Moses - We showed great desire
WHUFC.com
Victor Moses was delighted to play his part as West Ham United came from 2-0
down to claim a point at Norwich City on Saturday. Moses was introduced to
the action with that two-goal deficit, but his surging run and shot in the
74th minute paved the way for the Dimitri Payet goal which started the
fightback. Mark Noble levelled the scores just three minutes later, leaving
Moses and his teammates far more satisfied with the final outcome. "It was a
great game," he said. "First half wasn't the best for us, but in the second
half we turned it around [after going 2-0 down]. "You could see the passion
and desire we had to come back and we got two goals in two or three minutes.
It ended up being a great day for us. "The most important thing is the point
we got. It's good that we didn't lose."
Moses more than played his part in the Hammers' revival at Carrow Road, with
one of the other star performers being Payet, who followed his goal by
setting up the Noble leveller. Moses continued: "Dimitri Payet is a great
player. We all know he has a huge amount of talent. The first goal was a
little similar to the one he scored against Newcastle. This time the keeper
saved it and he's put it in the back of the net. "It was a good move from me
and Dimi as well, and I'm very happy that he was on the scoresheet."
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Norwich City 2-2 West Ham United
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport
Norwich blew a two-goal lead but ended a run of five league defeats with a
draw against West Ham. Robbie Brady robbed Michail Antonio of the ball and
curled in a shot before Wes Hoolahan drove in a close range effort to put
the home side 2-0 up. But Dimitri Payet slotted in for the Hammers after
Victor Moses had a shot parried into his path. Payet then pulled the ball
back for Mark Noble to steer in a shot and complete West Ham's comeback.
Hammers substitute Emmanuel Emenike had a great chance late on when he got
on the end of an Andy Carroll flick on but he trapped the ball instead of
diverting it towards goal and allowed keeper John Ruddy to gather. In a
frantic finale, Nathan Redmond had a shot blocked by keeper Adrian, while a
Norwich corner was also cleared from the Hammers goalmouth.
'It is the same old story'
Norwich were 3-1 up against Liverpool recently but contrived to lose 5-4 and
they were at it again when it came to throwing away points from a winning
position. At 2-0 up, they should have been easing to victory against a West
Ham side that had suffered key injuries having been taken to extra-time in a
midweek FA Cup replay win over Liverpool. However, when they needed cool
heads, the home side capitulated as they lost their organisation and
discipline. While the nature of the draw may feel like a defeat for the
Canaries, they moved up one place and out of the relegation zone on goal
difference following Newcastle's 5-1 thrashing by Chelsea in the later
kick-off. "It is the same old story," said Brady. "We can't let teams back
into the game when we have a two-goal lead."
Hammers sensed Norwich frailties
West Ham improved with the introduction of winger Victor Moses, whose
powerful run forward and parried shot led to his side pulling a goal back.
The goal breathed new life into the Hammers and, with Payet starting to have
more of an influence, they finished the game stronger and equalised through
Noble. "We were just thinking about getting the next goal [when we were 2-0
down]," said Noble. "They have had a tough time here at Norwich and we knew
if we could get the goal it would be hard for them." Both league games
between the two sides this season have now finished 2-2 and, while West Ham
salvaged a point, they dropped a place to seventh in the Premier League
after being overtaken by Southampton.
Man of the match - Dimitri Payet
Dimitri Payet (left) had a quiet game by his standards but finished strongly
as he scored a goal and assisted one
Manager reaction:
Norwich manager Alex Neil: "We created good opportunities and it was a
better performance than we have had recently. But from 2-0 up at home and
with the way the game was going we should have seen it out. "We will take a
lot from the performance but we are disappointed we let a lead slip."
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: "We are never happy with a point, we are not
buzzing. But when that point comes after being 2-0 down it gives us
confidence and satisfaction. "After Tuesday night (the FA Cup fourth-round
replay against Liverpool) when we played 120 minutes, to show that kind of
strength, resilience, character and quality makes us happy."
'Psychological damage'
Former Norwich striker Chris Sutton said he felt his ex-club would go down
if they did not get a win against West Ham. He added: "I just think if you
look at Liverpool when they were 3-1 up and lose, two goals up today, this
will do Norwich so much damage psychologically."
The stats you need to know
West Ham have won just one of their last nine Premier League away matches
(won one, drew four, lost four).
Norwich have won none of their last six Premier League games conceding at
least twice in each of those games.
Norwich have conceded 50 Premier League goals this season - a joint-high
alongside Sunderland.
Dimitri Payet has scored or assisted 12 Premier League goals this season -
twice as many as any other West Ham player.
Both of Robbie Brady's Premier League goals for Norwich have been against
West Ham.
What next?
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is keen for his side to go all out in the FA Cup
and their next game sees the Hammers face a trip to Blackburn on Sunday, 21
February (14:00 GMT) in the fifth round of the competition. Norwich are not
in action until Saturday, 27 February, when they visit Leicester in a 15:00
GMT kick-off.
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Jack Collison: Ex-West Ham and Wales player retires at 27
BBc.co.uk
Ex-West Ham United and Wales midfielder Jack Collison is retiring from
football at the age of 27 because of injury. Collison played 121 times for
West Ham, but suffered persistent knee problems. He signed for League One
Peterborough in 2015, playing 12 times, but will now focus on a coaching and
media career. "The nights I wake up in pain, or the mornings where I
struggle to walk, will be a constant reminder I was lucky enough to play the
game I love," said Collison, capped 17 times by Wales. "I still wake up some
mornings feeling good and think 'one more try'," said Collison, who
dislocated a kneecap while playing for the Hammers in 2009. "But that would
be unfair on myself, my fellow pros and my family. I want to bow out with
some pride intact."
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Slav's content …but an issue may remain
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Ok, I can understand why Slav declared himself content with the 2-2 draw at
Carrow Road.
To pull two goals back is always an achievement and he of course mentioned
the extraordinarily emotional and physically draining game against Liverpool
in midweek.
I think it's pretty obvious by now that I'm as big a fan of the manager's as
anybody else but the word 'content' carried some connotations which caused
concern because what was said before the match didn't fully square with what
came afterwards.
At the pre match presser Slv said: "We have a few knocks and injuries but
overall it's a good feeling. Even those guys with a knock, they feel good.
When you win you don't feel the fatigue as much. 120 minutes is of course a
lot to play, but we are all looking forward to the Norwich game on
Saturday."
Yesterday in the post match presser he declared: "You can talk about
positives and negatives but when you consider we played for 120 minutes on
Tuesday night and the fact we were two goals down here in a very short
period of time, it was a good draw."
Now, the two statements aren't entirely contradictory but it's a photo
finish and whilst I'm certainly not prepared to blast the boss or anyone
else at the end of a week when we won an important Cup game and gained a
draw in the League it's important to maintain perspective.
And the simple truth is that for 70 minutes we didn't perform against a not
very good side who somehow were allowed to establish a two goal lead.
That we recovered both of them very quickly and with more direction and pace
from Emenike – who has barely been involved and is therefore totally
presumably full of himself – could have won, tells its own story.
I'd also be more ready to accept the Liverpool match explanation had I not
see the team perform in the same manner on several other occasions this
season.
The slow starting business has been a feature of many games and can't really
be put down to a Liverpool hangover.
At the end of it all we have collected another point from a totally
desperate relegation haunted outfit and at this stage of the season those
games are as tough as they come.
But we are not helping ourselves and dare I suggest that had we played for
90 minutes in every game this seaon we may even be top of the league.
It's a problem but then every team has one or two. I'm not moaning and I
trust our superb manager to get it right. But it's becoming frustrating and
is not an issue that I believe can be blamed on tiredness or anything else!
One other point. No two players worked harder and drove themselves to the
point of exhaustion on Tuesday than Valencia and Antonio. Maybe we might
have started with Carroll and Moses yesterday. Just saying.
COYI
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Collison raving about this Iron
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Jack Collison has become a massive Michail Antonio fan.
The Hammers cult hero – who has gone through more than most during his time
in the game – announced his retirement on Saturday.
And tomorrow evening he will appear in the ClaretandHugh interview section
of MooreThanJustAPodcast when among much else he will discuss the impact he
believes the £7 million signing has had on the Hammers.
He says: ""I think he has been a fantastic signing. The one thing that
Antonio has done since the moment he put the shirt on is was work hard, put
his body on this line, make tackles, get forward and even more pleasing is
the goals that he has scored.
Collison" It was great finish against Liverpool I saw in the cup, scored a
bit of scrawny one which bounced off his body last week but I think if he
keeps applying himself the way he does then he is only going to get better
and better and become a big part of West Ham's team"
Jack will talk about his career, where he goes from here and why he is so in
love with the Irons.
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OS capacity unlikely to increase in short term
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 14, 2016 in News, Whispers
C and H
Yesterday, Claret and Hugh revealed as many as 25,000 West Ham supporters on
the Olympic Stadium priority list could be disappointed as demand for OS
season tickets outstrips supply. There are believed to be fewer than 9,000
season tickets remaining for next season for the 34,000 strong waiting list
who have paid a tenner piece to join for a chance. The article has prompted
many fans on the list to question why the capacity can not be increased
beyond 54,000 before August this year to meet the demand.
Hammer vice-chairman, Karren Brady has publicly told of the club's desire to
increase capacity if the demand is there and the sightlines are acceptable.
During a BT Sports interview in December last year she confirmed West Ham
were looking to increase capacity to 60,000. In a Daily Mail article last
year, she went one step further by saying the club are in discussions to
take capacity to 66,000.
westhamseata2708a_2She told Martin Samuel from the Mail "We always knew this
was a possibility and it would certainly seem the interest is there, We have
to look at the logistics of it because these would be the seats furthest
from the pitch, so we have to make sure they are worth having. There is no
point sticking someone in a corner with a poor view. But if the sight lines
are still good, we could fit in 66,000. It's a very exciting prospect."
However, Claret and Hugh understand that despite there being 66,510 seats in
the converted stadium in sports pitch mode, the chance of increasing
capacity for the start of next season remains extremely remote and the
increase in capacity is very much a future ambition of the club. The 54,000
capacity of the Stadium is a restriction of the planning permission granted
and a safety certificate issues to former Olympic venue. An increase of
12,000 in capacity would also mean the need for more infrastructure such as
extra toilets and catering outlets. All of these things are possible but
would take time to sort out and the appetite to spend more tax payers money
to increase stadium facilities for the benefit of West Ham would be quite
low as the LLDC and Newham council have already come under fire for the
£272m already spent to transform to the Stadium.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Monday, February 15
Sunday, February 14
Daily WHUFC News - 14th February 2016
Norwich City 2-2 West Ham United
WHUFC.com
West Ham United battled back from two goals down to score a dramatic 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Norwich City.
The Hammers, who have not won a league game at Carrow Road since Bryan 'Pop' Robson scored the only Division One goal in February 1973, looked set to lose in Norfolk again when Irish pair Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan put the hosts ahead after half-time.
However, Slaven Bilic sent on the attacking cavalry and got his reward as substitute Victor Moses played a pivotal role in Dimitri Payet's goal, which dragged West Ham back into it with 16 minutes to go.
Three minutes later, the comeback was complete as Moses started a move that saw fellow replacement Andy Carroll find Payet on the byline. The Frenchman looked up and cut back for Mark Noble to slam high into the net from 18 yards.
Both teams had big chances to snatch all three points in a frantic final period, but had to make do with a deserved share of the spoils in the end.
Much earlier, with both teams employing 4-2-3-1 formations, the first half was an evenly-contested, eventful if goalless affair, with both teams taking turns to enjoy periods in the ascendancy.
Accordingly, each also created a handful of goalscoring opportunities, half-chances and dangerous set piece positions, but neither could find a way past the opposition goalkeeper.
After Norwich had made the brighter start, with returning captain Russell Martin firing high and wide inside 30 seconds, the Hammers took control with their pass-and-move game inside the Canaries half.
Leading the line, Enner Valencia repeatedly attempted to run in behind the Norwich back four, with varying degrees of success.
On eleven minutes, he broke the offside trap onto Mark Noble's pass, only for his touch to let him down as he tried to bear down on John Ruddy's goal.
Seven minutes later, the Ecuador star showed a far firmer control when he collected from Dimitri Payet, took two touches and stung Ruddy's fingertips with a rasping left-foot shot from 20 yards.
Pedro Obiang then slipped as he attempted a long-range effort and that moment appeared to turn the tide of the game.
Norwich went back on the offensive and showed some real poise around the West Ham penalty are, with Wes Hoolahan in particular looking elusive and skilful, but once inside the 18-yard box things fell apart.
On 24 minutes, Hoolahan drew a foul from James Collins – who became the first of three first half bookings – after Adrian had put Michail Antonio under pressure with a quick throw, but Robbie Brady curled the free-kick over the top.
Collins and Steven Naismith both saw weak efforts elude the target as half-time approached and the two managers were able to regroup with the game still level at the break.
The second half was a completely different animal, with chances galore, Norwich racing into a two-goal lead and West Ham staging yet another late comeback to grab the point which takes them to 40 for the season.
Cameron Jerome had already fired wide before Brady opened the scoring ten minutes after the break, robbing Antonio before curling an exquisite shot past Adrian via the underside of the crossbar.
Ten minutes later, the game appeared to be up for Bilic's side as Naismith's shot was deflected into the path of Hoolahan, who calmly placed his shot under the advancing goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
In between the goals, the West Ham manager had brought on Carroll and Moses for Valencia and Alex Song, and those substitutions would pay off late on.
As the game went into the final 20 minutes, Antonio saw a low shot saved by Ruddy, but it would not be long before the Hammers found the net.
Moses raced clear from halfway into the Norwich box, appeared to be fouled twice, stayed on his feet and shot low and hard, Ruddy parried and the supporting Payet slid the ball into the unguarded net.
Three minutes later, it was two-all in stunning fashion. Moses found Carroll by the left touchline, and the England striker poked the ball through for Payet to run onto, look up and pick out Noble, who slammed a shot high past Ruddy from the edge of the area.
The final 15 minutes or so of normal and added time were breathless, with West Ham going close three times – twice through substitute Emmanuel Emenike and once through compatriot Moses.
Norwich nearly stole it themselves in the final seconds, but Adrian stood firm to save Nathan Redmond's low shot at the near post.
Seconds later, the final whistle was blown by referee Mike Jones and everyone inside Carrow Road could finally exhale!
Norwich City: Ruddy, Martin ©, Bassong, Klose, Brady, Howson, O'Neil, Redmond, Hoolahan (Dorran 85), Naismith (Olsson 76), Jerome (Mbokani 84)
Subs not used: Rudd (GK), Pinto, Jarvis, Bamford
Goals: Brady 55, Hoolahan 65
Booked: Howson, Naismith
West Ham United: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Song (Moses 62), Noble ©, Obiang, Antonio (Emenike 70), Payet, Valencia (Carroll 62)
Subs not used: Randolph (GK), Oxford, Browne, Parfitt-Williams
Goals: Payet 74, Noble 77
Booked: Collins, Obiang
Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 27,101 (2,645 West Ham United)
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Bilic content with Carrow Road comeback
WHUFC.com
Slaven gets his point across at Carrow Road
Slaven Bilic hailed the impact made by his substitutes as West Ham United came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Norwich City.
The Hammers trailed by two goals going into the final 20 minutes, but the introduction of Andy Carroll, Victor Moses and later Emmanuel Emenike almost saw the visitors snatch an unlikely victory at Carrow Road.
Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan had put Norwich into a seemingly unassailable position midway through the second half, but Moses' run set up Dimitri Payet to make it 2-1 with 16 minutes to go. Then both Moses and Carroll were involved in the move which ended with Mark Noble slamming Payet's expert cut-back into the top corner.
Emenike and Moses both went close to nicking it late on, and Bilic was fulsome in his praise for his replacements.
"They made the difference," he enthused. "They made a huge impact and I expected that from them, but the way they made that impact was great and they deserve all the praise."
Speaking in more general terms about a breathless second half in Norfolk, Bilic said he was content with a point following a physically and emotionally draining week.
"It was a game of emotions," said the manager. "You can talk about positives and negatives but when you consider we played for 120 minutes on Tuesday night [to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup] and the fact we were two goals down here in a very short period of time, it was a good draw.
"Their first goal was absolutely our gift to them and their second you could call a bit unlucky because there was a deflection and all that, so then you need team spirit and resilience, but you also need quality to come back.
"The way we played in the last half an hour was brilliant and I want to praise the team. The guys did really well to get a point for us."
Both goals showcased West Ham's spirit, desire and quality in the attacking third, with the players showing determination to get into position before showing the ability to finish those chances off.
The first came following an individual run and shot from Moses, which was finished by Payet following up after John Ruddy had parried the Nigerian's shot. The second came at the end of a decisive passing move that cut Norwich's defence to shreds.
West Ham continued to create chances in the final moments, with Emenike and Moses coming within inches of finding a winner.
"I am expecting them to do it because they have that quality and they showed it," the manager explained. "The first goal was a brilliant move, but that's why he's Victor Moses and that's why he is a West Ham player. I was then expecting a player to be there to finish the loose ball, whether that be Dimi or someone else.
"After that we continued to press them and continued to play and scored the second one and could have won the game.
"It summed it up that the home crowd, the home players and the home bench were unhappy with the five minutes of added time. After we got it back to 2-1, there was only one side on the pitch.
"OK, they had a last-second corner but it was us who were on top and wanted to win the game and didn't want the game to stop."
Bilic and his players will recover and regroup before starting preparations for next Sunday's Emirates FA Cup fifth-round trip to Blackburn Rovers.
In the meantime, the Claret and Blue Army can celebrate reaching 40 points, a place in the top six and the new long-term contract signed last week by talisman Payet.
"With our key players, we have to keep them and give them what they deserve and to be fair I have to praise the Chairmen and the Board for the way they reacted quite quickly," said Bilic.
"It's great because, although he already had a long contract, we wanted to show him we appreciate the way he is playing and want to tie his future to West Ham.
"Basically, we are not only showing by moving stadiums that we are moving forward, but also with the team selection and the squad that we have, so big congratulations to the Chairmen and the Board."
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Noble hails Hammers' resolve
WHUFC.com
Skipper Mark Noble was thrilled to end the week on a positive note after his third Barclays Premier League goal of the season completed a storming West Ham United comeback at Carrow Road on Saturday.
The Hammers were staring down the barrel of a second successive league defeat on their travels when Wes Hoolahan pounced on a ricochet in the box, after Robbie Brady had broken the deadlock with a fine effort via the underside of the bar.
But even after the exertions of 120 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday, Noble and co found the strength to claw their way back.
Dimitri Payet swept home on the angle after Victor Moses had been denied, and the Frenchman then turned provider for Noble himself, who rifled emphatically into the corner from 18 yards to square the contest.
West Ham's No16 hailed the Hammers' resolve to drag themselves back from the brink and confessed to being disappointed that they hadn't left with all three points in the end.
He told West Ham TV: "Especially after the midweek game, the lads put in everything to get the point, which was so important for us after being 2-0 down.
"Sometimes you've got to hold your hands up and we made a mistake, obviously with Michail, but you can't blame him for that. He's been fantastic for us and Robbie scores a great goal. But the fight, the character and the spirit we had coming back was great.
"We probably should have won it in the end. We were gutted in there that we hadn't won. We scored two really good goals and what a great comeback for the Club, especially after the winning in the 120th minute against Liverpool. To come back from that just finishes the week off on a good note."
As for his all-important goal, Noble revealed that he may well have resisted the temptation to surge forward, after taking a knock to the knee, but wisely thought otherwise when Payet received possession.
"To be honest, I'd just got a kick on the halfway line and the back of my knee was sore.
"The ball obviously went forward and I saw Dimi had a bit of space and time, and I thought get on your bike, because he'll find you. I just kept going, Dimi found me and it just nestled nicely in the top corner."
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A message from Jack Collison
WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison has announced his retirement from professional football...
It's hard knowing how to start this…
But as of tomorrow when I wake up, I am no longer Jack Collison – the footballer. As of tomorrow, I am officially retired.
I suppose this day has been coming for a while, but the harsh reality of actually admitting it and saying it is very different to just thinking about it. In all honesty it has been on the cards for a while, but I have never been one to give up without a fight, and this fight against injury has truly been a mammoth battle.
I never in a million years dreamt that, at 27 years of age, I would be having to announce my retirement, but then again I never thought I would have played in the Premier League and for my country by the age of 19.
