Daily WHUFC News - 24th November 2013

Big Sam concerned by mistakes
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce admitted errors cost his West Ham United side dear in their
3-0 home defeat by Chelsea
23.11.2013

Sam Allardyce pulled no punches in his assessment of West Ham United's 3-0
Barclays Premier League defeat by Chelsea. The Hammers manager admitted
individual mistakes had cost his team dear for the second game in
succession, leading to costly defeats at Norwich City and at home to the
Blues. On Saturday, Guy Demel's poor backpass led to Jussi Jaaskelainen
fouling Oscar and Frank Lampard firing the visitors ahead from the penalty
spot. Oscar himself added a second before half-time before Lampard completed
a miserable afternoon with a late third. "I am disappointed and the fact of
the matter is that, because we didn't win the games we should have done at
the start of the season, we not only had to play against a big team like
Chelsea but we also had to fight the demons that our in our minds at the
moment," admitted Big Sam. "The difference between what we were doing prior
to Norwich and what we're doing now is that individual errors are making so
much of a difference to us. We hadn't seen that before, but it happened in
the second half at Norwich and it happened again on Saturday. "In the 17 or
so minutes before they got the penalty, there was little between the two
sides and I think we then had a few moments, but none better than the one
that fell to Joe Cole that was blocked by Petr Cech. Then, within the space
of a few minutes, we made a big error and it cost us a penalty. "We had to
come back from that. While we were trying to change it and get a couple of
subs because I didn't think we had overcome the manner of conceding the
first goal, Oscar scored the second. "After half-time we got a little better
and were more resilient and had to be patient to create a chance. The big
chance fell to Modibo Maiga, and if he had scored it would have rallied the
crowd and given them something to get on the edge of their seats about. It
might have helped us go on to get a draw, who knows? "That didn't happen and
we had to take more and more chances and risks and it left us open. It
generally happens that, if you don't get your goal, the opposition get one
and that's what they did."

The manager pointed to the mistakes made in the last two fixtures as
something his players simply have to cut out if they are to arrest their
recent slide.
"That's what has disappointed me against Norwich and again on Saturday
because they haven't really earned the right to beat us. We've beaten
ourselves. That is what is worrying me at the moment, because we hadn't seen
that up to then. "We had six clean sheets in ten matches going into the last
two games, which is a resilient football team which gives you the chance to
win matches. We can't lose that. We know we're struggling to score goals,
but in most of the games we're creating 15 or more chances at goal, even if
we didn't do that against Chelsea. "We can't lose that resilience or else
life will become very difficult indeed. We know, as a team, at the moment we
are a 1-0 team if we are going to win because we're not scoring more than
one very often. Too many times, we're not scoring at all, so we've got to
make sure we know what we are until we score more goals."

Big Sam did take some encouragement from the Hammers' second-half display,
which included an improved performance from central striker Maiga on his
return to first-team duty. While Maiga did miss his one clear chance, the
Mali forward led the line well and won a succession of aerial battles with
John Terry and Gary Cahill. However, the manager refused to blame the
forward-less 4-6-0 formation that has been employed in recent weeks for the
downturn in results.
"It did give me a bit of heart, yes," he said. "That said, we have had games
where we've had more attempts at goal when we didn't play with a front man.
If you don't play with anyone up front and you win, it's brilliant. If you
lose, it's because you haven't got anyone up front, but that's not true. "If
the system is played right and the players play to their strengths, you can
win football matches, as we proved at Tottenham. At the moment, it's not so
much about the system but about us being resilient and creating chances and
most importantly, taking them. "It's now a big concern to me, because these
players proved they can score goals in the Premier League last season, but
they are not doing it this season."

Looking forward at the fixture list, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Sunderland
are all on the agenda within the next four matches. Big Sam did not need to
be told of the importance of those games. "Fulham, Crystal Palace and then
Sunderland are going to determine our season now. The pressure is on the
players, myself and the staff to make sure we prepare to go into those three
games and come out with a minimum of six points. That's got to be our
minimum target now or else we're going to be battling in the bottom three or
four beyond Christmas. "We've got to try to avert that in the next two
games, which are local derbies. Fulham can kick-start us into a good run of
results by beating them and then we'll take the confidence on to face Fulham
and then Sunderland."

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Lampard double defeats Hammers
WHUFC.com
Frank Lampard was on target twice as Chelsea defeated West Ham 3-0 on
Saturday
23.11.2013

West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League

Frank Lampard returned to haunt his former employers once again on Saturday
as his double helped Chelsea to a 3-0 win over West Ham United at the Boleyn
Ground. Lampard struck from the spot midway through the first half to give
the Blues a lead they never looked like relinquishing, particularly once
Oscar quickly doubled the advantage. The Hammers were never able to impose
themselves on the contest and Lampard deepened their woes with a clinical
finish eight minutes from time. The defeat leaves West Ham fourth from
bottom of the Barclays Premier League table with crucial fixtures against
Fulham and Crystal Palace next on the horizon. The opening exchanges were
fairly even and West Ham almost found a route to goal on 18 minutes when Guy
Demel stepped in to win possession on halfway and send the ball out to
Stewart Downing. The winger's cross was instant and directed towards Kevin
Nolan, whose header back was blocked, and Joe Cole's shot on the rebound was
also snuffed out. Three minutes later and Chelsea were in the lead thanks to
a goal of the Hammers' own making. Guy Demel was left with his head in his
hands after attempting to guide the ball back to Jussi Jaaskelainen with his
thigh. The pass was underhit and Oscar nipped in to draw a foul from the
goalkeeper. Lampard stepped up and smashed his spot kick high into the roof
of the net to set his side on their way.
A minute later the former Hammer could have made it two when Joey O'Brien
was caught in possession and Oscar passed square for Lampard, whose swept
shot was gathered by Jaaskelainen.

There was no such let off with 34 minutes on the clock though, as Chelsea
showed great incisiveness to double the advantage. James Collins was
attracted to the ball as it was passed into Eden Hazard's feet, leaving
Oscar to pick up from his teammate's flick, make his way to the edge of the
box and slot the ball into the bottom left corner. Hammers boss Sam
Allardyce responded by introducing Mo Diame and Modibo Maiga from the bench,
but still Chelsea found space to hurt the hosts and Samuel Eto'o brought a
flying one-handed save from Jaaskelainen with an angled shot which was
headed for the top right hand corner.
The second period started in much the same vein and Chelsea were so close to
a third on 58 when Lampard's header was met by a Gary Cahill header which
Mark Noble cleared off the line.

Moments later the visitors countered with devastating pace, with left-back
Cesar Azpilicueta bombing on down his flank to cross for Oscar, who should
have done better with his shot at the far post, which flew wide. For all
Chelsea's dominance, the Hammers still had a golden chance to get themselves
back in the contest on 65 minutes when Demel somehow wriggled clear of the
attentions of two defenders in the corner and cut back for Maiga, whose left
footed touch sent the ball wide when a more solid connection would surely
have seen the net bulge. Chelsea made use of their let-off by finally
sealing the points eight minutes from the end when Lampard drilled home from
the edge of the box after Hazard's blocked shot fell perfectly for his
right-footed effort.

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien; Morrison,
Noble, Collison (Maiga 40); J.Cole (Diame 40), Noble (Jarvis 76), Downing
Subs: Adrian, McCartney, Taylor, C.Cole

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Lampard;
Ramires, Oscar (Schurrle 83), Hazard (Essien 84); Eto'o (Ba 79)
Subs: Schwarzer, A.Cole, Mata, Willian

Goals: Lampard pen 21, Oscar 34, Lampard 82
Referee: Chris Foy
Attendance: 34,977

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U18s down leaders Fulham
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Under-18s continued their outstanding form with a 3-1 home
win over Fulham
23.11.2013

West Ham United Under-18s stretched their impressive unbeaten run to nine
games with a 3-1 victory over league leaders Fulham at Little Heath on
Saturday.
After a quiet first period, striker Jordan Brown put the Hammers ahead by
tapping in Kieran Bywater's cross, before Bywater turned from provider to
scorer to bag his twelfth of the season. Though Fulham halved the deficit
through George Williams' well-taken penalty, Bywater grabbed his second of
the day to restore the Hammers two-goal lead and secure all three points.
U18s manager Steve Potts again named Djair Parfitt-Williams in the starting
line-up, after the 17-year-old Bermuda-born forward returned from injury to
score a hat-trick in last weekend's 3-1 win at Reading. Captain Bywater,
meanwhile, looking to add to his eleven goals in 14 appearances, lined up in
midfield alongside Josh Cullen, Ben Marlow and Amos Nasha. The Hammers
started the livelier of the sides and within the first two minutes Bywater
collected possession 30 yards out and smashed an effort towards the top
corner, forcing a smart save from Fulham 'keeper Marek Rodak. West Ham then
went close once more when a goal-mouth scramble caused chaos in the
visitors' box, but having cleared the initial danger, Marlow attempted a lob
from the edge of the box, which flew high over the bar. Fulham, meanwhile,
had the ball in the back of the West Ham net, though the celebrations were
short-lived, with Williams' effort being chalked off for offside. At the
other end, Bywater's free-kick flew narrowly over the bar.

West Ham were much improved after the interval and took the lead when
Bywater's low centre found Jordan Brown at the near post, who fired home.

Then, seven minutes later in almost identical fashion but from the other
side, Bywater was perfectly positioned to double the Hammers' advantage from
Lewis Page's precise left-footed cross. The second goal seemed to spur the
Cottagers into life, who halved the deficit thanks to a controversial
penalty award. A West Ham centre-half rose highest in the box to clear with
his head, but the referee pointed to the spot, allowing Williams to reduce
the visitors' arrears.

There was similar controversy in the Fulham box soon after, as a second
penalty was awarded, this time for an apparent hand ball. It was up to
Bywater to step up and secure the points, which he duly did, taking his
tally for the season to 13 goals in 15 games. Saturday's result takes the
Hammers' unbeaten run to nine games and within just four points of leaders
Fulham, who remained top on goal difference, after Tottenham Hotspur's
youngsters saw off Arsenal. Potts' men are back in action on Saturday 7
December, when they entertain Arsenal at Little Heath. Kick-off is set for
11am, while parking and admission are both free of charge.

West Ham Under-18s: Howes, Knoyle, Burke, Harney, Page, Marlow, Cullen,
Nasha (Makasi), Brown (Mavila), Bywater, Parfitt-Williams. Subs not used:
Brown, Onariase, Amoo.

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West Ham 0 Chelsea 3
23 November 2013
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport

Frank Lampard scored twice against his former club as Chelsea moved up to
third in the Premier League table with a convincing victory over West Ham.
Lampard put the Blues ahead from the penalty spot after Guy Demel's poor
back-pass allowed Oscar to nip in, and he was felled by Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Oscar made it 2-0 when he drilled the ball home from the edge of the area.
West Ham improved after the break and Modibo Maiga went close, but Lampard
sealed victory with a confident finish. Chelsea had travelled across London
having won only one of their five previous away league games this season but
West Ham rarely looked like adding to the Blues' problems on the road. The
Hammers began the match with the same formation that served them so well in
their 3-0 win against Tottenham last month - playing without a recognised
striker, they pushed Kevin Nolan furthest forward and tried to get players
up to support him.
This time, it was nowhere near as successful. Stewart Downing did deliver
some dangerous crosses from the left but, otherwise, the home side's
attacking threat was non-existent.

