Jarvis hoping Hammers will kick on
WHUFC.com
West Ham United winger Matt Jarvis is looking upward after Saturday's win
over Swansea City
04.02.2013
Matt Jarvis expects West Ham United's victory over Swansea City to provide
the perfect springboard for a renewed charge towards a top-half Barclays
Premier League finish. Saturday's timely 1-0 success, a first win in seven
in all competitions, saw the Hammers move on to 30 points, with some 13
league contests still to be negotiated. Sam Allardyce's side have now
amassed six league wins at the Boleyn Ground this term and Jarvis reckons
their home performances have warranted even greater rewards. "We've been
playing well at home and creating all the chances, but maybe not getting the
results we wanted or deserved," he explained. "Getting the 1-0 win on
Saturday is a massive boost to us. It takes us to 30 points and we can push
on from there. "We just have to keep doing exactly what we have been,
creating the chances and hope that one goes in. This time Andy [Carroll] got
a great header and it proved to be the 1-0 win we needed. It's a good three
points to move on to next week, which will be a tough game away at Villa.
But we're looking to go there full of confidence and get another result."
As well as three precious points, West Ham's club-record signing was just as
pleased with a first clean sheet since a goalless draw at West Bromwich
Albion in December. The shutout was all the more satisfying against the
in-form Swans and Jarvis pointed to his team's endeavour in protecting Jussi
Jaaskelainen's goal.
"Swansea are a great passing team and you've seen the results recently,
that's why they're up there in the league," he added. "We had to really play
well and defend well as a team to stop them getting the chances and I don't
think they really created too much. As for match-winner Carroll, Jarvis
welcomed the return of the 6'3'' striker, insisting his enthusiasm on the
pitch is something to behold. "He's a great player, he wants to go and
contest every ball, every cross, every goal-kick, every corner, everything!
It's great to have him back in the team."
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Maguire scoops Ireland prize
WHUFC.com
West Ham United striker honoured at FAI International Football Awards
04.02.2013
West Ham United striker Sean Maguire was honoured at the Football
Association of Ireland's International Awards on Sunday when he was named as
the FAI Schools International Player of the Year. The 18-year-old has
represented his country up to Under-19 level and joined the Hammers in
January after impressing for Waterford United. He is in his country's
Under-19 squad for their double header of friendlies with the Czech Republic
this week and collected his prize at the 23rd running of the Three FAI
International Football Awards. Bolton Wanderers midfielder Keith Andrews
took the main prize at the award ceremony in Dublin, being named as the
Republic of Ireland's Senior International Player of the Year.
The full list of award winners was:
3 International Goal of the Year: Kevin Doyle (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Senior International Player of the Year: Keith Andrews (Bolton Wanderers)
Young International Player of the Year: James McCarthy (Wigan Athletic)
Airtricity League Player of the Year: Jason McGuinness (Shamrock Rovers)
Senior Women's International Player of the Year: Emma Byrne (Arsenal)
Under 21 International Player of the Year: Robbie Brady (Hull City)
Under 19 International Player of the Year: Anthony Forde (Wolverhampton
Wanderers)
Under 19 Women's International Player of the Year: Emma Hansberry (Castlebar
Celtic)
Under 17 International Player of the Year: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Under 17 Women's International Player of the Year: Lauren Dwyer (Wexford
Ladies)
Under 16 International Player of the Year: Noe Baba (Fulham)
Under 15 International Player of the Year: James Talbot (Home Farm)
Junior International Player of the Year: Adrian Walsh (Carrick United)
Intermediate Player of the Year: David O'Sullivan (Wayside Celtic)
Football for All International Player of the Year: Davy Byrne (Irish
Homeless World Cup Team)
FAI Schools International Player of the Year: Sean Maguire (CBS Kilkenny)
Hall of Fame: Kevin Sheedy
International Personality: Zbigniew Boniek
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Paulista on target again
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 4th February 2013
By: Staff Writer
Wellington Paulista grabbed his second goal in as many games - but couldn't
prevent the Development Squad from falling to defeat against Tottenham.
The Brazilian striker, who opened his account for West Ham in last week's
2-0 win over Arsenal was on target again at Bulls Cross as Nick Hancock's
side made their second outing in the Premier League Elite Group. However
West Ham were beaten 3-2 on the day by a strong Spurs side, who now have
seven points from their opening three outings in the new under 21's league.
Jonathan Obika - who happens to be the cousin of R&B singer Lemar - gave the
home side a 28th minute lead when he converted a Harry Kane cross. However
West Ham were back on level terms two minutes ahead of the half time whistle
through Elliott Lee, who had been played in by Matthias Fanimo.
Just 90 seconds later Tottenham regained the lead when Kane - who was part
of the Norwich team that drew 0-0 with Sam Allardyce's first team at Carrow
Road last September - beat West Ham goalkeeper Jake Larkins from distance.
But Hancock's side restored parity for a second time 12 minutes into the
second period when Paulista, grabiing his second goal for West Ham converted
Lee's centre.
However it was to be the home side who grabbed all three points courtesy of
a 69th minute winner from Australian youth international Giancarlo
Gallifuoco. The 19-year-old midfielder met Cristian Ceballos' cross which he
nodded home to secure a second win of the campaign for Tottenham.
* The Development Squad clash with Manchester United scheduled for Friday,
1st March will now take place at the Boleyn Ground.
West Ham Utd: Larkins, Driver, Shaw, Spence, Ruddock, Moncur, Lletget,
Nasha, Paulista, Lee, Fanimo.
Substitutes: Bywater, Howes, Miles, Onariase, Mavila.
Tottenham: Miles, Fredericks, Fryers, Luongo, Gallifuoco, Veljkovic,
Ceballos, Carroll, Obika, Kane, Parrett.
Substitutes: Stewart, Priestley, Byrne, Bostock.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce unsure on Andy Carroll's future
Last Updated: February 4, 2013 12:02pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he will wait until the end of the season
before making a decision on the future of Andy Carroll. The striker scored
just the second goal of his season-long loan from Liverpool, which has been
badly disrupted by injury, in Saturday's 1-0 win against Swansea. Hammers
co-owner David Sullivan confirmed on Friday that an agreement had already
been reached with Liverpool to sign Carroll on a permanent basis, although
they were yet to agree terms with the player. But despite praising Carroll's
ability, Allardyce admits he is uncertain whether the club will be able to
secure the 24-year-old's signature permanently. "You always want a top class
centre forward," Allardyce told talkSPORT. "There are not many of Andy
Carroll's type. The sad thing for football is that it now seems
unfashionable to have a big centre forward in your team, which really
disappoints me." "I know he's been short on goals and he's had a disrupted
season, but he'll only get better if he's got a settled future, whether
that's with us or not [I don't know]. "It would be a long process though. We
will have a conversation at the end of the season with Andy and Liverpool.
It all depends on how he feels and what he does between now and the end of
the season. "It's also about where Andy thinks his future lies. He hasn't
thought about that yet, he just wants to play as much as he can. "There are
not many of Andy Carroll's type. The sad thing for football is that it now
seems unfashionable to have a big centre forward in your team, which really
disappoints me. "It excites people when you see him rise above everybody
else to get the ball in the back of the net. "I've known him since he was a
youngster. I could see the talent that he had and that talent flourished
very quickly into Liverpool paying £35million for him. It didn't work there
for whatever reason but he's such a young man, who's desperate to play
football and do well."
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West Ham winger Matt Jarvis urges team-mates to push on
Last Updated: February 4, 2013 10:44pm
SSN
Matt Jarvis hopes West Ham United will be able to build on their 1-0 win
over Swansea City and go on to enjoy a successful second half to the season.
Andy Carroll's late goal secured victory for the hosts at Upton Park and
took the Hammers to the 30-point mark for the season, with 13 games still to
play. Jarvis was delighted with the result but has urged his team-mates to
follow it up with another solid performance at Aston Villa on Sunday. "We've
been playing well at home and creating all the chances, but maybe not
getting the results we wanted or deserved," he told the club's official
website. "Getting the 1-0 win on Saturday is a massive boost to us. It takes
us to 30 points and we can push on from there. "We just have to keep doing
exactly what we have been, creating the chances and hope that one goes in.
This time Andy got a great header and it proved to be the 1-0 win we needed.
"It's a good three points to move on to next week, which will be a tough
game away at Villa. But we're looking to go there full of confidence and get
another result." Jarvis reserved special praise for Carroll after he
produced an impressive display up front against the Swans. "He's a great
player, he wants to go and contest every ball, every cross, every goal-kick,
every corner, everything! It's great to have him back in the team," said
Jarvis.
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Turgott extends Bantams stay
Last Updated: February 4, 2013 4:41pm
SSN
Bradford have agreed with West Ham to extend teenage winger Blair Turgott's
loan spell for a second time. The 18-year-old, currently away with the
England Under-19s squad ahead of Tuesday night's friendly against Denmark,
will stay with the Bantams until March 3. Turgott originally joined Bradford
on loan for a month at the end of November before agreeing to the first
extension at the beginning of January. He missed Saturday's 2-2 draw at
Fleetwood due to international duty, but has made four starts for Phil
Parkinson's side and seven appearances off the bench during his time in West
Yorkshire.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Tuesday, February 5
Monday, February 4
Daily WHUFC News - 4th February 2013
Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was suitably impressed with West Ham United's first clean sheet of 2013
03.02.2013
Sam Allardyce will be hoping West Ham United can replicate their dominant display from the Swansea City match when they visit Aston Villa on Sunday. Big Sam's side were thoroughly good value for their 1-0 win against The Swans on Saturday, with a relentlessly offensive display matched only by a defensive team effort that was far more reminiscent of the side that had looked so hard to score against earlier this season. The West Ham United manager clearly felt that goals had been offered up to cheaply in the recent away games at Arsenal and Aston Villa, so after some detailed analysis and hard work on the Chadwell Heath training pitches, he was delighted to see his team stand tall to thwart the usually potent Swansea attack. "We were compact as a unit, getting back to how we know we can defend together," Allardyce said. "When you see that Swansea had not lost for seven games and one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League in Michu has been limited to little or no chances, it tells you that it must be the basis of any team being successful. "Clean sheets are hugely important and of course if you keep one and score a goal it means you win the game. Nothing you can do can be better than that other than when you look at a game like Saturday's and think it should have been two or three goals to the good rather than one."
Andy Carroll scored the only goal of the game to cap an energetic display, but his performance was not just about goalscoring as he set up a series of chances for his team-mates and in particular Kevin Nolan, who was unlucky not to register with two fine efforts that were saved by Gerhard Tremmel in the Swansea goal. The Hammers captain and the on-loan Liverpool striker were up to their old tricks again straight from kick-off and combined to cause Michael Laudrup's side no end of problems. "Kevin is ultimately disappointed that he hasn't put either of his two chances in the back of the net," Big Sam explained, "you've got to give the goalkeeper a lot of credit for the saves he made but Kevin will always be disappointed when he's in that position that he didn't score. "Andy and Kevin seem to have this natural instinct when they play together. They didn't play for too long together at Newcastle but since he has been here, Kevin has got quite a few goals off Andy's play. "It wasn't just Andy's contribution to the game with the goal he scored but also the contribution in how well he helped the other lads create chances to score as well."
The West Ham No8 was making his first start since picking up a knee injury against Manchester United on 28 November and his return seemed to add an extra zest to the hosts' attacking play. With Carlton Cole, Modibo Maiga and Marouane Chamakh all an option to provide competition to Carroll, Big Sam is delighted with his bolstered striking options. "If your front man plays well then the team plays well. If the ball is held up well then the whole team can break well. The likes of Mo Diame, Matt Jarvis, Ricardo Vaz Te, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole can all go on from there and get in the opposition's box, take the full-backs on and sustain a bit of pressure on the opposition's back four. "What happens is if the ball is played up there and it doesn't stick then the lads stop making the runs, they start sitting back and waiting and then you don't get the forward movement that you'd like. "When you consider Andy has come back from nine weeks out, I'm impressed that he could last for the full 90 minutes. He played about 15 minutes at Fulham on Wednesday and we thought we'd get the first hour out of him and see how he was. We thought he might be walking around puffing and blowing but that wasn't the case. "If he can produce that when he hasn't played for nine weeks, when he gets on top of his match fitness, I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can produce."
Momo Diame also demonstrated that the media scrutiny he was subjected to during the January transfer window has not affected him with another blockbuster display in the heart of the Hammers' midfield. Big Sam reiterated how happy he is to have kept the Senegal international and is looking forward to helping him continue the improvement he has shown since he oined from Wigan in the summer. "You see a lot of ability in the way that he keeps the ball and wriggles his way past the opposition midfield, although sometimes he gets a little frustrated with his final shot or his pass. He's settled now the window is shut and he knows he's got to produce his best performances this season and to just keep enjoying his football."
Looking back at the window as a whole, Big Sam is happy with the work West Ham did and is looking forward to seeing what his improved squad can achieve in the remaining 13 Barclays Premier League games. "We got Wellington from Brazil and he may be the goalscorer we're looking for. We also got some cover from the back - Emanuel Pogatetz experienced Premier League football before playing in the German league for four or five years. "We all know what Joe Cole can do if we can keep him fit, Vaz Te's back from three months out and Matt Jarvis is starting to show the kind of form that he did at Wolves. Kevin Nolan is our leading goalscorer and could have scored a couple more on Saturday so if he keeps that up he'll get into double figures and if someone can get up and near him we'll be OK."
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Ladies lose out
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies suffer narrow FA Cup defeat at Leeds
03.02.2013
A stirring second half fightback was not enough to prolong West Ham United Ladies' FA Cup campaign as Julia Setford's team suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Leeds United in the third round on Saturday. The Hammers were slow out of the blocks in Yorkshire and trailed 3-0 to the FA Women's Premier League National Division side at the break. Leeds' double strike from Danielle Sheen and Hayley Sharp just before the interval, which allowed them to build on Carey Huegett's ninth minute opener, appeared to have killed the game off as a contest, but the visitors came roaring back in the second half and came so close to completing their comeback. A freak own goal from Leeds keeper Jules Draycott, after her sliced clearance was caught in the wind and flew back past her into the net, gave the Hammers hope, and Leeds' nerves were jangling 10 minutes from the end when Hannah Gowland finished neatly. But the visitors could not force an equaliser as Leeds' first half work proved enough to claim victory.
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Big Sam loves having 'top-class' Carroll available at West Ham
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
PUBLISHED: 23:58, 3 February 2013 | UPDATED: 23:58, 3 February 2013
Daily Mail
Sam Allardyce isn't the sort for showy demonstrations of affection, but he sounded as though he wanted to kiss Andy Carroll on Saturday evening. Carroll had battered Swansea's tippy-tappy kings in West Ham's 1-0 win despite it being his first start in nearly 10 weeks after injuring his left knee. 'There is no one of his type who is being thought about for England so if he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances you get picked, don't you?' said Allardyce when asked about his chances of an international recall. 'Everyone says that is playing to his head but it's not. It's playing to his feet or chest. He is good at holding the ball up and then you can break from there.'
For his part, Carroll, whose headed goal late on clinched the points, is glad to be back after his second serious injury this season. He said: 'It was very hard keeping sane, to be honest. Seeing all the lads go out training when I had to go to the gym and the treatment room, it was difficult. But I am back and I have got the goal.'
The challenge for Allardyce now is to keep Carroll fit. Then, it is to decide whether his form merits West Ham exercising their option to sign him permanently from Liverpool in the summer.
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Andy Carroll has 14 games to make up mind on future as West Ham beat Swansea City
West Ham United 1 Swansea City 0
JACK PITT-BROOKE SUNDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2013
The Independent
Andy Carroll's West Ham United career starts now. With 14 games left this season Carroll, finally fit, can focus on playing and scoring for the team to whom he is on loan, and where he could well move permanently in the summer ‑ if he enjoys himself.
If he replicates his performance on Saturday, when he dominated Swansea and scored the game's only goal – just "the tip of the iceberg" according to team-mate Matt Taylor – Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, hopes he can settle.
"I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and looking at the end of this season and asking himself 'what have I achieved here this season?' We just hope that he has an injury-free 14 games and produces better form. If he gets on top of his full match fitness I am looking forward to what he can produce," Allardyce said.
This was Carroll's first start for two months but Allardyce admitted he was "surprised" how fit he was. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday, you think, 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is'. Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. He made such a big contribution, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."
More of this and Carroll could well be picked again by England soon. "There is no one of his type who is being thought about being selected," Allardyce said. "If he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances in the Premier League you get picked again, don't you?"
Match facts
Goals: West Ham Carroll 77.
Substitutions: West Ham Cole (Jarvis, 62), O'Neil (Diame, 86), Pogatetz (Nolan, 90+2).
Swansea Moore (Britton, 57), Dyer (Routledge, 75).
Bookings: West Ham Vaz Te. Swansea Chico.
Man of the match Carroll.
Match rating 4/10.
Possession: West Ham 36%. Swansea 64%. Attempts on target: West Ham 7. Swansea 3. Referee L Probert (Wiltshire).
Attendance 34,962.
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Andy Carroll's endurance delights and surprises bubbly West Ham
• Sam Allardyce praises Andy Carroll's worth after winner
• Michael Laudrup upbeat despite Swansea defeat
Jacob Steinberg at Upton Park
The Guardian, Sunday 3 February 2013 22.29 GMT
The overriding emotion provoked by Liverpool's decision to spend £35m on Andy Carroll two years ago is still one of disbelief but for West Ham United he is worth his weight in gold. Sam Allardyce's side had toiled badly during his two-month absence, their form unravelling to the extent that there has even been talk of them being dragged into the dogfight down at the bottom, but Carroll's return was the catalyst for a richly deserved victory over Swansea City, West Ham's first since New Year's Day.
Michael Laudrup said he knew what to expect from West Ham – a direct, physical game centred around getting the ball forward quickly and profiting from set pieces – although he might have been surprised to see Carroll on the pitch when he headed Mark Noble's corner past Swansea's outstanding goalkeeper, Gerhard Tremmel, after 77 minutes.
Making his first start after his return from injury, the striker was not supposed to last 90 minutes yet his performance provided a reminder of what persuaded Liverpool to make him the most expensive English player of all time. Allardyce could not take him off.
"I was surprised," Allardyce said. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday and you think: 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is.' Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. There was no need to bring him off. He made such a big contribution with the way he played, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."
Last week West Ham's co-owner, David Sullivan, said that the club had an agreement with Liverpool to make Carroll's loan move permanent at the end of the season. Carroll still has to agree and Allardyce is not looking too far ahead yet. "I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and asking himself: 'What have I achieved here this season?'" he said. "The disappointment was being let go by Liverpool and the disappointment for us was that he had too many injuries. We just hope before we think about the end of the season that he has an injury-free 13 games."
For West Ham, this was a first clean sheet in 10 games and Allardyce praised his defence for snuffing out the threat of Michu, who has gone six games without scoring. Just as pleasing was the contribution made by Mohamed Diamé, whose release clause made him the subject of interest from Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur during the transfer window.
Relieved to have held on to the influential Senegalese midfielder, West Ham's challenge now is to agree a new deal with him. "I think he is settled," Allardyce said. "The window is shut now. He knows he has to produce his best performances from now until the end of the season and he just has to keep enjoying his football and then at the end of the season we can pick up where we left off at the end of this window and start talking again."
Despite a first defeat in seven matches, Laudrup was pleased with how Swansea had fared. The danger for them, with the Capital One Cup final against Bradford City three weeks away, is a loss of focus and Laudrup has warned his players not to rest on their laurels after their victory over Chelsea in the semi-final.
"We are talking about a major event for the club," he said. "Beating the European champions in two legs. I thought there would be a reaction and it hasn't arrived. I said it was important to be more mature as a team. Even as I said it I thought there would be a reaction but it didn't come.
"I don't like to lose, not even in training so imagine a game. It's several weeks since we last lost in the league and I think we have had a very positive run. Sometimes you will lose games and you have to get back on the horse."
Man of the match Andy Carroll (West Ham)
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WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was suitably impressed with West Ham United's first clean sheet of 2013
03.02.2013
Sam Allardyce will be hoping West Ham United can replicate their dominant display from the Swansea City match when they visit Aston Villa on Sunday. Big Sam's side were thoroughly good value for their 1-0 win against The Swans on Saturday, with a relentlessly offensive display matched only by a defensive team effort that was far more reminiscent of the side that had looked so hard to score against earlier this season. The West Ham United manager clearly felt that goals had been offered up to cheaply in the recent away games at Arsenal and Aston Villa, so after some detailed analysis and hard work on the Chadwell Heath training pitches, he was delighted to see his team stand tall to thwart the usually potent Swansea attack. "We were compact as a unit, getting back to how we know we can defend together," Allardyce said. "When you see that Swansea had not lost for seven games and one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League in Michu has been limited to little or no chances, it tells you that it must be the basis of any team being successful. "Clean sheets are hugely important and of course if you keep one and score a goal it means you win the game. Nothing you can do can be better than that other than when you look at a game like Saturday's and think it should have been two or three goals to the good rather than one."
Andy Carroll scored the only goal of the game to cap an energetic display, but his performance was not just about goalscoring as he set up a series of chances for his team-mates and in particular Kevin Nolan, who was unlucky not to register with two fine efforts that were saved by Gerhard Tremmel in the Swansea goal. The Hammers captain and the on-loan Liverpool striker were up to their old tricks again straight from kick-off and combined to cause Michael Laudrup's side no end of problems. "Kevin is ultimately disappointed that he hasn't put either of his two chances in the back of the net," Big Sam explained, "you've got to give the goalkeeper a lot of credit for the saves he made but Kevin will always be disappointed when he's in that position that he didn't score. "Andy and Kevin seem to have this natural instinct when they play together. They didn't play for too long together at Newcastle but since he has been here, Kevin has got quite a few goals off Andy's play. "It wasn't just Andy's contribution to the game with the goal he scored but also the contribution in how well he helped the other lads create chances to score as well."
The West Ham No8 was making his first start since picking up a knee injury against Manchester United on 28 November and his return seemed to add an extra zest to the hosts' attacking play. With Carlton Cole, Modibo Maiga and Marouane Chamakh all an option to provide competition to Carroll, Big Sam is delighted with his bolstered striking options. "If your front man plays well then the team plays well. If the ball is held up well then the whole team can break well. The likes of Mo Diame, Matt Jarvis, Ricardo Vaz Te, Kevin Nolan and Joe Cole can all go on from there and get in the opposition's box, take the full-backs on and sustain a bit of pressure on the opposition's back four. "What happens is if the ball is played up there and it doesn't stick then the lads stop making the runs, they start sitting back and waiting and then you don't get the forward movement that you'd like. "When you consider Andy has come back from nine weeks out, I'm impressed that he could last for the full 90 minutes. He played about 15 minutes at Fulham on Wednesday and we thought we'd get the first hour out of him and see how he was. We thought he might be walking around puffing and blowing but that wasn't the case. "If he can produce that when he hasn't played for nine weeks, when he gets on top of his match fitness, I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can produce."
Momo Diame also demonstrated that the media scrutiny he was subjected to during the January transfer window has not affected him with another blockbuster display in the heart of the Hammers' midfield. Big Sam reiterated how happy he is to have kept the Senegal international and is looking forward to helping him continue the improvement he has shown since he oined from Wigan in the summer. "You see a lot of ability in the way that he keeps the ball and wriggles his way past the opposition midfield, although sometimes he gets a little frustrated with his final shot or his pass. He's settled now the window is shut and he knows he's got to produce his best performances this season and to just keep enjoying his football."
Looking back at the window as a whole, Big Sam is happy with the work West Ham did and is looking forward to seeing what his improved squad can achieve in the remaining 13 Barclays Premier League games. "We got Wellington from Brazil and he may be the goalscorer we're looking for. We also got some cover from the back - Emanuel Pogatetz experienced Premier League football before playing in the German league for four or five years. "We all know what Joe Cole can do if we can keep him fit, Vaz Te's back from three months out and Matt Jarvis is starting to show the kind of form that he did at Wolves. Kevin Nolan is our leading goalscorer and could have scored a couple more on Saturday so if he keeps that up he'll get into double figures and if someone can get up and near him we'll be OK."
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Ladies lose out
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies suffer narrow FA Cup defeat at Leeds
03.02.2013
A stirring second half fightback was not enough to prolong West Ham United Ladies' FA Cup campaign as Julia Setford's team suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Leeds United in the third round on Saturday. The Hammers were slow out of the blocks in Yorkshire and trailed 3-0 to the FA Women's Premier League National Division side at the break. Leeds' double strike from Danielle Sheen and Hayley Sharp just before the interval, which allowed them to build on Carey Huegett's ninth minute opener, appeared to have killed the game off as a contest, but the visitors came roaring back in the second half and came so close to completing their comeback. A freak own goal from Leeds keeper Jules Draycott, after her sliced clearance was caught in the wind and flew back past her into the net, gave the Hammers hope, and Leeds' nerves were jangling 10 minutes from the end when Hannah Gowland finished neatly. But the visitors could not force an equaliser as Leeds' first half work proved enough to claim victory.
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Big Sam loves having 'top-class' Carroll available at West Ham
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
PUBLISHED: 23:58, 3 February 2013 | UPDATED: 23:58, 3 February 2013
Daily Mail
Sam Allardyce isn't the sort for showy demonstrations of affection, but he sounded as though he wanted to kiss Andy Carroll on Saturday evening. Carroll had battered Swansea's tippy-tappy kings in West Ham's 1-0 win despite it being his first start in nearly 10 weeks after injuring his left knee. 'There is no one of his type who is being thought about for England so if he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances you get picked, don't you?' said Allardyce when asked about his chances of an international recall. 'Everyone says that is playing to his head but it's not. It's playing to his feet or chest. He is good at holding the ball up and then you can break from there.'
For his part, Carroll, whose headed goal late on clinched the points, is glad to be back after his second serious injury this season. He said: 'It was very hard keeping sane, to be honest. Seeing all the lads go out training when I had to go to the gym and the treatment room, it was difficult. But I am back and I have got the goal.'
The challenge for Allardyce now is to keep Carroll fit. Then, it is to decide whether his form merits West Ham exercising their option to sign him permanently from Liverpool in the summer.
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Andy Carroll has 14 games to make up mind on future as West Ham beat Swansea City
West Ham United 1 Swansea City 0
JACK PITT-BROOKE SUNDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2013
The Independent
Andy Carroll's West Ham United career starts now. With 14 games left this season Carroll, finally fit, can focus on playing and scoring for the team to whom he is on loan, and where he could well move permanently in the summer ‑ if he enjoys himself.
If he replicates his performance on Saturday, when he dominated Swansea and scored the game's only goal – just "the tip of the iceberg" according to team-mate Matt Taylor – Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, hopes he can settle.
"I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and looking at the end of this season and asking himself 'what have I achieved here this season?' We just hope that he has an injury-free 14 games and produces better form. If he gets on top of his full match fitness I am looking forward to what he can produce," Allardyce said.
This was Carroll's first start for two months but Allardyce admitted he was "surprised" how fit he was. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday, you think, 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is'. Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. He made such a big contribution, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."
More of this and Carroll could well be picked again by England soon. "There is no one of his type who is being thought about being selected," Allardyce said. "If he stays fit and keeps putting in top-class performances in the Premier League you get picked again, don't you?"
Match facts
Goals: West Ham Carroll 77.
Substitutions: West Ham Cole (Jarvis, 62), O'Neil (Diame, 86), Pogatetz (Nolan, 90+2).
Swansea Moore (Britton, 57), Dyer (Routledge, 75).
Bookings: West Ham Vaz Te. Swansea Chico.
Man of the match Carroll.
Match rating 4/10.
Possession: West Ham 36%. Swansea 64%. Attempts on target: West Ham 7. Swansea 3. Referee L Probert (Wiltshire).
Attendance 34,962.
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Andy Carroll's endurance delights and surprises bubbly West Ham
• Sam Allardyce praises Andy Carroll's worth after winner
• Michael Laudrup upbeat despite Swansea defeat
Jacob Steinberg at Upton Park
The Guardian, Sunday 3 February 2013 22.29 GMT
The overriding emotion provoked by Liverpool's decision to spend £35m on Andy Carroll two years ago is still one of disbelief but for West Ham United he is worth his weight in gold. Sam Allardyce's side had toiled badly during his two-month absence, their form unravelling to the extent that there has even been talk of them being dragged into the dogfight down at the bottom, but Carroll's return was the catalyst for a richly deserved victory over Swansea City, West Ham's first since New Year's Day.
