Daily WHUFC News - 24th October 2017

Antonio targets Wembley rerun
WHUFC.com

Michail Antonio is hoping for a Wembley rerun when West Ham United take on Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night. The Hammers head to the Home of Football in the Carabao Cup fourth round, with both a place in the quarter-finals and local bragging rights at stake. For Antonio, the tie also represents an opportunity to repeat the success he enjoyed on his only previous visit to Wembley, when he scored a fine goal in Southampton's Football League Trophy final victory over Carlisle United in 2010. "It's a massive game," said the winger, who scored the winner against Tottenham in the final Premier League derby at the Boleyn Ground in March 2016. "Even if it wasn't at Wembley, it would be a massive game, as any game when West Ham and Tottenham are playing against each other, it is a massive. "Especially after they beat us at home, we need to go there and beat them at their home. We've got to steady our minds, go there and perform for the fans."

Antonio is one of a number of West Ham players who have turned out at Wembley before, with Joe Hart, Aaron Cresswell, Pablo Zabaleta, Jose Fonte, James Collins, Mark Noble and Andy Carroll all having trodden the hallowed turf in the past. Hart, Zabaleta and Carroll have all won the League Cup at the historic north London ground and the No30 would love to emulate that achievement. "It's Wembley. As much as they are playing home games there all season, it's Wembley so it's exciting for any team that goes there. "There are going to be loads of players who have not had the opportunity to play there, who will now get the opportunity to play there. "People are going to turn up and want to perform there because it is a historic ground."

Reflecting on his victorious goalscoring performance at Wembley seven years ago, Antonio cannot help but smile when he recalls that day. Playing alongside current Hammers teammate Jose Fonte and under former West Ham manager Alan Pardew on his 20th birthday, the winger scored the Saints' fourth and final goal in a comfortable victory over the Cumbrians. "It was an unbelievable day. There were 75,000 fans there and it was my birthday, as I'd just turned 20, we won and I scored! I had 15 of my family members and celebrated my goal in front of them, so it was just an unforgettable day. I remember everything about it to a tee.
"Scoring a goal at the historic Wembley Stadium was just unbelievable. Rickie Lambert headed the ball down and I've taken it on my chest and half-volleyed it with my left foot into the corner. "I'd love to do it again on Wednesday night!"

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Nolan: Mark Noble's character will be vital for West Ham United
WHUFC.com

Mark Noble's character could be vital to West Ham United's chances of winning at Wembley on Wednesday evening, according to former skipper Kevin Nolan. Nolan, who preceded Noble as Hammers captain and led the Club to Play-Off final glory at the Home of Football in 2012, says his successor remains vitally important to the squad, whether he is playing or not. The No16 was an unused substitute in Friday's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion and has started only five of West Ham's nine Premier League matches, with Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang, Edimilson Fernandes and youngster Declan Rice also available to play in the centre of the park. However, Noble did wear the armband in both Carabao Cup victories over Cheltenham Town and Bolton Wanderers, and Nolan believes his ex-teammate is the right man to lead the Hammers into battle against Spurs this week. The Notts County manager expects Noble's inner drive and character to motivate not just himself, but also his teammates. is use the feeling to motivate himself to get back into the team, such is the skippers' drive and character. "Of course, it will be bothering him that he's not playing," Nolan told whufc.com: "He's captain of the Club and right now he's not getting in the side. Nobes will be taking that to heart and will wanting to be doing something to put it right. "Not being in the team will be killing him, but one thing Mark Noble has got is a great character. Nobes is a great lad. This won't knock him. This will spur him on and make him want to try harder to get back in the team and help the side win games.
"He's got to keep his head down, work hard and be ready for his chance when it comes."

Nolan believes that chance may come at Wembley, where the pair shared one of the best moments of their respective careers five-and-a-half years ago. Noble was also part of the squad which knocked Spurs out of the League Cup at White Hart Lane in December 2013, and Nolan says his presence will also be of huge benefit this time around. He added: "Mark's a great character and he's a great lad. For me, he's what West Ham need. West Ham need those sorts of players, especially heading into a game like Tottenham away. "Mark Noble wears his heart on his sleeve and loves West Ham. He's a West Ham boy through and through, and for me he's the perfect fit for the Club and the captaincy and the way West Ham play."

Standard Tickets for West Ham United's Carabao Cup fourth round visit to Tottenham Hotspur have sold out, but the tie will be broadcast live by Sky Sports, with kick-off at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday at 8pm.

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FAIR TO MIDDLING
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 23 OCTOBER 2017 AT 4:54PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

As West Ham fans, we're pretty much used to being the middlemen of the Premier League. The current run has seen us finish 11th, 7th, 12th, 13th and 10th, echoing our previous run, which spanned 9th to 17th. Aside from our brief drop to the Championship and immediate bounce back, you can sometimes feel like the Hammers are there just to make up the numbers.

So, the recent predictions by sports analysts, Gracenote Sports, won't have come as much of a surprise to the West Ham faithful. Gracenote had us predicted to finish in 10th place with 47 points at the start of the season, and after seven games had revised that down by one win to put us in 14th place with 44 points.

Gracenote creates its Premier League predictions by ranking the top flight clubs using its Euro Club Index, then running over a million 'season simulations' to work out what it thinks will happen. After seven games, the exact placings may have shuffled a little, but the area of the table for each club has remained roughly the same. Pre-season favourites, Chelsea, have been replaced by Man City, and Crystal Palace have swapped places with Huddersfield at the bottom of the table.

You could argue that this is not exactly rocket science. Crystal Palace have lost all seven games and have yet to score a goal while conceding seventeen. My cat could predict their fate at the end of the season, and she's much more of a rugby fan. If anything, Gracenote's estimate of a 72% chance of the Eagles flying south seems rather generous.

