Manager on Matchday
WHUFC.com
Good morning everyone,
We all know the importance of getting back to winning ways when we play
Crystal Palace this afternoon. We have had some good performances agains
them in recent matches and I hope we will see another good display today. We
have managed to come away with two victories at Selhurst Park and both of
those games the team played really well. Last year at home we were winning
2-1, then Cheikhou got a red card and when we were reduced to ten-men,
Dwight Gayle got a late equaliser and it finished 2-2. We managed to win the
appeal against the decision after the game. We will be hoping that Manuel
Lanzini can continue his impressive record against Palace having scored
three goals and hopefully he is going to score again! Due to injuries,
players away at the Africa Cup of Nations and some difficult circumstances
this week, I will have to make a few changes for the game today. We haven't
got a big squad now left, but we have enough players to put a strong team
out and have good players on the bench for the reaction. That's the crucial
thing in the Premier League, to have options on the bench to change the
game, or to raise the game. We have it here. I have good news that James
Collins and Sam Byram will be back in the squad and it is brilliant to have
both of them back in contention. I was asked in the pre-match press
conference if this is the toughest time I have had as a manager. I was asked
that question a few weeks ago as well! Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be up
there with Chelsea but I was thinking yesterday by myself that this is,
including the new situation, this is an unbelievably great challenge for me
personally. I feel so strong and I want that challenge. I want to try and
solve this puzzle now. It's not enjoyable of course but when you have such a
big challenge in front of you, it motivates you even more and it gets the
best out of you and that's how I feel now.
Once again I was asked about the possibility of new signings coming into the
squad. Some managers are saying this January transfer window should not be
there. That it is useless - in one sense they are right and I think that way
as well. But the season is so long that you need the chance to sign some
players because some get injured and it is tough. It is totally different
than the one in the summer when you start from zero. You have three months
to prepare and then you have pre-season and everything. Clubs are also more
willing to sell players during that time. They have no time to replace them
now so it is a tough one. But it's not different from last year or the one
the other clubs are also having when you read their situations regarding the
transfer window.
Enjoy the game this afternoon.
Slaven
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Tina and Bobby
WHUFC.com
Nearly 24 years on from his untimely death at the age of just 51, West Ham
United and England icon Bobby Moore continues to inspire a nation.
The legendary FIFA World Cup-winning captain, who led West Ham to FA Cup and
European Cup Winners' Cup glory before making it a unique Wembley treble as
part of the famous Upton Park trilogy with Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters in
1966, remains an enduring symbol of greatness.
Last summer, to mark the 50th anniversary of his finest hour, he became the
first footballer to be honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at his
childhood home in Barking, while the Club will pay further tribute with a
Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Player Awards in May.
On Friday evening, a new three-part ITV drama series, Tina and Bobby, will
air focusing on the early family life of Bobby and his young wife Tina –
football's original 'golden' couple.
Tina remains a proud Hammers supporter and we are proud to welcome her to
matches when she is over from her home in Miami.
Hammers fans of all ages will no doubt be eager to tune in and see the story
of how Bobby became a national hero and icon whose legacy endures to this
day.
The programme will also feature the early lives of daughter Roberta – now
Patron of the Moore Family Foundation, the Club's charity set up together
with her and the Moore family to honour her late father's legacy – and son
Dean, who tragically lost his life in 2011.
Roberta and her family, including husband Matt, daughter Ava and son Freddie
as well as Dean's daughter Poppy, remain Season Ticket Holders at London
Stadium, ensuring that the Moore name remains intrinsically linked with the
Club which he served with such distinction.
Bobby's achievements are immortalised throughout our new home, with the
North Stand at London Stadium named in his honour and Club London proudly
hosting the exquisite BM6 Lounge and celebrating his memorable achievements.
A Legends Stone is laid in Champions Place commemorating his West Ham United
and England career, while his retired No6 shirt hangs with pride inside the
Stadium for all to see.
Later this year, Bobby will be honoured with our Lifetime Achievement Award
at The West Ham United Player Awards 2017, in aid of The Academy – the most
fitting finale at the end of our historic first season at London Stadium.
Tina and Bobby is based on Tina Moore's memoir, Bobby Moore: By The Person
Who Knew Him Best.
ITV describe the drama as 'the story of the legend's life with his childhood
sweetheart, Tina Dean, from their humble beginnings to the dizzy heights of
superstardom.
Cast as the 60s golden couple are Michelle Keegan, formerly of Coronation
Street, and Lorne MacFadyen, who revealed that Moore's humility and
greatness in equal measure provided obvious inspiration for taking on the
role.
"What Bobby did, not only for his country but for where he came from, too,"
says MacFayden. "Bobby was incredibly humble and I think that is why the
public responded to him so well.
"People would often refer to him as Sir Bobby Moore, and that's because he
was a man of the people. He was, and still is, loved by millions."
Tina and Bobby, episode one, is on ITV on Friday evening at 9pm
For more information on Bobby's Lifetime Achievement honour at the 2016-17
West Ham United Player Awards, click here
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HOW DO WE REPLACE PAYET?
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 13 JANUARY 2017 AT 10:08PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Greg Richardson @rakis14
Ok, so this might be about soon, after all, Slavens heartbroken press
conference announcing that Dimitri Payet no longer wishes to be at the club
is still being shown and discussed by football 'experts' up and down the
country-but despite Slav (and then Jack Sullivan on twitter) stating that we
do not wish to sell him, the truth is that Payet is most likely going to
leave this window. Payets actions and attitude mean that even if he had a
change of heart, the fans no longer want him and what would rather his
perceived selfish and arrogant attitude be nowhere near the club.
And with the romance dead, it's time to consider what other fish are in the
sea.
The likely one: Robert Snodgrass
We have apparently had bids of 3 and 5 million rejected by Hull for their
star man. And whilst he may be an underwhelming option for many fans, there
are a number of reasons his addition has merits. He knows the league, is a
cheap option (in today's market) and is having a good season. He has 7
goals, 2 assists and has a higher percentage of completed passes and take
ons than Payet. (85% and 60% respectively). He has also created 40 chances
for teammates, and given Hull are probably the only side with more
non-existent strikers than us, it's safe to say with a decent finisher more
of these would have become assists. He is roughly the same age as Payet so
isn't one to build the team around but he is a better option than he first
seems.
The People's Choice: Gylfi Sigurdsson
The Swansea playmaker appears at first glance (on twitter at least) to be
the player most fans would like to see feel the Payet shaped hole in our
team. And it's easy to see why. He has more goals to his name this season
(5) and equal number of assists (6) as Dimi and poses a similar threat from
a dead ball position. He has also been consistent in the league for a number
of years now so is a reliable option. He is less likely to get us out of our
seats with a mazy run (he's completed just 42% of his take-ons) and his
passing accuracy is below that of Payet and Snodgrass at 76%. However he has
still created 38 chances for teammates in a poor Swansea side and you'd hope
with better players around him he could get more space. The only question
mark would be his previous stint in London with the Spuds but he was
competing with Bale for a place in the side for a lot of that time. There is
also the added bonus that signing him (or Snodgrass for that matter) would
also weaken a side that we might still be in a relegation battle with come
May!
My Choice: Ross Barkley
I am not suggesting for one minute this would be an easy deal to pull off.
However if we got around 35 Million for Payet I would like to see us put
that straight back into his replacement. We have seen with Spurs and
Liverpool (following the sales of Bale and Suarez) that using the money
received to try and strengthen the whole squad is a bit of a hit and miss
approach. We are already in the market for Hogan, Batshuayi and a right back
so we have funds regardless of if Dimi goes or not. So the Payet money can
go on replacing him. And for me Barkley would be the perfect choice. He's
young, talented and in my opinion in need of a new start. Koeman doesn't
seem to fully trust him to be his creator in chief and could be persuaded to
part company with the former 'next Gazza'. Whilst his "key figures" such as
goals (3) and assists (2) are below the levels of Payet and Sigurdsson, his
passing accuracy and successful take-ons surpass both of them (83% and 63%
respectively) and his chances created (43) is not a figure to be sniffed at.
Plus he has that "X Factor", the ability to get fans out their seats that we
will miss once Payet departs. He has his best years ahead of him and with
Bilic putting his faith in him to make things happen for us I think he'd
flourish in Claret and Blue.
The Risky Option: Marcus Browne.
The u21's catalyst could be given an opportunity to fill Payets boots. Full
of energy, tricks,pace and above all a burning desire to play for us, Browne
could be the answer we are looking for. He has formed a good understanding
with Toni Martinez (who looks like he could finally get a first team bow
soon) and looked impressive in his cameo in our I'll fated Europa cup run.
He has scored 4 goals in the Premier League 2 and whilst he hasn't yet
registered an assist in his no.10 role, he has played well against Football
League opposition in the Checkatrade Trophy. It would be a real gamble to
put faith in one so young and untested, but we do love one of our own and
what better way to heal of hearts than to see an academy graduate pick up
the playmaker mantle.
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WEST HAM V CRYSTAL PALACE – MATCH PREVIEW
BY BRIAN KNOX ON 14 JANUARY 2017 AT 12:28AM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @Deportivo Hammer
Well, what a week it has been for West Ham United, firstly a 0-5 drubbing
from Manchester City in the cup, then Slaven Bilic telling us what we
already knew. One time hero Dimitri Payet doesn´t want to play for West Ham
United anymore. He would like to go back to France. Since this story broke
there have been lots of different stories about his reasons. (Money mostly)
But for me there is a way of doing things, and for me refusing to play for
West Ham is the absolute worst way he could have gone about it. I don´t
want to go on about the subject anymore as it´s been widely reported
elsewhere but I support the stance taken by the Manager and the Board.
We welcome the return of ex manager Sam Allardyce, who was in charge for 4
years at Upton Park. Getting us promoted at the first time of asking and
then managing to keep us in the Premier League. I was not upset at the
departure of Big Sam, but I would like to thank him for what he did for the
club at the time. He went on to manage Sunderland, then England but now
finds himself at Crystal Palace still looking for his first win in charge.
Wouldn´t it be typical if he got it against us. Palace have 4 defeats and 2
draws in the last 6 games and are on 16 points and just one away from the
drop zone. I would also like to welcome back academy graduate James Tomkins
back.
After a good start to the festive season, West Ham seem to have switched off
and lost some of the momentum we had going. (off the field problems might
explain this.) We are not exactly soaring, 13th in the table and 7 points
clear of the relegation battle. We must improve to make sure that the
threat of relegation does not become an issue for the team. I believe that
now everything is out on the table we can put it behind us and come together
as a team and remind the rest of the league that there was a West Ham United
before Payet and there certainly will be a West Ham United when he is gone.
In team news West Ham have a bit of a problem with top scorer Antonio trying
to shake off a flu virus. Andre Ayew and Kouyate are in Gabon, while Sakho,
Tore, Masuaku and Arbeloa still remain injured. The good news is we welcome
back Sam Byram to the squad along with James Collins. Payet will be sitting
at home counting his money.
Crystal Palace are also missing some players due to the ACON, Wilfred Zaha
and Bakary Sako miss out. Along with Connor Wickham, Steve Mandanda,
Jonathan Benteke and Pape Souare remain sidelined with injuries. But they
do welcome back to fitness Christian Benteke and Wayne Hennessey who are
very important players for them. Palace have also been busy in the transfer
market already, bringing in Jeffery Schlupp who is available for selection.
The previous game between the two teams West Ham managed to win 0-1 with
Manuel Lanzini getting the goal. The game will be remembered for Aaron
Cresswell managing to get his marching orders undeservedly, after getting 2
yellow cards in the space of 90 seconds.
Predicted Line Ups :
West Ham United : Randolph, Byram, Cresswell, Reid, Collins, Noble,
Fernandes, Obiang, Lanzini, Feghouli, Carroll.
Crystal Palace, : Hennessey, Tomkins, Dann, Ward, Kelly, Ledley, Cabaye,
Puncheon, Townsend, Remy, Benteke
Obviously if Antonio passes his fitness test tomorrow I expect him to come
into the team. I strangely have a very good feeling about the game and
think we will go on and beat a poor Palace team. Keeping Big Sam looking
for his first win. I really hope that the last 48 hours can be forgotten
during the 90 mins and we can really unite behind Slaven Bilic. This starts
with the crowd and i expect a cracking atmosphere and show of support behind
the 11 players who hopefully, are proud to wear the Claret and Blue. 2-1
home win with Mark Noble and Andy Carroll getting the goals.
Deportivo Hammer
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West Ham's Manuel Lanzini can replace Dimitri Payet, says Slaven Bilic
Last Updated: 14/01/17 7:47am
SSN
Slaven Bilic has urged Manuel Lanzini to fill the void left by Dimitri
Payet's refusal to play for West Ham. France star Payet this week rocked the
Hammers by telling them he wants to leave and he will not feature against
Crystal Palace. But Argentinian midfielder Lanzini has a handy knack of
finding the net against the Eagles and boss Bilic feels he can step out of
Payet's shadow at the London Stadium on Saturday. "Since I've been here, we
played Palace twice at Selhurst Park," said Bilic. "Last year, we won 3-1
and this year 1-0. Both of those were really good performances from us.
"Lanzini has scored three goals against them. He scored in the first game
last season, he scored in the 2-2 draw at Upton Park and he scored the
winner in the 1-0 game this season. "Hopefully he is going to score again."
Bilic is hoping Payet's actions will unite the rest of his squad. The
Hammers boss has fought the 29-year-old's corner all season, despite his dip
in form following last term's heroics and his sparkling displays at Euro
2016. So the sense of betrayal Bilic feels at Payet's decision was palpable
when the Croatian broke the news to the media on Thursday morning. Payet
will be left in no doubt about the fans' opinion when the match kicks off -
the terrace chant 'We've got Payet' is expected to begin with a different,
less favourable two words. But Bilic knows his players need to forget about
their absent team-mate and concentrate on the task in hand, picking up three
points to avoid being sucked back towards the relegation zone. "It's going
to be a demanding game in every sense," he said. "Also it will be a nervous
game from both teams, because of what's at stake. "It's a great opportunity
for us to get back on the path in the league that we have shown in the last
five or six games. "We haven't got a big squad now left, we just have the
players for this game. But we have enough players to put a strong team out
and have good players on the bench. "It is the team that I am managing. Many
times clubs have lost quality players but gained a team."
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Karren Brady shares her strong opinion on Dimitri Payet situation
HITC
Subhankar Mondal
West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady has suggested in her football
diary in The Sun that Dimitri Payet could be on his way out of the club in
the January transfer window. Payet joined West Ham from Marseille in the
summer of 2015 and has a contract with the London outfit until June 2021,
according to Transfermarkt.co.uk. The future of the France international
attacking midfielder is wrapped up in uncertainty, though, with manager
Slaven Bilic recently telling The Sun that he wants to leave. Bilic added
that the 29-year-old does not want to play for the Hammers anymore. West Ham
vice-chairman Brady has given her opinion on the current situation of Payet.
"Slaven Bilic reports angrily today that the French star is refusing to
play," Brady wrote in her football diary in The Sun. "And with this attitude
I suppose that probably sooner rather than later he will be on his way. "We
have already made him our highest-paid player but there has been plenty of
evidence recently of his lost motivation. "We will carry on trying to keep
him, of course, but his attitude will affect the whole team unless it
changes radically.
"Personally I would not sell him for any price. After all if every player
did not respect the validity of their contract, the result would be chaos."
Payet scored nine goals and created 116 chances in 30 Premier League
appearances for West Ham during the 2015-16 campaign. So far this campaign,
the Frenchman has scored two goals and created 72 chances in 18 league
matches for the Hammers. West Ham are 13th in the Premier League table at
the moment with 22 points from 20 matches.
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Pundit comes up with Dimitri Payet conspiracy theory
A SKY SPORTS pundit has come up with a conspiracy theory over Dimitri
Payet's behaviour.
Daily Star
Danny Higginbotham reckons the disgraced West Ham star, 29, may have gone on
strike in August had he not been due to a loyalty bonus. It's claimed Payet
banked a £1m sum in September - after the transfer window shut. And he left
it until this week - now the transfer window is back open - to tell Slaven
Bilic he wants out. Higginbotham told Sky Sports: "That £1m loyalty bonus in
September some time, put it this way, if there wasn't a loyalty bonus due in
September, would he have refused to play in August? "That way he would have
got his move in August. "You never know but it could well be the case."
Payet is now set to leave the Hammers with Marseille leading the race to
sign him. They've already had one bid rejected and are set to come back with
an improved offer.
Higginbotham said: "He never seems to settle. He played for St-Etienne for a
certain amount of time (four years) but the rest of the time he moves on. "I
look at a player like Payet and no disrespect to Payet, you look at his
ability and he should be playing for one of the top European clubs. "If he's
not, you have to ask the question: 'Why isn't he?' "Is it a mentality thing?
Is it an attitude thing? I think the way it's been handled so far, you have
to question his attitude. "There's nothing wrong with a player wanting to
move on to enhance his career. "He should have pulled Slaven Bilic and said:
'This is the situation, I want to move to the football club. I'm not going
to refuse to play, I'll do all I can while I'm at this football club but I
want to move.' "It's disappointing because West Ham have given him a lot and
it doesn't look nice on the player."
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Sky Sports pundit tears into Dimitri Payet in 'ridiculous' rant
DIMITRI PAYET'S behaviour at West Ham has "dumbfounded" Sky Sports pundit
Phil Babb.
Daily Star
By Jack Wilson / Published 14th January 2017
And the former Liverpool star has blasted him as "ridiculous" for taking a
£1m loyalty payment in September - just months before going on strike.
Payet, 29, has refused to play for the club and has been told to stay away
from the first team until his attitude changes. He won't be in the squad for
the Hammers' clash with Crystal Palace this afternoon. Babb told Sky
Sports: "You sell him - if the price is right. "The player has made up his
mind. He's let down the manager, the supporters, the club in spectacular
fashion. "I'm hearing he has taken an alleged £1m in loyalty payment -
that's absolutely dumb-founded me. "To look yourself in the mirror, take
that money and never play for the club again - it's ridiculous. "Footballers
are fickle people. You see other players who have made a stance. "Carlos
Tevez did it many moons back and eventually backed down when he was at City.
"Is there a way back for Payet? Yes, if he eats humble pie. "But if there's
no movement in January, what's he going to do? "Is he just going to train on
his own until the summer when the transfer window opens again? I can't see
it. "He has to play football. He has to have a fantastic PR man working on
his behalf to make up the water under the bridge with that club."
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Slaven Bilic urges West Ham's Manuel Lanzini to step up and fill in for
Dimitri Payet as chief playmaker
Creative midfielder Dimitri Payet is refusing to play for West Ham United
Payet told his boss Slaven Bilic this week that he doesn't want to play for
him
Bilic is expecting Manuel Lanzini to make the step up and fill his boots
By ANDY SIMS, PRESS ASSOCIATION SPORT
PUBLISHED: 00:13, 14 January 2017 | UPDATED: 00:13, 14 January 2017
Slaven Bilic has urged Manuel Lanzini to fill the void left by Dimitri
Payet's imminent West Ham walkout. France star Payet this week rocked the
Hammers by telling them he wants to leave and is refusing to play against
Crystal Palace. But Argentinian midfielder Lanzini has a handy knack of
finding the net against the Eagles and can step out of Payet's shadow at the
London Stadium on Saturday. Since I've been here we played Palace twice at
Selhurst Park,' said Bilic. 'Last year we won 3-1 and this year 1-0. Both of
those were really good performances from us. 'Lanzini has scored three goals
against them. He scored in the first game last season, he scored in the 2-2
draw at Upton Park and he scored the winner in the 1-0 game this season.
'Hopefully he is going to score again.' Bilic is hoping Payet's actions will
unite the rest of his squad. The Hammers boss has fought the 29-year-old's
corner all season, despite his dip in form following last term's heroics and
his sparkling displays at Euro 2016. So the sense of betrayal Bilic feels at
Payet's decision was palpable when the Croatian broke the news to the media
on Thursday morning. Payet will be left in no doubt about the fans' opinion
when the match kicks off - the terrace chant 'We've got Payet' is expected
to begin with a different, less favourable two words. But Bilic knows his
players need to forget about their absent team-mate and concentrate on the
task in hand, picking up three points to avoid being sucked back towards the
relegation zone. 'It's going to be a demanding game in every sense,' he
said. 'Also it will be a nervous game from both teams, because of what's at
stake. 'It's a great opportunity for us to get back on the path in the
league that we have shown in the last five or six games. 'We haven't got a
big squad now left, we just have the players for this game. But we have
enough players to put a strong team out and have good players on the bench.
'It is the team that I am managing. Many times clubs have lost quality
players but gained a team.'
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, January 14
Daily WHUFC News - 14th January 2017
Preview - Crystal Palace
WHUFC.com
When and where?
West Ham United v Crystal Palace
Premier League
Saturday 14 January 2017, 3pm GMT
London Stadium
What's the story?
West Ham United welcome Crystal Palace to London Stadium for a London derby on Saturday as Slaven Bilic's men look to bounce back from their FA Cup exit last weekend.
The Hammers are aiming for their first win of 2017 after kicking-off the New Year with defeats to the two Manchester clubs – and could register their first Premier League double of the campaign.
Manuel Lanzini's finish from an Aaron Cresswell cross gave the Hammers a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace earlier this season, a three-point haul which was the east Londoners' first on their travels this term.
Palace have struggled in the league since, winning just one of their last 14 games to sit just above the relegation zone with 16 points from 20 games.
Their poor form was enough to cost Alan Pardew his job, with another former Hammers boss, Sam Allardyce, taking the reins just before Christmas.
Big Sam has taken one point from his first three games, following a 1-1 draw with Watford with defeats to Arsenal and Swansea.
West Ham won three league games in a row around Christmas, but have lost their last two – 1-0 at Leicester, and 2-0 against Manchester United.
Team news
Michail Antonio missed training on Thursday due to an illness and the Hammers will check on his availability for Saturday's game.
Arthur Masuaku and Alvaro Arbeloa remain sidelined, but James Collins and Sam Byram have resumed training following their injuries.
Cheikhou Kouayte and Andre Ayew are at the Africa Cup of Nations and Dimitri Payet is unavailable.
For the Eagles, Christian Benteke has overcome a shoulder injury, and goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey should also be fit.
Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Any links between the two?
Sam Allardyce returns to face the Hammers in the opposition dugout for the second time – but the first in charge of Crystal Palace and the first at London Stadium.
Big Sam spent four years in charge at West Ham, winning promotion from the Championship and consolidating the Hammers' Premier League position.
He now has one of his defensive stalwarts from his time at West Ham at his disposal in South London – James Tomkins.
The former England U21 international and 2012 Team GB Olympian played 206 league games for the Hammers after coming through the Academy, and signed for the Eagles last summer.
How do I get to the game?
Click here for your detailed guide to matchday at London Stadium.
Please note that gas works are still ongoing on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, affecting some walking routes to the Stadium. Click here for more information.
Click here for the latest news on the Tubes, roads, TfL Rail and London Overground services, and here for news on National Rail.
How do I watch the game?
The match is not being broadcast live in the UK. However, you can follow the action as it happens in our Match Centre, with live audio commentary, Social Media updates, in-running stats, pictures and more. Get involved in the conversation using #WHUCRY
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From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
I am saddened by the recent revelations that Dimitri Payet wants to leave West Ham United. We have met all of his requirements since he joined and we committed long-term to him when we gave him a new five-year contract back in February 2016, so this is hugely disappointing. We have made it clear that he is not for sale and we want to see some loyalty from him, after Slaven, the players and all the fans have given him so much support. We gave Dimitri the opportunity to play in the best league in the world when he wasn't in the France team and the a platform that has helped him become one of the best players in Europe. Slaven gave him the confidence to excel in the Premier League and he got back into the France team due to his impressive form at West Ham United. He signed a long-term contract last year and we want him to honour that. I know this news will come as a big shock to our fans, but knowing them like I do, I am sure they will do everything to get behind the team on Saturday and help us get back to winning ways. We know we have still got work to do but I am confident that Slaven and the players will dig deep to get a positive result on Saturday. We had a great result against Crystal Palace back in October and it was a great team performance.
It is never easy to play at Selhurst Park but the players showed all their quality to come away with the three points and I hope we will have a similar result this weekend. We have some familiar faces coming back to the Club in James Tomkins and Sam Allardyce. We have always said that Sam did a great job during his time at West Ham and he helped us get back into the Premier League. We will always remember that memorable win at Wembley in the Play-Off final and I will always have fond memories of seeing Ricardo Vaz Te scoring that memorable winner. I know the fans will also show their respect to James Tomkins who was a great servant for West Ham United and played over 200 games for the Club. This is a big London derby and there is so much at stake. We know the importance of coming away with all three points and I hope it will be an enjoyable weekend for everyone connected with the Club.
Enjoy the game.
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Angelo's World
WHUFC.com
Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna returns in the latest edition of his new blog, which delves into the Italian's life with the Club.
This week, the former Juventus centre-back discusses the big London derby against Crystal Palace and the importance of getting back on the winning trail.
The 28-year-old also reveals why he is looking forward to seeing a familiar face back at West Ham United this weekend…
Hello everyone,
We need to get back to winning ways on Saturday against Crystal Palace.
I think the players were hurt by what happened against Manchester City in the last game.
But that is in the past now and we have to look forward and continue to improve our goals.
We have trained really well and even before the Manchester City defeat we were looking really good in training.
But we have to relay that work onto the field and keep fighting until we get a positive result.
One of the big positives for me has been my partnership with Reidy.
He is a very clever player who always reads the situation and is such a huge player for the team.
He makes it easy for you sometimes and I am very happy to be playing alongside him.
This is my second season with him and we are still working on making things better and we talk all the time about our performance.
I am looking forward to see my former team-mate James Tomkins again on Saturday and he is a very good player. It will be good to see him again.
We have a good relationship, but we have to think about our own situation and on the pitch we will not be friendly!
Tonks was popular in the dressing room but he wanted to play regular first-team football and show his qualities.
I came to West Ham after Sam Allardyce had left the Club and Slaven Bilic had taken charge.
I know he was very important for the club and for some of my team-mates will have more of a connection and it will be good for them to see him again.
Of course we have not been happy about the recent results because we want to improve but it is down to us to make the situation better.
We need the fans behind us on Saturday and they can make a big difference to the team.
We always feel that as players because the fans can act as a 12th man and with 60,000 fans behind us it can be very special.
I hope we can come away with another big result this weekend and there will be more exciting times ahead in the coming months.
Enjoy the game.
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Marcus Browne signs new deal
WHUFC.com
The club are delighted to announce that Marcus Browne has signed a new contract
The deal keeps him at the club until 2020
Browne said signing the new deal was "a very good feeling"
Forward Marcus Browne has pledged his future to West Ham United, signing a new contract to keep him at the club until 2020.
Browne has been rewarded with a new 3-and-a-half year deal after blossoming for the PL2 side this season.
The 19-year-old has appeared in all but one U23 fixture this year, and been one of the bright sparks in Terry Westley's side.
After signing on the dotted line, Browne said: "It's a very good feeling. I've been at the club since I was 8 years old so I've come a long way.
"Knowing that (a new contract is) the reward for working hard, doing the right things and being professional is a good feeling."
Browne joined the club at the age of eight and quickly became known as one of the brightest young prospects in the English game.
He made his breakthrough into the U18 side during the 2014/15 season, putting in a number of man of the match displays and proving a real threat from dead ball situations.
Next season came a consistent run in the U21 side, which was then followed by his first appearance on the first team substitutes bench in a 2-2 draw away at Norwich City in February 2016.
Browne played a key role for the U21s during the 2015/16 season, helping the young Hammers win the Premier League Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Hull City in May.
The U23s' playmaker has carried on in the same vain this year scoring five times and proving a real driving force in the midfield, behind top scorer Toni Martinez. Both were nominated for Premier League 2 Player of the Month in December.
Browne's form this season has not only seen him rewarded with a new contract, but also a place on Slaven Bilic's first team substitutes bench yet again.
"It's massive club," declared Browne. "The new stadium is amazing and the supporters are brilliant. I get a lot of support from the fans on Twitter and at U23 matches.
"I play in the No10 role which is an attacking midfield position. I'm quick, strong and I like to get on the ball and run at defenders.
"When I've worked with the gaffer (Slaven Bilic), he has always had a positive impact on me. He speaks to me a lot and encourages me to do the right things and also tells me how to improve. It's good to have a manager that will talk to you and show his time for you.
"Before Terry (Westley) and Liam (Manning) came in, I didn't really have a relationship with a coach. I'm always communicating with them, they let me know where I need to improve and it's great working with them.
"I think I've had a good season, probably one of my best seasons. I think I've propelled in the right direction and at the right time. Now obviously I'm in and around the first team because of what I've been doing with the U23s.
"For the rest of the season my targets would probably be to play in the Premier League. Whether I go on loan or not and whether it happens before I go on loan, I don't know but I'd love to make my debut in the Premier League."
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Bilic welcomes back Big Sam
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic is looking forward to welcoming former manager Sam Allardyce to London Stadium for the first time and hopes to celebrate another victory over Crystal Palace which could see his team move into the top half of the table. Allardyce enjoyed four-years with the east London Club where he took the Hammers back into the Premier League and consolidated their position in the Premier League.
The 62-year-old recently took charge of Crystal Palace and will be looking forward to making his first visit as the opposing manager at London Stadium. Bilic has nothing but praise for the job that Allardyce did at West Ham and after recording a 1-0 victory over him when he returned as Sunderland manager last season, he will settle for another similar scoreline this time around. Bilic said: "I like Sam Allardyce, I like his attitude, he is always smiling. "He has been so long in the business that it seems as if every ground is his previous club! "It won't be his first time against West Ham. He managed against us last year and we beat them and I remember he had a good reception. "In today's football world he was a long-term manager here at West Ham. He stabilised the club and I said the same last year, he deserves praise. "Now it is more business as usual. It is not a big thing for him or the fans now."
Bilic has good news on the injury front with James Collins and Sam Byram both ready to make a return to the squad. Collins has been ruled out since the start of December with a hamstring injury, while Byram has been sidelined since the start of October with the same problem. But both players have resumed training with the first-team squad and are in contention for the big London derby at London Stadium. Bilic added: "Ginge got injured in the first minute against Arsenal which was a few weeks ago. He trained and is fit for training. He lacks match fitness but it's great to have him back of course. "Sam Byram had a big operation on his hamstring and it's brilliant to have both of them playing."
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Five Talking Points - Crystal Palace
WHUFC.com
The major topics for discussion ahead of Saturday's Premier League visit of the Eagles to London Stadium...
No Dimi
West Ham United will be without Dimitri Payet on Saturday after manager Slaven Bilic revealed that the midfielder has asked to leave the Club. While it is hoped the Frenchman will change his mind and recommit his future to the Hammers, for the time being he will not be available for selection. So, the question arises, who will be West Ham's attacking catalyst against Crystal Palace? The most likely candidate is Manuel Lanzini, the Argentinean No10 who has the ability to beat his man, create opportunities for others and score goals himself. With three in three appearances in Claret and Blue against the Eagles, Lanzini has previous form against this opposition, and he will need to maintain it if West Ham are to score a morale-boosting victory.
Allardyce
Big Sam is back... again! A little less than a year ago, Sam Allardyce made his first return to east London after recently being appointed manager of a struggling Premier League club. On that occasion, in February 2016, Big Sam's Sunderland were beaten 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground, but ultimately managed to stave off relegation. This time around, Allardyce brings his Crystal Palace team to London Stadium, with the Eagles having won one of their last 12 Premier League matches. A similar result will plunge Palace into further trouble and, potentially, the bottom three, so you can be sure Big Sam will be doing everything in his power to ensure his latest return is a successful one.
West Ham UNITED
Two home defeats with no goals scored were not the perfect way to kick-off 2017 at London Stadium. However, as the Joint-Chairman, manager and players have stated repeatedly this week, West Ham United will take inspiration from vocal support when they face Crystal Palace on Saturday. The London Stadium roar can be deafening and the Claret and Blue Army can spur the Hammers on to greater heights when in full voice. A truly united front will certainly give West Ham a better chance to celebrate a belated happy New Year!
Cheikhou Kouyate
African absences
Both West Ham United and Crystal Palace will have squads depleted by the absence of players on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Hammers will be without Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate and Ghana forward Andre Ayew, while the Eagles will have to make do without Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha. The team which copes best with its African absences could go a long way to deciding who leaves London Stadium victorious.
Tonks
Sam Allardyce will not be the only former Hammer returning to east London on Saturday afternoon. James Tomkins spent two decades with West Ham United, from schoolboy to first-team player, making 243 appearances and scoring eleven goals, winning promotion at Wembley in 2012. A favourite among the Claret and Blue Army, the Essex-born defender gave 100 per cent whenever he appeared, either as a centre-half or as an emergency right-back. Having left for no other reason than to seek regular first-team football, the 27-year-old will deserve the warm reception he gets from his one-time admirers.
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EXWHUEMPLOYEE EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: THE PAYET STORY
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 13 JANUARY 2017 AT 5:00PM
Payet crying
So the Payet situation is all out of the bag and it means I can speak openly about it now, something I have chosen to not do for the last two months since I knew trouble was brewing. Despite what people think of me, I do hold back on releasing info that I believe will have a negative impact on the team. The decision to tell everyone on our radio show that I knew Payet would be leaving was as a result of knowing that he wouldn't play against Palace and that Bilic was going to explain why.
Now since the summer our French wizard has been causing problems at the club. He expressed in the summer that he wished to leave the club in January. We made him a number of payments to keep him here including increased wages and loyalty (ironically) payments. Payet has had two pay increases in his time here and allegedly even had the cheek to demand one after the Brexit results saying that the weakness of the Pound against the Euro now he was losing wages. It was almost felt that he was joking at first but it took Cheik Kouyate pulling him aside in the changing room and telling him it affected most of the squad that he finally rejected these ludicrous demands but it had already caused tension between him and a number of players.
Despite being given an extended break from preseason because of his performances in the Euros he regularly missed training after this and many were absent without leave. This once more caused resentment in the team because it was appearing that he could get away without training when others were forced to come in. Just before the Swansea game he had missed a couple of training sessions and reported back the day before the game and declared he would play. Had Payet not performed as well as he did in that match I think more may have been said. Payet has continually sulked in training and not shown a great interest in anything that they have done and this has continued to wind up both the management and his teammates but to an extent, although not to last years' levels, he was still performing on the pitch so it was papering over it.
His wife and children have apparently never settled in Loughton and according to a number of people they have not been seen around the Loughton area for over a month now and have indeed moved back to France. There has been rumours and I can only say they are rumours that Mr Payet and his wife's relationship may have broken down perhaps due to another example of a lack of loyalty. Now of course I cannot confirm this and I cannot say for certain that it is true but it would make sense. As soon as Marseille came looking for him he made it very clear that he wants to go and we told him that he wouldn't be allowed so he has since said he would not play for the club until they agree the move. The example that he is shown is one that the club do not wish to tolerate and the original plan was to keep him with us until at least the summer and fine him for breaches of the contract. I personally would not do this and would just get rid of him as soon as possible and give us some money to buy new players but I totally respect the club's stance.
The club and Bilic (which was shown during his Euro celebrations of Payet's goals) have shown him continued loyalty and respect and he has failed to do the same to us. One of the factors behind signing Ayew was that he was a friend of Payet's and we thought they would link well together! I think this is a real unfortunate of today's game that the players hold this power. It could be said that Bilic has got a slight taste of his own medicine when he left us to join Everton because they had "more chance of winning things" however it is completely unfair on us fans who have sung his name in such adulation. Many fans have said to me recently that he will not even stop to sign autographs for young supporters anymore. It is also now embarrassing to have a giant shirt of his hanging up at the ground, which I think should now be replaced, as someone suggested to me, by a Dylan Tombides one.
A meeting was called this Monday where the directors and Slav sat down to discuss the situation with Payet and Bilic was told as the manager he has to deal with it. It was his decisions to announce the situation to the press. I am hoping now that we have this bad egg exposed and not taking part in training and matches it may unite the other players to perform more as a team and get better results. The problem for Slaven is that he needs to do this against Crystal Palace or the Payet situation could become some other manager's problem.
If you want to talk about the Payet situation or any transfer deals I will happily discuss these at our event tomorrow. The same will be said for Steve Lomas and Mark Ward who will take questions from the floor and be around to mingle with the fans. It really is a great event and is one of the few positives things going on around the club at the moment. https://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/78040/chk/ab5d
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Dimi who?
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 13th January 2017
By: Paul Walker
So our little French darling has got just what he wants, having pushed Slaven Bilic into a corner by stepping way beyond the line of acceptable, professional behaviour. But this is such an obviously, agent inspired piece of choreography that it would have done justice to Strictly, just how perfectly planned has been this process. When a player refuses to play for a team, the manager has no choice but to ban him from the club or he loses the respect and commitment of the rest of the side. Dimitri Payet's final stab into Bilic's heart has provoked the only result possible, and that being he will now be sold as quickly as possible because his position has been very intentionally made untenable with club and fans by his action. Dimi can never play for the club again. This has hurt Slav because he has been massaging egos, tap-dancing his way around a very difficult situation for many weeks now to try to keep Payet sweet, while knowing deep down that he is fighting a losing battle. Payet will be gone from the London Stadium (I almost put the Boleyn there) by the end of the transfer window, by making him stay around you have a serious problem. He has, by the conditions of his contract, got to be given access to training facilities. So if you do try to hang on until the summer, when his transfer value will have dropped even further, you run the risk of him being able to continue to poison morale of all around him.
Bilic cannot afford that, so he has had to admit defeat. The rest of the squad, those still training and battling hard, will have got pretty sick of the pampered treatment by now, and it would be easy to say that the Payet issue has caused enough trouble and conflict in the ranks already to have put our general performances on the pitch this season very much into perspective. Anyone who has seen Payet this season knows he has not been trying his best. One brilliant goal against Middlesbrough, one curling free-kick at Liverpool, and the rest has been patchy.
Where the statisticians get the facts about the chances he has created heaven know. Does that mean every corner and free-kick, every forward pass? You tell me. He has been a shadow of last season's form and the amount of times he has sulked away to the fringes of matches has been a disgrace. I first noticed it at Everton, when he was given a good kicking by Seamus Coleman and started to retreat and try really daft passes, showboating, out of defence. It cost a goal. Then there was the FA Cup tie at Manchester United when he actually stopped playing and started to remonstrate with Bilic from distance. He was hauled off. This was so obvious from the away section high up in the rafters at Old Trafford. Here was a player who couldn't care less. Bilic has staked his job, almost, on getting Payet to toe the line. The offer of more time off because he was tired from the Euros, then more time off training because of the same pressure. Then, seemingly, a gentleman's agreement that he would see out the season and be sold in the summer. But none of that was good enough for Payet, hence the last, final, act. To refuse to play for the club. Bilic was backed into a hole, with no alternative. And Payet, and his agents and advisors , have now got their way. There are now claims he has marriage problems, who knows.
But refusing to play is the one act that fellow professional cannot stand. But it has dramatic consequences. Payet now has to be sold and he will march away on a bigger contract somewhere else. He will be public enemy number one for only a few weeks, and he can take the heat until the next deal comes along.
What does surprise me is that so many people are surprised by all this. It goes on all the time, but rarely this public. Bilic, though, knows he could be on borrowed time if the current form continues, so he was not prepared to protect and pussyfoot around Payet any longer. He wants his team now to respond. To fight and work and win matches. Initially Bilic said he wanted the player to have a change of heart, to knuckle down and abide by whatever private agreement had been struck. I must admit, I would love to hear David Sullivan's phone conversations now with Payet's backers. The accusation of being "tapped up" is flying about. Heaven forbid.
Every club does that, either via family members, agents, old colleagues or even journalists. I know one such fella in the north who has made a career out of tapping players for clubs, and then writing about it in the media. It goes on all the time. Then there is shock, horror, claims that Payet has already discussed terms with Marseille. I would never have guessed. I recall seeing quotes a few weeks back from France with Marseille coach Rudi Garcia suggesting he had persuaded Payet to return to the club. Marseille's president is supposed to have Payet's number on speed dial. But before we get all high and mighty, think back to when Payet arrived here. One of his advisers is reputed to have told Marseille that Payet had already agreed terms with West Ham. And the only reason he signed at all is because the French club needed the money desperately as their previous owners floundered toward bankruptcy.
This all started when Marseille had failed to qualify for the Champions League and their players had wage reductions in their contracts, including Payet. He argued for a new, improved, contract which was not forthcoming. The 'will he or won't he sign for us' went on right to the brink, with Payet desperate for Marseille to give him a new deal. They wouldn't, so he came to London.
Sullivan's go-to agent, Mark Mackay, France-based, facilitated that deal, and has boasted since that he saved West Ham £10m because of the financial state Marseille were in, and how near they were to financial collapse. They just needed the money. So Marseille now have new, rich owners and want their man back. The way they were mugged off last time suggests they will have little sympathy for us now. And they think they have the whip hand because Payet says he only wants to return to their club. Hence the £20m bid, rejected this week, that prompted the player's showdown with Bilic. Marseille believe they can get away with a low bid because they are the only gig in town.
West Ham may have to swallow a bit to get a lot more, and that will only come from within the Premier League. Payet says he is homesick and has a back injury (more a pain in the neck to Bilic). So if West Ham get a big offer from say, Chelsea, £40m or so, what does the player do? Chelsea can double wages. I wonder just how homesick he will feel with that one. All that, of course, ignores the fact that he knows how to behave as a professional whatever the problems are he has at home. But we knew what we were getting into. Payet did not just come down from the Gods when we went for him. Everyone knew what he was like. Arsene Wenger put it well by saying "he lacks mentality". Brains to you and me.
Wenger knew all about him, and didn't try to sign him. Nobody else did either. Payet has had "attitude" problems with Le Havre, Nantes, St.Etienne and Marseille before we came along. This is why he was still messing about in the French League at 28, all that talent and a character the big clubs wouldn't trust. You may also recall that he had been dumped by the French manager because of his lack of effort when not in possession. There is a story of how Payet once punched a club skipper after a row over him being lazy on the pitch and in training.
Last season we got away with this because Payet wanted to perform, he wanted to be in the Euros and he had Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate to do his running for him. He was also something of a surprise package. Not so this season with Premier League sides having spent a lot of time working out how to nullify his talent. Double and treble-marked, facing a high press, and even those free kicks are not as dangerous now clubs have worked out how best to set up their walls to counter what Payet can do. He wanted a pay rise before the season started following his exploits in the Euros, which he didn't get just six months after signing a new five year contract on £125,000 a week, the highest paid player in our history.
So he started the season with the hump, and it has just got worse. Bilic has a right to feel let down, he knows the talent and knows that if he is in the mood, Payet can win games for us like he did last season. But this time around we have seen his truer colours, the behaviour that became common place in France. But he has to go, he has let his club, manager and us fans down. Such a shame. He will get a big new deal somewhere, and his galaxy of agents and advisors will all benefit, just like they did when his arrival here was engineered in the first place.
West Ham call this situation a lose-lose one for them. For Payet and the agents it's a win-win one for them. So bye bye Dimi… "who are you, who are you?"
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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Exclusive: Slaven Bilic reveals what was said between him and wantaway West Ham star Dimitri Payet
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
To be completely honest, the last thing I want to talk about in this column is the situation surrounding Dimitri Payet. I said what I needed to say in my press conference yesterday, although I do understand that many West Ham fans will be reading this today and will feel as disappointed as I do that it has come to this. They will want to know why this has happened.
Now, though, I owe it to my players, to concentrate on them, to prepare them for what is a massive game against Crystal Palace. I have many times heard the mantra that "the team is bigger than any individual". A saying such as this, although often true, means little in theory, but in this case it couldn't be more accurate. I would only add this. This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now. Two days ago, he and I had a meeting. I won't disclose what was said, but I was left in no doubt as to his intentions.
Yesterday, just before the normal pre-match press conference, I asked Dimitri one more time: "Are you standing by what you said a couple of days ago or have you thought more about it?" He replied that he was standing by his decision, so that was that. The right thing to do then was to tell the supporters and the players what was happening and I informed the squad later that morning, before we began training.
