Big Sam frustrated by Chelsea blank
WHUFC.com
Manager left frustrated after West Ham United's failure to score at Chelsea
results in 2-0 defeat
17.03.2013
Sam Allardyce thought his West Ham United side could have caused Chelsea a
headache had they brought their shooting boots along to Stamford Bridge on
Sunday. The Hammers boss was impressed by the quality of delivery supplied
from Matt Jarvis on the left flank throughout the derby duel, but frustrated
that more was not made of his crosses. In the end a goal either side of the
break from Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard was enough to give an impressive
Chelsea side a comfortable 2-0 victory, but Allardyce was left wondering
what might have happened had the visitors stuck one of their openings away.
"I'm disappointed we haven't scored," he said. "Chelsea is a very difficult
place to come to and you have to maximise the opportunities you get. "Matt
Jarvis' service into the box today was really, really good and unfortunately
we didn't have any goals on the end of that. "We had one struck off, which I
thought was a really soft foul. I'm not so sure that if it had been outside
the box he'd have given it. Then Andy's had a header a couple of minutes
later that went wide. There were two more in the second half, all from Matt
Jarvis. "He was our biggest threat today, every time we got him the ball
today he skinned the full back. He put the ball where he should do, in the
right areas with the right quality, but again the old Achilles heel for us
of not scoring away from home has risen again. "These kind of chances at
Chelsea are difficult to come by, so when you do get them you have to punish
the opposition and score them. At the moment we're not doing that."
Lampard's 19th minute opener - his 200th goal for the Blues - was all the
home side had to show from their efforts before the break as Demba Ba's
wasteful finishing allowed the Hammers to approach the second half with hope
they could turn the situation around. And although Hazard's strike, five
minutes after the restart, quashed that to a large extent, Allardyce could
not attach any blame to his defenders for not stopping the Belgian from
notching the second. He added: "I will criticise my players if they deserve
to be criticised, but you can't stop Eden Hazard, he's that good. When he
decides he wants to skip past players, with the ability he's got, he's good
at kidding the defenders with what they think he's going to do. He doesn't
do that, he throws them off balance and then skips past them again. "He can
finish, he's two-footed, he's quick, he plays really well in tight
situations, so I thought it was a really hard job for us to handle him. They
were a better side than us, but based on how much they've spent it's no
wonder really. "We tried to hang on, we had some opportunities, but if we
don't keep a clean sheet away from home, we don't win - that's our Achilles
heel."
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Hammers fall to derby defeat
WHUFC.com
Chelsea notch in either half to defeat West Ham United 2-0 at Stamford
Bridge on Sunday
17.03.2013
A goal either side of half time was enough for Chelsea to see off West Ham
United's challenge in the London derby at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Frank
Lampard, inevitably, was on the spot to head Chelsea into a 19th minute lead
and notch his 200th Blues goal in the process. The Hammers found it tough to
make their mark in possession and were grateful for some wasteful finishing
from Demba Ba for keeping the score at one before the break. Their hopes of
imposing themselves more on the contest after the break were dealt a blow by
Eden Hazard's strike five minutes after the restart as the Blues avenged
their defeat at Upton Park in December. Chelsea wasted a golden chance to
land an early hammer blow when Ba mishit his shot well wide of the mark in
the seventh minute, having got goalside of James Collins to run clear on
goal after Lampard supplied the pass. The Hammers almost did Chelsea's work
for them seven minutes later when Ramires crossed dangerously from the left
and Collins, facing his own goal, headed the ball into a grateful Jussi
Jaaskelainen's midriff.
West Ham were struggling to get a grip of the game and Chelsea made them pay
by moving into a 19th minute lead. The visitors may have thought the chance
had passed when Jaaskelainen beat Hazard's stinging shot away, but the
Belgian picked up possession again and stood up a cross for an unmarked
Lampard to head home from ten yards. The travelling Hammers contingent
thought their side had drawn level five minutes later when Matt Jarvis
chased down a ball in the left channel and hooked back a cross towards Andy
Carroll, who controlled on his chest and fired home, but referee Michael
Oliver spotted a push from the big Geordie on David Luiz and the
celebrations were short-lived. Luiz forced a low save from Jaaskelainen with
a free kick from the edge of the box, while Victor Moses fired a foot wide
following a Cesar Azpilicueta cross as Chelsea kept up the pressure. The
hosts really should have gone into the break with a more comfortable
advantage as Ba twice spurned one-one-one chances, Jaaskelainen saving well
on both occasions to keep his side in it. However, the resistance wasn't to
last long after the restart as the irrepressible Hazard collected possession
from Juan Mata in the right channel and danced inside Winston Reid before
drilling into the bottom right hand corner.
The Blues were keeping the heat on and Mata almost turned goalscorer moments
later, surging into the box but having his path to goal blocked by
Jaaskelainen. West Ham seemed to weather that early second half surge,
although Ba did go close again 11 minutes from the end when he took too long
over his shot and Reid got across to block. Former Chelsea striker Carlton
Cole came off the bench with ten minutes to go as West Ham bolstered their
attacking options, and he almost pulled one back within four minutes of his
introduction, but Petr Cech dived to his right to cling onto the No9's
header after Jarvis crossed from the left. At the other end Jaaskelainen
clawed away a Hazard effort, which took a nick off Joey O'Brien and skipped
up off the turf, but Chelsea's work had already been done as they kept their
bid for a top three finish on track.
Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz (Terry 78), Cole; Ramires, Lampard;
Hazard, Mata (Mikel 85), Moses (Oscar 70); Ba
Subs: Ivanovic, Torres, Turnbull (GK), Bertrand
Goals: Lampard 19, Hazard 50
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins (Tomkins 61), Reid, O'Brien;
Vaz Te (C.Cole 80), Collison, O'Neil, Diame (Taylor 46), Jarvis; Carroll
Subs: McCartney, Pogatetz, Chamakh, Spiegel (GK)
Booked: Reid, Demel
Attendance: 41,369
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Chelsea 2 West Ham 0
17 March 2013
Last updated at 20:22
By Saj Chowdhury
BBC Sport
Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea who moved into third place
with a win over West Ham. The Blues dominated the match at Stamford Bridge
and took the lead in the first half when Lampard nodded in Eden Hazard's
through ball. Hazard added a second after the break when he cut in from the
right and arrowed a strike past the reach of Hammers goalkeeper Jussi
Jaaskelainen. Chelsea should have won by more, but Demba Ba wasted several
chances.
Ba found himself in a one-on-one with Jaaskelainen. Luckily for the former
Newcastle striker, Chelsea's midfielders bailed him out with outstanding
individual performances. The veteran of that pack, Lampard, will steal the
headlines, but it was Hazard who was the star performer. The Belgium
international, who signed from Lille for about £32million last summer, was
the catalyst for many of the Blues' attacks and produced a sublime goal.
Hazard's first telling contribution saw him fire in a wicked shot that West
Ham's Finnish keeper could only fist back into play. The ball eventually
came back to Hazard on the edge of the area and his lofted pass was met with
a firm header by Lampard. The England international is now only two goals
away from equalling Bobby Tambling's club record tally.
Lampard scored his goal at the end where the away fans were sitting. He
celebrated with substitute John Terry, who was warming up in that section of
the ground, as objects were thrown from the crowd in their direction. It's
12 years since the Blues last lost a Premier League home game in the month
of March, a 4-2 defeat against Sunderland in 2001 The Metropolitan Police
later confirmed they were investigating incidents of coin throwing, but that
no arrests had been made. Blues manager Rafael Benitez handed Victor Moses a
start, and the former Wigan player narrowly failed to add to the home side's
lead when his shot drifted wide. Central defender David Luiz also made
forays forward, forcing a low save from Jaaskelainen, before striking a
spectacular volley that screamed past the bar.
Chelsea finally got their second after the break, when Hazard teased his
markers on the right, played a one-two with Juan Mata, before racing into
the area and firing low inside the Hammers near post. It was a strike
befitting of his classy performance. Hazard could have added to his tally
but was denied by Jaaskelainen and a block from Joey O'Brien. West Ham did
not cause much worry in the Chelsea defence. They did have the ball in the
net when Andy Carroll slotted in after winning a jostle with Luiz, but
referee Michael Oliver penalised the ex-Newcastle man for pushing the
Brazilian.
Carroll won several aerial battles in the area but his headers were tame. It
was not until the final five minutes that the Hammers created their best
chance when substitute Carlton Cole forced Petr Cech to dive low to keep out
his poked effort. Chelsea's 16th win of the season moves them a point above
Tottenham, who earlier lost to Fulham, and to within four points of
second-placed Manchester City. Benitez's side have a run of six games in two
weeks when they resume after the international break on 30 March, but recent
performances suggest they have the personnel to cope.
Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez: "It was a good game, a great results, Frank
scored his 200th, the team is third so it's a great week and a good moment
for us. "It is a long race, we have to carry on and win our next game and
see what others do. "In the first half, we could have scored two or three
goals. You have to be pleased because we scored two goals and kept a clean
sheet. We have to be a little disappointed because we could have finished it
earlier. "Demba Ba is a great finisher and today it was not his day. "We
will approach it one game at a time. We have to relax now and not get any
injuries after the international break."
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "Sometimes, you come to places like this and
you have to hope the top players are not on song, but young Eden Hazard made
life extremely difficult for us. The quality of the players in that area,
including Juan Mata, with the support of Frank Lampard, was too much for us
on the day. "We had a couple of chances and you have to try and put them in
the net. We did not do that and we have suffered for it. They deserved to
win and we have to accept that. It is not going to define our season,
beating them once is enough, beating them again would just be greedy. "Andy
Carroll had a couple of chances, and we would expect him to hit the target.
If we get to 2-1, they might panic. The free-kick given for the disallowed
goal on David Luiz was soft.
"Their second was brilliant. Hazard's trickery, pace and quality of
finishing, the defenders could not cope with it. "We would like six points
and get to 39 points as quick as we can."
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Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 17th March 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham slipped to a predicatable defeat at Stamford Bridge this afternoon
- a defeat aided by predictably one-sided refereeing.
Today it was Michael Oliver's turn to come to the aid of the wealthier club
in order to preserve the Premier League's status quo - and Andy Carroll the
one to suffer as a result.
Little will be made of it elsewhere but had Carroll's perfectly legitimate,
first half strike been allowed to stand it may well have made for a
different game, with Chelsea 1-0 up through Frank Lampard's 19th-minute
opening goal at the time.
As it was, Eden Hazard's effort five minutes after the break was enough to
see the home side take all three points with a comfortable 2-0 win.
The controversial moment came just three minutes after Lampard had taken
advantage of some poor defending by West Ham to nod the Blues into a
19th-minute lead with his 200th goal for the west London club.
Matt Jarvis did incredibly well to retain possession on the left wing before
centreing the ball for the advancing Carroll, who eased away from marker
David Luiz before poking the ball over the line.
However match official Oliver - the Premier League's youngest referee at
just 28 - immediately flagged for an infringement, presumably for a
non-existent foul on Luiz, much to Carroll's bemusement.
Of course it had been a similar story at the Boleyn Ground earlier in the
season when Kevin Nolan saw a perfectly legal 'goal' wiped out by Martin
Atkinson in the corresponding fixture - even if West Ham eventually righted
that particular wrong by going on to win 3-1.
And whilst few will be surprised at the perceived bias, once again there was
further clear evidence that the Premier League's chosen officials are geared
towards favouring the league's wealthier entities.
In addition to Carroll's 'goal', the decision to award a free-kick against
Jarvis when he shrugged off his marker to leave him one-on-one with Petr
Cech also left a bad taste in the mouths of West Ham fans who had made the
short sojourn across town.
Of course, to blame today's defeat entirely on the referee would be
churlish; West Ham, a freshly-promoted team created from the cast-offs of
others and second division players were unsurprisingly second best on the
day to a team stuffed with multi-million pound internationals.
Despite that, United gave a good account of themselves in the opening half
and but for a little more luck (plus a higher standard of refereeing) could
have gone into the break on level terms with Carroll and Collins both
enjoying good chances.
However the second half was virtually one-way traffic and Hazard's goal five
minutes after the restart - the result of a clever one-two with Juan Mata -
was the very least Chelsea deserved from an efficient, if not top-class,
second half performance.
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Sam Allardyce admits Chelsea deserved derby win over West Ham
Last Updated: March 17, 2013 9:47pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce admits Chelsea deserved their victory in the London derby
against his West Ham side on Sunday afternoon. Frank Lampard's 200th career
goal for the Blues and a second-half strike from the lively Eden Hazard saw
the Hammers go down 2-0 in West London. Allardyce would have liked to have
seen his Hammers team sneak a goal but admits Chelsea were too good, with
Hazard and Juan Mata causing particular problems in midfield. "Overall, yes
they deserved to win, but I'm a little disappointed that we might have just
sneaked one and just seen how they handled it," he told Sky Sports. "I
think, at the end of the day, Chelsea are a top, top side and were in good
form today, especially the clever players. We had a lot of trouble trying to
cope with them today.
"But it doesn't define our season playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
and losing." The defeat leaves West Ham 14th in the table with 33 points and
Allardyce is keen to reach the 39-point mark sooner rather than later to
avoid being dragged into the relegation mire. On their points target this
season he added: "I'd say 39, because it's the average over the last 10
years. It probably might be 38, who knows, but all we want to do is get to
it as quickly as we can and have a few games left if we can because that
would mean that we would finish in a position in the league well clear of
the bottom four, and that's what we want to try and do."
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Cops investigate coin thrown at Lamps 'n Co in Hammers clash
The Sun
By MARK IRWIN
Published: 17th March 2013
FRANK LAMPARD was pelted with coins as he celebrated his 200th Chelsea goal
against his former club. Sub John Terry was also hit by a coin thrown by a
West Ham fan as he warmed up. Cops are probing the incidents and Lamps said:
"I wasn't hit by anything but I went quite close to the West Ham fans — it
was the natural curve of my run!" Chelsea's interim boss Rafa Benitez
insisted Lampard, 34, did not deliberately incite Hammers fans who booed and
abused him. He said: "When you score your 200th goal, you don't think about
where you run. You just celebrate. "Afterwards, he realised it would be
better to be in another part of the ground but I don't think he was hit by a
missile. "Referee Howard Webb said it would be better if the subs warmed up
the other way. It was his decision."
A West Ham spokesman said: "We will be working with Chelsea to investigate
the reports of missile throwing during Sunday's game. "Any individual found
to have acted in an inappropriate way will have to face the consequences of
their actions, including the possibility of a ban from attending future
matches."
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insisted: "I didn't see anything of the incident
because it doesn't interest me. "All that interests me is how Frank Lampard
sneaks into the box without anyone noticing. Outside that, I don't see
much." No supporters were arrested or ejected from Stamford Bridge but
police were last night examining CCTV footage of the incident and both clubs
could face FA action. A Met Police spokesperson said: "We are investigating
instances of coin-throwing. "There have been no arrests. Inquiries
continue."
Lampard, out of contract this summer, scored with a 19th-minute header and
Eden Hazard made certain of victory with a second-half strike to take
Chelsea up to third. The Blues were involved in a similar incident against
West Ham back in October 2004 when their striker Mateja Kezman was cut by a
coin thrown from the Hammers supporters.
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Money for nothing: West Ham's Andy Carroll putting it all in but getting
nowt out
The Mirror
17 Mar 2013 22:30
Andy Carroll deserves more than to be remembered as the catalyst for the
biggest move in British football. But on a day which saw the most expensive
player in the history of the Premier League consigned to the bench, the
second on the list suffered another one of those days as well in West Ham's
2-0 defeat by Chelsea. Fernando Torres has, of course, received the
attention a £50million transfer brings, at times becoming something of a
laughing stock. Yet compared to Carroll's record of just 14 club goals since
he went to Anfield for £35m, greasing the wheels for the Spaniard's move to
Chelsea, Torres, with 29 to his credit, has been a sparkling success.
Carroll's commitment at Stamford Bridge could not be dismissed. Indeed, from
the first minute, when he drew a foul from David Luiz, to the last, when he
headed over the bar, the Geordie gave everything despite being horribly
isolated. But to no avail, no reward, nothing in the bank of goals that all
strikers are defined by. There was a brief moment of delight when he slotted
home in the first half, instantly cut short when Michael Oliver spotted the
nudge on Luiz in the process.
"Technically, it was a foul," said Hammers chief Sam Allardyce. "But I could
show you about four outside the box he didn't give today. It was a brilliant
dive from David Luiz. Allardyce, though, conceded he "would have expected
Andy to score at least one" from the other chances, three headers that
missed the target, and a run from half-way which ended with a swerving shot
that was kept out by Petr Cech. The chances of West Ham taking up the option
to turn the loan deal into a permanent contract appear to be dissipating, as
Allardyce hinted. "I'm disappointed for Andy that he's not scored," added
the Upton Park boss. "He was a handful, like we know he can be but he
doesn't have a goal to show for it. "His hold-up play was really good,
creating space for us. He just needs to put goals on the end of it. "If he
keeps shooting and getting in the right positions, the goals will come. But
I want them to come in the game against West Brom, the next time we play.
"We're running out of games for Andy to start scoring. Let's hope he gets a
few between now and the end of the season. I can't enter into any other
discussions until we're safe."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Monday, March 18
Sunday, March 17
Daily WHUFC News - 17th March 2013
Big Sam on: Chelsea
WHUFC.com
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce spoke to the press ahead of Sunday's
game at Chelsea
16.03.2013
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has his eyes set on an unlikely double when his
team travel to Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday. West Ham
last achieved two league wins over Chelsea in the same season back in
2002/03, but following December's 3-1 triumph at the Boleyn Ground, they
have the opportunity to put that record right this weekend. Allardyce,
however, is well aware of the size of the task facing his team. He told
whufc.com: "It would be our first double of the year, we've had many other
opportunities that we've blown. It would be an absolutely unbelievable
result for us to win at Stamford Bridge and do the double over Chelsea in
the same season. It's one of those things that happens rarely, for you to be
able to beat a top side home and away. It's a great incentive for the lads
to go out there and achieve that on Sunday. "On the basis that they played
on Thursday night, we certainly should have the energy levels to cope with,
as best we can, the quality that Chelsea have. The high intensity levels
that we'll need to achieve to nullify a Chelsea side are pretty big,
especially out of possession. "We should have enough to try and stay in the
game as long as possible. We obviously want to score first if we can, but if
we can't, as long as we keep the game tight, then inevitably they must tire
based on the workload they have had and you can find some gaps and spaces."