Similarly, with both City and Man United unbeaten with six wins apiece, and with 39 goals between them and just two each against, you hardly need to be Nostradamus to predict one of them to be picking up the trophy next May. Gracenote reckon there's a 47% chance it will be City and a 24% chance it will be United, leaving just a 29% chance that the title will go anywhere else but Manchester.

Of course, predictions are not always right. With all its experts to call on, BBC Sport predicted Chelsea to win in 2015/16 and Leicester City to finish 19th. We all know how that turned out. They also predicted the Hammers would finish around our customary mid-table spot of 11th, but we beat that by four places to finish in the heady heights of the top seven. That was, indeed, a strange season all round.

In many ways, West Ham's reliable mid-table mediocrity saves us all a lot of sleepless nights towards the end of the season. It also saves us a few bob at the bookies, too, based on the old Premier League outright odds. After all, who is going to back us at 750-1 to win the Premier League, or even at 100-1 to finish in the top four? Certainly, no Hammers fan wants to tempt fate by having a cheeky fiver on relegation at 6-1.

Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that with West Ham neither at the bottom nor the top, like Kermit's nephew from the Muppet Show, we are destined to be forever Halfway Down The Stairs.

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WEST HAM UNITED, FOREVER ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE!
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 23 OCTOBER 2017 AT 4:44PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @jasoninge

Well Friday Night Football couldn't of gone any worse, could it! I went into the game feeling very optimistic with the front four of Hernandez, Arnautovic, Lanzini and Antonio finally available to set a light our season. However in traditional West Ham style we were left being royally turned over by an awful Brighton side. Frankly it was a toothless, embarrassing performance by every single player that stepped out at the stadium that was supposed to be the catalyst for our great club to progress to the next level and compete with the big boys. However, although we were promised the world, ultimately nothing has changed, we're still the same old West Ham, a club that has so much potential but ultimately disappoints.

I've reflected a lot over the weekend since the bad defeat about why this club finds itself in an all too familiar situation, where we were struggling and the reasons for this, which I see as three fold. Like a lot the fans I had brought into this dream of West Ham becoming an elite club, competing in Europe on a regular basis and as a result only saw moving to the London Stadium as a necessary means as a result. However, it has now become apparent to me that we do not have the ingredients across the board to go to the next level.

Firstly, we have an average group of players that are simply nowhere near the standard of the top six teams. We are littered with overhyped players that individually and collectively make mistakes on a consistent basis that cost us results. We have a distant lack of creative, technically gifted players bar Lanzini, who for the record is the only player we have that is good enough to get in a top side, so the chances of actually competing with the big boys now is frankly impossible. In all honestly, we are no better than the any of clubs that are competing to be the best of the rest and therefore poor performances/results against poor teams is something that has been consistent throughout of history and will continue to plague our future. It's also been a suggested that we are no longer a selling club, but in reality Premier League Clubs aren't lining up to take our talent. Again that proves we're nowhere near a top six side.

Secondly, the manager isn't elite level. Now everyone who has seen my previous articles will know I back Slaven to the hilt and I will never turn on a manager, as I believe you support them as long as they're the man in charge. However, Slaven Bilic has proven in the last two seasons that he's unable to take this club any further than a mid table team and therefore finds himself in a virtually impossible situation to stay on as the manager past the current season. Furthermore, there is too much noise in the media and it's apparent that the owners are looking at replacements. It mirrors the exact same scenario as where Sam Allardyce found himself in during his last season. Obviously a lot of fans feel the need to make a managerial change now believing Slaven Bilic is the sole reason for our current blight and that the endless list of managers linked as replacements would all turn this around and have the capabilities to take this club forward to new heights. I completely disagree with this. We are West Ham United, and we are not capable of attracting an elite level manager, like Carlo Ancelotti to take us over. Also, I feel that sacking Slaven now would merely be a short term fix, and although would likely see an immediate resurgent in form and results this season, our history would show that it will be short lived before it ultimately goes wrong for said manager a year or two down the line, with fans calling for that person to be sacked. The reality is we find ourselves in a vicious cycle of hopes of achieving something followed by despair of underachieving.

Thirdly, the owners do not and will never have the finances needed to progress this club to the next level. We have a stadium that although isn't everyone's cup of tea is something that should of have been catalyst for better things for the club. However the current regime our wasting it and in all honestly continuing to fail with point after point of promises that really shouldn't have been hard to deliver. We are left talking about them failing to deliver a claret turf around the pitch with the current green one being a hindrance to the players on the pitch, because it costs too much money. We are left playing at a stadium with no naming rights because they are unable to seal the big deals like Man City and Arsenal have. All these issues show their shortcomings and exactly why they are incapable of progressing this club any further forward. However the most damning point is the distant lack of funds in the transfer market to buy the much better players needed. I'm not disputing they were able to get the majority of the managers targets this year, but it's simply not enough to make us a better club. You only have to look at our two record signings in the last two years. We've brought the two best players at Swansea and Stoke at the time, who like us are average teams in the hope they can replicate their good form with us, which neither have because average players are inconsistent. The club needs to be finding gems like Man City did when they were progressing forward to an elite club, with the likes David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany, but every world class player the owners have attempted to sign, they have failed to do so, because they don't have the finances required to buy those players. You can't expect progression if you can't spend big in this league!

So where do we go from here? Well in all honestly, we have to just get on with things. We are in a position where we have been many times over the years. Yes, we had hoped to never be in and around the relegation zone anymore, but we do have the capabilities of fighting our way of the situation. It's not a situation where we have lost six games on the spin and are ten points adrift. There is plenty of time to achieve a mid table finish, which is still our level and something that this manager and this group of players were able to achieve last season after a poor start. History shows the owners don't sack managers and honour contracts, whether you agree or not, we have to accept that. Long term though it is imperative that we are taken over, which will lead to a top class manager being appointed and a better squad being assembled that can finally challenge the top six. If that doesn't happen, we will continue down this road to nowhere with the pack likely to be shuffled in the summer once again and merry-go-around of joy followed by misery will go on.

