Daily WHUFC News - 24th February 2016

Ford delighted with first Hammers goal
WHUFC.com

After opening his account for West Ham with a brilliant solo effort, striker
Sam Ford spoke of his delight at getting off the mark. The No9 fired the
Hammers into the lead after just 12 minutes away at Wolves with a sublime
run and cool finish. His first goal for West Ham looked to have secured the
all-important three points for the Hammers however Hakeem Odoffin equalised
from close range with just seven minutes remaining. Speaking at full-time,
Ford said: "It feels really good, to score on my debut as well makes it very
special. "It's nice to get off to a good start and hopefully that's the
first of many. I'm happy to get on the scoresheet but the most important
thing was the result and it's disappointing not to have won. "I try and help
the team out as much as possible. I work hard for my teammates and will
continue to do that."

Having impressed during his claret and blue bow, Ford is targeting a strong
end to the rest of the season. The striker continued to say: "It's been a
dream of mine to be a professional footballer for as long as I can remember
so hopefully I can keep on improving, keep working hard and we'll see where
that gets me. "(Life at Rush Green) It's demanding, but that's good and
important to get to that next level. "I just want to kick on and try and
score as many goals as possible between now and the end of the season. If I
do that, we'll see where it takes me."

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Lewis proud of Dev Squad milestone
WHUFC.com

Having become the latest member of the Academy of Football to make their
debut for the U21s this season, Alfie Lewis had every right to be happy with
his performance. The sixteen year old midfielder looked lively throughout,
moving the ball around and snapping into tackles. Reflecting on his Dev
Squad bow, Lewis reflected: "It was a good experience, it's very different
from U18 football, it's a lot more physical. I really enjoyed it and I
thought it was a pretty good game. This is definitely a career highlight so
far, it's a good feeling."

So impressive has Lewis's development been this year, that it is hard to
forget he started this season in the U16s. After catching the eye there, and
for Steve Potts' U18s, the versatile midfielder was given a run out in a
highly entertaining game at Telford AFC. The Hammers went ahead thanks to
Sam Ford's sublime run and finish yet the spoils were shared when Wolves
equalised late on. He continued: "My season is going well personally, I'm
working hard and it's paying off so I'm pleased with that. There's always
room for improvement so I'm looking now to push on. "The aim now is to try
and get a regular place in the U21s, try and get more games and keep
progressing really. "I'm a midfielder, I like to pass it, get on the ball
and link up the play, I also like to try and create passes."

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Ginge hails strongest squad
WHUFC.com

James Collins has hailed the current West Ham United squad as the best he
has been involved in during his time at the Club. Following Sunday's victory
at Blackburn Rovers, which sent the Hammers to the last eight of the
Emirates FA Cup, Collins said Slaven Bilic's men has quality all over the
pitch. He explained: "It is the strongest squad I've been involved in. In
the 10 years I've had at the club it has been the strongest squad I've been
involved in. The attacking players, the pace we have going forward. I'm just
happy I'm defending for them and not against them! It is a great time."

Dimitri Payet once again had an outstanding impact against Rovers, netting
twice, setting another up and laying on six chances for his teammates.
Collins, understandably, was full of praise for the Frenchman. He added: "He
is on fire. He has been tremendous. When he is in the mood to play like he
did today there are not many better in the league. We have a big game on
Saturday so we have to take the confidence from this and move on. "He's just
signed a new deal and I've just signed a new deal as well. You want to be
part of a club that is moving forward. Everything is going in the right
direction with the stadium, the way we are playing football, the signings we
are making. Obviously a good Cup run makes us attractive for players to come
too. We have been playing great and the season is going great so far."

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Emenike – There's more to come
WHUFC.com

Emmanuel Emenike is ready to build on his two-goal display at Blackburn
Rovers and fire West Ham United to more success over the closing three
months of the season. Nigeria striker Emenike arrived on loan from Turkish
side Fenerbahce in January and marked his first start for his new Club with
a double at Ewood Park. The brace helped the Hammers to a 5-1 victory and
Emenike says their squad is well-equipped to go all the way in the Emirates
FA Cup. He said: "It's a really special one for me that I played on Sunday
and scored in the FA Cup. "I think we are good enough to go all the way. We
work hard for each other and we have good players. "I just want to say a big
thank you to the fans for their support. "Last week was a tough week for me,
because I missed a chance to give us three points, but thankfully I made up
for it on Sunday and made the fans happy."

