Daily WHUFC News - 19th February 2016

From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke with his latest update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital...

Hello everyone,

We will start with some really positive and encouraging news for all West Ham United fans, which is that Manuel Lanzini has returned to training with the squad. Manuel joined the team on the training pitch on Sunday after recovering from the thigh problem he suffered in the Barclays Premier League win over Liverpool on 2 January. He will train for the full week and will be available to play a part in Sunday's Emirates FA Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers.

To continue the good news theme, Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho will both return to training with the squad on Monday if this week's rehab progresses as planned. Winston has a good chance to be available for the Barclays Premier League visit of Sunderland on 27 February, while Diafra has been out for a longer period he needs more training days.

Unfortunately, two players suffered injuries in the 2-2 draw at Norwich City on Saturday and will not be available for Sunday's trip to Ewood Park. Enner Valencia suffered a right ankle injury in a tackle during the second half and came off, while Andy Carroll injured his adductor.

James Tomkins is progressing well with his treatment after suffering a calf injury at Southampton, but he will be sidelined for five to six weeks.

Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science

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Westley – 'It's a mouth-watering tie'
WHUFC.com

Reflecting on the news that the Development Squad have been dealt a home time with Liverpool in the Barclays U21 Premier Cup semi-final, Academy director Terry Westley described it as a "mouth-watering tie."

Following wins over Exeter City, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers in the previous rounds, the Hammers will host English giants Liverpool.

Looking ahead to semi-final clash, Westley said: "It's a great draw, out of all the teams, that is the most attractive match. It's a bonus that it's at home.

"Hopefully we get the biggest crowd at Rush Green we've seen in a while. It's a huge challenge for our young players. As everyone knows, Liverpool are a massive club, with a great tradition and a very strong Academy and U21 set up. It's a real challenge for us.

"When you get to this stage, it's about how much we want to win it. We've earned the right to be here, we beat a tough Exeter City side away, and then we've beaten Fulham and Blackburn so it hasn't been easy.

"Now we've got this mouth-watering tie with Liverpool and we're won step away from the final.

"Hopefully, it'll dwarf all attendances we've had so far, even though we've had some impressive gates this season. A semi-final, against Liverpool, it should be a great occasion for everyone."

In recent months, the Development Squad have gone from strength to strength, enjoying a surge in form while sending a number of players out on loan to various teams in the Football League.

Westley continued: "We cover all games where our players go out on loan as part of their loan plan, to help monitor their progress.

"Josh Cullen at Bradford, Martin Samuelsen at Peterborough and Lewis Page at Cambridge United have all done well. Reece Burke particularly has been outstanding for Bradford, over a long period of time.

"The next step now is to get a good preseason in them and challenge the first team. Then we need to reassess, maybe look to get them into the Championship. At the end of the day, we need to be producing players good enough for West Ham.

"They've all shown that they are more than capable of competing in the Championship, people are talking about us again, and that's a good thing for us and our reputation."

The winners of the semi-final will face the winner of Huddersfield v Millwall/Hull City

*The date, venue and times of the fixture will be announced shortly

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Obiang wants FA Cup success
WHUFC.com

West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang would love the chance to help the Hammers secure FA Cup glory this season and make it a memorable first season with the east London club. Obiang has produced some of his best form in the competition this season and played a major role in the memorable victory over Liverpool in the last round. The Spanish midfielder realises the importance of having a good run in the competition and knows it would be a fairytale ending for the club if they could finish their final season at the Boleyn Ground by winning some major silverware.

With competition for places so fierce in the West Ham starting line-up, the FA Cup is currently providing the perfect platform for the talented midfielder to remind Slaven Bilic of his qualities and he is determined to take his chance again when they play Blackburn on Sunday. Obiang said: "It is maybe more important for me because it is a competition where I have been playing more regularly and I see it as my chance to shine. I want us to do as well as I can. "I am very determined to do well at West Ham United. It can be difficult when you are not playing, but my team-mates have been having a fantastic season and there have only been some small gaps for me to fill. I will keep trying until I get my chance more regularly. "I am confident West Ham can achieve big things as a club. We have been playing a lot of games recently with a fairly small squad and most of the players have had the chance to feature and show what they can do. "It motivates me and can improve me as a player to have strong competition for places because our job is to give the manager strong decisions to make. "That is exactly what we are trying to do and it doesn't matter if one name is bigger than the other, it still gives the manager a hard choice to make and shows the quality we have got in the squad.
"The FA Cup is an important competition and one we want to win."

Obiang has another big reason for wanting the Hammers to do well in the FA Cup this season – so he can get to play his first game at Wembley.
The former Atletico Madrid midfielder has certainly come close after he was part of the Spain Under-18 squad that played England a few years ago, but never got the chance to play in the game. Obiang added: "I have not had the chance to play at Wembley and have only seen it on television so I would love the chance to play there. "I came to England with the Spain Under-18 team but didn't get the chance to play there. We all travelled to London but unfortunately I didn't play. It would be nice to make up for that and go back there. "I know a lot about the FA Cup and every game is important for the team and the season."

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Former Player Blog - Brian Dear
WHUFC.com

1965 European Cup Winners' Cup winner Brian Dear believes West Ham United's future is a bright one...

I think we are doing great at the moment. We are through to the last 16 of the FA Cup and we came back well at Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday and could easily have gone on to win that game in the end.

We have got some really big games coming up, starting with Sunday's FA Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers, then the home league games with Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.

Even as a West Ham man, I have to say I watched Tottenham play Manchester City on Sunday and they have got some good players, but I don't think they are too different to us.

