Daily WHUFC News II - 30th September 2017

Creator-in-chief Lanzini gives Bilic attacking options
WHUFC.com

Manuel Lanzini's return to the West Ham United squad gives manager Slaven Bilic welcome selection and tactical headaches. Bilic has confirmed the Argentina playmaker is back in the matchday squad for Saturday's Premier League fixture with Swansea City at London Stadium, immediately and markedly increasing the Hammers' threat. To give some indication of Lanzini's importance to West Ham's play in the middle and final thirds of the pitch, the No10 led his team in virtually every attacking category last season. Lanzini created more Premier League chances than any other Hammer in 2016/17 with 56, nearly twice as many as second-highest Michail Antonio's 31. Unsurprisingly, he also played more key passes (54) than any of his teammates. The skilful South American played more forward passes (877) attempted (1,564) and completed (1,367) more passes than any other midfielder or winger, giving him a team-high 87 per cent pass-completion, and serving as further evidence of his incredible influence. He also scored, too, netting eight to finish second to Antonio in West Ham's goalscoring charts last term.
While it is not quantifiable, Lanzini also possesses the invaluable ability to keep the ball in tight situations, using his outstanding technique, impeccable close control and low centre of gravity to wriggle out of trouble and keep his team on the front foot.

So, with the diminutive star now available for selection after recovering from a knee injury, the challenge for Bilic is to work out how to best utilise his unique talents. Statistically and numerically, Lanzini's best position is as a No10, playing in the space behind the centre forwards and between the opposition's defence and midfield. But, in recent weeks, Bilic has opted to use a 3-4-3 formation, with two central midfielders sitting slightly deeper and the attacking work being done by a centre forward – either Andy Carroll or Chicharito – and two wide forwards – Antonio, Chicharito, Andre Ayew or Marko Arnautovic.

All four wide forwards mentioned are versatile and could adapt to a change in system, and the Croatian may be tempted to revert to the 4-2-3-1 shape he used 12 times last season to accommodate Lanzini in his preferred position. Alternatively, he may choose to stick with the three-man defence that has helped shore up the back line, meaning Lanzini would most likely be deployed as one of two attacking midfielders in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Antonio, who is himself in line to feature after recovering from the minor groin problem he suffered last weekend, and Arnautovic both impressed against Tottenham Hotspur and will be disappointed not to be selected from the start. The same can be said for Chicharito, who scored against Spurs, Ayew, who netted in the home win over Huddersfield Town, and Carroll, who has netted five goals in six appearances against Swansea in Claret and Blue. With captain Noble and Kouyate also available, whichever formation he opts for, Bilic has eight senior players vying for five or six places in his team, including the most creative member of his squad, Manuel Lanzini.

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Hammers legends to be honoured at Champions Place
WHUFC.com

Three West Ham United legends are to be permanently honoured at London Stadium when the second phase of Champions Place stones are installed in early October.

Alan Sealey, Frank Lampard Sr and Alan Devonshire have been confirmed as the latest former players to have their career and achievements recognised at our iconic home.

Their images will be placed alongside the thousands of specially-engraved supporters' stones, inscribed with personalised messages at the north-east corner of London Stadium.

Over 1,000 Champions Place stones will be installed in the first phase alongside the three legends from Sunday 1 October, to be in place before the Hammers' first home game after the international break against Brighton & Hove Albion.

A second phase will commence in March, meaning Champions League stones are again available to purchase, giving supporters the chance to take their place in history at the Hammers' home at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Champions Place provides a lasting tribute to all the players and fans, past and present, that have made West Ham the team we love.

Personalised stones are available to order from just £60 – giving you the chance to make your mark at our new home or purchase a unique Hammers Christmas gift.

Alan Sealey will forever be remembered as the goalscoring hero of West Ham United's greatest-ever victory – the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup final triumph against TSV Munich at Wembley.

The London-born right-winger joined the Hammers from local neighbours Leyton Orient in 1961 and went on to make 126 appearances for the club, scoring 28 goals over the course of six years under legendary manager Ron Greenwood.

Just weeks after his Wembley heroics, Sealey sustained a badly broken leg in a freak training ground accident. The injury severely curtailed his career and he made just a further five appearances for the Hammers before joining Plymouth Argyle in November 1967.

After finishing his playing days with non-league Romford and Bedford, Alan settled back in Essex, but tragically suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of just 53 in February 1996.

Frank Lampard Sr is second only to the great Billy Bonds in the list of all-time appearances for the club, having turned out 670 times in the claret and blue over the course of an 18-year career.

After progressing through the youth ranks, the East Ham-born defender made his debut in a 3-2 defeat against Manchester City at Upton Park on November 18, 1967 and went on to establish himself as one of the most consistent and reliable defenders in the club's history.

Most comfortable at left-back – although he could also play on the right – Lampard is one of only three players, alongside Bonds and Sir Trevor Brooking – to win the FA Cup twice with West Ham, in 1975 and 1980, when he famously scored a memorable extra-time winner in the semi-final against Everton.

