Bilic – We made the same mistake twice
WHUFC.com
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was disappointed after a quarter-final EFL Cup
exit against Manchester United
His side conceded two early goals at the start of each half, contributing to
a 4-1 defeat
Ashley Fletcher did score a first half equaliser – his first goal for the
Club
Slaven Bilic was left frustrated after his Hammers side conceded early goals
in both the first and second half in a 4-1 EFL Cup quarter-final defeat to
Manchester United on Wednesday. Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring two
minutes into the tie at Old Trafford before Ashley Fletcher equalised,
grabbing his first for the Club with ten minutes left in the half. But it
was the same story in the second period as Anthony Martial converted from
close range on 48 minutes and this time the visitors had no reply. Instead,
Martial and Ibrahimovic both added to their tallies on the night to secure
the Red Devils' place in the semi-finals. After Sunday's gritty performance
at the same venue which saw the east Londoners pick up a crucial Premier
League point, Bilic was this time left disappointed. He said: "We can't have
a slow start against them because they are very good when they are one up.
They have those kind of players. "After the slow start, we recovered and
looked good but you can't do the same. And we did. They totally deserved it
then after that. You just can't have that kind of a start in a game like
this. "They are really good on the counter attacks and all that but that
happened to us in the first half and then we recovered and started to play
after 25 minutes. They played with more energy and quality and a bit more
passion."
Wing-backs Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell were both replaced due to
injury and the boss provided an update on the pair. "Cresswell's injury
doesn't look that bad. His groin felt very tight and hopefully it's just
fatigue from Sunday. With Antonio, hopefully it's the same but we don't know
yet. "We have a tough game on Saturday and we have a couple of players who
came off injured, but we wanted to preserve players for then and Dimitri
Payet also. "It is unbelievable that when we get a couple of injuries like
the ones we got today [after them all this season] and it's very tough for
us now."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fletcher first can't prevent Cup exit
WHUFC.com
EFL CupA first goal for Ashley Fletcher in claret and blue could not prevent
West Ham United's exit from the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage on
Wednesday night against Manchester United.
The Hammers made the trip to Old Trafford for the second time in four days
having secured a 1-1 Premier League draw at the home of the 20-time English
champions on Sunday, but this time Slaven Bilic's side could not pick up a
result.
After Zlatan Ibrahimovic's early strike, Fletcher bagged a fairytale
leveller against the club he left for east London in the summer, but Anthony
Martial's second half double and Ibrahimovic's second meant West Ham would
not progress to the semi-final stage for the first time in three years.
In contrasting fashion to Sunday, it was this time the Red Devils who struck
in the second minute as Ibrahimovic grabbed his second of the week against
the Hammers.
Collecting a fabulous Henrikh Mkhitaryan backheel, the Swede coolly
converted past the onrushing Adrian to give the hosts the lead.
And it was nearly two just five minutes later, though this time the Spaniard
in goal was alert to the danger as he saved first from the goalscorer from
point blank range before denying Martial a tap in.
Adrian – who was returning to the starting XI for the Cup competition – once
again showed why is one of the two goalkeepers held in high esteem in east
London, superbly tipping Wayne Rooney's free-kick round the post.
But after the early pressure from Jose Mourinho's men, West Ham began to
find their feet and show composure and creativity on the ball.
It took until the 35th minute for the Hammers to have their first attempt on
goal, but when it came, it was a meaningful one. Dimitri Payet, cutting in
from the left, struck fiercely at David De Gea who could only spill the
shot.
Up popped Fletcher – promoted to the starting lineup for the clash – to grab
the equaliser against the club he left during the summer to team up with
Slaven Bilic's men.
But, like the first period, West Ham were undone quickly by the Red Devils.
A throw for the visitors soon led to a second for the hosts, as Antonio
Valencia's clever flick found Mkhitaryan who put the ball on a plate for
Martial to make it 2-1.
Adrian's quality was tested again eleven minutes into the second 45, as
Martial looked for a second, but the stopper could not prevent the Frenchman
moments after the hour mark as he tapped home a Valencia centre.
In search of a way back into the tie, the Hammers made changes and
introduced both Manuel Lanzini and Simone Zaza, though despite a period of
probing and pressure from the visitors in the second period, no success came
their way.
Zaza came closest to halving the deficit with seven minutes remaining on the
clock after he flicked a Lanzini corner wide and Sofiane Feghouli twice
missed the target in stoppage time, but the Red Devils added a fourth in
stoppage time as Ibrahimovic tapped in Herrera's cross to make it 4-1 and
secure their place in the semi-finals.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw (Blind 46), Carrick,
Herrera, Mkhitaryan (Rashford 90), Rooney, Martial (Schweinsteiger 86),
Ibrahimovic.
Subs not used: Romero, Mata, Lingard, Schneiderlin.
Goals: Ibrahimovic 2, 90+ 3, Martial 48, 62
Bookings: Rooney 53
West Ham United: Adrian, Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna, Antonio (Lanzini 58),
Obiang, Fernandes, Cresswell (Masuaku 45), Feghouli, Payet (Zaza 75),
Fletcher.
Subs not used: Randolph, Nordtveit, Noble, Collins.
Goals: Fletcher 35
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United
By Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport
Manchester United eased into the EFL Cup semi-finals as they beat West Ham
with manager Jose Mourinho absent from the Old Trafford dugout. The
Portuguese, given a one-match touchline ban before the game, stayed out of
view as United set up a last-four tie against Hull City. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
clipped in the opening goal inside two minutes before former United
youngster Ashley Fletcher equalised as he pounced on David de Gea's error.
Anthony Martial re-established the home side's lead shortly after half-time,
drilling Henrikh Mkhitaryan's pass low into the bottom corner. The France
international stroked in Antonio Valencia's low cross after a well-worked
team move, with Ibrahimovic adding the gloss by tapping in with virtually
the last kick of the game. Mourinho will have been pleased with his side's
fluent attacking display, and even happy enough to bring on substitute
Bastian Schweinsteiger for his first game since March.
Mourinho claimed his first honour in English football when he led Chelsea to
the 2005 League Cup, following that up by lifting the iconic three-handled
trophy again in 2007 and 2015. And naming a strong line-up against the
Hammers indicated he is keen to become only the third manager to win the
competition on four occasions, following in the footsteps of United
predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson and legendary Nottingham Forest boss Brian
Clough. It is not certain, though, where Mourinho, 53, watched his side on
Wednesday night. "It is a secret," he said afterwards. He was seen arriving
at Old Trafford, then spotted waiting to shake Hammers boss Slaven Bilic's
hand before kick-off. Then he disappeared into the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.
In his absence, the home side played with a vigour and verve long missing
from Old Trafford performances in recent years. The attacking quartet of
Ibrahimovic, Martial, Wayne Rooney and Mkhitaryan were a handful throughout
and, although the Hammers goal was preventable, Mourinho was more than
content. "Goals plus performance means the real happiness," he said.
While Ibrahimovic and Martial put their names on the Red Devils scoresheet,
it was Rooney and - particularly - Mkhitaryan pulling all the strings. The
Red Devils skipper was restored to the starting XI as he threatens to break
Sir Bobby Charlton's 43-year standing as the club's all-time leading scorer.
Rooney, who needs one goal to draw level with Charlton's tally of 249
strikes, might not have scored against the Hammers, but impressed with his
all-round display. However, there was a downside. He picked up an avoidable
booking for arguing with referee Mike Jones, therefore ruling him out of
Sunday's trip to Everton - and potentially breaking Charlton's record at his
boyhood club. "Some of his passing and awareness tonight has been nothing
short of magnificent," said former Scotland striker Ally McCoist, who was
BBC Radio 5 live's expert analyst at Old Trafford.
Few positives for West Ham
It was during Sunday's Premier League draw between the two sides in which
Mourinho was sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss after kicking a water
bottle in frustration. The Hammers failed to replicate that disciplined
performance at the weekend as they unravelled in the second half on
Wednesday. Bilic will have been pleased with battling qualities shown by his
side in the first half, riding out an early storm to level with their first
shot. The Croatian manager will not have been pleased to see them carved
open so easily after the break, however. Nor will he have been happy to see
left-back Ryan Cresswell substituted to add to his injury woes.
Man of the match - Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has struggled to force his way into Jose Mourinho's side
since his £26m summer move from Borussia Dortmund, but showed he is
beginning to match the expectations placed on him. The Armenia captain set
up Zlatan Ibrahimovic's opener with a cheeky backheel for his first assist
in a Red Devils shirt, then he also teed up Martial's first goal. "We know
the reason we bought him and waited for his evolution, I'm happy," said
Mourinho
What's next?
Back to the Premier League. Sixth-placed United go to Everton, who are a
place and a point behind them, on Sunday (16:00 GMT).
The Hammers are a point above the relegation zone in 16th place and host
Arsenal at the London Stadium on Saturday (17:30).
Key stats - Martial hammers West Ham again...
Manchester United have lost only one of their past 25 home League Cup games
against fellow top-flight sides, winning 23 and drawing one, since losing
2-1 against Chelsea in January 2005
West Ham have won just two of their past 12 away games against top-flight
opposition in the League Cup, losing 10
Anthony Martial has scored more goals against West Ham for Manchester United
than any other opponent (five)
Former Manchester United player Ashley Fletcher scored his first goal for
West Ham United in his 11th appearance
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 11 goals in all competitions for Manchester
United - more than twice as many as any other Red Devils player this season
Ibrahimovic has netted five goals in his past four appearances, after a run
of six games without one
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Wednesday, November 30
Daily WHUFC News - II 30th November 2016
Preview - Man Utd
WHUFC.com
When and where?
Manchester United v West Ham United
EFL Cup Quarter-Final
Wednesday 30 November 2016, 8pm GMT
Old Trafford
What's the story?
West Ham United head to Old Trafford for the second time in four days on
Wednesday, when they complete their Manchester United double header with an
EFL Cup Quarter-Final. A date at Wembley is coming into view for these two
sides, with a result on the night guaranteed following Old Trafford draws in
their last three meetings. Sunday's match-up produced a 1-1 scoreline, as
Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home to cancel out Diafra Sakho's early opener.
Darren Randolph made excellent saves to deny Jesse Lingard, Henrikh
Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba, while Ashley Fletcher also went close as honours
ended even.
In this competition, the Red Devils have defeated Northampton Town and
Manchester City to reach this stage of the competition, having joined at the
same third round stage as the Hammers. Slaven Bilic's men have battled past
Accrington Stanley and London rivals Chelsea on their cup run, and are
looking to reach the semi finals for the third time in seven seasons.
Manchester United are four time League Cup winners, while the Hammers are
aiming to lift the trophy for the first time in their history, having twice
finished as runners-up.
Team news
The Hammers will be without Diafra Sakho, who suffered a hamstring injury
during Sunday's game at Old Trafford. The likes of Ashley Fletcher, Simone
Zaza and Andre Ayew will be in line to replace him up-front, while Andy
Carroll is also close to a return. Winston Reid is available again following
suspension, and Slaven Bilic may select Adrian in goal after Darren Randolph
took over between the posts for the last two Premier League games.
For Manchester United, midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini are both
suspended after collecting their fifth bookings of the season on Sunday.
Former Hammer Michael Carrick could return.
Any links between the two?
Each side features an Academy graduate from the other in their squads. For
the Red Devils that place is taken by Carrick, while Ashley Fletcher made
the move south from Old Trafford in the summer.
The last three games between West Ham and Man Utd at Old Trafford have ended
all-square. A 0-0 draw in the league last season was followed by a 1-1 FA
Cup draw, with Dimitri Payet scoring the Hammers' goal.
The trilogy of draws was completed by Sunday's stalemate.
How do I get to the game?
Click here for the latest news on the trains and here for information on
road travel.
How can I watch the game?
Wednesday's match is being broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can
also follow all the action as it happens on whufc.com, with audio
commentary, social media updates, in-running stats, photos and more.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manager on Matchday
WHUFC.com
Good morning everyone,
We are preparing for another big night in the EFL Cup quarter-final against
Manchester United and we are approaching this game with big ambitions. We
had a great run in the FA Cup last season when we got to the quarter-finals
and we want to do well once again.
It's a great thing for us and for the clubs not likely to win the league.
You have more chances to be successful in the cup competitions and that is
why the game is massive for us. I said I will make a few changes but it will
still be a strong team. I have a decision to make on which goalkeeper will
play. I told Adrian it was nothing personal when I changed the keepers
around for the Tottenham game. He was the number one goalkeeper in all my
time here, so when I made the change he was obviously disappointed. But he
is a great professional and said he is going to work even harder to get back
his shirt.
I know the next game against Arsenal could be a little bit easier if it was
being played on Sunday and it's a little bit tight between the games. This
is a chance for some of the other players who have not been involved in the
first-team in recent games to show what they can do.
Unfortunately nowadays you have to judge the players not long term, but
based on one game. Some signings got injured, two of them did, and they came
back. Some got a chance, some didn't, because we had a team and a system.
You can't give all the players a chance at the same time. We are going to
try for the ones that showed a good mentality, good training, good quality,
good fitness to one or two, without negative pressure that you have to score
a hat-trick. It is a big chance for them against Manchester United.
I am looking forward to coming up against Jose Mourinho once again. I like
Jose and have a good relationship with him. I like him and I don't hide it.
I am very proud to have a very good relationship with him. I want to wish
all the fans a safe journey up to Old Trafford and hopefully we can come
away with a memorable result.
Enjoy the game.
Slaven
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sakho out for six weeks
WHUFC.com
Hammers striker Diafra Sakho will be out for six weeks after sustaining a
thigh injury during Sunday's draw with Manchester United.
Sakho scored the opener at Old Trafford with just two minutes on the clock,
but was withdrawn in the 66th minute through injury. A scan on Tuesday
revealed that the injury will keep him out of contention for up to six
weeks. Everyone at West Ham United wishes him a speedy recovery and quick
return to action.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fletcher wants Wembley return
WHUFC.com
Ashley Fletcher certainly enjoys playing at Wembley Stadium and would love
the chance to reach another major final playing for West Ham United.
Fletcher was fortunate enough to play in two finals at Wembley last season
and scored in both games while he was on loan at Barnsley. The talented
forward got his name on the scoresheet in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final
against Oxford and returned a month later when he scored the opening goal in
the League One Play-Off Final win over Millwall which saw his side gain
promotion into the Championship. With the Hammers facing a big EFL Cup
quarter-final tie against Fletcher's former club Manchester United on
Wednesday night, the 21-year-old is now hoping play to his part once again
and win another piece of silverware. Fletcher said: "I have got special
memories of playing at Wembley. For me to get there a third time, especially
for West Ham in such a big game, would just be unbelievable. "If we play
like we did on Sunday then we have a big chance of winning the game. "Any
cup run is important because if you win the competition, the confidence can
only help you in other games. "We had a similar thing at Barnsley last
season after winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy because we then went back
for the Play-Off Final and it wasn't a problem for us because we had been
there before and didn't have any nerves. "It gives you the platform to move
forward in the season and do well."
Fletcher will be making another emotional return to Old Trafford on
Wednesday night after coming through the youth ranks at Manchester United.
The Hammers striker will once again have a number of friends and family
watching from the stands and he hopes to go one better after having a great
chance to win the game for West Ham on Sunday, but fired his shot straight
at David de Gea during the 1-1 draw. With Diafra Sakho ruled out for six
weeks with a thigh injury, Fletcher says he is ready to take his chance if
Slaven Bilic names him in the starting line-up. Fletcher added: "It was one
of those chances that if I had hit the ball either side of De Gea, the ball
would have gone in, but the angle I found myself in, I could only strike the
ball straight at him. "I will have a lot of family and friends watching once
again so hopefully I can put a chance away in this game! "I couldn't have
asked for anything better since I joined West Gam. I came thinking that I
would hopefully be a player for the future but that if I impressed I would
get my chance. "I scored a few goals in pre-season and the manager, Slaven
Bilic said, 'You're not going anywhere. I want you to stay with us and be
part of the senior squad.' "That was a huge confidence booster for me and
since then I believe I've been involved in every match-day squad except the
first one against Chelsea."
Tickets are still available for the game on Wednesday night. Fans should
visit the ticketing and membership services office at Old Trafford which is
open from 8am on Wednesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester United v West Ham United - Again
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Preview Percy
Manchester United previews are a bit like buses -nothing for ages then two
come along at once. Preview Percy is the driver who will pull away just as
you get to the bus stop.....
Next up it's…, hang on didn't I just do this? What? Really? Oh alright then.
So it's Man Utd away again. League Cup this time. With a kick-off at 8pm to
give their supporters time to get there from their heartland of Surrey and
extra time and penalties available to settle things on the night, or in the
early hours of the morning, it's probably best to book a morning off then.
Well usually about this time I would send the work experience girl wearing a
t-shirt of a band of whom she has never heard out to do some ferreting round
for some stats and figures but if I do that now she's only going to come
back with exactly the same stuff she brought back last week and want paying
again for it. At her age the extra £2.50 could easily spoil her. So I've
given her the day off and told her to come back later this week with a
different t-shirt and some details about Arsenal for the weekend. So if
you're that interested in their new signings have a look at the last preview
"wot I wrote". The down side of all that is that this preview will be
shorter than usual. (That's NOT a down side – ed)
So Sunday then. Well all the headlines were about the Special Needs One
getting sent to the stands for his protest at Pogba getting found out. Now
given that over the years they have probably gotten away with just about as
many episodes of "simulation" as their chums from the western end of the M62
at Anfield, the fact that one of the least able referees in the league was
not only able to spot the dive but also thought it worthy of actually meting
out the statutory yellow card should tell you exactly how bad a dive it was.
So kicking a bottle of water along the touchline seems a bit daft. Unless,
of course, Mourinho's frustration was more directed at Pogba for executing
such a poor quality dive. Pogba, incidentally will miss this tie through
suspension alongside serial offender Marouanne Fellaini who, despite having
a haircut that is a red card offence in its own right, only picked up his
5th yellow of the season in Sunday's substitute appearance. The cynic
amongst us might suspect that there might have been an element of
deliberation about Fellaini's yellow, clearing the decks as it does for the
forthcoming league campaign. If that is the case they messed up with Rooney
who is one booking away from his own ban, though since he seems to be
peripheral to things on Premier League days at the moment. That being the
case if they go for a specialist League Cup team I'd expect the chubber to
start.
There is also a doubt about our old chum Michael Carrick who is said to have
a "slight knock" and Morgan Schneiderlin who didn't make the squad for the
weekend but mysteriously doesn't appear on any of the usual injury lists. We
might see the re-emergence of midfielder in residence in the shop window
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who appeared as if by magic on their bench at the
weekend having been successful in winning the world's biggest game of "hide
and seek".
Overall it looked like a decent performance from us up there on Saturday –
certainly a lot less one-sided than Match Of The Day made it look anyway,
even if Randolph was the busier of the two 'keepers. Ginge was a worry of
course. Although throughout his career with us he's always been liable to
the odd "whoops" moment, they're becoming more and more prevalent. He lost
Ibrahimovic completely for the equaliser at the weekend and as for his
attempted header back to Randolph, well let's just say that if Kouyate
enjoys an occasional drink Ginge owes him a bottle of the finest possible
vintage for the rescue job he did. If, as is widely assumed, we are out
there looking for strikers, it may be time to take a detour through the
central defender section of the store (neatly sidestepping the Spurs
supporters drooling at the lingerie section), especially as we can obviously
not rely on keeping everyone fit or for referees to behave honestly.
Injuries? Well just as Sakho was beginning to show us what we'd been missing
with his goal he seems to have picked up a hamstring strain which means that
he'll be missing again. If our injury record hadn't always been this bad at
the old place I'd begin to start wondering whether the Olympic Stadium
hadn't been built over an Indian Burial Ground rather than toxic waste.
There was some talk about the possibility of Carroll being available for
last Sunday. That seems to have been put back to the weekend with even that
being labelled as "slight doubt". Oxford, Tore and Masuaku are all slated to
be available though leaving Byram to sit alongside Sakho in the hamstring
unit. We have an African Cuppa Soup coming up in January – you may recall
that we picked up a fine because Sakho's back problem got better a week
before the end of the tournament last time. It'll be interesting to see what
happens this time around as there's little enough love lost between the
club's medical staff and the Senegalese Football Federation as it is.
