions, West Ham United have won just two of their last 10 away
matches (D4 L4).

Enner Valencia has scored four goals in his last three competitive
appearances for West Ham, this after going seven in a row without a goal
prior to this run.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic wary of Liverpool backlash after guiding West Ham to league
double already this season
22:30, 29 JAN 2016
BY DARREN LEWIS
The Hammers head back to Anfield on Saturday having already won 3-0 there
this season but Bilic is taking nothing for granted
The Mirror

Slaven Bilic admits he fears a Liverpool backlash - but is sending a side to
Anfield good enough to cope with it. The West Ham boss has already guided
his men to their first league double over Liverpool since 1964, scoring five
goals and conceding none. But he admitted to not being pleased when he heard
the draw had sent the Hammers back to Anfield for their fourth-round tie. "I
was not happy with the draw," said Bilic. "We were on the coach to
Bournemouth when we heard, and I didn't think 'yes, we've beaten them
twice'. I thought 'it's Liverpool'. "It is one of the most difficult games
we could have got. But we are confident, we beat them twice and have the
recent memory of beating them, and we know what to do in the game to have a
chance of beating them again. "We are very ambitious for the FA Cup and we
are looking forward to the game."

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side suffered a gruelling two-hour battle with
Stoke on Tuesday night, which they won on penalties to reach the Capital One
Cup final. But Bilic does not feel the exertions will hand his side an
advantage. "They didn't feel that tiredness although they played 120 minutes
- the whole place will be buzzing." he said.

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Jurgen Klopp to turn to Liverpool youngsters again as exhausted Reds'
recover from Stoke exertions
22:30, 29 JAN 2016
BY DAVID MADDOCK
Liverpool's stars ran 156km in the midweek clash with Stoke and Klopp
explained he will have to give some of them a rest against West Ham
The Mirror

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will refuse to run his players into the
ground...because they're doing that themselves. The German coach revealed he
will pick a "young team" in the FA Cup against West Ham this evening,
because his exhausted players posted record numbers for distance covered in
an epic, intense cup semi this week. Klopp explained that in all his years
as manager, he's rarely come across any team running as far as the 156km the
Reds covered in the Capital One tie with Stoke, and because of that, he
insisted, he won't bury them. "I can't ignore the other games, I can't say
try it again. If they are injured we cannot use them and if we know about
the intensity of the last game and the short break to the next one I can't
say go again until you lay on the ground," he explained. "It will be a
different team, for sure, to the last game. We have no other choice. We ran
156 kilometres against Stoke and a few players that ran 17 kilometres in
this game, the highest speed ever and breaking all records for distance
covered. "Nobody forced them before the game – 'Please try to break all
records!' Stoke did only 3km less so it was intense, very intense. We have
no chance. "We wanted to go to the final and we had to fight for it. But now
we cannot say, 'Come on, it's West Ham, it's the FA Cup, it's the world
championship or whatever. And then again against Leicester and again against
the rest.' It doesn't work like this, so we have to make a changes."

Klopp does have senior players like Dejan Lovren, Joe Allen, Nathaniel Clyne
and Steven Caulker to call on, and he will use Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith who
have extensive first team experience. But he will also select youngsters
like Sheyi Ojo, Cameron Brannagan, Kevin Stewart and Joao Teixeira, and he
insisted it won't be too much of a gamble pitching them in against the
physically testing West Ham. "We will play them but only because we want to
win the game – that's the only reason. They really try to win each game," he
added. "Maybe you cannot see it all the time, but inside they are always big
fighters and I love this attitude. "It was easy to be brave against Exeter
but sometimes you have to be brave in a moment when you really need it and
that's what we're doing now. I don't feel that I'm being too brave because I
trust these players. "If we could win the Capital One Cup it would be a cup
for the whole squad because we played different teams, against Bournemouth
it was a very young team, and if we go through in the FA Cup it will be the
same."

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QPR desperate to offload Rob Green with Crystal Palace and West Ham
enquiring as Sandro nears exit
17:16, 29 JAN 2016 UPDATED 17:23, 29 JAN 2016
BY JOHN CROSS
Green will be handed an automatic 12-month contract extension if he plays
any more games for the Rs meaning bosses as keen to offload
The Mirror

QPR are desperately trying to offload former England keeper Rob Green before
Monday's deadline. They have agreed a deal with West Brom for Brazilian
midfielder Sandro who will move to the Hawthorns to get him off the books.
West Brom hope to have the deal completed after Sandro underwent a medical
on Friday and has agreed personal terms. Green, 36, could also go because he
is out of contract this summer and a new 12 month extension will kick in if
he plays more games. That is something QPR - anxious to cut costs - are
trying to avoid and they are hoping to strike a deal with several clubs
keen. Crystal Palace and West Ham have enquired for the keeper who has been
left out recently to stop the deal kicking in.

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How Slav embraces the spirit of our founder
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 29, 2016 in News, Whispers
Scott A
C and H

Top ClaretandHugh blogger Scott Alsweiller is back with a piece to stir the
emotions of all Hammers. He casts his eye back to 1896 and the words of our
founder Arnold Hills before making it clear how the boys of 2016 have
resurrected the spirit of the man to whom we owe it all.

"…keep on the ball, play an unselfish game, pay heed to your captain, and
whatever the fortunes of the first half of the game, never despair of
winning, and never give up doing your very best to the last minute of the
match. That is the way to play football, and better still, that is the way
to make yourselves men."

–Arnold Hills, in a letter to his Thames Ironworks F.C. players, 1896.

There's a philosophy that stands as true today as it did when our founder
said it 120 years ago. It's also a philosophy that is obviously very dear
to the heart of one Slaven Bilic, and the hearts of Hammers around the
world. Are you looking for the West Ham Way? There it is at conception.

It's also a philosophy our current squad appear to have taken as their own.
Nobody will deny that we looked truly abysmal for the first half of the
Bournemouth game, only to come back energised and sharp as knives for the
second half. Never despair of winning, indeed. We looked unlucky not to have
completed the double over Manchester City last weekend. And now we get to
face Liverpool in the F.A. Cup.

We've already beaten them, soundly, twice this season. There is no reason to
think that we can't carry on that form and earn our spot in the next round.
Klopp looks to be bringing in a younger side, but make no mistake, those
'kids' can prove utterly deadly if we underestimate them.

Having said that, we should win this one. With Byram Cup-tied, and Jenkinson
injured (and the less said about his season the better at this point), we'll
see the return of Tomkins (who joined the Academy at age 7 and remains with
us to this day) to the fullback role he has worked very hard at this season.
Valencia is now oozing confidence and capability. We may not even have seen
him at his best yet – I suspect there is more to come as he continues to
grow in assurance. While we don't have our 'Jewel' back with us yet, we do
have his deadly midfield partner back at full strength – and of course, for
most of us, he's a man for whom there aren't superlatives enough.

Could we blow it? Of course we could. We've proven that already this season.
Some will say that's part of the West Ham Way. Traditionally, that's
correct. But let's change it up this time around. Let's make it a triple
defeat and really rub it in. Get out there – and Come on you Irons!

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Who is Jose Riga?
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 29, 2016 in News, Whispers
RigaUntil yesterday, I had never heard of Charlton manager Jose Riga.

