Freddie fired up
WHUFC.com
Freddie Sears is determined to make his mark after impressing on his return to the side at Chelsea
25.04.2011
Having given Ashley Cole a torrid time at Chelsea on Saturday, Freddie Sears is itching to be West Ham United's Barclays Premier League saviour. The Academy product was at his confident and direct best at Stamford Bridge, repeatedly taking on the England left-back and putting a succession of dangerous crosses into the home penalty area. For Sears, the joy of returning to the starting XI after a two-month break inspired the No19 to produce a display full of pace, verve and commitment. Drawing confidence from his performance, the 20-year-old is determined to start and shine again in West Ham's final four fixtures as Avram Grant's team battle for survival. "It was obviously hard today and it is never easy playing against Chelsea or Cole bit it was a good opportunity for me to play as I have not played for a long time. "I've not been playing and it has been frustrating. My last game was against Burnley [in the FA Cup fifth round] but I feel that I have been doing well and impressed in training and been working on my game and hopefully that was my reward for the gaffer to give me the nod today. "We have four games to go and I want to play in all of them. I would be lying if I said I didn't. I feel that I have something to give. The gaffer knows what I can do and how I can help out the team and it would be nice to feel that I can."
With Gary O'Neil ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious ankle injury, Sears believes he is the man to fill the right wing berth, utilising his speed, movement and dribbling ability to cause problems for his opponents. "I feel that I can stretch teams. The gaffer looks at me as having a bit of pace and I am a young lad and he knows that I have high energy levels and that I will work hard for the team. That is obviously a good thing for me. Gary has been doing very well on the right but he has go injured so this is my chance to get in and stake my place."
Looking at Saturday's 3-0 defeat as a whole, Sears believes West Ham were unfortunate to end up being beaten so heavily, having created a host of chances against Carlo Ancelotti's title-chasers. Showing a positive attitude from front to back, the Hammers were right in the game until Fernando Torres netted a lucky second goal with six minutes remaining - firing home after the ball had got stuck in a puddle on the rain-soaked pitch. "You come to places like Chelsea and it can go one of two ways. You either lay down and get beat or you give it a right go and that is what we did. Overall, I think that we had the better chances. But we got a bit tired I think and they nicked two goals which obviously put an unfair per complexion on the game."
Sears is now hoping that the two late goals his side conceded will not cost them dear come the season's end. "I am not sure that it will come down to goal difference. At the end of the day we need to win the last three days and even the man city game we are looking now to go there and try and get one point or even three points."
"We looked at the results before the game. Sunderland won which puts them away from it all and that does a favour and the best result for us as we face them at in the final game."
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Ladies stay in promotion hunt
WHUFC.com
Julia Setford's Ladies are still in the running to gain promotion after winning at Yeovil Town on Sunday
24.04.2011
West Ham United Ladies kept their FA Women's Premier League Southern Division promotion hopes very much alive by recording a vital 2-1 victory at Yeovil Town on Sunday. The Hammers go into the final week of their season as one of five clubs still in contention to fill the top two places and go up to the National Division for the first time in their history. Carly Roache and Jo Woodgates put the Hammers two goals clear by half-time against their Somerset-based opponents, who were relegated as a result of their defeat. Although Yeovil halved their deficit late on, they were unable to fashion the equaliser that would have helped keep their own survival hopes alive. Wins at Gillingham on Wednesday and Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday would see the Hammers promoted if either Charlton Athletic or Cardiff City fail to take maximum points from their remaining games, with Keynsham Town and Portsmouth also in the running should any of the other clubs slip up. Top-of-the-table Charlton have 33 points from 17 matches played, while Keynsham have 30 from 17 and Cardiff have 30 from 16. West Ham are fourth, having collected 29 points from 16 games, while Portsmouth are fifth on 28 points, but have only one fixture remaining. Supporters who would like to cheer on the Ladies at ninth-placed Gillingham first-hand should head to Chatham Town FC on Wednesday evening. Kick-off is at 7.45pm. Julia Setford's side, who won the Essex FA County Cup earlier this month, will round out their season with a trip to the south coast on Sunday afternoon, when they take on eighth-placed Brighton at the Withdean Stadium. Kick-off is at 2pm.
