Adrian delighted with clean sheet
WHUFC.com
West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian was in unbeatable form at Chelsea on
Wednesday
30.01.2014
West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian provided a solid last line of defence for
Sam Allardyce's men at Chelsea on Wednesday night. The Hammers stood firm in
the face of plenty of Chelsea pressure to frustrate the home side, who would
have gone second in the Barclays Premier League with a victory. The majority
of their shots on the Hammers goal came from range, but when they did break
through Adrian was in the way and the Spaniard was thrilled to play his part
in a morale-boosting performance. "It was really pleasing to keep the clean
sheet and gain an important point at Chelsea," he beamed. "All match we
defended well and restricted their chances to shots from outside the box.
"We were strong in making blocks and cutting out the space and that was a
big part of the clean sheet."
Samuel Eto'o had the ball in the net for Chelsea in stoppage time when, not
realising that referee Neil Swarbrick had awarded the Hammers a free-kick
for a foul on Adrian, he pounced on a loose ball to knock home. Adrian said
there was no doubt the official had given the foul and that Eto'o's strike
was correctly ruled out. He continued: "The referee blew the whistle for a
free-kick, so I don't know what happened [with Eto'o]. "There was a bit of
confusion, but the most important thing is that it wasn't a goal and we've
got another point."
Even later than that, Adrian had to save from Frank Lampard, as the former
Hammer looked to win it with the last action of the game, and the No13 wants
to build on this positive result against Swansea City on Saturday now. He
added: "The save at the end was just me doing my job. "I've worked hard with
Marge [Martyn Margetson, goalkeeping coach] and Jussi on the training ground
for moments like that. "So we've gone through the game without conceding a
goal, which is great, and we'll look to build on that against Swansea now.
"It is an important game, because we are playing at home and we need three
points more to get us away from the bottom of the table."
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Big Sam lauds defensive 'brilliance'
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was proud of West Ham United's resilient performance in
drawing 0-0 at Chelsea
29.01.2014
Sam Allardyce took great pride and pleasure from West Ham United's
hard-fought goalless Barclays Premier League draw at Chelsea. The Hammers
boss told West Ham TV that his players deserved a clean sheet and a vital
point from their resilient performance at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea unleashed
38 shots, nine of which were on target, only for West Ham's players to throw
themselves in the way of everything. When the ball did sneak past the
outfield players, goalkeeper Adrian was there to make a number of important
saves. At the other end, while West Ham mustered just one effort on target,
James Tomkins forced a flying save from Petr Cech in the first half, while
Andy Carroll mis-kicked when well-placed after the interval. All in all,
though, the manager was more than content with a point that clearly
frustrated Jose Mourinho and his players. "I think that our solidarity and
our defensive resilience meant that it wasn't luck, it was sheer brilliance
why we got a point," said the manager. "Our last-ditch defending was
brilliant and you can't tell me Adrian has had to make too many saves apart
from that one he made at the end from Frank Lampard. "Thank goodness Frank
didn't score against us again, and it was a brilliant performance overall
when you consider we had to play the last ten minutes with ten men after
losing Joey O'Brien to a dislocated shoulder. "That's three dislocated
shoulders we've had this season and is an illustration of how injury-prone
we've become as a squad this year and it's cost us. We'd only just got Joey
back and he's injured again, while Mo Diame got injured falling over the
advertising board. "It never rains but it pours from that point of view and,
just as I am getting everybody back and fit and am leaving players out of
the squad and off the bench - which is a nice thing to be able to do - two
players are injured again. "But, that said, what a great performance,
defensively and tactically, but the players in nullifying the world-class
players that Chelsea have. They made sure Chelsea resorted to moaning and
groaning and waving their arms about, trying to intimidate the referee to
get something out of the game that they couldn't get in general play."
Despite ceding possession and territory to their hosts for long periods, the
Hammers retained a defensive shape until the very last of the 97 minutes
played.
A match played in steady rain on a sodden pitch would have seen lesser teams
wilt, but West Ham remained organised to a man for the entirety of a
physically and mentally draining match. "When they threw Demba Ba on, we
went five at the back and made sure we stayed resilient with the four
midfielders in front of them. "After Joey went off, we had three in front of
them and Carlton Cole up front trying to hold the ball up when he could for
us. It ended up with about seven or eight minutes injury time after the
delays! "From our point of view, it was a great performance. From the
referee's point of view, standing up to the intimidation he received and
being strong and not wilting under the pressure he was put under [was also
great]."
When West Ham's massed ranks were breached on a few occasions, Chelsea found
Adrian in unbeatable form. The Spaniard made saves in either half, denying
Oscar, John Terry and Samuel Eto'o before the break and Frank Lampard with a
dramatic last-gasp stop. Big Sam was also pleased to introduce Italy
international midfielder Antonio Nocerino as a late substitute, giving him a
first taste of English football. "He has grown as a goalkeeper as he has
felt his way into the team, has Adrian. "We got Antonio on for a little bit,
just to show him what it's like. He came on at the end, so he can imagine
what it's like at the beginning now! "The only disappointment for me was the
two injuries and the fact Andy Carroll didn't score when he had the chance."
Now, Big Sam wants to see his team build on their hard-earned point when
they host Swansea City at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday lunchtime. "We've
already got a better away record this year than last, so it's at home where
we've let ourselves down. I think we've got to improve the home results,
starting with Swansea on Saturday. "We wasted the chance at home to build on
our win at Cardiff against Newcastle, due in part due to the injury
circumstances that we had. Hopefully, those injuries won't affect the back
four going out there on Saturday. "Winston Reid is nearly back now and we
won't slip up like we did against Newcastle. After a hard-earned point at
Chelsea, it's got to be followed up with a result against Swansea."
Finally, the manager revealed that West Ham will have to sell before they
can add to the squad in the final days of the transfer window. The Hammers
are currently at capacity in their 25-man senior squad and will have to make
space if the manager and Board want to bring in new faces. "We can only name
25, so we're already looking at the fact that we might have to leave one or
two of those out [of the matchday squad] with the players we have available
at the moment. "We'll have to look at it in the case of a top player
becoming available who the Chairmen and myself want to go for. At the
moment, it's about getting the players in this frame of mind for the rest of
the season and keeping them fit."
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Hammers keep it tight at Chelsea
WHUFC.com
West Ham United defended resolutely to pick up a point at Chelsea on
Wednesday
29.01.2014
Chelsea 0-0 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United stood firm to gain a valuable point at Chelsea on Wednesday
night. Title-chasing Chelsea had a near-monopoly on possession but could not
force a way through as the Hammers defended for their lives. Other than a
James Tomkins header which Petr Cech saved, Chelsea had all the
opportunities, but most of them came from range as they found it difficult
to break West Ham down. Despite their pressure, Chelsea could not manage a
breakthrough as the Hammers rediscovered a solidity at the back in timely
fashion. There were places on the bench for West Ham's new arrivals Antonio
Nocerino and Marco Borriello, while Joey O'Brien and Guy Demel returned from
injury to fill the full-back positions. Andy Carroll was also handed his
first Barclays Premier League start of the season, and he had an early shout
for a penalty when he went down under Cesar Azpilicueta's challenge after he
controlled Stewart Downing's cross at the far post. At the other end,
Chelsea were inches away from taking a ninth minute lead when Oscar arced a
shot towards goal, but Adrian got fingertips to the ball to touch it on to
the crossbar. West Ham responded with a chance of their own three minutes
later when they won a free-kick down the left and Taylor delivered for
Tomkins, who headed back across goal and forced a parry from Petr Cech. The
ball ricocheted off Kevin Nolan, who was in close attendance, but slid wide
of the post. That turned out to be the Hammers' only chance of the opening
period as Chelsea established a stranglehold on possession.
Sam Allardyce's men remained sturdy in defence, though, and restricted their
hosts to shots from range before the half-time whistle. Willian fired over
after working space 25 yards out on 15 minutes, while Samuel Eto'o shot too
high under pressure from James Tomkins. Ramires drilled just over the angle
of post and crossbar and Chelsea's best first half opening fell to John
Terry moments before the break, but Adrian saved with his feet after the
Blues captain got up to meet a Willian corner. The second half started in
much the same vein with Gary Cahill heading too high from another Willian
dead ball delivery. Eden Hazard shot wide from a tight angle after a good
spell of Chelsea ball retention ended with Willian threading a ball through
to the Belgian. The Hammers continued to throw their bodies in the way of
everything, with James Collins in particular making a number of important
blocks. Adrian gathered another Oscar shot from outside the box as the home
side's desperation for a goal grew. But, thanks in large part to an heroic
defensive display, and a last gasp Adrian save from Adrian, it would not
arrive as the Hammers held out to make their point.
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta (Matic 63); Ramires,
Mikel (Lampard 63); Willian, Oscar (Ba 79), Hazard; Eto'o
Subs: Schwarzer, A.Cole, Luiz, Schurrle#
Booked: Ramires
West Ham United: Adrian; Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien; Nolan (Nocerino
80), Noble, Taylor' Diame (Jarvis 30), Carroll (C.Cole 64), Downing
Subs: Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Morrison, Borriello
Booked: O'Brien, Taylor, Nolan
Referee: Neil Sawrbrick
Attendance: 41,376
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Revitalised Reid back in full training
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid is happy to be edging closer to a return to first-team action
following injury
29.01.2014
Winston Reid is looking forward to putting a three-month injury lay-off
behind him as he closes in on a first-team return. The No2 returned to full
training this week for the first time since undergoing surgery on a damaged
ankle, giving manager Sam Allardyce a timely boost. Although Wednesday
night's trip to Chelsea looks set to come around too soon for the New
Zealander, he is sure of being back on the pitch before long. He said: "It
is a big relief to be back after three months out. I was a bit rusty as I
have been out for a fair bit, but I will try to work hard and get back in
the team as soon as possible. "It is certainly the injury that has taken the
longest in my career, so I guess it was the worst, but it was pretty basic
really. For instance, when I had the operation it only took ten or 15
minutes. It was just in and out, put a tightrope in there and I was ready to
go. "Luckily enough it wasn't more serious than that, but it just takes time
to heal unfortunately. "If I could, I would want to go out there and play on
Wednesday, but that is probably not realistic. We will just have to marry
what the physios say with what the manager says and see how my ankle feels
day by day."
Reid is one of several injured players edging ever closer to a comeback and
he wants to play as full a part as possible in the Hammers' survival bid.
He added: "I think we have got all our players back, as well as two new boys
in, so I don't think we have got any excuses anymore, it is down to the
players to deliver the goods. "The staff around us can only do so much, but
at the end of the day it is the eleven that go out on the pitch that have to
do the job.
"It is going to be a big 16 games and it is certainly not like it was last
season. At this stage we were pretty much safe, but it is not going to be
like that now.
"We have put ourselves in this situation and we have to get ourselves out of
it, but if we all do our jobs correctly and give it 100 percent then I think
we will be OK."
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Chelsea 0 West Ham 0
29 January 2014
Last updated at 22:44
By Saj Chowdhury
BBC Sport
Chelsea slipped up in the race for the title as they were held by a dogged
West Ham at Stamford Bridge. The Blues controlled the match but were
frustrated by Sam Allardyce's lowly Hammers, who defended stoutly. Oscar had
a shot touched onto the bar by Adrian, who also kept out efforts from John
Terry and Samuel Eto'o. Eto'o thought he had scored late on after assuming
the West Ham keeper had wrongly placed the ball for a free-kick, but his
effort was disallowed. That was one of several frantic moments in the last
10 minutes for the visitors, with Frank Lampard forcing Adrian to make a
superb save with his feet and another Blues substitute, Demba Ba, hitting
the post with a flicked effort. The result meant the Hammers avoided their
14th defeat in 17 meetings against Chelsea, but they remain in the bottom
three. The hosts, meanwhile, stay two points adrift of Arsenal, who drew
with Southampton on Tuesday, but are three behind Manchester City, who went
top with a 5-1 win at Tottenham.
Blues feel the blues
Chelsea face City at Etihad Stadium on Monday. If they are to have any hope
of winning that game, Jose Mourinho's attackers must rediscover the killer
instinct they were lacking against West Ham, who had conceded 17 goals in
their previous five matches. The visitors showed greater resolve in west
London, although it was striker Andy Carroll who was their best defender.
The 25-year-old, making his first league start of the season, was regularly
well positioned when Chelsea threatened with set-pieces, but spent more time
in his own box than the opposition's. The hosts dominated possession
throughout, but only hit something near top gear towards the end of the
first half, when Adrian made excellent saves to keep out Terry's header and
Eto'o's fierce drive. Prior to that, the Spaniard had tipped Oscar's curling
effort onto the bar. Despite their dominance, Chelsea lacked a striker
hovering around the six-yard area, with Eto'o often dropping deeper in order
to get involved in the build-up. That pattern continued until the final five
minutes, when Ba's close-range flick struck the woodwork. Lampard also went
close to a winner in stoppage time, but his side-footed effort from 10 yards
was blocked by the alert Adrian, soon after the goalkeeper had escaped a
potentially embarrassing incident. Eto'o thought he had made a misjudgement
when placing the ball for a free-kick and tapped into the net, but referee
Neil Swarbrick disallowed the Cameroon striker's effort.
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West Ham hit by Joey O'Brien shoulder injury
BBC.co.uk
West Ham defender Joey O'Brien could be out for almost three months after
dislocating his shoulder against Chelsea. The 27-year-old Republic of
Ireland international suffered the injury late in the game after landing
awkwardly following a challenge with Gary Cahill. The Hammers have had
defensive injuries all season, although most of their sidelined players have
now returned. Sam Allardyce's side remain in the relegation zone. "The only
disappointment for us today was the two injuries," said Allardyce. "Joey,
unfortunately, has dislocated a shoulder, which is bad news for us. "That's
our third dislocated shoulder this season. I don't think I've had three
dislocated shoulders in my entire career, let alone three in one season.
"[He is likely to be out for] 10 to 12 weeks."
The former Bolton player, whose career has been hindered by knee injuries,
has made 19 appearances for the Hammers this season.
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As one door closes...
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 29th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Joleon Lescott's proposed transfer window move to West Ham could be back on
again. Lescott's current club, Manchester City, are thought to be prepared
to allow the 31-year-old central defender to leave the Etihad Stadium on the
proviso that they are able to acquire one of their winter transfer window
targets prior to the end of the month. And news today suggests that the
Citizens are about to do exactly that, with Porto's French defender Eliaquim
Mangala said to be on the verge of a £38million move to City. 6'2" Lescott,
who was first linked with a move to West Ham more than a decade ago whilst
still with Wolves, is said to earn circa £90,000 per-week at Man City who
are willing to subsidise those wages, in part. In other transfer news,
Modibo Maiga's immediate future remain shrouded in mystery just 48 hours
ahead of Friday's deadline. United have been trying to offload the striker
all month without success, but Italian clubs Chievo and Livorno are now
rumoured to be mulling over a move for the misfiring Malian. Elsewhere
(genuine) transfer news remains thin on the ground, with Sam Allardyce's
concerns having eased somewhat having managed to secure both Antonio
Nocerino and Marco Borriello from Serie A last weekend. However one name
that continues to crop up is that of Stuttgart's 28-year-old midfielder
William Kvist, who is looking to leave the Bundesliga club having been
dropped from the team in recent weeks. The Danish international has been
linked with a move to east London all month and is exactly the sort of
last-minute signing that could materialise on deadline day.
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Injury sidelines West Ham's Joey O'Brien for up to 12 weeks
Last Updated: 29/01/14 11:00pm
SSN
West Ham are likely to be without Joey O'Brien for up to 12 weeks after the
defender picked up a shoulder injury during the 0-0 draw at Chelsea. The
27-year-old suffered his injury late in the game at Stamford Bridge as a
result of a clash with Blues defender Gary Cahill. He was forced to leave
the pitch supporting his arm in a makeshift sling. Hammers boss Sam
Allardyce confirmed after the game that O'Brien had suffered a dislocation
and is likely to miss between 10 and 12 weeks. "Joey, unfortunately, has
dislocated a shoulder, which is bad news for us," said Allardyce. "That's
our third dislocated shoulder this season. I don't think I've had three
dislocated shoulders in my entire career, let alone three in one season."
This could see him miss 10 matches as West Ham continue their struggle
against relegation from the Premier League. West Ham's point at Stamford
Bridge will help this cause although it did not prevent them dropping into
the relegation zone as a result of Sunderland's 1-0 win over Stoke. O'Brien,
who has made 19 appearances for West Ham this season, was not the only
injury victim on Tuesday night. Mohamed Diame will be assessed ahead of
Saturday's home match with Newcastle after suffering a bang on the knee when
he fell over the advertising hoardings and had to be replaced in the first
half.
Despite the injuries, Allardyce was in jovial mood afterwards as he hit back
at complaints from opposite number Jose Mourinho about the visitors'
tactics.
Allardyce said: "He can't take it, can he? He can't take it because we've
out witted him. He just can't cope. "I love to see Chelsea players moaning
at the referee, trying to intimidate him, Jose jumping up and down saying we
play crap football. "It's brilliant when you get a result against him. Hard
luck, Jose."
Allardyce lauded his players for implementing his tactics in a result he
believes was on a par with the 3-0 win at Tottenham earlier in the season.
The Hammers boss added: "This one probably equals (Tottenham) because of the
position we're in and the problems we've had recently. "It was all about
frustrating a team that's got world-class players and not to come here and
lie down. "Tactically we got it right in two areas particularly: one was in
stopping (Eden) Hazard, Oscar and Willian and (Samuel) Eto'o scoring goals;
and the other one was stopping them scoring from set plays. We did a
fantastic job."
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Adrian the hero as West Ham hold on to dent Chelsea Premier League title
charge
Last Updated: 29/01/14 10:50pm
SSN
A battling defensive display by West Ham earned a crucial 0-0 draw as
Chelsea's title challenge stalled in a Stamford Bridge stalemate. Sam
Allardyce's side put their bodies on the line throughout the 90 minutes to
deny the Blues a much-needed three points.
MATCH FACTS
Man of the match - Adrian. There were a number of defensive heroes for the
Hammers but the Spanish keeper produced vital saves at the beginning and end
of the contest to deny Chelsea.
Effort of the match. Oscar produced a stunning curling strike after just
nine minutes only to be denied by Adrian's outstretched right hand.
Save of the match. Adrian's hard work could all have been for nothing but he
was alert right at the end to deny substitute Frank Lampard with a wonderful
reflex save.
Talking point. Samuel Eto'o had the ball in the net moments from the end
after Adrian put the ball down to take what he thought was a free-kick.
Eto'o celebrated but referee Neil Swarbrick ruled it out claiming he had
blown for a foul.
Spanish keeper Adrian was unbeatable as he produced a series of fine saves -
while in front of him James Collins, Matt Taylor and James Tomkins produced
some heroic blocks to keep the blue shirts at bay. The Hammers could even
have pinched all three points but the returning Andy Carroll - who had a
good first-half shout for a penalty turned down - squandered a great opening
when he swung and missed Stewart Downing's centre. Jose Mourinho sent on
Frank Lampard, Nemanja Matic and Demba Ba in an attempt to find the crucial
breakthrough but the Hammers stood firm to see Chelsea - who had 39 shots
during the contest - drop behind table-topping Manchester City, who they
face on Monday Night Football. Lampard thought he'd earned the win with the
last kick off the match only for Adrian to deny him with an amazing
goal-line stop just moments after Samuel Eto'o had the ball in the net, with
referee Neil Swarbrick ruling he had blown for an earlier foul on the
keeper. Mourinho on Tuesday played down his side's title chances this term
and the Blues saw a seven-game winning run ended.
City scored nine in the two-legged Capital One Cup semi-final with the
Hammers, but the Blues faced a defensive wall they could not breach while
the visitors also posed an early threat. Carroll slipped at the far post
with Cesar Azpilicueta in close attendance after seven minutes and referee
Swarbrick was unmoved at the Hammers' penalty appeals, much to Allardyce's
frustration. Oscar's curled effort was helped on to the bar by Adrian and
Petr Cech scrambled clear a Tomkins header before the West Ham goalkeeper
saved from John Terry and Eto'o late in the first half. Willian, Eto'o and
Ramires blazed over as Chelsea were limited to shots from range.