Emenike might have had a hat-trick, had he not struck the post from close in
late on, but he was delighted with the double. He added: "I'm not
disappointed that I didn't get a hat-trick, the most important thing is that
I scored and more importantly the team won. I'll have to wait for the
hat-trick the next time! "I enjoyed it. It was a great game for the team and
I'm happy."

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From the Boardroom - David Sullivan
WHUFC.com

It was a fantastic all-round team display that helped us came away with an
emphatic victory over Blackburn on Sunday. I know Slaven Bilic has been
quick to praise all the players for the part they played in the 5-1 victory
at Ewood Park and everybody had such a big role to play. With a number of
forwards being ruled out of the game through injury there was a lot of
responsibility on the shoulders of new signing Emmanuel Emenike to lead the
line and he showed what he can bring to the team. The second finish in
particular was very impressive and he could easily have scored a hat-trick
after seeing his shot hit the post late in the game. Slaven knows all about
him as a player following his time in Russia and Turkey and we are hoping he
can stay among the goals in the next few months.
What more can I say about Dimitri Payet that I have not already said. He had
another outstanding performance and you can see what it means to him to have
the support of everyone at the club.
We have already seen him score some fantastic free-kicks this season and he
delivered once again with another sublime finish. He raced along the
touchline to celebrate with Slaven and I think that shows everybody the
close relationship that all the players have with the manager and the
fantastic team spirit we have assembled. The second finish late in the game
was a joy to watch and it was a fantastic piece of skill as he weaved his
way to the edge of the box. It was another outstanding piece of skill.
I must also say a word about Michail Antonio who was asked to play out of
position at right back but he showed his versatility and was a constant
threat to the Blackburn defence. He was also unlucky not to get his name on
the scoresheet but he played his part in the goal for Emenike and showed why
he is such an important member of the first-team squad. I believe the
victory over Blackburn once again showed the great strength in depth we now
have throughout the squad and with the likes of Diafra Sakho and Manuel
Lanzini making a return to full fitness in the near future, we are only
going to grow stronger.

We now switch our attentions to the home game against Sunderland on Saturday
and a lot of attention will surround the return of Sam Allardyce to the
Boleyn Ground. I have said it before that I felt he did a perfectly good job
during his four-year spell. He did all we asked of him and I am a fan of
Sam. He left the Club in a considerably better state then when he arrived
and, for that, the Board were truly grateful. He took us back into the top
flight with a memorable victory in the Play-Off Final at Wembley and then
managed to cement our position in the Premier League. I can't criticise Sam
because he did a good job and I like him. But I think from both sides it was
time for a change.

We made the decision to appoint Slaven Bilic during the summer and the Club
have now grown even stronger this season. We know it will not be an easy
game against Sunderland on Saturday – especially after their last big result
against Manchester United. But we have not been beaten at the Boleyn Ground
since August and I am confident that the team can maintain that impressive
unbeaten run this weekend.

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From the Newsroom
WHUFC.com

Henry Winter is rated one of the best sports writers in the country and
recently became the Chief Football Writer at The Times after spending over
20 years at the Daily Telegraph. Henry has over one million followers on
Twitter and is predicting big things for West Ham in the final few months of
the season.

I was at the West Ham game against Blackburn on Sunday and I have to say how
impressed I was with the way the team performed at Ewood Park. I thought
there was such a strong spine to the team and James Collins looked so solid
at the back. There has been a lot said about Dimitri Payet but I thought he
was sensational and was beating players for fun. He is an entertainer and
plays with a smile on his face. He has the perfect marriage with the West
Ham United supporters and you have to credit the owners for giving him a new
contract so quickly when other clubs might have shown an interest in wanting
to sign him, considering the amazing form he he has shown for the Club this
season. I think it is brilliant for West Ham that he is not in the France
squad at the moment. Clearly he should be called up, but if it means that he
is resting up over the international break and will have the summer off,
that can only benefit the Club next season.

