Bilic calls for greater ruthlessness from Hammers
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic believes with a little more quality in their delivery, his West Ham United side would have claimed at least a share of the spoils from Saturday's derby with Tottenham. The Hammers were edged out by the odd goal in five at London Stadium, their comeback from 3-0 down not quite enough to secure a point.
Harry Kane's double and Christian Eriksen's strike looked to have taken the game away from West Ham, but Chicharito's header and Serge Aurier's red card set up a thrilling finish. Cheikhou Kouyate then gave his side real hope with a bullet header three minutes from the end, but Bilic's men ran out of time in their bid to deny the visitors. The boss had praise for the application of his side, although he felt they were the architects of their own downfall in the period before the break.
Bilic said: "In the first half hour we were playing good, we were not giving them space between the lines, in the pockets, and we took a lot of balls from them in good areas "Up until the first goal it was a very even game. I spoke to the lads and we can talk about the quality of crosses after the red card for Aurier when we had the advantage down the wings. "We did one brilliant cross and it was the goal from Cheikhou, but we were in those positions ten times. "We can talk about that bit of quality, but apart from that the only period of the game that I am disappointed about is after we conceded the first goal. In those ten minutes, suddenly from being on top of the game, closing them down and being on the front foot, [we weren't]. "First goal is credit to them, but the second goal is our sloppiness rather than brilliant movement."
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Hart: We gave them a fight for the whole game
WHUFC.com
Joe Hart says that once West Ham United cut out the individual errors, they will have the base to push on up the Premier League table over the upcoming weeks.
The Hammers were beaten 3-2 by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but started strongly and had arguably the better of the opening half-hour until Harry Kane punished them for two lapses in concentration. When Christian Eriksen put the visitors 3-0 up on the hour, it looked as though West Ham could be in for a chastening defeat, but they stuck to their task and gave Tottenham a real fright as Chicharito and Cheikhou Kouyate reduced the arrears – positives which Hart says the team must take into next weekend's meeting with Swansea City. He said: "We had two clean sheets going into this one, but it seems that lapses in concentration are killing us. You can isolate nearly every single goal and the frustrating thing is that it's not necessarily quality that's beating us, it's sloppy play and that gets punished. "I don't think Spurs will feel they came here and pumped us. They're one of the best teams in the league and we've given them a fight for the whole game. "Whilst it was 0-0 I felt we were the stronger team. We've got to learn from our mistakes and if we learn from it it's not a problem. "We've got Swansea next week and we need to win it for the importance of the club, we need to win for the manager, and we need to win it to give us a good feeling going into the international break."
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Pike: We did what was necessary in Sunderland
WHUFC.com
Alex Pike admitted his U23 side had to do what was necessary in the second half to grind out a 2-1 win over Sunderland in the north east on Sunday. The Hammers made the long trip to Wearside and were desperate to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats in Premier League 2 Division 1. And they started brightly, taking a two-goal lead thanks to Toni Martinez's fifth of the season before Martin Samuelsen doubled the advantage. But when Luke Molyneux halved the deficit before the break, Terry Westley's men knew they had a tough second half ahead of them. They battled hard, however, and came away with maximum points, which Pike was delighted with. He said: "We had two defeats in a row so it is never good to have that feeling around the place. The morale around the team can be a little bit down, so you want to try and get back to winning games as soon as you can. "That's what we've done today. We've gone out there, played really well first half as a whole team but second half we have just had to grind it out and get the result. "That's what we did and winning the game is the main thing. "At the back, you have to stay strong when you're under pressure and sometimes it's just a case of doing what is necessary to get the result. "We said at half time, we just need to keep a clean sheet second half and you win the game, it's as simple as that. That's what we've done so it was a good job from everyone."
The young Hammers have enjoyed recent trips to the north east. The outfit secured promotion to the top flight at Newcastle United in May, and picked up a goalless draw at St. James' Park in the regular league season before that. Almost a year ago, Jahmal Hector-Ingram scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough and Pike explained why he thinks the team are so successful in that part of the country. "We seem to have done alright up here in recent times," he continued. "It's a long journey but I think it proves the lads deal with that well and we must prepare well. "Everything has been done right, from that point of view. We came up yesterday, stayed up here, had a good pre-match before the game and everyone has gone out there and done the job, so that's all you can ask for."
Full-back Pike filled in at centre-half on Sunday alongside Josh Pask, and admitted he enjoys the challenge of playing slightly out of position. "My favoured position is always right-back but sometimes you have to fill in and I do enjoy playing in the middle too," the 20-year-old said. "I look at it as another string to my bow and if I can play in a couple of positions and be versatile, that's better for me."
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Liverpool tickets on sale tomorrow
WHUFC.com
Tickets for Liverpool's visit to London Stadium on Saturday 4 November go on sale exclusively to Claret Members from Tuesday – so become a Member today to give yourself the best chance of being there.
The Hammers have won three of their last four home meetings with the Reds and will be keen to chalk up another victory on that list.
With tickets going on sale at 3pm on Tuesday, supporters are advised to act quickly to secure their seats for one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season.
Claret Membership not only gives you priority on tickets for every single Hammers match at London Stadium, but also offers a host of additional benefits, including:
Ticket priority on Premier League and Cup fixtures
Access to the Ticket Exchange – once a fixture is sold out, you can purchase seats which have been relisted by Season Ticket Holders
£5 discount on official away coach travel
Exclusive Claret Member access card
Additional merchandise discounts and offers
Exclusive monthly competitions – prize draws for signed shirts, memorabilia and money-can't-buy experiences
Invite to Junior Hammers party for Claret Kids
Attend PL2 matches at London Stadium for free*
Attend West Ham Ladies home matches for free
Claret Members will also receive an FREE West Ham branded portable phone charger with Claret Kids receiving a FREE gift pack including face paint sticks, a bedroom wall poster and an exclusive Claret Kids scarf which you can't get anywhere else!
Membership is priced at just £40 adults and £25 kids and you can sign-up today by clicking here.
A limited number of tickets for the Friday Night Football clash with Brighton & Hove Albion are also on sale to Claret Members now. Click here to purchase, with tickets starting at £30 adults and £15 concessions.
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Ladies deserved a point from Portsmouth defeat – De Carnys
WHUFC.com
Greg De Carnys believes his West Ham United Ladies side put in a performance deserving of a least a point in Sundays' 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth. The Ladies suffered a very late loss in this weekend's fixture as Portsmouth tucked home a penalty in added-on time at the end of the second period to inflict another defeat on the Hammers. It was a bitterly disappointing manner to lose the match and one which De Carnys's side did not deserve, having battled back to level the game towards the end of regulation time thanks to their own penalty through Chenise Austin. The match on the south coast had been goalless up until the 84th minute, when Shannon Sievwright put the home side ahead, but West Ham responded almost instantly with a surge into the Portsmouth area, from which they won a penalty. And, despite ultimately losing the fixture, De Carnys is proud of his players for their efforts against a difficult Portsmouth side, who sit in the top five of the division, and feels their showing was worthy of at least a draw. De Carnys told whufc.com: "I'm very proud of the work rate from the girls today. I think we deserved at least a point from our performance, but that is football and it can be a cruel game. "Cherie Rowland had an excellent performance in goal and the whole team were tireless in their work rate. "The girls showed tremendous character and togetherness to keep Portsmouth out for 85 minutes, and then the resilience to get back in the game at such a late stage. It was a crazy end to the game with two excellently taken penalties, considering the pressure."
The West Ham Ladies were without a number of crucial players for Sunday's match and De Carnys is eager to welcome those players back into the team very soon.
But the first team manager believes the players he had at his disposal can take heart from their efforts, and more performances like that will undoubtedly lead to more points on the board in the near future. "We were missing our captain Amy Cooper, due to a family commitment," De Carnys revealed: "Vice-captain Amber Stobbs is still out with an ankle injury and other key players such as Leanne Maybe, who suffered a virus on the eve of the game, were also unavailable. "Obviously, we are bitterly disappointed as a team to have allowed them back into it right at the death but we have to remember the qualities that took us to the brink of getting something from this game against a strong Portsmouth side. "If we show the same determination, work rate and togetherness every week then we will pick up plenty more points this season."