It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday's match without him. He will not train with the rest of the squad and the club's position remains consistent, which is that he is not for sale.
It would be much, much better if this had not happened and that he had remained committed to West Ham, but that is not the case, so life goes on. Many times over the years, clubs have lost quality players but gained a team. There is no point in saying we won't miss Dimitri Payet because the fans know — we know — that he is a great player. What I mean, though, is, for example, when a team has a player sent off, somehow that often gives the rest of the players more energy, they dig deeper.
I am not so much hoping as expecting this reaction from my team against Crystal Palace tomorrow. I have seen that reaction before this season and it shows me they have character. They showed it after we lost 5-1 to Arsenal and I expect them to show it again following a similar defeat by Manchester City. The most disappointing aspect of that game for me was the way we reacted after they scored their first goal from the penalty spot.
Yes, we missed a great opportunity to equalise soon after, but when that didn't happen we began to chase them all over the pitch. You can't do that, especially against a top team like Manchester City. Particularly in the Premier League, you have to continue to play the same way, whether you are one goal up or one goal down. The classic example of what happens if you don't do that was Brazil vs Germany in the 2014 World Cup. Brazil, after they conceded the first goal, lost it completely. They wanted to score two goals in one attack, they went all over the pitch and Germany just picked them off. Result? Brazil lost 7-1. When your opponents have the ball, you have to respect that. You can be further up the pitch, yes, but you must not lose your discipline. Do that and you are risking everything, especially against a team like City, because they have quality players and they will not make mistakes if they are given enough time and space.
We are not despondent, though... we are far from that. Apart from that match we had been doing well. We have to move on from that defeat, yet learn the lessons. I do not want to lose the way we are playing because of one game because even in other recent defeats, such as against Manchester United and Leicester, we have deserved to take something from those games.
Yes, tomorrow is a massive game, but many other clubs will feel their games are of similar importance. There are many teams who are in similar positions to ourselves.
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West Ham United v Crystal Palace
SAT, 14 JAN 2017PREMIER LEAGUE
15:00
Venue: London Stadium
BBC.co.uk
TEAM NEWS
West Ham will be without unsettled playmaker Dimitri Payet, who has refused to play for the club according to manager Slaven Bilic.
Michail Antonio is a doubt because of illness, but James Collins and Sam Byram return to the squad after injury.
Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke has overcome a shoulder problem, while goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is expected to be fit.
Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are away on Africa Cup of Nations Cup duty.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Alistair Mann: "After three losses in a row without scoring, the last thing Slaven Bilic needed was Dimitri Payet's refusal to play for West Ham. "A run of 10 points from four games prior to the current losing streak had demonstrated signs of improvement. Bilic will now be attempting to convince his squad that they can again recapture that form despite this latest disruption. "Bilic's predecessor, Sam Allardyce, brings his Crystal Palace side to the London Stadium for a match with genuine significance. "A home win would put nine points between the two teams; a defeat would see Big Sam's Palace move just three points behind. It could be quite an afternoon!"
Twitter: @alistairmann01
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "We have to bounce back from the Manchester City defeat and make up for it on Saturday. It is a massive game. "We want to pick up points and be safe as soon as possible. We have a chance on Saturday to make the gap bigger with teams below us."
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce on his former club: "The past is something I don't reflect on very often because the future is the most important thing but I had four very enjoyable years at West Ham. "I am looking forward to the game and seeing the new stadium so it will be interesting to have a look behind the scenes there, but most importantly it is the result I am looking for."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
This game is very hard to call. It is a London derby and it would also be a big first win for Sam Allardyce as Crystal Palace manager - but I am going for a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Sam Allardyce is still looking for his first win as Crystal Palace manager after four games.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham haven't won any of their last four home league games against the Eagles, with their last victory coming in October 2003 (D2, L2).
However, Crystal Palace have only won once in their last five league meetings with the Hammers (D1, L3).
West Ham United
West Ham have lost their last three matches in all competitions without scoring a goal - they could fail to score in four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since a run of seven in a row from September to October 2006.
They have already suffered four league defeats at home this season, one more than the whole of last season.
The Hammers have scored just nine Premier League goals at home this season (10 matches) - the fewest in the division along with Middlesbrough.
Slaven Bilic's side have earned 22 points from 20 league games this season, 10 fewer than they had at this stage last season.
Manuel Lanzini has scored in all three of his Premier League appearances against the Eagles.
Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce is looking for his first victory as Palace manager at the fifth attempt in all competitions.
Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 14 league matches (D3, L10).
They have conceded a goal in each of their last 20 away league matches since the 0-0 draw at Bournemouth on Boxing Day 2015.
The Eagles had 15 points more at this stage last season (31) than they currently have after 20 games in 2016-17.
Allardyce has lost just once in his last 10 Premier League games against former side West Ham, although that defeat was in his most recent meeting when at Sunderland in February 2016 (W5, D4, L1).
SAM's verdict
Most probable score: 1-1 Probability of draw: 24%
Probability of home win: 53% Probability of away win: 23%
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.
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Fanni hoping L'OM have financial clout
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 13th January 2017
By: Staff Writer
Marseille veteran Rod Fanni says it would be a sign of the club's ambitions were they to re-sign West Ham United's Dimitri Payet.
The 35-year-old defender, who has himself been linked with a move to West Ham in recent years revealed that he was a big fan fo the 29-year-old Euro 16 star, who is being linked with a return to the South of France.
"We talked about it in the changing room, the situation looks pretty delicate," Fanni told L'Equipe. "I'm not going to say too much one way or the other as I don't have enough information.
"I don't know if he feels respected or not as a man but I hope it will end well for him, more than it will for his club! It would be great if he were to join OM. I am a big fan. But this is a rather complicated subject.
"If he came back, it would be a strong sign of the club's ambitions. It is no small task to obtain his services as he has many clubs interested in signing him. It would be a big investment."
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Simone Zaza set to leave West Ham for Valencia - Sky sources
By Paul Vinnell
Last Updated: 13/01/17 7:17pm
SSN
Simone Zaza's unhappy spell at West Ham looks set to end with the striker agreeing to a move to Valencia, according to Sky sources. The Hammers signed Zaza on loan from Juventus last summer in a deal which was to become permanent if he played in 14 games. Zaza, who has accepted the move, played 11 times, failing to score, and West Ham are unwilling to sign him. Juventus have accepted an offer from Valencia to take him on loan for the rest of the season. There will be a €2m loan fee with an obligation to buy at £14m with a further €1.75m in add-ons, provided two conditions are met. They are that Valencia are not relegated from La Liga, and that he makes over 10 appearances for them. Zaza, 25, could travel to Valencia on Friday to undergo a medical.
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West Ham rebel Dimitri Payet said he'd FAKE an injury if they tried to make him play
The Frenchman wants to leave and has effectively gone on strike, refusing to even train
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWIS
21:20, 13 JAN 2017
Dimitri Payet has threatened to feign injury if West Ham order him to play. Transfer rebel Payet gave the warning in a showdown with Hammers officials on Tuesday. A club insider revealed: "He has said that unless he gets a move he will neither train nor play and he will invent an injury." West Ham officials were astonished by the threat, with the 29-year-old playmaker effectively on strike. Boss Slaven Bilic has revealed he went back to Payet before Thursday's press conference, asking him to retract his transfer request. Payet refused and Bilic went public. So although the Irons are publicly adamant they do not want to sell their prize asset, he will go if they receive an acceptable offer. Bilic said: "It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday's match without him. "He will not train with the rest of the squad and the club's position remains consistent, which is that he is not for sale. "It would be much better if this had not happened and he had remained committed to West Ham, but that is not the case, so life goes on."
France international was signed from Marseille for £10.75million in 2015 and he would like to return to the French club. A source close to him revealed there had been more talks between them and the club on Friday and they were hopeful to find, "An adult solution that works for everybody". Hammers' officials have tried to persuade the player to stay until the end of the season to help them climb the Premier League. The Payet source added: "The meeting went well we are hopeful he will be able to go with the club's blessing."
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Slaven Bilic expects Dimitri Payet to return to West Ham team
By Jefferson Lake
Last Updated: 13/01/17 8:36am
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Slaven Bilic expects Dimitri Payet to end his self-imposed exile and return to the West Ham team. The Hammers boss wants Payet to return to the squad and "show commitment to the team" following Thursday's confirmation that the France international is refusing to play for the club. Bilic remains adamant the player will not be sold despite his absence from both first-team training and Saturday's Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace. Sky sources understand a £19m offer from Ligue 1 club Marseille has already been turned down. Payet signed a five-year contract at West Ham in February while Chelsea have been linked with the move for the 29-year-old in several national newspapers. Slaven Bilic says Dimitri Payet is refusing to play for West Ham and wants to leave - but insists the French midfielder won't be sold "Until he changes his attitude he is out of the team and he's not going to train with us," said the Croatian. "But we are not going to sell him, not whatsoever. I expect him to come back and show commitment and determination to the team, like the team has shown to him. "Is this my toughest challenge? Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be up there fighting with Chelsea. "But I was thinking on Wednesday by myself that this, including this new situation, is an unbelievably great challenge for me personally. "I feel so strong - and I don't like it - but I want that challenge and I want to try and solve this puzzle now. I don't know how to tell you that. "It's not enjoyable of course but when you have such a big challenge in front of you, it motivates you even more and it gets the best out of you and that's how I feel now."
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Dimitri Payet's agent to hold West Ham talks in bid to push through Marseille move
Last Updated: 13/01/17 11:02am
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Dimitri Payet's agent will hold talks with West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan on Friday, in a bid to push through a move to Marseille, Sky sources understand. Payet's representative will sit down with Sullivan to discuss the player's refusal to play for the club and his desire to secure a move to the Ligue 1 club in the January transfer window. Hammers boss Slaven Bilic confirmed on Thursday that the France international is not involved in first-team training and will not be selected for the weekend game against Crystal Palace. Sky sources understand a £19m offer from Marseille has already been turned down. Payet signed a five-year contract at West Ham in February while Chelsea have been linked with the move for the 29-year-old in several national newspapers. Bilic said he "expects" Payet to end his self-imposed exile and return to playing for the club, but the player's agent will tell Sullivan that his intention is to leave and that his preferred destination is Marseille. "We have said we don't want to sell our best players but Dimitri Payet does not want to play for us," said Bilic, on Thursday. "We are not going to sell him. I spoke to the chairman and this is not a money issue. We gave him a long contract because we want him to stay. "He is refusing to play for us. I have a team to manage. He's probably been tapped up. Until he changes his attitude and shows the commitment the club have shown him, he is out of the team."
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West Ham v Crystal Palace preview: Dimitri Payet missing for Hammers
By Patrick Surlis
Last Updated: 13/01/17 12:51pm
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West Ham will be without Dimitri Payet for the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday after the France star refused to play as he wants to leave the club. Sky sources understand Payet is keen to return to former club Marseille, who have had a £19m offer turned down by the Hammers. Crystal Palace, who hope to complete a deal for Leicester winger Jeffrey Schlupp in time to feature at the London Stadium, are yet to win a match under new boss Sam Allardyce. His former club West Ham are struggling themselves, having lost three matches in succession without scoring a goal. Allardyce is set to be boosted by the return of two key players from injury, with both Christian Benteke and Wayne Hennessey expected to be fit to play after missing the FA Cup draw at Bolton.
Team news
Payet will not be involved for West Ham while top scorer Michail Antonio did not train on Thursday due to flu so he will be assessed.
Defenders James Collins (thigh) and Sam Byram (hamstring) return to the squad after spells out but Diafra Sakho (back), Alvaro Arbeloa (calf), Arthur Masuaku and Gokhan Tore (both knee) are still injured while Andre Ayew and Cheikhou Kouyate are at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Benteke has recovered from a shoulder complaint which ruled him out against Bolton while goalkeeper Hennessey, who also missed the Wanderers game with a knock, is facing a late fitness but is likely to return. Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Connor Wickham, Steve Mandanda, Jonathan Benteke (all knee) and Pape Souare (broken leg) remain sidelined.
Opta stats
West Ham have not won any of their last four home league games against the Eagles, last beating them in October 2003 at home (D2 L2).
However, Crystal Palace have been victorious in just one of their last five league contests against the Hammers (D1 L3).
West Ham's only win in a London derby this season came at Selhurst Park (L3) while Palace have lost all four of their London derbies this season.
Sam Allardyce has been beaten just once in his last 10 Premier League games against former side West Ham, though this was with Sunderland in February 2016 (W5 D4 L1).
Crystal Palace had won 15 points more at this stage last season (31) than they currently have after 20 games in 2016-17 (16).
West Ham had won 32 points after 20 Premier League games this season; 10 more than they have after 20 matches this season (22).
Paul Merson's prediction
Palace haven't really clicked under Sam Allardyce yet and with no Wilfried Zaha I don't see how they are going to hurt West Ham. I think the hosts will win, even without Dimitri Payet. Let's be honest, if it wasn't for West Ham then we probably wouldn't even know who Payet is - they put him on the map and then he treats them like this. I'd say get rid of him, get £30m and drop him off. You don't want people like that around who just use the club.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (10/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
West Ham are 13/10 with Sky Bet to collect the points as Crystal Palace are given a 21/10 chance while the draw is priced at 23/10. Sam Allardyce's men head into the weekend as 100/30 fifth favourites for relegation, while his former club are hardly deemed safe in the market at 14/1.
Andy Carroll heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while Christian Benteke is rated the hosts' main threat at 11/2.
West Ham v Palace features among this weekend's Super 6 games and you can play for free right here to win £250k.
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Why losing Dimitri Payet would be a heavy blow for West Ham
By Ben McAleer, Whoscored.com
Last Updated: 13/01/17 3:53pm
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Just how important is Dimitri Payet to West Ham? As his future is thrown into doubt, Whoscored.com take a look at the stats...
"Payet does not want to play for us." That solitary sentence was like a dagger through the heart of West Ham boss Slaven Bilic as he confirmed that key man and creator-in-chief Dimitri Payet wishes to leave the club on Thursday. After a stunning Euro 2016 campaign, speculation surrounding the 29-year-old was rife, with Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan stating the player was worth £100m following rumoured interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid. Along with N'Golo Kante, Payet was arguably the signing of last season following his arrival at West Ham from Marseille. He scored nine goals and registered a further 12 assists to record an impressive WhoScored.com rating of 7.74, but recent events certainly leave a sour taste in the mouths of Hammers fans. While his influence may have lessened somewhat in his second season in east London, the player's desire to leave has also raised questions of West Ham's recent transfer business.
The Hammers were linked with a host of big-name strikers over the summer, yet the captures of Jonathan Calleri and Simone Zaza hardly inspired confidence. That duo have already fallen out of favour, and a calf injury to Andre Ayew in the opening week of the season did not help their cause either.
Of course, it wasn't for want of trying. West Ham's owners strived to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Michy Batshuayi, Alexandre Lacazette and Carlos Bacca, to name four of their reported targets, but a failure to bring in a sufficient striker means the club languish in 13th in the Premier League. Their top-scoring striker is Andy Carroll, who has just two Premier League goals to his name.
Indeed, it's feasible to suggest that a consistent goalscorer would have placed West Ham in the top half of the table. Payet has made more key passes (74) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season; Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is his closest competitor, back on 58.
While to some he may have failed to hit the creative heights of his debut campaign, Payet has still significantly improved West Ham in the final third and remained crucial to their output, registering six assists.
Since Payet's arrival, the Hammers average 1.67 goals per league game with him starting compared to just 0.92 without him. As such, West Ham's win percentage drops from 41.3 per cent to 25 per cent when he does not feature from the off.
Having been directly involved in 33 per cent of West Ham's 88 league goals since signing, the club are now facing the mountainous task of replacing their key attacker before the month draws to a close, be it internally or from an external source.
It's fair to say, though, that none of Bilic's current attacking players offer a similar threat to Payet. Manuel Lanzini ranks second for key passes at West Ham this season with 22 - a whopping 53 behind Payet - while Michail Antonio is third with 17.
Should West Ham sanction Payet's departure despite Bilic's insistence that he won't be sold, they could use the funds raised to bring in another creative star to fill the gargantuan void Payet's possible exit would leave.
WhoScored.com have already picked out a number of possible contenders to help cover the potential loss of Payet, including Ryad Boudebouz and Jonathan Viera, but of course that hinges on the France international's sale.
At his age, Payet perhaps believes he should be challenging for major honours rather than plying his trade for a mid-table Premier League side who sit seven points above the relegation zone. Having come within touching distance of winning the European Championship in the summer, it's understandable that Payet might have a thirst for winners' medals.
Nevertheless, the Hammers fans aren't happy, and for good reason. With their former favourite seemingly keen on a return to his former club Marseille, his intentions in terms of leaving for silverware could certainly be questioned.
While reports suggest that he is looking to move due to his family not having settled in London, it didn't prevent him from signing a new bumper contract lst season.
It certainly appears that a player whose attitude has been called into question on numerous occasions in the past is determined to jump ship just as the waters are getting choppy. The fans might not be singing 'We've got Payet' for much longer.
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Five things you might not know about England footballing hero Bobby Moore
ITV's new drama Tina and Bobby looks at the relationship between West Ham and England legend Bobby Moore and his wife. We reveal five things you might not know about him.
bt.com
By Louisa McKenzie
Last updated: 13 January 2017, 14:47 GMT Print this story
ITV's new three-part drama Tina and Bobby, which airs on Fridays at 9pm from January 13, tells the behind-the-scenes story of the ups and downs of Tina and Bobby Moore's relationship. Bobby Moore is known to many as a West Ham legend, having played for the London side between 1958 and 1974. He was also one of the heroes of England's 1966 World Cup win – captaining the side and setting up one of Geoff Hurst's goals. He married Tina – played by Our Girl's Michelle Keegan in the ITV adaptation – in 1962 and it is their relationship which is explored in Tina and Bobby. But behind his famous footballing career, here are five things you might not know about Bobby Moore:
Bobby and Tina were like an early version of Towie
Bobby met the woman who would go on to become his wife and – by some estimates – the very first WAG in 1958. He was 17 and just starting out in the West Ham senior team when he met 16-year-old Tina Dean in Ilford's Palais nightclub. They married in 1960 and eventually settled in a house in Chigwell, part of Essex's wealthy golden triangle. "Bobby bought us a Jaguar - a car he had always longed for - and we had the house of our dreams built on a plot of land on the best street in Chigwell, Essex. It was a Georgian-style house with an extended porch you could drive your car under if it was raining, so our new and beautiful designer clothes wouldn't get ruined," Tina Moore told the Daily Mail in 2006. "We also had a sweeping staircase like something out of Gone With The Wind and a private bar. "I suppose we may have started the trend for a flashy 'footballers' wives' lifestyle in a way - we called our house Morlands, the land of the Moores." The couple had two children but sadly divorced in 1986, following Bobby's affair with flight attendant Stephanie Parlane, who would go on to be his second wife.
Bobby survived cancer at the age of 23
In 1964, at the age of 23, Moore was England captain, his club West Ham were FA Cup winners and he was named Footballer of the Year. He was also diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time, a cancer diagnosis was given to the patient's next-of-kin, who had to make the heart-wrenching decision whether the patient should be told or not. In Bobby's case that next of kin was his wife, Tina. According to the Radio Times, she decided he shouldn't know. "Back then, it was a death sentence," Tina told the Radio Times. "The very thought of cancer could affect the healing process. That word was never, ever mentioned between us in all the years we were together." However, according to recent Moore biography The Man in Full by Matt Dickinson, Moore was fully aware of his diagnosis.
Moore was successfully treated for his cancer and went on to make a comeback to football which would culminate in him lifting the World Cup in 1966.
He was once accused of stealing a bracelet in Columbia
Following England's 1966 triumph, the team was set to defend its title at the following World Cup in Mexico. England preparations were dampened, however, when Moore – still the team's captain – was arrested and accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellers in Bogota, Columbia, where the team were playing pre-World Cup friendlies. He spent four days under house arrest at the home of the director of the Colombian Football Association in what became an international incident. Then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson was forced to intervene to secure Moore's release and he was able to head to Mexico and play in the World Cup. Moore was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and the case was formally closed in 1972.
One of Moore's middle names was Chelsea
Moore may have spent most of his playing career at West Ham before a spell with Fulham, but he shared one of his middle names with another London club – Chelsea. Moore's full name was Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore. Reportedly Chelsea was a family name. Bobby's first wife Tina has explained that following the end of his playing career and short-lived forays into management, Moore was disappointed not to be given a role by the FA. "He was deeply depressed," Tina told the Radio Times. "He was very proud, and felt rejected, bewildered. It was outrageous how the FA treated him, a scandal. It's all very well that there are statues to him now, but that should have happened during his lifetime. Back then, he started to withdraw into himself." Instead he moved into business and owned several pubs and clubs as well as a variety of other business concerns such as Bobby Moore Jewellery and Bobby Moore T-Shirts. None of these ventures was ultimately very successful.
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Slaven Bilic: Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce left me a good legacy at West Ham
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
It will be good to meet up with Sam Allardyce tomorrow. We will have a chat and a glass of wine after the game whatever the result.
I like Sam very much and he did a good job for West Ham. He left me a good legacy when I came here and from what I have been told, did much to improve things on the pitch during his four years. Of course much has changed since he left. We're not at the Boleyn any more and we have also changed training grounds but he left me the basis of a good squad and some of the players, especially the British ones who played under him, are still here. It will be a tough game and the thing I have noticed about Crystal Palace is their inconsistency. They seem to have long, good runs and then long spells of poor results. We played well at Selhurst Park earlier this season despite Aaron Cresswell being harshly sent off. I remember when we played Palace at Upton Park last season we also had a player red carded. It was Cheikhou Kouyate but, as in the recent case of Sofiane Feghouli, that was rescinded on appeal.
No '66 triumph with FIFA's plan!
Finally,, Fifa's decision to expand the number of teams in the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams is great for national team managers because, if you're a half-decent side, you know you will qualify. When I played in the Finals there were 32 teams in the competition and when England won it in 1966 there were only 16. That's why you won! Only joking.
