Daily WHUFC News - 4th January 2014

Nottingham Forest match preview
WHUFC.com
All the need-to-know information ahead of the FA Cup third round tie versus
Nottingham Forest
03.01.2014

NOTTINGHAM FOREST v WEST HAM UNITED
FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER THIRD ROUND
SUNDAY 5 JANUARY 2014
KICK-OFF: 12NOON
REFEREE: MARTIN ATKINSON
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV

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Introduction
• Sam Allardyce's team will be hoping to carry their Capital One Cup form
into the FA Cup having beaten Cheltenham Town, Cardiff City, Burnley and
Tottenham Hotspur to set-up a semi-final with Manchester City.
• Coming into this match West Ham are without a win in seven Barclays
Premier League matches including a 2-1 defeat at Fulham on New Year's day.
• At this stage of the competition last year the Hammers suffered defeat
when they were knocked out by Manchester United after a replay. The tie saw
James Collins score two headers from assists by Joe Cole, who was making his
second 'debut' following his return to the Club.
• West Ham have won their last four meetings with Sunday's opponents,
including a 3-2 win the last time the sides met in the FA Cup - a fourth
round tie at the Boleyn Ground on 30 January 2011. Victor Obinna netted a
hat-trick in that tie.
• Nottingham Forest are currently fifth in the Sky Bet Championship after a
last-minute goal from Reading held them to a 1-1 draw last time out. That
result meant Billy Davies' side made it seven league matches without defeat
ahead of Sunday's match.
• In the third round last year the Reds slipped to a 3-2 home defeat by
League One side Oldham Athletic.
• The last time the two clubs were paired together at this stage of the FA
Cup, Forest travelled to the Boleyn Ground and were beaten 3-2 on 4 January
2003. Joe Cole scored in that game.

Team News

West Ham United
• Mark Noble picked up a calf injury against Fulham and will miss the game
with Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (foot) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder)
all other confirmed absentees.
• James Tomkins (groin) and James Collins (calf) will not be risked so Sam
Allardyce may choose to opt for Dan Potts and Leo Chambers to fill in at the
back.
• Ravel Morrison (groin) may be fit to feature but captain Kevin Nolan will
miss the game through suspension after picking up a red card against Fulham
on Saturday. He starts a four-match ban on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest
• Ex-Hammer Chris Cohen is definitely out of Sunday's clash with a knee
injury which is likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.
• On-loan Sunderland midfielder David Vaughan and Algerian winger Djamal
Abdoun will both be assessed after missing the 1-1 draw with Reading on New
Year's Day.
• Striker Darius Henderson is available following his three-match
suspension.

Last time out

Fulham 2-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday 1 January 2014
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, McCartney, Diarra, O'Brien, Noble (Rat
32), Diame (Downing 56), Taylor, Nolan, Collison, Maiga (C Cole 69)
Subs not used: Adrian, J Cole, Jarvis, Potts
Goal: Diame 7
Sent-off: Nolan

Reading 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Sky Bet Championship
Wednesday 1 January 2014
Nottingham Forest: Darlow, Jara, Lascelles, Hobbs, Lichaj, Chalobah
(Greening 81), Lansbury, Reid, Paterson, Mackie (Derbyshire 68), Halford
(Cox 68)
Subs not used: De Vries, Harding, Majewski, Osborn
Goal: Halford 36

Previous meeting

West Ham climbed to the top of the Championship summit as two Mark Noble
penalties helped them to a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn
Ground on 21 January 2012. A largely forgettable first half was brightened
right at the end when Noble converted after Guy Moussi was controversially
penalised for handball. The midfielder held his nerve from the spot for a
second time as Chris Gunter was the man adjudged to have handled Sam
Baldock's effort after 63 minutes. Lewis McGugan scored a long-range
screamer moments before the final whistle but the Hammers secured all three
points. The teams that afternoon were:
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney, Diop (Lansbury
45), Noble, Collison. Nolan, Cole (Piquionne 86), Baldock (Hall 79)
Subs not used: Faye, Carew
Goals: Noble 45 (pen), 63 (pen)
Nottingham Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Lynch, Cunningham (Anderson 23),
McCleary, Moussi, Greening (Blackstock 56), McGugan, Harewood (Miller 73),
Tudgay
Subs not used: Darlow, Reid
Goal: McGugan 90

Last six meetings (Championship/Division One unless stated)
21 January 2012 - West Ham United 2-1 Nottingham Forest
28 August 2011 - Nottingham Forest 1-4 West Ham United
30 January 2011 - West Ham United 3-2 Nottingham Forest (FA Cup fourth
round)
26 December 2004 - West Ham United 3-2 Nottingham Forest
26 September 2004 - Nottingham Forest 2-1 West Ham United
28 December 2003 - Nottingham Forest 0-2 West Ham United
Overall record v Nottingham Forest (all competitions) W 46 D 27 L 44

Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Nottingham Forest
2012/13 Championship 8th (67 points)
2011/12 Championship 19th (50 points)
2010/11 Championship 6th (75 points)
2009/10 Championship 3rd (79 points)
2008/09 Championship 19th (53 points)
2007/08 League One 2nd (82 points - promoted to Championship)
2006/07 League One 4th (82 points)
2005/06 League One 7th (69 points)
2004/05 Championship 23rd (44 points - relegated to League One)
2003/04 Championship 14th (60 points)

Background
• The largest crowd to witness a West Ham United versus Nottingham Forest
fixture was the 36,589 who turned out for the Hammers' 3-0 Division One win
over the Tricky Trees on 12 April 1968. Brian Dear scored twice and John
Sissons once for the hosts.
• West Ham United caused a massive upset when they beat Nottingham Forest
2-1 in the FA Cup first round on 14 January 1911. Then a Southern League
First Division club, the Hammers scored a victory over their Football League
Division One opponents thanks to two goals from forward Danny Shea.
• West Ham United defender Tony Gale was infamously sent-off in the 1991 FA
Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on 14 April 1991
after a foul on Gary Crosby. Referee Keith Hackett later revealed that he
had been given a directive before the game on the interpretation of the
professional foul rule. Forest would go on to win the game 4-0 but lost 2-1
to Tottenham Hotspur in the final. Future Hammers Gary Charles and Stuart
Pearce filled the full-back positions for Forest in the semi-final.
• Nottingham Forest striker Matt Derbyshire was plucked from the obscurity
of non-league Great Harwood Town by Blackburn Rovers in 2003, having been
recommended to then Rovers chief scout and present West Ham United head of
player recruitment Martyn Glover. Derbyshire appeared for Birmingham City in
the Carling Cup semi-final victory over the Hammers in January 2011.
• Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick in West Ham United's 3-2 FA Cup
fourth-round win over Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn Ground on 30 January
2011. The Nigeria forward is one of four players to score a hat-trick
against Forest alongside Dave Mangnall (September 1935), Frank McAvennie
(May 1992) and Syd Puddefoot, who netted four times in a 5-1 Division Two
victory in April 1920. McAvennie's treble came in his final game for the
Hammers and after the Scot had appeared as a substitute for Mitchell Thomas.
• Nottingham Forest player Chris Cohen played 21 times in all competition
for the Hammers between 2003 and 2006, having come through the youth ranks
at the Boleyn Ground.
• Jim Barrett, Horace Brown, Franz Carr, Gary Charles, Charlie Craig, Colin
Foster, Marlon Harewood, Andy Melville, Ian Moore, Adam Nowland, Stuart
Pearce, Teddy Sheringham and Fred Wallbanks are among those to have worn the
colours of both clubs.
• Fifteen players have made their West Ham United debuts against Nottingham
Forest - Frank Birchenough (April 1920), Vivian Gibbins (December 1923),
William Kaine (October 1924), Arthur Tonner (September 1935), Robert Black
(February 1937), Brian Moore (May 1955), Geoff Hurst (February 1960), Paul
Heffer and Bill Kitchener (March 1967), Bryan 'Pop' Robson (February 1971),
Alexander Clarke (August 1982), Robbie Slater (August 1995), Dani (February
1996), Hayden Mullins (October 2003) and Gavin Williams (December 2004).

Old boys
• Chris Cohen started his career at West Ham United making 22 first team
appearances before leaving to join Yeovil Town in June 2006. The left-footed
player can ply his trade in midfield or defence and has made 251 appearances
for the Tricky Trees since joining the club in July 2007. Cohen will not
feature in Sunday's game due to a knee injury which has ruled him out for
the rest of the season.
• Henri Lansbury made 24 appearances for the Hammers after joining on loan
for the 2011/12 season from Arsenal. A talented midfielder Lansbury made 14
starts and appeared from the bench on ten occasions. The 23-year-old scored
once during his time in east London, the goal coming on his debut against
Portsmouth on 10 September 2011. Lansbury joined Nottingham Forest at the
start of the 2012/13 season and has since gone on to make 55 appearances for
the Tricky Trees and scoring ten goals.
• Nottingham Forest's Danny Collins is a 33-year-old defender who joined
Forest from Stoke City in July 2012. The former Wales international
previously played on loan for West Ham between March and May 2012. During
his stay, Collins made eleven Championship appearances, scoring a last-gasp
equaliser on his full debut at Leeds United on 17 March 2012.
• Jim Barrett, Horace Brown, Franz Carr, Charlie Craig, Colin Foster, Marlon
Harewood, Andy Melville, Ian Moore, Adam Nowland, Stuart Pearce, Teddy
Sheringham and Fred Wallbanks are among those to have worn the colours of
both West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

Referee
• Sunday's match referee will be Martin Atkinson.
• A referee since the age of 16, Atkinson was promoted to the Football
League list of assistant referees in 1998. In 2000, Atkinson was promoted to
the Select Group of assistant referees, allowing him to run the line in
Premier League matches.
• Atkinson joined the National List of referees for the Football League at
the start of the 2003/04 season before taking charge of his first Premier
League fixture on 20 April 2005 when Manchester City entertained Birmingham
City.
• Atkinson was the man in the middle at the 2006 FA Community Shield between
Chelsea and Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He also took
charge of the 2008 FA Trophy final between Ebbsfleet United and Torquay
United at Wembley Stadium.
• Atkinson is refereeing West Ham for the second time this season after
taking charge of the Hammers 3-0 win over Fulham in the Barclays Premier
League in November. He also took charge of the Club's appearance in the
third round of the FA Cup last year when they drew 2-2 at home to Manchester
United.

General information
• Tickets will be available to purchase (cash only) at the Matchday Prices
shown below from the Away Ticket Office (located at the back of the Brian
Clough Stand) from 9am on matchday.
Matchday Standard Ticket Prices
Season Ticket Holders* = £17 Adults, £12 Senior Citizens (aged 65 years and
above), £10 Under 18s and £1 U12s
General Sale = £22 Adults, £16 Senior Citizens (aged 65 years & above), £12
Under 18s and £1 U12s
* Valid Season Ticket Cards must be produced in order to qualify for the
discounted STH rate.
Duplicate tickets previously requested will also be available for collection
from the Away Ticket Office on the matchday.
• Please note that Coach Travel has now SOLD OUT for the above fixture.
• The weather forecast for Sunday is cloudy with heavy rain predicted and
temperatures around 5C (41F).
• There are no trains which arrive in Nottingham in time for Sunday's
kick-off but for returning travel information click here.
• The City Ground is the destination for West Ham United on Sunday as they
play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup with Budweiser third round.