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DT38 Didge programme inspiring youngsters in Dylan's name
WHUFC.com
The memory of Dylan Tombides is serving as inspiration for young people across the area as the DT38 Foundation's 'Didge' programme continues to be utilised in schools.
Dylan tragically passed away in 2014 after a three-year battle with testicular cancer. Monday marks five years to the day that the striker made his first team debut for West Ham, in a League Cup clash with Wigan Athletic.
The DT38 Foundation, founded in 2015 in Dylan's memory, launched the Didge project in February and it is due to continue into the new academic year, such has been the popularity of the programme.
The programme is named after the story of Didge, a talented lion cub, who Is based on Dylan in Australian author Natasha Kate Evans' children's book.
Ross Williams, Football Development Officer at the Foundation, says that youngsters are hooked by Dylan's story and learning about the qualities that the Australian possessed.
"A syllabus of learning has been written which focuses on areas like resistance and teamwork, and it's all been put together in Dylan's memory," Williams explained.
"It's teaching the kids about the qualities that he had himself, both as a player and as a person. The course teaches these pupils about him and the legacy that he's left behind.
"Children are instantly engaged with the real-life aspect of the story and they've taken a lot from Dylan's tale."
Williams also revealed that the programme was engaging with teenage boys about the dangers of testicular cancer.
He added: "The programme is also being used to raise awareness of the issues that come from illnesses such as the one Dylan had. Our focus is on the academic side of things of course, but we've also done some talks with lads aged 16-18 years old around testicular cancer.
"We've gone down both avenues and done some great work in each area. We've gone down the cancer route and also the education one as well, looking at how to be a good leader and a good person like Dylan was."
DT38 are also West Ham United's Principal Charity partner. The club and their Foundation continues to work closely with DT38 throughout the season, with an auction hosted by the club after the pre-season friendly with Manchester City raising thousands of pounds for the charity.
Three Awareness matches have already been held over the last few seasons, with another scheduled for early 2018. Through these Awareness days, the club and Foundation provide DT38 with a fantastic platform at a home fixture to highlight their work in front of the faithful West Ham supporters.
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West Ham 2-3 Spurs (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 25th September 2017
By: HeadHammerShark
In the classic three act story structure, we typically see a standard set of touchpoints through the course of the tale which give us the basic framework for events to unfold.
The opening act requires the storyteller to establish the world in which the story will take place, give us the characters and a basic understanding of what is motivating each of them. This part of the story will generally end with an "inciting incident" which kicks the story into gear and pushes us toward the midpoint.
Act two will then typically take these characters further into that world, but with their circumstances worsening until all hope appears lost. Then, another inciting incident finally drives us into the final act where our heroes salvage their lost cause from the apparent jaws of defeat. Unless, of course, you are writing a tragedy.
The Matrix is a pretty good example of a standard story, if you feel like you want a real life look at a tale that operates this way. Or you could just support West Ham and feel like it's imprinted upon your soul.
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There is no spoon, Neo. Or Christian Eriksen
So, anyway, welcome to West Ham, the Kingdom of the Not Quite, where we came pretty close to pulling this off against Spurs but fell short of the actual "salvaging" of the disaster, although it should be said, we remain pretty adept at getting the "lost cause" part right. With that in mind, let me break down the basic three act tragedy we saw unfold here on Saturday.
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ACT ONE
The London Stadium is not a great place to watch football. It's an impressive venue but a poor football ground. I know some disagree, but I think it's fair to say that most feel once the game kicks off then our home advantage is substantially lessened. But it's not the girders or the steel or the terraces or the scaffolded retractable non retractable seats that make an atmosphere. That belongs to the people in the ground.
For the last couple of the seasons, this fixture has been played in the evening and Spurs have visibly shrunk from the occasion. There was an edge to those games which rendered them more hostile and unwelcoming for the visitor than is customary. For this game, played at 12.30pm in the warmth of the autumnal sun rather than the cool of late winter or early spring, no such feeling was discernible. Where I sit, up among the cirrus clouds and the Chinese satellites, the feeling was mainly one of nervousness, as people openly expressed their fear that we would get the shoeing that we all thought was coming here last season.
Quite why the general timbre of the place changes with early kick offs is open to debate. I'd say it's probably as straightforward as saying that early starts preclude much heavy drinking and also increase the number of children in the crowd. It's not bad, it's just different.
Perhaps it was no surprise then, that Spurs looked a bit more up for this game than recent iterations. Whilst we dominated possession and territory in the first thirty minutes, we didn't create too many chances, although neither did the visitors. It was mostly two evenly matched teams cancelling each other out.
We started with Andy Carroll on the bench. Our Geordie howitzer, watching and waiting for the final throes of the game when he could be unleashed on a tiring defence. For the first time this season, I felt I could understand Bilic's set up. Arnatouvic and Antonio either side of Hernandez offered mobility and invention, and in particular lots of opportunity to attack the wide open spaces behind the high pressing Spurs wing backs.
And so it proved for much of the opening exchanges as Arnautovic continually ranged into the inside left channel and should really have done better with some promising openings. That wastefulness would prove costly.
ACT ONE - CALL BACK
Now, all good storytellers like to drop in to their tale something known as "call backs". These are oblique or passing references to events which will return to be important in the latter part of the story. Thus, here I should point out that the space we were exploiting down the Spurs right was being left by Serge Aurier. The wing back was playing suicidally high, and whilst he managed a couple of dangerous looking interceptions, he also left acres of real estate behind him for players to run into.
On the rare occasions he was in the general vicinity of one of our players, he fouled them, but referee Michael Oliver chose not to book him. *INSERT GIANT THEATRICAL WINK TO CAMERA*
ACT ONE - INCITING INCIDENT
With half an hour gone and the teams in a stalemate, Michail Antonio tried to latch on to a through ball and pulled up limping. In the time-honoured tradition of West Ham United, he then left the field with a muscular injury, sporting what the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists must surely by now be calling the Boleyn Walk (Hand on back of thigh, limping, accompanied by sheepish looking physio).
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"Let me guess - a muscle injury? What a fucking surprise"
Upon Antonio pulling up lame, Bilic had immediately sent Rice and Carroll to warm up so it wasn't any surprise to see the latter come on, although with Ayew having started the season well, and Sakho apparently fit and available either of them would have seemed a more natural replacement. Instead, on came Carroll, lumbering on to the pitch like the Indominus Rex breaking out of her pen in Jurassic World.
As with that story - owning such creatures seems great in principle but you'd better have an idea of how to look after them or they just cause havoc.
ACT TWO
With Antonio gone, and the threat of anybody running in behind disappearing with him, Spurs pushed up and took control of the game. In his first action Carroll flattened Davinson Sanchez, and with his second he gave the ball away to Eriksen and watched as Alli fed Kane for the opener. Shortly after, he was dispossessed by Jan Vertonghen and the Alli/Kane duo combined once more to make it 2-0.
Half time came and went with no obvious change and Eriksen latched on to a fortuitous bounce from an Aurier cross *GIANT THEATRICAL WINK TO CAMERA* to coolly make it 3-0. At this point, our heroes were facing their dark night of the soul. A two nil deficit is almost impossible to overcome, but three is impregnable. These days Spurs are chock full of good players, and also Moussa Sissoko, and to expect a comeback from that point would have been akin to asking for a miracle.
What we really needed was divine intervention.
ACT TWO - INCITING INCIDENT
With the game slipping away, we got our first foothold when Eric Dier lost Jose Fonte at a corner and Chicharito lost Sissoko and the result was a close range headed goal. With our tails up, enter the sympathetic villain - Serge Aurier *GIANT THEATRICAL WINK TO CAMERA*
The Ivorian decided that while we were showing signs of life, the only sensible way to deal with any problem he encountered was to foul it. He duly picked up two yellow cards in quick succession and picked up a red card so stupid that it felt like it had wandered in from a less intelligent script.
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Somehow, this took 70 minutes
What was interesting about the red card is that it took an hour and three fouls for Oliver to issue anything at all. On the day West Ham players committed ten fouls and picked up four yellow cards, while Aurier made four fouls and was only booked for numbers three and four. In the fairy tale land of "what if" it's tempting to wonder if he shouldn't have gone earlier, for all the difference that would have made.
