Mo counts cost of missed chances
WHUFC.com
Mohamed Diame spoke of his frustration after West Ham United drew a blank
against Sunderland
15.12.2013
Mohamed Diame is planning to tackle West Ham United's goalscoring
difficulties head on, with more goals of his own. Saturday's goalless
Barclays Premier League stalemate against Sunderland was the Hammers' fifth
of the campaign and one that particularly irked the Hammers midfielder. But
rather than pointing the finger, Diame is keen to take responsibility
himself, insisting he is passing up too many opportunities in front of goal.
He told West Ham TV: "I need to score. Every game I have a lot of
opportunities to score but I'm missing at the moment and I've got to score!
"I can't tell you [what will make the difference in the final third].
Sometimes you don't have the luck. All we can do is keep going, work hard
and I think the goals are going to come."
While the Senegal skipper knows the value of another point, he acknowledged
that the draw makes life more difficult with Manchester United and Arsenal
in the offing. Meanwhile, the Black Cats' battling display came as no
surprise to Diame, who expected nothing less of Gus Poyet's men. "We're very
disappointed," he continued. "We needed those three points and we didn't get
them. You have to take the point and the point is good but we needed all
three. "When you play against Sunderland, who are at the bottom, you have
to take the three points. But we didn't so now it's going to be hard. "We
have to play in Manchester and then against Arsenal here at the Boleyn
Ground. We're going to try give our best and try to take some points. "We
know they're going to come here fighting because they're in a bad situation,
but we're in a bad situation too, so we need to work hard and take as many
points as we can, as soon as possible."
Before the Hammers return to league action at Old Trafford on Saturday, Sam
Allardyce's men are in Capital One Cup action at White Hart Lane. Having
taken centre stage in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October, Diame is
hoping to repeat the feat for the supporters. "It's a big game for us. To
play against Tottenham is a big derby and we've got to try to play a good
game for our fans."
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Hammers held by Sunderland
WHUFC.com
West Ham United drew 0-0 with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
14.12.2013
West Ham United 0-0 Sunderland
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United and Sunderland battled out a 0-0 draw at the Boleyn Ground
on Saturday. Neither team could find a route to goal as the chance to move
three points clear of the bottom three passed the Hammers by. It was the
Black Cats who went closest to winning it when Phil Bardsley's long range
effort thudded against the crossbar, while the hosts had the ball in the net
before the break only for Guy Demel's effort to be disallowed. Ravel
Morrison returned from suspension to replace Kevin Nolan, who was starting a
three-match ban of his own following his red card at Liverpool last week. A
couple of half chances came and went for the Hammers in the opening five
minutes, first Modibo Maiga shooting wide after Mo Diame crossed low from
the left, then the same player headed back across goal with Matt Jarvis just
unable to make a telling touch. Jozy Altodore forced a save from Jussi
Jaaskelainen after he found himself in the clear all of a sudden, while home
celebrations were cut short on 21 minutes when Guy Demel's scrambled finish
was ruled out for a push. Sunderland began to grow into the contest as the
half wore on and were a whisker away from taking the lead in fine style on
35 minutes when his long range shot crashed against the crossbar and away to
safety.
Emanuele Giaccherini had a shot deflected behind by Guy Demel towards the
end of the first half, and Lee Cattermole drew a flying save from
Jaaskelainen with the last kick before the break. Sunderland looked the more
threatening at the start of the second period, although clear cut chances
were few and far between. Giaccherini fired off target after being teed up
just outside the area, then Jaaskelainen was called into action to dive down
to his right and save from Altidore after he found space inside the box. The
Hammers introduced Jack Collison and Carlton Cole from the bench as they
looked for more thrust in their attacking play and the former poked wide on
71 minutes after Maiga laid off to him on the edge of the area. Jaaskelainen
had to stand firm to repel Ki Sung-Yueng when he blasted for goal from close
range 12 minutes from the end, while Vito Mannone had to backpedal to touch
George McCartney's cross-shot over, but neither team could find the killer
touch where it mattered.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins,
McCartney; Morrison, Noble, Diame; J.Cole (C.Cole 75), Maiga, Jarvis
(Collison 56)
Subs: Adrian, Rat, Taylor, Diarra
Booked: Noble
Sunderland: Mannone; Celustka, O'Shea, Brown, Bardsley (Dossena 82);
Cattermole, Ki; Giaccherini, Larsson, Borini (Johnson 73); Altidore
(Fletcher 73)
Subs: Pickford, Cabral, Gardner, Roberge
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 31,843
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Big Sam on Sunderland stalemate
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce talked to West Ham TV after Saturday's 0-0 Barclays Premier
League draw with Sunderland
14.12.2013
Sam Allardyce reflected philosophically on Saturday's goalless Barclays
Premier League draw with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground. West Ham United
earned a point against the Black Cats thanks to another resilient defensive
display that resulted in an eighth clean sheet in 16 league matches.
However, the goalscoring issues that have plagued the season so far
resurfaced as Big Sam was made to settle for a point rather than all three.
In truth, a draw was a fair reflection of a game in which both sides created
chances, with Sunderland coming closest when Phil Bardsley saw his
well-struck 25-yarder cannon back off the crossbar. West Ham's best moments
came after half-time. Ravel Morrison worked Vito Mannone in the visitors'
goal, while Carlton Cole headed wide and George McCartney saw his late cross
tipped over by the Italian goalkeeper. "I think we got what we deserved from
the game," Big Sam told West Ham TV. "Unfortunately, unlike we saw against
Fulham two weeks ago, we didn't see the creative high-quality play in this
game. "When it becomes a dogged affair like it did here, you need to find
one player to make the difference. We had our most creative players on the
pitch who were available to play, but unfortunately they didn't find the
creativity or the finish to get that one goal to get us a very precious
three points. "It wouldn't have mattered how we played - good, bad or
indifferent - if we'd got the points, but we couldn't turn it around and
find that bit of quality when needed. We ended up with a nil-nil. "On the
other side of it, our magnificent defence was there again and it's the
backbone of our team. That's eight cleans sheets in 16 matches. We only got
eleven all season last year and finished tenth, so nobody needs to tell me
what the problem is and always has been - scoring a goal! "It's not
happening for us at the minute. We got one side of it right and now we need
to keep pressing on to get the other side right in terms of scoring goals.
If we score and get a clean sheet, then we'll win games. "We've only won
three of our eight clean sheets and we only needed to put another two on top
of that and we'd be in the top ten and not the bottom four. That's how close
it is. We're small margins away from getting up that table. We'd have all
loved three points, but in the end I thought it was a fair result."
When asked what else pleased him about the game, Big Sam said it was vitally
important that the Hammers ended their run of defeats following reverses at
Crystal Palace and Liverpool. "Well, we didn't lose the game after losing
two on the trot, so that was a good thing," he went on. "We just need the
luck that Liverpool found last week, when they scored with two own-goals and
a deflection. "We had that little bit of luck against Fulham and if we
continue to press high, that little bit of luck will go our way. Mo Diame's
goal against Fulham was a deflection and we went on to win the game
comfortable. "We have got to continue to be resilient first and foremost and
then believe in our own ability. I just felt the lads mentally found it
tough on occasions [against Sunderland], for the first time, and I've got to
make sure they get over that and deliver the performances I know they are
capable of. "They looked a little bit nervous, edgy and hesitant and when
you put yourselves in this position the pressure can come on you, that can
happen. You've got to deal with it, put those thoughts out of your mind and
get back to being very positive about what we are as a team and do the
business."
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West Ham 0 Sunderland 0
14 December 2013
Last updated at 17:22
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Sunderland earned only their third away league point of the season following
an uninspiring draw against fellow strugglers West Ham at Upton Park. Jozy
Altidore was through on the Hammers' goal early on but had his shot saved by
keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. A 25-yard shot from Black Cats defender Phil
Bardsley came off the crossbar before Jaaskelainen fended away a long-range
Lee Cattermole effort. Jaaskelainen also did well to keep out a late Ki
Sung-Yueng shot. Sunderland remain bottom of the Premier League and five
points off safety but they might rue a missed opportunity at not getting
their first away league win of the season against a struggling West Ham. In
an interview with Football Focus before the game, Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan described the rest of the season as 'damage limitation' exercise
with the Upton Park club hovering perilously above the relegation zone. West
Ham have not been helped by winger Stewart Downing joining striker Andy
Carroll and centre-back Winston Reid on the injury list, while they took on
Sunderland without suspended captain Kevin Nolan. However, despite having
the better of the game, Sunderland lacked the goalscoring touch to take
advantage of a weakened West Ham, who have four points from the last 24
available. The Black Cats had an early chance through striker Altidore, who
appeared offside, but the American had his angled strike saved by the
slightest of touches from Jaaskelainen. West Ham's threat was fleeting, but
Guy Demel thought he had scored when his header came back off a defender and
he fired in the rebound, although referee Andre Marriner had already blown
for a push by the Hammers right-back. There was plenty of effort from both
camps, but it was the visitors who were producing the neater football and
creating the more clear-cut chances. A free-kick from Hammers centre-back
James Collins struck the jumping Altidore and inadvertently released Fabio
Borini, who ran at the home goal before striking a poor shot which was
straight at Jaaskelainen. Jaaskelainen was beaten when he failed to reach a
powerful 25-yard strike by Sunderland left-back Bardsley but the crossbar
came to the Finnish keeper's rescue. The Hammers stopper also had to fend
away a well-struck long-range effort from Lee Cattermole just before the
break. While there was little goalmouth action in the second half, Ki went
close when he sidestepped to the left and struck a shot which Jaaskelainen
did well to get a hand to and palm away. At the other end, George
McCartney's late cross turned into a shot which Sunderland keeper Vito
Mannone had to tip over, before Collins headed the resulting corner wide.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "We have got eight clean sheets so far this
season. That is a brilliant return as we only got 11 last season. "We all
know that the [scoring] goal factor that has not made the difference for us
and had that been better we would be higher up the league. "The only thing
that we are not doing consistently, at the moment, is scoring goals and that
is why we are where we are."
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet: "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win. "There are moments in the game
when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half when we
really on top of the game. "I need to look at performance, what we have
worked on in the last two months and how good the team is playing. "I would
like to go into every game with this feeling that I am going to see my team
on the pitch.
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Allardyce on......Sunderland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer No. 2
The manager shares his thoughts on the disappointing 0-0 draw with
Sunderland at the Boleyn....
You lacked spark tody Sam. Was it frustrating for you?
Oh yes. There was a little bit to much edge in our game. Too many simple
balls going astray and we didn't create the sort of pressure we did against
Fulham a couple of weeks ago. Hence we endded up with a dogged affair rather
than the creative football we had against Fulham. We wanted someone to find
a little bit of genius for us on the day, one of our creative players to pop
up with something a little bit special and put that ball in the back of the
net for the "one-niller." We couldn't find that again today and probably the
draw was a fair result. Disappointing from what I expected in the end. We
got what we deserved. If we'd got anymore out of that we'd have been
delighted, obviously. Had somebody turned the game in our favour with a
little bit of genius. All our creative players couldn't find that clever
finish, that final pass or that cross.
Do you call a result and performance like that "one of those things"
or...... ?
I wouldn't say it was one of those things. I would look at the nervous
tension that I have to relieve about the place. The little bit of anxiety.
This game was no bigger than the Fulham game two weeks ago. Both teams in a
similar position, both teams needing a win. We played a fantastic game and
ended up winning comfortably 3-0. Today we didn't see that. I've also picked
up some more injuries and a suspension so the squad's getting thinner and
thinner.
Is Andy Carroll in the right frame of mind to provide that missing genius?
Once he gets fit he'll make us better. There' s no doubt about that. Until
we get him better there's no point in talking about Andy Carroll. You never
talk about the other 4 or 5 injuries I've got. They have an impact as I
can't select who I want or who I need. At the moment we've got to battle our
way through it and get all the injured players fit and try and add to the
squad in January. Between now and January we've got to get more points on
the board.
Is he [Carroll] in the right frame of mind to get back and get fit? ...
He works every day to 5,6,7 at night. We're glad to have him back because we
can see him improving every day. Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te people like
that they're all doing the same. We're in a position where we've got tough
games coming up. We've got the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, Manchester
United away and Arsenal at home. Three points today would have alleviated
some of the pressure from those games. We've got a point. We have to do what
other teams have done at Manchester United recently and take some points at
Old Trafford. If we pay our best we'll have a chance.
How far away is Carlton Cole away from a run in the side?
I gave Carlton a start against Crystal Palace. I can't give anyone a run of
games. It's like when the season ticket holders asked me why I don't play
young players. If you play a youngster once and he doesn't play well you
can't play him again, not in the Premier League. You end up losing the
result. That player might not be good enough on the day. You have to go with
the players with Premier League experience. They're the ones that produce
the most consistent performances. We have brought one player through this
year and he's done a fantastic job. That's Ravel Morrison. We have a young
player that's blossoming with us – though I have to say that today was one
of his lower key games today. Which is a shame because he is the one that
can produce the bit of genius individually on his own.
It's a difficult time but there are teams below s having a difficult time. I
say to the lads "if you're not feeling so well how must they feel because
they're below us? Take it on the chin and make sure that you deliver your
best performances and we'll get our way out of this problem we have at the
minute"
Are you aware of David Sullivan's comments that he'd never have signed
Carroll if he'd known how on he was going to be out?
Well after that he said that it would only be at the end of the season that
we'd be able to judge how good a player Andy Carroll is. Understanding the
size of the investment I can understand why he made this comment. We'v got
to get him fit and he's got to get back to what he was doing for us last
season. It's not his fault he's injured. We just have to make sure we keep
him fit. He's the difference between us winning more games and not. He was
last year – if you look at our win ratio with him and without him it was
obvious we had to sign him. Without him it's like Manchester City without
Aguero or Negredo. When you haven't had that all season one of your major
players in the team means that we're not the force that we should be. We
hoped we could overcome that until he got fit but we haven't managed to do
that.
When do you think he'll be back?
[Sighs] It's not within my medical capabilities to say when he should be
back. I do have the capability to watch him. If I don't watch him live I
watch him train on video. I can keep an eye on him with the guys who are
looking after him so we can have an objective opinion between us to when he
should be back, whether that's a bit sooner than perhaps they think. They
always err on the side of caution – rightly so. If Andy's telling us he's
great and he's looking good and the guys say maybe then I'll have a decision
to make. I'll take the responsibility so if he gets injured again it'll be
on my back so I have to be as careful as they do.
Thanks.
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Sullivan: we wouldn't have signed Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
David Sullivan has admitted that Andy Carroll would not have been a West Ham
player had the club known he would miss half the season. Sullivan, speaking
to the BBC's Football Focus programme this lunchtime revealed that had he
been aware that Carroll would miss half the season, the club would have
looked elsehwere for a striker. "Andy is a fantastic player and on his day
he is unplayable," said Sullivan. "We love him and that is why we signed
him. But had we known he would be out for this long, we wouldn't have. We
are not a rich enough club to deal with that. "You know any player can get
injured, but we can't buy a player knowing he is going to be out for half
the season. When we signed him we were assured by the medical staff that the
very, very latest he would be back was 1 September. That meant he would only
miss two league games. "He is desperate to come back, he is sweating blood
in training - and if you ask me the same question at the end of the season I
hope I will be able give you a different answer and say 'Yes, it was the
right decision to sign Andy Carroll'."
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Sunderland miss chance of victory after 0-0 draw at West Ham
By Pete Hall @Pistolpeteh86. Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:58pm
SSN
Sunderland will feel two points were dropped at Upton Park as they were held
to a 0-0 draw at West Ham.
Best of the Match
Man of the Match: Lee Cattermole. Broke up West Ham attacks regularly, and
swiftly countered whenever he could.
Save of the Match: Jussi Jaaskelainen. Thwarted Ki from close range at a
crucial time, firmly palming the ball away.
Attempt of the Match: Phil Bardsley. Thunderous effort out of nowhere from
30-yards cannoned back off the crossbar.
Talking Points: With no Andy Carroll where are West Ham's goals going to
come from? Can Sunderland afford to miss opportunities like this?
Despite dominating possession for much of the game, and creating the best
openings, Sunderland couldn't find the breakthrough. Jozy Altidore and Ki
Sung-Yueng were guilty of missing chances, but it was their inability to
capitalise on some good openings that will disappoint boss Gus Poyet the
most. The Hammers, who stay just above the relegation zone after the
stalemate, looked really toothless in attack, and aside from a few brief
flashes of quality from Ravel Morrison, offered very little. The home side
really struggled to keep hold of the ball in the opening period, and when
they did produce some slick build-up play, often through Mohamed Diame and
Morrison, the final ball was not forthcoming. Sunderland however played some
excellent, intricate football, but their decision-making, at key times, let
them down. Altidore could have opened the scoring in the first few minutes,
but his low effort was tipped wide by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Gus Poyet says his
side deserved to win and believes it's time they 'won ugly' after good
football failed to earn them three points at Upton Park.
Bardsley thought he had broken the deadlock just after the half-hour mark,
thundering a strike at goal from 30-yards, which beat Jaaskelainen, but
cannoned back of the crossbar. Sam Allardyce's men did come out after
interval with added energy and impetus, but the same problems persisted.