Yesterday, it was reported that Reece Oxford's loan to Charlton has been
cancelled by the Addicks' boss as the Belgian coach has no idea who the
young defender come midfielder is.
Has Mr Riga been living under a rock or something for the last few years?
Reece Oxford produced one of the most impressive debuts in Premier League
history earlier this season, starring in the West Ham midfield as the
Hammers won 2-0 at Arsenal on the opening day of the season. The youngster –
then 16 – was hailed for his maturity and composure in owning Mesut Ozil in
his pocket for most of the match. Oxford has made just 3 Premier League
appearances since that incredible debut, as Slaven Bilic opts for experience
over the raw talent of Oxford. In recent weeks he has been linked with
interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal all of which
know exactly who he is and what he can do. In search of increased game time,
he was expected to complete a loan move to the Championship side but it
appears the manager threw his toys out his pram. Riga allegedly vetoed the
move after the deal in the 11th hour because the deal was agreed without his
consent. Talks are now under way to see if the loan deal can been salvaged
with Riga watching youtube clips of Oxford.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jelavic edges closer to Chinese exit
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 29, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Nikica Jelavic appears to be be moving closer to a West Ham exit with
rumours he has agreed personal terms with Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande
the front runner to sign him. Another rumour suggests another as yet
un-named chinese club has asked about his availability too. Yesterday, West
Ham manager Slaven Bilic confirmed Jelavic could be Chian bound saying "We
have Jelavic who might go to China, but they are in pre-season at the
moment, so he is staying with us until he might sort the deal out."
West Ham completed the transfer of Croatia striker Nikica Jelavic from Hull
City on a two-year contract, with the option of a further two, for a
transfer fee believed to be £2.5m plus add ons worth another £300,000 back
in the Summer. The 30-year-old striker is thought to earn £55,000 per week
in a lucrative contract. Jelavic's goal scoring record shows him as having
netted 30 from 45 appearances at Rangers, 16 from 59 at Everton and 13 from
46 at Hull. Jelavic has scored three goals and made two assists for West Ham
from 13 appearances despite being in the starting line up just twice.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
memnike hints deal is done
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 29, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Emmanuel Emenike has hinted he is about to become a West Ham player. Posting
on his personal Instagram account from Westfield Shopping Centre in
Stratford yesterday he said "I'm happy West Ham London" the message was
accompanied with a photo of the West Ham Crest.
No problems have been reported with his medical and West Ham are understood
to be agreeing the finer details of the loan deal with Fenerbahce to bring
the 28 year old to West Ham for the remainder of the season with an option
to buy. The final obstacle is a work permit application but it is hoped this
is a just a formality. Emenike has spent this season on loan at Abu Dhabi
side Al Ain and has scored seven times in 11 games in the UAE but it emerged
they no longer have him registered as one of their three foreign players.
Emenike was the Golden Boot winner at the 2013 African Cup of nations.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons battle to overcome Emenike issues
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 29, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Emmanuelle Emenike is currently going through the second part of his West
Ham medical but there are still problems in completing the deal. The striker
passed through Phase One of his medical successfully yesterday and no
problems are foreseen with the second part but the snags in completing the
deal are apparently still not resolved. They centre on his relationship with
his current loan club Al Ain and parent club Fenerbache although negotiators
are working hard to iron them out. And ClaretandHugh has been told that
should he make to move to the Boleyn by Deadline Day it will involve a loan
fee of less than £1 million. We were told by a well placed source: "It
remains quite complicated. The player wants to sign and his agents too of
course but the two club syndrome is proving tricky. "We are working hard and
hopefully will get it done by deadline day but yes it's fair to say there
are a few issues to overcome."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons confirm Black Cat Fletcher's a target
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 29, 2016 in News
C and H

West Ham have confirmed that they are holding a back-up interest in
Sunderland striker Steve Fletcher should it prove impossible to complete a
deal for Emmanuele Emenike. The Hammers are hoping they will complete the
negotiations for the Nigerian front man but have made it clear that
Fletcher is a possible late target should that deal fall through.
ClaretandHugh revealed this morning that although the Fenerbache striker was
taking the second part of his medical today, there was still no firm deal in
place. And the story published on line by the Mirror's Darren Lewis that
Fletcher is a target if the deal breaks down has been confirmed by our top
source at West Ham who said: "We have inquired about Steven and hold an
interest in him.
"He is a possible back-up target if we can't sort out a deal for Emenike."
However as the Mirror reports manager Slaven Bilic has admitted that the
London club are hopeful of sealing the deal – despite complications because
of Emenike's current loan spell at Al Ain in Abu Dhabi – this weekend.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Julian Dicks's emphatic response when asked whether Payet is better than Di
Canio
HITC
Tim Poole

The West Ham coach has waxed lyrical about the Frenchman. West Ham United
coach Julian Dicks says Dimitri Payet is 'one hundred per cent' a better
player than Paolo Di Canio was, according to the Daily Star. Indeed, Dicks
is delighted with the 28-year-old's 'fantastic' work rate and is impressed
with his willingness to run back and defend even during the 90th minute. Di
Canio is a West Ham legend but, with time, there's no reason Payet won't
reach that status among fans at Upton Park. And Dicks is quoted as saying by
the Star: "Payet. One hundred per cent.
"There are similarities. But with Dimitri, he has all the ability in the
world but his work rate is fantastic. You have fantastic players and you let
them get on with it. "But he's running back to defend in the 90th minute. It
rubs off. You take your team-mates with you. He's very calm on the ball.
Many people can see a pass but very few can execute it."
Payet's return from injury recently came against Liverpool, when he was
brought on as a second-half substitute. West Ham won that game and now have
the chance to win three out of three against the Reds this season. The
Frenchman will likely play an important part if the Hammers are to achieve
the feat, as they travel to Anfield during Saturday's late kick-off in the
FA Cup.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham bound striker's ability questioned by former Nigeria international
Posted by Eren Sarigul January 29, 2016
turkish-football.com

The West Ham bound striker Emmanuel Emenike's ability has been questioned by
the former Nigeria international Jonathan Akpoborie. Akpoborie – who also
played for VFL Wolfsburg – has stated that Emenike's performances have been
below par in recent performances. "Over the last two or three years he
hasn't been in good form for his club and country", Akpoborie was quoted as
saying by the BBC. "To be a striker in the top flight in England you need to
have a good first touch and that has always been his problem. "His ability
is in question." Emenike is set to undergo his West Ham medical according to
Jack Sullivan, son of Hammers co-owner David Sullivan. The Nigerian
international is currently in talks with West Ham but the Hammers will have
to reach a deal with both Fenerbahce and his loan club Al Ain according to
West Ham head coach Slaven Bilic. The Hammers head coach expects a decision
to be made by Fenerbahce and Al Ain over Emenike by today. "Now we are
waiting to see if it is going to be today, tomorrow or not," Bilic was
quoted as saying by the Daily Star yesterday. The 28-year-old scored seven
times in 11 appearances for Al Ain and Bilic is familiar with Bilic from his
time coaching Istanbul rivals Besiktas.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David James reveals his fear for Liverpool if Jurgen Klopp takes this risk
FORMER England keeper David James fears for Liverpool if Jurgen Klopp picks
another youthful team for their fourth-round FA Cup tie with West Ham
tomorrow.
By JOSEPH PEARSON
PUBLISHED: 09:12, Fri, Jan 29, 2016 | UPDATED: 09:29, Fri, Jan 29, 2016
Express.co.uk

James played 277 games for Liverpool between 1992 and 1999 and made a
further 102 appearances for the Hammers between 2001 and 2004 during his 18
years playing in the Premier League. Klopp made 11 changes in the last round
at Exeter and the Reds required a replay to see off their League Two
opponents. West Ham sit once place above Liverpool in sixth in the Premier
League table and James, who's been impressed with the Hammers under Slaven
Bilic this season, believes that Klopp cannot afford to take a similar risk
against Premier League opponents. "I've been very impressed by them [West
Ham] this season," James wrote in the Liverpool Echo. "I think Slaven Bilic
has done a marvellous job. "They're sitting just outside the European places
– above Liverpool – and they'll be looking at their fixtures to come and
thinking 'why can't we put ourselves in the mix for the top four?' "What
Jurgen did at Exeter in the last round was select a team that, barring a
couple of exceptions, pretty much knew each other and had played together,
albeit at youth level. He repeated that at Anfield, and I think you saw that
the understanding and confidence had grown. "I'm not sure if he will go
quite so young in his selection against West Ham, because this is a Premier
League opponent that can easily put an inexperienced team out of the
competition. It would be a big risk, in a competition you certainly have a
chance of winning. "But a few of those young players did themselves no harm
in the two games against Exeter, let me tell you."

James won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008 and he was a runner-up with
Liverpool in 1996, when the Reds lost to Manchester United at Wembley.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Karren Brady warns Brexit would be bad for British clubs
• 'Two-thirds of European stars in England would not meet visa criteria'
• 'Cutting ourselves off would have devastating consequences'
The Guardian
Friday 29 January 2016 09.19 GMT Last modified on Friday 29 January 2016
09.21 GMT

