Tottenham Hotspur match preview
WHUFC.com
A look ahead to Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final against Tottenham
Hotspur
17.12.2013
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v WEST HAM UNITED
CAPITAL ONE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
REFEREE: NEIL SWARBRICK
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Introduction
• West Ham United visit White Hart Lane for the second time this season on
Wednesday night as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup
quarter-finals.
• The Hammers first trip to north London this season back on 6 October ended
in a brilliant 3-0 win in the Barclays Premier League, which represented the
Club's first away win over Spurs in 14 years.
• Sam Allardyce's team overcame Cheltenham Town and Cardiff City at the
Boleyn Ground in rounds two and three before they saw off Burnley at Turf
Moor to reach this stage of the competition.
• Ravel Morrison netted against both Cheltenham and Cardiff and returns to
the stadium where he scored a brilliant third goal in the league win over
Spurs.
• There will be no Andre Villas Boas in the home dugout after the Portuguese
was relieved of his duties following Sunday's heavy 5-0 defeat to Liverpool.
• Tim Sherwood has been placed in temporary charge of a team which has
beaten Aston Villa away and Hull City at home to earn their place in the
quarter-finals.
• Spurs have so far enjoyed more wins on their travels than at home in the
league this season, with the 3-0 defeat to West Ham one of three home
losses.
• Former Hammer Jermain Defoe is Tottenham's leading scorer in the Capital
One Cup following his brace in the third round win over Aston Villa.
Team news
West Ham United
• Andy Carroll (foot), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Stewart Downing (ankle),
Winston Reid (ankle) and Mladen Petric (calf) are all definitely out.
• James Tomkins will undergo a fitness test ahead of the game on Wednesday
after the recurrence of a groin injury.
Tottenham Hotspur
• Tottenham have injury doubts over Vlad Chiriches (knee), Younes Kaboul
(quad) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle), but Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose
should be fit enough to feature.
Background
• West Ham United first met Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup on 14
September 1966 at the Boleyn Ground, when Geoff Hurst scored the only goal
of the game to put the Hammers through to the third round.
• When these two teams last met in the quarter-finals of the League Cup the
Division Two Hammers hosted their top flight opponents. David Cross scored
the winning goal in a 1-0 win on 2 December 1980.
• Overall the sides have met on seven occasions in the League Cup with West
Ham winning two, Tottenham winning three times and two matches ending in
draws.
Last time out
West Ham United 0-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
14 December 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins,
McCartney, Noble, Morrison, Diame, J Cole (C Cole 75), Jarvis (Collison 56),
Maiga
Subs not used: Adrian, Rat, Diarra, Taylor
Tottenham Hotspur 0-5 Liverpool
Barclays Premier League
15 December 2013
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Capoue, Dawson, Naughton (Fryers 46),
Dembele (Townsend 61), Lennon, Sandro (Holtby 30), Soldado, Paulinho, Chadli
Subs not used: Friedel, Lamela, Defoe, Sigurdsson
Red card: Paulinho 62
Previous meeting
West Ham fans celebrated a famous win after a flawless team performance
earned the Hammers a first victory at White Hart Lane in 14 years. A
13-minute spell in the second half saw the visitors rack up three goals and
blow away their opponents. Winston Reid opened the scoring after 66 minutes
before Ricardo Vaz Te ran through to double the lead after 72 minutes. The
crowning glory came seven minutes later when Ravel Morrison picked the ball
up in his own half before beating two defenders and lifting the ball over
Hugo Lloris to jubilant scenes in the away section.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
6 October 2013
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton (Holtby 81),
Dembele, Townsend, Paulinho, Eriksen (Soldado 74), Sigurdsson (Lamela 63),
Defoe
Subs not used: Friedel, Chiriches, Chadli, Sandro
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Rat, Morrison, Diame
(Collins 80), Noble (O'Brien 90), Nolan, Downing, Vaz Te (J Cole 86)
Subs not used: Adrian, Jarvis, Maiga, Petric
Goals: Reid 66, Vaz Te 72, Morrison 79
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
06.10.13 Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United
25.02.13 West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
25.11.12 Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United
19.03.11 Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 West Ham United
25.09.10 West Ham United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
28.12.09 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United
Overall record v Tottenham Hotspur (all competitions) W 68 D 48 L 77
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)
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)
Tottenham Hotspur
2012/13 Premier League 5th (72 points)
2011/12 Premier League 3rd (69 points)
2010/11 Premier League 5th (62 points)
2009/10 Premier League 4th (70 points)
2008/09 Premier League 8th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 11th (46 points)
2006/07 Premier League 5th (60 points)
2005/06 Premier League 5th (65 points)
2004/05 Premier League 9th (52 points)
2003/04 Premier League 14th (45 points)
Old boys
• Spurs striker Jermain Defoe came through the ranks at West Ham before
scoring 29 goals in 93 league appearances between 1999 and 2004. He is in
his second spell at White Hart Lane after returning in January 2009.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Calum
Davenport, Ilie Dumitrescu, Dave Dunmore, Matthew Etherington, Les
Ferdinand, Jimmy Greaves, Fred Griffiths, Pat Holland, Chris Hughton, Bill
Joyce, Bill Kaine, Frederic Kanoute, Kenny McKay, Fred Massey, Fred Milnes,
John Moncur, Jimmy Neighbour, Tony Parks, Martin Peters, Sergei Rebrov, Mark
Robson, Peter Shearing, Teddy Sheringham, Mauricio Taricco, Mitchell Thomas,
Michael Carrick, Bobby Zamora and Scott Parker.
Referee
• Wednesday night's referee will be Neil Swarbrick.
• Swarbrick began refereeing at the age of 29 and within six years he had
been promoted to the National List of assistant referees in 2005.
• Now 42, Swarbrick made his way up the leagues via the Football Conference
and the npower Football League before receiving his first Barclays Premier
League appointment on 11 December 2010. He was officially promoted to the
Select Group of top-flight referees in June 2011.
• The official last took charge of the Hammers in their 3-0 defeat to
Sunderland at the Stadium of Light back on 12 January 2013.
General information
• All standard and disabled tickets for this fixture are sold out.
• There are no planned engineering works on the London Underground network
on Wednesday. You can view live travel updates across the Underground here.
• Heavy rain is forecast for the game with temperatures expected to be
around 10C.
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Big Sam on: Tottenham Hotspur
WHUFC.com
Big Sam faces the media ahead of Wednesday night's Capital One Cup
quarter-final
17.12.2013
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has spoken to the media ahead of
Wednesday night's Capital One Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Big Sam was asked about Spurs' recent managerial sacking, the Club's form in
the Barclays Premier League and the latest team news ahead of the trip to
White Hart Lane.
Morning Sam, is it a good or bad time to be facing Spurs?
SA: "We'll only know at the end of the game. Whatever the situation is at
Spurs from our point of view you look at the squad of players they've got
and they have an excellent squad. They had a very, very poor result against
Liverpool and that ultimately resulted in them removing Andre Villas-Boas
which was a surprise to me. From our point of view it's about the same
players that we all know about. We all know the quality of the team and the
quality of their squad. Whatever team they turn out against us on Wednesday
night is always going to be an exceptionally difficult game for us. "We had
one of the games of the season, or for us the game of the season against
them last time. That doesn't mean to say it's going to be any easier now
there's been a change, it may be more difficult. I have enough of my own
problems with injuries and suspensions with games coming up rapidly to have
too much concern about Tottenham other than what team I'm going to play, how
we're going to play and what we can do to combat them and get through to the
semi-finals."
You said you were surprised that AVB was sacked, why do you think that? And
also do you feel partly responsible after your win over them earlier in the
season?
SA: "Not really, no. At that stage it was their second defeat and they'd
only conceded two goals at the time. We had a fantastic 12 or 14 minute
spell when we took full advantage of a very good situation for ourselves and
we finished them off by scoring on the chances that we created. Before that
and since then we've played similar games on several occasions but failed to
score and ended up losing football matches so we're in a very difficult
position in the league. "We're now in the quarter-finals of the Capital One
Cup and it's a less pressured game than has fallen upon us recently in the
Barclays Premier League, so we've got to go out and give it all we've got.
It's a one-off tie, at the end of it it won't be a draw, one team will have
won and one team will have lost. It could be the end of your cup competition
or you go to the exciting semi-finals in the New Year. It's a different type
of game, a different pressure and hopefully the players will come out and
give their all on Wednesday night."
Five of the Premier League managers have gone before Christmas so it's been
a relatively bleak season in those terms so far, what have you made of it?
SA: "It's about the money now. The money's so big that the fear of losing
that status of being in the Premier League and losing that revenue is so big
now that it causes lots of thinking by owners of football clubs to try and
make sure they continue with that type of revenue. For Tottenham, not so
much, because they're not going to worry about getting relegated and it's
probably more about budgeting for Champions League football and what that
brings on top of what they've spent. "The removal of managers at this level
is probably the highest it's been in the entirety of the Premier League. I
don't think this many managers have ever changed this early in the Premier
League since it was born. More importantly you see the downside in the
Championship now where there are more and more managers being changed by all
the clubs that want to try and get back to the Premier League and that
creates a very volatile industry. You have to be well aware of that when you
step through the door and sit behind the desk, it's all about winning and
making sure your team lives up to the reality of where it should be with
what it spends and the quality of players you have, not perception. The
perception of where you should or shouldn't be compared to reality is always
that little bit greater at every football club."
With all these sackings, do you fear for your job?
SA: "No, I don't fear for my job. When you're a senior manager in the years
that I've been managing now, then that becomes one of those things that you
face on some occasions of your career. There's always going to be a time
when there's a difficult period and my responsibility is to manage the
players through that. You have to make sure you bring stability back to the
club and get where you want to be. My particular situation will ease and
will get better as long as we get our inured players fit, and our
communication between the Board of Directors and myself with everyone at the
Club is clear and precise. "I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen but we're
supportive in terms of trying to do something in January to help the players
and try to bring back the injured players to get the squad back to where it
was at the start of the season, which even if it didn't include Andy Carroll
was a very good squad. It's fraught with injuries and suspensions at the
minute and that is a great difficulty for us to deal with. I worry more
about my team than my own position, I always have done and I know everyone's
feeling the pressure; it's always going to happen to someone. We all can't
finish tenth, we all can't finish top and we've all got to find our place in
this league and we've got to continue to strive to do that."
Any news on the attacking player you're trying to bring in?
SA: "Not particularly, no. I've said before it's not an easy task to bring
players in at this time of the season. We're looking at loan players rather
than a permanent and I think it makes it that little bit more difficult. Who
knows if someone turns up and wants to talk then it can happen very swiftly.
When David Sullivan and David Gold make a decision, the reaction to the
decision is almost immediate and they try and get the deal done, we don't
dither. If we can't, we say 'thank you very much' and get on with it."
You've always said that you should stick with managers, are you looking
forward to proving that point this season?
SA: "I don't have to prove a point to anybody. The only thing I do is
continue to do my job and all the outside press can do and say what they
want to because that's their right and their industry. My confidence is in
myself and how I run a football club and I've been doing that for many, many
years now. We're in a difficult time and a difficult period, I know why.
We've got to go all out to try and get the squad back together, that's the
main reason why we are where we are at the moment. We've got to make sure we
do one thing better than we've done up to now. "We have the same amount of
clean sheets that Everton have had so it doesn't take a genius to know what
our problem is. We've been a few goals short of what would have been a very
good position in the league. We don't often go and lose by many goals
because we're that good defensively. What we have failed to do is score the
goals to win games that we should have done. Everton are near the top of the
league with eight clean sheets, we're fourth from bottom with eight clean
sheets so we know the one thing we've got to put right and that's score more
goals."
Why did it click so brilliantly on that day at White Hart Lane? And why have
you not been able to replicate that since?
SA: "We've got the same performance on a regular basis but we haven't
converted our chances into goals. In our last eight games we've had 71
chances to score a goal and scored five, that's our problem."
Does this game come at a time when you'd rather concentrate on the league?
SA: "I would have loved to have come to this game with a bigger squad; I'm
not saying a full squad because everybody has the odd injury or suspension.
We will use the squad to its full intent and play the team on Wednesday
night that hopefully has the desire and the energy to go out there and give
a great account of themselves against a very good side. I would expect there
to be a reaction from them after Sunday's defeat against Liverpool."
Finally Sam, what's your team news ahead of the game?
SA: "We wait for James Tomkins until tomorrow morning as he's had a slight
recurrence of the groin injury which he picked up last Saturday. Kevin's out
with a suspension and all the others that were injured before Sunderland are
still injured. To remember them all I'd need a list in front of me. Stewart
Downing, Andy Carroll, Winston Reid and Ricardo Vaz Te are all out. That's
where we have to work very, very hard to get them back into the squad as
soon as we can."
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Tottenham Hotspur away
WHUFC.com
All at West Ham United are looking forward to an exciting London derby at
Tottenham Hotspur
17.12.2013
West Ham United would like to thank all supporters who have purchased a
ticket to support the team in the Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham
Hotspur on Wednesday 18 December. The Barclays Premier League fixture at
White Hart Lane in October was a memorable afternoon for all concerned with
West Ham United, with the resultant press coverage rightly focusing on the
action on the pitch following our stunning 3-0 win. Wednesday's game is
likely to be another passionate affair and, as ever, we know the players
will be backed by a loud and proud travelling support. However, the Club
seeks to remind all fans attending the match at White Hart Lane that they
will be acting as ambassadors for West Ham United and their behaviour should
reflect the values and standards of our Club. Any inappropriate behaviour is
completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by West Ham United. The
Club, along with the Metropolitan Police, will continue to adopt a zero
tolerance policy towards any form of discriminatory behaviour this year and
any fan found to be acting inappropriately - including racist, anti-Semitic
and homophobic behaviour - will be punished to the full extent of the law
and banned from attending matches.
West Ham United is rightly proud of its world-famous support home and away
and will not allow the reputation of the tens of thousands of Hammers fans
who follow the Club over land and sea to be tarnished by any unacceptable
conduct from a small minority.
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'We all follow the West Ham'
WHUFC.com
The Martelli d'Italia Supporters' Club in Italy can be found in force at
most Hammers games
17.12.2013
The flags of the Martelli d'Italia West Ham United Supporters' Club are a
common sight at Hammers games across the country. Their presence reveals a
dedicated core of support for the Club from Italy, as members travel across
Europe to watch their team in person. West Ham TV caught up with several
members of the group on a recent trip to the Boleyn Ground, to discover more
about their passion for the Hammers. Luca Argiolas, from Sardinia, takes up
the story: "Twenty-two of us came over for the Chelsea game recently, from
every part of Italy - north to south and even the islands. "As a group, we
have 2,000 people who have liked our Facebook page, and 50 or 60 people who
come over to London at least once per season. On special occasions, like the
derbies, or Wembley two years ago, lots of people come over. "We are the
only group in Italy who have so many people who come over to matches in
London. It's a big sacrifice because we have to take flights and spend
money, but we do it for our passion for West Ham."
For the members who cannot make the journey to London, the group also
arrange meeting points at pubs in their homeland to watch games on
television.
"We have meet-ups in Italy to watch matches too, in the bigger cities like
Milan and Rome we have more people than in the smaller ones, so we make
meetings called Match Pint to see the games on TV in the pubs, whether
that's on Italian or English TV. "We go to away games too. Some of us went
to Liverpool the other week, and we'll travel for the League Cup too."
A love for the English game drives their passion for the Hammers, with the
Club's roots in the community behind their support for the east Londoners.
Argiolas explained: "I think that the good thing about West Ham is the
spirit - it maintains the English spirit. It's great for us to arrive here,
to come on the Tube and go to Green Street, see the people and see that it's
a club of the people. "We all prefer a club that maybe wins one time every
20 years, than a club that wins all the time. If we wanted a club that wins
a lot we'd support Chelsea or Manchester United, but we come here for West
Ham and we came here even when we were in the Championship. "We don't mind
about the category, we only want to come and see West Ham. "We enjoyed
seeing Italians like Di Canio and Diamanti playing for West Ham, but for us
it's the same - Italians, English, we want first all of them to wear the
shirt of West Ham. "The people who play for West Ham are what matters for
us, not the nationality."