Sunderland quickly regained control, and really should have broken the
deadlock, but couldn't finish off several half chances. Sam Allardyce admits
his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was delighted to have
earnt a point despite that. Altidore was denied several times by
Jaaskelainen, but he knows he should have done better. The Finnish stopper
had to be alert as the game entered the final 10 minutes, parrying well from
a well-struck Ki effort from close-range, adding to the frustration on
Poyet's face. James Collins saw a header fly just wide in stoppage time, but
it would been harsh on the visitors, who will feel with a little more
quality, three points were there for the taking.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce understands fans' anger after Sunderland draw
Last Updated: 14/12/13 6:41pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce admits his West Ham side were nowhere near their best but was
delighted to have earnt a point despite that. West Ham boss Sam Allardyce
admitted he could understand the frustration of the Upton Park fans after
their poor form continued in a 0-0 home draw with Sunderland. The Hammers
looked to have turned the corner on their own turf after comfortably beating
Fulham last time out. However, after another below-par attacking display,
the Upton Park faithful let their feelings be known at the final whistle,
with the players exiting to a chorus of boos. And Allardyce knows where the
supporters are coming from, and believes the fans are right to vent their
frustrations. "It doesn't make it easier for me, but it is part of the job,"
he told Sky Sports. "You sit there and you expect that reaction when your
team doesn't perform. "We didn't entertain them and, more importantly at the
moment, we didn't win."
Allardyce, who celebrated his 100th league game in charge of the Hammers,
has seen side win only two of their last 15 league games, and knows things
must improve quickly, and return to the form his side showed against Fulham.
"We didn't do what we did against against Fulham, which was a brilliant
game," he added. "Today dogged hard work was the order of the day, and we
didn't deserve more than a draw."
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'IF HE WASN'T OUR MANAGER HE IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MANAGER YOU WOULD BE
BRINGING IN'
By Sean Whetstone 15 Dec 2013 at 13:37
West Ham Till I Die
David Sullivan speaking to BBC Football Focus gave his full backing to Sam
Allardyce before yesterday's no score draw.
He was asked whether Sam Allardyce will still be the manager in January?
DS "Absolutely!"
BBC "Does it matter about results?"
DS "It does matter about results but really we review a manager at the end
of a season. If you asked me what kind of season Sam has had up to now, I
would say 'disappointing'. But let's judge him at the end of the season. I
think the Newcastle manager would have been sacked by most fans after a
month of the season but now he is flavour of the month."
DS "I am deeply concerned. Anybody who looks at where we are in the table
and is not concerned are kidding themselves." "I really believe Sam is the
man for the job. If he wasn't our manager he is exactly the type of manager
you would be bringing in to be the manager. Where do you get someone better
than Sam to do the job that is now necessary?"
Earlier this week David Gold at the Season Ticket Holders forum said "We
have to rely on Sam and the players. We have to stick together."
However, Big Sam accepts it will be "impossible" not to sack him if results
at West Ham do not improve quickly. Sam said "They cannot be patient forever
if I continue to lose football matches. It's impossible for them to ride the
pressure that will come upon them, impossible not to succumb to that
pressure like many other owners have done.
"When you look at their history, they have always shown a level of patience
to overcome difficult situations and I hope that will be the same. But I
know that in the end it is about getting results.
"Everybody will speculate about my future now because I am in the same
position as all the other clubs who have got rid of their managers. It is
perceived that I am the next one in the line. But it is just about picking
up a few points."
"The owners are going to stick with me or they are not. It is entirely up to
them and how they see me in the job and how they see the situation at the
moment"
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The number's don't lie: Stats-obsessed Sam Allardyce must know West Ham are
heading for a relegation battle
15 Dec 2013 12:28
Toothless and joyless, the Irons are in desperate need of inspiration
The Mirror
You might well have seen an interesting stat that was shared on social media
shortly after West Ham's dismal draw with Sunderland on Saturday: the
constipated Cockneys have been responsible for more goalless games this
season than the entire Bundesliga (five versus four). Sam Allardyce, a vocal
advocate of statistics, might have raised a wry smile at that. He would even
have enjoyed the goals against side of the equation. He certainly referenced
the impressive number of clean sheets his side have kept this season: eight
from their first 15 league matches. But here are some numbers the Hammers
boss might not like reading: of the 35 Premier League games his side have
played so far in 2013 they've won just nine, scoring a paltry 36 times.
Sympathisers have observed that any team would struggle after losing their
key players to injury, but those figures show the problems at West Ham run
far deeper than Andy Carroll's crocked foot , Winston Reid's ruined ankle or
Stewart Downing's damaged leg. Go a little further back and West Ham have
taken 38 points from the last 38 games: if not actually relegation form,
then certainly very close to it. Saturday's witless performance, in which
West Ham were outplayed by the Premier League's bottom side and mustered
just two shots on target all game, had the 'R word' running through it like
the writing on a stick of Southend rock.
With waning captain Kevin Nolan suspended, Allardyce had the opportunity to
reshape his side around the exciting talent of Ravel Morrison and
potentially find a new path to safety. Instead Morrison was left foraging in
the depths of midfield and West Ham struggled again.
Before the game co-owner David Sullivan told the BBC's Football Focus that
he was backing his manager, making the not unreasonable point that if he was
to sack Sam Allardyce, then the kind of manager he'd look to bring in to
salvage the season would be a Sam Allardyce figure. Perhaps so - but an
increasing number of hangdog Hammers fans are coming to the conclusion that
the Sam Allardyce they do have might not be capable of turning things
around. There must have been more than a few who did a disappointing double
take when saw the news West Brom had parted with their manager on Saturday
night.
Since the infamous strikerless Spurs victory back in October , West Ham have
taken just six of the 27 points available (another stat Sam might not want
to wheel out in a boardroom Powerpoint presentation) and lost to fellow
strugglers Norwich and Crystal Palace.
Allardyce has often spoken previously of the need to beat the teams around
you rather than fluke results against bigger boys, and yet now he goes into
fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal needing to do just that.
Heavy defeats will only demoralise his team further.
Much has been made of Sullivan's confession that he wouldn't have bought
Andy Carroll if he'd known he wouldn't have been able to play him (well
durr). Perhaps the more pertinent part of his interview with Dan Walker was
the admission that ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham must
avoid relegation at any cost.
Nobody wants to see a decent man lose their job, of course, but no matter
which way you choose cook the books, it's almost impossible to make those
numbers add up in Sam Allardyce's favour.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce bemoans misfiring attack after Sunderland draw
14 Dec 2013 19:02
The Hammers boss was left frustrated, as was Sunderland boss Gus Poyet who
felt his side deserved all three points
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce was happy to wax lyrical about his West Ham defence following
another clean sheet against Sunderland. However, the Hammers boss was left
to lament his misfiring attack as they were only able to manage a 0-0
against the Premier League's bottom side. "We have got eight clean sheets so
far this season," said Allardyce. "That is a brilliant return, as we only
got 11 last season. "We all know that the goal factor is the problem for us
and we would be higher up the league if we could score more. "Creative
players were on the field against Sunderland but they didn't play at their
creative best." As a result the Upton Park side now sit just one point
outside of the relegation zone, having netted just 13 times in 16 games this
term. Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, meanwhile, felt that his side deserved all
three points from Upton Park. "Today is probably one of few games this
season that I can say we deserved to win," said the Uruguayan. "Today we
have 19 shots, and how we don't score, I don't know. "There are moments in
the game when you have to take your chances, especially in the first half
when we really on top of the game." The Mackems remain bottom of the Premier
League table, without a win in their last five matches. But while Poyet
would love to 'win ugly' one week, he is pleased with the steps his side are
making. "We need the wins playing like that. I am waiting for an ugly win,"
Poyet added. "When we play well, and don't win it is a little bit tough, but
I need to be pleased with the way we played."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Boss Sam Allardyce insists Andy Carroll is West Ham's own Sergio Aguero
15 Dec 2013 11:20
The bruising centre forward has missed the Hammers' entire campaign to date,
and his boss has likened his impact to the free scoring Argentine
The Mirror
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has insisted his injury-plagued striker Andy
Carroll is the Hammers' own Sergio Aguero. The bruising centre forward has
missed the entire campaign with a foot injury, since sealing a big-money
move to Upton Park in the summer. And his boss has likened his impact to
that of Manchester City's free-scoring Argentine Aguero who bagged another
in Saturday's 6-3 rout of league leaders Arsenal. Hammers co-owner David
Sullivan admitted this week that if he had known that their record signing
would spend so much time on the sidelines, he would not have shelled out £15
million on him. But Allardyce has defended the decision insisting Carroll is
his key man, and has blamed the club's poor early season on the absence of
the the former Newcastle number nine. "It's not [Carroll's] fault he's
injured, he's the difference between us winning more games and us not," he
said. "If you look at our win ratio with Andy Carroll [compared] to without
him, it was pretty obvious [in the close season] we should sign him. "It's
like Manchester City not having [Sergio] Aguero or [Alvaro] Negredo."
The Hammers currently sit just one point outside the drop zone - yesterday's
0-0 bore draw with Sunderland means it is now only one win in seven for
Allardyce's men.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Monday, December 16
Saturday, December 14
Daily WHUFC News - 14th December 2013
Alpari FX kick-off 12 Days of Christmas
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Principal Partners are giving away four tickets for the
Boxing Day visit of Arsenal
13.12.2013
West Ham United and Alpari FX have joined forces to kick-off the '12 Days of
Christmas' promotions today! The Hammers and their Official Partners and
Sponsors will give supporters the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in
style with 12 amazing competitions between Friday 13 December and Christmas
Eve.
Today, to start the '12 Days of Christmas' in style, Alpari FX - the leading
global forex brokers - are giving away four Standard Tickets for the
mouth-watering Barclays Premier League visit of Arsenal to the Boleyn Ground
on Boxing Day. Alpari FX, a leading global FX broker, have joined forces
with the Hammers for a number of exciting events, including a game-changing
sports challenge with the Team Alpari FX professional sailing team and a
currency trading contest involving manager Sam Allardyce and first-team
players Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole. Every day in the lead-up to
Christmas Day, supporters can enter the daily '12 Days of Christmas'
competition by answering the question posed on the Official Website. Each of
the 12 questions will relate to a month of the current year in West Ham
history, starting with today's question relating to January 2013. To be in
with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply email your answer to
the following question:
*Who scored West Ham United's opening goal of 2013 just three minutes into
their 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory over Norwich City at the Boleyn
Ground?
To enter, simply email your answer, plus your name, date of birth, daytime
telephone number and postal address, to
mediacompetitions@westhamunited.co.uk with 'Friday 13 December' in the
subject line.
The Club would like to thank Principal Partner Alpari FX, Technical Partner
adidas, Club Partners Carlsberg, Lycamobile, SBOBET, Sportingbet and
Programme Master Ltd, and 59 New Street for their generous contributions.
The full list of prizes up for grabs is as follows:
• Friday 13 December - Four Standard Tickets to West Ham United v Arsenal,
26 December 2013 (provided by Alpari FX)
• Saturday 14 December - Four Standard Tickets to West Ham United v Arsenal,
26 December 2013 (Alpari FX)
• Sunday 15 December - A half-season subscription to the West Ham United
Official Programme for the second half of the 2013/14 season (Programme
Master Ltd)
• Monday 16 December - A £50 voucher for 59 New Street Wine Bar and
Restaurant, Chelmsford, Essex (59 New Street)
• Tuesday 17 December - A £50 voucher for 59 New Street Wine Bar and
Restaurant, Chelmsford, Essex (59 New Street)
• Wednesday 18 December - A £100 online betting voucher (SBOBET)*
• Thursday 19 December - A signed, framed 2013/14 West Ham United home shirt
(Carlsberg)*
• Friday 20 December - A £100 online betting voucher (Sportingbet)*
• Saturday 21 December - Three pairs of Tickets to the Ice Rink at Canary
Wharf (Lycamobile)
• Sunday 22 December - An adidas 2013/14 West Ham United third shirt**
• Monday 23 December - An adidas 2013/14 West Ham United away shirt**
*This competition is only open to entrants aged 18 and over.
**Subject to size availability.
Full terms and conditions are available upon request.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor blogs for whufc.com as the Hammers build towards Saturday's game
against Sunderland
13.12.2013
Hello everybody.
We have a massive match against Sunderland on Saturday at the Boleyn Ground
and we all want to put right the last couple of results. It's a huge game
for us - one that we need to take three points from. There's no point in
beating around the bush, we need three points at home, Sunderland need three
points as well so I'm sure it will be a good game. Hopefully the fans will
get behind us in their numbers, as they have done all season, and cheer us
on to a home win. The manager has been very vocal with us in that we need to
get back to getting the basics right and earning the right to play. There
are no easy games in the Premier League and Saturday will be another
difficult one. We need to concentrate on what we're doing in house first,
and if we can get that correct, it will go a long way to securing a positive
result for us. Experience counts for a lot in these situations, but you
can't get caught up in the media frenzy that surrounds the game. We need to
concentrate on ourselves and a lot of it boils down to can anybody who is
playing, play better than their opposite number. If you can do so and make
less mistakes than they do, you have a great chance of winning the game.
Personally, I want to play football and I hope to be involved on Saturday,
I'm not doing that at the moment and the first and foremost thing in my mind
is to be involved in the team. If I get the opportunity in the next few
games then I'll look to do as well as I can and try to cement a place in the
team. Something else I've been doing recently is coaching the Luton Town
Under-15s and I'm enjoying the experience. We didn't play too well in the
games I've been on the touchline for, but the good thing is that it has
allowed them to see football in a slightly different light. We've worked on
it in training to put that right- it's giving me a different insight into
football and even though I haven't been playing a lot lately, it's making me
a better player because you look at the sessions and the coaching
differently, and I'm holding on to information more now than I did when I
was younger. It's great to be involved there - they've been fantastic
allowing me to go and coach the boys there. I'm really enjoying it.
Pelly Ruddock is on loan there with the first team at the moment too and
doing well. They are a proper club and I'm sure with a bit of luck they'll
get back in the Football League. Also this week we had a photoshoot on
Thursday with the Club's Official Tailor Apsley. We get a suit from them
every year and it's lovely to get them - the boys will be looking dapper!
We'll look even more dapper with three points on Saturday so we hope we can
put a smile on everyone's face come 5pm on Saturday.
Come on you Irons!
Matt
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Sunderland
BBC.co.uk
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 14 December
TEAM NEWS
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hopeful defenders Guy Demel and James Collins
will be fit to play despite illness. Kevin Nolan begins a three-game ban,
Ravel Morrison and James Tomkins are injury doubts and Stewart Downing is
ruled out with a gashed calf.
Sunderland pair Keiren Westwood and Carlos Cuellar remain sidelined by
injury. Lee Cattermole, Emanuele Giaccherini and Fabio Borini will hope for
recalls to the starting line-up.
MATCH PREVIEW
West Ham's dismal form means this match is a big one for them as well as for
bottom-of-the-table Sunderland. Hammers manager Sam Allardyce describes it
as a "critical" game that both sides need to win, and you can see why. Four
defeats in the last five in the league, culminating in last week's 4-1
thrashing at Liverpool, leaves West Ham above the relegation zone only on
goal difference. "I think West Ham will be into them and harry them from the
start because their manager Sam Allardyce knows the importance of three
points from this fixture. "He definitely needs them, because the Hammers
play Manchester United away and Arsenal at home either side of Christmas."
They're in trouble and they know it, with co-chairman David Gold publicly
backing Allardyce this week while acknowledging last summer's transfer
policy of putting all their eggs in the Andy Carroll basket may not have
been the wisest move. The lack of striking alternatives has been a major
problem and they've failed to find the net in just over half of the league
games they've played. Carroll is just one of half a dozen players injured at
the moment, while the absence of Kevin Nolan in midfield for three games
through suspension will hardly help at this busy time.
West Ham can ill afford to pick up any more injuries or suspensions with a
trip to Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals next Wednesday followed
by league games away at Manchester United and at home to Arsenal. Gus
Poyet's Sunderland go into the weekend five points adrift of Fulham, Crystal
Palace and West Ham at the foot of the table after claiming just a single
point from the last five games. They're the only team in the Premier League
without an away win, collecting a couple of points from draws at Southampton
and Aston Villa. Goals could be at a real premium in this fixture because
they too have had problems finding the net, scoring only two away goals all
season. Steven Fletcher gave them the lead in this game last season, only
for West Ham to equalise in injury time through Kevin Nolan. Poyet will be
hoping Fletcher gets better service this weekend than of late as Sunderland
look for their first away goal since August.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last four matches against West Ham (W3,
D1).
However, the Black Cats have won only one of their last eight top-flight
games at Upton Park (W1, D1, L6).
The 31 previous top-flight games between the sides at Upton Park have not
produced a single goalless draw.
West Ham United
West Ham have kept seven Premier League clean sheets this season - a tally
bettered only by Everton (eight).
However, the Hammers have only managed one shut-out in their last five
league matches, conceding a total of 11 goals.
The Hammers have won one of their last eight league games (W1, D2, L5).
They are chasing back-to-back home league wins - something they last
achieved on the opening day of the season (having ended the previous
campaign with a home win).
The last time they recorded consecutive home league wins during the same
season was at the start of the 2012-13 campaign, which began with victories
against Aston Villa and Fulham.
Sunderland
Sunderland have scored five own goals this season - three more than any
other Premier League side. Those five own goals have all come in the last
eight league matches.
The record number of own goals by a Premier League side is eight - set by
Leicester in 2003-04.
The Black Cats have lost more points from winning positions (11) than any
other side.
