Slaven Speaks - Newcastle United
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic faced the media on Friday morning ahead of Monday's visit of
Newcastle United. He answered questions on his deadline day dealings, the
potential return of Andy Carroll and the threat posed by the Magpies.
Slaven, I hear celebrations are in order. Happy birthday - how are you
planning to celebrate the occasion?
SB: "The older you get the less you celebrate, apart from the big ones like
40 or 50. It's just a normal day for me. It's a birthday, of course, so my
friends and family are calling, but basically an otdinary day."
There were some early birthday presents in the transfer window on the final
day. How happy were you with the business you did?
SB: "Very pleased. It's all on paper of course, and now the guys who have
come have to prove themselves and all that. But I think we did really well,
we got what we wanted and the first week of training has been really
positive. "I think they are going to do really well for us, because they
have quality, they have the energy and are very motivated. They have joined
a team that is already good and they have come here to give us extra
quality."
How excited are you by the return of Andy Carroll to training and is he in
contention for Monday?
SB: "We've changed a bit with his rehabilitation this time. A few times
before, straight after the injury when he was ok he trained for a few days
with the team and then played straight away. Then, because of his stature,
size and everything, especially with the brave way he plays, another injury
would come. "This time we've made six weeks of let's call it pre-season and
he looks very good in training. Is he in contention? Probably. "The one
thing that I don't like now, and it's for every manager is that after the
international breaks we still have some players who are going to return
today or tomorrow after long trips. You still don't have your squad, but at
least we are playing on Monday. That's good, because had it been tomorrow
it's a problem, but if you're asking about the squad for Monday we still
have to count all the players who will train together and that will be
tomorrow."
Andy will be playing his former side, now managed by Steve McClaren, who you
recorded one of your most famous victories for Croatia over. Do you have any
sympathy for him over the fall out that followed that game?
SB: "That game wasn't Steve McClaren-Slaven Bilic, it was England-Croatia
and on Monday it's West Ham-Newcastle. I had sympathy for Steve, like I have
sympathy now for the Croatia coach who was sacked this week because we lost
in Oslo. So many teams lost in Oslo, so I have sympathy for every coach
because you lost jobs. And not only do you lose jobs but they are
slaughtering you big time. "That wasn't just a normal game, we played really
well. England came back to 2-2 and then we scored again. Of course I felt
sympathy because I know how it works. but then Steve recovered really well
to go to Holland. Then I went to see him when Mandzukic was playing at
Wolfsburg. We spent two or three hours chatting, and I know him for a long,
long time because when he started as Jim Smith's assistant at Derby, my two
colleagues from Croatia Stimac and Asanovic were playing there. We spoke and
they were telling me he was a brilliant young coach. Then he went to
Manchester United and Middlesbrough and I rate him big, big time. "He was
brave enough and had enough quality to prove himself in different leagues
and now he's back in the Premier League and I'm glad for him."
You've beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away, so how important is a home win
now?
SB: "It is very important. We need to win at home, or at least to get
something from the game because we need to build on our great away results.
We have to start picking up points at home, and I'm very confident because
our reactions in the second halves of both games was good, and if we can do
it from the start and cut out the silly mistakes, we will be alright."
How do you see Newcastle?
SB: "Newcastle is a team who point wise haven't started great, but if you go
game-by-game, it's only against Swansea that they were second best. That was
also because of a red card after they had a good spell. Against Manchester
United away they were very solid and dangerous on the counter attack.
Against Arsenal it's another game with a red card, so they are trying to
catch us with the red cards! "They've bought some good players in the
transfer window, and have individuals who can change the game in a split
second. It's going to be a difficult game, but this is the Premier League
and you expect that."
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Walford's full-back option
WHUFC.com
Boys of '86 star Steve Walford recalls to Ian 'Moose' Abrahams his role in
West Ham United's finest-ever league season, when he was deployed in an
unaccustomed new role...
There are many players with links to both the Hammers and the Gunners, but
only one who won an FA Cup with Arsenal and was then part of the Boys of '86
– Steve Walford.
Steve's career began in north London and he's one of a select group of
players to have played for both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
"I started at White Hart Lane before Terry Neill took me to Arsenal, which
was my local team when I was growing up," he began. "I was bought up in that
area and found myself working with players I used to watch on the terraces.
I thought, 'Wow, I'm with Pat Rice, Sammy Nelson and Peter Simpson', players
I had been cheering them on from the terraces as a kid. It was strange but
great going there, from supporting the team to playing for them."
At that time, Steve was living every kid's dream, and then in 1979 he won
the FA Cup with the Gunners With Arsenal 2-0 up and seven minutes remaining,
Walford came on as substitute for David Price. Six minutes later and with
the game level at 2-2, before Alan Sunderland netted a dramatic winner.
Sunderland set off to celebrate and Steve gave chase, but famously he never
caught up with the match-winner: "I used to be quick but he must have turned
on the after-burners!"
I asked if it made him laugh whenever he sees the goal and him chasing after
Sunderland.
"No I hide my face, I don't look at it, as it's a bit cringe worthy really,
I have got to admit. In the end I gave up, I couldn't catch him, no chance."
Walford moved from Highbury to Norwich City and then on to West Ham, so how
did the move to the Boleyn Ground come about?
"My family settled well in Norwich, but then one day my daughter came home
and said 'I want to go out on my bike, in a strong Norwich accent and I
thought 'I can't have my kids talking like that!'.
"My contract had run out at Norwich and I signed another contract for a
year. About a week later I got a call from the club, saying West Ham had
made an offer for me and they'd accepted it and that was it, I wanted to
come to West Ham. I wanted to come home but I wanted to come to West Ham,
who were the first club I went training with after school, when John Lyall
had been the youth-team coach.
"It had been the first professional club I had trained at and I'd liked it
there. It was the travelling that made me stop going there, and Tottenham
wanted me to train with them which was 20 minutes up the road. When I heard
West Ham wanted me, they were a lot bigger club than Norwich, and I knew it
was an upward move for me."
When John Lyall bought me he told me he wanted to play at left-back. I had
played a few games there, but didn't really like it!
Steve Walford
Next year marks 30 years since the end of the season West Ham finished third
in the top flight, 1985/86, and Steve played most of that season in the
Hammers defence in a back line of Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin, Tony Gale and
him in a new position at left-back.
"When John Lyall bought me he told me he wanted to play at left-back. I had
played a few games there, but didn't really like it. I think we started that
season by losing away at Birmingham City, it was an early kick off and we
lost 1-0, then we went on an unbeaten run for about 20-odd games which I
think is still a record for West Ham in the top division."
Steve lost his place in the team in March to George Parris and I asked how
that came about.
"I was ill and missed the FA Cup fourth round second replay up at Ipswich,
Georgie Parris replaced me in the team and I never got back in. I couldn't
get him out of the team because he did that well."
Of course, that season was dominated by the goals of Tony Cottee and Frank
McAvennie, but Steve knew nothing about the latter when the season started!
"Up at Birmingham at the start of the season, Frank played in midfield,
behind Sarge (Paul Goddard) and TC. Sarge came off injured, Dicko (Alan
Dickens) came on and Frank went up front and the rest, as they say, is
history. At the start, Frank was playing as an attacking midfielder, now
you'd never have believed that would you."
After leaving West Ham and eventually retiring from playing Steve went into
coaching and is currently working under Martin O'Neill with the Republic of
Ireland.
As part of a team that included O'Neill and John Robertson, Steve won
trophies with Celtic in Scotland and in England with Leicester, while also
enjoying successful spells with Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich and Aston Villa.
As a West Ham player, though, he will always be remembered as one of our
historic Boys of '86.
This interview originally appeared in the Official Programme for the visit
of Arsenal in December 2014.
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Cress aims for Magpies repeat
WHUFC.com
Having scored against Newcastle United in the same fixture last season,
Aaron Cresswell is hoping that lightning will strike twice on Monday
evening.
The left-back opened his goalscoring account for the Hammers with a deft
finish past the onrushing Rob Elliot to seal a valuable win which took the
Irons to fifth in the table in December last year.
Ten months on, and last season's Hammer of the Year is hoping to add to his
tally: "It was a great day to score my first Premier League goal that day,
it is one I will never forget.
"I would like to score another one; it would be nice to get a few goals. I
came close against Liverpool, it would have been nice if that had gone in,
but we now look to the next game and try to get the three points against
Newcastle."
Despite the current League campaign being only four games old, there has
been plenty of drama and excitement already.
Two disappointing home defeats have been matched by two heroic away wins
over Arsenal and Liverpool.
When asked about the reasons for the disparity between the Hammers' home and
away form, Cresswell continued: "I'm not too sure. I read somewhere that
there have been a lot more away game wins than home wins this season. I
don't know if it is just a freak start to the season or more to do with the
way teams are setting up, I don't know, it is still early days.
"But we have had two unbelievable wins away from home, Arsenal on the
opening day and then at Liverpool, but at home we haven't been good enough
in both games, hopefully we can put that right on Monday."
While the Claret and Blues' form has certainly been inconsistent, the
25-year-old was adamant that the Hammers can secure their first home win of
the season come Monday evening.
"Our two away games have been fantastic but our two home games have not been
good enough. We have to put in a good performance and get the three points."
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A complete FArce
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 11th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United have been fined £50,000 by the Football Association - after
their players complained about a red card that was later rescinded. West Ham
discovered they had been hit with the fine on Friday afternoon, just a week
after the FA withdrew the red card incorrectly given to Mark Noble by
referee Kevin Friend that led to the incident for which the club have been
sanctioned. "Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, West
Ham United have been fined £50,000 and warned as to their future conduct
after an FA player misconduct charge brought against the club was found
proven," read a statement on the FA's website. "It was alleged that in or
around the 78th minute of the game against Liverpool on 29 August 2015, West
Ham failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.
The club had admitted the charge and submitted a plea for mitigation."
West Ham are yet to comment on the fine.
Justified? Some other private companies who've been fined 50k
August 2015: A company which offered a nuisance call blocking service has
been been fined £50,000 for making 'bullying' phone calls:
www.independent.co.uk...10449475.html
June 2015: A glass recycling company has been fined £50,000 after admitting
responsibility for a worker's hand being severed:
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk...9482681
May 2015: Glenn Medical Centre fined $50,000 after the death of a mother and
her unborn child: www.krcrtv.com...33129600
November 2014: An international aerospace company has been fined £50,000
after 13 employees were found to be suffering varying degrees of a
debilitating nerve condition: forthepeople.co.uk...nerve-condition/
May 2014: Food manufacturer Heinz has been fined £50,000 in the wake of a
workplace accident in which a worker lost a hand:
www.claimsdirect.co.uk...#ixzz3lSS4YgQa
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West Ham fined £50,000 by the FA
Last Updated: 11/09/15 7:52pm
SSN
West Ham have been fined £50,000 by the FA in relation to the behaviour of
their players during the 3-0 victory over Liverpool last month.
The London club have also be warned as to their future conduct after
multiple players surrounded referee Kevin Friend following the dismissal of
Mark Noble for a challenge on Danny Ings. Noble received a straight red for
the tackle but the decision was eventually overturned on appeal, with the
automatic three-match ban also withdrawn. However, West Ham have admitted a
charge of misconduct in relation to the players' reaction to the sending
off. "Following an independent regulatory commission hearing, West Ham
United have been fined £50,000 and warned as to their future conduct after
an FA player misconduct charge brought against the club was found proven,"
read a statement released by the FA. "It was alleged that in or around the
78th minute of the game against Liverpool on 29 August 2015, West Ham failed
to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. "The club
had admitted the charge and submitted a plea for mitigation."
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Exiled midfielder faces bleak Irons future
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Morgan Amalfitano has little hope of resurrecting his Hammers career.
Despite being handed a squad number for the new season, the Frenchman is
still out in the cold with manager Slaven Bilic after missing a team
meeting. He was exiled to train with the under 21s a few weeks back and only
squeezed into the squad after a deadline day loan move saw Matt Jarvis join
Norwich City. But there has been no thaw in the frosty relationship between
the pair and it looks as though the midfielder's exile will continue into
the forseeable future.
A well placed source said: "It's very unfortunate but the manager has to be
allowed to manage. The player is on decent wages but only the manager can
decide if and when he will be brought back into the fold. "As things stand
there seems very little chance of a reconciliation – there looks to be no
way back the way things stand right now."
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Irons say £50k fine may be based on 'previous'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: Adrian of West Ham handles the ball
outside of the area as Sadio Mane of Southampton challenges and
subsequently receives a red card during the Barclays Premier League match
between Southampton and West Ham United at St Mary's Stadium on February 11,
2015 in Southampton, England.
Exclusive
West Ham tonight admitted that the £50k fine handed out by the Football
Association for failing to control their players at Anfield is probably
based on previous recent incidents. The club is relaxed about the size of
the fine being more concerned that Mark Noble's red card has been overturned
following an incident involving Danny Ings. A source told ClaretandHugh
exclusively: "We were probably expecting a fine of around £30k but we have
previous and that may be the reason its higher." The Irons were fined £30k
last season following problems at St Mary's after Adrian was dismissed and
earlier a fracas at Everton saw them receive a £20k fine. Our source said:
"We can have no complaints – the rules are there and need to be obeyed. Yes,
it's an emotional game but you have to respect the referee and when and how
often do they change their minds?!"
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FA support Wembley ground share
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
The chance of Spurs or Chelsea sharing the Olympic Stadium became less
likely after the FA appeared to give a green light to Spurs and/or Chelsea
sharing Wembley stadium.
There was previous talk that West Ham could be forced to share with Spurs or
even Chelsea in the Olympic Stadium in our second season but they now seems
less likely after the FA said it was open to the idea of a ground share at
Wembley.
FA Chief Executive Martin Glenn said that the FA would be "absolutely
supportive" of Chelsea and Spurs using Wembley while they redevelop their
stadiums, even if they have to ground-share theNational Stadium for a
period.
In a £500 million redevelopment, Chelsea plan to increase the capacity of
Stamford Bridge to 60,000 whilst Spurs are planning on a 61,000 capacity for
their new £400 million stadium.
Glenn told the SoccerEx conference : "We are there to provide help. We can
run the FA for less costs and we can raise more. There's a range of things.
It's primarily a football stadium, football matches are more profitable to
run than concerts and other things."
"We are the national stadium and seeking to use it more is what we are all
about. We have an obligation to football. I'm not talking specific clubs but
it's in our interest as an association for clubs to redevelop their grounds,
make superb facilities and if it's possible to help them in that transition
by using Wembley, we are absolutely supportive of that."
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Spotted in Soweto - Sakho and Kouyate make a West Ham fan's day
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 11th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate managed to put a smile on the faces of two
happy Hammers fans this week - despite being some 8,000 miles away from the
Boleyn Ground. South African-based West Ham fans Greg Faasen and his son
Richard were in Soweto on Tuesday evening to watch Bafana Bafana beat
Senegal 1-0 in the Nelson Mandela Challenge title, courtesy of a 77th goal
from Mpho Makola. However the highlight of the night was not watching their
team triumph against the Lions of Teranga - but being recognised by the West
Ham duo.
"Richard, my son, asked me to take him to the Bafana v Senegal match at
Orlando Stadium, Soweto," Greg told KUMB.com. "I wasn't really feeling up to
that journey, but he was adamant we would meet our two Senegalese Hammers –
and we did! "During the warm up and after the game they crossed their arms
in the Hammer salute when they saw us in our Hammers kit and were happy to
have photos taken with Richard. "Cheik, who was rested for the game, then
handed Richard his medal from the Mandela Cup match - which is now sitting
proudly in his bedroom. They're both humble guys who deserve to go far!"
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Bilic: I spoke with Adebayor
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 11th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Slaven Bilic has admitted that he held talks with Tottenham striker Emmanuel
Adebayor ahead of the transfer deadline window. Bilic, who celebrates his
47th birthday today revealed that he had spoken with the 31-year-old
out-of-favour striker - but confirmed that the move collapsed after the two
clubs failed to agree terms. "It was just talk, it wasn't like we held
negotiations," Bilic told the media this morning. "Because of his situation
and our situation I wanted to talk to him and have a chat. "He wanted a
chat too, so we spoke for an hour about football and the possibility [of him
coming to West Ham]. In the end it didn't happen because of his contractual
situation with Spurs. That's it, basically." And when asked how he would be
celebrating his birthday, Bilic replied: "The older you get the less you
celebrate! Apart from the big ones, like a 50th, 60th or whatever. "It's
just a normal day. It's my birthday of course so my friends and family are
calling, but basically it's just an ordinary day."
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Andy Carroll in line to return for West Ham against Newcastle
Last Updated: 11/09/15 12:00pm
SSN
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has revealed striker Andy Carroll is in line to
return to action against former club Newcastle on Monday evening. The
England forward has been impressing in training after recovering from the
knee injury which confined him to the sidelines for the past eight months.
Bilic, who revealed he would 'probably select him' for the Sky Live match at
Upton Park, said: "Andy has had a six-week pre-season and looks very good in
training." West Ham were busy towards the end of the transfer market and
Bilic admits he is looking forward to seeing new recruits Victor Moses,
Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic in action. "I am very pleased with the
business we did," he said. "It's all on paper and we have to put it into
practice, but I think we've done well. "In the first week they've been
training with us it's all very positive and they're the players we wanted.
They have joined a team that is already good and they've come here to give
us extra quality. "Moses and Antonio play more or less the same position,
but they are different. For both of them the expectations are high.