I think every kid grows up dreaming of one day playing in packed stadiums against some of the best players in the world. I suppose the only difference is that I became obsessed with this dream at a young age and eventually accomplished it.
I feel very blessed to have achieved what I did in my short time playing the game. However deep down I feel there will always be a sickening feeling of 'what if'. Potential not quite reached? Maybe.
The fact that I have never been fully fit since my knee injury at the age of 20 may haunt me in later life, but it is something I have grown comfortable enough to live with for the time being.
It certainly wasn't through a lack of effort and trying. I dedicated my life to the game and even more so to my knee. Hours in the gym, sleepless nights, countless operations and thousands of pounds visiting the best physios around the world, all so I could make it out on to the pitch.
I'm happy that I can look myself in the mirror and say I threw my heart and soul into trying to accomplish my dreams.
However the time has finally come to say, enough is enough, and admit my body can no longer cope with the demands of modern day football.
The nights when I wake up in pain, or the mornings when I struggle to walk will be a constant reminder that I was lucky enough to play the game I love. That I put my body on the line time and time again to live out my dreams in front of the world.
I'm not after sympathy or a pat on the back, I just want to share my story and let people know how grateful I am that I had a little taste of it. I know I am one of the lucky ones.
When I look back now, I have many great memories. I can smile and enjoy sharing my experiences. I would be lying if I said I didn't still wake up some mornings feeling good and think 'one more try.' But that would be unfair. On myself, my fellow professionals and even more so my family. I have put them through hell fighting this battle, over the past couple of seasons especially.
I don't want to be remembered for being useless and just picking up my money, I want to bow out with some of my pride intact. I have had plenty of time to mull this over and have not acted hastily in this decision and I must say that Peterborough United have acted with class throughout. They have allowed me to make the easy transition from playing to coaching without any issues and I now intend to repay their faith by helping the next generation make the step from young up and coming player to first team superstar.
My passion for playing is slowly dying out, but my passion for football is burning ever so strong and I intend to stay within the game and make my mark in other areas.
I am currently completing my coaching badges, whilst managing The Posh U18s and I love watching my own Soccer School flourish. I have other interests as well, including a university degree in sports writing and a Miami venture which I am also very excited about. Although football has made me the man I am today it doesn't define me and I am very optimistic about the future.
I suppose the only way to end this is by showing my appreciation to those who have helped me at various stages in my career and helped me realise my dream.
Firstly, thank you to all of the great clubs I have played for. Thank you to my family, my agent and my friends for sticking by me. We have experienced the ultimate highs, and deepest of lows and It's been amazing to have you by my side throughout. A huge thank you to the fans as well, the support I have received has been amazing and I hope I have repaid some of you with some memorable moments on the pitch.
A special thank you must go to my fiancée and my little girl, I know at times it must have been tough living with such an obsessed maniac, but your love and support through it all has kept me going, even on the darkest of days and I intend to make it up to you now.
Lastly I would like to take the time to thank the beautiful game, for football has given me so much. Through the blood, sweat and tears I am forever grateful.
As a kid you gave me a dream, a vision so intense I dedicated my life to you. As an adult you gave me a livelihood, an opportunity and a platform to share my love of the game with the world, And even as a retired player you have still not stopped giving, as I set upon my journey to give back to the game that has given me so much.
So I'm signing off for now. With a tear in my eye, but a huge smile on my face, I sit here optimistic. I'm excited for the next chapter and if it's anything like the last I know it's going to be one hell of a journey
Thanks for being a part of it
JC x
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
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Norwich City 2-2 West Ham Utd <http://www.kumb.com/news_archive.php>
Filed: Saturday, 13th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Dimitri Payet will take all the plaudits once again after having a hand in both of West Ham's goals at Carrow Road this afternoon.
But the real star of the show for the Hammers was someone who's been at the club just a little longer.
Mark Noble, who celebrates his testimonial at the club next month was a constant throw-in the side of today's opponents, but even he couldn't prevent Norwich opening up a two-goal lead early on in the second half.
Whilst the Hammers had managed to keep their hosts out in a fairly even - yet largely uneventful - first half, two goals within nine minutes after the break put City in a strong position - and one from which they should have seen the game out comfortably.
Robbie Brady put the Canaries ahead when he took advantage of Michail Antonio dilly-dallying with the ball some 30 yards from goal.
The former Hull striker, whose penalty at the KC Stadium last season condemned West Ham to a narrow defeat strode towards goal unchallenged before unleashing a fierce volley that flew into the top corner leaving Adrian no chance.
West Ham were still reeling from falling behind when they conceded a second, nine minutes later. Wes Hoolahan took advantage of more defensive lapses by the Hammers and converted from close range to give Norwich what appeared to be an unassailable lead.
That was until Dimitri Payet, fresh from signing a new bumper contract decided to grab the bull by the horns and turn the game around with just quarter-of-an-hour of the game remaining.
Vic Moses, on as a replacement for an unusually quiet Antonio broke at pace towards Norwich's goal before being challenges by Canaries 'keeper John Ruddy. Fortunately for West Ham the ball broke kindly and Payet was on hand to slot home the loose ball.
Now playing with their tails up for the first time in the game, West Ham began to look a constant threat and they were rewarded just two minutes later. Payet, receiving the ball wide on the left pulled a low centre back for the advancing Noble, who drove the ball into the back of Ruddy's net to make it 2-2.
West Ham's comeback was gleefully accepted by Slaven Bilic, who said: ""We are never happy with a point, we are not buzzing. But when that point comes after being 2-0 down it gives us confidence and satisfaction.
"After Tuesday night when we played 130 minutes, to show that kind of strength, resilience, character and quality makes us happy."
Unsurprisingly Bilic's joy was not shared was Norwich boss Alex Neil, who was distraught at seeing his team let a two-goal lead slip once again.
"We created good opportunities and it was a better performance than we have had recently," he said. "But from 2-0 up at home and with the way the game was going we should have seen it out.
"We will take a lot from the performance - but we are disappointed we let a lead slip."
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Slaven Bilic praises impact of West Ham substitutes in 2-2 draw at Norwich
By Oliver Yew
Last Updated: 13/02/16 7:12pm
SSN
Having played 120 minutes in the FA Cup midweek, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was happy his side could salvage a 2-2 draw with Norwich
Slaven Bilic praised the impact of his substitutes as West Ham fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Norwich.
West Ham found themselves 2-0 down after 65 minutes after goals from Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan, but Bilic, who threw on Victor Moses, Andy Carroll and Emanuel Emenike in the second-half, saw his side hit back through two goals in two second-half minutes from Dimitri Payet and Mark Noble.
While Bilic was disappointed his side could not find a winner, he praised his side's character and declared himself happy with a point.
"We have to praise the character and the spirit of the guys, especially after 120 minutes on Tuesday," Bilic told Sky Sports.
"From when we scored our first goal until their chance with the last kick of the game it was all us.
"When you come from two goals down to 2-2 you are happy but in the end we could have won the game.
"We probably should have won but then again it was a good point for us. My thoughts are positive. We wanted to win the game but to finish like we did, I'm happy."
Moses played an instrumental part in Payet's equaliser, forcing a save from Ruddy which rebounded to the Frenchman.
Carroll and Emenike also caused Norwich's defence problems and the latter could have won it towards the end of the 90 minutes, but missed a couple chances.
"All the guys deserve praise, especially those that came from the bench," Bilic added.
"All three of them made a great impact."
Bilic also singled out Payet, who signed a new five year deal with the club in midweek , for praise as the Frenchman took his tally for goals scored and assisted to 12 in the Premier League.
"He's like that," Bilic said. "He scored a goal and got another assist and he created the few chances we had at the end.
"It's not a surprise to me or for anyone."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham United battled back from two goals down to score a dramatic 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Norwich City.
The Hammers, who have not won a league game at Carrow Road since Bryan 'Pop' Robson scored the only Division One goal in February 1973, looked set to lose in Norfolk again when Irish pair Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan put the hosts ahead after half-time.
However, Slaven Bilic sent on the attacking cavalry and got his reward as substitute Victor Moses played a pivotal role in Dimitri Payet's goal, which dragged West Ham back into it with 16 minutes to go.
Three minutes later, the comeback was complete as Moses started a move that saw fellow replacement Andy Carroll find Payet on the byline. The Frenchman looked up and cut back for Mark Noble to slam high into the net from 18 yards.
Both teams had big chances to snatch all three points in a frantic final period, but had to make do with a deserved share of the spoils in the end.
Much earlier, with both teams employing 4-2-3-1 formations, the first half was an evenly-contested, eventful if goalless affair, with both teams taking turns to enjoy periods in the ascendancy.
Accordingly, each also created a handful of goalscoring opportunities, half-chances and dangerous set piece positions, but neither could find a way past the opposition goalkeeper.
After Norwich had made the brighter start, with returning captain Russell Martin firing high and wide inside 30 seconds, the Hammers took control with their pass-and-move game inside the Canaries half.
Leading the line, Enner Valencia repeatedly attempted to run in behind the Norwich back four, with varying degrees of success.
On eleven minutes, he broke the offside trap onto Mark Noble's pass, only for his touch to let him down as he tried to bear down on John Ruddy's goal.
Seven minutes later, the Ecuador star showed a far firmer control when he collected from Dimitri Payet, took two touches and stung Ruddy's fingertips with a rasping left-foot shot from 20 yards.
Pedro Obiang then slipped as he attempted a long-range effort and that moment appeared to turn the tide of the game.
Norwich went back on the offensive and showed some real poise around the West Ham penalty are, with Wes Hoolahan in particular looking elusive and skilful, but once inside the 18-yard box things fell apart.
On 24 minutes, Hoolahan drew a foul from James Collins – who became the first of three first half bookings – after Adrian had put Michail Antonio under pressure with a quick throw, but Robbie Brady curled the free-kick over the top.
Collins and Steven Naismith both saw weak efforts elude the target as half-time approached and the two managers were able to regroup with the game still level at the break.
The second half was a completely different animal, with chances galore, Norwich racing into a two-goal lead and West Ham staging yet another late comeback to grab the point which takes them to 40 for the season.
Cameron Jerome had already fired wide before Brady opened the scoring ten minutes after the break, robbing Antonio before curling an exquisite shot past Adrian via the underside of the crossbar.
Ten minutes later, the game appeared to be up for Bilic's side as Naismith's shot was deflected into the path of Hoolahan, who calmly placed his shot under the advancing goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
In between the goals, the West Ham manager had brought on Carroll and Moses for Valencia and Alex Song, and those substitutions would pay off late on.
As the game went into the final 20 minutes, Antonio saw a low shot saved by Ruddy, but it would not be long before the Hammers found the net.
Moses raced clear from halfway into the Norwich box, appeared to be fouled twice, stayed on his feet and shot low and hard, Ruddy parried and the supporting Payet slid the ball into the unguarded net.
Three minutes later, it was two-all in stunning fashion. Moses found Carroll by the left touchline, and the England striker poked the ball through for Payet to run onto, look up and pick out Noble, who slammed a shot high past Ruddy from the edge of the area.
The final 15 minutes or so of normal and added time were breathless, with West Ham going close three times – twice through substitute Emmanuel Emenike and once through compatriot Moses.
Norwich nearly stole it themselves in the final seconds, but Adrian stood firm to save Nathan Redmond's low shot at the near post.
Seconds later, the final whistle was blown by referee Mike Jones and everyone inside Carrow Road could finally exhale!
Norwich City: Ruddy, Martin ©, Bassong, Klose, Brady, Howson, O'Neil, Redmond, Hoolahan (Dorran 85), Naismith (Olsson 76), Jerome (Mbokani 84)
Subs not used: Rudd (GK), Pinto, Jarvis, Bamford
Goals: Brady 55, Hoolahan 65
Booked: Howson, Naismith
West Ham United: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Song (Moses 62), Noble ©, Obiang, Antonio (Emenike 70), Payet, Valencia (Carroll 62)
Subs not used: Randolph (GK), Oxford, Browne, Parfitt-Williams
Goals: Payet 74, Noble 77
Booked: Collins, Obiang
Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 27,101 (2,645 West Ham United)
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Bilic content with Carrow Road comeback
WHUFC.com
Slaven gets his point across at Carrow Road
Slaven Bilic hailed the impact made by his substitutes as West Ham United came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Norwich City.
The Hammers trailed by two goals going into the final 20 minutes, but the introduction of Andy Carroll, Victor Moses and later Emmanuel Emenike almost saw the visitors snatch an unlikely victory at Carrow Road.
Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan had put Norwich into a seemingly unassailable position midway through the second half, but Moses' run set up Dimitri Payet to make it 2-1 with 16 minutes to go. Then both Moses and Carroll were involved in the move which ended with Mark Noble slamming Payet's expert cut-back into the top corner.
Emenike and Moses both went close to nicking it late on, and Bilic was fulsome in his praise for his replacements.
"They made the difference," he enthused. "They made a huge impact and I expected that from them, but the way they made that impact was great and they deserve all the praise."
Speaking in more general terms about a breathless second half in Norfolk, Bilic said he was content with a point following a physically and emotionally draining week.
"It was a game of emotions," said the manager. "You can talk about positives and negatives but when you consider we played for 120 minutes on Tuesday night [to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup] and the fact we were two goals down here in a very short period of time, it was a good draw.
"Their first goal was absolutely our gift to them and their second you could call a bit unlucky because there was a deflection and all that, so then you need team spirit and resilience, but you also need quality to come back.
"The way we played in the last half an hour was brilliant and I want to praise the team. The guys did really well to get a point for us."
Both goals showcased West Ham's spirit, desire and quality in the attacking third, with the players showing determination to get into position before showing the ability to finish those chances off.
The first came following an individual run and shot from Moses, which was finished by Payet following up after John Ruddy had parried the Nigerian's shot. The second came at the end of a decisive passing move that cut Norwich's defence to shreds.
West Ham continued to create chances in the final moments, with Emenike and Moses coming within inches of finding a winner.
"I am expecting them to do it because they have that quality and they showed it," the manager explained. "The first goal was a brilliant move, but that's why he's Victor Moses and that's why he is a West Ham player. I was then expecting a player to be there to finish the loose ball, whether that be Dimi or someone else.
"After that we continued to press them and continued to play and scored the second one and could have won the game.
"It summed it up that the home crowd, the home players and the home bench were unhappy with the five minutes of added time. After we got it back to 2-1, there was only one side on the pitch.
"OK, they had a last-second corner but it was us who were on top and wanted to win the game and didn't want the game to stop."
Bilic and his players will recover and regroup before starting preparations for next Sunday's Emirates FA Cup fifth-round trip to Blackburn Rovers.
In the meantime, the Claret and Blue Army can celebrate reaching 40 points, a place in the top six and the new long-term contract signed last week by talisman Payet.
"With our key players, we have to keep them and give them what they deserve and to be fair I have to praise the Chairmen and the Board for the way they reacted quite quickly," said Bilic.
"It's great because, although he already had a long contract, we wanted to show him we appreciate the way he is playing and want to tie his future to West Ham.
"Basically, we are not only showing by moving stadiums that we are moving forward, but also with the team selection and the squad that we have, so big congratulations to the Chairmen and the Board."
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Noble hails Hammers' resolve
WHUFC.com
Skipper Mark Noble was thrilled to end the week on a positive note after his third Barclays Premier League goal of the season completed a storming West Ham United comeback at Carrow Road on Saturday.
The Hammers were staring down the barrel of a second successive league defeat on their travels when Wes Hoolahan pounced on a ricochet in the box, after Robbie Brady had broken the deadlock with a fine effort via the underside of the bar.
But even after the exertions of 120 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday, Noble and co found the strength to claw their way back.
Dimitri Payet swept home on the angle after Victor Moses had been denied, and the Frenchman then turned provider for Noble himself, who rifled emphatically into the corner from 18 yards to square the contest.
West Ham's No16 hailed the Hammers' resolve to drag themselves back from the brink and confessed to being disappointed that they hadn't left with all three points in the end.
He told West Ham TV: "Especially after the midweek game, the lads put in everything to get the point, which was so important for us after being 2-0 down.
"Sometimes you've got to hold your hands up and we made a mistake, obviously with Michail, but you can't blame him for that. He's been fantastic for us and Robbie scores a great goal. But the fight, the character and the spirit we had coming back was great.
"We probably should have won it in the end. We were gutted in there that we hadn't won. We scored two really good goals and what a great comeback for the Club, especially after the winning in the 120th minute against Liverpool. To come back from that just finishes the week off on a good note."
As for his all-important goal, Noble revealed that he may well have resisted the temptation to surge forward, after taking a knock to the knee, but wisely thought otherwise when Payet received possession.
"To be honest, I'd just got a kick on the halfway line and the back of my knee was sore.
"The ball obviously went forward and I saw Dimi had a bit of space and time, and I thought get on your bike, because he'll find you. I just kept going, Dimi found me and it just nestled nicely in the top corner."
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A message from Jack Collison
WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison has announced his retirement from professional football...
It's hard knowing how to start this…
But as of tomorrow when I wake up, I am no longer Jack Collison – the footballer. As of tomorrow, I am officially retired.
I suppose this day has been coming for a while, but the harsh reality of actually admitting it and saying it is very different to just thinking about it. In all honesty it has been on the cards for a while, but I have never been one to give up without a fight, and this fight against injury has truly been a mammoth battle.
I never in a million years dreamt that, at 27 years of age, I would be having to announce my retirement, but then again I never thought I would have played in the Premier League and for my country by the age of 19.
I think every kid grows up dreaming of one day playing in packed stadiums against some of the best players in the world. I suppose the only difference is that I became obsessed with this dream at a young age and eventually accomplished it.
I feel very blessed to have achieved what I did in my short time playing the game. However deep down I feel there will always be a sickening feeling of 'what if'. Potential not quite reached? Maybe.
The fact that I have never been fully fit since my knee injury at the age of 20 may haunt me in later life, but it is something I have grown comfortable enough to live with for the time being.
It certainly wasn't through a lack of effort and trying. I dedicated my life to the game and even more so to my knee. Hours in the gym, sleepless nights, countless operations and thousands of pounds visiting the best physios around the world, all so I could make it out on to the pitch.
I'm happy that I can look myself in the mirror and say I threw my heart and soul into trying to accomplish my dreams.
However the time has finally come to say, enough is enough, and admit my body can no longer cope with the demands of modern day football.
The nights when I wake up in pain, or the mornings when I struggle to walk will be a constant reminder that I was lucky enough to play the game I love. That I put my body on the line time and time again to live out my dreams in front of the world.
I'm not after sympathy or a pat on the back, I just want to share my story and let people know how grateful I am that I had a little taste of it. I know I am one of the lucky ones.
When I look back now, I have many great memories. I can smile and enjoy sharing my experiences. I would be lying if I said I didn't still wake up some mornings feeling good and think 'one more try.' But that would be unfair. On myself, my fellow professionals and even more so my family. I have put them through hell fighting this battle, over the past couple of seasons especially.
I don't want to be remembered for being useless and just picking up my money, I want to bow out with some of my pride intact. I have had plenty of time to mull this over and have not acted hastily in this decision and I must say that Peterborough United have acted with class throughout. They have allowed me to make the easy transition from playing to coaching without any issues and I now intend to repay their faith by helping the next generation make the step from young up and coming player to first team superstar.
My passion for playing is slowly dying out, but my passion for football is burning ever so strong and I intend to stay within the game and make my mark in other areas.
I am currently completing my coaching badges, whilst managing The Posh U18s and I love watching my own Soccer School flourish. I have other interests as well, including a university degree in sports writing and a Miami venture which I am also very excited about. Although football has made me the man I am today it doesn't define me and I am very optimistic about the future.
I suppose the only way to end this is by showing my appreciation to those who have helped me at various stages in my career and helped me realise my dream.
Firstly, thank you to all of the great clubs I have played for. Thank you to my family, my agent and my friends for sticking by me. We have experienced the ultimate highs, and deepest of lows and It's been amazing to have you by my side throughout. A huge thank you to the fans as well, the support I have received has been amazing and I hope I have repaid some of you with some memorable moments on the pitch.
A special thank you must go to my fiancée and my little girl, I know at times it must have been tough living with such an obsessed maniac, but your love and support through it all has kept me going, even on the darkest of days and I intend to make it up to you now.
Lastly I would like to take the time to thank the beautiful game, for football has given me so much. Through the blood, sweat and tears I am forever grateful.
As a kid you gave me a dream, a vision so intense I dedicated my life to you. As an adult you gave me a livelihood, an opportunity and a platform to share my love of the game with the world, And even as a retired player you have still not stopped giving, as I set upon my journey to give back to the game that has given me so much.