ACT THREE
With the villains in retreat, we had our chance at last. Even at 3-1 this was the longest of long shots but we pushed forward and generally rained hell and brimstone on to the Spurs goal. This culminated in a Kouyate header so towering it should be remained the Empire State Goal, but in the end we came up short.
And thus ended the great London Stadium performance of 2017. A classic tragedy in three acts.
***
But what can we make of this game? So much happened, with so many caveats and additions that it feels almost impossible to draw safe conclusions.
I would say that the first thing to do is to remove emotion from any such analysis. Football might be the drug, and the London Stadium might be our opium den, but in the end it's only a game. Six people were attacked in an acid attack later that day in Stratford, hours after I was there with my daughter. It's going to be rough when we see our Spurs supporting mates, but still. It's only a game.
That said, I can't think of anything more West Ham then losing this match and then the US and North Korea going to war, meaning that we all have to spend our lives wandering in a post apocalyptic wasteland knowing this happened the last time we played them.
For many, this game seems to have thrown up lots of positives. We started well and gave a glimpse of what we might be capable of when we get everyone fit. Likewise, we battled back gamely, with a rousing finish that could easily have yielded a last minute penalty for a fairly obvious shove on Carroll by Sanchez. Elsewhere, I thought Fonte was excellent again and our midfield duo played well until being overrun. So, in that sense, there were plus points to be drawn.
Contextually we will also have to grudgingly admit that Spurs are a good team and, while I think it's unlikely that they will win the league, they will beat better teams than us this season.
So, yeah, that's one way of looking at things.
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What a near come - diddly - back!
The issue I would take with this way of viewing the result, is that it seems bereft of any attempt to assess this performance alongside the rest of Bilic's reign.
So while we started well, we didn't actually create anything in that time. We were simply on top in a fairly mediocre encounter. And while injuries continue to plague any attempt to get our full team on the pitch, this is really nothing new. Dealing with a weakened squad is simply par for the course if you manage West Ham. Likewise, you can't manage Oasis and then complain that they're off their nut half the time.
So while I too enjoyed the comeback up to a point, it seems ludicrous to me to try and paint being constantly 3-0 down as a positive thing. We have played six games this season and conceded three goals during four of them. It is not possible to stay up playing like this.
There is research around that suggests that, at best, teams have a 5% chance of winning when they go two nil down. That number actually gets lower depending on what minute the second goal is scored. In short, given when Kane got the second on Saturday we had around a 2% chance of winning that game.
Not for the first time this season, or under Bilic, the inability to defend properly is what continually undermines our attempts to win. Saturday was his 82nd league game in charge of West Ham, and according to my research we have gone two nil down on twenty five separate occasions during his reign. Put another way, in about 30% of the games. If you want to know why we're struggling so much then look no further than that porous defence and woeful organisation.
The other thing that happens when you go two goals down is that the opposition withdraw. No longer needing to score, they will frequently sit and allow us to have the ball knowing they can pick us off on the break. This leads to a slightly artificial sense that we have gained an upper hand when, in reality, teams are drawing us on to them. I think sometimes West Ham fans forget this because we are rarely two nil up, and don't have the pace to be a good counterattacking team.
Additionally, had Aurier not got himself sent off I highly doubt we'd have been able to push forward down our left as forcefully as we did. It took quite a lot of material changes to the circumstance of the game before we got back in control.
Beware this illusion of ascendancy.
***
Much of the discussion after the game centred on the decision to bring Andy Carroll on for Antonio instead of someone more mobile like Ayew, Sakho or the Bobby Moore statue. The common reading of this seems to be that when Carroll came on we abandoned our shorter passing game and instead went long.
Interestingly, this isn't supported by the facts. We actually attempted more long balls as a percentage of our passes before Carroll came on, and only really resorted to throwing crosses into the box at the end during the last, desperate scramble for a point. What happened in reality is that we replaced Michail Antonio with Andy Carroll and then tried to continue playing exactly the same way.
Think about that for the moment. Antonio, all pace and power, strong running and lung bursting surges into unorthodox areas. It's not hindsight to suggest that Ayew or Sakho would have been a better replacement there, if we intended to continue trying to do those things.
Instead, Bilic put on Carroll but made no tactical changes to accommodate him. So we continued to try and do the things which had put us on top early - running the channels, exploiting the wide spaces, pressing high and playing through the weak Spurs central midfield - but all of a sudden those things stopped working because we didn't have the personnel to execute them any more. Carroll can't link play or turn defenders like Antonio, he can't run in behind like Chicharito (who can't do it much either) and he can't range from wing to wing like Sakho at his bullocking best. And nor should Bilic be asking him to. It's madness.
In the end, as observers, we know nothing of form, fitness, confidence or the personalities involved. We have no idea which player has lost form because he's going through a divorce, or has gambling debts, or has a sick child or has a tender hamstring and can only manage twenty minutes (all of them from the bloody looks of it).
So maybe there were lots of very good reasons to choose Carroll over Sakho, not least that the latter wants to leave. Maybe Bilic has never fancied Ayew but has to humour him because he's Sullivan buy. As I say, we really know nothing of the factors involved.
But, on the pitch, we can see the results and they are dire. A league table put together for just 2017 shows us fourth bottom, with just two points separating us from Palace who really have been dreadful this year.
Carroll is not being utilised as he should be. We might not want to see it, but if Bilic really believes that he is worth building a team around then he needs to play in a way that suits him. It is noticeable currently how often Carroll receives the ball deep, with his back to goal and plays the ball backwards. Indeed, trying to do precisely that was the root cause of the two opening goals here. In a traditional centre forward role, presumably he would be looking to flick balls on for runners or spread the play wide for high wingers. Indeed it's not hard to reimagine long floated balls to the edge of the box for him to knock down for a Kevin Nolan type, as that's what we saw for years under Allardyce.
We do none of these things.
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The last temptation of Bilic
Instead we persist with a 3-4-3 that requires a far more mobile central forward, and displaces Chicharito to achieve this. It is an odd hybrid, style of play that somehow manages to play to nobody's strengths.
The comparison here is that when Allardyce also built his team around Carroll, he was forced to find another solution when he got injured. His use of a diamond formation with Downing at the top worked brilliantly, until he abandoned it all when Carroll came back and results plummeted. It's therefore interesting to me that Bilic seems to get a free pass for doing much the same thing.
On a slightly related matter, I'm not as high on Chicharito as lots of others - although I enjoyed the Herculean effort on Saturday - because he presents some similar problems to Carroll in that he requires a certain type of play. He reminds me a little of Michael Owen in so much as his contribution outside the box is minimal, but once he gets into the penalty area he becomes invisible to defenders. It's hard not to feel a little giddy about the prospect of a striker who can score twenty goals a season. It's harder to see how we'll ever fashion enough chances for him to do that.
***
Where Bilic is failing is in not determining a path and remaining true to it. He's equivocating constantly, flipping back and forth tactically and falling into the trap that has ensnared a lot of other managers whereby he seems to be struggling to identify which players need to transition out of the first team to being squad players.
I don't think much of our board but I can see how they struggle to place any long term faith in a manager who spends his entire pre season planning to play a specific way and then drops half his back four after one game, and changes the system entirely after three games. There's making necessary changes and then there's apparently picking numbers out of a hat.
He seems to have determinedly hitched his wagon to the stars of Carroll and Noble, who are now the two most divisive players around. If Carroll is the siren bewitching Bilic with the promise of hat tricks against Arsenal and bicycle kicks, then Noble is his shop steward, the old faithful who knows how things are done and does it quietly.
I thought Noble played well on Saturday until his legs failed him after too long spent covering the holes left by Arnautovic. Spurs were weak in the centre with Dier and Sissoko well short of Dembele and Wanyama and it was a shame that we didn't exploit them better. Indeed trying to pass off Sissoko as a replacement for Wanyama is like me sellotaping some plastic knives to my knuckles and claiming to be Wolverine.
Dier, meanwhile, sees Cheik Kouyate holding a red balloon every time he looks in a sewer vent and all of that early dominance was in part because those two grabbed the centre of the park. Our problems began when Eriksen started to get on the ball and we never really had got close enough to him to stop the inevitable. While Kane and Alli get most of the plaudits, it's Eriksen who seems to me to be the tick of the Spurs clock. We missed Obiang's mobility in trying to stop him and seem to have a fairly large Carvalho-sized hole there right now.
