Loan watch: Cullen and Burke start in Bolton draw
WHUFC.com
Both Josh Cullen and Reece Burke completed 90 minutes on Saturday as Bolton Wanderers were held 1-1 by Millwall at the New Den. The newly-promoted sides were both looking to bounce back after opening day defeats but were made to settle for a point in south London. Republic of Ireland U21 international Cullen was making his second league start in as many games for the Trotters, while Burke played his first entire Championship clash for the visitors having come off the bench in a defeat to Leeds United last weekend. For Cullen, it was an opportunity to get his revenge against the side who denied him promotion from the League One play-offs last season with Bradford City. But Millwall took the lead just four minutes after the break courtesy of George Saville's first goal for the Lions. It didn't take long, however, for Phil Parkinson's men to level. Substitute Filipe Morais, lining up a free-kick from 20 yards, spectacularly beat Jordan Archer in goal just after the hour mark, and the score was still level when Andy Davies blew his full time whistle. The fixtures now come thick and fast for Bolton, who travel to Birmingham City on Tuesday before hosting Derby County next weekend.
The third and final Hammer out on loan – Reece Oxford – remains sidelined with an ankle injury, though his Borussia Monchengladbach team did record a 2-1 DFB Pokal win over Rot-Weiss Essen on Friday.
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Bilic: Returning quartet will give Hammers welcome boost
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic is hoping the return of up to four senior stars will boost West Ham United as his squad seek to overcome Sunday's 4-0 defeat at Manchester United.
The Hammers kicked-off the new Premier League season in the worst possible way result-wise, slipping to the heaviest defeat of the opening weekend. However, the manager believes Michail Antonio (hamstring) will return to face his former club Southampton on Saturday, with Manuel Lanzini, Cheikhou Kouyate (both knee) and Andy Carroll (hip) set to make their comebacks at Newcastle United a week later. "We are expecting a few of them who were injured last season, along with Cheikhou and Manuel from this pre-season," said Bilic, who also welcomed Diafra Sakho back from a back injury at Old Trafford. "Michail Antonio should be back for the game against Southampton and then Cheikhou, Manuel and even Andy Carroll should be there for the game against Newcastle in the third game of the season, or latest after the international break which is after that game. "All of them will be back very soon and we can talk about that, but we had a decent team out on Sunday and I expected more."
Reflecting further his team's opening-day defeat, the Croatian was magnanimous, admitting his team had simply been outplayed by Jose Mourinho's full-strength side. West Ham came close to scoring at 1-0 and 2-0 down, and conceded two goals in the final three minutes to give the final score a one-sided appearance, but Bilic was making no excuses. "To be fair, the game could have finished 2-0 or we could have scored a goal or whatever, but it wasn't to be and it's a very bad result for us," he observed "They were much better than us in every department of the game. They were better with the ball and better without the ball and we knew that they had that quality and that pace and they have strength and everything. "That's why we didn't want to let them be in one-against-one situations. We wanted to create two-against-one because we could cope with that, but unfortunately it wasn't to be and if they are one-against-one or you give them time and space to turn in little pockets in dangerous areas, then they are lethal, as they showed."
While a 4-0 defeat will clearly not give anyone in Claret and Blue a morale boost at the start of the new campaign, Bilic says the Hammers have to examine what went wrong and use what they learn to make improvements in future fixtures – starting at St Mary's this weekend. "It should affect our confidence, although it will of course," he admitted. "We are very low at the moment and the players feel very bad, as do I also. "OK, it's Manchester United but we have no other option but to pick up ourselves and prepare for the second game of the season against Southampton. "We aren't going to forget about this game and say it just happened. We have to analyse this game. On the other hand, it is the first game of the season and we can't lose confidence just because of one game, especially if that game is against Man United."
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Declan Rice: A performance to be proud of
WHUFC.com
Seconds after replacing captain Mark Noble at Old Trafford on Sunday, Declan Rice collected a short free-kick from Arthur Masuaku, turned and completed a square ball to Winston Reid. Over the next half-hour, the 18-year-old would misplace just one of the 23 passes he attempted, ending his second Premier League appearance with a completion rate of 95.7%. Moments later, the Hammers won a corner. When Manchester United cleared the ball up field to the lightning-quick Marcus Rashford, it was Rice who raced back 60 yards to hold up the England forward on the edge of the Hammers penalty area. Despite his relative inexperience, Slaven Bilic handed the U23 captain a central midfield position alongside Pedro Obiang, where his positional sense and willingness to organise those around him were very much in evidence. The Republic of Ireland U19 international touched the ball 28 times in total and, despite being matched against established internationals Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic, was not dispossessed once. Rice's game awareness and versatility also saw him fill in for Pablo Zabaleta or Arthur Masuaku when the full-backs had joined the attack.
The interceptor
The Academy graduate does not mind putting his foot in either, as was illustrated by his interception of France international Pogba's pass and follow-up challenge on the Red Devils' towering centre-back Eric Bailly. He later made another timely interception to dispossess Serbia star Matic wide on the right touchline. As the game wore on, the No41 continued make intelligent angles to receive the ball and move it on quickly and accurately. Rice popped passes around the Old Trafford pitch, seemingly unaffected by playing in front of a 74,928-strong crowd, the vast majority of whom wanted him to misplace every one of them. Instead, the composed youngster showed off his ability to pass with both feet, including one incisive ball into Chicharito and two accurate cross field deliveries to Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell.
A valuable experience
As Rice's heatmap shows, he got around the pitch too, covering 3.89km at an average speed of 7.08km/h – second only to Noble's average of 7.45km/h. Extrapolated over a full 90 minutes, Rice would have expected to cover in excess of 11km, a distance only exceeded by opposite number Matic. While the overall picture was a positive one, there was still one sharp dose of reality for Rice late on as Pogba escaped his attention for a split second to score Manchester United's fourth and final goal. Even then, the teenager's maturity shone through in his post-match interview, when he vowed to learn from the experience of playing – and playing well – on English football's biggest stage. He will surely have plenty of opportunities to do so again in the future.
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Cheltenham tie picked for TV coverage
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Carabao Cup second round tie against Cheltenham Town has been selected for live broadcast by Sky Sports. The Hammers will travel to the LCI Stadium for a 7.45pm kick-off on Wednesday 23 August. West Ham take on the Robins at the same stage of the competition for the second time in five seasons, after a Boleyn Ground meeting between the clubs in August 2013. Goals from Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison were enough to see off the League 2 side on that occasion, who registered through Matt Richards from the penalty spot. Gary Johnson's team defeated Oxford United 4-3 in the first round of this season's Carabao Cup, and have three points from their opening two league games.
Ticket information for Hammers fans will be announced shortly.
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Hammers handed northern tests in U18 Premier League Cup
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Academy scholars will take on Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Sunderland in the opening round of the new U18 Premier League Cup.
The competition, which has been introduced for the 2017/18 season, will add an extra competitive edge of knockout football to compliment the U18 Premier League schedule.
The U18 Premier League Cup is split into six groups of four teams, with clubs playing each other once in the group stage, either home or away.
Steve Potts' Hammers have been drawn in Group D alongside U18 Premier League North trio Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, and will need to hit top form if they are to progress to the quarter-finals.
The six group winners and the two best runners-up, decided by total points and then goal difference followed by head-to-head record, will advance to the last eight. Group stage fixture dates, kick-off times and venues will be confirmed shortly.
Should the Hammers get through, knockout ties are all one-off matches, decided by extra-time if level after 90 minutes and then penalties if required.
The U18s, who kicked-off their U18 Premier League South campaign with a 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, will also compete in the FA Youth Cup. West Ham will enter that competition at the third-round stage in early December.
Meanwhile the U18 Premier League Cup group stage draw will be mirrored by the U16 Premier League Cup, another competition in its debut season, before the knockout rounds are dependent on finishing position within each age category.
U16 Premier League Cup ties will be played on the same dates as the U18 Premier League Cup fixtures.
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Sofiane Feghouli joins Galatasaray
WHUFC.com
West Ham United can confirm that Sofiane Feghouli has joined Galatasaray on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The Algeria winger moves to the Turkish Super Lig club after a single season in Claret and Blue, having joined the Hammers from Spanish side Valencia in summer 2016. Feghouli totalled 27 appearances and four goals for West Ham, including one against Slovenian UEFA Europa League opponents NK Domzale in the first-ever fixture at London Stadium in July last year. He added further strikes in Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in Stratford before netting at Burnley in what turned out to be his final appearance for the Club in May. West Ham United would like to thank Sofiane for his efforts and wish him well in his future career.
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Makasi ready to lead at Swindon Town
WHUFC.com
Moses Makasi is hoping to take his first team pre-season experiences into Tuesday night's Checkatrade Trophy clash and be the Hammers' leader against Swindon Town. The midfielder was handed the captain's armband on Friday night when Terry Westley's men kicked-off their Premier League 2 campaign with a goalless draw against last season's champions Everton. And the 21-year-old believes, as one of the senior heads in the Club's U23s, he can lead by example this season, starting with a trip to the County Ground on Tuesday. He said: "There is a responsibility to be the experienced player in this team for me, as we have a young team. The likes of Conor [Coventry] alongside me is young, and then Aji [Alese] came into the team too on Friday. "I'm a senior player, I've got to show them how U23s football is played and be a leader out there. "Pre-season with the first team was good for me because I got a lot of minutes in the side. I got experience with the team so I've come back down now and I've got to show that I'm one of the older lads and try and lead the younger players. "I've got to show them what I've learnt with the first team and also for myself, try and kick on and get back into that squad. "I think that experience this summer will definitely help with these matches against senior teams in the Checkatrade Trophy. There are different scenarios that happen in senior games so hopefully that gives the ones that have had that experience an edge in these games."
West Ham came third in Group D of last season's competition, having lost their opening ties against Coventry City and Wycombe Wanderers – who will again be an opponent this season. They bounced back with a 1-1 draw and subsequent penalty shootout victory at Northampton Town and this season have Swindon and Bristol Rovers – as well as the Chairboys – to contend with. And having faced League Two outfits Barnet and Colchester United in pre-season friendlies, Makasi thinks the team are well prepared. "The lads faced those two League Two teams, and this will be a similar test, so that will help the boys going into the game and hopefully that will get us a good head start in the Group," he continued. "I thought we played well on Friday [against Everton] and we have got to go again and get off to a good start. "Our former player Kyle Knoyle plays for them, too, so we're looking forward to that. It will be good to see Kyle – he's a great lad and I always played alongside him throughout the youth ranks at West Ham, so it will be good to see him again."
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Reid: We will put in a much better performance at Southampton
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid has vowed that West Ham United will put in a 'much better performance' at Southampton on Saturday. The Hammers were humbled 4-0 at Manchester United in their opening Premier League fixture – their heaviest opening-day defeat since being thrashed by the same scoreline at Newcastle United in August 2002. With work to return London Stadium to football mode following the 2017 IAAF World Championships ongoing, Reid and company travel to the Saints and the Magpies over the next two weekends before hosting Huddersfield Town in their opening home fixture on 11 September. While some players would see that as an excuse for an indifferent start to the campaign, the No2 is having none of it. "To be fair, I don't look at it that way, because you have to play the same amount of home games and same amount of away games as everyone else over the course of the season," he said. "Obviously, we would have liked to have played one of those games at home, but that's not the main issue as arguably we were better away from home than we were at home last year! "We are starting a new season and we obviously didn't do well on Sunday, so we have to move forward, learn from our mistakes and watch the video and make sure that, come next week, we put in a much better performance."
Another reason for Reid's optimism is the presence in the West Ham squad of the Club's four experienced summer signings – Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Marko Arnautovic and Chicharito. "It does help that the players we have signed have played in the Premier League before," he said. "I'm sure that, once we get things gelling and have had another week working hard on the training pitch, we'll be a lot better. "The new players have fitted in perfectly and they'll help us move forward."
Reflecting on Sunday's defeat in Salford, Reid admitted the Hammers had simply been second best to one of the best sides in the Premier League, if not Europe.
"They made us pay for every mistake," he said. "We have to be tough on ourselves, because some of those mistakes we caused ourselves. "Coming to Old Trafford, you need to minimise your mistakes and work your way out from there, but they were the far superior team and they outclassed us in every aspect of the game."
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Spurs tickets on sale to Members from 11am Tuesday
WHUFC.com
Become a Claret Member now to give yourself the best chance of securing tickets for the unmissable visit of Tottenham Hotspur.
Tickets for our London Stadium Premier League meeting with Spurs go on sale to Members from 11am on Tuesday 15 August, so join now to get to the front of the queue - and if you are on the Season Ticket Waiting List, you can take advantage of a £10 discount on Membership if you sign up before 8 September
Slaven Bilic's men secured a memorable 1-0 victory over the north Londoners on a thrilling Friday night at London Stadium last term, and will be going for a third successive home win against Mauricio Pochettino's team when they meet on Saturday 23 September, kick-off 12.30pm.
Sign up for Membership now here
Last season all but two Premier League fixtures sold out to Members, go make sure you're first in line for tickets by joining up today.
Claret Membership benefits include:
Ticket priority on Premier League and Cup fixtures
Access to the Ticket Exchange – once a fixture is sold out, you can purchase seats which have been relisted by Season Ticket Holders
£5 discount on official away coach travel
Exclusive Claret Member access card
Additional merchandise discounts and offers
NEW: Exclusive monthly competitions – prize draws for signed shirts, memorabilia and money-can't-buy experiences
NEW: Invite to Junior Hammers party for Claret Kids
NEW: Attend PL2 matches at London Stadium for free
NEW: Attend West Ham Ladies home matches for free
Claret Members will also receive an FREE West Ham branded portable phone charger with Claret Kids receiving a FREE gift pack including face paint sticks, a bedroom wall poster and an exclusive Claret Kids scarf which you can't get anywhere else!
Claret Membership costs £40 for Adults and £25 for Kids, with International Membership subject to an additional £5 to cover shipping.
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Manchester United 4-0 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 14th August 2017
By: HeadHammerShark
Yesterday I drove for the best part of twelve hours from Essex to Southern France, which is roughly enough time to get me halfway to Manchester based on some reports I read today, and I'm completely knackered.
In fact my back hurts more than Joe Hart's currently does after he spent the afternoon examining the back of the Old Trafford goals.
So this is an abbreviated holiday H List, available only because while I was channelling my inner F. Scott Fitzgerald today, I stumbled across a Dutch satellite feed of this game and decided to waste an hour and a half of my family holiday watching it.
Which was a mistake.
This is what happens when you look directly at a downward spiral
You see, to my mind there is a tacit, unspoken agreement between football fans and players that the opening game of any season is different. It just is. Over the course of the next ten months there are going to be days when the team won't play well, fans will lose faith and players will lose form but the one thing we can agree on is that opening day is non negotiable. No matter who you play, the sunshine will be glorious, the tans haven't yet faded and the team will champing at the bit after pre-season training and will give everything in pursuit of victory.
The positive line of thinking is that new signings will be desperate to impress, existing players will be playing for their places and new contracts and in that golden, sunlit moment the entire world is pregnant with possibility. And yet watching us play this game I was instead reduced to wondering whether Pedro Obiang was actually pregnant, so immobile and off the pace was he.
The team didn't uphold their end of the bargain today.
***
I don't really object to us losing to Manchester United. The question with them is never "Why did we lose to them?", but rather "How can it be that we've ever beaten them?". At £24m Marko Arnautovic is our largest ever signing, and yet he would be 23rd in the equivalent list of transfers for the Red Devils. They spent more on Anderson than we've ever spent on a player, and they bought him a decade ago.
Their financial superiority is such that we always travel to these games more in hope than expectation. It's how the Premier League is drawn up. Teams like West Ham are supposed to turn up, put up a bit of a fight and then have the good grace to concede a late winner right in front of the advertising hoarding hawking such wares as the official Manchester United tractor, as happened today.
What was so crushing about this performance was therefore not the content but the style. It was as if the team had been set a ninety minute test by the Oxford English Dictionary to redefine the word "insipid".
This is literally the best combination produced by two West Ham players today
Looking around the Premier League this weekend was to see hungry teams battling for points everywhere. By all reports ours was the worst, most spineless performance of the lot. No ambition, no organisation, no fight and most alarmingly of all - no change from last year. Here are our results against the current best six teams in the division since the start of last season:
Man Utd 4 - 0 West Ham
West Ham 0 - 4 Liverpool
West Ham 1 - 0 Spurs
Arsenal 3 - 0 West Ham
West Ham 1 - 2 Chelsea
West Ham 0 - 4 Man City
West Ham 0 - 2 Man Utd
Liverpool 2 - 2 West Ham
West Ham 1 - 5 Arsenal
Man Utd 1 - 1 West Ham
Spurs 3 - 2 West Ham
Man City 3 - 1 West Ham
Chelsea 2 - 1 West Ham
This also ignores a 5-0 home defeat to Man City in the FA Cup and a 4-1 loss at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup.
It's easy to brush off games such as this, and consign them to memory. They are kind of like the sequels to The Matrix in that respect: I accept they happened and that I paid money to see them but I refuse to acknowledge their existence in my decision making.
So, Joe, can you describe how it felt making your West Ham debut?
So we continue to make excuses and continue to look forward. These are the default responses for football fans because it's just how we are wired - there is always something on the horizon that is cause for optimism. There is always another game and always someone coming back from injury to make things right, especially at West Ham. Indeed, we are fans so desperate for something to wish on that we all decided Gary Lewin was our signing of the summer back in July. And then everyone was still injured for the first game.
But these are not the results of a good team. They are not the results of a resolute, well drilled, organised team. They are the results of a group of players who face a gaping gulf in class every time they face this opposition, and have no idea how to traverse it. Sure, an away defeat at Manchester United isn't anything to get too concerned about, given they'll beat most teams at home this year, but I think we're allowed to raise an eyebrow at the manner of it all. If Bilic is able to introduce anything before next Saturday, I would hope it would be some semblance of a backbone. I find it exasperating how rarely these days we can even compete in these fixtures, let alone win them.
So, yes, I understand those who will say that this is just one game. But isn't it the same one game we've seen this team play over and over again for a year?
***
At the end of the calamitous 16/17 season Slaven Bilic identified pace as the single biggest feature lacking from his team. Our summer transfer policy not only ignored this, but somehow appears to have made things worse. I've seen tides come back quicker than our midfield today when we were hit on the counter. This is just one of the many problems when the Chairman buys the players for a manager in the last year of his contract, and with little apparent ability to convince the former of his suitability for an extension. The distance between Bilic's desired type of player and his real ones seems quite hefty.
As such, we today fielded quite possibly the slowest West Ham team I can remember seeing in my lifetime, and I was there when we had Andy Melville at centre back. We were without Lanzini and Antonio, which always made it unlikely we would play well, but the pedestrian nature of it all was a shock. Chicharito looked so isolated he may soon have his nickname changed to "Siberia" and Arnautovic did enough to suggest that he will mix moments of magic and moaning with all the adroitness of the departed Payet.
But we cannot play at this walking pace in the Premier League and survive. With Feghouli and Snodgrass AWOL, Fernandes was pressed into a number ten role and did a passable impression of a square peg. What brief moments of attacking intent we did have seemed to spring from Noble and yet he was surprisingly replaced instead of the possibly expectant Obiang. The centre of the team is a huge hole that the summer signings don't address, and if the rumours linking us to William Carvalho are true then he can't arrive soon enough.
But where is the joie de vivre of that 15/16 season? Certainly the league was weaker then, but we never played so shapelessly or with such little belief even once that season. Now it is de rigeur for us to get a hiding, blame it on injuries or new stadiums or disruptive Frenchmen or bad horoscopes or the Boogie and just muddle on with no apparent improvement. My upper lip doesn't seem to be stiff enough for this line of thinking.