"Antonio's potential is enormous. He has done it in the Championship (with
Nottingham Forest) and that means he has every chance of doing it in the
Premier League. "You know Jelavic, he is not a new name here. He has played
for Rangers, Everton and Hull. He is well proven here, he knows the league.
"I know him really well and exactly what I am going to get. He is a quality
player, who can score, hold the ball, and do everything you need from a
centre-forward. I am really pleased he is with us."
Bilic also confirmed that he held talks with Tottenham forward Emmanuel
Adebayor but says there was never any deal on the table. "It was not like
negotiations because of his situation and our situation," he said. "I wanted
a chat and he did too, so we spoke for one hour, of course about football.
"But, in the end it did not happen, because of his contract situation with
Spurs."
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Excited Slav: "New guys have to prove themselves"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News
C AND H
Slaven Bilic has hailed Michail Antonio as a player "the whole club –
including me – are very excited about." Speaking at his morning press
conference ahead of the match against Newcastle, the manager said: ""The
expectations are high, with Antonio he has so much to offer us, his
potential is enormous. "Not just in training or on paper, he has done it in
the Championship, which is not that much below the Premier League. "Very few
English players came straight through the academy, many players come through
the divisions. "The whole club, including me, are very excited about
Antonio. He can make a big big impact." He is generally absolutely delighted
with the club's successful transfer window adding: ""I am very pleased. t is
all done now.
"The guys who came have to prove themselves. I think we done really well. We
got what we wanted and in the first few training sessions it is all very
positive. "They have brought what we wanted and I think they are going to do
very well for us. They have the energy, motivation, they are hungry. They
came here to give us extra quality."
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"Best Irons squad since turn of century"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Tony Cottee reckons the Irons have established he most impressive squad
since the turn of the century. The former striker – speaking in the
ClretandHugh interview section of the MooreThanJustAPodcast which goes out
early next week: "It is our best squad since the turn of the century.
"Those were the days Jermain Defoe, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Paolo Di
Canio and John Moncur and I think this one is as good. "We have four top
strikers and I've always said you need that many to have a top season. It
looks very good. "When it became obvious Sam Allarydce was leaving I had no
second thoughts that Slaven Bilic was the man to take us on."
Cottee – in his frankest ever interview talks to ClaretandHugh's associate
editor, Sean Whetstone in a not to be missed broadcast. TC and his legendary
striking partner Frank McAvenne – along with other members of the 1986 squad
which took the Irons into third place in the old First Division – will be
presented to the crowd before the game. It was in 1986 the Hammers
entertained Newcastle at the Boleyn and handed them an 8-1 thrashing.
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Antonio giving Slav a headache!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
New boy Michail Antonio is kicking up a storm on the West Ham training
pitch as he bid to land a starting spot in the team for the Newcastle game.
The backroom staff have been astonished at the form shown by the former
Nottingham Forest star whose approch and potential were described as
"stupendous" by one source. Antonio's pace and power has been shown
throughout the week but even that may not be enough to dislodge Manuel
Lanzini from the starting line-up after his goalscoring performance against
Liverpool. ClaretandandHugh was told: "The competitions going on all over
the place on the training ground are brilliant but Michail's attitude has
had a few jaws dropping. "Having said that Manuel has been in brilliant form
and the video of his rabona goal has been all over the place. Everybody is
at it big time but the Antnio/Lanzini situation is giving the manager a
headache such is their form." However, the consensus opinion seems to be
that Lanzini will hold his place and that Antonio and Andy Carroll will be
available off the bench "to make a big impact if and when required."
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Exclusive: Moses costs could hit £185k a game
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
The loan of Victor Moses from Chelsea could approach £6m this season. Our
senior West Ham source told ClaretandHugh exclusively this afternoon that
the 24 year old winger could cost £175,000 to £185,000 per game. He said: "
Were he to be available for 32 League games which takes account of the two
he can't play against Chelsea and including loan fee, salary, plus National
Insurance and agents' fee it works out as a very big deal. The figures have
been applied to League games only as Cup games aren't seen as being of the
same importance although our source said: "We are going to have a real go in
both competitions."
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Paul Merson predicts a Hammers win
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Just over a week ago Sky Pundit Paul Merson predicted West Ham would finish
no better than 14th Place in the Premier League and has previously said West
Ham will struggle this season.
Talking to Sky sports Website last week Merson said "When West Ham are not
expected to win, they turn it on and when they have home games against teams
that are going to be in the bottom half they get beat – so that needs to
change. The fans need to be a little bit more patient at home. Away from
home, the shackles can come off." One week later and Merson is predicting a
home win for West Ham against Newcastle on Monday night. "This is a really
weird game this one, Newcastle are heading in the right direction under
Steve McClaren, even if the results haven't been great. I fancy West Ham
here slightly, but it's going to be a difficult game".
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
For once in this life let's hope Merson has got this one right! The law of
averages says he has to get something right one day!
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Lanzini visits the Queen with his Mum
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Manuel Lanzini used his day off from Training on Thursday to visit
Buckingham Palace with his mum. Posting pictures on his offiical Instagram
account, the Argentine footballer took in the sights around London. The
22-year-old, who scored in the Hammers' 3-0 win over Liverpool before the
international break has been impressing his fellow Hammers with his skills
on the training pitch with his goal during Wednesday's training session. He
is on a season long loan from Al Jazira costing a £2m loan fee plus wages
with an option to buy at the end of the season.
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Exclusive: David Cross talks Andy Carroll
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 11, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Hammers hero Dave Cross was – like Andy Carroll – not what one might
describe as a traditional west Ham United player. But in six years at the
club between 1977 – 1982 he scored 99 goals from 234 appearances to win a
special place in the hearts of Hammers. All these years on – speaking
exclusively to ClaretandHugh – he declared: "It's still my club, the first
result I look for even though I am working for Blackburn Rovers on
opposition analysis. Big fella 'Crossie' is perfectly placed to assess the
impact that Andy Carroll may have now he is ready to return to the Hammers
team under Slaven Bilic and declared: "Any manager in the word would be
happy to have Andy in their team."
That immediately 'dissed' the view of some that the Croat's more 'cultured'
approach to the game may not suit the blockbuster style of the former
Newcastle and Liverpool man. But Big Dave – talking exclusively to
ClaretandHugh – said: "I think he's a top player. I wasn't seen as a
traditional Hammers player but I did ok in a team which had a lot of very
creative types in it .
"Andy has been desperately unlucky with injuries but of he comes back and
stays fit he can be a real presence in the team. "He's obviously great in
the air but he has good feet and can bring players in from the left side
really well. I like him and although a passing team is being developed down
there he still has a big role to play I think."
Theres been much talk that AC's international years may not be behind them
but Crossie has a firm view on that one declaring: "It won't be on his mind.
All he will be concerned about is getting the performances in for West Ham
and that's how it should be. "Any manager in the Premier League would want
him in their team and I hope he stays fit and has a big impact for us."
In his role as an analyst of opposition teams in the Championship Dave has
seen a lot of Michail Antonio and said: "He has tremendous pace and that's
scary. He is big and powerful. I think he was a terrific buy and could be a
major player for us."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll set for West Ham return against former club Newcastle after
eight month lay-off
10:31, 11 SEPTEMBER 2015 UPDATED 11:02, 11 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY NEIL MCLEMAN
The England striker was all set to make his long-awaited comeback last month
before rolling his ankle putting on a pair of shoes
The Mirror
Andy Carroll is set to return to action against his former club Newcastle on
Monday night. The West Ham striker has been out since February with a knee
injury – and then suffered another setback last month rolling his ankle
putting on a pair of shoes. But Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has revealed a new
rehabilitation regime for his £15m hitman means he is finally ready to
return to action. "Is he in contention? It looks like he is good," said the
Croat. "We have changed his recovery and rehabilitation a little bit. "A few
times before straight after his injuries when he was ok he would train for a
few days and then play straight away. "However, with the nature of his size
and the way he plays – he is not one to avoid tackles or escape challenges,
he fights – he would get injured again. It's psychological as much as
anything. "This time he has completed six weeks of let's call it
'pre-season' and he looks very good in training. "We are going to see if he
selected. But probably."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
STRENGTH IN DEPTH
By Iain Dale 11 Sep 2015 at 11:24
WTID
I hate it when we play on Mondays. First of all it means I can't go to the
match as I don't finish work until it's too late and you feel as if you are
out of the picture when all the other clubs are playing on Saturday and
Sunday. And it also means that it will be 16 days since the last match,
which, let me remind you was a famous 3-0 victory over Liverpool!
Even though we have signed four new players since that match I'd be
surprised if there were too many changes to the team which won at Anfield.
It's the first time Slaven Bilic will have encountered Steve McClaren since
the famous England v Croatia match when McClaren was dubbed the "wally with
the brolly", so no doubt McClaren would love to get one over on the West Ham
manager. It's one of those matches that could give us a real confidence
boost or be a bit of a let down. If we win it, we really announce to the
world that West Ham are motoring, but if we lose we will be dubbed as
inconsistent and a team that can only lift itself for the big games. I
wonder what the odds are on losing to Newcastle then beating Manchester
City. Same old West Ham…
Anyway, back to the team selection. Andy Carroll is likely to feature on the
bench, which should be the strongest bench we have ever selected. It might
well look like this…
Spiegel, Collins, Moses, Carroll, Oxford, Antonio, Jelavic
Add Adrian, Jenkinson, Song, Zarate and Valencia into the equation and it's
clear that we now have the strength in depth which has been so lacking in
the past. Jenkinson is eligible to play against Newcastle but I feel that
Bilic may stick with Tomkins. I haven't heard if Zarate if back to fitness.
Meanwhile, according to Shoot…
West Ham have reportedly agreed a deal to sign striker Luka Belic on a free
transfer. Despite being tipped to play for the Serbia national side in the
future, the 19-year-old is currently without a club after letting his
contract with OFK Belgrade expire in the summer. The Under-19 international
became the youngster ever player in the Serbian top flight when he made his
debut as a 16-year-old back in 2012. If the Hammers do seal his signature
then he is expected to go straight into their development squad.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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Saturday, September 12
Friday, September 11
Daily WHUFC News - 11th September 2015
Chadwell Chatter - Angelo Ogbonna
WHUFC.com
Hello everybody,
We are still celebrating our victory over Liverpool and it was a great
performance from the team. We had good organisation and everything was
amazing. To end 52-years without a win is a long time for any team and the
coach prepared everything so well. We had a good game.
It is not just about one player but everyone in the team. When we have good
organisation everything gets better. When you win you enjoy the next game so
our preparations have a good feel about it at the moment and we want to put
things right (against Newcastle) because we are very annoyed about our last
two results at home. I hope the new signings will enjoy the West Ham
mentality and everything around the Club. The West Ham attitude is different
to other teams and I hope everyone is comfortable in this team. Alex Song is
a great signing for the Club. We need that kind of experience and he is
someone who has played at another level and it is great for us. We now look
forward to the Newcastle game on Monday night. It is not just about playing
under the lights, but we need to win for our home support. We are focused
and have to do everything to get the result. I want to concentrate and give
everything and all the players will prepare well to win the game. We have
been unlucky at home and we need to change and do something better than what
we did in the last two games. I am really enjoying life in London. I have an
English teacher and I want to improve my English. When I first arrived at
West Ham I said I wanted to improve so I can listen to everyone and
understand what everyone is saying. It might still take me six months to
understand Mark Noble and James Tomkins as they speak with a Cockney accent
but I will understand !!
See you on Monday.
Angelo
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ricoh imagine change with the Hammers
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to announce an exciting long-term partnership
with global technology giant Ricoh. The deal will see Ricoh supporting West
Ham in servicing the new Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, bringing
state-of-the-art technologies to the Hammers' future home. The new
relationship will revolutionise the West Ham matchday experience come the
big kick-off in August 2016. Ricoh specialises in delivering business and
experience transformation via its IT and document services. The high-profile
partnership is the latest in the Club's ever-increasing sponsorship
portfolio, which continues to give the West Ham United brand further
prominence domestically and overseas.
West Ham United Commercial Director Felicity Barnard said: "We are
absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with a brand of this calibre. Ricoh has
a rich heritage and proven expertise in business and sports sponsorship.
"Above all, this will allow us to improve the supporter experience by
significantly enhancing our matchday offering. We believe this is a really
exciting partnership for the Club and look forward to working very closely
with Ricoh over the coming years."
Chas Moloney, Marketing Director at Ricoh, said: "We are delighted to have
become a partner of West Ham United and are excited to be working with them
on creating an exceptional fan experience at the new Stadium."
Ricoh are renowned for solutions that improve the interaction between people
and information. As a business, it prides itself on the quality of its
technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and
sustainability initiatives.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chauhan relishing life at West Ham
WHUFC.com
Indian international goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan spoke of her huge sense of
pride at playing for West Ham United Ladies. The shotstopper has attracted a
significant amount of media attention since joining the Hammers in the
summer. Speaking before the game against C & K Basildon at the Irons'
Hornchurch home later today, she said: "Playing for West Ham is a big
responsibility. But it is one that I enjoy and am very proud to be able to
play for them. "Since I joined, I've received a lot of messages from people
here and back home. I wasn't really expecting that to be honest. I feel like
I represent my country every time I play, which is a special feeling." While
the Hammers enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season campaign, Marc Nurse's side are
yet to recreate that form in the league, losing both of their opening games.
Despite the tough start, Chauhan is upbeat about her side's chances when
they play local rivals Basildon, who secured four points from their two
matches. "So far this season has certainly been an eye-opener. I feel
like I'm learning all the time and I can feel myself improving. "Overall, my
time in England has been a brilliant experience. I've really had a great
time, the people I've met have been fantastic. "It took a bit of time to
adjust, but the West Ham girls and the management have really helped me.
They've been so supportive and encouraging."
The Ladies host C & K Basildon at AFC Hornchurch tonight, kick off is
7.45pm.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Newsroom - Dave Evans
WHUFC.com
The Recorder Group's West Ham United correspondent Dave Evans reflects on
the Hammers' start to the season and looks at a successful transfer
window...
In some ways the start of the season has been very West Ham, but then
winning at Anfield is not very West Ham as we all know.
That has to be one of the highlights for me, covering West Ham. It wasn't
just a smash and grab raid, but a superb performance. They outplayed
Liverpool and could have scored more.
They couldn't have complained had it been five. Liverpool barely had a
chance and that's not like West Ham games that I have seen there over the
years.
At home it has been a very different story so far, which is a bit of a
surprise because in recent times West Ham have been fairly good at home,
especially at the start of a season.
It's a bit of a puzzler. It seems that maybe the way Slaven has set up the
team has been great for away games, but if you set up the same way at home
it hasn't quite worked because teams sit back on you.
Perhaps he has to change things and perhaps these new signings will help do
that.
It certainly is strength in depth now, but also what West Ham have now is
something a bit different. Apart from Matt Jarvis they didn't really have a
winger. Now they've got two wingers and there's a lot of pace in that team.
I think that's going to help. He might have to play a slightly different
formation to play these wingers, but it gives him different options and if
Andy Carroll is coming back soon you're going to need wingers.
I'm hopeful for the season ahead, especially with the people he has added to
the squad. If there are injuries there are players to cover now.
I'm hoping for a little bit better than mid-table, although mid-table would
be fine this season because the most important thing is to stay in the
Premier League.
I'm thinking eighth, ninth, seventh. Who knows? But I think that would be a
good first season with the squad that he's got.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Downing - easy to leave West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 10th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Stewart Downing says he still has no regrets about leaving
West Ham in the summer - even though it meant dropping a division. The
31-year-old attacking midfielder, speaking in an interview with BBC Tees
claimed it was "an easy decision" to return to his boyhood club, once their
interest became apparent. "I'd spoken to the chairman and [manager] Aitor
[Karanka] and they had good plans here and were looking to strengthen the
team," he said. "He wanted me to be part of that playing as a number 10 or
as a wide man. "For me, it was a very easy decision to make. The chairman
asked if I was up for it and I said 'if you can make the deal happen and you
get me out of West Ham then I'm happy to come back'. "I gave my word that if
it happens then I'll be straight back. Fair play to the chairman, he did it
and got me back as quickly as he could."
The former England international spent two seasons at the Boleyn Ground and
played some of the best football of his career during the first half of last
season under Sam Allardyce. However his form - like that of the rest of the
squad - dipped alarmingly after Christmas and few Hammers fans were
disappointed to see him return to to the North East in July.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Michail Antonio at West Ham: Winger's journey from non-league
Last Updated: 08/09/15 7:16pm
SSN
Michail Antonio could complete his journey from non-league to Premier League
when West Ham host Newcastle United on Monday Night Football. Adam Bate got
the views of ex-team-mates and coaches to find out more about the Hammers'
new signing…
With Slaven Bilic's West Ham facing Steve McClaren's Newcastle, much of the
focus ahead of Monday Night Football will be on events that happened in
November 2007. It's indicative of how far he's come that West Ham's new £7m
signing Michail Antonio was lining up for Tooting & Mitcham United in the
second tier of the Isthmian League at the time.
Antonio's route to the top has been far from typical. There was no academy
life for him. Even when the big break did come with Reading, he made more
appearances out on loan at five different clubs than he did in four years
for his parent club. Former West Ham man Martin Allen, then in charge of
Cheltenham, was one of the coaches to give him a go.
"I took him on loan," Allen told Sky Sports. "He was a very pacey
right-sider with a long throw. A good athlete and a down-to-earth lad too."
But he was raw. During a later loan spell at Colchester, manager John Ward
described his finishing as "very wayward", bemoaning Antonio's unfortunate
habit of "knocking it on the A12".