So I'm signing off for now. With a tear in my eye, but a huge smile on my face, I sit here optimistic. I'm excited for the next chapter and if it's anything like the last I know it's going to be one hell of a journey
Thanks for being a part of it
JC x
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
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Norwich City 2-2 West Ham Utd <http://www.kumb.com/news_archive.php>
Filed: Saturday, 13th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Dimitri Payet will take all the plaudits once again after having a hand in both of West Ham's goals at Carrow Road this afternoon.
But the real star of the show for the Hammers was someone who's been at the club just a little longer.
Mark Noble, who celebrates his testimonial at the club next month was a constant throw-in the side of today's opponents, but even he couldn't prevent Norwich opening up a two-goal lead early on in the second half.
Whilst the Hammers had managed to keep their hosts out in a fairly even - yet largely uneventful - first half, two goals within nine minutes after the break put City in a strong position - and one from which they should have seen the game out comfortably.
Robbie Brady put the Canaries ahead when he took advantage of Michail Antonio dilly-dallying with the ball some 30 yards from goal.
The former Hull striker, whose penalty at the KC Stadium last season condemned West Ham to a narrow defeat strode towards goal unchallenged before unleashing a fierce volley that flew into the top corner leaving Adrian no chance.
West Ham were still reeling from falling behind when they conceded a second, nine minutes later. Wes Hoolahan took advantage of more defensive lapses by the Hammers and converted from close range to give Norwich what appeared to be an unassailable lead.
That was until Dimitri Payet, fresh from signing a new bumper contract decided to grab the bull by the horns and turn the game around with just quarter-of-an-hour of the game remaining.
Vic Moses, on as a replacement for an unusually quiet Antonio broke at pace towards Norwich's goal before being challenges by Canaries 'keeper John Ruddy. Fortunately for West Ham the ball broke kindly and Payet was on hand to slot home the loose ball.
Now playing with their tails up for the first time in the game, West Ham began to look a constant threat and they were rewarded just two minutes later. Payet, receiving the ball wide on the left pulled a low centre back for the advancing Noble, who drove the ball into the back of Ruddy's net to make it 2-2.
West Ham's comeback was gleefully accepted by Slaven Bilic, who said: ""We are never happy with a point, we are not buzzing. But when that point comes after being 2-0 down it gives us confidence and satisfaction.
"After Tuesday night when we played 130 minutes, to show that kind of strength, resilience, character and quality makes us happy."
Unsurprisingly Bilic's joy was not shared was Norwich boss Alex Neil, who was distraught at seeing his team let a two-goal lead slip once again.
"We created good opportunities and it was a better performance than we have had recently," he said. "But from 2-0 up at home and with the way the game was going we should have seen it out.
"We will take a lot from the performance - but we are disappointed we let a lead slip."
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Slaven Bilic praises impact of West Ham substitutes in 2-2 draw at Norwich
By Oliver Yew
Last Updated: 13/02/16 7:12pm
SSN
Having played 120 minutes in the FA Cup midweek, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was happy his side could salvage a 2-2 draw with Norwich
Slaven Bilic praised the impact of his substitutes as West Ham fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Norwich.
West Ham found themselves 2-0 down after 65 minutes after goals from Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan, but Bilic, who threw on Victor Moses, Andy Carroll and Emanuel Emenike in the second-half, saw his side hit back through two goals in two second-half minutes from Dimitri Payet and Mark Noble.
While Bilic was disappointed his side could not find a winner, he praised his side's character and declared himself happy with a point.
"We have to praise the character and the spirit of the guys, especially after 120 minutes on Tuesday," Bilic told Sky Sports.
"From when we scored our first goal until their chance with the last kick of the game it was all us.
"When you come from two goals down to 2-2 you are happy but in the end we could have won the game.
"We probably should have won but then again it was a good point for us. My thoughts are positive. We wanted to win the game but to finish like we did, I'm happy."
Moses played an instrumental part in Payet's equaliser, forcing a save from Ruddy which rebounded to the Frenchman.
Carroll and Emenike also caused Norwich's defence problems and the latter could have won it towards the end of the 90 minutes, but missed a couple chances.
"All the guys deserve praise, especially those that came from the bench," Bilic added.
"All three of them made a great impact."
Bilic also singled out Payet, who signed a new five year deal with the club in midweek , for praise as the Frenchman took his tally for goals scored and assisted to 12 in the Premier League.
"He's like that," Bilic said. "He scored a goal and got another assist and he created the few chances we had at the end.
"It's not a surprise to me or for anyone."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, February 13
Daily WHUFC News - 13th February 2016
Preview - Norwich City
WHUFC.com
The background West Ham United return to Barclays Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to relegation-threatened Norwich City.
The Canaries, who won the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs last term to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking, find themselves in danger again following a run of five successive defeats.
Alex Neil's team slipped into the bottom three last weekend after Newcastle United defeated West Bromwich Albion to overhaul them. The Canaries were losing to bottom of the table Aston Villa at the time, adding them to Tottenham, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Stoke as the teams to defeat them since the turn of the year.
West Ham's form has been better, despite losing 1-0 at Southampton last time out in the league. They took four points from their previous two games, and defeated Liverpool in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday night.
Angelo Ogbonna settled a dramatic contest at the Boleyn Ground, climbing high to head home from Dimitri Payet's free kick in the final minute of extra time and seal a 2-1 win.The historyWest Ham United and Norwich City have met on 51 occasions in the past. It is the Hammers who edge the head-to-head record, with 19 victories to the Canaries' 16. The other 16 encounters have ended all-square.
The Hammers last won at Carrow Road in an FA Cup third round tie in January 2006, drawing 0-0 and losing 3-1 there in the league since.
In the last meeting, at the Boleyn Ground in September, Cheikhou Kouyate struck at the death to rescue a point for a West Ham team who trailed twice. Robbie Brady opened the scoring, with Diafra Sakho levelling on 33 minutes. Nathan Redmond appeared to have won it for the visitors seven minutes from time before Kouyate's late intervention.
Norwich have ex-Hammers Matt Jarvis and Gary O'Neil in their squad, with the former having joined the East Anglian side permanently in January following a loan spell for the first half of the campaign.The match Team newsWest Ham United The Hammers picked up a number of extra injury worries in the week, with Winston Reid, Joey O'Brien (both hamstring) and Cheikhou Kouyate (concussion) now all absent for the trip to Norwich.
James Tomkins (calf) is another recent injury victim and faces five weeks out, but Sam Byram and Emmanuel Emenike return after being ineligible for the midweek game.
Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho are both set to resume training this week as they edge ever closer to comebacks.Norwich CityAlex Tettey is serving the second match of a two-game ban for the Canaries so will miss out for the hosts.
Graham Dorrans returns to the fold after suffering an illness, but defender Andre Wisdom is out with a knee injury.Match info
* Saturday's match referee is Mike Jones, who hails from Chester and will be taking charge of a Hammers game for the first time this season. He was last the man in the middle for a West Ham match last April, when they drew 0-0 at Queens Park Rangers. His assistant referees will be Mark Scholes and Andy Halliday. Gavin Ward is the fourth official.
* Five of the nine Premier League meetings have ended in a draw, with both sides winning two apiece.
* There has been a 90th-minute goal in the last four Premier League games between these two teams.
* Norwich have lost their last five league matches and their last six in all competitions, conceding 19 goals.
* The Canaries have conceded the first goal of the game on 18 occasions in the Premier League this season, a league-high.
* The Hammers have been in the top half of the table all season.
Ticketing, travel, coverage and other info
* Tickets for West Ham supporters for this game have SOLD OUT.
* Supporters travelling by train should note that there is no service between Liverpool Street and Ingatestone on the line to Norwich this weekend. Replacement buses are running between Newbury Park on the Central line and Ingatestone. Click here <http://www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/travel-information/service-alterations?details=1868&month=2&year=2016> for more information.
* A dry, cloudy and chilly day is expected in Norwich on Saturday. Temperatures are set to reach 5C (41F) at kick-off.
* Click here <http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-travel-guide-west-ham-united-fans-2948057.aspx> for Norwich's away fan guide.
* If you're not heading to the game, make sure you stay abreast of all the action on our digital channels. The whufc.com Live Match Centre will have live audio commentary and text updates, in-running stats, photos and more. You can get involved in the conversation on social using #NORWHU
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Payet - The love affair continues
WHUFC.COM
Dimitri Payet feels the number of West Ham United players signing up to the cause on long-term contracts is proof of the Club's lofty ambitions for next season and beyond, and meant his decision to join them was never in doubt.
After pledging his future to the Hammers until 2021, Payet joins the likes of skipper Mark Noble, Winston Reid, Adrian, Aaron Cresswell and James Collins in penning new deals in the past 12 months, as the Hammers prepare for life on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The 28-year-old contends that everything is now in place for the Hammers to continue making giant leaps forward and that, says Payet, is an attractive proposition.
"I think there is everything here to make West Ham a big club," he told West Ham TV. You need time and we'll take time, but we're all conscious of it and we all want to help grow this Club.
"West Ham have the means to fulfil their ambitions. It's true that to have a new stadium is good and to grow, the team must know how to keep its players.
"That's why it posed me no problem to extend my stay at West Ham, because I feel that the Club really has the desire to continue. Adrian has extended his contract, Ginge as well, it shows that the Club really wants to keep its players and arrive next season in the new Stadium with a competitive team."
Payet wants to make the Hammers' new home a fortress, just as the Boleyn Ground has long since been. Slaven Bilic's charges are now unbeaten at home in their last 12 in all competitions and the French talisman hopes for more of the same at the former Olympic Stadium next season.
"Even to play here [at the Boleyn Ground], it's always full and there's an exceptional atmosphere. We're going to have almost 20,000 extra seats and, if it's full, it's a going to be a magnificent atmosphere.
"I think that in the league your home matches are very important. When you have a good campaign at home and take the maximum points, it already helps to have a very good season. It will be down to us to make sure that the Stadium is paradise for us and hell for our opponents."
Payet admits that even he couldn't have hoped to adjust to life in the Barclays Premier League quite as quickly and dramatically as he has done, not the least with the groundswell of support from the stands.
And it's fitting, he says, that this new contract should come hot on the heels of Tuesday night, the latest of memorable occasions in an already memorable season.
"For sure I didn't think that I'd adapt so quickly and so well at the Club," he confirmed. "Fortunately it's happened like that and all the better, but it's always complicated to adapt oneself to a new Club. I feel very good here and I want to stay!
"I'm particularly happy that this new contract has happened now, after the success of a magnificent victory against Liverpool, where there was truly a harmony between the team and the supporters. So I'd say it's welcome after such a match."
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Slaven's Season Ticket Surprise
WHUFC.com
West Ham United supporters selecting their new Stadium seats got a whole lot more than they bargained for on Thursday when manager Slaven Bilic paid a surprise visit to the Club's Stratford Reservation Centre.
Fresh from Tuesday's dramatic last-gasp FA Cup victory over Liverpool, Bilic surprised unsuspecting Hammers in this, the first week of appointments for supporters on the New Stadium Season Ticket Priority List.
Now that all invitations to existing Season Ticket Holders have been issued, with upward of 98 per cent taking up their seat, the Club have begun the process of inviting supporters on the 30,000-plus strong Priority List.
With some six months still to go before the big kick-off in August, the Hammers have already sold more Season Tickets at their new 54,000 seat home than the 35,016 capacity of the Boleyn Ground.
Thrilled by the Hammers' unbelievable show of support and the prospect of selling out the new Stadium, the Croat said: "It's full of people. It is buzzing here. And we are all proud and happy that people are able to get their tickets and look forward to the next season."
Looking at the range of seats on offer to the fans, the Hammers boss said: "In the new Stadium, you can't get a bad seat. You are definitely guaranteed to get a good view anywhere you sit. It looks as though the Stadium is going to be sold out, and that is great."
Earlier in the week Joint-Chairman David Gold had met some of the very first supporters on the Priority List to snap up their seats on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Mr Gold said the extraordinary demand for tickets is proof that the Club's affordable pricing strategy is absolutely right.
"The strategy is working," he confirmed. To give you an idea, we were predicting perhaps half of fans on the waiting list would go on and buy a ticket, but actually it's more like 80 per cent at the moment, so we know that we're doing the right thing.
"We were always confident. All the statistics showed that we should come close to filling the Stadium, but until it starts happening, you're always questioning your judgement. But we now know, with almost certainty that we're going to sell out of Season Tickets.
Among those to meet Mr Gold was young Geo Mackie from Inverurie in north east Scotland, who made the 1,100-mile round trip by bus to ensure he secured his 2016/17 Season Ticket.
He told West Ham TV: "It's a fair trek, 24 hours on a bus, 1,100 miles, but it's worth it, isn't it? You can feel the atmosphere while you're here, the excitement levels.
"We've been looking at the virtual footage. We've supported West Ham for a long time, we're grown men but it feels like Christmas.
"This is my first Season Ticket. I've been going since I was four. My Dad took me down two or three times a season. We're not the wealthiest family, but they made sure I could always come down and see West Ham."
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Byram - It's pure excitement
WHUFC.com
West Ham United new boy Sam Byram is already making himself at home at the former Olympic Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
After putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers in January, the Essex-born full-back was soon having a nosey around the Club's 54,000-capacity future home.
He even popped into the New Stadium Reservation Centre for good measure and departed with a very clear sense of where his new Club is headed.
"It's pure excitement," the former Leeds United man told West Ham TV. "You see the size of it and you can imagine over 50,000 fans cheering as you come out, bubbles blowing. It really is exciting times.
"It's historic for West Ham. To play in a Stadium of that size and the history behind the Olympics, for us to move into it, it's massive and it was a big part of me wanting to come here.
"We were stood in the tunnel where you'd walk out. You can see how big it is and the atmosphere that will be created in there.
"The roof, it's almost like a dome shape, so it's going to keep all the noise and it really will be a special place on matchday. It's unbelievable.
"I'm very impressed. It's a lot better than I even expected, it's huge in real life. I'm just really excited now for the start of next season."
As are his Essex-based relatives, who have already snapped up Season Tickets for the 2016/17 campaign. In fact, Byram made good use of the Virtual Venue at the Reservation Centre to survey the vantage point from his family's seats in the new West Stand.
"It's a great bit of technology to be able to show the fans where they potentially could be sitting next season," he continued. "It does really help out, I think, when it comes to choosing your seats.
"I've seen where my uncle and cousin are going to be sitting. They're just behind the dugout, so they're just a stone's throw away. It's great for them and it's good for every fan that's going to have the chance to be able to watch us in there."
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The Hammers' new Stadium Fortress
WHUFC.com
Hammers fans will be greeted with the very latest in turnstile technology at the former Olympic Stadium
West Ham United supporters can look forward to taking advantage of the very latest in turnstile technology when entering the Hammers' new home next season.
The Club have long worked alongside market leaders Fortress GB at the Boleyn Ground and will be implementing the most advanced, future-proofed system available at the former Olympic Stadium turnstiles.
Fortress' platform enables a vast array of services including digital ticketing, automated access control and fan engagement programmes.
As used by many of the world's largest stadia, the technology in place will enable supporters to enter the ground using a number of different means, via a range of touch points embedded into the Stadium's ecosystem.
Naturally, the traditional access cards and paper tickets are still applicable, but supporters will also be able to print their tickets at home. Supporters can therefore avoid queues on the day for collection, and instead request that their ticket be sent via email.
Whatever the preferred option, supporters can look forward to far greater flexibility and significantly quicker, simpler entry into the ground.
Every turnstile is also equipped with special indicators to signify concession tickets so that any persons trying to enter the Stadium with an incorrect age concession ticket will be denied entry, the ticket will become void and will be confiscated.
With the introduction of £99 Season Tickets for Under-16s, the Club have gone to great lengths to create a family-friendly stadium and will apply the strictest penalties to anyone seeking to misuse a concession ticket.
Elsewhere, the Club are pleased to confirm that they are exploring the possibility of extending the technology into its many uses for supporter engagement. Above all, the Club hope to use the system to institute a series of reward schemes for supporters, as Manchester City are now doing at the Etihad Stadium.
To make those reward schemes possible, every single reader in the ground is set up with its own mini PC in the turnstile to ascertain exactly which cards, or tickets have been used and when.
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Payet: the love affair continues
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 12th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
Dimitri Payet says that he has signed a new contract with West Ham as he believes the club has the potential to challenge the elite.
The 28-year-old midfielder put pen to paper on a lucrative new five-and-a-half year contract earlier this week, a deal that makes him the club's highest-paid player and the first ever to earn a seven-figure weekly wage.
And talking about his new contract, signed just seven months after he joined the club in a £10.5million switch from Marseille, Payet explained that he was delighted to secure his future with the move to the Olympic Stadium on the horizon.
"West Ham has the means to achieve its ambitions," he told West Ham's website. "To have the new stadium is good and in order to grow the club must keep its best players - and that's why it was no problem to sign a new contract.
"The club really wants to keep its best players and arrive at the new stadium next season with a competitive team. I think West Ham have everything they need to become a big club. It'll take time, but we're conscious of that and all want to help the club grow."
Payet has been linked with a move to the emerging Chinese Super League prior to signing a new deal with West Ham. And he hopes that his new deal illustrates his desire to both remain at and succeed as a Hammer.
"I think this is the best way of showing them [the fans] that all the rumours and things that have been said about me in recent days were not true," he added. "Hopefully today is going to silence those rumours.
"I didn't think I'd adapt so quickly and so well [at West Ham]. Fortunately it's happened that way and that's for the better, because it's always complicated to adapt to a new club. Now I feel very good here and I want to stay."
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Norwich v West Ham preview: Hammers stretched with injuriesBy Patrick SurlisLast Updated: 12/02/16 6:01pm
SSN
The two sides played out a 2-2 draw earlier this season
West Ham are set to be without several first-team players when they travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich on Saturday.
Winston Reid, Cheikhou Kouyate and Joey O'Brien all picked up injuries during West Ham's FA Cup triumph over Liverpool on Tuesday, adding to an already lengthy injury list.
Aside from the injuries, the Hammers have a poor record at Carrow Road, having failed to win on their last 16 league visits, but they face a Norwich team in poor form.
The Canaries slipped into the relegation zone for the first time since the opening weekend after their defeat by Aston Villa, and Alex Neil's side are without a win since January 2.
Team news
Alex Tettey is unavailable for Norwich as the midfielder completes his two-match suspension following a 10th booking of the season against Tottenham.
Neil will make a late decision on Graham Dorrans (illness), while Andre Wisdom is a doubt with a knee problem.
West Ham's injuries are piling up as Reid, O'Brien (both hamstring) and Kouyate (concussion) all went down in midweek. They join James Tomkins (calf), Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho (both thigh) on the sidelines.
However, Alex Song is available having shaken off the knock which kept him out of the replay and Sam Byram returns after being cup-tied.
Opta stats
None of the previous 13 league meetings between West Ham and Norwich have ended with an away win (six home wins, seven draws).
There has been a 90th minute goal in all of the last four league games between the two sides.
Wes Hoolahan has been substituted in 16 of his 18 top-flight starts this season; more often than any other player.
Norwich have conceded the first goal of the game on 18 occasions in the league this season; a league-high.
Meanwhile, they have only made 395 touches in the opposition box this season (16 per game) - a league-low, but West Ham players have made a league-high 10 errors leading to goals.
Dimitri Payet has created 66 goalscoring chances this season, more than double the tally of any other West Ham player.
Dimitri Payet has agreed a new West Ham contract
Merson's prediction
This game is another prime example of how the timing of football matches can affect the outcome. Norwich will have looked at the fixtures and probably wouldn't have fancied themselves against a West Ham side that has been flying this season.
However, when you consider the Hammers played 120 minutes in midweek, have an eye on the next round of the cup and probably can't qualify for the top four, then this the best time to play them. West Ham have got a great chance to win the FA Cup and have bigger fish to fry so I fancy Norwich to nick a vital win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
With £250,000 up for grabs in this season's Soccer Saturday Super 6, Jeff Stelling gives you a helping hand with his tips and predictions
Betting
West Ham are Sky Bet's marginal favourites ahead of their trip to Carrow Road , with Norwich priced at 6/4. The Hammers are sixth despite claiming only five points from the last 12 and remain a 4/1 shot to finish in the top six .
