Daily WHUFC News - 8th January 2018

Bilic – We were not good enough
WHUFC.com

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said his team were not good enough in the FA Cup on Friday
The Hammers were comfortably beaten 5-0 by Manchester City at London Stadium
Bilic said the performance was a huge disappointment and now attention has turned to next week's game against Crystal Palace

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic admitted his side were nowhere near good enough as they were beaten 5-0 by Manchester City in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.

In a hugely disappointing night for the Hammers at London Stadium, they fell behind early when Yaya Toure scored from the penalty spot after Angelo Ogbonna's adjudged trip on Pablo Zabaleta.

After Sofiane Feghouli missed a golden chance to equalise, things went from bad to worse for the hosts as a Havard Nordtveit own goal and David Silva's strike made it three before the break.

And Sergio Aguero and John Stones both added to Pep Guardiola's side's tally before the final whistle as West Ham were eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

A dejected Bilic was disappointed at the way his side performed after encouraging signs in the early minutes.

He said: "Of course it's a bad defeat for us. We started well but in the space of 15 minutes after the first goal, when we had the chance to equalise, we made a mistake and they had enough quality to use the space behind and inbetween the lines.

It was not good enough and nowhere near the performance we had here a few days ago against Manchester United.
Slaven Bilic
"What disappointed me the most is that after the first goal, we chased them all over the pitch and then in those ten or 15 minutes we conceded two more.

"As a team, it was not good enough and nowhere near the performance we had here a few days ago against Manchester United.

"We were much more compact then with ten men, so that's a big disappointment tonight. It was 3-0 and of course it was game over.

"At half time we wanted not to concede more goals, to stay at 3-0 or make it 3-1, but we conceded a couple of goals and as you said, it's very bad for us."

The Hammers will now turn their attention to next weekend's home fixture against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and boss Bilic hopes the squad can lift themselves during the week ahead.

"Always when you have a big defeat, it affects the confidence," he continued. "The game against Palace though, we have enough days to work and get the confidence back and be ready against Palace.

"Tonight's result was fair and it was very hard for us to find any consolation. For half an hour, it was good for both sides. It was a very bad tonight at the end.

"But in the game before, some players played really well last time with ten men [against Manchester United], and they showed that we can defend well as a team. It showed we do have quality in the team."

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U18s battle to win over Southampton
WHUFC.com

U18s assistant boss Mark Phillips praised the ruthlessness of his side as they ran out 2-0 winners over Southampton at Little Heath.

It was the Hammers' first game after the festive break and goals from Joe Powell and Korrey Henry, the same combination that earned a 2-0 win over Leicester before the break, saw them prevail.

The Hammers' aim of finishing in the top four of the U18 Premier League South well and truly on, and they took another large step towards that goal with the win.

"It looked like both teams hadn't played for about a month. It was quite an even game but we took our chances a bit better than they did," said Phillips.

"I thought a second goal would have put them (Southampton) to bed. They had lots more possession in the second half but as a defensive unit, I thought we did well.

"We worked hard to do the ugly parts of the game, which is what you have to do sometimes to win."

Manager Steve Potts was without two key players for the match – regular captain Tunji Akinola and the instrumental Alfie Lewis were both ruled out through illness.

This meant there were starts for Jeremy Ngakia and Bernardo Rosa, with Ben Wells returning to the fold after missing the last few games through injury.

The first half was evenly matched, with the home side looking more threatening from wide areas and it was winger Joe Powell who forced the first meaningful chance, sending a long range effort straight at Southampton keeper Alex Cull.

Powell was given a second bite at the cherry moments later after Rosaire Longelo was fouled 25 yards from goal.

The 18 year-old shaped up to cross but instead curled the ball past Cull for his second free-kick goal in as many games.

The goal gave the Hammers lots more confidence and they were on top for the rest of the half.

They could have doubled their lead ten minutes before half-time when a sweeping move ended in top scorer Jahmal Hector-Ingram being unable to get on the end of a Powell cross.

In the second half, West Ham had to rely on Rihards Matrevics on a number of occasions, producing some terrific reactive stops, but they always looked to add to their lead.

Hector-Ingram skewed a strike just wide, but after managing the game very well, the Hammers got their just rewards in stoppage time.

Korrey Henry gained a yard of space on the edge of the box and found the bottom corner from 25 yards to seal the three points.

"I thought Jeremy (Ngakia) improved as the game went on and did well. Another mention has to go to Jahmal who was being sick on the side of the pitch before kick-off! He did really well to come through 90 minutes.