There was potential but it would not be realised with the Royals. "Reading
took him and then let him go, surprisingly," added Allen. "They didn't
really sell him for enough money." It was in a Sheffield Wednesday shirt
that Antonio's development would really become apparent - off the field as
well as on it.
David Prutton, now a pundit with Sky Sports, was a team-mate for much of
Antonio's stay at Hillsborough and remains in touch. "I rang him before the
Forest game at the start of the season for a bit of insight," said Prutton.
"He was as good as gold and had plenty of time for me. Let's just say some
players might have been too busy.
"That non-league experience gives him perspective and the grounding you want
in a player. When he came to Wednesday, there was a bit of maturing that
happened that first season that endeared him to the lads too. He really grew
into it. That temperament is going to stand him in good stead."
He was a tremendous team-mate because of the attributes that he's got. He's
tremendously strong and quick. He's just so direct.
It's not that Antonio didn't have an ego, but that it was a positive - "you
need that to perform in front of 20,000 people" - and it wasn't long before
he emerged as Wednesday's most important player. In one of the
Championship's struggling sides, Antonio was the man who provided the
threat.
"He was a tremendous team-mate because of the attributes that he's got,"
said Prutton. "He's tremendously strong and quick. He's just so direct. When
you're at a team like Wednesday were at the time, what you want is that kind
of outlet like Antonio who can carry the ball 40 or 50 yards up the pitch.
He was a massive player for us."
A move to Nottingham Forest followed in 2014 and Antonio proved just as
vital to his new club. He scored 14 goals in the Championship last season
and ranked in the top three in the division for completed dribbles. Prutton,
a former Forest midfielder himself, feels that solo work should not be
underestimated - it's teamwork of a different type.
"There was one stage at Forest last season when Andy Reid and Britt
Assombalonga were out where it was literally, 'Let's give it to Antonio and
see what he can do with it'. That might sound like fun but when it's 90
minutes, twice a week for 10 months, that's going to take its toll. But he
understood and embraced that responsibility." And then some.
There was the goal against Bolton last season where he ran from inside his
own half before cutting inside to score with his right foot, having already
done something similar with his left foot against Brentford earlier in the
campaign. The control and composure to equalise against Fulham last
September was top class too. He's already scored four goals this season.
Now Antonio's lengthy journey from non-league to Premier League is complete.
In contrast, it's a relatively short one via the London Underground from
Tooting & Mitcham's Imperial Fields in Morden to West Ham's Upton Park and
while Antonio admits he's thrilled to be "back in London", the challenge
ahead of him is rather different now.
"West Ham brings the instant glare of the Premier League and competition for
places," said Prutton. "He's not going there as the main man as he was at
Wednesday and he became at Forest. He'll have to harness his performances
for the team but he can do that and it's all part of the learning curve."
Nevertheless, Antonio is confident of making an impact. "What I bring to the
table is pace, power and goals," he told his new club upon signing. Allen
agrees. "I think it's a very good signing - and a very exciting signing -
for West Ham." Bilic has no Luka Modric this time. But maybe it'll be a man
from Mitcham that can help ruin McClaren's night eight years on.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
HOME SWEET HOME
By Bianca Westwood 10 Sep 2015 at 17:00
WTID
I have a confession to make. Don't judge me. Ok you'll definitely judge me.
I haven't watched any international football. Not a goal, not a throw in,
not even a single kick. Tell a lie…I saw Rooney's 50th goal (well done
Wayne!) go in via a tiny, grainy video shot from the stands at Wembley on
someone's Facebook page. "Call yourself a football fan?!" Yeah some might
say that. I know. I get it. I just fell out of love with the internationals
somewhere in South America. Possibly before. That's not to say it won't
return. It usually does. Nine times out of ten I get whisked away with the
hype and the pre-tournament hope of the mad fan/media frenzy but I must
admit, last time out I felt a bit resigned even before Pitbull and JLo
started singing that dreadful World Cup song. I was as deflated as one of
Tom Brady's balls. After that debacle in Brazil not even Roy's 100% record
in the European qualifiers this time round could rouse me from my
indifference. I've always, always, always loved our national team…but this
time I just couldn't fake it. I've been led up the garden path way too many
times. How many years of hurt is it now?
So I'll be more than happy when the domestic action returns to our pitches
and screens this weekend. Natch. It's oh so quiet without it.
What a season we've had already. Even by West Ham's erratic standards it's
been a doozy. Ever heard of the Land of Topsy Turvy? (SJ Chandos I wrote
this before I saw your post and it's half past ten at night I'm not changing
it now ha!!) Where everything is downside up and outside in? I feel like
that's where we are right now! Who would have predicted a scintillating win
at the Emirates and a precious, but quite anomalous, victory at Anfield,
interwoven with a couple of abject performances at Upton Park against, no
disrespect, inferior opposition of the likes of Leicester and Bournemouth?
What's going on at the Boleyn then? Perhaps you can tell me because I don't
get there as much these days. I know the atmosphere is far less fierce and
foreboding for visiting teams than it once was. The fire and the fury seems
to be reserved for our own a lot of the time. I was listening down the line
from the gantry at the Valley when Soccer Saturday's Sir Jeffrey of Stelling
disdainfully revealed the Hammers fans were booing after twenty odd minutes.
That really disappointed me. It seems like we're so quick to turn nowadays.
Ok we were two nil down at the time but it's still too early to go rogue.
This isn't The Sons of Anarchy! We're not supposed to shoot each other. Not
unless our backs are really against the wall anyway.
I remember interviewing Big Sam last season about our unfavourable home form
and it was extremely unpleasant to learn how difficult it was for some
players to perform comfortably and confidently at Upton Park. He spoke to me
about how hesitant and reticent they would be at times, how uncomfortable on
the ball, how nervous of making a mistake and being the one responsible for
turning the tide and rousing the rabble. He didn't name names but I had an
idea of who he might be referring to. He also accepted that the
responsibility of developing their strength mentally and tactically was
ultimately down to him. He wasn't shirking, but it was revealing. It made me
think deeper about how important fans actually are. They can often make you
or break you. I don't have anyone screaming at me how useless I am when I'm
trying to work (not offline anyway!) so I don't know how it feels but I'm
sure it isn't the best environment to be in. I'm not having that 'we pay
their wages we can say what we like/they earn fortunes they should be able
to take it' argument either. There is a human element here.
It's not the fans' fault if things go wrong on the pitch either. Of course
it's not. If they feel the players aren't pulling their weight then they're
entitled to voice their displeasure in some way. But this is supposed to be
a collective. We're all in this together aren't we? Booing is not the
answer. I've said this before but it gets nasty too quickly and that's not
how Upton Park used to be. It doesn't make the players play any better.
That's why Bilic earns the big bucks. It's down to him to ring the changes
and solve the problems and, largely, he has done that to good effect in both
those home matches. Even in defeat there was never a capitulation or a
return to the long ball boredom that had us so enraptured last term. We
haven't sat back on leads away from home either. Ok so we've parked the bus
here and there but the handbrake was off wasn't it?! Or was it on? I can't
remember but the signs are good. Plus we have a few different names on the
team sheet this season who may be more able to withstand public and vocal
pressure. We'll see. I don't know if that particular monkey is still hanging
off of their backs but after the two home disasters we've had so far, Monday
night will be an interesting spectacle. Let's hope it's not the Hammers'
house of horror!
Does this mean if we lose then there's a problem at the Boleyn? I suppose it
depends on the nature of the performance, the effort, the end product. I
have to say I'm far more confident than I've been in recent years. Not
because it's a misfiring Newcastle we face either. After West Ham's
extravagant spending spree over the summer and in the transfer window we
look very well equipped. I'd say the the chairmen are extremely happy
shoppers. We have a quality squad there, with all sorts of attributes and
strengths at our disposal. More on that another time.
If Slav can get his players, both old and new, to realise their potential
and play with the freedom, poise and self-assurance we want to see, we
really could have an exciting team on our hands. The fans also have a vital
part to play! Maybe Hammers' years of hurt could be over…for a while at
least!!
Come On You Irons!!
B x
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WE COULD STILL STRUGGLE, SO LET'S SING WHEN WE'RE LOSING.
By Neil Clack 10 Sep 2015 at 08:00
WTID
I've read and heard a lot about the excellent atmosphere generated at
Crystal Palace these days. How do they do it? Is it the acoustics of their
old-style ground? One theory is that the South Londoners don't attract 'new
fans', so are still an old school community club (unlike their neighbours,
Chelsea and Fulham). Also too, it seems the fans are well-organised,
modeling themselves, and their singing, along continental lines.
No doubt there's a lot of truth in all of that, but I'd like to add one of
my own, and that is that ever since Palace came up in 2013, the extent of
their fans' expectations has simply been to stay up (well, until this
season, at least). From the very first kick of the first home match of the
season to the last, they've known that they're in for a struggle, and the
aim is to finish 4th from bottom – and they're fully aware that will
inevitably entail a few home defeats and conceding silly goals.
As recently as 2010, Crystal Palace nearly went bankrupt, and survival in
the Championship was only secured on the final day of the 2009/10 season.
They were still hovering around the bottom of the Championship in 2011, but
then somehow, against all odds, in the spring of 2013, they went on a run
and sneaked into 6th place in the Championship. Then, astoundingly, Palace
won the play-offs. Their fans just seem grateful to even be in the Premier
League, and seem to be loving every minute of it, singing their hearts out
like there's no tomorrow. It's been commented upon a lot how they continue
to sing, chant, bang at Selhurst Park even when they're losing.
For many of us who grew up in the electric atmosphere of Upton Park in the
70s and 80s, one of the most disappointing aspects of the West Ham crowd
today isn't so much the booing, as disagreeable as that is, but the lengthy
silences during passages of play, and the general all-round quietness.
Sometimes it seems we only make any noise when we score, and then it only
lasts for a few minutes before quietening down again. Back in the day, when
the opposition scored and the away fans cheered and sung, a lot of Hammers
fans would take that as an affront, and try to drown them out. Indeed, the
roar of 'C'mon You Irons' was often at it's most loudest just after the
oppostion had scored and we were about to kick off; the crowd desperately
wanted to spur their team on, get them back into the match.
Ok, so the terraces have gone, and times have changed, and I accept that you
can't live in the past, but what about that play-off semi-final against
Ipswich in 2004? Upton Park was rockin' that night, a deafening wall of
sound emanating from every part of the ground, as good as anything from the
70s, and we kept it up for the whole 90 minutes too. So, I cannot accept
that we can't make more noise at Upton Park.
But the will has to be there.
We can do it if really want to, but maybe first, we have to change our
mindset?
I was quite stunned whenever I broke my vow of promising to switch off from
football completely this summer, and sneaked a look at West Ham Til I Die. I
couldn't believe how high expectations were. Had my mind be playing tricks
with me from last Xmas to May? Had I imagined what I thought I saw at Upton
Park? – what I saw, or at least, what I thought I saw, anyway, was some
awful football, and a team that had the 3rd worst record in the Premier
league during that period ie. relegation form – a team that was certain to
go down this season if that form continued, and yet, posters on WHTID were
seriously discussing qualifying for Europe this season, talking about
finishing in the top 10 as if it was given. Based on what?
Ok, there's been a change of manager, and a few new signings (many of whom
are untried in Prem league), but personally, I'm under no illusion that this
season could be a struggle. Perhaps years of supporting West Ham have made
me cynical, and I've suffered too many West Ham disappointments in the past,
experienced too many relegations that we didn't see coming etc
But accepting we're going to struggle is a good place to start if you don't
want to get disappointed, ha,ha!
And maybe that's one of the reasons for the often subdued atmosphere at
Upton Park, and the horrible booing – expectations were too high in the
first place. When unrealistic aims aren't met that leads to disappointment,
followed by anger, and even booing?
I guess we're all a bit confused about our team at the moment. Which is the
real West Ham? The two excellent away perfomances, or the disorganised
shambles in the home games? It's not the results against Leicester and
Bournmouth that worries me, but the manner of those defeats. It wasn't just
the mistakes on the goals, but the defence was constanlty giving the ball
away all game long. I have to say though, my fears of relegation were
certainly eased by that brilliant historic day in Liverpool. No doubt I'll
start fretting again when we lose to Newcastle next Monday, only to change
my mind 5 days later when we go up to Man City and stuff them on the
Saturday!
For now though, until these muddy waters have cleared, I still fear
relegation. So, starting with the relegation 6-pointer against Newcastle (a
team who I seriously think could go down this season), let's get right
behind the team, lower those expectations, and Sing When We're Losing!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Sport Football West Ham United FC
West Ham midfielder Alex Song pencilled in for October return from ankle
injury
15:52, 10 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
The Cameroon international has rejoined the club from Barcelona on a second
loan deal but has been struggled with an ankle problem
The Mirror
Alex Song will be fit to resume his West Ham career next month. Midfielder
Song, who spent last term on loan at Upton Park, rejoined the Hammers on
deadline day on a season-long loan from Barcelona. The move was held up due
to concerns about the 28 year-old's fitness.
But Song has been pencilled in for an end-of-October comeback from his ankle
injury. The Hammer also hope to have striker Enner Valencia back ahead of
schedule in November after he suffered "significant" ankle and knee injuries
at the start of the season. Forward Mauro Zarate is closing in on a return
after missing West Ham's last two games with a hamstring injury.
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Allardyce alert: Big Sam starts bleating on Twitter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Well it had to happen eventually – Sam Allardyce has arrived on Twitter!
We've always had a sneaky feeling the bloke kept a keen eye on everything
that was happen in La La land. And now, along with the likes of Joey Barton
and a certain Harry Redknapp, he is among us.
If you would like to send a loving message to the former Hammers boss we're
sure he would like to hear from you. You can reach him at: @OfficialBigSam
The old boy has managed just one tweet so far and his profile picture
appears to be the front cover of his forthcoming autobiography.
So far, Allardyce has attracted more than 3,000 followers.
No doubt, he'll soon be getting a few more. And then the fun will really
begin!
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For goodness sake, Downing – this is getting boring!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Stewart Downing really does need to get over his departure from West Ham and
sudden move back to the north east.
The bloke just can't keep his criticism of West Ham to himself and seems to
be on the mother of all missions to slag off his former employers.
Downing has twice taken a pop at manager Slaven Bilic for refusing to give
him assurances that he'd be part of his first team plans and thus scarpered
to the Championship with Middlesbrough.
You would have thought that after repeating that at least twice he'd
possibly believe that was enough! But nope, this time he has his sights set
on owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
He's now popped up on BBC Radio Tees to mouth his frustrations at the two
Davids for keeping his transfer "up in the air", claiming they make exits
'difficult and suggesting that the pair are entertaining in their activity.
He said: "Some days I thought 'I could be heading back home today' and then
another week [would go by] and a fee [still] has to be agreed.
"West Ham is obviously a difficult place to get out of. If you've ever dealt
with the owners… they're certainly entertaining."
The former England international suggested that his move to Middlesbrough
was made more difficult by having to negotiate with Gold and Sullivan.
However, he also admitted the pair did what was best for their club – even
if that left players frustrated at times.
He really does need to give it a rest. His was a very small move and the
whole saga has become very boring!
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Cottee on Carroll: it's now 'make or break' for Andy
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Tony Cottee reckons record signing, Andy Carroll, could move on if things
don't work out for him at Upton Park this season! The former Hammers
goal-scoring legend has given his frankest ever interview in the
ClaretandHugh interview section of the MooreThanJustaPodcast, which will can
be heard early next week. "We have four fantastic strikers when they re all
fit and whether AC will be happy as a sub I don't know, but I doubt it,"
commented Cottee. "If, at the end of the season, he hasn't got in as a
regular, like Paul Goddard in my day, who couldn't get past Frank McAvennie,
or myself, and moved on – Andy may do the same." In the podcast, TC covers
his own Irons days as a player, the Allardyce era and gives his assessment
on this season's "best since the turn of the century"squad.
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Options galore but here's our Irons team
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Slaven Bilic has more options in front of him for Monday night's game than
many West Ham managers before him. But this in itself can cause a dilemma
particularly with various well rated newcomers he may or may not choose to
draft into the side. An argument has been presented on some forums that we
can hardly change the team to that which scored such an historic victory at
Anfield – I disagree. That team was set up as a counter-attacking outfit and
has already been shown that is not a system which works at the Boleyn where
we HAVE to carry the game to opponents. You can bet your life away that
struggling Newcastle, with two points from four games and second off bottom,
will come to defend and thus we need to find a way of at last getting that
much needed win at home. It's a very long time since we have had the
wonderful problem in front of us but it makes team selection – as mentioned
up top – very difficult.
Carl Jenkinson has served out a one match ban and is available but I'd stick
with James Tomkins at right back behind Victor Moses Reid, Ogbonna and
Cresswell speak for themselves with Noble, Kouyate and Moses in an advanced
right sided role. I'd plump for Antonio on the other side with Payet behind
Sakho as main striker of course. But it's a tough old call and is hard on
Manuel Lanzini who looked a real prospect at Liverpool and Mauro Zarate (if
fit) who has done nothing wrong. Oh and we haven't mentioned Andy Carroll!
But at last we have a squad we can rotate. We are stepping up a level and I
thing the side I've named would give us the attacking impetus and creativity
we need to get results.
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The curious, confusing case of West Ham's start to life under Slaven Bilic
They have scored a lot of goals and beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away, but
they have also lost to Leicester and Bournemouth at home. At least it's not
boring
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored?, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Thursday 10 September 2015 10.33 BST
A fair proportion of West Ham fans were given their wish when Sam Allardyce
left the club at the end of last season. The supporters had become tired of
what was considered a predictable style of play, despite the way he took
them out of the Championship and established the club as a solid Premier
League outfit in his four years in charge.