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Grant finds positives in defeat
WHUFC.com
The manager was disappointed but not downhearted after the 3-0 loss away to Chelsea
23.04.2011
Avram Grant could not fault the effort of his players on Saturday in producing a battling but ultimately unsuccessful performance at Stamford Bridge. Although Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners in the end, the Hammers more than matched their hosts for much of the contest, carving out two gilt-edged chances in the first half through the excellent Freddie Sears and Jonathan Spector, before Frank Lampard scored on the stroke of half-time. Demba Ba also had two fierce efforts well saved by Petr Cech - one in each half - only for the Blues to extend their lead decisively through Fernando Torres - with the sodden pitch playing a part in him getting the better of the West Ham defence. Substitute Robbie Keane had spurned a glorious chance before then to level the score and the Hammers were to be punished for their profligacy by Florent Malouda's third.
With that Keane miss firmly in mind when he got in behind the home side's outstanding backline, Grant said: "You cannot afford to create chances here and not take them. The team performed very well but at the end of the game we lost the game. "If you ask me who do I want in that position of course it is Robbie but also Coley and Demba Ba had their chances. It was a good day for Petr Cech. When you hear it was 3-0 you might think it was one way but we had the best chances. "I can take a lot of positives from the result. We played without the player of the year [Scott Parker] and other players, we lost Mark Noble [to a suspected stomach injury]. If we continue to create chances we will score. The gap between us has stayed at two points. "You saw today the team came here and fought. You don't see many teams fighting like this [in our position]."
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Vinny's Chelsea Report
Vinny - Sun Apr 24 2011
West Ham Online
Chelsea 3 West Ham United 0
West Ham suffered a fourth straight defeat leaving them rooted to the bottom of the league, two points from safety with just four games to play. If this game was perhaps in the middle of the season and we were mid table we may review it in a different way as we didn't really deserve to lose 3-0 and had enough chances to score which we really should have took.
But I look at in the way that we have just lost another game which we simply had to win (not draw) and we have failed to do so again. There is no point in looking at other teams results because you know that other teams will drop points. I has to be all about what we do and I cannot see us picking up nine points from four games.
Chelsea had that bit of class when they needed it and the goal just before half time knocked the wind out of our sails and despite Carlton Cole and Robbie Keane both having good chances in the second period, ultimately we were beaten by a far better team.
To beat a team like Chelsea we would require a mammoth effort from the defence and some real huge slices of luck because really that is the only way most teams outside the top six can get anything from the bigger teams (the ones with more money) as the gap between the top and bottom half of the Premiership continues to grow.
Like we have had for most of the season we went into this game with more injuries to key players.
Not available for selection were , Matthew Upson, Scott Parker, and Gary O'Neil.
In defence Danny Gabbidon came in for the injured Upson alongside Manuel Da Costa who had recovered from the injury which forced him to come off in the last game against Aston Villa.
In midfield with Parker out injured it was Jonathan Spector who came into the midfield to take his place.
The forward positions saw the most surprising inclusion, with Freddie Sears starting on the right hand side despite having not even been on the bench for quite some time. It was this sort of inclusion which baffled me as other players had been chosen ahead of Sears such as Zavon Hines last week.
Don't get me wrong, I thought Sears was excellent and perhaps our best player but it is this sort of decision that really asks questions about what goes through Avram Grant's mind. Judging from where we are in the league I would think 'not much'.
Robbie Keane was dropped to the bench with Demba Ba coming back into the side with Carlton Cole again retaining his place up front. Ba was again on the left hand side which has proved ineffective over the last few weeks.
Starting for Chelsea was former Hammer Frank Lampard Junior and on the bench was another former Hammer in Yossi Benayoun.
Up until kick off it had been a gloriously sunny day but just as the game was about to begin the heavens opened and the rain came crashing down. The rain did not stop throughout the entire game.