Allardyce is not expecting injured trio Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole
to return, although he revealed that Matt Taylor has recovered well from the
blow he received to his jaw at Stoke two weeks ago. He continued: "Of those
with knocks, there's only Taylor who has recovered and in training at the
moment. The other three - Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole - are still
pretty doubtful for selection on Sunday, even though we've had two weeks
since our last game, it's looks as if they've not been able to recover in
time. "We've been managing situations like this [gaps between matches] for a
long time now, with international breaks. All we can do is what we did last
time we played - win. Because it makes that two weeks pretty pleasurable, in
terms of handling and getting through the fortnight. "So our win at Stoke
was a massive bonus for us. We've got exactly the same situation on Sunday,
where we've got two weeks before we play West Brom. We've just got to manage
it the best way we can. "We're in a very good position, but mathematically
we need to get a little closer and we need another five points. I think 38
points will be safe this year, but we'll all aim for 40, just in case."
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Joey wants St Patrick's Day celebration
WHUFC.com
Proud Irishman Joey O'Brien is hoping to mark St Patrick's Day with a win at
Chelsea on Sunday
16.03.2013
Joey O'Brien is hoping to celebrate St Patrick's Day in style by helping
West Ham United to achieve a Barclays Premier League victory at Chelsea. The
Hammers travel to Stamford Bridge on the same day that Irish people
everywhere - including proud Dubliner O'Brien - will mark the feast day of
the most-famous of Ireland's patron saints. Having already played his part
in one memorable West Ham win over the Blues this season, O'Brien is
planning to chalk-up another fantastic victory over Rafa Benitez's side on
Sunday.
Joey, it seems like a long time ago, but the 1-0 at Stoke City a fortnight
ago was a really good all-round display wasn't it?
JO'B: "It was a great away performance from us, really. The manager was
saying beforehand that our away form hadn't been good so he wanted us to get
a result there. It was a hard place to go - they had only lost one game
there all season before us. We played well and had to cope with a couple of
early chances which sometimes might disrupt the team. "The lads coming on
sometimes have to settle into the game but that wasn't the case and I
thought Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te were probably our best players. I
thought Ginge [James Collins] was outstanding as well. They came on and
changed the game, really, and played a massive part in our attacking
display. We won well, even though it was close because we had plenty had
plenty of chances to bury them. Perhaps that was the only disappointing
thing - that we didn't win by two or three."
Chelsea will present a different type of challenge, won't they? You
certainly won't have to head the ball quite so often, anyway!
JO'B: "They have got some smashing players and everyone knows about them.
When you watch them play, they are very good going forward with lots of
movement and lots of ability on the ball. It's going to be a hard game for
us but we're very confident after the last game against Stoke and after the
performance we put in against Chelsea earlier on this season. We're going
there to get a result."
You were part of the side that produced arguably our best 45 minutes of the
season to come from behind to beat Chelsea at home in December. Do that
performance and result give us added belief that, if we hit our straps, we
can beat anyone?
JO'B: "Definitely so. The first game was a long time ago but we played well.
In the second half, especially. they just couldn't deal with our intensity.
They are going to want to get one back over us at their place after we beat
them. We're up for going there and getting a good result and we've got the
players who can do that."
You played alongside Gary Cahill at Bolton Wanderers and he is now
impressing for Chelsea and England. After getting one over your old pal
Glenn Whelan at Stoke, you must be eager to do the same to Gary!
JO'B: "Yes, definitely! It would be the second time after we beat them at
home, too! Gary is a great player and an even better person. He has been
playing some great stuff at Chelsea and is probably England's No1
centre-half now. "I'm delighted for him. When we were at Bolton, you could
always see he was going to move on to a better team and obviously he went to
Chelsea. You can see he is really a top, top England centre-half. That's
what everyone at Bolton talked about when he first came into the club and
he's doing it now."
You played alongside Gary Cahill, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor at Stamford
Bridge in May 2008, with Matt scoring a last-minute equaliser in a 1-1
Premier League draw. What are your memories of that game?
JO'B: "I think Bolton were struggling with the whole relegation thing. There
was a really far-fetched possibility that we could be relegated with a
15-goal turn-around. We went there and Matty scored and I remember it well
because that result made us completely safe. Hopefully Matty can score again
on Sunday!"
Another of your former Bolton team-mates, Jussi Jaaskelainen, has been in
great form and was voted SBOBET Player of the Month for February. I doubt
you were surprised by his performances, knowing him so well?
JO'B: "Jussi has been brilliant. I think he was outstanding against Spurs
and, of the players on our team, he really didn't deserve to end up on the
losing team. He has been great. I played with Jussi when I first became a
professional footballer at Bolton and he was brilliant then.
"I think he has been a really consistent Premier League goalkeeper. When you
look back over the years, I can't really remember many mistakes and I can't
remember many real mistakes he has made this year as well. He is a top bloke
and is still doing it at the age he is now [37], so fair play to him."
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Haycock salutes resilient Hammers
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock was proud of another colossal effort as the Dev Squad drew 1-1
with Arsenal's U21s
16.03.2013
Nick Haycock had no complaints with another hard-fought point, as West Ham
United's Development Squad were held to a 1-1 Barclays Under-21 Premier
League Elite Group draw by Arsenal at the Boleyn Ground. Though the Gunners
would land the first blow, Conor Henderson's 20th-minute strike was
cancelled out just 12 minutes later when Nico Yennaris put Pelly Ruddock's
centre through his own goal. Both sides went close to snatching all three
points late on, as Sean Maguire produced a fine stop from Arsenal stopper
Emiliano Martinez, before Zak Ansah saw his drive cannon off the inside of
Raphael Spiegel's right-hand upright. Ultimately, it was to end honours even
and Haycock reflected that a point apiece was probably just reward for a
thoroughly entertaining contest.
"We could have won it, no doubt, but equally we could have lost it as well,
so you have to say a share of the spoils was about right," Haycock told West
Ham TV. "For the last 15 minutes of the first half, we looked something like
what we should be. We came in at half-time and Neil McDonald had a word with
one or two players, just to liven them up a little bit. The first half was a
little bit too nice. The intensity was low, there wasn't enough passion and
aggression in the game. "We wanted to get out of the traps at the start of
the second half but the lights going out didn't allow us to do that. But I
thought the final 20 minutes of the game were more like a London derby and
you could tell by the crowd's reaction that they enjoyed the game as well.
"It was end to end. I wouldn't say I was bellowing, but as much as we wanted
to win the game, equally you have got to make sure you don't lose the game.
It's a fine line."
The U21s manager reserved particular praise for Irish forward Maguire, whose
opportunities have been hampered somewhat by injuries since his January
switch from Waterford United. The 18-year-old joined the fray with
quarter-of-an-hour to play and but for a stunning stop, would have been
celebrating the winner. "Maguire came on and I was pleased with him. He
looked lively. I asked him to get in behind, to run in the box and the
keeper has made a world class save. In training he looks like a sharp
finisher. "Hopefully now, we can get on the training field and get some more
work into him. He's had an injury and he has only just joined our programme,
while the other boys have been on the programme all year. So it will take
him time to come up to speed but he did himself no harm whatsoever when he
came on."
Maguire and his teammates now have a fortnight to prepare for their next
Elite Group outing, as they travel to West Bromwich Albion on 31 March.
Having played five games in 18 days, rest and recuperation is certainly on
the agenda, and Haycock conceded that the schedule has stretched his squad
to its very limits. "I never like to make excuses, but some of the boys have
played five full games. Elliot Lee came off at the end just as a precaution,
because he was tying up a bit and his performances have warranted that we
make sure he doesn't get injured. We had players out there probably playing
more minutes than we'd have wanted because they are coming back from injury.
"We've got a light squad and a young one and yet over those 18 days we've
come out with three creditable draws against big clubs like Arsenal,
Liverpool and Manchester United. It's tough to win points in the Elite
League. The momentum's there after two draws against two good clubs and
we'll be fresh for West Bromwich Albion away when it comes around."
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U18s edged out by Liverpool
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's youngsters fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on
Saturday morning
16.03.2013
West Ham United's Under-18s fell to defeat by the solitary goal at Liverpool
in the Barclays Under-18 Premier League Tier One on Saturday. Steve Potts'
side started brightly at the home team's Kirkby Academy base, but went 1-0
down to Daniel Trickett-Smith's 14th minute goal. Trickett-Smith posed the
biggest threat for Liverpool from his striking role, although the Hammers
did well to restrict his side to half chances in the main. However, the
Hammers also found it tough to create clear cut openings in a game mostly
played out in midfield and they were unable to find an equaliser. The
Hammers looked assured in the opening stages, but fell behind to Liverpool's
first opportunity in the 14th minute. Republic of Ireland U17 international
Alex O'Hanlon clipped over a cross from the left hand side towards
Trickett-Smith, who had drifted into space at the far post for a simple
finish. It was another Irish youth international, Kieran Sadlier, who almost
got the Hammers back on level terms ten minutes later when his free kick
required a strong save from Liverpool keeper Ryan Crump. At the other end
Kristoffer Peterson rose well to head Trickett-Smith's 33rd minute towards
goal but Hammers stopper Sam Baxter did well to hang on. Baxter was then
called upon to smother from Peterson after he shrugged off the challenge of
Lewis Page, but Potts' men were still well in the contest as the half time
whistle sounded.
Liverpool had a great chance to double their lead 11 minutes after the
restart when Jordan Rossiter's defence-splitting ball picked out Harry
Wilson, but Baxter stood up well to deny the half time sub. Sadlier was
looking lively for the visitors and his well-struck shot needed a save from
Crump on 72 minutes after a good move involving Nathan Mavila and Thomas
Gogo. But the Hammers found it tough to break down their hosts after the
interval and Liverpool saw time out to claim maximum points.
West Ham United: Baxter, Knoyle, Page, Girdlestone, Onariase, Burke
(Harney), Makasi, Miles (Amoo), Boakye-Yiadom (Gogo), Sadlier, Mavila
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Chelsea v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 16th March 2013
By: Preview Percy
Next up we visit Stamford Bridge where our hosts will be Chelsea.
Kick-off is 4.00pm, though the Sunday time and date is a result of the
hosts' involvement in the "Really Important Until We Get Knocked Out Of It"
Europa League rather than for any televisual reasons. Travel-wise, our end
of the District line has replacement buses and the C2C trains are also being
diverted to Liverpool Street. Check before you leave.
Our hosts currently lie in 4th spot with 52 points from 28 games. That's two
points behind Gareth Bale who sits in third spot, though the Pensioners do
have a game in hand. Of their last six they've won three, drawn once and
lost twice. The three wins were all at home against Arsenal (2-1), Wigan
(4-1) and West Brom (1-0). The draw was a 2-2 share of the spoils away at
Reading whilst the defeats came at Newcastle (3-2) and 2-0 at Manchester
City.
Chelsea are of course a major source of laughter amongst the rest of the
league. The source of such amusement can usually be traced back to the
club's owner, Roman Abrahamovic, the multi squillionaire whose funds all
came from sources that are, no doubt, entirely legitimate and in no way
shape or form dodgy. Having had a manager won (or more accurately,
"purchased") the so-called "Champions" League for him last term, he gave Di
Matteo a full three months before handing him his P45. That was funny enough
but what happened next was even dafter. In came Rafa Benitez, a man who
could spot a conspiracy theory in a bowl of porridge. Benitez was given the
not exactly confidence-inspiring title of "Interim Manager". The fans took
to Benitez in much the same manner as a rational and sane person might take
to Piers Morgan: that is not at all. To be fair Benitez has never been one
to help himself – some of his public pronouncements have you looking to see
if there are men in white coats hanging around in the background waiting
with his medication.
It must have been a weird transfer window over there. After all, the manager
could hardly boast to potential new recruits of his plans for the next few
years. Not that any manager working for Abrahamovic can ever really plan
long-term but the "interim Manager" title is a bit of a giveaway.
They still managed to get one player in in the form of ex-Hammer Dember Ba,
whose agents must now have enough money from their cut of signing-on fees to
buy a reasonably sizeable island somewhere. Their income from loyalty
bonuses is probably a bit less I'd guess. Ba has had a nice midweek rest
having been ineligible for Chelsea in midweek having already played for the
Geordies in the Europa Cup this season.
They've been missing their obnoxious skipper for a large chunk of the
season. His ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand was followed by a
damaged knee, an injury sustained on his return to action against Liverpool.
To everyone outside Stamford Bridge Terry's main contribution to the game
has been to be the inspiration behind a million photoshop efforts following
his ludicrous and sadly predictable appearance in full kit at the Champions
League Final from which he had been suspended. Thus we have seen Terry
winning the boat race, joining Neil Armstong on the moon, and picking up all
sorts of gold medals during the Olympics. The latest effort saw him waving
to the crowds in St Peters' Square following the election of Pope Francis
earlier this week. Meanwhile, if you ever needed proof that all the money in
the world can't buy class. The "Legend" poster that the club (not the fans,
note) stuck up is still there. Teryy hasn't been an automatic choice since
his return to fitness, possibly due to a number of training ground "frank
exchange of views" between him and Benitez.
Talking of classless, Frank Lampard is closing in on the goalscoring record
held by Bobby Tambling, a player whose existence was previously a mystery to
the vast majority of Chelsea supporters, what with him having plied his
trade before 2003. One such chap in our local, The Swan And Superinjunction,
whose allegiance to the Pensioners dates all the way back to the Champions
League Final boats of remembering Bobby Tambourine. I recall a few years ago
they wheeled out Tambling at half time and made the poor chap walk around
the ground whilst the home support shrugged their shoulders. They know now
of course, what with his name being featured every week as Lampard looks
forward to a last big payday in the States. That's if he finds the time in
between evicting old ladies out on to the street.
They're not exactly short of players to laugh at. Fernando Torres raises a
smile at grounds up and down the country, not least on Merseyside where,
having taken Daniel Sturridge off Chelsea's hands in the last window,
Liverpool probably think they have the better of the dealings between the
two clubs. Torres got his first goal in 20 games in the midweek Europa Cup
match against Steua Bucharest, though, as if to prove old habits die hard,
he also missed a penalty. Our chums in Spain have finally twigged that
Torres is not exactly in the form of his life and, having omitted him from
the squads from recent friendlies , coach del Bosque (That's Vincente del
Bosque, not Derek Bosque) has left him out of the somewhat more serious
matter of forthcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Finland & France.
Then of course there's Ashley Cole. Whilst the Cole family (including exes)
has some way to go before being quite as loathsome as that of his skipper
(who can of course include drug dealers and shoplifters as well as racists
amongst their number), if Wikipedia is to be believed Cole is also distantly
related to Mariah Carey. To adapt the old phrase, to be connected to one
talentless bimbo might be considered unfortunate. Two is just careless.
And so to us. The fixture list is as bonkers as Benitez at the moment and,
being of advanced years I'm struggling to remember our last match. The trip
to Stoke was so long ago there was another Pope on the throne. The comment
by one of the editors of this site that Sheffield United are to demand
compensation following the election of an Argentinian to the top slot at the
Vatican is probably wrong, though frankly one wouldn't put it past them.
Where was I. Oh yes Stoke. Good win that one. Especially since we had to
make two changes within the first ten minutes or so. Even better was the
sight and sound of Tony Pulis doing his nut as a ref finally had the guts to
stand up to his bunch of thugs. If only Mike Jones had had the same bottle
as Jon Moss in the FA Cup a few years back.
Team news is that the break has allowed a bit more healing time for some of
the injuries. Joe Cole will sit out the visit to where it all started to go
wrong for him, the hamstring that saw him limp off at Stoke. Matt Taylor may
also miss out, the horrific boot wrapped round his head causing him a major
concussion. His presence in Sunday's squad may depend on whether he can
answer one of the standard questions doctors ask after a bang on the head,
such as "what is the name of the current Pope".
Mark Noble's trapped nerve in his arm/elbow has apparently reacted well to
treatment, though speaking from experience, trapped nerves can be a bit
tricky. Then we have the skipper, suffering from a broken toe. Pleasingly
there is no "metatarsal" nonsense from our down-to earth skipper; he has a
broken toe, no more no less. Nolan might elect to play through the pain with
the help of a painkilling jab or two, and a late fitness test is on the
cards.
Obviously this will be a tough one. Their vast amounts of funds (all of
which came from sources that are, no doubt, entirely legitimate and in no
way shape or form dodgy, I can't stress that enough) mean that they have a
squad and a half. Mind you that didn't do them too many favours in the
reverse fixture where our second half performance was arguably our best 45
minutes this season. They're not infallible though the smart money will be
on a home win. However, none of us here at the Avram Grant Rest Home For The
Bewildered could ever be considered "smart" so I'll be placing the £2.50
winnings we got from our bet on the new Pope (we stuck a few quid on it
being a Catholic) on a 1-1 draw, prompting some more bonkers outpourings
from Benitez.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met at Stamford BridgeLost 0-3 A result that flattered the home
side as we failed to take advantage of a decent number of chances. Torres
hadn't scored in over 700 minutes since his move from the bindippers so it
was sadly inevitable that he would break his duck against us, though it
still took a slip from a defender in torrential rain to let the hapless
Spaniard in. Meanwhile, dozens of Hammers went home richer having popped a
few bob on Torres to score.
Referee: Michael Oliver. Last seen handling our 1-0 defeat at Reading.
Frighteningly young ref who faces a late fitness test on a spot of acne
before the match. May be replaced by one of the bigger boys if his mum
thinks it's too cold for him to be out.
Danger Man: Frank Lampard Junior. Ungrateful spoilt brat who will no doubt
kiss the badge when he scores his statutory goal against us. The fact that
David Mellor is also a Chelsea fan (this week) puts that into perspective.
Daft Fact Of The Week: Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliot was due to take
on a £100,000 a year community role at Stamford Bridge. The job fell through
after his recent indiscretion in using "racially unacceptable" language in a
string of text messages between him and ex-Charlton defender Richard Rufus.
Meanwhile they still have that banner up describing John Terry as a
"legend".
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce wants contract talks once West Ham are safe in the Premier
League
Last Updated: March 16, 2013 10:05am
SSN
Sam Allardyce wants to sit down and discuss a new contract as soon as West
Ham United have guaranteed their Premier League survival. Allardyce's
current deal expires at the end of the season and co-chairman David Gold
recently stated that talks over an extension would be held in the summer.
