Manning delighted with win over WBA
WHUFC.com
West Ham United PL2 ran out 2-1 winners over West Bromwich Albion on Monday
night
The result moves the Hammers up to third in Premier League 2 Division 2
Assistant manager Liam Manning was delighted with the performance
PL2 assistant manager Liam Manning praised his side's commitment and desire
as they battled to a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Chigwell
Construction Stadium. The Hammers cruised to a 2-0 first half lead thanks
to an own goal from Baggies defender Jack Fitzwater and a header from Ashley
Fletcher. Dara O'Shea rifled home from the edge of the box in stoppage time
but it wasn't enough as the Hammers leapfrogged their opponents to third in
Premier League 2 Division 2. "We knew it was going to be a tough game
tonight. They (West Brom) are doing well in the league and have some good
players, but our lads really stepped up tonight," said Manning. "It wasn't
the prettiest of games but the lads were resolute, dug in and stuck together
as a team all night long so I'm delighted with how the lads did tonight."
Manager Terry Westley welcomed First Team stars Jonathan Calleri and Ashley
Fletcher to the starting eleven and there was also a return to PL2 action
for Martin Samuelsen. The Norwegian has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers
this season, but did not feature in their match at the weekend so came into
a fresh-looking Hammers PL2 line up. Westley's men got off to the perfect
start when Fletcher turned brilliantly in the penalty area and crossed, only
for Fitzwater to knock the ball into his own net. The Hammers controlled the
rest of the first half and doubled their lead on the half hour mark when
Fletcher headed in Calleri's inviting cross. In the second half, West Brom
tried to force the issue but came up against a brick wall of a defence in
the form of Sam Westley, Alex Pike, Declan Rice and Vashon Neufville. The
home side had chances to add to their lead through Marcus Browne, who forced
a great save from Albion keeper Jack Rose on the hour mark, and Calleri, who
twice went close. The visitors did score a late consolation after O'Shea's
powerful drive, but it was the Hammers who moved up to third in the league
table with the victory. "There's a big emphasis on development and how the
lads perform and sticking to our philosophy. But we do it because we want to
win," added Manning. "I don't think you'll find anybody who doesn't want to
win, staff included. It will be nice to finish up there, so we can build on
the (Premier League) Cup win last year."
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Fletcher hails important PL2 win
WHUFC.com
Ashley Fletcher was on the scoresheet as West Ham United PL2 beat West
Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Monday evening
The Hammers are now up to third in Premier League 2 Division 2 after their
second win in a row.
Fletcher afterwards said he was very happy to get 90 minutes under his belt
Ashley Fletcher hailed the importance of West Ham United PL2's victory over
West Bromwich Albion, as it saw the Hammers go above their opponents in the
league standings. Fletcher was on the scoresheet as a new-look PL2 line-up
cruised to a 2-0 lead inside half an hour. The Hammers No9 for the evening
created the first and headed in the second before West Brom's Dara O'Shea
scored a consolation goal from long range to make the final score 2-1. The
21-year-old was an unused substitute for Slaven Bilic in Saturday's defeat
to Everton but was pleased to 90 minutes on Monday evening. "I've been
involved with the First Team and I'm really enjoying myself but obviously I
want to be playing games as well," said Fletcher. "I came tonight to get 90
minutes in my legs and hopefully when my chance does come in the First Team
I can be ready and take it."
PL2 boss Terry Westley made three changes from the side which battled to a
1-0 win at Middlesbrough last Friday. Martin Samuelsen, who's currently on
loan at Blackburn Rovers, Jonathan Calleri and Fletcher all came into the
starting eleven. The Hammers took a fortituitous lead on seven minutes but
it was earned after brilliant play by Fletcher. He swivelled in the area and
crossed low and hard, only for Baggies defender Jack Fitzwater to fire into
his own net. Fletcher was again amongst the action for the second goal of
the game 25 minutes later - Calleri whipped in a teasing cross after being
played in by Domingos Quina and the Hammers striker planted his header into
the top corner. Albion did score a late consolation after Dara O'Shea
rifled home from the edge of the box but the Hammers held on to what was a
vital three points in their quest for promotion from Premier League 2
Division 2. They're now third, having leapfrogged their opponents with
victory, and Fletcher knew just how important the win was. "It was important
to beat West Brom tonight because we knew they were above us in the league.
For us to overtake them, it's massive and I'm glad I could get on the
scoresheet to help the team," Fletcher added. "The standard is so high here
(in Premier League 2). We've got really good players so for me to come and
play with the lads, get 90 minutes and score is very pleasing."
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Cresswell - I am enjoying the new system
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell says he is relishing the chance to play in a new wing-back
system and hopes to get straight back on the winning trail when the Hammers
host Stoke on Saturday. Cresswell was forced to miss the start of the season
with a knee ligament injury, but he has made a speedy recovery and a timely
return to first-team action.
The Hammers full-back has wasted no time settling into a new formation which
Slaven Bilic has introduced in recent weeks playing three at the back and
two wing-backs.
The move coincided with West Ham enjoying their best run of form as they
went four games unbeaten and saw the team record big victories over Crystal
Palace, Sunderland and Chelsea. Despite the minor setback against Everton on
Sunday, Cresswell is confident they can get back to winning ways this
weekend and says the new system is helping him to show his attacking
qualities. Cresswell said: "I am enjoying the new system. It's nice to get
forward in that formation, trying to create and get up the field to get the
ball in the box, it suits me. "I was saying to the fitness coach and the
physio that I'm feeling better than Wednesday night. It takes time, you can
do all the training in the world but you can't beat getting minutes on the
pitch. "The knee feels good and I am looking forward to the next few games."
The Hammers will be looking to build on recent home victories against
Sunderland and Chelsea and with Stoke just above them in the table, some
reports have suggested it is a must-win game for the Hammers. But Cresswell
strongly disagrees with that theory and says his side have already taken big
steps to turn their season around and will be hoping for another big victory
in front of their own fans. Cresswell said: "Stoke is not a must win game.
Of course we want to win it but it is not must win. "We don't deserve to
label it that because we have had some good results recently and been on a
good run. "We just need to get back to that again this weekend."
Cresswell is refusing to use the memorable win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup
last Wednesday as an excuse for his side's defeat against Everton and says
it would have been a different story if his side had been more clinical in
front of goal. "I don't think the Chelsea game took it out of us. We felt
more than okay in the first half and we had more than enough time to recover
from Chelsea, so we cannot use that as an excuse. "It was down to us taking
our chances, which we didn't do, but we go again next weekend. "We went in
at half time at 0-0 and to be fair, they [Everton] came out all guns blazing
and pegged us back, got the goal and we were chasing the game. "He's
[Lukaku] a tough one, one of the best in world football, he was excellent,
it's a shame we can't stop him. "It's frustrating not to take one of the
chances in first half and he made us pay."
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The Big Interview - Edimilson Fernandes
WHUFC.com
It has been a dream start to life in England for Edimilson Fernandes and he
has played a major role in the Hammers revival in recent games. Fernandes
arrived with a big pedigree following his move from FC Sion during the
summer and has already shown his quality and versatility playing in a number
of different positions and getting on the scoresheet during the memorable
EFL Cup win over Chelsea. The Switzerland U21 international is now hoping to
build on his early success and become a major star for the east London Club
over the next few years....
Edimilson, it has been an incredible start to your career in the Premier
League. Can you tell us about your introduction to top flight football and
why you chose to make the big move to England?
EF: "I was 17 when I made my debut in the Swiss Super League. Playing
first-team football at that age was a shock to me, but it all started from
there and my career has continued to grow. "I always had the ambition of
coming to play in the Premier League, but I never imagine it would be
possible. "I watched the Premier League on television in Switzerland a lot.
I watched Manchester United and enjoyed watching them and their players. My
cousin Gelson played for Manchester City and I also liked them, but I
preferred Manchester United!"
You have a big footballing influence in your family with your cousins Gelson
and Manuel having experience of playing in England. How often do you speak
with them and did they influence your decision to join West Ham?
EF: "I spoke to my cousin Gelson before I joined West Ham. In fact, I speak
to Gelson every day about living in England and the Premier League, and we
both agree it's one of the best leagues in the world. "All of the advice he
has given me has been really useful, and everything he has told me about
English football has come true. Unfortunately, Manuel doesn't speak French,
so I have not spoken to him!"
Have you ever played in the same team as Gelson and how much would you love
to play for the Switzerland at a major tournament?
EF: "I have trained together with Gelson with the national team, but we've
never played together in a team. "I was called-up asked to train with the
squad, but I have not played for Switzerland just yet. If I continue to play
for West Ham, for my club, then after that then the opportunity came to play
for the national team, that would be great. "Although we don't play the same
way, if I could achieve what he has achieved in his career, that would be
amazing. If could do more, that would be even better!"
How much have you been impressed with London Stadium and playing in front of
nearly 60,000 fans. How big a part did that play in your decision to join
the Hammers?
EF: "When I came over for the first time, they took me to see the Stadium
and I really like it. The Stadium is magnificent, I really enjoy playing
there, as do all the players. "When you play in front of 57,000 fans it
gives you goosebumps, it's an amazing feeling and it helps you to play to
your best. "It is a brilliant Stadium and to play in front of 57,000 fans
who push you forward is an unbelievable feeling."
You seem to have wasted no time settling into your new surroundings and feel
very confident on the pitch. How much has it helped you having players who
can speak French in the dressing room?
EF: "It really helps to have them here, and to be honest I didn't realise
there were so many French speakers at the Club, but it is obvious that is
going to be really helpful to me. "We have Dimitri Payet, Cheik Kouyate,
Diafra Sakho, Sofiane Feghouli, Arthur Masuaku and Andre Ayew, so there are
lots of us who can communicate easily."
Did you think you would make such an impact so early on in your career at
West Ham and force your way into the starting line-up?
EF: "When West Ham wanted to sign me, the manager told me that he was going
to count on me, but that I needed to work hard in training to get into the
team.
"At the start I was afraid to leave my old club, so I spoke to the president
and the club and took the plane over to West Ham. In the beginning it was
very scary, but now it's great."
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London Stadium: Sadiq Khan orders investigation over rising costs
BBC.co.uk
"Deeply concerned" London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered an investigation into
a £50m increase in the cost of converting West Ham's London Stadium. In
2015, former mayor Boris Johnson said the change from an Olympics arena to a
football stadium would cost £272m, a figure which has now risen to £323m.
The investigation will look into inherited issues including the cost of
moving the retractable seating. A stadium expert has said the ground should
be knocked down and rebuilt. Paul Fletcher, who has built or advised on more
than 30 new grounds, said it should be rebuilt as fans are too far from the
pitch so it is not suitable for football.
The club declined to comment when contacted by BBC Sport.
A spokesperson for the London Mayor said: "The mayor is deeply concerned
about the finances of the Olympic Stadium, which have clearly been left in a
total and utter mess by the previous administration at City Hall. "Sadiq has
ordered a detailed investigation into the full range of financial issues
surrounding the stadium."
Part of the reason for the increase is a rise in the cost to install and
operate the retractable seating, which can be removed for concerts and
athletics events. The cost of £8m a year is up from an estimated cost of
£300,000 because the company originally contracted for the job had gone
bust, reports BBC sports editor Dan Roan.
It means stadium operators London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and
the London taxpayer will need to pick up the additional costs, with Premier
League side West Ham contributing £2.5m-a-year rent, plus the one-off £15m
for the conversion cost. John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers'
Alliance, said: "For too long the details of this shabby deal were kept in
secret and lacked proper scrutiny so Sadiq Khan is absolutely right to look
again at the case.
"It's now down to those in charge of the inquiry to get to the bottom of how
West Ham were gifted the deal of the century while ensuring their
investigation doesn't end up costing the taxpayer as much as the stadium."
West Ham won the bid to occupy the Olympic Stadium in March 2013 and played
their first game there in August 2016, after 112 years at Upton Park.
However, their move has been marred by fan violence, leading the club to
issue a five-point security plan to prevent further disorder.
Analysis
Dan Roan, BBC sports editor
It may have been the centrepiece of London's glorious 2012 Games, but the
story of the Olympic Stadium is becoming more and more troubled.
Last year the BBC revealed West Ham were getting the running costs of their
new home paid for them. Its suitability as a football venue is under fierce
scrutiny because of disorder at matches. A proposed naming rights partner
has walked away. And now there is renewed focus on the finances of a stadium
that has had to be built twice, at an overall cost of £750m.
The soaring costs effectively end any hope of the stadium breaking even
within five years. The LLDC will try to reduce running costs and look to
install more efficient hydraulic retractable seating. But the fear will be
that until then, the staging of some summer concerts and events - crucial
for the stadium's finances - will be affected because of the time it takes
to reconfigure the arena at the end of each season.
Once again there will be tough questions about those originally responsible
for the stadium's legacy, the remarkable deal West Ham struck, and why it
was not designed for dual-use from the very beginning.
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West Ham football Christmas hamper conman found guilty
BBC.co.uk
A conman who tricked former England manager Sam Allardyce and striker Andy
Carroll out of thousands of pounds has been convicted of fraud. Stephen
Ackerman, 48, from Loughton, Essex, was found guilty of 18 counts of fraud
totalling more than £60,000 He visited West Ham football club's training
ground to sell players and backroom staff luxury Christmas hampers in
December 2014. Snaresbrook Crown Court heard £13,270 was taken from Mr
Allardyce. Ackerman will be sentenced later this month.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard Ackerman, who went by the name Mark Kingston,
took payment for the hampers using a handheld chip and pin device. But
Ackerman never supplied the goods and in the following weeks some of the
victims noticed unauthorised payments, running into thousands of pounds,
charged to their bank accounts.
Acting Det Sgt Jamie Snell, from Newham CID, said: "Ackerman preyed on the
trust of people he approached and essentially told an elaborate pack of lies
in order to get them to part with their cash. "He defrauded a total of
£61,047 from his victims and thought that due to their fame they would never
report the matter to the police. "He is a confident and accomplished
fraudster and we are delighted to have received this verdict from the jury
today."
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Stoke attempting to contact fans with tickets for West Ham fixture
Last Updated: 01/11/16 4:12pm
SSN
Stoke are trying to contact a group of fans after West Ham re-issued tickets
for their Premier League match on Saturday. The move comes as West Ham
attempt to improve segregation inside the London Stadium. Last week, the
Hammers announced significant changes to their segregation policy after
violence erupted between rival fans at their EFL Cup game against Chelsea.