Immediately from the kick off we gave the ball away in what was to be an indication of our uphill struggle we would face to compete with Chelsea.
The home side should have taken the lead with three minutes on the clock when Dider Drogba made a delightful flick through to Malouda who had got in behind Da Costa but despite having just the keeper to beat, the finish from Malouda was poor and straight at Robert Green who had come out quickly to save.
Chelsea were having a lot of the ball and we were chasing shadows for much of the first 20 minutes. Frustration we setting in to some of our players with Thomas Hitzlsperger seeing yellow for a clumsy tackle on Kalou.
Our defence was standing up to the early test and were first to most of the crosses into the area. Didier Drogba saw a low shot from 25 yards out saved well under the conditions by Robert Green.
Our first chance to get the ball into the area came when Demba Ba won a free kick out on the left hand side but the delivery into the area from Mark Noble was poor as it would be all day from free kicks and corners.
Our first chance on goal came when Noble gave the ball to Ba who drove forward and hit a strong effort from around 20 yards out which was palmed over the top by Cech in the Chelsea goal. The resulting corner from Noble was poor and Cech claimed with ease.
Our best chance of the first half came two minutes later with a strong counter attack.
A corner had been conceded by Wayne Bridge but it was cleared to Carlton Cole who broke forward and fed the ball through to Freddie Sears who did really well to hold off Ashley Cole and then he turned and played a superb cross to Jonathan Spector who elected to head the ball instead of using his feet with this header saved low by Cech when it should have been the first goal.
And from the resulting corner? It didn't beat the first man and was headed clear again.
A long clearance from Robert Green saw Cole win the ball and it found Demba Ba who was fouled by Ivanovic which saw the Serbian full back booked. The free kick was played into the area by Mark Noble (again) and was too short and cleared easily (again).
With 30 minutes on the clock another fantastic chance presented itself when a Noble corner actually beat the first man and found Freddie Sears unmarked to attempted to flick the ball at goal but his effort was stopped on the somehow by Ashley Cole and smothered by Cech.
We looked just as likely to score as Chelsea who had not been able to keep their early tempo going and this gave us a little more confidence as we were seeing more of the ball.
This prompted Chelsea to get a little desperate with Drogba rolling around on the floor and diving all over the place in his usual attempts to con the referee but the man in charge Phil O'Dowd (who was excellent by the way) was having none of it.
I thought we had a great chance to score when Ba broke forward and played the ball through to Cole who didn't anticipate the ball well enough and the ball went a little wider than it should but Cole still had the ball but his shot was poor and easily charged down.
After all our hard work and decent display up until that point it would be cruel end to the half as Chelsea took the lead on 44 minutes.
Carlton Cole lost the ball on the half way line and the ball was threaded through to Ashley Cole who had got in behind Jacobsen and the left back saw his cross met by Lampard Jr who smashed his shot from a few yards out past Robert Green to make it 1-0.
It was going to be a big ask in the second half to get anything out of the game and we knew we needed to stay in match as long as we possibly could and just hope a bit of luck came our way.
The rain continued to poor down and if you did see the game you will recall that the ball was not even moving freely during the second half with water having gathered on many areas of the pitch.
A equaliser was nearly found on 52 minutes when a corner from Hitzlsperger (who had now taken over these duties) was met by Manuel Da Costa but his goal bound header was stopped and cleared off the line.
Just before the hour, Mark Noble went down with an injury and could not even get up to go off and the stretcher was called for. Noble was replaced by Robbie Keane which was a bold move by Grant who did have Kovac on the bench. I think most would have preferred Ruud Boffin to Kovac in the midfield.
Keane should have done better when a ball from Demba Ba sent him through but although he did well to beat Ivanovic his shot was weak and straight at Cech.
Chelsea were not doing too much from an attacking sense despite gaps now being more apparent given the amount of attacking players we had on the pitch. Lampard Jr saw a shot parried by Robert Green and as the ball was not cleared properly Florant Malouda raced through but put his shot into the side netting.