West Ham's defending hardly helped their cause either. Demel's woeful
attempt to find Jaaskelainen with his thigh back-fired and, once Lampard had
fired home the resulting penalty, the Blues did not look back. The passing
and movement of Oscar and Eden Hazard was too quick and too slick for the
Hammers and, when Chelsea's second goal arrived after 34 minutes, it was all
too easy. This was the third game in a row that Frank Lampard had scored
against his former club West Ham, and ended his run of 10 Premier League
matches without a goal, his longest since joining Chelsea from the Hammers
in 2001.

James Collins rashly dashed in to challenge Hazard and try to stop a long
series of passes, but left a big gap behind him. Hazard's flick found Oscar
who advanced unchallenged to the edge of the area and fizzed a low shot into
the bottom corner. Five minutes before half-time, Hammers boss Sam Allardyce
had seen enough and made a double switch, introducing Maiga to belatedly
offer a permanent presence up front and Mohamed Diame to plug the gaps that
Jose Mourinho's men were exploiting in midfield. West Ham did, at least,
make more of a game of it in the second half although, if Mark Noble had not
cleared Gary Cahill's header off the line, Chelsea would have been out of
sight by the 53rd minute. Instead, the Hammers retained faint hope. They
should have pulled a goal back when Demel's extraordinarily mazy run took
him past three defenders but Maiga wastefully fired wide after meeting his
cross at the far post.

If that chance, after 65 minutes, had been converted then Chelsea might have
faced an anxious finish to the game. Instead, they were relatively
untroubled as they saw out their win, seemingly happy to concede territory
and possession to their hosts while remaining dangerous on the break.
Lampard's second goal of the evening arrived through that avenue after 82
minutes and made sure the three points would be theirs. Hazard saw his shot
blocked from Branislav Ivanovic's cross but the ball fell to Lampard to
sweep it home from the edge of the area. After that, the only question left
was the margin of Chelsea's victory and another former Hammer, Demba Ba, had
a late strike ruled out for a marginal offside. West Ham took until the 93rd
minute to register an effort on target, when Joey O'Brien's header at last
brought a save out of Petr Cech.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: "Our second half against Tottenham was also
brilliant, but today was a 90-minute performance. We looked very solid from
the first minute. "The points are important, and the way we played. We are
right in there, we are not leaders, but we are right behind. "For me,
everybody did a fantastic job for me. The team was really good."

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "If you make the sort of mistakes that we made
against a team like Chelsea, then we can only expect to lose. We made too
many big mistakes and gifted them the first goal. "We had a golden chance to
get back into the game at 2-0. Not many golden chances are coming our way at
the moment and that has to go in the back of the net if we are going to get
back into the game. "If that had gone in, it might have lifted the crowd and
we might have got something out of the game, but for us it was a
disappointing afternoon."

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Jaanai Gordon: Peterborough United reject West Ham United bid
BBC.co.uk

Peterborough United have turned down a bid for 17-year-old striker Jaanai
Gordon from Premier League West Ham. Gordon, has made three first-team
appearances for Posh this season, but has spent the past three weeks
training with the Hammers. West Ham made a bid for the teenager on Friday
but director of football Barry Fry confirmed it had been rejected. Gordon
will return to London Road and will be available for the FA Youth Cup tie at
Wolves on Tuesday, 3 December.

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Mourinho on....West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 23rd November 2013
By: Staff Writer no.2

The so-called "Special One" moans about the lack of a red card as a
sycophantic press corps strangely forgets to ask why one of his players
cheated to get a penalty for the second match running....

You couldn't ask for a better way to get your away form back on track?

Yes the game was good for us. It became very comfortable. I don't say
everything was under control - at 2-1 with 15-20 minutes to go that could
happen. They had a chance for that. They gave us a difficult game in the end
so I can't say it was completely under control. But we became very
comfortable very solid. The 3-0 could happen before and everyone in the
stadium would agree.

Are you expecting a phone call from Mike Riley in the morning?

I spoke with Chris Foy and he told me it isn't a red card. He was 10 metres
away, I was 50 metres away. I think the referee was very good today. The
linesmen too. Possible red card - if Chris Foy says no, then no.

Was there any other explanation other than "no"?

It was the middle of the pitch. There wasn't the time or conditions to give
me a full explanation.

Frank Lampard had gone ten games without a goal but he showed today that he
still knows where the goal is?

He played very well. He was another one who was very comfortable on the
pitch. He played differently from what he did before. He had the protection
of Jon Obi Mikel to let him go a bit more. Mikel is good in the air for the
first ball in front of the defenders. Lamps felt a bit more freedom to go
and to support and to arrive in shooting areas. He played well but to be
fair when the team plays so well it is easier for players to have good
performances.

Was that overall your best performance this season?

I think we had a few matches where we played very well. Away in the Premier
League we need to be most solid and consistent. We had a good second half
against Tottenham but we didn't play well in the first half. We had some
good moments against Norwich but not the complete game. Today from the start
we looked very solid very stable. Everybody was committed to the clean
sheet. They had one chance in the first half and I don't know who but at the
far post in the second half they almost scored. We were committed to the
clean sheet against a difficult opponent. Every set piece is a threat and
they can be quite physical. We were both things at the same time. We coped
with their style and when we had the ball we played to our qualities.

What about Oscar? Does he make a difference?

I think you think the same thing as I think! The question comes because you
know he played fantastic. It doesn't matter where. In the middle, on the
sides. He works hard he covers, he presses high, he gives a difficult time
to opponents. He's a young kid and i's not easy to succeed in football in
this country. The talent he has is not physical - he's a fragile boy, his
talent is amazing and can only improve.

He and Hazard seem to have a bit of telepathy when they're given space?

We played in a way where we felt very comfortable Hazard today doesn't need
to defend. We organised the team in a way where he was protected behind him.
He just got the ball to turn into counter attack. It was frustrating that we
didn't get the third goal sooner. When you are 2-0 against West Ham 2-0
isn't enough. They score in minute 89 then in the last minutes of extra time
you are in danger.

So everything ends well. The victory was important after the last defeat.

Did Oscar get a injury?

No, he's ok.

Are you happy with Eto'o?

He's an attacking plus. He doesn't lose the ball. He holds the ball he waits
for support. He's not the kind of striker who is obsessed with scoring
goals. He's more obsessed with playing football. For hazard. Oscar and
Lampard it's good to have him.They play the ball he can hold or touch and
play in behind.Without being the fast player that he once was five years ago
the quality's there.

In the last game against West Brom you said you made 14 mistakes. Where
there any today?

What mistakes? Against West Bromwich? I was joking.

David Moyes has said he hasn't given up hope of getting Ronaldo back. What
do you think the chances are that that will happen?

No idea.

Would you give them a run for their money if he wanted to return to the
Premier League?

[Shrugs shoulders and smiles]

Ten games without a goal is unusual for Lampard. How much will getting two
here do for him or is he so experienced it's like water off a duck's back?

He has nothing to prove to you, to me, to the fans. He just has to enjoy the
last years of his career, to play the maximum he can. To score is part of
his DNA as a player. I think I've come to him at the right time of his
career. I was his manager in the best period of his career probably. And now
I come back to enjoy with him the last art of his career. When he has good
relations with his manager he is able to enjoy himself.

How long can he go on now? He's 35...

No idea!

Does he surprise you?

They stop when they want. You have to enjoy it and when they feel they don't
enjoy it so much they stop.

Thank you.

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Allardyce on... Chelsea
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 23rd November 2013
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce kept the press waiting for well over an hour tonight before
delivering an honest assessment of a disappointing performance against
Chelsea. Read his full post-match thoughts here...


They were good, weren't they Sam - but again, the first goal came from a
silly mistake?

I think we allowed them to be good after the [first] goal. You're playing
against a Chelsea side where Jose's blocked the midfield up a bit more than
he normally does because they haven't had the best of results either
recently, have they?

When we saw Ramirez, Mikel and Lampard in midfield we thought they'd come
here to be a little more solid defensively. Sadly it was our defensive
frailties that showed first, not theirs - and by an individual error that as
a manager you can't allocate for.

You don't expect it to happen, but when it happens you don't want it to
happen to any of your players. In this game, at that particular time, we
gifted Chelsea the penalty that gave them the lift they were looking for.
Everybody takes confidence out of scoring goals and with the talent they've
got it was always difficult for us from there on.

I was just about to change it. After that goal we really couldn't get out of
our own half, we lifted them so much by gifting them the goal. So we were
going to change it and as we were just about to, they scored a second.

It got a bit better in the second half. We tried to create an opening, to
try to rally ourselves and the fans. When that chance came we missed it
again, which was Modibo [Maiga]'s - a side foot in the box. It should go in
the back of the net but he sidefoots it wide. So we're suffering in front of
goal and now we're suffering defensively with defensive errors.

We've got to stop that first and foremost and continue to try and make sure
we win a football match when we're on top. We weren't on top much today and
today's game is one that Chelsea deserved to win, but there's far too many
games where we've been on top and haven't won which is why we've got the
problem we've got now.

Is it hard to make a double substitution in the first half? I guess it's
something you don't have to do too often as a manager?

I think I can count the times I've done it in the last 12 years in the
Premier League on one hand, but it needed to be done for me. We got kicked
in the teeth by giving the penalty away and then we were having to contain
Chelsea too much, which I thought was going to lead to another goal. So I
made the decision, tried to get them on and unfortunately it went in again.

We play with a front man, we don't play with a front man; we play with two
front men, we don't play with two front men. At the moment it doesn't matter
what we play with in terms of a system, we're creating chances but not
scoring. We didn't create too many chances today to be honest with you, but
we did create a chance to get us back in the game. Whether we deserved it or
not who knows, but you should take it.

Joe Cole seemed quite frustrated when he came off. Was that the case?

I can't help the team play in terms of the way it did once the two goals had
gone in and I had to change something, so somebody had to come off. Then you
look at the team and ask who we're going to bring off and how we're going to
play.

Are we going to bring on a bit more energy, maybe a bit more pace? With
Maiga on that side and Mo Diame up front to get a little bit more [ball]
than we were getting before? That's why we made the substitutions.

It's frustrating, every player's frustrated because all every player does is
think about himself. You have to think about the bigger picture. If he's
frustrated that's fine; next time he gets a chance he's going to play so
well for me the last thing I can do is substitute him. That's up to him next
time he gets a chance.

If he doesn't play quite as well or I think I need to change it and Joe
Cole's the one to bring off, I'll bring him off. I brought my captain off in
the end because I didn't think he was as good as he can be, I didn't think
he drove the team on as well as he normally does.

