Daily WHUFC News - 13th December 2011

Joey rues 'silly' sending-off
WHUFC.com
Joey O'Brien admitted he had caused his own red card in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Reading
10.12.2011

Joey O'Brien admitted he had been his own worst enemy in being sent-off in West Ham United's 3-0 npower Championship defeat at Reading. The Irishman had been introduced as a fourth-minute substitute for thigh-injury victim Guy Demel, only to spoil his day by being booked twice within five second-half minutes. The first yellow card came following an altercation with fellow countryman Noel Hunt before referee Neil Swarbrick reached to his pocket again after a late challenge on Jobi McAnuff.
O'Brien's red card was followed within 60 seconds by Alex Pearce's opening goal - two incidents described as the game's turning point by manager Sam Allardyce. "Of course I didn't expect my day to turn out like that. It was a very bad day for the football club and for me personally getting sent-off and watching the boys concede three goals," he told West Ham TV. "It was a bad day at the office. "To be fair, the first one was silly on my behalf. I reacted to Noel because I thought he left a little bit in the challenge and I think the ref had given the free-kick. Being booked, I suppose committing a foul so soon after the incident it was in the referee's mind and he sent me off. "I was very disappointed because we were right in the game. We didn't play particularly well but we were in the game and looking all right, then I got sent-off and they scored straight away. It rubbed salt in the wound for me personally. "At one-nil down you still feel you have a chance but we didn't really give anything after that so we're really disappointed."

O'Brien will now be suspended for Saturday's visit of Barnsley along with Jack Collison, who was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Jimmy Kebe late on. With Demel, Winston Reid and Sam Baldock also on the sidelines with injuries, O'Brien knows the remaining squad members will have to rise to the challenge against the Tykes. "It's a squad game but we're disappointed for Guy because it looks like a bad injury. Saying that, Henri Lansbury will be back and has been training and Matty Taylor could be there or thereabouts. They are top-quality players so hopefully they can come in and do a job. "The other results sort of went half-decent so we can't get too down because we're still second in the table. Next week, I'm sure we'll get a reaction out of the boys and hopefully we'll do the business at Upton Park."

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Players spread Christmas cheer
WHUFC.com
James Tomkins was among five Hammers meeting young fans at the club festive party
12.12.2011

James Tomkins, Jack Collison, Winston Reid, Freddie Sears and Henri Lansbury brought Christmas cheer to West Ham United's younger fans. The five players dropped in to meet Youth Academy members and young season ticket holders who were enjoying their annual Christmas party held at the Boleyn Ground. All the youngsters enjoyed party games, disco and a visit from Father Christmas before meeting the players who signed autographs, posed for photographs and had a chat with everyone. Defender Winston Reid who is working hard to get back from a shoulder injury and is making good progress, said: "It was great to meet all the children, they looked like they were having fun and we were only too glad to come and meet them all. "It is the second year I have done this since arriving at West Ham and it is a good thing for the club to do, giving a little something back for the young supporters."

All players got into the festive spirit by wearing claret and blue Santa hats as they took part and even met Father Christmas themselves before they left the stadium. It is not clear if they asked for the present of three points at home against Barnsley this Saturday while chatting with Santa but they were wished well by all. Lansbury - who is getting near to recovering from injury as well and was part of the squad that travelled to Reading at the weekend, said there was a real Christmas feel to the event. He added: "All the children were great. These events give us players a good opportunity to mix with our fans and it is important - we hope that they all have a Merry Christmas!"

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The thick of it
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 12th December 2011
By: Staff Writer

Foolish followers of West Ham's local rivals Tottenham have been asked to refrain from sending Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy vile messages via Twitter after they confused the Scot with referee Chris Foy. Foy became a hate target for fans of Spurs after he made a number of perplexing decisions during their team's 2-1 defeat at Stoke yesterday. However a number of Tottenham fans clearly couldn't tell the difference between the letters 'F' and 'H' and subsequently bombarded Hoy, who was knighted in 2009, with vile messages via his account on the social network. Replying to the tirade of abuse that rather unexpectedly came his way following Spurs' defeat, Hoy commented: "Just for the record, 1) I don't need glasses and 2) I do not lead a double life as an English Pemier League referee. That's Chris Foy."

@chrishoy from an educated football fan, I would just like to say you spoiled a bloody good game yesterday. My bet is you never ref again!"
- a Spurs fan posting on Twitter today showing remarkable foresight

Despite Tweeting the message this morning the abusive coments continued to arrive in their droves throughout the day, leading Hoy to later post: "I'm still getting some rather amusing grief from Spurs fans! On the plus side I've learned some new four letter words today."

And when asked whether or not he would be available for interview by Sky Sports' Georgie Thompson this afternoon, he replied: "Sorry Georgie, I'm in Australia. Maybe Chris Foy would like to instead?"

For the benefit of our friends in N17
(please read slowly)

Sir Chris Hoy
Born: 1976 Edinburgh, Scotland
Age: 35
Occupation: Track cyclist
Major Achievements: World Champion 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007; Olympic Gold medallist 2004, 2008 (x3)

Chris Foy
Born: 1962 St. Helens, England
Age: 49
Occupation: Premie League Referee
Major Achievements: Upsetting Tottenham supporters

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The 2003/04 play-off semi final
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 12th December 2011
By: Tom Logan

Please join us in extending a warm KUMB.com welcome to our newest writer, Tom Logan. For Tom's first article, we look back at a memorable night at the BG...

Every football fan has an archive of memorable matches stashed away in their brain. There are many reasons we remember matches; perhaps it was a big win over local rivals or a sensational Cup final win. Or maybe it was a game that was so shockingly bad that it's engraved into your memory forever.

This match is my first in a hopefully long running series, simply because of the sheer intensity of the atmosphere that was created that night at a jam-packed Boleyn Ground.

It is written into football folklore that the atmosphere 'under the lights' in Upton Park is one of the best in football and even got a mention on the commentary of FIFA 11. This night was no exception.

It was the end of a season that had been a little disappointing. We had been expected to go up automatically and ended up finishing fourth, 12 points away from second place.

I cannot put into words just how electric that night was – 35,000 fans all on their feet trying to encourage the team the way they know best. Non-stop singing for the whole 90 minutes, every time West Ham got within the final third everyone would hold their breath with anticipation.

After losing 1-0 from a Darren Bent header in a hard-fought first leg at Portman Road the Hammers needed to win by two clear goals, which having already been beaten by them at the Boleyn Ground earlier on in the season was going to be a tough ask (but by no means impossible).

If I am honest, I don't remember much about the game apart from the two goals - one an absolute screamer from the season's Hammer of the year Matty Etherington and the other a scrappy collector's item from the superb Christian Dailly.

What I do remember vividly is that every single West Ham fan stood together. When I look back to that day it seemed every cough, cheer or groan was performed in unison. I can honestly say I have never been a part of an atmosphere like the one that night at the Boleyn and I can only hope I will experience it again.

I remember like it was yesterday, watching the short corner from the right taken by Michael Carrick roll across the floor to Matty Etherington, who left it to roll onto his favoured left foot. With an Ipswich defender quickly closing him down, he spanked the ball with so much power into the top left hand corner.

Tthe place just went completely mental; Matty wheeled away swinging his shirt over his head and I felt a feeling I have rarely felt as a West Ham fan, a feeling that we were actually going to bloody win.

But it wasn't over yet. We still had another goal to score and, more importantly, had to make sure we didn't concede. If I told you we carried on pressing for a goal and were totally on top after the goal I would be talking out of my arse because, as I said, I have no real chronological memories of the rest of that game.

My next memory after the Matty Etherington goal is a corner taken by the goal scorer from the left hand side at the Bobby Moore Stand end. I was stood on my chair as my season ticket was down the opposite end in the Dr Martens lower. The ball came in and ping-ponged around the box before falling in front of the veteran Dailly, who stroked it home. It might not have been a strike quite as sweet as Matty's, but we didn't care.

If I thought it had gone mental when Etherington scored this was just a pure eruption of joy. People hugging each other, some jumping on other people's backs. I think if I had been in reaching distance of Dailly I would have puckered up and planted one straight on his lips. Even Alan Pardew couldn't resist jumping into crowd and celebrating with the fans.

Now this was my first year as a season ticket holder and my first match had only been the season before, so I hadn't had a lot of experience at Upton Park - but when the final whistle blew I knew I had been a part of something special.

We piled out of the stadium to the tune of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', West Ham's 'go to' song every time we win a big match. We all shared the greatest optimism for the final against Crystal Palace at the Millennium Stadium and even though, apart from the goals, I have no real memories of the events of the actual game, I will never forget this day for as long as I have claret and blue blood running through my veins.

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O'Brien repentant over red card
West Ham defender accepts first booking was 'silly'
Last Updated: December 12, 2011 5:42pm
SSN

Joey O'Brien has conceded he had only himself to blame for being sent off during West Ham's 3-0 defeat at Reading. The full-back came off the bench to replace the injured Guy Demel early on and received two bookings in the space of five second-half minutes, the first after squaring up to Noel Hunt. "Of course I didn't expect my day to turn out like that," he told West Ham's official website. "It was a very bad day for the football club and for me personally getting sent off and watching the boys concede three goals. "To be fair, the first one was silly on my behalf. I reacted to Noel because I thought he left a little bit in the challenge and I think the ref had given the free-kick. "Being booked, I suppose committing a foul so soon after the incident it was in the referee's mind and he sent me off."

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Gillingham to decide over duo
Last Updated: December 12, 2011 4:42pm
SSN

Gillingham are hopeful of tying up a permanent deal for Jo Kuffour in January and may make another loan move for Frank Nouble. Kuffour had been expected to leave parent club Bristol Roversbefore the close of the summer transfer window having expressed a wish to move closer to London, but later embarked on a three-month loan deal at Priestfield which expires at the end of December. Five goals in 11 appearances has convinced Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler to make a move for the 30-year-old and talks continue to take place between the parties involved. Hessenthaler told Gillingham's official website: "I've spoken to the chairman and Jo has expressed his desire to come to the club, and we want him to stay. We'd like to get it sorted and I think we can do that come January."

Kuffour is ineligible to face Rovers this weekend, which means West Ham forward Nouble may come in for what is the final match of his maximum three-month loan spell before he returns to Upton Park. Hessenthaler added: "We can't do anything about that because his 93 days are up. When it (the January window) opens again we might be able to do something but we'll wait and see."

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West Ham crock Demel's one unlucky Guy
Published 22:30 12/12/11 By MirrorFootball

West Ham are fearing the worst over Guy Demel's latest injury nightmare. The Ivory Coast defender was forced off early in the defeat to Reading with a thigh problem and faces another spell on the sidelines. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce had only been able to pick the 30-year-old twice since his arrival in the summer because of a hamstring complaint. The ex-Hamburg right-back had scans on Monday, and the club are worried he has torn a muscle. "We're disappointed for Guy. It looks like a bad injury," said team-mate Joey O'Brien. O'Brien came on for Demel at the Madejski Stadium only to be sent off, along with team-mate Jack Collison.
The pair are now suspended for Saturday's home clash with Barnsley, but Henri Lansbury (knee) and Matthew Taylor (calf) are closing in on returns. "Henri will be back and has been training and Matty could be there or thereabouts," O'Brien said. "They are top-quality players so hopefully they can come in and do a job."

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Japan striker Ryoichi Maeda recieves offer from Championship side West Ham
Goal.com
The two-time J-League Golden Boot recipient could triple his salary at the Championship side, but could face challenges in acquiring his working papers to play in the UK.
Dec 13, 2011 6:45:00 AM
By Dan Orlowitz

English Championship side West Ham have made an offer to acquire Jubilo Iwata and Japanese national team striker Ryoichi Maeda according to Nikkan Sports.
Maeda is set to become free agent after his current two-year contract with Jubilo expires. In addition to his current club offering an extension, he has received interest from fellow J-League side Yokohama F. Marinos as well as other teams. The 30-year-old recorded his 250th appearance this season, his 12th with the Shizuoka-based team. He failed to earn a third straight Golden Boot after scoring 20 and 17 goals in 2009 and 2010, but finished the season with a respectable 14 strikes despite mid-summer injuries. Maeda stood out as a member of this year's Samurai Blue squad, scoring three goals in Japan's championship run at the Asian Cup. He also scored against Tajikistan in World Cup qualifying this fall. "I definitely want to challenge myself overseas as I'm not getting any younger," the player said in January following his country's Asian Cup victory. "But right now that's all hypothetical."

