Daily WHUFC News - 28th February 2017

Noble - Don't forget about Dre
WHUFC.com

Mark Noble was delighted to see Andre Ayew make a goalscoring return at Watford
Ghana forward came off the bench to score West Ham United's equaliser at Vicarage Road
Victory took the Hammers up to ninth in the Premier League table

Captain Mark Noble was delighted to see Andre Ayew make a goalscoring return to West Ham United duty. The Ghana forward returned to Hammers duty after representing Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations by scoring the equaliser in Saturday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Watford. Victory took Slaven Bilic's side up to ninth in the table and the skipper is expecting more influential performances to come from the talented No20. "I was speaking to 'Dre the other day and said 'Look, when you come to a new club and get injured in your first game and are out for three months, then you come back and you're away for another month at the African Nations Cup, it's so hard to get back involved'," said Noble. "Credit to 'Dre, because he's come back and worked hard, he's great around the squad and he got what he deserved. "He is a very, very good signing and I knew that when we signed him, but he's had it tough. I'm pretty sure he'll stay fit now and get us some more goals."

West Ham fell a goal behind after just three minutes on Saturday, when former Hammer Mauro Zarate won a penalty which was converted by Troy Deeney. However, the visitors showed resilience to battle back at a wet and windy Vicarage Road to score a deserved draw through Ayew's second-half finish. Had things gone differently in front of goal, the captain felt his side could have snatched a third straight away win. "We played well on Saturday," he observed. "It makes life tough when you go behind away from home after two minutes, especially with the atmosphere there and everything. "It wasn't ideal, but I thought we controlled the game from when we conceded until the finish, with the way we passed the ball about. With a little bit more luck or quality, we could have scored three or four goals. "It was really raining and really windy and a lot worse conditions than it looked, as the ball was flying everywhere, but as I said, we kept it on the floor, passed it around well and created loads of chances, especially from crosses. If we'd had a little bit more on the night, we could have won it quite comfortably. "It was a good team goal. We defended it well, went on a great counter-attack and finished it when it came back off the post. "When you control a game like that and you probably don't quite get what you deserved, you sit in the changing room afterwards feeling a little bit gutted, if I'm honest. "The boys played really well away from home, our away form is really good and we're ninth in the Premier League. It's looking good and we're looking like a really good team at the minute."

Noble also had a word of encouragement for Zarate, who suffered a nasty-looking knee injury at the end of the first half, and wished the Argentine well in his recovery. "Footballers know what it's like to get an injury like that," he said. "Mauro is a really nice man and he started off really well on Saturday and was a real danger for them. "Our wishes go out to him and hopefully he's not too bad."

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Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com

Boss hails impact of Manuel Lanzini in recent run of Hammers form
Argentine creator has two goals and two assists in 2017
West Ham will look for their second win against Chelsea this season next time out

Slaven Bilic believes Manuel Lanzini can continue in his rich vein of form and help the Hammers establish their position in the Premier League's top half over the closing months of the season. Since the turn of the year, the Argentine has scored twice and laid on two more goals as West Ham have risen up to ninth in the table with a run of eleven points from their last six matches. The boss believes Lanzini has been key to that - and having overcome his early-season injury problems he says there is yet more to come from him. He said: "Lanzini is a very young player, and is a top class player. He likes to take the responsibility and he came from a big club - not the one in Dubai but River Plate in Buenos Aires. "When he was 19 or 20, they gave him the No10 shirt and they don't give it [lightly] - it's a very heavy jersey. "He got it for himself and don't forget this season he was supposed to go to the Olympics with Argentina, but he had a very bad knee injury and he was disappointed not to go. "He missed the whole pre-season with us, and came back a little bit too soon. We pushed him in because we needed him, but now he is playing fantastically."

Following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Watford, the Hammers have to wait until next Monday for their next assignment, when table-topping Chelsea come to London Stadium. Bilic is well aware of the threat they possess, but has the memory of October's victory over the Blues in the EFL Cup to call upon. "That was a really great game, we played really good," he smiled. "They didn't start with their best team, let's say, but in the second half they put everybody in and we deserved it. "Hopefully we are going to do the same. They are doing fantastic, they are winning and they are everything. They are solid and up front they have that unbelievable pace, strength and quality that is hard to stop. "But we are a good team now, and we have been really good for a period of seven or eight games. We are good physically, we are good mentally, we are good on the ball, we are good in transition, and that is why there is always belief."

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Locke rescues point for Ladies
WHUFC.com

Whitney Locke's 88th-minute equaliser rescued a 2-2 draw at Swindon Town
Molly Peters also on target after West Ham United Ladies had fallen two goals down
Point made it two league games unbeaten for Greg De Carnys's side

West Ham United Ladies came from two goals down to claim a point at Swindon Town Ladies on Sunday. Molly Peters and Whitney Locke were the Hammers' goalscoring heroes at Shivenham FC, after strikes from Michelle Rich and Chyna Collings had seemingly set the Robins on course for victory. Assistant manager Josh Ewens said the Ladies could take great pride from the character they showed in coming from behind to grab a second successive FA Women's Premier League Southern Division draw. "It was a real test of their character and there have been times earlier in the season when we have crumbled a bit, but we certainly did the opposite of that," said Ewens. "We're starting to turn the performances into results and those draws will start turning into three points soon."

By a strange quirk of the fixture list, West Ham's next league game is also against Swindon, who visit Thurrock FC on Sunday 12 March.
"We look forward to taking Swindon to our place, with hopefully better conditions, with a pitch that suits our football," Ewens continued. "We have to be confident that, if we play as well as we can do, then we can certainly get results from that game and the Lewes game [at home on 30 April]. I think we're optimistic that we will put in good performances against teams like Tottenham [away on 26 March] as well. "We proved that when we played Spurs that, when these girls are on their game and play as well as we know we can, we can challenge any team in terms of the way that we play."

The Hammers started Sunday's game in characteristic style, playing out from the back and keeping the ball. Despite this and against the run of play, Swindon put the ball in the West Ham net through Rich, despite strong protests for offside. It was looking like a long day for the travelling side as the Robins soon doubled their lead as Collings fired in from outside the box. Greg De Carnys' side refused to let their heads drop, though, and did not let the score line affect the way that they play. Despite playing uphill and against the wind, Amy Cooper, Julie Melfald and Dayna Chong were putting great passes in for Peters, who was terrorising the Swindon defence with her pace. And the striker was finally was rewarded for her efforts as she got one back with a tidy finish before half-time.

Into the second half and West Ham took advantage of having the wind at their backs as Chloe Burr fired wide and Shannon Albuery was denied by the Swindon goalkeeper. At the other end, the back four of Chantelle Mackie, Jasmine Auguste, Hannah Wheeler and Jodie Jacobs shut up shop, preventing Swindon from creating any chances of note. West Ham were trying desperately to get the equaliser and in the 88th minute substitute Whitney Locke got it with a clever finish to secure a deserved share of the spoils.