Signing Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbonna in
the summer lifted the supporters' spirits further, with all four players
having already proven their quality at times this season. Payet in
particular was a real coup and he has made a strong start to the campaign,
with a goal and an assist and the highest averages of key passes (2.3) and
dribbles (2.5) per game for the club.
A flurry of business on deadline day will also have excited many supporters
but, despite adding strength in depth, the additional numbers may confuse
matters a little. Victor Moses and Michail Antonio look like shrewd signings
but fitting them in alongside Payet and Lanzini will be a difficult task,
while Alex Song's return could restrict Obiang's playing time. All of the
players have made the squad stronger but keeping them all content will prove
a tough ask.
Transfer deadline day: De Gea deal off, Berahino anger, Martial signs and
more – as it happened
Interesting that Liverpool have let Ilori, Coates & Glen Johnson leave.
Presumably that means there were at least 3 defenders worse than Lovren at
the club.
Read more
Nevertheless, the fact that Slaven Bilic's reign has begun in such
unpredictable fashion both on and off the pitch has gone some way to giving
the supporters what they wanted. However, while the Croatian has only been
at the club for a few months, it's fair to say the novelty of upsetting the
odds at Arsenal and Liverpool while losing winnable fixtures at home is
unlikely to last.
The positives to take from beating two of the league's big hitters are
dampened by poor displays at home in the club's last season at the Boleyn
Ground. The supporters would love to bid farewell to their old ground with
far more impressive showings than they managed against Leicester and
Bournemouth.
The ease with which their defence was exposed in these games is a real
concern. A tally of three errors that have led directly to goals is
unsurprisingly the highest in the top flight and already half of what they
accrued under Allardyce last season.
West Ham's surprising wins on the road have come courtesy of a
counter-attacking style of play that, while effective in away matches, is
unlikely to be well received at home in games supporters expect to win. It's
on the break though, that their best players can thrive and it's an approach
that has helped the club score the second most goals in the Premier League
after four matches (nine, behind only Manchester City on 10).
West Ham are one of only six teams to have scored in all of their matches so
far, having failed to score in seven of their last 14 league games under
Allardyce. It took them 15 games – stretching back to 8 February – to score
as many league goals at the end of Allardyce's tenure as they have managed
in the first month of this season under Bilic. Those are the sort of figures
that will justify the decision to part ways with Allardyce, but the security
he offered the team has been jeopardised.
Throughout his managerial career Bilic has given off the impression that he
likes being the underdog, presiding over impressive performances against
English opposition in both club and international football in the past.
Already, with the pressure off, West Ham have thrived under his leadership
away from home, with his motivational skills and infectious personality
paying dividends.
However, the jury remains out on the Croat's tactical acumen. His time in
Besiktas is considered as something of a failure due to his inability to win
the matches that mattered most to the club. In eight Istanbul derbies
against Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the league he was criticised for
adopting too cautious an approach. Bilic couldn't manage a single victory in
those games, losing five and having four players sent off in typically
heated affairs.
Bilic's playing style was aggressive and he has taken that mindset into
management, with his passion getting him in trouble on multiple occasions.
Having qualified for the Europa League's preliminary rounds due to their
disciplinary record last season, West Ham have had a player sent off in six
of their 10 competitive outings this season. There is a sense of chaos about
the side and it makes you wonder if the departure from the predictability
under Allardyce could have been too extreme.
They host Newcastle on Monday and anything less than a win would represent a
real disappointment for the fans. Another spectacular victory away from home
against Manchester City the following week would be even more bizarre than
their wins at the Emirates and Anfield, but it would be in keeping with the
start to Bilic's term.
If the fans desired a move away from the predictable nature of results the
team managed under Allardyce, their wishes have been granted. The grass may
yet be greener at the Olympic Stadium next season though, with Bilic's time
in charge already looking likely to be a tumultuous one.
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STRIKER SET FOR NEWCASTLE COMEBACK
By Michael Brown
readwetsham.com
West Ham only have two injury concerns going into the weekend clash with
Steve McClaren's Newcastle as Mauro Zarate could be fit to face the Magpies
on Monday night as well as former Newcastle player Andy Carroll, who has
also returned to training. Despite the good news, there are still two
players who won't be ready to play until the end of October. Alex Song, who
signed on Deadline Day, won't be ready to play until West Ham face Chelsea
on October 24 after undergoing surgery. Enner Valencia is still a little
further away from making his return as he is not expected to feature for
West Ham until the end of November – The Hammers' clash with Spurs being
touted as his return to action barring any setbacks.
West ham's head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke had this
to say about the on-going injuries at the club: "Mauro Zarate is progressing
well and working hard to return after suffering a hamstring injury in
training, with a view to returning to the group before the end of the week
"One of our new signings, Alex Song, is working hard – as you will have seen
on social media – and his ankle is improving, with a view to him returning
by the end of October. "Enner Valencia is rehabbing with a good positive
attitude and we hope to see him return by November."
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Amalfitano To Be Farmed Out To Tractor Boys
Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 10/09/2015 - 12:06
westhamfans.org
Morgan Amalfitano looks as if he will be the first of several West Ham
United players to be sent out on loan now the 'emergency' transfer window is
open. During the window, players may be loaned from the Barclays Premier
League to lower league clubs for up to three months. Championship team
Ipswich Town have expressed an interest in taking Amalfitano, who has fallen
out massively with Hammers manager Slaven Billic and has been banished to
train away from the first team. Hopes of a reconciliation between Amalfitano
and Billic, who is well known for his tough disciplinary approach, have not
come to fruition, thus making the player's position at the club untenable.
30 year old Amalfitano could well end up in the same team as ex-hammer
Freddie Sears, who has been a great success at Portman Road since his
arrival via Colchester. Ipswich are currently third in the Championship but
were beaten 3-2 at home by Brighton in their last match.
Some West Ham fans will be sorry to see Morgan Amalfitano leave the club,
but he does have a growing reputation for being indisciplined and perhaps
dropping down a division will show him what he is missing, and what he must
do to try and rebuild bridges. - Ed
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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WHUFC.com
Hello everybody,
We are still celebrating our victory over Liverpool and it was a great
performance from the team. We had good organisation and everything was
amazing. To end 52-years without a win is a long time for any team and the
coach prepared everything so well. We had a good game.
It is not just about one player but everyone in the team. When we have good
organisation everything gets better. When you win you enjoy the next game so
our preparations have a good feel about it at the moment and we want to put
things right (against Newcastle) because we are very annoyed about our last
two results at home. I hope the new signings will enjoy the West Ham
mentality and everything around the Club. The West Ham attitude is different
to other teams and I hope everyone is comfortable in this team. Alex Song is
a great signing for the Club. We need that kind of experience and he is
someone who has played at another level and it is great for us. We now look
forward to the Newcastle game on Monday night. It is not just about playing
under the lights, but we need to win for our home support. We are focused
and have to do everything to get the result. I want to concentrate and give
everything and all the players will prepare well to win the game. We have
been unlucky at home and we need to change and do something better than what
we did in the last two games. I am really enjoying life in London. I have an
English teacher and I want to improve my English. When I first arrived at
West Ham I said I wanted to improve so I can listen to everyone and
understand what everyone is saying. It might still take me six months to
understand Mark Noble and James Tomkins as they speak with a Cockney accent
but I will understand !!
See you on Monday.
Angelo
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Ricoh imagine change with the Hammers
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to announce an exciting long-term partnership
with global technology giant Ricoh. The deal will see Ricoh supporting West
Ham in servicing the new Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, bringing
state-of-the-art technologies to the Hammers' future home. The new
relationship will revolutionise the West Ham matchday experience come the
big kick-off in August 2016. Ricoh specialises in delivering business and
experience transformation via its IT and document services. The high-profile
partnership is the latest in the Club's ever-increasing sponsorship
portfolio, which continues to give the West Ham United brand further
prominence domestically and overseas.
West Ham United Commercial Director Felicity Barnard said: "We are
absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with a brand of this calibre. Ricoh has
a rich heritage and proven expertise in business and sports sponsorship.
"Above all, this will allow us to improve the supporter experience by
significantly enhancing our matchday offering. We believe this is a really
exciting partnership for the Club and look forward to working very closely
with Ricoh over the coming years."
Chas Moloney, Marketing Director at Ricoh, said: "We are delighted to have
become a partner of West Ham United and are excited to be working with them
on creating an exceptional fan experience at the new Stadium."
Ricoh are renowned for solutions that improve the interaction between people
and information. As a business, it prides itself on the quality of its
technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and
sustainability initiatives.
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Chauhan relishing life at West Ham
WHUFC.com
Indian international goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan spoke of her huge sense of
pride at playing for West Ham United Ladies. The shotstopper has attracted a
significant amount of media attention since joining the Hammers in the
summer. Speaking before the game against C & K Basildon at the Irons'
Hornchurch home later today, she said: "Playing for West Ham is a big
responsibility. But it is one that I enjoy and am very proud to be able to
play for them. "Since I joined, I've received a lot of messages from people
here and back home. I wasn't really expecting that to be honest. I feel like
I represent my country every time I play, which is a special feeling." While
the Hammers enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season campaign, Marc Nurse's side are
yet to recreate that form in the league, losing both of their opening games.
Despite the tough start, Chauhan is upbeat about her side's chances when
they play local rivals Basildon, who secured four points from their two
matches. "So far this season has certainly been an eye-opener. I feel
like I'm learning all the time and I can feel myself improving. "Overall, my
time in England has been a brilliant experience. I've really had a great
time, the people I've met have been fantastic. "It took a bit of time to
adjust, but the West Ham girls and the management have really helped me.
They've been so supportive and encouraging."
The Ladies host C & K Basildon at AFC Hornchurch tonight, kick off is
7.45pm.
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From the Newsroom - Dave Evans
WHUFC.com
The Recorder Group's West Ham United correspondent Dave Evans reflects on
the Hammers' start to the season and looks at a successful transfer
window...
In some ways the start of the season has been very West Ham, but then
winning at Anfield is not very West Ham as we all know.
That has to be one of the highlights for me, covering West Ham. It wasn't
just a smash and grab raid, but a superb performance. They outplayed
Liverpool and could have scored more.
They couldn't have complained had it been five. Liverpool barely had a
chance and that's not like West Ham games that I have seen there over the
years.
At home it has been a very different story so far, which is a bit of a
surprise because in recent times West Ham have been fairly good at home,
especially at the start of a season.
It's a bit of a puzzler. It seems that maybe the way Slaven has set up the
team has been great for away games, but if you set up the same way at home
it hasn't quite worked because teams sit back on you.
Perhaps he has to change things and perhaps these new signings will help do
that.
It certainly is strength in depth now, but also what West Ham have now is
something a bit different. Apart from Matt Jarvis they didn't really have a
winger. Now they've got two wingers and there's a lot of pace in that team.
I think that's going to help. He might have to play a slightly different
formation to play these wingers, but it gives him different options and if
Andy Carroll is coming back soon you're going to need wingers.
I'm hopeful for the season ahead, especially with the people he has added to
the squad. If there are injuries there are players to cover now.
I'm hoping for a little bit better than mid-table, although mid-table would
be fine this season because the most important thing is to stay in the
Premier League.
I'm thinking eighth, ninth, seventh. Who knows? But I think that would be a
good first season with the squad that he's got.
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Downing - easy to leave West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 10th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Stewart Downing says he still has no regrets about leaving
West Ham in the summer - even though it meant dropping a division. The
31-year-old attacking midfielder, speaking in an interview with BBC Tees
claimed it was "an easy decision" to return to his boyhood club, once their
interest became apparent. "I'd spoken to the chairman and [manager] Aitor
[Karanka] and they had good plans here and were looking to strengthen the
team," he said. "He wanted me to be part of that playing as a number 10 or
as a wide man. "For me, it was a very easy decision to make. The chairman
asked if I was up for it and I said 'if you can make the deal happen and you
get me out of West Ham then I'm happy to come back'. "I gave my word that if
it happens then I'll be straight back. Fair play to the chairman, he did it
and got me back as quickly as he could."
The former England international spent two seasons at the Boleyn Ground and
played some of the best football of his career during the first half of last
season under Sam Allardyce. However his form - like that of the rest of the
squad - dipped alarmingly after Christmas and few Hammers fans were
disappointed to see him return to to the North East in July.
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Michail Antonio at West Ham: Winger's journey from non-league
Last Updated: 08/09/15 7:16pm
SSN
Michail Antonio could complete his journey from non-league to Premier League
when West Ham host Newcastle United on Monday Night Football. Adam Bate got
the views of ex-team-mates and coaches to find out more about the Hammers'
new signing…
With Slaven Bilic's West Ham facing Steve McClaren's Newcastle, much of the
focus ahead of Monday Night Football will be on events that happened in
November 2007. It's indicative of how far he's come that West Ham's new £7m
signing Michail Antonio was lining up for Tooting & Mitcham United in the
second tier of the Isthmian League at the time.
Antonio's route to the top has been far from typical. There was no academy
life for him. Even when the big break did come with Reading, he made more
appearances out on loan at five different clubs than he did in four years
for his parent club. Former West Ham man Martin Allen, then in charge of
Cheltenham, was one of the coaches to give him a go.
"I took him on loan," Allen told Sky Sports. "He was a very pacey
right-sider with a long throw. A good athlete and a down-to-earth lad too."
But he was raw. During a later loan spell at Colchester, manager John Ward
described his finishing as "very wayward", bemoaning Antonio's unfortunate
habit of "knocking it on the A12".
There was potential but it would not be realised with the Royals. "Reading
took him and then let him go, surprisingly," added Allen. "They didn't
really sell him for enough money." It was in a Sheffield Wednesday shirt
that Antonio's development would really become apparent - off the field as
well as on it.
David Prutton, now a pundit with Sky Sports, was a team-mate for much of
Antonio's stay at Hillsborough and remains in touch. "I rang him before the
Forest game at the start of the season for a bit of insight," said Prutton.
"He was as good as gold and had plenty of time for me. Let's just say some
players might have been too busy.
"That non-league experience gives him perspective and the grounding you want
in a player. When he came to Wednesday, there was a bit of maturing that
happened that first season that endeared him to the lads too. He really grew
into it. That temperament is going to stand him in good stead."
He was a tremendous team-mate because of the attributes that he's got. He's
tremendously strong and quick. He's just so direct.
It's not that Antonio didn't have an ego, but that it was a positive - "you
need that to perform in front of 20,000 people" - and it wasn't long before
he emerged as Wednesday's most important player. In one of the
Championship's struggling sides, Antonio was the man who provided the
threat.
"He was a tremendous team-mate because of the attributes that he's got,"
said Prutton. "He's tremendously strong and quick. He's just so direct. When
you're at a team like Wednesday were at the time, what you want is that kind
of outlet like Antonio who can carry the ball 40 or 50 yards up the pitch.
He was a massive player for us."
A move to Nottingham Forest followed in 2014 and Antonio proved just as
vital to his new club. He scored 14 goals in the Championship last season
and ranked in the top three in the division for completed dribbles. Prutton,
a former Forest midfielder himself, feels that solo work should not be
underestimated - it's teamwork of a different type.
"There was one stage at Forest last season when Andy Reid and Britt
Assombalonga were out where it was literally, 'Let's give it to Antonio and
see what he can do with it'. That might sound like fun but when it's 90
minutes, twice a week for 10 months, that's going to take its toll. But he
understood and embraced that responsibility." And then some.
There was the goal against Bolton last season where he ran from inside his
own half before cutting inside to score with his right foot, having already
done something similar with his left foot against Brentford earlier in the
campaign. The control and composure to equalise against Fulham last
September was top class too. He's already scored four goals this season.
Now Antonio's lengthy journey from non-league to Premier League is complete.
In contrast, it's a relatively short one via the London Underground from
Tooting & Mitcham's Imperial Fields in Morden to West Ham's Upton Park and
while Antonio admits he's thrilled to be "back in London", the challenge
ahead of him is rather different now.
"West Ham brings the instant glare of the Premier League and competition for
places," said Prutton. "He's not going there as the main man as he was at
Wednesday and he became at Forest. He'll have to harness his performances
for the team but he can do that and it's all part of the learning curve."
Nevertheless, Antonio is confident of making an impact. "What I bring to the
table is pace, power and goals," he told his new club upon signing. Allen
agrees. "I think it's a very good signing - and a very exciting signing -
for West Ham." Bilic has no Luka Modric this time. But maybe it'll be a man
from Mitcham that can help ruin McClaren's night eight years on.
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HOME SWEET HOME
By Bianca Westwood 10 Sep 2015 at 17:00
WTID
I have a confession to make. Don't judge me. Ok you'll definitely judge me.
I haven't watched any international football. Not a goal, not a throw in,
not even a single kick. Tell a lie…I saw Rooney's 50th goal (well done
Wayne!) go in via a tiny, grainy video shot from the stands at Wembley on
someone's Facebook page. "Call yourself a football fan?!" Yeah some might
say that. I know. I get it. I just fell out of love with the internationals
somewhere in South America. Possibly before. That's not to say it won't
return. It usually does. Nine times out of ten I get whisked away with the
hype and the pre-tournament hope of the mad fan/media frenzy but I must
admit, last time out I felt a bit resigned even before Pitbull and JLo
started singing that dreadful World Cup song. I was as deflated as one of
Tom Brady's balls. After that debacle in Brazil not even Roy's 100% record
in the European qualifiers this time round could rouse me from my
indifference. I've always, always, always loved our national team…but this
time I just couldn't fake it. I've been led up the garden path way too many
times. How many years of hurt is it now?