It was the perfect day for the Hammers at Blackburn with over 7000 fans
cheering them on and it is a good snapshot of the season that they have now
reached the quarter finals and stand a big chance of getting to Wembley. The
club have got a big move coming up during the summer and reaching FA Cup
Final would be a wonderful way to mark the final ever season at the Boleyn
Ground. Who can forget the last big cup tie when Ogbonna scored in the final
few seconds and the amazing atmosphere around the whole ground. If they
manage to get a replay against Manchester United it would be another special
evening for the last ever FA Cup game at Upton Park. I would be surprised if
they don't get through against Manchester United. The team spirit is
fantastic and West Ham are certainly United at the moment.

Slaven Bilic impresses me more every time I see him and he has been
fantastic for the club this season. I can still remember having dinner with
him when he was Croatia manager in Zagreb and you could tell he had
something about him. He is obviously very intellectual with his degree in
law. I love the way he stands there every game on the touchline in his suit
with his top button undone and he is there in his element. He is a warrior
and a winner and you can see how the players respect him. Even when he is
talking in the post-match press conferences he offers so much and none more
so than after the Blackburn result when he was talking about taking up
poetry to find some new words to describe Payet. He is a joy for the media.

I believe West Ham are in a very good place at the moment and with Bilic at
the helm, anything is possible. The quality is there for the Hammers to
finish in the top six and I expect them to finish above Manchester United.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those
of West Ham United

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Lanzini - I had missed playing for our fans
WHUFC.com

Manuel Lanzini made a perfect return to action with West Ham United on
Sunday. Lanzini completed ALL of his 33 passes in West Ham United's thumping
5-1 Emirates FA Cup fifth round win at Blackburn Rovers. The Argentine
appeared as a substitute with the Hammers leading 2-1, before playing his
part in goals for Emmanuel Emenike and Dimitri Payet as West Ham ran riot
late on. The No28, who was back in action after a six-week injury lay-off,
told whufc.com he was delighted to make his reappearance in such a
sensational team display. "I am very happy to be playing again and happy
also for the game and for the win," said Lanzini. "I want to be playing and
taking the ball. This is my game and the way I play and this is the way I
want to be playing my football."

Lanzini painted pretty patterns all over the Ewood Park pitch, combining
with two-goal Payet, Alex Song and Victor Moses to repeatedly carve open the
Blackburn defence. For a player who learned his craft at Argentine giants
River Plate and Brazilian club Fluminense, the 23-year-old knows a thing or
two about attacking football, and was impressed by what he saw on Sunday.
"We have Payet and he is an amazing player and is different from anyone
else, just amazing!" he continued. "I played with Ariel Ortega at River
Plate, Deco at Fluminense and some amazing players, and Payet is a very good
player with a very good touch. "I look at Payet and what he can do and it is
crazy!"

Lanzini was also delighted to see new signing Emenike bag two goals on his
full debut in a West Ham shirt, with the Nigerian having followed the same
path to the Boleyn Ground from Emirati football. "Emmanuel is a good player
for us and I am very happy for him scoring two goals," he confirmed. "That's
good for him."

Lanzini will hope to return to the Barclays Premier League this Saturday,
when the Hammers host struggling Sunderland in the lunchtime kick-off.
Unsurprisingly, the popular South American is hungry to devour the Black
Cats. "We need to look at the next game and to pick up the three points
because if we play like we did at Blackburn we can finish near the top," he
concluded. "Our fans will be there again and that's normal. They gave me a
great welcome back on Sunday and I had missed playing for our fans."

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Kouyate red card rescinded
WHUFC.com

West Ham United can confirm that a Football Association Regulatory
Commission has upheld the Club's claim for wrongful dismissal in respect of
the red card shown to Cheikhou Kouyate at Blackburn Rovers. The No8 was
sent-off during the second half of the Hammers' 5-1 Emirates FA Cup
fifth-round win over the Championship side at Ewood Park, but the Club's
successful claim means Kouyate's one-match suspension is withdrawn. The
Senegal midfielder is therefore eligible to play against Sunderland in the
Barclays Premier League on Saturday.