Mohamed Diame's fall over the advertising hoardings resulted in a change,
with Matt Jarvis replacing the Senegal midfielder, who limped off pointing
at his right knee. Sam Allardyce praises his West Ham side after they left
Stamford Bridge with a point after drawing 0-0. Adrian twice had to be
alert, saving a Terry header with his feet before turning an Eto'o shot
around the post. West Ham's threat was limited to long balls directed to
Carroll, which Cahill and Terry, who caught the Hammers striker with an
accidental flailing arm on one occasion, dealt with. Chelsea showed more
urgency after the break. Oscar shot straight at Adrian, there was no-one in
the six-yard box to meet a Willian cross and Ramires fired wide from an
Azpilicueta cross. Joey O'Brien's challenge on Willian was an outlet for
Mourinho's frustrations before Chelsea earned a reprieve when Carroll swung
at thin air when Downing crossed towards him. Substitute Lampard had scored
three times in his previous two contests with his former club and had
half-chances to add to the tally. Little was coming off for Chelsea and, in
another attacking substitution, Mourinho threw on another ex-Hammer in Ba
for Oscar, while Antonio Nocerino came on for his West Ham debut. O'Brien
went off as the Hammers faced four minutes of stoppage time a man short and
Adrian saved from Ba before Eden Hazard shot wide and had an effort saved.
Adrian placed the ball on his six-yard box after being awarded a free-kick
in the follow-up to Hazard's shot, but Eto'o put the ball in having not
heard the whistle. Lampard was denied in the 97th minute by a fine Adrian
save as the Hammers earned a valuable point and denied Chelsea an eighth
successive win in all competitions.
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Jose Mourinho: West Ham play football from 19th century
Last Updated: 29/01/14 11:13pm
SSN
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused West Ham of playing "football from the
19th century" after being left frustrated by a goalless draw at Stamford
Bridge. The Blues fell three points behind new Barclays Premier League
leaders Manchester City, who beat West Ham 9-0 in the two-legged Capital One
Cup semi-final, after a resolute display from Sam Allardyce's men. Mourinho
outlined his unhappiness with the Hammers' tactics afterwards. The
self-proclaimed 'Special One' said: "It's very difficult to play a football
match where only one team wants to play. It's very difficult. "A football
match is about two teams playing and this match was only one team playing
and another team not playing. "I told Big Sam and I repeat my words: they
need points and, because they need points, to come here and play the way
they did, is it acceptable? Maybe, yes. "I cannot be too critical, because
if I was in his position I don't know if I would do the same. Maybe. "At the
same time I told him also this is not Premier League, this is not the best
league in the world, this is football from the 19th century."
Chelsea tried everything to unlock the Hammers' defence and when they did
they found goalkeeper Adrian in supreme form. Mourinho added: "The only
(other) thing I could bring was a Black and Decker (tool) to destroy the
wall."
The Blues had 39 shots but could still not find a way past a heroic West Ham
who finished the game with 10 men following a shoulder injury to Joey
O'Brien which could see him out of action for up to three months. Mourinho
was also left frustrated by what he viewed as the Hammers' time wasting
tactics and could not understand why only four extra minutes were added on.
"They wasted two minutes every time they kicked off and the referee gives
the wrong message when he gives just four minutes but it is what it is."
Mourinho pointed to aimless long balls to illustrate his point, which he had
made to Hammers boss Allardyce after the game. "He was laughing," Mourinho
added. "His objective was won: come here and take a point. It was not to
come here and play good football or to try to win or to feel part of the
quality of the Premier League. "He takes the point. After that he's a happy
man and I'm a sad guy."
Mourinho refused to criticise his players, who could have done with someone
of the guile of Juan Mata, now at Manchester United. "With my players, I'm
happy," Mourinho said. "My team tried everything. Their goalkeeper saved a
lot, but they also had other players without gloves who saved a lot. "They
played with five defenders; they looked more goalkeepers than defenders."
Mourinho resisted the urge to criticise the officials, who ruled out a
stoppage-time Samuel Eto'o strike, having already blown for a foul amid a
confusing conclusion which also saw Adrian save from Frank Lampard. Chelsea
next play a City side who beat Tottenham to go top of the Premier League.
"For me it's not a surprise," Mourinho added. "We go there next Monday and
the result at this moment is 0-0. Are they favourites? Yes. Are they even
favourites to score again four, five, six goals? Yes. "But the result is 0-0
and we go there to compete and to play."
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Sam Allardyce: I don't give a s***e about Mourinho, we 'out-tacticed'
Chelsea
Jan 29, 2014 22:48 By John Cross 4 Comments
The Mirror
Jose Mourinho launched a savage attack on West Ham after accusing them of
cheating by playing football from the dark ages. Furious Mourinho blew his
top after accusing West Ham of time wasting, fouls, feigning injuries and
showing no intention to try and win. Mourinho was also furious at referee
Neil Swarbrick and his officials after watching Chelsea lose two points in
the title race because of West Ham's heroic defensive performance. Chelsea
boss Mourinho said: "This is not the best league in the world. This is
football from the nineteenth century. Too bad. With my players, I'm happy.
The second half was phenomenal.
"Their goalkeeper saved a lot, but they had other players without gloves who
saved a lot. They played with five defenders: they had more goalkeepers than
defenders. They gave everything. "So my respect to their spirit and to their
effort, but my team tried everything. We tried, we created, we missed goals,
the goalkeeper saved, the defenders saved two... I cannot complain with my
people, and I am nobody to criticise what they did. "(They were) pretending
injuries. Cheating... I don't know if that's the right word. The goalkeeper
taking time not after minute 70, but in the first minute. "Ten defenders in
the box, defenders not putting a foot outside the box. Very basic. But I'm
nobody to criticise. They are happy. "It's very difficult to play a football
match where only one team wants to play. Very difficult. A match is about
two teams playing. This match was only one team playing, and another team
not. "I told Big Sam, and I repeat my words, that they need points. I cannot
be too critical because if I was in this position, I don't know if I would
do the same. Maybe (I would). So I don't want to criticise that. But at the
same time, this is not Premier League."
But West Ham boss Sam Allardyce laughed off Mourinho's attack and said: "I
don't give a s***e, to be honest. I love to see Chelsea players moaning at
the referee, trying to intimidate him, Jose jumping up and down in his
technical area. It's great to see. "He can't take it can he. He can't take
it because we've out-tacticed him, out-witted him. He just can't cope. He
can tell me all he wants."
Chelsea had an incredible 39 shots with eight on target but could not find a
way past West Ham keeper Adrian and their heroic back four as Allardyce's
men put their bodies on the line to stop the onslaught. It was one-sided and
frustrating but Joey O'Brien's savage tackle from behind on Willian also
enraged Mourinho as he even stormed onto the pitch to remonstrate with
Swarbrick. Chelsea's best efforts came in the dying minutes when West Ham
keeper Adrian defied substitute Frank Lampard, Demba Ba hit the post and
Oscar hit the bar in the first half. West Ham's heroics were made all the
better by the fact that they finished the game with ten men as O'Brien was
taken off with dislocated shoulder after Allardyce had used all three
substitutes.
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West Ham plot Fernando Alexandre transfer from Portuguese side Academica
Coimbra
Jan 29, 2014 22:29 By John Cross 0 Comments
SSN
West Ham are trying to do a cut-price £500,000 deal for Academica Coimbra
midfielder Fernando Alexandre. However, former Benfica midfielder Alexandre,
28, is valued at twice that figure by his Portuguese club. The Hammers have
already signed AC Milan midfielder Antonio Nocerino and Roma striker Marco
Borriello on loan this month as they fight to avoid relegation from the
Premier League.
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Thursday, January 30
Wednesday, January 29
Daily WHUFC News - 29th January 2014
Chelsea match preview
WHUFC.com
All the need-to-know information ahead of West Ham United's game against
Chelsea on Wednesday night
28.01.2014
CHELSEA v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
STAMFORD BRIDGE
WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2014
KICK-OFF: 7:45PM
REFEREE: NEIL SWARBRICK
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE
Introduction
• Stamford Bridge is the destination for West Ham United on Wednesday night
as they return to Barclays Premier League action against Chelsea.
• The Hammers' last league encounter ended in a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle
United at the Boleyn Ground back on 18 January.
• Sam Allardyce's side did however enjoy better fortunes on their last away
league outing, beating Cardiff City 2-0 in the Welsh capital.
• By the time West Ham take to the field in west London it will be just over
a week since the Hammers exited the Capital One Cup following a 9-0
aggregate loss to Manchester City.
• Chelsea will play their second home game in four days on Wednesday night
following a 1-0 FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round win over Stoke City on
Sunday afternoon.
• The Blues' last Premier League match was also in front of their own fans,
a 3-1 success against Manchester United on 19 January.
• In all, Jose Mourinho's team are on a good run and have gone seven league
matches without defeat, since a 3-2 defeat against Stoke City on 7 December.
Team news
West Ham United
• New signing Antonio Nocerino could go straight into the squad for
Wednesday night, although Sam Allardyce admitted that fellow new boy Marco
Borriello may not be fit enough to feature.
• Winston Reid is back in first team training after recovering from an ankle
injury which has side-lined him for the best part of three months, but will
not feature against the Blues.
Chelsea
• Chelsea may hand a debut to new signing Mohamed Salah, who joined the west
London club from Basle on Sunday.
Last time out
West Ham United 0-3 Manchester City
Capital One Cup semi-final second leg
21 January 2014
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Taylor, Johnson, Tomkins, Rat, Morrison,
Diame (Collison 89), Nolan, Diarra, J Cole (Downing 47), Carroll (C Cole 45)
Subs not used: Adrian, Jarvis, Noble, Chambers
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke City
FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round
26 January 2014
Chelsea: Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Matic, Lampard, Schurrle
(Ramires 70), Oscar (Willian 81), Hazard, Eto'o (Ba 85)
Subs not used: Cech, Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta
Goal: Oscar 27
Previous meeting
Frank Lampard returned to haunt the Hammers once again as he netted two of
three Chelsea goals as they eased to victory in east London. The Academy
graduate opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 21 minutes and
finished the scoring off with eight minutes remaining after Oscar had
doubled the visitors' advantage.
West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
23 November 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien, Collison
(Maiga 40), Noble, J Cole (Diame 40), Morrison, Downing, Nolan (Jarvis 76)
Subs not used: Adrian, McCartney, Taylor, C Cole
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Mikel,
Lampard, Oscar (Schurrle 83), Eto'o (Ba 79), Hazard (Essien 84)
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Willian, Mata
Goals: Lampard 21, 82, Oscar 34
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
23 November 2013 - West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
17 March 2013 - Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United
1 December 2012 - West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea
23 April 2011 - Chelsea 3-0 West Ham United
11 September 2010 - West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
13 March 2010 - Chelsea 4-1 West Ham United
v Chelsea (all competitions) W 53 D 28 L 53
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Chelsea
2012/13 Premier League 3rd (75 points)
2011/12 Premier League 6th (64 points)
2010/11 Premier League 2nd (71 points)
2009/10 Premier League 1st (86 points - champions)
2008/09 Premier League 3rd (83 points)
2007/08 Premier League 2nd (85 points)
2006/07 Premier League 2nd (83 points)
2005/06 Premier League 1st (91 points - champions)
2004/05 Premier League 1st (95 points - champions)
2003/04 Premier League 2nd (79 points)
Background
• Wednesday's fixture marks the 90th league meeting between the two clubs.
West Ham have 35 wins to their opponents' 37, while there have been just 17
draws. In 32 Premier League meetings, Chelsea have chalked up 17 victories,
West Ham have won ten times and there have been just five draws.
• The first-ever meeting between the two clubs in any competition came on 11
September 1915 in the war-time London Combination principal tournament. West
Ham United were at home and the game ended goalless.
• The first-ever league meeting between the two clubs took place on 20
October 1923 and also ended goalless. That match was played in Division One
at Stamford Bridge.
• West Ham's biggest league victory over Chelsea came in Division Two on
Valentine's Day 1981. The Hammers romped to a 4-0 success on their way to
winning the title and promotion to the top-flight.
• Chelsea's biggest win over West Ham came on 9 April 1966 at Stamford
Bridge, when the Blues thumped the Hammers 6-2. At the Boleyn Ground,
Chelsea won 4-0 on 1 March 2008, a result that also marks the Blues' biggest
Premier League win over the Hammers.
• The biggest crowd to witness a Chelsea versus West Ham fixture at Stamford
Bridge was the estimated 65,000 who witnessed the Blues' 2-0 FA Cup
fourth-round win on 26 January 1946.
• Tony Cottee has scored more goals against Chelsea than any other West Ham
United player, scoring eight times. Geoff Hurst and John Dick managed six
each, while the Hammers' all-time leading scorer Vic Watson scored three in
five appearances against the Blues.
• John Bond scored the first league hat-trick by a West Ham United player
against Chelsea when he was pressed into an emergency centre-forward role on
6 February 1960. Right-back Bond netted three times, including one penalty,
in a 4-2 Division One success at the Boleyn Ground. Billy Bonds also netted
an unlikely hat-trick against Chelsea in a 3-0 Division One home win on 2
March 1974.
• Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard started his career at West Ham, working
his way up through the ranks before making 187 appearances and scoring 38
goals for the Club between 1995 and 2001. The England international left
east London for Stamford Bridge and has gone on to make 634 appearances for
the Blues, scoring 209 goals.
• West Ham midfielder Joe Cole, also came through the famous Academy before
leaving to join Chelsea in 2003. He spent seven years in west London, making
over 180 league appearances and collecting no fewer than ten winners' medals
during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Referee
• Wednesday night's man in the middle is 48-year-old 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 when they recorded an
excellent 2-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final win against Tottenham Hotspur.
General information
• All standard tickets for this fixture have sold out. There are however
still a number of disabled tickets remaining priced at Adults £42 and £13.50
Over-65s and Under-18s.
• There are no planned closures on the c2c mainline train service scheduled
for Wednesday. For full travel information and updates on the c2c network
click here.
• There are also no planned engineering works across the London Underground
scheduled for Wednesday. For live travel information click here.
• The weather forecast for Wednesday night is cloudy with temperatures
around 5C (41F).
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'We will wear the shirt with pride'
WHUFC.com
New loan arrival Marco Borriello cannot wait to make his West Ham United
debut
28.01.2014
Marco Borriello is relishing the prospect of testing himself in the Barclays
Premier League. The Italy international, who has seven caps to his name, has
spent his entire career to date in his homeland, notching 71 Serie A goals
in 253 appearances. Having turned out for the likes of AC Milan, Juventus
and AS Roma, from whom he joined the Hammers on loan, he is now looking
forward to showcasing his talents on a different stage. In an exclusive West
Ham TV interview, he said: "I was given the opportunity to move in the
summer and I was looking to come over to England and the Premier League, but
I decided to stay at Roma at that time. "However, when the opportunity arose
to join West Ham in this transfer window, I was very happy to make the move.
"I can't wait to start playing in the Premier League - I know the fans are
very passionate and I'm very excited by the challenge. "I know it is a very
tough league, but I am very much looking forward to testing myself here.
"Serie A and the Premier League are two different leagues. The Italian
league is a bit more tactical, whereas the English league is maybe more
physical. "However, the ball is round in both countries, so if you are good
player you can play in any league in the world."
Marco Borriello
The new No46 was born in Naples - the same city from which fellow Italian
and new arrival Antonio Nocerino hails. Borriello is looking forward to
linking up with his countryman and he says the pair are well-versed on what
to expect in east London. Watch fellow Italian Antonio Nocerino's first West
Ham TV interview here! He continued: "I have joked with Antonio - we have
two Italians, Neapolitans even, who have now met and are playing for a club
in London.
"We both have loads of enthusiasm and are excited to start playing and
hopefully bring West Ham up the table. "Being Italian and following the
English league, I know a lot about West Ham in terms of Gianfranco Zola
having managed here and Paolo Di Canio being a great idol at the Club. "I've
read a lot about the history of the Club and know they have the nickname of
the Irons. Both myself and Antonio are players who will wear the shirt with
honour, with pride and with heart - we will give 100 percent whenever we
play for the Club."
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Ruddock departs
WHUFC.com
Pelly Ruddock has joined Skrill Premier club Luton Town on a permanent basis
28.01.2014
West Ham United can confirm that Pelly Ruddock has joined Skrill Premier
club Luton Town on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The 20-year-old
Ruddock enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Hatters between November
2013 and January 2014. During his time at Kenilworth Road, Ruddock helped
John Still's men to win all four league matches in which he featured and
progress to the FA Trophy third round. The youngster now returns to
Bedfordshire with Luton top of the table and on course to return to the
Football League after a five-year absence. Ruddock began his career with
Boreham Wood before joining West Ham at the age of 18 in December 2011. He
made his one and only first-team appearance for the Club in a 2-0 Capital
One Cup fourth round win at Burnley on 29 October 2013. West Ham United
would like to thank Pelly for his efforts and wish him every success in his
future career.
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Academy striker making progress
WHUFC.com
Jordan Brown was delighted to net in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Chelsea in
the Barclays U18 Premier League
28.01.2014
West Ham United's Under-18s continued their fine form this season at the
weekend with an impressive 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Little Heath. Captain
Kieran Bywater put the Hammers ahead after five minutes with a well-taken
effort following good work from striker Jordan Brown, before the 17-year-old
forward added to his own tally for the season after 24 minutes. Speaking
after the match, former Arsenal striker Brown spoke of his delight with the
result, believing that performances like Saturday's from the Hammers could
keep them within touching distance of the Barclays Under-18 Premier League
South title. "I'm really happy with the result," said Brown. "Before the
game, I think Chelsea were third with a few games in hand, but that result
has given us a boost to stay near the top of the league. "The title is
definitely in reach for us. At the start of the season, we let a few games
slip, but the recent ten-game unbeaten run has really helped us and although
we ended that the other week at Southampton, we are still on course this
season for a good finish."
After netting the Hammers' second goal in the first half against Chelsea,
Brown spurned an excellent chance to put the home side further ahead, which
has added to the former England U16 striker's desire to improve his goal
ratio this season. "I didn't really expect it to come to me if I'm being
honest," he explained. "It came off a few knees and legs and then just fell
in front of me, so I was quite blessed that I was given the chance to score.
I thought it was quite an easy opportunity to take. "I really thought that I
was going to score the one in the second half, but as I went to shoot, I
caught more of the grass than the ball and it just trickled along, hit the
outside of the post and went wide. "When I get the opportunities in front of
goal, I really want to improve my ratio and start finishing off more than I
do at the moment."
Brown signed for West Ham United on a scholarship from July 2013, before
putting pen to paper on his first professional deal in November 2013, which
was a dream come true for him, although he admits that he still hasn't made
it as a professional. "It's a boy's dream to sign a professional contract
with a football club so I was over the moon when signing the contract. I
don't really see it as a proper professional contract because I know that
I'm not at that stage yet. I want to work hard to become a professional
footballer in the first team, not the Under-18s."
Personal development is high on this young Academy prospect's mind and since
signing for the Hammers, Brown has seen his confidence on the pitch improve
the most. "It's been quite a weird season to be honest because at the start,
I was scoring the goals but I didn't feel like my performances were that
good, whereas now, I feel like I've been playing much better but without the
goals. "Going into the final third of the season, hopefully I can match the
two and play regularly like how I did against Chelsea. "At the start of the
season when I moved to a new club, when I was shooting and struggling to
hold the ball up, my head was bound to drop. As I got more comfortable and
started playing better, it gives you that extra confidence that you need as
a striker to continue working hard and scoring goals. "The coaching staff
just kept helping me in training by telling me what I needed to change and
make sure I had it in my head what I needed to focus on."
