Sakho's sweetest feeling
Whufc.COM
Diafra Sakho said there is no sweeter feeling in football than netting a
late winner, after his dramatic 88th minute strike earned West Ham United
all three Barclays Premier League points against Sunderland on Saturday.
The Senegal man had earlier twice seen headers skip past the post and it
looked as if both he and the Hammers were to endure a frustrating evening at
the Boleyn Ground. But when Mark Noble flicked the ball into his path, the
25-year-old was calmness personified in dispatching a right-footed drive
into the opposite corner. A classy finish it most certainly was and the No15
revealed that he has attacking coach Teddy Sheringham to thank for that.
"In training, I've been working with Teddy all the time on things like
that," he told West Ham TV. "We try to apply what we've done in training
with him, particularly the attackers. "When I find myself in front of goal,
I tell myself that it's the last chance I'm going to get. You have to have
the composure to score. That's what I did and I succeeded."
With just one win in the previous 12 league outings, this was a massive goal
for all concerned. Naturally, then, there was a mix of relief and joy for
Sakho, who said the Hammers can now go into the international break with
smiles on faces. Asked if there were a sweeter feeling in football, he
beamed: "I don't think so! The emotion that we feel, I think that everyone
felt it together - whether that be me who scored, the manager or the
supporters. We all wanted to get that first goal. We did it, we won and
we're happy. "It's the feeling of having won, of having done the job. The
manager said before the game we had to win it. Also, we knew we had a break
before the next game, so at least everyone's going to be smiling, knowing
that we won the game before the international break. We'll look to return
strongly. It's good. "It was important for the whole team, the club and the
supporters to win on Saturday, because it was more or less ten games since
we last won. You have to make sure that the doubts don't creep in."
When I find myself in front of goal, I tell myself that it's the last chance
I'm going to get. You have to have the composure to score.
Diafra Sakho Amid that difficult run, the Hammers were twice victims of
late, late shows, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur snatching a
share of the spoils in injury time. This time, however, it was West Ham who
finished the stronger and Sakho believes it is a sign that the group are
maturing. "It proves that we're growing and that we're learning from our
mistakes," he continued. "We conceded two or three goals in the dying
minutes. On Saturday it was us who have ended up scoring in those last few
minutes. "Now it's important that we continue to build and we know it.
We have to continue to grow like that and win games at homes."
For Sakho, Saturday's early-evening rendition of 'he scores when he wants'
was music to his ears, having not bagged at the Boleyn Ground since New
Year's Day. The Senegal international is now into double figures in the
league and hopes his name will be ringing around the Boleyn Ground in the
Hammers' final three home games of the campaign. "Whenever I score
here or away from home, I dedicate it to the supporters. I think that
they're important to help us push ourselves until the end. We need them and
they need us. It's us and them together that makes a team. "It had been a
while since I heard it [the song] at home, I enjoy it. I hope that's going
to continue and that I'll be hearing it regularly, particularly at home."
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Sporting Stories hits Chadwell Heath
WHUFC.com
Walking football came to the Training Ground this week and with it a
distinguished group of senior Hammers, many of whom have been watching their
beloved West Ham United for half a century or more. West Ham United
Foundation has teamed up with Friends of the Elderly and Barclays Digital
Eagles to deliver a pilot programme designed to prevent loneliness and
isolation among the community's senior citizens. Sporting Stories uses the
rich memories and history of football as a means of establishing common
ground and sparking interaction between participants. The Digital Eagles,
meanwhile, are giving the group a whistle-stop tour of social media and
teaching them how best to keep in touch with one another online. The
five-week programme may be in its infancy, but it could hardly have wished
for a better start. Joint-Chairman David Gold was the star turn at the
programme's Boleyn Ground launch, prior to Tuesday's visit to the Club's
Chadwell Heath Training Ground.
There, Winston Reid and Stewart Downing helped the veteran Hammers get to
grips with the brand new whufc.com, before manager Sam Allardyce led an
all-star walking football session. Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Alex
Song and Diego Poyet all got stuck in, as the old boys and girls showed that
they can certainly still kick it! Friends of the Elderly Director of
Fundraising Jo O'Boyle explained that they had approached a number of clubs
with the proposal and it was the West Ham United Foundation who had jumped
at the opportunity. Within a matter of the weeks the programme was up and
running and such has been its popularity that there is now a waiting list
for the next one.
"It's been fantastic to do this with West Ham, because it is such a
community Club," she confirmed. "We've had an overwhelming response from the
people that wanted to join the programme. "Every week, they say this has
been the best day of my life. We did a behind-the-scenes tour, they sat in
the dugout, they've been to the Training Ground and met the players, which
is something that is above and beyond what they imagined what the programme
would be about. "These are people who have been fans of the Club for half a
century and have never had this kind of experience. It's giving them
something to talk about after they go away from the weekly session. It's
giving them a reason to connect with other people around them and having a
reason to share."
The programme's future is not altogether clear at this stage but with the
Foundation's backing Jo is hopeful that this is merely the start. She
continued: "We do have a waiting list for people who want to come back.
We're hoping that we can get funding, so that we can actually deliver
something on a regular basis. The Foundation is really supportive and they
really want to help us do that for the older community."
The West Ham United Foundation has made such a difference to the programme
and the way that they've embraced its ambition and brought it to life has
been sensational. For the participants, Tuesday's trip to the Training
Ground had been many years in the making, but well worth the wait, it seems.
"It's been wonderful," Peter Wiggins said. "A month ago if anyone told me
this was going to happen to me I would never have believed them. The people
that I've met, these two gentlemen and the players as well, I can't take it
in at the moment, but it is true. It's very good."
And he wasn't the only one pinching himself. Sporting an old West Ham shirt,
not retro mind, Michael had earlier waltzed into reception and bumped into
skipper Kevin Nolan no less.
"It's a dream come true, after 55 years of following West Ham, it's never
got any better. It can't get any better. It's the best day of my life as far
as I'm concerned with football and West Ham. I was 16 when I went to my
first match and I'm overwhelmed with the last few weeks that we've had."
There was a chorus of approval from the Digital Eagles too, who said the
combination of football and social media was working a treat. They even got
Big Sam in on the act, using a selfie stick, no less.
Digital Eagle Tammy Hyndman said: "It's been absolutely amazing, we've been
working with West Ham United Foundation for a few weeks now and it's just
been the best experience. They've made such a difference to the programme
and the way that they've embraced its ambition and brought it to life has
been sensational.
"We're really appreciative of the Foundation staff for all that they've done
to support us and Sporting Stories. We've been working on it for a few
months behind the scenes, getting it all set up. But it was when West Ham
became involved with us that it took it to the next level.
"The idea was to use football as a trigger to get people interested in
technology and it's just worked fantastically well. It's been brilliant. The
group we've been working with have formed such a tight-knit group and
they're all in touch on Facebook."
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Five more wins to equal Premier League record
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd March 2015
By: Staff Writer
West Ham will equal their record Premier League points tally of 57 should
they manage to win five of their eight remaining 2014/15 fixtures.
Yesterday's win over Sunderland gave the Hammers their first win in the
league since mid-January, when Hull were beaten 3-0 at the Boleyn Ground.
However it also meant that should Sam Allardyce's current squad manage to
win a further 15 points, they can equal the club record for a 38-game
campaign set by Harry Redknapp's 1998/99 squad who finished fifth and
subsequently qualified for Europe.
Although the task appears a tall order on the face of it, West Ham's chances
of emulating Redknapp's Class of '98 are boosted by the fact that just one
of their remaining games comes against a team above them in the league -
that being Manchester City, who host the Irons at the Etihad on April 19th.
In addition, West Ham face Leicester (20th), Stoke (10th), QPR (19th),
Burnley (18th), Aston Villa (16th) and Everton (14th) before the season ends
with a trip to 12th-placed Newcastle on May 24th.
Allardyce will overhaul his own personal best at West Ham with just five
more points; his 2012/13 tally of 46 points eclipsing the meagre 40 earned
last season.
West Ham's Corresponding 2014/15 Record vs Forthcoming Opponents
Leicester (h) 2-0; Stoke (a) 2-2; Man City (h) 2-1; QPR (h) 2-0; Burnley (a)
3-1; Aston Villa (h) 0-0; Everton (a) 1-2; Newcastle (h) 1-0. Total points:
17.
West Ham Utd's Premier League Record: by Points
1. 1998/99 5th, 38 games, 57 pts (Redknapp)
2. 1997/98 8th, 38 games, 56 pts (Redknapp)
3. 1999/00 9th, 38 games, 55 pts (Redknapp)
3. 2005/06 9th, 38 games, 55 pts (Pardew)
5. 2001/02 7th, 38 games, 53 pts (Roeder)
6. 1993/94 13th, 42 games, 52 pts (Bonds)
7. 2008/09 9th, 38 games, 51 pts (Curbishley/Zola)
8. 1995/96 10th, 38 games, 51 pts (Redknapp)
9. 1994/95 14th, 42 games, 50 pts (Redknapp)
10. 2007/08 10th, 38 games, 49 pts (Curbishley)
11. 2012/13 10th, 38 games, 46 pts (Allardyce)
12. 2014/15 9th, 30 games, 42 pts (Allardyce)
13. 1996/97 14th, 38 games, 42 pts (Redknapp)
14. 2000/01 15th, 38 games, 42 pts (Redknapp)
15. 2002/03 18th, 38 games, 42 pts (Roeder)
16. 2006/07 15th, 38 games, 41 pts (Pardew/Curbishley)
17. 2013/14 13th, 38 games, 40 pts (Allardyce)
18. 2009/10 17th, 38 games, 35 pts (Zola)
19. 2010/11 20th, 38 games, 33 pts (Grant)
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Sam Allardyce's West Ham work praised after win over Sunderland
Last Updated: 21/03/15 9:03pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce deserves more credit for the work he is doing at West Ham,
says Jamie Redknapp. The Hammers boss steered his team to a hard-fought 1-0
win over Sunderland on Saturday Night Football - the east Londoners' first
win in nine. Allardyce had been criticised by vice-chairwoman Karen Brady on
Saturday morning, who said the club was underachieving. However, Sky Sports
pundit Redknapp says ninth-placed West Ham - who, with Saturday's win, move
on to 42 points and beyond last season's total, with still eight games to
play - are doing well, given the quality of their squad. "We all talk about
Swansea doing really well - and they have, Garry Monk has done a great job
there," said Redknapp. "They're on 43 points. West Ham are on 42. "But
everyone at West Ham says 'we're not quite happy, should be doing better'. I
think they're doing really well. "There are ideas of grandeur sometimes. You
look at that squad and there's no Andy Carroll at the moment, no James
Tomkins, no Winston Reid, no Enner Valencia. They are short of a couple of
big players. "The job Allardyce has done there is what you'd expect from
that group of players. You have to be realistic. The teams that are above
them deserve to be, they've spent more money and they're better teams with
better players."
Niall Quinn agreed with Redknapp and suggested that West Ham now have a
solid platform to build on in the final eight games of the season.
The Sky Sports pundit was also keen to point out Allardyce took over at West
Ham in 2011, when they were in the Championship, and says he deserves praise
for the club's development in that time. "It's been a great performance
[from Allardyce]," said Quinn. "He's come under a lot of pressure and a lot
of stick at times this season. I find that really hard to understand because
the job he's done to lift the club to where it is has been superb. "They've
done better than last year and they can look at the 50-point mark now.
That's real progress and I'm mystified why he's head of the Sunderland
betting market to be their next manager."
Redknapp, meanwhile, believes the victory over Sunderland can spark a strong
finish to the season for West Ham. The Sky Sports pundit conceded Nene
fouled Sebastian Larsson in the build up to Diafra Sakho's late winner, but
says the three points takes the pressure off the Hammers for the rest of the
campaign. "It was difficult viewing at times because it wasn't pretty. But
it was the sort of performance and result that can kick-start West Ham
again," said Redknapp. "They've been in need of that. The football hasn't
been great, the natives have been restless and that was a really big three
points. "But that goal can take the pressure off everybody and they can look
forward to the rest of the season."
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"Garbage"cries as Allardyce reverts to type
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 22, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Goal-com's Harry Sherlock returned to Upton Park yesterday and gives his own
entirely independent view on a game which manager Sam Allardyce believes
could get us ticking again. Our intrepid young reporter entertains some
serious doubts about that after a game he believes is a contender for worst
of the season! There nothing much better in life than watching your
favourite team play football. The game pre-dates the First World War and
developed into a million-pound industry after the mega investment from Sky
Sports. Yesterday, the channel opted to show West Ham - Sunderland. Watching
it was not pleasurable! Sat in the Upton Park press box right among the
paying punters at the Boleyn - it was easy to hear the displeasure of the
majority of Hammers fans during a game that is easily a contender for the
worst of the season. "Wake up West Ham, this is garbage," cried one in the
second half. This was after Sam Allardyce's "match changing" substitution -
Matt Jarvis off, Carlton Cole on!
All it did was lead to long ball after long ball as Sam Allardyce's Hammers
reverted to type. Allardyce celebrated victory as if West Ham had won the
World Cup when Diafra Sakho lashed in an 88th minute shot to earn all three
points but the fact remains; he must go, for the sake of a football club
that once prioritised entertainment over results. The memories are
everywhere; Bobby Moore's legacy remains a point of particular pride for the
men, women and children who filter into this famous old ground every
weekend. What would Bobby have thought yesterday, looking down from above?
Moore never played in such a turgid team. The Irons started the season so
well but Allardyce is now overseeing a cruise to the finish. It is
unacceptable and it must stop. There are young managers in the Premier
League - Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, to
name just two - who have adapted to their surroundings and are now reaping
the rewards. Both remain in the hunt for a Champions League qualification
spot. Allardyce seems stuck in the mode of one-up, with long balls
supplementing a spearhead. Sakho is a good striker, but he needs more
support. Admittedly, Enner Valencia is injured and so is Andy Carroll, but
one feels the latter would have started alone had he been fit on Saturday
and that is a major part of Allardyce's tactical problem.
West Ham always raise their game against the top teams in the league, and
were unlucky not to take anything from games against Chelsea and Manchester
United this season, while they defeated Manchester City and drew with
Tottenham at White Hart Lane. It is against the weaker teams that the
Hammers have struggled. A 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League
was a particular nadir and the performance suggested Allardyce had simply
focused on his team, rather than the opposition, such was his steadfast
belief that West Ham would win the game playing their way.
As it ended up, they were utterly shellacked. The Hammers have a good squad,
and a capable pool of replacements for the ageing members, but Kevin Nolan
continues to command a first-team place and he's not good enough! Would he
be playing if Rodgers was in the dugout? No. It is time to start blooding
the youngsters, the players who have so far only sat on the bench under
Allardyce. Yet perhaps the most damning indictment of his reign is that the
man they like to call "Big Sam" appears to have his favourites and there's
no room for that at this level.
Under a progressive manager, West Ham's team would be selected based on the
opposition's weaknesses and the squad's strengths, rather than those players
who have been in the trenches with Allardyce before. West Ham would be
better for it, too. They are currently ninth in the table, but that position
has been earned on the back of a number of disappointing performances.
Allardyce's time is surely up, and with no danger of relegation hanging over
east London, he is happy for the team to simply click into cruise control.
It is wrong, They need a new manager to get them achieving again
The views expressed here are those of the blogger and are not necessarily
shared by ClaretandHugh
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Big 'target' talk from Allardyce
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 22, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce hopes the international break will see players recovering in
time to help the Irons achieve the targets they were set before Christmas.