British teams could find it harder to sign top European players if the UK
votes to sever ties with Brussels, Karren Brady has warned club chairmen.
The Tory peer, vice-chairman of West Ham United, has written to professional
teams to warn that "cutting ourselves off from Europe would have devastating
consequences" for both the economy and the competitiveness of British
football. Baroness Brady, who is on the board of the main campaign to keep
the UK in the European Union, said free movement rules made it easier to
attract talent from the other 27 member states. She claimed that two-thirds
of players from EU nations playing in England might not meet the visa
criteria applying to non-EU countries and could therefore be forced to
leave.
In a letter to the chairmen of all professional sides in England, Scotland
and Wales, she said: "For clubs, free movement plays a big role in transfers
and players' contracts. "Players from the EU can sign for UK clubs without
needing a visa or special work permit, making it quicker and easier to
secure top talent from across Europe to come and play in our leagues.
"Indeed, there are nearly 200 Premier League footballers alone who have
benefited from this arrangement. Leaving the EU could have a big impact on
foreign players, as independent analysis has shown that two-thirds of
European stars in England would not meet automatic non-EU visa criteria and
therefore might be forced to leave. "Losing this unhindered access to
European talent would put British clubs at a disadvantage compared to
continental sides."
Her letter also suggests fans travelling to away games in Europe benefit
from cheaper flights and not having to pay visas. Baroness Brady is on the
board of Britain Stronger In Europe, which is campaigning for a vote to
remain in the EU in the referendum promised by David Cameron. "English,
Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish football gains so much from being in
Europe," she said. "Clubs and fans all benefit from European action, laws
and funding. Leaving the EU would hurt our leagues, create uncertainty for
European transfers, and be a step back for the next generation of
footballers."
Although EU free movement rules can help British teams sign foreign stars,
they also apply the other way – smoothing the path for British players such
as Gareth Bale, who left Tottenham Hotspur to sign for Real Madrid. Players'
ability to switch sides has also been boosted by the Bosman ruling, a
European Court of Justice decision which allowed a player to leave a club on
a free transfer as soon as his contract expired, giving them extra leverage
to demand huge signing-on payments and salaries from their new teams.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 29th January 2016

Westley - It's a big achievement
WHUFC.com

Reflecting on the Development Squad's progression through to the semi-final of the U21 Premier League Cup, Terry Westley said his players and staff had every right to be proud of their achievement. The young Hammers secured their passage into the last four after beating Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Rush Green on Wednesday 27 January. In front of a packed Rush Green Stadium, Westley's charges started the game brightly and were rewarded in the shape of goals from Djair Parfitt-Williams and Reece Oxford. Speaking after the win, a delighted Westley said: "Tonight we should be celebrating and be happy, the players in the dressing room are certainly happy. We're through to the semi-final of the U21 Premier League Cup so that's a big achievement for everyone. "I'm pleased for all the staff, both players and backroom staff, that have been here for a long time as well as the new staff who have come in, done well and everyone has really gelled together."

Another bonus for everyone connected to the Academy was the fact that the win over the Lancashire club extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to ten matches. Even more impressively, nine of those ten games have been victories. Westley continued: "It's a great run, really good for confidence. When we went 2-0 up I think some of us thought it was a done deal, and it wasn't. We let a goal in just before half-time, which gave the opposition a bit of belief, when they weren't really in it. "The real emphasis at half-time was to say, let's really manage this game, this is a game we want to win, we won't get a second chance, and to be fair to the players, we really did that second half. "The crowd tonight were excellent, we had almost a 1000 people in tonight, and it's going up. To be fair to everyone working behind the scenes, everyone really is pulling in the same direction. And now people are talking about our players, we're 10 games unbeaten, we're in a semi-final, we're heading in the right direction. "If we're lucky enough to get a home tie in the semi-final I'm sure we'll get an even bigger crowd."

Westley continued to stress that while the match may have lacked its usual flow of possession based football, at this stage of the tournament, the win was the all important factor. "It was a totally different game to what we are used to, it was very direct, headers and second ball possession. We can't dictate what the opposition are going to do, not every team is like an Arsenal where they move it around nicely. Tonight it was a different type of game, and we handled that well in the end. "In patches we got it down, not as much as I'd have liked, but I'm not going to be disappointed when we've just won a quarter-final."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Howes - Dev Squad prepared to face anyone
WHUFC.com

West Ham United goalkeeper Sam Howes said his side are ready and willing to face any team in the semi-finals of the U21 Premier League Cup. Howes' Hammers overcame Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at a packed Rush Green Stadium which was treated to goals from Djair Parfitt-Williams and Reece Oxford. Describing his emotions at full time, Howes said: "I feel really good, it's obviously a good effort from all the boys throughout the 90 minutes; we did well to score two early goals then stuck at it to hold out in the end. "Absolutely, it was a very physical test, a different type of game to what we usually face. Each game in this competition has been very different, Exeter away, Fulham and now Blackburn. Obviously, it's great to have passed this test as well.
"We'll take any team in the semis, we know we can beat anyone, we know when we're on our game we're one of the best sides in the country, we'll just focus on keeping the run going and then we'll stand a chance against anyone."

Djair Parfitt-Williams opened the scoring after just 18 minutes, his fifth goal in four games, as he sided footed Jaanai Gordon's deflected effort past Rovers' goalkeeper Andrew Fisher.
Howes continued to praise the forward's blistering run: "He's on flames the kid isn't he?! He's doing his good properly now. Everyone in the team is really; we're all pulling our weight."

While Parfitt-Williams has been leading the line at one end, Howes has played just as crucial a role at the back in helping the Dev Squad extend their unbeaten run to ten games. Having last lost way back in October, Howes spoke of the confidence in the claret and blue dressing room: "It's a great achievement, ten games unbeaten at any level is a fantastic achievement, we just have to keep on progressing and try to add to it. "I wasn't actually too nervous at 2-1, I was confident we would stay ahead; we're ten games unbeaten so we're full of confidence."

With just two minutes remaining, Howes, largely untested for the majority of the match, pulled off a stunning save to deny a long range effort that looked destined for the bottom corner.
When asked about his heroics, the England youth international replied modestly: "I was just doing my job for the team; it's what I'm there for." As if being a crucial component of the Dev Squad and training regularly with the first team was not enough, Howes has also been getting first team experience out on loan at Wealdstone FC. Howes continued to explain how the new experience was benefitting his all round game: "Playing for Wealdstone is a very different experience, it's a different style of football but it's a great experience, and I'm learning a lot of new things which is the main thing. "It's a bit tiring playing Friday and Saturday for instance, I've done that a few times this season, but it's all part of it, I love playing football so it's all good."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Speaks - Liverpool
WHUFC.com

West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Saturday's Emirates FA Cup trip to Liverpool.
With the end of the transfer window looming, talk of possible arrivals took centre stage, as did an update on Carl Jenkinson's fitness.

Can we start with an update on Carl Jenkinson?

SB: "We will have to see because he has an appointment with the doctor, the specialist, on Thursday and we will wait for results. Based on that we will see how bad the injury is. It's a really unlucky injury – we are still hoping it's not that bad but we will see what it is. "We know it is his knee, but we don't know how bad it is [at this stage]. Based on that we will find a solution which suits everybody."

How is it looking for your two strikers who are injured?

SB: "It's looking good. Not regarding the Liverpool game, but Andy will be back playing, let's say, in ten days, and Diafra and Lanzini in two weeks. "They are ahead of schedule. I was here yesterday on the day off, and I watched Andy train. He was doing basically everything and he will hopefully start to train with us after the Liverpool game, and if he trains good he could be in the squad for the weekend."

With that news, are you still in the market for a striker?

SB: "Yes, we are still in the market. We hope that both of our strikers will come fit for the rest of the season, but we are looking to strengthen our squad. We're not going to buy a player, but if we can loan one we will do it.

There are varying reports regarding the status of where it is at with Emmanuel Emineke. Is he basically at the point of joining the Club on loan?

SB: "We are waiting for that, because it is a complicated situation. He is a Fenerbahce player, but he is on loan to Al Ain. We made contact, basically they called me from Al Ain, and we thought we could do [the deal] with them, but Fenerbahce have to be involved and now we are talking to them. In the beginning it looked easy, and now, according to Sky mostly, the deal is pretty much alive. So hopefully you guys are right."

Any players going out between now and Tuesday?

SB: "No. We have Jelavic who might go to China, but they are in pre-season at the moment, so he is staying with us until he might sort the deal out."

What if you got a silly offer for Payet?

SB: "From my point of view there is no money in the world that we would let him go for."

Can we have the rest of the team news for Saturday?

SB: "We have a big FA Cup game, it is a big weekend. I was not happy with our draw, because we got Liverpool away and it is one of the most difficult games we could have got, but we are very ambitious for the FA Cup and we are looking forward to the game. "We will make some changes, and we have 15-16 players who are regulars and are ready to play. They are not only fit from training but have match fitness too. "Sam Byram is cup tied, but Tomkins is back in training on Thursday and there's only Mark Noble, who has reported a little but of flu and has stayed home, but will hopefully be ok for Friday. "Definitely we will put a very, very strong team out but we will make some changes. Some of the guys who played in the last cup game against Wolves will play again."

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First and Last - Diafra Sakho
WHUFC.com
As West Ham United continue the final season at the Boleyn Ground, we've asked the players for some memorable firsts and lasts from their careers and lives. Today, Diafra Sakho goes under the spotlight…

FIRSTS

What was the first car that you owned?