If we had not had so many injuries to key players like Winston Reid, James Tomkins, Dimitri Payet, Diafra Sakho and Manuel Lanzini this season, I believe we could have been up there with them challenging.

If all of those boys had been fit, most of them would have been in the side and we'd have probably collected more than the 40 points than we have already.

It has been hard for Slaven Bilic at times, but we have done well and are in a good position going into the final couple of months of the season.

We go to Blackburn on Sunday and we have got a great chance of getting through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

When you look back at the last round and the replay against Liverpool, it couldn't have gone any better, could it? If it was the last FA Cup tie at Upton Park, to win it in the last minute was special.

I've been coming back to games for 40 years and that was one of the loudest atmospheres I've heard in a long time, when Angelo Ogbonna's header hit the back of the net!

Next season, we will have an even bigger crowd cheering us on at the new Stadium and I think it's great what the Board have done with the pricing of the Season Tickets there.

I recently went down with my son and two grandsons to the Reservation Centre and sorted out our seats for next season and we've got a great view, so they're all happy about that!

I know we will all miss Upton Park – I loved playing there and have some great memories of the place – but I also know a lot of Season Ticket Holders and supporters who are looking forward to moving to a bigger new home in Stratford.

Driving in and out of games at Upton Park is a nightmare, whereas the new Stadium is going to be so easy to get to. I live in Southend and taking the train into Stratford will be simple.

It's going to be easy to get to the new Stadium on the Greater Anglia line out of Liverpool Street, the c2c line from Southend and Basildon, and on the Underground and Overground.

Getting back to the here and now and we've got this FA Cup tie at Blackburn to look forward to. Although we are the favourites, I played in games where we came unstuck against lower division opposition.

We need to go up there and put out a strong team and if we play well, we'll have too much for them. Then, all we want is a home draw in the quarter-finals and we'll have a great chance of going back to Wembley!

Brian

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ExWHUEmployee's exclusive column: Injuries hit before the Blackburn match. Batshuayi the number one target
February 17, 2016
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
ExWHUEmployee

The Norwich game showed me how far we have come as a club this year. We didn't play that well, there was a number of individual mistakes yet we ground out a draw and could have actually gone on to win the game had we taken some chances at the end of the game. Emenike missed the obvious chance at the end and to log onto twitter to read the abuse he was getting is something I just find so baffling. It is seriously way too early to judge someone's career as quickly as they are for him. The same people made the same mistake with Randolph and look where he is now. The turning point for me in the game was the introduction of Moses and Carroll. I felt both, especially Moses, were the main reasons we turned the result around. It would be good to see Moses play like this more often as, other than the first few games, he has been largely disappointing. I expected more from him and I hope he will now start to deliver.

We play Blackburn in the FA Cup this weekend and it is amazing that we have sold 7,200 tickets for the game which is televised. Not many other clubs would do this and we can rightly claim to have the best fans in the world. The fact is we could probably sell more but the club cannot get anymore as we have been given a whole stand and this would go beyond that stand's capacity.

Unfortunately we have picked up a couple of injuries before the Blackburn game in training apparently. Bilic wants to field a strong team but a lot of these selections have been dictated by the injuries that we have. I have heard from a reliable source that both Carroll (groin strain) and Valencia will miss the game which means Emenike will be up front. We will have to see from Bilic's press conferences whether this is the case and I hope that it isn't. We will also be missing Reid, Sakho, Tomkins and O'Brien. This should see Antonio play at right back with Victor Moses coming in to take his wing position because Byram is cup-tied. One boost that we have is that Lanzini should be fit to play a part from the bench and Kouyate from the start. Sakho should also be able to play against Big Sam's Sunderland when they come to town.

The return of Lanzini is important for obvious reasons but also because it could determine whether we sign him or not. I was told it is 98% certain that we will a couple of weeks ago but the club really want to see that he recovers from his injury completely and that they are not potentially signing an injury prone player.

The club have been disappointed, like we all have, that we have had so many injuries. It is something we really want to avoid and we have a clear strategy of now not signing injury prone players. Therefore the story today of how we are looking to sign Robben for £16m this summer is obviously not true. You can tell by the way the article is written, with it also saying it is unlikely we would sign such an injury prone player, that they are going for the senstational headline to get attention, as a relatively unknown site. It is an old media trick when there is not really a story.

It is a typical West Ham move that we should sell a forward and then potentially lose a couple through injury but this looks like it could be the case with Jelavic having now moved to China. This fee is nowhere near the £9m that is being sensationalised and incorrectly reported and is around £2m which represents a slight loss on what we paid for him. This transfer was first mentioned exclusively here in my column at the start of January:

The main summer target that we want to bring in, which we have mentioned before, is Michy Batshuayi from Marseille. Spurs are also interested in the same player (shock) but we are confident and prepared to try anything to land the player. He has a great relationship with Payet and this may swing things in our favour. Regardless of this I have heard the board are prepared to "move heaven and earth" to land him and will consider many options. We have also shown an interest in Nicolas Nkoulou and Georges-Kévin N'Koudou and if we could pull any of these off it would be great as they are quality players and the last two would give great potential to some brilliant chants. All three players have been covered by our scouts in "the scouts" section, I wonder why ;-) Be sure to check the reports and the videos of them.

The club have been very impressed with the performances of Reece Burke and Josh Cullen on loan at Bradford City and think that both have a huge future at the club. Bradford are pushing for a playoff spot in league 1 and the experience both players are gaining from this loan is something the club have been very grateful for. The club will continue to look at potential loan deals for some of our younger players because Terry Westley believes, and I agree, that this is the best way to develop our young talent. Samuelsen and Elliot Lee are also benefiting from loan moves at Peterborough and Colchester. Speaking of Samuelsen this boy is as serious talent and we will be bringing an exclusive article on this soon.