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Loanee round up
WHUFC.com

Enner Valencia was introduced in the second half of Everton's 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday
Josh Cullen and Toni Martinez both helped their sides to victories in League One
It was a day to forget for Newport County's Jaanai Gordon in the fourth tier

A mixed bag would best describe the results picked up this weekend by West Ham United's band of loanees at their various temporary clubs.

Starting with the one Hammer on loan in the Premier League, Enner Valencia made his 15th appearance for Everton on Saturday as the Toffees overcame Sunderland at Goodison Park. The Ecuador international was introduced with 20 minutes remaining on Merseyside, with the hosts 1-0 to the good thanks to Idrissa Gueye's first half strike. And the result was confirmed with ten minutes to go as Romelu Lukaku scored his 60th Premier League goal for the Blues, finding the back of the net with the aid of a deflection.

Down in the third tier, Josh Cullen was again on hand to complete 90 minutes for Bradford City and help them pick up another vital three points at Port Vale. The Bantams, who remain in the play-off spots in League One, took the lead through Romain Vincelot four minutes before the break, but they were pegged back in the second half when JJ Hooper equalised. Alex Jones popped up to haunt his former side in the 74th minute however, converting Alex Gilliead's cross to make it 2-1.

There was also a start and full match for Spaniard Toni Martinez, who played in Oxford United's 4-0 thrashing of Chesterfield away from home. Ex-Hammer Rob Hall got the scoring underway just 17 minutes in when Martinez raced clear to square for his teammate, and Conor McAleny bagged a hat-trick to boost the Us play-off ambitions.

George Dobson and Martin Samuelsen were both unused substitutes as their respective sides Walsall and Peterborough United played in League One. The Saddlers were beaten by AFC Wimbledon while Posh were 3-1 winners over Rochdale.

And things didn't get much better for a Hammer in League Two. Jaanai Gordon was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in basement club Newport County's defeat at Mansfield Town.

Finally, goalkeeper Sam Howes played for Hampton and Richmond Borough in the National League South, but Weston-Super-Mare were 2-0 winners away from home.

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Coventry - I want to add goals to my game
WHUFC.com

West Ham United PL2 travel to Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday night in the Premier League Cup
Conor Coventry will be involved with the squad again after scoring in last week's win over Fulham
The Hammers know a victory will send them through to the next round as Group E winners

After scoring his first goal of the season last week, Conor Coventry wants to make finding the net a regular part of his game. The 16-year-old midfielder scored on his first U23s start of the season last Monday as the Hammers beat Fulham 2-0 in their debut at London Stadium. Coventry was introduced as a 79th minute substitute with the game at a nervy 1-0, but the Irishman showed great composure to play a one-two with fellow sub Djair Parfitt-Williams before cooly slotting under the on-rushing Cottagers stopper.

"It was a very good day and one that I'm very proud of," admitted Coventry. "I just wanted to have a good impact on the game and I was very pleased with how I did when I came on. "I was a little bit surprised [to score] but it's something I want to add to my game and I want to show people that I can do it. I want to start to do it more often. I was happy to get in that position and finish well.
"It was really good. It's a fantastic stadium, the facilities are top class. All the boys were very excited and we just wanted to show the crowd what we can do. There was a few times when I could here chants on the pitch and it was great to hear the crowd because that encouraged us."

Coventry's cameo performance against Fulham has earned him a second successive involvement in Terry Westley's squad. The U23 Hammers have already qualified for the next phase of the Premier League Cup but can still finish top of Group E by beating Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday. "We always want to win and we want to show that we are the best team in the group. We also want to show that we are a good team by beating a very good Brighton side," continued Coventry. "Everybody is quite confident and we know that we have the talent in our team so we've just got to play the way we know we can and we'll be good enough to beat Brighton. "I'm feeling confident and I just want to show that I can bring more to the team and that what happened on Monday wasn't a fluke."

Coventry and the U23s travel to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League Cup on Monday (7pm). You can follow the action from 6pm at whufc.com via our live blog.

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Pask - Defending PL Cup title remains our target
WHUFC.com

Despite knockout round qualification already secured, Josh Pask admitted that the manner of West Ham United's 3-0 PL Cup defeat was 'disappointing'.
Pask is delighted to be back on the pitch and is enjoying a good run of games having missed two months of action through injury at the end of 2016.
The target remains pushing to defend the PL Cup trophy which the Hammers won last season.

Josh Pask admitted that West Ham United'sPask against Fulham at London Stadium 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion was a "disappointing" ending to the group stages of the PL Cup. The two sides went in to Monday's group fixture with qualification to the knockout round already secured, however, with a home tie in the last 16 on the line, the Hammers came unstuck against a Brighton side on top form. Despite a bright start, West Ham went behind to a Henrik Bjordal goal before James Tilley doubled the host's lead from the penalty spot on 41 minutes. Pask admitted that the Hammers' defending should have been better throughout:
"We dominated the ball, but they got us on the break a couple of times" he explained. "We knew that's what they were going to do because they did it to us in previous games, we just weren't able to stop it. It wasn't our day today."

The scoring was complete early in the second half when Aaron Connolly poked in from close range. "We're disappointed with today but we'll go in to the next couple of games and to the next round, see who we come against, and we'll go from there" the 19-year old explained. Pask had suffered an injury in November which ruled him out of action for two months but since his return in late-January, he has enjoyed a run of seven consecutive starts for the U23 side. "I'm happy now" he said. "I'm happy to be out on the pitch- there's nothing better, nothing I'd rather do. "I've had a bit of hard luck here and there but hopefully now and for the rest of the season, I can get a strong run of games under my belt. That would be great for me."

The defeat means West Ham finished second in Group E of the PL Cup: a competition the young Hammers won in 2016. They will now face an away trip in the last-16 knockout round and Pask is determined to help the Hammers defend their title: "Of course [we want to do well], definitely" he said. We won it last year, so we want to try and hold the title. We're already through, and we want to do well in every game."

Before the Hammers play their next PL Cup match, they return to Premier League 2 action and to London Stadium on Tuesday 7 March as Stoke City are the visitors to the capital.

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Obiang laments lack of Watford winner
WHUFC.com

Pedro Obiang says West Ham United did everything but score the winning goal at Watford
Hammers fell a goal behind early on but dominated for long periods thereafter
Andre Ayew grabbed equaliser but visitors found a winner impossible to come by

Pedro Obiang says West Ham United did everything but score the winning goal at Watford on Saturday.

The Hammers dominated for long stretches at Vicarage Road after conceding an early goal, but had only Andre Ayew's second-half equaliser to show for their efforts come full-time.