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Gary Neville and John Hartson deliver damning verdicts on Dimitri Payet situation
HITC
Damien Lucas
Pundits Gary Neville and John Hartson have not held back in their assessment of Dimitri Payet's situation at West Ham United. A forlorn Slaven Bilic told the world's press yesterday that his talismanic Frenchman was effectively on strike and refusing to play for the club. Despite not reaching the same levels he set last season and at the European Championships with France, this term Payet has still statistically been West Ham's most creative player. Bilic insists the player will not get his wish to be sold to former club Marseille, with claims his family are homesick, as reported by The Mirror. But now Gary Neville and John Hartson have insisted the East Londoners are better off without him, delivering damning verdicts on his situation at the club. Manchester United legend Neville has played alongside some world greats in his career and he offered a withering riposte to Payet on Twitter. "You're (West Ham) better off without him," Neville said on Twitter. "He's a grain of sand on a beach to your club."
Gary Neville ? @GNev2
You're better off without him. He's a grain of sand on a beach to your club. https://twitter.com/nickylpearce/status/819883709621043200 …
1:00 PM - 13 Jan 2017
214 214 Retweets 528 528 likes
Meanwhile former Hammers hero John Hartson has warned Payet not to mess with the club's notoriously loyal fans in an interview with talkSPORT. Speaking to the Ray Stubbs Show on talkSPORT 2, the Welshman said: "The West Ham supporters are outraged and I don't think there's a way back for Payet, I really don't. I don't think he can ever play for West Ham again. I think it's gone too far. "When the fans turn, especially the West Ham fans who can be very loyal, that can be very aggressive. "When the West Ham fans turn I think they can be the worst in the country. And I believe they have totally turned against Payet."
The majority of West Ham supporters now feel the club should sell Payet this month and focus on avoiding relegation. A section of supporters blame Payet's unhappiness on the club's owners David Sullivan and David Gold who failed to make good on promises to spend big on marquee signings in the summer off the back of West Ham's big move to the Olympic Stadium.
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A move for Brentford striker Scott Hogan by West Ham has reportedly broken down
By Essex Chronicle | Posted: January 13, 2017
Reports are gathering that West Ham's well publicised move for Brentford striker Scott Hogan has broken down, with the Hammers unwilling to match the west London club's £15m valuation. Hogan is one of the hottest properties outside the Premier League, with 14 goals in 25 games for the Bees in the Championship this season and the Hammers' desire to sign the front man is one of the worst kept secrets in football. Only yesterday (Thursday) morning, the Hammers were reportedly on the verge of striking a deal but that now appears not to be the case, according to well-known West Ham insider @ExWHUemployee on Twitter.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Bees boss Dean Smith commented on the Hogan situation, saying: "There has been a lot of speculation and offers from clubs but he has a value to us and we want to keep him at the club if we can." "We will certainly have to bring people in if Scott goes. We have been looking throughout so we have a number of different options. "Scott is a driven person. You can see that by his demeanour on the pitch and his goalscoring record for us and Rochdale. I expect him to want to score a hat-trick vs Newcastle to show people who question his Premier League credentials that he can do it."
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West Ham demand more than £35m for Dimitri Payet as Frenchman targets Marseille transfer
Payet is effectively on strike at West Ham
The Independent
Jack Austin @jackaustin_1 34 minutes ago0 comments
West Ham will demand between £35m and £40m for on-strike talisman Dimitri Payet. Payet is on strike at the Hammers, refusing to play for the club or train, as he attempts to force through a move to former club Marseille this month. Slaven Bilic said he felt betrayed by the 29-year-old for his attitude after the Hammers rejected a £20m bid from the Ligue 1 side, with their manager Rudi Garcia saying: "Quite obviously I would take him any day of the week." The Times say Payet will be fined two weeks wages – around £250,000 in total – after telling the club he is unable to train because of a back injury. The midfielder signed a new contract with the Hammers last February and was made the best-paid player in their history to keep him at the club until 2021, with the option of a further year. The newspaper also said that he requested a further wage hike after his Euro 2016 performances, which included three goals and two man-of-the-match displays, but West Ham refused, leading to his dismay with the club this season. Marseille have been taken over by Frank McCourt, the former owner for Major League Baseball team LA Dodgers, and Payet is attracted by the plans he has in place for his former club.
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'I always gave my all for West Ham, but it was a good time to move on and I back my decision'
By Essex Chronicle | Posted: January 13, 2017
By Robert Warlow
James Tomkins has plenty of memories from his time at West Ham, but insists it was the right time to move on in the summer. The defender is preparing to return to his former club for the first time since joining Crystal Palace in the summer, with the Eagles the visitors to the London Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) for a crucial Premier League clash. And he says he is looking forward to facing his old side, although he has tried to play down the significance of the game for him personally. "I am looking forward to going back [to West Ham], but it doesn't really feel like I am going back, in terms of the stadium, with it not being Upton Park, but I am looking forward to the game," he said. "It is a big game for both teams and we're expecting it to be a tight game, but we are fully intent on getting the three points that we need. "For me, playing against West Ham is a new scenario with this being my first year at a new club, but I approach it the same as any other game. "I want to do the best that I can for Palace and get three points to move up the table, and that is the only intention for us."
But Tomkins admits there will be a few people he will look out for at West Ham, but only after the game. "I don't want to make any friends before the game," he said. "It will be post-match, depending if we get a good result. There are a few staff who have been there years. There's a guy called Pete the kitman who has been there years and years. I don't think he's working as much - I sent him a text saying 'you'll be missed more than me' because we were both leaving almost together. "I thought he'd be missed more than me in terms of characters, because that's what it's all about. These sort of clubs - West Ham and Palace - you have people who have been there and are part of the furniture of the club. They keep the club going and don't normally get a mention. "They are the ones you want to see most and say hello to."
Meanwhile, Tomkins says he still looks back on his time at West Ham fondly, adding that while he experienced a number of highs and lows during his time at Upton Park, he will always remember two key moments as a Hammer. "For sure, promotion was massive [at West Ham]. Everyone wants to play in the Premier League. To go down to the Championship was disheartening and sad. But we managed to get back up straightaway. I've had a few runs in cups but certainly the promotion was a massive plus in my career. "And the last game was Manchester United – a massive game. The last game played at the Boleyn and then everyone was trying to take all the memorabilia.
"Leading up to that was madness - trying to get into the ground - it was fans everywhere. Things getting thrown left, right and centre. The Manchester United bus got smashed up. It was a crazy day. I started on the bench but managed to get on, which was great in terms of a memorable game. It felt like a cup final."
Nevertheless, he felt it was the right time for him to move on in the summer, adding that despite it being almost 20 years at the club, it was time for a new challenge. And he says he is hopeful of a good reception from the supporters on his first return to West Ham. "I think it was a good time to move," he said. "Fans are always close to players who are homegrown, I've been there since I was eight years old, so I don't think there would be too many reasons they would take a disliking to me because of that. "I always gave my all for West Ham. Like I'm trying to do for Palace. It was the time to move for me. I always back that decision. "I'm not a young lad - 18 or 19 - making decisions like that. I'm a grown man. Twenty years at West Ham - you don't forget that in a hurry. But it was certainly the right time for me to move."
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West Ham concede Dimitri Payet stand-off is a 'lose-lose situation' and will fine wantaway star for breach of contract
KEN DYER, JONATHAN JOHNSON
Evening Standard
West Ham today described Dimitri Payet's refusal to play for the club again as a "lose-lose situation". The 29-year-old France international has told West Ham that he will never play for them after they refused to sanction a move back to Marseille, who he left in the summer of 2015. Reports in French sports newspaper L'Equipe today say that the 29-year-old Payet has agreed personal terms with Marseille, while there is further speculation in France that West Ham have rejected a £19.1million offer for the player. The bid is also said to include a further £2.6m in add-ons. Meanwhile, an angry West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has responded by telling Payet, who yesterday reported a back injury, that he will not be allowed to train with the first-team squad until his attitude changes.
The France forward was photographed leaving the ground in a Ferrari after training yesterday, following Bilic's bombshell press conference when he revealed the rift. The club can continue to fine the player up to two weeks' wages, around £250,000, every time he is in breach of his contract and refuses to play. West Ham are adamant that Payet, who joined West Ham for £11m, is not for sale and a reliable club source said today: "This is a lose-lose situation for the club." The report in L'Equipe says that Payet has spoken to Marseille president Jacques Henri Eyraud several times over the past two months and that the player has also had "multiple" conversations with manager Rudi Garcia. In an interview with French broadcaster RTL, which will be shown in full on Sunday, Garcia is quoted as saying: "You are talking to me about Dimitri Payet and obviously I would take him here every day of the week."
Meanwhile, Marseille player William Vainqueur said: "All the players are dreaming of a Payet return. It would be extraordinary." Bilic, meanwhile, is preparing for a vital derby tomorrow against Crystal Palace without Payet and there are reports that his team-mates had become increasingly frustrated by the player's attitude in recent months. Payet, who has also been quoted in France as saying that his family are unsettled in London, remains adamant he has played his last game for West Ham. The club must now decide whether to dig in their heels and make Payet stay, at least until the end of the season, or cash in during the January transfer window and spend at least some of the money on strengthening their squad. They have already had an offer of £3m for Hull's Robert Snodgrass rejected but look likely now to go back with an improved bid. Also on West Ham's radar is Southampton's experienced Portuguese international defender Jose Fonte, who has been left out of the South Coast club's first team after submitting a transfer request.
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West Ham will sell Dimitri Payet in January after he informed club he wants to return to France
Default author imageGOSSIP
Coral Barry for Metro.co.uk
Friday 13 Jan 2017 11:17 am
West Ham have reportedly decided to sell Dimitri Payet less than 24 hours after Slaven Bilic insisted the star midfielder was going nowhere this January. Payet sat out training on Thursday after complaining about back pain with West Ham extremely suspicious of his sudden injury. West Ham's talisman has been linked with a move to Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Marseille since the club announced his intention to leave. We are not going to sell him. This team, the staff, we gave him everything, we were always there for him. I feel let down. I feel angry.' The France international has already told the club he wants to leave and the Mirror claim he wants to return to France. Bilic hit out at Payet in his Thursday press conference after he informed the manager on Tuesday that he would no longer play for the club. Payet's former club Marseille have reportedly had a £19 million bid rejected as West Ham anticipate a bidding war for Payet's services. West Ham will hold out for the highest possible bid, but are devastated at the news their star man has turned his back on the Hammers after they handed him a £125,000-a-week contract less than eight months into his time in London. Payet has told West Ham he wants to return home for 'personal reasons' and has informed them he will not be featuring in any more games while he awaits the transfer.
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BRILLIANT FROM BILIC OR MORE BOARD BLUNDERS?
TOM BURFORD
ReadWestHam
After seeing what is probably the most watched press conference of the week, we all know that our talismanic midfielder Dimitri Payet is looking to force a move away from Upton Park.
In a season that just seems to get worse as the weeks roll on, it would be understandable to perceive that the handling of this situation is more bad publicity in a year of club leaked transfer rumours, broken stadium promises and unrest amongst supporters.
There are two key issues for me that have arisen from this morning's press conference. Firstly did Slaven Bilic make the right call to reveal all about Payet's refusal to play and secondly have the club done enough to keep the player happy.
I don't think you can answer one without the other, and to be honest with you, this all starts with our poor recruitment over the summer. Just like the fans were promised a 'marquee signing' (I'm fed up with that term) along with several other stars across the globe, Payet may well have been fooled by our perceived 'clout' in the transfer market.
The truth, of course, was that Andre Ayew (who is certainly yet to convince me) at £20m was to be our biggest transfer venture, with Simone Zaza, the supposed marquee striker, heading a lengthy list of failures. Pair this with failure to qualify for the Europa League and you have, arguably, one of Europe's most influential players playing in a faltering side that instead of playing in Europe, are on the fringes of a surprise relegation battle.
Teams are going to spot this and they are going to tap players up, and whatever we think of Payet's decision to seemingly go on strike, we'd be kidding ourselves if we expected him to not have his head turned by teams already playing in the Champions league as he begins to move into the twilight of his career.
So was Bilic right to rat out the midfielder?
I think the way Bilic handled the situation was absolutely superb. He looked like a man who had been let down and the delivery of his words confirmed that.
I guarantee that this situation has arisen at many clubs with star players trying to force through moves, but this is the highest profile one I can remember where the manager tells us in black and white the player is refusing to play for the club.
But where I agree with Bilic that Payet should not be involved until his attitude is right and that he apologises for his actions, I don't agree that we should sit let him rot until the summer and cash in then.
As many of you may have noticed, we are still in great danger of being sucked into the relegation mire, and the £30m+ we'd get for Payet now could go a long way to replacing those players that have just given up in recent matches. What I do hope is that this doesn't set a dangerous precedent for other members of this squad for them to only throw a strop to get a move.
Payet, however, has 'hissy-fits' in his blood, forcing moves at a couple of his previous clubs trying to make his way to the top, and I genuinely believe Bilic is correct to freeze him out for such petulance, acting like a 5-year-old who isn't allowed a new Playstation. The club needs to cash in now, because, with the feeble bids we've been making so far, it's clear to see we don't have or even don't want to pay the amount of money needed to sort this faltering team out.
If the board are surprised by their star player wanting to move to a better club, then they need to stop insulting clubs and their star players with ridiculous bids and put their hands in their pocket. People don't compete for major honours (as the Chairmen promised) by arguing the toss over what is now pennies and the crazy world of the transfer market.
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Zaza agrees Valencia move
By Football Italia staff
Juventus striker Simone Zaza has reportedly agreed to a move to La Liga side Valencia. According to Sky Sport Italia, the 25-year-old is about to board a flight to Spain to finalise details of the transfer, with the hope that he can play on Sunday. The deal is said to comprise of an initial €2m loan with an obligation to buy at €18m, made up of €16m plus €2m in bonus-related payments. Such an agreement is likely to become automatic when either the player reaches a minimum number of appearances or should Valencia avoid relegation. Zaza is also set to earn a contract of €2.2m per season at the La Liga side, who are currently fourth from bottom of the table.
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GET HIM OUT Dimtri Payet has let us West Ham fans down and the club should sell him as soon as possible
Hammers insider ExWHUEmployee reveals anger among supporters over player they worshipped
The Sun
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE, THEWESTHAMWAY.CO.UK 13th January 2017, 11:50 am
I have known about the Payet situation for a number of months now but kept quiet in the hope that it would be sorted it out eventually – but it appears that we are at the point of no return now. After many missed training sessions, a lack of effort in those that he did attend and a clear body language that suggested he wanted to move, Slaven Bilic went public to put the club on the front foot. Since the first month of the season our star player has craved a move back to his home country. His family have not been settled in the country for a while and when his former club Marseille came looking for him he was determined to move. The club took the same stance that they took last summer and said he wasn't for sale, but it is disappointing that this time he has gone on strike to try and force the move in January. I'm surprised the club are saying they will not sell him at any price this month, because surely this will start to devalue the player ahead of the summer. But in fairness, I can understand why they would stand firm in public because we cannot be held to ransom by any player – they have to make a statement to other players that such tactics won't work.
I am personally very disappointed with Payet. We all saw how much Bilic supported him during the Euros, jumping onto the table when he scored. The club honoured his performance last season by offering him a bumper new contract and even extended time off after the Euros and he repays us now by refusing to play for us again. With this attitude I want him to leave immediately, we don't need him at the club. We have to allow Bilic some time to rebuild team morale and loyalty to each other and the club. The only problem is that for Bilic's sake this improvement has to happen immediately against Crystal Palace.
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Dimitri Payet WILL be sold this month as West Ham look for best price for disgraced star
During showdown talks on Tuesday, the 29-year-old French playmaker left the club stunned after refusing to play
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWIS
09:02, 13 JAN 2017 UPDATED09:06, 13 JAN 2017
Dimitri Payet will be sold by West Ham this month after refusing this week to commit himself to the club until the summer. Despite the insistence of Slaven Bilic that the club would fight to keep their prize asset, Mirror Sport understands the club are working to get the highest price they can for their disgraced playmaker. During showdown talks on Tuesday, the 29-year-old French playmaker left the club stunned after refusing to play. Bilic confirmed as much during his press briefing yesterday. Payet has told the Hammers, who host Crystal Palace tomorrow, that he wants a return to France for 'personal reasons'. The Hammers responded by trying to persuade Payet to give them another six months - to help them to climb the Premier League - before returning 'home' in the summer. But Payet insisted that he had no intention of doing so and that he simply had no further interest in playing for the club. The club are convinced that the determination of resurgent Marseille to sign him after their summer recent takeover has turned his head, leaving him desperate for a lucrative return to his former club. Marseille's new US owner Frank McCourt has promised to bankroll the club with huge financial backing over the next two transfer windows. Payet went into training on Thursday claiming to have had a pain in his back and duly refused to train. The club are highly sceptical of the timing of his claim. Bilic addressed his squad ahead of their training session yesterday, telling them what had happened. Some players are understood to be pleased, feeling that brooding Payet had been indulged for too long. The club have been left reeling by the overall conduct on the France international whose undoubted talents they rewarded with a record-breaking new contract worth £125,000-a-week within eight months of his arrival in the summer of 2015. Behind the scenes Payet has been described as "spoilt" with the club feeling let down at the timing of his actions in their hour of need. Midfielder Cheikou Kouyate and £20million summer signing Andre Ayew are both at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning the Hammers are without another two of their key players. Signed from Marseille for just £10.75million in the summer of last year, Payet went on to break into the France team for Euro2016, helping his country to reach the Final. Bilic continually backed his star man, despite a rash of interviews in which Payet constantly linked himself with other clubs. Now the club are understood to have given up on him and are expected to wash their hands of him this month.
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David Sullivan misses the point again as West Ham's season descends into farce
HITC
Damien Lucas
It's been a torrid season for West Ham United and co-owner David Sullivan's latest comments aren't helping. Slaven Bilic's sit 13th in the Premier League and are looking over their shoulders ahead of crunch matches against sides below them Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough. Now with their best player Dimitri Payet on strike, survival is now the club's only focus after the Hammers were dumped out of the Europa League by Romanian minnows Astra Giurgiu for the second season running and were humbled 4-1 by Manchester United and 5-0 by Manchester City in the EFL Cup and FA Cup respectively.
It is a far cry from last season when West Ham enjoyed their best ever points total of the Premier League era, recorded a first positive goal difference since 1986 and finished just four points off the Champions League places in their emotional farewell campaign at Upton Park. The summer saw the club usher in a new era with the big move to the 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium. Leaving their beloved Boleyn Ground was a necessity to keep pace with and challenge English football's elite, or so West Ham fans were told.
Supporters were told the move and increased revenues - West Ham have 52,000 season ticket holders second only to the mighty Manchester United - would allow them to compete in the transfer market for top players. Indeed Sullivan and fellow co-owner David Gold even boldly told the club's official website back in May that they were willing and intending to spend upwards of £30million on a marquee striker signing, a bizarre tactic from experienced football club owners. That article has now been deleted from the site and no marquee striker was forthcoming with many fans of the opinion it was a ploy to sell as many season tickets as possible.
Now halfway through the season and with the Hammers struggling, the goalposts have been moved by Sullivan in an interview he gave to whufc.com last week. The key line in the interview read: "We haven't lost any key or influential players since last season, which was one to remember, so we are all currently struggling to understand why the team is under-performing at this moment in time."
But that's just it isn't it... and Sullivan is missing the point entirely. Yes when you strip away the clutch of terrible summer signings which have only served to dilute Bilic's squad, it is largely the same players who arguably overachieved last season. And that is exactly why, when every other team in the league has improved their squads, West Ham have taken a number of steps backwards.
It's not rocket science. If you don't constantly improve your squad in the Premier League you don't just stand still, you fall behind.
And then of course there is the not-so-subtle initiation of the blame game in the interview as Sullivan's line is pointed at the new scapegoat, the manager. Sullivan has gone from promising world class players off the back of the move to Stratford to patting himself on the back for holding on to last season's squad. Really? Is that the measure of West Ham's ambition now despite everything they have left behind in pursuit of challenging the elite. And where has that even got the club. In hindsight was keeping Payet even a good thing. The current predicament would suggest not. West Ham are in a dark place and the last person anyone wants to hear from at the moment is David Sullivan.
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Premier League transfer news and rumours: 'Chelsea to make shock £40 million Dimitri Payet move'
Telegraph Sport
13 JANUARY 2017 • 8:20AM
Chelsea are to make a shock move for West Ham star Dimitri Payet in the January window, reveals The Sun. Payet has stunned everyone by going on strike in a bid to force a move away from West Ham, with Marseille openly hopeful of luring the midfielder back to France.
However, The Sun suggests Antonio Conte will bid for the 29-year-old after missing out on Bayern Munich's Arturo Vidal.
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic yesterday revealed that Payet is refusing to pull on a West Ham shirt ever again after a £20 million bid from Marseille was rejected, but they are under no pressure to sell after handing the Frenchman a lucrative £125,000-a-week deal until 2021 less than a year ago. Conte is sitting on a substantial war chest following the sale of Oscar to China and will, we are told, offer £40 million.
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Slaven Bilic was too angry for smokescreens... Dimitri Payet's betrayal of West Ham left his manager with no choice but to reveal all
Dimitri Payet has told West Ham he no longer wants to play for the club
The Frenchman's betrayal left Hammers manager Slaven Bilic seething
Bilic opened up about the situation at a press conference on Thursday
No one in the room knew what was about to happen, not even club staff
The Croatian has every right to feel angry about Payet's actions
READ: Payet's transfer options should he be allowed to leave West Ham
JAMIE REDKNAPP: West Ham should cut the rotten apple loose
By Martin Samuel - Sport for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:31, 12 January 2017 | UPDATED: 23:51, 12 January 2017
When Slaven Bilic arrived for his press conference at West Ham's training ground in Rush Green on Thursday, it was not the plan to broadcast the Dimitri Payet crisis to the world. The pair had clashed over Payet's future earlier in the week, and the player had told Bilic he did not want to play for the club again. Yet to make that public risked creating a rift between the player and the supporters — and potentially making Payet's long-term position untenable. In the end, though, Bilic was simply too angry for smokescreens. The question that provoked his revelation wasn't even about Payet. No one else in the room knew of the escalation in affairs, not ven all the members of West Ham's media team.
Question: Have you got Scott Hogan? Have you, or have you not, agreed a fee with Brentford?
Bilic: No. Because I don't see Scott Hogan here. He is not training with us today so...