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Haycock backs youngsters to shine
WHUFC.com
Development Squad manager Nick Haycock believes his U21s can impress at
Nottingham Forest
03.01.2014

Development Squad manager Nick Haycock believes West Ham United's young
professionals can seize their chance in Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser
third-round tie at Nottingham Forest. Injuries and suspensions mean Hammers
manager Sam Allardyce will take a number of the Club's U21 squad to the City
Ground. The likes of Dan Potts, Leo Chambers and Elliot Lee have already
featured for the first team this season, while Matthias Fanimo, Blair
Turgott - back from a successful loan spell at Colchester United - and new
signing Jaanai Gordon will hope to bolster the attack if called upon. "It's
pleasing because we've had our own successes with having players in and
around the first team this season," said Haycock. "It is difficult for
players to break through into the Premier League because of the financial
pressures of staying in there. "It's four-year plans that we have in place
with these players [from the age of 18]. The Board and the manager have
backed the system and the long-term planning we have with these players. "In
the short-term, if players get chances in the cup competitions then it's an
ideal opportunity for them to stake their claim. Opportunities come at
different times in people's careers, so when they get it, they have to take
it."

On Sunday, that opportunity could come against an experienced Nottingham
Forest team which sits fifth in the Championship and has lost just four
league games out of 24 this season. "In terms of attitude, I have no
concerns over the boys who will travel up for the game," Haycock continued.
"What they'll have to do is handle the extra pressure and expectation levels
of playing in front of a crowd and against league opposition. "I've got full
confidence that they will hold their own and it'll be nice for the manager
to see that first-hand as he is taking a team with young players in it and
gets a feel for them. I think it's a fantastic opportunity for them. "All
players talk but talk is cheap. In football it is about your performance and
if they go and perform and do the basics right, as they have done regularly
in the U21 league, then they can show the manager that they can play at
first-team level."

Haycock's youngsters enjoyed an outstanding first half of the season, losing
just one of their ten Barclays U21 Premier League matches and defeating
Bristol City to advance to the last-16 of the Barclays U21 Premier League
Cup. "We did a big staff presentation over at Rush Green before Christmas
where all members of staff fed back on their departments and the targets
they had been set and it was a good day," he confirmed. "It culminated in a
presentation I gave about developing a winning mentality among the 17 to
21-year-olds. "If you look at the work Steve Potts has done with the U18s,
who are also sat near the top of their table, the only blight was the
Accrington game. Even then, if you look at the stats, it was a game we
should have put to bed but never did. Those U18s will now push into the
U21s. "The target at the start of the season was to develop a winning
mentality and to push players through the age-groups and we now do that on a
regular basis from the U9s upwards. "You'll now see two different squads
after Christmas with U21s going up into the first team or out on good
Football League loans, with the U18s being given the chance to play in the
U21s. We're in a good position. "The league positions may drop a little, but
our goal is to give Sam as many players at the highest quality that we can."

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Andy Malcolm - 1933-2013
WHUFC.com
West Ham United great Andy Malcolm has passed away at the age of 80
03.01.2014

Everyone at West Ham United was deeply saddened to learn that Andy Malcolm
has passed away at the age of 80. A true West Ham great, Malcolm was voted
the very first Hammer of the Year in 1958 after being ever-present in the
Division Two title-winning side of the same year. A wing-half famed for his
ability to nullify even the most talented of opponents, Malcolm played 306
first-team games for the Club between 1953 and 1961, scoring four goals. A
tough-tackling, limpet-like man marker who never gave his opponents a
moment's peace, Malcolm was born just a stone's throw from the Boleyn Ground
on 4 May 1933.
After joining from Dury Falls Secondary School in Hornchurch and coming the
junior ranks, Malcolm became West Ham's first-ever England youth
international.
He was handed a first-team debut at the age of 20 on 5 December 1953, when
he lined up alongside the likes of Ernie Gregory, John Bond, Frank
O'Farrell, Malcolm Allison, Dave Sexton and John Dick in a 2-1 Division Two
defeat at Notts County. Over the next seven-and-a-half seasons, he would
rarely miss a game, and was ever-present as West Ham won the Division Two
title in dramatic fashion in 1957/58.

Indeed, that season was also Malcolm's most prolific as he netted three of
his four career goals for the Club, scoring against Swansea Town, Bristol
City and Cardiff City. The following campaign, 1958/59, Malcolm shut down
some of the finest attackers in the country, including Chelsea's Jimmy
Greaves and Fulham's Johnny Haynes, as West Ham finished sixth on their
return to Division One. Although a senior England cap eluded him, Malcolm's
form saw him named in the Football League representative side alongside Bond
which took on the Scottish League in October 1958. The popular wing-half's
time at the Boleyn Ground came to an end in November 1961, when he joined
London rivals Chelsea in a deal which saw a £11,000 fee and player Ron
Tindall move in the opposite direction.

Malcolm spent just a few months at Stamford Bridge before moving to Queens
Park Rangers in October 1962. There, under manager Alec Stock, he played his
part as the Hoops embarked on the greatest period in the club's history.
After leaving Loftus Road in 1965, Upton Park-born Malcolm played for South
African sides Westview Apollon and Port Elizabeth City before returning to
England with non-league Brentwood Town. Following his retirement in the late
1960s, Malcolm was landlord of three public houses in Essex before returning
to South Africa on a permanent basis in 1986. It was there, in the city of
Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province, that he passed away following a
short illness on Boxing Day 2013. Tributes have poured in from Malcolm's
former West Ham team-mates, including Frank O'Farrell - West Ham's oldest
surviving Hammer at 86 - and European Cup Winners' Cup winner Joe Kirkup. "I
knew Andy very well as he played right half while I played left half," said
O'Farrell. "He was a very determined player, a tough tackler with a good
attitude. It is very sad news and I will include Andy and his family in my
prayers."

"I had just joined the West Ham staff when I first met Andy Malcolm," added
Kirkup. "He was very good to me. I remember both Andy and Ken Brown helped
me to buy my first car. I was only 17 and they came with me to Elephant &
Castle to ensure everything was fine. He was such a tough tackler and I
would back Andy against anyone. "I remember we were playing a friendly in
Wales and I got hit hard and was concussed on the pitch. Andy came over to
ensure I was ok and I said I was seeing two of everyone. 'Kick the one that
moves' was his response!"

Tim Crane is the editor of EX Magazine and spoke to Malcolm by telephone
just last month while researching for his upcoming book 'They Played with
Bobby Moore'. "You talk to the players who played with him and they all hold
him in the highest possible esteem, telling me he is the best man-marker
West Ham have ever had," said Crane. "Some players called him a 'Shadow'
because they were more likely to get a kick from Andy than a kick of the
ball! "I spoke to Andy myself just a month ago and he obviously loved his
time at West Ham. He was part of the group of players that included the
likes of John Bond and Ken Brown and was in the team when a young Bobby
Moore came through. "There are lots of great stories about Andy. In the
early 2000s he bumped into Johnny Haynes at an airport and Johnny went up to
him and said 'You are still following me around closely after all these
years!'."

Malcolm will be laid to rest at a funeral service in Port Elizabeth on
Friday 10 January. Everyone at West Ham United would like to pass on their
sincere condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.

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'You can only control the future'
WHUFC.com
Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United cannot afford to dwell on past
disappointments
04.01.2014

Jussi Jaaskelainen says West Ham United have no choice but to give
everything to end their recent struggles. The Hammers have endured a
difficult 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season so far, winning just three
of their opening 20 matches and sitting 19th in the table, three points from
safety. On top of the indifferent results, West Ham are dealing with a
lengthy injury list and will be without captain Kevin Nolan, who starts a
four-match suspension by missing Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser third-round
trip to Nottingham Forest. Goalkeeper Jaaskelainen has also had a
rollercoaster campaign, keeping eight clean sheets in his opening 16 league
appearances before being left out of two matches over the Christmas period
and returning to the side against West Bromwich Albion on 28 December. A
veteran of more than 700 senior appearances, the 38-year-old has seen it all
before and is no panicking about either his own or his Club's position. "It
is tough times at the moment and it seems that everything we do is going
against us," said the No22. "We need to keep believing that we will turn it
around. It is just the little fractions that we are getting wrong."

Jaaskelainen has found himself playing behind an unfamiliar back four - or
three - in recent games, with centre-backs Winston Reid, James Collins and
James Tomkins all missing games due to injury. The constant chopping and
changing of the defence in front of him has presented the goalkeeper with
the challenge of trying to organise and communicate with a different back
line in virtually every game. "You do cope with it," he explained. "You try
to prepare the same for every individual game and go from there really. You
just have to work hard and do your best. "If you look at the team, we have
got loads of injuries at the moment - that's not an excuse, but it is a
little bit against you. I think we still have enough quality to come to
places like Fulham and get something out of the game. But we must keep doing
what we are doing and hopefully turn it around. "With regard to the
defensive injuries, you just have to get it on with it, really. Joey O'Brien
and George McCartney are both experienced players and they can cope with
that for a few games and hopefully then we can start getting our
centre-halves back."

Jaaskelainen also had to contend with losing his own place for the first
time since joining the Club in summer 2012, missing the Barclays Premier
League defeats by Manchester United and Arsenal either side of Christmas.
"Obviously I was disappointed to be on the bench, because of the way we
started the season with eight clean sheets in 16 games, but that is part and
parcel of football - sometimes you get dropped. "But you just need to
approach the next game and leave everything behind you. The only thing you
can control is the future."

Jaaskelainen returned for the 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion and kept
his place at Fulham on New Year's Day. At Craven Cottage, the Finn was
powerless to prevent the home side prevailing against a West Ham team
weakened by a calf injury to Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan's sending-off.
Indeed, the defeat could have been heavier had Jaaskelainen not made fine
second-half saves to deny Adel Taarabt and Darren Bent. "The sending-off
obviously changed the game a little bit, but even when you have got ten men
you still have chances and you are still in the game. They passed it very
well in the second half, though. With the way they scored the second goal we
can see that. "That is the way it goes sometimes, but we have to make sure
that we do the right things in the cup game on Sunday, though everybody
knows the main focus is definitely on the Premier League and we need to
start getting on an unbeaten run."

That unbeaten run could start at the City Ground on Sunday, where the
Hammers take on Sky Bet Championship promotion-chasers Nottingham Forest in
the FA Cup with Budweiser third round. Following that, West Ham travel to
Manchester City for a Capital One Cup semi-final first leg next Wednesday
evening and Jaaskelainen believes a break from Barclays Premier League
action could benefit the squad. "Maybe it is a good thing with the injuries
we have at the moment.
It gives us a little bit more time for the boys to recover and obviously it
is good for our skipper that his suspension goes through the cup as well."

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Big Sam on: Nottingham Forest
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce spoke to the media ahead of Sunday's FA Cup with Budweiser
third-round tie
03.01.2014

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce said youth will be given a chance when
the Hammers travel to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup with Budweiser third
round. Big Sam will take his weakened squad to the City Ground for a Sunday
lunch-time tie, with a place in the last 32 up for grabs. With Andy Carroll,
Winston Reid, James Collins, James Tomkins, Mark Noble, Ricardo Vaz Te and
the suspended Kevin Nolan all unavailable and Ravel Morrison struggling with
a groin injury, the manager will shuffle his pack. The fit-again Stewart
Downing, Adrian, Matt Jarvis, Joe Cole and Carlton Cole could all start
against Billy Davies' side. Defenders Leo Chambers and Dan Potts could be
given further chances to impress, while fellow young professionals Pelly
Ruddock and Blair Turgott have been re-called from loan spells at Luton Town
and Colchester United respectively and could also feature. Speaking to the
media ahead of Sunday's tie, Big Sam admitted he has no choice but to rotate
his squad ahead of next week's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at
Manchester City and Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Cardiff City.
"It's backs to the wall at the minute as far as players available are
concerned for the games that are coming up," the manager admitted. "So, we
have to roll with what we've got and with the games coming as thick as fast
as a they are, a lot of the younger players will now be escalated into the
first-team level to see if they can master the challenge and show us what
they've got in terms of ability, starting at Nottingham Forest on Sunday."