So I'll be more than happy when the domestic action returns to our pitches
and screens this weekend. Natch. It's oh so quiet without it.
What a season we've had already. Even by West Ham's erratic standards it's
been a doozy. Ever heard of the Land of Topsy Turvy? (SJ Chandos I wrote
this before I saw your post and it's half past ten at night I'm not changing
it now ha!!) Where everything is downside up and outside in? I feel like
that's where we are right now! Who would have predicted a scintillating win
at the Emirates and a precious, but quite anomalous, victory at Anfield,
interwoven with a couple of abject performances at Upton Park against, no
disrespect, inferior opposition of the likes of Leicester and Bournemouth?
What's going on at the Boleyn then? Perhaps you can tell me because I don't
get there as much these days. I know the atmosphere is far less fierce and
foreboding for visiting teams than it once was. The fire and the fury seems
to be reserved for our own a lot of the time. I was listening down the line
from the gantry at the Valley when Soccer Saturday's Sir Jeffrey of Stelling
disdainfully revealed the Hammers fans were booing after twenty odd minutes.
That really disappointed me. It seems like we're so quick to turn nowadays.
Ok we were two nil down at the time but it's still too early to go rogue.
This isn't The Sons of Anarchy! We're not supposed to shoot each other. Not
unless our backs are really against the wall anyway.
I remember interviewing Big Sam last season about our unfavourable home form
and it was extremely unpleasant to learn how difficult it was for some
players to perform comfortably and confidently at Upton Park. He spoke to me
about how hesitant and reticent they would be at times, how uncomfortable on
the ball, how nervous of making a mistake and being the one responsible for
turning the tide and rousing the rabble. He didn't name names but I had an
idea of who he might be referring to. He also accepted that the
responsibility of developing their strength mentally and tactically was
ultimately down to him. He wasn't shirking, but it was revealing. It made me
think deeper about how important fans actually are. They can often make you
or break you. I don't have anyone screaming at me how useless I am when I'm
trying to work (not offline anyway!) so I don't know how it feels but I'm
sure it isn't the best environment to be in. I'm not having that 'we pay
their wages we can say what we like/they earn fortunes they should be able
to take it' argument either. There is a human element here.
It's not the fans' fault if things go wrong on the pitch either. Of course
it's not. If they feel the players aren't pulling their weight then they're
entitled to voice their displeasure in some way. But this is supposed to be
a collective. We're all in this together aren't we? Booing is not the
answer. I've said this before but it gets nasty too quickly and that's not
how Upton Park used to be. It doesn't make the players play any better.
That's why Bilic earns the big bucks. It's down to him to ring the changes
and solve the problems and, largely, he has done that to good effect in both
those home matches. Even in defeat there was never a capitulation or a
return to the long ball boredom that had us so enraptured last term. We
haven't sat back on leads away from home either. Ok so we've parked the bus
here and there but the handbrake was off wasn't it?! Or was it on? I can't
remember but the signs are good. Plus we have a few different names on the
team sheet this season who may be more able to withstand public and vocal
pressure. We'll see. I don't know if that particular monkey is still hanging
off of their backs but after the two home disasters we've had so far, Monday
night will be an interesting spectacle. Let's hope it's not the Hammers'
house of horror!
Does this mean if we lose then there's a problem at the Boleyn? I suppose it
depends on the nature of the performance, the effort, the end product. I
have to say I'm far more confident than I've been in recent years. Not
because it's a misfiring Newcastle we face either. After West Ham's
extravagant spending spree over the summer and in the transfer window we
look very well equipped. I'd say the the chairmen are extremely happy
shoppers. We have a quality squad there, with all sorts of attributes and
strengths at our disposal. More on that another time.
If Slav can get his players, both old and new, to realise their potential
and play with the freedom, poise and self-assurance we want to see, we
really could have an exciting team on our hands. The fans also have a vital
part to play! Maybe Hammers' years of hurt could be over…for a while at
least!!
Come On You Irons!!
B x
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WE COULD STILL STRUGGLE, SO LET'S SING WHEN WE'RE LOSING.
By Neil Clack 10 Sep 2015 at 08:00
WTID
I've read and heard a lot about the excellent atmosphere generated at
Crystal Palace these days. How do they do it? Is it the acoustics of their
old-style ground? One theory is that the South Londoners don't attract 'new
fans', so are still an old school community club (unlike their neighbours,
Chelsea and Fulham). Also too, it seems the fans are well-organised,
modeling themselves, and their singing, along continental lines.
No doubt there's a lot of truth in all of that, but I'd like to add one of
my own, and that is that ever since Palace came up in 2013, the extent of
their fans' expectations has simply been to stay up (well, until this
season, at least). From the very first kick of the first home match of the
season to the last, they've known that they're in for a struggle, and the
aim is to finish 4th from bottom – and they're fully aware that will
inevitably entail a few home defeats and conceding silly goals.
As recently as 2010, Crystal Palace nearly went bankrupt, and survival in
the Championship was only secured on the final day of the 2009/10 season.
They were still hovering around the bottom of the Championship in 2011, but
then somehow, against all odds, in the spring of 2013, they went on a run
and sneaked into 6th place in the Championship. Then, astoundingly, Palace
won the play-offs. Their fans just seem grateful to even be in the Premier
League, and seem to be loving every minute of it, singing their hearts out
like there's no tomorrow. It's been commented upon a lot how they continue
to sing, chant, bang at Selhurst Park even when they're losing.
For many of us who grew up in the electric atmosphere of Upton Park in the
70s and 80s, one of the most disappointing aspects of the West Ham crowd
today isn't so much the booing, as disagreeable as that is, but the lengthy
silences during passages of play, and the general all-round quietness.
Sometimes it seems we only make any noise when we score, and then it only
lasts for a few minutes before quietening down again. Back in the day, when
the opposition scored and the away fans cheered and sung, a lot of Hammers
fans would take that as an affront, and try to drown them out. Indeed, the
roar of 'C'mon You Irons' was often at it's most loudest just after the
oppostion had scored and we were about to kick off; the crowd desperately
wanted to spur their team on, get them back into the match.
Ok, so the terraces have gone, and times have changed, and I accept that you
can't live in the past, but what about that play-off semi-final against
Ipswich in 2004? Upton Park was rockin' that night, a deafening wall of
sound emanating from every part of the ground, as good as anything from the
70s, and we kept it up for the whole 90 minutes too. So, I cannot accept
that we can't make more noise at Upton Park.
But the will has to be there.
We can do it if really want to, but maybe first, we have to change our
mindset?
I was quite stunned whenever I broke my vow of promising to switch off from
football completely this summer, and sneaked a look at West Ham Til I Die. I
couldn't believe how high expectations were. Had my mind be playing tricks
with me from last Xmas to May? Had I imagined what I thought I saw at Upton
Park? – what I saw, or at least, what I thought I saw, anyway, was some
awful football, and a team that had the 3rd worst record in the Premier
league during that period ie. relegation form – a team that was certain to
go down this season if that form continued, and yet, posters on WHTID were
seriously discussing qualifying for Europe this season, talking about
finishing in the top 10 as if it was given. Based on what?
Ok, there's been a change of manager, and a few new signings (many of whom
are untried in Prem league), but personally, I'm under no illusion that this
season could be a struggle. Perhaps years of supporting West Ham have made
me cynical, and I've suffered too many West Ham disappointments in the past,
experienced too many relegations that we didn't see coming etc
But accepting we're going to struggle is a good place to start if you don't
want to get disappointed, ha,ha!
And maybe that's one of the reasons for the often subdued atmosphere at
Upton Park, and the horrible booing – expectations were too high in the
first place. When unrealistic aims aren't met that leads to disappointment,
followed by anger, and even booing?
I guess we're all a bit confused about our team at the moment. Which is the
real West Ham? The two excellent away perfomances, or the disorganised
shambles in the home games? It's not the results against Leicester and
Bournmouth that worries me, but the manner of those defeats. It wasn't just
the mistakes on the goals, but the defence was constanlty giving the ball
away all game long. I have to say though, my fears of relegation were
certainly eased by that brilliant historic day in Liverpool. No doubt I'll
start fretting again when we lose to Newcastle next Monday, only to change
my mind 5 days later when we go up to Man City and stuff them on the
Saturday!
For now though, until these muddy waters have cleared, I still fear
relegation. So, starting with the relegation 6-pointer against Newcastle (a
team who I seriously think could go down this season), let's get right
behind the team, lower those expectations, and Sing When We're Losing!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Sport Football West Ham United FC
West Ham midfielder Alex Song pencilled in for October return from ankle
injury
15:52, 10 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
The Cameroon international has rejoined the club from Barcelona on a second
loan deal but has been struggled with an ankle problem
The Mirror
Alex Song will be fit to resume his West Ham career next month. Midfielder
Song, who spent last term on loan at Upton Park, rejoined the Hammers on
deadline day on a season-long loan from Barcelona. The move was held up due
to concerns about the 28 year-old's fitness.
But Song has been pencilled in for an end-of-October comeback from his ankle
injury. The Hammer also hope to have striker Enner Valencia back ahead of
schedule in November after he suffered "significant" ankle and knee injuries
at the start of the season. Forward Mauro Zarate is closing in on a return
after missing West Ham's last two games with a hamstring injury.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce alert: Big Sam starts bleating on Twitter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Well it had to happen eventually – Sam Allardyce has arrived on Twitter!
We've always had a sneaky feeling the bloke kept a keen eye on everything
that was happen in La La land. And now, along with the likes of Joey Barton
and a certain Harry Redknapp, he is among us.
If you would like to send a loving message to the former Hammers boss we're
sure he would like to hear from you. You can reach him at: @OfficialBigSam
The old boy has managed just one tweet so far and his profile picture
appears to be the front cover of his forthcoming autobiography.
So far, Allardyce has attracted more than 3,000 followers.
No doubt, he'll soon be getting a few more. And then the fun will really
begin!
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For goodness sake, Downing – this is getting boring!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Stewart Downing really does need to get over his departure from West Ham and
sudden move back to the north east.
The bloke just can't keep his criticism of West Ham to himself and seems to
be on the mother of all missions to slag off his former employers.
Downing has twice taken a pop at manager Slaven Bilic for refusing to give
him assurances that he'd be part of his first team plans and thus scarpered
to the Championship with Middlesbrough.
You would have thought that after repeating that at least twice he'd
possibly believe that was enough! But nope, this time he has his sights set
on owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
He's now popped up on BBC Radio Tees to mouth his frustrations at the two
Davids for keeping his transfer "up in the air", claiming they make exits
'difficult and suggesting that the pair are entertaining in their activity.
He said: "Some days I thought 'I could be heading back home today' and then
another week [would go by] and a fee [still] has to be agreed.
"West Ham is obviously a difficult place to get out of. If you've ever dealt
with the owners… they're certainly entertaining."
The former England international suggested that his move to Middlesbrough
was made more difficult by having to negotiate with Gold and Sullivan.
However, he also admitted the pair did what was best for their club – even
if that left players frustrated at times.
He really does need to give it a rest. His was a very small move and the
whole saga has become very boring!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cottee on Carroll: it's now 'make or break' for Andy
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Tony Cottee reckons record signing, Andy Carroll, could move on if things
don't work out for him at Upton Park this season! The former Hammers
goal-scoring legend has given his frankest ever interview in the
ClaretandHugh interview section of the MooreThanJustaPodcast, which will can
be heard early next week. "We have four fantastic strikers when they re all
fit and whether AC will be happy as a sub I don't know, but I doubt it,"
commented Cottee. "If, at the end of the season, he hasn't got in as a
regular, like Paul Goddard in my day, who couldn't get past Frank McAvennie,
or myself, and moved on – Andy may do the same." In the podcast, TC covers
his own Irons days as a player, the Allardyce era and gives his assessment
on this season's "best since the turn of the century"squad.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Options galore but here's our Irons team
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 10, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Slaven Bilic has more options in front of him for Monday night's game than
many West Ham managers before him. But this in itself can cause a dilemma
particularly with various well rated newcomers he may or may not choose to
draft into the side. An argument has been presented on some forums that we
can hardly change the team to that which scored such an historic victory at
Anfield – I disagree. That team was set up as a counter-attacking outfit and
has already been shown that is not a system which works at the Boleyn where
we HAVE to carry the game to opponents. You can bet your life away that
struggling Newcastle, with two points from four games and second off bottom,
will come to defend and thus we need to find a way of at last getting that
much needed win at home. It's a very long time since we have had the
wonderful problem in front of us but it makes team selection – as mentioned
up top – very difficult.
Carl Jenkinson has served out a one match ban and is available but I'd stick
with James Tomkins at right back behind Victor Moses Reid, Ogbonna and
Cresswell speak for themselves with Noble, Kouyate and Moses in an advanced
right sided role. I'd plump for Antonio on the other side with Payet behind
Sakho as main striker of course. But it's a tough old call and is hard on
Manuel Lanzini who looked a real prospect at Liverpool and Mauro Zarate (if
fit) who has done nothing wrong. Oh and we haven't mentioned Andy Carroll!
But at last we have a squad we can rotate. We are stepping up a level and I
thing the side I've named would give us the attacking impetus and creativity
we need to get results.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The curious, confusing case of West Ham's start to life under Slaven Bilic
They have scored a lot of goals and beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away, but
they have also lost to Leicester and Bournemouth at home. At least it's not
boring
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored?, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Thursday 10 September 2015 10.33 BST
A fair proportion of West Ham fans were given their wish when Sam Allardyce
left the club at the end of last season. The supporters had become tired of
what was considered a predictable style of play, despite the way he took
them out of the Championship and established the club as a solid Premier
League outfit in his four years in charge.
Signing Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbonna in
the summer lifted the supporters' spirits further, with all four players
having already proven their quality at times this season. Payet in
particular was a real coup and he has made a strong start to the campaign,
with a goal and an assist and the highest averages of key passes (2.3) and
dribbles (2.5) per game for the club.
A flurry of business on deadline day will also have excited many supporters
but, despite adding strength in depth, the additional numbers may confuse
matters a little. Victor Moses and Michail Antonio look like shrewd signings
but fitting them in alongside Payet and Lanzini will be a difficult task,
while Alex Song's return could restrict Obiang's playing time. All of the
players have made the squad stronger but keeping them all content will prove
a tough ask.
Transfer deadline day: De Gea deal off, Berahino anger, Martial signs and
more – as it happened
Interesting that Liverpool have let Ilori, Coates & Glen Johnson leave.
Presumably that means there were at least 3 defenders worse than Lovren at
the club.
Read more
Nevertheless, the fact that Slaven Bilic's reign has begun in such
unpredictable fashion both on and off the pitch has gone some way to giving
the supporters what they wanted. However, while the Croatian has only been
at the club for a few months, it's fair to say the novelty of upsetting the
odds at Arsenal and Liverpool while losing winnable fixtures at home is
unlikely to last.
The positives to take from beating two of the league's big hitters are
dampened by poor displays at home in the club's last season at the Boleyn
Ground. The supporters would love to bid farewell to their old ground with
far more impressive showings than they managed against Leicester and
Bournemouth.
The ease with which their defence was exposed in these games is a real
concern. A tally of three errors that have led directly to goals is
unsurprisingly the highest in the top flight and already half of what they
accrued under Allardyce last season.
West Ham's surprising wins on the road have come courtesy of a
counter-attacking style of play that, while effective in away matches, is
unlikely to be well received at home in games supporters expect to win. It's
on the break though, that their best players can thrive and it's an approach
that has helped the club score the second most goals in the Premier League
after four matches (nine, behind only Manchester City on 10).
West Ham are one of only six teams to have scored in all of their matches so
far, having failed to score in seven of their last 14 league games under
Allardyce. It took them 15 games – stretching back to 8 February – to score
as many league goals at the end of Allardyce's tenure as they have managed
in the first month of this season under Bilic. Those are the sort of figures
that will justify the decision to part ways with Allardyce, but the security
he offered the team has been jeopardised.
Throughout his managerial career Bilic has given off the impression that he
likes being the underdog, presiding over impressive performances against
English opposition in both club and international football in the past.
Already, with the pressure off, West Ham have thrived under his leadership
away from home, with his motivational skills and infectious personality
paying dividends.
However, the jury remains out on the Croat's tactical acumen. His time in
Besiktas is considered as something of a failure due to his inability to win
the matches that mattered most to the club. In eight Istanbul derbies
against Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the league he was criticised for
adopting too cautious an approach. Bilic couldn't manage a single victory in
those games, losing five and having four players sent off in typically
heated affairs.
Bilic's playing style was aggressive and he has taken that mindset into
management, with his passion getting him in trouble on multiple occasions.
Having qualified for the Europa League's preliminary rounds due to their
disciplinary record last season, West Ham have had a player sent off in six
of their 10 competitive outings this season. There is a sense of chaos about
the side and it makes you wonder if the departure from the predictability
under Allardyce could have been too extreme.
They host Newcastle on Monday and anything less than a win would represent a
real disappointment for the fans. Another spectacular victory away from home
against Manchester City the following week would be even more bizarre than
their wins at the Emirates and Anfield, but it would be in keeping with the
start to Bilic's term.
