Daily WHUFC News - 23rd July 2016

From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com

I want to wish Sam Allardyce the best of luck after he was announced as the new England manager. We must remember that Sam did everything we asked of him when he was in charge at West Ham and put all the foundations in place for Slaven when he took over. Sam got us promoted in his first year in charge with that memorable win at Wembley in the Play-Off Final and then kept us in the Premier League the following year.
A lot of people were talking about the second year back in the top flight and the dangers that we could face, but he kept us up once again. I want him to be hugely successful as we all want England to be successful in the future.
The countdown continues to our first ever game at the new Stadium and we now know who we are facing in the UEFA Europa League third round qualifying stage. We will be making the journey to Slovenia next week and it gives us the chance to prepare the Stadium for the second leg and our first home game on August 4. I know everyone on the board is looking forward to it and I know the players and fans will relish the chance to see a historic night for our football club. Results might not have gone our way in Austria this week but I can assure everyone that Slaven will be more focused on getting the players ready for the first major game in the Europa League. Pre-season is more about the players building up a good team spirit and the new signings getting to know the rest of the squad which is exactly what they have been doing in America and Austria.

Work is taking place all the time to make sure our new home is ready for the Europa League game and we will soon be installing our new sign at the top of the Stadium. It will be another momentous moment and really puts our stamp on the new Stadium. We always promised our fans it will feel like West Ham's home. Each time I go back there I see more work taking place and there is claret and blue throughout the Stadium and we have honoured a number of the legends in the Club's lounges. The Champions Place stones have also started to be installed with legends such as Bobby Moore, the three World Cup winners, Billy Bonds and Sir Trevor Brooking having their name placed on the specially-designed walkway. We are establishing the home of West Ham United.

Unfortunately I cannot give any more updates on our pursuit for a new striker. At the moment we are having to be patient, but other clubs are in the same situation and there is still time for us to get the signings we want to add into the squad.

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Domzale away ticket details
WHUFC.com

West Ham United can confirm ticketing details for our UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie in Slovenia on Thursday 28 July.

The Hammers will take on NK Domzale at the Stadion Stozice in the nation's capital Ljubljana, with a 8.45 CEST kick-off time (7.45pm BST).

West Ham have been allocated 1,500 tickets at £18 each (plus booking fees and an additional postage cost of £5.95 per booking – tickets will be sent by next day signed special delivery to land Tuesday).

Sale dates are as follows:

Season Ticket Holders: 9am Saturday 23 July
Members: 11am Sunday 24 July (online or in person only)
General Sale: 9am Monday 25 July

Supporters can purchase tickets online by clicking here, in person at the new Stadium Ticket Office or over the telephone on 0871 529 1966* (except Sunday).

Click here for ticketing details for the home leg on Thursday 4 August.

*Calls are charged at 13p/min plus your phone provider's access charge.

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Travel Advice - NK Domzale
WHUFC.com


Introduction

West Ham United would like to thank the Club's loyal supporters for following the team to Slovenia for the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie with NK Domzale.

The Club is rightly proud of its fans and would ask that you uphold the Hammers' reputation by respecting local customs, amenities and cultures.

Ticket details for this fixture can be found here.
Fixture information

NK Domzale v West Ham United
UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg, Stadion Stozice, Vojkova cesta 100 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Thursday 28 July 2016, 8.45pm CEST (7.45pm BST).
Stadium information

The tie has been switched from Domzale's own 2,813-capacity Sports Park home to the modern 16,038-seater Stadion Stozice in Slovenia's capital city Ljubljana – ten miles south east of the town of Domzale.

It is part of the Stozice Center, which is labelled as the 'heart of sport in Ljubljana and Slovenia' and is also home to the indoor Arena Stozice, which hosts handball, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey and concerts.

Opened in 2010, the stadium is the home ground of Olimpija Ljubljana and is also used regularly by the Slovenian national team – England won 3-2 in a Euro 2016 qualifier there in June 2015.

Stadion Stozice has a futuristic design in that it is laid out under the plateau of the Stozice Center, so the pitch is well below the surrounding ground level.

Fans travelling to the stadium from central Ljubljana will need to take a bus, since the city has no metro system.

From the central Bavarski dvor stop, take bus No13 to Center Stozice – the final stop. Services run every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 20-30 minutes off-peak. Extra busses will be laid on for the match to take supporters to and from the stadium.

An alternative is to take bus No20 from Bavarski dvor to Nove Stozice – also the final stop – on the other side of the Stozice Center complex.

