Moses - We showed great desire
WHUFC.com
Victor Moses was delighted to play his part as West Ham United came from 2-0
down to claim a point at Norwich City on Saturday. Moses was introduced to
the action with that two-goal deficit, but his surging run and shot in the
74th minute paved the way for the Dimitri Payet goal which started the
fightback. Mark Noble levelled the scores just three minutes later, leaving
Moses and his teammates far more satisfied with the final outcome. "It was a
great game," he said. "First half wasn't the best for us, but in the second
half we turned it around [after going 2-0 down]. "You could see the passion
and desire we had to come back and we got two goals in two or three minutes.
It ended up being a great day for us. "The most important thing is the point
we got. It's good that we didn't lose."
Moses more than played his part in the Hammers' revival at Carrow Road, with
one of the other star performers being Payet, who followed his goal by
setting up the Noble leveller. Moses continued: "Dimitri Payet is a great
player. We all know he has a huge amount of talent. The first goal was a
little similar to the one he scored against Newcastle. This time the keeper
saved it and he's put it in the back of the net. "It was a good move from me
and Dimi as well, and I'm very happy that he was on the scoresheet."
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Norwich City 2-2 West Ham United
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Norwich blew a two-goal lead but ended a run of five league defeats with a
draw against West Ham. Robbie Brady robbed Michail Antonio of the ball and
curled in a shot before Wes Hoolahan drove in a close range effort to put
the home side 2-0 up. But Dimitri Payet slotted in for the Hammers after
Victor Moses had a shot parried into his path. Payet then pulled the ball
back for Mark Noble to steer in a shot and complete West Ham's comeback.
Hammers substitute Emmanuel Emenike had a great chance late on when he got
on the end of an Andy Carroll flick on but he trapped the ball instead of
diverting it towards goal and allowed keeper John Ruddy to gather. In a
frantic finale, Nathan Redmond had a shot blocked by keeper Adrian, while a
Norwich corner was also cleared from the Hammers goalmouth.
'It is the same old story'
Norwich were 3-1 up against Liverpool recently but contrived to lose 5-4 and
they were at it again when it came to throwing away points from a winning
position. At 2-0 up, they should have been easing to victory against a West
Ham side that had suffered key injuries having been taken to extra-time in a
midweek FA Cup replay win over Liverpool. However, when they needed cool
heads, the home side capitulated as they lost their organisation and
discipline. While the nature of the draw may feel like a defeat for the
Canaries, they moved up one place and out of the relegation zone on goal
difference following Newcastle's 5-1 thrashing by Chelsea in the later
kick-off. "It is the same old story," said Brady. "We can't let teams back
into the game when we have a two-goal lead."
Hammers sensed Norwich frailties
West Ham improved with the introduction of winger Victor Moses, whose
powerful run forward and parried shot led to his side pulling a goal back.
The goal breathed new life into the Hammers and, with Payet starting to have
more of an influence, they finished the game stronger and equalised through
Noble. "We were just thinking about getting the next goal [when we were 2-0
down]," said Noble. "They have had a tough time here at Norwich and we knew
if we could get the goal it would be hard for them." Both league games
between the two sides this season have now finished 2-2 and, while West Ham
salvaged a point, they dropped a place to seventh in the Premier League
after being overtaken by Southampton.
Man of the match - Dimitri Payet
Dimitri Payet (left) had a quiet game by his standards but finished strongly
as he scored a goal and assisted one
Manager reaction:
Norwich manager Alex Neil: "We created good opportunities and it was a
better performance than we have had recently. But from 2-0 up at home and
with the way the game was going we should have seen it out. "We will take a
lot from the performance but we are disappointed we let a lead slip."
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: "We are never happy with a point, we are not
buzzing. But when that point comes after being 2-0 down it gives us
confidence and satisfaction. "After Tuesday night (the FA Cup fourth-round
replay against Liverpool) when we played 120 minutes, to show that kind of
strength, resilience, character and quality makes us happy."
'Psychological damage'
Former Norwich striker Chris Sutton said he felt his ex-club would go down
if they did not get a win against West Ham. He added: "I just think if you
look at Liverpool when they were 3-1 up and lose, two goals up today, this
will do Norwich so much damage psychologically."
The stats you need to know
West Ham have won just one of their last nine Premier League away matches
(won one, drew four, lost four).
Norwich have won none of their last six Premier League games conceding at
least twice in each of those games.
Norwich have conceded 50 Premier League goals this season - a joint-high
alongside Sunderland.
Dimitri Payet has scored or assisted 12 Premier League goals this season -
twice as many as any other West Ham player.
Both of Robbie Brady's Premier League goals for Norwich have been against
West Ham.
What next?
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is keen for his side to go all out in the FA Cup
and their next game sees the Hammers face a trip to Blackburn on Sunday, 21
February (14:00 GMT) in the fifth round of the competition. Norwich are not
in action until Saturday, 27 February, when they visit Leicester in a 15:00
GMT kick-off.
