Merry Christmas everyone - have a brilliant day and a Happy New Year -
PeterR
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Christmas with the Hammers
WHUFC.com
Festive tales from the West Ham United history books...
THE LAST CHRISTMAS DAY MATCH
It is 59 years since West Ham United last played a competitive match on
Christmas Day. Tottenham Hotspur were the final visitors to the Boleyn
Ground on 25 December 1958, when the newly-promoted Hammers ran out 2-1
winners in a First Division fixture. Goalkeeper Ernie Gregory, then 36 and
in the twilight of his long and illustrious career between the sticks, was
West Ham's first-half hero, keeping the game goalless with a fine save from
Bobby Smith. Into the second period and it took just two minutes for Phil
Woosnam (pictured) to create the hosts' opening goal, beating three Spurs
defenders before firing in a shot which Johnny Hollowbread could not handle,
allowing John Dick to slam home the loose ball. With winger Woosnam in
irresistible form on the left, West Ham doubled their lead when the Welshman
found Dick, who supplied a through ball for strike partner Vic Keeble to
score. Woosnam was then injured by a challenge from Tottenham defender
Maurice Norman and the home side were effectively reduced to ten men, as
these were the days before substitutes. Spurs pulled one back when Smith got
away from Ken Brown and netted with 17 minutes remaining, but Ted Fenton's
team held on for a deserved victory.
THE GOALLESS WONDER
He would not have known it at the time, but Alfred Earl (pictured) embarked
on an unwanted record run when he made his debut for West Ham United on
Christmas Day 1925. The south London-born right-back played a total of 206
first-team matches without scoring a single goal for the Hammers. No player
has featured in so many senior games without hitting the back of the net!
Earl did enjoy plenty of highlights in a Claret and Blue shirt, though. His
debut ended in a 5-2 First Division win over Aston Villa at the Boleyn
Ground - a game in which his near-namesake Stan Earle (pictured) netted a
hat-trick. The defender also started 38 of the Hammers' 42 top-flight
matches as they finished seventh in the top flight in 1929/30 and was in the
teams which beat Leeds United 8-2 in February 1929 and Liverpool 7-0 in
September 1930.
WOODGATE AT THE TREBLE
The last player to net a Christmas Day hat-trick for West Ham was the late
Terry Woodgate, who scored all his team's goals in a 3-1 First Division
victory over Leeds United at the Boleyn Ground in 1950. A left winger,
Woodgate (pictured) was born in East Ham and played amateur football for
Beckton before joining the Hammers at the age of 19 in 1939. The outbreak of
World War Two curtailed Woodgate's Football League career after just four
Second Division matches, before serving in the Essex Regiment and Royal
Artillery. After guesting for a number of clubs during the war, including
West Ham, Woodgate returned to full-time football in 1946, and went on to
score 52 goals in 275 competitive appearances - including his only
competitive hat-trick on 25 December 67 years ago!
CHRISTMAS BABIES
Of the 929 players to have featured in a first-team match for West Ham
United, amazingly not one was born on Christmas Day! Three Hammers,
including current striker Diafra Sakho (pictured), came into the world on
Christmas Eve. Sakho turns 28 tomorrow, while the other two former West Ham
stars born on 24 December in years gone by, Billy Bridgeman (1903-06) and
George Irvine (1912-14), both passed away many decades ago. For the record,
Sam Jennings (1924-25) and Sofiane Feghouli (2016-17) were both born on
Boxing Day, in 1898 and 1989 respectively.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