Mark Noble's testimonial is almost set to sell out and this is a mark of the respect and esteem that he is held in at West Ham. It is very rare that players sell out grounds for their testimonials, in fact it would be the first time in West Ham's history that a player has. Mark's performances surely deserve an England call up at the moment but unfortunately I cannot see this happening under the current manager which is a great shame.

For those of you who have asked about the website's progress I am pleased to report that the site continues to grow and grow and our internet rankings increase each week. When we become part of the news now network we expect this will be accelerated. Thanks to all those who have contributed and if you want to do so yourself please get in touch. Dont forget to check out our new shop with quality West Ham merchadise in https://t.co/Qbj4KD2NHo

COYI

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Yesterday's Daily News: Arsenal youngster and a German midfielder linked with the club.
February 18, 2016
The WestHamWay.co.uk

BKHammer

From the Treatment Room - West Ham Official Site-Confrimation of the exclusive news bought in ExWHUEmployee's column on the site

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke with his latest update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital...
Hello everyone,
We will start with some really positive and encouraging news for all West Ham United fans, which is that Manuel Lanzini has returned to training with the squad.
Manuel joined the team on the training pitch on Sunday after recovering from the thigh problem he suffered in the Barclays Premier League win over Liverpool on 2 January. He will train for the full week and will be available to play a part in Sunday's Emirates FA Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers.
To continue the good news theme, Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho will both return to training with the squad on Monday if this week's rehab progresses as planned.
Winston has a good chance to be available for the Barclays Premier League visit of Sunderland on 27 February, while Diafra has been out for a longer period he needs more training days.
Unfortunately, two players suffered injuries in the 2-2 draw at Norwich City on Saturday and will not be available for Sunday's trip to Ewood Park.
Enner Valencia suffered a right ankle injury in a tackle during the second half and came off, while Andy Carroll injured his adductor.
James Tomkins is progressing well with his treatment after suffering a calf injury at Southampton, but he will be sidelined for five to six weeks.

Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science

The Big Interview - Mark Noble - West Ham Official Site

West Ham United skipper Mark Noble says Saturday's 2-2 draw at Norwich City was the embodiment of the character needed for them to succeed over the final three months of the campaign.
After a draining extra time win at Liverpool in the week, they had to fight to come from 2-0 down at Carrow Road, with Noble himself grabbing a fine equaliser.
Now, with an FA Cup fifth round tie at Blackburn Rovers looming, plus league games against Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur, the Academy graduate is ready for a big end to the season.
When you talk about character and resilience, I guess that's the buzzword after Saturday at Norwich?
MN: "Yes, especially after the last couple of weeks we've had. We've had games Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday, and we obviously had the emotion of scoring in the last minute against Liverpool. That was 120 minutes of football which went to the wire and Norwich was an important game for us.
"We knew it was going to be tough, because they are fighting for points, but the way we came back and the belief we've got as a squad shone through. The subs we made had a huge impact and I thought we deserved a point in the end."
Victor Moses is a real impact player for you isn't he?
MN: "That's Victor. He's got that in him. When he and Andy Carroll came on they had that impact and he could have scored two goals himself. He was fantastic, he set up the first one with a great run and set up some vital chances for us.
"That's what we've got as a squad now, we've got the players to do that. The manager has players at his disposal to turn it around and as soon as they scored the second we really took the game to them."
Most people might have thought, 'they played 120 minutes on Tuesday, they're 2-0 down - they won't get back into it'...
MN: "We were 2-0 down, one a fantastic strike from Robbie Brady, but in the end we probably should have won it. The character and belief we have in the squad is fantastic."
You scored the equaliser - one of the best of your career?
MN: "Yes, probably. I was playing holding midfield at the time, but I saw the ball go forward and I saw Dimi on it. I know he's going to look for a pass, so I made the run, he rolled it across to the edge of the box and I just stuck it away. It was fantastic and gave us the foot up to go on and try to win the game."
After a week like this do you feel there's a bandwagon rolling for West Ham?
MN: "I hope so. There's the FA Cup game against Blackburn on Sunday, we've had a few days to rest after the couple of weeks we've had, and our league position allows us to go into the Cup game and give everything. It would be a fantastic thing for the Club to have a run in the FA Cup in the last season at Upton Park."

Antonio looking forward to Ewood return - West Ham Official Site

Ahead of the Hammers journey to Lancashire to face Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup, inform winger Michail Antonio is looking forward to returning to Ewood Park.
Last season, the 25-year-old scored an impressive brace for Nottingham Forest which including an 88th minute equaliser in a thrilling 3-3 encounter.
Looking ahead to Sunday's cup tie, Antonio is hoping to add to his tally of four goals: "Last time I played at Ewood Park I scored two goals so it'll be nice going back there. One was a header; one was a volley from 25 yards out so, hopefully, I can do that again!
"Blackburn are a side where they are going to throw everything at us. They'll think 'Ah, they're a Premier League team, we've got nothing to lose here, and the pressure is off us.'
"So the pressure will be on us, especially with the form we are in right now. Having said that, I think it'll be a decent game."
The Londoner has already made his mark in the Hammers' blossoming cup run with a fine volley against Liverpool in the fourth replay to set up one of the most memorable game under the lights at the Boleyn in recent times.
And while such an important goal may have bloated some egos, Antonio is keeping his feet firmly on the ground: "For the rest of the season, I just want to keep performing well, try and stay in the team and I'll probably set more goals for myself next season.
"Right now I'm just focused on staying in the team; keep playing well and try and improving."
While the winger is impressively level headed, he can't help but be drawn in the history and the romanticism of the FA Cup.
He continued: "It's very important, growing up everyone watched the FA Cup, everyone believes that it's one of those cups where anything can happen.
"I'd go FA Cup over a Top Six finish. It's one of those things where you don't get remembered for coming sixth, but if you win the FA Cup everyone remembers that, you have a medal to show for the rest of your life. As a kid you always dream of playing in it and as a player you always dream to win it."

