Daily WHUFC News - 20th February 2017

Reid convinced confidence is climbing
WHUFC.com


Winston Reid says results and confidence are going hand-in-hand for West Ham
United
The Hammers have won six of their last ten Premier League matches
Centre-half says arrivals of Robert Snodgrass and Jose Fonte have 'freshened
things up'

Winston Reid says West Ham United are enjoying a virtuous circle of winning
games and growing confidence at present.

The Hammers have won six of their last ten Premier League matches to rise
into the top half of the table, while generally looking more resilient and
solid in defence than they did in the early months of the season.

Reid and his teammates are currently in Dubai recharging their batteries for
the run-in, with 13 matches still to play, and the No2 says morale is high
in the camp after a productive eight weeks.

"We started the season bang average but, to be fair, we've been playing all
right for a while now," observed the centre-half, who has started 22 of West
Ham's 25 Premier League fixtures, including all nine victories.

"Obviously we did get hit with a couple of bad results against Man City [in
the Emirates FA Cup and Premier League], which were a bit tough to take, but
generally we've improved.

"It's been a combination of things. We've had a few people coming back from
injuries, people getting up to match-fitness and people in form. When you
win games, you get more confidence, and we've been winning games, so
everyone is happier around the place and that shows out on the pitch."

Reid said that growing confidence was evident in last weekend's 2-2 draw
with West Bromwich Albion, when the Hammers recovered from conceding an
early goal to produce a dominant display at London Stadium.

On the road, the Hammers have lost just one of their last six away league
games – an unfortunate 1-0 reverse at Leicester City – drawn at Manchester
United and Liverpool and won at Swansea City, Middlesbrough and Southampton.

"In the last game we played against West Brom, even though we were 1-0
behind, we were the better team throughout the game, whereas we might have
crumbled a couple of months ago," Reid continued.

"We didn't get the win in the end [due to a last-gasp set-piece equaliser],
but over the 90 minutes that was probably our best performance of the
season.

"It's obviously a bit different when you go away from home because you know
that, at some stages of the game, you're going to be under pressure, but
we're improving which is good."

Winston Reid is building a relationship with recent signing Jose Fonte
So, why have performances and, in turn, results improved so dramatically?

While many would have you believe that Dimitri Payet's departure was the
solution to all the squad's problems, Reid was more eager to focus on the
positive impact made by January signings Robert Snodgrass and his new
defensive partner Jose Fonte.

"I think getting a couple of new players in has freshened things up and
everyone is on the same page," he explained.

"I don't want to pinpoint the whole situation on Dimi, because I think that
would be unfair. He had his own issue which he had to deal with in his own
way, which he did, and we're past that now. He's happy and we're happy as
well, so we'll just move forward and do our best.

"It's been good. Obviously it takes time to build up an understanding but
it's improving with every game. Jose and Snoddy have fitted into the group
really well, and that's also important, that we've signed not only good
footballers, but good people as well who fit within the group."

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Kemp - The whole team is buzzing
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Premier League 2 face Fulham at London Stadium on Monday
It's free for Season Ticket Holders to watch the young Hammers in London
derby action
Winger Dan Kemp says the whole squad is excited to step out on the London
Stadium turf

West Ham United's Dan Kemp revealed the whole U23 squad are buzzing to step
out on the London Stadium turf on Monday when they take on Fulham in Premier
League 2.

The London derby is the Hammers' first of three home matches to be hosted at
the venue this campaign and Season Ticket Holders can watch the youngsters
in action for free.

Non-Season Ticket Holders can secure their seat for just £5 for adults and
£3 for under-16s and over-65s, though all tickets need to be purchased in
advance for the fixture.

Book your free tickets now – on General Sale

Ahead of the clash, Kemp said: "It's going to be a massive, massive game and
everyone's buzzing. Obviously it's the first time that we've got the chance
to play at London Stadium, so all the boys are looking forward to it.

"We're buzzing even more off the back of the win we got against Nottingham
Forest on Monday. We're looking for another big performance against Fulham,
so it should be a great London derby.

"I myself haven't trained there yet either, so for me it will be brilliant.
The surface will be better than what we're used to at Dagenham, but yeah,
everyone's buzzing!"

Terry Westley's outfit were beaten convincingly by Fulham at Craven Cottage
earlier this term, so Kemp and his teammates will be out for revenge this
time around.

"We were beaten 4-1 by them last year, so it's a chance for us to prove a
point against them," he continued. "It's a big stage, but we'll all be
buzzing with confidence and hopefully we'll go into that game and look to
beat them.

"Obviously in this match, it's up to us as individuals and as a team to show
our talent. We've all be doing that in all our games this season, to be
fair.

"On that stage, there will be more fans and it's more of an opportunity to
show everyone what we can do."

Season Ticket Holders can gain free admittance when booked within the Season
Ticket window - but please be aware that all tickets need to be booked in
advance due to a capacity limit for this game.

All supporters can claim their ticket now by visiting
eticketing.co.uk/whufc, calling 0333 030 1966, or visiting the London
Stadium Ticket Office in person.

Non-Season Ticket Holders can purchase tickets for just £5 adults and £3
under-16s and over-65s.

Tickets are on General Sale now!

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MARK NOBLE CRITICISM IS BOTH EMBARRASSING AND UNFAIR
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 19 FEBRUARY 2017 AT 12:54PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Daniel Fisk @fisko27

While social media may well represent the opinion of a small minority that
shout the loudest, I can't help but feel embarrassed by what seems to be a
rising swell of negatively towards Mark Noble.

I don't think there is much argument between Hammer's fans as to Mark
Noble's status at the club; 'Mr West Ham' embodies the loyalty, passion and
commitment seen so rarely in today's game, and watching a boyhood fan
captain the club is something to be cherished.

Increasingly though, Noble's form seems to have led to increasingly vocal
sections of our support calling for him to be dropped from the starting
eleven.

I fully support the idea that any team selection should be made on merit.
Elite football is a pure meritocracy in which previous achievements and
personality mean little if a player isn't doing the business on the pitch.
And I don't think that Mark Noble should be picked indefinitely just because
he is an inspirational captain and club legend.

However, I he think he deserves a lot more respect and I think the attitude
of certain West Ham fans towards him is embarrassing.

Personally I think the criticism of his form is overdone. The usual gripes
of "he gives the ball away" or "he slows the play down too much" are
ignorant. Mark Noble shows bravery on the ball that others don't, and too
often he lacks the support of players making forward runs beyond our
striker.

This season the usual shout is to drop Noble and start Kouyate and Obiang in
the middle. Slav hasn't gone for that much and there will be a reason behind
that. Although I think Kouyate has filled in well as part of a back three
this season, as a midfielder I think he has regressed from the dynamic
box-to-box player that burst on to scene in 2014.

Slav dropping Noble means his dropping his lieutenant on the pitch and the
biggest leader in the dressing room, and clearly this holds sway with the
manager.

The fact is our win record is also significantly better in games when Mark
Noble starts.

One-club-legends like Mark Noble are a rare breed, and I think we should be
proud that we have one as our captain. I hope Mark gets a bit more respect
from certain quarters as he approaches the latter stages of his career as a
guaranteed starter for West Ham.

COYI

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