It is in key areas like ball retention that Brown also feels like he has
improved, hoping that being stronger on the ball will eventually get him
closer to featuring in Nick Haycock's Development Squad. "When I first
joined the club, I knew that I wasn't ready to begin looking up at the
Development Squad, but now I am hoping to maybe feature once or twice
whenever I'm wanted. "I've improved my game a lot recently as I didn't
really know when I joined how to use my body to hold the ball up properly,
but I've learnt what to do now. "In the Development Squad games, if you lose
possession of the ball, the opposition can go down the other end and punish
you for it, so it was vital that I improved my ball retention."
Moving clubs can be a stressful time for any new player, but Brown settled
in quickly and is now a firm part of the West Ham family, which he feels
will help the club's bid for the title this season. "Football's not an
individual game so you need to have a strong bond with your team mates.
"I've noticed that at West Ham, it's like glue because everyone sticks
together and moves together as a team. For example, if someone goes for the
ball, someone is automatically covering him. "Obviously there are smaller
groups of friends within the team, but no one argues with each other and
everyone is friends. "That all helps when we go out on the pitch because we
are out there playing for each other and ourselves. I think that has helped
us earn the results that we have deserved this season."
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Chelsea v West Ham
KO 19:45
28 January 2014
Last updated at 14:08
By Jonathan Pearce
BBC Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Wednesday, 29 January
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea's new signing Mohamed Salah will not feature as he is yet to arrive
in the country. Fernando Torres (knee) and midfielder Marco van Ginkel
(knee) are the Blues' only absentees, while Demba Ba is vying for a start
against his former club.
West Ham could give debuts to new Italian loanees Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello. Kevin Nolan is back following a four-match ban, but Joe Cole
(groin) misses out on a return to Stamford Bridge.
MATCH PREVIEW
Chelsea are on the march and even West Ham die-hards must fear the worst
going to Stamford Bridge, where they haven't won since September 2002.
"Chelsea, who are at home and look capable of getting a positive result
against anybody, are up against a West Ham side that have been struggling up
front and at the back. "Let's forget about the Hammers' lack of goals for
now because they were never going to get many chances at Stamford Bridge
anyhow. It is at the back where West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will be most
concerned." The Blues have won their last seven matches in all competitions,
keeping five clean sheets in that run. The Hammers have lost five of their
last six, conceding 19 and scoring just four. Jose Mourinho was really
positive speaking at last week's Football Writers' Association tribute night
in his honour and has been eminently sensible in his explanation for selling
Juan Mata to Manchester United. To me, it's good business for all concerned.
The little Spaniard wasn't getting enough football under Mourinho and gets a
dream move to another giant. He can't stop Chelsea winning the title this
season but he can impair the chances of their rivals. Though brilliant for
the club in his first two seasons. Mourinho wants defensive work out of his
midfield creators. Oscar and Hazard will track back. Schurrle, Willian and
now Salah too all have a more devastating turn of foot than Mata. Critics
say Mata will come back and haunt Chelsea next season. That might be so. But
it'll take more than his arrival to turn Manchester United into a team that
can topple Chelsea over 40 weeks.
Mourinho's side certainly should have enough to beat West Ham, as they have
done in 13 of the last 16 meetings. They're not conceding, largely down to
John Terry's form. He's having his longest injury-free run in the league
side since 2011. The return of West Ham's key defender Winston Reid from
injury can't come soon enough for Sam Allardyce. He told me he's never had a
squad so decimated by injuries. Andy Carroll is nearing full fitness, while
the loaning of Italians Boriello and Nocerino may help. Their survival won't
depend on this game. They must beat Swansea, Villa and Norwich in the next
three. Nocerino was in Italy's Euro 2012 squad, scoring against England in
the penalty shoot out, but he and striker Boriello have had injuries this
season. It's a big ask to expect miracles from them. I expect West Ham to
stay up but it'll be desperately close - unlike this game at the Bridge.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Chelsea have won 12 and lost just one of their last 15 Premier League
matches against West Ham.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League home games against
West Ham, with the Hammers' last victory at Stamford Bridge coming in 2002
thanks to a Paolo Di Canio brace (3-2).
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has picked up just two points in his previous
seven top-flight meetings with Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea
Chelsea have won five Premier League games in a row and seven in all
competitions.
The Blues have dropped only two points at home this season - in a 2-2 draw
with West Brom.
They have allowed just 68 shots on target against them this season, fewer
than any other team in the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho's side have recovered more points from losing positions than
any other side in the top flight this season (14).
Oscar has been involved in five goals in his last six appearances for
Chelsea (three goals, two assists).
Frank Lampard has scored five goals in his last five league games against
West Ham and Fernando Torres six in his last seven.
West Ham United
West Ham have won just four of their 22 Premier League matches this season
(18%).
They have kept nine league clean sheets this season but have conceded 23
games in their last eight matches in all competitions.
The Hammers are the only team in the Premier League who have not scored a
headed goal this season.
They have hit the target with just 35% of their shots this season, the
lowest accuracy of any team in the top flight.
West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side
in the Premier League this season (14).
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Youngster departs
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 28th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Skrill Premier side Luton Town have signed West Ham United youngster Pelly
Ruddock on a permanent basis. The surprise departure comes just four weeks
after the Hammers recalled Ruddock from a short-term loan spell at the
Bedfordshire club in order to cover for a first team defensive crisis. The
news was confirmed by the fifth tier club earlier this afternoon. "Luton
Town Football Club are delighted to announce the permanent signing of Pelly
Ruddock Mpanzu from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee," it read. "The
20-year-old has penned a two-and-a-half year deal at Kenilworth Road and
returns to the club following a hugely successful loan spell with the
Hatters this season."
Ruddock joined West Ham from Boreham Wood in December 2011. He made his sole
first team appearance for the club against Burnley in the 2-0 Carling Cup
win last October. Whilst on loan at Kenilworth Road last year he made four
appearances in midfield for the current Conference Premier leaders.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce optimistic ahead of Chelsea trip
Last Updated: 28/01/14 5:04pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes his struggling side can get a result
against Chelsea on Wednesday despite Jose Mourinho's superb home record as
Blues boss. The Portuguese, in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, is
unbeaten in all 71 Premier League home games in charge and will welcome
18th-placed West Ham looking to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City
at the top of the table. But Allardyce is not prepared to write off his
side's chances against their London rivals as the Hammers battle against the
drop. "We can't go to Chelsea and lie down," he said. "We can't go to
Chelsea and think that we're not going to get a result. When all said and
done, West Bromwich Albion should have beaten Chelsea this season. "In a
one-off game, if you play to your best and Chelsea aren't functioning at
their best, then you can get to the end result like West Brom did. It can be
achieved at any one time in any one game and we've got to believe that it
can be achieved."
West Ham have not played since their Capital One Cup defeat at home to
Manchester City a week ago whereas Chelsea were beating Stoke 1-0 in the FA
Cup fourth round on Sunday. However Allardyce believes the number of options
available to Mourinho means there is no benefit to the prolonged rest for
his players. "He [Mourinho] changes his squad and he's got 25 international
players to choose from so that's never been a particular problem for a club
like Chelsea," Allardyce added. "Keeping that amount of players and rotating
them keeps them relatively happy. Their massive programme throughout the
season means that players that don't play so much, generally play 20-plus
games. "We're happy in our squad if players are getting to the 25-game mark
because we will only play 40-plus games whereas they will play 60-plus."
Andy Carroll has a chance of starting his first Premier League game for West
Ham since May after the forward finally returned to the first-team fold
following two troublesome foot injuries. The 25-year-old will be hoping to
offer more of a goal threat to the Hammers but Allardyce conceded that
breaching the Chelsea backline in not an easy task. "The defensive unit has
become so difficult to breakdown again which shows that Jose has been
concentrating on that," he added. "It was apparent when I was watching them
against Stoke City. "Stoke found it very, very difficult to create any
opportunities against Chelsea and it frees up their quality players.
"Stopping Oscar, [Eden] Hazard, [Samuel] Eto'o is one of the elements for us
which we have to be very careful of. When those players get the ball we have
to make sure we're very sharp and that we close them down, otherwise their
skills and abilities will make life difficult for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Osasuna criticise West Ham for pulling out of a deal for Raoul Loe
By Lucas Brown | Last Updated: 28/01/14 2:21pm
SSN
Osasuna have accused West Ham United of being two-faced for pulling out of a
deal for Raoul Loe after the Spanish league side thought everything had been
agreed. The Cameroon international midfielder flew to London at the weekend
only for the Hammers to cancel the agreement via e-mail on the morning of
the medical, explaining they had agreed to loan Antonio Nocerin from AC
Milan. "Everything that has happened has surprised me. It was all done and
we left it with them. I cannot understand how a club at that level can
negotiate and work in a two-faced way like that," Osasuna's sporting
director Petar Vasiljevic stated.
"It was a real shock how a club at this level was doing this. But every club
know how things go and it was the same with this. We thought the subject was
concluded and felt the talks had been completed. "I want to explain what
happened with Raoul Loe and how strange things became throughout the
negotiations. "The club received a firm offer from West Ham and we reached
an agreement. "It was then left in the player's hands to go ahead and pass
the medical. He travelled to London with his agent where they waited and
went to a hotel. Up until then everything went well. "The following day when
they had to undergo the tests they pulled out of the deal, blaming it on the
fact that they signed someone else. "I was then sent an e-mail confirming
that West Ham had chosen to go with another player with different conditions
and was a deal they had been working on for several weeks. "It was a loan
deal that they said was completed and gave their apologies."
Osasuna did not want to lose Loe but accepted West Ham United's offer for
financial reasons, but Vasiljevic is pleased that the player is now set to
stay.
"Raoul is a strong boy and knows that he had a chance to take a step forward
in his career. But that was not possible and he had a bad Saturday night.
Now he is back with the squad and it is all forgotten," he added.
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WEST HAM DEBT IS INCREASING AGAIN
By Sean Whetstone 28 Jan 2014 at 12:15
West Ham Till I Die
After four years in charge West Ham United debt appears to be rising again
after previous claims it was under control and was steadily reducing. In
2010 David Sullivan famously revealed in a press conference that West Ham
were over £100 million in debt. Sullivan explained at the time…
We've paid down some of the debt and injected some working capital but
there's still more than £100 million of debt. In that there's £50 million
owed to banks, there's £40 million owed to other clubs. There's not a penny
to come in, they (the previous owners) have borrowed against the next two
years of season-ticket money. The sponsors have paid 70% of their
three-years up front. In addition there's the club's settlement to (former
manager) Alan Curbishley, so the real debt is about £110 million."
Four years on Net debt has increased by nearly seven million pounds last
season from £70.7m in 2012 to £77.4m in 2013 in accounts published last
week. In previous years net debt was published as £55.4m in 2009 before
dropping after their take over to £33.5m in 2010 before rising again to
£41.6m in 2011.
Net debt is just a metric that shows a company's overall debt situation by
netting the value of a company's liabilities and debts such as bank loans
with its cash held in the bank.
Bank debt also increased by over fourteen million pounds from £30.5m in 2012
to £44.6m in 2013. In 2009 prior to their take over Bank debt was almost
identical at £44.9m, In 2010 post take over it dropped to £31.1m and in 2011
it dropped further to £28.9m.
Refinancing of the bank debt happened in July last year which saw a new
facility worth £26.7m which is repayable by 31st December 2016 and is
secured against Upton Park as a mortgage The new £44.6m figure is a point
time figure on 31st May 2013 so may have changed since the refinancing deal
in July.
Debt from loans from shareholders increased from £35.2m in 2012 to £45.7m in
2013 as David Sullivan and David Gold injected a further £10.5m of cash last
season. In their first year in 2010 share holder loans were just £3m.
Total borrowings including share holder loans have increased from £72.5m in
2012 to £90.9m in 2013. Although these loans attract interest, the total
£3.4m of interest is rolled up on the balance sheet and added to the debt
rather than paid out to the owners.
West Ham took out two short term loans from Vibrac Corporation to aid their
cash flow secured against future TV income from the Premier League. These
were a £12.8m loan in 2012 and a £15m loan. These are thought to attract an
interest rate of 10% and replaced a previous £12m overdraft facility
provided by 4 banks which expired on 31st December 2013.
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WHY FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY IS NO LONGER A PROBLEM
By Sean Whetstone 28 Jan 2014 at 08:27
West Ham Till I Die
With the recent publication of West Ham's financial accounts last week came
along some important information with regards to our wage bill restrictions
this season. The accounts told us the total wage bill for West Ham was
£49.2m for last season (£56.2m if you include National Insurance, Pension
and compensation costs for loss of office). Considering those figures
included Manager Sam Allardyce and Vice Chairman Karren Brady's
multi-million pound salaries of around £4.6m between them plus over 750
other ordinary West Ham employees I think we can safety assume the actual
players wage bill including National Insurance, bonuses, image rights and
pension contributions was around or just under £48m as claimed on WHUFC.com
earlier this year.
This means our official FFP wage cap is £52m for this season as has been
claimed all along.
However the West Ham accounts also reveal a twist that we achieved improved
sales in both Commercial and Retail sales. The Premier League FFP rules say
the difference in this extra income can also be used as wages for this
season only.
Commercial revenue grew From £7.9m to £13.9m and Retail sales from £4.8m to
£6m giving us another £7.2m to spend this year so that pushes our maximum
wage cap up to £61.2m!
Not to play down the efforts of the West Ham United sales teams but the
majority of this increase in sales is down our promotion back to the Premier
League.
Maybe not the message our board want the fans to hear right now as it will
put more pressure on them to spend, spend, spend but still a relief we will
not face a points deduction or other sanctions if we go over the £52m wage
bill which is what the board claimed we were perilously close to at the
summer transfer window.
The recent reported loss of £3.5m for last season is also is well within the
permitted £105m losses over 3 years as long as the owners continue to inject
equity as they have done again last season to the tune of £10.5m.
So maybe the Chairman did over play the FFP card too much to the media last
summer. The financial accounts just released relate to the financial year
end 31st May 2013 so they should of known about the improved commercial and
retail sales at the time of the claims.
A good explanation about Premier League and Championship Cost Control and
Sustainability Provisions can be found from Daniel Geey at his website
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West Ham's new Italian duo Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino could
feature against Chelsea
Jan 28, 2014 16:09 By Alex Richards 2 Comments
The Mirror
West Ham could hand debuts to new signings as Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello as both are in contention to feature at Chelsea on Wednesday
night.
The two Italy internationals have signed on loan until the end of the season
to bolster the Hammers' squad, which is starting to recover from injury
setbacks over the Christmas period. Borriello will compete with Andy Carroll
and Carlton Cole for a starting place up front. Antonio Nocerino could come
into the midfield after his arrival from AC Milan, while captain Kevin Nolan
returns from a four-match ban. However, Joe Cole (groin) a definite absentee
against one of his former clubs.
Provisional squad: Jaaskelainen, Adrian, O'Brien, Johnson, Tomkins, Collins,
Rat, Demel, McCartney, Diarra, Noble, Nocerino, Collison, Jarvis, Taylor,
Diame, Nolan, Morrison, Vaz Te, Maiga, C Cole, Carroll, Borriello.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 28th January 2014
By: Preview Percy
In honour of our new signings Preview Percy has gone all Italian. To be
honest it's not a pretty sight.....
Next up we hop onto the District Line to the Stamford Bridge Laundromat for
a Wednesday night trip to Chelsea. Kick-off is at 7:45pm and, this being
midweek, only the rush-hour fun that is the tube will delay your journey.
We are forever told that the league is a "marathon not a sprint" in which
case we currently have a group of three just beginning to (to paraphrase the
late Ron Pickering) open their legs to show their class. Arsenal are top of
course, looking nervously over their shoulders at the rather good Manchester
City who (at the time of writing with Arsenal being 1-0 down at Southampton)
are tucked in nicely one point behind them on 50 points.
Then, in the manner of a runner who wants the two guys in front of him to at
least consider the possibility that he might have something of a sprint
finish left in the locker, come Chelsea with 49 points from their 22 matches
played so far.
Current form looks good – they've won five and drawn one of their last six
in the league. The wins came at home to Swansea (1-0), at home to Liverpool
(2-1), away at Southampton and Hull (3-0 and 2-0 respectively) and a 3-1
home stroll against Man Utd. The one draw came away at the library on a
filthy Monday night just before Christmas that you wouldn't have sent the
spotty work experience kid out on.
Of course their unlimited source of funds (to them "Financial Fair Play"
simply means pulling up the drawbridge behind them) means that that transfer
windows are just a bit of a laugh. The best thing about the current one has
been their fans making themselves look a bit daft at the hands of some Man
Utd supporters armed with a video camera and a microphone. "Yeah – great
passer of the ball from what I've seen on YouTube" was the general reaction
as a couple of eejits with Cork accents dangled a few unsubtly made-up names
in front of the sort of people who all went "who?" when Bobby Tambling was
paraded in front of them at half-time in a match against us a few years ago.
To be fair the eejits did eventually encounter a group of blokes who were
prepared to admit that they had never heard of the putative "targets". There
again they seemed so "refreshed" that you could probably have mentioned
Lionel Messi to them without getting a reaction.
One real player they did bring in was Nemanja "Professor Matt" Matic who
really old readers of similar vintage to myself might remember used to be
the engineer on Fireball XL5 (back when kids' tv was slightly better than
the extended advert for tat that it is today). Matic is now in his second
spell at the club and has been rehired to fill a perceived need in the
defensive midfield department. Received wisdom has it that this area hasn't
been the same since Makalele left, what with Essien's knee having been a bit
on the fragile side in recent years. Talking of Essien's knee, it has now
departed, loosely connected to the rest of him, in the general direction of
Milan. That would have been an interesting medical.
Also gone is Juan "Whassa" Mata who has gone to Old Trafford to help with
their relegation battle. Given the Salford mob's current plight one could
argue that the dropping of such a player like crumbs from the Chelsea table
will act as a psychological downer for Moyes lot. Certainly if Chelsea
wanted to send a message along the lines of "we consider you to be that
small a threat that we'll sell you a half decent player" it was a pretty
unsubtle way of doing so.
There's little to like about the Russian's plaything. There's the lionising
of a racist thug and the love-in for an obnoxious little git who actually
did sell his kids' grandma down the river. Then there's all the diving.
When the paper boy brought round my copy of the Standard the other night I
was somewhat bemused to discover an article from Patrick Barclay extolling
the virtues of goals from free-kicks. The argument went that, since
free-kicks are awarded as punishment for foul play, the true football
supporter should rejoice when a goal is scored from one. Which is all well
and good until you start praising the likes of Oscar, whose effort against
Stoke at the weekend was the difference between the two teams in the Cup. Mr
Barclay's rather naive argument sort of ignores one vital thing, that being
the simple fact that Oscar is a cheat who often dives to win those
free-kicks in the first place.
Take the reverse fixture earlier this season. Latching on to an admittedly
rotten back pass Oscar's dive was so far in advance of any contact from
Jaaskalainen he still had his street clothes on. The only thing more
embarrassing than Oscar's dive was the failure of the referee to spot what
was one of the worst dives ever seen outside Anfield. I'll start applauding
free-kick goals Mr Barclay when the likes of Chelsea stop diving to get them
– though I suspect we'll all be getting about on jet packs by then.
It might help if there was a bit of honesty in the media about it. Niall
Quinn commented to the effect that Oscar "saw Jaaskalainen coming" – so
here's a novel idea for commentators and journalists: stop mincing your
words. If you see Oscar throw himself to the floor in an obvious dive don't
say "he made the most of what contact there was". Tell it like it is and say
that he cheated. Maybe then referees might just stop using the get out of
jail free card given to them by the media and actually start doing their
jobs.
According to their manager, Chelsea "have no divers", a "fact" that will
come as news to West Brom who came within a gnat's of winning until a last
minute spot of "simulation" gave Chelsea a point-saving spot kick.