Incidentally has anyone worked out why they play that tournament every other
year instead of the more usual 4 years for major tournaments? In a day and
age when it is often claimed that there is too much football, surely it is
in the players' interests to avoid burnout wherever possible? This is
especially the case with Africa where the top players are mainly
European-based so you have to factor in often-lengthy flight times for all
but the most Northern states. Just a thought.
Prediction? Well it's a difficult one. I expect us to put out a strong side,
well as strong as is available anyway. We may do the usual 'keeper swap of
course. However, I haven't a clue what sort of side they'll put out.
Traditionally they have used the kids in the earlier rounds but they may
well want to use the League Cup as a fall back to qualify for next season's
Thursday Night League should they not make it by virtue of their league
exploits.
So anything could happen. Having seen the identity of the ref his record
with quarter finals is not good and I have little hope that he will play a
straight game. However, it is a Cup so I'm going to go all optimistic and
hope that the spot of luck that we are well overdue will finally rear its
head. I'll be sticking the £2.50 that I would have been paying the work
experience girl wearing a t-shirt of a band of whom she has never heard on
an away win. The betting slip at Winstones The Turf Accountants will show
"West Ham To Win" 2-1 though it wouldn't surprise me to see this result take
place AET.
Enjoy the game!
When last we met in Salford: You really do have a short term memory problem
don't you?
Danger Man: Wayne Rooney – more likely to start given that this is the
League Cup and still has a decent scoring record against us even if you take
out the large number of goals scored with the benign assistance of his mates
at PGMOL.
Referee: Mike Jones. Described by one of his linesmen of my acquaintance as
an "arrogant prick" this idiot is one of the "look at me" brigade. The last
time he took charge of a quarter final involving us he single-handedly
handed the match to Stoke with a performance of such dishonesty that even
the placid Avram Grant was moved to suggest that all was not well and that
the referee's second half performance might have been a reaction to Pulis
getting in his ear and moaning about a decision that he had in fact got
right. Certainly the award of a penalty for Etherington's dive (worse than
Pogba's) the denial of a stonewaller up the other end when Tomkins was rugby
tackled to the ground was suggestive of someone who didn't want one side to
win. Grant's comments were treated by the authorities with their usual
"shoot the messenger" policy which cost Grant £20k for a breach of the
Official Secrets Act. Jones owes us big time but it's a live game on the box
so all we can hope is that when he does goes off piste it's in our favour. I
wouldn't bank on it though.
Percy's Poser: We asked how Manchester United were linked with the poisoning
of Manchester schoolchildren? Well back in the 60's the club was effectively
run by a bit of a charlatan by the name of Louis Edwards. He had gained
control by befriending the widows of the club's shareholders and buying
their late departed's shares from them, usually at well under their actual
market value. A butcher by trade, Edwards had the contract to supply the
schools of Greater Manchester with meat for the school dinners. With a few
civic officials kept onside with the aid of transactions involving cash and
brown envelopes, the meat actually supplied was largely comprised of the
stuff stamped as unfit for human consumption. There were also allegations of
bribery and illegal payments by the club all of which were exposed by the TV
programme World In Action. FA charges seemed likely but were quietly dropped
when, a month after the programme aired, Edwards conveniently passed away.
Mrs Mavis Llewellyn-McZappa supplied the first correct answer to pop out of
the digital hat. Mavis wins a copy of Alex Ferguson's "Socialist Hypocrite's
Guide to Tax Evasion" which she may want to keep handy in order to help with
this week's poser.
Which is: "Why does the blood drain from Alex Ferguson's face at the mention
of the word "Eclipse"? The first correct answer out of the digital hat will
receive Paul Pogba's (clearly unread) copy of Steve Gerrard's seminal work
"How To Dive Convincingly".
Good luck!
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.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic impressed with Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho's bottle-kicking
technique
By Allan Valente
Last Updated: 29/11/16 11:39pm
SSN
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic reckons Jose Mourinho was only charged by the
Football Association because the Manchester United manager kicked the water
bottle too well. Mourinho was sent to the stands during United's 1-1 draw
with the Hammers on Sunday, after showing his frustration at the decision to
book Paul Pogba for a dive. Bilic joked that Mourinho's flawless technique
in launching the plastic bottle along the touchline at Old Trafford may have
helped to get him into trouble with the FA. Bilic said: "The problem is that
he hit that bottle like - well it was a great volley, to be fair. He should
have mis-kicked it! He hit it too good."
Pogba went down after a challenge by West Ham captain Mark Noble, with
replays appearing to show that no contact was made between the two players.
However, Bilic added: "Why I have sympathy with him is that situation with
Pogba, it really looked from our angle - and he was close to me - that it
didn't look like a dive. "It was obvious, and it was a great decision from
the referee. But from our point it did not look like a dive."
Bilic cuts a far more placid figure on the touchline than the likes of
Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Antonio Conte, but he has still fallen foul of
officials in the past. "I was sent off once in a game against Arsenal when I
managed Besiktas, in the last minute of the game," he added. "I gesticulated
too much, but the referee was Serbian so he understood me. I apologised
after the game."
He is set to make changes to his side and hand a chance to some of his
summer signings, such as Sofiane Feghouli, Havard Nordtveit and Ashley
Fletcher. "We are going to try the ones who showed a good mentality, good
training, good quality and good fitness," Bilic said. "It's a big chance for
them."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diafra Sakho out for six weeks and could put West Ham on a collision course
with the Senegalese FA
The striker has a thigh problem which is set to keep him out until
mid-January - just in time for the Africa Cup of Nations
BYALEX RICHARDS
13:53, 30 NOV 2016UPDATED13:58, 30 NOV 2016
The Mirror
West Ham United will be without Diafra Sakho for six weeks, due to a thigh
injury - and could now be on a collision course with the Senegal FA. Sakho,
scored just two minutes into the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday,
but was withdrawn just after the hour mark through injury. The draw at Old
Trafford was only the 26-year-old's second appearance of the season, having
missed the opening three months of the season with a back injury. The
striker underwent a scan on Tuesday, which revealed the extent of the
problem, and a club statement has now confirmed that he will be out until
the New Year. "The injury will keep him out of contention for up to six
weeks, revealed the Hammers. "Everyone at West Ham United wishes him a
speedy recovery and quick return to action."
Hammers chief Bilic admitted that Sakho's loss was "a big blow." But now
West Ham may face a fight with the Senegalese Football Federation ahead of
the 2017 African Cup of Nations. Sakho is expected to return to action in
early January - with the tournament kicking off in Gabon on January 14.
Sakho and his country have had an on-again, off-again relationship since his
debut in 2014, with the striker angering the SFF after pulling out of the
2015 tournament with an injury - only to then play for West Ham while the
competition was going on. The Hammers were fined £71,000 and reprimanded by
FIFA after Sakho appeared in the FA Cup win over Bristol City, Sakho scoring
the only goal. But with coach Aliou Cisse keen on the Lions of Teranga
making a splash at the finals - having been paired with Tunisia, Zimbabwe
and Algeria in their group - Cisse is set to name as strong a squad as
possible. And that includes Sakho, despite him not being a regular for his
country in the last two years, if he can prove his fitness before the 23-man
squad for the finals has to be announced.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham keen to bring in Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic - sources
ESPN
Asmir Begovic has made only three Chelsea appearances this season. West Ham
United are lining up a move for Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, sources
close to the Hammers have told ESPN FC. Manager Slaven Bilic wants to
bolster his goalkeeping options after dropping No. 1 Adrian following a
number of errors in recent weeks. Republic of Ireland international Darren
Randolph has started the last two games as Bilic looks to solve the
defensive problems that have left the east Londoners perilously close to the
relegation zone. Sources have told ESPN FC that Bosnia international Begovic
tops West Ham's wanted list. Begovic has been backup to Thibaut Courtois
since his arrival at Chelsea from Stoke last summer, but has made 28
appearances in the first team. The 29-year-old has only started three games
in the EFL Cup this season and would be interested in a move in search of
regular football. However, it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will
consider letting him go out on loan.
Peter O'Rourke is ESPN FC's transfer news correspondent. Follow him on
Twitter @SportsPeteO.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists starting Andy Carroll against Manchester
United would be 'suicidal'
SAM LONG
Evening Standard
Throwing West Ham striker Andy Carroll in for 90 minutes against Manchester
United in tonight's EFL Cup quarter-final would be "suicidal", according to
Slaven Bilic. Carroll has struggled with a knee injury throughout the season
and has not featured for the Hammers since August's Europa League clash
against Astra Giurgiu. The 27-year-old is no stranger to extended spells on
the sidelines, having suffered a succession of long-term injuries since
joining West Ham on a permanent basis in 2013. Carroll is in contention for
tonight's trip to Old Trafford but Bilic is keen to manage the England
international's workload with an upcoming Premier League game at Arsenal to
also consider. "We are talking about a player who hasn't played since the
game in Romania. "For Andy Carroll, it should be good to play 20 minutes or
half an hour for Saturday. "For Andy and every player in that condition it
would be great to play a part, but if you are talking about 90 minutes on
Wednesday and 90 minutes on Saturday, it is suicidal," he added. Carroll's
return would be a timely boost as the Hammers have recently lost Diafra
Sakho to a hamstring injury which could rule the Senegal international out
for several weeks. But Bilic has stressed that Carroll should not be
expected to hit the ground running after such a lengthy period out of the
side. "You can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and
expect them to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park.
"He wants to play every game, he's that kind of person. He likes to train,
to play. It's about his knee. "You have a scan, the opinion of the medical
team and then we see how he feels."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ashley Fletcher wants to make his mark on Manchester United return after
being transformed by Slaven Bilic at West Ham
KEN DYER
Evening Standard
Old Trafford may universally be known as the Theatre of Dreams but for
Ashley Fletcher, Manchester United's iconic home almost turned into never,
never land. Fletcher spent more than six years as a player at United from
the age of 13 but should he start for West Ham tonight in their EFL Cup
quarter-final, it will be just his third match experience at Old Trafford.
The big striker, who celebrated his 21st birthday last month, looks certain
to be involved tonight, following the hamstring injury to Diafra Sakho — and
is relishing this opportunity to perform on arguably the biggest stage in
English football. Fletcher , who left United to join West Ham on a
four-year deal last summer, was a second-half substitute at his former home
last Sunday, almost scoring the winner in a 1-1 draw when his shot was
blocked by goalkeeper David de Gea. "That was only my second proper game at
Old Trafford, my first being for the Under-21s against Manchester City two
years ago. "I came on in the 70th minute and scored," he revealed. "I could
have followed that with another goal on Sunday. It was one of those where,
had it been either side of him I would have scored but unfortunately it was
straight at him. "Hopefully, if I get another chance, maybe tonight, I will
put the next one away."
On Sunday, following the Premier League draw between the two clubs, Fletcher
found the time to catch up with two good friends from his time at United —
England pair Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. "We all grew up together. I
have a lot of friends there but those two especially are doing unbelievably
well at the moment," he said. "I spoke to both of them for 15 minutes after
Sunday's match. We were just catching up and it was good to see them. "In
the case of Marcus I could see from a young age that he was going to be a
top player. "He always had enough ability but surprisingly, looking at him
now, he used to be quite small. "To be fair I didn't expect him to burst
upon the scene as quickly as he did but — as every footballer knows — when
that chance comes along you have to take it. "As for Jesse, I watched a
programme about him on MUTV earlier this week and he talked about how he had
grown up from being a boy to an FA Cup winner. He's almost three years older
than me — I looked up to him when I was at United and he has always looked
out for me. "When his chance came under Louis van Gaal, he took it and now
he's reaping the rewards. "The three of us have now all played on the
biggest stage in the Premier League. Not everyone can say that. A lot of
players come through the academies and never have the chance to play at
somewhere like Old Trafford. For both of them to do that at United and me at
West Ham is a huge achievement."
Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, where his father, a police officer, was
stationed, Fletcher's family moved back to their roots in Bolton when he was
three years old. He joined Bolton Wanderers at nine but it wasn't only on
the football pitch that the young Fletcher excelled, having left secondary
school with 12 GCSEs at A or B level. "I went to one of the best schools in
Bolton, Canon Slade Church of England Secondary School — and managed to get
good grades. "My dad is still in the police, he trains new officers these
days while my mum was a hairdresser but now works at Marks & Spencer. She's
sacrificed a lot to give myself, my brother and sister our opportunities."
The decision to leave United and come to London and West Ham must have been
a difficult one for Fletcher. "I could have stayed there and maybe I would
have got a chance," he explained. "I decided instead to go out on loan to
Barnsley and once I had the taste of first-team football, I didn't want to
go back to United because they couldn't promise me that. "The decision for
me was to either go back to United, play for their Under-23s and wait for an
opportunity which sometimes never comes — or go to a club where you are
going to be in and around the first team. "I chose the latter, which is why
I'm at West Ham. "I couldn't have asked for anything better. I came thinking
that I would hopefully be a player for the future but that if I impressed I
would get my chance. "I scored a few goals in pre-season and the manager,
Slaven Bilic said, 'You're not going anywhere. I want you to stay with us
and be part of the senior squad.' "That was a huge confidence booster for me
and since then I believe I've been involved in every match-day squad except
the first one against Chelsea. "I had about 15 family and friends at Old
Trafford on Sunday and they'll be there again for this game.
"I get back up to Bolton when I can but I'm happy down in London. "I have a
good friendship with West Ham players Michail Antonio and Sam Byram, who
live near me. "Those two particularly — and Darren Randolph — have taken me
in and made me feel welcome."
Fletcher already has good memories of Wembley finals, having played — and
scored — for Barnsley in their Football League Trophy and Play-off Final
victories there last season. "For me to get there a third time, especially
for West Ham, would just be unbelievable," he said.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll set to return from injury as West Ham travel to Manchester
United in EFL Cup
Manchester United meet West Ham in EFL Cup last eight on Wednesday
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has hinted Andy Carroll may make return
Striker has been out since August with serious knee injury
Carroll may come off bench at Old Trafford and have further involvement
against Arsenal in Premier League on Saturday
By Riath Al-Samarrai for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 07:54, 30 November 2016 | UPDATED: 07:54, 30 November 2016
Slaven Bilic has strongly hinted Andy Carroll will finally end his latest
injury nightmare by featuring for West Ham against Manchester United on
Wednesday night. The striker has not played for more than three months since
damaging his knee in the Europa League clash with Romanian side Astra
Giurgiu in August. But Bilic is leaning towards including the 27-year-old in
some capacity in the EFL Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford, ahead of a
fuller involvement against Arsenal on Saturday.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Romero; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw; Carrick,
Herrera; Mkhitaryan, Rooney, Martial; Ibrahimovic
West Ham (3-4-2-1) Adrian; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna; Fernandes, Nordtveit,
Obiang, Cresswell; Ayew, Payet; Fletcher
The Serbian admitted it would be 'suicidal' given Carroll' s wretched
history with injuries to field him for 90 minutes in each fixture, but
indicated he would feature for around half an hour at Old Trafford. Bilic is
determined to tread with caution, given Carroll's running tally of days
missed through injury currently stands at 990 across his career and a
staggering 129 games. But with this cup run offering a chance to change the
outlook of what has been a dire season, and with his striking options
diminished by the injury-enforced absence of striker Diafra Sakho, Bilic is
keen to call on Carroll. He said: 'For Andy Carroll it should be good to
play 20 minutes or half an hour, and then Saturday. That is crucial. You
can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and expect them
to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park last time
against Arsenal. 'So for Andy, and every player in that condition, it would
be great to be a part of the game, but if you are talking about 90 minutes
on Wednesday and 90 minutes on Saturday it is suicidal. But nobody is
talking about that. But 15, 20, half an hour should be good. 'The Arsenal
game is more important, ok, but this one is also important for us.'
This cup fixture will pit West Ham against United for the second time in a
week following their 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday. Jose Mourinho
has since been charged for his behaviour after kicking a water bottle and he
has an ally in Bilic, who has felt a degree of sympathy with his counterpart
over his latest controversy. Bilic said: 'I like him and I have a good
relationship with him. I am very proud to have a very good relationship with
him. 'I would like the rules to be a little bit looser but I can understand
them totally - if we are asking the fans to behave good then we should be
the example for them.'
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Mark Noble: Playing at Old Trafford is a 'dream' but Hammers want
to beat Manchester United
VAISHALI BHARDWAJ
Evening Standard
Mark Noble has admitted playing Manchester United at Old Trafford in the
League Cup on Wednesday will be "special", but the West Ham captain insists
the Hammers are good enough to secure a result over Jose Mourinho's men.
West Ham managed to draw 1-1 with United in the Premier League on Sunday,
with the two teams now facing each other on Wednesday night in the EFL Cup
quarter-final clash. Noble was part of the last West Ham team to beat United
at Old Trafford in May 2007 when Carlos Tevez's injury-time strike secured a
narrow 1-0 win. Noble admits going back to Old Trafford to contest a League
Cup game tomorrow will be a dream come true - although the West Ham skipper
believes his side can knock United out of the competition especially after
the Hammers' showing on Sunday. "The Premier League is important to us
because of the position we find ourselves in and we need the points. We have
tough games coming up against Arsenal and Liverpool," Noble told West Ham's
official website. "But we can now look forward to a big game in the Cup
against Manchester United once again and going to play at Old Trafford is
everyone's dream so we hope for another good result. "It was a tough game on
Sunday, especially after we took the lead so early on. We knew they were
going to come at us and they did during the opening 45 minutes. "But in the
second half I thought it was more even and both teams had chances to win the
game. "Sometimes you just need that bit of luck and Darren made some great
saves for us. I thought the defence played really well and we were really
resilient as a team. "You need that when you come to a place like Old
Trafford and it is a special place to play but I thought we matched them man
for man."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll ready to return for West Ham in time to beat up Arsenal defence
again
The Telegraph
Matt Law, football news correspondent
29 NOVEMBER 2016 • 10:30PM
Slaven Bilic believes a League Cup cameo against Manchester United could put
West Ham United striker Andy Carroll on course to beat up Arsenal's defence
for a second successive season.
Carroll has not played since the Europa League game against Astra Giurgiu in
August because of a knee injury, but the 27-year-old is close to making yet
another comeback.
West Ham manager Bilic is without Diafra Sakho for the League Cup
quarter-final trip to Old Trafford, with the Senegal international waiting
for the results of a scan on his injured hamstring, which could give a
chance to 21-year-old Ashley Fletcher.
Carroll is also pushing for a recall, but Bilic insists it would be
'suicidal' to try to start him against United and Arsenal, and thinks a
substitute appearance may give him the best chance of lining up against
Arsene Wenger's team in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal failed to cope with Carroll last season, as the 27-year-old scored a
stunning nine-minute hat-trick either side of half-time in West Ham's 3-3
draw.
"We are talking about a player who hasn't played since the game in Romania,"
said Bilic. "For Andy Carroll, it should be good to play 20 minutes or half
an hour for Saturday.
"It should be crucial by the way, before you put him in from the start. You
can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and expect them
to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park.
"So for Andy and every player in that condition it would be great to play a
part, but if you are talking about 90 minutes on Wednesday and 90 minutes on
Saturday, it is suicidal. But nobody is talking about that. But 15, 20
minutes, half an hour should be good. Because he should be training anyway
and there is no better training than a game.
"There is no question over whether or not Andy wants to play. He wants to
play every game, he's that kind of person. He likes to train, to play. It's
about his knee. It's a decision for all of us. You have a scan, the opinion
of the medical team and then we see how he feels. That's the most important
thing, especially when you are on the border and it is not black and white."
This will be the second time in four days that West Ham have faced United at
Old Trafford, having drawn in the Premier League at the weekend.
United manager Jose Mourinho is facing a touchline ban for kicking a water
bottle on Sunday and Bilic has some sympathy for his opposing manager.
"I don't know the rules but England is a country where they like to stick to
the rules and I saw that," said Bilic. "The problem is that Jose hit that
bottle like - it was a great volley to be fair. He should have miskicked it!
He hit it too good."
Asked if he thought managers were fully aware that kicking a bottle is an
offence, Bilic added: "But you know a lot of things and you still do them,
as it is a special kind of state during the game. You are not thinking 'can
I kick the ball?' You are fuming and you see the ball and you kick it.
"Many times, I see the bottles in front of me and many times I go like… I
will smash it and I stop in the last second. You are not sitting at home
having lunch with your family, your adrenaline is going and you are also in
the red zone.
"I am not the one who sits for 90 minutes, so everyone has his own way of
managing. You have Van Gaal who sits there and then managers like Conte or
Klopp.