So he comes off and we put another attacking player on in the hope that that
will get us back into the game, but you're going to open yourself up then.
When you open yourself up against a Chelsea side with their
counter-attacking skills you either get the goal to get back in it or the
opposition scores against you and finish the game off.

Do you think you need to strengthen in the next [transfer] window?

The way we're going at the moment the answer to that is "yes", but saying
that we will be better with Winston Reid and Andy Carroll back. Razvan Rat
was injured as well, he's done well since he's come in. If you can
strengthen, particularly on the front line we'd like to strengthen.

But, we can't do that until January and for me January's a long way off with
the amount of games we've got in December; six games, as well as the one
next week. We've got a lot of points at stake that we must get. The big time
for me is Fulham here and Crystal Palace on the Tuesday night. That's got to
be four points, minimum. Then the next game after that try to make an
unbeaten run with two wins and a draw.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce wants wins after losing 3-0 to Chelsea at Upton
Park
Last Updated: November 23, 2013 10:22pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce wants West Ham United to go 'all out' for wins against Fulham
and Crystal Palace following the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea. West Ham remain
outside the relegation zone on goal difference after Saturday's loss and
have won just once in the Premier League since the opening day of the
season. Frank Lampard's brace against his old club helped Chelsea to
victory, but it is not the games against title contenders that Allardyce
views as decisive. Instead, the West Ham boss is targeting points against
those clubs who are also in the ongoing battle to preserve their Premier
League status. West Ham host 18th-placed Fulham next weekend before tackling
19th-placed Crystal Palace in their next game, and Allardyce wants positive
results from both fixtures. "The ultimate of any season in the Premier
League is how well you do against the teams that, if you're in the bottom
when you play them, or even if you're not in the bottom when you play them,
it's how well you do against them," Allardyce told Sky Sports. "I think that
we've got two games in four days against Fulham and Crystal Palace, and
we've got to go all out to get as many points as we possibly can. "We're
getting to the stage where we've got to be winning now rather than drawing."

The strikerless Hammers, who have now failed to score in seven of their 11
league matches this season, were booed at half-time and the conclusion.
Allardyce said: "I don't see why they shouldn't boo when they're not
satisfied with what they're seeing. I wasn't satisfied with what I saw."
Allardyce made a double substitution five minutes prior to the interval,
with Joe Cole marching down the tunnel after being taken off. "Somebody has
to come off," Allardyce said. "It's frustrating, every player's frustrated,
because all every player ever does is think about themselves. I have to
think about the bigger picture. "If he's frustrated, that's fine. Next time
he gets the chance, he's going to play so well for me that the last thing I
could do is substitute him. "I brought the captain (Kevin Nolan) off in the
end, because I didn't think he drove the team on as much as he normally
does."

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West Ham's Joe Cole hungry for trophies and lauds 'remarkable' Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: November 23, 2013 4:42pm
SSN

Joe Cole is determined to help West Ham United claim some silverware and has
praised Sam Allardyce for doing a remarkable job at Upton Park. Cole has won
trophies in his career during his time at Chelsea but is still hungry for
success and admits it would particularly special to get a medal with the
Hammers. The former England midfielder came up through the ranks at West Ham
and returned to the club in January after two-and-a-half years at Liverpool.
"There will always be the street footballer inside of me," he said. "But you
want to do something more than that in the game.

Player Profile
Joe Cole
Appearances 5 (3)
Goals 1
Assists 0
Yellows 1
Reds 0

"You want substance and impact. I got that at Chelsea. That is why it would
be so special to win some silverware with West Ham. "I'm lucky enough to
know what it feels like. And I saw the fans at the 2006 FA Cup final, when
they came so close. "To win something with a group of supporters who keep
the faith like that even though they have been starved of success would be
so amazing. "I hope I can give the fans some big moments here yet."

Cole will come up against his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho when West
Ham host the Blues on Saturday. He appreciates that he owes a lot to the
Portuguese, but has also paid tribute to current boss Allardyce for the way
he has transformed West Ham's fortunes over the past couple of years. "I've
got a lot of time for Sam," said Cole. "He has turned West Ham around.
Although you can't really compare West Ham and Chelsea and the money, the
job that Sam has done is just as remarkable as Jose did at Chelsea. "He knew
what to say to players at the right time. It wasn't always what I wanted to
hear, but it was what I needed to hear. I was a decent player before I went
there. He definitely made me better, whatever the perception people have.
"He got my mentality right. He saw something in me that maybe I hadn't. He
changed me from playing central midfield to playing wide and playing a bit
higher up the pitch. I became more effective at both ends of the pitch. "I
can see his impact already now he is back at Chelsea. With him they are a
better side already than last season. They look more solid, more together."

Cole is confident that West Ham can push on and improve on last season's
tenth-placed finish, whilst also challenging in the cups. He said: "I'm
still hungry for more. At West Ham we want to be finishing like we did last
year and have a go in the cups. "In many ways it is still the same club, but
now there is a feeling something is building. The new stadium gives us a
chance to grow because it will get harder and harder to keep up with the big
boys. "It's been a struggle at home this season, especially after we started
so well. But we've just got find a way to get goals." 'I hope I can give the
fans big moments'."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
LET'S END THIS 4-6-0 FARCE NOW!
By Iain Dale 23 Nov 2013 at 19:20
West Ham Till I Die

I hate it when I have to miss a home game, but boy am I glad I missed this
one. I suspect I would have been done for speeding on the way home, as I
would have taken out my frustration on my car's accelerator. Think back a
year to when we beat Chelsea an dhow proud we were of our team and compare
that to the misery we feel this evening. No pride, no passion, precious
little skill from a team shackled by a formation which just doesn't work.
And it needs to stop. If we don't play with a striker the number of goals we
will score will very limited. Kevin Nolan is not a striker. He was an
embarrassment today. Quite why Maiga was then preferred to Carlton Cole only
Sam Allardyce can fathom. He makes Iain Dowie look prolific.

The only two bright spots today were Stewart Downing and Ravel Morrison. The
driving run Morrison made at the beginning of the second half was a joy to
watch. Like Gazza in his prime. Downing was the only other persistent
threat.

So what now? What do we do to beat Fulham. I'll tell you what we do. We play
4-4-2 with Carlton Cole up front and Ravel Morrison playing off him. Diame
and Noble play in central midfield with Jarvis and Downing on the wings. It
certainly can't be any worse than what we witnessed today.

Can it?

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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Daily WHUFC News - 23rd November 2013

Chelsea match preview
WHUFC.com
All the essential pre-match information ahead of Saturday's London derby
with Chelsea
21.11.2013

WEST HAM UNITED v CHELSEA
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 5.30PM
REFEREE: CHRIS FOY
FULL AUDIO COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

TWITTER I FACEBOOK I iPHONE APP I YOUTUBE I PROGRAMME I BIG SAM

West Ham United v Chelsea

Saturday's Matchball Sponsor is NC Range Site, who have been formed after a
very successful partnership with Range Site Ltd & NC Construction Services
Ltd in the social housing sector. Their aim is to grow NC Range Site Ltd to
be a leading provider in the social housing sector. We hope they enjoy their
day at the Boleyn Ground

Introduction
• West Ham United return to action following the international break on
Saturday when they welcome Chelsea to the Boleyn Ground for a London derby
duel.
• The Hammers are looking for a first Barclays Premier League win in five
attempts after defeat to Norwich City last time out left them 16th in the
table with ten points from their eleven games..
• Chelsea are winless in two themselves, having been defeated by Newcastle
United and only drawing 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion in their last two
fixtures. That draw with the Baggies last time out came courtesy of a late,
controversial penalty from Eden Hazard after goals from Shane Long and
Stephane Sessegnon threatened to give Steve Clarke's men all three points.
• The Blues are fourth in the Barclays Premier League table, with 21 points
garnered from their eleven starts.
• Before their recent stumble, Chelsea won three league matches in
succession, which included the scalp of Manchester City.
• West Ham have not tasted victory in the league at home since the opening
day defeat of Cardiff City. The four games since have yielded one draw and
three defeats.

Team news
West Ham United
• Razvan Rat is missing with a hamstring injury picked up while on
international duty with Romania in their midweek FIFA World Cup Play-Off
with Greece.
• James Collins and Joey O'Brien both missed their international games after
pulling out through injury, but should be fit enough to turn out on
Saturday.
• Matt Taylor has returned to training following his recent calf injury,
while Alou Diarra and George McCartney have been building up their match
fitness in behind closed doors friendly matches.
• Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (foot) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder)
join left-back Rat on the sidelines.

Chelsea
• Ashley Cole has recovered from a rib injury and is likely to start at
left-back ahead of Cesar Azpilicueta.
• Fernando Torres will miss the game with a groin injury.

Background
• Saturday's fixture marks the 89th league meeting between the two clubs.
West Ham have 35 wins to their opponents' 36, 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 in 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.
• 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.

Last time out

Saturday 9 November 2013
Barclays Premier League
Norwich City 3-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, Rat, Morrison, Noble
(Jarvis 87), Collison (C.Cole 74), Downing, Nolan, J.Cole (Diame 72)
Subs not used: Adrian, McCartney, Maiga, O'Brien
Goal: Morrison 32

Saturday 9 November 2013
Barclays Premier League
Chelsea 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta (Mikel 73), Lampard (Ba 64), Cahill,
Terry, Willian, Ramires, Eto'o, Oscar (Mata 73), Hazard
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Luiz, De Bruyne
Goals: Eto'o 45, Hazard pen 90


Previous meeting

The Hammers were beaten by a goal in each half as Eden Hazard produced a
performance of real quality at Stamford Bridge on 17 March of this year.
Frank Lampard's 19th-minute header gave the Blues the advantage, before
Hazard's solo effort gave the home side an insurmountable lead five minutes
after the interval.
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz (Terry 78), Cole, Ramires, Lampard,
Hazard, Mata (Mikel 85), Moses (Oscar 70), Ba
Subs: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Torres, 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 not used: Spiegel, McCartney, Pogatetz, Chamakh

Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)

17 March 2013 - Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United
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
v Chelsea (all competitions) W 37 D 18 L 42

Ten-year records

West Ham United

2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
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)

Chelsea
2012/13 Premier League 3rd (75 points)
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)


Referee

• Saturday's match referee will be Chris Foy.
• Foy will referee West Ham United and Chelsea for the first time this
Barclays Premier League season.
• Foy, who celebrated his 51st birthday on Wednesday, has been a Barclays
Premier League referee since 2001, having originally made the Select Group
list of assistant referees in 1995.
• In 2007, Foy took charge of the FA Trophy final at Wembley, before
returning to the Home of Football a year later to act as fourth official for
Portsmouth's FA Cup final victory over Cardiff.
• In 2009, he was back at Wembley to take charge of the League Cup final and
Community Shield, while Portsmouth were in action again as Foy refereed the
2010 FA Cup final, which Pompey lost to today's visitors Chelsea.
• In all, Foy has taken charge of 28 West Ham fixtures - the first coming as
long ago as 23 February 2002, when Frederic Kanoute scored the only goal in
1-0 home Premier League win over Middlesbrough.
• Twice before, he has refereed West Ham versus Chelsea matches at the
Boleyn Ground, with the Blues' visits on 2 January 2006 and 11 September
2010 both ending in 3-1 away wins.
• Foy will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Mick McDonough, while the fourth
official will be Lee Mason.