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TIME TO THINK THE UNTHINKABLE
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 23 OCTOBER 2017 AT 4:24PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
by Malcolm Atkins @malatk

Apparently Ex is putting an article out which may shed more light but the rumour mill is that none of the board's preferred targets as a replacement for Slaven Bilic are available until summer with no temporary candidate currently appealing to them.

Most agree Slav is damaged beyond repair and for me, some sort of change is essential. I never thought I would propose this but….Paolo Di Canio anyone? OK he is fiery and unpredictable but he could be right man at the right time. Paolo would love the job and would probably agree a short term deal (trial) until the end of season.

Madness isn't it? Yes, but there are three big problems right now for me, the team lack fitness, they lack motivation and the fans are flat which is causing a big problem on match day. Di Canio would address the fitness issue without a doubt and certainly in the short term would fire players up. I bet he could get Arnautovic firing.

Then the fans, many – including me, have doubted his managerial credentials but he is hugely popular and would have the stadium rocking. Di Canio would produce a team that played with flair and swagger and most of all passion, The West Ham Way indeed.

If the board are too interfering etc. Paolo will tell us, if not, as they claim, we will know so and it will help repair their image a little.

I know there is a risk to this but it really can't get much worse. Big Sam may be pragmatic bu the fans would be divided and the board would look foolish. Paolo loves the club, wants the job, is passionate and views fitness as vital

Time to think the unthinkable? It is for me.

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Former City boss in the running?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd October 2017
By: Staff Writer

The vastly-experienced Manuel Pellegrini is the latest coach to be linked with Slaven Bilic's job. The Croat's position at West Ham is under serious threat following United's poor start to the 017/18 campaign and several managers - including Rafa Benitez and Alan Pardew - have been linked with the role. And now the Chilean - who is currently employed by Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune - is the latest big name to be linked with the post and a Premier League return, despite being under contract for a further 12 months. West Ham's Board met at the weekend following Friday's night's 3-0 humbling against Brighton & Hove Albion to discuss Bilic's position. The manager, who is out of contract at the end of the season is set to remain in charge for the foreseeable future, despite his team having accrued only eight points from their opening nine games of the campaign.

Manuel Pellegrini: managerial history

1988–1989: Universidad de Chile
1990–1992: Palestino
1992–1993: O'Higgins
1993–1995: Universidad Católica
1998: Palestino
1999–2000: LDU Quito
2001–2002: San Lorenzo
2002–2003: River Plate
2004–2009: Villarreal
2009–2010: Real Madrid
2010–2013: Málaga
2013–2016: Manchester City
2016-: Hebei China Fortune

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Spurs to miss talisman for Cup tie?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd October 2017
By: Staff Writer

Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane is set to miss this week's Carabao Cup clash between Tottenham and West Ham. The two clubs meet at Wembley on Wednesday night when the Hammers will be seeking to replicate their 2013 success at White Hart Lane in the same competition (then known as the Capital One Cup). And news of Kane's likely omission will come as a major boost to the Hammers, who are themselves sweating over the fitness of one or two key players ahead of the game. "We have many games ahead - Wednesday, then Manchester United at the weekend and Real Madrid," Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino told the media. "We finish the weekend with Crystal Palace. "It's important to know that Harry played two games for the national team before Bournemouth. It's been a massive effort from him, but his performance in that way he's so professional. "But he's not a machine and maybe Wednesday we'll give him a rest."

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They shoot horses, don't they?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd October 2017
By: Paul Walker

I think Neil Ashton on Sky at the weekend got it just about right. When will Slaven Bilic be put out of his misery?

The Sunday Supplement anchor and Daily Mail man could hardly have put it better. However you look at it, how much you blame Slav for our current predicament. This is no way to treat anyone.

As usual the 'two games to save his job' nonsense was filtered out after a weekend in which our board had been clearly unable to find someone to step in at short notice to turn the ship around. So Slav has to carry on.

You see, he is not trying to save his job, because he and us all know that decision has already been taken. If you tell someone that he can stay on only because they can't find anyone to take over, that is hardly much of an incentive.

And the players know it. They know the manager giving them instructions has absolutely no credibility any more, no clout, no position of an real authority.

Two games, Spurs at Wembley in what Sky may see as a very public execution (I thought we stopped all that a century back) and then a trip to an improving Crystal Palace who will be just baying for blood in a game they now feel that have a decent chance in.

And what next for Slav? It's Liverpool at home on 4 November. After that we have another two week international break. Yes, another one. And it is there that I reckon David Sullivan feels he may have a window of opportunity to get someone in.

Bilic just has to suck it up. Maybe the are trying to force him to resign, but why should he? The board have given him so much grief over the months, he probably feels entitled to that £2m pay-off.

If he soldiers on, he will get that with his contract ending next summer. If he walks away, he gets nothing. Lovely jubbly, Sullivan.

There has even been rumours, rejected by the board that Bilic has offered to quit. That rumour has come from somewhere to reach social media, and may well be how he has spoken to the players in times if real strife and weakness of the soul.

Now I have never been one to start calling for his head, nobody really knows what goes on in our club behind Karren's net curtains. But the Brighton disaster changed a few minds, the end of the road for many, who just cannot see how the tide can be turned.

Funnily enough, I was pretty confident on Friday, having seen the side draw at Burnley with ten men, a defiant, resilient display that no-one can convince me was a case of the manager having lost the dressing room.

Sullivan may well have felt that way when he did that interview with Gary Neville pre-match to say Slav would get to the end of his contract, he could have believed he was on firm ground.

Having not raised his head or said a word since that ridiculous row with Sporting Lisbon and the statement he issued to prove we had made a bid for William Carvalho - something I understand David Gold and Karren Brady did not know anything about until it had been done - here was the time for him to make a statesmanlike interview.

Ninety minutes later all that had changed.

There is no going back now. No 'two games to save your job.' It's all hot air and will change the instant someone agrees to step into Slav's boots.

