Daily WHUFC News - 29th March 2018

Positive Patrice Evra plans to keep making fans smile
WHUFC.com

Every Monday, Patrice Evra's latest Instagram video is a must-watch for his
four million-plus followers. The West Ham United defender posts a weird and
wonderful clip of himself to kick-off each week, all of them with a positive
message and all of them ending with his inspiring catchphrase 'I love this
game!' and his infectious laugh. The Frenchman loves making his videos, and
spreading positivity, almost as much as he loves football. "For me, a lot of
people ask me where my ideas come from, but it's just me," he explained.
"Like I always say, the Patrice Evra is the one on the pitch, and Patrice is
the one you see sharing happiness and smiling and being funny and positive.
"To be fair, I don't prepare anything. I just wake up and it's just my brain
playing with me. I'm happy giving a lot of positive attitude to the people
and sometimes I receive messages from people saying they have watched my
video and it's given them a smile during a tough time. "It's funny, but it's
helping a lot of people so I'm really happy because I'm honest with people.
It's not because I'm a football player, but it's because it's me and I'm not
fake and I'm doing it with pleasure."

Evra posted a hilarious video featuring a phone box and some outstanding
dance moves on signing for West Ham in February, but perhaps his most
memorable post since joining the Hammers featured the defender and his
brother riding in a traditional London black cab. The Frenchman revealed
that the securing the vehicle had taken some serious persuasion! "The taxi
driver didn't want me to borrow his taxi. I saw the taxi and asked if I
could drive it, but he said he could lose his licence and he didn't want to
do it. He recognised me and said 'OK, because it's you!' so we did it! "It
was a crazy idea. It was outside my house and I asked him and at the
beginning he thought I wanted him to take me somewhere, but then I asked him
to use the taxi for a video. He said 'No chance', so I said 'Please! It's
really quick! I won't show your registration in the pictures' and then he
accepted and now his cab is really famous. "I have created a monster, to be
fair. I was already known as a footballer, but now people stop me not for a
picture, but for a video of me saying 'I love this game!'. It's nice, and I
created this monster, so I will never complain."

Evra's entertaining clips may have gone viral on a weekly basis, but he is
quick to point out that his number one responsibility is not to make people
laugh, but to work hard and win football matches. "I am not encouraging
people to do what I am doing, because I am doing it after I have fulfilled
my different responsibility on the pitch. "If young guys want to make silly
videos and make people laugh, but not take any responsibility on the pitch,
this is really difficult. I can manage that with my experience because I
don't think I would do that kind of video when I was 20 because now I know
how to focus on my work. "It's only one minute in my life. Some people think
I spend all morning but, actually, I do one shot and it's nothing for me.
It's not changing my life, but it's changing the lives of other people."

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West Ham rookie Rice aiming to make history
WHUFC.com

Declan Rice wants to help Republic of Ireland U21s make history after
securing a dramatic victory over Azerbaijan on Tuesday evening. Rice, who
had returned to U21 duty after making his senior debut in Turkey on Friday,
and his fellow Boys in Green had dominated their European Championship Group
5 qualifier in Dublin, but found Azeri goalkeeper Karim Ibrahimov in
unbeatable form at Tallaght Stadium – until the ninth minute of added time!
It was then that Queens Park Rangers midfielder Ryan Manning curled a
free-kick into the penalty area, the ball was knocked down and Yeovil Town's
Shaun Donnellan bundled it into the net, sparking wild celebrations on the
pitch and in the stands. Leading those celebrations was Rice – alongside
jubilant West Ham United teammate and captain Josh Cullen – and the teenager
now has his sights set on helping Ireland's U21s qualify for the European
finals for the first time in their history. "To motivate myself to get back
[for the U21 match] was an easy thing to do," Rice told RTE Sport. "It was a
must-win game and after the high that I had in Turkey, I knew that this
would be a more important game to be honest, as it was a qualifier. "I was
just looking forward to getting out there for the 21s, getting another
appearance and getting a win." "We want to be the first team to do it. I've
come back tonight to play a massive game, it's great been away but it helped
that was the week before and I could come back again and play for Ireland
Under-21s. I think it's important that I keep playing international football
whatever level it is."

The 19-year-old's composed performance in a deep-lying midfield role earned
praise from his U21s manager Noel King, who was delighted with the Hammers'
commitment and maturity. "It was a very difficult evening for Declan to come
back," said King. "He is a terrific player and the expectation maybe that
people had on him to be a Messi because of what he's done [against Turkey,
when he was named Man of the Match]. He acquitted himself excellently."