***
So as much as we may want to feel otherwise, this was really a story as old as time. The Bilic West Ham experiment ran its course some time ago but will continue until the end of the season unless things really get desperate. He enters a soft run of fixtures now, and with Palace seemingly determined to go full Sunderland this season, there might only be two places up for grabs in the relegation zone.
One would hope we'll have enough to stay afloat, at which point the board will doubtless wave him goodbye, maintain their proud run of not firing underperforming managers, waste another season, and then do their best to attract a high class proven manager to a club where a teenager will sit in strategic meetings with them. The death of a thousand cuts continues.
So Mr Tuchal, let's talk money
But watching this game really only served to reinforce to me how much of what we have seen before continues to be repeated. The familiar themes of the Bilic regime were on display again - individual mistakes, injuries, defensive lapses, some bad luck and a confusing tactical setup that leaves me no closer to understanding how he wants to play. I'd be genuinely interested to hear from a pro-Bilic fans who still want him to stay. I'm sure there's another story on the other side of this coin, but I'm fairly sure I've lost the bloody coin by this point.
We're well into Act Three by now, and whether it's Romeo and Juliet, Maximus, William Wallace or Jay Gatsby it's heart wrenching to see a tragedy unfold and a popular hero disappear. But truth be told, I'm more than ready for someone to bring down the curtain on this particular show.
THE END
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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Agony of the long dance of death
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 25th September 2017
By: Paul Walker
IT had to be THEM, didn't it, the club we all dislike the most who were able to drive another nail into Slaven Bilic's coffin.
The club that darling Karren wants to win the league…I know, you can't make it up. If Lady Brady really wants to see Spurs win the title then she has not one ounce of understanding about what makes us tick, who we are, what we are. Any real knowledge of our history.
Put it this way Baroness, if you were, say, an Arsenal fan from birth, would you want Spurs to win the title. Of course not, so why on earth do you think as West Ham's vice chairman you can even suggest that you would like them to become champions.
Now I have friends who are Spurs fans, they are surprisingly nice people and I do not wish them any ill feelings. Blimey, I actually took one Spurs fan on holiday with us once, he was my son's mate and soon to be his best man. I even tolerated his Spurs shirt on a Spanish beach!
Football is our entertainment, a sport, a passion, but I never use the word 'hate' when applying to other clubs and other fans. As grown ups surely we are above that.
But I don't want them to win a raffle, let alone the title. I am sure I am in a massive majority of our 50,000 plus fans who make what it seems is an increasingly irksome trek to the LS these days, if the pictures of massive queues at the security checkpoints are to be believed.
Yes, Spurs play some lovely football and have some great players. But win the title? I don't think so Karren, have you so easily forgotten having your phone hacked by private investigators employed by Spurs? Wash your mouth out! OK, already off my point, but it had to be said.
The sad bit about losing on Saturday was that the whole 'will he go, won't he go' saga was jacked up a notch to 'when' he goes. I recall calling it the long goodbye recently, as all these drawn out debates only have one ending.
Now we are witnessing the predictable dance of death as both sides move onto the next stage. In fact, this time Slav moved it on himself.
Not just because of the nonsense of who replaced Michail Antonio--even I could not fathom that, but more his weary reaction to press scrutiny, talking about turning a page and there not being any going back.
There are two sorts of press conferences after games. One for the people needing immediate quotes, TV, radio, the Sunday papers and agencies. Then a second one, for just the Monday morning papers, takes a more considered view.
It is in this one that Slav revealed more. Quotes like "Once that's opened (the page) it basically doesn't stop. Game by game, or two games by two games, it's the way it is in modern football. Once you open that page…."
A day later we are being told elsewhere that the board have already decided his contract will not be renewed next summer, the players know, he knows and it's just a matter of time. Be that as it may, the inevitability seems ominous.
And now we have another week of 'who takes over', with the club saying they have no list and are not talking to anyone and there is no appetite for change. Without wishing any further distress on Bilic, I would be stunned if our board do not have a list and are not making contingency plans. It's almost a dereliction of duty to do anything else.
And it's no surprise that names start to appear again. This time a couple of Germans, Thomas Tuchel, who is out of work having been sacked by Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, who has a £7m release clause. Those names came from a story by Alan Nixon in the Sunday Sun.
Nixon has been working the transfer market for 40 years in the north west, his stories are respected after building up a huge book of phone numbers. Why should he make stuff up?
I don't doubt for a minute that an agent has tipped him off, maybe West Ham have asked a few people to do some ground work. Why not? Then they can easily say they have not spoken to anyone. It's all part of the game, the long dance of death, and Slav will know all about it.
Mind you, can you see David Sullivan wanting to pay out £7m when he can get someone like Tuchel for nothing? Tuchel's name came up twice in the summer, when first Arsenal were considering axing Arsene Wenger and then when Chelsea were having a lot of hassle with Antonio Conte.
Tuchel's name was trailed extensively for both jobs, his German agent Olaf Meinking is certainly working hard to get his man back into employment.
So now we have another of those 'lose and you're out' games. My learned friend on this site , one HHS, mentioned recently that there were half a dozen of those such occasions last season, we have already had one this term--and we managed to beat Huddersfield--while we now move on to Swansea's visit to the Stratford fish bowl..another acid test (sorry, poor taste that, something needs to be done about these scumbags).
There is, of course, a point when the owners have to protect their investment, you know, like they did with Avram Grant, who should have been sacked in the January but was kept on to take us down and axed in the bowels of Wigan's ground. That saved us paying the redundo, good thinking. They did the same thing with Sam and no doubt would rather Bilic got to the end of his contract, too.
But time is pressing. We are being left behind in the Premier League, having started with those three away games. Games last season (if you substitute relegated Middlesbrough's results for promoted Newcastle's--just for arguments sake) that we picked up seven points from. And we also beat Spurs, so that's ten points down the tubes already compared to the last campaign.
This cannot go on, with Slaven's every move, every decision, every substitution, being picked apart by the twitter twerps, who know everything, of course. Slav didn't help himself with that nonsensical decision to replaced the injured Antonio with Andy Carroll, and then claim he did it to maintain the system.
For the first half hour we had been marginally the better side. Three mobile, quick, strikers attacking Spurs' back line was paying off. Then Carroll comes on, slows everything down, we have a lamp-post to aim at and he makes it worse by giving Spurs two goals with really rubbish play, I mean, you tell kids not to pass the ball across the face of their defence.
But I feel Carroll has become something of a law unto himself, a bit of a myth really when considering his importance to the side. This, for me, goes back to January when the Times--not known for fabrication--ran a story saying Sullivan had decided Carroll could be sold and that Mark Curtis, Sam's big mate, had been given the go-ahead to find Andy a club in China. Nobody denied a word of that.
Since then Carroll has had something of a cavalier attitude. One report on Sunday suggested that this season he has strolled on, found a nice, quiet piece of grass in midfield to put down his towel on, and from then on just hung around waiting for the ball to drop out of the sky. About right that.
He hasn't scored since April, unless you count his missus, and makes so many rash, hit and hope decisions, he is almost a liability. I know he has the talent and have always supported him, but we are now so one-dimensional when he plays, it's embarrassing. And Spurs just took full advantage.
But we are where we are. From the moment Harry Kane scored his first, to the moment the third went in, we were a mess. Our tempo dropped, ball retention was non-existent and Spurs were on the verge of a runaway mauling that would have seen Slav sacked on the spot.
To our credit we hit back, gave it everything and could have got a draw if that daft referee, Michael Oliver, had seen the blatant push on Carroll's back. The same sort of decision that cost us a point at Southampton when Pablo Zabaleta was penalised for an identical offence.
Mr. Oliver also missed Marko Arnautovic having his shirt pulled in the first-half when clear in the box, an incident highlighted on Sky but totally ignored by Match of the Day. What do you expect, we are not Manchester United for heaven's sake.
It took me a long while to get over Saturday's defeat, I am very grumpy on Sundays…even more than usual my good lady commented. But the refereeing mistakes start to really grate, as does the amount of fouling that goes on.