Rant over and so to us. There are some new faces about the place what with
this being the window and all. So it's a warm welcome from La Casa Riposo
Olimpico Del Avram Grant per lo Sconcertato (blame the spotty work
experience kid and something called "Google Translate" for that one) to
midfielder Antonio Nocerino and striker Marco Borriello.
Nocerino has, over his career, apparently played both as a defensive
midfielder and in more of an attacking role – he has a Serie A hat-trick to
his name for Milan. Nocerino's surname apparently translates as "little
walnut" which, by strange coincidence, is an affliction quite common amongst
the more elderly of us here at the Rest Home.
Borriello's name doesn't translate into anything much in English. He
survived a childhood in Naples that included his father being killed by the
Camorra when he was only 10. He seems an "interesting" character – in
2006-07 he seems to have served a ban for doping having tested positive for
a number of steroid-type compounds, something his then girlfriend attributed
to creams she was using to counter an infection in an "intimate" area. I
would ask Matron for clarification but I've just had my tea.
Injury news continues to improve, though this match would appear to be a few
days too soon for Winston Reid. Tomkins will be available for selection
after his suspension and will probably partner James Collins in the middle.
Diame's knee is an odd one. It looked like one of those "painful for a bit
but not serious" knocks at first so it was some surprise to see the player
stretchered off. The initial comments from the manager suggested that the
knock was "quite serious" though later reports suggested that this was not
the case.
So a prediction then. We'll lose of course – as we've seen time and time
again referees are far too scared of Abrahamovic to give visiting teams a
fair crack of the whip. However, this will be more about the performance and
getting something to carry over into future matches. We're vulnerable at
free-kicks and our opponents are past masters at conning them out of the
officials. I'll be putting the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The
Bewildered's Pickled Walnut Budget (£2.50) on a 3-1 home win as we look to
bed in the new faces.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met At Stamford Bridge – Lost 0-2 (March 2013) Andy Carroll had
a perfectly good goal disallowed as a fat obnoxious pensioner-hating
midfielder and Hazard were on the scoresheet for the home side.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick Last seen trying to liven up our otherwise dull 2-0
home win over Wigan last season by dishing out yellow cards on a whim.
Danger Man:Dember Ba – him and the fat gerontophobe will be looking to prove
that the "law of the ex" actually exisits.
Daft fact of the week: If "by a man's friends shall ye know him", it's worth
pointing out that Roman Abrahamovic is said to be close mates with oafish
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin's bid to make the forthcoming
Winter Olympics a paradise for homophobes hasn't quite got as far as
renaming the skiing plus shooting event as "The Athlon" but it's probably
only a matter of time.
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WHUFC.com
All the need-to-know information ahead of West Ham United's game against
Chelsea on Wednesday night
28.01.2014
CHELSEA v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
STAMFORD BRIDGE
WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2014
KICK-OFF: 7:45PM
REFEREE: NEIL SWARBRICK
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE
Introduction
• Stamford Bridge is the destination for West Ham United on Wednesday night
as they return to Barclays Premier League action against Chelsea.
• The Hammers' last league encounter ended in a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle
United at the Boleyn Ground back on 18 January.
• Sam Allardyce's side did however enjoy better fortunes on their last away
league outing, beating Cardiff City 2-0 in the Welsh capital.
• By the time West Ham take to the field in west London it will be just over
a week since the Hammers exited the Capital One Cup following a 9-0
aggregate loss to Manchester City.
• Chelsea will play their second home game in four days on Wednesday night
following a 1-0 FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round win over Stoke City on
Sunday afternoon.
• The Blues' last Premier League match was also in front of their own fans,
a 3-1 success against Manchester United on 19 January.
• In all, Jose Mourinho's team are on a good run and have gone seven league
matches without defeat, since a 3-2 defeat against Stoke City on 7 December.
Team news
West Ham United
• New signing Antonio Nocerino could go straight into the squad for
Wednesday night, although Sam Allardyce admitted that fellow new boy Marco
Borriello may not be fit enough to feature.
• Winston Reid is back in first team training after recovering from an ankle
injury which has side-lined him for the best part of three months, but will
not feature against the Blues.
Chelsea
• Chelsea may hand a debut to new signing Mohamed Salah, who joined the west
London club from Basle on Sunday.
Last time out
West Ham United 0-3 Manchester City
Capital One Cup semi-final second leg
21 January 2014
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Taylor, Johnson, Tomkins, Rat, Morrison,
Diame (Collison 89), Nolan, Diarra, J Cole (Downing 47), Carroll (C Cole 45)
Subs not used: Adrian, Jarvis, Noble, Chambers
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke City
FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round
26 January 2014
Chelsea: Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Matic, Lampard, Schurrle
(Ramires 70), Oscar (Willian 81), Hazard, Eto'o (Ba 85)
Subs not used: Cech, Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta
Goal: Oscar 27
Previous meeting
Frank Lampard returned to haunt the Hammers once again as he netted two of
three Chelsea goals as they eased to victory in east London. The Academy
graduate opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 21 minutes and
finished the scoring off with eight minutes remaining after Oscar had
doubled the visitors' advantage.
West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
23 November 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien, Collison
(Maiga 40), Noble, J Cole (Diame 40), Morrison, Downing, Nolan (Jarvis 76)
Subs not used: Adrian, McCartney, Taylor, C Cole
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Mikel,
Lampard, Oscar (Schurrle 83), Eto'o (Ba 79), Hazard (Essien 84)
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Willian, Mata
Goals: Lampard 21, 82, Oscar 34
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
23 November 2013 - West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
17 March 2013 - Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United
1 December 2012 - West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea
23 April 2011 - Chelsea 3-0 West Ham United
11 September 2010 - West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
13 March 2010 - Chelsea 4-1 West Ham United
v Chelsea (all competitions) W 53 D 28 L 53
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Chelsea
2012/13 Premier League 3rd (75 points)
2011/12 Premier League 6th (64 points)
2010/11 Premier League 2nd (71 points)
2009/10 Premier League 1st (86 points - champions)
2008/09 Premier League 3rd (83 points)
2007/08 Premier League 2nd (85 points)
2006/07 Premier League 2nd (83 points)
2005/06 Premier League 1st (91 points - champions)
2004/05 Premier League 1st (95 points - champions)
2003/04 Premier League 2nd (79 points)
Background
• Wednesday's fixture marks the 90th league meeting between the two clubs.
West Ham have 35 wins to their opponents' 37, while there have been just 17
draws. In 32 Premier League meetings, Chelsea have chalked up 17 victories,
West Ham have won ten times and there have been just five draws.
• The first-ever meeting between the two clubs in any competition came on 11
September 1915 in the war-time London Combination principal tournament. West
Ham United were at home and the game ended goalless.
• The first-ever league meeting between the two clubs took place on 20
October 1923 and also ended goalless. That match was played in Division One
at Stamford Bridge.
• West Ham's biggest league victory over Chelsea came in Division Two on
Valentine's Day 1981. The Hammers romped to a 4-0 success on their way to
winning the title and promotion to the top-flight.
• Chelsea's biggest win over West Ham came on 9 April 1966 at Stamford
Bridge, when the Blues thumped the Hammers 6-2. At the Boleyn Ground,
Chelsea won 4-0 on 1 March 2008, a result that also marks the Blues' biggest
Premier League win over the Hammers.
• The biggest crowd to witness a Chelsea versus West Ham fixture at Stamford
Bridge was the estimated 65,000 who witnessed the Blues' 2-0 FA Cup
fourth-round win on 26 January 1946.
• Tony Cottee has scored more goals against Chelsea than any other West Ham
United player, scoring eight times. Geoff Hurst and John Dick managed six
each, while the Hammers' all-time leading scorer Vic Watson scored three in
five appearances against the Blues.
• John Bond scored the first league hat-trick by a West Ham United player
against Chelsea when he was pressed into an emergency centre-forward role on
6 February 1960. Right-back Bond netted three times, including one penalty,
in a 4-2 Division One success at the Boleyn Ground. Billy Bonds also netted
an unlikely hat-trick against Chelsea in a 3-0 Division One home win on 2
March 1974.
• Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard started his career at West Ham, working
his way up through the ranks before making 187 appearances and scoring 38
goals for the Club between 1995 and 2001. The England international left
east London for Stamford Bridge and has gone on to make 634 appearances for
the Blues, scoring 209 goals.
• West Ham midfielder Joe Cole, also came through the famous Academy before
leaving to join Chelsea in 2003. He spent seven years in west London, making
over 180 league appearances and collecting no fewer than ten winners' medals
during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Referee
• Wednesday night's man in the middle is 48-year-old 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 when they recorded an
excellent 2-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final win against Tottenham Hotspur.
General information
• All standard tickets for this fixture have sold out. There are however
still a number of disabled tickets remaining priced at Adults £42 and £13.50
Over-65s and Under-18s.
• There are no planned closures on the c2c mainline train service scheduled
for Wednesday. For full travel information and updates on the c2c network
click here.
• There are also no planned engineering works across the London Underground
scheduled for Wednesday. For live travel information click here.
• The weather forecast for Wednesday night is cloudy with temperatures
around 5C (41F).
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'We will wear the shirt with pride'
WHUFC.com
New loan arrival Marco Borriello cannot wait to make his West Ham United
debut
28.01.2014
Marco Borriello is relishing the prospect of testing himself in the Barclays
Premier League. The Italy international, who has seven caps to his name, has
spent his entire career to date in his homeland, notching 71 Serie A goals
in 253 appearances. Having turned out for the likes of AC Milan, Juventus
and AS Roma, from whom he joined the Hammers on loan, he is now looking
forward to showcasing his talents on a different stage. In an exclusive West
Ham TV interview, he said: "I was given the opportunity to move in the
summer and I was looking to come over to England and the Premier League, but
I decided to stay at Roma at that time. "However, when the opportunity arose
to join West Ham in this transfer window, I was very happy to make the move.
"I can't wait to start playing in the Premier League - I know the fans are
very passionate and I'm very excited by the challenge. "I know it is a very
tough league, but I am very much looking forward to testing myself here.
"Serie A and the Premier League are two different leagues. The Italian
league is a bit more tactical, whereas the English league is maybe more
physical. "However, the ball is round in both countries, so if you are good
player you can play in any league in the world."
Marco Borriello
The new No46 was born in Naples - the same city from which fellow Italian
and new arrival Antonio Nocerino hails. Borriello is looking forward to
linking up with his countryman and he says the pair are well-versed on what
to expect in east London. Watch fellow Italian Antonio Nocerino's first West
Ham TV interview here! He continued: "I have joked with Antonio - we have
two Italians, Neapolitans even, who have now met and are playing for a club
in London.
"We both have loads of enthusiasm and are excited to start playing and
hopefully bring West Ham up the table. "Being Italian and following the
English league, I know a lot about West Ham in terms of Gianfranco Zola
having managed here and Paolo Di Canio being a great idol at the Club. "I've
read a lot about the history of the Club and know they have the nickname of
the Irons. Both myself and Antonio are players who will wear the shirt with
honour, with pride and with heart - we will give 100 percent whenever we
play for the Club."
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Ruddock departs
WHUFC.com
Pelly Ruddock has joined Skrill Premier club Luton Town on a permanent basis
28.01.2014
West Ham United can confirm that Pelly Ruddock has joined Skrill Premier
club Luton Town on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The 20-year-old
Ruddock enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Hatters between November
2013 and January 2014. During his time at Kenilworth Road, Ruddock helped
John Still's men to win all four league matches in which he featured and
progress to the FA Trophy third round. The youngster now returns to
Bedfordshire with Luton top of the table and on course to return to the
Football League after a five-year absence. Ruddock began his career with
Boreham Wood before joining West Ham at the age of 18 in December 2011. He
made his one and only first-team appearance for the Club in a 2-0 Capital
One Cup fourth round win at Burnley on 29 October 2013. West Ham United
would like to thank Pelly for his efforts and wish him every success in his
future career.
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Academy striker making progress
WHUFC.com
Jordan Brown was delighted to net in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Chelsea in
the Barclays U18 Premier League
28.01.2014
West Ham United's Under-18s continued their fine form this season at the
weekend with an impressive 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Little Heath. Captain
Kieran Bywater put the Hammers ahead after five minutes with a well-taken
effort following good work from striker Jordan Brown, before the 17-year-old
forward added to his own tally for the season after 24 minutes. Speaking
after the match, former Arsenal striker Brown spoke of his delight with the
result, believing that performances like Saturday's from the Hammers could
keep them within touching distance of the Barclays Under-18 Premier League
South title. "I'm really happy with the result," said Brown. "Before the
game, I think Chelsea were third with a few games in hand, but that result
has given us a boost to stay near the top of the league. "The title is
definitely in reach for us. At the start of the season, we let a few games
slip, but the recent ten-game unbeaten run has really helped us and although
we ended that the other week at Southampton, we are still on course this
season for a good finish."
After netting the Hammers' second goal in the first half against Chelsea,
Brown spurned an excellent chance to put the home side further ahead, which
has added to the former England U16 striker's desire to improve his goal
ratio this season. "I didn't really expect it to come to me if I'm being
honest," he explained. "It came off a few knees and legs and then just fell
in front of me, so I was quite blessed that I was given the chance to score.
I thought it was quite an easy opportunity to take. "I really thought that I
was going to score the one in the second half, but as I went to shoot, I
caught more of the grass than the ball and it just trickled along, hit the
outside of the post and went wide. "When I get the opportunities in front of
goal, I really want to improve my ratio and start finishing off more than I
do at the moment."
Brown signed for West Ham United on a scholarship from July 2013, before
putting pen to paper on his first professional deal in November 2013, which
was a dream come true for him, although he admits that he still hasn't made
it as a professional. "It's a boy's dream to sign a professional contract
with a football club so I was over the moon when signing the contract. I
don't really see it as a proper professional contract because I know that
I'm not at that stage yet. I want to work hard to become a professional
footballer in the first team, not the Under-18s."
Personal development is high on this young Academy prospect's mind and since
signing for the Hammers, Brown has seen his confidence on the pitch improve
the most. "It's been quite a weird season to be honest because at the start,
I was scoring the goals but I didn't feel like my performances were that
good, whereas now, I feel like I've been playing much better but without the
goals. "Going into the final third of the season, hopefully I can match the
two and play regularly like how I did against Chelsea. "At the start of the
season when I moved to a new club, when I was shooting and struggling to
hold the ball up, my head was bound to drop. As I got more comfortable and
started playing better, it gives you that extra confidence that you need as
a striker to continue working hard and scoring goals. "The coaching staff
just kept helping me in training by telling me what I needed to change and
make sure I had it in my head what I needed to focus on."
It is in key areas like ball retention that Brown also feels like he has
improved, hoping that being stronger on the ball will eventually get him
closer to featuring in Nick Haycock's Development Squad. "When I first
joined the club, I knew that I wasn't ready to begin looking up at the
Development Squad, but now I am hoping to maybe feature once or twice
whenever I'm wanted. "I've improved my game a lot recently as I didn't
really know when I joined how to use my body to hold the ball up properly,
but I've learnt what to do now. "In the Development Squad games, if you lose
possession of the ball, the opposition can go down the other end and punish
you for it, so it was vital that I improved my ball retention."
Moving clubs can be a stressful time for any new player, but Brown settled
in quickly and is now a firm part of the West Ham family, which he feels
will help the club's bid for the title this season. "Football's not an
individual game so you need to have a strong bond with your team mates.
"I've noticed that at West Ham, it's like glue because everyone sticks
together and moves together as a team. For example, if someone goes for the
ball, someone is automatically covering him. "Obviously there are smaller
groups of friends within the team, but no one argues with each other and
everyone is friends. "That all helps when we go out on the pitch because we
are out there playing for each other and ourselves. I think that has helped
us earn the results that we have deserved this season."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea v West Ham
KO 19:45
28 January 2014
Last updated at 14:08
By Jonathan Pearce
BBC Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Wednesday, 29 January
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea's new signing Mohamed Salah will not feature as he is yet to arrive
in the country. Fernando Torres (knee) and midfielder Marco van Ginkel
(knee) are the Blues' only absentees, while Demba Ba is vying for a start
against his former club.
West Ham could give debuts to new Italian loanees Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello. Kevin Nolan is back following a four-match ban, but Joe Cole
(groin) misses out on a return to Stamford Bridge.
MATCH PREVIEW
Chelsea are on the march and even West Ham die-hards must fear the worst
going to Stamford Bridge, where they haven't won since September 2002.
"Chelsea, who are at home and look capable of getting a positive result
against anybody, are up against a West Ham side that have been struggling up
front and at the back. "Let's forget about the Hammers' lack of goals for
now because they were never going to get many chances at Stamford Bridge
anyhow. It is at the back where West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will be most
concerned." The Blues have won their last seven matches in all competitions,
keeping five clean sheets in that run. The Hammers have lost five of their
last six, conceding 19 and scoring just four. Jose Mourinho was really
positive speaking at last week's Football Writers' Association tribute night
in his honour and has been eminently sensible in his explanation for selling
Juan Mata to Manchester United. To me, it's good business for all concerned.
The little Spaniard wasn't getting enough football under Mourinho and gets a
dream move to another giant. He can't stop Chelsea winning the title this
season but he can impair the chances of their rivals. Though brilliant for
the club in his first two seasons. Mourinho wants defensive work out of his
midfield creators. Oscar and Hazard will track back. Schurrle, Willian and
now Salah too all have a more devastating turn of foot than Mata. Critics
say Mata will come back and haunt Chelsea next season. That might be so. But
it'll take more than his arrival to turn Manchester United into a team that
can topple Chelsea over 40 weeks.
Mourinho's side certainly should have enough to beat West Ham, as they have
done in 13 of the last 16 meetings. They're not conceding, largely down to
John Terry's form. He's having his longest injury-free run in the league
side since 2011. The return of West Ham's key defender Winston Reid from
injury can't come soon enough for Sam Allardyce. He told me he's never had a
squad so decimated by injuries. Andy Carroll is nearing full fitness, while
the loaning of Italians Boriello and Nocerino may help. Their survival won't
depend on this game. They must beat Swansea, Villa and Norwich in the next
three. Nocerino was in Italy's Euro 2012 squad, scoring against England in
the penalty shoot out, but he and striker Boriello have had injuries this
season. It's a big ask to expect miracles from them. I expect West Ham to
stay up but it'll be desperately close - unlike this game at the Bridge.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Chelsea have won 12 and lost just one of their last 15 Premier League
matches against West Ham.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League home games against
West Ham, with the Hammers' last victory at Stamford Bridge coming in 2002
thanks to a Paolo Di Canio brace (3-2).
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has picked up just two points in his previous
seven top-flight meetings with Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea
Chelsea have won five Premier League games in a row and seven in all
competitions.
The Blues have dropped only two points at home this season - in a 2-2 draw
with West Brom.
They have allowed just 68 shots on target against them this season, fewer
than any other team in the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho's side have recovered more points from losing positions than
any other side in the top flight this season (14).
Oscar has been involved in five goals in his last six appearances for
Chelsea (three goals, two assists).
Frank Lampard has scored five goals in his last five league games against
West Ham and Fernando Torres six in his last seven.
West Ham United
West Ham have won just four of their 22 Premier League matches this season
(18%).
They have kept nine league clean sheets this season but have conceded 23
games in their last eight matches in all competitions.
The Hammers are the only team in the Premier League who have not scored a
headed goal this season.
They have hit the target with just 35% of their shots this season, the
lowest accuracy of any team in the top flight.
West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side
in the Premier League this season (14).
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Youngster departs
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 28th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Skrill Premier side Luton Town have signed West Ham United youngster Pelly
Ruddock on a permanent basis. The surprise departure comes just four weeks
after the Hammers recalled Ruddock from a short-term loan spell at the
Bedfordshire club in order to cover for a first team defensive crisis. The
news was confirmed by the fifth tier club earlier this afternoon. "Luton
Town Football Club are delighted to announce the permanent signing of Pelly
Ruddock Mpanzu from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee," it read. "The
20-year-old has penned a two-and-a-half year deal at Kenilworth Road and
returns to the club following a hugely successful loan spell with the
Hatters this season."