That would be fine except he never named those targets saying only month by
month that we would know better at the end of each successive month where we
were! Anyway, let's not argue to strongly and accept instead that he's
probably talking about a top eight finish! Continuing to talk up the late
defeat of Sunderland, Allardyce told the official website: "This result
means we can now try to achieve the target we set after Christmas. "It's
still there to try to achieve it and if Winston Reid comes back and stays
fit, as does everybody else, during the run-in that will be very important
for us. "Winston, James Tomkins, Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll have played
a major part in our success this season and we were without them and that is
a lot of absences to try and cope with. "Against Sunderland, the players
went out there and coped with it very well indeed. It's been a tough old
period, but hopefully we'll see more victories as the season draws to a
close. "Hopefully we'll have Reidy and Enner back after the international
break, so it's probably come at a good time for us with regard to getting
some of the injured players back, which would be great."
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Sam: "It's our biggest win".nudge nudge!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 22, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Perhaps a tad over the top but Sam Allardyce has described the win over
Sunderland as the biggest of the season!" The relief he's been expressing
since the scrappy 1-0 victory over a less than average Black Cats team may
be rooted in the current uncertainty surrounding his position at the club.
And that was reflected very strongly in what was a very untypical and
seemingly nervous TV interview before the game where in an unusually
quiet-spoken mode he spoke of this being a "must win " game. That it was
Diafra Sakho who again came to his rescue continues to amuse as the 12 goal
man was all but lost in negotiations back in the summer! Nudge nudge, wink
wink. Sam's relief was palpable as he declared ro West Ham TV : "It was a
big game and probably our biggest win of the season. "It settled everybody's
nerves, because you could see the fans have come here so often recently,
seen some really good performances and gone away having applauded the lads
off the field but disappointed about the result. "The performance wasn't as
good as it was against Manchester United or Chelsea but I'm sure, like us,
all they wanted to see was a victory. When it came as late as it did, it is
always sweeter that way." Next up Leicester and then Stoke - it will be no
surprise to hear them described as our biggest matches of the season!
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Moyes may keep it Real!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 22, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
David Moyes is by no means nailed on to become West Ham United's next boss.
The former Everton and Manchester United boss may be preparing for a longer
stay in Spain than the year left on his current deal. The Irons were thought
to have the Scot as their Number One target given he has release clause in a
deal which only has just over 12 months to run. This would be triggered
should an English club make an approach and given his former chief scout
Tony Henry's arrival at Upton Park as recruitment director to the board that
was considered highly likely. However, when ClaretandHugh put that
suggestion to a senior Upton Park source source we were told: "That's not
necessarily the case. "As has been made clear on several occasions there
will be no announcements until the end of the season as is the board's
practice." Meanwhile new reports emerging this morning suggest Moyes may be
ready to stay in Spain and organise "a proper backroom set-up with several
of the staff he has worked before.
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Allardyce: 'Sakho's is a hell of an achievement'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
A deeply relieved Sam Allardyce admitted everybody was "really chuffed"
following Diafra Sakho's late goal gave the irons an urgently required win.
He said: "It's nice to get a win and secure it just at the end there with
our leading goalscorer making life a bit more comfortable. We're really
chuffed. "Most of our failings have come from not being able to keep a clean
sheet and we did that today. I think we deserved to win, despite the scrappy
game. 1-0 puts us in a better frame of mind going into international week,
which comes at the right time for us as we want to get our injured fit. "Our
run-in suggests we can win more games than we lose or draw and we can push
on and try and finish as high as we can. Sakho is the leading goalscorer for
headed goals but he was delighted he did what he did. For him being leading
goalscorer at West Ham in his first season is a hell of an achievement. That
was a very important one for us. "It was probably was a foul (in build-up to
goal) but it's about time things went our way. It's a devastating decision
at the end for Sunderland but on the back of the decisions we've had its
about time one went our way.
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Enough is enough, West Ham fans need some perspective - The ExWHUemployee
Column
Ironviews.com
By ExWHUemployee on March 22, 2015 in ExWHUemployee column
At long last we have a win! Yes it wasn't the best football and yes we
should have played better but when your confidence is low, finding results
is harder than normal. Plus, we were up against Sunderland with new manager
syndrome!
I logged onto twitter expecting to see our fans generally happy but instead
all that I read was negative reactions and without knowing otherwise, by
some people's reaction you would have thought we had been relegated.
I understand some people's frustrations and I have them too. I felt Sam had
started with the wrong team and those that read my articles regularly would
know that I said Carlton Cole should start alongside Sakho this week and to
revert back to the diamond. I would have also started with Nene over
Jarvis, who for me offers very little now. I also have found at times this
season Sam to be too quick to pick Nolan (who is playing well at the moment
however) and Carroll over players who are more in form. He is not the
perfect manager for us but is there a perfect manager for us out there?
Does any club have a perfect manager for them?
We sit 9th in the league, we have very winnable fixtures left now with
Manchester City away being the exception. Let us judge this season at the
end of it. I believe if we finish 8-10th it has been a good season given
the injuries that we have had to key players throughout the season. If we
finish 8th in the league, did people really expect a higher finish? If so,
which team should we have been better than? With the exception of
Southampton who have had an amazing season, I do not know who we could have
finished above. You only have to look at the Championship to see how many
clubs have gone down and then struggled to get back and remain in the
Premier League, let alone to finish in the top half in such a short time
(again Southampton aside).
During the week I saw many people slate the youth team and say how we
haven't produced anyone for such a long time. I will point out that many of
those youth players are now playing above their age group and at that age it
makes a significant difference. Regardless of this, people slate Sam for
not playing youth players yet slate the youth team when they lose.
I know I will get criticism for this but I do worry that there are not many
manager alternatives who would realistically join us that will improve the
team. Many want glamorous foreign names, many of which are not proven in
the Premier League. Some do not want David Moyes because he is too similar
to Sam. Howe of Bournemouth has been mentioned but again he isn't
experienced at managing a big/Premier League club. There is no realistic
option that jumps out to me as the right appointment.
I am not sitting here confessing to being Big Sam's biggest fan, far from.
But I just feel people do not give him a fair crack of the whip. He
stabilised a whole club which had no moral and were far from being united
when he came in and has us established as a strong Premier League team,
which was essential going into the Olympic Stadium. The large majority of
backroom staff will say they are 100 percent behind him and so are the
players.
If you look at things that have been labelled at Sam recently you could say
he has proven most wrong: "He cannot play entertaining football" (many
matches this season have proven otherwise); "He doesn't play youth in
particular Elliot Lee (who has scored 1 in 5 for League 2 Luton) when they
are clearly good enough"- yet none of these players he "should" have played
have gone on to prove him wrong; "He should have picked Zarate" (who
couldn't get in the QPR team and hasn't scored for them); "He always picks
Nolan no matter what" (in some games he has been on the bench when fully
fit).
I know I will get a lot of criticism for this view, I know Sam has his
faults, I know our recent run before Sunderland was very disappointing but I
think we should just get behind the team and enjoy the next few months with
no worry of relegation.
Speaking of another person who I think is extremely undervalued, James
Collins was again excellent this weekend. As I said this morning in my
tweets, yes James doesn't possess an abundance of pace and killer passing
skills but as defenders go he is extremely solid and has all the qualities
needed, this has always been the case. Unfortunately some tend to see a
player who doesn't have all the "skills" as not being a good player.
Through some of the coaching I have done of younger generations, I know they
are obsessed with "skilling people up" and scoring amazing goals rather than
concentrating on the fundamental basics of certain positions. If you look at
what makes a good defender, James Collins fits almost all of these.
For me the Hammer of the Year award is going to be much harder to choose
this year but if Collins continues to perform as he has been this season, I
think he could be an outside contender.
The club are working extensively on scouting players with many foreign
players being looked at. The summer will see a mixture of young players
with potential bought and some more established stars. We appear to be
looking at Adebayor again who has said he will take a pay cut to join us.
I really think we should enjoy the next few months relatively stress free as
I cannot remember many seasons in my 25 years of going that we have been
safe in March.
COYI
ExWHUemployee
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Aaron Cresswell praises West Ham team-mate Cheikhou Kouyate for centre-back
performances
HITC
Mathew Nash
The Senegalese international has dropped into defence because of injury
problems in recent games. West Ham United have been in a poor run of form
since Christmas. In recent weeks they have not been helped with injury
problems, particularly up front and at centre back. Winston Reid is
currently out with a hamstring problem while James Tomkins has dislocated a
shoulder. With these two out of action Sam Allardyce has resorted to playing
summer signing Cheikhou Kouyate at the back. After West Ham defeated
Sunderland 1-0 yesterday his performances were praised by defensive
team-mate Aaron Cresswell. Speaking to the official Hammers site the English
left-back stated: "Cheik's had to fill in a few times over the last couple
of weeks now and he's done it again on Saturday and been fantastic. "We got
the clean sheet so what more could we ask for? We have two weeks until the
next game, so it's a chance for a few of the injured lads to get back for
Leicester."
Kouyate has been a great buy for West Ham, ever since making his move from
Anderlecht in the summer. But he was signed as a midfielder, so his
performances at centre-back have certainly been admirable. He played much of
his career in Belgium as a central defender so the transition has not been
too harsh, but he had not played there for a long time and with all due
respect to the Belgian Pro League the standard is certainly not that of the
Premier League. So he has done admirably in his team's hour of need. He will
be thankful of Winston Reid's expected return after the international break,
so he can get back to swashbuckling midfield adventures.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United's Aaron Cresswell gives details of half-time discussion
against Sunderland
HITC
Subhankar Mondal
West Ham United edged past Sunderland 1-0 at home in the Premier League on
Saturday. West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell has revealed to the
club's official website the details of the half-time discussion in the
dressing room on Saturday. The Hammers got the better of Aston Villa 1-0 at
Boleyn Ground in the Premier League, thanks to a late goal from Diafra
Sakho. "We said at half time to keep it tight at the back, make sure they
don't score and then you've still got another 45 minutes," Cresswell told
West Ham's official website.
"It took until the 88th minute for us to score, but you'll take a 1-0 and a
clean sheet all day." Playing at home against a Sunderland side struggling
for survival in the Premier League made West Ham the favourites, but heading
into half time unable to break the deadlock would have been frustrating.
West Ham have conceded late goals against Manchester United and Tottenham
Hotspur this season, and one suspects that the players would have been
worried of doing the same against Sunderland. But it seems that the
half-time discussion made sure that the West Ham players knew what they had
to do in the second 45 minutes. It was the Hammers' first win in eight
Premier League games and has lifted them up to ninth in the table for the
time being with 42 points from 30 matches.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Gold reacts on Twitter to West Ham United's win against Sunderland
HITC
Subhankar Mondal
West Ham United edged past Sunderland 1-0 at home in the Premier League
today. West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has taken to social networking
site Twitter to revel in the team's victory over Sunderland today. The
Hammers finally returned to winning ways in the Premier League, as they got
the better of the Black Cats 1-0 at home. Senegal international striker
Diafra Sakho's goal in the 88th minute proved to be the difference between
the two sides at Boleyn Ground.
It was only the second win in 12 Premier League games for West Ham, who are
now fighting for a top-10 finish. Club co-chairman Gold was delighted with
the team's victory over Sunderland and singled out 25-year-old Sakho for
special praise. Sakho ended the match with four shots, 45% pass accuracy,
three chances created, four crosses, one clearance and one block. Over the
90 minutes, Sam Allardyce's side had 54% of the possession, 15 shots of
which just four were on target, and six corners. West Ham are currently
ninth in the Premier League table with 42 points from 30 matches.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jamie Redknapp raves about Allardyce, rues absence of four West Ham players
HITC
Olly Dawes
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp was full of praise for West Ham boss Sam
Allardyce. Jamie Redknapp has told Sky Sports that West Ham fans should be
more grateful for the job done by manager Sam Allardyce this season. West
Ham defeated Sunderland 1-0 on Saturday night, with striker Diafra Sakho
hitting a dramatic late winner for the Hammers at Upton Park. Before that
victory, West Ham had won just one of their last 12 games, piling pressure
on manager Sam Allardyce after a dreadful 2015 to date. The narrow win over
a struggling Sunderland side probably does little to strengthen Allardyce's
position at the club, with many expecting 'Big Sam' to leave East London
when his contract expires this summer. However, ex-Tottenham midfielder
Redknapp told Sky Sports after that win over Sunderland that West Ham fans
need to be more realistic, whilst also placing much of the blame for their
poor form on the absence of injured quartet James Tomkins, Winston Reid,
Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia. "We all talk about Swansea doing really
well - and they have, Garry Monk has done a great job there," said Redknapp.
"They're on 43 points. West Ham are on 42. But everyone at West Ham says
'we're not quite happy, should be doing better'. I think they're doing
really well. "There are ideas of grandeur sometimes. You look at that squad
and there's no Andy Carroll at the moment, no James Tomkins, no Winston
Reid, no Enner Valencia. They are short of a couple of big players."
"The job Allardyce has done there is what you'd expect from that group of
players. You have to be realistic. The teams that are above them deserve to
be, they've spent more money and they're better teams with better players,"
he added. With just a matter of months to run on Allardyce's contract at
Upton Park, his long-term future prospects don't look promising for the
former Blackburn boss. Recent reports from the London Evening Standard
suggested that the Hammers had their eyes on David Moyes, Slaven Bilic or
even Rafael Benitez as possible replacements for Allardyce - and regardless
of what Redknapp says, it looks like Allardyce will be leaving in the coming
months.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam's West Ham glass is half full as Hammers prepare for final eight
games of the season
14:00, 22 March 2015 By Jack Pinnock
Irons snatch one at the death to dismay of Black Cats
The Wharf
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce was full of optimism going into the final
eight games of the season after his side's 1-0 win over struggling
Sunderland. A last gasp goal from the Hammers' top scorer Diafra Sakho was
enough for the Boleyn Ground outfit to clinch all three points and take
their tally to 42 points. This is the same number of points the Irons won
over the whole of last season. The Sunderland win also ended their run of
just one victory in 12 games. Big Sam said his side deserved to win the game
and it put the team in good shape ahead of the international break which he
will use to get the likes of Enner Valencia and Winston Reid back to full
fitness.
Allardyce said: "it's nice to get a win right at the death with our leading
scorer. It makes everybody's life a little more comfortable this weekend.
"I'm really chuffed at keeping a clean sheet as well, which has been our
main downfall from a winning position for the past 10 games. "Even though
the game was a bit scrappy, I think we deserved to win." "It puts us in a
better frame of mind going into the international break. It comes at the
right time for us because we want to overcome the injuries and get back
Valencia and Reid - two very important players that will make the squad
stronger. "The strength in depth of the squad is slowly returning and,
hopefully, with our run of games, we'll win more matches and try to finish
as high as we can." The return of Jermain Defoe rattled a few of the home
faithful's cages and the former Tottenham Hotspur striker should have given
the Black Cats the lead, missing a one-on-one chance from 12 yards out.
However, for the opposing side, Sakho notched his first Premier League goal
since New Year's Day, with Allardyce delighted that the Senegalese has found
his touch again. Big Sam said: "He's the leading scorer for headed goals
this season. He was delighted that he did what he did and for him, being
where he is, at West Ham United in the Barclays Premier League, for his
first season is one hell of an achievement. "He hasn't scored so many
recently but that was a very important one for us." In the build up to the
goal, substitute Nene appeared to have fouled midfielder Seb Larsson, much
to the anger of the new Sunderland chief Dick Advocaat. However, Allardyce
said the Irons deserved a bit of luck. "It was probably a foul, but it's
about time something went in our favour", said Allardyce. "When things are
going for you, those decisions go for you and when they go against you then
it can be devastating. It was for Sunderland because we scored on the end of
it."
After next week's international break, the Upton Park side travel to the
King Power stadium to take on bottom club Leicester City, before returning
to east London to face Mark Hughes' Stoke City side.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reid in doubt for Korea game
10:43 AM Monday Mar 23, 2015
NZ Herald
New Zealand Football confirmed on Monday All Whites captain Winston Reid is
still under an injury cloud ahead of next week's clash with Korea Republic
in Seoul. Reid did not feature for West Ham United in Sunday's (NZ time)
clash with Sunderland and is still recovering from a hamstring injury which
has kept the 18-cap All White out of action in recent weeks. All Whites
coach Anthony Hudson says he is in constant contact with the 26-year-old
centre back and his club and Reid would be given every possible chance to be
involved in next week's match. "Winston is our captain and leader and we
will continue to monitor his situation closely," Hudson said. "He is
obviously an important member of our squad and we will give him every chance
to be involved and we will make a final decision later in the week."