Spurs were penalised 20 times, more than anyone else against us this season. Frankly I was surprised Serge Aurier lasted until half-time.
This term the stats show referees are declaring open season on us. In eight matches opponents have been penalised a total of 129 times, our offences are just 65 fouls. In the Premier League it's 103 to 51.
If that was Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool - you get the point - there would be an outcry. But as Zabaleta is discovering, it's a very different ball game now he's out of the top six.
OK, got that off my chest. There's more pressing issues, Slav's longevity in east London for a start, and whether Sullivan will axe him soon at a cost of around £3m in compo, or wait and hope we survive.
Just make sure you win the next game, Slav. And make sure you don't read the experts on twitter, the ones who see about five minutes of highlights and believe they know it all.
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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West Ham set for good news over Michail Antonio's latest injury
The midfielder limped out of Saturday's defeat to Spurs
Football London
BYADAM JONES
21:08, 25 SEP 2017UPDATED21:10, 25 SEP 2017
West Ham could be set for some good news over the latest injury to Michail Antonio as the problem is reportedly not as bad as first feared. The winger was forced off in the first half of the defeat against Spurs on Saturday with what appeared to be a groin injury. Following the final whistle, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic confirmed that it was indeed a problem with Antonio's groin that forced him off the pitch - and he would need scans before determining how long he would be out for. Initially Hammers supporters were fearing the worst after yet another injury problem to a star player. However, according to Claret&Hugh, the injury may not be as bad as first thought - and Antonio could return to action for West Ham staright after the next international break. That would mean the winger would be back in action for the match away to Burnley on October 14 - only missing the clash against Swansea City this weekend.
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MAKE OR BREAK FOR NEW WEST HAM CONTRACTFeatured Image
Date: 25th September 2017 at 9:30pm
Written by: Forever Westham
Slaven Bilic has revealed Andy Carroll could be shown the exit door at the London Stadium unless his fitness improves. The Englishman has had an extremely injury prone career in East London with the Hammers, and only recently returned to action following a near 6 month spell on the sidelines, causing him to miss all of pre-season and the start of the new campaign. It appears patience with the striker's injury woes is wearing thin however, after the Croatian has insisted Carroll must improve his fitness in order to earn a new contract with West Ham. "This is his season to be fit, to stay fit." said Bilic speaking in The Sun. "He's got two years (on his current contract). If we are talking about his contract, the question mark about him is his fitness, how much he is available during the season. "We are doing things a little bit different in terms of we are not pushing him as soon as he was back. "I remember two seasons ago or even last season that they told us it was always the case in his career, after a couple of sessions rolling up the sleeves and roll inside and 100 mph straight away. "We have done a little bit different now. We are trying to maintain and improve his fitness by managing him not with a caution but not also to rush him straight away if we need him."
As well as improving his fitness, Bilic has said that he too must do so his form, stating the self proclaimed 'king' of the London Stadium has healthy competition for a place in the starting line-up from the club's other two strikers. Bilic added: "He is not one that slows down because he feels he is the king. He's got competition now. He had competition last year on paper but Diafra Sakho was injured. "Now we have Chicharito because we didn't want to stay just on Andy, knowing what happened in the last couple of seasons. It is good to have competition."
Carroll had a disappointing game at the weekend in the 3-2 loss to Tottenham, but will be looking to bounce back this coming weekend when the Hammers welcome Swansea to the London Stadium.
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Steve Sidwell praises West Ham United winger Marko Arnautovic
HITC
Subhankar Mondal
Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Steve Sidwell played with West Ham United winger Marko Arnautovic at Stoke City. Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Steve Sidwell praised West Ham United winger Marko Arnautovic on The Friday Football Social show on BBC Radio 5live last Friday evening (7pm, September 22, 2017).
Sidwell played with Arnautovic at Premier League Stoke City, and believes that the Austria international winger can go right to the top "We are all big fans of him," said Sidwell about Arnautovic on The Friday Football Social show on BBC Radio 5live last Friday evening (7pm, September 22, 2017). "We can talk about him all day. He has got so much talent. He can go right to the top." Arnautovic was on the books of Stoke from 2013 until the summer of 2017 when he moved to West Ham. According to The Guardian, the Hammers paid the Potters an initial transfer fee of £20 million plus £5m in potential add-ons. The Austria international was a success during his spell at Stoke and knows the Premier League inside out. While West Ham fans should be optimistic that the former Werder Bremen star will be a success at the London Stadium, the problem is that he is quite inconsistent. The former FC Twente winger scored six goals and provided five assists in 32 Premier League appearances for Stoke last season.
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Inter Milan plotting sensational deal for West Ham United's Andre Ayew
Published on: 25 September 2017
GhanaSoccernet.com
Italian giants Inter Milan are working behind the scene to price away Andre Ayew who has struggled to impose himself since moving to West Ham United. The Ghanaian was struck with a career-threatening injury on his debut for the Hammers and has since struggled to rekindle the fire that made him a sort of playing in the English Premier League. Ayew's situation at West Ham has become precarious following the arrival of Austrian Marco Anautovic for a club record fee. Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti has been a huge admirer of Ayew since his Roma days and tried to sign him three times without success. According to Italian Portal tuttormercatto, Spalletti wants to take advantage of Ayew rocky start to the season to try to prize him away from the Olympic stadium. The Ghanaian has scored a goal and assisted one in six league games this season but has not started for the Hammers in the last three league games. Ayew has never lacked ambition and this January transfer will be one that tests his resolve on the West Ham United adventure.
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Main Talking Points: West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League Matchday Six
Talking Points Moore than just a Club
POSTED BY: LUKE GLANVILLE 25/09/2017
Let's take a look at some of the main causes of discussion from Saturday's London Derby defeat to Spurs, as we conceded and were beaten for the first time in September.
Was Antonio Fit Enough To Start?
Many Hammers were left questioning the Matchday judgment of Slaven Bilic and his Staff on Saturday morning, as Michail Antonio was forced off with an early Groin injury.
Furthermore, the forward's inclusion in the Game was subject to a late passed fitness test from the beginning, but fans and pundits were not convinced about whether or not he was ready.
De Ja Vu? Perhaps. Many may remember a certain tie with Swansea City at The London Stadium last season in which Antonio incurred a similar injury.
In that Game, the England star was also risked from the start and his subsequent injury kept him out for the rest of the campaign from April and also the start of this one.
For most, the timing of Antonio's knock was pivotal in the context of the balance of proceedings. It came at a time when we were pushing for an opener and killed our momentum, additionally, his replacement in the form of Andy Carroll gave the ball away for Spurs' opening goal.
Just like the entirety of The Claret & Blue Army, Bilic will be praying that the winger's injury is minor, but could all of this have been avoidable? With a must-win clash against Swansea City on the horizon.
Damage Limitation A Rare Positive In East London
One of the very few confidence boosters to take from Saturday's blemish was surely the score-line and manner in which it came about.
Although we could not match The Lilywhites for long periods of the 90 minutes, we still gave them "a good run for their money" and were just edged out in the end.
When Tottenham grabbed their third through Christian Eriksen, instead of the Players hanging their heads and switching off, we showed a real fighting spirit and something Brendan Rodgers might call "Great Character".
While aided by a Serge Aurier red card, goals from Javier Hernandez and Cheikhou Kouyate got us within sight of a point, that we just couldn't steal in the end.
It was those types of Games at The London Stadium last season which saw us left red-faced with thrashings from the likes of Manchester City twice and Arsenal, but damage limitation was certainly something to be proud of this weekend.
The determination is also a faint sign of slight improvement from last term's torrid campaign although there aren't many, as four defeats in six Premier League encounters leaves us in The Relegation Zone.
Will We Ever Learn From Our Mistakes?
There may have been some improvements two days ago, but there was one old foe that arose from the graveyard of the 2016/2017 season on Saturday and that was individual mistakes.
Cast your minds back to last season, errors from the likes of Havard Nordtveit and Darren Randolph, to name and shame a few, were costing us week in week out.
Not even the Club's "better" Players were avoiding silly mistakes with Pedro Obiang, Mark Noble, and Jose Fonte also guilty.
If you thought that we were past that, consider Saturday and the introduction of Andy Carroll, his poor pass directly resulted in us falling behind early on.