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West Ham have grown stronger since Sam Allardyce was sacked, says
co-chairman David Sullivan
16:26, 23 FEB 2016 UPDATED 16:26, 23 FEB 2016
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
Slaven Bilic, who replaced Allardyce as Upton Park boss last summer, has
guided the Hammers to seventh in the Premier League and an FA Cup
quarter-final berth
The Mirror

West Ham have become stronger since replacing Sam Allardyce with Slaven
Bilic, according to co-chairman David Sullivan. Allardyce returns to Upton
Park for the first time since being sacked at the end of last season when
his new club Sunderland travel to West Ham on Saturday.
And Sullivan said: "I felt he (Allardyce) did a perfectly good job during
his four-year spell. He did all we asked of him and I am a fan of Sam.
"He left the club in a considerably better state than when he arrived and,
for that, the board were truly grateful. "He took us back into the top
flight with a memorable victory in the play-off final at Wembley and then
managed to cement our position in the Premier League. "I can't criticise Sam
because he did a good job and I like him. But I think from both sides it was
time for a change. "We made the decision to appoint Slaven Bilic during the
summer and the club have now grown even stronger this season."

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Evening game likely for last game at the Boleyn
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 23, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham has confirmed for the first time that given our FA cup progress an
evening game will be the most likely last game at the Boleyn Ground and not
a weekend game against Swansea City as first planned although they did add
that is not 100% confirmed as yet and still requires official confirmation
from the Premier League.

Members of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB) were given an update
this evening at the Boleyn Ground by the West Ham Executive Director of
Marketing and Communications, Tara Warren.

A senior source close to SAB told Claret and Hugh this evening "As soon as
it is confirmed we'll confirm officially on our website"

Tara was joined this evening at Academy Director Terry Westley who spoke
about the progress of the West Ham Academy since he joined from Birmingham.
The news that the last competitive game to be played at the Boleyn Ground is
likely to switch from Swansea City to Manchester United will come as little
surprise to most.

Earlier today, Manchester United confirmed their away match on 23rd April
against the Hammers would be moved because either West Ham or Manchester Utd
will be now be guaranteed a place in the FA Cup semi-finals played the same
weekend as our league match.

Claret and Hugh understands that planning is already well underway to work
out the logistics of switching the 'Farewell to Boleyn party' from a weekend
to mid-week evening under the famous lights should it be confirmed.

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Kouyate suspension lifted
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 23rd February 2016
By: Staff Writer

Cheik Kouyate's one-match suspension for denying a goalscoring opportunity
during the 5-1 win at Blackburn on Sunday has been rescinded by the FA. A
statement issued by the FA this afternoon (Tuesday) read: "Cheikhou
Kouyate's suspension has been withdrawn with immediate effect following an
Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today. West Ham United's claim of
wrongful dismissal in relation to their Emirates FA Cup fifth round proper
tie against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday 21 February 2016 was upheld."
Referee Jon Moss issued the Senegal international with a straight red
following the accidental collision with Rovers' Adam Henley on the edge of
West Ham's penalty area, despite the Blackburn player having clearly lost
control of the ball. West Ham insisted immediately after the game that they
would appeal against Moss' call, which has now been overturned. As a result,
Kouyate will be available for this weekend's Premier League clash with Sam
Allardyce's Sunderland.

Seeing red: 2015/16 matches that ended with less than 22 players

July
FC Lusitanos 0-1 West Ham Utd (Sakho s/o 14)
Birkirkara 1-0 West Ham Utd (Tomkins s/o 45)
West Ham Utd 2-2 Astra Giurgiu (Collins s/o 59)

August
West Ham Utd 1-2 Leicester City (Adrian s/o 90)
West Ham Utd 3-4 Bournemouth (Jenkinison s/o 79)
Liverpool 0-3 West Ham Utd (Coutinho s/o 52, Noble s/o 78*)

October
Sunderland 2-2 West Ham Utd (Lens s/o 57)
Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham Utd (Gayle s/o 44)
West Ham Utd 2-1 Chelsea (Matic s/o 44)
Watford 2-0 West Ham Utd (Collins s/o 84)

February
West Ham Utd 2-0 Aston Villa (Ayew s/o 17)
Southampton 1-0 West Ham Utd (Wanyama s/o 54)
Blackburn 1-5 West Ham Utd (Taylor s/o 55, Kouyate s/o 75*)

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West Ham appeal successfully over Cheikhou Kouyate's red card
By Allan Valente
Last Updated: 23/02/16 4:18pm
SSN

West Ham have appealed successfully against Cheikhou Kouyate's red card
picked up in the FA Cup win over Blackburn Rovers. Referee Jonathan Moss
sent the Hammers midfielder off for a foul which he decided had denied
Blackburn's Adam Henley a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 75th minute
of the 5-1 fifth-round win. However, the club's claim of wrongful dismissal
was upheld following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on
Tuesday.
A statement on the Football Association website said: "Cheikhou Kouyate's
one-match suspension for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity has been
withdrawn with immediate effect following an Independent Regulatory
Commission hearing today [Tuesday, February 23, 2016]. "West Ham United's
claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to their Emirates FA Cup fifth round
proper tie against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday 21 February 2016 was upheld."
Goals from Victor Moses, Dimitri Payet and Emmanuel Emenike sent West Ham
through to the quarter-finals where they will face Manchester United at Old
Trafford.

