Daily WHUFC News - 22nd February 2018

Chicharito: I'm playing for West Ham with a smile on my face
WHUFC.com

Chicharito is not just playing for West Ham United these days, but playing
for West Ham United with a smile on his face. The Mexico forward is enjoying
the best spell of his Hammers career so far, scoring three goals and
assisting a fourth in the Club's last four Premier League matches. Next up
on the fixture list is a mouth-watering trip to Anfield to face in-form
Liverpool – a game the 29-year-old is particularly looking forward to. "We
are going to try to do the same or even better as we did in the last game
against Watford at home," said Chicharito, who has scored twice in five
previous Premier League appearances against the Reds, both of them for
Manchester United at Anfield in 2011. "We know Liverpool have a squad with
plenty of world-class players, which they proved in the Champions League,
and they want to keep fighting for a better position in the Premier League,
so we need to be in our best shape and give our best performance to win.
"This is always the case against the best six teams, but you saw us produce
pretty good performances against Chelsea and Tottenham recently, so
hopefully we can do it again and take the three points. "These types of
games are the ones we all look forward to. We don't want to be disrespectful
to all the other teams, because there are no easy games in the Premier
League, whether you are playing against a top side or a team battling
relegation, but playing against Liverpool at Anfield is the sort of game all
the players want to play in."

As a former Manchester United player, Chicharito is expecting a warm welcome
from the Kop, too. "I don't think so, not with my past!" he laughed. "I
don't think I'll be welcome over there, but that's football and part of
something which makes this sport so interesting." The No17's most likely
reaction to any hostility will be to flash his trademark smile – an
expression that West Ham fans have seen more and more of in recent weeks.
The striker himself is happy to be enjoying his football again. "I've always
tried to be positive and, of course, you will not find one player in the
world who wants to be on the bench, whether his or her team are fighting for
a title or fighting against relegation. Nobody wants to be on the bench, you
want to be doing it, playing your sport. "I'm happy, not only because I'm
playing my game, but because I can feel my sharpness coming back. You can
see the same has happened with Marko [Arnautovic]. Now, I'm going to try and
keep that smile on my face. "We're out of the relegation zone and now we
want to get to the 40 points as quickly as possible and then aim for even
more. Our main goal is to stay clear of the relegation battle and I want to
help us to do that."

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Hammers to help Dagenham & Redbridge with fundraising friendly
WHUFC.com

West Ham United will travel to National League side Dagenham & Redbridge for
a friendly match on Wednesday 21 March, kick-off 7.30pm. Dagenham &
Redbridge are in an extremely difficult financial position and will look to
raise much-needed funds from this fixture against a strong Hammers side.
Having been approached by the Daggers, Joint-Chairman David Sullivan was
keen to assist a local club in need and, with the full support of manager
David Moyes, the pair readily agreed to the friendly, with 100% of the
proceeds going to Dagenham & Redbridge.
With the Hammers facing a three-week gap between fixtures in March due to
Manchester United's continued involvement in the Emirates FA Cup and the
final international break of the season, David Moyes will make use of the
game by sending as strong a squad as possible as he aims to maintain his
players' match sharpness.
West Ham United Chairman David Sullivan said: "As soon as we heard that
Dagenham & Redbridge were in need of financial assistance, David Moyes and I
didn't hesitate to offer our help by sending down a team for a fundraising
friendly with our neighbours. "We've always enjoyed a close relationship
with the Daggers and are looking forward to this match, not only as a means
of raising important funds, but also because it will be an enjoyable evening
of football."
Dagenham & Redbridge Chairman Paul Gwinn said: "A massive thank you goes to
West Ham United for agreeing to the match on 21 March. The support we've
received from David Sullivan and David Moyes is hugely appreciated. It
really will help save our club and I couldn't have asked for more." There
are 1,200 tickets available to Hammers fans for the friendly at the Chigwell
Construction Stadium, which plays host to the Hammers' Premier League 2
matches.
Seats are priced at £15 Adults, £10 O65s and £5 U16s and are on sale to
Bondholders, Season Ticket Holders and Claret Members now. General Sale will
begin from 3pm on Thursday 22 February, with supporters able to purchase up
to four tickets per client reference number.