Men's U-20 and Wanderers SC central defender Adam Mitchell has been called
into the All Whites squad as cover. Meanwhile, midfielder Ryan Thomas has
been ruled out of the tour through injury. Thomas started for Dutch
Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle in Monday morning's (NZ time) match against
Excelsior but was forced off after 30 minutes with a leg injury. Men's U-20
and Wanderers SC midfielder Moses Dyer will replace Thomas in the squad for
next Wednesday's match against the 56th-ranked Asian nation.
Hudson said while it was disappointing to lose Thomas, it provides another
opportunity for a player with a bright future. "It's a shame for Ryan that
he has picked up an injury this morning but unfortunately that is the nature
of football," Hudson said. "In Moses, we are bringing in a player who has
performed well in the ASB Premiership and, similar to Cameron coming in for
Kosta, at this stage of our campaign we are giving an opportunity to someone
in the U-23 bracket with an eye on the future as well as the coming Olympic
qualifiers."
The New Zealand-based players and management staff departed for Seoul on
Monday morning.
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Sunday, March 22
Daily WHUFC News - 22nd March 2015
West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
WHUFC.com
Diafra Sakho struck a dramatic late winner to fire West Ham United to all
three Barclays Premier League points against struggling Sunderland at the
Boleyn Ground on Saturday. With 88 minutes on the clock, Sakho collected
from Mark Noble before slamming emphatically into the opposite corner beyond
Mackems stopper Costel Pantilimon. The returning Jermain Defoe had earlier
spurned Sunderland's best chance, as he volleyed wide with only Adrian to
beat, while matchwinner Sakho had twice gone agonisingly close with his
head. Elsewhere, Hammers skipper Kevin Nolan could and should have won a
penalty, but it mattered not as Sakho came to the rescue to earn Sam
Allardyce's men a first league win in eight. Predictably, Defoe was in the
thick of it early on. He sped away down the right, squared up James Collins
and picked out Connor Wickham on the left-edge of the box. The former
Ipswich man controlled on his chest before lashing a volley goalwards. It
was vicious, but straight at Adrian, who gathered at the second time of
asking.
If that was, at best, a half chance, Defoe's opportunity after 15 was
gilt-edged. Wickham turned provider with an excellent header on, leaving the
England striker bearing down on Adrian's goal. But thankfully his predatory
instincts escaped him, as he skewed high and wide. Cue the West Ham
response. Sakho scrapped for it on the by-line and an attempted clearance
fell at the feet of Nolan. He swept a snapshot on target but straight into
the gloves of Costel Pantilimon.
Moments later and the Hammers went closer still. Aaron Cresswell crossed
from the left and though Sakho met it, his header drifted inches wide of
Pantilimon's left-hand upright. The Romanian stopper, by now a busy boy, was
soon called upon once more. Alex Song's technique was sublime as his volley
from the edge of the box forced Pantilimon into a smart stop down low to his
right. At the other end, Defoe continued to threaten. In space on the left
he cut inside onto his right foot and let fly. Not his best though, far from
it, as it sped along the grass and into Adrian's arms at the near post.
Big Sam shuffled his pack at the interval, with Carlton Cole the man to
replace winger Matt Jarvis. Meanwhile, Wickham tried the spectacular but his
curling effort from all of 25 yards sailed into the traveling Mackems behind
the goal.West Ham's most likely route to goal looked to be via the head of
Sakho. Just as in the first period, Cresswell swung it in from the left and
there was Sakho, almost with his back to goal, to head for goal. Under the
circumstances, it was an excellent effort, but an unmoved Pantilimon watched
it fly past the upright.
With 63 gone West Ham had claims for a spot-kick and valid claims they were
too. A long ball into the box brushed off the head of John O'Shea and into
the path of Nolan. As the skipper looked to turn he was quite obviously
hauled back. No doubting that but the linesman raised his flag to get the
visitors out of jail. Nolan understandably enraged.
As the clock ticked down, Patrick Van Aanholt sought to take matters into
his own hands. The full-back tried his luck from miles out and though it
might have been sneaking wide, Adrian was taking no chances and was at full
stretch to tip it round the post.
Without exactly throwing caution to the wind, West Ham threw everything at
Sunderland in the latter stages, but nothing fell for them in the 18-yard
box. Nolan, Sakho and substitute Nene were all denied by timely blocks as
Dick Advocaat's men looked destined for an important point.
But Sakho had other ideas. Noble's lofted ball on the edge of the box sat up
perfectly for the Senegal man who made absolutely no mistake, smashing his
strike into the ground and into the bottom-left corner. It was no more than
the No15 deserved.
West Ham United: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Kouyate, Cresswell, Song,
Noble, Nolan (c) (Nene 80), Jarvis (Cole 46), Downing, Sakho (O'Brien 90)
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Poyet, Amalfitano
Goal: Sakho 88
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Reveillere, O'Shea (c), Brown (Vergini 13), Van
Aanholt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Wickham, Fletcher (Johnson 73), Defoe
(Graham 88)
Subs: Mannone, Jones, Bridcutt, Watmore
Booked: Wickham
Referee: Lee Mason
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam hails 'biggest win of the season'
WHUFC.com
The result was all that mattered to Sam Allardyce after Diafra Sakho's late
goal saw West Ham United edge past Sunderland 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground. With
Sunderland playing their first Barclays Premier League game under new head
coach Dick Advocaat, the tea-time kick-off was always likely to be a
competitive affair and so it proved until Sakho settled matters with his
12th goal of the season. The first half was tight, with both teams creating
and spurning a limited number of chances – Sakho heading narrowly wide and
Kevin Nolan shooting straight at Costel Pantilimon for West Ham; Connor
Wickham volleying straight at Adrian and Jermain Defoe lobbing wildly
off-target for the Black Cats. At half-time, Big Sam replaced Matt Jarvis
with a second striker in Carlton Cole and the move slowly saw the Hammers
increase their attacking threat. Sakho again nodded just past the post
before the Senegalese popped up with the winner with just two minutes
remaining, finishing clinically after Mark Noble and substitute Nene had
battled for possession on the edge of the Sunderland penalty area.
"It was a big game and probably our biggest win of the season," the manager
told West Ham TV. "It settled everybody's nerves, because you could see the
fans have come here so often recently, seen some really good performances
and gone away having applauded the lads off the field but disappointed about
the result. "The performance wasn't as good as it was against Manchester
United or Chelsea but I'm sure, like us, all they wanted to see was a
victory. When it came as late as it did, it is always sweeter that way. "Our
dominance was proven by one stat in particular and that was 42 balls into
the Sunderland box. We created and missed our chances, but finally our
leading goal scorer has done what we needed him to do more than ever before
and that was put the winner in."
As so often happens in football, West Ham found a way to win, despite
arguably not producing the same level of performance as they had in recent
draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, as well as the home
defeat by Chelsea. "You have to give the team credit for the other side of
it because they have got the clean sheet, and had we done that against Man
United and Tottenham we'd be sat with another four points. Then we could
have got another as Chelsea's winner was offside. "We would then be talking
about 46 or 47 points instead of 42, but we've had to come through that
spell without the victories that we deserved. We had to face that we were in
a bad run of results and we've come through that by beating Sunderland. "For
us, with our run-in and history against teams below us – we've only lost to
Everton and Crystal Palace this season – it's hopefully going to be a good
one with plenty of points to be picked up. Hopefully the lads will finish
the season strongly."
Again, the manager had his options limited by injuries to key players, with
Cheikhou Kouyate dropping into the centre of defence and Sakho starting the
game as the lone frontman. At half-time, the manager sent on Cole to support
the No15 and the move paid off. "I wanted to give more support to Sakho and,
without Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll being with us because of injuries,
Carlton has only just come back from injury so I couldn't start him – that's
why I played one out and out striker from the start. "At half-time, the
system I chose wasn't working as well as I'd hoped in terms of creating goal
scoring opportunities, so Carlton came on and had no problem doing 45
minutes. It did us good getting Stewart Downing in the hole and it's paid
off for us. "Our leading goal scorer has got the headlines, and credit also
to our defence for restricting them to one shot on target in the second
half. Everything was how it should have turned out."
With two weeks until his team travel to bottom side Leicester City, Big Sam
will hope to welcome a number of absent players back into the fold for the
trip to the King Power Stadium. "This result means we can now try to achieve
the target we set after Christmas. It's still there to try to achieve it and
if Winston Reid comes back and stays fit, as does everybody else, during the
run-in that will be very important for us. "Winston, James Tomkins, Enner
Valencia and Andy Carroll have played a major part in our success this
season and we were without them and that is a lot of absences to try and
cope with. Against Sunderland, the players went out there and coped with it
very well indeed. "It's been a tough old period, but hopefully we'll see
more victories as the season draws to a close. "Hopefully we'll have Reidy
and Enner back after the international break, so it's probably come at a
good time for us with regard to getting some of the injured players back,
which would be great."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cresswell - 'We're buzzing'
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell was thrilled to turn recent form on its head as West Ham
United scored late to secure three points against Sunderland on Saturday.
Having conceded late against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to drop
points not long ago, the boot was on the other foot on this occasion with
Diafra Sakho scoring the only goal of the game with just two minutes left.
It meant that West Ham's eight-game wait for a league win came to an end, at
just the right time for 25-year-old defender Cresswell.
"We're all buzzing and delighted because it was a much-needed three points
after the run we've been on," he explained. "We hadn't really been good
enough lately, but we ground it out and kept going until the end. Thankfully
Diafra made a great finish. "We said at half time to keep it tight at the
back, make sure they don't score and then you've still got another 45
minutes. It took until the 88th minute for us to score, but you'll take a
1-0 and a clean sheet all day."
Sakho's strike was his tenth league goal of a terrific debut season in
England and Cresswell was delighted to see him get on the scoresheet again.
He continued: "Diafra has been fantastic all season for us. When he came in
he was fairly unknown and people hadn't heard much of him, but he's been one
of our main men scoring all those goals. Long may it continue. "Scoring a
late goal ourselves is a great feeling and the main thing was to get the
three points. We needed that win and we got there in the end. "We've still
got eight games to go and we want to finish as high as we can – try to push
for that seventh-place spot, whatever's available we're going to keep going
every week."
With two weeks until the Hammers' next fixture due to the international
break, the timing of the victory was even better for Cresswell.
He added: "It would have been a long two weeks if we hadn't got the win, so
now it's going to be a good couple of weeks with a little break before our
next game when we go again. "Cheik's had to fill in a few times over the
last couple of weeks now and he's done it again on Saturday and been
fantastic. "We got the clean sheet so what more could we ask for? We have
two weeks until the next game, so it's a chance for a few of the injured
lads to get back for Leicester."
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U18s downed at Derby
WHUFC.com
Matt Carter started for the U18s just hours after turning out for the
Development Squad
Derby County U18s 2 West Ham United U18s 0
Two second-half goals helped Derby County to a 2-0 Barclays U18 Premier
League Tier Two Play-Off victory over West Ham United on Saturday.
After both sides had a goal disallowed for offside during the opening 45
minutes, Derby's Charles Vernam and Kellan Gordon both beat Hammers
goalkeeper Danny Boness to give the hosts all three points. After picking up
just a single point in their opening Play-Off fixture at home to Brighton &
Hove Albion a week earlier, U18s coach Mark Phillips was without a number of
Academy players, who featured in Steve Potts' Development Squad team at
Liverpool on Friday night.
Sam Howes was replaced between the sticks by Boness, while Jake Eggleton
stepped in at full-back for of Alex Pike. Noha Sylvestre was paired with
Matt Carter in the middle, despite the latter appearing for 45 minutes in
the Development Squad's defeat at Liverpool just 15 hours previously.
Grady Diangana was the only player to keep his place in midfield from the
Brighton draw, meaning Oscar Borg, Kieran Bailey and Idris Kanu came into
the starting XI form a new attacking line up for the visitors.
The Hammers started the game strongly and were immediately causing Derby
goalkeeper Josh Barnes to panic, although Borg's free-kick from the edge of
the penalty was deflected wide of the target before Vashon Neufville fired
over from distance.
Derby came back into the match and within the opening 20 minutes they had
the ball in the back of the net. However, the assistant referee had deemed
that Vernam was offside before he rounded Boness and finished.
West Ham bounced back after that narrow escape and could have led on three
occasions before the half-time interval. Bailey watched his shot rebound off
the post, before Carter was denied by Barnes and Sylvestre was also caught
offside before placing the ball into the back of the net.
Into the second half and Derby came close on the hour-mark when Ethan
Wassall headed over from close range. However, six minutes later the hosts
did take the lead when Vernam was well positioned in the penalty area to
divert Gordon's pass in off the inside of the post.
Schoolboy striker Kanu had a great chance to level moments later but, after
getting through on goal, the young forward fired his shot straight at
Barnes.
Into the final ten minutes and Derby confirmed their victory when Gordon
turned from provider to scorer after latching onto a long ball to finish
past the helpless Boness.
The Rams were then denied a third minutes later when Vernam was released
behind the Hammers back line, as Boness got down low to make the save.
West Ham will hope to record their first win of the Play-Off phase when they
host Reading at Little Heath on Saturday 28 March at 11am.
U18s: Boness, Eggleton, Rice, Akinola, Neufville, Carter, Sylvestre,
Diangana (Lewis), Bailey, Borg, Kanu
Subs not used: Ware, Barrett, Diallo, Henry
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Early goals crucial for five star Liverpool
WHUFC.com
West ham United U21 coach Steve Potts said conceding two goals in five
minutes proved costly as Liverpool secured a 5-0 win on Friday 20 March. The
Merseyside outfit were in rampant mood as they raced to 2-0 lead through
goals from Kevin Stewart and Ryan McLaughlin. The Reds went on to score a
third before half time as Cameron Brannagan capped of a wonderful one-touch
move with a composed finish. Speaking after the game, Potts said of the
defeat: "Everything we spoke about before the game went out of the window.
We watched clips of the opposition and the warning signs were there. "They
showed how quick they can be and quick they can hurt you. Before we knew it,
we were 2-0 down within five minutes and we had a mountain to climb."
Into the second half and the Dev Squad came out of the traps with a lot more
intensity and desire. Despite their best efforts however they couldn't turn
openings into any meaningful chances and it was the hosts who put the game
to bed through McLaughlin's second goal of the match and Sergi Canos' neat
turn and finish. "While we then got into the game a little bit more they
still looked more of a threat. We couldn't handle their pace and a third
goal before half time killed the game. Had it been 2-0 you never know. "In
the second half I thought we did better but we gave another two goals away.
They were good, they played very similar to the way the first team play.
They were swarming after us and they're tough to play against. This is U21
football and there is clearly another huge step to go to first team
football."
The Dev Squad's next game is another tough match away at Manchester United
on Tuesday 6 April and Potts is hoping for a swift improvement. "We need to
lick our wounds really. Our second half was slightly better because we mixed
it up more. We moved the ball better and kept hold of it a bit better.
Conceding the fourth goal killed the good stuff that we were doing."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ladies produce five-star show
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies returned to winning ways with an outstanding 5-1 FA
Women's Premier League Southern Division victory over Gillingham Ladies on
Thursday. The Hammers suffered a setback after just four minutes when Ashlee
Hincks was perfectly placed in the penalty area to put the visitors ahead,
before Emma Sherwood's left-footed volley and Vicky Kinsman's precision
strike turned the game on its head. Into the second half at Aveley FC and
Sherwood added her second of the game from Kelley Blanchflower's low cross,
before a volleyed brace from winger Lily Mellors rounded off a five-star
performance from Dicks' side. Ladies manager Julian Dicks was pleased with
the result, but is still demanding more from this team going forward. "Over
the whole game, I still think that my girls could've played better, but the
second half was much better than the first half," admitted Dicks.