"I also thought Korrey Henry had a brilliant game. Not only scoring, but his all-round game was excellent."

West Ham: Matrevics; Ngakia, Eggleton, Wells, Neufville (Hannam, 61); Coventry, Henry; Powell, Rosa (Mingi, 74), Longelo (Hamilton, 46); Hector-Ingram.

Subs not used: Forde, Hudson.

Goals: Powell 17, Henry 90+3.

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From the Boardroom - David Sullivan
WHUFC.com

We simply have to concede that last night's performance was just not good enough.

Manchester City may be an excellent attacking side, but we allowed them to carve us open time and time again, which was very disappointing.

Although it's hard to take any positives out of the game, for 25 minutes, until we conceded what many experts thought was a marginal penalty, we were holding our own.

Furthermore, at 1-0 down we had what seemed a simple tap-in to equalise, but the performance after that, and the result, was simply not good enough.

However, it was excellent to see so many young faces there and, thanks to the kids for a quid initiative, a 57,000 capacity crowd at London Stadium.

It makes me extremely proud to know that we have a fanbase who will fill our stadium for a match on a Friday night, live on BBC One, just two weeks after Christmas. It is something that not many other clubs in the country can boast.

Unfortunately, the team could not provide a performance befitting of such a good turnout.

We haven't lost any key or influential players since last season, which was one to remember, so we are all currently struggling to understand why the team is under-performing at this moment in time.

We know we have to improve quickly, and upcoming fixtures against Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough now become cup finals. As we showed over Christmas, though, a string of good results can move you up the Premier League table very quickly, and I am confident we will be heading in that direction over the coming weeks.

I know it can be difficult at times like this, but I urge every supporter to get behind the team and manager – just as you have done all season. We have seen performances improve recently, even in defeat at Leicester City and against Manchester United, so I truly believe we can continue to progress if we all push in the same direction.

It's another London derby next weekend against Crystal Palace, which brings back memories of our 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park, where we began to turn our season around earlier in the campaign.

We will also welcome back our former manager Sam Allardyce, in what will be an exciting encounter for many reasons.

There are still tickets available for the clash on our Ticket Exchange facility, so click here to purchase yours for what will hopefully be an opportunity to do the double over the Eagles.

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Reid - We should be able to do better
WHUFC.com


Captain Winston Reid disappointed and frustrated by Friday's Emirates FA Cup defeat by Manchester City
Hammers beaten by a joint-record five-goal margin, losing 5-0 at London Stadium
Defender says West Ham United need to regroup ahead of Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace

Winston Reid says West Ham United need to dig deep following Friday's 5-0 Emirates FA Cup third-round defeat by Manchester City.

The Hammers suffered the joint-heaviest FA Cup defeat in the Club's long history at London Stadium, and the captain admitted the team had simply not played well enough to secure a positive result.

After a bright start, a debateable Yaya Toure penalty put the hosts on the back foot. They came back strongly, only for Sofiane Feghouli to miss an open goal and a Havard Nordtveit own-goal and David Silva strike to put the game beyond Slaven Bilic's side at half-time.

It got worse after the break, with Sergio Aguero and John Stones rubbing salt in the Hammers' wounds, leaving Reid feeling decidedly frustrated.

"To be fair, we started OK and had some chances, but we've just been made silly errors again and if you do that against a team like Manchester City, you get punished," he told whufc.com. "There was just not enough there at the end of the day, which is really disappointing.

"As a group of players, we should be able to do better. At least we can demand that. It was eleven against eleven and we were at home and you can get beaten on the day, especially against a good team like them, but it was not our night."

The defender, who tried manfully to stem the City tide on a night to forget, said Bilic's squad need to get back on the training pitch and work this performance and result out of their systems.

With Sam Allardyce's Crystal Palace next up at London Stadium on Saturday 14 February, Reid says the Hammers have to give absolutely everything to improve their position in the Premier League table.

After losing 5-1 at home to Arsenal on 3 December, West Ham took ten points from four matches to climb the table, and the New Zealand defender wants the team to produce a similar response to Friday's heavy defeat.

There was just not enough there at the end of the day, which is really disappointing
Winston Reid
"We've got eight days until the next game and we've been picking up points in the league," he continued. "We won three games on the trot and then were a bit unlucky against Leicester and then had that decision against Man United. Those last two games were tough.

"When you've momentum, you've got to keep it going. We had a full house and were playing against a big team, but when you make mistakes, at the end of the day you get punished, especially against these.