The manager - who returns to the city where he won the Division Three title
with Notts County in 1998 - said Ravel Morrison returned to training after a
groin injury on Friday and could also be involved on Sunday - one of a
number of promising young players who will look to make their mark against
the Sky Bet Championship promotion-chasers. "At the moment, my senior squad
comprises about 14 fit players, so that's why all the U21s will be promoted
up into the squad of 25 to face these next group of fixtures. "The younger
professionals will be tested. They were all tested in the summer when we
took them away [on pre-season] and we've got to make the squad up with at
least seven or eight U21 players, who will get the opportunity to play
against Nottingham Forest and show us what I can do. We'll ask them 'Are you
good enough to play for West Ham?'. "Everyone says 'When are you going to
start playing your youngsters?' so we're going to start playing them. If we
don't win, they'll say 'He's undermining the FA Cup', so here I am in a
no-win situation. "We had one or two little digs before we played Tottenham
in the Capital One Cup about the team we were going to play and we won! My
job is to put the best available team out, bearing in mind what I've got
after that and the injuries I've got."

"Before the U21 league shut down before Christmas, they were top of it. We
all know there is a big jump between there and the first team, but they are
top of that league so they are proving that around the country, whoever
they've played, they've been better than their opponents. "Most of them,
we've tried to put out on loan at first-team level somewhere, and now these
lads will get a chance alongside a number of experienced players on Sunday.
"Nottingham is a fantastic city with two fantatic clubs, so it's a very good
fixture. The team we send out should really look forward to the game because
it's one for them to prove an awful lot of what they can do in the future."

While he will not be available on Sunday, Big Sam also revealed that Andy
Carroll is now training with the first-team squad. "Andy will be assessed
after every training session and he'll be out training with the lads on
Friday, which he has done for a few days now. Andy playing football is
something we have to take big care about, because he is fit from the injury
but not match-fit. "If he or any player plays too many games too soon, it
can only promote more injuries - not in the same area but in different areas
in terms of muscle fatigue and strains. I have to be very careful about when
I play him and how often I play him. "As soon as we can, he'll start from
the bench and we'll arrange games behind closed doors to get his
match-fitness up, as we will sooner or later with Ricardo Vaz Te and Winston
Reid, who are both getting closer to training. Andy is the nearest at the
moment."

While stories have circulated suggesting some managers are not concerned
about progressing in the FA Cup, Big Sam said he had nothing but the utmost
respect for the world's most famous knockout competition. At the same time,
he said the relative lack of pressure of FA Cup football presents him with a
great opportunity to test young professionals in a first-team fixture away
from the intense spotlight of the Barclays Premier League. "My view of the
competition is that it's fabulous and has great history and tradition. There
is no doubt about that, but if you are in the position we are and have the
injuries that we have, then there is only one major priority at this
football club - the Barclays Premier League. Tthat won't change for any
football club, irrespective of who they are.
"The FA Cup is a great competition but at this stage of the season, when we
face a third-round tie on the back of a heavy, heavy schedule, it becomes
less of a priority to all of the other competitions we're involved in -
especially when we have a League Cup semi-final at Manchester City up at the
Eithad Stadium three days later."

When asked about his own future, Big Sam said his discussions with the Board
had focused on players and improving results and the Club's league position.
"The position is that we're talking about trying to bring new players into
the football club and trying to overcome the injury problems that we've got.
"In terms of my discussions with David Sullivan, David Gold and Karren
Brady, when they're talking to me it's about positive action to get us out
of the situation that we're in, which I'm very grateful for."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nottm Forest v West Ham
KO 12:00
3 January 2014
FA CUP THIRD ROUND
Venue: City Ground Date: Sunday, 5 January Kick-off: 12:00 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio, Final Score

Nottingham Forest midfield duo David Vaughan and Djamel Abdoun both face a
race to be fit for Sunday. Darius Henderson will be available again after
serving his suspension.

West Ham captain Kevin Nolan starts a four-match ban while Mark Noble (calf)
is also sidelined. They join a lengthy list of absentees which will force
Sam Allardyce to give game time to up to seven of his youth players.

Stats

Forest beat West Ham 4-0 in the 1991 FA Cup Semi-final at Villa Park. Brian
Clough's team went on to lose to Tottenham in the Final.
The teams have met five times in the FA Cup. Forest's victory in the 91 Semi
Final is their only FA Cup success against West Ham. The Hammers have won
each of the other four FA Cup meeting between the two.
They most recently met in the fourth round in 2011, when West Ham won 3-2 at
Upton Park. The last two FA Cup meetings between the two have ended in a 3-2
win for West Ham at Upton Park.
Forest have won the Cup on two occasions. They first won the trophy in 1898
and most recently in 1959.
West Ham won the Cup in 1975 and 1980 but were beaten on penalties by
Liverpool in the 2006 Final in Cardiff.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Malcolm
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammer Andy Malcolm has died at the age of 80.

A key member of Ted Fenton's 1958/59 promotion-winning side, Malcolm - who
was born just a short distance from the Boleyn Ground - spent nine years as
a pro at the club which he joined shortly after the cessation of war in
1948, before making his first team debut some five years later at the age of
20.

Within the space of six years he had became one of the club's most important
players, and along with fellow luminaries such as John Dick, Vic Keeble,
John Bond, Ken Brown, Noel Cantwell, Malcolm Musgrove and John Smith he
helped West Ham take their place in the first division for the first time
since 1932 when winning the Second Division in 1957/58.

A right-sided wing half by trade, Malcolm was the club's very first England
Youth international and also the first recipient of West Ham United's Hammer
of the Year award in 1958. He went on to make 283 appearances for West Ham
before joining Chelsea in 1962, having been frozen out by Fenton's
successor, Ron Greenwood.

After just one season at Chelsea he moved to Queens Park Rangers for a
further two years before moving to South Africa briefly to play - a country
to which he would return in 1986 in order to live the reminder of his life.

After retiring from football in 1968 at the age of 35 - a decent innings for
a pro of the day - Malcolm turned to the pub trade, as so many players did
in the '60s, to become the landlord of Essex pubs The Ship and Anchor (at
Maldon, Essex) and The Lion (Latchingdon).

Malcolm died on Boxing Day, 2013, just five months after former team mate
Phil Woosnam passed away and little over a year after Jimmy Andrews. He will
be laid to rest in Port Elizabeth on Friday 10th January.

The thoughts of all at KUMB.com are with Andy's family at this sad time.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam: it's my fault
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Sam Allardyce has taken full responsibility for West Ham's current malaise,
telling supporters "it is my responsibility".

Of the five clubs at the bottom of the table, the Hammers manager is the
only coach who began the season in charge to remain in place with
Sunderland, Cardiff, Fulham and Crystal Palace all having twisted (to
varying degrees of success) since August.

Despite being heavily criticised in the media, Allardyce continues to enjoy
the backing of at least half the club's fan base, according to a poll on
KUMB.com, and more importantly that of his employers.

However he had no qualms in holding his hands up to accept full
reponsibility for the mess West Ham currently find themselves in. Speaking
to the Evening Standard, he said: "When you are going through a bad time, as
we are, there is often the human reaction of it's somebody else's fault.

"The bottom line though, as manager, is that it is my fault because it is my
responsibility. That's life and experience helps. I know the reasons why and
I do my best to explain them. If some people outside the club won't accept
the explanation, I can do nothing about that.

"What everyone here at the club must do is get these injured players fit
and, more importantly, keep them fit for the rest of the season. We have to
maintain an above mid-table performance level now to get ourselves into a
position of safety.

"That's perfectly possible, but we need everyone fit and staying fit."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers hoping to take giant strides forward
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are poised to take giant Monaco-bound striker Lacina Traore on loan
for the rest of the season. The Mail Online claim that Monaco are prepared
to allow Traore to leave on loan for the remainder of the current campaign -
a situation that is said to have alerted the Hammers, who are now considered
favourites to land the player. Traore moved to the French club earlier this
year after they beat off challenges from the likes of Manchester United and
Liverpool to land the promising youngster from Russian club Anzhi
Makhachkala, for whom he had scored 15 goals in 28 starts - the last of
which came in a 2-2 Russian Premier League draw with Lokomotiv Moscow last
July. The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international stands an impressive 6'8"
tall - the same height as Manchester City's Romanian goalkeeper Costel
Pantilimon, who is the tallest player ever to feature in the Premier League.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce denies having crisis talks at Upton Park
Last Updated: 03/01/14 7:05pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce has denied having crisis talks at West Ham and claimed his
position is not under threat. The Hammers go into their FA Cup third-round
clash with Nottingham Forest on Sunday sitting 19th in the Premier League
after losing 2-1 at fellow strugglers Fulham on New Year's Day. Allardyce's
side have picked up just two points from their last seven games but the
59-year-old has denied reports that he has been the subject of crisis talks
with the club's owners.
"I talk to the board members all the time, but what I say with them has
nothing to do with you," he said when asked if he had spoken to the owners
following the Fulham loss. "In terms of support from David Gold, David
Sullivan and Karren Brady, at the moment when they are talking to me it is
about positive action to try and help get ourselves get out of the situation
we are in, which I'm very grateful for." "What happens is internal with
those people as far as I'm concerned, not what happens publicly. "If it was
a crisis position we are in they would come and sack me, the position we are
in is that we are talking about bringing new players in to the football club
and overcome the injuries we have got. "In terms of support from David Gold,
David Sullivan and Karren Brady, at the moment when they are talking to me
it is about positive action to try and help get ourselves get out of the
situation we are in, which I'm very grateful for."

Allardyce has seen his squad decimated by injuries in the past couple of
months and will be without defensive trio James Collins, Winston Reid and
James Tomkins against Forest with Ricardo Vaz Te and Mark Noble also injured
and captain Kevin Nolan banned. With those key players absent, and a Capital
One Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City just three days later,
Allardyce will turn to his Under-21 players for the trip to the East
Midlands on Sunday and he is hoping they will see it as a chance to impress
on a bigger stage. "At the moment, my senior squad comprises about 14 fit
players, so that's why all the Under-21s will be promoted up into the squad
of 25 to face these next group of fixtures," he said. "The younger
professionals will be tested. They were all tested in the summer when we
took them away [on pre-season] and we've got to make the squad up with at
least seven or eight Under-21 players, who will get the opportunity to play
against Nottingham Forest and show us what I can do. We'll ask them 'Are you
good enough to play for West Ham?'. "We all know there is a big jump between
there and the first team. Most of them we have tried to put out on loan at
first-team level somewhere and now these lads will get a chance alongside a
number of experienced players on Sunday."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nottingham Forest face West Ham United at the City Ground
Last Updated: 03/01/14 5:35pm
SSN

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce will be looking to deploy young
players during his side's FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest. With captain
Kevin Nolan starting a four-match ban and fellow midfielder Mark Noble
sidelined with a calf injury, the Hammers boss is likely to use seven of his
youth team squad at the City Ground for their third-round clash with the
Championship outfit. James Tomkins and James Collins are both sidelined with
groin injuries, while Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (heel) and Ricardo
Vaz Te (shoulder) are also injured. Mladen Petric has been released after
his short-term deal expired. Meanwhile, Forest may have to stage an upset
against their Premier League visitors without midfielders David Vaughan and
Djamel Abdoun. While Vaughan, on loan from Sunderland, is struggling with a
thigh injury, Abdoun has issues with match fitness after pulling himself out
of the squad against Reading on New Year's Day. However, manager Billy
Davies will have striker Darius Henderson back from suspension for
Saturday's encounter, while midfielder Jamie Paterson should start yet again
for Forest.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce confident Andy Carroll will come good at West Ham
Last Updated: 03/01/14 6:23pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has defended his decision to sign Andy
Carroll and insists the striker will be a success at the club. Carroll
scored seven goals during a loan spell at West Ham last season, but has been
out of action since arriving at the Boleyn Ground in a £15m transfer from
Liverpool last June.
The 24-year-old has been on the sidelines because of a heel problem since
signing a six-year contract with the Hammers, but is back in training with
the first-team. The Hammers are second bottom in the Premier League having
won just three games this season, and focus has turned to the absence of the
club's record transfer. Allardyce said: "We thought Andy would be fit around
August. In the long term I'm convinced it will be a great thing for Andy to
be at this club."