West Ham unleashed 13 shots on Heurelho Gomes's goal, but just two of them were on target, leaving Obiang, his teammates and manager Slaven Bilic feeling frustrated.

"We took a goal too early and we found some difficulties in the first half," Obiang observed. "In the second half we played totally different, like we normally play, pressing and creating chances, but we couldn't get the second goal.

"In the changing room after the game we spoke about the fact we had a lot of the ball and a lot of chances near to their goal, but we didn't decide to do it, and because of that we drew the game.

"Watford didn't have too many chances aside from their penalty and one in the final minute, but for 60 minutes we played totally better than them."

While West Ham may not have found a winning goal, Obiang felt they did many good things at Watford, where they enjoyed 64% possession and created the vast majority of chances.

Central to their performance were the form of Manuel Lanzini, who caught the eye in a No10 position after half-time, and Michail Antonio, who gave everything playing as a lone centre forward.

The pair combined for West Ham's goal, which was scored by Andre Ayew after Antonio's shot had rebounded off both posts.

Watford didn't have too many chances aside from their penalty and one in the final minute, but for 60 minutes we played totally better than them
Pedro Obiang
"Manu is our number ten and he needs to demonstrate every time that he is now our top player, so we need to use him every time we have the ball, because he has confidence and he tries to create chances," Obiang explained.

"Michail also did everything for the team, but it is no surprise because he can play with ease in every position! At the moment, he plays everywhere for the team and for himself and he tries to give everything. Sometimes he scores, but on Saturday he was unlucky because he hit two posts, but luckily Andre followed up to score.

"I am very happy for Andre, as I am very happy for every player when they come back from injury. From the start, he was injured but now he is starting to play a little bit and we need to keep going with him because he can do good things."

Finally, Obiang echoed the sentiments of every West Ham player by expressing sympathy for former Hammer Mauro Zarate, who suffered a serious-looking knee injury in Saturday's game.

"I wish he was OK because he is a friend," said the Spaniard. "When I saw him on the floor I was thinking 'No, the poor guy!' because it is the same knee he injured when he was with us.

"I will call him and wish him a recovery, because he is a good guy and he was playing really well."

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Manning happy to see back of bogey team
WHUFC.com

U23s coach Liam Manning is pleased to see the back of Brighton after a four games without a win over the Seagulls this season
The Hammers were beaten 3-0 away from home in the Premier League Cup on Monday
West Ham were already through to the knockout rounds of the competition before the game, however

West Ham United Premier League 2 coach Liam Manning labelled Brighton and Hove Albion the Hammers' bogey team on Monday after a third defeat of the season against the Seagulls in the Premier League Cup.

The U23s were beaten 3-0 at the American Express Elite Performance Centre in their final Group E match of the competition – their fourth encounter with Brighton this campaign.

And after picking up just one point against the side in the four clashes, Manning is pleased to see the back of Monday's opponents.

He said: "It was extremely frustrating yet again against this side and they seem to be our bogey team down here. We just can't get a result.

"The game was very similar to the three before and how they've ended up. We had large amounts of possession but a bit of naivety on that turnover has been the frustrating thing and we've had the same problems yet again.

"We spoke about what we expected before, and the boys' job was to go and deliver that. That's what happens in the first team, the manager gives you a game plan and you have to go and deliver it on the pitch. That's their jobs."

Having got the victory, Brighton finished top of Group E and will therefore host the first knockout round of the Cup in the next stage, while West Ham will travel for their next tie.

Manning insisted, however, the tournament is still one the Hammers are taking seriously, having lifted the trophy last season.

"Any competition you're in and any fixture you're involved in, you want to do well in that so it's frustrating when you don't get a result," he continued. "It's hard to take as you want to perform well in every game.

"We just looked too vulnerable when Brighton came forward today. Once they got the lead and given how they play, they made it tough and they do it very well to be fair.

"There were a lot of bodies to get through and we found that a challenge. At times, it wasn't good enough in the attacking third."

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Patience is key for Ox, says Westley
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th February 2017
By: Staff Writer

Academy boss Terry Westley has told Reece Oxford that he should patiently await a first team, opportunity - be that at West Ham or Reading. The teenage defender is current on loan with the Royals but is yet to start a single match ,despite joining them a month ago. And according to Westley, young players need to accept that the chances of them breaking into first teams are becoming more and more limited. "It's much more difficult to get into the first team at 17 now," he told whufc.com. "That apprenticeship is more between the ages 17 and 23 and I think Reece is in that bracket. "He's got to continue to work, maybe go out on loan and play games. But he is a top, top young player and will come through the West Ham ranks when Slaven feels he's ready for the team. "There are young players - we've also got Josh Cullen, Marcus Browne, Martin Samuelsen, Reece Burke, Domingos Quina – who are in and around [the first team] and we have got a manager at our club who they train with on a daily basis. "They go in the first team group with Mark Noble and [Andy] Carroll and [James] Collins and they hold their own. So you can make that step, like Reece [Oxford] did against Arsenal a season ago - but that apprenticeship may take longer."

Oxford joined Reading on loan on deadline day at the end of the winter transfer window. Since then the Royals have played five times, with Oxford being an unused sub on three occasions.

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Here we go again, and again, and again
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th February 2017
By: Paul Walker

Now stop me if you have heard this one before. Guess what? Yes, we are scouring Europe and our own backyard in Brexit land for a right back, oh, and a striker. Blimey, I would never have thought.

I think if I hear or read this statement once more from anyone within our club or part of the keyboard warriors who swallow any old nonsense from our owners, I may well pop across the pond to buy one of those machine guns you can easily purchase on any US of A street corner, to dish out some Kray-style justice in the old East End.

They won't let me in? Thank God for that, I may have had to play golf with Donald Trump. But seriously folks, we are once again entering spin territory. Be it about annual accounts or the funny farm folk who run our transfer department.

Now one of my esteemed colleagues on KUMB has produced a (heavily flawed, he admits) survey which suggests that the lack of a proper right back cost us Champions League qualification last season, and is doing the same this term.

Last term we were four points shy of fourth placed Manchester City, having thrown away all sorts of good points because the brave and honest Michail Antonio was playing right-back. We had used Joey O'Brian, Sam Byram and Carl Jenkinson there at times, and then we sold the only player who had made a half decent fist of things, James Tomkins, to Crystal Palace for £10m.

This season, my colleague informs me, we have thrown away about ten points because we don't have a proper right back, such are the mistakes that continually happen down our right flank. Clearly Slav doesn't trust the likes of Alvaro Arbeloa or the constantly injured Byram.

The great irony in all this is that those ten wasted points would still not see us overtake seventh placed Everton if the footballing Gods had been kind to us. (I will get to Everton later!)

