Today marks the fifth anniversary of the death of legendary Hammers
manager John Lyall.
Lyall passed away suddenly on 18th April 2006 having made a career in
football - most notably as the charismatic manager of West Ham United
whose fortunes he steered over a fifteen year period from 1973 to 1989,
when the board failed to extend his contract following a second
relegation from the top flight.
The Ilford-born former left-back spent a total of 34 years with West
Ham, having joined the Club as a 15-year-old trainee in 1955. Two years
later he signed his first professional contract, although injury cruelly
curtailed his playing career at the age of 24.
Lyall then turned to management, initially taking charge of the youth
team before becoming then-manager Ron Greenwood's assistant in 1971.
He succeeded his mentor Greenwood as first-team manager in 1974 and went
on to lead the Hammers to two FA Cup wins, the Club's highest ever
top-flight finish (third in '85/'86) and a Cup Winners Cup Final appearance.
It's also five years ago this weekend that West Ham beat Middlesbrough
at Villa Park in the 2006 FA Cup semi-final.
Marlon Harewood's goal memorably sent Alan Pardew's side through to the
final, although the game is just as fondly remembered for the touching,
passionate and spontanious send-off given to Lyall, who had passed away
only days earlier, by the West Ham United supporters.
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Collison determined to return for West Ham's run-in (SSN)
Midfielder Jack Collison says he is desperate to get back to action so
he can help West Ham United in their relegation fight.
The 22-year old Welshman has failed to make an appearance in the Premier
League this season because of a serious knee injury but is almost back
to top fitness after a few reserve team games.
He says he wants to help the Hammers in their plight for the final five
games of the campaign, starting with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
"I am ready and looking to do my bit," Collison told the club's official
website.
"I have only played a couple of reserve games, but I have been training
for a long while now with the team.
"The medical department have been brilliant to me. It's been a real team
effort and they've been working hard with me around the clock.
"They have got me back into good shape and I feel good and I'm ready to go.
"It would be nice to have an opportunity between now and the end of the
season to help the team out."
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Bristol City's Millen declares Jordan Spence interest (BBC)
Bristol City boss Keith Millen has said he would like to sign on-loan
defender Jordan Spence on a permanent deal.
The 20-year-old right-back has impressed since joining from West Ham in
March and is out of contract with the Hammers in the summer.
Millen told the club website: "He's still a West Ham player and we don't
know what the future will be at present with talks ongoing.
"But if the opportunity came up, we'd be interested."
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Turn, Turn ….. Turn Again? (West Ham Til I Die)
by S J Chandos
Do you remember the optimism and belief generated by those excellent
wins against Liverpool and Stoke City and the battling draw at Spurs?
Then crash,we suffered the second half capitulation to Man Utd, the
first half surrender at Bolton and Saturday's home defeat to Villa. Our
fortunes have turned twice since Christmas, is there is another twist to
come in our crazy, inconsistent season? We could still have enough
winnable games to survive, but the key questions is: will defeat in the
next two tough away fixtures effectively put safety beyond our reach?
The Villa defeat is a big blow to our survival chances. However, it is
not a fatal blow in itself, but that could well be struck over the next
two weekends if we lose to Chelski and Man City and other results go
against us. We must try to ensure that does not happen. The priority is
to take something from the next two away matches to give ourselves a
fighting chance in the final three fixtures of the season. Both Chelski
and Man City boast multi-million pound squads, but they have still blown
hot and cold at times this season. We should, however, forget about
trying to out play them, both sides have the class to rip us apart if we
play too open a game.
Against Chelski next week, Grant needs to set out his stall to stiffle
the opposition and endeavour to hit them on the break. We need to start
with a disciplined 4-5-1, with Jacobsen, Bridge, Tomkins and Upson
forming the rearguard and Hitzlsperger (CM), Spector (CM), Noble(CM),
Sears (RM) and Boa Morte (LM) in midfield. This assumes that both Parker
and O'Neill will be unavailable through injury. Up front Demba Ba should
play as the lone striker. He gets the nod to start, over Carlton Cole,
because of his greater pace and ability to shot from distance. Chelski
usually play quite narrow anyway, the objective must be for the
full-backs and Sears and Boa Morte to squeeze them and force them to
play through a massed central defensive zone. We must improve our
retention of the ball and stop giving it away so cheaply. And we should
be looking to find Ba with long passes and balls over the top, with the
midfield giving support on the break. I suppose that this is advocating
what has been referred to as 'parking the bus.' Still why not? We set up
in a similar way at the Emirates, earlier this season, and nearly pulled
it off, only losing 1-0 to a late goal. These are desperate times and it
calls for emergency tactics. Psychologically, it might pay dividends to
bring in players like like Boa Morte, Sears and Spector who have been
kicking their heels on the bench, are hungry and have something to
prove. After the disappointing nature of the Villa defeat it cannot hurt
to shuffle the pack a bit to try to introduce some more fight in to the
side. I would love to see us call upon Jack Collison, but it is probably
unrealistic to expect him to return to PL action so soon after
recovering from long-term injury.