Joint-Chairman - We have amazing support - West Ham Official Site

Joint-Chairman David Sullivan has nothing but praise for the West Ham United supporters after they sold out the 7200 allocation for the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Blackburn.
Despite the long trip to Ewood Park, the Hammers fans once again showed their phenomenal support and will travel in their thousands for a huge game in the north west on Sunday.
The remaining tickets had only gone on General Sale on Tuesday but they were snapped up within 24 hours.
Mr Sullivan is hoping the fans will make it another day to remember as the Hammers look to reach the quarter-final stage of the competition.
He said: "It shows the passionate way our supporters love the FA Cup and this is for a game on live TV. I'm humbled by our support.
"We asked for more tickets from Blackburn, but sadly there was no way they could segregate us and give us more.
"I'm sure the fans will provide an amazing atmosphere on Sunday and hopefully we will be too good for them, but in football you never know. We will be fielding a strong side."

West Ham join Premier League race for Norwegian international Havard Nordtveit - TMW

West Ham United are the latest Premier League team to have their name linked with a potential summer move for former Arsenal youngster Havard Nordtveit.
TMW are reporting that The Hammers are now keeping tabs on the Borussia Monchengladbach player - who is out of contract at the German side in the summer.
Liverpool were said to be keen by The Mirror at the weekend and the same report that claims West Ham are keen mentions Everton and Leicester City as potential transfer rivals.
The Norwegian international's current deal with Gladbach expires in the summer and despite a new deal being on offer he has been considering his future over the past few months.
West Ham would certainly be benefiting if they did bring him into the club.
Nordtveit is an excellent talent who can operate in a number of positions with ease. He is best suited to a defensive midfield role but started his career as a central defender and has also operated at right-back when needed.
He would add genuine depth and versatility to the West Ham squad - which can prove vital in the tougher stages of the Premier League season.

West Ham among three Premier League clubs eyeing transfer of Augsburg midfielder Dominik Kohr - The Mirror

The 22-year-old set to face Liverpool this week is also being monitored by West Ham and Southampton, as well as several Bundesliga sides
The Premier League trio are monitoring the 22-year-old Augsburg midfielder along with a number of Germany's leading clubs.
They will get a chance to see how Kohr copes against top-flight opposition when Augsburg host Liverpool in the first leg of a Europa League last 32 tie on Thursday.
Kohr came through the ranks at Bayer Leverkusen.
But he has really caught the eye since moving to Augsburg - initially on loan in January 2014 - where he has become a key player after being handed regular first team football.
The Germany Under-20 international's current deal expires in 2019.
And he could be on the move this summer if Augsburg can be persuaded to sell.

Tottenham transfer news: Spurs confident of signing Michy Batshuayi despite West Ham interest - Independent

Spurs have been long-term admirers of the Belgian international who has scored 21 goals in 46 appearances
Tottenham Hotspur are locked in a battle with West Ham United to sign Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi, according to reports.
The title-chasing Spurs have been long-term admirers of the Belgian international who has scored 21 goals in 46 appearances for the Ligue 1 club. According to the Daily Mirror, Mauricio Pochettino is growingly increasingly confident of beating West Ham to his signature as their bid to secure Champions League football continues in earnest.
The Hammers have their own reasons to be positive, however, with the success of Dimitri Payet acting as a beacon to other players in the French league to join the 28-year-old in Slaven Bilic's side. The east London outfit are planning a series of high-profile deals to herald their new era at the Olympic Stadium in the summer.
Marseille have until recently been stubborn to sell their prized asset but both Spurs have West Ham are believed to have expressed their desire to break the bank to secure his services at the end of the current campaign.
Batshuayi, who signed a new deal at Marseille running until 2020, has also attracted the interest of Stoke City who were rumoured to have made a £21m offer in the final days of the recent winter transfer window.
Meanwhile, former Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt believes Pochettino will reject any advances from Manchester United and Chelsea.
"I am convinced he would turn down any advances from Manchester United or Chelsea," said Mabbutt, speaking in advance of the London Football Awards.
"I'm sure he sees this squad of players and what is happening at Tottenham on and off the field and realises these are very exciting times for the club.
"Those people saying he might get tempted away, I would say to them when was the last time Totttenham had a very good chance of winning the title?
"Probably 50 years ago. We came third in the league during my time but this side now has that ability to do it, not just this year, but for years to come."

West Ham loanee reveals he turned down several other clubs for chance to work with Slaven Bilic - TurkishFootball.com

West Ham loanee reveals he turned down several other clubs for chance to work with Slaven Bilic
On-loan West Ham striker Emmanuel Emenike has revealed that he turned down several offers from clubs in Europe and Asia for the chance to play under the stewardship of Slaven Bilic.
"It is a new league with new challenges. As a striker, I am ready to build up my confidence and face the challenges and the technical ability of the league. There is no doubt that this is the best league in the world. West Ham was not in the picture at first. I had several offers from Asia and some European clubs that I was considering before the West Ham offer came. This is coupled with the fact that they have a coach who I admire, Slaven Bilic," Emenike told the Nation.
Emenike recently turned down a move to Shanghai Shenhua according to the Mirror. The Chinese club tabled an offer of €5.5 million which Emenike rejected in favour of a loan move to West Ham.
The daily paper goes onto say that Shenhua have maintained an interest in the 28-year-old and will return in the summer.
The Nigerian international also revealed that Bilic had been keen on him for a while and that he is really looking forward to working alongside the Hammers boss.
"He had always wanted me to play for him. However, sincerely, I do not know what he sees but I am relying on God to lead me and let me justify the confidence. I know it will be easy for me to work with him because we have been in two countries together and he must have seen something in me," he added.
Bilic knew Emenike was his time coaching in Russia and Turkey but the powerful striker had always played for rival sides to the Croatian manager up until January.
Emenike played for Spartak Moscow when Bilic coached Lokomotiv and for Fenerbahce when the former Croatian national team manager was in charge of Besiktas.

