Daily WHUFC News - 17th November 2016

We all follow the West Ham!
WHUC.com

Rahman Osman is a sports journalist with radio station Citi fm. He recently
visited West Ham United to meet Black Stars captain Andre Ayew at the Club's
new Rush Green training ground and also take in his first match at London
Stadium. Osman was delighted to be reunited with his country's biggest star,
having watched the Hammers No20 follow in the footsteps of his famous father
Abedi 'Pele' Ayew by becoming a success with both club and country. "I have
been lucky enough to watch many players grow from small boys into big stars
and the biggest of them all is, of course, Andre Ayew," he revealed. "I was
also privileged that I interviewed Andre and Ashley Fletcher when they
visited Ghana recently with Betway."

Ghana have been African football's leading team in the past decade, reaching
the last three FIFA World Cups, including the quarter-finals in 2010, and
Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals in five straight tournaments. So, if one
African nation is going to win the World Cup, Osman believes it should be
Ghana. Already as I speak, there are lots of No20 West Ham jerseys on the
streets of Accra - that tells you how much he means to us "Football is the
biggest sport in Ghana, without a doubt," he continued. "Some of the
greatest footballers in the world have come from Ghana, including Abedi
'Pele' Ayew , Andre's father, who is considered the greatest of all African
players. "Abedi Pele competed to the highest level in European football and
is considered by many as a leader among African players and particularly
among his footballing family. Andre plays for West Ham, his younger brother
Jordan plays for Aston Villa and his older brother Rahim played for Ghana
and still plays in Gibraltar. "Andre himself is an amazingly huge talent, in
my estimation, and is one of the best players West Ham United has got. "Of
course, we also have Asamoah Gyan, who is Africa's highest goalscorer in the
history of the World Cup, who played for Sunderland a few years ago. Michael
Essien was also extremely good when he was at Chelsea, so football is in the
DNA of every Ghanaian."

While Ghana's success as a national side is important to every Ghanaian,
Osman revealed that his fellow countrymen are also eager for the Black Stars
to make their mark individually. Like his father, Ayew made a huge impact at
French club Olympique de Marseille, where he played alongside Dimitri Payet,
before moving to British football with Swansea City in summer 2015. After
netting 12 goals for the Swans last season, the 26-year-old joined the
Hammers for a Club-record fee in August - and Osman expects him to make
quite an impact.
"The Premier League is huge in Ghana," Osman confirmed. "I work with Citi fm
and I can tell you that on Saturday afternoons, every corner of Accra is
full of fans cheering on their team and tuning into the world's
most-glamorous league. "I think Andre Ayew has one of the greatest mindsets
I have ever seen in a footballer. I remember seeing how mentally tough he
was when he started playing as a child, and technically he is up there with
some of the best players in the world. "I had never seen anybody with a
Swansea City shirt on in Ghana before he joined them, but they became
commonplace on the streets of Accra. There was only one No10 and that was
Andre

"West Ham United have yet to see the best of Andre, but it is clear that he
will fight any time he wears the jersey. Already as I speak, there are lots
of No20 West Ham jerseys on the streets of Accra - that tells you how much
he means to us. "Nobody would have really been interested in watching a West
Ham against Stoke City game before Andre arrived here, but I and my fellow
countrymen were absolutely delighted to see him play in Claret and Blue.
That is how huge he is. "People on the streets are saying 'Andre is a
Hammer!' and I am sure he will try as much as possible to expand the brand
of the Club, both here in England and back in Ghana."

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Cresswell - I couldn't be happier
WHUFC.com

Aaron Cresswell has expressed his pride at making his senior England debut.
A decade after being released by Liverpool as a schoolboy, West Ham United's
outstanding left-back made his bow against Spain in front of nearly 84,000
fans at Wembley Stadium. For the 26-year-old, pulling on the Three Lions
shirt at the Home of Football in Wednesday's 2-2 international friendly draw
with Spain was the result of years of hard work, dedication and ambition to
reach the very top of his profession. "I was obviously delighted, as it is a
dream come true," he told Ian 'Moose' Abrahams in an exclusive interview for
whufc.com. "Ever since I started playing football as a little boy, this is
what I wanted to do, and to do it at Wembley in front of 84,000 fans, I
can't speak any higher of it. "It is something I've always wanted to do and
I've achieved it."

But was he nervous?

"No, I was fine when I came on! It's still a game of football and it's
something I've done all my life. It's something for me that's finally
pulling on that shirt and, as I said, a dream come true."

Cresswell was drafted into Gareth Southgate's squad for the November
international fixtures - England beat Scotland 3-0 in a FIFA World Cup
qualifier at Wembley last Friday - as a replacement for the injured Danny
Drinkwater, and only four games into his return from a knee injury suffered
in pre-season. However, West Ham fans have long clamoured for their No3 to
be capped and that moment arrived in the 79th minute on Wednesday evening.
"It was slightly surprising to get the call after only playing three or four
games," he admitted. "To get the setback in pre-season, I didn't think I'd
be involved in the England team so soon after coming back, but it's
something that I'm delighted has happened and I couldn't be any happier."