Ruddock joined West Ham from Boreham Wood in December 2011. He made his sole
first team appearance for the club against Burnley in the 2-0 Carling Cup
win last October. Whilst on loan at Kenilworth Road last year he made four
appearances in midfield for the current Conference Premier leaders.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce optimistic ahead of Chelsea trip
Last Updated: 28/01/14 5:04pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes his struggling side can get a result
against Chelsea on Wednesday despite Jose Mourinho's superb home record as
Blues boss. The Portuguese, in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, is
unbeaten in all 71 Premier League home games in charge and will welcome
18th-placed West Ham looking to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City
at the top of the table. But Allardyce is not prepared to write off his
side's chances against their London rivals as the Hammers battle against the
drop. "We can't go to Chelsea and lie down," he said. "We can't go to
Chelsea and think that we're not going to get a result. When all said and
done, West Bromwich Albion should have beaten Chelsea this season. "In a
one-off game, if you play to your best and Chelsea aren't functioning at
their best, then you can get to the end result like West Brom did. It can be
achieved at any one time in any one game and we've got to believe that it
can be achieved."
West Ham have not played since their Capital One Cup defeat at home to
Manchester City a week ago whereas Chelsea were beating Stoke 1-0 in the FA
Cup fourth round on Sunday. However Allardyce believes the number of options
available to Mourinho means there is no benefit to the prolonged rest for
his players. "He [Mourinho] changes his squad and he's got 25 international
players to choose from so that's never been a particular problem for a club
like Chelsea," Allardyce added. "Keeping that amount of players and rotating
them keeps them relatively happy. Their massive programme throughout the
season means that players that don't play so much, generally play 20-plus
games. "We're happy in our squad if players are getting to the 25-game mark
because we will only play 40-plus games whereas they will play 60-plus."
Andy Carroll has a chance of starting his first Premier League game for West
Ham since May after the forward finally returned to the first-team fold
following two troublesome foot injuries. The 25-year-old will be hoping to
offer more of a goal threat to the Hammers but Allardyce conceded that
breaching the Chelsea backline in not an easy task. "The defensive unit has
become so difficult to breakdown again which shows that Jose has been
concentrating on that," he added. "It was apparent when I was watching them
against Stoke City. "Stoke found it very, very difficult to create any
opportunities against Chelsea and it frees up their quality players.
"Stopping Oscar, [Eden] Hazard, [Samuel] Eto'o is one of the elements for us
which we have to be very careful of. When those players get the ball we have
to make sure we're very sharp and that we close them down, otherwise their
skills and abilities will make life difficult for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Osasuna criticise West Ham for pulling out of a deal for Raoul Loe
By Lucas Brown | Last Updated: 28/01/14 2:21pm
SSN
Osasuna have accused West Ham United of being two-faced for pulling out of a
deal for Raoul Loe after the Spanish league side thought everything had been
agreed. The Cameroon international midfielder flew to London at the weekend
only for the Hammers to cancel the agreement via e-mail on the morning of
the medical, explaining they had agreed to loan Antonio Nocerin from AC
Milan. "Everything that has happened has surprised me. It was all done and
we left it with them. I cannot understand how a club at that level can
negotiate and work in a two-faced way like that," Osasuna's sporting
director Petar Vasiljevic stated.
"It was a real shock how a club at this level was doing this. But every club
know how things go and it was the same with this. We thought the subject was
concluded and felt the talks had been completed. "I want to explain what
happened with Raoul Loe and how strange things became throughout the
negotiations. "The club received a firm offer from West Ham and we reached
an agreement. "It was then left in the player's hands to go ahead and pass
the medical. He travelled to London with his agent where they waited and
went to a hotel. Up until then everything went well. "The following day when
they had to undergo the tests they pulled out of the deal, blaming it on the
fact that they signed someone else. "I was then sent an e-mail confirming
that West Ham had chosen to go with another player with different conditions
and was a deal they had been working on for several weeks. "It was a loan
deal that they said was completed and gave their apologies."
Osasuna did not want to lose Loe but accepted West Ham United's offer for
financial reasons, but Vasiljevic is pleased that the player is now set to
stay.
"Raoul is a strong boy and knows that he had a chance to take a step forward
in his career. But that was not possible and he had a bad Saturday night.
Now he is back with the squad and it is all forgotten," he added.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM DEBT IS INCREASING AGAIN
By Sean Whetstone 28 Jan 2014 at 12:15
West Ham Till I Die
After four years in charge West Ham United debt appears to be rising again
after previous claims it was under control and was steadily reducing. In
2010 David Sullivan famously revealed in a press conference that West Ham
were over £100 million in debt. Sullivan explained at the time…
We've paid down some of the debt and injected some working capital but
there's still more than £100 million of debt. In that there's £50 million
owed to banks, there's £40 million owed to other clubs. There's not a penny
to come in, they (the previous owners) have borrowed against the next two
years of season-ticket money. The sponsors have paid 70% of their
three-years up front. In addition there's the club's settlement to (former
manager) Alan Curbishley, so the real debt is about £110 million."
Four years on Net debt has increased by nearly seven million pounds last
season from £70.7m in 2012 to £77.4m in 2013 in accounts published last
week. In previous years net debt was published as £55.4m in 2009 before
dropping after their take over to £33.5m in 2010 before rising again to
£41.6m in 2011.
Net debt is just a metric that shows a company's overall debt situation by
netting the value of a company's liabilities and debts such as bank loans
with its cash held in the bank.
Bank debt also increased by over fourteen million pounds from £30.5m in 2012
to £44.6m in 2013. In 2009 prior to their take over Bank debt was almost
identical at £44.9m, In 2010 post take over it dropped to £31.1m and in 2011
it dropped further to £28.9m.
Refinancing of the bank debt happened in July last year which saw a new
facility worth £26.7m which is repayable by 31st December 2016 and is
secured against Upton Park as a mortgage The new £44.6m figure is a point
time figure on 31st May 2013 so may have changed since the refinancing deal
in July.
Debt from loans from shareholders increased from £35.2m in 2012 to £45.7m in
2013 as David Sullivan and David Gold injected a further £10.5m of cash last
season. In their first year in 2010 share holder loans were just £3m.
Total borrowings including share holder loans have increased from £72.5m in
2012 to £90.9m in 2013. Although these loans attract interest, the total
£3.4m of interest is rolled up on the balance sheet and added to the debt
rather than paid out to the owners.
West Ham took out two short term loans from Vibrac Corporation to aid their
cash flow secured against future TV income from the Premier League. These
were a £12.8m loan in 2012 and a £15m loan. These are thought to attract an
interest rate of 10% and replaced a previous £12m overdraft facility
provided by 4 banks which expired on 31st December 2013.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHY FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY IS NO LONGER A PROBLEM
By Sean Whetstone 28 Jan 2014 at 08:27
West Ham Till I Die
With the recent publication of West Ham's financial accounts last week came
along some important information with regards to our wage bill restrictions
this season. The accounts told us the total wage bill for West Ham was
£49.2m for last season (£56.2m if you include National Insurance, Pension
and compensation costs for loss of office). Considering those figures
included Manager Sam Allardyce and Vice Chairman Karren Brady's
multi-million pound salaries of around £4.6m between them plus over 750
other ordinary West Ham employees I think we can safety assume the actual
players wage bill including National Insurance, bonuses, image rights and
pension contributions was around or just under £48m as claimed on WHUFC.com
earlier this year.
This means our official FFP wage cap is £52m for this season as has been
claimed all along.
However the West Ham accounts also reveal a twist that we achieved improved
sales in both Commercial and Retail sales. The Premier League FFP rules say
the difference in this extra income can also be used as wages for this
season only.
Commercial revenue grew From £7.9m to £13.9m and Retail sales from £4.8m to
£6m giving us another £7.2m to spend this year so that pushes our maximum
wage cap up to £61.2m!
Not to play down the efforts of the West Ham United sales teams but the
majority of this increase in sales is down our promotion back to the Premier
League.
Maybe not the message our board want the fans to hear right now as it will
put more pressure on them to spend, spend, spend but still a relief we will
not face a points deduction or other sanctions if we go over the £52m wage
bill which is what the board claimed we were perilously close to at the
summer transfer window.
The recent reported loss of £3.5m for last season is also is well within the
permitted £105m losses over 3 years as long as the owners continue to inject
equity as they have done again last season to the tune of £10.5m.
So maybe the Chairman did over play the FFP card too much to the media last
summer. The financial accounts just released relate to the financial year
end 31st May 2013 so they should of known about the improved commercial and
retail sales at the time of the claims.
A good explanation about Premier League and Championship Cost Control and
Sustainability Provisions can be found from Daniel Geey at his website
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's new Italian duo Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino could
feature against Chelsea
Jan 28, 2014 16:09 By Alex Richards 2 Comments
The Mirror
West Ham could hand debuts to new signings as Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello as both are in contention to feature at Chelsea on Wednesday
night.
The two Italy internationals have signed on loan until the end of the season
to bolster the Hammers' squad, which is starting to recover from injury
setbacks over the Christmas period. Borriello will compete with Andy Carroll
and Carlton Cole for a starting place up front. Antonio Nocerino could come
into the midfield after his arrival from AC Milan, while captain Kevin Nolan
returns from a four-match ban. However, Joe Cole (groin) a definite absentee
against one of his former clubs.
Provisional squad: Jaaskelainen, Adrian, O'Brien, Johnson, Tomkins, Collins,
Rat, Demel, McCartney, Diarra, Noble, Nocerino, Collison, Jarvis, Taylor,
Diame, Nolan, Morrison, Vaz Te, Maiga, C Cole, Carroll, Borriello.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chelsea v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 28th January 2014
By: Preview Percy
In honour of our new signings Preview Percy has gone all Italian. To be
honest it's not a pretty sight.....
Next up we hop onto the District Line to the Stamford Bridge Laundromat for
a Wednesday night trip to Chelsea. Kick-off is at 7:45pm and, this being
midweek, only the rush-hour fun that is the tube will delay your journey.
We are forever told that the league is a "marathon not a sprint" in which
case we currently have a group of three just beginning to (to paraphrase the
late Ron Pickering) open their legs to show their class. Arsenal are top of
course, looking nervously over their shoulders at the rather good Manchester
City who (at the time of writing with Arsenal being 1-0 down at Southampton)
are tucked in nicely one point behind them on 50 points.
Then, in the manner of a runner who wants the two guys in front of him to at
least consider the possibility that he might have something of a sprint
finish left in the locker, come Chelsea with 49 points from their 22 matches
played so far.
Current form looks good – they've won five and drawn one of their last six
in the league. The wins came at home to Swansea (1-0), at home to Liverpool
(2-1), away at Southampton and Hull (3-0 and 2-0 respectively) and a 3-1
home stroll against Man Utd. The one draw came away at the library on a
filthy Monday night just before Christmas that you wouldn't have sent the
spotty work experience kid out on.
Of course their unlimited source of funds (to them "Financial Fair Play"
simply means pulling up the drawbridge behind them) means that that transfer
windows are just a bit of a laugh. The best thing about the current one has
been their fans making themselves look a bit daft at the hands of some Man
Utd supporters armed with a video camera and a microphone. "Yeah – great
passer of the ball from what I've seen on YouTube" was the general reaction
as a couple of eejits with Cork accents dangled a few unsubtly made-up names
in front of the sort of people who all went "who?" when Bobby Tambling was
paraded in front of them at half-time in a match against us a few years ago.
To be fair the eejits did eventually encounter a group of blokes who were
prepared to admit that they had never heard of the putative "targets". There
again they seemed so "refreshed" that you could probably have mentioned
Lionel Messi to them without getting a reaction.
One real player they did bring in was Nemanja "Professor Matt" Matic who
really old readers of similar vintage to myself might remember used to be
the engineer on Fireball XL5 (back when kids' tv was slightly better than
the extended advert for tat that it is today). Matic is now in his second
spell at the club and has been rehired to fill a perceived need in the
defensive midfield department. Received wisdom has it that this area hasn't
been the same since Makalele left, what with Essien's knee having been a bit
on the fragile side in recent years. Talking of Essien's knee, it has now
departed, loosely connected to the rest of him, in the general direction of
Milan. That would have been an interesting medical.
Also gone is Juan "Whassa" Mata who has gone to Old Trafford to help with
their relegation battle. Given the Salford mob's current plight one could
argue that the dropping of such a player like crumbs from the Chelsea table
will act as a psychological downer for Moyes lot. Certainly if Chelsea
wanted to send a message along the lines of "we consider you to be that
small a threat that we'll sell you a half decent player" it was a pretty
unsubtle way of doing so.
There's little to like about the Russian's plaything. There's the lionising
of a racist thug and the love-in for an obnoxious little git who actually
did sell his kids' grandma down the river. Then there's all the diving.
When the paper boy brought round my copy of the Standard the other night I
was somewhat bemused to discover an article from Patrick Barclay extolling
the virtues of goals from free-kicks. The argument went that, since
free-kicks are awarded as punishment for foul play, the true football
supporter should rejoice when a goal is scored from one. Which is all well
and good until you start praising the likes of Oscar, whose effort against
Stoke at the weekend was the difference between the two teams in the Cup. Mr
Barclay's rather naive argument sort of ignores one vital thing, that being
the simple fact that Oscar is a cheat who often dives to win those
free-kicks in the first place.
Take the reverse fixture earlier this season. Latching on to an admittedly
rotten back pass Oscar's dive was so far in advance of any contact from
Jaaskalainen he still had his street clothes on. The only thing more
embarrassing than Oscar's dive was the failure of the referee to spot what
was one of the worst dives ever seen outside Anfield. I'll start applauding
free-kick goals Mr Barclay when the likes of Chelsea stop diving to get them
– though I suspect we'll all be getting about on jet packs by then.
It might help if there was a bit of honesty in the media about it. Niall
Quinn commented to the effect that Oscar "saw Jaaskalainen coming" – so
here's a novel idea for commentators and journalists: stop mincing your
words. If you see Oscar throw himself to the floor in an obvious dive don't
say "he made the most of what contact there was". Tell it like it is and say
that he cheated. Maybe then referees might just stop using the get out of
jail free card given to them by the media and actually start doing their
jobs.
According to their manager, Chelsea "have no divers", a "fact" that will
come as news to West Brom who came within a gnat's of winning until a last
minute spot of "simulation" gave Chelsea a point-saving spot kick.
Rant over and so to us. There are some new faces about the place what with
this being the window and all. So it's a warm welcome from La Casa Riposo
Olimpico Del Avram Grant per lo Sconcertato (blame the spotty work
experience kid and something called "Google Translate" for that one) to
midfielder Antonio Nocerino and striker Marco Borriello.
Nocerino has, over his career, apparently played both as a defensive
midfielder and in more of an attacking role – he has a Serie A hat-trick to
his name for Milan. Nocerino's surname apparently translates as "little
walnut" which, by strange coincidence, is an affliction quite common amongst
the more elderly of us here at the Rest Home.
Borriello's name doesn't translate into anything much in English. He
survived a childhood in Naples that included his father being killed by the
Camorra when he was only 10. He seems an "interesting" character – in
2006-07 he seems to have served a ban for doping having tested positive for
a number of steroid-type compounds, something his then girlfriend attributed
to creams she was using to counter an infection in an "intimate" area. I
would ask Matron for clarification but I've just had my tea.
Injury news continues to improve, though this match would appear to be a few
days too soon for Winston Reid. Tomkins will be available for selection
after his suspension and will probably partner James Collins in the middle.
Diame's knee is an odd one. It looked like one of those "painful for a bit
but not serious" knocks at first so it was some surprise to see the player
stretchered off. The initial comments from the manager suggested that the
knock was "quite serious" though later reports suggested that this was not
the case.
So a prediction then. We'll lose of course – as we've seen time and time
again referees are far too scared of Abrahamovic to give visiting teams a
fair crack of the whip. However, this will be more about the performance and
getting something to carry over into future matches. We're vulnerable at
free-kicks and our opponents are past masters at conning them out of the
officials. I'll be putting the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The
Bewildered's Pickled Walnut Budget (£2.50) on a 3-1 home win as we look to
bed in the new faces.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met At Stamford Bridge – Lost 0-2 (March 2013) Andy Carroll had
a perfectly good goal disallowed as a fat obnoxious pensioner-hating
midfielder and Hazard were on the scoresheet for the home side.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick Last seen trying to liven up our otherwise dull 2-0
home win over Wigan last season by dishing out yellow cards on a whim.
Danger Man:Dember Ba – him and the fat gerontophobe will be looking to prove
that the "law of the ex" actually exisits.
Daft fact of the week: If "by a man's friends shall ye know him", it's worth
pointing out that Roman Abrahamovic is said to be close mates with oafish
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin's bid to make the forthcoming
Winter Olympics a paradise for homophobes hasn't quite got as far as
renaming the skiing plus shooting event as "The Athlon" but it's probably
only a matter of time.
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Tuesday, January 28
Daily WHUFC News - 28th January 2014
Nocerino - The First Interview
WHUFC.com
Antonio Nocerino has spoken to West Ham TV following his loan move from AC
Milan
27.01.2014
Antonio Nocerino says he has huge motivation to impress after joining West
Ham United on loan from AC Milan. Not only does the Hammers' new No47 want
to help the Club climb clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone,
but the Italy international is determined to force his way into the
Azzurri's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. Capped 15 times, the 28-year-old
midfielder scored a penalty for Italy in their quarter-final win over
England at Euro 2012, but for now Nocerino is concentrating all his efforts
on helping West Ham's fight for top-flight survival. A veteran of 221 Serie
A and 15 UEFA Champions League appearances, the Napoli-born star spoke to
West Ham TV following his first training session at Chadwell Heath.
Antonio, welcome to West Ham United! What is your reaction to joining the
Club and moving to London?
AN: "I am very happy because it's a very, very important experience for me,
playing for a very traditional and historical Club such as West Ham. It is a
great honour."
How did the transfer happen?
AN: "The transfer came about very quickly. A request was made for me to join
West Ham and I accepted straight away. I am very pleased to have joined West
Ham United."
Are you fit and ready to play immediately?
AN: "I am ready to play and I am happy to play immediately, if the manager
wants to put me in the team. I am at the Club's disposal to play me as soon
as possible. "It will maybe take me a little time to settle in, but I am
ready to play straight away, if needed."
What do you know about West Ham United?
AN: "When I was told I was coming to West Ham, I was already aware of the
large following that the Club has in Italy. "When I realised how big the
fanbase is and the traditions and very, very important history that the Club
has, I was more than happy to come to England. "A lot of the traditions of
the Club, I learned from the West Ham fans who are already there in Italy."
What qualities will you bring to the squad?
AN: "I am really enthusiastic about playing for West Ham. I am aware of the
Barclays Premier League and what will bring with me is my enthusiasm.
"I want to show my qualities on the pitch and not just talk about them. I
feel I have got the ability and skill to adapt to the English game and I am
confident that, once I am ready to play, I will be able to show the fans
what I can do. "I feel my qualities match what is required in the Barclays
Premier League."
Do you see playing for West Ham as a chance to force your way into the Italy
squad for the 2014 World Cup?
AN: "I hope so, I hope so. I hope to get into the Italian squad. One of the
reasons I came to West Ham and to the Premier League is to play on a regular
basis.
"My first objective is to play for West Ham and help the Club to move up the
table. From that, if I am playing well and I get picked to go to the World
Cup in Brazil, that will be an added bonus. "The main priority is to play
for West Ham and to move up the table."
Finally, for our supporters, what is your message?
AN: "I hope to give the supporters great satisfaction with the way that I
play. I know many supporters come over from Italy to watch our games, so I
hope as a player and as a person to make them proud. "Our fans are colourful
and spend a lot of to watch us play, so I want to do the best I can for the
fans and for the Club and go from there. I hope my response will be the one
they are looking for."