Michael Laudrup said he knew what to expect from West Ham – a direct, physical game centred around getting the ball forward quickly and profiting from set pieces – although he might have been surprised to see Carroll on the pitch when he headed Mark Noble's corner past Swansea's outstanding goalkeeper, Gerhard Tremmel, after 77 minutes.
Making his first start after his return from injury, the striker was not supposed to last 90 minutes yet his performance provided a reminder of what persuaded Liverpool to make him the most expensive English player of all time. Allardyce could not take him off.
"I was surprised," Allardyce said. "Obviously, you see a player come back from nine weeks out and then play 15 minutes against Fulham on Wednesday and you think: 'Come on, let's get the first hour out of him and see how he is.' Generally you will see them walking around that bit more and puffing and blowing, but that wasn't the case. He seemed really fresh and really excited that he was playing. There was no need to bring him off. He made such a big contribution with the way he played, helping the other lads get in for chances, and the fact he scored the goal."
Last week West Ham's co-owner, David Sullivan, said that the club had an agreement with Liverpool to make Carroll's loan move permanent at the end of the season. Carroll still has to agree and Allardyce is not looking too far ahead yet. "I think it's about Andy enjoying his football between now and the end of the season and asking himself: 'What have I achieved here this season?'" he said. "The disappointment was being let go by Liverpool and the disappointment for us was that he had too many injuries. We just hope before we think about the end of the season that he has an injury-free 13 games."
For West Ham, this was a first clean sheet in 10 games and Allardyce praised his defence for snuffing out the threat of Michu, who has gone six games without scoring. Just as pleasing was the contribution made by Mohamed Diamé, whose release clause made him the subject of interest from Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur during the transfer window.
Relieved to have held on to the influential Senegalese midfielder, West Ham's challenge now is to agree a new deal with him. "I think he is settled," Allardyce said. "The window is shut now. He knows he has to produce his best performances from now until the end of the season and he just has to keep enjoying his football and then at the end of the season we can pick up where we left off at the end of this window and start talking again."
Despite a first defeat in seven matches, Laudrup was pleased with how Swansea had fared. The danger for them, with the Capital One Cup final against Bradford City three weeks away, is a loss of focus and Laudrup has warned his players not to rest on their laurels after their victory over Chelsea in the semi-final.
"We are talking about a major event for the club," he said. "Beating the European champions in two legs. I thought there would be a reaction and it hasn't arrived. I said it was important to be more mature as a team. Even as I said it I thought there would be a reaction but it didn't come.
"I don't like to lose, not even in training so imagine a game. It's several weeks since we last lost in the league and I think we have had a very positive run. Sometimes you will lose games and you have to get back on the horse."
Man of the match Andy Carroll (West Ham)
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Sunday, February 3
Daily WHUFC News - 3rd February 2013
Big Sam hails big Andy!
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was all smiles after Andy Carroll's bullet header secured a
first win since New Year's Day
02.02.2013
Sam Allardyce raised his glass to Andy Carroll after the striker's
second-half header secured a welcome 1-0 Barclays Premier League win over
Swansea City.
Having enjoyed a brandy at the close of the transfer window on Thursday, the
manager admitted he planned to have a glass of red wine after the Hammers
recorded their first victory since New Year's Day. Big Sam's team were
outstanding against the Capital One Cup finalists and would have won by a
far wider margin had it not been for Swans goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel and
some loose finishing. "It's just a pity it wasn't a bit more comfortable for
us," said the manager. "We created some fantastic chances and you are always
worried as a manager that any one slip, particularly against a team like
Swansea who are relaxed and calm and cool, could see them nick one with
someone like Michu on the pitch. "We kept them really quiet from an
attacking point of view, apart from a frantic last couple of minutes when
they threw everything in the box. It's just a shame we weren't more
comfortable because we kept everyone really nervous right until the very end
with everybody biting their nails, but we got a well-deserved goal and a
well-deserved victory. "I don't think anyone can argue the fact that, with
the amount of chances we created, we thoroughly deserved this victory. It's
a big, big three points we have been waiting for and we've now got it in the
bag and got to that 30-point mark in the league. "We have played 25 games
and we can try and push on from here at Aston Villa next Sunday now and see
if we can get our away form a little bit better and take something before
the break for the FA Cup fifth-round weekend."
Carroll was outstanding in every area, winning header after header at both
ends of the pitch, holding the ball up superbly and creating chances for his
team-mates - most notably Kevin Nolan, who had two shots well saved by
Gerhard Tremmel. "Andy and Kevin seem to have the knack of combining and
linking together and getting chances. Andy scored from a set piece and we
emphasised to the lads that Swansea had conceded 67 per cent of their goals
from set pieces. Now it'll be up to 70 per cent. "The corner has made all
the difference and Andy's aerial power has put the ball in the back of the
net and got us the three points that we so desperately needed."
The manager was pleased not only with his match-winner, but also with the
way his whole team performed against a Swansea side which had conceded just
nine goals in 12 previous away matches this season. "Andy didn't look tired.
Mo Diame looked dead on his legs near the end and he couldn't get around the
pitch. Matt Jarvis played a full game at Fulham so we brought him off and
put Joe Cole on and he put a fantastic ball in for Ricardo Vaz Te to nearly
make it 2-0 just after we scored. "We had a volley from Vaz across the goal
and one from Mo that went just over the bar and their keeper made four
fantastic saves. Kevin Nolan could have scored a couple of goals again. It
was a really good performance. Swansea played a lot of neat football but
didn't cause us any problems.
"There was a lot of good attacking football from us that created chances and
that's what you want. Everyone will have gone home happy. It was another
good performance at home, with the right result this time, and it'll settle
everybody down. Big Sam and his players now have eight days to prepare for a
trip to Aston Villa next Sunday lunchtime, giving them a welcome chance to
recover following the drama of a busy January on and off the pitch. "Getting
three points means I can sleep a bit easier now, never mind the players!
What about me?! I'm glad that the phone is not ringing 60 or 70 times a day
and my email isn't pinging. It's been unbelievable. "We're just going into
our fourth phase of eight games and we've started with three points in the
bag, which makes a massive difference to the points total when you get off
to a winning start. "Now, I'm going to have a nice glass of red wine!"
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Carroll revels in goalscoring return
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll marked his first start after injury with the winner against
Swansea City
02.02.2013
Andy Carroll was thrilled with his match-winning contribution against
Swansea City, as West Ham United sealed all three points in the Barclays
Premier League for the first time since New Year's Day. Despite the best
efforts of goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, Carroll eventually plundered the
points for the Hammers, nodding home Mark Noble's corner with little more
than ten minutes to play. Carroll's first goal at the Boleyn Ground was
rich reward for Sam Allardyce's men, who carved out a whole host of
presentable opportunities, and the Liverpool loanee insists it should
perhaps have been rather more comfortable. "Their keeper was on fire today
to be honest," he told West Ham TV. "He saved one off me, one off [Ricardo]
Vaz Te, and a couple off Kevin [Nolan]. He kept them in it. We pounded the
goal to be fair and we were unlucky not to be ahead by half time. But I've
put a chance away and we've got the three points so I'm delighted.
"It was a great ball in by Noble, he put it in where I wanted it and I've
just made a little movement, lost my marker and I put it in. "The points
had dried up a bit and the lads are delighted with the win today, you could
see when I scored everyone was celebrating. And everyone was sliding in with
last ditch tackles, we needed the three points."
After ending an eight-week lay-off with a 15-minute cameo at Craven Cottage
on Wednesday, Carroll made light of his injury-enforced absence, showing few
signs of fatigue as he completed the 90 minutes. "I've had eight weeks off
and I've been working hard in the gym," he added. "So my fitness is still
high and all the physios and backroom staff have been helping us a lot to
keep fit in the gym when I couldn't run. Obviously it showed with getting 90
minutes today. "It felt good. Getting 20 minutes last week helped me get
through the game today. We got three points and the goal, so it was great.
"It's good for us getting the win and now having eight days to have a bit of
a rest. It will be good for all the lads to get a rest in a rest now and
hopefully get three points at the end of it."
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Joe Cole lands SBOBET prize
WHUFC.com
Joe Cole takes the January SBOBET Player of the Month honours
02.02.2013
Joe Cole has made a flying start to his second stint in West Ham colours by
being voted as January's SBOBET Player of the Month by users of the club's
official website whufc.com Cole took 38.9% of the vote to take the prize,
which was presented before kick-off at Saturday's Barclays Premier League
match against Swansea City. The West Ham Academy product returned home at
the start of January when joining on a free transfer from Liverpool and made
an immediate impact on his second debut, producing two telling crosses for
James Collins to notch twice in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United in
the FA Cup with Budweiser. 31-year-old midfielder Cole then made his mark in
Premier League action, scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Queens
Park Rangers at the Boleyn Ground. Cole beat off fierce competition from
Winston Reid to land the prize, with the New Zealand international polling
34.4% of the vote. Collins' double against the Red Devils saw him take third
place with 11.6% of the vote, while Jussi Jaaskelainen, who took the
November award, was in fourth.
Joey O'Brien made four appearances in the Hammers' backline in January and
took fifth place in the vote, while Matt Jarvis was in sixth. Voting is now
open for January's West Ham Goal of the Month - watch the contenders in the
video freeplayer in the top right hand corner of this page, and then vote on
our official Facebook page.
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Cole Delighted With SBOBET prize
WHUFC.com
January's Player of the Month
03.02.2013
Joe Cole was delighted to land the SBOBET West Ham United Player of the
Month prize at the first opportunity after rejoining the Club from
Liverpool. The Hammers midfielder collected the award before Saturday's
Barclays Premier League game against Swansea City and then made it a perfect
day by coming off the bench to help Sam Allardyce's men collect maximum
points. Cole opened his goal account for his second stint as a Hammers
player in January, as well as laying on a couple of assists, and he is
looking for more over the closing months of the campaign. "It's lovely to be
named as the Player of the Month," he beamed. "The fans vote for this prize,
so I'm well pleased. It's been a decent start back, and we put three points
on the board on Saturday so we're delighted.
"My debut was in the FA Cup game against Man Utd. It's always nice to be
effective in a game and be part of a great performance. That's what it was -
a great performance, one of the best of the season, and it was disappointing
that we didn't knock them out. "Is was nice to score in my third game back
too, against QPR. Hopefully I'll get a few more before the end of the season
and a few assists, but first and foremost we have to consolidate in the
league and let's see where we finish up. "It's great to be back. Lots has
changed, but still so much has stayed the same as well. I'm very happy to be
back home, where it all started."
Cole hailed the importance of Saturday's result, which lifted the Hammers
back up to 11th in the Barclays Premier League table and gave the east
Londoners their first win in seven. He continued: "It was important to get
the win on Saturday. To get to 30 points, you can then see the magical 40
points there. We've got to keep going, try to string a couple more wins
together and once we get there we can look at where we can finish in the
league. "It's always tough when you're playing Swansea. They play fantastic
football, they keep the ball, but our concentration levels were great.
"We've just got to start putting our chances away and make games a little
easier for ourselves."
Saturday's matchwinner was the fit-again Andy Carroll, who headed home Mark
Noble's 77th minute corner to round off a fantastic display and Cole was
full of praise for the big Geordie. "It's great to have Andy back," he
added. "He was brilliant on Saturday - he got his goal and he's a massive
player for us. "He looks fit, he looks lean, he looks ready and hungry and
that can only be good for West Ham and for England."
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U18s snatch late draw
WHUFC.com
Nana Boakye-Yiadom's equaliser secured a 1-1 Barclays U18 Premier League
draw with West Brom
02.02.2013
West Ham United continued their unbeaten form in the Barclays U18 Premier
League Tier One season with a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Little
Heath on Saturday. A late finish from substitute Nana Boakye-Yiadom grabbed
a point for the Hammers after Danny Burrows had earlier put the travelling
Baggies ahead. The game started with the Hammers midfield trio of Ben
Marlow, Josh Cullen and Taylor Miles taking control of possession in the
midfield areas, supplying Kieran Sadlier down the left wing, who was giving
the West Brom defence all kinds of problems in the opening stages. West Brom
attempted to intervene and gain some kind of control in the game, yet the
Hammers' impressive start limited the time on the ball given to the visiting
players. The Hammers' first half dominance almost led to numerous
opportunities on goal, including several for Sadlier, who found himself
through on goal, before losing possession when cutting inside for a shot.
Taylor Tombides also had a chance when he recieved the ball 18 yards out,
but unfortunately powered his shot high and wide of the goal. A key player
in the first half was left-back Lewis Page, who put in several dangerous
efforts into the box, including a 30-yard shot on goal from a free-kick that
was pushed over the bar by the Baggies goalkeeper. The away side also had
their fair chances to open the scoring, twice hitting the right-hand post
through Rees Weederburn and Danny Burrows. Firstly, Wedderburn was given
time and space in the Hammers box to poke an effort against the post. Then,
just a minute later, Burrows ran in behind the defence, collecting a high
ball, before smashing a shot at Hammers goalkeeper Sam Howes, who turned the
ball excellently onto the upright.
As the teams came out for the second half, both sides were battling to win
possession and create chances in the final third. It was West Brom who took
the lead midway through the second period when Joel Ward slipped the ball
through to Burrows, who held his run well to beat the offside trap and slide
the ball low past Howes into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. The
goal shook the Hammers and West Brom began to look more threatening when
picking up more possession in the midfield, yet Jamie Harney and Rob
Girdlestone stood strong at the back.
As the Hammers searched for an equaliser, Boakye-Yiadom was introduced from
the bench and began causing the opposition problems. West Ham's equaliser
almost came when Boakye-Yiadom chased down a long ball from Harney, putting
West Brom centre-half Reiss Greeniage under pressure, He tried to lob a pass
back to his goalkeeper Alex Palmer without realising that the stopper had
started coming towards the ball. Palmer had to dive to head the ball clear.
The home side continued to press to ensure they took something out of this
game, with Moses Makasi going closest in the closing minutes. Boakye-Yiadom
linked up well with Sadlier before squaring for Makasi, who saw his low
effort cleared from the line. Steve Potts' Hammers got their reward with two
minutes left, when Boakye-Yiadom picked up the ball behind the West Brom
defence and coolly slotted past Palmer to level the scores. The draw keeps
the U18s unbeaten in the league since Potts' took over in December, with the
Hammers travelling to Wolverhampton Wanderers for their next Premier League
Tier One match on Saturday 9 February.
West Ham United U18s: Howes, Alexander, Harney, Girdlestone, Page, Marlow,
Miles (Makasi), Cullen, Gogo (Mavila), Sadlier, Tombides (Boakye-Yiadom)
Subs not used: Brown, Burke
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Hammers duo set for international clash
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Jack Collison and Emanuel Pogatetz could go head-to-head
for their countries on Wednesday
01.02.2013
Hammers duo Jack Collison and Emmanuel Pogatetz could face each other on
international duty next week with Wales due to take on Austria at Swansea
City's Liberty Stadium on Wednesday. Pogatetz, who arrived at the Boleyn
Ground on loan from VfL Wolfsburg on Monday, has been capped 52 times by
Austria and is in Marcel Koller's squad to take on Wales in their
international friendly. Collison, meanwhile, will be looking to add to his
eleven Wales caps in that fixture - as well as getting one over his new
team-mate.
West Ham will also have midfielder Mohamed Diame on international duty, as
the 25-year-old has been named in Senegal's squad for their friendly against
Guinea in Paris on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Stephen Henderson completes the quartet of Hammers in senior
international action next week as he is part of the Republic of Ireland
squad for their home fixture against Poland on Wednesday.
In addition, winger Blair Turgott is in the England Under-19 squad, as Noel
Blake's side begin their countdown to this summer's UEFA Under-19
Championships in Lithuania with a home match against Denmark in Doncaster on
Tuesday. Kieran Sadlier and January arrival Sean Maguire are in the Republic
of Ireland Under-19 squad for a double header of home friendlies with the
Czech Republic, on Tuesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, Academy player Marcio Martins is in Portugal's Under-17 squad for
the Algarve International Tournament, also involving England, Germany and
the Netherlands, between 8-12 February.
Modibo Maiga's Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Mali continues this
Saturday with a quarter final tie against host country South Africa. Mali
qualified from the group stage second in Group B with four points from their
three games. South Africa topped Group A with five points.
International Hammers
Jack Collison - Wales v Austria, Swansea, Wednesday 6 February
Emanuel Pogatetz - Wales v Austria, Swansea, Wednesday 6 February
Mohamed Diame - Senegal v Guinea, Paris, Tuesday 5 February
Stephen Henderson - Republic of Ireland v Poland, Dublin, Wednesday 6
February
Modibo Maiga - Mali - Africa Cup of Nations Quarter Final v South Africa,
Durban, Saturday 2 February
Blair Turgott - England U19 v Denmark U19, Doncaster, Tuesday 5 February
Kieran Saldlier & Sean Maguire - Republic of Ireland U19 v Czech Republic
U19, Longford, Tuesday 5 February and Thursday 7 February
Marcio Martins - Portugal U17, Algarve Tournament, Friday 8 February -
Tuesday 12 February
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West Ham U14s bag Barcelona trip
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Under-14s finished second in a ten-team national
tournament
02.02.2013
West Ham United's Under-14s booked a trip to Barcelona after excelling at
the Barclays Premier League's National Under-14 tournament. West Ham stormed
to the final with four successive wins, before losing out to Manchester
City, who ended the tournament with an unblemished record of five victories.
The young Hammers' exploits began back on 29 October, with regional
qualification held at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground. To their credit,
West Ham, including three U13s, topped a tough group containing Spurs,
Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Reading. They, together with runners up Chelsea,
advanced to the annual national competition at Greenwich's London Soccerdome
on 26 and 27 January. Pitted against Manchester United, Fulham, West
Bromwich Albion and Blackburn in Group A, the Hammers set about their
business in some style. After a 1-0 win over Fulham, the Hammers downed both
Blackburn and West Brom by two goals to one, before completing their clean
sweep with another 1-0 success against Manchester United. Their 100 per cent
record saw West Ham top the group by an enormous six-point margin and set up
a final clash with Manchester City. Though City were to edge the final 3-1,
West Ham's top-two finish earned them a trip to Barcelona in March, where
they will take part in a four-team tournament, alongside local outfit
Cornella, Manchester City and Barcelona's famed academy. Head of Academy
Recruitment Dave Hunt was understandably thrilled with the players' efforts,
insisting their trip to Barcelona is richly deserved. "It gives the boys a
reward for their outstanding performances and hard work throughout the
tournaments and season so far," he confirmed.
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West Ham 1 Swansea 0
2 February 2013
Last updated at 17:25
By Saj Chowdhury
BBC Sport
Andy Carroll scored on his first start since November as West Ham defeated
Swansea at Upton Park. The striker, on loan from Liverpool, grabbed the
winner late in the second half, leaping highest to head in from close range.
Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel made superb saves from Kevin Nolan, Ricardo
Vaz Te and Carroll. The visitors created very few chances, with Michu
heading over from six yards in the second half. The encounter was, at times,
a slightly drab affair, interspersed with moments of brilliance, in
particular from Tremmel, who kept his side in the game until Carroll got the
better of him with 12 minutes to go. In the first half, the German, who
arrived from Red Bull Salzburg in 2011, twice denied Nolan from close range
and the 34-year-old also showed strong hands to block long-range efforts
from Mohamed Diame and Vaz Te, who cut in from the right a let fly from 20
yards. After the interval, Tremmel had barely had time to settle into his
area before he was tested again by Vaz Te - clinging on to the Portuguese
winger's low effort. Carroll was at the heart of most of West Ham's attacks
during the match. The 24-year-old, a substitute at Fulham in midweek, had
set up both of Nolan's efforts and finally managed an effort of his own when
he flashed a shot over from 15 yards. He came even closer to scoring moments
later, when the Swans' keeper produced an outstanding block with his feet to
keep out an angled low shot. But he was not to be denied a third time,
leaping to head in Mark Noble's left-wing corner from six yards out.
It was relief for the Hammers, who would have felt hard done by had they not
taken all three points from this match. Swansea's best player was former
Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez, who weaved his way into the area in the
first half before seeing his shot blocked, and then delivered an
inch-perfect ball for leading scorer Michu in the second, only for the
Spaniard to head over. The visitors came close to snatching a point at the
last, but Jussi Jaaskelainen, largely redundant in the home goal, made a
brilliant one-handed stop to deny Jonathan de Guzman.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "I was wondering what the lads had to do to
score a goal. We had a lot of balls flashing across the goal and over the
bar.
"Our defending has been our weaker point but we were very good. Swansea
hardly created anything except in the last couple of minutes. It's a massive
relief."
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup: "It could have gone either way. They had two
good chances in first half through Kevin Nolan. In the second half, they had
couple of chances, but they weren't difficult to defend. "Carroll scored a
great goal and was difficult to mark. We had two or three chances at end of
game and should have created more from the positions we were in. "We could
have, and should have, created a little more but didn't have that last pass.
I'm not happy with losing, but we didn't do anything specifically wrong."
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Laudrup on.......West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 2nd February 2013
By: Staff Writer No.2
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup reflects on his side's 1-0 defeat at the Boleyn
in the post-match press conference which, as ever, we bring to you
exclusively in full....
Michael, Swansea didn't quite seem themselves today, their passing and
movement. What did you think?
No, I think that we dominated quite well in the first half. It is true
though that West Ham had two big chances in the first 45 minutes, from
Nolan. It was game more or less what I expected; us having the ball most and
them playing the ball direct to Carroll. Nolan makes the runs from the
second line. That's more or less what we saw in the first half. In the first
half when we dominated we did not create That many chances. Pablo
(Hernandez) had a couple of things down on the right hand side.
The second half they came a little more into the game. Still direct - we
know they can play that way especially with the line-up they had today. They
got a goal from a set piece. We know West Ham are a very strong team on set
pieces, especially with the players they have. What can I say, you know when
they play with four or five big lads like that you know it's a possibility.
Then the last 15 minutes we came back and we had 2 or 3 chances to equalise
but yeah we lost 1-0. It could have been 1-1 or 0-0 we just have to accept
it.
We're a very difficult team to beat. Nobody likes to lose. I'm just
wondering - it's seven weeks since we lost in the league so that's why
I'm....when you get used to not losing it's very nice!
You say it could have been 0-0 or 1-1 but your goalkeeper made 6 or 7
outstanding saves...
Yes he did some good saves. That's true. That's why he's playing in there!
Compared to two weeks ago when you faced a similar challenge against Stoke,
it didn't seem to me that you imposed yourselves on West Ham today as you
did on Stoke. Was that down to West ham pressing you?
I think we have to remember one smal detail: against Stoke we played at the
Liberty. Today we played here. I mean there are few teams in the world who
can play home and away exactly the same way. I don't think West Ham, Stoke
or Swansea are one of them. There is a difference when you play at home and
play away. West Ham were another team today from when we beat them 3-0 at
the Liberty. It's normal that, when you play at home then you play away.
Even so, I have to say that after we qualified for the final at Wembley
after the Chelsea game I did expect a reaction. When a smaller team achieves
something that important in the history of the club, beating the European
champions, to be honest i expected a reaction in the coming games - and I
haven't seen that reaction. Obviously I'm talking of a negative reaction
where maybe you could lose your focus. I think we dominated completely the
other day at Sunderland - we missed three clear chances one on one. Today we
had less. West Ham had more chances than us. But we are a very difficult
team to beat. That's positive and it proves that my team are mature. That's
a great thing for me to see. We're still talking about a club that's only
been 18 months in the Premier League so that's not bad.
What did you make of Andy Carroll? Even Ashley (Williams) with his physical
strength seemed to find him a handful...
We know how good he is in the air. I said to the players two different
things:inside and outside the box. Carroll inside the box is very dangerous
- we saw that with the goal. Inside the box he can score from there.
Obviously outside the box it's very difficult. Back to the goal I never saw
anyone score there. We knew he was going to win a lot of balls out there. It
was more the runs, especially the runs from Nolan we should look out for. We
did that well apart from one time in the first half when Nolan could have
scored with his left foot. Apart from that everyone was more or less what I
expected.
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The Julian Dicks column: 2nd February
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 2nd February 2013
By: Julian Dicks
West Ham United FC legend Julian Dicks is a columnist here on KUMB.com.
Julian shares his thoughts with the readers of Knees up Mother Brown on a
regular basis via his weekly column, the latest of which begins with his
thoughts on the transfer window - and one very peculiar situation involving
WBA's Peter Odemwingie...
The transfer window
I think the transfer window is a waste of time, as I believe you should be
able to sign players when you want. When it comes to the end of the transfer
window everybody goes mad and adds millions of pounds to the value of their
players. Bang average players sometimes, and all of a sudden they're worth
£9million! It's ridiculous.
Maybe have a couple of month's break, fine - but let people buy who they
want to buy. When I was playing you could buy who you wanted when you wanted
but yesterday everyone was going mad. You had average players worth perhaps
£1-1.5million suddenly worth £5-£6million just because someone wants them -
and if they want them, they have to pay up otherwise the window shuts.
West Ham signed four (first team) players during January, two of whom - Joe
Cole and Wellington Paulista - I touched upon in my last column. Since then
we've also signed Marouane Chamakh from Arsenal and Emanuel Pogatetz from
Wolfsburg, both on loan.
I've watched Chamakh at Arsenal and, for me, he's a lazy player. At the end
of the day he can't get in the Arsenal side so why is he good for West Ham?
We don't need lazy players at West Ham - we need people who are going to
work, graft and bang out results. It's different at Arsenal because they're
a fantastic side with a fantastic array of players and you can afford to
have one or two lazy players - but at West Ham we're a hard-working side and
a hard-working club and we need players who are going to put a shift in for
us.
I've not followed Pogatetz's career since he left England but they say he's
a lively character who's kicked a few people! But we needed a centre half
and hopefully he can be a good one for us. People ask me about James Tomkins
and Winston Reid and I still haven't changed my opinion on them; if the
ball's in the air they'll go and win it, but you want players to get the
ball down and play football - and they can't do it.
It was said that Sam Allardyce was also chasing a goalkeeper during January
- and rightly so as I think Jussi Jaaskelainen is a liability. I've watched
him many times and yes, he pulls off some good saves but he also lets silly
goals in. I don't just mean mistakes - as footballers we all make them - but
he comes out and goes down on his knees; I'm obviously not a goalkeeper, but
that seems odd to me. Robin Van Persie's goal for Man United in the FA Cup
tie for example, is one I think he should have saved. Don't get me wrong, it
was a fantastic strike but there are goals he could save that he doesn't. He
goes down but he can't get to ground quick enough.
The Peter Odemwingie situation dominated the final day of the transfer
window. I followed it on Twitter so don't know exactly what happened at West
Brom or with QPR bidding but he's gone down there to try and get the move
going and ended up being sent home. I've never known a situation quite like
that but we had one player at Birmingham who thought he was out of this
world and believed everybody wanted him - your Man Uniteds, Liverpools,
everybody - and to be honest, he was awful!
He thought he was the absolute nuts, the best player in the world - and it
wasn't the case that he was taking the piss, he genuinely thought he was! In
the end he went a bit doolally. The Odemwingie situation was ludicrous but
nothing surprises me with footballers these days, nothing at all.
Derby day doom and gloom
The Arsenal result was disappointing but I've been involved in games like
that where you come out first half, play really well and then it falls apart
in the second half. I remember playing against Liverpool at Anfield in the
final game of the 1988/89 season when we needed to win to stand a chance of
staying up. They took an early lead, but we equalised soon after [through
Leroy Rosenior] and I remember thinking "ooh, we're going to win this" - and
we got battered 5-1 and went down!
Arsenal can do that to anybody, they're a fantastic side when they want to
be and you've just got to put that down to experience. It happened and
hopefully it'll happen only once or twice a season, but that's football
unfortunately.
Having draw level at Fulham only to concede again less than a minute later
was unprofessional but again, it happens to all of us in football. You're
most vulnerable when you've just scored because you take your eye off the
ball. You're thinking "that's it, it's 1-1, we'll get the ball and do this
and that" - and can lack concentration. But as I've said from day one, there
are quite a few players in the team who are not good enough at the moment
and certain players are not putting a shift in any more. When your big
players aren't putting shifts in then you're going to come unstuck.