It was a Nissan, a Qashqai I think it was called. I was about 21 at the time. Until then, I had always lived a stone's throw from the training ground.

What was the first car that you bought?

The first CD that I had was definitely Bob Marley. My uncle listened to a lot of Bob Marley when I was growing up, so I developed the habit too. When I bought my first car, that was when I bought my first Bob Marley CD.

When did you score your first professional goal?

It was against Nantes in 2010. It was in Ligue 2, but it's professional all the same! It ended 1-1 and I opened the scoring. A right foot finish, if memory serves. You can find it on YouTube.

Who would be the first players you'd pick for a pub quiz?

No doubt, for sure it would be Cheikhou. Then, it depends. I'd say Dimitri would be high up on the list and then Adrian as well.

If West Ham were to do the X-Factor, who would you vote off first?

That's tough to say. I think I'd have to say me. I'd kick myself out, not much of a singer, I'm afraid.

What was the last concert that you went to?

It was to see a Senegalese singer-songwriter called Youssou N'Dour. He's well known, he sung at the Opening Ceremony of the 1998 World Cup!

Who would be the last West Ham player you'd taken fashion advice from?

Easy, Adrian, he wears some rubbish. I wear rubbish too, but he's even worse than me. It's true.

Who's the last player you'd want to be stuck in a lift with?

Harsh. I'd probably say Carl Jenkinson, but only because he's quite intense. By comparison, James Tomkins is so calm. When you play, there's pressure, a lot of it. So if you're stuck in a lift, there's pressure as well, so you need someone who's nice and calm and I think Tomkins would be the man for that.

What was the last book that you read?

I read a lot when I was younger, less so now. I think the last one was Didier Drogba's autobiography.

What's the last thing you'd want to hear from the manager after a game?

That I was rubbish, that I didn't do anything. After a match, even if I wasn't able to score, I want to hear, 'you played well'. But if I you say the contrary, 'you didn't play well', that's tough to take, I'd not sleep, I don't think.

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Makasi believes hard work is paying off
WHUFC.com

West Ham midfielder Moses Makasi stressed that the Development Squad's 10 game unbeaten run is the culmination of 18 months' hard work. Despite good performances, converting them into positive results proved difficult until recently. However, Makasi and his teammates are now dominating games while reaping the rewards from their endeavours, and clearly enjoying their football. The versatile 20-year-old explained: "This run we're on now is down to 18 months of hard work, with Terry and all the coaches. It's also great to see young players coming through like Vashon Neufville, coming into the side and doing well." Makasi, playing in an effective midfield trio with George Dobson and Josh Cullen, was one of a number of players to impress during the Dev Squad's 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday 27 January. Reflecting on the win, Makasi continued: "It was a good performance from the team, we deserved to win tonight, we're ten games unbeaten now and hopefully we can carry on winning. "It feels good to be in the team, at the start of the season I wasn't starting many games, but I've worked hard every day in training, now I have played the last few games and I'm feeling good. "We've very hard in training working well as a midfield trio, concentrating on playing the ball out from the back and not rushing it forward, but making sure we play the right pass at the right time."
Now through to the Barclays U21 Premier League semi-finals, the Hammers will have to wait to see who they face in the last four. So far, the possible sides are Liverpool, Hull City, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town, with Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion still to play each other. However, Makasi insists he doesn't mind who the Hammers face in the next round: "I don't mind who we get in the next round, we're on a good run so whoever we get, I reckon we'll beat."

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Supporter Advisory Board meeting
WHUFC.com

The West Ham United Supporter Advisory Board met at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday evening to look ahead to the Club's momentous summer move to the former Olympic Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Managing Director Angus Kinnear, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Tara Warren and Head of Ticketing and Retail Gavin Stanley were on hand to respond to questions from the floor, while the meeting was chaired by Disability Liaison Officer Julie Pidgeon.

At this, the first meeting of 2016, Mrs Warren began with a message from Vice-Chairman Karren Brady, on behalf of the Board, who thanked the SAB for all that they have done to advance the Club in recent years.

Reflecting on the integral part the SAB has played, Mrs Warren explained that each and every item raised in meetings is reported back to the Board in order to inform Club strategy.

The SAB were delighted to welcome representation from the Club's LGBT supporters' club Pride of Irons. Formed just under 12 months ago, they aim to promote tolerance and inclusivity at West Ham, as well a positive image of West Ham.

The question and answer session began with extensive discussion of disabled access to the Stadium. It was confirmed that, in terms of accessibility, the Boleyn Ground is ranked eleventh in the Premier League, while the new Stadium is second in the country. The Club therefore expects the matchday experience for supporters with accessibility requirements to be significantly enhanced come next season.

Additionally, there will be some 49 Blue Badge parking spaces on the Stadium Island, in comparison to just 20 at the Boleyn Ground.

Mr Kinnear reiterated that a travel plan will be widely communicated well in advance of the move and that accessibility plans are right at the heart of everything the Club is doing.

In response to how the Club might cater for supporters on the Autism spectrum at the new Stadium, Mrs Warren confirmed that the Club had been in contact with the Premier League, National Autism Society and the Chairman of Level Playing Field for their recommendations. Following those discussions, West Ham are now hoping to institute pre-visits for supporters and a walkaround with an NAS representative to offer further guidance.

In terms of the first home kit to grace the new Stadium, Mr Kinnear told the SAB that a great deal of the work done in the consultation for the Farewell Boleyn shirt had been carried over and was confident that supporters would be impressed with the results.

The seat selection process, though nearing its conclusion for existing Season Ticket Holders, was another hot topic. Mr Kinnear confirmed that almost every existing Season Ticket Holder had now renewed at the new Stadium, with an appointment satisfaction rate in excess of 80 per cent. He described the process as the most successful Stadium migration in the history of European football.

On a similar note, Mr Kinnear spoke of the Joint-Chairmen's desire to create a family-friendly stadium and that based on the huge success of the Club's £99 Season Tickets, he expects West Ham to have one of the youngest Season Ticket bases across the land.

Alongside the Stadium move, the Hammers are also planning to relocate the first-team's training base to Rush Green for next season. With significant work to be done in the coming months to produce a world-class training facility, Mr Kinnear said the project was a fundamental part of the Club's overall, long-term vision.

Elsewhere, it was confirmed that the Reservation Centre will close its doors next season, with attention set to turn to the Club's dedicated spaces on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with a new Megastore and Ticket Office currently under construction. The former is two-and-a-half times the size of its Boleyn Ground equivalent.

Supporters were pleased to learn that there will be no pitch events in the period between the new Stadium pitch being re-seeded in the summer and the first game of the season. The pitch has been specially designed and tested so that it will be able to be used for other events during the course of the season without affecting its quality or durability.

The SAB's next meeting, the third and final meeting of the season, is now set for the final week of February. There, the application process for the 2016/17 SAB, will be discussed, with the invitation, as it always been, to be extended to the entire West Ham United supporter base.

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Noble Testimonial Ticket News
WHUFC.com

The stars will be out in force for Mark Noble's Testimonial on Monday March 28 and Season Ticket Holders are being given the chance to see the action for just £20 when tickets go on sale on Tuesday 2 February.

The long-serving captain has been honoured with a match between the current West Ham United first-team and a West Ham United All-Stars squad, with all funds raised being donated to Richard House Children's Hospice, Help for Heroes and the DT38 Foundation.

It promises to be a memorable occasion with a number of big names set for their final ever appearance on the Boleyn Ground pitch.

Rio Ferdinand, Anton Ferdinand, Matthew Etherington, Carlton Cole, Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker, Stewart Downing, Danny Gabbidon, Bobby Zamora, Dean Ashton, Yossi Benayoun, Trevor Sinclair, Ian Bishop, Julian Dicks and Ludek Miklosko are all set to feature with more set to follow.

The fixture, which will take place at the Boleyn Ground on Easter Monday at 2pm, will give Hammers of all ages a final opportunity to see many of their heroes in action at the Club's historic home.

Noble, who joined West Ham as a 13-year-old schoolboy and is now approaching 350 first-team appearances in Claret and Blue, cannot wait for the special occasion, which will form part of his overall activities for his Testimonial year.

Noble said: "I've already mentioned some of the players who are coming back for the game and the response has been unbelievable.

"I was a little nervous about it all and wondered if some of the players would want to come but the response has been phenomenal. My only worry now is I might have too many!

"I wanted it to be like this. I didn't want to have a team who didn't really want to be here – to have eleven players who didn't really care about the Club.

"I just wanted players with whom I played and got on well, to come back and really enjoy the occasion – to be out there on the pitch for one final time. It's special for the fans also be see all their old heroes and I believe it will be a fantastic occasion."

