Daily WHUFC News - 3rd May 2018

Second Chance Scheme Graduate Signs For CSKA Sofia
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Foundation's Second Chance Scheme has grown rapidly over the
last two years, and its success is now starting to translate into fantastic
results for it's participants. Valentin Obretenov, a Goalkeeper on the
programme, has recently signed a professional contract with CSKA Sofia in
Bulgaria, and he couldn't be clearer about how the scheme helped him to get
where he is today.

Speaking to whufc.com, Valentin said: "I am so happy to be where I am now
and without the Foundation's support over the past two years I wouldn't be
where I am today. From exposing me to full-time football and education
alongside the Academy and pushing me to play Non-League Football I will be
forever grateful. Sam Taylor, Jim Hampsheir and Kosta Stavrev are three
people I would like to say a big thank you to."

The Second Chance Scheme is a two-year, full-time education and football
development programme, offering the opportunity to study a wide-range of
subjects across a broad range of qualifications, including A-Levels. Open to
talented footballers aged between 16 and 18, the Second Chance Scheme gives
released footballers another opportunity to make it in football – and
Valentin's story is just one of a number of growing success stories.

Sam Taylor, Football Integration Manager at West Ham United Foundation,
said: "For me this shows what a fantastic programme the Second Chance Scheme
is. It's often talked about in football, but our scheme is genuinely
offering pathways for these boys, and with Val signing professionally for
CSKA Sofia, along with creating full international players just shows the
power of our programme and is a testament to the hard work we're all putting
in to get it right."

Bryan Glover, Head of Football Development at the Foundation, said: "Again
this is another great example of how well the Second Chance programme is
working in partnership with the Academy. As a Foundation we have produced a
full International and now our first professional footballer with hopefully
many more to come. I really do hope to see Val in the Champions League at
some point in the near future!"

The Second Chance Scheme, along with the full range of Learning Academy
programmes, are heading into a new year and the Foundation are looking for
new players. If you are aged 16-18 and hoping for a future in the
professional game, get in touch today!

Email staylor@westhamunited.co.uk for more information on the Foundation's
football schemes.

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Zabaleta: We have to be positive
WHUFC.com

Pablo Zabaleta says the Hammers have to remain positive as they head into
the final three games of the season searching for the points they require to
make sure of their Premier League status.

Having suffered defeats in tough assignments against Arsenal and Manchester
City, West Ham face Leicester City, Manchester United and Everton in the
final week of the season with their destiny in their own hands.

Zabaleta believes one win, or four points, will mean they will not have to
worry about what the teams below them achieve – a situation he wants to be
in as quickly as possible.

"It's still in our hands," the No5 said. "We have to go for the three points
in our next game, that's it.

"Leicester lost against their last game against Palace, then we have
Manchester United and Everton at home, so it's in our hands.

"Yes, Sunday's result wasn't good, but we have to forget that game, be
positive and move into the next game thinking we can get the three points.

"One more win, or four points, could be enough to be safe 100 percent. We
cannot wait on Swansea, Southampton or Stoke to keep dropping points. We
have to think about West Ham and getting three points."

The experienced defender is well aware that his team need to improve if they
are to achieve that target, but says the return of Manuel Lanzini, who got
an hour of football under his belt against the Citizens, could help towards
that.

He added: "We knew Sunday was going to be a tough game – we were playing
against the champions, the best team in the league. No excuses, they were
miles better than us and now we have to move on to the next game.

"Manuel is one of the most creative players in our team. He's not had a good
time in terms of injuries, but to have Manu back in the team is good news,
so hopefully he can help us get some points in the next games.