The Hammers boss admitted he was frustrated by defender Johnny Heitinga's
decision to reject a loan move from Everton. Allardyce told a London evening
newspaper: "I spent three hours with him on Wednesday and everything seemed
fine and rosy. For whatever reason, though, by yesterday morning he had
changed his mind. "I suspect a better offer had come his way but I can't be
sure of that. Anyway, the reality is that the deal is dead."

Meanwhile, Allardyce is likely to play some of his fringe players when his
team play Championship high-fliers Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this
weekend.
"A lot of the younger players will be escalated into the first team to see
if they can master it, particularly in the cup on Sunday," Allardyce added.
One of those players could be Pelly Ruddock who has returned to West Ham
from his loan spell at Luton, where the centre-back impressed manager John
Still. "I can't speak for West Ham but I can tell you he's a good player
with good potential if he gets a chance I think he will do okay," Still
said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
STEVE BRUCE SUCCESS MUST BE HARD TO TAKE FOR DAVIDS!
By Hugh Southon 3 Jan 2014 at 18:59
West Ham Till I Die

You can't help getting the feeling that the two Davids feel somebody up
there really is trying to rub salt into some weeping wounds right now!

And no I'm not talking about the injuries which have at best turned the club
into a near episode of 'Casualty' and at worse a 'Hammers House of Horrors.'

I'm talking more of events up in Hull where the Irons co-chairmen's former
favourite boss Steve Bruce has turned a squad, not unlike our own, in terms
of age and quality, into an outfit which currently holds the 10th place in
which we finished last season.

Bruce has probably been the most under-estimated boss of the season and his
team's 6-0 defeat of Fulham last weekend put ours by them into the sharpest
possible perspective on New Year's Day.

Were it not for a fall-out between the two Davids former Birmingham City
boss and themselves over image rights at St Andrew's a few years back you
wonder whether he wouldn't have been the West Ham manager some little time
ago.

Bruce – who is ironically a great mate of Sam Allardyce's – has done one
heck of a job at Hull and could easily have done the same at Upton Park.
Current events do get you thinking in some diverse directions don't they?

The whole issue of Allardyce's current plight has been discussed ad nauseum
and a poll on my own website at www.claretandhugh..co.uk produced an
overwhelming response that he should go.

Elsewhere on Kumb.com the split has been about 50-50 and as one person
commented: "That's probably because those voting for him to stay can see no
one to replace him."

I have been told privately that at a meeting between himself and the owners
yesterday Big Sam gave a 100 per cent guarantee that the club would remain a
Premier League club this season.

He pleaded privately, apparently, what he has said publicly on several
occasions, that once all the injured players return we will be fine but
there's something of a flaw in that logic for me…SAM THE RESULTS WEREN'T
VERY GREAT WHEN EVERYBODY WAS FIT!

In the meantime you look around and wonder who the hell could possibly save
a team rock bottom on confidence, results and with a skipper who has
disgraced himself to way beyond acceptable limits.

A very good friend of mine said to me today: " I believe West Ham needs need
a huge momentum shift – a grand gesture involving a big name football person
whose appointment would send out a clear message to the dressing room that
things are going in a totally different direction."

He then mentioned the widely respected Gary Neville or even United coach
Ryan Giggs. It's an interesting thought but were Steve Bruce to ever become
available and former differences with DS and DG patched up maybe, just maybe
that could work!

At least it's different and a step off the same old merry go round or
arguments….Thoughts?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's transfer window task almost impossible admits
relegation-threatened Sam Allardyce
Jan 03, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has claimed signing players in January is virtually impossible
with West Ham in the bottom three. The Hammers' boss revealed Dutch defender
Johnny Heitinga had agreed to join their relegation fight, before opting to
stay on the Everton sidelines. With only 14 fit first-team players, Big Sam
will send out kids from his Under-21 team in the FA Cup against Nottingham
Forest on Sunday. Those young stars are also set to play in the Capital One
Cup semi-final first leg at Manchester City on Wednesday and then in the
Premier League, unless new players are brought in soon. Joleon Lescott,
Asamoah Gyan and Nikica Jelavic remain on the wish-list, but Allardyce said:
"I knew it was going to be nearly impossible anyway in this window. "As
always, the window is an impossible scenario to deal with. To have to work
in it under the circumstances we have makes it even more difficult - you
have got players who will look around and say, 'Do I want to go to a team in
the bottom three? Do I want to go for that fight?' "Perhaps some of them
will say, 'No. I might as well stay and play the odd game'. You just keep
searching and looking." Allardyce met Heitinga after Wednesday's defeat to
Fulham and thought he had struck a deal.
"I don't know what changed his mind," said the frustrated Irons boss. "By
the following morning he'd had a change of heart and decided it wasn't for
him. Did he call me direct? No."

Allardyce was remarkably upbeat on Friday - and revealed spending time with
his grandchildren had lifted his mood. But he was less keen to talk about
the future of his captain and double red-card villain Kevin Nolan, or the
nature of his talks with the club's owners. "I speak to the board all the
time but what I say to them has nothing to do with you," he snapped. "If it
was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me. The situation is that
we are talking about bringing in new players to this football club and
overcome the injuries we have go."

Allardyce said he was considering stripping Nolan of the captaincy after his
Fulham sending off, but "I haven't made that decision yet."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce: I would have been sacked if there was a crisis at West Ham
Jan 03, 2014 14:22 By Neil McLeman 3 Comments
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has claimed he would already have been sacked if there was a
real crisis at Upton Park. The West Ham boss saw his injury-hit team slip
into the bottom three after picking up only two points in December and will
field U21 players for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Championship side Nottingham
Forest.
But asked if he had been given a vote of confidence by the club's owners,
Big Sam said: "I talk to the board members all the time but what I say to
the board has got nothing to do with you. "If it were a crisis position,
they would come and sack me. The position is that we are talking about
bringing in new players to the club and trying to overcome the injury
problems that we have got. "In terms of support from David Gold, David
Sullivan and Karren Brady - at the moment when they are talking to me it is
about positive action to try and get us ourselves out of the situation which
I am very grateful for."

With West Ham also facing a Capital One Cup semi-final at against Manuel
Pellegrini's Manchester City next week, Allardyce admitted the FA Cup is not
a priority. "There is no change in my point of view - it is a fabulous
competition, it has got great history and tradition," he said. "But if you
are in a position where we are with the injuries that we have, then there is
only one major priority at this football club at all levels, and when I say
all levels that is from the owners all the way down, lies with the Barclays
Premier League and that won't ever change for any football club irrespective
of where they are. "The FA Cup has got great history and tradition but at
this stage of the season, when we face the third round on the back of a
heavy, heavy, heavy schedule, then it becomes less of a priority to all the
other competitions you are involved with, especially if you have got three
days later, like I have, a semi-final against Manchester City up at the
Etihad Stadium."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
No transfer bids for West Ham's Ravel Morrison yet says manager Sam
Allardyce
Jan 03, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman 0 Comments
The Mirror

West Ham have received NO bids for Ravel Morrison, Sam Allardyce revealed on
Friday. The Hammers are willing to listen to offers for the England Under-21
midfielder, who has 18 months on his contract, with any cash raised to be
used to strengthen the Upton Park club's injury-hit squad. But Allardyce
said: "We haven't had an offer yet." Morrison, signed from from Manchester
United for an initial £650,000, faces a fitness test on a groin injury
before Sunday's FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United Make Attempt To Sign Atalanta Centre-Back
ForzaItalianFootball.com

West Ham United are reportedly pushing hard to sign Atalanta defender
Guglielmo Stendardo in the January transfer window. The Hammers are known to
be in the market for a new defender, and have recently targeted Roma's
Argentine international Nicolas Burdisso, but they have now also turned
their attentions to 32-year-old former-Lazio stalwart Stendardo. The
player's contract at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia runs out in June
2015, but according to Tuttomercatoweb, London club West Ham could become a
strong candidates for his signature should he not extend his current deal.
Stendardo has scored four goals in 61 appearances for the Nerazzurri since
making the move to from capital club Lazio in 2011.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam Allardyce hoping Demba Ba will return back to West Ham
Express.co.uk
By: Tony Banks
Published: Sat, January 4, 2014

WEST HAM manager Sam Allardyce made a fresh move to reinforce his depleted
squad last night with a £6million bid for Chelsea striker Demba Ba.
Allardyce badly needs to add firepower to his struggling side, although Andy
Carroll is finally back in training after injury, but former Hammer Ba
turned down a move in August. The 28-year-old has since found himself
marginalised at Chelsea by Jose Mourinho, making two Premier League starts
and scoring once. He netted seven goals in a dozen games for West Ham in
2011, but joined Newcastle before a £7m Chelsea move. The Hammers have also
made a move to take 6ft 8in Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore, 23, on loan
from Monaco, subject to a work permit application.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce is hoping for some Fergie magic when West Ham take on
Nottingham Forest
WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce is facing his "Fergie moment" at Nottingham
Forest tomorrow.
By: John Wragg
Published: Sat, January 4, 2014
Express.co.uk

Allardyce takes his struggling Hammers to the City Ground nearly a quarter
of a century since Sir Alex Ferguson survived his make-or-break FA Cup tie
there with Manchester United. United had not won a league game since
mid-November and were 15th in the table. Ferguson has since admitted he did
not know if the board would back him if they lost. But United won with a
Mark Robins goal and went on to lift the cup – Ferguson's first trophy off
what turned out to be a conveyor belt. Allardyce's Hammers are next to
bottom of the table, three points short of safety and with only three league
wins all season. Owners David Sullivan and David Gold are patient men in an
impatient world and the fact that West Ham are in the semi-finals of the
Capital One Cup could give Allardyce a reprieve even if they are giantkilled
by Championship Forest. Garry Birtles is a Forest hero from when they were
the kings of Europe and played against Allardyce when he was an
uncompromising centre-half for Bolton. "This could be a Big Sam moment,"
said Birtles. "It might be a bit different to the Sir Alex scenario, and you
wonder what sort of team West Ham will put out. "West Ham are desperate to
stay in the Premier League so maybe Allardyce will play a weakened side. But
he has so many injury problems, and Kevin Nolan suspended, it will be a
weakened side anyway. The team he puts out against Forest might be the
strongest he has. "This can be a catalyst. If West Ham do come to Forest,
who are going well – and you could say are possibly favourites to win – and
get something out of this tie it could be a season-changer for them. "West
Ham have done well in the League Cup, but that hasn't turned their fortunes
round in the league, has it? "If West Ham do lose it will put a lot of
pressure on Allardyce. The owners there are very good at giving managers a
chance but when you come to this part of the season and you are in the
bottom three, which wasn't expected, and then you get knocked out of the FA
Cup, boards and owners panic. "That's football now. Very few have got the
bottle to give managers time. "It could be Big Sam's Fergie moment. You
don't want to see him out of the game. I played against him when he was at
Bolton, you know what a player he was, how he played the game, and he
manages the same. There are a lack of characters in football and you want
Sam involved, but the position he is in is not good. "There are ridiculous
decisions made – Harry Redknapp at Spurs, the sacking of Malky Mackay, Nigel
Adkins – and you think, 'What's going on?' And it appears to be getting
worse. "West Ham have got problems and it's the best time for Forest to be
playing them."