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Collison aims for Cup boost
WHUFC.com
Jack Collison is eyeing another memorable White Hart Lane trip for the
Hammers
17.12.2013
Jack Collison is hoping Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final at
Tottenham Hotspur can prove to be a springboard for West Ham United's
season. The Hammers are aiming to inflict a second defeat on the north
Londoners at White Hart Lane this term, following their 3-0 success in the
Barclays Premier League in October. Collison says the players like himself,
who have featured regularly in the cup run, are hungry for the chance to
shine once again. He told whufc.com: "I wouldn't say that the Tottenham game
is a distraction [from our position]. We have a big squad and the manager
has normally rotated the team for the Capital One Cup. "It's a good chance
for the players who haven't been playing so much in the league - the likes
of myself, Matty Taylor and boys like that who have been working hard in
training - and this is a chance to try and impress and try to force your way
into the team in the Premier League, where everyone wants to be playing.
"It's going to be a fantastic game on Wednesday. It's a massive game for the
fans, they love going to Spurs and beating them in the league this season
was the highlight of the season for them so far. "Hopefully we can give them
something to cheer about. They pay their money week in, week out, and we're
working hard to turn it around."
Following Saturday's 0-0 draw with Sunderland, the Hammers No10 is as
frustrated as anyone at the lack of goals, yet remains convinced that his
team will soon eliminate that issue from their game. He continued: "It's
frustrating for us as players, and I think the fans understand that we go
out there to win. We don't not win on purpose, we want to be winning games,
playing good football and scoring goals. "We're working hard on the training
pitch and we have every confidence that we can turn things around and pay
them back by treating them to good football, lots of goals and lots of
points. "It's a team game and we have a squad full of good players. It's up
to us - players like myself, Kevin Nolan and the wide players to chip in
with goals. If we can do that it takes the pressure off the front boys and
then hopefully they can start scoring and we can start winning games. At the
moment we'll take any sort of goal. "t's a very real position we're in,
we're not silly and the table doesn't lie. It's up to us as a group of
players to turn it around because to be fair to the staff and the management
they're working their socks off at the moment. We're working hard too to do
the right things, it's not quite going right for us at the moment but we
have every confidence we can turn it around."
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Reid happy at injury progress
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid is recovering well from the ankle surgery he underwent recently
17.12.2013
Winston Reid can see the light at the end of the tunnel following his recent
ankle injury. The 25-year-old defender has been absent since suffering a
high ankle sprain in early November, an injury which required surgery. Reid
is well along the road to recovery now and is looking forward to returning
to training sooner rather than later. "The recovery has been going okay," he
told West Ham TV. "I'm coming along and it'll be another month or so before
I'm back fit. "I've just been recovering from the operation so far - doing
my gym work in the first four weeks, so I probably couldn't have done as
much as I'd have wanted to, but I'm steadily getting better. "The hard bit
is those first couple of weeks when I was lying on my couch not able to do
much, but now I can try to get my fitness back so hopefully that won't take
so long."
Reid suffered the injury just before a run of crucial Hammers games, as well
as New Zealand's FIFA World Cup Qualification Play-Off with Mexico. The No2
was disappointed to miss out on those, and is keen to make up for lost time
upon his return. He continued: "The timing wasn't ideal with important games
for West Ham and World Cup qualifiers for New Zealand, but whenever you get
an injury it's never going to be ideal. "You just have to deal with these
things. I've sort of managed to put it behind me and get on with my everyday
life. Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. "The staff around me
have been working well and trying to give me the best options to get back as
quickly as possible."
Reid has been happy to see the team remain defensively sound since his
injury-enforced absence, and he is hoping their fortunes in front of goal
will start to improve from Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final at
Tottenham Hotspur onwards. He added: "Since I've been away the guys have
done okay, maybe not points-wise, but they've played some good games and
been unlucky. "That's the way the cookie crumbles, and hopefully we'll get
better. Our problem since the season started has been putting the ball in
the net. "Hopefully the boys can get a win and get through in the cup too,
as it would be great if we could get another win there."
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Ladies suffer cup exit
WHUFC.com
The Hammers ladies fell to a 4-2 London Capital Cup defeat at KIKK United on
Sunday
17.12.2013
West Ham United Ladies suffered a disappointing exit from the London FA
Capital Cup on Sunday when they were defeated by KIKK United. The Hammers
were below par in a game made difficult by the rain and blustery wind, and
the size of their task became clear when a deflected shot put the hosts in
front on 20 minutes. KIKK extended their lead on 43 minutes which a shot
which crept in under the crossbar, although the Hammers gave themselves hope
by reducing the deficit just before the interval thanks to a fantastic
strike from Sarah McCrea. Her left-footed drive from the edge of the box
gave the home keeper no chance, but West Ham were unable to move on from
there as KIKK pushed them back at the start of the second period. The hosts
scored two further goals to make it 4-1, meaning Stacey Little's late header
counted for little as the Hammers crashed out of the cup.
West Ham United Ladies: Lauren Picton, Sophie Reed, Katie Sorenson, Danica
Revell, Emily Masters (Olivia Sammons 46), Abbie Solly, Lily Mellors, Stacey
Little, Katie Bottom, Zoe Lipley-Hinton, Sarah McCrea
Subs (not used): Faye Picton
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Tottenham v West Ham
KO 19:45
17 December 2013
Last updated at 15:25
CAPITAL ONE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Wednesday, 18 December
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham's interim head coach Tim Sherwood is without the suspended duo of
Paulinho and captain Michael Dawson. Sandro has a calf injury and will not
feature, but Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Younes Kaboul and Danny Rose
could return.
West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan serves the second game of a three-match ban.
Also missing are Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Mladen Petric, Winston Reid
and Ricardo Vaz Te, plus James Tomkins is a doubt with a groin problem.
MATCH PREVIEW
Christmas cheer has been thin on the ground for Tottenham fans this week as
the 5-0 mauling at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday resulted in Andre
Villas-Boas leaving his post at White Hart Lane. That result proved to be
the final straw for chairman Daniel Levy as he ruthlessly pulled the plug on
the man who had failed to get the best out of the £107m worth of new talent
that arrived over the summer - or cope with the departure of Gareth Bale.
One thing that would help put the smile back on the faces of the Spurs
faithful, though, would be revenge on rivals West Ham, who enjoyed a famous
3-0 victory at White Hart Lane two months ago. It has arguably been Sam
Allardyce's finest win in the Premier League during his tenure as Hammers
boss, but it is one of the few bright sparks of an otherwise dreadful season
that will could see him go the same way as Villas-Boas unless the club have
a swift upturn in fortunes. Allardyce says he is too busy worrying about the
current situation of his side, who lie just one point above the relegation
places, than what has been going on at Spurs.
"I have enough of my own problems with injuries and suspensions with games
coming up rapidly to have too much concern about Tottenham other than what
team I am going to play, how we are going to play and what we can do to
combat them and get through to the semi-finals," he said. "My particular
situation will ease and will get better as long as we get our injured
players fit, and our communication between the board of directors and myself
with everyone at the club is clear and precise."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
West Ham ended a run of 12 league games without a win at White Hart Lane
that stretched back to 1999 when they won there in October
Tottenham are unbeaten against West Ham in their last three League Cup
clashes.
Their last meeting in the competition came back in 2003 with Tottenham
winning a third round tie 1-0 courtesy of a Bobby Zamora goal.
Tottenham
This is Tottenham's 22nd appearance in a League Cup quarter-final - only
Arsenal (25) have reached this stage more often.
Tottenham have won only one of their last six League Cup games against
fellow top-flight sides (D2 L3).
Their only defeat in their last 19 home League Cup games came against
Arsenal in the 2010-11 season.
They have only won one of their last six league matches at home.
They have won the competition four times - in 1971, 1973, 1999 and 2008.
West Ham
Their victory over Tottenham, and the win over Burnley in the last round of
this competition, are their only victories away from home this season.
The Hammers have scored in 20 of their last 21 League Cup games, including
the last 14 in a row.
They have not drawn any of their last 30 games in this competition, winning
19 and losing 11.
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Tottenham needed time to gel - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce claims it would have taken a "miracle worker"
to have got the best out of Tottenham this season. Spurs sacked coach Andre
Villas-Boas on Monday following indifferent form after signing seven players
in the summer. "You would have to be a miracle worker to get everybody
functioning to the best of their ability," said Allardyce. "They've arrived
from foreign countries in a different culture and an arena that they've
never played in before."
Tottenham were seventh in the Premier League when they decided to dismiss
Villas-Boas and Allardyce believes there is a "lack of patience in the game
today", which he blames on the financial rewards on offer. Allardyce will
take his Hammers side to play Spurs in the quarter-final of the Capital One
Cup on Wednesday. "To get the [Spurs] team playing together and
understanding each other in such a short period of time is nearly
impossible," said Allardyce. "I think the fruition of the change around at
Tottenham starts more next season, not this season." Allardyce's own
position has been questioned with his side just a point and a place above
the Premier League relegation zone. He has not been helped by injuries to
striker Andy Carroll, who has not played a game this season, centre-back
Winston Reid and winger Stewart Downing. Midfielder Kevin Nolan is also
serving a three-game suspension. "I don't fear for my job," said Allardyce,
who says he plans to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.
"There's always going to be a time when there's a difficult period and my
responsibility is to manage the players through that. "My particular
situation will ease and will get better as long as we get our injured
players fit." He added: "We have the same amount of clean sheets that
Everton have had so it doesn't take a genius to know what our problem is.
"We've been a few goals short of what would have been a very good position
in the league."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE BARRY HEARN INTERVIEW PART 5 'WHAT HARM CAN IT DO?"
By Sean Whetstone 17 Dec 2013 at 08:01
West Ham Till I Die
I asked Barry Hearn why he wants to ground share with West Ham United?
BH "What do I really want? Despite what people think I do not want
compensation just to throw in the black hole called football. What I want is
ground share, so I am going flat out for ground share!"
BH "The European argument with ground share is removed partially anyway
because it's a broader sponsorship rather than an individual to a commercial
enterprise"
I asked Barry didn't you say you would give up your challenge if you lost
the Judicial review?
BH "No, No, the papers said that! If I lose the judicial review I would give
up on the bidding process, that's what I have given up. I have given up
opposing the bidding process. I have accepted that West Ham are the anchor
tenants in the Olympic Stadium because I have lost and I know when I have
lost"
BH "On the bidding process we all signed up to the principle of ground
sharing. Karren Brady said in the House of Lords we all agreed to it!"
BH "The truth came out at the last judicial review when the lawyers said,
the West Ham lawyers said, we don't want to ground share because it will
affect our brand value. They were their exact words, the judge said this is
not about brand value, we still lost but it was the first time someone from
West ham said we don't want to ground share"
BH "What we are saying is really is what harm does it do for us to share the
Stadium? and to give us a chance on our doorstep to live our dreams"
I told Barry in personal view it could only be the spiritual home for one
football club.
BH "It happens all over Europe, 17 clubs around Europe ground share"
Barry challenged me asking
BH "West Ham occupancy will be harmful to us, Do you accept that? With
10,000 free tickets going out?"
I replied no I didn't see that, in my view it is slightly disrespectful to
Leyton Orient fans to suggest they would change their football club like
they would their tooth paste. Football is in the blood.
BH "Your totally wrong on this, our fan base is 6 to 7% local, 93% drive in,
What I am saying is football has changed now. It is not local residents so
much, its people returning to their roots. Your position will now change
because you are going to be a massive club in this iconic stadium. Every
year I analyse what happens to my small number of season ticket holders.
Every year we lose about 400 sometimes 500 season ticket holders, natural
wastage/death, moving out of the area, losing interest. There are the three
categories. The report says fundamentally with the value of the Premier
league brand, every year in the past we have replaced those with, almost to
the number with local people which decide to start going to Leyton Orient.
The report says and I believe them. The vast majority if not all of those
will now be enticed to go to West ham with cheaper tickets, better football
and certainly iconic building rather than join their local club and we will
be mathematically on the slippery slope down the leagues as we operate our
60% rule as our income will naturally fall. I find it very difficult to
disagree with that"
SW "But I do, why do I support West Ham? Why would I not support a more
successful club?"
BH "Because of your birth right, the new fans don't come from birth right"
SW "Don't they? They come from families. Did my son have a choice what team
he supported?"
BH Your in a time warp! This is a different world we live in now. Your'e
getting occasional visitors, you're getting new season ticket holders from
people that don't necessarily have an association because people die, people
move away. Your West ham through and through but not everyone shows your
depth of passion. People move off and they go somewhere else"
BH "We won't lose a hard core fan I know that, I am never saying that but
the numbers we are dealing with as so small. To lose 300 fans per year by
not being replaced because there is a better, more exciting, cheaper, much
more exciting version just across the road will have a negative effect on
us"
I said Leyton orient fans told me they have not been consulted on ground
sharing the Olympic Stadium
BH "Listen, Listen I am going spend a lot of time speaking to them aren't I?
To be honest with you NOT! At the end of the day I own the club, I run the
club, I will listen to them, I will sit down, I will listen to their
feelings but when you say, what is consultation? So we get everybody
together in a room, we discuss it, we let them to go away and talk to their
membership and to come back to us. Sometimes they do sometimes they don't!
but what is consultation?"
BH "I will listen to you and talk to you but that doesn't mean I going to do
what you want and I reserve that right as the owner"
You want to share the Olympic Stadium but your average gate al Leyton Orient
is around 5,500 when your current ground capacity is 9,271. Why aren't you
filling Brisbane Road now and how would you fill the Olympic Stadium?
BH "Two answers to that, firstly what the f**k has it got to do with you?, I
am tenant, I am not interested in whether you fill it or not, that's your
job, your West Ham, you shouldn't be interested in me, what the f**k has it
got to do with you if I have one person in it, I am paying my rent f**k off!
That's one answer! Right! The second answer, I believe we can get 9,000
Leyton orient fans in the lower tier if we are in the Championship. I think
that is realistic. I also believe that we will get , because I in the the
iconic status of the stadium a minimum of 3 to 4000 floating people because
this is going to a focal point of the whole of the East end, I also believe
I can go out certainly give away like West ham enough to fill the lower
tier, I think I can get to 18,000 if I am in the Championship! No More! I
think I will do well to get to 18,000 it may not happen quickly!"
You once said if you got a bung you would stop your challenge.
BH "That was a great line, that was on the back of Levy getting a bung and I
said to Boris. no-one gives me a bung and I am always up for a bung, hey do
you know what I am up for a bung!"
BH "The only person that I would look for compensation is the Premier league
for breaking in my view their own rules and that is something we will
decide, at the moment the action is stayed and we can re-open that action at
any time against the Premier League, that would be a compensation claim"
Since I did this interview Barry Hearn met with Denis Hone from the LLDC on
the 11th December. We are waiting to hear the outcome of that meeting.
The 1 hour and 20 minute interview can be heard in full on Moore Than Just A
Podcast Episode 15 which can be downloaded or listened to at
www.moorethanjustapodcast.co.uk
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham said interested in Brazilian striker
HITC.com
West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is said to have shown an interest in
signing Valencia's Brazilian striker Jonas. Allardyce has spoken of his
frustration at his side's lack of attacking options and went back and
re-signed Carlton Cole for added cover earlier this season. With Andy
Carroll out injured, West Ham have struggled up front, and a total of just
13 Premier League goals in 16 matches has left the Hammers perilously close
to the relegation zone. January, therefore, can't come quick enough for the
17th placed Londoners. And the name that has been linked with a move to The
Boleyn Ground is Valencia's leading scorer, Jonas. Jonas Gonçalves Oliveira
Felisbino, 29, also known as Jonas, started his career for Brazilian side
Guarani. He went on to play for some of Brazil's leading clubs, including
Santos, Gremio and Portuguesa. It wasn't until 2011 that Jonas finally made
the switch to Europe, with Valencia taking advantage of his low release
clause and confirming his signature for a bargain £1m. The Valencia striker
went on to be a hit at the Mestalla, scoring more than 30 La Liga goals
since January 2011. Amongst those goals was an eight minute hat trick as
Valencia comfortably beat 10 man Osasuna two weeks ago. The 6-capped
Brazilian has been in the form of his life this season, scoring eight goals
in 13 appearances so Sam Allardyce's reported interest surely isn't a
surprise. Although it's hard to believe that Jonas would be willing to leave
Valencia, who have recently been drawn against Dynamo Kyiv in the next phase
of the Europa League and are currently midtable in La Liga, but crippling
debts have forced the Blanquinegro's hand, and they have recently
acknowldged that they would be willing to listen to offers for key players,
including Jonas, Guaita and Banega.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Wednesday, December 18
Tuesday, December 17
Daily WHUFC News - 17th December 2013
'We just need to keep digging deep'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to retain their confidence to
turn recent results around
16.12.2013
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to 'dig deep' if they are to
turn recent results around and start climbing the Barclays Premier League
table.