***
If one wants to look for positives, I thought Zabaleta battled well, especially as he was up against the quicksilver Rashford and being 54 years old means he usually spends Sundays at his allotment. I also thought Joe Hart did alright considering the relentless barrage he faced. He should perhaps have stopped Pogba's effort - down low to that troublesome left side again - but that wasn't the reason we lost today. If he wants an opportunity to show Gareth Southgate he is still England's best shot stopper then the logic of his move becomes clear very quickly. He's going to get plenty of chance to do it with us.
Declan Rice made a surprising cameo from the bench and looked pretty decent. Perhaps the logic of that perplexing decision to loan out Reece Oxford is simply that they think Rice is better? I have no idea - divining a strategy in any of our moves these days is like watching toddlers play chess.
Elsewhere, I don't really have very much to cling on to. It perhaps speaks volumes that having watched the game in its entirety I still have no idea what our gameplan was today. We seem tactically bereft, like one of those early 20th century British army units marching with great gusto toward certain defeat, led by a general with no military ideas beyond a belief that everything will be alright in the end.
We're away next week again, of course, courtesy of the gift that keeps on taking - the athletics stadium with a football pitch on it. This makes it difficult to regroup and difficult to roar back. Maybe we'll win 3-1 again at Southampton, and all of this will just be yet more of that negative whinging so many of you criticise me for, but for now the pessimists are winning, I'm afraid.
It's early of course, and nothing is won or lost on opening day, but I'm waiting on a sign. I want to see something to tell me that this year will be different to last. Something to encourage me that we are going to be more competitive, more organised, more steely when the going gets tough. Even for those who believe these articles to be too negative must concede that performances like today are a disgrace, just as I will concede that there were some mitigating factors.
Tomorrowland - are we nearly there yet?
My main overarching issue with the current leadership of the club is the failure to develop and adhere to a cogent overarching strategy to develop the team over time. Instead everything is done reactively, expensively and on such a short term basis that it all has to be ripped down and rebuilt again every couple of years.
I would happily accept performances like today if I felt it was the necessary cost of progression. But it's not. It's just the result of having an old, slow team, a terrible injury record and the opposition being as rich as Croesus. And Lukaku. Always fucking Lukaku.
If we have to think in such a short term way, then it doesn't seem unreasonable to want some returns on a fairly short term basis. Our next three games are Southampton, Newcastle and Huddersfield - each tricky in their own way but there are points to be taken there. And they'd better be taken. This is Sullivan's borrowed time and therefore it's Bilic's too. We can't keep waiting for tomorrow because at some point we have to win today.
So I've had enough with the injuries and the good young players a couple of years away and the settling into the new stadium and all the other stuff that stops the team playing well. When your Director of Football admits he is implementing a strategy that is "not good for the long term" then you lose the right to bring those things up. It's tough shit.
We're all about the here and now, so I want some fucking results here and now. I want my back four to look like they've met before. I want my left back to actually leave the ground when he jumps. I want my defence well enough organised that we don't have the smallest member marking Lukaku at free kicks and corners.
I want my captain to be so influential he can last ninety minutes. I want an attacking strategy that can actually cause trouble to defenders as average as Phil Jones. I want a net spend bigger than Watford. I want a manager who can find ways to make us competitive against better teams and not one who has us conceding four every time we play anyone half decent.
And most of all I want it today. Not tomorrow.
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.
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Sofiane Feghouli signs five-year deal at Galatasaray after completing £3.9m switch from West Ham
VAISHALI BHARDWAJ
Evening Standard
Sofiane Feghouli has left West Ham for Galatasaray in a £3.9m deal after signing a five-year deal with the Turkish giants. Both clubs confirmed the transfer on Monday evening after the Algeria international travelled to Turkey at the weekend and then put pen to paper on a long-term contract at Galatasaray. The move brings to an end Feghouli's time at West Ham, which lasted just one season, after he initially joined the Hammers from Valencia in the summer of 2016. The 27-year-old, who was voted the 2012 Algerian Footballer of the Year, had scored 42 goals in 243 appearances for Los Che but an injury-ravaged campaign at the London Stadium saw him score four goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for Slaven Bilic's side. Despite his difficult season in London, Feghouli took to Twitter following confirmation of his departure from West Ham to thank the fans for their support last term.
He wrote: "Thank you West Ham fans for the support this season and good luck everyone for the future. Always @WestHamUtd."
West Ham added in a statement on their website: "Feghouli totalled 27 appearances and four goals for West Ham, including one against Slovenian UEFA Europa League opponents NK Domzale in the first-ever fixture at London Stadium in July last year. "He added further strikes in Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in Stratford before netting at Burnley in what turned out to be his final appearance for the Club in May. "West Ham United would like to thank Sofiane for his efforts and wish him well in his future career."
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Sofiane Feghouli sends West Ham fans message after completing Galatasaray transfer
West Ham transfer news is dominated by Sofiane Feghouli's departure to Galatasaray and the player has said farewell to supporters
Football London
BYTOM MARSHALL-BAILEY
21:30, 14 AUG 2017UPDATED21:34, 14 AUG 2017
Sofiane Feghouli has completed his move to Galatasaray following a one-year stay at West Ham United. The Algerian winger sealed his switch to Turkey this evening as Slaven Bilic successfully offloaded a fringe player, with Robert Snodgrass potentially joining Feghouli in leaving the Hammers before the end of the transfer window. Feghouli has signed a five-year deal with the Istanbul club and West Ham will pocket £4m from the transfer having picked him up on a free 12 months previously. The 27-year-old played 20 times for West Ham in 2016/17 and scored three goals with a further three assists in his sole season with the club.
And after his transfer was confirmed, Feghouli took to Twitter to issue a message to the fans. "Thank you West Ham fans for the support this season and good luck everyone for the future," he wrote before adding "Always" accompanied with the hammers emoji to signify his love for the club.
Sofiane Feghouli ✔ @sffeghouli
Thank you West Ham fans for the support this season and good luck everyone for the future. Always ⚒@WestHamUtd
8:21 PM - Aug 14, 2017
240 240 Replies 465 465 Retweets 3,487 3,487 likes
In a statement on the club website, West Ham said: West Ham United can confirm that Sofiane Feghouli has joined Galatasaray on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The Algeria winger moves to the Turkish Super Lig club after a single season in Claret and Blue, having joined the Hammers from Spanish side Valencia in summer 2016. Feghouli totalled 27 appearances and four goals for West Ham, including one against Slovenian UEFA Europa League opponents NK Domzale in the first-ever fixture at London Stadium in July last year. He added further strikes in Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in Stratford before netting at Burnley in what turned out to be his final appearance for the Club in May. West Ham United would like to thank Sofiane for his efforts and wish him well in his future career.
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William Carvalho agrees terms to become West Ham's club-record signing, medical imminent
HITC
Olly Dawes
West Ham United are reportedly closing in on Sporting CP's William Carvalho. According to the Daily Express, Sporting CP midfielder William Carvalho has agreed terms with West Ham United ahead of a big-money move, with a medical now believed to be imminent. The Hammers have already brought in four major signings this summer, as Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez have all arrived at the London Stadium - but they couldn't prevent a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.
After opening the season with such a heavy defeat, manager Slaven Bilic may now dip back into the transfer market for another new signing, with a midfielder wanted following injury concerns over Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate this year. Now, The Express report that a deal for Sporting CP's William Carvalho - worth in the region of £30million rising to £35million in add-ons, representing a club-record fee - is close after the midfielder agreed terms over a move to East London.
It's now claimed that Carvalho will undergo a medical with West Ham this week, and they may hope to have him in the squad to face Southampton the Premier League this weekend. Carvalho, 25, has come up through the ranks with Sporting, making more than 150 appearances whilst impressing with his poise on the ball, his passing range and his strength in the tackle. Sporting CP midfielder William Carvalho from Portugal during the Friendly match between Sporting CP and AS Monaco at Estadio Jose Alvalade on July 22, 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal. Whilst born in Angola, Carvalho has 37 caps for Portugal and played in the Euro 2016-winning side, and should bring quality to the West Ham midfield once his club-record deal is completed. The midfield powerhouse has been linked with moves to the Premier League for many years now, but it seems that West Ham are on the verge of landing a major coup as Carvalho's move to the London Stadium draws ever closer.
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Sporting Lisbon and Portugal star William Carvalho 'ready to have medical with West Ham'
By talkSPORT - @talkSPORT
Monday, August 14, 2017
Sporting Lisbon star William Carvalho is ready to travel to London to undergo his medical with West Ham United, according to reports in Portugal. The 25-year-old has reportedly already agreed personal terms with the Hammers ahead of a move to the club. Talks over a fee for the Portugal international are ongoing but, according reports, Carvalho has contacted West Ham to tell them he is ready to fly in for his medical. After years of being linked with a move to the Premier League, the midfielder is reportedly eager to get this deal wrapped up quickly. In the past, Carvalho has been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United – but negotiations have always collapsed. Now, though, the Portugal star could finally be about to get his wish if West Ham are able to agree a fee with Sporting.
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Newcastle odds slashed to Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, West Ham still favourites
NEWCASTLE have seen their odds slashed by the bookies to sign Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere.
By DAVID WRIGHT
PUBLISHED: 13:16, Mon, Aug 14, 2017 | UPDATED: 13:29, Mon, Aug 14, 2017
Express.co.uk
Wilshere looks on his way out of Arsenal this summer after Arsene Wenger left the midfielder out of the squad that beat Leicester 4-3 on Friday. The England international has been linked with a move to newly-promoted Newcastle, whose manager Rafa Benitez is desperate for new recruits. And followings reports Newcastle are set to step up their interest, bookmakers Betfair have slashed their odds of signing Wilshere from 7/1 to 3/1. Premier League rivals West Ham are also said to be interested in landing the 25-year-old, with Betfair pricing the Hammers as evens favourites for his signature. Wilshere was sent out on loan to Bournemouth last season to secure regular game time but failed to make the desired impact under Eddie Howe. Wenger admitted last week that he is yet to make a decision on Wilshere's future. "The decision has not been completely made, but I want him to play somewhere," he said. "We have to decide that later. "First I wanted him to come back from his fracture. It's the first week back from full training. We need to sit down and see where we go." The Gunners manager added: "He has the talent to be a regular, but he has to come back to competition in a consistent way."
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West Ham transfer for William Carvalho imminent as Sporting begin looking at replacements
HITC
Dan Coombs
West Ham are keen on William Carvalho. West Ham are closing in on the signing of midfield ace William Carvalho. Portuguese newspaper O Jogo report his club Sporting Lisbon have already accepted he is leaving. They have already begun looking at replacements for the Portugal international and are assessing their options. Sporting CP midfielder William Carvalho from Portugal during the Friendly match between Sporting CP and AS Monaco at Estadio Jose Alvalade on July 22, 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal. The report states the cost of the transfer could reach 45 million Euros, which currently converts to £41 million. It will be an initial 37 million Euros [£33.6m], which will rise dependent on objectives, and Sporting will have a clause for a sell on percentage of any future transfer. West Ham though are reluctant to pay it all at once, and intend to split the cost in installments. They are presently negotiating with Sporting Club de Portugal about this, but it is not considered as a reason which will scupper a transfer which is moving along fast. Carvalho has been touted for a move away from Sporting for the past four years but the Hammers are the only club to meet Sporting's demands. West Ham lost their opening game of the season 4-0 yesterday away to Manchester United.
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West Ham's forwards really put in the miles against Manchester United but for little reward
The stats show that the Hammers frontline certainly put the effort in during the match but they didn't get the luck
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
12:24, 14 AUG 2017UPDATED12:27, 14 AUG 2017
While West Ham were soundly beaten 4-0 by Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, it may have looked to those watching that the Hammers players were not putting as much effort in. But, if you dig deeper into the statistics of the game, the Hammers front men especially put in a shift, while one of the midfielders also covered a lot of ground throughout the 90 minutes. The front three of Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic and Andre Ayew barely got a sniff of goal all afternoon but it can't be said they didn't run their socks off top try and create chances. Ayew ran the second furthest distance on the pitch in the black and blue away shirt, covering 10.3km (6.4 miles) and had 74 sprints throughout the 90 minutes. That was only bettered by Pedro Obiang, who ran 10.7km.
Record-signing Arnautovic clocked up 9.8km over 46 sprints and Chicharito ran 9.5km in 42 sprints as he had a frustrating afternoon. Arnautovic was also recorded as the fastest Hammer on the day as he reached a top speed of 20.7mph. While Obiang racked up the most number of miles on the pitch, one interesting comparison is that of his centre midfield partner Edimilson Fernandes ran 4km less than his Spanish partner in the engine room of the midfield. Also, Hammers keeper Joe Hart did a lot of rushing off his line and running in his box as he somehow managed to cover 2.8 miles of running throughout the game. So while it may have looked from the outside the Hammers players didn't put in much of a shift, they actually did despite the horrendous result at the end of the game.
Only Nemanja Matic (11.4km) covered more ground for Manchester United.
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West Ham tried to sign Sandro Ramirez before he chose Everton, reveals Slaven Bilic
JAMES BENGE
ES Sport
Slaven Bilic has revealed that West Ham failed in a bid to beat Everton to the signing of Sandro Ramirez. The former Malaga striker joined the Toffees in a bargain £5.2million deal in July when Everton activated his release clause. Ramirez had been linked with the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle in recent months and Bilic admitted that West Ham had tried to muscle into the chase. "Ramirez from Malaga came in, he was in Barcelona and we wanted him but he chose Everton," Bilic said in an interview with Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija. The 22-year-old has been tasked with leading the line for Everton since the departure of Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United in a £75m deal this summer. However Bilic, who spent two years playing at Everton after departing West Ham in 1997, sees few similarities between the two. "He is a quick player and has no traits like Lukaku," he added. "They lost [Lukaku's] strength, but gained [Ramirez's] speed."
West Ham would ultimately move for Bayer Leverkusen forward Javier Hernandez, who made his debut against Manchester United on Sunday.
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Londoner's Diary: Another critic crosses the great West Ham divide
Evening Standard
Londoner's Diary
West Ham's season might have got off to a disastrous start at Manchester United yesterday but they're still ahead of the PR game. The Hammers have been in the firing line over the deal that saw them relocate to Stratford's Olympic (now London) Stadium. Most of the £752 million tab for the stadium and its conversion is being picked up by taxpayers, as approved by ex-Mayor Boris Johnson.
The Taxpayers Alliance (TPA) referred to it sarcastically as "the deal of the century" and West Ham, whose chief executive Karren Brady defended the deal, have fought back. The club is now employing the traditional football tactic of buying up the other side's best players — two members of the TPA have been seduced over. Unfortunately it looks like at least one of their star signings has already scored an own goal. "Thank you for your email," former TPA comms officer Harry Davis's out-of-office message pinged when we went looking for comment on Friday. "I have now left the TPA to fight against the interests of taxpayers at West Ham United FC."
Oh dear — whatever can he mean? This can't be the same Harry Davis who only in December authored a TPA statement on the Olympic stadium offering. "Maybe out of respect for those that paid for it, the Hammers and the LLDC could rename it the Taxpayers' Stadium."
Davis follows former TPA campaign manager Tom Banks to West Ham — he now works for the club's foundation. He previously called for a "wide inquiry into the whole contract" into the London Stadium. Is there anyone left at the TPA to cry foul?
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WEST HAM CONFIDENT ON COMPLETING DEAL FOR WILLIAM CARVALHO
REBECCA HAWKSWORTH @BeccaJourno
ReadWestHam
Slaven Bilic is confident that West Ham can get a deal done for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho within a week, the Mirror reports. Sporting Lisbon rejected a £27.1m bid from West Ham for Carvalho last week but it is believed that a deal worth around £36million is now nearing completion. After a week of intensive talks with the Portuguese side, the Hammers are confident of completing a deal for the Euro 2016 winner by the end of the week. Carvalho was left out of the Sporting Lisbon squad that beat fellow Portuguese side Setubal 1 – 0 at the weekend. The 25-year-old is said to be keen on linking up with the Hammers after being linked with an array of Premier League teams that past few years, including Chelsea and Arsenal. Slaven Bilic's side took a 4 – 0 hammering at Old Trafford on Sunday, highlighting their need for new recruits this summer.
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Rice showing anger and Masuaku's laughter - 5 moments missed as West Ham are thumped by Manchester United
Here are five moments you might have missed from West Ham's 4-0 humbling at Manchester United
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
11:30, 14 AUG 2017
Declan Rice showing his exasperation as United scored their fourth goal
The 18-year-old came on for the final half an hour of the game at Old Trafford and certainly acquitted himself well (a 96% pass completion rate, no less) and despite his relatively lack of seniority within the squad, he wasn't afraid to show his anger. As Anthony Martial beat the offside trap to slide home United's fourth and final goal of the afternoon, Rice leapt up into the air in clear and showed a clear sign of exasperation at what he was watching. While it's not like Rice unleashed a torrent of abuse at any of his team mates, it was certainly good to see him showing signs of passion and frustration. There would be some Hammers fans that would have Rice starting down at Southampton next weekend and displays like Saturday's will only endear him more.
Arthur Masuaku sharing a joke with Romelu Lukaku?
Well, we don't know if they two were sharing a joke or not but what certainly was a bit of a joke was the DR Congo man marking Lukaku in the first place, who has probably got about a foot in height on him. Whatever the laughter was about, there was no laughing matter for the Hammers as Lukaku stole a march on Masuaku and then headed home Henrikh Mhkitaryan's precise free kick to put the hosts 2-0 up and effectively end the game as a contest. The West Ham left back got a bit of a pasting on social media for those who did see his laughter but what it was about, we'll never know.
Slaven Bilic's hug with Declan Rice
As the 18-year-old prepared to enter the fray for Mark Noble, Rice stood next to his manager Slaven Bilic, with Diafra Sakho to the left of the teenager warming up. Bilic gave Rice his instructions and prepared him to go on the pitch but before he did, put an arm around his young protege and gave him a pat on the head to wish him good luck. It was a nice moment from the boss. Rice certainly listened to his manager as he performed well for the final half an hour despite the away side shipping two more goals in that time to a rampant United.
A superb song by the Hammers fans mocking United supporters
Towards the end of the game and it meandering towards a conclusion, the tannoy system at Old Trafford announced for the Hammers fans to stay in their seats at full time to allow the United fans out first. Cue the visiting army of supporters chanting to the United fans "We'll race you back to London, we'll race you back to London." If you were on any train up from Euston to Manchester on Saturday morning, it was swamped with United fans who outnumbered West Ham supporters easily, with Reds fans across the land notoriously mocked for a vast amount of them not being from Manchester.
Bilic apologising to a ball boy
During the first half, Winston Reid made a decent clearance after pinching the ball off Romelu Lukaku into the stand to clear his lines. The ball was heading for the Hammers boss and, quite rightly, Bilic stuck his hands out on the touchline and caught the ball. What he didn't realise was there was a young ball boy behind him ready to get the ball and throw it back to one of his heroes on the pitch. Realising what he had done, Bilic held his hands out in apology to the ball boy, who promptly gave Bilic a high five and accepted the apology.
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Declan Rice reacts on Twitter to West Ham United defeat
HITC
Shane Callaghan
Declan Rice impressed for West Ham United on Sunday. Declan Rice managed to earn a half-an-hour cameo in West Ham United's 4-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The 18-year-old defender has enjoyed a fantastic pre-season for the Irons, and did his chances of staying with the senior side no harm at all with a mature performance. The young Irishman said on Twitter afterwards that he was "gutted" with the result, but West Ham fans were quick to reassure him that he could be proud of his own display.