I'm not saying we carried Paolo Di Canio - he was an individual and a
fantastic, awesome footballer - but because we had players that would graft
and work their nuts off you could carry one or two of the more gifted
players. West Ham haven't got that at the moment and they need everybody to
put a shift in from the goalkeeper, to the captain through to everybody.
Despite the recent poor run of results I still think West Ham will survive
comfortably this season. More or less every team goes through a bad patch at
some time during the season but it's how you get out of that.
Bring on the Swans
So we got beat by five at Arsenal and beat at Fulham but today's game is
also going to be tough because Swansea, for me, are a fantastic passing
side. They get the ball down and they play; I've only watched them once or
twice but they pass the ball and if West Ham don't close them down today
they'll pass us to death. They have players who can open you up and score
goals and since Laudrup came in, they've come on leaps and bounds.
Last week someone asked me about the Fulham and Swansea games and I said I
can't see West Ham getting any points, because Fulham at home are a
difficult side to break down and beat whilst if Swansea are allowed to play
- and West Ham don't close them down - they're going to find it difficult.
The way West Ham are playing at the moment with players not putting a shift
in suggests they're going to find it difficult.
It's the same in every game though; West Ham are not a side with bundles and
bundles of talent. Yes, there are one or two very good players but we need
more to put a shift in for 90 minutes, not just 35 or 40 minutes.
A captain's role
Kevin Nolan has always been a good player but even last season some people
were saying "he doesn't do this, he doesn't do that". The thing is, when
he's scoring goals you can forgive the other side of it - but when he's not
scoring goals, as was the case before Fulham, you've got to find something
else to put in to your game. Kevin's not a box-to-box player - and it's not
just him - but I find that when the ball goes forward and the ball gets
transferred into our half they just jog back and that really pisses me off,
big time. It's just about hard work and running 30 or 40 yards.
On the plus side he's a great captain, the opposite of someone like Matthew
Upson who was a shocking captain for West Ham and not a very good player
either. Kevin is a very good player but he has to be in the right side. I
think he's right for West Ham but if you're going to play him other people
have to do his work - and players don't tend to do that anymore, they don't
look after each other. When I played with people like Dev, Liam [Brady] and
Stuart Slater they'd go forward, but we'd look after them.
The life of a thespian
This week I've been filming a cameo role in a film called The Hooligan
Factory. It's a spoof, a take-off of films like Green Street and The
Football Factory. Even though I've got a very small part in it I was on set
for ten hours - and if I'm going to be on set for ten hours a day, I want
Brad Pitt's money! I don't have a speaking role; I play one of the bosses of
the hooligans and had a great big scar down my face! But I enjoyed it.
I know Jason Maza who's producing it and Cass Pennant, who also has a cameo
role. I had a good chat with him about West Ham and everything else. There
were also actors who've been in Green Street and stuff like that (whose
faces I know but not the names). But it was good. We filmed it in a titty
bar - sadly there was only one girl there - but it was fun. I was probably
only filming for a couple of hours but there for ten so there was a lot of
waiting around and you get to chat to everybody. Everybody there was nice
enough so it was good.
Acting would appeal to me but I understand why they get paid so much. This
film isn't coming out until next year and they're working on it for four
weeks solid, so if you're the main actor doing 10-14 hours a day... It's a
great life to have off the screen, but they certainly work hard.
Julian Dicks was talking to Graeme Howlett.
* Julian is currently available to coach both junior and senior football
teams. For more details, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JULIAN3DICKS.
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Andy Carroll the hero as West Ham defeat Swansea
Last Updated: February 2, 2013 6:40pm
SSN
Andy Carroll made a dream return to the West Ham United first team as he
scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Swansea City at Upton Park. The
on-loan Liverpool striker was making his first start since November
following injury and he marked the occasion with a fine display and a 77th
minute header to settle an otherwise forgettable contest.
Best of the Game
Man of the Match: Andy Carroll won almost everything in the air and marked
his first start since November with the only goal
Save of the Match: Gerhard Tremmel was a contender for man of the match and
his second-half stop from Carroll was excellent
Miss of the Match: Michu has now gone six league games without a goal and
hit an effort over the crossbar after half-time
Talking Point: Will West Ham now return to their form of earlier in the
season? Did Swansea need another striker?
It was a very welcome win for West Ham, who collected three points for just
the third time in two months, and eased a previously worrying slide towards
the Premier League relegation zone. Swansea, for all their pretty football,
only sprung to life when Carroll's goal went in and Michu, who has now gone
six league games without a goal, had an off-day playing on his own up front.
West Ham's plan to launch the ball to Carroll became apparent from the off.
Winston Reid lumped it up to the big striker in the fourth minute, he
knocked it down to Kevin Nolan but he shot wide. Swansea had the majority of
possession but West Ham were the most dangerous team. Carroll found space
after dropping deep and laid the ball off to Mohamed Diame, who drew a good
save from Gerhard Tremmel. The Swansea goalkeeper was called into action
soon after, saving Nolan's shot with his feet. The visitors went in level at
half-time but only thanks to Tremmel, who once again pulled off a top-draw
save to deny Ricardo Vaz Te. West Ham started the second half as they ended
the first. A clever backheel from Matt Jarvis released Nolan, who pulled the
ball back for Carroll but he blazed over. It looked as if the Hammers were
destined to fail. Swansea's defence held strong and the home side continued
to waste their chances.
Referee Lee Probert then failed to award the Hammers a penalty when Vaz Te's
shot struck the arm of Chico Flores. After missing so many chances, there
was a huge sense of relief when Carroll finally broke the deadlock. The
England striker lost Ashley Williams in the Swansea box and leapt high
before powering Mark Noble's corner past Tremmel. Swansea continued to push
for an equaliser but it never came.
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West Ham's Andy Carroll earns praise from Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: February 3, 2013 7:17am
SSN
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce hopes there is more to come from Andy
Carroll after the striker's man of the match performance against Swansea
City. The on-loan Liverpool forward started his first game since November
after injury and scored the winner to earn his temporary club just a third
Premier League win in two months. And Allardyce thought Carroll, who could
join West Ham on a permanent basis in the summer, was the best player
against Swansea despite not being fully fit. "I think Andy has made the
difference today, no disrespect to [Marouane] Chamakh and Carlton Cole,"
Allardyce told Sky Sports.
"He is a big strong lad with a lot of ability. As we saw today, it was not
just about his heading ability, even though that was the winning goal. "It
was about his hold-up play, his movement and the trouble he caused Swansea.
I think everybody else could build off Andy and we created numerous
chances."
West Ham were denied by excellent Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel on
several occasions but Allardyce was at least pleased to see his struggling
team making opportunities. "It has been a great day from that point of view
and, as long as we keep creating the chances - particularly at home, we will
sooner or later start putting more in the back of the net," he said.
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Andy Carroll pleased with West Ham win over Swansea
Last Updated: February 2, 2013 6:10pm
SSN
Andy Carroll was more pleased to help West Ham United get back to winning
ways than to make his return to the starting line-up. The on-loan Liverpool
striker made his first start since November following injury when featuring
in Sam Allardyce's first XI against Swansea City on Saturday. And Carroll
marked the occasion with a fine display and a 77th minute header to earn
West Ham only their third win in two months The striker, who could make a
permanent summer move to Upton Park, told Sky Sports: "It was a great
feeling to get 90 minutes, get the three points and, obviously, get the
goal. "I did not find out until today that I was going to start and I was
obviously over the moon with the decision. "I just had to work hard, run
around and keep the ball as much as I could with being up there by myself.
"It was a tough game and I am just happy we got the three points."
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Sometimes You Just Need to Grind Out a Win!
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
Sometmes you just need to grind out a win! And this was one of those
occasions. We just needed to take the three points, halt the gradual slide
in results and get back on track. We did that by pressing Swansea,
disrupting their game and then playing to our strengths. Yes, some of the
play was a bit ropey at times, but we competed and came away with the three
points. I always saw it as a hard fought affair, with a single goal or the
best of three winning it. And that is the way that it transpired.
Hopefully, this win will breed confidence and faciltate getting back to the
type of results that, generally, we enjoyed in the first half of the season.
In assessing the display, we need to praise some players in particular. Joey
O'Brien looked good in his proper right-back slot, Noble ran himself in to
the ground, Nolan continued his steady return to form and Andy Carroll was
magnificent. With regard to Carroll, this match clearly demonstrated that if
you give him the right quality of ball in to the box, he will score goals.
Diame played to his usual high standard and thank goodness he stayed with us
in the January window. Matt Taylor was given a hard time on occasions, in
the first half, at left-back. However, he stuck to his task and used his
experience to come through it. While I thought Joe Cole had a positive
impact when he came on as a second half substitute. It just seems that we
move the ball better, with him on the pitch, and we look a far better
attacking unit.
Also, respect to James Tomkins, who has suffered indifferent form of late,
but has dug in and had a very good match yesterday. Tomkins has talent, that
is beyond dispute. The truth is that he is on a developmental learning curve
and he will emerge from it all the stronger. The criticism of him amongst
fans reminds me of what was said of Winston Reid, when he first joined us.
They were wrong on Reid and they are also wrong on Tomkins. He will play
through this indifferent phase and will earn the future praise of current
critics!
Next up is Aston Villa. This is a game that we should be looking to win. We
would certainly do ourselves a big favour if we can grab a result. Lambert
is a good manager, who has hitherto suffered an awful tme at Villa. A bit
like Tomkins, he will emerge from it all the stronger, more experienced and
knowledgeable. I just hope that Villa stick with him and show some faith in
his managerial ability. He will probably turn Villa around, lets just hope
that it happens/continues after our match with them!
Of course, this looks like a perfect opportunity for the 'fall guy' tendency
to strike us once again. But this time, I am hoping that we will build upon
yesterday's hard fought victory over Swansea. Then we face Spurs at home,
one of the biggest matches of the season, which just happens to be the 20th
anniversary of the death of the late, great, Bobby Moore.
We need to ensure that we consign all the controversy of the corresponding
fixture firmly to the past and show appropriate respect for the greatest
defender and captain in the history of the game. Keen rivalry is fine with
Spurs, is fine, but discrimination is not. We need to show what West Ham Utd
FC and the vast majority of its fans are really all about. And what better
opportunity to do that than the 20th anniversary of the passing our
favourite son, captain of West Ham and England, World Cup winner, cultured &
intelligent defender, peerless leader and true hero!
SJ. Chandos.
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West Ham 1 Swansea 0
The Sun
By DAN KING
Last Updated: 03rd February 2013
ANDY CARROLL finally brought a ray of sunshine into what was becoming a
bleak winter for the striker. His winning strike capped a superb all-round
performance in his first start for West Ham since November 28. It was also
only his second goal since joining the Irons on loan from Liverpool during
the summer transfer window. But for a while, it seemed this game was going
to be just another hard luck story for him and Sam Allardyce's men. The big
striker had done everything but score, generally creating havoc and making
chances which team-mates failed to convert. Yet when he fluffed a great
chance to cap his display with a goal early in the second half, it looked
like Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel was going to be the man of the match.
Especially when the German kept out another Carroll effort and West Ham had
a good penalty shout turned down, having been denied two spot-kicks in their
midweek loss at Fulham. But to their credit, both Carroll and the Hammers
kept going and maybe, just maybe, their luck is about to change. Because his
team's win was their third in the last 13 games. Swans boss Michael Laudrup
tried to characterise the game as pretty Swansea against direct West Ham. He
claimed his side had dominated the first half — despite the fact Tremmel
made three top saves. But anyone who came along expecting a later-than-usual
performance of Beauty and the Beast, with Carroll in the role of pantomime
horse, was disappointed. West Ham and Carroll are capable of playing the
ball on the ground, just as Swansea are perfectly happy to hit it high into
the channels if needs must.
When Swansea hit their stride, their football was indeed better than
anything West Ham could manage. But the hard-working Hammers did not let
Laudrup's side find their usual swagger. And although Allardyce's men did
not always use the ball well enough, they created enough chances to win
three matches.
Without a string of saves from Tremmel, Swansea would have gone into the
break beaten. As some of the shock results last week in the FA Cup proved,
some Premier League clubs lack decent stand-in keepers. But few if any boast
better options between the sticks than the Swans. Tremmel showed again
yesterday he is a more than able deputy to the injured Michel Vorm. First he
denied Kevin Nolan with his legs. Then, when the West Ham skipper ran on to
a Carroll flick for the second time in the game, Tremmel dived low to save
brilliantly. Those stops made a later flying leap to deny Ricardo Vaz Te
look routine. At the other end, Jussi Jaaskelainen had not had a save to
make. And early in the second half West Ham should have netted. After great
work by Nolan and Matt Jarvis, Carroll fired badly over from 14 yards.
Swansea enjoyed a brief flurry but back came West Ham, only for Tremmel to
use his legs again, this time to stop a Carroll shot. Chico seemed to handle
in the area but all complaints were forgotten when Carroll rose above Ashley
Williams to head home Mark Noble's corner.
Swans' reaction, which produced some moments of anxiety, was too little, too
late. But as Allardyce reflected afterwards, there may still be time for
Carroll and West Ham to end the season on a high.
d.king@the-sun.co.uk
West Ham: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Tomkins, Reid, Taylor, Noble, Diame (O'Neil
86), Vaz Te, Nolan (Pogatetz 90), Jarvis (Joe Cole 62), Carroll. Subs Not
Used: Spiegel, Carlton Cole, Collison, Chamakh. Booked: Vaz Te. Goals:
Carroll 77.
Swansea: Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies, de Guzman, Britton (Moore
57), Ki, Hernandez, Michu, Routledge (Dyer 75). Subs Not Used: Cornell,
Lamah, Monk, Shechter, Tiendalli. Booked: Chico.
Att: 34,962
Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).
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Carroll singing
The Sun
By DAN KING
Published: 02nd February 2013
ANDY CARROLL capped his home comeback with the West Ham winner — and boss
Sam Allardyce warned: "There's more to come." Carroll's 77th-minute header,
which gave the Hammers a crucial 1-0 win over Swansea, was only his second
goal in an injury-plagued spell on loan from Liverpool. Big Sam said:
"There's a lot more to come from Andy. If he can finish on a high it will be
great." Swansea boss Michael Laudrup said: "We know how good Carroll is in
the air. Inside the box he's very dangerous."
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Carroll's singing again: On-loan Hammers striker scores winner as Swansea
lose on the road
The Mirror
2 Feb 2013 17:11
Andy Carroll ended a two-month injury absence by becoming West Ham's
comeback king. Despite all the controversy which has plagued his career,
there is something about the England striker which makes him one of the most
feared forwards in the domestic game. It is no coincidence that since
on-loan Carroll has been out with a knee injury, West Ham have struggled to
score goals and have managed only two victories in his absence. The vultures
were starting to circulate around Upton Park but Carroll produced a
trademark 77th-minute header to get them back on the winning trail.
Allardyce said: "He should do shouldn't he? As long as he can stay fit until
the end of the season and get as many games in as he can. There is a lot
more to come from Andy. It was Andy's first full 90 minutes in nine weeks.
He looked like he was enjoying himself."
It was fitting Carroll should score as the Swansea defence struggled to cope
with his presence throughout. As Swansea boss Michael Laudrup noted: "We
knew Andy Carroll would win lots of balls out there. It was more or less
what I expected." Allardyce celebrated the end of the January transfer
window with a glass of brandy – and you can be sure that he was toasting
Carroll last night. Co-owner David Sullivan revealed that the club had
already agreed a deal with Liverpool to sign Carroll at the end of the
season, though have yet to open talks with the player. But if he continues
to score crucial goals it seems only a question of time before they try to
land his signature on a permanent basis. Despite bringing in Joe Cole,
Marouane Chamakh and Emanuel Pogatetz during the transfer window, all three
of Allardyce's latest signings had to be content with a place on the bench
yesterday. West Ham dominated the first half and should have broken the
deadlock after 21 minutes. Joey O'Brien produced a great piece of skill to
take the ball past Ben Davies and crossed for Kevin Nolan whose volley was
saved by the legs of Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel. Nolan, causing Swansea
all kinds of problems, must still be wondering how he didn't get his name on
the score sheet in the 37th minutes. Ricardo Vaz Te's cross picked out
Carroll who directed a clever flick into the path of Nolan. The West Ham
captain thought he had finally broken the deadlock but his low shot produced
a superb save from Tremmel. The Swansea defenders were struggling to cope
with the presence of Carroll and he should have put West Ham ahead after 66
minutes but his shot was blocked by Tremmel. The rebound fell to Vaz Te who
crossed for Mohamed Diame to send a scissor kick just over the bar. Hammers'
fans must have thought it was going to be one of those days again, but
Carroll refused to lie down. Mark Noble's corner picked him out and Carroll
rose above Ashley Williams to power home a header. Swansea rallied and West
Ham were forced to defend for their lives in the final 10 minutes when Jussi
Jaaskelainen denied Ki Sung-Yueng and Davies. But it was all about that man
Carroll and he could prove to be the difference in helping West Ham
challenge for a top half finish.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was all smiles after Andy Carroll's bullet header secured a
first win since New Year's Day
02.02.2013
Sam Allardyce raised his glass to Andy Carroll after the striker's
second-half header secured a welcome 1-0 Barclays Premier League win over
Swansea City.
Having enjoyed a brandy at the close of the transfer window on Thursday, the
manager admitted he planned to have a glass of red wine after the Hammers
recorded their first victory since New Year's Day. Big Sam's team were
outstanding against the Capital One Cup finalists and would have won by a
far wider margin had it not been for Swans goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel and
some loose finishing. "It's just a pity it wasn't a bit more comfortable for
us," said the manager. "We created some fantastic chances and you are always
worried as a manager that any one slip, particularly against a team like
Swansea who are relaxed and calm and cool, could see them nick one with
someone like Michu on the pitch. "We kept them really quiet from an
attacking point of view, apart from a frantic last couple of minutes when
they threw everything in the box. It's just a shame we weren't more
comfortable because we kept everyone really nervous right until the very end
with everybody biting their nails, but we got a well-deserved goal and a
well-deserved victory. "I don't think anyone can argue the fact that, with
the amount of chances we created, we thoroughly deserved this victory. It's
a big, big three points we have been waiting for and we've now got it in the
bag and got to that 30-point mark in the league. "We have played 25 games
and we can try and push on from here at Aston Villa next Sunday now and see
if we can get our away form a little bit better and take something before
the break for the FA Cup fifth-round weekend."
Carroll was outstanding in every area, winning header after header at both
ends of the pitch, holding the ball up superbly and creating chances for his
team-mates - most notably Kevin Nolan, who had two shots well saved by
Gerhard Tremmel. "Andy and Kevin seem to have the knack of combining and
linking together and getting chances. Andy scored from a set piece and we
emphasised to the lads that Swansea had conceded 67 per cent of their goals
from set pieces. Now it'll be up to 70 per cent. "The corner has made all
the difference and Andy's aerial power has put the ball in the back of the
net and got us the three points that we so desperately needed."
The manager was pleased not only with his match-winner, but also with the
way his whole team performed against a Swansea side which had conceded just
nine goals in 12 previous away matches this season. "Andy didn't look tired.
Mo Diame looked dead on his legs near the end and he couldn't get around the
pitch. Matt Jarvis played a full game at Fulham so we brought him off and
put Joe Cole on and he put a fantastic ball in for Ricardo Vaz Te to nearly
make it 2-0 just after we scored. "We had a volley from Vaz across the goal
and one from Mo that went just over the bar and their keeper made four
fantastic saves. Kevin Nolan could have scored a couple of goals again. It
was a really good performance. Swansea played a lot of neat football but
didn't cause us any problems.
"There was a lot of good attacking football from us that created chances and
that's what you want. Everyone will have gone home happy. It was another
good performance at home, with the right result this time, and it'll settle
everybody down. Big Sam and his players now have eight days to prepare for a
trip to Aston Villa next Sunday lunchtime, giving them a welcome chance to
recover following the drama of a busy January on and off the pitch. "Getting
three points means I can sleep a bit easier now, never mind the players!
What about me?! I'm glad that the phone is not ringing 60 or 70 times a day
and my email isn't pinging. It's been unbelievable. "We're just going into
our fourth phase of eight games and we've started with three points in the
bag, which makes a massive difference to the points total when you get off
to a winning start. "Now, I'm going to have a nice glass of red wine!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carroll revels in goalscoring return
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll marked his first start after injury with the winner against
Swansea City
02.02.2013
Andy Carroll was thrilled with his match-winning contribution against
Swansea City, as West Ham United sealed all three points in the Barclays
Premier League for the first time since New Year's Day. Despite the best
efforts of goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, Carroll eventually plundered the
points for the Hammers, nodding home Mark Noble's corner with little more
than ten minutes to play. Carroll's first goal at the Boleyn Ground was
rich reward for Sam Allardyce's men, who carved out a whole host of
presentable opportunities, and the Liverpool loanee insists it should
perhaps have been rather more comfortable. "Their keeper was on fire today
to be honest," he told West Ham TV. "He saved one off me, one off [Ricardo]
Vaz Te, and a couple off Kevin [Nolan]. He kept them in it. We pounded the
goal to be fair and we were unlucky not to be ahead by half time. But I've
put a chance away and we've got the three points so I'm delighted.
"It was a great ball in by Noble, he put it in where I wanted it and I've
just made a little movement, lost my marker and I put it in. "The points
had dried up a bit and the lads are delighted with the win today, you could
see when I scored everyone was celebrating. And everyone was sliding in with
last ditch tackles, we needed the three points."
After ending an eight-week lay-off with a 15-minute cameo at Craven Cottage
on Wednesday, Carroll made light of his injury-enforced absence, showing few
signs of fatigue as he completed the 90 minutes. "I've had eight weeks off
and I've been working hard in the gym," he added. "So my fitness is still
high and all the physios and backroom staff have been helping us a lot to
keep fit in the gym when I couldn't run. Obviously it showed with getting 90
minutes today. "It felt good. Getting 20 minutes last week helped me get
through the game today. We got three points and the goal, so it was great.
"It's good for us getting the win and now having eight days to have a bit of
a rest. It will be good for all the lads to get a rest in a rest now and
hopefully get three points at the end of it."
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Joe Cole lands SBOBET prize
WHUFC.com
Joe Cole takes the January SBOBET Player of the Month honours
02.02.2013
Joe Cole has made a flying start to his second stint in West Ham colours by
being voted as January's SBOBET Player of the Month by users of the club's
official website whufc.com Cole took 38.9% of the vote to take the prize,
which was presented before kick-off at Saturday's Barclays Premier League
match against Swansea City. The West Ham Academy product returned home at
the start of January when joining on a free transfer from Liverpool and made
an immediate impact on his second debut, producing two telling crosses for
James Collins to notch twice in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United in
the FA Cup with Budweiser. 31-year-old midfielder Cole then made his mark in
Premier League action, scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Queens
Park Rangers at the Boleyn Ground. Cole beat off fierce competition from
Winston Reid to land the prize, with the New Zealand international polling
34.4% of the vote. Collins' double against the Red Devils saw him take third
place with 11.6% of the vote, while Jussi Jaaskelainen, who took the
November award, was in fourth.
Joey O'Brien made four appearances in the Hammers' backline in January and
took fifth place in the vote, while Matt Jarvis was in sixth. Voting is now
open for January's West Ham Goal of the Month - watch the contenders in the
video freeplayer in the top right hand corner of this page, and then vote on
our official Facebook page.
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Cole Delighted With SBOBET prize
WHUFC.com
January's Player of the Month
03.02.2013
Joe Cole was delighted to land the SBOBET West Ham United Player of the
Month prize at the first opportunity after rejoining the Club from
Liverpool. The Hammers midfielder collected the award before Saturday's
Barclays Premier League game against Swansea City and then made it a perfect
day by coming off the bench to help Sam Allardyce's men collect maximum
points. Cole opened his goal account for his second stint as a Hammers
player in January, as well as laying on a couple of assists, and he is
looking for more over the closing months of the campaign. "It's lovely to be
named as the Player of the Month," he beamed. "The fans vote for this prize,
so I'm well pleased. It's been a decent start back, and we put three points
on the board on Saturday so we're delighted.
"My debut was in the FA Cup game against Man Utd. It's always nice to be
effective in a game and be part of a great performance. That's what it was -
a great performance, one of the best of the season, and it was disappointing
that we didn't knock them out. "Is was nice to score in my third game back
too, against QPR. Hopefully I'll get a few more before the end of the season
and a few assists, but first and foremost we have to consolidate in the
league and let's see where we finish up. "It's great to be back. Lots has
changed, but still so much has stayed the same as well. I'm very happy to be
back home, where it all started."
Cole hailed the importance of Saturday's result, which lifted the Hammers
back up to 11th in the Barclays Premier League table and gave the east
Londoners their first win in seven. He continued: "It was important to get
the win on Saturday. To get to 30 points, you can then see the magical 40
points there. We've got to keep going, try to string a couple more wins
together and once we get there we can look at where we can finish in the
league. "It's always tough when you're playing Swansea. They play fantastic
football, they keep the ball, but our concentration levels were great.
"We've just got to start putting our chances away and make games a little
easier for ourselves."
Saturday's matchwinner was the fit-again Andy Carroll, who headed home Mark
Noble's 77th minute corner to round off a fantastic display and Cole was
full of praise for the big Geordie. "It's great to have Andy back," he
added. "He was brilliant on Saturday - he got his goal and he's a massive
player for us. "He looks fit, he looks lean, he looks ready and hungry and
that can only be good for West Ham and for England."
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U18s snatch late draw
WHUFC.com
Nana Boakye-Yiadom's equaliser secured a 1-1 Barclays U18 Premier League
draw with West Brom
02.02.2013
West Ham United continued their unbeaten form in the Barclays U18 Premier
League Tier One season with a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Little
Heath on Saturday. A late finish from substitute Nana Boakye-Yiadom grabbed
a point for the Hammers after Danny Burrows had earlier put the travelling
Baggies ahead. The game started with the Hammers midfield trio of Ben
Marlow, Josh Cullen and Taylor Miles taking control of possession in the
midfield areas, supplying Kieran Sadlier down the left wing, who was giving
the West Brom defence all kinds of problems in the opening stages. West Brom
attempted to intervene and gain some kind of control in the game, yet the
Hammers' impressive start limited the time on the ball given to the visiting
players. The Hammers' first half dominance almost led to numerous
opportunities on goal, including several for Sadlier, who found himself
through on goal, before losing possession when cutting inside for a shot.
Taylor Tombides also had a chance when he recieved the ball 18 yards out,
but unfortunately powered his shot high and wide of the goal. A key player
in the first half was left-back Lewis Page, who put in several dangerous
efforts into the box, including a 30-yard shot on goal from a free-kick that
was pushed over the bar by the Baggies goalkeeper. The away side also had
their fair chances to open the scoring, twice hitting the right-hand post
through Rees Weederburn and Danny Burrows. Firstly, Wedderburn was given
time and space in the Hammers box to poke an effort against the post. Then,
just a minute later, Burrows ran in behind the defence, collecting a high
ball, before smashing a shot at Hammers goalkeeper Sam Howes, who turned the
ball excellently onto the upright.
As the teams came out for the second half, both sides were battling to win
possession and create chances in the final third. It was West Brom who took
the lead midway through the second period when Joel Ward slipped the ball
through to Burrows, who held his run well to beat the offside trap and slide
the ball low past Howes into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. The
goal shook the Hammers and West Brom began to look more threatening when
picking up more possession in the midfield, yet Jamie Harney and Rob
Girdlestone stood strong at the back.
As the Hammers searched for an equaliser, Boakye-Yiadom was introduced from
the bench and began causing the opposition problems. West Ham's equaliser
almost came when Boakye-Yiadom chased down a long ball from Harney, putting
West Brom centre-half Reiss Greeniage under pressure, He tried to lob a pass
back to his goalkeeper Alex Palmer without realising that the stopper had
started coming towards the ball. Palmer had to dive to head the ball clear.