Many could have cited Fonte, Angelo Ogbonna or the sleeping Aaron Cresswell at blame for the visitors' second and there was a general lack of reaction from the whole back four for Spurs to pull away out of sight with a fourth.
Slaven Bilic may now have to reconsider his defensive options after a sloppy performance.
But, one thing is for sure, we will need to take inspiration from our displays against Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion at the back as a tight showing is essential for the visit of The Swans.
"Dirty" Tottenham Tactics Halt Hammers
No London Derby is complete without its fair share of aggression, feistiness, and passion, but were the away Side taking matters a little too far in East London? And was Referee Michael Oliver a little too lenient?
A number of cynical fouls and flying challenges were put in by Spurs Players with no booking being produced by Oliver, some of them ended promising attacks.
Furthermore, another Talking Point at Full-Time was the late penalty claim that we had turned down by the experienced FIFA Referee. Davinson Sanchez was the subject of the controversy as he nudged Andy Carroll in the area with 96 minutes played in East London.
However, praise must be given to Oliver for correctly sending former PSG man Serge Aurier off late on for his second yellow card, after a sloppy lunge on Carroll. Additionally, Oliver dealt with several late confrontations between Players very well as the tie turned sour.
But, one must question whether there was a sinister nature to Mauricio Pochettino's tactics to break up our usually intricate play and momentum with regular bust-ups and foul play.
So, with all of the key Talking Points from Saturday's Derby disappointment discussed, will Bilic be able to turn the tide on Saturday against Paul Clement's Swansea City? Or, will we be harping over negative discussion yet again?
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West Ham news: Mark Noble apologises to South Korean 'fan'... for thinking he was Chinese
WEST HAM star Mark Noble has apologised to a South Korean 'fan' after mistaking him for a Chinese national.
By MIKAEL MCKENZIE
PUBLISHED: 13:00, Mon, Sep 25, 2017 | UPDATED: 13:04, Mon, Sep 25, 2017
Express.co.uk
The mix-up happened on Twitter when Noble tweeted a photo of himself smiling alongside a supporter outside of the club's Chadwell Heath training ground.
Noble's selfie with the fan, who is holding up a replica shirt with his name and squad number printed on the back, has attracted much interest on social media.
The 30-year-old Hammers midfielder captioned the image with "All the way from China #COYI."
User @LingWann_ spotted the image and replied: "Im South Korean not Chinese," sparking a mass series of retweets and likes.
But Noble last night tweeted an apology, writing: "I'm sorry! Love to all my South Korean fans!"
However, doubts hang over weather the twitter user is genuine, as another user, @KoreanHammer, tweeted the exact same "I'm South Korean not Chinese?" tweet two days prior to Ling Wann. Nonetheless, Noble has acted quickly and responsibly to quell any offence he may have caused. West Ham supporters also moved backed their man by reassuring him that the user is fake.
@SeanDalgarno wrote: "Apologising to the fake account. Go to be Mark."
And @browncheeks84 added: "It's a parody."
Noble's tweet came two days before the Hammers lost 3-2 against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
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DODGING THE BULLETS
By Blind Hammer 25 Sep 2017 at 13:00
WTID
Despite fresh criticism after Tottenham Blind Hammer looks at where Bilic is getting some things right.
Walking away from the London Stadium on Saturday I felt very flat. I was still a bit dejected on Sunday. Losing to Tottenham definitely hurts. However I noticed that we were not the only supporters disappointed last weekend. Despite Aston Villa overcoming, an out of form Nottingham Forest, this has not stopped widespread criticism from Villains of Snodgrass's performance.
Snodgrass had quite a lot to say about the alleged failings of West Ham and Bilic when he arrived at Villa. Yet he has taken the poor form that he demonstrated for both us and Scotland to Villa. He is reported as having little impact throughout the game. He was described as lacking fitness, whilst repeatedly surrendering possession. He was variously described as "poor", "out of form", "shocking". And as "not at the races". His departure from West Ham appears not a day too soon.
This made me reflect on the importance of our succeeding in making key transfers out over the summer and equally importantly not bringing dead wood in.
Many of us were disappointed to see Fletcher go. Yet Fletcher, like Snodgrass, has not set the world alight at Middlesbrough. He also has received negative comments from fans that are comparing him unfavourably to Patrick Bamforth. He has been denounced as "anonymous" and "simply not good enough". He has at least scored one goal but this is his sole return in 8 appearances for Middlesbrough. I personally hope that Fletcher recovers from this poor start and makes it. However Bilic's judgement that he was not ready to make the step up into the Premier League appears completely correct.
In fact Bilic seems more and more vindicated as the season progresses. Famously David Sullivan in his "throwing Bilic under the bus" statement defensively pointed out that Renato Sanchez had been offered as a loan option to Bilic which the manager had refused.
In the end Sanchez with his enormous £60 million price tag was sent on loan from Bayern Munich to Swansea. Despite his alleged huge potential, Sanchez has been underwhelming. Occasionally he demonstrates his renowned strength on the ball but his end product has disappointed. On debut commentators were unanimous that he had made no impact. The most striking aspect of his play was unforced errors and repeated loss of possession. Since then his mistakes and erratic passing has plagued him, especially in their games against Newcastle and Tottenham. One theory is that he is a young man, trying too hard to justify the transfer hype which accompanies him. Yet the Premiership, as he is finding, is a tough arena to learn your game and strengths in.
It seems unlikely that Sanchez would have fared any better for us, certainly it is difficult to see how he could have helped us in our own defeats at the hands of Newcastle and Tottenham. So despite the pressure endured by Bilic through his refusal to take Sanchez he now appears completely justified.
Bilic was placed under similar pressure over his refusal to sign Kelechi Iheanacho, despite the Board having apparently agreed terms. Yet Iheanacho appears to have also sunk without trace at Leicester, He has so far managed only 3 appearances and has yet to register a single goal for the Foxes. It is difficult to tell definitively how Iheanacho is playing as there is literally nothing I can find which praises or even condemns his performances. He seems anonymous so far. All I could find was a brief statement from Craig Shakespeare that he will "come good in the end". What is undeniable is that Iheanacho is not winning matches, creating headlines or "pulling up trees". So far, Bilic's decision to instead plump for Chico, seems vindicated. Chico, despite our losing start has already grabbed 3 goals for the Irons.
So to be fair, I have been vocal in criticising Bilic for not recruiting central defensive cover, and reacting slowly to the defensive crisis we suffered in early games. There has also been a thinly disguised complaint from the Board that Bilic has frustrated their transfer ambitions.
However we should now give credit where credit is due. I cannot think of a single player we have released over the summer that we would now regret leaving. Bilic correctly steered the pruning of the squad. So far he also appears vindicated in rejecting the alternative Board transfer offers. If Sanchez starts to become worthy of his hype in the game against us, or Iheanacho starts to score a hatful for Leicester then we make have to reassess. At this time, Bilic's ability to make the right call is supported by performances elsewhere.
COYI
David Griffith
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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic knows he cannot escape the firing line… even if they beat Swansea
KEN DYER
ES Sport
Slaven Bilic admits questions about his future will continue even if West Ham beat Swansea on Saturday and move out of the Premier League's bottom three.
Bilic is in the final year of his contract, with no sign of a new deal on the table from co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold. His future was the subject of renewed debate after the 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham. "Once it [the debate] is opened, it doesn't stop, game by game or every two games," he said. "That's the way it is in modern football. "I don't think about my contract - I have my contract."
Rumours were rife Rafa Benitez was being lined up to replace Bilic last month, after West Ham were beaten by the Spaniard's Newcastle team, but Sullivan and Gold have a history of standing by managers - at least until their contracts run out. Bilic lost Michail Antonio in the first half against Spurs with a groin injury which looks certain to keep him out at least until after the international break following this weekend's action. He will be boosted, however, by the return of Manuel Lanzini, possibly for the clash against Swansea, while Pedro Obiang and James Collins, who both missed the Spurs match, are nearing fitness.