Now those statistics are hardly a great science, we all accept that (even the esteemed author) but we are all so heartily sick of the phantom right back problem, it's not surprising there is plenty of bitter, twisted rhetoric on the subject.

Basically, if you want to be really cruel, our transfer department can be blamed for failing to qualify for the Champions League and now not being able to even get above Everton, which just might see another dubious entry into the Europa League--the tournament we are always out of before I get back from holiday!

All this came to mind after I stood with 3,000 plus fellow Irons in the dark at Watford (they turn the lights off in the away end?) and seen another willing soldier/square peg Cheikhou Kouyate, shoved into a round hole to concede a clumsy penalty after just three minutes.

Caught out by allowing Mauro Zarate to run across his path and then slow down to invite the inevitable contact. I do hope, incidentally, that the former Hammer recovers well from his knee problem, it can't be often that fans of both clubs rise to applaud as a player is carried off.

Kouyate is there at right back because, like Antonio, he is willing, big, strong and an outstanding athlete. At a push he could play anywhere, just like Antonio. But we all know it is not right, if the transfer/finance department had done their jobs properly--and yes, I know it is a very difficult market out there--we would have a proper right back by now. It's only been about three transfer windows that we have faced this problem!

And you just knew it wouldn't be done in the recently completed window when David Gold was going on about Byram being fit now so the need to spend on a right- back had receded.

And how about a striker? Surely the money would be spent there, and not on that injury prone lad that Slav didn't fancy but Tony Henry did, from Brentford. We have been constantly linked with Manolo Gabbiadini now at Southampton. Doesn't seem to have been a bad punt by the Saints, does he. But we ended up with Simone Zaza, a player I fail to believe was as bad as we witnessed. He was an Italian international from Juventus, for heaven's sake.

But we still have Diafra Sakho injured, Jonathan Calleri is not up to it yet, neither is young Ashley Fletcher. And guess what, big Andy is also injured again. Nothing to do with protecting himself with a possible move to China on the cards these past few weeks, is it. Nothing could be that devious, surely? Oh, and Antonio is now suspended.

Carroll has missed the last two games now, both very winnable, and that's four more points wasted. Please gentlemen, let's spend big to get a right back and a striker, no more punts, no more loans, just do your job, as Jodie Foster was heard shouting at an anti-Trump rally last week.

And now the accounts …and Everton. In years gone by I have had to plough through the accounts of Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool on too regular occasions. Such accounting fiction it is harder to find outside the football industry.

We are going to be told just how well the club is doing, even if they can't find the money for a striker without trying to sell an injured Sakho first. Or knocking out Tomkins for £10m, or saving the wages of Zaza and Dimi Payet--I reckon nearer £200,000 a week--and just buying a solid journeyman in Robert Snodgrass.

You can never accuse David Sullivan of wasting cash (well, apart from Zaza, Calleri, Gokhan Tore, Arbeloa and Havard Nordtveit, to name just a few). Somewhere along the line we are going to be told that giving Karren Brady a 40 per cent rise, is justified, that a £30m pay day loan (from a Virgin Islands company, same building as former Everton director Robert Earl's business) is 'normal accounting cash flow issues' as it has been described.

The fact that our owners have clawed back some of their loans (plus interest at seven per cent) is actually small fry in the great scheme of things. They loan the club vast amounts because FFP won't let them do anything else, and they are businessmen who I believe have never taken a dividend from the club.

But then there is the £8m profit from the sale of the Boleyn. I did flinch at that, but we are being softened up for that by suggestions that we only got £38m for the sale of the ground and land.

Now most folk, if asked for their gut feeling of what they thought we had sold the ground for, would have come up with something closer to £100m, and that's without the knowledge of land prices in Upton Park. We have had to pay £15m rent for the OS and around £4m to tart-up the place in claret and blue stuff. So just £8m profit? I sense that may need greater explanation from our owners, who have never talked so far of how much they sold the old gaff for.

And now back to Everton. We are being told that we have now overtaken them in all forms of finance. Turnover, TV money, ticket sales, merchandising and sponsorships. And that our turnover is now the seventh best in the land.

That all sounds great, along with being I think 18th now richest club in Europe, fifth biggest average crowd figure but still out of the top 100 clubs in UEFA's criteria of success rate in major European competitions.

But Everton are still working on 35,000 plus gates, at an old but vibrant stadium (remind you of anything?), they have scored more and conceded less than us and their goals difference is 24 better than ours.

Everton look like they will have their own new stadium soon, well advanced talks about a new site in the old disused docks are taking shape and they may, at last, have a 50,000--60,000 seater new home. One they actually own.

Oh yes, and they have a proper right-back in Seamus Coleman and a youth product in Mason Holgate as his deputy. And they have a pretty decent striker who scores goals--mainly against us--and stays fit, in Romelu Lukaku.

So I don't think we should be boasting about overtaking Everton for a while. To reach our goals, the ones put forward to justify our move to Stratford, we must start spending big and persuading players that our business plan is a reality and not a pipe dream.

It brings to mind my old Nan's remark of "all fur coat and no knickers" when discussing someone (next door!) that looks great on the outside but lacks substance elsewhere. We run the risk of being labelled likewise.

Making money, bums on seats, commercial cash flowing is all well and good. But what about the team to go with it? The team that will take us into the Champions League. Is it really attainable in the modern game, will players be persuaded to come? Do they actually believe we can progress, big time?

Nobody else has broken into the top six and stayed there apart from Manchester City - and that's a very different story - for decades.

The promises were there all last summer, while we were trying to flog 20,000 more season tickets. There is still a huge gap between us and the top six, and you have to ask whether it is really a gap that can be bridged. Am I the only one that doubts the evidence that we can one day make that jump.

So first things first. A right back and a striker. It's down to the Davids because they don't have any other outside investment, like Everton have recently acquired.

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.

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RECENT WINDOWS SHOW THE NEED FOR A DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
JAMES PIPER
ReadWestHam

David Sullivan has for years been vocal of his goal of catapulting West Ham to the 'next level', however, his actions have yet to show that desire. In my mind there is no doubt that Sullivan truly means those words, his ultimate goal is almost certainly to have a football team playing regularly in the Champions League, be it as a fan or as a businessman.

It is no secret that to reach a higher level in football, better players are required, this is not necessarily to say that a bigger outlay is required, but perhaps a smarter recruitment strategy, one, that I believe, doesn't involve David Sullivan overseeing it. It is my belief that Sullivan's ego and desire to placate both the manager and support are holding the club back, and that for the club to truly make use of the exorbitant rise in income over the coming years, a Director of Football is required, with a recruitment system modelled on those of continental clubs' such as Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig.