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Didier Deschamps: West Ham star Dimitri Payet does not perform the same for
France
Evening Standard

West Ham star Dimitri Payet looks set to miss out on playing in this
summer's European Championship after France coach Didier Deschamps said the
winger doesn't perform the same for Les Bleus as the Hammers. Payet has been
praised since joining West Ham from Marseille in the summer, scoring nine
goals in all competitions - including two in the club's 5-1 FA Cup win over
Blackburn Rovers on Sunday - and creating several others for his teammates
this term. Such has been his impact since arriving at the Boleyn Ground that
Payet was handed a new contract by West Ham earlier this month, although his
form for the Hammers hasn't been enough to earn the forward a call-up to the
France national team. Payet labelled being overlooked for his nation as an
"injustice", and Deschamps has now explained why he hasn't opted to ask the
Hammers star to play for France recently after saying the 28-year-old
doesn't perform the same for Les Bleus as he does for his domestic side. He
said: "I've already called and I have already spoken to him about it. I said
that I expected more from him than he (produced) when he was with us.
"It was not enough. In the France team, he does not do the same thing (as he
does) in his club. "He is someone who is powerful in the club. He often
plays on the left in a 4-3-3. He has some very interesting statistics on the
left. "But after that there is a competition issue. In this position on the
left, the competition is from Anthony Martial, Antoine Griezmann, Mathieu
Valbuena, Hatem Ben Arfa or Nabil Fekir before he got injured."
The Les Bleus coach recently suggested Payet's exclusion from the national
side was down to non-footballing reasons, but Deschamps has now insisted the
West Ham player doesn't have an issue with his attitude or behaviour.
"Problems of attitude for Payet? No these are false problems," he said. "As
if I could not manage players ... It is a choice about football based on the
other competition."

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Cheikhou Kouyate red card appeal: West Ham to find out if decision will be
overturned on Tuesday
KEN DYER 1 hour ago0 comments
Evening Standard

West Ham were expecting to hear later today whether their appeal against
Cheikhou Kouyate's red card has been successful. Referee Jon Moss sent off
Kouyate for the foul which he decided had denied Blackburn's Adam Henley a
clear goal-scoring opportunity during the second half of Sunday's FA Cup
fifth-round tie which West Ham won 5-1. West Ham's contention, though, is
that Henley had no chance of reaching the ball before it was gathered by
goalkeeper Darren Randolph. After the game, Slaven Bilic said: "From my
position, I am not happy with that. "I know the ball went to Randy, to our
keeper, so it is definitely not a goalscoring opportunity. A foul? Okay.
"But not a red card so we are going to appeal and I think we have a really
strong case."
The Hammers, meanwhile, hope to have Andy Carroll back to face Sunderland on
Saturday. The striker missed the Cup win with a thigh problem.

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West Ham have to protect Dimitri Payet, says James Collins
By Nick Lustig
Last Updated: 23/02/16 8:41am
SSN

James Collins says West Ham will need to wrap Dimitri Payet in "cotton wool"
to ensure he is fit to feature for the remainder of the season. Payet joined
the Hammers from Marseille for an initial £10.75m last summer and has been
an instrumental figure for manager Slaven Bilic this campaign, scoring nine
times and providing six assists. The 28-year-old missed nearly two months
of the season after sustaining an ankle ligament injury in November, with
West Ham winning only one match during his absence. His outstanding form on
his return from injury saw him rewarded with a new five-and-a-half-year deal
earlier this month and, with West Ham pushing for a top-six finish in the
Premier League as well as the FA Cup, Collins is well aware of the
importance of keeping the France midfielder fit. "He is on fire and has
been tremendous," Collins said. "When he is in the mood to play, there are
not many better in the league. "It is unbelievable what he does. When he is
on it, I haven't played with or against anyone better. "He is a magic player
and the West Ham fans are seeing the best of it. "We have to wrap him up in
cotton wool and get him out on the pitch as much as we can."