Pablo Zabaleta believes his West Ham team-mates should have more self-belief. "We still can improve as a team in a lot of things," said the former Manchester City star. "We have a strong squad and we need to believe in ourselves, to know we can compete and win games." West Ham captain Mark Noble, meanwhile, admitted the team were left stunned after conceding two first-half goals in five minutes. "We were a bit in shock to be 2-0 down at half-time," he said. "We played well for the first 35 minutes but the two goals killed us a bit."
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Cut out sloppy mistakes and we'll prosper, says frustrated West Ham keeper Hart
West Ham United
POSTED BY: CARL ELDRIDGE 25/09/2017
Frustrated Joe Hart believes West Ham can't expect to get their season back on track until Slave Bilic has drilled his charges to cut out sloppy passages of play. Hammers keeper Hart reckons silly mistakes led to their downfall at home to Tottenham on Saturday as they suffered a 3-2 defeat at the London Stadium. But West Ham enjoyed a positive if unfruitful opening half hour before the north London outfit came into their own and found themselves 3-0 up after an hour.
Harry Kane struck twice and Christian Eriksen made it three before the home side redoubled their efforts. Chicharito and Cheikhou Kouyate brought some respectability to the scoreline but the Hammers couldn't quite draw level. Now Hart wants his team-mates to draw on the fighting spirit shown from their late rally when they face Swansea City at home on Saturday. He told the club's website: "We had two clean sheets going into this one, but it seems that lapses in concentration are killing us. You can isolate nearly every single goal and the frustrating thing is that it's not necessarily quality that's beating us, it's sloppy play and that gets punished. "I don't think Spurs will feel they came here and pumped us. They're one of the best teams in the league and we've given them a fight for the whole game. "Whilst it was 0-0 I felt we were the stronger team. We've got to learn from our mistakes and if we learn from it it's not a problem. We've got Swansea next week and we need to win it for the importance of the club, we need to win for the manager, and we need to win it to give us a good feeling going into the international break."
Meanwhile, boss Bilic concurs with Hart's assessment of the defeat. He said: "In the first half hour we were playing good, we were not giving them space between the lines, in the pockets, and we took a lot of balls from them in good areas "Up until the first goal it was a very even game. I spoke to the lads and we can talk about the quality of crosses after the red card for Aurier when we had the advantage down the wings. "We did one brilliant cross and it was the goal from Cheikhou, but we were in those positions ten times. We can talk about that bit of quality, but apart from that the only period of the game that I am disappointed about is after we conceded the first goal. In those ten minutes, suddenly from being on top of the game, closing them down and being on the front foot, we weren't. First goal is credit to them, but the second goal is our sloppiness rather than brilliant movement."
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Joey Barton left baffled by one Slaven Bilic decision for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur
HITC
John Verrall
West Ham United were beaten 3-2 by Tottenham Hotspur in their most recent outing. Joey Barton has told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, which was broadcast on TalkSPORT on 25th September, that he couldn't believe Slaven Bilic didn't start Andy Carroll for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur. Carroll was left on the substitutes' bench for the Hammers' contest with Spurs at the weekend, and it was only because of an injury to Michail Antonio that the target-man got on the pitch. Carroll caused some problems for Spurs with his physicality, and Barton believes that Bilic would have been better off picking the England international to lead the line over Hernandez. He said: "They're in the bottom three. I do like Bilic, but you leave Andy Carroll on the bench, and play Chicarito. I just don't get it. He's said he knew Carroll and Chicarito can't play together, so why sign him? Who's signing the players?"
West Ham were beaten 3-2 by Spurs, in what was yet another disappointing defeat at the London Stadium. The Hammers actually fought back well in the contest, after falling 3-0 behind, but it was not enough. Bilic is now under serious pressure to spark an improvement in West Ham's form, after what has been a poor start to the campaign. West Ham are currently in 18th place in the Premier League table, with their next match coming against Swansea City on Saturday.
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AMMERS SCOUTS IMPRESSED BY YOUNG SERIE A CENTRE-BACK
JAMES BROWNING @JamesBrowning96
ReadWestHam
West Ham United scouts are reportedly 'impressed' with 23-year-old SPAL centre-back Francesco Vicari, after watching him in action against AC Milan. According to calciomercato.com, the Hammers will try to sign the young Italian during the January transfer window. The Hammers are in need of defensive reinforcements, having conceded 13 goals in six Premier League games, the joint-worst defensive record, alongisde Crystal Palace who are yet to pick up a point this season. Vicari, who was born in Rome, is currently playing his first season of top-flight football, after winning promotion from Serie B with SPAL at the end of last season.
The 6 foot 3 inch centre-back is a physical player, with great strength and is understandably an aerial threat — all good signs for a Premier League club. He has helped newly-promoted SPAL to four points in six Serie A games so far this season, including a clean sheet against Lazio and a 3-2 win over Udinese. They are currently 14th in Serie A, level on points with Sassuolo and only a win behind Fiorentina. Vicari would have someone to help him settle in in London if he does make the switch to the Olympic Stadium in January, with fellow countryman Angelo Ogbonna a potential central defensive partner for him with the Hammers.
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West Ham talent Alex Pike says position change good for his career
HITC
Dan Coombs
West Ham youngster has recently switched to centre-back. West Ham defender Alex Pike has welcomed his recent switch to centre-back at under-23 level.
Pike usually plays at right-back but has been featuring recently in the centre, The 20-year-old has been speaking to the club website and believes his first team chances will be improved as he learns another position. Pike said: "My favoured position is always right-back but sometimes you have to fill in and I do enjoy playing in the middle too. "I look at it as another string to my bow and if I can play in a couple of positions and be versatile, that's better for me." Pike was part of the West Ham under-23 team which beat Sunderland 2-1 at the weekend. The youngster has previously spent time out on loan at Cheltenham Town where he was able to get first team experience under his belt. It would take a bit of an injury crisis in the first team for Slaven Bilic to consider calling him up at present, but as Pike points out, an ability to play in more than one position will help his cause. West Ham have given first team chances to youngster Declan Rice this season and that will give young players like Pike hope they can also break through.
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West Ham players meet Gordon Ramsey at his restaurant as they look to soften blow of Tottenham defeat
West Ham were beaten by Tottenham 3-2 at the London Stadium on Saturday
Mark Noble, Aaron Cresswell, Andy Carroll and Winston Reid all featured
The Englishmen took to Gordon Ramsey's restaurant following the defeat
By Jaime Wright For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 10:35, 25 September 2017 | UPDATED: 10:57, 25 September 2017
If the West Ham players felt Slaven Bilic's disappointment over their London derby defeat by Tottenham wasn't aggressive enough, visiting Gordon Ramsey's restaurant might have provided the right level of 'hair-dryer treatment'. The Hammers were beaten by Spurs on Saturday, who finished the game with 10 men, after falling three goals down before an hour was played, and eventually losing 3-2. Although Bilic's team didn't get the result they wanted against their rivals, they would have taken comfort in the quality of food served by the notoriously foul-mouthed Ramsey at one of his many London restaurants. Mark Noble, Aaron Cresswell, Andy Carroll and Winston Reid, all accompanied by their wives and girlfriends, enjoyed a meal together after the game, which was published on Reid's wife Yana's personal Instagram account. The group were out in celebration of Cresswell's girlfriend's birthday, Jess Unsworth, while Yana wrote: 'Thank you Jess for amazing night. #happybirthday'.
Carroll, who didn't start the clash with Spurs but later appeared off the bench, was accompanied by his fiancee Billi Mucklow - expecting her second baby. Mucklow also took to Instagram following the trip to Ramsey's, but instead pictured her and husband-to-be Carroll posing with the baby bump. Alongside the photo, she wrote: 'Countdown..... #BabyCarroll #BabyNumber2 #Pregnancy #BumpPic #BumpyLove #7WeeksToGo'.
West Ham will host Swansea on Saturday as they look to bounce-back from a crushing defeat by Mauricio Pochettino's team, and should they fail to take anything from the game, Bilic may well be employing Ramsey for his scare tactics rather than his food in the near future.