Tickets can be purchased at eticketing.co.uk/whufc, over the telephone on
0333 030 1966 or in person from the London Stadium Ticket Office.

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Brown: I was a bit of a rough and tumble man
WHUFC.com

One of West Ham United's all-time greats, Ken Brown, made his first of 474
senior appearances for the Club on this day 65 years ago. Then just five
days past his 19th birthday, Brown lined up at centre-half alongside the
likes of goalkeeper Ernie Gregory, full-back John Bond, half-back Frank
O'Farrell and winger Harry Hooper. The Second Division fixture with
Rotherham United ended in a 1-1 draw at Millmoor, where the teenage Brown
made such a favourable impact on manager Ted Fenton that he remained in the
starting XI for the next two games. Brown helped the Hammers keep clean
sheets in both, but Malcolm Allison's return to the defence meant the
youngster returned to the reserves for the remainder of the 1952/53 campaign
and for much of the following three seasons.
The defender was 23 by the time that, in August 1957, his patience was
rewarded and he finally became a regular in the team, a position he would
retain for the next decade, winning promotion in 1958, the FA Cup in 1964
and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. Brown's partnership with another east
London-born half-back, Bobby Moore, was the foundation on which the Hammers'
success was built, and the former will emulate his long-time teammate by
being presented with the Club's Lifetime Achievement Award in April.

Amazingly, when you consider his success and longevity in a Claret and Blue
shirt, Brown revealed in an interview with EX, the retro magazine for West
Ham fans, that he never felt good enough to play in Ron Greenwood's
outstanding side of the 1960s. "I was a bit of a rough and tumble man and I
needed to make contact with the forward, then if I got the ball away I felt
satisfied," he recalled. "I always thought Ron wanted to be the
perfectionist, so if I won the ball, it should always land at my teammate's
feet, not way up in the air! "I never, ever thought I was the player I
should have been for Ron Greenwood, because he used to sow seeds of how
football should be played. He didn't like contact football and was a
perfectionist. "Very rarely did he ever come up and say 'Well played' or
anything like that. On occasions he did, but not very often. I always had
the impression that I wasn't good enough to play for Ron Greenwood, the way
he wanted the side to play, but that may have been good, as a 'red rag to a
bull' type of thing. "I couldn't attempt to pull the ball down and use it
nicely, I had to get it out of harm's way!"

On Wednesday 25 April, at The Intercontinental London, The O2, Ken Brown
will be honoured by the Club when he receives the Lifetime Achievement Award
at the 2018 Player Awards brought to you by Betway in aid of the Academy,
continuing a relationship with the Hammers dating back more than 65 years.

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Reid happy with vital goalscoring habit
WHUFC.com

It is seven years to the day since Winston Reid netted his first goal in a
West Ham United shirt. The New Zealand defender, signed the previous summer
from Danish club Midtjylland for a bargain £3.5m, powered home a near-post
header to put the Hammers 4-0 up and on course for a thumping FA Cup fifth
round win over Burnley. And Reid, who has netted in each of his opening
seven seasons in Claret and Blue and has ten goals to his name in total,
recalls that night under the Boleyn Ground floodlights as if it was
yesterday. "Of course, I remember it, even though it was seven long years
ago!" he smiled, when asked for his memories of a tie which was a rare
highlight of an otherwise difficult season for both defender and Club. "It
was an FA Cup tie and we ended up winning 5-1, so it was good and I'll never
forget my first goal for the Club. "It was before I knew Ginge (James
Collins), but it was a Ginge-esque header, getting ahead of my marker at the
near post, getting a good connection and, luckily enough, hitting the back
of the net. "That season obviously wasn't ideal for any of us as we ended up
getting relegated, but it was my first season with West Ham and I ended up
playing 12 games. In different circumstances, it wouldn't have been too bad,
but it didn't turn out how anyone would have hoped."