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West Ham striker Andy Carroll apologises to manager David Moyes following
row
BBC.co.uk

West Ham striker Andy Carroll has apologised and returned to training after
a row with manager David Moyes. Carroll was sent home from training on
Monday after Moyes was unhappy with him leaving the bench early in Sunday's
match against Manchester City. Moyes made a triple substitution during the
game, a 4-1 defeat, and Carroll headed to the dressing room early. It is
understood he was sent home after he refused to apologise on Monday. The
club now considers the matter settled. Javier Hernandez, Joao Mario and
Arthur Masuaku were sent on in the second half against City, leaving a
frustrated Carroll to depart for the dressing room and not return before
full-time.
Speaking after the match, Moyes said: "It's something I'll deal with. In
this situation what you need is everybody to be a team member, so if he has
done that, I'll look at it and I'll deal with it."
West Ham are three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with
three games to play. They travel to Leicester on Saturday (15:00 BST) for
their next match.

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West Ham 1-4 Manchester City (And Other Ramblings) - A Letter to David
Sullivan
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 2nd May 2018
By: HeadHammerShark

Dear David,

This is one of those open letters. God, how tedious of me. I've become one
of "those" people. I know, I know - I should be better than this. But then
again, so should our team after eight years of your ownership and instead
we're going to either go down or survive with fewer than forty points.
Neither of us have much to shout about.

First question - where on earth do you get your jackets?

I should be writing about this game, but to be honest, I've got nothing left
to say about West Ham capitulating at home. I've seen this game a dozen
times already at the London Stadium since you moved us there. I don't know
how many more times I can say that Cheikhou Kouyate is no longer in control
of his own legs, or describe Javier Hernandez nearly breaking out into a
walk.

So let's just talk, you and I. Two seriously pissed off West Ham fans with
an eye on the future.

I'm guessing that this weekend was tough for you. Perhaps I'm naive but I
still believe that you are a genuine supporter, albeit one with a remarkably
high tolerance for the team you support being abysmal. I suspect it must be
galling for you to sit in Director's Boxes with the officials of clubs like
Burnley, Swansea and Brighton and have to offer up polite chit chat while
the team you have assembled at such great cost gets destroyed in front of
you. I can't believe that at least a couple of them haven't at least leaned
over and whispered something along the lines of "David, old chap, not to pry
but exactly how incriminating are the photographs that Patrice Evra has of
you?".

You're not a quitter, you say. You're not walking away from a job half done.
Fair enough, I suppose, although I think you might be pushing the limits of
the word "half" there. It's the standard rhetoric of people in jobs that are
beyond them, but which remunerate them handsomely. And rest assured, I think
we are all aware that the several million pounds of interest that the club
pays you each year probably helps to while away the hours on those long
drives back down the M1 after yet another Northern shellacking.

I happen to think that people who refuse to quit when they aren't up to the
task are selfish. People mocked Kevin Keegan mercilessly but by resigning as
England manager in 2001 he helped England to reach a World Cup, by admitting
he wasn't up to it. I find that infinitely more courageous and honourable
than sticking around despite all the evidence being that you don't possess
the ability to do your job. I'm. Just. Saying. David.

***

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. For our story begins some time
ago. 2010, to be precise, and West Ham was a club on the precipice. We were,
according to the BBC, "in 16th, in a season plagued by injuries and off
field distractions". Seems a little outlandish, I know, but that's what they
said.

You described the situation thusly - "We have a short term goal to stay in
the Premier League, and in the long term we'd like to be challenging for the
top four and the Champions League....the club has such an unbalanced squad.
We will be honest with the fans about the books and the crazy wages the
Icelandic owners paid out that has brought the club to its knees".

I won't lie, David, that last one is my favourite.

You finished up by saying "We're taking on a huge task at a club with
enormous problems. It will take time for us to turn it around". Remember
what we were saying about a job half done? Time travellers from 2010 might
wonder if you've even started at all.

I should also add that there was also some stuff about how you always
supported your managers, right before you fired Gianfranco Zola and replaced
him with Avram Grant. For a bet, possibly. Anyway, we're five managers in
now so I always figured that one was probably a joke.