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Slaven Bilic in firing line again with West Ham job under threat after Spurs defeat
Slaven Bilic only has one more season on his contract, leaving his position as West Ham manager is far from secure CREDIT: REUTERS
Matt Law, football news correspondent
24 SEPTEMBER 2017 • 10:30PM
Telegraph.co.uk
Slaven Bilic knows the script. After every defeat comes a must-win game, a game which he will be told he cannot afford to lose if he wants to continue as West Ham United manager. He has already got through one such encounter by beating Huddersfield Town, but just two weeks later Bilic is back in the same position after a London derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Bilic simply cannot afford anything but a victory against Swansea City in West Ham's final game before the international break to be sure of keeping his job. But he also knows that, even if he secures a valuable victory, it will only be a matter of time until he is faced with another do-or-die situation. As Bilic admits himself, the genie is out of the bottle in terms of his job security and it is virtually impossible for him to permanently plug it back in. "Once that's opened, then it basically doesn't stop," said Bilic. "Game by game, or two games by two games, it's the way it is in modern football. Once you open that page…" He did not need to complete his sentence. Everybody standing in front of Bilic knew exactly what he meant. The question is increasingly when the Croat will leave his post, rather than if he will, which is due in part to the fact he is only contracted to West Ham until the end of the season.
"I don't really think about that, I'm preparing for a game," said Bilic. "I don't think about that."
What Bilic might think about is whether or not he made the correct change, when Michail Antonio was forced off with a groin injury against Tottenham after only 28 minutes. West Ham had been on top until Andy Carroll was sent on and Javier Hernandez was pushed out to the right-hand side, but the change prompted a first-half collapse. Carroll was twice at fault. First, he played a blind pass into the middle of the pitch straight to Christian Eriksen and Tottenham's 'big three' did the rest. The Dane picked out Dele Alli and he crossed for Harry Kane to head the ball into the net. Four minutes later, Carroll was caught out again. He failed to hold the ball up, Jan Vertonghen took it off him and strode forwards before playing in Alli. Joe Hart saved from Alli, but Kane followed up and then West Ham had a mountain to climb. When Eriksen made it 3-0 with half-an-hour remaining, Bilic would have feared that he might not even get the Swansea game to try to save himself. But Tottenham made life difficult for themselves. Hernandez pulled a goal back for the home side and Serge Aurier lost his head to earn two yellow cards, both for fouls on Carroll, in seven minutes and get sent-off. With a man advantage, the Hammers finally came alive again and set up a grandstand finish when another one of Bilic's substitutes, Arthur Masuaku, crossed from the left and Cheikhou Kouyate scored with a thumping header.
But Tottenham hung on and it now remains to be seen how much longer Bilic can. Fortunately for Aurier, he has a manager in Mauricio Pochettino who was not adverse to the odd rush of blood to the head as a player and will certainly not hold a sending off against the right-back. "I cannot blame anyone when this type of situation happens because I was a player and you can find on Google many, many mistakes from me," said Pochettino. "When you play football sometimes that happens, it's not easy to keep calm. Me on the touchline, it was the same. Sometimes you make a mistake, but that is football. No problem. "It's true that he needs to learn about that situation and improve, but when it's a player that has just arrived at the club and he is given the responsibility to play this type of game, sometimes it happens. "But, for me, it's not a big issue. I am happy with him. He made a mistake because he had a yellow card, but I think the first yellow card, he didn't deserve but I agree with you. And I'm sure that he'd agree with you that in this type of action, maybe he needs to be careful."
Aurier arrived at Tottenham with a bad boy reputation, but Pochettino insists the Ivory Coast international has been a positive addition to his squad. "His reputation is not about getting sent off many times," said Pochettino. "His behaviour is fantastic with the team since he arrived. His team-mates love him. He is a very good team-mate and he is very good friends with Kieran Trippier, who he competes with for the same position. I think, to be honest, he is doing very well. We are so happy with him."
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Proof West Ham were right to opt for Slaven Bilic over Marcelo Bielsa after astonishing rant
HITC
Damien Lucas
When West Ham United appointed Slaven Bilic as Sam Allardyce's successor he was one of three managers in the running. West Ham's co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold wanted a manager who was committed to a more attractive playing style. To that end the job was between then Sevilla boss Unai Emery, Marseille's Marcelo Bielsa and Bilic. Emery ended up staying at Sevilla before being recruited by mega rich Paris St Germain a year later. But former Argentina and Chile coach Bielsa was a serious contender to take the Hammers helm. The 59-year-old had plenty of experience on his side and his style of football would have undoubtedly excited West Ham's fans as he is something of a footballing eccentric who is famous for deploying a 3-3-3-1 formation with an aggressive pressing style. His stats were impressive too and at the time he boasted a winning ratio of just under 50%. Known as a strict disciplinarian, his preference for all out attack endeared him to Marseille fans, but he was also criticised at times for being too inflexible and naive. Bielsa walked out on Marseille and was appointed manager of Lazio while West Ham went with a former player in the shape of Bilic. He walked out on the Rome club after just two days, though, insisting the club were not doing enough to bring in new players. After almost a year out of the game Bielsa was back in France at Lille when he was appointed as boss back in May. But just a month into the new season he has caused a stir once again with an astonishing rant at reporters during a press conference. Lille are fourth from bottom in Ligue 1 with just one win from their opening six games. And when Bielsa was questioned about his stomach to roll up his sleeves and fight, he launched a tirade against the French media, singling out reporters and even suggesting some of them were not worthy of confronting him, as reported by Get France Football News. So it seems like sensible Slaven was the wise choice all along.
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IS SLAVEN BILIC'S TIME UP?
By Sean Whetstone 24 Sep 2017 at 18:23
WTID
At the end of August, media speculation suggested that Slaven Bilic had four games to save his job after we embarrassingly list to Newcastle 3-0. His reputation was probably at an all-time low at that time with many social media polls suggesting 75% of fans wanted him gone. We are now four games on and I ask the question again, has Slav done enough to save his job for this season?
OK we had one Premier League win over Huddersfield, it was gritty game and we won but we required a lot of luck and it remained goalless for the first 72 minutes. We had the less than convincing goalless draw against West Brom at the Hawthorns with players playing out of position again then the 3-0 win over hapless Bolton in the League Cup who possibly have more important things on their mind considering their league position.
Slav continuously insists he is not playing Chicharito out of position on the wide on the wing and in fact he is just off the main striker. He also defends Andy Carroll saying it will take him a few games to get to his best but equally admits it is difficult to play Chicharito with Arautovic, Antonio and Carroll in the same team.
Yesterday he was at it again, I had been tipped off before the team was announced that Michail Antonio had received a knock in training and was a doubt for Saturday. He passed a late fitness test but I was told that he was only a 70% chance that he could get through the 90 minutes. Antonio didn't look his normal self from the start and you could tell he was in pain. It was no surprise to me when he pulled up after 28 minutes. Later Slav would deny to reporters that he took a chance with Antonio insisting his injury was something new.
Next came his decision to bring on Andy Carroll as a replacement for Antonio, again I had been told that Caroll had a knock in training and that was one of the reasons to drop him to the bench. I was told they didn't want to risk him for 90 minutes and wanted to rest him. In my view, Bilic could have bought in Andre Ayew as a replacement for Antonio and kept the same formation but instead, he showed his favouritism for Carroll and changed the team around him pushing Chicharito out to the wing.
Then was the bizarre decision of starting Aaron Cresswell instead Arthur Masuaku. Most fans know who has the form at the moment but Bilic appears to have his favourites and he is stubbornly loyal to them. Last week I spoke Peterborough director of football Barry Fry who was a manager at Birmingham City under Sullivan, Gold and Brady. He told me what I already knew that the board are backers and not sackers and had always been loyal and good to him even after they bought in Trevor Francis to replace him. They have stayed friends for life and he was a guest of Sullivan and Gold in the director's box at the London Stadium against Huddersfield. You can hear the full 10 minute with Barry Fry at www.moorethanjustapodcast.co.uk
If I have one major criticism about the West Ham board it is that they hang on for too long before making their decision and they are too loyal. I understand that Slav will not be offered a new contract and his contract will run down to the summer like Sam Allardyce's contract was allowed to expire. Bilic knows it, the players know it and we know it. The decision has been made and he is a dead man walking in my opinion. Personally, I think we need fresh ideas and a new manager at the helm for the remainder for this season but I doubt much will happen despite speculation in the Sun today that replacements are being lined up. My source tells me no-one is lined up and no discussions have been had to replace him. It appears this story will have no closure until the summer.
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