The home side continued to press to ensure they took something out of this
game, with Moses Makasi going closest in the closing minutes. Boakye-Yiadom
linked up well with Sadlier before squaring for Makasi, who saw his low
effort cleared from the line. Steve Potts' Hammers got their reward with two
minutes left, when Boakye-Yiadom picked up the ball behind the West Brom
defence and coolly slotted past Palmer to level the scores. The draw keeps
the U18s unbeaten in the league since Potts' took over in December, with the
Hammers travelling to Wolverhampton Wanderers for their next Premier League
Tier One match on Saturday 9 February.
West Ham United U18s: Howes, Alexander, Harney, Girdlestone, Page, Marlow,
Miles (Makasi), Cullen, Gogo (Mavila), Sadlier, Tombides (Boakye-Yiadom)
Subs not used: Brown, Burke
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers duo set for international clash
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Jack Collison and Emanuel Pogatetz could go head-to-head
for their countries on Wednesday
01.02.2013
Hammers duo Jack Collison and Emmanuel Pogatetz could face each other on
international duty next week with Wales due to take on Austria at Swansea
City's Liberty Stadium on Wednesday. Pogatetz, who arrived at the Boleyn
Ground on loan from VfL Wolfsburg on Monday, has been capped 52 times by
Austria and is in Marcel Koller's squad to take on Wales in their
international friendly. Collison, meanwhile, will be looking to add to his
eleven Wales caps in that fixture - as well as getting one over his new
team-mate.
West Ham will also have midfielder Mohamed Diame on international duty, as
the 25-year-old has been named in Senegal's squad for their friendly against
Guinea in Paris on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Stephen Henderson completes the quartet of Hammers in senior
international action next week as he is part of the Republic of Ireland
squad for their home fixture against Poland on Wednesday.
In addition, winger Blair Turgott is in the England Under-19 squad, as Noel
Blake's side begin their countdown to this summer's UEFA Under-19
Championships in Lithuania with a home match against Denmark in Doncaster on
Tuesday. Kieran Sadlier and January arrival Sean Maguire are in the Republic
of Ireland Under-19 squad for a double header of home friendlies with the
Czech Republic, on Tuesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, Academy player Marcio Martins is in Portugal's Under-17 squad for
the Algarve International Tournament, also involving England, Germany and
the Netherlands, between 8-12 February.
Modibo Maiga's Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Mali continues this
Saturday with a quarter final tie against host country South Africa. Mali
qualified from the group stage second in Group B with four points from their
three games. South Africa topped Group A with five points.
International Hammers
Jack Collison - Wales v Austria, Swansea, Wednesday 6 February
Emanuel Pogatetz - Wales v Austria, Swansea, Wednesday 6 February
Mohamed Diame - Senegal v Guinea, Paris, Tuesday 5 February
Stephen Henderson - Republic of Ireland v Poland, Dublin, Wednesday 6
February
Modibo Maiga - Mali - Africa Cup of Nations Quarter Final v South Africa,
Durban, Saturday 2 February
Blair Turgott - England U19 v Denmark U19, Doncaster, Tuesday 5 February
Kieran Saldlier & Sean Maguire - Republic of Ireland U19 v Czech Republic
U19, Longford, Tuesday 5 February and Thursday 7 February
Marcio Martins - Portugal U17, Algarve Tournament, Friday 8 February -
Tuesday 12 February
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham U14s bag Barcelona trip
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Under-14s finished second in a ten-team national
tournament
02.02.2013
West Ham United's Under-14s booked a trip to Barcelona after excelling at
the Barclays Premier League's National Under-14 tournament. West Ham stormed
to the final with four successive wins, before losing out to Manchester
City, who ended the tournament with an unblemished record of five victories.
The young Hammers' exploits began back on 29 October, with regional
qualification held at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground. To their credit,
West Ham, including three U13s, topped a tough group containing Spurs,
Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Reading. They, together with runners up Chelsea,
advanced to the annual national competition at Greenwich's London Soccerdome
on 26 and 27 January. Pitted against Manchester United, Fulham, West
Bromwich Albion and Blackburn in Group A, the Hammers set about their
business in some style. After a 1-0 win over Fulham, the Hammers downed both
Blackburn and West Brom by two goals to one, before completing their clean
sweep with another 1-0 success against Manchester United. Their 100 per cent
record saw West Ham top the group by an enormous six-point margin and set up
a final clash with Manchester City. Though City were to edge the final 3-1,
West Ham's top-two finish earned them a trip to Barcelona in March, where
they will take part in a four-team tournament, alongside local outfit
Cornella, Manchester City and Barcelona's famed academy. Head of Academy
Recruitment Dave Hunt was understandably thrilled with the players' efforts,
insisting their trip to Barcelona is richly deserved. "It gives the boys a
reward for their outstanding performances and hard work throughout the
tournaments and season so far," he confirmed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham 1 Swansea 0
2 February 2013
Last updated at 17:25
By Saj Chowdhury
BBC Sport
Andy Carroll scored on his first start since November as West Ham defeated
Swansea at Upton Park. The striker, on loan from Liverpool, grabbed the
winner late in the second half, leaping highest to head in from close range.
Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel made superb saves from Kevin Nolan, Ricardo
Vaz Te and Carroll. The visitors created very few chances, with Michu
heading over from six yards in the second half. The encounter was, at times,
a slightly drab affair, interspersed with moments of brilliance, in
particular from Tremmel, who kept his side in the game until Carroll got the
better of him with 12 minutes to go. In the first half, the German, who
arrived from Red Bull Salzburg in 2011, twice denied Nolan from close range
and the 34-year-old also showed strong hands to block long-range efforts
from Mohamed Diame and Vaz Te, who cut in from the right a let fly from 20
yards. After the interval, Tremmel had barely had time to settle into his
area before he was tested again by Vaz Te - clinging on to the Portuguese
winger's low effort. Carroll was at the heart of most of West Ham's attacks
during the match. The 24-year-old, a substitute at Fulham in midweek, had
set up both of Nolan's efforts and finally managed an effort of his own when
he flashed a shot over from 15 yards. He came even closer to scoring moments
later, when the Swans' keeper produced an outstanding block with his feet to
keep out an angled low shot. But he was not to be denied a third time,
leaping to head in Mark Noble's left-wing corner from six yards out.
It was relief for the Hammers, who would have felt hard done by had they not
taken all three points from this match. Swansea's best player was former
Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez, who weaved his way into the area in the
first half before seeing his shot blocked, and then delivered an
inch-perfect ball for leading scorer Michu in the second, only for the
Spaniard to head over. The visitors came close to snatching a point at the
last, but Jussi Jaaskelainen, largely redundant in the home goal, made a
brilliant one-handed stop to deny Jonathan de Guzman.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "I was wondering what the lads had to do to
score a goal. We had a lot of balls flashing across the goal and over the
bar.
"Our defending has been our weaker point but we were very good. Swansea
hardly created anything except in the last couple of minutes. It's a massive
relief."
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup: "It could have gone either way. They had two
good chances in first half through Kevin Nolan. In the second half, they had
couple of chances, but they weren't difficult to defend. "Carroll scored a
great goal and was difficult to mark. We had two or three chances at end of
game and should have created more from the positions we were in. "We could
have, and should have, created a little more but didn't have that last pass.
I'm not happy with losing, but we didn't do anything specifically wrong."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Laudrup on.......West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 2nd February 2013
By: Staff Writer No.2
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup reflects on his side's 1-0 defeat at the Boleyn
in the post-match press conference which, as ever, we bring to you
exclusively in full....
Michael, Swansea didn't quite seem themselves today, their passing and
movement. What did you think?
No, I think that we dominated quite well in the first half. It is true
though that West Ham had two big chances in the first 45 minutes, from
Nolan. It was game more or less what I expected; us having the ball most and
them playing the ball direct to Carroll. Nolan makes the runs from the
second line. That's more or less what we saw in the first half. In the first
half when we dominated we did not create That many chances. Pablo
(Hernandez) had a couple of things down on the right hand side.
The second half they came a little more into the game. Still direct - we
know they can play that way especially with the line-up they had today. They
got a goal from a set piece. We know West Ham are a very strong team on set
pieces, especially with the players they have. What can I say, you know when
they play with four or five big lads like that you know it's a possibility.
Then the last 15 minutes we came back and we had 2 or 3 chances to equalise
but yeah we lost 1-0. It could have been 1-1 or 0-0 we just have to accept
it.
We're a very difficult team to beat. Nobody likes to lose. I'm just
wondering - it's seven weeks since we lost in the league so that's why
I'm....when you get used to not losing it's very nice!
You say it could have been 0-0 or 1-1 but your goalkeeper made 6 or 7
outstanding saves...
Yes he did some good saves. That's true. That's why he's playing in there!
Compared to two weeks ago when you faced a similar challenge against Stoke,
it didn't seem to me that you imposed yourselves on West Ham today as you
did on Stoke. Was that down to West ham pressing you?
I think we have to remember one smal detail: against Stoke we played at the
Liberty. Today we played here. I mean there are few teams in the world who
can play home and away exactly the same way. I don't think West Ham, Stoke
or Swansea are one of them. There is a difference when you play at home and
play away. West Ham were another team today from when we beat them 3-0 at
the Liberty. It's normal that, when you play at home then you play away.
Even so, I have to say that after we qualified for the final at Wembley
after the Chelsea game I did expect a reaction. When a smaller team achieves
something that important in the history of the club, beating the European
champions, to be honest i expected a reaction in the coming games - and I
haven't seen that reaction. Obviously I'm talking of a negative reaction
where maybe you could lose your focus. I think we dominated completely the
other day at Sunderland - we missed three clear chances one on one. Today we
had less. West Ham had more chances than us. But we are a very difficult
team to beat. That's positive and it proves that my team are mature. That's
a great thing for me to see. We're still talking about a club that's only
been 18 months in the Premier League so that's not bad.
What did you make of Andy Carroll? Even Ashley (Williams) with his physical
strength seemed to find him a handful...
We know how good he is in the air. I said to the players two different
things:inside and outside the box. Carroll inside the box is very dangerous
- we saw that with the goal. Inside the box he can score from there.
Obviously outside the box it's very difficult. Back to the goal I never saw
anyone score there. We knew he was going to win a lot of balls out there. It
was more the runs, especially the runs from Nolan we should look out for. We
did that well apart from one time in the first half when Nolan could have
scored with his left foot. Apart from that everyone was more or less what I
expected.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Julian Dicks column: 2nd February
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 2nd February 2013
By: Julian Dicks
West Ham United FC legend Julian Dicks is a columnist here on KUMB.com.
Julian shares his thoughts with the readers of Knees up Mother Brown on a
regular basis via his weekly column, the latest of which begins with his
thoughts on the transfer window - and one very peculiar situation involving
WBA's Peter Odemwingie...
The transfer window
I think the transfer window is a waste of time, as I believe you should be
able to sign players when you want. When it comes to the end of the transfer
window everybody goes mad and adds millions of pounds to the value of their
players. Bang average players sometimes, and all of a sudden they're worth
£9million! It's ridiculous.
Maybe have a couple of month's break, fine - but let people buy who they
want to buy. When I was playing you could buy who you wanted when you wanted
but yesterday everyone was going mad. You had average players worth perhaps
£1-1.5million suddenly worth £5-£6million just because someone wants them -
and if they want them, they have to pay up otherwise the window shuts.
West Ham signed four (first team) players during January, two of whom - Joe
Cole and Wellington Paulista - I touched upon in my last column. Since then
we've also signed Marouane Chamakh from Arsenal and Emanuel Pogatetz from
Wolfsburg, both on loan.
I've watched Chamakh at Arsenal and, for me, he's a lazy player. At the end
of the day he can't get in the Arsenal side so why is he good for West Ham?
We don't need lazy players at West Ham - we need people who are going to
work, graft and bang out results. It's different at Arsenal because they're
a fantastic side with a fantastic array of players and you can afford to
have one or two lazy players - but at West Ham we're a hard-working side and
a hard-working club and we need players who are going to put a shift in for
us.
I've not followed Pogatetz's career since he left England but they say he's
a lively character who's kicked a few people! But we needed a centre half
and hopefully he can be a good one for us. People ask me about James Tomkins
and Winston Reid and I still haven't changed my opinion on them; if the
ball's in the air they'll go and win it, but you want players to get the
ball down and play football - and they can't do it.
It was said that Sam Allardyce was also chasing a goalkeeper during January
- and rightly so as I think Jussi Jaaskelainen is a liability. I've watched
him many times and yes, he pulls off some good saves but he also lets silly
goals in. I don't just mean mistakes - as footballers we all make them - but
he comes out and goes down on his knees; I'm obviously not a goalkeeper, but
that seems odd to me. Robin Van Persie's goal for Man United in the FA Cup
tie for example, is one I think he should have saved. Don't get me wrong, it
was a fantastic strike but there are goals he could save that he doesn't. He
goes down but he can't get to ground quick enough.
The Peter Odemwingie situation dominated the final day of the transfer
window. I followed it on Twitter so don't know exactly what happened at West
Brom or with QPR bidding but he's gone down there to try and get the move
going and ended up being sent home. I've never known a situation quite like
that but we had one player at Birmingham who thought he was out of this
world and believed everybody wanted him - your Man Uniteds, Liverpools,
everybody - and to be honest, he was awful!
He thought he was the absolute nuts, the best player in the world - and it
wasn't the case that he was taking the piss, he genuinely thought he was! In
the end he went a bit doolally. The Odemwingie situation was ludicrous but
nothing surprises me with footballers these days, nothing at all.
Derby day doom and gloom
The Arsenal result was disappointing but I've been involved in games like
that where you come out first half, play really well and then it falls apart
in the second half. I remember playing against Liverpool at Anfield in the
final game of the 1988/89 season when we needed to win to stand a chance of
staying up. They took an early lead, but we equalised soon after [through
Leroy Rosenior] and I remember thinking "ooh, we're going to win this" - and
we got battered 5-1 and went down!
Arsenal can do that to anybody, they're a fantastic side when they want to
be and you've just got to put that down to experience. It happened and
hopefully it'll happen only once or twice a season, but that's football
unfortunately.
Having draw level at Fulham only to concede again less than a minute later
was unprofessional but again, it happens to all of us in football. You're
most vulnerable when you've just scored because you take your eye off the
ball. You're thinking "that's it, it's 1-1, we'll get the ball and do this
and that" - and can lack concentration. But as I've said from day one, there
are quite a few players in the team who are not good enough at the moment
and certain players are not putting a shift in any more. When your big
players aren't putting shifts in then you're going to come unstuck.
I'm not saying we carried Paolo Di Canio - he was an individual and a
fantastic, awesome footballer - but because we had players that would graft
and work their nuts off you could carry one or two of the more gifted
players. West Ham haven't got that at the moment and they need everybody to
put a shift in from the goalkeeper, to the captain through to everybody.
Despite the recent poor run of results I still think West Ham will survive
comfortably this season. More or less every team goes through a bad patch at
some time during the season but it's how you get out of that.
Bring on the Swans
So we got beat by five at Arsenal and beat at Fulham but today's game is
also going to be tough because Swansea, for me, are a fantastic passing
side. They get the ball down and they play; I've only watched them once or
twice but they pass the ball and if West Ham don't close them down today
they'll pass us to death. They have players who can open you up and score
goals and since Laudrup came in, they've come on leaps and bounds.
Last week someone asked me about the Fulham and Swansea games and I said I
can't see West Ham getting any points, because Fulham at home are a
difficult side to break down and beat whilst if Swansea are allowed to play
- and West Ham don't close them down - they're going to find it difficult.
The way West Ham are playing at the moment with players not putting a shift
in suggests they're going to find it difficult.
It's the same in every game though; West Ham are not a side with bundles and
bundles of talent. Yes, there are one or two very good players but we need
more to put a shift in for 90 minutes, not just 35 or 40 minutes.
A captain's role
Kevin Nolan has always been a good player but even last season some people
were saying "he doesn't do this, he doesn't do that". The thing is, when
he's scoring goals you can forgive the other side of it - but when he's not
scoring goals, as was the case before Fulham, you've got to find something
else to put in to your game. Kevin's not a box-to-box player - and it's not
just him - but I find that when the ball goes forward and the ball gets
transferred into our half they just jog back and that really pisses me off,
big time. It's just about hard work and running 30 or 40 yards.
On the plus side he's a great captain, the opposite of someone like Matthew
Upson who was a shocking captain for West Ham and not a very good player
either. Kevin is a very good player but he has to be in the right side. I
think he's right for West Ham but if you're going to play him other people
have to do his work - and players don't tend to do that anymore, they don't
look after each other. When I played with people like Dev, Liam [Brady] and
Stuart Slater they'd go forward, but we'd look after them.
The life of a thespian
This week I've been filming a cameo role in a film called The Hooligan
Factory. It's a spoof, a take-off of films like Green Street and The
Football Factory. Even though I've got a very small part in it I was on set
for ten hours - and if I'm going to be on set for ten hours a day, I want
Brad Pitt's money! I don't have a speaking role; I play one of the bosses of
the hooligans and had a great big scar down my face! But I enjoyed it.
I know Jason Maza who's producing it and Cass Pennant, who also has a cameo
role. I had a good chat with him about West Ham and everything else. There
were also actors who've been in Green Street and stuff like that (whose
faces I know but not the names). But it was good. We filmed it in a titty
bar - sadly there was only one girl there - but it was fun. I was probably
only filming for a couple of hours but there for ten so there was a lot of
waiting around and you get to chat to everybody. Everybody there was nice
enough so it was good.
Acting would appeal to me but I understand why they get paid so much. This
film isn't coming out until next year and they're working on it for four
weeks solid, so if you're the main actor doing 10-14 hours a day... It's a
great life to have off the screen, but they certainly work hard.
Julian Dicks was talking to Graeme Howlett.
* Julian is currently available to coach both junior and senior football
teams. For more details, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JULIAN3DICKS.
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Andy Carroll the hero as West Ham defeat Swansea
Last Updated: February 2, 2013 6:40pm
SSN
Andy Carroll made a dream return to the West Ham United first team as he
scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Swansea City at Upton Park. The
on-loan Liverpool striker was making his first start since November
following injury and he marked the occasion with a fine display and a 77th
minute header to settle an otherwise forgettable contest.
Best of the Game
Man of the Match: Andy Carroll won almost everything in the air and marked
his first start since November with the only goal
Save of the Match: Gerhard Tremmel was a contender for man of the match and
his second-half stop from Carroll was excellent
Miss of the Match: Michu has now gone six league games without a goal and
hit an effort over the crossbar after half-time
Talking Point: Will West Ham now return to their form of earlier in the
season? Did Swansea need another striker?
It was a very welcome win for West Ham, who collected three points for just
the third time in two months, and eased a previously worrying slide towards
the Premier League relegation zone. Swansea, for all their pretty football,
only sprung to life when Carroll's goal went in and Michu, who has now gone
six league games without a goal, had an off-day playing on his own up front.
West Ham's plan to launch the ball to Carroll became apparent from the off.
Winston Reid lumped it up to the big striker in the fourth minute, he
knocked it down to Kevin Nolan but he shot wide. Swansea had the majority of
possession but West Ham were the most dangerous team. Carroll found space
after dropping deep and laid the ball off to Mohamed Diame, who drew a good
save from Gerhard Tremmel. The Swansea goalkeeper was called into action
soon after, saving Nolan's shot with his feet. The visitors went in level at
half-time but only thanks to Tremmel, who once again pulled off a top-draw
save to deny Ricardo Vaz Te. West Ham started the second half as they ended
the first. A clever backheel from Matt Jarvis released Nolan, who pulled the
ball back for Carroll but he blazed over. It looked as if the Hammers were
destined to fail. Swansea's defence held strong and the home side continued
to waste their chances.
Referee Lee Probert then failed to award the Hammers a penalty when Vaz Te's
shot struck the arm of Chico Flores. After missing so many chances, there
was a huge sense of relief when Carroll finally broke the deadlock. The
England striker lost Ashley Williams in the Swansea box and leapt high
before powering Mark Noble's corner past Tremmel. Swansea continued to push
for an equaliser but it never came.
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West Ham's Andy Carroll earns praise from Sam Allardyce
Last Updated: February 3, 2013 7:17am
SSN
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce hopes there is more to come from Andy
Carroll after the striker's man of the match performance against Swansea
City. The on-loan Liverpool forward started his first game since November
after injury and scored the winner to earn his temporary club just a third
Premier League win in two months. And Allardyce thought Carroll, who could
join West Ham on a permanent basis in the summer, was the best player
against Swansea despite not being fully fit. "I think Andy has made the
difference today, no disrespect to [Marouane] Chamakh and Carlton Cole,"
Allardyce told Sky Sports.
"He is a big strong lad with a lot of ability. As we saw today, it was not
just about his heading ability, even though that was the winning goal. "It
was about his hold-up play, his movement and the trouble he caused Swansea.
I think everybody else could build off Andy and we created numerous
chances."
West Ham were denied by excellent Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel on
several occasions but Allardyce was at least pleased to see his struggling
team making opportunities. "It has been a great day from that point of view
and, as long as we keep creating the chances - particularly at home, we will
sooner or later start putting more in the back of the net," he said.
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Andy Carroll pleased with West Ham win over Swansea
Last Updated: February 2, 2013 6:10pm
SSN
Andy Carroll was more pleased to help West Ham United get back to winning
ways than to make his return to the starting line-up. The on-loan Liverpool
striker made his first start since November following injury when featuring
in Sam Allardyce's first XI against Swansea City on Saturday. And Carroll
marked the occasion with a fine display and a 77th minute header to earn
West Ham only their third win in two months The striker, who could make a
permanent summer move to Upton Park, told Sky Sports: "It was a great
feeling to get 90 minutes, get the three points and, obviously, get the
goal. "I did not find out until today that I was going to start and I was
obviously over the moon with the decision. "I just had to work hard, run
around and keep the ball as much as I could with being up there by myself.
"It was a tough game and I am just happy we got the three points."
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Sometimes You Just Need to Grind Out a Win!
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
Sometmes you just need to grind out a win! And this was one of those
occasions. We just needed to take the three points, halt the gradual slide
in results and get back on track. We did that by pressing Swansea,
disrupting their game and then playing to our strengths. Yes, some of the
play was a bit ropey at times, but we competed and came away with the three
points. I always saw it as a hard fought affair, with a single goal or the
best of three winning it. And that is the way that it transpired.
Hopefully, this win will breed confidence and faciltate getting back to the
type of results that, generally, we enjoyed in the first half of the season.
In assessing the display, we need to praise some players in particular. Joey
O'Brien looked good in his proper right-back slot, Noble ran himself in to
the ground, Nolan continued his steady return to form and Andy Carroll was
magnificent. With regard to Carroll, this match clearly demonstrated that if
you give him the right quality of ball in to the box, he will score goals.
Diame played to his usual high standard and thank goodness he stayed with us
in the January window. Matt Taylor was given a hard time on occasions, in
the first half, at left-back. However, he stuck to his task and used his
experience to come through it. While I thought Joe Cole had a positive
impact when he came on as a second half substitute. It just seems that we
move the ball better, with him on the pitch, and we look a far better
attacking unit.
Also, respect to James Tomkins, who has suffered indifferent form of late,
but has dug in and had a very good match yesterday. Tomkins has talent, that
is beyond dispute. The truth is that he is on a developmental learning curve
and he will emerge from it all the stronger. The criticism of him amongst
fans reminds me of what was said of Winston Reid, when he first joined us.
They were wrong on Reid and they are also wrong on Tomkins. He will play
through this indifferent phase and will earn the future praise of current
critics!
Next up is Aston Villa. This is a game that we should be looking to win. We
would certainly do ourselves a big favour if we can grab a result. Lambert
is a good manager, who has hitherto suffered an awful tme at Villa. A bit
like Tomkins, he will emerge from it all the stronger, more experienced and
knowledgeable. I just hope that Villa stick with him and show some faith in
his managerial ability. He will probably turn Villa around, lets just hope
that it happens/continues after our match with them!
Of course, this looks like a perfect opportunity for the 'fall guy' tendency
to strike us once again. But this time, I am hoping that we will build upon
yesterday's hard fought victory over Swansea. Then we face Spurs at home,
one of the biggest matches of the season, which just happens to be the 20th
anniversary of the death of the late, great, Bobby Moore.
We need to ensure that we consign all the controversy of the corresponding
fixture firmly to the past and show appropriate respect for the greatest
defender and captain in the history of the game. Keen rivalry is fine with
Spurs, is fine, but discrimination is not. We need to show what West Ham Utd
FC and the vast majority of its fans are really all about. And what better
opportunity to do that than the 20th anniversary of the passing our
favourite son, captain of West Ham and England, World Cup winner, cultured &
intelligent defender, peerless leader and true hero!
SJ. Chandos.
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West Ham 1 Swansea 0
The Sun
By DAN KING
Last Updated: 03rd February 2013
ANDY CARROLL finally brought a ray of sunshine into what was becoming a
bleak winter for the striker. His winning strike capped a superb all-round
performance in his first start for West Ham since November 28. It was also
only his second goal since joining the Irons on loan from Liverpool during
the summer transfer window. But for a while, it seemed this game was going
to be just another hard luck story for him and Sam Allardyce's men. The big
striker had done everything but score, generally creating havoc and making
chances which team-mates failed to convert. Yet when he fluffed a great
chance to cap his display with a goal early in the second half, it looked
like Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel was going to be the man of the match.
Especially when the German kept out another Carroll effort and West Ham had
a good penalty shout turned down, having been denied two spot-kicks in their
midweek loss at Fulham. But to their credit, both Carroll and the Hammers
kept going and maybe, just maybe, their luck is about to change. Because his
team's win was their third in the last 13 games. Swans boss Michael Laudrup
tried to characterise the game as pretty Swansea against direct West Ham. He
claimed his side had dominated the first half — despite the fact Tremmel
made three top saves. But anyone who came along expecting a later-than-usual
performance of Beauty and the Beast, with Carroll in the role of pantomime
horse, was disappointed. West Ham and Carroll are capable of playing the
ball on the ground, just as Swansea are perfectly happy to hit it high into
the channels if needs must.
When Swansea hit their stride, their football was indeed better than
anything West Ham could manage. But the hard-working Hammers did not let
Laudrup's side find their usual swagger. And although Allardyce's men did
not always use the ball well enough, they created enough chances to win
three matches.
Without a string of saves from Tremmel, Swansea would have gone into the
break beaten. As some of the shock results last week in the FA Cup proved,
some Premier League clubs lack decent stand-in keepers. But few if any boast
better options between the sticks than the Swans. Tremmel showed again
yesterday he is a more than able deputy to the injured Michel Vorm. First he
denied Kevin Nolan with his legs. Then, when the West Ham skipper ran on to
a Carroll flick for the second time in the game, Tremmel dived low to save
brilliantly. Those stops made a later flying leap to deny Ricardo Vaz Te
look routine. At the other end, Jussi Jaaskelainen had not had a save to
make. And early in the second half West Ham should have netted. After great
work by Nolan and Matt Jarvis, Carroll fired badly over from 14 yards.
Swansea enjoyed a brief flurry but back came West Ham, only for Tremmel to
use his legs again, this time to stop a Carroll shot. Chico seemed to handle
in the area but all complaints were forgotten when Carroll rose above Ashley
Williams to head home Mark Noble's corner.
Swans' reaction, which produced some moments of anxiety, was too little, too
late. But as Allardyce reflected afterwards, there may still be time for
Carroll and West Ham to end the season on a high.
d.king@the-sun.co.uk
West Ham: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Tomkins, Reid, Taylor, Noble, Diame (O'Neil
86), Vaz Te, Nolan (Pogatetz 90), Jarvis (Joe Cole 62), Carroll. Subs Not
Used: Spiegel, Carlton Cole, Collison, Chamakh. Booked: Vaz Te. Goals:
Carroll 77.
Swansea: Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies, de Guzman, Britton (Moore
57), Ki, Hernandez, Michu, Routledge (Dyer 75). Subs Not Used: Cornell,
Lamah, Monk, Shechter, Tiendalli. Booked: Chico.
Att: 34,962
Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carroll singing
The Sun
By DAN KING
Published: 02nd February 2013
ANDY CARROLL capped his home comeback with the West Ham winner — and boss
Sam Allardyce warned: "There's more to come." Carroll's 77th-minute header,
which gave the Hammers a crucial 1-0 win over Swansea, was only his second
goal in an injury-plagued spell on loan from Liverpool. Big Sam said:
"There's a lot more to come from Andy. If he can finish on a high it will be
great." Swansea boss Michael Laudrup said: "We know how good Carroll is in
the air. Inside the box he's very dangerous."