Plus ca change and all that, but I wonder if you ever sit at home, looking
at those life-size waxwork butlers of yours and wonder whether you are in
some mythical Greek hell?

I know I do.

In the same way that Tantalus is forever doomed to stand in a pool of water
that recedes whenever he bends down to try and drink it, you seem destined
to sit in the bottom half of the Premier League and watch poorer, smaller,
but smarter, clubs breeze past you.

It puzzles you, I'm sure, that fans aren't more grateful to you for saving
us. I suppose that can be put down to the fact that a lot of fans don't
really think you did. They saw a very wealthy individual swooping in and
picking up a distressed asset that was always likely to produce a return
with even a modicum of investment. Harsh, I suppose, but there you go.

There can be no denying that the clubs finances look an awful lot healthier
now than they did in 2010, but of course this is largely due to the
explosion in television rights. While Karren Brady might like to brag about
turning around a failing business, most of us are a bit nonplussed by all
that. The single best decision you made was to employ Sam Allardyce, at
obscene expense, to ensure the club was back in the Premier League when the
gravy train rolled into town. And if ever there was a man unlikely to miss a
gravy train...

***

I have no doubt that you are perplexed as to why exactly a home defeat to
Manchester City would inspire all this angst among supporters. After all,
City beat everybody, have unlimited funds and scored a couple of flukey
goals. Their dominance says an awful lot more about the job being done by
the men who run the Premier League and UEFA than it does about you. And, in
isolation I'd agree with you.

I don't understand why so many fans are upset about a supposed lack of
effort when it seems clear to me that David Moyes had instructed the team to
sit off and hold their shape to try and deny City space behind our defence.
We did this at the Etihad to great effect, and I suppose you could say it
sort of worked here for about ten minutes. City scored through a deflection
and an own goal, both of which were unfortunate but exactly the kinds of
goals that you let in when you are shit. And David, before you protest, we
are absolutely fucking shit.

But I'm not sure it's this particular defeat that's really the point here.
It's the fact that every single one of us knew it was coming. I knew it was
coming. You knew it was coming too. I know you did.

Since moving to the London Stadium we have played the current Big Six on
thirteen occasions. We have won three (God bless London derbies), drawn
once, and lost nine. In those games we have scored ten goals and conceded
thirty four. Holy Shit, Dave! THIRTY FOUR. It's not just that we're
terrible, it's that we're reliably terrible.

We've never once scored four goals in a game at our home ground, and yet
Manchester City have done it three times. Once upon a time you could judge a
teams title credentials by how they fared at Upton Park, but under your
watch, we now get to see how they would play in testimonials. I honestly
thought Kevin de Bruyne was going to fall asleep yesterday.

Whether you accept it or not, the fact that we don't even remotely compete
in games against one third of the division is a pretty good reason for the
widespread apathy that is surging through your core support like poison
through a bloodstream.

***

But I'm sure, you're sitting there fed up at having your efforts ripped to
shreds. What of Dimitri Payet? What about that season of finishing seventh?
And you'd be right. That was a great season. You should have bought a decent
striker in January, of course, but instead did it on the cheap and missed
out on a Champions League spot that was begging to be taken. I often wonder
about that, and I'm sure you do too. Some better refereeing and Charlie
Austin instead of Emmanuel Emenike and who knows where we would all be right
now.

But if wishes were horses, I'd be dragging Nigel Farage through the streets
of Calais behind my carriage. We blew it and then returned immediately to
the stagnant mediocrity that has been the hallmark of your ownership.
Barring that one marvellous season when the Premier League went crazy, big
teams fell and little teams rose and bloody Leicester won the league, we
have been unrelentingly boring to support. I can describe it in no other
way. West Ham on the pitch are generally one of the most tedious sides in
the land.