General information
• A limited amount of tickets are still on sale for Saturday's match. For
full details, click here.
• The weather forecast for Saturday is for light cloud at kick-off time,
with temperatures of 5C (41F).
• The London Underground District line will be closed between Whitechapel
and West Ham. Replacement buses operate. This is while track replacement
work is carried out in the Mile End area..
• The Hammersmith and City line will be closed between Moorgate and Barking,
also due to the track replacement work at Mile End.
• On the Central line, Mile End station is closed due to the aforementioned
track replacement work.
• The London Overground is closed between Highbury & Islington and New
Cross/New Cross Gate. Replacement buses operate
• c2c rail services are running on a revised timetable between Barking and
Upminster. Click here for full details.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diame inspired by Chelsea memories
WHUFC.com
Mo Diame wants a repeat of last season's defeat of Chelsea at the Boleyn
Ground
23.11.2013

West Ham United's players do not have to look too far for inspiration as
they contemplate the challenge of facing Chelsea on Saturday. Almost a year
to the day ago they defeated the Blues 3-1 at the Boleyn Ground, having
trailed at the break to a Juan Mata goal. One of the goalscorers that
afternoon was Mo Diame, and with his strike - which gave the Hammers the
lead with just four minutes to go - ranking as a career highlight for the
26-year-old, he would love to sample more of the same this time around. "I
will remember that goal all my life," he beamed. "Last year's game against
them is a good memory for me but this is a different match now and we need
to be prepared to win this game. "We're playing at home and we need to get
three points, we are in a bad situation at the moment and hopefully we can
do the job on Saturday to go back towards the top half of the table. "Of
course when you play the top four you have a lot of motivation to show the
people how you can play football. "The supporters are always behind the
team, we just need to take our chances and work hard because it is going to
be a difficult game."

Diame was afforded a look around the Olympic Stadium this week, along with
teammates Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Joe Cole, and Vice-Chairman Karren
Brady, as work to transform the venue to a football stadium continues apace.
He is looking ahead to a bright future with the Hammers as they build
towards the move. "It will be very, very exciting to start to play there,"
he added. "You can see it's a very big Stadium and it's going to be a very
big step for West Ham United. "I'm still young. At the moment I have one
year more but I hope to have more with West Ham. I hope to be here when West
Ham play there and in front of the West Ham fans as well."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Six of the best - Chelsea
WHUFC.com
We recall six memorable Boleyn Ground victories over Saturday's opponents
Chelsea
22.11.2013

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea are the visitors to the Boleyn Ground this weekend
as West Ham United look to get back to winning ways on home turf.
Here whufc.com takes a look at six memorable home wins for the Hammers over
the Blues.

West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea
Premier League
1 December 2012
Still fresh in the minds of Hammers players and supporters is last season's
3-1 victory over the then-European Champions. West Ham found themselves 1-0
down at the break to Juan Mata's goal, but came roaring back in the second
period to silence the west Londoners. Carlton Cole got the comeback started
with a 63rd minute equaliser before late finishes from Mohamed Diame and
Modibo Maiga set the seal on a triumphant Boleyn Ground afternoon.

West Ham United 1-0 Chelsea
Premier League
3 May 2003
Prior to last season's victory, West Ham's last home win over Chelsea came
back on the final day of the 2002/03 season. The Hammers, under the
temporary charge of Trevor Brooking, were deep in relegation danger but in
the midst of a great run of form which gave them a chance of escaping. Paolo
Di Canio's 71st minute goal gave them the points and took the fight to the
final day, but a 2-2 draw at Birmingham was not enough to save them, despite
amassing 42 points.


West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea
Premier League
24 October 2001
All the goals came early on in this midweek meeting between the clubs, as
West Ham emerged triumphant by the odd goal in three. Just five minutes were
on the clock when Michael Carrick gave the Hammers the lead, then Frederic
Kanoute doubled the advantage eight minutes later. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
got Chelsea back in it midway through the first half, but surprisingly that
was where the scoring ended as the Hammers moved up to 14th in the table.
West Ham would eventually end the campaign in seventh, just one place behind
their visitors.

West Ham United 3-2 Chelsea
Premier League
13 March 1997
This was a real see-saw battle, which both sides harboured ambitions of
winning, until Paul Kitson struck late on to settle the matter. Chelsea were
first to edge in front through Gianluca Vialli in the 26th minute, but a
Julian Dicks penalty ten minutes after half-time levelled things up. Then it
was West Ham's turn to lead as Kitson scored his first of the game, but
Chelsea looked to have rescued a point when Mark Hughes notched three
minutes from the end. The Hammers were unbowed though and Kitson scored
again to keep all three points in east London.

West Ham United 4-0 Chelsea
Division Two
14 February 1981
The Hammers were en route to promotion from Division Two when Chelsea came
calling in February 1981. The Blues had no answer to their hosts as the
championship charge was comfortably maintained. Trevor Brooking scored
twice, while Alan Devonshire and David Cross were also on target as the west
Londoners were overwhelmed. West Ham topped the table from November onwards
that season and ended up winning the title by a huge 13-point margin.

West Ham United 3-2 Chelsea
Division One
12 April 1965
Fresh from victory at Real Zaragoza in the first leg of their European Cup
Winners' Cup semi-final, West Ham welcomed Chelsea to the Boleyn Ground and
registered another win. Geoff Hurst notched two of his 20 goals from that
season, while John Sissons scored the other as the Hammers kept a grip on a
top-ten position. Ron Greenwood's men would go on to lift the Cup Winners'
Cup, while also sealing a ninth-place league finish.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
On this day - 23 November
WHUFC.com
Valon Behrami scored the only goal of the game as West Ham defeated
Sunderland on this day in 2008
23.11.2013

Classic match
Sunderland 0-1 West Ham United
Premier League
23 November 2008
This date in the calendar has only yielded three league wins for West Ham
United, but they were triumphant on their last outing five years ago.
Sunderland were their victims on a Sunday in the north-east as the Hammers
ended a seven-game wait for victory. Valon Behrami scored the only goal of
the game, striking a deflected shot beyond home keeper Marton Fulop to
settle matters with only 20 minutes played. This victory came during a
mid-season slump in which only one win in twelve games was recorded, but the
east Londoners recovered post-Christmas to end the campaign in ninth.

Complete record - 23 November

2008 Sunderland 0-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
2002 Aston Villa 4-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
1997 Leeds United 3-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
1996 West Ham United 1-1 Derby County (Premier League)
1991 Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1985 Coventry City 0-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1974 Liverpool 1-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1968 Ipswich Town 2-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1963 Bolton Wanderers 1-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1957 Bristol City 1-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1946 Coventry City 2-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1935 West Ham United 4-1 Hull City (Division Two)
1929 West Ham United 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Division One)

Played 13, Won 3, Drawn 6, Lost 4, Scored 17, Conceded 19

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Winston Reid update
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid has undergone successful surgery on his injured ankle at a
central London hospital
22.11.2013

West Ham United can confirm that Winston Reid has undergone successful ankle
surgery at a central London hospital. The centre-back suffered a high ankle
sprain in training on Tuesday 5 November and, following diagnosis by the
Club's medical staff and a scan, underwent a procedure to repair the
syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula in his lower right
leg. He will soon begin intensive rehabilitation, but no timescale has yet
been set for a return to first-team action. Head of sports science and
sports medicine Andy Rolls explained: "Winston had an operation on his ankle
injury to stabilise the joint. This procedure went well. "He will now
convalesce for a few days before starting his rehabilitation."

Reid has made 92 appearances for West Ham since joining from Danish side FC
Midtjylland in summer 2010, scoring five goals. The defender was voted
Hammer of the Year last season before making a strong start to the current
campaign, highlighted by him scoring the opening goal in the 3-0 Barclays
Premier League victory at Tottenham Hotspur in October.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tomkins eyes Chelsea 'boost'
WHUFC.com
Hammers defender James Tomkins says a positive result against Chelsea would
work wonders
22.11.2013

West Ham United defender James Tomkins is convinced the Boleyn Ground crowd
can play a part in helping the team emerge from their recent winless run.
The Hammers welcome Chelsea to E13 on Saturday looking to record just a
third league win of the season and Tomkins is expecting a typical derby day
atmosphere under the lights. Last year's 3-1 triumph over the Blues is still
fresh in Tomkins' mind and he would love nothing more than to gain a repeat
result.
Watch Big Sam's pre-match press conference on West Ham TV here The
24-year-old Academy graduate said: "The fans will get right behind us on
Saturday and hopefully we can match that with a good performance and three
points, which is needed at this stage of the season. "Anyone can beat anyone
on their day. Already this season there have been a lot of surprises and
Chelsea have been beaten [at Newcastle United in their last away game] and
there's no reason that on our day we can't win too. "We beat them last year
at our place, so hopefully we can have more of the same. We know ourselves
that we need the points."

Tomkins is not concerned by results not going for the Hammers at this stage,
because he believes the performance level has deserved more. "There's no
reason to panic, we just take it game-by-game," he stated. "We beat Spurs at
their place and if we beat Chelsea it would give us a big boost. "We're all
confident going into the game, there's still a good atmosphere around the
place and we're looking forward to it. "They're conceding goals and when we
counter attacked against Tottenham it worked for us. That seems to suit our
play with our system at the moment and if we can frustrate them and keep it
goalless at half time, we feel that we're likely to get a goal. "The fans
are going to be vital to us, getting behind us. We've got some winnable
games coming up and we
need to start this period with a good win on Saturday."

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Carr enjoying U18s success
WHUFC.com
Academy Director Tony Carr MBE on the U18s' current eight-match unbeaten run
22.11.2013

Academy Director Tony Carr MBE has praised his staff and players for West
Ham United's outstanding Barclays U18 Premier League form. The Hammers'
youngsters are on an eight-match unbeaten run ahead of Saturday's visit of
Fulham to Little Heath. Kick-off will be at 11am, with free admission and
parking.
With that fixture, as well as an FA Youth Cup third-round trip to Accrington
Stanley, to look forward to, Carr was in a positive mood when he sat down to
talk to West Ham TV.

Tony, the U18s have been on a really superb run of form and go into the
weekend visit of Fulham eight games unbeaten?

TC: "Yes, certainly. Steve Potts, in his first full season in charge of the
U18s assisted by myself and Mark Phillips, is doing a very good job. The
team are in very good form at the moment, unbeaten in eight and coming off a
very good 3-1 win at Reading last Saturday.
"We've got a really tough game coming up against top-of-the-table Fulham
this weekend. They are a very strong and powerful side who have only lost
one game all season, so it's a massive test for us and we'll find out a lot
about the boys. We're looking forward to it and, win or lose, it'll be a
very good game."