West Ham United clearly enjoyed playing football on Christmas Day. Before
the tradition ended in 1958, the Hammers would play at home almost every
year on Christmas morning, with matches kicking-off at 11am to enable fans
to support their team before heading home to spend the afternoon and evening
with their families. With the vast majority of Christmas Day fixtures being
played at the Boleyn Ground, it is not surprising that West Ham had an
enviable record when it came to playing on 25 December. Of the 45 matches
the Club contested between 1899 and 1958, including Southern League,
War-Time and Football League games, the Hammers won 25, drew 12 and lost
just eight, with just five of those defeats coming on home turf. After World
War Two, West Ham hosted ten Second Division matches over 13 seasons,
winning eight, drawing two and losing none. The Club's all-time leading
scorer Vic Watson (pictured) also enjoyed Christmas Day football, scoring on
25 December in 1924, 1925, 1929, 1931 and 1933!
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Reid: We can't make the same mistakes at Bournemouth
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid says West Ham United need to get over Saturday's 'terrible'
performance against Newcastle United as quickly as possible. The Hammers
squandered an early lead, missed a penalty and committed a series of
defensive errors in falling to a 3-2 Premier League defeat by the Magpies at
London Stadium. Now, Reid and company have two days to prepare for the
Boxing Day trip to another of the teams around them in the table, AFC
Bournemouth, and the defender says they cannot afford to make the same
mistakes again at the Vitality Stadium. "It was terrible, from our point of
view, conceding three goals, giving goals away, and they could have had
another two in the first half," said Reid, with brutal honesty. "We didn't
do the things that we'd been doing the last couple of weeks and we didn't
take our chances as well, the chances that we had, so it wasn't good at one
end and it wasn't fantastic at the other. "Fortunately enough, we have
another game on Tuesday, so we'll go again then. The games are coming thick
and fast now and we need to go to Bournemouth and make sure we pick up some
points."
West Ham looked to be on their way to a third win in four games when Marko
Arnautovic capitalised on Henri Saivet's error to put the hosts into a
sixth-minute lead. But Saivet's free-kick four minutes later and second half
goals from Mohamed Diame and Christian Atsu, both of which came after the
Hammers failed to clear the ball properly, ultimately put the game beyond
them. "I thought we started well with the goal, but we let ourselves down by
not capitalising on that. Newcastle were there for the taking at 1-0 down
and we didn't take advantage. "We moved the ball too slowly and we got
caught out. We put ourselves in bad positions by giving the ball to one
another in the wrong positions and if you do that to a team in the Premier
League, you're going to get punished. I think that was the most
disappointing thing."
Reid warned that West Ham simply cannot afford to gift Bournemouth the same
Christmas presents on Tuesday afternoon if they want to pick up a positive
result on the south coast. "It would have been a different ball game if we
had levelled it at 2-2 [from the penalty or open play], one hundred per
cent, but you have to take your chances and we didn't, so we have to move
forward and get some points away at Bournemouth. "It's tough and tight down
at Bournemouth, so we have to go down there and pick up some points. It's
not going to be easy, but we have to go there and do what we had done in
recent weeks, minus Saturday's game.
"We'll be in on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to work on our shape and
tactics and we'll be ready to go."
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Bournemouth v West Ham United
TUE 26 DEC 2017PREMIER LEAGUE
15:00
Venue: Vitality Stadium
BBC.co.uk
TEAM NEWS
Bournemouth's Jermain Defoe faces a couple of months on the sidelines with a
fractured ankle. Junior Stanislas is likely to miss out after injuring his
hamstring in the defeat at Man City, while Joshua King and Charlie Daniels
are also doubts.
West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini is set to return after a two-match ban.
Captain Mark Noble could miss out again with a tight hamstring and defender
Jose Fonte remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
John Roder: "With exactly half the season having now been played,
Bournemouth are in the bottom three and West Ham one place above the
relegation zone coming into this Boxing Day fixture. "Bournemouth, without a
win now in eight in all competitions, weren't expected to get anything from
their trip to runaway leaders Manchester City, and so it proved. "David
Moyes' comments after the home defeat by Newcastle suggest it's reasonable
to assume Manuel Lanzini will come straight back into the West Ham team
after a two-match ban. "It's likely to be a tense afternoon, ahead of an
anxious second half of the season for both clubs."
Twitter: @johnrodercomm
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "What a run of fixtures we've had - but
we're through that now. "Playing four top sides consecutively is tough, but
we now have to focus on the games we have coming up. It's a key period for
us."