But the home side were getting back into their stride and David Luiz saw a good effort beat Robert Green and smack off the top of the cross bar. From that chance the ball came to Bridge who got the ball forward to Demba Ba who again strode forward and hit a powerful effort which was again saved by Cech but the ball looped into the air with Cole challenging. No free kick was given against Cole (which it usually is) and the ball was put back into the area for Robbie Keane but his low shot was poor.
Carlton Cole had a great chance to score when Freddie Sears did some brilliant work on the right hand side and his low cross found Cole but he did not take the shot quickly enough and it was blocked.
Robbie Keane though would have our best chance of the half and probably best chance of the game. It was great work from Jonathan Spector who played Keane in on goal but his first time shot went well wide when you would have banked on him hitting the back of the net. It was a hands on head moment as you knew we would not be getting any better chances than that.
And from there it was all downhill. Chelsea took off the ineffective Didier Drogba and replaced him with January transfer window £50 million signing Fernando Torres.
Under 10 minutes after coming on Torres would score his first goal since signing for Chelsea which would be the only thing to make the headlines about his game.
Chelsea broke forward and Anelka played Torres in on goal. The ball got stuck in the water on the pitch but Torres turned and hit a left foot shot past Robert Green to send Stamford Bridge wild and end any chance of us getting anything out of the game.
Four minutes of injury time were awarded and in the third of those minutes Chelsea added further gloss to the score line with Florant Malouda hitting an unstoppable left foot shot into the top corner.
Another dismal result and time is just about run out on West Ham's Premiership hopes.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
Not a lot he could do about any of the three goals given the nature of how all three were scored. Looks completely deflated and I get the impression he just cannot wait for the season to be over.
Lars Jacobsen
A tough game for him with Ashley Cole bombing forward at every opportunity and he was caught out by a good pass from Drogba in the first half which led to Cole crossing for Lampard Jr to score. Better in the second half.
Manuel Da Costa
Did well enough but didn't win enough in the air for my liking. It was always going to be hard up against World Class attacking players.
Danny Gabbidon
I was impressed with Gabbidon which is not something I have said in quite a while. He played well up against Drogba and gave as good as he got for the majority of the game. His goal line clearance from Anelka in the second half was excellent also.
Wayne Bridge
With the whole 'John Terry shagged my bird' thing there was an extra incentive for Bridge going in to this one. Booed stupidly by Chelsea fans (which kind of explains why they were booing) Bridge played well with his distribution of the ball being good and often finding his man.
Jonathan Spector
It is never easy when having to replace Scott Parker but what you will always get from Spector is effort and he put everything he had into this performance. He lacks quality on the ball and does dwell on it too often but he keeps going, gets forward, pick out the odd good pass and was unlucky not to score in the first half.
Mark Noble
Poor for the majority of the game. His set pieces were really quite awful and this is something he has to work on. Taken off injured and I am not sure of the extent of the injury but it didn't look good which may see him ruled out for the rest of the season.
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Just not in the game enough. Started off the game making tackles and hassling the opponants but that booking in the 7th minute stopped that from happening and he just made so little impact on the rest of the game.
Freddie Sears
Great to see him back in the team as he had been playing well when he was starting games and the way he has been treated by Avram Grant is quite baffling. But Sears looked a player out their in this game and did well up against Ashley Cole, beating him on a number of occasions. A very positive display from the youngster.
Demba Ba
Despite the being on the left he played very well and was our main threat on goal. Showed great power and pace going forward and hit a couple of excellent shots at goal. He is a good player.
Carlton Cole
Worked and worked, chased after everything but when he got the ball his lack of quality was evident once again and his instinct is just not there.
Subs Used
Robbie Keane (on for Noble 59 minutes)
Certainly made things happened and some of his approach play was very good. But his finishing is what we needed to be on form and it wasn't. Should have scored and fluffed our best chance of the game.
Frederique Piquionne (on for Cole 78 mins)
Offered little.