If the fans desired a move away from the predictable nature of results the
team managed under Allardyce, their wishes have been granted. The grass may
yet be greener at the Olympic Stadium next season though, with Bilic's time
in charge already looking likely to be a tumultuous one.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
STRIKER SET FOR NEWCASTLE COMEBACK
By Michael Brown
readwetsham.com
West Ham only have two injury concerns going into the weekend clash with
Steve McClaren's Newcastle as Mauro Zarate could be fit to face the Magpies
on Monday night as well as former Newcastle player Andy Carroll, who has
also returned to training. Despite the good news, there are still two
players who won't be ready to play until the end of October. Alex Song, who
signed on Deadline Day, won't be ready to play until West Ham face Chelsea
on October 24 after undergoing surgery. Enner Valencia is still a little
further away from making his return as he is not expected to feature for
West Ham until the end of November – The Hammers' clash with Spurs being
touted as his return to action barring any setbacks.
West ham's head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke had this
to say about the on-going injuries at the club: "Mauro Zarate is progressing
well and working hard to return after suffering a hamstring injury in
training, with a view to returning to the group before the end of the week
"One of our new signings, Alex Song, is working hard – as you will have seen
on social media – and his ankle is improving, with a view to him returning
by the end of October. "Enner Valencia is rehabbing with a good positive
attitude and we hope to see him return by November."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Amalfitano To Be Farmed Out To Tractor Boys
Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 10/09/2015 - 12:06
westhamfans.org
Morgan Amalfitano looks as if he will be the first of several West Ham
United players to be sent out on loan now the 'emergency' transfer window is
open. During the window, players may be loaned from the Barclays Premier
League to lower league clubs for up to three months. Championship team
Ipswich Town have expressed an interest in taking Amalfitano, who has fallen
out massively with Hammers manager Slaven Billic and has been banished to
train away from the first team. Hopes of a reconciliation between Amalfitano
and Billic, who is well known for his tough disciplinary approach, have not
come to fruition, thus making the player's position at the club untenable.
30 year old Amalfitano could well end up in the same team as ex-hammer
Freddie Sears, who has been a great success at Portman Road since his
arrival via Colchester. Ipswich are currently third in the Championship but
were beaten 3-2 at home by Brighton in their last match.
Some West Ham fans will be sorry to see Morgan Amalfitano leave the club,
but he does have a growing reputation for being indisciplined and perhaps
dropping down a division will show him what he is missing, and what he must
do to try and rebuild bridges. - Ed
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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Thursday, September 10
Daily WHUFC News - 10th September 2015
Classic Match - Boys of '86 batter Baggies
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Boys of '86 were virtually unbeatable at the Boleyn Ground
during their record-setting 1985/86 season. The Hammers won 17 and lost just
two of their 21 home Division One matches, scoring 48 goals and conceding
just 16. John Lyall's team hit top form at home to West Bromwich Albion on
30 November 1985, with Alan Devonshire, George Parris, Geoff Pike and Neil
Orr scoring in a 4-0 victory that took the Hammers third in the table. On
Monday 14 September, the Boys of '86 will be honoured as part of the Club's
Farewell Boleyn celebrations at the Barclays Premier League fixture with
Newcastle United.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
We have had a different sort of week this week, with it being the
international break and eleven players being away on duty with their
countries, and four new signings to work with.
With less players around, it gives us the opportunity to focus even more
closely on the rehabilitation with the injured players, and on getting the
new signings and those players returning from injury fitter and sharper.
At the end of the micro cycle we had with the smaller squad, we held an
11v11 match at Chadwell Heath to simulate match conditions and give valuable
minutes to the likes of Andy Carroll, Michail Antonio, Victor Moses and
Nikica Jelavic.
We hope to have all the players back from international duty free from
injury and it will be good to get the whole group back together on Friday,
after the players' day off, and then we will be fully focused on preparing
them for Monday's home game against Newcastle United.
Injury-wise, we do not have too much to report.
Mauro Zarate is progressing well and working hard to return after suffering
a hamstring injury in training, with a view to returning to the group before
the end of the week.
One of our new signings, Alex Song is working hard – as you will have seen
on social media – and his ankle improving, with a view to him returning by
the end of October.
Enner Valencia is rehabbing with a good positive attitude and we hope to see
him return by November, while finally Joey O'Brien is still recovering from
a calf injury.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cresswell excited by new arrivals
WHUFc.com
Aaron Cresswell says he is excited by the four new arrivals on transfer
deadline day and hopes the Club enjoy a memorable final season at the Boleyn
Ground. After beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, Slaven Bilic was left
celebrating again when the Club enjoyed a great end to the transfer window
bringing in Alex Song, Victor Moses, Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic.
Cresswell played with Song last season and knows the quality he will bring
to the first-team. The talented full-back is also relishing the chance to
play alongside the other three arrivals and feels the squad is looking very
strong and has strength in depth throughout the team. Cresswell said: "There
were four who came in on the last day, and we know Alex from before. "But
the ones that came in during the summer as well have been fantastic from the
moment they walked in the door and hopefully the new boys can hit the ground
running straight away as well on Monday (against Newcastle).
"We have brought four in and it definitely adds to our strength in depth."
Cresswell is still celebrating the famous win at Anfield last week and says
it was a day he will never forget – especially as most of his family were
sitting in the Liverpool end !! The Hammers managed to finally end 52-years
without getting an away win over the Reds and the Hammers full-back says all
the players are brimming with confidence over the international break.
Cresswell produced a superb display in the West Ham defence and was happy to
put behind him the mistakes that were made against Bournemouth in the
previous home game. He added: "My dad used to take me to Liverpool games
when I was younger and I used to go myself when I was a bit older. "To turn
Liverpool over away, 3-0 at Anfield was a great achievement and a real team
performance. "It was extra special because all my family were there, they
were all sitting in the Liverpool end. They are all Liverpool fans, so it
was a great day all round. "We were so full of confidence after the game and
we would have liked to have played the next day. But coming off the back of
that victory at Anfield, where we hadn't won in 52 years, it was a good day
all round. "I take full responsibility for the two sloppy mistakes I made
(against Bournemouth), but that is where you know you have to be strong and
you have to bounce back. To do it at Anfield was special. "Every footballer
has ups and downs and you have to take the good with the bad and be a strong
player."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lanzini scores wonder goal
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's new signings Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic wasted no
time getting among the goals in training but it was Manuel Lanzini who stole
the show as the players looked to impress Slaven Bilic ahead of the Monday
night game against Newcastle. In a training ground match, Antonio showed his
aerial ability when he scored from a corner and Jelavic scored with an
impressive diving header from close-range. But the pick of the bunch came
from Lanzini who followed up his first Premier League goal at Anfield with a
sublime piece of skill when he scored a rabona goal to show his quality once
again.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHAT A KOP OUT
By Iron Liddy 9 Sep 2015 at 17:00
WTID
I was thinking about what Sean said in bed yesterday morning …. hmm, perhaps
I should rephrase that. See the trouble that bad grammar can get you into?!
I was in bed yesterday morning thinking about the fact that Sean had just
referred to the new East stand in the OS as 'Kop style' in his article on
Claret & Hugh and as comments started to trickle in I could see that I'm not
alone in being unhappy about the term. As a West Ham supporter who has
already bought my seat in the East stand I have a particularly vested
interest in what it's called and I admit that it did rankle when the term
'Kop' was bandied about during Karren Brady's marketing videos and at our
presentation at the reservation centre back in May.
As I lay there pondering the issue I realised that I didn't even know where
the name 'Kop' originated. Being a bit of an anorak when it comes to
etymology I decided to Google. No doubt many of you football buffs are
already cognisant with its origin but I hope you'll bear with me while I
share the story for the benefit of those who aren't, because it is actually
quite an interesting piece of football history.
To me the Kop has always been synonymous with Anfield and I've always
presumed that it was peculiar to that stadium; so I was surprised to learn
that the first time the term was applied to a football stand was actually at
Woolwich Arsenal's Manor Ground in 1904. A local newsman likened the
silhouette of fans standing on a newly raised bank of earth to soldiers
standing atop the hill at the Battle of Spion Kop.
The Battle of Spion Kop had been fought four years earlier during the Second
Boer War on 23rd and 24th January 1900. It was fought between the South
African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one hand and British
forces on the other, during the campaign to relieve the nearby city of
Ladysmith. Spion Kop was the largest hill in the region, being over 430
metres (1,410 ft) in height and it lay almost exactly at the centre of the
Boer line. If the British could capture this position and bring artillery to
the hill then they would command the flanks of the surrounding Boer
positions. As it transpired, it was a British defeat.
Of all the Boer War battles Spion Kop retains an appalling notoriety for the
incompetence of British leadership and the slaughter of the small number of
men engaged on each side in the struggle for the top of the hill. The battle
graphically showed the failure of the British Army to understand the
requirements of modern warfare as their tactics failed to cope with powerful
long range artillery and magazine rifle fire. In addition it highlighted the
need for proper systems of communications and reconnaissance, as well as
maintenance of chains of command in action and training and leadership at
all levels.
It is also famous for being the battle during which the young Winston
Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi found themselves on the same hillside.
Churchill was a journalist stationed in South Africa and he had also been
commissioned as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse by General
Buller after his well publicised escape from Boer captivity. Churchill acted
as a courier to and from Spion Kop and General Buller's HQ; while Gandhi
performed the role of stretcher-bearer in the Indian Ambulance Corps he had
organised.
Although the common English name for the battle is Spion Kop, throughout the
Commonwealth and its historical literature the official South African
English and Afrikaans name for the battle is Spioenkop. Spioen means "spy"
or "look-out", and kop means "hill" or "outcropping."
In 1906 Liverpool Echo sports editor Ernest Edwards pinched the London
journalist's term for Arsenal's bank of earth when he wrote of a new
open-air embankment at Anfield:
"This huge wall of earth has been termed 'Spion Kop', and no doubt this apt
name will always be used in future in referring to this spot."
The name was formally applied in 1928 upon construction of a roof.
Subsequently Liverpool FC fans have credited the Kop with being a memorial
to the fact that it was members of the Lancashire regiments who fell during
the battle but in fact regiments from all over the UK were present and also
suffered losses.
Further research revealed a bigger gap in my knowledge of football grounds
than I originally thought. Although it was the first terrace officially
named Spion Kop, many other English football clubs and some Rugby league
clubs applied the same name to stands in later years. Villa Park's old Holte
End was historically the largest of all Kop ends, closely followed by the
old South Bank at Molineux, both once regularly holding crowds in excess of
30,000. In more modern times work was completed on Hillsborough's Kop in the
mid 1980s which, with a capacity of around 22,000, made it the biggest
standing area in Europe at the time. After the Hillsborough disaster in
1989, the Kop was the last part of the Sheffield Wednesday ground to be
converted to all-seater accommodation, the change finally coming in 1993 to
comply with new FA Premier League regulations following the Taylor Report.
This had the effect of halving the capacity, but the Hillsborough Kop
remains one of the largest single tier stands in Britain.
A full list of British grounds with a history of a Kop stand can be found
here: Spion Kop Stadiums
Worried that it was just me who was oblivious to the history and existence
of Spion Kop stands in British football grounds and that my article would
have you all tutting and yawning, I quizzed Mr Lids. He also didn't know the
origin of the term or that it was applicable to any ground other than
Anfield. So cheers Sean, thanks to you I learned something new in bed
yesterday morning that my husband couldn't have taught me! ;)
So now we're all up to speed on Spion Kop stands I can't say that I'm any
more enamoured with it as a name for our new East stand at the OS. 'Iron
Kop' might have a bit of a ring to it in parodical terms but it's not
exactly auspicious is it? The site of a British defeat due to the
incompetency of our leaders. Not only that, you can't help but think of a
seething mass of Scousers whenever the name is mentioned. Nah.
So we need a name for the East stand. The North and South stands are already
taken care of and will proudly bear the names of our heroes Messrs Moore &
Brooking as they do at the Boleyn. No doubt the West stand will be the
Betway stand for the foreseeable future but the East remains nameless, as
far as we know.
Inevitably the question has already been posed and I've seen many calls for
it to be called the Chicken Run in order to retain the links with our past.
As a sucker for nostalgia myself I can empathise with that desire but the
compact, almost cosy image that the name conjures up seems too incongruous
with the vastness of our new East stand somehow. Personally I think it would
be good to have at least one stand with a brand new name to reflect both our
history and our new era and that the ghosts of the Chicken Run are better
left swaying gently in the past.
So instead of getting out of bed to feed the cats and make the tea I lay
there thinking laterally. With a founder fortuitously named Arnold Hills
that would seem an obvious choice, what with the word 'kop' being Afrikaans
for 'hill'. In your best Julie Andrews voice: "The Hills are alive with the
sound of Bubbles …." Perhaps not.
This set me off thinking about hills and high places in Newham ….. Beckton
Ski Slope? Nope, that's just taking the piste. Probably the highest points
games at The Boleyn have been watched from are the flats in Priory Road or
the block that used to stand behind the North Bank; which was famously, and
dangerously, used as a grandstand when West Ham played Hereford in an FA Cup
fourth round replay in 1972. 'ealf and Safety? That's for yer bloody pansies
innit, as dear old Alf would say.
Hmm, The Priory? That sounds like an appropriate place for 20,000 poor souls
hopelessly addicted to West Ham with little chance of recovery. I don't
think I want to sit in a stand with a name that's synonymous with
rehabilitation though ….. in the words of Luther Ingram, if loving you is
wrong, I don't wanna be right.
What about our shipbuilding heritage? Surely that's a rich vein of
inspiration I pondered. A bit of horizontal Googling revealed that the final
battleship to be built by Thames Ironworks was HMS Thunderer, the last and
largest warship ever built on the River Thames. The Thunderer? That isn't a
bad name for a wall of noise. However, further reading revealed that before
she was built Thames Ironworks had been struggling for some time, with most
orders going to the Northern yards. Arnold Hills threatened parliament with
the prospect of some awkward questions and as a result Thames Ironworks
received the order for the Thunderer. Although it was a very important and
prestigious order, the building of HMS Thunderer broke the shipyard. Even
though Britain was in the grip of a massive naval shipbuilding race the
banks withdrew their loans and the Thames Ironworks shipyard at Bow creek
went into bankruptcy, causing massive unemployment in Blackwall and Canning
Town. Not such a good omen then.
Next I began to think about the characteristics of the battleships
themselves and hit upon the idea of The Broadside. As I'm sure you know, the
broadside is the side of a ship and specifically the battery of cannon on
one side of a warship. Additionally, the term broadside is a measurement of
a vessel's maximum simultaneous firepower which can be delivered upon a
single target. This is calculated by multiplying the shell weight of the
ship's main armament shells times the number of barrels that can be brought
to bear. Perfect, so our maximum simultaneous fan-power from The Broadside
of our new stadium will be 20,000 x as loud as we can bloody sing. WE ARE
SLAVEN'S CLARET AND BLUE NAVY!! That'll confuse the buggers and blow them
out of the water.
By now the cats were scratching the carpet in hunger and my husband was
beginning to stir so it was time to abandon my solitary brainstorming
session to the conclusion that there really is no better name than The
Boleyn Wall, which is already a popular choice among many West Ham fans. It
tells the story of an important part of our heritage and would ensure that
the name of our home for over a century stays on the lips of our fans for
generations to come. We may not be taking the castles with us physically but
metaphorically we could create a formidable fortress of fans with The Boleyn
Wall.
COME ON YOU IRONS!
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THE NEWCASTLE UNITED MATCH - TAKE IT 'NICE AND STEADY' TO SECURE THE WIN!
By S J Chandos 9 Sep 2015 at 08:00
WTID
Without a shadow of doubt, It has so far been a right topsy-turvy season.
Who would have predicted in pre-season that we would gain maximum points
away to Arsenal and Liverpool and lose both home fixtures to Leicester City
and Bournemouth? Although those two home defeats were quite uncomfortable to
watch, the fact is that, in the long run, the results probably did Slaven
Bilic a massive favour. It undoubtedly concentrated the minds of the board
and strengthened Bilic's hand in pushing for the final four squad
reinforcements that have addressed the obvious prior lack within the squad.
Now we have strength in depth in virtually all positions, players that
address the lack of width and a good quality striker to cover injury
absences and increase competition up front. As a said during the transfer
window, I have no reservations about recruiting Jelavic. He can score goals
in the PL, especially with far better players around him then at Hull City.
Plus, there is the additional factor of the prior Bilic-Jelavic connection
via the Croatian national team. If anyone can get the best out of the player
then it is undoubtedly Slaven Bilic.
Personally, I have always been an advocate of the fast counter-attacking
game, especially away from home. The last time we played that type of game
well was probably when we had Craig Bellamy up front. So, the addition of
two skilful, pacy and powerful wide men, in Moses and Antonio, is a very
exciting proposition. I expect Bilic to start with Moses and Jelavic on
Monday evening when we host Newcastle Utd. It is probable that Antonio will
start on the bench and will be gradually introduced to the greater demands
of the PL. Moses is a fast and skilful wide man who can add a whole new
dimension to our attacking play. We all recall how well Moses did with Stoke
City last season and there is no reason why he should not now build upon
that with West Ham. I always tend to think of Moses as more of a provider
than a goal scorer, but hopefully he will still be able to chip in with his
fair quota of goals the season. If Moses is fast and skilful, Antonio is a
pacy and powerful winger, with the potential to score goals. Last season he
scored 15 goals for Notts Forest and that is an impressive return for a
winger. The question is whether he can make the goal scoring transition from
the Championship to the PL? I feel that he can and if he scores 8-10 goals
in his PL debut season that would be a very good return.