However, Allardyce is keen to start planning for next season and sees no
reason to wait until the campaign is over to hold negotiations, if the
Hammers are safe. "We'll sit down when we're safe," said Allardyce. "What's
the point me waiting until the end of the season if we're mathematically
safe with a few games to go?
"There's no point in that is there? We need to start budgeting." West Ham
are currently 12th in the table with 33 points, nine points clear of the
relegation zone, and Allardyce feels 38 points will be enough to preserve
the club's top-flight status. He added: "I think we need another five
points. Thirty eight will make you safe this year but we will all aim for 40
just in case. "Hopefully we will be safe as soon as possible because there
is a lot to negotiate and a lot to move on, which we are doing."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce hopes Chelsea opposition to Rafa Benitez can lift West Ham
Last Updated: March 16, 2013 1:33pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hoping for some help from an unexpected
source when his side bid to complete a Premier League double over Chelsea on
Sunday. The Hammers defeated the Blues 3-1 at Upton Park back in December
and will be bidding to follow that up at Stamford Bridge, where Allardyce
reckons the animosity towards Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez can work in his
side's favour. "You can see the importance of your fans being behind you
rather than not," he said. "I think Chelsea's team has suffered at Stamford
Bridge because the fans have not been fully supportive of what has happened.
That is nothing to do with Rafa, he can't help that. "He is a manager trying
to do a job the best he possibly can and he's obviously got a great CV at
the jobs he has done at his other clubs. "But it shows the importance of a
volatile fan base that turned the other way, what effect it can have on a
team. "In the reverse of that we all know the extra man that fans can
create. You see the opposite of that at Chelsea and certainly in the early
stages when Rafa took over and Chelsea suffered some poor results because of
that. That's the effect the fans have on the team that plays on the field.
"It would be an absolutely unbelievable result for us to win at Stamford
Bridge and do the double over Chelsea in the same season. It's one of those
things that happens rarely, for you to be able to beat a top side home and
away. "It's a great incentive for the lads to go out there and achieve that
on Sunday."
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O'Neill begs Lamps to light up Hammers
The Sun
By VIKKI ORVICE
Last Updated: 17th March 2013
GARY O'NEIL would love to see Frank Lampard back in a West Ham shirt. The
Hammers travel to Stamford Bridge today aiming to do the double over
Chelsea. But midfielder O'Neil would rather be playing alongside former
Hammer Lampard than facing him. And he cannot believe the Blues have not
offered to renew Lamps' contract at the end of the season. O'Neil said:
"It's surprising that a player of that stature and quality is being allowed
to run out his contract.
"If the money was right and the deal was right, he's a player I would love
to see back at West Ham. He would be a great player to sign if the club
could get hold of him. "I remember following him around the Bridge many a
time. You think you've got him, it's 0-0 with a few minutes to go but then
you lose him and he scores. Hopefully it won't happen this weekend." O'Neil,
29, has urged the Hammers board to give boss Sam Allardyce a new contract
when his deal runs out this summer. He said: "It shocks me that his job
might be under threat. The lads all love working for him."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My Club: Ray Winstone
Exclusive
By TOM BARCLAY
Last Updated: 17th March 2013
The Sun
THE diving antics in modern-day football has got so bad that some of the
players could follow Vinnie Jones into acting. That's the view of Hollywood
movie star Ray Winstone, who reckons he's seen a fair few Oscar-winning
performances in the Premier League this season. In an exclusive My Club chat
with SunSport, the star of Sexy Beast, The Departed and those betting
adverts talked about his love of West Ham and how Bobby Moore changed the
perception of London's East End.
TB: Why do you support West Ham?
RW: I was born in the East End and was raised in Plaistow. My club — my
manor, if you like — was West Ham United.
What was your first game?
The first game I ever saw was Southend versus Stockport but the first time I
went to see West Ham was in 1965, but I can't remember what it was!
What's your favourite West Ham memory?
Looking back, my best moment was probably being lucky enough to see people
like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters — not that I knew it at the
time. They were great players. My dad didn't take me to the Cup Winners' Cup
final because he thought it would probably be too much for a young kid. But
he took me to Wembley when West Ham won the World Cup against West Germany!
One of the great moments was seeing the FA Cup being paraded in 1964 on my
street. They didn't even have a bus, they were on top of the coach. They
were blowing bubbles and that was when I was hooked.
Who is your all-time favourite player?
Bobby Moore. He changed my outlook on heroes from the East End. People used
to think of gangsters and villains but Moore was the first gentleman who
became the captain of England. He changed the way people looked at the East
End.
Will you miss Upton Park if the proposed move to the Olympic Stadium goes
ahead?
We'll miss it but the fact is we've got to move forward and the Olympic
Stadium is most important to that. Not only for West Ham, but for the area
for the East End. That is our place. If West Ham are not there, what are the
government going to do? Give it to the area. The stadium will be used two or
three times a week and will bring work into the area. Otherwise it will sit
there and rot.
If you could sign one realistic player, who would it be?
I like to see us bring local kids through the ranks again. But I would love
to see Carlos Tevez come back. I want to sign players who love the club and
want to be here.
If you were West Ham chairman for a day, would you change anything?
No, I like the way they're running the club at the moment. They did a good
job at Birmingham and left it in a good state. So what they're doing here is
the right thing. We're getting better and better. If we survive this year,
which I think we will, Sam will take us to another level.
Could you see any other footballers making the transition into acting, like
Vinnie Jones?
I've seen a few foreign players who could be good actors, the way they dive
and the way they throw themselves about. There's a couple of Oscar
performances I've seen this year — they perform better than I do!
If you could win an Oscar or score the winning goal in the World Cup final,
what would you do?
Score the goal in the World Cup final.
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West Ham Mortgage £60m of TV Money in Bid to Manage Debts
The Nightly EPL
Posted on March 16, 2013 by Alex Muller
West Ham United are rolling the dice that they'll be in the Premier League
next season by mortgaging the £60 million they expect to receive from TV
revenue for the 2013-14 season to manage the club's debts. With Aston Villa
beating Queens Park Rangers today, it looks very likely that Reading and QPR
will go down alongside one team to be determined, so the Hammers should be
safe. But with just 33 points — nine points away from the relegation zone —
West Ham United should be safe. West Ham have debts of approximately £70
million, so the £60 million up front from bankers in the British Virgin
Islands will come in handy once West Ham's safety in the league is assured.
According to the article in The Mail, it's believed that six other EPL clubs
are doing the same deals to get money up front.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce spoke to the press ahead of Sunday's
game at Chelsea
16.03.2013
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has his eyes set on an unlikely double when his
team travel to Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday. West Ham
last achieved two league wins over Chelsea in the same season back in
2002/03, but following December's 3-1 triumph at the Boleyn Ground, they
have the opportunity to put that record right this weekend. Allardyce,
however, is well aware of the size of the task facing his team. He told
whufc.com: "It would be our first double of the year, we've had many other
opportunities that we've blown. It would be an absolutely unbelievable
result for us to win at Stamford Bridge and do the double over Chelsea in
the same season. It's one of those things that happens rarely, for you to be
able to beat a top side home and away. It's a great incentive for the lads
to go out there and achieve that on Sunday. "On the basis that they played
on Thursday night, we certainly should have the energy levels to cope with,
as best we can, the quality that Chelsea have. The high intensity levels
that we'll need to achieve to nullify a Chelsea side are pretty big,
especially out of possession. "We should have enough to try and stay in the
game as long as possible. We obviously want to score first if we can, but if
we can't, as long as we keep the game tight, then inevitably they must tire
based on the workload they have had and you can find some gaps and spaces."
Allardyce is not expecting injured trio Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole
to return, although he revealed that Matt Taylor has recovered well from the
blow he received to his jaw at Stoke two weeks ago. He continued: "Of those
with knocks, there's only Taylor who has recovered and in training at the
moment. The other three - Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole - are still
pretty doubtful for selection on Sunday, even though we've had two weeks
since our last game, it's looks as if they've not been able to recover in
time. "We've been managing situations like this [gaps between matches] for a
long time now, with international breaks. All we can do is what we did last
time we played - win. Because it makes that two weeks pretty pleasurable, in
terms of handling and getting through the fortnight. "So our win at Stoke
was a massive bonus for us. We've got exactly the same situation on Sunday,
where we've got two weeks before we play West Brom. We've just got to manage
it the best way we can. "We're in a very good position, but mathematically
we need to get a little closer and we need another five points. I think 38
points will be safe this year, but we'll all aim for 40, just in case."
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Joey wants St Patrick's Day celebration
WHUFC.com
Proud Irishman Joey O'Brien is hoping to mark St Patrick's Day with a win at
Chelsea on Sunday
16.03.2013
Joey O'Brien is hoping to celebrate St Patrick's Day in style by helping
West Ham United to achieve a Barclays Premier League victory at Chelsea. The
Hammers travel to Stamford Bridge on the same day that Irish people
everywhere - including proud Dubliner O'Brien - will mark the feast day of
the most-famous of Ireland's patron saints. Having already played his part
in one memorable West Ham win over the Blues this season, O'Brien is
planning to chalk-up another fantastic victory over Rafa Benitez's side on
Sunday.
Joey, it seems like a long time ago, but the 1-0 at Stoke City a fortnight
ago was a really good all-round display wasn't it?
JO'B: "It was a great away performance from us, really. The manager was
saying beforehand that our away form hadn't been good so he wanted us to get
a result there. It was a hard place to go - they had only lost one game
there all season before us. We played well and had to cope with a couple of
early chances which sometimes might disrupt the team. "The lads coming on
sometimes have to settle into the game but that wasn't the case and I
thought Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te were probably our best players. I
thought Ginge [James Collins] was outstanding as well. They came on and
changed the game, really, and played a massive part in our attacking
display. We won well, even though it was close because we had plenty had
plenty of chances to bury them. Perhaps that was the only disappointing
thing - that we didn't win by two or three."
Chelsea will present a different type of challenge, won't they? You
certainly won't have to head the ball quite so often, anyway!
JO'B: "They have got some smashing players and everyone knows about them.
When you watch them play, they are very good going forward with lots of
movement and lots of ability on the ball. It's going to be a hard game for
us but we're very confident after the last game against Stoke and after the
performance we put in against Chelsea earlier on this season. We're going
there to get a result."
You were part of the side that produced arguably our best 45 minutes of the
season to come from behind to beat Chelsea at home in December. Do that
performance and result give us added belief that, if we hit our straps, we
can beat anyone?
JO'B: "Definitely so. The first game was a long time ago but we played well.
In the second half, especially. they just couldn't deal with our intensity.
They are going to want to get one back over us at their place after we beat
them. We're up for going there and getting a good result and we've got the
players who can do that."
You played alongside Gary Cahill at Bolton Wanderers and he is now
impressing for Chelsea and England. After getting one over your old pal
Glenn Whelan at Stoke, you must be eager to do the same to Gary!
JO'B: "Yes, definitely! It would be the second time after we beat them at
home, too! Gary is a great player and an even better person. He has been
playing some great stuff at Chelsea and is probably England's No1
centre-half now. "I'm delighted for him. When we were at Bolton, you could
always see he was going to move on to a better team and obviously he went to
Chelsea. You can see he is really a top, top England centre-half. That's
what everyone at Bolton talked about when he first came into the club and
he's doing it now."
You played alongside Gary Cahill, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor at Stamford
Bridge in May 2008, with Matt scoring a last-minute equaliser in a 1-1
Premier League draw. What are your memories of that game?
JO'B: "I think Bolton were struggling with the whole relegation thing. There
was a really far-fetched possibility that we could be relegated with a
15-goal turn-around. We went there and Matty scored and I remember it well
because that result made us completely safe. Hopefully Matty can score again
on Sunday!"
Another of your former Bolton team-mates, Jussi Jaaskelainen, has been in
great form and was voted SBOBET Player of the Month for February. I doubt
you were surprised by his performances, knowing him so well?
JO'B: "Jussi has been brilliant. I think he was outstanding against Spurs
and, of the players on our team, he really didn't deserve to end up on the
losing team. He has been great. I played with Jussi when I first became a
professional footballer at Bolton and he was brilliant then.
"I think he has been a really consistent Premier League goalkeeper. When you
look back over the years, I can't really remember many mistakes and I can't
remember many real mistakes he has made this year as well. He is a top bloke
and is still doing it at the age he is now [37], so fair play to him."
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Haycock salutes resilient Hammers
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock was proud of another colossal effort as the Dev Squad drew 1-1
with Arsenal's U21s
16.03.2013
Nick Haycock had no complaints with another hard-fought point, as West Ham
United's Development Squad were held to a 1-1 Barclays Under-21 Premier
League Elite Group draw by Arsenal at the Boleyn Ground. Though the Gunners
would land the first blow, Conor Henderson's 20th-minute strike was
cancelled out just 12 minutes later when Nico Yennaris put Pelly Ruddock's
centre through his own goal. Both sides went close to snatching all three
points late on, as Sean Maguire produced a fine stop from Arsenal stopper
Emiliano Martinez, before Zak Ansah saw his drive cannon off the inside of
Raphael Spiegel's right-hand upright. Ultimately, it was to end honours even
and Haycock reflected that a point apiece was probably just reward for a
thoroughly entertaining contest.
"We could have won it, no doubt, but equally we could have lost it as well,
so you have to say a share of the spoils was about right," Haycock told West
Ham TV. "For the last 15 minutes of the first half, we looked something like
what we should be. We came in at half-time and Neil McDonald had a word with
one or two players, just to liven them up a little bit. The first half was a
little bit too nice. The intensity was low, there wasn't enough passion and
aggression in the game. "We wanted to get out of the traps at the start of
the second half but the lights going out didn't allow us to do that. But I
thought the final 20 minutes of the game were more like a London derby and
you could tell by the crowd's reaction that they enjoyed the game as well.
"It was end to end. I wouldn't say I was bellowing, but as much as we wanted
to win the game, equally you have got to make sure you don't lose the game.
It's a fine line."
The U21s manager reserved particular praise for Irish forward Maguire, whose
opportunities have been hampered somewhat by injuries since his January
switch from Waterford United. The 18-year-old joined the fray with
quarter-of-an-hour to play and but for a stunning stop, would have been
celebrating the winner. "Maguire came on and I was pleased with him. He
looked lively. I asked him to get in behind, to run in the box and the
keeper has made a world class save. In training he looks like a sharp
finisher. "Hopefully now, we can get on the training field and get some more
work into him. He's had an injury and he has only just joined our programme,
while the other boys have been on the programme all year. So it will take
him time to come up to speed but he did himself no harm whatsoever when he
came on."
Maguire and his teammates now have a fortnight to prepare for their next
Elite Group outing, as they travel to West Bromwich Albion on 31 March.
Having played five games in 18 days, rest and recuperation is certainly on
the agenda, and Haycock conceded that the schedule has stretched his squad
to its very limits. "I never like to make excuses, but some of the boys have
played five full games. Elliot Lee came off at the end just as a precaution,
because he was tying up a bit and his performances have warranted that we
make sure he doesn't get injured. We had players out there probably playing
more minutes than we'd have wanted because they are coming back from injury.
"We've got a light squad and a young one and yet over those 18 days we've
come out with three creditable draws against big clubs like Arsenal,
Liverpool and Manchester United. It's tough to win points in the Elite
League. The momentum's there after two draws against two good clubs and
we'll be fresh for West Bromwich Albion away when it comes around."
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U18s edged out by Liverpool
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's youngsters fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on
Saturday morning
16.03.2013
West Ham United's Under-18s fell to defeat by the solitary goal at Liverpool
in the Barclays Under-18 Premier League Tier One on Saturday. Steve Potts'
side started brightly at the home team's Kirkby Academy base, but went 1-0
down to Daniel Trickett-Smith's 14th minute goal. Trickett-Smith posed the
biggest threat for Liverpool from his striking role, although the Hammers
did well to restrict his side to half chances in the main. However, the
Hammers also found it tough to create clear cut openings in a game mostly
played out in midfield and they were unable to find an equaliser. The
Hammers looked assured in the opening stages, but fell behind to Liverpool's
first opportunity in the 14th minute. Republic of Ireland U17 international
Alex O'Hanlon clipped over a cross from the left hand side towards
Trickett-Smith, who had drifted into space at the far post for a simple
finish. It was another Irish youth international, Kieran Sadlier, who almost
got the Hammers back on level terms ten minutes later when his free kick
required a strong save from Liverpool keeper Ryan Crump. At the other end
Kristoffer Peterson rose well to head Trickett-Smith's 33rd minute towards
goal but Hammers stopper Sam Baxter did well to hang on. Baxter was then
called upon to smother from Peterson after he shrugged off the challenge of
Lewis Page, but Potts' men were still well in the contest as the half time
whistle sounded.
Liverpool had a great chance to double their lead 11 minutes after the
restart when Jordan Rossiter's defence-splitting ball picked out Harry
Wilson, but Baxter stood up well to deny the half time sub. Sadlier was
looking lively for the visitors and his well-struck shot needed a save from
Crump on 72 minutes after a good move involving Nathan Mavila and Thomas
Gogo. But the Hammers found it tough to break down their hosts after the
interval and Liverpool saw time out to claim maximum points.
West Ham United: Baxter, Knoyle, Page, Girdlestone, Onariase, Burke
(Harney), Makasi, Miles (Amoo), Boakye-Yiadom (Gogo), Sadlier, Mavila
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 16th March 2013
By: Preview Percy
Next up we visit Stamford Bridge where our hosts will be Chelsea.
Kick-off is 4.00pm, though the Sunday time and date is a result of the
hosts' involvement in the "Really Important Until We Get Knocked Out Of It"
Europa League rather than for any televisual reasons. Travel-wise, our end
of the District line has replacement buses and the C2C trains are also being
diverted to Liverpool Street. Check before you leave.
Our hosts currently lie in 4th spot with 52 points from 28 games. That's two
points behind Gareth Bale who sits in third spot, though the Pensioners do
have a game in hand. Of their last six they've won three, drawn once and
lost twice. The three wins were all at home against Arsenal (2-1), Wigan
(4-1) and West Brom (1-0). The draw was a 2-2 share of the spoils away at
Reading whilst the defeats came at Newcastle (3-2) and 2-0 at Manchester
City.