The goalkeeper kept his eighth clean sheet in 16 league games, but was
forced to settle for a point in Saturday's goalless home draw with
Sunderland.
While things are not quite clicking in front of goal, Jaaskelainen and his
defenders were again on top form to shutout the Black Cats at the Boleyn
Ground.
"It was a little disappointing from the team because we didn't pass the ball
with the same fluency as we normally do in home games, so it was massively
important that we kept a clean sheet and got at least a point from the
game," said the Finn. "Sometimes when you don't play well you have to settle
for a point.
"I think they generally played a bit sharper than us and that hasn't been
happening since I've been here. Over the last season and a half we've been
very sharp at home and we've been better attacking-wise. "We just need to
keep digging deep. We've been a little low on confidence but we don't need
to be like that because we've not been playing badly. "We've got eight clean
sheets and we definitely should have a few more points, but if we keep
working hard and keep believing we will turn this around."
While confidence may not be at its highest in the camp, Jaaskelainen insists
this is no time for the Hammers to go into their shells. Instead, the No22
says the players need to knuckle down, learn from their errors and
experiences and go into each and every match believing they can achieve a
positive result. "Obviously you take the good and bad things from the games
before and you have to learn from your mistakes - that's the main thing as a
player, because you don't want to make the same mistakes again. "It's a
little bit easier to build on all those clean sheets, because we just need a
little bit of luck in front of goal and nick a goal because that's going to
make a massive change. "We're going to have a big Christmas period coming up
and hopefully we can go to Manchester United [and do well] and go on from
there."
Jaaskelainen's performance against Sunderland was exemplary, with the Finn
making a series of important saves, holding the ball well and punching and
parrying with authority. "That's my job and what I try to do every week. I
always try to work hard in training and take that into the games and
hopefully I can carry on the level I've been playing for the last few years
- that's my aim."
The 38-year-old was especially pleased with his display in the light of a
couple of recent fouls which led to penalties in defeats by Norwich City and
Chelsea.
"You always learn, even at my age. Against Chelsea I was a bit unfortunate
because Oscar wasn't even trying to score. "You realise now that players are
happier to get a penalty than try to score the goal, so if you go and commit
yourself you have to be 100 per cent sure you're going to get to the ball
first. If not, they will nick the ball away, go down and get the penalty.
"When a player goes through one-on-one with you, you'd expect him to try to
score, but that's not the case anymore."
Jaaskelainen says goalkeepers now have to act like defenders, in that
staying on their feet is often the best way to avoid conceding a spot-kick.
"The only way you can commit yourself is when you are 100 per cent sure
you're going to get to the ball first. That's the name of the game. "You can
see how many penalties come now from when the player kicks the ball towards
the corner flag and goes down to get the penalty. That's the way football is
going."
Jaaskelainen will be looking to produce two more unbeatable performances
this week, with the Hammers travelling to Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital
One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday before Saturday's league trip to Old
Trafford. "We'll see what's going to happen on Wednesday as to whether I'll
play [or Adrian continues to start in that competition], but whoever players
we want to go there and put in a good performance. "Every player knows that
the cup is not the priority, but we want to win every game and if we do
we'll be in the semi-finals. "If I look back on my career, the best memories
were in the cups - an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley [in April 2011] and the
League Cup final in Cardiff [in 2004]. Those were very nice experiences, but
the money is in the Premier League so we have to make sure the main focus is
on the Premier League."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dev Squad match postponed
WHUFC.com
Monday's U21 match has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch
16.12.2013
The Development Squad's Barclays U21 Premier League match at Reading, due to
be played on Monday night, has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
A new date will now have to be set for this fixture and will be announced on
whufc.com in due course.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is planning to use an experienced team for Wednesday's Capital
One Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur
15.12.2013
Sam Allardyce is planning to name experienced line-up for West Ham United's
mouthwatering Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on
Wednesday. The West Ham United manager successfully utilised some of the key
players from the Hammers' Under-21 side in the earlier rounds of the
competition, but says that it will be his senior squad members who are
likely to get the nod at White Hart Lane this time around. The likes of Alou
Diarra, Joey O'Brien, Matt Taylor and Carlton Cole could all start as Big
Sam targets his second high-profile win at Spurs this season following the
3-0 win back in October.
"I remember Cardiff in the Capital One Cup third round at the Boleyn Ground
and playing the first team behind the first team," he said. "When we got
round to Burnley away the squad had diminished a lot with the injuries we
had then so we played a lot of the young players. "Now, we're in a position
where we have to see what we've got available for Wednesday night but there
won't be any young players in there that's for sure. But there will be
players who haven't played as much in the first team."
Wednesday's London derby marks the start of a hat-trick of three
tough-looking fixtures for the Hammers - on paper at least. After Tottenham,
Big Sam will take his team to Manchester United on Saturday, followed by a
Boxing Day derby at home to Spurs' neighbours Arsenal. "We've got some tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday and then
Manchester United away and Arsenal here. We've got to try to do what many
teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points. If we
play our best we'll have a chance. "When I got to the Carling Cup final with
Bolton Wanderers I played the strongest possible team I had available at
that particular time because we were about eighth in the Premier League. Now
I've got to get a team ready to get some points at Manchester United next
Saturday. "That's not just my remit, that's everybody's remit here, not just
the owners. Premier League safety is the most important thing at the club."
While Big Sam will be burning the midnight oil on a strategy to get the
better of his Tottenham counterpart Andre Villas Boas once more, he is also
dedicating time to signing the new striker he so desperately desires.
Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland highlighted the Hammers' struggles
in front of goal and their manager has hinted he is moving ever closer to
agreeing a deal with one of his primary targets. "We're looking at a
frontline attacking player, there's no doubt about that. We've been in
negotiations, not just for one but for many others. We're moving onto the
next phase and there are possibilities and we're talking to the club and the
players agents to see whether they're going to join us or not. "We've tried
to get a quick decision. We'll try to do the deal as soon as possibly can.
[Joint-Chairman] David Sullivan's the quickest owner of a football club that
I've ever had. He makes a decision and tries to do a deal. He doesn't ah and
um like some of the other owners that I've been involved with so if it's a
yes then bang, we try and get it done."
In an interview on Saturday, Joint-Chairman David Sullivan voiced his belief
that Big Sam and his management team will soon have the Hammers climbing the
table again once the spate of injuries clears up. The need for improvement
in results is a view shared by the manager, especially given the exciting
opportunity of a move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016 on the horizon. "As the
Joint-Chairman said and as I've said, going into the new stadium this club
has to be in the Premier League. If the club has to be in the Premier League
then we have to make sure we have a team capable and sustainable enough to
stay there. "At the moment we're not quite there but I think that's down to
the injuries to players and the players missing on a regular basis. Once we
get them back in the team then we'll be ok. Bearing in mind we can't do that
at the moment, we've got to get the players fit and try and do what we can
until we get them back."
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Loan watch - Spence plays in Dons win
WHUFC.com
Jordan Spence played his part as Milton Keynes Dons defeated Wolves on
Saturday
16.12.2013
Jordan Spence helped his loan club Milton Keynes Dons to a fine 2-0 win at
Wolverhampton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One on Saturday. The 23-year-old
defender played the 90 minutes as his team defeated the promotion contenders
thanks to goals from Patrick Bamford and Ben Reeves. Spence has now played
eight games for Karl Robinson's side since joining them on loan, with the
Dons currently sitting twelfth in the table. Meanwhile, Dan Potts was unable
to help Portsmouth halt their poor run of form as they lost 2-0 at Newport
County in League Two. Pompey have slipped down to 18th in the division after
a run of six games without a victory. They face fellow strugglers Bristol
Rovers in their next fixture. Pelly Ruddock enjoyed more success as his
Luton Town side knocked holders Wrexham out of the FA Trophy. The Hatters
won 2-0 thanks to a goal from Mark Cullen and an own goal from Wrexham's
Neil Ashton. They are now into the last 16 of the competition, which they
will be looking to win for the first time.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce in talks for mystery striker
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 16/12/13
10:04am
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has revealed they are in advanced talks about
signing a mystery striker in the January transfer window. Allardyce is
desperate to bolster his attacking options after seeing West Ham struggle
for goals in the absence of the injured Andy Carroll. West Ham's co-owners
David Gold and David Sullivan have promised Allardyce they will fund a deal
for a new striker and the Hammers boss has confirmed they are close to
landing a new addition to the squad. Allardyce has been linked with the
likes of Rickie Lambert, Obafemi Martins and Diego Forlan, but the Hammers
boss refused to reveal the identity of his target. "It is an attacking
player there are no doubts about that," said Allardyce. "We are moving on to
the next phase and we are talking to the club and the player's agent to see
if he is going to join us or not. "We are moving on to the next phase and we
are talking to the club and the player's agent to see if he is going to join
us or not." "We will try and do the deal as quickly as we possibly can,
David Sullivan is the quickest owner of a football club I have ever had. He
doesn't 'ooh' 'ahh' and 'um' like most of the other owners I have been
involved with."
Meanwhile, Allardyce insists he has no problem with Sullivan's comments that
he regrets signing Carroll on a permanent basis in the summer with the
striker yet to feature this season due to injury. "David is the owner and he
can always say what he thinks because he pays for and looks after the club,"
added Allardyce. "The way he is as a person, he gets extremely anxious about
the situation. The pressure comes on him as much as it does on to me and
everyone else. "Dealing with that is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "The commitment to go forward is a big responsibility for us all
because this club has to be in the Premier League when we go to the new
stadium."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REMEMBERING THE 1923 FA CUP FINAL
By Tony Hanna 16 Dec 2013 at 14:51
West Ham Till I Die
Another part of my "remembering" series and I have to own up as to not
having been around for this game! The 1923 FA Cup Final is another part of
football history for West Ham. It was the first final ever to be played at
Wembley Stadium and we are in the history books as being the first team to
lose a Cup Final there. Our opponents on the day were Bolton Wanderers and
they beat us by two goals to nil. However, the football match was, in
comparison, a small part of what happened on this historic day. The match
has been for years remembered as the "White Horse" final.
The White Horse Cup Final was to go down as one of the most extraordinary
events in sporting history. The then new Wembley, officially known as The
Empire Stadium, was completed just 4 days prior to the 1923 Cup Final and
was considered to be the Worlds greatest sporting arena. The capacity was
believed to be 127,000 and it was considered ample as the previous year's
final had attracted a crowd of just 53,000. However, the organisers had not
taken into account the lure of the new National Stadium and before you could
say "make it all ticket", nearly half a million people were converging on
the ground.
By 1.45pm the gates were closed as the capacity limit had been reached.
However, a quarter of a million more people were swelling outside the
stadium in a tide that was not going to go away. The locked out crowd began
breaking down gates and scaling the walls to get in as the surge to get in
became overwhelming. Before long an estimated additional 100,000 fans had
made it into the ground and the groundswell had seen spectators spill from
the terraces and onto the pitch . We will never know how many people were
crammed into the stadium that day, estimates range from 240,000 to 300,000,
but it will go down as "unofficially" the highest non racing sports
attendance in World sport.
At 2.45pm after the King had overseen the singing of the National anthem, it
was unclear if a game could be played at all? The pitch was completely full
of spectators and it seemed impossible to see how the chaos could be
rectified. Then along came the hero's of the day – a police constable named
George Scorey and his white horse "Billy". He carefully picked his way to
the centre of the pitch and then started to circle, edging the crowd back
bit by bit. The horse nudging here, nudging there, as he continued to
enlarge the territory which was the green blades of grass of the playing
field. George persuaded the front ranks of spectators to link arms and push
backwards as the horse kept manoeuvring the crowd back until after 45
minutes the crowd had been retreated all the way back to the edge of the
pitch. It was then realised that any more retreating was impossible.
The game eventually started which often saw players, unable to stop
themselves near the touch lines, hurtling into the crowd and struggling to
get back onto the pitch amidst the mass of supporters. At half time both
teams had to stay on the field and several times in the second half play was
stopped as the crowd again spilled onto the playing area. Goals from David
Jack and Jack Smith ensured a 2-0 win to Bolton who were one of the
strongest teams of that era. In honour of Billy the white horse, the
footbridge outside the new Wembley was named the "White Horse Bridge".
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce remains under pressure after owner writes-off painfully poor
West Ham's season
15 Dec 2013 22:30
The Hammers could field a weakened team this Wednesday, but fans (and maybe
David Sullivan) will be asking: "Can it get any weaker?"
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce plans to pick a weakened team against Spurs in the League Cup
on Wednesday. But after watching this goalless draw West Ham fans will ask:
'How can it get any weaker?' On the day co-owner David Sullivan went public
with his frustration and declared the season a "write-off" , the Hammers
were painfully poor in their latest goalless draw. Until the cavalry arrive
in January – either a new striker or the return of Andy Carroll –
Allardyce's side simply do not look like scoring. With their best players
Kevin Nolan and Stewart Downing also out, Saturday's team made the Hammers
side relegated in 2003 – including Joe Cole and Paolo Di Canio – look like
Brazil in 1970. And with Manchester United and Arsenal their next two
Premier League opponents, the trip to White Hart Lane is looking daunting.
Especially with Tottenham hurting from West Ham's 3-0 win there in October.
"I have to try and get a team ready to get some points at Manchester
United," Allardyce said. "Our Premier League status is the most important
thing at the club. The more important game for me, as much as I don't like
to say it, is Man U and getting points (rather than) Tottenham on Wednesday,
based on the position in the league and the squad I have available at the
moment. "There won't be any young players – that is one thing for sure – but
there will be some players who haven't played as much in the first team."
Sullivan's interview on BBC's Football Focus was surprisingly timed but
totally accurate. Carroll has not offered a return on his big investment.
And although Sullivan insisted he was backing Allardyce, he added
tellingly: "But let's judge him at the end of the season." Allardyce chose
his words carefully in response to the "write-off" comment, and effectively
urged his boss to hold his nerve. "David is obviously in a position where he
gets extremely anxious of the situation," he said. "That's the way he is as
a person. "The pressure comes on him as much as it does on me and everyone
else. I think dealing with pressure is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "And he can always say what he thinks because he is the owner. But
it's a big responsibility for us all and going into the new stadium, this
club has to be in the Premier League. "So we have to make sure we have a
team capable of staying there. At the moment, we're not quite there but I
think that is down to the injured players and the players missing on a
regular basis. "Once we get them back and ready and back in the team and
hopefully staying in the team, we will be OK."
Sub Jack Collison admitted: "It's frustrating for us as players. It's not
through a lack of effort and the fans have to know we are trying hard."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham, Sunderland and Hull set for January transfer battle over Lorient
defender Lamine Kone
16 Dec 2013 22:30
English trio chasing 24-year-old former France under-20 centre-back who is
on the market for £2.2million
The Mirror
Premier League rivals West Ham, Sunderland and Hull are in a three-way fight
to land Lorient defender Lamine Kone in the January transfer window. The
powerhouse centre-back is available for £2.2million - despite signing a new
three-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit only last summer. But he wants a
move to either England or Spain, and the French side will not stand in his
way if their valuation on the 24-year-old is met. Kone, who is also being
tracked by La Liga pair Malaga and Celta Vigo, confirmed:"I extended for
three years but, if there is a good offer, Lorient will not say 'no.'"