The next two fixtures are going to require discipline, hard work and
grit. Is this squad capable of battling for a point away at Stamford
Bridge and the City of Manchester Stadium? I certainly hope so, because
I still anticipate that Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves, Blackburn and
Sunderland may yet offer us an escape route. If so, then we must be in a
position to take it. The worrying thing is undoubtedly the lack of
motivation and fight exhibited against Villa. We had a dream start,
scoring in the second minute, yet that did not spur us on to greater
effort and a second goal. Yes, the referee did us no favours, once
again, but no one can deny that that Villa looked the better team for
75% of the match, as we struggled to retain the ball and pressurize
their defence. However, once we reached extra-time at 1-1, surely the
professionalism of the players dictated that we settle for the point and
play out time. To lose it at that stage was unforgivable really.
Another concern was that we looked so laboured in our build up. Compare
it with the pace and fast counter-attacking threat of Villa. We have not
played that pacy, counter-attacking game since Craig Bellamy's time at
Upton Park. In addition, Villa did a great job in closing down our
forward options. How many times were we forced to play the ball square
or back, because the options up front were all efficiently closed down?
At one point, Ba broke through on the left side of the box and faced a
wall of four covering Villa defenders. In the final analysis we are
missing high tempo play, pace throughout the side and the type of
creativity that unlocks the most organised of defences. In terms of
having an out and out creative play maker, we have never replaced Yossi
Benayoun and we have suffered for that long-term lack in the squad.
The situation looks bad at present, there is no denying that. But twists
and turns do often happen in football. After all, who thought that Man
City, without Tevez, would beat Man Utd or that Stoke City would wallop
Bolton Wanderers 5-0 in the other FA Cup semi-final (Who was it that
said 'cheaters never prosper'?). It's a funny old game, football, and
surprise results do occur. Fingers crossed, there is not much else that
we can do over the next fortnight but hope and pray for a lucky break!
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Winterburn warning to Hammers (Teamtalk)
Nigel Winterburn has warned West Ham's players not to believe they are
too good to be relegated from the Premier League.
Winterburn played almost 100 games for West Ham after leaving Arsenal in
2000 and the 47-year-old retains fond memories from his time at Upton Park.
However, Winterburn's final season as a professional, in 2002/03, saw
the Iron relegated from the Premier League so he knows only too well
what the current squad is going through.
He told TEAMtalk: "One of my big disappointments was being relegated in
my last season.
"It still hurts to be associated with a team that was relegated so I
know what they're going through.
"I can comfortably say that the team I played with was much better than
this team but it still went down so to say you're too good to go down,
I'll never believe that again.
"The team I played with was amazing but once you lose confidence and
believe it doesn't matter who you are, you just don't pick up points and
don't win games.
"West Ham are in a real predicament at the moment and it's going to be
difficult (to get out of) because their next few games are horrendous."
West Ham travel to Chelsea and Manchester City in the next two weeks but
finish with home games against Blackburn and Sunderland, with a trip to
Wigan sandwiched between them.
Those three games are likely to decide the Hammers' fate but Winterburn
reckons it will be their poor start to the season Avram Grant will look
back at if the East Londoners are relegated.
"Such a poor start to the season has made it hard," Winterburn said.
"Obviously the players are giving it their all but, no matter how well
they play, they seem to get out of the bottom three for a week and then
find themselves back in it because the teams around them win.
"I certainly hope they can stay up but there are lot of teams around
them that also believe they can get enough points. It could come down to
the last three games."
If West Ham ultimately are relegated, Winterburn has warned they may be
forced into selling their prized assets on the cheap.
"There'll be one or two (players) that will stay loyal because they'll
feel guilty that they've been part of a team that wasn't good enough to
stay up.
"But certain players will want to move on because they want to play at
the top level and West Ham have got a few loans too and those players
will soon be off if they are relegated.
"For the vast majority, clubs will come sniffing and be able to take
those players away for a transfer fee under its true value."
