Daily WHUFC News - 20th March 2018

Loan watch: Burke defeats Snodgrass in battle of West Ham loanees
WHUFC.com

Reece Burke won the battle of the West Ham United loanees as his Bolton
Wanderers side defeated Robert Snodgrass's Aston Villa. The Trotters upset
the promotion-chasing Villans at a snowy Macron Stadium, where Adam Le
Fondre scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half. Burke
was at his best defensively, making eight clearances and a tackle and also
blocking a shot, helping Bolton claim three points and rise to 19th in the
EFL Championship table with eight games remaining. Snodgrass put in a
team-high eleven crosses and made three key passes, but he was also shown a
yellow card for an altercation with Bolton midfielder Karl Henry. Villa fell
to fourth, behind Fulham on goal difference and seven points behind Cardiff
City in the second automatic promotion place.
Burke returns to action on Good Friday 30 March, when Bolton travel to Leeds
United, while Snodgrass and Villa play next at Hull City on Saturday 31
March.

Moses Makasi enjoyed another memorable appearance for loan club Plymouth
Argyle as the Pilgrims climbed back into the EFL League One Play-Off places
with a thrilling 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers. Starting his second game in
succession for the Devon side in front of a bumper 13,466-strong crowd,
central midfielder Makasi helped his team recover from 1-0 and 2-1 down to
win through Graham Carey's 85th-minute penalty. Argyle's seventh win in
eight league matches took them back above Peterborough United into sixth
place with nine games to play, the first of which is at Charlton Athletic
this coming Saturday.

In Spain, Toni Martinez played his part as Real Valladolid came from a goal
down to defeat Almeria 2-1 in the Segunda Division. Having fallen behind in
the first half, Valladolid levelled through Oscar Plano on the hour-mark
before Martinez was introduced with 13 minutes remaining, and the home side
were rewarded when Jaime Mata headed home with four minutes remaining to
snatch all three points. Valladolid are ninth in the table, but just two
points behind Sporting Gijon in fourth, ahead of a trip to mid-table Lugo on
Saturday.

Elsewhere, Reece Oxford was ruled out of Borussia Monchengladbach's 3-3
Bundesliga draw with Hoffenheim with a hamstring strain.

Likewise, Martin Samuelsen missed Burton Albion's 3-1 Championship defeat at
leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers with an unspecified injury.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cullen and Rice claim Ireland accolades
WHUFC.com

It was a successful night for West Ham United pair Josh Cullen and Declan
Rice at the FAI awards on Sunday as both picked up prestigious accolades in
their respective age categories. Midfielder Cullen – who spent the first
half of the campaign on loan at Championship side Bolton Wanderers – picked
up the U21 International Player of the Year award after a series of
impressive performances as skipper of the side. Rice, meanwhile, was named
U19 International Player of the Year – his second honour in as many years
having been presented with the U17 equivalent last March. The young
centre-back, who has made such an impact in the Hammers' first team this
season, was called into the Republic of Ireland's senior squad for the first
time last week for their upcoming friendly against Turkey.
The 19-year-old has so far been an important figure in the U21s' European
Qualifying campaign too, often playing alongside Cullen in central midfield
for the Boys in Green who so far have ten points from a possible 15 in Group
5, sitting behind just Germany in the table.
As well as Rice's senior call-up, the Hammers duo have both been named in
Noel King's U21 squad for Thursday's friendly against Iceland and next
Tuesday's qualifier at home to Azerbaijan.
Martin O'Neill's senior squad take on Turkey in Antalya on Friday.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FA Cup hero backs Jordan Hugill to make West Ham impact
WHUFC.com

