Mediawatch - 2 October
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at the West Ham United stories making the news
02.10.2014
TheFA.com cover the news that Reece Burke has signed his first pro contract
with the Hammers.
Meanwhile, the Mail Online report that James Collins has been called up to
the Wales squad for their UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifiers against
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus.
Finally, former Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola has emerged as the frontrunner
to become Fulham's next boss, according to Sky Sports.
The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do
not necessarily reflect the views of West Ham United
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Reid makes defensive points
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid says West Ham United need to tighten up defensively if they are
to pick up points consistently
01.10.2014
Winston Reid believes West Ham United will quickly climb the Barclays
Premier League table as soon as they eradicate costly defensive errors.
Mistakes have arguably cost the Hammers points in defeats by Southampton and
Manchester United and a draw at Hull City, meaning Reid and his team-mates
go into Sunday's visit of Queens Park Rangers in the bottom half. With
fixtures against the Hoops and fellow Barclays Premier League new boys
Burnley next on the agenda, the No2 said West Ham will be looking to tighten
things up at the back.
"I think, first and foremost, we've played some good stuff this year but
unfortunately we haven't got the amount of points we'd like to have," said
the New Zealand captain. "I think we will be looking to be doing two things
this Sunday. One, we want to win the game and score a few goals and two,
from a defensive point of view we want to keep a clean sheet because that's
something we haven't done so far this season. "I think if we can get those
two things right then we'll be all right."
West Ham's uncharacteristic defensive record has been in stark contrast to
their potency in front of goal. The Hammers have scored ten and conceded ten
in their opening six league matches - a record Reid is not altogether proud
of. "We've been good at scoring goals this season so far, but defensively
we've not quite managed to keep a clean sheet. We need to do better in that
regard, not just as a defensive unit but as a whole team. Come kick-off, I'm
sure we'll get it right."
While Reid is confident West Ham can keep Harry Redknapp's side at bay
defensively, he also knows it will not be easy for the home side to find a
way past a familiar figure in the QPR goal. Robert Green played for six
seasons with the Hammers before departing for Loftus Road in summer 2012.
Having shared a dressing room and pitch with Green for two seasons, the
centre-back knows the quality the England international goalkeeper
possesses. "When Greeny was here he was a good goalkeeper for us and I'm
sure he'll be doing his best to stop us," said Reid. "I thought Greeny did
well for us. He spoke a lot and was a great shot-stopper and pulled off some
good saves when we needed him to. "He has been capped by England and has
played a number of years in the Premier League, so he has been around the
block and is an experienced goalkeeper."
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Jenkinson called up for England U21s
WHUFC.com
On loan full back Carl Jenkinson is in the England U21 squad for the UEFA
European Championship play-off
02.10.2014
Carl Jenkinson has been selected in Gareth Southgate's England U21 squad for
the Young Lions' UEFA U21 European Championship play-off tie against
Croatia. England's youngsters are a two-legged play-off away from next
summer's tournament finals in the Czech Republic, following a successful
qualifiying campaign, which saw them drop just two points from their ten
games to finish top of Group One. Croatia, meanwhile, finished first in
Group Five, with 19 points from eight matches. Right-back Jenkinson wiill
now hope to add to his five caps at this level across the two games, with
the home leg being played first at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium
on Friday 10 October.
Southgate's squad will then travel to Croatia for the second leg in Vinkovci
the following Tuesday, with a place in the finals the target.
Jenkinson, who joined West Ham United on loan from Arsenal this summer, has
enjoyed a varied international career to date. Born in Harlow to a Finnish
mother, he has represented both countries at age group level, but elected to
make himself available to England in 2012. The 22-year-old made his senior
debut for Roy Hodgson's side in Sweden in November of the same year.
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Hammers commit to new guidelines
WHUFC.com
The Hammers have begun a new concussion screening protocol
02.10.2014
West Ham United have introduced a new Club-wide concussion screening
protocol to help safeguard players of all ages from potentially serious head
injuries. A concussion is a disturbance in brain function caused by a blow
to the head that can result in a wide variety of symptoms and signs,
including headache, unsteadiness, confusion and, in the most severe cases, a
short-term change in personality.
Following a number of high-profile incidents last season - including Guy
Demel suffering a major head injury and concussion at Cardiff City in
January - a decision was taken by the Premier League to formulate new
regulations to protect players based on expert guidelines developed at the
Fourth International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich in
November 2013. The new Premier League rules make clear that, when a serious
head injury is suffered on the pitch, that the decision of the team doctor
must be final. Each Club also now provides a 'Tunnel Doctor' at home matches
to offer an expert assessment if requested by a team doctor to help support
the medical staff treating players on the pitch and to support injured
players leaving the field of play, by monitoring and treating them as well
as arranging safe onward transfer to the appropriate medical facility when
required. West Ham have taken the guidelines a step further in protecting
all the Club's players, with Dr Weiler and head of medical and sports
science Stijn Vandenbroucke overseeing the introduction of baseline
concussion screening for Hammers players at every age level level. "We are
doing baseline concussion screening - called a SCAT3 (Sport Concussion
Assessment Tool) test - for West Ham players at all ages from 13 upwards,"
Dr Weiler explained. "A Child SCAT3 test is used for children aged 12 and
under. "As a Club, we are committed to taking concussion very seriously and
this process also helps to educate everyone across the Club of its
importance. "At first-team level, Guy Demel was concussed during a match
last season, while young Dan Potts suffered a concussion at Arsenal the
previous season [and Matt Taylor away at Stoke], so the players are
unfortunately acutely aware of the serious nature of concussion, the
unpleasant effects and how horrible it can be. "The new Premier League rules
and our own Club screening will give us the best possible chance to spot
when a player has suffered a concussion, remove them from the pitch and
provide the relevant treatment to enable them to make a full recovery.
Hopefully our commitment across the club will help raise awareness across
the community of the serious nature of concussion so that football players
at all levels, and not just Premier League footballers, are better equipped
to manage concussion safely."
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Happy birthday, Sir
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer
Everyone at KUMB.com would like to wish Sir Trevor Brooking a very happy
66th birthday. Arguably West Ham United's greatest living legend, Brooking -
born on 2 October 1948 - spent virtually his entire career at the Boleyn
Ground having made his debut in 1967. Capped 47 times by England, a figure
beaten only by Bobby Moore (108 caps), the midfielder made 647 appearances
for the Hammers before finally hanging up his boots in 1984 at the age of
35. However his finest moment came in the 1980 FA Cup Final in which he
stooped to meet Stuart Pearson's 13th-minute cross-cum-shot to score the
only goal of the game. In his new book, 'My Life In Football', Brooking
reveals it is a moment that he is asked to recall more than any other by
supporters. "I remember the goal clear as day," he writes. "The ball
bounced out to Pearson who was at the corner of the 18-yard box on the right
of the goal. Like any striker in that position, Stuart decided to shoot
ather than pass to a team-mate. It was my good luck that his shot was
dragged across the penalty box, hurtling in my direction. "Simply by falling
backwards I was able to divert the ball with my head towards goal. The power
of Stuart's shot was such that not even Pat Jennnings or the two full-backs
on the line could stop it! "As the ball flew into the net the goalscorer -
me - had a quick look at the referee to make sure he wasn't blowing for some
offence and then raced off towards the touchline with arms raised. Billy
Bonds grabbed me, demanding: 'What are you doing scoring with your head!?"
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Ambrosini: I nearly joined West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer
Retired former Italian international Massimo Ambrosini has revealed that he
came close to joining West Ham United. The 37-year-old midfielder, capped 35
times for his country hung up his boots at the end of the 2013/14 season
following a long and distinguished career (spent largely at AC Milan).
However Ambrosini, who is currently working as a TV pundit admitted that he
came close to becoming a Hammer last season - before eventually opting to
see out his career in Italy with Fiorentina. "Last year I was very close to
signing for West Ham before going to Fiorentina," he said. "I was still
happy to join Fiorentina but I would have loved to play in England. "I love
the Premier League; the passion, the stadiums and fans there. For them,
football is not a matter of life or death but a game is a good thing.
However, the deal fell through and I'm glad I joined Fiorentina."
KUMB.com reported back in May 2013 how West Ham and representatives of
Ambrosini had discussed a potential transfer. The former Milan star, who
travelled to London for preliminary talks was offered a two-year deal but
decided instead to remain in Serie A.
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Noble snubbed again
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer
On-loan Carl Jenkinson has been named in Gareth Southgate's latest England
under 21 squad. Right back Jenkinson, who is at West Ham United on a
season-long loan from Arsenal has been named in the junior squad for next
week's European play-off against Croatia. Jenkinson is the only Hammer to
have been selected in either the Under 21 or Senior squad - which represents
a further snub to Mark Noble, who Roy Hodgson's right-hand man Ray Lewington
watched destroy Liverpool little more than a week ago, and the in-form
Stewart Downing.
England Under 21 squad
Goalkeepers
Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Sam Johnstone
(Manchester United).
Defenders
Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Garbutt
(Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (West Ham United, on
loan from Arsenal), Michael Keane (Burnley, on loan from Manchester United),
Jamaal Lascelles (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Newcastle United), Liam
Moore (Leicester City), Luke Shaw (Manchester United).
Midfielders
Lewis Baker (Chelsea), Tom Carroll (Swansea City, on loan from Tottenham
Hotspur), Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Hughes (Derby
County), Thomas Ince (Hull City), Alex Pritchard (Brentford, on loan from
Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City).
Forwards
Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough, on loan from Chelsea), Saido Berahino (West
Bromwich Albion), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham).
Full England squad
Goalkeepers
Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart
(Manchester City).
Defenders
Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne
(Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), John Stones
(Everton).
Midfielders
Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana
(Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
(Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros
Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Forwards
Rickie Lambert (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Welbeck
(Arsenal).
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Many happy returns for ex-Hammer
KUMb.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Robert Green says he is looking forward to making his return
to the Boleyn Ground this weekend. 34-year-old Green spent six seasons at
West Ham between 2006 and 2012 before a contract dispute led to his
departure from the club. However the former England international admitted
today that he was looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground.
"It's nice to go back to somewhere that was my club for six years," he told
qpr.co.uk. "I loved it and everyone there was good to me. I played there for
six years and then I felt it was time to move on and took on a new challenge
with QPR. "Winning at Old Trafford in my first season [at West Ham] to stay
up on the last day has got to be up there as one of my best moments. My last
game, which was winning in the play-off final, was a great day for me and
for everybody at the club."
Green, who made a total of 241 appearances for the Hammers also maintained
that his current and former clubs were of a similar stature. "There's
similarities in ownership and ambition of looking to move on but they feel
like very different clubs," he mused. "They've both got fantastic attributes
but in very different ways. West Ham are moving to a new ground and QPR are
looking to do the same. QPR are competing with Chelsea, Fulham and Brentford
for fans and there's lots of derby games. "On the other side of London you
either support West Ham or Spurs, perhaps even Orient - but you wouldn't put
them in the same bracket."
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MANY HARRY RETURNS
By Bianca Westwood 2 Oct 2014 at 08:00
West Ham till I Die
This is a rush job. It's going to be what you might call short and sweet. I
make no apologies folks…I have had a hectic week. I spent the weekend laid
up in bed battling what felt like a rare and severe strain of influenza. It
hasn't been pretty in my house what with the sneezes and the snots. I've
been keeping Kleenex in business and I had an uncanny likeness for Jim Smith
(in a long wig) from blowing my nose so much. But I digress…
I spent Monday in a horizontal position (not in the good way) and I decided
to recuperate by watching the first season of The West Wing to which I
quickly became addicted. I put off writing my blog, firstly because of my
aforementioned addiction, and secondly because I tend to leave things to the
last minute. In my defence I don't like to write my blog too early in the
week because of the ever-changing nature of events in football land…plus
have you ever watched The West Wing?? Decent.
Tuesday was spent preparing stats and doing my research for Brighton v
Cardiff for the Gillette Soccer Special on Tuesday night (good game by the
way) so my aim was to spend a bit of time on Wednesday writing a lovely blog
for you lovely West Ham fans.
Best laid plans and all that!!
I knew I was due to interview Nathan Dyer at the Liberty stadium that
afternoon, so the wonderful Sky travel girl Laura booked me a train from
Paddington, giving me simultaneously a peaceful journey and the opportunity
to read up on the Swans season, mentally prepare questions, arrive in
Swansea at 1pm, do the interview and finally write my blog on the train back
to London. Perfect.
No.
Get to Woodford station, no tubes. Have to drive. Lovely. Cut a long story
short (well I did say short and sweet) the drive was an 8 hour round trip,
the interview went well but now, instead of getting stuck into The West Wing
season 2, it's late and I'm here ranting to you lot about my pitiful few
days. Do you feel sorry for me yet? No? Ok!
My mum used to say time and again 'never put off till tomorrow what could be
done today', which never failed to aggravate me because more often than not
it was about cleaning my room, but the fact remains, infuriatingly, as
always, she's right! (I'm super tidy now by the way.) So here we are. For
starters I haven't read any of your comments over the weekend so I'm not
sure whether we're still living in a state of blissful optimism or if we're
moaning about the wheels falling off in the not-too-distant future. I do
recall a good many fans on here were predicting an absolute spanking at Old
Trafford but I was quietly confident that that wouldn't happen. And not only
did that not happen but in fact, United were actually hanging on for dear
life by the end.
I knew we were already dealing with a midfield without Kouyate so I was more
than concerned to see Mark Noble out. Plus the fact he's in my fantasy team
so that nugget of information didn't go down brilliantly. Clearly I feared
the worst when we'd conceded two after 22 minutes. It was a bit of a
shambles really, caught out twice like that and opened up like a can of
sardines. It didn't bode well. I tweeted as much saying that normal West Ham
service had resumed, however, I did secretly hope that we had a bit more
about us these days and we would pose some sort of threat for the remainder
of the game. I wasn't disappointed in that respect. After a spot of head
tennis Sakho put us in front and you could tell United were vulnerable. We
more than held our own and although Rooney dominated the backpages the
bylines for us were positive:
~ Diego Poyet showed maturity beyond his years and experience and
demonstrated there is a place for him in the midfield when he's called upon.
~ Diafra Sakho broke a 26 year record by scoring in each of his first four
starts. Even the great Leeeee-roy (I still do that in my head when his name
is mentioned) Rosenior was happy for him and it gives the player plenty of
confidence going forward.
~ We could have nicked it right at the death but for a Nolan forehead and a
scarily accurate linesman.
Sidebar – Nolan being back – personally I'm happy with that. I know a few of
you on here won't be enamoured with the prospect of the returning captain
but despite the shortcomings highlighted frequently and furiously by West
Ham fans, he does tend to pop up with a goal or two at crucial moments. As
he gets older and ever-slower I think his role will become more that of an
impact substitute. Which he'd be terrific at by the way. You just hope Sam
Allardyce picks the best team from the attractive options he now has at his
disposal. I guess we'll see.
~ We showed great character to come back from two goals, we created several
chances, playing through the channels we've got signings who can hurt
opposition with pace, we're continuing to play it on the deck and we are
much, much harder to beat.
~ And finally, we are showing surprising signs of strong self-belief which
is novel for us and, with that in mind, I think we could give QPR one hell
of a beating. With our team now, the best I've seen in a bloody long time,
we should take all three points quite comfortably. And then some!
I interviewed Robert Green last week for Soccer Saturday. I'm sure you'll
give him a warm welcome back when he takes his place between the sticks on
Sunday. But after that I hope you give him hell! He's a great guy though and
a terrifically honest interviewee. He admitted that QPR have not been at it
so far this season, especially at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford where
they got a good hiding. He said they'd been too 'nice', not ruthless enough
defensively and hadn't done enough to put the oppositions back line under
pressure either. I think we've got the personnel now that can really take
advantage of that. QPR did much better last weekend against a Southampton
team currently rampant, but, without Austin's worldy, the defeat would have
been far more emphatic. Kranjcar almost stole another late point for the
second week running with yet another classy free kick but this time the
crossbar had other ideas. We'll have to watch that!
Our old friend Harry has openly admitted he hasn't quite found the best way
to play with his team. He hasn't established the right system. He intended
to adopt a back three like he used to some success during his Portsmouth
days but, like Van Gaal , he had to abandon those plans pretty sharpish. His
back line are still getting to grips with the league and each other. Rio is
obviously not the player he was, his partnership with Steven Caulker is
still a work in progress and the two fullbacks Traore and Isla are wing
backs by trade and are yet to settle adequately into the four. All good news
for us of course and I'm confident Allardyce has identified the weaknesses
to exploit and expose there.
In the centre of the park players like Barton, Sandro and Mutch have
struggled with fitness and in the final third, having sold Loic Remy, QPR
are relying heavily on Austin as the lone front man and the team as a whole
have only managed four goals so far this season.
On top of all that the Hoops are still looking for their first away win. I
don't think they'll get it at the Boleyn. Although, unfortunately for us,
Harry Redknapp's record at his old stomping ground is pretty damn good. P7,
W5, D1, L1. Even Pompey used to give us a slap at home under Harry! Only
Piquionne has provided the claret and blue faithful with any glory over our
former gaffer when we beat Spurs one nil just over four years ago exactly.
I'm dreaming of putting a few more than that past Greeny this weekend.
As I write this there's no solid news online on Noble and I'm assuming he's
out, but with or without him I feel we have more than enough to win quite
resolutely. For me this is far more of a test than the trip to Old Trafford.
The West Ham of yore would undoubtedly give a winless team a big fat juicy
victory for their troubles but I just don't see that happening this time.
For those who return, Rio, Robert, Bobby and Harry, I predict you won't be
having a Super Sunday.
Wasn't exactly short and sweet was it in the end? Once I start I do tend to
go on. Now for The West Wing!
B x
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IN DEFENCE OF HARRY REDKNAPP
By Iain Dale 2 Oct 2014 at 14:00
West Ham Till I DIe
Guest Post by Neil Clack
I doubt there are many subjects that divide West Ham fans opinions as much
as the man who'll be sitting in the opposition dugout this Sunday. For me,
personally, the Redknapp years coincided with a happy time in my life and I
thoroughly enjoyed going to West Ham during that period, so I accept that I
could be looking back through rose-tinted specs here, but the main reason I
rate Redknapp as a manager is simply that I liked the style of football we
played under him.
It didn't always come off, just as it didn't always come off under Greenwood
and Lyall, but I always thought the spirit was there and that Redknapp
strove to play all-out attacking football, with an emphasis on skill and
flair, dribbling and passing along the floor.
Of course, it never reaches our high ideals, and I am aware there is a
certain 'romanticism' attached to the so-called 'West Ham way'. Neither am I
blind to it's faults – with so many players pushed forward, an exposed
defence produces some crazy results. We could be on the receving end of a
right hammering one week, but then out-play opponents and score a few
ourselves the next. As Ron Greenwood put it himself, "if the other team
score three then we'll try and score four!". For me, personally, that is the
kind of football I always want to see.
The Guardian got it spot on I thought when they took a trip down to
Portsmouth's training ground before their FA Cup win in 2008.
On a blustery day at Portsmouth's borrowed training ground in Eastleigh this
week he drilled his players with relish…..only intervening when a short pass
was overlooked in favour of a hopeful long option. Schooled in the West Ham
philosophy of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, he has an abiding faith in a
passing game but is astute enough to have incorporated the power and pace
necessary in modern football in a squad containing several athletic giants
I have to disagree with those that say Redknapp simpy flung his sides
together any-old-how. Di Canio just did as he wanted and was popping up all
over the place they say….well, yes, that was the idea!