They have failed to win their last nine away league matches (D2, L7). Their
most recent away victory was the 3-0 win at Newcastle on 14 April.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce's injury update on West Ham duo Stewart Downing and Andy
Carroll
Last Updated: 13/12/13 3:00pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce does not expect West Ham United winger Stewart Downing to be
out for ten weeks and insists it will be another fortnight before Andy
Carroll makes his comeback. Downing suffered a deep gash across his calf and
Achilles during last week's 4-1 defeat at his former club Liverpool which
required 12 stitches. Reports have suggested that Downing could be out until
March, but Allardyce is optimistic that he will be back before that date. "I
don't think it will be that long," said Allardyce at his press conference
ahead of Saturday's game at home to Sunderland. "We always try not to be too
specific about the date of any particular injury. First and foremost it's
about how quickly does the scar heal, does Stewart recover from that and
then when he starts training again how does he feel on a day-to-day basis?
"At this moment in time it's very difficult to say based on the healing
process as we don't know how long that will be. "We've done all aspects
possible to make sure that the one big thing that is stopped with this is
infection. The size and depth of the wound means that the last thing we want
after the surgeon stitching him back together is an infection. That would
put him back a period of time. "Hopefully there'll be no infection in there
and I think his recovery will be much quicker than ten weeks."
Meanwhile, Allardyce is adamant Carroll will not face fellow strugglers
Sunderland as the striker continues to build up his fitness following a heel
injury. The West Ham boss added: "There's no chance that Andy Carroll will
play any part because he's only been training on his own at the moment.
"It's like learning how to walk again. He is weeks and weeks and weeks and
weeks and weeks behind where we thought he would be. "Going through gentle
processes of rebuilding his confidence in the injury not reoccurring and
that's the big thing. Once you've recovered from one injury there's always a
confidence factor when you come back into training over whether it's okay.
"When you come back to training and it goes again then there's a greater
fear the second time you come back. I think that from Andy's point of view
we take things on Andy's say so as well as the specialists. "He's got no
chance of playing in the next two weeks."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Two men arrested over anti-Semitic tweets
Last Updated: 13/12/13 11:26am
SSN
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred following
comments made on Twitter after the Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham match on 6
October. Haringey CID launched an investigation after they were made aware
of the tweets, which were of an anti-Semitic nature and made reference to
Hitler and the gas chambers. A 24-year-old man was arrested at his home
address in Croydon on Thursday, 12 December on suspicion of inciting racial
hatred and was taken into custody at a south London police station A
22-year-old man was arrested on the same day at his home address in
Wiltshire on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and was taken into custody
at a local police station. Previously, as part of the same investigation, on
5 December a 48-year-old man was arrested at his home address in Canning
Town by Haringey officers on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, and was
taken into custody at a north London police station. All three men have now
been bailed to a date in late January pending further enquiries. In a
separate investigation that also dealt with anti-Semitic tweets relating to
the same match, a 55-year-old man from Hemel Hempstead was arrested and
cautioned on 28 November for malicious communications.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham play host to Sunderland at Upton Park
Last Updated: 13/12/13 11:57am
SSN
West Ham welcome fellow strugglers Sunderland to Upton Park in a real
relegation six-pointer for both sides. West Ham find themselves nervously
looking over their shoulders, sitting just above the drop zone on goal
difference. Sam Allardyce goes into the game with his position under
scrutiny after seeing his side drop down the table following four defeats in
their last five Premier League games. West Ham will be hoping to ease the
pressure on Allardyce and put further daylight between themselves and
basement boys Sunderland with all three points at Upton Park. However,
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last four matches with the Hammers and a
win over West Ham would close the gap between the two sides to just two
points. Sunderland remain rooted to the bottom of the table and five points
adrift of safety after only picking up eight points from their first 15
games. The Black Cats have a miserable away record having only collected two
points on their travels so far this season. After securing impressive wins
against Newcastle and Manchester City, Sunderland have lost three of their
last four games to leave them in danger of being cast adrift at the bottom.
Paul Merson's prediction
West Ham are struggling. They've got no Andy Carroll or Kevin Nolan and if
you take away the Fulham result they haven't really looked like winning any
games. Sunderland need to get winning quickly, losing their last two games -
I know it was against Chelsea and Tottenham - but I still think losing both
at home makes this another must win game. I think if they lose they're not
far from being relegated. I'm not being horrible but Sunderland need to keep
West Ham down there in that scrap.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1
West Ham Badge West Ham
Last 6
Liverpool (a)4-1
C Palace (a)1-0
Fulham (h)3-0
Chelsea (h)0-3
Norwich (a)3-1
A Villa (h)0-0
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce will be without suspended captain Kevin Nolan
for the visit of Sunderland, with the Hammers also missing several
first-team players through injury. Nolan is banned after picking up a red
card in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool while Winston Reid (ankle), Stewart
Downing (calf), Andy Carroll (heel), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Mladen
Petric (thigh) and Alou Diarra (knee) are all sidelined. James Collins and
Guy Demel are also struggling due to illness but Allardyce is hoping to have
both available alongside James Tomkins and Ravel Morrison, who both return
to the squad.
Sunderland Badge Sunderland
Last 6
1-2
Chelsea (h)3-4
A Villa (a)0-0
Stoke City (a)2-0
Man City (h)1-0
Southampton (h)2-1
Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has no fresh selection problems ahead of the trip
to Upton Park. Only keeper Keiren Westwood (shoulder) and defender Carlos
Cuellar (hip) remain on the casualty list and, with Vito Mannone the man in
possession in goal, and John O'Shea and Wes Brown having secured the central
defensive berths in recent weeks, their respective absences have not proved
too problematic The Black Cats head for Upton Park sitting at the foot of
the table and five points adrift of Crystal Palace, Fulham and the Hammers,
and in desperate need of a first win in five attempts in the league.
Opta Stats
Sunderland have now scored five own goals this season; at least three more
than any other Premier League side.
Only Everton (8) have kept more clean sheets in the Premier League than West
Ham (7) this season.
Sunderland have dropped the most points from winning positions in the
Premier League this season (11).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SHOULD WE GAMBLE ON JORDAN RHODES?
By S J Chandos 13 Dec 2013 at 20:00
West Ham Till I Die
One can only imagine the miles of copy that has been written recently on
West Ham's goal scoring crisis and the prioritization of a new marksman in
the January transfer window. The latest is Sam Allardyce's column in today's
Evening Standard, where he talks about the transfer window and the need to
sign a quality addition to our strike force. He makes the point that he
could easily sign an average player, but the club face the greater challenge
of signing a quality player that can go straight in to the side and make a
difference. Preferably in the first week of the window! The article is also
interesting for his discussion of the considerable obstacles that have to be
circumvented in making a new signing, not least the machinations of players
agents!
Similarly, the seemingly endless round of speculation has already started,
with Obafemi Martins the latest name linked with us. Of course, a lot of
this stems from agents trying to generate interest and offers for their
clients. It is widely known that West Ham are targeting strikers this
January, so agents will see it as a credible rumour to link their 'want
away' charges with a move to Upton Park. On the transfer front, It is
difficult to pick the 'wheat from the chaff' at the moment. And it will
undoubtedly continue to be the case, with numerous other strikers being
linked with the club.
Amidst the speculation, there is one name that stands out from the reluctant
recruits, journeymen and veterans seeking a last pay day. That name is
Jordan Rhodes. This Scottish international is the right age, has enormous
potential and a formidable goal scoring record. It is an condemnation of the
overseas focus and fear factor in the Premier League that no top level club
has taken a gamble on Rhodes. But is he really that much of a gamble? Not if
you look at the players goal scoring statistics. Bwin Betting football site
have done just that and it makes interesting reading.
In his career to date, Jordan Rhodes scored 82 goals in 143 matches for
Huddersfield and after moving to Blackburn Rovers registered 38 goals in 68
appearances. An impressive 26 goals in his first Championship season
disproved any doubts that he might struggle to make the step up to the 2nd
tier. And he has followed that up in his second season with 11 goals in 19
matches, a better than 1 in 2 goal scoring average. The article also makes
the observation that he has scored 7 goals in 15 matches against teams
currently in the PL. An indicator that Rhodes would make a successful
transition to become a successful PL marksman. This evidence is reinforced
by his success at international level, where Rhodes has scored eight goals
in eight matches for the Scotland U-21s.and 3 goals in 11 senior
appearances.
In an earlier era those goal scoring statistics would have resulted in a
opportunity to play in the PL. Although it could equally be argued that, in
another era, it would not have cost anywhere near the £8-10m price tag
currently attached to him. Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for
Rhodes this January, but Tony Pullis has scotched the rumour with the
comment that Palace could not afford his services. And that remains the
question for PL managers and boards, do you invest that sort of money in
Rhodes' promise or do you look for more proven and, possibly, cheaper
options in the overseas markets. For instance, Alfreð Finnbogason scored 38
goals in 46 appearances for SC Heerenveen, in the Dutch League, last season
and has bagged 4 goals in 19 matches for Iceland. And it is rumoured that
Finnbogason's signature could well be secured for under £4m.
Many clubs will be put off by the cost and degree of gamble attached to
Rhodes. And, indeed, take the overseas route in search for new recruits.
However, one feels that there is something a bit special about Jordan Rhodes
as a goal scorer. He is a natural and the suspicion is that the PL club
brave enough to take the plunge will be richly rewarded both in terms of
goals and, at 23 years of age, the future sell-on value. That club is
unlikely to be Palace, if Pullis sticks by his public statement, but could
it be goal shy West Ham? Unlikely, considering the club focusing on the loan
market and Allardyce's emphasis upon 'the final product,' ready to go
straight in to the first team.
Are the board really likely to commit £8 plus to sign Rhodes this January
considering these factors? Probably not. And it is a shame, because Rhodes
is that rare thing, a prolific goal scorer. He could prove to be our most
exciting signing (Andy Carroll apart) since the January 2006 purchase of a
certain Dean Ashton from Norwich City. I acknowledge the value for money
counter-argument, but I just have this gut feeling it is a signing that
would pay off big style. Could Rhodes come straight in to the first team and
perform straightaway, as is required in our current league situation? That
is the biggest question mark, for me. Would he take time to adjust to the
greater speed and less space in the PL? Possibly, and that is not an
unreasonable expectation for a player making the step up.
I doubt that there will be resources to sign Rhodes in January. And if the
club can identify better, more experienced options then fine. But if they
fail to sign the 'ready made' type of quality striker needed, then the club
should definitely gamble on Rhodes over some journeyman or over the hill
veteran. Even if that means investing £8m plus to get his signature.
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE TARGET IS SIX POINTS FROM THE NEXT FOUR MATCHES!
By S J Chandos 13 Dec 2013 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
Sam Allardyce has confirmed that the club's target over the next four PL
matches is to take six points from a possible twelve. The obvious source of
the points being the home matches against Sunderland this Saturday and WBA
on 28 December 2013. The team can certainly help themselves if they can take
maximum points in these two matches, as the other two fixtures are at home
against Man Utd and Arsenal. It is going to be tough, especially if we
continue to be so wasteful in front of goal, but the squad need to buckle
down and grind out a couple of vital wins in this key period.
Can we take anything out of the Man Utd and Arsenal matches? Well, we should
not just turn up to make up the numbers. The squad need to be competitive
and put in a couple of good performances, as part of the revival process.
Good performances build confidence and if we can nick a point or three
against a out of sorts Man Utd then so much the better. With Nolan's absence
through suspension it gives us the opportunity to try a different set up,
with either Ravel Morrison or Joe Cole playing in an advanced midfield role.
Also, with Stewart Downing out injured, Matt Jarvis needs to get back to his
best form out wide. Jarvis has the pace and skill to really test the
opposition, but I just wish that he could use his assets to score more
goals. Too often Jarvis breaks through on goal and seems to lack the
confidence to finish. We all know that he can do it, as evidenced by his
time at Wolves. Now he needs to do it in a West Ham shirt.
We shall have to see what the situation is with James Tomkins' injury.
Hopefully he will recover and be able to line up alongside Collins this
Saturday. If not then I guess it is a choice between young Leo Chambers or
either McCartney or Diarra as an auxillary centre back. Since Reid has been
injured the defence has become almost as problematic as the forward line. We
have allowed sloppy defending to creep back in and seem unusually error
ridden just lately. We need to cut that out and try to get back to the solid
defending that we exhibited at the beginning of the season. However, the
sooner Winston Reid returns, the better as far as I am concerned. Will the
club also sign another central defender in the January window? I would not
be surprised and I am sure that a loan deal for Christopher Samba is
probably on Allardyce's wish list.
If we achieve that six point target then it will give us 19 points ongoing
in to the New Year's Day. In fact it could provide a launch pad for an
upturn in results, with winnable early New Year fixtures against Fulham
away, Cardiff City away and Newcastle Utd at home. Hopefully, with the
assistance of Andy Carroll's much anticipated return, the equally important
return to fitmess of Winston Reid and at least one new striker added to the
squad. Ideally, good business needs to be transacted early in the window so
that any new acquisition(s) can have maximum positive impact, as quickly as
possible, in the New Year. Although from David Gold's recent comments, it
looks like that business is going to be via loan deals, with a view to
possible permanent moves in the summer. The club must get this right, lets
have no honest but underwhelming journeymen strikers or veteran marksmen
long past their best. We need an injection of genuine class up front to give
us that missing cutting edge. It remains to be seen whether they can pull
that off in the loan market and in the difficult January window. All will be
revealed soon enough!
The latest name in the speculative frame is former Newcastle Utd striker
Obafemi Martins. The 29 year old Nigerian international is currently plying
his trade in the lucrative north American league and a loan could be
possible during their close season. Many of us remember Martins as a pacy,
powerful striker, with a good PL strike rate. He is still only 29, but has
not been playing in the strongest of leagues. Also, there is the
complicating factor that any loan will end in March 2014 to facilitate the
north american pre-season. That is far from ideal and will probably mean
that a second striker will need to be signed to cover his premature
departure at a potentially key stage of the season.
So, on to this Saturday's match vs Sunderland. We need another high tempo
and attacking performance like the Fulham match. This is a match where the
skills and technique of Morrison and Joe Cole should shine through. It is
likely that Allardyce will start with Maiga up front again, with Carlton
Cole figuring from the bench. In terms of the opposition, I would opine that
the key danger men are Adam Johnson and Stephen Fletcher. Johnson is a
technically gifted wide man, with the ability to hurt us. Up front, they
have a very dangerous striker in Stephen Fletcher. Fletcher is having a bit
of a fallow period in front of goal at the moment. And that could spell
danger, because it seems that every misfiring striker manages to rediscovers
his goal scoring touch against us. But seriously, we need to keep those two
quiet, if we are going to take all three points. Sticking my neck out
slightly, I feel that we can grab an invaluable, and much needed, 2-1 win
over Sunderland.
Elsewhere, there have been a couple of media stories about possible January
exits from West Ham. The first of these is a potential Liverpool bid for Mo
Diame. The other is alleged interest from Newcastle Utd and Everton in Mark
Noble. Of the two, the Liverpool move for Diame probably has slightly more
substance. While I doubt very much that Mark Noble will be leaving the club
anytime soon. Especially as he has just signed a new contract. Hopefully,
West Ham will also soon sign Diame on an improved contract (minus that £3.5m
release clause) and stop this recurring speculation during each window. We
cannot afford to lose our best players, and aside from one or two fringe
members of the squad, I doubt there will be many notable exits in January.
Finally, well done to Kevin Nolan and the rest of the squad for cancelling
the Christmas jamboree to Dublin. The last thing the fans need to see is
pictures in the Daily Mail, of boozy sessions in Dublin hot spots, at a time
when only goal difference keeps out of the bottom three. All minds need to
be concentrated 100% on winning football matches. That is their bread and
butter, with an extremely large dollop of jam on it, and boozy sessions are
an unwelcome distraction. Its about being professional and the players have
made the right decision without a shadow of doubt.
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sport Football News West Ham United FC
By Alan Wilson
The Mirror
Ravel Morrison back for West Ham but Kevin Nolan banned for Sunderland game
13 Dec 2013 11:56
The West Ham boss will have to ring the changes for the visit of the Black
Cats as injuries and suspensions take hold West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is
set to shuffle his pack ahead of the visit of Sunderland on Saturday
afternoon. Skipper Kevin Nolan is the latest player to be ruled out as he is
suspended after seeing red in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool. Also out are
Winston Reid (ankle), Stewart Downing (calf), Andy Carroll (heel), Ricardo
Vaz Te (shoulder), Mladen Petric (thigh) and Alou Diarra (knee). There was
some good news for the former Bolton boss as he is able to welcome back
James Tomkins and England Under-21 sensation Ravel Morrison to the squad.
James Collins and Guy Demel could miss out through as the pair have picked
up illnesses and will be given late fitness tests before the game.
Provisional squad: Jaaskelainen, Adrian, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien,
Rat, Chambers, Collison, Noble, J Cole, Morrison, Jarvis, Taylor, Diame, C
Cole, Maiga
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce tells players to keep their nerve ahead of
relegation six-pointer with Sunderland
13 Dec 2013 22:30
The Mirror
The Hammers boss wants his charges to "continue to try to do the right
things" as they battle for survival
Sam Allardyce will go into Saturday's relegation six-pointer against
Sunderland telling his men , 'Keep calm and carry on'. Big Sam's West Ham
side have lost four of their last five matches but have kept seven Premier
League clean sheets this season – a tally second only to Everton's eight.