Follow
DR ✔ @_DeclanRice
gutted with that result, but it's important we bounce back and go again at Southampton. Delighted to have got more minutes today❤⚒ #COYI
7:03 PM - Aug 13, 2017
108 108 Replies 142 142 Retweets 1,254 1,254 likes
D.C. Irons @DC_Irons
Replying to @_DeclanRice
Looked the part when you came on mate ⚒
7:44 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Follow
Tom Allen @tomwhu13
Replying to @_DeclanRice @WestHamUtd
You were class lad. Should've started imo. Better than Obiang and fernandes. 100% should be in starting 11 next week
7:09 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Replies Retweets 9 9 likes
Mark Daws @Dawstours
Replying to @_DeclanRice @1southernnash
Proud of you today Declan as I am sure many #Hammers are today. Keep going mate, never give up and remember we are all behind you. #COYI
9:45 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Replies Retweets 4 4 likes
MKirby @NKchez
Replying to @_DeclanRice
Well done Declan. You should be proud. Good performance from you today ⚒️
7:05 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Replies Retweets 3 3 likes
West Ham @WHULondon_
Replying to @_DeclanRice @WestHamUtd
You deserve to start mate..keeping working hard and you will be in the starting 11 in no time 💪🏻⚒
9:13 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Replies Retweets 2 2 likes
Sam Thomas Nicola @st90nicola
Replying to @_DeclanRice
Only one who looked like they know how to play football! Well done 👏🏼
7:13 PM - Aug 13, 2017
Replies Retweets 2 2 likes
At just 18, Rice, who can also play in midfield, is certainly a fine talent but it will be interesting to see whether Slaven Bilic keeps him this season or sends him out on loan. As the saying goes, if you're good enough then you're old enough and if Rice handled himself well at Old Trafford of all places then it might indicate that he could handle the pressure at other venues. Then again, this time two years ago it was Reece Oxford who West Ham fans were raving about, having posted a fine performance in an opening-day victory at Arsenal, and the 18-year-old was loaned to Borussia Monchengladbach this summer. And that is why fans of the East London club won't be getting overly carried away by Rice's potential.
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West Ham optimistic William Carvalho transfer will be done within a week after days of intensive talks
Sporting Lisbon recently rejected a £27.1m Hammers bid but it's believed a deal potentially worth £36m is now close
The Mirror
BYDARREN LEWIS
22:30, 13 AUG 2017UPDATED08:47, 14 AUG 2017
West Ham feel their £36million swoop for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho could be complete within the next week. Officials from the Hammers have been locked in talks since having a £27.1m bid rejected by the Portuguese outfit last week. They are now believed to have made up the difference in performance-related bonuses. Carvalho, 25, is keen to join the east Londoners after years of being linked with a string of Premier League sides and was left out of his club's 1-0 win over Setubal on Saturday. Asked about the Euro 2016 winner's absence, boss Jorge Jesus said "it was to protect William, Sporting... everything."
West Ham are excited about the prospect of Carvalho forming a partnership with Cheikou Kouyate when the Senegalese star returns from injury next month.
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DIRE AND RICE, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
By HamburgHammer 14 Aug 2017 at 08:00
WTID
In an ever changing world like ours it is reassuring to see that at least some things are unlikely to change anytime soon:
* Manchester United can still buy their way out of trouble by picking up the Premier League's top striker.
* Said top striker loves playing against us as he scores more goals against West Ham than any other team, this game was no exception to that rule.
* Our starting XI is still cheaper overall than Man United's most expensive signing Pogba.
* Old Trafford is a ground where we rarely perform well, nevermind bring home any points.
* They really do like their half and half scarves in the home end at Man United, don't they ?
It was a very bad weekend football wise for me and if it hadn't been for Concordia's development squad I wouldn't have seen a single decent performance from one of my teams yesterday, Cordi's U23 team won 7:3 at home and that freak result alone illustrates perfectly what kind of league that is, with goalkeepers that have the physique of hookers in rugby and some shambolic defending on show in general (however, we've seen some pretty abysmal defensive skills even at Premier League level in the past few days, haven't we ?).
That game was followed by a truly shocking home performance by the Concordia first team in their league game. A lackluster, inept first half with mindblowing errors galore which allowed the guests from Osdorf to race into a comfortable 3:0 halftime lead. Cordi had probably 75% possession, but that's no good if you mainly pass the ball around neatly sideways and backwards. Attitude, effort and body language eventually improved in the second half, but one consolation goal was all the Cordi lads had to show for it – at this rate it's going to be a long and hard season for the boys this time around. Potential midtable mediocrity instead of another promotion push I reckon.
I only missed the first five minutes of the West Ham game actually and was relieved we weren't already a goal down when I switched on the telly. It was obvious we'd be under the kosh all game and bearing that in mind I was reasonably pleased with the first half performance, apart from their goal of course, but when you play against top class players the like of which Man United have the luxury of fielding alll over the pitch, then every single error you make tends to get mercilessly punished by ball into your net more often than not.
The clinical way in which Man United put away their opportunities in the second half was brutal to watch, but it also illustrated that there is a shedload of work ahead for Bilic and his staff to sort out our defending in training. We seem to be slow in reading opposition plays, slow in reacting and therefore easy to tear apart at the back. If you defend like this not even the best goalkeeper in the world will be able to keep the scoreline respectable for you.
I really hope we manage to sort our defense out, hopefully new signing Carvalho will take some pressure away from our defenders to begin with and it's comforting to know we won't have to play Manchester United every week of course. It was the first game of the season, a pretty dire performance, maybe even a crap one, but I won't bother getting riled up too much, reading comments at this point from Hammers fans frantically pushing the panic button already. Let's look at some of the positives instead.
It was a massive relief to finally see Diafra Sakho back on the pitch again, even showing something resembling a smile when coming on and he looked pretty sharp and up for it, at least until we fell apart later on.
More gametime in the coming weeks should hopefully give him some confidence and some goals should then increase said confidence even further, if he can stay fit of course. We all know Sakho can be a very decent striker for us if his body and mind are in good health and spirits.
Second positive for me was the short glimpse we got of Declan Rice in a competitive (yeah, right!) game. He didn't look out of place at all when he came on.
He didn't put much of a foot (or pass) wrong yesterday and even if he has to shoulder some of the blame for one of those late goals, I won't allow this to cloud my overall positive impression of Declan's performance.
He obviously couldn't turn around a game like this on his own, but to me he looks absolutely ready to be in our first team matchday squads now on a regular basis.
It was also pleasant to hear that both Burke and Cullen (The Pooltable Boys from Rotenburg) apparently gave a good account of themselves for Bolton in their game at Millwall. Playing for them regularly should do them the world of good, potentially setting them up for a swift return to West Ham in January. Apparently both are very much in Slaven's first team plans so hopefully once our guys have settled down in the league somewhat we can start seeing more of the youngsters.
And then there is the new guy from Montenegrian descent (born and bred in Sweden though) we signed last week, Sead Haksabanovic (great name that!) who seems to be yet another jamboree bag full of tricks, flicks and surprises. I am quite aware of course that not every wonderkid who joins our club today will turn out to be the real deal tomorrow or even the day after. But at the very least he arrives at our club bringing with him a good measure of praise and promise, he also is a versatile chap, being able to play in midfield, either in a central attacking position, on the left wing or even further upfront.
He looks to me like a Swedish version of Tony Cottee, nippy, small, light on his feet, can turn his opponent on an area the size of a beer mat, you get the picture.
They don't mention any weaknesses on whoscored.com, but emphasise his ability to shoot from distance and the fact he gets fouled a lot.
Looks like he could even be another decent (and regular) bench option this season for the first team rather than the development squad.
I am now hoping for and expecting a much better performance in our next game against Southampton, with better effort and some more guts. However, with the signings we have made already in this window I am cautiously optimistic there are better times ahead for our club on the pitch.
From what I've read there could still be a few new faces coming in, with one or two leaving (hopefully the right ones!).
I have booked flights last week for my first live game this season, our local derby against Spurs in anticipation of another feisty affair. And hopefully another 1:0 home win which has been the customary result during my first season of visits to the London Stadium. That's a tradition by the way that doesn't need to change anytime soon as far as I am concerned! Unlike certain other traditions connected to our away games at Old Trafford.
Let's hope I can be a good luck charm for the lads two seasons running! COYI!!!
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 15
Monday, August 14
Daily WHUFC News - 14th August 2017
Red Devil Lukaku haunts Hammers again
WHUFC.com
Romelu Lukaku haunted West Ham United once again as his brace helped
Manchester United to a 4-0 opening-day Premier League win at Old Trafford.
The Belgium striker made it eleven goals in 13 career appearances against
the Hammers with a goal in each half before substitute Anthony Martial and
compatriot Paul Pogba completed Sunday's scoring as full-time approached.
Lukaku was at his predatory best on a Super Sunday for the Red Devils,
lashing home Marcus Rashford's pass just past the half-hour mark, before
nodding in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's free-kick to complete the scoring eight
minutes after the break. In truth, Manchester United were full value for
their victory as West Ham named four Premier League debutants - Joe Hart,
Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and former Manchester United striker
Chicharito - in the same game for the first time in exactly 12 years. Sadly,
the result was not the same as that game, a 4-2 home win over Blackburn
Rovers, as Jose Mourinho's expensively-assembled side controlled proceedings
for long periods. Manchester United won nine corners and had ten goal
attempts in the first half, one of which saw Lukaku open the scoring with a
lethal finish in off the base of the post. Nemanja Matic charged down Pedro
Obiang's attempted pass and the ball span into the path of Rashford, whose
pass split the Hammers defence and the new Red Devils No9 did the rest. West
Ham's best chance of the opening period came seconds before the interval,
when decent interplay involving Chicharito, Mark Noble and Andre Ayew
created space for Edimilson Fernandes, but David De Gea was able to parry
his fierce shot.
Into the second half and West Ham momentarily threatened before Lukaku
scored his second. Zabaleta was booked for bringing down Rashford and the
No9 was allowed the time and space to head Mkhitaryan's free-kick into the
bottom right-hand corner. Five minutes later, West Ham created their second
clear chance when Fernandes crossed diagonally from deep for Arnautovic, who
craned his neck and sent a dipping header over De Gea but unfortunately onto
the top of the crossbar. Despite that chance, Bilic opted to change things
up, bringing on Declan Rice and Diafra Sakho for Mark Noble and Fernandes,
but the substitutes could not stem the red tide. For the final half-hour, it
was almost all Manchester United, with Rashford crashing a shot against the
base of the post and Blind volleying a yard over the top, before two late
goals rubbed salt into West Ham's wounds. First, with three minutes of the
90 remaining, Mkhitaryan's final touch sent Martial through and he poked
confidently past the advancing Hart to make it 3-0. Then in the final minute
of normal time, Martial turned provider for Pogba, who took a touch, drove
through the heart of the Hammers defence and calmly placed the ball beyond
the goalkeeper.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia C, Bailly, Jones, Blind, Matic, Pogba,
Mata (Fellaini 75), Mikhitaryan (Lingard 88), Rashford (Martial 80), Lukaku
Subs not used: Romero (GK), Darmian, Smalling, Herrera
Goals: Lukaku 33, 52, Martial 87, Pogba 90
Booked: Bailly, Valencia
West Ham United: Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku (Cresswell 81),
Obiang, Noble C (Rice 61), Fernandes (Sakho 61), Ayew, Arnautovic,
Chicharito
Subs not used: Adrian (GK), Byram, Collins, Fonte
Booked: Zabaleta, Ogbonna
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 74,928
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Slaven Bilic: I expected more from us
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic was disappointed with his team's performance after the Hammers
fell to a 4-0 opening day defeat to Manchester United on Sunday. West Ham's
old nemesis, Romelu Lukaku, struck again with two more goals to add to his
tally against the east Londoners, before late strikes from Anthony Martial
and Paul Pogba added insult to injury. Bilic spoke before the game of
feeling optimistic for the trip to Old Trafford, so he was frustrated to see
the visitors getting beaten at the basics and not giving themselves a chance
of bettering last season's point against Jose Mourinho's men. "I expected
more, of course," the boss said. "I have to admit it, they were much the
better side in every aspect of the game. They were better in the air, they
were better on the floor and better in 50-50 challenges.
"We knew they had a strong side, but I expected us to do much better than we
did on Sunday. "We were much slower than them. They had pace up front and
the quality, and we didn't want to get exposed in one-on-one situations,
because in those situations, individually they can make a difference. "So we
wanted to create the situation that we are two against one in our favour,
but to be fair we didn't have that today a lot. "It's very hard to find
positives when you lose 4-0, but we have to get up and get ready for the
next game."
The goal which took the contest away from West Ham, Lukaku's second, soon
after the restart, came from a wide set-play and Bilic was annoyed with the
simplicity of the goal. He added: "We knew that they have a threat on
set-plays. They have four or five really tall players who are good in the
box and that's why we practised set-pieces for three days in a row. "We
looked good, but if you give players like Lukaku so much time and are not
close to them, you can't expect better than [what happened]."
The boss made a positive change when introducing Diafra Sakho from the bench
not long after the hour, and he thought the Hammers created some positive
situations, but admitted they need to show more focus if they are to make a
swift improvement. He explained: "We tried to switch to 4-4-2 because we
needed another player up-front with Chicharito, who was quite decent but was
isolated. "So we put Sakho on with him and took a bit of a risk. We created
some opportunities, some good situations which didn't end up with a shot or
a good chance, but what we didn't want to happen was concede two goals late
in the game.
"Basically we need to become more focused, because we have been training
well. In the game we need to show determination in every situation, in every
throw-in, because when you play Man Utd you need to beat them in that
department. "But they were better than us doing the dirty work and if they
are better than you in the dirty work [they will win]."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chicharito: Manchester United were simply ruthless
WHUFC.com
Chicharito's return to the Theatre of Dreams turned into a nightmare as
Manchester United defeated West Ham United 4-0 in their opening Premier
League fixture.
The Hammers were haunted by two goals from Romelu Lukaku and late strikes
from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba at Old Trafford as the Mexican suffered
a heavy defeat at the stadium he called home for four seasons. Chicharito
was his usual busy self, always offering himself for the ball and making
runs in behind the home defence, but Jose Mourinho's men starved him of
service and restricted him to just one first half chance. "Of course, it
could have gone better for me and for us," he said. "Nobody wants to lose
4-0 on any pitch in the world, but they were a little bit better, more
ruthless and after the second goal, things went very positively for them."
West Ham's best chance fell not to Chicharito but to Swiss midfielder
Edimilson Fernandes on the stroke of half-time, but his rasping shot was
turned aside by David De Gea. When asked if the game would have turned out
differently had the No31 found the back of the net, the experienced Mexican
was not being drawn.
Instead, he pointed to Manchester United's clinical finishing as the major
reason for their emphatic victory. The Red Devils scored four goals from
just six shots on target. "It probably would have been different, but we
cannot speak about that because it wasn't a goal," he said. "In the first
half, we played really well but we had one big mistake and they scored.
"They are Manchester United and they finished us off."
West Ham did not lose because of any lack of effort, the new No17 claimed,
but because they were playing against the better team on the day. "We did
everything and we tried to play as well as we can, but Manchester United
pushed us a little bit back because they are a great team," he observed. "We
had chances even after they scored their second goal, when we had a header
from Arnie which hit the crossbar. "It's the first game of the season and
obviously we are not happy with the result. We played a team who were in
better form than us. We can say a lot of stuff, but that won't change
anything if I say it. "We lost to a better team and now we have to improve
and keep working."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REF WATCH: MARTIN ATKINSON - MANCHESTER UNITED VS WEST HAM
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 13 AUGUST 2017 AT 7:51PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
With what seemed like an eternity, the Premier League has resumed with a
bang and it's great to be back writing for TheWestHamWay. As I sat in a
little bar called Helders in Carvoeiro, Portugal, taking a break from my
vacation and the 26 degree heat, I had a sense of optimism which was quickly
brought back down to earth when my girlfriend's brother hit me which some
damaging stats. Jose Mourinho has never lost a game at home on a Sunday as a
manager and West Ham haven't won their last opening 10 games, the bubble
truly burst after hearing that
There was a lot of drama in the opening fixtures of the new season with
unexpected wins, a lot of goals and three red cards: two cautionable
offences included dissent by action or word, violent conduct and a dangerous
challenge by use of excessive force - The debate on these red cards could go
on through the night. Martin Atkinson was the referee named for the last
fixture of Gameweek one and in my opinion, one of the most consistent
referees over the past two or three seasons.
Martin Atkinson started the game well with good decisive decision-making and
on top of the challenges flying in, both teams seemed rusty with their
timing and tackling.
In the first half, Manchester United had a couple of half-hearted penalty
appeals when goalscorer Romeu Lukaku went down within the 6 yard box. There
was no contact by West Ham defender's as Lukaku reached his outstretched
left leg to make contact with the ricocheting ball inside the penalty area.
Paul Pobga found himself becoming frustrated after Atkinson waved away his
penalty appeals on two occasions. From the Manchester United corner, Angelo
Ogbonna was tightly marking the French international and went down under
minimal pressure. In my opinion, Pogba went down too easily but players have
to be careful with pulling and pushing in the penalty area as referees
started to crack down on these fouls last season. The other was for a
challenge with the West Ham player fairly won the ball.
Atkinson managed the game well and allowed the game to flow and found
himself being lenient on occasions especially with Nemanja Matic. On more
than one occasion, Matic was late with his challenges, which could have been
deemed as yellow card offences. On both of these occasions, Atkinson chose
not to punish the Manchester United defending midfielder but Atkinson will
have kept tabs on his challenges
The only caution of the first half was for Manchester United centre back
Eric Bailly. The strong central defender caught West Ham's new number 17
Javier Hernandez high on the shin/knee with a clumsy challenge when
Hernandez was on the half turn - even though the attempt was genuine, Bailly
should have no complaints especially when you catch a player late and high
on the leg, even if it's accidental.
In the second half, the only performance that depleted was West Ham's.
Manchester United performance was very strong on the attack with Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Romeu Lukaku leading in a front three. If
i'm being honest with you, the second half for Martin Atkinson was as
routine as you could get. Atkinson continued to control the game and the
cautions he produced were obvious and stonewall cautionable offences.
Pablo Zabaleta showed why Manchester City rated him so highly. Even though
on this debut game, four goals have been chalked against his name, the
Argentine showed his experience throughout bellowing orders and managing the
defensive line. However, his experience resulted in a caution for his block
on Marcus Rashford. The young Englishman was looking to run down Zabaleta's
weak side before being blocked. A simple booking and one that cannot be
argued.
Marko Arnautović looked promising throughout but understandably needs some
time to settle into the new team. Arnautović was on the receiving end of a
poor challenge by Antonio Valencia after some good hold up play from the
ex-Stoke man. Valencia was late to react and caught Arnautović on the top of
his planted ankle - Nothing less than a sore one for the Austrian and
Atkinson cautioned Valencia for his attempt.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan looked very lively all game and with two assists against
his name had his chances to get on the score sheet however it was disallowed
for offside. West Ham's defence was left in no mans land and Rashford
darting past the defence-splitting passes from midfield, only to be 2 yards
offside when Mkhitaryan slotted the ball home from close range. A great
decision by the linesman, in which both performed well throughout.
Overall, Martin Atkinson and his officiating team had a good game which
seemed very routine and without controversy. With the new technology like
VAR potentially coming into the Premier League next season, this will only
help ease pressure on referees with the speed and the intensity of the game
ever-increasing.
In the first game of the season, naturally your going to have some rust
within the squad but exceptions have been set and being thumped 4-0 at
Manchester United was not one of them. It is evident that a lot of work
still needs to be done and what an opportunity against a Southampton team
who struggled for goals last season and have problems of their own. Ex has
confirmed that William Carvalho is flying in next week for talks and
hopefully to secure a deal - a player of his calibre will be one of the best
pieces of business this transfer window if deal gets over the line.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MANCHESTER UNITED 4-0 WEST HAM - MATCH REPORT
AUTHOR: BRIAN KNOX. PUBLISHED: 13 AUGUST 2017 AT 6:38PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Match Report by @WestHamAmerican
West Ham fell today at Old Trafford 4-0 in the final match of the opening
weekend of the 2017-18 Premier League season. Slavin Bilic, despite his
popular summer transfer additions, came to Manchester without a few of his
more dependable weapons, as Manuel Lanzini, Michael Antonio, Andy Carroll,
and Cheikhou Kouyaté were unable to play today due to injury. For José
Mourinho, he came to the ground with a wealth of options, as would be
expected with Manchester United's wages, including summer additions Nemanja
Matić and Romelu Lukaku.