The Canaries have lost five on the bounce and are now 8/11 to be relegated. The sides shared a 2-2 draw at Upton Park earlier in the season and another draw is available at 9/4. Steven Naismith and Enner Valencia both to net is 10/1.
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West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate to follow Dimitri Payet in committing future to club
* 21:46, 12 FEB 2016
* UPDATED 21:46, 12 FEB 2016
* BY DARREN LEWIS <http://www.mirror.co.uk/authors/darren-lewis/>
The Mirror
The Senegalese midfielder is believed to have been handed a four-year deal to reward him for his form this season star set to commit his future to the club.
The 26-year-old star is believed to have been handed a four-year deal to reward him for being one of the most consistent performers in the Hammers team.
The Hammers rejected a £15million bid for the Senegalese international midfielder last summer.
Now Kouyate , who joined the club from Anderlecht in 2014, will join Dimitri Payet in being one of the key players around whom West Ham will continue building.
Mirrorfootball exclusively revealed earlier this week details of the massive £125,000-a-week with which the east Londoners rewarded Payet for his magnificent displays this season.
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njures but Irons to field strong line up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 12, 2016
C and H
The Irons are set to send out a powerful team against Norwich tomorrow despite having been hit with a number of injuries.
James Tomkins, Winston Reid and Cheik Kouyate will all be unavailable to manager Slaven Bilic but such is the depth of the squad the Irons will still look a formidable proposition against the struggling Canaries.
Sam Byram is expected to slip into the right back position with James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna forming the central defensive partnership.
Alex Song is set to join Mark Noble in midfield along with the outstanding Pedro Obiang who was in excellent form against Liverpool.
Dmitri Payet, Michail Antonio and Enner Valencia are expected to complete the line up with the likely line up being: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble, Song, Obiang, Payet, Antonio, Valencia.
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Gold:'We've served notice of intent'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 12, 2016
C and H
David Gold reckons the signing of Dimi Payet to a big new contract will have had the world sitting up and taking notice.
And speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh he said: "We have our eyes on the top four – that's what everything at this club is geared to. We have made it clear that we intend to keep our best players and we are going to add to them this summer. We've served notice of our intent."
He was keen to point out that the speed of the Payet deal was necessary to avoid continued uncertainty as the club looks to kick on this summer.
But he added: "Deals like this just don't happen – we have been on a journey for the last six years from the brink of receivership to signing a player like Payet and improving an already good deal.
"We are not a selling club, we don't need to sell and we won't. We are looking to tie up our best players on long contracts and bring others in.
"We are proud of where we have come from, we are proud of our team and our fantastic manager. We still have a way to go but it's about the top four – that's the only place for an ambitious club and my God we are ambitious."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
The background West Ham United return to Barclays Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to relegation-threatened Norwich City.
The Canaries, who won the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs last term to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking, find themselves in danger again following a run of five successive defeats.
Alex Neil's team slipped into the bottom three last weekend after Newcastle United defeated West Bromwich Albion to overhaul them. The Canaries were losing to bottom of the table Aston Villa at the time, adding them to Tottenham, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Stoke as the teams to defeat them since the turn of the year.
West Ham's form has been better, despite losing 1-0 at Southampton last time out in the league. They took four points from their previous two games, and defeated Liverpool in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday night.
Angelo Ogbonna settled a dramatic contest at the Boleyn Ground, climbing high to head home from Dimitri Payet's free kick in the final minute of extra time and seal a 2-1 win.The historyWest Ham United and Norwich City have met on 51 occasions in the past. It is the Hammers who edge the head-to-head record, with 19 victories to the Canaries' 16. The other 16 encounters have ended all-square.
The Hammers last won at Carrow Road in an FA Cup third round tie in January 2006, drawing 0-0 and losing 3-1 there in the league since.
In the last meeting, at the Boleyn Ground in September, Cheikhou Kouyate struck at the death to rescue a point for a West Ham team who trailed twice. Robbie Brady opened the scoring, with Diafra Sakho levelling on 33 minutes. Nathan Redmond appeared to have won it for the visitors seven minutes from time before Kouyate's late intervention.
Norwich have ex-Hammers Matt Jarvis and Gary O'Neil in their squad, with the former having joined the East Anglian side permanently in January following a loan spell for the first half of the campaign.The match Team newsWest Ham United The Hammers picked up a number of extra injury worries in the week, with Winston Reid, Joey O'Brien (both hamstring) and Cheikhou Kouyate (concussion) now all absent for the trip to Norwich.
James Tomkins (calf) is another recent injury victim and faces five weeks out, but Sam Byram and Emmanuel Emenike return after being ineligible for the midweek game.
Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho are both set to resume training this week as they edge ever closer to comebacks.Norwich CityAlex Tettey is serving the second match of a two-game ban for the Canaries so will miss out for the hosts.
Graham Dorrans returns to the fold after suffering an illness, but defender Andre Wisdom is out with a knee injury.Match info
* Saturday's match referee is Mike Jones, who hails from Chester and will be taking charge of a Hammers game for the first time this season. He was last the man in the middle for a West Ham match last April, when they drew 0-0 at Queens Park Rangers. His assistant referees will be Mark Scholes and Andy Halliday. Gavin Ward is the fourth official.
* Five of the nine Premier League meetings have ended in a draw, with both sides winning two apiece.
* There has been a 90th-minute goal in the last four Premier League games between these two teams.
* Norwich have lost their last five league matches and their last six in all competitions, conceding 19 goals.
* The Canaries have conceded the first goal of the game on 18 occasions in the Premier League this season, a league-high.
* The Hammers have been in the top half of the table all season.
Ticketing, travel, coverage and other info
* Tickets for West Ham supporters for this game have SOLD OUT.
* Supporters travelling by train should note that there is no service between Liverpool Street and Ingatestone on the line to Norwich this weekend. Replacement buses are running between Newbury Park on the Central line and Ingatestone. Click here <http://www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/travel-information/service-alterations?details=1868&month=2&year=2016> for more information.
* A dry, cloudy and chilly day is expected in Norwich on Saturday. Temperatures are set to reach 5C (41F) at kick-off.
* Click here <http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-travel-guide-west-ham-united-fans-2948057.aspx> for Norwich's away fan guide.
* If you're not heading to the game, make sure you stay abreast of all the action on our digital channels. The whufc.com Live Match Centre will have live audio commentary and text updates, in-running stats, photos and more. You can get involved in the conversation on social using #NORWHU
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Payet - The love affair continues
WHUFC.COM
Dimitri Payet feels the number of West Ham United players signing up to the cause on long-term contracts is proof of the Club's lofty ambitions for next season and beyond, and meant his decision to join them was never in doubt.
After pledging his future to the Hammers until 2021, Payet joins the likes of skipper Mark Noble, Winston Reid, Adrian, Aaron Cresswell and James Collins in penning new deals in the past 12 months, as the Hammers prepare for life on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The 28-year-old contends that everything is now in place for the Hammers to continue making giant leaps forward and that, says Payet, is an attractive proposition.
"I think there is everything here to make West Ham a big club," he told West Ham TV. You need time and we'll take time, but we're all conscious of it and we all want to help grow this Club.
"West Ham have the means to fulfil their ambitions. It's true that to have a new stadium is good and to grow, the team must know how to keep its players.
"That's why it posed me no problem to extend my stay at West Ham, because I feel that the Club really has the desire to continue. Adrian has extended his contract, Ginge as well, it shows that the Club really wants to keep its players and arrive next season in the new Stadium with a competitive team."
Payet wants to make the Hammers' new home a fortress, just as the Boleyn Ground has long since been. Slaven Bilic's charges are now unbeaten at home in their last 12 in all competitions and the French talisman hopes for more of the same at the former Olympic Stadium next season.
"Even to play here [at the Boleyn Ground], it's always full and there's an exceptional atmosphere. We're going to have almost 20,000 extra seats and, if it's full, it's a going to be a magnificent atmosphere.
"I think that in the league your home matches are very important. When you have a good campaign at home and take the maximum points, it already helps to have a very good season. It will be down to us to make sure that the Stadium is paradise for us and hell for our opponents."
Payet admits that even he couldn't have hoped to adjust to life in the Barclays Premier League quite as quickly and dramatically as he has done, not the least with the groundswell of support from the stands.
And it's fitting, he says, that this new contract should come hot on the heels of Tuesday night, the latest of memorable occasions in an already memorable season.
"For sure I didn't think that I'd adapt so quickly and so well at the Club," he confirmed. "Fortunately it's happened like that and all the better, but it's always complicated to adapt oneself to a new Club. I feel very good here and I want to stay!
"I'm particularly happy that this new contract has happened now, after the success of a magnificent victory against Liverpool, where there was truly a harmony between the team and the supporters. So I'd say it's welcome after such a match."
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Slaven's Season Ticket Surprise
WHUFC.com
West Ham United supporters selecting their new Stadium seats got a whole lot more than they bargained for on Thursday when manager Slaven Bilic paid a surprise visit to the Club's Stratford Reservation Centre.
Fresh from Tuesday's dramatic last-gasp FA Cup victory over Liverpool, Bilic surprised unsuspecting Hammers in this, the first week of appointments for supporters on the New Stadium Season Ticket Priority List.
Now that all invitations to existing Season Ticket Holders have been issued, with upward of 98 per cent taking up their seat, the Club have begun the process of inviting supporters on the 30,000-plus strong Priority List.
With some six months still to go before the big kick-off in August, the Hammers have already sold more Season Tickets at their new 54,000 seat home than the 35,016 capacity of the Boleyn Ground.
Thrilled by the Hammers' unbelievable show of support and the prospect of selling out the new Stadium, the Croat said: "It's full of people. It is buzzing here. And we are all proud and happy that people are able to get their tickets and look forward to the next season."
Looking at the range of seats on offer to the fans, the Hammers boss said: "In the new Stadium, you can't get a bad seat. You are definitely guaranteed to get a good view anywhere you sit. It looks as though the Stadium is going to be sold out, and that is great."
Earlier in the week Joint-Chairman David Gold had met some of the very first supporters on the Priority List to snap up their seats on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Mr Gold said the extraordinary demand for tickets is proof that the Club's affordable pricing strategy is absolutely right.
"The strategy is working," he confirmed. To give you an idea, we were predicting perhaps half of fans on the waiting list would go on and buy a ticket, but actually it's more like 80 per cent at the moment, so we know that we're doing the right thing.
"We were always confident. All the statistics showed that we should come close to filling the Stadium, but until it starts happening, you're always questioning your judgement. But we now know, with almost certainty that we're going to sell out of Season Tickets.
Among those to meet Mr Gold was young Geo Mackie from Inverurie in north east Scotland, who made the 1,100-mile round trip by bus to ensure he secured his 2016/17 Season Ticket.
He told West Ham TV: "It's a fair trek, 24 hours on a bus, 1,100 miles, but it's worth it, isn't it? You can feel the atmosphere while you're here, the excitement levels.
"We've been looking at the virtual footage. We've supported West Ham for a long time, we're grown men but it feels like Christmas.
"This is my first Season Ticket. I've been going since I was four. My Dad took me down two or three times a season. We're not the wealthiest family, but they made sure I could always come down and see West Ham."
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Byram - It's pure excitement
WHUFC.com
West Ham United new boy Sam Byram is already making himself at home at the former Olympic Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
After putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers in January, the Essex-born full-back was soon having a nosey around the Club's 54,000-capacity future home.
He even popped into the New Stadium Reservation Centre for good measure and departed with a very clear sense of where his new Club is headed.
"It's pure excitement," the former Leeds United man told West Ham TV. "You see the size of it and you can imagine over 50,000 fans cheering as you come out, bubbles blowing. It really is exciting times.
"It's historic for West Ham. To play in a Stadium of that size and the history behind the Olympics, for us to move into it, it's massive and it was a big part of me wanting to come here.
"We were stood in the tunnel where you'd walk out. You can see how big it is and the atmosphere that will be created in there.
"The roof, it's almost like a dome shape, so it's going to keep all the noise and it really will be a special place on matchday. It's unbelievable.
"I'm very impressed. It's a lot better than I even expected, it's huge in real life. I'm just really excited now for the start of next season."
As are his Essex-based relatives, who have already snapped up Season Tickets for the 2016/17 campaign. In fact, Byram made good use of the Virtual Venue at the Reservation Centre to survey the vantage point from his family's seats in the new West Stand.
"It's a great bit of technology to be able to show the fans where they potentially could be sitting next season," he continued. "It does really help out, I think, when it comes to choosing your seats.
"I've seen where my uncle and cousin are going to be sitting. They're just behind the dugout, so they're just a stone's throw away. It's great for them and it's good for every fan that's going to have the chance to be able to watch us in there."
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The Hammers' new Stadium Fortress
WHUFC.com
Hammers fans will be greeted with the very latest in turnstile technology at the former Olympic Stadium
West Ham United supporters can look forward to taking advantage of the very latest in turnstile technology when entering the Hammers' new home next season.
The Club have long worked alongside market leaders Fortress GB at the Boleyn Ground and will be implementing the most advanced, future-proofed system available at the former Olympic Stadium turnstiles.
Fortress' platform enables a vast array of services including digital ticketing, automated access control and fan engagement programmes.
As used by many of the world's largest stadia, the technology in place will enable supporters to enter the ground using a number of different means, via a range of touch points embedded into the Stadium's ecosystem.
Naturally, the traditional access cards and paper tickets are still applicable, but supporters will also be able to print their tickets at home. Supporters can therefore avoid queues on the day for collection, and instead request that their ticket be sent via email.
Whatever the preferred option, supporters can look forward to far greater flexibility and significantly quicker, simpler entry into the ground.
Every turnstile is also equipped with special indicators to signify concession tickets so that any persons trying to enter the Stadium with an incorrect age concession ticket will be denied entry, the ticket will become void and will be confiscated.
With the introduction of £99 Season Tickets for Under-16s, the Club have gone to great lengths to create a family-friendly stadium and will apply the strictest penalties to anyone seeking to misuse a concession ticket.
Elsewhere, the Club are pleased to confirm that they are exploring the possibility of extending the technology into its many uses for supporter engagement. Above all, the Club hope to use the system to institute a series of reward schemes for supporters, as Manchester City are now doing at the Etihad Stadium.
To make those reward schemes possible, every single reader in the ground is set up with its own mini PC in the turnstile to ascertain exactly which cards, or tickets have been used and when.
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Payet: the love affair continues
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 12th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
Dimitri Payet says that he has signed a new contract with West Ham as he believes the club has the potential to challenge the elite.
The 28-year-old midfielder put pen to paper on a lucrative new five-and-a-half year contract earlier this week, a deal that makes him the club's highest-paid player and the first ever to earn a seven-figure weekly wage.
And talking about his new contract, signed just seven months after he joined the club in a £10.5million switch from Marseille, Payet explained that he was delighted to secure his future with the move to the Olympic Stadium on the horizon.
"West Ham has the means to achieve its ambitions," he told West Ham's website. "To have the new stadium is good and in order to grow the club must keep its best players - and that's why it was no problem to sign a new contract.
"The club really wants to keep its best players and arrive at the new stadium next season with a competitive team. I think West Ham have everything they need to become a big club. It'll take time, but we're conscious of that and all want to help the club grow."
Payet has been linked with a move to the emerging Chinese Super League prior to signing a new deal with West Ham. And he hopes that his new deal illustrates his desire to both remain at and succeed as a Hammer.
"I think this is the best way of showing them [the fans] that all the rumours and things that have been said about me in recent days were not true," he added. "Hopefully today is going to silence those rumours.
"I didn't think I'd adapt so quickly and so well [at West Ham]. Fortunately it's happened that way and that's for the better, because it's always complicated to adapt to a new club. Now I feel very good here and I want to stay."
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Norwich v West Ham preview: Hammers stretched with injuriesBy Patrick SurlisLast Updated: 12/02/16 6:01pm
SSN
The two sides played out a 2-2 draw earlier this season
West Ham are set to be without several first-team players when they travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich on Saturday.
Winston Reid, Cheikhou Kouyate and Joey O'Brien all picked up injuries during West Ham's FA Cup triumph over Liverpool on Tuesday, adding to an already lengthy injury list.
Aside from the injuries, the Hammers have a poor record at Carrow Road, having failed to win on their last 16 league visits, but they face a Norwich team in poor form.
The Canaries slipped into the relegation zone for the first time since the opening weekend after their defeat by Aston Villa, and Alex Neil's side are without a win since January 2.
Team news
Alex Tettey is unavailable for Norwich as the midfielder completes his two-match suspension following a 10th booking of the season against Tottenham.
Neil will make a late decision on Graham Dorrans (illness), while Andre Wisdom is a doubt with a knee problem.
West Ham's injuries are piling up as Reid, O'Brien (both hamstring) and Kouyate (concussion) all went down in midweek. They join James Tomkins (calf), Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho (both thigh) on the sidelines.
However, Alex Song is available having shaken off the knock which kept him out of the replay and Sam Byram returns after being cup-tied.
Opta stats
None of the previous 13 league meetings between West Ham and Norwich have ended with an away win (six home wins, seven draws).
There has been a 90th minute goal in all of the last four league games between the two sides.
Wes Hoolahan has been substituted in 16 of his 18 top-flight starts this season; more often than any other player.
Norwich have conceded the first goal of the game on 18 occasions in the league this season; a league-high.
Meanwhile, they have only made 395 touches in the opposition box this season (16 per game) - a league-low, but West Ham players have made a league-high 10 errors leading to goals.
Dimitri Payet has created 66 goalscoring chances this season, more than double the tally of any other West Ham player.
Dimitri Payet has agreed a new West Ham contract
Merson's prediction
This game is another prime example of how the timing of football matches can affect the outcome. Norwich will have looked at the fixtures and probably wouldn't have fancied themselves against a West Ham side that has been flying this season.
However, when you consider the Hammers played 120 minutes in midweek, have an eye on the next round of the cup and probably can't qualify for the top four, then this the best time to play them. West Ham have got a great chance to win the FA Cup and have bigger fish to fry so I fancy Norwich to nick a vital win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
With £250,000 up for grabs in this season's Soccer Saturday Super 6, Jeff Stelling gives you a helping hand with his tips and predictions
Betting
West Ham are Sky Bet's marginal favourites ahead of their trip to Carrow Road , with Norwich priced at 6/4. The Hammers are sixth despite claiming only five points from the last 12 and remain a 4/1 shot to finish in the top six .
The Canaries have lost five on the bounce and are now 8/11 to be relegated. The sides shared a 2-2 draw at Upton Park earlier in the season and another draw is available at 9/4. Steven Naismith and Enner Valencia both to net is 10/1.
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West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate to follow Dimitri Payet in committing future to club
* 21:46, 12 FEB 2016
* UPDATED 21:46, 12 FEB 2016
* BY DARREN LEWIS <http://www.mirror.co.uk/authors/darren-lewis/>
The Mirror
The Senegalese midfielder is believed to have been handed a four-year deal to reward him for his form this season star set to commit his future to the club.
The 26-year-old star is believed to have been handed a four-year deal to reward him for being one of the most consistent performers in the Hammers team.
The Hammers rejected a £15million bid for the Senegalese international midfielder last summer.
Now Kouyate , who joined the club from Anderlecht in 2014, will join Dimitri Payet in being one of the key players around whom West Ham will continue building.
Mirrorfootball exclusively revealed earlier this week details of the massive £125,000-a-week with which the east Londoners rewarded Payet for his magnificent displays this season.
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njures but Irons to field strong line up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 12, 2016
C and H
The Irons are set to send out a powerful team against Norwich tomorrow despite having been hit with a number of injuries.
James Tomkins, Winston Reid and Cheik Kouyate will all be unavailable to manager Slaven Bilic but such is the depth of the squad the Irons will still look a formidable proposition against the struggling Canaries.
Sam Byram is expected to slip into the right back position with James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna forming the central defensive partnership.
Alex Song is set to join Mark Noble in midfield along with the outstanding Pedro Obiang who was in excellent form against Liverpool.
Dmitri Payet, Michail Antonio and Enner Valencia are expected to complete the line up with the likely line up being: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble, Song, Obiang, Payet, Antonio, Valencia.
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Gold:'We've served notice of intent'
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 12, 2016
C and H
David Gold reckons the signing of Dimi Payet to a big new contract will have had the world sitting up and taking notice.
And speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh he said: "We have our eyes on the top four – that's what everything at this club is geared to. We have made it clear that we intend to keep our best players and we are going to add to them this summer. We've served notice of our intent."
He was keen to point out that the speed of the Payet deal was necessary to avoid continued uncertainty as the club looks to kick on this summer.