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Big Sam lauds Serie A swoop
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is looking forward to working with West Ham United's two
Italian recruits
27.01.2014
Sam Allardyce is thrilled with the Club's latest January dealings, having
secured the signatures of Italian duo Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello
on loan until the end of the season. While the Hammers boss is confident
the pair will make a considerable impact in the coming weeks and months, he
insists that their arrival, alone, will boost all at West Ham United.
Experienced campaigners and Italy internationals, the Naples-born players
bring no shortage of quality to the party and are both said to be delighted
at the prospect of Barclays Premier League football. "At long last,
after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure two new
faces," said Big Sam. "We've found Antonio on the back of the fact it's a
one in, one out situation. They've taken Michael Essien from Chelsea, which
left the door open for Antonio to come and try and play in the Premier
League, which he's very excited about. He wants to play and wants to achieve
as much as he did in Italy, as well as wanting to get in the Italian squad
for the World Cup. "Marco wants to come and chance his arm, like most
players will, in the most exciting league in the world. He has got a good
track record for being a lively frontman scoring a few goals, even though
recently that's not been the case due to a few niggly injuries. "From a
fitness point of view, Antonio's fine to be selected whenever. I think
there's always a settling in period, but it has to be very quickly because
of the window that we're in and because of the games coming thick and fast.
So we hope that's going to be a quick integration."
With players steadily returning from injury too, Big Sam believes there is
now plenty of reason to be positive ahead of Wednesday's trip to Stamford
Bridge and four crucial February fixtures. As for his new additions, Sam
has suitably high hopes for their Hammers careers, confident that two
intelligent footballers will have little trouble adapting to the demands of
English football. He continued: "With the reintroduction of Andy [Carroll]
now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more optimism to everyone at
West Ham at the moment, with the fact that these players are coming back,
new players have signed and obviously some big games coming up for us.
"Antonio is a box-to-box midfielder with a certain quality of understanding
where the space is, finding space and knowing the position of linking, but
also getting up into the final third. Playing at the top level in Italy
brings a great deal of experience with the talent that he has got. "When you
come into this league and play in this league, you need intelligence. What
goes between the ears is the most important thing and certainly he's an
intelligent footballer and that's what we're looking forward to him
hopefully bringing. More at both ends, in terms of out of possession and in
possession, as every midfielder has to do today. "With Marco, it's about
getting him on the field and talking about nothing else other than scoring
goals. I think that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing
too much outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need
now. We need someone in that to start being productive in terms of how many
goals they score and when they get a chance, they only need one or two to
score. Goals are what we want from him."
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March fixture changes
WHUFC.com
New kick-off details have been announced for the Hammers' games with Man Utd
and Sunderland
27.01.2014
Two of West Ham United's Barclays Premier League fixtures in March have
moved from their original slots. The home match with Manchester United will
now kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday 22 March, and not 3pm as originally
scheduled. Meanwhile, West Ham's trip to Sunderland will now be on Monday 31
March with an 8pm kick-off.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on: Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce has spoken to the assembled press ahead of facing Chelsea on
Wednesday night
27.01.2014
The media gathered at Chadwell Heath on Monday morning to quiz Sam Allardyce
ahead of Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League match against Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge. Big Sam answered questions regarding the latest team news,
the Club's business in the transfer market and how to stop Jose Mourinho's
men on Wednesday night.
Morning Sam, four days to go until the end of the transfer window, do you
expect to do any more deals?
SA: "I don't expect to be that busy now. I think that at the moment, with
our two new signings, we're at our 25-man squad limit. So unless somebody
leaves within the next four days I can't see us doing any more business than
the business we've just done. We achieved two signings over the weekend, at
long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally managed to
secure two signings."
What's your team news ahead of the Chelsea match?
SA: "Things are looking good on the injury front again. For the first time
in many, many, many weeks we have got our defensive players back into
training. Winston Reid is actually training with the squad for the first
time today but he won't be considered at all for Wednesday after a ten-week
break. James Collins is ok, George McCartney is back and Joey O'Brien's
back. For the first time, and I don't want to tempt fate, there's only Joe
Cole that's injured and I can't ever remember having just one player injured
over the last three months. Let's hope it's an injury free 2014 because that
would certainly make a big difference to us and the fight we have over the
next 16 games."
Chelsea will present a very tough game for you but do you think that not
having played on the weekend gives you an advantage?
SA: "Yes, but he changes his squad and he's got 25 international players to
choose from so that's never been a particular problem for a club like
Chelsea. Keeping that amount of players and rotating them keeps them
relatively happy. Their massive programme throughout the season means that
players that don't play so much, generally play 20-plus games. We're happy
in our squad if players are getting to the 25-game mark, 28-game mark
because we will only play 40-plus games whereas they will play 60-plus."
They played well yesterday, only getting the one goal, but you have to stop
them getting free-kicks on the edge of the box as they're pretty lethal from
them, aren't they?
SA: "It's not just free-kicks. You've got to stop the quality of player
which they rely on to turn the game in their favour. The defensive unit has
become so difficult to breakdown again which shows that Jose has been
concentrating on that. It was apparent yesterday when I was watching them
against Stoke City. Stoke found it very, very difficult to create any
opportunities against Chelsea and it frees up their quality players.
Stopping Oscar, Hazard, Eto'o is one of the elements for us which we have to
be very careful of. When those players get the ball we have to make sure
we're very sharp and that we close them down, otherwise their skills and
abilities will make life difficult for us."
How difficult is January for a manager when you have to deal with the
transfer situation as well as the pressures of getting results?
SA: "I've never liked January anyway. It's been particularly difficult this
time because of what we've been suffering from in terms of injuries and
results. That heaps even more pressure on you as a team, as a squad and as a
manager particularly. You've got to try and see the light at the end of the
tunnel and stay positive. The re-introduction of Andy that's coming forward
now should bring a bit more optimism to everybody at West Ham. Players are
coming back, new players have come in and we obviously have some big games
coming up. If we try and go on a bit of a run, an undefeated run at first, I
know everybody's desperate to win but first and foremost it's about not
losing. Building the confidence up, not losing in the hope that we start
producing more goals which will give us more victories. Scoring goals has
been our Achilles heel this season and on too many occasions we haven't
converted opportunities into goals."
Is it fair to say that, whilst it would be great to get something against
Chelsea, the focus is on upcoming games against Swansea City, Norwich City
and Aston Villa?
SA: "We can't go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think
that we're not going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich
Albion should have beaten Chelsea this season. In a one-off game, if you
play to your best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can
get to the end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time
in any one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
New signings choose squad numbers
WHUFC.com
Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have taken the No46 and No47 shirts
respectively
27.01.2014
West Ham United's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have
chosen their squad numbers ahead of Wednesday's Barclays Premier League game
at Chelsea. Striker Borriello, who joins on loan from AS Roma, will wear the
No46 shirt during his time with the Hammers, while midfielder Nocerino, on
loan from AC Milan, takes No47. The pair trained with their new team-mates
for the first time at Chadwell Heath on Monday, after completing their moves
to London on Saturday.
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Travelling fans ignored again
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's trip to Sunderland has been moved to a Monday night - for for the
benefit of TV. Hundreds of Hammers fans who would have otherwise made the
long, gruelling trip to the North East for a fixture originally planned for
the previous Saturday afternoon will now miss out due to the decision to
postpone the fixture by 48 hours. With many having to get up for work the
next morning, hundreds of regular away supporters will now miss out on what
will be a vital trip for the Hammers as they fight to avoid relegation from
the Premier League - a trip the team will now face without the full backing
of the Club's tremendous away following. United's home match against Man U
on Saturday, 22 March has also been moved - from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. That is
also for the benefit of TV.
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Forty-somethings
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have been
assigned their new squad numbers. For the reminder of the current season,
striker Boriello will wear the number 46 shirt and midfielder Nocerino the
number 47, it was confirmed today. According to whufc.com, the two players
were allowed to select their shirt numbers personally. The highest squad
number previously handed to a West Ham United player is 48, which was
allocated to Academy players Ashley Miller (now with Bishop's Stortford FC)
in 2008/09 and Danny Potts in 2011/12. However whereas Miller failed to
make a single first team appearance, Potts made four during 2011/12 meaning
that he holds the record for the highest number to be featured by a Hammer
on the field of play.
Highest Squad Number by Season
2013/14: Antonio Nocerino - 47
2012/13: Elliot Lee - 47
2011/12: Danny Potts - 48
2010/11: Jake Larkins - 46
2009/10: Junior Stanislas - 46
2008/09: Ashley Miller - 48
2007/08: Jordan Spence - 45
2006/07: Kepa Blanco - 37
2005/06: Matthew Reed - 41
2004/05: Gavin Williams - 35
2003/04: Chris Cohen - 35
2002/03: Sebastien Schemmel - 30
2001/02: David Forde - 41
2000/01: Svetoslav Todorov - 37
Read more at http://kumb.com/story.php?id=127316#vV7gfXbAg1MVTD1D.99
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce happy with double signing
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce says that he is unlikely to do any more business this transfer
window. It was a productive weekend for Big Sam as he made a double-swoop on
Serie A with the capture of Marco Borriello and Antionio Nocerino from Roma
and Milan respectively, both on loan, for the remainder of the season. With
his allotted 25-man squad now full, Allardyce will have to move one or two
out before bringing in any further new faces - although the manager insists
he is happy with the players at his disposal. "I don't expect to be that
busy now," he told the press this morning. "With our two new signings, we're
at our 25-man squad limit so unless somebody leaves within the next four
days I can't see us doing any more. "We achieved two signings over the
weekend, at long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally
managed to secure two signings."
New signings Nocerino and Borriello took part in their first ever training
session at Chadwell Heath this morning, with both set to be included in
Wednesday's squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge. And Allardyce hopes that
the duo can help the Hammers get a result at a venue that hasn't yielded too
many points in recent years. "Players are coming back, new players have come
in and we have some big games coming up," he said. "We need to go on a bit
of a run - undefeated at first. I know everybody's desperate to win but
first and foremost it's about not losing. "Building the confidence up, not
losing in the hope that we start producing more goals which will give us
more victories. Scoring goals has been our Achilles heel this season and on
too many occasions we haven't converted opportunities into goals. "We can't
go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think that we're not
going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich Albion should
have beaten Chelsea this season. "In a one-off game, if you play to your
best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can get to the
end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time in any
one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Transfer news: No more signings for West Ham, says Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: 27/01/14 12:27pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he does not expect to make any more
signings following the arrival of Italians Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello.
AC Milan midfielder Nocerino and Roma striker Borriello have both joined the
club on deals until the end of the season and Allardyce says that will be
the end of his transfer dealings in the January window. He said: "I don't
expect to be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit
so I don't see us doing any more business. "Antonio is very excited to play
in the Premier League. He's very excited and wants to get into the Italy
squad for the World Cup. He is a box-to-box midfielder who's capable in all
areas of the pitch. "When you come into this league, you need intelligence
and he has that. It's about what's in between the ears and he's a very
experienced player. "Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible,
whereas Marco needs a bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks."
Allardyce feels things are slowing getting better on the injury front, with
a number of players finally returning to training at Chadwell Heath.
"Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible, whereas Marco needs a
bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks." "Things are looking
good on the injury front," added the Hammers boss. "We've got our defensive
players back into training, including Winston Reid. "We hope it will be an
injury-free 2014, to help us fight over the course of the next 16 games."
Allardyce is looking forward to facing Chelsea on Wednesday night and feels
his side are capable of getting a result at Stamford Bridge. "Jose seems to
have made Chelsea very difficult to breakdown again and that frees up their
quality players to make an impact," he added.
"West Brom should have beaten Chelsea earlier in the season. So if we play
to our best we can get a good end result."
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West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans attracting interest
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 27/01/14 4:03pm
SSN
West Bromwich Albion have fielded a number of enquiries for Graham Dorrans,
who is out of contract at the end of the season. The Scotland international
almost joined Nottingham Forest in the summer and Sky Sports understands
that Billy Davies has rekindled his interest in Dorrans. West Brom have not
offered Dorrans new terms, and the 26-year-old is eager for first-team
football with just two starts under his belt this season. Reading and
Middlesbrough are also monitoring the situation, as are West Ham, who tried
to sign the player back in 2010 but had a £4million offer rejected
..
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SAM'S FANTASTIC FOUR
By Tony Hanna 27 Jan 2014 at 17:21
West Ham Till I Die
Just over ten years ago Sam Allardyce, manager of Bolton Wanderers,
conceptualised a rigid game plan around data sourced from a company called
Prozone. It was a total success as Bolton were promoted to the Premier
league and enjoyed many seasons in the top flight punching well above their
weight. With his background staff of analysts,(David Fallows a former
Prozone analyst, Gavin Fleig and Ed Sulley), they came up with a model for
the club called the "Fantastic Four". Sam sticks by these principles to this
day. These were the four areas that dictated success.
Over a season of 38 games they "knew" that if they had 16 clean sheets they
would avoid relegation.
If they scored first they would have a 70% chance of winning the game.
They knew that set pieces, corners and free kicks accounted for a third of
all goals and in-swinging corners accounted for 70% of goals scored from all
corners. So they practiced on their own set pieces and defending the
oppositions. Long throws were another set piece to put the ball into the
zone.
They also knew that if they outworked their opposition by covering more
distance at speeds above 5.5m/s they would increase their chances of winning
by 80%.
Other factors that were important were knowing that a team will score on
average once from nine shots. Also 80% of goals would be scored from
movements of less than four passes and that half of all goals scored would
be from winning possession back in the final third of the pitch.
Prozones player tracking stats are believed to be used by 19 of the 20 PL
clubs including West Ham. However, Sam's analytic plan from the early years
at Bolton may now be outdated? For instance, the scoring goals from less
than four passes stat is flawed. That stat is just because most movements in
football are like that, it was not that the odds of scoring were better. The
odds of scoring is actually higher if you maintain possession.
What I would be asking Sam is if we are playing to the Fantastic Four is; Do
you really think that if we keep seven more clean sheets this season we will
stay up? Why have we only scored 4 goals in the first 30 minutes of all
matches in the PL all season? Why have we not scored a goal direct from a
free kick in the PL this season and our opposition have scored four? Why
have we lost on four occasions this season when we have scored first? Why if
long throws are such an important strategy, do we not have any one with a
long throw? And finally, do you think our injury list this season may have
anything to do with our players expected to work harder and faster than the
opposition, rather than keep the ball?
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MAYBE ONE MORE TRANSFER!
By Sean Whetstone 27 Jan 2014 at 13:17
West Ham Till I Die
After the weekend's two Italian signing the chairman son Jack was asked is
that all the West Ham transfer business concluded? It replied "No maybe 1
more"
On Saturday the Daily Mirror claimed West Ham are having second thoughts
about signing Joleon Lescott from Manchester City. There are claims Fulham
and Aston Villa have entered the race and are keen to sign Lescott on loan,
but Man City still say they will keep him until the summer unless they find
a replacement before next week's transfer deadline. Manchester City are said
to be in the hunt for Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zouma.
West Ham are said to be getting cold feet about a loan deal because they are
unsure about matching Lescott's City reported £90,000 per week wages. It has
been claimed West Ham would offer him a £70,000 per week 3 year permanent
deal in the summer if a loan was successful but Lescott is believed to
reluctant to drop his wage demands for any loan period. It is also claimed
that Turkish club Besiktas made Lescott,, a lucrative offer, but he wants to
stay in the Premier League. Lescott cost Man City £24m when he signed from
Everton in 2009 but will be available on a free transfer from the end of the
season.
It is also curious how we would balance our £52m wage cap under FFP rules.
After a confirmed wage bill of £48m last season and the addition of Stewart
Downing adding around £3m we were already close to the cap at the start of
the season.
Roma has confirmed we paid 700,000 euros Loan fee for Borriello and Nocerino
is likely to be a similar amount so that's another £1m on top until the end
of the season. Lescott would add around £1.8m for 5 months. Roger Johnson is
believed to be on £20,000 per week and Carlton Cole is understood to have
agreed a £25,000 a week deal for a 18 month deal so that adds another
£900,000 to the wage until the end of the season.
I am confused how we will balance the books to meet the £52m wage cap unless
1) We ignore FFP and face the consequences or 2) Sell and/or release a
number of players in this week before the transfer window shuts!
Meanwhile Newcastle's Steven Taylor has been mooted as a possible
alternative target if the Lescott loan fails to materialise claims Matt Law
in the Telegraph.
UPDATE: In Sam's Monday Morning Press Conference he said "I don't expect to
be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit so I don't
see us doing any more business" Do we believe him?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Deadline day looms large for Big Sam as he looks to lift the Hammers out of
trouble
Jan 27, 2014 06:56 By John Cross 0
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce will spend this week desperately trying to push through a last
minute rush of deals. The West Ham manager will not have the luxury of
putting together multi-million pound transfers for big names. Big Sam will
have to raid the loan market and hope that he can do a last gasp deal for a
defender or centre forward. Allardyce will not be alone as the final week of
the January window always represents panic deals which can seem even more
desperate than in the summer. You could sense Allardyce's frustration last
week when he stormed out of a press conference after being asked about
whether he would be able to do any deals. "Every time I line up a player -
someone else comes along and nicks them," Allardyce said angrily. He
actually swore as well but we'll leave that out as this is a family
newspaper. But you can understand his point. West Ham have gone for big
names like Rickie Lambert, loan deals like Lacina Traore from Monaco and
also the potential signing of Joleon Lescott. The problem is attracting
players who could be entering a relegation battle and they are taking a
gamble on their careers as well as the clubs they are joining. These are
desperate times at the bottom as well as the top and the loan market is one
area where some managers excel as they look to pull off deals which can make
or break their season. Everton boss Roberto Martinez did wonders with loans
in August in the final days. He got Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. Then
came in Gareth Barry from Manchester City. They have been great successes in
the first team. Martinez also signed Gerard Deulofeu on loan from Barcelona,
a great young attacking talent who will cost Everton less the more they play
him.
The loan market divides opinion as Arsene Wenger doesn't like it and
Martinez clearly does. But one thing is for sure: the final week will see
more and more clubs utilise loan signings if they cannot do permanent deals.
There will be a lot of movement even if clubs aren't spending on big fees.
The truth is that managers become more desperate. And the window has
generally been quiet apart from the odd mega deal like Juan Mata or Nemanja
Matic. But the final few days is when it hots up. And Allardyce and his
fellow strugglers know that the final days of the transfer window will hold
the key to their survival. Those who do well in the market will survive.
Expect West Ham, Crystal Palace and Sunderland to be busy. Those who fail
and don't get the reinforcements will go down. Over to you, Big Sam.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce excited to work with new recruits Marco
Borriello and Antonio Nocerino
Jan 27, 2014 14:42 By Liam Prenderville
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce is confident new West Ham signings Marco Borriello and Antonio
Nocerino will be successful in the Premier League. The Hammers completed the
loan signings of the Italian pair over the weekend after a frustrating time
in the transfer market. Nocerino arrives from AC Milan while his
international colleague secured his switch from Roma and Allardyce can't
wait to get both of them on the pitch. He told the club's website: "At long
last, after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure
two new faces. "I think there's always a settling in period, but it has to
be very quickly because of the window that we are in and because of the
games coming thick and fast. So we hope that's going to be a quick
integration." West Ham's struggles this season have been largely down to a
lack of options in the final third, with Allardyce often choosing to play
with no out-and-out striker. However he has been boosted by the return from
injury of Andy Carroll and the Hammers boss hopes the England international
can strike a great relationship with new recruit Borriello. He added: "With
the reintroduction of Andy now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more
optimism to everyone at the club. "With Marco, it's about getting him on the
field and talking about nothing else other than scoring goals. "I think
that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing too much
outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need now."