Indeed, any side with players that can contribute goals from midfield and/or
out wide has an enormous advantage. It takes some of the pressure off the
strikers and ensures that opposition teams have other goal scoring threats
to worry about. So, to get a goal scoring wide man in the transfer window is
a real positive, although, as I said, it is probably the best strategy to
manage Antonio's introduction to PL action. I would be surprised if Bilic
starts with two wingers, although stranger things have happened! That can
only happen if Bilic starts with just Sakho leading the attack. If he opts
to play Jelavic off of Sakho, then he will probably go with just Moses, with
Lanzini or Payet on the opposite flank. All will be revealed on Monday
evening?
Our fourth transfer deadline day addition, Alex Song, will not come in to
the first team reckoning until approximately November. Although the move was
complicated, and delayed, by Song's summer ankle surgery, it is great to
have him back on board again. As we know he is a very powerful and
influential midfielder, who was instrumental in our excellent (pre-Boxing
Day) start to last season. Yes, his form dropped off quite a bit in the New
Year, but we now know that was probably caused by the negative effects of
his ankle problem. There is every prospect that Song can now regain his
fitness and get back to his very best form.
Equipped with our new summer additions, we now need to start rectifying our
poor initial home results. And probably the best way to do that is to start
the match 'nice and steady,' exerting the type of discipline and control
that we exhibited at the Emirates and Anfield. Yes, I want to see us play
with pace and tempo, but lets not start recklessly and get caught out at the
back. If we concede an early goal then doubts will enter the heads of our
players and that is something best avoided. Our players need to retain
possession, pick their passes and control the match. In the last two home
matches we have found ourselves 0-2 down early, caught cold on the
counter-attack and undermined by defensive mistakes. So, lets cut out the
silly mistakes, ensure that we keep it tight at the back, dominate play and
open up 'as and when.' If we manage to go 1-0 up then that will force
Newcastle Utd to throw caution to the wind, to save the match, and create
more space for our forwards to exploit.
Firstly, we need the win, but it would be a double positive if we could win
convincingly and restore our shaken self-confidence at Upton Park. To do
well this season and challenge for a top 6 finish (why not aim high?) we
need to ensure that we maximise the number of points won at Upton Park and
supplement that with a decent points haul on our travels. In short, yes, we
do need to make Upton Park a fortress again, a place that intimidates the
visiting opposition teams and where we win consistently.
I feel that we can beat Newcastle Utd and get our home results back on the
right track. On the night, I am looking for a 2-0 or 3-0 victory. I do not
think that is unrealistic if we get our selection and tactics right. Lets do
it and keep all the 'doom and gloom' merchants quiet, because if we were to
lose a third home match they will undoubtedly come out of the wood work
again. This can be a very good season for the club, we have the squad and
Bilic and the players need to make it happen. Starting this Monday evening!
COYI.
SJ. Chandos.
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Zarate and Co on way back
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
The Head of West Ham's medical team has given a positive update on the
conditions of the injured first teamers. Stijn Vandenbroucke , in his latest
report on www.whufc.com says: "Mauro Zarate is progressing well and working
hard to return after suffering a hamstring injury in training, with a view
to returning to the group before the end of the week. "Alex Song is working
hard – as seen on social media – and his ankle improving, with a view to
him returning by the end of October. Enner Valencia is rehab-ing with a good
positive attitude and we hope to see him return by November, while finally
Joey O'Brien is still recovering from a calf injury.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons ready to let youngsters out
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham are ready to let a number of youngsters go out on loan with the
opening of the emergency window. The 'emergency loan' window opened this
morning and is not due to close until November 25th, with clubs then unable
to add to their squads until the January window opens in the new year. The
loan deals can last between 28 days and 93 days. Should clubs agree a
three-month deal, it will tie a player down until the New Year and the
January window. Young central defender Doneil Henry is one of those who
could be on his way with Blackburn Rovers still interested in the youngster
who did so well at Ewood Park last season before injury. Slaven Bilic is
also ready to let Elliott Lee, Kyle Knoyle and perhaps even Reece Oxford on
a short term deal and they haven't given up hope that James Collins and Joey
O'Brien will receive acceptable offers. ClaretandHugh was told: "We would
certanly be hoping to get a few out on loan – we have several who would
benefit greatly from first team experience."
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Mooro to 'live again' on final Boleyn day!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
A massive plan is underway to have Bobby Moore make a' personal
appearance'moore at the last game to ever be played at the Boleyn on May 7,
2016 against Swansea. A plan is underway to have the club's greatest legend
appear on the Upton Park pitch and 'speak' to the fans if the hugely
ambitious project can be brought together successfully. ClaretandHugh has
learned exclusively that Mooro will appear in the form of a hologram on the
centre circle if it can be organised successfully and his "final speech"
will be produced by piecing it together from every public word he uttered.
Sound and vision engineers are trying to work out the complicated details
and one problem may be producing an effectie hologram on a May afternoon.
Among the other projects being looked at are an evening concert in which
West Ham related celebrities will star with Iron Maiden, Prodigy, Chesney
Hawkes and Katy Perry likely to be among those invited. James Corden and
Russell Brand (which may put the kibosh on Katie's appearance!!!) are also
likely to be involved along with the possible appearance of former hit maker
and Eastenders star David Essex ('Charlie Moon') But of they can bring it
together, Mooro will be the star of the day!
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10,000 Tickets available for the Olympic Stadium
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
An additional 10,000 tickets for Rugby World Cup matches at the London 2012
Olympic Stadium have gone on sale today. Five Rugby world matches are
scheduled to be played at the venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with
roughly 2,000 tickets for each game being made available.
The bronze final on October 30th is the biggest game of the fixtures on
offer while four pool games – France v Romania on September 23rd, New
Zealand v Namibia on September 24th, Ireland v Italy on October 4th and
South Africa v United States on October 7th – are also being played at the
venue.
The extra tickets include a mixture of seats released from completion of
venue planning and configuration, handbacks from the tournament's commercial
programme and unions and tickets that have been registered for official
resale by fans who can no longer attend.
Last month, the stadium hosted its first rugby clash when Samoa were beaten
27-24 by the Barbarians where retractable seating was used for the first
time.
In total, more than 2.2 million tickets have been sold for the tournament,
which promises to be the biggest edition of the Rugby World Cup to date.
West Ham fans can try out the Stadium before we move in next year. The East
'KOP' style stand should be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup to
give Hammers fans a better understanding of what the stadium will be like
for football.
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Hammers: "We are guilty"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham will stump up the £20,000 – £30,000 fine they re likely to receive
for "failing to control their players" during the Mark Noble red card
incident. Although the FA cleared the captain of any wrong doing in the so
called challenge on Danny Ings for which he was dismissed the ruling body
have hit them with the second charge. And the Hammers decided that rather
than appeal they would accept the punishment and move on rather than get
into a debate with the body via an appeal. In breaking the news to
ClaretandHugh exclusively a very well placed source said the club didn't
believe anything could be achieved by challenging the FA decision. And he
added that he and everybody at the club was simply relieved that Noble's red
card had been rescinded and that on the secondary issue, the club was in
breach of the rules. He said: "There is slight mitigation but we are guilty.
We'll get a £20/30k fine. New rules came in this season and we breached
them. "We can accept that it's an emotional game of course but players have
to show the way to behave to supporters and set an example. It's not the
West Ham way to behave badly. It's also pointless because the referee never
ever changes his mind!"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Downing or Payet? Stewart opens a debate
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Stewart Downing has been banging his West Ham drum again! The Middlesbrough
player has been impressive for his new club in the opening weeks of the
Championship campaign but seems unable to get the Irons off his mind. He has
now repeated his reasons for leaving the club to the BBC claiming these
included not getting the right assurances from manager Slaven Bilic to stay
at the Boleyn. He declares he really wanted something to play for at a club
he believes could realistically have finished "ninth or tenth" and that
Middlesbrough was a good challenge for him with the "big thing" of playing
for promotion at the end of the season. He admits things were "hard for
Slaven" in his first week in the job saying: "But he didn't convince me
enough to stay." "That was one thing – the other was I was playing 10 in a
free role last season and I really enjoyed it, but he didn't really give me
a guarantee and he had players coming in like Dimitri Payet, who was his
first-choice number 10. " It's a little difficult to understand why Stewart
should keep repeating the same script which we've read at least three times
now.
Things move on and so should he. After all as a non Premier League player he
does have promotion to play for as he explains. I'm all for players talking
to the media when they have something interesting to say but this one is
beginning to grow a few whiskers now.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
OWNING: LEAVING WEST HAM WAS AN EASY DECISION
By Ste Hoare
readwestham.com
Former West Ham United winger Stewart Downing says the decision to leave the
Hammers and join Middlesbrough was an easy one for him to make. Speaking to
the BBC, the England international, capped 35 times by his country, said
that moving to his hometown club to try and help them gain promotion was
more appealing to him than staying at Upton Park.
I really wanted something to play for. At West Ham where could we
realistically finish? Ninth or 10th? Even last season we did well but
finished 12th. [Middlesbrough is] a good challenge for me. It's a big thing
to play for promotion at the end of the season and it would be a massive
achievement.
When Downing was sold, new Hammers manager Slaven Bilic admitted that he
wanted to keep the former Aston Villa and Liverpool man, but said the winger
was desperate to return to Boro.
I didn't want him to go, he's a quality English player and I know how hard
it is to get the quality ones. I was counting on him big time, but he told
me that he wanted to go home. He said 'I like you and everything, but I want
to go home. If it was any other club, I would stay here'. However, Downing
seems to disagree somewhat with what Bilic said, with the England winger
believing that the Croatian didn't do enough to persuade him to stay. It's
difficult for Slaven, in his first week of the job, but he didn't convince
me enough to stay. Downing also suggested that the signing of Dimitri Payet
also made the decision to leave West Ham easier, as he knew the Frenchman
would be the first-choice in his preferred role.
That was one thing – the other was I was playing 10 in a free role last
season and I really enjoyed it, but he didn't really give me a guarantee and
he had players coming in like Dimitri Payet, who was his first-choice number
10. When I spoke to the chairman and Aitor [Karanka] here, who had good
plans and wanted me to be big part of that, it was an easy decision to make.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Boys of '86 were virtually unbeatable at the Boleyn Ground
during their record-setting 1985/86 season. The Hammers won 17 and lost just
two of their 21 home Division One matches, scoring 48 goals and conceding
just 16. John Lyall's team hit top form at home to West Bromwich Albion on
30 November 1985, with Alan Devonshire, George Parris, Geoff Pike and Neil
Orr scoring in a 4-0 victory that took the Hammers third in the table. On
Monday 14 September, the Boys of '86 will be honoured as part of the Club's
Farewell Boleyn celebrations at the Barclays Premier League fixture with
Newcastle United.
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From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
We have had a different sort of week this week, with it being the
international break and eleven players being away on duty with their
countries, and four new signings to work with.
With less players around, it gives us the opportunity to focus even more
closely on the rehabilitation with the injured players, and on getting the
new signings and those players returning from injury fitter and sharper.
At the end of the micro cycle we had with the smaller squad, we held an
11v11 match at Chadwell Heath to simulate match conditions and give valuable
minutes to the likes of Andy Carroll, Michail Antonio, Victor Moses and
Nikica Jelavic.
We hope to have all the players back from international duty free from
injury and it will be good to get the whole group back together on Friday,
after the players' day off, and then we will be fully focused on preparing
them for Monday's home game against Newcastle United.
Injury-wise, we do not have too much to report.
Mauro Zarate is progressing well and working hard to return after suffering
a hamstring injury in training, with a view to returning to the group before
the end of the week.
One of our new signings, Alex Song is working hard – as you will have seen
on social media – and his ankle improving, with a view to him returning by
the end of October.
Enner Valencia is rehabbing with a good positive attitude and we hope to see
him return by November, while finally Joey O'Brien is still recovering from
a calf injury.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science
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Cresswell excited by new arrivals
WHUFc.com
Aaron Cresswell says he is excited by the four new arrivals on transfer
deadline day and hopes the Club enjoy a memorable final season at the Boleyn
Ground. After beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, Slaven Bilic was left
celebrating again when the Club enjoyed a great end to the transfer window
bringing in Alex Song, Victor Moses, Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic.
Cresswell played with Song last season and knows the quality he will bring
to the first-team. The talented full-back is also relishing the chance to
play alongside the other three arrivals and feels the squad is looking very
strong and has strength in depth throughout the team. Cresswell said: "There
were four who came in on the last day, and we know Alex from before. "But
the ones that came in during the summer as well have been fantastic from the
moment they walked in the door and hopefully the new boys can hit the ground
running straight away as well on Monday (against Newcastle).
"We have brought four in and it definitely adds to our strength in depth."
Cresswell is still celebrating the famous win at Anfield last week and says
it was a day he will never forget – especially as most of his family were
sitting in the Liverpool end !! The Hammers managed to finally end 52-years
without getting an away win over the Reds and the Hammers full-back says all
the players are brimming with confidence over the international break.
Cresswell produced a superb display in the West Ham defence and was happy to
put behind him the mistakes that were made against Bournemouth in the
previous home game. He added: "My dad used to take me to Liverpool games
when I was younger and I used to go myself when I was a bit older. "To turn
Liverpool over away, 3-0 at Anfield was a great achievement and a real team
performance. "It was extra special because all my family were there, they
were all sitting in the Liverpool end. They are all Liverpool fans, so it
was a great day all round. "We were so full of confidence after the game and
we would have liked to have played the next day. But coming off the back of
that victory at Anfield, where we hadn't won in 52 years, it was a good day
all round. "I take full responsibility for the two sloppy mistakes I made
(against Bournemouth), but that is where you know you have to be strong and
you have to bounce back. To do it at Anfield was special. "Every footballer
has ups and downs and you have to take the good with the bad and be a strong
player."
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Lanzini scores wonder goal
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's new signings Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic wasted no
time getting among the goals in training but it was Manuel Lanzini who stole
the show as the players looked to impress Slaven Bilic ahead of the Monday
night game against Newcastle. In a training ground match, Antonio showed his
aerial ability when he scored from a corner and Jelavic scored with an
impressive diving header from close-range. But the pick of the bunch came
from Lanzini who followed up his first Premier League goal at Anfield with a
sublime piece of skill when he scored a rabona goal to show his quality once
again.
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WHAT A KOP OUT
By Iron Liddy 9 Sep 2015 at 17:00
WTID
I was thinking about what Sean said in bed yesterday morning …. hmm, perhaps
I should rephrase that. See the trouble that bad grammar can get you into?!
I was in bed yesterday morning thinking about the fact that Sean had just
referred to the new East stand in the OS as 'Kop style' in his article on
Claret & Hugh and as comments started to trickle in I could see that I'm not
alone in being unhappy about the term. As a West Ham supporter who has
already bought my seat in the East stand I have a particularly vested
interest in what it's called and I admit that it did rankle when the term
'Kop' was bandied about during Karren Brady's marketing videos and at our
presentation at the reservation centre back in May.
As I lay there pondering the issue I realised that I didn't even know where
the name 'Kop' originated. Being a bit of an anorak when it comes to
etymology I decided to Google. No doubt many of you football buffs are
already cognisant with its origin but I hope you'll bear with me while I
share the story for the benefit of those who aren't, because it is actually
quite an interesting piece of football history.
To me the Kop has always been synonymous with Anfield and I've always
presumed that it was peculiar to that stadium; so I was surprised to learn
that the first time the term was applied to a football stand was actually at
Woolwich Arsenal's Manor Ground in 1904. A local newsman likened the
silhouette of fans standing on a newly raised bank of earth to soldiers
standing atop the hill at the Battle of Spion Kop.
The Battle of Spion Kop had been fought four years earlier during the Second
Boer War on 23rd and 24th January 1900. It was fought between the South
African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one hand and British
forces on the other, during the campaign to relieve the nearby city of
Ladysmith. Spion Kop was the largest hill in the region, being over 430
metres (1,410 ft) in height and it lay almost exactly at the centre of the
Boer line. If the British could capture this position and bring artillery to
the hill then they would command the flanks of the surrounding Boer
positions. As it transpired, it was a British defeat.
Of all the Boer War battles Spion Kop retains an appalling notoriety for the
incompetence of British leadership and the slaughter of the small number of
men engaged on each side in the struggle for the top of the hill. The battle
graphically showed the failure of the British Army to understand the
requirements of modern warfare as their tactics failed to cope with powerful
long range artillery and magazine rifle fire. In addition it highlighted the
need for proper systems of communications and reconnaissance, as well as
maintenance of chains of command in action and training and leadership at
all levels.
It is also famous for being the battle during which the young Winston
Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi found themselves on the same hillside.
Churchill was a journalist stationed in South Africa and he had also been
commissioned as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse by General
Buller after his well publicised escape from Boer captivity. Churchill acted
as a courier to and from Spion Kop and General Buller's HQ; while Gandhi
performed the role of stretcher-bearer in the Indian Ambulance Corps he had
organised.
Although the common English name for the battle is Spion Kop, throughout the
Commonwealth and its historical literature the official South African
English and Afrikaans name for the battle is Spioenkop. Spioen means "spy"
or "look-out", and kop means "hill" or "outcropping."
In 1906 Liverpool Echo sports editor Ernest Edwards pinched the London
journalist's term for Arsenal's bank of earth when he wrote of a new
open-air embankment at Anfield:
"This huge wall of earth has been termed 'Spion Kop', and no doubt this apt
name will always be used in future in referring to this spot."
The name was formally applied in 1928 upon construction of a roof.
Subsequently Liverpool FC fans have credited the Kop with being a memorial
to the fact that it was members of the Lancashire regiments who fell during
the battle but in fact regiments from all over the UK were present and also
suffered losses.