Victor Obinna (on for Sears 81 mins)
Buzzed about as he usually does but was generally just over eager.
Subs Not Used: Boffin, Kovac, Boa Morte, Tomkins
Bookings: Hitzlsperger, Ba
Man Of The Match: Freddie Sears
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, Kalou, Malouda, Drogba
Subs: Turnbull, Paulo Ferriera, Bertrand, Zhirkov, Benayoun, Anelka, Torres
Attendance: 41, 656
Overall
Whilst this may have been a decent display and we were not played off the park (despite what the score line suggests) the fact is we had to win. Not lose, not draw, we had to win a get all three points. We have failed to do so once again and going into the last few games of the season having now lost four games in a row really begs the question of how do we actually expect to stay up?
Avram Grant can go on about him thinking we can survive all he likes. He has to do that and he cannot turn around and start being negative about our chances. But in reality we have to win three out of the next four games and like I said last week, this is not a realistic target given that we have only won seven games all season.
We need a miracle and whilst I do not deny that beating Blackburn, Wigan, and Sunderland is not impossible it is certainly improbable.
Next Game - Manchester City (a)
I want to believe we can win the game but like this one I see this as just another write off.
Bottom of the league, four games left and on a four game (soon to be five) losing run.
Of course we can stay up.
The View From Avram
"I think everybody in this room knows that we deserved better. "Petr Cech was excellent today (with) two or three great saves. If someone didn't see the game, they think 3-0, Chelsea is much better than us. "I can be very proud of the players. Without the player of the year (Scott Parker), without Matthew Upson, without Gary O'Neil, and Mark Noble second half, they showed a lot of belief, a lot of spirit." "The pitch gave a good assistance to Torres," "If we continue to play like this, we will stay in the league"
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Freddie ready for rescue act
By PAUL JIGGINS
Published: Today
The Sun
FREDDIE SEARS is begging Avram Grant to give him a chance to help save West Ham from the drop. Hammers boss Grant handed Sears his first start in more than two months at Chelsea. And the England Under-21 star repaid him by giving Blues and England left-back Ashley Cole the runaround in a game the Irons did not deserve to lose. Sears, 21, said: "It was a good opportunity for me as I had not played for a long time. "It's been frustrating. But we have four games to go and I want to play in all of them. I would be lying if I said I didn't. "I feel that I have something to give. "The gaffer knows what I can do and it would be nice to feel that I can help out."
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Hammers can still pull off great escape, insists Gabbidon
Published 23:00 24/04/11 By Martin Lipton
The Mirror
Defiant Danny Gabbidon last night vowed West Ham will still beat the drop. Defeat at Chelsea was a bitter pill for Avram Grant's Hammers to swallow. But Welsh defender Gabbidon is adamant they did enough to demonstrate they are good enough to pull off a great escape. Gabbidon said: "If we play like that again, we'll get the points we need. We just need to show that kind of fight and performance in all aspects of the game. "We worked hard, created some chances – which was good – and at times we played really well. "Every game is a big game now. There is always going to be a little bit of fear there, but that is something we have to banish.
"We have to play with freedom, go out there and express ourselves."
Grant, who expects Footballer of the Year Scott Parker to return for the final three matches, said: "Nine points will definitely keep us up, but seven also could be enough. "We showed what we can play like. Whatever happens in the next week, we're still in there." Midfielder Freddie Sears, who gave Ashley Cole no end of problems, said: "You can either lay down and get beat at Chelsea or you can give it a right go – and that is what we did."