Four decades ago, West Ham United snapped up a lower-league striker who
would gain hero status in Claret and Blue. Alan Taylor was an unheralded
centre forward who had just turned 21 when he was signed by John Lyall from
Fourth Division Rochdale in December 1974. Six months later, his goals
secured the Club's second FA Cup triumph at Wembley. Forty-three years
later, the Hammers returned to the Football League for another young English
goalscorer, snapping up Jordan Hugill from Championship club Preston North
End. Taylor, who was also with the Deepdale side as a teenager, is hoping
the 25-year-old will follow in his own footsteps by making his mark in a
West Ham shirt. "I'd be absolutely delighted if the lad gets his chance and
scores a few goals," said Taylor, who scored 36 goals in 124 games for the
Hammers. "It'd be brilliant for Jordan Hugill and it'd be brilliant for the
Club, too. "That signing showed that West Ham are prepared to look around
the lower divisions for youngsters. "At Preston, Jordan showed his
goalscoring instincts and now, with better players around him, I really hope
that he gets a run and knocks a few in."
Reflecting on his own career, where Hugill will benefit from playing
alongside the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic, Taylor finished
chances created by Trevor Brooking and Keith Robson. "Ron Greenwood and John
Lyall reckoned my speed would work well with Trevor's ability to unlock
defences. I was loving my football at Rochdale but when a club from the top
division came in for me and doubled my wages, it was a no brainer. Hey
presto, I was a West Ham United player! "Back then, lower-league players
could break through because if you performed well, a club might take a
chance. It also worked out well for Billy Jennings, who came from
[third-tier] Watford and Keith Robson, who was struggling at Newcastle
United. "Pace was my asset but Ron and John taught me to get into the right
positions to benefit from Trevor's great passing ability. As young English
lads, all wanting to be better footballers, we looked up to the senior
players like Trevor, Frank Lampard and Billy Bonds, who was a fantastic
leader. They were great people, who made West Ham United a great football
club."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The amazing story of how West Ham signed an all-time goalscoring great
WHUFC.com

This is the amazing story of how West Ham United signed John Dick, the
Scottish striker who went on to become an all-time great in Claret and Blue.
Dick, who was born in Glasgow on 19 March 1930, went on to score 177 goals
for the Hammers across nine seasons, spearheading the Club's attack as they
won the Second Division title in 1958. But the tale of how manager Ted
Fenton clinched the Scot's signature is even more sensational than his
subsequent goalscoring record!

Raised in the same Govan district that produced Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny
Dalglish, Dick was stationed in Essex in the post-war years, during which
time he played non-league football for Crittall Athletic – then the works
team of Crittall Windows Ltd and now National League club Braintree Town.
Dick's goalscoring exploits for both Crittall and his Army unit caught the
attention of scouts. The prolific forward was recommended to both West Ham
boss Fenton and Tottenham Hotspur manager Bill Nicholson but, when he was
reposted to Catterick in North Yorkshire, the race was on to turn the
full-time soldier into a full-time striker.
Fenton recounted a tale that would seem barely believable in the modern game
in his seminal book At Home With The Hammers, which was published at the
height of Dick's goalscoring powers in 1960...