But he added: "Deals like this just don't happen – we have been on a journey for the last six years from the brink of receivership to signing a player like Payet and improving an already good deal.
"We are not a selling club, we don't need to sell and we won't. We are looking to tie up our best players on long contracts and bring others in.
"We are proud of where we have come from, we are proud of our team and our fantastic manager. We still have a way to go but it's about the top four – that's the only place for an ambitious club and my God we are ambitious."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Friday, February 12
Daily WHUFC News - 12th February 2016
'We've got Payet' until 2021!
WHUFC.com
Dimitri Payet has committed his future to West Ham United
West Ham United are delighted to announce that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract with the Club.
The outstanding France playmaker, who has made a huge impact in Claret and Blue since arriving from Marseille last summer, has penned a deal until the summer of 2021.
The 28-year-old, who has scored six Barclays Premier League goals, chalked up six assists and averages a formidable 3.7 key passes per game, is delighted to have pledged his long-term future to the Club.
"For me it's a big step, an enormous show of faith, particularly from the Chairman [David] Sullivan and from the manager," said the popular No27. "I thank them for that, and I am proud and I'm happy to prolong the adventure with West Ham.
"I've said it several times, I feel good here, everyone's done all that they can to make me feel good. I want to help West Ham grow and, once again, this new contract shows my desire and motivation to fulfil those objectives."
Payet has become an instant fans' favourite since joining the Hammers in June 2015, earning widespread praise and respect and becoming the subject of English football's newest and best terrace chant!
After assisting Enner Valencia's goal on his debut in the UEFA Europa League draw with Romanians Astra Giurgiu at the Boleyn Ground on 30 July, the Reunion-born attacking midfielder quickly took the Barclays Premier League by storm.
On the opening weekend, his free-kick provided Cheikhou Kouyate's goal in the stunning 2-0 win at Arsenal.
A fine first goal arrived against Leicester City on 15 August, followed by two more attention-grabbing strikes in the home win over Newcastle United in September.
After assisting in West Ham's next two games, Payet bagged two more goals to secure a draw at Sunderland and clinch a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.
That series of magnificent performances saw the 15-times capped player linked with a return to international action, and Payet will hope to force his way into Les Bleus squad for Euro 2016 over the closing months of his first season in Claret and Blue.
The No27 was unfortunately side-lined by a late challenge in the home draw with Everton in mid-November, but returned to fitness and form with a truly magnificent free-kick and another assist for Valencia in the 3-1 win at AFC Bournemouth last month.
Having laid on yet another important goal as Angelo Ogbonna nodded the Hammers into the Emirates FA Cup fifth round at Liverpool's expense on Tuesday evening, Payet has signed a new deal that will see him inspire West Ham into their new Stadium and beyond.
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Sullivan welcomes Payet deal
WHUFc.com
Hello everyone,
It goes without saying that I, David Gold, Karren Brady and everyone associated with West Ham United are delighted that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract.
In line with our normal policy, we review the contracts of players who are doing exceptionally well for the Club and reward and extend them when the opportunity arises.
Up to now, Dimitri has been our star player this season and to reward him and to show the supporters our unwavering commitment to building a team we can all be immensely proud of, the Board has awarded him and improved and extended contract until 2021.
Like you all, I have been so excited by watching 'Dimi', as he is now affectionately known to all of us Hammers, this season.
His technical ability, his ball skills, his strength, his goals, his assists and his attitude have all combined to give us one of the most exhilarating players I have seen in a West Ham shirt in many, many years.
I have been watching West Ham since the early 1960s and have seen some fantastic footballers in Claret and Blue – Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Paolo Di Canio, Carlos Tevez among them – and Dimi has the talent to be considered among the very best.
Of course, even more exciting is that Dimi's best in a West Ham shirt is still to come. Just imagine what we can achieve, with him in the team and the Club moving into a fantastic new 54,000-capacity Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this summer.
Before then, we have 13 Barclays Premier League games to play and are in a good position, sixth in the table and with a chance of qualifying for Europe.
Today's news means Mark Noble, Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho, Aaron Cresswell, James Tomkins, Adrian, James Collins and now Dimi have all signed new long-term contracts in the past year – all confirmation that we want to keep our best players here for as long as possible.
In line with our policy, a few other key players might be similarly rewarded in the next six months, so keep an eye on whufc.com and our social media channels for the big announcements!
Come on you Irons!
David Sullivan
Joint-Chairman
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Chadwell Chatter - Mark Noble
WHUFc.com
Hello everyone,
Two days on from our epic win over Liverpool on Tuesday evening and I'm still buzzing about it! It was pretty special wasn't it?
After the match I was saying to lads in the dressing that that was one of the best feelings I've ever had at the Boleyn, for sure. We put so much into the game so to come away with the win was fantastic.
Judging from the reaction from our fans in the stand it must have been an exciting one to watch!
It's definitely up there as one of the best moments I can remember in a West Ham shirt. Especially as it was against Liverpool, their history is phenomenal, they are a massive club. That noise that you hear when the ball hits the back of the net is fantastic; it's a great, great feeling.
Angelo is a pretty laid back guy and I'm just so pleased for him. He'll never ever forget that goal, at home in front of the fans. To get us through to the next round of the FA cup is great. If he didn't quite know about the FA Cup before, he sure does now!
When someone pops up with a last minute winner, you can't beat that feeling. It's one of those beautiful moments that only football can really give you.
I saw Dimi over the ball and I looked into the box and I thought 'Please someone score', penalties is fantastic for the punters, the crowd and TV but someone has to be the villain at some point and it's not nice for anyone.
At the end of the day Tuesday showed why we love the FA Cup so much.
Obviously, we are 100% focused on our game with Norwich City this Saturday and it'll be another game.
On a personal level I'm looking forward to coming up against former teammates and good friends Gary O'Neil and Matt Jarvis, they are both great lads so it will be good to catch up.
You can't help but think about the Blackburn Rovers game in the next round. We know it's going to be tough, that's for sure. They are a good side but we've got a lot of belief about us. We are in a great position in the league to give the cup a right good go. If we beat Blackburn away then it gets interesting.
Having said that, we want to carry on doing well in the league, and finish as high as we possibly can.
But we're in a position where we can really; really go for the FA Cup. We're in a fantastic position and we have a good squad.
It's looking like we have a lot to look forward to over the next few months!
COYI!
Nobes
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Cullen joins Bradford City on loan
WHUFc.com
Cullen could feature for Bradford this weekend
West Ham United's highly rated midfielder Josh Cullen has joined League One side Bradford City on loan initially until Saturday 12 March.
The 19-year-old Hammer, who can play as a holding midfielder as well as a number 10, joins West Ham teammate Reece Burke in West Yorkshire.
The Republic of Ireland U21 international has enjoyed a breakthrough season having made his first team debut during the club's Europa League qualification campaign before making his Premier League debut in the historic 3-0 win away at Liverpool at Anfield.
Since then, Cullen has established himself as regular in the first team matchday squad, being named on the bench multiple times while his all action performances for the Development Squad have caught the eye.
Having signed for Phil Parkinson's side, Cullen is expected to go straight into the Bradford squad for Saturday's game away at Peterborough United, where he could line up against Hammers' teammate Martin Samuelsen.
Alongside Burke and Samuelsen, Cullen joins a number of exciting young players out on loan gaining valuable first team experience which includes Diego Poyet, Lewis Page, Stephen Hendrie, Kyle Knoyle, Elliot Lee, Tim Brown, Sam Westley, Clarke Bogard and Ross Elsom.
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First and Last - Sam Byram
WHUFc.com
Rodolph Austin would not last long on The X-Factor!
As West Ham United continue the final season at the Boleyn Ground, we've asked the players for some memorable firsts and lasts from their careers and lives. Today, Sam Byram goes under the spotlight…
FIRSTS
First car you owned?
It was a proper old Renault Clio given to me by my brother. It was really old and I when I finished with it, I gave it to my best mate and then it packed up!
First CD you bought?
It was probably an album by Eminem but I cannot remember the name of it.
First professional goal you scored?
It was a volley from a corner against Preston in my first season for Leeds during the pre-season.
Who is the first player you would call up for a pub quiz?
If we are talking out of anyone, I would say Matt Smith who I played with at Leeds. He did a degree and is pretty bright so I would probably give him a call.
Who is the first player you would vote off on the X-Factor?
Rodolph Austin from Leeds United. He was my room-mate when we used to travel and his voice was awful! He could not sing.
Alex Song has got some rascal gear!
LASTS
What is the last concert you went to?
Ed Sheeran at the O2 in Manchester. I went to see him with a few mates. One of them managed to sort a box out and it was really good.
Who is the last person you would take fashion advice from in the team?
I would have to say Alex Song. He has got some rascal gear. Some of it is okay but some of it you would not see me wearing.
What is the last book you read?
I am not a big reader but I got Duncan Bannatyne's book two years ago.
What would be the last thing you would want to hear from a manager after the game?
The last thing I would want to hear is that he is battering me after a poor performance!
What was the last holiday you went on?
I went to Dubai with my brother for a week which was really good. It was very relaxing.
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From the Newsroom
WHUFC.com
Neil McLeman
The Daily Mirror's Neil McLeman looks ahead to West Ham United's trip to relegation-threatened Norwich City...
It was a fantastic night at Upton Park on Tuesday and Slaven will be hoping West Ham carry the momentum of knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup into this game, but Norwich City are fighting for their Premier League lives.
Norwich have been on a really bad run and if they are going to stay up this season, they've got to win their home games.
They have lost five on the trot, so if they are going to stay up, this is the sort of game Norwich have got to win, so they'll be looking to take advantage of any fatigue or injury list that West Ham are suffering at the moment.
Carrow Road is a super ground and there is an excellent atmosphere, with a really good home crowd, so Norwich will be looking to start well. Alex Neil will be saying 'let's get into them from the first whistle' and they'll be looking for an early goal and to get the momentum.
They need to change the fortunes of their season, so West Ham need to be aware of that from the kick-off.
Slaven Bilic is without a few players at present, so I see Michail Antonio as an important player on Saturday. He has come in and done really, really well.
Antonio is a player who spoke to the press at the start of the season and we were all impressed with the way he spoke. He has got a really good story, having come up from non-league and everything.
Just because West Ham were playing so well, he didn't get a chance earlier in the season, but he has come in and scored goals and has looked really lively as well. He's the type of player you need in your squad at this time of the season, when you're in the FA Cup and have heavy ground and are going to pick up injuries.
Antonio is the sort of player you need to have because he has come in and been ready to go and has been a vital squad player. He's got to the point now where he is saying 'keep me in the team' when the likes of Manuel Lanzini come back.
There are plenty of links between West Ham and Norwich historically and the two clubs also have similar footballing philosophies, as Norwich like to play football as well.
Norwich have always played good football and are still trying to do that in their current situation. They've got Wes Hoolahan, who I think is a super player, and they like to get the ball on the ground and knock it around – Alex Neil encourages them to do that. It should be a good, entertaining game.
This is a test for Alex, who came in last season and did really well, bringing up a squad that wasn't far off the one which was relegated from the Premier League the previous year.
They are looking for that x-factor to keep them up. They brought in Diomerci Mbokani up front, who looks good, and the winger Nathan Redmond has a few goals.
The problem they have is that they don't have a regular goalscorer like the other relegation candidates – Sunderland have Jermain Defoe and Swansea have Andre Ayew who can get you eight or ten goals. Norwich don't have a go-to goalscorer, but rely on the whole team contributing.
The other side is that their defence is pretty leaky and they do let in too many goals, so I think there will be goals on Saturday.
I see it being a draw. Norwich will be keen to end their losing run, but West Ham should enough to get a point.
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Payet signs two-year contract extension <http://www.kumb.com/news_archive.php>
Filed: Thursday, 11th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Dimitri Payet has signed a lucrative new contract with West Ham United, tying him to the club until the summer of 2021.
Payed, 29 next month is now set to remain at West Ham until the age of 34 after agreeing the new deal - just seven months after arriving at the Boleyn Ground in a £10.5million move from Marseille.
News of the contract extension - widely expected throughout the day - was confirmed by the club this evening.
"West Ham United are delighted to announce that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract with the club," read a statement on the club's website. "The outstanding France playmaker, who has made a huge impact in Claret and Blue since arriving from Marseille last summer, has penned a deal until the summer of 2021.
"The 28-year-old, who has scored six Barclays Premier League goals, chalked up six assists and averages a formidable 3.7 key passes per game, is delighted to have pledged his long-term future to the club."
Payet arrived in England last July having signed a four-year contract. Due to end in 2019, he will now remain with the Hammers for an additional two years.
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Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho close to return, says Slaven Bilic
By Katie Falkingham
Last Updated: 11/02/16 11:38am
SSN
Manuel Lanzini limps off against Liverpool on Tuesday night
Slaven Bilic has revealed that long-term injury absentees Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho are close to making their return to action for West Ham, but admits James Tomkins' injury is a big blow to his squad.
Tomkins has been ruled out for five weeks after sustaining a calf injury against Southampton last weekend, and the Hammers will also be without Cheikhou Kouyate as they travel to Norwich on Saturday after he suffered mild concussion during Tuesday night's dramatic 2-1 FA Cup win over Liverpool.
But Bilic's team will be boosted as midfielder Lanzini, who suffered a thigh injury against Liverpool in January, returns to full training again this weekend, while Senegalese international Sakho will rejoin the first-team set up later this month after recovering from a muscle strain.
"On Sunday Lanzini will start training with the team again, which is a big boost for us," he said. "Sakho will be back maybe five days after.
"Kouyate is doing well, but because of the rules he cannot play in the game because he was unconscious on the pitch.
"But we have enough players to put a very strong team out on Saturday."
West Ham will face a Norwich side on Saturday who are looking for their first Premier League win since the start of January as they struggle to escape the relegation zone.
Defenders Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien are unlikely to feature at Carrow Road after both limping off with hamstring injuries on Tuesday, but Bilic remains optimistic despite his lack of options in defence.
"Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien have hamstring injuries," Bilic continued. "They will have scans today and then we'll know how long it will take for them.
"James Tomkins is out for five weeks after the Southampton game, so that's three defenders out.
"In that department it's not a very great situation for us, but I think the knocks will be ok."
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Arsenal lining up £8million summer transfer window move for West Ham wonderkid Reece Oxford
* 07:52, 12 FEB 2016
* BY JOHN CROSS
www.mirror.co.uk
The Gunners boss and chief scout Steve Rowley are big fans of the 17-year-old and are looking to pip Man United and Man City to his signature
Arsenal chief scout Steve Rowley is a big admirer of the 17-year-old and is keeping close tabs on developments.
It highlights Arsenal's determination to snap up some of the Premier League's best young talent to bolster their squad.
They made moves for Leicester's teenage full back Ben Chilwell in January and Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon as well as agreeing a deal for Nigerian wonderkids Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze
Oxford, who was outstanding for West Ham in their opening day win at Arsenal, is further down the line in his development and Gunners boss Wenger regards him as a huge prospect.
And he could be wearing red in the future - if West Ham agree to cash inArsenal looked at Oxford before he signed a contract at West Ham and now they head a queue of big clubs who are keen.
Rowley has scouted him regularly while Manchester United and Manchester City have also been watching him.
Oxford, whose contract expires in 2018, can play centre half or central midfield and Arsenal like his composure on the ball.
West Ham blocked Oxford from going to the Under-17s World Cup in Chile - he was captain of England's team - in October and since then he has not started a Premier League game.
That has given clubs encouragement that a deal might be able to be done this summer.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Dimitri Payet has committed his future to West Ham United
West Ham United are delighted to announce that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract with the Club.
The outstanding France playmaker, who has made a huge impact in Claret and Blue since arriving from Marseille last summer, has penned a deal until the summer of 2021.
The 28-year-old, who has scored six Barclays Premier League goals, chalked up six assists and averages a formidable 3.7 key passes per game, is delighted to have pledged his long-term future to the Club.
"For me it's a big step, an enormous show of faith, particularly from the Chairman [David] Sullivan and from the manager," said the popular No27. "I thank them for that, and I am proud and I'm happy to prolong the adventure with West Ham.
"I've said it several times, I feel good here, everyone's done all that they can to make me feel good. I want to help West Ham grow and, once again, this new contract shows my desire and motivation to fulfil those objectives."
Payet has become an instant fans' favourite since joining the Hammers in June 2015, earning widespread praise and respect and becoming the subject of English football's newest and best terrace chant!
After assisting Enner Valencia's goal on his debut in the UEFA Europa League draw with Romanians Astra Giurgiu at the Boleyn Ground on 30 July, the Reunion-born attacking midfielder quickly took the Barclays Premier League by storm.
On the opening weekend, his free-kick provided Cheikhou Kouyate's goal in the stunning 2-0 win at Arsenal.
A fine first goal arrived against Leicester City on 15 August, followed by two more attention-grabbing strikes in the home win over Newcastle United in September.
After assisting in West Ham's next two games, Payet bagged two more goals to secure a draw at Sunderland and clinch a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.
That series of magnificent performances saw the 15-times capped player linked with a return to international action, and Payet will hope to force his way into Les Bleus squad for Euro 2016 over the closing months of his first season in Claret and Blue.
The No27 was unfortunately side-lined by a late challenge in the home draw with Everton in mid-November, but returned to fitness and form with a truly magnificent free-kick and another assist for Valencia in the 3-1 win at AFC Bournemouth last month.
Having laid on yet another important goal as Angelo Ogbonna nodded the Hammers into the Emirates FA Cup fifth round at Liverpool's expense on Tuesday evening, Payet has signed a new deal that will see him inspire West Ham into their new Stadium and beyond.
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Sullivan welcomes Payet deal
WHUFc.com
Hello everyone,
It goes without saying that I, David Gold, Karren Brady and everyone associated with West Ham United are delighted that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract.
In line with our normal policy, we review the contracts of players who are doing exceptionally well for the Club and reward and extend them when the opportunity arises.
Up to now, Dimitri has been our star player this season and to reward him and to show the supporters our unwavering commitment to building a team we can all be immensely proud of, the Board has awarded him and improved and extended contract until 2021.
Like you all, I have been so excited by watching 'Dimi', as he is now affectionately known to all of us Hammers, this season.
His technical ability, his ball skills, his strength, his goals, his assists and his attitude have all combined to give us one of the most exhilarating players I have seen in a West Ham shirt in many, many years.
I have been watching West Ham since the early 1960s and have seen some fantastic footballers in Claret and Blue – Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Paolo Di Canio, Carlos Tevez among them – and Dimi has the talent to be considered among the very best.
Of course, even more exciting is that Dimi's best in a West Ham shirt is still to come. Just imagine what we can achieve, with him in the team and the Club moving into a fantastic new 54,000-capacity Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this summer.
Before then, we have 13 Barclays Premier League games to play and are in a good position, sixth in the table and with a chance of qualifying for Europe.
Today's news means Mark Noble, Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho, Aaron Cresswell, James Tomkins, Adrian, James Collins and now Dimi have all signed new long-term contracts in the past year – all confirmation that we want to keep our best players here for as long as possible.
In line with our policy, a few other key players might be similarly rewarded in the next six months, so keep an eye on whufc.com and our social media channels for the big announcements!
Come on you Irons!
David Sullivan
Joint-Chairman
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Chadwell Chatter - Mark Noble
WHUFc.com
Hello everyone,
Two days on from our epic win over Liverpool on Tuesday evening and I'm still buzzing about it! It was pretty special wasn't it?
After the match I was saying to lads in the dressing that that was one of the best feelings I've ever had at the Boleyn, for sure. We put so much into the game so to come away with the win was fantastic.
Judging from the reaction from our fans in the stand it must have been an exciting one to watch!
It's definitely up there as one of the best moments I can remember in a West Ham shirt. Especially as it was against Liverpool, their history is phenomenal, they are a massive club. That noise that you hear when the ball hits the back of the net is fantastic; it's a great, great feeling.
Angelo is a pretty laid back guy and I'm just so pleased for him. He'll never ever forget that goal, at home in front of the fans. To get us through to the next round of the FA cup is great. If he didn't quite know about the FA Cup before, he sure does now!
When someone pops up with a last minute winner, you can't beat that feeling. It's one of those beautiful moments that only football can really give you.
I saw Dimi over the ball and I looked into the box and I thought 'Please someone score', penalties is fantastic for the punters, the crowd and TV but someone has to be the villain at some point and it's not nice for anyone.