But three more defeats would force Sullivan's hand, he will have to sack the manager. Because by then, even now many feel, there is a need for strong leadership, not only to do the decent thing by a man who has been held in high esteem as a player as well, initially, a manager at the club. You can't go on treating a man with such distain, such lack of respect, such mental cruelty, even.

Yes, I know, Slaven is a big boy, he knows the game and knows the consequences of this sort of crisis. But I cannot recall a manager being treated like this over such an extended period. Almost a silent war of attrition. Slav looks drained, tired of it all, a man now without answers.

Nobody deserves that, it has been going on far too long. Many feel Sullivan should have acted before the season started. The signs have been there for a long time.
I frankly don't know what Sullivan should do next in this endless search for a new manager. But then I am not the owner, I am not the person who has accepted that responsibility. He has to make the call, end the cruelty of Bilic and move on.

Palace found a decent manager pretty quickly, there are enough out-of-work people around to take the reigns for maybe a year, Alan Pardew springs to mind. Sullivan could even try a very short-term move of asking Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta to take the reigns with Terry Westley doing the nuts and bolts on the training ground. Just to give the club time to come to a decent decision.

But Bilic should be put out of his misery, this situation reminds me of the 'they shot horses, don't they' film!

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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500 days and counting: where do we go from here?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd October 2017
By: Paul Walker

We have just passed the 500 days mark since we left our beloved Boleyn. Seems like yesterday, doesn't it, and those vivid memories of the last game played at Upton Park.

Manchester United stopped in their tracks - quite literally, outside and inside the ground - and vivid memories of that night, May 10 2016, when 30,000+ Hammers inside the stadium and 20,000 outside witnessed a night we will remember forever.

Those figures alone probably convinced our owners in the boardroom that night that we were a big club that had outgrown a small home. It no doubt re-enforced their view that everything would be hunky-dory in E20.

How wrong could they be. Our record is all matches since that night against Manchester United is P 58 W19 D 12 L27 F 70 A 97.

That is just shocking, and is the reason we are where we are with Bilic, a board that is not trusted by a vast majority of the fans and the potential disaster of a shattering relegation on our hands - something that must be the owners' worst nightmare.

I walked away that night back in May 2016 determined not to look back, and never go back to Green Street. My family, dad, grandad, uncles, brother, son, myself, had invested a century in that ground, some things are just too painful.

And nothing I have seen since has got even close to the excitement of the Boleyn. It has become a long, painful wait for take-off at the London Stadium, and a relentless, cruel destruction of Slaven Bilic. Back at the Boleyn he was the manager of passion, all hugs and kisses for his team.

Not too many kisses now. A manager sadly exposed and ridiculed. An endless list of being two/three matches away from the sack. How he must privately wish that these past 17 months had not happened, that he could somehow turn back the clock to better times.

Many feel like that for many conflicting reasons. I know my family, past, would not recognise our club now. We all have stories to tell about those family roots. I was told the grandfather I never knew watched West Ham before the First World War and was at Wembley in 1923.

And sadly there's no reason now to go back to the old manor. The streets of East Ham, my old aunt's place just behind Upton Park tube, the other family homes in Forest Gate, Barking, Ilford, all now distant memories. Replaced by Chelmsford, Southend and Sevenoaks in our Christmas card address book. I am sure that sort of tale is familiar to many East End, East London families, not just mine.

So it was off to the shiny new palace on the banks of the River Lea, the cold wastelands of Stratford's canals and rivers. Our island in the sun we were told.

It's fair to say that some have handled the moved better than others. Not for one moment am I saying folk should move on, my own memories here show that's very difficult. But it is history now, and maybe it's the time for a quick evaluation of where we are, and where we are going. Clearly, at some point, without Bilic. That is so blindingly clear now.

But in terms of progress, what could we have realistically expected at this stage? Cut through all the PR rubbish that was spouted about a new level, that's an expression I hate because it comes from a dream world for people who think Champions League, Europe and trophies were just going to fall from the sky.

Elsewhere on this site my colleague HHS produced a lengthy piece recently showing just how much nonsense it is to believe that we can make any sort of leap to a new level in a football industry that is totally loaded in favour of the elite, the established wealth domestically and in Europe.

Now this is not intended as another slagging for our owners and Lady Karren. That would be too easy in the current climate, and because they have done so much talking. So much hot air. Off the pitch they would say the move has been a success, now we are the 17th richest club in the world and are selling 56,000 tickets each week, if not filling the seats.

But even that is the same method of recording ticket sales used by every club. There are empty seats everywhere, even Old Trafford is reputed to have at least 5,000 empty seats some games.

Our owners are often accused of wholesale lies about the whole move. I would prefer to call it being economical with the truth…about athletics events, about the non-retractable, removable, temporary seating. About how far we are from the flamin'pitch, about the dreadful transport links and the constant closures of inadequate local stations.

But a lot of this stuff only effects those at the ends of the stadium, the BML and the TBL. I know folk sitting in posher, more expensive seats who are more than happy with things and this modern stadium.

In the end, it is what happens on the field that really matters, that changes moods and makes the problems we have all faced a little more acceptable. And that's where things have not gone well, to put it mildly.

We have had three transfer windows since we left the Boleyn, and frankly I do not see much of an improvement in the squad.

And the figures do little to help this perception. I reckon that we have spent around £96m on transfers since leaving Upton Park, and pulled in around £65m in sales. Those figures will no doubt be challenged because clubs tend to inflate figures for public consumption when they sell and reduce them when they buy, and of course they don't take into account the extra charges, wages and agents fees - seemingly we spend £9m on that a year.

The owners will point to breaking the transfer record twice in this time, but on what? Are they serious about the quality? It is pretty much accepted now that our buying has been a mess and a high percentage of acquisitions are no longer with us. Pick a card, chose who to blame!