Chelsea are of course a major source of laughter amongst the rest of the
league. The source of such amusement can usually be traced back to the
club's owner, Roman Abrahamovic, the multi squillionaire whose funds all
came from sources that are, no doubt, entirely legitimate and in no way
shape or form dodgy. Having had a manager won (or more accurately,
"purchased") the so-called "Champions" League for him last term, he gave Di
Matteo a full three months before handing him his P45. That was funny enough
but what happened next was even dafter. In came Rafa Benitez, a man who
could spot a conspiracy theory in a bowl of porridge. Benitez was given the
not exactly confidence-inspiring title of "Interim Manager". The fans took
to Benitez in much the same manner as a rational and sane person might take
to Piers Morgan: that is not at all. To be fair Benitez has never been one
to help himself – some of his public pronouncements have you looking to see
if there are men in white coats hanging around in the background waiting
with his medication.
It must have been a weird transfer window over there. After all, the manager
could hardly boast to potential new recruits of his plans for the next few
years. Not that any manager working for Abrahamovic can ever really plan
long-term but the "interim Manager" title is a bit of a giveaway.
They still managed to get one player in in the form of ex-Hammer Dember Ba,
whose agents must now have enough money from their cut of signing-on fees to
buy a reasonably sizeable island somewhere. Their income from loyalty
bonuses is probably a bit less I'd guess. Ba has had a nice midweek rest
having been ineligible for Chelsea in midweek having already played for the
Geordies in the Europa Cup this season.
They've been missing their obnoxious skipper for a large chunk of the
season. His ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand was followed by a
damaged knee, an injury sustained on his return to action against Liverpool.
To everyone outside Stamford Bridge Terry's main contribution to the game
has been to be the inspiration behind a million photoshop efforts following
his ludicrous and sadly predictable appearance in full kit at the Champions
League Final from which he had been suspended. Thus we have seen Terry
winning the boat race, joining Neil Armstong on the moon, and picking up all
sorts of gold medals during the Olympics. The latest effort saw him waving
to the crowds in St Peters' Square following the election of Pope Francis
earlier this week. Meanwhile, if you ever needed proof that all the money in
the world can't buy class. The "Legend" poster that the club (not the fans,
note) stuck up is still there. Teryy hasn't been an automatic choice since
his return to fitness, possibly due to a number of training ground "frank
exchange of views" between him and Benitez.
Talking of classless, Frank Lampard is closing in on the goalscoring record
held by Bobby Tambling, a player whose existence was previously a mystery to
the vast majority of Chelsea supporters, what with him having plied his
trade before 2003. One such chap in our local, The Swan And Superinjunction,
whose allegiance to the Pensioners dates all the way back to the Champions
League Final boats of remembering Bobby Tambourine. I recall a few years ago
they wheeled out Tambling at half time and made the poor chap walk around
the ground whilst the home support shrugged their shoulders. They know now
of course, what with his name being featured every week as Lampard looks
forward to a last big payday in the States. That's if he finds the time in
between evicting old ladies out on to the street.
They're not exactly short of players to laugh at. Fernando Torres raises a
smile at grounds up and down the country, not least on Merseyside where,
having taken Daniel Sturridge off Chelsea's hands in the last window,
Liverpool probably think they have the better of the dealings between the
two clubs. Torres got his first goal in 20 games in the midweek Europa Cup
match against Steua Bucharest, though, as if to prove old habits die hard,
he also missed a penalty. Our chums in Spain have finally twigged that
Torres is not exactly in the form of his life and, having omitted him from
the squads from recent friendlies , coach del Bosque (That's Vincente del
Bosque, not Derek Bosque) has left him out of the somewhat more serious
matter of forthcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Finland & France.
Then of course there's Ashley Cole. Whilst the Cole family (including exes)
has some way to go before being quite as loathsome as that of his skipper
(who can of course include drug dealers and shoplifters as well as racists
amongst their number), if Wikipedia is to be believed Cole is also distantly
related to Mariah Carey. To adapt the old phrase, to be connected to one
talentless bimbo might be considered unfortunate. Two is just careless.
And so to us. The fixture list is as bonkers as Benitez at the moment and,
being of advanced years I'm struggling to remember our last match. The trip
to Stoke was so long ago there was another Pope on the throne. The comment
by one of the editors of this site that Sheffield United are to demand
compensation following the election of an Argentinian to the top slot at the
Vatican is probably wrong, though frankly one wouldn't put it past them.
Where was I. Oh yes Stoke. Good win that one. Especially since we had to
make two changes within the first ten minutes or so. Even better was the
sight and sound of Tony Pulis doing his nut as a ref finally had the guts to
stand up to his bunch of thugs. If only Mike Jones had had the same bottle
as Jon Moss in the FA Cup a few years back.
Team news is that the break has allowed a bit more healing time for some of
the injuries. Joe Cole will sit out the visit to where it all started to go
wrong for him, the hamstring that saw him limp off at Stoke. Matt Taylor may
also miss out, the horrific boot wrapped round his head causing him a major
concussion. His presence in Sunday's squad may depend on whether he can
answer one of the standard questions doctors ask after a bang on the head,
such as "what is the name of the current Pope".
Mark Noble's trapped nerve in his arm/elbow has apparently reacted well to
treatment, though speaking from experience, trapped nerves can be a bit
tricky. Then we have the skipper, suffering from a broken toe. Pleasingly
there is no "metatarsal" nonsense from our down-to earth skipper; he has a
broken toe, no more no less. Nolan might elect to play through the pain with
the help of a painkilling jab or two, and a late fitness test is on the
cards.
Obviously this will be a tough one. Their vast amounts of funds (all of
which came from sources that are, no doubt, entirely legitimate and in no
way shape or form dodgy, I can't stress that enough) mean that they have a
squad and a half. Mind you that didn't do them too many favours in the
reverse fixture where our second half performance was arguably our best 45
minutes this season. They're not infallible though the smart money will be
on a home win. However, none of us here at the Avram Grant Rest Home For The
Bewildered could ever be considered "smart" so I'll be placing the £2.50
winnings we got from our bet on the new Pope (we stuck a few quid on it
being a Catholic) on a 1-1 draw, prompting some more bonkers outpourings
from Benitez.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met at Stamford BridgeLost 0-3 A result that flattered the home
side as we failed to take advantage of a decent number of chances. Torres
hadn't scored in over 700 minutes since his move from the bindippers so it
was sadly inevitable that he would break his duck against us, though it
still took a slip from a defender in torrential rain to let the hapless
Spaniard in. Meanwhile, dozens of Hammers went home richer having popped a
few bob on Torres to score.
Referee: Michael Oliver. Last seen handling our 1-0 defeat at Reading.
Frighteningly young ref who faces a late fitness test on a spot of acne
before the match. May be replaced by one of the bigger boys if his mum
thinks it's too cold for him to be out.
Danger Man: Frank Lampard Junior. Ungrateful spoilt brat who will no doubt
kiss the badge when he scores his statutory goal against us. The fact that
David Mellor is also a Chelsea fan (this week) puts that into perspective.
Daft Fact Of The Week: Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliot was due to take
on a £100,000 a year community role at Stamford Bridge. The job fell through
after his recent indiscretion in using "racially unacceptable" language in a
string of text messages between him and ex-Charlton defender Richard Rufus.
Meanwhile they still have that banner up describing John Terry as a
"legend".
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce wants contract talks once West Ham are safe in the Premier
League
Last Updated: March 16, 2013 10:05am
SSN
Sam Allardyce wants to sit down and discuss a new contract as soon as West
Ham United have guaranteed their Premier League survival. Allardyce's
current deal expires at the end of the season and co-chairman David Gold
recently stated that talks over an extension would be held in the summer.
However, Allardyce is keen to start planning for next season and sees no
reason to wait until the campaign is over to hold negotiations, if the
Hammers are safe. "We'll sit down when we're safe," said Allardyce. "What's
the point me waiting until the end of the season if we're mathematically
safe with a few games to go?
"There's no point in that is there? We need to start budgeting." West Ham
are currently 12th in the table with 33 points, nine points clear of the
relegation zone, and Allardyce feels 38 points will be enough to preserve
the club's top-flight status. He added: "I think we need another five
points. Thirty eight will make you safe this year but we will all aim for 40
just in case. "Hopefully we will be safe as soon as possible because there
is a lot to negotiate and a lot to move on, which we are doing."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce hopes Chelsea opposition to Rafa Benitez can lift West Ham
Last Updated: March 16, 2013 1:33pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hoping for some help from an unexpected
source when his side bid to complete a Premier League double over Chelsea on
Sunday. The Hammers defeated the Blues 3-1 at Upton Park back in December
and will be bidding to follow that up at Stamford Bridge, where Allardyce
reckons the animosity towards Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez can work in his
side's favour. "You can see the importance of your fans being behind you
rather than not," he said. "I think Chelsea's team has suffered at Stamford
Bridge because the fans have not been fully supportive of what has happened.
That is nothing to do with Rafa, he can't help that. "He is a manager trying
to do a job the best he possibly can and he's obviously got a great CV at
the jobs he has done at his other clubs. "But it shows the importance of a
volatile fan base that turned the other way, what effect it can have on a
team. "In the reverse of that we all know the extra man that fans can
create. You see the opposite of that at Chelsea and certainly in the early
stages when Rafa took over and Chelsea suffered some poor results because of
that. That's the effect the fans have on the team that plays on the field.
"It would be an absolutely unbelievable result for us to win at Stamford
Bridge and do the double over Chelsea in the same season. It's one of those
things that happens rarely, for you to be able to beat a top side home and
away. "It's a great incentive for the lads to go out there and achieve that
on Sunday."
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O'Neill begs Lamps to light up Hammers
The Sun
By VIKKI ORVICE
Last Updated: 17th March 2013
GARY O'NEIL would love to see Frank Lampard back in a West Ham shirt. The
Hammers travel to Stamford Bridge today aiming to do the double over
Chelsea. But midfielder O'Neil would rather be playing alongside former
Hammer Lampard than facing him. And he cannot believe the Blues have not
offered to renew Lamps' contract at the end of the season. O'Neil said:
"It's surprising that a player of that stature and quality is being allowed
to run out his contract.
"If the money was right and the deal was right, he's a player I would love
to see back at West Ham. He would be a great player to sign if the club
could get hold of him. "I remember following him around the Bridge many a
time. You think you've got him, it's 0-0 with a few minutes to go but then
you lose him and he scores. Hopefully it won't happen this weekend." O'Neil,
29, has urged the Hammers board to give boss Sam Allardyce a new contract
when his deal runs out this summer. He said: "It shocks me that his job
might be under threat. The lads all love working for him."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My Club: Ray Winstone
Exclusive
By TOM BARCLAY
Last Updated: 17th March 2013
The Sun
THE diving antics in modern-day football has got so bad that some of the
players could follow Vinnie Jones into acting. That's the view of Hollywood
movie star Ray Winstone, who reckons he's seen a fair few Oscar-winning
performances in the Premier League this season. In an exclusive My Club chat
with SunSport, the star of Sexy Beast, The Departed and those betting
adverts talked about his love of West Ham and how Bobby Moore changed the
perception of London's East End.
TB: Why do you support West Ham?
RW: I was born in the East End and was raised in Plaistow. My club — my
manor, if you like — was West Ham United.
What was your first game?
The first game I ever saw was Southend versus Stockport but the first time I
went to see West Ham was in 1965, but I can't remember what it was!
What's your favourite West Ham memory?
Looking back, my best moment was probably being lucky enough to see people
like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters — not that I knew it at the
time. They were great players. My dad didn't take me to the Cup Winners' Cup
final because he thought it would probably be too much for a young kid. But
he took me to Wembley when West Ham won the World Cup against West Germany!
One of the great moments was seeing the FA Cup being paraded in 1964 on my
street. They didn't even have a bus, they were on top of the coach. They
were blowing bubbles and that was when I was hooked.
Who is your all-time favourite player?
Bobby Moore. He changed my outlook on heroes from the East End. People used
to think of gangsters and villains but Moore was the first gentleman who
became the captain of England. He changed the way people looked at the East
End.
Will you miss Upton Park if the proposed move to the Olympic Stadium goes
ahead?
We'll miss it but the fact is we've got to move forward and the Olympic
Stadium is most important to that. Not only for West Ham, but for the area
for the East End. That is our place. If West Ham are not there, what are the
government going to do? Give it to the area. The stadium will be used two or
three times a week and will bring work into the area. Otherwise it will sit
there and rot.
If you could sign one realistic player, who would it be?
I like to see us bring local kids through the ranks again. But I would love
to see Carlos Tevez come back. I want to sign players who love the club and
want to be here.
If you were West Ham chairman for a day, would you change anything?
No, I like the way they're running the club at the moment. They did a good
job at Birmingham and left it in a good state. So what they're doing here is
the right thing. We're getting better and better. If we survive this year,
which I think we will, Sam will take us to another level.
Could you see any other footballers making the transition into acting, like
Vinnie Jones?
I've seen a few foreign players who could be good actors, the way they dive
and the way they throw themselves about. There's a couple of Oscar
performances I've seen this year — they perform better than I do!
If you could win an Oscar or score the winning goal in the World Cup final,
what would you do?
Score the goal in the World Cup final.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Mortgage £60m of TV Money in Bid to Manage Debts
The Nightly EPL
Posted on March 16, 2013 by Alex Muller
West Ham United are rolling the dice that they'll be in the Premier League
next season by mortgaging the £60 million they expect to receive from TV
revenue for the 2013-14 season to manage the club's debts. With Aston Villa
beating Queens Park Rangers today, it looks very likely that Reading and QPR
will go down alongside one team to be determined, so the Hammers should be
safe. But with just 33 points — nine points away from the relegation zone —
West Ham United should be safe. West Ham have debts of approximately £70
million, so the £60 million up front from bankers in the British Virgin
Islands will come in handy once West Ham's safety in the league is assured.
According to the article in The Mail, it's believed that six other EPL clubs
are doing the same deals to get money up front.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, March 16
Daily WHUFC News - 16th March 2013
Chelsea match preview
WHUFC.com
Travel, ticket and team news ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip
to Stamford Bridge
15.03.2013
CHELSEA v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2013
KICK-OFF: 4PM
REFEREE: MICHAEL OLIVER
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Introduction
• West Ham United travel to Chelsea seeking to record back-to-back Barclays
Premier League victories for the first time this season, having won 1-0 at
Stoke City last time out on Saturday 2 March. The Hammers would also
chalk-up their first league 'double' of the campaign if they are successful
at Stamford Bridge for the first time since a 3-2 victory on 28 September
2002.
• West Ham go into the weekend 12th in the Barclays Premier League table,
having collected 33 points from 28 fixtures. However, results elsewhere
could see the Hammers start the game as high as eleventh or as low as 13th.
Victory could take West Ham up to tenth.
• West Ham have won three of their 14 away league matches this season,
triumphing at Queens Park Rangers (2-1), Newcastle United (1-0) and Stoke
(1-0).
• Chelsea start the weekend in third position, having collected 52 points
from 28 matches. A victory, combined with a Tottenham Hotspur defeat or draw
at home to Fulham, would see the Blues go third.
• The Blues have won eight and lost just two of their 14 home league
matches, being defeated at Stamford Bridge by Manchester United (2-3) and
QPR (0-1).
• West Ham beat Chelsea for the first time in 14 meetings - 13 of them in
the Premier League and seven of them at the Boleyn Ground - when they won
3-1 in the reverse Barclays Premier League fixture at the Boleyn Ground on 1
December 2012.
Team news
West Ham United
• Midfielder Mark Noble could return to action after missing the victory at
Stoke City with an arm injury.
• Captain Kevin Nolan could miss the game with the foot injury he suffered
in the 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 25 February.
• Midfielder Joe Cole will miss the return to one of his former clubs with a
hamstring injury suffered at Stoke City.
• James Tomkins could be available again after being sidelined from the
previous two league matches with a virus.
• Left-back George McCartney is close to a return after three months out
with a knee injury suffered in training in mid-December.
• Stephen Henderson (Ipswich Town), Ravel Morrison and Rob Hall (both
Birmingham City), Paul McCallum (Aldershot Town) and Alou Diarra (Stade
Rennais) are all out on loan.
Chelsea
• Spanish midfielder Oriel Romeu is out for the remainder of the season with
a serious knee injury suffered at Sunderland in December.
• Chelsea have no fewer than 18 players out on loan, including senior
professionals Michael Essien (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich
Albion) and Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid).
Background
• Saturday's fixture marks the 88th league meeting between the two clubs.
West Ham drew level with their opponents on 35 victories with a home win in
December, while there have been just 17 draws. In 31 Premier League
meetings, Chelsea have chalked up 16 victories, West Ham have won ten times
and there have been just five draws.
• The first-ever meeting between the two clubs in any competition came on 11
September 1915 in the war-time London Combination principal tournament. West
Ham United were at home and the game ended goalless.
• The first-ever league meeting between the two clubs took place on 20
October 1923 and also ended goalless. That match was played at Division One
at Stamford Bridge.
• West Ham's biggest league victory over Chelsea came in Division Two on
Valentine's Day 1981. The Hammers romped to a 4-0 success on their way to
winning the title and promotion to the top-flight. West Ham have never
beaten Chelsea by more than a single-goal margin in the Premier League,
doing so on nine occasions.
• Chelsea's biggest win over West Ham came on 9 April 1966 at Stamford
Bridge, when the Blues thumped the Hammers 6-2. At the Boleyn Ground,
Chelsea won 4-0 on 1 March 2008, a result that also marks the Blues' biggest
Premier League win over the Hammers.
• The biggest crowd to witness a Chelsea versus West Ham fixture at Stamford
Bridge was the estimated 65,000 who witnessed the Blues' 2-0 FA Cup
fourth-round win on 26 January 1946.
• Tony Cottee has scored more goals against Chelsea than any other West Ham
United player, scoring eight times. Geoff Hurst and John Dick managed six
each, while the Hammers' all-time leading scorer Vic Watson scored three in
five appearances against the Blues.
• John Bond scored the first league hat-trick by a West Ham United player
against Chelsea when he was pressed into an emergency centre-forward role on
6 February 1960. Right-back Bond netted three times, including one penalty,
in a 4-2 Division One success at the Boleyn Ground. Billy Bonds also netted
an unlikely hat-trick against Chelsea in a 3-0 Division One home win on 2
March 1974.
• The two clubs have met just once on 17 March in years gone by - a 2-1
Chelsea victory over West Ham in the War League South Cup semi-final in
1945.