Forest are unbeaten in seven games but confrontational manager Billy Davies,
who refused to talk to the media this week and banned his players from doing
so too, is agitating yet again for money to spend on a goalscorer in the
transfer window. Defender Greg Halford has been moved up into the attack and
has responded with three goals in three games. Birtles, who made the switch
the other way during his career, picks Halford as the danger to West Ham.
"He's very dangerous in the air," said Birtles. "If the game was at West Ham
it might be a different proposition, but they won't be looking forward to
taking on Halford at the City Ground."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce's hard-luck stories are wearing as thin as West Ham's defence
ROBIN SCOTT-ELLIOT SPORTS NEWS CORRESPONDENT Saturday 04 January 2014
The Independent

Sam Allardyce has long seen himself as one of football's innovators, a
groundbreaker at Bolton and now pushing the boundaries at West Ham. The man
who dabbled with sending out a striker-less side in the first part of the
season began the New Year by ushering an XI out of the away dressing room at
Craven Cottage on Wednesday without a single centre-half.

Allardyce would no doubt rather be regarded as an English Vicente del Bosque
than a southern Craig Levein, who four years ago fielded a Scotland side in
Prague with no front man. But the result at Fulham, which ensconced West Ham
firmly in the bottom three, shoved him a step closer to joining Levein in
football's dole queue.

Tomorrow's challenging FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest is unlikely to have
any bearing on his future – Allardyce will field a young team – nor next
week's first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City. It
is what comes after that that matters to those in charge at Upton Park.

Blessed with employers who operate with the safety catch on, Allardyce is
safe for now. The Davids, Gold and Sullivan, are not prone to impetuous
firings and have consistently backed their man; Sullivan did so again when
they met on Thursday.

However, there are limits to the co-owners' patience and the first two
months of 2014 will settle Allardyce's fate. By the end of February, they
will have been to Cardiff and Aston Villa and hosted Swansea, Norwich and
Southampton. If West Ham remain rooted in the relegation zone then the
thread by which Allardyce's job is hanging will be cut.

The manager's selection at Fulham was forced by injury as the club have had
misfortune heaped upon medical misfortune. West Ham's defensive solidity was
Allardyce's comfort blanket but since Winston Reid injured an ankle in
training in November, it has been whisked away. James Collins and James
Tomkins are also out, leaving the club without a centre-half – 11 goals have
been conceded in the last four games and there has been a solitary league
win since Reid was sidelined.

Of his 25-strong senior squad, Allardyce has 14 available. Kevin Nolan, so
long Allardyce's stalwart but badly off colour this season, has been fined
two weeks' wages for his second red card in little over a month. He will
serve the first of his four matches suspended tomorrow.

How many more games Andy Carroll will miss remains the £15m question. West
Ham invested much of their transfer kitty on the striker, believing he would
be fit by September. Carroll trained again with the first team, or what's
left of it, yesterday but Allardyce will resist the obvious temptation to
hurry him back. Mid-January is the latest date offered.

Allardyce can point to misfortune at the back but the failure to stock the
striking cupboard is his fault. He has much to do in the transfer window.
Johnny Heitinga said no but the Carroll-esque Lacina Traoré is set to arrive
on loan if he receives a work permit. The 6ft 8in Ivorian was part of Anzhi
Makhachkala's fire sale, joining Monaco but the Ligue 1 side are happy to
loan him out until next season.

Over all this looms the Olympic Stadium. The refitting of West Ham's
54,000-seat home-to-be is under way. In his Christmas message to supporters
Sullivan painted a happy picture of what to expect come 2016."The stadium
will attract better players," he said. "If we're perceived as a big club
with a great stadium in the heart of London, a lot of foreign players who
might not have come will be attracted to West Ham."

It is not a game plan that includes Championship football, as Allardyce is
all too aware. Right now, he admitted yesterday, "life is exceptionally
tough".

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Giant striker Lacina Traore set for West Ham loan
Robin Cottle, Reporter
Friday, January 3, 2014
10:21 PM
London24.com

West Ham are set to sign giant Ivorian striker Lacina Traore on loan for the
rest of the season. The 23-year-old looks to be heading to Monaco from
Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, but will immediately move to Upton Park on
a temporary basis - providing he can get a work permit. Traore is the latest
star Anzhi, bottom of the Russian League this season, are selling after
billionaire owner Sulyeman Kerimov decided to drastically cut funds. The 6ft
8in Ivory Coast forward has scored 21 goals in 29 games for Anzhi and
transfers he has cost £26million from transfers to FC Club in Romania, Kuban
Krasnador and his current club.
Traore has scored four times in seven caps for the Ivory Coast national team
and has faced both Liverpool and Spurs in the Europa League for his current
club - scoring a sublime lob against the former last season. The Hammers
have struggled for goals this season in the continued absence of record
signing Andy Carroll. Only four teams have scored less than 19 goals in the
Premier League this season, and they sit second bottom of the table with
relegation a real threat.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole interests Redknapp
West Ham news: Joe Cole interests Redknapp
Sportsdirectnews.com
Exclusive
by Hugh Southon
3rd January 2014 9:00pm GMT

West Ham United look certain to bid farewell to Upton Park favourite son Joe
Cole in the summer. Thirty-two-year old Cole has an indifferent record this
season and SportsDirect News has learned exclusively he interests his first
boss Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers. The Loftus Road manager is
heading back towards the Premier League with his team currently sitting in
third place, five points behind leaders Leicester City. Redknapp believes
that Cole is a player whom can still make an impact at the highest level
with the right handling but that he could prove a strong performer should
the club find itself still at Championship level. Cole himself will walk
away as a free agent in the summer and word from inside the club is that he
is likely to leave. Redknapp is currently eyeing another Hammer - striker
Carlton Cole - whose current contract at Upton Park runs out in mid January
and is known to be interested in adding his namesake. A source told us
exclusively: "Joe hasn't had the number of opportunities he would have
expected and is likely to move on."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Blair Turgott heads back to West Ham after Colchester United loan ends
Last updated Fri 3 Jan 2014
Itv.com

Colchester United loanee Blair Turgott has returned to West Ham after his
loan spell came to an end. The 19-year-old winger joined the U's in
November, and scored his first goal for the club against Stevenage on Boxing
Day. Turgott made four appearances in total at the Weston Homes Community
Stadium.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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Daily WHUFC News - 3rd January 2014

Diarra disappointed at Fulham reverse
WHUFC.com
Alou Diarra was disappointed to see another lead go to waste at Fulham on
Wednesday
02.01.2014

Alou Diarra started his first Barclays Premier League game in nearly a year
at Fulham on Wednesday, but the Cottagers' 2-1 victory meant it was not a
happy return to starting action for the Frenchman. Diarra started the game
at centre-half with injuries keeping all three of the Hammers' frontline
defenders injured, and the Hammers saw a lead go to waste after Mo Diame put
them in front early on. Steve Sidwell and Dimitar Berbatov then found the
net to keep the points in west London, while the visitors' task was made all
the more difficult by Kevin Nolan's sending off on the stroke of half time.
"It wasn't the result we wanted," Diarra said. "We lost at Fulham and it was
difficult to play ten against eleven for the second half. "We tried to do
our best, but we were unlucky in the end. We scored the first goal and had a
big chance to score a second, so to concede from a corner was a big
disappointment, "Now we must recover and win the next game."

The Hammers have now not made the most of leads in their last three games,
having gone in front against Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham, and
Diarra is well aware that their generosity has to stop. He continued: "It is
frustrating that we've had the lead in the last three games and only taken
one point from them. It's not enough and we must do better. "But if we
continue to play with this solidarity, it will get easier for us."

Diarra felt comfortable in the more unfamiliar position of centre-half on
Wednesday, and he wants to play his part as the Hammers try to turn their
season around. He added: "I've played at centre-back sometimes, so it was ok
to play there again on Wednesday before the red card and injury to Mark. "We
changed tactics then and I went back into the middle. I felt that before
their equaliser we were in control of the game and had the chance to score.
"When we lost Kevin, we conceded too many chances and ended up losing the
game."

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Johnny Heitinga rejects West Ham but expects to leave Everton
BBC.co.uk

Everton defender Johnny Heitinga has turned down a move to West Ham despite
the two clubs agreeing terms for the 30-year-old's transfer. "You have to be
convinced that you are taking the right step and I was not," said Heitinga.
"It is not about money because that was not the problem with a move to West
Ham. I'm confident I will find another club before 31 January." West Ham
need cover for injured centre-backs James Tomkins and James Collins. Hammers
boss Sam Allardyce said on Wednesday that he was hopeful of concluding a
deal for Heitinga, but will now have to look elsewhere. Heitinga, who signed
for Everton from Atletico Madrid for £7m in 2009, has lost his place in the
Netherlands squad after failing to make a single Premier League appearance
this season for the Toffees.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carlton Cole: Harry Redknapp wants West Ham striker at QPR
BBC.co.uk

QPR manager Harry Redknapp would be interested in signing Carlton Cole if
West Ham do not renew his contract. The 30-year-old striker's deal at Upton
Park expires this month. "It's difficult as he belongs to West Ham still.
Sam Allardyce has his own problems with injuries and everything there,"
Redknapp told BBC London 94.9. "Carlton is a good player and I like him. He
is one of many players we are looking at but if West Ham decide to keep him
it can't happen."

Cole rejoined the Premier League club on a three-month deal in mid-October
and has scored three goals in 12 appearances for the Hammers. Redknapp is
eager to bolster his forward options in the transfer window, with just three
senior strikers currently on the books at Loftus Road. Charlie Austin has
often been deployed as a lone frontman this season as Andrew Johnson and
Bobby Zamora have struggled for fitness. Since joining from Burnley in
August, Austin has scored 11 league goals but Rangers have struggled to find
the net in the Championship. QPR have scored 26 goals in their 24 games but
only seven clubs in the division have scored fewer - with five of those
seven teams in the bottom six. The west London side's promotion push has
been based on their mean defence, which has been breached only 14 times, and
Redknapp is adamant they will bring in another striker. "I'm looking for a
proven goalscorer and someone who can come in and do the job," he said. "You
need three or four strikers. That is the key. Leicester have got four
strikers and someone told me they might be taking [Crystal Palace forward]
Kevin Phillips. That would give them five. "You need strikers. You can take
two off and bring two on and you have got options. When you're struggling
with one it's difficult. "Tony [Fernandes, QPR chairman] will get on the
phone with Philip [Beard, QPR chief executive] and they will do the deals if
there are any to be done. I'll leave it to them really."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Heitinga deal off
KUMb.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham's move to sign Everton defender Johnny Heitinga has collapsed, say
reports this morning. The 30-year-old central defender agreed to move to
West Ham for the remainder of the season on New Years Eve. However
Heitinga's agent claimed this morning that the deal will not now go ahead.
Heitinga himself has since spoken to confirm that the deal has fallen
through. "The deal has been cancelled," he told De Telegraaf. "This has
nothing to do with money, but is only about the feeling I got. "This might
be the most important decision of my career, so everything has to be just
right. We reached the conclusion that this is not the case after we held
talks."