Payet once again demonstrated his importance to West Ham in their 5-1 FA Cup
fifth-round victory against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park last Sunday,
netting twice and providing a superb through ball for Emmanuel Emenike to
score. "He just doesn't bring what he does on the pitch, he is a great lad
to have around the place," Collins added. "The fans adore him for bringing
that sort of football. It is a massive scalp to have him sign on for as long
as he has. "Everyone thinks the same. I've just signed a new deal as well.
You want to be part of a club that is moving forward. "Everything is going
in the right direction with the stadium, the way we are playing football,
the signings we are making. "Obviously a good cup run makes us attractive
for players to come too."

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Newcastle turned down Payet
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 22, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

The Newcastle Chronicle claims Newcastle turned down the chance to Dimtri
Payet because of his age. Newcastle United have signed 16 players from
France since promotion back to the Premier League but have missed out on
others. payet2Their chief scout Graham Carr has scoured Europe for the best
talent at bargain-basement prices and the French Ligue 1 has very much been
his favoured stomping ground for the Magpies. payet3The article claims
"Newcastle had looked at him several times, but his age ruled out a deal and
he eventually signed for the Hammers for £10.75million.Given the other
players they have recruited from Marseille in that time, this one seems like
a huge miss." says the Chronicle. Payet4Last week David Ginola revealed he
recommended Dimitri Payet to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. "I had a discussion
one night with Spurs players, former players and chairman Daniel Levy about
French players coming through and who would be good [for Spurs]. And I said,
'well there's one out there right now, Dimitri Payet.' This was a few years
ago when he was still playing at Lille, and I told him Payet would suit
English football" As the song goes "We've got Payet, Dimitri Payet, I just
don't think you understand!"

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Hendrie returns to West Ham
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 23, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

Stephen Hendrie has returned to West Ham following the conclusion of his
loan spell at Southend United. Hendrie made five appearances for the
Shrimpers after joining on a one-month loan deal from the Hammers. The
full-back scored the winner in the 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town earlier this
month. Southend Manager, Phil Brown admits at this moment in time, any deal
that will see the defender rejoin the club is unlikely. "Stephen's loan has
now expired." He said "We've spoken to West Ham on a couple of occasions,
there's still 61 days left of the loan for Stephen Hendrie if we wanted to
use it again, and we've got until the 24th March to do that." "But it would
probably only happen if Ben Coker got injured. "So we'll keep on talking to
West Ham, we have a good relationship with them."

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Manchester United game to be re-scheduled
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 23, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham's Premier League home game against Manchester United on Saturday
23rd April will be re-scheduled it has been confirmed. Updating their
supporters on manutd.com the Red Devils have confirmed: "The fact that one
of either United or West Ham will progress to the last four of the famous
competition means the league meeting between the two sides will be postponed
as it's scheduled for the same weekend that the FA Cup semi-finals are due
to take place, on 22/23/24/25 April." "We'll bring you news of the
rearranged matches in due course and we'll let you know the date of United's
quarter-final meeting with West Ham at Old Trafford as soon as it is
confirmed by the FA." boleynRe-scheduling the league match could prove
difficult if Manchester United remain in the Europa League competition as
far as the semi-finals. As we reported before, Manchester United could
possibly end up as the last game at the Boleyn Ground and become a mid-week
evening event the week before our last game of the season away against Stoke
City.

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Jaanai Gordon scores on debut
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 23, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H

West Ham loanee, Jaanai Gordon scored on his debut for Sligo Rovers in a
pre- season friendly with Derry City over the weekend. Gordon joined West
Ham from Peterborough on the last day of 2013 for an undisclosed fee after
Sam Allardyce initially tried to scupper the transfer. He has spent previous
loan spells at Chelmsford City and Nuneaton Town while at West Ham before
joining Sligo Rovers in Ireland on loan until August this year. Gordon
scored the only goal in the pre-season friendly before the Irish Premier
league season begins at the start of March. As the video footage shows below
The Derry City keeper is no Darren Randolph or Adrian but Gordon capitalised
on the keeper's poor attempt at a clearance.

