Chicharito: I'm always going to give everything for the team
WHUFC.com
Chicharito is hoping to start 2018 on a high with West Ham United. The Hammers face three important fixtures in the first seven days of the New Year – Premier League meetings with West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur and an Emirates FA Cup third-round tie at Shrewsbury Town. And, with such a busy schedule in place, the Mexico striker is eager to make his mark in Claret and Blue. "We have three games this week and they are all very important for the Club, and I hope there will be opportunities for all the players to help the team," the No17 told whufc.com. "First, we play West Brom and we are fighting for our lives here, so we want to get the three points as well. Then, after that we have a derby match and it's a nice one with Tottenham. The last time we went to Wembley, we were very happy with the result in the Carabao Cup, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, so we have good memories of playing against Spurs there. "Then the week ends with the FA Cup, which is a competition I would love to win in my career."
After starting West Ham's opening eleven Premier League matches following his summer switch from Bayer Leverkusen, Chicharito was sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty in early November. Since returning to fitness, he has appeared as a substitute in the Hammers' last four games, and now feels ready to be included from the kick-off again. "Not only for footballers, but for everybody, the most important thing in life is to be healthy and to enjoy it and to do what you love most, which in my case is football. I am very happy and glad to be back. "I'm always going to give everything for the team, whenever I am on the pitch. I love football and I want to be as professional as I can, both inside and outside the pitch, if I am given one minute or 90 minutes, and I will try to do my best. "If you ask all footballers all over the world, they will tell you they don't want to be on the bench, and that's a normal thing. They all want to play and I'm trying to prove that I want to be involved with more minutes, with more starts, and then we'll see what happens [when I'm on the pitch]."
But while he would naturally love to play every single minute of every single game, a true team player like Chicharito knows it will need contributions from every single squad member to help West Ham climb away from trouble in the Premier League. "I'm never one to talk about a single player, be it myself or other players, as all the goals, all the results and all the points we get are because everybody is giving 100 per cent to help the team in the way we want to do it. "That's the only thing on our minds at the moment, to give our best to try to get into a better position."
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Lewin explains how recovery will be key during busy week
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Head of Medical Services Gary Lewin explains how his department will carefully manage the physical condition of the players through next week's hectic schedule of three matches in the space of six days…
The busy Christmas and New Year period has been complicated further this year by the fact that we had a full midweek Premier League programme scheduled in mid-December. Historically, in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, any team not in European competition or not playing in the quarter-final of the League Cup would simply be playing weekend to weekend and then have a full clear week to prepare for the rush of fixtures over the holiday period. This year, we had the midweek Premier League game against Arsenal on December 13 and then the League Cup tie against them a week later – and so our preparation time has been reduced. The holy grail throughout this period is recovery. Because we are playing Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday this coming week, there is very little time to follow the schedules and processes that we work to in a regular week. It really is a testing time for the entire squad and there are so many variables that come into play.
You also have the accumulative load from the games, which you simply can't gauge beforehand. For example, players picking up minor knocks that, ordinarily, take three or four days to recover from, would now face missing the next match.
When it comes to planning for the week ahead, it is a case of setting up both a training group and a recovery group, so that there is a strategy in place for how we ensure we get every player ready for the next game, based on whether they have played or not in the previous match. For example, on the Wednesday between the West Brom and Tottenham games, those who have played the night before will need simple recovery, those who haven't played but might be in contention to play the following night at Wembley will need a light training session, while those not playing in either game will need to work a bit harder. That is without taking into account the added burden of the fact that the manager needs time to prepare the team tactically for the next game, which in this case mean that goes into the day of the game on Thursday. The medical team will have everything in place to assist recovery – a mobile cryotherapy unit that we bring in, additional masseurs, the plunge pools, compression garments, plus our regular recovery programme involving exercise bikes and stretching.
Cryotherapy is something that is obviously fairly modern in terms of recovery tools for players – we have used the unit five times during the course of this period. However, the three main elements of recovery haven't changed in all the years I have been working in football – sleep, nutrition and hydration. After a game, players have to eat properly, get lots of sleep and rehydrate with lots of fluids. The following day, we reinforce that with physical recovery – stretching, massage, cryo-units, plunge pools and compression garments.
We have also been affected by the fact that the New Year programme has been shifted late on, with the Tottenham game only very recently moved to the Thursday. That has meant we have had to rearrange a lot of our planning, some of which was booked up at the start of the season. Having a full week to recover from the Bournemouth game before facing West Brom is helpful from a physical point of view, of course. However, around Christmas players are usually in the mindset and rhythm of playing a match every three to four days and, with the rearrangements this week, that balance has been removed. I don't think it is particularly fair – physically it is it not a level playing field for all clubs, as some are playing every few days, some have a longer break between matches and some have a week off before playing twice in three days. But that is how it is and we have to deal with it.
All we can do is be as flexible as possible with our planning and prepare for every possible eventuality. Everything we do will be geared towards ensuring that the players are in the best physical condition when playing a number of matches during a short space of time.
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Masuaku aims to keep West Ham supporters in good voice
WHUFC.com
"Oh-eh-oh, Arthur Masuaku. Oh-eh-oh, he's better than Lukaku! Oh-eh-oh, Arthur Masuaku. Oh-eh-oh, he never gives the ball away!" If you attended a West Ham United match in December, you will have heard the Claret and Blue Army's new favourite chant again and again – and chances are it will be stuck in your head well into the New Year! At the Emirates Stadium, the 7,000 Hammers' fans made up for the disappointment of losing a Carabao Cup quarter-final by singing the song – to the tune of Earth, Wind & Fire's 1971 hit September – virtually non-stop from 30 minutes before kick-off until the final whistle was blown.