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West Ham's Danny Gabbidon urges team to play like table-toppers
'Everyone has to give 100%; there can be no fear'
Mark Noble hit by injury ahead of Manchester City match
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 April 2011 22.31 BST
West Ham United's Danny Gabbidon has urged his team-mates to play without fear and instead convince themselves that they are "top of the league" as the Premier League's bottom club attempt to stave off relegation over the final four games of the campaign. Defeat at Chelsea on Saturday was made to look more comprehensive when the visitors conceded twice in the last six minutes, inflicting real damage on West Ham's goal difference in the process. The loss of the midfielder Mark Noble with a stomach problem is adding to Avram Grant's concerns. The Israeli is already without Gary O'Neil and was denied Matthew Upson through illness, but hopes that Scott Parker will have recovered from an achilles injury for the daunting trip to Manchester City on Sunday. There remains the possibility that Grant may opt to give his most influential midfielder more time to recover with potentially winnable fixtures against Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland still to come. Yet West Ham have now suffered four consecutive defeats and are without a win since the first week in March, leaving them languishing two points from safety.
"At the moment every game is a big game," said Gabbidon. "There is always going to be a little bit of fear there, but that is something that we have to banish out of our system. We have to go to Manchester City and feel as if we are top of the league and play with no fear and plenty of freedom. That is how we have to be if we want to succeed for the rest of the season.
"Everyone has to give 100%; there can be no fear and we need to go out there and express ourselves. We need to do that from the first minute and believe in ourselves. That is kind of tough at the moment because of the position that we are in. But that is what we have to do: go out there and give everything we have got. City are a good team, but we can't be thinking of that. We need to go out there and try and get some points on the board."
Grant, who will await news of the extent of Noble's injury on Monday, believes seven points from his team's final four fixtures could be enough to preserve Premier League status. The temptation remains to concentrate on the final three games for them, though there is a recognition too that the margins will be finer, and the pressure heightened, by the time Blackburn visit Upton Park on 7 May if no reward has been gained from Eastlands.
"We can't look at the last three games," said Gabbidon. "Sure, they will be big games, but we are not writing off the City match and thinking about the three that'll be left because the more often you lose, the harder the next games become. And they will be tough matches as well, as the teams are all down the bottom with us and fighting for their lives as well.
"So we have to think we can go to City and get some points from that to give us a great confidence boost going into the final run of fixtures. If we keep on creating chances and put them away, hopefully we can win a couple of games."
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Hammers look doomed, says old boy Frank as Chelsea add to West Ham's woe
By MATT BARLOW
Last updated at 10:02 PM on 24th April 2011
Daily Mail
Frank Lampard fears the worst for West Ham after Chelsea's 3-0 romp at Stamford Bridge left his former club bottom of the Premier League with four games remaining. The midfielder started his career at Upton Park before moving to Chelsea 10 years ago but hit his old side with the first goal on Saturday. 'It's going to be tough for them,' he said. 'Results didn't go great for them and time is running out.' Late Chelsea goals hit West Ham's goal difference and injuries are piling up for boss Avram Grant. Scott Parker is doubtful for Sunday's game at Manchester City because of an achilles injury. Mark Noble left the pitch on a stretcher on Saturday fearing he had pulled an abdominal muscle. Gary O'Neil is fighting to save his career after an ankle injury. Wayne Bridge cannot play at Eastlands because he is on loan from City. 'Nine points will be good enough, maybe seven,' Grant said. Yet their last point came from a draw at Tottenham on March 19.
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Hangdog Avram Grant just can't manage to win a lot
Frankie Boyle has more chance of becoming a Blue Peter presenter than Avram Grant does of managing in the Premier League again
Martin Kelner
The Guardian, Monday 25 April 2011
One of you complained on the Guardian blog recently that this column always follows a similar formula – personal anecdote, a little bit about sport on TV, finishing with a reference back to the anecdote – and why do I not consider shaking it up a bit? My natural instinct is to reply that if you want to influence the future of journalism, buy a flipping newspaper. Also, I am reluctant to tinker with a winning line-up but in this exciting new interactive world in which we live in (as my friend Paul McCartney might say), I feel duty bound to take notice.
It occurs to me, however, that my reacting to criticism on the blog may actually count as a personal anecdote in itself. So, in a radical change to normal procedure, let us begin with a second personal anecdote.