There is no doubt that as we stand the club will find it difficult to attract an elite calibre of player, with the pursuits of Alexandre Lacazette and Michy Batshuayi in the summer transfer window prime examples, meaning that we need to be more cunning in the way that we recruit players.

With the recruiting of a Director of Football, the club could have a long term plan and profile of player recruitment, that could not only eventually save the club a fortune in overpaying for failed transfers, but also preserve the reputation of the board amongst fans and the press, which I'm sure features highly on Sullivan's list of priorities. A Director of Football give the club a long-term structure with regards to not only transfers but could also implement a structure so that when Slav eventually leaves we have a clear club ethos and style of play, with which to hire the next manager around.

It is no coincidence that arguably the best-run club in the country, Southampton, have a Director of Football, allowing them to seamlessly replace not only players but also managers, whilst also generating a substantial profit from player sales year on year, allowing for significant financial growth, generating the third highest pre-tax profit in the country behind Manchester United and Tottenham in the 2014-15 season.

In an ideal world we pluck Michael Zorc and Sven Mislintat from Borussia Dortmund, Ralf Rangnick from the high-flying, young guns RB Leipzig or Monchi and his global network of scouts from Sevilla, but none of these is a truly viable strategy, as they'll undoubtedly have better offers, meaning that, in my eyes, we have two options: give Tony Henry more influence or place a greater emphasis on the role of analytics in the club.

At the end of the 2013/14 season, unhappy with what he perceived to be a lack of value for money in the squad, Sullivan poached Tony Henry from Everton and hired him as chief scout, and this decision bore fruit almost immediately with the purchases of Cheikhou Kouyate, Aaron Cresswell and Diafra Sakho playing a crucial role in a frankly superb first half of the season, in which we found ourselves sitting in the top four at Christmas.

This positive trend of recruitment continued after the end of the 2014/15 season, with not only the obvious successes of Manu Lanzini and Dimitri Payet but also players such as Pedro Obiang and Michail Antonio, both of which were almost certainly Henry signings. Even in the abomination that was the 2015/16 summer window the few bright spots can be linked back to Henry, with the signings of Arthur Masuaku, Sophiane Feghouli and Havard Nordtveit (who is yet to receive significant playing time in his preferred midfield role).

The other option is to further invest in the club's analytics department, headed by Rory Campbell, more and more clubs in the lower reaches of English football are beginning to realise the value of utilising analytics when recruiting, with as recently as December, Swansea revealed the influence of once noted statistical pundit, Daniel Altman, though the results remain to be seen. Amongst other clubs having used analytics in order to gain an advantage are Fulham, currently sitting five points outside the play-off spots in the championship and Brentford, who were promoted from League One on a shoestring budget following smart recruitment, and whose most noted statistical signings, Andre Gray and Moses Odubajo, are now plying their trade in the premier league.

Therefore the solution may be directly under our noses; give Tony Henry more influence when it comes to transfers; make better use of the club's analytics department, removing the ego from what should be a scientific process, or ideally, do both! As it stands our financial superiority alone won't take us to the next level, it'll be taking advantage of any margin of sporting intelligence, no matter how minute. If we can't be more attractive, we have to be smarter

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Finishing in top half of Premier League table will be success for West Ham, says Mark Noble
KEN DYER
Evening Standard

Mark Noble believes West Ham's season should still be considered a success even if they go no higher in the Premier League table this season. Slaven Bilic's team finished seventh last season but are currently in ninth spot with 33 points, seven behind West Brom and 11 adrift of Everton. "After the start we had and all the stuff which has gone on off the pitch — the stadium and training-ground moves, plus the Dimitri Payet situation — if we could end up where we are now, I'd eat your microphone," Noble said after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Watford. Troy Deeney's early penalty put Watford ahead before Andre Ayew equalised with his first West Ham goal in the second half at Vicarage Road but the Hammers had to see out the game without Michail Antonio, who was sent off after two yellow cards near the end. Antonio, who was playing up front in the continued absence of Andy Carroll, now misses next Monday's derby against Chelsea. Noble admitted: "We are going to miss Michail but, hopefully, we get Andy back. Chelsea are flying but it's a London derby under lights, so I'm hoping we can put in a real strong performance and get some points."

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Watford 1-1 West Ham: Kouyate's problems, Bilic's temper and other Monday thoughts for West Ham fans
By Essex Chronicle | Posted: February 27, 2017
By Tommy Wathen

West Ham United came from behind to secure a 1-1 Premier League draw away to Walter Mazzarri's Watford on Saturday [February 25], but it could've easily been more. The hosts were given a perfect opportunity in the third minute to take the lead when Cheikhou Kouyate tripped former Hammer Mauro Zarate in the box to give away a penalty, which Hornets captain Troy Deeney duly converted. Substitute Andre Ayew came off the bench to tap home an equaliser late in the second half after fantastic work from Michail Antonio – who will now miss the Chelsea home fixture after being sent off for two bookable offences.

Here are five thoughts that West Ham fans will be thinking this morning.

Cheikhou Kouyate is not a right back!

Please don't get me wrong – West Ham supporters love Cheik! Saying that, we'd love him even more than we already do if he was back in his natural central midfield position. If that happened though, it would probably spell the end for captain Mark Noble as Pedro Obiang's name seems to be the first one of Slaven Bilic's team sheet at the moment.

It is great to have a player in the squad that you can throw into any position if needed, but although Kouyate actually did spend quite some time at Anderlecht playing in defence before moving to East London, it is clear that he is a much stronger asset when controlling the midfield.

Against Watford, you could easily argue that Zarate went down easy, but it was a definite penalty and I think that comes from Kouyate not really knowing where he needs to be. He is a professional footballer and shouldn't be making clumsy tackles like that, but constantly moving from position to position would make anyone think twice about who they are marking and when.

I don't like thinking that Noble's days are numbered in the middle of midfield, but Kouyate lining up alongside Obiang is our strongest option in the middle of the park at the moment and I'd rather see a natural full back like Sam Byram pick up minutes than constantly having Kouyate covering.


It has to be a penalty!

This is getting silly now! As a football fan, I never want to sit down after a game and constantly criticise the performance of the referee, but even a number of non-West Ham friends have come to me recently and mentioned that they've noticed just how many decisions seem to go against the Hammers at the moment.

As mentioned in the last bullet point, West Ham fans have admitted that Kouyate did foul Zarate and although it was a soft penalty decision, it was also the correct decision. The issue that we all have with referee Craig Pawson though is that when Kouyate was fouled by Niang in a similar manner later in the match, how has he given the foul against Kouyate again and not awarded West Ham a penalty?