Capped twice by England, after leaving in 1985 Lampard later returned to the club as assistant manager to his brother-in-law Harry Redknapp from 1994 to 2001, during which time the Hammers reached the second-highest top flight finish in the club's history and qualified for Europe in 1999.

Alan Devonshire remains one of the most popular and revered midfielders to have worn the claret and blue shirt. Signed from non-league Southall for just £5,000 in September 1976, the slightly-built former Crystal Palace trainee quickly established himself at the highest level.

A skillful, tricky wide player who could use both feet to equal effect and formed an almost telepathic midfield partnership with Trevor Brooking, Devonshire famously provided the cross that led to Brooking's winning goal in the 1980 FA Cup final against Arsenal.

Capped eight times by England, a tally that would have been far greater had he not suffered a serious knee ligament injury during an FA Cup tie against Wigan in January 1984.

Despite the injury ruling him out for more than a year, Devonshire returned to play a key role in the record-breaking 1985-86 campaign and eventually finished up making 448 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 32 goals, before moving to Watford in May 1990.

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WEST HAM V SWANSEA PREVIEW
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 30 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 7:36AM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @deportivohammer

29/09/2017

Deportivo Potter

Nothing gets under my skin more than losing to Spurs. But as a club and a team we have to put this game behind us very quickly as there is no time to dwell on what might have been. I must admit that at 3 down i feared to worst, I actually felt at the time that we were going to go on and lose by a big margin. Fortunately that didn't happen and what we did see was a little bit of a fight back and while I was disappointed we couldn´t find the final goal, it was not the hammering I feared.

So on to Swansea City who travel to the London Stadium on the back of a home defeat to high flying Watford. They have only managed to win 1 game this season and that was against Crystal Palace who everyone seems to be able to beat this year. But there is a stat that needs to be watched. They have yet to concede a goal while on their travels in the league this year. This tells me they are set up well, and organised. Not good for us. They are 15th in the league and have just the one point more than us and I fully expect them to be at the bottom of the league this year after selling their best 2 players in the summer.

Ex West ham United academy graduate Leon Britton could return to the team after a knee injury while other midfield options , rejected Renato Sanchez and Tammy Abraham are also small doubts for the game. Nathan Dyer is still recovering from an Achilles injury.

West Ham´s form does not read much better but only the 1 defeat in the last 3 games is something to cheer at least But we need to start picking up 3 points in games now and make sure that by Christmas we are not looking over our shoulder. Will Super Slav be given till then? I hope so as that will mean better results.

Good news regarding our injuries Antonio looks to have been declared fit for tomorrows game which is a real boost to the team. His pace and ability to be a goal threat will be vital in what should be an attacking team for us. Manu Lanzini will hopefully be on the bench as will Hernandez who passed a late fitness test. James Collins and Pedro Obiang will both miss this game but are not thought to be long term injuries.

Predicted Line ups :

West Ham United : Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Fonte, Cresswell, Noble, Kouyate, Arnautovic, Ayew, Antonio and Carroll

Swansea City : Fabianski, Olsson, Mawson, Fernandez, Naughton, Clucas, Mesa, Sanches, Abraham, Ayew, and Bony

Slav has changed from a back 4 and a back 5 so many times this season its hard to keep up but I think he will try and have as many of his attacking players on the pitch as he can which means I think he will start with 4 at the back. Now I think he will play Carroll up top because he always seems to play well against Swansea plus Ayew will be wanting to do well against his old club and his younger brother. Hernandez I hope we get to see at some point but I think our top goalscorer this year will have to make do with a place on the bench for this game. I will also predict that we will go on and win this game comfortably, much like we did in the Huddersfield game with a nice easy

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WHAT ARE THE ODDS: SWANSEA AT HOME?
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 29 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 11:02PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Written by Martin Backhouse @martinbackhouse

Let's get it right, we were very lucky not to get embarrassed last weekend. It wasn't pretty even though the result on paper scoreline suggests it was close. However, we move on! We welcome Swansea to the London Stadium on Saturday in what some are saying is a must win. I'll be honest, I think we need to win this too. A draw wouldn't define our season but a win would do absolute wonders for the confidence of the squad going into the international break. We're 10/11 with Betway to win this one, with the draw at 5/2.

We have only lost one of our last nine Premier League games against Swansea (W5 D3), and they have never kept an away clean sheet at us, conceding 74 goals in 31 games in all competitions, stretching back to an FA Cup match in 1922 (W2 D7 L22). Bearing this in mind, it might be worth a bet on a 1-0 or 2-0 correct score at 11/2 and 7/1 respectively. These two choices are also backed up by the fact that the Swans have allowed their opponents 72 more shots in total & 23 more shots on target than they have attempted themselves in the Premier League this season; the biggest negative differential by a team in 2017-18 so far. They've also scored just three goals and attempted 10 shots on target in the Premier League this season; the same goal tally as Javier Hernandez (3) who has attempted seven shots on target alone.