Now, Cresswell has his sights trained on earning more England recognition in
2017, looking ahead to the World Cup finals in Russia the following summer.
"As a player, you never stop learning and you always want to better
yourself, so hopefully I can do that. As long as I concentrate and work hard
at West Ham and hopefully progress, my efforts on the pitch will hopefully
get me more England caps. Now he has joined the likes of Dimitri Payet,
Cheikhou Kouyate and Andy Carroll as a full international, will Cresswell
walk back into Rush Green on Thursday morning with his 'chest puffed out'?
Of course not! "I won't have my chest puffed out, that's for sure!" he
smiled. "Of course I'm delighted, but now it's a case of getting my head
down and back to work on Thursday."

Cresswell is also backing Hammers teammate Michail Antonio to earn his first
cap soon, with the winger having been named in two squads by Southgate
earlier this year. "I'm sure Michail's time will come. He's been fantastic
for us this season, scoring six goals, and hopefully he can get on as well,"
the defender observed. Now he is back fully fit and playing regularly,
Cresswell's next ambition is to help his Club climb the Premier League
table, starting with a short trip across London to face Tottenham Hotspur on
Saturday evening.
"I'm delighted to be back," he confirmed. "The first few games were hard
fitness-wise, as it's never easy being back after a long period out, but I'm
just happy on the whole with the way it's happened. "To be out for three
months, then come back and play three or four games and be involved in the
England team, I couldn't be more delighted with it. "There are no easy games
in the Premier League, as you know, but we were better against the top six
last season, so hopefully we can finally kick-start our season and get on a
good run and move up the table."

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Simply Slaven - Part One
WHUFC.com

Bilic talks with PayetIn part one of our exclusive interview with Slaven
Bilic, the Hammers manager talks about the future of Dimitri Payet and has
positive news surrounding the return of influential forwards Diafra Sakho
and Andy Carroll. Payet's future has dominated a number of headlines
following his amazing exploits for France at the European Championship
Finals during the summer when he was one of the star performers at the
tournament. After being nominated for the Ballon d'Or Award, Payet is now
hoping to have another successful campaign with the Hammers and help the
team move towards the top half of the table. Joint-Chairman David Sullivan
stated on Monday that he hopes to see Payet stay at West Ham for many years
to come and Bilic says they are thrilled to have him at the east London
Club. Bilic said: "The Chairman came out and said during the Euros (that he
was staying) when the speculation started. "We are delighted to have him and
he is our player. We want him to stay as our player. "It would help us a lot
if he could score another big goal against Tottenham on Saturday!"
Bilic will be hoping to see his side get back on the winning trail at White
Hart Lane following disappointing results against Everton and Stoke in the
last two games. The Hammers boss is thrilled to see Sakho back in contention
for the big London derby after he was forced to miss the start of the season
with a back problem. The Senegal forward has worked hard to regain full
fitness and Bilic hopes he can regain the form which saw him play such a
crucial role in the Club's success last season. Bilic added: "We are
delighted that he is back. We have been missing him since the start of
pre-season so it has been a very long period, but he is back now. "He
started doing rehabilitation treatment, then he did individual training on
the pitch and then he spent a week with the U23s. "He has been training with
us since the Stoke game and looks good. He might need a few games to find
his top form but some hit it straight away like Aaron Cresswell did when he
came back. "We rate Diafra very highly because he gives you something
different. He runs deep and is really good at running behind the defences
and opens the spaces for other players to run into that zone. It is a big
boost for us to have him back."
Bilic also has good news surrounding the comeback of fellow forward Carroll
who is also close to making a first-team return. "Andy is progressing really
well and maybe in a couple of weeks he will be able to train with us - it
might even be earlier. "It looks very good and if he continues to progress
then I am expecting to have him back soon. "We have been missing so many
players and now they are all coming back. It is great for them to come back
at such a crucial period and for us to have as many players as possible."

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Cresswell makes England debut
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's Aaron Cresswell became the Club's 40th senior England
international by making his debut in Wednesday's friendly with Spain at
Wembley. The left-back capped a sensational opening two-and-a-quarter
seasons in Claret and Blue by being introduced as a 79th-minute substitute
for Tottenham Hotspur's Danny Rose - who he could face at White Hart Lane on
Saturday. The 26-year-old has been a rock of consistency since joining West
Ham from Championship club Ipswich Town in summer 2014, winning the Hammer
of the Year award in his first season in east London. Aside from a knee
injury caused by a late tackle in July this year that ruled him out for
three months, Cresswell has hardly missed a minute for the Hammers, making
93 appearances and scoring four spectacular goals for the Club.