And the Hammers chief says that defensive record could provide the
springboard for a much-needed win. He said: "We're in a particularly
difficult period where nothing seems to be going for us. The only way it
will start going for us is if we keep our nerve and co ntinue to try to do
the right things that we know work for us."We're so close because we've had
seven clean sheets already in the first 15 games. "That will help us to get
over this because sooner or later when we get that clean sheet, we'll score
one goal and win a game."
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West Ham don't regret Andy Carroll swoop even though he hasn't played once
since £17.5m move
12 Dec 2013 22:30
The Mirror
Allardyce will stick by injury-hit striker like Man United and Arsenal did
with Giggs and Van Persie when they struggled to stay fit
Sam Allardyce has insisted he has NO regrets about buying Andy Carroll. West
Ham striker Carroll has yet to play for the club since making his
season-long loan move from Liverpool permanent in a £17.5million summer
deal, because of injury. Mirror Sport understands that although the
24-year-old is back in training, he is still weeks away from fitness -
having not had a pre-season - and is highly unlikely to play before the end
of the year. Carroll aggravated an acute ankle problem in September, his
fourth major injury in the last two years. Before that, heel damage suffered
in May put him out for four months.
Other setbacks have interrupted the big Geordie's time at both Upton Park
and with Liverpool. Allardyce, however, maintains he would not done things
differently if he'd known all this would occur, despite the fact his team
are fighting to stay out of the Premier League relegation zone.
The Hammers' boss also believes Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs and Robin
van Persie are examples of the benefits to be derived from staying loyal to
good players during injury setbacks. Allardyce, who side host Sunderland on
Saturday in a massive relegation six-pointer, said: "Based on what we were
told, Andy would have been fit and ready to go at the back end of August.
"On that basis, at 24 years old, we thought that he was going to be okay.
There are always players that at some stage can have spate of injuries and
overcome them. "So if I refer to Ryan Giggs, for example. Everybody thought
that he would never get past 30 with the considerable amount of injuries
that he had. They were constant - week after week. But he's still playing at
40. "There was Robin van Persie at Arsenal, who was never finishing a
season. He was always getting injured, but recently he has been completing
season after season. "So my opinion is that when Andy reaches full
maturity, in terms of his body's full development, I hope that those
injuries will become less and less frequent. "You also have to say that the
commitment of players like him always puts them a little bit more risk of
injury because he does go where angels fear to tread. "That's why he's such
a good player in my view - unique, sadly, in this country today. We should
have more Andy Carrolls in and around the Premier League because, in full
flow, we all know how exciting they can be."
Asked whether Carroll was simply cursed with bad luck, Allardyce added: "All
the specialists and all the consultants, at the stage he was at, said he
could start training with the lads again. "It was the first international
break we had at the end of August so all in all we were planning that Andy
would be okay over the following couple of weeks to at least put him on the
bench for ten or 15 minutes, even though he wouldn't be match fit. "As long
as he was clear and free from the injury then putting him on the bench and
bringing him on for ten or 15 minutes to reintroduce him would have been a
massive boost for us all at West Ham. "But then he went down in training and
that injury was diagnosed as not in the same place, but in a different
place. It's an unusual injury for a footballer. People I've spoken to who've
had it says it takes a considerable time not just to heal – it heals okay –
but then sometimes there's a considerable amount of discomfort that you go
through. "If that starts to diminish, day by day, then you can step up the
training process, and if one day he says he's pain-free then the process
goes even quicker still. "We hope to see him on the bench as quickly as we
can."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan admits regrets over Andy Carroll
By Ben Smith
BBC Sport
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan would not have spent a club-record £15m on
Andy Carroll had he known the striker would be out so long through injury.
Carroll, 24, has not played for the Hammers since his move from Liverpool
was made permanent in the summer. He remains at least three weeks away from
fitness as he recovers from a double fracture in his right foot. "Had we
known he would be out for this long, we would not have signed him," Sullivan
told the BBC's Football Focus. "We are not a rich enough club to deal with
that. You know any player can get injured, but we can't buy a player knowing
he is going to be out for half the season. "When we signed him we were
assured by the medical staff that the very, very latest he would be back was
1 September. That would have meant he would only miss two league games."
Carroll has returned to training at the club's Chadwell Heath training
ground in the past week, and Sullivan remains hopeful that the England
international will come good. "If you ask me the same question at the end of
the season, I hope I will be able give you a different answer and say 'Yes,
it was the right decision to sign Andy Carroll'. "He is a fantastic player
and on his day he is unplayable. We love him and that is why we signed him.
He is desperate to come back; he is sweating blood in training."
The forward has spent the majority of his rehabilitation receiving
specialist treatment in Belgium and the Netherlands. Carroll has used a
variety of techniques that ballet dancers exploit to build up the strength
in his foot, but Sullivan told BBC Sport that he still remains unsure when
the striker will return to the side.
Andy Carroll career stats
Newcastle (2006-11): 91 games, 33 goals
Preston (loan Aug 2007-08): 12 games, 1 goal
Liverpool (2011-present): 57 games, 11 goals
West Ham (loan 2012-13): 24 games, 7 goals
England (2010-present): 9 games, 2 goals
"He has been all over Europe for treatment and he has begged me to come
home," said Sullivan. "He has rung me up and said 'It is doing my head in
being here, I really want to get back as soon as possible, I really want to
play'. "Even now we haven't got a date that he could be back. He could be
back in three weeks, he could be back in six or eight weeks. I hope he might
make a contribution in the next three or four weeks, that might be 20
minutes as a sub.
"He is not going to be quite the player he was at the end of last season
until he has played some games. "He is a fantastic player, don't get me
wrong, but I only wouldn't have signed him because I can't have that amount
of wages and that amount of transfer fee on a player who isn't going to play
a minimum 20 or 30 games a season, hopefully 38 games a season."
With Carroll sidelined, West Ham have slipped into a relegation battle and
face Sunderland in a crucial match on Saturday. "It has been an extremely
difficult season," said Sullivan. "We are not playing very well, we didn't
anticipate it and it has gone far, far worse than we could possibly have
imagined. "The hope this season was to be mid-table right from the start,
never to be threatened by relegation, to play the strongest possible teams
in the cup matches and to try and get to a cup final - that was our aim.
"Now we have a relegation battle and, although we are still in both the
cups, I don't know if the manager will want to play his strongest teams
because it is vital that we get points." He added: "I am deeply concerned.
Anybody who looks at where we are in the table and is not concerned are
kidding themselves."
Off the back of a run that has seen West Ham win just one of their past
eight league matches, the future of manager Sam Allardyce has been called
into question in recent weeks, but Sullivan says the board have no intention
of sacking him. "I really believe Sam is the man for the job," the Hammers
co-owner said. "If he wasn't our manager he is exactly the type of manager
you would be bringing in to be the manager. Where do you get someone better
than Sam to do the job that is now necessary? "If you asked me what kind of
season Sam has had up to now, I would say disappointing. But let's judge him
at the end of the season. I think the Newcastle manager would have been
sacked by most fans after a month of the season but now he is flavour of the
month."
Watch the interview with David Sullivan on BBC Sport's Football Focus from
12:00 GMT on Saturday, 14 October.
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WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Principal Partners are giving away four tickets for the
Boxing Day visit of Arsenal
13.12.2013
West Ham United and Alpari FX have joined forces to kick-off the '12 Days of
Christmas' promotions today! The Hammers and their Official Partners and
Sponsors will give supporters the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in
style with 12 amazing competitions between Friday 13 December and Christmas
Eve.
Today, to start the '12 Days of Christmas' in style, Alpari FX - the leading
global forex brokers - are giving away four Standard Tickets for the
mouth-watering Barclays Premier League visit of Arsenal to the Boleyn Ground
on Boxing Day. Alpari FX, a leading global FX broker, have joined forces
with the Hammers for a number of exciting events, including a game-changing
sports challenge with the Team Alpari FX professional sailing team and a
currency trading contest involving manager Sam Allardyce and first-team
players Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole. Every day in the lead-up to
Christmas Day, supporters can enter the daily '12 Days of Christmas'
competition by answering the question posed on the Official Website. Each of
the 12 questions will relate to a month of the current year in West Ham
history, starting with today's question relating to January 2013. To be in
with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply email your answer to
the following question:
*Who scored West Ham United's opening goal of 2013 just three minutes into
their 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory over Norwich City at the Boleyn
Ground?
To enter, simply email your answer, plus your name, date of birth, daytime
telephone number and postal address, to
mediacompetitions@westhamunited.co.uk with 'Friday 13 December' in the
subject line.
The Club would like to thank Principal Partner Alpari FX, Technical Partner
adidas, Club Partners Carlsberg, Lycamobile, SBOBET, Sportingbet and
Programme Master Ltd, and 59 New Street for their generous contributions.
The full list of prizes up for grabs is as follows:
• Friday 13 December - Four Standard Tickets to West Ham United v Arsenal,
26 December 2013 (provided by Alpari FX)
• Saturday 14 December - Four Standard Tickets to West Ham United v Arsenal,
26 December 2013 (Alpari FX)
• Sunday 15 December - A half-season subscription to the West Ham United
Official Programme for the second half of the 2013/14 season (Programme
Master Ltd)
• Monday 16 December - A £50 voucher for 59 New Street Wine Bar and
Restaurant, Chelmsford, Essex (59 New Street)
• Tuesday 17 December - A £50 voucher for 59 New Street Wine Bar and
Restaurant, Chelmsford, Essex (59 New Street)
• Wednesday 18 December - A £100 online betting voucher (SBOBET)*
• Thursday 19 December - A signed, framed 2013/14 West Ham United home shirt
(Carlsberg)*
• Friday 20 December - A £100 online betting voucher (Sportingbet)*
• Saturday 21 December - Three pairs of Tickets to the Ice Rink at Canary
Wharf (Lycamobile)
• Sunday 22 December - An adidas 2013/14 West Ham United third shirt**
• Monday 23 December - An adidas 2013/14 West Ham United away shirt**
*This competition is only open to entrants aged 18 and over.
**Subject to size availability.
Full terms and conditions are available upon request.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor blogs for whufc.com as the Hammers build towards Saturday's game
against Sunderland
13.12.2013
Hello everybody.
We have a massive match against Sunderland on Saturday at the Boleyn Ground
and we all want to put right the last couple of results. It's a huge game
for us - one that we need to take three points from. There's no point in
beating around the bush, we need three points at home, Sunderland need three
points as well so I'm sure it will be a good game. Hopefully the fans will
get behind us in their numbers, as they have done all season, and cheer us
on to a home win. The manager has been very vocal with us in that we need to
get back to getting the basics right and earning the right to play. There
are no easy games in the Premier League and Saturday will be another
difficult one. We need to concentrate on what we're doing in house first,
and if we can get that correct, it will go a long way to securing a positive
result for us. Experience counts for a lot in these situations, but you
can't get caught up in the media frenzy that surrounds the game. We need to
concentrate on ourselves and a lot of it boils down to can anybody who is
playing, play better than their opposite number. If you can do so and make
less mistakes than they do, you have a great chance of winning the game.
Personally, I want to play football and I hope to be involved on Saturday,
I'm not doing that at the moment and the first and foremost thing in my mind
is to be involved in the team. If I get the opportunity in the next few
games then I'll look to do as well as I can and try to cement a place in the
team. Something else I've been doing recently is coaching the Luton Town
Under-15s and I'm enjoying the experience. We didn't play too well in the
games I've been on the touchline for, but the good thing is that it has
allowed them to see football in a slightly different light. We've worked on
it in training to put that right- it's giving me a different insight into
football and even though I haven't been playing a lot lately, it's making me
a better player because you look at the sessions and the coaching
differently, and I'm holding on to information more now than I did when I
was younger. It's great to be involved there - they've been fantastic
allowing me to go and coach the boys there. I'm really enjoying it.
Pelly Ruddock is on loan there with the first team at the moment too and
doing well. They are a proper club and I'm sure with a bit of luck they'll
get back in the Football League. Also this week we had a photoshoot on
Thursday with the Club's Official Tailor Apsley. We get a suit from them
every year and it's lovely to get them - the boys will be looking dapper!
We'll look even more dapper with three points on Saturday so we hope we can
put a smile on everyone's face come 5pm on Saturday.
Come on you Irons!
Matt
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West Ham v Sunderland
BBC.co.uk
By Simon Brotherton
Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 14 December
TEAM NEWS
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hopeful defenders Guy Demel and James Collins
will be fit to play despite illness. Kevin Nolan begins a three-game ban,
Ravel Morrison and James Tomkins are injury doubts and Stewart Downing is
ruled out with a gashed calf.
Sunderland pair Keiren Westwood and Carlos Cuellar remain sidelined by
injury. Lee Cattermole, Emanuele Giaccherini and Fabio Borini will hope for
recalls to the starting line-up.
MATCH PREVIEW
West Ham's dismal form means this match is a big one for them as well as for
bottom-of-the-table Sunderland. Hammers manager Sam Allardyce describes it
as a "critical" game that both sides need to win, and you can see why. Four
defeats in the last five in the league, culminating in last week's 4-1
thrashing at Liverpool, leaves West Ham above the relegation zone only on
goal difference. "I think West Ham will be into them and harry them from the
start because their manager Sam Allardyce knows the importance of three
points from this fixture. "He definitely needs them, because the Hammers
play Manchester United away and Arsenal at home either side of Christmas."
They're in trouble and they know it, with co-chairman David Gold publicly
backing Allardyce this week while acknowledging last summer's transfer
policy of putting all their eggs in the Andy Carroll basket may not have
been the wisest move. The lack of striking alternatives has been a major
problem and they've failed to find the net in just over half of the league
games they've played. Carroll is just one of half a dozen players injured at
the moment, while the absence of Kevin Nolan in midfield for three games
through suspension will hardly help at this busy time.
West Ham can ill afford to pick up any more injuries or suspensions with a
trip to Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals next Wednesday followed
by league games away at Manchester United and at home to Arsenal. Gus
Poyet's Sunderland go into the weekend five points adrift of Fulham, Crystal
Palace and West Ham at the foot of the table after claiming just a single
point from the last five games. They're the only team in the Premier League
without an away win, collecting a couple of points from draws at Southampton
and Aston Villa. Goals could be at a real premium in this fixture because
they too have had problems finding the net, scoring only two away goals all
season. Steven Fletcher gave them the lead in this game last season, only
for West Ham to equalise in injury time through Kevin Nolan. Poyet will be
hoping Fletcher gets better service this weekend than of late as Sunderland
look for their first away goal since August.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last four matches against West Ham (W3,
D1).
However, the Black Cats have won only one of their last eight top-flight
games at Upton Park (W1, D1, L6).
The 31 previous top-flight games between the sides at Upton Park have not
produced a single goalless draw.
West Ham United
West Ham have kept seven Premier League clean sheets this season - a tally
bettered only by Everton (eight).
However, the Hammers have only managed one shut-out in their last five
league matches, conceding a total of 11 goals.
The Hammers have won one of their last eight league games (W1, D2, L5).
They are chasing back-to-back home league wins - something they last
achieved on the opening day of the season (having ended the previous
campaign with a home win).
The last time they recorded consecutive home league wins during the same
season was at the start of the 2012-13 campaign, which began with victories
against Aston Villa and Fulham.
Sunderland
Sunderland have scored five own goals this season - three more than any
other Premier League side. Those five own goals have all come in the last
eight league matches.
The record number of own goals by a Premier League side is eight - set by
Leicester in 2003-04.
The Black Cats have lost more points from winning positions (11) than any
other side.
They have failed to win their last nine away league matches (D2, L7). Their
most recent away victory was the 3-0 win at Newcastle on 14 April.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce's injury update on West Ham duo Stewart Downing and Andy
Carroll
Last Updated: 13/12/13 3:00pm
SSN
Sam Allardyce does not expect West Ham United winger Stewart Downing to be
out for ten weeks and insists it will be another fortnight before Andy
Carroll makes his comeback. Downing suffered a deep gash across his calf and
Achilles during last week's 4-1 defeat at his former club Liverpool which
required 12 stitches. Reports have suggested that Downing could be out until
March, but Allardyce is optimistic that he will be back before that date. "I
don't think it will be that long," said Allardyce at his press conference
ahead of Saturday's game at home to Sunderland. "We always try not to be too
specific about the date of any particular injury. First and foremost it's
about how quickly does the scar heal, does Stewart recover from that and
then when he starts training again how does he feel on a day-to-day basis?
"At this moment in time it's very difficult to say based on the healing
process as we don't know how long that will be. "We've done all aspects
possible to make sure that the one big thing that is stopped with this is
infection. The size and depth of the wound means that the last thing we want
after the surgeon stitching him back together is an infection. That would
put him back a period of time. "Hopefully there'll be no infection in there
and I think his recovery will be much quicker than ten weeks."
Meanwhile, Allardyce is adamant Carroll will not face fellow strugglers
Sunderland as the striker continues to build up his fitness following a heel
injury. The West Ham boss added: "There's no chance that Andy Carroll will
play any part because he's only been training on his own at the moment.
"It's like learning how to walk again. He is weeks and weeks and weeks and
weeks and weeks behind where we thought he would be. "Going through gentle
processes of rebuilding his confidence in the injury not reoccurring and
that's the big thing. Once you've recovered from one injury there's always a
confidence factor when you come back into training over whether it's okay.