Questions are arising, however, of whether the star would be able to earn a UK working permit. Current rules require players to appear in at least 75% of their country's 'A' matches in a two-year span; Maeda would not meet those figures despite having earned eight caps in 2011, but exceptions have been made in the past.

West Ham, currently second in the Championship, is said to have offered Maeda a two-year contract at roughly €1.5 million per year. If accurate, the veteran would earn triple the amount he is believed to be recieving from Jubilo. Maeda would be the second Japanese player in the Championship, following Leicester City defender Yuki Abe. "It's true that Maeda is on our list [of potential acquisitions]," an un-named West Ham official admitted, according to the paper. "But we can't comment as to whether or not we've made him an offer."

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - redknapp has memory loss....

Harry Redknapp after yesterdays defeat at Stoke :

Redknapp said he spoke to Foy after the game about his decisions, as he
explained: "Yes I told him. I never go and talk to referees after a game, I
accept defeat.
"I never complain about referees' decisions - I have not done it in 30 years
of management, never. But today, I'm afraid, he got some badly wrong.

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Does Tottenham's Redknapp have Alzheimer's?

There we were, thinking he had Parkinson's when in fact it is possibly
Alzheimer's! According to 'Arry, he hasn't criticised referees in "30 years
of management". Oh yes 'Arry, then what about these?

"I've never been one for criticising referees - it's never been my game -
but it was a blatant penalty. If you get the penalty, it could make a big
difference." (On Howard Webb's decision to turn down penalty appeal against
Sunderland in Nov 2010)

"The whole thing was a farce. It was handball. Nani put his hand on it and
dragged it down. Mark Clattenburg is a top referee but he has had a
nightmare with that." (On Mark Clattenburg's call to allow Nani's
controversial goal in 2-0 defeat to stand in Oct 2010)

"He's got a hand on the ball - it was a terrible decision. It was a gift
that United didn't deserve and it put them back in the game. Without that
bit of help from the ref, I don't think United would have come back."
(On Howard Webb again, for giving Manchester United a controversial penalty
at Old Trafford in April 2009).

"It's a nailed-on penalty. If he felt Robbie dived, why didn't he give him a
yellow or a red card? The penalty decision and Ledley King going off
injured, they were the turning points." (Howard Webb v Chelsea in Sept 2009)

"I just question the referee's overall performance which I thought was
inept. Every game I see this season has seven or eight bookings. I think
it's frightening." (On Andy D'Urso's performance at Wolves in Feb 2008)

Still, I suppose it explains why he didn't declare earnings on his tax
return!

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 12th December 2011

Vinny's Reading Report
Vinny 12:32 Sun Dec 11
West Ham Online

Reading 3 West Ham United 0

West Ham again saw the chance to go top of the league squandered as Reading
crushed the nine man Hammers with three second half goals.

The result saw West Ham fall to consecutive defeats for the first time this
season and as many West Ham fans do not accept that we can be defeated this
has obviously annoyed a few of the support.

For me this was a game of strange circumstance and indiscipline with two of
the Reading goals coming directly from the fouls and subsequent red cards
given by the referee.

The first half was nothing to write home about but it was really just a
standard West Ham away display if we go on the basis of what we have seen
this season. The first half performance was certainly better than away at
Hull or Coventry and I was quite confident going into the second half that
we would win the game.

It all went wrong very quickly with Joey O'Brien being sent off for a second
bookable offence (with the first being a bit harsh in my opinion) and
Reading scoring from the resulting free kick into the are which was not
properly cleared away.

We never got the ball again in any sort of controlled possession and this
was where I was most disappointed as we lost our way completely and many of
the players lost their heads. Have seen a more disciplined nature within the
squad this season I found it surprising how easily we were rattled.

O'Brien wouldn't have even been on the pitch but for the early injury to
right back Guy Demel which saw O'Brien come off the subs bench. For me this
certainly wasn't a straightforward 3-0 loss and whilst obviously annoyed and
gutted with the result I can realise that it was a very strange second half
which I doubt we will see the likes of again this season.

The Team

Sam Allardyce decided to make three changes to the side who were beaten last
week by Burnley at Upton Park.

In defence, Joey O'Brien was dropped to the bench with Guy Demel coming in
to replace him at right back.

In midfield with Matthew Taylor again out injured, Papa Bouba Diop came back
into the side which saw Jack Collison move out to the left hand side.

Up front saw Carlton Cole dropped to the bench with Frederique Piquionne
starting as the lone striker in what was a team similar to the one which
started against Middlesbrough in the 2-0 win a couple of weeks ago.

Starting for Reading was former Hammer Jobi McAnuff who took part in 14
games for the club between 2003 and 2004 scoring 1 goal before moving to
Cardiff City.

First Half

If you have seen a few West Ham away games this season then nothing in the
half would have surprised you. We set out our stall to be hard to break down
and looked to get the ball forward to Piquionne with Faubert and Collison
offering him support from midfield.

We played little football but when we were in possession we looked
comfortable although without any bite in the final third.

Two minutes into the game and a long ball forward from Guy Demal saw the
right back pull up with an injury and as the ball came back to him he
immediately kicked it into touch and went down. It took a few minutes to
remove him from the pitch but his day was over and he was replaced by Joey
O'Brien.

We won a first corner a few minutes later which was taken by Noble and
cleared as far as Faubert who laid the ball back for Diop who hit a wild
shot over the bar.

We were beginning to settle and started to pass the ball around and win a
few corners which were all positive signs.

With quarter of the game gone Reading won their first corner kick which was
taken very poorly by left back Ian Harte and the ball rolled into the side
netting.

There was decent banter between the two sets of supporters with Reading
clearly living off the 6-0 win against us back in 2007. They seem to have
forgot the following season when they were beaten 3-0 on their own patch and
were relegated.

Abdoulaye Faye picked up the first yellow card of the game with a poorly
timed challenge on Hunt although the Reading man made the most of it.

The home side were gradually getting into the game and we looked a little
unsure at the back with the decisions made by the two centre halves being
called into question.

A long ball forward saw Tomkins misjudge the flight of the ball and it
looked as though the Reading forward would sneak in by Robert Green raced
out to head clear but only as far as Kebe who hit a first time effort well
high and well wide.

Diop lost possession in the midfield (and this was not for the first time)
as Reading broke forward. Tomkins' sold himself which allowed Hunt to play
the ball through to Kebe by McCartney got back well to see out for a corner.

With 30 minutes on the clock we should have taken the lead when good work
from Faubert saw the ball eventually find Piquionne who had a shooting
chance just inside the area but his powerful shot was blocked in front of
goal by his own team mate Kevin Nolan and the chance was gone.

A counter attacking move involving Faubert (who else) the ball fed through
to Jack Collison who took a touch, cut inside and hit a shot which was
blocked and the ball looped over the bar for another corner.

From that corner we created the best chance of the first half as the ball
was played into the area by Noble and it found Tomkins at the back post who
head across goal for Diop to prod at goal but the ball was cleared off the
line by Noel Hunt.

With the 45 minutes nearly up Julien Faubert did really well down the wing
yet again and crossed deep for Piquionne to meet the ball but his header was
very poor and easily claimed by the keeper when from where we were it looked
as though he should have scored.

In first half stoppage time Reading should have scored themselves as Kebe
did well down the left and crossed for the unmarked Adam Le Fondre to glance
his header wide when he should have diverted it past Green.

Not exactly a great football spectacle but nevertheless we were at 0-0 going
into the break and I was confident we would do what we needed to do during
the second half.

Second Half

There were a number of supporters who had wanted to see the introduction of
Carlton Cole which I too thought would give us a little bit more going
forward. I wasn't surprised to see him still on the bench as the second half
started as it was clear that Allardyce wanted to see how were going to
settle.

This second half would be one of the most difficult to watch for what seems
like many months.

All out attacking play was concentrated down whichever side Faubert was
occupying as he seemed the only one capeable of receiving the ball and
moving forward with it.

He did waste a good chance to get the ball into the area though when he was
down the right after been released by Nolan but the cross came off Harte and
out for a corner.

The atmosphere was kicking up a notch in the ground with the Reading fans
deciding to repeat every song we were singing to try and generate some noise
in a ground which was seeing it's biggest attendance since they were in the
Premiership which isn't too much of a shock as most teams in the
Championship have only come to see the West Ham.

With our attacking play not looking very potent Allardyce made his first
change on 57 minutes as Carlton Cole was introduced, replacing Papa Bouba
Diop.

This saw Collison come into the middle with Piquionne moving out to the left
hand side and Cole down the middle.

Around the hour mark Hunt went in for a challenge on O'Brien which the Irish
full back was not happy with and squared up to Hunt in an off the ball
altercation which was a whole lot of nothing. The referee though decided
that both players should be shown the yellow card which in another game they
would have simply been given a talking to.

Five minutes later and the game would completely turn in the favour of
Reading to which we would never recover.

Jobi McAnuff was released down the left hand wide only for O'Brien to
mis-time his tackle badly and take the winger out. It was a definite yellow
card and having just been booked it was a really silly challenge to make.
O'Brien was shown the second yellow and sent off.

If that wasn't bad enough, from the subsequent free kick Reading took the
lead.

The ball was played into the area but only cleared as far as McAnuff who
easily got into the area and had a lot of time to pick out his pass as he
cut the ball back for Alex Pearce who slotted past Green and the players on
the line to make it 1-0.

The game had taken a real turn and it would take some special for us to get
back into it as Julien Faubert went to right back and Collison to wide
right.

I don't recall us having another meaningful passage of play again as we
totally lost our way and it was very disappointing that we could not pick
ourselves up and at least try to settle down.

We were rattled and Reading were really doing a number on us in that respect
as they were clever in possession and were making us really work to get the
ball back.

On 72 minutes we made a second change with Piquionne coming off and being
replaced by John Carew.

The Reading fans were ripping into us and there was little comeback from the
4,339 travelling Hammers.

It was the home side who looked likely to score the next goal and on the 80
minute mark they did just that. We had lost our shape and looked all over
the place.

Reading broke forward with Kebe who released Le Fondre who clipped his cross
to the back post for the unmarked Simon Church to head in from just a couple
of yard out.

It was game over.

Cole was fouled on the edge of the area from the kick off and the free kick
was taken by Noble but crashed into the wall and although he was able to
loop the ball back into the area, everyone was offside.

Only four minutes after conceding the second goal things did get worse for
us.

The Reading winger Kebe decided to take the piss out of us by receiving the
ball and rolling up his socks as he was unchallenged. It was a bit of a
disrespectful thing to do and Jack Collison took exception as he steamed
into Kebe and pushed him to the floor.

The way Kebe went down and the reaction of Reading players and fans is what
got Collison sent off. I said at the time I didn't think it was a sending
off and even looking at it now it seems a lot of nothing.

It was silly from Collison but serious foul play? Not for me but maybe I am
just being West Ham biased but for me it was never a red just as O'Brien
shouldn't have been yellowed carded initially.

From the resulting free kick, Harte put the cross into the area and Simon
Church met the ball unmarked to score his second, Reading's third and make
our day even worse.

A forgettable day and the worst result of the season so far.

Player Reviews

Robert Green
He didn't have to make many flying saves through the game and claimed most
of the crosses in the first half. His kicking was poor and lacked direction
with Faubert being the target of too many of his long balls forward. Left
stranded for all three goals.

Guy Demel
He was presumably starting because of the pace that Reading possessed in the
wide areas but was injured after just two minutes which would ultimately
have a big impact as it was O'Brien who replaced him.

James Tomkins
I have noticed in the last few games that he is struggling a little with his
positioning and reading the passes from the opposition. He is stepping out
when he shouldn't and not making the tackle when she should. This isn't for
the full 90 minutes and overall he was decent. I felt both centre halves
were left exposed far too often in this one.

Abdoulaye Faye
Beast in the air once again but his distribution of the ball was shocking
with him and Diop being guilty of a number of poor challenged. Picked up his
fourth booking of the season also.

George McCartney
Limited as we are seeing as the season develops although because of our lack
of width he is needed to do a left winger job which he just doesn't have the
attributes to do. This highlights our need to sign a left winger. McCartney
himself could have been sent off for a second booking last in the game but
was let off by the ref.

Papa Bouba Diop
He is usually the shield protecting our defence and this has worked in a
number of away games this season but he was well off his game in this one.
His passing was dismal and although he nearly was the one to score in the
first half his overall performance was poor and he was dragged out of
position leaving a gap in our midfield.