Tuesday's victory means Rice, Cullen, King and company sit second in Group
5, three points behind leaders Germany, but with a game in-hand against
Kosovo in early September. Win that and the Irish will take on the Germans
in two winner-takes-all ties to complete the qualifying round. The nine
qualifying group winners qualify for next summer's finals automatically,
while the four runners-up with the best records will play-off for two
remaining spots. Rice is determined that Ireland are among the 12 teams
competing for the big prize in Italy. "To get the win coming so late makes
it special. With Germany and Kosovo drawing, that works in our favour with
us winning. "Noel and the backroom team have been excellent throughout the
campaign. The boys, we're all level-headed lads. We're all looking to Italy
in 2019 and that's where we want to go. No one has qualified before and we
want to be the first team to do it."

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Hammers U18s claim 2-0 win over Tottenham
WHUFC.com

Goals from Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry earned West Ham United U18s a
2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and extended the side's winning run to four
matches. A close first half saw both sides miss opportunities but Spyridis
continued his fine goalscoring form since his return from injury with a
confident effort ten minutes into the second period. Korrey Henry would then
double West Ham's advantage, powering home from the penalty spot after
Spyridis was fouled in the area. The result continues the U18s' excellent
form, with the side winning their last four fixtures. It took the Hammers
just 15 seconds to register a decent chance on goal as Rosaire Longelo burst
into space on the left flank. Just before he could pull the trigger, a
strong tackle saw the ball go out for a corner. Spyridis fired an effort
just over from the right before Bernardo Rosa just missed after a good move.
A terrific period of play then allowed Jeremy Ngakia to drive forward and
cause trouble for Tottenham on the right, but once again the ball was over
the bar. Despite controlling the first half possession, Tottenham saw
opportunities limited and could only muster one effort – a shot from
distance that went over the cross-bar.
Debutant goalkeeper Joseph Anang was forced into a good save just a few
minutes after the restart, before the Hammers opened the scoring a few
moments later.
Spurs goalkeeper De Bie failed to deal with a ball into the box, which fell
kindly for Spyridis, with the Cyprian gratefully slotting home for his
fourth goal in three contests. The striker was heavily involved for West
Ham's second as well. Excellent work from Spyridis got the forward into the
box, where he was brought down. Henry stepped up and confidently dispatched
the resulting penalty. There were also chances for Rosaire Longelo and
Jeremy Ngakia, while Tottenham pressed to get back into the game. The
closest the away side came almost resulted in a goal, only for captain Ben
Wells to cap an excellent performance with a block on the line.

West Ham United: Anang, Barrett, Mingi, Wells, Nkagia, Henry, Lewis, R
Longelo, Bernardo, Watson (Adarkwa 78), Spyridis (Wilson-Esbrand 81)
Subs not used: Matrevics, El Mhassani, Constaninou
Goals: Spyridis 55, Henry 74

Tottenham Hotspur: De Bie, Hinds, Reynolds, Oakley-Boothe, Skipp, Dinzeyi,
Mukendi (Markanday 60), Shashoua (Thorpe 71), Griffiths, Patterson, Richards
Subs not used: Lock, Freeman, Statham

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Wells praises 'great team effort' in Spurs victory
WHUFC.com

West Ham United U18s captain Ben Wells has hailed the tremendous team effort
by the side in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Second-half finishes by
Odysseas Spyridis and Korrey Henry secured a fourth straight win for the
young Hammers after a tough fought match in difficult conditions at Little
Heath. Wells recognises the quality that Wednesday's opponents possessed
but is delighted with how West Ham worked as a unit to earn another three
points. "It was a great team effort by the boys," Wells told whufc.com. "We
knew our tactics and the guys kept to it really well. We worked our socks
off so credit to the entire team. It was really a great team effort and,
when we got our chances, we took them. "Tottenham deserve praise as well,
they're a good side and they are good technically. They pass the ball well
and we had to be patient and wait for our chance. We knew our opportunities
would come and, once they did, we took them and scored the two goals. It's a
great result of us."

The win over Spurs means the U18s have now claimed victories in their last
four league matches, having also beaten Norwich City, Brighton and Hove
Albion, and Leicester City. Wells puts that run of form down to a switch in
formation, with the side now operating with a three-man defensive line, and
insists that the consecutive wins have been a major boost for the side. He
continued: "This run of form we're on has been amazing for our confidence.
We've changed our formation to play with three centre-backs and then
wing-backs, and I think we've been more solid because of that. "We all know
our roles and our responsibilities, and everyone is taking a real interest
in how we can be better. The mood because of that has been excellent."