Phil Brown confirms Southend United's interest in West Ham United defender Stephen Hendrie - Southend Echo

Southend United boss Phil Brown has confirmed to the Southend Echo that he wants to extend Stephen Hendrie's loan spell at Roots Hall.
Hendrie signed for the Shrimpers on an initial month's loan back in January, which is set to expire this week.
At the moment no deal to extend the temporary move has been agreed, but Brown is hoping to seal an extension to the switch in the coming weeks.
"It's an ongoing conversation with West Ham," said Brown.
"We can only take it to 93 days on an emergency loan but if there's a gap in between him coming back to us then there's still a chance of getting him until the end of the season."
Hendrie has played an important part for Southend since he made the switch from Upton Park.
The 21-year-old has played in Southend's last five league matches, and he scored his first goal in English football against Shrewsbury at the start of February.
Hendrie is yet to make his debut for West Ham, but his performances in League One have been encouraging so far.
Hendrie is part of a host of Hammers youngsters who are currently on loan in the Football League.
West Ham also have Reece Burke on loan at Bradford City, while Martin Samuelsen is on a temporary move with Peterborough United.

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Retro Hammer: Joe Cole
February 17, 2016
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Joe Difford

Joe Cole is the man who loved West Ham so much he played for them twice. The England international and three-time Premier League winner will be gracing the Boleyn Ground with his presence one final time for Mark Noble's testimonial in March. But what has the academy graduate done when not in claret and blue?

Most people aren't aware, but Joe Cole was brought up by his adopted parents in London, before turning his attention to football and becoming a schoolboy with West Ham United. Once touted as England's most exciting youngster, Cole was a £10 million target at just 16 years of age, making his first team debut at the ripe age of 17.

In five years, the midfielder made 150 appearances for the Hammers, before being snapped up by the ambitious Chelsea. It was in blue that Cole picked up the most silverware, winning three Premier League titles and picking up a number of personal awards, such as a place in the PFA team of the season in 2005-06 and Chelsea's Player of the Year in 2008.

As has been the case with many former Hammers, Cole struggled with injury at times during his career, and has suffered cruciate ligament damage that resulted in surgery, along with a stress fracture to his foot. Despite these setbacks, he made 281 appearances in blue, netting 40 goals, impressive for a midfielder.

His goal tally for England is even more remarkable, and Cole has scored almost a goal every five games for the Three Lions, including one of the best goals our country has seen in the past decade; an unbelievable volley against Sweden.

After being compared to Lionel Messi by Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, Joe went and got himself sent off just 45 minutes into his debut for the Reds in 2010, missing a penalty in their next game in the Europa League. His whole spell on Merseyside is best forgotten, but a loan spell in France did rejuvenate his career somewhat, prompting Sam Allardyce to bring him home after his contract expired with Liverpool.

Back where he belongs, fans were overjoyed to see their not-so-young-anymore star back in claret and blue, where he grabbed both assists on his second debut against Manchester United.
Joe's goal against Spurs captured his passion for the club as he turned well to finish, before ripping off his shirt and running over to the adoring fans, an image that will remain in the minds of Hammers for years to come.

After 16 appearances for Aston Villa, Cole signed for Coventry where you are probably aware he earns his money today, and hopefully this means he is fit and ready to impress come Easter Monday.

Pele once said that Cole, "has the skills of a Brazilian", but sadly injuries hampered what could have been an even more spectacular career. Regardless of whether or not he lived up to expectations, Joe Cole will always be remembered as a true legend at West Ham, and this author will continue to wear his 'Cole 26' shirt to games for as a long as he lives.

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Tomkins out until April
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th February 2016
By: Staff Writer

Injured defender James Tomkins is unlikely to feature for West Ham again until April according to the club's Head of Medical & Sports Science, Stijn Vandenbroucke. Tomkins, who limped off midway through the second half of West Ham's recent 1-0 defeat at Southampton with a calf strain is likely to miss all but two of United's remaining fixtures this season, according to Vandenbroucke. "James Tomkins is progressing well with his treatment after suffering a calf injury at Southampton," he said, speaking via the club's website in his weekly update. "He will be sidelined for five to six weeks."

The central defender, who had been filling in at right back following Cark Jenkinson's return to Arsenal - also prompted by injury - will miss the forthcoming Premier League matches against Sunderland (h), Tottenham (h), Everton (a), Watford (h) and Chelsea (a).

Tomkins will also miss the FA Cup clash with Blackburn this weekend, a potential FA Cup quarter final on the weekend of 12/13 March and almost certainly Mark Noble's testimonial on 28 March. He should however be available for two consecutive London derbies against Crystal Palace (2 April) and Arsenal (9 April). Tomkins' injury means that Slaven Bilic is without a recognised right back for this weekend's FA Cup tie at Blackburn, with Sam Byram also unavailable having featured for former club Leeds during an earlier round of the competition.