The skilful players, the creators who are your matchwinners, should be
trusted to roam where they want and encouraged to play with freedom, in my
opinion. I'm not going to compare the likes of Di Canio, Berkovic, or Trevor
Sinclair to Cruyff and Maradona, Christian Ronaldo, or Messi, but one of the
main reasons the greats became what they were/are was because their managers
recognised they were intelligent enough to work things out for themselves on
the pitch. They were given loosly-defined roles in the final third, as was
Trevor Brooking by Ron Greenwood for both West Ham and England
I think it's more difficult, and requires a lot more tactical awareness, to
find a system that creates a platform from which flair players can operate
than just setting up your team in a rigid formation where every player has a
clearely defined role – negative tactics that were sadly in vogue with many
British managers a decade or so ago, and took English football backwards, in
my opinion.
John Hartson, in his prime, was a powerful header of the ball, but he also
had good ability when balls were played into his feet, as they often were at
West Ham, often from a central midfield partnership of Bishop and Moncur, a
pairing that would flourish in today's modern Premier league, in my opinion.
Hartson was a a bit of a nutter who sadly went off the rails with alcohol
and gambling problems, culminating in an arrest for assaulting a plant-pot
in his home town in Wales. I think it's unfair to blame the manager for all
that, as discipline was generally good under Redknapp. He banned alcohol
from the players' lounge, introduced the concept of a fitness triainer for
the first time at West Ham and had a reputation for dishing out a rollocking
when it was needed, but sometimes if you have a player with serious
problems, who is a liability, then there's not a lot a manager can do?
Except perhaps get rid of their influence, as Alex Ferguson did several
times with Keith Gillespie, Lee Sharpe, Norman Whiteside, Jaap Stamm and a
few others, inspite of their popularity with the crowd (sadly, so far, it
seems Ferguson knew what he was doing by letting Ravel Morrison go too).
We got excellent money for Hartson (7 million), ripped Wimbledon off really,
and bought Di Canio and Marc Viven-Foe with the proceeds (oh, and Scott
Minto – not quite as good, obviously!). Hartson did very little at Wimbledon
before a renaissance at Celtic in the inferior Scottish league, but he never
did much in the Prem again.
But style of play is so subjective, just personal taste really, noone is
right and noone is wrong, so I'd like to take a closer, more factual look,
at some of the other accusations often aimed at Harry's time at West Ham.
Let's remember where the club was when Redknapp tookover. We were relegation
material, and remained so for a couple of seasons. We had a relatively small
ground and no outside investment, unlike some of our rivals at the time:
Middlesboro, Fulham, Bradford, Blackburn.
Like a politician you can play with statistics and balance sheets to suit
your arguments and Terence Brown certainly did in his first post-Redknapp
chairman's report. Brown is correct though, there was a point (Redknapp's
last season) when we had the 7th largest wage bill in the Premier league and
were not too far behind Arsenal who were in 6th place in the highest wages
list in that one season (although we were way behind the top 5 – Man U,
Leeds, Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool).
But what rarely gets mentioned is that there were a whole host of clubs
whose wage bills were not a lot lower than our own at that point –
Middlesboro, Fulham, Sheff Wed, Aston Villa, Bradford, Tottenham, Nottm
Forest and Everton. Infact our wage bill had been significantly lower than
all of those clubs during most of the Redknapp years, and it was only in his
last season that West Ham's reached those levels.
All those clubs were getting themselves heavily into debt. It was not only
us. You had to have a high wage bill, just to be able to compete at that
level.
But this is the crucial bit that rarely gets mentioned either- during his
whole time as maanger, Redknapp was never given money to fund transfers.
Every transfer fee had to be financed by a sale.
At the time of his sacking, Hammers News ran a complete list of all the ins
and outs during Redknapp's time that revealed he had actually made a profit
on transfer fees. The Observer newspaper also at that time published an
article on Premier League spending that showed that overall, ins and outs,
only two Premier league clubs, West Ham and Southampton, did not have a big
minus figure in their total transfer balance during the previous five
seasons.
All the other 15 clubs mentioned above had spent massively on trensfer fees
during that period so, overall, taking into account wages aswell, they had
all spent a lot more money than West Ham. By rights, we should have been
struggling down the bottom of the table, 16th at best, season after season,
but by finishing 8th, 5th, 9th in consecutive seasons we were over-achieving
by a long way.
And I think therein lay the problem. Harry Redknapp was a victim of his own
success and the goalposts got moved. A team that really should have been
battling down the bottom was finishing consistently in the top half,
including a 5th place. Of course, Redknapp was an ambitious manager and
naturally wanted to keep the club moving forward, Brown himself was also
ambitious, stating in one chairman's report during Redknapp's reign that his
aim was to establish the club as a top 8 side and, of course, the fans are
always going to expect more of the same. But, with no investment and a small
ground that was unrealistic, ne impossible.
After years of successful wheelng and dealing eg. Matty Holmes, Cottee,
Bilic, Rieper, Hartson, Lomas, Ian Pearce, Hislop on a free, Sinclair,
Viven-Foe, Kanoute, Sinclair, Lazaridis, many of whom were sold on for big
profits, nooone can dispute that Redknapp spent some of the Rio money badly.
Less than 7 of the £18 million received for Rio went on transfer fees, but,
yes, there are wages to consider. (According to West Ham's chief accountant
Nick Igoe at a fan forum in Feb 2005, the decision to sell Rio was taken by
the board as they feared an EU law was going to abolish transfer fees and
that the defender might leave for free at a later date – he also said
Redknapp was given a 300k bonus "for good service to the club and his good
work in the negotiaitions during the Rio sale").
Christain Dailly at £1.75 milliion was a good signing, in my opinion. A
handy squad player for seven seasons, twice having his contract extended
under Pardew in the Premier league, and, as Pardew often alluded to, Dailly
was an excellent influence around the training ground.
Rigobert Song was sold for a small profit after a year so we didn't lose too
much money on him (Cologne were probably paying some of his wages when he
went on loan there for a few months before being sold to Lens). He went on
to have a decent career at a decent level, captaining Galataseray aswell as
Cameroon.
Todorov, Foxe, Soma – all youngsters bought for their potential.
Unfortunatey injuries blighted Todorov's career so it's difficult to judge
him, but he did have a good goals to appearances ratio in the Premier League
and Championship for Portsmouth and Wigan, before injury wrecked his career.
It's probably fair to say that both Todorov and Foxe (an ever present for
Pompey when they won the Championship) found their correct level in the
Championship, but neither Todorov, Foxe or Soma could have been earning that
high wages at West Ham as we would not have been able to offload them so
easily a year or so after they all joined.
Titi Camara was by far the worst of all Redknapp's signings, the one that is
refered to most, and the one on which hangs the most suspicion. It's
impossible to defend this signing, but at £2 million, he did cost less than
the £3.5 million Liverpool paid for him 18 months earlier. Camara had
actually made a good start to his career at Liverpool, finishing top scorer
behind Owen in 99/2000 and the fans had taken to him up there, but something
went wrong and he fell out with Houllier.
I'm not for one moment going to defend the signing of Camara, but all
managers do make bad signings. Greats managers like Ferguson and Wenger made
a few, wasting millions on the likes of Veron and Jeffers, but I can see the
logic behind the Camara deal. Redknapp probably thought, wrongly, that he
could get the striker back to what he was in France, where he had a very
good scoring record. I believe Redknapp was acting in the best interests of
the club when he made that signing. It was precisely that sort of gambling
attitude that brought us Paulo Di Canio.
Not part of the Rio money, but another signing that often gets lumped in
with it is Gary Charles, an ex England international. Again, classic
Redknapp, believing he could get a player whose career had lost it's way,
back on track. Of course, Redknapp was badly wrong again here, and I am not
pretending it was anything other than a bad buy, but I can see a logic to
the signing. Fortunately, West Ham had sensibly taken out insurance on
Charles' dodgy knee. It may well have been serious alcoholism that finished
Charles' career, but officially it was the knee and the insurance company
paid up the rest of his contract when it was terminated. To put that into
perspective, Charles cost the club, in transfer fee and wages, less than
Vladimir Labant (a Roeder signing), whose 4 year contract was also ripped up
but paid up in full by the club.
It is the accusations and rumours that Redknapp took bungs that leaves a bad
taste for all of us. Who really knows what went on? Maybe Terence Brown
doesn't actually know, though he suspects and has insinuated it, to a few
people.
It's so difficult to seperate rumours from facts, or to know who or what to
believe? That Mark Redkanpp was involved in his father's dealings is one of
the most repeated rumours, but, as far as I'm aware, has no substance? I
once spoke to West Ham's former Chief executive Paul Aldridge about this,
and he dismissed it out of hand. He said that on match days he used to chat
openly in the players lounge with Mark Redknapp, who regularly attended
games, and he thinks maybe that's how the false rumours started (I am aware,
of course, that Aldridge could well have been lying, but my gut feeling is
that he was genuine).
Author Tom Bower investigated Redknapp's transfers as thoroughly as anyone
has, especially the Rio transfer and Song and Camara deals. Thanks to
Terence Brown's assistance, Bower had access to documents, but makes no
reference to Mark Redknapp in his book 'Broken Dreams'. I'm sure Bower would
have said something if Redknapp's son had been involved as it would add to
the sense of scandal he was trying to create. He makes a very big deal of
the relationship between Arsenal's David Dein and his agent son in another
chapter.
The BBC programme from ten years ago, 'Fergie & Son', mainly concentrated on
Alex Ferguson's transfer dealings, but also mentioned Allardyce & son, Mick
MaCarthy & son and Howard Wilkinson & Son, as did several newspaper
articles, which also revealed how Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce, manager
and assistant at Man City, both had shares in an agency that City bought
players from. Again, why no mention of Redknapp & son in these programmes
and aticles? It would be such an obvious choice if it was true?
It's often mentioned how Redknapp used 'unscrupulous' agents like Pini
Zahavi, Willie Mckay and Rene Hauge, but the sad fact is Zahavi and Mckay
are two of football's most established fixers and you have to use people
like them if you want to bring good players to your club, especially foreign
players. By condemning deals involving Zahavi and McKay you are condemning
pretty much every manager and Chief executive who's ever worked in the
Premier league.
Behind the sweeping statements, do we know exactly which players were signed
through these agents? As far as I am aware, the only Zahavi player signed by
Redknapp was Eyal Berkovic. However, after Redkanpp left, Zahavi continued
as the agent involved in a number of West ham's signings, such as Rebrov,
Benayoun, Katan, Pantsill, Tevez and Mascherano.
As far as I am aware, there were only three Willie Mckay players signed by
Redknapp – Marc Vivien-Foe, Song and Camara.
According to Bower's 'Broken Dreams', it was actually O'Leary (George
Graham's prodigy) who insisted on Rene Hauge being involved in the Rio deal.
Hauge's ban was over so there was nothing ilegal about it and, as far as I'm
aware, I don't think Hauge was involved in any other West Ham deals does
anyone know? Apart from Soma perhaps?
I am suspicious, and always have been ever since all the rumours first
surfaced years ago, but I am also sceptical as I've met so many supposedly
barstool 'in-the-knows', and even journos, over the years who claim they
know something, but when it comes down to it they know no more than you and
I, and sometimes I can't help feeling that they are just rumours and gossip
that go round like a big game of chinese whispers, getting more embelished
as they're passed on.
A few more points:
- The club's accounts show the wage bill actually rose under Roeder.
- £25 million of the debt upon relegation in 2003 was money spent on the new
stands.
- It's a myth, in my opinion, that we were nearly relegated in Redknapp's
last season. We actually went 6th after beating Charlton 5-0 on Boxing day,
but after the FA Cup run (with good wins at Old Trafford and Sunderland),
key players were rested for two league games before the big quarter final
with Tottenham. We lost, everyone was gutted, and the seson just petered out
into nothing as there was nothing to play for. There were some poor games
and we slipped down the table, not mathematically safe until three games to
go, but I never felt we were ever in danger of going down?
But finally, and this is is the ultimate irony, In the end, the size of the
wage bill and debt didn't matter! (as long as we had remained in Premier
League, which I believe we would have under Redknapp). Scudamore at the
Premier League and the TV companies, with their professional financial
forecasts of a never ending TV bounty, were right after all. Brown and
Deloitte Touche's fears of the TV money drying up were unfounded and wrong.
(In his Chairman's report after sacking Redknapp, Brown got it wrong about
the TV money, and irony of ironies, as a result of those later masssive TV
deals that he never saw coming, Brown was able to sell the club and make a
cool 40 million pound profit for himself!).
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Hammers on Lee for Bolton speculation
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham claim to have had no contact from Bolton over a possible 93 day
loan move for Elliott Lee. Reports the striker could join former Hammer Rob
Hall at the club were greeted with surprise from the Upton Park hierachy.
One told ClaretandHugh: "We've heard nothing from Bolton on that one. As far
as we know it's just media talk. "Mind you they did their brains on Hall who
has played one Capital League match this season and managed two goals from
24 appearances last term."
Reports emerged earlier today that a 93-day loan deal seeming the most
viable option. Bolton want to boost their attacking option after an abysmal
start to the season which sees them in second off bottom spot in the
Championship. But the Hammers insist that there has been no move for Lee and
our source said: "If he does go out anywhere we will want assurances that he
will get regular first team football but there's been nothing from Bolton."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hidden Carroll costs send fee up and up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
The cost of injury stricken Andy Carroll to West Ham United just rises and
rises. A ClaretandHugh probe has discovered that the deal with Liverpool
also includes £500,000 payments for each season we remain in the Premier
League up to four . And despite missing half of last season and managing
just two goals the Irons have handed over the first £500,000 payment to
Liverpool for that campaign. And a top insider told us: "Potentially another
£1.5 million could take the tranafer bill to £18.5 million rather than the
widely quoted 16.5 million."Up to now, hes not the best of buys, as he's
also the highest paid player at the club, but let's hope he comes good."
ClaretandHugh reported this morning that Newcastle had shown interest in the
summer and that the could come back should manager Alan Pardew hold onto his
job
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Noble's "strange" injury
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Mark Noble's chances of returning to the team for the Queens Park Rangers
game appear to be on the slide. And that means Diego Poyet could again be in
central midfield for the game following his start against Manchester United
last weekend. Hopes had been rising that Noble – given he was in no pain
from the calf/shin injury – would be very much in the frame for Sunday's
game. But following a scan it seems there are some complications with a
source telling ClaretandHugh: "It's a strange injury, we just do not know
how long it will take." The comment was confirmed by www.physioroom.com who
have no projected return date for the midfielder.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Newcaste AC interest may rest on Pardew's future
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Newcastle United were keen to discover Andy Carroll's availability in the
summer and the Hammers believe they could return if Alan Pardew keeps his
job. ClaretandHugh has discovered from a Boleyn insider that Newcastle were
'sniffing' around in July and August. Pardew's position remains uncertain on
Tyneside but we understand that talks about the former hammers boss' future
could involve discussions about a Carroll return home. The player has two
children living in the city! The Irons are keen to keep the player and
certainly weren't interested in the £10m bid they were likely to receive had
they shown any interest in Newcastle's position. A source told us
exclusively: " Newcastle were sniffing around but Andy has work to do here –
he has things to prove to everybody. "It's been difficult for him and us but
we all know at his best he is a very good player indeed and a real asset.
"There has been no concrete offer from Newcastle but it's reasonable to say
that should Pardew remain at the club there could be."
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Downing heads Fabregas, Hazard, Sterling
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho have been a revelation this season but
Stewart Downing is emerging as the most influential Hammer over the early
games. And since he was used in the diamond formation the guy has truly
blossomed to the point where he is looking for and talking about an England
recall. A new set of stats from @EPL Statman proves the point as Downing now
heads the list of players responsible for creating most Premier League
chances this season.
Here's the full list:
Downing 20
Fabregas 20
Cabella 17
Silva 16
Hazard 15
Sigurdsson 14
Sterling 14
Barton 13
Ramsey 13
Larsson 13
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Friday, October 3
Thursday, October 2
Daily WHUFC News - 2nd October 2014
Burke pens first pro deal
WHUFC.com
Young Hammer Reece Burke commits his future to the Club until 2017
01.10.2014
West Ham United are delighted to announce that highly-rated Academy graduate
Reece Burke has signed his first professional contract with the Club.
18-year-old defender Burke has already made his mark at senior level,
featuring twice for the first team, and has now put pen-to-paper on a deal
which will keep him at the Boleyn Ground until 2017. It caps a rapid rise to
prominence for the Newham-born player, who joined the Hammers at the age of
nine and made his first team debut in the FA Cup at Nottingham Forest last
season whilst still a first-year scholar. Despite tasting defeat that day,
he continued to make steady progress last term and enjoyed a fine
pre-season, which included trips to New Zealand and the Schalke Cup, and a
first Boleyn Ground goal in the 3-2 victory over UC Sampdoria. He then
started at senior level for the first time as the Hammers took on Sheffield
United in the Capital One Cup and he has continued to form a regular part of
Sam Allardyce's squad. He exclusively told West Ham TV: "It's a great
achievement for me. My first professional contract for the Club and to sign
for a great Club like this is really good. "I started off pre-season away
with the first team and obviously did quite well there, came back, scored my
first debut goal and have just carried on from there. I'm doing well, and
I'm just glad it's come to this."
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The Big Interview - Carlton Cole
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole is eyeing success in Sunday's London derby against Queens Park
Rangers
30.09.2014
Carlton Cole returned to Barclays Premier League action last Saturday,
coming off the bench as West Ham United battled to come back from 2-1 down
at Manchester United. Their quest was ultimately unsuccessful, but Cole was
pleased to play his part in an effort which he felt should have been better
rewarded. Now, as attentions turn to Sunday's visit of Queens Park Rangers
to the Boleyn Ground, the No24 is keen to build on a positive start to the
campaign
Carlton, it was team photo day on Tuesday and an opportunity for some banter
with the lads...
CC: "Yeah. I turned up a little late because I was doing my make up and i
didn't realise everyone had gone out already! So I got a little round of
applause and a slap on the hand from the gaffer, but all good though. It's
all fun and games - I wasn't in last year's photo because I hadn't signed
for the Club at that stage, so it's good to be back and in the mix with the
boys."
Good to be back playing again last weekend too. You came on at Manchester
United for the last half-hour, how nice was it to be involved even though
the result didn't go our way?
CC: "I didn't play for the last two games prior to that, so it was nice to
get a run out. But I want to get the result and I felt we scored a perfectly
good goal, but they said Kevin's head was offside. I've had to tell him to
keep his head onside! At the end of the day we shouldn't have been in that
position at the start of the game, we gifted them some goals and had to claw
our way back in. It was a good effort all round, but we want to be winning
those sort of games."
Even allowing for the extra man, have you ever had such a dominant half away
at Manchester United?
CC: "We were knocking at the door. I scored up there last year and would
loved to have scored again this year but it didn't work out that way. McNair
took one off my foot when Jenkinson put a great ball in for me to score, but
he made a great clearance. I thought that was my little bit of glory there,
but McNair did well being a young boy. He was under immense pressure, at
least for the last half-an-hour, 40 minutes. They didn't crack and the
result didn't go our way in the end."
Do the last two performances show how far this team has come in a short
space of time?
CC: "Yes, I think we're playing some exciting football. The manager has got
the team playing the way he wants to play, and our squad is a bit younger
than it has been for the last few years. I'm one of the eldest now, going on
31. and that shows you the momentum of the team.
We've got exciting young players who all want to do well and that's what you
need in a squad."
When you see the likes of Diafra and Enner come in, does that push you on
even further?
CC: "Of course. Since I've been here I've played with a host of strikers and
when you've got young, exciting players coming through you want to prove you
can play with them as well. It's good that they've started off their West
Ham careers so well and it's only positive for the team. There's a challenge
for the places up there, which means everyone knows they need to be on their
toes to stay in the squad."