West Ham manager David Moyes on moving on after Saturday's home defeat by
Newcastle: "We've shown good improvement at times. Saturday was always going
to be different because we had to show what we could do and I don't think we
did that. "Whatever the result is at this time of year, though, you just
have to roll on to the next game."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
Neither side are great defensively, so I am going to go for a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Bournemouth's 3-2 Premier League victory against West Ham in March was only
their second in the nine meetings between the clubs (D2, L5).
The four Premier League meetings have produced 17 goals, including two
Bournemouth hat-tricks (from Callum Wilson and Joshua King).
Bournemouth
Bournemouth are on a seven-match winless run in the Premier League (D3, L4)
- an eighth would equal their worst previous run.
The Cherries have claimed just eight Premier League points at home this
season - no team has won fewer.
They have won just one of their last six home games (D2, L3).
Bournemouth have failed to score in their past two Premier League matches on
Boxing Day.
West Ham United
Their 3-0 victory at Stoke on 16 December was the first in 10 away league
games this season (D3, L6).
The Hammers have not won consecutive Premier League away games since
February.
Marko Arnautovic has scored three goals in his last four league appearances
for West Ham, the same as he had managed in his previous 26 games.
Michail Antonio scored in both fixtures against Bournemouth last season.
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The (ex) Rev's Christmas message 2017
KUMb.com
Filed: Sunday, 24th December 2017
By: Elwin Cockett
"Peace on Earth and goodwill to all" was the angels' message of hope, but
there have been times this year when, for many of us, things have felt more
apocalyptic than angelic. Whether it's Donald Trump who worries us or Kim
Jong-un (or both), and whether we think Brexit is a disaster-in-waiting or
the liberation that our country needs, the fortunes of our beloved Irons
have certainly contributed to the worries of a lot of KUMB readers this
year. A potent blend of sadness at leaving the Boleyn and disappointment
with some of what has followed has left some feeling like it's the end of
the world. It isn't, of course. A few years of following West Ham United
should teach anyone that things are never really as bad as we think they are
at times, just as we have an enormous capacity for over-optimism when things
are just starting to go well.
And, while a lot of us put a lot of time, money and love into supporting our
team, that should not stop us also having a sense of perspective about the
wider world.
To lose a few football matches is disappointing; to lose your home or your
job, to face discrimination or abuse, or to have to rely on foodbanks and
handouts to survive, all rank much higher in the great scheme of things.
Being passionate about West Ham doesn't stop us caring about the world we
all live in. One of the great things about football is that there is always
hope for the future. David Moyes isn't the Messiah (or a naughty boy, for
that matter), but he is certainly a good man and a more than competent
manager with a point to prove, and all the early signs are positive.
Likewise, the London Stadium isn't the Boleyn and still isn't as good as it
should be, but there are many worse grounds and it's a great place when
50,000+ of us are singing our hearts out. There is hope, therefore. Hope is,
of course, at the heart of what Christmas is about. Whether you believe it
to be true or not, the Bible's account of Jesus's birth is all about hope -
hope for a poor, young Middle-Eastern girl, hope for her occupied and
beleaguered nation and, through her and her baby son, hope for you, for me
and for the whole world. Of course, hope is no good if it makes no
difference to the way we live our lives. So, it makes me proud when I hear
of West Ham fans making a difference around the world, being agents of hope.
I'm proud of fellow supporters I know who have been working this year for
civil rights in the US, funding children's literacy in Ghana and Kenya, and
- closer to home - raising funds for the Newham churches' night shelter for
homeless people and for Richard House.
There are many of you doing all kinds of wonderful things, of course, and
what you have in common is that you are agents of hope in a world that, for
some, can seem pretty hopeless otherwise. So, wherever you are this
Christmas, and whoever you're with, my prayer for West Ham fans reading this
is that you may know the peace and goodwill that the angels announced to the
shepherds on Bethlehem's hills, and that you may be so full of hope for the
future that you inspire those around you - including our team, maybe - to
greater and greater things in 2018.
God bless you all.
