Daily WHUFC News - 24th November 2016

Phillips - Defeat hard to take
WHUFC.com

Mark Phillips conceded that the better team on the night managed to qualify
for the FA Youth Cup 4th round as Stoke City beat West Ham United on
penalties. The U18s' assistant boss praised his side for responding after
conceding two quickfire goals at the start of the second half, but said
Stoke deserved to go through based on chances created. "The first goal was
poor from us but they'll see it as a good goal from their point of view. The
second goal was a mistake from us put we responded well to going behind,"
said Phillips.
"If I'm honest, we didn't do enough to win the game. They had the better
chances and their No7 caused us lots of problems. Overall, I think they
deserved to win it in the 120 minutes."

The Hammers went in to their 3rd round tie eager to put right the wrongs of
their last three failed attempts in the Cup and made a great start when top
scorer Jahmal Hector-Ingram converted a delicate through ball from Joe
Powell. Steve Potts' team set about defending their lead and looked
comfortable for the majority of the first half, although they had to be wary
of Stoke wideman Thibaud Verlinde who was dangerous all night long. The
Hammers were stung by two quickfire goals at the start of the second half -
first, Thomas Edwards broke clear to fire home, then Tyrese Campbell fired
home from 18 yards. The away side picked themselves up on the hour mark - a
sweeping move ended with Dan Kemp crossing for Hector-Ingram to head home
his second of the game. Extra time came with both sides struggling to
fashion many openings. Stoke could have stolen it after Jordon Greenidge
shot wide from six yards. The penalty shootout arrived at it was the Potters
who prevailed with Mate Deczki making two excellent saves to put the home
side through.
"We've got a very, very good side and I just don't what it is about the
Youth Cup," added Phillips. "We'll dust ourselves and go again at the
weekend. That's what football is all about and the lads will respond."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rice - We're gutted to exit Youth Cup
WHUFC.com

U18s were beaten on penalties by Stoke City in FA Youth Cup third round
Skipper Declan Rice said the belief before the game was that the youngsters
could go all the way in the competition
The Republic of Ireland U21 international said to exit at this stage was
"gutting"

Hammers U18 skipper Declan Rice admitted it was gutting to exit the FA Youth
Cup on penalties against Stoke City on Tuesday night.
The young Irons took the lead in the first half at the bet365 Stadium
through Jahmal Hector-Ingram but were pegged back as their opponents grabbed
two goals in quick succession at the start of the second period.
Hector-Ingram, who has been on fire this season, notched his second to
equalise but, unable to find a winner in extra-time, penalties decided the
tie as the Potters were victorious 4-2 from 12 yards. Republic of Ireland
U21 international Rice, who is also captain of the PL2 side this season, was
left heartbroken after the defeat. He said: "We spoke at half time about
having the 1-0 lead and going out in the second half and not messing
anything up, but we have given away two cheap goals and it's not what we're
about. "It's gutting. When we got the game back to 2-2, we definitely
thought we were going to push on and then get the third. "They sat back and
maybe we forced too many balls, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Steve Potts fielded a strong side in Staffordshire for the third round tie,
with Domingos Quina, Vashon Neufville, Nathan Trott and Hector-Ingram - who
have all impressed with the U23s this term - starting. And Rice was adamant
his side had the makings to be successful in the competition this year. "All
the boys were buzzing before the game and everyone was very up for it," he
continued. "It's just a huge shame, because it was my last crack at it this
year and I wish I could have won the Youth Cup. "The team we have, with the
second years and Domingos [Quina], Vash [Neufville] - it's gutting. "We
practised penalties in training yesterday, but they are just luck on the
day. I said to the boys before, just pick a spot and bury it. "Poor Conor
[Coventry] and [Dan] Kempy [who missed] - I spoke to them at the end and
just said it's not the end of the world. We'll learn from it and go again.
"We have just got to look ahead now, keep playing well and raise the bar
every time we play and keep learning different things."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Terraces
WHUFC.com

Fan blogger Joe Difford looks ahead to a Man Utd double header...