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Carroll's singing again: On-loan Hammers striker scores winner as Swansea
lose on the road
The Mirror
2 Feb 2013 17:11
Andy Carroll ended a two-month injury absence by becoming West Ham's
comeback king. Despite all the controversy which has plagued his career,
there is something about the England striker which makes him one of the most
feared forwards in the domestic game. It is no coincidence that since
on-loan Carroll has been out with a knee injury, West Ham have struggled to
score goals and have managed only two victories in his absence. The vultures
were starting to circulate around Upton Park but Carroll produced a
trademark 77th-minute header to get them back on the winning trail.
Allardyce said: "He should do shouldn't he? As long as he can stay fit until
the end of the season and get as many games in as he can. There is a lot
more to come from Andy. It was Andy's first full 90 minutes in nine weeks.
He looked like he was enjoying himself."
It was fitting Carroll should score as the Swansea defence struggled to cope
with his presence throughout. As Swansea boss Michael Laudrup noted: "We
knew Andy Carroll would win lots of balls out there. It was more or less
what I expected." Allardyce celebrated the end of the January transfer
window with a glass of brandy – and you can be sure that he was toasting
Carroll last night. Co-owner David Sullivan revealed that the club had
already agreed a deal with Liverpool to sign Carroll at the end of the
season, though have yet to open talks with the player. But if he continues
to score crucial goals it seems only a question of time before they try to
land his signature on a permanent basis. Despite bringing in Joe Cole,
Marouane Chamakh and Emanuel Pogatetz during the transfer window, all three
of Allardyce's latest signings had to be content with a place on the bench
yesterday. West Ham dominated the first half and should have broken the
deadlock after 21 minutes. Joey O'Brien produced a great piece of skill to
take the ball past Ben Davies and crossed for Kevin Nolan whose volley was
saved by the legs of Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel. Nolan, causing Swansea
all kinds of problems, must still be wondering how he didn't get his name on
the score sheet in the 37th minutes. Ricardo Vaz Te's cross picked out
Carroll who directed a clever flick into the path of Nolan. The West Ham
captain thought he had finally broken the deadlock but his low shot produced
a superb save from Tremmel. The Swansea defenders were struggling to cope
with the presence of Carroll and he should have put West Ham ahead after 66
minutes but his shot was blocked by Tremmel. The rebound fell to Vaz Te who
crossed for Mohamed Diame to send a scissor kick just over the bar. Hammers'
fans must have thought it was going to be one of those days again, but
Carroll refused to lie down. Mark Noble's corner picked him out and Carroll
rose above Ashley Williams to power home a header. Swansea rallied and West
Ham were forced to defend for their lives in the final 10 minutes when Jussi
Jaaskelainen denied Ki Sung-Yueng and Davies. But it was all about that man
Carroll and he could prove to be the difference in helping West Ham
challenge for a top half finish.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, February 2
Daily WHUFC News - 2nd February 2013
Swansea City match preview
WHUFC.com
All the background information ahead of West Ham United's Saturday home
match with Swansea City
01.02.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v SWANSEA CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: LEE PROBERT
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Introduction
• West Ham United are back at the Boleyn Ground this Saturday looking to
make it four home games unbeaten with Swansea City travelling to east London
in the Barclays Premier League.
• The Hammers have defeated Norwich City and drawn with Manchester United
and QPR in E13 in recent weeks.
• Swansea haven't visited the Boleyn Ground for a league fixture since
December 1982, but they did take on the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground in an
FA Cup third round game in 1999, which ended 1-1.
• Michael Laudrup's side are in their second season in the Barclays Premier
League and have reached this season's Capital One Cup final after defeating
Chelsea in the semi-finals.
• Sam Allardyce's side will be looking to avenge a 3-0 defeat suffered at
the Liberty Stadium on the second weekend of this Barclays Premier League
season, which formed part of a three-game winning streak for the Swans at
the start of the campaign.
• The Hammers will also be looking to put Wednesday's loss at Fulham behind
them, with Kevin Nolan netting their goal in the 3-1 defeat.
• Emanuel Pogatetz could be in line for a debut after joining the Hammers on
loan from German side VfL Wolfsburg on Monday. The 30-year-old defender has
a wealth of Barclays Premier League experience from a five-year spell at
Middlesbrough between 2005-10.
• The Hammers clash with Swansea City is one of eight games taking place in
the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. The following games will also take
place; QPR v Norwich is the early kick-off at 12.45pm, the 3pm fixtures are
Arsenal v Stoke City, Everton v Aston Villa, Newcastle United v Chelsea,
Reading v Sunderland, Wigan Athletic v Southampton and Fulham v Manchester
United is the late kick-off at 5.30pm.
Statistical analysis
Head of Performance Analysis David Woodfine said statistics suggested West
Ham United were hugely unfortunate to lose at Fulham on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers out-passed the Cottagers by 374 to 285. Of those, 152 passes
went forward to Fulham's 103, while the visitors crossed the ball 27 times
to eleven and won eight corners to Fulham's two.
Physically, West Ham also out-performed their hosts, running more than 1,200
metres more than Fulham in total. The Hammers' players also ran more than
2km more than their opponents at high intensity.
"From these statistics, we can see that the team are producing a lot of the
key ingredients required for winning football matches," said Woodfine.
"We passed the ball far more often and in more dangerous areas than Fulham,
crossed the ball more than twice as many times as our hosts and ran further
and at a higher intensity than the Cottagers, but did not reap the rewards
of our work.
"We have reached a consistently high level in our home matches this season
and, if we can replicate this level of performance, we will be able to turn
it into points."
Last time out
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday January 30 2013
Fulham 3-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (Taylor 67), Reid, Tomkins, O'Brien;
Diame, Noble, Nolan; J Cole (Carroll 76), Chamakh (C Cole 56), Jarvis
Subs not used: Henderson, Vaz Te, Pogatetz, O'Neil
Goals: Nolan 48
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday January 29 2013
Sunderland 0-0 Swansea City
Swansea City: Tremmel; Tiendalli, Williams, Chico, Davies; Dyer, de Guzman,
Britton (Graham 75), Hernandez (Lamah 66); Shechter (Ki 60); Michu
Subs not used: Cornell, Bartley, Routledge, Rangel
Previous meeting
• Saturday's visit of Swansea City will be the first time the South Wales
side have travelled to the Boleyn Ground since January 1999 when the two
sides were paired together in the third round of the FA Cup. Swansea led for
much of the second period, but Julian Dicks' 87th minute strike secured a
1-1 draw and a replay at the Vetch Field.
West Ham United: Hislop, Potts, Ruddock, Dicks, I.Pearce, Sinclair,
Lazaridis (Omoyinmi 82), Lomas, Berkovic (J.Cole 65), Hartson (Abou 70),
I.Wright
Goal: Dicks 87
Swansea City: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Bound, Smith, Cusack, Roberts,
Thomas, Coates, Watkin, Alsop
Goal: Smith 61
Background
• West Ham United and Swansea City have met 52 times over a period of 90
years, the Hammers have won 23, Swansea have won 17 and 12 have ended in a
draw.
• The first meeting between the two sides came on 7 January 1922 in the FA
Cup and ended in a 0-0 draw. The replay on 11 January also ended 0-0, and
the two sides met for the third time in nine days on 16 January when Swansea
won 1-0 to progress.
• West Ham visited Wales twice last season, beating Cardiff City 2-1 in the
npower Championship in March before winning 2-0 in the Play-Off semi-final.
• Joe Cole made his first West Ham debut as a substitute in the 1-1 FA Cup
third-round draw against Swansea City on 2 January 1999.
Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
25 Aug 2012 Swansea City v West Ham United L 0-3
13 Jan 1999 Swansea City v West Ham United L 1-0 (FA Cup third-round replay)
02 Jan 1999 West Ham United v Swansea City D 1-1 (FA Cup third round)
07 Oct 1985 Swansea City v West Ham United W 2-3 (Milk Cup)
24 Sep 1985 West Ham United v Swansea City W 3-0 (Milk Cup)
05 Apr 1983 Swansea City v West Ham United W 1-5 (Division One)
Overall record v Swansea City (all competitions) W 23 D 12 L 17
Ten-year record
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Swansea City
2011/12 Premier League 11th (47 points)
2010/11 Championship 3rd (80 points)
2009/10 Championship 7th (69 points)
2008/09 Championship 8th (68 points)
2007/08 League One 1st (92 points)
2006/07 League One 7th (72 points)
2005/06 League One 6th (71 points)
2004/05 League Two 3rd (80 points)
2003/04 League Two 10th (59 points)
2002/03 League Two 21st (49 points)
2001/02 League Two 20th (51 points)
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lee Probert.
• Forty-year-old Probert will officiate a West Ham United fixture for the
second time this season, having also been the man in the middle for the 3-2
defeat to Liverpool on 9 December.
• He began refereeing in 1986 before being promoted to the Football League
assistant referees' list in 1998, and made the step up to referee in the
league five years later.
• Probert was promoted to the Select Group of Premier League referees in
summer 2007.
• In 2010, he took charge of the FA Trophy final between Barrow and
Stevenage Borough at Wembley, before returning to the Home of Football to
act as fourth official for the 2011 FA Cup final between Manchester City and
Stoke City.
• In 24 matches this season, Probert has issued 69 yellow cards and sent off
two players. His last assignment was for last Sunday's FA Cup tie between
Oldham Athletic and Liverpool, which saw the League One Latics shock Brendan
Rodgers' side.
• On Saturday, Probert will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Ron Ganfield,
while the fourth official will be Phil Dowd.
Team news
• Andy Carroll made his comeback from a knee injury in Wednesday's defeat at
Craven Cottage and the striker will be looking to play some part again when
Swansea City come to east London.
• James Collins and George McCartney remain sidelined with injury, but new
loan signing Emanuel Pogatetz will add to Sam Allardyce's defensive options.
• Swansea sold striker Danny Graham to Sunderland on transfer deadline day,
and Swans boss Michael Laudrup opted not to make any last minute additions
to his squad,
• Neil Taylor and Kemy Agustien are both missing for the visitors with ankle
injuries.
Old boys
• The only player to have had an affiliation with both clubs who could take
part on Saturday is Swansea's Leon Britton. The London-born midfielder
joined West Ham United in 1998 for a fee of £400,000, a record fee for a
16-year-old at the time. He didn't however make a single appearance for the
Hammers and left the club to join Swansea in 2003 after a successful loan
spell.
General Information
• Tickets are sold out for Saturday's fixture. For all other ticket
information, the box office can be accessed here
• The weather forecast for Saturday is a bright, but cold one, with the sun
due to be shining at 3pm with a temperature of 5C.
• Please be aware that engineering works on the London Underground District
Line means there will be no service between South Kensington and
Bromley-by-Bow on Saturday. There will also be no service on the Hammersmith
and City Line between Kings Cross and Barking. Replacement buses will
operate on both lines.
• In addition, there is no service on the Metropolitan Line between Baker
Street and Aldgate and on the Docklands Light Railway between Canning Town
and Beckton
• Greater Anglia and c2c services will be operating as normal.
• Supporters who drive to the Boleyn Ground should take note of new parking
restrictions in the London Borough of Newham
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Big Sam on: Swansea City
WHUFC.com
Big Sam speaks to the media ahed of West Ham United's clash with Swansea
City
01.02.2013
Sam Allardyce is delighted the transfer window has finally slammed shut, so
that he can get back to concentrating solely on matters on the pitch.
Swansea City are Saturday's visitors to the Boleyn Ground and Big Sam
insists that it is the Swans' defensive prowess, as well as their attractive
brand of possession football, that has laid the foundations for a second
successful season in the Barclays Premier League. The Hammers, meanwhile, go
in search of a first league win since New Year's Day and Allardyce remains
confident that his side's excellent home form will stand them in good stead
for Saturday.
Sam, how glad are you that the transfer window has finally closed?
SA: "Well I think we're all waking up this morning and whether we've done as
much as we wanted to or not, we'll all be pleased that we can focus purely
on the football matches we've got between now and the end of the season. I
think that all the usual mayhem has taken place yet again and we've all been
in the middle of it at some stage or another. Of course the distraction is a
huge part of trying to get through this period and still trying to produce
the results. For us, we haven't got the results we wanted for one reason or
another. We've strengthened the team as best we possibly can and the most
important thing at the end of yesterday was that we kept Mohamed Diame.
"You're always disappointed in this window, because it has always been so
ferocious in terms of what you want to do. We've brought in players to
strengthen a squad that has already proven that they can cope at this level
at the first of time asking back in the Barclays Premier League. We've tried
to strengthen that to give us a little boost and hopefully we've done that."
How do you think you can lift the team and squad to pick up more points?
SA: "It's pretty simple really. We've got to get back to being defensively
solid as a unit. If you look at the team we're playing on Saturday, the
reason they're so successful is contrary to what you all think, it's because
they have the best defensive record in the league. When they score a goal
they win a game of football and they don't concede many, in fact they hardly
concede any. When you win, that brings you the greatest reward of all,
because three points for a win and only one for a draw make a massive
difference to anybody in the league.
"Swansea have been outstanding both in and out of possession, that's what
has impressed me the most. From our point of view, I don't think we've had a
clean sheet since West Bromwich Albion away and because of that we have not
managed to secure the wins we wanted to. The games we should have won we
ended up drawing and those we should have drawn we've lost."
You're taking on a Swansea team in top form...
SA: "They're in top form. I watched the Sunderland game and they should have
won it right at the very end. But then you look at the statistics and
Sunderland played 90 minutes at home with no shots on target whatsoever.
That shows you how good a team Swansea are.
Are you concerned that you haven't won since New Year's Day?
SA: "We're very concerned at this moment in time. We've only taken five
points out of the last eight games, which we all know isn't good enough. But
you can have these spells, it's not unique to us. For Fulham it was only a
third win in 16 matches, Norwich have been the same. Lots of teams like us
have had this spell just now, where we've gone a considerable amount of time
without enough wins. We know that we've got to put that right.
"We started the season absolutely brilliantly and the rest of the season had
been going very well until the injuries hit and once the injuries hit, it
devastated the team at the time and we've now suffered in terms of results."
The biggest boost for you must be Andy Carroll, is he ready to play a full
game against Swansea?
SA: "I wouldn't say Andy's ready to play a full game, but he's ready to play
some part of the game. Because he hasn't played a competitive game, apart
from the 15 minutes he got at Fulham, after eight or nine weeks out. Having
a fit squad is the main objective of everyone at the football club at the
moment. Because that is our major concern and has been our over the last
four to six weeks. Particularly defensively and even at the moment, we've
got James Collins and George McCartney injured, which is why we had to bring
in Emanuel Pogatetz.
How do you approach Saturday's game?
SA: "I have to say our home performances, nearly all season, have been
nothing other than very, very good. Results haven't followed some of the
games. We've got to continue with that form and that will give us an
opportunity to win. We have to be aware of how good Swansea are out of
possession. They're going to be looking to play on the break against us and
if anything a foreign coach is probably better at planning his strategy
playing on the break than perhaps we are. We have to be aware of that and
not get caught by the spaces that we leave behind when trying to break that
very solid defence down.
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Carroll eyes Swans start
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll wants to shoot the Hammers back to winning ways on Saturday
01.02.2013
Hammers striker Andy Carroll is itching to make up for lost time after
stepping up his comeback from a knee injury with a 14-minute substitute
appearance in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat at Fulham. The big Geordie has been out
since late November but returned to the Barclays Premier League fray at
Craven Cottage with Sam Allardyce's men looking to close a deficit caused by
goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega. West Ham couldn't rescue a
point on this occasion, but Carroll was happy to be back and he is looking
forward to helping the team as they move on to Saturday's visit of Swansea
City. Speaking exclusively to West Ham TV, Carroll said: "Obviously we were
disappointed with the result but to be back on the pitch was great for me
because I've been out injured for a while now. "I've been wanting to get out
there since I've been injured - I've been in the gym and treatment room
working hard to get fit. It's taken a while but I'm back and it was a great
feeling to get those few minutes under my belt."
The England international forced a save from Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer
with his very first touch after replacing Joe Cole on Wednesday, and the
former Newcastle man felt his side were a little unfortunate not to take
something from the contest after a strong start to the second period which
saw them briefly level through Kevin Nolan. He continued: "I had a little
chance as soon as I came on with my first touch, I caught it quite well but
the keeper was there in the right place, right time. I think overall we were
unlucky not to get a result. "The gaffer had a word with us at half-time to
tell the lads what he expected, and we went out there and showed in the way
we started what we're about. We put the ball in the box, got a few chances
and Kev put his away for a good goal. The disappointing thing was that they
got straight back in the lead, because we were on top of them at that stage
and we could have pushed on to get the win.
"They put the first chance they created after our goal away and it's
disappointing for the lads, but we've got to keep at it and think about the
next game now.
"Straight away our focus goes on to Swansea at the weekend. We've had a
tough run lately, we need to put points on the board, the lads know that,
and I'm sure once we get that result, the others will follow."
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Potts enjoying life on the touchline
WHUFC.com
Steve Potts hopes defeat in the FA Youth Cup is now all but forgotten for
his Under-18 side
31.01.2013
Steve Potts admits he has been bitten by the coaching bug, as he prepares
for Saturday's visit of West Bromwich Albion to Little Heath in the Barclays
U18 Premier League Tier One Stage. Though it has barely been 18 months since
he joined the staff at West Ham United's Academy, the Hammers' long-serving
full-back is quickly growing accustomed to life on the other side of the
touchline. Following a spell at the helm of the U16s, Potts takes charge of
only his third contest as U18s coach on Saturday, having made the step up at
the turn of the year. "All in all I've only been doing it for a year and
half and you're forever learning," he said. I played the game for a number
of years, but this is the other side of it. It's a big learning curve for me
as well. I'm enjoying it, I've grown into it really, I must admit. When I
first came in, it gets a grip of you, that's for sure."
Potts' young side head into the weekend's clash bidding to make it two wins
out of two in the Barclays Premier League U18 Tier One. Tottenham Hotspur
avenged a 1-0 league defeat at the hands of West Ham with a 5-2 FA Youth Cup
win at the Boleyn Ground ten days later, but Potts is not envisaging a
hangover from that evening. "Some of the boys have been involved in the
Development Squad, but for the majority of the players this will be the
first game since [the FA Youth Cup exit]," Potts confirmed. "It was a
disappointing result, very disappointing for the boys but they've just got
to try and put that behind them and push on to the next game on Saturday.
"The players have been fine. Obviously everyone took a big knock that night,
result wise, in such a big competition as the Youth Cup is. We got back in
over the next day or two and you can see everyone's disappointment, you can
see it in their face, which is natural. But once they've been out training I
can't fault them. They've been really training well."
West Ham ran out comprehensive 4-0 winners at home to the Baggies in Group 1
earlier this season, before falling to a 2-0 defeat in November's reverse
fixture. Potts, however, insists with the likely change of personnel, that
previous encounters are of no great import. "I think our team make up and
the opposition's changes depending on Development Squads and first-team
squads, with players getting pulled into those. So I don't think it has much
bearing at all. The classic example of that was Tottenham. We played them in
the league and then in the cup and obviously got two different results. So I
don't think you can read too much into it. "I just hope we can play to our
potential on Saturday, that's the main thing. I personally think there are a
number of good players here at this level and levels below. The main thing
is pushing the boys as much as we can. Whether they're in the U18s, or
hopefully if they're doing well, they get pushed on further into the
Development Squad. Obviously the ultimate thing is getting to the first
team, and that's all that matters."
Kick-off at Little Heath on Saturday is at 11am, with admission and parking
both free of charge.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Swansea
KO 15:00
1 February 2013
Last updated at 13:33
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 2 February
TEAM NEWS
West Ham's Andy Carroll is likely to again start on the bench as he builds
up match fitness after a knee injury. The Hammers are still without
defenders George McCartney (knee), James Collins (hamstring) and Dan Potts
(concussion).
Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm is still sidelined by a knee injury and will
again be replaced by Gerhard Tremmel. The Swans will have fewer attacking
options to select from after Danny Graham's departure to Sunderland on
transfer deadline day.
MATCH PREVIEW
Sam Allardyce was one of the busier managers during the transfer window,
adding Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh, Wellington Paulista and Emanuel Pogatetz
in an attempt to give his West Ham squad a bit of a boost. An excellent
autumn which saw them perform above expectations has been replaced by a
slightly more concerning run of results in which they've won just one of the
last nine matches in the Premier league.
The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle between the excellent
start of just three defeats from the opening 12 games and the recent run of
just two wins from the next 12, of which eight have ended in defeat. They
are neither as good as the first run nor as bad as the recent one, so their
current mid-table placing of 13th strikes me as about right. Swansea arrive
in rude health with a Wembley final to look forward to against Bradford in
the Capital One Cup, a brand of football that is easy on the eye and a
seven-match unbeaten run that further cements their current place in the top
half of the table. It's all a far cry from when they last played at Upton
Park in the third round of the FA Cup 14 years ago. Swansea were a mid-table
team in the fourth tier back in those days, a whopping 72 places behind West
Ham at the time, and yet they came within a whisker of winning the tie at
the first attempt. Jason Smith headed Swansea into the lead after an hour,
and as West Ham tried to get back in the game, Harry Redknapp, their manager
at the time, threw on a 17-year-old by the name of Joe Cole for his debut.
In the end, Julian Dicks earned the Hammers a replay with a late equaliser
but Swansea weren't to be denied and won the second game 1-0.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Swansea beat West Ham 3-0 in their only previous Premier League meeting,
which came last August.
The Swans have not won on any of their last nine visits in all competitions.
Their last victory was a 2-1 success in August 1956.
West Ham
West Ham have had just one win in their last nine league matches. They have
lost three of the last four.
The Hammers have only claimed eight points from the last 36 available.
West Ham have won just one of their 11 matches against top-half teams this
season (W1, D3, L7).
Andy Carroll has scored once in his last 17 Premier League matches.
Swansea
Swansea are unbeaten in seven league games.
The Swans have kept five clean sheets away from home in the league this
season and conceded just nine away goals - they are the only team yet to
concede double figures away from home in the Premier League.
Three of Swansea's last four away matches have been 0-0 draws.
Michu has scored four league goals in London this season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan and West Ham player 'threatened by agent'
BBC.co.uk
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan alleges he and a player were threatened
with violence by an agent during January's transfer window. Sullivan has
called for the FA to look into agents' conduct and cap fees. He said: "I can
see it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is
legislation from the FA. He was previously an owner of Birmingham City from
1993-2010 where he brought in Karren Brady as managing director "I had an
agent threaten me and one of our players with physical violence, because he
thought he was being cut out of a deal."
QPR manager Harry Redknapp, whose club were one of the more active teams in
the market during the transfer window, had earlier said: "Every agent seems
to be trying to screw each other. It's like gang warfare out there. "It is
scary. If you've got a deal for a player, another agent will try to scupper
that deal if he is not involved in it. It's unreal. It's unbelievable what's
going on. They're all fighting for big money, that's the problem."
Sullivan claimed the financial demands by agents had got out of control
adding: "We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. Agents who would once demand £50,000 for their part
in a transfer now want £500,000 to £1m to either bring a player or keep a
player. It is quite outrageous and the FA should cap the amount paid to
agents for their work. "I heard of one agent, who took over representation
of a player for one day, and he wanted to be paid between £1.25m and £1.5m
for his part in negotiating a new contract."
Sullivan also praised West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace over his
handling of Peter Odemwingie, who was refused a transfer to QPR and has now
been told not to attend training until next week. Sullivan said:
"[Odemwingie] drove down to QPR and was actively trying to force a transfer,
but Mr Peace refused to cave in. He held his ground. "He would not be
bullied. You cannot give in to players like this. It is the same as giving
in to terrorists or kidnappers. If you pay the ransom, they will only come
back for more. "Consequently, Mr Peace has done a great service to
football."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It was vital Mohamed Diame stayed - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk
Manager Sam Allardyce says it was more important West Ham retained
midfielder Mohamed Diame rather than make any more signings on transfer
deadline day. Speculation had surrounded Diame, 25, but the window closed
with the Senegalese still at the club. Allardyce said: "The most important
thing at the end of yesterday was probably keeping hold of Mo Diame." West
Ham had brought in three players earlier in January, though Allardyce failed
to add to that on Thursday. Diame has made 19 appearances in the Premier
League since joining on a free transfer in July after he turned down a
contract extension with Wigan.
Allardyce had suggested Diame could still leave if any side met the release
clause in his contract. Despite links to Arsenal, this did not occur, with
fellow defensive midfielder Alou Diarra and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson
making the only late exits. On the other side of the market, defender
Emanuel Pogatetz, midfielder Joe Cole and forward Marouane Chamakh had all
been acquired by the Hammers. "For us we haven't got the results we wanted
to try and get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too heavy into
the financial side of the market," Allardyce added. "You're always
disappointed in this window, I've never been delighted at the end of a
window, in January anyway. It is always ferocious in terms of what you want
to do but we have done as well as we possibly can do."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Barnet sign Dominic Vose and release Taiwo Atieno
BBC.co.uk
Barnet have signed former West Ham midfielder Dominic Vose on a one-year
deal and released striker Taiwo Atieno. The 19-year-old Vose, who was
released by the Hammers in December, had a loan spell with Braintree in Blue
Square Bet Premier last season. Atieno, 27, made four appearances for the
Bees after joining in December. The much-travelled Kenyan scored in the win
over Bradford at the start of January but the club have opted not to extend
his deal.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan reveals threats of violence
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's co-owner David Sullivan has claimed he was threatened with
physical violence by a football agent during the transfer window. The
64-year-old, who celebrated three years as co-owner of the club last month
insists he is "glad" that the winter window has now ended after he was
forced to endure threats from an unnamed agent who believed he was being
overlooked. Sullivan, who also called for a cap to the fees agents can
charge told the Daily Mail: "People do desperate things when they are
desperate. We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. "There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. In this window, I have had an agent threaten me and
threaten one of our players with physical violence, because he thought he
was being cut out of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to
jump in on other deals. Some of these people are like scavengers. I can see
it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is legislation
from the FA to curb the practices. "It was all deeply unpleasant and I'm
glad it's over. Now we can get on with the football."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Just Chamakh it in the net!
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Charlie Clayton
A veteran shot-stopper, a defensive fortress and a powerful midfield. What's
missing? Goals.
Coming up from the Championship, we knew we had to invest in a goalscorer
and over the summer and buying Mobido Maiga looked like a good start. I was
hopeful. Him and our Carlton up front looked like a decent partnership.
Then, out of nowhere, we signed a seemingly deadly partnership; Matt Jarvis
and Andy Carroll. Everybody could see it, Jarvis with his deadly pace and
ability to beat a man before drifting a ball across for one of the greatest
headers of the ball in English football. Surely we had that missing piece of
puzzle to keep us where we belong.
An opening win against Aston Villa was a good start, a game followed by the
best performance of the season so far - a 3-0 walkover against Fulham. It
was a more than convincing start. Andy Caroll was on fire; even without
being on the scoresheet he played a big part in two of the goals. It all
looked so good.
However getting your hopes up, as a West Ham fan, is not the cleverest thing
to do and it rarely pays off. Carroll limped off in his opening game with a
hamstring injury. It was worthwhile though; a great win over Fulham and
everyone expected him to be back in a couple of games and be just as good,
if not better.
Walking out of Upton Park that night, everybody's hopes were high. If we
could perform like that every week, there wouldn't be a relegation battle in
sight.
Being a West Ham fan however, nothing is ever as good as it seems. Making
his comeback against QPR, Big Andy wasn't on the goal sheet for the next
seven games he played in. Things started getting worrying and he needed to
score fast before we became the second club - along with Liverpool - to
label him a flop.
So who better to score against than our biggest Premier League opponents,
Tottenham? West Ham had the chance to be heroes. Most of all though, Andy
had the chance to be a hero. Unsurprisingly, this didn't happen and in a
unconvincing 3-1 loss at at White Hart Lane, the fact that Andy had finally
netted was more relief than joy. The England international had to be on the
right path now though, coming back from injury and scoring a few games
later?
Well, not exactly.