Talking of the Mexican, he has now scored 40 Premier League goals – all inside the box. The only players with more goals in the competition to have all come from inside the box are John Terry (41) and Tim Cahill (56). Our sponsors have priced him up at 4/1 to score first, 6/4 anytime. Rumour has it he'll start on the bench on Saturday. I hope we play him and Carroll up top together to be honest but I'm not hopeful. Does this mean a return to the starting line-up for Manuel Lanzini? I hope we don't rush him back so a place on the bench would be fantastic. He's available at 13/5 anytime if anyone wants to put their faith in our jewel. Andy Carroll has been involved in eight goals in six Premier League games against Swansea for us, scoring five goals and assisting three. Carroll has been involved in six of the eight home goals we have scored against the Swans in the Premier League (three goals, three assists). He's 4/1 to find the net first, 13/8 anytime.

As you may or may not know, Betway have started to price up some extra markets for West Ham games. There's only one as I type this, and that's odds of 14/1 for West Ham to win, West Ham to have more corners than Swansea, Noble to get carded and Chicharito to score.

I'll be lumping on a West Ham win at 10/11 this weekend; it's going to happen! Good luck with your bets! COYI

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BIG SAM WOULD HAVE MADE A FAR BETTER FIST OF THINGS WITH THE SQUAD THAT SLAVEN HAS AT HIS DISPOSAL
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 29 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 10:07PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @farehamhammer

We play it on the floor, we play it on the floor, we are West Ham United and we play it on the floor, The Cusp ear episode, the self-egotistical approach to management. It is easy to see why certain sections of our fan base, didn't take to well to Sam Allardyce. Like him or loathe him, one would have to concede that Sam Allardyce, with the help of Kevin Nolan dragged The Club up by the proverbial jockstraps. The Club had just been relegated under Avram Grant, and was out for the count when Allardyce, took the managerial reigns at The Boleyn Ground. That we are an established Premier League Club is down to one man and that is 'Sam Allardyce'. Now I'm not advocating that we bring Allardyce back to The Club by any means, but I am in no doubt that he would have made a better fist of things, with the squad that Slaven has at his disposal! Than Slaven has done! I will go as far as to say, if Allardyce had been manager in our final season at The Boleyn Ground, with Payet and Lanzini playing at the top of their game. We would have qualified directly for the UEFA League.

Hands up, I was one of those who bought into Slaven, being one of us having played for The Club, and having managed the very attractive Croatian team. I was about to witness the much fabled West Ham 'way' football. Wonderfully inventive football on the deck. My own personal experience of The West Ham 'way', being pitching up at the likes of Charlton, Reading, Blackburn, Bolton and Luton Town, then losing 4-0 or 5-0 and the rest. Players taking the piss, and not bothering their arse, cheating on West Ham and The Club's supporters. I had nagging doubts about Slaven before he signed, but in the euphoria of it all, I put that to the back of my mind. Besiktas supporters had warned us that he would start of well off well but would fade away soon, he would fall out with players, would make poor substitutions and was not the best tactically. I also remembered how easily Fabio Cappello, had outwitted him when he was England manager. England beat Croatia 5-1 in Zagreb, Bilic having no answers, just standing arms folded in the rain. Still it was all about Super Slav and Big bad Sam, when Bilic became The Club manager. I defended him to the hilt, loved the guy's passion, and still do.

Sadly passion does not make you a good football manager. We have resembled an absolute shambles on the pitch lacking in fitness, shape, unbalanced and prone to basic school boy errors. That's what happens when players lose confidence. They may like Slaven as a person, but belief in him as a football manager, has been on the wane for the best part of sixteen months. Six wins in 25 games speaks for itself. All sorts of excuses have been made for Bilic. Squad not good enough, injuries, Sullivan not landing the manager's top targets and acting effectively as Director of Football. Yes Carvalho was not landed, and the squad is three or four players short of having a top squad. As for interference by Sullivan, no sympathy for Slaven. He had no problem outing Dimitri Payet, so I presume he would be prepared to take Sullivan to task, if he was out of order.

And Sullivan's role as director of football? I have always been of the opinion that the manager should have the final say in transfers. I still do. But I also understand why Sullivan, and a few others have an input regards Club transfers. One of the greatest myths is that Bilic identified Dimitri Payet. No he didn't. Payet was first identified by Allardyce and his team, as far back as 2013. It was David Sullivan who brought Payet to The Club. While interviewing Marcelo Bielsa, for the vacant managerial position, he asked Bielsa, if he could bring one player to The Club who it would be. Bielsa identified Payet. The rest is history. What made me really baulk, was when Slaven, tried to bring in Atiba Hutchinson 34 to The Club for eight million pounds. That on the back of bringing Gokhan Tore to The Club. The player arriving on a very expensive loan deal and big wages. So one can understand why Sullivan, wants a hands on role as far as transfers are concerned. Although he has not got a perfect squad, you can bet your bottom dollar, Bilic would be laughed out of town by Sam Allardyce, and if he complained about the hand he has been dealt! Bilic has a squad at his disposal that Sam Allardyce could only have dreamed of, during his tenure as manager of The Club. He would have the squad organised and playing good football! Yes football was dire under Big Sam at times, but make no mistake, it's been just as bad if not worse under Bilic. The big difference being, the quality of player at Sam's disposal, has been far inferior to what Bilic has had. Whether one likes it or not that is a fact. Big Sam would have the likes Ayew, Arnautovic, Hernandez, playing at the top of their game. It would have been a happy and motivated squad, a squad that knew exactly what they were doing and what was expected of them individually.