"When you come back to training and it goes again then there's a greater
fear the second time you come back. I think that from Andy's point of view
we take things on Andy's say so as well as the specialists. "He's got no
chance of playing in the next two weeks."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Two men arrested over anti-Semitic tweets
Last Updated: 13/12/13 11:26am
SSN
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred following
comments made on Twitter after the Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham match on 6
October. Haringey CID launched an investigation after they were made aware
of the tweets, which were of an anti-Semitic nature and made reference to
Hitler and the gas chambers. A 24-year-old man was arrested at his home
address in Croydon on Thursday, 12 December on suspicion of inciting racial
hatred and was taken into custody at a south London police station A
22-year-old man was arrested on the same day at his home address in
Wiltshire on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and was taken into custody
at a local police station. Previously, as part of the same investigation, on
5 December a 48-year-old man was arrested at his home address in Canning
Town by Haringey officers on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, and was
taken into custody at a north London police station. All three men have now
been bailed to a date in late January pending further enquiries. In a
separate investigation that also dealt with anti-Semitic tweets relating to
the same match, a 55-year-old man from Hemel Hempstead was arrested and
cautioned on 28 November for malicious communications.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham play host to Sunderland at Upton Park
Last Updated: 13/12/13 11:57am
SSN
West Ham welcome fellow strugglers Sunderland to Upton Park in a real
relegation six-pointer for both sides. West Ham find themselves nervously
looking over their shoulders, sitting just above the drop zone on goal
difference. Sam Allardyce goes into the game with his position under
scrutiny after seeing his side drop down the table following four defeats in
their last five Premier League games. West Ham will be hoping to ease the
pressure on Allardyce and put further daylight between themselves and
basement boys Sunderland with all three points at Upton Park. However,
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last four matches with the Hammers and a
win over West Ham would close the gap between the two sides to just two
points. Sunderland remain rooted to the bottom of the table and five points
adrift of safety after only picking up eight points from their first 15
games. The Black Cats have a miserable away record having only collected two
points on their travels so far this season. After securing impressive wins
against Newcastle and Manchester City, Sunderland have lost three of their
last four games to leave them in danger of being cast adrift at the bottom.
Paul Merson's prediction
West Ham are struggling. They've got no Andy Carroll or Kevin Nolan and if
you take away the Fulham result they haven't really looked like winning any
games. Sunderland need to get winning quickly, losing their last two games -
I know it was against Chelsea and Tottenham - but I still think losing both
at home makes this another must win game. I think if they lose they're not
far from being relegated. I'm not being horrible but Sunderland need to keep
West Ham down there in that scrap.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1
West Ham Badge West Ham
Last 6
Liverpool (a)4-1
C Palace (a)1-0
Fulham (h)3-0
Chelsea (h)0-3
Norwich (a)3-1
A Villa (h)0-0
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce will be without suspended captain Kevin Nolan
for the visit of Sunderland, with the Hammers also missing several
first-team players through injury. Nolan is banned after picking up a red
card in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool while Winston Reid (ankle), Stewart
Downing (calf), Andy Carroll (heel), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Mladen
Petric (thigh) and Alou Diarra (knee) are all sidelined. James Collins and
Guy Demel are also struggling due to illness but Allardyce is hoping to have
both available alongside James Tomkins and Ravel Morrison, who both return
to the squad.
Sunderland Badge Sunderland
Last 6
1-2
Chelsea (h)3-4
A Villa (a)0-0
Stoke City (a)2-0
Man City (h)1-0
Southampton (h)2-1
Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has no fresh selection problems ahead of the trip
to Upton Park. Only keeper Keiren Westwood (shoulder) and defender Carlos
Cuellar (hip) remain on the casualty list and, with Vito Mannone the man in
possession in goal, and John O'Shea and Wes Brown having secured the central
defensive berths in recent weeks, their respective absences have not proved
too problematic The Black Cats head for Upton Park sitting at the foot of
the table and five points adrift of Crystal Palace, Fulham and the Hammers,
and in desperate need of a first win in five attempts in the league.
Opta Stats
Sunderland have now scored five own goals this season; at least three more
than any other Premier League side.
Only Everton (8) have kept more clean sheets in the Premier League than West
Ham (7) this season.
Sunderland have dropped the most points from winning positions in the
Premier League this season (11).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SHOULD WE GAMBLE ON JORDAN RHODES?
By S J Chandos 13 Dec 2013 at 20:00
West Ham Till I Die
One can only imagine the miles of copy that has been written recently on
West Ham's goal scoring crisis and the prioritization of a new marksman in
the January transfer window. The latest is Sam Allardyce's column in today's
Evening Standard, where he talks about the transfer window and the need to
sign a quality addition to our strike force. He makes the point that he
could easily sign an average player, but the club face the greater challenge
of signing a quality player that can go straight in to the side and make a
difference. Preferably in the first week of the window! The article is also
interesting for his discussion of the considerable obstacles that have to be
circumvented in making a new signing, not least the machinations of players
agents!
Similarly, the seemingly endless round of speculation has already started,
with Obafemi Martins the latest name linked with us. Of course, a lot of
this stems from agents trying to generate interest and offers for their
clients. It is widely known that West Ham are targeting strikers this
January, so agents will see it as a credible rumour to link their 'want
away' charges with a move to Upton Park. On the transfer front, It is
difficult to pick the 'wheat from the chaff' at the moment. And it will
undoubtedly continue to be the case, with numerous other strikers being
linked with the club.
Amidst the speculation, there is one name that stands out from the reluctant
recruits, journeymen and veterans seeking a last pay day. That name is
Jordan Rhodes. This Scottish international is the right age, has enormous
potential and a formidable goal scoring record. It is an condemnation of the
overseas focus and fear factor in the Premier League that no top level club
has taken a gamble on Rhodes. But is he really that much of a gamble? Not if
you look at the players goal scoring statistics. Bwin Betting football site
have done just that and it makes interesting reading.
In his career to date, Jordan Rhodes scored 82 goals in 143 matches for
Huddersfield and after moving to Blackburn Rovers registered 38 goals in 68
appearances. An impressive 26 goals in his first Championship season
disproved any doubts that he might struggle to make the step up to the 2nd
tier. And he has followed that up in his second season with 11 goals in 19
matches, a better than 1 in 2 goal scoring average. The article also makes
the observation that he has scored 7 goals in 15 matches against teams
currently in the PL. An indicator that Rhodes would make a successful
transition to become a successful PL marksman. This evidence is reinforced
by his success at international level, where Rhodes has scored eight goals
in eight matches for the Scotland U-21s.and 3 goals in 11 senior
appearances.
In an earlier era those goal scoring statistics would have resulted in a
opportunity to play in the PL. Although it could equally be argued that, in
another era, it would not have cost anywhere near the £8-10m price tag
currently attached to him. Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for
Rhodes this January, but Tony Pullis has scotched the rumour with the
comment that Palace could not afford his services. And that remains the
question for PL managers and boards, do you invest that sort of money in
Rhodes' promise or do you look for more proven and, possibly, cheaper
options in the overseas markets. For instance, Alfreð Finnbogason scored 38
goals in 46 appearances for SC Heerenveen, in the Dutch League, last season
and has bagged 4 goals in 19 matches for Iceland. And it is rumoured that
Finnbogason's signature could well be secured for under £4m.
Many clubs will be put off by the cost and degree of gamble attached to
Rhodes. And, indeed, take the overseas route in search for new recruits.
However, one feels that there is something a bit special about Jordan Rhodes
as a goal scorer. He is a natural and the suspicion is that the PL club
brave enough to take the plunge will be richly rewarded both in terms of
goals and, at 23 years of age, the future sell-on value. That club is
unlikely to be Palace, if Pullis sticks by his public statement, but could
it be goal shy West Ham? Unlikely, considering the club focusing on the loan
market and Allardyce's emphasis upon 'the final product,' ready to go
straight in to the first team.
Are the board really likely to commit £8 plus to sign Rhodes this January
considering these factors? Probably not. And it is a shame, because Rhodes
is that rare thing, a prolific goal scorer. He could prove to be our most
exciting signing (Andy Carroll apart) since the January 2006 purchase of a
certain Dean Ashton from Norwich City. I acknowledge the value for money
counter-argument, but I just have this gut feeling it is a signing that
would pay off big style. Could Rhodes come straight in to the first team and
perform straightaway, as is required in our current league situation? That
is the biggest question mark, for me. Would he take time to adjust to the
greater speed and less space in the PL? Possibly, and that is not an
unreasonable expectation for a player making the step up.
I doubt that there will be resources to sign Rhodes in January. And if the
club can identify better, more experienced options then fine. But if they
fail to sign the 'ready made' type of quality striker needed, then the club
should definitely gamble on Rhodes over some journeyman or over the hill
veteran. Even if that means investing £8m plus to get his signature.
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE TARGET IS SIX POINTS FROM THE NEXT FOUR MATCHES!
By S J Chandos 13 Dec 2013 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die
Sam Allardyce has confirmed that the club's target over the next four PL
matches is to take six points from a possible twelve. The obvious source of
the points being the home matches against Sunderland this Saturday and WBA
on 28 December 2013. The team can certainly help themselves if they can take
maximum points in these two matches, as the other two fixtures are at home
against Man Utd and Arsenal. It is going to be tough, especially if we
continue to be so wasteful in front of goal, but the squad need to buckle
down and grind out a couple of vital wins in this key period.
Can we take anything out of the Man Utd and Arsenal matches? Well, we should
not just turn up to make up the numbers. The squad need to be competitive
and put in a couple of good performances, as part of the revival process.
Good performances build confidence and if we can nick a point or three
against a out of sorts Man Utd then so much the better. With Nolan's absence
through suspension it gives us the opportunity to try a different set up,
with either Ravel Morrison or Joe Cole playing in an advanced midfield role.
Also, with Stewart Downing out injured, Matt Jarvis needs to get back to his
best form out wide. Jarvis has the pace and skill to really test the
opposition, but I just wish that he could use his assets to score more
goals. Too often Jarvis breaks through on goal and seems to lack the
confidence to finish. We all know that he can do it, as evidenced by his
time at Wolves. Now he needs to do it in a West Ham shirt.
We shall have to see what the situation is with James Tomkins' injury.
Hopefully he will recover and be able to line up alongside Collins this
Saturday. If not then I guess it is a choice between young Leo Chambers or
either McCartney or Diarra as an auxillary centre back. Since Reid has been
injured the defence has become almost as problematic as the forward line. We
have allowed sloppy defending to creep back in and seem unusually error
ridden just lately. We need to cut that out and try to get back to the solid
defending that we exhibited at the beginning of the season. However, the
sooner Winston Reid returns, the better as far as I am concerned. Will the
club also sign another central defender in the January window? I would not
be surprised and I am sure that a loan deal for Christopher Samba is
probably on Allardyce's wish list.
If we achieve that six point target then it will give us 19 points ongoing
in to the New Year's Day. In fact it could provide a launch pad for an
upturn in results, with winnable early New Year fixtures against Fulham
away, Cardiff City away and Newcastle Utd at home. Hopefully, with the
assistance of Andy Carroll's much anticipated return, the equally important
return to fitmess of Winston Reid and at least one new striker added to the
squad. Ideally, good business needs to be transacted early in the window so
that any new acquisition(s) can have maximum positive impact, as quickly as
possible, in the New Year. Although from David Gold's recent comments, it
looks like that business is going to be via loan deals, with a view to
possible permanent moves in the summer. The club must get this right, lets
have no honest but underwhelming journeymen strikers or veteran marksmen
long past their best. We need an injection of genuine class up front to give
us that missing cutting edge. It remains to be seen whether they can pull
that off in the loan market and in the difficult January window. All will be
revealed soon enough!
The latest name in the speculative frame is former Newcastle Utd striker
Obafemi Martins. The 29 year old Nigerian international is currently plying
his trade in the lucrative north American league and a loan could be
possible during their close season. Many of us remember Martins as a pacy,
powerful striker, with a good PL strike rate. He is still only 29, but has
not been playing in the strongest of leagues. Also, there is the
complicating factor that any loan will end in March 2014 to facilitate the
north american pre-season. That is far from ideal and will probably mean
that a second striker will need to be signed to cover his premature
departure at a potentially key stage of the season.
So, on to this Saturday's match vs Sunderland. We need another high tempo
and attacking performance like the Fulham match. This is a match where the
skills and technique of Morrison and Joe Cole should shine through. It is
likely that Allardyce will start with Maiga up front again, with Carlton
Cole figuring from the bench. In terms of the opposition, I would opine that
the key danger men are Adam Johnson and Stephen Fletcher. Johnson is a
technically gifted wide man, with the ability to hurt us. Up front, they
have a very dangerous striker in Stephen Fletcher. Fletcher is having a bit
of a fallow period in front of goal at the moment. And that could spell
danger, because it seems that every misfiring striker manages to rediscovers
his goal scoring touch against us. But seriously, we need to keep those two
quiet, if we are going to take all three points. Sticking my neck out
slightly, I feel that we can grab an invaluable, and much needed, 2-1 win
over Sunderland.
Elsewhere, there have been a couple of media stories about possible January
exits from West Ham. The first of these is a potential Liverpool bid for Mo
Diame. The other is alleged interest from Newcastle Utd and Everton in Mark
Noble. Of the two, the Liverpool move for Diame probably has slightly more
substance. While I doubt very much that Mark Noble will be leaving the club
anytime soon. Especially as he has just signed a new contract. Hopefully,
West Ham will also soon sign Diame on an improved contract (minus that £3.5m
release clause) and stop this recurring speculation during each window. We
cannot afford to lose our best players, and aside from one or two fringe
members of the squad, I doubt there will be many notable exits in January.
Finally, well done to Kevin Nolan and the rest of the squad for cancelling
the Christmas jamboree to Dublin. The last thing the fans need to see is
pictures in the Daily Mail, of boozy sessions in Dublin hot spots, at a time
when only goal difference keeps out of the bottom three. All minds need to
be concentrated 100% on winning football matches. That is their bread and
butter, with an extremely large dollop of jam on it, and boozy sessions are
an unwelcome distraction. Its about being professional and the players have
made the right decision without a shadow of doubt.
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sport Football News West Ham United FC
By Alan Wilson
The Mirror
Ravel Morrison back for West Ham but Kevin Nolan banned for Sunderland game
13 Dec 2013 11:56
The West Ham boss will have to ring the changes for the visit of the Black
Cats as injuries and suspensions take hold West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is
set to shuffle his pack ahead of the visit of Sunderland on Saturday
afternoon. Skipper Kevin Nolan is the latest player to be ruled out as he is
suspended after seeing red in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool. Also out are
Winston Reid (ankle), Stewart Downing (calf), Andy Carroll (heel), Ricardo
Vaz Te (shoulder), Mladen Petric (thigh) and Alou Diarra (knee). There was
some good news for the former Bolton boss as he is able to welcome back
James Tomkins and England Under-21 sensation Ravel Morrison to the squad.
James Collins and Guy Demel could miss out through as the pair have picked
up illnesses and will be given late fitness tests before the game.
Provisional squad: Jaaskelainen, Adrian, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O'Brien,
Rat, Chambers, Collison, Noble, J Cole, Morrison, Jarvis, Taylor, Diame, C
Cole, Maiga
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce tells players to keep their nerve ahead of
relegation six-pointer with Sunderland
13 Dec 2013 22:30
The Mirror
The Hammers boss wants his charges to "continue to try to do the right
things" as they battle for survival
Sam Allardyce will go into Saturday's relegation six-pointer against
Sunderland telling his men , 'Keep calm and carry on'. Big Sam's West Ham
side have lost four of their last five matches but have kept seven Premier
League clean sheets this season – a tally second only to Everton's eight.
And the Hammers chief says that defensive record could provide the
springboard for a much-needed win. He said: "We're in a particularly
difficult period where nothing seems to be going for us. The only way it
will start going for us is if we keep our nerve and co ntinue to try to do
the right things that we know work for us."We're so close because we've had
seven clean sheets already in the first 15 games. "That will help us to get
over this because sooner or later when we get that clean sheet, we'll score
one goal and win a game."
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West Ham don't regret Andy Carroll swoop even though he hasn't played once
since £17.5m move
12 Dec 2013 22:30
The Mirror
Allardyce will stick by injury-hit striker like Man United and Arsenal did
with Giggs and Van Persie when they struggled to stay fit
Sam Allardyce has insisted he has NO regrets about buying Andy Carroll. West
Ham striker Carroll has yet to play for the club since making his
season-long loan move from Liverpool permanent in a £17.5million summer
deal, because of injury. Mirror Sport understands that although the
24-year-old is back in training, he is still weeks away from fitness -
having not had a pre-season - and is highly unlikely to play before the end
of the year. Carroll aggravated an acute ankle problem in September, his
fourth major injury in the last two years. Before that, heel damage suffered
in May put him out for four months.
Other setbacks have interrupted the big Geordie's time at both Upton Park
and with Liverpool. Allardyce, however, maintains he would not done things
differently if he'd known all this would occur, despite the fact his team
are fighting to stay out of the Premier League relegation zone.
The Hammers' boss also believes Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs and Robin
van Persie are examples of the benefits to be derived from staying loyal to
good players during injury setbacks. Allardyce, who side host Sunderland on
Saturday in a massive relegation six-pointer, said: "Based on what we were
told, Andy would have been fit and ready to go at the back end of August.
"On that basis, at 24 years old, we thought that he was going to be okay.