"Gillingham came out quick and scored against the run of play. After that,
though, my players worked harder and got themselves back into the game and
pushed on to score more goals in the second half. "There are still some
issues around tempo and listening to advice, but we are getting there
hopefully. I told my two centre-backs at the start that they had two
potential threats going forward so get tight to them and don't let them
turn, but they let them turn. I told them again at half-time and they
stopped letting them turn and marshalled them out of the game, which then in
turn took all threat out of Gillingham's play. "Compared to the last couple
of games, this was a much improved performance. The Plymouth and QPR
performances were awful and we didn't deserve anything from those games,
whereas they did on Thursday so I'm happy with the difference in quality
from Sunday."
After Sunday's 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers, manager Dicks made just
one change to his starting eleven, with full-back Kerry Stimson coming in
for Vicki King. However, the change did not pay immediate dividends as
Gillingham got themselves ahead when Louise Lorton was released down the
right touchline she and crossed perfectly for the unmarked Hincks to finish.
Before long, though, the Hammers dragged themselves level when Sherwood
managed to lob Gillingham goalkeeper Courtney Shanley with her left foot
from the right corner of the penalty area. The equaliser gave the Hammers
inspiration to turn the game in their favour and they did so when the
Gillingham defence failed to clear from inside their own penalty box,
allowing Kinsman to step in and fire low into the bottom corner of the net.
After the half-time break, the game went from bad to worse for Kent side
when Sherwood was on hand to bury home from Blanchflower's low cross to make
it 3-1. The Hammers punished Gillingham further when Mellors was released
down the right touchline and after making it to the byline, her teasing
cross found its way past Shanley and into the back of the net. With just 15
minutes remaining, Mellors doubled her tally for the game and made it 5-1 by
lobbing Shanley from 18 yards out. The result took the Hammers up to fifth
in the FA Women's Premier League South table, with 27 points from their 15
league fixtures
West Ham have a weekend off before taking on the Gills in the return fixture
at Chatham Town FC on Sunday 29 March.
Ladies: Duncan, Stimson (King), Baxter, Revell, Bottom, Blanchflower,
Little, Bowers (Sale), Mellors, Sherwood (Smith), Kinsman
Sub not used: Locke
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West Ham 1 Sunderland 0
21 March 2015
Last updated at 19:52
By Richard Winton
BBC Sport
Dick Advocaat's tenure as Sunderland manager began with defeat after Diafra
Sakho struck a late winner for West Ham at Upton Park.
The Dutchman, who replaced sacked Gus Poyet on Tuesday, was left to rue a
glaring miss by Jermain Defoe when Sakho lashed in with two minutes left.
The Black Cats - for whom Adam Johnson played 17 minutes after the club
lifted his suspension following his arrest - are a point clear of the bottom
three. It was just a second win in 12 Premier League matches for Sam
Allardyce's side, who were fourth at Christmas. But Sunderland's wretched
run continues. They have recorded just one league victory this year and
scored just once in their last seven matches. Defeats for relegation rivals
Burnley, Leicester and Aston Villa earlier on Saturday means this defeat is
not as penal as it might have been, but Advocaat, 67, will likely reflect on
a missed opportunity and one missed chance in particular. Defoe was one of
three forwards selected by Sunderland's fifth manager in six years and
should have given his side the lead against a side equally low on
confidence. However, the former England international lacked composure when
presented with a glaring chance, lashing over after being released by Steven
Fletcher.
Match stats
Guus Hiddink is the only Dutch manager to win his first Premier League game
(D1, L5).
Mark Noble provided his 23rd Premier League assist. Only Paolo Di Canio (31)
and Trevor Sinclair (25) have more for West Ham.
Sakho's winner was West Ham's latest league goal this season (87:42).
Sunderland have failed to score in 15 games this term. Only Aston Villa (17)
have drawn more blanks.
Had he converted, who knows how West Ham might have reacted given they -
like Sunderland - had earned just three points from their last six matches.
Instead, Allardyce's men were allowed to work themselves into the contest.
Before the break, Kevin Nolan, Sakho and Alex Song exercised goalkeeper
Costel Pantilimon, who leaked four in 45 minutes against Aston Villa last
weekend. And after the interval, West Ham took command and perhaps should
have been awarded a penalty just after the hour. Substitute Santiago Vergini
had his arms wrapped around Nolan as a ball was flighted in to the penalty
area only for the Hammers' captain to be judged offside, even though the
delivery flicked off the head of Sunderland's John O'Shea. Johnson was
introduced after 73 minutes, Sunderland having lifted his suspension
following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old
girl. But West Ham remained the side most likely to score and the goal did
finally come with two minutes to play. Mark Noble's cute flick found Sakho
in a pocket of space in the area and the Senegal striker scudded a finish
across the helpless Pantilimon.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "The way we have let leads slip here easily,
the 1-0 was a fantastic victory for us, because it was a difficult game. "I
felt that when a chance does come along we will score and we got a clean
sheet - a rarity for us - so we got both ends right today."
Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat: "I am happy with the effort, we had a
discussion about that - how to show our fans what we can do.
"It is hard to play against West Ham with long balls, but we didn't give
away of lot chances. They are a good side but I did not expect them to score
in the 88th minute."
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Allardyce on... Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd March 2015
By: Staff Writer
Big Sam was a combination of both happy and relieved this evening as he
reflected upon a late win against strugglers Sunderland at the Boleyn. His
full, unedited post-match presser for you below...
Sam: the amount of late goals West Ham have shipped this season, you must be
delighted to finally get one yourself?
Yes, it's nice to get a win and secure it just at the end there with our
leading goalscorer making everybody's life a little more comfortable this
weekend. We're really chuffed. Our failure to win over the last ten games or
so has been down to our inability to keep a clean sheet from a winning
position. We've done that today. Even though at times I felt the game was a
bit scrappy, we deserved to win.
A late one-nil puts us into a better frame of mind going into the
international week and comes at the right time for us. We want to get our
injured players fit - particularly Enner Valencia and Winston Reid. We won't
have Andy Carroll or James Tomkins for the rest of the season but those two
are very important to get fit again, to make the squad a bit stronger.
Carlton Cole, our only other option as a striker is just back from injury
and wouldn't have been capable of 90 minutes - but made a difference at half
time. So the strength and depth of the squad, if we can keep those fit, is
good and our run-in suggests we can hopefully win more games than we lose or
draw. Then we can push on and try and finish as high as we can.
How pleased are you that Sakho scored the winner so late on in the game,
especially as he'd missed a couple of headers before that?
Yeah; I think he's the leading goalscorer of headed goals this season as
well so he would have been disappointed - but he was delighted he did what
he did. For him, being leading goalscorer at West Ham - in the Premier
League, in his first season - is a Hell of an achievement, even though he
hasn't scored so many recently. That was a very important one for us.
Do you think it was a foul [by Nene in the build-up to the goal]?
Probably yes, but it's about time something went our way rather than against
us. It probably was a foul. When things are going for you those decisions go
for you, when they go against you they can be devastating. In the end it's a
devastating decision for Sunderland because we scored from it but on the
back of the poor decisions we've had over the last ten or 11 games, it's
about time one went in our favour!
We watched your TV interview when the issue of Karren Brady's comments were
brought up. Does that help in the situation when...
[Paul Stringer, West Ham's press officer intervenes to confirm that Sky
mis-quoted Brady, adding that it was later corrected. He states it would be
unfair to ask Allardyce about a quote that was never made]
I'm going to fine Sky for mis-quoting me! [laughs] And getting me to say
something that looked like I was criticising the vice Chairman, which
obviously I'd never want to do publicly.
For me, Sky shouldn't have slipped up and shouldn't have asked that
question. Certainly if they were quoting correctly, fine - but if they were
quoting incorrectly they should stick to football and stop asking questions
like that. That goes to Sky News, not to them.
It was more the response, because you felt you hadn't been getting the
performances...
The performances are there, the results are not - and that's been the case
over the last ten or 11 games. Particularly Chelsea and Man United here,
Tottenham away. We just haven't been able to find the victory we deserved -
and we certainly didn't deserve to lose against Chelsea. For us it's a
massive win.
We're still in a great position, even though wins have eluded us. We're on
42 points, that's the same total as last year and we got 46 in year one.
We're probably heading for the best points total we've had since being back
in the Premier League - and if anyone wants more than that, I don't really
know how they can ask for more.
This squad needs to grow, it needs to get bigger and better, but we need to
finish this season off with much better than 46 points and make sure that we
finish what we set out to do at Christmas when we reset our goals to make
sure that we get more points in the Premier League this year than we even
have done.
Can I just confirm those injuries; Andy Carroll's out for the season?
Carroll's out for the season and Tomkins is out for the season. Winston Reid
being back will be very important to us - and Enner Valencia.
How many more do you think you need for a full squad?
A big bonus to our defence is securing Winston Reid, who was an
out-of-contract player this season. We've managed to persuade him to stay
and that's one in the bag already, as we say. It's one less talented player
we need for next year.
That new talent needs to be talent which challenges these players for a
first team place from August 8th, the start of next season. When we start
next time round, some of the new players are in the team challenging these
players and making us better.
Thank you.
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West Ham Utd 1-0 Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 21st March 2015
By: Staff Writer
West Ham secured their first Premier League win in eight games at the Boleyn
this afternoon - but left it late in doing so. Leading goalscorer Diafra
Sakho was in the right place at the right time to steer an effort past
Sunderland's giant goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon with less than two minutes
of normal time remaining. And whilst it was the latest goal West Ham have
scored in a Premier League fixture this season few have been welcomed more
than this one, which secured West Ham's first three points since the 3-0
victory over Hull back in January.
Despite enjoying more of the ball during the game, the Hammers failed to
make much of an impression during the opening 45 minutes - although Kevin
Nolan, perhaps the most effective midfielder in the team today should have
been awarded a penalty when he was tugged down inside the six-yard box as he
prepared to convert a low cross.
However the clearest opportunity of the first half fell to former Hammer
Jermain Defoe, who could only find the upper seats in the Bobby Moor Lower
when set clear on goal halfway through the first period.
The game continued in a similar vein after the break, with the Hammers
enjoying more possession but failing to break through a stubborn Black Cats
defence - that was until Sakho, who had previously missed at least three
clear chances to score with his head finally found the net.
The goal may have well been disallowed for a foul by substitute Nene in the
build-up had the game been officiated by someone more alert than Lee Mason,
who added his name to the long list of refs to enjoy a stinker at the Boleyn
this season.
However play was allowed to continue and Sakho, no more than eight yards
from goal managed to steer his effort across Pantilimon into the far corner
to win the game for the Hammers.
Sunderland, under the direction of new (and vastly experienced) manager Dick
Advocaat for the first time played the entire game with a three-pronged
attack but rarely troubled Adrian.
Indeed, the closest they came to finding the net bar Defoe's aforementioned
gaff came via a stinging long-range drive from Patrick Van Aanholt that
Adrian tipped wide for a corner.
The win lifts West Ham back above Stoke into ninth place on goal difference,
with both teams on 42 points. Sam Allardyce and his squad can now enjoy the
ensuing two-week break before action recommences at bottom-placed Leicester
after the forthcoming international break.
Match Facts: West Ham Utd 1-0 Sunderland
West Ham Utd: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Kouyate, Cresswell, Song, Noble,
Nolan (Nene 80), Jarvis (Cole 46), Downing, Sakho (O'Brien 90) .
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Poyet, Amalfitano
Goals: Sakho (88).
Possession: 54%.
Shots (on target/off target/blocked): 15 (4/4/7).
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Reveillere, O'Shea (c), Brown (Vergini 13), Van
Aanholt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Wickham, Fletcher (Johnson 73), Defoe
(Graham 88).
Subs not used: Mannone, Jones, Bridcutt, Watmore.
Booked: Wickham (63).
Possession: 46%.
Shots (on target/off target/blocked): 7 (3/3/1).
Referee: Lee Mason (5) - fussy throughout and got the game's two big
decisions wrong.
Attendance: 34,914.
Man of the Match: James Collins.
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West Ham's late show please Kevin Nolan
Last Updated: 21/03/15 11:03pm
SSN
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan conceded his side's 1-0 win over Sunderland was
far from pretty, but was delighted to finally see the Hammers on the right
end of a late goal for once. Sam Allardyce's men have shipped several late
goals in recent months, costing them the chance of at least two victories,
but it was them celebrating at the death on Saturday thanks to Diafra
Sakho's 88th-minute winner. That earned West Ham their first win in nine
league and cup games, and Nolan admitted it was much welcomed. "Better late
than never! We've had a few of them against us in the last five-six weeks.
It's been a long time coming this win," Nolan told Sky Sports 1. "We've been
playing ever so well but probably not getting the points we deserved. "We
knew it wasn't going to be pretty but we won and that's the main thing. "I'm
just delighted to get the three points. I thought we deserved it overall. It
wasn't our best performances of the season here, but it's three points and
it's massive for us."
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West Ham 1-0 Sunderland: Diafra Sakho's late strike ruins Dick Advocaat's
debut
Last Updated: 21/03/15 9:52pm
SSN
West Ham beat Sunderland 1-0 at Upton Park as Diafra Sakho's last-gasp
effort ruined Dick Advocaat's first match in charge of the Wearsiders. The
home side won their first match of 2015, with Sakho's 88th-minute winner
coming just as it seemed Sunderland would hold out for a well-deserved
point. That defeat keeps Advocaat's side just one point above the relegation
zone, while West Ham move up to ninth in the table. It was the visitors who
made the better start of the two teams, with Connor Wickham linking up well
with strike partner Jermain Defoe, before testing Adrian at his near post
with a well-struck volley just eight minutes in. And it was Defoe – signed
by previous boss Gustavo Poyet in January to score the goals to keep the
club in the top flight – who was guilty of missing the best opening of the
first half after being played clean through on goal by Steven Fletcher's
flick on the quarter-hour mark, only for the diminutive striker to blaze
horribly off target.
West Ham, meanwhile, played like a side who had failed to win any of their
previous seven matches, a poor run that included losing their last two at
Upton Park, in the opening period, with the nearest they came to scoring
coming when Alex Song's 25-yard volley forced Costel Pantilimon into a smart
near-post stop. Other than that, however, the Hammers huffed and puffed, but
barely looked like blowing the visitors' house down, despite them producing
25 crosses before the break. After the interval it was much the same as
Sunderland's rear-guard, led impressively by captain John O'Shea, repelled
all that West Ham could throw at them, while at the same time trying to
catch their opponents on the break using the pace of Defoe. But all Advocaat
and Co. had to show for their attacking endeavours was left-back Patrick van
Aanholt's speculative effort from distance that Adrian turned behind for a
corner with 13 minutes to go.
And even the introduction of the returning Adam Johnson after 73 minutes,
greeted by a predictable chorus of boos from the home fans, could not
increase the Black Cats' threat up front. As the minutes ticked by, however,
so West Ham's pressure began to build as Sakho glanced a header inches past
the post, before two strong penalty appeals were turned down by referee Lee
Mason. The Hammers were not to be denied a morale-boosting victory, though,
and with just two minutes left a neat move on the edge of the Sunderland box
involving substitute Nene and Mark Noble saw the latter's lovely flick play
Sakko through, with the Senegalese making no mistake by firing low past a
helpless Pantilimon for his 10th league goal of the campaign.