Given quality players, Allardyce will give you any style of football you want. Speak to Sunderland and Palace fans, they will confirm that. Wilfred Zaha, the talented but enigmatic Crystal Palace winger, admits that he enjoyed and played his best football under Big Sam. He would have made the likes of Lanzini an even better player. One of the great myths spouted about Allardyce, is that he does not like flair players, and wouldn't have been able to attract big name players to the squad. Well you don't attract the likes of Okocha, Djorkaeff, Campo, and Anelka if you are a crap manager. Those are quality players, whom Sam Allardyce got the very best out of. I'm afraid if I was having a party, Slaven, Jack Daniels and Guns n Roses would be the one, however if I had a choice between the two to manage my football club. It's Sam Allardyce who would have been by choice. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, moving to The London Stadium was never going to take The Club instantly to the 'next' level. How could it? When the majority shareholder, David Sullivan has liquid assets of roughly £500m.

It was always going to take time for the extra revenue, created from the move to The London Stadium to kick in. It's going to take steady growth, as more money becomes available we will be able to attract a better class of player. Which will see us climb the table. We may not have landed all our transfer targets, no Club does. But we have should be far higher up the table than we are. The buck stops with the manager. I just cannot see things improving long term under Slaven Bilic, we may win a few on the bounce. But it will always be a case of two steps forward, and three steps back under the likeable Croatian. Whether it is now or the end of the season, The Board is going to have to appoint a new manager. It is going to be a hugely important appointment, we will have spent two years at The London Stadium, and should be ready to compete with some of the bigger clubs. I just hope they ignore social media, that also lead to a lot of negative opinion regards Allardyce for starters. Poll after poll: Should The Manager stay or go. People with agendas. Negativity on the internet spreads like cancer believe you me. I have said it once and will say it again. Forget Rafa and the rest as manager! Brendan Rodgers would be a perfect fit as West Ham manager. Big Sam? He would be looking at the youth we have coming through and our squad, sigh and think: if only. Enjoy the game tomorrow! Remember to take your seat early. The Board are having a minute's applause for Hugh Hefner! Only kidding 😊!

We are more than a football club, we're a way of life!

COYI!!

Farehamhammer!!!
(Edited By Danny Twigg)

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West Ham United v Swansea City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 29th September 2017
By: Preview Percy

Preview Percy takes a look at our last match before the forthcoming international break. So if you want to know what links the collapse of civilisation as we know it with Swansea City, here might be a good place to start. Maybe.....

In a turn up for the books we find ourselves at home for the second week running – nothing to do with the fact that we were late starting at home I am told, just a quirk of the computer. We will be hosting Swansea City. Kick-off is gloriously at 3pm on Saturday (don't get used to it). Trains? Well Shenfield, Wickford Witham and Colchester all feature large on the disruption list this weekend so, as ever, check before you leave.

Swansea then or, if you prefer, Abertawe. Currently 15th in the table with 5 points from their 6 played thus far, leaving them three places and one point above us with their 1-2-3 record. The one win that has come their way this season was the 2-0 defeat of Palace, an achievement for which I understand that they are considering not awarding points in the future. The other two points gained so far have come from goalless draws, both on the road, firstly at Southampton on the opening day of the season and then a couple of weeks back at the Bobby Moore Stadium against Spurs. With the Palace win also coming away from home they are in the unique position of having won all their points this season abroad. Palace's failure to score in any of their matches this season may well have deflected attention away from the fact that Swansea have netted just the three times in the league this term, suggesting that a point might be their first priority this weekend.

According to the work-experience kid of as yet-to-be determined gender wearing a hoodie who seems only able to communicate with some strange grunting noises, they did bring in a number of strikers during the window as the likes of Fernando Llorente disappeared in the direction of the Severn Bridge en route to being allowed to elbow Andy Carroll. I was most disturbed to hear about the re-arrival at the Liberty of former player Wilfried Bony. Nothing against the chap himself and clearly things weren't working out at Man City for him – so much so that even a loan period at Stoke seemed attractive. I'm not even put out by the size of the fee - £12m for a player they had sold for £25m looks decent business on the face of it. No, the thing that annoys me to the extent that we should all march on Parliament to demand a points deduction the equivalent of a small nation's defence budget is this: on his return he has taken the squad number "2". This is just plain wrong on every level. I appreciate that squad numbers are here to stay and that we have become used to people "making the coveted no.37 shirt their own" but dear lord the first eleven shirts ought to at least bear some nod to tradition. Your no.2 ought to be your right back. Or at the very least a defender. You can't stick a no.2 shirt on the back of a centre forward. It's just not right. Civilisation will collapse you mark my words.