"There is no proper way of managing. Sometimes if you are too calm you are
accused of not having an impact on your players and that you should be on
the touchline. But if you are on the touchline you get accused of making
them nervous. Everyone's got his own way."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham warned not to raise bar too high for Andy Carroll's comeback
Jacob Steinberg
The Guardian
Tuesday 29 November 2016 22.30 GMT
Although news of Andy Carroll's return will send a shiver down the spine of
Arsenal's defenders, Slaven Bilic is taking care to manage expectations
about a player who does not need anyone to show him round the treatment room
at West Ham.
The striker who scored a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Arsène Wenger's side
last season is back in full training and what a story it would be if he
bullies Arsenal again when they visit the London Stadium on Saturday. That
scenario is almost too good to be true for West Ham, which is why Bilic
erred on the side of caution before his side's EFL Cup quarter-final at
Manchester United.
The West Ham manager said he will not hold back Carroll from the Arsenal
game. Yet he has not played since suffering a knee injury in August and,
although Bilic has problems in attack with Diafra Sakho awaiting the results
of a scan on a hamstring injury, he knows it would be reckless to gamble on
a player with such a patchy fitness record.
West Ham are a point above the bottom three in the Premier League and their
team against United are likely to reflect their worrying position, with
Havard Nordtveit, Edimilson Fernandes, Sofiane Feghouli and André Ayew in
line for rare starts and Adrián likely to replace Darren Randolph in goal.
"I know this game on Saturday could be a little bit easier if it was on
Sunday," Bilic said. "It's a little bit tight between the games but I don't
approach it that way. We decide on Andy based on can he bring us something.
The Arsenal game is more important but this one is also important for us.
They are both important.
"Andy also has to train. We are talking about a player who hasn't played
since the game in Romania [in August]. For Andy Carroll it should be good to
play 20 minutes, half an hour here, for Saturday.
"It should be crucial. You can't keep the players in the fridge and then
throw them in and expect them to score again or score a hat-trick like he
did at Upton Park. For Andy and every player in that condition it would be
great to take part but, if you are talking about 90 minutes against United
and 90 minutes on Saturday, it is suicidal."
West Ham's need for greater potency in attack is clear, yet they have
already been burnt by Sakho's latest setback. Having seen a £15m move to
join West Brom in the summer fall through when his medical revealed a back
problem, Sakho worked his way back to fitness and into Bilic's plans, making
his first start since May in the 3-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 19
November.
How West Ham had missed the Senegal international's speed, work rate and
poaching instincts was illustrated by his early goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw
with United. It was the first by one of Bilic's strikers this season, a
damning indictment of the club's summer signings. Yet Sakho limped off in
the second half and there are fears that he may be out for a month.
West Ham may not have had to rush him back if they had shown better judgment
during a summer that ended with the arrival of two disastrous loan signings
and Ashley Fletcher on a free transfer from United, leaving them short of
strikers ready for the Premier League.
Fletcher has shown promise despite his inexperience but Jonathan Calleri has
a hamstring injury and could return to Deportivo Maldonado in Uruguay in
January, while Simone Zaza has failed to impress on loan from Juventus.
Given that he has been forced to use Michail Antonio and Ayew as makeshift
strikers at times, Bilic needs Carroll fit and firing again even if the
slight whiff of desperation hanging over his return harks back to the Sam
Allardyce era.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
When and where?
Manchester United v West Ham United
EFL Cup Quarter-Final
Wednesday 30 November 2016, 8pm GMT
Old Trafford
What's the story?
West Ham United head to Old Trafford for the second time in four days on
Wednesday, when they complete their Manchester United double header with an
EFL Cup Quarter-Final. A date at Wembley is coming into view for these two
sides, with a result on the night guaranteed following Old Trafford draws in
their last three meetings. Sunday's match-up produced a 1-1 scoreline, as
Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home to cancel out Diafra Sakho's early opener.
Darren Randolph made excellent saves to deny Jesse Lingard, Henrikh
Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba, while Ashley Fletcher also went close as honours
ended even.
In this competition, the Red Devils have defeated Northampton Town and
Manchester City to reach this stage of the competition, having joined at the
same third round stage as the Hammers. Slaven Bilic's men have battled past
Accrington Stanley and London rivals Chelsea on their cup run, and are
looking to reach the semi finals for the third time in seven seasons.
Manchester United are four time League Cup winners, while the Hammers are
aiming to lift the trophy for the first time in their history, having twice
finished as runners-up.
Team news
The Hammers will be without Diafra Sakho, who suffered a hamstring injury
during Sunday's game at Old Trafford. The likes of Ashley Fletcher, Simone
Zaza and Andre Ayew will be in line to replace him up-front, while Andy
Carroll is also close to a return. Winston Reid is available again following
suspension, and Slaven Bilic may select Adrian in goal after Darren Randolph
took over between the posts for the last two Premier League games.
For Manchester United, midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini are both
suspended after collecting their fifth bookings of the season on Sunday.
Former Hammer Michael Carrick could return.
Any links between the two?
Each side features an Academy graduate from the other in their squads. For
the Red Devils that place is taken by Carrick, while Ashley Fletcher made
the move south from Old Trafford in the summer.
The last three games between West Ham and Man Utd at Old Trafford have ended
all-square. A 0-0 draw in the league last season was followed by a 1-1 FA
Cup draw, with Dimitri Payet scoring the Hammers' goal.
The trilogy of draws was completed by Sunday's stalemate.
How do I get to the game?
Click here for the latest news on the trains and here for information on
road travel.
How can I watch the game?
Wednesday's match is being broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can
also follow all the action as it happens on whufc.com, with audio
commentary, social media updates, in-running stats, photos and more.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manager on Matchday
WHUFC.com
Good morning everyone,
We are preparing for another big night in the EFL Cup quarter-final against
Manchester United and we are approaching this game with big ambitions. We
had a great run in the FA Cup last season when we got to the quarter-finals
and we want to do well once again.
It's a great thing for us and for the clubs not likely to win the league.
You have more chances to be successful in the cup competitions and that is
why the game is massive for us. I said I will make a few changes but it will
still be a strong team. I have a decision to make on which goalkeeper will
play. I told Adrian it was nothing personal when I changed the keepers
around for the Tottenham game. He was the number one goalkeeper in all my
time here, so when I made the change he was obviously disappointed. But he
is a great professional and said he is going to work even harder to get back
his shirt.
I know the next game against Arsenal could be a little bit easier if it was
being played on Sunday and it's a little bit tight between the games. This
is a chance for some of the other players who have not been involved in the
first-team in recent games to show what they can do.
Unfortunately nowadays you have to judge the players not long term, but
based on one game. Some signings got injured, two of them did, and they came
back. Some got a chance, some didn't, because we had a team and a system.
You can't give all the players a chance at the same time. We are going to
try for the ones that showed a good mentality, good training, good quality,
good fitness to one or two, without negative pressure that you have to score
a hat-trick. It is a big chance for them against Manchester United.
I am looking forward to coming up against Jose Mourinho once again. I like
Jose and have a good relationship with him. I like him and I don't hide it.
I am very proud to have a very good relationship with him. I want to wish
all the fans a safe journey up to Old Trafford and hopefully we can come
away with a memorable result.
Enjoy the game.
Slaven
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sakho out for six weeks
WHUFC.com
Hammers striker Diafra Sakho will be out for six weeks after sustaining a
thigh injury during Sunday's draw with Manchester United.
Sakho scored the opener at Old Trafford with just two minutes on the clock,
but was withdrawn in the 66th minute through injury. A scan on Tuesday
revealed that the injury will keep him out of contention for up to six
weeks. Everyone at West Ham United wishes him a speedy recovery and quick
return to action.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fletcher wants Wembley return
WHUFC.com
Ashley Fletcher certainly enjoys playing at Wembley Stadium and would love
the chance to reach another major final playing for West Ham United.
Fletcher was fortunate enough to play in two finals at Wembley last season
and scored in both games while he was on loan at Barnsley. The talented
forward got his name on the scoresheet in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final
against Oxford and returned a month later when he scored the opening goal in
the League One Play-Off Final win over Millwall which saw his side gain
promotion into the Championship. With the Hammers facing a big EFL Cup
quarter-final tie against Fletcher's former club Manchester United on
Wednesday night, the 21-year-old is now hoping play to his part once again
and win another piece of silverware. Fletcher said: "I have got special
memories of playing at Wembley. For me to get there a third time, especially
for West Ham in such a big game, would just be unbelievable. "If we play
like we did on Sunday then we have a big chance of winning the game. "Any
cup run is important because if you win the competition, the confidence can
only help you in other games. "We had a similar thing at Barnsley last
season after winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy because we then went back
for the Play-Off Final and it wasn't a problem for us because we had been
there before and didn't have any nerves. "It gives you the platform to move
forward in the season and do well."
Fletcher will be making another emotional return to Old Trafford on
Wednesday night after coming through the youth ranks at Manchester United.
The Hammers striker will once again have a number of friends and family
watching from the stands and he hopes to go one better after having a great
chance to win the game for West Ham on Sunday, but fired his shot straight
at David de Gea during the 1-1 draw. With Diafra Sakho ruled out for six
weeks with a thigh injury, Fletcher says he is ready to take his chance if
Slaven Bilic names him in the starting line-up. Fletcher added: "It was one
of those chances that if I had hit the ball either side of De Gea, the ball
would have gone in, but the angle I found myself in, I could only strike the
ball straight at him. "I will have a lot of family and friends watching once
again so hopefully I can put a chance away in this game! "I couldn't have
asked for anything better since I joined West Gam. I came thinking that I
would hopefully be a player for the future but that if I impressed I would
get my chance. "I scored a few goals in pre-season and the manager, Slaven
Bilic said, 'You're not going anywhere. I want you to stay with us and be
part of the senior squad.' "That was a huge confidence booster for me and
since then I believe I've been involved in every match-day squad except the
first one against Chelsea."
Tickets are still available for the game on Wednesday night. Fans should
visit the ticketing and membership services office at Old Trafford which is
open from 8am on Wednesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester United v West Ham United - Again
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Preview Percy
Manchester United previews are a bit like buses -nothing for ages then two
come along at once. Preview Percy is the driver who will pull away just as
you get to the bus stop.....
Next up it's…, hang on didn't I just do this? What? Really? Oh alright then.
So it's Man Utd away again. League Cup this time. With a kick-off at 8pm to
give their supporters time to get there from their heartland of Surrey and
extra time and penalties available to settle things on the night, or in the
early hours of the morning, it's probably best to book a morning off then.
Well usually about this time I would send the work experience girl wearing a
t-shirt of a band of whom she has never heard out to do some ferreting round
for some stats and figures but if I do that now she's only going to come
back with exactly the same stuff she brought back last week and want paying
again for it. At her age the extra £2.50 could easily spoil her. So I've
given her the day off and told her to come back later this week with a
different t-shirt and some details about Arsenal for the weekend. So if
you're that interested in their new signings have a look at the last preview
"wot I wrote". The down side of all that is that this preview will be
shorter than usual. (That's NOT a down side – ed)
So Sunday then. Well all the headlines were about the Special Needs One
getting sent to the stands for his protest at Pogba getting found out. Now
given that over the years they have probably gotten away with just about as
many episodes of "simulation" as their chums from the western end of the M62
at Anfield, the fact that one of the least able referees in the league was
not only able to spot the dive but also thought it worthy of actually meting
out the statutory yellow card should tell you exactly how bad a dive it was.
So kicking a bottle of water along the touchline seems a bit daft. Unless,
of course, Mourinho's frustration was more directed at Pogba for executing
such a poor quality dive. Pogba, incidentally will miss this tie through
suspension alongside serial offender Marouanne Fellaini who, despite having
a haircut that is a red card offence in its own right, only picked up his
5th yellow of the season in Sunday's substitute appearance. The cynic
amongst us might suspect that there might have been an element of
deliberation about Fellaini's yellow, clearing the decks as it does for the
forthcoming league campaign. If that is the case they messed up with Rooney
who is one booking away from his own ban, though since he seems to be
peripheral to things on Premier League days at the moment. That being the
case if they go for a specialist League Cup team I'd expect the chubber to
start.
There is also a doubt about our old chum Michael Carrick who is said to have
a "slight knock" and Morgan Schneiderlin who didn't make the squad for the
weekend but mysteriously doesn't appear on any of the usual injury lists. We
might see the re-emergence of midfielder in residence in the shop window
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who appeared as if by magic on their bench at the
weekend having been successful in winning the world's biggest game of "hide
and seek".
Overall it looked like a decent performance from us up there on Saturday –
certainly a lot less one-sided than Match Of The Day made it look anyway,
even if Randolph was the busier of the two 'keepers. Ginge was a worry of
course. Although throughout his career with us he's always been liable to
the odd "whoops" moment, they're becoming more and more prevalent. He lost
Ibrahimovic completely for the equaliser at the weekend and as for his
attempted header back to Randolph, well let's just say that if Kouyate
enjoys an occasional drink Ginge owes him a bottle of the finest possible
vintage for the rescue job he did. If, as is widely assumed, we are out
there looking for strikers, it may be time to take a detour through the
central defender section of the store (neatly sidestepping the Spurs
supporters drooling at the lingerie section), especially as we can obviously
not rely on keeping everyone fit or for referees to behave honestly.
Injuries? Well just as Sakho was beginning to show us what we'd been missing
with his goal he seems to have picked up a hamstring strain which means that
he'll be missing again. If our injury record hadn't always been this bad at
the old place I'd begin to start wondering whether the Olympic Stadium
hadn't been built over an Indian Burial Ground rather than toxic waste.
There was some talk about the possibility of Carroll being available for
last Sunday. That seems to have been put back to the weekend with even that
being labelled as "slight doubt". Oxford, Tore and Masuaku are all slated to
be available though leaving Byram to sit alongside Sakho in the hamstring
unit. We have an African Cuppa Soup coming up in January – you may recall
that we picked up a fine because Sakho's back problem got better a week
before the end of the tournament last time. It'll be interesting to see what
happens this time around as there's little enough love lost between the
club's medical staff and the Senegalese Football Federation as it is.
Incidentally has anyone worked out why they play that tournament every other
year instead of the more usual 4 years for major tournaments? In a day and
age when it is often claimed that there is too much football, surely it is
in the players' interests to avoid burnout wherever possible? This is
especially the case with Africa where the top players are mainly
European-based so you have to factor in often-lengthy flight times for all
but the most Northern states. Just a thought.
Prediction? Well it's a difficult one. I expect us to put out a strong side,
well as strong as is available anyway. We may do the usual 'keeper swap of
course. However, I haven't a clue what sort of side they'll put out.
Traditionally they have used the kids in the earlier rounds but they may
well want to use the League Cup as a fall back to qualify for next season's
Thursday Night League should they not make it by virtue of their league
exploits.
So anything could happen. Having seen the identity of the ref his record
with quarter finals is not good and I have little hope that he will play a
straight game. However, it is a Cup so I'm going to go all optimistic and
hope that the spot of luck that we are well overdue will finally rear its
head. I'll be sticking the £2.50 that I would have been paying the work
experience girl wearing a t-shirt of a band of whom she has never heard on
an away win. The betting slip at Winstones The Turf Accountants will show
"West Ham To Win" 2-1 though it wouldn't surprise me to see this result take
place AET.
Enjoy the game!
When last we met in Salford: You really do have a short term memory problem
don't you?
Danger Man: Wayne Rooney – more likely to start given that this is the
League Cup and still has a decent scoring record against us even if you take
out the large number of goals scored with the benign assistance of his mates
at PGMOL.
Referee: Mike Jones. Described by one of his linesmen of my acquaintance as
an "arrogant prick" this idiot is one of the "look at me" brigade. The last
time he took charge of a quarter final involving us he single-handedly
handed the match to Stoke with a performance of such dishonesty that even
the placid Avram Grant was moved to suggest that all was not well and that
the referee's second half performance might have been a reaction to Pulis
getting in his ear and moaning about a decision that he had in fact got
right. Certainly the award of a penalty for Etherington's dive (worse than
Pogba's) the denial of a stonewaller up the other end when Tomkins was rugby
tackled to the ground was suggestive of someone who didn't want one side to
win. Grant's comments were treated by the authorities with their usual
"shoot the messenger" policy which cost Grant £20k for a breach of the
Official Secrets Act. Jones owes us big time but it's a live game on the box
so all we can hope is that when he does goes off piste it's in our favour. I
wouldn't bank on it though.
Percy's Poser: We asked how Manchester United were linked with the poisoning
of Manchester schoolchildren? Well back in the 60's the club was effectively
run by a bit of a charlatan by the name of Louis Edwards. He had gained
control by befriending the widows of the club's shareholders and buying
their late departed's shares from them, usually at well under their actual
market value. A butcher by trade, Edwards had the contract to supply the
schools of Greater Manchester with meat for the school dinners. With a few
civic officials kept onside with the aid of transactions involving cash and
brown envelopes, the meat actually supplied was largely comprised of the
stuff stamped as unfit for human consumption. There were also allegations of
bribery and illegal payments by the club all of which were exposed by the TV
programme World In Action. FA charges seemed likely but were quietly dropped
when, a month after the programme aired, Edwards conveniently passed away.
Mrs Mavis Llewellyn-McZappa supplied the first correct answer to pop out of
the digital hat. Mavis wins a copy of Alex Ferguson's "Socialist Hypocrite's
Guide to Tax Evasion" which she may want to keep handy in order to help with
this week's poser.
Which is: "Why does the blood drain from Alex Ferguson's face at the mention
of the word "Eclipse"? The first correct answer out of the digital hat will
receive Paul Pogba's (clearly unread) copy of Steve Gerrard's seminal work
"How To Dive Convincingly".
Good luck!
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.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic impressed with Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho's bottle-kicking
technique
By Allan Valente
Last Updated: 29/11/16 11:39pm
SSN
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic reckons Jose Mourinho was only charged by the
Football Association because the Manchester United manager kicked the water
bottle too well. Mourinho was sent to the stands during United's 1-1 draw
with the Hammers on Sunday, after showing his frustration at the decision to
book Paul Pogba for a dive. Bilic joked that Mourinho's flawless technique
in launching the plastic bottle along the touchline at Old Trafford may have
helped to get him into trouble with the FA. Bilic said: "The problem is that
he hit that bottle like - well it was a great volley, to be fair. He should
have mis-kicked it! He hit it too good."
Pogba went down after a challenge by West Ham captain Mark Noble, with
replays appearing to show that no contact was made between the two players.
However, Bilic added: "Why I have sympathy with him is that situation with
Pogba, it really looked from our angle - and he was close to me - that it
didn't look like a dive. "It was obvious, and it was a great decision from
the referee. But from our point it did not look like a dive."
Bilic cuts a far more placid figure on the touchline than the likes of
Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Antonio Conte, but he has still fallen foul of
officials in the past. "I was sent off once in a game against Arsenal when I
managed Besiktas, in the last minute of the game," he added. "I gesticulated
too much, but the referee was Serbian so he understood me. I apologised
after the game."
He is set to make changes to his side and hand a chance to some of his
summer signings, such as Sofiane Feghouli, Havard Nordtveit and Ashley
Fletcher. "We are going to try the ones who showed a good mentality, good
training, good quality and good fitness," Bilic said. "It's a big chance for
them."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diafra Sakho out for six weeks and could put West Ham on a collision course
with the Senegalese FA
The striker has a thigh problem which is set to keep him out until
mid-January - just in time for the Africa Cup of Nations
BYALEX RICHARDS
13:53, 30 NOV 2016UPDATED13:58, 30 NOV 2016
The Mirror
West Ham United will be without Diafra Sakho for six weeks, due to a thigh
injury - and could now be on a collision course with the Senegal FA. Sakho,
scored just two minutes into the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday,
but was withdrawn just after the hour mark through injury. The draw at Old
Trafford was only the 26-year-old's second appearance of the season, having
missed the opening three months of the season with a back injury. The
striker underwent a scan on Tuesday, which revealed the extent of the
problem, and a club statement has now confirmed that he will be out until
the New Year. "The injury will keep him out of contention for up to six
weeks, revealed the Hammers. "Everyone at West Ham United wishes him a
speedy recovery and quick return to action."
Hammers chief Bilic admitted that Sakho's loss was "a big blow." But now
West Ham may face a fight with the Senegalese Football Federation ahead of
the 2017 African Cup of Nations. Sakho is expected to return to action in
early January - with the tournament kicking off in Gabon on January 14.