Player ratings
West Ham United: Adrian (6), Jenkinson (6), Kouyate (6), Collins (6),
Cresswell (7), Song (6), Noble (7), Jarvis (5), Nolan (6), Downing (6),
Sakho (7)
Subs: Nene (6), O'Brien (6), Cole (6)
Sunderland: Pantilimon (7), Reveillere (6), O'Shea (7), Brown (6), van
Aanholt (7), Larsson (6), Rodwell (6), Jordi Gomez (5), Fletcher (6), Defoe
(7), Wickham (8
Subs: Johnson (6), Graham (6), Vergini (6)
Man of the match: Connor Wickham
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce hits back at Karren Brady's criticism
Last Updated: 21/03/15 10:53pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce hailed his side's 1-0 win over Sunderland on
Saturday as a "fantastic result" after recent late slip-ups against the
likes of Manchester United and Tottenham. Allardyce also defended his team's
performances this season in the wake of criticism from West Ham
vice-chairwoman Karren Brady, who said the Hammers had been
"underachieving". Although the question put to Allardyce actually referenced
Brady's comment as 'underperforming' rather than 'underachieving', the West
Ham boss was quick to defend his players. "She's wrong. We're not
under-performing, we're under-results getting so she's wrong in what's she's
saying," he told Sky Sports after the match. "Performances have been there,
there's not been too many poor performances this year, hardly
any....performances here have been outstanding. "Our performances have been
good, results haven't matched the performances we've given. So
under-performing no. Should we have got a lot more results than we did? Yes.
"It shows that the squad isn't quite big enough this season, that we haven't
quite got the strength in depth we need to maintain a place in the top
eight."
Allardyce has been linked with the Sunderland manager's job following Gus
Poyet's recent dismissal, but the 60-year-old was in no mood to answer
anything on that subject, saying: "Give over and don't ask silly questions."
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WEST HAM 1, SUNDERLAND 0. GLASS HALF FULL, OR HALF EMPTY?
By David Hautzig 22 Mar 2015 at 02:27
West Ham till I Die
My best mate, Jon, is an attorney. His work allows him to collect air miles
the way we used to collect sports trading cards as kids. London is a regular
destination, but his travel dates don't always cooperate with him to visit
Upton Park. Last season he was able to attend one game. Home against
Sunderland. It was, by virtually any measure, one of the most dire matches
seen in East London for years. West Ham's lone moment of happiness that game
came when James Tomkins ran with the ball. He did nothing with it, but the
act of exerting energy that day was worth noting. For 88 minutes, today's
match was only a little better. Then it was much better.
Full disclosure. I saw this game in two ways. The first way was by sneaking
glimpses on my IPhone before taking my kids to the theatre, and then during
intermission. The second was in the evening courtesy of my DVR. There is
something to be said for knowing the result while watching the game. Far
easier on the nerves.
There are narratives before some games that just stare you in the face and
seem certain to come to fruition. Today, would anybody have been shocked if
Jermain Defoe had scored? In the opening 15 minutes of the game Defoe had a
number chances to write that chapter. In the third minute Van Aanholt slid a
pass to Fletcher, who tried to get the ball to Defoe but Cresswell
intervened and sent the ball out for a corner. Minutes later Defoe chased
down a ball outside the 18-yard box and sent a cross to Wickham. The man Sam
thought would be better than Sakho did a good job to control the pass with
his chest and hit a volley that Adrian did well to stop. Then in the 15th
minute Fletcher sent Defoe in alone on Adrian but his shot sailed over the
bar in what could only be described as a wasted chance.
The Hammers then started to ask a few questions of the Black Cats. Sakho won
West Ham their first corner, and then a few minutes later outfought Van
Aanholt on the touchline and sent a quick cross into Nolan whose shot was
saved by Pantilimon. A minute later Jarvis found the Senegalese Superman in
the box with a cross but Sakho's header went just wide.
A few months ago, I would have supported a deal to sign Alex Song on a
permanent contract regardless of the cost. Thankfully I have nothing to say
on such matters. In the 32nd minute, a Mark Noble free kick into the box was
cleared only as far as Song. In what almost looked like a carbon copy of the
disallowed goal against Arsenal in December, Song's volley went through a
crowd in the Sunderland penalty area and forced a diving save by Pantilimon.
There are many on Twitter whose opinions I trust, usually more than my own.
One of them, my other West Ham boss Graeme Howlett of KUMB, tweeted right
after the game that referee Lee Mason had a shocker. The first of many
moments that more than a few thought he botched was in the 34th minute.
Jarvis collected the ball on the left, beat Vergini and sent a low cross
into the box. Kevin Nolan tried to meet the pass but was tracked and
seemingly held by Larsson, allowing Pantilimon to get their first. Was it a
penalty? Based on Mason's overall performance, I'd have to assume he screwed
that up and West Ham should have gotten the ball on the spot.
Halftime: West Ham 0, Sunderland 0.
It's pretty clear, if not downright transparent that Sakho does not show his
best when he is played as a lone striker. Maybe that's why Jarvis was
replaced by Carlton Cole to start the second half despite Jarvis being one
of West Ham's better performers in the opening 45. Yet Sakho's will and
athleticism allow him to pose a threat even in less than ideal
circumstances. In the 52nd minute Cresswell pushed forward before sending
yet another cross into the box. Despite jumping away from goal, Sakho was
able to connect with his head and put the ball only inches wide of the post.
A few minutes later Sakho's mere presence and aggression forced Pantilimon
to turn a simple back pass into a panic induced clearance for a West Ham
throw.
In the 64th minute, Lee Mason again incurred the wrath of Captain Kev. After
Wickham saw yellow for a harsh challenge on Noble, James Collins sent the
free kick into the Sunderland area. The ball deflected off of John O'Shea
and was coming right to Nolan. Once again Vergini took matters into his own
hands, both literally and figuratively, and bear hugged Nolan. The offside
flag had gone up, incorrectly because the ball had come off O'Shea, and
Mason was spared having to make a penalty call. Two wrongs don't make a
right, and in this case they made two officials look incompetent.
In the 77th minute, Sunderland had their best opportunity of the half and it
came from basically nothing. Van Aanholt picked up the ball near the center
circle. He strolled in another 15 yards or so before firing a rocket off of
his left foot that Adrian had to dive to his left to send wide for a
Sunderland corner.
In the 85th minute, the television commentator gave a statistic that I can't
say I was aware of. West Ham were the only team in the Premier League to not
score a goal in the final ten minutes of a match. I'm hoping that's accurate
since I'm quoting it here. But if that information is incorrect, it won't
matter because in the 88th minute West Ham got the late goal that in recent
games they have conceded. Nene won a contentious header at the edge of the
penalty area. The ball fell to Noble, who laid it off for Sakho. The Hammers
leading striker and biggest bargain calmly slid the ball past Pantilimon and
into the far right hand corner.
West Ham 1, Sunderland 0.
Glass Half Full version. With only one win since New Years, three points in
any form is welcome. Despite being played as a lone striker, Diafra Sakho
was menacing and forceful the entire 88 minutes he played leading to his
winner. Kevin Nolan played well, as did Jenkinson and Collins. And of
course, Sam can sleep tight tonight with visions of sugar plum clean sheets
dancing in his head.
Glass Half Empty version. Coming into the game, Sunderland were as woeful as
any team in England. Prior to last week, Aston Villa had only scored four
away goals all season. They doubled that total in 45 minutes at The Stadium
Of Light. It's not like West Ham thoroughly dominated the game the way they
did against Villa in October, only to have Guzan stand on his head. We had a
few half chances, and were harshly treated by an awe inspiringly bad Lee
Mason. But Defoe could have scored a couple, and Wickham came close. This
was a game we should not have struggled to win.
Looking at both glasses, the only rational thing to do is have another drink
and call it a night.
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West Ham plotting summer swoop for Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel
Adebayor
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Dean Jones
Togo international was close to moving to Upton Park in January before Spurs
chairman Daniel Levy pulled the plug on the deal
The Mirror
West Ham are planning a fresh attempt to sign Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor
this summer – and their slide down the table has boosted their chances.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy blocked Adebayor's proposed move to Upton Park in
the last transfer window because he saw the Hammers as rivals for European
qualification. But it is understood the Tottenham board now feel more
relaxed about a transfer to West Ham for the 31-year-old striker, who wants
to stay in London. Adebayor's Spurs contract expires in 2016 and it is most
likely West Ham will try to sign him on loan ahead of next season. The Togo
star earns around £100,000-a-week – and the Hammers would want Tottenham to
subsidise a chunk of that.
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Cheick Tiote heading out of Newcastle with West Ham and Southampton set to
pounce
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Football Spy
The Ivorian only has two years to run on his contract and the Magpies would
prefer to cash in now rather than risk losing him for a free next summer
The Mirror
Cheick Tiote is set to leave Newcastle at the end of the season. The
tough-tackling Ivory Coast international will be a target for both West Ham
and Southampton if Newcastle decide to sell. The asking price will be around
£7.5million for the man who helped his country win the African Cup of
Nations earlier this season. Tiote – who will be 29 in June – has two years
left on his contract and is unlikely to agree to an extension. That would
tempt Newcastle to cash in now – and that will spark interest from both East
London and the South Coast. West Ham will be keen if they fail to secure
Alex Song on a permanent deal from Barcelona.
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David Moyes ready to reject West Ham approach to replace Sam Allardyce to
stay at Real Sociedad
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Neil Moxley
Speculation has been rife that the Scot was on the Hammers' short-list to
replace Allardyce if he is unable to reach agreement over the renewal of his
contract
The Mirror
David Moyes will reject any approach from West Ham this summer - as he looks
set to remain with Real Sociedad, writes Neil Moxley in the Sunday People.
Speculation has been rife that the Scot was on the short-list of those set
to replace Sam Allardyce at Upton Park if the Hammers' current boss is
unable to reach agreement over the renewal of his contract. But Peoplesport
understands that Moyes has made only a couple of fleeting returns to the UK
since he was given the chance to take over at the Basque club. Furthermore,
he is looking to organise a proper backroom set-up with several of the staff
he has worked with before at both Everton and Preston North End. Moyes has
drawn up a shortlist himself of people he wants to help with Sociedad's
recruitment and to form part of a fitness team. With him set to make those
offers in the coming weeks, it is the clearest signal yet that he remains
determined to make his mark in La Liga following his nightmare at Old
Trafford.
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Sam Allardyce says West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is 'wrong' over
'under-achieving' comments
21:18, 21 March 2015 By James Whaling
Big Sam continues to come under pressure from sections of the West Ham
support, and Brady said he needs to 'rectify' their situation
The Mirror
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has hit back at comments made by Hammers
vice-chairman Karren Brady following their 1-0 win over Sunderland.
Brady had accused the Irons of 'under-achieving' despite comfortably sitting
in the top half of the Premier League, and having amassed more points
already this term than they did last season. Big Sam continues to come under
pressure from sections of the West Ham support, and Brady said prior to this
evening's fixture that he needs to 'rectify' their situation. Brady said:
"The fact is that West Ham are underachieving and it is Sam Allardyce's task
to identify the reason and rectify it. He would wish it no other way." A
late goal from Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers all three points at Upton Park,
and Allardyce hit back at the comments following the game. "She's wrong," he
blasted. "She's wrong in what she's saying. Under-performing? No. Should we
have got more results than we have? Yes." Allardyce revealed after the game
that he felt comfortable enough at half-time to switch to a more attacking
system. He introduced Carlton Cole from the bench - a switch he believes was
pivotal in the Irons battling to a late winner. He told Sky Sports: "I
looked at it at half-time and thought - we need more goalscorers on. "Kevin
(Nolan) was on, Sakho was on, Stewart Downing has scored all his goals
playing in the hole and Carlton Cole has got two or three from the bench.
"When that chance does come along, you hope it falls to one of those and it
fell to our leading goalscorer. "He was pretty disappointed he didn't score
with his head again today, but he got there in the end and he moves on to 12
in his first season in the Premier League which is fantastic for him and
us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lady Brady: Do your job Sam
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Lady Brady has decided that Sam Allardyce needs to do his job a little
better starting this afternoon. After making it clear a couple of weeks back
he had her full support she has decided that her newspaper column in The Sun
is an appropriate place to give him a tip on how to operate. You may recall
she claimed that he would be leaving the club almost over her dead body a
few weeks ago after a bookie rold her they had his card marked for
Sunderland. However, she now wants Allardyce to get the side to start
performing after her support appeared to go nowhere in terms of results. She
writes "Someone says in the press today that we flattered to deceive up to
Christmas – but I 100 per cent disagree. "The fact is that West Ham are
underachieving and it is Sam Allardyce's task to identify the reason and
rectify it. He would wish it no other way."
SIGH ZZZZZ
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce rips into Sky over Brady question!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Harry Sherlock reporting…
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce launched a scything attack on Sky Television after he was
forced to criticise vice chairman Karren Brady. He was asked on air how he
reacted to Brady's remarks that the team had been under performing recently
and immediately snapped: "She's wrong – we've been under points getting!"
Later in the press room he snarled: ""I'm gonna fine Sky for making me
criticise the vice-chairman which I would never do publicly. They shouldn't
have slipped up. Stick to football and stop asking questions like that. The
performances are there, the results are not, that's been the case over the
last 11 games. Chelsea here, Man United here, Tottenham away, we haven't
been able to find a result. For us it's a massive win, we're still in a
great position, 42 points, I think that's the same as last year and we're
heading for the best points tally since we returned to the Premier League.
This squad needs to grow and get bigger but we need to finish this season
well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Advocaat view
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Disappointed Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat was bitterly disappointed at the
defeat but believes signs are good for the future. He said: "We deserved
more. Especially the way they scored the goal. We did not expect they would
score, the game was equal and there were not a lot of chances. We had the
first chance in the first half with Jermain Defoe. "With his quality, that
was a 100 per cent chance. He had to at least hit the goal. We can take that
with us into the next game because if you work hard you get the results too.
I have still seen some things we need to improve, and some players are
coming back. So for me it is positive. "We have to win that game
(Newcastle). With our home fans, if they stand behind us, like they did
today because they appreciated what we did, we will make it very difficult
for Newcastle. This game has given us the tools. "I am happy with the
effort, we had a discussion about that – how to show our fans what we can
do, and if you work you get results. It is hard to play against West Ham
with long balls, but we didn't give a way of lot chances. They are a good
side, with some good players, and we had also some opportunities to score
and I did not expect them to score in the 88th minute, that was really
disappointing. Today we deserved the result as well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Allardyce view
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce – speaking on Sky Sports – said: "Today was all about getting
the win, and we got that. The way we have let leads slip here easily, the
1-0 was a fantastic victory for us, because it was a difficult game. We
eventually changed the shape and put more pressure on Sunderland and that
finally paid off. I looked at things at half-time and thought we needed more
support to Diafra Sakho.
"Carlton Cole has scored two or three from the bench this year, so I felt
that when a chance does come along we will score. "It eventually fell to
Diafra Skaho, our leading scorer, who was disappointed not to have scored a
couple of chances with his head today. A clean sheet – a rarity for us – so
we got both ends right today."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons 1 S'dld 0: Sakho saves Sam's bacon
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Diafra Sakho's 88th minute strike gave us a win to celebrate at last but
make no mistake this was hard, desperate and ugly against one of the
league's poorest sides. With Sam Allardyce under enormous pressure for his
job defeat or a draw today would have been entirely unacceptable and the
manager knew it – Sakho has saved his bacon for now. The striker fired home
across keeper Pantilimon from a fabulous Noble 'dink' unto the box to have
Allardyce celebrating as if the team had won the Champions League. In fact
we'd beaten a very poor side who should have been there for the taking.
We deserved to win on the balance of play and given that ref Lee Mason
turned down clear penalty appeals when Nolan was clearly fouled and the ball
brushed Adam Johnson's arm. Nolan said afterwards he believed it was a pen
and added: "It wasn't our best performance of the season but we'll take it,
And Mark Noble added: "We played really well against Man United, Spurs and
Chelsea without winning so I'm over the moon today."