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, Black Cats manager Gus Poyet and Tigers chief
Steve Bruce have all had Kone watched as they look to strengthen their
squads for the survival battle ahead of them in the second-half of the
season. Kone, a former France under-20 international who can also play at
right-back, is rated as one of his country's most solid and reliable
defenders. And his series of consistently impressive performances have
helped hoist Lorient into the top half of the table.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
An open letter to Sam Allardyce
Date: 16th December 2013 at 9:15 pm
Written by: Spencer Pratten |
ForeverWestHam.com
After watching the latest woeful West Ham home performance against bottom of
the table Sunderland. I think now I can now suggest to Big Sam Allardyce,
after suffering a series of dull, defensive minded efforts over several
months now, that packing the midfield and sitting the defence deep on top of
your own goalkeeper isn't working for us. Furthermore, this will fail to
produce goals for as long as this tired and predictable system is allowed to
operate.
The way we play simply allows opposition sides a starting platform 20 yards
closer to our goal, allows unemployed defenders to push into midfield and
overload us, and forces us to defend for our lives for most of the match. We
have neither the required pace or skill to counteract with any fluidity or
regularity, and all we succeed in doing is isolating the poor individual who
has been selected as 'striker' (that's the bloke who is supposed to be
scoring goals by the way), who we now require to make runs across the width
of the field, find space against two or more defenders, control the ball,
bring others into play and stick the ball in the net. Not much to ask then
Mr.Allardyce?
Do you know I actually feel sorry for Modibo Maiga and Carlton Cole. Even
the worlds best strikers would have their hands full as the lone man up
front, and even then with the benefit of clever and frequent support from
the midfielders. We are expecting journeyman players to do all of this with,
at times, no support at all, or at best one player looking to help our
overworked front man. It's an impossible job Sam, and that's precisely why
we have such a shocking goals for record. Surely you can see that…because we
can !
Sure, when (if ?) Andy Carroll finally makes an appearance we can give the
system another go, but until then, please do us a favour…at least try two
strikers…. one linking just behind the other, and see how we get on. Do you
really think things will be any worse than they have been of late Sam?
When you first came here you put a lot of backs up by claiming the famed
"West Ham way" was a losing way. Well that may well have been the case but
at least we lost with some style my friend and us fans went home having seen
some shots at goal. What exactly is the Allardyce way, Sam? Packed defence
and midfield? Lone striker or even none at all? Wingers with no one to hit?
The ball moving backwards or sideways, as forward options are hard to find?
They may have been happy at Bolton Wanderers or Blackburn Rovers to pay to
watch this bore-fest, but as Hammers we expect and want more than we are
getting. Start to think offensively because your way isn't our way!
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West Ham line up surprise January move for Southampton star Lambert
By James McLean
Monday 16 December 2013
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce could be set to make a shock move for
Southampton striker Rickie Lambert in the January transfer window, according
to The Independent. Lambert was thought to be on the Hammers; radar in the
summer, but any approaches were rebuffed as Saints sought to hold on to
their prized asset. With Dani Osvaldo's arrival at St. Mary's, however,
Lambert is no longer considered a sure-fire selection – at least not the
club's first choice striker – the forward could seek a move away from the
south coast in the hopes of maintaining his hopes of booking a seat on the
plane to Brazil for the World Cup in the summer. West Ham have appeared
considerably lackluster in attack this season, especially since losing
striker Andy Carroll to injury, and with only bottom club Sunderland having
scored less in the league this season Big Sam is thought to be keen on
taking Lambert to east London. Lambert's contract runs until 2016, but he
has only found the net four times so far this season – and so a move could
both freshen up the striker's campaign and help West Ham's struggling Goals
For tally.
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Why we owe a lot of Gold and Sullivan
Moorethanjustaclub.com
Due to the difficult times the club are going through at the moment there's
been a lot of negativity towards the owners and particularly David Gold
because he has twitter and fans can message him easily. I don't think the
hard time he's getting is fair because looking at the bigger picture he's
done a lot of good for the club.
I don't think we'd be in the premier league right now if they hadn't been
there to help out and really all fans want is for us to do well in the
league. The Olympic Stadium is notably the big thing that Gold, Sullivan and
Brady have achieved and at this moment it doesn't bare thinking about how
it's going to feel to leave Upton Park but the OS should help us move on to
bigger things. With some hope and luck we should still have Andy Carroll
maybe Ravel and some of our youngsters Lee, Chambers, Lletget etc. so
there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic as long as were still in the
premier league and I think we will be, this season will be a struggle but
we'll pull through. We're not the team or fans that give up. Another factor
that comes with the OS is that the debt will be cleared, we will never know
the complete ins and outs of what's going on money wise but if we are then
the club can focus on getting good players and I think the bigger stadium
will help attract good players.
The fact that David Gold has twitter automatically earns my respect, it
can't be easy, we are a very passionate group of fans and he puts up with
the tweets and often comes out with responses that make us laugh. I do
believe he tries to be as honest as he can but it's not like he can share a
lot of details that other teams may see. He has been very quiet recently
which hasn't looked great because it's a time when the fans want answers but
overall it's a good interaction to have with the fans.
He's a lifelong fan of the club but that doesn't mean he can go and do
whatever he wants, he has finance and business decisions to think about. At
the current time, like him or not he deserves respect for what he's done as
do Sullivan and Brady.
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Chelsea Legend and former West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola resigns as manager
of Watford
CHELSEA legend Gianfranco Zola has walked away from his role as manager of
Championship side Watford after struggling to recapture last season's form.
Daily Star
By Colin Harvey/Published 16th December 2013
Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea, Watford, West Ham,Gianfranco Zola feels the strain
as his former Watford are on a run of no wins in nine games. [GETTY]
His Hornets side hadn't won in nine games in the build up to the
resignation. Zola was unable to recreate the form that saw Watford reach
last season's plays-offs with a dramatic last-grasp win over Leicester on
the final day. They lost the final to Crystal Palace and haven't pushed on
this year. Watford lie in 13th, eight points adrift of the playoff places.
In an open letter addressed to the fans on their official site, Zola said:
"I am writing this today with a very heavy heart and after a lot of
consideration, to tell you that I have resigned from my Head Coach position
at Watford. "First of all, this decision has not been made quickly. I
mentioned after the game on Saturday that I wanted to think about things
overnight and that is exactly what I have done. "I feel that it is in the
best interests of the team that somebody new is given the chance to bring
the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard for" "I feel
that it is in the best interests of the team that somebody new is given the
chance to bring the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard
for. "It is for a variety of reasons, and not just over one matter or one
moment, that I feel this is the right decision for me, in the best interests
of the club - and I know I can trust you, the supporters, to respect my
decision fully. "Last season was such an amazing time, for the players, the
staff and the supporters. And I loved that journey. Every minute of it
brought a new challenge, different experiences and a lot of learning. "It
has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve this club and I am sure we will
see each other again one day."
He has been given odds of 10/1 to become the new West Brom manager.
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WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to retain their confidence to
turn recent results around
16.12.2013
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United need to 'dig deep' if they are to
turn recent results around and start climbing the Barclays Premier League
table.
The goalkeeper kept his eighth clean sheet in 16 league games, but was
forced to settle for a point in Saturday's goalless home draw with
Sunderland.
While things are not quite clicking in front of goal, Jaaskelainen and his
defenders were again on top form to shutout the Black Cats at the Boleyn
Ground.
"It was a little disappointing from the team because we didn't pass the ball
with the same fluency as we normally do in home games, so it was massively
important that we kept a clean sheet and got at least a point from the
game," said the Finn. "Sometimes when you don't play well you have to settle
for a point.
"I think they generally played a bit sharper than us and that hasn't been
happening since I've been here. Over the last season and a half we've been
very sharp at home and we've been better attacking-wise. "We just need to
keep digging deep. We've been a little low on confidence but we don't need
to be like that because we've not been playing badly. "We've got eight clean
sheets and we definitely should have a few more points, but if we keep
working hard and keep believing we will turn this around."
While confidence may not be at its highest in the camp, Jaaskelainen insists
this is no time for the Hammers to go into their shells. Instead, the No22
says the players need to knuckle down, learn from their errors and
experiences and go into each and every match believing they can achieve a
positive result. "Obviously you take the good and bad things from the games
before and you have to learn from your mistakes - that's the main thing as a
player, because you don't want to make the same mistakes again. "It's a
little bit easier to build on all those clean sheets, because we just need a
little bit of luck in front of goal and nick a goal because that's going to
make a massive change. "We're going to have a big Christmas period coming up
and hopefully we can go to Manchester United [and do well] and go on from
there."
Jaaskelainen's performance against Sunderland was exemplary, with the Finn
making a series of important saves, holding the ball well and punching and
parrying with authority. "That's my job and what I try to do every week. I
always try to work hard in training and take that into the games and
hopefully I can carry on the level I've been playing for the last few years
- that's my aim."
The 38-year-old was especially pleased with his display in the light of a
couple of recent fouls which led to penalties in defeats by Norwich City and
Chelsea.
"You always learn, even at my age. Against Chelsea I was a bit unfortunate
because Oscar wasn't even trying to score. "You realise now that players are
happier to get a penalty than try to score the goal, so if you go and commit
yourself you have to be 100 per cent sure you're going to get to the ball
first. If not, they will nick the ball away, go down and get the penalty.
"When a player goes through one-on-one with you, you'd expect him to try to
score, but that's not the case anymore."
Jaaskelainen says goalkeepers now have to act like defenders, in that
staying on their feet is often the best way to avoid conceding a spot-kick.
"The only way you can commit yourself is when you are 100 per cent sure
you're going to get to the ball first. That's the name of the game. "You can
see how many penalties come now from when the player kicks the ball towards
the corner flag and goes down to get the penalty. That's the way football is
going."
Jaaskelainen will be looking to produce two more unbeatable performances
this week, with the Hammers travelling to Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital
One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday before Saturday's league trip to Old
Trafford. "We'll see what's going to happen on Wednesday as to whether I'll
play [or Adrian continues to start in that competition], but whoever players
we want to go there and put in a good performance. "Every player knows that
the cup is not the priority, but we want to win every game and if we do
we'll be in the semi-finals. "If I look back on my career, the best memories
were in the cups - an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley [in April 2011] and the
League Cup final in Cardiff [in 2004]. Those were very nice experiences, but
the money is in the Premier League so we have to make sure the main focus is
on the Premier League."
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Dev Squad match postponed
WHUFC.com
Monday's U21 match has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch
16.12.2013
The Development Squad's Barclays U21 Premier League match at Reading, due to
be played on Monday night, has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
A new date will now have to be set for this fixture and will be announced on
whufc.com in due course.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is planning to use an experienced team for Wednesday's Capital
One Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur
15.12.2013
Sam Allardyce is planning to name experienced line-up for West Ham United's
mouthwatering Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on
Wednesday. The West Ham United manager successfully utilised some of the key
players from the Hammers' Under-21 side in the earlier rounds of the
competition, but says that it will be his senior squad members who are
likely to get the nod at White Hart Lane this time around. The likes of Alou
Diarra, Joey O'Brien, Matt Taylor and Carlton Cole could all start as Big
Sam targets his second high-profile win at Spurs this season following the
3-0 win back in October.
"I remember Cardiff in the Capital One Cup third round at the Boleyn Ground
and playing the first team behind the first team," he said. "When we got
round to Burnley away the squad had diminished a lot with the injuries we
had then so we played a lot of the young players. "Now, we're in a position
where we have to see what we've got available for Wednesday night but there
won't be any young players in there that's for sure. But there will be
players who haven't played as much in the first team."
Wednesday's London derby marks the start of a hat-trick of three
tough-looking fixtures for the Hammers - on paper at least. After Tottenham,
Big Sam will take his team to Manchester United on Saturday, followed by a
Boxing Day derby at home to Spurs' neighbours Arsenal. "We've got some tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday and then
Manchester United away and Arsenal here. We've got to try to do what many
teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points. If we
play our best we'll have a chance. "When I got to the Carling Cup final with
Bolton Wanderers I played the strongest possible team I had available at
that particular time because we were about eighth in the Premier League. Now
I've got to get a team ready to get some points at Manchester United next
Saturday. "That's not just my remit, that's everybody's remit here, not just
the owners. Premier League safety is the most important thing at the club."
While Big Sam will be burning the midnight oil on a strategy to get the
better of his Tottenham counterpart Andre Villas Boas once more, he is also
dedicating time to signing the new striker he so desperately desires.
Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland highlighted the Hammers' struggles
in front of goal and their manager has hinted he is moving ever closer to
agreeing a deal with one of his primary targets. "We're looking at a
frontline attacking player, there's no doubt about that. We've been in
negotiations, not just for one but for many others. We're moving onto the
next phase and there are possibilities and we're talking to the club and the
players agents to see whether they're going to join us or not. "We've tried
to get a quick decision. We'll try to do the deal as soon as possibly can.
[Joint-Chairman] David Sullivan's the quickest owner of a football club that
I've ever had. He makes a decision and tries to do a deal. He doesn't ah and
um like some of the other owners that I've been involved with so if it's a
yes then bang, we try and get it done."
In an interview on Saturday, Joint-Chairman David Sullivan voiced his belief
that Big Sam and his management team will soon have the Hammers climbing the
table again once the spate of injuries clears up. The need for improvement
in results is a view shared by the manager, especially given the exciting
opportunity of a move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016 on the horizon. "As the
Joint-Chairman said and as I've said, going into the new stadium this club
has to be in the Premier League. If the club has to be in the Premier League
then we have to make sure we have a team capable and sustainable enough to
stay there. "At the moment we're not quite there but I think that's down to
the injuries to players and the players missing on a regular basis. Once we
get them back in the team then we'll be ok. Bearing in mind we can't do that
at the moment, we've got to get the players fit and try and do what we can
until we get them back."
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Loan watch - Spence plays in Dons win
WHUFC.com
Jordan Spence played his part as Milton Keynes Dons defeated Wolves on
Saturday
16.12.2013
Jordan Spence helped his loan club Milton Keynes Dons to a fine 2-0 win at
Wolverhampton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One on Saturday. The 23-year-old
defender played the 90 minutes as his team defeated the promotion contenders
thanks to goals from Patrick Bamford and Ben Reeves. Spence has now played
eight games for Karl Robinson's side since joining them on loan, with the
Dons currently sitting twelfth in the table. Meanwhile, Dan Potts was unable
to help Portsmouth halt their poor run of form as they lost 2-0 at Newport
County in League Two. Pompey have slipped down to 18th in the division after
a run of six games without a victory. They face fellow strugglers Bristol
Rovers in their next fixture. Pelly Ruddock enjoyed more success as his
Luton Town side knocked holders Wrexham out of the FA Trophy. The Hatters
won 2-0 thanks to a goal from Mark Cullen and an own goal from Wrexham's
Neil Ashton. They are now into the last 16 of the competition, which they
will be looking to win for the first time.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce in talks for mystery striker
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 16/12/13
10:04am
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has revealed they are in advanced talks about
signing a mystery striker in the January transfer window. Allardyce is
desperate to bolster his attacking options after seeing West Ham struggle
for goals in the absence of the injured Andy Carroll. West Ham's co-owners
David Gold and David Sullivan have promised Allardyce they will fund a deal
for a new striker and the Hammers boss has confirmed they are close to
landing a new addition to the squad. Allardyce has been linked with the
likes of Rickie Lambert, Obafemi Martins and Diego Forlan, but the Hammers
boss refused to reveal the identity of his target. "It is an attacking
player there are no doubts about that," said Allardyce. "We are moving on to
the next phase and we are talking to the club and the player's agent to see
if he is going to join us or not. "We are moving on to the next phase and we
are talking to the club and the player's agent to see if he is going to join
us or not." "We will try and do the deal as quickly as we possibly can,
David Sullivan is the quickest owner of a football club I have ever had. He
doesn't 'ooh' 'ahh' and 'um' like most of the other owners I have been
involved with."
Meanwhile, Allardyce insists he has no problem with Sullivan's comments that
he regrets signing Carroll on a permanent basis in the summer with the
striker yet to feature this season due to injury. "David is the owner and he
can always say what he thinks because he pays for and looks after the club,"
added Allardyce. "The way he is as a person, he gets extremely anxious about
the situation. The pressure comes on him as much as it does on to me and
everyone else. "Dealing with that is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "The commitment to go forward is a big responsibility for us all
because this club has to be in the Premier League when we go to the new
stadium."