Stoke have sold out their allocation of 2,900 away tickets and are working
hard to contact 85 supporters previously seated in Block 117, who have been
moved. The supporters affected are seated in Block 117 Rows 2-15, Seats
122-124, plus Rows 16-25, Seats 122-125. Stoke have asked fans with tickets
for the areas in question to contact the club's ticket office as soon as
possible. In a bid to avoid a repeat of last Wednesday's violent scenes at
the former Olympic Stadium, West Ham plan to create more distance between
rival fans.
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Mayor Sadiq Khan orders probe into soaring costs at London Stadium
By Paul Kelso, Sky News sports correspondent
Last Updated: 01/11/16 6:40pm
SSN
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has ordered an investigation into the finances of
London Stadium after being told the total cost of converting the arena for
use by West Ham has soared by £51m more than previously revealed.
Mayor Khan announced his investigation after Sky News learned that the
estimated annual cost of moving "retractable" seats, installed to improve
the view for football, has risen to £8m, and that moving the seats back and
forth for summer events including athletics could take a month.
The original estimate was it would cost just £300,000 and take only five
days to move the seats at the end of the football season and another five to
move them back after the summer. Engineers now estimate it could take 15
days to move the seats in each direction.
The seating issue threatens the viability of the stadium's summer schedule,
which next summer includes concerts as well as athletics, and could even
delay West Ham's return for the start of the new football season.
The increase, calculated by stadium operators in the last fortnight, takes
the cost of converting the arena for football from £272m to £323m. This
includes £309m of "comparable" costs, and £14m of "further enhancements",
including expenditure on seating and stewarding.
It takes the total cost of the stadium to £752m, all of which has been met
by the taxpayer apart from a £15m contribution from West Ham.
Khan is said to be deeply concerned at the cost increase and deputy mayor
Jules Pipe told Sky News they have inherited "a mess" from previous mayor,
Boris Johnson.
"Last year the previous administration told the public that the costs had
risen in total to around £270m. The new Mayor has now been told that cost
will be over £320m," Pipe said.
"Understandably Sadiq has ordered an investigation as to why those two
figures are so wildly different. As the new administration at City Hall
clearing up the mess of the previous administration, we need to make sure
that the stadium runs on a sustainable basis and it is affordable to
London."
Pipe said the investigation would look at all aspects of the stadium
including the deal agreed with West Ham, but indicated there was little room
for renegotiation.
"The previous administration did give a good deal to West Ham but it is a
legally binding contract. It will be up to the review to decide how best to
protect the purse of Londoners," he added.
Johnson agreed to West Ham's request to install retractable seating in order
to improve the view for football, and it was intended to allow the stadium
to be quickly and cheaply converted for athletics and other events.
While the seats are described as "retractable", in fact the job of moving
the seats is largely manual. Rather than sliding on wheels or airbeds as at
the Stade de France, the stands are effectively demountable structures that
have to be broken up and shifted by hand.
The problem is complicated by the fact that the original seat contractor,
Alto Seating Solutions, has gone into liquidation.
Warnings that retro-fitting the system would prove costly and problematic
have proved accurate, and may impact on the stadium schedule.
A summer concert series is currently due to begin just three weeks after
West Ham's last home game, with a Depeche Mode concert on June 3.
The World Championships meanwhile end on August 13, 2017, and while they are
unlikely to be disrupted it could delay West Ham's first home game.
Their first two matches of the 2017-18 season are understood to have already
been scheduled to be away from home, but the building work could prevent
them playing at home until September.
The seating issue is the latest problem to beset the stadium which was the
centrepiece of London 2012.
West Ham's move has been dogged by violence inside and outside the stadium,
raising questions about its viability as a football venue.
Last week coins were thrown at Chelsea fans including children during an EFL
Cup tie, and police made six arrests as they battled to keep supporters
apart.
A proposed naming rights deal has also collapsed, with some blaming negative
publicity arising from the violence.
The stadium's legacy has been problematic from the outset. The original plan
of reducing it to a permanent 25,000 seat athletics arena was abandoned when
it failed to attract any sporting tenants.
A £100m offer from West Ham back in 2008 was rejected by government, and the
football solution, with a capacity of 60,000, was approved.
West Ham and Tottenham, who wanted to demolish it and build a football-only
arena, competed for the tenancy with West Ham victorious in large part
because they would tolerate the retention of the track.
In talks with Johnson and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC)
however they argued for a new lower tier of seating closer to the pitch to
improve the view.
The existing lower tier of seats, initially intended as the only permanent
part of the stadium, was dug out and the new seats retrofitted.
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West Ham trio Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll, Arthur Masuaku targetting returns
for Tottenham clash
By Lyall Thomas
Last Updated: 01/11/16 9:46am
SSN
West Ham are hoping Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll and Arthur Masuaku will be
available for their Premier League clash at Tottenham on November 19. Sakho,
who almost left the club in the summer, has not played for the Hammers at
all this season because of an ongoing back injury, which has troubled the
26-year-old since 2014.
Carroll was ruled out back in August when he picked up a knee injury against
Astra Giurgiu in a Europa League qualifier, which was only meant to sideline
him for six weeks. Masuaku, who signed from Olympiakos in the summer, was
sidelined for a minimum of six weeks when he picked up his own knee injury
in the EFL Cup match against Accrington Stanley on September 29. West Ham
co-chairman David Gold confirmed on Twitter on Monday the trio "should be
back after the international break", which takes place of the weekend of
November 12 and 13. The Hammers have had a difficult start to the season,
sitting just above the bottom three with just three wins from their opening
10 Premier League games.
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Rip it up and start again
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st November 2016
By: Staff Writer
A stadium expert has claimed that the only way to correct the problems with
the design of the Olympic Stadium is to knock it down and start from
scratch. Advisor Paul Fletcher has been involved with the creation of
several new stadia in England including Bolton's Macron Stadium and Coventry
City's Ricoh Arena. And he also hit out at the likes of Seb Coe and Tessa
Jowell who were instrumental in deciding that the stadium should be designed
with athletics in mind, long-term, rather than football. "Either we go on as
we are for the next 30 or 40 years or we knock it down and start again,"
Fletcher, speaking to the BBC, said. "I said [at the time] what you must do
is design a football stadium that converts to an athletics stadium for two
weeks of its lifetime. When I build my football stadiums, my number one
concern is the spectator. "What they've done is tried to convert an
athletics stadium into a football pitch and, in my opinion, it doesn't work.
The building was almost built when they started to talk to West Ham. "There
was only going to be one end user and it was only going to be West Ham.
Everyone in those days spoke about legacy. The only legacy was going to be
as a football stadium and they should have been talking to West Ham and ask
them what they want."
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Meeting of the West Ham United Independent Supporters Association – WHUISA
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st November 2016
By: Paul Christmas
You are all invited to attend the next meeting of WHUISA which will take
place this Saturday, 5 November at the Hammers Social Club (HSC) in Castle
Street next to the old (Boleyn) ground. The HSC will open from 10am, entry
is free and the meeting will be held upstairs. Start time is 12 noon sharp
and we aim to be finished by 1.30pm to get across to the new place for the
Stoke City annihilation.
A lot of hard work has gone on since the last meeting with good progress
being made. At time of writing over 500 people have pledged their support on
the Facebook page. A WHUISA website is in preparation for a more formal
launch of the association where you will be able to join. Work for the
meeting is ongoing but an agenda will be set shortly and will include
feedback on the future of the HSC while a number of nominations for an
interim committee have been received. Hustings and elections will take
place during the meeting. Anyone else wishing to be considered please let me
know by e-mail on pchristmas@btinternet.com and you must be at the meeting
on Saturday. I would also like to draw your attention to a Charity race
night and curry in aid of the Bobby Moore and Cancer research Funds. It will
be held at the HSC straight after the Stoke match and tickets cost £5 which
can be bought on the door and include your curry.
Please find time to support Bobby and the HSC. Your backing is greatly
appreciated.
Always West Ham,
Paul Christmas
Interim Chair WHUISA
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Ipswich Town scouting West Ham striker over potential move 0
BY ADAM ALLCROFT ON NOV 1, 2016 CHAMPIONSHIP, FEATURED, IPSWICH TOWN,
NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOUR, TRANSFERS
Ipswich Town have been scouting West Ham United's Ashley Fletcher over a
potential move in January according to a report from Read West Ham.
the72.co.uk
When the 20-year-old striker became a free agent in the summer following his
release from Manchester United, he became one of the most tracked players in
the country with many clubs including Barnsley and Leeds United being
interested in signing him. However they ended up failing as Fletcher elected
to stay in the Premier League and sign a deal with West Ham.
However he hasn't had a good time since joining the Hammers. While the East
London club have struggled to adjust to their new surroundings since moving
to the London Stadium, Fletcher has struggled just to get onto the pitch and
has only made six appearances for the club since moving there in January.
This has led to reports that Fletcher may end moving away from West Ham, at
least on a temporary deal, in January and Leeds have already been linked
with another move for him.
But now another Championship club could be about to make a move for Fletcher
after it emerged that Ipswich had been scouting him. Ipswich showed that
they were serious about a potential move as head coach Mick McCarthy and
assistant manager Terry Connor both attended the U23s match against West
Bromwich Albion and they will have definitely been impressed with what they
saw. In the game Fletcher scored and made an assist as the young Hammers got
a 2-1 win over West Brom. Now it will up to the Tractor Boys to see if they
will make a bid in January.
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From England: A possible Zaza-Gabbiadini exchange deal
http://www.calciomercato.com/
01 November at 13:07
According to reports in The Sun, West Ham United are ready to offer
misfiring Simone Zaza to Napoli in exchange for Manolo Gabbiadini. The
25-year-old Italian international striker joined the Hammers on-loan from
Juventus in the summer but the Premier League club will be forced to pay the
Italian club £17.7 million when the player completes 10 appearances. Manager
Slaven Bilic is reportedly keen to off-load Zaza as soon as possible and
it's believed that the East London club are prepared to offer the player
plus £22.5 million to Napoli to bring Gabbiadini to the capital. Napoli boss
Maurizio Sarri is a known admirer of Zaza and was close to landing him last
summer before the player opted to head to England. Aware of this admiration,
Bilic is believed to want to get the deal done in January and with relations
between Gabbiadini and the vesuviani at an all-time low, he may just get his
wish in the new year.
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West Ham boost as Diafra Sakho returns to full training after back injury as
Andy Carroll and Arthur Masuaku also near return to fitness
Diafra Sakho has trained fully with West Ham for the first time this season
Striker has not played a single minute for the Hammers this campaign
His return comes as a boost to manager Slaven Bilic
West Ham take on Stoke City in their next Premier League match
By KIERAN GILL FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:43, 1 November 2016 | UPDATED: 10:43, 1 November 2016
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho is taking part in full training for the first
time this season on Tuesday and should be available after the international
break. The 26-year-old has not played for West Ham so far this season
because of a back problem but the Senegal international is joining the first
team at their training ground ahead of schedule. Sakho's return to full
fitness after the break will be a boost to Slaven Bilic, whose West Ham side
sit fourth bottom in the Premier League. The players had Monday off after
their 2-0 loss to Everton on Sunday, but are now preparing to play Stoke
City before the international break begins. Sakho was eased back into
training with the Under-23s last week but was not in the squad for their
Premier League 2 game against West Bromwich Albion on Monday night. It was
West Brom who had to pull out of a £16million deal for Sakho in August
because his medical showed a muscular injury in his back, Sportsmail
understands. Andy Carroll and Arthur Masuaku are also in line to return
after the international break.
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Will Andre Ayew's return push Ashley Fletcher closer to Leeds United loan?
HITC
Dan Coombs
West Ham forward has returned from injury, limited Ashley Fletcher's
chances, who has been interesting Leeds United. Leeds United were outdone in
their efforts to sign Ashley Fletcher on a permanent basis this summer as
the striker chose to sign with West Ham instead. Fletcher, 19, had let his
Manchester United contract expire and was hot property after helping fire
Barnsley to League One promotion in 2015/16. The Sun reported last week that
Leeds are hoping to pursue their interest and land Fletcher on a loan deal
in January, with manager Garry Monk keen on the player. West Ham have barely
played Fletcher in the Premier League, with the striker accumulating 151
minutes across six appearances, and yet to score. Now the Hammers' big money
summer signing Andre Ayew is back in action, and Fletcher has been pushed
further aside. Ayew was signed for £20 million in the summer from Swansea
City, yet was immediately sidelined through injury. The Ghanaian
international has made two substitute appearances in the last week for West
Ham, and is getting back to full fitness. Fletcher was on the bench
alongside him away to Everton, but did not make it onto the pitch. With Andy
Carroll also a contender to return from injury before the transfer window,
Fletcher's chances to make an impact may already have passed him by, the
upcoming EFL Cup game against Manchester United aside. He is at risk of this
season becoming a lost one if he gets into a situation where he is not even
making the bench each week, and a loan move makes sense. At Leeds he may not
be an automatic starter either with Chris Wood scoring regularly and Marcus
Antonsson chipping in; but with games being played twice a week, there is
greater need for rotation. With the Whites pushing hard for a play-off
place, Fletcher could be a difference maker and even earn his second
promotion in as many seasons.
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp eyes Bundesliga raid: Chelsea and West Ham also
interested
By UCHE AMAKO
PUBLISHED: 09:20, Tue, Nov 1, 2016 | UPDATED: 09:26, Tue, Nov 1, 2016
Express.co.uk
The 22-year-old left back was linked with a move to Liverpool last season
but opted to remain with the Bundesliga club. But he is yet to sign a new
deal and would be free to agree a pre-contract with another club in January.
And according to German newspaper Bild, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham are
all watching Kolasinac's situation. The full-back is quoted as saying: "It
must match for both sides. I have no time pressure." Schalke's sporting
director Christian Heidel added: "Sead is a real Schalke boy - we would like
to keep him." Jurgen Klopp snapped up defender Joel Matip from Schalke on a
free transfer in February after he entered the final year of his contract.
And with doubts over left-back Alberto Moreno, a move for Kolasinac is a
genuine possibility.
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West Ham FC transfer news: AC Milan keen to take Hammers flop Simone Zaza
back to Italy
By talkSPORT - @talkSPORT
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
AC Milan are ready to offer Simone Zaza a route out of West Ham. The striker
is currently on loan at the Hammers from Juventus but he has struggled to
adapt to the Premier League. It has sparked rumours that the 25-year-old is
ready to return to Italy in January and Napoli have already shown an
interest. However, according to Calciomercato, Milan are also working hard
on bringing Zaza to the San Siro. The Italian club have been tracking the
forward since September, when they first heard he could be off in January.
West Ham's decision to cancel Zaza's loan is likely to rest on them signing
another striker and they have been linked with Torino's Andrea Belotti and
Manolo Gabbiadini of Napoli.
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ALL WE ARE SAYING, IS GIVE US A GOAL.