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Big weekend for Ba
A trip to Chelsea is not something that will worry a determined Demba Ba
this Saturday
Demba Ba is up for the fight as West Ham United contemplate five major
matches between now and the end of the season.
The Senegal striker was taking part this week in a special community day
at the Boleyn Ground and got involved with special athletics, cricket
and boxing programmes featuring local youngsters.
Getting close to fans reminded Ba and the rest of the squad of the
importance of securing Barclays Premier League survival. He said they
would give everything to return to winning ways as quickly as possible -
even if the next test was a difficult trip to Chelsea on Saturday evening.
"We had three difficult games and we didn't handle them that well," he
told West Ham TV. "But we have to move forward, look forward for the
next game and give everything we have for Saturday.
"When we step on the pitch we just need to think about giving 100 per
cent. We just need to step on the pitch with this mentality and
hopefully we can get some points from there."
Ba has had something of a barren spell in the last three matches after
four goals in his first four Barclays Premier League outings. Rather
than be too downhearted, he will redouble his efforts at Chadwell Heath
in preparation.
"A striker lives by his goals but when you don't score you just have to
work double in training, you need to have your head clean and try to do
everything you can at the weekend."
The Hammers must overturn a two-point deficit in the standings between
now and 22 May to get out of trouble, and Ba is aiming to give his best
in every single one. He certainly has not written off the Chelsea
contest or the trip to Manchester City on Sunday week.
"The games are really important because everyone thinks we can't get
points against Chelsea and Manchester City but I still think we can do
something good if we are focused and if we give 100 per cent. We will go
with this mentality and hopefully we can come back with some points."
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Noble's cause for optimism
Five seasons ago, a teenaged Mark Noble was part of the West Ham United
squad that won seven of its final nine matches to secure Barclays
Premier League survival.
After 29 matches, the rock-bottom Hammers had won just five times,
gathered a measly 20 points and sat a full ten points behind 17th placed
Manchester City - who also had two games in-hand.
An incredible run of victories over Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough,
Arsenal, Everton and Wigan Athletic set up a final-day climax at
Manchester United. West Ham arrived at Old Trafford knowing a point
would be enough to pull off the greatest of escapes, only to collect all
three as they stunned the champions in the shape of a 1-0 success.
Then just 19, Noble started all seven of those wins, scoring in the
vital 3-1 home victory over Bolton and dove-tailing superbly with
in-form strikers Carlos Tevez and Bobby Zamora.
Half-a-decade later and the No16 is eyeing another miraculous dodge of
the relegation trapdoor, with West Ham sitting two points from safety
with five matches remaining.
"I can't remember which situation was worse - having to go to Old
Trafford and win or having five games left," said Noble. "I'm pretty
sure we need nine points and I think we'll be OK."
Mark Noble
If the Hammers are to retain their top-flight status, Noble knows he
will have to cut out errors like the one which saw Aston Villa equalise
in Saturday's 2-1 reverse at the Boleyn Ground, when he was caught in
possession inside his own penalty area by Emile Heskey.
West Ham go to Chelsea on Saturday and Manchester City on 29 April
before rounding out the season with home games against Blackburn Rovers
and Sunderland and a trip to relegation rivals Wigan Athletic.
While the East Enders' task looks difficult on paper, Noble - along with
team-mates Robert Green, Danny Gabbidon, Jonathan Spector and Luis Boa
Morte - can draw on the experience of an even more dramatic escape as
Avram Grant's side battle for survival.
"Obviously we have gone 1-0 up and I made a silly mistake and it cost us
the first goal. These things happen and you've got to move on. We've got
five games to go and two tough games coming up, but we probably just
need to win three of those games and hopefully we'll be OK. It's going
to be tough but I'm pretty sure we're going to fight until the end.
"In this league everyone is beating everyone, but if we could win all
five games that would be nice. We have got to win our home games and the
we've got Wigan away which is a tough game to go there and win, but if
we can do that, fingers crossed we'll be OK.
"It doesn't help that the next two games are away. Going to Manchester
City and Chelsea is not going to be easy, but everyone is going to have
to play at their best to get results. Stranger things have happened and
we just need to go there, enjoy it and get the best result we can."
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West Ham's Noble owns up to 'silly mistake' but it is already forgotten
Hammers midfielder Mark Noble is staying positve despite his howler
against Aston Villa last Saturday.
West Ham midfielder and fan Mark Noble has held his hands up and
admitted his mistake against Aston Villa was a costly one for the
Hammers, but he has already shaken off the blow.
"I made a silly mistake and that cost us the first goal," said the
23-year-old, who attempted to dribble out of his own area, only to be
robbed by Emile Heskey as Villa levelled from the resulting cross.