"I heard about John Dick, our goalscoring inside forward, through an old
friend from my Colchester days. My friend told me that he had seen a soldier
playing for Crittalls Athletic, the Essex side, who was worth watching. "No
sooner the word than the deed but, when I turned up to see Dick play, my
first view was an abbreviated one. He was taken off with a dislocated
shoulder. But I had seen and heard enough to be interested. "From then on
John Dick was under the microscope most of the time. I got permission from
his club and then went to see him. After that I followed his progress
closely through the Army Cup rounds, and went up to his new station at
Catterick to have a further look. "I had made up my mind that I wanted Dick
at West Ham, although I knew it wouldn't be easy. The lad wasn't keen on
coming to England. He wanted to stay in his native Scotland. And, above all,
he was just crazy about Glasgow Rangers. "But I knew my time was running out
when I heard that the Crittalls coach, an old Spurs player, had tipped off
White Hart Lane about the boy. So, when Dick went home to Scotland on leave,
I followed. "That started off one of those depressingly crazy treasure
hunts. I arranged to meet him at Ibrox one Saturday afternoon and when I
turned up there was no sign of Dick. I waited around, then, beginning to get
fed up, I went in to see the match. A mix-up in the messages had sent Dick
across to Hampden where he, too, waited patiently. "After the match I set
out to find Dick, who I knew was 'somewhere in Glasgow'. But where? After a
lot of phone calls and enquiries, I eventually traced his family to
Cardonald, a suburb about five miles out. "Off I went, only to find nobody
in. After long spell hammering on the door, and a lowering period while I
thought about sitting on the door-step for the rest of the weekend,
neighbours came to my rescue and suggested he might be at his sister's in
Govan. "So I blazed another trail to Govan, only to find what looked like a
forest of flats, hundreds and hundreds of them, all grey and similar – and I
didn't know the number I wanted. I knocked at doors, I trudged along dark
corridors. I asked and asked, always the same seemingly pointless questions
until I thought I must sound like a lunatic. And all the time I knew I
wasn't going to get the answer I wanted. "At last, in desperation, I went
back to his parents' place. At least I knew where they lived, so I was
better employed wasting my time where I knew something might happen. Once
more I knocked at the door without hope, only this time I heard movement as
someone came to answer it. John Dick's parents were in! If I had known how
to do a Highland Fling, I would have done it.
"But this wasn't the end of the disappointment. Nothing so simple as that.
It was eleven o'clock, but John was still out. So we sat and talked and
waited. Eventually, John's mother said she would go out and see if she could
find him. She did both – arriving back with him soon afterwards. "Then came
the long, interminable discussions as I talked John out of his desire to
stay in Scotland. Eventually I won, and, way past midnight I signed him for
West Ham. I have seldom been so exhausted, nor so happy. "In fact, I felt so
good I walked the five miles back to Glasgow in the icy cold with policemen
eyeing me suspiciously. I couldn't get a room in the hotel either, and, in
the end, I gave a night porter ten shillings to let me doze on the settee.
"But I didn't care. I had made my first signing. More were to come."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham striker Chicharito proud to pull on Mexico shirt again
WHUFC.com

Chicharito and Mexico will step up their preparations for the 2018 FIFA
World Cup finals in the United States at the end of this month. The West Ham
United striker will almost certainly be part of the El Tri squad for
friendly international matches with Iceland and Croatia, which will be
placed on 23 March and 27 March in San Francisco and Dallas respectively.
The fixtures have been organised not only to give the large Hispanic
populations of California and Texas a chance to see Mexico in action, but
also to prepare Chicharito and company for their Group F fixtures with
European opponents Germany and Sweden at this summer's World Cup. The No17
is naturally looking forward to representing his country again, having
reached the 100-cap mark when he faced Belgium in Brussels last time out.
"This is the best feeling for me, in my job and my sport, to wear the green
shirt of Mexico, whether I'm playing at home, in Europe or in the United
States, where will play our next two games," said Mexico's all-time leading
scorer with 49 goals. "Every stadium we play in, we see Mexicans, as we have
a lot of fans all over the world who support our national team. It's been a
pleasure every time I pulled on the shirt and it will be a pleasure every
time I pull on the shirt in the future. "These are important games for us,
too, against Croatia and Iceland. They will be tough friendly matches, but
we have the World Cup coming up soon and these matches, as well as the games
we have against Wales and Scotland at the end of the season, will give us a
good idea of where we are ahead of the tournament in June."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moses making waves on the south coast
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 19th March 2018
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's on-loan midfielder Moses Makasi has been praised for his
recent performances by team mate Jamie Ness. The 22-year-old midfielder
joined Plymouth Argyle on loan in January and has appeared on just three
occasions for the Pilgrims since. However Ness, who plays alongside the
youngster at the heart of the Plymouth midfield was effusive in his praise
of Makasi's efforts since he came in the side to replace regular first
teamer Antoni Sarcevic, who has been absent as a result of surgery. "He has
done really well, the two games he has come in," Ness told The Herald. "He
has not played league football before, so that's obviously a massive step up
from reserve level. "Sarce was different class for us, probably our best
player in January. To lose him was a big blow but Moses has come in and got
the goal last week. "He has got a lot of pace, a lot of energy and likes to
get forward as well. He has slotted in really well. All credit to him, it
has not affected us really. "