The other principal striker brought in came in courtesy of the statutory loan from Chelsea in the form of Tammy Abraham. Abraham impressed on loan (of course) at Bristol City last season and, for all I know, is a perfectly decent young fellow. However, as regular readers will know, this column despairs of the names given to modern footballers. Back in the day your right-back – wearing the no.2 shirt of course was often a balding bloke called Bert. Whatever your inside forward (in the no.10 shirt) was called it certainly wasn't a girl's name like "Tammy". Further investigation from the work-experience kid of as yet-to-be determined gender wearing a hoodie who seems only able to communicate with some strange grunting noises shows that the player's first name is actually "Kevin" and that the "Tammy" bit is short for Tamarebi, deriving from the player's Nigerian heritage. I guess "Kevin" is just a bit too dull for the modern pampered player of today. It was good enough for Kevin Lock who won a Cup Winner's medal back in '75 though, although granted he did have a bit of a girly haircut at the time. Abraham (to get back on topic please - ed) netted 23 times in 41 league appearances for Bristol City earning him both their young player and player of the season gongs and he has been capped by England at U18, U19 and U21 level. On hearing of his ancestry there were recent rumours that the Nigerian FA were to come-a-knocking and these rumours were followed by further rumours that the player might respond positively to such overtures. However the player himself acted promptly to declare that he wanted to continue in the England system. Although only a youngster (19) he has adapted well to the lifestyle of the young professional footballer and already has an incident of driving without a licence or insurance incident under his belt.

The other loan arrival was Portuguese midfielder Renato (dangerously close to a girl's name that) Sanches. Sanches was awarded the "Young Player Of The Tournament" trophy at the conclusion of Euro16 as part of the victorious Portugal side that defeated France in the final. He missed out on this summer's Confederations Cup tournament held in Russia having been sent to Poland to take part in the U21 Euro tournament. Whether the player had been sent to the kids as an attempt to bolster the junior squad or as a reflection of poor form is a reasonable question to pose. Having made a €35-80m (around £30-70m depending on how stingy Thomas Cook were being that day) transfer from Benfica to Bayern prior to Euro16, he failed to make much of an impression in Bavari,a with Lothar Matthaus being quoted as describing the player as "one of the three worst" in Germany last season. Don't hold back Lothar – speak your mind mate. Now depending on whose version you believe Slav was offered Sanches during the "not signing Carvalho" debacle, an offer which, if true, sort of makes you wonder if anyone actually realised just how different Carvalho and Sanches are in terms of position played. It's a bit like going in to sign Lionel Messi and being offered a goalkeeper instead.

Sanches ended up on loan at Swansea, starting the 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle. It's fair to say that it wasn't quite the dream debut he might have wanted. Carrying what is euphemistically referred to as "a bit of timber" he proceeded to give the ball away on numerous occasions before being replaced, leading to what most people have described as "mixed reports" in the press. The reports weren't mixed – they were universally poor.

They also rescued Sam Clucas from Hull as they were circling the plughole en route to the Championship. Clucas has an interesting CV. Starting off at Lincoln City he dropped out of the league having appeared only in cup competitions for the Imps. He joined the Glenn Hoddle Academy, an organisation which, in between telling players how to earn a living as a football pundit despite having nothing interesting or intelligent to say about the game, also takes players who have fallen out of the league system and prepares them for a return to the pro ranks. At the time the Academy had a tie-in with the marvellously named Jerez Industrial who were plying their trade in the Spanish 4th Division. Returning to England he had spells with Hereford, Mansfield and Chesterfield. He signed for Hull in 2015 for £1.3m and left them this summer for over ten times that amount (£15m) which represents a good profit for the Tigers. However the best thing about the player is the fact that he has a cap – just the one mind – for the England C team, the existence of which is always a delight to those of us who live in the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered.

Us? Disappointing last week. We didn't play well for the middle third of the game which is when all the damage was done. However, one rather got the impression that the officials were determined to make our part in proceedings an irrelevance. Back in the day when the offside law was first formulated (ah yes I remember it well) the idea was to put paid to the art of goal hanging, that is simply leaving a player to stand for 90 minutes in the box. Kane's first goal was precisely the sort of thing that the law was set up to counter and in the good old days he would have been pulled up for being offside in the build up. Having been allowed to continue there wasn't a hope of a defender getting back to cover – and if scoring a dubious goal isn't obtaining an advantage Lord knows what is.

Then there's this new initiative about diving. The idea is that players get punished retrospectively for the scourge of the modern game that proper supporters hate. However, so restrictive are the requirements for sanction a player has to get another sent off or gain a penalty before anyone can do anything. So Alli's embarrassing effort that gave them the free-kick from which they got their third will remain unpunished because he had the foresight to do it outside the box.

Spurs had adopted much of the traditional Liverpool (the Tottenham of the North) tactics including the committing of foul after cynical foul in order to break up and disrupt play. Possession of anything resembling a vertebra has never been one of Oliver's strong points and his constant tolerance of persistent foul play was just what the doctor ordered for the visitors. Aurier should have received four yellows and a straight red before the first of the two yellows that actually sealed his fate, the red would have been for the shirt pull on Arnautovic in the first half when clean through. That was one of three penalties that should have been awarded, Aurier's flicking the ball away with his arm in the first half and the shove on Carroll at the end being the other two.