Heitinga is now believed to be on his way to Newcastle, who are understood
to have made an eleventh hour bid to sign the player.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Redknapp wants Cole
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Harry Redknapp has told the BBC that he'd like to bring West Ham's Carlton
Cole to QPR during the transfer window. Redknapp - who was considered the
favourite to replace Sam Allardyce by at least one bookie this week should
the current Hammers boss depart - told Radio London that Cole was one a
several players currently on his radar. "It's difficult as he belongs to
West Ham still," said Redknapp, once again demonstrating his willingness to
ignore league rules regarding the discussion of contracted players. "Sam
Allardyce has his own problems with injuries and everything there. "But I'm
looking for a proven goalscorer and someone who can come in and do the job.
Carlton is a good player and I like him. He is one of many players we are
looking at, but if West Ham decide to keep him it can't happen. "Tony
[Fernandes] will get on the phone with Philip [Beard, QPR chief executive]
and they will do the deals if there are any to be done. I'll leave it to
them really." Queens Park Rangers are currently third in the Championship,
five points behind leaders Leicester City and one behind Burnley.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Everton defender John Heitinga turns down West Ham switch
By Gerrit van Leeuwen | Last Updated: 02/01/14 1:25pm
SSN

Everton defender John Heitinga says he turned down a switch to West Ham as
he feels it did not represent a good career move. The 30-year-old admitted
he was looking for a Goodison Park exit after falling out of favour under
Roberto Martinez, prompting the Hammers to make a move while they are short
on defensive cover. Heitinga's only two appearances for the Toffees this
season have come in the Capital One Cup, but he rejected a proposed switch
to Upton Park and will wait for other offers with six months remaining on
his current deal. "At my age it's important to make the right decisions," he
said in a statement released via his agents, Sport Promotion. "Then it's not
all about the money, as that wasn't a problem at West Ham United. You have
to be fully convinced that you will make the right step and I didn't have
that. "Therefore I have cancelled (the move to) West Ham United and we will
now wait for the interest of other clubs. "The interest is there already, so
I am confident I will find another club before January 31st. That's the date
the transfer window will close."

Heitinga also admitted that he still has hopes of representing Holland at
the summer's World Cup and that will play a factor in deciding his next
club. "I want to play every game again, as I am still hungry for the ball,"
he said. "I am fully fit and a player on top of my strengths. I want to go
to the World Cup in Brazil.
"I know that national coach Louis Van Gaal requires his selected players
playing weekly. "At the moment, that's not the situation at Everton and
therefore I am now looking for other options to get a successful
continuation of my career."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHAT WILL THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW HOLD FOR WEST HAM?
By Sean Whetstone 2 Jan 2014 at 16:30
West Ham Till I Die

At the recent Season Ticket Holders' forum a fan asked David Gold "What is
the short term tactical plan to ensure our premier league status and does
that include substantial investment in the January transfer window to
address the striking issue we have got and the policy around a single
striker which has failed"

David Gold answered "What I can promise you, is that everything that David
Sullivan and myself can do to ensure that we can bring in the personnel to
ensure we stay in the premier league. No stone will be left unturned, that I
can ensure you 100%. We are working on it as we speak. I would like to think
when day one of the window opens a deal will be done but equally it could be
the last day. It would help if someone came in with a bid for one of our
fringe players that we could survive without"

What was obvious from that night is West Ham's preference will be for loan
deals for strikers & defenders so talk of buying Rickie Lambert for £8m in
the papers recently seem wide off the mark.

When you factor in Financial Fair Play we will be trying to get a proven
striker and centre back while trying to balance the £52m wage bill and not
spending up front money we haven't got.

Sam recently told WHUFC.com ""I want as many players as I can get with the
budget I've got which would probably be two That would have to be two
quality players that we'd have to find."

In the first two days of the transfer window Everton's John Hetinga's has
allegedly turned us down in favor a move to Newcastle. The Daily Express
claims we will make one final bid to Chelsea for a loan of Demba Ba. Other
claims this year have us linked with Inter Milan strikers Ishak Belfoldil &
Diego Milito, Roma striker Marco Borriello, Atletico Madrid forward Leo
Baptistao and Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan. It has also been rumoured
that Chelsea are interested in making a bid for Ravel Morrison, Liverpool
may make a bid for Momo Diame and Harry wants Carlton Cole at QPR.

It is understood that before the transfer window we were talking to
Tottenham about Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor but AVB's sacking put an
end to those talks. Everton's Nikica Jelavic was also widely tipped to be
Sam's shopping list of strikers for Sullivan to attempt to get on loan.

The only one thing we can say for certain is we have signed Jaanai Gordon
from Peterborough. Until it is confirmed on WHUFC.com I take all these
rumours with a large pinch of salt. Let the silly season commence!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Newcastle make Jonny Heitinga transfer bid as Magpies gazump
relegation-threatened West Ham
Jan 02, 2014 12:13 By Darren Lewis 0 Comments
The Mirror

Alan Pardew has arrived with an offer for the Holland defender, frustrating
the Hammers who thought they had their man

Newcastle have made a shock move to hijack Jonny Heitinga's move to West
Ham. The Hammers had been confident of boosting their bid to survive
relegation by landing Everton's experienced utility player. But the east
Londoners are now resigned to losing 30-year-old Heitinga to Newcastle who
made their interest known on Monday night. The Holland defender is out of
contract at the end of the season but an agreement had been made for West
Ham to take over his contract. He would have given Hammers boss Sam
Allardyce versatility as he can play right-back, centre-half or even in
midfield. Newcastle, though, are looking to reinforce their own defensive
options given the injury to Fabricio Coloccini, and have swooped to deny the
struggling Hammers.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Kevin Nolan fined £100,000 by West Ham for costly red card against Fulham
Jan 02, 2014 12:34 By Darren Lewis 3 Comments
The Mirror

Skipper Nolan could also lose the captaincy after picking up his second red
in four games during their defeat at Craven Cottage

Kevin Nolan has been fined a whopping £100,000 for his sending off at Fulham
on New Years' Day. The punishment is two weeks' wages for the former
Newcastle skipper. Fuming Sam Allardyce is also considering stripping
32-year-old Nolan of the captaincy after his latest act of lunacy. Big Sam
has acted after the dismissal made it the second time in his last four
appearances that his captain has seen red. Nolan was ordered off in the
Hammers' 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on December 7 for a late, needless lunge at
Jordan Henderson. With the scores level at 1-1 at Fulham on Wednesday, Nolan
was shown a straight red for an off-the-ball kick at Fernando Amorebieta
just before half-time. West Ham went on to lose the match 2-1 , leaving them
second from bottom in the League. Nolan now misses four matches - three for
the red card and an extra one due to the totting up procedure. Big Sam
believes the 32-year-old has no excuses for letting his injury-ravaged squad
down. Speaking straight after the match he said: "Our captain was
irresponsible. Not just today but for the future because he is suspended.
"He's let everyone down and himself. I just don't quite understand where
he's lost his cool and why it's happened. "I know their centre-half fouled
him, and I also know that [referee] Mark Clattenburg didn't give a free kick
and he should have done. "But it's still not an excuse for what Kevin did,
and he ends up getting himself sent off."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham on alert after Atletico Madrid striker Leo Baptistao given green
light for loan move
Jan 01, 2014 18:25 By Ben Burrows 0 Comments
The Mirror

The Brazilian will be allowed to leave the Vicente Calderon in January with
the Hammers keen on securing his services

West Ham are on alert after Atletico Madrid gave the green light to striker
Leo Baptistao to leave on loan. The highly-rated 21-year-old only moved to
the Vicente Calderon in the summer but has only made one league appearance
all season. With Diego Simeone's side set to sign Bayern Munich midfielder
Jose Sosa on a short term deal the Brazilian will now be made available on
similar terms. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is reported to be keen but will
face stiff competition to snap up the former Rayo Vallecano man. La Liga
clubs Malaga, Villarreal and Real Betis have all apparently made offers with
West Ham also rumoured to have made their interest known. Allardyce is
expected to a busy man in January as he looks to bolster his ailing side. He
is without a recognised centre-half for the relegation six-pointer with
Fulham, while Andy Carroll's continued absence leaves a hole to fill up
front. The Hammers boss is so busy with transfer dealings in fact that he
missed Monday's press conference to concentrate on wheeling and dealing,
leaving assistant Neil McDonald to field the questions.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham plot Nikica Jelavic and Asamoah Gyan transfers as owners back
under-fire Sam Allardyce
Jan 02, 2014 22:31 By Darren Lewis 0 Comments
The Mirror

Hammers chiefs Sullivan and Gold are sticking by their manager amid terrace
fears of relegation and will bankroll January moves for two new strikers

Sam Allardyce retains the backing of the West Ham owners for now - despite
the Hammers' fans wanting him out. And under-fire manager Allardyce will be
given the cash to bring in two strikers in the current winter transfer
window to try to shoot the club out of relegation trouble. With club-record
summer signing Andy Carroll's fitness still uncertain, the Londoners remain
hopeful that a loan deal can be struck for powerful ex-Sunderland hitman
Asamoah Gyan. Everton forward Nikica Jelavic is also a target. Allardyce is
also set to get the green light to field the club's reserves in Sunday's FA
Cup tie against Nottingham Forest - just as he did in their Capital One Cup
quarter-final win over Spurs before Christmas. There could even be a shadow
Irons side on display at Manchester City in the first leg of the club's
Capital One Cup semi-final next Wednesday, with West Ham adamant that the
Premier League clash at Cardiff the following Saturday is far more
important. Hammers co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan are refusing to
consider relegation from the Premier League and have no compunction about
sacrificing the domestic cup competitions in the fight for survival.
Equally, they have always been insistent that they are owners who back their
managers. Now, despite concerns from fans - and even from within the
second-from-bottom club -they intend to prove they are as good as their
word.
They are understanding of the fact that Allardyce had no control over
captain Kevin Nolan's sending off in the New Year's Day loss to fellow
strugglers Fulham - for which he will be fined two weeks' wages, £100,000.
They are also mindful of the fact that the club have been crippled by
injuries in recent weeks.

West Ham have been vindicated in their belief that Allardyce should have
snapped up another striker last summer, instead of Liverpool winger Stewart
Downing. But the plan for Gold and Sullivan has always been to support Big
Sam with fresh firepower during the January transfer window, then judge him
on the club's form in their subsequent league matches. West Ham's interest
in Southampton striker Rickie Lambert has cooled, because the price quoted
for the 31-year-old England marksman was too high. Jelavic, 28, has made
just nine appearances in the Premier League for Everton this season and is
sweating on his place in the Croatia squad for the World Cup in Brazil. The
Hammers considered a move for him before his switch from Rangers to Goodison
Park in January 2012, but were unconvinced he could reproduce his Scottish
Premier League form in the English equivalent. They now face a race against
time to land him - fellow striker Carlton Cole's short-term deal is set to
expire on January 20 and former Hammers boss Harry Redknapp is keen to sign
the 30-year-old for Championship promotion chasers QPR. Redknapp said of the
former Chelsea forward: "It's difficult, as he belongs to West Ham still.
Sam Allardyce has his own problems with injuries and everything there.
"Carlton is a good player and I like him. He is one of many players we are
looking at but if West Ham decide to keep him, it can't happen."