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Chicharito dreams of World Cup glory after reaching 100 caps
WHUFC.com

Chicharito is dreaming of winning the FIFA World Cup after making yet more
history with the Mexico national team. The West Ham United striker won his
100th cap in a friendly with Croatia in Miami on Tuesday evening, joining a
select band of just 13 players to have reached a century of appearances for
El Tri. While Mexico ended up on the losing side as Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic
scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot, Chicharito is not giving
up on fulfilling his ambition of adding a World Cup winner's medal to an
already impressive collection of titles. "Nobody told me that I couldn't
join the best leagues in the world, win the Premier League twice, reach a
Champions League final," said the 29-year-old, who is just one goal short of
50 for his country. "No one told Hugo [Sanchez] that he couldn't go to the
best club in the world, Real Madrid, be the 'Pentapichichi' (leading
goalscorer in Spanish football). No-one told Rafa [Marquez] that he couldn't
win two Champions Leagues or play in all the World Cups he has. "We want to
be world champions, of course, and that's why we're going [to Russia]. We
don't want to put limits in any way. A lot of people complain that it's not
realistic and we're not realists, but the reality is that people who don't
dream and aspire to more and more are maybe the ones that are confused."

Chicharito is set to go to his third World Cup finals with Mexico, having
appeared in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, but he will be acutely
aware that they have never gone past the quarter-finals in 16 previous
attempts. Juan Carlos Osorio's squad have been drawn in Group F alongside
reigning champions Germany, Sweden and South Korea at this summer's finals.

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Sparky's nightmare
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 28th March 2018
By: Staff Writer

Marko Arnautovic will be aiming to make new Southampton boss Mark Hughes eat
his words when the latter visits the Olympic Stadium this weekend. Hughes -
known as 'Sparky' during his playing career - was recently appointed as the
new Saints manager, but was still in charge of Stoke when he accused the
Austrian international of "burning his bridges" with City supporters last
December. The Welshman was also seen gesticulating angrily towards
Arnautovic - whom he referred to as a "f***ing ungrateful f***er" - when the
latter was substituted by David Moyes towards the end of West Ham's 3-0 win
at the bet365 Stadium.

And now West Ham's number seven will be hoping to rub further salt into
Hughes' wounds when the two go head-to-head again this weekend in what is a
must-win game for both teams, given their precarious positions in the
Premier League. Arnautovic goes into the game in peak form having scored
twice for his country on Friday evening against Slovenia before grabbing
another goal on Tuesday night in a 4-0 win over European minnows Luxembourg
(see above). He has already scored seven times for West Ham so far in his
last 14 games, having failed to score in his first 13 appearances after
moving from Stoke in a club record £25million switch.

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SOME TIMES YOU JUST NEED TO TAKE A BREAK, BUT .....
By S J Chandos 28 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID

Firstly, apologies to my readers for not posting on the site recently. This
was partly because I was a bit over-extended at work, but also because I was
genuinely stunned and disappointed by the relative lack of activity in the
winter transfer window. That allied to the decision to sell Ayew to Swansea
City (a obvious relegation rival), put Burke back out on loan and flog Fonte
were moves that I struggled to comprehend. It made a dangerously 'thin'
squad even thinner and particularly vulnerable to the adverse impact of
injuries and suspensions. Do not get me wrong, I can understand the club
wanting to sell these players, but just not in the winter transfer window,
in the midst of a relegation battle. In my view, if they were to be sold it
should have been delayed until the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that
the club made the decision to take the inflated fees offered by other clubs
at that juncture, which presumably may not have been on offer in the summer.
But with no adequate replacements coming in to the squad it was always a
decidedly dicey strategy and so it proved.

When the almost inevitable happened, Reid, Collins, Byram, Obiang, Lanzini,
Arnautovic et al all fell injured (at various times and durations), the
squad become very stretched. Of the players brought in Mario looks decent,
without so far overly impressing, and one can only speculate on the
rationale for bringing Jordan Hughill in to the club. He has looked out of
his depth, when he has appeared, so far, and this is probably the reason for
his failure to hitherto start any PL matches. Perhaps there are hidden
depths to Hughill's talents, if so lets hope he reveals them soon, because
if Arnautovic and Hernandez get injured over the next few key matches, he is
going to have to be pressed in to first team action!

In short, the squad was left far too thin in the summer. Admittedly
Hernandez and Arnautovic were good additions, but too many players were
allowed to leave without signing replacements. Then those mistakes were
further compounded in the winter window. Remember this was the opportunity
to augment the strength of the squad and better equip us for the impending
relegation battle. And the club blew it right royally. Why? It appears from
reports that the club did not have the transfer funds readily available to
buy new players outright and they ended up scrambling around trying to get
players in on loan with a view to a permanent deal. The board might say that
it was all down to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, well maybe so, but
one has to ask why these seem to regularly restrict/limit our transfer
activities more than other PL clubs (and I am not referring to the so-called
top four elite)?