Both United additions earned their wage for the day as Lukaku opened up the
scoring midway through the opening half after Matic took possession in the
middle third and moved it to Rashford who moved it towards the penalty area,
passed to Lukaku who scored as the ball posted off into the net.
The Hammers had few chances in the opening half, but in the final moment of
added time, they showed a bit of optimism when Javier Hernandez crossed to
Noble who dropped back to a free Fernandes, but De Gea had a strong block to
end the half.
The second half saw Lukaku pick up where he left off, as Mkhitaryan's
free-kick found Lukaku and his header was beyond Hart's reach. With a two
goal deficit, and a midfield that couldn't maintain possession, Bilic called
on Diafra Sakho and Declan Rice. The move seemingly stabilized the midfield
for much of the remainder of the half.
During the second half, there were multiple times West Ham was under fire,
but the new signings Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta showed great work rate
despite, not much help around them.
Late in the half the wheels really came off as Mkhitaryan found Martial, who
found the corner of the goal. The 87th minute goal wouldn't be the end.
The final embarrassment came moments later as Paul Pogba scored from range
in the 90th minute.
During the three minutes of added time, West Ham managed to milk the clock
and walk away with a shameful result in the season opener.
It can be said that Manchester United is a stacked squad with weapons all
over the pitch, and that West Ham has some missing pieces, but the poor
defending and lack of purpose in the middle third of the pitch from the West
Ham midfielders made Chicharito's debut a non-event. On the first weekend
of the season, after such a positive summer transfer window, West Ham is at
the bottom of the Premier League table. Slaven Bilic, in the final year of
his contract, has to work some wonders keep his team believing, and keep his
fans supporting him after this match. A short week and a trip to St. Mary's
will be the opportunity to turn the ship around. After today, that
opportunity can't come soon enough.
Man United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Blind, Matic, Pogba, Mata,
Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Lukaku
Subs: Romero, Darmain, Smalling, Fellaini (76'), Herrera, Lingard (88'),
Martial (80')
West Ham: Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Noble, Obiang, Fernandes,
Arnoutovic, Ayew, Chicharito
Subs: Adrian, Cresswell (81'), Byram, Fonte, Collins, Rice(61'), Sakho
(60'),
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 74,928
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Romelu Lukaku haunted West Ham United once again as his brace helped
Manchester United to a 4-0 opening-day Premier League win at Old Trafford.
The Belgium striker made it eleven goals in 13 career appearances against
the Hammers with a goal in each half before substitute Anthony Martial and
compatriot Paul Pogba completed Sunday's scoring as full-time approached.
Lukaku was at his predatory best on a Super Sunday for the Red Devils,
lashing home Marcus Rashford's pass just past the half-hour mark, before
nodding in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's free-kick to complete the scoring eight
minutes after the break. In truth, Manchester United were full value for
their victory as West Ham named four Premier League debutants - Joe Hart,
Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and former Manchester United striker
Chicharito - in the same game for the first time in exactly 12 years. Sadly,
the result was not the same as that game, a 4-2 home win over Blackburn
Rovers, as Jose Mourinho's expensively-assembled side controlled proceedings
for long periods. Manchester United won nine corners and had ten goal
attempts in the first half, one of which saw Lukaku open the scoring with a
lethal finish in off the base of the post. Nemanja Matic charged down Pedro
Obiang's attempted pass and the ball span into the path of Rashford, whose
pass split the Hammers defence and the new Red Devils No9 did the rest. West
Ham's best chance of the opening period came seconds before the interval,
when decent interplay involving Chicharito, Mark Noble and Andre Ayew
created space for Edimilson Fernandes, but David De Gea was able to parry
his fierce shot.
Into the second half and West Ham momentarily threatened before Lukaku
scored his second. Zabaleta was booked for bringing down Rashford and the
No9 was allowed the time and space to head Mkhitaryan's free-kick into the
bottom right-hand corner. Five minutes later, West Ham created their second
clear chance when Fernandes crossed diagonally from deep for Arnautovic, who
craned his neck and sent a dipping header over De Gea but unfortunately onto
the top of the crossbar. Despite that chance, Bilic opted to change things
up, bringing on Declan Rice and Diafra Sakho for Mark Noble and Fernandes,
but the substitutes could not stem the red tide. For the final half-hour, it
was almost all Manchester United, with Rashford crashing a shot against the
base of the post and Blind volleying a yard over the top, before two late
goals rubbed salt into West Ham's wounds. First, with three minutes of the
90 remaining, Mkhitaryan's final touch sent Martial through and he poked
confidently past the advancing Hart to make it 3-0. Then in the final minute
of normal time, Martial turned provider for Pogba, who took a touch, drove
through the heart of the Hammers defence and calmly placed the ball beyond
the goalkeeper.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia C, Bailly, Jones, Blind, Matic, Pogba,
Mata (Fellaini 75), Mikhitaryan (Lingard 88), Rashford (Martial 80), Lukaku
Subs not used: Romero (GK), Darmian, Smalling, Herrera
Goals: Lukaku 33, 52, Martial 87, Pogba 90
Booked: Bailly, Valencia
West Ham United: Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku (Cresswell 81),
Obiang, Noble C (Rice 61), Fernandes (Sakho 61), Ayew, Arnautovic,
Chicharito
Subs not used: Adrian (GK), Byram, Collins, Fonte
Booked: Zabaleta, Ogbonna
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 74,928
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic: I expected more from us
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic was disappointed with his team's performance after the Hammers
fell to a 4-0 opening day defeat to Manchester United on Sunday. West Ham's
old nemesis, Romelu Lukaku, struck again with two more goals to add to his
tally against the east Londoners, before late strikes from Anthony Martial
and Paul Pogba added insult to injury. Bilic spoke before the game of
feeling optimistic for the trip to Old Trafford, so he was frustrated to see
the visitors getting beaten at the basics and not giving themselves a chance
of bettering last season's point against Jose Mourinho's men. "I expected
more, of course," the boss said. "I have to admit it, they were much the
better side in every aspect of the game. They were better in the air, they
were better on the floor and better in 50-50 challenges.
"We knew they had a strong side, but I expected us to do much better than we
did on Sunday. "We were much slower than them. They had pace up front and
the quality, and we didn't want to get exposed in one-on-one situations,
because in those situations, individually they can make a difference. "So we
wanted to create the situation that we are two against one in our favour,
but to be fair we didn't have that today a lot. "It's very hard to find
positives when you lose 4-0, but we have to get up and get ready for the
next game."
The goal which took the contest away from West Ham, Lukaku's second, soon
after the restart, came from a wide set-play and Bilic was annoyed with the
simplicity of the goal. He added: "We knew that they have a threat on
set-plays. They have four or five really tall players who are good in the
box and that's why we practised set-pieces for three days in a row. "We
looked good, but if you give players like Lukaku so much time and are not
close to them, you can't expect better than [what happened]."
The boss made a positive change when introducing Diafra Sakho from the bench
not long after the hour, and he thought the Hammers created some positive
situations, but admitted they need to show more focus if they are to make a
swift improvement. He explained: "We tried to switch to 4-4-2 because we
needed another player up-front with Chicharito, who was quite decent but was
isolated. "So we put Sakho on with him and took a bit of a risk. We created
some opportunities, some good situations which didn't end up with a shot or
a good chance, but what we didn't want to happen was concede two goals late
in the game.
"Basically we need to become more focused, because we have been training
well. In the game we need to show determination in every situation, in every
throw-in, because when you play Man Utd you need to beat them in that
department. "But they were better than us doing the dirty work and if they
are better than you in the dirty work [they will win]."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chicharito: Manchester United were simply ruthless
WHUFC.com
Chicharito's return to the Theatre of Dreams turned into a nightmare as
Manchester United defeated West Ham United 4-0 in their opening Premier
League fixture.
The Hammers were haunted by two goals from Romelu Lukaku and late strikes
from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba at Old Trafford as the Mexican suffered
a heavy defeat at the stadium he called home for four seasons. Chicharito
was his usual busy self, always offering himself for the ball and making
runs in behind the home defence, but Jose Mourinho's men starved him of
service and restricted him to just one first half chance. "Of course, it
could have gone better for me and for us," he said. "Nobody wants to lose
4-0 on any pitch in the world, but they were a little bit better, more
ruthless and after the second goal, things went very positively for them."
West Ham's best chance fell not to Chicharito but to Swiss midfielder
Edimilson Fernandes on the stroke of half-time, but his rasping shot was
turned aside by David De Gea. When asked if the game would have turned out
differently had the No31 found the back of the net, the experienced Mexican
was not being drawn.
Instead, he pointed to Manchester United's clinical finishing as the major
reason for their emphatic victory. The Red Devils scored four goals from
just six shots on target. "It probably would have been different, but we
cannot speak about that because it wasn't a goal," he said. "In the first
half, we played really well but we had one big mistake and they scored.
"They are Manchester United and they finished us off."
West Ham did not lose because of any lack of effort, the new No17 claimed,
but because they were playing against the better team on the day. "We did
everything and we tried to play as well as we can, but Manchester United
pushed us a little bit back because they are a great team," he observed. "We
had chances even after they scored their second goal, when we had a header
from Arnie which hit the crossbar. "It's the first game of the season and
obviously we are not happy with the result. We played a team who were in
better form than us. We can say a lot of stuff, but that won't change
anything if I say it. "We lost to a better team and now we have to improve
and keep working."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REF WATCH: MARTIN ATKINSON - MANCHESTER UNITED VS WEST HAM
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 13 AUGUST 2017 AT 7:51PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
With what seemed like an eternity, the Premier League has resumed with a
bang and it's great to be back writing for TheWestHamWay. As I sat in a
little bar called Helders in Carvoeiro, Portugal, taking a break from my
vacation and the 26 degree heat, I had a sense of optimism which was quickly
brought back down to earth when my girlfriend's brother hit me which some
damaging stats. Jose Mourinho has never lost a game at home on a Sunday as a
manager and West Ham haven't won their last opening 10 games, the bubble
truly burst after hearing that
There was a lot of drama in the opening fixtures of the new season with
unexpected wins, a lot of goals and three red cards: two cautionable
offences included dissent by action or word, violent conduct and a dangerous
challenge by use of excessive force - The debate on these red cards could go
on through the night. Martin Atkinson was the referee named for the last
fixture of Gameweek one and in my opinion, one of the most consistent
referees over the past two or three seasons.
Martin Atkinson started the game well with good decisive decision-making and
on top of the challenges flying in, both teams seemed rusty with their
timing and tackling.
In the first half, Manchester United had a couple of half-hearted penalty
appeals when goalscorer Romeu Lukaku went down within the 6 yard box. There
was no contact by West Ham defender's as Lukaku reached his outstretched
left leg to make contact with the ricocheting ball inside the penalty area.
Paul Pobga found himself becoming frustrated after Atkinson waved away his
penalty appeals on two occasions. From the Manchester United corner, Angelo
Ogbonna was tightly marking the French international and went down under
minimal pressure. In my opinion, Pogba went down too easily but players have
to be careful with pulling and pushing in the penalty area as referees
started to crack down on these fouls last season. The other was for a
challenge with the West Ham player fairly won the ball.
Atkinson managed the game well and allowed the game to flow and found
himself being lenient on occasions especially with Nemanja Matic. On more
than one occasion, Matic was late with his challenges, which could have been
deemed as yellow card offences. On both of these occasions, Atkinson chose
not to punish the Manchester United defending midfielder but Atkinson will
have kept tabs on his challenges
The only caution of the first half was for Manchester United centre back
Eric Bailly. The strong central defender caught West Ham's new number 17
Javier Hernandez high on the shin/knee with a clumsy challenge when
Hernandez was on the half turn - even though the attempt was genuine, Bailly
should have no complaints especially when you catch a player late and high
on the leg, even if it's accidental.
In the second half, the only performance that depleted was West Ham's.
Manchester United performance was very strong on the attack with Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Romeu Lukaku leading in a front three. If
i'm being honest with you, the second half for Martin Atkinson was as
routine as you could get. Atkinson continued to control the game and the
cautions he produced were obvious and stonewall cautionable offences.
Pablo Zabaleta showed why Manchester City rated him so highly. Even though
on this debut game, four goals have been chalked against his name, the
Argentine showed his experience throughout bellowing orders and managing the
defensive line. However, his experience resulted in a caution for his block
on Marcus Rashford. The young Englishman was looking to run down Zabaleta's
weak side before being blocked. A simple booking and one that cannot be
argued.
Marko Arnautović looked promising throughout but understandably needs some
time to settle into the new team. Arnautović was on the receiving end of a
poor challenge by Antonio Valencia after some good hold up play from the
ex-Stoke man. Valencia was late to react and caught Arnautović on the top of
his planted ankle - Nothing less than a sore one for the Austrian and
Atkinson cautioned Valencia for his attempt.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan looked very lively all game and with two assists against
his name had his chances to get on the score sheet however it was disallowed
for offside. West Ham's defence was left in no mans land and Rashford
darting past the defence-splitting passes from midfield, only to be 2 yards
offside when Mkhitaryan slotted the ball home from close range. A great
decision by the linesman, in which both performed well throughout.
Overall, Martin Atkinson and his officiating team had a good game which
seemed very routine and without controversy. With the new technology like
VAR potentially coming into the Premier League next season, this will only
help ease pressure on referees with the speed and the intensity of the game
ever-increasing.
In the first game of the season, naturally your going to have some rust
within the squad but exceptions have been set and being thumped 4-0 at
Manchester United was not one of them. It is evident that a lot of work
still needs to be done and what an opportunity against a Southampton team
who struggled for goals last season and have problems of their own. Ex has
confirmed that William Carvalho is flying in next week for talks and
hopefully to secure a deal - a player of his calibre will be one of the best
pieces of business this transfer window if deal gets over the line.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MANCHESTER UNITED 4-0 WEST HAM - MATCH REPORT
AUTHOR: BRIAN KNOX. PUBLISHED: 13 AUGUST 2017 AT 6:38PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Match Report by @WestHamAmerican
West Ham fell today at Old Trafford 4-0 in the final match of the opening
weekend of the 2017-18 Premier League season. Slavin Bilic, despite his
popular summer transfer additions, came to Manchester without a few of his
more dependable weapons, as Manuel Lanzini, Michael Antonio, Andy Carroll,
and Cheikhou Kouyaté were unable to play today due to injury. For José
Mourinho, he came to the ground with a wealth of options, as would be
expected with Manchester United's wages, including summer additions Nemanja
Matić and Romelu Lukaku.
Both United additions earned their wage for the day as Lukaku opened up the
scoring midway through the opening half after Matic took possession in the
middle third and moved it to Rashford who moved it towards the penalty area,
passed to Lukaku who scored as the ball posted off into the net.
The Hammers had few chances in the opening half, but in the final moment of
added time, they showed a bit of optimism when Javier Hernandez crossed to
Noble who dropped back to a free Fernandes, but De Gea had a strong block to
end the half.
The second half saw Lukaku pick up where he left off, as Mkhitaryan's
free-kick found Lukaku and his header was beyond Hart's reach. With a two
goal deficit, and a midfield that couldn't maintain possession, Bilic called
on Diafra Sakho and Declan Rice. The move seemingly stabilized the midfield
for much of the remainder of the half.
During the second half, there were multiple times West Ham was under fire,
but the new signings Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta showed great work rate
despite, not much help around them.
Late in the half the wheels really came off as Mkhitaryan found Martial, who
found the corner of the goal. The 87th minute goal wouldn't be the end.
The final embarrassment came moments later as Paul Pogba scored from range
in the 90th minute.
During the three minutes of added time, West Ham managed to milk the clock
and walk away with a shameful result in the season opener.
It can be said that Manchester United is a stacked squad with weapons all
over the pitch, and that West Ham has some missing pieces, but the poor
defending and lack of purpose in the middle third of the pitch from the West
Ham midfielders made Chicharito's debut a non-event. On the first weekend
of the season, after such a positive summer transfer window, West Ham is at
the bottom of the Premier League table. Slaven Bilic, in the final year of
his contract, has to work some wonders keep his team believing, and keep his
fans supporting him after this match. A short week and a trip to St. Mary's
will be the opportunity to turn the ship around. After today, that
opportunity can't come soon enough.
Man United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Blind, Matic, Pogba, Mata,
Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Lukaku
Subs: Romero, Darmain, Smalling, Fellaini (76'), Herrera, Lingard (88'),
Martial (80')
West Ham: Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Noble, Obiang, Fernandes,
Arnoutovic, Ayew, Chicharito
Subs: Adrian, Cresswell (81'), Byram, Fonte, Collins, Rice(61'), Sakho
(60'),
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 74,928
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Sunday, August 13
Daily WHUFC News - 13th August 2017
Fonte: We're not intimidated by a trip to Manchester United
WHUFC.com
Jose Fonte is excited by the prospect of seeing West Ham United's new signings in action at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Euro 2016 champion knows a thing or two about titles and believes Chicharito, Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta will all bring a winning mentality to Slaven Bilic's side.
The Hammers kick-off the 2017/18 Premier League season at Manchester United looking to follow in the footsteps of Burnley and Watford, both of whom earned positive results against top four contenders on Saturday.
"It's been amazing," said Fonte, when asked to assess the Club's summer recruitment. "I think the Club has done a fantastic job, bring in this quality, this type of player.
"We should be excited, the players are excited, there's a buzz around the training ground, I know the fans are excited – they should be.
"We're looking forward to the season because it could be a great one. I'm sure, together with the fans, the staff and the players, we can achieve something great this year and it's up to us to work hard and to believe that we can be successful.
"When you bring in players who have won trophies, we have five, six, seven, eight players now who have won stuff, we all want to get them trophies. We are winners, everyone here wants to win.
"We're not here to achieve safety or to just have an average season, we want to win and that's how it has to be. I'm sure that the fans can be positive and we will be giving 120 per cent this year.
"We have a great mixture of experience and young players, so we've got everything you need to be successful. Everyone in the club is excited, we're working hard and we just want the season to start and to start winning some games."
On Hernandez, whose Mexico side Fonte's Portugal faced at the recent FIFA Confederations Cup, the centre-back could hardly contain his excitement.
"You can see it in training, he is happy, he is so energetic, you can see that he is willing and eager to play because he is back in the Premier League," said the 33-year-old. "You can see the personality that he brings to the team and the energy, so he was a great addition along with the others that came that give us great experience."
Fonte also praised Zabaleta's 'experience, stability, calm and knowledge of the various situations of the game' and Arnautovic's 'great talent' which 'can change games'.
While the new No4 is right to be enthused by West Ham's new-look side, he knows they will need to be at the very top of their game to defeat a Manchester United team managed by compatriot Jose Mourinho.
"It's going to be tough," he observed. "The quality that Manchester United have, the great manager they have, it's going to be tough but we have been preparing all week, we're excited, were eager to play that game, to see where we are.
"Obviously were still missing a few players but that shows the strength of the squad – although we're missing some players we still have the quality to go there and do something good.
"We have enough experience in the team to not be intimidated anywhere, we relish this kind of atmosphere to compete against the best. For us it's just another game, a game we look forward to – these are the kind of games players want to play."
Sunday's game kicks-off at 4pm and will be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 3.30pm.