For full details of the Ljubljana city bus network, click here.

Should you be more adventurous and want to drive to the game, 1,280 parking spaces are available for cars, accessed from Entrance 1 and Entrance 5.

Parking is priced at €2.40 per day and entitles users to a return journey on city busses, should you wish to leave your vehicle at the stadium and travel into the city and back on match day!

Getting to Slovenia

The Club is not arranging any official travel to Slovenia.

By plane…

Unsurprisingly, flights from London to Ljubljana's Joze Pucnik Airport have rocketed in price since Domzale were confirmed as West Ham's opponents.

At time of writing, the Thursday afternoon Easyjet flight from Stansted to Ljubljana had sold out, while the Wednesday afternoon flight was priced at £230. Coming home on the same airline, the Friday and Saturday afternoon flights are both sold out.

An alternative is to fly with Wizzair, but you will need to fly out on Tuesday 26 July as there is no flight on Wednesday and the Thursday flight is sold out. There is a return flight on Saturday 30 July.

Should you be one of the fortunate fans who have already secure flights, the cheapest way to get into the city is to take the bus, which takes 45 minutes to complete the 16-mile journey.

Alternatively, airport shuttles are run by GoOpti and Markun Shuttle, or you can take a taxi – expect to pay between €35 and €45 each way for the latter.

Ljubljana

The capital city and largest city in Slovenia is the current Green Capital of Europe, with a largely traffic-free centre and the beautiful Ljubljanica River flowing through it – take a river boat cruise!.

Towering over the city is its No1 attraction Ljubljana Castle, which sits on a 375m high hill east of the Old Town and dates from the 16th century. Throughout July, movies are being shown every evening at a 'Film Under The Stars' festival – with the English language Steve Jobs biopic being screened on Wednesday 27 July.

In the middle of town, visitors should explore Presenov Tog, a square and public space blessed with magnificent architecture, including the Triple Bridge and Preseren Monument.

If there is time, fans should also visit the Central Market, the National Gallery of Slovenia, Cathedral of St Nicholas and National Museum of Slovenia.

With more than 50,000 students based there, the city also has a vibrant nightlife, with bars, restaurants and clubs galore for visitors to enjoy.

For more details, head to the official Visit Ljubljana website now.
General information

The official language of Slovenia is Slovene.

The currency of Slovenia is the Euro. The current exchange rate is approximately €1.20/£1.

Slovenia is on Central European Summer Time (CEST), one hour ahead of British Summer Time (BST).

For full details, visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website here.

Crime

Slovenia generally enjoys a low crime rate, but supporters should remain vigilant as petty crimes such as theft and pickpocketing do occur, so valuables should be kept secure and out of sight.

Road Travel

If you hire a car, you may drive in Slovenia using your full UK driving licence. However, you must have adequate insurance cover to drive a hire car.

If you take your own vehicle, you will need to pay for and display a road toll 'vignette' to use on motorways. You can buy the vignette (sticker) at most petrol stations or DARS (the Slovenian Motorway Company). Failure to display the sticker will lead to an on-the-spot fine of up to €800.

Cars of up to 3.5 tonnes must also be equipped with snow chains in the boot. You can be fined €125 for not having this equipment.

By law, you must have your headlights on at all times while driving in Slovenia. You must also carry a reflective jacket, a warning triangle and a first aid kit in the vehicle.

Finally, heavy on-the-spot fines are imposed for traffic offences including speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and using mobile phones without a wireless headset, as well as jaywalking.

Taxis

Taxis in Ljubljana are usually clean and reliable, but different companies charge different fares for their services. Rates are higher for taxis which are hailed in the street.

Supporters are advised to use taxis that have signage on the vehicle in addition to a 'Taxi' roof light.

You are advised that it is always better to enquire and agree on a fare before you enter a taxi.
Entry requirements

Passport validity

Your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay; you don't need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this.

Visas

British nationals don't need a visa to travel to Slovenia.

Emergency contacts

112 Emergency services – urgent medical help, firefighters, veterinary help, rescue teams

113 Police – emergencies

1987 AMZS – roadside assistance and towing

+386 - International code for Slovenia

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Westley prepared for Southend clash
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's Development Squad face Southend United in their third pre-season fixture on Saturday and manager Terry Westley thinks the clash will offer his side a stern test.

The young Hammers beat Peterborough United 2-1 last week after an opening match defeat to Chelmsford City and will be hoping to put in another impressive performance in Essex.