Naturally, all of this led to fan unrest and the formation of action groups
protesting the situation at the club. In turn, this gave rise to plans to
stage a protest march prior to the Burnley game, which was then subsequently
postponed at the last moment. And on the back of that occurred the horrible
spectacle at the Burnley match. I fully understand the anger of fans and the
feeling that they have been misled and badly let down. In essence the board
broke a golden rule, which is that if you raise expectations to
unprecedented levels (i.e. promises of Champions League football played in a
world class arena) then you bloody well better deliver! In fairness,
expectations were probably also raised by the performance of the team in the
final season at Upton Park. However the subsequent two seasons at the London
Stadium have been extremely disappointing. In both of the last two seasons
the club have had c.57,000 sell outs at the LS and that is a clear
demonstration that the fans bought in to the board's vision of the club's
future. And there is also no escaping the conclusion that they have been
badly let down in that respect.

In all honesty I am ok with the London Stadium and I recognise its potential
(in the right circumstances) to assist the club's future progress. There is
undoubtedly a lot of residual nostalgia for Upton Park and that was
inevitable to a certain extent. However, I firmly believe that if we were
watching an exciting and aspirant team every week, challenging at the top
end of the PL, most fans would be, if not happy, at least accepting of the
LS as our new home. In a nutshell, the poor performance of the team has
focused and exacerbated the malcontent that we are witnessing. A successful
team would have facilitated our acclimatisation to a new (and very
different) stadium environment, lack of success has done the opposite. So,
if the board are feeling the heat from fans than they must recognise that
they bare ultimate responsibility for that unfortunate state of affairs.

Now, in addition, we have the media and others using the Burnley
disturbances as a stick to beat the club. The Mayor of London would
obviously like to re-negotiate key aspects of the club's agreement with the
Stadium company. Unfortunately for him, West Ham's board have a water tight
99 year contract and that can only be revised with the club's consent. The
club are probably prepared in principle to stomp up more cash, but the price
for that must be more control over the stadium. In turn, the Mayor's only
current weapon is to use the weight of public opinion against the club to
force concessions. Within that context, the Burnley disturbances were
probably a bit fortuitous for the Mayor and he arguably was not above
exploiting for his own purposes. Hopefully, the recent meeting between the
Mayor and Brady will see an end to posturing on both sides and the adoption
of a more realistic and co-operative approach. We shall see?

And on the pitch, can we pull away from the relegation zone in the coming
weeks? The current relegation battle is the closest that I can remember.
Usually, a bit of daylight forms between the bottom three or four clubs and
the rest. This year it is so close that any one of eight or nine teams could
be relegated. The pundits have grown pessimistic about West Ham's chances
because of the dramatic decline in our results since the Watford victory.
After all, losing three matches in a row 4-1, 4-1 and 3-0 is not exactly
good at this vital stage of the season. Fortunately the three week FA
Cup/International break may have come at just the right time for us. It has
allowed Moyes to give the squad warm weather training and concentrate upon
sorting out the problems on the pitch. Was the Miami trip worthwhile? As
they say, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' and we will see if the
team's form takes an upturn this Saturday, versus Southampton.

The importance of this match cannot be over-stated and the
performance/result will tell us much about the probability of our survival.
In essence, we must defeat Southampton and follow it up with another home
victory against Stoke City. I think that our survival necessitates a minimum
of six points from our next three matches. As for Chelsea away, I am not
banking on getting a positive result, but if we could grind out a draw (a la
the home match against Arsenal and the away fixture at Spurs) so much the
better for our chances of survival.

The one thing that cannot be stressed enough is that we supporters must be
totally focused on supporting the team in the next two vital home matches.
Protests can wait, we are entering the business end of the season and it is
absolutely crucial that we end it as a PL club. If we stay in the PL, we can
hopefully turn things around, if we are relegated it becomes a whole
different, unstable and problematic situation. This is not the 1970s, 1980s
or even early 1990s, PL finance is king, clubs do not necessarily bounce
straight back and relegation can lead to a club being stripped of key
playing assets and going in to long-term stagnation. The fans have made
their views known, now they must give the team 100% support as only West Ham
fans can. Remember, at the end of the day players come and players go, but
the fans are constant. We, the loyal fans, will be the only ones without an
escape clause from Championship football. So, lets do all we can, personally
and collectively, to make sure that toxic scenario does not transpire. Our
club is in trouble and we must answer the call to arms via our staunch
support.

As I said, in the title, sometimes you just need to take a break, but ……
love of this club always draws you back to the fight!

SJ. Chandos.

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