While Reid's first goal in Claret and Blue was memorable, it was not
decisive, as West Ham were already well on the way to victory when he scored
it. However, he has since forged a reputation for netting at important
times. A thumping winner for the ten-man Hammers against Millwall in
February 2012, the opener in a 3-0 Premier League victory at Tottenham
Hotspur in October 2013 and the unforgettable late header which secured a
3-2 win over Manchester United in the final game at the Boleyn Ground in May
2016, a last-gasp strike to see off Sunderland at London Stadium in October
of the same year – all of them were scored by the popular No2. When that
list is recounted to Reid, the defender cannot help but smile. "I suppose I
do have a habit for it, now you mention it! When the opportunities come,
it's just a case that you have to try and do the right thing, I guess, and I
have thoroughly enjoyed all my goals, as I don't score too many of them!
"The Millwall goal was fantastic. The only disappointing thing was that
there were no West Ham fans behind the goal because the Millwall fans were
in the upper tier. I remember Kev Nolan had been sent-off after ten minutes
– our third game in a row when we had someone red carded – so my lungs were
burning!
"For the Tottenham one, Kev always used to stand on the line and nick goals,
and that time he tried to nick one off me and it hit him on the shin. He was
good at it, mind, but not that time. Luckily enough, it came back to me and
I scored! "Obviously, I'll never forget the Man United goal. That was just a
moment of sheer emotion after that header went in. What a night that was.
"The Sunderland one, I gave it a chop and smashed it in the bottom corner. I
used to play up front when I was kid from the ages of six to ten back in New
Zealand, but they moved me back to midfield, then quickly realised I wasn't
the best runner, so I went into defence."

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Kieron Dyer: Strangers commend him for revealing sexual abuse
By Alistair Magowan
BBC Sport

Former England midfielder Kieron Dyer says strangers have stopped him in the
street to commend him for revealing he was sexually abused as a child. The
ex-Newcastle player, 39, revealed the 20-year secret - which he says has
"blighted his life" - in his new book. "One man said he had a secret for 45
years and after seeing my story he told his family the next day," said Dyer,
who won 33 caps for England. "If that's the impact I can have, then I'm so
happy I came out with it."

Dyer told BBC Sport: "I've had about 10 random strangers come up to me on
the street and people at Ipswich Town come up to me and say 'you are very
brave because this happened to me and now I'm in a situation where I can
talk about it'."

Dyer was abused by a great uncle when he was 11 or 12 years old and his
story has been revealed at a time when former football coach Barry Bennell
was jailed for 31 years for sexually abusing young footballers between 1979
and 1990. And Dyer, who is now a youth coach at Ipswich, says it was the
positive reaction to Bennell's victims telling their stories that gave him
the confidence to finally speak about his ordeal. "You see the positive
outpouring that they got, the bravery they showed, how it helped other
people, and it eases your mind because you don't know how people are going
to react when you talk about such a taboo subject," he added. "I'm happy
they have come out and told their story, because I know what it's done to
their lives. It's really sad.

'I lived like a celebrity, not a footballer'

In his book, 'Old too soon, smart too late', Dyer also admits he failed to
live up to his potential by "living like a celebrity rather than a
footballer". After a £6m move from Ipswich Town to Newcastle in 1999, he
made a brilliant England debut the same year but was hampered by injuries
through his career, culminating in a broken leg at West Ham in 2007. He was
part of the so-called 'golden generation' of England players and has spoken
of owing £46,000 during a card school at Euro 2004. Although he says the
secret he carried around with him led to "casualties" to relationships both
in and out of football, he believes it did not significantly affect his
career. "I wish I told my mum and dad the day it happened and there could
have been serious repercussions with the culprit, but it blighted my life
for 20 years," he added. "I went on to be a successful footballer, but I
just didn't realise the sexual abuse formed this character that came out and
there were so many casualties along the way. "Friends, family,
ex-girlfriends... my eldest son - when he showed vulnerabilities I used to
snap at him. "I don't think it affected my football career, it might have
done to some extent because I had the 'screw you' attitude where I wouldn't
let anyone take advantage of me or I couldn't show vulnerability. "There
were a couple of examples where if I thought a manager was picking on a
younger player, deep in my psyche I would react so, yeah, it affected some
of my relationships with managers and some players. "But the reason I didn't
fulfil my potential was more because I lived my life like a celebrity rather
than a footballer. I got the balance horribly wrong. It would be easy for me
to say [it was the sexual abuse], but I'd be lying."