Last time out
Saturday 2 March 2013
Barclays Premier League
Stoke City 0-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Jarvis
(Pogatetz 83), J,Cole (Vaz Te 11), O'Neil, Diame, Taylor (Collison 10),
Carroll
Subs not used: Spiegel, Maiga, Chamakh, C.Cole
Goal: Collison 45
Thursday 14 March 2013
UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg
Chelsea 3-1 Steaua Bucharest
(Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate)
Chelsea: Cech, Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Mata (Moses
90), Oscar, Mikel, Hazard (Benayoun 90), Torres
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Cahill, Bertrand, Lampard
Goals: Mata 33, Terry 58, Torres 71
Previous meeting
West Ham United roared back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to achieve a
fantastic 3-1 home Barclays Premier League victory over Chelsea on 1
December 2012. Juan Mata swept the Blues into the lead on 13 minutes
following good work from Victor Moses and Fernando Torres. Chelsea continued
to dominate, but could not find a second goal as Torres, Moses and Mata all
passed up decent opportunities. Having got in at the break still in the
game, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce made two decisive changes, sending on
Mohamed Diame and Matt Taylor. The substitutions worked a treat as Carlton
Cole headed in on 63 minutes. After Mata had rattled the post with a
free-kick, Diame fired in a rasping low shot from Cole's cross with three
minutes remaining before replacement Modibo Maiga made the game safe after
Petr Cech had parried Taylor's goalbound effort.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Tomkins
(Taylor, 46), Noble, O'Neil (Diame 46), Nolan, Jarvis, Cole (Maiga 87)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Spence, Fanimo, Moncur
Goals: Cole 63, Diame 87, Maiga 90
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Moses
(Marin 78), Hazard (Oscar 73), Mata, Torres
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Bertrand, Romeu, Piazon
Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
1 December 2012 - West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea
23 April 2011 - Chelsea 3-0 West Ham United
11 September 2010 - West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
13 March 2010 - Chelsea 4-1 West Ham United
20 December 2009 - West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea
25 April 2009 - West Ham United 0-1 Chelsea
v Chelsea (all competitions) W 37 D 18 L 41
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
Chelsea
2011/12 Premier League 6th (64 points)
2010/11 Premier League 2nd (71 points)
2009/10 Premier League 1st (86 points - champions)
2008/09 Premier League 3rd (83 points)
2007/08 Premier League 2nd (85 points)
2006/07 Premier League 2nd (83 points)
2005/06 Premier League 1st (91 points - champions)
2004/05 Premier League 1st (95 points - champions)
2003/04 Premier League 2nd (79 points)
2002/03 Premier League 4th (67 points)
Referee
• Sunday's match referee will be Michael Oliver.
• Oliver was introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of
14. He quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to the National List
of referees in 2007.
• In 2007 he became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium
when he took charge of the 2007 Conference play-off final. He also went on
to become the youngest fourth official for a Barclays Premier League match.
• The Oliver family enjoyed a referring double in 2009 when his father took
charge of the 2009 League Two Play-Off final a day before he took charge of
the League One play-off final.
• In August 2010 he was promoted to the Select Group of referees and soon
became the youngest-ever Barclays Premier League referee when he took charge
of Birmingham City versus Blackburn Rovers on 21 August 2010.
• Oliver took charge of West Ham's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at
Reading on 29 December - his only previous Hammers appointment this season.
In all, he has refereed five West Ham fixtures.
Old boys
• West Ham United striker Carlton Cole began his career at Chelsea, making
31 appearances between August 2001 and May 2006, and scoring eight times.
• Chelsea's Frank Lampard began his professional career at West Ham United,
making 187 league and cup appearances and scoring 38 goals before heading
west in June 2001.
• Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun spent two seasons at West Ham in his
first spell between July 2005 and July 2007, scoring eight goals in 72
appearances. Benayoun started the 2006 FA Cup final for the Hammers and also
played a starring role in the 'Great Escape' season of 2006/07. He returned
for a second loan spell earlier this season, making a further six
appearances between September and November 2012.
• Chelsea captain John Terry spent time at West Ham United as a schoolboy.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Clive Allen,
Syd Bishop, Peter Brabrook, Billy Bridgeman, Billy Brown, Robert Bush,
Dickie Deacon, Alan Dickens, Len Goulden, Jimmy Greaves, Ron Greenwood CBE,
George Hilsdon, George Horn, Joseph Hughes, Sir Geoff Hurst, William
Jackson, Glen Johnson, Joe Kirkup, Andy Malcolm, Harry Medhurst, Scott
Minto, Eric Parsons, Joe Payne, Dave Sexton, John Sissons, Ron Tindall and
Billy Williams.
General information
• All Standard and Disabled tickets for Sunday's fixture have SOLD OUT.
• Supporters travelling into London on the c2c mainline train service should
note that all services will be diverted from Barking to London Liverpool
Street. No c2c services will be stopping at Limehouse or West Ham stations.
For full details, click here.
• Supporters travelling into London via London Underground should note that
the District line will be suspended between Upminster and Bromley-by-Bow,
while the Hammersmith and City line will be suspended between Barking and
Moorgate. Replacement bus services will operate on both lines. For the
latest London Underground travel news visit the TfL website by clicking here
and use the Journey Planner.
• Sunday afternoon's forecast in London is for light rain and a maximum
daytime temperature of 8C (47F).
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O'Neil happy to be middle man
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil is ready to fill the central midfield holding role again when
West Ham United visit Chelsea
15.03.2013
Gary O'Neil is hoping to achieve his first-ever Barclays Premier League
victory at Chelsea. The West Ham United midfielder suffered 12 straight
top-flight defeats at the hands of the Blues during spells with Portsmouth
and Middlesbrough. However, the No32 ended his unenviable personal record
when he was part of the Hammers side that defeated Chelsea 3-1 at the Boleyn
Ground in December. Having impressed greatly in a new holding midfield role
in the 1-0 victory at Stoke City last time out, O'Neil goes into Sunday's
London derby at Stamford Bridge full of confidence and belief that West Ham
can complete their first league 'double' of 2012/13.
"It was a decent performance at Stoke," he confirmed. "The most important
thing was that we kept a clean sheet because it gave us a great chance to
win the game. We played some decent bits and, if we had been a bit more
clinical, could have won by a couple more goals. "I went to Chelsea a few
times with Portsmouth and we did OK on quite a few occasions but they had a
fantastic team then. I'm not saying they don't now but those were the Jose
Mourinho days with the likes of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Claude Makelele
and Frank Lampard and all that. "I always enjoyed going there. We did OK at
times but then Lampard always seemed to pop up and nick one and we'd end up
losing. Hopefully we can do a good job on Sunday and take a step closer to
guaranteeing our Premier League survival for next season as early as
possible."
O'Neil's superb performance at the Britannia Stadium was recognised by
manager Sam Allardyce, who singled the midfielder out for praise in his
post-match interview with West Ham TV. Playing in an unfamiliar holding
role, the 29-year-old was lauded for being the 'focus of starting our
attacks off by being composed on the ball' by Big Sam. "It's a position that
I think I can play. I don't mind playing in any of the three positions in
the middle, really, and with Nobes picking up a knock I've been able to play
a couple of games on the trot in there. I enjoyed it. "We were a bit unlucky
not to get something against Tottenham and then we got our first away win
for a long time, so I'm just pleased to have been a part of it."
Against Chelsea, O'Neil is likely to come up against the Blues' outstanding
attacking midfield trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata - a challenge he
is ready to rise to. "Having seen them play this season, that seems to be an
area Chelsea look to exploit with more than one player. There is normally
the three of them in there so I'm sure the gaffer and the coaching staff
will have come up with something to combat that. It won't just be me running
around in there against the three ot them!"
Since that vital victory in the Potteries, West Ham have been forced to wait
to play again after last weekend's scheduled visit of Manchester United was
postponed due to the Red Devils' FA Cup commitments. O'Neil said the break
in fixtures had allowed the players to remain fresh, but that many of them
would rather have been on the pitch last weekend. "Especially for myself,
having got back in and made a couple of starts, I wanted there to be a game
last weekend, really. It is how it is - sometimes you have to play loads in
the space of a few days and sometimes you have to wait your turn and have a
long time to prepare.
"We have a big game and a big test ahead of us at Chelsea. They are a good
side so we're going to have to make sure we get it tactically spot-on and
everyone performs to their best to give us a chance."
While West Ham have not played for a fortnight, Chelsea will have contested
three matches in that time - home and away UEFA Europa League round of 32
ties against Romanian side Steaua Bucharest and a draining FA Cup with
Budweiser sixth-round match at Manchester United last Sunday. "There is a
chance of them being less fresh than us, with them having played on Thursday
because it gives them less time to recover, but they have also got a very
big squad and are used to playing in mid-week because they've been playing
in Europe for the last ten years. "I don't think it will give us a massive
advantage but it could definitely help if we go out there and do our jobs
right and stay in the game as long as possible and frustrate them. Late in
the game, we might get some chances. "I'm sure Chelsea will be ready, but
we'll be going there with the Stoke game still in our minds and how
resilient and well-organised we were defensively and we'll try to build from
that."
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Development Squad 1-1 Arsenal FT
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Dev Squad are held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal's U21s at the
Boleyn Ground
15.03.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v ARSENAL
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE ELITE GROUP STAGE
FRIDAY 15 MARCH 2013
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: ADRIAN SANNERUDE
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Final score - West Ham United 1-1 Arsenal
92 mins - The last chance of the game comes and goes as Ansah heads straight
at Spiegel who comfortably gathers. That's it, it ends honours even and
despite the late drama, that's probably just about right. The Development
Squad have a fortnight's break before they head to West Bromwich Albion.
91 mins - WOW! Neat football sees Gnabry bearing down on goal and his effort
cannons back off the inside of the post. It flies back into the path of
Ansah who is denied by a last-ditch block from Driver.
90 mins - Some more nervy moments for the Hammers, as Henderson lines up a
free-kick just outside the box. It's pretty poor, to be fair, as it flies
straight into the wall and Wellington is on hand to heave it clear.
88 mins - Spiegel might just have saved his team a point, as he tips
Miquel's 12-yard drive over the bar. It's a brilliant fingertip stop.
Moments later and it's the Hammers who might be celebrating a late winner.
Maguire is one-on-one with Martinez, but with Moncur screaming for a square
ball, he's denied by a smart stop from the Arsenal 'keeper.
85 mins - Sean Maguire is grappling with Wynter on half way and looks to
have got the better of the Arsenal man. Maguire is all set to race clear,
only to be hauled back by the referee's whistle. The Irishman's none too
pleased with the decision.
82 mins - West Ham are definitely looking the more likely at present, as
Turgott shows off a trick or two to win a corner on the near side. This time
Martinez calls and makes it his, gathering Moncur's cross cleanly.
80 mins - Maguire is straight into the thick of the action as he collects it
on the edge of the box. He smashes it across goal first time, drawing an
excellent stop from Martinez to tip it round the post. Ruddock does his best
to direct the resulting corner goalward, but it bobbles the wrong side of
the post.
77 mins - Shaw gives to Wellington, who needs no second invitation to have a
crack. It's not the best, as he skews his effort well, well wide. The break
in play prompts a switch apiece, as Sean Maguire comes on for Lee, while
Kyle Ebecilio replaces Elton Monteiro.
75 mins - Back come Arsenal. Zak Ansah has West Ham's rearguard
back-pedalling, before he lets fly from just outside the box. Spiegel is
sufficiently concerned to dive full length to his right, but in the end it's
a good foot or two wide of the far post.
72 mins - Pelly Ruddock does well to win a corner, but before it can be
taken, Ben Marlow joins the action in place of Amos Nasha. Meanwhile,
Moncur's corner skims off the greasy surface and though Paulista gets his
head to it, his improvised effort sails over the bar.
68 mins - Golden chance. Moncur does superbly to dig out a cross for
Paulista at the far post. The Brazilian still has plenty to do, but can only
guide his header over the crossbar.
66 mins - The visitors have a break on and it's Henderson who has space
ahead of him. As he tears towards the Hammers box, there are plenty of
runners looking for a pass, the low centre, however, is intercepted at the
near post. Excellent defending.
64 mins - West Ham are awarded a free-kick some 40 yards from goal. Moncur
puts it in the mixer but it's headed away with interest. It's all gone
slightly quiet since the restart, both in the stands and on the pitch.
61 mins - The Gunners make the first change of the evening, as Serge Gnabry
replaces Nigel Neita.
59 mins - Wellington Paulista looks for Pelly Ruddock but his measured pass
is cut out. In his haste to win the ball back, Paulista then concedes a
free-kick just inside the Arsenal half.
56 mins - Upon the resumption, West Ham are straight on the attack. Paulista
plays it into Moncur, who connects well enough but it flies comfortably wide
of the near post.
20:22pm - Good news. The players are back with us and the flood lights are
working perfectly well once more. If memory serves, the last time this
happened at the Boleyn Ground was against Crystal Palace. West Ham won the
rearranged fixture 4-1.
20:18pm - Arsenal's goalkeeper is back on the field, but he's on his own at
this stage. The signs are good, as one or two lights begin to come on. While
you're waiting, why not watch West Ham's Comic Relief effort, as the
Development Squad competed in a Keepy-Uppy challenge with a tennis ball.
20:15pm - Not entirely sure what to tell you. The players have been led from
the field as the PA announcer ensures us that the problem will be resolved!
For the record, this evening's attendance is 590.
53 mins - Arsenal have started on the front foot here in the second half...
and the lights have gone out! Extraordinary scenes. The players are
congregating on the touchline as someone tries to resolve the problem. We'll
keep you posted.
50 mins - With Eisfeld slowly being helped to his feet, this is an opportune
moment to draw your attention to the following. West Ham's U18s' fixture at
Liverpool tomorrow will be screened live by Liverpool TV on Sky Channel 434
and Virgin Media channel 544 from 10.45am.
49 mins - Out of nothing, Arsenal should perhaps have re-established their
lead. Wynter's long ball over the top picked out the run of Eisfeld, who
toed it past the advancing Spiegel, before colliding with the Hammers
stopper. Eisfeld stays down, as West Ham clear their lines. Half-hearted
penalty shouts from the visitors but after a long look, Mr Sannerude says
no.
46 mins - We're back underway here and the Hammers have made a switch at the
interval, with George McCartney being withdrawn for Frazer Shaw. Sam
Allardyce had earlier suggested that McCartney would only play 45, so that's
no need for alarm.
45 mins - There will be one additional minute at the end of the first half
and Arsenal have one last chance, as Nigel Neita tries to take on McCartney.
The wiley defender has it covered and ferries the ball out of play. There
goes the half-time whistle and the Hammers will be sorry to head into the
changing room, having ended the half so strongly.
44 mins - For a second it looks as if Driver has sold Spiegel short with a
back-pass, but Mr Sannerude is on the scene and penalises Henderson for a
shove on Driver. Panic over.
40 mins - West Ham have the wind in their sails at the moment and Turgott
turns brilliantly inside the box, but his right-footed curler is deflected
behind for another corner. Unlike Monday, there's nothing doing from the set
piece.
39 mins - Just as I was about to applaud Monteiro's defending, he gifts
possession to Moncur, who weaves his way into the box, before fizzing it
just past the far post. Close.
36 mins - Elliot Lee has an excellent chance to complete the turnaround, as
he races on to Driver's through ball. Just as he's about to pull the
trigger, Elton Monteiro intervenes and his strike is deflected behind for a
corner.
32 mins - GOAL! The Hammers are back on level terms as Pelly Ruddock's low
cross is diverted into his own net by Nico Yennaris. Moncur's free-kick was
originally cleared into the No10's path and after a very nifty step-over,
Ruddock smashed it across the face of goal. Not a great deal Yennaris could
do, I suspect.
28 mins - Better, much better from the home side. Skipper Driver whips in a
stunning centre but Paulista is just under the flight of the ball and it
rolls away to safety. Seconds later, McCartney is careering towards the
by-line, but his cross is cut out at the near post.
25 mins - Arsenal are the width of a post away from doubling their advantage
as the Hammers struggle to clear a free-kick. It finally falls at the feet
of Jordan Wynter, whose first-time dig crashes off the outside of Spiegel's
post.
23 mins - The Hammers have responded well to the early setback and have the
Gunners pinned in their own half for a minute or two. Turgott feeds Lee, who
cuts inside Hajrovic, before seeing his strike cannon off an Arsenal boot.
20 mins - Goal! The visitors snatch the initative with what is ultimately a
very well worked goal. Eisfeld nods into the path of Henderson, whose low,
firm strike wriggles under Spiegel.
19 mins - A momentary lull ends rather abruptly as Hajrovic clatters Elliot
Lee. Referee Adrian Sannerude is straight on the scene and the No.2 goes
into the book.
16 mins - Callum Driver swings a devilish ball in behind the Gunners
backline. Paulista and Lee are both after it, though the latter looks the
more likely to make something of it, before Arsenal stopper Martinez races
from his line to sweep up.
14 mins - The poor ball boy in the Bobby Moore Stand has some more work to
do, as Ignasi Miquel skews a drive high and wide of Spiegel's goal. Not the
best.
12 mins - Arsenal win a free-kick ten yards inside the Hammers' half.
Fortunately, it's a waste, as Henderson lofts it straight into the empty
Bobby Moore Stand.
9 mins - Blair Turgott has a chance to stretch his legs down the right
flank, before delivering into the box. It's half cleared, as Moncur picks up
the pieces, before teeing up McCartney. The Northern Ireland full-back wraps
his left foot around it, but another headed clearance denies the waiting
Wellington Paulista.
7 mins - Arsenal go close once more as Thomas Eisfeld eyes up a strike from
20 yards. His effort has Spiegel scrambling across his goal, as the ball
drifts narrowly wide of his right-hand upright. A decent start this from the
visitors.
5 mins - Raphael Spiegel is called into action for the first time this
evening, as he beats Conor Henderson's drive away from goal. The ball lands
back at Henderson's feet, but he's crowded out and West Ham survive.
4 mins - At the other end, Elliot Lee wins the Hammers a corner and it will
be George Moncur to swing it in. Moncur exchanges passes with McCartney
before curling in an inviting centre, only to see the linesman's flag
raised.
2 mins - The Gunners work it out to the right-hand side but Sead Hajrovic's
centre is headed clear by Dan Potts.
1 mins - It's Arsenal who get us underway, with the Hammers kicking towards
the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand in this first half.
18:50pm - The teams are belatedly in and Nick Haycock makes just the two
changes to the side that claimed an excellent point at Liverpool on Monday.