Question: Is he close?
Bilic: I don't know.
Question: How many overall would you like to bring in?
Bilic: Two or three. But let's get serious. I have something to tell you. We have a situation with a player. It is Dimitri Payet. He wants to leave . . .
And it went from there. Bilic intimated that Payet was not training, and therefore could not play; he spoke of his anger, of Payet's lack of commitment. He did not tell the whole story, but he gave away more than was ever scripted. No doubt Bilic was resentful. Payet's behaviour has placed him in an impossible position, damaging the manager's credibility with the club. Bilic was criticised for not starting Payet in the FA Cup against Manchester City, a match West Ham lost 5-0. Now he would be without him against Crystal Palace on Saturday. If he did not provide an explanation it would seem that Bilic had dropped and further alienated West Ham's best player and the criticism would intensify.
One escape route would be to say Payet had personal issues — not entirely untrue, as this is offered as his motivation for wishing to return to France — and had been given time off to clear his head. Coincidentally, that period would likely chime with the duration of the transfer window after which Payet would have no choice but to return to West Ham's first team or lose as much as £500,000 in appearance fees. Then the player reported for training with a back injury. Bilic, already angry, boiled over. Just two minutes before he was due to sit in front of the cameras he told Max Fitzgerald, head of media at West Ham, that he wanted to make a statement on Payet. In the room, media employees in charge of the club's social media output were given no inkling of what they were about to report. 'I feel angry,' Bilic said. 'This team, the boys, the staff, we gave him everything. We were always there for him. Of course I am feeling let down. I can understand that players are tapped up by clubs. He is not the first or the last but I am disappointed.'
And with good reason. It is wrong to say that West Ham alone were the making of Payet. He was in Ligue 1's team of the season for 2012-13 while with Lille, and again with Marseille in 2014-15. In his final season with Marseille before joining West Ham he had more assists than any other player in Ligue 1 and played more successful through-balls than any player in Europe's top five leagues, bar Lionel Messi.Payet has been involved in 29 goals since his Premier League debut in August 2015 — scoring 11 and setting up 18 — more than any other West Ham player. He first played for France on October 9, 2010, and while he only became a regular last year, he did make a handful of appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2015, too. So West Ham did not turn an ugly duckling into a swan.
Bilic did, however, do everything to make what some might term a luxury player into the focal point of West Ham. It was a brave call; one that could have cost him his job, had he got it wrong. Payet was given freedom that Eden Hazard, for instance, did not have at Chelsea. He was allowed to be an old-fashioned No 10 in many games, with midfield players such as Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate deployed in such a way that much of Payet's workload was removed. And the players were happy to serve such a talent, too. The win over Tottenham Hotspur last March was a perfect example of this team spirit, with Bilic playing three at the back and packing midfield to relieve Payet of the task of tracking Mauricio Pochettino's flying full backs. The game ended in a 1-0 West Ham win to close to within a point of Manchester City in fourth place; times that seem an age away now.
Although he has tweaked his starting position this season — coming in from the flanks in a bid to make him harder to pick up — Bilic remains a huge fan of Payet. He is adamant that, even during his quietest games, West Ham's best moments still centre around Payet's invention. And Bilic was euphoric about his player's match-winning displays at the European Championship, even though he knew the attention could cause problems for West Ham. That is why he has taken Payet's change of attitude so much to heart.
The problem, from here, is how Payet recovers his relationship with the supporters, if West Ham stay true to their word and do not sell him in January. It seems likely he will go in the summer, but that still leaves more than three months when he either plays in front of a disgruntled stadium, or idles in the wilderness.
Carlos Tevez enjoyed a happy ending at Manchester City after downing tools — but it did need the club's first title win under Roberto Mancini to get him there. One could argue Wayne Rooney is still captain of Manchester United, too, after a series of fallings-out — but whether he is a favourite of the fans is another matter.
He has to win the fans back with performances and personality — and driving away from the training ground in a £200,000 Ferrari having left the manager in the lurch against Crystal Palace is not a good start. Of course, this is a bigger problem for the club due to the tension around this season.
The London Stadium has been angry at the best of times, with scant excuse needed to get even angrier. There will be those who blame the board, or even the stadium, for this latest debacle. It would never have happened at Upton Park — or if the club had signed better players in the summer. But it probably would.
Payet's agent used the European Championship to ask for a £40,000 pay rise, not a list of new signings, suggesting his client is motivated as much by economics as aesthetics. The pay rise in Payet's new contract alone was worth close to £2m over five years.
Also, a look through Payet's career history suggests this is hardly exceptional behaviour. He ditched Nantes when they were relegated in 2007, was sent to the reserves at St Etienne after agitating for a move to Paris Saint-Germain and agreed terms with West Ham, unbeknown to Marseille. It can hardly be a surprise that he has reverted to type midway through this troubled season.
For Bilic, however, that will not diminish the sense of betrayal. His only hope is that his players wish to prove that Payet's influence is overstated; even if the numbers suggest that it is not.
PAYET'S STORMY DEPARTURES
Dimitri Payet has a history of forcing through moves when he gets itchy feet. Here are his most explosive transfer bust ups...
Nantes, 2007
Dimitri Payet enjoyed a successful first full season in the French top flight with Nantes on a personal level, but the club struggled in Ligue 1 and were relegated after finishing 19th. Faced with the prospect of a season outside the top flight, a 20-year-old Payet immediately handed in a transfer request. 'I told my leaders of my wish to leave,' he announced in an interview at the time. 'Ligue 2 does not fit into my logic of progress. I made my choice, it's Saint-Etienne.' Days later, the Reunion-born star joined Les Verts for €4million.
Saint-Etienne, 2011
Empowered by his experience at Nantes, the Frenchman tried a similar approach at Saint-Etienne when Paris Saint-Germain came calling in the January of 2011. However, officials at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard were not quite as accommodating. The player's request to join the capital club fell on deaf ears and Payet didn't turn up for training as he sulked at the refusal to let him leave. When he did sheepishly return he was sent to join the reserves. Despite rejoining the first team in mid-February, it was no surprise when Payet left the club the following summer, joining champions Lille.
Marseille, 2015
After his spell at Lille, Payet moved from the north to the south of France to join Marseille. The playmaker enjoyed revered status there – which made his decision to push through a move to West Ham all the more unfathomable for the club's board of directors.
Marseille had felt they were due to sit down with their star player and talk about a new deal, when Payet's agent Mark McKay shocked them with an ultimatum after announcing they had agreed terms with West Ham behind the club's back. A statement was made by Marseille giving the player two options. 'OM considers these to be to stay at Marseille and wait until mid-July for to review his contract or select West Ham.' We all know how that one turned out.
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L'Equipe: West Ham attacker Dimitri Payet agrees personal terms with Marseille
HITC
Dan Coombs
But there is no fee agreed with West Ham. French newspaper L'Equipe claim West Ham attacker Dimitri Payet has already agreed personal terms with Marseille over a return to the club. No fee is agreed with West Ham though, and Marseille will need to bid big to convince West Ham to sell, having had a £20 million offer already rejected.
ThefastfootNews @ThefastfootNews
Incroyable Une de L'Equipe ce vendredi ! Payet d'accord avec #OM, #PSG interessé par Batshuayi. Kamoulox. #TeamPSG #TeamOM #mercato #Ligue1
11:32 PM - 12 Jan 2017
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Payet has gone on strike in an attempt to force a move away from the Hammers, with an angry Slaven Bilic letting the developments be known at his Thursday morning press conference, reported by The BBC. The France international has been at West Ham for 18 months and has come in for criticism this season after failing to match his incredible standards of his first season at the club. L'Equipe add that despite the personal terms being agreed, they expect the transfer saga to drag on until deadline day. The situation will forever taint the memory among supporters of a player who had hero status at West Ham heading into the season, especially as he signed a contract extension just 12 months ago.
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'He's been terrible this year on purpose' - John Giles calls for 'humiliated' Slaven Bilic to kick Dimitri Payet out of West Ham
Independent.ie Newsdesk Twitter
Republic of Ireland legend John Giles has called on West Ham to get the best price possible for wantaway star Dimitri Payet and turf him out of the club. Payet has stunned West Ham United by telling the club he will never play for them again after they rejected a bid of just under £20 million from Marseille. West Ham have pleaded with the French international to see through the season with them, as they desperately fight to climb the table, and have agreed to sell him this summer – but he has refused. Payet, who has been unsettled since returning from the Euros last summer, has been encouraged to push for the move back to his former club who he left in 2015 for an initial fee of £10.7 million rising to £14 million. Speaking at a press conference today, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic struggled to hide his disappointment after revealing that the French international has downed tools.
"We have said we don't want to sell our best players but Payet does not want to play for us," Bilic said. "We are not going to sell him." "I expect from him to come back and to show commitment and determination to the team like the team has shown to him. "We aren't going to sell him, not whatsoever. It's not a money issue or anything. We want to keep our best players. "I spoke to the chairman and this is not a money issue. We gave him a long contract because we want him to stay."
Speaking on Off The Ball on Newstalk this evening, Giles advised Bilic to get rid of the 29-year-old and warned of the caustic effect his presence might have on the rest of the squad. "If I was the manager I'd feel very angry as well and it shows that players are on top now rather than the clubs," he said. "In the old days, you signed a contract and you couldn't leave until the club wanted you to leave. "Payet signed a long-term contract and now he's saying he doesn't want to play anymore. The contract doesn't mean anything anymore, unless the club say they're not going to let him leave and he sits around for two years but they can't afford to do that.
"In Payet's case, I think it's dreadful behaviour. If you sign a contract, you should honour that contract. "He went to West Ham last year and he was a sensation and people wondered why he's 28... where has he been all his life? "This might tell you. "I think it's dreadful for a club that's trying to plan for the future. "If I was Bilic, I'd get the best price I could for him and I'd kick him out.
"You can't have a player like that in the dressingroom that all the other players know want to leave. You need to have a team spirit and a team that is going to go out and fight for each other. "He hasn't played this year.. he's been terrible and he's done it on purpose. "You can't have someone in your team who really wants to go because you're humiliating the manager."
Giles believes that it will be impossible to convince Payet to stay. "I don't think he will be talked back," he added. "This deal has been done with Payet... wherever he's going. It's been done and all the other club is saying is that you have to get away. "He wouldn't make a stand like that unless the club was interested. He won't have agreed terms, his agent will have and the player could say: 'I didn't speak to that club'. because he isn't allowed but his agent has done the deal."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
When and where?
West Ham United v Crystal Palace
Premier League
Saturday 14 January 2017, 3pm GMT
London Stadium
What's the story?
West Ham United welcome Crystal Palace to London Stadium for a London derby on Saturday as Slaven Bilic's men look to bounce back from their FA Cup exit last weekend.
The Hammers are aiming for their first win of 2017 after kicking-off the New Year with defeats to the two Manchester clubs – and could register their first Premier League double of the campaign.
Manuel Lanzini's finish from an Aaron Cresswell cross gave the Hammers a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace earlier this season, a three-point haul which was the east Londoners' first on their travels this term.
Palace have struggled in the league since, winning just one of their last 14 games to sit just above the relegation zone with 16 points from 20 games.
Their poor form was enough to cost Alan Pardew his job, with another former Hammers boss, Sam Allardyce, taking the reins just before Christmas.
Big Sam has taken one point from his first three games, following a 1-1 draw with Watford with defeats to Arsenal and Swansea.
West Ham won three league games in a row around Christmas, but have lost their last two – 1-0 at Leicester, and 2-0 against Manchester United.
Team news
Michail Antonio missed training on Thursday due to an illness and the Hammers will check on his availability for Saturday's game.
Arthur Masuaku and Alvaro Arbeloa remain sidelined, but James Collins and Sam Byram have resumed training following their injuries.
Cheikhou Kouayte and Andre Ayew are at the Africa Cup of Nations and Dimitri Payet is unavailable.
For the Eagles, Christian Benteke has overcome a shoulder injury, and goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey should also be fit.
Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Any links between the two?
Sam Allardyce returns to face the Hammers in the opposition dugout for the second time – but the first in charge of Crystal Palace and the first at London Stadium.
Big Sam spent four years in charge at West Ham, winning promotion from the Championship and consolidating the Hammers' Premier League position.
He now has one of his defensive stalwarts from his time at West Ham at his disposal in South London – James Tomkins.
The former England U21 international and 2012 Team GB Olympian played 206 league games for the Hammers after coming through the Academy, and signed for the Eagles last summer.
How do I get to the game?
Click here for your detailed guide to matchday at London Stadium.
Please note that gas works are still ongoing on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, affecting some walking routes to the Stadium. Click here for more information.
Click here for the latest news on the Tubes, roads, TfL Rail and London Overground services, and here for news on National Rail.
How do I watch the game?
The match is not being broadcast live in the UK. However, you can follow the action as it happens in our Match Centre, with live audio commentary, Social Media updates, in-running stats, pictures and more. Get involved in the conversation using #WHUCRY
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From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
I am saddened by the recent revelations that Dimitri Payet wants to leave West Ham United. We have met all of his requirements since he joined and we committed long-term to him when we gave him a new five-year contract back in February 2016, so this is hugely disappointing. We have made it clear that he is not for sale and we want to see some loyalty from him, after Slaven, the players and all the fans have given him so much support. We gave Dimitri the opportunity to play in the best league in the world when he wasn't in the France team and the a platform that has helped him become one of the best players in Europe. Slaven gave him the confidence to excel in the Premier League and he got back into the France team due to his impressive form at West Ham United. He signed a long-term contract last year and we want him to honour that. I know this news will come as a big shock to our fans, but knowing them like I do, I am sure they will do everything to get behind the team on Saturday and help us get back to winning ways. We know we have still got work to do but I am confident that Slaven and the players will dig deep to get a positive result on Saturday. We had a great result against Crystal Palace back in October and it was a great team performance.
It is never easy to play at Selhurst Park but the players showed all their quality to come away with the three points and I hope we will have a similar result this weekend. We have some familiar faces coming back to the Club in James Tomkins and Sam Allardyce. We have always said that Sam did a great job during his time at West Ham and he helped us get back into the Premier League. We will always remember that memorable win at Wembley in the Play-Off final and I will always have fond memories of seeing Ricardo Vaz Te scoring that memorable winner. I know the fans will also show their respect to James Tomkins who was a great servant for West Ham United and played over 200 games for the Club. This is a big London derby and there is so much at stake. We know the importance of coming away with all three points and I hope it will be an enjoyable weekend for everyone connected with the Club.
Enjoy the game.
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Angelo's World
WHUFC.com
Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna returns in the latest edition of his new blog, which delves into the Italian's life with the Club.
This week, the former Juventus centre-back discusses the big London derby against Crystal Palace and the importance of getting back on the winning trail.
The 28-year-old also reveals why he is looking forward to seeing a familiar face back at West Ham United this weekend…
Hello everyone,
We need to get back to winning ways on Saturday against Crystal Palace.
I think the players were hurt by what happened against Manchester City in the last game.
But that is in the past now and we have to look forward and continue to improve our goals.
We have trained really well and even before the Manchester City defeat we were looking really good in training.
But we have to relay that work onto the field and keep fighting until we get a positive result.
One of the big positives for me has been my partnership with Reidy.
He is a very clever player who always reads the situation and is such a huge player for the team.
He makes it easy for you sometimes and I am very happy to be playing alongside him.
This is my second season with him and we are still working on making things better and we talk all the time about our performance.
I am looking forward to see my former team-mate James Tomkins again on Saturday and he is a very good player. It will be good to see him again.
We have a good relationship, but we have to think about our own situation and on the pitch we will not be friendly!
Tonks was popular in the dressing room but he wanted to play regular first-team football and show his qualities.
I came to West Ham after Sam Allardyce had left the Club and Slaven Bilic had taken charge.
I know he was very important for the club and for some of my team-mates will have more of a connection and it will be good for them to see him again.
Of course we have not been happy about the recent results because we want to improve but it is down to us to make the situation better.
We need the fans behind us on Saturday and they can make a big difference to the team.
We always feel that as players because the fans can act as a 12th man and with 60,000 fans behind us it can be very special.
I hope we can come away with another big result this weekend and there will be more exciting times ahead in the coming months.
Enjoy the game.
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Marcus Browne signs new deal
WHUFC.com
The club are delighted to announce that Marcus Browne has signed a new contract
The deal keeps him at the club until 2020
Browne said signing the new deal was "a very good feeling"
Forward Marcus Browne has pledged his future to West Ham United, signing a new contract to keep him at the club until 2020.
Browne has been rewarded with a new 3-and-a-half year deal after blossoming for the PL2 side this season.
The 19-year-old has appeared in all but one U23 fixture this year, and been one of the bright sparks in Terry Westley's side.
After signing on the dotted line, Browne said: "It's a very good feeling. I've been at the club since I was 8 years old so I've come a long way.
"Knowing that (a new contract is) the reward for working hard, doing the right things and being professional is a good feeling."
Browne joined the club at the age of eight and quickly became known as one of the brightest young prospects in the English game.
He made his breakthrough into the U18 side during the 2014/15 season, putting in a number of man of the match displays and proving a real threat from dead ball situations.
Next season came a consistent run in the U21 side, which was then followed by his first appearance on the first team substitutes bench in a 2-2 draw away at Norwich City in February 2016.
Browne played a key role for the U21s during the 2015/16 season, helping the young Hammers win the Premier League Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Hull City in May.
The U23s' playmaker has carried on in the same vain this year scoring five times and proving a real driving force in the midfield, behind top scorer Toni Martinez. Both were nominated for Premier League 2 Player of the Month in December.
Browne's form this season has not only seen him rewarded with a new contract, but also a place on Slaven Bilic's first team substitutes bench yet again.
"It's massive club," declared Browne. "The new stadium is amazing and the supporters are brilliant. I get a lot of support from the fans on Twitter and at U23 matches.
"I play in the No10 role which is an attacking midfield position. I'm quick, strong and I like to get on the ball and run at defenders.
"When I've worked with the gaffer (Slaven Bilic), he has always had a positive impact on me. He speaks to me a lot and encourages me to do the right things and also tells me how to improve. It's good to have a manager that will talk to you and show his time for you.
"Before Terry (Westley) and Liam (Manning) came in, I didn't really have a relationship with a coach. I'm always communicating with them, they let me know where I need to improve and it's great working with them.
"I think I've had a good season, probably one of my best seasons. I think I've propelled in the right direction and at the right time. Now obviously I'm in and around the first team because of what I've been doing with the U23s.
"For the rest of the season my targets would probably be to play in the Premier League. Whether I go on loan or not and whether it happens before I go on loan, I don't know but I'd love to make my debut in the Premier League."
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Bilic welcomes back Big Sam
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic is looking forward to welcoming former manager Sam Allardyce to London Stadium for the first time and hopes to celebrate another victory over Crystal Palace which could see his team move into the top half of the table. Allardyce enjoyed four-years with the east London Club where he took the Hammers back into the Premier League and consolidated their position in the Premier League.
The 62-year-old recently took charge of Crystal Palace and will be looking forward to making his first visit as the opposing manager at London Stadium. Bilic has nothing but praise for the job that Allardyce did at West Ham and after recording a 1-0 victory over him when he returned as Sunderland manager last season, he will settle for another similar scoreline this time around. Bilic said: "I like Sam Allardyce, I like his attitude, he is always smiling. "He has been so long in the business that it seems as if every ground is his previous club! "It won't be his first time against West Ham. He managed against us last year and we beat them and I remember he had a good reception. "In today's football world he was a long-term manager here at West Ham. He stabilised the club and I said the same last year, he deserves praise. "Now it is more business as usual. It is not a big thing for him or the fans now."
Bilic has good news on the injury front with James Collins and Sam Byram both ready to make a return to the squad. Collins has been ruled out since the start of December with a hamstring injury, while Byram has been sidelined since the start of October with the same problem. But both players have resumed training with the first-team squad and are in contention for the big London derby at London Stadium. Bilic added: "Ginge got injured in the first minute against Arsenal which was a few weeks ago. He trained and is fit for training. He lacks match fitness but it's great to have him back of course. "Sam Byram had a big operation on his hamstring and it's brilliant to have both of them playing."
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Five Talking Points - Crystal Palace
WHUFC.com
The major topics for discussion ahead of Saturday's Premier League visit of the Eagles to London Stadium...
No Dimi
West Ham United will be without Dimitri Payet on Saturday after manager Slaven Bilic revealed that the midfielder has asked to leave the Club. While it is hoped the Frenchman will change his mind and recommit his future to the Hammers, for the time being he will not be available for selection. So, the question arises, who will be West Ham's attacking catalyst against Crystal Palace? The most likely candidate is Manuel Lanzini, the Argentinean No10 who has the ability to beat his man, create opportunities for others and score goals himself. With three in three appearances in Claret and Blue against the Eagles, Lanzini has previous form against this opposition, and he will need to maintain it if West Ham are to score a morale-boosting victory.
Allardyce
Big Sam is back... again! A little less than a year ago, Sam Allardyce made his first return to east London after recently being appointed manager of a struggling Premier League club. On that occasion, in February 2016, Big Sam's Sunderland were beaten 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground, but ultimately managed to stave off relegation. This time around, Allardyce brings his Crystal Palace team to London Stadium, with the Eagles having won one of their last 12 Premier League matches. A similar result will plunge Palace into further trouble and, potentially, the bottom three, so you can be sure Big Sam will be doing everything in his power to ensure his latest return is a successful one.
West Ham UNITED
Two home defeats with no goals scored were not the perfect way to kick-off 2017 at London Stadium. However, as the Joint-Chairman, manager and players have stated repeatedly this week, West Ham United will take inspiration from vocal support when they face Crystal Palace on Saturday. The London Stadium roar can be deafening and the Claret and Blue Army can spur the Hammers on to greater heights when in full voice. A truly united front will certainly give West Ham a better chance to celebrate a belated happy New Year!
Cheikhou Kouyate
African absences
Both West Ham United and Crystal Palace will have squads depleted by the absence of players on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Hammers will be without Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate and Ghana forward Andre Ayew, while the Eagles will have to make do without Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha. The team which copes best with its African absences could go a long way to deciding who leaves London Stadium victorious.