The fixture, at Great Wakering Rovers' Burroughs Park, is the side's last before many of the squad travel to the Netherlands on Sunday for their pre-season tour where they will face the Club's paired side VVV Venlo as well as FC Eindhoven.

And Westley believes the clash against Southend's first team will provide the ideal test for his side ahead of the trip.

He said: "Tuesday's game against Peterborough gave the young players an awful lot of confidence, and you could even see that for the next few days on the grass in training.

"The Southend game will give us a whole new different set of problems to handle, and it will be a great game for us to contest. The style of play from Phil Brown's team will challenge us.
Southend challenged for the play-offs last year so it will be a very competitive game on Saturday, and a physical game for us
Terry Westley
"They challenged for a long while to get near the play-offs last year so it will be a very competitive game on Saturday, and a more physical game for our young ones, I think."

A number of the Academy's stars are currently away with the first team in Austria, while Reece Oxford and Sam Howes have been travelling with England's U19 squad in Germany for the European Championships.

The different experiences all the youngsters have gained is pleasing to see for the Academy's Director.

"Ten players who could play for us against Southend aren't, because they're either away with international sides or with the first team," Westley continued. "It will be a very young side for us out against Southend, but also with the inclusion of Diego Poyet.

"What the youngsters are doing out in Austria is a clear example of the link between Slaven [Bilic], the first team staff and ourselves. Training with the first team group can only help them and us.

"I believe they'll still be there for the Europa League clash next Thursday, so hopefully one or two will be able to show what they can do in that game."

The match at Great Wakering Rovers' home kicks-off at 3pm and tickets can be purchased on the door at Burroughs Park.

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Allardyce named as new England boss
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 22nd July 2016
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has been confirmed as the new manager of England. Big Sam, who was West Ham United's 14th full-time manager served the club for four years from 2011 to 2015 and was officially unveiled as the new national manager shortly before 4pm this afternoon (Friday). According to various commentators that should be good news for West Ham's English contingent, all of whom were entirely overlooked by Roy Hodgson who resigned from his post last month following one of England's worst performances on the international stage ever. The likes of Aaron Cresswell, Mark Noble, Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio, three of whom Allardyce worked with at West Ham are all likely to be considered for future squads - unlike under Hodgson, where the door to selection has been firmly bolted some time ago. Allardyce has signed a two-year contract and will begin his post with immediate effect. Allardyce's former club Sunderland have been strongly linked with Steve Bruce, who resigned from Hull City this morning before a ball has eveen been kicked this season.


West Ham United's English contingent

Aaron Cresswell: Signed by Allardyce from Ipswich Town in 2014.
Andy Carroll: Signed by Allardyce in 2013. The most likely to get the nod.
Mark Noble: Allardyce's captain at West Ham.
Sam Byram: Signed following Big Sam's departure, one for the future.
Michail Antonio: Signed for West Ham weeks after Allardyce's departure but his kind of player.
Reece Burke: Yet to feature for the U21s which will probably be his next step.
Reece Oxford: See Reece Burke. A regular at youth level from U16 onwards
Ashley Fletcher: Ditto. Has played at Under 20 level.

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Monchi - Bacca is not an option
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 22nd July 2016
By: Staff Writer

Carlos Bacca's hopes of reuniting with his former colleagues at Sevilla have been scuppered. e West Ham transfer target, who has held further talks with United within the last 24 hours had expressed a preference to return to Spain, should Milan remain determined to sell him this summer. However that possibility was dismissed this morning when Sevilla sporting director, Monchi, said the club was happy with its quota of foreign players.
We have three foreigners in the team, so there is nothing more to say," he told a press conference. "In addition, Carlos will have more interesting options." Monchi also confirmed that Ciro Immobile, another player who has been linked with a move to West Ham this summer is also expected to leave Sevilla imminently. We are negotiating his exit and evaluating an offer that we believe may be of interest," he added. "We are close to what the president has in mind and may have news in two or three days."

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TIME FOR YOUTH TO FLOURISH?
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 22 JULY 2016 AT 4:42PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

This is a fans blog by The Armchair Hammer.

I've endured many cold and wet Saturday mornings watching my son play football this year. It's a bit of a labour of love I keep telling myself. But it's not. Not really. If I'm being honest with myself, I enjoy going along to watch him play.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it's great bonding time – you can't beat a shared experience as a parent. But secondly and perhaps more surprisingly for those of you that haven't witnessed it, football for U9s is actually pretty entertaining.