What we have spent is far short of the clubs we are trying to emulate. But even that is not totally our owners' fault, because we are not allowed to throw, say, £200m at the problem, FFP regulations don't allow that.

You have the boost your transfer budget by raising cash from sponsorships and commercial activities. How long that takes to find its way into the food chain is anyone's guess. And certainly David Sullivan has a reputation for not spending cash unless he really has to.

Sadly, it is the results since we arrived in Stratford that severely let things down. It's 58 games in all, as previously mentioned Our league record in that time is P46 W13 D11 L22 F 54 A 81.

At the London Stadium it is even more miserable. In all competitions we have played 29 games at our new home, won just 13, drawn four, lost 12 and scored 34 while conceding 44.

It does not take much working out to see where the problem lies. What is being offered on the pitch does not come close to a reasonable level. Certainly not the next level. In fact, I struggle to recall games that have really excited me or lived up to any level of expectation.

Is that Bilic's fault, is it the fault of a board and transfer department that falls horribly short however you look at it?

Everybody can have a view on where the blame should rest, I can just present the statistics. I do not really want to jump on the 'Bilic out' bandwagon because I feel he has been dealt a pretty rough hand at times trying to overcome all the problems of the move and a restless, sometimes resentful public.

It all seems too much for him in the end. But one thing is for sure. Everybody has to improve across the board.

My view is that we should be challenging in the top eight by now, This current squad is underachieving, it is the most expensive, well-paid group we have ever had as a club. It's just not good enough, and our owners and manager, whoever he may be, know it.


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 ARE LIKE DENMARK - BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY
By HamburgHammer 23 Oct 2017 at 08:00
WTID

When I was a wee boy my family used to spend most of our summers in Denmark. My parents loved it there, it was easy to get to from Hamburg, reasonably priced (important for a young couple) and my folks also fell in love with the people there.

So much so that I ended up with Danish godparents, was given a Danish first name (same as my brother five years earlier) and basically grew up in Denmark. If my parents' accounts of those days are accurate, my first footprints as a toddler were left on Viking soil.

It's a beautiful little country, with friendly and laid back people who have a great sense of humour, a lot of warmth and who are also immensely proud of their history and heritage.

West Ham are like Denmark now, unfortunately not in terms of the positive connotations I just mentioned, but solely as in the famous Shakespeare quote from Hamlet:

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."


When I came home on Friday evening, ready to watch the game against Brighton, I was in a reasonably good mood as I had just briefly been at the Concordia training ground, meeting our new signing, a young French striker from Lens who does even speak some English and who will hopefully help to turn Concordia's season around.

So I settled down in my armchair at home in good spirits, screwdriver at the ready, feeling confident that this was it, this would be the game where the team finally found their collective fourth and fifth gear, the lads would play like we all know they can and send Brighton back to the beach with zero points and tail firmly between their legs.
Or should that be wings clipped as they are called The Seagulls after all ?

At the end of the game we found ourselves in that now almost too familiar state of disbelief, shock and utter despair. I know that as a club we have suffered embarrassing defeats galore throughout our history. Painful cup exits against teams we weren't even sure where exactly in Britain they were from. Thrashings against the big boys. Getting beaten 3:4 by Wimbledon at the Boleyn after racing into a 3:0 lead after 27 minutes. The lot. As fans we've always come back for more because it was our club, it was in our blood, in our DNA, instilled into us either by birth or twist of fate, rarely by choice.

This feels different now somehow. There is so much wrong at the club that it is hard to simply file that under yet another bumpy ride or just another phase. Of course it is a phase insofar as Bilic will be replaced in the very near rather than the distant future. Already we are hearing that Bilic's job is safe until a replacement has been lined up, with numerous hats thrown into the ring: Pellegrini, Mancini, Wagner, Benitez, Moyes, Dyche, take your pick.

Temporary relief a new gaffer may bring, it may fix some temporary issues with training regimes, application and motivation of the players, organisation at the back, body language, ability and willingness to press the opposition and actually run for the majority of the 90 minutes on the pitch rather than just jogging along or strolling under the Stratford sky.

Granted, more effort and positive attitude from the team is what most fans would be quite happy with and even I agree at this point that Bilic looks completely lost, unable to make the players work and play hard – or even get the basics right.
Whatever Bilic may want from them, he ain't getting it. So, as much as it pains me to say it because I love Bilic as a human being, in terms of being West Ham's manager he has run his course now I'm afraid.

I hate sounding like a broken record, but it begins and ends with the people at the very top, running our club, making the decisions, be that about managers, signing players or stadium related issues. Hang on, when I say "our" club, is that actually true anymore what with us being addressed as mere customers ? In discussions with fellow fans and posters on here I was told a while ago "West Ham basically died when the final whistle sounded in that final Boleyn game against Manchester United".

I am not entirely sure that statement is true and if it's really just the stadium although it still seems to be a massive factor. We play in a giant bugger of a bowl, for rent.
We keep being told it's a world class stadium fit and meant for world class players, preferably those playing in claret and blue. At the moment it's hard to see any evidence of either. The board have decided to use the club as an investment vehicle, with the stadium move being key to pushing the ultimate club value and price up once they will have decided to sell up eventually. We don't know when exactly that is going to happen, but happen it will.

You cannot achieve the world class players in a world class stadium scenario if as owners you are merely prepared to spend the bare minimum, hoping against hope you will stay up every time to keep your seat on the Premier League money train. It is a very risky gamble this. It seems to be almost impossible to improve the matchday experience when you are at the mercy of the LLDC agreeing to any changes made to the stadium, even if it is about a seemingly simple matter such as putting a claret surface over the running track, to get a bit of contrast in relation to the green of the pitch.

Let's assume we get a new manager. What happens next ? Will the board suddenly start spending a decent amount of money on players ? Will they give the new manager a 40 million signing like Carvalho after denying Bilic that courtesy ? I doubt it will be a miraculous turnaround with a new manager, any new manager. Because the way the board run the club determines to a large degree where the ceiling for our club is. We deserve to be exactly where we are and they all need to shoulder the blame for this, not just Bilic. Also and especially Sullivan, Gold and Brady. They have fallen short, they have promised much and provided little.