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Slaven Bilic Column: We are optimistic for Old Trafford test
WHUFC.com
The Hammers boss writes his exclusive new pre-match weekly column for whufc.com ahead of Sunday's 2017/18 Premier League opener against Manchester United at Old Trafford…
For a manager, there is always a unique and special feeling before the first Premier League game of the new season. It is the one time of the year when everything is in front of you, on a blank canvas, and everyone starts level.
We are all optimistic, and we have good reason to be so. We have been training well, we have kept the players at the Club that we wanted to keep, and we added to our squad some real quality.
We also learned a lot from last season that I believe will be of help to us in this campaign. And I said that a few times last year. That pressure and those difficult situations, which makes you stronger as an individual and, more importantly as a team.
So we are confident of a good season. We have big plans, big expectations, and we want to achieve our targets.
This is the start of my third season as manager, and our opening matches in those three years have been Arsenal away, Chelsea away and Manchester United away – I think I must have done something to upset the fixture computer!
Seriously, though, we have to relish these big occasions against big teams. You can say 'we have to play them at some stage so why not play them now'. We beat Arsenal two years ago and were very close to getting a draw at Chelsea last year, so we do not approach this game with fear.
United will be a big test for us. They have brought Lukaku in, but that will not change their style – Mourinho has brought in players to fit his style and his shape…only better than what they had.
But we can also say that we are stronger. We have managed to sign the targets first on our list this summer – players with a winning mentality and winning experience, who are still hungry and have something to prove.
Their presence in the dressing-room and on the pitch can already be felt, but we still have to give them time to reach their peak and to gel into the team, so we know that once again the first requirement on Sunday is to be solid, to work hard as a team and to fight for every ball.
It is a process, and you don't expect your team to be at their very best – in terms of rhythm and consistency – in the first match. But there is no getting away from the excitement that surrounds the opening game and the players feel that too – they can't wait for it and they are fully motivated.
Look at Arsenal against Leicester last night – there is no playing at 60% and easing yourself into it, this is the Premier League and it is 100% from the very start.
So we have to be ready, and I am sure we will be. I know our fans will be – they will travel up in their numbers as always, and we will look up at that corner at Old Trafford and gain strength from them
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Michail Antonio passes comeback with flying colours!
WHUFC.com
There was just one minute on the clock in Friday night's Premier League 2 season-opener against Everton when Michail Antonio was presented with his first competitive touch of a ball in more than four months.
Latching on to a defensive clearance midway inside his own half, the reigning Hammer of the Year had the simple option of checking back and laying off a safe, short pass to a team-mate. However, that idea quickly evaporated.
Instead, the 27-year-old pushed the ball beyond England Under-20 World Cup-winning right-back Jonjoe Kenny, opened his legs, and powered through a full 70-yard sprint before whipping in a dangerous cross that was inches away from finding the head of Toni Martinez.
For Antonio, it was immediate proof that his recovery is on perfect track and a first team return is just around the corner.
"I thought I might as well test it out straight away!" smiled the popular winger, who has spent the summer undergoing gruelling rehabilitation work following the hamstring injury he suffered in the 1-0 victory over Swansea City at London Stadium back on April 8.
A 70-minute run-out for Terry Westley's side in a competitive and hard-fought 0-0 draw at Dagenham and Redbridge provided the ideal test for Antonio, whose attitude and commitment was as impressive as his physical condition.
"It felt amazing to be back," he added. "It was a great game, both teams went out to win it, and I really enjoyed being involved in it.
"It's been four months since the injury and I have really missed that feeling. It was always the plan to play 70 minutes in a PL2 game before returning to the first team and it has gone as I hoped.
"Of course I feel tired but that is only to be expected after the first game back, and the main thing is that the power and strength was there."
With another full week of training now ahead of him, the hope is that Antonio will be ready to join the squad for the trip to his former club Southampton next week.
"I would say I am at 95% now in terms of speed and power," he said. "And the only way to get to 100% is to be involved in matches and those duels with opponents where you give everything you have.
"It's been a long time but I feel really good now and can't wait to get back."
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Betway Insider's View of the Opposition: Man Utd
WHUFC.com
West Ham's first game of the 2017/18 Premier League season offers a couple of tempting narratives involving the club's new additions.
Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta have been brought in to bolster the Hammers' defence, two players who won 11 major trophies between them while turning out for Manchester United's closest rivals, Manchester City.
Both Hart and Zabaleta boast impressive head-to-head records against Sunday's opponents, too.
Between 2010 and 2017 one of or both players featured in 14 league outings against United, a sequence that yielded eight wins and three draws for City.
Old Trafford was never a place the duo feared, either, with the Citizens winning four and losing just two of their seven trips to the stadium during that time.
You can be sure, therefore, that Hart nor Zabaleta will be overwhelmed by getting their West Ham careers under way at their old neighbours' stomping ground.
Neither will Javier Hernandez, who is poised to make his competitive Hammers debut at the ground he affectionately refers to as "my old house".
It's easy to see why he's fond of the place: Chicharito scored 28 times there while playing for the Red Devils, before plundering 36 goals in two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen.
The striker can always be relied upon to pop up with a crucial goal, and it would be no surprise to see him do so in the claret and blue on Sunday.
It helps that Jose Mourinho's side are not especially settled in defence.
European suspensions to Eric Bailly and Phil Jones forced the Portuguese to mix and match his centre-backs throughout pre-season, while he has also experimented with both three and four at the back.
So, with the help of their new recruits – which also include Marko Arnautovic – West Ham are capable of both breaching and keeping out the home side.
The Hammers, of course, were one of nine teams to hold the Red Devils at Old Trafford last season, recording a well-earned 1-1 draw in November.
A similar performance and score-line would represent a fine start to the new campaign for Slaven Bilic's men.
Recommended bets
Draw
Under 2.5 goals
Javier Hernandez first West Ham goalscorer
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West Ham U18s' season opener ends in defeat at Brighton
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's U18s new league campaign opened with defeat as the Irons fell to a 3-1 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Confusion and bad fortune for the back-line allowed the home side to storm into an early lead with Brighton two goals ahead within 15 minutes.
Korrey Henry gave West Ham hope early in the second period with a headed finish, having hit the woodwork just before the break.
But defeat for the Irons was secured in the 79th minute as Brighton netted their third.
It took the home side just nine minutes to open the scoring as a lapse in concentration from the West Ham defence allowed Brighton defender Ben Clark-Eden to head home from a corner.
Albion's second was in the net just six minutes later. A commendable run from Jeremy Ngakia unfortunately left the defensive flank exposed on the counter, from which Brighton capitalised with a quick-move and low finish by winger Isaac Hutchinson.
The second conceded effort sparked the Hammers into life and saw the away side grow in confidence with the ball. Bernardo Rosa in particular looked lively, seeing a shot go out for a corner and sending through Sean Adarkwa for an opportunity.
West Ham's best chance of the first half came just a moment before half-time as Henry struck a shot from distance, which pinged back into play off the base of the far post.
The full-backs continued to offer an attacking outlet on the flanks with Reece Hannam playing in a tasty low cross early in the second half.
And it was from a Hannam cross that West Ham eventually broke through. Henry found the net with a flicked header in the 54th minute.
Rosaire Longelo teased in a tasty effort after great work on the wing not long after as the Hammers pressed for an equaliser. Excellent work from the no.11 also set up Rosa for an effort, which bobbled agonisingly wide of the goal.
Despite enjoying the better play in the second period the Hammers struggled to find a second and were made to pay on the counter 11 minutes from full-time. Brighton forward Danny Cashman found the net after a well-played pass and run into the area.
West Ham United U18s coach Mark Phillips said after the contest: "It was a classical game of two halves.
"The first 25 minutes they completely dominated. Brighton started like they had spent the summer waiting to come and play football and we started off like a cricket team.
Then it became an even game. We completely dominated the first half an hour of the second half. I feel they scored completely against the run of play in the second period."
West Ham: Matrevics; Ngakia, Mingi, Wells, Hannam; Henry, Belic (Costinantinou 69'), Hamilton (E. Longelo 86'), Rosa, R.Longelo; Adarkwa
Subs: Forde, Greenidge, E.Longelo, Constantinou
Goals: Henry
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'Ensure Lukaku is locked out': The vital facts ahead of Man Utd v West Ham
WHUFC.com
The start of West Ham's season is just around the corner as Slaven Bilic's side prepare to take on Jose Mourinho's Manchester United.
The Red Devils won't be an easy test for an opening fixture but former Hammers midfielder and current Under-16s manager Jack Collison has revealed how the Irons can leave Old Trafford with a result this Sunday – and we've got the statistics to prove it!
'Ensure Lukaku is locked out'
Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United's newest striker, boasted a very impressive goalscoring record against West Ham until recently. A run of goals in nine consecutive games against the Hammers while with Everton can't be considered anything less than phenomenal, with even the most optimistic of supporters coming to expect a finish from the Belgian when the Club played the Toffees.
"Lukaku has made his big money move and will be looking to start the season fast," Collison said. "I'm sure he's confident after getting a few goals in pre-season and in the UEFA Super Cup so it's going to be essential that the central-defenders are on top of their game and get physical with him."
A heroic effort from West Ham's defence – led by Winston Reid – the last time Lukaku played the Club ensured the forward and his former side Everton left the London Stadium with just a point in a 0-0 draw back in April. It was the first time in ten matches that Lukaku did not score against the Hammers.
Having seen the Irons stop Lukaku last time Collison believes they key to West Ham doing so again at Old Trafford is the whole team taking responsibility for halting the attacker.
"The midfielders also get around him to try and keep him out," he added. "It's important we stop balls into his feet so the midfielders need to be in front, screening passes. Everyone is aware of Lukaku's pace in-behind so it's essential that, if Joe Hart's in goal, his start position is high for any balls over the top, and the defence are ready to meet the challenge head on."
'Grab the game with an early goal'
It's the simplest equation in football – goals win you games.
While recent results away to United haven't been particularly memorable the Hammers do boast a decent goal record at Old Trafford. West Ham have scored in five of their last six matches against United away, with the one exception coming in December 2015.
Interestingly three of those goals have come in the first half - with Diafra Sakho scoring in just the second minute at Old Trafford last season - and Collison reckons an early finish will be the best way to install confidence into the team.
"It's important to see how the game opens. It's the first game of the season so both teams will probably be a little nervy. The best way to settle the nerves is to really go for it, try and get an early goal and something to hang on to."
The former midfielder has warned however that leaving Old Trafford with all three points will likely require more than one West Ham goal on Sunday.
He added: "Any goal at Old Trafford will be important but if you score one you're probably going to have to score two or three to win the match. It's not often United go a game without scoring."
'West Ham's set-piece prowess could prove essential'
Claiming a win on Sunday is not an easy prospect for Slaven Bilic's side with Manchester United last season conceding just 12 Premier League goals at home.
A way through Jose Mourinho's well-drilled defence, according to Collison, could be found in a well-taken set-piece.
"I remember playing under Sam Allardyce and how much he valued set-pieces," said Collison: "It's a great opportunity to try and get the ball into a dangerous area. West Ham are very fortunate they've got some quality players who can deliver good balls into dangerous areas and a lot of physical players to go and attack it."
JC's analysis of West Ham's set-pieces has a statistical foundation too. The Irons scored 12 goals from set-pieces away from home last season, the joint-most of any side in the Premier League.
Collison believes the added threat of the centre-backs at corners and free-kicks gives the Irons an additional advantage and rightly suggests that the Irons do often rely on a set-piece to score against the Red Devils.
"It seems West Ham defenders enjoy scoring against United," Collison added.
"Reid has scored a couple in his time. I remember Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson scoring big goals as well. It appears quite often a big, important goal against United does come from a set-piece."
Set-piece opportunities shouldn't be scarce on Sunday with United committing the second-most fouls in the Premier League last campaign. Their 493 was only topped by Watford, who recorded 510 fouls committed.
"United are a physical team. Players like Fellaini like to get their foot in. Pogba is quite similar. We're fortunate we've got bright players and tricky midfielders who like to get at people and make things happen."
'Don't compromise on Bilic's game plan'
Traditionally Jose Mourinho teams are compact, tight and defensively solid, and this Manchester United side is proving to be no exception.
Last season the Red Devils made the fewest defensive errors in the Premier League, registering just eight throughout the entire season.
"It's always tricky to break down United," Collison admits: "Old Trafford is a tough place to go. Often you find that United are happy to let you have the ball as long as you're not hurting them."
Following the plan set out by manager Bilic to the letter could therefore be the crucial element in West Ham leaving Manchester with their first win of the season.
"It's important that Bilic and his team have worked on a plan, searched for a weakness in the United team and worked on exploiting it.
"It's a very common thing, for a Jose Mourinho side, to be very tight and defensive. It's a tricky ask to break them down but if you want to beat the best teams in the league it's something you have to do.
"It might just come down to which team wants it more on the day."
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Diangana: We did enough to beat Everton
WHUFC.com
Grady Diangana left everything on the pitch on Friday night against Everton in West Ham United U23s' opener, but the Hammers could not quite force a goal as they were held to a goalless draw.
The hosts were the better side throughout the clash at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, and a number of times almost took the lead, particularly through Toni Martinez who had two fantastic openings.
West Ham's creative force Diangana, exhausted after putting in a fine, lively performance against the Merseysiders, was pleased with his side's performance and believes the result is something to build upon.
He said: "We're pleased that we did so well against last year's [Division 1] champions. We definitely had chances to score and to be fair I don't think they troubled us that much. We're pleased.
"The first game is always tiring! We did work really hard in pre-season, but when it comes to the season, it's always much more intense. Everyone wants to win, so it's much harder.
"I try and create as much as I can in front of goal for my teammates every time I get the ball, and I thought I did that tonight. We moved the ball well as a team tonight.
"The first ten minutes in the second half was difficult, because they came out really strong but other than that, we were definitely the better team."
The winger delivered plenty of set-pieces throughout the evening, putting a large percentage into extremely dangerous areas, but nobody in Claret and Blue could turn one past Everton stopper Louis Gray.
"There were plenty of set-pieces – my groin is tired now," he continued. "I haven't really been practising them but I was really pleased with all my deliveries.
"It was a shame nobody could turn one past the keeper. But maybe next week we can score from one.
"Today was just the day for them for me! I need to carry on working hard on them, and that could turn out to be a real weapon in my game if I keep developing it."
The Hammers next face Swindon Town on Tuesday in the Checkatrade Trophy, a game Diangana is looking forward to and hopes to learn from.
"Swindon on Tuesday will be a tough game. I'm glad this year's games are already coming around quickly, and we know the challenge of playing first team opposition.
"It's a good test for all of us young ones – for everyone. We're playing in an extra competition this year, so we're getting game after game and we're going to be learning every week.
"We can learn from our mistakes each week and hopefully have a successful season."
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MANCHESTER UNITED V WEST HAM PREVIEW
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 12 AUGUST 2017 AT 2:05PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @deportivo hammer
Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen to a brand new season of Premier League football. I´m sure you are all very excited-I know I am. For our first fixture we head up to Old Trafford to take on Jose Mourinho and his form of Hoofball on Sunday afternoon. hoping to kick off our season with 3 points.
Pre season for the Hammers has not been great, with us playing games in Austria, Germany and then Iceland. Results have not really gone our way, but as most people have said, the result is not important getting through them without picking up injuries is.
Reasons to be excited, well the signing of a striker that should be able to start more than 15 games a season is reason enough for me. Plus the fact that he comes with a proven record in the Premiership, La Liga, Bundesliga and Champions League is great for the club. Credit to the Chairman and manager for getting this and the other new signings done before the season starts so hopefully we can hit the ground running.
As well as Hernandez we have managed to bring in Hart, Zabaleta and Arnautovic. Breaking our record transfer fee in the process. all three players come with Premier League experience. Hopefully we will be breaking the record once more this transfer window. Fingers crossed. We have also managed to unload a few squad players from the squad.
Now on to our opponents who have just returned from Europe after playing in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid. Their Preseason has not been as bad as ours results wise but they have at least been playing in stadiums rather than the local park. Mourinho is said to be unhappy with the lack of transfer activity but it has not stopped him spending 146 million on 3 players so far. Lukaku, Matic and Lindelof. Lukaku unfortunately does have a habit of scoring against us.
West Ham still have a few injury concerns (nothing new there) Lanzini, Carroll, Kouyate and Antonio will all miss the start of the season but they all should be back in the next couple of weeks or so. Manchester United are without Luke Shaw, Ashley young and Marcos Rojo who are injured.
Predicted teams :
Manchester United : De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Bailly, Darmian, Herrera, Matic,Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku and Rashford.
West Ham United : Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Noble, Fernandes, Obiang, Ayew, Arnautovic and Hernandez.
With our first three games being away from home it becomes even more important to get off to a good start so I expect us to really go for it and put in a good performance. Manchester United will always be a top team with great players but being so early in the season its hard to tell what kind of form the teams are i . But I really fancy us to get a point tomorrow with one of our new boys getting the goal in a 1-1 draw.
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WWAY DAYS: OLD TRAFFORD
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 12 AUGUST 2017 AT 2:16PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @CraigPodevin
What a way to start the season, away to England's most successful club that are back on the rise under Jose Mourinho. A very tough fixture against a new-look United featuring powerhouses Matic and Lukaku, we may struggle and I'll happily take a point away from the game. Looking at our own side, potential debuts for Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez are getting us all excited for the season ahead.
General information
Stadium: Old Trafford
Capacity: 75,635
Address: Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester, M16 0RA
Away seating: Away supporters are located in one corner of the stadium, between the East and South stands. The views are pretty good but be prepared for an upstairs walk to the concourse. Away supporters are quite far back from the pitch as there is a disabled area at the front.
Travel
Train
Always check the National Rail website for updated delays, etc. when using trains. There is a dedicated train station for Old Trafford called Manchester United Football Ground station.
There is one train that will get you there on time from West Ham station (C2C). The train departs at 10.04 from West Ham to get to Stratford (via the Underground). From Stratford, use the London Overground to Highbury and Islington, then from there the underground to London Euston. From Euston you can get a train at 11.20 that arrives at Piccadilly Station at 13.50. There is a 14.21 train from there to Manchester United Football Ground which arrives at 14.31.
From Shenfield railway station (Abellio Greater Anglia) you can get the 09.53 train from Shenfield to London Liverpool Street, then from there use the underground to get to Euston. Again, from Euston you can get a train at 11.20 that arrives at Piccadilly Station at 13.50. There is a 14.21 train from there to Manchester United Football Ground which arrives at 14.31.
For other areas out of Essex please use National Rail to plan your rail journey.
Car
From the London Stadium, the drive takes approximately 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours.
Leave the M6 at Junction 19 and follow the A556 towards Manchester Airport/Altrincham. Continue onto the M56 towards Manchester, taking you past the airport and follow the signs to the M60 towards Leeds and Liverpool. Leave the M60 at Junction 6 and go straight through the lights until you reach the stadium – note, however, that this may be closed on match days.
Parking
Trafford council operate a pay-to-park facility on match days within Trafford Village of Trafford Park, which is near to Old Trafford stadium. The parking charge is £4 in allocated parking pays on the streets.
A more popular option is to park at Old Trafford Cricket Ground for £10, which is a 10-15 minute walk to the football stadium. Try to arrive before 1pm, as it takes a long time to leave the car park.
The Salford Quays Lowry Mall offers an alternative, which is again approximately a 10 minute walk from the ground and costs between £3 (for 2 to 3 hours) to £16 (for 12 to 24 hours). There is virtually no traffic when leaving and the road takes you straight onto the M601 which joins with the M62/M6.
Food and drink
The Trafford, Sam Platts and Bishops Blaize only allow home fans to enter and most pubs near the stadium aren't suitable for away fans, so the city centre is a good idea.
The Quadrant pub has a mixture of home and away fans and also serves food and drink. Lime Bar at Salford Quays also serves both sets of fans. The Green Sports Bar is a one minute walk from Piccadilly Train Station. The Bridge at Sale is two stops from Old Trafford when using the Metro.