It was a vital moment in the game and decisions like this decide games and it isn't acceptable for three officials on the pitch to be constantly getting so many of the big decisions wrong. It also happened in the Chelsea vs Swansea game at the weekend when Cesar Azpilicueta clearly handled the ball inside his own penalty box to block Gylfi Sigurðsson's flick in the box but nothing was given.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is that prior to Antonio's red card at Vicarage Road, the Hammers have had four of their last five red cards rescinded. I'd never go as far as suggesting that there is a witch-hunt against the Hammers, but we certainly are not getting the rub of the green with referees at the moment!


Get better soon Mauro Zarate!
It is never nice to see a footballer fall to the floor in pain – especially when it's a former West Ham player that was loved by the Hammers fans. The 29 year-old confirmed on Sunday [February 26] morning that he has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and has a grade one sprain of his medial collateral ligament, which will now rule him out till the end of the season.

Mauro joined West Ham from Argentinian Primera Division side Vélez Sarsfield and became an instant favourite with thousands of supporters despite his relative lack of game time. It disappointed many when he was then sold to Italian side Fiorentina just less than two years later for a cut-priced £1.6 million fee.

Fans of both Watford and West Ham gave Zarate a standing ovation as he left the Vicarage Road pitch on a stretcher, with Hornets skipper Troy Deeney thanking both sets of fans after the game for their actions.

Is something bothering you Slav?

Something has changed about Slaven Bilic in recent weeks, but I'm not too sure what it is. The Croatian has had a fiery temper (which was probably provoked by decisions that have been wrongly made by both his players and officials during matches), but the reactions of the manager seem to be much different to how he has dealt with similar situations in the past.

Maybe it's just the fact that he is getting tired of constantly seeing the same problems over and over again, but his reaction to West Bromwich Albion's last minute equaliser a fortnight earlier, in my opinion, was totally out of character and strange.

I love having a West Ham manager on the touchline that lives and breathes every second of the game with his players and gets emotionally involved, but I'm sure that I wasn't the only one that was shocked to see Super Slav pick up a television microphone and smash it into the turf beneath his feet.

Against Watford, I'm sure television microphones were not within grabbing distance of the Hammers technical area, but as cameras panned across Bilic standing on the touchline throughout the game, he again seemed quite angry. Perhaps it might just be West Ham fans worrying more than they need to be, but something seems to be troubling Bilic at the moment and not many people will know what it is!

Antonio deserved to walk – unfortunately!

As mentioned in previous points in this article, West Ham haven't had the best of luck with refereeing decisions over the past year or two and it shows by the fact that four of the club's last five red cards have been rescinded by The Football Association on appeal.

Unfortunately, that stat will now have to be four of the past six fixtures as Antonio was sent off against Watford and as much as I hate to say it, it was probably the right decision.

His first yellow card was shown when he arrived late to try and block Valon Behrami's clearance which, by the books, is a caution. He followed that up by needlessly handling the ball after falling to the ground late in the second half which, similar to the first one, is a yellow card too.

That red card means that Antonio will serve a one match suspension which will be in the March 4 London derby with Antonio Conte's Premier League leaders Chelsea at the London Stadium – a game where Antonio will be sorely missed. I suppose we just have to hope that Andre Ayew can come into the starting eleven and justify his £20 million price tag that the Hammers paid in the summer for him.


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West Ham store up the fireworks for Chelsea clash
The Irons trotted through a routine mid-table clash against Watford – but the real challenge lies next Monday
Football London
BYGILES BROADBENT
09:11, 27 FEB 2017

Although it's difficult to imagine judging from the passion shown by Slaven Bilic on the sidelines, West Ham's 1-1 draw at Watford had all the hallmarks of a meaningless mid-table clash. The fireworks, it seems, are being put in the locker for next Monday's London Stadium match against champions-elect Chelsea. West Ham have beaten the Blues once this season – in the EFL Cup that went to Manchester United on Sunday – and boss Bilic has seen enough to suggest a repeat is possible.

We are a good team now

Slaven Bilic during the Premier League match between Watford and West Ham United at Vicarage Road on February 25, 2017 (Photo: Getty)
West Ham have lost just once in their last six league games and sit ninth but form will mean very little against Antonio Conte's relentless winning machine. The west London side have a 10-point lead at the top of the standings. Bilic, reflecting on October's 2-1 win, said: "Hopefully we are going to do the same. They are doing fantastic, they are winning and they are everything. "They are solid and up front they have that unbelievable pace, strength and quality that is hard to stop. But we are a good team now, and we have been really good for a period of seven or eight games. "We are good physically, we are good mentally, we are good on the ball, we are good in transition, and that is why there is always belief."

Zarate injury

Saturday's match was held up by a serious injury to Watford's Mauro Zarate, playing against his old club. Zarate will be remembered by Irons for his goal against Arsenal at the Emirate Stadium last season, a victory that signalled the beginning of West Ham's revival.
Zarate required oxygen and nine minutes of treatment on the pitch before he was carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital for scans where it was discovered he suffered anterior cruciate ligament rupture plus an injury grade 1 of medial collateral ligament. "I will face this with all my strength and will be back stronger than before," he said in an Instagram post.

Hope for Carroll's return

Bilic has better injury news and is hopeful Andy Carroll will be fit to face Chelsea. The striker should be back in full training by Wednesday after a persistent groin problem and will be key to leading the line against the formidable Chelsea defence. The striker missed Saturday's 1-1 draw at Watford with a groin problem but Bilic expects him back in full training by Wednesday at the latest.
"He ran on Friday and Saturday morning with no negative reaction, so hopefully. Me and my medical department are fighting. They say Wednesday, I say Tuesday," said Bilic. "Then hopefully four or five days of training, that is always enough for Andy to shine in the next game. So hopefully he is going to be able to play against Chelsea."

Ayew makes his mark

Carroll, who has scored four goals in his last four matches, was missed as West Ham failed to cancel out Deeney's early penalty at Vicarage Road. The goal finally came after Michail Antonio – later red-carded – pinballed both posts, present Andre Ayew with a cushioned shot into an open net. It was Ayew's his first appearance since returning from the African Nations Cup with Ghana.

Follow
West Ham United ? @WestHamUtd
When you return to action after seven weeks away and score a vital equaliser...#MondayMotivation
8:00 AM - 27 Feb 2017
13 13 Retweets 82 82 likes

"For the goal the ball came to me off both posts. That's the game and sometimes that's how it comes, sometimes it doesn't, but that's football," Ayew told the club's website . "For me it was important to score in my first game back. I will continue to work hard and hopefully I can get some more goals." "It was a fair result - they had the first half and we had the second."