A lot has been said about the state of youth development in English
football, but the results we have achieved this year prove there is talent
at the Club?

TC: "At the end of the day, the philosophy at this Club has always been to
find, nurture and produce home-grown talent. I've said many times before
that we're not going to bury our heads in the sand and get every boy from
Essex or within an hour's drive. We have to look further afield.
"Djair Parfitt-Williams scored a hat-trick last Saturday against Reading and
he's a good example [of us scouting players from afar]. He came through the
International Academy. Djair came up on the radar from Bermuda through Clyde
Best, who we still keep in contact with.
"We put him on a course with the International Academy and then picked him
up and he is now a registered player with West Ham and he's got a chance.
You can never say a player is going to make it, but he's got a chance and we
hope he is one for the future."

Talking of the future, we will face Accrington Stanley in the FA Youth Cup
third round in December. It is the competition the boys all look forward to,
isn't it?

TC: "We go into every season hoping to have a good run in the FA Youth Cup
and it creates great interest from the fans. The players like it because
they get to play in stadia under the floodlights and it's a knockout
competition and always something the players look forward to.
"We've got Accrington away which is going to be tough and we have got to
give them the utmost respect. They beat Ilkeston in the second round and
Steve Potts and our recruitment officer Dave Hunt went to that game on
Tuesday night. "Ilkeston gave a good account of themselves and were unlucky
not to score, but Accrington came out on top on the night, so obviously
we've got to go there and hopefully we can come out winners."

Finally, we welcome one of West Ham's most-famous Academy graduates back to
the Boleyn Ground this Saturday in Frank Lampard. Now 35, Frank has recently
passed 100 caps for England, which is some achievement. How do you sum up
his fantastic career?

TC: "It is a fantastic achievement to reach 100 caps and I've sent Frank a
message of congratulation on reaching that landmark. He now has 103 and I'm
sure he'll now want to emulate Bobby Moore by getting to 108 caps. "You
don't get that amount of caps and play and score as regularly as he has
without being a top, top player and Frank is a top, top player, full-stop."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Joe Cole blogs for whufc.com on Chelsea, the Olympic Stadium and the
Messi/Ronaldo debate
22.11.2013

Hello everybody,

We're playing my old team Chelsea at the Boleyn Ground this Saturday and I
can't wait for the challenge. We're feeling good for the game - we've had
two weeks to prepare and we've got a couple of boys back from international
duty so we're ready for the game. Chelsea are a world-class team and we know
we're going to have to be at our very best throughout if we are to get back
on track at home with the result we need. I've done the main Official
Programme interview this week and in it I have spoken about my seven years
at Stamford Bridge, working under Jose Mourinho and playing alongside Frank
Lampard. They were good times and I am looking forward to more good times to
come with West Ham United. Myself, Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Mo Diame had
the chance this week to join the Vice-Chairman Karren Brady for a look at
how the transformation work at the Olympic Stadium is going. The
construction team there have started to take down the floodlighting towers
which were used during the Olympics as the first stage of building a new
roof and turning it into a stunning football stadium for us. It's going to
be a lovely stadium when theworks are finished. Being an Olympic Stadium is
special - you know about all the things that went on here in the summer of
last year, and now we're going to be able to make our own history there. I
think there will be a great atmosphere, and it's not just the Stadium itself
but the area around in terms of transport links and facilities, it's going
to be great for the supporters. It's a really exciting prospect for the Club
- the start of a new era.

We've had two weeks since this disappointment of defeat at Norwich due to
the latest international break and I was keeping my eye on the England
games, as well as the final World Cup Qualifying Play-Offs. I thought
England played reasonably well against Germany, it was experimental and the
game served the job for what they wanted. In the recent Qualifiers they were
great against Poland and Montenegro, the boys did great to go through
Qualifying undefeated and finish top of the group. With the young lads in
the squad it's exciting times, and I think they'll have a good chance going
to the World Cup. On the subject of World Cup Qualifying, Cristiano Ronaldo
probably showed he's the best player in the World at the moment as he helped
Portugal get through against Sweden.
Lionel Messi would have something to say about that statement, but Ronaldo
is a phenonemal talent and physically just the perfect specimen. He's always
there when the team needs him as well. Back to West Ham and the boys are
focused on making sure we turn the Boleyn Ground into a fortress again. We
got a great result against Chelsea last season here and we'd love a repeat.

Come on you Irons!
Joe

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Chelsea
KO 17:30
22 November 2013
By Jonathan Pearce
BBC Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 23 November

West Ham defender Winston Reid has undergone ankle surgery and is expected
to be a long-term absentee. Razvan Rat is a doubt with a hamstring injury he
sustained on international duty with Romania, but Joey O'Brien and James
Collins should be fit. Chelsea forward Fernando Torres is not quite ready to
return from an adductor muscle injury. Ashley Cole will play despite sitting
out England's matches with the recurrence of a rib injury. England need more
skill, pace and match-winning trickery in midfield. That much is clear from
the back-to-back Wembley defeats. West Ham's Ravel Morrison should use
spotlight matches like this to stake his claim for a place on the plane to
Rio. Now that he's shrugging off the tag of trouble-maker under the watchful
eye of Sam Allardyce and a new mentor in Kevin Nolan, the 20-year-old is
showing the sort of creativity that once had Sir Alex Ferguson drooling. I
think there's still one midfield spot in Roy Hodgson's squad yet accounted
for. Morrison has a lot to do, but his five goals this season have a stamp
of class. If he can get his head right, he could be a terrific player.

"Hammers boss Sam Allardyce will have had the flip-chart out again this week
to put together a game-plan to get one over the Blues. "I think that will
mainly come down to them trying to deny Chelsea any space and they will be
defending deep and looking to hit the Blues on the break." Chelsea's Frank
Lampard might be looking over his shoulder at the rise of Morrison. He
struggled against Chile. Critics will say the years are catching up with him
fast, especially as he's suffering his worst Premier League scoring drought
in a decade. This is the start of a run of five winnable games for Chelsea
against modest opposition prior to visiting Arsenal on 23 December. So far
they've picked up the same number of points under Jose Mourinho as they did
in Rafa Benitez's first 11 games in charge. Imagine the boos he would have
had! But, for the moment, Jose can still do no wrong. West Ham also need to
hit immediate targets - six points at least from the next three home games.
They have the worst current home form in the division. They've struggled to
score. The win at Spurs and the Capital One Cup run have camouflaged a
disturbing slump. Six points from nine games is relegation form. This week
they unveiled computer images of what football will look like in the Olympic
Stadium when they move. They can't afford to go there in the Championship.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
This is the 100th meeting of the clubs in all competitions. Chelsea have won
44 times, West Ham 37 and there have been 18 draws.
West Ham beat Chelsea for the first time in 13 league matches in the
corresponding fixture last season. However, Chelsea were then 2-0 winners at
Stamford Bridge.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has picked up just two points in his previous
six top-flight meetings with Jose Mourinho, losing all three home games.
West Ham
West Ham are without a win in their last four home games in the league (D1,
L3 D1), their worst run under Sam Allardyce.
They have failed to score in six of their 11 league matches this season.
Their only league victory since the opening day of the season was by 3-0 at
Tottenham.
This is the start of three successive London derbies for the Hammers, with
Fulham at home and Palace away to come.
Chelsea
They have just six points from six games against teams in the top half of
the table going into the start of the weekend's matches.
Frank Lampard has scored in three of his last four Premier League
appearances against his former club West Ham, but the England midfielder has
failed to score in 10 successive league games - his longest run without a
goal in the Premier League since April-August 2003.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six London derbies in the league (W4,
D2).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reid goes under the knife
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 22nd November 2013
By: Staff Writer

Winston Reid has undergone surgery to repair the troubled ankle that
threatens to keep him our of action until the New Year. The 25-year-old Kiwi
sustained the injury during a routine training session at Chadwell Heath at
the beginning of the month. According to whufc.com, Reid "underwent a
procedure to repair the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and
fibula in his lower right leg" earlier today, with the patient said to be
doing well. The reigning KUMB.com Player of the Year, Reid had been an
ever-present in Sam Allardyce's first team this season. However he now faces
up to six weeks' rehabilitation in order to regain full fitness. Speaking
about the injury recently, Reid said: "It was a freak accident, slipping and
getting my leg caught under another player - but these things happen. For me
personally it's one of the worst things that can happen. It couldn't have
happened at a worse time, but life goes on."

Reid 'em and weep - the games that Winston may miss
All matches Premier League fixtures unless otherwise stated

November
Sat, 23 Nov: West Ham Utd v Chelsea
Sat, 30 Nov: West Ham Utd v Fulham

December
Tue, 3 Dec: Crystal Palace v West Ham
Sat, 7 Dec: Liverpool v West Ham Utd
Sat, 14 Dec: West Ham Utd v Sunderland
Wed, 18 Dec: Tottenham v West Ham Utd (C1C)
Sat, 21 Dec: Man Utd v West Ham Utd
Thu, 26 Dec: West Ham Utd v Arsenal
Sat, 28 Dec: West Ham Utd v West Brom

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce hopes win over Chelsea can spark West Ham resurgence
Last Updated: November 22, 2013 9:23pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce hopes West Ham will end a poor run of form against Chelsea in
Saturday's Premier League clash. Allardyce admits the 2013-14 Premier League
season has been a frustrating one so far, with a lack of goals the Hammers'
main problem, and he hopes some of their positive performances will start to
earn the points they deserve. They have only won one top division game since
the end of September, albeit a memorable one when they finally broke their
shackles and crushed Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane. "We can't keep saying
good performances will eventually turn into results when they haven't when
you're 11 games in," Allardyce said in an interview with Sky Sports' Geoff
Shreeves. "I think those good performances should have had a lot more wins
behind them, on the way we played, the chances we created, the amount of
clean sheets we've achieved this year already. "I think we achieved 11 clean
sheets in the entire season last year and we've got six already. That should
have brought us four or five wins. "We've had some great performances which
have ended up in a draw. We had a terrific performance at Hull, we couldn't
score then ended up losing 1-0. "We obviously had a great performance and
the result of the season at Tottenham, so it shows on our day we can beat
the best. "We haven't been on our day in front of goal enough, having played
11 games and under 10 points that isn't good. That's not what should be
happening to us based on the level of our performances we've given this
season.
"We won results at this stage last year that we didn't deserve and this year
we're not getting the wins we do deserve. That's the difference between
where we are now and where we were last year."