Coming off for what looked like a routine substitution in a good performance
against Manchester United, it was later revealed he had twisted his knee. He
was to miss the next two months which, coincidently, was our toughest period
of the season with visits to and from teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton
and Liverpool. It was a deadly blow to be dealt.
The festive period came and went with losses to Arsenal, Everton and
Liverpool and a surprise win against the Blues of Stamford Bridge. More
importantly, the january window was in full flow with the purchase of Joe
Cole to give the same service Jarvis had been providing but from the other
side of the pitch.
Service to who though? We needed a striker who could take Carroll's place
until he was fully fit or take his place permanently, if he didn't step back
in with all guns blazing.
Big Sam didn't disappoint on the business side of things with a loan deal
for Arsenal's Moroccan striker Mauroane Chamakh being put through early on.
People immediately labelled him a flop which I thought was extremely harsh;
Arsene Wenger doesn't buy a player for nothing and 90 per cent of the time,
the buy pays off.
Just because Chamakh struggled at the Gunners doesn't mean he's a bad
player. Stepping into any Premier League side is a challenge, let alone a
side with the reputation and expectations of the Gunners. Anyhow, he must
have something for Arsene to buy him in the first place and knowing
Allardyce and the way he plays, it was most likely a strong heading ability.
Chamakh made his claret and blue debut against Queens Park Rangers at home.
It was a very frustrating game finishing 1-1. On the positive side though,
it was a good performance from West Ham and, more importantly, a good
performance from Chamakh. However, much like Mr. Carroll, he failed to net
having one effort cleared off the line and another well save thereby denying
the striker his debut goal.
On a positive note, he didn't get injured - which I suppose counts as moving
in the right direction.
His second game, against Fulham, wasn't the greatest performance I've seen
from the Hammers this season. In fact, I would even go to say it was one of
the worst. Once again, our much-talked-about solid midfielder Mo Diame
played well but our defence couldn't handle Dimitar Berbatov. Chamakh failed
to put the ball in the net once again with Nolan scoring our only goal in a
disappointing 3-1 loss away from home.
With two Premier League strikers on loan and a budget that seems very tight,
the only option for cover for the two loanee strikers and Carlton Cole was
Modibo Maiga who is also beginning to fall away from the team. Therefore,
Big Sam looked across the Atlantic for a goalscorer. The decision was made
to bring Cruzeiro striker Wellington Paulista to West Ham United.
The Brazilian has an impressive scoring record and is hungry for goals. This
can only be positive. Once again a deadly header of the ball he seems to be
one of the best on the ground back in his home league. Nevertheless, much
like Chamakh, it is a big step up from a smaller league like the Liga Da
Brazil or the French Ligue 1 to the Premier League. It doesn't matter how
much hunger and commitment you show, if you're not good enough, you wont
make it.
Scoring in his first reserve game and getting him back up to fully fitness,
Paulista looks to be the most promising out of all of our singings this
window as he can be back-up to the striker and play down the wing, letting
Joe Cole rest or rotate with the Brazilian. This is why I believe he could
be a key player nearer the end of the season for West Ham United - but will
it be enough?
Is he the one who will keep us up? Is Chamakh? Is Carroll?
We're currently in a downward spiral that's engulfing my beloved Irons at a
disastrous rate. Anyone willing to step up and put the ball into the back of
the net should start for this club. Players today don't have the same loyal
feeling that used to come with waring the Claret and Blue strip. Hopefully
this will return in the coming weeks because come the end of the season, I
still think we are going to need all the help we can get.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United v Swansea City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Preview Percy
Next up we return to the green green grass of home where we play hosts to
Swansea City. Kick-off is at the right-thinking person's preferred time of
3pm on Saturday.
It's been a while so I bid you pray welcome for the return of the tube
engineering works which we've missed so much of late. Basically the District
Line is running only between Bromley-By-Bow and Upminster and the
Hammersmith & City line is also out of action. So if you use the District
from central London you might wish to entertain the thought of using the
Jubilee line as far as West Ham then waiting for what will probably be a
much reduced District service to Upton Park from there. You're welcome.
Our visitors this weekend sit in rude health, occupying as they do 8th spot
with 34 points from their 24 matches played so far. However they've been one
to mark your "X" next to on the pools coupons of late, having drawn 4 of
their last 6 matches. Three of these have been 0-0 draws away from home, at
Reading, Everton & Sunderland, so it may be worth having a think before
going for your first goalscorer bet. The other draw was a 2-2 home share of
the spoils against Villa whilst the remaining two matches resulted in
victories over Fulham at Craven Cottage (2-1) and 3-1 at home to Stoke.
Of course the big news down that way in recent weeks has been their
qualification for the League Cup final by defeating Chelsea in the Battle of
Ballboygate. This can be summed up as follows: Spoilt brat who probably
deserves a kicking holds onto ball and gets a kicking. Overpaid Chelsea
muppet gets deserved red card for violent conduct. Meanwhile the poor little
podgy soul who was at the centre of the affair has apparently received death
threats, which is something that that bloke who keeps forgetting to mention
that he's fatboy's ghost writer when he slags us off appears to have made no
comment on. Funny that.
We've just completed transfer deadline day. The current transfer window
system is a ludicrous innovation of the past few years and seems to have
been invented purely to give Sky the opportunity to fill their sports news
channel with stuff on what would otherwise be a quiet month. They go a bit
OTT don't they. It only takes the announcement that someone's reserve team
'keeper is on their way to a League 2 side for a month's loan for Jim
White's head to explode. Swansea had a relatively quiet window, with the
major news being the departure of striker Danny Graham off to Sunderland.
Newcastle fan Graham was roundly booed when coming on as a sub up there last
week. That one is destined to end in tears I tells ya.
The Swans main transfer dealing happened in the summer when they picked up
Michu, who is being described by many as the signing of the season.
Tottenham were offered him for free when he was at Celta Vigo, and then
again last year for £2.2m, which was the buyout clause in force while he was
at Rayo Vallecano. So that's another one they nearly signed then.
There's a bit of a doubt over their first choice 'keeper. Dutchman Michel
Vorm has been suffering with a 'knee problem of late. He's said to be close
to a return but if he's not ready they will turn to the German Gerhard
Tremmell, who had a spell as a kid with our old chums 1860 Munich.
Leon Britton, the two foot tall ex-Hammer is likely to feature in midfield.
He cost us a cool £400,000 as a 16 year old but never quite made it at the
Boleyn. When asked about this his response was quite refreshing: "I wasn't
good enough". In the recent match against Chelsea he finished the game with
a bandaged head after a stray elbow from Ramires. Who knows what damage he
might have sustained had he thrown himself onto the ball. There were some
stats published recently that suggested that Britton was statistically the
best passer in Europe or something. Whilst I'm not a fan of these Opta
things – it lists Jamie Carragher's occupation as "footballer" for example –
he's certainly not looked out of place at the top level.
Michu is the club's top scorer this term with 13 in the league. Next in the
League list is Jonathan De Guzman with 6. De Guzman is on a season's loan
from Villareal and is a pretty cosmopolitan character all told. He's
Canadian by birth, and, in addition to Canada, he also qualifies to play at
international level for Jamaica and the Philippines. However, having seen
his big brother up sticks to seek a football career in France, he did
something similar, ending up in Rotterdam where he signed for Feyenoord.
En-route he picked up Dutch citizenship and a few (Carry-on style joke
warning) er, Dutch Caps at U21 level. A spell at Mallorca followed before a
transfer to Villareal where, following a change in coach, he found
opportunities limited, hence his presence in South Wales.
Us? Well the transfer window ended quietly, despite all the speculation over
Diame. A new 'keeper and a left back would have been nice but since we are
still relatively broke we were always going to be short of options. We
therefore need to make the best use of what players we do have available to
us. Which is what made Wednesday night so worrying. I'm not one to jump on
the "anti-manager" bandwagon and start calling for his head but I do think
it was a mistake to start with Chamakh against Fulham. On the evidence of
his appearances so far he doesn't seem to have brought much to the table so
far. Furthermore, in Carlton Cole we had a forward who has scored more times
against Fulham than any other club and, unlike Chamakh, he would have, at
least made something of a nuisance of himself.
Of course things weren't helped by yet another indefensible display from the
officials. Now one can understand marginal offside decisions getting missed
but ntheir first goal had three players, including the goalscorer, all
sitting 3-4 yards offside. This sort of thing is happening every week and
standards have slipped so far that the rest of Europe regards our officials
as a joke. They're right. The sooner match officials are controlled by
someone willing to take action against those who are not up to standard,
rather than protecting them the better.
Injury news is that the usual long-term absentees will still be out. We're
one down in midfield where Alou Diarra seems to have talked himself into a
swift departure from the Boleyn and is off to Rennes. The good news is that
Carroll is now on the available list. I'd hope that Pogatetz is being
considered to partner Reid. No disrespect to Tomkins but Reid always seems
more at home with the more traditional central defensive partner and we've
not been at our best at the back since Ginge caught hamstring.
Prediction? Well the run of form that we're going through has knocked my
usual optimistic mood into touch. My bunions are playing up as well and my
usual happy-go-lucky demeanour has been further dented by the Avram Grant
Rest Home's failure to sign a younger, more attractive Matron during the
recent Rest Home transfer window. I'm therefore going to place the Rest Home
transfer fund (£2.50) on a 1-1 draw for this one.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met At The Boleyn: Drew 1-1 (FA Cup 3rd round January 1999)
Swansea were in whatever they called Division 4 at the time so, given our
traditional frailty against lower league teams, they were probably nailed on
to go through. A late Dicks effort (assisted by a 'keeper error) sent the
match to a replay. The match was notable only for marking the debut of Joe
Cole. We lost the replay. Obviously.
Referee: Lee Probert. Took charge of the home match against Liverpool. Let's
hope he and his assistants don't miss anything like, say, 5-yard offsides or
blatant penalties, or they might be punished by being promoted to a cup
final or something.
Danger Man:Michu. Their best player who Spurs will probably end up having to
pay £20m+ for one day.
Daft Fact Of The Week: Swansea's rise from the basement has been well
documented. The moment that they probably look back on and say "well we can
laugh about it now, but at the time…." took place in 1995/96. A consortium
was on the brink of buying the club and appointed a chap called Kevin Cullis
as manager. His previous experience had been with non-league Cradely Town.
Not as manager, mind, but as youth team coach. He was so out of his depth
that at half time in his second match a couple of the senior pros threw him
out of the changing room and gave the team talk themselves. The club's owner
cancelled the deal to sell the club and Cullis resigned or was sacked
depending on whose version you care to believe. Seven years later, Cullis
went on to do two 9 month spells inside for fraud and handling stolen
insurance certificates. Funny old world innit.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And that's a wrap
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer
Stephen Henderson has re-joined Ipswich Town on loan - thereby concluding
West Ham United's winter transfer window business. The former Portsmouth
goalkeeper has returned to Portman Road on loan for the remainder of the
season, leaving 20-year-old Raphael Spiegel as the club's back-up to current
number one Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Sam Allardyce signed four new players in total during January including
former fans' favourite Joe Cole, but failed to land the left back he had
been seeking or a goalkeeper to challenge Jaaskelainen, whose form has
dipped alarmingly in recent weeks.
The Hammers boss chased several full-backs during January including
Blackburn's Martin Olsson, Juve's Reto Ziegler and Aston Villa's Stephen
Warnock - and was strongly linked with a move for Olsson's team mate at
Ewood Park, Paul Robinson - but was left frustrated having failed to land
any of them.
However both Allardyce and the club's supporters will no doubt be heartened
by the news that influential midfielder Momo Diame remains at the club,
despite being strongly tipped to leave ahead of last night's transfer
deadline.
Transfer Window Ins and Outs
(first team squad only)
Ins
Joe Cole (free transfer, Liverpool)
Marouane Chamakh (loan, Arsenal)
Wellington Paulista (loan, Cruzeiro)
Emanuel Pogatetz (loan, Wolfsburg)
Outs
Yossi Benayoun (loan ended, Chelsea)
Alou Diarra (loan, Rennes)
Stephen Henderson (loan, Ipswich Town)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Swansea preview: Sam Allardyce has Premier League problems
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 12:10pm
SSN
Struggling West Ham United will be desperate to end their worrying slump in
form when they host Swansea City on Saturday. Sam Allardyce has seen his
side take just five points from their last nine games to fall down the table
after a previously promising return to the Premier League. Last season's
Championship play-off winners are now 13th in the top flight and seven
points from the relegation places, which will be a concern heading in to the
later months of the campaign. The midweek London derby defeat by Fulham was
the most recent setback for Allardyce, who has spoken of his relief at
making it through the transfer window with his key men. And his attention
will now be fully focused upon defeating Swansea and earning what would be
only West Ham's third league win in two months. But Michael Laudrup's
visitors will arrive in London with full confidence after an excellent
2012/13 to date. The Capital One Cup finalists, along with their manager,
are already contenders for the best performers of the season and they
arguably deserved more from Wednesday's draw at Sunderland. Swansea are
unbeaten in the Premier League in 2013 and will expect at least a share of
the points at Upton Park.
West Ham
Last 6
3-1
5-1
1-1
1-0
3-0
2-2
Andy Carroll will continue his return from injury when West Ham United host
Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday. The on-loan Liverpool
striker made his first appearance in two months after injury when appearing
as a second-half substitute in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat by Fulham. Manager Sam
Allardyce will be without George McCartney (knee) and Daniel Potts (head
injury). Struggling West Ham will also be unable to call on Alou Diarra
after the midfielder was loaned to Rennes on transfer deadline day.
Swansea
Last 6
0-0
0-0
3-1
1-0
0-0
0-2
Star man Michu will have to carry Swansea's striking responsibility at West
Ham after Danny Graham was sold to Sunderland on the final day of the
transfer window. Sixteen-goal Michu is therefore Michael Laudrup's main
striking option after the club failed to bring in any cover on Thursday.
Capital One Cup finalists Swansea are still without Neil Taylor and Kemy
Agustien due to ankle problems.
Opta Facts
West Ham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League
games at Upton Park
Swansea have drawn five of their last seven league games, winning the other
two
West Ham have put in more crosses than any other Premier League side this
season
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Liverpool and West Ham have Andy Carroll agreement
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 4:45pm
SSN
Liverpool have already agreed to sell striker Andy Carroll to West Ham at
the end of the season, according to Hammers co-owner David Sullivan. The
England international, a £35million signing from Newcastletwo years ago,
made the move from Anfield to Upton Park on a season-long loan deal in the
summer.
Carroll's time with the Hammers has been badly hampered by injury and he has
managed just one goal from nine Premier League starts and two substitute
appearances. Sullivan admitted that despite reaching an accord with their
Premier League rivals, they have yet to agree terms with the powerful
striker over a permanent switch and is keen for the 24-year-old to prove his
worth over the final 14 games of the Premier League season. In an exclusive
interview with MailOnline, he said: "I am often asked about Andy Carroll's
deal. It is a season-long loan. Liverpool had an option to take him back in
January, but he has been injured. "West Ham have an agreement with Liverpool
to sign him at the end of the season, but we have no agreement with the
player. "It was his desire to come to West Ham to prove himself to Liverpool
and that hasn't changed. "He has had injuries since he came, but he is back
to fitness now and we have 15 games left... we need some goals and some
points, so let's see."
Sullivan also revealed how West Ham were keen to do more business during the
January transfer window, only to lose out to Leeds in their pursuit of
defender Stephen Warnock, while interest in Reto Ziegler and Paul Robinson
also came to nothing. He added: "For all the deals you have read about,
there were 30 others we were trying. I thought we had Stephen Warnock from
Aston Villa and he said he was signing. "Our contract offer was for six
months with an extension based on appearances and he accepted that. Then he
changed his mind and signed for a Championship team in the north. "We had a
deal for the Olympiakos left-back, but when Warnock said yes, we scrapped
that. Then, when we tried to get the other deal back on, the chap had gone
somewhere else.
"We then spoke to Juventus left-back Reto Ziegler, who's on loan in Russia
and tried to make that happen, but he went to Turkey. "We tried to bring in
goalkeeper Paul Robinson from Blackburn, but he had an injury and hasn't
played often and we had a bit of doubt."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham manager Allardyce happy to focus on football as transfer window
closes
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 2:28pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is pleased to be focusing on playing matters
again after the "usual mayhem" of the January transfer window. The Hammers
boss was delighted to keep hold of Senegal international Mohamed Diame, a
rumoured target for Arsenal and Tottenham, despite the midfielder having a
release clause in his contract. As well as retaining Diame, Allardyce signed
Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh and Emanuel Pogatetz in the window. "We will all
be pleased that we can focus purely on the games of football we have between
now and the end of the season," he said. "All of the usual mayhem has taken
place yet again and we've all been in the middle of it at some stage or
another and the distraction is a huge part of trying to get through this
period of time and still produce results. "For us we haven't got the results
we wanted to try to get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too
heavy into the financial side of the market."
Keeping Diame at Upton Park was top of Allardyce's list of aims in the
January transfer window and with that achieved he will now aim to improve a
recent record that has seen his side take just five points from their past
eight games. "We have strengthened and tried to strengthen the team as best
we can and the most important thing at the end of yesterday was probably
keeping hold of Mo Diame," Allardyce said. "We are very concerned at this
moment in time. We have only taken five points out of our last eight games
and we know that is not good enough. "But you can have these spells, it is
not unique to us. Fulham won (against West Ham on Wednesday) and it was only
their third win in 16 matches and Norwich have been the same. "Lots of clubs
like us have had this spell at this moment in time where we have gone a
considerable amount of time without the number of wins we wanted."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Is it Time to Shuffle the Pack and Check Out the Bosman Lists?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
There is no doubt that we are currently in the midst of a slump in results.
Ironically, the team negotiated that difficult second phase of fixtures,
against the top sides, only to suffer a dip thereafter. Still, we are where
we are, and there is little doubt that the current squad possesses the
ability to pick up the results and achieve a good final position in the PL.
The task for the management team is three fold. To (1) recapture the prior
'togetherness' and team spirit that characterised the first half of the
season, (2) work on defensive organisation and iron out the silly lapses
that have emerged of late (i.e. that awful second goal conceded against
Fulham) and (3) sharpen up in the final third and start finishing the
chances that we continue to create in abundance.
The overridng positive for me is that our general play remains good. We are
passing the ball well and creating chances. While that is the case, threre
is always improved prospects of turning around a poor run of results.
Another is that some of our most notable injury absentees are returning or
have returned from injury, notably Andy Carroll, Mo Diame, Jack Collison
and,hopefully, George McCartney. It is no coincidence that the recent dip in
results has coincided with the non-availablility of these players.
McCartney, in particular, is a big loss defensively, as he brings
experience, balance and 'know how' to the back four; plus good support play
down the left flank. He is an under-estimated player and has been very much
missed of late. In addition, the January additions to the squad need to
settle and achieve their best form. That is particularly true of Marouane
Chamakh, whose fitness and form has suffered due to his proloned inactivity
this season at Arsenal; while Emmanuel Polentz and Wellington Paulista face
a common challenge of proving that they can make a significant contribution
to the first team. Finally, so far, the outstanding success of the January
window has been Joe Cole's return to the club. He has shown his quality,
particularly in the home games against Man Utd in the FA Cup and QPR, and we
need to manage his fitness, keep him injury free and give him the licence to
continue dictating our forward play.
But more than anything, we need to draw upon the positive spirit in the
squad and get the key players, like Captain Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Winston
Reid and Joe Cole, showing real leadership on the pitch. Kevin Nolan in
particular is key in this respect, he must continue to assert his authority,
foster collective spirit and lead by example. He has recently experienced a
personal dip in form, but against Fulham he looked back to his best and,
with a bit more fortune, could very well have scored three goals in that
match.
We do, however, need to shuffle the pack in terms of selection. In
particular, we should look to bring in Polentz's drive and experience to the
defence. The question is whether we pair him with Reid in central defence or
slot him at left-back. Personally, I would retain the Reid-Tomkins
partnership in central defence and initially play him at left-back. There is
also a real temptation to give Spence a run at right-back, but it is almost
certain that Sam Allardyce will pump for experience and select either Demel
or O'Brien. While, the absence of a new keeper, means that we will continue
with Jussi between the sticks.
In midfield, it is likely, barring injury, that we will continue with the
successful triumvirite of Noble-Diame-Nolan, with Joe Cole and Matt Jarvis
either side of the centre forward. For me, there are two variables here,
whether to shuffle things to include either Collison or Vaz Te. There is a
case for seeking to accommodate Collison's strong forward running and
ability to get in to the box and finish. It would certainly be interesting
to combine Collison's forward play with Diame's powerful central midfield
presence. Vaz Te has not had a good season, but he is a talented player, who
possesses the ability to win matches. On current form, he is unlikely to
displace either Joe Cole or Matt Jarvis, but he could play a significant
role from the bench. In terms of the bench, the other big variable, is the
potental selection of Wellington Paulista. He is an unknown quanity and
offers something different up front, either playing as a second striker or
out wide. He appears 100% committed and can undoubtedly finish. Paulista
could yet prove an asset in the final months of this season. I doubt that he
is ready to start, but an introduction to the bench could be in order.
Finally, if Andy Carroll is fit enough, he needs to start, there is no
question about that. We need his hold up play and immense physicality
against Swansea, plus he has to start proving that he can find the back of
the net on a regular basis. If not suffciently match fit, he will be on the
bench and it is a toss up whether Carlton Cole or Marouane Chamakh start up
front.
I personally believe that we need to refresh things by introducing Polentz
at left-back, playing Jack Collison on the right and moving Joe Cole to the
left. That means Matt Jarvis starting on the bench and coming on in the 2nd
half. Up front we could really do with Andy Carroll starting and
recommencing his partnership with Nolan. If Carroll cannot start, go with
Chamakh and hope that he can recover his goal scoring touch. On the bench,
include Carroll or Chamakh, Paulista, Jarvis, O'Neill, Demel or O'Brien,
Speigel and Vaz Te or Carlton Cole.
We failed to add a keeper and left-back in the January window. The question
now is, will we settle for what we have, utilising Polentz at left-back and
waiting for the return of McCartney and Potts? Similarly, will we gamble on
Jussi and Speigel, with Henderson on emergency recall from his loan deal at
Ipswich Town? Or alternatively, will we take a look at the Bosman lists and
see if there are any bargains out there? While, Bosman deals do not involve
an up front transfer fee, they can be quite expensive in terms of sign on
fees and the players terms. Whether there are any further funds, this
season, to finance a Bosman deal(s) is open to conjecture. However, it does
not hurt to see who is available and ready to come straight in and make a
difference, does it?
Finally, the Fulham result was very disappointing and has increased the
pressure on the team to get a result against Swansea. It could be a
difficult match, because Swansea are a good side these days. To win, we need
to dominate the midfield, shackle Leon Britton, who makes their midfield
tick and neutralise their pacy forwards & the goal scoring threat of Michu.
Ironically, this is a match where we could have done with Diarra's defensive
midfield abilities, but that option is now gone, so Noble must perform that
role.. Hopefully we will be successful in disrupting them and imposing our
own high pace game, a la the QPR match, only with better finishing. With
home advantage, we should be looking to secure a 1-0 or 2-1 victory to
attain 30 points, which would crucially put us just 3 wins and a draw from
the magical 40 point PL safety bench mark.
In addition, we really do need the crowd to raise the temperature and get
behind the team. Upton Park is not what it used to be, but it can still be
intimidating when the fans are in the mood to generate the necessary noise.
This game is definitely one to create that type of partisan atmosphere.
COYI!
SJ. Chandos
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It's our sweet FA
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun
SAT, JAN 26
THE only Egyptian I know is Mido, whose stay at Upton Park was unproductive.
Still, he is a character and his heart will be bleeding as he hears today of
further slaughter in his country in a tribal war that exploded into a
football riot and has now claimed more than 100 lives. Politics have taken
over. They are even more dangerous in Egypt than football.
SUN, JAN 27
HOUSE-hunting in London and I walk around a nice pad. I spot a picture of
someone I recognise in football posing with Yasser Arafat. Oh my god, I work
out whose house it is and exit quickly. My husband tells me a similar story
— a footballer pal met a girl and went back to her house. As they get cosy
he sees a picture of his boss. He is in the house, and knickers, of his
manager's daughter!
MON, JAN 28
A FASCINATING battle of wills is in play at West Brom. Peter Odem-whingie is
busy living up to that name as he pushes hard to take a profitable dip into
QPR's accounts. Pulling for Albion's rights is chairman Jeremy Peace. I'm
cheering for Peace because he might register a rare win for the binding
agreement of contract. Or up the transfer fee.
TUES, JAN 29
MOST of you, I guess, woke up with a yawn after hearing a parliamentary
committee are again demanding changes at the FA. They want the FA to develop
a backbone and tackle the Premier League. The reality is they might as well
bark at the moon. The Premier League is a rich, powerful and efficient
business generating billions in revenue. While the FA largely are a bunch of
male jobsworths no longer strong enough to lay down the law to a referee let
alone the Premier League. Most fans will agree they like the Prem more or
less as it is. Certainly they like footballers more than they do
politicians.
WED, JAN 30
I THINK I am making progress with regards to the Olympic Stadium following a
meeting of the three principals today. The lawyers are missing, which may be
why so much progress was made. I'm told the plan is to make an announcement
in about three weeks' time. I am more positive than I have ever been that we
will be able to present a world-class stadium for the supporters to vote on.
It's as if Boris is on the penalty spot and only needs to roll the ball into
the net. But having been jilted at the altar before, you never know. My mood
is then then dented by the beating at Fulham.
THURS, JAN 31
MY phone is being t-bombed by players' agents. After I pick it up at 6am,
the average is one call every five minutes up to 1.30am. One of them is
actually asking for a conference call at 12.30am. Are agents crackers as
well as greedy? Generally, players' heads are being filled with figures that
are unrealistic by over-aggressive agents. The funniest thing of all is that
they want to torture me and then expect me to pay for the privilege. "I
ain't working for nothing," they moan. I say: "You aren't working for me."
Transfer window? Hell on Earth.
FRI, FEB 1
IT'S all over. The window closes and Mario Balotelli is an AC Milan player.
This is, of course, former Italian prime minister Berlusconi's club so it
would be as well for Milan citizens to lock up their daughters and their
fireworks. Yes, Bunga Bunga greets Banger Banger and there are cynics in
Italy who are saying that Balotelli's move is designed to help Berlusconi's
election hopes. As if. Anyway, I'd prefer my chances to rest on Coco the
Clown.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Toast the MOment
Sam's window snifter
The Sun
By TOM GOODENOUGH
Published: 01st February 2013
0
SAM ALLARDYCE raised a glass to the end of the transfer window — after
winning the battle to keep Mo Diame at West Ham. Boss Allardyce spent the
whole of January fearing a big-money offer would come in for the midfielder,
which would be too good for the Upton Park board to refuse. But as the clock
ticked past 11pm, Big Sam cracked open a bottle of brandy and poured himself
a large one in celebration. He revealed: "Everything could have changed in
the flick of a text, an email or a phone call, so it's a massive relief
Diame is still here. "When the deadline passed, I must admit I celebrated
with a glass of brandy." The Hammers failed in a deadline-day bid for Aston
Villa left-back Stephen Warnock.
WEST HAM manager pleased the circus of the January transfer window is over -
and he kept star midfielder But they demonstrated how much they wanted to
keep Diame, 25, by offering the Senegal international a new improved
contract. Allardyce added: "It would not have mattered how much money we
would have got for Diame, it would have been a crushing blow because we
couldn't have done anything with the money at that late stage."
The Hammers boss will try to ease Andy Carroll back into action by playing
him against Swansea today, even though the hitman is not 100 per cent fit.
The £35million Geordie — on a season-long loan from Liverpool — made a brief
cameo in West Ham's 3-1 defeat at Fulham in midweek after coming on as a
substitute. And Allardyce is confident the 24-year-old will get another
outing against the Swans — even if it will not be for the entire match. He
said: "He hasn't played a competitive game apart from the 15 minutes or so
against Fulham after eight weeks out, so he's not ready for a full 90
minutes but he is ready to take part."
The Hammers have picked up only one point from their last five Premier
League games. But with the list of injuries reducing and the transfer window
closing, Allardyce is hopeful his side can get back to winning ways. He
said: "We are very concerned at the moment but these spells are not unique
to us and we know we've got to put that right. "It's about securing as many
points as possible and moving forward to get ourselves in a better position.