QPR next. They've got the likes of Rob Green and Bobby Zamora there, are you
looking forward to coming up against them on Sunday?
CC: "Yes, of course. It's nice to see old faces. Bobby and Rob are over
there, and I know a few more of their players too, being a London lad. It's
going to be a good challenge, and hopefully we can get back to winning ways,
at home with the crowd behind us. They want to see good football and they
want to see us win the game - that's what we're going to be setting out to
do."
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Mediawatch - 1 October
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at West Ham United in the news
01.10.2014
In the Evening Standard, SIr Trevor Brooking says he is optimistic at West
Ham United's prospects this season and excited by the opportunities the
Olympic Stadium has to offer.
Diego Poyet reflects on an impressive start to his Hammers career in the
Newham Recorder, after making his first Barclays Premier League start at
Manchester United on Saturday.
Hammers youngster Matthias Fanimo tells the Liverpool Echo he is up for the
fight of proving himself with loan club Tranmere Rovers.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT carry quotes originally from whufc.com's interview with
Matt Jarvis, where he says he is ready to return after a
thigh injury.
The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do
not necessarily reflect the views of West Ham United
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I'M A REFEREE - GET ME HELP OUT HERE!
By HamburgHammer 1 Oct 2014 at 17:00
West Ham till I Die
Nolan's goal against Man U that wasn't given. A red card against Carlton
Cole that had to be rescinded later. Penalties being given with TV replays
clearly showing it was a dive that would make Tom Daley envious. Let's get
it out of the way early: Referees don't have an easy job and it is also an
incredibly thankless task. People just expect them to get every decision
right. Which simply isn't possible. With so much going on during games with
22 players on the pitch and the pace of the game it is impossible for the
referee to be in a perfect position at all times to judge incidents. Also
opposing players, managers and fans will obviously disagree if a certain
incident has been dealt with correctly by the referee.
I keep hearing this one argument whenever technical support for referees is
being discussed: We apparently need controversial decisions in the game to
keep the post match discussions going, in the pub, from the pundits in the
TV studios, in newspaper articles and so forth.But then I keep thinking with
the money involved in the game these days there is too much at stake to get
things wrong from the refereeing side of things. A legitimate penalty not
given at a crucial point in the game ? Points lost, manager gone after a bad
run of results. A player staying on the pitch despite lashing out at his
opponent because referee and linesmen didn't spot it ? More points lost,
crucial points that could ultimately decide about European football or not.
Staying in the Premier League or going down.
Managers' and players' career on the line, jobs at clubs, ultimately even
the very existence of certain clubs.
Referees will never get every single decision right, even with technical
support. It's called the human factor. Different referees have a different
way of running things, some are quick to brandish yellow and red cards,
others love to let the game run along without having too many stoppages. But
with so much at stake they should get the big decisions right. Penalty
decisions, goals flagged off for offside when in fact the attacker was level
with the defender, red card incidents. And there is a way to get at least
most of the big decisions right: By introducing challenges by the respective
managers that trigger the use of instant replays to support the refereeing
crew with a decision.
It happens in American Sports like NFL Football, NHL Ice Hockey and since
the beginning of this season in MLB Baseball too. It's dead easy: The
manager throws his flag, the referees come together, the decision is then
either being re-evaluated by the referee himself or a panel sitting in New
York or Toronto to have a look at the replays of the incident.
In a matter of a minute, sometimes just seconds, the decision arrives:
Ruling on the field upheld or changed. One can discuss of course how many
challenges might be ideal to eradicate most refereeing mistakes, but at the
same time won't slow down the game too much. The latter usually isn't a
problem as there are delays anyway.
While the players swarm around the referee to present their case the TV
company fires away with instant replays showing the incident from three or
four different perspectives and at different speeds. During these
shenanigans it would be easy for a fourth or fifth official to review the
incident in ample time and then either go with the decision on the pitch or
overrule it. That doesn't undermine the authority of the referee, it merely
helps him to get crucial decisions right and eventually takes pressure off
him.
All too often you hear referees claiming after a game they would have
decided differently if they had been in a position to see the instant replay
during the game. So I'd like to see that technical support arriving in
football soon. Of course it won't be an easy ride. Football purists won't
like the change. It was the same when MLB introduced the challenge procedure
this season in Baseball: Commentators were sceptical at first bit after just
one season everybody involved in the game is happy: Managers, players,
umpires (as they are called in Baseball). It simply takes away the most
glaring wrong decisions from the equation.
Games are now rarely lost because of a wrong call by an official – and we
all know how a bad refereeing decision can sometimes turn the momentum for a
team or even derail an entire season. One final note to the football
purists: Even with one challenge allowed per half for each manager there
will still be enough (controversial) things left to discuss after the game.
Also football has always evolved with new rules being introduced, making the
game better to watch. More substitute players being allowed, changing of the
backpass rule, introduction of goalline technology, the notorious vanishing
spray. It all takes a bit of getting used to. After a while though we ask
ourselves how on earth we actually used to watch football without it for all
those years.
After a game I'd rather like to talk about a brilliant goal or piece of
skill than the bloody referee cheating us out of the game by not giving one
of our goals, sending off one of our players for alleged handball that
wasn't or by gifting a dodgy penalty to the opposition. Let's get more
decisions right on the pitch. Let's give the referees some much needed
technical support and help. Because it's not an easy job you know…
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THE FARCE THAT IS THE WEST HAM UNITED TICKET OFFICE
By Dan Coker 1 Oct 2014 at 13:00
West Ham Till I Die
The Ticket Office at West Ham United has made two monumental blunders in the
space of a matter of days. The first affected nearly 150 travelling
supporters who headed for Old Trafford last Saturday, while the latest error
is glaring and affects season-ticket holders who intend to apply for
Priority Post tickets for the Stoke away game.
Before I continue, let me inform you of my own personal issues with the
Ticket Office over the last ten months. The first error was made in the
summer of 2013 when the Ticket Office decided to re-allocate my season
ticket seat which I had held for the previous eight seasons, since 2005. My
main concern with this re-allocation was that I was not consulted regarding
the move at any point. The only way I found out was because my dad tried to
book the seat next to me for the opening game of last season against
Cardiff, only to find that my seat was available for sale also! I telephoned
the Ticket Office and the situation was resolved satisfactorily and I was
moved back to my original seat. The lack of communication over the intended
change of seat was unacceptable though – I should not have had to find out
that the Ticket Office was looking to change my seat through my seat being
available for sale.
The second and third errors came with Season Ticket Holder Priority Point
Applications for away tickets to Norwich and Liverpool. Both of these
applications clearly carried a request for coach travel but coach tickets
were not issued. With no coach ticket for Norwich arriving 48 hours before
the game, I contacted the Ticket Office and they confirmed a coach ticket
had been requested on my form, but had not been allocated by their staff.
This situation was replicated days later for my Liverpool application – I
had requested a coach ticket but, again, this had been overlooked.
The fourth error occurred in the aftermath of this telephone conversation in
attempting to sort out my travel to Norwich and Liverpool. The travel was
confirmed and I was charged accordingly. Upon checking my email, however,
the travel was again confirmed but at a price for
non-members/season-ticket-holders for both games resulting in me being
over-charged and having to contact the ticket office on their premium rate
number again to get the extra money refunded.
I complained and, to be fair to the club, they offered me a complimentary
ticket for the next home Cup match – I guess it wasn't the club's fault that
this turned out to be the ill-fated semi-final second leg of the Capital One
Cup against Manchester City! Their gesture was appreciated nonetheless.
But then the errors made with the coach travel for Norwich and Liverpool
were replicated for the Man Utd away game last week. I failed to see why I
should have to phone the club, regularly and on a premium rate number, to
chase errors, especially when I had already flagged these errors up to the
club. An apology was offered, but that was only the beginning of the
dissatisfaction regarding the trip to Old Trafford.
Regular coach travellers with West Ham will be aware that trips to
Manchester and Liverpool depart at 8am for a 3pm kick-off. The club made the
decision that the coach for Old Trafford would depart at 9am, an hour later
than usual. Unsurprisingly, this led to the coaches arriving at Manchester
United at 2.57pm, seeing 150 Hammers fans having to run straight into the
ground with no opportunity to savour the pre-match atmosphere, the stadium
in general or to enjoy a pre-match pint or pie. More importantly, we weren't
there to help counter the 70,000-odd Man Utd fans and offer our support to
the players during the warm-up and when the teams came out for kick-off.
On the way to the ground, the coaches stopped for their usual 30-minute stop
at a services on the M6. We left Corley Services, near Coventry, at 12.10.
Even with perfect traffic, this would have seen us arrive at the ground at
2.30 – tensions continued to rise on the coach as kick-off time approached
and we were still miles from the ground. The drivers informed us that six
hours should be allowed for a journey to Manchester and that the club had
made a grave error in timing. I know from my own trips to Manchester that,
considering potential difficulties on the M1 and M6, the exact time
suggested by the drivers should be allowed, not the four hours (including
stops) that the club had allowed to get us there by 2pm.
Some will say "at least you were there for kick-off". That's fair enough,
but when you pay £34 for a coach ticket (vastly over-priced according to the
drivers themselves, which was very interesting in itself) and £47.50 for a
match ticket, you expect an away day experience, not just the football.
And now for the Stoke error. The club revealed late on Tuesday 30th
September that Priority Post applications for the Stoke game must be
received by 5pm on Wednesday 1st October. This is, literally, impossible for
fans to post applications and ensure they get to the ground on time. What
are they thinking?!
West Ham United have, in my perhaps biased opinion, the greatest away fans
in the country. I myself attend the vast majority of away games and find
these increasingly regular errors unacceptable for a supposedly
upwardly-mobile Premier League outfit. I have complained to the club but the
events of this week have led me to write this post in the hope that
experiences such as Manchester United and the Stoke application process do
not happen again. The Claret and Blue Army deserve much better…
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WINSTON REID: LEADER OR LOSER?
By Sean Whetstone 1 Oct 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
According to various media reports this week Manchester United are tracking
Winston Reid with a possible bid in the January transfer window. We all know
that Reid has remained silent after an offer of a new 5 year said to be
worth £60,000 per week and the Chairman seem to be ready to insist it is
take it or leave it time in January for the defender.
The New Zealand international captain is out of contract in the summer and
Manchester United know they could land him either on the cheap in January or
for free in nine-months time. Unless Reid signs a new contract before
January his value will plummet and we would be lucky to pick up £2m for him.
Even if he was sold in January Reid would have to agree personal terms and
if he digs in his feet and stays the final six months he stands to get a
massive multi million signing on bonus and a better weekly package than he
would get if he was sold.
But we have seen this all before, Momo Diame thought he was much better than
West Ham and saw himself at a top six club but no-one came in for him until
Hull City signed him for the minimum £3.5m release clause. Despite reported
continued interest from Arsenal in the summer I understand not a single
inquiry or bid has made for Reid since his arrival.
Before the Liverpool and Manchester games Reid's form appeared to be dipping
from last season and some fans were questioning his commitment suggesting he
had mind on a big move in the winter.
At Old Trafford I saw a different side to Winston this season and got a
glimpse of his leadership skills. He gave Sakho a right earful after he
picked up a yellow card for bringing down Rafael and remained vocal at other
times while it was difficult to see what stand in captain Alex Song
contributed in terms of leadership as skipper. So the question if Nolan or
Noble are unavailable thought injury has they were last weekend who should
captain the Hammers? Season long loanee Alex Song? Refusing to sign a new
contract Winston Reid or someone else?
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orget Manchester United and Liverpool clashes, West Ham's resolve will be
tested more by QPR's visit
Oct 01, 2014 10:25
OPINION BY STEVESTAMMERS
Sam Allardyce's men were impressive again at Old Trafford last weekend but
fixtures they should be winning, like Sunday's, have often proved their
Achilles heel
The Mirror
The players at West Ham may need some convincing but the match at Upton Park
on Sunday will be a more severe test of their resolve than the one at Old
Trafford last Saturday. Manchester United away has never been a fruitful
excursion over the years. None of the travelling support and very few of the
neutrals expected anything but a United win. True, if Kevin Nolan's effort
had not been ruled offside it would have brought a four point haul inside
six days but three points from matches with Liverpool and United is
acceptable. Now come Queens Park Rangers at home - and kind of encounter
that has been the Achilles heel for West Ham over the years. Rangers are, to
put it mildly, having trouble adapting to life back in the Premier League. A
win and a draw from six matches does not make comfortable reading. By
contrast, West Ham have responded well to each setback. The home defeat by
Tottenham was followed by an impressive win at Crystal Palace but then came
a dismal performance against Southampton. However, a draw at Hull and a
comprehensive win against Liverpool rekindled optimism.
The setback last Saturday came as no shock but West Ham were not
embarrassed. Rangers should be a win waiting to happen. But it doesn't work
like that at Upton Park. Games West Ham should win are often lost. The
atmosphere will be different, a contrast to that against Liverpool. Then it
was vibrant, close to hostile and the players reacted accordingly. Now they
must start over. The expectation level will be high - just as it was against
Southampton. West Ham flopped that day and they cannot afford a repeat
against a team which, on recent form, they should record a win.
Manager Sam Allardyce accused his players of talking the talk but unable to
translate that bravado into meaningful action. There dare not be a repeat on
Sunday or the antipathy towards Allardyce could again manifest itself. But
there has been a significant change in the shape of the team since the
Southampton debacle and it has involved Stewart Downing. At Hull, he was
given a free role and it has given the 30-year-old a responsibility on which
he has thrived. Too often Downing's ability that earned him 34 caps has been
shown only sporadically in his natural role as a wide player. Forty-five
impressive minutes have been followed too often by a spell of isolation as
West Ham have struggled to give him enough meaningful possession.
Now he has been given licence to roam and he is making a consistent impact.
Rangers will struggle to pin him down and with Diafra Sakho emerging as real
menace and Enner Valencia looking more and more at home, there is a golden
opportunity for a win that will take West Ham into mid-table comfort. But
then again - West Ham felt the same before they played Southampton. It is up
to the players - not Allardyce - to show they have got what it takes.
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Reece Burke signs first pro contract at West Ham United
Thefa.com
By Gary Stonehouse
Staff Writer
01 Oct 2014
England U18 international Reece Burke has signed his first professional
contract with West Ham United. The highly-rated academy graduate has already
featured twice in Sam Allardyce's first-team, and his breakthrough into the
senior squad has been rewarded with a three-year deal at the Boleyn Ground.
The 18-year-old, who joined the Hammers aged nine, made his debut back in
January during an FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest whilst still a
first-year scholar. His bow coincided with a run in Neil Dewsnip's U18 side
last season, winning the first of his five caps last October as the Young
Lions thumped Hungary 4-0. His last appearance came in April as he helped
his country to a 2-1 win over Germany. Burke has continued his progress
since, and he enjoyed an impressive pre-season, which included trips to New
Zealand and Germany with the first-team, and a first goal in the 3-2 victory
over Sampdoria. His first competitive start for the seniors then followed as
Allardyce picked him for the visit of Sheffield United in the League Cup
first round. "It's a great achievement for me," Burke told West Ham TV. "My
first professional contract for the club and to sign for a great club like
this is really good.
"I started off pre-season away with the first team and obviously did quite
well there, came back, scored my debut goal and have just carried on from
there. I'm doing well, and I'm just glad it's come to this."
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Daughter thanks West Ham fan after dad's collapse
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
The family of a Manchester United fan who suffered a heart attack during a
match at Old Trafford last Saturday have thanked paramedics and a West Ham
fan who stayed with his disabled son. Carl Doran, 42, was sitting with his
son, also called Carl, when he suddenly collapsed in front 2,500 Hammers
away fans in the away end during Saturday's evening match with Manchester
United. Carl is a full-time carer for Carl Jnr, 25, who has Cerebral Palsy
and the pair attend every Manchester United home match together. Dad-of-six
Carl had to be resuscitated with CPR twice, once in the ground and again in
the ambulance, after his heart stopped beating following cardiac arrest
minutes into the game. He was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he
remains seriously ill in intensive care with his family at his bedside. Carl
has now been placed into an induced coma and his daughter Katrina said they
were anxiously waiting for news from his doctors on his condition However
she said they were hopeful he would make a full recovery saying "We're
hoping and praying he will pull through. He's a very strong man so I know he
will." An unnamed female West Ham fan who witnessed the incident, joined Man
United club officials in waiting with Carl's son whilst he tended to by
emergency services. Katrina said the family were extremely grateful to the
caring Hammers supporter. She added: "A really nice lady waited with my
brother whilst they took my dad away and we just want to say thank you to
her for her care . "We want to thank the club as well and the ambulance
service who did everything they could. We're really grateful."
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New Irons get Redknapp thumbs up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Harry Redknapp knows he faces a very tough 90 minutes at Upton Park on
Sunday but isn't the least surprised that the Irons are playing in a totally
different way this season. The Queens Park Rangers boss and former Upton
Park chief brings his team to the Boleyn knowing he will be facing a top
team playing total football. Speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh he said:
"There's pace, movement and a real goal threat with the two new boys up
front. Some may have been surprised by Sam's new approach but he now has the
players to play that way.
"The idea that he could only play one way was always a bit daft. He will
play with what he's got and at times that's meant a no frills approach. But
the club has bought well this summer – Song's a top player and the boys up
front look to be a really decent pair but I also like Aaron Cresswell who
looks a good player. "We will be tested. It's a tough game for us and we
will need to be at our very best. They are a different team this season for
sure."
Redknapp admitted he has question marks over Sandro, Joey Barton and Jordon
Mutch saying: "It will be Friday before we know where we are with them."
Redknapp doesn't see the trip to the Boleyn as anything more than "just
another game " these days despite the mixed response he usually gets from
the fans. He said: "My only focus is the game and the points. Let's just
concentrate on the now – that's usually the best way!"
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The return of Greeno
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Former Hammers keeper will return to the Boleyn Ground pitch for the first
time since leaving the club in June 2012 after failing to agree to sign a
new contract. The last time the two sides met in January 2013, Green stayed
firmly on the subs bench as Julio Cesar was preferred as first choice keeper
for QPR at that time. The previous match at Lotus Road in November 2012 he
was also an unused substitute when goals from Jarvis and Vaz Te helped the
Hammers to a 2-1 away win. On that evening Robert Green came in for lots of
banter from Hammers fans about England's number six sitting on the bench
collecting splinters. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since
those games and I am hoping Greeno gets a great reception from West Ham fans
on Sunday. He used to have a great relationship with the West Ham crowd,
particularly the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower and I believe they are ready to
forgive and forget and welcome him back as they do other many other Hammers
who served their club well over the years. The 6ft 3in keeper who won 12
England senior caps, started his career at Norwich before joining West Ham
in 2006 for £2m where he went on to make 241 appearances for the Hammers
over six years.
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Drop Tomkins? No, he's been punished enough
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
ClaretandHugh can confirm reports that James Tomkins is very much in
everybody's bad books at the club and will pay a heavy price for his night
of shame! National newspaper reports claiming he will be be hit with a club
fine on top of his court fine after being found guilty of assaulting a cop
are spot on. The club will also ensure he does a stint coaching
underprivileged kids. However, there is also a suggestion the central
defender will be punished for a third time by being dropped for the weekend
match against Queens Park Rangers.
That would surely be a bit over-the-top wouldn't it?
ClaretandHugh cetainly holds no brief (if you will excuse the pun) for
Tomkins in this matter. But we believe that punishing the guy at every
opportunity is not the correct way to deal with things and the court and
club fines plus a bit of community work is sufficient. Confirming the story
in today's press we were told by a top club insider: "It's correct – there's
no exaggeration at all. "We believe it's fair and entirely true to say that
everybody involved with the club has been let down by these activities."