Mark Noble
Never really go into the game and his passing was also poor. Up against a
quick Reading side Noble looked incredibly slow and struggled to make any
impact.

Kevin Nolan
There are many things we can talk about regarding Kevin Nolan but if we just
focus on this display I don't believe there can be anyone who thought he did
anything good in this game. In fact, everything he did was just bad. He
couldn't pass, he couldn't tackles, and he was not involved in this game to
any extent.

Jack Collison
He was getting on the ball in the first quarter of the game and had a couple
of half chances but he fizzled out and got worse as the game progressed. He
wasn't the worst player on the pitch and this is coming from someone who has
criticised him a number of times this season. It was silly of him to
challenge Kebe and will now miss three games.

Julien Faubert
If anything was going to happen with us going forward it was going to go
through Faubert. His effort was immense and he was our best player.

Frederique Piquionne
He did not do much to prove many of his doubters wrong in this game with a
lacklustre performance. My problem with his display is that he just doesn't
move. If the all isn't played directly too him he just doesn't seem
interested. When Cole came on you could see what it was like to have a
forward that actually did some running.

Subs Used

Joey O'Brien (on for Demel 4 mins)
His lack of pace saw him struggle during the game although it wasn't till
the second half that he was tested and he failed the test, getting himself
sent off in the process.

Carlton Cole (on for Diop 57 mins)
Dangerous when he had the ball at his feet so he could run at players but
was trying to do too much and was coming far to deep to get the ball in what
looked all very desperate.

John Carew (on for Piquionne 72 mins)
I presume he came on so we could hit the ball long for him but he needed to
actually win a header for this master plan to work.

Subs Not Used: Stech, Sears

Bookings: Faye, McCartney, O'Brien

Sent Off: Joey O'Brien (Second Bookable offence), Jack Collison (Serious
Foul Play).

Man Of The Match: Julien Faubert

Reading: Federici, Cummings, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce, McAnuff, Kebe, Karacan,
Leigertwood, Le Fondre, Hunt
Subs: Andersen, Antonio, Tabb, Church, Robson-Kanu

Attendance: 24,026

Overall

In a season where we have just focussed on results (as Allardyce keeps
reminding us) this was by far the worst result of the season. Stating the
obvious that might be but Allardyce has been fond of that this season by
implying that good football cannot be played if you want to win games.

This performance up until the first Reading goal was the standard display we
have seen this season and as previously stated it was certainly better than
away at Hull or Coventry.

It all went wrong very quickly and whilst it was a poor result I am not
going to be like some and start going crazy over this loss.

With the players available to Allardyce we do not have many other ways of
playing. Without Baldock and Taylor our style of play is set and this is how
we will set ourselves out for many away games this season.

People want two up front but Cole and Piquionne do not work and I do not
think they ever will. We saw last season how bad both were when playing
together and if you play John Carew then we have the problem where we just
knock it long. Without any width there is little point in playing Carew and
since Taylor has been out this coincided with him being dropped as it just
wasn't working.

And no, Freddie Sears is not the answer.

Next Game - Barnsley (h), Saturday 17th December 3pm Kick Off

Having lost two games in a row it is vital that we bounce back with victory
against Barnsley next week in what we would consider one of the easier home
fixtures.

With no Demel or O'Brien we will need to play Faubert at right back which
leaves gaps in midfield with Collison suspended and Taylor out injured.
Hopefully Henri Lansbury will be back in contention and I expect him to
start.

A horrible result and this day again proved at how much I hate Reading and
their silly little club.

Sam's View

"It was a lack of discipline from our players for no reason at all,
basically. We have thrown the game away by getting two players sent-off, I
think that was the only difference between the sides and, if anything, we
had created the better chances up to then even though we weren't playing to
our best.

"We were certainly in the game and had three or four chances to score goals
but didn't get that one-goal lead that we wanted.

"That irresponsibility of getting sent-off was very, very costly. Whether
the referee is right or wrong, you don't put yourself in that position. You
could argue about the sending-offs but at the end of the day it can't change
the result.

"The thing is not to put yourself in the position to be sent-off. Joey's
second yellow should have been avoided if he'd stayed on his feet. Jack
shouldn't have done what he did either because that left us struggling in a
game we shouldn't have struggled in.

"To boot, we let them score immediately after Joey got sent-off when we had
to defend a free-kick. It's a shame that it's happened. These things in a
game of football can go against you and that's what's happened and cost us
the game. It wasn't what Reading were doing."

"I was disappointed with their first one because you have to keep yourself
in the game with ten players by being more resilient and organising yourself
properly.

"They get organised every week, do these lads, and they have to remember
what they should do and they haven't done it. It's that simple. Reading
should have had to work a lot harder to win the game, even though we went
down to ten men.

"When we gifted them a goal from the free-kick immediately after Joey got
sent-off, that's what really disappoints me. Even with ten men, we might
have got a draw or even won it. When Jack got sent-off, that was even more
irresponsible.

"Their second goal came from our free-kick. Because the players decided they
wanted to take a free-kick that they had dreamed up themselves, and not the
one we rehearsed, all of our players were not where they should have been.
Abdoulaye Faye hit the ball where he shouldn't and they went up the other
end and scored.

"It just shows them that the irresponsibility and the pressure they were
under meant they started doing silly things and the wrong things and we've
lost the game because of them. Obviously the big turning point was going
down to ten men."

"We haven't got many left! Only Henri Lansbury is nearly ready, so we're
really going to be down to the wire next week. We may have a slight outside
chance of getting Matt Taylor back, but that would be it, and Henri has only
played 60 minutes in eight weeks.

"We've lost two games on the trot so it's been our worst day of the whole
season. One, the way we lost it. Two, we had two men sent-off. Three, Guy
getting injured. So nothing went right for us, I'm afraid."

Season 2011/12 Scorers and Bookings

Carlton Cole - 7 (7 League)
Kevin Nolan - 6 (6 League)
Sam Baldock - 5 (5 League)
Mark Noble - 3 (3 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Frederique Piquionne - 2 (2 League)
Jack Collison - 2 (2 League)
Own Goal - 2 (2 League)
James Tomkins - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Scott Parker - 1 (1 League)
Winston Reid - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Henri Lansbury - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Junior Stanislas - 1 (1 Cup)

Yellow Cards

Kevin Nolan - 4
Julien Faubert - 4
Mark Noble - 4
Abdoulaye Faye - 4
Joey O'Brien - 3
George McCartney - 3
Henri Lansbury - 2
James Tomkins - 2
Carlton Cole - 1
Matthew Taylor - 1
Sam Baldock -1
Winston Reid - 1
John Carew - 1
Papa Bouba Diop - 1

Red Cards

Callum McNaughton - 1 (vs Aldershot home)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (vs Portsmouth home)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (vs Reading away)
Jack Collison - 1 (vs Reading away)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reading 3-0 West Ham: Daily Mirror match report
Published 21:50 11/12/11 By Ann Gripper
The Mirror

Kevin Nolan warned West Ham need to get "down and dirty" after this
implosion at Reading. The teams were evenly matched until Joey O'Brien was
sent off for a second offence in the 66th minute, and Jack Collison followed
18 minutes later for a stupid shove on a showboating Jimmy Kebe as Reading
ran riot. Alex Pearce and a double from birthday boy Simon Church provided
the goals for the Royals – and plenty of food for thought for the Hammers.
Draws for their immediate rivals meant West Ham lost little ground, but the
team knows falling apart at the Madejski was unacceptable. Skipper Nolan
said: "There was a lack of professionalism from us losing the man and then
losing the goal right away. "You've got to try and stick in there for as
long as you can when you've got 10 men, make sure that they don't score
early to give them a boost, but we didn't and we got sloppy. "They were
fantastic once we went down to 10 men - but we were terrible. We've all
agreed in the dressing room it's not good enough."

And Nolan wants his team to make sure they do what it takes to get out of
the Championship. He said: "In this league sometimes you've got to get down
and dirty, get a bit gritty and win the game that way. It's not always the
flamboyant way. "We've had our rollicking. We all know what we've done wrong
and we've got to work as hard as we can on the training pitch to make sure
we put it right this week. "We've got a lot to learn from this but I'm sure
we're all big enough and ugly enough to take it on the chin. "We'll go away
and make sure that next week we put in the performance the fans deserve, the
staff deserve and the Gaffer deserves."

O'Brien was thrust into the action from the subs' bench after Guy Demel had
to be stretchered off after less than two minutes' play. But the defender
later had to make the long walk back after two quick yellow cards for a row
with Noel Hunt and a foul on Jobi McAnuff. The resulting free kick brought
quick punishment, Harte's set piece breaking to McAnuff whose low cross was
stabbed in by Pearce. O'Brien admitted he blamed himself for his side's
defeat. He said: "We were in the game, then I got sent off and that's cost
us a point - so I must take responsibility. "The first yellow was silly on
my behalf, and the second was a tackle where I should have stayed on my feet
- but it's all very well looking back in hindsight. "It's not nice to get
into the dressing room and watch the lads get beat, and getting the
runaround. But hopefully it's just one game and we can put it to bed."

With the man advantage Reading took control and Church headed in Adam Le
Fondre's chip after a slick 80th minute surge down the right by Kebe and Jem
Karacan.
With Reading on top, Kebe had enough time to pause to adjust his socks when
the ball broke to him five minute later, a move that apparently infuriated
Collison.
Again Reading drove home their advantage instantly, Church jumping highest
to bury Harte's free kick. And Church, who celebrated his 23rd birthday over
dinner with his girlfriend on Saturday night, was delighted with his double.
Now he hopes he has done enough to earn a recall to the starting line-up
against Leeds. Church said: "It's a nice little present. It's been a good
day and obviously a great win for us. "No one likes being put on the bench.
It's down to the manager to pick the team but I was pretty disappointed. "I
just focused on when I got my chance hopefully taking it, and today I was
fortunate to get two goals as well."

Reading: Federici 6, Cummings 6, Pearce 7, Gorkss 7, Harte 6, Kebe 7
(Robson-Kanu 88mins), Karacan 7, Leigertwood 8, McAnuff 7, Le Fondre 7, Hunt
7 (Church 65mins 7)

West Ham: Green 6, Demel 4 (O'Brien 4mins 4), Faye 6, Tomkins 5, McCartney
5, Nolan 6, Bouba Diop 5 (Cole 57mins 5), Noble 5, Faubert 4, Piquionne 5
(Carew 72mins 5), Collison 4

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce's 'worst day' leaves beaten West Ham with nine men
MICHAEL BUTLER MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2011
The Independent

Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, admitted he had suffered his "worst
day" since taking over at the club in the summer as they were overrun 3-0 at
Reading after being reduced to nine men, Joey O'Brien and Jack Collison both
getting sent off. "It's been our worst day of the whole season," Allardyce
said. "One, the way we lost it. Two, we had two men sent off. Three,
sustaining injuries. We haven't got many [players] left. Nothing went right
for us. "Unfortunately a loss of control by the players that I haven't seen
before in my time here, particularly Joey O'Brien, cost us a result today.
It's not like him and he's not that sort of character."

A tight and scrappy game was turned on its head in the 65th minute, O'Brien
receiving his second yellow card and Alex Pearce giving Reading the lead
just a minute later. Reading dominated thereafter, the second dismissal also
having a direct affect on the game – Simon Church turned in his second goal
from a free-kick after Collison had recklessly lunged at Jimmy Kébé.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Under the shadow
Grant admits to stress at West Ham
Last updated: 11th December 2011
SSN

Avram Grant says the shadow of Martin O'Neill was hard to ignore when he was
managing West Ham. Grant was sacked in May as West Ham manager after failing
to keep the club in the Premier League and understood why the rumours that
O'Neill would never go quiet go away. "It was not easy to be fair," said
Grant on Goals on Sunday. "You know it can happen in football when you don't
have a good result. But I think at West Ham we knew where we were going,
after the first half of the season, we didn't have a good squad - not good
enough for the Premier League. But this is part of the game and you know if
you are in this business and you lose games there is always someone waiting
for your job. "We had two targets - our first priority was to stay in the
league and we wanted to continue in the traditional way of West Ham - base
the team on as much as we could on players who came from the academy "The
team we had from January was a very good team - good enough to stay in the
league but unfortunately we didn't do it and the responsibility is on the
manger and not anyone else. We did suffer some injuries with Scott Parker
and Mark Noble was injured which was a problem."