* In other injury news, Vandenbroucke has confirmed that fellow defender Winston Reid will return to training with the first team squad from next Monday.

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Lanzini returns but Carroll injured - again
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th February 2016
By: Staff Writer

Manuel Lanzini is set to return to Slaven Bilic's first team squad for this weekend's trip to Blackburn.

The Argentine midfielder has been sidelined since the beginning of January with a recurrence of the thigh injury that kept him out of action earlier in the campaign.

However West Ham's Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke confirmed this morning that Lanzini is set to be involved with the 18-man squad that will fly to Lancashire this weekend.

"Manuel joined the team on the training pitch on Sunday after recovering from the thigh problem he suffered in the Barclays Premier League win over Liverpool on 2 January," he said.

"He will train for the full week and will be available to play a part in Sunday's Emirates FA Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers."

However Vandenbroucke also confirmed that Bilic will have to make do without two of his three available strikers, with the news than Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll will both miss out.

"Two players suffered injuries in the 2-2 draw at Norwich City on Saturday and will not be available for Sunday's trip to Ewood Park," he confirmed. "Enner Valencia suffered a right ankle injury in a tackle during the second half and came off, while Andy Carroll injured his adductor."

Carroll has managed just 18 appearances thus far this season, having begun the campaign in the treatment room whilst suffering a couple of minor injuries since. Ecuador international Valencia has also endured a stop-start campaign, making just 16 appearances.

The fresh injuries to Carroll and Valencia - combined with the news that fellow striker Diafra Sakho will not begin training with the first team until next week - means that Bilic has only Emmanuel Emenike to call upon as a first-choice forward for this weekend's FA Cup tie.

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Andy Carroll to miss West Ham's FA Cup tie at Blackburn due to injury
By Nick Lustig
Last Updated: 17/02/16 11:50pm
SSN

Andy Carroll has suffered a fresh injury blow and will miss West Ham's FA Cup fifth-round tie away to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. Carroll, who has only recently returned from a hamstring problem, sustained an injury to his adductor in the 2-2 draw with Norwich City last Saturday and will not travel with the rest of the first-team squad to Ewood Park. The Hammers forward has been blighted by injuries since making the move to the Boleyn Ground in 2012 and spent seven months on the sidelines last year after undergoing major knee ligament surgery. Enner Valencia will also miss the trip to Blackburn after suffering an ankle injury at Carrow Road, but midfielder Manuel Lanzini is expected to return following six weeks out with a thigh problem picked up in the 2-0 victory over Liverpool on January 2.

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Redknapp: 'OS will take West Ham to another level'
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 18, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Former Hammers manager Harry Redknapp is sad that West Ham will no longer be playing at the Boleyn Ground next season but says the new stadium will take them to another level. He says it would be fitting to way to celebrate the last season at Upton Park by winning the FA Cup this year. "It's the last year at Upton Park and it would be great to go out on a high and celebrate by winning the FA Cup" Harry Redknapp told Talksport radio. "They're a very good side and I like the look of them, they've been excellent. It's amazing that they're no longer going to be at the old Boleyn, all my memories of my life from when I was about 14 or 15 go back there." "There's nowhere like it, it's a great atmosphere there. Those midweek games at Upton Park when all the fans are singing 'Bubbles', it really takes some beating." "It's a great place and a tough place to play too, the fans could give you some stick back in the day!
"The new stadium is going to be great for them, it's going to take West Ham to another level, but I'd like to see them go out with a cup win under their belt."

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Our fans never ever cease to amaze
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 17, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

You really do have to hand it to our fans. Once again they have shown themselves to be the most devoted in the land as FA Cup weekend approaches and our tie at Blackburn Rovers.
This is a game being shown live on the box yet every one of the 7,200 tickets for the Fifth Round game has been sold – a totally remarkable achievement. And David Gold has declared his total amazement at the dedication of the faithful as they prepare to make the trek north. He said: "With all due respect to Rovers, this is not a trip to Barcelona yet here we are selling every single ticket available to us. "Every club in the land says they have the best supporters but we have. We really have. They have astonished me over and over again – they followed us everywhere through the Championship and are the most devoted in the land. "To be taking 7,200 of them to Rovers is brilliant and the truth is we could probably have sold more. What a fantastic bunch of people they are."

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Happy Ewood return beckons Antonio
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 18, 2016 in News
C and H

The high energy Hammers grabbed a couple there last season when with Nottingham Forect and admits he's looking forward to his return this Sunday.
He said: "Last time I played at Ewood Park I scored two goals so it'll be nice going back there. One was a header; one was a volley from 25 yards out so, hopefully, I can do that again!"
Speaking to www.whufc.com he said: "Blackburn are a side where they are going to throw everything at us. They'll think 'Ah, they're a Premier League team, we've got nothing to lose here, and the pressure is off us.' "So the pressure will be on us, especially with the form we are in right now. Having said that, I think it'll be a decent game." He added: "For the rest of the season, I just want to keep performing well, try and stay in the team and I'll probably set more goals for myself next season." And on the FA Cup victory v a top six finish he says: It's one of those things where you don't get remembered for coming sixth, but if you win the FA Cup everyone remembers that, you have a medal to show for the rest of your life. As a kid you always dream of playing in it and as a player you always dream to win it."

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This lad can become the next Payet
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 18, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

David Gold believes the Irons are fixed up for years to come in the creativity area of the team. Dimi Payet maybe the current hero but the co chairman reckons the rise of Martin Samuelsen is set to give the club bags on invention and subtelty for years to come. And with Manu Lanzini also signing for the club – probably on a four year deal within the next few weeks – Gold is justifiably excited for the future. Speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh he said: "Martin looks a very Dimitri-Payet-605211serious prospect indeed and I said when I first saw him that he was going to become a real player. I think I may even have claimed he could become a Trevor Brooking. Dimitri has several years left in him of course but Martin is just a teenager and has it all before him – he certainly has the skill level to become the new Dimi doesn't he. And with Manu also on a long contract these are exciting days for us. "The future looks very bright indeed."