West Ham face London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night
and the duo could be in line to feature
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WHUFC.com
Antonio Nocerino has spoken to West Ham TV following his loan move from AC
Milan
27.01.2014
Antonio Nocerino says he has huge motivation to impress after joining West
Ham United on loan from AC Milan. Not only does the Hammers' new No47 want
to help the Club climb clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone,
but the Italy international is determined to force his way into the
Azzurri's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. Capped 15 times, the 28-year-old
midfielder scored a penalty for Italy in their quarter-final win over
England at Euro 2012, but for now Nocerino is concentrating all his efforts
on helping West Ham's fight for top-flight survival. A veteran of 221 Serie
A and 15 UEFA Champions League appearances, the Napoli-born star spoke to
West Ham TV following his first training session at Chadwell Heath.
Antonio, welcome to West Ham United! What is your reaction to joining the
Club and moving to London?
AN: "I am very happy because it's a very, very important experience for me,
playing for a very traditional and historical Club such as West Ham. It is a
great honour."
How did the transfer happen?
AN: "The transfer came about very quickly. A request was made for me to join
West Ham and I accepted straight away. I am very pleased to have joined West
Ham United."
Are you fit and ready to play immediately?
AN: "I am ready to play and I am happy to play immediately, if the manager
wants to put me in the team. I am at the Club's disposal to play me as soon
as possible. "It will maybe take me a little time to settle in, but I am
ready to play straight away, if needed."
What do you know about West Ham United?
AN: "When I was told I was coming to West Ham, I was already aware of the
large following that the Club has in Italy. "When I realised how big the
fanbase is and the traditions and very, very important history that the Club
has, I was more than happy to come to England. "A lot of the traditions of
the Club, I learned from the West Ham fans who are already there in Italy."
What qualities will you bring to the squad?
AN: "I am really enthusiastic about playing for West Ham. I am aware of the
Barclays Premier League and what will bring with me is my enthusiasm.
"I want to show my qualities on the pitch and not just talk about them. I
feel I have got the ability and skill to adapt to the English game and I am
confident that, once I am ready to play, I will be able to show the fans
what I can do. "I feel my qualities match what is required in the Barclays
Premier League."
Do you see playing for West Ham as a chance to force your way into the Italy
squad for the 2014 World Cup?
AN: "I hope so, I hope so. I hope to get into the Italian squad. One of the
reasons I came to West Ham and to the Premier League is to play on a regular
basis.
"My first objective is to play for West Ham and help the Club to move up the
table. From that, if I am playing well and I get picked to go to the World
Cup in Brazil, that will be an added bonus. "The main priority is to play
for West Ham and to move up the table."
Finally, for our supporters, what is your message?
AN: "I hope to give the supporters great satisfaction with the way that I
play. I know many supporters come over from Italy to watch our games, so I
hope as a player and as a person to make them proud. "Our fans are colourful
and spend a lot of to watch us play, so I want to do the best I can for the
fans and for the Club and go from there. I hope my response will be the one
they are looking for."
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Big Sam lauds Serie A swoop
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is looking forward to working with West Ham United's two
Italian recruits
27.01.2014
Sam Allardyce is thrilled with the Club's latest January dealings, having
secured the signatures of Italian duo Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello
on loan until the end of the season. While the Hammers boss is confident
the pair will make a considerable impact in the coming weeks and months, he
insists that their arrival, alone, will boost all at West Ham United.
Experienced campaigners and Italy internationals, the Naples-born players
bring no shortage of quality to the party and are both said to be delighted
at the prospect of Barclays Premier League football. "At long last,
after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure two new
faces," said Big Sam. "We've found Antonio on the back of the fact it's a
one in, one out situation. They've taken Michael Essien from Chelsea, which
left the door open for Antonio to come and try and play in the Premier
League, which he's very excited about. He wants to play and wants to achieve
as much as he did in Italy, as well as wanting to get in the Italian squad
for the World Cup. "Marco wants to come and chance his arm, like most
players will, in the most exciting league in the world. He has got a good
track record for being a lively frontman scoring a few goals, even though
recently that's not been the case due to a few niggly injuries. "From a
fitness point of view, Antonio's fine to be selected whenever. I think
there's always a settling in period, but it has to be very quickly because
of the window that we're in and because of the games coming thick and fast.
So we hope that's going to be a quick integration."
With players steadily returning from injury too, Big Sam believes there is
now plenty of reason to be positive ahead of Wednesday's trip to Stamford
Bridge and four crucial February fixtures. As for his new additions, Sam
has suitably high hopes for their Hammers careers, confident that two
intelligent footballers will have little trouble adapting to the demands of
English football. He continued: "With the reintroduction of Andy [Carroll]
now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more optimism to everyone at
West Ham at the moment, with the fact that these players are coming back,
new players have signed and obviously some big games coming up for us.
"Antonio is a box-to-box midfielder with a certain quality of understanding
where the space is, finding space and knowing the position of linking, but
also getting up into the final third. Playing at the top level in Italy
brings a great deal of experience with the talent that he has got. "When you
come into this league and play in this league, you need intelligence. What
goes between the ears is the most important thing and certainly he's an
intelligent footballer and that's what we're looking forward to him
hopefully bringing. More at both ends, in terms of out of possession and in
possession, as every midfielder has to do today. "With Marco, it's about
getting him on the field and talking about nothing else other than scoring
goals. I think that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing
too much outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need
now. We need someone in that to start being productive in terms of how many
goals they score and when they get a chance, they only need one or two to
score. Goals are what we want from him."
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March fixture changes
WHUFC.com
New kick-off details have been announced for the Hammers' games with Man Utd
and Sunderland
27.01.2014
Two of West Ham United's Barclays Premier League fixtures in March have
moved from their original slots. The home match with Manchester United will
now kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday 22 March, and not 3pm as originally
scheduled. Meanwhile, West Ham's trip to Sunderland will now be on Monday 31
March with an 8pm kick-off.
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Big Sam on: Chelsea
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce has spoken to the assembled press ahead of facing Chelsea on
Wednesday night
27.01.2014
The media gathered at Chadwell Heath on Monday morning to quiz Sam Allardyce
ahead of Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League match against Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge. Big Sam answered questions regarding the latest team news,
the Club's business in the transfer market and how to stop Jose Mourinho's
men on Wednesday night.
Morning Sam, four days to go until the end of the transfer window, do you
expect to do any more deals?
SA: "I don't expect to be that busy now. I think that at the moment, with
our two new signings, we're at our 25-man squad limit. So unless somebody
leaves within the next four days I can't see us doing any more business than
the business we've just done. We achieved two signings over the weekend, at
long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally managed to
secure two signings."
What's your team news ahead of the Chelsea match?
SA: "Things are looking good on the injury front again. For the first time
in many, many, many weeks we have got our defensive players back into
training. Winston Reid is actually training with the squad for the first
time today but he won't be considered at all for Wednesday after a ten-week
break. James Collins is ok, George McCartney is back and Joey O'Brien's
back. For the first time, and I don't want to tempt fate, there's only Joe
Cole that's injured and I can't ever remember having just one player injured
over the last three months. Let's hope it's an injury free 2014 because that
would certainly make a big difference to us and the fight we have over the
next 16 games."
Chelsea will present a very tough game for you but do you think that not
having played on the weekend gives you an advantage?
SA: "Yes, but he changes his squad and he's got 25 international players to
choose from so that's never been a particular problem for a club like
Chelsea. Keeping that amount of players and rotating them keeps them
relatively happy. Their massive programme throughout the season means that
players that don't play so much, generally play 20-plus games. We're happy
in our squad if players are getting to the 25-game mark, 28-game mark
because we will only play 40-plus games whereas they will play 60-plus."
They played well yesterday, only getting the one goal, but you have to stop
them getting free-kicks on the edge of the box as they're pretty lethal from
them, aren't they?
SA: "It's not just free-kicks. You've got to stop the quality of player
which they rely on to turn the game in their favour. The defensive unit has
become so difficult to breakdown again which shows that Jose has been
concentrating on that. It was apparent yesterday when I was watching them
against Stoke City. Stoke found it very, very difficult to create any
opportunities against Chelsea and it frees up their quality players.
Stopping Oscar, Hazard, Eto'o is one of the elements for us which we have to
be very careful of. When those players get the ball we have to make sure
we're very sharp and that we close them down, otherwise their skills and
abilities will make life difficult for us."
How difficult is January for a manager when you have to deal with the
transfer situation as well as the pressures of getting results?
SA: "I've never liked January anyway. It's been particularly difficult this
time because of what we've been suffering from in terms of injuries and
results. That heaps even more pressure on you as a team, as a squad and as a
manager particularly. You've got to try and see the light at the end of the
tunnel and stay positive. The re-introduction of Andy that's coming forward
now should bring a bit more optimism to everybody at West Ham. Players are
coming back, new players have come in and we obviously have some big games
coming up. If we try and go on a bit of a run, an undefeated run at first, I
know everybody's desperate to win but first and foremost it's about not
losing. Building the confidence up, not losing in the hope that we start
producing more goals which will give us more victories. Scoring goals has
been our Achilles heel this season and on too many occasions we haven't
converted opportunities into goals."
Is it fair to say that, whilst it would be great to get something against
Chelsea, the focus is on upcoming games against Swansea City, Norwich City
and Aston Villa?
SA: "We can't go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think
that we're not going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich
Albion should have beaten Chelsea this season. In a one-off game, if you
play to your best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can
get to the end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time
in any one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
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New signings choose squad numbers
WHUFC.com
Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have taken the No46 and No47 shirts
respectively
27.01.2014
West Ham United's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have
chosen their squad numbers ahead of Wednesday's Barclays Premier League game
at Chelsea. Striker Borriello, who joins on loan from AS Roma, will wear the
No46 shirt during his time with the Hammers, while midfielder Nocerino, on
loan from AC Milan, takes No47. The pair trained with their new team-mates
for the first time at Chadwell Heath on Monday, after completing their moves
to London on Saturday.
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Travelling fans ignored again
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's trip to Sunderland has been moved to a Monday night - for for the
benefit of TV. Hundreds of Hammers fans who would have otherwise made the
long, gruelling trip to the North East for a fixture originally planned for
the previous Saturday afternoon will now miss out due to the decision to
postpone the fixture by 48 hours. With many having to get up for work the
next morning, hundreds of regular away supporters will now miss out on what
will be a vital trip for the Hammers as they fight to avoid relegation from
the Premier League - a trip the team will now face without the full backing
of the Club's tremendous away following. United's home match against Man U
on Saturday, 22 March has also been moved - from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. That is
also for the benefit of TV.
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Forty-somethings
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's new signings Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino have been
assigned their new squad numbers. For the reminder of the current season,
striker Boriello will wear the number 46 shirt and midfielder Nocerino the
number 47, it was confirmed today. According to whufc.com, the two players
were allowed to select their shirt numbers personally. The highest squad
number previously handed to a West Ham United player is 48, which was
allocated to Academy players Ashley Miller (now with Bishop's Stortford FC)
in 2008/09 and Danny Potts in 2011/12. However whereas Miller failed to
make a single first team appearance, Potts made four during 2011/12 meaning
that he holds the record for the highest number to be featured by a Hammer
on the field of play.
Highest Squad Number by Season
2013/14: Antonio Nocerino - 47
2012/13: Elliot Lee - 47
2011/12: Danny Potts - 48
2010/11: Jake Larkins - 46
2009/10: Junior Stanislas - 46
2008/09: Ashley Miller - 48
2007/08: Jordan Spence - 45
2006/07: Kepa Blanco - 37
2005/06: Matthew Reed - 41
2004/05: Gavin Williams - 35
2003/04: Chris Cohen - 35
2002/03: Sebastien Schemmel - 30
2001/02: David Forde - 41
2000/01: Svetoslav Todorov - 37
Read more at http://kumb.com/story.php?id=127316#vV7gfXbAg1MVTD1D.99
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Allardyce happy with double signing
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 27th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce says that he is unlikely to do any more business this transfer
window. It was a productive weekend for Big Sam as he made a double-swoop on
Serie A with the capture of Marco Borriello and Antionio Nocerino from Roma
and Milan respectively, both on loan, for the remainder of the season. With
his allotted 25-man squad now full, Allardyce will have to move one or two
out before bringing in any further new faces - although the manager insists
he is happy with the players at his disposal. "I don't expect to be that
busy now," he told the press this morning. "With our two new signings, we're
at our 25-man squad limit so unless somebody leaves within the next four
days I can't see us doing any more. "We achieved two signings over the
weekend, at long last. After a hard, gruelling eight weeks or so we finally
managed to secure two signings."
New signings Nocerino and Borriello took part in their first ever training
session at Chadwell Heath this morning, with both set to be included in
Wednesday's squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge. And Allardyce hopes that
the duo can help the Hammers get a result at a venue that hasn't yielded too
many points in recent years. "Players are coming back, new players have come
in and we have some big games coming up," he said. "We need to go on a bit
of a run - undefeated at first. I know everybody's desperate to win but
first and foremost it's about not losing. "Building the confidence up, not
losing in the hope that we start producing more goals which will give us
more victories. Scoring goals has been our Achilles heel this season and on
too many occasions we haven't converted opportunities into goals. "We can't
go to Chelsea and lie down. We can't go to Chelsea and think that we're not
going to get a result. When all said and done, West Bromwich Albion should
have beaten Chelsea this season. "In a one-off game, if you play to your
best and Chelsea aren't functioning at their best, then you can get to the
end result like West Brom did. It can be achieved at any one-time in any
one-game and we've got to believe that it can be achieved."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Transfer news: No more signings for West Ham, says Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: 27/01/14 12:27pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he does not expect to make any more
signings following the arrival of Italians Antonio Nocerino and Marco
Borriello.
AC Milan midfielder Nocerino and Roma striker Borriello have both joined the
club on deals until the end of the season and Allardyce says that will be
the end of his transfer dealings in the January window. He said: "I don't
expect to be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit
so I don't see us doing any more business. "Antonio is very excited to play
in the Premier League. He's very excited and wants to get into the Italy
squad for the World Cup. He is a box-to-box midfielder who's capable in all
areas of the pitch. "When you come into this league, you need intelligence
and he has that. It's about what's in between the ears and he's a very
experienced player. "Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible,
whereas Marco needs a bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks."
Allardyce feels things are slowing getting better on the injury front, with
a number of players finally returning to training at Chadwell Heath.
"Antonio is fine to be selected as soon as possible, whereas Marco needs a
bit of time as he hasn't played a game for six weeks." "Things are looking
good on the injury front," added the Hammers boss. "We've got our defensive
players back into training, including Winston Reid. "We hope it will be an
injury-free 2014, to help us fight over the course of the next 16 games."
Allardyce is looking forward to facing Chelsea on Wednesday night and feels
his side are capable of getting a result at Stamford Bridge. "Jose seems to
have made Chelsea very difficult to breakdown again and that frees up their
quality players to make an impact," he added.
"West Brom should have beaten Chelsea earlier in the season. So if we play
to our best we can get a good end result."
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West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans attracting interest
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 27/01/14 4:03pm
SSN
West Bromwich Albion have fielded a number of enquiries for Graham Dorrans,
who is out of contract at the end of the season. The Scotland international
almost joined Nottingham Forest in the summer and Sky Sports understands
that Billy Davies has rekindled his interest in Dorrans. West Brom have not
offered Dorrans new terms, and the 26-year-old is eager for first-team
football with just two starts under his belt this season. Reading and
Middlesbrough are also monitoring the situation, as are West Ham, who tried
to sign the player back in 2010 but had a £4million offer rejected
..
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SAM'S FANTASTIC FOUR
By Tony Hanna 27 Jan 2014 at 17:21
West Ham Till I Die
Just over ten years ago Sam Allardyce, manager of Bolton Wanderers,
conceptualised a rigid game plan around data sourced from a company called
Prozone. It was a total success as Bolton were promoted to the Premier
league and enjoyed many seasons in the top flight punching well above their
weight. With his background staff of analysts,(David Fallows a former
Prozone analyst, Gavin Fleig and Ed Sulley), they came up with a model for
the club called the "Fantastic Four". Sam sticks by these principles to this
day. These were the four areas that dictated success.
Over a season of 38 games they "knew" that if they had 16 clean sheets they
would avoid relegation.
If they scored first they would have a 70% chance of winning the game.
They knew that set pieces, corners and free kicks accounted for a third of
all goals and in-swinging corners accounted for 70% of goals scored from all
corners. So they practiced on their own set pieces and defending the
oppositions. Long throws were another set piece to put the ball into the
zone.
They also knew that if they outworked their opposition by covering more
distance at speeds above 5.5m/s they would increase their chances of winning
by 80%.
Other factors that were important were knowing that a team will score on
average once from nine shots. Also 80% of goals would be scored from
movements of less than four passes and that half of all goals scored would
be from winning possession back in the final third of the pitch.
Prozones player tracking stats are believed to be used by 19 of the 20 PL
clubs including West Ham. However, Sam's analytic plan from the early years
at Bolton may now be outdated? For instance, the scoring goals from less
than four passes stat is flawed. That stat is just because most movements in
football are like that, it was not that the odds of scoring were better. The
odds of scoring is actually higher if you maintain possession.
What I would be asking Sam is if we are playing to the Fantastic Four is; Do
you really think that if we keep seven more clean sheets this season we will
stay up? Why have we only scored 4 goals in the first 30 minutes of all
matches in the PL all season? Why have we not scored a goal direct from a
free kick in the PL this season and our opposition have scored four? Why
have we lost on four occasions this season when we have scored first? Why if
long throws are such an important strategy, do we not have any one with a
long throw? And finally, do you think our injury list this season may have
anything to do with our players expected to work harder and faster than the
opposition, rather than keep the ball?
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MAYBE ONE MORE TRANSFER!
By Sean Whetstone 27 Jan 2014 at 13:17
West Ham Till I Die
After the weekend's two Italian signing the chairman son Jack was asked is
that all the West Ham transfer business concluded? It replied "No maybe 1
more"
On Saturday the Daily Mirror claimed West Ham are having second thoughts
about signing Joleon Lescott from Manchester City. There are claims Fulham
and Aston Villa have entered the race and are keen to sign Lescott on loan,
but Man City still say they will keep him until the summer unless they find
a replacement before next week's transfer deadline. Manchester City are said
to be in the hunt for Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zouma.
West Ham are said to be getting cold feet about a loan deal because they are
unsure about matching Lescott's City reported £90,000 per week wages. It has
been claimed West Ham would offer him a £70,000 per week 3 year permanent
deal in the summer if a loan was successful but Lescott is believed to
reluctant to drop his wage demands for any loan period. It is also claimed
that Turkish club Besiktas made Lescott,, a lucrative offer, but he wants to
stay in the Premier League. Lescott cost Man City £24m when he signed from
Everton in 2009 but will be available on a free transfer from the end of the
season.
It is also curious how we would balance our £52m wage cap under FFP rules.
After a confirmed wage bill of £48m last season and the addition of Stewart
Downing adding around £3m we were already close to the cap at the start of
the season.
Roma has confirmed we paid 700,000 euros Loan fee for Borriello and Nocerino
is likely to be a similar amount so that's another £1m on top until the end
of the season. Lescott would add around £1.8m for 5 months. Roger Johnson is
believed to be on £20,000 per week and Carlton Cole is understood to have
agreed a £25,000 a week deal for a 18 month deal so that adds another
£900,000 to the wage until the end of the season.
I am confused how we will balance the books to meet the £52m wage cap unless
1) We ignore FFP and face the consequences or 2) Sell and/or release a
number of players in this week before the transfer window shuts!
Meanwhile Newcastle's Steven Taylor has been mooted as a possible
alternative target if the Lescott loan fails to materialise claims Matt Law
in the Telegraph.