"That's the underlying fact – we made too many individual mistakes which cost us football matches. We weren't making them recently like we were at the start of the season, and that makes it difficult for a team to recover.

"One-hundred per cent we need to bounce back like we did after the Arsenal game. We can be honest and say the season hasn't panned out like we wanted it to so far, but we still have half-a-season to go and our focus is on getting up the league – we need to do that."

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London Stadium pitch dimensions
WHUFC.com

Following some inaccurate comment and speculation about pitch dimensions at London Stadium, whufc.com look to clarify the Premier League's rules and regulations surrounding the playing surface.

The pitch at London Stadium is the standard size required by Premier League and UEFA Rules, 105 x 68m.

At the Boleyn Ground, the pitch was 100.5 x 68m as ground staff could not make the standard length due to the confines of the Stadium.

Pitch dimensions cannot be changed during a Season and nor can it be smaller than the standard dimensions unless it is structurally impossible.

To offer some comparison, the pitch dimensions at Wembley Stadium - an arena that every professional player aspires to - are 105m x 69m

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Lewis Page: Left-back joins Charlton Athletic from West Ham United
BBC.co.uk

League One club Charlton have signed left-back Lewis Page from West Ham for an undisclosed fee. Page, 20, has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract at The Valley. He made three first-team appearances for West Ham, all in the Europa League, and has previously been on loan at Coventry City and Cambridge United.
"He's quick, likes to get forward and is a good crosser. I really like that in a full-back," Charlton manager Karl Robinson told the club website. "I got a chance to see him during his loan spell at Coventry and he's a left-back that fits in well with our system. "We're building a squad here to get into that top six and Lewis will be an important part of what we are trying to do."

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Robert Snodgrass: Hull City reject West Ham bid for midfielder
BBC.co.uk

Hull City have rejected a bid from West Ham for top scorer Robert Snodgrass. BBC Radio Humberside understands that there are four Premier League teams interested in the 29-year-old midfielder. The Scotland international has scored seven Premier League goals this season. He was linked with a move away from the club in December before the club triggered a one-year contract extension, tying him to them until the end of the 2017-18 season.

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LEWIS PAGE JOINS CHARLTON ON A PERMANENT DEAL.
BY 337HAMMER ON 6 JANUARY 2017 AT 5:49PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Young left-back Lewis Page has joined Sky Bet League One side Charlton Athletic on a deal until 2019.

The 20-year-old has been on loan at the Addicks' league rivals Coventry City for the majority of the season so far but joins Charlton on a permanent basis with the side 11th in the league table.

Page joined West Ham at the age of 13 and went on to make his U18 debut in 2012, making 19 appearances over the course of the season.

As a second year scholar, Page deputised for the Development Squad in the 2013/14 season, as well as continuing to prove a key player for the U18s, scoring twice in 17 appearances.

He was nominated for the Dylan Tombides Academy Player of the Year award at the end of the season and was rewarded with a professional contract in the summer of 2014.

Page made his first team debut in the Europa League at the beginning of the 2015/16 season and continued his fine form for the U21s, eventually earning a loan move to Cambridge United where he made six appearances.

He returned to West Ham for the climax of their U21 Premier League Cup triumph, before earning another loan move, this time to Coventry at the beginning of the 2016/17 season where he has since made the left back spot his own.

Page now joins Charlton on a 2-and-a-half year deal and everyone at the Club would like to wish Lewis the best of luck for the future. www.whufc.com

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SLAVEN BILIC HAS TWO GAMES TO SAVE HIS JOB
BY 337HAMMER ON 7 JANUARY 2017 AT 3:16PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Slaven Bilic has two games to save his job as West Ham lose patience with their manager. Bilic has to deliver in the Premier League matches against Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough or he will be dumped by the frustrated Hammers board.

A three match winning run in December saw West Ham climb away from the relegation zone but two straight league defeats have followed. But more worrying for the club's board has been the alarming way his team have caved in when they have conceded five goals against Arsenal and City over the past month. In both matches the side has collapsed and shown a worrying lack of character and commitment.

Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold along with vice-chairman Karren Brady are losing patience with the way the side have struggled compared to last season with the same players available. They are worried Bilic has lost the ability to motivate his squad and are concerned after hearing stories of a lack of focus and quality in training.

While earlier in the campaign the team were beset by injuries to key players, Bilic has been able to work with a largely full-strength group for the past two months. And there has been no obvious up-turn in performances from the side since then, which has left the Hammers board mystified as to what has gone wrong.