I do not feel comfortable on bank holiday weekends, which in Britain seem to be little more than four-day drinking opportunities. By early Saturday evening Leeds was positively Hogarthian, and seeking directions to a pub where I was due to meet some friends, I was inclined to adapt the war reporter Edward Behr's famous question, and ask: "Anybody here sober, and speak English?"
As a moderate drinker, I find it hard to fit in when the nation is in its cups, so in a futile attempt to catch up, I drank two bottles of Newcastle Brown in what for me was quick succession. As a result I felt queasy when I retired to bed, which brings me to what might count as personal anecdote number three.
I find it difficult to refund, as it were, when the stomach clearly craves a clear-out. Billy Connolly had a brilliant routine about the "casual vomit" favoured by Glasgow dock-workers on their way back to work after a skinful at lunchtime. That is not me, I am afraid. There is nothing casual – and apologies, United Kingdom, if you are essaying a little light breakfast in the face of a powerful hangover – about my regurgitation. In fact, after lengthy and noisy travails, I found myself unable to do it.
Fortunately, I have no such difficulty when it comes to the column – as many of you are kind enough to point out – and feel quite happy giving another outing to a PG Wodehouse quote that has appeared here before. "It is never difficult," the great man wrote, "to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine." Which, for some reason, often comes to mind in relation to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Interviewed on Sky after Manchester United's victory over Everton, the manager was moaning about the visitors' time-wasting. His argument was that the five minutes' added time benefited Everton, who were looking for an equaliser, meaning the offenders – in his eyes – would benefit from their transgression.
Immediately before Javier Hernández's late winner, however, it was Ferguson who was pointing to his watch demanding the officials take note of any delays and add time on. Either he wants additional time to be calculated accurately or he does not.
Occasionally, Sir Alex, I fear the unworthy will get rewards to which they are not entitled. Look at the number of times Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps has been recommissioned.
Sir Alex's polar opposite, in league position and much else, Avram Grant, could also be observed at close quarters on Saturday as he led West Ham United – if that is the word I am looking for – to defeat at Chelsea. "You wonder about his powers of motivation," said ESPN's commentator Jon Champion over the obligatory close-up of relegation‑threatened manager. "He cuts a hangdog figure on the touchline, more Clement Freud than Alex Ferguson."
This was an exciting new take on Grant's mien, which is usually likened to Larry Grayson trying to cope with a deep personal tragedy. I assume Champers' reference is to a dog food commercial in which Freud sat next to a bloodhound called Henry wearing an identical expression to the dog.
Well, if we are using the entire history of popular culture as our pick 'n' mix counter, I should like to compare Grant to the deadpan comedian Robb Wilton, whose best-known routine began: "The day war broke out, my wife said: 'What good are you?'" – prefacing a tale of vaguely endearing incompetence.
Grant is somewhat similar, adrift in a sea of troubles not entirely of his making, but blithely trying to muddle through. The other irresistible point of reference for him is Buster Keaton when the house falls down around him. You can see why he looks especially rueful at present, though, facing his last four games as a Premier League manager. I think it unlikely he will manage there again after the end of this season. I may be wrong, but I should say there is more chance of Frankie Boyle being named the new Blue Peter presenter.
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King Kenny set to wield axe on Kop flop Cole as Reds boss plans summer clearout
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER Last updated at 9:14 AM on 25th April 2011
Daily Mail
Joe Cole is set to be axed by Liverpool after enduring a miserable season at Anfield. The former England international has scored just three goals since he arrived on Merseyside on a free transfer last summer. Cole, 29, was sent off on his debut in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on the opening day of the Barclays Premier League season. And the former Chelsea man has made only seven League starts since. 'It's tough on Joe because he is a great kid. But things just haven't worked out for him', a Liverpool source told the Sun. 'Kenny is building a new Liverpool with the likes of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez and he wants to bring in more new players in the summer. 'And, unfortunately, that means Joe will be surplus to requirements.' Liverpool are said to want at least £10million for the former West Ham youngster.
Tottenham and West Ham are among his interested pursuers, although both are unlikely to fork out such a sum for a player who has struggled with form and injuries in recent seasons
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