Let us now anticipate the moment in time they do sell the club to new owners, be that in two years, five or ten. What will be left of West Ham as a club at that point ? Of the proverbial life and soul of the club ? It's the universal truth that the fans are the most permanent feature of any football club, they have a bond to their club for life, going through several owners, managers, players, even stadiums in their lifetimes. Change in football is also a permanent feature, but don't underestimate the undercurrent of heritage and history. You ignore the latter at your own peril.

Once the old guard are gone, will those who happily munch popcorn and take selfies at the London Stadium today still watch West Ham five or ten years from now ?

It's natural that some of the old guard were not willing to join the migration when the club were moving to the new stadium. There will be even more people who are going to reevaluate the status of the relationship they have with West Ham. So will I, even though I am not sure at this junction what my decision is going to be. Hiring a new manager will not fix this deeper rooted issue for me. Some of us will try to attend away games only in future. Others will stop going altogether, but may continue to watch on the telly or internet streams. And a small group may even pack it in for good.

I ain't stopping going just yet – before the Brighton game I actually arranged my next trip and I won't cancel it just because we lost in embarrassing fashion to Brighton.
I shall be taking in the pre-Christmas derbies against Chelsea and Arsenal in person. I will arrive in London on Friday, December 8th, returning to Hamburg on Thursday, December 14th.

It's highly likely Bilic will no longer be in charge at that point. But there are still things to look forward to, even when you wouldn't realistically expect a massive points haul from those two fixtures to be frank. I have joined the West Ham Supporters Club now, so I will be able to try out that new location, Stour Space, near the stadium, for pre- and post-match drinks and festivities (yeah, right!). I also can't wait to go and watch some football in Dagenham again as the West Ham Under 23s will face their Tottenham counterparts at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Monday night. From a sporting perspective, as a contest under the lights this may well turn out to be the highlight of my upcoming trip.

I'll be as happy as a kitten waking up on a fully loaded milk float at the break of dawn when meeting up again with some of my friends from this blog, each and everyone of whom is more West Ham than the entire current board together.

Spurs in the cup next at Wembley. They are likely to play a weakened side. Not sure this gives an advantage to us. But this is West Ham. It wouldn't surprise me to see us beat them on the night. Saying that, it wouldn't surprise me to see our first team getting mullered 6:0 by their U18s either at this point. COYI!
Embed from Getty Images

PS: The Concordia update for those interested – a bit of a mixed bag. Cordi 2 won their game comfortably, 9:0 against the Out-of-Towners from Gülzow.
The boys are still very much on track for promotion after that result.
Then the first team earned themselves some much needed respect with a very decent 2:2 draw against one of the top sides in the league, Teutonia.
It was still unlucky as they conceded the equaliser in the shape of a wonder goal into the top corner from 25 yards out with the last kick of the game, after Cordi had played more than half an hour with a man advantage.
It was cold, it was raining stair-rods all game and 110 diehard spectators were braving the elements. The win would have been most welcome.
Cordi remain stuck in second gear and midtable.

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David Seaman backs West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart to start in goal for England at the World Cup
Hart has already let in 17 goals in nine Premier League games this season, including three against Brighton on Friday night
The Mirror
Neil McLeman
17:32, 23 OCT 2017

David Seaman has backed Joe Hart to be England No.1 at the World Cup next summer – and reckons the West Ham keeper will get lots of practice this season.
The on-loan Manchester City star has already let in 17 goals in nine Premier League games this season, including three against Brighton on Friday night. Hart, now 30, is under pressure for his England place from the next generation of keepers like Jack Butland, Tom Heaton and Jordan Pickford. He has won 74 caps and can equal the total of 75 set by Seaman in the international friendlies next month. And the former Arsenal star said: "I would stay with Joe for the World Cup. For me Joe is still England's No.1. The level he's played at for a long time is really good. Now the other guys are getting closer. That will push him. "I had the same situation when I was with England - I knew the other goalkeepers were getting closer, it just made me try and train a little bit harder and try to play better. It just focuses your mind a bit better. "It is difficult for keepers in struggling teams but even if they're having a bad time it means he's going to get more to do. It's a chance to show what you can do. "The more you have to do, the more there is a chance for a mistake and they're are things that get highlighted. "There was one against Brighton he might question himself. When you get that much of your hand to the ball and it goes in you're always a bit disappointed but it's not a mistake by any stretch. "He's having a lot more to do. He's playing for West Ham. He has more saves to make and that could lead to more mistakes as well. But when he plays for England he does his stuff."

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Ex-West Ham youth star made himself look 20 years older to secure cheaper car insurance on £30,000 Range Rover
The Hammers prospect once featured on the bench for a Europa League qualifier
The Mirror
Jack RathbornJack Rathborn
15:41, 23 OCT 2017

A former West Ham youth ace made himself look 20 years older to get a cheaper car insurance policy for his £30,000 Range Rover, a court heard today. Nathan Mabi-Mavila, 22, told insurers at RSA Group he was old enough to be his own father to get a cheaper premium for his luxury Range Rover Evoque. The talented young left-back and midfielder, who played for The Hammer's youth team from 2012-2014, also claimed he lived outside London in Kent in a bid to save £2,000.
Mavila was sussed out when he took his girlfriend for a spin and was asked to pull over and produce his documents at a police checkpoint in Grosvesnor Place, Belgravia, on 7 August. He admitted one count of fraud by false representation and one count of using a motor vehicle without third party insurance at Westminster Magistrates' court today. Mabi-Mavila joined Maidstone following his time at West Ham.