Last season at White Hart Lane, a Michail Antonio header prevented Tottenham
from moving into first place in their push for the title, and a similar
start put us ahead on Saturday. The London derby is always a thrilling one
and the atmosphere is always electric, but this particular clash left
Hammers fans deflated and frustrated. After going ahead and looking good
value for our lead, Spurs drew level through youngster Harry Winks, before
Manuel Lanzini netted from the penalty spot. Dimitri Payet was back to his
best and was holding up the play, creating chances and pulling off one of
the most satisfying nutmegs seen all season. Now that a few days have
passed, it is possible to find some positives that weren't obvious after the
final whistle had been blown. Payet's master class coupled with Winston
Reid's resilient defending gave fans a reminder of what our players are
capable of. However, with just two minutes to spare, and with Payet off the
pitch, Harry Kane pounced to tap home an equaliser. A draw would have been
tough to take considering our inspired performance, but Lady Luck reared her
ugly head and handed Spurs a penalty in injury time. It is impossible to
deny the contact made by Havard Nordtveit, but Son Heung-min appeared to
leave his leg out and throw himself to the floor in dramatic fashion,
allowing Kane to steal all three points in the last second. To add insult to
injury, Winston Reid was sent off late on for attempting to win a header and
knocking into Kane. The dismissal was more than harsh, and it comes just as
Reid has returned from suspension, and returned to top form. Simone Zaza
could have won the game late on, but he failed to play through Payet in
time, and did not out enough power behind the rebound. It is nearly
impossible to look back on Saturday's tie with any feelings other than
frustration and disappointment, but a few days on it is clear that we have
the ability to compete with the top sides, if we have a little more luck on
our side. Our next few games see us battle Manchester United, Arsenal and
Liverpool, and there is nothing stopping us from taking some points away
from those three games. We do however, have to play for ninety minutes, take
our chances better and pray for a little bit of fortune, which we know is
always hiding.

For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those
of West Ham United

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Harewood hopes to see another famous win
WHUFC.com

Marlon Harewood will never forget his last ever game for West Ham United.

In fact, 13 May 2007 will always be remembered by everyone associated with
the club as it was the day Carlos Tevez scored the winning goal against
Manchester United to keep the Hammers in the Premier League.

Alan Curbishley's side somehow managed to win seven of their last nine games
to stay in the top flight which was labelled the 'Great Escape'.

Harewood says he will always remember the memorable celebrations which took
place on the pitch and the incredible team-spirit which saw them defy all
the odds to retain their top flight status.

The 1-0 victory was the last time the Hammers manage to secure a victory at
Old Trafford and Harewood says he would love to see a similar outcome when
the two teams meet on Sunday....


I will never forget the events that unfolded at Old Trafford that day and
the celebrations will stay with me forever because it capped off a mad
season for us!

We had got to the FA Cup Final the year before and finished in the top half
of the table, but were then facing a relegation struggle for the majority of
the season.

There was a lot of attention surrounding the club following the arrivals of
Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, but it never fazed us as players that
they were part of the squad.

They were two massive players coming to the Club and we thought it can only
be a good thing for West Ham to move forward.

But unfortunately we still struggled and it needed an amazing run of form at
the end of the season to keep us up.

The players had a good feeling heading up to Old Trafford and we felt a bit
unstoppable considering the amount of wins we had put together. We were
going at teams with nothing to lose.

It was not ideal that we were playing Manchester United away in the last
game and other teams must have been predicting that we would not get
anything.

I don't think Curbs had much to say in the dressing room before the game as
he just made it clear to us that we needed to carry on the way we had been
performing in the last few games and give your best.

Carlos had an amazing run of form and he was top class. You could see back
then the quality he had as a striker and it was a privilege to train
alongside him every day and learn from him. I loved playing alongside him.
He helped us to stay in the Premier League.

I had to settle for a place on the bench in the final game which I was
fuming about as I was desperate to be involved!

But the Club will always have a special place in my heart so I was just
pleased to do anything to help them stay up. I came on in the second half
and we managed to get the victory.

I joined Aston Villa later that summer but I had no idea at that stage it
was going to be my last game.

I wanted to be on the pitch at the end which I managed to do and the
celebrations were something special. It was great to see the emotion from
all the players because it meant so much to everyone.

It was a tough year for everyone and we were fighting for everything. I
cannot speak highly enough about the group of lads we had there at the time
and we knew we could get out of it.

It is crazy to think that Nobes and Ginge were also part of the team that
day and I am so happy for both of them that they have had long careers at
West Ham.

Nobes is an amazing lad and a great leader and you could see the
determination he had that year as a youngster. He is a credit to West Ham
and a credit to football.

Ginge has also been there a long time and has achieved so much during his
career and is still producing his best form for club and country. It is a
massive achievement for both of them.

It is a bit scary that the last time West Ham won at Old Trafford was back
in 2007 and time flies.