Grant also said David Sullivan and David Gold were good when they took over.
"I think David Sullivan and David Gold are good people and are doing their
best for the team. "It was not easy for them to buy a team with so much debt
and they wanted to create some stability. It is no secret that we wanted to
do what Arsenal did with their young players and they gave their support.
You can't succeed only with money, but without money it is very difficult."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 11th December 2011

Big Sam laments 'worst day'
WHUFC.com
The manager was honest in his assessment of Saturday's 3-0 Championship
defeat at Reading
10.12.2011

Manager Sam Allardyce admitted Saturday's 3-0 npower Championship defeat at
Reading marked his 'worst day' since taking charge of West Ham United. The
Hammers recovered from the early loss of Guy Demel to a thigh injury to edge
the opening 45 minutes at the Madejski Stadium, only for the wheels to come
off in spectacular fashion after half-time. Demel's replacement Joey O'Brien
was sent-off for two bookable offences with 25 minutes remaining and Alex
Pearce put the Royals in front within 60 seconds. Substitute SImon Church
then scored either side of Wales international team-mate Jack Collison being
shown the red card for a challenge on Jimmy Kebe.

Speaking to West Ham TV, Big Sam was honest in his assessment of both his
players' lack of discipline and failure to defend properly after going a man
down.
Sam, what was your assessment of the second half after a fairly mundane
opening 45 minutes?

"It was a lack of discipline from our players for no reason at all,
basically. We have thrown the game away by getting two players sent-off, I
think that was the only difference between the sides and, if anything, we
had created the better chances up to then even though we weren't playing to
our best. "We were certainly in the game and had three or four chances to
score goals but didn't get that one-goal lead that we wanted. "That
irresponsibility of getting sent-off was very, very costly. Whether the
referee is right or wrong, you don't put yourself in that position. You
could argue about the sending-offs but at the end of the day it can't change
the result. "The thing is not to put yourself in the position to be
sent-off. Joey's second yellow should have been avoided if he'd stayed on
his feet. Jack shouldn't have done what he did either because that left us
struggling in a game we shouldn't have struggled in. "To boot, we let them
score immediately after Joey got sent-off when we had to defend a free-kick.
It's a shame that it's happened. These things in a game of football can go
against you and that's what's happened and cost us the game. It wasn't what
Reading were doing."

Were you disappointed with the nature of all three Reading goals - two from
set pieces and one from a counter-attack following a West Ham free-kick?

"I was disappointed with their first one because you have to keep yourself
in the game with ten players by being more resilient and organising yourself
properly.
"They get organised every week, do these lads, and they have to remember
what they should do and they haven't done it. It's that simple. Reading
should have had to work a lot harder to win the game, even though we went
down to ten men. "When we gifted them a goal from the free-kick immediately
after Joey got sent-off, that's what really disappoints me. Even with ten
men, we might have got a draw or even won it. When Jack got sent-off, that
was even more irresponsible. "Their second goal came from our free-kick.
Because the players decided they wanted to take a free-kick that they had
dreamed up themselves, and not the one we rehearsed, all of our players were
not where they should have been. Abdoulaye Faye hit the ball where he
shouldn't and they went up the other end and scored.
"It just shows them that the irresponsibility and the pressure they were
under meant they started doing silly things and the wrong things and we've
lost the game because of them. Obviously the big turning point was going
down to ten men."

The loss of Guy Demel to a thigh injury and Joey O'Brien and Jack Collison
to suspension means the remaining players will have to rise to the challenge
against Burnley on Saturday?

"We haven't got many left! Only Henri Lansbury is nearly ready, so we're
really going to be down to the wire next week. We may have a slight outside
chance of getting Matt Taylor back, but that would be it, and Henri has only
played 60 minutes in eight weeks. "We've lost two games on the trot so it's
been our worst day of the whole season. One, the way we lost it. Two, we had
two men sent-off. Three, Guy getting injured. So nothing went right for us,
I'm afraid."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
U18s secure Charlton draw
WHUFC.com
Blair Turgott and Nana Boakye Yiadom are on target as the Hammers gain at
point in south London
10.12.2011

Nick Haycock has praised his Under-18 squad for ending a memorable week by
securing a 2-2 FA Premier Academy League draw at Charlton Athletic. The
Academy coach made five changes to the side that scored a fantastic 3-2 FA
Youth Cup third-round win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening,
handing a debut to new signing Pelly Ruddock and starts to full-backs Josh
Siafa and Frazer Shaw and midfielders Dominic Vose and Kieran Sadlier.
Ruddock played his part on his first competitive appearance in claret and
blue, knocking the ball down from a corner for schoolboy substitute Nana
Boakye Yiadom to net a deserved equaliser midway through the second half.
Earlier, Blair Turgott (pictured) had put West Ham into an early lead before
Charlton hit back to equalise after 20 minutes. The Hammers then had an
Elliot Lee 'goal' disallowed before hitting a post before the break. The
second half saw the Addicks go ahead from a free-kick before Boakye Yiadom's
dramatic intervention courtesy of his first goal at U18 level. After a week
that saw his squad contest three matches, Haycock was proud of his players'
efforts.
"We should have won the game, to be honest, because we were the better
team," said the coach. "I am disappointed for the players, but we had a hard
game in the week at Wolves and I made five changes to the starting lineup.
"To be fair, we produced another good performance and mixed our playing
style up well, which is something we've been working on in training. We had
chances to win it near the end, especially when Dominic Vose broke down the
left and cut the ball back, but there was nobody there to put the ball in
the net. "After the tough week we've had, I was pleased because the whole
squad has contributed and everybody has played their part. The league table
is still very congested and we have gained a point away from home, so I
can't be displeased with that. "Josh and Frazer came in and did a good job
at full-back, while Leo Chambers and Kenzer Lee again looked commanding at
the heart of the defence. Pelly and Jack Powell combined well, too, so there
were plenty of reasons for me to be pleased with our performance."

West Ham United U18s: Cowler, Siafa, Shaw, Chambers, K.Lee, Ruddock, Powell,
Sadlier (Boakye Yiadom 65), Vose, Turgott, E.Lee (Fanimo 70)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reading 3 - 0 West Ham
BBC.co.uk
Page last updated at 17:39 GMT, Saturday, 10 December 2011

Simon Church scored two and Alex Pearce one as Reading eased to victory over
a West Ham side reduced to nine men. Joey O'Brien was sent off for two
yellow cards in the 65th minute and Pearce made the visitors pay a minute
later by scoring from eight yards out. Substitute Church tapped home Adam Le
Fondre's chip for his first before Jack Collison was dismissed for a wild
challenge on Jimmy Kebe. Striker Church nodded home Ian Harte's set-piece to
complete the scoring. West Ham would have gone joint top with Championship
leaders Southampton if they had won the match, but were on the backfoot from
the start. Noel Hunt almost gave the Royals the lead early on while Kebe and
Jem Karacan also went close to scoring in the first half. Collison blazed
over the bar for the Hammers while Papa Bouba Diop thought he had had poked
the ball home but Hunt cleared off the line. The game's scrappy nature
continued into the second half before the match exploded into life after
O'Brien tripped the dangerous Jobi McAnuff to earn his second yellow card.
From the free-kick given for O'Brien's offence, Harte's delivery was not
cleared properly, McAnuff slipped the ball into Pearce's path and the
centre-back side-footed home. Reading dominated from there onwards and went
two up when Church tapped home. West Ham lost all their shape and discipline
and were reduced to nine men when Collison needlessly fouled Kebe. From the
resulting free-kick Church headed home Harte's cross to intensify the misery
for the Hammers. Reading boss Brian McDermott: "We are a team that's trying
to evolve and we have done that today to the best team in the division.
"They have a lot of Premiership players in their side and you can see why
they win so many away games. "We are all about the team at Reading and never
about the individuals. I try to explain that to players who don't play."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "Unfortunately a loss of control by the
players that I haven't seen before in my time here, particularly Joey
O'Brien, cost us a result today. "It's not like him and he's not that sort
of character. Then we let the opposition score from the free-kick instead of
organising ourselves to see it out to a 0-0 draw. "I wouldn't really quibble
about either sending-off but if Jack Collison went then I think Noel Hunt
should have gone. He caught Joey and could easily have broken his foot or
leg. "We are in serious trouble now player-wise and will be struggling to
get 11 out."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reading 3 West Ham Utd 0
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 10th December 2011
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has plenty of work to do after he watched his side slip to
back-to-back Championship defeats for the first time with an embarrassing
3-0 defeat at the Majedski Stadium. Although there has been muted criticism
of his playing style and lack of creativity, Allardyce has enjoyed a fairly
easy ride since replacing Avram Grant in the summer as his team has
continued to produce results. However that could all be set to change after
his West Ham side produced possibly the worse performance since Alan
Curbishley's team were thrashed 6-0 at the same venue some four years ago.
It was apparent that something was wrong from the off - after all, it took
West Ham some 37 minutes to produce their first (and only) effort on target
- yet it wasn't until midway through the second half that the wheels
completely fell off when the game descended into farce. Joey O'Brien, on as
a fifth-minute replacement for Guy Demel (whose right leg gave way following
his second touch of the game) was cautioned on the hour-mark after reacting
badly to a poor challenge from Noel Hunt. Although his reaction was perhaps
understandable given his recent injury record O'Brien was therefore foolish,
at best, to stick out a leg in an attempt to steal the ball from former
Hammer Jobi McAnuff just four minutes later.
With referee Neil Swarbrick in no mood to display even a modicum of common
sense and consider a stern word or final warning to O'Brien - and McAnuff
making the most of what was nothing more than a clip on the ankle - the
right back was given his marching orders. Less than 30 seconds later,
Reading were ahead.

Still at sixes and sevens as they readjusted to the loss of O'Brien, the
Hammers gifted Alex Pearce a free header at the far post that he simply
couldn't miss. And had substitute Simon Church been on the field for more
than four minutes he may well have made more of the chance presented to him
by McAnuff; fortunately for West Ham, he fired wide. On that occasion,
anyway.

John Carew replaced the woeful Freddie Piquionne as Sam Allardyce chased a
point that he obviously felt was still within his grasp. However those hopes
were effectively dashed as Church atoned for his earlier error by scoring
from a yard out when nodding home Adam Le Fondre's lob with the left side of
West Ham's defence seemingly under the direction of Moses.

With the game all but lost by that stage, the last thing we needed was
further displays of petulance from West Ham, but that's exactly what we got
- and from the most unlikely source. Jack Collison, a player with only six
yellow cards to his name in his entire career let his frustration get the
better of him when reacting to what would once have been called 'bad
sportsmanship' by Reading's Jimmy Kebe. The midfielder appeared to mock the
opposition by pausing to roll up his socks whilst in possession of the ball.

Collison naturally took great umbrage to Kebe's attempted piss-take and
launched himself into the Frenchman, catching him on the knee with his studs
and pushing him in the face at the same time. Kebe embarrassed himself by
launching himself backwards; not that it mattered to the card-happy
Swarbrick who had no hesitation in producing his red card for the second
time in 20 minutes as Collison walked for the first time in his prefessional
career.

Damage limitation was now order of the day as West Ham were reduced to nine
men for the first time this century, Church managed to add a second to make
the final score 3-0 when left completely unmarked in the penalty area yet
again. Not that it mattered a great deal at that stage, for the real damage
has already been done.

What made defeat even more difficult to swallow was that the home side had
been average, at best, up to the point that O'Brien was dismissed. In what
must be a fairly unique statistic for a team winning by three clear goals,
Reading managed just seven shots in total during the game - and evey one of
the three on target resulted in a goal.

Despite having failed to make anything of the few chances that had fallen
their way, West Ham had looked the better side earlier in the game and the
Irons should have gone ahead when Papa Bouba Diop's goalbound effort was
hacked off the line by an alert Royals defender with the half-time whistle
just a few minutes away.

Freddie Piquionne then completely mistimed a free header with the goal at
his mercy, though in the interests of impartiality it should perhaps be
pointed out that both Adam Le Fondre and Jem Karachan also wasted clear-cut
chances at that stage of the game.

Sam Allardyce - who maintains his record of never having beaten Reading as a
manager - now has some serious thinking to do ahead of next weekend's visit
of Barnsley to the Boleyn.

Already missing the likes of Matt Taylor - whose omission only serves to
reinforce the winger's importance to the team, Winston Reid and Sam Baldock
he can add Guy Demel (injured), Joey O'Brien and Jack Collison (both
suspended) to those unavailable for selection.