On Wednesday, he completed a remarkable rise from being released by
Liverpool at the age of 15, through being given a second chance by
lower-league Tranmere Rovers, to winning Ipswich and West Ham's Player of
the Year awards, to full England international. Cresswell became the 40th
West Ham player to feature in an England shirt, 105 years after centre
forward George Webb scored on his debut in a 3-0 win over Wales at The Den
in March 2011. Three West Ham players, of course, lifted the FIFA World Cup
in 1966 - hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst, goalscorer Martin Peters and the
Hammers' most-capped player Bobby Moore, who appeared 108 times for the
Three Lions.

Cresswell also became the first West Ham player to represent England since
Stewart Downing, who appeared against Scotland in Glasgow in November 2014.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Dimitri Payet earned cap No32 for France in Les Bleus'
goalless friendly draw with Ivory Coast in Lens, while Everton loanee
striker Enner Valencia scored for the 19th time in 34 appearances for
Ecuador in a 3-0 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL Group Stage qualifying win over
Venezuela.

Finally, Simone Zaza appeared as a late substitute in Italy's goalless
friendly draw with Germany in Milan, earning his 16th cap for the Azzurri.

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Simply Slaven - Part Two
WHUFC.com

Bilic watches his players at White Hart LaneIn part two of our exclusive
interview Slaven Bilic looks ahead to a big London derby against Tottenham
and says he hopes to make amends for the disappointing defeat at White Hart
Lane last season.

Bilic is well aware of the importance surrounding the game and says he would
love to see the players record another famous win in north London.

West Ham were the away day specialists in the early stages of last season
following memorable victories over Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City
and Bilic knows his team are capable of producing another similar result.

The Hammers manager knows exactly what this derby means to the fans and says
the players will be ready to take on a Tottenham team who are challenging at
the top of the table.

Bilic said: "It is always a big game against Spurs - maybe the biggest derby
for West Ham.

"Last year we beat them at home, but lost at White Hart Lane. It is the
start of five big games and it is important for us to have a good start
after the international break and have a good result.

"We had some great away wins last year but I remember we had some injuries
going into the game at Tottenham last year. We conceded a couple of early
goals and we want to make up for last year.

"Tottenham are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League so we know what
we are coming up against. They were title contenders last season and were
with Leicester until a few games to go.

"They are still in the Champions League and Mauricio Pochettino has done a
great job there. They have an energetic team with a lot of quality and we
know it will be a tough game, but we are ready for it.

"We have improved a lot in recent weeks, but we are still not in a position
that we want to be in.

"That is why we want a good result against Tottenham on Saturday and get
something from the game."

Bilic will always have fond memories of White Hart Lane after he made his
debut for West Ham in north London back in February 1996 and helped the
Hammers came away with a memorable 1-0 victory.

The current Hammers management team played a big part in the goal as Julian
Dicks shot was parried by Ian Walker and Dani fired the rebound into the
back of the net.


Bilic added: "It was my first game for West Ham and it was a great night.
They had a really good team but we scored early on from a corner and it was
a great debut. It gave everyone a big boost at the Club.

"It was a special night and I knew before the game how big it was going to
be because I had been waiting for my work permit.

"When you play against Tottenham is it something special and I hope we can
get a similar kind of result on Saturday!

"I have been involved in some big derbies during my career when I was in
Croatia, Moscow and Turkey and this games rates up there with all of them.

"I have had a lot of people asking me about the game and telling me they
want us to win!"

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Bilic hails imminent Sakho return
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 16th November 2016
By: Staff Writer

Slaven Bilic says that forgotten striker Diafra Sakho is close to making a
return to first team action. The Senegal international has been missing in
action since he was linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion ahead of the
transfer window deadline at the end of August. Since then, West Ham have put
out a number of stories claiming that Sakho is close to recovery. But now, a
further three months down the line, Slaven Bilic has finally revealed that
he expects the striker to be involved in his first team plans once again.
"As manager I don't want to talk about the players when they're injured. I
want to concentrate on the players I can count on for the games," he said.
"That's why I haven't talked a lot about Diafra Sakho, but of course I'm
delighted he's back. We've been missing him since the start of pre-season
basically, it's been a very long period. Now he's back. "First he was
training individually as part of his rehabilitation, then individually on
the pitch, then he did a week with the Under 23s to have that [physical]
contact and be involved in team work. "He started to train with us after the
game against Stoke. He's fit and he's good but like Aaron Cresswell, may
need a few games to hit top form. But he looks really good and some of the
players hit it straight away, like Cresswell. "We rate him so much. He gives
you something different; he runs deep, he runs behind the defence which
creates opportunities for himself and opens space for other players. It's a
big boost for us."

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