"There's been a slight drain of confidence because of the results we've had
and we've got to revert back to the form we had. "We need to keep a positive
mental attitude towards every game and make sure we work hard to get back to
the results we know we can get."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Agent's threat to Sullivan
By PAT SHEEHAN
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun
DAVID SULLIVAN claims an agent threatened him and one of his players with
physical violence during the transfer window. West Ham's co-owner revealed
the full extent of how football's middle men try to make money at all costs.
Sullivan, 64, revealed: "In this window, I had an agent threaten me and one
of my players with physical violence because he thought he was being cut out
of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to jump in on other
deals. Some of them are like scavengers." QPR boss Harry Redknapp blew the
lid on what goes on behind the scenes during a month of transfer frenzy as
agents try to grab cash. SunSport columnist Redknapp said agents created a
situation that was likened to gang warfare as £124m was spent in January and
agents took 10 per cent upwards. Sullivan added: "Harry was right. It feels
like gang warfare and I can see it spilling over into violence. "Agents who
once demanded £50,000 for their part in a transfer now want £500,000 to a
million to bring in a player or keep one. "I heard of an agent who took over
representing a player for ONE DAY and he wanted £1.5m for his part in
negotiating a new contract."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
All the background information ahead of West Ham United's Saturday home
match with Swansea City
01.02.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v SWANSEA CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: LEE PROBERT
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST
Introduction
• West Ham United are back at the Boleyn Ground this Saturday looking to
make it four home games unbeaten with Swansea City travelling to east London
in the Barclays Premier League.
• The Hammers have defeated Norwich City and drawn with Manchester United
and QPR in E13 in recent weeks.
• Swansea haven't visited the Boleyn Ground for a league fixture since
December 1982, but they did take on the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground in an
FA Cup third round game in 1999, which ended 1-1.
• Michael Laudrup's side are in their second season in the Barclays Premier
League and have reached this season's Capital One Cup final after defeating
Chelsea in the semi-finals.
• Sam Allardyce's side will be looking to avenge a 3-0 defeat suffered at
the Liberty Stadium on the second weekend of this Barclays Premier League
season, which formed part of a three-game winning streak for the Swans at
the start of the campaign.
• The Hammers will also be looking to put Wednesday's loss at Fulham behind
them, with Kevin Nolan netting their goal in the 3-1 defeat.
• Emanuel Pogatetz could be in line for a debut after joining the Hammers on
loan from German side VfL Wolfsburg on Monday. The 30-year-old defender has
a wealth of Barclays Premier League experience from a five-year spell at
Middlesbrough between 2005-10.
• The Hammers clash with Swansea City is one of eight games taking place in
the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. The following games will also take
place; QPR v Norwich is the early kick-off at 12.45pm, the 3pm fixtures are
Arsenal v Stoke City, Everton v Aston Villa, Newcastle United v Chelsea,
Reading v Sunderland, Wigan Athletic v Southampton and Fulham v Manchester
United is the late kick-off at 5.30pm.
Statistical analysis
Head of Performance Analysis David Woodfine said statistics suggested West
Ham United were hugely unfortunate to lose at Fulham on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers out-passed the Cottagers by 374 to 285. Of those, 152 passes
went forward to Fulham's 103, while the visitors crossed the ball 27 times
to eleven and won eight corners to Fulham's two.
Physically, West Ham also out-performed their hosts, running more than 1,200
metres more than Fulham in total. The Hammers' players also ran more than
2km more than their opponents at high intensity.
"From these statistics, we can see that the team are producing a lot of the
key ingredients required for winning football matches," said Woodfine.
"We passed the ball far more often and in more dangerous areas than Fulham,
crossed the ball more than twice as many times as our hosts and ran further
and at a higher intensity than the Cottagers, but did not reap the rewards
of our work.
"We have reached a consistently high level in our home matches this season
and, if we can replicate this level of performance, we will be able to turn
it into points."
Last time out
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday January 30 2013
Fulham 3-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (Taylor 67), Reid, Tomkins, O'Brien;
Diame, Noble, Nolan; J Cole (Carroll 76), Chamakh (C Cole 56), Jarvis
Subs not used: Henderson, Vaz Te, Pogatetz, O'Neil
Goals: Nolan 48
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday January 29 2013
Sunderland 0-0 Swansea City
Swansea City: Tremmel; Tiendalli, Williams, Chico, Davies; Dyer, de Guzman,
Britton (Graham 75), Hernandez (Lamah 66); Shechter (Ki 60); Michu
Subs not used: Cornell, Bartley, Routledge, Rangel
Previous meeting
• Saturday's visit of Swansea City will be the first time the South Wales
side have travelled to the Boleyn Ground since January 1999 when the two
sides were paired together in the third round of the FA Cup. Swansea led for
much of the second period, but Julian Dicks' 87th minute strike secured a
1-1 draw and a replay at the Vetch Field.
West Ham United: Hislop, Potts, Ruddock, Dicks, I.Pearce, Sinclair,
Lazaridis (Omoyinmi 82), Lomas, Berkovic (J.Cole 65), Hartson (Abou 70),
I.Wright
Goal: Dicks 87
Swansea City: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Bound, Smith, Cusack, Roberts,
Thomas, Coates, Watkin, Alsop
Goal: Smith 61
Background
• West Ham United and Swansea City have met 52 times over a period of 90
years, the Hammers have won 23, Swansea have won 17 and 12 have ended in a
draw.
• The first meeting between the two sides came on 7 January 1922 in the FA
Cup and ended in a 0-0 draw. The replay on 11 January also ended 0-0, and
the two sides met for the third time in nine days on 16 January when Swansea
won 1-0 to progress.
• West Ham visited Wales twice last season, beating Cardiff City 2-1 in the
npower Championship in March before winning 2-0 in the Play-Off semi-final.
• Joe Cole made his first West Ham debut as a substitute in the 1-1 FA Cup
third-round draw against Swansea City on 2 January 1999.
Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
25 Aug 2012 Swansea City v West Ham United L 0-3
13 Jan 1999 Swansea City v West Ham United L 1-0 (FA Cup third-round replay)
02 Jan 1999 West Ham United v Swansea City D 1-1 (FA Cup third round)
07 Oct 1985 Swansea City v West Ham United W 2-3 (Milk Cup)
24 Sep 1985 West Ham United v Swansea City W 3-0 (Milk Cup)
05 Apr 1983 Swansea City v West Ham United W 1-5 (Division One)
Overall record v Swansea City (all competitions) W 23 D 12 L 17
Ten-year record
West Ham United
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Swansea City
2011/12 Premier League 11th (47 points)
2010/11 Championship 3rd (80 points)
2009/10 Championship 7th (69 points)
2008/09 Championship 8th (68 points)
2007/08 League One 1st (92 points)
2006/07 League One 7th (72 points)
2005/06 League One 6th (71 points)
2004/05 League Two 3rd (80 points)
2003/04 League Two 10th (59 points)
2002/03 League Two 21st (49 points)
2001/02 League Two 20th (51 points)
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lee Probert.
• Forty-year-old Probert will officiate a West Ham United fixture for the
second time this season, having also been the man in the middle for the 3-2
defeat to Liverpool on 9 December.
• He began refereeing in 1986 before being promoted to the Football League
assistant referees' list in 1998, and made the step up to referee in the
league five years later.
• Probert was promoted to the Select Group of Premier League referees in
summer 2007.
• In 2010, he took charge of the FA Trophy final between Barrow and
Stevenage Borough at Wembley, before returning to the Home of Football to
act as fourth official for the 2011 FA Cup final between Manchester City and
Stoke City.
• In 24 matches this season, Probert has issued 69 yellow cards and sent off
two players. His last assignment was for last Sunday's FA Cup tie between
Oldham Athletic and Liverpool, which saw the League One Latics shock Brendan
Rodgers' side.
• On Saturday, Probert will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Ron Ganfield,
while the fourth official will be Phil Dowd.
Team news
• Andy Carroll made his comeback from a knee injury in Wednesday's defeat at
Craven Cottage and the striker will be looking to play some part again when
Swansea City come to east London.
• James Collins and George McCartney remain sidelined with injury, but new
loan signing Emanuel Pogatetz will add to Sam Allardyce's defensive options.
• Swansea sold striker Danny Graham to Sunderland on transfer deadline day,
and Swans boss Michael Laudrup opted not to make any last minute additions
to his squad,
• Neil Taylor and Kemy Agustien are both missing for the visitors with ankle
injuries.
Old boys
• The only player to have had an affiliation with both clubs who could take
part on Saturday is Swansea's Leon Britton. The London-born midfielder
joined West Ham United in 1998 for a fee of £400,000, a record fee for a
16-year-old at the time. He didn't however make a single appearance for the
Hammers and left the club to join Swansea in 2003 after a successful loan
spell.
General Information
• Tickets are sold out for Saturday's fixture. For all other ticket
information, the box office can be accessed here
• The weather forecast for Saturday is a bright, but cold one, with the sun
due to be shining at 3pm with a temperature of 5C.
• Please be aware that engineering works on the London Underground District
Line means there will be no service between South Kensington and
Bromley-by-Bow on Saturday. There will also be no service on the Hammersmith
and City Line between Kings Cross and Barking. Replacement buses will
operate on both lines.
• In addition, there is no service on the Metropolitan Line between Baker
Street and Aldgate and on the Docklands Light Railway between Canning Town
and Beckton
• Greater Anglia and c2c services will be operating as normal.
• Supporters who drive to the Boleyn Ground should take note of new parking
restrictions in the London Borough of Newham
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Big Sam on: Swansea City
WHUFC.com
Big Sam speaks to the media ahed of West Ham United's clash with Swansea
City
01.02.2013
Sam Allardyce is delighted the transfer window has finally slammed shut, so
that he can get back to concentrating solely on matters on the pitch.
Swansea City are Saturday's visitors to the Boleyn Ground and Big Sam
insists that it is the Swans' defensive prowess, as well as their attractive
brand of possession football, that has laid the foundations for a second
successful season in the Barclays Premier League. The Hammers, meanwhile, go
in search of a first league win since New Year's Day and Allardyce remains
confident that his side's excellent home form will stand them in good stead
for Saturday.
Sam, how glad are you that the transfer window has finally closed?
SA: "Well I think we're all waking up this morning and whether we've done as
much as we wanted to or not, we'll all be pleased that we can focus purely
on the football matches we've got between now and the end of the season. I
think that all the usual mayhem has taken place yet again and we've all been
in the middle of it at some stage or another. Of course the distraction is a
huge part of trying to get through this period and still trying to produce
the results. For us, we haven't got the results we wanted for one reason or
another. We've strengthened the team as best we possibly can and the most
important thing at the end of yesterday was that we kept Mohamed Diame.
"You're always disappointed in this window, because it has always been so
ferocious in terms of what you want to do. We've brought in players to
strengthen a squad that has already proven that they can cope at this level
at the first of time asking back in the Barclays Premier League. We've tried
to strengthen that to give us a little boost and hopefully we've done that."
How do you think you can lift the team and squad to pick up more points?
SA: "It's pretty simple really. We've got to get back to being defensively
solid as a unit. If you look at the team we're playing on Saturday, the
reason they're so successful is contrary to what you all think, it's because
they have the best defensive record in the league. When they score a goal
they win a game of football and they don't concede many, in fact they hardly
concede any. When you win, that brings you the greatest reward of all,
because three points for a win and only one for a draw make a massive
difference to anybody in the league.
"Swansea have been outstanding both in and out of possession, that's what
has impressed me the most. From our point of view, I don't think we've had a
clean sheet since West Bromwich Albion away and because of that we have not
managed to secure the wins we wanted to. The games we should have won we
ended up drawing and those we should have drawn we've lost."
You're taking on a Swansea team in top form...
SA: "They're in top form. I watched the Sunderland game and they should have
won it right at the very end. But then you look at the statistics and
Sunderland played 90 minutes at home with no shots on target whatsoever.
That shows you how good a team Swansea are.
Are you concerned that you haven't won since New Year's Day?
SA: "We're very concerned at this moment in time. We've only taken five
points out of the last eight games, which we all know isn't good enough. But
you can have these spells, it's not unique to us. For Fulham it was only a
third win in 16 matches, Norwich have been the same. Lots of teams like us
have had this spell just now, where we've gone a considerable amount of time
without enough wins. We know that we've got to put that right.
"We started the season absolutely brilliantly and the rest of the season had
been going very well until the injuries hit and once the injuries hit, it
devastated the team at the time and we've now suffered in terms of results."
The biggest boost for you must be Andy Carroll, is he ready to play a full
game against Swansea?
SA: "I wouldn't say Andy's ready to play a full game, but he's ready to play
some part of the game. Because he hasn't played a competitive game, apart
from the 15 minutes he got at Fulham, after eight or nine weeks out. Having
a fit squad is the main objective of everyone at the football club at the
moment. Because that is our major concern and has been our over the last
four to six weeks. Particularly defensively and even at the moment, we've
got James Collins and George McCartney injured, which is why we had to bring
in Emanuel Pogatetz.
How do you approach Saturday's game?
SA: "I have to say our home performances, nearly all season, have been
nothing other than very, very good. Results haven't followed some of the
games. We've got to continue with that form and that will give us an
opportunity to win. We have to be aware of how good Swansea are out of
possession. They're going to be looking to play on the break against us and
if anything a foreign coach is probably better at planning his strategy
playing on the break than perhaps we are. We have to be aware of that and
not get caught by the spaces that we leave behind when trying to break that
very solid defence down.
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Carroll eyes Swans start
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll wants to shoot the Hammers back to winning ways on Saturday
01.02.2013
Hammers striker Andy Carroll is itching to make up for lost time after
stepping up his comeback from a knee injury with a 14-minute substitute
appearance in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat at Fulham. The big Geordie has been out
since late November but returned to the Barclays Premier League fray at
Craven Cottage with Sam Allardyce's men looking to close a deficit caused by
goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega. West Ham couldn't rescue a
point on this occasion, but Carroll was happy to be back and he is looking
forward to helping the team as they move on to Saturday's visit of Swansea
City. Speaking exclusively to West Ham TV, Carroll said: "Obviously we were
disappointed with the result but to be back on the pitch was great for me
because I've been out injured for a while now. "I've been wanting to get out
there since I've been injured - I've been in the gym and treatment room
working hard to get fit. It's taken a while but I'm back and it was a great
feeling to get those few minutes under my belt."
The England international forced a save from Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer
with his very first touch after replacing Joe Cole on Wednesday, and the
former Newcastle man felt his side were a little unfortunate not to take
something from the contest after a strong start to the second period which
saw them briefly level through Kevin Nolan. He continued: "I had a little
chance as soon as I came on with my first touch, I caught it quite well but
the keeper was there in the right place, right time. I think overall we were
unlucky not to get a result. "The gaffer had a word with us at half-time to
tell the lads what he expected, and we went out there and showed in the way
we started what we're about. We put the ball in the box, got a few chances
and Kev put his away for a good goal. The disappointing thing was that they
got straight back in the lead, because we were on top of them at that stage
and we could have pushed on to get the win.
"They put the first chance they created after our goal away and it's
disappointing for the lads, but we've got to keep at it and think about the
next game now.
"Straight away our focus goes on to Swansea at the weekend. We've had a
tough run lately, we need to put points on the board, the lads know that,
and I'm sure once we get that result, the others will follow."
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Potts enjoying life on the touchline
WHUFC.com
Steve Potts hopes defeat in the FA Youth Cup is now all but forgotten for
his Under-18 side
31.01.2013
Steve Potts admits he has been bitten by the coaching bug, as he prepares
for Saturday's visit of West Bromwich Albion to Little Heath in the Barclays
U18 Premier League Tier One Stage. Though it has barely been 18 months since
he joined the staff at West Ham United's Academy, the Hammers' long-serving
full-back is quickly growing accustomed to life on the other side of the
touchline. Following a spell at the helm of the U16s, Potts takes charge of
only his third contest as U18s coach on Saturday, having made the step up at
the turn of the year. "All in all I've only been doing it for a year and
half and you're forever learning," he said. I played the game for a number
of years, but this is the other side of it. It's a big learning curve for me
as well. I'm enjoying it, I've grown into it really, I must admit. When I
first came in, it gets a grip of you, that's for sure."
Potts' young side head into the weekend's clash bidding to make it two wins
out of two in the Barclays Premier League U18 Tier One. Tottenham Hotspur
avenged a 1-0 league defeat at the hands of West Ham with a 5-2 FA Youth Cup
win at the Boleyn Ground ten days later, but Potts is not envisaging a
hangover from that evening. "Some of the boys have been involved in the
Development Squad, but for the majority of the players this will be the
first game since [the FA Youth Cup exit]," Potts confirmed. "It was a
disappointing result, very disappointing for the boys but they've just got
to try and put that behind them and push on to the next game on Saturday.
"The players have been fine. Obviously everyone took a big knock that night,
result wise, in such a big competition as the Youth Cup is. We got back in
over the next day or two and you can see everyone's disappointment, you can
see it in their face, which is natural. But once they've been out training I
can't fault them. They've been really training well."
West Ham ran out comprehensive 4-0 winners at home to the Baggies in Group 1
earlier this season, before falling to a 2-0 defeat in November's reverse
fixture. Potts, however, insists with the likely change of personnel, that
previous encounters are of no great import. "I think our team make up and
the opposition's changes depending on Development Squads and first-team
squads, with players getting pulled into those. So I don't think it has much
bearing at all. The classic example of that was Tottenham. We played them in
the league and then in the cup and obviously got two different results. So I
don't think you can read too much into it. "I just hope we can play to our
potential on Saturday, that's the main thing. I personally think there are a
number of good players here at this level and levels below. The main thing
is pushing the boys as much as we can. Whether they're in the U18s, or
hopefully if they're doing well, they get pushed on further into the
Development Squad. Obviously the ultimate thing is getting to the first
team, and that's all that matters."
Kick-off at Little Heath on Saturday is at 11am, with admission and parking
both free of charge.
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West Ham v Swansea
KO 15:00
1 February 2013
Last updated at 13:33
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 2 February
TEAM NEWS
West Ham's Andy Carroll is likely to again start on the bench as he builds
up match fitness after a knee injury. The Hammers are still without
defenders George McCartney (knee), James Collins (hamstring) and Dan Potts
(concussion).
Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm is still sidelined by a knee injury and will
again be replaced by Gerhard Tremmel. The Swans will have fewer attacking
options to select from after Danny Graham's departure to Sunderland on
transfer deadline day.
MATCH PREVIEW
Sam Allardyce was one of the busier managers during the transfer window,
adding Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh, Wellington Paulista and Emanuel Pogatetz
in an attempt to give his West Ham squad a bit of a boost. An excellent
autumn which saw them perform above expectations has been replaced by a
slightly more concerning run of results in which they've won just one of the
last nine matches in the Premier league.
The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle between the excellent
start of just three defeats from the opening 12 games and the recent run of
just two wins from the next 12, of which eight have ended in defeat. They
are neither as good as the first run nor as bad as the recent one, so their
current mid-table placing of 13th strikes me as about right. Swansea arrive
in rude health with a Wembley final to look forward to against Bradford in
the Capital One Cup, a brand of football that is easy on the eye and a
seven-match unbeaten run that further cements their current place in the top
half of the table. It's all a far cry from when they last played at Upton
Park in the third round of the FA Cup 14 years ago. Swansea were a mid-table
team in the fourth tier back in those days, a whopping 72 places behind West
Ham at the time, and yet they came within a whisker of winning the tie at
the first attempt. Jason Smith headed Swansea into the lead after an hour,
and as West Ham tried to get back in the game, Harry Redknapp, their manager
at the time, threw on a 17-year-old by the name of Joe Cole for his debut.
In the end, Julian Dicks earned the Hammers a replay with a late equaliser
but Swansea weren't to be denied and won the second game 1-0.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Swansea beat West Ham 3-0 in their only previous Premier League meeting,
which came last August.
The Swans have not won on any of their last nine visits in all competitions.
Their last victory was a 2-1 success in August 1956.
West Ham
West Ham have had just one win in their last nine league matches. They have
lost three of the last four.
The Hammers have only claimed eight points from the last 36 available.
West Ham have won just one of their 11 matches against top-half teams this
season (W1, D3, L7).
Andy Carroll has scored once in his last 17 Premier League matches.
Swansea
Swansea are unbeaten in seven league games.
The Swans have kept five clean sheets away from home in the league this
season and conceded just nine away goals - they are the only team yet to
concede double figures away from home in the Premier League.
Three of Swansea's last four away matches have been 0-0 draws.
Michu has scored four league goals in London this season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan and West Ham player 'threatened by agent'
BBC.co.uk
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan alleges he and a player were threatened
with violence by an agent during January's transfer window. Sullivan has
called for the FA to look into agents' conduct and cap fees. He said: "I can
see it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is
legislation from the FA. He was previously an owner of Birmingham City from
1993-2010 where he brought in Karren Brady as managing director "I had an
agent threaten me and one of our players with physical violence, because he
thought he was being cut out of a deal."
QPR manager Harry Redknapp, whose club were one of the more active teams in
the market during the transfer window, had earlier said: "Every agent seems
to be trying to screw each other. It's like gang warfare out there. "It is
scary. If you've got a deal for a player, another agent will try to scupper
that deal if he is not involved in it. It's unreal. It's unbelievable what's
going on. They're all fighting for big money, that's the problem."
Sullivan claimed the financial demands by agents had got out of control
adding: "We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. Agents who would once demand £50,000 for their part
in a transfer now want £500,000 to £1m to either bring a player or keep a
player. It is quite outrageous and the FA should cap the amount paid to
agents for their work. "I heard of one agent, who took over representation
of a player for one day, and he wanted to be paid between £1.25m and £1.5m
for his part in negotiating a new contract."
Sullivan also praised West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace over his
handling of Peter Odemwingie, who was refused a transfer to QPR and has now
been told not to attend training until next week. Sullivan said:
"[Odemwingie] drove down to QPR and was actively trying to force a transfer,
but Mr Peace refused to cave in. He held his ground. "He would not be
bullied. You cannot give in to players like this. It is the same as giving
in to terrorists or kidnappers. If you pay the ransom, they will only come
back for more. "Consequently, Mr Peace has done a great service to
football."
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It was vital Mohamed Diame stayed - Sam Allardyce
BBC.co.uk
Manager Sam Allardyce says it was more important West Ham retained
midfielder Mohamed Diame rather than make any more signings on transfer
deadline day. Speculation had surrounded Diame, 25, but the window closed
with the Senegalese still at the club. Allardyce said: "The most important
thing at the end of yesterday was probably keeping hold of Mo Diame." West
Ham had brought in three players earlier in January, though Allardyce failed
to add to that on Thursday. Diame has made 19 appearances in the Premier
League since joining on a free transfer in July after he turned down a
contract extension with Wigan.
Allardyce had suggested Diame could still leave if any side met the release
clause in his contract. Despite links to Arsenal, this did not occur, with
fellow defensive midfielder Alou Diarra and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson
making the only late exits. On the other side of the market, defender
Emanuel Pogatetz, midfielder Joe Cole and forward Marouane Chamakh had all
been acquired by the Hammers. "For us we haven't got the results we wanted
to try and get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too heavy into
the financial side of the market," Allardyce added. "You're always
disappointed in this window, I've never been delighted at the end of a
window, in January anyway. It is always ferocious in terms of what you want
to do but we have done as well as we possibly can do."
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Barnet sign Dominic Vose and release Taiwo Atieno
BBC.co.uk
Barnet have signed former West Ham midfielder Dominic Vose on a one-year
deal and released striker Taiwo Atieno. The 19-year-old Vose, who was
released by the Hammers in December, had a loan spell with Braintree in Blue
Square Bet Premier last season. Atieno, 27, made four appearances for the
Bees after joining in December. The much-travelled Kenyan scored in the win
over Bradford at the start of January but the club have opted not to extend
his deal.
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Sullivan reveals threats of violence
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United's co-owner David Sullivan has claimed he was threatened with
physical violence by a football agent during the transfer window. The
64-year-old, who celebrated three years as co-owner of the club last month
insists he is "glad" that the winter window has now ended after he was
forced to endure threats from an unnamed agent who believed he was being
overlooked. Sullivan, who also called for a cap to the fees agents can
charge told the Daily Mail: "People do desperate things when they are
desperate. We are talking millions of pounds here around a transfer and not
enough deals to go around. "There are too many agents and not enough
transfers to feed them. In this window, I have had an agent threaten me and
threaten one of our players with physical violence, because he thought he
was being cut out of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to
jump in on other deals. Some of these people are like scavengers. I can see
it spilling over into violence in the future, unless there is legislation
from the FA to curb the practices. "It was all deeply unpleasant and I'm
glad it's over. Now we can get on with the football."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Just Chamakh it in the net!
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Charlie Clayton
A veteran shot-stopper, a defensive fortress and a powerful midfield. What's
missing? Goals.
Coming up from the Championship, we knew we had to invest in a goalscorer
and over the summer and buying Mobido Maiga looked like a good start. I was
hopeful. Him and our Carlton up front looked like a decent partnership.
Then, out of nowhere, we signed a seemingly deadly partnership; Matt Jarvis
and Andy Carroll. Everybody could see it, Jarvis with his deadly pace and
ability to beat a man before drifting a ball across for one of the greatest
headers of the ball in English football. Surely we had that missing piece of
puzzle to keep us where we belong.
An opening win against Aston Villa was a good start, a game followed by the
best performance of the season so far - a 3-0 walkover against Fulham. It
was a more than convincing start. Andy Caroll was on fire; even without
being on the scoresheet he played a big part in two of the goals. It all
looked so good.
However getting your hopes up, as a West Ham fan, is not the cleverest thing
to do and it rarely pays off. Carroll limped off in his opening game with a
hamstring injury. It was worthwhile though; a great win over Fulham and
everyone expected him to be back in a couple of games and be just as good,
if not better.
Walking out of Upton Park that night, everybody's hopes were high. If we
could perform like that every week, there wouldn't be a relegation battle in
sight.
Being a West Ham fan however, nothing is ever as good as it seems. Making
his comeback against QPR, Big Andy wasn't on the goal sheet for the next
seven games he played in. Things started getting worrying and he needed to
score fast before we became the second club - along with Liverpool - to
label him a flop.
So who better to score against than our biggest Premier League opponents,
Tottenham? West Ham had the chance to be heroes. Most of all though, Andy
had the chance to be a hero. Unsurprisingly, this didn't happen and in a
unconvincing 3-1 loss at at White Hart Lane, the fact that Andy had finally
netted was more relief than joy. The England international had to be on the
right path now though, coming back from injury and scoring a few games
later?
Well, not exactly.
Coming off for what looked like a routine substitution in a good performance
against Manchester United, it was later revealed he had twisted his knee. He
was to miss the next two months which, coincidently, was our toughest period
of the season with visits to and from teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton
and Liverpool. It was a deadly blow to be dealt.
The festive period came and went with losses to Arsenal, Everton and
Liverpool and a surprise win against the Blues of Stamford Bridge. More
importantly, the january window was in full flow with the purchase of Joe
Cole to give the same service Jarvis had been providing but from the other
side of the pitch.
Service to who though? We needed a striker who could take Carroll's place
until he was fully fit or take his place permanently, if he didn't step back
in with all guns blazing.
Big Sam didn't disappoint on the business side of things with a loan deal
for Arsenal's Moroccan striker Mauroane Chamakh being put through early on.
People immediately labelled him a flop which I thought was extremely harsh;
Arsene Wenger doesn't buy a player for nothing and 90 per cent of the time,
the buy pays off.
Just because Chamakh struggled at the Gunners doesn't mean he's a bad
player. Stepping into any Premier League side is a challenge, let alone a
side with the reputation and expectations of the Gunners. Anyhow, he must
have something for Arsene to buy him in the first place and knowing
Allardyce and the way he plays, it was most likely a strong heading ability.
Chamakh made his claret and blue debut against Queens Park Rangers at home.
It was a very frustrating game finishing 1-1. On the positive side though,
it was a good performance from West Ham and, more importantly, a good
performance from Chamakh. However, much like Mr. Carroll, he failed to net
having one effort cleared off the line and another well save thereby denying
the striker his debut goal.