- The Venerable Elwin Cockett, Archdeacon of West Ham
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Winston Reid urges West Ham to respond from Newcastle defeat at Bournemouth
Last Updated: 24/12/17 4:33pm
SSN
Winston Reid has urged West Ham to bounce back from their defeat at
Newcastle when they travel to Bournemouth on Boxing Day. The Hammers' recent
mini-revival under new manager David Moyes was halted by a 3-2 home defeat
by Newcastle at the London Stadium on Saturday. Marko Arnautovic had given
West Ham a sixth-minute lead but Newcastle raced ahead through goals from
Henri Saivet, Mohamed Diame and Christian Atsu. Andre Ayew, who had earlier
missed a penalty, pulled one back but Newcastle held on for victory to leave
West Ham 17th, a point and a place ahead of Bournemouth. However, West Ham
had previously taken seven points from matches with Chelsea, Arsenal and
Stoke, and defender Reid wants to draw on those performances on the south
coast. "You have to take your chances and we didn't, so we have to move
forward and get some points away at Bournemouth," he said. "It's tough and
tight down at Bournemouth, so we have to go down there and pick up some
points. "It's not going to be easy, but we have to go there and do what we
had done in recent weeks, minus Saturday's game."
Manuel Lanzini is back in the West Ham squad for the trip to the Vitality
Stadium. The Argentine midfielder has completed a two-match ban after he was
retrospectively charged for diving to win a penalty at Stoke. Skipper Mark
Noble could miss out again with a tight hamstring and defender Jose Fonte
remains sidelined due to an ankle injury.
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Bournemouth v West Ham preview: Hosts without Jermain Defoe
Last Updated: 24/12/17 1:55pm
SSN
Bournemouth and West Ham will both look to return to winning ways when they
meet on Boxing Day at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries were the latest
team to succumb to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, losing 4-0 at the Etihad
on Saturday - which proved to be their third defeat in a row. West Ham
meanwhile fell to a 3-2 defeat at home to Newcastle, halting their progress
under David Moyes after taking seven points from their previous three games.
It leaves West Ham sitting precariously in 17th in the Premier League table,
just one place and one point above Bournemouth, who have slipped into the
relegation zone after no wins in seven league matches.
Junior Stanislas has joined Bournemouth's growing injury list after limping
out of the 4-0 defeat to Manchester City with a sore hamstring. Cherries
boss Eddie Howe is hoping for good news from the treatment room, with
Jermain Defoe (ankle), Harry Arter (calf), Charlie Daniels (groin), Joshua
King (hamstring), Brad Smith (hip), Adam Federici and Tyrone Mings (both
back) all struggling. Manuel Lanzini is back in the West Ham squad for the
trip to the south coast. The Argentine midfielder has completed a two-match
ban after he was retrospectively charged for diving at Stoke last weekend.
Skipper Mark Noble could miss out again with a tight hamstring and defender
Jose Fonte remains sidelined due to an ankle injury.
A Bournemouth player has scored a hat-trick in both of their Premier League
victories against West Ham United (Callum Wilson in August 2015 and Josh
King in March 2017).
The away side won both fixtures between these sides in the 2015-16 campaign,
while the home side were victors in both matches last season.
The Cherries have failed to score in either of their Premier League Boxing
Day games, drawing 0-0 against Crystal Palace in 2015, before losing 0-3 at
Chelsea last season.
West Ham won their first away league game of the season in their last outing
against Stoke (3-0) - they've not won consecutive Premier League games away
from home since February.
Merson's prediction
It is six games without a win now for Bournemouth, and Newcastle go to West
Ham and win, and yet they had kept clean sheets against three top teams.
They have played Chelsea, Arsenal and Stoke, who scored three goals on
Saturday, and kept clean sheets. And then they go and let in three goals
against Newcastle, who cannot win for toffee, and that was a poor result for
West Ham. So it is so hard to predict. This is a big game for Bournemouth. I
think they are in major, major trouble because I did not think they would go
down. I thought they would have too much.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (9/1 with Sky Bet)
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