Further research revealed a bigger gap in my knowledge of football grounds
than I originally thought. Although it was the first terrace officially
named Spion Kop, many other English football clubs and some Rugby league
clubs applied the same name to stands in later years. Villa Park's old Holte
End was historically the largest of all Kop ends, closely followed by the
old South Bank at Molineux, both once regularly holding crowds in excess of
30,000. In more modern times work was completed on Hillsborough's Kop in the
mid 1980s which, with a capacity of around 22,000, made it the biggest
standing area in Europe at the time. After the Hillsborough disaster in
1989, the Kop was the last part of the Sheffield Wednesday ground to be
converted to all-seater accommodation, the change finally coming in 1993 to
comply with new FA Premier League regulations following the Taylor Report.
This had the effect of halving the capacity, but the Hillsborough Kop
remains one of the largest single tier stands in Britain.
A full list of British grounds with a history of a Kop stand can be found
here: Spion Kop Stadiums
Worried that it was just me who was oblivious to the history and existence
of Spion Kop stands in British football grounds and that my article would
have you all tutting and yawning, I quizzed Mr Lids. He also didn't know the
origin of the term or that it was applicable to any ground other than
Anfield. So cheers Sean, thanks to you I learned something new in bed
yesterday morning that my husband couldn't have taught me! ;)
So now we're all up to speed on Spion Kop stands I can't say that I'm any
more enamoured with it as a name for our new East stand at the OS. 'Iron
Kop' might have a bit of a ring to it in parodical terms but it's not
exactly auspicious is it? The site of a British defeat due to the
incompetency of our leaders. Not only that, you can't help but think of a
seething mass of Scousers whenever the name is mentioned. Nah.
So we need a name for the East stand. The North and South stands are already
taken care of and will proudly bear the names of our heroes Messrs Moore &
Brooking as they do at the Boleyn. No doubt the West stand will be the
Betway stand for the foreseeable future but the East remains nameless, as
far as we know.
Inevitably the question has already been posed and I've seen many calls for
it to be called the Chicken Run in order to retain the links with our past.
As a sucker for nostalgia myself I can empathise with that desire but the
compact, almost cosy image that the name conjures up seems too incongruous
with the vastness of our new East stand somehow. Personally I think it would
be good to have at least one stand with a brand new name to reflect both our
history and our new era and that the ghosts of the Chicken Run are better
left swaying gently in the past.
So instead of getting out of bed to feed the cats and make the tea I lay
there thinking laterally. With a founder fortuitously named Arnold Hills
that would seem an obvious choice, what with the word 'kop' being Afrikaans
for 'hill'. In your best Julie Andrews voice: "The Hills are alive with the
sound of Bubbles …." Perhaps not.
This set me off thinking about hills and high places in Newham ….. Beckton
Ski Slope? Nope, that's just taking the piste. Probably the highest points
games at The Boleyn have been watched from are the flats in Priory Road or
the block that used to stand behind the North Bank; which was famously, and
dangerously, used as a grandstand when West Ham played Hereford in an FA Cup
fourth round replay in 1972. 'ealf and Safety? That's for yer bloody pansies
innit, as dear old Alf would say.
Hmm, The Priory? That sounds like an appropriate place for 20,000 poor souls
hopelessly addicted to West Ham with little chance of recovery. I don't
think I want to sit in a stand with a name that's synonymous with
rehabilitation though ….. in the words of Luther Ingram, if loving you is
wrong, I don't wanna be right.
What about our shipbuilding heritage? Surely that's a rich vein of
inspiration I pondered. A bit of horizontal Googling revealed that the final
battleship to be built by Thames Ironworks was HMS Thunderer, the last and
largest warship ever built on the River Thames. The Thunderer? That isn't a
bad name for a wall of noise. However, further reading revealed that before
she was built Thames Ironworks had been struggling for some time, with most
orders going to the Northern yards. Arnold Hills threatened parliament with
the prospect of some awkward questions and as a result Thames Ironworks
received the order for the Thunderer. Although it was a very important and
prestigious order, the building of HMS Thunderer broke the shipyard. Even
though Britain was in the grip of a massive naval shipbuilding race the
banks withdrew their loans and the Thames Ironworks shipyard at Bow creek
went into bankruptcy, causing massive unemployment in Blackwall and Canning
Town. Not such a good omen then.
Next I began to think about the characteristics of the battleships
themselves and hit upon the idea of The Broadside. As I'm sure you know, the
broadside is the side of a ship and specifically the battery of cannon on
one side of a warship. Additionally, the term broadside is a measurement of
a vessel's maximum simultaneous firepower which can be delivered upon a
single target. This is calculated by multiplying the shell weight of the
ship's main armament shells times the number of barrels that can be brought
to bear. Perfect, so our maximum simultaneous fan-power from The Broadside
of our new stadium will be 20,000 x as loud as we can bloody sing. WE ARE
SLAVEN'S CLARET AND BLUE NAVY!! That'll confuse the buggers and blow them
out of the water.
By now the cats were scratching the carpet in hunger and my husband was
beginning to stir so it was time to abandon my solitary brainstorming
session to the conclusion that there really is no better name than The
Boleyn Wall, which is already a popular choice among many West Ham fans. It
tells the story of an important part of our heritage and would ensure that
the name of our home for over a century stays on the lips of our fans for
generations to come. We may not be taking the castles with us physically but
metaphorically we could create a formidable fortress of fans with The Boleyn
Wall.
COME ON YOU IRONS!
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THE NEWCASTLE UNITED MATCH - TAKE IT 'NICE AND STEADY' TO SECURE THE WIN!
By S J Chandos 9 Sep 2015 at 08:00
WTID
Without a shadow of doubt, It has so far been a right topsy-turvy season.
Who would have predicted in pre-season that we would gain maximum points
away to Arsenal and Liverpool and lose both home fixtures to Leicester City
and Bournemouth? Although those two home defeats were quite uncomfortable to
watch, the fact is that, in the long run, the results probably did Slaven
Bilic a massive favour. It undoubtedly concentrated the minds of the board
and strengthened Bilic's hand in pushing for the final four squad
reinforcements that have addressed the obvious prior lack within the squad.
Now we have strength in depth in virtually all positions, players that
address the lack of width and a good quality striker to cover injury
absences and increase competition up front. As a said during the transfer
window, I have no reservations about recruiting Jelavic. He can score goals
in the PL, especially with far better players around him then at Hull City.
Plus, there is the additional factor of the prior Bilic-Jelavic connection
via the Croatian national team. If anyone can get the best out of the player
then it is undoubtedly Slaven Bilic.
Personally, I have always been an advocate of the fast counter-attacking
game, especially away from home. The last time we played that type of game
well was probably when we had Craig Bellamy up front. So, the addition of
two skilful, pacy and powerful wide men, in Moses and Antonio, is a very
exciting proposition. I expect Bilic to start with Moses and Jelavic on
Monday evening when we host Newcastle Utd. It is probable that Antonio will
start on the bench and will be gradually introduced to the greater demands
of the PL. Moses is a fast and skilful wide man who can add a whole new
dimension to our attacking play. We all recall how well Moses did with Stoke
City last season and there is no reason why he should not now build upon
that with West Ham. I always tend to think of Moses as more of a provider
than a goal scorer, but hopefully he will still be able to chip in with his
fair quota of goals the season. If Moses is fast and skilful, Antonio is a
pacy and powerful winger, with the potential to score goals. Last season he
scored 15 goals for Notts Forest and that is an impressive return for a
winger. The question is whether he can make the goal scoring transition from
the Championship to the PL? I feel that he can and if he scores 8-10 goals
in his PL debut season that would be a very good return.
Indeed, any side with players that can contribute goals from midfield and/or
out wide has an enormous advantage. It takes some of the pressure off the
strikers and ensures that opposition teams have other goal scoring threats
to worry about. So, to get a goal scoring wide man in the transfer window is
a real positive, although, as I said, it is probably the best strategy to
manage Antonio's introduction to PL action. I would be surprised if Bilic
starts with two wingers, although stranger things have happened! That can
only happen if Bilic starts with just Sakho leading the attack. If he opts
to play Jelavic off of Sakho, then he will probably go with just Moses, with
Lanzini or Payet on the opposite flank. All will be revealed on Monday
evening?
Our fourth transfer deadline day addition, Alex Song, will not come in to
the first team reckoning until approximately November. Although the move was
complicated, and delayed, by Song's summer ankle surgery, it is great to
have him back on board again. As we know he is a very powerful and
influential midfielder, who was instrumental in our excellent (pre-Boxing
Day) start to last season. Yes, his form dropped off quite a bit in the New
Year, but we now know that was probably caused by the negative effects of
his ankle problem. There is every prospect that Song can now regain his
fitness and get back to his very best form.
Equipped with our new summer additions, we now need to start rectifying our
poor initial home results. And probably the best way to do that is to start
the match 'nice and steady,' exerting the type of discipline and control
that we exhibited at the Emirates and Anfield. Yes, I want to see us play
with pace and tempo, but lets not start recklessly and get caught out at the
back. If we concede an early goal then doubts will enter the heads of our
players and that is something best avoided. Our players need to retain
possession, pick their passes and control the match. In the last two home
matches we have found ourselves 0-2 down early, caught cold on the
counter-attack and undermined by defensive mistakes. So, lets cut out the
silly mistakes, ensure that we keep it tight at the back, dominate play and
open up 'as and when.' If we manage to go 1-0 up then that will force
Newcastle Utd to throw caution to the wind, to save the match, and create
more space for our forwards to exploit.
Firstly, we need the win, but it would be a double positive if we could win
convincingly and restore our shaken self-confidence at Upton Park. To do
well this season and challenge for a top 6 finish (why not aim high?) we
need to ensure that we maximise the number of points won at Upton Park and
supplement that with a decent points haul on our travels. In short, yes, we
do need to make Upton Park a fortress again, a place that intimidates the
visiting opposition teams and where we win consistently.
I feel that we can beat Newcastle Utd and get our home results back on the
right track. On the night, I am looking for a 2-0 or 3-0 victory. I do not
think that is unrealistic if we get our selection and tactics right. Lets do
it and keep all the 'doom and gloom' merchants quiet, because if we were to
lose a third home match they will undoubtedly come out of the wood work
again. This can be a very good season for the club, we have the squad and
Bilic and the players need to make it happen. Starting this Monday evening!
COYI.
SJ. Chandos.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Zarate and Co on way back
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
The Head of West Ham's medical team has given a positive update on the
conditions of the injured first teamers. Stijn Vandenbroucke , in his latest
report on www.whufc.com says: "Mauro Zarate is progressing well and working
hard to return after suffering a hamstring injury in training, with a view
to returning to the group before the end of the week. "Alex Song is working
hard – as seen on social media – and his ankle improving, with a view to
him returning by the end of October. Enner Valencia is rehab-ing with a good
positive attitude and we hope to see him return by November, while finally
Joey O'Brien is still recovering from a calf injury.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons ready to let youngsters out
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham are ready to let a number of youngsters go out on loan with the
opening of the emergency window. The 'emergency loan' window opened this
morning and is not due to close until November 25th, with clubs then unable
to add to their squads until the January window opens in the new year. The
loan deals can last between 28 days and 93 days. Should clubs agree a
three-month deal, it will tie a player down until the New Year and the
January window. Young central defender Doneil Henry is one of those who
could be on his way with Blackburn Rovers still interested in the youngster
who did so well at Ewood Park last season before injury. Slaven Bilic is
also ready to let Elliott Lee, Kyle Knoyle and perhaps even Reece Oxford on
a short term deal and they haven't given up hope that James Collins and Joey
O'Brien will receive acceptable offers. ClaretandHugh was told: "We would
certanly be hoping to get a few out on loan – we have several who would
benefit greatly from first team experience."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mooro to 'live again' on final Boleyn day!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
A massive plan is underway to have Bobby Moore make a' personal
appearance'moore at the last game to ever be played at the Boleyn on May 7,
2016 against Swansea. A plan is underway to have the club's greatest legend
appear on the Upton Park pitch and 'speak' to the fans if the hugely
ambitious project can be brought together successfully. ClaretandHugh has
learned exclusively that Mooro will appear in the form of a hologram on the
centre circle if it can be organised successfully and his "final speech"
will be produced by piecing it together from every public word he uttered.
Sound and vision engineers are trying to work out the complicated details
and one problem may be producing an effectie hologram on a May afternoon.
Among the other projects being looked at are an evening concert in which
West Ham related celebrities will star with Iron Maiden, Prodigy, Chesney
Hawkes and Katy Perry likely to be among those invited. James Corden and
Russell Brand (which may put the kibosh on Katie's appearance!!!) are also
likely to be involved along with the possible appearance of former hit maker
and Eastenders star David Essex ('Charlie Moon') But of they can bring it
together, Mooro will be the star of the day!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
10,000 Tickets available for the Olympic Stadium
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
An additional 10,000 tickets for Rugby World Cup matches at the London 2012
Olympic Stadium have gone on sale today. Five Rugby world matches are
scheduled to be played at the venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with
roughly 2,000 tickets for each game being made available.
The bronze final on October 30th is the biggest game of the fixtures on
offer while four pool games – France v Romania on September 23rd, New
Zealand v Namibia on September 24th, Ireland v Italy on October 4th and
South Africa v United States on October 7th – are also being played at the
venue.
The extra tickets include a mixture of seats released from completion of
venue planning and configuration, handbacks from the tournament's commercial
programme and unions and tickets that have been registered for official
resale by fans who can no longer attend.
Last month, the stadium hosted its first rugby clash when Samoa were beaten
27-24 by the Barbarians where retractable seating was used for the first
time.
In total, more than 2.2 million tickets have been sold for the tournament,
which promises to be the biggest edition of the Rugby World Cup to date.
West Ham fans can try out the Stadium before we move in next year. The East
'KOP' style stand should be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup to
give Hammers fans a better understanding of what the stadium will be like
for football.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers: "We are guilty"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham will stump up the £20,000 – £30,000 fine they re likely to receive
for "failing to control their players" during the Mark Noble red card
incident. Although the FA cleared the captain of any wrong doing in the so
called challenge on Danny Ings for which he was dismissed the ruling body
have hit them with the second charge. And the Hammers decided that rather
than appeal they would accept the punishment and move on rather than get
into a debate with the body via an appeal. In breaking the news to
ClaretandHugh exclusively a very well placed source said the club didn't
believe anything could be achieved by challenging the FA decision. And he
added that he and everybody at the club was simply relieved that Noble's red
card had been rescinded and that on the secondary issue, the club was in
breach of the rules. He said: "There is slight mitigation but we are guilty.
We'll get a £20/30k fine. New rules came in this season and we breached
them. "We can accept that it's an emotional game of course but players have
to show the way to behave to supporters and set an example. It's not the
West Ham way to behave badly. It's also pointless because the referee never
ever changes his mind!"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Downing or Payet? Stewart opens a debate
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 9, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Stewart Downing has been banging his West Ham drum again! The Middlesbrough
player has been impressive for his new club in the opening weeks of the
Championship campaign but seems unable to get the Irons off his mind. He has
now repeated his reasons for leaving the club to the BBC claiming these
included not getting the right assurances from manager Slaven Bilic to stay
at the Boleyn. He declares he really wanted something to play for at a club
he believes could realistically have finished "ninth or tenth" and that
Middlesbrough was a good challenge for him with the "big thing" of playing
for promotion at the end of the season. He admits things were "hard for
Slaven" in his first week in the job saying: "But he didn't convince me
enough to stay." "That was one thing – the other was I was playing 10 in a
free role last season and I really enjoyed it, but he didn't really give me
a guarantee and he had players coming in like Dimitri Payet, who was his
first-choice number 10. " It's a little difficult to understand why Stewart
should keep repeating the same script which we've read at least three times
now.
Things move on and so should he. After all as a non Premier League player he
does have promotion to play for as he explains. I'm all for players talking
to the media when they have something interesting to say but this one is
beginning to grow a few whiskers now.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
OWNING: LEAVING WEST HAM WAS AN EASY DECISION
By Ste Hoare
readwestham.com
Former West Ham United winger Stewart Downing says the decision to leave the
Hammers and join Middlesbrough was an easy one for him to make. Speaking to
the BBC, the England international, capped 35 times by his country, said
that moving to his hometown club to try and help them gain promotion was
more appealing to him than staying at Upton Park.
I really wanted something to play for. At West Ham where could we
realistically finish? Ninth or 10th? Even last season we did well but
finished 12th. [Middlesbrough is] a good challenge for me. It's a big thing
to play for promotion at the end of the season and it would be a massive
achievement.
When Downing was sold, new Hammers manager Slaven Bilic admitted that he
wanted to keep the former Aston Villa and Liverpool man, but said the winger
was desperate to return to Boro.
I didn't want him to go, he's a quality English player and I know how hard
it is to get the quality ones. I was counting on him big time, but he told
me that he wanted to go home. He said 'I like you and everything, but I want
to go home. If it was any other club, I would stay here'. However, Downing
seems to disagree somewhat with what Bilic said, with the England winger
believing that the Croatian didn't do enough to persuade him to stay. It's
difficult for Slaven, in his first week of the job, but he didn't convince
me enough to stay. Downing also suggested that the signing of Dimitri Payet
also made the decision to leave West Ham easier, as he knew the Frenchman
would be the first-choice in his preferred role.
That was one thing – the other was I was playing 10 in a free role last
season and I really enjoyed it, but he didn't really give me a guarantee and
he had players coming in like Dimitri Payet, who was his first-choice number
10. When I spoke to the chairman and Aitor [Karanka] here, who had good
plans and wanted me to be big part of that, it was an easy decision to make.
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