There are always players that at some stage can have spate of injuries and
overcome them. "So if I refer to Ryan Giggs, for example. Everybody thought
that he would never get past 30 with the considerable amount of injuries
that he had. They were constant - week after week. But he's still playing at
40. "There was Robin van Persie at Arsenal, who was never finishing a
season. He was always getting injured, but recently he has been completing
season after season. "So my opinion is that when Andy reaches full
maturity, in terms of his body's full development, I hope that those
injuries will become less and less frequent. "You also have to say that the
commitment of players like him always puts them a little bit more risk of
injury because he does go where angels fear to tread. "That's why he's such
a good player in my view - unique, sadly, in this country today. We should
have more Andy Carrolls in and around the Premier League because, in full
flow, we all know how exciting they can be."
Asked whether Carroll was simply cursed with bad luck, Allardyce added: "All
the specialists and all the consultants, at the stage he was at, said he
could start training with the lads again. "It was the first international
break we had at the end of August so all in all we were planning that Andy
would be okay over the following couple of weeks to at least put him on the
bench for ten or 15 minutes, even though he wouldn't be match fit. "As long
as he was clear and free from the injury then putting him on the bench and
bringing him on for ten or 15 minutes to reintroduce him would have been a
massive boost for us all at West Ham. "But then he went down in training and
that injury was diagnosed as not in the same place, but in a different
place. It's an unusual injury for a footballer. People I've spoken to who've
had it says it takes a considerable time not just to heal – it heals okay –
but then sometimes there's a considerable amount of discomfort that you go
through. "If that starts to diminish, day by day, then you can step up the
training process, and if one day he says he's pain-free then the process
goes even quicker still. "We hope to see him on the bench as quickly as we
can."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
David Sullivan admits regrets over Andy Carroll
By Ben Smith
BBC Sport
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan would not have spent a club-record £15m on
Andy Carroll had he known the striker would be out so long through injury.
Carroll, 24, has not played for the Hammers since his move from Liverpool
was made permanent in the summer. He remains at least three weeks away from
fitness as he recovers from a double fracture in his right foot. "Had we
known he would be out for this long, we would not have signed him," Sullivan
told the BBC's Football Focus. "We are not a rich enough club to deal with
that. You know any player can get injured, but we can't buy a player knowing
he is going to be out for half the season. "When we signed him we were
assured by the medical staff that the very, very latest he would be back was
1 September. That would have meant he would only miss two league games."
Carroll has returned to training at the club's Chadwell Heath training
ground in the past week, and Sullivan remains hopeful that the England
international will come good. "If you ask me the same question at the end of
the season, I hope I will be able give you a different answer and say 'Yes,
it was the right decision to sign Andy Carroll'. "He is a fantastic player
and on his day he is unplayable. We love him and that is why we signed him.
He is desperate to come back; he is sweating blood in training."
The forward has spent the majority of his rehabilitation receiving
specialist treatment in Belgium and the Netherlands. Carroll has used a
variety of techniques that ballet dancers exploit to build up the strength
in his foot, but Sullivan told BBC Sport that he still remains unsure when
the striker will return to the side.
Andy Carroll career stats
Newcastle (2006-11): 91 games, 33 goals
Preston (loan Aug 2007-08): 12 games, 1 goal
Liverpool (2011-present): 57 games, 11 goals
West Ham (loan 2012-13): 24 games, 7 goals
England (2010-present): 9 games, 2 goals
"He has been all over Europe for treatment and he has begged me to come
home," said Sullivan. "He has rung me up and said 'It is doing my head in
being here, I really want to get back as soon as possible, I really want to
play'. "Even now we haven't got a date that he could be back. He could be
back in three weeks, he could be back in six or eight weeks. I hope he might
make a contribution in the next three or four weeks, that might be 20
minutes as a sub.
"He is not going to be quite the player he was at the end of last season
until he has played some games. "He is a fantastic player, don't get me
wrong, but I only wouldn't have signed him because I can't have that amount
of wages and that amount of transfer fee on a player who isn't going to play
a minimum 20 or 30 games a season, hopefully 38 games a season."
With Carroll sidelined, West Ham have slipped into a relegation battle and
face Sunderland in a crucial match on Saturday. "It has been an extremely
difficult season," said Sullivan. "We are not playing very well, we didn't
anticipate it and it has gone far, far worse than we could possibly have
imagined. "The hope this season was to be mid-table right from the start,
never to be threatened by relegation, to play the strongest possible teams
in the cup matches and to try and get to a cup final - that was our aim.
"Now we have a relegation battle and, although we are still in both the
cups, I don't know if the manager will want to play his strongest teams
because it is vital that we get points." He added: "I am deeply concerned.
Anybody who looks at where we are in the table and is not concerned are
kidding themselves."
Off the back of a run that has seen West Ham win just one of their past
eight league matches, the future of manager Sam Allardyce has been called
into question in recent weeks, but Sullivan says the board have no intention
of sacking him. "I really believe Sam is the man for the job," the Hammers
co-owner said. "If he wasn't our manager he is exactly the type of manager
you would be bringing in to be the manager. Where do you get someone better
than Sam to do the job that is now necessary? "If you asked me what kind of
season Sam has had up to now, I would say disappointing. But let's judge him
at the end of the season. I think the Newcastle manager would have been
sacked by most fans after a month of the season but now he is flavour of the
month."
Watch the interview with David Sullivan on BBC Sport's Football Focus from
12:00 GMT on Saturday, 14 October.
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Friday, December 13
Daily WHUFC News - 13th December 2013
Sunderland match preview
WHUFC.com
A look ahead at all of the need to know information for Saturday's visit of
Sunderland
12.12.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v SUNDERLAND
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: ANDRE MARINER
FULL AUDIO COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
Introduction
• West Ham United welcome Sunderland to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
afternoon hoping to return to winning ways in the Barclays Premier League
after back-to-back defeats.
• The Hammers return to home turf after suffering a 1-0 defeat against
Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 3 December, a loss which was followed by
a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield four days later.
• On their last outing in front of the Boleyn Ground crowd, Sam Allardyce's
team hit the goal trail in a 3-0 win over Fulham, which was just the
Hammers' second home win of the season.
• Carlton Cole and Mohamed Diame scored their first goals of the season in
that win whilst Joe Cole netted his second in a much welcomed victory.
• Despite that win, two defeats dropped the Hammers down to 17th in the
table and leaves the Club level on points with two of the three teams below
them.
• Saturday's visitors Sunderland arrive with a horrid record on the road and
are still searching for their first away league win of the 2013/14 season.
• Seven away trips have yielded just two draws and five defeats for the
Mackems, who have conceded 14 goals and replied with just two.
• Gus Poyet's side arrive in east London after back-to-back defeats of their
own. A 4-3 loss to Chelsea was followed by a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham
Hotspur, both coming at the Stadium of Light.
• The defeat to Spurs left Sunderland bottom of the table, five points
adrift of safety.
Team news
West Ham United
• Andy Carroll has begun light training but is still some way short of a
return following a foot injury.
• Stewart Downing suffered an ankle injury in the defeat to Liverpool and
will miss the visit of Sunderland.
• Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Winston Reid (ankle) and Mladen Petric (calf)
are definitely out of Saturday's encounter.
Sunderland.
• Goalkeeper Keiren Westwood will miss out on his side's trip to the Boleyn
Ground while defender Carlos Cuellar is also out of the clash.
Background
• West Ham United have faced Sunderland 82 times in official competitions,
winning 32, drawing 21 and losing 31.
• The first meeting between the two sides came on Saturday 25 August 1923 in
the old Division One and ended in a goalless draw.
• West Ham United's biggest win over Sunderland came in the shape of an 8-0
Division One success at the Boleyn Ground on 19 October 1968. Geoff Hurst
scored six goals - including a hat-trick in each half - while Bobby Moore
and a young Trevor Brooking added one apiece. No other Hammers player has
scored a hat-trick against the Black Cats.
• Sunderland's biggest win over West Ham United came on 5 March 1977, when
the Black Cats romped to a 6-0 Division One victory over the Londoners at
Roker Park. Their best performance in east London was a 3-0 Division One
triumph on 25 April 1931.
• The biggest Boleyn Ground crowd to witness at West Ham United versus
Sunderland fixture was the 35,033 who saw the Hammers' 2-0 Premier League
victory on 22 March 2003.
• Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick for Newcastle United in a 5-1 Tyne-Wear
derby win over Sunderland at St James' Park on 31 October 2010. Andy Carroll
also started the match for the Magpies.
• Hammers midfielder Mohamed Diame was signed by Wigan Athletic from Spanish
club Rayo Vallecano as a replacement for Sunderland-bound Lee Cattermole in
August 2009.
• Future Hammers manager Harry Redknapp made his West Ham United debut in a
1-1 Division One draw with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on 23 August
1965.
• Ray Atteveld made his Hammers debut in a 1-1 FA Cup fifth-round draw at
Sunderland on 15 February 1992. The Dutchman, on loan from Everton, would
make two of his three West Ham United appearances against the Black Cats,
the final one being a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round replay defeat at the Boleyn
Ground.
• George Andrew (February 1967), Jimmy Neighbour (September 1979), Chris
Cohen (December 2003), Lionel Scaloni (February 2006), Nolberto Solano
(October 2007) and Marouane Chamakh (January 2013) also made their West Ham
United debuts against Sunderland.
Last time out
Saturday 7 December 2013
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 4-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, McCartney, Collins, Tomkins (O'Brien
56), Downing (J Cole 45), Diame, Noble, Nolan, Jarvis (Taylor 84), Maiga
Subs not used: Adrian, Collison, Diarra, C Cole
Goals: Skrtel og 66
Sent-off: Nolan 82
Saturday 7 December 2013
Barclays Premier League
Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Sunderland: Mannone, Celustka (Giaccherini 77), Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Ki,
Larsson, Colback (Cattermole 67), Fletcher, Altidore, Johnson (Borini 67)
Subs not used: Pickford, Dossena, Gardner, Diakite
Goal: Johnson 37
Previous meeting
West Ham's last game against Sunderland was an instantly forgettable affair
for those in claret and blue. The Mackems romped to victory at the Stadium
of Light in mid-January thanks to goals from Sebastian Larsson, Adam Johnson
and a third from James McClean.
Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner, O'Shea, Bramble, Colback, Johnson (N'Diaye
84), Vaughan, Larsson, McClean, Fletcher (Wickham 78), Sessengon (McFadden
88)
Subs not used: Westwood, Bardsley, Kilgallon, Campbell
Goals: Larsson 12, Johnson 47, McClean 74
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins (Tomkins 34), Reid, Potts,
Collison (Vaz Te 46), Diarra, J Cole, Nolan, Jarvis, C Cole (Chamakh 56)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Taylor, Diame, O'Neil
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
12 January 2013 - Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United
22 September 2012 - West Ham United 1-1 Sunderland
22 May 2011 - West Ham United 0-3 Sunderland
5 December 2010 - Sunderland 1-0 West Ham United
21 September 2010 - Sunderland 1-2 West Ham United (Carling Cup third round)
10 April 2010 - West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland
Overall record v Sunderland (all competitions) W 32 D 21 L 31
Ten-year record
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted to Premier League via
Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
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 to Premier League via
Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Sunderland
2012/13 Premier League 17th (39 points)
2011/12 Premier League 13th (45 points)
2010/11 Premier League 10th (47 points)
2009/10 Premier League 13th (44 points)
2008/09 Premier League 16th (36 points)
2007/08 Premier League 15th (39 points)
2006/07 Championship 1st (88 points - promoted to Premier League)
2005/06 Premier League 20th (15 points - relegated to Championship)
2004/05 Championship 1st (94 points - promoted to Premier League)
2003/04 Championship 3rd (79 points)
Old boys
• George McCartney has enjoyed two spells with Sunderland. The Northern
Irishman initially moved to the north east as a 17-year-old in 1998, quickly
establishing himself in the first team and captaining the Black Cats to
promotion to the Premier League and being voted Player of the Year in 2005.
In all, he made 157 appearances for Sunderland before joining West Ham
United in 2006. After two seasons, the left-back returned to the Stadium of
Light to make a further 46 appearances before re-joining the Hammers,
initially on loan, in August 2011.
• Bryan 'Pop' Robson spent two spells with West Ham United and three with
hometown club Sunderland. Robson, who started his career with Newcastle
United, netted 104 goals in 254 appearances for the Hammers and 67 in 174
games for Sunderland - scoring in a 2-0 win over Leicester City in his final
Black Cats appearance in May 1984 that kept the club in the old Division
One.
• Don Hutchison enjoyed two spells with West Ham United, netting 17 times in
110 matches. The Scotland midfielder also represented Sunderland during the
2000/01 season, scoring an impressive ten goals in 39 games.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Dick Bell,
Gary Breen, Clive Clarke, Keith Coleman, Ernest England, Anton Ferdinand,
John Foreman, Harry Forster, Jack Foster, Harry Hooper, Mick McGiven, Andy
Melville, Billy Moore and Dave Swindlehurst.
Referee
• The man in the middle for Saturday's fixture is Andre Marriner.
• Marriner last took charge of a West Ham United game when he refereed the
0-0 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.
• Birmingham-born Marriner began refereeing in 1992, progressing through the
Birmingham Amateur Football League and Southern League to become a Football
League assistant referee in 2000.
• He was appointed to the Football League List of Referees in 2003 before
joining the Select Group in 2005. Since then he has also been added to
FIFA's International List in 2009.
General information
• There are tickets remaining for Saturday's fixture. For ticket information
click here.
• The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon is overcast with sunny spells
and highs of 9C.
• There are no engineering works planned on the District Line this weekend.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on: Sunderland
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's match against
Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground
12.12.2013
Sam Allardyce has spoken to the gathered media ahead of West Ham United's
Barclays Premier League match against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Big Sam was quizzed on the importance of the clash against the Mackems, the
new manager factor and the latest team news.
Morning Sam, what's the latest team news?
SA: "I've bought a list in with me because I've got that many [out] today.
We've got a couple off sick but we think they'll be ok, James Collins and
Guy Demel. Obviously the ones who are definitely out are Winston Reid,
Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll, Mladen Petric, Ricardo Vaz Te and Kevin Nolan
who's suspended. We're not in a great place for selection purposes
particularly with this December programme we've got, with Wednesday as well
as Saturday and then Manchester United the following Saturday. "It's a
difficult period for us and we all know what position we're in with results.
The lads who are available need to step up to the plate and try and do the
business. We hope that James Tomkins will come through the fitness test but
we won't know that until tomorrow so I'll select the team around that. Off
we go to try and repeat a Fulham performance against Sunderland and
hopefully get the same result."
It's been suggested that Stewart Downing's injury could keep him out for up
to ten weeks; do you have an update on that?
SA: "I don't think it will be that long. We always try not to be too
specific about the date of any particular injury. First and foremost it's
about how quickly does the scar heal, does Stewart recover from that and
then when he starts training again how does he feel on a day-to-day basis?
At this moment in time it's very difficult to say based on the healing
process as we don't know how long that will be. "We've done all aspects
possible to make sure that the one big thing that is stopped with this is
infection. The size and depth of the wound means that the last thing we want
after the surgeon stitching him back together is an infection. That would
put him back a period of time. Hopefully they'll be no infection in there
and I think his recovery will be much quicker than ten weeks."
Just how big is this game against Sunderland?
SA: "The same size as the Fulham one. When we played against them we were in
a similar position and we alleviated that pressure for a short period of
time. We let ourselves down after that, particularly in the Crystal Palace
game, [not] on performance but no result. As expected it would always be
difficult with the way Liverpool are playing at home to get something there.
The big disappointment last week was obviously the Crystal Palace result
after such a big result against Fulham so Sunderland is another massive game
for us, another massive three points that we need to make sure we stay in
touch with the people above us. That makes it a critical game for both
teams. Both teams need to win, that's what you need to do and I presume that
listening to Gus' quotes that's their objective. They've got to start
winning somewhere along the line, as have we, we need to start winning more
games."
Is there any chance that Andy Carroll could play a part?
SA: "There's no chance that Andy Carroll will play any part because he's
only been training on his own at the moment. Going through gentle processes
of rebuilding his confidence in the injury not reoccurring and that's the
big thing. Once you've recovered from one injury there's always a confidence
factor when you come back into training over whether it's ok. When you come
back to training and it goes again then there's a greater fear the second
time you come back. I think that from Andy's point of view we take things on
Andy's say so as well as the specialists. He's got no chance of playing in
the next two weeks."
You had a fans' forum on Tuesday night, are the supporters understanding of
your predicament?
SA: "It's obviously not an easy time for us all and supporters are
frustrated, I understand that. They didn't and we didn't expect to be where
we are at this moment in time. I said to them what I've said to everyone
else here that we've got to continue on a positive note on the back of the
performance level that we've achieved this year. It hasn't bought the
results we've deserved as often as it should have done. We all know the
reason why because when we've been in control we've not been ruthless enough
to score at that particular time and instead of winning the game we've ended
up drawing the game and sometimes instead of drawing the game we've ended up
losing it. "That's been our ultimate problem throughout the whole of the
season. That coupled with injuries and suspensions makes life more difficult
for us as a squad to overcome that at this period of time to try and get
results. It's more difficult now than it was a few weeks ago because of the
selection processes I have within the squad and so many games coming all at
once. When we had the first three months of the season we'd only played
eleven games. Now we're going to play seven or eight in one month so if
you've got injuries in that month then that makes life very difficult."