"These things happen, you have got to move on. We have got five games to
go, two tough ones coming up, but I think we need to win three of the
games, so hopefully we will be okay.
"I'm pretty sure we are going to fight to the end."
Noble suffered in midfield on Saturday without the reassuring presence
of Scott Parker, but West Ham's longest-serving current player is
convinced that the team can stay up, with or without the England
international.
"In this league everyone is beating everyone, perhaps we can win all
five games," laughed Noble.
"No, we've got to win our home games and then obviously we have Wigan
away which is tough to go there and win, but if we can do that then
fingers crossed we will be okay."
Before the Wigan game though there is the little matter of trips to
Stamford Bridge and the City of Manchester Stadium.
"Yes, it doesn't help that we have Chelsea and Manchester City away from
home," he said. "Going to either place is not going to be easy. Everyone
is going to have to fight and play at their best to get a result, but
stranger things have happened."
Noble (right) has seen it all before. Last year was a nerve-wracking
experience, but the midfielder was also part of the 2007 team that beat
Manchester United on the last day to stay up.
"I don't know what situation was worse," he said. "Going up to Old
Trafford to win or having five games left. I'm pretty sure we need nine
points and if we get those, then I think we will be all right."
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Grant's positive spin is wearing thin for Hammers fans
Dave Evans, West Ham Correspondent Wednesday, April 20, 2011
8:21 AM
Another home defeat still left West Ham boss Avram Grant pleased with
the way his side had performed.
In Charles Dickens' David Copperfield there is a character called Mr
Micawber who despite every disaster that befalls him, remains positive
and always exclaims that 'something will turn up'!
For Mr Micawber read Mr Grant at Upton Park. For weeks the signs have
been becoming more and more ominous, but after every defeat, every
terrible performance, the West Ham boss is unflappable in his belief
that his team will avoid the dreaded drop come May.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to have that same sort of faith
and it is tough to believe that Grant actually believes it himself after
his nervous side were outplayed by an Aston Villa side who simply had
too much pace for the Hammers.
If it wasn't for some fine Robert Green saves it could have been an
embarrassing defeat, but the manager was having none of it.
"It was a very good start," he insisted. "We started like we wanted to
start, scored one goal and then I think it was a penalty for us and a
red card for them."
So far so good, you can go along with those sentiments, but as for the
rest of the match, perhaps Grant's seat of exile in the stands has a
restricted view because he does not seem to have spotted the dominance
that Villa showed for much of the rest of the match.
"We made a mistake in the last moments of the first half which cost us
and in the second half it was a game that both teams could win," he said.
That is a difficult opinion to agree with. In the second half, Demba
Ba's soft free kick was the only effort on target for the Hammers, while
Carlton Cole lifted the ball over the bar and Thomas Hitzlsperger twice
shot miles over the bar – not exactly threatening.
At the other end, Villa had five shots both on and off target in the
second half, before Ashley Young's injury-time cross picked out the head
of substitute Gabriel Agbonlahor to nod home from close range and break
the West Ham hearts.
The game did start well for a Hammers side devoid of talisman Scott
Parker. In just the second minute, Mark Noble's corner was cleared as
far as Gary O'Neil on the edge of the box.
His shot was blocked, but Hitzlsperger nodded it back into the danger
area and with Ashley Young playing him onside, Robbie Keane turned
superbly to thrash a shot past Brad Friedel and make it 1-0.
Keane found Cole with a clever pass, only for the striker's shot to be
blocked by James Collins, while Victor Obinna then played a ball over
the top, where Cole was just beaten to the ball by Friedel's sprint out
of goal.
Ashley Young had two efforts one of which hit the side-netting while the
other was grabbed by Green at the second attempt, but in between came
what many would say was the pivotal moment of the match.
Hitzlsperger put Cole away again and when he was bundled over by Richard
Dunne it seemed an obvious penalty as well as a red card for the Villa
defender. Referee Mark Halsey gave nothing and for the second home match
running, it looked like a bad decision.
Cole did well to force a good save from Friedel soon after, but by then
Villa were beginning to get a grip on the game with Stewart Downing and
Ashley Young looking threatening on the flanks and Darren Bent menacing
every time the ball went into the box.
On 24 minutes he met Downing's cross to nod home, only for Halsey to
rule it out for the merest of pushes, but 13 minutes later there was no
doubt as West Ham gifted Villa an equaliser.