Sakho and his country have had an on-again, off-again relationship since his
debut in 2014, with the striker angering the SFF after pulling out of the
2015 tournament with an injury - only to then play for West Ham while the
competition was going on. The Hammers were fined £71,000 and reprimanded by
FIFA after Sakho appeared in the FA Cup win over Bristol City, Sakho scoring
the only goal. But with coach Aliou Cisse keen on the Lions of Teranga
making a splash at the finals - having been paired with Tunisia, Zimbabwe
and Algeria in their group - Cisse is set to name as strong a squad as
possible. And that includes Sakho, despite him not being a regular for his
country in the last two years, if he can prove his fitness before the 23-man
squad for the finals has to be announced.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham keen to bring in Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic - sources
ESPN
Asmir Begovic has made only three Chelsea appearances this season. West Ham
United are lining up a move for Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, sources
close to the Hammers have told ESPN FC. Manager Slaven Bilic wants to
bolster his goalkeeping options after dropping No. 1 Adrian following a
number of errors in recent weeks. Republic of Ireland international Darren
Randolph has started the last two games as Bilic looks to solve the
defensive problems that have left the east Londoners perilously close to the
relegation zone. Sources have told ESPN FC that Bosnia international Begovic
tops West Ham's wanted list. Begovic has been backup to Thibaut Courtois
since his arrival at Chelsea from Stoke last summer, but has made 28
appearances in the first team. The 29-year-old has only started three games
in the EFL Cup this season and would be interested in a move in search of
regular football. However, it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will
consider letting him go out on loan.
Peter O'Rourke is ESPN FC's transfer news correspondent. Follow him on
Twitter @SportsPeteO.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists starting Andy Carroll against Manchester
United would be 'suicidal'
SAM LONG
Evening Standard
Throwing West Ham striker Andy Carroll in for 90 minutes against Manchester
United in tonight's EFL Cup quarter-final would be "suicidal", according to
Slaven Bilic. Carroll has struggled with a knee injury throughout the season
and has not featured for the Hammers since August's Europa League clash
against Astra Giurgiu. The 27-year-old is no stranger to extended spells on
the sidelines, having suffered a succession of long-term injuries since
joining West Ham on a permanent basis in 2013. Carroll is in contention for
tonight's trip to Old Trafford but Bilic is keen to manage the England
international's workload with an upcoming Premier League game at Arsenal to
also consider. "We are talking about a player who hasn't played since the
game in Romania. "For Andy Carroll, it should be good to play 20 minutes or
half an hour for Saturday. "For Andy and every player in that condition it
would be great to play a part, but if you are talking about 90 minutes on
Wednesday and 90 minutes on Saturday, it is suicidal," he added. Carroll's
return would be a timely boost as the Hammers have recently lost Diafra
Sakho to a hamstring injury which could rule the Senegal international out
for several weeks. But Bilic has stressed that Carroll should not be
expected to hit the ground running after such a lengthy period out of the
side. "You can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and
expect them to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park.
"He wants to play every game, he's that kind of person. He likes to train,
to play. It's about his knee. "You have a scan, the opinion of the medical
team and then we see how he feels."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ashley Fletcher wants to make his mark on Manchester United return after
being transformed by Slaven Bilic at West Ham
KEN DYER
Evening Standard
Old Trafford may universally be known as the Theatre of Dreams but for
Ashley Fletcher, Manchester United's iconic home almost turned into never,
never land. Fletcher spent more than six years as a player at United from
the age of 13 but should he start for West Ham tonight in their EFL Cup
quarter-final, it will be just his third match experience at Old Trafford.
The big striker, who celebrated his 21st birthday last month, looks certain
to be involved tonight, following the hamstring injury to Diafra Sakho — and
is relishing this opportunity to perform on arguably the biggest stage in
English football. Fletcher , who left United to join West Ham on a
four-year deal last summer, was a second-half substitute at his former home
last Sunday, almost scoring the winner in a 1-1 draw when his shot was
blocked by goalkeeper David de Gea. "That was only my second proper game at
Old Trafford, my first being for the Under-21s against Manchester City two
years ago. "I came on in the 70th minute and scored," he revealed. "I could
have followed that with another goal on Sunday. It was one of those where,
had it been either side of him I would have scored but unfortunately it was
straight at him. "Hopefully, if I get another chance, maybe tonight, I will
put the next one away."
On Sunday, following the Premier League draw between the two clubs, Fletcher
found the time to catch up with two good friends from his time at United —
England pair Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. "We all grew up together. I
have a lot of friends there but those two especially are doing unbelievably
well at the moment," he said. "I spoke to both of them for 15 minutes after
Sunday's match. We were just catching up and it was good to see them. "In
the case of Marcus I could see from a young age that he was going to be a
top player. "He always had enough ability but surprisingly, looking at him
now, he used to be quite small. "To be fair I didn't expect him to burst
upon the scene as quickly as he did but — as every footballer knows — when
that chance comes along you have to take it. "As for Jesse, I watched a
programme about him on MUTV earlier this week and he talked about how he had
grown up from being a boy to an FA Cup winner. He's almost three years older
than me — I looked up to him when I was at United and he has always looked
out for me. "When his chance came under Louis van Gaal, he took it and now
he's reaping the rewards. "The three of us have now all played on the
biggest stage in the Premier League. Not everyone can say that. A lot of
players come through the academies and never have the chance to play at
somewhere like Old Trafford. For both of them to do that at United and me at
West Ham is a huge achievement."
Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, where his father, a police officer, was
stationed, Fletcher's family moved back to their roots in Bolton when he was
three years old. He joined Bolton Wanderers at nine but it wasn't only on
the football pitch that the young Fletcher excelled, having left secondary
school with 12 GCSEs at A or B level. "I went to one of the best schools in
Bolton, Canon Slade Church of England Secondary School — and managed to get
good grades. "My dad is still in the police, he trains new officers these
days while my mum was a hairdresser but now works at Marks & Spencer. She's
sacrificed a lot to give myself, my brother and sister our opportunities."
The decision to leave United and come to London and West Ham must have been
a difficult one for Fletcher. "I could have stayed there and maybe I would
have got a chance," he explained. "I decided instead to go out on loan to
Barnsley and once I had the taste of first-team football, I didn't want to
go back to United because they couldn't promise me that. "The decision for
me was to either go back to United, play for their Under-23s and wait for an
opportunity which sometimes never comes — or go to a club where you are
going to be in and around the first team. "I chose the latter, which is why
I'm at West Ham. "I couldn't have asked for anything better. I came thinking
that I would hopefully be a player for the future but that if I impressed I
would get my chance. "I scored a few goals in pre-season and the manager,
Slaven Bilic said, 'You're not going anywhere. I want you to stay with us
and be part of the senior squad.' "That was a huge confidence booster for me
and since then I believe I've been involved in every match-day squad except
the first one against Chelsea. "I had about 15 family and friends at Old
Trafford on Sunday and they'll be there again for this game.
"I get back up to Bolton when I can but I'm happy down in London. "I have a
good friendship with West Ham players Michail Antonio and Sam Byram, who
live near me. "Those two particularly — and Darren Randolph — have taken me
in and made me feel welcome."
Fletcher already has good memories of Wembley finals, having played — and
scored — for Barnsley in their Football League Trophy and Play-off Final
victories there last season. "For me to get there a third time, especially
for West Ham, would just be unbelievable," he said.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll set to return from injury as West Ham travel to Manchester
United in EFL Cup
Manchester United meet West Ham in EFL Cup last eight on Wednesday
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has hinted Andy Carroll may make return
Striker has been out since August with serious knee injury
Carroll may come off bench at Old Trafford and have further involvement
against Arsenal in Premier League on Saturday
By Riath Al-Samarrai for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 07:54, 30 November 2016 | UPDATED: 07:54, 30 November 2016
Slaven Bilic has strongly hinted Andy Carroll will finally end his latest
injury nightmare by featuring for West Ham against Manchester United on
Wednesday night. The striker has not played for more than three months since
damaging his knee in the Europa League clash with Romanian side Astra
Giurgiu in August. But Bilic is leaning towards including the 27-year-old in
some capacity in the EFL Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford, ahead of a
fuller involvement against Arsenal on Saturday.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Romero; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw; Carrick,
Herrera; Mkhitaryan, Rooney, Martial; Ibrahimovic
West Ham (3-4-2-1) Adrian; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna; Fernandes, Nordtveit,
Obiang, Cresswell; Ayew, Payet; Fletcher
The Serbian admitted it would be 'suicidal' given Carroll' s wretched
history with injuries to field him for 90 minutes in each fixture, but
indicated he would feature for around half an hour at Old Trafford. Bilic is
determined to tread with caution, given Carroll's running tally of days
missed through injury currently stands at 990 across his career and a
staggering 129 games. But with this cup run offering a chance to change the
outlook of what has been a dire season, and with his striking options
diminished by the injury-enforced absence of striker Diafra Sakho, Bilic is
keen to call on Carroll. He said: 'For Andy Carroll it should be good to
play 20 minutes or half an hour, and then Saturday. That is crucial. You
can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and expect them
to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park last time
against Arsenal. 'So for Andy, and every player in that condition, it would
be great to be a part of the game, but if you are talking about 90 minutes
on Wednesday and 90 minutes on Saturday it is suicidal. But nobody is
talking about that. But 15, 20, half an hour should be good. 'The Arsenal
game is more important, ok, but this one is also important for us.'
This cup fixture will pit West Ham against United for the second time in a
week following their 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday. Jose Mourinho
has since been charged for his behaviour after kicking a water bottle and he
has an ally in Bilic, who has felt a degree of sympathy with his counterpart
over his latest controversy. Bilic said: 'I like him and I have a good
relationship with him. I am very proud to have a very good relationship with
him. 'I would like the rules to be a little bit looser but I can understand
them totally - if we are asking the fans to behave good then we should be
the example for them.'
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Mark Noble: Playing at Old Trafford is a 'dream' but Hammers want
to beat Manchester United
VAISHALI BHARDWAJ
Evening Standard
Mark Noble has admitted playing Manchester United at Old Trafford in the
League Cup on Wednesday will be "special", but the West Ham captain insists
the Hammers are good enough to secure a result over Jose Mourinho's men.
West Ham managed to draw 1-1 with United in the Premier League on Sunday,
with the two teams now facing each other on Wednesday night in the EFL Cup
quarter-final clash. Noble was part of the last West Ham team to beat United
at Old Trafford in May 2007 when Carlos Tevez's injury-time strike secured a
narrow 1-0 win. Noble admits going back to Old Trafford to contest a League
Cup game tomorrow will be a dream come true - although the West Ham skipper
believes his side can knock United out of the competition especially after
the Hammers' showing on Sunday. "The Premier League is important to us
because of the position we find ourselves in and we need the points. We have
tough games coming up against Arsenal and Liverpool," Noble told West Ham's
official website. "But we can now look forward to a big game in the Cup
against Manchester United once again and going to play at Old Trafford is
everyone's dream so we hope for another good result. "It was a tough game on
Sunday, especially after we took the lead so early on. We knew they were
going to come at us and they did during the opening 45 minutes. "But in the
second half I thought it was more even and both teams had chances to win the
game. "Sometimes you just need that bit of luck and Darren made some great
saves for us. I thought the defence played really well and we were really
resilient as a team. "You need that when you come to a place like Old
Trafford and it is a special place to play but I thought we matched them man
for man."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll ready to return for West Ham in time to beat up Arsenal defence
again
The Telegraph
Matt Law, football news correspondent
29 NOVEMBER 2016 • 10:30PM
Slaven Bilic believes a League Cup cameo against Manchester United could put
West Ham United striker Andy Carroll on course to beat up Arsenal's defence
for a second successive season.
Carroll has not played since the Europa League game against Astra Giurgiu in
August because of a knee injury, but the 27-year-old is close to making yet
another comeback.
West Ham manager Bilic is without Diafra Sakho for the League Cup
quarter-final trip to Old Trafford, with the Senegal international waiting
for the results of a scan on his injured hamstring, which could give a
chance to 21-year-old Ashley Fletcher.
Carroll is also pushing for a recall, but Bilic insists it would be
'suicidal' to try to start him against United and Arsenal, and thinks a
substitute appearance may give him the best chance of lining up against
Arsene Wenger's team in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal failed to cope with Carroll last season, as the 27-year-old scored a
stunning nine-minute hat-trick either side of half-time in West Ham's 3-3
draw.
"We are talking about a player who hasn't played since the game in Romania,"
said Bilic. "For Andy Carroll, it should be good to play 20 minutes or half
an hour for Saturday.
"It should be crucial by the way, before you put him in from the start. You
can't keep the players in the fridge and then throw them in and expect them
to score again or score a hat-trick like he did at Upton Park.
"So for Andy and every player in that condition it would be great to play a
part, but if you are talking about 90 minutes on Wednesday and 90 minutes on
Saturday, it is suicidal. But nobody is talking about that. But 15, 20
minutes, half an hour should be good. Because he should be training anyway
and there is no better training than a game.
"There is no question over whether or not Andy wants to play. He wants to
play every game, he's that kind of person. He likes to train, to play. It's
about his knee. It's a decision for all of us. You have a scan, the opinion
of the medical team and then we see how he feels. That's the most important
thing, especially when you are on the border and it is not black and white."
This will be the second time in four days that West Ham have faced United at
Old Trafford, having drawn in the Premier League at the weekend.
United manager Jose Mourinho is facing a touchline ban for kicking a water
bottle on Sunday and Bilic has some sympathy for his opposing manager.
"I don't know the rules but England is a country where they like to stick to
the rules and I saw that," said Bilic. "The problem is that Jose hit that
bottle like - it was a great volley to be fair. He should have miskicked it!
He hit it too good."
Asked if he thought managers were fully aware that kicking a bottle is an
offence, Bilic added: "But you know a lot of things and you still do them,
as it is a special kind of state during the game. You are not thinking 'can
I kick the ball?' You are fuming and you see the ball and you kick it.
"Many times, I see the bottles in front of me and many times I go like… I
will smash it and I stop in the last second. You are not sitting at home
having lunch with your family, your adrenaline is going and you are also in
the red zone.
"I am not the one who sits for 90 minutes, so everyone has his own way of
managing. You have Van Gaal who sits there and then managers like Conte or
Klopp.
"There is no proper way of managing. Sometimes if you are too calm you are
accused of not having an impact on your players and that you should be on
the touchline. But if you are on the touchline you get accused of making
them nervous. Everyone's got his own way."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham warned not to raise bar too high for Andy Carroll's comeback
Jacob Steinberg
The Guardian
Tuesday 29 November 2016 22.30 GMT
Although news of Andy Carroll's return will send a shiver down the spine of
Arsenal's defenders, Slaven Bilic is taking care to manage expectations
about a player who does not need anyone to show him round the treatment room
at West Ham.
The striker who scored a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Arsène Wenger's side
last season is back in full training and what a story it would be if he
bullies Arsenal again when they visit the London Stadium on Saturday. That
scenario is almost too good to be true for West Ham, which is why Bilic
erred on the side of caution before his side's EFL Cup quarter-final at
Manchester United.
The West Ham manager said he will not hold back Carroll from the Arsenal
game. Yet he has not played since suffering a knee injury in August and,
although Bilic has problems in attack with Diafra Sakho awaiting the results
of a scan on a hamstring injury, he knows it would be reckless to gamble on
a player with such a patchy fitness record.
West Ham are a point above the bottom three in the Premier League and their
team against United are likely to reflect their worrying position, with
Havard Nordtveit, Edimilson Fernandes, Sofiane Feghouli and André Ayew in
line for rare starts and Adrián likely to replace Darren Randolph in goal.
"I know this game on Saturday could be a little bit easier if it was on
Sunday," Bilic said. "It's a little bit tight between the games but I don't
approach it that way. We decide on Andy based on can he bring us something.
The Arsenal game is more important but this one is also important for us.
They are both important.
"Andy also has to train. We are talking about a player who hasn't played
since the game in Romania [in August]. For Andy Carroll it should be good to
play 20 minutes, half an hour here, for Saturday.
"It should be crucial. You can't keep the players in the fridge and then
throw them in and expect them to score again or score a hat-trick like he
did at Upton Park. For Andy and every player in that condition it would be
great to take part but, if you are talking about 90 minutes against United
and 90 minutes on Saturday, it is suicidal."
West Ham's need for greater potency in attack is clear, yet they have
already been burnt by Sakho's latest setback. Having seen a £15m move to
join West Brom in the summer fall through when his medical revealed a back
problem, Sakho worked his way back to fitness and into Bilic's plans, making
his first start since May in the 3-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 19
November.
How West Ham had missed the Senegal international's speed, work rate and
poaching instincts was illustrated by his early goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw
with United. It was the first by one of Bilic's strikers this season, a
damning indictment of the club's summer signings. Yet Sakho limped off in
the second half and there are fears that he may be out for a month.
West Ham may not have had to rush him back if they had shown better judgment
during a summer that ended with the arrival of two disastrous loan signings
and Ashley Fletcher on a free transfer from United, leaving them short of
strikers ready for the Premier League.
Fletcher has shown promise despite his inexperience but Jonathan Calleri has
a hamstring injury and could return to Deportivo Maldonado in Uruguay in
January, while Simone Zaza has failed to impress on loan from Juventus.
Given that he has been forced to use Michail Antonio and Ayew as makeshift
strikers at times, Bilic needs Carroll fit and firing again even if the
slight whiff of desperation hanging over his return harks back to the Sam
Allardyce era.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Daily WHUFC News - 30th November 2016
Westley - The test was needed
WHUFC.com
West Ham United PL2 were beaten 4-1 by Fulham in Premier League 2 Division 2
Toni Martinez scored on his comeback from injury
Terry Westley was pleased with the test that Fulham provided his side
Terry Westley said he was delighted with the test his players received,
despite going down 4-1 against Fulham at Craven Cottage in Premier League 2
Division 2. The Hammers found it tough against a side that boasted a number
of regular first team players and goals from Steven Humphrys (2), Dennis
Adeniran and Lasse Vigen Christenen made sure Toni Martinez's penalty was a
mere consolation. Westley said afterwards the test that presented itself on
Monday evening was hugely worthwhile. "They had close to 400 appearances out
there and they've played in a number of different leagues. That was the
clinical difference," he said. "I'm delighted with the test my players
received tonight. Our centre halves had a real challenge with their front
two and they can get back on the bus and think they've put in a real shift
tonight." "I can't say that about everybody but in our job, if that's the
learning curve and we get better then it's worth doing."
The Hammers started the brighter of the two sides and almost took the lead
when Marcus Browne's free kick just evaded Marcus Bettinelli's right hand
post. But the Cottagers went ahead against the run of play after Humphrys
found the bottom corner from 25 yards.
They doubled their lead shortly after when Adeniran headed in from a corner
before Humphrys added his second and Fulham's third ten minutes before
half-time. Toni Martinez, on his return after seven weeks out through
injury, got the Hammers back into the contest with a penalty on the hour
mark, but the comeback was effectively stopped when Christensen found the
roof of the net from close range. The result ends the Hammers five match
unbeaten run, as they quickly prepare for the visit of Brighton and Hove
Albion in the Premier League Cup on Thursday. "We haven't got a big break
now, we play again on Thursday. If we can beat Brighton that'll be three
wins on the trot in the Cup. "That'll nearly guarantee that we go through to
the next stage so it's a big game for us and we'll turn our attention to
that."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Speaks - Manchester United
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic faced the media ahead of the big EFL Cup quarter-final tie with
Manchester United and says he would love to steer his side to the semi-final
stage of the competition. The Hammers manager also provided the latest
team-news including the latest on Diafra Sakho and the hamstring injury he
sustained at Old Trafford on Sunday....
Slaven, can we start by asking you the latest surrounding Diafra Sakho and
how long he will be out of action?
SB: "Diafra picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting to see how bad
the injury is. He will definitely not be available for the game on
Wednesday. "We will have to wait for the results of the scan to see how many
weeks we will be without him. "It is a big blow for us because we know what
he can give to us and he showed that against Tottenham and Manchester United
on Sunday. I can only hope it is not going to be long. "It is very
frustrating, especially for the player who was working so hard to come back
and made an impact straight away. "To be sidelined again is awful for him,
but I am sure this injury will not be like the one that forced him to miss
the start of the season."
Are you optimistic about Andy Carroll and his return to first-team action.
Is there a chance he could play on Wednesday night?
SB: "We are going to see what happens today. Andy has a good recovery and
has been training with us. If he progresses well and there are not any minor
setbacks, he will definitely be ready for Saturday and we will make a
decision about the United game after training.