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REMEMBERING THE 1923 FA CUP FINAL
By Tony Hanna 16 Dec 2013 at 14:51
West Ham Till I Die
Another part of my "remembering" series and I have to own up as to not
having been around for this game! The 1923 FA Cup Final is another part of
football history for West Ham. It was the first final ever to be played at
Wembley Stadium and we are in the history books as being the first team to
lose a Cup Final there. Our opponents on the day were Bolton Wanderers and
they beat us by two goals to nil. However, the football match was, in
comparison, a small part of what happened on this historic day. The match
has been for years remembered as the "White Horse" final.
The White Horse Cup Final was to go down as one of the most extraordinary
events in sporting history. The then new Wembley, officially known as The
Empire Stadium, was completed just 4 days prior to the 1923 Cup Final and
was considered to be the Worlds greatest sporting arena. The capacity was
believed to be 127,000 and it was considered ample as the previous year's
final had attracted a crowd of just 53,000. However, the organisers had not
taken into account the lure of the new National Stadium and before you could
say "make it all ticket", nearly half a million people were converging on
the ground.
By 1.45pm the gates were closed as the capacity limit had been reached.
However, a quarter of a million more people were swelling outside the
stadium in a tide that was not going to go away. The locked out crowd began
breaking down gates and scaling the walls to get in as the surge to get in
became overwhelming. Before long an estimated additional 100,000 fans had
made it into the ground and the groundswell had seen spectators spill from
the terraces and onto the pitch . We will never know how many people were
crammed into the stadium that day, estimates range from 240,000 to 300,000,
but it will go down as "unofficially" the highest non racing sports
attendance in World sport.
At 2.45pm after the King had overseen the singing of the National anthem, it
was unclear if a game could be played at all? The pitch was completely full
of spectators and it seemed impossible to see how the chaos could be
rectified. Then along came the hero's of the day – a police constable named
George Scorey and his white horse "Billy". He carefully picked his way to
the centre of the pitch and then started to circle, edging the crowd back
bit by bit. The horse nudging here, nudging there, as he continued to
enlarge the territory which was the green blades of grass of the playing
field. George persuaded the front ranks of spectators to link arms and push
backwards as the horse kept manoeuvring the crowd back until after 45
minutes the crowd had been retreated all the way back to the edge of the
pitch. It was then realised that any more retreating was impossible.
The game eventually started which often saw players, unable to stop
themselves near the touch lines, hurtling into the crowd and struggling to
get back onto the pitch amidst the mass of supporters. At half time both
teams had to stay on the field and several times in the second half play was
stopped as the crowd again spilled onto the playing area. Goals from David
Jack and Jack Smith ensured a 2-0 win to Bolton who were one of the
strongest teams of that era. In honour of Billy the white horse, the
footbridge outside the new Wembley was named the "White Horse Bridge".
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Sam Allardyce remains under pressure after owner writes-off painfully poor
West Ham's season
15 Dec 2013 22:30
The Hammers could field a weakened team this Wednesday, but fans (and maybe
David Sullivan) will be asking: "Can it get any weaker?"
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce plans to pick a weakened team against Spurs in the League Cup
on Wednesday. But after watching this goalless draw West Ham fans will ask:
'How can it get any weaker?' On the day co-owner David Sullivan went public
with his frustration and declared the season a "write-off" , the Hammers
were painfully poor in their latest goalless draw. Until the cavalry arrive
in January – either a new striker or the return of Andy Carroll –
Allardyce's side simply do not look like scoring. With their best players
Kevin Nolan and Stewart Downing also out, Saturday's team made the Hammers
side relegated in 2003 – including Joe Cole and Paolo Di Canio – look like
Brazil in 1970. And with Manchester United and Arsenal their next two
Premier League opponents, the trip to White Hart Lane is looking daunting.
Especially with Tottenham hurting from West Ham's 3-0 win there in October.
"I have to try and get a team ready to get some points at Manchester
United," Allardyce said. "Our Premier League status is the most important
thing at the club. The more important game for me, as much as I don't like
to say it, is Man U and getting points (rather than) Tottenham on Wednesday,
based on the position in the league and the squad I have available at the
moment. "There won't be any young players – that is one thing for sure – but
there will be some players who haven't played as much in the first team."
Sullivan's interview on BBC's Football Focus was surprisingly timed but
totally accurate. Carroll has not offered a return on his big investment.
And although Sullivan insisted he was backing Allardyce, he added
tellingly: "But let's judge him at the end of the season." Allardyce chose
his words carefully in response to the "write-off" comment, and effectively
urged his boss to hold his nerve. "David is obviously in a position where he
gets extremely anxious of the situation," he said. "That's the way he is as
a person. "The pressure comes on him as much as it does on me and everyone
else. I think dealing with pressure is one thing you have to be capable of
doing. "And he can always say what he thinks because he is the owner. But
it's a big responsibility for us all and going into the new stadium, this
club has to be in the Premier League. "So we have to make sure we have a
team capable of staying there. At the moment, we're not quite there but I
think that is down to the injured players and the players missing on a
regular basis. "Once we get them back and ready and back in the team and
hopefully staying in the team, we will be OK."
Sub Jack Collison admitted: "It's frustrating for us as players. It's not
through a lack of effort and the fans have to know we are trying hard."
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West Ham, Sunderland and Hull set for January transfer battle over Lorient
defender Lamine Kone
16 Dec 2013 22:30
English trio chasing 24-year-old former France under-20 centre-back who is
on the market for £2.2million
The Mirror
Premier League rivals West Ham, Sunderland and Hull are in a three-way fight
to land Lorient defender Lamine Kone in the January transfer window. The
powerhouse centre-back is available for £2.2million - despite signing a new
three-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit only last summer. But he wants a
move to either England or Spain, and the French side will not stand in his
way if their valuation on the 24-year-old is met. Kone, who is also being
tracked by La Liga pair Malaga and Celta Vigo, confirmed:"I extended for
three years but, if there is a good offer, Lorient will not say 'no.'"
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, Black Cats manager Gus Poyet and Tigers chief
Steve Bruce have all had Kone watched as they look to strengthen their
squads for the survival battle ahead of them in the second-half of the
season. Kone, a former France under-20 international who can also play at
right-back, is rated as one of his country's most solid and reliable
defenders. And his series of consistently impressive performances have
helped hoist Lorient into the top half of the table.
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An open letter to Sam Allardyce
Date: 16th December 2013 at 9:15 pm
Written by: Spencer Pratten |
ForeverWestHam.com
After watching the latest woeful West Ham home performance against bottom of
the table Sunderland. I think now I can now suggest to Big Sam Allardyce,
after suffering a series of dull, defensive minded efforts over several
months now, that packing the midfield and sitting the defence deep on top of
your own goalkeeper isn't working for us. Furthermore, this will fail to
produce goals for as long as this tired and predictable system is allowed to
operate.
The way we play simply allows opposition sides a starting platform 20 yards
closer to our goal, allows unemployed defenders to push into midfield and
overload us, and forces us to defend for our lives for most of the match. We
have neither the required pace or skill to counteract with any fluidity or
regularity, and all we succeed in doing is isolating the poor individual who
has been selected as 'striker' (that's the bloke who is supposed to be
scoring goals by the way), who we now require to make runs across the width
of the field, find space against two or more defenders, control the ball,
bring others into play and stick the ball in the net. Not much to ask then
Mr.Allardyce?
Do you know I actually feel sorry for Modibo Maiga and Carlton Cole. Even
the worlds best strikers would have their hands full as the lone man up
front, and even then with the benefit of clever and frequent support from
the midfielders. We are expecting journeyman players to do all of this with,
at times, no support at all, or at best one player looking to help our
overworked front man. It's an impossible job Sam, and that's precisely why
we have such a shocking goals for record. Surely you can see that…because we
can !
Sure, when (if ?) Andy Carroll finally makes an appearance we can give the
system another go, but until then, please do us a favour…at least try two
strikers…. one linking just behind the other, and see how we get on. Do you
really think things will be any worse than they have been of late Sam?
When you first came here you put a lot of backs up by claiming the famed
"West Ham way" was a losing way. Well that may well have been the case but
at least we lost with some style my friend and us fans went home having seen
some shots at goal. What exactly is the Allardyce way, Sam? Packed defence
and midfield? Lone striker or even none at all? Wingers with no one to hit?
The ball moving backwards or sideways, as forward options are hard to find?
They may have been happy at Bolton Wanderers or Blackburn Rovers to pay to
watch this bore-fest, but as Hammers we expect and want more than we are
getting. Start to think offensively because your way isn't our way!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham line up surprise January move for Southampton star Lambert
By James McLean
Monday 16 December 2013
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce could be set to make a shock move for
Southampton striker Rickie Lambert in the January transfer window, according
to The Independent. Lambert was thought to be on the Hammers; radar in the
summer, but any approaches were rebuffed as Saints sought to hold on to
their prized asset. With Dani Osvaldo's arrival at St. Mary's, however,
Lambert is no longer considered a sure-fire selection – at least not the
club's first choice striker – the forward could seek a move away from the
south coast in the hopes of maintaining his hopes of booking a seat on the
plane to Brazil for the World Cup in the summer. West Ham have appeared
considerably lackluster in attack this season, especially since losing
striker Andy Carroll to injury, and with only bottom club Sunderland having
scored less in the league this season Big Sam is thought to be keen on
taking Lambert to east London. Lambert's contract runs until 2016, but he
has only found the net four times so far this season – and so a move could
both freshen up the striker's campaign and help West Ham's struggling Goals
For tally.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Why we owe a lot of Gold and Sullivan
Moorethanjustaclub.com
Due to the difficult times the club are going through at the moment there's
been a lot of negativity towards the owners and particularly David Gold
because he has twitter and fans can message him easily. I don't think the
hard time he's getting is fair because looking at the bigger picture he's
done a lot of good for the club.
I don't think we'd be in the premier league right now if they hadn't been
there to help out and really all fans want is for us to do well in the
league. The Olympic Stadium is notably the big thing that Gold, Sullivan and
Brady have achieved and at this moment it doesn't bare thinking about how
it's going to feel to leave Upton Park but the OS should help us move on to
bigger things. With some hope and luck we should still have Andy Carroll
maybe Ravel and some of our youngsters Lee, Chambers, Lletget etc. so
there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic as long as were still in the
premier league and I think we will be, this season will be a struggle but
we'll pull through. We're not the team or fans that give up. Another factor
that comes with the OS is that the debt will be cleared, we will never know
the complete ins and outs of what's going on money wise but if we are then
the club can focus on getting good players and I think the bigger stadium
will help attract good players.
The fact that David Gold has twitter automatically earns my respect, it
can't be easy, we are a very passionate group of fans and he puts up with
the tweets and often comes out with responses that make us laugh. I do
believe he tries to be as honest as he can but it's not like he can share a
lot of details that other teams may see. He has been very quiet recently
which hasn't looked great because it's a time when the fans want answers but
overall it's a good interaction to have with the fans.
He's a lifelong fan of the club but that doesn't mean he can go and do
whatever he wants, he has finance and business decisions to think about. At
the current time, like him or not he deserves respect for what he's done as
do Sullivan and Brady.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea Legend and former West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola resigns as manager
of Watford
CHELSEA legend Gianfranco Zola has walked away from his role as manager of
Championship side Watford after struggling to recapture last season's form.
Daily Star
By Colin Harvey/Published 16th December 2013
Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea, Watford, West Ham,Gianfranco Zola feels the strain
as his former Watford are on a run of no wins in nine games. [GETTY]
His Hornets side hadn't won in nine games in the build up to the
resignation. Zola was unable to recreate the form that saw Watford reach
last season's plays-offs with a dramatic last-grasp win over Leicester on
the final day. They lost the final to Crystal Palace and haven't pushed on
this year. Watford lie in 13th, eight points adrift of the playoff places.
In an open letter addressed to the fans on their official site, Zola said:
"I am writing this today with a very heavy heart and after a lot of
consideration, to tell you that I have resigned from my Head Coach position
at Watford. "First of all, this decision has not been made quickly. I
mentioned after the game on Saturday that I wanted to think about things
overnight and that is exactly what I have done. "I feel that it is in the
best interests of the team that somebody new is given the chance to bring
the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard for" "I feel
that it is in the best interests of the team that somebody new is given the
chance to bring the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard
for. "It is for a variety of reasons, and not just over one matter or one
moment, that I feel this is the right decision for me, in the best interests
of the club - and I know I can trust you, the supporters, to respect my
decision fully. "Last season was such an amazing time, for the players, the
staff and the supporters. And I loved that journey. Every minute of it
brought a new challenge, different experiences and a lot of learning. "It
has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve this club and I am sure we will
see each other again one day."
He has been given odds of 10/1 to become the new West Brom manager.
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Monday, December 16
Daily WHUFC News - 16th December 2013
Mo counts cost of missed chances
WHUFC.com
Mohamed Diame spoke of his frustration after West Ham United drew a blank
against Sunderland
15.12.2013
Mohamed Diame is planning to tackle West Ham United's goalscoring
difficulties head on, with more goals of his own. Saturday's goalless
Barclays Premier League stalemate against Sunderland was the Hammers' fifth
of the campaign and one that particularly irked the Hammers midfielder. But
rather than pointing the finger, Diame is keen to take responsibility
himself, insisting he is passing up too many opportunities in front of goal.
He told West Ham TV: "I need to score. Every game I have a lot of
opportunities to score but I'm missing at the moment and I've got to score!
"I can't tell you [what will make the difference in the final third].
Sometimes you don't have the luck. All we can do is keep going, work hard
and I think the goals are going to come."
While the Senegal skipper knows the value of another point, he acknowledged
that the draw makes life more difficult with Manchester United and Arsenal
in the offing. Meanwhile, the Black Cats' battling display came as no
surprise to Diame, who expected nothing less of Gus Poyet's men. "We're very
disappointed," he continued. "We needed those three points and we didn't get
them. You have to take the point and the point is good but we needed all
three. "When you play against Sunderland, who are at the bottom, you have
to take the three points. But we didn't so now it's going to be hard. "We
have to play in Manchester and then against Arsenal here at the Boleyn
Ground. We're going to try give our best and try to take some points. "We
know they're going to come here fighting because they're in a bad situation,
but we're in a bad situation too, so we need to work hard and take as many
points as we can, as soon as possible."
Before the Hammers return to league action at Old Trafford on Saturday, Sam
Allardyce's men are in Capital One Cup action at White Hart Lane. Having
taken centre stage in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October, Diame is
hoping to repeat the feat for the supporters. "It's a big game for us. To
play against Tottenham is a big derby and we've got to try to play a good
game for our fans."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers held by Sunderland
WHUFC.com
West Ham United drew 0-0 with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
14.12.2013
West Ham United 0-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United and Sunderland battled out a 0-0 draw at the Boleyn Ground
on Saturday. Neither team could find a route to goal as the chance to move
three points clear of the bottom three passed the Hammers by. It was the
Black Cats who went closest to winning it when Phil Bardsley's long range
effort thudded against the crossbar, while the hosts had the ball in the net
before the break only for Guy Demel's effort to be disallowed. Ravel
Morrison returned from suspension to replace Kevin Nolan, who was starting a
three-match ban of his own following his red card at Liverpool last week. A
couple of half chances came and went for the Hammers in the opening five
minutes, first Modibo Maiga shooting wide after Mo Diame crossed low from
the left, then the same player headed back across goal with Matt Jarvis just
unable to make a telling touch. Jozy Altodore forced a save from Jussi
Jaaskelainen after he found himself in the clear all of a sudden, while home
celebrations were cut short on 21 minutes when Guy Demel's scrambled finish
was ruled out for a push. Sunderland began to grow into the contest as the
half wore on and were a whisker away from taking the lead in fine style on
35 minutes when his long range shot crashed against the crossbar and away to
safety.