You are able to get food and drinks from the catering vans outside the stadium, as well as from the kiosks on the Stadium concourses. They are all cash only so ensure you have cash with you. There is a fairly priced multi-buy deal with the offers listed here:
-3 for £7 – selection of one hot item (meat and potato pie, steak pie, United pie, pasty, sausage roll or hot dog), one snack (crisps, Mars duo or Twix Extra) and one drink (Coca-Cola including Diet, Fanta, Oasis, Water, Singha, John Smith's, Bulmers or any hot drink)
-6 for £12 – Choose two hot items, snacks and drinks.
Enjoy the game, enjoy the start of our new season and most of all stay safe. Come On You Irons! -@CraigPodevin
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So long, Sofiane
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 12th August 2017
By: Staff Writer
Sofiane Feghouli has given the clearest indication yet that he is set to join Fenerbahce. The West Ham winger has barely featured for Slaven Bilic's side in pre-season having been closely linked with the Super Lig outfit, who are understoood to have had an offer in the region of £7million accepted.
And the 27-year-old Algerian is unlikely to feature in a West Ham shirt any time soon, having confirmed this evening that he is on his way to Istanbul - as you can see from the following tweet he posted:
Sofiane Feghouli ✔ @sffeghouli
Tomorrow on the way to istanbul 🇹🇷..... Inch allah !!!
7:01 PM - Aug 12, 2017
4,065 4,065 Replies 11,056 11,056 Retweets 28,307 28,307 likes
Feghouli, who joined West Ham on a free transfer last summer made just 11 Premier League starts for the Hammers in his first and only season at the club.
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Sakho travels to Manchester
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 12th August 2017
By: Staff Writer
Diafra Sakho has been included in Slaven Bilic's squad for tomorrow's season opener against Manchester United. The oft-injured forward is back in the first team squad for the first time since November 2016 having come through pre-season with no further setbacks. Also included in the travelling party is 19-year-old England youth goalkeeper Nathan Trott, who will provide back-up for first-team stoppers Joe Hart and Adrian. However full-back Aaron Cresswell has failed to be included; he joins the likes of Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate on what is already a sizeable MIA list.
West Ham United face Manchester United at Old Trafford tomorrow afternoon; the match is scheduled to start at 4pm and is being broadcast world-wide on TV.
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West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart admits he wanted a permanent move away from Man City
By Rory O'Callaghan
Last Updated: 12/08/17 11:20pm
SSN
Joe Hart admits he would have preferred to find a permanent move away from Manchester City as he prepares to make his competitive debut for West Ham.
Hart joined the Hammers on a season-long loan earlier this summer after he was once again deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad. The England international, who spent last season on loan at Italian club Torino, is set to make his debut for West Ham against Manchester United on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League. But the 30-year-old goalkeeper admits he was hoping to find a more permanent transfer away from City as he enters the latter stages of his professional career. The permanent move was going to be difficult," said Hart. "I don't think there were too many options for me to go on a permanent, if any. That was my ideal situation. "When you've asked me questions I've always answered honestly, and ideally I wanted to be signing a permanent deal somewhere so I could set my life up and have a direction. "When you become a professional footballer there is no written contract that says you have to play first-team football.
"It's a job at the end of the day but there are a lot of us, myself included, who just love playing football and I'm just lucky that it's my job. "It's a short career. The money side of it is great and it is important, but at the end of the day I'm a young guy, I want to play football, that's all I want to do. If going on loan is what needs to happen then for me that's fine. "The game moves quickly, there are plenty of people who have been in my situation and you have two choices. You can either moan about it and you can make smart comments and try to work out why it was done, or you can just get on with it. I've taken the latter." Hart is determined to get as much first-team football as possible this season with the upcoming World Cup in Russia now less than a year away. The Three Lions boast an embarrassment of riches in goal, with the likes of Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton and Jordan Pickford also competing for a place in Gareth Southgate's squad. "I'm trying to make a point to Slaven Bilic, he's my coach," Hart said. "I'm trying to make my point to Gareth Southgate, they're my coaches, they're the people whose opinions I care about. "I've always said the standard of 'keepers in England is very high. It's a privileged position to play for the country. Every single time I've put on that number one jersey I have been very proud and very excited for what comes with it."
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Sofiane Feghouli set to join Galatasaray in £4m move from West Ham
By Kaveh Solhekol
Last Updated: 12/08/17 8:24pm
SSN
West Ham winger Sofiane Feghouli is set to complete a £4m move to Turkish club Galatasaray, according to Sky sources. The 27-year-old will fly to Turkey on Saturday to complete the move after just a single season at the London Stadium. The Hammers need to lower their wage bill after signing a number of players, including Joe Hart on loan from Manchester City and Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen. Manager Slaven Bilic has made five major signings ahead of the new Premier League season, which begins against Manchester United live on Super Sunday on Sky Sports Football. Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Sead Haksabanovic have also joined Hernandez and Hart at the East London club. Sky Sports News understands West Ham remain in talks to sign Sporting Lisbon and Portugal international midfielder William Carvalho. They are confident they can secure a deal for Carvalho, but are hoping to pay less than his £40m release fee.
The 25-year-old, who helped Portugal win Euro 2016, is a product of the Sporting academy and has scored nine goals in 137 appearances since making his first-team debut in 2011. Sporting have recently signed midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia as a potential replacement for Carvalho.
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Manchester City outcast Joe Hart takes pop at Pep Guardiola following move to West Ham on season-long loan
England's No1 keeper doesn't care what Spaniard who has sent him packing two summers running thinks
The Mirror
BYSTEVE STAMMERS
22:30, 12 AUG 2017
Joe Hart has taken a swipe at Pep Guardiola by claiming the only club boss' opinion he cares about is that of West Ham 's Slaven Bilic. The England keeper cannot wait to get started after sealing a loan switch from Manchester City to the Irons – and insists he has nothing to prove to Etihad chief Guardiola. "I'm trying to make a point to Slaven Bilic – he's my coach," said Hart. "And to make my point to Gareth Southgate, the England boss. "They are the people whose opinions I really care about. "City? I don't think about that. I am a West Ham player now – that's all I think about. "The other side of it is quite political – with contracts – and I respect that. And I respect my parent club, but all I care about right now is West Ham."
Hart was dumped by Guardiola last season when he took over at the Etihad – and he was shipped out on loan to Italian club Torino. City signed Claudio Bravo for £17million from Barcelona and, after a succession of clangers, he was dropped. Guardiola has since splashed out another £35m to bring in Brazilian keeper Ederson from Benfica. That's their problem," said Hart. "I need to look after myself. I need to be selfish in this situation. "My feelings for City will never change. I'm eternally grateful to them as a football club. They took me as a 19-year-old from Shrewsbury Town, took something of a punt on me. And I have had some fantastic times there. "The fans have been so supportive of me, even in the last year. There is no point in me taking it too personally, as it's just football."
Hart replied: "That is gone. I am not part of that club at the moment." Ironically, his Irons debut will be back in Manchester on Sunday, at Old Trafford, and he is anticipating a hot reception, reserved for City players past and present. Hart added: "I want to go up there and win, whatever side of Manchester it is or whatever side of the country it is." Hart has been joined at the Hammers by two other Premier League title winners in Pablo Zabaleta, his old City team-mate, and Javier Hernandez, formerly with United. "Javier, he is a global brand," said Hart. "He is a huge player. "He was almost iconic at United. Pablo and I are like brothers. He came to City when we hadn't won anything. He cost £6m, and, if you look today, that was a great deal." Hart is also focused on keeping his gloves firmly on the England No.1 shirt. He added: "I have always said the standard of keepers in England is high. There are some great keepers and I don't think that will change. But I want to stay England No.1."
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Michail Antonio returns to action as West Ham midfielder plays in Under 23 match against Everton
West Ham utility man Michail Antonio featured against Everton U23s on Friday
Antonio is in line to be in the Hammers squad to face Southampton at St Mary's
Bilic has been pleased with the midfielder's recovery from the hamstring injury
Versatile 27-year-old has spent the whole of pre-season building up his fitness
By Ben Grounds For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 20:27, 11 August 2017 | UPDATED: 23:43, 11 August 2017
Michail Antonio stepped up his recovery from a hamstring injury by playing just over an hour for West Ham's Under 23s on Friday night against Everton in the goalless Premier League 2 clash. Antonio has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury against Swansea in April which ruled him out for the rest of last season, but Hammers fans were given a boost with him playing for the development team. The former Nottingham Forest forward is still some weeks away from being fully fit and available for selection, but Slaven Bilic is optimistic it will not be long before he can call upon Antonio again. During his pre-match press conference for the trip to face Manchester United on Sunday, Bilic described Antonio as a 'good healer', and the Croatian boss believe he is ahead of schedule in his recovery. The manager said: 'Michail was injured against Swansea in April and the plan was for him to miss a couple of games because he had an operation, it was not just an injury but a big one. 'He was prepared to miss a couple of games and was and is ahead of schedule. He's a good healer, strong, mentally strong, a hard worker and a bit of a monster also, physically!
MATCH FACTS
West Ham: Trott, Pike, Akinola, Pask, Neufville, Makasi, Coventry, Antonio, Samuelson, Diangana, Martinez
Subs: Henry, Matrevics, Hector-Ingram, Alese, Kemp
Everton: Gray, Kenny, Jones, Baningime, Feeney, Connolly, Bowler, Charsley, Sambou, Dyson, Garbutt
Subs: Foulds, Renshaw, Broadhead, Donkor, Grant
'So, the fact is he is ahead so he's playing on Friday night for the U23s and then he will miss the opening game of the season against Man United away, but he has been in training with us since Monday, he is playing tonight and he should be in the squad, at least, for the game against Southampton. That was planned.'
Antonio scored nine goals in 37 appearances last term before the set-back, with many of his goals coming despite being played in the right-back position.
The player has stressed a determination to be played higher up the pitch by Bilic upon his return, with West Ham still without Manuel Lanzini, Cheikhou Kouyate, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho as they head to Old Trafford. West Ham shaded the first-half at the Chigwell Construction Stadium but the contest remained goalless. Antonio showed his athleticism during an impressive sole run in the second period before shooting wide from 25 yards out. West Ham had other chances to win the contest through Alex Pike and Toni Martinez but the game ended in a stalemate.
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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists he is not worried about his future despite having just one more year left on deal
Slaven Bilic's current contract with the London Stadium club expires next year
West Ham chiefs are expected to open talks with Bilic at the turn of the year
The Hammers open their Premier League campaign at Manchester United
By Kieran Gill for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 22:33, 11 August 2017 | UPDATED: 22:33, 11 August 2017
Slaven Bilic insists he is not sweating on his contract situation, even with it expiring at the end of this season and the life expectancy of managers as short as ever.
West Ham are preparing to play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, with their manager well aware that this could be his final season in charge of the London club. Sportsmail understands talks are likeliest to take place in January but there is pressure on Bilic to convince the board that he is worthy of a new contract between now and then. 'The police are not going to throw me out of England because I don't have a work permit,' Bilic said. 'My contract is for one year and that's long enough. I don't think about my contract in a negative way. 'I am a long time in football to know that it doesn't matter if your contract on paper is one year or five years. Your contract is about the last five games and the next five games. 'If the last five results were good then you can have 10 games. If last five results were bad then you have five games and it is the same for those guys who have a 10-year contract and the same for the guys who are in their last year.
'It doesn't bother me in a negative way that I am obsessed.' Joe Hart is set to make his debut for West Ham and is bound to get some stick at Old Trafford, given he is on loan from Manchester City. 'Joe Hart is quality,' Bilic said. 'He is England's No 1 goalkeeper and you are considering England to always be one of the contenders for the European Championship or the World Cup. 'I remember him from Man City, I remember him from England and I remember him from Torino. He is a very, very good goalkeeper.' It was Pep Guardiola who decided to ditch Hart but Bilic said: 'We have total faith in him – otherwise we would not have signed him. We have complete faith in him. I know he is a top goalkeeper.'
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Slaven Bilic insists West Ham board have shown their faith in him with their summer spending
The Hammers have added Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart this summer
The Mirror
BYDARREN WITCOOP
22:30, 11 AUG 2017
Slaven Bilic believes the West Ham board have already shown their faith in him by pulling out the stops in the transfer market. Bilic is preparing to enter the final year of his contract and there is no new deal imminent. But despite West Ham's current owners having previous in allowing managers run down their contract before letting them go, Bilic is not losing sleep over his future. Instead Bilic, who has shelled out £40million in signing Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart this summer, is relaxed over the club's stance. He said: "I don't think about it. It was the same at my old clubs. I'm not worried "My contract is for one year which is long enough. I don't think about it in a negative way. "I've been in football long enough to know if it doesn't matter if your contract has one year left or five years left. I don't get obsessed with it. "The board are backing the club and the team. They want West Ham to be successful and that's why they were ready to spend money."
West Ham have made sure there is no repeat of the woeful work in last year's summer transfer window. Simone Zaza, Jonathan Calleri and Alvaro Arbeloa were among the arrivals to flop. Instead, they have gone for proven Premier League performers in a clear shift in transfer market policy. Bilic said: "We spent a lot of money, but not a crazy amount. And we have offloaded some players so the balance is less than £10million. "We have done the business and done our priorities. The board have done a great job in getting our first targets. We wanted to get quality players with character and something to prove."
West Ham head to Manchester United tomorrow bidding to also avoid the struggles of last season on the pitch. It meant the east Londoners were locked a relegation fight until April before pulling away from trouble and finishing mid-table. Bilic added: "If we can cut down on injuries then we can do the business. If we do that then it should be a good season for us."
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ANTONIO RETURN AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, BUT CARROLL 'BEHIND' OTHERS SAYS BILICFeatured Image
Date: 12th August 2017 at 12:45am
Written by: Forever Westham
Slaven Bilic says Hammer of the Year Michail Antonio is set to return ahead of schedule from injury and that Cheikhou Kouyate's and Manuel Lanzini's recoveries are also positive, but admits Andy Carroll remains 'further behind' in his rehabilitation.
Antonio suffered an horrific injury against Swansea in the final third of last season that required, but Bilic has praised the former Nottingham Forest forward as a 'physical beast' as he approaches his return to action. "It was not just an injury but a big one." said the Croatian speaking on whufc.com. "He was prepared to miss a couple of games and was and is ahead of schedule. He's a good healer, strong, mentally strong, a hard worker and a bit of a monster also, physically! "He is playing tonight and he should be in the squad, at least, for the game against Southampton. That was planned." he added. Bilic then touched upon the recovery of both Kouyate and Lanzini, who both suffered injuries during pre-season, saying the Senegal star is 'way ahead' of where he should be. "He [Kouyate] and Manu Lanzini, who was our only other player to be injured in the pre-season, should be ready after the Southampton game, if not Newcastle, but certainly after the international break."
The only remaining injury that has the Hammers boss discouraged is that to Andy Carroll, who Bilic admits is behind the others in terms of his return. "Andy is a bit further behind but not a lot. At one stage in the pre-season or even last year, he was way behind but now it looks better. He is training individually, still, but he is basically doing all the movements with the ball and all that. If it continues like this, he should train with us next Wednesday." Carroll came under heavy criticism from West Ham fans earlier this summer when he was pictured out partying till the early hours whilst on holiday with his family.
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West Ham have dodged a bullet by not signing overpriced striker target Andre Gray
HITC
Damien Lucas
West Ham United's best bit of business this summer may prove to be not signing Watford's record buy Andre Gray. Watford completed the club record signing of Hammers target Gray on Wednesday. The Hornets officially signed the Burnley forward for an undisclosed club record fee - but that is thought to be about £18.5m, as reported by the BBC. The 26-year-old, who was linked with a move to West Ham earlier in the window - as reported by the Evening Standard - has signed a five-year deal with the club having rejected a new deal at Turf Moor. Andre Gray of Burnley celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park on April 29, 2017 in London, England. It represents good business for the Clarets who have doubled their money on a player they signed for £9m from Brentford back in 2015. But the sum has understandably raised eyebrows among fans and pundits. In fact many have suggested the figure is more alarming than the world record £200m PSG have shelled out to sign Neymar. And not signing the former Luton Town forward could be the best transfer decision Slaven Bilic makes this summer. Aside from the controversy which followed Gray around last season following his four-game ban over historic homophobic tweets, it is his performances on the pitch which offer no indication as to why he has attracted such a large bid. Gray scored nine goals last season, his first in the top flight. But the most alarming stat of all is the fact he played in 32 games and failed to score in 26 of them. His nine goals were spread across just six games and three of them came in one match against relegation fodder Sunderland. Gray was only being looked at as a back-up striker for the East Londoners and perhaps there is a case to say he may have offered pace from the bench. But at nearly £3m more expensive than proven world class striker Javier Hernandez - Mexico's all-time leading goalscorer with a ratio of a goal every 1.4 league starts - the numbers just do not add up. Bilic, and most Hammers fans, will consider Gray a bullet dodged.
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Slaven Bilic fires a transfer warning to Liverpool over Manuel Lanzini chase
West Ham transfer news includes the latest on Manuel Lanzini amid speculation linking him with Liverpool
Football London
BYCHARLES WATTS
07:00, 12 AUG 2017
Slavan Bilic has issued a warning to Liverpool over a possible move for Manuel Lanzini. West Ham's Argentine star has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Philippe Coutinho, who could be on his way out at Anfield before the end of the month. The Brazilian handed in a transfer request on Friday in a bid to push through a move to Barcelona - although Liverpool insist he is not for sale. Expectation is growing, however, that Coutinho will get his wish and end up at the Camp Nou, leaving Jurgen Klopp with under three weeks to find a replacement. Arsenal target Thomas Lemar has been linked - as has Lanzini. But Bilic is adamant West Ham have no intention of allowing their playmaker to leave this summer. "I spoke with him last season a few times, at the end of the season, and at the beginning of the pre-season and he knows we are looking after him," said the Hammers boss. "He is one of our key players, definitely. He has a big year ahead of him and we know his situation and we're going to do everything possible to sort him out. "He has got a long contract with us but, let's be honest, the chairman always used to appreciate those sorts of situations and I know he activated his clause even before he had to. "He already showed him how much we respect him and he deserves from us to do it again. No doubt he is our key player and we're going to well look after him. "When I said he is a great lad, he never showed me – and we speak on a daily basis – any sort of things that he is unhappy. "Of course every player knows his situation and wants to use his situation in a good way for himself, but I know for sure that he is happy here and he likes it."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Jose Fonte is excited by the prospect of seeing West Ham United's new signings in action at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Euro 2016 champion knows a thing or two about titles and believes Chicharito, Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta will all bring a winning mentality to Slaven Bilic's side.
The Hammers kick-off the 2017/18 Premier League season at Manchester United looking to follow in the footsteps of Burnley and Watford, both of whom earned positive results against top four contenders on Saturday.
"It's been amazing," said Fonte, when asked to assess the Club's summer recruitment. "I think the Club has done a fantastic job, bring in this quality, this type of player.
"We should be excited, the players are excited, there's a buzz around the training ground, I know the fans are excited – they should be.
"We're looking forward to the season because it could be a great one. I'm sure, together with the fans, the staff and the players, we can achieve something great this year and it's up to us to work hard and to believe that we can be successful.
"When you bring in players who have won trophies, we have five, six, seven, eight players now who have won stuff, we all want to get them trophies. We are winners, everyone here wants to win.
"We're not here to achieve safety or to just have an average season, we want to win and that's how it has to be. I'm sure that the fans can be positive and we will be giving 120 per cent this year.
"We have a great mixture of experience and young players, so we've got everything you need to be successful. Everyone in the club is excited, we're working hard and we just want the season to start and to start winning some games."