I see that the clubs have now been fined £20k each failing to control their players, the melee at the end arising when a frustrated Carroll gave away a foul having just dodged an elbow – which, unsurprisingly, Oliver chose to ignore. I wonder what his reaction would have been had Carroll been the perpetrator rather than the victim? Actually, scrub that I know full well. I have seen elbows thrown four times this season and the only one punished at the time was the one thrown by Arnautovic. In the meantime no punishment will be handed out to Oliver whose gutless efforts were the sole and cause of the melee at the end. In the meantime the good Baroness ought to send the bill to Oliver. The threat of bankruptcy might just get the sods to think about refereeing match properly and if they end up flogging the Big Issue it's no more than PGMOL deserves.

Injury news is that there is talk of roles for Lanzini and even, amazingly, Antonio, though Ginge and Pedro are looking at "after the break" for their return. Other than that everyone else is available.

Prediction? Well there was enough in the second half last weekend to show what could be done if you play with confidence. That confidence had disappeared either side of the interval which was why we were three down. This week will be a different kettle of fish and I am feeling bullish – never a good sign admittedly.

Their lack of goalscoring prowess is something that will concern them and, for that reason, I will this week go for a home win hey let's go the whole hog and go for a clean sheet too as I pop down to Winstone The Turf Accountant and place the £2.50 I was going to contribute to Hugh Hefner's farewell party on a scoreline of 2-0 to us.

Enjoy the game!


When last we met at the Olympic: Won 1-0 (Premier League 8 April 2017)
A five game losing run that had us looking over our shoulders at the form of the principal relegation candidates finally came to an end with a win that was a lot more comfortable than it sounds. An excellent Kouyate goal that deserved a better match than this one was enough to give us all three points.

Referee: Roger East
Well at least he's not a showboater like Oliver, Dean, Jones etc I suppose. Competence is probably a bit much to hope for though on his past form.

Danger Man: Jordan Ayew
Like his brother he has been chipping in with the odd goal here and there and sibling rivalry might just add to his game.

Percy's Poser: Last week, in honour of so-called "Big club" Spurs and their 23,000 "crowd", we recalled a similar-sized crowd at Stamford Bridge by asking: On 26 August 2003 Chelsea were in so-called Champions League action in front of 23,408 "supporters".

Our question was in two parts: 1) What were West Ham doing that evening?, and 2) In front of how many people were they doing it? Congrats to Mrs Constance Lake who was first out of the hat with the responses 1) Beating Bradford City 1-0 and 2) 30,370. So to summarise, we got about 7,000 more for a Championship match than Chelsea got for the so-called Champions League. Those big clubs eh?

For this week's poser we go back a few years to February 1996 when Kevin Cullis took over as manager at Swansea. We ask you : How long was Cullis's reign at what was then the Vetch Field? (and, in true Question Of Sport tradition there will be bonus points for knowing "what happened next?"). First prize will be all the lavabread you can eat.


Good luck everyone!

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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Slaven Bilic believes West Ham are finally ready to shoot their way up the table with attacking stars all available
The Hammers can now call on Michail Antonio, Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew, plus Manuel Lanzini for the first time
The Mirror
BYJON WEST
22:30, 29 SEP 2017

Slaven Bilic believes he finally possesses the fire power to get West Ham shooting up the table - and save his job. The Croat is a man under pressure going into today's home clash with Swansea. The Hammers will kick off in the drop zone and Bilic saw Carlo Ancelotti linked with his job just a few hours after the Italian was sacked by Bayern Munich on Thursday. But Bilic can call upon playmaker Manuel Lanzini for the first time this season following a knee injury and with Michail Antonio, Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll and ex-Swan Andre Ayew all available he was confident of success. He said: "With Manuel back we have all our attacking options and that wasn't the case a few weeks ago. We have the players that we wanted in our team. "Other teams should now be afraid of us and worrying about how to stop us - they should be thinking how they are going to cope with our awesome front players."
But Bilic made it clear he wouldn't be going gung-ho against a Swansea side that has yet to concede away from home. He said: "I told the players who play there - don't leave a hole and make us into two teams, you have to do a job at the back as well." Bilic admitted that an international break was a nightmare for a vulnerable manager. He said: "Sometimes you go into these games before an international break cautiously, thinking 'don't lose this'. "Nobody likes to lose at any time but especially not when you have two weeks to think about it with no game in a couple of days to make it up. "We want to win this game because it won't be a very pleasant couple of weeks otherwise."

Former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has also been touted as a potential replacement should the Hammers decide to jettison Bilic. Bilic is used to the speculation but finds it frustrating. He said: "It's a cliche to say 'it's part of the job'. What does that mean? It still doesn't make it normal. Should somebody be able to sledgehammer you and say it is part of the job? No - but it's part of the job!"