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Bellers set for management role
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 21st February 2018
By: Staff Writer

Former West Ham striker Craig Bellamy is close to being named as the manager
of Oxford City, say reports. The former Welsh international - who spent 18
months at West Ham between 2007 and 2009 - is hot favourite to be named as
the successor to Pep Clotet, who was fired last month following a string of
poor results by the League One side. Bellamy, 38, is yet to take on a
management post since retiring as a professional in 2014, but was closely
linked to the Welsh international job before Ryan Giggs was appointed last
month. City are current 15th in League One whilst Bellamy is currently
working at Cardiff, his last club as a player, as Development Manager. A
popular player with West Ham supporters, the former striker joined West Ham
from Newcastle United in a £7.5million deal in July 2007 before going on to
make just 26 appearances for the club over the course of the next two
seasons, scoring six goals in the process.
Bellamy left the club in the January 2009 transfer window, moving to
Manchester City in a £14million deal - a victim of the cost cutting
necessitated as a result of the banking crisis that left main stakeholder
Bjorgolffur Gudmundsson bankrupt.

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Lies - or unfulfilled ambitions?
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 21st February 2018
By: Ten Thousand Miles From The Boleyn

I live ten thousand miles from the Boleyn. So what do I know about anything?

I was born in Upton Park and one of my earliest memories was watching the
1964 FA Cup Final on a tiny black and white telly. The Cup Winners Cup win
was closely followed by my first visit to the Boleyn Ground. It was a great
time to be a West Ham fan and in hindsight I should have probably cherished
those moments a little more than I did.

The following decades brought a few notable highs, but for every Cup win
there were plenty of heartbreaks and a few too many relegation battles. For
every Moore, Brooking, Bonds and Di Canio there has been a conga line of
duffers and also-rans, and while Greenwood and Lyall seem like long, distant
memories, Grant and Macari still manage to haunt my waking hours.

Yet more importantly, at this moment in history I still recall the antics of
Brown, Cearns and Storrie. I know that Sullivan, Gold and Brady have
certainly lost the support and confidence of a large number of fans, but if
anyone thinks a foreign billionaire will care any more about them or that an
international investment fund will be less interested in maximising profits
I would say they are sadly mistaken.

I know the current set-up regarding the scouting and signing of new players
seems haphazard and outdated, but just because a player is for sale and
you've got the money doesn't mean they'll sign with you.

Many things (apart from hard cash) are taken into account when you consider
a career move, and for footballers that must also include the attitude of
the fans. It's hard to imagine many of us being attracted to a new job if we
knew we'd be heckled while we work by a bunch of people telling us we're
working for a rubbish organisation and occasionally, how shit we are.

Over the years we've all been let down at times but I struggle to remember a
time when the vitriol has been quite so personal. I've heard the word "liar"
trotted out an awful lot recently, but my understanding has always been that
a lie is something you know to be untrue when it is said.

Unfulfilled ambition is not a lie, a wish-list that hasn't played out as
you'd hoped is not a lie... although telling people the seats will be as
close to the pitch in an athletics arena as it is in a football ground
clearly is, and only a fool we believe otherwise. But the thing I find most
troubling is a willingness to pick up on an unattributed rumour,
unthinkingly pass it on, thus giving it some credibility and after several
rounds of Cockney Whispers it becomes an honest-to-God fact.

I'm all in favour of a good march if the purpose is to register your
disapproval with the actions of those in authority. Protesting the Poll Tax
and burning Maggie Thatcher in effigy seemed totally justified at the time,
but let's keep things in perspective. Thatcher wanted to turn the working
classes into a greedy, selfish quasi middle-class whose main interest was
how much their house was currently worth... Whereas Sullivan seems like a
bit of a dick sometimes and Gold tweets too much.

I also treat Karren Brady differently insofar as I consider her an employee,
and in my former working life I was expected to implement plans and actions
handed down by the Board I didn't fully agree with, and had the choice of
going along with it or quitting (no prizes for guessing which one I chose).
Saying all that the sooner she stops talking about football in her Sun
column, the better!