By Tony Hanna 1 Nov 2016 at 08:00
WestHamTillIDie
This season has been like a circus ride for West Ham fans so far, but that
is not so unusual is it? Some dismal displays followed by a nice little run,
followed by reverting to type against our annual bogey team, Everton. All
this whilst trying to settle into what is the powder keg Olympic Stadium.
Sorry, just can't bring myself to call it the London Stadium. We currently
sit in seventeenth place and after the Stoke game this weekend a four game
run looms against Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool away,
sandwiched with a home match against Arsenal. We can also throw in a LC
quarter final in Manchester for good measure. Now, I know we often surprise
ourselves with results against the big guns, but if the obvious happens we
will likely still be hovering around the relegation zone by mid December. To
be honest, I very much doubt we will get relegated but this season of
transition is proving to be pretty tough.
In my view, for Premier League teams to be successful they need at least one
proven goal scoring striker. Cream will always eventually rise to the top
and whilst average teams can make themselves very hard to beat with coaches
making their teams disciplined and very well organised, it is unlikely that
will be enough to achieve honours. A team that can share their goals around
can be successful too, but a proven goal scorer will surely take them to the
next level? Vardy was an integral part of Leicester's bombshell last season
and look how Suarez almost single handedly did the same for Liverpool three
seasons ago, only to fall at the last hurdle. Aguerro's goals for City have
been the catalyst for their recent successes and where would Spurs have
finished without Harry Kane? Yes, these are all good sides but a proven goal
scorer makes the difference between a good side and a very good side. Even
when these top strikers aren't scoring, they are constantly making enough
diversions and distractions for others in their team to score.
So to us then. Over the past few seasons we have had Andy Carroll and Diafra
Sakho. When we have had either of them on the pitch we have looked a much
more potent force. The trouble is, getting them on the pitch. With the
expected transfer of Sakho to West Brom prior to the seasons start, our
owners were brandishing around their plan of signing a 20 goal a season
striker. The list of names on their bucket list was eventually whittled down
and we ended up with Zaza and Calleri. Both on loan deals thankfully. The
form of our most used striker this season, Zaza, has been nothing short of
awful. I don't care who he has played for before, whether he has played for
Italy, what other famous managers have thought enough about him to sign him,
the fact is he has been dreadful for us. He hasn't even looked like scoring
a goal and his movement to drag defenders out of position to open up space
for Payet and Lanzini is almost non existent. This has to have an effect on
our overall play. Quality strikers do much more than just score goals – they
create so much space and opportunity just with their presence and guile.
That is something that our current lot are not doing with the exception of
Antonio. It is not surprising to see some upturn in our fortunes when Slav
decided to turn our right back into a striker!
We have brought in Zaza, Calleri, Fletcher and Ayew this season to join
Carroll and Sakho and after SIXTEEN competitive games so far this season not
ONE has scored a goal! Some of those mentioned have not had much, or if any,
game time but those facts still make disturbing reading. When you also take
into account that Payet is in the top four chance creators this season in
the Premier League it is dismal. The stats get even worse when you consider
that Antonio is our leading goal scorer with five goals, but since being
actually played as a striker he has failed to find the back of the net
either. Ayew is already getting quite a bit of flak on the blog, but for me
he will offer the side quite a lot once he is fully fit and given a run in
the side. Some may argue he is not a recognised striker anyway, but for me
that is what the club bought him for. Given the loan terms apparently in
place for Zaza I will be amazed if he makes many more appearances for the
club. One of the frustrating things for the fans is the cloak and daggers
stuff sprouted by the owners and the medical team about the impending
returns of Carroll and Sakho. The continual maze of contradictions regarding
the pair would pale into insignificance if we had another striker at the
club scoring a few? But, we don't!
Please check back after the match for the results.
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Conman, 48, who tricked ex-England boss Sam Allardyce and West Ham stars
Andy Caroll and Kevin Nolan out of thousands in a Christmas hamper scam is
found guilty of fraud
Stephen Ackerman, 48, sold luxury hampers to West Ham staff and players
Ex-England manager Sam Allardyce and striker Andy Carroll were targeted
Ackerman took payments on a chip and PIN device and was later arrested
By STEPHANIE LINNING FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 19:22, 31 October 2016 | UPDATED: 21:36, 31 October 2016
A man who conned former England manager Sam Allardyce out of thousands of
pounds in a Christmas hamper scam has been found guilty of fraud. Stephen
Ackerman, 48, of Loughton, Essex, touted luxury goods and champagne to West
Ham staff and players, taking payments with a chip and PIN device. Thousands
of pounds were later taken from the same accounts in unauthorised payments.
Among those targeted was Andy Carroll, 27, who paid £2,500 for bogus goods
before his account was raided for a further £10,500, the court heard. Former
captain Kevin Nolan, 34, former defender James Tomkins, 27, former full-back
Joey O'Brien and defender Aaron Cresswell, 26, also lost money in the scam.
Ackerman was today found guilty of 18 counts of fraud, totalling more than
£60,000 at Snaresbrook Crown Court, London. The court heard how Ackerman
used the pseudonym Mark Kingston when he visited the West Ham training
ground in east London in December 2014. He took payment from a number of
players and staff using a handheld chip and PIN device. Allardyce was
fleeced out of money after paying for six bottles of wine and six bottles of
champagne while in charge of the football club, the court heard. James
Tomkins, now at Crystal Palace, handed over £750 while Cresswell paid £180.
But the deliveries never appeared and unauthorised payments totaling
thousands of pounds were taken from victims' accounts in the following
weeks. Allardyce had a total of £13,000 taken and Tomkins lost £30,000 in
unauthorised transactions, the jury was heard. O'Brien, who left the club in
July after five years, is said to have lost £1,950 in total. Nolan was also
targeted in the scam. The Premier League stars reported the matter to
police. Ackerman was caught after search warrants were carried out at
addresses linked to him throughout Essex and Hertfordshire. Investigations
also showed that his vehicle was close to the training ground immediately
before and after the fraudster had arrived and left the venue. Acting
Detective Sergeant Jamie Snell, from Newham CID, said: 'Ackerman preyed on
the trust of people he approached and essentially told an elaborate pack of
lies in order to get them to part with their cash. 'He defrauded a total of
£61,047 from his victims and thought that due to their fame they would never
report the matter to the police. 'He is a confident and accomplished
fraudster and we are delighted to have received this verdict from the jury
today.' Ackerman will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on November
25.
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West Ham striker crisis: Bilic readying bold change as latest Lacazette hope
is dashed
WEST HAM are in dire straits over their striker crisis with Slaven Bilic
reportedly ready to turn to Diafra Sakho to save them.
By JACK STAPLEHURST
PUBLISHED: 05:19, Tue, Nov 1, 2016 | UPDATED: 06:01, Tue, Nov 1, 2016
Express.co.uk
The Hammers' summer signings up front have failed to deliver so far, leaving
the club in 17th spot with 10 games gone. Simone Zaza has flopped since his
arrival on a season-long loan from Juventus with a view to a permanent deal.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Calleri has not been up to standard, youngster Ashley
Fletcher is still developing and £20.5m record buy Andre Ayew has missed the
majority of the campaign up to now through injury. West Ham's ambition in
the summer transfer window was to land a prolific goalscorer to complement
their creative stars such as Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini. But European
aspirations have been put on hold with the club currently fighting to pull
away from the relegation places at the London Stadium.
According to the Mirror, Alexandre Lacazette remains a highly optimistic
target for West Ham, having chased the Lyon hitman throughout the window.
The France international rejected the Hammers, but it is claimed the club
are exploring all options amid their goalscoring dilemma. None of Bilic's
strikers have scored in any competition yet this term, and any thoughts of
going back in again for Lacazette appear to have been quashed. Lyon are keen
to hand the 25-year-old a new deal, as club president Jean Michel Aulas on
Saturday said: "I would like for us to be able to extend Alexandre's
contract." The highly-rated striker preferred a switch to Arsenal in the
summer but no move materialised, and now Lyon want his future secured
following his nine goals in nine games to start the new season. In the near
future, Bilic will apparently push for a return to the team for Sakho as
soon as possible. The 26-year-old has endured a host of injury problems
since arriving in east London but shown the club he is a goalscorer. Despite
growing unhappy last season after not being offered a new deal and nearly
leaving for West Brom this summer, West Ham are preparing to reintroduce
him.
Sakho has been recovering from a long-term back issue, causing him to fail a
medical with the Baggies, but he returned to first-team training finally
yesterday, having worked with the Under-23s last week. The striker needs to
get up to match fitness, meaning an appearance at home to Stoke in the
Premier League on Saturday is doubtful, leaving Michail Antonio likely to be
their make-shift striker once again. However, after the international break,
Bilic is reportedly expected to deploy the Senegal international up top to
rediscover West Ham's attacking threat. Sakho's attitude has apparently
softened and he has rebuilt bridges at the London Stadium.
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Injury and suspension double impact for West Ham ahead of crucial Stoke
clash
HITC
Damien Lucas
West Ham United saw their chances of victory over Stoke City this coming
Saturday increase on Monday night. The Hammers take on the Potters at the
London Stadium knowing a victory is crucial having slipped down to 17th
place following defeat to Everton last time out. Meanwhile Stoke are fresh
from beating Swansea City 3-1 on Monday night and sit 12th in the table.
A win would lift Slaven Bilic's side above Mark Hughes' men in the
increasingly congested Premier League standings going into the November
international break and ahead of a hellish month of fixtures which sees the
East Londoners face Spurs, a double header against Manchester United at Old
Trafford, Arsenal and Liverpool in a row. That gives the Stoke game added
significance in West Ham's season and their chances of victory have been
increased after the visitors saw two of their key players likely ruled out
of the game on Monday night.
First Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri limped off half an hour into the win over
the Swans through injury and looks highly unlikely to be able to feature in
five days time against the Hammers.
Stoke City's Xherdan Shaqiri looks dejected after going off injured
Stoke City's Xherdan Shaqiri looks dejected after going off injured
The playmaker was injured after a robust challenge from Wales defender Neil
Taylor much to the anger of the Stoke fans at the Bet 365 Stadium.
Then with the win all but secured Marko Arnautovic was harshly booked late
on for a tackle on Leroy Fer when replays clearly showed he won the ball
cleanly.
Stoke City's Marko Arnautovic looks dejected
Stoke City's Marko Arnautovic picked up a fifth booking and a suspension
SEE ALSO:
Chelsea midfielder gets it horribly wrong after questioning West Ham fear
factor
Slaven Bilic shares what he told Simone Zaza after his performance against
Crystal Palace
West Ham to ban 200 supporters after derby trouble against Chelsea
It was the Austrian's fifth booking of the season which rules him out of the
trip to West Ham and cannot be appealed.
The Hammers will be missing key defender Winston Reid for the same reason
but will be confident of victory given the double blow to Stoke.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ditch the rabonas: Five things we learned from West Ham's defeat at Everton
HITC
Damien Lucas
Five things we learned from West Ham United's 2-0 defeat to Everton at the
weekend.
The Hammers slipped to a sixth defeat from their first 10 Premier League
games at Goodison Park last time out. The defeat was made all the more
frustrating by the fact the Hammers could not make their first half
dominance pay at Goodison Park with a series of missed chances. Here are
five things we learned about the Hammers from the game.
1) Confidence is still fragile despite mini-revival
West Ham showed that their confidence is still very fragile as heads visibly
dropped when they conceded a sloppy goal in the second half. Slaven Bilic's
side had won three games in a row, including that cup win over Chelsea, and
were unbeaten in four going into the game. But as soon as Lukaku put the
Toffees ahead the Hammers looked beaten. It is worrying given the
mini-revival Bilic has overseen in recent weeks and supporters want to see
more courage and determination from their side in those scenarios like they
displayed last season.
2) Some players still haven't learned their lessons from Watford
West Ham were lambasted after their 4-2 home defeat to Watford earlier this
season after throwing away a 2-0 lead. A series of rabonas from Manuel
Lanzini and Dimitri Payet at 2-0 inspired Watford to launch their remarkable
comeback according to Hornets star Troy Deeney who accused Bilic's side of
'taking the mickey' out of them. But while Hammers fans want to see their
side play with flair, it appears some of them haven't learned their lesson.
At 1-0 down against Everton Lanzini was guilty again of overdoing it as he
attempted a ridiculous rabona shot from outside the box rather than keeping
a very dangerous attack alive. Payet kept trying to beat players in tight
positions rather than pass and keep the move going too.
3) Zaza is being readied for hasty West Ham exit
If Simone Zaza can't get into a West Ham side that is not scoring freely and
where his three rivals for a starting spot are injured or not fully fit then
it doesn't bode well. Used as a substitute yet again in favour of winger
Michail Antonio, Zaza clocked up another appearance on his way to activating
the 14-game obligation to buy clause for a whopping £25 million.
That will not be allowed to happen, though, if this game is anything to go
by. Bilic clearly doesn't trust the player and with good reason, the Italian
striker has not even come close to a goal with a quarter of the season gone.
4) Obiang proves Bilic must put the team first not the individual
One criticism that can be levelled at Bilic is that he seems afraid to upset
his star players, even if they are not performing. How Pedro Obiang,
arguably West Ham's best player at Goodison Park and certainly their best
player in the last month, was withdrawn at 1-0 while the likes of Mark
Noble, Dimitri Payet and Antonio stayed on the pitch was beyond most Hammers
fans. Obiang's absence left a gaping hole in midfield which Everton quickly
exploited to make it 2-0 and kill the game. Managers like Ronald Koeman,
Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola make decisions for the
good of the team as Koeman's recent decision to drop Ross Berkley proves.
Bilic got this one wrong and it did not go unnoticed either.
5) West Ham are not out of the woods yet
While West Ham should have more than enough quality to avoid a relegation
battle, their performance at Everton showed they are not out of the woods
yet. They had turned a corner and Everton is a tough place to go, especially
for West Ham who have lost more to the Blues than any other club in their
history. But with a poor goal difference the Hammers are sat 16th in the
table just three points off the bottom three and with a hellish fixture list
looming in the next month including consecutive games against Spurs, a
double header against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Arsenal and
Liverpool. They need to roll their sleeves up and prove they want to make a
success of their season, especially after Bilic admitted even he could see
the complacency in his side this season.
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West Ham forward Andre Ayew vows to 'be ready' when Slaven Bilic needs him
SAM LONG
Evening Standard
West Ham forward Andre Ayew has vowed to "be ready" when Slaven Bilic
decides he is ready to make his second start of the season. Ayew joined the
Hammers from Swansea in the summer but endured a disastrous start to his
career in east London, picking up a thigh injury just minutes into his
debut. A frustrating spell on the sidelines followed, which coincided with
West Ham's concerning slump in form, but Ayew made his Premier League
comeback in Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Everton. The 26-year-old was delighted to
get more minutes under his belt and is hopeful he will soon be deemed worthy
of a place in Bilic's starting line up. "The injury feels good and I am
working hard. Things are going well and hopefully I can continue like this.