Kieran Bywater makes way for Pelly Ruddock, while George McCartney replaces
Frazer Shaw at left-back.
West Ham United U21s: Spiegel, Driver, McCartney, Nasha, Potts, Spence,
Turgott, Moncur, Paulista, Ruddock, Lee. Subs: Maguire, Larkins, Bywater,
Shaw, Marlow.
Arsenal U21s: Martinez, Hajrovic, Hajrovic, Miquel, Yennaris, Monteiro,
Squillaci, Ansah, Wynter, Neita, Eisfeld, Henderson. Subs: Gnabry, Iliev,
Ebecilio, Bihmoutine, Mugabo.
Good evening and welcome to the Boleyn Ground for this evening's Barclays
Under-21 Premier League Elite Group fixture pitting West Ham United's
Development Squad against Arsenal.
Nick Haycock's side return to east London after Monday's 3-3 draw at
Liverpool's Kirkby Academy, bidding for a first win in six in the Elite
Group.
The Hammers currently sit fifth in the standings, two points and places
above this evening's visitors, who have, however, played two games fewer.
Victory tonight would lift West Ham's U21s as high as third, should they
triumph by a two-goal margin.
This is the sides' fourth meeting of the campaign at this level, with the
West Ham having won all three previous clashes, most recently a 2-0 success
at Arsenal's London Colney training ground on 28 January.
Haycock's young charges will be boosted by the experience of George
McCartney, who is in line to start, as he steps up his return from a knee
ligament injury. The Northern Ireland international has not featured since a
3-2 home defeat by Liverpool on 9 December.
We will have team news as and when we get it, while there will be live text
updates from tonight's 7pm kick-off.
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Chelsea v West Ham
BBC,co.uk
KO 16:00
15 March 2013
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Sunday, 17 March
Chelsea forward Demba Ba could return in place of Fernando Torres for
Sunday's clash with West Ham. Ba was ineligible for the Europa League
victory against Steaua Bucharest, when Torres scored the decisive goal,
missed a penalty and suffered a bloody nose. West Ham pair Mark Noble and
James Tomkins should be available after respective injury and illness. Kevin
Nolan is a doubt with the foot problem he suffered last month, while Joe
Cole (hamstring) misses out.
Left-back George McCartney is close to a return after three months out with
a knee injury suffered in training in mid-December.
MATCH PREVIEW
As Chelsea turned around their Europa League tie with Steaua Bucharest on
Thursday, I wonder how many fans remembered the significance of 14 March
just 12 months beforehand. It was on the same date a year ago that Chelsea
rescued their Champions League tie with Napoli and effectively re-energised
their season; 3-1 down from the first leg, they won the return at Stamford
Bridge 4-1 and ultimately went on to enjoy the greatest night in the club's
history by lifting the trophy. Their first game after the victory over
Napoli was in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and last May the oldest
trophy of them all was the other part of a seemingly unlikely cup double
under Roberto Di Matteo. "Chelsea's fightback to draw with Manchester United
was encouraging but they will be wary of being on the wrong end of a
comeback themselves after what happened when they went to Upton Park in
December. "That day, Sam Allardyce also changed the game with a couple of
substitutions and his side absolutely crunched Chelsea after trailing 1-0 at
the break."
Thursday's win over Steaua Bucharest means Chelsea are in the last eight in
both the Europa League and FA Cup, and a chaotic season could still possibly
have a silver lining. Manager Rafa Benitez won't have enjoyed the reverse
fixture with West Ham back in December, which came early in his reign and
left him winless after three matches in charge. Sam Allardyce's team came
from behind to triumph 3-1 that day, but they haven't won at Stamford Bridge
for just over a decade. The Hammers have found it tough on the road in
general this season as well, losing nine times. In the Premier League, only
Reading can top that with 11 away defeats. West Ham have won two of their
last four games though and collected a third away win of the season at Stoke
on their last away day, bringing to an end a run that had seen them collect
just one point from the last 24 available on the road. I'll be on Frank
Lampard watch for this game too of course, as he edges closer to Chelsea's
all time goalscoring record. He's scored 199 goals for the club now, three
behind Bobby Tambling's record tally. His first ever appearance in the
Premier League was for West Ham back in January 1996 and he scored 24 goals
for them in nearly 150 appearances before joining Chelsea 12 years ago.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham ended a 12-match winless streak against Chelsea by winning the
reverse fixture 3-1 in December. The hosts came from behind to triumph
thanks to goals from Carlton Cole, Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga.
The Hammers have only taken one point from their last six visits to Stamford
Bridge since a 3-2 victory in September 2002. Paolo Di Canio scored twice
for the visitors, while Frank Lampard played for Chelsea and John Terry was
an unused substitute.
This is the 99th meeting of the clubs in all competitions. They are level on
35 league wins apiece.
Chelsea
Chelsea have taken 28 points from a possible 48 in the league under Rafa
Benitez (W8, D4, L4). It's the fourth-best record over this period, behind
Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City.
It's 12 years since the Blues last lost a Premier League home game in the
month of March, a 4-2 defeat against Sunderland in 2001.
They have the second best goalscoring and defensive records in the division
prior to this weekend's fixtures.
Chelsea have been awarded a league-high nine penalties this season and have
scored seven of them.
Frank Lampard has scored 199 goals for Chelsea, three behind Bobby
Tambling's club record tally. He made his top-flight debut for West Ham in
January 1996 and scored 24 goals in 148 league matches for The Hammers
before joining Chelsea for £11m in 2001.
Fernando Torres has gone 11 hours and 22 minutes since last scoring a
Premier League goal.
Demba Ba scored seven goals in 12 league appearances for West Ham in
2010-11.
West Ham
West Ham have won two of their last four games but taken only 14 points from
their last 16 matches.
They earned their first Premier League away win since November in their most
recent game, at Stoke a fortnight ago. It ended a dismal run of one point
from eight away games.
The Hammers have not managed successive Premier League victories since
February-March 2011.
Sam Allardyce's side have conceded a league-high 11 goals in the opening 15
minutes of matches this season.
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Sebastian Corchia focused on Sochaux amid links to West Ham and Bayern
Munich
By Patrick Haond. Last Updated: March 15, 2013 2:15pm
SSN
Sebastien Corchia has indicated that he is attracting interest from a number
of clubs but says he is focused on Sochaux, after being linked with a move
to West Ham United. The 22-year-old French full-back is also wanted by
Juventus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Lyon and Monaco, according to France
Football.
Corchia is under contract at Stade Bonal until 2015, but with Sochaux
currently in the relegation zone, it appears he could be set for a move to a
new club in the summer. "People are working for me on that level," Corchia
said. "Above all, I want to focus on how to get salvation for Sochaux before
thinking about me. "My value and possible opportunities will not be the same
if we remain in Le Championnat or not. To join a big club you have to be
steady. "However, I feel I have achieved the best season of my career yet."
Corchia joined Sochaux from Le Mans in 2011 and has made 25 appearances for
the club so far this season. He has previously been linked with a move to
Arsenal, who are reportedly preparing themselves for the possible departure
of Bacary Sagna in the summer. Corchia has been capped 26 times by France
Under-21s.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce bemoans managerial dismissals
Last Updated: March 15, 2013 1:45pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce says more and more managers are losing their jobs because of
the need for instant success in football. After Brian McDermott's sacking by
Reading, Allardyce is now the only manager in place at the six clubs who
were either relegated from, or promoted to, the Premier League last season.
The West Ham boss believes a lack of long-term vision is to blame. "From a
manager's point of view it is always sad when you see one of your fellow
managers lose their job," he said. "We all know it is a volatile world and
we know how volatile it is year-in, year-out now and it is becoming less
patient than ever before.
"He (McDermott) did a fantastic job at Reading and at this particular time
the owner thinks bringing someone else in for the last nine games is going
to make the difference, which is pretty sad really. "Everybody strives for
success and at the end of the day there are only three teams can get
promoted. "New owners, if they are foreign or British, they are less patient
than ever before and generally a sacking comes from poor results, media and
fan pressure and the owners are unable to deal with that pressure like the
managers can."
"Realisation and expectation don't go together, realisation is, if you have
got a small wage budget you are going to finish lower in the league. "New
owners, if they are foreign or British, they are less patient than ever
before and generally a sacking comes from poor results, media and fan
pressure and the owners are unable to deal with that pressure like the
managers can." Allardyce takes his West Ham side to Chelsea on Sunday,
looking to complete the double over the European champions after a 3-1
victory at Upton Park in December.
The trip across London is just one of three fixtures for the Hammers in
March due to their FA Cup elimination and the upcoming international week.
"We knew the situation, we have managed situations like this at
international times," said Allardyce. "All we can do is do what we did last
time we played and try and win because then it makes the two weeks pretty
pleasurable to handle it and get through it. "We have got exactly the same
situation on Sunday when we have two weeks again before we play West Brom
and we have got to try and handle it the best we can. "I would rather have
played last weekend but I'm not sure about playing Thursday night and Sunday
because that is the hardest thing to overcome. "Whether you have a good
result or a bad result in Europe it is always very difficult to get the
players to a top level of performance but Chelsea have been doing that for
years now." West Ham will still be without skipper Kevin Nolan, midfielder
Mark Noble and former Chelsea man Joe Cole.
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Chelsea hoping for derby success against West Ham
Last Updated: March 15, 2013 2:31pm
SSN
Chelsea will be hoping for derby day success when they welcome capital
rivals West Ham United to Stamford Bridge. The Blues, for all of their
perceived troubles, remain inside the Premier League's top four and on
course to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. They will, however, be
aware that they have little margin for error, with the chasing pack having
closed to within five points. Seeing off West Ham would help to keep them on
course to hit their target, while offering retribution for a disappointing
defeat suffered at Upton Park during the early stages of Rafa Benitez's
difficult spell as interim boss. The Hammers, though, will take plenty of
positives from the display they put in that day and will be determined to
complete a first league double over Chelsea in 10 years. Victory would also
help to edge them closer to the 40-point mark and top-flight safety. Sam
Allardyce's side sit nine points clear of the drop zone at present, but know
they could be dragged back into a basement battle if they start to relax.
Chelsea
Last 6
3-1
2-2
1-0
1-0
0-2
2-0
Demba Ba could return up front for Chelsea in place of Fernando Torres. Ba
was ineligible for the Europa League defeat of Steaua Bucharest on Thursday,
when Torres scored the decisive goal, missed a late penalty and suffered a
bloody nose. Frank Lampard, who was an unused substitute against the
Romanians, could feature against his former club with the midfielder eyeing
his 200th Chelsea goal, while long-term injury victim Oriol Romeu (knee) is
the only definite absentee.
West Ham
Last 6
0-1
2-3
2-1
1-0
3-1
5-1
West Ham midfielder Joe Cole will sit out a meeting with his former club as
he nurses a hamstring injury, while left-back George McCartney is missing
with a knee complaint. Mark Noble is struggling to shake off an arm injury
which kept him out of last weekend's 1-0 victory at Stoke and club captain
Kevin Nolan faces a race against time to prove his fitness after picking up
a foot injury during a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham on 25th February. James
Tomkins is back in contention after recovering from a virus.
Opta stats:
West Ham have not won a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge since
September 2002.
Chelsea have won their last three Premier League games at Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres has gone 11 hours and 22 minutes since last scoring a
Premier League goal.
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Karren Brady's football diary – Bendtner still hasn't grown up
The Sun
By KARREN BRADY
SunSport columnist
Published: 15th March 2013
Saturday, March 9
A PREMIER LEAGUE director has turned 60 and no expense has been spared at a
party I attend. The theme is Arabian Nights and his wife has shipped in
llamas, belly dancers and endless shisha to a marquee on their beautiful
estate. Dress code is Arabian Chic but, with so many club owners there, I'm
concerned I can't spot the real Sultans from the Ali Babas. One famous boss
dressed as a Genie. He was passing on a subliminal message to his owner. A
drunk football pundit had something much sorer than his head the next day
after trying to grope a waitress. I administered the kick!
Sunday, March 10
FORMER Hammers keeper David James says he wants West Ham to hang around at
Upton Park — and not move to the Olympic Stadium. That's his view and fair
enough. He thinks we'd never be able to fill the seats, suggesting he hasn't
checked our capacity crowds this season. I hate the way he ties it around
the neck of Bobby Moore. Perhaps it's worth replicating the words of Bobby's
daughter Roberta: "Upton Park is West Ham's spiritual home but life moves
forward and it's a wonderful opportunity. Dad would think so too. "He was
proud of his country, having played for England, and he would've loved the
Olympics and the legacy they've left."
Monday, March 11
ONE short cut to the sack is securing automatic promotion to the Premier
League and then, without notably adding to the playing staff, failing to win
the damned thing. Nigel Adkins went that way at Southampton and now the same
thing has happened to the equally excellent Brian McDermott at Reading.
Owners are running scared of missing the magic bus — more like a Rolls-Royce
— to the extra trillions of TV money coming the way of Premier clubs next
season. But panic is not the answer.
Tuesday, March 12
WHEN your first team have been beaten 43-0, what do you do? Resign? Hide
away? Kick the door down? Go for counselling? It takes a woman to be
positive about such a walloping, so it is here that I introduce you to Julie
Boyce, chairwoman of Caerphilly Castle Ladies of the Welsh Ladies Premier
League, whose reaction was so different. She uses the defeat to advertise
for better players. "There will never be a better chance for any aspiring
player to compete in the Premier League," she says. Truly, the Calendar
Girls spirit. I'm inclined to apply myself.
Wednesday, March 13
WATCHING the Champions League match tonight, I can't see too much wrong with
Arsenal. The Gunners are only a little short of real excellence and the
trouble is where once Wenger could rummage around Europe for players alone,
now there are so many scouts and agents there's barely room for spectators.
Club policy rules out paying top whack in wages too. Still, Arsenal's young
players are the envy of every club.
Thursday, March 14
I HAVE met and employed Nicklas Bendtner. At the time I passed off his
arrogance as a product of youth, as he was only a teen when I first met him.
He told me I should be pleased with myself for signing such a fantastic
talent, I vaguely wondered who he was referring to when I realised he was
talking about himself. He turned up, played well, became a local star, had
the girls fighting over him, then returned to Arsenal and received £52,000 a
week. In football, as in life, you need to be a humble loser, but also a
humble winner. Nicklas had many talents but being humble wasn't one I
observed. Recently done for drink driving and now banned from playing for
Denmark, his Juventus boss today says he needs to play at a smaller club to
rediscover his football. He thinks he should play at a bigger club. Shows
you can only be young once — but can always be immature.
Friday, March 15
LAST time I was at Stamford Bridge, I found a bra in a boardroom cupboard.
I'm there again with West Ham on Sunday and I promise to let you know if I
find the panties to go with it. Or maybe Roman has hidden a spare manager in
a wardrobe. Who knows? Who, indeed? Because if there's one thing the
billionaire doesn't know currently it's the next manager's identity. To
thousands of people, Chelsea are a fixation — to Abramovich they are a bit
of his empire, so his men are scouring Europe for a name to present to him.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammer time.. again? West Ham's Allardyce interested in bringing Yossi
Benayoun back to the club
The Mirror
15 Mar 2013 22:30
Chelsea midfielder who began his Premier League career with the Irons and
had a loan spell there earlier this season is out of contract in the summer
Sam Allardyce has admitted Yossi Benayoun could return to West Ham for a
third spell. Chelsea and Israel midfielder Benayoun made only six
appearances during an injury-plagued stint on loan at Upton Park in the
first half of this season. But the 32-year-old is set to be released in the
summer and Allardyce said he will be interested in signing Benayoun on a
permanent deal. Before facing the Stamford Bridge outfit on Sunday, the West
Ham boss said: "There are lots of names on our list from our head of
recruitment and there will be lots of people chasing those players who are
not going to cost anything transfer-fee wise. He will be on our list
probably, but we will wait and see when the time comes around."
Benayoun previously spent two seasons with the Hammers when he first moved
to the Premier League in 2005, before joining Liverpool and then Chelsea.
* WEST HAM are closing in on Vitoria defender Mahamadou N'Diaye, valued at
£500,000 by the Portuguese club.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Travel, ticket and team news ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip
to Stamford Bridge
15.03.2013
CHELSEA v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2013
KICK-OFF: 4PM
REFEREE: MICHAEL OLIVER
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Introduction
• West Ham United travel to Chelsea seeking to record back-to-back Barclays
Premier League victories for the first time this season, having won 1-0 at
Stoke City last time out on Saturday 2 March. The Hammers would also
chalk-up their first league 'double' of the campaign if they are successful
at Stamford Bridge for the first time since a 3-2 victory on 28 September
2002.
• West Ham go into the weekend 12th in the Barclays Premier League table,
having collected 33 points from 28 fixtures. However, results elsewhere
could see the Hammers start the game as high as eleventh or as low as 13th.
Victory could take West Ham up to tenth.
• West Ham have won three of their 14 away league matches this season,
triumphing at Queens Park Rangers (2-1), Newcastle United (1-0) and Stoke
(1-0).
• Chelsea start the weekend in third position, having collected 52 points
from 28 matches. A victory, combined with a Tottenham Hotspur defeat or draw
at home to Fulham, would see the Blues go third.
• The Blues have won eight and lost just two of their 14 home league
matches, being defeated at Stamford Bridge by Manchester United (2-3) and
QPR (0-1).
• West Ham beat Chelsea for the first time in 14 meetings - 13 of them in
the Premier League and seven of them at the Boleyn Ground - when they won
3-1 in the reverse Barclays Premier League fixture at the Boleyn Ground on 1
December 2012.
Team news
West Ham United
• Midfielder Mark Noble could return to action after missing the victory at
Stoke City with an arm injury.
• Captain Kevin Nolan could miss the game with the foot injury he suffered
in the 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 25 February.
• Midfielder Joe Cole will miss the return to one of his former clubs with a
hamstring injury suffered at Stoke City.
• James Tomkins could be available again after being sidelined from the
previous two league matches with a virus.
• Left-back George McCartney is close to a return after three months out
with a knee injury suffered in training in mid-December.
• Stephen Henderson (Ipswich Town), Ravel Morrison and Rob Hall (both
Birmingham City), Paul McCallum (Aldershot Town) and Alou Diarra (Stade
Rennais) are all out on loan.
Chelsea
• Spanish midfielder Oriel Romeu is out for the remainder of the season with
a serious knee injury suffered at Sunderland in December.