No one can disagree with that but there comes a point where enough is enough
and we believe it's been reached. At a pragmatic level, dropping the central
defender would possibly be counter-productive as he has played a part in the
club's decent early form. At a 'justice level' he has been punished enough
in our view and it's now time to move on. Tomkins, 25, was fined £3,500 by
magistrates on Monday after admitting assaulting a police officer,
obstructing a constable while being drunk and disorderly at the Sugar Hut
nightclub in Essex.
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Redknapp: 'Noble's a Hammers lifer'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Harry Redknapp has this evening paid tribute to Mark Noble declaring: "The
boy is claret and blue through and through - I don't believe he will ever
leave the club." Speaking to ClaretandHugh exclusively, Redknapp paid
tribute to the Canning Town-born Hammer and explained why no club had ever
made a serious move for him. Redknapp-managed Queens Park Rangers arrive at
Upton Park on Sunday with Noble facing a fitness race on his shin/calf
problem. But the former Hammers boss was keen to pay tribute to a player for
whom he says he has always had a great admiration. He said: "Mark is a
throwback to the days when club loyalty was everything and it's really
refreshing to see. "People have often wondered and asked why no club has
come in for such a good player but the answer is obvious, he's a Hammer to
his backbone. "I believe at one time I was told there was some interest from
Fulham but I just don't see it happening. "For me he's a top player. I have
a lot of admiration for him and his game. I can't ever see him moving on."
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The return of Rio
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham Academy Graduate Rio Ferdinand returns to the Boleyn Ground this
Sunday in what maybe one of his biggest tests since leaving the Hammers 14
years ago for £18 million. The former Hammer of year joined QPR over the
summer on a one year contract although he was regularly linked with West
Ham. Many though the club would be suited by a last hurrah but instead he
chose to finish his career with Harry. However, I understand West Ham were
never really that interested in him as they looked to build a younger squad.
With Diafra Sakho and strike partner Enner Valencia on fire he may face his
toughest battle yet against a West Ham team. At the grand old age of 35 we
know he is not the world class centre back he was but hopefully he won't
embarrass himself in front of his former club. That said, his loss will be
our gain and personally it difficult to see past a relegation dogfight for
QPR this season. Relegation from the Premier League would inevitable cause
the club financial ruin from Financial Fair Play fines in the Football
League.
Personally, I would sooner have seen Rio go out on a high and gracefully
retire after his glittering career at Manchester United.
He can't be short of a quid or two and can always fall back on TV
commentating while he decides on a possible future coaching career. Who
knows? One day he could a future as a West Ham manager, in the mean time I
won't wish him the best of luck on Sunday but I hope he gets a good
reception from the Hammers fans who once worshipped him.
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WHUFC.com
Young Hammer Reece Burke commits his future to the Club until 2017
01.10.2014
West Ham United are delighted to announce that highly-rated Academy graduate
Reece Burke has signed his first professional contract with the Club.
18-year-old defender Burke has already made his mark at senior level,
featuring twice for the first team, and has now put pen-to-paper on a deal
which will keep him at the Boleyn Ground until 2017. It caps a rapid rise to
prominence for the Newham-born player, who joined the Hammers at the age of
nine and made his first team debut in the FA Cup at Nottingham Forest last
season whilst still a first-year scholar. Despite tasting defeat that day,
he continued to make steady progress last term and enjoyed a fine
pre-season, which included trips to New Zealand and the Schalke Cup, and a
first Boleyn Ground goal in the 3-2 victory over UC Sampdoria. He then
started at senior level for the first time as the Hammers took on Sheffield
United in the Capital One Cup and he has continued to form a regular part of
Sam Allardyce's squad. He exclusively told West Ham TV: "It's a great
achievement for me. My first professional contract for the Club and to sign
for a great Club like this is really good. "I started off pre-season away
with the first team and obviously did quite well there, came back, scored my
first debut goal and have just carried on from there. I'm doing well, and
I'm just glad it's come to this."
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The Big Interview - Carlton Cole
WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole is eyeing success in Sunday's London derby against Queens Park
Rangers
30.09.2014
Carlton Cole returned to Barclays Premier League action last Saturday,
coming off the bench as West Ham United battled to come back from 2-1 down
at Manchester United. Their quest was ultimately unsuccessful, but Cole was
pleased to play his part in an effort which he felt should have been better
rewarded. Now, as attentions turn to Sunday's visit of Queens Park Rangers
to the Boleyn Ground, the No24 is keen to build on a positive start to the
campaign
Carlton, it was team photo day on Tuesday and an opportunity for some banter
with the lads...
CC: "Yeah. I turned up a little late because I was doing my make up and i
didn't realise everyone had gone out already! So I got a little round of
applause and a slap on the hand from the gaffer, but all good though. It's
all fun and games - I wasn't in last year's photo because I hadn't signed
for the Club at that stage, so it's good to be back and in the mix with the
boys."
Good to be back playing again last weekend too. You came on at Manchester
United for the last half-hour, how nice was it to be involved even though
the result didn't go our way?
CC: "I didn't play for the last two games prior to that, so it was nice to
get a run out. But I want to get the result and I felt we scored a perfectly
good goal, but they said Kevin's head was offside. I've had to tell him to
keep his head onside! At the end of the day we shouldn't have been in that
position at the start of the game, we gifted them some goals and had to claw
our way back in. It was a good effort all round, but we want to be winning
those sort of games."
Even allowing for the extra man, have you ever had such a dominant half away
at Manchester United?
CC: "We were knocking at the door. I scored up there last year and would
loved to have scored again this year but it didn't work out that way. McNair
took one off my foot when Jenkinson put a great ball in for me to score, but
he made a great clearance. I thought that was my little bit of glory there,
but McNair did well being a young boy. He was under immense pressure, at
least for the last half-an-hour, 40 minutes. They didn't crack and the
result didn't go our way in the end."
Do the last two performances show how far this team has come in a short
space of time?
CC: "Yes, I think we're playing some exciting football. The manager has got
the team playing the way he wants to play, and our squad is a bit younger
than it has been for the last few years. I'm one of the eldest now, going on
31. and that shows you the momentum of the team.
We've got exciting young players who all want to do well and that's what you
need in a squad."
When you see the likes of Diafra and Enner come in, does that push you on
even further?
CC: "Of course. Since I've been here I've played with a host of strikers and
when you've got young, exciting players coming through you want to prove you
can play with them as well. It's good that they've started off their West
Ham careers so well and it's only positive for the team. There's a challenge
for the places up there, which means everyone knows they need to be on their
toes to stay in the squad."
QPR next. They've got the likes of Rob Green and Bobby Zamora there, are you
looking forward to coming up against them on Sunday?
CC: "Yes, of course. It's nice to see old faces. Bobby and Rob are over
there, and I know a few more of their players too, being a London lad. It's
going to be a good challenge, and hopefully we can get back to winning ways,
at home with the crowd behind us. They want to see good football and they
want to see us win the game - that's what we're going to be setting out to
do."
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Mediawatch - 1 October
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at West Ham United in the news
01.10.2014
In the Evening Standard, SIr Trevor Brooking says he is optimistic at West
Ham United's prospects this season and excited by the opportunities the
Olympic Stadium has to offer.
Diego Poyet reflects on an impressive start to his Hammers career in the
Newham Recorder, after making his first Barclays Premier League start at
Manchester United on Saturday.
Hammers youngster Matthias Fanimo tells the Liverpool Echo he is up for the
fight of proving himself with loan club Tranmere Rovers.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT carry quotes originally from whufc.com's interview with
Matt Jarvis, where he says he is ready to return after a
thigh injury.
The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do
not necessarily reflect the views of West Ham United
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I'M A REFEREE - GET ME HELP OUT HERE!
By HamburgHammer 1 Oct 2014 at 17:00
West Ham till I Die
Nolan's goal against Man U that wasn't given. A red card against Carlton
Cole that had to be rescinded later. Penalties being given with TV replays
clearly showing it was a dive that would make Tom Daley envious. Let's get
it out of the way early: Referees don't have an easy job and it is also an
incredibly thankless task. People just expect them to get every decision
right. Which simply isn't possible. With so much going on during games with
22 players on the pitch and the pace of the game it is impossible for the
referee to be in a perfect position at all times to judge incidents. Also
opposing players, managers and fans will obviously disagree if a certain
incident has been dealt with correctly by the referee.
I keep hearing this one argument whenever technical support for referees is
being discussed: We apparently need controversial decisions in the game to
keep the post match discussions going, in the pub, from the pundits in the
TV studios, in newspaper articles and so forth.But then I keep thinking with
the money involved in the game these days there is too much at stake to get
things wrong from the refereeing side of things. A legitimate penalty not
given at a crucial point in the game ? Points lost, manager gone after a bad
run of results. A player staying on the pitch despite lashing out at his
opponent because referee and linesmen didn't spot it ? More points lost,
crucial points that could ultimately decide about European football or not.
Staying in the Premier League or going down.
Managers' and players' career on the line, jobs at clubs, ultimately even
the very existence of certain clubs.
Referees will never get every single decision right, even with technical
support. It's called the human factor. Different referees have a different
way of running things, some are quick to brandish yellow and red cards,
others love to let the game run along without having too many stoppages. But
with so much at stake they should get the big decisions right. Penalty
decisions, goals flagged off for offside when in fact the attacker was level
with the defender, red card incidents. And there is a way to get at least
most of the big decisions right: By introducing challenges by the respective
managers that trigger the use of instant replays to support the refereeing
crew with a decision.
It happens in American Sports like NFL Football, NHL Ice Hockey and since
the beginning of this season in MLB Baseball too. It's dead easy: The
manager throws his flag, the referees come together, the decision is then
either being re-evaluated by the referee himself or a panel sitting in New
York or Toronto to have a look at the replays of the incident.
In a matter of a minute, sometimes just seconds, the decision arrives:
Ruling on the field upheld or changed. One can discuss of course how many
challenges might be ideal to eradicate most refereeing mistakes, but at the
same time won't slow down the game too much. The latter usually isn't a
problem as there are delays anyway.
While the players swarm around the referee to present their case the TV
company fires away with instant replays showing the incident from three or
four different perspectives and at different speeds. During these
shenanigans it would be easy for a fourth or fifth official to review the
incident in ample time and then either go with the decision on the pitch or
overrule it. That doesn't undermine the authority of the referee, it merely
helps him to get crucial decisions right and eventually takes pressure off
him.
All too often you hear referees claiming after a game they would have
decided differently if they had been in a position to see the instant replay
during the game. So I'd like to see that technical support arriving in
football soon. Of course it won't be an easy ride. Football purists won't
like the change. It was the same when MLB introduced the challenge procedure
this season in Baseball: Commentators were sceptical at first bit after just
one season everybody involved in the game is happy: Managers, players,
umpires (as they are called in Baseball). It simply takes away the most
glaring wrong decisions from the equation.
Games are now rarely lost because of a wrong call by an official – and we
all know how a bad refereeing decision can sometimes turn the momentum for a
team or even derail an entire season. One final note to the football
purists: Even with one challenge allowed per half for each manager there
will still be enough (controversial) things left to discuss after the game.
Also football has always evolved with new rules being introduced, making the
game better to watch. More substitute players being allowed, changing of the
backpass rule, introduction of goalline technology, the notorious vanishing
spray. It all takes a bit of getting used to. After a while though we ask
ourselves how on earth we actually used to watch football without it for all
those years.
After a game I'd rather like to talk about a brilliant goal or piece of
skill than the bloody referee cheating us out of the game by not giving one
of our goals, sending off one of our players for alleged handball that
wasn't or by gifting a dodgy penalty to the opposition. Let's get more
decisions right on the pitch. Let's give the referees some much needed
technical support and help. Because it's not an easy job you know…
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THE FARCE THAT IS THE WEST HAM UNITED TICKET OFFICE
By Dan Coker 1 Oct 2014 at 13:00
West Ham Till I Die
The Ticket Office at West Ham United has made two monumental blunders in the
space of a matter of days. The first affected nearly 150 travelling
supporters who headed for Old Trafford last Saturday, while the latest error
is glaring and affects season-ticket holders who intend to apply for
Priority Post tickets for the Stoke away game.
Before I continue, let me inform you of my own personal issues with the
Ticket Office over the last ten months. The first error was made in the
summer of 2013 when the Ticket Office decided to re-allocate my season
ticket seat which I had held for the previous eight seasons, since 2005. My
main concern with this re-allocation was that I was not consulted regarding
the move at any point. The only way I found out was because my dad tried to
book the seat next to me for the opening game of last season against
Cardiff, only to find that my seat was available for sale also! I telephoned
the Ticket Office and the situation was resolved satisfactorily and I was
moved back to my original seat. The lack of communication over the intended
change of seat was unacceptable though – I should not have had to find out
that the Ticket Office was looking to change my seat through my seat being
available for sale.
The second and third errors came with Season Ticket Holder Priority Point
Applications for away tickets to Norwich and Liverpool. Both of these
applications clearly carried a request for coach travel but coach tickets
were not issued. With no coach ticket for Norwich arriving 48 hours before
the game, I contacted the Ticket Office and they confirmed a coach ticket
had been requested on my form, but had not been allocated by their staff.
This situation was replicated days later for my Liverpool application – I
had requested a coach ticket but, again, this had been overlooked.
The fourth error occurred in the aftermath of this telephone conversation in
attempting to sort out my travel to Norwich and Liverpool. The travel was
confirmed and I was charged accordingly. Upon checking my email, however,
the travel was again confirmed but at a price for
non-members/season-ticket-holders for both games resulting in me being
over-charged and having to contact the ticket office on their premium rate
number again to get the extra money refunded.
I complained and, to be fair to the club, they offered me a complimentary
ticket for the next home Cup match – I guess it wasn't the club's fault that
this turned out to be the ill-fated semi-final second leg of the Capital One
Cup against Manchester City! Their gesture was appreciated nonetheless.
But then the errors made with the coach travel for Norwich and Liverpool
were replicated for the Man Utd away game last week. I failed to see why I
should have to phone the club, regularly and on a premium rate number, to
chase errors, especially when I had already flagged these errors up to the
club. An apology was offered, but that was only the beginning of the
dissatisfaction regarding the trip to Old Trafford.
Regular coach travellers with West Ham will be aware that trips to
Manchester and Liverpool depart at 8am for a 3pm kick-off. The club made the
decision that the coach for Old Trafford would depart at 9am, an hour later
than usual. Unsurprisingly, this led to the coaches arriving at Manchester
United at 2.57pm, seeing 150 Hammers fans having to run straight into the
ground with no opportunity to savour the pre-match atmosphere, the stadium
in general or to enjoy a pre-match pint or pie. More importantly, we weren't
there to help counter the 70,000-odd Man Utd fans and offer our support to
the players during the warm-up and when the teams came out for kick-off.
On the way to the ground, the coaches stopped for their usual 30-minute stop
at a services on the M6. We left Corley Services, near Coventry, at 12.10.
Even with perfect traffic, this would have seen us arrive at the ground at
2.30 – tensions continued to rise on the coach as kick-off time approached
and we were still miles from the ground. The drivers informed us that six
hours should be allowed for a journey to Manchester and that the club had
made a grave error in timing. I know from my own trips to Manchester that,
considering potential difficulties on the M1 and M6, the exact time
suggested by the drivers should be allowed, not the four hours (including
stops) that the club had allowed to get us there by 2pm.
Some will say "at least you were there for kick-off". That's fair enough,
but when you pay £34 for a coach ticket (vastly over-priced according to the
drivers themselves, which was very interesting in itself) and £47.50 for a
match ticket, you expect an away day experience, not just the football.
And now for the Stoke error. The club revealed late on Tuesday 30th
September that Priority Post applications for the Stoke game must be
received by 5pm on Wednesday 1st October. This is, literally, impossible for
fans to post applications and ensure they get to the ground on time. What
are they thinking?!
West Ham United have, in my perhaps biased opinion, the greatest away fans
in the country. I myself attend the vast majority of away games and find
these increasingly regular errors unacceptable for a supposedly
upwardly-mobile Premier League outfit. I have complained to the club but the
events of this week have led me to write this post in the hope that
experiences such as Manchester United and the Stoke application process do
not happen again. The Claret and Blue Army deserve much better…
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WINSTON REID: LEADER OR LOSER?
By Sean Whetstone 1 Oct 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
According to various media reports this week Manchester United are tracking
Winston Reid with a possible bid in the January transfer window. We all know
that Reid has remained silent after an offer of a new 5 year said to be
worth £60,000 per week and the Chairman seem to be ready to insist it is
take it or leave it time in January for the defender.
The New Zealand international captain is out of contract in the summer and
Manchester United know they could land him either on the cheap in January or
for free in nine-months time. Unless Reid signs a new contract before
January his value will plummet and we would be lucky to pick up £2m for him.
Even if he was sold in January Reid would have to agree personal terms and
if he digs in his feet and stays the final six months he stands to get a
massive multi million signing on bonus and a better weekly package than he
would get if he was sold.
But we have seen this all before, Momo Diame thought he was much better than
West Ham and saw himself at a top six club but no-one came in for him until
Hull City signed him for the minimum £3.5m release clause. Despite reported
continued interest from Arsenal in the summer I understand not a single
inquiry or bid has made for Reid since his arrival.
Before the Liverpool and Manchester games Reid's form appeared to be dipping
from last season and some fans were questioning his commitment suggesting he
had mind on a big move in the winter.
At Old Trafford I saw a different side to Winston this season and got a
glimpse of his leadership skills. He gave Sakho a right earful after he
picked up a yellow card for bringing down Rafael and remained vocal at other
times while it was difficult to see what stand in captain Alex Song
contributed in terms of leadership as skipper. So the question if Nolan or
Noble are unavailable thought injury has they were last weekend who should
captain the Hammers? Season long loanee Alex Song? Refusing to sign a new
contract Winston Reid or someone else?
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orget Manchester United and Liverpool clashes, West Ham's resolve will be
tested more by QPR's visit
Oct 01, 2014 10:25
OPINION BY STEVESTAMMERS
Sam Allardyce's men were impressive again at Old Trafford last weekend but
fixtures they should be winning, like Sunday's, have often proved their
Achilles heel
The Mirror
The players at West Ham may need some convincing but the match at Upton Park
on Sunday will be a more severe test of their resolve than the one at Old
Trafford last Saturday. Manchester United away has never been a fruitful
excursion over the years. None of the travelling support and very few of the
neutrals expected anything but a United win. True, if Kevin Nolan's effort
had not been ruled offside it would have brought a four point haul inside
six days but three points from matches with Liverpool and United is
acceptable. Now come Queens Park Rangers at home - and kind of encounter
that has been the Achilles heel for West Ham over the years. Rangers are, to
put it mildly, having trouble adapting to life back in the Premier League. A
win and a draw from six matches does not make comfortable reading. By
contrast, West Ham have responded well to each setback. The home defeat by
Tottenham was followed by an impressive win at Crystal Palace but then came
a dismal performance against Southampton. However, a draw at Hull and a
comprehensive win against Liverpool rekindled optimism.
The setback last Saturday came as no shock but West Ham were not
embarrassed. Rangers should be a win waiting to happen. But it doesn't work
like that at Upton Park. Games West Ham should win are often lost. The
atmosphere will be different, a contrast to that against Liverpool. Then it
was vibrant, close to hostile and the players reacted accordingly. Now they
must start over. The expectation level will be high - just as it was against
Southampton. West Ham flopped that day and they cannot afford a repeat
against a team which, on recent form, they should record a win.