"It is up to the manager when I am ready to start a game but the most
important thing is that we continue to work hard and try and win games. When
the gaffer needs me I will be ready."
Defeat at Goodison Park ended West Ham's unbeaten run of three top-flight
games but Ayew is adamant his teammates should not be disheartened after
coming up short against Ronald Koeman's men. The Hammers host Stoke this
weekend and Ayew is eyeing all three points: "We cannot forget the work we
have put into the last three games because of one defeat and Everton are a
good team," insisted the Ghana international. "We need to learn from our
mistakes and get back to winning ways against Stoke. "We know it will be
another tough games but we are in front of our fans and we can beat them at
home if we do what we have to do." The Hammers have not been at their best
on home soil this season but could climb into the top half of the table with
victory over Mark Hughes' side on Saturday.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Wednesday, November 2
Tuesday, November 1
Daily WHUFC News - 1st November 2016
Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
As his side prepare to face Stoke City this weekend, their last game before
the November international break, Slaven Bilic said his side can take
encouragement from the number of chances his side created away at Everton.
Despite the defeat, the manager highlighted the number of openings his men
created, particularly in the opening stages of Sunday's encounter.
Bilic said: "We played some good football at times, we created some chances,
so I am happy about that. I felt that they were vulnerable at the back,
particularly at the beginning of the game and we created problems. "I
thought we coped with their strong attack well in the first half. But we
can't blame anyone else for this defeat, we can't blame unluckiness, it was
down to us. It was a 50-50 game, we just couldn't take it."
While the breakthrough proved elusive, the travelling Hammers carved out 13
chances in total – which left the manager with reason to believe his side
deserved more than a 2-0 defeat.
He continued: "There's a bitter taste because we know we should have taken
something from this game. I had that feeling at half-time, and it continued
as the game went on. "Once they scored, we knew it would always be tough to
come back against them as they are a very difficult side to play against."
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Stat's a Fact - Adrian at his best
WHUFC.com
On a disappointing afternoon at Goodison Park Adrian was, not for the first
time West Ham United's standout performer against Everton. The man whose
unforgettable penalty scored a shootout win over the Toffees in January 2014
was again to the fore. Without the Spaniard's heroics, West Ham's goal would
unquestionably have been breached on more than two occasions.
Adrian was heavily involved on Merseyside, touching the ball 49 times –
three more occasions than midfielder Manuel Lanzini and ten more times than
right wing-back Edimilson Fernandes.
Of those touches, four were saves.
The first was undoubtedly the best. It came on 26 minutes when Ross Barkley
collected a Bryan Oviedo cut-back before lashing a shot goalwards, only for
Adrian to thrust his right hand into the air and push the ball to safety.
The stop illustrated Adrian's goalkeeping skills perfectly, with the
Spaniard showing good positioning, fine agility and the strong wrist
required to keep fiercely-struck footballs out of his net. The No13 was back
in action eight minutes before half-time, tipping over a cross-shot from
Kevin Mirallas that may have been sneaking under his crossbar. Into the
second half and Adrian was hugely unfortunate to concede five minutes after
the break. Seamus Coleman collected Winston Reid's clearance 30 yards from
goal, cut onto his left foot and fired an accurate low shot towards the
bottom right-hand corner. Adrian dived low and pushed the ball aside, only
for Yannick Bolasie to react quickly, get the better of a challenge with
Reid, and the ball to loop over the goalkeeper for Romelu Lukaku to head in.
The 29-year-old could do nothing about Everton's second goal. The lively
Lukaku raced in behind a tiring West Ham defence, collected the ball and
clipped a cross to the unmarked Barkley, who swept home from ten yards into
the bottom corner. There was still time for Adrian to impress on a fourth
occasion, as he parried Lukaku's volley after another superb piece of play
from the Belgian. In between, Adrian showed superb handling, catching four
Everton corners high above his head with the minimum of fuss and coming out
to smother when Lukaku was threatening early on, while his distribution was
more than satisfactory throughout. In an ideal world, the goalkeeper would
have nothing to do, but having been called upon, the former Betis man was
not found wanting.
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Antonio - We have to pick ourselves up
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is convinced his team-mates can bounce straight back from
the disappointing 2-0 defeat against Everton and get straight back on the
winning trail against Stoke next weekend. The Hammers four match unbeaten
run came to an end at Goodison Park after goals from Romelu Lukaku and Ross
Barkley secured all three points for the Merseyside Club. Antonio felt the
luck was against his side and it could have been a different story if they
had made their early dominance count. But despite the defeat, the West Ham
forward sees no reason why they cannot re-produce the form which saw them
record back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Chelsea and
move back up the table. Antonio said: "We have to pick ourselves up because
we were unbeaten in four games and we know we can do it again. "We want
another win next weekend against Stoke at London Stadium. "At the beginning
of the game I thought we dominated the game in the opening 25 minutes. "We
were getting good balls into the box but didn't manage to convert them.
"After that the game went 50/50 and I thought their first goal was a bit
lucky. It took a ricochet and then bounced back to Lukaku who put the ball
into an empty net. "We need to try and find a way of stopping Lukaku. We
just have to pay more attention towards him and stop him scoring in the next
game. "These things happen in football. We have got to pick ourselves and go
again. "We could sense it was not going to be our day. Things were not
coming off for us but we still put in a good performance and kept fighting
until the end."
Antonio was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet in the second half
when he burst clear of Ashley Williams and only had Joel Robles to beat in
the Everton goal, but the Spanish keeper made a fine save. The 26-year-old
is enjoying his new role down the middle and says he will continue to work
hard and hopefully get back among the goals again in the near future.
Antonio added: "I had a great chance and was looking up to see if anyone
else was around but I couldn't see anyone and tried to curl the ball around
the keeper but he got his foot down and managed to save it. "On another day
I would have scored with that opportunity but it didn't happen for me
today."
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Loan round up
WHUFC.com
Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle helped Wigan record a first Championship away
win of the season
Stephen Hendrie was in action for Blackburn in the Championship in their 1-1
draw
Josh Cullen helped Bradford City record a seventh win of the season in
League One
With the help of Hammers loanees Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle, Wigan Athletic
picked up a crucial first away win of the season on Saturday, beating
Cardiff City by a single goal in Wales.
Burke played the full 90 minutes for the Latics, while Knoyle – making his
first appearance for the side having recovered from an injury which ruled
the him out of action during the summer – was introduced for the final
minute in the Welsh capital. And it was a late strike which won the tie for
manager-less Wigan in the Championship, as Jordi Gomez struck following
David Perkins' assist with just four minutes of normal time remaining. The
Tics remain in the relegation zone, but are now just one point behind
Saturday's opponents who are hovering nervously above the bottom three.
Elsewhere in the Championship, Stephen Hendrie played his first Blackburn
Rovers game since August as he featured during the final 18 minutes of the
side's 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sam Gallagher struck early
in the first half at Ewood Park, and Blackburn looked as if they had done
enough for all three points until David Edwards nodded Wolves level with 12
minutes left on the clock. Martin Samuelsen – also on loan with Owen Coyle's
outfit – was an unused substitute.
Down a division in League One, Josh Cullen – a key player for Bradford City
throughout the current campaign – played in his side's 3-2 away win over AFC
Wimbledon. The Bantams, who remain hot on the heels of automatic
promotion-chasing Scunthorpe United and Bolton Wanderers, took the lead
after three minutes thanks to Jordy Hiwula's fifth of the season. The Dons
pulled themselves level on 18 minutes through Tom Elliot, and with 22
minutes remaining, gave themselves the lead from the penalty spot when Lyle
Taylor converted from 12 yards.
Stuart McCall's men – now without Cullen, who left the field on 70 minutes –
were determined, however, not to lose only their second league game of the
season, and James Hanson – also from the spot – made it 2-2. And two minutes
into injury time, Hanson became the late hero for City, meeting Stephen
Darby's cross to give the visitors all three points in south west London.
Two more Hammers loanees went head-to-head in League One, as Walsall and
Coventry City battled it out, prompting the meeting of George Dobson and
Lewis Page. Midfielder Dobson was left on the Saddlers' bench however, while
Page played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at the Bescot Stadium. Andy
Rose gave Coventry the lead eight minutes before the break before Erhun
Oztumer, with 14 minutes left, levelled from just inside the box.
Finally in the third tier, Josh Pask played nine minutes as a substitute for
Gillingham, though they were beaten 2-1 at Fleetwood Town. David Ball and
Ash Hunter scored for the hosts either side of Jake Hessenthaler's 52nd
minute strike.
Lastly, Doneil Henry played seven minutes for Danish side AC Horsens on loan
in their Superliga defeat to Sønderjyske.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ladies lose out to leaders
WHUFC.com
Ladies beaten 5-0 by league leaders Coventry United on Sunday afternoon
Hammers recover from difficult first half to blank visitors after half-time
Captain Amy Cooper says team will take belief from their second-half
performance
A spirited West Ham United Ladies were beaten by Coventry United in the FA
Women's Premier League Southern Division. The Hammers fell 5-0 down by
half-time at Thurrock FC's Ship Lane on Sunday afternoon, but dug in to
prevent their high-flying opponents from adding to their tally after the
break. Captain Amy Cooper was pleased with the way the home side recovered
from the shock of conceding early goals, and said the second-half
performance gave the squad cause for optimism. "We worked hard in the first
half but we let them break us down with sloppy mistakes," said Cooper. "In
the second half we were more organised but couldn't put our chances away. We
showed improvement which was encouraging, and so onto next week's cup game."
The visitors shrugged off the effects of a delayed journey from the Midlands
– which caused the kick-off to be delayed by half-an-hour – to go ahead
within the opening eight minutes through Alison Hall's improvised finish.
Having gone ahead, and playing with a confidence and intensity that the
hosts initially found it difficult to match, and it took a brave Hannah
Wheeler block to prevent Coventry doubling their lead on 18 minutes.
However, from the resulting corner, Coventry captain Natasha Lynch reacted
quickest inside the penalty area to poke the ball past goalkeeper Aditi
Chauhan and into the bottom corner. Moments later, Hall scored her second of
the game to make it 3-0, rising above the West Ham defence to head home
powerfully from another corner. Then, just past the half-hour mark, Hall
completed her hat-trick, beating Chauhan with a low, hard shot. Despite
falling behind, West Ham did not give up, with Katie Bottom leading the
charge with a number of determined challenges on the right flank.
Unfortunately, a firm but fair challenge also resulted in lively Hammers
forward Shannon Albuery being forced off with a knee injury, to be replaced
by substitute Kat Clifton. To add insult to injury, Hall scored her fourth
goal, and Coventry's fifth, with a long-range strike a few minutes before
half-time. There was still time for Whitney Locke to miss West Ham's best
chance of the game before the break, with the forward flashing a shot across
the face of the Coventry goal. After the break, the Hammers seemed to find
their rhythm and began to stroke the ball around, with Dayne Chong, Chloe
Burr and Locke catching the eye, in particular. Amy Cooper and Kat Clifton
managed to gain control of midfield and the defensive pairing of Wheeler and
Auguste quietened the hitherto rampant Coventry forward line. Olivia Sammons
replaced Sasha Kelly on the hour, allowing Bottom to take up a central
midfield role, from where she could be more effective. West Ham finished the
stronger of the two sides but there were to be no further goals, meaning
Coventry remain unbeaten and top of the table, while Greg de Carnys' Hammers
sit tenth. The Hammers take a break from league action this coming weekend,
when they welcome Keynsham Town Ladies to Ship Lane for an FAWPL Plate
third-round tie. Kick-off on Sunday is at 2pm, with free admission for
Under-16s and tickets priced at £5 for Adults.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Travelling fans earn praise
WHUFC.com
West Ham United supporters impressed their hosts at Everton on Sunday
3,000 travelling fans paid tribute to the fallen in poignant Remembrance
ceremony
Hammers also stood and applauded late Evertonians Howard Kendall and Rhys
Jones
West Ham United's travelling supporters have been praised for the respect
they showed to Everton Football Club at Goodison Park on Sunday. The
3,000-strong Claret and Blue Army's conduct was recognised by Evertonian
Lenny Jameson, who wrote to fan website Knees Up Mother Brown to thank them.
The Hammers' away support is always outstanding, but those who made the trip
to Liverpool truly surpassed themselves by the way they embraced the hosts'
Remembrance commemorations. As one would expect, the West Ham support fell
silent during a wreath-laying ceremony, a moment of silence and the playing
of the Last Post before kick-off. Then, on four minutes, the visiting fans
joined their Everton counterparts by applauding in memory of late Toffees
player and manager Howard Kendall, who passed away in October 2015. Kendall,
who won the league title with Everton as both a player and manager, became
the youngest-ever FA Cup finalist when he turned out for Preston North End
against the Hammers in 1964. Finally, at half-time, the West Ham fans
gathered in the Bullens Stand stood and applauded in tribute to the late
Rhys Jones, the eleven-year-old Everton fan who was tragically shot on his
way home from football training in 2007.
A drama series being made in Jones' memory entitled Little Boy Blue was
being filmed in and around Goodison Park on Sunday, and the half-time
filming saw actors re-enact the afternoon Everton paid tribute to the young
Rhys nearly a decade ago. "As an Evertonian," wrote Jameson to KUMB.com, "I
was at the game today, seated with my disabled friend behind the goal right
next to the West Ham supporters. The support for their team was first-class
throughout the whole game. "My main point however is their reaction to the
minute's silence and two different minute's applause that were held today.
"The Remembrance Day silence was, as it should be, impeccably observed. And
the response from the West Ham fans to the minutes' applause for Howard
Kendall and Rhys Jones was absolutely fantastic. "The wholehearted way in
which they all joined in was a wonderful sight to see. I hope you can pass
this message on from us Evertonians and thank them all from the bottom of
our hearts. "They were an absolute credit to their club and to football."
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Ayew - When the gaffer needs me I will be ready
WHUFC.com
Andre Ayew is convinced the defeat at Everton is only a minor blip and says
the players should not forget the impressive form in recent weeks which has
helped turned the Club's season around. The Hammers saw their four match
unbeaten run come to an end at Goodison Park after goals from Romelu Lukaku
and Ross Barkley helped the Merseyside Club secure a 2-0 victory.
Slaven Bilic's side had plenty of chances to get something from the game but
failed to make their early pressure count. Ayew, who appeared as a second
half substitute and also came close to getting on the scoresheet, is
convinced the team should still remain positive despite the setback on
Sunday and hopes to see a much better outcome against Stoke on Saturday.