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Jack Collison: Ex-West Ham and Wales player retires at 27
BBc.co.uk
Ex-West Ham United and Wales midfielder Jack Collison is retiring from
football at the age of 27 because of injury. Collison played 121 times for
West Ham, but suffered persistent knee problems. He signed for League One
Peterborough in 2015, playing 12 times, but will now focus on a coaching and
media career. "The nights I wake up in pain, or the mornings where I
struggle to walk, will be a constant reminder I was lucky enough to play the
game I love," said Collison, capped 17 times by Wales. "I still wake up some
mornings feeling good and think 'one more try'," said Collison, who
dislocated a kneecap while playing for the Hammers in 2009. "But that would
be unfair on myself, my fellow pros and my family. I want to bow out with
some pride intact."
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Slav's content …but an issue may remain
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Ok, I can understand why Slav declared himself content with the 2-2 draw at
Carrow Road.
To pull two goals back is always an achievement and he of course mentioned
the extraordinarily emotional and physically draining game against Liverpool
in midweek.
I think it's pretty obvious by now that I'm as big a fan of the manager's as
anybody else but the word 'content' carried some connotations which caused
concern because what was said before the match didn't fully square with what
came afterwards.
At the pre match presser Slv said: "We have a few knocks and injuries but
overall it's a good feeling. Even those guys with a knock, they feel good.
When you win you don't feel the fatigue as much. 120 minutes is of course a
lot to play, but we are all looking forward to the Norwich game on
Saturday."
Yesterday in the post match presser he declared: "You can talk about
positives and negatives but when you consider we played for 120 minutes on
Tuesday night and the fact we were two goals down here in a very short
period of time, it was a good draw."
Now, the two statements aren't entirely contradictory but it's a photo
finish and whilst I'm certainly not prepared to blast the boss or anyone
else at the end of a week when we won an important Cup game and gained a
draw in the League it's important to maintain perspective.
And the simple truth is that for 70 minutes we didn't perform against a not
very good side who somehow were allowed to establish a two goal lead.
That we recovered both of them very quickly and with more direction and pace
from Emenike – who has barely been involved and is therefore totally
presumably full of himself – could have won, tells its own story.
I'd also be more ready to accept the Liverpool match explanation had I not
see the team perform in the same manner on several other occasions this
season.
The slow starting business has been a feature of many games and can't really
be put down to a Liverpool hangover.
At the end of it all we have collected another point from a totally
desperate relegation haunted outfit and at this stage of the season those
games are as tough as they come.
But we are not helping ourselves and dare I suggest that had we played for
90 minutes in every game this seaon we may even be top of the league.
It's a problem but then every team has one or two. I'm not moaning and I
trust our superb manager to get it right. But it's becoming frustrating and
is not an issue that I believe can be blamed on tiredness or anything else!
One other point. No two players worked harder and drove themselves to the
point of exhaustion on Tuesday than Valencia and Antonio. Maybe we might
have started with Carroll and Moses yesterday. Just saying.
COYI
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Collison raving about this Iron
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Jack Collison has become a massive Michail Antonio fan.
The Hammers cult hero – who has gone through more than most during his time
in the game – announced his retirement on Saturday.
And tomorrow evening he will appear in the ClaretandHugh interview section
of MooreThanJustAPodcast when among much else he will discuss the impact he
believes the £7 million signing has had on the Hammers.
He says: ""I think he has been a fantastic signing. The one thing that
Antonio has done since the moment he put the shirt on is was work hard, put
his body on this line, make tackles, get forward and even more pleasing is
the goals that he has scored.
Collison" It was great finish against Liverpool I saw in the cup, scored a
bit of scrawny one which bounced off his body last week but I think if he
keeps applying himself the way he does then he is only going to get better
and better and become a big part of West Ham's team"
Jack will talk about his career, where he goes from here and why he is so in
love with the Irons.
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OS capacity unlikely to increase in short term
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Yesterday, Claret and Hugh revealed as many as 25,000 West Ham supporters on
the Olympic Stadium priority list could be disappointed as demand for OS
season tickets outstrips supply. There are believed to be fewer than 9,000
season tickets remaining for next season for the 34,000 strong waiting list
who have paid a tenner piece to join for a chance. The article has prompted
many fans on the list to question why the capacity can not be increased
beyond 54,000 before August this year to meet the demand.
Hammer vice-chairman, Karren Brady has publicly told of the club's desire to
increase capacity if the demand is there and the sightlines are acceptable.
During a BT Sports interview in December last year she confirmed West Ham
were looking to increase capacity to 60,000. In a Daily Mail article last
year, she went one step further by saying the club are in discussions to
take capacity to 66,000.
westhamseata2708a_2She told Martin Samuel from the Mail "We always knew this
was a possibility and it would certainly seem the interest is there, We have
to look at the logistics of it because these would be the seats furthest
from the pitch, so we have to make sure they are worth having. There is no
point sticking someone in a corner with a poor view. But if the sight lines
are still good, we could fit in 66,000. It's a very exciting prospect."
However, Claret and Hugh understand that despite there being 66,510 seats in
the converted stadium in sports pitch mode, the chance of increasing
capacity for the start of next season remains extremely remote and the
increase in capacity is very much a future ambition of the club. The 54,000
capacity of the Stadium is a restriction of the planning permission granted
and a safety certificate issues to former Olympic venue. An increase of
12,000 in capacity would also mean the need for more infrastructure such as
extra toilets and catering outlets. All of these things are possible but
would take time to sort out and the appetite to spend more tax payers money
to increase stadium facilities for the benefit of West Ham would be quite
low as the LLDC and Newham council have already come under fire for the
£272m already spent to transform to the Stadium.
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