Season Ticket Holders can buy their tickets from Tuesday for just £20 with Under-16s paying just £5. Tickets for Under 21s and OAPs will be £10.

For Members, tickets go on sale on Saturday 6 February and will be £25, while Under-16s will pay just £10. Prices for Under 21s and OAPs are £15.

Tickets go on General Sale on Monday 8 February.

Tickets will be available to purchase online, in person at the Betway Stand Ticket Office, or by calling 0871 529 1966 via Option 3 (9am-5pm Monday-Saturdays) or 0871 529 1966 via Option 1 (Call Centre open 24 hours). Calls cost 13p per minute plus your phone company's access charge.

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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFc.com

Hello everyone,

When I was little, I was a Liverpool fan and every time they played in the FA Cup, I wanted the Reds to win. When they won the FA Cup in 2001, I was only eleven and I remember watching the final when Michael Owen scored twice as Liverpool beat Arsenal. Every time Liverpool played, me and my family and lots of my friends want them to win, but on Saturday it's going to be a different matter – I want to beat them for the third time this season! It's the FA Cup and we want to progress to the next round and go as far as we can in the competition and we know it's going to be a tough game, but it's one we're relishing. It's always nice going back home and seeing all my family and friends as well, and most of them will be at the game, but the most important thing is we get through to the next round."

Anfield is one of the best grounds in England and it's a real thrill to play there, especially being a Liverpool fan as a kid. Atmosphere-wise, they always have fantastic support, but hopefully we can silence them and get through."

We most definitely we believe we can beat them. It's the FA Cup, it's Liverpool and it's another incentive to do well on the day and I'm sure all the boys are looking forward to it. We are playing well at the moment and we beat them away and then beat them at home and we've yet to concede a goal, so hopefully that can continue. Before I go, I want to say a word or two about Sam Byram. I've played against Sam in the Championship many times when I was at Ipswich and he's still only 22 and has plenty of years ahead of him in the game. He's played well over 100 games at the age of 22 and I always knew he was good enough to play in the Premier League, and he was fantastic against Manchester City. Sam is cup-tied on Saturday, but the rest of us will be travelling up and doing everything we can to take the next step down the road to Wembley.

Safe trip to everyone going up to Liverpool on Saturday!

Cressy

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Boleyn Memories - Mark Noble
WHUFC.com

Ahead of Saturday's trip to Anfield, West Ham United captain Mark Noble recalls the night he saw off Liverpool with a nerveless last-gasp penalty. The Hammers and Reds were deadlocked at 0-0 going into added-time at the Boleyn Ground on 30 January 2008, when Jamie Carragher upended Freddie Ljungberg inside the penalty area. A hush descended over the famous old stadium, but the 20-year-old midfielder held his nerve to beat Pepe Reina and side-foot West Ham to a valuable Premier League victory.

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Ox set for Championship loan
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 28th January 2016
By: Staff Writer

West Ham's England youth international Reece Oxford is on the verge of sealing a loan move to Charlton Athletic, according to reports. The 17-year-old centre half, who can also operate in midfield, is on the verge of completing a move to the Addicks for the rest of the season, reports journalist Matt Law. Struggling Charlton - currently one place off the bottom of the Championship having collected just 21 points from their opening 28 games of the season - are set to confirm the signing imminently. Oxford has represented West Ham on eight occasions so far this season - including four Premier League appearances - with his most recent outing coming in the 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Wolverhampton Wanderers a fortnight ago

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Ex-Hammer joins UK's worst football team
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 28th January 2016
By: Staff Writer

Stuart Pearce has announced his return to football - in order to sign for Longford AFC, who have been named as 'the worst team in the UK'. 53-year-old Pearce initially hung up his boots in the summer of 2002 after his last playing contract, a 12-month deal with Manchester City, expired. However he has been enticed out of the retirement by the opportunity to represent Longford, who have lost all 19 league games so far this season - scoring three goals and conceding 183, according to the BBC. "I started out in non-league football playing for Wealdstone before joining Coventry City," said Pearce. "So I'm looking forward to working with manager Nick Dawe and hopefully transforming both the dressing room confidence, as well as the on-the-pitch performance, and seeing how far they can go up the league."
Longford began the season in somehwat less than spectacular fashion, having lost their opening four games of the campaign 13-0, 10-0, 13-0 and 14-0. However their fortunes have changed for the better in recent outings with the team having only lost their last three games 9-1 (at home to Abbeymead Rovers), 2-1 (away to Quedgeley Wanderers) and 2-1 (against Lydney Town Reserves). Pearce spent two years at West Ham between 1999 and 2001, making 50 appearances for Harry Redknapp's team.

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Bilic keeps door open for Jenkinson
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 28th January 2016
By: Staff Writer

Slaven Bilic has refused to rule out a return for Carl Jenkinson at West Ham - despite initial reports suggesting that his season was over. The West Ham manager, talking to the media ahead of this weekend's FA Cup fourth round tie with Liverpool maintained that it was too early to make a final decision on the full back's immediate future. When asked whether Jenkinson would be returning to Arsenal, Bilic replied: "We don't know. We'll have to see. He has an appointment with the specialist on Thursday and we are waiting for the results. We need to see how bad the injury is. He was really unlucky. We're still hoping it's not that bad but we're going to see after today's appointment what it really is. It's definitely his knee but we don't really know how bad it is. Based on that we're going to find a solution that suits everyone."
Jenkinson sustained the injury whilst challenging Manchester City's Sergio Aguero during Saturday's evening's 2-2 draw at the Boleyn Ground. Although he initially played on for a few minutes, the defender was subsequently replaced by debutant Sam Byram.

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West Ham and Norwich line up moves for Davide Santon
HITC
Billy Hawkins

West Ham and Norwich are keen on signing former Newcastle defender Davide Santon. West Ham and Norwich are lining up moves for Davide Santon, Gianluca Di Marzio reports. The Premier League duo are looking for further arrivals before the end of the transfer window, and have targeted Santon of Internazionale. The defender, an eight capped Italian international, is well known to fans of English football, having spent a four-year spell with Newcastle United. He played 94 times for the Wearside club, before leaving last January on a loan deal back to Inter. The move was made permanent over the summer of 2015, but West Ham and Norwich are ready to bring him back to the Premier League. He has fallen out of favour at Inter this season, not playing a game since the end of October, and the Serie A club are not averse to selling him this month. Santon himself could be open to a move to guarantee more consistent playing time in the second half of the campaign.Santon is able to play at both right-back and left-back, and would bring quality and experience to whichever team he signed for. However, first-team chances would not be guaranteed for the 25-year-old, as both clubs have already signed full-backs this month. Sam Byram was brought in by the Hammers, and Ivo Pinto by Norwich, meaning either move is not an amazingly attractive proposition for Santon.

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West Ham starlet Reece Oxford's loan move to Charlton on brink of collapse
Charlton manager Jose Riga had not sanctioned move for 17-year-old midfielder
Telegraph.co.uk
By Matt Law7:52PM GMT 28 Jan 2016

West Ham United fear Reece Oxford's loan move to Charlton Athletic is on the brink of collapse after it emerged that Addicks manager Jose Riga had not given his consent to the deal. Gifted teenager Oxford thought he was on his way to Charlton for the rest of the season on Thursday morning, but by the evening there was a big question mark over whether the loan would go ahead. Charlton's controversial owners had set up the deal only for Riga to block it, with some sources even suggesting he did not know who 17-year-old Oxford was. Missing out on Oxford in such calamitous circumstances would be a big blow to Championship strugglers Charlton and would add to the chaos at the Valley. Oxford shot to prominence at the start of the season with an impressive Premier League debut in West Ham's 2-0 victory over Arsenal, aged 16. That appearance made Oxford, who only lost possession once in the match, the second-youngest starter in Premier League history behind Jose Baxter. Oxford can play in either midfield or defence and has made a total of eight first-team appearances in all competitions for the Hammers this season. But with his first-team opportunities likely to be limited, Oxford had agreed to join Charlton for six months to gather more experience. The player demonstrated his frustration over the move stalling on Thursday night by tweeting an angry face emoticon. The youngster has played for England at Under-16 and U17 level, and has attracted the interest of all of the top clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Meanwhile, West Ham expect to complete the signing of striker Emmanuel Emenike by the end of the week after agreeing a loan fee with Turkish club Fenerbahce for the Nigerian.
The deal to take Emenike to Upton Park until the end of the season had been complicated by the fact he had been on loan at Al Ain, but negotiations are now complete.