Allardyce, who took charge of West Ham in June 2011, added: "It's gone
quickly Geoff. It's been a very quick two-and-a-half years up to now, I've
had a great time. "I've enjoyed the lifestyle here in London and more
importantly the small success at West Ham, obviously getting them promoted
in the first year and finishing tenth last year. "Chelsea have faltered in
the last couple of games, Newcastle away and they got a bit of luck with the
penalty they got to draw against West Brom at home. "They've shown a couple
of frailties we've got to try and exploit. We saw how Newcastle did it, and
West Brom did it, and we've got to try and do the same. "But we can only do
that by being tactically aware and having every player on top of his game on
Saturday."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Taxpayers to pay bulk of £200m Olympic Stadium conversion costs
Last Updated: November 22, 2013 5:37pm
SSN

Taxpayers will contribute up to £185m towards the cost of converting the
Olympic Stadium, Sky Sports News has learned. Sources say redevelopment work
costing as much as £200m is needed before West Ham move into the Newham
venue on a 99-year lease in 2016. And the Premier League club must hand over
just £15m of that figure, with the remainder of the cost borne by the London
Legacy Development Corporation (£120m), Newham Council (£40m) and the
Government (£25m). Contacted for a response by Sky Sports News the LLDC -
the body responsible for overseeing the transformation work - said: "The
stadium transformation has been delivered through public competitive
processes to ensure best value for taxpayers". And a spokesman for West Ham
pointed out taxpayers will recoup money for the duration of the 99-year
lease in rent, catering receipts and naming rights. The venue will also host
events unrelated to West Ham, including 2015 Rugby World Cup games, rock
concerts and the 2017 World Athletics Championships. And a statement from
the club read: "This total package will be worth hundreds of millions of
pounds to the taxpayer over the course of the agreement. We offered the only
viable solution to the long-term financial success of the stadium."
But Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn, who has fought a long battle for the
right to share the ground, has called West Ham's move "the deal of the
century".
And Robert Oxley, campaign director for the Taxpayers' Alliance, told Sky
Sports News: "It's incredibly worrying. "We've already spent £0.5bn in
taxpayers' money building the stadium. The idea that we've got to pay nearly
another £200m readying the stadium is a terrible deal for taxpayers."
Earlier this year Sky Sports News discovered under the Freedom of
Information Act that taxpayers are paying £1m a year to maintain the stadium
while it is unused. The fate of the arena has proved a long running headache
for the Government and London Mayor Boris Johnson, but both maintain the
right outcome has been reached. The venue will eventually become a
55,000-capacity multi-use stadium hosting football in the winter and
athletics in the summer. A full roof is to be fitted along with retractable
seats that move over the athletics track.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Exclusive: Six years on, London's Olympic stadium shambles over Premiership
football bites deep into UK taxpayers
Insideworldfootball.com
Published on Friday, 15 November 2013 14:49
Olympic stadium
By Mihir Bose

November 15 - The decision to lease the Olympic stadium to West Ham still
generates huge controversy with Barry Hearn owner of Leyton Orient vowing to
fight it all the way to Europe. Hearn is awaiting a report on Olympic Legacy
by a select committee of the House of Lord's due on Monday.

However confidential minutes of the Olympic Board, which brought together
all the stake holders responsible for London 2012, which have come into my
possession show how six years ago the Board rejected Premiership football as
the post-Olympic use of the stadium.

Yet in 2013 West Ham appear to have secured the stadium on much the same
terms but with the tax payer having to foot a bill 100 percent higher (at
£200 million) than what it would have cost had use of Premiership football
been incorporated in the original design.

The minutes relate to the 15th Olympic Board Meeting which started at 1-30
pm on 7 February 2007 at the offices of the Department of Culture, Media and
Sport in London's Cockspur Street

The Board had before it what was called "Olympic Stadium Update Report
Report Number OB(15)03".

This had been prepared by the Olympic Delivery Authority and its first
recommendations was: "To CONFIRM the Board's previous decisions not to
proceed with a Premiership Football option."

The executive summary of the report dealt with what the consultants PMP,
being used by the Sir Robert McAlpine team, had advised on the stadium and
its legacy use.

There had been previous discussions with Premiership clubs including West
Ham which had come to nothing. But at the end of 2006 after the Icelandic
takeover the club renewed interest in playing at the stadium. This led to
discussions and says the report:

"In summary, WHU's position is as follows.

"• Retrofitting the stadium after the Games is not a cost effective option.
The design brief needs to be amended to suit premiership football and core
facilities/"enhanced scope" required to accommodate premiership football
(e.g. under pitch heating, retractable seating, hospitality areas,
redesigned roof etc) would have to form part of the base brief.

"• WHU will not occupy the stadium if a running track is a permanent
fixture. Stand seating must cover the athletic track for a majority of the
year (about 20k-25k seats) and the roof must be redesigned to the scope of
this extended seating i.e. a much more extensive legacy roof structure. The
stand capacity is to be 60,000 seats, which includes the seating covering
the running tracks. NOTE: This means that the remaining seating left over
from the 80,000 Olympic requirement would be somewhere around 40-45,000.

"• The transaction would have to be based on a freehold or very long term
lease (in excess of 99 years) sale, with WHU as the sole operator of the
stadium. The indicative price for this interest is £100m. NOTE: it is
unclear as to when this would be paid and the extent to which this would
cover the costs of WHU's "enhanced" scope.

"• The retractable seating would cover the athletic tracks for the entirety
of the football season leaving approx 3-4 months when, subject to not
clashing with WHU fixtures, it would be available for athletics for up to 18
events. These events would be subject to WHU's approval. Other events may be
accommodated but these would be at WHU's discretion and potentially
chargeable.

"• A minimum of 500 and a preference for 1,000 car parking spaces, plus
coach and broadcast areas."

The result of all this would mean that "with regular access to the track for
athletics training impractical, WHU suggest an alternative solution in their
letter which would be to convert the stadium post Games for a football only
use, with a separate athletics facility built around the warm up track (in
effect Option 2 already considered and rejected by the Olympic Board)."

The executive summary concluded, "In summary, the WHU letter proposes a
purchase of the Olympic Stadium by a private company who would then take
responsibility for future operating and maintenance costs. WHU would control
access to the stadium and would provide very limited access for a few elite
athletics events. It rules out the daily use of the stadium for schools,
community groups and athletics training. It is currently unclear the extent
to which the £100m commercial offer would cover the "enhanced" scope and
enhanced risk to the construction programme as they propose this would be
delivered as part of the main build programme rather than being retrofitted
post Games."

The executive summary went on to warn that the West Ham proposal raised a
number of difficult issues. "WHU's proposal is an indicative offer. It would
take 6-8 weeks to reach detailed Heads of Terms and say another six months
to reach a binding legal/commercial position. There are however a number of
significant risks to achieving a secure position with WHU and it is unlikely
that this position could be reached before contracts have to be let and a
start made on site.

"The most significant risks to a clean deal and timescale are:

"IOC – approval to change in Host City Contract.

"State aid and procurement issues – the sale of a public asset to a private
company and well below cost price.

"Lottery – approval would be required to sell and asset funded by the
lottery to a private company.

"Planning – any deal would have to be subject to planning. The proposals are
not in line with the current application and would raise very substantive
issues such as traffic and environmental impact. A very careful approach
would be required to any new stadium proposal to avoid upsetting the current
application which is absolutely on the critical path for delivering the
Olympic Park. NOTE: Stratford City have always objected to a premiership
football club use and Westfield have formally advised the ODA of their
objection to premiership football.

"Scope – agreeing what is base scope Vs "enhanced" scope and who pays for
what."The executive summary said, "The report from consultants PMP shows
that elite athletics only usage will require long term subsidy and there is
a need to have a mixture of usage for other sports and commercial uses to
underpin financial sustainability. There is an urgent need for more work on
complementary uses such as education, sporting demands and commercial uses
in non-sporting zones B and C."

There could be no conceivable doubt as to what the Board was told about the
discussions with West Ham. "WHU has indicated that will accept a track and
field legacy but would not be prepared to occupy the Stadium if the running
track is permanent during the football season. This would impact on the size
of the roof. It would also effectively rule out daily use of the Stadium for
schools and community groups. UK Athletics has stated that the Premiership
requirements conflict with its needs and if a 60,000 stadium with a covered
track is the preferred option then it would want to re-evaluate Crystal
Palace.

"WHU's commercial offer is an indicative £100m in return for a very long
lease or freehold and sole operating rights. It is not clear the extent to
which this would cover the cost of West Ham's enhanced scope – retractable
seating over the track, extended roof over the retractable seats, corporate
hospitality, under pitch heating etc."

The result of this was talks with West Ham had come to an end as the club, "
have made clear that they do not think that their requirements can be met by
retrofitting and would only be interested in doing a deal if the pre-Games
base build changed. This would mean a fundamental change to the design
brief. The Stadium is currently on the critical path. The current programme
is already accelerated and there is no time to increase the scope to
accommodate a Premiership option if the Stadium is to have any chance of
being delivered on schedule or on budget. Continued uncertainty over the
base brief for the Stadium is becoming the most significant risk on the
project register. If this continues it could undermine the successful
delivery of the whole project in time for the Games."

The Board was told: "A clear decision is now required from the Board as to
how it wishes to proceed and its commitment to an athletics legacy – as per
the Host City Contract."

At its previous meetings the Board had considered four legacy options:

20,000 – 25,000 seat athletics facility

60,000 seat football, separate 20,000 seat athletics on the Olympic Park

60,000 seat football stadium, 20,000 seat athletics stadium at Crystal
Palace

60,000 football and athletics (combined)

However as the report pointed out: "Option 2 was eliminated on financial/VFM
grounds and on risk - complex solution technically to deliver, complexities
over specification for football club 'client', time required to get
commercial agreement with football club, state aid issues, town planning
issues, would require additional land take in Olympic Park etc - all of
which could jeopardise successful delivery of the project to time and cost.
Option 3 was eliminated as it did not meet the aspirations outlined in
London's Candidate File for an athletics legacy and would also attract
similar potential difficulties as outlined for Option 2 above. Option 4 was
eliminated on financial/VFM grounds and on risk grounds (state aid issues,
complexities over specification for football club 'client', compromise
solution for football, time required to get commercial agreement with
football club, does not accord with new masterplan).

A table attached to the report showed that athletics only use would mean a
loss of £5.67 million by 2018 and involve huge subsidy from the tax payers.

The Board was also told that Derek Mapp (then Chairman of Sport England)
"has raised concerns about the long term sustainability of a 25,000 seat
athletics stadium legacy. The ODA also understands that John Scott from UK
Sport has expressed strong reservations about the elite events strategy."

Minutes of the Board meeting state that "The Chair asked that the Board
endorse the decision that there be no further contact or negotiations with
West Ham Football Club in relation to the Olympic Stadium and this was
agreed. The Board also endorsed the concept of the Living Stadium. The Mayor
reported that he was due to make an announcement shortly regarding an
agreement with WFC and the development of another site adjacent to the Park.
"

The only one to voice objections was the then sports minister, Richard
Caborn, and the minutes state:

"Richard Caborn reminded the Board that the decision to support athletics in
legacy and reject Premiership football at the Stadium meant the loss of a
valuable revenue stream. He was concerned that the Mayor agreeing to a
further stadium being built by WHC so close to the Olympic Park would create
additonal problems in terms of attracting revenue and over capacity. Richard
Caborn had previously expressed his concerns regarding the PMP report to the
ODA. He was concerned that the legacy costs of maintaining the building
would divert resources away from grass roots sports and that these concerns
were echoed by UK Sport and Sport England. A number of other athletic
sporting venues were cited by Richard Caborn as currently running at a loss,
and heavily subsidised by public funds, despite offering world class
facilities."