On Hernandez, whose Mexico side Fonte's Portugal faced at the recent FIFA Confederations Cup, the centre-back could hardly contain his excitement.
"You can see it in training, he is happy, he is so energetic, you can see that he is willing and eager to play because he is back in the Premier League," said the 33-year-old. "You can see the personality that he brings to the team and the energy, so he was a great addition along with the others that came that give us great experience."
Fonte also praised Zabaleta's 'experience, stability, calm and knowledge of the various situations of the game' and Arnautovic's 'great talent' which 'can change games'.
While the new No4 is right to be enthused by West Ham's new-look side, he knows they will need to be at the very top of their game to defeat a Manchester United team managed by compatriot Jose Mourinho.
"It's going to be tough," he observed. "The quality that Manchester United have, the great manager they have, it's going to be tough but we have been preparing all week, we're excited, were eager to play that game, to see where we are.
"Obviously were still missing a few players but that shows the strength of the squad – although we're missing some players we still have the quality to go there and do something good.
"We have enough experience in the team to not be intimidated anywhere, we relish this kind of atmosphere to compete against the best. For us it's just another game, a game we look forward to – these are the kind of games players want to play."
Sunday's game kicks-off at 4pm and will be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 3.30pm.
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Slaven Bilic Column: We are optimistic for Old Trafford test
WHUFC.com
The Hammers boss writes his exclusive new pre-match weekly column for whufc.com ahead of Sunday's 2017/18 Premier League opener against Manchester United at Old Trafford…
For a manager, there is always a unique and special feeling before the first Premier League game of the new season. It is the one time of the year when everything is in front of you, on a blank canvas, and everyone starts level.
We are all optimistic, and we have good reason to be so. We have been training well, we have kept the players at the Club that we wanted to keep, and we added to our squad some real quality.
We also learned a lot from last season that I believe will be of help to us in this campaign. And I said that a few times last year. That pressure and those difficult situations, which makes you stronger as an individual and, more importantly as a team.
So we are confident of a good season. We have big plans, big expectations, and we want to achieve our targets.
This is the start of my third season as manager, and our opening matches in those three years have been Arsenal away, Chelsea away and Manchester United away – I think I must have done something to upset the fixture computer!
Seriously, though, we have to relish these big occasions against big teams. You can say 'we have to play them at some stage so why not play them now'. We beat Arsenal two years ago and were very close to getting a draw at Chelsea last year, so we do not approach this game with fear.
United will be a big test for us. They have brought Lukaku in, but that will not change their style – Mourinho has brought in players to fit his style and his shape…only better than what they had.
But we can also say that we are stronger. We have managed to sign the targets first on our list this summer – players with a winning mentality and winning experience, who are still hungry and have something to prove.
Their presence in the dressing-room and on the pitch can already be felt, but we still have to give them time to reach their peak and to gel into the team, so we know that once again the first requirement on Sunday is to be solid, to work hard as a team and to fight for every ball.
It is a process, and you don't expect your team to be at their very best – in terms of rhythm and consistency – in the first match. But there is no getting away from the excitement that surrounds the opening game and the players feel that too – they can't wait for it and they are fully motivated.
Look at Arsenal against Leicester last night – there is no playing at 60% and easing yourself into it, this is the Premier League and it is 100% from the very start.
So we have to be ready, and I am sure we will be. I know our fans will be – they will travel up in their numbers as always, and we will look up at that corner at Old Trafford and gain strength from them
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Michail Antonio passes comeback with flying colours!
WHUFC.com
There was just one minute on the clock in Friday night's Premier League 2 season-opener against Everton when Michail Antonio was presented with his first competitive touch of a ball in more than four months.
Latching on to a defensive clearance midway inside his own half, the reigning Hammer of the Year had the simple option of checking back and laying off a safe, short pass to a team-mate. However, that idea quickly evaporated.
Instead, the 27-year-old pushed the ball beyond England Under-20 World Cup-winning right-back Jonjoe Kenny, opened his legs, and powered through a full 70-yard sprint before whipping in a dangerous cross that was inches away from finding the head of Toni Martinez.
For Antonio, it was immediate proof that his recovery is on perfect track and a first team return is just around the corner.
"I thought I might as well test it out straight away!" smiled the popular winger, who has spent the summer undergoing gruelling rehabilitation work following the hamstring injury he suffered in the 1-0 victory over Swansea City at London Stadium back on April 8.
A 70-minute run-out for Terry Westley's side in a competitive and hard-fought 0-0 draw at Dagenham and Redbridge provided the ideal test for Antonio, whose attitude and commitment was as impressive as his physical condition.
"It felt amazing to be back," he added. "It was a great game, both teams went out to win it, and I really enjoyed being involved in it.
"It's been four months since the injury and I have really missed that feeling. It was always the plan to play 70 minutes in a PL2 game before returning to the first team and it has gone as I hoped.
"Of course I feel tired but that is only to be expected after the first game back, and the main thing is that the power and strength was there."
With another full week of training now ahead of him, the hope is that Antonio will be ready to join the squad for the trip to his former club Southampton next week.
"I would say I am at 95% now in terms of speed and power," he said. "And the only way to get to 100% is to be involved in matches and those duels with opponents where you give everything you have.
"It's been a long time but I feel really good now and can't wait to get back."
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Betway Insider's View of the Opposition: Man Utd
WHUFC.com
West Ham's first game of the 2017/18 Premier League season offers a couple of tempting narratives involving the club's new additions.
Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta have been brought in to bolster the Hammers' defence, two players who won 11 major trophies between them while turning out for Manchester United's closest rivals, Manchester City.
Both Hart and Zabaleta boast impressive head-to-head records against Sunday's opponents, too.
Between 2010 and 2017 one of or both players featured in 14 league outings against United, a sequence that yielded eight wins and three draws for City.
Old Trafford was never a place the duo feared, either, with the Citizens winning four and losing just two of their seven trips to the stadium during that time.
You can be sure, therefore, that Hart nor Zabaleta will be overwhelmed by getting their West Ham careers under way at their old neighbours' stomping ground.
Neither will Javier Hernandez, who is poised to make his competitive Hammers debut at the ground he affectionately refers to as "my old house".
It's easy to see why he's fond of the place: Chicharito scored 28 times there while playing for the Red Devils, before plundering 36 goals in two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen.
The striker can always be relied upon to pop up with a crucial goal, and it would be no surprise to see him do so in the claret and blue on Sunday.
It helps that Jose Mourinho's side are not especially settled in defence.
European suspensions to Eric Bailly and Phil Jones forced the Portuguese to mix and match his centre-backs throughout pre-season, while he has also experimented with both three and four at the back.
So, with the help of their new recruits – which also include Marko Arnautovic – West Ham are capable of both breaching and keeping out the home side.
The Hammers, of course, were one of nine teams to hold the Red Devils at Old Trafford last season, recording a well-earned 1-1 draw in November.
A similar performance and score-line would represent a fine start to the new campaign for Slaven Bilic's men.
Recommended bets
Draw
Under 2.5 goals
Javier Hernandez first West Ham goalscorer
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West Ham U18s' season opener ends in defeat at Brighton
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's U18s new league campaign opened with defeat as the Irons fell to a 3-1 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Confusion and bad fortune for the back-line allowed the home side to storm into an early lead with Brighton two goals ahead within 15 minutes.
Korrey Henry gave West Ham hope early in the second period with a headed finish, having hit the woodwork just before the break.
But defeat for the Irons was secured in the 79th minute as Brighton netted their third.
It took the home side just nine minutes to open the scoring as a lapse in concentration from the West Ham defence allowed Brighton defender Ben Clark-Eden to head home from a corner.
Albion's second was in the net just six minutes later. A commendable run from Jeremy Ngakia unfortunately left the defensive flank exposed on the counter, from which Brighton capitalised with a quick-move and low finish by winger Isaac Hutchinson.
The second conceded effort sparked the Hammers into life and saw the away side grow in confidence with the ball. Bernardo Rosa in particular looked lively, seeing a shot go out for a corner and sending through Sean Adarkwa for an opportunity.
West Ham's best chance of the first half came just a moment before half-time as Henry struck a shot from distance, which pinged back into play off the base of the far post.
The full-backs continued to offer an attacking outlet on the flanks with Reece Hannam playing in a tasty low cross early in the second half.
And it was from a Hannam cross that West Ham eventually broke through. Henry found the net with a flicked header in the 54th minute.
Rosaire Longelo teased in a tasty effort after great work on the wing not long after as the Hammers pressed for an equaliser. Excellent work from the no.11 also set up Rosa for an effort, which bobbled agonisingly wide of the goal.
Despite enjoying the better play in the second period the Hammers struggled to find a second and were made to pay on the counter 11 minutes from full-time. Brighton forward Danny Cashman found the net after a well-played pass and run into the area.
West Ham United U18s coach Mark Phillips said after the contest: "It was a classical game of two halves.
"The first 25 minutes they completely dominated. Brighton started like they had spent the summer waiting to come and play football and we started off like a cricket team.
Then it became an even game. We completely dominated the first half an hour of the second half. I feel they scored completely against the run of play in the second period."
West Ham: Matrevics; Ngakia, Mingi, Wells, Hannam; Henry, Belic (Costinantinou 69'), Hamilton (E. Longelo 86'), Rosa, R.Longelo; Adarkwa
Subs: Forde, Greenidge, E.Longelo, Constantinou
Goals: Henry
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'Ensure Lukaku is locked out': The vital facts ahead of Man Utd v West Ham
WHUFC.com
The start of West Ham's season is just around the corner as Slaven Bilic's side prepare to take on Jose Mourinho's Manchester United.
The Red Devils won't be an easy test for an opening fixture but former Hammers midfielder and current Under-16s manager Jack Collison has revealed how the Irons can leave Old Trafford with a result this Sunday – and we've got the statistics to prove it!
'Ensure Lukaku is locked out'
Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United's newest striker, boasted a very impressive goalscoring record against West Ham until recently. A run of goals in nine consecutive games against the Hammers while with Everton can't be considered anything less than phenomenal, with even the most optimistic of supporters coming to expect a finish from the Belgian when the Club played the Toffees.
"Lukaku has made his big money move and will be looking to start the season fast," Collison said. "I'm sure he's confident after getting a few goals in pre-season and in the UEFA Super Cup so it's going to be essential that the central-defenders are on top of their game and get physical with him."
A heroic effort from West Ham's defence – led by Winston Reid – the last time Lukaku played the Club ensured the forward and his former side Everton left the London Stadium with just a point in a 0-0 draw back in April. It was the first time in ten matches that Lukaku did not score against the Hammers.
Having seen the Irons stop Lukaku last time Collison believes they key to West Ham doing so again at Old Trafford is the whole team taking responsibility for halting the attacker.
"The midfielders also get around him to try and keep him out," he added. "It's important we stop balls into his feet so the midfielders need to be in front, screening passes. Everyone is aware of Lukaku's pace in-behind so it's essential that, if Joe Hart's in goal, his start position is high for any balls over the top, and the defence are ready to meet the challenge head on."
'Grab the game with an early goal'
It's the simplest equation in football – goals win you games.
While recent results away to United haven't been particularly memorable the Hammers do boast a decent goal record at Old Trafford. West Ham have scored in five of their last six matches against United away, with the one exception coming in December 2015.
Interestingly three of those goals have come in the first half - with Diafra Sakho scoring in just the second minute at Old Trafford last season - and Collison reckons an early finish will be the best way to install confidence into the team.
"It's important to see how the game opens. It's the first game of the season so both teams will probably be a little nervy. The best way to settle the nerves is to really go for it, try and get an early goal and something to hang on to."
The former midfielder has warned however that leaving Old Trafford with all three points will likely require more than one West Ham goal on Sunday.
He added: "Any goal at Old Trafford will be important but if you score one you're probably going to have to score two or three to win the match. It's not often United go a game without scoring."
'West Ham's set-piece prowess could prove essential'
Claiming a win on Sunday is not an easy prospect for Slaven Bilic's side with Manchester United last season conceding just 12 Premier League goals at home.
A way through Jose Mourinho's well-drilled defence, according to Collison, could be found in a well-taken set-piece.
"I remember playing under Sam Allardyce and how much he valued set-pieces," said Collison: "It's a great opportunity to try and get the ball into a dangerous area. West Ham are very fortunate they've got some quality players who can deliver good balls into dangerous areas and a lot of physical players to go and attack it."
JC's analysis of West Ham's set-pieces has a statistical foundation too. The Irons scored 12 goals from set-pieces away from home last season, the joint-most of any side in the Premier League.
Collison believes the added threat of the centre-backs at corners and free-kicks gives the Irons an additional advantage and rightly suggests that the Irons do often rely on a set-piece to score against the Red Devils.
"It seems West Ham defenders enjoy scoring against United," Collison added.
"Reid has scored a couple in his time. I remember Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson scoring big goals as well. It appears quite often a big, important goal against United does come from a set-piece."
Set-piece opportunities shouldn't be scarce on Sunday with United committing the second-most fouls in the Premier League last campaign. Their 493 was only topped by Watford, who recorded 510 fouls committed.
"United are a physical team. Players like Fellaini like to get their foot in. Pogba is quite similar. We're fortunate we've got bright players and tricky midfielders who like to get at people and make things happen."
'Don't compromise on Bilic's game plan'
Traditionally Jose Mourinho teams are compact, tight and defensively solid, and this Manchester United side is proving to be no exception.
Last season the Red Devils made the fewest defensive errors in the Premier League, registering just eight throughout the entire season.
"It's always tricky to break down United," Collison admits: "Old Trafford is a tough place to go. Often you find that United are happy to let you have the ball as long as you're not hurting them."
Following the plan set out by manager Bilic to the letter could therefore be the crucial element in West Ham leaving Manchester with their first win of the season.
"It's important that Bilic and his team have worked on a plan, searched for a weakness in the United team and worked on exploiting it.
"It's a very common thing, for a Jose Mourinho side, to be very tight and defensive. It's a tricky ask to break them down but if you want to beat the best teams in the league it's something you have to do.
"It might just come down to which team wants it more on the day."
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Diangana: We did enough to beat Everton
WHUFC.com
Grady Diangana left everything on the pitch on Friday night against Everton in West Ham United U23s' opener, but the Hammers could not quite force a goal as they were held to a goalless draw.
The hosts were the better side throughout the clash at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, and a number of times almost took the lead, particularly through Toni Martinez who had two fantastic openings.
West Ham's creative force Diangana, exhausted after putting in a fine, lively performance against the Merseysiders, was pleased with his side's performance and believes the result is something to build upon.
He said: "We're pleased that we did so well against last year's [Division 1] champions. We definitely had chances to score and to be fair I don't think they troubled us that much. We're pleased.
"The first game is always tiring! We did work really hard in pre-season, but when it comes to the season, it's always much more intense. Everyone wants to win, so it's much harder.
"I try and create as much as I can in front of goal for my teammates every time I get the ball, and I thought I did that tonight. We moved the ball well as a team tonight.
"The first ten minutes in the second half was difficult, because they came out really strong but other than that, we were definitely the better team."
The winger delivered plenty of set-pieces throughout the evening, putting a large percentage into extremely dangerous areas, but nobody in Claret and Blue could turn one past Everton stopper Louis Gray.
"There were plenty of set-pieces – my groin is tired now," he continued. "I haven't really been practising them but I was really pleased with all my deliveries.
"It was a shame nobody could turn one past the keeper. But maybe next week we can score from one.
"Today was just the day for them for me! I need to carry on working hard on them, and that could turn out to be a real weapon in my game if I keep developing it."
The Hammers next face Swindon Town on Tuesday in the Checkatrade Trophy, a game Diangana is looking forward to and hopes to learn from.
"Swindon on Tuesday will be a tough game. I'm glad this year's games are already coming around quickly, and we know the challenge of playing first team opposition.
"It's a good test for all of us young ones – for everyone. We're playing in an extra competition this year, so we're getting game after game and we're going to be learning every week.
"We can learn from our mistakes each week and hopefully have a successful season."
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MANCHESTER UNITED V WEST HAM PREVIEW
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 12 AUGUST 2017 AT 2:05PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @deportivo hammer
Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen to a brand new season of Premier League football. I´m sure you are all very excited-I know I am. For our first fixture we head up to Old Trafford to take on Jose Mourinho and his form of Hoofball on Sunday afternoon. hoping to kick off our season with 3 points.
Pre season for the Hammers has not been great, with us playing games in Austria, Germany and then Iceland. Results have not really gone our way, but as most people have said, the result is not important getting through them without picking up injuries is.
Reasons to be excited, well the signing of a striker that should be able to start more than 15 games a season is reason enough for me. Plus the fact that he comes with a proven record in the Premiership, La Liga, Bundesliga and Champions League is great for the club. Credit to the Chairman and manager for getting this and the other new signings done before the season starts so hopefully we can hit the ground running.
As well as Hernandez we have managed to bring in Hart, Zabaleta and Arnautovic. Breaking our record transfer fee in the process. all three players come with Premier League experience. Hopefully we will be breaking the record once more this transfer window. Fingers crossed. We have also managed to unload a few squad players from the squad.
Now on to our opponents who have just returned from Europe after playing in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid. Their Preseason has not been as bad as ours results wise but they have at least been playing in stadiums rather than the local park. Mourinho is said to be unhappy with the lack of transfer activity but it has not stopped him spending 146 million on 3 players so far. Lukaku, Matic and Lindelof. Lukaku unfortunately does have a habit of scoring against us.
West Ham still have a few injury concerns (nothing new there) Lanzini, Carroll, Kouyate and Antonio will all miss the start of the season but they all should be back in the next couple of weeks or so. Manchester United are without Luke Shaw, Ashley young and Marcos Rojo who are injured.
Predicted teams :
Manchester United : De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Bailly, Darmian, Herrera, Matic,Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku and Rashford.
West Ham United : Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Noble, Fernandes, Obiang, Ayew, Arnautovic and Hernandez.
With our first three games being away from home it becomes even more important to get off to a good start so I expect us to really go for it and put in a good performance. Manchester United will always be a top team with great players but being so early in the season its hard to tell what kind of form the teams are i . But I really fancy us to get a point tomorrow with one of our new boys getting the goal in a 1-1 draw.
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WWAY DAYS: OLD TRAFFORD
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 12 AUGUST 2017 AT 2:16PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @CraigPodevin
What a way to start the season, away to England's most successful club that are back on the rise under Jose Mourinho. A very tough fixture against a new-look United featuring powerhouses Matic and Lukaku, we may struggle and I'll happily take a point away from the game. Looking at our own side, potential debuts for Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez are getting us all excited for the season ahead.
General information
Stadium: Old Trafford
Capacity: 75,635
Address: Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester, M16 0RA
Away seating: Away supporters are located in one corner of the stadium, between the East and South stands. The views are pretty good but be prepared for an upstairs walk to the concourse. Away supporters are quite far back from the pitch as there is a disabled area at the front.
Travel
Train
Always check the National Rail website for updated delays, etc. when using trains. There is a dedicated train station for Old Trafford called Manchester United Football Ground station.
There is one train that will get you there on time from West Ham station (C2C). The train departs at 10.04 from West Ham to get to Stratford (via the Underground). From Stratford, use the London Overground to Highbury and Islington, then from there the underground to London Euston. From Euston you can get a train at 11.20 that arrives at Piccadilly Station at 13.50. There is a 14.21 train from there to Manchester United Football Ground which arrives at 14.31.
From Shenfield railway station (Abellio Greater Anglia) you can get the 09.53 train from Shenfield to London Liverpool Street, then from there use the underground to get to Euston. Again, from Euston you can get a train at 11.20 that arrives at Piccadilly Station at 13.50. There is a 14.21 train from there to Manchester United Football Ground which arrives at 14.31.
For other areas out of Essex please use National Rail to plan your rail journey.
Car
From the London Stadium, the drive takes approximately 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours.