Ayew said: "We cannot forget the work we have put into the last three games
because of one defeat and Everton are a good team. "We need to learn from
our mistakes and get back to winning ways against Stoke. "We know it will be
another tough games but we are in front of our fans and we can beat them at
home if we do what we have to do."
Ayew is now hoping to get another full week of training under his belt and
put himself in contention for the game at London Stadium on Saturday. The
26-year-old is pleased to be part of the squad once again and says he will
be ready when the manager feels the time is right to name him in the
starting line-up. Ayew added: "The injury feels good and I am working hard.
Things are going well and hopefully I can continue like this. "It is up to
the manager when I am ready to start a game but the most important thing is
that we continue to work hard and try and win games. When the gaffer needs
me I will be ready.
Ayew feels his team-mates were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet at
Goodison Park and hopes they will have more luck in front of goal when they
face Stoke.
"I thought the team played very well in the first half and if we could have
scored it would have been a completely different game. We have just had
three games when the players gave everything. "We knew the first 20 minutes
in the second half would be very difficult because they would press and try
and score an early goal which they managed to do. "We also had our chances
and didn't put them in. We need to keep working hard and soon it will come.
We are doing well and are playing some great football. We need to try and
score some more goals and not concede. "The manager told me when he brought
me on just to play my game and try and get on the scoresheet. It is part of
my game to get into goalscoring situations and soon I will get a good chance
and put the ball in the net."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FT - West Ham United PL2 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
WHUFC.com
FT: The Hammers faced a late scare there but managed to see out the victory
in the end. An own goal and Ashley Fletcher made for a comfortbale first
half.... O'Shea rifled in a volley for West Brom with minutes to play but
Terry Westley's men hold out for the three points. Final score: West Ham
United PL2 2-1 West Bromwich Albion. Thanks for tuning in this evening and
we'll be back on Friday for the Premier League Cup tie with Nottingham
Forest.
90+3: Goal for WBA. O'Shea rifles in from the edge of the area. 2-1
90+1: The Hammers U18 hero Jahmal Hector-Ingram comes on to replace Calleri
for the final few minutes. 2-0
90: More good defending as Kemp snuffs out an attack. Fourth official adds
four minutes. 2-0
88: The Hammers look like they're going to see this one out. West Brom have
hardly threatened apart from that one header from Barbir. 2-0
86: Quina again breaks through the Baggies defence but he cannot release a
pass in time to Calleri. 2-0
85: Second sub for the Hammers - Browne is off and on come Dan Kemp. Great
performance once again by Browne. 2-0
83: Change for West Brom. Barbir is on. And he's straight into the action,
forcing a brilliant save from Howes. 2-0
80: More brilliant play by Quina who links up with Fletcher once again. His
cross is just behind the Hammers striker. 2-0
76: Slight pause in play as Quina is down. The youngster is up and ready to
enter the fray again. 2-0
72: Sylvestre slots straight in at LB. Good shift by Westley and he
continues his comeback from injury. Still 2-0 with 20 minutes to play.
69: Free-kick by West Brom whipped straight at Howes by Leko. Yet to see
Howes properly tested this evening. Sub for the Hammers - Sylvestre replaces
Westley. 2-0
66: Almost three! Calleri blocks the keeper's clearance and there's Browne
looking to add to his tally of three this season. However, Rose in the
Albion goal produces a terrific stop. Albion sub - Elbouzedi on for Smith up
front. 2-0
62: West Brom look like they're about to make a change. The Hammers are
defending well and have a outlet in the front three of Calleri, Browne and
Fletcher. 2-0
60: Samuelsen is the third WHU player to enter the referee's book for a late
challenge on the near touchline. No threat so far in this second half by the
Baggies. The Hammers looking comfortable. 2-0
57: Hammers looking to hit WBA on the counter in this second half. Browne
tries to find Calleri but his pass is blocked - the Hammers look a threat as
they aim to add to their lead. 2-0
52: Good chance to make it three. Calleri is played in by Makasi but can
only shoot straight at Rose in the Baggies goal. 2-0
48: Couple of corners to WBA dealt with brilliantly by Neufville, first, and
then Rice. Defensively, the Hammers have been solid as a rock so far. 2-0
46: We're back underway at the CCS. No changes by either side. The Hammers
two goals to the good remember.
HT: The Hammers lead at the break thanks to that own goal by Jack Fitzwater
and Ashley Fletcher's header. It's 2 and it could have easily been more in
that first half. Terry Westley will be pleased with what he has seen so far.
2-0 at the break.
45: 2 minutes added by the fourth official.
43: Not long until half-time here. The Hammers still lead 2-0 thanks to that
own goal and Fletcher's header and they've been pretty comfortable since.
The Baggies are yet to really threaten in this first half.
41: Chance for West Brom. Scrivens' corner just misses the head of Smith.
2-0
38: More wonderful play by Quina - he glides past three players with
consummate ease and his ball through to Fletcher is just behind the Hammers
No9. So unlucky. 2-0
33: GOALL!! Fletcher makes it 2 after a wonderful cross from Calleri. Since
then, Browne has an effort tipped onto the bar, Rice forces a magnificent
save from Rose and Calleri puts it wide from close range. Crazy few minutes
here. It's 2-0 though. Get in!
29: Great footwork by Fletcher wins a corner. The delivery is put in with
venom by Browne and Rice rises highest but cannot divert his header on goal.
1-0
26: Silky play by Quina sees him beat three Albion players before eventually
being fouled. Sometimes forget that he is just 16 years old. 1-0
24: Sam Westley now gets a talking to from the referee. Didn't look happy
about a certain decision and he has now gone into Mr Brook's book. 1-0
21: Late tackle by Browne on Donnellan which the Baggies defender doesn't
seem best pleased about. Donnellan gives Browne a push and both players are
booked. 1-0
16: Lovely long ball forward by Pike is expertly taken down by Fletcher. The
Baggies defender maages to clear for a corner. Put in by Browne, and
Samuelsen gets to the front post but cannot divert his effort on goal. 1-0
13: Corner whipped in by Leko headed away brilliantly by Neufville. The
Hammers have been happy to let their opponents have the ball since the goal.
They're still in control though. 1-0
10: At the other end, Leko sends a shot well over the bar. 1-0.
7: GOALLL! The Hammers are a goal up already. Ashley Fletcher does
brilliantly to turn in the area and his powerful cross is turned home by
West Brom's Jack Fitzwater. 1-0!
4: Chance for West Brom here. Samuelsen fouls Wilson just on the edge of the
box. Free-kick is whipped in but is too high for the men in the box. 0-0
2: Lots of interchanging on position from the Hammers early on. The midfield
on Quina, Samuelsen, Makasi will be moving around quite a lot this evening.
Browne just in behind Fletcher ad Calleri up top. 0-0
1: We're underway at the CCS. Come on lads!
6.45pm: Both sets of players are finishing up their warm-ups at the Chigwell
Construction Stadium. We're moments away from kick-off here.
6.35pm: The visitors have Jonathan Leko in their ranks this evening - he
played 40 minutes for the Baggies first team in their 4-0 defeat to
Manchester City on Saturday. It's going to be a tough night for the Hammers,
but one they'll be relishing, that's for sure. Kick-off around 25 minutes
away.
6.20pm: The Hammers go into tonight after an impressive victory away at
Middlesbrough last Friday. They're currently fourth in PL2 Division 2, a
place behind the Baggies who are third - that should make for an interesting
match with both sides having ambitions to be the best in this division.
Remember, admission is free for season ticket holders this evening.
6.10pm: So lots to talk about ahead of tonight's match. The most striking
are the returns of Martin Samuelsen and Ashley Fletcher and the inclusion of
Jonathan Calleri. Samuelsen has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers this season
but didn't feature for the Lancashire side this weekend so he plays his
first PL2 game since the win over Newcastle United. Fletcher appeared on the
bench for the first team at the weekend against Everton and makes his third
PL2 start of the year with Jonathan Calleri making his Premier League 2 bow.
Kick-off is at 7pm from Dagenham and Redbridge's Chigwell Construction
Stadium.
West Ham United XI: Howes, Westley (Sylvestre, 69), Pike, Rice (c),
Neufville, Quina, Makasi, Samuelsen, Browne (Kemp, 80), Fletcher, Calleri
(Hector-Ingram, 90).
Subs: Matrevics, Hector-Ingram, Akinola.
Goals: Fitzwater (OG), Fletcher
West Brom: Rose, Wilson, McCourt, Donnellan, Fitzwater, O'Shea, Leko, Field,
Smith (Elbouzedi, 66), Harper, Scrivens.
Subs: Sweeney, Palmer, Pritchatt, Barbir.
Goals: O'Shea.
5.50pm: Good evening and welcome to the Chigwell Construction Stadium for
tonight's Premier League 2 match between West Ham United and West Bromwich
Albion. The Hammers have not played at home since the 0-0 draw with Brighton
and Hove Albion on the 26th September and make a welcome return to their
newly-adopted home ground this evening. It should be a fascinating game
tonight - West Ham are fourth in Division 2 and the Baggies are just a place
above them, with both sides aiming to be at the top of the league come the
end of the season. Team news to follow shortly!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
#WHUAREYA - Tunji Akinola
WHUFC.com
Tunji Akinola has been in fine form this season, skippering the U18s who
have stormed to top of the league in their Premier League U18 South
division.
He has also played a number of times for the PL2 outfit, including their
Checkatrade Trophy clash against Wycombe Wanderers when he came up against
the beast that is Adebayo Akinfenwa.
Akinola - a centre-back by trade - sat down with West Ham TV to go under the
spotlight in the feature #WHUAREYA.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham: London Stadium should be knocked down, says expert
BBC.co.uk
West Ham's London Stadium should be knocked down and rebuilt to suit
football fans, a stadium expert says. Paul Fletcher, who has built or
advised on more than 30 new grounds, says athletics was wrongly put before
football at the former Olympic Stadium. He says fans are too far from the
pitch at a ground beset by problems since the Hammers moved there this
summer. "Either we go on as we are for the next 30 or 40 years or we knock
it down and start again," Fletcher told the BBC. "Something has to give. If
you want to satisfy spectators the only way to get those spectators near
that pitch is to knock it down and start again," added the former Burnley
striker turned chief executive.
Fletcher, who was behind new stadiums at Bolton, Huddersfield and Coventry,
among others, and was commercial director for Wembley Stadium, said he was
asked about the development of an Olympic stadium in 2000. "I said what you
must do is design a football stadium that converts to an athletics stadium
for two weeks of its lifetime," he said. "When I build my football stadiums,
my number one concern is the spectator "What they've done is tried to
convert an athletics stadium into a football pitch and, in my opinion, it
doesn't work. "The building was almost built when they started to talk to
West Ham."
West Ham won the bid to occupy the Olympic Stadium in March 2013 and played
their first game there in August 2016, after 112 years at Upton Park.
However, their move has been marred by fan violence, leading the club to
issue a five-point security plan to prevent further disorder. Hundreds of
supporters clashed during the Hammers' EFL Cup tie against Chelsea, with
seven arrests made as riot police were deployed inside the stadium.
Vice-chairwoman Karren Brady said the club would ban any fans involved in
the violence, while Mark Field MP said the club should be forced to play
behind closed doors until the issues are solved. "Let's face it, there was
only going to be one end user and it was only going to be West Ham,"
Fletcher added. "Everyone in those days spoke about legacy. The only legacy
was going to be as a football stadium and they should have been talking to
West Ham and ask them what they want."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham target Alexandre Lacazette set to be offered new Lyon deal
15:37, 31 OCT 2016 UPDATED 21:56, 31 OCT 2016
BY DARREN LEWIS
Lyon President Jean Michel Aulas has confirmed the Ligue 1 outfit will hand
the striker fresh terms in a bid to ward off interest
The Mirror
Lyon are set to frustrate West Ham 's bid to solve their striker crisis in
January by offering Alexandre Lacazette a new deal. The 25-year-old marksman
rejected the Irons during the summer but West Ham are exploring all options
with the club struggling for goals. Lyon are sitting eighth in Ligue 1 but
Lacazette, who had fancied a move to Arsenal, has netted a total of nine
goals in his nine appearances in all competitions this season. Speaking
following Lyon's 2-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday, Lyon President Jean
Michel Aulas confirmed: "I would like for us to be able to extend
Alexandre's contract."
West Ham are already set to press Diafra Sakho back into action as soon as
they can. Sakho has not played since May and is still at the club after
failing a medical ahead of a potential summer move to West Brom. Last season
he was disgruntled at not getting an improved deal while others at West Ham
did. But his attitude has since softened while West Ham have rebuilt bridges
with him as they focus on moving away from the bottom four.
Simone Zaza, brought in on loan with a view to a £25million deal, has been a
bitter disappointment. It led to Slaven Bilic starting without a striker in
the club's EFL Cup win over Chelsea last week. They did so again in their
2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton on Sunday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
AC Milan to unsettle £18m West Ham deal with January striker bid - reports
By JAMES CAMBRIDGE
PUBLISHED: 15:20, Mon, Oct 31, 2016 | UPDATED: 15:41, Mon, Oct 31, 2016
Express.co.uk
Zaza is currently on loan from Juve with West Ham but has failed to impress
since moving to the Premier League. The Hammers have an £18million buy-out
clause in place which will be activated if Zaza make a certain number of
appearances. However, the Italy international is yet to score in nine
outings for Slaven Bilic's side. And according to reports in Italy, Milan
are prepared to offer the 25-year-old a swift return to the Serie A. Italian
website CalcioMercatoWeb claim the San Siro club are considering a bid for
Zaza in January due to Paris Saint-Germain's interest in Carlos Bacca. The
report says if Bacca leaves for PSG then Zaza would be Milan's first-choice
replacement. Bacca has been in impressive form this term, scoring six times
in 11 appearances for Vincenzo Montella's side. Zaza is less prolific, but
still managed eight goals in 24 appearances for Juventus last season. The
Italy international is under contract with Juve until June 2017.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Wasteful West Ham must develop 'cruel streak' or risk another slump, says
Slaven Bilic
IAN WHITTELL
Evening STandard
Slaven Bilic believes his side must grow up fast and develop a "cruel"
streak if they are to avoid more frustrations like the defeat at Goodison
Park yesterday. After West Ham's three-game winning run come to an end,
Bilic highlighted a second-half incident involving Michail Antonio to prove
his point. West Ham had just conceded the opening goal to Romelu Lukaku,
thanks in part to Winston Reid being caught daydreaming and allowing Yannick
Bolasie to find the Belgian after Adrian had saved from Seamus Coleman. It
showed Everton's clinical response to errors but, when home defender Ashley
Williams did likewise minutes later and slipped to allow Antonio to break
into the area, the winger failed to beat Joel Robles. "I was looking up to
see if someone was around but could see there was no one," said Antonio of
his run deep into Everton territory. "I tried to wrap it around him but he
managed to get his foot down and save it. Another day I would have scored
there but it just didn't happen for me."