Tonks
Sam Allardyce will not be the only former Hammer returning to east London on Saturday afternoon. James Tomkins spent two decades with West Ham United, from schoolboy to first-team player, making 243 appearances and scoring eleven goals, winning promotion at Wembley in 2012. A favourite among the Claret and Blue Army, the Essex-born defender gave 100 per cent whenever he appeared, either as a centre-half or as an emergency right-back. Having left for no other reason than to seek regular first-team football, the 27-year-old will deserve the warm reception he gets from his one-time admirers.
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EXWHUEMPLOYEE EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: THE PAYET STORY
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 13 JANUARY 2017 AT 5:00PM
Payet crying
So the Payet situation is all out of the bag and it means I can speak openly about it now, something I have chosen to not do for the last two months since I knew trouble was brewing. Despite what people think of me, I do hold back on releasing info that I believe will have a negative impact on the team. The decision to tell everyone on our radio show that I knew Payet would be leaving was as a result of knowing that he wouldn't play against Palace and that Bilic was going to explain why.
Now since the summer our French wizard has been causing problems at the club. He expressed in the summer that he wished to leave the club in January. We made him a number of payments to keep him here including increased wages and loyalty (ironically) payments. Payet has had two pay increases in his time here and allegedly even had the cheek to demand one after the Brexit results saying that the weakness of the Pound against the Euro now he was losing wages. It was almost felt that he was joking at first but it took Cheik Kouyate pulling him aside in the changing room and telling him it affected most of the squad that he finally rejected these ludicrous demands but it had already caused tension between him and a number of players.
Despite being given an extended break from preseason because of his performances in the Euros he regularly missed training after this and many were absent without leave. This once more caused resentment in the team because it was appearing that he could get away without training when others were forced to come in. Just before the Swansea game he had missed a couple of training sessions and reported back the day before the game and declared he would play. Had Payet not performed as well as he did in that match I think more may have been said. Payet has continually sulked in training and not shown a great interest in anything that they have done and this has continued to wind up both the management and his teammates but to an extent, although not to last years' levels, he was still performing on the pitch so it was papering over it.
His wife and children have apparently never settled in Loughton and according to a number of people they have not been seen around the Loughton area for over a month now and have indeed moved back to France. There has been rumours and I can only say they are rumours that Mr Payet and his wife's relationship may have broken down perhaps due to another example of a lack of loyalty. Now of course I cannot confirm this and I cannot say for certain that it is true but it would make sense. As soon as Marseille came looking for him he made it very clear that he wants to go and we told him that he wouldn't be allowed so he has since said he would not play for the club until they agree the move. The example that he is shown is one that the club do not wish to tolerate and the original plan was to keep him with us until at least the summer and fine him for breaches of the contract. I personally would not do this and would just get rid of him as soon as possible and give us some money to buy new players but I totally respect the club's stance.
The club and Bilic (which was shown during his Euro celebrations of Payet's goals) have shown him continued loyalty and respect and he has failed to do the same to us. One of the factors behind signing Ayew was that he was a friend of Payet's and we thought they would link well together! I think this is a real unfortunate of today's game that the players hold this power. It could be said that Bilic has got a slight taste of his own medicine when he left us to join Everton because they had "more chance of winning things" however it is completely unfair on us fans who have sung his name in such adulation. Many fans have said to me recently that he will not even stop to sign autographs for young supporters anymore. It is also now embarrassing to have a giant shirt of his hanging up at the ground, which I think should now be replaced, as someone suggested to me, by a Dylan Tombides one.
A meeting was called this Monday where the directors and Slav sat down to discuss the situation with Payet and Bilic was told as the manager he has to deal with it. It was his decisions to announce the situation to the press. I am hoping now that we have this bad egg exposed and not taking part in training and matches it may unite the other players to perform more as a team and get better results. The problem for Slaven is that he needs to do this against Crystal Palace or the Payet situation could become some other manager's problem.
If you want to talk about the Payet situation or any transfer deals I will happily discuss these at our event tomorrow. The same will be said for Steve Lomas and Mark Ward who will take questions from the floor and be around to mingle with the fans. It really is a great event and is one of the few positives things going on around the club at the moment. https://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/78040/chk/ab5d
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Dimi who?
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 13th January 2017
By: Paul Walker
So our little French darling has got just what he wants, having pushed Slaven Bilic into a corner by stepping way beyond the line of acceptable, professional behaviour. But this is such an obviously, agent inspired piece of choreography that it would have done justice to Strictly, just how perfectly planned has been this process. When a player refuses to play for a team, the manager has no choice but to ban him from the club or he loses the respect and commitment of the rest of the side. Dimitri Payet's final stab into Bilic's heart has provoked the only result possible, and that being he will now be sold as quickly as possible because his position has been very intentionally made untenable with club and fans by his action. Dimi can never play for the club again. This has hurt Slav because he has been massaging egos, tap-dancing his way around a very difficult situation for many weeks now to try to keep Payet sweet, while knowing deep down that he is fighting a losing battle. Payet will be gone from the London Stadium (I almost put the Boleyn there) by the end of the transfer window, by making him stay around you have a serious problem. He has, by the conditions of his contract, got to be given access to training facilities. So if you do try to hang on until the summer, when his transfer value will have dropped even further, you run the risk of him being able to continue to poison morale of all around him.
Bilic cannot afford that, so he has had to admit defeat. The rest of the squad, those still training and battling hard, will have got pretty sick of the pampered treatment by now, and it would be easy to say that the Payet issue has caused enough trouble and conflict in the ranks already to have put our general performances on the pitch this season very much into perspective. Anyone who has seen Payet this season knows he has not been trying his best. One brilliant goal against Middlesbrough, one curling free-kick at Liverpool, and the rest has been patchy.
Where the statisticians get the facts about the chances he has created heaven know. Does that mean every corner and free-kick, every forward pass? You tell me. He has been a shadow of last season's form and the amount of times he has sulked away to the fringes of matches has been a disgrace. I first noticed it at Everton, when he was given a good kicking by Seamus Coleman and started to retreat and try really daft passes, showboating, out of defence. It cost a goal. Then there was the FA Cup tie at Manchester United when he actually stopped playing and started to remonstrate with Bilic from distance. He was hauled off. This was so obvious from the away section high up in the rafters at Old Trafford. Here was a player who couldn't care less. Bilic has staked his job, almost, on getting Payet to toe the line. The offer of more time off because he was tired from the Euros, then more time off training because of the same pressure. Then, seemingly, a gentleman's agreement that he would see out the season and be sold in the summer. But none of that was good enough for Payet, hence the last, final, act. To refuse to play for the club. Bilic was backed into a hole, with no alternative. And Payet, and his agents and advisors , have now got their way. There are now claims he has marriage problems, who knows.
But refusing to play is the one act that fellow professional cannot stand. But it has dramatic consequences. Payet now has to be sold and he will march away on a bigger contract somewhere else. He will be public enemy number one for only a few weeks, and he can take the heat until the next deal comes along.
What does surprise me is that so many people are surprised by all this. It goes on all the time, but rarely this public. Bilic, though, knows he could be on borrowed time if the current form continues, so he was not prepared to protect and pussyfoot around Payet any longer. He wants his team now to respond. To fight and work and win matches. Initially Bilic said he wanted the player to have a change of heart, to knuckle down and abide by whatever private agreement had been struck. I must admit, I would love to hear David Sullivan's phone conversations now with Payet's backers. The accusation of being "tapped up" is flying about. Heaven forbid.
Every club does that, either via family members, agents, old colleagues or even journalists. I know one such fella in the north who has made a career out of tapping players for clubs, and then writing about it in the media. It goes on all the time. Then there is shock, horror, claims that Payet has already discussed terms with Marseille. I would never have guessed. I recall seeing quotes a few weeks back from France with Marseille coach Rudi Garcia suggesting he had persuaded Payet to return to the club. Marseille's president is supposed to have Payet's number on speed dial. But before we get all high and mighty, think back to when Payet arrived here. One of his advisers is reputed to have told Marseille that Payet had already agreed terms with West Ham. And the only reason he signed at all is because the French club needed the money desperately as their previous owners floundered toward bankruptcy.
This all started when Marseille had failed to qualify for the Champions League and their players had wage reductions in their contracts, including Payet. He argued for a new, improved, contract which was not forthcoming. The 'will he or won't he sign for us' went on right to the brink, with Payet desperate for Marseille to give him a new deal. They wouldn't, so he came to London.
Sullivan's go-to agent, Mark Mackay, France-based, facilitated that deal, and has boasted since that he saved West Ham £10m because of the financial state Marseille were in, and how near they were to financial collapse. They just needed the money. So Marseille now have new, rich owners and want their man back. The way they were mugged off last time suggests they will have little sympathy for us now. And they think they have the whip hand because Payet says he only wants to return to their club. Hence the £20m bid, rejected this week, that prompted the player's showdown with Bilic. Marseille believe they can get away with a low bid because they are the only gig in town.
West Ham may have to swallow a bit to get a lot more, and that will only come from within the Premier League. Payet says he is homesick and has a back injury (more a pain in the neck to Bilic). So if West Ham get a big offer from say, Chelsea, £40m or so, what does the player do? Chelsea can double wages. I wonder just how homesick he will feel with that one. All that, of course, ignores the fact that he knows how to behave as a professional whatever the problems are he has at home. But we knew what we were getting into. Payet did not just come down from the Gods when we went for him. Everyone knew what he was like. Arsene Wenger put it well by saying "he lacks mentality". Brains to you and me.
Wenger knew all about him, and didn't try to sign him. Nobody else did either. Payet has had "attitude" problems with Le Havre, Nantes, St.Etienne and Marseille before we came along. This is why he was still messing about in the French League at 28, all that talent and a character the big clubs wouldn't trust. You may also recall that he had been dumped by the French manager because of his lack of effort when not in possession. There is a story of how Payet once punched a club skipper after a row over him being lazy on the pitch and in training.
Last season we got away with this because Payet wanted to perform, he wanted to be in the Euros and he had Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate to do his running for him. He was also something of a surprise package. Not so this season with Premier League sides having spent a lot of time working out how to nullify his talent. Double and treble-marked, facing a high press, and even those free kicks are not as dangerous now clubs have worked out how best to set up their walls to counter what Payet can do. He wanted a pay rise before the season started following his exploits in the Euros, which he didn't get just six months after signing a new five year contract on £125,000 a week, the highest paid player in our history.
So he started the season with the hump, and it has just got worse. Bilic has a right to feel let down, he knows the talent and knows that if he is in the mood, Payet can win games for us like he did last season. But this time around we have seen his truer colours, the behaviour that became common place in France. But he has to go, he has let his club, manager and us fans down. Such a shame. He will get a big new deal somewhere, and his galaxy of agents and advisors will all benefit, just like they did when his arrival here was engineered in the first place.
West Ham call this situation a lose-lose one for them. For Payet and the agents it's a win-win one for them. So bye bye Dimi… "who are you, who are you?"
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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Exclusive: Slaven Bilic reveals what was said between him and wantaway West Ham star Dimitri Payet
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
To be completely honest, the last thing I want to talk about in this column is the situation surrounding Dimitri Payet. I said what I needed to say in my press conference yesterday, although I do understand that many West Ham fans will be reading this today and will feel as disappointed as I do that it has come to this. They will want to know why this has happened.
Now, though, I owe it to my players, to concentrate on them, to prepare them for what is a massive game against Crystal Palace. I have many times heard the mantra that "the team is bigger than any individual". A saying such as this, although often true, means little in theory, but in this case it couldn't be more accurate. I would only add this. This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now. Two days ago, he and I had a meeting. I won't disclose what was said, but I was left in no doubt as to his intentions.
Yesterday, just before the normal pre-match press conference, I asked Dimitri one more time: "Are you standing by what you said a couple of days ago or have you thought more about it?" He replied that he was standing by his decision, so that was that. The right thing to do then was to tell the supporters and the players what was happening and I informed the squad later that morning, before we began training.
It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday's match without him. He will not train with the rest of the squad and the club's position remains consistent, which is that he is not for sale.
It would be much, much better if this had not happened and that he had remained committed to West Ham, but that is not the case, so life goes on. Many times over the years, clubs have lost quality players but gained a team. There is no point in saying we won't miss Dimitri Payet because the fans know — we know — that he is a great player. What I mean, though, is, for example, when a team has a player sent off, somehow that often gives the rest of the players more energy, they dig deeper.
I am not so much hoping as expecting this reaction from my team against Crystal Palace tomorrow. I have seen that reaction before this season and it shows me they have character. They showed it after we lost 5-1 to Arsenal and I expect them to show it again following a similar defeat by Manchester City. The most disappointing aspect of that game for me was the way we reacted after they scored their first goal from the penalty spot.
Yes, we missed a great opportunity to equalise soon after, but when that didn't happen we began to chase them all over the pitch. You can't do that, especially against a top team like Manchester City. Particularly in the Premier League, you have to continue to play the same way, whether you are one goal up or one goal down. The classic example of what happens if you don't do that was Brazil vs Germany in the 2014 World Cup. Brazil, after they conceded the first goal, lost it completely. They wanted to score two goals in one attack, they went all over the pitch and Germany just picked them off. Result? Brazil lost 7-1. When your opponents have the ball, you have to respect that. You can be further up the pitch, yes, but you must not lose your discipline. Do that and you are risking everything, especially against a team like City, because they have quality players and they will not make mistakes if they are given enough time and space.
We are not despondent, though... we are far from that. Apart from that match we had been doing well. We have to move on from that defeat, yet learn the lessons. I do not want to lose the way we are playing because of one game because even in other recent defeats, such as against Manchester United and Leicester, we have deserved to take something from those games.
Yes, tomorrow is a massive game, but many other clubs will feel their games are of similar importance. There are many teams who are in similar positions to ourselves.
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West Ham United v Crystal Palace
SAT, 14 JAN 2017PREMIER LEAGUE
15:00
Venue: London Stadium
BBC.co.uk
TEAM NEWS
West Ham will be without unsettled playmaker Dimitri Payet, who has refused to play for the club according to manager Slaven Bilic.
Michail Antonio is a doubt because of illness, but James Collins and Sam Byram return to the squad after injury.
Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke has overcome a shoulder problem, while goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is expected to be fit.
Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are away on Africa Cup of Nations Cup duty.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Alistair Mann: "After three losses in a row without scoring, the last thing Slaven Bilic needed was Dimitri Payet's refusal to play for West Ham. "A run of 10 points from four games prior to the current losing streak had demonstrated signs of improvement. Bilic will now be attempting to convince his squad that they can again recapture that form despite this latest disruption. "Bilic's predecessor, Sam Allardyce, brings his Crystal Palace side to the London Stadium for a match with genuine significance. "A home win would put nine points between the two teams; a defeat would see Big Sam's Palace move just three points behind. It could be quite an afternoon!"
Twitter: @alistairmann01
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "We have to bounce back from the Manchester City defeat and make up for it on Saturday. It is a massive game. "We want to pick up points and be safe as soon as possible. We have a chance on Saturday to make the gap bigger with teams below us."
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce on his former club: "The past is something I don't reflect on very often because the future is the most important thing but I had four very enjoyable years at West Ham. "I am looking forward to the game and seeing the new stadium so it will be interesting to have a look behind the scenes there, but most importantly it is the result I am looking for."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
This game is very hard to call. It is a London derby and it would also be a big first win for Sam Allardyce as Crystal Palace manager - but I am going for a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Sam Allardyce is still looking for his first win as Crystal Palace manager after four games.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham haven't won any of their last four home league games against the Eagles, with their last victory coming in October 2003 (D2, L2).
However, Crystal Palace have only won once in their last five league meetings with the Hammers (D1, L3).
West Ham United
West Ham have lost their last three matches in all competitions without scoring a goal - they could fail to score in four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since a run of seven in a row from September to October 2006.
They have already suffered four league defeats at home this season, one more than the whole of last season.
The Hammers have scored just nine Premier League goals at home this season (10 matches) - the fewest in the division along with Middlesbrough.
Slaven Bilic's side have earned 22 points from 20 league games this season, 10 fewer than they had at this stage last season.
Manuel Lanzini has scored in all three of his Premier League appearances against the Eagles.
Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce is looking for his first victory as Palace manager at the fifth attempt in all competitions.
Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 14 league matches (D3, L10).
They have conceded a goal in each of their last 20 away league matches since the 0-0 draw at Bournemouth on Boxing Day 2015.
The Eagles had 15 points more at this stage last season (31) than they currently have after 20 games in 2016-17.
Allardyce has lost just once in his last 10 Premier League games against former side West Ham, although that defeat was in his most recent meeting when at Sunderland in February 2016 (W5, D4, L1).
SAM's verdict
Most probable score: 1-1 Probability of draw: 24%
Probability of home win: 53% Probability of away win: 23%
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.
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Fanni hoping L'OM have financial clout
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 13th January 2017
By: Staff Writer
Marseille veteran Rod Fanni says it would be a sign of the club's ambitions were they to re-sign West Ham United's Dimitri Payet.
The 35-year-old defender, who has himself been linked with a move to West Ham in recent years revealed that he was a big fan fo the 29-year-old Euro 16 star, who is being linked with a return to the South of France.
"We talked about it in the changing room, the situation looks pretty delicate," Fanni told L'Equipe. "I'm not going to say too much one way or the other as I don't have enough information.
"I don't know if he feels respected or not as a man but I hope it will end well for him, more than it will for his club! It would be great if he were to join OM. I am a big fan. But this is a rather complicated subject.
"If he came back, it would be a strong sign of the club's ambitions. It is no small task to obtain his services as he has many clubs interested in signing him. It would be a big investment."
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Simone Zaza set to leave West Ham for Valencia - Sky sources
By Paul Vinnell
Last Updated: 13/01/17 7:17pm
SSN
Simone Zaza's unhappy spell at West Ham looks set to end with the striker agreeing to a move to Valencia, according to Sky sources. The Hammers signed Zaza on loan from Juventus last summer in a deal which was to become permanent if he played in 14 games. Zaza, who has accepted the move, played 11 times, failing to score, and West Ham are unwilling to sign him. Juventus have accepted an offer from Valencia to take him on loan for the rest of the season. There will be a €2m loan fee with an obligation to buy at £14m with a further €1.75m in add-ons, provided two conditions are met. They are that Valencia are not relegated from La Liga, and that he makes over 10 appearances for them. Zaza, 25, could travel to Valencia on Friday to undergo a medical.
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West Ham rebel Dimitri Payet said he'd FAKE an injury if they tried to make him play
The Frenchman wants to leave and has effectively gone on strike, refusing to even train
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWIS
21:20, 13 JAN 2017
Dimitri Payet has threatened to feign injury if West Ham order him to play. Transfer rebel Payet gave the warning in a showdown with Hammers officials on Tuesday. A club insider revealed: "He has said that unless he gets a move he will neither train nor play and he will invent an injury." West Ham officials were astonished by the threat, with the 29-year-old playmaker effectively on strike. Boss Slaven Bilic has revealed he went back to Payet before Thursday's press conference, asking him to retract his transfer request. Payet refused and Bilic went public. So although the Irons are publicly adamant they do not want to sell their prize asset, he will go if they receive an acceptable offer. Bilic said: "It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday's match without him. "He will not train with the rest of the squad and the club's position remains consistent, which is that he is not for sale. "It would be much better if this had not happened and he had remained committed to West Ham, but that is not the case, so life goes on."
France international was signed from Marseille for £10.75million in 2015 and he would like to return to the French club. A source close to him revealed there had been more talks between them and the club on Friday and they were hopeful to find, "An adult solution that works for everybody". Hammers' officials have tried to persuade the player to stay until the end of the season to help them climb the Premier League. The Payet source added: "The meeting went well we are hopeful he will be able to go with the club's blessing."
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Slaven Bilic expects Dimitri Payet to return to West Ham team
By Jefferson Lake
Last Updated: 13/01/17 8:36am
SSN
Slaven Bilic expects Dimitri Payet to end his self-imposed exile and return to the West Ham team. The Hammers boss wants Payet to return to the squad and "show commitment to the team" following Thursday's confirmation that the France international is refusing to play for the club. Bilic remains adamant the player will not be sold despite his absence from both first-team training and Saturday's Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace. Sky sources understand a £19m offer from Ligue 1 club Marseille has already been turned down. Payet signed a five-year contract at West Ham in February while Chelsea have been linked with the move for the 29-year-old in several national newspapers. Slaven Bilic says Dimitri Payet is refusing to play for West Ham and wants to leave - but insists the French midfielder won't be sold "Until he changes his attitude he is out of the team and he's not going to train with us," said the Croatian. "But we are not going to sell him, not whatsoever. I expect him to come back and show commitment and determination to the team, like the team has shown to him. "Is this my toughest challenge? Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be up there fighting with Chelsea. "But I was thinking on Wednesday by myself that this, including this new situation, is an unbelievably great challenge for me personally. "I feel so strong - and I don't like it - but I want that challenge and I want to try and solve this puzzle now. I don't know how to tell you that. "It's not enjoyable of course but when you have such a big challenge in front of you, it motivates you even more and it gets the best out of you and that's how I feel now."
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Dimitri Payet's agent to hold West Ham talks in bid to push through Marseille move
Last Updated: 13/01/17 11:02am
SSN
Dimitri Payet's agent will hold talks with West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan on Friday, in a bid to push through a move to Marseille, Sky sources understand. Payet's representative will sit down with Sullivan to discuss the player's refusal to play for the club and his desire to secure a move to the Ligue 1 club in the January transfer window. Hammers boss Slaven Bilic confirmed on Thursday that the France international is not involved in first-team training and will not be selected for the weekend game against Crystal Palace. Sky sources understand a £19m offer from Marseille has already been turned down. Payet signed a five-year contract at West Ham in February while Chelsea have been linked with the move for the 29-year-old in several national newspapers. Bilic said he "expects" Payet to end his self-imposed exile and return to playing for the club, but the player's agent will tell Sullivan that his intention is to leave and that his preferred destination is Marseille. "We have said we don't want to sell our best players but Dimitri Payet does not want to play for us," said Bilic, on Thursday. "We are not going to sell him. I spoke to the chairman and this is not a money issue. We gave him a long contract because we want him to stay. "He is refusing to play for us. I have a team to manage. He's probably been tapped up. Until he changes his attitude and shows the commitment the club have shown him, he is out of the team."