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Who is West Ham fitness chief Miljenko Rak after damning stat raises serious questions
The fitness of the West Ham players has come under massive scrutiny in the wake of the Brighton loss
Football London
Sam Inkersole
20:00, 23 OCT 2017UPDATED21:14, 23 OCT 2017

A damning stat was revealed on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night and it has raised some serious questions about what goes on at West Ham's Rush Green training ground. An accusation often levelled at the team this season as that they are not fit enough and that was no more evident than on Friday nights surrender against Brighton at the London Stadium. Michail Antonio looked exhausted after about 30 minutes and a number of players has simply ran out of gas by half time and in the final ten minutes of the game, the Hammers were at walking pace. On numerous times over the past 18 months, we have seen the Hammers ship late goals as a result of them being dead on their feet and unable to get that last bit of energy to get them over the line. Who is to blame for that? Numerous reports, particularly from former players and even ones currently on staff but away on loan (Reece Oxford and Robert Snodgrass) have slammed the training methods at Rush Green. The statistic revealed that the Hammers are ranked DEAD LAST in the amount of distance covered by the players this season (944.1km) and are also DEAD LAST in the number of sprints the players made (3938). But in terms of fitness, that's down to one man - West Ham's head of first team head of performance Miljenko Rak. The 70-year-old excelled at the long jump in his formative years before he moved into coaching and helped the careers of dozens of Croatian stars, including Olympic skier Janica Kostelic before turning hsi attention to football. Rak has been a long-serving lieutenant of Slaven Bilic, having worked with him for the Croatian national team, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas and now West Ham. It's not just him that should be singled out for criticism however. There is the whole backroom team of assistant Nikola Jurcevic, the very eloquent coach Edin Terzic and Julian Dicks, plus goalkeeping coach Chris Woods, that all contribute to Rush Green. This is not the first time the work ethic has come under fire at the training ground and you do wonder what is going on behind closed doors.

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Referee announced for West Ham's crunch clash with Crystal Palace and it's excellent news
The man in the middle has a good record in charge of West Ham games
Football london
Sam Inkersole
18:00, 23 OCT 2017

If you're of the disposition where you like to look at good omens ahead of upcoming games for your team, West Ham fans will be delighted to see who is in charge of their clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday. Bobby Madley will be the man in the middle for what is already being called a six-pointer in the Premier League as two struggling London sides lock horns at what is sure to be a raucous Sehurst Park. Roy Hodgson's men showed a bit of a revival after beating Chelsea recently but then followed that up with a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United last weekend, while we all know what's gone on with the Hammers. A run of one defeat in six came crashing down around them and rendered worthless after they were humbled by Brighton at the London Stadium on Friday night, losing 3-0. The pressure is fully on Hammers boss Slaven Bilic but he might be able to take a crumb of comfort - maybe - when he looks at the record Madley has in charge of his team last season. He was the referee for four West Ham games last season and Bilic's men lost just one of them and won the other three. Two of those games were against Burnley, with a 1-0 win at the London Stadium thanks to a Mark Noble penalty and the other on the final day at Turf Moor, a 2-0 win. The other victory Madley was in charge for was the 1-0 win against Sunderland in the early days of the London Stadium, Winston Reid lashing home a stoppage time winner against the Black Cats a little more than a year ago. The one blot on his record was the 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth last March, where Josh King ran riot and scored a hat trick at the Vitality Stadium. This season, Madley has been a bit card happy and has dished out four yellow cards in just seven games he has officiated, including two in the game between Man City and Everton on August 21 when he sent off Kyle Walker and Morgan Schneiderlin.

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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
By Sean Whetstone 22 Oct 2017 at 17:30 31 comments
WTID

I have just returned home from watching the West Ham Under 23's take on Chelsea at Aldershot's stadium. Although it was a goalless draw the young team played with more passion, determination and grit than any of the first team showed on Friday night. I sat just behind Terry Westley and greeted him and wished him good luck before kick off. It was good to see him and his methods up close. He is another very passionate manager who frequently banged the clear plastic glass of the dugout when the game wasn't going his way. It was also great to see Declan Rice up close and personal, he truly is a wonderful prospect who clearly models himself on the late great Bobby Moore.

This afternoon was a pleasant distraction from the embarrassment that happened on Friday night. West Ham fans hopes were quickly extinguished after Brighton's first goal on 10 minutes. As the second killer goal went in just before halftime West Ham fans turned on West Ham fans inside the stadium. I personally witnessed a couple of incidents in my block 113 in the West stand of arguing, pushing and shoving and at halftime police rushed into the back of block 114 for another incident where one West Ham fan was arrested and hauled off. It seemed a return to old days of last season.

As the third goal went in on 75 minutes there was further trouble at Club London next to the director's box as some kind of altercation broke out in the corporate hospitality area. By then embarrassed by a 3-0 defeat at home by Brighton the London Stadium largely emptied and West Ham fans made their long way home in disbelief what they had just witnessed on the pitch. It is on nights like last night that the London Stadium doesn't feel like our new home.

A poll of over 3,100 supporters on Claret and Hugh on Saturday says the majority now want Slaven Bilic gone, over 77% want him gone immediately, over 10% want to give him until the Palace game, 4% say give him until January while 5% say the end of the season and a mere 3% want him to get a new contract.

There are rumours that he offered to resign after the Newcastle loss and again after Brighton. While it might have some element of truth I am told he has never offered to resign to the board at any time and the offer was made directly to the players instead which is meaningless.

I understand the board are currently unwilling to sack Slaven Bilic without a replacement with proven Premier League experience and they say there is simply no-one of the right calibre available at this time. They don't want to be in the same situation as Leicester City. They also believe there is no natural successor to become caretaker manager at West Ham and while they love Terry Westley to bits they don't think he has the right skill set to take over the Hammers as caretaker boss with demands of the Premier League.

Despite widespread reports, West Ham have NOT held any emergency board meetings over the weekend to decide whether Slaven Bilic should be sacked!

Speculation has been swirling around since Friday night's shock result that Bilic could be out of work by the weekend as a result of such a meeting. David Gold is currently away on a winter break in the Caribbean and no board meeting would be held without him.