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Michail Antonio so determined to play for England he got married in Burton - so he was close to St George's Park
Antonio admits that he and his wife Debbie had hoped to marry in Italy but they made plans in case of a call-up
The Mirror
BYMATT LAWLESS
16:24, 29 SEP 2017

There can be absolutely no doubt over Michail Antonio's desire to play for England. So determined, in fact, the Hammers winger celebrated his summer wedding with his partner Debbie in Burton... just so he could be close to St George's Park if Gareth Southgate came calling. "We planned it just in case I got a call-up for England," he said, proudly showing off his diamond encrusted band in an exclusive chat at EA Sports FIFA 18 launch event. "It was about 20 minutes away from the training ground! "We really wanted to do the wedding in Italy. But we decided, just in case I received a call-up, that we'll just do it there. And then I got injured. "Obviously my missus Debbie was like, 'So we could have got married in Italy!' But at least I was there for the honeymoon."

A hamstring setback towards the end of last season ultimately saw him miss England's World Cup 2018 qualifiers last month. But the uncapped star even took West Ham physic Fraser Young on his stag party in Las Vegas, in a bid to speed up his return to action. "Well, it was different," he laughed. "Every morning we were working on my strength." Frustratingly, injury struck the 27-year-old again last week. He pulled up during the derby defeat by Spurs with a groin problem, which cost him his place in the latest England squad. Fortunately, however, the injury will not keep Antonio out for West Ham and he should feature against Swansea on Saturday. Indeed, the man who fought his way through the ranks of non-League football to become a household Premier League name, is certainly no stranger to overcoming obstacles. And he is keen to remind Three Lions boss Southgate that in order to realise his dream of playing for England at next summer's World Cup in Russia. "That's definitely the plan," he said. "I've had the call-up before. All I need to do now is get my toes back on the pitch. "Russia is next year, so hopefully if I keep playing well, I can be on that plane."
Antonio knows Southgate is watching. The England boss told him so this summer when he suffered his first injury setback. "Gareth Southgate gave me a call. He just said, sorry that this has come at a bad time but keep doing what you are doing and it won't be your last call-up. "So, I've taken that on board. All I need to do is keep playing well and hopefully I can be on the plane next year. "It's one of those things that if you solely put attention on that, it will take your mind away from the game. And that's one thing I have always noticed. Just take one step at a time. "And that step is always the game. If you don't play well in your next game, then you won't get a look. I know if I do things right in the pitch, good things will happen off it."

It's not just England who Antonio harbours great hopes for next year. It's West Ham too. After signing Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez earlier this summer, Antonio believes the club have a greater chance than ever before of lifting silverware for the first time since 1980. "Definitely," he said. "That's why when we play in the cup gages, we give our all. "I was asked on Soccer AM, would you rather qualify for the Champions League in fourth spot or win the FA Cup? Well, I'd want to win the FA Cup every day. "So, it's one of those things where we have to aim to push for the cup and push in the league and see what happens." Michail Antonio was speaking at the EA Sports FIFA 18 launch event. The game is available to buy now on PS4 and Xbox One.

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West Ham could target audacious deal for Carlo Ancelotti, he wanted move in 2011
HITC
Olly Dawes

Carlo Ancelotti lost his job as Bayern Munich boss on Thursday. According to The Mirror, West Ham United are eyeing up Carlo Ancelotti as a possible replacement for Slaven Bilic, following the Italian's exit from Bayern Munich on Thursday. Ancelotti, 58, took the reins at the Allianz Arena last summer following Pep Guardiola's move to Manchester City, with the Italian returning to the game after a year out of work following his exit from Real Madrid in 2015. The Italian enjoyed a strong first season, winning the Bundesliga title in his first season, but he has now lost his job after a 3-0 Champions League defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Ancelotti is now the biggest name in the managerial market, and The Mirror note that he could be in the frame for West Ham, if they move on from Slaven Bilic. Many West Ham fans want to see Ancelotti arrive after Bilic oversaw four defeats in the first six games of the Premier League season, and a move could be on the cards in the future. West Ham's hopes of landing the former Champions League winner may be boosted by comments Ancelotti made in 2011, after the Hammers had been relegated to the Championship. Ancelotti was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that he was interested in the West Ham job as he prepared to leave Chelsea, stating that the atmosphere at West Ham was 'amazing'. Things have changed since; West Ham have moved out of Upton Park into the London Stadium, which has completely changed the atmosphere around the club, and Ancelotti may find that the club isn't quite the same as it was six years ago. Still, Ancelotti was popular in the Premier League and may fancy a return to London, but current boss Bilic should be given a chance to turn things around, starting with today's game against Swansea City.

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West Ham to receive investment boost from Blackstone US finance executive
The Hammers have offered the new director a seat on the club's board
Football London
BYGREG JOHNSON
07:00, 30 SEP 2017

West Ham have become the sixth Premier League club to receive investment from the USA. Blackstone director Albert "Tripp" Smith has taken a 10% stake in the Irons and will sit on the board alongside co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan and Baroness Karren Brady. It is understood that the share purchase was made as a private investment and was not funded or secured on behalf of any company. Smith was a co-founder asset management firm GSO Capital Partners and sold out to Blackstone in 2008 in a deal worth around $1 billion.
According to the Financial Times, the shares were purchased from CB Holding which gained control of 10% of West Ham following the collapse of Iceland's Stramur Investment Bank in 2009. The deal brings to an end an 11-year association between the Irons and Icelandic investment following the share purchases of Eggert Magnússon and Björgólfur Guðmundsson in 2006. Director Daniel Svanstrom has also left his seat on the board. While Smith may not be able to match the deep pockets of the Premier League's richest foreign owners and investors his presence on the board may lead to other opportunities in the USA. Despite their poor form of late on the pitch, West Ham remain a team with immense potential off it, not least due to their tenancy agreement at the London Stadium. The former home of the London 2012 Olympic games is currently the third largest football venue in the country on capacity with 66,000 seats. However, the Hammers have faced criticism for the amount of public money spent on building and converting the ground for their use, as well as the relatively low annual rate that they pay for using the stadium. If they can improve their football, their location could hand them a serious advantage in the years to come.