However, "The Mayor[Ken Livingstone] re-iterated his commitment to the IOC
to provide £10m to support the Park in legacy mode, and this commitment was
binding on any future Mayor. He was surprised at the cost estimates in the
report as being less than he had anticipated. Lord Coe also informed the
meeting that £200K would be available from the Marathon Trust. Richard
Caborn was assured that there would be no direct cost to Sport England in
financially supporting the Stadium in legacy, unless by choice."

After these discussions it was resolved that: "(i) the Olympic Board
unanimously supports the ODA's brief of an Olympic Stadium of 80,000 seats
and 25,000 seats in legacy mode, based on a core athletics use; Olympic
Programme Support Unit Confidential - Policy (ii) the Olympic Board rejects
any further discussions with any Premiership football club on use of the
Stadium in legacy mode, and that Sir Roy McNulty formally advise West Ham
Football Club of the Board's decision; (iii) the ODA develop its legacy work
on the use of the Stadium as a matter of urgency, including drawing together
all the know funding and income streams."

But lack of funding streams has meant turning to Premiership football.
However the disclosure of these confidential minutes is bound to stir the
pot further. It now remains to see what the House of Lord's report says
about all this.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Mo Diame ready to pledge his long term future to the east London
club
22 Nov 2013 16:40
The Mirror

Mo Diame is ready to turn his back on any Arsenal interest and pledge his
long term future to West Ham. The 26-year-old was linked with the Premier
League leaders during the summer after an excellent season at Upton Park
last time around including a goal in their memorable 3-1 victory over
Chelsea. And while he has not shone quite as brightly this season the star
has been granted contract talks with the owners. The Hammers chiefs are keen
to remove a £3.5m release clause in his current deal that has two years left
to run and see him play in the Olympic Stadium when they move there in three
years. 'I imagine myself at the Olympic Stadium but it's 2016 and I hope to
sort my contract as soon as possible to make sure I play there,' Diame told
the Mail. 'With the transfer window we will start to talk, at the moment we
are not talking. I hope it as soon as possible. 'Of course I will always
have good memories from the game against Chelsea last season. I'm looking
forward to do the same but it will be a different game. 'With the Olympic
Stadium you have to build a strong team to be at least in the top five or
something like this. You can't be in that stadium and play at the bottom of
the league. 'We didn't start very well this season but I hope that will
change on Saturday. I didn't start well myself so I'm working hard to
improve. "With the Christmas period coming up we can change our position in
the table quickly. We have to be ready.'

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

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Daily WHUFC News - 22nd November 2013

Stadium transformation excites Nolan
WHUFC.com
Kevin Nolan was impressed to see the Olympic Stadium conversion continuing
this week
21.11.2013

West Ham United captain Kevin Nolan has revealed his excitement at the
conversion work that has got underway at the Olympic Stadium. Nolan joined
Vice-Chairman Karren Brady and team-mates Mark Noble, Joe Cole and Mohamed
Diame at a special ceremony in Stratford on Tuesday. There, the joined LLDC
CEO Dennis Hone and London Borough of Newham CEO Kim Bromley-Derry in
witnessing preparations get underway to facilitate the venue's magnificent
new roof. With the stunning conversion of the iconic arena moving on apace,
the first of 14 floodlight panels are to be removed later this week, such
that construction of the new roof, twice the size of the original, can begin
in earnest next spring. Nolan was impressed by what he saw on his latest
visit to the Olympic Stadium, saying: "Myself and a few of the lads had the
pleasure of visiting the Olympic Stadium to see the latest stage in its
conversion from the home of London 2012 to our new home in 2016. "It's
exciting. Every time we visit the Olympic Stadium, I can't help but be
excited by it. This Stadium is going to be fantastic for everyone involved -
the players, supporters, staff and everybody associated with the Club. "When
the fans are lucky enough to see the Stadium for themselves, I think they
will agree with us that it is something truly special. "To see the Stadium
has moved on from the last time I visited in the summer was great and I am
already looking forward to getting back there again to see the next stage in
its transformation."

Nolan said he and every West Ham player was already envisioning the day when
the Hammers step out for their first game at their 54,000-capacity new home
in summer 2016. "The work that started this week was to move the floodlights
and start the construction of the new roof, which will definitely help to
keep in the amazing noise you lot make when the Hammers supporters are in
full voice! "The atmosphere they create at the Boleyn Ground - and on the
road at away grounds - is already something special. So, when you think we
only have 35,000 in at home games and we'll have around 54,000 at the
Olympic Stadium, it's just going to be incredible. I just hope I'm the one
who is leading the team out amid all that noise!"

Between now and 2016, of course, the Hammers want to build on two successful
seasons by continuing to establish themselves in the Barclays Premier
League. Nolan admitted the start to the 2013/14 campaign had not gone to
plan, but restated his commitment to producing improved results over the
coming months. "For us, as players, it is now about getting things right on
the pitch so that, when we go to Stratford and move into that fantastic
Stadium, the Club is still in the Premier League and doing really well. "We
have had a tricky start to the season, but we believe we are not far off
from where we want to be performance-wise. We have just got to keep
believing. "When we move to Stratford, we want the quality on the pitch to
match the quality of the Stadium we're playing in."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
'It will be a bit special'
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble cannot wait to play in front of 54,000 Hammers fans at the
Olympic Stadium
21.11.2013

Lifelong Hammer Mark Noble is excited by the prospect of stepping out at the
Olympic Stadium in front of 54,000 fans in 2016. The midfielder was present
to witness a significant milestone in the transformation of the iconic venue
to a football stadium on Wednesday, when work on taking down the existing
floodlight towers was set to begin. Noble could visualise the atmosphere and
thinks time will fly ahead of the Club's move. "It will be a bit special to
turn out here in front of 54,000 supporters," he said. "When we played at
Wembley in the Play-Off final, the noise increased with that many fans - it
was unbelievable. "So, hopefully we can bring that to here, the fans are
special where we are, and I'm sure we can bring the atmosphere over from the
Boleyn Ground and make it a proper football stadium. "It's progressing to a
football stadium, they're starting the roof now which is going to take a few
months and it's coming into place. "They've got the Rugby World Cup in 2015,
so the place will have to sorted by then and it's exciting. "The
two-and-a-half years before we move in is going to fly by. I remember making
my debut, and time has flown since then so I'm pretty sure the two years
will go super quick. It's going to be a fantastic place to play."

More immediately, West Ham take on Chelsea on Saturday on their return from
the international break and Noble is relishing the challenge. He added:
"We've had a good week's training, we have a couple more days before the
game now and the lads are looking forward to it. "We know it is going to be
a tough test but we need a change of luck, we've had some bad luck over the
last few weeks. "The league is a bit different this year and everyone is
beating everyone else. It's not as clear-cut as it has been in other years.
"We're excited and hopefully we can take some good form into the game."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dickens relishing 'fantastic fixture'
WHUFC.com
One-time West Ham United and Chelsea midfielder Alan Dickens talks to Steve
Blowers
21.11.2013

West Ham United versus Chelsea.
The Hammers versus The Blues.
East Enders versus West End Boys.

Package Saturday's game up how you want but, having played for both clubs,
one thing's for sure: it's the match of the season for Alan Dickens.
"Whether you're a player or a supporter, it's a fantastic fixture," insists
the 49-year-old, who made 234 appearances in the claret and blue before
heading way out west to Stamford Bridge in a £600,000 move in summer 1989
and appearing 64 times for tonight's visitors. "You look at the players Jose
Mourinho has available and it's frightening. Not many clubs can go out and
buy a £50m striker and, alongside Fernando Torres, they've also got Demba Ba
and Samuel Eto'o, while most teams would give anything to have Romelu Lukaku
in their side, yet he's out on loan! Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar in
midfield…the list just goes on.
"And, of course, there's Frank Lampard, too," continues Dicko, who made his
Hammers debut at Notts County in December 1982 with Frank senior in the
side. "Young Frank's had an absolutely amazing career, scoring all those
goals and winning 100 England caps.

"Frank still tackles, makes runs and works so hard. I can remember seeing
him score a hat-trick for West Ham in the Coca-Cola Cup against Walsall in
1997 and, even then, you could see that he had something. He was applauded
off the pitch that night. "Obviously, as a football club, Chelsea have
really come on since I moved there," says licensed black cab driver Dicko,
who has kindly stopped the meter and parked up opposite former Prime
Minister Tony Blair's palatial Connaught Square home to speak to me. These
days, Alan jumps at the chance to take a fare out towards Heathrow Airport
but two decades ago that drive westwards to the Blues' Harlington training
ground did not hold too much attraction for the Chelsea new boy, who just
three years earlier had been one of the stars of the show, when West Ham
United achieved their highest-ever, third place finish. "Looking back,
having been a West Ham boy all my life, I found it difficult to settle at
Stamford Bridge and I should have moved from Barking to give myself more of
a chance. "I did okay at Chelsea but I never really grasped the opportunity
that their manager - Bobby Campbell - gave me," admits the Boy of '86 with
typical Dickensian honesty. "Although it was different in those days - the
likes of Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit and Roman Abramovich had yet to arrive -
I'm not sure that I ever fulfilled my potential in my three or four seasons
there. "Nowadays Chelsea are always in the top four and they'll come close
to winning the Premier League this season but West Ham can certainly hold
their own against them. "Remember, they came to the Boleyn Ground as
reigning Champions League winners last year, yet we won 3-1 and Sam
Allardyce knows exactly what he needs to do to beat a side like Chelsea.
"Although West Ham are finding goals hard to come by this year, from what
I've seen, there's not a lot wrong. For example, they had a great first half
up at Norwich City but then it just fell apart. "Obviously, they're missing
Andy Carroll and while they're not scoring like they did last year, the
midfield are still getting the ball into the penalty area. Right now, I
guess they could do with a young, Tony Cottee-type striker, who can get on
the end of those crosses. Who knows, it might be time to throw in a
youngster like Elliot Lee to see if he can pop up with a goal or two?"
Having progressed through the Hammers Academy, the once-capped England U21
midfielder knows only too well that the youth system remains the life-blood
for many clubs. "It makes me very proud to see the likes of James Tomkins
and Mark Noble as regular first-teamers because, Southampton apart, there
are not many other clubs that regularly bring their kids through," says
Alan, who is still involved in coaching at Ryman League side AFC Hornchurch
and with 45 pupils at nearby Barking Abbey School. "I look at Noble and
think that he's been a bit unlucky not to have sneaked his way into an
England squad. He won all those U21 caps and, in my opinion, he's equally as
good as, say, Jordan Henderson, who seems to have caught Roy Hodgson's eye.
"Ravel Morrison's a nice footballer, too," observes Alan. "He looks really
comfortable on the ball and has clearly got a big future. Looking back, Sir
Alex Ferguson probably did him a big favour by letting him leave Manchester
United, even though they probably didn't want to let him to go."