Sam Allardyce had stressed a win was of total importance and said it didn't
matter how it came but the first half had us all wondering how that would
ever be fulfilled. Former Iron Jerman Defoe in fact blasted wide from close
range after being left alone following a huge hoist out from the back. Sakho
– who battled brilliantly without a lot of support – saw a fine header fly
wide and a 25 yard drive from Song brought a decent save from keeper
Pantilimon. Sunderland had their moments with Connor Wickham impressive but
the Hammers – whilst never at their best – worked hard to the end for Sak to
grab his 12th goal of the season. Relief yes…pleasure NO. For so long there
was no real plan, purpose or power but what we do have is that man Sakho.
Allardyce took a little pop at Karren Brady in his post match interview
after her morning comments when saying we'd been under performing. He said:
"She's wrong! We haven't been under-performing. We've been under-results
getting! Err we centainly under-performed today but give thanks -we're on
our way again…HOPEFULLY!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Barclays Premier League
WHUFC.com
Diafra Sakho struck a dramatic late winner to fire West Ham United to all
three Barclays Premier League points against struggling Sunderland at the
Boleyn Ground on Saturday. With 88 minutes on the clock, Sakho collected
from Mark Noble before slamming emphatically into the opposite corner beyond
Mackems stopper Costel Pantilimon. The returning Jermain Defoe had earlier
spurned Sunderland's best chance, as he volleyed wide with only Adrian to
beat, while matchwinner Sakho had twice gone agonisingly close with his
head. Elsewhere, Hammers skipper Kevin Nolan could and should have won a
penalty, but it mattered not as Sakho came to the rescue to earn Sam
Allardyce's men a first league win in eight. Predictably, Defoe was in the
thick of it early on. He sped away down the right, squared up James Collins
and picked out Connor Wickham on the left-edge of the box. The former
Ipswich man controlled on his chest before lashing a volley goalwards. It
was vicious, but straight at Adrian, who gathered at the second time of
asking.
If that was, at best, a half chance, Defoe's opportunity after 15 was
gilt-edged. Wickham turned provider with an excellent header on, leaving the
England striker bearing down on Adrian's goal. But thankfully his predatory
instincts escaped him, as he skewed high and wide. Cue the West Ham
response. Sakho scrapped for it on the by-line and an attempted clearance
fell at the feet of Nolan. He swept a snapshot on target but straight into
the gloves of Costel Pantilimon.
Moments later and the Hammers went closer still. Aaron Cresswell crossed
from the left and though Sakho met it, his header drifted inches wide of
Pantilimon's left-hand upright. The Romanian stopper, by now a busy boy, was
soon called upon once more. Alex Song's technique was sublime as his volley
from the edge of the box forced Pantilimon into a smart stop down low to his
right. At the other end, Defoe continued to threaten. In space on the left
he cut inside onto his right foot and let fly. Not his best though, far from
it, as it sped along the grass and into Adrian's arms at the near post.
Big Sam shuffled his pack at the interval, with Carlton Cole the man to
replace winger Matt Jarvis. Meanwhile, Wickham tried the spectacular but his
curling effort from all of 25 yards sailed into the traveling Mackems behind
the goal.West Ham's most likely route to goal looked to be via the head of
Sakho. Just as in the first period, Cresswell swung it in from the left and
there was Sakho, almost with his back to goal, to head for goal. Under the
circumstances, it was an excellent effort, but an unmoved Pantilimon watched
it fly past the upright.
With 63 gone West Ham had claims for a spot-kick and valid claims they were
too. A long ball into the box brushed off the head of John O'Shea and into
the path of Nolan. As the skipper looked to turn he was quite obviously
hauled back. No doubting that but the linesman raised his flag to get the
visitors out of jail. Nolan understandably enraged.
As the clock ticked down, Patrick Van Aanholt sought to take matters into
his own hands. The full-back tried his luck from miles out and though it
might have been sneaking wide, Adrian was taking no chances and was at full
stretch to tip it round the post.
Without exactly throwing caution to the wind, West Ham threw everything at
Sunderland in the latter stages, but nothing fell for them in the 18-yard
box. Nolan, Sakho and substitute Nene were all denied by timely blocks as
Dick Advocaat's men looked destined for an important point.
But Sakho had other ideas. Noble's lofted ball on the edge of the box sat up
perfectly for the Senegal man who made absolutely no mistake, smashing his
strike into the ground and into the bottom-left corner. It was no more than
the No15 deserved.
West Ham United: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Kouyate, Cresswell, Song,
Noble, Nolan (c) (Nene 80), Jarvis (Cole 46), Downing, Sakho (O'Brien 90)
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Poyet, Amalfitano
Goal: Sakho 88
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Reveillere, O'Shea (c), Brown (Vergini 13), Van
Aanholt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Wickham, Fletcher (Johnson 73), Defoe
(Graham 88)
Subs: Mannone, Jones, Bridcutt, Watmore
Booked: Wickham
Referee: Lee Mason
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam hails 'biggest win of the season'
WHUFC.com
The result was all that mattered to Sam Allardyce after Diafra Sakho's late
goal saw West Ham United edge past Sunderland 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground. With
Sunderland playing their first Barclays Premier League game under new head
coach Dick Advocaat, the tea-time kick-off was always likely to be a
competitive affair and so it proved until Sakho settled matters with his
12th goal of the season. The first half was tight, with both teams creating
and spurning a limited number of chances – Sakho heading narrowly wide and
Kevin Nolan shooting straight at Costel Pantilimon for West Ham; Connor
Wickham volleying straight at Adrian and Jermain Defoe lobbing wildly
off-target for the Black Cats. At half-time, Big Sam replaced Matt Jarvis
with a second striker in Carlton Cole and the move slowly saw the Hammers
increase their attacking threat. Sakho again nodded just past the post
before the Senegalese popped up with the winner with just two minutes
remaining, finishing clinically after Mark Noble and substitute Nene had
battled for possession on the edge of the Sunderland penalty area.
"It was a big game and probably our biggest win of the season," the manager
told West Ham TV. "It settled everybody's nerves, because you could see the
fans have come here so often recently, seen some really good performances
and gone away having applauded the lads off the field but disappointed about
the result. "The performance wasn't as good as it was against Manchester
United or Chelsea but I'm sure, like us, all they wanted to see was a
victory. When it came as late as it did, it is always sweeter that way. "Our
dominance was proven by one stat in particular and that was 42 balls into
the Sunderland box. We created and missed our chances, but finally our
leading goal scorer has done what we needed him to do more than ever before
and that was put the winner in."
As so often happens in football, West Ham found a way to win, despite
arguably not producing the same level of performance as they had in recent
draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, as well as the home
defeat by Chelsea. "You have to give the team credit for the other side of
it because they have got the clean sheet, and had we done that against Man
United and Tottenham we'd be sat with another four points. Then we could
have got another as Chelsea's winner was offside. "We would then be talking
about 46 or 47 points instead of 42, but we've had to come through that
spell without the victories that we deserved. We had to face that we were in
a bad run of results and we've come through that by beating Sunderland. "For
us, with our run-in and history against teams below us – we've only lost to
Everton and Crystal Palace this season – it's hopefully going to be a good
one with plenty of points to be picked up. Hopefully the lads will finish
the season strongly."
Again, the manager had his options limited by injuries to key players, with
Cheikhou Kouyate dropping into the centre of defence and Sakho starting the
game as the lone frontman. At half-time, the manager sent on Cole to support
the No15 and the move paid off. "I wanted to give more support to Sakho and,
without Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll being with us because of injuries,
Carlton has only just come back from injury so I couldn't start him – that's
why I played one out and out striker from the start. "At half-time, the
system I chose wasn't working as well as I'd hoped in terms of creating goal
scoring opportunities, so Carlton came on and had no problem doing 45
minutes. It did us good getting Stewart Downing in the hole and it's paid
off for us. "Our leading goal scorer has got the headlines, and credit also
to our defence for restricting them to one shot on target in the second
half. Everything was how it should have turned out."
With two weeks until his team travel to bottom side Leicester City, Big Sam
will hope to welcome a number of absent players back into the fold for the
trip to the King Power Stadium. "This result means we can now try to achieve
the target we set after Christmas. It's still there to try to achieve it and
if Winston Reid comes back and stays fit, as does everybody else, during the
run-in that will be very important for us. "Winston, James Tomkins, Enner
Valencia and Andy Carroll have played a major part in our success this
season and we were without them and that is a lot of absences to try and
cope with. Against Sunderland, the players went out there and coped with it
very well indeed. "It's been a tough old period, but hopefully we'll see
more victories as the season draws to a close. "Hopefully we'll have Reidy
and Enner back after the international break, so it's probably come at a
good time for us with regard to getting some of the injured players back,
which would be great."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cresswell - 'We're buzzing'
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell was thrilled to turn recent form on its head as West Ham
United scored late to secure three points against Sunderland on Saturday.
Having conceded late against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to drop
points not long ago, the boot was on the other foot on this occasion with
Diafra Sakho scoring the only goal of the game with just two minutes left.
It meant that West Ham's eight-game wait for a league win came to an end, at
just the right time for 25-year-old defender Cresswell.
"We're all buzzing and delighted because it was a much-needed three points
after the run we've been on," he explained. "We hadn't really been good
enough lately, but we ground it out and kept going until the end. Thankfully
Diafra made a great finish. "We said at half time to keep it tight at the
back, make sure they don't score and then you've still got another 45
minutes. It took until the 88th minute for us to score, but you'll take a
1-0 and a clean sheet all day."
Sakho's strike was his tenth league goal of a terrific debut season in
England and Cresswell was delighted to see him get on the scoresheet again.
He continued: "Diafra has been fantastic all season for us. When he came in
he was fairly unknown and people hadn't heard much of him, but he's been one
of our main men scoring all those goals. Long may it continue. "Scoring a
late goal ourselves is a great feeling and the main thing was to get the
three points. We needed that win and we got there in the end. "We've still
got eight games to go and we want to finish as high as we can – try to push
for that seventh-place spot, whatever's available we're going to keep going
every week."
With two weeks until the Hammers' next fixture due to the international
break, the timing of the victory was even better for Cresswell.
He added: "It would have been a long two weeks if we hadn't got the win, so
now it's going to be a good couple of weeks with a little break before our
next game when we go again. "Cheik's had to fill in a few times over the
last couple of weeks now and he's done it again on Saturday and been
fantastic. "We got the clean sheet so what more could we ask for? We have
two weeks until the next game, so it's a chance for a few of the injured
lads to get back for Leicester."
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U18s downed at Derby
WHUFC.com
Matt Carter started for the U18s just hours after turning out for the
Development Squad
Derby County U18s 2 West Ham United U18s 0
Two second-half goals helped Derby County to a 2-0 Barclays U18 Premier
League Tier Two Play-Off victory over West Ham United on Saturday.
After both sides had a goal disallowed for offside during the opening 45
minutes, Derby's Charles Vernam and Kellan Gordon both beat Hammers
goalkeeper Danny Boness to give the hosts all three points. After picking up
just a single point in their opening Play-Off fixture at home to Brighton &
Hove Albion a week earlier, U18s coach Mark Phillips was without a number of
Academy players, who featured in Steve Potts' Development Squad team at
Liverpool on Friday night.
Sam Howes was replaced between the sticks by Boness, while Jake Eggleton
stepped in at full-back for of Alex Pike. Noha Sylvestre was paired with
Matt Carter in the middle, despite the latter appearing for 45 minutes in
the Development Squad's defeat at Liverpool just 15 hours previously.
Grady Diangana was the only player to keep his place in midfield from the
Brighton draw, meaning Oscar Borg, Kieran Bailey and Idris Kanu came into
the starting XI form a new attacking line up for the visitors.
The Hammers started the game strongly and were immediately causing Derby
goalkeeper Josh Barnes to panic, although Borg's free-kick from the edge of
the penalty was deflected wide of the target before Vashon Neufville fired
over from distance.
Derby came back into the match and within the opening 20 minutes they had
the ball in the back of the net. However, the assistant referee had deemed
that Vernam was offside before he rounded Boness and finished.
West Ham bounced back after that narrow escape and could have led on three
occasions before the half-time interval. Bailey watched his shot rebound off
the post, before Carter was denied by Barnes and Sylvestre was also caught
offside before placing the ball into the back of the net.
Into the second half and Derby came close on the hour-mark when Ethan
Wassall headed over from close range. However, six minutes later the hosts
did take the lead when Vernam was well positioned in the penalty area to
divert Gordon's pass in off the inside of the post.
Schoolboy striker Kanu had a great chance to level moments later but, after
getting through on goal, the young forward fired his shot straight at
Barnes.
Into the final ten minutes and Derby confirmed their victory when Gordon
turned from provider to scorer after latching onto a long ball to finish
past the helpless Boness.
The Rams were then denied a third minutes later when Vernam was released
behind the Hammers back line, as Boness got down low to make the save.
West Ham will hope to record their first win of the Play-Off phase when they
host Reading at Little Heath on Saturday 28 March at 11am.
U18s: Boness, Eggleton, Rice, Akinola, Neufville, Carter, Sylvestre,
Diangana (Lewis), Bailey, Borg, Kanu
Subs not used: Ware, Barrett, Diallo, Henry
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Early goals crucial for five star Liverpool
WHUFC.com
West ham United U21 coach Steve Potts said conceding two goals in five
minutes proved costly as Liverpool secured a 5-0 win on Friday 20 March. The
Merseyside outfit were in rampant mood as they raced to 2-0 lead through
goals from Kevin Stewart and Ryan McLaughlin. The Reds went on to score a
third before half time as Cameron Brannagan capped of a wonderful one-touch
move with a composed finish. Speaking after the game, Potts said of the
defeat: "Everything we spoke about before the game went out of the window.
We watched clips of the opposition and the warning signs were there. "They
showed how quick they can be and quick they can hurt you. Before we knew it,
we were 2-0 down within five minutes and we had a mountain to climb."
Into the second half and the Dev Squad came out of the traps with a lot more
intensity and desire. Despite their best efforts however they couldn't turn
openings into any meaningful chances and it was the hosts who put the game
to bed through McLaughlin's second goal of the match and Sergi Canos' neat
turn and finish. "While we then got into the game a little bit more they
still looked more of a threat. We couldn't handle their pace and a third
goal before half time killed the game. Had it been 2-0 you never know. "In
the second half I thought we did better but we gave another two goals away.
They were good, they played very similar to the way the first team play.
They were swarming after us and they're tough to play against. This is U21
football and there is clearly another huge step to go to first team
football."
The Dev Squad's next game is another tough match away at Manchester United
on Tuesday 6 April and Potts is hoping for a swift improvement. "We need to
lick our wounds really. Our second half was slightly better because we mixed
it up more. We moved the ball better and kept hold of it a bit better.
Conceding the fourth goal killed the good stuff that we were doing."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ladies produce five-star show
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies returned to winning ways with an outstanding 5-1 FA
Women's Premier League Southern Division victory over Gillingham Ladies on
Thursday. The Hammers suffered a setback after just four minutes when Ashlee
Hincks was perfectly placed in the penalty area to put the visitors ahead,
before Emma Sherwood's left-footed volley and Vicky Kinsman's precision
strike turned the game on its head. Into the second half at Aveley FC and
Sherwood added her second of the game from Kelley Blanchflower's low cross,
before a volleyed brace from winger Lily Mellors rounded off a five-star
performance from Dicks' side. Ladies manager Julian Dicks was pleased with
the result, but is still demanding more from this team going forward. "Over
the whole game, I still think that my girls could've played better, but the
second half was much better than the first half," admitted Dicks.
"Gillingham came out quick and scored against the run of play. After that,
though, my players worked harder and got themselves back into the game and
pushed on to score more goals in the second half. "There are still some
issues around tempo and listening to advice, but we are getting there
hopefully. I told my two centre-backs at the start that they had two
potential threats going forward so get tight to them and don't let them
turn, but they let them turn. I told them again at half-time and they
stopped letting them turn and marshalled them out of the game, which then in
turn took all threat out of Gillingham's play. "Compared to the last couple
of games, this was a much improved performance. The Plymouth and QPR
performances were awful and we didn't deserve anything from those games,
whereas they did on Thursday so I'm happy with the difference in quality
from Sunday."