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West Ham Furious After Finding Out They May Not Earn Anything From The Carabao Cup Clash With Tottenham
By Sridhar Bhamidi on September 30, 2017
ToTheLaneandBack.com

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are set for an angry clash of cash row ahead of next month's Carabao Cup clash. As reported by The Sun, the Hammers are fuming with the Lilywhites at being told that they may not earn a penny from the match. This clash, which would be played at Tottenham's temporary home, the Wembley Stadium, could attract a crowd of 50,000. This volatile London derby will most likely be classified as Category C – with a high risk of crowd trouble, considering the intense rivalry among both sets of supporters.
The Carabao Cup rules indicate that the teams involved in a game are entitled to a 45 percent share of the proceeds. The rest of the amount goes to the competition 'pool'. But, the Hammers believe that their clash with London rivals may not get them anything. As quoted by the Sun, a West Ham source said:
"They said we might get nothing from the gate as it costs £300,000 to open Wembley."

West Ham are not the only side affected as it is being reported that Tottenham's previous round opponent Barnsley, who played at the Wembley, will not get a penny from the 23,926 attendance at the national stadium for their fixture.
Responding to these reports, a Spurs spokesman said: "As another club renting a stadium, West Ham are aware and understanding of the costs involved for cup games and the difficulty in any profit being made for such fixtures."

Technically speaking, Spurs' inability stems up from the fact that they are unable to use their own stadium, after having bid goodbye to the White Hart Lane, with the construction of their new stadium underway. This is just a new chapter in the frosty relations between these two London rivals in recent times. Both went head-to-head with bids to take over the Old Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, with things eventually going in favour of West Ham.
It was only last Saturday that they had a feisty encounter in the Premier League which ended 3-2 in Tottenham's favour, thanks to a Harry Kane brace. The match that saw Serge Aurier receive a red card also saw an injury-time bust-up between the players from both sides. Both clubs have been fined for failing to control their players.

Let's hope these sides dish out another classy encounter, sans these bust-ups, in the Carabao Cup clash.

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CLARET AND BLUE ARMY HAPPY TO SEE RETURN OF YOUNG STARFeatured Image
Date: 30th September 2017 at 1:00am
Written by: Forever Westham

West Ham fans have been treated with the news that defender Reece Oxford is set to return to the London Stadium only months after joining Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach on a season-long loan. Sky Sports report the youngster is set to return to the Hammers after leaving for the German club in June.
While Oxford featured heavily in the club's pre-season, he is yet to make a competitive first team appearance having been an un-used substitute in all six of club's top flight games so far this season. Oxford signed a long-term deal with the Hammers in December of last year to secure his long term future at the club, however has not featured in Claret and Blue for over a year after two successive loan spells.
Before his short lived move to Germany, Oxford spent the latter part of last season with Championship side Reading, where he too struggled for game time.
The reason behind Oxford's re-call are unclear as of yet, although it is widely believed the defender will slot straight back into Slaven Bilic's side following their disappointing start to the Premier League season. The Hammers have been leaking goals, conceding 13 so far, more than any other Premier League team, and many of the West Ham fans feel the youngster could be the answer to Bilic's defensive woes …

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WEST HAM LINKED WITH SENSATIONAL SWOOP FOR AXED MANAGERFeatured Image
Date: 30th September 2017 at 1:30am
Written by: Forever Westham

Talks of a potential move for axed Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti from West Ham have already begun, only hours after the Italian was sacked by the German champions. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss was let go by the Bundesliga giants yesterday afternoon following Bayern's 3-0 defeat to PSG in the Champions League which concluded a run of indifferent form in all competitions. Bayern had lost 6 of their last 18 games in all competitions and currently reside in third place in Germany's top flight, a run of form that was deemed poor enough to see Ancelotti shown the door. The ex-Chelsea man could find himself with a job offer on the table soon however, with West Ham reportedly eyeing up Ancelotti as a replacement for 'dead man walking' Slaven Bilic, according to The Guardian.
West Ham co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan are desperate to get rid of the Croatian after a poor start to the season and a break down in relations between the trio, and could do everything in their power to bring Ancelotti to the London Stadium in an attempt to turn the club's fortunes around.
Ancelotti is one of the modern eras most successful managers, with a trophy cabinet that includes three Champions Leagues, Serie A, Bundesliga and Premier League titles as well as numerous domestic trophies from across Italy, Germany and England.

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