We've spoken about your need for a result, have you had any discussions with
the owners about your future?
SA: "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners,
they're either going to stick with me or they're not. That's entirely up to
them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see the situation
at the moment. I can only say when I look at their history that they've
always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a difficult situation,
I hope this will be the same and I'm sure it will. At the end it's about us
getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us all. "Everyone will
speculate about my position because I'm around where all the other clubs are
and all the other clubs have got rid of their managers so they all perceive
that I'm the next in line. It's about picking a few results up and then the
pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the results and
keep the pressure off us all for a while. From our point of view we have to
keep focused on our own job. It's the first time in two-and-a-half years
that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It happens, we've got to make
sure we're determined enough and have the right desire to overcome it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Harney heartbreak at Cup defeat
WHUFC.com
Jamie Harney says defeat to Accrington Stanley in the FA Youth Cup has left
the Under-18s heartbroken
12.12.2013
Jamie Harney cut a distraught figure after the West Ham United Under-18s
suffered FA Youth Cup heartache against Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night.
The Hammers were knocked out of the competition by virtue of a 2-1 defeat at
the Store First Stadium, with the winning goal coming five minutes before
the end of extra-time. Harney himself had equalised for the visitors two
minutes into the five added on at the end of normal time to force the extra
30 minutes and revealed his disappointment at the defeat. He told West Ham
TV: "Everyone's heartbroken. It wasn't our best performance but we gave
everything we could.
"I know some individuals feel as though they didn't perform to their highest
but we dug in and tried to scrape a result but unfortunately they got a bit
of luck with a chance towards the end and finished it. "We have to move on,
it's a big learning curve for the lads and hopefully we won't feel like this
too many times in our careers."
The defender's header cancelled out Accrington's opener goal, which came
after 49 minutes from Nathan Webb, and stung the Hammers into action. Once
Harney had drawn his team level, there only looked like there would be one
winner in extra-time and that view was shared by the centre-back. "One
hundred per cent, I thought that was the deadlock broken and I thought
everyone was going to get a lift. Extra-time came and we were brilliant in
extra-time, we really were. "We had chance after chance and should have
scored with a few of them but it's one of those games. It was a cup game and
they got one chance in extra-time to finish it. "I have to hold my hands up
and say 'Well done' to Accrington Stanley. They played their hearts out, so
well done to them."
The third round defeat came as a shock to Harney and his team-mates, but he
believes they will learn some valuable lessons from the loss and come back
stronger. "In your career you might play in those sorts of atmospheres. We
were obviously going into the game as favourites and I think we should have
dealt with it better. "I think the occasion might have got to some people
but, then again, we should be able to deal with it and hopefully get
results. A lot of people will take it on the chin and hopefully they can
learn from it. "It was absolutely devastating but we have to learn from it
and just keep going continue with the rest of the season and keep doing well
in the league. Hopefully we can put this behind us and learn from it, that's
the main thing for us."
Next up for Steve Potts' side is a Barclays U18 Premier League home match
against Leicester City on 21 December and the defender has already turned
his attentions to that game. "I think we have to look back on it with the
coaches at what we did wrong. We did do a lot of good stuff tonight but we
just have to look for areas of improvement. "We'll get back on the training
pitch, get back on it, get the lads going again and we've got a league game
against Leicester on 21 December so we'll get back at it and try and keep
the unbeaten run going."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham: Sam Allardyce expects patience from club's owners
BBC.co.uk
Sam Allardyce expects West Ham's owners to show patience with him as
manager, but admits speculation over his position is understandable. The
Hammers sit 17th in the Premier League and the three clubs below them have
changed managers this season. "Everybody will speculate about my position,"
said Allardyce, whose side have one win in eight league games. "The owners
have always shown patience in difficult situations, I hope that will be the
same - I'm sure it will."
A 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday left West Ham above the relegation
zone on goal difference ahead of this weekend's visit of fellow strugglers
Sunderland.
After the same number of games last season, Allardyce's side sat 10th, with
nine more points than they have achieved this term. "I wouldn't have thought
I would have needed a discussion about my future with the owners," added
Allardyce, who succeeded Avram Grant as manager in 2011 and led them to
promotion in his first season. "They are going to stick with me or they are
not, it is entirely up to them and how they see me in the job and how they
see the situation at the moment. "I know that in the end it is about us
getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us all."
The departures of Paolo Di Canio at bottom club Sunderland, Ian Holloway at
19th-placed Crystal Palace and Martin Jol at Fulham in 18th, have increased
speculation that Allardyce could be the next manager to leave his post. He
has been without record-signing Andy Carroll for the entire campaign because
of injury, with his side scoring just 13 times in the league this season.
Only Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Cardiff have found the net less. "It is
the first time we have had a bad run in the two and a half years I have been
here," added Allardyce, 59. "It comes and it will happen, we have got to
make sure we are determined enough and have the right desire to overcome
it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce: no discussions with owners
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 12th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce believes that patience is key to West Ham turning the corner.
The under-pressure Allardyce told the assembled press pack at Chadwell Heath
this morning that no discussions with regards to his immediate future had
taken place with either David Sullivan or David Gold - despite United's
miserable recent record. "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions
with the owners, they're either going to stick with me or they're not,"
retorted Allardyce, when asked if any talks had taken place. "That's
entirely up to them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see
the situation at the moment. "I can only say that when I look at their
history, they've always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a
difficult situation. I hope this will be the same [for me] and I'm sure it
will. At the end [of the day] it's about us getting results again to
alleviate the pressure on us all. "Everyone will speculate about my position
because I'm around other clubs who have got rid of their managers, so they
all perceive that I'm the next in line. It's about picking a few results up
and then the pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the
results and keep the pressure off us all for a while. "From our point of
view we have to keep focused on our own job. It's the first time in
two-and-a-half years that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It
happens, we've got to make sure we're determined enough and have the right
desire to overcome it."
Allardyce will have to do without the likes of Andy Carroll, Winston Reid,
Stewart Downing, Ricardo Vaz Te, Mladen Petric (all injured) plus captain
Kevin Nolan, who is suspended following his unnecessary dismissal at
Liverpool last weekend. However James Tomkins and Guy Demel, both of whom
have been unwell this week, should be fit to play. "We're not in a great
place particularly with the December programme we've got," confirmed
Allardyce. "It's a difficult period for us and we all know what position
we're in with results. "The lads who are available need to step up to the
plate and try and do the business. We hope that James Tomkins will come
through the fitness test but we won't know that until tomorrow so I'll
select the team around that. "Off we go to try and repeat the Fulham
performance against Sunderland - and hopefully get the same result."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers on live again
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 12th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's third round FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest is being broadcast
live on TV. With TV executives no doubt sniffing a giant-killing, the
Hammers' trip to the City Ground on Saunday, 5th January has been selected
for live TV coverage. The two clubs have met in the FA Cup on five
occasions previously, with West Ham winning four of those ties compared to
Forest's one. The most famous meeting between the two teams in the FA Cup
came in 1991 when West Ham were beaten heavily on the pitch but scored a
stunning victory on the terraces with a World-recod breaking chant of "Billy
Bonds' claret and blue army".
Previous FA Cup Meetings
30th January 2011: West Ham Utd 3-2 Nottm Forest
(Obinna 3)
FA Cup 3rd Round
4th January 2003: West Ham Utd 3-2 Nottm Forest
(Defoe 2, J Cole)
FA Cup 3rd Round
14th April 1991: Nottm Forest 4-0 West Ham Utd
FA Cup Semi Final
31st January 1925: Nottm Forest 0-2 West Ham Utd
(Yews, Ruffell)
FA Cup 2nd Round
14th January 1911: West Ham Utd 2-1 Nottm Forest
(Shea 2)
FA Cup 1st Round
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has backing of club's board
Last Updated: 12/12/13 3:45pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes he has the full backing of the board
but admits he has not spoken to the club's owners. The Hammers have won just
three times in the Premier League so far this season and head into this
weekend's clash with fellow strugglers Sunderland hovering just above the
drop zone on goal difference. Pressure is mounting on Allardyce but the
59-year-old takes faith in the club's track record with managers and sees no
need for any dialogue. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has trust in his
owners to remain patient as his side look to overcome a difficult period. "I
wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners, they're
either going to stick with me or they're not," said Allardyce. "That's
entirely up to them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see
the situation at the moment. "I can only say when I look at their history
that they've always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a
difficult situation, I hope this will be the same and I'm sure it will. At
the end it's about us getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us
all. "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners,
they're either going to stick with me or they're not." "Everyone will
speculate about my position because I'm around where all the other clubs are
and all the other clubs have got rid of their managers so they all perceive
that I'm the next in line. "It's about picking a few results up and then the
pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the results and
keep the pressure off us all for a while. From our point of view we have to
keep focused on our own job. "It's the first time in two-and-a-half years
that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It happens, we've got to make
sure we're determined enough and have the right desire to overcome it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce plays down Obafemi Martins links
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 12/12/13
1:00pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce claims he knows nothing about any possible move
for former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins in January. The Hammers are in
the market for striking reinforcements when the transfer window reopens next
month after struggling for goals so far this season. Martins, who currently
plies his trade in America with Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders,
has been mentioned as a possible target to bolster their attacking options.
However Allardyce, who worked with Martins during his time in charge of
Newcastle, says he is in the dark over reports linking the Nigerian with a
loan move to Upton Park during the MLS off-season "I haven't heard anything
about Oba," said Allardyce. "He's playing in America at the moment.
"Everyone knows if we're in the market for a player, we'll be linked with
everybody. We'll deal with that - speculation is speculation."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham co-chairman David Gold offers support for Sam Allardyce
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 12/12/13
3:44pm
SSN
West Ham co-chairman David Gold has offered his backing to under-fire
manager Sam Allardyce. Allardyce's position at West Ham has been the subject
of conjecture with the side sitting just outside the drop zone only on goal
difference. However, Gold is confident Allardyce and the players will turn
things round and he has called on the fans to get behind them as they look
to steer clear of trouble. "I am hugely disappointed with the position we
are in," Gold is quoted as saying in The Sun. "I thought we would be at
least in mid-table. "We have to rely on Sam and the players. "We have to
stick together."
Gold believes West Ham's struggles this season are down to the fact that
they made a mistake in not signing another striker in the summer. West Ham
smashed their transfer record to make Andy Carroll's loan move from
Liverpool permanent and then splashed out another £6million on Stewart
Downing.
Carroll has not played this season due to injury leaving West Ham short of
attacking options and Gold concedes they blundered by putting their eggs in
one basket" by signing Carroll and not bringing in another striker as cover.
Gold insists the club will address the issue in the January transfer window
and look to bring in a new striker. "I thought we had spent our money
wisely," added Gold. "Clearly, we should have bought a centre forward.
That's my opinion. I'm not overly sure that not bringing in a centre-forward
as cover for Andy was the best idea. "It does mean we put all our eggs in
one basket. "It is a dangerous thing, not just in football but in life. "We
were concerned about the balance and we have come unstuck. "But the
opportunity to buy Downing at that price was great value for money. It cut
deeply into our budget. "But nobody thought Andy would be injured - and it
won't be until the next year before we see him. I'm hugely disappointed with
the position we are in. "No stone will be left unturned to bring in new
personnel in January."
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WHUFC.com
A look ahead at all of the need to know information for Saturday's visit of
Sunderland
12.12.2013
WEST HAM UNITED v SUNDERLAND
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: ANDRE MARINER
FULL AUDIO COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
Introduction
• West Ham United welcome Sunderland to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
afternoon hoping to return to winning ways in the Barclays Premier League
after back-to-back defeats.
• The Hammers return to home turf after suffering a 1-0 defeat against
Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 3 December, a loss which was followed by
a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield four days later.
• On their last outing in front of the Boleyn Ground crowd, Sam Allardyce's
team hit the goal trail in a 3-0 win over Fulham, which was just the
Hammers' second home win of the season.
• Carlton Cole and Mohamed Diame scored their first goals of the season in
that win whilst Joe Cole netted his second in a much welcomed victory.
• Despite that win, two defeats dropped the Hammers down to 17th in the
table and leaves the Club level on points with two of the three teams below
them.
• Saturday's visitors Sunderland arrive with a horrid record on the road and
are still searching for their first away league win of the 2013/14 season.
• Seven away trips have yielded just two draws and five defeats for the
Mackems, who have conceded 14 goals and replied with just two.
• Gus Poyet's side arrive in east London after back-to-back defeats of their
own. A 4-3 loss to Chelsea was followed by a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham
Hotspur, both coming at the Stadium of Light.
• The defeat to Spurs left Sunderland bottom of the table, five points
adrift of safety.
Team news
West Ham United
• Andy Carroll has begun light training but is still some way short of a
return following a foot injury.
• Stewart Downing suffered an ankle injury in the defeat to Liverpool and
will miss the visit of Sunderland.
• Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Winston Reid (ankle) and Mladen Petric (calf)
are definitely out of Saturday's encounter.
Sunderland.
• Goalkeeper Keiren Westwood will miss out on his side's trip to the Boleyn
Ground while defender Carlos Cuellar is also out of the clash.
Background
• West Ham United have faced Sunderland 82 times in official competitions,
winning 32, drawing 21 and losing 31.
• The first meeting between the two sides came on Saturday 25 August 1923 in
the old Division One and ended in a goalless draw.
• West Ham United's biggest win over Sunderland came in the shape of an 8-0
Division One success at the Boleyn Ground on 19 October 1968. Geoff Hurst
scored six goals - including a hat-trick in each half - while Bobby Moore
and a young Trevor Brooking added one apiece. No other Hammers player has
scored a hat-trick against the Black Cats.
• Sunderland's biggest win over West Ham United came on 5 March 1977, when
the Black Cats romped to a 6-0 Division One victory over the Londoners at
Roker Park. Their best performance in east London was a 3-0 Division One
triumph on 25 April 1931.
• The biggest Boleyn Ground crowd to witness at West Ham United versus
Sunderland fixture was the 35,033 who saw the Hammers' 2-0 Premier League
victory on 22 March 2003.
• Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick for Newcastle United in a 5-1 Tyne-Wear
derby win over Sunderland at St James' Park on 31 October 2010. Andy Carroll
also started the match for the Magpies.
• Hammers midfielder Mohamed Diame was signed by Wigan Athletic from Spanish
club Rayo Vallecano as a replacement for Sunderland-bound Lee Cattermole in
August 2009.
• Future Hammers manager Harry Redknapp made his West Ham United debut in a
1-1 Division One draw with Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground on 23 August
1965.
• Ray Atteveld made his Hammers debut in a 1-1 FA Cup fifth-round draw at
Sunderland on 15 February 1992. The Dutchman, on loan from Everton, would
make two of his three West Ham United appearances against the Black Cats,
the final one being a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round replay defeat at the Boleyn
Ground.
• George Andrew (February 1967), Jimmy Neighbour (September 1979), Chris
Cohen (December 2003), Lionel Scaloni (February 2006), Nolberto Solano
(October 2007) and Marouane Chamakh (January 2013) also made their West Ham
United debuts against Sunderland.
Last time out
Saturday 7 December 2013
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 4-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, McCartney, Collins, Tomkins (O'Brien
56), Downing (J Cole 45), Diame, Noble, Nolan, Jarvis (Taylor 84), Maiga
Subs not used: Adrian, Collison, Diarra, C Cole
Goals: Skrtel og 66
Sent-off: Nolan 82
Saturday 7 December 2013
Barclays Premier League
Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Sunderland: Mannone, Celustka (Giaccherini 77), Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Ki,
Larsson, Colback (Cattermole 67), Fletcher, Altidore, Johnson (Borini 67)
Subs not used: Pickford, Dossena, Gardner, Diakite
Goal: Johnson 37
Previous meeting
West Ham's last game against Sunderland was an instantly forgettable affair
for those in claret and blue. The Mackems romped to victory at the Stadium
of Light in mid-January thanks to goals from Sebastian Larsson, Adam Johnson
and a third from James McClean.
Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner, O'Shea, Bramble, Colback, Johnson (N'Diaye
84), Vaughan, Larsson, McClean, Fletcher (Wickham 78), Sessengon (McFadden
88)
Subs not used: Westwood, Bardsley, Kilgallon, Campbell
Goals: Larsson 12, Johnson 47, McClean 74
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins (Tomkins 34), Reid, Potts,
Collison (Vaz Te 46), Diarra, J Cole, Nolan, Jarvis, C Cole (Chamakh 56)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Taylor, Diame, O'Neil
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
12 January 2013 - Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United
22 September 2012 - West Ham United 1-1 Sunderland
22 May 2011 - West Ham United 0-3 Sunderland
5 December 2010 - Sunderland 1-0 West Ham United
21 September 2010 - Sunderland 1-2 West Ham United (Carling Cup third round)
10 April 2010 - West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland
Overall record v Sunderland (all competitions) W 32 D 21 L 31
Ten-year record
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted to Premier League via
Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
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 to Premier League via
Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Sunderland
2012/13 Premier League 17th (39 points)
2011/12 Premier League 13th (45 points)
2010/11 Premier League 10th (47 points)
2009/10 Premier League 13th (44 points)
2008/09 Premier League 16th (36 points)
2007/08 Premier League 15th (39 points)
2006/07 Championship 1st (88 points - promoted to Premier League)
2005/06 Premier League 20th (15 points - relegated to Championship)
2004/05 Championship 1st (94 points - promoted to Premier League)
2003/04 Championship 3rd (79 points)
Old boys
• George McCartney has enjoyed two spells with Sunderland. The Northern
Irishman initially moved to the north east as a 17-year-old in 1998, quickly
establishing himself in the first team and captaining the Black Cats to
promotion to the Premier League and being voted Player of the Year in 2005.