Manager Sam Allardyce accused his players of talking the talk but unable to
translate that bravado into meaningful action. There dare not be a repeat on
Sunday or the antipathy towards Allardyce could again manifest itself. But
there has been a significant change in the shape of the team since the
Southampton debacle and it has involved Stewart Downing. At Hull, he was
given a free role and it has given the 30-year-old a responsibility on which
he has thrived. Too often Downing's ability that earned him 34 caps has been
shown only sporadically in his natural role as a wide player. Forty-five
impressive minutes have been followed too often by a spell of isolation as
West Ham have struggled to give him enough meaningful possession.
Now he has been given licence to roam and he is making a consistent impact.
Rangers will struggle to pin him down and with Diafra Sakho emerging as real
menace and Enner Valencia looking more and more at home, there is a golden
opportunity for a win that will take West Ham into mid-table comfort. But
then again - West Ham felt the same before they played Southampton. It is up
to the players - not Allardyce - to show they have got what it takes.
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Reece Burke signs first pro contract at West Ham United
Thefa.com
By Gary Stonehouse
Staff Writer
01 Oct 2014
England U18 international Reece Burke has signed his first professional
contract with West Ham United. The highly-rated academy graduate has already
featured twice in Sam Allardyce's first-team, and his breakthrough into the
senior squad has been rewarded with a three-year deal at the Boleyn Ground.
The 18-year-old, who joined the Hammers aged nine, made his debut back in
January during an FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest whilst still a
first-year scholar. His bow coincided with a run in Neil Dewsnip's U18 side
last season, winning the first of his five caps last October as the Young
Lions thumped Hungary 4-0. His last appearance came in April as he helped
his country to a 2-1 win over Germany. Burke has continued his progress
since, and he enjoyed an impressive pre-season, which included trips to New
Zealand and Germany with the first-team, and a first goal in the 3-2 victory
over Sampdoria. His first competitive start for the seniors then followed as
Allardyce picked him for the visit of Sheffield United in the League Cup
first round. "It's a great achievement for me," Burke told West Ham TV. "My
first professional contract for the club and to sign for a great club like
this is really good.
"I started off pre-season away with the first team and obviously did quite
well there, came back, scored my debut goal and have just carried on from
there. I'm doing well, and I'm just glad it's come to this."
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Daughter thanks West Ham fan after dad's collapse
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
The family of a Manchester United fan who suffered a heart attack during a
match at Old Trafford last Saturday have thanked paramedics and a West Ham
fan who stayed with his disabled son. Carl Doran, 42, was sitting with his
son, also called Carl, when he suddenly collapsed in front 2,500 Hammers
away fans in the away end during Saturday's evening match with Manchester
United. Carl is a full-time carer for Carl Jnr, 25, who has Cerebral Palsy
and the pair attend every Manchester United home match together. Dad-of-six
Carl had to be resuscitated with CPR twice, once in the ground and again in
the ambulance, after his heart stopped beating following cardiac arrest
minutes into the game. He was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he
remains seriously ill in intensive care with his family at his bedside. Carl
has now been placed into an induced coma and his daughter Katrina said they
were anxiously waiting for news from his doctors on his condition However
she said they were hopeful he would make a full recovery saying "We're
hoping and praying he will pull through. He's a very strong man so I know he
will." An unnamed female West Ham fan who witnessed the incident, joined Man
United club officials in waiting with Carl's son whilst he tended to by
emergency services. Katrina said the family were extremely grateful to the
caring Hammers supporter. She added: "A really nice lady waited with my
brother whilst they took my dad away and we just want to say thank you to
her for her care . "We want to thank the club as well and the ambulance
service who did everything they could. We're really grateful."
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New Irons get Redknapp thumbs up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Harry Redknapp knows he faces a very tough 90 minutes at Upton Park on
Sunday but isn't the least surprised that the Irons are playing in a totally
different way this season. The Queens Park Rangers boss and former Upton
Park chief brings his team to the Boleyn knowing he will be facing a top
team playing total football. Speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh he said:
"There's pace, movement and a real goal threat with the two new boys up
front. Some may have been surprised by Sam's new approach but he now has the
players to play that way.
"The idea that he could only play one way was always a bit daft. He will
play with what he's got and at times that's meant a no frills approach. But
the club has bought well this summer – Song's a top player and the boys up
front look to be a really decent pair but I also like Aaron Cresswell who
looks a good player. "We will be tested. It's a tough game for us and we
will need to be at our very best. They are a different team this season for
sure."
Redknapp admitted he has question marks over Sandro, Joey Barton and Jordon
Mutch saying: "It will be Friday before we know where we are with them."
Redknapp doesn't see the trip to the Boleyn as anything more than "just
another game " these days despite the mixed response he usually gets from
the fans. He said: "My only focus is the game and the points. Let's just
concentrate on the now – that's usually the best way!"
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The return of Greeno
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Former Hammers keeper will return to the Boleyn Ground pitch for the first
time since leaving the club in June 2012 after failing to agree to sign a
new contract. The last time the two sides met in January 2013, Green stayed
firmly on the subs bench as Julio Cesar was preferred as first choice keeper
for QPR at that time. The previous match at Lotus Road in November 2012 he
was also an unused substitute when goals from Jarvis and Vaz Te helped the
Hammers to a 2-1 away win. On that evening Robert Green came in for lots of
banter from Hammers fans about England's number six sitting on the bench
collecting splinters. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since
those games and I am hoping Greeno gets a great reception from West Ham fans
on Sunday. He used to have a great relationship with the West Ham crowd,
particularly the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower and I believe they are ready to
forgive and forget and welcome him back as they do other many other Hammers
who served their club well over the years. The 6ft 3in keeper who won 12
England senior caps, started his career at Norwich before joining West Ham
in 2006 for £2m where he went on to make 241 appearances for the Hammers
over six years.
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Drop Tomkins? No, he's been punished enough
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
ClaretandHugh can confirm reports that James Tomkins is very much in
everybody's bad books at the club and will pay a heavy price for his night
of shame! National newspaper reports claiming he will be be hit with a club
fine on top of his court fine after being found guilty of assaulting a cop
are spot on. The club will also ensure he does a stint coaching
underprivileged kids. However, there is also a suggestion the central
defender will be punished for a third time by being dropped for the weekend
match against Queens Park Rangers.
That would surely be a bit over-the-top wouldn't it?
ClaretandHugh cetainly holds no brief (if you will excuse the pun) for
Tomkins in this matter. But we believe that punishing the guy at every
opportunity is not the correct way to deal with things and the court and
club fines plus a bit of community work is sufficient. Confirming the story
in today's press we were told by a top club insider: "It's correct – there's
no exaggeration at all. "We believe it's fair and entirely true to say that
everybody involved with the club has been let down by these activities."
No one can disagree with that but there comes a point where enough is enough
and we believe it's been reached. At a pragmatic level, dropping the central
defender would possibly be counter-productive as he has played a part in the
club's decent early form. At a 'justice level' he has been punished enough
in our view and it's now time to move on. Tomkins, 25, was fined £3,500 by
magistrates on Monday after admitting assaulting a police officer,
obstructing a constable while being drunk and disorderly at the Sugar Hut
nightclub in Essex.
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Redknapp: 'Noble's a Hammers lifer'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Harry Redknapp has this evening paid tribute to Mark Noble declaring: "The
boy is claret and blue through and through - I don't believe he will ever
leave the club." Speaking to ClaretandHugh exclusively, Redknapp paid
tribute to the Canning Town-born Hammer and explained why no club had ever
made a serious move for him. Redknapp-managed Queens Park Rangers arrive at
Upton Park on Sunday with Noble facing a fitness race on his shin/calf
problem. But the former Hammers boss was keen to pay tribute to a player for
whom he says he has always had a great admiration. He said: "Mark is a
throwback to the days when club loyalty was everything and it's really
refreshing to see. "People have often wondered and asked why no club has
come in for such a good player but the answer is obvious, he's a Hammer to
his backbone. "I believe at one time I was told there was some interest from
Fulham but I just don't see it happening. "For me he's a top player. I have
a lot of admiration for him and his game. I can't ever see him moving on."
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The return of Rio
Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham Academy Graduate Rio Ferdinand returns to the Boleyn Ground this
Sunday in what maybe one of his biggest tests since leaving the Hammers 14
years ago for £18 million. The former Hammer of year joined QPR over the
summer on a one year contract although he was regularly linked with West
Ham. Many though the club would be suited by a last hurrah but instead he
chose to finish his career with Harry. However, I understand West Ham were
never really that interested in him as they looked to build a younger squad.
With Diafra Sakho and strike partner Enner Valencia on fire he may face his
toughest battle yet against a West Ham team. At the grand old age of 35 we
know he is not the world class centre back he was but hopefully he won't
embarrass himself in front of his former club. That said, his loss will be
our gain and personally it difficult to see past a relegation dogfight for
QPR this season. Relegation from the Premier League would inevitable cause
the club financial ruin from Financial Fair Play fines in the Football
League.
Personally, I would sooner have seen Rio go out on a high and gracefully
retire after his glittering career at Manchester United.
He can't be short of a quid or two and can always fall back on TV
commentating while he decides on a possible future coaching career. Who
knows? One day he could a future as a West Ham manager, in the mean time I
won't wish him the best of luck on Sunday but I hope he gets a good
reception from the Hammers fans who once worshipped him.
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Wednesday, October 1
Daily WHUFC News - 1st October 2014
Haycock delighted with first win
WHUFc.com
Elliot Lee's brace helped the Dev Squad beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Boleyn Ground
29.09.2014
West Ham United Development Squad manager Nick Haycock was delighted with his side's first win of the season as they beat a strong Sunderland team 2-0 at the Boleyn Ground. Two second half goals for striker Elliot Lee was enough to see the Hammers take all three points. Haycock fielded a side mixed of first team players such as Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis, through to emerging youngsters such as Reece Oxford and Kyle Knoyle. Speaking after the game, Haycock said: "I'm pleased. I've not been disappointed with many of the games. We've had a few 20 minute poor patches here and there but that's what you expect when you use young players. "Tonight we had two U18 players in the back line. We talk about playing players above their age level and we did that."
Another positive from Monday night's game was securing the Dev Squad's first clean sheet of the season: "We said to Raphael we need more from him in terms of commanding the back four and I thought he did that. He deserved his clean sheet. Nothing's perfect, there are still a few things we can work on but we were much more resilient."
Keeping the clean sheet was even more impressive considering they faced a Sunderland side with Duncan Watmore up front. The highly rated player was a constant thorn in the Hammers' side as he carved a number of opportunities for himself and his teammates. "Sunderland changed their formation slightly, we thought they would play Watmore wide right. But with a couple of injuries they played him upfront. "He proved a real good test against Reece's Burke and Oxford and as the game wore on they handled him better."
Speaking about the positive role club captain Kevin Nolan has had on the Dev Squad, Haycock said: "Kevin has been excellent with the younger boys ever since he came to the Club. He's a top guy, I get on with him off the pitch. When he's in the changing room it's like having an assistant manager with you. "He came back from Manchester United on Saturday annoyed that his goal didn't stand but he was in at 8.45 Sunday morning training with us to make sure we put in a performance. He was very, very good at talking to the boys out there, which is something we sometimes lack. We need a leader at times and have a go at someone if they're not doing the task they've been asked to do."
After a short goalless spell at the start of the season, Lee's brace took his personal tally to three goals in two games. Haycock praised his striker's attitude: "He was a bit disappointed at half time. He's had a season where deep down he knows he could have scored more goals. But he'll never give up running in the right areas. The first goal was a poacher's finish off a good corner from Matt Jarvis.
"For Elliot's second it was a good calm finish. In the other games so far they've been the ones shaving post or going narrowly wide. The most important thing was his overall performance. His hold up play excellent, he took some knocks and moved the centre half's around well."
Due to the International break, the Development Squad's next game is not until 24 October when they host Manchester United at Rush Green.
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Seniors grateful for U21 experience
WHUFC.com
Captain Kevin Nolan thanked the U21s for helping him regain match fitness
30.09.2014
West Ham United first team players Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis both spoke of their positive experience playing with the Development Squad as they beat Sunderland U21s 2-0 on Monday night. Two second half goals from striker Elliot Lee were enough to seal the Dev Squad's first win of the season as they look to get their league campaign up and running. Both first team players are recovering from injuries and were played in an attempt to help them gain match fitness ahead of the first team's match with Queens Park Rangers this Sunday. Speaking after the match, Nolan, who played the full 90 minutes said: "I'd just like to thank all the lads and coach Nick Haycock. They've been fantastic with me in the last couple of days. It was great. "It's been five-and-a-half weeks since the fracture and I felt like I'd be out for a while. After about 50, 60 minutes I started to feel my legs wobble a bit. I'm just pleased to get fit and I thank them for helping me get fit again. "We had a few 15 years old playing tonight so it's massive for their development too. To be able to help them out, and them help me was really nice."
Despite not notching, Sunderland had a number of chances to score, especially in the first half. and Nolan praised the way Haycock had prepared the U21s beforehand. "We expected that. Especially me, an old man in there, they found a few more holes. If I'd have been fitter with the young whippersnappers around me we would have reduced their chances even more. "I'm in the process of getting my sharpness back and it was nice just to be out there again. My shoulder was fine so that was another positive. We've got the game against QPR here on Sunday so hopefully I might be involved again. If not I've got a good few weeks until the next game so I can properly get fit."
Matt Jarvis helped set up Lee's first goal with a pin-point corner, played 81 minutes and was also full of praise for his U21 teammates.
He said: "It's good to get out there and get some minutes, so I'm delighted. It's good for both really, it's a good experience for the younger players to play with first team players but also for me. Obviously its good for my fitness and trying to push on."
Jarvis continued to say he hoped the U21 experience would help him regain his sharpness in time for the QPR game at home on Sunday afternoon: "I felt good on Monday. I've trained all last week and was in the squad for the Manchester United game so hopefully I'll be selected for Sunday."
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Sakho happy to be a marked man
WHUFC.com
Striker Diafra Sakho is thrilled to be in the spotlight as his goalscoring streak continues
29.09.2014
Diafra Sakho is perfectly happy to be a marked man in the Barclays Premier League, just so long as the goals keep on coming. With four goals in his first four West Ham United starts in league and cup, Sakho has now sailed past Leroy Rosenior's 26-year-old Club record and so expects defenders to sit up and take notice. Not that he plans to become a victim of his own success, vowing to work harder still to ensure he remains firmly on the goal trail. Speaking after his headed goal at Old Trafford so nearly paved the way for a famous Hammers revival, he told West Ham TV: "That's what I work every day in training for, because from the moment you score, opposition defences pay more attention to you. So I'll have to work harder to continue scoring. "I'm here for exactly that, to help the Club by scoring goals. On Saturday, even though I scored, I'm not satisfied since we've not been able to take a point. We'll get back down to work on Tuesday to look to make sure that we get the three points next week."
Goals and personal milestones aside, the 24-year-old was mystified as to how the Hammers could perform so well in the second half and yet leave Manchester with nothing to show for their efforts. He hopes, however, that his colleagues can take solace from the manner of the defeat and will learn the lessons of a sluggish start. "It's disappointing," he admitted. "Based on the second half, I think we deserved a point, if not to win the game. But then we know the league, we know it's tough and that games are going to be tough from start to finish. Given the display we've produced at Manchester United in the second half, I think we can work on the foundations we've built on Saturday to win games at home. "We weren't really in the game in the first half. But we woke up in the second and began to realise that even though they were in front, we were creating opportunities. We put everything into that and we'll need more of the same to hit our targets come the end of the season."
Having produced the goods against Liverpool last time out and, to no avail, at Old Trafford, Sakho wants to see West Ham hit those heights every time they take to the field, starting with Queens Park Rangers at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. He continued: "We can be confident because everyone's seen the performance we've produced on Saturday. We had them in trouble, particularly in that second half. We played really well after the break and we're going to try to [replicate that] all the time, whether it be against the big clubs or against the smaller clubs at home - to play in that same manner and win games."
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Jarvis named Community patron
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to name Matt Jarvis as Community Sports Trust patron
30.09.2014
West Ham United winger Matt Jarvis has long been impressed with the Club's community outreach work and is now to experience it first hand, having been named patron of the Hammers' Community Sports Trust. Following in the footsteps of Academy graduate Joe Cole, patron Jarvis will be lending his support to the multitude of Trust programmes, while making selected special appearances to raise the organisation's profile further still. Having already been regularly involved in community projects in his two seasons at the Boleyn Ground, the 28-year-old is naturally delighted to take on this new mantle.
He told whufc.com: "It was great to be asked to fulfil the role and help the local community. As a footballer, to give back is the right thing to do and a rewarding thing to do as well." Jarvis, of course, is treating the responsibility with the utmost seriousness and insists that taking pride in and care of the community goes hand in hand with the role of a footballer. "We know as footballers that we're role models to a lot of people, especially young children so it's important to set a good example," he added. "I appreciate that, as a collective, we perhaps don't always have the best of reputations so it's one of the little things we can do to help."
Jarvis knows plenty of the fantastic work the Trust continue to do and is amazed with the breadth of the projects they have on offer.
He continued: "It's been fantastic, to be fair. There are so many different things the Club gets involved with, which is absolutely brilliant. There are a lot more projects and schemes than I first thought. It's great to be in a position to give something back and I'm really looking forward to getting started."
Head of Community, West Ham United Community Sports Trust, Joe Lyons said: "We're delighted to have Matt on board. Joe Cole did a fantastic job for us last season and I'm sure Matt will pick up where he left off. This is a hugely exciting time for the Trust and I really hope that that Matt will enjoy getting a glimpse of all the hard work that goes on."
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Reece Burke signs pro deal
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 30th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
Rising star Reece Burke has put pen to paper on a professional contract with West Ham United. 18 earlier this month, the promising central defender grabbed the headlines when scoring the winning goal in the pre-season friendly against Sampdoria last month. Over the summer he has been the centre of a transfer tug of war with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all vying for the England Under 18 international's signature. However Burke opted to reject all those and other, almost certainly more lucrative offers in favour of remaining at West Ham's world-famous Chadwell Heath Academy, where he has played since the age of nine.
Reece Burke @Reeceburke5
very happy to have signed my first professional contract with Westham ♥️⚽️ http://instagram.com/p/tlL9vYlbtw/
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West Ham should have 'real go' at FA Cup this year says Hammers legend Trevor Brooking
Sep 30, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
Upton Park hero who scored the winner in the 1980 FA Cup Final believes the club have their strongest squad for many years and should be chasing silverware
The Mirror
Trevor Brooking wants West Ham to "have a real go" at the FA Cup this year. The Upton Park legend shares the excitement of fans who believe the club now have their strongest squad for many years. Brooking, who recently retired as the FA's Director of Football Development, now wants the Hammers to make up for their early exit from the Capital One Cup at home to third-tier Sheffield United by punching their weight in the FA Cup. The 65-year-old, who scored the winner against Arsenal in the 1980 Final, said: "I'd like to see us confident in our Premier League status and have a real go at one of the cups. "I'm a traditionalist in that respect. I was lucky enough to score the winner in the FA Cup Final back in 1980 but that's a long time ago. You never lose those memories and I just think the current generation would find a cup run really exciting." "What is really important is that we stay in the Premier League for the next couple of years and this season I can see that happening because the squad is definitely stronger than at this time last year. "If we can end the season in mid-table, then we're only one season from the move and the feel good factor will be there."
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Reece Oxford of West Ham watched again as Hammers place bumper contract on table
Sep 30, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
The young defender captained England at the Under-17s tournament in Denmark this summer and is tipped to follow in the footsteps of Rio Ferdinand
The Mirror
Arsene Wenger has had 15-year-old West Ham defender Reece Oxford watched again – this time in an under-21 win over Sunderland on Monday.