We just... exist. Drifting aimlessly through seasons, lurking in the bottom
half of the table leaving nary a footprint in the sand. All of our impact is
on the back pages, as we lurch from crisis to crisis, amusing the world as
we go. We are irrelevant on the pitch and shambolic off it, and there is
nobody to be blamed for that other than you. I resent being asked to give
you my season ticket money before the end of the season because I feel like
I will just be endorsing you to go out and waste it once more.

Let me ask you a question, David, if I may. Is there any challenge in your
role? By which I mean, does anyone ever tell you that what you're doing is
wrong? If not, perhaps you ought to ask yourself why.

Once, many years ago, I worked for a brief time at a place that had a "hands
on" owner. The company had two security guards, one of whom worked from 5am
until 1pm, and the other from 12pm until 8pm. They had a handover period of
one hour in the middle. One day the owner turned up for an operations
meeting and noticed them both at reception. Troubled by such an unnecessary
display of manpower, he told his operational team to fire one of them
because it was ludicrous to waste money like that. Given how long ago it
was, this might have saved the company around £25,000 per year.

The problem with this was that it meant we had one security guard to cover
fifteen hours. In the end, he did the early shift and the company paid the
landlord of the building to have someone come and lock up. The cost of this
service? £40,000 per year.

Whether that is apocryphal or not, I don't know, but it was told around the
corridors as being true. And nobody was surprised because the distinguishing
characteristic of that business was that anybody close to the owner just
mumbled in agreement and told him what he was saying was great. It led to a
very well-paid senior management and a very poorly run company.

Challenge is a good thing, David. People disagreeing with you is healthy,
because it introduces some rigour to your decision-making process. Getting
people into positions of seniority who have a backbone and some vision is a
really healthy thing for a company to do. I understand that long-term
strategic thinking wasn't a huge part of your success in porn or property,
but it couldn't be more vital to the industry in which you currently
operate. You keep telling us that the manager must have the final say on
transfers despite employing five in eight years. Any player signing on
anything longer than a two year deal is likely to outlast the manager he
signs for. Can you not see that this is a nonsense?

If nothing else, please look around. Examine what is working for those other
smaller clubs who have gone skating past you so easily. You need some help.
You've done your best, no doubt, but there is so much more intellectual
horsepower in those clubs it's not even a fair fight. They have long term
business plans that allow them to think further ahead than the next transfer
window, and they don't lurch alarmingly from one crisis to another. It's
pretty tough to admit, but when your business is failing and you've changed
the staff, the place you do business and the management then perhaps it
might be time to admit that the only thing left to change is...you.

***

But before you get too excited about making lots of changes, David, I'd like
to ask one more thing of you. When you come to make those decisions - please
don't do anything for public approval. I know it's been your preferred
method to road test ideas by disseminating them through various social media
outlets and then gauging public response, but this highlights everything
that is wrong with your leadership. Your job isn't to satisfy fans before
the season, it's to do it at the end.

I know fans are a nightmare. How can you appease people who scream that they
want a high energy pressing game and then scream even louder for Hernandez
to be on the pitch? What hope do you have of reasoning with people who
insist on playing 4-4-2 without acknowledging that we don't actually have
anyone who can play wide in midfield? Where do you go with supporters who
criticise Moyes for not instilling a sense of organisation and
professionalism into his team and then side with professional waster Andy
Carroll because he didn't walk straight back into the team after being out
for months? What is up with people who plaster pictures of themselves in the
San Siro all over their social media accounts and then tell you they're
giving up their season tickets because they're sick of the number of
tourists in the stadium?

But that's the point, really - fans are emotional and illogical and moody,
but the simple thing we all want is success. Produce a better team and we
will fall in line. You need to stop taking short cuts and start working to
some semblance of a plan. Or better yet, employ some people to design and
implement that plan, because this current squad you have assembled is one of
the worst I've ever seen and fans have every right to be pissed off about
it.