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Antonio to answer SOS
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 18, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Michail Antonio looks certain to take up emergency right back services at Blackburn in Sunday's fifth round FA Cup tie. With James Tomkins sidelined for another three weeks, Sam Byram Cup tied and Joey O'Brien again injured, the problems on the right side of the back four continue as they have done for weeks. And a source told ClaretandHugh today: "There doesn't seem to be any other solution and it will be a surprise if Michail doesn't slot into the job. There was a suggestion that in the absence of Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia he could start up top but that's unlikely. He looks certain to be needed at the back."
That, however, will allow Victor Moses to take hi place on the right side of midfield and between them the pair could seriously threaten some pacey action on the Rovers defence. Emanuelle Emenike – despite a reported knock – is expected to be the only central attacking option available and looks likely to play with Dimi Payet tucked in behind him.

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Blackburn struggle to sell out FA Cup game
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 18, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Lambert has called on his supporters to get behind their team and buy a ticket for the Sunday match with West Ham.

The biggest crowd Lambert has experienced in his three months in charge of the Rovers came in his first home game in charge when 15,837 fans watched the 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Only 16,000 tickets have been sold so far and that includes West Ham's sold-out 7,200 allocation so the home side have only sold around 8,800.

Lambert, speaking after his side's 3-0 win at home to Fulham on Tuesday, said: "I look forward to Sunday and seeing how busy the stadium will be. It will be a great atmosphere and our fans will get behind us. We need the supporters and we need to get more in the stadium to give us that extra hand. Hopefully if we do play like that (against Fulham), and do go on little winning runs, then more come and watch us."

Rovers are averaging attendances of 13,752 in the league this season. The capacity of Ewood park is 31,367.

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West Brom join posse of English clubs eyeing transfer of ex-Arsenal trainee Havard Nordtveit
22:30, 17 FEB 2016
BY DARREN WITCOOP
Borussia Monchengladbach's Norway international midfielder or defender is set to be available on a summer Bosman PLUS: Claudio Yacob wanted in La Liga
The Mirror

West Brom have joined the summer scrap to sign Norway midfielder Havard Nordtveit. Nordtveit, 25, a former Arsenal trainee, will become a free agent at the end of the season after stalling on a new deal with Borussia Monchengladbach. The Germans hope to keep versatile Nordtveit, who can play defensive midfield or across the back four, but Albion have joined West Ham and Southampton in keeping tabs on him. He has also been linked with Liverpool. The Baggies' Argentinian midfielder Claudio Yacob is a £3.5million summer target for Europa League champions Sevilla. Yacob, 28, is under contract at The Hawthorns until the end of next season. He has been targeted by Sevilla as a replacement for Ever Banega, who is set to join Inter Milan this summer. Albion signed Yacob from the Argentinian side Racing Club in 2012.

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Fresh West Ham hope amid striker shortage for Blackburn showdown
express.co.uk
ANDY CARROLL will miss West Ham's FA Cup fifth-round clash with Blackburn because of injury - but Manuel Lanzini could return, claims Hammers co-owner David Gold.
By JOE SHORT
PUBLISHED: 12:26, Thu, Feb 18, 2016 | UPDATED: 12:36, Thu, Feb 18, 2016

Carroll, 27, has only recently come back from hamstring problem that has dogged his season. He is understood to have suffered an adductor injury in West Ham's 2-2 draw with Norwich last weekend. And Gold tweeted that the England striker needs rest to recover from the problem. "Andy has a slight injury and will be rested for the game against Blackburn. Lanzini should be available," Gold wrote. West Ham head into their trip with Blackburn knowing victory would see them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2011. Carroll has scored just three goals all season for Slaven Bilic's side, while Argentine Lanzini oboists four goals from 14 appearances in the league. Bilic faces a striker shortage for the trip to Ewood Park after Enner Valencia was also injured with an ankle knock against Norwich. Diafra Sakho is still sidelined due to a thigh injury.

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SPOTLIGHT ON AARON CRESSWELL
By Blind Hammer 18 Feb 2016 at 08:00 72 comments
WTID
Blind Hammer provides an analysis of Aaron Cresswell's development this season.

One of the factors which underlaid our early season inconsistency was the apparent struggle our full backs experienced adapting to Bilic's new pattern of play. Our woeful home performance against Bournemouth is remembered for Jenkinson's implosion but it was also, statistically, Aaron Cresswell's worst game. The new West Ham style is undeniably more demanding on full backs than previous systems deployed by Allardyce. He utilised long balls which elevated play up the pitch. If possession was won then play could progress from there and both Jenkinson and Cresswell did well arriving to deliver crosses aimed at Sakho or Carroll. Their role was simpler, and they had far less responsibility for constructing and progressing play from box to box. In addition they both benefited from players like Jarvis covering and tackling back to increase defensive solidity.

In Bilic's new West Ham team progression through possession increases pressure on technique for both midfield and wide players. However the payoff for teams who are successful in this style is more game control and more capacity to exert pressure. Compare West Ham's famously poor performance against Hull city in 2014, as opposed to our performance against Aston Villa this season. In both games we face relegation sides that were reduced to 10 men. In 2014 we allowed the 10 men of Hull to dominate possession and narrowly won by benefiting from an own goal and a dubious penalty after the referee did not spot Diame's handball. In contrast against Villa West Ham controlled the game and ran out eventual easy winners with deserved high quality goals.