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West Ham v Crystal Palace preview: Dimitri Payet missing for Hammers
By Patrick Surlis
Last Updated: 13/01/17 12:51pm
SSN
West Ham will be without Dimitri Payet for the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday after the France star refused to play as he wants to leave the club. Sky sources understand Payet is keen to return to former club Marseille, who have had a £19m offer turned down by the Hammers. Crystal Palace, who hope to complete a deal for Leicester winger Jeffrey Schlupp in time to feature at the London Stadium, are yet to win a match under new boss Sam Allardyce. His former club West Ham are struggling themselves, having lost three matches in succession without scoring a goal. Allardyce is set to be boosted by the return of two key players from injury, with both Christian Benteke and Wayne Hennessey expected to be fit to play after missing the FA Cup draw at Bolton.
Team news
Payet will not be involved for West Ham while top scorer Michail Antonio did not train on Thursday due to flu so he will be assessed.
Defenders James Collins (thigh) and Sam Byram (hamstring) return to the squad after spells out but Diafra Sakho (back), Alvaro Arbeloa (calf), Arthur Masuaku and Gokhan Tore (both knee) are still injured while Andre Ayew and Cheikhou Kouyate are at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Benteke has recovered from a shoulder complaint which ruled him out against Bolton while goalkeeper Hennessey, who also missed the Wanderers game with a knock, is facing a late fitness but is likely to return. Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Connor Wickham, Steve Mandanda, Jonathan Benteke (all knee) and Pape Souare (broken leg) remain sidelined.
Opta stats
West Ham have not won any of their last four home league games against the Eagles, last beating them in October 2003 at home (D2 L2).
However, Crystal Palace have been victorious in just one of their last five league contests against the Hammers (D1 L3).
West Ham's only win in a London derby this season came at Selhurst Park (L3) while Palace have lost all four of their London derbies this season.
Sam Allardyce has been beaten just once in his last 10 Premier League games against former side West Ham, though this was with Sunderland in February 2016 (W5 D4 L1).
Crystal Palace had won 15 points more at this stage last season (31) than they currently have after 20 games in 2016-17 (16).
West Ham had won 32 points after 20 Premier League games this season; 10 more than they have after 20 matches this season (22).
Paul Merson's prediction
Palace haven't really clicked under Sam Allardyce yet and with no Wilfried Zaha I don't see how they are going to hurt West Ham. I think the hosts will win, even without Dimitri Payet. Let's be honest, if it wasn't for West Ham then we probably wouldn't even know who Payet is - they put him on the map and then he treats them like this. I'd say get rid of him, get £30m and drop him off. You don't want people like that around who just use the club.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (10/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
West Ham are 13/10 with Sky Bet to collect the points as Crystal Palace are given a 21/10 chance while the draw is priced at 23/10. Sam Allardyce's men head into the weekend as 100/30 fifth favourites for relegation, while his former club are hardly deemed safe in the market at 14/1.
Andy Carroll heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while Christian Benteke is rated the hosts' main threat at 11/2.
West Ham v Palace features among this weekend's Super 6 games and you can play for free right here to win £250k.
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Why losing Dimitri Payet would be a heavy blow for West Ham
By Ben McAleer, Whoscored.com
Last Updated: 13/01/17 3:53pm
SSN
Just how important is Dimitri Payet to West Ham? As his future is thrown into doubt, Whoscored.com take a look at the stats...
"Payet does not want to play for us." That solitary sentence was like a dagger through the heart of West Ham boss Slaven Bilic as he confirmed that key man and creator-in-chief Dimitri Payet wishes to leave the club on Thursday. After a stunning Euro 2016 campaign, speculation surrounding the 29-year-old was rife, with Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan stating the player was worth £100m following rumoured interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid. Along with N'Golo Kante, Payet was arguably the signing of last season following his arrival at West Ham from Marseille. He scored nine goals and registered a further 12 assists to record an impressive WhoScored.com rating of 7.74, but recent events certainly leave a sour taste in the mouths of Hammers fans. While his influence may have lessened somewhat in his second season in east London, the player's desire to leave has also raised questions of West Ham's recent transfer business.
The Hammers were linked with a host of big-name strikers over the summer, yet the captures of Jonathan Calleri and Simone Zaza hardly inspired confidence. That duo have already fallen out of favour, and a calf injury to Andre Ayew in the opening week of the season did not help their cause either.
Of course, it wasn't for want of trying. West Ham's owners strived to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Michy Batshuayi, Alexandre Lacazette and Carlos Bacca, to name four of their reported targets, but a failure to bring in a sufficient striker means the club languish in 13th in the Premier League. Their top-scoring striker is Andy Carroll, who has just two Premier League goals to his name.
Indeed, it's feasible to suggest that a consistent goalscorer would have placed West Ham in the top half of the table. Payet has made more key passes (74) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season; Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is his closest competitor, back on 58.
While to some he may have failed to hit the creative heights of his debut campaign, Payet has still significantly improved West Ham in the final third and remained crucial to their output, registering six assists.
Since Payet's arrival, the Hammers average 1.67 goals per league game with him starting compared to just 0.92 without him. As such, West Ham's win percentage drops from 41.3 per cent to 25 per cent when he does not feature from the off.
Having been directly involved in 33 per cent of West Ham's 88 league goals since signing, the club are now facing the mountainous task of replacing their key attacker before the month draws to a close, be it internally or from an external source.
It's fair to say, though, that none of Bilic's current attacking players offer a similar threat to Payet. Manuel Lanzini ranks second for key passes at West Ham this season with 22 - a whopping 53 behind Payet - while Michail Antonio is third with 17.
Should West Ham sanction Payet's departure despite Bilic's insistence that he won't be sold, they could use the funds raised to bring in another creative star to fill the gargantuan void Payet's possible exit would leave.
WhoScored.com have already picked out a number of possible contenders to help cover the potential loss of Payet, including Ryad Boudebouz and Jonathan Viera, but of course that hinges on the France international's sale.
At his age, Payet perhaps believes he should be challenging for major honours rather than plying his trade for a mid-table Premier League side who sit seven points above the relegation zone. Having come within touching distance of winning the European Championship in the summer, it's understandable that Payet might have a thirst for winners' medals.
Nevertheless, the Hammers fans aren't happy, and for good reason. With their former favourite seemingly keen on a return to his former club Marseille, his intentions in terms of leaving for silverware could certainly be questioned.
While reports suggest that he is looking to move due to his family not having settled in London, it didn't prevent him from signing a new bumper contract lst season.
It certainly appears that a player whose attitude has been called into question on numerous occasions in the past is determined to jump ship just as the waters are getting choppy. The fans might not be singing 'We've got Payet' for much longer.
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Five things you might not know about England footballing hero Bobby Moore
ITV's new drama Tina and Bobby looks at the relationship between West Ham and England legend Bobby Moore and his wife. We reveal five things you might not know about him.
bt.com
By Louisa McKenzie
Last updated: 13 January 2017, 14:47 GMT Print this story
ITV's new three-part drama Tina and Bobby, which airs on Fridays at 9pm from January 13, tells the behind-the-scenes story of the ups and downs of Tina and Bobby Moore's relationship. Bobby Moore is known to many as a West Ham legend, having played for the London side between 1958 and 1974. He was also one of the heroes of England's 1966 World Cup win – captaining the side and setting up one of Geoff Hurst's goals. He married Tina – played by Our Girl's Michelle Keegan in the ITV adaptation – in 1962 and it is their relationship which is explored in Tina and Bobby. But behind his famous footballing career, here are five things you might not know about Bobby Moore:
Bobby and Tina were like an early version of Towie
Bobby met the woman who would go on to become his wife and – by some estimates – the very first WAG in 1958. He was 17 and just starting out in the West Ham senior team when he met 16-year-old Tina Dean in Ilford's Palais nightclub. They married in 1960 and eventually settled in a house in Chigwell, part of Essex's wealthy golden triangle. "Bobby bought us a Jaguar - a car he had always longed for - and we had the house of our dreams built on a plot of land on the best street in Chigwell, Essex. It was a Georgian-style house with an extended porch you could drive your car under if it was raining, so our new and beautiful designer clothes wouldn't get ruined," Tina Moore told the Daily Mail in 2006. "We also had a sweeping staircase like something out of Gone With The Wind and a private bar. "I suppose we may have started the trend for a flashy 'footballers' wives' lifestyle in a way - we called our house Morlands, the land of the Moores." The couple had two children but sadly divorced in 1986, following Bobby's affair with flight attendant Stephanie Parlane, who would go on to be his second wife.
Bobby survived cancer at the age of 23
In 1964, at the age of 23, Moore was England captain, his club West Ham were FA Cup winners and he was named Footballer of the Year. He was also diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time, a cancer diagnosis was given to the patient's next-of-kin, who had to make the heart-wrenching decision whether the patient should be told or not. In Bobby's case that next of kin was his wife, Tina. According to the Radio Times, she decided he shouldn't know. "Back then, it was a death sentence," Tina told the Radio Times. "The very thought of cancer could affect the healing process. That word was never, ever mentioned between us in all the years we were together." However, according to recent Moore biography The Man in Full by Matt Dickinson, Moore was fully aware of his diagnosis.
Moore was successfully treated for his cancer and went on to make a comeback to football which would culminate in him lifting the World Cup in 1966.
He was once accused of stealing a bracelet in Columbia
Following England's 1966 triumph, the team was set to defend its title at the following World Cup in Mexico. England preparations were dampened, however, when Moore – still the team's captain – was arrested and accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellers in Bogota, Columbia, where the team were playing pre-World Cup friendlies. He spent four days under house arrest at the home of the director of the Colombian Football Association in what became an international incident. Then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson was forced to intervene to secure Moore's release and he was able to head to Mexico and play in the World Cup. Moore was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and the case was formally closed in 1972.
One of Moore's middle names was Chelsea
Moore may have spent most of his playing career at West Ham before a spell with Fulham, but he shared one of his middle names with another London club – Chelsea. Moore's full name was Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore. Reportedly Chelsea was a family name. Bobby's first wife Tina has explained that following the end of his playing career and short-lived forays into management, Moore was disappointed not to be given a role by the FA. "He was deeply depressed," Tina told the Radio Times. "He was very proud, and felt rejected, bewildered. It was outrageous how the FA treated him, a scandal. It's all very well that there are statues to him now, but that should have happened during his lifetime. Back then, he started to withdraw into himself." Instead he moved into business and owned several pubs and clubs as well as a variety of other business concerns such as Bobby Moore Jewellery and Bobby Moore T-Shirts. None of these ventures was ultimately very successful.
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Slaven Bilic: Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce left me a good legacy at West Ham
SLAVEN BILIC
Evening Standard
It will be good to meet up with Sam Allardyce tomorrow. We will have a chat and a glass of wine after the game whatever the result.
I like Sam very much and he did a good job for West Ham. He left me a good legacy when I came here and from what I have been told, did much to improve things on the pitch during his four years. Of course much has changed since he left. We're not at the Boleyn any more and we have also changed training grounds but he left me the basis of a good squad and some of the players, especially the British ones who played under him, are still here. It will be a tough game and the thing I have noticed about Crystal Palace is their inconsistency. They seem to have long, good runs and then long spells of poor results. We played well at Selhurst Park earlier this season despite Aaron Cresswell being harshly sent off. I remember when we played Palace at Upton Park last season we also had a player red carded. It was Cheikhou Kouyate but, as in the recent case of Sofiane Feghouli, that was rescinded on appeal.
No '66 triumph with FIFA's plan!
Finally,, Fifa's decision to expand the number of teams in the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams is great for national team managers because, if you're a half-decent side, you know you will qualify. When I played in the Finals there were 32 teams in the competition and when England won it in 1966 there were only 16. That's why you won! Only joking.
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Gary Neville and John Hartson deliver damning verdicts on Dimitri Payet situation
HITC
Damien Lucas
Pundits Gary Neville and John Hartson have not held back in their assessment of Dimitri Payet's situation at West Ham United. A forlorn Slaven Bilic told the world's press yesterday that his talismanic Frenchman was effectively on strike and refusing to play for the club. Despite not reaching the same levels he set last season and at the European Championships with France, this term Payet has still statistically been West Ham's most creative player. Bilic insists the player will not get his wish to be sold to former club Marseille, with claims his family are homesick, as reported by The Mirror. But now Gary Neville and John Hartson have insisted the East Londoners are better off without him, delivering damning verdicts on his situation at the club. Manchester United legend Neville has played alongside some world greats in his career and he offered a withering riposte to Payet on Twitter. "You're (West Ham) better off without him," Neville said on Twitter. "He's a grain of sand on a beach to your club."
Gary Neville ? @GNev2
You're better off without him. He's a grain of sand on a beach to your club. https://twitter.com/nickylpearce/status/819883709621043200 …
1:00 PM - 13 Jan 2017
214 214 Retweets 528 528 likes
Meanwhile former Hammers hero John Hartson has warned Payet not to mess with the club's notoriously loyal fans in an interview with talkSPORT. Speaking to the Ray Stubbs Show on talkSPORT 2, the Welshman said: "The West Ham supporters are outraged and I don't think there's a way back for Payet, I really don't. I don't think he can ever play for West Ham again. I think it's gone too far. "When the fans turn, especially the West Ham fans who can be very loyal, that can be very aggressive. "When the West Ham fans turn I think they can be the worst in the country. And I believe they have totally turned against Payet."
The majority of West Ham supporters now feel the club should sell Payet this month and focus on avoiding relegation. A section of supporters blame Payet's unhappiness on the club's owners David Sullivan and David Gold who failed to make good on promises to spend big on marquee signings in the summer off the back of West Ham's big move to the Olympic Stadium.
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A move for Brentford striker Scott Hogan by West Ham has reportedly broken down
By Essex Chronicle | Posted: January 13, 2017
Reports are gathering that West Ham's well publicised move for Brentford striker Scott Hogan has broken down, with the Hammers unwilling to match the west London club's £15m valuation. Hogan is one of the hottest properties outside the Premier League, with 14 goals in 25 games for the Bees in the Championship this season and the Hammers' desire to sign the front man is one of the worst kept secrets in football. Only yesterday (Thursday) morning, the Hammers were reportedly on the verge of striking a deal but that now appears not to be the case, according to well-known West Ham insider @ExWHUemployee on Twitter.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Bees boss Dean Smith commented on the Hogan situation, saying: "There has been a lot of speculation and offers from clubs but he has a value to us and we want to keep him at the club if we can." "We will certainly have to bring people in if Scott goes. We have been looking throughout so we have a number of different options. "Scott is a driven person. You can see that by his demeanour on the pitch and his goalscoring record for us and Rochdale. I expect him to want to score a hat-trick vs Newcastle to show people who question his Premier League credentials that he can do it."
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West Ham demand more than £35m for Dimitri Payet as Frenchman targets Marseille transfer
Payet is effectively on strike at West Ham
The Independent
Jack Austin @jackaustin_1 34 minutes ago0 comments
West Ham will demand between £35m and £40m for on-strike talisman Dimitri Payet. Payet is on strike at the Hammers, refusing to play for the club or train, as he attempts to force through a move to former club Marseille this month. Slaven Bilic said he felt betrayed by the 29-year-old for his attitude after the Hammers rejected a £20m bid from the Ligue 1 side, with their manager Rudi Garcia saying: "Quite obviously I would take him any day of the week." The Times say Payet will be fined two weeks wages – around £250,000 in total – after telling the club he is unable to train because of a back injury. The midfielder signed a new contract with the Hammers last February and was made the best-paid player in their history to keep him at the club until 2021, with the option of a further year. The newspaper also said that he requested a further wage hike after his Euro 2016 performances, which included three goals and two man-of-the-match displays, but West Ham refused, leading to his dismay with the club this season. Marseille have been taken over by Frank McCourt, the former owner for Major League Baseball team LA Dodgers, and Payet is attracted by the plans he has in place for his former club.
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'I always gave my all for West Ham, but it was a good time to move on and I back my decision'
By Essex Chronicle | Posted: January 13, 2017
By Robert Warlow
James Tomkins has plenty of memories from his time at West Ham, but insists it was the right time to move on in the summer. The defender is preparing to return to his former club for the first time since joining Crystal Palace in the summer, with the Eagles the visitors to the London Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) for a crucial Premier League clash. And he says he is looking forward to facing his old side, although he has tried to play down the significance of the game for him personally. "I am looking forward to going back [to West Ham], but it doesn't really feel like I am going back, in terms of the stadium, with it not being Upton Park, but I am looking forward to the game," he said. "It is a big game for both teams and we're expecting it to be a tight game, but we are fully intent on getting the three points that we need. "For me, playing against West Ham is a new scenario with this being my first year at a new club, but I approach it the same as any other game. "I want to do the best that I can for Palace and get three points to move up the table, and that is the only intention for us."
But Tomkins admits there will be a few people he will look out for at West Ham, but only after the game. "I don't want to make any friends before the game," he said. "It will be post-match, depending if we get a good result. There are a few staff who have been there years. There's a guy called Pete the kitman who has been there years and years. I don't think he's working as much - I sent him a text saying 'you'll be missed more than me' because we were both leaving almost together. "I thought he'd be missed more than me in terms of characters, because that's what it's all about. These sort of clubs - West Ham and Palace - you have people who have been there and are part of the furniture of the club. They keep the club going and don't normally get a mention. "They are the ones you want to see most and say hello to."
Meanwhile, Tomkins says he still looks back on his time at West Ham fondly, adding that while he experienced a number of highs and lows during his time at Upton Park, he will always remember two key moments as a Hammer. "For sure, promotion was massive [at West Ham]. Everyone wants to play in the Premier League. To go down to the Championship was disheartening and sad. But we managed to get back up straightaway. I've had a few runs in cups but certainly the promotion was a massive plus in my career. "And the last game was Manchester United – a massive game. The last game played at the Boleyn and then everyone was trying to take all the memorabilia.
"Leading up to that was madness - trying to get into the ground - it was fans everywhere. Things getting thrown left, right and centre. The Manchester United bus got smashed up. It was a crazy day. I started on the bench but managed to get on, which was great in terms of a memorable game. It felt like a cup final."
Nevertheless, he felt it was the right time for him to move on in the summer, adding that despite it being almost 20 years at the club, it was time for a new challenge. And he says he is hopeful of a good reception from the supporters on his first return to West Ham. "I think it was a good time to move," he said. "Fans are always close to players who are homegrown, I've been there since I was eight years old, so I don't think there would be too many reasons they would take a disliking to me because of that. "I always gave my all for West Ham. Like I'm trying to do for Palace. It was the time to move for me. I always back that decision. "I'm not a young lad - 18 or 19 - making decisions like that. I'm a grown man. Twenty years at West Ham - you don't forget that in a hurry. But it was certainly the right time for me to move."
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West Ham concede Dimitri Payet stand-off is a 'lose-lose situation' and will fine wantaway star for breach of contract
KEN DYER, JONATHAN JOHNSON
Evening Standard
West Ham today described Dimitri Payet's refusal to play for the club again as a "lose-lose situation". The 29-year-old France international has told West Ham that he will never play for them after they refused to sanction a move back to Marseille, who he left in the summer of 2015. Reports in French sports newspaper L'Equipe today say that the 29-year-old Payet has agreed personal terms with Marseille, while there is further speculation in France that West Ham have rejected a £19.1million offer for the player. The bid is also said to include a further £2.6m in add-ons. Meanwhile, an angry West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has responded by telling Payet, who yesterday reported a back injury, that he will not be allowed to train with the first-team squad until his attitude changes.
The France forward was photographed leaving the ground in a Ferrari after training yesterday, following Bilic's bombshell press conference when he revealed the rift. The club can continue to fine the player up to two weeks' wages, around £250,000, every time he is in breach of his contract and refuses to play. West Ham are adamant that Payet, who joined West Ham for £11m, is not for sale and a reliable club source said today: "This is a lose-lose situation for the club." The report in L'Equipe says that Payet has spoken to Marseille president Jacques Henri Eyraud several times over the past two months and that the player has also had "multiple" conversations with manager Rudi Garcia. In an interview with French broadcaster RTL, which will be shown in full on Sunday, Garcia is quoted as saying: "You are talking to me about Dimitri Payet and obviously I would take him here every day of the week."
Meanwhile, Marseille player William Vainqueur said: "All the players are dreaming of a Payet return. It would be extraordinary." Bilic, meanwhile, is preparing for a vital derby tomorrow against Crystal Palace without Payet and there are reports that his team-mates had become increasingly frustrated by the player's attitude in recent months. Payet, who has also been quoted in France as saying that his family are unsettled in London, remains adamant he has played his last game for West Ham. The club must now decide whether to dig in their heels and make Payet stay, at least until the end of the season, or cash in during the January transfer window and spend at least some of the money on strengthening their squad. They have already had an offer of £3m for Hull's Robert Snodgrass rejected but look likely now to go back with an improved bid. Also on West Ham's radar is Southampton's experienced Portuguese international defender Jose Fonte, who has been left out of the South Coast club's first team after submitting a transfer request.
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West Ham will sell Dimitri Payet in January after he informed club he wants to return to France
Default author imageGOSSIP
Coral Barry for Metro.co.uk
Friday 13 Jan 2017 11:17 am
West Ham have reportedly decided to sell Dimitri Payet less than 24 hours after Slaven Bilic insisted the star midfielder was going nowhere this January. Payet sat out training on Thursday after complaining about back pain with West Ham extremely suspicious of his sudden injury. West Ham's talisman has been linked with a move to Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Marseille since the club announced his intention to leave. We are not going to sell him. This team, the staff, we gave him everything, we were always there for him. I feel let down. I feel angry.' The France international has already told the club he wants to leave and the Mirror claim he wants to return to France. Bilic hit out at Payet in his Thursday press conference after he informed the manager on Tuesday that he would no longer play for the club. Payet's former club Marseille have reportedly had a £19 million bid rejected as West Ham anticipate a bidding war for Payet's services. West Ham will hold out for the highest possible bid, but are devastated at the news their star man has turned his back on the Hammers after they handed him a £125,000-a-week contract less than eight months into his time in London. Payet has told West Ham he wants to return home for 'personal reasons' and has informed them he will not be featuring in any more games while he awaits the transfer.
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BRILLIANT FROM BILIC OR MORE BOARD BLUNDERS?