None of which is to say that fans aren't important. We're crucial. But we
need you to listen to us on other things, because you've currently got it
the wrong way round. And so you stay silent when our fans are threatened,
when the stewarding is unsafe, when we are campaigning for safe standing and
when that godforsaken fucking stadium turns out to be a total disaster, but
find the time to canvas opinion about whether we should sign El Hadji Diouf.
This is madness.

Any business making strategic decisions to gain short term approval from
their customers is doomed to fail. If you had any belief in your own vision,
you wouldn't care remotely for public opinion. Instead we have this strange
briefing against Moyes now to prepare the ground for letting him go in the
summer. I happen to think Moyes would be a poor appointment, but still the
best you could realistically manage, although either way that's not terribly
important.

What's important is your long term plan. How do you want to play? What type
of team are you trying to build? What profile of player are you targeting
and how do you plan to attract them? If Moyes is your ideal candidate then
back him and commit to the plan. The problem is that you and I both know
that no such template exists. Instead, everything is geared to short term
survival and kicking problems down the road until you eventually sell the
club and can leave them for the next guy to resolve.

And there's the rub. When you took us from Upton Park you ripped the soul
out of the club. But crucially you didn't replace it with anything. I would
suggest that the only thing that could really have worked is to have
replaced it with a brain. A razor sharp, young, progressive, cutting edge
managerial set up that could have bridged the gap between us and the elite.
I can't tell you how often I daydream of West Ham Red Bull, David, because
it would be no further removed from the West Ham of my youth than your
version, and a damn sight more successful.

Instead...nothing. Just the same unimaginative approach that you have always
employed, and in the end it has led us to where you have always ended up. At
the bottom.

I should add that none of this is personal. I think you're a businessman who
saw an opportunity to profit and you took it. But the issue is that you
haven't given us anything. Absolutely nothing. Not the stadium, not the
team, not the managers, not the Academy, not even any glimmer of hope for
the future. And if your plan is to just hang on to the club until the
restrictive covenants are lifted and then sell for the biggest profit
possible, then you need to be aware of what that will mean for your legacy.
And perhaps you won't care, and perhaps your sons won't care, but you'll be
forever known as the guy who destroyed West Ham.

I hope it doesn't come to that, David, I really don't. It doesn't need to.
We have attributes that other clubs would kill for. Stand aside and let
people who know what they are doing utilise them. Look to Kevin Keegan -
admit you're not up to it. There really is no shame in it.

Yours sincerely,

HeadHammerShark
Disgruntled of Block 256

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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Andy Carroll returns to West Ham training after apologising to David Moyes
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 02/05/18 5:08pm
SSN

Andy Carroll returned to training on Wednesday after apologising to manager
David Moyes, Sky Sports News understands. Carroll was sent home from
training on Monday having refused to apologise for leaving the bench and
heading down the tunnel during West Ham's 4-1 defeat by Manchester City on
Sunday. Sky Sports News understands Carroll has apologised to Moyes and is
hoping to play a part as the Hammers head for a crucial match in their
relegation fight at Leicester on Saturday.
Striker Carroll was clearly frustrated as he remained on the bench as an
unused substitute before disappearing down the tunnel towards the end of the
game. In his post-match interview, Moyes promised to "deal with it", and the
pair were involved in a heated exchange before the Scot sent Carroll home on
Monday.
After a 4-1 loss to the champions left the Hammers just three points outside
the drop zone with three games left, Moyes told Sky Sports: "In this
situation, what you need is everybody to be a team member."
Carroll, 29, has made 16 appearances for West Ham this season, as he has
continued to struggle with injury problems. He was also sent off against
Burnley last October.