Emenike is travelling to London to undergo a medical and complete the move, which will boost West Ham manager Slaven Bilic's options up front with both Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll out injured. Bilic has claimed that Carroll will be playing again in 10 days and that Sakho should return in two weeks, but the arrival of Emenike will give him much better cover. West Ham have already signed right-back Sam Byram ahead of Everton this month, as the club look to maintain their impressive form over the first six months of the season.

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No money in the world would make us sell Payet
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham manger Slaven Bilic updated the press on transfer dealings earlier today but insisted West Ham were not in the market to buy any player but would loan one more player. He also admitted Jelavic could still leave after the transfer window closes. He also insisted West Ham would reject any silly offer for Dimitri Payet saying no money in the world would persuade him to let him go. Bilic told reporters "Yes, we are still in the market. We hope that both of our strikers will come fit for the rest of the season, but we are looking to strengthen our squad. We're not going to buy a player, but if we can loan one we will do it"
On the Enenike loan deal Bilic added: "We are waiting for that, because it is a complicated situation. He is a Fenerbahce player, but he is on loan to Al Ain. We made contact, basically they called me from Al Ain, and we thought we could do [the deal] with them, but Fenerbahce have to be involved and now we are talking to them. In the beginning it looked easy, and now, according to Sky mostly, the deal is pretty much alive. So hopefully you guys are right."

On Whether any further players will be leaving the club Bilic answered: "No. We have Jelavic who might go to China, but they are in pre-season at the moment, so he is staying with us until he might sort the deal out."

Finally a question on the club's valuation of Dimitri Payet and whether West Ham would accept a silly offer for their star player. Bilic answered "From my point of view there is no money in the world that we would let him go for."

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Sligo Rovers sign West Ham striker on loan
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Sligo Rovers have signed Jaanai Gordon on loan from West Ham ahead of the start of the 2016 SSE Airtricity League season.

The 20-year-old striker has signed a short-term loan at the Showgrounds, which will see his initial period at the Bit O'Red last until August this year.

Sligo Manager Dave Robertson said of his latest signing: "I have known Jaanai for a long time. I watched him through his journey. He signed first for the under-12s and came all the way through the system. He got fast-tracked into the first team and made his debut in the Championship at 16 years of age. That attracted a lot of interest from some of the big clubs and he was sold at the age of 17. He has developed really well since and still has two and a half years left on his contract.

"He has been scoring regularly this year with the West Ham under-21s and played last night for them in the Premier League under-21 Cup. Jaanai is an exceptional talent who is a natural goalscorer as well. I think he can score regularly here for us this season.

"I see him as an out and out centre forward. He will give us the threat we need up front to score goals and play with the attacking style we are looking for. He also has good physicality, in the last six games he has scored a few headers and shown great strength and power, he is progressing in that area which will be important for us.

"I know that West Ham will be monitoring how he is doing closely. He has been training regularly with the first team as well as playing with the under-21s. There will be close contact with everybody over there with how things are progressing. They feel that this will really help his game so that when he goes back he will be fitter, stronger and ready to make the break into the first team. He has a really big future."

Gordon has spent the last two years at West Ham, having signed from Peterborough, but has yet to make a first-team appearance. He has previously been loaded to Chelmsford City and Nuneaton town.

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John Lyall gates removal to be honoured
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham has revealed they will hold a ceremony for the removal of the John Lyall Gates that currently adorn the entrance to the Boleyn Ground. The gates will be relocated to the new club shop outside the former Olympic Stadium later this year. They were originally constructed after West Ham used the £25,000 fee from the 1956 transfer of free-scoring winger Harry Hooper to buy the land that now makes up the main Boleyn Ground car park, with the new gates built at its entrance. In December 2009, the gates were renamed in honour of John Lyall, the Hammers' legendary manager who had died three years previously at the age of 66. After a playing career cruelly cut short by injury, John Lyall joined the Club's coaching ranks in the 1960s under Ron Greenwood. He would go on to succeed his mentor as manager in 1974, leading the Hammers with distinction for some 15 years, always insisting that his teams played football in the 'West Ham Way'. His widow, Yvonne, son Murray and grandchildren were joined at the renaming ceremony in 2009 by Tony Cottee, Tony Gale, Phil Parkes and Ray Stewart, who had played under John Lyall as he led West Ham to their highest ever top-flight finish in 1986. and the club now plan to invite Lyall's family back again for the ceremony of their removal from Green Street.
The plan was revealed at the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board meeting to members.

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Club washes hands of OS "standing" issue
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham has suggested the issue of supporters standing in front of their seats at the Olympic Stadium from next season is 'a stewarding matter' and not one for the club to answer. In August this year, stewarding for West Ham matches will transfer to Stadium operator London Stadium 185, a subsidiary of French company Vinci Stadiums. Along with OCS, London Stadium 185 have been busy recruiting stewards for Olympic Stadium events including West Ham games and many of the current West Ham stewards are known to have signed up. The question was asked at the West Ham Supporters Advisory board on Tuesday evening and was given a "stewarding issue " answer. The issue of standing at the Olympic Stadium is likely to a thorny issue. Hammers supporters in the Bobby Moore Lower have stood in front of their seats since the stand was build in 1993 and the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower stand together with Chav corner and parts of the East end have also stood up during games for many, many years.

Ever since the introduction of all-seater stadia, many supporters have continued to stand in front of their seats around the country, often for the duration of the game and West Ham have been no different. It is widely believed that this practice is illegal but this is not the case. The law only provides that these clubs should provide seats for all supporters, not that supporters must sit on them.

Standing in seated areas, is, however, contrary to ground regulations. The Premier League regulations state: 'Nobody may stand in any seating area whilst play is in progress. Persistent standing in seated areas whilst play is in progress is strictly forbidden and may result in ejection from the ground'.

Safe standing just won't happen at the Olympic Stadium in the foreseeable future. It would require a rule change from the Premier League and even then the tax payer would be unlikely to fund further modifications to the stadium which has already cost £272m to modify.

In 2014 West Ham chairman, David Gold called standing at football unsafe and unsocial in an interview with Cass Pennant. "It is interesting that for many years we have had unsafe standing, I don't think there is a ground in the country that are all seater stadium that don't have their fans in some area of the ground standing. Now that standing is both unsafe and unsocial. In other words unsocial from the point that if you were to bring a child to that match and that child is suddenly confronted with rows and rows of people in front of him, then he or she is not going to be able to see the match"

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'Carroll, Sakho and Lanzini will be back in 2 weeks'
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Slaven Bilic has given his press conference ahead of the Liverpool FA cup tie on Saturday. And discussing the various injured players he declared: "We have to see on Jenkinson. We are waiting on the results from the specialist. He is really unlucky with the injury. We will see after today's appointment with the doctor how bad the injury is." "Andy will be back playing in ten days, and Diafra and Lanzini will be back with us in two weeks." "We are still in the market for a striker. We are looking to strengthen our squad. If we can loan one, we will do.
"We have a big FA Cup game on Saturday and we have one of the most difficult draws we could get. We are very ambitious for the FA Cup and we are looking forward to the game." We will make some changes but we have 15-16 players who we are treating as regular ones." "Tomkins is back in training with us. Mark Noble has stayed home today with a bit of flu but hopefully he will be ok tomorrow." "We will make some changes but we will have a very strong side. Our results against Liverpool this season give us confidence, but it is still Liverpool away."

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West Ham reach Semi Finals of U21 PL Cup
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

After a rocky start for Hammers Academy director Terry Westley, last night's quarter final victory against Blackburn Rovers for the West Ham U21's saw them secure a place in the Under 21 Premier League Cup semis, and extend their unbeaten run to ten games. Reece Oxford who scored one of two goals tweeted "Good 2-1 win tonight, nice to get a goal. 10 games unbeaten onto semi-finals", while Keeper Sam Howes added "What a win tonight vs Blackburn 👌 the boys were class as always 10 games unbeaten and in the semi." Djair Parfitt-Williams scored the other goal.
West Ham U21's are currently fifth in Division Two of the Barclay's Under 21 Premier League on 23 points just one point behind Arsenal and West Brom and two points behind Aston Villa. From 15 games, the Academy youngsters have won seven games, drawn two and lost six. They have scored 26 goals and conceded 25 giving them a positive goal difference of plus one.