Plymouth have taken four points from their last two matches in which Makasi
has started; a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood - in which he scores Argyle's goal -
and last weekend's 3-2 win over fellow South West outfit Bristol Rovers,
thanks to Graham Varey's late penalty. Makasi, who first appeared for West
Ham's Under 18s in 2012 as a 16-year-old previously spent a short spell on
loan with Chelmsford City, back in September 2015.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ex-Hammer returns - for FIFTH management spell!
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 19th March 2018
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammer Martin Allen has been appointed by League Two side Barnet -
for the fifth time. In what must be some kind of managerial record, former
Hammers midfielder Allen has returned to The Hive for a fifth spell with the
Bees six seven points adrift of safety at the foot of the Football League.
News of Allen's return was confirmed by Chairman Tony Kleanthous, who fired
his predecessor Graham Westley at the weekend. "I knew Martin was available
[before we hired Westley] and we met for breakfast one morning. We always
get along great, he is an interesting character but a man with a genuinely
good heart and he cares about the Club. "I should have given him the job
there and then but at that time I was still thinking we could make the
playoffs and he was trying to convince me we were going to be fighting
relegation. "With hindsight he was right and I was in cuckoo land but as
always when it comes to all things Barnet, I struggle to accept anything
negative and my enthusiasm gets the better of me, I should have listened to
him. "In fairness to Graham, he has been absolutely great to work with and
the team ethic has definitely improved under him. However after two
successive poor home performances and with the season running out, I had to
go for one last throw of the dice. "This meant turning to the only man I
know who can hopefully restore some belief and get the wins we need to
salvage our League status. Sitting on my hands and doing nothing was not an
option. "So here we are again, another Monday another manager, Martin is
back. His remit is simple, clear the decks, get everyone focused and win
matches!"

Allen, 52, who featured for West Ham between 1989 and 1995 was first
appointed manager of Barnet in 2003. Following spells at Brentford, MK Dons,
Leicester and Cheltenham he returned to the Underhill Stadium for a
short-term stint in 2011. After a season at Notts County he returned for a
third spell at the club in a caretaker role in 2012 with Barnet, shortly
before they moved to a new ground (The Hive). A fourth spell - at two
years, his longest - followed a year at Gillingham before Allen took the
vacant post at Eastleigh, his most recent role before accepting Kleanthous'
latest call for help.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham are stuck with the London Stadium - the only way to make it
bearable for fans is by winning
Karren Brady sort of apologised for what happened at the London Stadium last
week in the defeat to Burnley - but the board must try and create a winning
team
The Mirror
Andy Dunn
ByAndy Dunn
12:41, 18 MAR 2018