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Aaron Cresswell sends message to Mauro Zarate on Twitter
HITC
Subhankar Mondal

Watford and West Ham United played out a draw with each other in the Premier League at the weekend. West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell has taken to social networking site Twitter to wish Watford attacker Mauro Zarate a speedy recovery from his injury.
Zarate featured for Watford against his former club West Ham in the Premier League game at Vicarage Road at the weekend. The 29-year-old, who can operate as a forward or as an attacking midfielder, started the match, but he had to be substituted in the ninth minute of first-half injury time. The Argentine, who joined Watford from Italian club Fiorentina in the January transfer window, suffered a cruciate ligament injury. Zarate has taken to Twitter and Instagram to express his disappointment at the injury he suffered.
West Ham left-back Cresswell, who is one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, has wished his former teammate a speedy recovery on Twitter.

AARON CRESSWELL ? @Aaron_Cresswell
@mau_zeta speedy recovery mate! Gutted for you??
2:44 PM - 26 Feb 2017
18 18 Retweets 156 156 likes

Zarate left West Ham for Serie A outfit Fiorentina on a permanent contract in January 2016. The former Lazio star moved to the Hammers from Velez Sarsfield in the summer of 2014, but spent the second half of the 2014-15 campaign on loan at Queens Park Rangers.

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Belgian star explains why he snubbed offers from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham over the summer
Thomas Meunier turned down the Premier League clubs after impressing at Euro 2016
Football London
BYKEVIN BEIRNE
09:00, 27 FEB 2017

Belgian defender Thomas Meunier has revealed that he turned down offers from Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham after his impressive showing at Euro 2016. The former Club Brugge man had a litany of offers following his performances at the summer tournament, but decided to join Paris Saint-Germain in order to have a chance at winning the Champions League. Speaking to French publication Telefoot, Meunier explained: "I had a choice between six or seven clubs that were really serious with their offers. "Most of them came from England: West Ham, Middlesbrough, there was Tottenham at one point. "In Italy, there was Napoli, where I was truly very close to signing. And then, finally, PSG entered into the race and I had a greater chance of making it in the Champions League with them than with Napoli." Meunier joined the French giants expecting to be a back up to Serge Aurier but has made 26 appearances in all competitions - including four in the Champions League. In fact, the Belgian even recorded an assist during PSG's 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona in their last 16 first leg tie last week.

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SWEET AND SOUR - IS CARROLL CHINA BOUND ?
By HamburgHammer 27 Feb 2017 at 08:00
WTID

How did that Watford game end in a draw ? We played a lot of very decent stuff while lacking some cutting edge upfront and let's face it: As much effort as Kouyate put in, he is pretty much wasted filling in at RB and while Antonio gave the Watford defenders some headaches on the day he is no out and out striker. Still we gave a good account, playing the right way, positive, attack minded. Zarate, of course, had to win an early and very soft penalty, basically winning Watford their first and only goal.

Considering the way that former players tend to come back and haunt us I almost expected Behrami to score a hattrick against us, but the day Behrami scores three goals in a single game (other than against his kid in his own backyard) will the the day that Donald Trump announces he's becoming a full time vegan.
I have been impressed with the development of Feghouli in recent games. There is a lot to like about the way he chases about the pitch, both when we are attack and also when we have to defend. He looks a very tidy and useful player to me and just like Obiang before him it could be another case of a guy coming in from abroad simply requiring a bit more time to adapt and needing a run of games in the side before showing their worth to the cause.

One main reason why we failed again to take all three points was Andy Carroll missing out yet again. There have been rumours that our board was ready to sell him to one of three interested clubs in China before the close of their transfer deadline tomorrow. If the money is right it would make a lot of sense from the club's perspective to cash in and use that money to buy a striker in the summer who can play the vast majority of games during the season instead of just half of them.

We have been discussing the fact for ages that Carroll on his day is unplayable, a nightmare to defend against and a very special asset to have. But all of that counts for little if his body is too fragile to take training sessions and the rigours of regular gametime in the Premier League. It doesn't matter though if a transfer would be convenient for the board, Carroll would have to be open to a move to the country of crispy duck, fried rice and green tea. With his wife and kids pretty much settled in London now I can't really see Carroll uprooting his family for the sake of another million or so in the bank.

It was great to see Ayew getting his goal, poaching the way he did. We all know that Ayew is a very good player to have (and we surely spent a lot of money to secure his services), so hopefully he will start to feature more regularly now. We definitely need to find ways to score goals without Carroll in the side because we simply cannot rely on him to play every game for us. In that respect Carroll's absence may be a blessing in disguise as it forces us to be a bit more creative and clever when it comes to scoring goals.

We should have Sakho back soon enough too and we also have Ayew, Calleri and Fletcher, so there should be no reason whatsoever to keep playing Antonio upfront.
Same with Kouyate. Throw Byram in to play RB time and time again. If he is not available, play Arbeloa while he is still here. In the summer we should definitely spend 10 million on so on a proper RB who knows how to defend properly.

In general though we have quite a decent squad already, a solid foundation to build on with a strong spine throughout the lineup. As long as we get our transfers spot on in the summer we should have good things coming our way. And with Bilic at the helm our football should be pleasing on the eye too which is more important to me personally than the odd position higher up in the table. Ideally of course good football and winning games will go hand in hand anyway.

As for Concordia it has to be said that surely the Oberliga Hamburg promises to be a lot more exciting for the remainder of the season than the Premier League where it's pretty much guaranteed West Ham will finish anywhere between 8th and 12th. Concordia unfortunately have lost their points cushion in recent weeks after losing twice in a row. Sunday's home game against Buxtehude, the last placed team in the league table, once again showed how entertaining local football can be. You wouldn't expect a game between the first and the last placed team in the table to be a close encounter, would you? But it surely wasn't for the faint of heart…

Buxtehude took the lead against the run of play inside the first ten minutes, but had a player sent off for deliberate handball after 30 minutes (he was the last defender), allowing Cordi to race into a 2:1 lead early in the second half, only for my lads conceding the 2:2 equaliser in the 75th minute in very sloppy fashion. Stunned silence from the disappointingly low crowd of about 100 paying punters, well, I blame the atrocious weather for the embarrassing turnout.

As all the promotion rivals had won their games Concordia seriously could not afford to lose or even draw this! Thankfully Cordi shifted properly into gear after the equaliser, finally making the man advantage count, scoring four goals in the final 15 minutes, ending the day with a satisfactory 6:2 scoreline. We now have four teams fighting for promotion, all pretty much on the same number of points, with Concordia staying in first place thanks to their impressive goal difference.

It's now another rather long wait until West Ham play again when we will take on Chelsea on Monday Night a week from now. As always, I'm cautiously but hopelessly optimistic we could get a result on our day. Hopefully the Leaping Geordie will be back for this one. COYI!

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Slaven Bilic satisfied with West Ham's recovery from early season woes
Telegrpah.co.uk
Sam Dean, vicarage road
26 FEBRUARY 2017 • 10:30PM

It feels like a long time ago now, but only a couple of months have passed since West Ham manager Slaven Bilic admitted his side were locked in a relegation dogfight. Those worries have been totally eased by a run of form that has not been spectacular, by any means, but has been both undeniably solid and in keeping with the strength of a squad that it is far too good to go down.