Noble inexplicably tried to dribble the ball out of his own area and
when he was robbed by Emile Heskey, the ball came to Luke Young whose
cross was nodded home by Bent.
"The players knew how crucial this game was and I think that was the
reason that they were a little bit nervous," said Grant. "When we had
the ball, sometimes we gave it away very cheaply."
It is something that is becoming a worrying habit. It happened
throughout the crushing defeat at Bolton and it was only too evident in
the second half of this match as Villa took almost complete charge.
'A game that either team could win' insisted Grant, well only if West
Ham committed daylight robbery, because for most of it they were not at
the races.
Collins header was cleared off the line by Cole, Young forced a
brilliant save from Green after Noble had given away yet another foul on
the edge of the box, while another sweeping move saw Young fire inches
over the bar, before Green's poor kick allowed him another shot which
slipped just wide.
Grant responded by throwing on youngster Zavon Hines, who had scored the
winner against Villa last season, but despite one shot that was blocked
by Dunne, he was never really a threat on a day that was probably too
big for the youngster.
Demba Ba replaced the injured O'Neil, but he too could make no
impression on proceedings, dwelling on the ball when he was put in on
the left by Hitzlsperger. He looks a pale imitation of the player who
exploded on to the scene in February.
West Ham had one last chance to snatch the win when Green's huge
clearance saw Cole get to the ball ahead of Friedel and Dunne. But the
ball refused to come down and his improvised shot fell harmlessly on to
the roof of the net.
It would have been a travesty had the Hammers nicked it, but perhaps a
draw was the fairest result as it seemed a cruel blow in injury time
when Agbonlahor struck to earn Villa all three points and make them safe.
Mr Micawber never found success in London, despite being a kind man, he
ended up letting everyone down and going to a debtor's prison. He did
eventually find success in Australia.
Something turned up for him eventually, the trouble is that Grant has
just five games for something to turn up and his optimism is
increasingly sounding like desperation.
West Ham: Green, Jacobsen, Bridge, Upson, Da Costa (Gabbidon 14), O'Neil
(Ba 63), Hitzlsperger, Noble, Obinna (Hines 58), Keane, Cole.
Unused subs: Boffin, Boa Morte, Spector, Piquionne.
Attendance: 34,672.
Referee: Mark Halsey 4.
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Twitter ye not! Gabbidon facing charge following four-letter tirade on
social networking site
By Sportsmail Reporter
West Ham defender Danny Gabbidon is being investigated by the FA over
his F-word Twitter rant during the early hours of Sunday morning,
following the 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa.
The 31-year-old has since closed his account on the website.
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West Ham and England legend convinced West Ham will stay up
West Ham legend and World Cup winner Martin Peters is convinced that the
Hammers will avoid the drop this season, despite sitting second from
bottom with just five games to go.
The 67-year-old Plaistow-born star, who scored one of England's winning
goals in the 1966 World Cup Final, is a regular visitor to Upton Park
and he thinks that three wins will be enough for survival.
"I think they have got to beat Blackburn and Sunderland at home," Peters
told the Recorder this week.
"Obviously Wigan are in there as well, though they had a great win at
Blackpool at the weekend.
"It will be tough to get anything out of Chelsea and Manchester City,
but the other three games are the ones they need to win."
Peters works at Upton Park on most matchdays and he has seen the ups and
mainly downs of the season, none more than Saturday's defeat by Aston Villa.
"It was so disappointing that they could not hold on for that point on
Saturday against Aston Villa," he lamented. "I think that one point
could have meant so much.
"They also lost two more players – Da Costa limped off and O'Neil got
carried off – so I think that disrupted the team."
Another disruption was the absence of Scott Parker and fellow midfielder
Peters is only too aware of the influence he has on the team.
"Scott Parker is a very, very good player," said Peters. "The team tends
to revolve around him because he supports the back four and he supports
the front two or three.
"He was a big loss, but I understand he is not going to be around for
the Chelsea game, but he should be back for the game after that."
Peters himself suffered his one and only relegation in a short stint as
manager of Sheffield United back in 1981, so he is well aware of the
problems that Avram Grant has faced this season.
"A lot of things have changed. The manager has come in and a lot of
things have gone on," said Peters.
"Thomas Hitzlsperger has come in now and played very well, but for three
quarters of the season he wasn't available which had a big effect."
So does Peters think the Hammers will survive? "Yes, I think they will,"
he insisted. "They may sneak a point at Chelsea or Manchester City, you
never know, but if they can win the other three, and I think they are
capable of that, then they will stay up."
If a World Cup winner and Hammers legend says that, then you have to
believe him!
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