At the end of the day Tuesday showed why we love the FA Cup so much.
Obviously, we are 100% focused on our game with Norwich City this Saturday and it'll be another game.
On a personal level I'm looking forward to coming up against former teammates and good friends Gary O'Neil and Matt Jarvis, they are both great lads so it will be good to catch up.
You can't help but think about the Blackburn Rovers game in the next round. We know it's going to be tough, that's for sure. They are a good side but we've got a lot of belief about us. We are in a great position in the league to give the cup a right good go. If we beat Blackburn away then it gets interesting.
Having said that, we want to carry on doing well in the league, and finish as high as we possibly can.
But we're in a position where we can really; really go for the FA Cup. We're in a fantastic position and we have a good squad.
It's looking like we have a lot to look forward to over the next few months!
COYI!
Nobes
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Cullen joins Bradford City on loan
WHUFc.com
Cullen could feature for Bradford this weekend
West Ham United's highly rated midfielder Josh Cullen has joined League One side Bradford City on loan initially until Saturday 12 March.
The 19-year-old Hammer, who can play as a holding midfielder as well as a number 10, joins West Ham teammate Reece Burke in West Yorkshire.
The Republic of Ireland U21 international has enjoyed a breakthrough season having made his first team debut during the club's Europa League qualification campaign before making his Premier League debut in the historic 3-0 win away at Liverpool at Anfield.
Since then, Cullen has established himself as regular in the first team matchday squad, being named on the bench multiple times while his all action performances for the Development Squad have caught the eye.
Having signed for Phil Parkinson's side, Cullen is expected to go straight into the Bradford squad for Saturday's game away at Peterborough United, where he could line up against Hammers' teammate Martin Samuelsen.
Alongside Burke and Samuelsen, Cullen joins a number of exciting young players out on loan gaining valuable first team experience which includes Diego Poyet, Lewis Page, Stephen Hendrie, Kyle Knoyle, Elliot Lee, Tim Brown, Sam Westley, Clarke Bogard and Ross Elsom.
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First and Last - Sam Byram
WHUFc.com
Rodolph Austin would not last long on The X-Factor!
As West Ham United continue the final season at the Boleyn Ground, we've asked the players for some memorable firsts and lasts from their careers and lives. Today, Sam Byram goes under the spotlight…
FIRSTS
First car you owned?
It was a proper old Renault Clio given to me by my brother. It was really old and I when I finished with it, I gave it to my best mate and then it packed up!
First CD you bought?
It was probably an album by Eminem but I cannot remember the name of it.
First professional goal you scored?
It was a volley from a corner against Preston in my first season for Leeds during the pre-season.
Who is the first player you would call up for a pub quiz?
If we are talking out of anyone, I would say Matt Smith who I played with at Leeds. He did a degree and is pretty bright so I would probably give him a call.
Who is the first player you would vote off on the X-Factor?
Rodolph Austin from Leeds United. He was my room-mate when we used to travel and his voice was awful! He could not sing.
Alex Song has got some rascal gear!
LASTS
What is the last concert you went to?
Ed Sheeran at the O2 in Manchester. I went to see him with a few mates. One of them managed to sort a box out and it was really good.
Who is the last person you would take fashion advice from in the team?
I would have to say Alex Song. He has got some rascal gear. Some of it is okay but some of it you would not see me wearing.
What is the last book you read?
I am not a big reader but I got Duncan Bannatyne's book two years ago.
What would be the last thing you would want to hear from a manager after the game?
The last thing I would want to hear is that he is battering me after a poor performance!
What was the last holiday you went on?
I went to Dubai with my brother for a week which was really good. It was very relaxing.
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From the Newsroom
WHUFC.com
Neil McLeman
The Daily Mirror's Neil McLeman looks ahead to West Ham United's trip to relegation-threatened Norwich City...
It was a fantastic night at Upton Park on Tuesday and Slaven will be hoping West Ham carry the momentum of knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup into this game, but Norwich City are fighting for their Premier League lives.
Norwich have been on a really bad run and if they are going to stay up this season, they've got to win their home games.
They have lost five on the trot, so if they are going to stay up, this is the sort of game Norwich have got to win, so they'll be looking to take advantage of any fatigue or injury list that West Ham are suffering at the moment.
Carrow Road is a super ground and there is an excellent atmosphere, with a really good home crowd, so Norwich will be looking to start well. Alex Neil will be saying 'let's get into them from the first whistle' and they'll be looking for an early goal and to get the momentum.
They need to change the fortunes of their season, so West Ham need to be aware of that from the kick-off.
Slaven Bilic is without a few players at present, so I see Michail Antonio as an important player on Saturday. He has come in and done really, really well.
Antonio is a player who spoke to the press at the start of the season and we were all impressed with the way he spoke. He has got a really good story, having come up from non-league and everything.
Just because West Ham were playing so well, he didn't get a chance earlier in the season, but he has come in and scored goals and has looked really lively as well. He's the type of player you need in your squad at this time of the season, when you're in the FA Cup and have heavy ground and are going to pick up injuries.
Antonio is the sort of player you need to have because he has come in and been ready to go and has been a vital squad player. He's got to the point now where he is saying 'keep me in the team' when the likes of Manuel Lanzini come back.
There are plenty of links between West Ham and Norwich historically and the two clubs also have similar footballing philosophies, as Norwich like to play football as well.
Norwich have always played good football and are still trying to do that in their current situation. They've got Wes Hoolahan, who I think is a super player, and they like to get the ball on the ground and knock it around – Alex Neil encourages them to do that. It should be a good, entertaining game.
This is a test for Alex, who came in last season and did really well, bringing up a squad that wasn't far off the one which was relegated from the Premier League the previous year.
They are looking for that x-factor to keep them up. They brought in Diomerci Mbokani up front, who looks good, and the winger Nathan Redmond has a few goals.
The problem they have is that they don't have a regular goalscorer like the other relegation candidates – Sunderland have Jermain Defoe and Swansea have Andre Ayew who can get you eight or ten goals. Norwich don't have a go-to goalscorer, but rely on the whole team contributing.
The other side is that their defence is pretty leaky and they do let in too many goals, so I think there will be goals on Saturday.
I see it being a draw. Norwich will be keen to end their losing run, but West Ham should enough to get a point.
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Payet signs two-year contract extension <http://www.kumb.com/news_archive.php>
Filed: Thursday, 11th February 2016
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Dimitri Payet has signed a lucrative new contract with West Ham United, tying him to the club until the summer of 2021.
Payed, 29 next month is now set to remain at West Ham until the age of 34 after agreeing the new deal - just seven months after arriving at the Boleyn Ground in a £10.5million move from Marseille.
News of the contract extension - widely expected throughout the day - was confirmed by the club this evening.
"West Ham United are delighted to announce that Dimitri Payet has signed a new long-term contract with the club," read a statement on the club's website. "The outstanding France playmaker, who has made a huge impact in Claret and Blue since arriving from Marseille last summer, has penned a deal until the summer of 2021.
"The 28-year-old, who has scored six Barclays Premier League goals, chalked up six assists and averages a formidable 3.7 key passes per game, is delighted to have pledged his long-term future to the club."
Payet arrived in England last July having signed a four-year contract. Due to end in 2019, he will now remain with the Hammers for an additional two years.
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Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho close to return, says Slaven Bilic
By Katie Falkingham
Last Updated: 11/02/16 11:38am
SSN
Manuel Lanzini limps off against Liverpool on Tuesday night
Slaven Bilic has revealed that long-term injury absentees Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho are close to making their return to action for West Ham, but admits James Tomkins' injury is a big blow to his squad.
Tomkins has been ruled out for five weeks after sustaining a calf injury against Southampton last weekend, and the Hammers will also be without Cheikhou Kouyate as they travel to Norwich on Saturday after he suffered mild concussion during Tuesday night's dramatic 2-1 FA Cup win over Liverpool.
But Bilic's team will be boosted as midfielder Lanzini, who suffered a thigh injury against Liverpool in January, returns to full training again this weekend, while Senegalese international Sakho will rejoin the first-team set up later this month after recovering from a muscle strain.
"On Sunday Lanzini will start training with the team again, which is a big boost for us," he said. "Sakho will be back maybe five days after.
"Kouyate is doing well, but because of the rules he cannot play in the game because he was unconscious on the pitch.
"But we have enough players to put a very strong team out on Saturday."
West Ham will face a Norwich side on Saturday who are looking for their first Premier League win since the start of January as they struggle to escape the relegation zone.
Defenders Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien are unlikely to feature at Carrow Road after both limping off with hamstring injuries on Tuesday, but Bilic remains optimistic despite his lack of options in defence.
"Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien have hamstring injuries," Bilic continued. "They will have scans today and then we'll know how long it will take for them.
"James Tomkins is out for five weeks after the Southampton game, so that's three defenders out.
"In that department it's not a very great situation for us, but I think the knocks will be ok."
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Arsenal lining up £8million summer transfer window move for West Ham wonderkid Reece Oxford
* 07:52, 12 FEB 2016
* BY JOHN CROSS
www.mirror.co.uk
The Gunners boss and chief scout Steve Rowley are big fans of the 17-year-old and are looking to pip Man United and Man City to his signature
Arsenal chief scout Steve Rowley is a big admirer of the 17-year-old and is keeping close tabs on developments.
It highlights Arsenal's determination to snap up some of the Premier League's best young talent to bolster their squad.
They made moves for Leicester's teenage full back Ben Chilwell in January and Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon as well as agreeing a deal for Nigerian wonderkids Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze
Oxford, who was outstanding for West Ham in their opening day win at Arsenal, is further down the line in his development and Gunners boss Wenger regards him as a huge prospect.
And he could be wearing red in the future - if West Ham agree to cash inArsenal looked at Oxford before he signed a contract at West Ham and now they head a queue of big clubs who are keen.
Rowley has scouted him regularly while Manchester United and Manchester City have also been watching him.
Oxford, whose contract expires in 2018, can play centre half or central midfield and Arsenal like his composure on the ball.
West Ham blocked Oxford from going to the Under-17s World Cup in Chile - he was captain of England's team - in October and since then he has not started a Premier League game.
That has given clubs encouragement that a deal might be able to be done this summer.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Thursday, February 11
Daily WHUFC News - 12th February 2016
Westley upbeat despite defeat
WHUFC.com
Reflecting on the Development Squad's first defeat in four months, Terry
Westley said his youthful side would learn valuable lessons from the defeat
to Swansea City. The Hammers started the game brightly and their superiority
was rewarded when Grady Diangana netted his first goal at U21 level with a
clinical finish at the near post. However the visiting Swans refused to be
cowed, and their persistence was rewarded with two fine long range strikes
from Adam King and Tom Sheehan. Speaking at full time, Academy director
Westley said: "On balance, you have to say they deserved it based on their
second half performance. "We really should have capitalised on our early
chances, and had we done that it might have been a different story. That is
one of several lessons we'll take from tonight."
With a number of regular Dev Squad starters out on loan gaining valuable
first team experience elsewhere, Westley named a youthful line-up that
included seven players who still qualify for the U18 side, with a further
three coming on from the bench. This ploy of promoting players above their
age groups has been a feature of Westley's tenure at the club and the
rewards are evident. He continued: "All teams lose at one point or another,
there's no shame in our performance or result tonight, we just weren't at
the level we have been over the last few weeks and months. "We need to keep
our focus and concentration, yes we're playing young players but we can't
use that as an excuse, this is a great opportunity for all our players to
stand up and say 'Yes, I'm ready for this level. "This result should also be
taken in context. It's our first in 12 games, and we've got a semi-final to
look forward to. All the while, we have a number of players out on loan
beginning to make a name for themselves and will hopefully one day come back
and make an impact for our first team."
The Development Squad next play on Monday 22 February away at Wolverhampton
Wanderers.
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Slaven Speaks - Norwich City
WHUFC.com
Ahead of the Hammers' trip to Carrow Road on Saturday, Slaven Bilic held his
pre-match press conference. During the briefing, the manager fielded a range
of questions from team news, facing the Canaries and feeding of Tuesday
night's victory...
Good morning, is there a feel good factor after Tuesday's result or do you
have to guard against fatigue?
SB: "Well, we have a few knocks and injuries but overall it's a good
feeling. Even those guys with a knock, they feel good. When you win you
don't feel the fatigue as much. 120 minutes is of course a lot to play, but
we are all looking forward to the Norwich game on Saturday."
Of those injuries, what can you tell us about them? How will that effect
your plans for Saturday?
SB: "We have a situation with Joey O'Brien and Winston Reid, they both
injured hamstrings, they are having a scan today and then we will know. "We
have also James Tomkins who is out for five weeks, they are three big
defenders for us, it's not a great situation. "I think the knocks are going
to be OK for Saturday. Cheikhou Kouyate is OK, he is doing well, but because
of the rules he can't play because he was unconscious. It's a big blow for
us of course, but we will put a strong team out. Alex Song is back, we have
enough to put a very strong team out.
"On Sunday, Manuel Lanzini will train with the team which is obviously a big
boost for us. If everything goes well, he could feature against Blackburn
Rovers next Sunday."
Is Norwich the kind of game you have to win in order to stay in the Top Six?
"Well, we go to Norwich knowing that we lost our last league game away at
Southampton. It is a good game to bounce back; we absolutely need to get
something from the game. It'll be a hard game because they have lost five
games in a row but before that they were in a very comfortable position. In
the transfer window they did really good, they spent money and got good
players. They need a result like crazy so we are expecting a very tough
game."
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Retro Hammer: Thomas Hitzlsperger- Where is he now?
February 10, 2016
thewesthamway.co.uk
Joe Difford
Just 23 minutes into his West Ham debut against Burnley, Thomas Hitzlsperger
scored an unbelievable goal from outside the area with his deadly left foot,
but what has the German been up to since leaving the Boleyn Ground in 2011?
Hitzlsperger managed just 13 appearances in claret and blue due to an injury
that kept him out of action until February. He scored three goals, but
somehow still managed to win over the Hammers fans, despite his short spell
at the club.
After seeing his side drop down to the Championship and having his contract
terminated, the midfielder was fined £750 and given six points for speeding,
going a whopping 107mph on the A14 in Suffolk. Luckily for him, he wasn't
handed a ban, using the excuse that he had no club and needed his Range
Rover to drive round the country and find a new job; love the creativity!
He joined Wolfsburg later that summer, but only made six appearances, before
seeing his contract terminated yet again and joining Everton, where he
played in nine games before, you guessed it, being released.
It hasn't been a straightforward life after football for the German
international, who retired in 2013, despite having offers from a number of
clubs. He cited the strain of transfers and injuries for his early hanging
up of his boots, stating that, "I've noticed: I need something else."
Off the pitch, Hitzlsperger has worked as a blogger for a German anti-racism
website called Störungsmelder, and became the first 'high-profile'
footballer to openly reveal his homosexuality, which he said was only
realised later in life, after an eight-year relationship with his
girlfriend, Inga.
Footballers are cursed with a rather negative stereotype, with many
believing them to be less intelligent or politically, economically or
culturally aware due to their lack of further education, but Thomas studied
investment strategies whilst in England. Not only that, but he regularly
visited the Bank of England during his time at Aston Villa and West Ham, in
order to discuss finance with the bank's governor, who is conveniently a
Villa fan.
He may not have had a very active footballing career after his time at Upton
Park, but Thomas Hitzlsperger is a great example of how a footballer can use
his status to bring awareness to issues surrounding sexuality, racism and
economics; and he had one hell of a left foot.
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Farewell Boleyn
February 11, 2016
thewesthamway.co.uk
Dave Walker (S*x, Drugs & Carlton Cole)
Putting pen to paper about the Boleyn Ground feels more like a eulogy than
an article. This is because I know these words are in tribute to something
that has not only been a massive part of my life for nearly thirty years but
something that I know will be destroyed and converted into something that
has no emotional value to me and that is a heart wrenching realization.
My first home game was on a cold Tuesday night against Plymouth Argyle in
1991 and I remember it so well. My Dad had spent the previous week trying to
convince my Mum to let him take me on a school night, "I`ve got to take him
to a game under the lights, he`ll love it" he said. On the day of the game,
a couple of hours before kick-off we did what we have done ever since and
joined the lengthy queue for Nathans on the Barking Road. Whilst my Dad was
effortlessly demolishing his double pie and mash, he started to tell me what
West Ham meant to him and why. Not just the football club but everything
that goes with it, everything it represents.
After we had eaten, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the buzz
around Barking Road and Green Street. The big crowds, the smell of the
burger vans, the clouds of cigarette smoke, the chants from the different
fanzine sellers on each corner, the rowdy, intimidating atmosphere oozing
from the Boleyn pub and of course the random war cry of "Irons" to remind
the away fans of exactly where they were. For me, this experience was just
beautiful. I felt such a strong sense of belonging and Dad`s words in
Nathans suddenly started to resonate with me. I understood it because I felt
it, I knew I was part of something special and Upton Park was a home from
home. I had never felt anything like it.
When it was time to go to our seats (which were situated in the upper West
Stand) finding the words to describe the feeling of climbing that final step
and seeing the Stadium in all of it`s glory for the first time is pretty
much impossible. It was a feeling I will never forget.
As the players emerged from the tunnel, the Bubbles anthem engulfed the
Boleyn Ground and to this day, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck
every time the music stops and the song continues in acapella from the words
"Fortunes always hiding". To hear over 30,000 home fans come together and
sing that song in unison is spectacular. I think a lot of it is to do with
the fact that the song itself is literally a perfect fit for West Ham and
perfectly describes the emotional roller coaster of supporting this club we
call our own. It was Alvin Martin who said the following during an interview
with SD&CC last year "You don`t become a West Ham fan because of the glory,
you become a West Ham fan because you are born into it and whilst it`s
painful at times that`s what makes us so strong, really strong".
My Dad was certainly born into it having grown up in New City Road. Money
was tight for his parents at the time but he was desperate to go and watch
West Ham. He said that when he was a kid, not only was there a lot of
traffic around the Boleyn Ground on a match day but there were a lot scally
wags letting tyres down on parked cars so him and his mates used to approach
the drivers in advance and offer to keep their cars safe during the game in
return for a small amount of money. As soon as they had enough money between
them for a ticket and a program, they would abandon the cars that they were
supposed to be protecting and go and see the game!
He had the pleasure of seeing some fantastic players over the years and
talks in detail about the time Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters
returned to West Ham after their contribution to our nation's greatest ever
triumph. He said that it was euphoric enough to know that our Country had
just won the biggest tournament on the planet but to know that we had won it
with West Ham players being the dominant force in that side was something
else. They were treated like heroes at the Boleyn, rightfully so.
Prior to the World Cup win, somewhere between the late 50s/early 60s,
gambling within the squad was at its peak. Some liked a punt more than
others and on a weekly basis bookmakers could be seen in the car park
outside the main entrance of the Boleyn waiting to collect money owed to
them by the players, however the lads would always be tipped off about the
bookmakers arrival and the groundsman would sneak them through the rear exit
of the chicken run!
The Chicken run. The famous Chicken run. The only stand in football to have
forced their players to stuff cotton wool in their ears because of the
amount of stick they used to receive for not giving 100%! This was true with
the players in the 50s and 60s. The fans were also probably close enough to
pull the cotton wool out of their ears too!
My Brother is older than me and was lucky enough to have been a regular over
West Ham during the eighties and has some special memories of his own.
He said that his most favourite game was a 2-1 win against Ipswich, this was
the final home game of the famous 86 season. The atmosphere was electric and
Ipswich needed the win as much as we did because they were facing relegation
at the time. We actually went 1-0 down but the sheer intensity of the crowd
urged our players on to win that game which we eventually did after goals
from Alan Dickens and Ray Stewart respectively. He said that it was
pandemonium in the ground at full time and the result also kept our dream
alive of winning the title. A pitch invasion took place and everyone was
singing "We`re gonna win the league". My brother dug up some turf from the
Boleyn that night and buried it in our Mum and Dads back garden! It was a
very special time to be a West Ham fan.
He also fondly reflects on watching the Monkey nut seller walking around the
Boleyn. It didn`t matter how far back you were in the stand, if you wanted a
packet of nuts you would just catch the eye of the Monkey nut seller and
pass your money down to the person in front of you, who would pass it down
to the person in front of them and so on all the way to the bottom until it
reached him. The monkey nut seller would then repeat the process with the
nuts all the way back up until the packet was in your hand! Can you imagine
that happening today?