Masuaku himself appreciates the supporters singing in tribute to him and is aiming to repay their choral backing in 2018. "I can hear it all the time!" said the left wing-back. "At the beginning of the game against Bournemouth, they were singing it, and then again during the game, so I appreciate that. I understand the song and I love the words and hope they can be true! "I can feel the crowd when I get the ball. As soon as I have the ball, they expect something from me. It's a good feeling. "It's important for me to have this relationship with the fans because it means they like me and want something from me. Not many players are lucky enough to have this, so I'd like to thank them."
Masuaku's attraction comes from the freedom with which he plays, collecting the ball in tight areas, anywhere on the pitch, before dribbling and driving forward at speed and delivering dangerous crosses into the opposition penalty area. The 24-year-old's style is a throwback to the days when football was less functional, less focused on results and more on wide players expressing themselves whenever they got the opportunity. It all stems from his formative years in the northern French city of Lille, where his first instinct during playground matches was to collect the ball and run at the opposition. Fifteen years on, that same approach is now terrorising Premier League defences. "I play with joy because football is just a game. When I was younger, I played without any pressure. I was just happy to touch the ball and dribble and all this stuff. Nothing has changed for me. For me, I take football just like a game and try to have fun and that's it. "When I was at school I was lucky that I was always the first pick! There was one other guy in my class who was also strong, so they didn't want me to be on the same team as him. We had to be the captains and choose the rest of the guys! "I was a forward when I was younger and I just used to love having the ball at my feet. I used to say 'The ball is my baby' and as soon as I touched the ball I felt good."
David Moyes, who has described Masuaku as 'a little bit special', has deployed the No26 in a more advanced role, with Aaron Cresswell playing behind him as a left centre-half. The combination has, in the most part, worked well. "It's a different position and I feel good in it. I can go forward and Cress is behind me, covering me, so I don't have to think so much about the space behind, which is good. "When I get the ball, I go forward because we need to score. I don't play to go back. This is how I play and my mentality on the pitch. "I use my pace and power to go forward. The manager told me just to play my football and he's given me confidence, so I'm trying to give him back on the pitch."
Masuaku has two Premier League assists to his name already this season, plus a memorable Carabao Cup goal against Bolton Wanderers in September, while he has also been involved in three goals in recent matches – his cross led to Marko Arnautovic's second at Bournemouth, he won the corner which Andre Ayew converted against Newcastle and sent Manuel Lanzini away to win a penalty at Stoke. The Frenchman wants to contribute even more, though…
"I'm feeling good. I'll always try to do my best and I'm doing quite well at the moment, but I'd rather we were winning matches, so hopefully I can stay in good form and help win some games for the team, because we need it. "I always knew what I was capable of. Last season I was injured and frustrated. Now, I am fit and playing like I was playing in Olympiacos. Maybe people are surprised, but I'm not surprised! "There is room for improvement, though. I would say I need to keep going and get more assists and goals. As I can go forward, I need to be able to be more important for the team and score more." If Arthur Masuaku meets those targets, the chances are we will be hearing plenty more choruses of a certain song, too!
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'Gloating' Police under fire
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 30th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
Dorset Police's football unit have been accused of gloating after boasting about the number of arrests they made during West Ham United's Premier League match against Bournemouth on Boxing Day. Yesterday (Friday) the 'DorPolFootball' twitter account posted a tweet in which they referred to having made several arrests before, during and after the match, which ended 3-3.
However the message appeared to backfire spectacularly after the south coast force were accused of "gloating" about having made the arrests, which led to some amusing - and a whole lot more abusive - responses. "I was at that match, I travel all around the country, and got to say the policing there was the most over the top pathetic display I have seen for some time," replied West Ham supporter Lee Hendle. "You will be pleased to know I won't rush back."
Whilst fellow Hammer Peter Caton wrote: "Is gloating now official police policy or just unwise tweeting? Hardly the way to get cooperation of fans. Don't forget who pays for your hats."
And it wasn't just West Ham supporters who were angered by Dorset Police's message; Sunderland fan JL73 added: "Gloating on twitter is definitely a good idea. Total muppets. Great example of fan engagement. Embarrassing." You may see all responses to the ill-advised tweet below.
Its been a really busy month for football fans - West Ham was a busy one - sadly a few ended up with us for a while and will be going to court in January - Happy New Year! One more to follow - he knows who he is and we look forward to meeting next week @afcbournemouth #afcb
— DorPolFootball (@DorPolFootball) December 29, 2017
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Brady criticises Snodgrass signing
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 30th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
Karren Brady has become the latest member of West Ham's Board to criticise the signing of £10million Scottish international Robert Snodgrass.
Hot on the heels of co-Chairman David Sullivan, who recently told a newspaper that his sons "begged me not to sign" Robert Snodgrass and fellow Hammer Jose Fonte last January, Brady used her weekly column in a tabloid newspaper to similarly slam the capture of the former Hull City winger.
Speaking about the forthcoming transfer window, that opens this coming Monday (New Year's Day), Brady wrote: "We've tried to have a successful January transfer window before and sometimes it's worked.
"Other times, there has been an element of 'we must do something, anything' - and we've paid for ill-fitting players. Robert Snodgrass wasn't exactly a triumph, while Hammers fans could name several foreign players who added little.
"The obvious fact is we need one or two who the manager believes will be a real plus. But no bargains that fall apart under the Prem's pressure."
Brady, 49, also used her latest column to congratulate Spurs striker Harry Kane for his goalscoring record in 2017 - "not because of Tottenham but because what is good for the No 10 is even better for England in the World Cup".
She also praised Burnley manager Sean Dyche for possessing "a trim goatee" and a "well-razored hairline" - which, according to West Ham's vice-chair, suggests "the air of a man in complete control".
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