"We will assess him after training to see how he is. With Andy we take it on
a daily basis."
Is there any other team-news ahead of the Cup game and how do you view the
game on Wednesday night?
SB: "We are facing the same opposition and the rest of the players are good.
A draw will not be enough on the night and there has to be a winner. "The
league is always the priority but this is a big game for us and the cup
competitions are important for us. "It will be a big thing to reach the
semi-finals and that is why we are approaching the game in a positive way.
"I said against Chelsea we were the underdogs but we put a strong team out
and beat them. "We then got another tough draw away from home, but we have
played three games there and have not lost. We could have won all of them
and remain very positive. "We will make a few changes, but it will still be
a very strong team."
How much encouragement do you take from the fact that you secured a 1-1 draw
on Sunday?
SB: "I take a lot of encouragement from that and positives from the game. We
had moments in the game where we played very well. We need to be brave and
positive."
Joint-Chairman David Sullivan believes the Club have turned a corner. Do you
agree with him?
SB: "Every point counts and I think we have turned a corner in terms of the
team performances and individual performances. "We are still not in the
position that we want to be, but when you look at the performances since the
Watford, West Brom and Middlesbrough games, we are playing good football
now. "Since the international break we have not gained a lot of points, but
the performances are the ones that are giving us the right to think that we
are on a good path now."
Would reaching the semi-finals set you up nicely for the next two games
against Arsenal and Liverpool?
SB: "It would give us a lot of confidence if we could win the game and we
will be doing everything to do that. If we change a few players like United
will, it doesn't mean we are going there just to play a game. "It is a
quarter-final and to reach the semis is a big thing and we are just a couple
of games from the final."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Kemp - Quick turnaround is a benefit
WHUFC.com
Dan Kemp believes the quick turnaround before West Ham PL2's next game is a
benefit
The Hammers were beaten 4-1 at Fulham in Premier League 2 on Monday
Their next match is on Thursday against Brighton in the Premier League Cup
Dan Kemp believes the lack of rest before West Ham United PL2's next match
is much needed as they look to bounce back from their defeat to Fulham on
Monday evening. The Hammers lost 4-1 at Craven Cottage against a Fulham side
which boasted over 400 first team appearances and Kemp believes the quick
turnaround is beneficial to the young Irons. Attention swiftly turns to the
visit of Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League Cup on Thursday,
when the Hammers can make it three wins out of three in the competition.
"As long as we learn from and keep trying to play the way which we did
afterwards, it'll positive in the long run. Obviously we're very
disappointed with the result, we know we can do better on the goals that we
conceded," said Kemp. "There's no time to dwell on it though, we've got a
big game on Thursday against Brighton. "There's a chance to put it right and
hopefully we can get 3 out of 3 wins in the Cup and go through. That's the
plan and that's what we want to do."
The PL2 Hammers were aiming to go six matches unbeaten in all competitions
on Monday but came up against a vastly experienced Fulham side which
featured the likes of Marcus Bettinelli, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Cauley
Woodrow. Terry Westley's troops did have their spells of dominance in the
match, but the Cottagers' cutting edge saw them score four times. "We had a
spell in the first half where we were controlling possession, creating
chances and looked like the better team. But they scored and it put us on
the back foot. We tried to keep playing but we conceded some sloppy goals,"
added Kemp. "Second half I thought we did better as a team. We got the ball
moving again. When Toni scored, we thought another one would get us back in
the game but unfortunately we conceded another."
Kemp has been a familiar name on the PL2 team sheet over recent weeks, after
impressing for the U18s during the early part of the season. "Obviously I'm
very happy getting lots of games for the U23s at the moment. The aim is to
keep playing well and keep my place in the team."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Noble wants cup glory
Whufc.COM
Noble West Ham United skipper Mark Noble would love to see his side reach
the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and hopes to record another memorable victory
over Manchester United on Wednesday night.
Noble was part of the last West Ham team to record a victory at Old Trafford
back in May 2007 when Carlos Tevez scored the famous goal to keep the
Hammers in the Premier League.
It was a day that the experienced midfielder will never forget and hopes for
similar celebrations if the Hammers can make it through to the semi-final
stage.
Slaven Bilic has confirmed that he will make a few changes for the game, but
is still taking the competition seriously and would love to see his side win
major silverware this season.
Noble says there is no better venue to showcase your talents and hopes his
side can build on the 1-1 draw with United last Sunday and make it through
to the last four of the competition.
Noble said: "The Premier League is important to us because of the position
we find ourselves in and we need the points. We have tough games coming up
against Arsenal and Liverpool.
"But we can now look forward to a big game in the Cup against Manchester
United once again and going to play at Old Trafford is everyone's dream so
we hope for another good result."
Noble insists his team-mates can take a number of positives from the draw
against United last Sunday and hopes it will in their favour when they face
Jose Mourinho's side once again.
Noble added "It was a tough game on Sunday, especially after we took the
lead so early on. We knew they were going to come at us and they did during
the opening 45 minutes.
"But in the second half I thought it was more even and both teams had
chances to win the game.
"Sometimes you just need that bit of luck and Darren made some great saves
for us. I thought the defence played really well and we were really
resilient as a team.
"You need that when you come to a place like Old Trafford and it is a
special place to play but I thought we matched them man for man."
Tickets are still available for the game on Wednesday night. Fans should
visit the ticketing and membership services office at Old Trafford which is
open from 8am on Wednesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester United v West Ham United
WED, 30 NOV 2016EFL CUP - QUARTER-FINAL
20:00
Venue: Old Trafford
BBC coverage
How to follow:
Listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC
Sport website
TEAM NEWS
Midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini will both miss Manchester
United's EFL Cup quarter-final against West Ham United due to suspension.
Both were booked for the fifth time this season when the teams drew 1-1 in
the Premier League on Sunday.
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho, who scored at Old Trafford at the weekend, is
out with a hamstring injury. Andy Carroll is close to returning from a knee
problem while defender Winston Reid is available after suspension.
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera said his side wanted "revenge"
after failing to win at the weekend. "It's positive that we are playing on
Wednesday, when we can get revenge," the Spaniard added. "We can turn our
luck in the next game in the EFL Cup. "It doesn't matter the competition, it
doesn't matter the game, we just want to win. We want to fight for
everything and we want to make our fans proud. "It's positive that we are
playing on Wednesday, when we can get revenge."
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic said he would be making changes to the team but
said he was confident the players coming in could help the Hammers reach the
semi-finals. "It would give us a lot of confidence if we could win the game
and we will be doing everything to do that," added Bilic. "If we change a
few players like United will, it doesn't mean we are going there just to
play a game. "It is a quarter-final and to reach the semis is a big thing
and we are just a couple of games from the final.
Another semi-final for West Ham?
West Ham are looking to reach the League Cup semi-final for the 10th time in
their history, and the first time since 2013/14.
Manchester United and West Ham last met in the League Cup in 2010/11, where
the Hammers won 4-0 in the quarter-final. It remains their largest win over
a Premier League side in the competition.
The Red Devils have lost only one of their last 24 home League Cup games
against fellow top-flight sides (W22 D1), losing 1-2 against Chelsea in
January 2005.
Jose Mourinho has not lost a game in the League Cup since December 2013,
winning eight and drawing two since then.
West Ham have won just two of their last 11 away games against Premier
League opposition in the League Cup (L9), conceding at least once on each
occasion.
Ander Herrera and Marcus Rashford have combined for two goals in the EFL Cup
this season; the most of any duo still in the competition.
Mark Noble has assisted twice in the EFL Cup this year, while no other
player set to feature in the quarter-final has done so more.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
E-purse fiasco resolution close?
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's new Head of Ticketing has confirmed that supporters will
be able to use 'e-credits' to purchase match day tickets THIS season.
Last month one supporter commenced legal action against the club after they
were continuously denied access to the funds which had been held by West Ham
for what they considered to be an unreasonable length of time.
But following further dialogue between a number of addected supporters and
the club, Nicola Keye - a recent arrival at WHUFC - has confirmed that those
s will be able to use their credits to purchase not only season tickets for
netx season, but match day tickets for Cup and away fixtures this term.
KUMB member Phil S confiemed the news via the KUMB Forum this afternoon,
following a conversation with Keye. "Nicola confirmed e-purse is a priority
and that she has already been in discussion with a company she has used
before," he wrote.
"It will be working again in the near future and you will be able to use it
to either renew your season ticket or purchase cup and away tickets, which
is good news."
Back in May, West Ham confirmed that supporters who had e-purse credits in
their old online Box Office accounts would be able to use them once the club
had introduced the new ticketing system following the move to Stratford.
However fans began to complain when they were unable to access their funds -
a situation that led vice-Chair Karren Brady to tell fans at a recent
meeting that a new system should be in place by the end of October.
Still unable to access their cash, the supporter in question served papers
on West Ham United four days after that deadline had passed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Man Utd 1-1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: HeadHammerShark
1. In Dubious Battle
Imagine getting sent off trying to defend this shithousery though.
"Of course this a foul" says Jose "Do you know how much he cost?"
2. The Wayward Bus
The first West Ham away game I ever attended was on March 17 1984 and we
lost 4-1 to Leicester. The most recent was our 5-1 demolition of Blackburn
in the FA Cup last season. Those two absurd bookends serve as a nice
reminder of the riches and rewards as well as the pitfalls of following a
football team around the country with any degree of regularity.
I saw us lose 5-0 to Newcastle while allowing Leon Best to score a hat
trick. This bordered on the impossible as Leon Best is a large, flat piece
of wood and is not capable of kinetic movement. And yet it happened.
I've seen us lose 3-0 to Notts County as the fans staged a sit down protest,
blissfully unaware that we would one day lose 7-1 at Blackburn, making that
day in Nottingham look like a right laugh.
I vividly recall the 4-2 midweek defeat under Roeder at Charlton that
precipitated the legendary, and never successfully answered, chant demanding
a new back four.
But I also watched a 3-0 win at Bolton when Danny Williamson ran 80 yards to
score a wonder goal and briefly made us dream of home grown talent again,
before disappearing off the face of the earth and becoming a "Who remembers"
contender on the KUMB podcast. There were soul nourishing wins at Arsenal,
Spurs, Man United and that bananas 3-0 win at Wigan that made everyone dare
to dream that the Great Escape might actually be possible, and had the added
effect of making Neil Warnock cry.
The point is that West Ham have been pretty crap away from home for a long
time, but there is always that small kernel of hope that drives us on. This
game never really looked winnable, and yet we came within a James Collins
aneurysm of nicking it. Those fans who braved the Arctic conditions, the
terrible Old Trafford track record and Sunday train services deserve our
unstinting admiration.
The reality is that in the last thirty years, West Ham fans travelling to
this fixture have seen almost as many six goal defeats as they have
victories. To paraphrase Alan Pardew - and why wouldn't we given what he is
currently giving to the football world at large - travelling away with West
Ham has always been done Moore in hope than expectation.
3. East Of Eden
Let's be honest, points gained at Old Trafford don't carry quite the same
cachet that they used to but when you've been as bad as West Ham have been
this season you take what you can get. This was a workmanlike performance
that owed much to Darren Randolph, some to good fortune and a lot to a
disciplined defensive unit who rode their luck to the last.
It helps, of course, when you have a forward who can score, and Diafra
Sakho's 2nd minute bullet header should have been the platform for a
stirring away performance. As it was, we seemed a little confused by how to
approach the game at 1-0 up, and seemingly abandoned all pretence at going
forward. It wasn't a huge surprise, therefore, that Pogba picked out
Ibrahimovic twenty minutes later and dreams of an away win turned into
seventy minutes of hiding behind the sofa in search of a point.
The big Swede was able to head his equaliser unopposed as James Collins was
caught up discussing the new series of "The Affair" with Angelo Ogbonna and
thus forgot to pay any attention to the man he was marking, but still, you
can't have everything.
There were lots of good things today, however, and while we seem to have
lost the counterthrusting ability that served us so well last year this can
at least be partially explained by the fact that we've been operating
without a striker for three months. Diafra Sakho has remedied that and his
hard work and general physical presence was enough to put opposition
defenders under the kind of pressure they haven't had to face all season.
Randolph also built on a sort of good start last week by performing well
here in the face of much pressure. There were fine saves from Lingard and
Ibrahimovic and best of all from Rashford when he was clean through. I'm
still not entirely convinced by either of our keepers, and suspect that
Adrian probably remains the better of the two, but the Irishman has waited a
long time and seem some genuinely postal fuck ups by the Spaniard so he
deserves his run.
Curiously, our best part of the game was the last five minutes when we had a
couple of decent looking breaks, and Ashley Fletcher nearly stole the points
in the last minute but was denied by a fine De Gea save. Rather like the
Spurs game last week, had we found Payet on one of those breaks we'd have
been going home with the points and this column would need to acknowledge
some green shoots of recovery.
As it is...Avram Watch!
2010/11 (Worst West Ham team in living memory) after 13 games: W1 D6 L6 (9
points)
2016/17 (This lot) after 13 games: W3 D3 L7 (12 points).
Relax guys. Everything is fine.
4. The Winter Of Our Discontent
Unrelenting Avram hatred aside, there actually were some green shoots today,
and indeed last week. One thorny issue, however, is Mark Noble and whether
the captain should remain the automatic selection he has been for so long.
Last week, Lanzini dropped deeper and was a key influence on the game as his
neat passing helped us pass out of trouble, and he did enough defensively to
keep Spurs at bay for 88 minutes before....sobs uncontrollably.
The problem is that with Noble needing to be accommodated, Lanzini was
pushed further forward here and reverted to flitting ineffectually in and
out of the game as he had done for most of the season. Man United probably
aren't as good as Spurs and yet we struggled to create too much today until
those last few minutes, and our front players were horribly isolated.
Interestingly, I thought we actually sparked into life when Andre Ayew came
on, which is handy given that he cost £20m.
What the broader point highlights, however, is the slightly one dimensional
nature of some of our players. You need central midfielders to be able to
break up play, and then transition you from deep on the pitch into forward
areas from which to launch attacks. Noble does the latter, and Lanzini the
former and thus we need both of them on the pitch to make those things
happen. If you're Manchester United or Chelsea you just buy Pogba or Kante
and get them to do both, but without that sort of financial muscle or an
actual scouting network, we need two players to do the work that can be done
in better teams by just one.
We're hardly unique there though, and must say I consider myself a Noble
fan. He has been undeniably less effective this season, however, and it's
worth examining why. Maybe his legs have just caught up with his hairstyle,
which has been the same since he was 19 and he has actually transformed into
the 45 year old man that he has looked like since about 2004. I do wonder if
the bigger pitch at the London Stadium is having an effect as there is more
real estate to cover and no centre forward to pass to, and that's a recipe
for putting miles on the clock.
His discipline and determination is important in keeping our defensive shape
but the reality is that we've still been crap at the back. It took Obiang's
belated introduction to give us the required ability to regain the ball in
central areas, and despite that we have a goal difference worryingly close
to Sunderland's - and they're not even a professional football team. It's
just Jermain Defoe plus the first ten paying customers to arrive.
Whatever is ailing Noble needs fixing soon. Winning the ball back is not
much help if your use of it is then so slow that it can't allow the team to
break. And if you review the highlights from this game you'll see that the
late Ibrahimovic chance, ultimately snuffed out by Kouyate, came as a result
of Noble taking a truly godawful free kick which he floated on to Valencia's
chest and then had to watch helplessly as Collins decided the best way to
deal with the resulting threat was to have some kind of seizure.
I don't know the answer to this problem, but the beating heart of our team
is out of sync. One for Bilic to focus on.
5. The Pearl
I've seen mixed reactions to Payet's performance today. I liked his industry
and willingness to do some pretty decent defensive work, all the while
shouldering the burden of playing for a team whose tactics whiteboard has
one sole entry, simply saying "I dunno - give it to Payet".
Others seem to think he looked uninterested and shirked his duties, but I
can't say I really saw that. Having the ball is an underrated aspect of
defensive play, and there has been a season long trend of us giving away
possession way too easily. Payet remains our best asset in this regard,
added to the fact that he can put in crosses that lead to things like this.
It was a bit odd that Mourinho dared to Zlatan there, but dare he did and
Sakho capitalised brilliantly.
There is even a mad rumour going round today that Mourinho wants to buy
Payet himself in January. There might be a germ of truth in this as United
have only spent £400m on attacking players in the last year or two and still
can't defend, but nothing they do is surprising anymore.
I'd sell if we can get Martial and Rashford back in the deal but I doubt
that's likely. Still, any football executive not ringing up Manchester
United and seeing if they'll do something stupid isn't doing their job
properly.
6. Once There Was A War
Not to belabour the point, but take a look at our bench today and see if you
can spot the common link between the outfield players:
Adrian, Nordtveit, Feghouli, Zaza, Ayew, Fletcher, Fernandes.
When you don't improve your first team at all in a £40m summer spending
spree that's terrible business. And make no mistake, this was the worst
shopping trip since John Terry's mum said to her mate: "Don't worry - I'll
take care of this".
7. To A God Unknown
The absence of Winston Reid could have been damaging today, but our back
three generally stood up pretty well except for the couple of times they
channelled the lost spirit of Aston Villa.
That said, I think we may be seeing the decline phase of James Collins as a
Premier League player. Ibrahimovic simply ran past him for the goal, and
whilst there were a couple of typically heroic last ditch interventions, it
wasn't a shock to see him then nearly scuttle the whole thing with a
terrible late back pass, and it's fair to say that he may have been more
successful than Pope Francis in getting East Londoners to pray this Sunday.
It's a shame that Reece Oxford is injured as he could probably have got some
playing time this week, which is apparently a sticking point with his new
contract. That said, picking up a poorly timed injury suggests an
understanding of the Club's history that bodes well for him sticking around
a while.
Collins, meanwhile, has been a great servant but with Kouyate, Reid and
Ogbonna looking semi decent in the new formation, I don't expect him to play
too much for us in the future. Like Noble, it's the glaring lack of pace
that causes consternation.
8. The Grapes Of Wrath
No sooner does Diafra Sakho return to the team and provide us with our first
goal from a forward all year than he injures himself and is out for two
weeks, per David Gold.
Gold also tweeted that Andy Carroll wasn't risked yesterday and will instead
be subject to a week of "high intensity training" ahead of the Arsenal game,
which doesn't sound like it should be an issue for a guy who once injured
himself getting off a barstool.
This means he'll be rushed back half fit for Arsenal, and thus increases the
future risk of injury fairly substantially. It's really difficult to see why
West Ham struggle so much with injuries.
But, returning briefly to Sakho, his (latest) injury is a killer as we had
been so utterly awful in attack this year. Take a look at this:
This graphic is taken from Experimental361, a great website run by Ben
Mayhew, who was gracious enough to allow me to use this chart, which
highlights the truly pathetic state of our attacking threat.
In fact, I haven't seen anything this tragic since someone at the BBC's
flagship political programme Question Time searched through their email
address book for a guest to help us make sense of Brexit, Trump, the rise of
far right nationalism and the attendant economic uncertainty, and settled
upon Huey from the Fun Lovin' Criminals.
What Ben's graphic tell us, in broad terms, is how frequently our players
are scoring, and how often we might expect them to be scoring based upon the
Expected Goals value of their shots. This last concept may be alien to some,
but it's a widely used statistic in the analytics community that looks at a
huge range of historic data and then tries to quantify how likely a player
is to score based upon how often a player in his position, taking that shot,
has historically scored. I might be slightly off in that description as
there are some moving parts, but that's essentially it.
For Michail Antonio, he is scoring about 0.5/per game but his XG would
suggest that he should have a rate of around 0.35/per game. So he is
actually outperforming what we might expect from him. (It should be noted
that Antonio is something of an analytical darling due to his tendency to
perform exactly as we might expect with great frequency. And also possibly
the Simpsons celebration, I don't know). What you should take from this is
that Antonio is probably the real deal, and that playing him at right back
is absolutely insane.
Elsewhere though - it's a disaster. It's Mariah Carey's acting career. It's
that time London decided to celebrate the Millennium by setting the River
Thames on fire. It's Southern Rail. It's Eurovision.
We actually don't have any forwards who have either played enough minutes or
taken enough shots to make this chart other than Zaza. It also probably
highlights that we are not taking enough shots from decent areas which
probably isn't too much of a surprise if you consider that Lanzini alone has
twice tried to score with a Rabona from outside the area.