During a memorable 4-1 win against Liverpool in what turned out to be a
pretty forgettable season in 1989, he was in the North bank when he suddenly
felt his leg becoming very warm on what was a cold evening. When he bent
down to feel his calf it was soaking wet! Confused, he turned around to see
that the geezer behind him had rolled up his program, stuck his d%ck through
it and p%ssed all over him! I don't think he was aiming for my brother's leg
but that wasn't much of a consolation to him as he had to spend the rest of
the second half with a soggy trouser leg! The stands were just so packed in
them days, it was obviously the easiest option for the fella at the time!
One of his most poignant memories was Trevor Brookings last ever game for
West Ham, a 1-0 defeat to Everton in 1984. He said that at the end of the
game there wasn`t a single fan leaving the stadium. Brooking, who had
assumed that the Boleyn was emptying after the final whistle was back in the
dressing room about to get changed when a club official told him that the
fans were still in the ground and they wasn`t leaving until he came back
out! The reception he received was deafening when he emerged from the tunnel
and as he proceeded to walk a lap of honour, hundreds and hundreds of fans
were throwing scarves at him and Sir Trevor didn`t leave a single scarf
behind, even if he dropped any, he came back and got them. Remember how
Brooking used to glide across those mud invested pitches at the Boleyn
before picking out the perfect pass? What a player. Imagine what he would`ve
done on the type of pitches our groundsman produce today? I think the same
could be said for Alan Devonshire, another class act.
In the mid-90s I became a season ticket holder in the Bobby Moore lower.
This was a special part of the stadium for me because in them days there
seemed to be two unwritten rules, 1. You don`t sit down and 2. You don`t
stop singing! For me, the mid to late 90s was the best era (in my lifetime
anyway). Who can forget witnessing the Academy of football at its peak with
the emergence of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard?
Lest we forget the double signing of Hartson and Kitson, Dicksy Smashing
penalties (and wingers), the Ian Wright and Neil Ruddock celebration,
falling in love with Trevor Sinclair, Berkovic running riot, booking
ourselves a European tour, Samassi Abou against Barnsley, the signing of
Paolo Di Canio, Moncur being here, there and everywhere, Shaka becoming
world class, Redknapp being liked and Stuart Pearce playing with a broken
leg. I could go on and on, they were great days.
I am often asked for my most favourite game and although there are some
obvious answers in terms of importance, my choice is purely based on
entertainment and that would have to be the 5-4 win over Bradford City on
Saturday 12th February 2000. For me that game had absolutely everything and
belonged to Paolo Di Canio. I was privileged to watch Paolo play for West
Ham at the Boleyn. That man was poetry in motion and he adored the fans as
much as we adored him. He was my hero.
The Boleyn Ground also hosted the testimonial of another one of my hero's,
Julian Dicks. I`m not ashamed to admit it, when he walked onto that pitch
and through the guard of honour in front of a standing ovation I had tears
rolling down my face. That man was the closest thing I had experienced to
Billy Bonds in terms of a player giving you his heart and dominating the
field with his presence in the process. When we interviewed him in 2014 he
said "Putting that shirt on and playing at Upton Park was a fantastic
experience. When you are playing for West Ham it is the best ground in the
world, especially if the fans like you".
This season, I took my eldest daughter to her first ever game and as we
walked up the steps to take our seats I watched her face when she saw the
Boleyn for the first time and it was like history repeating itself. I saw
the same level of excitement that My Dad would`ve seen in me as an 8 year
old boy that Tuesday night against Plymouth. I knew exactly how she felt as
she squeezed my hand and smiled. That moment meant the world to me.
Hopefully, one day I will see the same expression on my grandchildren's face
when I walk them to their seats in the Olympic stadium for the first time.
Everyone who supports West Ham United has their own special memories about
the club but one thing I think we all have in common is that the place where
the majority of those special memories have been captured is the Boleyn
Ground. Whether it's inside the Stadium or the area that surrounds it,
collectively it will always have a special place in my heart and I am
eternally grateful for the times that it has given me and my family over the
years. This Stadium has seen it all. The good times, the bad times, the
laughs, the tears, the great players, the not so great players! And now,
this year it will see the end of the road as the club moves on to what we
all hope will be the start of a new and exciting chapter, the start of
something special. God bless the Boleyn Ground and the historical platform
that it has provided our treasured football club for well over a century.
Forever loved, never forgotten.
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Is Payet the signing of the decade?
February 10, 2016
TheWestHamWay
Guest Writer
West Ham United Vs Manchester City
by (CC by 2.0)
by joshjdss
Dimitri Payet has been a key player in West Ham's success so far this season
and could go down as one of the best signings of any Premier League club in
last summer's transfer window.
There is not much doubt that the PFA player of the year award is set to go
to one of Jamie Vardy, Mesut Ozil, or Riyad Mahrez, but the closest Premier
League newcomer in contention is Payet. At 33/1 with bookmakers, there is
not much chance that he will lift the award, but the way he has vastly
improved the team this season can't go unrecognised. Could Payet be the West
Ham signing of the decade?
History
We have a history of making dubious signings, some who have been a complete
waste of money and others who have not done much at the club only to go on
to great things elsewhere. Many may not remember that West Ham signed Javier
Mascherano back in 2006, for example. He only made five appearances for the
club before becoming a Liverpool and Barcelona legend. In that same year the
Hammers signed Carlos Tevez. He only scored seven goals for West Ham in his
26 appearances. At the peak of his career he put away 58 goals for
Manchester City. There was a bit of red tape about our signings of that
Argentinian pair but we could have done with keeping hold of them for
longer.
Dimitri Payet
We have had an exceptional season so far and a lot of that success has come
down to the outstanding performances of Payet, who has proved to be an
incisive acquisition. He has made a major difference while in the team,
allowing for some serious creativity in attack. When he was out of the side
for a few weeks through injury he was sorely missed, and we lacked the
threat that they had before. At the time of writing he has six goals and
four assists in the league. At a fee of what was believed to be around
£12million, he has proved to be a bargain. At 4/1 in the football betting, a
top-6 finish is a real possibility and Payet will be pivotal in ensuring we
meet that target.
Although Payet enjoyed a successful spell in France, scoring plenty of goals
at all the clubs he has played for, his stats in England suggest that this
could be where he reaches his peak.
Other contenders
Although possibly not in the same league as Payet, Michail Antonio looks to
be a rather shrewd acquisition. At the time of writing, he has three goals
and five assists in the league after only 12 appearances. This attacking
mind-set fits in well with Slaven Bilic's attacking model and he could be a
key player over the years to come. Sam Byram also looks like he has a
bright career ahead of him and Bilic was wise to snap up the youngster from
Leeds United before any of West Ham's rivals got to him first.
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West Ham United Pay League
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
West Ham's wage bill has created a lot of discussion over recent months with
claims of FFP and all the rest of it. So ClaretandHugh has taken a look at
what we believe to be the situation at the club and has based our Pay League
table on information we have received recently and in the past.
We don't claim this table is guaranteed 100 per cent correct but believe it
is very close to presenting the real figure on wage costs.
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - FA Cup Third Round
1. Andy Carroll £85,000 per week £4.42m per year 2. Alex Song £70,000 per
week £3.64m per year 3. Victor Moses £70,000 per week £3.64m per year 4.
Dimtri Payet £68,000 per week £3.53m per year 5. Winston Reid £55,000 per
week £2.86m per year 6. Nikica Jelavic £55,000 per week £2.86m per year 7.
Mark Noble £50,000 per week £2.6m per year 8. James Tomkins £45,000 per
week £2.34m per year 9. Adrian £42,000 per week £2.2m per year 10. Pedro
Obiang £40,000 per week £2.08m per year 11.Enner Valencia £38,000 per week
£1.98m per year 12. Emmanuel Emenike £38,000 per week £1.98m per year 13.
Cheik Kouyate £38,000 per week £1.98m per year 14. Diafra Sakho £33,000 per
week £1.76m per year
15. Sam Byram £30,000 per week £1.56m per year
16. Manuel Lanzini £29,000 per week £1.5m per year 17. James Collins £29,000
per week £1.5m per year 18. Angelo Ogbonna £28,000 per week £1.46m per year
19. Michail Antonio £25,000 per week £1.3m per year 20. Aaron Cresswell
£24,000 per week £1.23m per year 21. Joey O'Brien £20,000 per week £1.04m
per year 22. Darren Randolph £20,000 per week £1.04m per year 23. Doneil
Henry £15,000 per week £780,000 per year 24. Ralph Spiegel £15,000 per week
£780,000 per year 25. Reece Oxford £10,000 per week £520,000 per year
The sharp-eyed among you will notice the total annual wage bill listed above
is just around £48m per year while the FFP limit is £60m for West Ham this
season. The Premier league rules say all clubs need to declare the total
cost of players wages including any bonuses, image rights, additional
payments, employer national insurance contributions and any pension
payments. Employers National Insurance Contributions add another 13.8% to
the basic wages the players receive so around £6.9m on the figures above.
Bonuses and image rights account for the rest with a small remainder for
players such as Josh Cullen, Martin Samuleson and Reece Burke together with
non-first team players wages in the Academy.
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Samuelsen heartbreak but Irons contract ahead Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on
February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
Young Hammer Martin Samuelsen suffered the ultimate heartbreak last night as
he missed a spot kick in the penalty shoot-out which saw Peterborough slip
out of the FA Cup to West Brom.
However, he might have got away with it when vastly experienced Albion star
Darren Fletcher dribbled an awful shot wide immediately afterwards in the
fourth round replay. But in the end the Baggies went through as The Posh's
final penalty taker hit an awful effort straight at keeper Ben Foster.
However, Samuelsen had shown millions of TV viewers during 120 minutes just
what a fabulous prospect he is with some brilliant solo stuff. And he might
have won it for the League One side in extra time from open play when taking
on three Albion defenders and firing an effort narrowly over the top. With
the likes of Payet, Lanzini and the young Norwegian on our books the Irons
look set to excite for a long time to come and the club confirmed again this
morning that they will be negotiating a new deal with the teenager this
summer. ClaretandHugh was told exclusively: "Martin's a wonderful prospect
as many saw last night - it was a fabulous performance by him and his loan
team. "We have an option to extend and will offer him a longer contract in
the summer. We are thrilled with the progress he is making and intent to
keep him happy."
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Fry talks to DS about Samuelsen
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
Exclusive
Peterborough's director of football Barry Fry told ClaretandHugh this
morning that Martin Samuelsen's appearance in the FA Cup Final fourth round
replay against West Brom last night was his first full match since joining
Peterborough United on loan from the Hammers last year. Samuelsen was in
fabulous form but Fry said: "He's always come on as a sub as he's still a
bit weak for regular 90 minutes but last night will have done him the world
of good. He's been playing kids football but he's really growing into the
mens' game. "We were thrilled that he was still going at the end of two
hours - it was a great step in his development and will have done him the
world of good." Fry insists the young Norwegian needs to stay at London Road
for another season and declared: "If he stays with us particularly should we
be a Championship club he will go back to West Ham as a tough and mature
player. He added: "I have talked to David Sullivan about the possibility.
It's obviously my hope we can make it happen but he is without doubt a
fabulous prospect." Posh are currently sitting in eighth place three points
off the play-off places.
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Slaven Bilic gives update on Payet contract talks amid Arsenal and Chelsea
speculation SLAVEN BILIC has confirmed Dimitri Payet is close to signing a
new deal at West Ham.
By UCHE AMAKO
PUBLISHED: 10:24, Thu, Feb 11, 2016 | UPDATED: 10:52, Thu, Feb 11, 2016
Express.co.uk
Reports earlier this week suggested the French attacker was demanding a new
£125,000-a-week deal and that Arsenal and Chelsea were monitoring the
situation. The Hammers quickly denied any dispute and said "amicable and
productive talks" were underway. While Payet made clear his intention to
stay at West Ham saying: "My future is here and I hope for many years." And
ahead of their clash with Norwich on Saturday, Bilic provided positive news
on Payet's contract. He said: "I think we are very close to Dimitri signing
a new contract. "Both parties have the same intention and that is to stay
at West Ham."
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FROM DREAM TO NIGHTMARE - HOW THE AWAY DAY MORONS RUINED IT FOR MY 13 YEAR
OLD SON
By Iain Dale 11 Feb 2016 at 08:00
WTID
Guest Post by Andrew Newman
I am proud to say I have supported West Ham all my life. Since I moved down
to Dorset From London 13 years ago I fell in love & happily married my wife
and proudly took on her son on who I am now honoured to call my stepson. He
was at the time 9 yrs old and sadly supported Chelsea unto the age of 11.
But I managed to convince him to support West Ham. He instantly fell in love
with our history, mainly Bobby Moore and our famous 'bubbles' song. And
iconic players from the past like Di Canio, Dicks, Bonds, etc.
He now loves to sing the Payet song in his room and 'bubbles' whenever
possible all the time. His bedroom is now claret & blue from top to bottom
and gone is the Chelsea theme I reluctantly decorated for him. I have taken
him to home friendlies before, as sadly I cant get a season ticket. But
luckily due to my business relationship with a supplier who has 2 season
tickets for Southampton I have been able to take him to the West Ham away
matches at St Mary's for the last two years.
But can you imagine having to sit in the Saints end listening to the
conversations running the Hammers down and how great the Saints are? It is
torture for me!
But I love him so I can just about tolerate it. But at least it's always a
safe environment. He now has grown into a lovely respectful thirteen year
old son.
However, he always wishes he could be in the away end so he can sing
'bubbles' the Payet song when we go to Southampton. I always tell him what a
great experience away days are and promised him one day we will go to a away
day match and sing our hearts out together, win, lose or draw. Nothing would
make me prouder seeing him so happy.
At Saturday night's match against Southampton we were, as usual, sitting in
the home end. And as usual we was having to listen to the usual dribble from
Saints fans until half time. But then I could see down by the touchline a
head steward I know from work.
I grabbed my son's hand and we went down there and I asked the steward if
there was any chance he could get us in the away end with our fellow West
Ham fans. He said 'Sure, come with me'. At this point my son's eyes lit up
and he was so excited. We were kindly shown in to the West Ham end. I have
never seen him so happy. Another steward told us there were plenty of seats
available near the segregation seats and to choose which ones we would like.
As I excitedly thanked him my son and I moved into position.
The mood was defiantly different from the one in the Southampton end we were
in. But he was still so happy and couldn't wait to hear the rendition of
'bubbles' start. The second half kicked off and so did 'bubbles'. He looked
at me and I winked at him, and he sang his heart out. I was so happy I had
made his dream come true.
Sadly the mood changed again after the sending off and a few morons from
West Ham kept charging past us towards the Southampton supporters, clearly
not interested in the match, swearing and being abusive in front of my son
pushing him out of way so they could scream at the Southampton fans, goading
them for a fight.
As I looked at my son's face it turned in a instant from one of happiness to
one full of fear. He was so scared the tears soon followed.This kept on and
on. My heart broke i held him close and could feel his body shaking with
fear - his dream having turned into a nightmare. As I looked around also a
young girl of maybe eight or nine was also sobbing, hugging her Dad close. I
then left with my son before the match finished for his safety.
What possesses idiots to behave in front of children like this?! I can never
again say to my stepson that West Ham is a family club. And I think
emotionally he is scared to want to go to another West Ham match, home or
away. The morons who only wanted to go for a fight have ruined his love for
our great club.
I'm a very sad Hammer.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Reflecting on the Development Squad's first defeat in four months, Terry
Westley said his youthful side would learn valuable lessons from the defeat
to Swansea City. The Hammers started the game brightly and their superiority
was rewarded when Grady Diangana netted his first goal at U21 level with a
clinical finish at the near post. However the visiting Swans refused to be
cowed, and their persistence was rewarded with two fine long range strikes
from Adam King and Tom Sheehan. Speaking at full time, Academy director
Westley said: "On balance, you have to say they deserved it based on their
second half performance. "We really should have capitalised on our early
chances, and had we done that it might have been a different story. That is
one of several lessons we'll take from tonight."
With a number of regular Dev Squad starters out on loan gaining valuable
first team experience elsewhere, Westley named a youthful line-up that
included seven players who still qualify for the U18 side, with a further
three coming on from the bench. This ploy of promoting players above their
age groups has been a feature of Westley's tenure at the club and the
rewards are evident. He continued: "All teams lose at one point or another,
there's no shame in our performance or result tonight, we just weren't at
the level we have been over the last few weeks and months. "We need to keep
our focus and concentration, yes we're playing young players but we can't
use that as an excuse, this is a great opportunity for all our players to
stand up and say 'Yes, I'm ready for this level. "This result should also be
taken in context. It's our first in 12 games, and we've got a semi-final to
look forward to. All the while, we have a number of players out on loan
beginning to make a name for themselves and will hopefully one day come back
and make an impact for our first team."
The Development Squad next play on Monday 22 February away at Wolverhampton
Wanderers.
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Slaven Speaks - Norwich City
WHUFC.com
Ahead of the Hammers' trip to Carrow Road on Saturday, Slaven Bilic held his
pre-match press conference. During the briefing, the manager fielded a range
of questions from team news, facing the Canaries and feeding of Tuesday
night's victory...
Good morning, is there a feel good factor after Tuesday's result or do you
have to guard against fatigue?
SB: "Well, we have a few knocks and injuries but overall it's a good
feeling. Even those guys with a knock, they feel good. When you win you
don't feel the fatigue as much. 120 minutes is of course a lot to play, but
we are all looking forward to the Norwich game on Saturday."
Of those injuries, what can you tell us about them? How will that effect
your plans for Saturday?
SB: "We have a situation with Joey O'Brien and Winston Reid, they both
injured hamstrings, they are having a scan today and then we will know. "We
have also James Tomkins who is out for five weeks, they are three big
defenders for us, it's not a great situation. "I think the knocks are going
to be OK for Saturday. Cheikhou Kouyate is OK, he is doing well, but because
of the rules he can't play because he was unconscious. It's a big blow for
us of course, but we will put a strong team out. Alex Song is back, we have
enough to put a very strong team out.
"On Sunday, Manuel Lanzini will train with the team which is obviously a big
boost for us. If everything goes well, he could feature against Blackburn
Rovers next Sunday."
Is Norwich the kind of game you have to win in order to stay in the Top Six?
"Well, we go to Norwich knowing that we lost our last league game away at
Southampton. It is a good game to bounce back; we absolutely need to get
something from the game. It'll be a hard game because they have lost five
games in a row but before that they were in a very comfortable position. In
the transfer window they did really good, they spent money and got good
players. They need a result like crazy so we are expecting a very tough
game."
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Retro Hammer: Thomas Hitzlsperger- Where is he now?
February 10, 2016
thewesthamway.co.uk
Joe Difford
Just 23 minutes into his West Ham debut against Burnley, Thomas Hitzlsperger
scored an unbelievable goal from outside the area with his deadly left foot,
but what has the German been up to since leaving the Boleyn Ground in 2011?
Hitzlsperger managed just 13 appearances in claret and blue due to an injury
that kept him out of action until February. He scored three goals, but
somehow still managed to win over the Hammers fans, despite his short spell
at the club.
After seeing his side drop down to the Championship and having his contract
terminated, the midfielder was fined £750 and given six points for speeding,
going a whopping 107mph on the A14 in Suffolk. Luckily for him, he wasn't
handed a ban, using the excuse that he had no club and needed his Range
Rover to drive round the country and find a new job; love the creativity!
He joined Wolfsburg later that summer, but only made six appearances, before
seeing his contract terminated yet again and joining Everton, where he
played in nine games before, you guessed it, being released.
It hasn't been a straightforward life after football for the German
international, who retired in 2013, despite having offers from a number of
clubs. He cited the strain of transfers and injuries for his early hanging
up of his boots, stating that, "I've noticed: I need something else."
Off the pitch, Hitzlsperger has worked as a blogger for a German anti-racism
website called Störungsmelder, and became the first 'high-profile'
footballer to openly reveal his homosexuality, which he said was only
realised later in life, after an eight-year relationship with his
girlfriend, Inga.
Footballers are cursed with a rather negative stereotype, with many
believing them to be less intelligent or politically, economically or
culturally aware due to their lack of further education, but Thomas studied
investment strategies whilst in England. Not only that, but he regularly
visited the Bank of England during his time at Aston Villa and West Ham, in
order to discuss finance with the bank's governor, who is conveniently a
Villa fan.
He may not have had a very active footballing career after his time at Upton
Park, but Thomas Hitzlsperger is a great example of how a footballer can use
his status to bring awareness to issues surrounding sexuality, racism and
economics; and he had one hell of a left foot.