Antonio's response to his miss was understandable but, for his manager, it
showed why his team lost and why they will find themselves one place above
the relegation zone tonight should Stoke beat Swansea. "We can't blame
anyone," said Bilic. "It's not the ref, or I don't know what, or we weren't
just unlucky. It was all 50-50 and we just didn't take it. "The first goal
was kind of cheap, the wrong decision or whatever, and it was always hard
after that. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it. They were more mature and
more cruel than we were. When they were offered something from us they took
it straight away, which we didn't. The first goal was the crucial moment,
the decisive moment. In the Premier League, if you make these kind of
mistakes, usually it's game over. "If you make that kind of decision and
mistake you can only get away with it if you're lucky. We weren't so the
goal went to Lukaku and they took it. "But then Williams made a mistake
straight after that and we didn't capitalise on that. It was a decisive
moment but the game is for 90 minutes."
After Lukaku continued his run of scoring in all seven of his League games
against West Ham, worse was to come for Bilic 15 minutes from time when Ross
Barkley started and finished a move for the second goal. Barkley's long ball
to Lukaku ended with the Belgian crossing to the far post where the
midfielder half-volleyed home, making amends for a first-half shot which he
had been brilliantly saved by Adrian. "At the end of the day, it means
nothing because we lost," said Adrian of that stop. "Their first goal was a
little lucky and then we started to lose our composure and they scored
again."
Next weekend the Hammers return to the London Stadium for a meeting with a
Stoke side who could be two points above them after tonight. Not that Bilic
is too concerned about his team's general position. Andre Ayew, for
example, continued his comeback from injury with 30 decent minutes at
Goodison while the opening 20 minutes had seen the visitors carve out at
least three clear chances with Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini virtually
unplayable as they scythed through Everton's midfield. "I mean we didn't go
crazy after three wins, two in the Premier League," said Bilic. "Now we can
find a lot of positives from this game but also we're disappointed and have
to bounce back. "If we play like this, but add more cruelness, positiveness
and more penetration where it matters, when it matters, then we're going to
be good."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andre Ayew confident West Ham will bounce back against Stoke City after
Everton defeat
Published on: 31 October 2016
ghanasoccer.com
West Ham United midfielder Andre Ayew is confident his side will bounce back
against Stoke City after they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday.
The Ghana international was handed a run-in at Goodison Park as goals from
Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley condemned the Hammers to the defeat. But the
26-year-old insists his team can't get dragged down by the defeat and
confident they will bounce back against Stoke at the London stadium. He told
Essex Live: "We played well, we had won three in a row and our players gave
a lot in the two games then the first half today but we played well. "We
knew the first 20 minutes of the second half would be difficult and they got
an early goal but we had our chances and didn't put them in.
I don't think Wednesday affected us, in football terms we had the quality,
we showed that in the first half. If we could have scored in the first then
it would have been a different game. "We are doing well, honestly, we are
playing good football we just need to try and score more goals. We cant
waste what we did in the last three games and forget what we did. We just
need to go back, watch our mistakes and try to learn from them. "Stoke will
be tough, but In front of our fans, I believe we can beat them at home, for
sure."
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Club vrs Country War: West Ham United to reject Ghana's invitation for Andre
Ayew to play against Egypt
Published on: 31 October 2016
http://ghanasoccernet.com/
West Ham United are bracing themselves to reject an invitation from the
Ghana Football Association to have Andre Ayew play for the Black Stars
against Egypt on November 13th . The 26-year-old forward is slowing
returning to the pitch following a lengthy lay off that has seen the club
endure a disastrous start to the English season. The former Swansea City man
only made a return to the pitch against Chelsea last week and played in the
last 20 minutes of the 2-0 defeat to West Ham United over the weekend. West
Ham united are taking things slowly with Ayew because they know very well
that a misjudgment could damage all the hard work that has been done to
bring the forward back to playing two months ahead of time. Ghana coach
Avram Grant however is in desperate need of the player whose influence
transcend beyond the pitch for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against the
almighty Pharaoh in Alexandria.
It remains to be seen how this episode will pan out with Ayew's commitment
to his nation unquestionable while West Ham United had to smash their
transfer record for his signature in the summer.
By Rahman Osman
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It was a great feeling to be back on the pitch again- Andre Ayew
Published on: 31 October 2016
ghanasoccernet.com
Ghana international Andre Ayew has revealed his delight after playing only
in second league game for Slaven Bilic's side in the defeat against Everton.
The Black Stars deputy skipper was expected to be out for four months but
made a quicker than expected return to the pitch last week. "It is a great
feeling to be back," Ayew told his club's official website.
"I was supposed to be out for a very long time but the medical staff worked
hard here and also in France. "I want to thank all the people who helped me
get out to play because we worked really, really hard. Now I hope it is just
the beginning. "There were different ideas from different specialists and we
took the decision not to have the operation. Now things are going well.
Hopefully, I can keep on training and get back to my fitness." "I am not a
player who had a lot of injuries in the past. It is part of the game. It was
tough to accept that in the first game. I had to relax, do the treatment I
had to do to get my leg right again." "It wasn't easy but I knew the
sacrifice that was ahead of me if I wasn't going to have the operation.
Hopefully, it was a good decision we took." "I hope and pray that the next
games will be the same so my confidence level will get higher. Every day I
am getting stronger from training and I feel better." The Ghana
international will be hoping for smooth game next weekend before going for
international duty in two weeks time. "I get more confidence from the guys
around me. They played when I was injured. They were calling me, etc. "It
was a difficult moment but at the end of the darkness you always see the
light. Hopefully it will now continue. It was so frustrating what happened
in that first game. But that's football. You learn from that. "You need to
stay focused in the good moments and the bad moments and try to give your
best on the field."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Michail Antonio: We have to find a way of stopping Everton star
Romelu Lukaku next time
JAMES BENGE
Evening Standard
Michail Antonio has urged his West Ham team-mates to get over their problems
with Romelu Lukaku in time for their next encounter with the Everton
striker. Lukaku has scored in all nine of his matches against the Hammers as
Everton brought their winless run to an end with a 2-0 victory at Goodison
Park. The Belgian international was on hand to head home as Yannick Bolasie
flicked a cross in from Seamus Coleman's blocked shot. Ross Barkley scored
the second from a Lukaku cross, scant reward for a mostly impressive display
by the visitors, who had had much the better of the opening exchanges. What
West Ham seemed to lack was a finisher as incisive as Lukaku, who has proven
to be a scourge for the Hammers since arriving at Everton in 2013. Antonio
wants to see the run ended when the two sides meet again in April. "At the
beginning of the game I thought we dominated the game in the opening 25
minutes," Antonio told the club website. "We were getting good balls into
the box but didn't manage to convert them. "After that the game went 50/50
and I thought their first goal was a bit lucky. It took a ricochet and then
bounced back to Lukaku who put the ball into an empty net. "We need to try
and find a way of stopping Lukaku. We just have to pay more attention
towards him and stop him scoring in the next game. "These things happen in
football. We have got to pick ourselves and go again. "We could sense it was
not going to be our day. Things were not coming off for us but we still put
in a good performance and kept fighting until the end."
West Ham return to action at the London Stadium on Saturday as they host a
Stoke side who, ahead of Monday's clash with Swansea, are showing signs of
recovery after a woeful start to the season. Should Mark Hughes' side avoid
defeat they will leapfrog the Hammers, who would then slip down to 17th
place in the table. It would serve to reaffirm that, whilst West Ham's form
is improving, there is a long way to go for Antonio and company. "We have to
pick ourselves up because we were unbeaten in four games and we know we can
do it again," Antonio added.
"We want another win next weekend against Stoke at London Stadium."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
As his side prepare to face Stoke City this weekend, their last game before
the November international break, Slaven Bilic said his side can take
encouragement from the number of chances his side created away at Everton.
Despite the defeat, the manager highlighted the number of openings his men
created, particularly in the opening stages of Sunday's encounter.
Bilic said: "We played some good football at times, we created some chances,
so I am happy about that. I felt that they were vulnerable at the back,
particularly at the beginning of the game and we created problems. "I
thought we coped with their strong attack well in the first half. But we
can't blame anyone else for this defeat, we can't blame unluckiness, it was
down to us. It was a 50-50 game, we just couldn't take it."
While the breakthrough proved elusive, the travelling Hammers carved out 13
chances in total – which left the manager with reason to believe his side
deserved more than a 2-0 defeat.
He continued: "There's a bitter taste because we know we should have taken
something from this game. I had that feeling at half-time, and it continued
as the game went on. "Once they scored, we knew it would always be tough to
come back against them as they are a very difficult side to play against."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Stat's a Fact - Adrian at his best
WHUFC.com
On a disappointing afternoon at Goodison Park Adrian was, not for the first
time West Ham United's standout performer against Everton. The man whose
unforgettable penalty scored a shootout win over the Toffees in January 2014
was again to the fore. Without the Spaniard's heroics, West Ham's goal would
unquestionably have been breached on more than two occasions.
Adrian was heavily involved on Merseyside, touching the ball 49 times –
three more occasions than midfielder Manuel Lanzini and ten more times than
right wing-back Edimilson Fernandes.
Of those touches, four were saves.
The first was undoubtedly the best. It came on 26 minutes when Ross Barkley
collected a Bryan Oviedo cut-back before lashing a shot goalwards, only for
Adrian to thrust his right hand into the air and push the ball to safety.
The stop illustrated Adrian's goalkeeping skills perfectly, with the
Spaniard showing good positioning, fine agility and the strong wrist
required to keep fiercely-struck footballs out of his net. The No13 was back
in action eight minutes before half-time, tipping over a cross-shot from
Kevin Mirallas that may have been sneaking under his crossbar. Into the
second half and Adrian was hugely unfortunate to concede five minutes after
the break. Seamus Coleman collected Winston Reid's clearance 30 yards from
goal, cut onto his left foot and fired an accurate low shot towards the
bottom right-hand corner. Adrian dived low and pushed the ball aside, only
for Yannick Bolasie to react quickly, get the better of a challenge with
Reid, and the ball to loop over the goalkeeper for Romelu Lukaku to head in.
The 29-year-old could do nothing about Everton's second goal. The lively
Lukaku raced in behind a tiring West Ham defence, collected the ball and
clipped a cross to the unmarked Barkley, who swept home from ten yards into
the bottom corner. There was still time for Adrian to impress on a fourth
occasion, as he parried Lukaku's volley after another superb piece of play
from the Belgian. In between, Adrian showed superb handling, catching four
Everton corners high above his head with the minimum of fuss and coming out
to smother when Lukaku was threatening early on, while his distribution was
more than satisfactory throughout. In an ideal world, the goalkeeper would
have nothing to do, but having been called upon, the former Betis man was
not found wanting.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Antonio - We have to pick ourselves up
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is convinced his team-mates can bounce straight back from
the disappointing 2-0 defeat against Everton and get straight back on the
winning trail against Stoke next weekend. The Hammers four match unbeaten
run came to an end at Goodison Park after goals from Romelu Lukaku and Ross
Barkley secured all three points for the Merseyside Club. Antonio felt the
luck was against his side and it could have been a different story if they
had made their early dominance count. But despite the defeat, the West Ham
forward sees no reason why they cannot re-produce the form which saw them
record back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Chelsea and
move back up the table. Antonio said: "We have to pick ourselves up because
we were unbeaten in four games and we know we can do it again. "We want
another win next weekend against Stoke at London Stadium. "At the beginning
of the game I thought we dominated the game in the opening 25 minutes. "We
were getting good balls into the box but didn't manage to convert them.
"After that the game went 50/50 and I thought their first goal was a bit
lucky. It took a ricochet and then bounced back to Lukaku who put the ball
into an empty net. "We need to try and find a way of stopping Lukaku. We
just have to pay more attention towards him and stop him scoring in the next
game. "These things happen in football. We have got to pick ourselves and go
again. "We could sense it was not going to be our day. Things were not
coming off for us but we still put in a good performance and kept fighting
until the end."
Antonio was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet in the second half
when he burst clear of Ashley Williams and only had Joel Robles to beat in
the Everton goal, but the Spanish keeper made a fine save. The 26-year-old
is enjoying his new role down the middle and says he will continue to work
hard and hopefully get back among the goals again in the near future.
Antonio added: "I had a great chance and was looking up to see if anyone
else was around but I couldn't see anyone and tried to curl the ball around
the keeper but he got his foot down and managed to save it. "On another day
I would have scored with that opportunity but it didn't happen for me
today."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Loan round up
WHUFC.com
Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle helped Wigan record a first Championship away
win of the season
Stephen Hendrie was in action for Blackburn in the Championship in their 1-1
draw
Josh Cullen helped Bradford City record a seventh win of the season in
League One
With the help of Hammers loanees Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle, Wigan Athletic
picked up a crucial first away win of the season on Saturday, beating
Cardiff City by a single goal in Wales.
Burke played the full 90 minutes for the Latics, while Knoyle – making his
first appearance for the side having recovered from an injury which ruled
the him out of action during the summer – was introduced for the final
minute in the Welsh capital. And it was a late strike which won the tie for
manager-less Wigan in the Championship, as Jordi Gomez struck following
David Perkins' assist with just four minutes of normal time remaining. The
Tics remain in the relegation zone, but are now just one point behind
Saturday's opponents who are hovering nervously above the bottom three.
Elsewhere in the Championship, Stephen Hendrie played his first Blackburn
Rovers game since August as he featured during the final 18 minutes of the
side's 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sam Gallagher struck early
in the first half at Ewood Park, and Blackburn looked as if they had done
enough for all three points until David Edwards nodded Wolves level with 12
minutes left on the clock. Martin Samuelsen – also on loan with Owen Coyle's
outfit – was an unused substitute.
Down a division in League One, Josh Cullen – a key player for Bradford City
throughout the current campaign – played in his side's 3-2 away win over AFC
Wimbledon. The Bantams, who remain hot on the heels of automatic
promotion-chasing Scunthorpe United and Bolton Wanderers, took the lead
after three minutes thanks to Jordy Hiwula's fifth of the season. The Dons
pulled themselves level on 18 minutes through Tom Elliot, and with 22
minutes remaining, gave themselves the lead from the penalty spot when Lyle
Taylor converted from 12 yards.
Stuart McCall's men – now without Cullen, who left the field on 70 minutes –
were determined, however, not to lose only their second league game of the
season, and James Hanson – also from the spot – made it 2-2. And two minutes
into injury time, Hanson became the late hero for City, meeting Stephen
Darby's cross to give the visitors all three points in south west London.