In all, he made 157 appearances for Sunderland before joining West Ham
United in 2006. After two seasons, the left-back returned to the Stadium of
Light to make a further 46 appearances before re-joining the Hammers,
initially on loan, in August 2011.
• Bryan 'Pop' Robson spent two spells with West Ham United and three with
hometown club Sunderland. Robson, who started his career with Newcastle
United, netted 104 goals in 254 appearances for the Hammers and 67 in 174
games for Sunderland - scoring in a 2-0 win over Leicester City in his final
Black Cats appearance in May 1984 that kept the club in the old Division
One.
• Don Hutchison enjoyed two spells with West Ham United, netting 17 times in
110 matches. The Scotland midfielder also represented Sunderland during the
2000/01 season, scoring an impressive ten goals in 39 games.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Dick Bell,
Gary Breen, Clive Clarke, Keith Coleman, Ernest England, Anton Ferdinand,
John Foreman, Harry Forster, Jack Foster, Harry Hooper, Mick McGiven, Andy
Melville, Billy Moore and Dave Swindlehurst.
Referee
• The man in the middle for Saturday's fixture is Andre Marriner.
• Marriner last took charge of a West Ham United game when he refereed the
0-0 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.
• Birmingham-born Marriner began refereeing in 1992, progressing through the
Birmingham Amateur Football League and Southern League to become a Football
League assistant referee in 2000.
• He was appointed to the Football League List of Referees in 2003 before
joining the Select Group in 2005. Since then he has also been added to
FIFA's International List in 2009.
General information
• There are tickets remaining for Saturday's fixture. For ticket information
click here.
• The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon is overcast with sunny spells
and highs of 9C.
• There are no engineering works planned on the District Line this weekend.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam on: Sunderland
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's match against
Sunderland at the Boleyn Ground
12.12.2013
Sam Allardyce has spoken to the gathered media ahead of West Ham United's
Barclays Premier League match against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Big Sam was quizzed on the importance of the clash against the Mackems, the
new manager factor and the latest team news.
Morning Sam, what's the latest team news?
SA: "I've bought a list in with me because I've got that many [out] today.
We've got a couple off sick but we think they'll be ok, James Collins and
Guy Demel. Obviously the ones who are definitely out are Winston Reid,
Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll, Mladen Petric, Ricardo Vaz Te and Kevin Nolan
who's suspended. We're not in a great place for selection purposes
particularly with this December programme we've got, with Wednesday as well
as Saturday and then Manchester United the following Saturday. "It's a
difficult period for us and we all know what position we're in with results.
The lads who are available need to step up to the plate and try and do the
business. We hope that James Tomkins will come through the fitness test but
we won't know that until tomorrow so I'll select the team around that. Off
we go to try and repeat a Fulham performance against Sunderland and
hopefully get the same result."
It's been suggested that Stewart Downing's injury could keep him out for up
to ten weeks; do you have an update on that?
SA: "I don't think it will be that long. We always try not to be too
specific about the date of any particular injury. First and foremost it's
about how quickly does the scar heal, does Stewart recover from that and
then when he starts training again how does he feel on a day-to-day basis?
At this moment in time it's very difficult to say based on the healing
process as we don't know how long that will be. "We've done all aspects
possible to make sure that the one big thing that is stopped with this is
infection. The size and depth of the wound means that the last thing we want
after the surgeon stitching him back together is an infection. That would
put him back a period of time. Hopefully they'll be no infection in there
and I think his recovery will be much quicker than ten weeks."
Just how big is this game against Sunderland?
SA: "The same size as the Fulham one. When we played against them we were in
a similar position and we alleviated that pressure for a short period of
time. We let ourselves down after that, particularly in the Crystal Palace
game, [not] on performance but no result. As expected it would always be
difficult with the way Liverpool are playing at home to get something there.
The big disappointment last week was obviously the Crystal Palace result
after such a big result against Fulham so Sunderland is another massive game
for us, another massive three points that we need to make sure we stay in
touch with the people above us. That makes it a critical game for both
teams. Both teams need to win, that's what you need to do and I presume that
listening to Gus' quotes that's their objective. They've got to start
winning somewhere along the line, as have we, we need to start winning more
games."
Is there any chance that Andy Carroll could play a part?
SA: "There's no chance that Andy Carroll will play any part because he's
only been training on his own at the moment. Going through gentle processes
of rebuilding his confidence in the injury not reoccurring and that's the
big thing. Once you've recovered from one injury there's always a confidence
factor when you come back into training over whether it's ok. When you come
back to training and it goes again then there's a greater fear the second
time you come back. I think that from Andy's point of view we take things on
Andy's say so as well as the specialists. He's got no chance of playing in
the next two weeks."
You had a fans' forum on Tuesday night, are the supporters understanding of
your predicament?
SA: "It's obviously not an easy time for us all and supporters are
frustrated, I understand that. They didn't and we didn't expect to be where
we are at this moment in time. I said to them what I've said to everyone
else here that we've got to continue on a positive note on the back of the
performance level that we've achieved this year. It hasn't bought the
results we've deserved as often as it should have done. We all know the
reason why because when we've been in control we've not been ruthless enough
to score at that particular time and instead of winning the game we've ended
up drawing the game and sometimes instead of drawing the game we've ended up
losing it. "That's been our ultimate problem throughout the whole of the
season. That coupled with injuries and suspensions makes life more difficult
for us as a squad to overcome that at this period of time to try and get
results. It's more difficult now than it was a few weeks ago because of the
selection processes I have within the squad and so many games coming all at
once. When we had the first three months of the season we'd only played
eleven games. Now we're going to play seven or eight in one month so if
you've got injuries in that month then that makes life very difficult."
We've spoken about your need for a result, have you had any discussions with
the owners about your future?
SA: "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners,
they're either going to stick with me or they're not. That's entirely up to
them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see the situation
at the moment. I can only say when I look at their history that they've
always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a difficult situation,
I hope this will be the same and I'm sure it will. At the end it's about us
getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us all. "Everyone will
speculate about my position because I'm around where all the other clubs are
and all the other clubs have got rid of their managers so they all perceive
that I'm the next in line. It's about picking a few results up and then the
pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the results and
keep the pressure off us all for a while. From our point of view we have to
keep focused on our own job. It's the first time in two-and-a-half years
that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It happens, we've got to make
sure we're determined enough and have the right desire to overcome it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Harney heartbreak at Cup defeat
WHUFC.com
Jamie Harney says defeat to Accrington Stanley in the FA Youth Cup has left
the Under-18s heartbroken
12.12.2013
Jamie Harney cut a distraught figure after the West Ham United Under-18s
suffered FA Youth Cup heartache against Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night.
The Hammers were knocked out of the competition by virtue of a 2-1 defeat at
the Store First Stadium, with the winning goal coming five minutes before
the end of extra-time. Harney himself had equalised for the visitors two
minutes into the five added on at the end of normal time to force the extra
30 minutes and revealed his disappointment at the defeat. He told West Ham
TV: "Everyone's heartbroken. It wasn't our best performance but we gave
everything we could.
"I know some individuals feel as though they didn't perform to their highest
but we dug in and tried to scrape a result but unfortunately they got a bit
of luck with a chance towards the end and finished it. "We have to move on,
it's a big learning curve for the lads and hopefully we won't feel like this
too many times in our careers."
The defender's header cancelled out Accrington's opener goal, which came
after 49 minutes from Nathan Webb, and stung the Hammers into action. Once
Harney had drawn his team level, there only looked like there would be one
winner in extra-time and that view was shared by the centre-back. "One
hundred per cent, I thought that was the deadlock broken and I thought
everyone was going to get a lift. Extra-time came and we were brilliant in
extra-time, we really were. "We had chance after chance and should have
scored with a few of them but it's one of those games. It was a cup game and
they got one chance in extra-time to finish it. "I have to hold my hands up
and say 'Well done' to Accrington Stanley. They played their hearts out, so
well done to them."
The third round defeat came as a shock to Harney and his team-mates, but he
believes they will learn some valuable lessons from the loss and come back
stronger. "In your career you might play in those sorts of atmospheres. We
were obviously going into the game as favourites and I think we should have
dealt with it better. "I think the occasion might have got to some people
but, then again, we should be able to deal with it and hopefully get
results. A lot of people will take it on the chin and hopefully they can
learn from it. "It was absolutely devastating but we have to learn from it
and just keep going continue with the rest of the season and keep doing well
in the league. Hopefully we can put this behind us and learn from it, that's
the main thing for us."
Next up for Steve Potts' side is a Barclays U18 Premier League home match
against Leicester City on 21 December and the defender has already turned
his attentions to that game. "I think we have to look back on it with the
coaches at what we did wrong. We did do a lot of good stuff tonight but we
just have to look for areas of improvement. "We'll get back on the training
pitch, get back on it, get the lads going again and we've got a league game
against Leicester on 21 December so we'll get back at it and try and keep
the unbeaten run going."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham: Sam Allardyce expects patience from club's owners
BBC.co.uk
Sam Allardyce expects West Ham's owners to show patience with him as
manager, but admits speculation over his position is understandable. The
Hammers sit 17th in the Premier League and the three clubs below them have
changed managers this season. "Everybody will speculate about my position,"
said Allardyce, whose side have one win in eight league games. "The owners
have always shown patience in difficult situations, I hope that will be the
same - I'm sure it will."
A 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday left West Ham above the relegation
zone on goal difference ahead of this weekend's visit of fellow strugglers
Sunderland.
After the same number of games last season, Allardyce's side sat 10th, with
nine more points than they have achieved this term. "I wouldn't have thought
I would have needed a discussion about my future with the owners," added
Allardyce, who succeeded Avram Grant as manager in 2011 and led them to
promotion in his first season. "They are going to stick with me or they are
not, it is entirely up to them and how they see me in the job and how they
see the situation at the moment. "I know that in the end it is about us
getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us all."
The departures of Paolo Di Canio at bottom club Sunderland, Ian Holloway at
19th-placed Crystal Palace and Martin Jol at Fulham in 18th, have increased
speculation that Allardyce could be the next manager to leave his post. He
has been without record-signing Andy Carroll for the entire campaign because
of injury, with his side scoring just 13 times in the league this season.
Only Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Cardiff have found the net less. "It is
the first time we have had a bad run in the two and a half years I have been
here," added Allardyce, 59. "It comes and it will happen, we have got to
make sure we are determined enough and have the right desire to overcome
it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce: no discussions with owners
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 12th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce believes that patience is key to West Ham turning the corner.
The under-pressure Allardyce told the assembled press pack at Chadwell Heath
this morning that no discussions with regards to his immediate future had
taken place with either David Sullivan or David Gold - despite United's
miserable recent record. "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions
with the owners, they're either going to stick with me or they're not,"
retorted Allardyce, when asked if any talks had taken place. "That's
entirely up to them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see
the situation at the moment. "I can only say that when I look at their
history, they've always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a
difficult situation. I hope this will be the same [for me] and I'm sure it
will. At the end [of the day] it's about us getting results again to
alleviate the pressure on us all. "Everyone will speculate about my position
because I'm around other clubs who have got rid of their managers, so they
all perceive that I'm the next in line. It's about picking a few results up
and then the pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the
results and keep the pressure off us all for a while. "From our point of
view we have to keep focused on our own job. It's the first time in
two-and-a-half years that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It
happens, we've got to make sure we're determined enough and have the right
desire to overcome it."
Allardyce will have to do without the likes of Andy Carroll, Winston Reid,
Stewart Downing, Ricardo Vaz Te, Mladen Petric (all injured) plus captain
Kevin Nolan, who is suspended following his unnecessary dismissal at
Liverpool last weekend. However James Tomkins and Guy Demel, both of whom
have been unwell this week, should be fit to play. "We're not in a great
place particularly with the December programme we've got," confirmed
Allardyce. "It's a difficult period for us and we all know what position
we're in with results. "The lads who are available need to step up to the
plate and try and do the business. We hope that James Tomkins will come
through the fitness test but we won't know that until tomorrow so I'll
select the team around that. "Off we go to try and repeat the Fulham
performance against Sunderland - and hopefully get the same result."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers on live again
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 12th December 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's third round FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest is being broadcast
live on TV. With TV executives no doubt sniffing a giant-killing, the
Hammers' trip to the City Ground on Saunday, 5th January has been selected
for live TV coverage. The two clubs have met in the FA Cup on five
occasions previously, with West Ham winning four of those ties compared to
Forest's one. The most famous meeting between the two teams in the FA Cup
came in 1991 when West Ham were beaten heavily on the pitch but scored a
stunning victory on the terraces with a World-recod breaking chant of "Billy
Bonds' claret and blue army".
Previous FA Cup Meetings
30th January 2011: West Ham Utd 3-2 Nottm Forest
(Obinna 3)
FA Cup 3rd Round
4th January 2003: West Ham Utd 3-2 Nottm Forest
(Defoe 2, J Cole)
FA Cup 3rd Round
14th April 1991: Nottm Forest 4-0 West Ham Utd
FA Cup Semi Final
31st January 1925: Nottm Forest 0-2 West Ham Utd
(Yews, Ruffell)
FA Cup 2nd Round
14th January 1911: West Ham Utd 2-1 Nottm Forest
(Shea 2)
FA Cup 1st Round
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has backing of club's board
Last Updated: 12/12/13 3:45pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes he has the full backing of the board
but admits he has not spoken to the club's owners. The Hammers have won just
three times in the Premier League so far this season and head into this
weekend's clash with fellow strugglers Sunderland hovering just above the
drop zone on goal difference. Pressure is mounting on Allardyce but the
59-year-old takes faith in the club's track record with managers and sees no
need for any dialogue. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has trust in his
owners to remain patient as his side look to overcome a difficult period. "I
wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners, they're
either going to stick with me or they're not," said Allardyce. "That's
entirely up to them depending on how they see me in the job and how they see
the situation at the moment. "I can only say when I look at their history
that they've always shown a level of patience to try and overcome a
difficult situation, I hope this will be the same and I'm sure it will. At
the end it's about us getting results again to alleviate the pressure on us
all. "I wouldn't have thought I'd need any discussions with the owners,
they're either going to stick with me or they're not." "Everyone will
speculate about my position because I'm around where all the other clubs are
and all the other clubs have got rid of their managers so they all perceive
that I'm the next in line. "It's about picking a few results up and then the
pressure goes away for a while. Hopefully we can sustain the results and
keep the pressure off us all for a while. From our point of view we have to
keep focused on our own job. "It's the first time in two-and-a-half years
that we've had a bad run since I've been here. It happens, we've got to make
sure we're determined enough and have the right desire to overcome it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce plays down Obafemi Martins links
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 12/12/13
1:00pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce claims he knows nothing about any possible move
for former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins in January. The Hammers are in
the market for striking reinforcements when the transfer window reopens next
month after struggling for goals so far this season. Martins, who currently
plies his trade in America with Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders,
has been mentioned as a possible target to bolster their attacking options.
However Allardyce, who worked with Martins during his time in charge of
Newcastle, says he is in the dark over reports linking the Nigerian with a
loan move to Upton Park during the MLS off-season "I haven't heard anything
about Oba," said Allardyce. "He's playing in America at the moment.
"Everyone knows if we're in the market for a player, we'll be linked with
everybody. We'll deal with that - speculation is speculation."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham co-chairman David Gold offers support for Sam Allardyce
By Pete O'Rourke - Follow me: @skysportspeteo | Last Updated: 12/12/13
3:44pm
SSN
West Ham co-chairman David Gold has offered his backing to under-fire
manager Sam Allardyce. Allardyce's position at West Ham has been the subject
of conjecture with the side sitting just outside the drop zone only on goal
difference. However, Gold is confident Allardyce and the players will turn
things round and he has called on the fans to get behind them as they look
to steer clear of trouble. "I am hugely disappointed with the position we
are in," Gold is quoted as saying in The Sun. "I thought we would be at
least in mid-table. "We have to rely on Sam and the players. "We have to
stick together."
Gold believes West Ham's struggles this season are down to the fact that
they made a mistake in not signing another striker in the summer. West Ham
smashed their transfer record to make Andy Carroll's loan move from
Liverpool permanent and then splashed out another £6million on Stewart
Downing.
Carroll has not played this season due to injury leaving West Ham short of
attacking options and Gold concedes they blundered by putting their eggs in
one basket" by signing Carroll and not bringing in another striker as cover.
Gold insists the club will address the issue in the January transfer window
and look to bring in a new striker. "I thought we had spent our money
wisely," added Gold. "Clearly, we should have bought a centre forward.
That's my opinion. I'm not overly sure that not bringing in a centre-forward
as cover for Andy was the best idea. "It does mean we put all our eggs in
one basket. "It is a dangerous thing, not just in football but in life. "We
were concerned about the balance and we have come unstuck. "But the
opportunity to buy Downing at that price was great value for money. It cut
deeply into our budget. "But nobody thought Andy would be injured - and it
won't be until the next year before we see him. I'm hugely disappointed with
the position we are in. "No stone will be left unturned to bring in new
personnel in January."
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