Emanuele Giaccherini had a shot deflected behind by Guy Demel towards the
end of the first half, and Lee Cattermole drew a flying save from
Jaaskelainen with the last kick before the break. Sunderland looked the more
threatening at the start of the second period, although clear cut chances
were few and far between. Giaccherini fired off target after being teed up
just outside the area, then Jaaskelainen was called into action to dive down
to his right and save from Altidore after he found space inside the box. The
Hammers introduced Jack Collison and Carlton Cole from the bench as they
looked for more thrust in their attacking play and the former poked wide on
71 minutes after Maiga laid off to him on the edge of the area. Jaaskelainen
had to stand firm to repel Ki Sung-Yueng when he blasted for goal from close
range 12 minutes from the end, while Vito Mannone had to backpedal to touch
George McCartney's cross-shot over, but neither team could find the killer
touch where it mattered.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins,
McCartney; Morrison, Noble, Diame; J.Cole (C.Cole 75), Maiga, Jarvis
(Collison 56)
Subs: Adrian, Rat, Taylor, Diarra
Booked: Noble
Sunderland: Mannone; Celustka, O'Shea, Brown, Bardsley (Dossena 82);
Cattermole, Ki; Giaccherini, Larsson, Borini (Johnson 73); Altidore
(Fletcher 73)
Subs: Pickford, Cabral, Gardner, Roberge
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 31,843
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on Sunderland stalemate
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce talked to West Ham TV after Saturday's 0-0 Barclays Premier
League draw with Sunderland
14.12.2013
Sam Allardyce reflected philosophically on Saturday's goalless Barclays
Premier League draw with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground. West Ham United
earned a point against the Black Cats thanks to another resilient defensive
display that resulted in an eighth clean sheet in 16 league matches.
However, the goalscoring issues that have plagued the season so far
resurfaced as Big Sam was made to settle for a point rather than all three.
In truth, a draw was a fair reflection of a game in which both sides created
chances, with Sunderland coming closest when Phil Bardsley saw his
well-struck 25-yarder cannon back off the crossbar. West Ham's best moments
came after half-time. Ravel Morrison worked Vito Mannone in the visitors'
goal, while Carlton Cole headed wide and George McCartney saw his late cross
tipped over by the Italian goalkeeper. "I think we got what we deserved from
the game," Big Sam told West Ham TV. "Unfortunately, unlike we saw against
Fulham two weeks ago, we didn't see the creative high-quality play in this
game. "When it becomes a dogged affair like it did here, you need to find
one player to make the difference. We had our most creative players on the
pitch who were available to play, but unfortunately they didn't find the
creativity or the finish to get that one goal to get us a very precious
three points. "It wouldn't have mattered how we played - good, bad or
indifferent - if we'd got the points, but we couldn't turn it around and
find that bit of quality when needed. We ended up with a nil-nil. "On the
other side of it, our magnificent defence was there again and it's the
backbone of our team. That's eight cleans sheets in 16 matches. We only got
eleven all season last year and finished tenth, so nobody needs to tell me
what the problem is and always has been - scoring a goal! "It's not
happening for us at the minute. We got one side of it right and now we need
to keep pressing on to get the other side right in terms of scoring goals.
If we score and get a clean sheet, then we'll win games. "We've only won
three of our eight clean sheets and we only needed to put another two on top
of that and we'd be in the top ten and not the bottom four. That's how close
it is. We're small margins away from getting up that table. We'd have all
loved three points, but in the end I thought it was a fair result."
When asked what else pleased him about the game, Big Sam said it was vitally
important that the Hammers ended their run of defeats following reverses at
Crystal Palace and Liverpool. "Well, we didn't lose the game after losing
two on the trot, so that was a good thing," he went on. "We just need the
luck that Liverpool found last week, when they scored with two own-goals and
a deflection. "We had that little bit of luck against Fulham and if we
continue to press high, that little bit of luck will go our way. Mo Diame's
goal against Fulham was a deflection and we went on to win the game
comfortable. "We have got to continue to be resilient first and foremost and
then believe in our own ability. I just felt the lads mentally found it
tough on occasions [against Sunderland], for the first time, and I've got to
make sure they get over that and deliver the performances I know they are
capable of. "They looked a little bit nervous, edgy and hesitant and when
you put yourselves in this position the pressure can come on you, that can
happen. You've got to deal with it, put those thoughts out of your mind and
get back to being very positive about what we are as a team and do the
business."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 0 Sunderland 0
14 December 2013
Last updated at 17:22
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Sunderland earned only their third away league point of the season following
an uninspiring draw against fellow strugglers West Ham at Upton Park. Jozy
Altidore was through on the Hammers' goal early on but had his shot saved by
keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. A 25-yard shot from Black Cats defender Phil
Bardsley came off the crossbar before Jaaskelainen fended away a long-range
Lee Cattermole effort. Jaaskelainen also did well to keep out a late Ki
Sung-Yueng shot. Sunderland remain bottom of the Premier League and five
points off safety but they might rue a missed opportunity at not getting
their first away league win of the season against a struggling West Ham. In
an interview with Football Focus before the game, Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan described the rest of the season as 'damage limitation' exercise
with the Upton Park club hovering perilously above the relegation zone. West
Ham have not been helped by winger Stewart Downing joining striker Andy
Carroll and centre-back Winston Reid on the injury list, while they took on
Sunderland without suspended captain Kevin Nolan. However, despite having
the better of the game, Sunderland lacked the goalscoring touch to take
advantage of a weakened West Ham, who have four points from the last 24
available. The Black Cats had an early chance through striker Altidore, who
appeared offside, but the American had his angled strike saved by the
slightest of touches from Jaaskelainen. West Ham's threat was fleeting, but
Guy Demel thought he had scored when his header came back off a defender and
he fired in the rebound, although referee Andre Marriner had already blown
for a push by the Hammers right-back. There was plenty of effort from both
camps, but it was the visitors who were producing the neater football and
creating the more clear-cut chances. A free-kick from Hammers centre-back
James Collins struck the jumping Altidore and inadvertently released Fabio
Borini, who ran at the home goal before striking a poor shot which was
straight at Jaaskelainen. Jaaskelainen was beaten when he failed to reach a
powerful 25-yard strike by Sunderland left-back Bardsley but the crossbar
came to the Finnish keeper's rescue. The Hammers stopper also had to fend
away a well-struck long-range effort from Lee Cattermole just before the
break. While there was little goalmouth action in the second half, Ki went
close when he sidestepped to the left and struck a shot which Jaaskelainen
did well to get a hand to and palm away. At the other end, George
McCartney's late cross turned into a shot which Sunderland keeper Vito
Mannone had to tip over, before Collins headed the resulting corner wide.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "We have got eight clean sheets so far this
season. That is a brilliant return as we only got 11 last season. "We all
know that the [scoring] goal factor that has not made the difference for us
and had that been better we would be higher up the league. "The only thing
that we are not doing consistently, at the moment, is scoring goals and that
is why we are where we are."
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet: "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win. "There are moments in the game
when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half when we
really on top of the game. "I need to look at performance, what we have
worked on in the last two months and how good the team is playing. "I would
like to go into every game with this feeling that I am going to see my team
on the pitch.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce on......Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer No. 2
The manager shares his thoughts on the disappointing 0-0 draw with
Sunderland at the Boleyn....
You lacked spark tody Sam. Was it frustrating for you?
Oh yes. There was a little bit to much edge in our game. Too many simple
balls going astray and we didn't create the sort of pressure we did against
Fulham a couple of weeks ago. Hence we endded up with a dogged affair rather
than the creative football we had against Fulham. We wanted someone to find
a little bit of genius for us on the day, one of our creative players to pop
up with something a little bit special and put that ball in the back of the
net for the "one-niller." We couldn't find that again today and probably the
draw was a fair result. Disappointing from what I expected in the end. We
got what we deserved. If we'd got anymore out of that we'd have been
delighted, obviously. Had somebody turned the game in our favour with a
little bit of genius. All our creative players couldn't find that clever
finish, that final pass or that cross.
Do you call a result and performance like that "one of those things"
or...... ?
I wouldn't say it was one of those things. I would look at the nervous
tension that I have to relieve about the place. The little bit of anxiety.
This game was no bigger than the Fulham game two weeks ago. Both teams in a
similar position, both teams needing a win. We played a fantastic game and
ended up winning comfortably 3-0. Today we didn't see that. I've also picked
up some more injuries and a suspension so the squad's getting thinner and
thinner.
Is Andy Carroll in the right frame of mind to provide that missing genius?
Once he gets fit he'll make us better. There' s no doubt about that. Until
we get him better there's no point in talking about Andy Carroll. You never
talk about the other 4 or 5 injuries I've got. They have an impact as I
can't select who I want or who I need. At the moment we've got to battle our
way through it and get all the injured players fit and try and add to the
squad in January. Between now and January we've got to get more points on
the board.
Is he [Carroll] in the right frame of mind to get back and get fit? ...
He works every day to 5,6,7 at night. We're glad to have him back because we
can see him improving every day. Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te people like
that they're all doing the same. We're in a position where we've got tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, Manchester
United away and Arsenal at home. Three points today would have alleviated
some of the pressure from those games. We've got a point. We have to do what
other teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points at
Old Trafford. If we pay our best we'll have a chance.
How far away is Carlton Cole away from a run in the side?
I gave Carlton a start against Crystal Palace. I can't give anyone a run of
games. It's like when the season ticket holders asked me why I don't play
young players. If you play a youngster once and he doesn't play well you
can't play him again, not in the Premier League. You end up losing the
result. That player might not be good enough on the day. You have to go with
the players with Premier League experience. They're the ones that produce
the most consistent performances. We have brought one player through this
year and he's done a fantastic job. That's Ravel Morrison. We have a young
player that's blossoming with us – though I have to say that today was one
of his lower key games today. Which is a shame because he is the one that
can produce the bit of genius individually on his own.
It's a difficult time but there are teams below s having a difficult time. I
say to the lads "if you're not feeling so well how must they feel because
they're below us? Take it on the chin and make sure that you deliver your
best performances and we'll get our way out of this problem we have at the
minute"
Are you aware of David Sullivan's comments that he'd never have signed
Carroll if he'd known how on he was going to be out?
Well after that he said that it would only be at the end of the season that
we'd be able to judge how good a player Andy Carroll is. Understanding the
size of the investment I can understand why he made this comment. We'v got
to get him fit and he's got to get back to what he was doing for us last
season. It's not his fault he's injured. We just have to make sure we keep
him fit. He's the difference between us winning more games and not. He was
last year – if you look at our win ratio with him and without him it was
obvious we had to sign him. Without him it's like Manchester City without
Aguero or Negredo. When you haven't had that all season one of your major
players in the team means that we're not the force that we should be. We
hoped we could overcome that until he got fit but we haven't managed to do
that.
When do you think he'll be back?
[Sighs] It's not within my medical capabilities to say when he should be
back. I do have the capability to watch him. If I don't watch him live I
watch him train on video. I can keep an eye on him with the guys who are
looking after him so we can have an objective opinion between us to when he
should be back, whether that's a bit sooner than perhaps they think. They
always err on the side of caution – rightly so. If Andy's telling us he's
great and he's looking good and the guys say maybe then I'll have a decision
to make. I'll take the responsibility so if he gets injured again it'll be
on my back so I have to be as careful as they do.
Thanks.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan: we wouldn't have signed Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
David Sullivan has admitted that Andy Carroll would not have been a West Ham
player had the club known he would miss half the season. Sullivan, speaking
to the BBC's Football Focus programme this lunchtime revealed that had he
been aware that Carroll would miss half the season, the club would have
looked elsehwere for a striker. "Andy is a fantastic player and on his day
he is unplayable," said Sullivan. "We love him and that is why we signed
him. But had we known he would be out for this long, we wouldn't have. We
are not a rich enough club to deal with that. "You know any player can get
injured, but we can't buy a player knowing he is going to be out for half
the season. When we signed him we were assured by the medical staff that the
very, very latest he would be back was 1 September. That meant he would only
miss two league games. "He is desperate to come back, he is sweating blood
in training - and if you ask me the same question at the end of the season I
hope I will be able give you a different answer and say 'Yes, it was the
right decision to sign Andy Carroll'."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sunderland miss chance of victory after 0-0 draw at West Ham
By Pete Hall @Pistolpeteh86. Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:58pm
SSN
Sunderland will feel two points were dropped at Upton Park as they were held
to a 0-0 draw at West Ham.
Best of the Match
Man of the Match: Lee Cattermole. Broke up West Ham attacks regularly, and
swiftly countered whenever he could.
Save of the Match: Jussi Jaaskelainen. Thwarted Ki from close range at a
crucial time, firmly palming the ball away.
Attempt of the Match: Phil Bardsley. Thunderous effort out of nowhere from
30-yards cannoned back off the crossbar.
Talking Points: With no Andy Carroll where are West Ham's goals going to
come from? Can Sunderland afford to miss opportunities like this?
Despite dominating possession for much of the game, and creating the best
openings, Sunderland couldn't find the breakthrough. Jozy Altidore and Ki
Sung-Yueng were guilty of missing chances, but it was their inability to
capitalise on some good openings that will disappoint boss Gus Poyet the
most. The Hammers, who stay just above the relegation zone after the
stalemate, looked really toothless in attack, and aside from a few brief
flashes of quality from Ravel Morrison, offered very little. The home side
really struggled to keep hold of the ball in the opening period, and when
they did produce some slick build-up play, often through Mohamed Diame and
Morrison, the final ball was not forthcoming. Sunderland however played some
excellent, intricate football, but their decision-making, at key times, let
them down. Altidore could have opened the scoring in the first few minutes,
but his low effort was tipped wide by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Gus Poyet says his
side deserved to win and believes it's time they 'won ugly' after good
football failed to earn them three points at Upton Park.
Bardsley thought he had broken the deadlock just after the half-hour mark,
thundering a strike at goal from 30-yards, which beat Jaaskelainen, but
cannoned back of the crossbar. Sam Allardyce's men did come out after
interval with added energy and impetus, but the same problems persisted.
Sunderland quickly regained control, and really should have broken the
deadlock, but couldn't finish off several half chances. Sam Allardyce admits
his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was delighted to have
earnt a point despite that. Altidore was denied several times by
Jaaskelainen, but he knows he should have done better. The Finnish stopper
had to be alert as the game entered the final 10 minutes, parrying well from
a well-struck Ki effort from close-range, adding to the frustration on
Poyet's face. James Collins saw a header fly just wide in stoppage time, but
it would been harsh on the visitors, who will feel with a little more
quality, three points were there for the taking.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce understands fans' anger after Sunderland draw
Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:41pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce admits his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was
delighted to have earnt a point despite that. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce
admitted he could understand the frustration of the Upton Park fans after
their poor form continued in a 0-0 home draw with Sunderland. The Hammers
looked to have turned the corner on their own turf after comfortably beating
Fulham last time out. However, after another below-par attacking display,
the Upton Park faithful let their feelings be known at the final whistle,
with the players exiting to a chorus of boos. And Allardyce knows where the
supporters are coming from, and believes the fans are right to vent their
frustrations. "It doesn't make it easier for me, but it is part of the job,"
he told Sky Sports. "You sit there and you expect that reaction when your
team doesn't perform. "We didn't entertain them and, more importantly at the
moment, we didn't win."
Allardyce, who celebrated his 100th league game in charge of the Hammers,
has seen side win only two of their last 15 league games, and knows things
must improve quickly, and return to the form his side showed against Fulham.
"We didn't do what we did against against Fulham, which was a brilliant
game," he added. "Today dogged hard work was the order of the day, and we
didn't deserve more than a draw."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
'IF HE WASN'T OUR MANAGER HE IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MANAGER YOU WOULD BE
BRINGING IN'
By Sean Whetstone 15 Dec 2013 at 13:37
West Ham Till I Die
David Sullivan speaking to BBC Football Focus gave his full backing to Sam
Allardyce before yesterday's no score draw.
He was asked whether Sam Allardyce will still be the manager in January?
DS "Absolutely!"
BBC "Does it matter about results?"
DS "It does matter about results but really we review a manager at the end
of a season. If you asked me what kind of season Sam has had up to now, I
would say 'disappointing'. But let's judge him at the end of the season. I
think the Newcastle manager would have been sacked by most fans after a
month of the season but now he is flavour of the month."