• Chelsea have no fewer than 18 players out on loan, including senior
professionals Michael Essien (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich
Albion) and Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid).
Background
• Saturday's fixture marks the 88th league meeting between the two clubs.
West Ham drew level with their opponents on 35 victories with a home win in
December, while there have been just 17 draws. In 31 Premier League
meetings, Chelsea have chalked up 16 victories, West Ham have won ten times
and there have been just five draws.
• The first-ever meeting between the two clubs in any competition came on 11
September 1915 in the war-time London Combination principal tournament. West
Ham United were at home and the game ended goalless.
• The first-ever league meeting between the two clubs took place on 20
October 1923 and also ended goalless. That match was played at Division One
at Stamford Bridge.
• West Ham's biggest league victory over Chelsea came in Division Two on
Valentine's Day 1981. The Hammers romped to a 4-0 success on their way to
winning the title and promotion to the top-flight. West Ham have never
beaten Chelsea by more than a single-goal margin in the Premier League,
doing so on nine occasions.
• Chelsea's biggest win over West Ham came on 9 April 1966 at Stamford
Bridge, when the Blues thumped the Hammers 6-2. At the Boleyn Ground,
Chelsea won 4-0 on 1 March 2008, a result that also marks the Blues' biggest
Premier League win over the Hammers.
• The biggest crowd to witness a Chelsea versus West Ham fixture at Stamford
Bridge was the estimated 65,000 who witnessed the Blues' 2-0 FA Cup
fourth-round win on 26 January 1946.
• Tony Cottee has scored more goals against Chelsea than any other West Ham
United player, scoring eight times. Geoff Hurst and John Dick managed six
each, while the Hammers' all-time leading scorer Vic Watson scored three in
five appearances against the Blues.
• John Bond scored the first league hat-trick by a West Ham United player
against Chelsea when he was pressed into an emergency centre-forward role on
6 February 1960. Right-back Bond netted three times, including one penalty,
in a 4-2 Division One success at the Boleyn Ground. Billy Bonds also netted
an unlikely hat-trick against Chelsea in a 3-0 Division One home win on 2
March 1974.
• The two clubs have met just once on 17 March in years gone by - a 2-1
Chelsea victory over West Ham in the War League South Cup semi-final in
1945.
Last time out
Saturday 2 March 2013
Barclays Premier League
Stoke City 0-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Jarvis
(Pogatetz 83), J,Cole (Vaz Te 11), O'Neil, Diame, Taylor (Collison 10),
Carroll
Subs not used: Spiegel, Maiga, Chamakh, C.Cole
Goal: Collison 45
Thursday 14 March 2013
UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg
Chelsea 3-1 Steaua Bucharest
(Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate)
Chelsea: Cech, Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Mata (Moses
90), Oscar, Mikel, Hazard (Benayoun 90), Torres
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Cahill, Bertrand, Lampard
Goals: Mata 33, Terry 58, Torres 71
Previous meeting
West Ham United roared back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to achieve a
fantastic 3-1 home Barclays Premier League victory over Chelsea on 1
December 2012. Juan Mata swept the Blues into the lead on 13 minutes
following good work from Victor Moses and Fernando Torres. Chelsea continued
to dominate, but could not find a second goal as Torres, Moses and Mata all
passed up decent opportunities. Having got in at the break still in the
game, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce made two decisive changes, sending on
Mohamed Diame and Matt Taylor. The substitutions worked a treat as Carlton
Cole headed in on 63 minutes. After Mata had rattled the post with a
free-kick, Diame fired in a rasping low shot from Cole's cross with three
minutes remaining before replacement Modibo Maiga made the game safe after
Petr Cech had parried Taylor's goalbound effort.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Tomkins
(Taylor, 46), Noble, O'Neil (Diame 46), Nolan, Jarvis, Cole (Maiga 87)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Spence, Fanimo, Moncur
Goals: Cole 63, Diame 87, Maiga 90
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Moses
(Marin 78), Hazard (Oscar 73), Mata, Torres
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Bertrand, Romeu, Piazon
Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
1 December 2012 - West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea
23 April 2011 - Chelsea 3-0 West Ham United
11 September 2010 - West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
13 March 2010 - Chelsea 4-1 West Ham United
20 December 2009 - West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea
25 April 2009 - West Ham United 0-1 Chelsea
v Chelsea (all competitions) W 37 D 18 L 41
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
Chelsea
2011/12 Premier League 6th (64 points)
2010/11 Premier League 2nd (71 points)
2009/10 Premier League 1st (86 points - champions)
2008/09 Premier League 3rd (83 points)
2007/08 Premier League 2nd (85 points)
2006/07 Premier League 2nd (83 points)
2005/06 Premier League 1st (91 points - champions)
2004/05 Premier League 1st (95 points - champions)
2003/04 Premier League 2nd (79 points)
2002/03 Premier League 4th (67 points)
Referee
• Sunday's match referee will be Michael Oliver.
• Oliver was introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of
14. He quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to the National List
of referees in 2007.
• In 2007 he became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium
when he took charge of the 2007 Conference play-off final. He also went on
to become the youngest fourth official for a Barclays Premier League match.
• The Oliver family enjoyed a referring double in 2009 when his father took
charge of the 2009 League Two Play-Off final a day before he took charge of
the League One play-off final.
• In August 2010 he was promoted to the Select Group of referees and soon
became the youngest-ever Barclays Premier League referee when he took charge
of Birmingham City versus Blackburn Rovers on 21 August 2010.
• Oliver took charge of West Ham's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at
Reading on 29 December - his only previous Hammers appointment this season.
In all, he has refereed five West Ham fixtures.
Old boys
• West Ham United striker Carlton Cole began his career at Chelsea, making
31 appearances between August 2001 and May 2006, and scoring eight times.
• Chelsea's Frank Lampard began his professional career at West Ham United,
making 187 league and cup appearances and scoring 38 goals before heading
west in June 2001.
• Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun spent two seasons at West Ham in his
first spell between July 2005 and July 2007, scoring eight goals in 72
appearances. Benayoun started the 2006 FA Cup final for the Hammers and also
played a starring role in the 'Great Escape' season of 2006/07. He returned
for a second loan spell earlier this season, making a further six
appearances between September and November 2012.
• Chelsea captain John Terry spent time at West Ham United as a schoolboy.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Clive Allen,
Syd Bishop, Peter Brabrook, Billy Bridgeman, Billy Brown, Robert Bush,
Dickie Deacon, Alan Dickens, Len Goulden, Jimmy Greaves, Ron Greenwood CBE,
George Hilsdon, George Horn, Joseph Hughes, Sir Geoff Hurst, William
Jackson, Glen Johnson, Joe Kirkup, Andy Malcolm, Harry Medhurst, Scott
Minto, Eric Parsons, Joe Payne, Dave Sexton, John Sissons, Ron Tindall and
Billy Williams.
General information
• All Standard and Disabled tickets for Sunday's fixture have SOLD OUT.
• Supporters travelling into London on the c2c mainline train service should
note that all services will be diverted from Barking to London Liverpool
Street. No c2c services will be stopping at Limehouse or West Ham stations.
For full details, click here.
• Supporters travelling into London via London Underground should note that
the District line will be suspended between Upminster and Bromley-by-Bow,
while the Hammersmith and City line will be suspended between Barking and
Moorgate. Replacement bus services will operate on both lines. For the
latest London Underground travel news visit the TfL website by clicking here
and use the Journey Planner.
• Sunday afternoon's forecast in London is for light rain and a maximum
daytime temperature of 8C (47F).
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O'Neil happy to be middle man
WHUFC.com
Gary O'Neil is ready to fill the central midfield holding role again when
West Ham United visit Chelsea
15.03.2013
Gary O'Neil is hoping to achieve his first-ever Barclays Premier League
victory at Chelsea. The West Ham United midfielder suffered 12 straight
top-flight defeats at the hands of the Blues during spells with Portsmouth
and Middlesbrough. However, the No32 ended his unenviable personal record
when he was part of the Hammers side that defeated Chelsea 3-1 at the Boleyn
Ground in December. Having impressed greatly in a new holding midfield role
in the 1-0 victory at Stoke City last time out, O'Neil goes into Sunday's
London derby at Stamford Bridge full of confidence and belief that West Ham
can complete their first league 'double' of 2012/13.
"It was a decent performance at Stoke," he confirmed. "The most important
thing was that we kept a clean sheet because it gave us a great chance to
win the game. We played some decent bits and, if we had been a bit more
clinical, could have won by a couple more goals. "I went to Chelsea a few
times with Portsmouth and we did OK on quite a few occasions but they had a
fantastic team then. I'm not saying they don't now but those were the Jose
Mourinho days with the likes of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Claude Makelele
and Frank Lampard and all that. "I always enjoyed going there. We did OK at
times but then Lampard always seemed to pop up and nick one and we'd end up
losing. Hopefully we can do a good job on Sunday and take a step closer to
guaranteeing our Premier League survival for next season as early as
possible."
O'Neil's superb performance at the Britannia Stadium was recognised by
manager Sam Allardyce, who singled the midfielder out for praise in his
post-match interview with West Ham TV. Playing in an unfamiliar holding
role, the 29-year-old was lauded for being the 'focus of starting our
attacks off by being composed on the ball' by Big Sam. "It's a position that
I think I can play. I don't mind playing in any of the three positions in
the middle, really, and with Nobes picking up a knock I've been able to play
a couple of games on the trot in there. I enjoyed it. "We were a bit unlucky
not to get something against Tottenham and then we got our first away win
for a long time, so I'm just pleased to have been a part of it."
Against Chelsea, O'Neil is likely to come up against the Blues' outstanding
attacking midfield trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata - a challenge he
is ready to rise to. "Having seen them play this season, that seems to be an
area Chelsea look to exploit with more than one player. There is normally
the three of them in there so I'm sure the gaffer and the coaching staff
will have come up with something to combat that. It won't just be me running
around in there against the three ot them!"
Since that vital victory in the Potteries, West Ham have been forced to wait
to play again after last weekend's scheduled visit of Manchester United was
postponed due to the Red Devils' FA Cup commitments. O'Neil said the break
in fixtures had allowed the players to remain fresh, but that many of them
would rather have been on the pitch last weekend. "Especially for myself,
having got back in and made a couple of starts, I wanted there to be a game
last weekend, really. It is how it is - sometimes you have to play loads in
the space of a few days and sometimes you have to wait your turn and have a
long time to prepare.
"We have a big game and a big test ahead of us at Chelsea. They are a good
side so we're going to have to make sure we get it tactically spot-on and
everyone performs to their best to give us a chance."
While West Ham have not played for a fortnight, Chelsea will have contested
three matches in that time - home and away UEFA Europa League round of 32
ties against Romanian side Steaua Bucharest and a draining FA Cup with
Budweiser sixth-round match at Manchester United last Sunday. "There is a
chance of them being less fresh than us, with them having played on Thursday
because it gives them less time to recover, but they have also got a very
big squad and are used to playing in mid-week because they've been playing
in Europe for the last ten years. "I don't think it will give us a massive
advantage but it could definitely help if we go out there and do our jobs
right and stay in the game as long as possible and frustrate them. Late in
the game, we might get some chances. "I'm sure Chelsea will be ready, but
we'll be going there with the Stoke game still in our minds and how
resilient and well-organised we were defensively and we'll try to build from
that."
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Development Squad 1-1 Arsenal FT
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Dev Squad are held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal's U21s at the
Boleyn Ground
15.03.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v ARSENAL
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE ELITE GROUP STAGE
FRIDAY 15 MARCH 2013
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: ADRIAN SANNERUDE
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Final score - West Ham United 1-1 Arsenal
92 mins - The last chance of the game comes and goes as Ansah heads straight
at Spiegel who comfortably gathers. That's it, it ends honours even and
despite the late drama, that's probably just about right. The Development
Squad have a fortnight's break before they head to West Bromwich Albion.
91 mins - WOW! Neat football sees Gnabry bearing down on goal and his effort
cannons back off the inside of the post. It flies back into the path of
Ansah who is denied by a last-ditch block from Driver.
90 mins - Some more nervy moments for the Hammers, as Henderson lines up a
free-kick just outside the box. It's pretty poor, to be fair, as it flies
straight into the wall and Wellington is on hand to heave it clear.
88 mins - Spiegel might just have saved his team a point, as he tips
Miquel's 12-yard drive over the bar. It's a brilliant fingertip stop.
Moments later and it's the Hammers who might be celebrating a late winner.
Maguire is one-on-one with Martinez, but with Moncur screaming for a square
ball, he's denied by a smart stop from the Arsenal 'keeper.
85 mins - Sean Maguire is grappling with Wynter on half way and looks to
have got the better of the Arsenal man. Maguire is all set to race clear,
only to be hauled back by the referee's whistle. The Irishman's none too
pleased with the decision.
82 mins - West Ham are definitely looking the more likely at present, as
Turgott shows off a trick or two to win a corner on the near side. This time
Martinez calls and makes it his, gathering Moncur's cross cleanly.
80 mins - Maguire is straight into the thick of the action as he collects it
on the edge of the box. He smashes it across goal first time, drawing an
excellent stop from Martinez to tip it round the post. Ruddock does his best
to direct the resulting corner goalward, but it bobbles the wrong side of
the post.
77 mins - Shaw gives to Wellington, who needs no second invitation to have a
crack. It's not the best, as he skews his effort well, well wide. The break
in play prompts a switch apiece, as Sean Maguire comes on for Lee, while
Kyle Ebecilio replaces Elton Monteiro.
75 mins - Back come Arsenal. Zak Ansah has West Ham's rearguard
back-pedalling, before he lets fly from just outside the box. Spiegel is
sufficiently concerned to dive full length to his right, but in the end it's
a good foot or two wide of the far post.
72 mins - Pelly Ruddock does well to win a corner, but before it can be
taken, Ben Marlow joins the action in place of Amos Nasha. Meanwhile,
Moncur's corner skims off the greasy surface and though Paulista gets his
head to it, his improvised effort sails over the bar.
68 mins - Golden chance. Moncur does superbly to dig out a cross for
Paulista at the far post. The Brazilian still has plenty to do, but can only
guide his header over the crossbar.
66 mins - The visitors have a break on and it's Henderson who has space
ahead of him. As he tears towards the Hammers box, there are plenty of
runners looking for a pass, the low centre, however, is intercepted at the
near post. Excellent defending.
64 mins - West Ham are awarded a free-kick some 40 yards from goal. Moncur
puts it in the mixer but it's headed away with interest. It's all gone
slightly quiet since the restart, both in the stands and on the pitch.
61 mins - The Gunners make the first change of the evening, as Serge Gnabry
replaces Nigel Neita.
59 mins - Wellington Paulista looks for Pelly Ruddock but his measured pass
is cut out. In his haste to win the ball back, Paulista then concedes a
free-kick just inside the Arsenal half.
56 mins - Upon the resumption, West Ham are straight on the attack. Paulista
plays it into Moncur, who connects well enough but it flies comfortably wide
of the near post.
20:22pm - Good news. The players are back with us and the flood lights are
working perfectly well once more. If memory serves, the last time this
happened at the Boleyn Ground was against Crystal Palace. West Ham won the
rearranged fixture 4-1.
20:18pm - Arsenal's goalkeeper is back on the field, but he's on his own at
this stage. The signs are good, as one or two lights begin to come on. While
you're waiting, why not watch West Ham's Comic Relief effort, as the
Development Squad competed in a Keepy-Uppy challenge with a tennis ball.
20:15pm - Not entirely sure what to tell you. The players have been led from
the field as the PA announcer ensures us that the problem will be resolved!
For the record, this evening's attendance is 590.
53 mins - Arsenal have started on the front foot here in the second half...
and the lights have gone out! Extraordinary scenes. The players are
congregating on the touchline as someone tries to resolve the problem. We'll
keep you posted.
50 mins - With Eisfeld slowly being helped to his feet, this is an opportune
moment to draw your attention to the following. West Ham's U18s' fixture at
Liverpool tomorrow will be screened live by Liverpool TV on Sky Channel 434
and Virgin Media channel 544 from 10.45am.
49 mins - Out of nothing, Arsenal should perhaps have re-established their
lead. Wynter's long ball over the top picked out the run of Eisfeld, who
toed it past the advancing Spiegel, before colliding with the Hammers
stopper. Eisfeld stays down, as West Ham clear their lines. Half-hearted
penalty shouts from the visitors but after a long look, Mr Sannerude says
no.
46 mins - We're back underway here and the Hammers have made a switch at the
interval, with George McCartney being withdrawn for Frazer Shaw. Sam
Allardyce had earlier suggested that McCartney would only play 45, so that's
no need for alarm.
45 mins - There will be one additional minute at the end of the first half
and Arsenal have one last chance, as Nigel Neita tries to take on McCartney.
The wiley defender has it covered and ferries the ball out of play. There
goes the half-time whistle and the Hammers will be sorry to head into the
changing room, having ended the half so strongly.
44 mins - For a second it looks as if Driver has sold Spiegel short with a
back-pass, but Mr Sannerude is on the scene and penalises Henderson for a
shove on Driver. Panic over.
40 mins - West Ham have the wind in their sails at the moment and Turgott
turns brilliantly inside the box, but his right-footed curler is deflected
behind for another corner. Unlike Monday, there's nothing doing from the set
piece.
39 mins - Just as I was about to applaud Monteiro's defending, he gifts
possession to Moncur, who weaves his way into the box, before fizzing it
just past the far post. Close.
36 mins - Elliot Lee has an excellent chance to complete the turnaround, as
he races on to Driver's through ball. Just as he's about to pull the
trigger, Elton Monteiro intervenes and his strike is deflected behind for a
corner.
32 mins - GOAL! The Hammers are back on level terms as Pelly Ruddock's low
cross is diverted into his own net by Nico Yennaris. Moncur's free-kick was
originally cleared into the No10's path and after a very nifty step-over,
Ruddock smashed it across the face of goal. Not a great deal Yennaris could
do, I suspect.
28 mins - Better, much better from the home side. Skipper Driver whips in a
stunning centre but Paulista is just under the flight of the ball and it
rolls away to safety. Seconds later, McCartney is careering towards the
by-line, but his cross is cut out at the near post.
25 mins - Arsenal are the width of a post away from doubling their advantage
as the Hammers struggle to clear a free-kick. It finally falls at the feet
of Jordan Wynter, whose first-time dig crashes off the outside of Spiegel's
post.