We have now entered the last third of the season and are perilously close to
the drop-zone, we have a new manager and are just coming out of a terrible
bout of injuries to key players. So I ask myself; is this the time to be
creating unnecessary strife within the club and giving the press and
opposing supporters something to beat us over the head with?

The Board, the manager, the staff and the players all have a responsibility
to do their very best to make the club a success. But we bear as much
responsibility as they do, especially if we want the privilege of calling
ourselves West Ham fans. I heard someone comment the other day they were
worried that a good run of form leading up to the march will dilute people's
righteous anger and the numbers will be down!

For me, I'm hoping we do have a great run of results and that the march is
well attended; I would be there if I could. But I also hope that the mood
will be calm and the result will be that some genuinely achievable demands
get met, for the Board ain't going nowhere no matter how pissed-off everyone
gets.

Yes, I live ten thousand miles from the Boleyn. But someone once said that
time and experience provide judgement and distance offers perspective...
That someone was me, and I said it just now... But while you may not agree
with that and in the fullness of time it may prove to be total bollocks,
does it make me a liar?


Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be
attributed to, KUMB.com.

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West Ham to help Dagenham & Redbridge with fundraising friendly
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 21/02/18 4:05pm
SSN

West Ham will travel to Dagenham & Redbridge for a friendly match in an
attempt to raise much-needed funds for the National League side. The
Daggers, who are in an extremely difficult financial position, will host a
strong West Ham side for the fixture on March 21 with 100 per cent of the
proceeds going to the non-league club. West Ham face a three-week gap
between matches in March due to Manchester United's involvement in the FA
Cup sixth round and the final international break of the season.
Manager David Moyes is expected to send as many first-team players as
possible as he aims to maintain the squad's match fitness. West Ham's
joint-chairman David Sullivan said: "As soon as we heard that Dagenham &
Redbridge were in need of financial assistance, David Moyes and I didn't
hesitate to offer our help by sending down a team for a fundraising friendly
with our neighbours. "We've always enjoyed a close relationship with the
Daggers and are looking forward to this match, not only as a means of
raising important funds, but also because it will be an enjoyable evening of
football."

Dagenham & Redbridge chairman Paul Gwinn said: "A massive thank you goes to
West Ham United for agreeing to the match on March 21. The support we've
received from David Sullivan and David Moyes is hugely appreciated. It
really will help save our club and I couldn't have asked for more."

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Marko Arnautovic 'hurt' by West Ham criticism after poor start
Last Updated: 21/02/18 3:29pm
SSN

Marko Arnautovic has admitted to being "hurt" by the criticism he received
from West Ham fans after making a slow start to life at the club. The
Austria international joined from Stoke in the summer but struggled to
settle in after being sent off in only his second game and failed to score
in his first 13 matches in all competitions. After finally getting off the
mark with the winning goal against Chelsea in December, the 28-year-old has
gone on to score seven times in 11 games in all competitions. "It hurt me in
the beginning when I heard people whistling me in the stadium because they
expected me to do better," he told whufc.com.
"But now I am playing for my team and playing for the fans because the fans
are a big part of this Club. They pay a lot of money the whole year to come
and watch us and, of course, they want us to perform. "I always had a good
relationship with the fans, wherever I have played. Of course, not all the
fans can love you, because everyone has their own favourite. "Personally, I
have always loved my fans and had a good relationship with them, because
they give you the good feeling on the pitch and, without them, you are
nobody in football."
Arnautovic's change in form has coincided with improved results for West
Ham, who have climbed away from the relegation zone to 12th in the Premier
League table. The winger has marked each of his goals with typically
passionate celebrations, including doing the club's famous hammers symbol
after scoring during their 3-0 win over former side Stoke. "I do the
'Crossed Hammers' sign because it is part of this club and they love to see
this," he added. "I feel at home now. We are all one big family and it
doesn't matter if it is hard or it is a good time. "It's easy to stick
together in the good times, but it has to be that we all want to also stick
together in the bad times, as this shows what a big family we are. That's
what I always want in this club."

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