TOM BURFORD
ReadWestHam
After seeing what is probably the most watched press conference of the week, we all know that our talismanic midfielder Dimitri Payet is looking to force a move away from Upton Park.
In a season that just seems to get worse as the weeks roll on, it would be understandable to perceive that the handling of this situation is more bad publicity in a year of club leaked transfer rumours, broken stadium promises and unrest amongst supporters.
There are two key issues for me that have arisen from this morning's press conference. Firstly did Slaven Bilic make the right call to reveal all about Payet's refusal to play and secondly have the club done enough to keep the player happy.
I don't think you can answer one without the other, and to be honest with you, this all starts with our poor recruitment over the summer. Just like the fans were promised a 'marquee signing' (I'm fed up with that term) along with several other stars across the globe, Payet may well have been fooled by our perceived 'clout' in the transfer market.
The truth, of course, was that Andre Ayew (who is certainly yet to convince me) at £20m was to be our biggest transfer venture, with Simone Zaza, the supposed marquee striker, heading a lengthy list of failures. Pair this with failure to qualify for the Europa League and you have, arguably, one of Europe's most influential players playing in a faltering side that instead of playing in Europe, are on the fringes of a surprise relegation battle.
Teams are going to spot this and they are going to tap players up, and whatever we think of Payet's decision to seemingly go on strike, we'd be kidding ourselves if we expected him to not have his head turned by teams already playing in the Champions league as he begins to move into the twilight of his career.
So was Bilic right to rat out the midfielder?
I think the way Bilic handled the situation was absolutely superb. He looked like a man who had been let down and the delivery of his words confirmed that.
I guarantee that this situation has arisen at many clubs with star players trying to force through moves, but this is the highest profile one I can remember where the manager tells us in black and white the player is refusing to play for the club.
But where I agree with Bilic that Payet should not be involved until his attitude is right and that he apologises for his actions, I don't agree that we should sit let him rot until the summer and cash in then.
As many of you may have noticed, we are still in great danger of being sucked into the relegation mire, and the £30m+ we'd get for Payet now could go a long way to replacing those players that have just given up in recent matches. What I do hope is that this doesn't set a dangerous precedent for other members of this squad for them to only throw a strop to get a move.
Payet, however, has 'hissy-fits' in his blood, forcing moves at a couple of his previous clubs trying to make his way to the top, and I genuinely believe Bilic is correct to freeze him out for such petulance, acting like a 5-year-old who isn't allowed a new Playstation. The club needs to cash in now, because, with the feeble bids we've been making so far, it's clear to see we don't have or even don't want to pay the amount of money needed to sort this faltering team out.
If the board are surprised by their star player wanting to move to a better club, then they need to stop insulting clubs and their star players with ridiculous bids and put their hands in their pocket. People don't compete for major honours (as the Chairmen promised) by arguing the toss over what is now pennies and the crazy world of the transfer market.
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Zaza agrees Valencia move
By Football Italia staff
Juventus striker Simone Zaza has reportedly agreed to a move to La Liga side Valencia. According to Sky Sport Italia, the 25-year-old is about to board a flight to Spain to finalise details of the transfer, with the hope that he can play on Sunday. The deal is said to comprise of an initial €2m loan with an obligation to buy at €18m, made up of €16m plus €2m in bonus-related payments. Such an agreement is likely to become automatic when either the player reaches a minimum number of appearances or should Valencia avoid relegation. Zaza is also set to earn a contract of €2.2m per season at the La Liga side, who are currently fourth from bottom of the table.
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GET HIM OUT Dimtri Payet has let us West Ham fans down and the club should sell him as soon as possible
Hammers insider ExWHUEmployee reveals anger among supporters over player they worshipped
The Sun
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE, THEWESTHAMWAY.CO.UK 13th January 2017, 11:50 am
I have known about the Payet situation for a number of months now but kept quiet in the hope that it would be sorted it out eventually – but it appears that we are at the point of no return now. After many missed training sessions, a lack of effort in those that he did attend and a clear body language that suggested he wanted to move, Slaven Bilic went public to put the club on the front foot. Since the first month of the season our star player has craved a move back to his home country. His family have not been settled in the country for a while and when his former club Marseille came looking for him he was determined to move. The club took the same stance that they took last summer and said he wasn't for sale, but it is disappointing that this time he has gone on strike to try and force the move in January. I'm surprised the club are saying they will not sell him at any price this month, because surely this will start to devalue the player ahead of the summer. But in fairness, I can understand why they would stand firm in public because we cannot be held to ransom by any player – they have to make a statement to other players that such tactics won't work.
I am personally very disappointed with Payet. We all saw how much Bilic supported him during the Euros, jumping onto the table when he scored. The club honoured his performance last season by offering him a bumper new contract and even extended time off after the Euros and he repays us now by refusing to play for us again. With this attitude I want him to leave immediately, we don't need him at the club. We have to allow Bilic some time to rebuild team morale and loyalty to each other and the club. The only problem is that for Bilic's sake this improvement has to happen immediately against Crystal Palace.
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Dimitri Payet WILL be sold this month as West Ham look for best price for disgraced star
During showdown talks on Tuesday, the 29-year-old French playmaker left the club stunned after refusing to play
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWIS
09:02, 13 JAN 2017 UPDATED09:06, 13 JAN 2017
Dimitri Payet will be sold by West Ham this month after refusing this week to commit himself to the club until the summer. Despite the insistence of Slaven Bilic that the club would fight to keep their prize asset, Mirror Sport understands the club are working to get the highest price they can for their disgraced playmaker. During showdown talks on Tuesday, the 29-year-old French playmaker left the club stunned after refusing to play. Bilic confirmed as much during his press briefing yesterday. Payet has told the Hammers, who host Crystal Palace tomorrow, that he wants a return to France for 'personal reasons'. The Hammers responded by trying to persuade Payet to give them another six months - to help them to climb the Premier League - before returning 'home' in the summer. But Payet insisted that he had no intention of doing so and that he simply had no further interest in playing for the club. The club are convinced that the determination of resurgent Marseille to sign him after their summer recent takeover has turned his head, leaving him desperate for a lucrative return to his former club. Marseille's new US owner Frank McCourt has promised to bankroll the club with huge financial backing over the next two transfer windows. Payet went into training on Thursday claiming to have had a pain in his back and duly refused to train. The club are highly sceptical of the timing of his claim. Bilic addressed his squad ahead of their training session yesterday, telling them what had happened. Some players are understood to be pleased, feeling that brooding Payet had been indulged for too long. The club have been left reeling by the overall conduct on the France international whose undoubted talents they rewarded with a record-breaking new contract worth £125,000-a-week within eight months of his arrival in the summer of 2015. Behind the scenes Payet has been described as "spoilt" with the club feeling let down at the timing of his actions in their hour of need. Midfielder Cheikou Kouyate and £20million summer signing Andre Ayew are both at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning the Hammers are without another two of their key players. Signed from Marseille for just £10.75million in the summer of last year, Payet went on to break into the France team for Euro2016, helping his country to reach the Final. Bilic continually backed his star man, despite a rash of interviews in which Payet constantly linked himself with other clubs. Now the club are understood to have given up on him and are expected to wash their hands of him this month.
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David Sullivan misses the point again as West Ham's season descends into farce
HITC
Damien Lucas
It's been a torrid season for West Ham United and co-owner David Sullivan's latest comments aren't helping. Slaven Bilic's sit 13th in the Premier League and are looking over their shoulders ahead of crunch matches against sides below them Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough. Now with their best player Dimitri Payet on strike, survival is now the club's only focus after the Hammers were dumped out of the Europa League by Romanian minnows Astra Giurgiu for the second season running and were humbled 4-1 by Manchester United and 5-0 by Manchester City in the EFL Cup and FA Cup respectively.
It is a far cry from last season when West Ham enjoyed their best ever points total of the Premier League era, recorded a first positive goal difference since 1986 and finished just four points off the Champions League places in their emotional farewell campaign at Upton Park. The summer saw the club usher in a new era with the big move to the 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium. Leaving their beloved Boleyn Ground was a necessity to keep pace with and challenge English football's elite, or so West Ham fans were told.
Supporters were told the move and increased revenues - West Ham have 52,000 season ticket holders second only to the mighty Manchester United - would allow them to compete in the transfer market for top players. Indeed Sullivan and fellow co-owner David Gold even boldly told the club's official website back in May that they were willing and intending to spend upwards of £30million on a marquee striker signing, a bizarre tactic from experienced football club owners. That article has now been deleted from the site and no marquee striker was forthcoming with many fans of the opinion it was a ploy to sell as many season tickets as possible.
Now halfway through the season and with the Hammers struggling, the goalposts have been moved by Sullivan in an interview he gave to whufc.com last week. The key line in the interview read: "We haven't lost any key or influential players since last season, which was one to remember, so we are all currently struggling to understand why the team is under-performing at this moment in time."
But that's just it isn't it... and Sullivan is missing the point entirely. Yes when you strip away the clutch of terrible summer signings which have only served to dilute Bilic's squad, it is largely the same players who arguably overachieved last season. And that is exactly why, when every other team in the league has improved their squads, West Ham have taken a number of steps backwards.
It's not rocket science. If you don't constantly improve your squad in the Premier League you don't just stand still, you fall behind.
And then of course there is the not-so-subtle initiation of the blame game in the interview as Sullivan's line is pointed at the new scapegoat, the manager. Sullivan has gone from promising world class players off the back of the move to Stratford to patting himself on the back for holding on to last season's squad. Really? Is that the measure of West Ham's ambition now despite everything they have left behind in pursuit of challenging the elite. And where has that even got the club. In hindsight was keeping Payet even a good thing. The current predicament would suggest not. West Ham are in a dark place and the last person anyone wants to hear from at the moment is David Sullivan.
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Premier League transfer news and rumours: 'Chelsea to make shock £40 million Dimitri Payet move'
Telegraph Sport
13 JANUARY 2017 • 8:20AM
Chelsea are to make a shock move for West Ham star Dimitri Payet in the January window, reveals The Sun. Payet has stunned everyone by going on strike in a bid to force a move away from West Ham, with Marseille openly hopeful of luring the midfielder back to France.
However, The Sun suggests Antonio Conte will bid for the 29-year-old after missing out on Bayern Munich's Arturo Vidal.
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic yesterday revealed that Payet is refusing to pull on a West Ham shirt ever again after a £20 million bid from Marseille was rejected, but they are under no pressure to sell after handing the Frenchman a lucrative £125,000-a-week deal until 2021 less than a year ago. Conte is sitting on a substantial war chest following the sale of Oscar to China and will, we are told, offer £40 million.
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Slaven Bilic was too angry for smokescreens... Dimitri Payet's betrayal of West Ham left his manager with no choice but to reveal all
Dimitri Payet has told West Ham he no longer wants to play for the club
The Frenchman's betrayal left Hammers manager Slaven Bilic seething
Bilic opened up about the situation at a press conference on Thursday
No one in the room knew what was about to happen, not even club staff
The Croatian has every right to feel angry about Payet's actions
READ: Payet's transfer options should he be allowed to leave West Ham
JAMIE REDKNAPP: West Ham should cut the rotten apple loose
By Martin Samuel - Sport for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:31, 12 January 2017 | UPDATED: 23:51, 12 January 2017
When Slaven Bilic arrived for his press conference at West Ham's training ground in Rush Green on Thursday, it was not the plan to broadcast the Dimitri Payet crisis to the world. The pair had clashed over Payet's future earlier in the week, and the player had told Bilic he did not want to play for the club again. Yet to make that public risked creating a rift between the player and the supporters — and potentially making Payet's long-term position untenable. In the end, though, Bilic was simply too angry for smokescreens. The question that provoked his revelation wasn't even about Payet. No one else in the room knew of the escalation in affairs, not ven all the members of West Ham's media team.
Question: Have you got Scott Hogan? Have you, or have you not, agreed a fee with Brentford?
Bilic: No. Because I don't see Scott Hogan here. He is not training with us today so...
Question: Is he close?
Bilic: I don't know.
Question: How many overall would you like to bring in?
Bilic: Two or three. But let's get serious. I have something to tell you. We have a situation with a player. It is Dimitri Payet. He wants to leave . . .
And it went from there. Bilic intimated that Payet was not training, and therefore could not play; he spoke of his anger, of Payet's lack of commitment. He did not tell the whole story, but he gave away more than was ever scripted. No doubt Bilic was resentful. Payet's behaviour has placed him in an impossible position, damaging the manager's credibility with the club. Bilic was criticised for not starting Payet in the FA Cup against Manchester City, a match West Ham lost 5-0. Now he would be without him against Crystal Palace on Saturday. If he did not provide an explanation it would seem that Bilic had dropped and further alienated West Ham's best player and the criticism would intensify.
One escape route would be to say Payet had personal issues — not entirely untrue, as this is offered as his motivation for wishing to return to France — and had been given time off to clear his head. Coincidentally, that period would likely chime with the duration of the transfer window after which Payet would have no choice but to return to West Ham's first team or lose as much as £500,000 in appearance fees. Then the player reported for training with a back injury. Bilic, already angry, boiled over. Just two minutes before he was due to sit in front of the cameras he told Max Fitzgerald, head of media at West Ham, that he wanted to make a statement on Payet. In the room, media employees in charge of the club's social media output were given no inkling of what they were about to report. 'I feel angry,' Bilic said. 'This team, the boys, the staff, we gave him everything. We were always there for him. Of course I am feeling let down. I can understand that players are tapped up by clubs. He is not the first or the last but I am disappointed.'
And with good reason. It is wrong to say that West Ham alone were the making of Payet. He was in Ligue 1's team of the season for 2012-13 while with Lille, and again with Marseille in 2014-15. In his final season with Marseille before joining West Ham he had more assists than any other player in Ligue 1 and played more successful through-balls than any player in Europe's top five leagues, bar Lionel Messi.Payet has been involved in 29 goals since his Premier League debut in August 2015 — scoring 11 and setting up 18 — more than any other West Ham player. He first played for France on October 9, 2010, and while he only became a regular last year, he did make a handful of appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2015, too. So West Ham did not turn an ugly duckling into a swan.
Bilic did, however, do everything to make what some might term a luxury player into the focal point of West Ham. It was a brave call; one that could have cost him his job, had he got it wrong. Payet was given freedom that Eden Hazard, for instance, did not have at Chelsea. He was allowed to be an old-fashioned No 10 in many games, with midfield players such as Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate deployed in such a way that much of Payet's workload was removed. And the players were happy to serve such a talent, too. The win over Tottenham Hotspur last March was a perfect example of this team spirit, with Bilic playing three at the back and packing midfield to relieve Payet of the task of tracking Mauricio Pochettino's flying full backs. The game ended in a 1-0 West Ham win to close to within a point of Manchester City in fourth place; times that seem an age away now.
Although he has tweaked his starting position this season — coming in from the flanks in a bid to make him harder to pick up — Bilic remains a huge fan of Payet. He is adamant that, even during his quietest games, West Ham's best moments still centre around Payet's invention. And Bilic was euphoric about his player's match-winning displays at the European Championship, even though he knew the attention could cause problems for West Ham. That is why he has taken Payet's change of attitude so much to heart.
The problem, from here, is how Payet recovers his relationship with the supporters, if West Ham stay true to their word and do not sell him in January. It seems likely he will go in the summer, but that still leaves more than three months when he either plays in front of a disgruntled stadium, or idles in the wilderness.
Carlos Tevez enjoyed a happy ending at Manchester City after downing tools — but it did need the club's first title win under Roberto Mancini to get him there. One could argue Wayne Rooney is still captain of Manchester United, too, after a series of fallings-out — but whether he is a favourite of the fans is another matter.
He has to win the fans back with performances and personality — and driving away from the training ground in a £200,000 Ferrari having left the manager in the lurch against Crystal Palace is not a good start. Of course, this is a bigger problem for the club due to the tension around this season.
The London Stadium has been angry at the best of times, with scant excuse needed to get even angrier. There will be those who blame the board, or even the stadium, for this latest debacle. It would never have happened at Upton Park — or if the club had signed better players in the summer. But it probably would.
Payet's agent used the European Championship to ask for a £40,000 pay rise, not a list of new signings, suggesting his client is motivated as much by economics as aesthetics. The pay rise in Payet's new contract alone was worth close to £2m over five years.
Also, a look through Payet's career history suggests this is hardly exceptional behaviour. He ditched Nantes when they were relegated in 2007, was sent to the reserves at St Etienne after agitating for a move to Paris Saint-Germain and agreed terms with West Ham, unbeknown to Marseille. It can hardly be a surprise that he has reverted to type midway through this troubled season.
For Bilic, however, that will not diminish the sense of betrayal. His only hope is that his players wish to prove that Payet's influence is overstated; even if the numbers suggest that it is not.
PAYET'S STORMY DEPARTURES
Dimitri Payet has a history of forcing through moves when he gets itchy feet. Here are his most explosive transfer bust ups...
Nantes, 2007
Dimitri Payet enjoyed a successful first full season in the French top flight with Nantes on a personal level, but the club struggled in Ligue 1 and were relegated after finishing 19th. Faced with the prospect of a season outside the top flight, a 20-year-old Payet immediately handed in a transfer request. 'I told my leaders of my wish to leave,' he announced in an interview at the time. 'Ligue 2 does not fit into my logic of progress. I made my choice, it's Saint-Etienne.' Days later, the Reunion-born star joined Les Verts for €4million.
Saint-Etienne, 2011
Empowered by his experience at Nantes, the Frenchman tried a similar approach at Saint-Etienne when Paris Saint-Germain came calling in the January of 2011. However, officials at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard were not quite as accommodating. The player's request to join the capital club fell on deaf ears and Payet didn't turn up for training as he sulked at the refusal to let him leave. When he did sheepishly return he was sent to join the reserves. Despite rejoining the first team in mid-February, it was no surprise when Payet left the club the following summer, joining champions Lille.
Marseille, 2015
After his spell at Lille, Payet moved from the north to the south of France to join Marseille. The playmaker enjoyed revered status there – which made his decision to push through a move to West Ham all the more unfathomable for the club's board of directors.
Marseille had felt they were due to sit down with their star player and talk about a new deal, when Payet's agent Mark McKay shocked them with an ultimatum after announcing they had agreed terms with West Ham behind the club's back. A statement was made by Marseille giving the player two options. 'OM considers these to be to stay at Marseille and wait until mid-July for to review his contract or select West Ham.' We all know how that one turned out.
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L'Equipe: West Ham attacker Dimitri Payet agrees personal terms with Marseille
HITC
Dan Coombs
But there is no fee agreed with West Ham. French newspaper L'Equipe claim West Ham attacker Dimitri Payet has already agreed personal terms with Marseille over a return to the club. No fee is agreed with West Ham though, and Marseille will need to bid big to convince West Ham to sell, having had a £20 million offer already rejected.
ThefastfootNews @ThefastfootNews
Incroyable Une de L'Equipe ce vendredi ! Payet d'accord avec #OM, #PSG interessé par Batshuayi. Kamoulox. #TeamPSG #TeamOM #mercato #Ligue1
11:32 PM - 12 Jan 2017
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Payet has gone on strike in an attempt to force a move away from the Hammers, with an angry Slaven Bilic letting the developments be known at his Thursday morning press conference, reported by The BBC. The France international has been at West Ham for 18 months and has come in for criticism this season after failing to match his incredible standards of his first season at the club. L'Equipe add that despite the personal terms being agreed, they expect the transfer saga to drag on until deadline day. The situation will forever taint the memory among supporters of a player who had hero status at West Ham heading into the season, especially as he signed a contract extension just 12 months ago.
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'He's been terrible this year on purpose' - John Giles calls for 'humiliated' Slaven Bilic to kick Dimitri Payet out of West Ham
Independent.ie Newsdesk Twitter
Republic of Ireland legend John Giles has called on West Ham to get the best price possible for wantaway star Dimitri Payet and turf him out of the club. Payet has stunned West Ham United by telling the club he will never play for them again after they rejected a bid of just under £20 million from Marseille. West Ham have pleaded with the French international to see through the season with them, as they desperately fight to climb the table, and have agreed to sell him this summer – but he has refused. Payet, who has been unsettled since returning from the Euros last summer, has been encouraged to push for the move back to his former club who he left in 2015 for an initial fee of £10.7 million rising to £14 million. Speaking at a press conference today, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic struggled to hide his disappointment after revealing that the French international has downed tools.
"We have said we don't want to sell our best players but Payet does not want to play for us," Bilic said. "We are not going to sell him." "I expect from him to come back and to show commitment and determination to the team like the team has shown to him. "We aren't going to sell him, not whatsoever. It's not a money issue or anything. We want to keep our best players. "I spoke to the chairman and this is not a money issue. We gave him a long contract because we want him to stay."
Speaking on Off The Ball on Newstalk this evening, Giles advised Bilic to get rid of the 29-year-old and warned of the caustic effect his presence might have on the rest of the squad. "If I was the manager I'd feel very angry as well and it shows that players are on top now rather than the clubs," he said. "In the old days, you signed a contract and you couldn't leave until the club wanted you to leave. "Payet signed a long-term contract and now he's saying he doesn't want to play anymore. The contract doesn't mean anything anymore, unless the club say they're not going to let him leave and he sits around for two years but they can't afford to do that.
"In Payet's case, I think it's dreadful behaviour. If you sign a contract, you should honour that contract. "He went to West Ham last year and he was a sensation and people wondered why he's 28... where has he been all his life? "This might tell you. "I think it's dreadful for a club that's trying to plan for the future. "If I was Bilic, I'd get the best price I could for him and I'd kick him out.
"You can't have a player like that in the dressingroom that all the other players know want to leave. You need to have a team spirit and a team that is going to go out and fight for each other. "He hasn't played this year.. he's been terrible and he's done it on purpose. "You can't have someone in your team who really wants to go because you're humiliating the manager."
Giles believes that it will be impossible to convince Payet to stay. "I don't think he will be talked back," he added. "This deal has been done with Payet... wherever he's going. It's been done and all the other club is saying is that you have to get away. "He wouldn't make a stand like that unless the club was interested. He won't have agreed terms, his agent will have and the player could say: 'I didn't speak to that club'. because he isn't allowed but his agent has done the deal."
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