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Diego Poyet interview: How former Charlton and West Ham prodigy is getting
back on track in Cyprus
By Will Unwin
Last Updated: 02/05/18 4:22pm
SSN

From Charlton and West Ham to Argentina and Cyprus, Diego Poyet tells Sky
Sports about his unusual career path - and why he's optimistic about the
future...
When Diego Poyet left Charlton in the summer of 2014, having helped them to
Championship safety and won the club's player of the year award barely four
months after making his debut, the teenager looked set for the top. But four
years on, the former England U18 is rebuilding his career away from the
microcosm of football in this country. After two years of stagnation at West
Ham and a hellish six months in Argentina, Poyet is finally reigniting a
career that promised plenty and stepping out of his father Gus' shadow by
starring in the Cypriot First Division for Paphos. It wasn't the path he
pictured taking as a Charlton academy ace, splitting his time between
developing through the youth system and watching his father shine in the
Premier League. But the 23-year-old is happy to be back on track and excited
about the future.

"Pathos had a new manager, new players, so I thought let's just go for it
and signed for a year to get my head straight after Argentina," Poyet told
Sky Sports. "That was very important for me, to have no distractions. It's
been better for Argentina, that's for sure! "As you see with my last moves I
am open to new experiences but if something comes up in the UK then I'm all
for it."

As a teenager, Poyet played for England youth sides before eventually making
his debut for Charlton aged 18, having joined the club six years
previously.The Valley was not an ideal place to be at that time. The club
were in a relegation battle and controversial owner Roland Duchatelet had
just taken over - and he quickly removed Chris Powell after he handed Poyet
his debut. New manager Jose Riga arrived and the club were saved from
relegation, with Poyet earning plenty of praise in the process. "People say
'it must have been hard starting off with a team bottom of the league' but I
love a challenge," Poyet says, recalling those early days of his career.
"Being bottom of the table in the Championship and going straight in is
quite hard to do but I would rather do that than being 21 or 22 and being
nowhere near the first team in the Premier League because the club can just
buy a new player. "In the Championship or League One you have more chances
as a young player, especially if you've been at the club a long time and
you've earned the trust of the manager, respect of the players and the
people at the club and they know what you can do."

Despite his success on the pitch, Charlton were slow to try to tie down the
out-of-contract Poyet to a new deal, making him wonder about his worth at a
club where he had grown up. "After about three or four weeks they contacted
me and I wasn't really pleased with the offer they gave me. I'd been at the
club six or seven years and had a close relationship with a lot of the
players and the offer made me feel under-appreciated, considering how long
I'd been at the club and I'd just won player of the year. "There was a
discussion where they weren't going to make another offer. I was a free
agent and I told them to forget about it and I wasn't going to turn up to
pre-season, I was going to look for another option. That is how I ended up
leaving a club that I had a lot of admiration and love for. I spent a lot of
time there. It was my hometown as well and I ended up leaving in a way where
most people don't know the truth. "The contract was offered, I said I wasn't
happy with it and then they started throwing in things like a loan move to
Standard Liege and this and that. I wondered if they wanted me at Charlton
why they would offer for me to go out on loan somewhere. It ended in not a
nice way but it is what it is and I'm sure it's happened to a lot of
players."

A desire to stay in London meant West Ham's offer was the most attractive to
the teenage midfielder who was looking for a place to blossom in the Premier
League. Sam Allardyce was the man who gave him a four-year deal but he would
only make three Premier League appearances for the club in his first season.
During his time in East London he would go out on three separate loan spells
and play in five Europa League qualifiers under Allardyce's replacement
Slaven Bliic, but it was not a period Poyet enjoyed. "The first season under
Allardyce I felt I would have to suck it up, get used to it and then in my
second season we had the Europa League qualifiers with Bilic and I played in
them, so I felt that the manager was showing faith in me, I did quite well,
we had a penalty shootout and took one, so after about a year I felt part of
the team. "I was being patient, I showed I wanted to be there but when we
went out of Europe, Bilic was honest with me and said my chances would be
limited and if I wanted to go out on loan I should just go."