Allardyce's problems are compounded by the fact that the players currently
available have mostly offered a passable impression of being unfit for
purpose in the last two outings; today, for example, his side managed just
three shots on goal all afternoon - two of which were off target.

The good news, if there can be any after a dreadful day like today is that
both Henri Lansbury and Gary O'Neil are expected back soon. But with neither
likely to be up to a full 90 minutes for a while, Allardyce's resources are
set to be tested to the limit between now and the opening of the winter
transfer window on 1st January when he is expected to bring in some fresh
faces.

Reading 3 West Ham Utd 0: match facts

West Ham Utd: Green, Demel (O'Brien 5), McCartney, Faye, Tomkins, Diop (Cole
57), Noble, Nolan, Faubert, Collison, Piquionne (Carew 72).
Subs not used: Stech, Sears.
Shots on/off target: 1/2.
Booked: Faye (17), McCartney (52), O'Brien (61).
Sent Off: O'Brien (65), Collison (84).

Reading: Federici, Cummings, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce, McAnuff, Kebe
(Robson-Kanu 88), Karacan, Leigertwood, Le Fondre, Hunt (Church 65).
Subs not used: Andersen, Antonio, Tabb.
Goals: Pearce (65), Church (80, 86).
Shots on/off target: 4/5.
Booked: Hunt (62), Karacan (82).

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (3).
Attendance: 24,026.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam - We lost our cool
Hammers boss laments O'Brien and Collison after dismissals
Last Updated: December 10, 2011 7:18pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce bemoaned his side's indiscipline after they
crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Reading. The Hammers, who slipped three points
behind Championship leaders Southampton as a result, had substitute Joey
O'Brienand Jack Collison sent off at the Madejski Stadium as Reading cruised
to an impressive win. Alex Pearce grabbed the opener before a late Simon
Church brace put the icing on the cake, with Allardyce citing his team's
lack of self-control as the biggest contribution to their loss. He said:
"Unfortunately a loss of control by the players that I haven't seen before
in my time here, particularly Joey O'Brien, cost us a result today. "It's
not like him and he's not that sort of character. Then we let the opposition
score from the free-kick instead of organising ourselves to see it out to a
0-0 draw. "We have had a very bad day. We have lost Guy Demel with a thigh
strain early on. If that hadn't happened Joey would not have been on the
pitch. "I wouldn't really quibble about either sending-off but if Jack
Collison went then I think Noel Hunt should have gone. He caught Joey and
could easily have broken his foot or leg."

O'Brien was dismissed for two yellow cards, the second for a 65th-minute
foul on Jobi McAnuff. Almost immediately, Pearce turned in McAnuff's centre
for the opening goal. Church made it 2-0 and then added another shortly
after Collison had seen red for a needless challenge on Jimmy Kebe. "We lost
our cool today," said Allardyce. "They could have been heroes if we had got
a point away with 10 men. "We are in serious trouble now player-wise and
will be struggling to get 11 out."

McDermott

Meanwhile, Reading boss Brian McDermott was delighted with the win and
praised his young side. "We are a team that's trying to evolve and we have
done that today to the best team in the division," said McDermott. "They
have a lot of Premiership players in their side and you can see why they win
so many away games.
"We are all about the team at Reading and never about the individuals. I try
to explain that to players who don't play. "We have played some good stuff
today. We got the first goal, which was really important and then we kicked
on. "We had four products of our academy on the pitch at the end of the game
which is a credit to the way we develop them."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Royals rout nine-man Hammers
Last updated: 10th December 2011
SSN

Simon Church's double and an Alex Pearce strike saw Reading beat nine-man
West Ham 3-0 in the Championship at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday. All
the goals came in the final half-hour as the Royals capitalised on a Hammers
implosion, with both Joey O'Brien and Jack Collison seeing red. Centre-back
Pearce beat visiting keeper Robert Green from eight yards out midway through
the second period, following good work from Jobi McAnuff, to hand the hosts
the lead. West Ham, who have now lost back-to-back Championship matches
after their home defeat to Burnley last weekend, could not generate any
momentum over the course of the 90 minutes and were not helped by the
dismissal of O'Brien moments before Reading's first strike. O'Brien received
the first red card of his career for a second, needless yellow card after a
trip on McAnuff and the Hammers struggled to contain their hosts without
him. Once Pearce had slotted home it was all one-way traffic at the Madejski
Stadium, and substitute Church tapped home Adam Le Fondre's chip to seal the
victory for the Royals before Collison was dismissed for a wild challenge on
Jimmy Kebe late on. Not satisfied with one goal after coming off the bench,
Church nodded home Ian Harte's set-piece with four minutes left to round off
the scoring.

Reading had the first significant chance of the game after just seven
minutes. Le Fondre fizzed the ball across the face of the goal and Noel
Hunt, back in the starting line-up after a head injury, narrowly failed to
connect as he slid in. West Ham's best opportunity of the first half-hour
came when Collison blazed over from inside the area, while at the other end
Jimmy Kebe had a good chance to open the scoring. The Mali winger, although
a long way from goal, had the net at his mercy when Green missed opposite
number Adam Federici's long free-kick. However, Kebe could not control his
effort on the half-volley and shot wide. Jem Karacan also failed to hit the
target with a curling effort from distance as neither side were able to work
the goalkeepers over the course of the first 30 minutes. The visitors were
struggling to reach their fluent best, but almost claimed the advantage in
the moments before the break. Collison's corner was headed across goal and
Papa Bouba Diop thought he had poked home, only for Hunt to get in the way
on the line and clear.

Almost straight away the Royals rallied, and Karacan was within centimetres
of finding the net with his flying header from Kebe's whipped centre. The
scrappy nature of the contest continued into the second period and West Ham
took almost 20 minutes of the half to have their first shot on target before
the match then exploded into life. O'Brien foolishly tripped McAnuff to earn
his second yellow card of the afternoon and moments after he left the field,
Reading went a goal up. From the free-kick given for O'Brien's offence,
Harte's delivery was not cleared properly, McAnuff slipped the ball into
Pearce's path and the centre-back side-footed home from eight yards out. In
an instant the home side were dominant and went two up when Church was on
hand to tap home Le Fondre's chipped centre from close range. West Ham lost
all their shape and discipline, and soon found themselves reduced to nine
men when Collison needlessly raked his studs down Kebe's legs. From the
resulting free-kick Church headed home Harte's cross to intensify the misery
for the Hammers.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jimmy Kebe pulls his socks up, gets clattered by Jack Collison (Reading 3 -
West Ham 0)
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
101greatgoals.com

"You can be unhappy about something but you have to keep your cool and your
discipline, you can't allow the red mist to come down and react like that."
- West Ham boss Sam Allardyce.

Reading's 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday featured one of the most bizzare
sendings off seen for some time and sparked off a debate over the antics of
Mali winger Jimmy Kebe. With six minutes left on the clock Reading were
cruising 2-0 against the 10-man Hammers. The ball was worked out over to the
right hand side where Jimmy Kebe received the ball. Kebe stops the ball and
pulls up his sock. For many, this was seen as a cheeky Showboat that simply
riled up West Ham midfielder Jack Collison who came over and with little
fanfare dumped the former Lens winger on his backside. Collison received a
straight red card and Kebe was withdrawn from the fray four minutes later,
after Reading had gone 3-0 up.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 10th December 2011

Reading match preview
WHUFC.com
All the early team news and background for Saturday's awayday at the
Madejski Stadium
09.12.2011

READING v WEST HAM UNITED
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER 2011
KICK-OFF: 3PM
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST

Introduction
• West Ham United travel to Reading for their 21st npower Championship
fixture of 2011/12 having seen their seven-match unbeaten run ended with
last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Burnley. They are the division's form team on
the road with seven wins and two draws in their ten matches.
• Sam Allardyce's side sit second in the npower Championship table, two
points behind leaders Southampton and three points ahead of third-place
Cardiff City. Big Sam was nominated for the npower Championship manager of
the month but lost out to Cardiff City's Malky Mackay.
• The Hammers have the best defensive record in the npower Championship,
having conceded just 17 goals in 20 league matches.
• West Ham United's 36 league goals have been shared between 14 different
players. Carlton Cole leads the way with seven, Kevin Nolan has six while
Sam Baldock has five.
• The Hammers have only lost once on their travels this season, a 1-0 defeat
at leaders Southampton on 18 October.
• Reading are looking for a fourth win in half-a-dozen matches as they mark
Brian McDermott's first year in charge.
• Freddie Piquionne celebrated his 33rd birthday on Friday.
• Carlton Cole was shortlisted for the npower Championship player of the
month, which was won by Billy Sharp of Doncaster Rovers.
• West Ham are looking for a fifth away victory in a row for the first time
since December 1985.
Team news
West Ham United
• West Ham United are without Matt Taylor (calf) but the midfielder could be
back in contention for next week's visit of Barnsley on 17 December.
• Henri Lansbury is in the matchday 18 after playing an hour in a midweek
development squad game against Brentford. Lansbury has not played since 18
October. Gary O'Neil (ankle) played 45 minutes but is at least six weeks
away from a playing return after eight months out.
• Dan Potts, fresh from helping the Academy to an FA Youth Cup third-round
win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday, is also set to travel with the
first team again.
• Sam Baldock (hamstring), Winston Reid (dislocated shoulder), Ruud Boffin
(finger) and David Bentley (knee) are definitely out. Baldock and Reid are
hopeful of returning before Christmas.
• Pablo Barrera and Jordan Spence are on season-long loans at Real Zaragoza
and Bristol City respectively. Ahmed Abdulla (Swindon Town), Cristian
Montano (Dagenham & Redbridge), Rob Hall (Oxford United), Herita Ilunga
(Doncaster Rovers), Callum McNaughton (AFC Wimbledon) and Frank Nouble
(Gillingham) are all out on temporary loans.
Reading
• Former Hammers winger Jobi McAnuff is eligible again after suspension.
• Brian McDermott will choose between fit-again Joseph Mills and Ian Harte
for the left-back.
• Noel Hunt could be back in the attack after overcoming a thigh injury.

Last time out
Saturday 3 December 2011
npower Championship
West Ham United 1-2 Burnley
West Ham United: Green, O'Brien (Carew 80), Faye, Tomkins, McCartney, Noble,
Nolan, Collison, Faubert, Cole, Taylor (Piquionne 56)
Subs not used: Stech, Demel, Diop
Goal: Nolan 52
Saturday 3 December 2011
npower Championship
Blackpool 1-0 Reading
Reading: Federici, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, Cummings, Karacan, Leigertwood,
Kebe (Antonio 70), Robson-Kanu, Le Fondre, Church (Manset 70)
Subs not used: Andersen, Griffin, Tabb

Last six meetings
26 December 2007 - West Ham United 1-1 Reading
1 September 2007 - Reading 0-3 West Ham United
1 January 2007: Reading 6-0 West Ham United
1 October 2006: West Ham United 0-1 Reading
12 March 2005: Reading 3-1 West Ham United
10 August 2004: West Ham United 1-0 Reading
All-time record v Reading: W3 D2 L4

Ten-year records
West Ham United
2010/11 Premier League 20th (relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th
2008/09 Premier League 9th
2007/08 Premier League 10th
2006/07 Premier League 15th
2005/06 Premier League 9th
2004/05 Championship 6th (promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Division One 4th
2002/03 Premier League 18th (relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th
Reading
2010/11 Championship 5th
2009/10 Championship 9th
2008/09 Championship 4th
2007/08 Premier League 18th (relegated to Championship)
2006/07 Premier League 8th
2005/06 Championship 1st (promoted to Premier League)
2004/05 Championship 7th
2003/04 Division One 9th
2002/03 Division One 4th
2001/02 Division Two 3rd (promoted to Division 1)

Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lancashire-born Neil Swarbrick, who took charge
of the Hammers' 2-0 home win against Barnsley in the FA Cup third round last
season.
• Swarbrick usually takes charge of matches in the Football League as a
member of the National List, as he has yet to make the step up to the Select
Group who control Barclays Premier League matches.

Us and them
• The following players have worn the colours of both West Ham United and
Reading during their careers - Tommy Allison, Ken Bainbridge, John
Blackwood, Charles Cotton, William Davidson, Steve Death, Tommy Dixon, Jack
Fletcher, Jack Flynn, Harry Gunning, Jim Holmes, Sam Jennings, Thomas
Kinsell, Herbert Lyon, Jobi McAnuff, Steve Mautone, Trevor Morley, Hayden
Mullins, Geordie Reid, James Reid, Horace Ricketts, William Robson, Peter
Simpson, Ron Tindall, Ernest Watts, Rod Williams, Alan Wooler and Len Young.