23 mins - The Hammers have responded well to the early setback and have the
Gunners pinned in their own half for a minute or two. Turgott feeds Lee, who
cuts inside Hajrovic, before seeing his strike cannon off an Arsenal boot.
20 mins - Goal! The visitors snatch the initative with what is ultimately a
very well worked goal. Eisfeld nods into the path of Henderson, whose low,
firm strike wriggles under Spiegel.
19 mins - A momentary lull ends rather abruptly as Hajrovic clatters Elliot
Lee. Referee Adrian Sannerude is straight on the scene and the No.2 goes
into the book.
16 mins - Callum Driver swings a devilish ball in behind the Gunners
backline. Paulista and Lee are both after it, though the latter looks the
more likely to make something of it, before Arsenal stopper Martinez races
from his line to sweep up.
14 mins - The poor ball boy in the Bobby Moore Stand has some more work to
do, as Ignasi Miquel skews a drive high and wide of Spiegel's goal. Not the
best.
12 mins - Arsenal win a free-kick ten yards inside the Hammers' half.
Fortunately, it's a waste, as Henderson lofts it straight into the empty
Bobby Moore Stand.
9 mins - Blair Turgott has a chance to stretch his legs down the right
flank, before delivering into the box. It's half cleared, as Moncur picks up
the pieces, before teeing up McCartney. The Northern Ireland full-back wraps
his left foot around it, but another headed clearance denies the waiting
Wellington Paulista.
7 mins - Arsenal go close once more as Thomas Eisfeld eyes up a strike from
20 yards. His effort has Spiegel scrambling across his goal, as the ball
drifts narrowly wide of his right-hand upright. A decent start this from the
visitors.
5 mins - Raphael Spiegel is called into action for the first time this
evening, as he beats Conor Henderson's drive away from goal. The ball lands
back at Henderson's feet, but he's crowded out and West Ham survive.
4 mins - At the other end, Elliot Lee wins the Hammers a corner and it will
be George Moncur to swing it in. Moncur exchanges passes with McCartney
before curling in an inviting centre, only to see the linesman's flag
raised.
2 mins - The Gunners work it out to the right-hand side but Sead Hajrovic's
centre is headed clear by Dan Potts.
1 mins - It's Arsenal who get us underway, with the Hammers kicking towards
the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand in this first half.
18:50pm - The teams are belatedly in and Nick Haycock makes just the two
changes to the side that claimed an excellent point at Liverpool on Monday.
Kieran Bywater makes way for Pelly Ruddock, while George McCartney replaces
Frazer Shaw at left-back.
West Ham United U21s: Spiegel, Driver, McCartney, Nasha, Potts, Spence,
Turgott, Moncur, Paulista, Ruddock, Lee. Subs: Maguire, Larkins, Bywater,
Shaw, Marlow.
Arsenal U21s: Martinez, Hajrovic, Hajrovic, Miquel, Yennaris, Monteiro,
Squillaci, Ansah, Wynter, Neita, Eisfeld, Henderson. Subs: Gnabry, Iliev,
Ebecilio, Bihmoutine, Mugabo.
Good evening and welcome to the Boleyn Ground for this evening's Barclays
Under-21 Premier League Elite Group fixture pitting West Ham United's
Development Squad against Arsenal.
Nick Haycock's side return to east London after Monday's 3-3 draw at
Liverpool's Kirkby Academy, bidding for a first win in six in the Elite
Group.
The Hammers currently sit fifth in the standings, two points and places
above this evening's visitors, who have, however, played two games fewer.
Victory tonight would lift West Ham's U21s as high as third, should they
triumph by a two-goal margin.
This is the sides' fourth meeting of the campaign at this level, with the
West Ham having won all three previous clashes, most recently a 2-0 success
at Arsenal's London Colney training ground on 28 January.
Haycock's young charges will be boosted by the experience of George
McCartney, who is in line to start, as he steps up his return from a knee
ligament injury. The Northern Ireland international has not featured since a
3-2 home defeat by Liverpool on 9 December.
We will have team news as and when we get it, while there will be live text
updates from tonight's 7pm kick-off.
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Chelsea v West Ham
BBC,co.uk
KO 16:00
15 March 2013
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Sunday, 17 March
Chelsea forward Demba Ba could return in place of Fernando Torres for
Sunday's clash with West Ham. Ba was ineligible for the Europa League
victory against Steaua Bucharest, when Torres scored the decisive goal,
missed a penalty and suffered a bloody nose. West Ham pair Mark Noble and
James Tomkins should be available after respective injury and illness. Kevin
Nolan is a doubt with the foot problem he suffered last month, while Joe
Cole (hamstring) misses out.
Left-back George McCartney is close to a return after three months out with
a knee injury suffered in training in mid-December.
MATCH PREVIEW
As Chelsea turned around their Europa League tie with Steaua Bucharest on
Thursday, I wonder how many fans remembered the significance of 14 March
just 12 months beforehand. It was on the same date a year ago that Chelsea
rescued their Champions League tie with Napoli and effectively re-energised
their season; 3-1 down from the first leg, they won the return at Stamford
Bridge 4-1 and ultimately went on to enjoy the greatest night in the club's
history by lifting the trophy. Their first game after the victory over
Napoli was in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and last May the oldest
trophy of them all was the other part of a seemingly unlikely cup double
under Roberto Di Matteo. "Chelsea's fightback to draw with Manchester United
was encouraging but they will be wary of being on the wrong end of a
comeback themselves after what happened when they went to Upton Park in
December. "That day, Sam Allardyce also changed the game with a couple of
substitutions and his side absolutely crunched Chelsea after trailing 1-0 at
the break."
Thursday's win over Steaua Bucharest means Chelsea are in the last eight in
both the Europa League and FA Cup, and a chaotic season could still possibly
have a silver lining. Manager Rafa Benitez won't have enjoyed the reverse
fixture with West Ham back in December, which came early in his reign and
left him winless after three matches in charge. Sam Allardyce's team came
from behind to triumph 3-1 that day, but they haven't won at Stamford Bridge
for just over a decade. The Hammers have found it tough on the road in
general this season as well, losing nine times. In the Premier League, only
Reading can top that with 11 away defeats. West Ham have won two of their
last four games though and collected a third away win of the season at Stoke
on their last away day, bringing to an end a run that had seen them collect
just one point from the last 24 available on the road. I'll be on Frank
Lampard watch for this game too of course, as he edges closer to Chelsea's
all time goalscoring record. He's scored 199 goals for the club now, three
behind Bobby Tambling's record tally. His first ever appearance in the
Premier League was for West Ham back in January 1996 and he scored 24 goals
for them in nearly 150 appearances before joining Chelsea 12 years ago.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham ended a 12-match winless streak against Chelsea by winning the
reverse fixture 3-1 in December. The hosts came from behind to triumph
thanks to goals from Carlton Cole, Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga.
The Hammers have only taken one point from their last six visits to Stamford
Bridge since a 3-2 victory in September 2002. Paolo Di Canio scored twice
for the visitors, while Frank Lampard played for Chelsea and John Terry was
an unused substitute.
This is the 99th meeting of the clubs in all competitions. They are level on
35 league wins apiece.
Chelsea
Chelsea have taken 28 points from a possible 48 in the league under Rafa
Benitez (W8, D4, L4). It's the fourth-best record over this period, behind
Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City.
It's 12 years since the Blues last lost a Premier League home game in the
month of March, a 4-2 defeat against Sunderland in 2001.
They have the second best goalscoring and defensive records in the division
prior to this weekend's fixtures.
Chelsea have been awarded a league-high nine penalties this season and have
scored seven of them.
Frank Lampard has scored 199 goals for Chelsea, three behind Bobby
Tambling's club record tally. He made his top-flight debut for West Ham in
January 1996 and scored 24 goals in 148 league matches for The Hammers
before joining Chelsea for £11m in 2001.
Fernando Torres has gone 11 hours and 22 minutes since last scoring a
Premier League goal.
Demba Ba scored seven goals in 12 league appearances for West Ham in
2010-11.
West Ham
West Ham have won two of their last four games but taken only 14 points from
their last 16 matches.
They earned their first Premier League away win since November in their most
recent game, at Stoke a fortnight ago. It ended a dismal run of one point
from eight away games.
The Hammers have not managed successive Premier League victories since
February-March 2011.
Sam Allardyce's side have conceded a league-high 11 goals in the opening 15
minutes of matches this season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sebastian Corchia focused on Sochaux amid links to West Ham and Bayern
Munich
By Patrick Haond. Last Updated: March 15, 2013 2:15pm
SSN
Sebastien Corchia has indicated that he is attracting interest from a number
of clubs but says he is focused on Sochaux, after being linked with a move
to West Ham United. The 22-year-old French full-back is also wanted by
Juventus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Lyon and Monaco, according to France
Football.
Corchia is under contract at Stade Bonal until 2015, but with Sochaux
currently in the relegation zone, it appears he could be set for a move to a
new club in the summer. "People are working for me on that level," Corchia
said. "Above all, I want to focus on how to get salvation for Sochaux before
thinking about me. "My value and possible opportunities will not be the same
if we remain in Le Championnat or not. To join a big club you have to be
steady. "However, I feel I have achieved the best season of my career yet."
Corchia joined Sochaux from Le Mans in 2011 and has made 25 appearances for
the club so far this season. He has previously been linked with a move to
Arsenal, who are reportedly preparing themselves for the possible departure
of Bacary Sagna in the summer. Corchia has been capped 26 times by France
Under-21s.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce bemoans managerial dismissals
Last Updated: March 15, 2013 1:45pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce says more and more managers are losing their jobs because of
the need for instant success in football. After Brian McDermott's sacking by
Reading, Allardyce is now the only manager in place at the six clubs who
were either relegated from, or promoted to, the Premier League last season.
The West Ham boss believes a lack of long-term vision is to blame. "From a
manager's point of view it is always sad when you see one of your fellow
managers lose their job," he said. "We all know it is a volatile world and
we know how volatile it is year-in, year-out now and it is becoming less
patient than ever before.
"He (McDermott) did a fantastic job at Reading and at this particular time
the owner thinks bringing someone else in for the last nine games is going
to make the difference, which is pretty sad really. "Everybody strives for
success and at the end of the day there are only three teams can get
promoted. "New owners, if they are foreign or British, they are less patient
than ever before and generally a sacking comes from poor results, media and
fan pressure and the owners are unable to deal with that pressure like the
managers can."
"Realisation and expectation don't go together, realisation is, if you have
got a small wage budget you are going to finish lower in the league. "New
owners, if they are foreign or British, they are less patient than ever
before and generally a sacking comes from poor results, media and fan
pressure and the owners are unable to deal with that pressure like the
managers can." Allardyce takes his West Ham side to Chelsea on Sunday,
looking to complete the double over the European champions after a 3-1
victory at Upton Park in December.
The trip across London is just one of three fixtures for the Hammers in
March due to their FA Cup elimination and the upcoming international week.
"We knew the situation, we have managed situations like this at
international times," said Allardyce. "All we can do is do what we did last
time we played and try and win because then it makes the two weeks pretty
pleasurable to handle it and get through it. "We have got exactly the same
situation on Sunday when we have two weeks again before we play West Brom
and we have got to try and handle it the best we can. "I would rather have
played last weekend but I'm not sure about playing Thursday night and Sunday
because that is the hardest thing to overcome. "Whether you have a good
result or a bad result in Europe it is always very difficult to get the
players to a top level of performance but Chelsea have been doing that for
years now." West Ham will still be without skipper Kevin Nolan, midfielder
Mark Noble and former Chelsea man Joe Cole.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea hoping for derby success against West Ham
Last Updated: March 15, 2013 2:31pm
SSN
Chelsea will be hoping for derby day success when they welcome capital
rivals West Ham United to Stamford Bridge. The Blues, for all of their
perceived troubles, remain inside the Premier League's top four and on
course to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. They will, however, be
aware that they have little margin for error, with the chasing pack having
closed to within five points. Seeing off West Ham would help to keep them on
course to hit their target, while offering retribution for a disappointing
defeat suffered at Upton Park during the early stages of Rafa Benitez's
difficult spell as interim boss. The Hammers, though, will take plenty of
positives from the display they put in that day and will be determined to
complete a first league double over Chelsea in 10 years. Victory would also
help to edge them closer to the 40-point mark and top-flight safety. Sam
Allardyce's side sit nine points clear of the drop zone at present, but know
they could be dragged back into a basement battle if they start to relax.
Chelsea
Last 6
3-1
2-2
1-0
1-0
0-2
2-0
Demba Ba could return up front for Chelsea in place of Fernando Torres. Ba
was ineligible for the Europa League defeat of Steaua Bucharest on Thursday,
when Torres scored the decisive goal, missed a late penalty and suffered a
bloody nose. Frank Lampard, who was an unused substitute against the
Romanians, could feature against his former club with the midfielder eyeing
his 200th Chelsea goal, while long-term injury victim Oriol Romeu (knee) is
the only definite absentee.
West Ham
Last 6
0-1
2-3
2-1
1-0
3-1
5-1
West Ham midfielder Joe Cole will sit out a meeting with his former club as
he nurses a hamstring injury, while left-back George McCartney is missing
with a knee complaint. Mark Noble is struggling to shake off an arm injury
which kept him out of last weekend's 1-0 victory at Stoke and club captain
Kevin Nolan faces a race against time to prove his fitness after picking up
a foot injury during a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham on 25th February. James
Tomkins is back in contention after recovering from a virus.
Opta stats:
West Ham have not won a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge since
September 2002.
Chelsea have won their last three Premier League games at Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres has gone 11 hours and 22 minutes since last scoring a
Premier League goal.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Karren Brady's football diary – Bendtner still hasn't grown up
The Sun
By KARREN BRADY
SunSport columnist
Published: 15th March 2013
Saturday, March 9
A PREMIER LEAGUE director has turned 60 and no expense has been spared at a
party I attend. The theme is Arabian Nights and his wife has shipped in
llamas, belly dancers and endless shisha to a marquee on their beautiful
estate. Dress code is Arabian Chic but, with so many club owners there, I'm
concerned I can't spot the real Sultans from the Ali Babas. One famous boss
dressed as a Genie. He was passing on a subliminal message to his owner. A
drunk football pundit had something much sorer than his head the next day
after trying to grope a waitress. I administered the kick!
Sunday, March 10
FORMER Hammers keeper David James says he wants West Ham to hang around at
Upton Park — and not move to the Olympic Stadium. That's his view and fair
enough. He thinks we'd never be able to fill the seats, suggesting he hasn't
checked our capacity crowds this season. I hate the way he ties it around
the neck of Bobby Moore. Perhaps it's worth replicating the words of Bobby's
daughter Roberta: "Upton Park is West Ham's spiritual home but life moves
forward and it's a wonderful opportunity. Dad would think so too. "He was
proud of his country, having played for England, and he would've loved the
Olympics and the legacy they've left."
Monday, March 11
ONE short cut to the sack is securing automatic promotion to the Premier
League and then, without notably adding to the playing staff, failing to win
the damned thing. Nigel Adkins went that way at Southampton and now the same
thing has happened to the equally excellent Brian McDermott at Reading.
Owners are running scared of missing the magic bus — more like a Rolls-Royce
— to the extra trillions of TV money coming the way of Premier clubs next
season. But panic is not the answer.
Tuesday, March 12
WHEN your first team have been beaten 43-0, what do you do? Resign? Hide
away? Kick the door down? Go for counselling? It takes a woman to be
positive about such a walloping, so it is here that I introduce you to Julie
Boyce, chairwoman of Caerphilly Castle Ladies of the Welsh Ladies Premier
League, whose reaction was so different. She uses the defeat to advertise
for better players. "There will never be a better chance for any aspiring
player to compete in the Premier League," she says. Truly, the Calendar
Girls spirit. I'm inclined to apply myself.
Wednesday, March 13
WATCHING the Champions League match tonight, I can't see too much wrong with
Arsenal. The Gunners are only a little short of real excellence and the
trouble is where once Wenger could rummage around Europe for players alone,
now there are so many scouts and agents there's barely room for spectators.
Club policy rules out paying top whack in wages too. Still, Arsenal's young
players are the envy of every club.
Thursday, March 14
I HAVE met and employed Nicklas Bendtner. At the time I passed off his
arrogance as a product of youth, as he was only a teen when I first met him.
He told me I should be pleased with myself for signing such a fantastic
talent, I vaguely wondered who he was referring to when I realised he was
talking about himself. He turned up, played well, became a local star, had
the girls fighting over him, then returned to Arsenal and received £52,000 a
week. In football, as in life, you need to be a humble loser, but also a
humble winner. Nicklas had many talents but being humble wasn't one I
observed. Recently done for drink driving and now banned from playing for
Denmark, his Juventus boss today says he needs to play at a smaller club to
rediscover his football. He thinks he should play at a bigger club. Shows
you can only be young once — but can always be immature.
Friday, March 15
LAST time I was at Stamford Bridge, I found a bra in a boardroom cupboard.
I'm there again with West Ham on Sunday and I promise to let you know if I
find the panties to go with it. Or maybe Roman has hidden a spare manager in
a wardrobe. Who knows? Who, indeed? Because if there's one thing the
billionaire doesn't know currently it's the next manager's identity. To
thousands of people, Chelsea are a fixation — to Abramovich they are a bit
of his empire, so his men are scouring Europe for a name to present to him.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammer time.. again? West Ham's Allardyce interested in bringing Yossi
Benayoun back to the club
The Mirror
15 Mar 2013 22:30
Chelsea midfielder who began his Premier League career with the Irons and
had a loan spell there earlier this season is out of contract in the summer
Sam Allardyce has admitted Yossi Benayoun could return to West Ham for a
third spell. Chelsea and Israel midfielder Benayoun made only six
appearances during an injury-plagued stint on loan at Upton Park in the
first half of this season. But the 32-year-old is set to be released in the
summer and Allardyce said he will be interested in signing Benayoun on a
permanent deal. Before facing the Stamford Bridge outfit on Sunday, the West
Ham boss said: "There are lots of names on our list from our head of
recruitment and there will be lots of people chasing those players who are
not going to cost anything transfer-fee wise. He will be on our list
probably, but we will wait and see when the time comes around."
Benayoun previously spent two seasons with the Hammers when he first moved
to the Premier League in 2005, before joining Liverpool and then Chelsea.
* WEST HAM are closing in on Vitoria defender Mahamadou N'Diaye, valued at
£500,000 by the Portuguese club.
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