DS "I am deeply concerned. Anybody who looks at where we are in the table
and is not concerned are kidding themselves." "I really believe Sam is the
man for the job. If he wasn't our manager he is exactly the type of manager
you would be bringing in to be the manager. Where do you get someone better
than Sam to do the job that is now necessary?"
Earlier this week David Gold at the Season Ticket Holders forum said "We
have to rely on Sam and the players. We have to stick together."
However, Big Sam accepts it will be "impossible" not to sack him if results
at West Ham do not improve quickly. Sam said "They cannot be patient forever
if I continue to lose football matches. It's impossible for them to ride the
pressure that will come upon them, impossible not to succumb to that
pressure like many other owners have done.
"When you look at their history, they have always shown a level of patience
to overcome difficult situations and I hope that will be the same. But I
know that in the end it is about getting results.
"Everybody will speculate about my future now because I am in the same
position as all the other clubs who have got rid of their managers. It is
perceived that I am the next one in the line. But it is just about picking
up a few points."
"The owners are going to stick with me or they are not. It is entirely up to
them and how they see me in the job and how they see the situation at the
moment"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The number's don't lie: Stats-obsessed Sam Allardyce must know West Ham are
heading for a relegation battle
15 Dec 2013 12:28
Toothless and joyless, the Irons are in desperate need of inspiration
The Mirror
You might well have seen an interesting stat that was shared on social media
shortly after West Ham's dismal draw with Sunderland on Saturday: the
constipated Cockneys have been responsible for more goalless games this
season than the entire Bundesliga (five versus four). Sam Allardyce, a vocal
advocate of statistics, might have raised a wry smile at that. He would even
have enjoyed the goals against side of the equation. He certainly referenced
the impressive number of clean sheets his side have kept this season: eight
from their first 15 league matches. But here are some numbers the Hammers
boss might not like reading: of the 35 Premier League games his side have
played so far in 2013 they've won just nine, scoring a paltry 36 times.
Sympathisers have observed that any team would struggle after losing their
key players to injury, but those figures show the problems at West Ham run
far deeper than Andy Carroll's crocked foot , Winston Reid's ruined ankle or
Stewart Downing's damaged leg. Go a little further back and West Ham have
taken 38 points from the last 38 games: if not actually relegation form,
then certainly very close to it. Saturday's witless performance, in which
West Ham were outplayed by the Premier League's bottom side and mustered
just two shots on target all game, had the 'R word' running through it like
the writing on a stick of Southend rock.
With waning captain Kevin Nolan suspended, Allardyce had the opportunity to
reshape his side around the exciting talent of Ravel Morrison and
potentially find a new path to safety. Instead Morrison was left foraging in
the depths of midfield and West Ham struggled again.
Before the game co-owner David Sullivan told the BBC's Football Focus that
he was backing his manager, making the not unreasonable point that if he was
to sack Sam Allardyce, then the kind of manager he'd look to bring in to
salvage the season would be a Sam Allardyce figure. Perhaps so - but an
increasing number of hangdog Hammers fans are coming to the conclusion that
the Sam Allardyce they do have might not be capable of turning things
around. There must have been more than a few who did a disappointing double
take when saw the news West Brom had parted with their manager on Saturday
night.
Since the infamous strikerless Spurs victory back in October , West Ham have
taken just six of the 27 points available (another stat Sam might not want
to wheel out in a boardroom Powerpoint presentation) and lost to fellow
strugglers Norwich and Crystal Palace.
Allardyce has often spoken previously of the need to beat the teams around
you rather than fluke results against bigger boys, and yet now he goes into
fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal needing to do just that.
Heavy defeats will only demoralise his team further.
Much has been made of Sullivan's confession that he wouldn't have bought
Andy Carroll if he'd known he wouldn't have been able to play him (well
durr). Perhaps the more pertinent part of his interview with Dan Walker was
the admission that ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham must
avoid relegation at any cost.
Nobody wants to see a decent man lose their job, of course, but no matter
which way you choose cook the books, it's almost impossible to make those
numbers add up in Sam Allardyce's favour.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce bemoans misfiring attack after Sunderland draw
14 Dec 2013 19:02
The Hammers boss was left frustrated, as was Sunderland boss Gus Poyet who
felt his side deserved all three points
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce was happy to wax lyrical about his West Ham defence following
another clean sheet against Sunderland. However, the Hammers boss was left
to lament his misfiring attack as they were only able to manage a 0-0
against the Premier League's bottom side. "We have got eight clean sheets so
far this season," said Allardyce. "That is a brilliant return, as we only
got 11 last season. "We all know that the goal factor is the problem for us
and we would be higher up the league if we could score more. "Creative
players were on the field against Sunderland but they didn't play at their
creative best." As a result the Upton Park side now sit just one point
outside of the relegation zone, having netted just 13 times in 16 games this
term. Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, meanwhile, felt that his side deserved all
three points from Upton Park. "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win," said the Uruguayan. "Today we
have 19 shots, and how we don't score, I don't know. "There are moments in
the game when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half
when we really on top of the game." The Mackems remain bottom of the Premier
League table, without a win in their last five matches. But while Poyet
would love to 'win ugly' one week, he is pleased with the steps his side are
making. "We need the wins playing like that. I am waiting for an ugly win,"
Poyet added. "When we play well, and don't win it is a little bit tough, but
I need to be pleased with the way we played."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Boss Sam Allardyce insists Andy Carroll is West Ham's own Sergio Aguero
15 Dec 2013 11:20
The bruising centre forward has missed the Hammers' entire campaign to date,
and his boss has likened his impact to the free scoring Argentine
The Mirror
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has insisted his injury-plagued striker Andy
Carroll is the Hammers' own Sergio Aguero. The bruising centre forward has
missed the entire campaign with a foot injury, since sealing a big-money
move to Upton Park in the summer. And his boss has likened his impact to
that of Manchester City's free-scoring Argentine Aguero who bagged another
in Saturday's 6-3 rout of league leaders Arsenal. Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan admitted this week that if he had known that their record signing
would spend so much time on the sidelines, he would not have shelled out £15
million on him. But Allardyce has defended the decision insisting Carroll is
his key man, and has blamed the club's poor early season on the absence of
the the former Newcastle number nine. "It's not [Carroll's] fault he's
injured, he's the difference between us winning more games and us not," he
said. "If you look at our win ratio with Andy Carroll [compared] to without
him, it was pretty obvious [in the close season] we should sign him. "It's
like Manchester City not having [Sergio] Aguero or [Alvaro] Negredo."
The Hammers currently sit just one point outside the drop zone - yesterday's
0-0 bore draw with Sunderland means it is now only one win in seven for
Allardyce's men.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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WHUFC.com
Mohamed Diame spoke of his frustration after West Ham United drew a blank
against Sunderland
15.12.2013
Mohamed Diame is planning to tackle West Ham United's goalscoring
difficulties head on, with more goals of his own. Saturday's goalless
Barclays Premier League stalemate against Sunderland was the Hammers' fifth
of the campaign and one that particularly irked the Hammers midfielder. But
rather than pointing the finger, Diame is keen to take responsibility
himself, insisting he is passing up too many opportunities in front of goal.
He told West Ham TV: "I need to score. Every game I have a lot of
opportunities to score but I'm missing at the moment and I've got to score!
"I can't tell you [what will make the difference in the final third].
Sometimes you don't have the luck. All we can do is keep going, work hard
and I think the goals are going to come."
While the Senegal skipper knows the value of another point, he acknowledged
that the draw makes life more difficult with Manchester United and Arsenal
in the offing. Meanwhile, the Black Cats' battling display came as no
surprise to Diame, who expected nothing less of Gus Poyet's men. "We're very
disappointed," he continued. "We needed those three points and we didn't get
them. You have to take the point and the point is good but we needed all
three. "When you play against Sunderland, who are at the bottom, you have
to take the three points. But we didn't so now it's going to be hard. "We
have to play in Manchester and then against Arsenal here at the Boleyn
Ground. We're going to try give our best and try to take some points. "We
know they're going to come here fighting because they're in a bad situation,
but we're in a bad situation too, so we need to work hard and take as many
points as we can, as soon as possible."
Before the Hammers return to league action at Old Trafford on Saturday, Sam
Allardyce's men are in Capital One Cup action at White Hart Lane. Having
taken centre stage in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October, Diame is
hoping to repeat the feat for the supporters. "It's a big game for us. To
play against Tottenham is a big derby and we've got to try to play a good
game for our fans."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers held by Sunderland
WHUFC.com
West Ham United drew 0-0 with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
14.12.2013
West Ham United 0-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United and Sunderland battled out a 0-0 draw at the Boleyn Ground
on Saturday. Neither team could find a route to goal as the chance to move
three points clear of the bottom three passed the Hammers by. It was the
Black Cats who went closest to winning it when Phil Bardsley's long range
effort thudded against the crossbar, while the hosts had the ball in the net
before the break only for Guy Demel's effort to be disallowed. Ravel
Morrison returned from suspension to replace Kevin Nolan, who was starting a
three-match ban of his own following his red card at Liverpool last week. A
couple of half chances came and went for the Hammers in the opening five
minutes, first Modibo Maiga shooting wide after Mo Diame crossed low from
the left, then the same player headed back across goal with Matt Jarvis just
unable to make a telling touch. Jozy Altodore forced a save from Jussi
Jaaskelainen after he found himself in the clear all of a sudden, while home
celebrations were cut short on 21 minutes when Guy Demel's scrambled finish
was ruled out for a push. Sunderland began to grow into the contest as the
half wore on and were a whisker away from taking the lead in fine style on
35 minutes when his long range shot crashed against the crossbar and away to
safety.
Emanuele Giaccherini had a shot deflected behind by Guy Demel towards the
end of the first half, and Lee Cattermole drew a flying save from
Jaaskelainen with the last kick before the break. Sunderland looked the more
threatening at the start of the second period, although clear cut chances
were few and far between. Giaccherini fired off target after being teed up
just outside the area, then Jaaskelainen was called into action to dive down
to his right and save from Altidore after he found space inside the box. The
Hammers introduced Jack Collison and Carlton Cole from the bench as they
looked for more thrust in their attacking play and the former poked wide on
71 minutes after Maiga laid off to him on the edge of the area. Jaaskelainen
had to stand firm to repel Ki Sung-Yueng when he blasted for goal from close
range 12 minutes from the end, while Vito Mannone had to backpedal to touch
George McCartney's cross-shot over, but neither team could find the killer
touch where it mattered.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins,
McCartney; Morrison, Noble, Diame; J.Cole (C.Cole 75), Maiga, Jarvis
(Collison 56)
Subs: Adrian, Rat, Taylor, Diarra
Booked: Noble
Sunderland: Mannone; Celustka, O'Shea, Brown, Bardsley (Dossena 82);
Cattermole, Ki; Giaccherini, Larsson, Borini (Johnson 73); Altidore
(Fletcher 73)
Subs: Pickford, Cabral, Gardner, Roberge
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 31,843
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on Sunderland stalemate
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce talked to West Ham TV after Saturday's 0-0 Barclays Premier
League draw with Sunderland
14.12.2013
Sam Allardyce reflected philosophically on Saturday's goalless Barclays
Premier League draw with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground. West Ham United
earned a point against the Black Cats thanks to another resilient defensive
display that resulted in an eighth clean sheet in 16 league matches.
However, the goalscoring issues that have plagued the season so far
resurfaced as Big Sam was made to settle for a point rather than all three.
In truth, a draw was a fair reflection of a game in which both sides created
chances, with Sunderland coming closest when Phil Bardsley saw his
well-struck 25-yarder cannon back off the crossbar. West Ham's best moments
came after half-time. Ravel Morrison worked Vito Mannone in the visitors'
goal, while Carlton Cole headed wide and George McCartney saw his late cross
tipped over by the Italian goalkeeper. "I think we got what we deserved from
the game," Big Sam told West Ham TV. "Unfortunately, unlike we saw against
Fulham two weeks ago, we didn't see the creative high-quality play in this
game. "When it becomes a dogged affair like it did here, you need to find
one player to make the difference. We had our most creative players on the
pitch who were available to play, but unfortunately they didn't find the
creativity or the finish to get that one goal to get us a very precious
three points. "It wouldn't have mattered how we played - good, bad or
indifferent - if we'd got the points, but we couldn't turn it around and
find that bit of quality when needed. We ended up with a nil-nil. "On the
other side of it, our magnificent defence was there again and it's the
backbone of our team. That's eight cleans sheets in 16 matches. We only got
eleven all season last year and finished tenth, so nobody needs to tell me
what the problem is and always has been - scoring a goal! "It's not
happening for us at the minute. We got one side of it right and now we need
to keep pressing on to get the other side right in terms of scoring goals.
If we score and get a clean sheet, then we'll win games. "We've only won
three of our eight clean sheets and we only needed to put another two on top
of that and we'd be in the top ten and not the bottom four. That's how close
it is. We're small margins away from getting up that table. We'd have all
loved three points, but in the end I thought it was a fair result."
When asked what else pleased him about the game, Big Sam said it was vitally
important that the Hammers ended their run of defeats following reverses at
Crystal Palace and Liverpool. "Well, we didn't lose the game after losing
two on the trot, so that was a good thing," he went on. "We just need the
luck that Liverpool found last week, when they scored with two own-goals and
a deflection. "We had that little bit of luck against Fulham and if we
continue to press high, that little bit of luck will go our way. Mo Diame's
goal against Fulham was a deflection and we went on to win the game
comfortable. "We have got to continue to be resilient first and foremost and
then believe in our own ability. I just felt the lads mentally found it
tough on occasions [against Sunderland], for the first time, and I've got to
make sure they get over that and deliver the performances I know they are
capable of. "They looked a little bit nervous, edgy and hesitant and when
you put yourselves in this position the pressure can come on you, that can
happen. You've got to deal with it, put those thoughts out of your mind and
get back to being very positive about what we are as a team and do the
business."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 0 Sunderland 0
14 December 2013
Last updated at 17:22
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Sunderland earned only their third away league point of the season following
an uninspiring draw against fellow strugglers West Ham at Upton Park. Jozy
Altidore was through on the Hammers' goal early on but had his shot saved by
keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. A 25-yard shot from Black Cats defender Phil
Bardsley came off the crossbar before Jaaskelainen fended away a long-range
Lee Cattermole effort. Jaaskelainen also did well to keep out a late Ki
Sung-Yueng shot. Sunderland remain bottom of the Premier League and five
points off safety but they might rue a missed opportunity at not getting
their first away league win of the season against a struggling West Ham. In
an interview with Football Focus before the game, Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan described the rest of the season as 'damage limitation' exercise
with the Upton Park club hovering perilously above the relegation zone. West
Ham have not been helped by winger Stewart Downing joining striker Andy
Carroll and centre-back Winston Reid on the injury list, while they took on
Sunderland without suspended captain Kevin Nolan. However, despite having
the better of the game, Sunderland lacked the goalscoring touch to take
advantage of a weakened West Ham, who have four points from the last 24
available. The Black Cats had an early chance through striker Altidore, who
appeared offside, but the American had his angled strike saved by the
slightest of touches from Jaaskelainen. West Ham's threat was fleeting, but
Guy Demel thought he had scored when his header came back off a defender and
he fired in the rebound, although referee Andre Marriner had already blown
for a push by the Hammers right-back. There was plenty of effort from both
camps, but it was the visitors who were producing the neater football and
creating the more clear-cut chances. A free-kick from Hammers centre-back
James Collins struck the jumping Altidore and inadvertently released Fabio
Borini, who ran at the home goal before striking a poor shot which was
straight at Jaaskelainen. Jaaskelainen was beaten when he failed to reach a
powerful 25-yard strike by Sunderland left-back Bardsley but the crossbar
came to the Finnish keeper's rescue. The Hammers stopper also had to fend
away a well-struck long-range effort from Lee Cattermole just before the
break. While there was little goalmouth action in the second half, Ki went
close when he sidestepped to the left and struck a shot which Jaaskelainen
did well to get a hand to and palm away. At the other end, George
McCartney's late cross turned into a shot which Sunderland keeper Vito
Mannone had to tip over, before Collins headed the resulting corner wide.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "We have got eight clean sheets so far this
season. That is a brilliant return as we only got 11 last season. "We all
know that the [scoring] goal factor that has not made the difference for us
and had that been better we would be higher up the league. "The only thing
that we are not doing consistently, at the moment, is scoring goals and that
is why we are where we are."