• Jobi McAnuff, the Reading captain, played 14 games for the Hammers in the
second half of the 2003/04 season.
• Wally Downes spent five years as a coach at Reading between 2004 and 2009,
working under Steve Coppell.
• Reading Academy manager Eamonn Dolan is a former Hammers youth striker,
who rose through the ranks to play 15 league games for the first team and
scored three goals between 1985 and 1990.
• Alan Pardew has been in charge at both clubs, taking the helm at the
Royals in his first managerial role in 1999 and staying there until 2003
when he moved to West Ham.
• The first-ever meeting between West Ham United and Reading took place on
Tuesday 11 September 2001 at the Madejski Stadium. The League Cup tie
finished goalless after extra time before Reading won 6-5 on penalties.
• The teams have met four times in the league at the Madejski Stadium, with
15 goals scored at an average of 3.75 a match.
• While the last Hammers trip was their best success in Berkshire, a 3-0
victory, they suffered their heaviest loss in the game before that - going
down 6-0 on 1 January 2007.
• Last time the Hammers went to the Madejski Stadium they were 3-0 winners
on 1 September 2007. The goals were scored by Craig Bellamy in the sixth
minute, before Matthew Etherington scored twice in the 49th and 90th
minutes.
The lineups were:
Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Shorey, Fae (Kitson 61 ),
Harper, Gunnarsson (Cisse 69 ), Hunt, Lita (Convey 75 ), Doyle
Subs not used: Federici, Bikey,
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Bowyer (Spector
81), Noble, Mullins, Etherington, Ashton (Cole 65), Bellamy (Boa Morte 89)
Subs not used: Wright, Gabbidon,

Up next
• West Ham United welcome Barnsley for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday 17
December, with tickets priced at just £15 for Adults and £5 for Under-16s.
Reading will travel to Leeds United on the same day.

General information
• Saturday's weather forecast is for a bright but chilly day, with
temperatures peaking around the 5C mark.
• The match is sold out.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on Friday
WHUFC.com
The manager has sat down with West Ham TV ahead of Saturday's trip to
Reading
09.12.2011

Manager Sam Allardyce sat down in front of the West Ham TV camera to discuss
matters ahead of Saturday's npower Championship trip to Reading. Big Sam was
asked about a range of issues, including Tuesday's Supporters' Advisory
Board meeting, being prepared for the January transfer window, injuries and
the Academy's midweek FA Youth Cup victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Here
is what the manager had to say -

Sam, if we could start with the Supporters' Advisory Board meeting you
attended on Tuesday. How did you enjoy your evening?

"It is nice to see the club actually allowing a group of people to get their
viewpoint across on what they think in all areas. Mostly you would think
they'd be asking about what is happening on the pitch, but actually it was
about all areas of the club from what happens on the field all the way to
the possible move to the Olympic Stadium. "It was a pleasant evening and
informal for me, rather than standing up talking. I wandered around each
group and had a chat with them and got some very positive feedback. "The
owners must take a lot of credit because I have not heard of this type of
thing before at other clubs I have been at. It was very, very good to
attend."

One thing I'm sure you were asked about a lot was possible transfers. The
January transfer window is not far away and speculation will start to ramp
up over the coming few weeks. What are your thoughts on possible additions
to the squad?

"The difficulty is that the madness will be kicking off into next week and
it will be heightened as the weeks go on, right the way through until the
end of January in the middle of a very important period of games of football
that you've got to try to win under difficult circumstances - suspensions
come into play, injuries, cold weather and Christmas spirit for everybody
else apart from yourself. "All the speculation around transfers in and out
creates a difficult time for managers to cope with. "We have targets, yes,
but whether they are achievable we'll have to wait and see. If we can
achieve them, we want to achieve them between 1 January and 7 January rather
then 24 January to 31 January because another four or five games will have
elapsed within that time. "If we've got to do it and if we can do it, let's
try to do it as early as possible. In saying all that, it's a hugely
difficult time to acquire players. Like everything else, we're all in the
same position but we'd prefer to have a different system."

So you want to be prepared to make signings as soon as the window opens?

"There is being prepared and then there is the reality of what is
achievable. The hard part for me has always been recruitment. I think it's
more difficult now than it's ever been in the history of football to find
players to bring to your club and make it better. There are fewer players of
the highest quality that you would like available in the world of football
today and that makes them ever more expensive and ever more difficult to get
hold of. "It's almost a case of spending more on scouting to spend less, but
when you find that right quality, it can make that much quality to your side
that you can be very successul very quickly."

Talking of new faces, you must have been pleased to see Gary O'Neil and
Henri Lansbury back in action after injury on Tuesday?

"We knew Henri would be back in about eight weeks from his injury and we had
a bit of a lucky break because he was millimetres away from an anterior
cruciate ligament injury which would have been the end of the season for
Henri. "We've already suffered one severe blow with David Bentley, which
everyone seems to have forgotten about. He was a big loss to our squad. So
Henri coming back and having 60 minutes was very important with regards to
getting him back really quick.
"Gary is ahead of schedule. It's a number of games and it might be as many
as six or eight before he gets the confidence mentally for us to think about
him coming back into the squad. Even then, you have to do it tentatively
from the bench and look at his mental side as well as the physical side.
He's always been a very fit player anyway. "Of course we also have Matt
Taylor and Winston Reid who I am particularly concerned about getting back
as quickly as possible. Matt is not as bad as first thought and Winston is
progressing and getting closer and closer to being fit again. "The run we've
had with those injuries, even though we were disappointed last weekend, has
been an outstanding piece of work over the last ten games - 22 points and
everything we have had thrown at us, we have coped with and got more points
than we did from the first ten games. "It shows you we are improving all the
time as a unit on and off the field."

Finally, talking of players who hope they will be good enough for West Ham
United in the future, you must have taken heart from the FA Youth Cup
victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening?

"The Academy boys have played against the first team a lot on Fridays. They
actually come and watch a video of the opposition that we're playing and
their responsibility is to play like the team we're going to play against.
"That then is a challenge to them because they obviously play a certain way
in the youth team. We're challenging them in terms of their mentality and
helping them to understand the game of football by asking them to watch a
video and putting them out and telling them 'You've got to play like they
do'. That's a great challenge to them in the first place. "They then find
out which first-team player they are up against and how difficult that is.
They then know what level they have to get to and better to dislodge that
first-team player. It gives them a goal to aim for because they've
experienced it in a training session - of course, in a training session
we're not a full tilt either. "You get to see the ones who can handle it and
the ones who struggle a little bit, so it's a good learning curve and
hopefully you get lads who move up - We've had Dan Potts and George Moncur
up with the first-team squad and we recalled Rob Hall from his loan at
Oxford to be on the bench a couple of times. They are along with Jack
Collison and James Tomkins who are massive parts of the team now. "It would
be great if we could bring more through and hopefully we can produce more
and more because, at a club like this, if it wants to move forward in
today's level of expenditure then you've got to get 30 or 40 per cent of
your players through your own system - that saves you millions and millions
of pounds at the other end if and when you get into the Premier League.
"That makes life a whole lot better for a club like West Ham."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FA Cup date set
WHUFC.com
West Ham United will travel to face Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday 8 January
09.12.2011

West Ham United can confirm that the FA Cup with Budweiser third-round tie
at Sheffield Wednesday will take place on Sunday 8 January 2012, kick-off
3pm. The fixture has been moved back 24 hours on police advice to avoid a
clash with the third-round match between Sheffield United and either
Salisbury Town or Grimsby Town. Following discussions between the two clubs,
the Hammers are pleased to confirm that all Adult tickets will be priced at
£20, while all concessions will be priced at £10. Manager Sam Allardyce is
looking forward to leading West Ham into the world's most-famous knockout
competition for the first time. With the Owls flying high in the npower
League One table, Big Sam is relishing the prospect of a good, old-fashioned
cup tie. "Sheffield Wednesday are near the top in their division and we've
all seen that there is little difference between the top of League One and
the Championship by the achievements of Southampton, Brighton, Leeds,
Norwich and Swansea," the manager told West Ham TV. "Those teams at the top
are generally very well-equipped to play in the Championship when they get
up and I don't see any difference with Sheffield Wednesday. The experience
that Gary Megson has got and the players he has put together and moulded
into a successful winning team will present us with a hugely difficult
task."

While Big Sam chose to blood the likes of Callum McNaughton, Pablo Barrera,
Junior Stanislas and Frank Nouble in the Carling Cup defeat by Aldershot
Town in August, the boss is eager to achieve a better performance and result
in the Steel City. "At that stage of the season, coming off the Christmas
period, we have to see what the availability of the players is going to be
like. The FA Cup is always a huge competition but it's not the major factor
for us in terms of what we want to do, at the end of the day. "Saying that,
it's a competition we want to progress in after the disappointment of being
knocked out in the early rounds of the Carling Cup. The good thing about
that was that it taught me about players who actually, in the end, didn't
prove themselves to be good enough for West Ham United. We moved a few of
those on, which was very important. "This time, when it comes to the FA Cup,
we will know about everybody we're going to select in that game and we'd
expect them to go out and play to their best and get us through to the next
stage."

West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday have met three times previously in the FA
Cup - the first occasion being a 1-0 first-round defeat at Hillsborough in
January 1921.
The other two meetings both took place in the 1980s - a 2-1 sixth-round
defeat at Hillsborough and a 2-0 fifth-round replay defeat at the Boleyn
Ground following a 1-1 draw in Yorkshire. The Hammers also visited
Hillsborough for their FA Cup semi-final in March 1964, when a 65,000-strong
crowd cheered them on to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United en route to
lifting the trophy for the first time in the club's history. West Ham have
won the FA Cup three times - in 1964, 1975 and 1980 - and finished as
runners-up in 1923 and 2006. Sheffield Wednesday lifted the trophy in 1896,
1907 and 1935 and were runners-up in 1890, 1966 and 2003. In the event that
a replay is required, it will be played at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday 17
January 2012, kick-off 7.45pm.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elliot eager for league boost
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee is hoping the U18s' FA Youth Cup exploits can boost their league
form
09.12.2011

Elliot Lee is hoping West Ham United Under-18's midweek FA Youth Cup victory
at Wolverhampton Wanderers can spur them on to greater heights in the FA
Premier Academy League. The Hammers youngsters scored a magnificent 3-2 win
at Molineux, defeating a Wolves side which had won its previous seven
matches. Lee scored twice, while namesake Kenzer netted a dramatic late
winner. Now, the striker is hoping the team can take their form into
Saturday's league trip to Charlton Athletic. The Hammers have lost five of
their previous six league matches to drop from top to fifth in the Group A
table. "Considering we've had a few dodgy results in the league, this will
give us great confidence and hopefully we can push in both the league and
the FA Youth Cup," Lee told whufc.com Casting his mind back to Wednesday's
big win at Wolves, the forward was delighted to net two goals at a Premier
League stadium and is now targeting a long run in the FA Youth Cup. The
fourth-round draw will take place on Friday 16 December and Lee is hoping to
be given the opportunity to show his talents off at the Boleyn Ground. "It
was a brilliant feeling, both scoring and winning, and I'm so pleased we're
through to the next round," he added. "The first goal came from a great
cross from Rob, who got to the byline and crossed it to me. I just took one
touch and swivelled and hit it really. I just hoped for the best. "I think
the goal settled the whole team down. We wanted to go out and get an early
lead and that's what we did. Unfortunately we conceded and it put everything
back to normal. "The second one came from another great cross, this time
from Matthias. I got a bit lucky when it hit a defender and came back off
the crossbar and left me an open goal. "I hit the post instead of getting a
hat-trick but it didn't matter because we scored the winner from the
resulting corner. I'm very happy for the team."

"I can't say there was ever a time when I thought we weren't going to win.
We scored twice and then let two goals in, but when we got the third one I
thought it would be our night. "Kenzer was an unlikely match-winner, but I'm
very happy for him! I'd love a home draw in the next round, if possible, but
I don't really mind who we get." *Kick-off at Sparrows Lane on Saturday is
at 11am. The full address is Charlton Athletic Training Ground, Sparrows
Lane, New Eltham SE9 2JR.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reading v West Ham
BBC.co.uk
Page last updated at 11:45 GMT, Friday, 9 December 2011

Npower Championship
Venue: Madejski Stadium Date: Saturday 10 August Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Coverage: Watch highlights on The Football League Show; listen on BBC Radio
5 live extra and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website

TEAM NEWS
Reading welcome back skipper Jobi McAnuff after he was suspended for picking
up five bookings this season. Full-back Joseph Mills is fit once more and
will challenge Ian Harte for the left-back slot, and striker Noel Hunt has
recovered from a head injury.