The teenager has been tracked for some time by Arsenal, who poached another highly-promising youngster, Ben Sheaf, from the Upton Park academy. Oxford captained England at the Nordic Under-17 Tournament in Denmark this summer and West Ham want to tie him to a deal to ward off Premier League rivals. Oxford also interests Chelsea and is tipped to follow in the footsteps of another former Hammer, Rio Ferdinand.
He is understood to have been offered one of the biggest contracts for his age group by the east Londoners, but has yet to commit himself.
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Former West Ham youth star opens up on 'shock' exit after recent transfer
Olly Dawes
HITC
Ex-West Ham United youngster Jack Collison says it was a 'shock to his system' to leave the club after joining Ipswich Town.West Ham United backed manager Sam Allardyce in the transfer market this summer, with the under fire Hammers boss bringing in the likes of Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Aaron Cresswell, Alex Song, Diego Poyet, Morgan Amalfitano, Mauro Zarate, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho in a bid to push the club into the top ten of the Premier League table. Yet with so many new signings, some naturally had to leave. The likes of Stephen Henderson, Jordan Spence, George McCartney, Matthew Taylor and Mohamed Diame all left Upton Park, and another player who was allowed to leave was midfielder Jack Collison Collison, who has 17 caps for Wales, joined the club from Cambridge United in 2005 when he was just 16, and whilst he had been let go by Cambridge as a result of them disbanding their youth team upon relegation to non-league, he did enough to prove that he could be an asset to the Hammers. Injuries certainly stunted Collison's development, but he racked up well over 100 appearances for the club, with his best season coming in the Hammers' promotion campaign from the Championship back to the Premier League, where he scored six goals and made three assists from 35 appearances.
Yet with first team opportunities dwindling and loan spells with Bournemouth and Wigan, it was little surprise to many that West Ham let Collison leave the club at the end of his contract - yet Collison himself said it was a 'shock to his system' that he had to leave the club he had been with for nearly ten years, but is looking forward to his time with Ipswich having joined the club on a free transfer until December.
"Leaving West Ham was obviously a bit of a shock to the system because I'd been there since I was 16. But I think it was coming, to be fair. I hadn't been in the team much, so it was expected," he said. "But these things happen in football and you have to move on. This is a new chapter in my life, a fresh challenge and one I'm really looking forward to."
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Nolan defensive role raises big question
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
England.Eye witnesses at last night's Development Under 21 game under the flood lights at the Boleyn Ground claim Kevin Nolan played a centre back role for beginning and end of the match.
The match against Sunderland's Under 21′s was won 2-0 thanks to a Elliot Lee brace. It is claimed that Sam Allardyce was present last night watching the first team trio of Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Jarvis and there was speculation whether Sam was trying the 32 year old Kevin Nolan in a centre back role in case cover is needed because of injuries later in the season.
Nolan signed a five year contract in June 2011 so has over 1 year and 8 months remaining on his reported £50,000 per week contract but it remains to seen whether he could fulfil a centre back role to Premier League standards in the final year and a half of his contract.
Nolan himself admitted he faces a fight to win back his place in the West Ham team. Last week he said "No one is guaranteed a game, If you don't play well there is someone breathing down your neck and that can only be good for the squad. If you want to get better you need that strength in depth."
Nolan, Jarvis and Vaz Te are all expected to be available for selection for Sunday's match against QPR. After the match Nolan told WHUFC.com "It's been five-and-a-half weeks since the fracture and I felt like I'd be out for a while. After about 50, 60 minutes I started to feel my legs wobble a bit. I'm just pleased to get fit and I thank them for helping me get fit again.'
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Noble injury update
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Mark Noble has a real chance of returning to the West Ham team for the clash with Queens Park Rangers this weekend. The midfielder has been suffering from a shin/calf injury and faces a scan tomorrow but his chances are rated at 70/30 in his favour. Noble was forced to pull out of the match at Manchester United last weekend after suffering the injury in training. But this afternoon ClaretandHugh was told: "Mark is in no pain do if the scan is okay tomorrow (Wed) he could play on Sunday. It looks hopeful."
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Parkes: "AC looks a back-up striker at moment"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Hammers legend Phil Parkes reckons Andy Carroll is going to have a really tough job on his hands getting back into the team when he finally returns to fitness. And having had both the striker and captain Kevin Nolan in his hospitality box recently he revealed the striker (and captain) both know they have a big fight. Parkes – addressing the issue – in typically forthright style declared: "I love the way the team are playing right now…people are running about and there's a lot of movement. It's great. "The manager has players who can play in a variety of ways and I think Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia have been great. "Andy knows he has a real job on his hands and this is exactly how it should be. Obviously one of the other of the new boys could play alongside him tu I don't think we will be seeing a return to the one up system anytime soon do you?
"And with those two up front Andy will find it tough. In fact if we are entirely honest he looks like a back up striker at the moment although much can happen in this game."It's amazing how things have turned out so far and everybody is looking forward to games and for Andy the competition can only do him the world of good."
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WHUFc.com
Elliot Lee's brace helped the Dev Squad beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Boleyn Ground
29.09.2014
West Ham United Development Squad manager Nick Haycock was delighted with his side's first win of the season as they beat a strong Sunderland team 2-0 at the Boleyn Ground. Two second half goals for striker Elliot Lee was enough to see the Hammers take all three points. Haycock fielded a side mixed of first team players such as Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis, through to emerging youngsters such as Reece Oxford and Kyle Knoyle. Speaking after the game, Haycock said: "I'm pleased. I've not been disappointed with many of the games. We've had a few 20 minute poor patches here and there but that's what you expect when you use young players. "Tonight we had two U18 players in the back line. We talk about playing players above their age level and we did that."
Another positive from Monday night's game was securing the Dev Squad's first clean sheet of the season: "We said to Raphael we need more from him in terms of commanding the back four and I thought he did that. He deserved his clean sheet. Nothing's perfect, there are still a few things we can work on but we were much more resilient."
Keeping the clean sheet was even more impressive considering they faced a Sunderland side with Duncan Watmore up front. The highly rated player was a constant thorn in the Hammers' side as he carved a number of opportunities for himself and his teammates. "Sunderland changed their formation slightly, we thought they would play Watmore wide right. But with a couple of injuries they played him upfront. "He proved a real good test against Reece's Burke and Oxford and as the game wore on they handled him better."
Speaking about the positive role club captain Kevin Nolan has had on the Dev Squad, Haycock said: "Kevin has been excellent with the younger boys ever since he came to the Club. He's a top guy, I get on with him off the pitch. When he's in the changing room it's like having an assistant manager with you. "He came back from Manchester United on Saturday annoyed that his goal didn't stand but he was in at 8.45 Sunday morning training with us to make sure we put in a performance. He was very, very good at talking to the boys out there, which is something we sometimes lack. We need a leader at times and have a go at someone if they're not doing the task they've been asked to do."
After a short goalless spell at the start of the season, Lee's brace took his personal tally to three goals in two games. Haycock praised his striker's attitude: "He was a bit disappointed at half time. He's had a season where deep down he knows he could have scored more goals. But he'll never give up running in the right areas. The first goal was a poacher's finish off a good corner from Matt Jarvis.
"For Elliot's second it was a good calm finish. In the other games so far they've been the ones shaving post or going narrowly wide. The most important thing was his overall performance. His hold up play excellent, he took some knocks and moved the centre half's around well."
Due to the International break, the Development Squad's next game is not until 24 October when they host Manchester United at Rush Green.
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Seniors grateful for U21 experience
WHUFC.com
Captain Kevin Nolan thanked the U21s for helping him regain match fitness
30.09.2014
West Ham United first team players Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis both spoke of their positive experience playing with the Development Squad as they beat Sunderland U21s 2-0 on Monday night. Two second half goals from striker Elliot Lee were enough to seal the Dev Squad's first win of the season as they look to get their league campaign up and running. Both first team players are recovering from injuries and were played in an attempt to help them gain match fitness ahead of the first team's match with Queens Park Rangers this Sunday. Speaking after the match, Nolan, who played the full 90 minutes said: "I'd just like to thank all the lads and coach Nick Haycock. They've been fantastic with me in the last couple of days. It was great. "It's been five-and-a-half weeks since the fracture and I felt like I'd be out for a while. After about 50, 60 minutes I started to feel my legs wobble a bit. I'm just pleased to get fit and I thank them for helping me get fit again. "We had a few 15 years old playing tonight so it's massive for their development too. To be able to help them out, and them help me was really nice."
Despite not notching, Sunderland had a number of chances to score, especially in the first half. and Nolan praised the way Haycock had prepared the U21s beforehand. "We expected that. Especially me, an old man in there, they found a few more holes. If I'd have been fitter with the young whippersnappers around me we would have reduced their chances even more. "I'm in the process of getting my sharpness back and it was nice just to be out there again. My shoulder was fine so that was another positive. We've got the game against QPR here on Sunday so hopefully I might be involved again. If not I've got a good few weeks until the next game so I can properly get fit."
Matt Jarvis helped set up Lee's first goal with a pin-point corner, played 81 minutes and was also full of praise for his U21 teammates.
He said: "It's good to get out there and get some minutes, so I'm delighted. It's good for both really, it's a good experience for the younger players to play with first team players but also for me. Obviously its good for my fitness and trying to push on."
Jarvis continued to say he hoped the U21 experience would help him regain his sharpness in time for the QPR game at home on Sunday afternoon: "I felt good on Monday. I've trained all last week and was in the squad for the Manchester United game so hopefully I'll be selected for Sunday."
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Sakho happy to be a marked man
WHUFC.com
Striker Diafra Sakho is thrilled to be in the spotlight as his goalscoring streak continues
29.09.2014
Diafra Sakho is perfectly happy to be a marked man in the Barclays Premier League, just so long as the goals keep on coming. With four goals in his first four West Ham United starts in league and cup, Sakho has now sailed past Leroy Rosenior's 26-year-old Club record and so expects defenders to sit up and take notice. Not that he plans to become a victim of his own success, vowing to work harder still to ensure he remains firmly on the goal trail. Speaking after his headed goal at Old Trafford so nearly paved the way for a famous Hammers revival, he told West Ham TV: "That's what I work every day in training for, because from the moment you score, opposition defences pay more attention to you. So I'll have to work harder to continue scoring. "I'm here for exactly that, to help the Club by scoring goals. On Saturday, even though I scored, I'm not satisfied since we've not been able to take a point. We'll get back down to work on Tuesday to look to make sure that we get the three points next week."
Goals and personal milestones aside, the 24-year-old was mystified as to how the Hammers could perform so well in the second half and yet leave Manchester with nothing to show for their efforts. He hopes, however, that his colleagues can take solace from the manner of the defeat and will learn the lessons of a sluggish start. "It's disappointing," he admitted. "Based on the second half, I think we deserved a point, if not to win the game. But then we know the league, we know it's tough and that games are going to be tough from start to finish. Given the display we've produced at Manchester United in the second half, I think we can work on the foundations we've built on Saturday to win games at home. "We weren't really in the game in the first half. But we woke up in the second and began to realise that even though they were in front, we were creating opportunities. We put everything into that and we'll need more of the same to hit our targets come the end of the season."
Having produced the goods against Liverpool last time out and, to no avail, at Old Trafford, Sakho wants to see West Ham hit those heights every time they take to the field, starting with Queens Park Rangers at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. He continued: "We can be confident because everyone's seen the performance we've produced on Saturday. We had them in trouble, particularly in that second half. We played really well after the break and we're going to try to [replicate that] all the time, whether it be against the big clubs or against the smaller clubs at home - to play in that same manner and win games."
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Jarvis named Community patron
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to name Matt Jarvis as Community Sports Trust patron
30.09.2014
West Ham United winger Matt Jarvis has long been impressed with the Club's community outreach work and is now to experience it first hand, having been named patron of the Hammers' Community Sports Trust. Following in the footsteps of Academy graduate Joe Cole, patron Jarvis will be lending his support to the multitude of Trust programmes, while making selected special appearances to raise the organisation's profile further still. Having already been regularly involved in community projects in his two seasons at the Boleyn Ground, the 28-year-old is naturally delighted to take on this new mantle.
He told whufc.com: "It was great to be asked to fulfil the role and help the local community. As a footballer, to give back is the right thing to do and a rewarding thing to do as well." Jarvis, of course, is treating the responsibility with the utmost seriousness and insists that taking pride in and care of the community goes hand in hand with the role of a footballer. "We know as footballers that we're role models to a lot of people, especially young children so it's important to set a good example," he added. "I appreciate that, as a collective, we perhaps don't always have the best of reputations so it's one of the little things we can do to help."
Jarvis knows plenty of the fantastic work the Trust continue to do and is amazed with the breadth of the projects they have on offer.
He continued: "It's been fantastic, to be fair. There are so many different things the Club gets involved with, which is absolutely brilliant. There are a lot more projects and schemes than I first thought. It's great to be in a position to give something back and I'm really looking forward to getting started."
Head of Community, West Ham United Community Sports Trust, Joe Lyons said: "We're delighted to have Matt on board. Joe Cole did a fantastic job for us last season and I'm sure Matt will pick up where he left off. This is a hugely exciting time for the Trust and I really hope that that Matt will enjoy getting a glimpse of all the hard work that goes on."
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Reece Burke signs pro deal
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 30th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
Rising star Reece Burke has put pen to paper on a professional contract with West Ham United. 18 earlier this month, the promising central defender grabbed the headlines when scoring the winning goal in the pre-season friendly against Sampdoria last month. Over the summer he has been the centre of a transfer tug of war with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all vying for the England Under 18 international's signature. However Burke opted to reject all those and other, almost certainly more lucrative offers in favour of remaining at West Ham's world-famous Chadwell Heath Academy, where he has played since the age of nine.
Reece Burke @Reeceburke5
very happy to have signed my first professional contract with Westham ♥️⚽️ http://instagram.com/p/tlL9vYlbtw/
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West Ham should have 'real go' at FA Cup this year says Hammers legend Trevor Brooking
Sep 30, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
Upton Park hero who scored the winner in the 1980 FA Cup Final believes the club have their strongest squad for many years and should be chasing silverware
The Mirror
Trevor Brooking wants West Ham to "have a real go" at the FA Cup this year. The Upton Park legend shares the excitement of fans who believe the club now have their strongest squad for many years. Brooking, who recently retired as the FA's Director of Football Development, now wants the Hammers to make up for their early exit from the Capital One Cup at home to third-tier Sheffield United by punching their weight in the FA Cup. The 65-year-old, who scored the winner against Arsenal in the 1980 Final, said: "I'd like to see us confident in our Premier League status and have a real go at one of the cups. "I'm a traditionalist in that respect. I was lucky enough to score the winner in the FA Cup Final back in 1980 but that's a long time ago. You never lose those memories and I just think the current generation would find a cup run really exciting." "What is really important is that we stay in the Premier League for the next couple of years and this season I can see that happening because the squad is definitely stronger than at this time last year. "If we can end the season in mid-table, then we're only one season from the move and the feel good factor will be there."
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Reece Oxford of West Ham watched again as Hammers place bumper contract on table
Sep 30, 2014 22:30 By Darren Lewis
The young defender captained England at the Under-17s tournament in Denmark this summer and is tipped to follow in the footsteps of Rio Ferdinand
The Mirror
Arsene Wenger has had 15-year-old West Ham defender Reece Oxford watched again – this time in an under-21 win over Sunderland on Monday.
The teenager has been tracked for some time by Arsenal, who poached another highly-promising youngster, Ben Sheaf, from the Upton Park academy. Oxford captained England at the Nordic Under-17 Tournament in Denmark this summer and West Ham want to tie him to a deal to ward off Premier League rivals. Oxford also interests Chelsea and is tipped to follow in the footsteps of another former Hammer, Rio Ferdinand.
He is understood to have been offered one of the biggest contracts for his age group by the east Londoners, but has yet to commit himself.
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Former West Ham youth star opens up on 'shock' exit after recent transfer
Olly Dawes
HITC
Ex-West Ham United youngster Jack Collison says it was a 'shock to his system' to leave the club after joining Ipswich Town.West Ham United backed manager Sam Allardyce in the transfer market this summer, with the under fire Hammers boss bringing in the likes of Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Aaron Cresswell, Alex Song, Diego Poyet, Morgan Amalfitano, Mauro Zarate, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho in a bid to push the club into the top ten of the Premier League table. Yet with so many new signings, some naturally had to leave. The likes of Stephen Henderson, Jordan Spence, George McCartney, Matthew Taylor and Mohamed Diame all left Upton Park, and another player who was allowed to leave was midfielder Jack Collison Collison, who has 17 caps for Wales, joined the club from Cambridge United in 2005 when he was just 16, and whilst he had been let go by Cambridge as a result of them disbanding their youth team upon relegation to non-league, he did enough to prove that he could be an asset to the Hammers. Injuries certainly stunted Collison's development, but he racked up well over 100 appearances for the club, with his best season coming in the Hammers' promotion campaign from the Championship back to the Premier League, where he scored six goals and made three assists from 35 appearances.
Yet with first team opportunities dwindling and loan spells with Bournemouth and Wigan, it was little surprise to many that West Ham let Collison leave the club at the end of his contract - yet Collison himself said it was a 'shock to his system' that he had to leave the club he had been with for nearly ten years, but is looking forward to his time with Ipswich having joined the club on a free transfer until December.
"Leaving West Ham was obviously a bit of a shock to the system because I'd been there since I was 16. But I think it was coming, to be fair. I hadn't been in the team much, so it was expected," he said. "But these things happen in football and you have to move on. This is a new chapter in my life, a fresh challenge and one I'm really looking forward to."
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Nolan defensive role raises big question
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
England.Eye witnesses at last night's Development Under 21 game under the flood lights at the Boleyn Ground claim Kevin Nolan played a centre back role for beginning and end of the match.
The match against Sunderland's Under 21′s was won 2-0 thanks to a Elliot Lee brace. It is claimed that Sam Allardyce was present last night watching the first team trio of Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Jarvis and there was speculation whether Sam was trying the 32 year old Kevin Nolan in a centre back role in case cover is needed because of injuries later in the season.
Nolan signed a five year contract in June 2011 so has over 1 year and 8 months remaining on his reported £50,000 per week contract but it remains to seen whether he could fulfil a centre back role to Premier League standards in the final year and a half of his contract.
Nolan himself admitted he faces a fight to win back his place in the West Ham team. Last week he said "No one is guaranteed a game, If you don't play well there is someone breathing down your neck and that can only be good for the squad. If you want to get better you need that strength in depth."
Nolan, Jarvis and Vaz Te are all expected to be available for selection for Sunday's match against QPR. After the match Nolan told WHUFC.com "It's been five-and-a-half weeks since the fracture and I felt like I'd be out for a while. After about 50, 60 minutes I started to feel my legs wobble a bit. I'm just pleased to get fit and I thank them for helping me get fit again.'
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Noble injury update
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Mark Noble has a real chance of returning to the West Ham team for the clash with Queens Park Rangers this weekend. The midfielder has been suffering from a shin/calf injury and faces a scan tomorrow but his chances are rated at 70/30 in his favour. Noble was forced to pull out of the match at Manchester United last weekend after suffering the injury in training. But this afternoon ClaretandHugh was told: "Mark is in no pain do if the scan is okay tomorrow (Wed) he could play on Sunday. It looks hopeful."
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Parkes: "AC looks a back-up striker at moment"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 30, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Hammers legend Phil Parkes reckons Andy Carroll is going to have a really tough job on his hands getting back into the team when he finally returns to fitness. And having had both the striker and captain Kevin Nolan in his hospitality box recently he revealed the striker (and captain) both know they have a big fight. Parkes – addressing the issue – in typically forthright style declared: "I love the way the team are playing right now…people are running about and there's a lot of movement. It's great. "The manager has players who can play in a variety of ways and I think Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia have been great. "Andy knows he has a real job on his hands and this is exactly how it should be. Obviously one of the other of the new boys could play alongside him tu I don't think we will be seeing a return to the one up system anytime soon do you?