For some reason, it took an entire week and was not even through the club's
official ­channels. But Karren Brady has sort of ­apologised and sort of
taken some blame for the scenes at the London Stadium last Saturday. In
doing so in her newspaper column, she referred to West Ham as being known
around the football world for its history, its heritage and, above all, its
heart. For starters, it really, really isn't. No more than most football
clubs, anyway. Does it have history, heritage and heart? Sure, but it is
hardly a global symbol of those abstract qualities.
And it is a little rich talking about history, heritage and heart when you
have moved the club to an athletics stadium and plastered LONDON on the club
crest.
Brady, David Sullivan and David Gold can dress up the stadium move in
whatever manner they want but, quite simply, it was and it remains a piece
of naked commercial opportunism – one that is pretty much irreversible,
certainly in short and medium term. As Brady said yesterday, "we have moved
and there is no going back".
So West Ham are stuck with an arena that is only truly fit for footballing
purpose in the sense it has a large rectangle of grass in its middle. Brady
highlights the attempts to make it feel more like 'home' but getting
permission to put a claret-coloured cover over the track is not going to
make fans suddenly feel fuzzy. Long term, it will be a generational thing,
it is the way time works. Relatively soon, there will be a generation of
West Ham supporters who have known nothing other than the London Stadium. In
the meanwhile, the only way to make the stadium bearable to the majority is
to win football matches.
In football, winning is a panacea, a magic bullet, a cure-all. The pitch
does not get invaded if you are one up against Burnley and snapping at the
heels of the Big Six. Brady can have all the meetings she likes with the
London Mayor about how to improve practical things at the stadium but that
is all trivia compared to the one thing she, Sullivan and Gold, can do to
calm the mutinous factions. That is to help produce a winning team. There
was one telling line in Brady's mea culpa lite.
"We are in the process of entirely restructuring our player recruitment.
This will change the way we handle transfers in the future, giving the
control to the manager and the football staff."
There you have it. By logical extension, non-football staff have been
involved in a transfer policy that, like the stadium, has not been fit for
purpose in recent times.
And while Brady points to a record spend of £80million in 2016-17, the net
spend over the last four transfer windows is less than £30m. Not only that,
decisions on who have been bought and sold have obviously been influenced by
people not qualified to properly judge a footballer. However steeped in
tradition your club, signing and selling the wrong players will not give you
a winning team.

So, if the unlikely gist of what Brady is saying, amidst all the flannel, is
that this board will now just write the cheques, at least West Ham fans have
something positive to latch on to.

As well as all that history, heritage and heart, of course.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NO MORE RAZZLE DAZZLE - HARD GRAFT AND FOCUS WILL DO
By HamburgHammer 19 Mar 2018 at 08:00
WTID

Having two weekends in a row with no West Ham game sucks, but that's what
happens when one is a weekend reserved for FA Cup games (and you're already
out because you decided to prioritise the league fixtures) followed by
another international weekend (once again with limited activity for West Ham
players these days – does anyone actually LIKE international weekends ?).

Of course the world of West Ham never really stops turning and there are
loads of things still happening, mainly off the pitch, for our glorious club
at the moment.

I won't be talking about the board too much (again) at this point as most of
the national British media have now kindly taken over having a butchers at
why exactly our club may be in its current predicament, on the pitch and off
it.

I understand representatives of WHUISA (which I have been a member of ever
since it was founded) have been invited to a meeting with David Sullivan
tomorrow to ask some questions.

Whether this will ultimately take the predictable route which previous
meetings with other fan groups have travelled on or if it will indeed lead
to the board sitting up and take notice for a change remains to be seen. I
won't be holding my breath, but it'd be plain rude of WHUISA not to sit down
with the main s shareholder and give it a right good go. What'll happen with
our club further down the road, in the summer, should be a different matter
– right now the game against Southampton takes the utmost importance.

The media sometimes tends to label too many games as relegation six-pointers
in order to drum up interest, sell papers or get viewing figures.
The Southampton game though promises to be nailbiting stuff, squeaky bum
style, with both teams needing the three points desperately.

With West Brom and Stoke losing we can put some daylight between us and
another relegation rival if we beat Southampton, how we get that win is
secondary, but beat them we must.

I reckon the vast majority of our fans are very much aware what's at stake
here and I would think the atmosphere, while being tense, could also be
fantastic, bordering cauldron level, if only our team put the effort in and
give the fans something worth cheering for early on.

Not even a goal necessarily, although that'd obviously help a lot, but a
tenacious tackle, a fine passing combination, a cracking shot on goal, you
get the picture.
A sign from the players that they want the win as much as the fans.
Relegation would do neither the club nor the players any favours and
whatever our club may have to go through in the next few months and years,
it'll be easier ftom the position of playing in the Premier League rather
than the Championship.