Cole's departure would mean West Ham are left with Modibo Maiga - three
goals in his last 29 appearances - and Ricardo Vaz Te, who has scored five
goals in his last 31 league games. The club are willing to listen to offers
for both men, as well as fringe players such as Matthew Taylor, as they try
desperately to rake in cash for new strikers. Meanwhile, with Everton
centre-back Johnny Heitinga now looking likely to join Newcastle instead of
the Hammers, Allardyce is looking at the Magpies' Steven Taylor and Joleon
Lescott of Manchester City for defensive cover.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham and Stoke set for transfer battle over John Guidetti of Manchester
City
Jan 02, 2014 22:30 By David Anderson 0 Comments
The Mirror

Young Swedish striker cannot get a kick for star-studded Blues but rattled
in 20 goals in 23 matches when loaned out to Feyenoord two years ago

Goal-shy West Ham and Stoke are leading the race to sign Manchester City
starlet John Guidetti on loan. Manuel Pellegrini is considering sending
Guidetti out on loan, because of his lack of first-team opportunities at the
Etihad behind Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic.
The Sweden Under-21 striker has yet to play a Premier League game for the
Blues and has made just one senior appearance for them - in the League Cup,
more than three years ago. Guidetti, 21, was sent out on loan to Feyenoord
in Holland for the 2011-12 season and scored 20 goals in 23 matches (see
below). The Hammers and Mark Hughes' Potters have been short of goals from
their strikers this season and are both keen on Guidetti, as are a number of
foreign clubs.
Now it is up to Pellegrini to decide which is the best option.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham plot move to bring back former Hammer
Date: 2nd January 2014 at 9:28 pm
Written by: Irons Maiden | ForeverWestHam.com

West Ham are set to try again to bring Chelsea's Demba Ba back to Upton
Park, according to the Daily Express. The Hammers have tried on several
occasions to bring back Ba – who spent six months with the Irons in 2011 –
and failed most recently in the summer. It isn't known whether the former
Newcastle United striker will be interested in a rejoining the East London
club, as he still has aims of Champions League football. One thing in the
Hammers favour is the fact that the Senegal international is third choice
striker for Chelsea with Jose Mourinho preferring Fernando Torres and Samuel
Eto'o.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Are We Toast ??
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd January 2014
By: Gary Portugal

Absolutely not. And no, I haven't been smoking the good stuff or anything
else.

Because despite EVERYTHING going against us, including
injuries,suspensions,arrests,failed transfers,dropped points etc. , we
remain only 3 points from safety. And despite only getting a point from our
last two fixtures,we did show some fight and skill,in difficult
circumstances. Which is in contrast to what was on display vs. Sunderland
and Man U.

Some team members seem to have lost respect for the manager and the
club,which undeniably is a worry. But OVERALL, most of the squad still
exhibits the fight to stay up, based on the last 2 fixtures. BUT, and it is
a VERY big but… my confidence in our ability to beat the drop rests entirely
on the willingness of Allardyce,or whoever replaces him,to COMPLETELY change
Kevin Nolan's role at the club. That means not only stripping him of the
captaincy,but confining him to the subs bench for the rest of the season,
for, at best,cameo appearances.

This team MUST find a new leader – someone who is impassioned,yet
responsible, and who can organize the defence and midfield. Answer: Winston
Reid, once fit,who leads by example. Reid as captain would eliminate the
excuse of "needing" Nolan on the pitch to "organize and motivate."

As for the mega-million question, should Sam stay or go? Like many people ,
ideally I'd love to be shot of him for so many reasons. But realistically,I
also accept that there are very few tailor made replacements around, apart
from perhaps, McKay, who I felt was doing fine at Cardiff. But even with
him,we would not be assured of staying up. Perhaps the real issue is not
whether Sam should stay or go. Maybe the real issue is whether Sam finally
accepts that Nolan should,at best, only be on the subs bench from now on. If
Sam is honest and man enough to accept that, then perhaps it makes sense to
keep him. If not, then I'd prefer McKay, or even Clarke, as soon as
possible.

Let's examine some facts. We have Carroll, Collins, Tomkins and Vaz Te all
to come back in the next few weeks. Possibly Reid before month end. Downing
has returned and looks up for it . And one or two new faces are likely to
appear via the window. Hopefully Noble won't be out for too long. So we
should end the month with a considerably stronger side than that which
competed over the festive period.

So what would a side WITH Carroll and WITHOUT Nolan look like ? It would be
a side that would score in every game . Stick Maiga, or a successful
transfer target, in behind Carroll,in the place normally filled by Nolan ,
and we would be much better off. Am I a huge fan of Maiga? Nope. But he has
shown signs in recent matches of being able to produce the goods. He and
Carroll together would provide the tempo,pace and unpredictability that has
been woefully absent with Nolan in the side this season. And if we can find
in this window a striker better than Maiga to accompany Carroll, all the
better.

Bottom line is that I don't think Nolan's drop in form this season is solely
down to Carroll's absence. Nolan is getting on, he's off the pace, and
probably past it as a Premier League striker now, temper aside. If Nolan was
still good enough to compete at the top level,he would not be missing the
abundance of chances like he has this season. You can argue that Fulham's
keeper made a great save. Maybe. But in my view, not for the first time,
Nolan should have buried that header.

The bottom line, to me, is that whether or not we avoid relegation depends
less on whether or not we sack Sam, and more on whether or not Nolan is
"relegated" to the bench, regardless of who the manager is.

I'm not a fan of Allardyce, especially in the top flight. But between him
and Nolan, he is the lesser of 2 evils. Nolan is past his PL sell by date,
period. He doesn't score or run fast enough, or control his temper well
enough to warrant being a starter in the top flight anymore. If West Ham's
manager, whoever that turns out to be,can accept that, then we have a
realistic chance at survival. If not, then indeed, we ARE toast. With or
without the marmite…

It was absolutely gutting to lose to Fulham in that fashion, especially
having started so brightly. Given the nature of how we conceded the
equalizer, we can't be sure that we would have at least kept a point had we
had 11 men on the pitch. But given that it took Fulham ages to get the
winner, my gut feeling is that we would have drawn the match, thereby
keeping Fulham well in the mix.

But, as gutting as it was, if Nolan's sending off causes the manager and
club owners to have a "catharsis" and come to the conclusion that Nolan is
no longer fit to play a meaningful role at West Ham, it ironically could be
what saves our season.

The root of so many of our problems this season, injuries aside,truly IS
Nolan's lack of discipline, and lack of skill at this level.

Getting out of difficult situations means getting out of one's comfort zone.
It requires challenging long-held assumptions and being willing to make
SIGNIFICANT changes, even if such changes might be "uncomfortable" for some,
including the manager.

Is Allardyce a big cause of our problems ? Undoubtedly. But the solution
might lie in relegating Nolan to the fringes of the squad, as opposed to
ditching Sam. That may be painful for both Sam and the owners to accept. But
we need to relegate Nolan. Before he relegates us .

Finally , take a look at the fixture list . I believe we can get something
from the Cardiff and Newcastle games as we should have a couple players back
from injury or in from the window. Away to Chelsea I'll write off,even
though we're not in a position to write any game off now. But more
importantly,check out February. By which time we "should" have a relatively
fit squad.

Swansea,Villa,Norwich and Southampton. Easy? Nope. Winnable ? Yes. Keep the
faith. No fat lady about yet…

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Joey puts things in perspective
WHUFC.com
Joey O'Brien is refusing to let West Ham United's recent results get him
down
03.01.2014

After spending years battling a career-threatening knee injury, Joey O'Brien
is not going to allow a relegation battle to get him down. West Ham United's
No17 battled back to the top of the game after winning a contract with the
Hammers in the summer of 2011, having not played a single senior game
between October 2008 and March 2011. Since his arrival at the Boleyn Ground,
O'Brien has performed well in a host of positions, most recently filling in
as a centre-back in the absence of Winston Reid, James Collins and James
Tomkins. Having been so close to hanging up his boots, the Irishman is not
about to allow the Hammers' recent results to get him down. "Personally,
with the stuff I have been through in my career, I would never have a
negative attitude about anything in football," said the 27-year-old. "I
truly believe that when we have a full team we can beat any other team in
this league - that is the attitude in the dressing room. "I think the
injuries have obviously played a part, but the form hasn't really been up to
scratch either and hopefully we can pick it up this year and have a good end
to the season. "We got out of the Championship in my first season at the
Club and of course we don't want to go back there. Listen, there is an awful
lot of football to be played. If we win next week against Cardiff and the
other results go our way, we will be out of the bottom three."

While O'Brien is remaining determinedly upbeat, he did admit that the New
Year's Day Barclays Premier League defeat at Fulham had been a blow. The
Hammers took an early lead at Craven Cottage, only to lose Mark Noble
through injury, Kevin Nolan through a red card and their lead through goals
from Steve Sidwell and Dimitar Berbatov. "We are very disappointed,"
admitted the defender. "We all know how big that game was and we went there
to get three points and obviously it didn't work, so we are very
disappointed. "The manager said a few things after the game, but I think the
lads knew it already because we didn't really play well. Kev getting
sent-off didn't really help us either and then conceding from a set play is
not good as we couldn't really see them scoring, but it got them back into
it I suppose. "At 1-0 we have a great chance which was [denied by] a great
save. At 2-0 then it is a very different game and you can control it, but we
were disappointed with the second half. When you have ten men you are going
to be up against it and they are going to have chances. "We had a massive
chance at 1-0 and the goalkeeper made a great save and that is the bit of
luck you need in these games. If that had gone for us, we would have pushed
on and could have controlled the game, but we let them get back into it with
a set-play and in the second half they controlled the game."

When asked about Nolan's red card, O'Brien said he had no reason to question
referee Mark Clattenburg's decision to send the captain off for kicking out
at Fernando Amorebieta. "I didn't really see it to be honest but the ref was
adamant that it was a red card and I don't think he would have made the
wrong decision from where he was," said O'Brien. "He had a great angle, so I
presume it was a red. "Of course, he (Nolan) is disappointed. I haven't
spoken to him, really, but I suppose he would say that it was a moment of
madness. Listen, we could have done better, it was still 1-1, but in the end
we didn't have enough to hold on."

O'Brien now knows the importance of the Barclays Premier League trip to
Cardiff City on Saturday 11 January. "I think all anyone is talking about is
the next game in the league against Cardiff City. It is a massive game and
we have to go up there and win the match, it is as simple as that. "It is
all about the league. It is all about the Premier League and playing in the
best league in the world. The players know how big an opportunity it is in
your career to be playing at this level and that is why we want to stay
here."

One reason why West Ham can definitely stay up is the return of injured
players over the coming weeks. "Stewart Downing is back and he came on at
Fulham and looked lively, Andy Carroll is getting back in training, and
Ginge and Tonks are not going to be too far away either," concluded O'Brien.
"So, hopefully when those players come back and we have a full squad, we can
start picking up some points."

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On this day - 3 January
WHUFC.com
A late flurry of goals produced an exciting game as the Hammers beat Wigan
in the FA Cup ten years ago
03.01.2014

Classic match
Wigan Athletic 1-2 West Ham United
FA Cup third round
3 January 2004
West Ham United survived a late scare to overcome Wigan Athletic at the JJB
Stadium and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup. The two Championship
sides were level until the 80th minute when Hayden Mullins picked an
excellent time to score his first goal for the Club and hand the Hammers the
lead. Five minutes later and they had a second when David Connolly expertly
beat two defenders before placing a shot past John Filan and into the bottom
corner of the net. Wayne Quinn put through his own net in stoppage time but
it was too little too late and the Hammers held on to reach round four.