The FA has taken a look at how the Germans and Spanish train their youngsters and they've overhauled our system in recent years. When I was at school, which, admittedly, was a long time ago, we played on a full sized pitch with full size goals. The fastest and strongest of us would always stand out.

That was then.

Now, thanks to the FA's revolution, U6s play five-a-side football and pitch sizes, goal sizes and players on the pitch grow as the kids get older. It means that rather than seeing a lot of kick and rush football, the emphasis is now on ball skills.

By the time the kids reach the U9s stage, they are doing drag backs, Cruyff turns and step-overs. It's marvellous to watch at times. With the rain hammering down, there's still plenty to cheer.

What's this got to do with the Hammers you may be asking?

Well, here it is.

British players coming through youth football within this new system are going to be very good. So good in fact, they'll lift the bar way above the levels we see today. Now I'm not just talking about one or two top class players in a generation – but dozens – maybe even hundreds.

Now, as Hammers fans, we've been used to seeing the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson come through the famed Academy in recent (ish) times.

One or two of these players didn't have the type of relationship with the fans that they should have, but I remember each one of them coming through the system and thinking, these boys are good. It was a great source of pride watching them develop and improve at Upton Park – becoming fixtures in the starting line-up.

However, seeing these youngsters move to other clubs was hard to take. Hammers fans had to watch these fantastic players blossom at other clubs.

I guess we could still cheer them on for England – and we did – with pride. Albeit with mixed emotions.

So that was then.

Now we have a new group of young players coming through the Academy that are sure to excite should they develop into the players we all hope they will be. With Tompkins leaving, Noble is likely to be the only youth product we have that will feature regularly in the first eleven next season.

We identify with our Captain. He's one of us. A west Ham fan done good. How great would it be to see more youth products like him in the team – all schooled in the knowledge of what's required of a West Ham player – Passion, Effort and Ability.

It will happen. I'm sure of it. The players that will be coming through over the next few years will be too good to ignore.

All good so far eh?

Well yes, except that this can pose problems of its own if not dealt with properly.

It takes a brave manager and a supportive Board to pick youngsters for the first-team. They are learning their trade. And the Premiership is an unforgiving place. If results drop, the temptation is always to drop the youngsters and go with experience. That's not going to help with their development.

Suppose our manager is brave – and personally, I think Bilic is absolutely the right man for the job – and these youngsters go on to perform well and get to a level that interests other clubs. What then? How will the club react to big juicy bids?

The Chairman are trying to remove the stigma of West Ham as a selling club. Well, I think the time is coming where their mettle is going to be tested. Will they be able to turn down big money?

Personally, I think they will. And that positivity is echoed by the team here at The West Ham Way.

We can do our part too, in keeping hold of the youngsters.

Let's support them as they come through to the first-team. They will make mistakes – but that's how you learn right? If we make them feel like giants when they pull on the shirt – they won't want to leave. There's no better fanbase in the world when we get behind our players. Let's not give them any reason to want to leave.

I'm looking forward to a time when we can keep hold of our best young talent. Watch them develop into first teamers and full internationals, and give us all an enormous sense of pride for years to come.

Hopefully, that time is now.

COYI

The Armchair Hammer

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BILIC PLAYS 19TH CENTURY FOOTBALL… AND I AM WORRIED
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 21 JULY 2016 AT 11:00PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

This is not an article written by ExWHUEmployee, even just published to story.

Bilic Plays 19th Century Football… And I Am Worried

In the late 19th Century when West Ham United was but a twinkling in Arnold Hills' eye, football was a very different game. In essence, you picked up the ball, you dribbled towards goal until you either scored or got tackled. Then the next player picked up the ball and dribbled towards goal until he scored or was tackled. Midfielders and defenders came later. At the start, if you had to name a formation in modern parlance it would 0-0-10.

One of the key factors in West Ham's England's World Cup win in 1966 was that they let loose upon the world, 4-4-2, Alf Ramsey's 'Wingless Wonders'. Everybody else at the time was playing 4-2-4. This trend towards more defensive rather than offensive players culminated in Spain's recent dominance and their 'False Number 9'. Look at the Euros just completed France with two of the best attackers in the tournament could not break down a team that defended, well, as a team.

Jose Mourhino was wrong. Allardici was not playing 19th Century Football. He was playing the ultimate 21st Century game.