But we have got an opportunity on Sunday to get another victory up there and
hopefully the lads can get the right result. They are certainly capable of
getting a victory.

United are not playing the best at the moment so it is a great time to go
there and try and get a result.

We are playing them twice in four days, but the one on Sunday is massive
because three points can help us move up the league.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Big Interview - Aaron Cresswell
WHUFC.com

Aaron Cresswell is determined to build on his England experience by helping
West Ham United move back up the Premier League table over the coming weeks.

Fresh from making his Three Lions debut in the 2-2 friendly draw with Spain,
left-back Cresswell is well aware that the Hammers need to turn their form
around with fixtures against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool around
the corner.

Having come so close to getting the result they craved at Tottenham Hotspur
last weekend, the former Ipswich man is convinced better times are just
around the corner. We caught up with him for this week's Big Interview.

Last season, West Ham were known for their away wins at big teams like
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Is that what you need to kick-start
it this season - to win a big game against a big club, like for example Man
Utd this weekend?

AC: "Of course it would be nice to do that, but we know it is going to be
very tough, especially going there twice in four days.

"But there are no easy games in the Premier League, whether you're playing
Liverpool or Chelsea, or one of the teams at the bottom, there's no game
that will be easy.

"We know as players and professionals we need to get as many points as we
can and hopefully we can do that on Sunday."

As a lad from Liverpool, is a game against Manchester United a bit more
meaningful for you?

AC: "I wouldn't say it was more meaningful. Of course, growing up there was
a big rivalry between Liverpool and Man Utd, but I want to go there, do as
well as I can and try to win the game."

You've got a bit of a new role under Slaven Bilic this year - a bit of a
wing-back role. Do you think you've got a bit more freedom in the side,
playing in this formation?

AC: "Yeah, it's certainly one that I like - I like to get forward as much as
I can and you've also got to be defensively minded as well when the
opposition are on the attack. For me, I'll play in whatever formation the
Gaffer wants."

Let's talk England. It's an interesting time for you to get your call-up,
after two years of uninterrupted good form, you get injured, then you're
straight back in and in the England squad. Is that testament to how you hit
the ground running once you got back into the side?

AC: "To be honest it was a bit of a shock at the time and I didn't expect to
be in the squad having only played three games prior to the call-up.

"I felt I did okay over my two seasons at West Ham, and for me it was a good
experience to get that phone call and go and join the squad."

Where were you when you got the phone call?

AC: "I was at home with my girlfriend. She had just cooked tea, and I got
the phone call from the FA. Before I knew it I was up at St George's Park."

Has playing with people like Dimitri Payet, England internationals like Andy
Carroll, experienced players like Mark Noble, given you the kind of basis
that you weren't overawed going in?

AC: "No, I wasn't overawed going in. I knew what it was going to be like -
I've played against the whole squad really for the last two or three
seasons. We've got ten or so internationals here, so it's a very experienced
squad."

You're one of a bit of a golden age for England left backs at the moment -
there's a lot of competition out there.

AC: "I got asked this just after I played and they said the same - it must
be one of the toughest for competition, position-wise, at the minute.
There's Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand, Luke Shaw, Leighton Baines, Keiran Gibbs.
There's plenty there - but the main thing for me is to concentrate on West
Ham and play my best here."

What was it like playing for the first time at Wembley?

AC: "It was good. I'd been there to watch England years back, when we played
Wales. It's one of the best stadiums in the world, with over 80,000 fans
there for the Spain game. It was fantastic with all the family there to
support me too."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven, it's time to up your game
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 23rd November 2016
By: Nick Fretwell

Slaven Bilic. West Ham manager and all-round fans' favourite. Let's have a
little peek into his tenure so far.

He took over in the most unique of circumstances - the last season at the
Boleyn Ground, the only season in absolutely donkey's years where the main
big hitters in the league were misfiring.

He also inherited a very good spine of the team from the previous manager
and, for once, the board hit gold (or struck lucky) with most of our
signings that slotted in nicely from the off.

At the start of the season, we had those fabulous away wins, but could they
have been down to 'new manager syndrome'? Everybody giving that extra 10-20
per cent to impress?

Arsenal have only won just over half of their opening day fixtures in the
Premier League era and Liverpool, they were poor for the most part of last
season under Rodgers. Of course, that's not taking anything away from the
results, but as enjoyable as they were, they were anomalies.