Palace visit the Olympic Stadium next week with former boss Sam Allardyce keen to put one over his old club.A trip to struggling Middlesbrough then follows – and Bilic will be on his way out if results and form are not delivered.

Brady was even forced to take to Twitter on Saturday morning under growing criticism from West Ham fans over what has happened this season. She said: "The whole board know last night's performance ws not good enough, we know we have to improve. Palace and Boro now vital games.

the whole board know last night's performance was not good enough we know we have to improve, Palace and Boro now vital games. 1/3 https://t.co/JhUlniSQV6

— Lady Brady (@karren_brady) January 7, 2017

we lost no key players from last season & we struggle to understand why team is under performing BUT urge every supporter get behind team2/3 https://t.co/JhUlniSQV6

— Lady Brady (@karren_brady) January 7, 2017

"We lost no key players from last season and we struggle to understand why team is underpeforming, but urge every supporter to get behind team and manager.

"We know it is hard to take positives out of last night but we believe the manager and the players will sort it out for next week." www.thesun.co.uk/sport

So, if this report is to be believed, our current boss is yet again under pressure to keep his job. Clearly something has gone drastically wrong this season and no-one has yet found the answer to what that is. There are of course many theories as to what has gone wrong;

Poor summer recruitment,
Over-achievement last season,
Players thinking they have made it already,
Injuries,
Undelivered promises from the board,
The new stadium move,
Bilic always being a one season wonder as a manager,
Payet wanting out,
Poor tactical thinking by the manager,
Antonio being thought of as a RB/ RWB.
I'm sure there are many more things to add to this list. But just looking at the above, it's not hard to see why we are struggling for any find of consistent form. Just look at the amount of goals we are shipping. It is ridiculous! Especially the heavy defeats. I don't believe that the board will sack Slaven and it would be a shame if they did because most seem to genuinely like the man. A comment I recently saw online made me think. It said 'Bilic reminds me a lot of Gianfranco Zola'. I think that assessment is spot on actually. Zola was quite well liked when he first arrived. He was happy and truthful. He had a fairly decent start, but then it all went wrong. We were losing, He looked drained and tired, he started losing his hair, he lost his sparkle…..Are you seeing any comparisons here?

I do not believe that we will be relegated this season. But I do think we may just limp along to close to the relegation zone seeing out a disappointing season. Whether we show any signs of recovery and fight will be interesting to see. I am hopeful, but not optimistic.

What do you think? Do you still 'trust in Slav'? What has gone wrong with our season? What do you think needs to happen? New boss? New players? How can we fix our problems. Thanks for reading 🙂

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MARK HUGHES: STOKE WON'T SELL GLEN JOHNSON
BY 337HAMMER ON 6 JANUARY 2017 AT 10:45PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Mark Hughes says Stoke City have no intention of selling Glen Johnson to West Ham, or any other club.
Hughes is adamant former player Johnson will not be making a return to West Ham to help shore up a defence which has leaked 35 goals in 20 Premier League games."West Ham being linked with lots of players but he (Johnson) is playing and isn't going anywhere," said Hughes."We have the option to extend his contract and are comfortable with the situation."

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KARREN BRADY CONFIRMS WEST HAM WILL REMOVE 'INSIDER' COLUMN FROM OFFICIAL SITE
BY 337HAMMER ON 6 JANUARY 2017 AT 9:50PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has confirmed the club will remove the column by 'the insider' on their official website. The feature, which acts as unofficial 'gossip' from someone apparently connected with the Hammers, hinted at the £20million bid for Celtic youngster Moussa Dembele which has been rejected by the Scottish giants. In what looks like being its final column, it read: "My understanding is that the Board are committed to giving the Club the best-possible chance of achieving that target, and have allocated significant funds to bolstering the squad. "To that end, a bid of £20m – a figure close to the Club's all-time transfer record – was submitted for a player from Scotland. "Meanwhile, an £8m bid was made for a player who currently plies his trade in the Championship, and a £6m bid for a current Premier League player."
Brady, along with co-chairman David Gold, was asked on Twitter about the 'embarrassing and unprofessional' feature by a fan on Twitter. She tweeted: "I have asked for 'the insider' be removed from the website and it will never be repeated again." www.mirror.co.uk

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HULL CITY REJECT REPORTED £3 MILLION BID BY WEST HAM FOR ROBERT SNODGRASS.
BY 337HAMMER ON 6 JANUARY 2017 AT 4:54PM
TeWestHamWay.co.uk

Hull City have rejected a bid from West Ham United for their top goalscorer Robert Snodgrass, the Mail understands.