Complete record - 3 January
1920 Blackpool 0-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1925 West Ham United 2-0 Blackburn Rovers (Division One)
1931 West Ham United 5-5 Aston Villa (Division One)
1948 Nottingham Forest 2-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1953 West Ham United 3-2 Bury (Division Two)
1959 Aston Villa 1-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1970 Middlesbrough 2-1 West Ham United (FA Cup)
1976 West Ham United 0-2 Liverpool (FA Cup)
1977 West Ham United 0-0 West Bromwich Albion (Division One)
1981 West Ham United 1-1 Wrexham (FA Cup)
1987 Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1994 West Ham United 0-0 Sheffield United (Premier League)
1998 West Ham United 2-1 Wakefield & Emley (FA Cup)
2000 Newcastle United 2-2 West Ham United (Premier League)
2004 Wigan Athletic 1-2 West Ham United (FA Cup)
2005 West Ham United 0-2 Sheffield United (Championship)
Played 16, Won 5, Drawn 6, Lost 5, Scored 19, Conceded 22

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Fans split on Allardyce
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 3rd January 2014
By: Staff Writer

Hammers fans are currently evenly split over the question of replacing the
under-fire Sam Allardyce - according to a KUMB members poll.

Supporters were asked to consider whether Sam Allardyce - who remains the
bookies odds-on favourite to be the next Premier League manager to face the
chop - should be allowed to continue in his post following United's dreadful
first half of the season.

The first 12 hours saw readers voting in their hundreds - resulting in an
almost completely even 50/50 split. At the time of writing, the poll - which
may be found on the KUMB Forum - has the two options (yes/no) separated by
just ten votes.

That clearly indicates that despite pockets of dissent on the terraces,
considerably more online and media reports to the contrary, the fan base -
as a whole - does not support the immediate replacement of Allardyce, who
prior to the beginning of the current 2013/14 campaign had both met and
exceeded all his goals at West Ham.

The manager is understood to have attended a meeting with co-owner David
Sullivan yesterday during which the team's current problems were discussed.

And whilst he continues to count upon the board's support - in public, at
least - Allardyce will be well aware that time is against him should he wish
to fulfil his dream to lead West Ham into the Olympic Stadium three years
from now.

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Hammer horrors: Heitinga's snub is sign of decline at relegation-threatened
West Ham
By LAURIE WHITWELL
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 2 January 2014 | UPDATED: 23:55, 2 January 2014
Daily Mail

When a player desperate for first-team football ahead of this summer's World
Cup turns down the chance to join your club and guaranteed action, you know
the situation is critical. Johnny Heitinga on Thursday opted to stay in
Everton's reserves rather than sign for West Ham after the two clubs agreed
terms. The cruel view is that the rats are not even going near this sinking
ship. 'It is not about money because that was not the problem with a move to
West Ham,' said the Dutch international. 'You have to be convinced that you
are taking the right step and I was not.'

Adding to Sam Allardyce's bad mood was his captain Kevin Nolan, who was
fined £100,000 by the club for receiving a second red card in a month after
kicking Fulham's Fernando Amorebieta in the 2-1 defeat. Nolan, docked two
weeks' wages, is understood to have deep regret over his actions but West
Ham fans will want more than that after his earlier three-game ban for
raking his studs down Jordan Henderson's calf. Nolan needs to come back
after his four-match suspension and drag this team from its knees through
committed displays.

Allardyce said there was 'certainly something wrong with his mentality at
the minute' and the frustration of this season is clear for all to see.
Nolan's wild indiscretion means the squad is alarmingly thin for another
crunch game against Cardiff, newly boosted by Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's
arrival, a week on Saturday.
West Ham finished the Fulham game with five full-backs on the pitch and not
a creative spark in sight. George McCartney got the captain's armband from
Nolan after deputy Mark Noble's calf injury forced him off and it is still
to be seen who will lead the side for the crucial clash in south Wales.
Winston Reid, third in line, is a long-term casualty.

First comes an FA Cup match at Nottingham Forest on Sunday and the Capital
One Cup semi-final first leg at Manchester City on Wednesday. The club are
trying to get supporters to buy tickets for the return at Upton Park before
the Etihad game, perhaps fearful there will be empty seats if handed a heavy
defeat.
Allardyce is the odds-on favourite to be the next Barclays Premier League
manager sacked but Sportsmail understands the board are 100 per cent behind
him and will support him in the January window. Allardyce has been here
before and survived, while the lack of viable alternatives on the managerial
market only reinforces that point. In short, there is confidence he can turn
things around.

On the shopping list are two strikers, one midfielder and one central
defender, which co-owner David Sullivan had expected to be Heitinga. A deal
to get Rickie Lambert for £8million is on the cards and that figure for a
31-year-old, albeit an England international, is a marker of the desperation
to sign a proven top-flight scorer. Sullivan and David Gold will pump £3.5m
into the coffers this month to cover player wages. Allardyce and Sullivan
began working in earnest on January deals seven weeks ago but are
discovering the acute difficulty of attracting players to the proposition of
a relegation scrap. Many supporters point out the calamity of the summer
window as a terminal mistake and club-record signing Andy Carroll has cast a
large shadow over Upton Park. He is still only doing non-contact training
and is three weeks away from playing 15 minutes of competitive football –
the Newcastle game on January 18 is the latest target.
Recently, Ravel Morrison, West Ham's top scorer with five goals, has been a
conspicuous absence with a niggling groin injury. Wally Downes is another
name worth mentioning. The coach was a large presence at the training ground
but was sacked little more than a year ago. Since then West Ham have won
just nine league games out of 42.

On the pitch, pace and goals are lacking but both those assets come at a
price, particularly midway through the season. One call has been to blood
the youngsters and West Ham's development side are second in the Under-21
Premier League. Elliot Lee, 19, has seven goals in eight appearances for the
Under-21s, while Blair Turgott, 19, is a winger who can excite. But rarely
are they brought into first-team training to test themselves against the
seniors.
Allardyce argues it would be unfair to throw young talents into such a
pressurised scenario but Tony Cottee, who was handed his debut and scored as
a 17-year-old in 1983, believes the club would be lifted by the inclusion of
academy boys. 'How do you know unless you give them a chance,' he told
Sportsmail. 'If managers had been scared to give youth a chance we never
would have seen Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Ross Barkley or many others.
'You have to take the circumstances into account. But I think the fans have
always enjoyed when you see a youngster come through.' There is a bleak mist
around West Ham right now. The month ahead will determine whether light can
be found.

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An utter disgrace to West Ham
Date: 3rd January 2014 at 4:23 am
Written by: Spencer Pratten | ForeeverWestHam.com

And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse folks, cue brain of
Britain Kevin Nolan for yet another sending off that almost has to be seen,
to be believed.

Picture the scene; an under strength Hammers make the short journey across
London to Craven Cottage for a six-pointer…no make that a ten-pointer
against our relegation rivals. Spanked by six clear goals at Hull City,
surely there was every chance that we could at least nick a point against a
team that must have dreaded appearing in front of their own fans after their
apocalyptic performance from the previous week.

After a shaky start with a strange line up of three central defenders,
slowly but surely we started to play our way into the game. We should have
been 2-0 up, and with 11 men on the field, even the one goal advantage would
have given us something to fight for, even with a weakened team.

Then two things happened in quick succession; the loss to injury of the
Hammers heartbeat and real skipper Mark Noble, and the loss of the eternal
disappointment who has been masquerading as both player and captain for
months and months, Kevin Nolan. The former was just plain cruel, the latter
just plain, well what can I say. I don't think that mere words can really
make any sense of the actions of Nolan, even a day after the event.

Was ever there a more senseless, pathetic, cowardly red card in West Ham's?
Oh yes, there was one…also Kevin Nolan from a few weeks back who raked his
studs down the back of an unsuspecting Liverpool player and achieved yet
another free Christmas and left his mates to hold the fort against a now
rampant opposition, keen to rack up the goal difference. A 4-1 mauling did
nothing for morale, and the captains baffling, no make that psychotic,
out-of-the-blue challenge left us both angry and bemused.

To have seen Noble limp off would have stirred most true, worthy skippers
into action. Socks and sleeves rolled up, chest pushed out, and fire
coursing through the veins in preparation for the fight would have been the
reaction of John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Vincent Kompany. They would have
upped their games and made sure everyone around them did the same. No room
for error, and certainly no place for slackers or shirkers. Every single
player was in a fight, and it was one for all and all for one. Except one.

The captain. Our captain. The Irons skipper, who should have been ever
mindful, thankful and honoured that he had been allowed to follow in the
hallowed footsteps of Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Alvin Martin. The one man
who above all was responsible for making sure the team came home, battered,
bruised, physically shattered and if not triumphant, at least able to sleep
soundly that night in the knowledge that everything the players had was left
on the pitch.

So what was the brilliant, heroic and thoughtfully executed action of the
West Ham captain? He threw what can only be described as a 'hissy-fit'
because someone had dared to run across his line. He lashed out from behind
and simply stood their hands on hips, and waited for the inevitable and
deserved red card to be produced. Pure class Kevin. A true master class in
combined thuggery and stupidity.

The remaining ten battled as well as they could but the die was cast, the
result almost inevitable. Short of grafting bodies the ball was moved around
us and the casual, almost coma-like Dimitar Berbatov was left enough space
for a simple tap in. 2-1. Defeat. Defeat in wretched circumstances. How much
more angry could I get about Nolan's treachery? Not much. I was at boiling
point and from there, well, you can only go two ways: start to cool down or
blow off steam until the emotional kettle runs dry. My kettle exploded.

The arm band must never again be wasted on Kevin Nolan, because quite simply
he has sullied its meaning and its magic. The Liverpool red card was bad
enough, but to do it again, weeks later, in a crucial, winnable game and at
a critical point was for me the final straw. There was nobody connected with
West Ham United who wasn't badly let down, and Sam Allardyce, faithful to
Nolan to a laughable degree, must feel devastated by his right hand mans
actions. Actions that could well be instrumental in the impending arrival of
a removal van at the residence of Sam Allardyce. Some mate Kevin, some mate.

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Sam Allardyce won't face the axe from West Ham
SAM ALLARDYCE looks set to escape the West Ham axe - because the club can't
afford to sack him.
Daily Star
By Duncan Wright & Adrian Kajumba/Published 3rd January 2014

The Hammers boss had seen his future thrown into doubt after the 2-1 defeat
at Fulham left them three points adrift of safety in the bottom three. But
Starsport understands it would cost the Hammers board £6m to dump the
manager - money the club would rather spend on signings, with two strikers a
priority. Co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan now face the dilemma of
keeping faith with Allardyce and signing reinforcements - or swing the axe
and risk missing out on a goalscorer who could help keep the club in the top
flight. The Hammers have taken just six points from 33 since the start of
November, a run which has seen them lose seven games. Scoring goals has been
a major issue and West Ham are desperate to bring in a striker, with Andy
Carroll still no nearer to making an appearance this season. And with
Allardyce still having 18 months left to run on his £50,000-a-week deal, it
would cost in excess of £6m to pay him and his backroom staff off should the
club decide to make a change at the top.

"Starsport understands it would cost the Hammers board £6m to dump the
manager - money the club would rather spend on signings" That is money the
Hammers have earmarked for a new player, and could mean Allardyce is given
more time to prove he can turn things around. Big Sam held talks with Gold
and Sullivan yesterday to discuss his January transfer window plans. As well
as two forwards - Everton's Nikica Jelavic is a target - Allardyce wants to
bolster his backline. He was on the verge of landing Jelavic's Everton
team-mate Johnny Heitinga, but the Dutchman has snubbed a move. Meanwhile,
Kevin Nolan has been hit with a two-week fine of £100,000 after his second
red card in just four games. Allardyce blamed Nolan for the Fulham defeat
after he saw red for kicking out at Fernando Amorebieta and is also
considering stripping him of the captaincy. He will miss West Ham's next
four games after also seeing red against Liverpool last month.

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