That's what makes Sakho getting injured again so frustrating. Now we'll be
back to Zaza huffing and puffing, Ayew out of position and Fletcher, the boy
being asked to do a mans job. It would be great to get Sakho back for
Liverpool, but at this stage it's hard not to wonder about this
back/hamstring injury he has and quite why the Club have yet to successfully
fix it.
To put all of this in context, Toby Alderweireld is on the Spurs chart.
Repeat after me; Our centre forwards are less threatening than Spurs centre
backs.
9. Burning Bright
On the subject of Ashley Fletcher, I thought he looked alright yesterday.
There has been a bit of a clamour for him to be playing more frequently,
which might be more of a reflection of the performances of his fellow
strikers than anything specific that he has done.
That said, if Zaza is now persona non grata due to his stupid transfer
clause, and Ayew is clearly better suited to a support striker role, then
it's possible he may be a stop gap until one of Carroll or Sakho are fit
enough to play regularly.
I can't help but feel he might be better served by more regular game time in
the Championship, but the sad fact is that we probably need him until the
Club can overspend hugely on someone in January.
10. Cup Of Gold
Wednesday sees us return to Manchester for yet another Cup meeting with the
Red Devils. With our league position so precarious and our form improving, I
wouldn't be tempted to risk anyone important. So no Payet, no Lanzini, and
therefore I accept, no hope.
I know plenty of fans who have said to me that they would take relegation if
we could win a cup. I've always found this false equivalency as this is a
binary choice that doesn't exist, but if there comes a time when Cup games
could potentially negatively impact on the league then the latter takes
precedence in my eyes.
I know that honours are unforgettable and stay with you forever, but trust
me - so do league trips to Rotherham.
Let's face it, our league status is non-negotiable given the stadium
situation and the riches on offer for Premiership football. Liverpool and
Arsenal will remain in the EFL Cup after Wednesday, so whatever chance we
have can't exactly be characterised as more than "average". If this were a
more open competition I could see us throwing a bit more at Wednesday but
I'd rather play it safe and see how the reserves get on.
Those terrible summer signings were brought in for nights like this and we
should live or die by that. The idea of Payet getting injured on Wednesday
and missing any time is terrifying. Oh, and I'm sure you're all aware that
Kouyate, Ayew, Feghouli and whatever remains of Sakho's body after medical
science have picked him apart, are all off to the African Cup of Nations in
January.
For all that, we bent but we did not break here, and that's important. We've
been to Spurs and Man Utd, scored three times and trailed for a total of one
minute. In some regards it's almost impossible to only get a point from that
combination but here we are. This is the key part of our season, where we
can push away from the bottom three and off up to the promised land of mid
table mediocrity, or slide down with the dead men and prepare for a
relegation fight.
So yes, I want us to prioritise Saturday over Wednesday, and I duly
apologise to the dreamers amongst you.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic anxiously awaiting Sakho diagnosis
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Staff Writer
Slaven Bilic fears that West Ham could be without the services of Diafra
Sakho for several weeks.
Bilic, speaking ahead of tomorrow night's second trip to Old Trafford inside
five days revealed that whilst the club are still awaiting diagnosis to
confirm the extent of the injury sustained during Sunday's 1-1 draw, Sakho
is likely to miss a number of matches.
"Diafra picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting to see how bad the
injury is," Bilic told the media. "He will definitely not be available for
the game on Wednesday and we will have to wait for the results of the scan
to see how many weeks we will be without him.
"It is a big blow for us because we know what he can give to us and he
showed that against Tottenham and Manchester United. I can only hope it is
not going to be long.
"It is very frustrating, especially for the player who was working so hard
to come back and made an impact straight away. To be sidelined again is
awful for him, but I am sure this injury will not be like the one that
forced him to miss the start of the season."
Bilic, whose front line has been decimated by a string of injuries this
season could also be without the services of Andy Carroll, who had been
tipped to appear in the 18-man squad at Old Trafford last weekend.
"We are going to see what happens [in training] today," he said. "Andy has a
good recovery and has been training with us.
" If he progresses well and there are not any minor setbacks, he will
definitely be ready for Saturday and we will make a decision about the
United game after training. We will assess him after training to see how he
is. With Andy, we take it on a daily basis."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham set to welcome Andy Carroll back for Man Utd clash
By Nick Lustig
Last Updated: 29/11/16 12:24pm
SSN
Slaven Bilic is unsure how long he will be without Diafra Sakho, but has
revealed he could welcome Andy Carroll back for West Ham's EFL Cup tie away
at Manchester United on Wednesday. Carroll has not featured for West Ham
since August after suffering a knee injury in the Europa League play-off
match against Astra Giurgiu. He returned to full training last week and
Bilic says he will make a late call on whether to include the forward in his
squad for the quarter-final tie at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports 1 HD
from 7.30pm.
"We're going to see today whether Andy Carroll is ready, we will make a
decision after training. Maybe tomorrow, definitely Saturday [v Arsenal],"
the West Ham manager said. Bilic also confirmed Sakho would undergo a scan
on Tuesday on the hamstring injury he sustained in the Hammers' 1-1 draw
with United in the Premier League on Sunday. The Senegal forward scored
inside the opening two minutes, but was withdrawn in the 66th minute after
pulling up with the problem. Sakho only returned from a three-month lay-off
with a back injury in the 3-2 defeat away at Tottenham on November 19 and
Bilic admits he is facing an anxious wait over the fitness of the
26-year-old. "Diafra is now in hospital and he is having a scan, the scan is
of course going to show us how big the injury is," he said. "It's a
hamstring, so we don't know how long will be out for yet, but he's
definitely not available for tomorrow. "I don't whether it's going to be one
week two weeks, three weeks or four weeks, we have to wait for the results
of the scan and then we'll know how many weeks we'll be without him. "We
know how important he is to us, he gives us a lot so it's a big blow and I
hope he returns as soon as possible."
West Ham defeated United 4-0 at the same stage of the EFL Cup in 2010 and
Bilic believes the competition provides his club with a "big opportunity" to
claim their first piece of silverware in 36 years. "The rest of the squad is
good, we played well against Man Utd. But tomorrow, a draw is not enough,
there has to be a winner," he said. "We were underdogs against Chelsea, and
we are underdogs again now. This cup is a big opportunity for us. "Tomorrow,
we will do everything we can to beat Man Utd. We will give a few players a
chance, but we are going there to win."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gareth Southgate the right man for England, says West Ham's Michail Antonio
Last Updated: 28/11/16 10:07pm
SSN
Gareth Southgate is the right man for the England job because of his special
relationship with the players, according to Michail Antonio. Antonio was
included in Southgate's first England squad for games against Malta and
Slovenia in October and the West Ham midfielder was impressed with the
interim boss. Southgate has completed a formal interview with the Football
Association's five-man panel and could be confirmed as permanent manager
this week. The 46-year-old spent three and a half years with England U21s
and oversaw two wins and two draws from his four matches in temporary
charge. "I feel he does look like the right man for the job," Antonio said.
"He's young enough to bond with the boys and he's got a relationship with
quite a few of the boys through the U21s. "We haven't had that for the last
few years, someone who is young, who has actually got a relationship with
the boys before he's met them so he knows what to do with them, and it shows
because he's doing well. "The 2-2 draw with Spain, people say it's a
friendly and they didn't turn it on, but Spain are still a quality team."
Some have questioned Southgate's experience in motivating top players but
Antonio insists the former Middlesbrough manager has all the right
attributes. "I'd say he's a great tactician," Antonio said. "He wants us to
play and the way he trusts the players, he believes the boys can do it, that
they are good enough to do it. "To play for England you have to be quality
so it's just about working out the kinks and making the players believe in
themselves and have the confidence to play. "He knows all the players. You
can't be around players and not know what makes them tick. That's the
difference between him and other managers. Antonio has scored six goals this
season and believes that if he keeps his form then more England caps will
come, and said he would have the faith of Southgate. "I've only spoken to
him the one time I wasn't in the squad," Antonio said. "He just said I
wasn't in it, that players were back from injury but that if anyone got
injured he wouldn't hesitate to give me a call. "I know it's about working
hard and playing well enough in the Premier League that it makes it
difficult not to choose me."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ladbrokes News
West Ham may have a number of issues to deal with right now, but while most
concern the defensive side of Slaven Bilic's team, things aren't so hot on
the striker front. That could all change though with reports AC Milan are
now ready to sell Carlos Bacca. The Hammers' registered strikers have
totalled one Premier League goal between them this season, and summer
signing Simone Zaza has failed to impress. Indeed, Zaza was only signed by
the east Londoners after a deal for Bacca fell through. But now it seems the
San Siro outfit are ready to cash in on their disgruntled striker. It's
believed AC could land as much as £25m for the Colombian, enough for them to
splash out on their own purchases during January's window.
Signing the 30-year-old would be sizeable boost to the Hammers, who face
continued reports that Dimitri Payet could leave the club unless they
improve their Premier League fortunes. But a Payet-Bacca combination is
certainly one to get the West Ham faithful excited.
The former Club Brugge striker fired in 18 goals in 36 Serie A appearances
last term, following 34 strikes in 72 La Liga games for Sevilla. There's no
doubting his quality and it's Bacca's eye for goal which has also drawn
attention from PSG and Valencia. But before January's window opens, Bilic
will be hoping his side can find an upswing in form. West Ham head to
Manchester United this week, hoping to bag a place in the EFL Cup
semi-finals. The bookies make Bilic's men 6/1 to win in 90 minutes at Old
Trafford.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic bracing himself as he awaits news on Diafra
Sakho's hamstring injury
Diafra Sakho scored in West Ham's 1-1 draw against Manchester United
Hammers are awaiting news on injury after he limped off on 66 minutes
Slaven Bilic confirmed the striker will miss Tuesday's EFL Cup clash
By Riath Al-Samarrai for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 13:44, 29 November 2016 | UPDATED: 13:46, 29 November 2016
Slaven Bilic has braced himself for the worst as West Ham wait on news of
Diafra Sako's hamstring injury. The 26-year-old scored in the 1-1 draw with
Manchester United on Sunday but limped off 66 minutes into the Premier
League fixture. Bilic confirmed on Tuesday that he would miss the EFL Cup
quarter-final tie with United on Wednesday and fears he could be out for up
to a month, depending on results of a scan. That would be a crushing
eventuality for West Ham and Sakho, given he only returned to the side on
November 19 after a three-month lay-off with a back injury. Bilic said:
'Sakho is at hospital having a scan – the scan will show how bad injury was.
He is definitely out for the United game on Wednesday. One week, two weeks,
four weeks, whatever I don't know. 'It's a big blow for us - he showed
against Spurs and Man United what he brings the team. Unfortunately it's a
big blow to lose him for tomorrow. I can only hope it isn't going to be
long. 'It's very frustrating, especially for the player to work hard, come
back and make an impact straight away. It's bad for us but it's awful for
him. But I'm sure this isn't like the one which kept him out since
pre-season. Compared to that should be a minor one but it's a big blow
because he just came back.' Bilic, meanwhile, is convinced West Ham have
turned a corner in their underwhelming season. They sit 16th in the Premier
League after a woeful start in which they lost five of their first six games
and were also dumped out of the Europa League. But having lost only twice in
the last six games, Bilic believes they have stabilised their campaign. They
have the chance to significantly alter their outlook in the EFL Cup
quarter-final against United.
In referencing the point West Ham took at Old Trafford in the league on
Sunday, Bilic said: 'Results wise it's only a point, but one point can't
lift you a lot. I think we have turned a corner in performances as a team
and individuals. 'If you compare our position in the table from September
and now we are still not where we would like to be but if you look at
performances I'm saying we are playing good football now but paying the
price for our bad start to the season. Since the international break we
didn't gain a lot of points or places in the table, one point from Spurs and
Man United, but the performances have improved. 'We have to beat Man United
on Wednesday - It would give us confidence. We are going to do everything we
can to beat them. It's a quarter-final, which means if you win you are in
semis and that's a big thing, only a couple of games to final.'
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Michail Antonio urges West Ham to find their consistency
HITC
Sean Lunt
West Ham United are currently just a point outside the relegation zone.
Speaking to Sky Sports, West Ham United winger Michail Antonio has urged his
side to find their consistency this season. The Hammers have endured a
disappointing first half of the campaign and currently sit just a point
outside the relegation zone. They are without a win in four games, having
drawn 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Consistency has
been a major issue for them so far, with the Hammers managing back-to-back
wins just once all season. A drastic turnaround in form is needed if West
Ham are to avoid a relegation battle and Antonio has urged them to find
their consistency to do so. "It's just about getting that consistency in the
Premier League," he told Sky Sports. "As a player, you have to be consistent
and as a team, you have got to be consistent to be up and around the big
boys. "Hopefully we've now put everything behind us, we find our shape, we
find our bond and now we can push on and get up the league."
This weekend could provide West Ham with the perfect opportunity to turn
things around. They take on Arsenal at home and a win against their London
rivals could provide them with the impetus they need to pull away from their
current predicament. The Hammers come up against a Gunners side full of
confidence and in good form, though, and they will need to find the
consistency that Antonio talks about to ensure they leave with all three
points.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diafra Sakho set for four weeks out after West Ham striker suffers hamstring
injury
The Senegal international will undergo scans over the next 24 hours to
determine the extent of the problem
BY DARREN LEWIS
22:30, 28 NOV 2016UPDATED18:13, 28 NOV 2016
The Mirror
West Ham fear Diafra Sakho could be out for another four weeks with his
hamstring injury. The Senegal international will undergo scans over the next
24 hours to determine the extent of the problem, picked up in the Hammers'
1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Sakho, 26, opened the scoring for Slaven Bilic's side in that game. Another
enforced absence for the frontman would be a huge blow for Bilic whose men
meet United again in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
Sakho only came back from three months out with a back injury in the Irons
3-2 defeat at Tottenham on November 19. The marksman has struggled with
injuries ever since his first season at the club he joined in the summer of
2014. Although he began that campaign with eight goals from his first ten
games, injuries struck and have done ever since. Sakho fell out with the
club over his contract last season and was set to join West Brom during the
summer before failing a medical. The Hammers are keen to rebuild bridges
with him - with potential carrot of a new deal - if he can recapture his
form from his debut season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM STRIKER SPOTTED AT MATCH IN ARGENTINAFeatured Image
Date: 28th November 2016 at 11:06pm
Written by: David Tully
West Ham striker Jonathan Calleri was a spectator at the Argentina Primera B
Nacional match between All Boys and Atletico Parana at the weekend. Calleri
used to play for All Boys at the beginning of his professional career in
2013, and the A Puro Boca Twitter account tweeted a picture of Calleri in
the crowd during the 0-0 draw.
The Argentine has not been included in the match day squad by Slaven Bilic
for the last two matches against Spurs and Manchester United. Calleri was
last on the bench for the game against Stoke City but he hasn't made an
appearance for the first team since he came on as a substitute against
Sunderland in the 1-0 win last month.
Speculation has been rife about the 23 year old's future at the club and he
is expected to leave for Spain the January transfer window with Sevilla,
Valencia and Malaga all tipped to make a move for the player.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham star Dimitri Payet on coming to Manchester United: Warning sent
DIMITRI PAYET admits West Ham must defend from the front at clubs with
Manchester United's stature - but insists the Hammers can compete.
By JACK STAPLEHURST
PUBLISHED: 05:20, Tue, Nov 29, 2016
Express.co.uk
Slaven Bilic's side picked up a hard-earned point at Old Trafford on Sunday
as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw. Diafra Sakho's early header
from a Payet free-kick was cancelled out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Jose
Mourinho's dismissal to the stands highlighted the hosts' frustration. West
Ham have struggled this season to replicate their impressive results home
and away from last term, but a recovery is underway with performances
improving under Bilic. Key man Payet was even linked with a £35m switch to
United over the weekend as West Ham face a battle to keep the Ballon d'Or
nominee amid their 16th-place position in the table. However, the France
international insists he is happy with how things are heading now having
hinted during the international break he could be open to an exit. And ahead
of tomorrow's second trip to Old Trafford in the space of four days, Payet
has warned Mourinho's men West Ham have proved they will provide strong
competition in the EFL Cup tie (8pm). "Obviously it was an important point
for us," Payet told the club's official website. "It is never easy to come
to Old Trafford and get a result, but that is what we have succeeded in
doing. "We came close to taking all three points at the end, so we are very
happy with that. "We played a good match last weekend at Tottenham and
unfortunately we didn't take the points, but thankfully we have succeeded in
getting something against United. "We are trying to put together a good
little run to move ourselves a bit higher up the table into a more
comfortable position. "Against these two tough teams, and we know what they
are capable of - we've showed that we can compete at this level. "When you
come to a place like Old Trafford you have to defend and the system is in
place for perfectly good reasons. "I'm happy right now because the decision
has paid off, but yes, of course, I am more happy with the ball."
West Ham are expected to name a full-strength side for the cup tie against
Mourinho's team, although Sunday's goalscorer Sakho won't feature. The
Senegalese became the Hammers' first striker to score this season but later
picked up a hamstring injury, and Express Sport understands he will be
sidelined again for three weeks. Europa League football awaits the winners
of the competition though, and West Ham are taking the quarterfinal tie
seriously. Meanwhile, United will be without suspended midfield duo Paul
Pogba and Marouane Fellaini. Jose Mourinho is likely to make changes to the
team who faced West Ham on Sunday, but the boss, who has now been charged by
the FA following his bottle kick at the weekend, is in need of a home win.
United have gone over two months without a victory at Old Trafford in the
Premier League, and EFL Cup success would help appease fans.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dimitri Payet: West Ham showed against Manchester United and Tottenham we
can compete at highest level
VAISHALI BHARDWAJ
Evening Standard
Dimitri Payet believes West Ham's performance against Tottenham and
Manchester United in the last two weeks has demonstrated the Hammers are
good enough to compete with the best teams in the league. Slaven Bilic's men
have struggled for results this term, with West Ham having won just three
Premier League games so far. The Hammers were close to making that four
victories last weekend but conceded two late goals to lose 3-2 to Tottenham
at White Hart Lane. But the east Londoners responded by going to Old
Trafford on Sunday and securing a hardfought 1-1 draw against United, which
Payet was heavily involved in. The France international delivered the free
kick which Diafra Sakho converted early on in the clash although Zlatan
Ibrahimovic restored parity 20 minutes later. With West Ham facing United
for the second time in three days in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, Payet
believes the club's recent performances demonstrate that the Hammers are
good enough to compete with all of the big teams in the top flight. Speaking
to West Ham's official website, Payet said: "Obviously it's an important
point for us. It is never easy to come to Old Trafford and get a result, but
that is what we have succeeded in doing. "We came close to taking all three
points at the end. So we are very happy with that. "We played a good match
last weekend at Tottenham and unfortunately we didn't take the points, but
thankfully we have succeeded in getting something against United. "Against
these two tough teams, and we know what they are capable of - we've showed
that we can compete at this level. "We are trying to put together a good
little run to move ourselves a bit higher up the table into a more
comfortable position."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham United PL2 were beaten 4-1 by Fulham in Premier League 2 Division 2
Toni Martinez scored on his comeback from injury
Terry Westley was pleased with the test that Fulham provided his side
Terry Westley said he was delighted with the test his players received,
despite going down 4-1 against Fulham at Craven Cottage in Premier League 2
Division 2. The Hammers found it tough against a side that boasted a number
of regular first team players and goals from Steven Humphrys (2), Dennis
Adeniran and Lasse Vigen Christenen made sure Toni Martinez's penalty was a
mere consolation. Westley said afterwards the test that presented itself on
Monday evening was hugely worthwhile. "They had close to 400 appearances out
there and they've played in a number of different leagues. That was the
clinical difference," he said. "I'm delighted with the test my players
received tonight. Our centre halves had a real challenge with their front
two and they can get back on the bus and think they've put in a real shift
tonight." "I can't say that about everybody but in our job, if that's the
learning curve and we get better then it's worth doing."
The Hammers started the brighter of the two sides and almost took the lead
when Marcus Browne's free kick just evaded Marcus Bettinelli's right hand
post. But the Cottagers went ahead against the run of play after Humphrys
found the bottom corner from 25 yards.