There are few now who would dispute that West Ham's football is of a different order to that played in recent seasons but Jenkinson found it impossible to adapt. He never recovered from the Bournemouth game and his paper thin confidence was finally shredded in our drubbing at White Hart Lane.

Cresswell, by contrast, has proved that he is made of sterner stuff. He has continued to be an automatic choice at left back and there has never been a suggestion that Tomkins or Obonna have to deputise there.

So how can we measure Cresswell's performance and can we identify areas for improvement? I decided to compare stats for Cresswell against a proven defensive star the West Ham team, Winston Reid. There is no doubt that when fit Reid has been one of our highest quality defenders. I have also decided to make a direct comparison with Tottenham's left back, Danny Rose.

The most obvious weakness and area for targeted improvement appear to be in Cresswell's tackling. Aaron Cresswell has won the surprisingly small number of only 17 tackles this season. The reality is that he is more likely to lose a tackle than win it. His success rate is only 40%. This, on the face of it is a surprising weakness for a defender.

By contrast, Winston Reid, playing fewer games than Cresswell, has won 27 tackles with a success rate of 59%. In other words Reid will win the majority of tackles, whereas Cresswell will win only a minority. Even Tottenham's Danny Rose has achieved a superior tackling rate winning 33 tackles with a success rate of 52%. .

This pattern is to an extent also there when we look at aerial duels. Cresswell has won 49% of his duels compared to Reid's success rate of 63%. Rose also outperforms Cresswell, though to be fair there is not much in it; Rose at 52% only just wins the majority of his aerial duels.

Cresswell's record in other defensive areas is more encouraging. He has made 51 interceptions, completed 77 clearances and made 12 blocks. Reid in comparison has made 45 interceptions, 108 clearances and 19 blocks. Reassuringly for us Rose is markedly inferior to Cresswell, achieving only 18 interceptions, a figure dwarfed by Cresswell's 51. Rose has also only made 59 clearances and a miserly five blocks.

Whilst the comparison between Cresswell and Rose is direct and relevant, is it fair to compare Cresswell with Reid? Well arguably it is because of the relative team context. A full back playing for Barcelona can expect far less pressure on his position than a full back playing for Aston Villa. By contrast Reid and Cresswell have to share in the same defensive pressures and achieve performance levels in a similar context.

Despite this the fact is that Reid's game responsibilities are far more one dimensional than Cresswell's and the overall pressure and responsibility on the full back position compared to a central defender becomes stark when we look at other stats.

The most obvious difficulty is that the full back is expected to perform at both ends of the pitch. Cresswell has achieved this in creditable style, creating 30 chances for West Ham to score this season. Reid hardly features in this comparison, only creating 2 chances, whilst Rose has only created 11 chances.

Cresswell has also proved that he can score goals from open play, whereas Reid rarely advances except for a set piece. Rose has failed to score this season.

In this attacking context Reid's successful pass rate of 83% is actually less impressive than Cresswell's rate of 78%. Cresswell's game is far more likely to endure fierce competing pressure from opposition midfielders and defenders. Whilst Rose has identical pass accuracy to Cresswell of 78% his creativity and attacking impact is far less effective.

Cresswell's Shot Accuracy of 42% is certainly higher than Reid's 38%, despite the tendency that Cresswell will be hitting his shots from a more difficult wide angle. In comparison Rose's accuracy is woeful, worse even than Reid at only 25%.

So where does this leave Cresswell and West Ham? Well despite the presence of Julian Dicks on the coaching team it seems that Cresswell has to do far more work on his tackling. However, when we compare his other qualities it is clear that he is a far superior player to Rose even in a defensive context as he is far more likely to disrupt opposition attack by intercepting the ball. This seems to indicate both superior positional sense and mobility compared to Rose. (Are you looking at these stats Hodgson?)

Despite his tackling deficiency Cresswell has adapted well to the new West Ham style and is a crucial box to box outlet for the team. I would want him more in our team than Rose any day. If he can only nudge his tackling percentage up so that it can at least match Rose the vastly superior nature of other aspects of his game will probably make international recognition impossible even for Hodgson to deny.

David Griffith

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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic short of attacking options as Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll are ruled out of FA Cup clash
Slaven Bilic's West Ham face an FA Cup injury crisis this coming weekend
West Ham will be without striking duo Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll
Diafra Sakho is also injured and Nikica Jelavic left the club for China move
January loan signing Emmanuel Emenike may lead the line for Hammers
By REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 09:40, 18 February 2016 | UPDATED: 09:40, 18 February 2016
Daily Mail

West Ham will be without attacking duo Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll for Sunday's FA Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers. Valencia injured his ankle and Carroll his abductor muscle during Saturday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Norwich City. With Diafra Sakho unlikely to return to full training until Monday as he recovers from a thigh strain and Nikica Jelavic having left for the Chinese Super League, manager Slaven Bilic could turn to new signing Emmanuel Emenike to lead the attack. However, West Ham have had a small boost this week with the news attacker Manuel Lanzini is back in first-team training for the first time since the start of January. West Ham will also be hoping Sakho, who has targeted 20 Premier League goals this season, will return to action in the coming weeks. He told the club's official website: 'Honestly, my recovery's going very well. Even though it's been a lot quicker than what I'd thought, I'm in a hurry to come back because I promised to score 20 goals. 'At the moment I'm only on five in all competitions. So that leaves 15. I'm going to try right until the end to keep to my word.
'Even if the fans say, 'the whole season he only played 20 or so games', I hope, in the games that I'm going to play, to respect my words. That's very important to me.'

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