Certainly, it is difficult not to make comparisons with a similar starlet of
Dicko's era. "Paul Ince had a difficult start but John Lyall, who was very
similar to Sir Alex, ended up bringing a very, very good player through.
Looking back at what he went on to achieve, Incey probably thanks his lucky
stars that he had a manager, who cared so much for his welfare and I'm sure
that Sam Allardyce can carry on helping Ravel to develop. "Ravel probably
needed to get away from Manchester to carry on fulfilling his potential,"
concludes Dicko as he prepares to start up the cab and put the orange 'For
Hire' light back on. "After spending a year at Birmingham City, he's grown
up, grasped the situation and has now come back to West Ham to start reaping
his rewards."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Diame seeking new deal
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 21st November 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham's midfielder Mo Diame says that he wants to end speculation
regarding his immediate future by signing a new deal at West Ham. The
26-year-old has long been linked with a move away from West Ham due to the
much-publicised inclusion of a £3.5million minimum release clause in the
three-year contract he signed in 2012. However Diame - who has been in and
out of Sam Allardyce's first team in recent weeks - told the Mail Online
today that he wants to quash the rumours by signing a long-term deal with
West Ham. "I imagine myself playing at the Olympic Stadium and I hope to
sort my contract as soon as possible to make sure I play there," he said.
"With the transfer window [looming] we will start to talk. At the moment we
are not talking, but I hope it is possible soon." Despite being linked with
clubs such as Arsenal in recent months, Diame has never publicly announced a
desire to leave West Ham and as recently as five months ago was speaking
positively about his future in east London. Recapping upon his first season
as a Hammer, he said: "I played an important part in the setup and have
faith that we can finish even higher [next season]. I understand that my
performances have been inconsistent; that's what I need to work on in the
future."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce: still no Carroll return date
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 21st November 2013
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce admitted this morning that he has no idea when Andy Carroll is
likely to regain full fitness. The England striker is yet to kick a ball for
West Ham since making a Club record £15million switch from Liverpool in the
summer - much to the frustration of Allardyce, who maintains he is unsure
when the 24-year-old is likely to play again. "We're trying to get a date
out of the guys over in Amsterdam," revealed the manager, "but they are
reluctant to give us any clear indication of when he's going to be able to
join us back here and start training with the squad and getting back into
the team. "It's obviously a great worry and concern for us all and one we
have to make sure we deal wtih. To take the pressure off, we need results
that we haven't achieved in the first eleven games."

Already severely hampered by the loss of defensive linchpin Winston Reid,
there was more injury woe for Big Sam ahead of this weekend's clash with
Chelsea after Razvan Rat limped out of Romania's World Cup play-off against
Greece on Tuesday. He too looks set to miss this weekend's big London derby.
"Razvan is a difficult situation," said Allardyce. "He came off with a
hamstring injury after 25 minutes [on Tuesday]. George McCartney is just
back to match-fitness, but we're short in the defensive area. We cannot
really afford to suffer any more in the defensive area because Winston Reid
is also out. "Any injury comes at a bad time, especially when it happens to
your international players, because they are generally your first-team
players. We're calculating the injury list at the moment, but we're hopeful
that James Collins' and Joey O'Brien's injuries will not keep them out of
selection for Chelsea. "That's just our luck at the moment because three
defenders have been blighted by injuries on international duty, but
hopefully James and Joey will recover although Razvan looks like a difficult
one at the moment."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce still unsure on Andy Carroll's return date
Last Updated: November 21, 2013 9:56pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admits he is still unsure as to when striker
Andy Carroll is due to return from injury. Having been sidelined with
successive heel injuries which have ruled him out since the final day of
last season, the 24-year-old is yet to feature for the Hammers since making
his switch from Liverpool permanent over the summer. Carroll also saw his
comeback halted by a recent stomach infection and Allardyce says that he is
still in the dark about when the England international will be available for
selection again. "We've been trying to get a date out of the guys over in
Amsterdam," he told Sky Sports News. "But they're reluctant to give us any
clear indication of just how long it's going to be before he can join us
back here and start training with the players, with the squad and then
obviously getting into the team to play some games. "It's obviously a great
worry and concern for us all and one we haven't expected, but one we have to
make sure we deal with."

Allardyce has often opted to play without a recognised striker so far this
season, but admits that he did attempt to bolster his attacking options
during the summer. "We tried to sign four top strikers before the window
shut in August, so we didn't just sit back and not try to sign the one
player we felt would add to the situation," he said. "As I said, we tried
our very, very best. David Sullivan and David Gold tried their very best to
sign a top, top striker. "Unfortunately, none of the players that we went
for wanted to join West Ham at the time."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce believes West Ham can surprise Chelsea on Saturday
Last Updated: November 21, 2013 6:20pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce believes that West Ham can spring a surprise against Chelsea
on Saturday night - by taking a leaf out of Newcastle United's book. Alan
Pardew's side confounded the critics with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Jose
Mourinho's side earlier this month - and Allardyce is hoping to profit from
a similarily disciplined approach this weekend. "Newcastle frustrated
Chelsea and started the process of winning that game by keeping a clean
sheet and scoring a free-kick then sucked them in and hit them on the break
for the second," Allardyce said. "With that result for Chelsea, there's a
chance to see where their weaknesses lie. But anything less than top form
for all of our players would make life difficult for us. We will have to
produce the end product because chance creation will be harder."

West Ham have scored just twice in their last four games and Allardyce knows
it is an area they need to improve on, given the strength of their defence.
"In terms of our goals it's not that we're not creating chances but we're
not converting them. Our chance conversion is among the worst and that has
to improve," he said. "To take the pressure off us all we need results. We
haven't achieved that so far, and we need to turn the performances into
results. "We played against Spurs and scored three goals, we could have
scored more goals against a lot of teams. "In the striker area, we are not
delivering goals in the game. We have outplayed a lot of teams since we have
played without a striker. The tactical side of it has worked, but we haven't
taken our chances."

West Ham have not won at home in the league since the opening day against
Cardiff City and Aallardyce is hoping to have James Collins and Joey O'Brien
available after both pulled out of international duty this week. "Any injury
comes at a bad time for any team and we're calculating the injury list," he
said. "We're hoping that because O'Brien and Collins pulled out that will
help with the extent of their injuries. "Razvan Rat went off after 25
minutes with a hamstring in Romania's game so his assessment is more
difficult, but we're hoping that Joey and James Collins will be okay."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham midfielder Jack Collison aims to become regular in side
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: November 21,
2013 9:59am
SSN

West Ham United ace Jack Collison is aiming to cement his place in the
starting XI ahead of this weekend's London derby against Chelsea. Collison
has started West Ham's last two Premier League games against Aston Villa and
Norwich after returning from a successful loan spell at Bournemouth. The
midfield dynamo impressed during a month-long loan stay on the South Coast
and he was quickly restored to the starting line-up by Sam Allardyce upon
his return to Upton Park. Collison is relishing the chance to stake his
claims for a regular spot in Allardyce's side when Chelsea visit Upton Park
on Saturday, and the Wales international is happy that the Hammers boss has
shown faith in him since his return from a loan spell. "It is great to be
back in the fold and I am thankful to the manager for starting me in the
last two games," Collison told Sky Sports. "I really enjoyed my time at
Bournemouth and I think it was perfect for me to get some games under my
belt. "That has helped me win my place back in the West Ham starting XI and
I am determined to keep my spot in the team. "I am happy with my form and
fitness and it is up to me to prove to the manager that I deserve an
extended run in the side. "We face a massive test against Chelsea this
weekend, but it is a game all the lads are really looking forward to as we
enjoyed a great win over them last season."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole and Mark Noble hope for upturn in form against Chelsea
Last Updated: November 21, 2013 12:54pm
SSN

Joe Cole and Mark Noble are hoping to profit from the recent international
break against Chelsea this weekend. West Ham have struggled for home form in
the league this season; they have not won at Upton Park since the opening
day against Cardiff, but Cole and midfield team-mate Noble are hoping for an
upturn in fortunes this weekend - against some leg-weary opponents. "We've
had two weeks to prepare," Cole told Sky Sports News ahead of the meeting
with his former club. "We've a couple of players back from international
duty this week. "It's going to be a tough game. They are a world class team
and we need to be at our very best to get something out of the game. Like I
say, we need to try and impose our game and try and win it that way."

Noble too acknowledges that it will be tough against the three-time Premier
League champions, but also believes this may be the best time to be playing
them.
"We know how good they are, they are a top team," he said. "A lot of their
players have been on international duty over the last couple of weeks. If
there was ever a good time to play them, this might be it. "Their top
players play all around the world. We're looking forward to it. We've had a
bit of bad luck at home but hopefully that can turn for us and we can get
some points on Saturday."

Ashley Cole is unlikely to feature for Chelsea this weekend after he
aggravated a rib problem during England's defeat to Germany.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce says Ravel Morrison should take aim at Jack Wilshere's World
Cup place
21 Nov 2013 22:30
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce believes Ravel Morrison's goal this season is to rival Jack
Wilshere for a place in England's World Cup squad. Roy Hodgson has claimed
there will be no surprises among his final selections for next summer's
23-man party. But Wilshere has nominated Morrison among the big dangers to
his place on the plane to Brazil. The Arsenal midfielder has scored two
goals this season from his 19 appearances compared to five from 12 from his
West Ham counterpart. Morrison has also hit two goals in three England
Under-21 matches this season to take his tally to seven from 15 for the
season so far. He will hoping to add to that against Chelsea in Saturday's
televised London derby against Chelsea. Big Sam said: "Its a nice goal for
Ravel if he wants to have [the World Cup] at the back of his mind, saying:
'I can get there.' "I don't think there is anything wrong with that dream.
Without dreams you can't be successful trying to achieve those dreams. "So
it should be a dream of his and can he make that dream a reality. Not too
many people reach their ultimate goal in life."
Big Sam shares the widely-held belief that Wilshere sets the midfield
standard for youngsters hoping to shape England's future. But he believes
Wilshere will have to overcome the mental scars of his injuries - just as
Aaron Ramsey did after his broken leg three years ago - before he
rediscovers his best form. Allardyce said: "The trouble is with Jack at the
moment, because of his injury problems we haven't seen the development that
he would have had. "I think Jack Wilshere's has got that final pass, the
little bit of creativity, that little bit of being able to break down a
defence all day long. "I think he has shown that, certainly prior to the
injury that he had. Unfortunately, because of the long-term state of that
injury, he may still be feeling the effects of that and not be quite where
he wants to be at the moment. "Look at what Ramsey has done. Look at how
long it has taken him to recover mentally. That's a mental recovery. Not a
physical one. "Now he has recovered fully from that traumatic broken leg.
Mentally. "He recovered physically very, very well but obviously didn't
recover quite as well mentally and now has. "Jack might be in a similar boat
and of course with the amount of competition that Arsenal have in that
position that's going to be another - its going to be more of a concern for
Jack to play in Arsenal's team for me at this moment in time on a regular
basis than thinking about the World cup for England. "I think if he does
both he will be there."

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