Leave the M6 at Junction 19 and follow the A556 towards Manchester Airport/Altrincham. Continue onto the M56 towards Manchester, taking you past the airport and follow the signs to the M60 towards Leeds and Liverpool. Leave the M60 at Junction 6 and go straight through the lights until you reach the stadium – note, however, that this may be closed on match days.
Parking
Trafford council operate a pay-to-park facility on match days within Trafford Village of Trafford Park, which is near to Old Trafford stadium. The parking charge is £4 in allocated parking pays on the streets.
A more popular option is to park at Old Trafford Cricket Ground for £10, which is a 10-15 minute walk to the football stadium. Try to arrive before 1pm, as it takes a long time to leave the car park.
The Salford Quays Lowry Mall offers an alternative, which is again approximately a 10 minute walk from the ground and costs between £3 (for 2 to 3 hours) to £16 (for 12 to 24 hours). There is virtually no traffic when leaving and the road takes you straight onto the M601 which joins with the M62/M6.
Food and drink
The Trafford, Sam Platts and Bishops Blaize only allow home fans to enter and most pubs near the stadium aren't suitable for away fans, so the city centre is a good idea.
The Quadrant pub has a mixture of home and away fans and also serves food and drink. Lime Bar at Salford Quays also serves both sets of fans. The Green Sports Bar is a one minute walk from Piccadilly Train Station. The Bridge at Sale is two stops from Old Trafford when using the Metro.
You are able to get food and drinks from the catering vans outside the stadium, as well as from the kiosks on the Stadium concourses. They are all cash only so ensure you have cash with you. There is a fairly priced multi-buy deal with the offers listed here:
-3 for £7 – selection of one hot item (meat and potato pie, steak pie, United pie, pasty, sausage roll or hot dog), one snack (crisps, Mars duo or Twix Extra) and one drink (Coca-Cola including Diet, Fanta, Oasis, Water, Singha, John Smith's, Bulmers or any hot drink)
-6 for £12 – Choose two hot items, snacks and drinks.
Enjoy the game, enjoy the start of our new season and most of all stay safe. Come On You Irons! -@CraigPodevin
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So long, Sofiane
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 12th August 2017
By: Staff Writer
Sofiane Feghouli has given the clearest indication yet that he is set to join Fenerbahce. The West Ham winger has barely featured for Slaven Bilic's side in pre-season having been closely linked with the Super Lig outfit, who are understoood to have had an offer in the region of £7million accepted.
And the 27-year-old Algerian is unlikely to feature in a West Ham shirt any time soon, having confirmed this evening that he is on his way to Istanbul - as you can see from the following tweet he posted:
Sofiane Feghouli ✔ @sffeghouli
Tomorrow on the way to istanbul 🇹🇷..... Inch allah !!!
7:01 PM - Aug 12, 2017
4,065 4,065 Replies 11,056 11,056 Retweets 28,307 28,307 likes
Feghouli, who joined West Ham on a free transfer last summer made just 11 Premier League starts for the Hammers in his first and only season at the club.
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Sakho travels to Manchester
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 12th August 2017
By: Staff Writer
Diafra Sakho has been included in Slaven Bilic's squad for tomorrow's season opener against Manchester United. The oft-injured forward is back in the first team squad for the first time since November 2016 having come through pre-season with no further setbacks. Also included in the travelling party is 19-year-old England youth goalkeeper Nathan Trott, who will provide back-up for first-team stoppers Joe Hart and Adrian. However full-back Aaron Cresswell has failed to be included; he joins the likes of Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate on what is already a sizeable MIA list.
West Ham United face Manchester United at Old Trafford tomorrow afternoon; the match is scheduled to start at 4pm and is being broadcast world-wide on TV.
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West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart admits he wanted a permanent move away from Man City
By Rory O'Callaghan
Last Updated: 12/08/17 11:20pm
SSN
Joe Hart admits he would have preferred to find a permanent move away from Manchester City as he prepares to make his competitive debut for West Ham.
Hart joined the Hammers on a season-long loan earlier this summer after he was once again deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad. The England international, who spent last season on loan at Italian club Torino, is set to make his debut for West Ham against Manchester United on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League. But the 30-year-old goalkeeper admits he was hoping to find a more permanent transfer away from City as he enters the latter stages of his professional career. The permanent move was going to be difficult," said Hart. "I don't think there were too many options for me to go on a permanent, if any. That was my ideal situation. "When you've asked me questions I've always answered honestly, and ideally I wanted to be signing a permanent deal somewhere so I could set my life up and have a direction. "When you become a professional footballer there is no written contract that says you have to play first-team football.
"It's a job at the end of the day but there are a lot of us, myself included, who just love playing football and I'm just lucky that it's my job. "It's a short career. The money side of it is great and it is important, but at the end of the day I'm a young guy, I want to play football, that's all I want to do. If going on loan is what needs to happen then for me that's fine. "The game moves quickly, there are plenty of people who have been in my situation and you have two choices. You can either moan about it and you can make smart comments and try to work out why it was done, or you can just get on with it. I've taken the latter." Hart is determined to get as much first-team football as possible this season with the upcoming World Cup in Russia now less than a year away. The Three Lions boast an embarrassment of riches in goal, with the likes of Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton and Jordan Pickford also competing for a place in Gareth Southgate's squad. "I'm trying to make a point to Slaven Bilic, he's my coach," Hart said. "I'm trying to make my point to Gareth Southgate, they're my coaches, they're the people whose opinions I care about. "I've always said the standard of 'keepers in England is very high. It's a privileged position to play for the country. Every single time I've put on that number one jersey I have been very proud and very excited for what comes with it."
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Sofiane Feghouli set to join Galatasaray in £4m move from West Ham
By Kaveh Solhekol
Last Updated: 12/08/17 8:24pm
SSN
West Ham winger Sofiane Feghouli is set to complete a £4m move to Turkish club Galatasaray, according to Sky sources. The 27-year-old will fly to Turkey on Saturday to complete the move after just a single season at the London Stadium. The Hammers need to lower their wage bill after signing a number of players, including Joe Hart on loan from Manchester City and Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen. Manager Slaven Bilic has made five major signings ahead of the new Premier League season, which begins against Manchester United live on Super Sunday on Sky Sports Football. Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Sead Haksabanovic have also joined Hernandez and Hart at the East London club. Sky Sports News understands West Ham remain in talks to sign Sporting Lisbon and Portugal international midfielder William Carvalho. They are confident they can secure a deal for Carvalho, but are hoping to pay less than his £40m release fee.
The 25-year-old, who helped Portugal win Euro 2016, is a product of the Sporting academy and has scored nine goals in 137 appearances since making his first-team debut in 2011. Sporting have recently signed midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia as a potential replacement for Carvalho.
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Manchester City outcast Joe Hart takes pop at Pep Guardiola following move to West Ham on season-long loan
England's No1 keeper doesn't care what Spaniard who has sent him packing two summers running thinks
The Mirror
BYSTEVE STAMMERS
22:30, 12 AUG 2017
Joe Hart has taken a swipe at Pep Guardiola by claiming the only club boss' opinion he cares about is that of West Ham 's Slaven Bilic. The England keeper cannot wait to get started after sealing a loan switch from Manchester City to the Irons – and insists he has nothing to prove to Etihad chief Guardiola. "I'm trying to make a point to Slaven Bilic – he's my coach," said Hart. "And to make my point to Gareth Southgate, the England boss. "They are the people whose opinions I really care about. "City? I don't think about that. I am a West Ham player now – that's all I think about. "The other side of it is quite political – with contracts – and I respect that. And I respect my parent club, but all I care about right now is West Ham."
Hart was dumped by Guardiola last season when he took over at the Etihad – and he was shipped out on loan to Italian club Torino. City signed Claudio Bravo for £17million from Barcelona and, after a succession of clangers, he was dropped. Guardiola has since splashed out another £35m to bring in Brazilian keeper Ederson from Benfica. That's their problem," said Hart. "I need to look after myself. I need to be selfish in this situation. "My feelings for City will never change. I'm eternally grateful to them as a football club. They took me as a 19-year-old from Shrewsbury Town, took something of a punt on me. And I have had some fantastic times there. "The fans have been so supportive of me, even in the last year. There is no point in me taking it too personally, as it's just football."
Hart replied: "That is gone. I am not part of that club at the moment." Ironically, his Irons debut will be back in Manchester on Sunday, at Old Trafford, and he is anticipating a hot reception, reserved for City players past and present. Hart added: "I want to go up there and win, whatever side of Manchester it is or whatever side of the country it is." Hart has been joined at the Hammers by two other Premier League title winners in Pablo Zabaleta, his old City team-mate, and Javier Hernandez, formerly with United. "Javier, he is a global brand," said Hart. "He is a huge player. "He was almost iconic at United. Pablo and I are like brothers. He came to City when we hadn't won anything. He cost £6m, and, if you look today, that was a great deal." Hart is also focused on keeping his gloves firmly on the England No.1 shirt. He added: "I have always said the standard of keepers in England is high. There are some great keepers and I don't think that will change. But I want to stay England No.1."
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Michail Antonio returns to action as West Ham midfielder plays in Under 23 match against Everton
West Ham utility man Michail Antonio featured against Everton U23s on Friday
Antonio is in line to be in the Hammers squad to face Southampton at St Mary's
Bilic has been pleased with the midfielder's recovery from the hamstring injury
Versatile 27-year-old has spent the whole of pre-season building up his fitness
By Ben Grounds For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 20:27, 11 August 2017 | UPDATED: 23:43, 11 August 2017
Michail Antonio stepped up his recovery from a hamstring injury by playing just over an hour for West Ham's Under 23s on Friday night against Everton in the goalless Premier League 2 clash. Antonio has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury against Swansea in April which ruled him out for the rest of last season, but Hammers fans were given a boost with him playing for the development team. The former Nottingham Forest forward is still some weeks away from being fully fit and available for selection, but Slaven Bilic is optimistic it will not be long before he can call upon Antonio again. During his pre-match press conference for the trip to face Manchester United on Sunday, Bilic described Antonio as a 'good healer', and the Croatian boss believe he is ahead of schedule in his recovery. The manager said: 'Michail was injured against Swansea in April and the plan was for him to miss a couple of games because he had an operation, it was not just an injury but a big one. 'He was prepared to miss a couple of games and was and is ahead of schedule. He's a good healer, strong, mentally strong, a hard worker and a bit of a monster also, physically!
MATCH FACTS
West Ham: Trott, Pike, Akinola, Pask, Neufville, Makasi, Coventry, Antonio, Samuelson, Diangana, Martinez
Subs: Henry, Matrevics, Hector-Ingram, Alese, Kemp
Everton: Gray, Kenny, Jones, Baningime, Feeney, Connolly, Bowler, Charsley, Sambou, Dyson, Garbutt
Subs: Foulds, Renshaw, Broadhead, Donkor, Grant
'So, the fact is he is ahead so he's playing on Friday night for the U23s and then he will miss the opening game of the season against Man United away, but he has been in training with us since Monday, he is playing tonight and he should be in the squad, at least, for the game against Southampton. That was planned.'
Antonio scored nine goals in 37 appearances last term before the set-back, with many of his goals coming despite being played in the right-back position.
The player has stressed a determination to be played higher up the pitch by Bilic upon his return, with West Ham still without Manuel Lanzini, Cheikhou Kouyate, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho as they head to Old Trafford. West Ham shaded the first-half at the Chigwell Construction Stadium but the contest remained goalless. Antonio showed his athleticism during an impressive sole run in the second period before shooting wide from 25 yards out. West Ham had other chances to win the contest through Alex Pike and Toni Martinez but the game ended in a stalemate.
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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists he is not worried about his future despite having just one more year left on deal
Slaven Bilic's current contract with the London Stadium club expires next year
West Ham chiefs are expected to open talks with Bilic at the turn of the year
The Hammers open their Premier League campaign at Manchester United
By Kieran Gill for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 22:33, 11 August 2017 | UPDATED: 22:33, 11 August 2017
Slaven Bilic insists he is not sweating on his contract situation, even with it expiring at the end of this season and the life expectancy of managers as short as ever.
West Ham are preparing to play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, with their manager well aware that this could be his final season in charge of the London club. Sportsmail understands talks are likeliest to take place in January but there is pressure on Bilic to convince the board that he is worthy of a new contract between now and then. 'The police are not going to throw me out of England because I don't have a work permit,' Bilic said. 'My contract is for one year and that's long enough. I don't think about my contract in a negative way. 'I am a long time in football to know that it doesn't matter if your contract on paper is one year or five years. Your contract is about the last five games and the next five games. 'If the last five results were good then you can have 10 games. If last five results were bad then you have five games and it is the same for those guys who have a 10-year contract and the same for the guys who are in their last year.
'It doesn't bother me in a negative way that I am obsessed.' Joe Hart is set to make his debut for West Ham and is bound to get some stick at Old Trafford, given he is on loan from Manchester City. 'Joe Hart is quality,' Bilic said. 'He is England's No 1 goalkeeper and you are considering England to always be one of the contenders for the European Championship or the World Cup. 'I remember him from Man City, I remember him from England and I remember him from Torino. He is a very, very good goalkeeper.' It was Pep Guardiola who decided to ditch Hart but Bilic said: 'We have total faith in him – otherwise we would not have signed him. We have complete faith in him. I know he is a top goalkeeper.'
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Slaven Bilic insists West Ham board have shown their faith in him with their summer spending
The Hammers have added Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart this summer
The Mirror
BYDARREN WITCOOP
22:30, 11 AUG 2017
Slaven Bilic believes the West Ham board have already shown their faith in him by pulling out the stops in the transfer market. Bilic is preparing to enter the final year of his contract and there is no new deal imminent. But despite West Ham's current owners having previous in allowing managers run down their contract before letting them go, Bilic is not losing sleep over his future. Instead Bilic, who has shelled out £40million in signing Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart this summer, is relaxed over the club's stance. He said: "I don't think about it. It was the same at my old clubs. I'm not worried "My contract is for one year which is long enough. I don't think about it in a negative way. "I've been in football long enough to know if it doesn't matter if your contract has one year left or five years left. I don't get obsessed with it. "The board are backing the club and the team. They want West Ham to be successful and that's why they were ready to spend money."
West Ham have made sure there is no repeat of the woeful work in last year's summer transfer window. Simone Zaza, Jonathan Calleri and Alvaro Arbeloa were among the arrivals to flop. Instead, they have gone for proven Premier League performers in a clear shift in transfer market policy. Bilic said: "We spent a lot of money, but not a crazy amount. And we have offloaded some players so the balance is less than £10million. "We have done the business and done our priorities. The board have done a great job in getting our first targets. We wanted to get quality players with character and something to prove."
West Ham head to Manchester United tomorrow bidding to also avoid the struggles of last season on the pitch. It meant the east Londoners were locked a relegation fight until April before pulling away from trouble and finishing mid-table. Bilic added: "If we can cut down on injuries then we can do the business. If we do that then it should be a good season for us."
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ANTONIO RETURN AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, BUT CARROLL 'BEHIND' OTHERS SAYS BILICFeatured Image
Date: 12th August 2017 at 12:45am
Written by: Forever Westham
Slaven Bilic says Hammer of the Year Michail Antonio is set to return ahead of schedule from injury and that Cheikhou Kouyate's and Manuel Lanzini's recoveries are also positive, but admits Andy Carroll remains 'further behind' in his rehabilitation.
Antonio suffered an horrific injury against Swansea in the final third of last season that required, but Bilic has praised the former Nottingham Forest forward as a 'physical beast' as he approaches his return to action. "It was not just an injury but a big one." said the Croatian speaking on whufc.com. "He was prepared to miss a couple of games and was and is ahead of schedule. He's a good healer, strong, mentally strong, a hard worker and a bit of a monster also, physically! "He is playing tonight and he should be in the squad, at least, for the game against Southampton. That was planned." he added. Bilic then touched upon the recovery of both Kouyate and Lanzini, who both suffered injuries during pre-season, saying the Senegal star is 'way ahead' of where he should be. "He [Kouyate] and Manu Lanzini, who was our only other player to be injured in the pre-season, should be ready after the Southampton game, if not Newcastle, but certainly after the international break."
The only remaining injury that has the Hammers boss discouraged is that to Andy Carroll, who Bilic admits is behind the others in terms of his return. "Andy is a bit further behind but not a lot. At one stage in the pre-season or even last year, he was way behind but now it looks better. He is training individually, still, but he is basically doing all the movements with the ball and all that. If it continues like this, he should train with us next Wednesday." Carroll came under heavy criticism from West Ham fans earlier this summer when he was pictured out partying till the early hours whilst on holiday with his family.
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West Ham have dodged a bullet by not signing overpriced striker target Andre Gray
HITC
Damien Lucas
West Ham United's best bit of business this summer may prove to be not signing Watford's record buy Andre Gray. Watford completed the club record signing of Hammers target Gray on Wednesday. The Hornets officially signed the Burnley forward for an undisclosed club record fee - but that is thought to be about £18.5m, as reported by the BBC. The 26-year-old, who was linked with a move to West Ham earlier in the window - as reported by the Evening Standard - has signed a five-year deal with the club having rejected a new deal at Turf Moor. Andre Gray of Burnley celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park on April 29, 2017 in London, England. It represents good business for the Clarets who have doubled their money on a player they signed for £9m from Brentford back in 2015. But the sum has understandably raised eyebrows among fans and pundits. In fact many have suggested the figure is more alarming than the world record £200m PSG have shelled out to sign Neymar. And not signing the former Luton Town forward could be the best transfer decision Slaven Bilic makes this summer. Aside from the controversy which followed Gray around last season following his four-game ban over historic homophobic tweets, it is his performances on the pitch which offer no indication as to why he has attracted such a large bid. Gray scored nine goals last season, his first in the top flight. But the most alarming stat of all is the fact he played in 32 games and failed to score in 26 of them. His nine goals were spread across just six games and three of them came in one match against relegation fodder Sunderland. Gray was only being looked at as a back-up striker for the East Londoners and perhaps there is a case to say he may have offered pace from the bench. But at nearly £3m more expensive than proven world class striker Javier Hernandez - Mexico's all-time leading goalscorer with a ratio of a goal every 1.4 league starts - the numbers just do not add up. Bilic, and most Hammers fans, will consider Gray a bullet dodged.
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Slaven Bilic fires a transfer warning to Liverpool over Manuel Lanzini chase
West Ham transfer news includes the latest on Manuel Lanzini amid speculation linking him with Liverpool
Football London
BYCHARLES WATTS
07:00, 12 AUG 2017
Slavan Bilic has issued a warning to Liverpool over a possible move for Manuel Lanzini. West Ham's Argentine star has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Philippe Coutinho, who could be on his way out at Anfield before the end of the month. The Brazilian handed in a transfer request on Friday in a bid to push through a move to Barcelona - although Liverpool insist he is not for sale. Expectation is growing, however, that Coutinho will get his wish and end up at the Camp Nou, leaving Jurgen Klopp with under three weeks to find a replacement. Arsenal target Thomas Lemar has been linked - as has Lanzini. But Bilic is adamant West Ham have no intention of allowing their playmaker to leave this summer. "I spoke with him last season a few times, at the end of the season, and at the beginning of the pre-season and he knows we are looking after him," said the Hammers boss. "He is one of our key players, definitely. He has a big year ahead of him and we know his situation and we're going to do everything possible to sort him out. "He has got a long contract with us but, let's be honest, the chairman always used to appreciate those sorts of situations and I know he activated his clause even before he had to. "He already showed him how much we respect him and he deserves from us to do it again. No doubt he is our key player and we're going to well look after him. "When I said he is a great lad, he never showed me – and we speak on a daily basis – any sort of things that he is unhappy. "Of course every player knows his situation and wants to use his situation in a good way for himself, but I know for sure that he is happy here and he likes it."
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