I loved watching West Ham last season. I can't remember a single team in the history of the Premier League that had as many goal scoring threats as we did. We could potentially have 8 outfield players with a genuine goal threat of one kind or another. Starting from the back, Cresswell, Antonio, Noble, Kouyate, Lanzini, Payet and whichever of the two strikers that were picked.

But that causes problems. To defend you have to do so as a team. This modern game takes a hell of a lot of concentration and unfortunately, our attacking players by their nature as attacking players do not have it sufficiently. On the flip side, it is all well and good encouraging our fullbacks to maraud, but they need to defend first. Cresswell spent most of last season in the opposite half. Tomkins, bless him got all confused every time he approached the half way line. However, I haven't checked the stats, but I bet we were much more solid at the back with him in defence rather than Antonio.

This isn't to knock Antonio who was one of my favourite players of last season. But he isn't a defender, he lacks the positional sense and the nous, knowing when to tackle and when to stand up and shepherd the attacker outside.

You may be wondering why I am bringing this up now. For all their faults and lack of killer instincts, we were lucky last season that our strikers would put a shift in. They would close down defenders, they would help out at corners and harass the opposition midfielders even if it was clumsy and got themselves booked!

99% of the transfer rumours this season have been for this magical (some would say mythical) 20-goal-a-season striker. 20 goal strikers as a rule, don't put a shift in and don't get their hands dirty as it were. Once we get this striker, my fear is that it will imbalance the team. We are already carrying Payet and to a degree Lanzini defensively. We didn't put teams to the sword last season and towards the end it started to come back and bite us.

I'm worried that we don't have a back up left back. We only have one recognisable right back and he is unproven at the top level. We've had consistent centre-back injuries over the last few years and now we're relying on two kids (yes with huge potential) to be back up in that key position.

Our expansive, free-flowing footy was a joy last season. But if they didn't understand about Payet and Lanzini, but you can bet they do now.

Will Bilic adapt successfully? I'm worried that our transfer policy is going to leave us short on the defensive side. Bilic has hugely impressed me on many levels. Not least his recognition of the need to change tactics after our indifferent home start last season.

I'm not worried about his ability as a manager, I'm worried that he will not have the options to be able to change tactics half way through next season if we get found out. That could seriously undermine all the good work that has been done to this point. Defensive mistakes cost us too many home points. Bournemouth, Leicester, Norwich, Watford and Swansea spring to mind. Have we forgotten? Nobody else seems to be worried!

19th century football isn't an option, and neither for West Ham and our newfound way is to be ultra-pragmatic. Attacking wise next season we are going to be spoilt for choice. But we can't forget how important the defensive side is and that is what I am worried has happened this summer.

If you disagree, let me know @apuvyas or pop into Planet Leasing in Loughton and have a chat.

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West Ham to face Slovenia's NK Domzale in their first game at the Olympic Stadium
West Ham will face NK Domzale in the Europa League on August 4
The third round qualifying clash with be the first at the Olympic Stadium
The Slovenian outfit beat Soligorsk of Belarus in the second round
David Gold confirmed the opening ceremony will still be against Juventus
By SPENCER MORGAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 23:26, 21 July 2016 | UPDATED: 00:37, 22 July 2016

West Ham finally know which team they will host in their first game at the Olympic Stadium. The Hammers will begin their Europa League campaign at their new home with a third qualifying round clash against NK Domzale on August 4. Their opponents were confirmed on Thursday night when the Slovenian outfit beat Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus 2-1 (3-2 agg) in the second round. Slaven Bilic's team had been supposed to play the home leg of the tie on July 28 but requested the fixture be reversed in order to allow time for the stadium to be made 'football ready' after the London Anniversary Games. UEFA granted the request and now the squad will travel to Slovenia for the first leg on July 28. NK Domzale are one of Slovenia's oldest clubs and have enjoyed success in recent years winning back-to-back Slovenian titles in 2007 and 2008, the Slovenian Cup in 2011 and Supercup on two occasions. Domzale finished third in the PrvaLiga League last season and began the new campaign with a 2-0 home win over Radomlje last weekend.
West Ham co-chairman David Gold confirmed on Twitter that the opening ceremony for the 60,000 capacity ground will still be against Juventus a few days later. The first Premier League game inside their new home will be against Bournemouth on Sunday, August 21. The Irons are still searching for their first victory of pre-season having registered two draws and two losses in tours of the US and Austria. The most recent of which came in the form of a 3-0 friendly defeat to Russian side Rubin Kazan on Wednesday.

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