Two more Hammers loanees went head-to-head in League One, as Walsall and
Coventry City battled it out, prompting the meeting of George Dobson and
Lewis Page. Midfielder Dobson was left on the Saddlers' bench however, while
Page played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at the Bescot Stadium. Andy
Rose gave Coventry the lead eight minutes before the break before Erhun
Oztumer, with 14 minutes left, levelled from just inside the box.
Finally in the third tier, Josh Pask played nine minutes as a substitute for
Gillingham, though they were beaten 2-1 at Fleetwood Town. David Ball and
Ash Hunter scored for the hosts either side of Jake Hessenthaler's 52nd
minute strike.
Lastly, Doneil Henry played seven minutes for Danish side AC Horsens on loan
in their Superliga defeat to Sønderjyske.
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Ladies lose out to leaders
WHUFC.com
Ladies beaten 5-0 by league leaders Coventry United on Sunday afternoon
Hammers recover from difficult first half to blank visitors after half-time
Captain Amy Cooper says team will take belief from their second-half
performance
A spirited West Ham United Ladies were beaten by Coventry United in the FA
Women's Premier League Southern Division. The Hammers fell 5-0 down by
half-time at Thurrock FC's Ship Lane on Sunday afternoon, but dug in to
prevent their high-flying opponents from adding to their tally after the
break. Captain Amy Cooper was pleased with the way the home side recovered
from the shock of conceding early goals, and said the second-half
performance gave the squad cause for optimism. "We worked hard in the first
half but we let them break us down with sloppy mistakes," said Cooper. "In
the second half we were more organised but couldn't put our chances away. We
showed improvement which was encouraging, and so onto next week's cup game."
The visitors shrugged off the effects of a delayed journey from the Midlands
– which caused the kick-off to be delayed by half-an-hour – to go ahead
within the opening eight minutes through Alison Hall's improvised finish.
Having gone ahead, and playing with a confidence and intensity that the
hosts initially found it difficult to match, and it took a brave Hannah
Wheeler block to prevent Coventry doubling their lead on 18 minutes.
However, from the resulting corner, Coventry captain Natasha Lynch reacted
quickest inside the penalty area to poke the ball past goalkeeper Aditi
Chauhan and into the bottom corner. Moments later, Hall scored her second of
the game to make it 3-0, rising above the West Ham defence to head home
powerfully from another corner. Then, just past the half-hour mark, Hall
completed her hat-trick, beating Chauhan with a low, hard shot. Despite
falling behind, West Ham did not give up, with Katie Bottom leading the
charge with a number of determined challenges on the right flank.
Unfortunately, a firm but fair challenge also resulted in lively Hammers
forward Shannon Albuery being forced off with a knee injury, to be replaced
by substitute Kat Clifton. To add insult to injury, Hall scored her fourth
goal, and Coventry's fifth, with a long-range strike a few minutes before
half-time. There was still time for Whitney Locke to miss West Ham's best
chance of the game before the break, with the forward flashing a shot across
the face of the Coventry goal. After the break, the Hammers seemed to find
their rhythm and began to stroke the ball around, with Dayne Chong, Chloe
Burr and Locke catching the eye, in particular. Amy Cooper and Kat Clifton
managed to gain control of midfield and the defensive pairing of Wheeler and
Auguste quietened the hitherto rampant Coventry forward line. Olivia Sammons
replaced Sasha Kelly on the hour, allowing Bottom to take up a central
midfield role, from where she could be more effective. West Ham finished the
stronger of the two sides but there were to be no further goals, meaning
Coventry remain unbeaten and top of the table, while Greg de Carnys' Hammers
sit tenth. The Hammers take a break from league action this coming weekend,
when they welcome Keynsham Town Ladies to Ship Lane for an FAWPL Plate
third-round tie. Kick-off on Sunday is at 2pm, with free admission for
Under-16s and tickets priced at £5 for Adults.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Travelling fans earn praise
WHUFC.com
West Ham United supporters impressed their hosts at Everton on Sunday
3,000 travelling fans paid tribute to the fallen in poignant Remembrance
ceremony
Hammers also stood and applauded late Evertonians Howard Kendall and Rhys
Jones
West Ham United's travelling supporters have been praised for the respect
they showed to Everton Football Club at Goodison Park on Sunday. The
3,000-strong Claret and Blue Army's conduct was recognised by Evertonian
Lenny Jameson, who wrote to fan website Knees Up Mother Brown to thank them.
The Hammers' away support is always outstanding, but those who made the trip
to Liverpool truly surpassed themselves by the way they embraced the hosts'
Remembrance commemorations. As one would expect, the West Ham support fell
silent during a wreath-laying ceremony, a moment of silence and the playing
of the Last Post before kick-off. Then, on four minutes, the visiting fans
joined their Everton counterparts by applauding in memory of late Toffees
player and manager Howard Kendall, who passed away in October 2015. Kendall,
who won the league title with Everton as both a player and manager, became
the youngest-ever FA Cup finalist when he turned out for Preston North End
against the Hammers in 1964. Finally, at half-time, the West Ham fans
gathered in the Bullens Stand stood and applauded in tribute to the late
Rhys Jones, the eleven-year-old Everton fan who was tragically shot on his
way home from football training in 2007.
A drama series being made in Jones' memory entitled Little Boy Blue was
being filmed in and around Goodison Park on Sunday, and the half-time
filming saw actors re-enact the afternoon Everton paid tribute to the young
Rhys nearly a decade ago. "As an Evertonian," wrote Jameson to KUMB.com, "I
was at the game today, seated with my disabled friend behind the goal right
next to the West Ham supporters. The support for their team was first-class
throughout the whole game. "My main point however is their reaction to the
minute's silence and two different minute's applause that were held today.
"The Remembrance Day silence was, as it should be, impeccably observed. And
the response from the West Ham fans to the minutes' applause for Howard
Kendall and Rhys Jones was absolutely fantastic. "The wholehearted way in
which they all joined in was a wonderful sight to see. I hope you can pass
this message on from us Evertonians and thank them all from the bottom of
our hearts. "They were an absolute credit to their club and to football."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ayew - When the gaffer needs me I will be ready
WHUFC.com
Andre Ayew is convinced the defeat at Everton is only a minor blip and says
the players should not forget the impressive form in recent weeks which has
helped turned the Club's season around. The Hammers saw their four match
unbeaten run come to an end at Goodison Park after goals from Romelu Lukaku
and Ross Barkley helped the Merseyside Club secure a 2-0 victory.
Slaven Bilic's side had plenty of chances to get something from the game but
failed to make their early pressure count. Ayew, who appeared as a second
half substitute and also came close to getting on the scoresheet, is
convinced the team should still remain positive despite the setback on
Sunday and hopes to see a much better outcome against Stoke on Saturday.
Ayew said: "We cannot forget the work we have put into the last three games
because of one defeat and Everton are a good team. "We need to learn from
our mistakes and get back to winning ways against Stoke. "We know it will be
another tough games but we are in front of our fans and we can beat them at
home if we do what we have to do."
Ayew is now hoping to get another full week of training under his belt and
put himself in contention for the game at London Stadium on Saturday. The
26-year-old is pleased to be part of the squad once again and says he will
be ready when the manager feels the time is right to name him in the
starting line-up. Ayew added: "The injury feels good and I am working hard.
Things are going well and hopefully I can continue like this. "It is up to
the manager when I am ready to start a game but the most important thing is
that we continue to work hard and try and win games. When the gaffer needs
me I will be ready.
Ayew feels his team-mates were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet at
Goodison Park and hopes they will have more luck in front of goal when they
face Stoke.
"I thought the team played very well in the first half and if we could have
scored it would have been a completely different game. We have just had
three games when the players gave everything. "We knew the first 20 minutes
in the second half would be very difficult because they would press and try
and score an early goal which they managed to do. "We also had our chances
and didn't put them in. We need to keep working hard and soon it will come.
We are doing well and are playing some great football. We need to try and
score some more goals and not concede. "The manager told me when he brought
me on just to play my game and try and get on the scoresheet. It is part of
my game to get into goalscoring situations and soon I will get a good chance
and put the ball in the net."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FT - West Ham United PL2 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
WHUFC.com
FT: The Hammers faced a late scare there but managed to see out the victory
in the end. An own goal and Ashley Fletcher made for a comfortbale first
half.... O'Shea rifled in a volley for West Brom with minutes to play but
Terry Westley's men hold out for the three points. Final score: West Ham
United PL2 2-1 West Bromwich Albion. Thanks for tuning in this evening and
we'll be back on Friday for the Premier League Cup tie with Nottingham
Forest.
90+3: Goal for WBA. O'Shea rifles in from the edge of the area. 2-1
90+1: The Hammers U18 hero Jahmal Hector-Ingram comes on to replace Calleri
for the final few minutes. 2-0
90: More good defending as Kemp snuffs out an attack. Fourth official adds
four minutes. 2-0
88: The Hammers look like they're going to see this one out. West Brom have
hardly threatened apart from that one header from Barbir. 2-0
86: Quina again breaks through the Baggies defence but he cannot release a
pass in time to Calleri. 2-0
85: Second sub for the Hammers - Browne is off and on come Dan Kemp. Great
performance once again by Browne. 2-0
83: Change for West Brom. Barbir is on. And he's straight into the action,
forcing a brilliant save from Howes. 2-0
80: More brilliant play by Quina who links up with Fletcher once again. His
cross is just behind the Hammers striker. 2-0
76: Slight pause in play as Quina is down. The youngster is up and ready to
enter the fray again. 2-0
72: Sylvestre slots straight in at LB. Good shift by Westley and he
continues his comeback from injury. Still 2-0 with 20 minutes to play.
69: Free-kick by West Brom whipped straight at Howes by Leko. Yet to see
Howes properly tested this evening. Sub for the Hammers - Sylvestre replaces
Westley. 2-0
66: Almost three! Calleri blocks the keeper's clearance and there's Browne
looking to add to his tally of three this season. However, Rose in the
Albion goal produces a terrific stop. Albion sub - Elbouzedi on for Smith up
front. 2-0
62: West Brom look like they're about to make a change. The Hammers are
defending well and have a outlet in the front three of Calleri, Browne and
Fletcher. 2-0
60: Samuelsen is the third WHU player to enter the referee's book for a late
challenge on the near touchline. No threat so far in this second half by the
Baggies. The Hammers looking comfortable. 2-0
57: Hammers looking to hit WBA on the counter in this second half. Browne
tries to find Calleri but his pass is blocked - the Hammers look a threat as
they aim to add to their lead. 2-0
52: Good chance to make it three. Calleri is played in by Makasi but can
only shoot straight at Rose in the Baggies goal. 2-0
48: Couple of corners to WBA dealt with brilliantly by Neufville, first, and
then Rice. Defensively, the Hammers have been solid as a rock so far. 2-0
46: We're back underway at the CCS. No changes by either side. The Hammers
two goals to the good remember.
HT: The Hammers lead at the break thanks to that own goal by Jack Fitzwater
and Ashley Fletcher's header. It's 2 and it could have easily been more in
that first half. Terry Westley will be pleased with what he has seen so far.
2-0 at the break.
45: 2 minutes added by the fourth official.
43: Not long until half-time here. The Hammers still lead 2-0 thanks to that
own goal and Fletcher's header and they've been pretty comfortable since.
The Baggies are yet to really threaten in this first half.
41: Chance for West Brom. Scrivens' corner just misses the head of Smith.
2-0
38: More wonderful play by Quina - he glides past three players with
consummate ease and his ball through to Fletcher is just behind the Hammers
No9. So unlucky. 2-0
33: GOALL!! Fletcher makes it 2 after a wonderful cross from Calleri. Since
then, Browne has an effort tipped onto the bar, Rice forces a magnificent
save from Rose and Calleri puts it wide from close range. Crazy few minutes
here. It's 2-0 though. Get in!
29: Great footwork by Fletcher wins a corner. The delivery is put in with
venom by Browne and Rice rises highest but cannot divert his header on goal.
1-0
26: Silky play by Quina sees him beat three Albion players before eventually
being fouled. Sometimes forget that he is just 16 years old. 1-0
24: Sam Westley now gets a talking to from the referee. Didn't look happy
about a certain decision and he has now gone into Mr Brook's book. 1-0
21: Late tackle by Browne on Donnellan which the Baggies defender doesn't
seem best pleased about. Donnellan gives Browne a push and both players are
booked. 1-0
16: Lovely long ball forward by Pike is expertly taken down by Fletcher. The
Baggies defender maages to clear for a corner. Put in by Browne, and
Samuelsen gets to the front post but cannot divert his effort on goal. 1-0
13: Corner whipped in by Leko headed away brilliantly by Neufville. The
Hammers have been happy to let their opponents have the ball since the goal.
They're still in control though. 1-0
10: At the other end, Leko sends a shot well over the bar. 1-0.
7: GOALLL! The Hammers are a goal up already. Ashley Fletcher does
brilliantly to turn in the area and his powerful cross is turned home by
West Brom's Jack Fitzwater. 1-0!
4: Chance for West Brom here. Samuelsen fouls Wilson just on the edge of the
box. Free-kick is whipped in but is too high for the men in the box. 0-0
2: Lots of interchanging on position from the Hammers early on. The midfield
on Quina, Samuelsen, Makasi will be moving around quite a lot this evening.
Browne just in behind Fletcher ad Calleri up top. 0-0
1: We're underway at the CCS. Come on lads!
6.45pm: Both sets of players are finishing up their warm-ups at the Chigwell
Construction Stadium. We're moments away from kick-off here.
6.35pm: The visitors have Jonathan Leko in their ranks this evening - he
played 40 minutes for the Baggies first team in their 4-0 defeat to
Manchester City on Saturday. It's going to be a tough night for the Hammers,
but one they'll be relishing, that's for sure. Kick-off around 25 minutes
away.
6.20pm: The Hammers go into tonight after an impressive victory away at
Middlesbrough last Friday. They're currently fourth in PL2 Division 2, a
place behind the Baggies who are third - that should make for an interesting
match with both sides having ambitions to be the best in this division.
Remember, admission is free for season ticket holders this evening.
6.10pm: So lots to talk about ahead of tonight's match. The most striking
are the returns of Martin Samuelsen and Ashley Fletcher and the inclusion of
Jonathan Calleri. Samuelsen has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers this season
but didn't feature for the Lancashire side this weekend so he plays his
first PL2 game since the win over Newcastle United. Fletcher appeared on the
bench for the first team at the weekend against Everton and makes his third
PL2 start of the year with Jonathan Calleri making his Premier League 2 bow.