After loan spells at MK Dons and back at Charlton, Poyet reported back for
his third summer at West Ham to be told by Bilic he could leave the club.
The midfielder decided he did not want to see out the final two seasons of
his contract. "A lot of people would have stayed but I get frustrated very
easily so if the manager says that to me, I feel like there's no real way of
winning someone's trust back," said Poyet. "I rang my agent, I told him to
get me out of there, I didn't care about anything, I just wanted to leave
and sign somewhere else. I didn't want to be somewhere I wasn't wanted, I
didn't care how long it took. "I was made to feel like a pest - I would turn
up to training and I would know the staff didn't want me there. I'd go into
training and no matter how well I did there was no reward. "I couldn't do
that, I couldn't be waiting on the manager to be sacked, as that means you
don't want your team-mates to do well and I'm not that type of person. I
don't want my team-mates to do badly so the manager gets sacked and I get an
opportunity, I always want them to do well."

After being offered moves to Derby County and Rangers, Poyet took the more
extreme decision to join Godoy Cruz in Argentina but nothing went right for
Poyet in South America - and a ruling on foreign signings left him illegible
to play in the league. "I decided to move across the world to play," he
explains. "In Argentina you can only have four foreigners at a time for each
season. The club I signed for already had four players but a Uruguayan
striker was set to leave the day after I arrived. He was their star striker
but he went to do his medical and failed. "It got out in the news, so the
other three players occupying the international player slots didn't want to
leave. So no one was going to sign the striker and I was left as the fifth
player. "I was there for six months and could only play in the Copa
Libertadores, where you can register new players for that but not for the
league. "It was a nightmare, it was the worst time of my life. I was in
Argentina, living by myself, training week in, week out and for six months I
could only wait for the Copa Libertadores. "When it came around, the manager
was hesitant to play me as I hadn't played a game in months and had to
decide if he wanted to play a player who hasn't played and isn't match fit.
It was a nightmare for me. I struggled on and off the pitch, as I was
struggling to play and I was away from home for the first time properly, so
it was a very hard time for me."

Last summer, Poyet found salvation after being tested by his time in
Argentina by joining Cypriot side Paphos, who are managed by former Coventry
boss Steven Pressley. "After suffering in Argentina I wanted to go back to
what I was used to, being back home with my family and friends," he said.
"But when I left Argentina, I couldn't find the right place in the UK,
people were asking about what happened in Argentina and I hadn't played many
games since joining West Ham. "People were saying 'he's moving around too
much', so I ended up going up to a new club in Cyprus, who had signed 30-odd
players, all from different places. "I was sat at home in England calling my
agent three or four times a day - I must have driven him crazy. It's been
better than Argentina, that's for sure."

The standard of football in Cyprus has surprised and impressed Poyet, who
feels he is just thankful to be back playing regularly as he looks to prove
to himself and those around him that he is his own man, something he has
proved about making difficult decisions about his own career. Pressley
arrived in Cyprus a month after Poyet, reminding the midfielder what he
misses about the country he was brought up in and the football there. "I
think he [Pressley] has had to adapt but he has brought that British
mentality - he has coached in League One and at top clubs - and he has
brought that into our team, which has been great for us. Him coming with his
staff has been massive for me. "When they came I called my dad and said
'they're making me miss England so much!' because this is what I am used to,
at Charlton and West Ham, that atmosphere, the training intensity and even
just speaking English. It has made me miss home and what I am used to."

Not one scared of bold moves, Poyet might need to consider another in the
summer, and really could end up anywhere if he decides against staying with
Paphos.
His dad, now managing Bordeaux, is always at the end of the phone if he
needs advice but Poyet Jnr has seen the good and the bad of football and
isn't fearful of what might come next as he continues his pursuit of his
dream to reach the top.