U21: Starting XI v Blackburn U21 : Howes, Pike, Neufville, Dobson, Chambers, Oxford (c), Browne, Makasi, Gordon, Cullen, Parfitt-Williams. Subs:Kemp, Brown, Rice, Nasha, Hector-Ingram

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Byram's 275% pay rise after West Ham move
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C AND H

Sources close to Leeds claim Sam Byram earned just £11,000 per week at the championship side which still made him one of their top earners. By contrast the defender is thought to earn a total package of £30,000 per week with a £25,000 per week basic and £5,000 per week appearance bonus. The senior Leeds source – well known to ClaretandHugh -also claimed they actually offered him a new contract but, incredibly, asked him to take a pay cut together with an exit clause allowing him to leave if another club net their valuation.Byram subsequently refused to sign a new contract. Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has made a reduction of the Leeds wage bill a key component of his tenure at the club. That drive has seen the likes of Stephen Warnock, Noel Hunt and Steve Morison released – whilst other players have taken cuts in their wage.

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Emenike undergoes a medical
Posted by Sean Whetstone on January 28, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Emmanuel Emenike has arrived London to undergo a medical with West Ham, having already agreed personal terms with the irons. Chairman's son Jack Sullivan confirmed the player has arrived in London and will undergo a medical presumably at West Ham's Spire Roding Hospital, based in Roding Lane South, Redbridge. He tweeted out just after midday "Emenike has arrived in London to under go a medical. More news soon" West Ham are understood to have already agreed a deal with Fenerbahce to bring the 28 year old Emenike on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to buy him permanently. Emenike was the Golden Boot winner at the 2013 African Cup of nations. Yesterday the club's own ITK, the Boleyn Insider revealed "My sources have indicated to me that the Nigerian international could be arriving in England in the next 24 hours and the Hammers are hopeful that a deal can be finalised."

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West Ham starlet Reece Oxford's Charlton loan move is off - because Jose Riga doesn't know who he is
19:29, 28 JAN 2016 UPDATED 19:30, 28 JAN 2016
BY DARREN LEWIS
The Addicks head coach is understood to have vetoed the loan switch which would have seen the 17-year-old gain regular first-team football
The Mirror

West Ham rising star Reece Oxford's move to Charlton is off - because Jose Riga doesn't know who he is. The Addicks head coach is understood to have vetoed the loan switch which would have seen the 17-year-old gain regular first-team football until the end of the season. Oxford hit the headlines earlier this season with an outstanding performance in West Ham's Premier League win over Arsenal. The appearance for the Hammers had made him the second-youngest starter in Premier League history behind Jose Baxter. He lost possession just once during the match playing in front of the back four. He can also, however, play in defence. The idea behind his loan move was for him to further his education in order to help him to break into the Irons first team. Talks are now underway to establish whether Charlton will change their minds.

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CREDIT NOT GIVEN WHERE IT'S DESERVED
By Daniel Margrain 28 Jan 2016 at 15:00
WTID
Daniel bemoans the lack of credit being given to Leicester and West Ham

Reading the various reports' that followed our home 2-2 draw against Manchester City last week, I hadn't read a single one that I felt did our performance justice. The emphasis among most of the scribes putting metaphorical pen to paper who reported from the Boleyn, was to play up Manchester City's supposed weaknesses on the night rather than play up and focus primarily on our superlative level of performance.

The failure of journalists to give due credit to teams who are weaker than their financially muscle flexing competitors is of course nothing new and I'm not singling West Ham out here. But this season I do feel that there has been a growing tendency among some journalists who shall remain nameless who I regard as having largely failed in their duty to accurately reflect in a fair and impartial manner the performances of many of the so-called weaker teams in the Premiership.

It's beyond the scope of this article to go into detail about other clubs, but I think it's fair to say that typically teams like Southampton and, particularly Leicester, come to mind. Jamie Vardy aside, I think most football fans would agree with me that from a journalistic perspective, Claudio Ranieri and his team have not been given a fair crack of the whip. If I was a Leicester fan I would be fuming about the coverage they have been given.

But back to West Ham. I want to focus on the Manchester City game because I think it represents the clearest example of the kind of journalistic shortcomings I've been talking about. According to The Telegraph's lead football writer, for example, the focus of the game was from a City perspective marked by Pellegrini's apparent acceptance of "mediocrity".

Our creditable draw against one of the most accomplished and expensively assembled sides in European football was because Sergio Aguero saved them with two goals against a West Ham side who the journalist in question (grudgingly) conceded were "very good" but who were nonetheless playing against opponents who have "ambitions" who "should of done much better." It seemingly hadn't occurred to this particular journalist that the "unambitious" Hammers are about to move into a shiny new stadium from next season and are in the process of one of the most exciting transitions from a footballing perspective that this 53 year old has known.

I'm not over egging it when I say such a thing. I've had that egg land on my face plenty of times in the past when I've 'bigged up' our prospects only for us to subsequently under achieve. But with the quality and strength of depth that our inspirational manager currently has at his disposal, I think, folks, that what we witnessed against City was far from a fluke. But did we get any sense of that in the reporting?

For the Guardian, Aguero was said to have "rescued city from defeat" as opposed to West Ham throwing away, what was for most rational observers, a deserved win. The emphasis for the Mail was City's "creaky defence" and "bewildering quality in attack" not our brilliant play-making, vibrant attacking or our defensive line that excelled from the first minute to the last. Credit to the Mirror for their acknowledgement that the game was a thriller but still the emphasis was on Aguero's heroics against apparent adversity, and so on and so forth.

The quality of our football was among the best I've seen for years. We were compact and solid when we needed to be with the added ingredient of flair and creativity to complement it. We matched our opponents in every department on the pitch and thoroughly deserved our draw in a great game of competitive football of the highest quality.

I agree with Bobby Shovels who said it was two points dropped. I also agree with HamburgHammer who asserted that it was us, rather than them, who played like Champions. But that still wasn't good enough for the Match of The Day editing team. We were third on the schedule which, I suppose, at least made a change from us being shown last or second from last. And the MOTD pundits did praise Payet and Kante so it's not all negative reporting.

But nevertheless it does seem to me the media have a hard time coming to terms with what is clearly the changing balance of power that's happening in front of their eyes. Iain Dale is surely right when he alluded that the performance against City was a watershed moment. It's a pity that the media pack didn't pick up on it.

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Lionel Messi makes West Ham star Manuel Lanzini's 'dreams come true' by exchanging signed shirt
13:17, 28 JAN 2016
BY AARON FLANAGAN
The pair met as Lanzini continues his recovery from a thigh injury and the 22-year-old took straight to Instagram to post his delight
The Mirror

Manuel Lanzini has been one of West Ham's breakthrough stars of the season - but now we might know where he has been learning his trade. The 22-year-old Argentinian linked up with compatriot and reigning Ballon d'Or holder Lionel Messi earlier this week and found time to pose for the camera. The pair smiled as they were snapped as they exchanged signed shirts.
Lanzini took to Instagram to write that chatting with one of his idols was a "dream come true". The West Ham winger is currently facing around six weeks on the sidelines after picking up a thigh strain earlier this season. Despite his scintillating form, he has yet to be awarded a full call-up to the Argentina national team to play alongside Messi, Sergio Aguero and team-mates. Lanzini has, however, made four appearances for his country's Under-21 side. Since making the loan switch from Abu Dhabi-based Al-Jazira Club, Lanzini has scored four goals in 14 Premier League appearances for the Hammers. Talks have not yet taken place over making his move permanent, but Al-Jazira expect West Ham to make their move soon. Chief executive Ayed Mabkhout admitted recently: "If they decide before April 30 to buy Lanzini then they have to pay €10million. "If they pay it we will take it. There have been no discussions with West Ham until now, but I think they're going to do it. "His performance has been very good up to this moment and they need the player, but we have to wait for something official."

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What is West Ham's strongest midfield?
moorethanjustaclub.com

Following on from my previous article, which was published earlier today about our best back four, in this piece I choose our strongest midfield. As I believe the 4-2-3-1 formation is our strongest, I am playing two holding midfielders, with an attacking midfielder and a left and right wing.

Holding Midfielders
Again, there are a few players with worthy shouts to this position, but the pairing I'm going for are Cheikhou Kouyate and the captain, Mark Noble. Yet again this position represents depth for us with both Alex Song and Pedro Obiang waiting in the wings if given an opportunity, even Reece Oxford may hold a claim of being in contention after his pocketing of Mesut Ozil on the opening day of the season. The competition is so strong that you could choose to shuffle the formation and play three holding midfielders, as we did the other day against City, and it worked pretty well to be fair, but on the other occasions we have deployed three holding players I feel like it leaves us wanting going forward.

The choice of Kouyate is, to me, a simple one. He maintains in my eyes a heartbeat of the team that can do just about anything. He has an engine with pace and power like that of a 4x4, sniffs out a lot with his strength at the back, often very dangerous both in the air and on the deck going forward, as shown against City in his run to create Valencia's first goal as well as almost nicking a winner when his header hit the bar at the death, and he is more than capable of chipping in with a goal, hitting 4 last term and 3 already this time around. If I'm being honest, I absolutely love Cheik and he was never going to be left out.