Kick-off is at 7pm from Dagenham and Redbridge's Chigwell Construction
Stadium.
West Ham United XI: Howes, Westley (Sylvestre, 69), Pike, Rice (c),
Neufville, Quina, Makasi, Samuelsen, Browne (Kemp, 80), Fletcher, Calleri
(Hector-Ingram, 90).
Subs: Matrevics, Hector-Ingram, Akinola.
Goals: Fitzwater (OG), Fletcher
West Brom: Rose, Wilson, McCourt, Donnellan, Fitzwater, O'Shea, Leko, Field,
Smith (Elbouzedi, 66), Harper, Scrivens.
Subs: Sweeney, Palmer, Pritchatt, Barbir.
Goals: O'Shea.
5.50pm: Good evening and welcome to the Chigwell Construction Stadium for
tonight's Premier League 2 match between West Ham United and West Bromwich
Albion. The Hammers have not played at home since the 0-0 draw with Brighton
and Hove Albion on the 26th September and make a welcome return to their
newly-adopted home ground this evening. It should be a fascinating game
tonight - West Ham are fourth in Division 2 and the Baggies are just a place
above them, with both sides aiming to be at the top of the league come the
end of the season. Team news to follow shortly!
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#WHUAREYA - Tunji Akinola
WHUFC.com
Tunji Akinola has been in fine form this season, skippering the U18s who
have stormed to top of the league in their Premier League U18 South
division.
He has also played a number of times for the PL2 outfit, including their
Checkatrade Trophy clash against Wycombe Wanderers when he came up against
the beast that is Adebayo Akinfenwa.
Akinola - a centre-back by trade - sat down with West Ham TV to go under the
spotlight in the feature #WHUAREYA.
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West Ham: London Stadium should be knocked down, says expert
BBC.co.uk
West Ham's London Stadium should be knocked down and rebuilt to suit
football fans, a stadium expert says. Paul Fletcher, who has built or
advised on more than 30 new grounds, says athletics was wrongly put before
football at the former Olympic Stadium. He says fans are too far from the
pitch at a ground beset by problems since the Hammers moved there this
summer. "Either we go on as we are for the next 30 or 40 years or we knock
it down and start again," Fletcher told the BBC. "Something has to give. If
you want to satisfy spectators the only way to get those spectators near
that pitch is to knock it down and start again," added the former Burnley
striker turned chief executive.
Fletcher, who was behind new stadiums at Bolton, Huddersfield and Coventry,
among others, and was commercial director for Wembley Stadium, said he was
asked about the development of an Olympic stadium in 2000. "I said what you
must do is design a football stadium that converts to an athletics stadium
for two weeks of its lifetime," he said. "When I build my football stadiums,
my number one concern is the spectator "What they've done is tried to
convert an athletics stadium into a football pitch and, in my opinion, it
doesn't work. "The building was almost built when they started to talk to
West Ham."
West Ham won the bid to occupy the Olympic Stadium in March 2013 and played
their first game there in August 2016, after 112 years at Upton Park.
However, their move has been marred by fan violence, leading the club to
issue a five-point security plan to prevent further disorder. Hundreds of
supporters clashed during the Hammers' EFL Cup tie against Chelsea, with
seven arrests made as riot police were deployed inside the stadium.
Vice-chairwoman Karren Brady said the club would ban any fans involved in
the violence, while Mark Field MP said the club should be forced to play
behind closed doors until the issues are solved. "Let's face it, there was
only going to be one end user and it was only going to be West Ham,"
Fletcher added. "Everyone in those days spoke about legacy. The only legacy
was going to be as a football stadium and they should have been talking to
West Ham and ask them what they want."
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West Ham target Alexandre Lacazette set to be offered new Lyon deal
15:37, 31 OCT 2016 UPDATED 21:56, 31 OCT 2016
BY DARREN LEWIS
Lyon President Jean Michel Aulas has confirmed the Ligue 1 outfit will hand
the striker fresh terms in a bid to ward off interest
The Mirror
Lyon are set to frustrate West Ham 's bid to solve their striker crisis in
January by offering Alexandre Lacazette a new deal. The 25-year-old marksman
rejected the Irons during the summer but West Ham are exploring all options
with the club struggling for goals. Lyon are sitting eighth in Ligue 1 but
Lacazette, who had fancied a move to Arsenal, has netted a total of nine
goals in his nine appearances in all competitions this season. Speaking
following Lyon's 2-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday, Lyon President Jean
Michel Aulas confirmed: "I would like for us to be able to extend
Alexandre's contract."
West Ham are already set to press Diafra Sakho back into action as soon as
they can. Sakho has not played since May and is still at the club after
failing a medical ahead of a potential summer move to West Brom. Last season
he was disgruntled at not getting an improved deal while others at West Ham
did. But his attitude has since softened while West Ham have rebuilt bridges
with him as they focus on moving away from the bottom four.
Simone Zaza, brought in on loan with a view to a £25million deal, has been a
bitter disappointment. It led to Slaven Bilic starting without a striker in
the club's EFL Cup win over Chelsea last week. They did so again in their
2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton on Sunday.
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AC Milan to unsettle £18m West Ham deal with January striker bid - reports
By JAMES CAMBRIDGE
PUBLISHED: 15:20, Mon, Oct 31, 2016 | UPDATED: 15:41, Mon, Oct 31, 2016
Express.co.uk
Zaza is currently on loan from Juve with West Ham but has failed to impress
since moving to the Premier League. The Hammers have an £18million buy-out
clause in place which will be activated if Zaza make a certain number of
appearances. However, the Italy international is yet to score in nine
outings for Slaven Bilic's side. And according to reports in Italy, Milan
are prepared to offer the 25-year-old a swift return to the Serie A. Italian
website CalcioMercatoWeb claim the San Siro club are considering a bid for
Zaza in January due to Paris Saint-Germain's interest in Carlos Bacca. The
report says if Bacca leaves for PSG then Zaza would be Milan's first-choice
replacement. Bacca has been in impressive form this term, scoring six times
in 11 appearances for Vincenzo Montella's side. Zaza is less prolific, but
still managed eight goals in 24 appearances for Juventus last season. The
Italy international is under contract with Juve until June 2017.
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Wasteful West Ham must develop 'cruel streak' or risk another slump, says
Slaven Bilic
IAN WHITTELL
Evening STandard
Slaven Bilic believes his side must grow up fast and develop a "cruel"
streak if they are to avoid more frustrations like the defeat at Goodison
Park yesterday. After West Ham's three-game winning run come to an end,
Bilic highlighted a second-half incident involving Michail Antonio to prove
his point. West Ham had just conceded the opening goal to Romelu Lukaku,
thanks in part to Winston Reid being caught daydreaming and allowing Yannick
Bolasie to find the Belgian after Adrian had saved from Seamus Coleman. It
showed Everton's clinical response to errors but, when home defender Ashley
Williams did likewise minutes later and slipped to allow Antonio to break
into the area, the winger failed to beat Joel Robles. "I was looking up to
see if someone was around but could see there was no one," said Antonio of
his run deep into Everton territory. "I tried to wrap it around him but he
managed to get his foot down and save it. Another day I would have scored
there but it just didn't happen for me."
Antonio's response to his miss was understandable but, for his manager, it
showed why his team lost and why they will find themselves one place above
the relegation zone tonight should Stoke beat Swansea. "We can't blame
anyone," said Bilic. "It's not the ref, or I don't know what, or we weren't
just unlucky. It was all 50-50 and we just didn't take it. "The first goal
was kind of cheap, the wrong decision or whatever, and it was always hard
after that. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it. They were more mature and
more cruel than we were. When they were offered something from us they took
it straight away, which we didn't. The first goal was the crucial moment,
the decisive moment. In the Premier League, if you make these kind of
mistakes, usually it's game over. "If you make that kind of decision and
mistake you can only get away with it if you're lucky. We weren't so the
goal went to Lukaku and they took it. "But then Williams made a mistake
straight after that and we didn't capitalise on that. It was a decisive
moment but the game is for 90 minutes."
After Lukaku continued his run of scoring in all seven of his League games
against West Ham, worse was to come for Bilic 15 minutes from time when Ross
Barkley started and finished a move for the second goal. Barkley's long ball
to Lukaku ended with the Belgian crossing to the far post where the
midfielder half-volleyed home, making amends for a first-half shot which he
had been brilliantly saved by Adrian. "At the end of the day, it means
nothing because we lost," said Adrian of that stop. "Their first goal was a
little lucky and then we started to lose our composure and they scored
again."
Next weekend the Hammers return to the London Stadium for a meeting with a
Stoke side who could be two points above them after tonight. Not that Bilic
is too concerned about his team's general position. Andre Ayew, for
example, continued his comeback from injury with 30 decent minutes at
Goodison while the opening 20 minutes had seen the visitors carve out at
least three clear chances with Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini virtually
unplayable as they scythed through Everton's midfield. "I mean we didn't go
crazy after three wins, two in the Premier League," said Bilic. "Now we can
find a lot of positives from this game but also we're disappointed and have
to bounce back. "If we play like this, but add more cruelness, positiveness
and more penetration where it matters, when it matters, then we're going to
be good."
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Andre Ayew confident West Ham will bounce back against Stoke City after
Everton defeat
Published on: 31 October 2016
ghanasoccer.com
West Ham United midfielder Andre Ayew is confident his side will bounce back
against Stoke City after they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday.
The Ghana international was handed a run-in at Goodison Park as goals from
Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley condemned the Hammers to the defeat. But the
26-year-old insists his team can't get dragged down by the defeat and
confident they will bounce back against Stoke at the London stadium. He told
Essex Live: "We played well, we had won three in a row and our players gave
a lot in the two games then the first half today but we played well. "We
knew the first 20 minutes of the second half would be difficult and they got
an early goal but we had our chances and didn't put them in.
I don't think Wednesday affected us, in football terms we had the quality,
we showed that in the first half. If we could have scored in the first then
it would have been a different game. "We are doing well, honestly, we are
playing good football we just need to try and score more goals. We cant
waste what we did in the last three games and forget what we did. We just
need to go back, watch our mistakes and try to learn from them. "Stoke will
be tough, but In front of our fans, I believe we can beat them at home, for
sure."
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Club vrs Country War: West Ham United to reject Ghana's invitation for Andre
Ayew to play against Egypt
Published on: 31 October 2016
http://ghanasoccernet.com/
West Ham United are bracing themselves to reject an invitation from the
Ghana Football Association to have Andre Ayew play for the Black Stars
against Egypt on November 13th . The 26-year-old forward is slowing
returning to the pitch following a lengthy lay off that has seen the club
endure a disastrous start to the English season. The former Swansea City man
only made a return to the pitch against Chelsea last week and played in the
last 20 minutes of the 2-0 defeat to West Ham United over the weekend. West
Ham united are taking things slowly with Ayew because they know very well
that a misjudgment could damage all the hard work that has been done to
bring the forward back to playing two months ahead of time. Ghana coach
Avram Grant however is in desperate need of the player whose influence
transcend beyond the pitch for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against the
almighty Pharaoh in Alexandria.
It remains to be seen how this episode will pan out with Ayew's commitment
to his nation unquestionable while West Ham United had to smash their
transfer record for his signature in the summer.
By Rahman Osman
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It was a great feeling to be back on the pitch again- Andre Ayew
Published on: 31 October 2016
ghanasoccernet.com
Ghana international Andre Ayew has revealed his delight after playing only
in second league game for Slaven Bilic's side in the defeat against Everton.
The Black Stars deputy skipper was expected to be out for four months but
made a quicker than expected return to the pitch last week. "It is a great
feeling to be back," Ayew told his club's official website.
"I was supposed to be out for a very long time but the medical staff worked
hard here and also in France. "I want to thank all the people who helped me
get out to play because we worked really, really hard. Now I hope it is just
the beginning. "There were different ideas from different specialists and we
took the decision not to have the operation. Now things are going well.
Hopefully, I can keep on training and get back to my fitness." "I am not a
player who had a lot of injuries in the past. It is part of the game. It was
tough to accept that in the first game. I had to relax, do the treatment I
had to do to get my leg right again." "It wasn't easy but I knew the
sacrifice that was ahead of me if I wasn't going to have the operation.
Hopefully, it was a good decision we took." "I hope and pray that the next
games will be the same so my confidence level will get higher. Every day I
am getting stronger from training and I feel better." The Ghana
international will be hoping for smooth game next weekend before going for
international duty in two weeks time. "I get more confidence from the guys
around me. They played when I was injured. They were calling me, etc. "It
was a difficult moment but at the end of the darkness you always see the
light. Hopefully it will now continue. It was so frustrating what happened
in that first game. But that's football. You learn from that. "You need to
stay focused in the good moments and the bad moments and try to give your
best on the field."
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West Ham's Michail Antonio: We have to find a way of stopping Everton star
Romelu Lukaku next time
JAMES BENGE
Evening Standard
Michail Antonio has urged his West Ham team-mates to get over their problems
with Romelu Lukaku in time for their next encounter with the Everton
striker. Lukaku has scored in all nine of his matches against the Hammers as
Everton brought their winless run to an end with a 2-0 victory at Goodison
Park. The Belgian international was on hand to head home as Yannick Bolasie
flicked a cross in from Seamus Coleman's blocked shot. Ross Barkley scored
the second from a Lukaku cross, scant reward for a mostly impressive display
by the visitors, who had had much the better of the opening exchanges. What
West Ham seemed to lack was a finisher as incisive as Lukaku, who has proven
to be a scourge for the Hammers since arriving at Everton in 2013. Antonio
wants to see the run ended when the two sides meet again in April. "At the
beginning of the game I thought we dominated the game in the opening 25
minutes," Antonio told the club website. "We were getting good balls into
the box but didn't manage to convert them. "After that the game went 50/50
and I thought their first goal was a bit lucky. It took a ricochet and then
bounced back to Lukaku who put the ball into an empty net. "We need to try
and find a way of stopping Lukaku. We just have to pay more attention
towards him and stop him scoring in the next game. "These things happen in
football. We have got to pick ourselves and go again. "We could sense it was
not going to be our day. Things were not coming off for us but we still put
in a good performance and kept fighting until the end."
West Ham return to action at the London Stadium on Saturday as they host a
Stoke side who, ahead of Monday's clash with Swansea, are showing signs of
recovery after a woeful start to the season. Should Mark Hughes' side avoid
defeat they will leapfrog the Hammers, who would then slip down to 17th
place in the table. It would serve to reaffirm that, whilst West Ham's form
is improving, there is a long way to go for Antonio and company. "We have to
pick ourselves up because we were unbeaten in four games and we know we can
do it again," Antonio added.
"We want another win next weekend against Stoke at London Stadium."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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