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet: "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win. "There are moments in the game
when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half when we
really on top of the game. "I need to look at performance, what we have
worked on in the last two months and how good the team is playing. "I would
like to go into every game with this feeling that I am going to see my team
on the pitch.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce on......Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer No. 2
The manager shares his thoughts on the disappointing 0-0 draw with
Sunderland at the Boleyn....
You lacked spark tody Sam. Was it frustrating for you?
Oh yes. There was a little bit to much edge in our game. Too many simple
balls going astray and we didn't create the sort of pressure we did against
Fulham a couple of weeks ago. Hence we endded up with a dogged affair rather
than the creative football we had against Fulham. We wanted someone to find
a little bit of genius for us on the day, one of our creative players to pop
up with something a little bit special and put that ball in the back of the
net for the "one-niller." We couldn't find that again today and probably the
draw was a fair result. Disappointing from what I expected in the end. We
got what we deserved. If we'd got anymore out of that we'd have been
delighted, obviously. Had somebody turned the game in our favour with a
little bit of genius. All our creative players couldn't find that clever
finish, that final pass or that cross.
Do you call a result and performance like that "one of those things"
or...... ?
I wouldn't say it was one of those things. I would look at the nervous
tension that I have to relieve about the place. The little bit of anxiety.
This game was no bigger than the Fulham game two weeks ago. Both teams in a
similar position, both teams needing a win. We played a fantastic game and
ended up winning comfortably 3-0. Today we didn't see that. I've also picked
up some more injuries and a suspension so the squad's getting thinner and
thinner.
Is Andy Carroll in the right frame of mind to provide that missing genius?
Once he gets fit he'll make us better. There' s no doubt about that. Until
we get him better there's no point in talking about Andy Carroll. You never
talk about the other 4 or 5 injuries I've got. They have an impact as I
can't select who I want or who I need. At the moment we've got to battle our
way through it and get all the injured players fit and try and add to the
squad in January. Between now and January we've got to get more points on
the board.
Is he [Carroll] in the right frame of mind to get back and get fit? ...
He works every day to 5,6,7 at night. We're glad to have him back because we
can see him improving every day. Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te people like
that they're all doing the same. We're in a position where we've got tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, Manchester
United away and Arsenal at home. Three points today would have alleviated
some of the pressure from those games. We've got a point. We have to do what
other teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points at
Old Trafford. If we pay our best we'll have a chance.
How far away is Carlton Cole away from a run in the side?
I gave Carlton a start against Crystal Palace. I can't give anyone a run of
games. It's like when the season ticket holders asked me why I don't play
young players. If you play a youngster once and he doesn't play well you
can't play him again, not in the Premier League. You end up losing the
result. That player might not be good enough on the day. You have to go with
the players with Premier League experience. They're the ones that produce
the most consistent performances. We have brought one player through this
year and he's done a fantastic job. That's Ravel Morrison. We have a young
player that's blossoming with us – though I have to say that today was one
of his lower key games today. Which is a shame because he is the one that
can produce the bit of genius individually on his own.
It's a difficult time but there are teams below s having a difficult time. I
say to the lads "if you're not feeling so well how must they feel because
they're below us? Take it on the chin and make sure that you deliver your
best performances and we'll get our way out of this problem we have at the
minute"
Are you aware of David Sullivan's comments that he'd never have signed
Carroll if he'd known how on he was going to be out?
Well after that he said that it would only be at the end of the season that
we'd be able to judge how good a player Andy Carroll is. Understanding the
size of the investment I can understand why he made this comment. We'v got
to get him fit and he's got to get back to what he was doing for us last
season. It's not his fault he's injured. We just have to make sure we keep
him fit. He's the difference between us winning more games and not. He was
last year – if you look at our win ratio with him and without him it was
obvious we had to sign him. Without him it's like Manchester City without
Aguero or Negredo. When you haven't had that all season one of your major
players in the team means that we're not the force that we should be. We
hoped we could overcome that until he got fit but we haven't managed to do
that.
When do you think he'll be back?
[Sighs] It's not within my medical capabilities to say when he should be
back. I do have the capability to watch him. If I don't watch him live I
watch him train on video. I can keep an eye on him with the guys who are
looking after him so we can have an objective opinion between us to when he
should be back, whether that's a bit sooner than perhaps they think. They
always err on the side of caution – rightly so. If Andy's telling us he's
great and he's looking good and the guys say maybe then I'll have a decision
to make. I'll take the responsibility so if he gets injured again it'll be
on my back so I have to be as careful as they do.
Thanks.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan: we wouldn't have signed Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
David Sullivan has admitted that Andy Carroll would not have been a West Ham
player had the club known he would miss half the season. Sullivan, speaking
to the BBC's Football Focus programme this lunchtime revealed that had he
been aware that Carroll would miss half the season, the club would have
looked elsehwere for a striker. "Andy is a fantastic player and on his day
he is unplayable," said Sullivan. "We love him and that is why we signed
him. But had we known he would be out for this long, we wouldn't have. We
are not a rich enough club to deal with that. "You know any player can get
injured, but we can't buy a player knowing he is going to be out for half
the season. When we signed him we were assured by the medical staff that the
very, very latest he would be back was 1 September. That meant he would only
miss two league games. "He is desperate to come back, he is sweating blood
in training - and if you ask me the same question at the end of the season I
hope I will be able give you a different answer and say 'Yes, it was the
right decision to sign Andy Carroll'."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sunderland miss chance of victory after 0-0 draw at West Ham
By Pete Hall @Pistolpeteh86. Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:58pm
SSN
Sunderland will feel two points were dropped at Upton Park as they were held
to a 0-0 draw at West Ham.
Best of the Match
Man of the Match: Lee Cattermole. Broke up West Ham attacks regularly, and
swiftly countered whenever he could.
Save of the Match: Jussi Jaaskelainen. Thwarted Ki from close range at a
crucial time, firmly palming the ball away.
Attempt of the Match: Phil Bardsley. Thunderous effort out of nowhere from
30-yards cannoned back off the crossbar.
Talking Points: With no Andy Carroll where are West Ham's goals going to
come from? Can Sunderland afford to miss opportunities like this?
Despite dominating possession for much of the game, and creating the best
openings, Sunderland couldn't find the breakthrough. Jozy Altidore and Ki
Sung-Yueng were guilty of missing chances, but it was their inability to
capitalise on some good openings that will disappoint boss Gus Poyet the
most. The Hammers, who stay just above the relegation zone after the
stalemate, looked really toothless in attack, and aside from a few brief
flashes of quality from Ravel Morrison, offered very little. The home side
really struggled to keep hold of the ball in the opening period, and when
they did produce some slick build-up play, often through Mohamed Diame and
Morrison, the final ball was not forthcoming. Sunderland however played some
excellent, intricate football, but their decision-making, at key times, let
them down. Altidore could have opened the scoring in the first few minutes,
but his low effort was tipped wide by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Gus Poyet says his
side deserved to win and believes it's time they 'won ugly' after good
football failed to earn them three points at Upton Park.
Bardsley thought he had broken the deadlock just after the half-hour mark,
thundering a strike at goal from 30-yards, which beat Jaaskelainen, but
cannoned back of the crossbar. Sam Allardyce's men did come out after
interval with added energy and impetus, but the same problems persisted.
Sunderland quickly regained control, and really should have broken the
deadlock, but couldn't finish off several half chances. Sam Allardyce admits
his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was delighted to have
earnt a point despite that. Altidore was denied several times by
Jaaskelainen, but he knows he should have done better. The Finnish stopper
had to be alert as the game entered the final 10 minutes, parrying well from
a well-struck Ki effort from close-range, adding to the frustration on
Poyet's face. James Collins saw a header fly just wide in stoppage time, but
it would been harsh on the visitors, who will feel with a little more
quality, three points were there for the taking.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce understands fans' anger after Sunderland draw
Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:41pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce admits his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was
delighted to have earnt a point despite that. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce
admitted he could understand the frustration of the Upton Park fans after
their poor form continued in a 0-0 home draw with Sunderland. The Hammers
looked to have turned the corner on their own turf after comfortably beating
Fulham last time out. However, after another below-par attacking display,
the Upton Park faithful let their feelings be known at the final whistle,
with the players exiting to a chorus of boos. And Allardyce knows where the
supporters are coming from, and believes the fans are right to vent their
frustrations. "It doesn't make it easier for me, but it is part of the job,"
he told Sky Sports. "You sit there and you expect that reaction when your
team doesn't perform. "We didn't entertain them and, more importantly at the
moment, we didn't win."
Allardyce, who celebrated his 100th league game in charge of the Hammers,
has seen side win only two of their last 15 league games, and knows things
must improve quickly, and return to the form his side showed against Fulham.
"We didn't do what we did against against Fulham, which was a brilliant
game," he added. "Today dogged hard work was the order of the day, and we
didn't deserve more than a draw."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
'IF HE WASN'T OUR MANAGER HE IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MANAGER YOU WOULD BE
BRINGING IN'
By Sean Whetstone 15 Dec 2013 at 13:37
West Ham Till I Die
David Sullivan speaking to BBC Football Focus gave his full backing to Sam
Allardyce before yesterday's no score draw.
He was asked whether Sam Allardyce will still be the manager in January?
DS "Absolutely!"
BBC "Does it matter about results?"
DS "It does matter about results but really we review a manager at the end
of a season. If you asked me what kind of season Sam has had up to now, I
would say 'disappointing'. But let's judge him at the end of the season. I
think the Newcastle manager would have been sacked by most fans after a
month of the season but now he is flavour of the month."
DS "I am deeply concerned. Anybody who looks at where we are in the table
and is not concerned are kidding themselves." "I really believe Sam is the
man for the job. If he wasn't our manager he is exactly the type of manager
you would be bringing in to be the manager. Where do you get someone better
than Sam to do the job that is now necessary?"
Earlier this week David Gold at the Season Ticket Holders forum said "We
have to rely on Sam and the players. We have to stick together."
However, Big Sam accepts it will be "impossible" not to sack him if results
at West Ham do not improve quickly. Sam said "They cannot be patient forever
if I continue to lose football matches. It's impossible for them to ride the
pressure that will come upon them, impossible not to succumb to that
pressure like many other owners have done.
"When you look at their history, they have always shown a level of patience
to overcome difficult situations and I hope that will be the same. But I
know that in the end it is about getting results.
"Everybody will speculate about my future now because I am in the same
position as all the other clubs who have got rid of their managers. It is
perceived that I am the next one in the line. But it is just about picking
up a few points."
"The owners are going to stick with me or they are not. It is entirely up to
them and how they see me in the job and how they see the situation at the
moment"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The number's don't lie: Stats-obsessed Sam Allardyce must know West Ham are
heading for a relegation battle
15 Dec 2013 12:28
Toothless and joyless, the Irons are in desperate need of inspiration
The Mirror
You might well have seen an interesting stat that was shared on social media
shortly after West Ham's dismal draw with Sunderland on Saturday: the
constipated Cockneys have been responsible for more goalless games this
season than the entire Bundesliga (five versus four). Sam Allardyce, a vocal
advocate of statistics, might have raised a wry smile at that. He would even
have enjoyed the goals against side of the equation. He certainly referenced
the impressive number of clean sheets his side have kept this season: eight
from their first 15 league matches. But here are some numbers the Hammers
boss might not like reading: of the 35 Premier League games his side have
played so far in 2013 they've won just nine, scoring a paltry 36 times.
Sympathisers have observed that any team would struggle after losing their
key players to injury, but those figures show the problems at West Ham run
far deeper than Andy Carroll's crocked foot , Winston Reid's ruined ankle or
Stewart Downing's damaged leg. Go a little further back and West Ham have
taken 38 points from the last 38 games: if not actually relegation form,
then certainly very close to it. Saturday's witless performance, in which
West Ham were outplayed by the Premier League's bottom side and mustered
just two shots on target all game, had the 'R word' running through it like
the writing on a stick of Southend rock.
With waning captain Kevin Nolan suspended, Allardyce had the opportunity to
reshape his side around the exciting talent of Ravel Morrison and
potentially find a new path to safety. Instead Morrison was left foraging in
the depths of midfield and West Ham struggled again.
Before the game co-owner David Sullivan told the BBC's Football Focus that
he was backing his manager, making the not unreasonable point that if he was
to sack Sam Allardyce, then the kind of manager he'd look to bring in to
salvage the season would be a Sam Allardyce figure. Perhaps so - but an
increasing number of hangdog Hammers fans are coming to the conclusion that
the Sam Allardyce they do have might not be capable of turning things
around. There must have been more than a few who did a disappointing double
take when saw the news West Brom had parted with their manager on Saturday
night.
Since the infamous strikerless Spurs victory back in October , West Ham have
taken just six of the 27 points available (another stat Sam might not want
to wheel out in a boardroom Powerpoint presentation) and lost to fellow
strugglers Norwich and Crystal Palace.
Allardyce has often spoken previously of the need to beat the teams around
you rather than fluke results against bigger boys, and yet now he goes into
fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal needing to do just that.
Heavy defeats will only demoralise his team further.
Much has been made of Sullivan's confession that he wouldn't have bought
Andy Carroll if he'd known he wouldn't have been able to play him (well
durr). Perhaps the more pertinent part of his interview with Dan Walker was
the admission that ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham must
avoid relegation at any cost.
Nobody wants to see a decent man lose their job, of course, but no matter
which way you choose cook the books, it's almost impossible to make those
numbers add up in Sam Allardyce's favour.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce bemoans misfiring attack after Sunderland draw
14 Dec 2013 19:02
The Hammers boss was left frustrated, as was Sunderland boss Gus Poyet who
felt his side deserved all three points
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce was happy to wax lyrical about his West Ham defence following
another clean sheet against Sunderland. However, the Hammers boss was left
to lament his misfiring attack as they were only able to manage a 0-0
against the Premier League's bottom side. "We have got eight clean sheets so
far this season," said Allardyce. "That is a brilliant return, as we only
got 11 last season. "We all know that the goal factor is the problem for us
and we would be higher up the league if we could score more. "Creative
players were on the field against Sunderland but they didn't play at their
creative best." As a result the Upton Park side now sit just one point
outside of the relegation zone, having netted just 13 times in 16 games this
term. Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, meanwhile, felt that his side deserved all
three points from Upton Park. "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win," said the Uruguayan. "Today we
have 19 shots, and how we don't score, I don't know. "There are moments in
the game when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half
when we really on top of the game." The Mackems remain bottom of the Premier
League table, without a win in their last five matches. But while Poyet
would love to 'win ugly' one week, he is pleased with the steps his side are
making. "We need the wins playing like that. I am waiting for an ugly win,"
Poyet added. "When we play well, and don't win it is a little bit tough, but
I need to be pleased with the way we played."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Boss Sam Allardyce insists Andy Carroll is West Ham's own Sergio Aguero
15 Dec 2013 11:20
The bruising centre forward has missed the Hammers' entire campaign to date,
and his boss has likened his impact to the free scoring Argentine
The Mirror
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has insisted his injury-plagued striker Andy
Carroll is the Hammers' own Sergio Aguero. The bruising centre forward has
missed the entire campaign with a foot injury, since sealing a big-money
move to Upton Park in the summer. And his boss has likened his impact to
that of Manchester City's free-scoring Argentine Aguero who bagged another
in Saturday's 6-3 rout of league leaders Arsenal. Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan admitted this week that if he had known that their record signing
would spend so much time on the sidelines, he would not have shelled out £15
million on him. But Allardyce has defended the decision insisting Carroll is
his key man, and has blamed the club's poor early season on the absence of
the the former Newcastle number nine. "It's not [Carroll's] fault he's
injured, he's the difference between us winning more games and us not," he
said. "If you look at our win ratio with Andy Carroll [compared] to without
him, it was pretty obvious [in the close season] we should sign him. "It's
like Manchester City not having [Sergio] Aguero or [Alvaro] Negredo."
The Hammers currently sit just one point outside the drop zone - yesterday's
0-0 bore draw with Sunderland means it is now only one win in seven for
Allardyce's men.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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