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WEST HAM'S PRIME DEFENSIVE TARGET 'TEMPTED' BY LUCRATIVE SWITCHFeatured
Image
Date: 2nd May 2018 at 9:00pm
Written by: Josh Challies

West Ham boss David Moyes has plenty of work to do this summer, although
he'll be focusing on the final three matches of the season after seeing the
Hammers dragged back into the relegation fight this weekend. A 4-1 defeat to
Manchester City has left Moyes' side just three points from safety with
three games remaining, while it also gives West Ham the unwanted record of
having the worst defence in the Premier League this season. As such, the
Hammers are widely tipped to rejuvenate their defensive ranks at the end of
the campaign and Fulham full-back Ryan Fredericks, who is set to be
available as a free agent, has been consistently linked with a move to the
London Stadium. West Ham have now been handed a boost as The Mirror stated
in their live blog (3:26pm) that the right-back is tempted by a lucrative
move across the capital, although there is still a chance he could sign a
new deal at Craven Cottage if his side secure promotion to the Premier
League.

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US Billionaire Paul Allen is interested in buying West Ham
By Adam Leatherbarrow - May 2, 2018 0

Paul Allen, owner of the Seattle Seahawks, is interested in buying West Ham
United from Gold and Sullivan, a source close to West Ham World claims. Paul
Allen famously co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates which where the
bulk of his fortune originates from. He also owns MLS outfit Seattle
Sounders and NBA team Portland Trail Blazers as part of his privately held
company Vulcan Inc. Interestingly, during their 2016 pre-season tour in,
West Ham visited Seattle and trained at the Seahawk's VMAC training complex.
The Hammers lost 3-0 to Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field during that
tour. It appears Allen declared some interest in the East London team when
they had their first season in the London Stadium.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is trying to recoup the money spent on London
Stadium from the 2012 Olympics and conversion costs by welcoming offers from
oversees to boost the NFL franchise in London. Khan had a helping hand in
the bid for Wembley Stadium from Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner
Shahid Kahn and it is believed he is helping to sell The Hammers on behalf
of the club.
The Seattle Seahawks wouldn't be moving to London by the looks of it and it
is understood that no NFL games will be played in the stadium, but the land
surrounding the stadium in Stratford could be used as a base for the
Seahawks and visiting teams to train, as there isn't enough land around
Wembley Stadium to do this currently.
To add, Stratford's Olympic Park also has the Copper Box, which can be used
for NBA tours instead of using the O2 in North Greenwich.

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West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta backs fit-again Manuel Lanzini to help club
to safety: 'He's one of the most creative players in our team'
Manuel Lanzini played for over an hour for the first time since March on
Sunday
Pablo Zabaleta believes his compatriot can help West Ham avoid relegation
The Argentine wants his team-mates to focus on getting a victory at
Leicester
By Aditi Prakash, Reuters
PUBLISHED: 15:32, 2 May 2018 | UPDATED: 15:39, 2 May 2018

Manuel Lanzini's return to form can propel West Ham towards Premier League
safety for next season, according to team-mate Pablo Zabaleta. Argentina
international Lanzini has been battling a persistent knee injury and played
over an hour for the first time since March in last weekend's 4-1 defeat by
champions Manchester City. The 25-year-old also notched an assist as a
second-half substitute in the defeat by Arsenal earlier this month and
Zabaleta believes his compatriot's gradual resurgence can help West Ham stay
out of the relegation battle. 'Manuel is one of the most creative players in
our team. 'He's not had a good time in terms of injuries, but to have Manu
back in the team is good news, so hopefully he can help us get some points
in the next games,' the 33-year-old defender told West Ham's website. The
defeat by City left West Ham in danger of being dragged into the relegation
battle as they sit 15th in the league, three points and positions above
18th-placed Southampton with as many matches left in the campaign. 'Yes,
Sunday's result wasn't good, but we have to forget that game, be positive
and move into the next game thinking we can get the three points,' Zabaleta
said. 'One more win, or four points, could be enough to be safe 100 percent.
We cannot wait on Swansea (City), Southampton or Stoke (City) to keep
dropping points. 'We have to think about West Ham and getting three
points.'
The London outfit will be aiming for just their third away win in the league
when they travel to ninth-placed Leicester City on Saturday.

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