On a positive note, he didn't get injured - which I suppose counts as moving
in the right direction.
His second game, against Fulham, wasn't the greatest performance I've seen
from the Hammers this season. In fact, I would even go to say it was one of
the worst. Once again, our much-talked-about solid midfielder Mo Diame
played well but our defence couldn't handle Dimitar Berbatov. Chamakh failed
to put the ball in the net once again with Nolan scoring our only goal in a
disappointing 3-1 loss away from home.
With two Premier League strikers on loan and a budget that seems very tight,
the only option for cover for the two loanee strikers and Carlton Cole was
Modibo Maiga who is also beginning to fall away from the team. Therefore,
Big Sam looked across the Atlantic for a goalscorer. The decision was made
to bring Cruzeiro striker Wellington Paulista to West Ham United.
The Brazilian has an impressive scoring record and is hungry for goals. This
can only be positive. Once again a deadly header of the ball he seems to be
one of the best on the ground back in his home league. Nevertheless, much
like Chamakh, it is a big step up from a smaller league like the Liga Da
Brazil or the French Ligue 1 to the Premier League. It doesn't matter how
much hunger and commitment you show, if you're not good enough, you wont
make it.
Scoring in his first reserve game and getting him back up to fully fitness,
Paulista looks to be the most promising out of all of our singings this
window as he can be back-up to the striker and play down the wing, letting
Joe Cole rest or rotate with the Brazilian. This is why I believe he could
be a key player nearer the end of the season for West Ham United - but will
it be enough?
Is he the one who will keep us up? Is Chamakh? Is Carroll?
We're currently in a downward spiral that's engulfing my beloved Irons at a
disastrous rate. Anyone willing to step up and put the ball into the back of
the net should start for this club. Players today don't have the same loyal
feeling that used to come with waring the Claret and Blue strip. Hopefully
this will return in the coming weeks because come the end of the season, I
still think we are going to need all the help we can get.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United v Swansea City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Preview Percy
Next up we return to the green green grass of home where we play hosts to
Swansea City. Kick-off is at the right-thinking person's preferred time of
3pm on Saturday.
It's been a while so I bid you pray welcome for the return of the tube
engineering works which we've missed so much of late. Basically the District
Line is running only between Bromley-By-Bow and Upminster and the
Hammersmith & City line is also out of action. So if you use the District
from central London you might wish to entertain the thought of using the
Jubilee line as far as West Ham then waiting for what will probably be a
much reduced District service to Upton Park from there. You're welcome.
Our visitors this weekend sit in rude health, occupying as they do 8th spot
with 34 points from their 24 matches played so far. However they've been one
to mark your "X" next to on the pools coupons of late, having drawn 4 of
their last 6 matches. Three of these have been 0-0 draws away from home, at
Reading, Everton & Sunderland, so it may be worth having a think before
going for your first goalscorer bet. The other draw was a 2-2 home share of
the spoils against Villa whilst the remaining two matches resulted in
victories over Fulham at Craven Cottage (2-1) and 3-1 at home to Stoke.
Of course the big news down that way in recent weeks has been their
qualification for the League Cup final by defeating Chelsea in the Battle of
Ballboygate. This can be summed up as follows: Spoilt brat who probably
deserves a kicking holds onto ball and gets a kicking. Overpaid Chelsea
muppet gets deserved red card for violent conduct. Meanwhile the poor little
podgy soul who was at the centre of the affair has apparently received death
threats, which is something that that bloke who keeps forgetting to mention
that he's fatboy's ghost writer when he slags us off appears to have made no
comment on. Funny that.
We've just completed transfer deadline day. The current transfer window
system is a ludicrous innovation of the past few years and seems to have
been invented purely to give Sky the opportunity to fill their sports news
channel with stuff on what would otherwise be a quiet month. They go a bit
OTT don't they. It only takes the announcement that someone's reserve team
'keeper is on their way to a League 2 side for a month's loan for Jim
White's head to explode. Swansea had a relatively quiet window, with the
major news being the departure of striker Danny Graham off to Sunderland.
Newcastle fan Graham was roundly booed when coming on as a sub up there last
week. That one is destined to end in tears I tells ya.
The Swans main transfer dealing happened in the summer when they picked up
Michu, who is being described by many as the signing of the season.
Tottenham were offered him for free when he was at Celta Vigo, and then
again last year for £2.2m, which was the buyout clause in force while he was
at Rayo Vallecano. So that's another one they nearly signed then.
There's a bit of a doubt over their first choice 'keeper. Dutchman Michel
Vorm has been suffering with a 'knee problem of late. He's said to be close
to a return but if he's not ready they will turn to the German Gerhard
Tremmell, who had a spell as a kid with our old chums 1860 Munich.
Leon Britton, the two foot tall ex-Hammer is likely to feature in midfield.
He cost us a cool £400,000 as a 16 year old but never quite made it at the
Boleyn. When asked about this his response was quite refreshing: "I wasn't
good enough". In the recent match against Chelsea he finished the game with
a bandaged head after a stray elbow from Ramires. Who knows what damage he
might have sustained had he thrown himself onto the ball. There were some
stats published recently that suggested that Britton was statistically the
best passer in Europe or something. Whilst I'm not a fan of these Opta
things – it lists Jamie Carragher's occupation as "footballer" for example –
he's certainly not looked out of place at the top level.
Michu is the club's top scorer this term with 13 in the league. Next in the
League list is Jonathan De Guzman with 6. De Guzman is on a season's loan
from Villareal and is a pretty cosmopolitan character all told. He's
Canadian by birth, and, in addition to Canada, he also qualifies to play at
international level for Jamaica and the Philippines. However, having seen
his big brother up sticks to seek a football career in France, he did
something similar, ending up in Rotterdam where he signed for Feyenoord.
En-route he picked up Dutch citizenship and a few (Carry-on style joke
warning) er, Dutch Caps at U21 level. A spell at Mallorca followed before a
transfer to Villareal where, following a change in coach, he found
opportunities limited, hence his presence in South Wales.
Us? Well the transfer window ended quietly, despite all the speculation over
Diame. A new 'keeper and a left back would have been nice but since we are
still relatively broke we were always going to be short of options. We
therefore need to make the best use of what players we do have available to
us. Which is what made Wednesday night so worrying. I'm not one to jump on
the "anti-manager" bandwagon and start calling for his head but I do think
it was a mistake to start with Chamakh against Fulham. On the evidence of
his appearances so far he doesn't seem to have brought much to the table so
far. Furthermore, in Carlton Cole we had a forward who has scored more times
against Fulham than any other club and, unlike Chamakh, he would have, at
least made something of a nuisance of himself.
Of course things weren't helped by yet another indefensible display from the
officials. Now one can understand marginal offside decisions getting missed
but ntheir first goal had three players, including the goalscorer, all
sitting 3-4 yards offside. This sort of thing is happening every week and
standards have slipped so far that the rest of Europe regards our officials
as a joke. They're right. The sooner match officials are controlled by
someone willing to take action against those who are not up to standard,
rather than protecting them the better.
Injury news is that the usual long-term absentees will still be out. We're
one down in midfield where Alou Diarra seems to have talked himself into a
swift departure from the Boleyn and is off to Rennes. The good news is that
Carroll is now on the available list. I'd hope that Pogatetz is being
considered to partner Reid. No disrespect to Tomkins but Reid always seems
more at home with the more traditional central defensive partner and we've
not been at our best at the back since Ginge caught hamstring.
Prediction? Well the run of form that we're going through has knocked my
usual optimistic mood into touch. My bunions are playing up as well and my
usual happy-go-lucky demeanour has been further dented by the Avram Grant
Rest Home's failure to sign a younger, more attractive Matron during the
recent Rest Home transfer window. I'm therefore going to place the Rest Home
transfer fund (£2.50) on a 1-1 draw for this one.
Enjoy the game!
When Last We Met At The Boleyn: Drew 1-1 (FA Cup 3rd round January 1999)
Swansea were in whatever they called Division 4 at the time so, given our
traditional frailty against lower league teams, they were probably nailed on
to go through. A late Dicks effort (assisted by a 'keeper error) sent the
match to a replay. The match was notable only for marking the debut of Joe
Cole. We lost the replay. Obviously.
Referee: Lee Probert. Took charge of the home match against Liverpool. Let's
hope he and his assistants don't miss anything like, say, 5-yard offsides or
blatant penalties, or they might be punished by being promoted to a cup
final or something.
Danger Man:Michu. Their best player who Spurs will probably end up having to
pay £20m+ for one day.
Daft Fact Of The Week: Swansea's rise from the basement has been well
documented. The moment that they probably look back on and say "well we can
laugh about it now, but at the time…." took place in 1995/96. A consortium
was on the brink of buying the club and appointed a chap called Kevin Cullis
as manager. His previous experience had been with non-league Cradely Town.
Not as manager, mind, but as youth team coach. He was so out of his depth
that at half time in his second match a couple of the senior pros threw him
out of the changing room and gave the team talk themselves. The club's owner
cancelled the deal to sell the club and Cullis resigned or was sacked
depending on whose version you care to believe. Seven years later, Cullis
went on to do two 9 month spells inside for fraud and handling stolen
insurance certificates. Funny old world innit.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And that's a wrap
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 1st February 2013
By: Staff Writer
Stephen Henderson has re-joined Ipswich Town on loan - thereby concluding
West Ham United's winter transfer window business. The former Portsmouth
goalkeeper has returned to Portman Road on loan for the remainder of the
season, leaving 20-year-old Raphael Spiegel as the club's back-up to current
number one Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Sam Allardyce signed four new players in total during January including
former fans' favourite Joe Cole, but failed to land the left back he had
been seeking or a goalkeeper to challenge Jaaskelainen, whose form has
dipped alarmingly in recent weeks.
The Hammers boss chased several full-backs during January including
Blackburn's Martin Olsson, Juve's Reto Ziegler and Aston Villa's Stephen
Warnock - and was strongly linked with a move for Olsson's team mate at
Ewood Park, Paul Robinson - but was left frustrated having failed to land
any of them.
However both Allardyce and the club's supporters will no doubt be heartened
by the news that influential midfielder Momo Diame remains at the club,
despite being strongly tipped to leave ahead of last night's transfer
deadline.
Transfer Window Ins and Outs
(first team squad only)
Ins
Joe Cole (free transfer, Liverpool)
Marouane Chamakh (loan, Arsenal)
Wellington Paulista (loan, Cruzeiro)
Emanuel Pogatetz (loan, Wolfsburg)
Outs
Yossi Benayoun (loan ended, Chelsea)
Alou Diarra (loan, Rennes)
Stephen Henderson (loan, Ipswich Town)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Swansea preview: Sam Allardyce has Premier League problems
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 12:10pm
SSN
Struggling West Ham United will be desperate to end their worrying slump in
form when they host Swansea City on Saturday. Sam Allardyce has seen his
side take just five points from their last nine games to fall down the table
after a previously promising return to the Premier League. Last season's
Championship play-off winners are now 13th in the top flight and seven
points from the relegation places, which will be a concern heading in to the
later months of the campaign. The midweek London derby defeat by Fulham was
the most recent setback for Allardyce, who has spoken of his relief at
making it through the transfer window with his key men. And his attention
will now be fully focused upon defeating Swansea and earning what would be
only West Ham's third league win in two months. But Michael Laudrup's
visitors will arrive in London with full confidence after an excellent
2012/13 to date. The Capital One Cup finalists, along with their manager,
are already contenders for the best performers of the season and they
arguably deserved more from Wednesday's draw at Sunderland. Swansea are
unbeaten in the Premier League in 2013 and will expect at least a share of
the points at Upton Park.
West Ham
Last 6
3-1
5-1
1-1
1-0
3-0
2-2
Andy Carroll will continue his return from injury when West Ham United host
Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday. The on-loan Liverpool
striker made his first appearance in two months after injury when appearing
as a second-half substitute in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat by Fulham. Manager Sam
Allardyce will be without George McCartney (knee) and Daniel Potts (head
injury). Struggling West Ham will also be unable to call on Alou Diarra
after the midfielder was loaned to Rennes on transfer deadline day.
Swansea
Last 6
0-0
0-0
3-1
1-0
0-0
0-2
Star man Michu will have to carry Swansea's striking responsibility at West
Ham after Danny Graham was sold to Sunderland on the final day of the
transfer window. Sixteen-goal Michu is therefore Michael Laudrup's main
striking option after the club failed to bring in any cover on Thursday.
Capital One Cup finalists Swansea are still without Neil Taylor and Kemy
Agustien due to ankle problems.
Opta Facts
West Ham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League
games at Upton Park
Swansea have drawn five of their last seven league games, winning the other
two
West Ham have put in more crosses than any other Premier League side this
season
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Liverpool and West Ham have Andy Carroll agreement
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 4:45pm
SSN
Liverpool have already agreed to sell striker Andy Carroll to West Ham at
the end of the season, according to Hammers co-owner David Sullivan. The
England international, a £35million signing from Newcastletwo years ago,
made the move from Anfield to Upton Park on a season-long loan deal in the
summer.
Carroll's time with the Hammers has been badly hampered by injury and he has
managed just one goal from nine Premier League starts and two substitute
appearances. Sullivan admitted that despite reaching an accord with their
Premier League rivals, they have yet to agree terms with the powerful
striker over a permanent switch and is keen for the 24-year-old to prove his
worth over the final 14 games of the Premier League season. In an exclusive
interview with MailOnline, he said: "I am often asked about Andy Carroll's
deal. It is a season-long loan. Liverpool had an option to take him back in
January, but he has been injured. "West Ham have an agreement with Liverpool
to sign him at the end of the season, but we have no agreement with the
player. "It was his desire to come to West Ham to prove himself to Liverpool
and that hasn't changed. "He has had injuries since he came, but he is back
to fitness now and we have 15 games left... we need some goals and some
points, so let's see."
Sullivan also revealed how West Ham were keen to do more business during the
January transfer window, only to lose out to Leeds in their pursuit of
defender Stephen Warnock, while interest in Reto Ziegler and Paul Robinson
also came to nothing. He added: "For all the deals you have read about,
there were 30 others we were trying. I thought we had Stephen Warnock from
Aston Villa and he said he was signing. "Our contract offer was for six
months with an extension based on appearances and he accepted that. Then he
changed his mind and signed for a Championship team in the north. "We had a
deal for the Olympiakos left-back, but when Warnock said yes, we scrapped
that. Then, when we tried to get the other deal back on, the chap had gone
somewhere else.
"We then spoke to Juventus left-back Reto Ziegler, who's on loan in Russia
and tried to make that happen, but he went to Turkey. "We tried to bring in
goalkeeper Paul Robinson from Blackburn, but he had an injury and hasn't
played often and we had a bit of doubt."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham manager Allardyce happy to focus on football as transfer window
closes
Last Updated: February 1, 2013 2:28pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is pleased to be focusing on playing matters
again after the "usual mayhem" of the January transfer window. The Hammers
boss was delighted to keep hold of Senegal international Mohamed Diame, a
rumoured target for Arsenal and Tottenham, despite the midfielder having a
release clause in his contract. As well as retaining Diame, Allardyce signed
Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh and Emanuel Pogatetz in the window. "We will all
be pleased that we can focus purely on the games of football we have between
now and the end of the season," he said. "All of the usual mayhem has taken
place yet again and we've all been in the middle of it at some stage or
another and the distraction is a huge part of trying to get through this
period of time and still produce results. "For us we haven't got the results
we wanted to try to get for one reason or another but we haven't gone too
heavy into the financial side of the market."
Keeping Diame at Upton Park was top of Allardyce's list of aims in the
January transfer window and with that achieved he will now aim to improve a
recent record that has seen his side take just five points from their past
eight games. "We have strengthened and tried to strengthen the team as best
we can and the most important thing at the end of yesterday was probably
keeping hold of Mo Diame," Allardyce said. "We are very concerned at this
moment in time. We have only taken five points out of our last eight games
and we know that is not good enough. "But you can have these spells, it is
not unique to us. Fulham won (against West Ham on Wednesday) and it was only
their third win in 16 matches and Norwich have been the same. "Lots of clubs
like us have had this spell at this moment in time where we have gone a
considerable amount of time without the number of wins we wanted."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Is it Time to Shuffle the Pack and Check Out the Bosman Lists?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
There is no doubt that we are currently in the midst of a slump in results.
Ironically, the team negotiated that difficult second phase of fixtures,
against the top sides, only to suffer a dip thereafter. Still, we are where
we are, and there is little doubt that the current squad possesses the
ability to pick up the results and achieve a good final position in the PL.
The task for the management team is three fold. To (1) recapture the prior
'togetherness' and team spirit that characterised the first half of the
season, (2) work on defensive organisation and iron out the silly lapses
that have emerged of late (i.e. that awful second goal conceded against
Fulham) and (3) sharpen up in the final third and start finishing the
chances that we continue to create in abundance.
The overridng positive for me is that our general play remains good. We are
passing the ball well and creating chances. While that is the case, threre
is always improved prospects of turning around a poor run of results.
Another is that some of our most notable injury absentees are returning or
have returned from injury, notably Andy Carroll, Mo Diame, Jack Collison
and,hopefully, George McCartney. It is no coincidence that the recent dip in
results has coincided with the non-availablility of these players.
McCartney, in particular, is a big loss defensively, as he brings
experience, balance and 'know how' to the back four; plus good support play
down the left flank. He is an under-estimated player and has been very much
missed of late. In addition, the January additions to the squad need to
settle and achieve their best form. That is particularly true of Marouane
Chamakh, whose fitness and form has suffered due to his proloned inactivity
this season at Arsenal; while Emmanuel Polentz and Wellington Paulista face
a common challenge of proving that they can make a significant contribution
to the first team. Finally, so far, the outstanding success of the January
window has been Joe Cole's return to the club. He has shown his quality,
particularly in the home games against Man Utd in the FA Cup and QPR, and we
need to manage his fitness, keep him injury free and give him the licence to
continue dictating our forward play.
But more than anything, we need to draw upon the positive spirit in the
squad and get the key players, like Captain Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Winston
Reid and Joe Cole, showing real leadership on the pitch. Kevin Nolan in
particular is key in this respect, he must continue to assert his authority,
foster collective spirit and lead by example. He has recently experienced a
personal dip in form, but against Fulham he looked back to his best and,
with a bit more fortune, could very well have scored three goals in that
match.
We do, however, need to shuffle the pack in terms of selection. In
particular, we should look to bring in Polentz's drive and experience to the
defence. The question is whether we pair him with Reid in central defence or
slot him at left-back. Personally, I would retain the Reid-Tomkins
partnership in central defence and initially play him at left-back. There is
also a real temptation to give Spence a run at right-back, but it is almost
certain that Sam Allardyce will pump for experience and select either Demel
or O'Brien. While, the absence of a new keeper, means that we will continue
with Jussi between the sticks.
In midfield, it is likely, barring injury, that we will continue with the
successful triumvirite of Noble-Diame-Nolan, with Joe Cole and Matt Jarvis
either side of the centre forward. For me, there are two variables here,
whether to shuffle things to include either Collison or Vaz Te. There is a
case for seeking to accommodate Collison's strong forward running and
ability to get in to the box and finish. It would certainly be interesting
to combine Collison's forward play with Diame's powerful central midfield
presence. Vaz Te has not had a good season, but he is a talented player, who
possesses the ability to win matches. On current form, he is unlikely to
displace either Joe Cole or Matt Jarvis, but he could play a significant
role from the bench. In terms of the bench, the other big variable, is the
potental selection of Wellington Paulista. He is an unknown quanity and
offers something different up front, either playing as a second striker or
out wide. He appears 100% committed and can undoubtedly finish. Paulista
could yet prove an asset in the final months of this season. I doubt that he
is ready to start, but an introduction to the bench could be in order.
Finally, if Andy Carroll is fit enough, he needs to start, there is no
question about that. We need his hold up play and immense physicality
against Swansea, plus he has to start proving that he can find the back of
the net on a regular basis. If not suffciently match fit, he will be on the
bench and it is a toss up whether Carlton Cole or Marouane Chamakh start up
front.
I personally believe that we need to refresh things by introducing Polentz
at left-back, playing Jack Collison on the right and moving Joe Cole to the
left. That means Matt Jarvis starting on the bench and coming on in the 2nd
half. Up front we could really do with Andy Carroll starting and
recommencing his partnership with Nolan. If Carroll cannot start, go with
Chamakh and hope that he can recover his goal scoring touch. On the bench,
include Carroll or Chamakh, Paulista, Jarvis, O'Neill, Demel or O'Brien,
Speigel and Vaz Te or Carlton Cole.
We failed to add a keeper and left-back in the January window. The question
now is, will we settle for what we have, utilising Polentz at left-back and
waiting for the return of McCartney and Potts? Similarly, will we gamble on
Jussi and Speigel, with Henderson on emergency recall from his loan deal at
Ipswich Town? Or alternatively, will we take a look at the Bosman lists and
see if there are any bargains out there? While, Bosman deals do not involve
an up front transfer fee, they can be quite expensive in terms of sign on
fees and the players terms. Whether there are any further funds, this
season, to finance a Bosman deal(s) is open to conjecture. However, it does
not hurt to see who is available and ready to come straight in and make a
difference, does it?
Finally, the Fulham result was very disappointing and has increased the
pressure on the team to get a result against Swansea. It could be a
difficult match, because Swansea are a good side these days. To win, we need
to dominate the midfield, shackle Leon Britton, who makes their midfield
tick and neutralise their pacy forwards & the goal scoring threat of Michu.
Ironically, this is a match where we could have done with Diarra's defensive
midfield abilities, but that option is now gone, so Noble must perform that
role.. Hopefully we will be successful in disrupting them and imposing our
own high pace game, a la the QPR match, only with better finishing. With
home advantage, we should be looking to secure a 1-0 or 2-1 victory to
attain 30 points, which would crucially put us just 3 wins and a draw from
the magical 40 point PL safety bench mark.
In addition, we really do need the crowd to raise the temperature and get
behind the team. Upton Park is not what it used to be, but it can still be
intimidating when the fans are in the mood to generate the necessary noise.
This game is definitely one to create that type of partisan atmosphere.
COYI!
SJ. Chandos
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It's our sweet FA
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun
SAT, JAN 26
THE only Egyptian I know is Mido, whose stay at Upton Park was unproductive.
Still, he is a character and his heart will be bleeding as he hears today of
further slaughter in his country in a tribal war that exploded into a
football riot and has now claimed more than 100 lives. Politics have taken
over. They are even more dangerous in Egypt than football.
SUN, JAN 27
HOUSE-hunting in London and I walk around a nice pad. I spot a picture of
someone I recognise in football posing with Yasser Arafat. Oh my god, I work
out whose house it is and exit quickly. My husband tells me a similar story
— a footballer pal met a girl and went back to her house. As they get cosy
he sees a picture of his boss. He is in the house, and knickers, of his
manager's daughter!
MON, JAN 28
A FASCINATING battle of wills is in play at West Brom. Peter Odem-whingie is
busy living up to that name as he pushes hard to take a profitable dip into
QPR's accounts. Pulling for Albion's rights is chairman Jeremy Peace. I'm
cheering for Peace because he might register a rare win for the binding
agreement of contract. Or up the transfer fee.
TUES, JAN 29
MOST of you, I guess, woke up with a yawn after hearing a parliamentary
committee are again demanding changes at the FA. They want the FA to develop
a backbone and tackle the Premier League. The reality is they might as well
bark at the moon. The Premier League is a rich, powerful and efficient
business generating billions in revenue. While the FA largely are a bunch of
male jobsworths no longer strong enough to lay down the law to a referee let
alone the Premier League. Most fans will agree they like the Prem more or
less as it is. Certainly they like footballers more than they do
politicians.
WED, JAN 30
I THINK I am making progress with regards to the Olympic Stadium following a
meeting of the three principals today. The lawyers are missing, which may be
why so much progress was made. I'm told the plan is to make an announcement
in about three weeks' time. I am more positive than I have ever been that we
will be able to present a world-class stadium for the supporters to vote on.
It's as if Boris is on the penalty spot and only needs to roll the ball into
the net. But having been jilted at the altar before, you never know. My mood
is then then dented by the beating at Fulham.
THURS, JAN 31
MY phone is being t-bombed by players' agents. After I pick it up at 6am,
the average is one call every five minutes up to 1.30am. One of them is
actually asking for a conference call at 12.30am. Are agents crackers as
well as greedy? Generally, players' heads are being filled with figures that
are unrealistic by over-aggressive agents. The funniest thing of all is that
they want to torture me and then expect me to pay for the privilege. "I
ain't working for nothing," they moan. I say: "You aren't working for me."
Transfer window? Hell on Earth.
FRI, FEB 1
IT'S all over. The window closes and Mario Balotelli is an AC Milan player.
This is, of course, former Italian prime minister Berlusconi's club so it
would be as well for Milan citizens to lock up their daughters and their
fireworks. Yes, Bunga Bunga greets Banger Banger and there are cynics in
Italy who are saying that Balotelli's move is designed to help Berlusconi's
election hopes. As if. Anyway, I'd prefer my chances to rest on Coco the
Clown.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Toast the MOment
Sam's window snifter
The Sun
By TOM GOODENOUGH
Published: 01st February 2013
0
SAM ALLARDYCE raised a glass to the end of the transfer window — after
winning the battle to keep Mo Diame at West Ham. Boss Allardyce spent the
whole of January fearing a big-money offer would come in for the midfielder,
which would be too good for the Upton Park board to refuse. But as the clock
ticked past 11pm, Big Sam cracked open a bottle of brandy and poured himself
a large one in celebration. He revealed: "Everything could have changed in
the flick of a text, an email or a phone call, so it's a massive relief
Diame is still here. "When the deadline passed, I must admit I celebrated
with a glass of brandy." The Hammers failed in a deadline-day bid for Aston
Villa left-back Stephen Warnock.
WEST HAM manager pleased the circus of the January transfer window is over -
and he kept star midfielder But they demonstrated how much they wanted to
keep Diame, 25, by offering the Senegal international a new improved
contract. Allardyce added: "It would not have mattered how much money we
would have got for Diame, it would have been a crushing blow because we
couldn't have done anything with the money at that late stage."
The Hammers boss will try to ease Andy Carroll back into action by playing
him against Swansea today, even though the hitman is not 100 per cent fit.
The £35million Geordie — on a season-long loan from Liverpool — made a brief
cameo in West Ham's 3-1 defeat at Fulham in midweek after coming on as a
substitute. And Allardyce is confident the 24-year-old will get another
outing against the Swans — even if it will not be for the entire match. He
said: "He hasn't played a competitive game apart from the 15 minutes or so
against Fulham after eight weeks out, so he's not ready for a full 90
minutes but he is ready to take part."
The Hammers have picked up only one point from their last five Premier
League games. But with the list of injuries reducing and the transfer window
closing, Allardyce is hopeful his side can get back to winning ways. He
said: "We are very concerned at the moment but these spells are not unique
to us and we know we've got to put that right. "It's about securing as many
points as possible and moving forward to get ourselves in a better position.
"There's been a slight drain of confidence because of the results we've had
and we've got to revert back to the form we had. "We need to keep a positive
mental attitude towards every game and make sure we work hard to get back to
the results we know we can get."
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Agent's threat to Sullivan
By PAT SHEEHAN
Published: 01st February 2013
The Sun
DAVID SULLIVAN claims an agent threatened him and one of his players with
physical violence during the transfer window. West Ham's co-owner revealed
the full extent of how football's middle men try to make money at all costs.
Sullivan, 64, revealed: "In this window, I had an agent threaten me and one
of my players with physical violence because he thought he was being cut out
of a deal. "I heard of three or four agents trying to jump in on other
deals. Some of them are like scavengers." QPR boss Harry Redknapp blew the
lid on what goes on behind the scenes during a month of transfer frenzy as
agents try to grab cash. SunSport columnist Redknapp said agents created a
situation that was likened to gang warfare as £124m was spent in January and
agents took 10 per cent upwards. Sullivan added: "Harry was right. It feels
like gang warfare and I can see it spilling over into violence. "Agents who
once demanded £50,000 for their part in a transfer now want £500,000 to a
million to bring in a player or keep one. "I heard of an agent who took over
representing a player for ONE DAY and he wanted £1.5m for his part in
negotiating a new contract."
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