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West Ham star Dimitri Payet ranked on Gareth Bale's level by team-mate James
Collins
DIMITRI PAYET has been bracketed alongside Gareth Bale with his decision to
sign a new contract hailed as a "scalp" for West Ham against Europe's elite.
By PAUL JOYCE
PUBLISHED: 00:03, Tue, Feb 23, 2016
Express.co.uk

Payet was irresistible in the 5-1 demolition of Championship side Blackburn
on Sunday, scoring two outstanding goals to propel Slaven Bilic's side into
the FA Cup quarter-final. The Frenchman took the number of goals he has been
involved in this season to 17 – nine strikes and eight assists – and
underlined his importance during an eye-catching debut campaign in England.
Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have set the pulses racing with their heroics
for Leicester, but West Ham and Wales defender James Collins insisted Payet
was as good as anyone he has played with, including Real Madrid star Bale.
"It is unbelievable what he does," said Collins. "I haven't played with or
against anyone better. "He is a magic player and the West Ham fans are
seeing the best of it. We have to wrap him up in cotton wool and get him out
on the pitch as much as we can. "I know it is easy for me to say because I
play with him but I see him in training and I know him as a lad in the
dressing room. "He doesn't just bring what he does on the pitch, he is a
great lad to have around the place. He is on fire. He has been tremendous.
"When he is in the mood to play like he did there are not many better in the
league. The fans adore him for bringing that sort of football."
Payet recently signed a new £125,000-a-week, five-and-a-half-year contract
to ward off interested from the Chinese Super League and Collins believed
the future looks bright for West Ham.
"It is a massive, massive scalp to have him sign on for as long as he has,"
he said. "Everyone thinks the same. I've just signed a new deal as well. You
want to be part of a club that is moving forward. "Everything is going in
the right direction with the stadium, the way we are playing football, the
signings we are making. "In the 10 years I've had at the club it has been
the strongest squad I've been involved in. The attacking players, the pace
we have going forward. I'm just happy I'm defending for them and not against
them. It is a great time."

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Michail Antonio thought he'd be signing for West Brom before West Ham swoop
Michail Antonio could have joined West Brom had they made the right bid
The winger signed for West Ham for a fee of around £7m last summer
25-year-old admits he originally expected to sign for the Baggies
By SPENCER MORGAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:20, 23 February 2016 | UPDATED: 10:20, 23 February 2016

West Ham new boy Michail Antonio has revealed that he had expected to sign
for West Brom in the summer before making the move to Upton Park. The
25-year-old made a quick impression after switching to Sheffield Wednesday
from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2014, soon catching the eye of a
number of Premier League teams. He eventually joined the Hammers on on
deadline day and has admitted that the move was somewhat out of the blue.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live the winger said 'I thought I might be signing
for West Brom, there was loads of links, but nothing with West Ham. 'I
didn't really hear anything until i basically signed the contract, it came
out of the blue. 'They (West Brom) put a bid in and I thought I would end up
in Birmingham, but now I'm in London, back home.' The Baggies ultimately
failed to meet Forest's demands, with West Ham snapping up the Englishman
for a fee of around £7m.

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West Ham win appeal to have Cheikhou Kouyaté's one-match ban withdrawn
Tuesday 23 February 2016 16.13 GMT Last modified on Tuesday 23 February 2016
16.14 GMT
The Guardian
West Ham have successfully appealed Cheikhou Kouyaté's one-match suspension
after the Senegalese was shown a red card during the club's 5-1 win at
Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. With the score at 3-1, Kouyaté was dismissed by
referee for denying Blackburn an obvious goalscoring opportunity after
bringing Adam Henley down just outside West Ham's penalty box. However, this
has been withdrawn with immediate effect following an Independent Regulatory
Commission on Tuesday. West Ham co-chairman David Gold had announced on
Monday that the club would appeal the one-match ban. "Yes, we will appeal
Kouyaté's red card, which we believe was a mistake by the referee. The
Blackburn player wasn't going to get the ball anyway so he wasn't denied a
goalscoring opportunity," he tweeted. Kouyaté had been set to miss West
Ham's Premier League match this weekend against Sunderland but is now in
contention to start for Slaven Bilic's team. The London club are currently
7th, seven points behind Manchester City in fourth. Following their
comprehensive win at Ewood Park, West Ham now face a trip to Manchester
United in the FA Cup sixth round, after Louis van Gaal's team came through
their Monday night tie at Shrewsbury Town.

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