UPDATE: In Sam's Monday Morning Press Conference he said "I don't expect to
be too busy now. Those two signings reach our 25-man squad limit so I don't
see us doing any more business" Do we believe him?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Deadline day looms large for Big Sam as he looks to lift the Hammers out of
trouble
Jan 27, 2014 06:56 By John Cross 0
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce will spend this week desperately trying to push through a last
minute rush of deals. The West Ham manager will not have the luxury of
putting together multi-million pound transfers for big names. Big Sam will
have to raid the loan market and hope that he can do a last gasp deal for a
defender or centre forward. Allardyce will not be alone as the final week of
the January window always represents panic deals which can seem even more
desperate than in the summer. You could sense Allardyce's frustration last
week when he stormed out of a press conference after being asked about
whether he would be able to do any deals. "Every time I line up a player -
someone else comes along and nicks them," Allardyce said angrily. He
actually swore as well but we'll leave that out as this is a family
newspaper. But you can understand his point. West Ham have gone for big
names like Rickie Lambert, loan deals like Lacina Traore from Monaco and
also the potential signing of Joleon Lescott. The problem is attracting
players who could be entering a relegation battle and they are taking a
gamble on their careers as well as the clubs they are joining. These are
desperate times at the bottom as well as the top and the loan market is one
area where some managers excel as they look to pull off deals which can make
or break their season. Everton boss Roberto Martinez did wonders with loans
in August in the final days. He got Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. Then
came in Gareth Barry from Manchester City. They have been great successes in
the first team. Martinez also signed Gerard Deulofeu on loan from Barcelona,
a great young attacking talent who will cost Everton less the more they play
him.
The loan market divides opinion as Arsene Wenger doesn't like it and
Martinez clearly does. But one thing is for sure: the final week will see
more and more clubs utilise loan signings if they cannot do permanent deals.
There will be a lot of movement even if clubs aren't spending on big fees.
The truth is that managers become more desperate. And the window has
generally been quiet apart from the odd mega deal like Juan Mata or Nemanja
Matic. But the final few days is when it hots up. And Allardyce and his
fellow strugglers know that the final days of the transfer window will hold
the key to their survival. Those who do well in the market will survive.
Expect West Ham, Crystal Palace and Sunderland to be busy. Those who fail
and don't get the reinforcements will go down. Over to you, Big Sam.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce excited to work with new recruits Marco
Borriello and Antonio Nocerino
Jan 27, 2014 14:42 By Liam Prenderville
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce is confident new West Ham signings Marco Borriello and Antonio
Nocerino will be successful in the Premier League. The Hammers completed the
loan signings of the Italian pair over the weekend after a frustrating time
in the transfer market. Nocerino arrives from AC Milan while his
international colleague secured his switch from Roma and Allardyce can't
wait to get both of them on the pitch. He told the club's website: "At long
last, after a gruelling eight weeks or so, we've finally managed to secure
two new faces. "I think there's always a settling in period, but it has to
be very quickly because of the window that we are in and because of the
games coming thick and fast. So we hope that's going to be a quick
integration." West Ham's struggles this season have been largely down to a
lack of options in the final third, with Allardyce often choosing to play
with no out-and-out striker. However he has been boosted by the return from
injury of Andy Carroll and the Hammers boss hopes the England international
can strike a great relationship with new recruit Borriello. He added: "With
the reintroduction of Andy now as well as Marco, it should bring a bit more
optimism to everyone at the club. "With Marco, it's about getting him on the
field and talking about nothing else other than scoring goals. "I think
that's the bottom line for us. In the end, if he's not doing too much
outside the box, but he's doing it in the box, this is what we need now."
West Ham face London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night
and the duo could be in line to feature
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Daily WHUFC News - 27th January 2014
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Osasuna anger as Loe deal collapses
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 26th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Spanish club Osasuna were left fuming after West Ham pulled out of a deal to sign defensive midfielder Raoul Loe. According to the Primera Liga club, a deal worth €2.2million was agreed last week with the Hammers set to pay half of the fee immediately and the remainder in the summer. As a result, the player flew to London on Friday for a medical - which, according to Los Rojillos, never happened. "We do not understand the lack of formality when it was they who asked us to send Raoul to London to undergo a medical and sign the contract," a Club spokesman told Navarra Sport. "They have apologised, but that does not justify their actions."
It is thought that Loe was considered a back-up option for Milan's Antionio Nocerino, who completed his short-term loan move to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday along with fellow Italian Marco Borriello.
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ROSS MCCORMACK OR DANI OSVALDO?
By S J Chandos 27 Jan 2014 at 00:15
West Ham Till I Die
The latest reports are claiming that West Ham will submit a revised £5m offer to Leeds Utd for Ross McCormack. Last week, a bid of £3.5m was submitted for the player, which was duly rejected by the Leeds Utd board. However, the speculation is that Leeds Utd would seriously consider selling the Championship's leading goal scorer, but are holding out for a higher fee. It appears that West Ham may be about to test that theory with a revised offer. Although the player only signed a new contract last summer, it is thought that McCormack is keen for another crack at the Premier League. McCormack has scored 17 Championship goals so far this season in a average Leeds Utd team. He may be well worth a £5m punt, in the absence of other options. I would argue that Jordan Rhodes is a better long-term prospect, but the estimated £10m fee to secure his services is likely to be too rich for West Ham's blood in this January window.
It was good to see the club finally making some significant progress in the transfer market. The double loan deal for Roma's Marco Borriello and AC Milan's Antonio Nocerino was a welcome development. Both players have a good pedigree, having played for some of the biggest names in Italian football. However, it is also something of a gamble, in the sense that both midfielder Nocerino and striker Borriello have had been in indifferent form for their respective Serie A clubs this season. Nocerino had lost his regular starting place to Nigel De Jong and would have been pushed further down the AC Milan midfield pecking order with the impending signing of Michael Essien from Chelsea. While Borriello has been less than prolific in front of goal, scoring 1 goal in 11 appearances for Roma.
However, if the players had been in top form this season, would we have got them in this transfer window? Most probably not. We have to hope that both Borriello and Nocerino respond positively to a new club environment and quickly recapture the form that previously saw Borriello score regularly at Genoa and Nocerino rise to prominence at Palermo. Borriello has been characterised in Italy as 'inconsistent,' although it is probably true to say that he is a confidence player who responds positively to the adulation of the crowd. He will need careful handling by the coaching staff, but if they get it right then Borriello will score goals. While Nocerino is a powerful box-to-box type of player and if he can regain his form he will be a a very good addition. Significantly, this is, of course, a World Cup year and both players nurture ambitions to make the Italian squad. What greater incentive do they need to make an impact at West Ham?
Elsewhere, it appears that West Ham have pulled out of the deal to sign Osasuna's defensive midfielder, Raoul Loe. It was reported that the player had attended for a medical and the clubs had agreed a £1.5m deal. However, it transpires that West Ham have pulled out of the deal, much to the annoyance of Osasuna. It seems that Loe was a back up deal in case they could not agree terms with AC Milan and Nocerino. And when the latter deal went through, Loe was surplus to requirements it appears. While, the rumours still circulate regarding our alleged interest in, ex-Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder, Raul Meireles and, Man City central defender, Joleon Lescott. Of the two, the need for Lescott is probably the greater. However, to make the deal happen, the West Ham board will need to commit to paying his £90,000 a week wages for the remainder of this season and offer a £70,000 a week, three year deal, if he helps us to escape relegation. Will they 'bite the bullet' and agree to that? Its expensive, but relegation will cost a lot more and Lescott is a player that can make a real contribution to our PL survival.
Finally, there is a story in the Monday morning papers that West Ham Utd are going to make a surprise bid to sign Southampton's out of favour striker, Dani Osvaldo, on loan to the end of the season. It seems pretty unlikely, on the face of it, but stranger things have happened! It's more likely that Southampton will seek to to retrieve the majority of Osvaldo's £15m fee by offloading him to Juventus or AC Milan. That would probably be the player's preference. And in all honesty, do we need such a potentially problematic signing, who has only managed 3 goals this season?
SJ Chandos.
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West Ham to return with improved £5m offer for McCormack after initital rejected bid
By SIMON JONES
PUBLISHED: 21:53, 26 January 2014 | UPDATED: 22:15, 26 January 2014
Daily Mail
West Ham are poised to make an improved £5million offer for Leeds United striker Ross McCormack on Monday. Leeds have rejected an initial proposal of £3million plus and extra £1m on appearances and the Upton Park club will return with £4m plus £1m. Leeds are willing to accept that as talks continue over a takeover from Cagliari businessman Cellino. Scotland international McCormack is the Championship's leading scorer this season with 17 goals, one more than Jordan Rhodes of Blackburn. The 27-year-old was also made Leeds captain just last week. Leeds chairman Salah Nouruddin said on Twitter last week: 'I'd like to reassure all £lufc fans that we're working hard for the club and can confirm we've rejected an offer from West Ham for Ross.' West Ham are third from bottom in the Premier League with 18 points, the same amount as the two teams below them Sunderland and Cardiff, and one behind Fulham and safety.
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West Ham target Dani Osvaldo transfer after Southampton striker's ruck with team-mate
Jan 26, 2014 22:30 By Alex Crook 0 Comments
The Mirror
West Ham are lining up a shock move for bad-boy Southampton forward Dani Osvaldo. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce wants to take Osvaldo on loan, after missing out on No.1 striker target Lacina Traore and despite signing Roma hitman Marco Borriello on loan on Saturday. Saints are desperate to offload Osvaldo after the fiery Italian head-butted teammate Jose Fonte at training last week. Allardyce was hoping to lure Rickie Lambert from St Mary's to the Londoners, but Osvaldo's antics scuppered any potential deal for the England international. Osvaldo, 28, would prefer a return to Serie A and is waiting to see if Inter Milan or Juventus firm up their interest in him. Former Roma star Osvaldo has scored three goals in 13 games since joining Maurico Pochettino's men in a club-record £15million deal in August. He was banned from the club for two weeks following the attack on Fonte.
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S"INCE" OF THE FATHER - TOM INCE TO WEST HAM?
By Iain Dale 26 Jan 2014 at 19:08
West Ham Till I Die
Just seen this on a site called Eyefootball.com
Sam Allardyce is prepared to face the wrath of some West Ham fans by signing the son of Paul Ince, Tom, in a deal that will be completed prior to the end of the transfer window.Allardyce is looking to add some attacking impetus to his struggling squad and is confident that Tom Ince is the right man for the job.
Sam Allardyce is prepared to face the wrath of some West Ham fans by signing the son of Paul Ince, Tom, in a deal that will be completed prior to the end of the transfer window.Allardyce is looking to add some attacking impetus to his struggling squad and is confident that Tom Ince is the right man for the job.Ince, whose contract expires in six months time, will be looking to make a transfer this month away from Blackpool and secure his current team some funds.Ince's father, Paul, used to play for the Hammers in the 80's but left in contentious circumstances and is still considered a hate figure for many Hammers fans.
Can't see it myself. He's a winger. We have quite a few of those already. But if it's true, would he be welcomed to Upton Park with open arms? There's no doubt he's a quality player, and personally I don't believe in visiting the sins of the father on the son. Not sure I am typical though…
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West Ham star Guy Demel was badly damaged after his collision with Roger Johnson
WEST HAM defender Guy Demel has revealed the full extent of the sickening head injury which left him fearing the worst.
Daily Star
By Paul Brown/Published 26th January 2014
Demel is on the mend after a clash of heads with team-mate Roger Johnson in the club's win over Cardiff City earlier this month. The Ivory Coast full- back spent the night in a Cardiff hospital after being knocked out cold and suffered severe memory loss for days afterwards. Demel said: "The doctor told me it was a serious one because I was unconscious for a lot of minutes. They had to put a tube down my mouth because my blood was going backwards down my throat. When I woke up I couldn't speak for an hour and a half. "I couldn't remember the game so he told me we had won. I cannot remember anything for 48 hours before the incident. I don't remember travelling to Cardiff or the match. "I would like to thank the medical team because their reaction was quick and they made the right decisions. "I would also like to thank God because you never know what can happen in your life. "Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. "But now I am feeling better."
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Osasuna anger as Loe deal collapses
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 26th January 2014
By: Staff Writer
Spanish club Osasuna were left fuming after West Ham pulled out of a deal to sign defensive midfielder Raoul Loe. According to the Primera Liga club, a deal worth €2.2million was agreed last week with the Hammers set to pay half of the fee immediately and the remainder in the summer. As a result, the player flew to London on Friday for a medical - which, according to Los Rojillos, never happened. "We do not understand the lack of formality when it was they who asked us to send Raoul to London to undergo a medical and sign the contract," a Club spokesman told Navarra Sport. "They have apologised, but that does not justify their actions."
It is thought that Loe was considered a back-up option for Milan's Antionio Nocerino, who completed his short-term loan move to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday along with fellow Italian Marco Borriello.
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ROSS MCCORMACK OR DANI OSVALDO?
By S J Chandos 27 Jan 2014 at 00:15
West Ham Till I Die
The latest reports are claiming that West Ham will submit a revised £5m offer to Leeds Utd for Ross McCormack. Last week, a bid of £3.5m was submitted for the player, which was duly rejected by the Leeds Utd board. However, the speculation is that Leeds Utd would seriously consider selling the Championship's leading goal scorer, but are holding out for a higher fee. It appears that West Ham may be about to test that theory with a revised offer. Although the player only signed a new contract last summer, it is thought that McCormack is keen for another crack at the Premier League. McCormack has scored 17 Championship goals so far this season in a average Leeds Utd team. He may be well worth a £5m punt, in the absence of other options. I would argue that Jordan Rhodes is a better long-term prospect, but the estimated £10m fee to secure his services is likely to be too rich for West Ham's blood in this January window.
It was good to see the club finally making some significant progress in the transfer market. The double loan deal for Roma's Marco Borriello and AC Milan's Antonio Nocerino was a welcome development. Both players have a good pedigree, having played for some of the biggest names in Italian football. However, it is also something of a gamble, in the sense that both midfielder Nocerino and striker Borriello have had been in indifferent form for their respective Serie A clubs this season. Nocerino had lost his regular starting place to Nigel De Jong and would have been pushed further down the AC Milan midfield pecking order with the impending signing of Michael Essien from Chelsea. While Borriello has been less than prolific in front of goal, scoring 1 goal in 11 appearances for Roma.
However, if the players had been in top form this season, would we have got them in this transfer window? Most probably not. We have to hope that both Borriello and Nocerino respond positively to a new club environment and quickly recapture the form that previously saw Borriello score regularly at Genoa and Nocerino rise to prominence at Palermo. Borriello has been characterised in Italy as 'inconsistent,' although it is probably true to say that he is a confidence player who responds positively to the adulation of the crowd. He will need careful handling by the coaching staff, but if they get it right then Borriello will score goals. While Nocerino is a powerful box-to-box type of player and if he can regain his form he will be a a very good addition. Significantly, this is, of course, a World Cup year and both players nurture ambitions to make the Italian squad. What greater incentive do they need to make an impact at West Ham?
Elsewhere, it appears that West Ham have pulled out of the deal to sign Osasuna's defensive midfielder, Raoul Loe. It was reported that the player had attended for a medical and the clubs had agreed a £1.5m deal. However, it transpires that West Ham have pulled out of the deal, much to the annoyance of Osasuna. It seems that Loe was a back up deal in case they could not agree terms with AC Milan and Nocerino. And when the latter deal went through, Loe was surplus to requirements it appears. While, the rumours still circulate regarding our alleged interest in, ex-Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder, Raul Meireles and, Man City central defender, Joleon Lescott. Of the two, the need for Lescott is probably the greater. However, to make the deal happen, the West Ham board will need to commit to paying his £90,000 a week wages for the remainder of this season and offer a £70,000 a week, three year deal, if he helps us to escape relegation. Will they 'bite the bullet' and agree to that? Its expensive, but relegation will cost a lot more and Lescott is a player that can make a real contribution to our PL survival.
Finally, there is a story in the Monday morning papers that West Ham Utd are going to make a surprise bid to sign Southampton's out of favour striker, Dani Osvaldo, on loan to the end of the season. It seems pretty unlikely, on the face of it, but stranger things have happened! It's more likely that Southampton will seek to to retrieve the majority of Osvaldo's £15m fee by offloading him to Juventus or AC Milan. That would probably be the player's preference. And in all honesty, do we need such a potentially problematic signing, who has only managed 3 goals this season?
SJ Chandos.
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West Ham to return with improved £5m offer for McCormack after initital rejected bid
By SIMON JONES
PUBLISHED: 21:53, 26 January 2014 | UPDATED: 22:15, 26 January 2014
Daily Mail
West Ham are poised to make an improved £5million offer for Leeds United striker Ross McCormack on Monday. Leeds have rejected an initial proposal of £3million plus and extra £1m on appearances and the Upton Park club will return with £4m plus £1m. Leeds are willing to accept that as talks continue over a takeover from Cagliari businessman Cellino. Scotland international McCormack is the Championship's leading scorer this season with 17 goals, one more than Jordan Rhodes of Blackburn. The 27-year-old was also made Leeds captain just last week. Leeds chairman Salah Nouruddin said on Twitter last week: 'I'd like to reassure all £lufc fans that we're working hard for the club and can confirm we've rejected an offer from West Ham for Ross.' West Ham are third from bottom in the Premier League with 18 points, the same amount as the two teams below them Sunderland and Cardiff, and one behind Fulham and safety.
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West Ham target Dani Osvaldo transfer after Southampton striker's ruck with team-mate
Jan 26, 2014 22:30 By Alex Crook 0 Comments
The Mirror
West Ham are lining up a shock move for bad-boy Southampton forward Dani Osvaldo. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce wants to take Osvaldo on loan, after missing out on No.1 striker target Lacina Traore and despite signing Roma hitman Marco Borriello on loan on Saturday. Saints are desperate to offload Osvaldo after the fiery Italian head-butted teammate Jose Fonte at training last week. Allardyce was hoping to lure Rickie Lambert from St Mary's to the Londoners, but Osvaldo's antics scuppered any potential deal for the England international. Osvaldo, 28, would prefer a return to Serie A and is waiting to see if Inter Milan or Juventus firm up their interest in him. Former Roma star Osvaldo has scored three goals in 13 games since joining Maurico Pochettino's men in a club-record £15million deal in August. He was banned from the club for two weeks following the attack on Fonte.
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S"INCE" OF THE FATHER - TOM INCE TO WEST HAM?
By Iain Dale 26 Jan 2014 at 19:08
West Ham Till I Die
Just seen this on a site called Eyefootball.com
Sam Allardyce is prepared to face the wrath of some West Ham fans by signing the son of Paul Ince, Tom, in a deal that will be completed prior to the end of the transfer window.Allardyce is looking to add some attacking impetus to his struggling squad and is confident that Tom Ince is the right man for the job.
Sam Allardyce is prepared to face the wrath of some West Ham fans by signing the son of Paul Ince, Tom, in a deal that will be completed prior to the end of the transfer window.Allardyce is looking to add some attacking impetus to his struggling squad and is confident that Tom Ince is the right man for the job.Ince, whose contract expires in six months time, will be looking to make a transfer this month away from Blackpool and secure his current team some funds.Ince's father, Paul, used to play for the Hammers in the 80's but left in contentious circumstances and is still considered a hate figure for many Hammers fans.
Can't see it myself. He's a winger. We have quite a few of those already. But if it's true, would he be welcomed to Upton Park with open arms? There's no doubt he's a quality player, and personally I don't believe in visiting the sins of the father on the son. Not sure I am typical though…
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West Ham star Guy Demel was badly damaged after his collision with Roger Johnson
WEST HAM defender Guy Demel has revealed the full extent of the sickening head injury which left him fearing the worst.
Daily Star
By Paul Brown/Published 26th January 2014
Demel is on the mend after a clash of heads with team-mate Roger Johnson in the club's win over Cardiff City earlier this month. The Ivory Coast full- back spent the night in a Cardiff hospital after being knocked out cold and suffered severe memory loss for days afterwards. Demel said: "The doctor told me it was a serious one because I was unconscious for a lot of minutes. They had to put a tube down my mouth because my blood was going backwards down my throat. When I woke up I couldn't speak for an hour and a half. "I couldn't remember the game so he told me we had won. I cannot remember anything for 48 hours before the incident. I don't remember travelling to Cardiff or the match. "I would like to thank the medical team because their reaction was quick and they made the right decisions. "I would also like to thank God because you never know what can happen in your life. "Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. "But now I am feeling better."
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