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Farewell Boleyn
February 11, 2016
thewesthamway.co.uk
Dave Walker (S*x, Drugs & Carlton Cole)
Putting pen to paper about the Boleyn Ground feels more like a eulogy than
an article. This is because I know these words are in tribute to something
that has not only been a massive part of my life for nearly thirty years but
something that I know will be destroyed and converted into something that
has no emotional value to me and that is a heart wrenching realization.
My first home game was on a cold Tuesday night against Plymouth Argyle in
1991 and I remember it so well. My Dad had spent the previous week trying to
convince my Mum to let him take me on a school night, "I`ve got to take him
to a game under the lights, he`ll love it" he said. On the day of the game,
a couple of hours before kick-off we did what we have done ever since and
joined the lengthy queue for Nathans on the Barking Road. Whilst my Dad was
effortlessly demolishing his double pie and mash, he started to tell me what
West Ham meant to him and why. Not just the football club but everything
that goes with it, everything it represents.
After we had eaten, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the buzz
around Barking Road and Green Street. The big crowds, the smell of the
burger vans, the clouds of cigarette smoke, the chants from the different
fanzine sellers on each corner, the rowdy, intimidating atmosphere oozing
from the Boleyn pub and of course the random war cry of "Irons" to remind
the away fans of exactly where they were. For me, this experience was just
beautiful. I felt such a strong sense of belonging and Dad`s words in
Nathans suddenly started to resonate with me. I understood it because I felt
it, I knew I was part of something special and Upton Park was a home from
home. I had never felt anything like it.
When it was time to go to our seats (which were situated in the upper West
Stand) finding the words to describe the feeling of climbing that final step
and seeing the Stadium in all of it`s glory for the first time is pretty
much impossible. It was a feeling I will never forget.
As the players emerged from the tunnel, the Bubbles anthem engulfed the
Boleyn Ground and to this day, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck
every time the music stops and the song continues in acapella from the words
"Fortunes always hiding". To hear over 30,000 home fans come together and
sing that song in unison is spectacular. I think a lot of it is to do with
the fact that the song itself is literally a perfect fit for West Ham and
perfectly describes the emotional roller coaster of supporting this club we
call our own. It was Alvin Martin who said the following during an interview
with SD&CC last year "You don`t become a West Ham fan because of the glory,
you become a West Ham fan because you are born into it and whilst it`s
painful at times that`s what makes us so strong, really strong".
My Dad was certainly born into it having grown up in New City Road. Money
was tight for his parents at the time but he was desperate to go and watch
West Ham. He said that when he was a kid, not only was there a lot of
traffic around the Boleyn Ground on a match day but there were a lot scally
wags letting tyres down on parked cars so him and his mates used to approach
the drivers in advance and offer to keep their cars safe during the game in
return for a small amount of money. As soon as they had enough money between
them for a ticket and a program, they would abandon the cars that they were
supposed to be protecting and go and see the game!
He had the pleasure of seeing some fantastic players over the years and
talks in detail about the time Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters
returned to West Ham after their contribution to our nation's greatest ever
triumph. He said that it was euphoric enough to know that our Country had
just won the biggest tournament on the planet but to know that we had won it
with West Ham players being the dominant force in that side was something
else. They were treated like heroes at the Boleyn, rightfully so.
Prior to the World Cup win, somewhere between the late 50s/early 60s,
gambling within the squad was at its peak. Some liked a punt more than
others and on a weekly basis bookmakers could be seen in the car park
outside the main entrance of the Boleyn waiting to collect money owed to
them by the players, however the lads would always be tipped off about the
bookmakers arrival and the groundsman would sneak them through the rear exit
of the chicken run!
The Chicken run. The famous Chicken run. The only stand in football to have
forced their players to stuff cotton wool in their ears because of the
amount of stick they used to receive for not giving 100%! This was true with
the players in the 50s and 60s. The fans were also probably close enough to
pull the cotton wool out of their ears too!
My Brother is older than me and was lucky enough to have been a regular over
West Ham during the eighties and has some special memories of his own.
He said that his most favourite game was a 2-1 win against Ipswich, this was
the final home game of the famous 86 season. The atmosphere was electric and
Ipswich needed the win as much as we did because they were facing relegation
at the time. We actually went 1-0 down but the sheer intensity of the crowd
urged our players on to win that game which we eventually did after goals
from Alan Dickens and Ray Stewart respectively. He said that it was
pandemonium in the ground at full time and the result also kept our dream
alive of winning the title. A pitch invasion took place and everyone was
singing "We`re gonna win the league". My brother dug up some turf from the
Boleyn that night and buried it in our Mum and Dads back garden! It was a
very special time to be a West Ham fan.
He also fondly reflects on watching the Monkey nut seller walking around the
Boleyn. It didn`t matter how far back you were in the stand, if you wanted a
packet of nuts you would just catch the eye of the Monkey nut seller and
pass your money down to the person in front of you, who would pass it down
to the person in front of them and so on all the way to the bottom until it
reached him. The monkey nut seller would then repeat the process with the
nuts all the way back up until the packet was in your hand! Can you imagine
that happening today?
During a memorable 4-1 win against Liverpool in what turned out to be a
pretty forgettable season in 1989, he was in the North bank when he suddenly
felt his leg becoming very warm on what was a cold evening. When he bent
down to feel his calf it was soaking wet! Confused, he turned around to see
that the geezer behind him had rolled up his program, stuck his d%ck through
it and p%ssed all over him! I don't think he was aiming for my brother's leg
but that wasn't much of a consolation to him as he had to spend the rest of
the second half with a soggy trouser leg! The stands were just so packed in
them days, it was obviously the easiest option for the fella at the time!
One of his most poignant memories was Trevor Brookings last ever game for
West Ham, a 1-0 defeat to Everton in 1984. He said that at the end of the
game there wasn`t a single fan leaving the stadium. Brooking, who had
assumed that the Boleyn was emptying after the final whistle was back in the
dressing room about to get changed when a club official told him that the
fans were still in the ground and they wasn`t leaving until he came back
out! The reception he received was deafening when he emerged from the tunnel
and as he proceeded to walk a lap of honour, hundreds and hundreds of fans
were throwing scarves at him and Sir Trevor didn`t leave a single scarf
behind, even if he dropped any, he came back and got them. Remember how
Brooking used to glide across those mud invested pitches at the Boleyn
before picking out the perfect pass? What a player. Imagine what he would`ve
done on the type of pitches our groundsman produce today? I think the same
could be said for Alan Devonshire, another class act.
In the mid-90s I became a season ticket holder in the Bobby Moore lower.
This was a special part of the stadium for me because in them days there
seemed to be two unwritten rules, 1. You don`t sit down and 2. You don`t
stop singing! For me, the mid to late 90s was the best era (in my lifetime
anyway). Who can forget witnessing the Academy of football at its peak with
the emergence of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard?
Lest we forget the double signing of Hartson and Kitson, Dicksy Smashing
penalties (and wingers), the Ian Wright and Neil Ruddock celebration,
falling in love with Trevor Sinclair, Berkovic running riot, booking
ourselves a European tour, Samassi Abou against Barnsley, the signing of
Paolo Di Canio, Moncur being here, there and everywhere, Shaka becoming
world class, Redknapp being liked and Stuart Pearce playing with a broken
leg. I could go on and on, they were great days.
I am often asked for my most favourite game and although there are some
obvious answers in terms of importance, my choice is purely based on
entertainment and that would have to be the 5-4 win over Bradford City on
Saturday 12th February 2000. For me that game had absolutely everything and
belonged to Paolo Di Canio. I was privileged to watch Paolo play for West
Ham at the Boleyn. That man was poetry in motion and he adored the fans as
much as we adored him. He was my hero.
The Boleyn Ground also hosted the testimonial of another one of my hero's,
Julian Dicks. I`m not ashamed to admit it, when he walked onto that pitch
and through the guard of honour in front of a standing ovation I had tears
rolling down my face. That man was the closest thing I had experienced to
Billy Bonds in terms of a player giving you his heart and dominating the
field with his presence in the process. When we interviewed him in 2014 he
said "Putting that shirt on and playing at Upton Park was a fantastic
experience. When you are playing for West Ham it is the best ground in the
world, especially if the fans like you".
This season, I took my eldest daughter to her first ever game and as we
walked up the steps to take our seats I watched her face when she saw the
Boleyn for the first time and it was like history repeating itself. I saw
the same level of excitement that My Dad would`ve seen in me as an 8 year
old boy that Tuesday night against Plymouth. I knew exactly how she felt as
she squeezed my hand and smiled. That moment meant the world to me.
Hopefully, one day I will see the same expression on my grandchildren's face
when I walk them to their seats in the Olympic stadium for the first time.
Everyone who supports West Ham United has their own special memories about
the club but one thing I think we all have in common is that the place where
the majority of those special memories have been captured is the Boleyn
Ground. Whether it's inside the Stadium or the area that surrounds it,
collectively it will always have a special place in my heart and I am
eternally grateful for the times that it has given me and my family over the
years. This Stadium has seen it all. The good times, the bad times, the
laughs, the tears, the great players, the not so great players! And now,
this year it will see the end of the road as the club moves on to what we
all hope will be the start of a new and exciting chapter, the start of
something special. God bless the Boleyn Ground and the historical platform
that it has provided our treasured football club for well over a century.
Forever loved, never forgotten.
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Is Payet the signing of the decade?
February 10, 2016
TheWestHamWay
Guest Writer
West Ham United Vs Manchester City
by (CC by 2.0)
by joshjdss
Dimitri Payet has been a key player in West Ham's success so far this season
and could go down as one of the best signings of any Premier League club in
last summer's transfer window.
There is not much doubt that the PFA player of the year award is set to go
to one of Jamie Vardy, Mesut Ozil, or Riyad Mahrez, but the closest Premier
League newcomer in contention is Payet. At 33/1 with bookmakers, there is
not much chance that he will lift the award, but the way he has vastly
improved the team this season can't go unrecognised. Could Payet be the West
Ham signing of the decade?
History
We have a history of making dubious signings, some who have been a complete
waste of money and others who have not done much at the club only to go on
to great things elsewhere. Many may not remember that West Ham signed Javier
Mascherano back in 2006, for example. He only made five appearances for the
club before becoming a Liverpool and Barcelona legend. In that same year the
Hammers signed Carlos Tevez. He only scored seven goals for West Ham in his
26 appearances. At the peak of his career he put away 58 goals for
Manchester City. There was a bit of red tape about our signings of that
Argentinian pair but we could have done with keeping hold of them for
longer.
Dimitri Payet
We have had an exceptional season so far and a lot of that success has come
down to the outstanding performances of Payet, who has proved to be an
incisive acquisition. He has made a major difference while in the team,
allowing for some serious creativity in attack. When he was out of the side
for a few weeks through injury he was sorely missed, and we lacked the
threat that they had before. At the time of writing he has six goals and
four assists in the league. At a fee of what was believed to be around
£12million, he has proved to be a bargain. At 4/1 in the football betting, a
top-6 finish is a real possibility and Payet will be pivotal in ensuring we
meet that target.
Although Payet enjoyed a successful spell in France, scoring plenty of goals
at all the clubs he has played for, his stats in England suggest that this
could be where he reaches his peak.
Other contenders
Although possibly not in the same league as Payet, Michail Antonio looks to
be a rather shrewd acquisition. At the time of writing, he has three goals
and five assists in the league after only 12 appearances. This attacking
mind-set fits in well with Slaven Bilic's attacking model and he could be a
key player over the years to come. Sam Byram also looks like he has a
bright career ahead of him and Bilic was wise to snap up the youngster from
Leeds United before any of West Ham's rivals got to him first.
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West Ham United Pay League
Posted by Sean Whetstone on February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
West Ham's wage bill has created a lot of discussion over recent months with
claims of FFP and all the rest of it. So ClaretandHugh has taken a look at
what we believe to be the situation at the club and has based our Pay League
table on information we have received recently and in the past.
We don't claim this table is guaranteed 100 per cent correct but believe it
is very close to presenting the real figure on wage costs.
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - FA Cup Third Round
1. Andy Carroll £85,000 per week £4.42m per year 2. Alex Song £70,000 per
week £3.64m per year 3. Victor Moses £70,000 per week £3.64m per year 4.
Dimtri Payet £68,000 per week £3.53m per year 5. Winston Reid £55,000 per
week £2.86m per year 6. Nikica Jelavic £55,000 per week £2.86m per year 7.
Mark Noble £50,000 per week £2.6m per year 8. James Tomkins £45,000 per
week £2.34m per year 9. Adrian £42,000 per week £2.2m per year 10. Pedro
Obiang £40,000 per week £2.08m per year 11.Enner Valencia £38,000 per week
£1.98m per year 12. Emmanuel Emenike £38,000 per week £1.98m per year 13.
Cheik Kouyate £38,000 per week £1.98m per year 14. Diafra Sakho £33,000 per
week £1.76m per year
15. Sam Byram £30,000 per week £1.56m per year
16. Manuel Lanzini £29,000 per week £1.5m per year 17. James Collins £29,000
per week £1.5m per year 18. Angelo Ogbonna £28,000 per week £1.46m per year
19. Michail Antonio £25,000 per week £1.3m per year 20. Aaron Cresswell
£24,000 per week £1.23m per year 21. Joey O'Brien £20,000 per week £1.04m
per year 22. Darren Randolph £20,000 per week £1.04m per year 23. Doneil
Henry £15,000 per week £780,000 per year 24. Ralph Spiegel £15,000 per week
£780,000 per year 25. Reece Oxford £10,000 per week £520,000 per year
The sharp-eyed among you will notice the total annual wage bill listed above
is just around £48m per year while the FFP limit is £60m for West Ham this
season. The Premier league rules say all clubs need to declare the total
cost of players wages including any bonuses, image rights, additional
payments, employer national insurance contributions and any pension
payments. Employers National Insurance Contributions add another 13.8% to
the basic wages the players receive so around £6.9m on the figures above.
Bonuses and image rights account for the rest with a small remainder for
players such as Josh Cullen, Martin Samuleson and Reece Burke together with
non-first team players wages in the Academy.
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Samuelsen heartbreak but Irons contract ahead Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on
February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
Young Hammer Martin Samuelsen suffered the ultimate heartbreak last night as
he missed a spot kick in the penalty shoot-out which saw Peterborough slip
out of the FA Cup to West Brom.
However, he might have got away with it when vastly experienced Albion star
Darren Fletcher dribbled an awful shot wide immediately afterwards in the
fourth round replay. But in the end the Baggies went through as The Posh's
final penalty taker hit an awful effort straight at keeper Ben Foster.
However, Samuelsen had shown millions of TV viewers during 120 minutes just
what a fabulous prospect he is with some brilliant solo stuff. And he might
have won it for the League One side in extra time from open play when taking
on three Albion defenders and firing an effort narrowly over the top. With
the likes of Payet, Lanzini and the young Norwegian on our books the Irons
look set to excite for a long time to come and the club confirmed again this
morning that they will be negotiating a new deal with the teenager this
summer. ClaretandHugh was told exclusively: "Martin's a wonderful prospect
as many saw last night - it was a fabulous performance by him and his loan
team. "We have an option to extend and will offer him a longer contract in
the summer. We are thrilled with the progress he is making and intent to
keep him happy."
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Fry talks to DS about Samuelsen
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 11, 2016 in News, Whispers C and H
Exclusive
Peterborough's director of football Barry Fry told ClaretandHugh this
morning that Martin Samuelsen's appearance in the FA Cup Final fourth round
replay against West Brom last night was his first full match since joining
Peterborough United on loan from the Hammers last year. Samuelsen was in
fabulous form but Fry said: "He's always come on as a sub as he's still a
bit weak for regular 90 minutes but last night will have done him the world
of good. He's been playing kids football but he's really growing into the
mens' game. "We were thrilled that he was still going at the end of two
hours - it was a great step in his development and will have done him the
world of good." Fry insists the young Norwegian needs to stay at London Road
for another season and declared: "If he stays with us particularly should we
be a Championship club he will go back to West Ham as a tough and mature
player. He added: "I have talked to David Sullivan about the possibility.
It's obviously my hope we can make it happen but he is without doubt a
fabulous prospect." Posh are currently sitting in eighth place three points
off the play-off places.
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Slaven Bilic gives update on Payet contract talks amid Arsenal and Chelsea
speculation SLAVEN BILIC has confirmed Dimitri Payet is close to signing a
new deal at West Ham.
By UCHE AMAKO
PUBLISHED: 10:24, Thu, Feb 11, 2016 | UPDATED: 10:52, Thu, Feb 11, 2016
Express.co.uk
Reports earlier this week suggested the French attacker was demanding a new
£125,000-a-week deal and that Arsenal and Chelsea were monitoring the
situation. The Hammers quickly denied any dispute and said "amicable and
productive talks" were underway. While Payet made clear his intention to
stay at West Ham saying: "My future is here and I hope for many years." And
ahead of their clash with Norwich on Saturday, Bilic provided positive news
on Payet's contract. He said: "I think we are very close to Dimitri signing
a new contract. "Both parties have the same intention and that is to stay
at West Ham."
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FROM DREAM TO NIGHTMARE - HOW THE AWAY DAY MORONS RUINED IT FOR MY 13 YEAR
OLD SON
By Iain Dale 11 Feb 2016 at 08:00
WTID
Guest Post by Andrew Newman
I am proud to say I have supported West Ham all my life. Since I moved down
to Dorset From London 13 years ago I fell in love & happily married my wife
and proudly took on her son on who I am now honoured to call my stepson. He
was at the time 9 yrs old and sadly supported Chelsea unto the age of 11.
But I managed to convince him to support West Ham. He instantly fell in love
with our history, mainly Bobby Moore and our famous 'bubbles' song. And
iconic players from the past like Di Canio, Dicks, Bonds, etc.
He now loves to sing the Payet song in his room and 'bubbles' whenever
possible all the time. His bedroom is now claret & blue from top to bottom
and gone is the Chelsea theme I reluctantly decorated for him. I have taken
him to home friendlies before, as sadly I cant get a season ticket. But
luckily due to my business relationship with a supplier who has 2 season
tickets for Southampton I have been able to take him to the West Ham away
matches at St Mary's for the last two years.
But can you imagine having to sit in the Saints end listening to the
conversations running the Hammers down and how great the Saints are? It is
torture for me!
But I love him so I can just about tolerate it. But at least it's always a
safe environment. He now has grown into a lovely respectful thirteen year
old son.
However, he always wishes he could be in the away end so he can sing
'bubbles' the Payet song when we go to Southampton. I always tell him what a
great experience away days are and promised him one day we will go to a away
day match and sing our hearts out together, win, lose or draw. Nothing would
make me prouder seeing him so happy.
At Saturday night's match against Southampton we were, as usual, sitting in
the home end. And as usual we was having to listen to the usual dribble from
Saints fans until half time. But then I could see down by the touchline a
head steward I know from work.
I grabbed my son's hand and we went down there and I asked the steward if
there was any chance he could get us in the away end with our fellow West
Ham fans. He said 'Sure, come with me'. At this point my son's eyes lit up
and he was so excited. We were kindly shown in to the West Ham end. I have
never seen him so happy. Another steward told us there were plenty of seats
available near the segregation seats and to choose which ones we would like.
As I excitedly thanked him my son and I moved into position.
The mood was defiantly different from the one in the Southampton end we were
in. But he was still so happy and couldn't wait to hear the rendition of
'bubbles' start. The second half kicked off and so did 'bubbles'. He looked
at me and I winked at him, and he sang his heart out. I was so happy I had
made his dream come true.
Sadly the mood changed again after the sending off and a few morons from
West Ham kept charging past us towards the Southampton supporters, clearly
not interested in the match, swearing and being abusive in front of my son
pushing him out of way so they could scream at the Southampton fans, goading
them for a fight.
As I looked at my son's face it turned in a instant from one of happiness to
one full of fear. He was so scared the tears soon followed.This kept on and
on. My heart broke i held him close and could feel his body shaking with
fear - his dream having turned into a nightmare. As I looked around also a
young girl of maybe eight or nine was also sobbing, hugging her Dad close. I
then left with my son before the match finished for his safety.
What possesses idiots to behave in front of children like this?! I can never
again say to my stepson that West Ham is a family club. And I think
emotionally he is scared to want to go to another West Ham match, home or
away. The morons who only wanted to go for a fight have ruined his love for
our great club.
I'm a very sad Hammer.
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