After Sunday's 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers, manager Dicks made just
one change to his starting eleven, with full-back Kerry Stimson coming in
for Vicki King. However, the change did not pay immediate dividends as
Gillingham got themselves ahead when Louise Lorton was released down the
right touchline she and crossed perfectly for the unmarked Hincks to finish.
Before long, though, the Hammers dragged themselves level when Sherwood
managed to lob Gillingham goalkeeper Courtney Shanley with her left foot
from the right corner of the penalty area. The equaliser gave the Hammers
inspiration to turn the game in their favour and they did so when the
Gillingham defence failed to clear from inside their own penalty box,
allowing Kinsman to step in and fire low into the bottom corner of the net.
After the half-time break, the game went from bad to worse for Kent side
when Sherwood was on hand to bury home from Blanchflower's low cross to make
it 3-1. The Hammers punished Gillingham further when Mellors was released
down the right touchline and after making it to the byline, her teasing
cross found its way past Shanley and into the back of the net. With just 15
minutes remaining, Mellors doubled her tally for the game and made it 5-1 by
lobbing Shanley from 18 yards out. The result took the Hammers up to fifth
in the FA Women's Premier League South table, with 27 points from their 15
league fixtures
West Ham have a weekend off before taking on the Gills in the return fixture
at Chatham Town FC on Sunday 29 March.
Ladies: Duncan, Stimson (King), Baxter, Revell, Bottom, Blanchflower,
Little, Bowers (Sale), Mellors, Sherwood (Smith), Kinsman
Sub not used: Locke
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1 Sunderland 0
21 March 2015
Last updated at 19:52
By Richard Winton
BBC Sport
Dick Advocaat's tenure as Sunderland manager began with defeat after Diafra
Sakho struck a late winner for West Ham at Upton Park.
The Dutchman, who replaced sacked Gus Poyet on Tuesday, was left to rue a
glaring miss by Jermain Defoe when Sakho lashed in with two minutes left.
The Black Cats - for whom Adam Johnson played 17 minutes after the club
lifted his suspension following his arrest - are a point clear of the bottom
three. It was just a second win in 12 Premier League matches for Sam
Allardyce's side, who were fourth at Christmas. But Sunderland's wretched
run continues. They have recorded just one league victory this year and
scored just once in their last seven matches. Defeats for relegation rivals
Burnley, Leicester and Aston Villa earlier on Saturday means this defeat is
not as penal as it might have been, but Advocaat, 67, will likely reflect on
a missed opportunity and one missed chance in particular. Defoe was one of
three forwards selected by Sunderland's fifth manager in six years and
should have given his side the lead against a side equally low on
confidence. However, the former England international lacked composure when
presented with a glaring chance, lashing over after being released by Steven
Fletcher.
Match stats
Guus Hiddink is the only Dutch manager to win his first Premier League game
(D1, L5).
Mark Noble provided his 23rd Premier League assist. Only Paolo Di Canio (31)
and Trevor Sinclair (25) have more for West Ham.
Sakho's winner was West Ham's latest league goal this season (87:42).
Sunderland have failed to score in 15 games this term. Only Aston Villa (17)
have drawn more blanks.
Had he converted, who knows how West Ham might have reacted given they -
like Sunderland - had earned just three points from their last six matches.
Instead, Allardyce's men were allowed to work themselves into the contest.
Before the break, Kevin Nolan, Sakho and Alex Song exercised goalkeeper
Costel Pantilimon, who leaked four in 45 minutes against Aston Villa last
weekend. And after the interval, West Ham took command and perhaps should
have been awarded a penalty just after the hour. Substitute Santiago Vergini
had his arms wrapped around Nolan as a ball was flighted in to the penalty
area only for the Hammers' captain to be judged offside, even though the
delivery flicked off the head of Sunderland's John O'Shea. Johnson was
introduced after 73 minutes, Sunderland having lifted his suspension
following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old
girl. But West Ham remained the side most likely to score and the goal did
finally come with two minutes to play. Mark Noble's cute flick found Sakho
in a pocket of space in the area and the Senegal striker scudded a finish
across the helpless Pantilimon.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "The way we have let leads slip here easily,
the 1-0 was a fantastic victory for us, because it was a difficult game. "I
felt that when a chance does come along we will score and we got a clean
sheet - a rarity for us - so we got both ends right today."
Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat: "I am happy with the effort, we had a
discussion about that - how to show our fans what we can do.
"It is hard to play against West Ham with long balls, but we didn't give
away of lot chances. They are a good side but I did not expect them to score
in the 88th minute."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce on... Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd March 2015
By: Staff Writer
Big Sam was a combination of both happy and relieved this evening as he
reflected upon a late win against strugglers Sunderland at the Boleyn. His
full, unedited post-match presser for you below...
Sam: the amount of late goals West Ham have shipped this season, you must be
delighted to finally get one yourself?
Yes, it's nice to get a win and secure it just at the end there with our
leading goalscorer making everybody's life a little more comfortable this
weekend. We're really chuffed. Our failure to win over the last ten games or
so has been down to our inability to keep a clean sheet from a winning
position. We've done that today. Even though at times I felt the game was a
bit scrappy, we deserved to win.
A late one-nil puts us into a better frame of mind going into the
international week and comes at the right time for us. We want to get our
injured players fit - particularly Enner Valencia and Winston Reid. We won't
have Andy Carroll or James Tomkins for the rest of the season but those two
are very important to get fit again, to make the squad a bit stronger.
Carlton Cole, our only other option as a striker is just back from injury
and wouldn't have been capable of 90 minutes - but made a difference at half
time. So the strength and depth of the squad, if we can keep those fit, is
good and our run-in suggests we can hopefully win more games than we lose or
draw. Then we can push on and try and finish as high as we can.
How pleased are you that Sakho scored the winner so late on in the game,
especially as he'd missed a couple of headers before that?
Yeah; I think he's the leading goalscorer of headed goals this season as
well so he would have been disappointed - but he was delighted he did what
he did. For him, being leading goalscorer at West Ham - in the Premier
League, in his first season - is a Hell of an achievement, even though he
hasn't scored so many recently. That was a very important one for us.
Do you think it was a foul [by Nene in the build-up to the goal]?
Probably yes, but it's about time something went our way rather than against
us. It probably was a foul. When things are going for you those decisions go
for you, when they go against you they can be devastating. In the end it's a
devastating decision for Sunderland because we scored from it but on the
back of the poor decisions we've had over the last ten or 11 games, it's
about time one went in our favour!
We watched your TV interview when the issue of Karren Brady's comments were
brought up. Does that help in the situation when...
[Paul Stringer, West Ham's press officer intervenes to confirm that Sky
mis-quoted Brady, adding that it was later corrected. He states it would be
unfair to ask Allardyce about a quote that was never made]
I'm going to fine Sky for mis-quoting me! [laughs] And getting me to say
something that looked like I was criticising the vice Chairman, which
obviously I'd never want to do publicly.
For me, Sky shouldn't have slipped up and shouldn't have asked that
question. Certainly if they were quoting correctly, fine - but if they were
quoting incorrectly they should stick to football and stop asking questions
like that. That goes to Sky News, not to them.
It was more the response, because you felt you hadn't been getting the
performances...
The performances are there, the results are not - and that's been the case
over the last ten or 11 games. Particularly Chelsea and Man United here,
Tottenham away. We just haven't been able to find the victory we deserved -
and we certainly didn't deserve to lose against Chelsea. For us it's a
massive win.
We're still in a great position, even though wins have eluded us. We're on
42 points, that's the same total as last year and we got 46 in year one.
We're probably heading for the best points total we've had since being back
in the Premier League - and if anyone wants more than that, I don't really
know how they can ask for more.
This squad needs to grow, it needs to get bigger and better, but we need to
finish this season off with much better than 46 points and make sure that we
finish what we set out to do at Christmas when we reset our goals to make
sure that we get more points in the Premier League this year than we even
have done.
Can I just confirm those injuries; Andy Carroll's out for the season?
Carroll's out for the season and Tomkins is out for the season. Winston Reid
being back will be very important to us - and Enner Valencia.
How many more do you think you need for a full squad?
A big bonus to our defence is securing Winston Reid, who was an
out-of-contract player this season. We've managed to persuade him to stay
and that's one in the bag already, as we say. It's one less talented player
we need for next year.
That new talent needs to be talent which challenges these players for a
first team place from August 8th, the start of next season. When we start
next time round, some of the new players are in the team challenging these
players and making us better.
Thank you.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Utd 1-0 Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 21st March 2015
By: Staff Writer
West Ham secured their first Premier League win in eight games at the Boleyn
this afternoon - but left it late in doing so. Leading goalscorer Diafra
Sakho was in the right place at the right time to steer an effort past
Sunderland's giant goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon with less than two minutes
of normal time remaining. And whilst it was the latest goal West Ham have
scored in a Premier League fixture this season few have been welcomed more
than this one, which secured West Ham's first three points since the 3-0
victory over Hull back in January.
Despite enjoying more of the ball during the game, the Hammers failed to
make much of an impression during the opening 45 minutes - although Kevin
Nolan, perhaps the most effective midfielder in the team today should have
been awarded a penalty when he was tugged down inside the six-yard box as he
prepared to convert a low cross.
However the clearest opportunity of the first half fell to former Hammer
Jermain Defoe, who could only find the upper seats in the Bobby Moor Lower
when set clear on goal halfway through the first period.
The game continued in a similar vein after the break, with the Hammers
enjoying more possession but failing to break through a stubborn Black Cats
defence - that was until Sakho, who had previously missed at least three
clear chances to score with his head finally found the net.
The goal may have well been disallowed for a foul by substitute Nene in the
build-up had the game been officiated by someone more alert than Lee Mason,
who added his name to the long list of refs to enjoy a stinker at the Boleyn
this season.
However play was allowed to continue and Sakho, no more than eight yards
from goal managed to steer his effort across Pantilimon into the far corner
to win the game for the Hammers.
Sunderland, under the direction of new (and vastly experienced) manager Dick
Advocaat for the first time played the entire game with a three-pronged
attack but rarely troubled Adrian.
Indeed, the closest they came to finding the net bar Defoe's aforementioned
gaff came via a stinging long-range drive from Patrick Van Aanholt that
Adrian tipped wide for a corner.
The win lifts West Ham back above Stoke into ninth place on goal difference,
with both teams on 42 points. Sam Allardyce and his squad can now enjoy the
ensuing two-week break before action recommences at bottom-placed Leicester
after the forthcoming international break.
Match Facts: West Ham Utd 1-0 Sunderland
West Ham Utd: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Kouyate, Cresswell, Song, Noble,
Nolan (Nene 80), Jarvis (Cole 46), Downing, Sakho (O'Brien 90) .
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Poyet, Amalfitano
Goals: Sakho (88).
Possession: 54%.
Shots (on target/off target/blocked): 15 (4/4/7).
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Reveillere, O'Shea (c), Brown (Vergini 13), Van
Aanholt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Wickham, Fletcher (Johnson 73), Defoe
(Graham 88).
Subs not used: Mannone, Jones, Bridcutt, Watmore.
Booked: Wickham (63).
Possession: 46%.
Shots (on target/off target/blocked): 7 (3/3/1).
Referee: Lee Mason (5) - fussy throughout and got the game's two big
decisions wrong.
Attendance: 34,914.
Man of the Match: James Collins.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's late show please Kevin Nolan
Last Updated: 21/03/15 11:03pm
SSN
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan conceded his side's 1-0 win over Sunderland was
far from pretty, but was delighted to finally see the Hammers on the right
end of a late goal for once. Sam Allardyce's men have shipped several late
goals in recent months, costing them the chance of at least two victories,
but it was them celebrating at the death on Saturday thanks to Diafra
Sakho's 88th-minute winner. That earned West Ham their first win in nine
league and cup games, and Nolan admitted it was much welcomed. "Better late
than never! We've had a few of them against us in the last five-six weeks.
It's been a long time coming this win," Nolan told Sky Sports 1. "We've been
playing ever so well but probably not getting the points we deserved. "We
knew it wasn't going to be pretty but we won and that's the main thing. "I'm
just delighted to get the three points. I thought we deserved it overall. It
wasn't our best performances of the season here, but it's three points and
it's massive for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1-0 Sunderland: Diafra Sakho's late strike ruins Dick Advocaat's
debut
Last Updated: 21/03/15 9:52pm
SSN
West Ham beat Sunderland 1-0 at Upton Park as Diafra Sakho's last-gasp
effort ruined Dick Advocaat's first match in charge of the Wearsiders. The
home side won their first match of 2015, with Sakho's 88th-minute winner
coming just as it seemed Sunderland would hold out for a well-deserved
point. That defeat keeps Advocaat's side just one point above the relegation
zone, while West Ham move up to ninth in the table. It was the visitors who
made the better start of the two teams, with Connor Wickham linking up well
with strike partner Jermain Defoe, before testing Adrian at his near post
with a well-struck volley just eight minutes in. And it was Defoe – signed
by previous boss Gustavo Poyet in January to score the goals to keep the
club in the top flight – who was guilty of missing the best opening of the
first half after being played clean through on goal by Steven Fletcher's
flick on the quarter-hour mark, only for the diminutive striker to blaze
horribly off target.
West Ham, meanwhile, played like a side who had failed to win any of their
previous seven matches, a poor run that included losing their last two at
Upton Park, in the opening period, with the nearest they came to scoring
coming when Alex Song's 25-yard volley forced Costel Pantilimon into a smart
near-post stop. Other than that, however, the Hammers huffed and puffed, but
barely looked like blowing the visitors' house down, despite them producing
25 crosses before the break. After the interval it was much the same as
Sunderland's rear-guard, led impressively by captain John O'Shea, repelled
all that West Ham could throw at them, while at the same time trying to
catch their opponents on the break using the pace of Defoe. But all Advocaat
and Co. had to show for their attacking endeavours was left-back Patrick van
Aanholt's speculative effort from distance that Adrian turned behind for a
corner with 13 minutes to go.
And even the introduction of the returning Adam Johnson after 73 minutes,
greeted by a predictable chorus of boos from the home fans, could not
increase the Black Cats' threat up front. As the minutes ticked by, however,
so West Ham's pressure began to build as Sakho glanced a header inches past
the post, before two strong penalty appeals were turned down by referee Lee
Mason. The Hammers were not to be denied a morale-boosting victory, though,
and with just two minutes left a neat move on the edge of the Sunderland box
involving substitute Nene and Mark Noble saw the latter's lovely flick play
Sakko through, with the Senegalese making no mistake by firing low past a
helpless Pantilimon for his 10th league goal of the campaign.
Player ratings
West Ham United: Adrian (6), Jenkinson (6), Kouyate (6), Collins (6),
Cresswell (7), Song (6), Noble (7), Jarvis (5), Nolan (6), Downing (6),
Sakho (7)
Subs: Nene (6), O'Brien (6), Cole (6)
Sunderland: Pantilimon (7), Reveillere (6), O'Shea (7), Brown (6), van
Aanholt (7), Larsson (6), Rodwell (6), Jordi Gomez (5), Fletcher (6), Defoe
(7), Wickham (8
Subs: Johnson (6), Graham (6), Vergini (6)
Man of the match: Connor Wickham
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce hits back at Karren Brady's criticism
Last Updated: 21/03/15 10:53pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce hailed his side's 1-0 win over Sunderland on
Saturday as a "fantastic result" after recent late slip-ups against the
likes of Manchester United and Tottenham. Allardyce also defended his team's
performances this season in the wake of criticism from West Ham
vice-chairwoman Karren Brady, who said the Hammers had been
"underachieving". Although the question put to Allardyce actually referenced
Brady's comment as 'underperforming' rather than 'underachieving', the West
Ham boss was quick to defend his players. "She's wrong. We're not
under-performing, we're under-results getting so she's wrong in what's she's
saying," he told Sky Sports after the match. "Performances have been there,
there's not been too many poor performances this year, hardly
any....performances here have been outstanding. "Our performances have been
good, results haven't matched the performances we've given. So
under-performing no. Should we have got a lot more results than we did? Yes.