As for the other slot, as much as he often receives some unnecessary stick and does have the odd poor game, Mark Noble is also a shoe-in for the team. A West Ham team feels incomplete without a local boy in it, and so with Noble flying the flag for the East End in the middle of the park, with the kind of enthusiasm and passion welcomed with open arms at his beloved Upton Park, he provides us with not only a top quality midfielder, but also a top quality captain and a vital link between the fans and the players. As long as his performances are up to scratch, Noble's place in the team is safe. Should Alex Song's performances hit the heights they did before his injury last season then he would be make a hugely strong case for inclusion too, but since that injury he hasn't looked the same player. However, he is still a good player to have, and his performance against City yesterday was a very good one, the closest we have seen to his pre-injury best and fully deserving of the sponsor's man of the match award, so maybe he might just give Bilic another selection headache soon enough.

Not only that, but through no fault of his own, Pedro Obiang has not been able to make his break into the first team permanently since his arrival from Sampdoria in the summer. He looks tidy whenever called upon, and is a comforting late substitution to make if trying to hold onto a result, so once again he's a great player to have around. The depth and quality of these four players is yet again a comforting feeling, as I feel any of the four can certainly do a job if needed, but as for the starting pair, Noble and Kouyate are the two I would want.

Attacking Midfielder
We've got Payet. Dimitri Payet. That should be enough explanation. The man that makes me believe in magic and re-evaluate my sexuality, Dimitri Payet really is one of a kind. He does things with that ball I can barely believe, I almost have to double take. There have been multiple moments this season that he has got us all of our seats just with a little touch or flick to embarrass yet another defender, and there are some glorious moments that he literally makes me laugh at how good he is. I can't give the man enough praise. I love football more than anything, I love West Ham even more than that, and there are times that Dimi just reminds me exactly why I fell in love with both. I just don't think you understand. Needless to say, he's the creative spark in the middle, behind the striker.

Right Wing
This is a position that I feel splits opinion amongst fans. At the start of the season Victor Moses seemed to have made this position his own, but when injuries hit we saw the long awaited introduction of Michail Antonio to the team. Now the two are both fit, there is an argument (or at least there is where I sit anyway) about who you would prefer in the team. My own personal opinion, I sit in the camp that prefers Michail Antonio. He had to be patient while Moses kept him out of the team early in the season, but when he finally got a true chance I feel like he has taken it with open arms. Coming up from the Championship he still has things to learn, but he is learning tremendously quickly and offers plenty to the team. There was a freshness about him I felt, but I couldn't put my finger on what until my mate perfectly described it, he's like the perfect Sunday league kind of winger, and with that specific mate being a left back I'm inclined to agree with him.

Antonio's raw, natural pace and power are a nightmare for defenders, and his work rate is exceptional. Even before his confidence boosting, if not highly fortunate, goal against Southampton, he seemed to be causing problems and bringing this brilliant work rate, which in itself was a threat. I remember in the game against Southampton at one point he won the ball on the edge of our own box, and within a matter of huge touches which he repeatedly ran onto, he won us a throw on the edge of their box, all in the space of seconds. Further, as we remember from the Liverpool game, he won a tackle by our own corner flag before getting up, sprinting fully 90 yards or more up the pitch to get his head on the end of Valencia's delicious cross and put us 1-0 up. His first touch is sometimes not as crisp as you might want, but he is dangerous on the ball, he never seems to stop running, and he also happens to have a hell of a long throw, which came in handy when coupled with his quick thinking for Valencia's 2nd goal.

Left Wing
Another man who has taken the Boleyn Ground by storm this year, rather unexpectedly it could be said, Manuel Lanzini. He's creative, he's agile, he's skilful, he scores goals, he makes goals, he plays with a smile on his face, what more could you want from the little Argentine (except for his signature on a permanent deal)? He can basically play anywhere across the midfield, but to accommodate everyone he often gets stuck out on the left, but he can easily still do a job out there. His little tricks and flicks, as well as the creativity, rank up there with Payet at times, and he can't half hit a ball either. Then again, he's delicate when he needs to be, like that magical little dink against Everton. Lanzini, like Payet, plays football the way everyone wants to see it played, and when it comes off (which it seems to more often than not), it is simply beautiful. The sooner we get him signed up for the long term, the better.

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West Ham's pursuit of Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz is over, reveals Slaven Bilic
By talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) | Thursday, January 28, 2016

Slaven Bilic says West Ham have been told they must buy Burak Yilmaz because Galatasaray are not interested in sending him out on loan. The Hammers have been strongly linked with the Turkish striker, who has hit 65 top-flight goals in 105 appearances since his arrival from Trabzonspor. Bilic has enquired about the 30-year-old's availability but has been told that a loan spell is out of question. On Yilmaz, he said: "We are in the market to take one on loan. His club do not want to loan him. They only want to sell." The West Ham boss is also keen on a loan move for Emanuel Emenike, the Nigeria striker who has hit seven goals in 11 appearances on loan at Al Ain. The Hammers now want to seal a loan spell of their own for the 28-year-old, who is contracted to Fenerbahce. But Bilic said: "Emenike is complicated. He is a Fenerbahce player but he's on loan to Al Ain."

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Burak Yilmaz to West Ham: Hammers unwilling to meet Galatasaray's £8m valuation
KEN DYER Evening Standard

West Ham have dropped out of the race to sign striker Burak Yilmaz from Galatasaray. The club had targeted the 30-year-old following complications in their bid to sign Fenerbahce's Emmanuel Emenike. Talks over the Nigeria striker are continuing with the clubs close to agreeing a deal until the end of the season. However, Galatasaray were keen on a permanent deal for Yilmaz and were asking for £8million. West Ham are unwilling to spend that much at this stage of the season, particularly now their injured strikers are near a return. Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho could both return for the Hammers' trip to face Southampton at St. Mary's on February 8. West Ham will not be seeking a replacement for on-loan right-back Carl Jenkinson, whose season is over after damaging knee ligaments. Manager Slaven Bilic believes he has enough cover in new signing Sam Byram, James Tomkins and Joey O'Brien, who is nearing full fitness after a long-term ankle injury.

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West Ham set to tie up deal for Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike after clubs agree loan fee
By SAMI MOKBEL FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:38, 28 January 2016 | UPDATED: 09:43, 28 January 2016

Emmanuel Emenike is due to fly over to England to complete his move to West Ham. The Hammers and Fenerbahce have now agreed a loan fee for the the Nigerian striker after discussions on Wednesday. And the striker is due to arrive in London over the next 24 hours to complete a medical ahead of signing. Sportsmail revealed on Wednesday how West Ham were edging closer to bringing Emenike to Upton Park. The clubs settled on a deal that would see the forward join on loan with an option for the transfer to be made permanent for a fixed fee in the summer following talks on Tuesday night. All that was left was for the two clubs to agree a loan fee - an issue that has now been settled. Officials from both clubs are hopeful of completing a deal by the weekend. The Hammers have already strengthened their squad during this window with the capture of highly-rated right Sam Byram from Leeds united. West Ham signed the 22-year-old defender for £3.7million earlier this month and made his debut in last week's 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Upton Park.

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European club make shock move for West Ham star Dimitri Payet
GALATASARAY have made an ambitious request to strike a deal with West Ham for Dimitri Payet, according to reports.
By LIAM SPENCE
PUBLISHED: 08:54, Thu, Jan 28, 2016 | UPDATED: 09:07, Thu, Jan 28, 2016
Express.co.uk

West Ham star Dimitri Payet has been linked with a shock move to Galatasaray. West Ham have been negotiating a loan deal with the Turkish outfit to try and bring long-term target Burak Yilmaz to Upton Park. However, according to the Daily Mirror, Galatasaray have responded to the Hammers's enquiry by requesting that they take Payet in exchange for Yilmaz. This bold move came after Galatasaray dismissed the prospect of allowing Yilmaz to leave on loan as they are said to prefer a permanent £7miliion move instead. The Hammers are currently without striker Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho due to injury and are said to be in the market for a forward that is good enough to help them maintain their push for European football. Despite seemingly missing out on Yilmaz, West Ham still have a deal with Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike in the pipeline with a move set to be finalised before deadline day. Payet has been one of the brightest sparks in the Premier League since joining the Hammers for £10million from Marseille last summer, so it is no wonder he has been attracting interest from a host of potential suitors. The 27-year-old has made 16 Premier League appearances for the Hammers so far this season, scoring six goals.

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