However, West Ham are drawing up a list of candidates to take over from Slaven Bilic should the decision be made in the future and the club knows it has a serious problem and is quickly speaking to agents and intermediaries. One of the possibilities being considered is an approach to veteran coach Guus Hiddink on a short-term contract whilst the club look for their ideal long-term candidate but there is concern over his age.

Another surprise option being considered by the club is former manager Sam Allardyce, he is said to be interested in the USA International manager job and it remains to be seen if he would tell the board where to stick it he got a call to get them out of trouble short term. Another Claret and Hugh poll of over 2,000 supporters shows that nearly 54% of supporters would accept Big Sam back as a short-term fix while 46% would stick with Slaven Bilic for the remainder of the season even if he meant relegation given the choice.

Meanwhile, bookmakers have predictably made Slaven Bilic a massive the odds-on favourite as the next Premier League manager to be sacked this season. Slav's chance of the sack has been slashed to 1/3 making odds-on on favourite with Sky Bet to go with his closest rival Ronald Koeman at Everton on 11/4. Paddypower have Bilic 4/9 for the push while it's 2/5 with Bet Victor.

Sky Bet have Manuel Pellegrini as the 100/30 favourite to replace the Croatian with Carlo Ancelotti second favourite at 11/2, Rafa Benitez is third at 6/1 with Sean Dyche, Roberto Mancini and Slavisa Jokanovic all at 8/1.

Manuel Pellegrini is the manager of Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune since August 2016. He is thought to be on a lucrative contract in China worth £30m over three years. He is the bookies Odds on favourite to join Leicester City. Difficult to match his current package.

Carlo Ancelotti says he will take at least a 10-month break after the Bayern Munich axe. Was paid £12.6m per year on a three-year contract at Bayern. Even if we could afford him after his sabbatical he is unlikely to consider West Ham as a realistic option as he won't be short on offers.

Rafa Benitez says he is committed to Newcastle until the end of the season. He signed a new three-year contract in May this year worth £4.2m per year so West Ham could end up paying a compensation of around £10m should they tempt Rafa to leave the North East. With Newcastle up for sale, he is said to be keen to wait and find out what a new owner could bring to the Magpies in terms of backing in the transfer market.

Sean Dyche signed a contract extension at Burnley in 2016 and is one of lowest paid managers in the Premier League on £420,000 per year. He joined the Clarets in 2012 and in his five-year tenure has led them twice to Premier League promotion. Whether Dyche would leave Burnley and whether he would be an improvement on Slaven Bilic are all unanswered questions.

Roberto Mancini took over as Zenit St Petersburg manager this summer on a three-year contract thought to be worth €4.5m a year. He has the option of a two-year extension. Whether Mancini has a clause to leave if a Premier League club came in for him is unknown but there is likely to be a large compensation to persuade Zenit to part with him.

Slavisa Jokanovic took over at Championship side Fulham in 2015 and signed a two-year contract extension to stay in West London earlier this year. He has no Premier League experience despite previously getting Watford promoted to the Premier League. His lack of experience makes him somewhat of a gamble and would cost £5m in compensation to Fulham which makes him an unlikely candidate.

Personally, I think Bilic has already lost the dressing room and things will only get worse as the season goes on. Angelo Ogbonna says his baby daughter liked a 'Bilic Out' message on social media and it wasn't him (honest guv) but rumours suggest the dressing room is already divided.

The board need to act and act fast, enough is enough, this is the time they need to stand up and be counted. Will the next West Ham manager please come forward.

Thanks for all you have done as a player and manager Slav and good luck for the future!

Sean COYI

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West Ham players hold crisis talks at training ground following latest defeat by Brighton in Premier League
Mark Noble tore into his West Ham team-mates after Brighton defeat on Friday
West Ham were defeated 3-0 at home against Brighton on Friday night
Slaven Bilic is facing a huge fight to save his job following a poor start to season
By Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 23 October 2017 | UPDATED: 22:30, 23 October 2017

West Ham players held a crisis meeting on Monday as manager Slaven Bilic faces fresh scrutiny over his job. And Sportsmail can reveal the training ground summit comes after captain Mark Noble tore into team-mates during a heated dressing room inquest following Friday's embarrassing home defeat to Brighton. Bilic is facing a huge fight to save his job following a poor start to the season, the loss to the newly-promoted Seagulls plunging the Croat into further difficulty.
Indeed, the Hammers hierarchy held further talks on Monday to address the club's plight, with Bilic still clinging on to his job. The Hammers squad took matters into their own hands on Monday, holding their own meeting in a bid to revive the club's ailing season. Having spoken extensively to Bilic earlier in the day, Noble is understood to have led Monday's talks. Fears are growing behind the scenes that the under pressure manager is losing the dressing room. Some players are privately questioning Bilic's tactics and training techniques, while the fact the 49-year-old is almost certain not to be the manager beyond the end of the season, when his current contract expires, is threatening his authority within the camp. It is hoped Monday's meeting at the club's Rush Green training base can spark a positive response from the Hammers, who face Tottenham in the Carabao Cup at Wembley on Wednesday night before facing a crucial Premier League game at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Indeed, Bilic will be desperate to see an improvement from his team against Spurs following the debacle against Brighton last week.
In the aftermath of Friday's loss; sources claim that Noble — who was an unused substitute for the game - ripped into the team. Sportsmail understands the dressing room was largely silent after the defeat; something that is said to have annoyed Noble, who felt the players should have showed more emotion after the loss. Stalwart central defender James Collins, who is currently injured, is also understood to have addressed the players since the humbling defeat. The next two fixtures will be pivotal in determining whether Bilic keeps his job. Defeat at Wembley on Wednesday and another loss at Selhurst Park on Saturday would likely result in Bilic being sacked, despite co-owner David Sullivan's insistence last week that the manager's position would only be reviewed at the end of the season.

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