They doubled their lead shortly after when Adeniran headed in from a corner
before Humphrys added his second and Fulham's third ten minutes before
half-time. Toni Martinez, on his return after seven weeks out through
injury, got the Hammers back into the contest with a penalty on the hour
mark, but the comeback was effectively stopped when Christensen found the
roof of the net from close range. The result ends the Hammers five match
unbeaten run, as they quickly prepare for the visit of Brighton and Hove
Albion in the Premier League Cup on Thursday. "We haven't got a big break
now, we play again on Thursday. If we can beat Brighton that'll be three
wins on the trot in the Cup. "That'll nearly guarantee that we go through to
the next stage so it's a big game for us and we'll turn our attention to
that."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Speaks - Manchester United
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic faced the media ahead of the big EFL Cup quarter-final tie with
Manchester United and says he would love to steer his side to the semi-final
stage of the competition. The Hammers manager also provided the latest
team-news including the latest on Diafra Sakho and the hamstring injury he
sustained at Old Trafford on Sunday....
Slaven, can we start by asking you the latest surrounding Diafra Sakho and
how long he will be out of action?
SB: "Diafra picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting to see how bad
the injury is. He will definitely not be available for the game on
Wednesday. "We will have to wait for the results of the scan to see how many
weeks we will be without him. "It is a big blow for us because we know what
he can give to us and he showed that against Tottenham and Manchester United
on Sunday. I can only hope it is not going to be long. "It is very
frustrating, especially for the player who was working so hard to come back
and made an impact straight away. "To be sidelined again is awful for him,
but I am sure this injury will not be like the one that forced him to miss
the start of the season."
Are you optimistic about Andy Carroll and his return to first-team action.
Is there a chance he could play on Wednesday night?
SB: "We are going to see what happens today. Andy has a good recovery and
has been training with us. If he progresses well and there are not any minor
setbacks, he will definitely be ready for Saturday and we will make a
decision about the United game after training.
"We will assess him after training to see how he is. With Andy we take it on
a daily basis."
Is there any other team-news ahead of the Cup game and how do you view the
game on Wednesday night?
SB: "We are facing the same opposition and the rest of the players are good.
A draw will not be enough on the night and there has to be a winner. "The
league is always the priority but this is a big game for us and the cup
competitions are important for us. "It will be a big thing to reach the
semi-finals and that is why we are approaching the game in a positive way.
"I said against Chelsea we were the underdogs but we put a strong team out
and beat them. "We then got another tough draw away from home, but we have
played three games there and have not lost. We could have won all of them
and remain very positive. "We will make a few changes, but it will still be
a very strong team."
How much encouragement do you take from the fact that you secured a 1-1 draw
on Sunday?
SB: "I take a lot of encouragement from that and positives from the game. We
had moments in the game where we played very well. We need to be brave and
positive."
Joint-Chairman David Sullivan believes the Club have turned a corner. Do you
agree with him?
SB: "Every point counts and I think we have turned a corner in terms of the
team performances and individual performances. "We are still not in the
position that we want to be, but when you look at the performances since the
Watford, West Brom and Middlesbrough games, we are playing good football
now. "Since the international break we have not gained a lot of points, but
the performances are the ones that are giving us the right to think that we
are on a good path now."
Would reaching the semi-finals set you up nicely for the next two games
against Arsenal and Liverpool?
SB: "It would give us a lot of confidence if we could win the game and we
will be doing everything to do that. If we change a few players like United
will, it doesn't mean we are going there just to play a game. "It is a
quarter-final and to reach the semis is a big thing and we are just a couple
of games from the final."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Kemp - Quick turnaround is a benefit
WHUFC.com
Dan Kemp believes the quick turnaround before West Ham PL2's next game is a
benefit
The Hammers were beaten 4-1 at Fulham in Premier League 2 on Monday
Their next match is on Thursday against Brighton in the Premier League Cup
Dan Kemp believes the lack of rest before West Ham United PL2's next match
is much needed as they look to bounce back from their defeat to Fulham on
Monday evening. The Hammers lost 4-1 at Craven Cottage against a Fulham side
which boasted over 400 first team appearances and Kemp believes the quick
turnaround is beneficial to the young Irons. Attention swiftly turns to the
visit of Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League Cup on Thursday,
when the Hammers can make it three wins out of three in the competition.
"As long as we learn from and keep trying to play the way which we did
afterwards, it'll positive in the long run. Obviously we're very
disappointed with the result, we know we can do better on the goals that we
conceded," said Kemp. "There's no time to dwell on it though, we've got a
big game on Thursday against Brighton. "There's a chance to put it right and
hopefully we can get 3 out of 3 wins in the Cup and go through. That's the
plan and that's what we want to do."
The PL2 Hammers were aiming to go six matches unbeaten in all competitions
on Monday but came up against a vastly experienced Fulham side which
featured the likes of Marcus Bettinelli, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Cauley
Woodrow. Terry Westley's troops did have their spells of dominance in the
match, but the Cottagers' cutting edge saw them score four times. "We had a
spell in the first half where we were controlling possession, creating
chances and looked like the better team. But they scored and it put us on
the back foot. We tried to keep playing but we conceded some sloppy goals,"
added Kemp. "Second half I thought we did better as a team. We got the ball
moving again. When Toni scored, we thought another one would get us back in
the game but unfortunately we conceded another."
Kemp has been a familiar name on the PL2 team sheet over recent weeks, after
impressing for the U18s during the early part of the season. "Obviously I'm
very happy getting lots of games for the U23s at the moment. The aim is to
keep playing well and keep my place in the team."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Noble wants cup glory
Whufc.COM
Noble West Ham United skipper Mark Noble would love to see his side reach
the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and hopes to record another memorable victory
over Manchester United on Wednesday night.
Noble was part of the last West Ham team to record a victory at Old Trafford
back in May 2007 when Carlos Tevez scored the famous goal to keep the
Hammers in the Premier League.
It was a day that the experienced midfielder will never forget and hopes for
similar celebrations if the Hammers can make it through to the semi-final
stage.
Slaven Bilic has confirmed that he will make a few changes for the game, but
is still taking the competition seriously and would love to see his side win
major silverware this season.
Noble says there is no better venue to showcase your talents and hopes his
side can build on the 1-1 draw with United last Sunday and make it through
to the last four of the competition.
Noble said: "The Premier League is important to us because of the position
we find ourselves in and we need the points. We have tough games coming up
against Arsenal and Liverpool.
"But we can now look forward to a big game in the Cup against Manchester
United once again and going to play at Old Trafford is everyone's dream so
we hope for another good result."
Noble insists his team-mates can take a number of positives from the draw
against United last Sunday and hopes it will in their favour when they face
Jose Mourinho's side once again.
Noble added "It was a tough game on Sunday, especially after we took the
lead so early on. We knew they were going to come at us and they did during
the opening 45 minutes.
"But in the second half I thought it was more even and both teams had
chances to win the game.
"Sometimes you just need that bit of luck and Darren made some great saves
for us. I thought the defence played really well and we were really
resilient as a team.
"You need that when you come to a place like Old Trafford and it is a
special place to play but I thought we matched them man for man."
Tickets are still available for the game on Wednesday night. Fans should
visit the ticketing and membership services office at Old Trafford which is
open from 8am on Wednesday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manchester United v West Ham United
WED, 30 NOV 2016EFL CUP - QUARTER-FINAL
20:00
Venue: Old Trafford
BBC coverage
How to follow:
Listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC
Sport website
TEAM NEWS
Midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini will both miss Manchester
United's EFL Cup quarter-final against West Ham United due to suspension.
Both were booked for the fifth time this season when the teams drew 1-1 in
the Premier League on Sunday.
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho, who scored at Old Trafford at the weekend, is
out with a hamstring injury. Andy Carroll is close to returning from a knee
problem while defender Winston Reid is available after suspension.
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera said his side wanted "revenge"
after failing to win at the weekend. "It's positive that we are playing on
Wednesday, when we can get revenge," the Spaniard added. "We can turn our
luck in the next game in the EFL Cup. "It doesn't matter the competition, it
doesn't matter the game, we just want to win. We want to fight for
everything and we want to make our fans proud. "It's positive that we are
playing on Wednesday, when we can get revenge."
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic said he would be making changes to the team but
said he was confident the players coming in could help the Hammers reach the
semi-finals. "It would give us a lot of confidence if we could win the game
and we will be doing everything to do that," added Bilic. "If we change a
few players like United will, it doesn't mean we are going there just to
play a game. "It is a quarter-final and to reach the semis is a big thing
and we are just a couple of games from the final.
Another semi-final for West Ham?
West Ham are looking to reach the League Cup semi-final for the 10th time in
their history, and the first time since 2013/14.
Manchester United and West Ham last met in the League Cup in 2010/11, where
the Hammers won 4-0 in the quarter-final. It remains their largest win over
a Premier League side in the competition.
The Red Devils have lost only one of their last 24 home League Cup games
against fellow top-flight sides (W22 D1), losing 1-2 against Chelsea in
January 2005.
Jose Mourinho has not lost a game in the League Cup since December 2013,
winning eight and drawing two since then.
West Ham have won just two of their last 11 away games against Premier
League opposition in the League Cup (L9), conceding at least once on each
occasion.
Ander Herrera and Marcus Rashford have combined for two goals in the EFL Cup
this season; the most of any duo still in the competition.
Mark Noble has assisted twice in the EFL Cup this year, while no other
player set to feature in the quarter-final has done so more.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
E-purse fiasco resolution close?
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's new Head of Ticketing has confirmed that supporters will
be able to use 'e-credits' to purchase match day tickets THIS season.
Last month one supporter commenced legal action against the club after they
were continuously denied access to the funds which had been held by West Ham
for what they considered to be an unreasonable length of time.
But following further dialogue between a number of addected supporters and
the club, Nicola Keye - a recent arrival at WHUFC - has confirmed that those
s will be able to use their credits to purchase not only season tickets for
netx season, but match day tickets for Cup and away fixtures this term.
KUMB member Phil S confiemed the news via the KUMB Forum this afternoon,
following a conversation with Keye. "Nicola confirmed e-purse is a priority
and that she has already been in discussion with a company she has used
before," he wrote.
"It will be working again in the near future and you will be able to use it
to either renew your season ticket or purchase cup and away tickets, which
is good news."
Back in May, West Ham confirmed that supporters who had e-purse credits in
their old online Box Office accounts would be able to use them once the club
had introduced the new ticketing system following the move to Stratford.
However fans began to complain when they were unable to access their funds -
a situation that led vice-Chair Karren Brady to tell fans at a recent
meeting that a new system should be in place by the end of October.
Still unable to access their cash, the supporter in question served papers
on West Ham United four days after that deadline had passed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Man Utd 1-1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: HeadHammerShark
1. In Dubious Battle
Imagine getting sent off trying to defend this shithousery though.
"Of course this a foul" says Jose "Do you know how much he cost?"
2. The Wayward Bus
The first West Ham away game I ever attended was on March 17 1984 and we
lost 4-1 to Leicester. The most recent was our 5-1 demolition of Blackburn
in the FA Cup last season. Those two absurd bookends serve as a nice
reminder of the riches and rewards as well as the pitfalls of following a
football team around the country with any degree of regularity.
I saw us lose 5-0 to Newcastle while allowing Leon Best to score a hat
trick. This bordered on the impossible as Leon Best is a large, flat piece
of wood and is not capable of kinetic movement. And yet it happened.
I've seen us lose 3-0 to Notts County as the fans staged a sit down protest,
blissfully unaware that we would one day lose 7-1 at Blackburn, making that
day in Nottingham look like a right laugh.
I vividly recall the 4-2 midweek defeat under Roeder at Charlton that
precipitated the legendary, and never successfully answered, chant demanding
a new back four.
But I also watched a 3-0 win at Bolton when Danny Williamson ran 80 yards to
score a wonder goal and briefly made us dream of home grown talent again,
before disappearing off the face of the earth and becoming a "Who remembers"
contender on the KUMB podcast. There were soul nourishing wins at Arsenal,
Spurs, Man United and that bananas 3-0 win at Wigan that made everyone dare
to dream that the Great Escape might actually be possible, and had the added
effect of making Neil Warnock cry.
The point is that West Ham have been pretty crap away from home for a long
time, but there is always that small kernel of hope that drives us on. This
game never really looked winnable, and yet we came within a James Collins
aneurysm of nicking it. Those fans who braved the Arctic conditions, the
terrible Old Trafford track record and Sunday train services deserve our
unstinting admiration.
The reality is that in the last thirty years, West Ham fans travelling to
this fixture have seen almost as many six goal defeats as they have
victories. To paraphrase Alan Pardew - and why wouldn't we given what he is
currently giving to the football world at large - travelling away with West
Ham has always been done Moore in hope than expectation.
3. East Of Eden
Let's be honest, points gained at Old Trafford don't carry quite the same
cachet that they used to but when you've been as bad as West Ham have been
this season you take what you can get. This was a workmanlike performance
that owed much to Darren Randolph, some to good fortune and a lot to a
disciplined defensive unit who rode their luck to the last.
It helps, of course, when you have a forward who can score, and Diafra
Sakho's 2nd minute bullet header should have been the platform for a
stirring away performance. As it was, we seemed a little confused by how to
approach the game at 1-0 up, and seemingly abandoned all pretence at going
forward. It wasn't a huge surprise, therefore, that Pogba picked out
Ibrahimovic twenty minutes later and dreams of an away win turned into
seventy minutes of hiding behind the sofa in search of a point.
The big Swede was able to head his equaliser unopposed as James Collins was
caught up discussing the new series of "The Affair" with Angelo Ogbonna and
thus forgot to pay any attention to the man he was marking, but still, you
can't have everything.
There were lots of good things today, however, and while we seem to have
lost the counterthrusting ability that served us so well last year this can
at least be partially explained by the fact that we've been operating
without a striker for three months. Diafra Sakho has remedied that and his
hard work and general physical presence was enough to put opposition
defenders under the kind of pressure they haven't had to face all season.
Randolph also built on a sort of good start last week by performing well
here in the face of much pressure. There were fine saves from Lingard and
Ibrahimovic and best of all from Rashford when he was clean through. I'm
still not entirely convinced by either of our keepers, and suspect that
Adrian probably remains the better of the two, but the Irishman has waited a
long time and seem some genuinely postal fuck ups by the Spaniard so he
deserves his run.
Curiously, our best part of the game was the last five minutes when we had a
couple of decent looking breaks, and Ashley Fletcher nearly stole the points
in the last minute but was denied by a fine De Gea save. Rather like the
Spurs game last week, had we found Payet on one of those breaks we'd have
been going home with the points and this column would need to acknowledge
some green shoots of recovery.
As it is...Avram Watch!
2010/11 (Worst West Ham team in living memory) after 13 games: W1 D6 L6 (9
points)
2016/17 (This lot) after 13 games: W3 D3 L7 (12 points).
Relax guys. Everything is fine.
4. The Winter Of Our Discontent
Unrelenting Avram hatred aside, there actually were some green shoots today,
and indeed last week. One thorny issue, however, is Mark Noble and whether
the captain should remain the automatic selection he has been for so long.
Last week, Lanzini dropped deeper and was a key influence on the game as his
neat passing helped us pass out of trouble, and he did enough defensively to
keep Spurs at bay for 88 minutes before....sobs uncontrollably.
The problem is that with Noble needing to be accommodated, Lanzini was
pushed further forward here and reverted to flitting ineffectually in and
out of the game as he had done for most of the season. Man United probably
aren't as good as Spurs and yet we struggled to create too much today until
those last few minutes, and our front players were horribly isolated.
Interestingly, I thought we actually sparked into life when Andre Ayew came
on, which is handy given that he cost £20m.
What the broader point highlights, however, is the slightly one dimensional
nature of some of our players. You need central midfielders to be able to
break up play, and then transition you from deep on the pitch into forward
areas from which to launch attacks. Noble does the latter, and Lanzini the
former and thus we need both of them on the pitch to make those things
happen. If you're Manchester United or Chelsea you just buy Pogba or Kante
and get them to do both, but without that sort of financial muscle or an
actual scouting network, we need two players to do the work that can be done
in better teams by just one.
We're hardly unique there though, and must say I consider myself a Noble
fan. He has been undeniably less effective this season, however, and it's
worth examining why. Maybe his legs have just caught up with his hairstyle,
which has been the same since he was 19 and he has actually transformed into
the 45 year old man that he has looked like since about 2004. I do wonder if
the bigger pitch at the London Stadium is having an effect as there is more
real estate to cover and no centre forward to pass to, and that's a recipe
for putting miles on the clock.
His discipline and determination is important in keeping our defensive shape
but the reality is that we've still been crap at the back. It took Obiang's
belated introduction to give us the required ability to regain the ball in
central areas, and despite that we have a goal difference worryingly close
to Sunderland's - and they're not even a professional football team. It's
just Jermain Defoe plus the first ten paying customers to arrive.
Whatever is ailing Noble needs fixing soon. Winning the ball back is not
much help if your use of it is then so slow that it can't allow the team to
break. And if you review the highlights from this game you'll see that the
late Ibrahimovic chance, ultimately snuffed out by Kouyate, came as a result
of Noble taking a truly godawful free kick which he floated on to Valencia's
chest and then had to watch helplessly as Collins decided the best way to
deal with the resulting threat was to have some kind of seizure.
I don't know the answer to this problem, but the beating heart of our team
is out of sync. One for Bilic to focus on.
5. The Pearl
I've seen mixed reactions to Payet's performance today. I liked his industry
and willingness to do some pretty decent defensive work, all the while
shouldering the burden of playing for a team whose tactics whiteboard has
one sole entry, simply saying "I dunno - give it to Payet".
Others seem to think he looked uninterested and shirked his duties, but I
can't say I really saw that. Having the ball is an underrated aspect of
defensive play, and there has been a season long trend of us giving away
possession way too easily. Payet remains our best asset in this regard,
added to the fact that he can put in crosses that lead to things like this.
It was a bit odd that Mourinho dared to Zlatan there, but dare he did and
Sakho capitalised brilliantly.
There is even a mad rumour going round today that Mourinho wants to buy
Payet himself in January. There might be a germ of truth in this as United
have only spent £400m on attacking players in the last year or two and still
can't defend, but nothing they do is surprising anymore.
I'd sell if we can get Martial and Rashford back in the deal but I doubt
that's likely. Still, any football executive not ringing up Manchester
United and seeing if they'll do something stupid isn't doing their job
properly.
6. Once There Was A War
Not to belabour the point, but take a look at our bench today and see if you
can spot the common link between the outfield players:
Adrian, Nordtveit, Feghouli, Zaza, Ayew, Fletcher, Fernandes.
When you don't improve your first team at all in a £40m summer spending
spree that's terrible business. And make no mistake, this was the worst
shopping trip since John Terry's mum said to her mate: "Don't worry - I'll
take care of this".
7. To A God Unknown
The absence of Winston Reid could have been damaging today, but our back
three generally stood up pretty well except for the couple of times they
channelled the lost spirit of Aston Villa.
That said, I think we may be seeing the decline phase of James Collins as a
Premier League player. Ibrahimovic simply ran past him for the goal, and
whilst there were a couple of typically heroic last ditch interventions, it
wasn't a shock to see him then nearly scuttle the whole thing with a
terrible late back pass, and it's fair to say that he may have been more
successful than Pope Francis in getting East Londoners to pray this Sunday.
It's a shame that Reece Oxford is injured as he could probably have got some
playing time this week, which is apparently a sticking point with his new
contract. That said, picking up a poorly timed injury suggests an
understanding of the Club's history that bodes well for him sticking around
a while.
Collins, meanwhile, has been a great servant but with Kouyate, Reid and
Ogbonna looking semi decent in the new formation, I don't expect him to play
too much for us in the future. Like Noble, it's the glaring lack of pace
that causes consternation.
8. The Grapes Of Wrath
No sooner does Diafra Sakho return to the team and provide us with our first
goal from a forward all year than he injures himself and is out for two
weeks, per David Gold.
Gold also tweeted that Andy Carroll wasn't risked yesterday and will instead
be subject to a week of "high intensity training" ahead of the Arsenal game,
which doesn't sound like it should be an issue for a guy who once injured
himself getting off a barstool.
This means he'll be rushed back half fit for Arsenal, and thus increases the
future risk of injury fairly substantially. It's really difficult to see why
West Ham struggle so much with injuries.
But, returning briefly to Sakho, his (latest) injury is a killer as we had
been so utterly awful in attack this year. Take a look at this:
This graphic is taken from Experimental361, a great website run by Ben
Mayhew, who was gracious enough to allow me to use this chart, which
highlights the truly pathetic state of our attacking threat.