"And with those two up front Andy will find it tough. In fact if we are entirely honest he looks like a back up striker at the moment although much can happen in this game."It's amazing how things have turned out so far and everybody is looking forward to games and for Andy the competition can only do him the world of good."
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Tuesday, September 30
Daily WHUFC News - 30th September 2014
Song proud to captain Hammers
WHUFC.com
Stand-in skipper Alex Song was delighted to wear the armband for Saturday's
game at Manchester United
29.09.2014
Alex Song feels that a point was well within West Ham United's grasp after
they fought back with a resilient display to run Manchester United right
to the wire on Saturday. Despite losing 2-1, Song, who captained the side
for the match at Old Trafford, felt that it was important the Hammers
recovered from what he said was a disappointing start to the game, which saw
United race into a 2-0 lead through goals from Wayne Rooney and Robin van
Persie. The Hammers found their composure, grabbed a goal back through
Diafra Sakho and went into the half-time break on the up. They came out for
the second half and put pressure on Louis van Gaal's team and were
dramatically denied an 89th minute equaliser when Kevin Nolan's effort was
deemed off-side. Song felt that collective spirit meant that the Hammers
were not far away from taking a point back to east London. "We didn't start
the game as we wanted, they scored the two goals and we weren't happy with
the beginning, not like how we played last weekend against Liverpool," he
explained. "But we got a goal back which made the score close, we were
putting the pressure on them as this was important. In the second half we
were much better and in the end yes, we are disappointed that we went away
with nothing, because what we deserved in the second half was much more, we
deserved the point."
Song collected a man of the match award from supporters of both clubs at Old
Trafford on Saturday following the match and he was also proud of another
accolade on the day, captaining Sam Allardyce's side against the Red Devils
in what was his second Barclays Premier League game for the Hammers. In the
absence of vice-captain Mark Noble, who was ruled out of the match after
picking up a calf injury in training on Friday, and club captain Kevin Nolan
only just back on the bench following a spell on side with a fractured
shoulder, it fell to Song to take on the skipper duties, something he was
very proud to do. "It was a great honour for me," he added. "I wanted to
take on this responsibility well to thank the manager for giving this
opportunity to me for the match, my team-mates and to do well for our fans,
who were all fantastic in backing us throughout the match. "It was very good
for me and I was delighted to do this. We did not win in this match but we
have confidence to take from this and now we look to our next match, at home
to QPR to do again what we can do and hopefully get the right result for
us."
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Manager on Monday
WHUFc.com
Sam Allardyce is demanding a defensive improvement from his West Ham United
side
28.09.2014
Sam Allardyce wants his West Ham United side to start turning performances
into points when Queens Park Rangers visit the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. The
West Ham United manager saw encouraging showing sadly yield no return as his
side were narrow losers at Manchester United on Saturday. He demanding more
of his squad this Sunday and is clear that the primary area for improvement
is a defence that he feels is shipping goals far too easily at present.
"Overall I wouldn't say it's been a great start [to the season] in terms of
points as we should have at least nine or maybe ten points so far,"
Allardyce said. "There have been some great performances but great
performances need to accumulate points and they're not accumulating enough
points. "Our team seriously has to start thinking about not conceding too
many goals. At the moment we have to score a minimum of two goals a game and
I don't think we're quite there at the moment where we can score two or more
goals every game to get where we want to."
Tellingly, some generous defending from the visitors played a part in both
of the host's first-half goals at Old Trafford, with two clinically-taken
efforts from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie leaving Adrian with no
chance. Big Sam's side did pull one back through Diafra Sakho's fourth goal
in as many starts just before the break, before they laid siege to the Red
Devils' goal in the second half following Wayne Rooney's dismissal for a
kick at Stewart Downing. "We set up to try and attack and if we hadn't have
made the silly mistakes we might have won," Allardyce exaplained. "But even
after they scored we had a golden chance for Enner Valencia to make it 1-1
and you've got to take your chances when you come to Old Trafford. Then,
after we made a bad mistake for the second, there was a good comeback, but
not good enough."
The travelling Claret and Blue Army - who were superb throughout - thought
their outstanding support had been rewarded when the returning Kevin Nolan
prodded in a Carl Jenkinson cross in injury time. Sadly for the West Ham
United captain and the thousands of visiting fans, the goal was
controversially ruled out by the assistant referee for offside, a decision
Big Sam was somewhat disappointed with.
"We patiently waited to break down the ten men that were camped in their box
to try and hang on for the victory. We got behind them and Kevin timed his
run and put it in the net but the assistant referee has blown it for us
sadly. "But we have our own blame to take for the way we gave the first two
goals away and then not taking our chances at the other end."
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FT - Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland U21
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee's doubled gave the Hammers a 2-0 win over Sunderland U21 on
Monday evening
29.09.2014
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD v SUNDERLAND U21
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE
BOLEYN GROUND
MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: ANTHONY SERRANO
FT: Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland
We'll bring you reaction as soon as possible. COYI!
The final whistle blows and the Hammers have won 2-0. Two goals from Lee
secured a hard fought victory.
90+3: Credit to Sunderland they haven't given up as they still try to play
their passing game. Lawson shots fiercely but Spiegel is equal to it. He
wants his first clean sheet of the season badly.
90+1: Just a few minutes remaining. The first win is surely West Ham's now.
90: Kevin Nolan has gone to centre-back for the last few minutes.
88: Late controversy here at Reece Burke is given a second yellow card. The
crowd don't like it. He certainly got the ball but the referee judged it
reckless. Very harsh decision.
86: The Hammers are playing keep ball now, happy to see the game out. Just
under five minutes of normal time to play.
83: Brown looking to make his mark almost immediately. He runs at the back
four but they eventually crowd him out.
81: Jordan Brown replaces Matt Jarvis. A very encouraging run out for the
winger, he looked in good nick.
79: Bywater goes close to sealing the win as he fires a fierce shot from
distance. Lee running into the box trying to grab his hat trick!
78: GOAL for West Ham! Elliot Lee scores again as his curls a wonderful shot
from the edge of the box. 2-0.
76: Having just said that the Black Cats go close through Lawson's shot. It
beats Spiegel but lands on the roof of the net.
75: Sunderland pushing for an equaliser but not creating any real chances.
Their frustration is clear to see.
73: Elliot Lee battles his way to the edge of the box. His shot is deflected
and flashes narrowly wide.
71: The tackles are really flying in here! Both teams working hard to win
the ball. Neither side giving the other an inch.
69: GOAL! From the resulting corner Lee rises highest to head home from six
yards. Superb cross from Jarvis. 1-0.
68: Jarvis goes for a shot this time but it is blocked.
66: Cartwright fires a fierc shot from distance but Spiegel has it covered.
64: Let off for West Ham. Watmore has another free-kick just outside the
box. His effort goes tamely into wall.
61: Excellent chance for West Ham. Jarvis beats his man and chips a
wonderful cross for Bywater to head back across goal. Somehow the goalkeeper
Dixon gets a glove to it. Best chance of the second half so far.
59: Substitution for West Ham. Nathan Mavila replaces Ricardo Vaz Te.
57: Vaz Te robs the right-back on the edge of the box. He sets up Nolan on
the edge of the box, but his shot scoops wide. Vaz Te is down receiving
treatment.
55: More good defending from the Hammers. This time Page comes to rescue
hooking a clearance off Lawson's foot just as he was about to pull the
trigger.
53: Excellent defending from Oxford. Watmore appears to have beaten him but
he slides superbly to clear the danger. Had he got that wrong it would have
been a penalty and a red card.
50: Just as the first half, West Ham have started the brighter. Whitehead
and Bywater are seeing more of the ball and feeding the channels well.
48: West Ham win a corner early on. Jarvis to float it in again but the
defence stands tall.
46: The Hammers are unchanged for the second half. Nolan, Jarvis and Vaz Te
appear to be fine, we'll see how long they last in the next 45 minutes.
46: The Hammers are back out on the pitch first, waiting for our hosts to
rejoin us.
HT: Dev Squad 0-0 Sunderland
HT: 0-0 still at the Boleyn ground. Chances galore for both sides.
Sunderland having the better of them and should really have been two or
three up.
46: A last chance this half for the hosts. Vaz Te looks to turn provider
with Knoyle on the overlap. The pass is delayed a fraction and the
right-back is flagged offside.
45: Two minutes of time to be played here at the Boleyn.
45: Same routine for the Hammers. Jarvis, down the line for Vaz Te to
header. Again, his effort goes tamely wide.
43: Another good chance for the visitors as they work it down the left
flank. The ball comes in and McNamee seems to dummy it for the striker yet
in evades him. Had he not ben so selfless he would have almost certainly
scored.
40: Free-kick to West Ham after McNamee handballs it. Poor delivery from
Jarvis as it is cleared by the first man.
37: Excellent save from Spiegel, Watmore places it and just as it's about to
nestle in the top corner, Spiegel gets a firm glove to it and put it out for
a corner. Excellent goalkeeping.
37: Free-kick to Sunderland just outside the box. This is a real
opportunity...
34: Jarvis and Page combine down the left well to force a corner. Jarvis'
delievery is eventually cleared into touch.
31: Seconds later No10 Carl Lawson bends a shot just wide of Spiegel's far
post.
30: Watmore dances his way through the defence to drag a ball across the six
yard box. Lewis Page is on hand to block the shot on the line. West Ham
lucky again.
27: Another chance goes begging! A free kick is whipped in from the
right-hand corner and the ball breaks for Vaz Te in the six yard box who
slides it wide. There's a stoppage in play as Reece Burke receives
treatment. He's up now but walking very slowly.
24: The game is incredibly open. Bywater goes full blooded into a challege
which his opposite number did not like. A combination of the referee and
Jarvis are on hand to calm everything down. Good mentoring from the England
international there, good to see him back playing at the BG.
22: The Black cats have the ball in the back of the net but it is chalkedoff
for offside by the assistant referee. The Sunderland forward moved just a
fraction too early.
20: From the resulting corner, Lee connects well from a Jarvis delivery but
his header goes agonizingly wide.
19: Good play from the hosts. Burke heads a corner away for Lee to run with.
He checks his run before laying a perfect ball to Jarvis. He runs to the
byline as Vaz Te's header to scooped out for a corner.
18: Sunderland coming into the game more, getting a hold of possession in
midfield. Jarvis chests the ball down before trying his luck from 30 odd
yards, what a goal that would've been. The goalkeeper clutches the shot
gladly.
16: Sunderland claiming a penalty after Spiegel collided with Watmore.
Referee says play on as the goalkeeper looked to get to the ball first. Good
decision.
13: Sunderland construct a nice move which eventaully comes to nothing after
Cartwright's cross is too deep. West Ham respond with a cross by Vaz Te
aimed at Jarvis yet the keeper collects calmly.
12: Kevin Nolan plays a good ball for Elliot Lee to run onto. He tries to
cut in and shoot but his effort is blocked by the defender Oliver.
9: Watmore looks to be the danger man for the Black Cats. A stray ball finds
him one on one with Spiegel, his shot hits the post when he really should
have scored. A huge let off.
8: West Ham have started the better team here. Bywater winds up for a shot
from distance but doesn't get the connection right.
5: Reece Burke goes into the book for a foul on Watmore. The resulting free
kick is cleared away for Jarvis to race down the wing. He tees Vaz Te up who
on the stretch shoots high and wide.
3: Reece Burke plays a long ball forward for Lee to chase but the Sunderland
'keeper Dixon gathers.
1: A frantic, fast paced start to this game. West Ham winning a series of
throw-ins down the left wing looking to set Jarvis free. Captain Nolan
orchestrating the proceedings.
The teams are out! Handshakes and coin toss completed and we're all set. The
Hammers go into their pre-match huddle and burst out into all corners of
their half. The hosts in their traditional claret and blue while the
visitors are in their customary red and white stripes.
Less than five minutes to go here at the Boleyn. COYI!
Just under 20 minutes to go here at the Boleyn Ground. The floodlights are
on, the pitch looks immaculate and the fans are beginning to come in.
Tonight's referee is Anthony Serrano, Assistant referee's are Rick Bloy and
Jacob Miles. Robert Claussen is the fourth official.
Both teams are out on the pitch warming up. Half an hour till kick-off.
The Black Cats recorded their first victory of the season last week as they
beat Tottenham 2-1. Goals from David Ferguson and Martin Smith secured the
victory over the Londoners.
On to news of our visitors, Sunderland.
Last time out Haycock's men recorded a deserved point as they drew 1-1 away
with Fulham. The Cottagers took the lead through Marcello Trotta, however
the Hammers equalised almost immediately through Elliot Lee's first goal of
the campaign.
The Dev Squad have had a difficult start to their league campaign having
only taken two points from their opening five games. However the Hammers'
points tally has not reflected their good performances so far.
There are also two changes on the subs bench as U18s goal machine Jordan
Brown and playmaker Grady Diangana make the step up to U21 football. Brown
has been on fire this season scoring five goals in six league games. Both
Brown and Diangana netted against Reading on Saturday in a convincing 4-0
win. To read the match report, click here.
Nick Haycock makes three changes to the starting XI as first team players
Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te all start in their bid to gain
match fitness. Nolan and Jarvis are returning from injuries and we'll be
keeping a close eye on their fitness for you throughout the evening.
The teams are in…
West Ham United: Spiegel, Knoyle, Page, Nolan, Oxford, Burke, Jarvis,
Bywater, Lee, Whitehead, Vaz Te
Subs: Mavila, Boness, Nasha, Brown, Diangana
Sunderland: Dixon, Cartwright, Robson, Oliver, McNamee, Ferguson, Watmore,
Agnew, Smith, Lawson, Greenwood.
Subs: Sukar, Burke, Robson, Blinco, Ledger
We'll have team news very shortly...
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's match as the West Ham
United Development Squad take on Sunderland U21, here at the Boleyn Ground.
KO 7pm.
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West Ham's James Tomkins fined over police assault
James Tomkins
BBc.co.uk
A Premier League footballer has been fined for assaulting a police officer
outside an Essex nightclub. West Ham defender James Tomkins, 25, was refused
entry to the Sugar Hut in Brentwood on 21 December last year, and security
staff called police. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police
constable, being drunk and disorderly in public and obstructing a police
constable. He has been fined £3,500 for the assault.
'Blot on character'
Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Martin Everett, told him:
"It is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial and witnesses".
"This is a blot on your character," he said. He added he had "no doubt" that
West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Tomkins, of Hutton
Mount, Shenfield, was also ordered to pay £3,785 in court costs, £200
compensation to the police constable and a £120 victim surcharge.
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Sakho in the clear...
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer No. 2
Striker Diafra Sakho will face no further action over his alleged
involvement in an incident that left Manchester United Luke Shaw with a
black eye."Sources close to" the 19-year-old, ex-Southampton full-back
claimed that Sakho had head-butted Shaw during the second half of Saturday's
2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Referee Lee Mason's match report made no mention
of the supposed clash, potentially allowing the FA to take retrospective
action. However, following a review of match footage by a three-man
disciplinary panel the FA has confirmed that the Irons' top scorer, who has
scored in all four of his first team starts this season, had "no case to
answer" and that the matter is now closed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slap on the wrist for Tomkins
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's James Tomkins has been fined after pleading guilty to
assaulting a police officer. The 25-year old was ordered to pay a fine of
£3,500 plus costs as a result of the incident which took place outside
Brentwood's Sugar Hut nightclub in December 2013. Tomkins was arrested a a
matter of hours after West Ham's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old
Trafford. He was said to have injured a Police officer in the ensuing
brouhaha, who was awarded the nominal sum of £200 compensation as a result
at Southend Magistrates Court earlier today. Rupert Bowers, defending, told
the court that Tomkins believed he had let himself down. "He has been
extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his reputation and the
coverage it has had," he said. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his
club by way of a financial penalty."
The defender admitted assaulting and obstructing a police constable and
being drunk and disorderly.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's James Tomkins fined for assaulting policeman
Last Updated: 29/09/14 2:13pm
SSN
West Ham defender James Tomkins has been fined £3,500 for assaulting a
police officer. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police constable,
being drunk and disorderly in a public place and obstructing a constable
outside the Sugar Hut nightclub in Brentwood, Essex on the night of December
21. Martin Everett, chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court,
Essex, told him "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial
and witnesses". Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to
pay £3,785 court costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120
victim surcharge. He was told there would be no further penalty for the
other offences.
The 25-year-old, of Hutton Mount, Shenfield, had been partying at the
nightclub made famous by the TV series The Only Way Is Essex. Mr Everett
told Tomkins, who stood quietly in the dock during sentencing, that "this is
a blot on your character". He also said he had "no doubt" that West Ham
"will take their own action" to punish him. He added: "You were in this
particular case, pushed quite hard by a member of staff but your reaction,
as you have admitted, was an over-reaction."
He told the footballer that in the police car he had dealt with the
situation "inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Tomkins, a former England Under-21 international who appeared for Team GB at
the Olympics in 2012, had played for West Ham hours before the incident in
their 3-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Rupert Bowers,
defending, had told the court that as a footballer Tomkins gets "a lot a
attention, much of it unwanted". He said: "They receive training and receive
guidance from the FA. Mr Tomkins accepts that on this occasion he let
himself down. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his club by way of a
financial penalty.
"He has been extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his
reputation and the coverage it has had." He also described him as a " young
man of previous good character (who is) usually looked up to."
Tomkins left the court and in to a waiting car without comment.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
TOMKINS FINED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY
By Sean Whetstone 29 Sep 2014 at 14:27
James Tomkins has been fined a total of £7,605 including costs for
assaulting a police officer today in court. Tomkins changed his plea to
guilty on charges he assaulted a police constable, was drunk and disorderly
in a public place and obstructing a constable outside the Sugar Hut
nightclub on the night of December 22nd after a 3-1 loss against Manchester
United. the Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Essex, Martin
Everett, told Tomkins "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a
trial and witnesses".
Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to pay £3,785 court
costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120 victim surcharge.
Mr Everett told Tomkins "this is a blot on your character".He also said he
had "no doubt" that West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Mr
Everett told Tomkins: "You were in this particular case, pushed quite hard
by a member of staff but your reaction, as you have admitted, was an
over-reaction."
He told the defender that in the police car he had dealt with the situation
"inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Rupert Bowers, defending, had told the court that as a footballer he gets "a
lot a attention, much of it unwanted". He said:"They receive training and
receive guidance from the FA (Football Association). Mr Tomkins accepts that
on this occasion he let himself down.He will no doubt also be disciplined by
his club by way of a financial penalty.He has been extremely stressed about
these proceedings, about his reputation and the coverage it has had." His
lawyer also described him as a "young man of previous good character (who
is) usually looked up to."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho won't face FA action over alleged Luke Shaw
headbutt
Sep 29, 2014 16:51 By Alex Richards
The Manchester United defender left Old Trafford with a black eye on
Saturday evening following a supposed incident with the Hammers goalscorer
The Mirror
West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho will NOT face retrospective action from
the FA after an alleged headbutt on Manchester United defender Luke Shaw.
The England left-back was spotted sporting a black eye following the Red
Devils 2-1 win on Saturday, during which Sakho scored the Hammers only goal.
Shaw, who cost United £28million when signed from Southampton during the
summer, complained to officials following an off-the-ball incident, which
was missed by referee Lee Mason. Shaw was seen remonstrating with a linesman
during the second half. However, after reviewing video footage of the match,
the offence hasn't been deemed serious enough to warrant a red card, had the
officials seen it at the time. That means Sakho, who has scored in each of
his first four West Ham matches, won't face a three-match ban.