Now, I'm well aware of the new manager initial boost theory and while
Southampton have some decent players and while Mark Hughes may have certain
qualities as a manager, Southampton are where they are in the table for a
reason. I know we lost 3:0 against Burnley, but I see them as a much better
drilled and organised side than Southampton are this season. With the right
application, a positive mindset and the encouragement from the home crowd
hopefully we will ask Southampton a few questions on the pitch.

It's not like Southampton have momentum on their side right now and surely
David Moyes and his coaching staff have enough time now to put our team in
the best shape and frame of mind for the Southampton game. Phase 1 was the
warm weather break in Miami. Actually I don't mind that move. You could
argue whether a trip to Tenerife or Malta might have done the same, but the
general idea of having a bit of a reboot, a change of scenery, a change of
routine might do the lads the world of good.

The players will know themselves they have vastly underperformed this
season, they don't need to read a blog or online fanzine to know that. But
now Phase 2 has to kick in, you've had your week in the sun, now go out on
the cold and wet training pitch in Blighty and work on the basics needed to
beat Southampton.
Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Arnautovic and Hernandez back together
from the first whistle. Also it will definitely help to finally have Masuaku
back in the fold.
Somehow we have looked a much better team all around whenever he's been on
the pitch for us.

I also would like to see an attacking lineup, even though this may leave us
a bit more open at the back. But I wouldn't expect us to keep a clean sheet
these days anyway and would rather see us counter that with a lot of pace,
physical presence and plenty of positivity further up the field. I'd also
like to think the home crowd would respond to attacking football a lot more
and surely we need the crowd on or team's side rather than their backs.

I still have no doubt we can escape relegation through a combination of
honest graft, effort and a healthy dose of good luck. Don't forget, new
manager or not, Southampton won't arrive in London brimming with confidence.
It's our job to make sure they won't be gaining any confidence from playing
us.

That's my West Ham thoughts for the Southampton game which still seems
lightyears away. On a personal level, the weekend was mostly successful. I
visited my brother at his rehab clinic again (where he will get a week's
extension to fatten him up a bit more in preparation for his final cycle of
chemo).
I was trying to help with the fattening up bit by bringing some cake and we
then settled down in his room with the radio on, listening to the Bundesliga
Soccer Saturday programme, being elated with Hamburg SV taking a 1:0 lead at
halftime only to lose 1:2 against Hertha Berlin eventually, relegation
beckoning ever more fiercely now!

The new Hamburg manager (Hamburg have now gone through 18 managers in 11
years) tried something new, a VERY young team with an average age of 23.98
years, the youngest Hamburg team fielded in 44 years, but it just wasn't
enough. The team frankly isn't Bundesliga standard and the only positive I
can take from the situation is that there is going to be another Hamburg
derby next season, albeit in Bundesliga 2, between Hamburg SV and FC
St.Pauli.

My Sunday was spent by watching a Concordia doubleheader with both teams
winning in the freezing cold East Hamburg sunshine, but arctic winds coming
in from God knows where made me question my sanity more than once while
spending almost four hours alongside two God forsaken artificial pitches,
watching lower league football.
But nothing warms you up better than seeing you team win (apart from some
chips, hot coffee and some mulled wine!) and Cordi 2 won their away game 3:1
while Cordi's first team beat FC Suederelbe (the Millwall equivalent of the
Oberliga Hamburg) by a 2:0 scoreline.

Cordi 2 is now almost guaranteed promotion to the next level while Cordi 1
are bound to save some face late on in the season by stringing some wins
together which will probably lead to a 4th or 5th place finish at the end of
the season, representing failed ambition (as they were hoping to get
promoted this season), but that's football.
And frankly, with an average attendance of 150 people at home games it's
hardly comparable to West Ham's woes in the Premier League.

Who knows what this week will bring to our much beloved West Ham United ?
Good news on a postcard please! COYI!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com