In fact, I haven't seen anything this tragic since someone at the BBC's
flagship political programme Question Time searched through their email
address book for a guest to help us make sense of Brexit, Trump, the rise of
far right nationalism and the attendant economic uncertainty, and settled
upon Huey from the Fun Lovin' Criminals.
What Ben's graphic tell us, in broad terms, is how frequently our players
are scoring, and how often we might expect them to be scoring based upon the
Expected Goals value of their shots. This last concept may be alien to some,
but it's a widely used statistic in the analytics community that looks at a
huge range of historic data and then tries to quantify how likely a player
is to score based upon how often a player in his position, taking that shot,
has historically scored. I might be slightly off in that description as
there are some moving parts, but that's essentially it.
For Michail Antonio, he is scoring about 0.5/per game but his XG would
suggest that he should have a rate of around 0.35/per game. So he is
actually outperforming what we might expect from him. (It should be noted
that Antonio is something of an analytical darling due to his tendency to
perform exactly as we might expect with great frequency. And also possibly
the Simpsons celebration, I don't know). What you should take from this is
that Antonio is probably the real deal, and that playing him at right back
is absolutely insane.
Elsewhere though - it's a disaster. It's Mariah Carey's acting career. It's
that time London decided to celebrate the Millennium by setting the River
Thames on fire. It's Southern Rail. It's Eurovision.
We actually don't have any forwards who have either played enough minutes or
taken enough shots to make this chart other than Zaza. It also probably
highlights that we are not taking enough shots from decent areas which
probably isn't too much of a surprise if you consider that Lanzini alone has
twice tried to score with a Rabona from outside the area.
That's what makes Sakho getting injured again so frustrating. Now we'll be
back to Zaza huffing and puffing, Ayew out of position and Fletcher, the boy
being asked to do a mans job. It would be great to get Sakho back for
Liverpool, but at this stage it's hard not to wonder about this
back/hamstring injury he has and quite why the Club have yet to successfully
fix it.
To put all of this in context, Toby Alderweireld is on the Spurs chart.
Repeat after me; Our centre forwards are less threatening than Spurs centre
backs.
9. Burning Bright
On the subject of Ashley Fletcher, I thought he looked alright yesterday.
There has been a bit of a clamour for him to be playing more frequently,
which might be more of a reflection of the performances of his fellow
strikers than anything specific that he has done.
That said, if Zaza is now persona non grata due to his stupid transfer
clause, and Ayew is clearly better suited to a support striker role, then
it's possible he may be a stop gap until one of Carroll or Sakho are fit
enough to play regularly.
I can't help but feel he might be better served by more regular game time in
the Championship, but the sad fact is that we probably need him until the
Club can overspend hugely on someone in January.
10. Cup Of Gold
Wednesday sees us return to Manchester for yet another Cup meeting with the
Red Devils. With our league position so precarious and our form improving, I
wouldn't be tempted to risk anyone important. So no Payet, no Lanzini, and
therefore I accept, no hope.
I know plenty of fans who have said to me that they would take relegation if
we could win a cup. I've always found this false equivalency as this is a
binary choice that doesn't exist, but if there comes a time when Cup games
could potentially negatively impact on the league then the latter takes
precedence in my eyes.
I know that honours are unforgettable and stay with you forever, but trust
me - so do league trips to Rotherham.
Let's face it, our league status is non-negotiable given the stadium
situation and the riches on offer for Premiership football. Liverpool and
Arsenal will remain in the EFL Cup after Wednesday, so whatever chance we
have can't exactly be characterised as more than "average". If this were a
more open competition I could see us throwing a bit more at Wednesday but
I'd rather play it safe and see how the reserves get on.
Those terrible summer signings were brought in for nights like this and we
should live or die by that. The idea of Payet getting injured on Wednesday
and missing any time is terrifying. Oh, and I'm sure you're all aware that
Kouyate, Ayew, Feghouli and whatever remains of Sakho's body after medical
science have picked him apart, are all off to the African Cup of Nations in
January.
For all that, we bent but we did not break here, and that's important. We've
been to Spurs and Man Utd, scored three times and trailed for a total of one
minute. In some regards it's almost impossible to only get a point from that
combination but here we are. This is the key part of our season, where we
can push away from the bottom three and off up to the promised land of mid
table mediocrity, or slide down with the dead men and prepare for a
relegation fight.
So yes, I want us to prioritise Saturday over Wednesday, and I duly
apologise to the dreamers amongst you.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic anxiously awaiting Sakho diagnosis
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
By: Staff Writer
Slaven Bilic fears that West Ham could be without the services of Diafra
Sakho for several weeks.
Bilic, speaking ahead of tomorrow night's second trip to Old Trafford inside
five days revealed that whilst the club are still awaiting diagnosis to
confirm the extent of the injury sustained during Sunday's 1-1 draw, Sakho
is likely to miss a number of matches.
"Diafra picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting to see how bad the
injury is," Bilic told the media. "He will definitely not be available for
the game on Wednesday and we will have to wait for the results of the scan
to see how many weeks we will be without him.
"It is a big blow for us because we know what he can give to us and he
showed that against Tottenham and Manchester United. I can only hope it is
not going to be long.
"It is very frustrating, especially for the player who was working so hard
to come back and made an impact straight away. To be sidelined again is
awful for him, but I am sure this injury will not be like the one that
forced him to miss the start of the season."
Bilic, whose front line has been decimated by a string of injuries this
season could also be without the services of Andy Carroll, who had been
tipped to appear in the 18-man squad at Old Trafford last weekend.
"We are going to see what happens [in training] today," he said. "Andy has a
good recovery and has been training with us.
" If he progresses well and there are not any minor setbacks, he will
definitely be ready for Saturday and we will make a decision about the
United game after training. We will assess him after training to see how he
is. With Andy, we take it on a daily basis."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham set to welcome Andy Carroll back for Man Utd clash
By Nick Lustig
Last Updated: 29/11/16 12:24pm
SSN
Slaven Bilic is unsure how long he will be without Diafra Sakho, but has
revealed he could welcome Andy Carroll back for West Ham's EFL Cup tie away
at Manchester United on Wednesday. Carroll has not featured for West Ham
since August after suffering a knee injury in the Europa League play-off
match against Astra Giurgiu. He returned to full training last week and
Bilic says he will make a late call on whether to include the forward in his
squad for the quarter-final tie at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports 1 HD
from 7.30pm.
"We're going to see today whether Andy Carroll is ready, we will make a
decision after training. Maybe tomorrow, definitely Saturday [v Arsenal],"
the West Ham manager said. Bilic also confirmed Sakho would undergo a scan
on Tuesday on the hamstring injury he sustained in the Hammers' 1-1 draw
with United in the Premier League on Sunday. The Senegal forward scored
inside the opening two minutes, but was withdrawn in the 66th minute after
pulling up with the problem. Sakho only returned from a three-month lay-off
with a back injury in the 3-2 defeat away at Tottenham on November 19 and
Bilic admits he is facing an anxious wait over the fitness of the
26-year-old. "Diafra is now in hospital and he is having a scan, the scan is
of course going to show us how big the injury is," he said. "It's a
hamstring, so we don't know how long will be out for yet, but he's
definitely not available for tomorrow. "I don't whether it's going to be one
week two weeks, three weeks or four weeks, we have to wait for the results
of the scan and then we'll know how many weeks we'll be without him. "We
know how important he is to us, he gives us a lot so it's a big blow and I
hope he returns as soon as possible."
West Ham defeated United 4-0 at the same stage of the EFL Cup in 2010 and
Bilic believes the competition provides his club with a "big opportunity" to
claim their first piece of silverware in 36 years. "The rest of the squad is
good, we played well against Man Utd. But tomorrow, a draw is not enough,
there has to be a winner," he said. "We were underdogs against Chelsea, and
we are underdogs again now. This cup is a big opportunity for us. "Tomorrow,
we will do everything we can to beat Man Utd. We will give a few players a
chance, but we are going there to win."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gareth Southgate the right man for England, says West Ham's Michail Antonio
Last Updated: 28/11/16 10:07pm
SSN
Gareth Southgate is the right man for the England job because of his special
relationship with the players, according to Michail Antonio. Antonio was
included in Southgate's first England squad for games against Malta and
Slovenia in October and the West Ham midfielder was impressed with the
interim boss. Southgate has completed a formal interview with the Football
Association's five-man panel and could be confirmed as permanent manager
this week. The 46-year-old spent three and a half years with England U21s
and oversaw two wins and two draws from his four matches in temporary
charge. "I feel he does look like the right man for the job," Antonio said.
"He's young enough to bond with the boys and he's got a relationship with
quite a few of the boys through the U21s. "We haven't had that for the last
few years, someone who is young, who has actually got a relationship with
the boys before he's met them so he knows what to do with them, and it shows
because he's doing well. "The 2-2 draw with Spain, people say it's a
friendly and they didn't turn it on, but Spain are still a quality team."
Some have questioned Southgate's experience in motivating top players but
Antonio insists the former Middlesbrough manager has all the right
attributes. "I'd say he's a great tactician," Antonio said. "He wants us to
play and the way he trusts the players, he believes the boys can do it, that
they are good enough to do it. "To play for England you have to be quality
so it's just about working out the kinks and making the players believe in
themselves and have the confidence to play. "He knows all the players. You
can't be around players and not know what makes them tick. That's the
difference between him and other managers. Antonio has scored six goals this
season and believes that if he keeps his form then more England caps will
come, and said he would have the faith of Southgate. "I've only spoken to
him the one time I wasn't in the squad," Antonio said. "He just said I
wasn't in it, that players were back from injury but that if anyone got
injured he wouldn't hesitate to give me a call. "I know it's about working
hard and playing well enough in the Premier League that it makes it
difficult not to choose me."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ladbrokes News
West Ham may have a number of issues to deal with right now, but while most
concern the defensive side of Slaven Bilic's team, things aren't so hot on
the striker front. That could all change though with reports AC Milan are
now ready to sell Carlos Bacca. The Hammers' registered strikers have
totalled one Premier League goal between them this season, and summer
signing Simone Zaza has failed to impress. Indeed, Zaza was only signed by
the east Londoners after a deal for Bacca fell through. But now it seems the
San Siro outfit are ready to cash in on their disgruntled striker. It's
believed AC could land as much as £25m for the Colombian, enough for them to
splash out on their own purchases during January's window.
Signing the 30-year-old would be sizeable boost to the Hammers, who face
continued reports that Dimitri Payet could leave the club unless they
improve their Premier League fortunes. But a Payet-Bacca combination is
certainly one to get the West Ham faithful excited.
The former Club Brugge striker fired in 18 goals in 36 Serie A appearances
last term, following 34 strikes in 72 La Liga games for Sevilla. There's no
doubting his quality and it's Bacca's eye for goal which has also drawn
attention from PSG and Valencia. But before January's window opens, Bilic
will be hoping his side can find an upswing in form. West Ham head to
Manchester United this week, hoping to bag a place in the EFL Cup
semi-finals. The bookies make Bilic's men 6/1 to win in 90 minutes at Old
Trafford.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic bracing himself as he awaits news on Diafra
Sakho's hamstring injury
Diafra Sakho scored in West Ham's 1-1 draw against Manchester United
Hammers are awaiting news on injury after he limped off on 66 minutes
Slaven Bilic confirmed the striker will miss Tuesday's EFL Cup clash
By Riath Al-Samarrai for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 13:44, 29 November 2016 | UPDATED: 13:46, 29 November 2016
Slaven Bilic has braced himself for the worst as West Ham wait on news of
Diafra Sako's hamstring injury. The 26-year-old scored in the 1-1 draw with
Manchester United on Sunday but limped off 66 minutes into the Premier
League fixture. Bilic confirmed on Tuesday that he would miss the EFL Cup
quarter-final tie with United on Wednesday and fears he could be out for up
to a month, depending on results of a scan. That would be a crushing
eventuality for West Ham and Sakho, given he only returned to the side on
November 19 after a three-month lay-off with a back injury. Bilic said:
'Sakho is at hospital having a scan – the scan will show how bad injury was.
He is definitely out for the United game on Wednesday. One week, two weeks,
four weeks, whatever I don't know. 'It's a big blow for us - he showed
against Spurs and Man United what he brings the team. Unfortunately it's a
big blow to lose him for tomorrow. I can only hope it isn't going to be
long. 'It's very frustrating, especially for the player to work hard, come
back and make an impact straight away. It's bad for us but it's awful for
him. But I'm sure this isn't like the one which kept him out since
pre-season. Compared to that should be a minor one but it's a big blow
because he just came back.' Bilic, meanwhile, is convinced West Ham have
turned a corner in their underwhelming season. They sit 16th in the Premier
League after a woeful start in which they lost five of their first six games
and were also dumped out of the Europa League. But having lost only twice in
the last six games, Bilic believes they have stabilised their campaign. They
have the chance to significantly alter their outlook in the EFL Cup
quarter-final against United.
In referencing the point West Ham took at Old Trafford in the league on
Sunday, Bilic said: 'Results wise it's only a point, but one point can't
lift you a lot. I think we have turned a corner in performances as a team
and individuals. 'If you compare our position in the table from September
and now we are still not where we would like to be but if you look at
performances I'm saying we are playing good football now but paying the
price for our bad start to the season. Since the international break we
didn't gain a lot of points or places in the table, one point from Spurs and
Man United, but the performances have improved. 'We have to beat Man United
on Wednesday - It would give us confidence. We are going to do everything we
can to beat them. It's a quarter-final, which means if you win you are in
semis and that's a big thing, only a couple of games to final.'
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Michail Antonio urges West Ham to find their consistency
HITC
Sean Lunt
West Ham United are currently just a point outside the relegation zone.
Speaking to Sky Sports, West Ham United winger Michail Antonio has urged his
side to find their consistency this season. The Hammers have endured a
disappointing first half of the campaign and currently sit just a point
outside the relegation zone. They are without a win in four games, having
drawn 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Consistency has
been a major issue for them so far, with the Hammers managing back-to-back
wins just once all season. A drastic turnaround in form is needed if West
Ham are to avoid a relegation battle and Antonio has urged them to find
their consistency to do so. "It's just about getting that consistency in the
Premier League," he told Sky Sports. "As a player, you have to be consistent
and as a team, you have got to be consistent to be up and around the big
boys. "Hopefully we've now put everything behind us, we find our shape, we
find our bond and now we can push on and get up the league."
This weekend could provide West Ham with the perfect opportunity to turn
things around. They take on Arsenal at home and a win against their London
rivals could provide them with the impetus they need to pull away from their
current predicament. The Hammers come up against a Gunners side full of
confidence and in good form, though, and they will need to find the
consistency that Antonio talks about to ensure they leave with all three
points.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diafra Sakho set for four weeks out after West Ham striker suffers hamstring
injury
The Senegal international will undergo scans over the next 24 hours to
determine the extent of the problem
BY DARREN LEWIS
22:30, 28 NOV 2016UPDATED18:13, 28 NOV 2016
The Mirror
West Ham fear Diafra Sakho could be out for another four weeks with his
hamstring injury. The Senegal international will undergo scans over the next
24 hours to determine the extent of the problem, picked up in the Hammers'
1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Sakho, 26, opened the scoring for Slaven Bilic's side in that game. Another
enforced absence for the frontman would be a huge blow for Bilic whose men
meet United again in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
Sakho only came back from three months out with a back injury in the Irons
3-2 defeat at Tottenham on November 19. The marksman has struggled with
injuries ever since his first season at the club he joined in the summer of
2014. Although he began that campaign with eight goals from his first ten
games, injuries struck and have done ever since. Sakho fell out with the
club over his contract last season and was set to join West Brom during the
summer before failing a medical. The Hammers are keen to rebuild bridges
with him - with potential carrot of a new deal - if he can recapture his
form from his debut season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM STRIKER SPOTTED AT MATCH IN ARGENTINAFeatured Image
Date: 28th November 2016 at 11:06pm
Written by: David Tully
West Ham striker Jonathan Calleri was a spectator at the Argentina Primera B
Nacional match between All Boys and Atletico Parana at the weekend. Calleri
used to play for All Boys at the beginning of his professional career in
2013, and the A Puro Boca Twitter account tweeted a picture of Calleri in
the crowd during the 0-0 draw.
The Argentine has not been included in the match day squad by Slaven Bilic
for the last two matches against Spurs and Manchester United. Calleri was
last on the bench for the game against Stoke City but he hasn't made an
appearance for the first team since he came on as a substitute against
Sunderland in the 1-0 win last month.
Speculation has been rife about the 23 year old's future at the club and he
is expected to leave for Spain the January transfer window with Sevilla,
Valencia and Malaga all tipped to make a move for the player.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham star Dimitri Payet on coming to Manchester United: Warning sent
DIMITRI PAYET admits West Ham must defend from the front at clubs with
Manchester United's stature - but insists the Hammers can compete.
By JACK STAPLEHURST
PUBLISHED: 05:20, Tue, Nov 29, 2016
Express.co.uk
Slaven Bilic's side picked up a hard-earned point at Old Trafford on Sunday
as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw. Diafra Sakho's early header
from a Payet free-kick was cancelled out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Jose
Mourinho's dismissal to the stands highlighted the hosts' frustration. West
Ham have struggled this season to replicate their impressive results home
and away from last term, but a recovery is underway with performances
improving under Bilic. Key man Payet was even linked with a £35m switch to
United over the weekend as West Ham face a battle to keep the Ballon d'Or
nominee amid their 16th-place position in the table. However, the France
international insists he is happy with how things are heading now having
hinted during the international break he could be open to an exit. And ahead
of tomorrow's second trip to Old Trafford in the space of four days, Payet
has warned Mourinho's men West Ham have proved they will provide strong
competition in the EFL Cup tie (8pm). "Obviously it was an important point
for us," Payet told the club's official website. "It is never easy to come
to Old Trafford and get a result, but that is what we have succeeded in
doing. "We came close to taking all three points at the end, so we are very
happy with that. "We played a good match last weekend at Tottenham and
unfortunately we didn't take the points, but thankfully we have succeeded in
getting something against United. "We are trying to put together a good
little run to move ourselves a bit higher up the table into a more
comfortable position. "Against these two tough teams, and we know what they
are capable of - we've showed that we can compete at this level. "When you
come to a place like Old Trafford you have to defend and the system is in
place for perfectly good reasons. "I'm happy right now because the decision
has paid off, but yes, of course, I am more happy with the ball."
West Ham are expected to name a full-strength side for the cup tie against
Mourinho's team, although Sunday's goalscorer Sakho won't feature. The
Senegalese became the Hammers' first striker to score this season but later
picked up a hamstring injury, and Express Sport understands he will be
sidelined again for three weeks. Europa League football awaits the winners
of the competition though, and West Ham are taking the quarterfinal tie
seriously. Meanwhile, United will be without suspended midfield duo Paul
Pogba and Marouane Fellaini. Jose Mourinho is likely to make changes to the
team who faced West Ham on Sunday, but the boss, who has now been charged by
the FA following his bottle kick at the weekend, is in need of a home win.
United have gone over two months without a victory at Old Trafford in the
Premier League, and EFL Cup success would help appease fans.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dimitri Payet: West Ham showed against Manchester United and Tottenham we
can compete at highest level
VAISHALI BHARDWAJ
Evening Standard
Dimitri Payet believes West Ham's performance against Tottenham and
Manchester United in the last two weeks has demonstrated the Hammers are
good enough to compete with the best teams in the league. Slaven Bilic's men
have struggled for results this term, with West Ham having won just three
Premier League games so far. The Hammers were close to making that four
victories last weekend but conceded two late goals to lose 3-2 to Tottenham
at White Hart Lane. But the east Londoners responded by going to Old
Trafford on Sunday and securing a hardfought 1-1 draw against United, which
Payet was heavily involved in. The France international delivered the free
kick which Diafra Sakho converted early on in the clash although Zlatan
Ibrahimovic restored parity 20 minutes later. With West Ham facing United
for the second time in three days in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, Payet
believes the club's recent performances demonstrate that the Hammers are
good enough to compete with all of the big teams in the top flight. Speaking
to West Ham's official website, Payet said: "Obviously it's an important
point for us. It is never easy to come to Old Trafford and get a result, but
that is what we have succeeded in doing. "We came close to taking all three
points at the end. So we are very happy with that. "We played a good match
last weekend at Tottenham and unfortunately we didn't take the points, but
thankfully we have succeeded in getting something against United. "Against
these two tough teams, and we know what they are capable of - we've showed
that we can compete at this level. "We are trying to put together a good
little run to move ourselves a bit higher up the table into a more
comfortable position."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