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WHUFC.com
Stand-in skipper Alex Song was delighted to wear the armband for Saturday's
game at Manchester United
29.09.2014
Alex Song feels that a point was well within West Ham United's grasp after
they fought back with a resilient display to run Manchester United right
to the wire on Saturday. Despite losing 2-1, Song, who captained the side
for the match at Old Trafford, felt that it was important the Hammers
recovered from what he said was a disappointing start to the game, which saw
United race into a 2-0 lead through goals from Wayne Rooney and Robin van
Persie. The Hammers found their composure, grabbed a goal back through
Diafra Sakho and went into the half-time break on the up. They came out for
the second half and put pressure on Louis van Gaal's team and were
dramatically denied an 89th minute equaliser when Kevin Nolan's effort was
deemed off-side. Song felt that collective spirit meant that the Hammers
were not far away from taking a point back to east London. "We didn't start
the game as we wanted, they scored the two goals and we weren't happy with
the beginning, not like how we played last weekend against Liverpool," he
explained. "But we got a goal back which made the score close, we were
putting the pressure on them as this was important. In the second half we
were much better and in the end yes, we are disappointed that we went away
with nothing, because what we deserved in the second half was much more, we
deserved the point."
Song collected a man of the match award from supporters of both clubs at Old
Trafford on Saturday following the match and he was also proud of another
accolade on the day, captaining Sam Allardyce's side against the Red Devils
in what was his second Barclays Premier League game for the Hammers. In the
absence of vice-captain Mark Noble, who was ruled out of the match after
picking up a calf injury in training on Friday, and club captain Kevin Nolan
only just back on the bench following a spell on side with a fractured
shoulder, it fell to Song to take on the skipper duties, something he was
very proud to do. "It was a great honour for me," he added. "I wanted to
take on this responsibility well to thank the manager for giving this
opportunity to me for the match, my team-mates and to do well for our fans,
who were all fantastic in backing us throughout the match. "It was very good
for me and I was delighted to do this. We did not win in this match but we
have confidence to take from this and now we look to our next match, at home
to QPR to do again what we can do and hopefully get the right result for
us."
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Manager on Monday
WHUFc.com
Sam Allardyce is demanding a defensive improvement from his West Ham United
side
28.09.2014
Sam Allardyce wants his West Ham United side to start turning performances
into points when Queens Park Rangers visit the Boleyn Ground on Sunday. The
West Ham United manager saw encouraging showing sadly yield no return as his
side were narrow losers at Manchester United on Saturday. He demanding more
of his squad this Sunday and is clear that the primary area for improvement
is a defence that he feels is shipping goals far too easily at present.
"Overall I wouldn't say it's been a great start [to the season] in terms of
points as we should have at least nine or maybe ten points so far,"
Allardyce said. "There have been some great performances but great
performances need to accumulate points and they're not accumulating enough
points. "Our team seriously has to start thinking about not conceding too
many goals. At the moment we have to score a minimum of two goals a game and
I don't think we're quite there at the moment where we can score two or more
goals every game to get where we want to."
Tellingly, some generous defending from the visitors played a part in both
of the host's first-half goals at Old Trafford, with two clinically-taken
efforts from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie leaving Adrian with no
chance. Big Sam's side did pull one back through Diafra Sakho's fourth goal
in as many starts just before the break, before they laid siege to the Red
Devils' goal in the second half following Wayne Rooney's dismissal for a
kick at Stewart Downing. "We set up to try and attack and if we hadn't have
made the silly mistakes we might have won," Allardyce exaplained. "But even
after they scored we had a golden chance for Enner Valencia to make it 1-1
and you've got to take your chances when you come to Old Trafford. Then,
after we made a bad mistake for the second, there was a good comeback, but
not good enough."
The travelling Claret and Blue Army - who were superb throughout - thought
their outstanding support had been rewarded when the returning Kevin Nolan
prodded in a Carl Jenkinson cross in injury time. Sadly for the West Ham
United captain and the thousands of visiting fans, the goal was
controversially ruled out by the assistant referee for offside, a decision
Big Sam was somewhat disappointed with.
"We patiently waited to break down the ten men that were camped in their box
to try and hang on for the victory. We got behind them and Kevin timed his
run and put it in the net but the assistant referee has blown it for us
sadly. "But we have our own blame to take for the way we gave the first two
goals away and then not taking our chances at the other end."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FT - Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland U21
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee's doubled gave the Hammers a 2-0 win over Sunderland U21 on
Monday evening
29.09.2014
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD v SUNDERLAND U21
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE
BOLEYN GROUND
MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: ANTHONY SERRANO
FT: Dev Squad 2-0 Sunderland
We'll bring you reaction as soon as possible. COYI!
The final whistle blows and the Hammers have won 2-0. Two goals from Lee
secured a hard fought victory.
90+3: Credit to Sunderland they haven't given up as they still try to play
their passing game. Lawson shots fiercely but Spiegel is equal to it. He
wants his first clean sheet of the season badly.
90+1: Just a few minutes remaining. The first win is surely West Ham's now.
90: Kevin Nolan has gone to centre-back for the last few minutes.
88: Late controversy here at Reece Burke is given a second yellow card. The
crowd don't like it. He certainly got the ball but the referee judged it
reckless. Very harsh decision.
86: The Hammers are playing keep ball now, happy to see the game out. Just
under five minutes of normal time to play.
83: Brown looking to make his mark almost immediately. He runs at the back
four but they eventually crowd him out.
81: Jordan Brown replaces Matt Jarvis. A very encouraging run out for the
winger, he looked in good nick.
79: Bywater goes close to sealing the win as he fires a fierce shot from
distance. Lee running into the box trying to grab his hat trick!
78: GOAL for West Ham! Elliot Lee scores again as his curls a wonderful shot
from the edge of the box. 2-0.
76: Having just said that the Black Cats go close through Lawson's shot. It
beats Spiegel but lands on the roof of the net.
75: Sunderland pushing for an equaliser but not creating any real chances.
Their frustration is clear to see.
73: Elliot Lee battles his way to the edge of the box. His shot is deflected
and flashes narrowly wide.
71: The tackles are really flying in here! Both teams working hard to win
the ball. Neither side giving the other an inch.
69: GOAL! From the resulting corner Lee rises highest to head home from six
yards. Superb cross from Jarvis. 1-0.
68: Jarvis goes for a shot this time but it is blocked.
66: Cartwright fires a fierc shot from distance but Spiegel has it covered.
64: Let off for West Ham. Watmore has another free-kick just outside the
box. His effort goes tamely into wall.
61: Excellent chance for West Ham. Jarvis beats his man and chips a
wonderful cross for Bywater to head back across goal. Somehow the goalkeeper
Dixon gets a glove to it. Best chance of the second half so far.
59: Substitution for West Ham. Nathan Mavila replaces Ricardo Vaz Te.
57: Vaz Te robs the right-back on the edge of the box. He sets up Nolan on
the edge of the box, but his shot scoops wide. Vaz Te is down receiving
treatment.
55: More good defending from the Hammers. This time Page comes to rescue
hooking a clearance off Lawson's foot just as he was about to pull the
trigger.
53: Excellent defending from Oxford. Watmore appears to have beaten him but
he slides superbly to clear the danger. Had he got that wrong it would have
been a penalty and a red card.
50: Just as the first half, West Ham have started the brighter. Whitehead
and Bywater are seeing more of the ball and feeding the channels well.
48: West Ham win a corner early on. Jarvis to float it in again but the
defence stands tall.
46: The Hammers are unchanged for the second half. Nolan, Jarvis and Vaz Te
appear to be fine, we'll see how long they last in the next 45 minutes.
46: The Hammers are back out on the pitch first, waiting for our hosts to
rejoin us.
HT: Dev Squad 0-0 Sunderland
HT: 0-0 still at the Boleyn ground. Chances galore for both sides.
Sunderland having the better of them and should really have been two or
three up.
46: A last chance this half for the hosts. Vaz Te looks to turn provider
with Knoyle on the overlap. The pass is delayed a fraction and the
right-back is flagged offside.
45: Two minutes of time to be played here at the Boleyn.
45: Same routine for the Hammers. Jarvis, down the line for Vaz Te to
header. Again, his effort goes tamely wide.
43: Another good chance for the visitors as they work it down the left
flank. The ball comes in and McNamee seems to dummy it for the striker yet
in evades him. Had he not ben so selfless he would have almost certainly
scored.
40: Free-kick to West Ham after McNamee handballs it. Poor delivery from
Jarvis as it is cleared by the first man.
37: Excellent save from Spiegel, Watmore places it and just as it's about to
nestle in the top corner, Spiegel gets a firm glove to it and put it out for
a corner. Excellent goalkeeping.
37: Free-kick to Sunderland just outside the box. This is a real
opportunity...
34: Jarvis and Page combine down the left well to force a corner. Jarvis'
delievery is eventually cleared into touch.
31: Seconds later No10 Carl Lawson bends a shot just wide of Spiegel's far
post.
30: Watmore dances his way through the defence to drag a ball across the six
yard box. Lewis Page is on hand to block the shot on the line. West Ham
lucky again.
27: Another chance goes begging! A free kick is whipped in from the
right-hand corner and the ball breaks for Vaz Te in the six yard box who
slides it wide. There's a stoppage in play as Reece Burke receives
treatment. He's up now but walking very slowly.
24: The game is incredibly open. Bywater goes full blooded into a challege
which his opposite number did not like. A combination of the referee and
Jarvis are on hand to calm everything down. Good mentoring from the England
international there, good to see him back playing at the BG.
22: The Black cats have the ball in the back of the net but it is chalkedoff
for offside by the assistant referee. The Sunderland forward moved just a
fraction too early.
20: From the resulting corner, Lee connects well from a Jarvis delivery but
his header goes agonizingly wide.
19: Good play from the hosts. Burke heads a corner away for Lee to run with.
He checks his run before laying a perfect ball to Jarvis. He runs to the
byline as Vaz Te's header to scooped out for a corner.
18: Sunderland coming into the game more, getting a hold of possession in
midfield. Jarvis chests the ball down before trying his luck from 30 odd
yards, what a goal that would've been. The goalkeeper clutches the shot
gladly.
16: Sunderland claiming a penalty after Spiegel collided with Watmore.
Referee says play on as the goalkeeper looked to get to the ball first. Good
decision.
13: Sunderland construct a nice move which eventaully comes to nothing after
Cartwright's cross is too deep. West Ham respond with a cross by Vaz Te
aimed at Jarvis yet the keeper collects calmly.
12: Kevin Nolan plays a good ball for Elliot Lee to run onto. He tries to
cut in and shoot but his effort is blocked by the defender Oliver.
9: Watmore looks to be the danger man for the Black Cats. A stray ball finds
him one on one with Spiegel, his shot hits the post when he really should
have scored. A huge let off.
8: West Ham have started the better team here. Bywater winds up for a shot
from distance but doesn't get the connection right.
5: Reece Burke goes into the book for a foul on Watmore. The resulting free
kick is cleared away for Jarvis to race down the wing. He tees Vaz Te up who
on the stretch shoots high and wide.
3: Reece Burke plays a long ball forward for Lee to chase but the Sunderland
'keeper Dixon gathers.
1: A frantic, fast paced start to this game. West Ham winning a series of
throw-ins down the left wing looking to set Jarvis free. Captain Nolan
orchestrating the proceedings.
The teams are out! Handshakes and coin toss completed and we're all set. The
Hammers go into their pre-match huddle and burst out into all corners of
their half. The hosts in their traditional claret and blue while the
visitors are in their customary red and white stripes.
Less than five minutes to go here at the Boleyn. COYI!
Just under 20 minutes to go here at the Boleyn Ground. The floodlights are
on, the pitch looks immaculate and the fans are beginning to come in.
Tonight's referee is Anthony Serrano, Assistant referee's are Rick Bloy and
Jacob Miles. Robert Claussen is the fourth official.
Both teams are out on the pitch warming up. Half an hour till kick-off.
The Black Cats recorded their first victory of the season last week as they
beat Tottenham 2-1. Goals from David Ferguson and Martin Smith secured the
victory over the Londoners.
On to news of our visitors, Sunderland.
Last time out Haycock's men recorded a deserved point as they drew 1-1 away
with Fulham. The Cottagers took the lead through Marcello Trotta, however
the Hammers equalised almost immediately through Elliot Lee's first goal of
the campaign.
The Dev Squad have had a difficult start to their league campaign having
only taken two points from their opening five games. However the Hammers'
points tally has not reflected their good performances so far.
There are also two changes on the subs bench as U18s goal machine Jordan
Brown and playmaker Grady Diangana make the step up to U21 football. Brown
has been on fire this season scoring five goals in six league games. Both
Brown and Diangana netted against Reading on Saturday in a convincing 4-0
win. To read the match report, click here.
Nick Haycock makes three changes to the starting XI as first team players
Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te all start in their bid to gain
match fitness. Nolan and Jarvis are returning from injuries and we'll be
keeping a close eye on their fitness for you throughout the evening.
The teams are in…
West Ham United: Spiegel, Knoyle, Page, Nolan, Oxford, Burke, Jarvis,
Bywater, Lee, Whitehead, Vaz Te
Subs: Mavila, Boness, Nasha, Brown, Diangana
Sunderland: Dixon, Cartwright, Robson, Oliver, McNamee, Ferguson, Watmore,
Agnew, Smith, Lawson, Greenwood.
Subs: Sukar, Burke, Robson, Blinco, Ledger
We'll have team news very shortly...
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's match as the West Ham
United Development Squad take on Sunderland U21, here at the Boleyn Ground.
KO 7pm.
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West Ham's James Tomkins fined over police assault
James Tomkins
BBc.co.uk
A Premier League footballer has been fined for assaulting a police officer
outside an Essex nightclub. West Ham defender James Tomkins, 25, was refused
entry to the Sugar Hut in Brentwood on 21 December last year, and security
staff called police. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police
constable, being drunk and disorderly in public and obstructing a police
constable. He has been fined £3,500 for the assault.
'Blot on character'
Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Martin Everett, told him:
"It is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial and witnesses".
"This is a blot on your character," he said. He added he had "no doubt" that
West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Tomkins, of Hutton
Mount, Shenfield, was also ordered to pay £3,785 in court costs, £200
compensation to the police constable and a £120 victim surcharge.
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Sakho in the clear...
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer No. 2
Striker Diafra Sakho will face no further action over his alleged
involvement in an incident that left Manchester United Luke Shaw with a
black eye."Sources close to" the 19-year-old, ex-Southampton full-back
claimed that Sakho had head-butted Shaw during the second half of Saturday's
2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Referee Lee Mason's match report made no mention
of the supposed clash, potentially allowing the FA to take retrospective
action. However, following a review of match footage by a three-man
disciplinary panel the FA has confirmed that the Irons' top scorer, who has
scored in all four of his first team starts this season, had "no case to
answer" and that the matter is now closed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slap on the wrist for Tomkins
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 29th September 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's James Tomkins has been fined after pleading guilty to
assaulting a police officer. The 25-year old was ordered to pay a fine of
£3,500 plus costs as a result of the incident which took place outside
Brentwood's Sugar Hut nightclub in December 2013. Tomkins was arrested a a
matter of hours after West Ham's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old
Trafford. He was said to have injured a Police officer in the ensuing
brouhaha, who was awarded the nominal sum of £200 compensation as a result
at Southend Magistrates Court earlier today. Rupert Bowers, defending, told
the court that Tomkins believed he had let himself down. "He has been
extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his reputation and the
coverage it has had," he said. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his
club by way of a financial penalty."
The defender admitted assaulting and obstructing a police constable and
being drunk and disorderly.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's James Tomkins fined for assaulting policeman
Last Updated: 29/09/14 2:13pm
SSN
West Ham defender James Tomkins has been fined £3,500 for assaulting a
police officer. Tomkins pleaded guilty to assaulting a police constable,
being drunk and disorderly in a public place and obstructing a constable
outside the Sugar Hut nightclub in Brentwood, Essex on the night of December
21. Martin Everett, chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court,
Essex, told him "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a trial
and witnesses". Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to
pay £3,785 court costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120
victim surcharge. He was told there would be no further penalty for the
other offences.
The 25-year-old, of Hutton Mount, Shenfield, had been partying at the
nightclub made famous by the TV series The Only Way Is Essex. Mr Everett
told Tomkins, who stood quietly in the dock during sentencing, that "this is
a blot on your character". He also said he had "no doubt" that West Ham
"will take their own action" to punish him. He added: "You were in this
particular case, pushed quite hard by a member of staff but your reaction,
as you have admitted, was an over-reaction."
He told the footballer that in the police car he had dealt with the
situation "inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Tomkins, a former England Under-21 international who appeared for Team GB at
the Olympics in 2012, had played for West Ham hours before the incident in
their 3-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Rupert Bowers,
defending, had told the court that as a footballer Tomkins gets "a lot a
attention, much of it unwanted". He said: "They receive training and receive
guidance from the FA. Mr Tomkins accepts that on this occasion he let
himself down. "He will no doubt also be disciplined by his club by way of a
financial penalty.
"He has been extremely stressed about these proceedings, about his
reputation and the coverage it has had." He also described him as a " young
man of previous good character (who is) usually looked up to."
Tomkins left the court and in to a waiting car without comment.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
TOMKINS FINED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY
By Sean Whetstone 29 Sep 2014 at 14:27
James Tomkins has been fined a total of £7,605 including costs for
assaulting a police officer today in court. Tomkins changed his plea to
guilty on charges he assaulted a police constable, was drunk and disorderly
in a public place and obstructing a constable outside the Sugar Hut
nightclub on the night of December 22nd after a 3-1 loss against Manchester
United. the Chair of the bench at Southend Magistrates' Court, Essex, Martin
Everett, told Tomkins "it is a late guilty plea but it has saved the court a
trial and witnesses".
Tomkins was fined £3,500 for the assault and was ordered to pay £3,785 court
costs, £200 compensation to the police officer and a £120 victim surcharge.
Mr Everett told Tomkins "this is a blot on your character".He also said he
had "no doubt" that West Ham "will take their own action" to punish him. Mr
Everett told Tomkins: "You were in this particular case, pushed quite hard
by a member of staff but your reaction, as you have admitted, was an
over-reaction."
He told the defender that in the police car he had dealt with the situation
"inappropriately causing an injury to the police officer".
Rupert Bowers, defending, had told the court that as a footballer he gets "a
lot a attention, much of it unwanted". He said:"They receive training and
receive guidance from the FA (Football Association). Mr Tomkins accepts that
on this occasion he let himself down.He will no doubt also be disciplined by
his club by way of a financial penalty.He has been extremely stressed about
these proceedings, about his reputation and the coverage it has had." His
lawyer also described him as a "young man of previous good character (who
is) usually looked up to."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho won't face FA action over alleged Luke Shaw
headbutt
Sep 29, 2014 16:51 By Alex Richards
The Manchester United defender left Old Trafford with a black eye on
Saturday evening following a supposed incident with the Hammers goalscorer
The Mirror
West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho will NOT face retrospective action from
the FA after an alleged headbutt on Manchester United defender Luke Shaw.
The England left-back was spotted sporting a black eye following the Red
Devils 2-1 win on Saturday, during which Sakho scored the Hammers only goal.
Shaw, who cost United £28million when signed from Southampton during the
summer, complained to officials following an off-the-ball incident, which
was missed by referee Lee Mason. Shaw was seen remonstrating with a linesman
during the second half. However, after reviewing video footage of the match,
the offence hasn't been deemed serious enough to warrant a red card, had the
officials seen it at the time. That means Sakho, who has scored in each of
his first four West Ham matches, won't face a three-match ban.
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