Snodgrass is attracting attention from a number of Premier League clubs this month and West Ham have been the first club to make their move.

An opening offer, reported by Sky to be £3m, has been tabled this week but City, who appointed Marco Silva as Mike Phelan's successor yesterday, were quick to knock the Hammers back.

Snodgrass has been the Tigers' attacking talisman this season, scoring seven Premier League goals and another two in the EFL Cup.

Talks over a new long-term deal at the KCOM Stadium saw Snodgrass reject City's offer last month but the Tigers have subsequently protected their asset by triggering a one-year extension in the Scot's original deal signed upon his arrival from Norwich in 2014.

Snodgrass is tied to City until the summer of 2018 but City's resolve is likely to be tested further in the coming weeks.

West Ham are keen to bolster their attacking options this month as they look to stave off the threat of relegation, but it is understood at least two more Premier League clubs are tracking Snodgrass. www.hulldailymail.co.uk

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West Ham board 'struggle to understand' why team is underperforming - Karren Brady
By Lyall Thomas
Last Updated: 07/01/17 11:11am
SSN

West Ham's vice-chairwoman Karren Brady admits the board is struggling to comprehend why their team is performing so badly. The Hammers are 13th in the Premier League and were thrashed 5-0 at home by Manchester City in the FA Cup third round on Friday. The Baroness Brady took to Twitter on Saturday to answer supporters' concerns and urged them to remain behind the team and the manager Slaven Bilic. "The whole board know last night's performance was not good enough. We know we have to improve. Palace and Boro [are] now vital games," she said. "We lost no key players from last season and we struggle to understand why (the) team is under performing, but urge every supporter [to] get behind [the] team and manager. "We know it's hard to take any positives out of last night, but we believe the manager and players will sort it out for next week."
One West Ham supporter even asked Brady why they do not make the pitch at the London Stadium smaller to try and benefit the home team. She said: "[The] pitch is [the] PL required size of 105 x 68m and cannot be made smaller. [It] was 100.5 x 68m at UP [Upton Park] as [it was] structurally not possible to comply with PL rules."

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Slaven Bilic calls for West Ham response after 'very bad night' against Manchester City
By Sam Drury
Last Updated: 07/01/17 6:25pm
SSN

Slaven Bilic admitted it was "a very bad night" for his West Ham side as they were beaten 5-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup third round at the London Stadium.
Yaya Toure put the visitors in front from the penalty spot before a Havard Nordtveit own goal and a tap in for David Silva made it three before half time. Sergio Aguero added a fourth early in the second period before John Stones' late header rounded off a night to forget for West Ham. "It was a very bad night, it's hard to say anything positive," said Bilic. "We started well for half an hour until the penalty. The penalty looked a bit soft but it's hard to talk about that when you lose 5-0.
"Then in the crucial moments we had a great chance to equalise. But then we started to chase them on a big pitch which is very difficult to do against them "We gave them too much space and they scored two more goals. It was game over at half-time." Bilic insisted that his side must not dwell on the defeat and has called for them to come out fighting, starting with their next Premier League game against Crystal Palace. "We put a strong lineup out, a team we thought would have a really good chance and go through to the next round," he added. "Unfortunately it wasn't good but now it's time for the team to show character. "We've had a few defeats like that, let's say after the (5-1) Arsenal defeat we showed character and took 10 points from our next four games. Now is the time to do it again."

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Frank Lampard insists West Ham's players are the problem - not Slaven Bilic
The former Hammers midfielder has had his say on his old club's plight after they were hammered 5-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup
The Mirror
BYJAMES WHALING
22:44, 6 JAN 2017

Frank Lampard has insisted the players, not Slaven Bilic, are the problem at West Ham. The Hammers' season took another turn for the worse on Friday afternoon when they were demolished 5-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup third round at the London Stadium. City were awarded a contentious penalty in the first half which Yaya Toure dispatched, and didn't look back from there on in, with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and John Stones adding to an own goal. Lampard, speaking on the BBC, defended Bilic's role in his former club's plight and says it is a lack of confidence within their squad that is to blame for their poor campaign so far.
"It doesn't look to me like the problem is him," Lampard said. "I think the problem is on the pitch, I think the problem is the players. "It does look like they are shirking, but I think there is a real lack of confidence at the bottom of it. "You look at their best player [Dimitri Payet] who came on at the end there, the signs are that he might want to go and then you really worry about where they go from there."

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