West Ham could be without Matt Taylor at Reading after he limped off against
Burnley last week. Defender Winston Reid (hamstring) and striker Sam Baldock
(shoulder) are missing because of injuries.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

• Reading have won half of their eight league meetings with West Ham.
• Only one of West Ham's three league victories over the Royals was
away from home; 3-0 in their most recent visit in September 2007 (Premier
League).
• There has never been a draw between these clubs in a league match on
Reading soil.

Reading

• Mid-table Reading are vying for a fourth win in six games, as Brian
McDermott completes his first year since taking the reins at the Madejski.
• The Royals have picked up an unrivalled 11 Championship points from
matches in which they have conceded two or more goals.
• A share of the spoils would take their all-time total of home draws
in second tier football to 100, while defeat would be their fourth in a
league game at the Madejski and equal the total suffered there in the
Championship last term.

West Ham United

• 2nd placed West Ham, two points off the pace, saw their seven-game
unbeaten sequence ended by Burnley at Upton Park last Saturday. Now they
must avoid their first back-to-back defeats of the season.
• The Hammers, who have the strongest away record in the Championship,
are endeavouring to complete five away league victories for the first time
since December 1985 in the top-flight.
• Sam Allardyce's side need to score one goal to total 800 away from
home in second level league football.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
A Sunday in Sheffield
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 9th December 2011
By: Staff Writer

The date for West Ham's third round FA Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday
has finally been confirmed. We reported earlier in the week that Wednesday
and local rivals Sheffield United were planning to meet Police for
discussions having both been drawn at home in the third round of the
competition. That meeting is understood to have taken place this morning,
with the result being that West Ham will face Wednesday on Sunday, 8th
January at 3:00pm. Meanwhile Sheffield United will play at home to either
Grimsby Town or Salisbury (their second round replay is due to take place
this coming Tuesday evening) 24 hours earlier. The major concern of West
Yorkshire Police is the ill-feeling generated between West Ham United and
Sheffield United supporters in the wake of the Lord Griffiths fiasco, in
which West Ham were ordered to pay the Blades a sum in the region of
£25million. That decision - plus the hypocritical behaviour of SUFC and its
fans during the long, drawn-out affair - has never sat well with the vast
majority of West Ham supporters. The two clubs are yet to meet on the field
of play since Griffiths' landmark decision was made some three years ago.

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Reading v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 9th December 2011
By: Preview Percy

Preview Percy has spent much of this week taking the mick out of all those
people people who recently discovered that their roots were in Manchester
all along, though his written request to the football authorities that a
minutes' uncontrollable laughter be observed before all matches this weekend
was, for some reason, ignored. Here are his usual warped thoughts on this
weekend's trip to Reading. If you hang around for a bit John Northcutt will
be along with some real facts....

Next we make the relatively short hop down the M4 where we face Reading for
a nicely traditional 3pm Saturday kick off. The match is being played at
London Irish's rugby ground which, as is the trend for modern stadia, is
plonked out on the edge of town in the middle of nowhere. There is a railway
line nearby but plans to do something useful like building a station there
seem to have been quietly ditched. So if you're going by train you'll need a
cab or shuttle bus from the main station – and don't bank on being able to
get a particular train home after the match.

There is, of course, a bit of history between the clubs, largely arising
from the faux-indignation stirred up by club owner John Madejski over the
departure of Alan Pardew to better things. The spottier element of their
support took it on themselves to get all upset about it. Of course whilst
all eyes were on West Ham, few outside Brighton noticed the unauthorised
talks with Steve Coppell that Madejski was holding all the time. Meanwhile,
inbetween bouts of spot-squeezing and keyboard warriorship, the one who
owned a printer thought it would be a great idea to print out loads of A4
sheets bearing the word "Judus" – either none of his mates had the heart to
tell him the correct spelling or, more likely, they didn't know either.
Somewhat more serious was the attitude of the club's staff who took it upon
themselves to deny entry the stadium to Hammers at one match for such
"crimes" as 'wearing a hat'. One teetotal supporter was even told that he
would not be allowed in as it was an offence to be drunk at a football
match. Prompted by this very website a few quiet words were had in the
club's shell like by the Football League, resulting in refunds all round. It
is to be hoped that the pettier element have grown up a bit in the years
that have passed. Or, at least, learned how to spell.

Our opponents currently lie in 12th spot having gleaned 27 points from their
20 matches so far this season. This leaves them five shy of a play-off place
and seven away from a slot in the bottom three. They've won three and drawn
three of their last six. The wins have come at home to Birmingham (1-0) and
Peterborough (3-2) and away at Ipswich (3-2), whilst the defeats have come
away at Forest and Blackpool (both 1-0) and at home to Cardiff (1-2). Their
overall home record has seen them win three draw four and lose three from
the 10 matches staged on home turf giving them 13 points from a possible 30
in Berkshire.

The manager is Brian McDermott. He took over from the Swansea-bound Brendan
Rogers in December 2009 having done time in the scouting, youth and reserve
team sections before his elevation to the manager's chair. He guided them to
the play-off final last season where his former boss Rogers got the better
of him in a 4-2 win.

Whilst on the subject of managerial matters, though not strictly relevant to
this match, it should be noted that Eamonn Dolan is currently at the helm on
the Academy side of things. Dolan made a few appearances up front for us in
the late 1980's without ever (and I'm sure he'd be the first to agree)
really looking like a top flight player. His career came to a shuddering
halt in 1993 when, whilst at Exeter, he was diagnosed with cancer. Happily
he beat that particular opponent and performed a number of roles for the
Grecians, including a spell as manager before moving up to Reading in 2004
where he has been running the youth set-up ever since.

About this time of the review I normally take a look at the opposition
squad. This usually takes the form of my looking for the strange, the
unusual and, often downright criminal elements that we might be
encountering. However, this week I am going to combine this with one of my
rants against muppet things that ought to have no place in football. This
may, in time, become a regular feature which, after a long spell sucking on
a thoughtful Werthers Original I have decided to call "Rants Against Muppet
Things That Ought To Have No Place In Football". In assembling my research
material for this match I got Nurse Rita (I say "nurse" – she has a uniform
of sorts) to connect me to the Reading squad list on the electric computer
thing. I instantly saw something that qualified for this section. You see
(and Reading are not the only guilty ones in this respect) they list "their
fans" as having the no.13 squad number. This is on a cringe-making par with
playing music after goals. However, given that their average gates are about
5-6k down on those that used to turn up when they were in the Premiership
one can only assume that the no.13 has returned to Chelsea (their parent
club) and is currently out on loan at QPR where, at least, they won't need a
change of shirt. Anyway, "fans" listed in the squad list, definitely a
Muppet Thing That Has No Place In Football.

Getting back to the part of the squad that is still there, keeping goal will
be Aussie 'keeper Adam Federici. Although he has been with the Biscuitmen
since 2005, it is only in relative recent years that he has become the first
choice, with Septic Marcus Hahnemann usually being the club's default
option. Hahnemann's departure before the start of 2009/10 finally gave
Federici the chance to claim the spot and he has been their principal no.1
ever since. At international level it's been a similar story for Federici,
for whom international caps have been hard to come by with Mark Schwarzer in
the squad. Although he went to the 2010 World Cup he never got off the
bench, though he did start a recent "Socceroo" (ghastly name) World Cup
qualifier against Oman.

Veteran defender Ian Harte is still plying his trade in defence. I will
admit to raising a surprised eyebrow when I discovered that he is in fact
only 34 years old – he seems to have been around for so long that I had him
down for a good 3 or four years older than that. Harte came to prominence in
the Ridsdale era at Leeds when he was part of the team that made it all the
way to the so-called Champions League semi finals. He has always been noted
for having a decent shot at set pieces and has been known to take the odd
spot-kick as well.

The skipper is ex-Hammer Jobi McAnuff. McAnuff was part of the job lot of
players signed from what was then called Wimbledon during their spell of
playing-in-but-not-being called Milton Keynes. His fellow team mates
arriving in the same cab in January 2004 were Nigel Reo-Coker and Adam
Nowland. Always something of a fringe player during his short spell at the
Boleyn, he left during the following summer window for Cardiff as players
were transferred out to raise money for new signings. Spells at Palace and
Watford then followed before he followed his old Watford boss Brendan Rogers
to Reading in 2009. Somewhere in the McAnuff attic gathering dust is a
solitary cap for Jamaica gained all the way back in 2002 during his
Wimbledon days. He missed Reading's last match, the 1-0 defeat up at
Blackpool, his 5 bookings in his 19 league and cup appearances earning him
the week off from competitive football.

Also in midfield they boast Mikele Leigertwood. Leigertwood arrived from QPR
in November 2010 on loan with the deal finally becoming permanent in the
last summer window. Along with his QPR boss, Leigertwood was part of the
Sheffield United set up who managed to blow a ten point advantage to get
themselves relegated in 2006/07, a statistic that one will never tire of
repeating. I see his old boss has this week been mouthing off about
Liverpool's role in Sheffield United's relegation that season. Never your
fault is it Warnock.

Up front, the departure of alleged Hammers target Shane Long, has seen a
fair bit of responsibility for keeping the scoreboard ticking over land on
the shoulders of Simon "Charlotte" Church. Church joined Reading back in
2003 at the age of 14, his registration being handed over by Wycombe
Wanderers as part of the deal that took Nathan Tyson to Bucks. As he
progressed he spent spells on loan at a number of clubs, including Leyton
Orient, finally getting first team experience as the likes of Dave Kitson
and Kevin Doyle were transferred out. He's found the back of the net three
times this season. Capped by Wales at full level, there is a senior FIFA
committee investigating whether or not his first goal for his country should
actually count as it only came against Scotland.

Also up front is Adam Le Fondre who came in from Rotherham in August for a
reported fee of £350,000. Despite the exotic (well French anyway) surname Le
Fondre is a Stockport-born Englishman who rejoices in the splendid real
first name of Glenville. As with Brighton's Mackail-Smith, Le Fondre is one
of those players who seemed to score every week whenever I happened across
those highlights programmes in recent years. Whether or not this impression
was partly influenced by his unusual surname – not to many of those in
Rotherham I'd wager – is a valid question. Maybe he wouldn't have registered
on my radar with the name Smith. However, he did notch up slightly better
than a goal every other game for the Millers during his spell there and he
is the Biscuitmen's top scorer with five (all in the league so far this
season).

And so a few words about us. Injury news is that Matt Taylor's going to be
sidelined for a few weeks having retired hurt during the Burnley match.
However, they think they've found the cause of the calf problems he's been
having which may result in a speedier than hoped for return. Baldock has a
couple of weeks to go, as does Reid.

On the brighter side, the return to action in midweek of Gary O'Neil was a
most welcome sight, given the seriousness of the injury that kept him out
for so long. He's still a long way from first team action of course but his
Development Squad run out will have done him a power of good
psychologically. Also back in the 3-0 win over Brentford was Henri Lansbury,
who is more likely to feature over the festive period.

Last week's setback was, one hopes, a minor one. The defeat of Southampton
at Doncaster meant that there was no harm done to the Championship-winning
aspirations, though as the grumpiest resident of the Avram Grant Rest Home
for the Bewildered (a title for which competition is intense) I will admit
that my own main focus on the league table is firmly fixed on the gap
between us and third, which is three points and some goal difference at
present. I will be slightly happier with a few more wins – another 9 points
should see us clear from relegation I reckon.

Of course we did have our chances against Burnley – we probably need a new
set of goalposts for a start - and I'm still wondering how Nolan missed that
sitter in the first half. For all the chances I would say that we looked a
bit flat – especially towards the end of the match. Understandably so I
suppose, given that it was the third game in a week that had seen them
travel up to Boro' and back. The return to just having Saturday fixture will
hopefully have given the players a spot of recovery time using whatever the
latest technology is in vogue at the moment. I believe Mr Allardyce is a fan
of freezing the bits off the players using some sort of reverse microwave
thing at the moment. The staff at this rest home achieve much the same
effect by not turning the heating on.