Man City away on the other hand, that was a game where everything 'clicked',
however, on another day, with the bombardment they gave us in the second
half, they could quite easily have won it, and it wouldn't have been a too
harsh of a result if they had. Disappointing, yes, but harsh, definitely
not.

Then comes the home form. The two early defeats aside, I think we raised our
game a bit because of it being the final season at the ground - but that's
not to say we didn't have a hell of a lot of luck along the way. (Yes, I
know we also had some bad luck in the latter stages of the season, but we
also had some fortuitous luck in the first half.)

A few games we played poorly, but still came away with a win - due to red
cards etc. What was it, something like four games in a row where the
opposition had a player sent off? I'm sure somebody will correct me.

The point I'm trying to make is, is that last season his job was made
slightly easier by circumstances. This season, not so much. Poor summer
signings, teething problems with the new ground - and of course, playing in
an unfamiliar environment.

However - I honestly believe that we should be doing better than we are with
the players we do have - and that includes the new signings. With the
exception of Calleri and Fletcher, we have highly experienced players,
players with top European league experience, Champions League and
international experience.

These players have not all of a sudden become bad players and forgotten how
to kick a ball. You generally don't get to play for some of Europe's biggest
clubs if you're completely rubbish.

We have the dreadful record of having none of our strikers scoring all
season. Now it could be put down to them being absolute toilet, or it could
be down to the system that we are playing and have played. Either way, I
just cannot believe that all our strikers are that bad.

Unfortunately though, the longer the lack of goals carries on for, the worse
it gets, confidence gets sapped, and they dwell on the ball or try to do the
safe option because of the pressure.

Then, we end up in the situation we find ourselves in, where not just the
strikers, but all of the players find themselves under pressure, and perhaps
are trying too hard in a way, and making rash decisions and individual
mistakes - like Harvard on Saturday for example.

If we was sitting comfortable and not desperate for a win, and we were
relaxed in our game, would he have gone down like that, or would he have
stayed on his feet and been calmer and assured? If Zaza had a bit of
confidence, would he have dwelt on the ball and passed late to Payet, or
would he have controlled it and rifled it home himself?

The manager's job is to bring the best out in players and build them up,
man-manage and put self-belief back in to them if it's waning. At the
moment, he looks like a broken man, and that must be rubbing off on the
players too.

Everybody, the board, the players, the manager, all have played their part
in the situation we find ourselves in - but with the players we do have, the
manager could - and should - be doing better than he is doing currently.

He needs to up his game, and sharpish, because we are in a precarious
position right this moment. I'm not advocating him being sacked - far from
it, but as much as I cannot stand our board, I wouldn't knock them if they
are putting feelers out and drawing up a shortlist.

If the time does come where we need a new manager, I'd rather us be prepared
and have somebody lined up to take over straight away, rather than us be a
rudderless ship for a few games where quite possibly, any incumbent manager
could find himself having to do a nigh-on impossible task because we're in
the mire.

Remember, this poor form isn't just this season. Man Utd aside, we've been
pretty poor since towards the end of last season.

Whether he has the wherewithal to turn the slump around, the jury is still
out for me - but something in my heart of hearts actually thinks he doesn't
have it in him, and sadly, his days may well already be numbered after such
a promising start to his tenure.

I hope not, but it's what I suspect.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be
attributed to, KUMB.com.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham chasing Juventus star: Slaven Bilic wants to sign him in January
By JACK OTWAY
PUBLISHED: 08:14, Wed, Nov 23, 2016 | UPDATED: 08:24, Wed, Nov 23, 2016
Express.co.uk

West Ham have endured a difficult season so far, winning just three of their
first 12 Premier League games. Among their biggest problems has been their
lack of goals, with their tally of 13 just two more than basement side
Swansea. And, according to The Sun, manager Slaven Bilic wants to sign
Mandzukic in January to ensure they beat the drop. Bilic worked with
Mandzukic during his time in charge of the Croatia national team and
believes he can fire them up the table. The Hammers were eager to sign AC
Milan forward Carlos Bacca in the summer but could not convince the Colombia
international to leave the San Siro. But Mandzukic now tops their wish list
for a New Year spending spree. The 30-year-old is currently in his second
season at Juventus after signing from Atletico Madrid in 2015. However, the
summer arrival of Gonzalo Higuain and form of Pablo Dybala means he is not
guaranteed regular football.
It is also claimed that Bilic will try to cut short Simone Zaza's time in
the capital. Zaza, signed from Juventus on loan in the summer, has failed to
settle and is yet to score so far this season.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com