"It shows that the squad isn't quite big enough this season, that we haven't
quite got the strength in depth we need to maintain a place in the top
eight."
Allardyce has been linked with the Sunderland manager's job following Gus
Poyet's recent dismissal, but the 60-year-old was in no mood to answer
anything on that subject, saying: "Give over and don't ask silly questions."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM 1, SUNDERLAND 0. GLASS HALF FULL, OR HALF EMPTY?
By David Hautzig 22 Mar 2015 at 02:27
West Ham till I Die
My best mate, Jon, is an attorney. His work allows him to collect air miles
the way we used to collect sports trading cards as kids. London is a regular
destination, but his travel dates don't always cooperate with him to visit
Upton Park. Last season he was able to attend one game. Home against
Sunderland. It was, by virtually any measure, one of the most dire matches
seen in East London for years. West Ham's lone moment of happiness that game
came when James Tomkins ran with the ball. He did nothing with it, but the
act of exerting energy that day was worth noting. For 88 minutes, today's
match was only a little better. Then it was much better.
Full disclosure. I saw this game in two ways. The first way was by sneaking
glimpses on my IPhone before taking my kids to the theatre, and then during
intermission. The second was in the evening courtesy of my DVR. There is
something to be said for knowing the result while watching the game. Far
easier on the nerves.
There are narratives before some games that just stare you in the face and
seem certain to come to fruition. Today, would anybody have been shocked if
Jermain Defoe had scored? In the opening 15 minutes of the game Defoe had a
number chances to write that chapter. In the third minute Van Aanholt slid a
pass to Fletcher, who tried to get the ball to Defoe but Cresswell
intervened and sent the ball out for a corner. Minutes later Defoe chased
down a ball outside the 18-yard box and sent a cross to Wickham. The man Sam
thought would be better than Sakho did a good job to control the pass with
his chest and hit a volley that Adrian did well to stop. Then in the 15th
minute Fletcher sent Defoe in alone on Adrian but his shot sailed over the
bar in what could only be described as a wasted chance.
The Hammers then started to ask a few questions of the Black Cats. Sakho won
West Ham their first corner, and then a few minutes later outfought Van
Aanholt on the touchline and sent a quick cross into Nolan whose shot was
saved by Pantilimon. A minute later Jarvis found the Senegalese Superman in
the box with a cross but Sakho's header went just wide.
A few months ago, I would have supported a deal to sign Alex Song on a
permanent contract regardless of the cost. Thankfully I have nothing to say
on such matters. In the 32nd minute, a Mark Noble free kick into the box was
cleared only as far as Song. In what almost looked like a carbon copy of the
disallowed goal against Arsenal in December, Song's volley went through a
crowd in the Sunderland penalty area and forced a diving save by Pantilimon.
There are many on Twitter whose opinions I trust, usually more than my own.
One of them, my other West Ham boss Graeme Howlett of KUMB, tweeted right
after the game that referee Lee Mason had a shocker. The first of many
moments that more than a few thought he botched was in the 34th minute.
Jarvis collected the ball on the left, beat Vergini and sent a low cross
into the box. Kevin Nolan tried to meet the pass but was tracked and
seemingly held by Larsson, allowing Pantilimon to get their first. Was it a
penalty? Based on Mason's overall performance, I'd have to assume he screwed
that up and West Ham should have gotten the ball on the spot.
Halftime: West Ham 0, Sunderland 0.
It's pretty clear, if not downright transparent that Sakho does not show his
best when he is played as a lone striker. Maybe that's why Jarvis was
replaced by Carlton Cole to start the second half despite Jarvis being one
of West Ham's better performers in the opening 45. Yet Sakho's will and
athleticism allow him to pose a threat even in less than ideal
circumstances. In the 52nd minute Cresswell pushed forward before sending
yet another cross into the box. Despite jumping away from goal, Sakho was
able to connect with his head and put the ball only inches wide of the post.
A few minutes later Sakho's mere presence and aggression forced Pantilimon
to turn a simple back pass into a panic induced clearance for a West Ham
throw.
In the 64th minute, Lee Mason again incurred the wrath of Captain Kev. After
Wickham saw yellow for a harsh challenge on Noble, James Collins sent the
free kick into the Sunderland area. The ball deflected off of John O'Shea
and was coming right to Nolan. Once again Vergini took matters into his own
hands, both literally and figuratively, and bear hugged Nolan. The offside
flag had gone up, incorrectly because the ball had come off O'Shea, and
Mason was spared having to make a penalty call. Two wrongs don't make a
right, and in this case they made two officials look incompetent.
In the 77th minute, Sunderland had their best opportunity of the half and it
came from basically nothing. Van Aanholt picked up the ball near the center
circle. He strolled in another 15 yards or so before firing a rocket off of
his left foot that Adrian had to dive to his left to send wide for a
Sunderland corner.
In the 85th minute, the television commentator gave a statistic that I can't
say I was aware of. West Ham were the only team in the Premier League to not
score a goal in the final ten minutes of a match. I'm hoping that's accurate
since I'm quoting it here. But if that information is incorrect, it won't
matter because in the 88th minute West Ham got the late goal that in recent
games they have conceded. Nene won a contentious header at the edge of the
penalty area. The ball fell to Noble, who laid it off for Sakho. The Hammers
leading striker and biggest bargain calmly slid the ball past Pantilimon and
into the far right hand corner.
West Ham 1, Sunderland 0.
Glass Half Full version. With only one win since New Years, three points in
any form is welcome. Despite being played as a lone striker, Diafra Sakho
was menacing and forceful the entire 88 minutes he played leading to his
winner. Kevin Nolan played well, as did Jenkinson and Collins. And of
course, Sam can sleep tight tonight with visions of sugar plum clean sheets
dancing in his head.
Glass Half Empty version. Coming into the game, Sunderland were as woeful as
any team in England. Prior to last week, Aston Villa had only scored four
away goals all season. They doubled that total in 45 minutes at The Stadium
Of Light. It's not like West Ham thoroughly dominated the game the way they
did against Villa in October, only to have Guzan stand on his head. We had a
few half chances, and were harshly treated by an awe inspiringly bad Lee
Mason. But Defoe could have scored a couple, and Wickham came close. This
was a game we should not have struggled to win.
Looking at both glasses, the only rational thing to do is have another drink
and call it a night.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham plotting summer swoop for Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel
Adebayor
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Dean Jones
Togo international was close to moving to Upton Park in January before Spurs
chairman Daniel Levy pulled the plug on the deal
The Mirror
West Ham are planning a fresh attempt to sign Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor
this summer – and their slide down the table has boosted their chances.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy blocked Adebayor's proposed move to Upton Park in
the last transfer window because he saw the Hammers as rivals for European
qualification. But it is understood the Tottenham board now feel more
relaxed about a transfer to West Ham for the 31-year-old striker, who wants
to stay in London. Adebayor's Spurs contract expires in 2016 and it is most
likely West Ham will try to sign him on loan ahead of next season. The Togo
star earns around £100,000-a-week – and the Hammers would want Tottenham to
subsidise a chunk of that.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cheick Tiote heading out of Newcastle with West Ham and Southampton set to
pounce
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Football Spy
The Ivorian only has two years to run on his contract and the Magpies would
prefer to cash in now rather than risk losing him for a free next summer
The Mirror
Cheick Tiote is set to leave Newcastle at the end of the season. The
tough-tackling Ivory Coast international will be a target for both West Ham
and Southampton if Newcastle decide to sell. The asking price will be around
£7.5million for the man who helped his country win the African Cup of
Nations earlier this season. Tiote – who will be 29 in June – has two years
left on his contract and is unlikely to agree to an extension. That would
tempt Newcastle to cash in now – and that will spark interest from both East
London and the South Coast. West Ham will be keen if they fail to secure
Alex Song on a permanent deal from Barcelona.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Moyes ready to reject West Ham approach to replace Sam Allardyce to
stay at Real Sociedad
22:30, 21 March 2015 By Neil Moxley
Speculation has been rife that the Scot was on the Hammers' short-list to
replace Allardyce if he is unable to reach agreement over the renewal of his
contract
The Mirror
David Moyes will reject any approach from West Ham this summer - as he looks
set to remain with Real Sociedad, writes Neil Moxley in the Sunday People.
Speculation has been rife that the Scot was on the short-list of those set
to replace Sam Allardyce at Upton Park if the Hammers' current boss is
unable to reach agreement over the renewal of his contract. But Peoplesport
understands that Moyes has made only a couple of fleeting returns to the UK
since he was given the chance to take over at the Basque club. Furthermore,
he is looking to organise a proper backroom set-up with several of the staff
he has worked with before at both Everton and Preston North End. Moyes has
drawn up a shortlist himself of people he wants to help with Sociedad's
recruitment and to form part of a fitness team. With him set to make those
offers in the coming weeks, it is the clearest signal yet that he remains
determined to make his mark in La Liga following his nightmare at Old
Trafford.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce says West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is 'wrong' over
'under-achieving' comments
21:18, 21 March 2015 By James Whaling
Big Sam continues to come under pressure from sections of the West Ham
support, and Brady said he needs to 'rectify' their situation
The Mirror
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has hit back at comments made by Hammers
vice-chairman Karren Brady following their 1-0 win over Sunderland.
Brady had accused the Irons of 'under-achieving' despite comfortably sitting
in the top half of the Premier League, and having amassed more points
already this term than they did last season. Big Sam continues to come under
pressure from sections of the West Ham support, and Brady said prior to this
evening's fixture that he needs to 'rectify' their situation. Brady said:
"The fact is that West Ham are underachieving and it is Sam Allardyce's task
to identify the reason and rectify it. He would wish it no other way." A
late goal from Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers all three points at Upton Park,
and Allardyce hit back at the comments following the game. "She's wrong," he
blasted. "She's wrong in what she's saying. Under-performing? No. Should we
have got more results than we have? Yes." Allardyce revealed after the game
that he felt comfortable enough at half-time to switch to a more attacking
system. He introduced Carlton Cole from the bench - a switch he believes was
pivotal in the Irons battling to a late winner. He told Sky Sports: "I
looked at it at half-time and thought - we need more goalscorers on. "Kevin
(Nolan) was on, Sakho was on, Stewart Downing has scored all his goals
playing in the hole and Carlton Cole has got two or three from the bench.
"When that chance does come along, you hope it falls to one of those and it
fell to our leading goalscorer. "He was pretty disappointed he didn't score
with his head again today, but he got there in the end and he moves on to 12
in his first season in the Premier League which is fantastic for him and
us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lady Brady: Do your job Sam
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Lady Brady has decided that Sam Allardyce needs to do his job a little
better starting this afternoon. After making it clear a couple of weeks back
he had her full support she has decided that her newspaper column in The Sun
is an appropriate place to give him a tip on how to operate. You may recall
she claimed that he would be leaving the club almost over her dead body a
few weeks ago after a bookie rold her they had his card marked for
Sunderland. However, she now wants Allardyce to get the side to start
performing after her support appeared to go nowhere in terms of results. She
writes "Someone says in the press today that we flattered to deceive up to
Christmas – but I 100 per cent disagree. "The fact is that West Ham are
underachieving and it is Sam Allardyce's task to identify the reason and
rectify it. He would wish it no other way."
SIGH ZZZZZ
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce rips into Sky over Brady question!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Harry Sherlock reporting…
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce launched a scything attack on Sky Television after he was
forced to criticise vice chairman Karren Brady. He was asked on air how he
reacted to Brady's remarks that the team had been under performing recently
and immediately snapped: "She's wrong – we've been under points getting!"
Later in the press room he snarled: ""I'm gonna fine Sky for making me
criticise the vice-chairman which I would never do publicly. They shouldn't
have slipped up. Stick to football and stop asking questions like that. The
performances are there, the results are not, that's been the case over the
last 11 games. Chelsea here, Man United here, Tottenham away, we haven't
been able to find a result. For us it's a massive win, we're still in a
great position, 42 points, I think that's the same as last year and we're
heading for the best points tally since we returned to the Premier League.
This squad needs to grow and get bigger but we need to finish this season
well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Advocaat view
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Disappointed Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat was bitterly disappointed at the
defeat but believes signs are good for the future. He said: "We deserved
more. Especially the way they scored the goal. We did not expect they would
score, the game was equal and there were not a lot of chances. We had the
first chance in the first half with Jermain Defoe. "With his quality, that
was a 100 per cent chance. He had to at least hit the goal. We can take that
with us into the next game because if you work hard you get the results too.
I have still seen some things we need to improve, and some players are
coming back. So for me it is positive. "We have to win that game
(Newcastle). With our home fans, if they stand behind us, like they did
today because they appreciated what we did, we will make it very difficult
for Newcastle. This game has given us the tools. "I am happy with the
effort, we had a discussion about that – how to show our fans what we can
do, and if you work you get results. It is hard to play against West Ham
with long balls, but we didn't give a way of lot chances. They are a good
side, with some good players, and we had also some opportunities to score
and I did not expect them to score in the 88th minute, that was really
disappointing. Today we deserved the result as well."
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The Allardyce view
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Sam Allardyce – speaking on Sky Sports – said: "Today was all about getting
the win, and we got that. The way we have let leads slip here easily, the
1-0 was a fantastic victory for us, because it was a difficult game. We
eventually changed the shape and put more pressure on Sunderland and that
finally paid off. I looked at things at half-time and thought we needed more
support to Diafra Sakho.
"Carlton Cole has scored two or three from the bench this year, so I felt
that when a chance does come along we will score. "It eventually fell to
Diafra Skaho, our leading scorer, who was disappointed not to have scored a
couple of chances with his head today. A clean sheet – a rarity for us – so
we got both ends right today."
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Irons 1 S'dld 0: Sakho saves Sam's bacon
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on March 21, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
Diafra Sakho's 88th minute strike gave us a win to celebrate at last but
make no mistake this was hard, desperate and ugly against one of the
league's poorest sides. With Sam Allardyce under enormous pressure for his
job defeat or a draw today would have been entirely unacceptable and the
manager knew it – Sakho has saved his bacon for now. The striker fired home
across keeper Pantilimon from a fabulous Noble 'dink' unto the box to have
Allardyce celebrating as if the team had won the Champions League. In fact
we'd beaten a very poor side who should have been there for the taking.
We deserved to win on the balance of play and given that ref Lee Mason
turned down clear penalty appeals when Nolan was clearly fouled and the ball
brushed Adam Johnson's arm. Nolan said afterwards he believed it was a pen
and added: "It wasn't our best performance of the season but we'll take it,
And Mark Noble added: "We played really well against Man United, Spurs and
Chelsea without winning so I'm over the moon today."
Sam Allardyce had stressed a win was of total importance and said it didn't
matter how it came but the first half had us all wondering how that would
ever be fulfilled. Former Iron Jerman Defoe in fact blasted wide from close
range after being left alone following a huge hoist out from the back. Sakho
– who battled brilliantly without a lot of support – saw a fine header fly
wide and a 25 yard drive from Song brought a decent save from keeper
Pantilimon. Sunderland had their moments with Connor Wickham impressive but
the Hammers – whilst never at their best – worked hard to the end for Sak to
grab his 12th goal of the season. Relief yes…pleasure NO. For so long there
was no real plan, purpose or power but what we do have is that man Sakho.
Allardyce took a little pop at Karren Brady in his post match interview
after her morning comments when saying we'd been under performing. He said:
"She's wrong! We haven't been under-performing. We've been under-results
getting! Err we centainly under-performed today but give thanks -we're on
our way again…HOPEFULLY!"
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