Prediction? I dunno why you bother asking quite frankly. Unless it's simply
to avoid betting on anything I've forecast which, I suppose, is a pretty
sensible way of doing things. The rest will have done us good – a few days
ago I was thinking about the draw but on reflection I think I'll chance my
arm at a 2-1 away win with Blackpool sneaking a surprise point at whatever
the Dell is called these days.

When last we met: : Our last visit to Berkshire in September 2007 saw us run
out 3-0 winners with goals from Etherington (2) and Bellamy. A miss from
Etherington prompted chants of "he's got a bet on 2-0" before he messed that
theory up by adding the third. The return fixture at the Boleyn on Boxing
Day 2007 saw us draw 1-1 with a goal from Nobby Solano.

Danger man: Adam Le Fondre Despite the third-rate actor-style name,
Glenville is their top scorer and has a decent career track record over the
years. Keep an eye out.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick Last seen at the Boleyn doing what seemed to be our
traditional 3rd round of the cup match against Barnsley back in January. Has
been easing his way into the Premiership over the past 12 months or so – he
handled the 0-0 draw between Swansea & Villa last weekend.

Daft fact of the week: I sent Nurse Rita over to the electric computer with
the instruction to "find something interesting about Reading". She came back
with the information that the average American has a reading speed of 200
words a minute, though she didn't say whether that was with or without their
lips moving.

I sent her away again and she returned with the fact that former Reading
striker Dave Kitson once claimed to be able to recite the whole of Macbeth,
which just goes to show he wasn't completely useless. Unlike Nurse Rita.
Nice uniform though.

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Reading v West Ham preview
Last updated: 9th December 2011
SSN

Team news ahead of Saturday's Championship clash between Reading and West
Ham at the Madejski Stadium. Jobi McAnuff returns for Reading after missing
last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Blackpool through suspension. He is likely to
return to the starting line-up in place of Hal Robson-Kanu. Brynjar
Gunnarsson continues to miss out with the calf strain he picked up in a
reserve-team fixture, but full-back Joseph Mills is fit once more and will
challenge Ian Harte for the left-back slot. Striker Noel Hunt has recovered
from a head injury to be available for selection. Otherwise, manager Brian
McDermott has no new injury or suspension worries ahead of the clash with
Hammers. Young forward Nicholas Bignall does remain sidelined, however, as
he continues his recovery from the knee surgery which curtailed his loan
spell at Wycombe.

West Ham, meanwhile, look set to be without Matt Taylor. The midfielder,
only recently back after a month out with torn muscles in both calves,
limped off against Burnley last week with another calf problem. Defender
Winston Reid remains on the sidelines with a shoulder injury and striker Sam
Baldock is missing due to a hamstring problem. But the Hammers have been
boosted by the news Henri Lansbury and Gary O'Neil are on the mend. On-loan
Arsenal midfielder Lansbury has been out since August with a knee problem
while winger O'Neil has yet to feature this season due to a serious ankle
injury but both stepped up their fitness bids by playing for the reserves
this week.

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Nolan holds no grudges
Former Magpie looking forward to life with new club
Last Updated: December 9, 2011 5:31pm
SSN

West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan insists he does not hold any grudges about his
Newcastle exit but admits at the time he was sad to leave the club. The
midfielder surprisingly joined the relegated Hammers this summer after
failing to agree the long-term contract extension that he wanted at St
James' Park. But he now insists the matter is 'water under the bridge' and
he is instead focusing on helping the Hammers push for promotion under boss
Sam Allardyce. He told Sky Sports News: "At that time, emotion's running
high because everything what you feel that you've done, you have put all
your effort to make sure that you get what you deserve really.

Betrayed

"And when you speak to people and they tell you one thing and then do the
complete opposite, you are going to feel betrayed. "But look, that's water
under the bridge. I'm absolutely delighted that they're doing well. "I've
got a lot of good friends up there and I'm delighted that Newcastle are up
where they belong and the fans are where they belong. "It's water under the
bridge for me now, I'm quite happy where I am now. I've got a great manager,
a great bunch of lads and then the owners have been fantastic with me so
life moves on and I'm not one of those men who holds grudges for too long
anyway."

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Big Sam admits Anelka interest
But Hammers boss will wait until summer for veteran striker
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo. Last Updated:
December 9, 2011 3:48pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed his interest in signing wantaway
Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. Anelka is set to leave Stamford Bridge after
having a transfer request accepted by Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas. The
Frenchman is thought to have agreed a move to Chinese outfit Shanghai
Shenhua and will quit West London when the transfer window reopens in
January. However, Allardyce, who worked with Anelka at Bolton, admits he is
keeping tabs on the striker's situation, although he concedes he would only
move for the 32-year-old on a free transfer in the summer rather than next
month.

Quality

"If Nicolas is available, I'd be massively interested," Allardyce told The
Sun. "I've not contacted Chelsea and am just looking at the situation with
January looming.
"It would be an end-of-season pursuit rather than next month. "We need to
get into the Premier League - and then we'd have a better chance of signing
someone of Nicolas' quality."

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Karren Brady's football diary
The Sun
KARREN BRADY - First lady of football
Published: Today

Saturday, December 3
ALMOST from the day he walked out on Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill has been
itching to return as a manager. He's impressive, no doubt about that, and by
the way his eyes peer unblinkingly behind his disciplinarian's specs there's
clearly a boss in there, efficient as a million-dollar timepiece. If
Sunderland, his boyhood favourites, could appoint a man as a guarantee
against relegation, they've found him. But there's no way he'll come cheap,
not only as the gaffer but, as Villa discovered, a buyer of high-class
players. At 59, he is desperate to create a legend in England. And I think
he will.

Sunday, December 4
SEB LARSSON is one of the most decent and honest footballers I have met. So
what on earth was he doing acting out an acrobatic leap at Wolves? The
penalty was missed, Sunderland were beaten and you might say justice was
done. But that misses the point. In his case, the loss was more than three
points, it was a chunk of his integrity, too.

Monday, December 5
THE awards season is upon us with no Briton in the global contest for the
best players. I don't think there's one who would make the top 10 at the
moment, maybe Wayne Rooney on the fringe. That the three in line for FIFA's
Ballon d'Or — Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — all play in La Liga
puts the claim that our Premier League is the best under close scrutiny. I
suspect the most attractive football is played in Spain but the most
competitive here. My award for the funniest fans, though, goes to Bulgaria's
who voted their Prime Minister as Footballer of the Year. He's 52 and plays
occasionally for a third division club. Ed Balls for England, I say.

Tuesday, December 6
SENSATIONAL news that Darren Bent has touched the ball an average of 24.6
times a match this season. Have Villa sent Bent to Coventry? Has he been
auditioning for the Invisible Man? Playing striker for Villa at the moment
must be a bit like the percussionist in an orchestra who waits impatiently
for his single bong on the big bass drum. I don't want to add to Alex
McLeish's current burdens but the statistic must be a worry to him, and his
midfield as well.

Wednesday, December 7
WATCHING both halves of Manchester sink, it struck me how sensible it is of
David Beckham to decide he never wishes to be a manager. So much easier,
after all, to remain a poster boy for half-a-dozen years, then go into
something easier like becoming king or even making Victoria smile. I noticed
something about Becks the other day. Whereas previously he has used the word
"different" as in "I think different," this time it was "I think
differently" which suggests he's been having English lessons as well as
vocal coaching. Perhaps his ultimate aim then is to be a kind of ambassador
for everything from tight underpants to leading a World Cup bid — to out-Coe
the great Lord Coe.

Thursday, December 8
OWNERSHIP of footballers as in the case of Carlos Tevez was outlawed by the
Premier League but is still allowed in many nations in UEFA. The Tevez
affair cost West Ham around £30million, so I would be expected to hate the
system — and I do. Now it seems UEFA will allow clubs to discount what is
called 'third party' ownership when their new Financial Fair Play rules come
into force the season after next. Under these, clubs must break even or face
a ban from the Champions League. If we're not careful the day will come when
bits of a player will be owned by all sorts of people, rather as racehorses
can be. The Premier League must fight it.

Friday, December 9
MAYBE I am going a bit dopey here but I believe Spurs are going to be Man
City's chief challenger for the title. There can be no better news for
English football than two clubs emerging to contest the championship of a
competition that was far too predictable at the top. Spurs often play more
like Man U than Man U are at the moment and I really do feel they have a
chance. When you remember how well Spurs did in the Champions League last
season compared with City this, then you can guess that Harry Redknapp's
team will stay the full course — oh, yes, injuries permitting.

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It's a rum do for Allardyce
By JUSTIN ALLEN
Published: Today
The Sun

THEY drank rum before kick-off, played 'floodlit' games using household
light-bulbs and charged fourpence for entry. zeet the 1898 Thames Ironworks
team — now known as West Ham. That was the last time the EastEnders won
seven of their first 10 away league games. Today, at Reading, Sam
Allardyce's men can make it eight out of 11 on the road. And Big Sam — who
would not look out of place in an Ironworks team photo — admits he may not
have frowned upon a Victorian player having a drop of rum before games. He
said: "If you look at it scientifically, alcohol is a stimulant and even
when I played I drank a shot of whisky before kick-off. It was encouraged
and a lot of players did. "Luckily, there are plenty of more suitable
stimulating drinks now — so I wouldn't recommend my players necking rum, not
on an empty stomach anyway!" But the thought of swapping trips to Doncaster
and Peterborough with awaydays at Old Trafford and Anfield next season is
stimulating enough. Yet the Hammers' away form — just one defeat — contrasts
starkly to three loses and two draws at Upton Park. Allardyce said:
"Normally the away stats are not the most productive for a successful team.
But our form away has been superb — overcoming not only the opposition but
the intimidation of the home fans.
"Generally there's not as great a pressure or expectation to win as there is
at home and the emphasis is on our opponents to attack. "Our team has been
superb at exploiting space and opportunities, and punishing the opposition.
We've become a good footballing team, tactically astute and been clinical
with our finishing."

Big Sam, who has settled into a plush Canary Wharf apartment with his wife
Lynn, is loving life in East London. He said: "West Ham is exactly what I
thought. There is great demand from the fans, especially at home. We get
great support but they'll tell you when they're not happy. "The one thing
that has surprised me is the huge following we get - home and away - despite
being in the Championship." Allardyce says he is never grumpy after a defeat
— thanks to his missus. He said: "In my younger years, it was tough. But
Lynn would say, 'Don't be daft, you lost a game of football. If you carry on
like that you're only going to pass that on to the team and they'll play
worse.' "So, after a defeat, like against Burnley last week, a game we
dominated, I first got over it. "Then I analysed the situation so I could
feed that to the players for the next game."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Giant striker is a big hit at West Ham
Published 21:30 09/12/11 By Alan Nixon
The Mirror

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is set to snap up giant striker Habib Habibou –
after a stunning display on trial. Habibou, a powerful 6ft 4in hitman, comes
from the Central African Republic and plays for Belgian club Waregem. He
banged in a couple of goals invv a reserve game against Brentford. Allardyce
has always had an eye for a bargain and could snap up the 24-year-old in a
bargain deal to boost his promotion push. Habibou has a Belgian passport and
would jump at a move. Allardyce takes his Hammers side to Reading on
Saturday, with fit-again midfielder Henri Lansbury hoping for an instant
recall. The on-loan Arsenal man was crocked in the 1-0 defeat at Southampton
in October 18 but came through the second-string game against the Bees on
Tuesday and declared he was ready to reclaim a first-team berth.
Lansbury said: "I had no problems. It's always good to see the team doing
well and it's good to fight for ­positions."

Reading manager Brian ­McDermott has virtually a fully-fit squad to choose
from. Brynjar Gunnarsson is the only injured player but was unlikely to be
in the starting 11 even if available. A crowd of around 24,000 is expected
to watch mid-table Royals try to peg back second-placed Hammers. The game
marks a return to the Madejski Stadium for former defensive coach Wally
Downes. He played a key role in helping Steve Coppell guide Reading into the
top flight and is now hoping to do the same for Allardyce. Skipper Jobi
McAnuff is set to return for the Royals after completing a one-match
­suspension following five bookings. Defenders Alex Pearce and Kaspars
Gorkss are in danger of suffering the same fate as they are both on four
yellow cards. "I don't need to warn them about that," said McDermott. "They
know the situation. "Some of their bookings have been soft but I can't
criticise them if the bookings are for tackles, only for something like
dissent. "If they do have to miss a match that's why we have a squad."

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