After all those early-season difficulties, particularly the struggles on and off the field at their new stadium, West Ham now find themselves firmly entrenched in mid-table. And with no fewer than seven teams glancing nervously at the trap-door beneath them, mid-table is an envious place to be at this stage of the campaign.

"We are a good team now," said Bilic. "A really good team for a period or seven or eight games. We are good physically, we are good mentally, we are good on the ball, we are good in transition."

Quite the contrast from the opening few months of the campaign, then, when West Ham conceded 11 goals in three September defeats by Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Southampton.

"It is September that killed us - injuries, some new players - Watford was a very strange game, then West Brom, then Southampton," said Bilic, who compared those results to being punched by Mike Tyson.

Their newfound resilience was tested in Saturday's trip to Watford, when they trailed to a Troy Deeney penalty for much of the game but fought back to equalise through Andre Ayew.

The leveller was created by the excellent Michail Antonio, who was a constant nuisance for the Watford defence before he was sent off for two bookable offences. He will now miss next week's clash with Chelsea, which could be a doubly serious blow if Andy Carroll - not even fit enough for the bench on Saturday - is not back in contention.

Antonio excelled in West Ham's League Cup victory over Chelsea earlier this season, and was by far his side's most threatening player at Vicarage Road.

"I am not happy with that [Antonio's suspension] because in that game [against Chelsea] he was unstoppable," Bilic said. "It is a good game, but it is Chelsea. We would rather play someone else to be fair."

Deeney - Slaven Bilic satisfied with West Ham's recovery from early season woes
Watford's Troy Deeney consoles Michail Antonio after his sending off CREDIT: REUTERS
On the receiving end of Antonio's direct running was Watford defender Younes Kaboul, who said Antonio was one of the fastest players he has faced this season. "Antonio is very sharp," he said. "I may be 31, but in our first-team squad I am probably the quickest in a 60-yard sprint.

"I have faced a few quick strikers this season, and Jamie Vardy was very sharp, but Antonio is right up there."

Meanwhile, Watford's Mauro Zarate faces months on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury on the brink of half-time. It took eight minutes for the Argentine to be stretchered off the field, and he yesterday said on social media that he has suffered a rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament. "I will face this with all my strength and will be back stronger than before," he said.

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Marseille chief admits delight at landing cut-price Dimitri Payet - but ex-Hammer flops in PSG thrashing
Marseille landed Payet for £25m in January after West Ham initially asked for £40m for the Frenchman
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWISLIAM PRENDERVILLE
22:52, 26 FEB 2017

Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud has revealed his delight at browbeating West Ham into selling Dimitri Payet for less than their asking price. The Hammers originally valued their disgraced player at more than around £40million before he refused to play or train for the club. They were eventually forced to sell for £25million at the end of the January transfer window. Eyraud said: "I think I read that a West Ham representative regretted that the Payet transfer happened at the price that it did and that it was difficult with Marseille. "That is the game. When we started working on this target, the figures that were circulating in the press, they were what? €40m, €50m?"
Payet was part of the Marseille side thrashed 5-1 by PSG on Sunday night. The French champions led 2-0 at half-time after goals from Marquinhos and Edinson Cavani. Lucas and Julian Draxler extended the lead before Rod Fanni got a late consolation for the hosts. But Blaise Matuidi added another for the visitors to close the gap on Monaco.

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic feels side are starting to click into gear after overcoming off-field problems
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was pleased with his side's character at Watford
Andre Ayew's second-half strike gave Hammers share of the points on Saturday
Bilic says his side are 'a proper team now' after struggling at the start this term
But forward Mauro Zarate is set to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury
By Adam Shergold for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 26 February 2017 | UPDATED: 22:32, 26 February 2017

Slaven Bilic believes his West Ham side are finally playing at their full potential, with the on and off-field problems of the early season well and truly behind them. The Hammers manager was satisfied after his team rallied after half-time to earn a point at Watford thanks to Andre Ayew's goal and move up to ninth in the table. Having fallen behind to Troy Deeney's third-minute penalty, West Ham dominated the second-half and it was their intensity that most pleased the manager. He said: 'We didn't start too good but in the second-half they put everything in and we deserved it. 'We are a proper team now. We are good physically, we are good mentally, we are good on the ball, we are good in transition. That's why there is always a belief.'
Some of West Ham's most accomplished performances of late have come away from home and Bilic suggested his team sometimes thrive away from the high pressure to perform for the London Stadium crowd. He said: 'Sometimes when you play away, you are not that nervous that you have to hit the post or score in the first 10-15 minutes. 'You have to win a throw-in, build and have that patience [away from home]. But with the confidence, the opportunity comes. It is also to do with the new stadium and everything. 'That is my hope for the season, next year is going to be new for us. If we maintain this away form, it sounds good.'
The early part of West Ham's season was overshadowed by teething problems at their new home, a lengthy injury list and the nuisance of starting pre-season early to compete in the Europa League. It was a case of wake me up when September ends for Bilic as they lost to Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Southampton in quick succession to leave them in the relegation zone. Watford's Jose Holebas picked up his 12th yellow card in the Premier League this season — more than any other player. But their problems have slowly been resolved and the results are now starting to come. Bilic is confident that with a distraction-free pre-season this summer, West Ham will be even higher in the table next season. He said: 'We didn't expect the start that we had - September killed us - but we always had the solution, an option if something goes wrong. 'There were no turning points but we never stopped believing.' They suffered an early setback at Vicarage Road when Cheikhou Kouyate clumsily barged Mauro Zarate in the area and Deeney converted for his eighth goal of the season. West Ham struggled to make any impact before the break but were a different proposition in the second-half, equalising through Ayew's tap-in after Michail Antonio's shot hit both posts and came out.
Antonio was then shown a second yellow for handball, ruling him out of next Monday's home match with Chelsea that will truly test West Ham's progress. Captain Mark Noble said: 'After the start we had, and all the stuff off the pitch – moving to a new stadium and a new training ground, the situation with Dimi Payet – I would eat your microphone to finish in the top seven or eight. 'We've beaten Chelsea once already this season and although they have won again today and they are absolutely flying, it's a London derby under the lights and I hope we can generate another really good atmosphere and a strong performance. 'Maybe we didn't enough credit for knocking Chelsea out of the League Cup because, for a time, whenever we won at home, it was overshadowed by crowd trouble, the atmosphere or people moaning.'

Watford, who host Southampton on Saturday, are set to be without Mauro Zarate for the rest of the season after the Argentine suffered what looked to be a serious knee injury at the end of the first-half.

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