Daily WHUFC News - 4th October 2017

Cresswell keen to impress England boss Southgate
WHUFC.com

If everything goes to plan for England over the coming week, the Three Lions
will book their place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. The Three Lions
host Slovenia and travel to Lithuania knowing one point from their final two
Group E qualifiers will book their passage to Russia. For Aaron Cresswell,
the fixtures – and training sessions before and in-between – present the
West Ham United left-back with another opportunity to impress Gareth
Southgate, with the target of securing his own spot at next summer's finals.
"I'm going away again and we've got a job to do and hopefully we can
qualify," said the No3, who has helped the Hammers keep clean sheets in
three of their last four Premier League matches. "We've only got to get one
point more and we'll have got the job done. "It would be nice to make my
competitive debut in one of the two remaining qualifiers and that's the
plan, but the main aim is to qualify and whoever plays, I'm sure we can do
that. "We've got two winnable games and, as I say, hopefully we can do that
and then look forward to the World Cup next year."

Cresswell joined up with England at St George's Park on Monday in a positive
frame of mind after helping the Hammers to a 1-0 Premier League win over
Swansea City on Saturday. "That was another thing I'd been saying before the
game, that there is nothing worse than going into an international break,
whether you are going away or staying back to train, than thinking about the
last game if you haven't won it," he confirmed. "To be fair, we had a bad
start to the season and we haven't been at our best, so I would have taken
the three points all day long. We know it wasn't pretty and wasn't good
enough, but three points were the main thing. "For us, moving forward,
especially with the international break and no games for two weeks, to get
the three points was massive and it was a great relief to see the goal go in
at the end."

Playing as part of a back four for the first time since the 3-0 defeat at
Newcastle United in August, Cresswell produced a solid display alongside
Jose Fonte, Winston Reid and Pablo Zabaleta, restricting Swansea to just one
shot on target and six goal attempts in the entire 90 minutes. "There
weren't many clear-cut chances and it was a strange game at times, but we've
been down in the relegation zone and I know there are 30-odd games left to
play, but for us to get the three points was massive, especially going into
a two-week break, to relieve that pressure on everyone for the foreseeable
future" he concluded.

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Wheeler: Team spirit is great ahead of Ladies' Swindon clash
WHUFC.com

Hannah Wheeler reveals how Nicki Minaj is keeping team spirit burning
brightly in the West Ham Ladies…

THERE will be a live Nicki Minaj concert at Rush Green on Sunday, when West
Ham United Ladies take on Swindon, according to Hannah Wheeler. There will
also be one the week after, at the contest against Queens Park Rangers, as
there has been for every match the Ladies have played so far this season.
That is because, according to the defender, teammates Chan Mackie and
Stephaney Bent are constantly singing the performer's songs on the touchline
– and their vocals aren't bad either! "It caught me by surprise," Wheeler
confessed: "I didn't expect that level of singing from either of them, which
actually made it even funnier. "Seriously, if anyone wants to see Nicki
Minaj live, they don't need to buy a ticket to one of her concerts. Just
come down to one of our games and listen to Chan and Steph!"

Wheeler's remarks about her teammates show the incredible team spirit
engulfing the West Ham Ladies this season. Although recent results have gone
against the side, the Ladies are still together and are still committed to
the project that the club has invested in. Wheeler admits that the opening
few weeks have been difficult but feels some of the results did not fully
reflect what actually happened on the pitch. She does, however, feel that
lessons need to be learned from that.
"It's been a challenging season so far," she admits: "But I feel as a team
we are improving. We played Cardiff on 27 August and for me that was our
best game of the season so far. We showed what we were about, put our stamp
on the game, worked for each other and enjoyed what we love doing the most –
playing football. "However, we have also seen some results not go our way,
despite our efforts perhaps deserving something from the match. But that is
football. A score doesn't always define a game, but we're learning quickly
that we need to take the chances that come our way."

Wheeler reckons she has had to develop her game significantly already this
campaign as expectations and standards at the West Ham Ladies continue to
rise.
That growth as a player has also yielded further confidence and a
willingness to take responsibility in the centre-back. Wheeler added:
"Personally I have had to improve on things in a short space of time.
Mentally I have had to go above and beyond to prove I have what it takes and
do the job effectively. "I feel also the way we are playing means I'm having
to grow as a player, become more confident and take more responsibility. "I
want to improve as a player and get as far in football as possible. It's got
to be both physically and mentally. It's about being smart and being able to
adapt."

West Ham United Ladies host Swindon Town at the Hammers' Rush Green Training
Ground this Sunday, kick-off 2pm
Admission is FREE for Season Ticket Holders, Claret Members and all
under-16s. Tickets for adults are priced at just £2 and car parking is free.

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5 reasons why West Ham United's defensive record has improved
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's Premier League season may be just seven games old, but it
can already be broken down into two distinct parts – August and September.
The first month of the season was, a Carabao Cup win at League Two side
Cheltenham Town aside, largely forgettable, as the Hammers conceded ten
goals in the process of losing their opening three Premier League matches.
The second was much-improved, with Premier League victories achieved over
Huddersfield Town and Swansea City, a point earned at West Bromwich Albion
and just three goals conceded – all of them in a 3-2 home defeat by
Tottenham Hotspur – in four top-flight matches.

Here, we look into the numbers behind West Ham's dramatic defensive
improvement and ask how and why Slaven Bilic's side have tightened things up
at the back…

1. Changing the formation

Bilic opted for a flat back four in the opening three Premier League games
of the season, all of which were played away from home, at Manchester
United, Southampton and Newcastle United. The Hammers employed a 4-2-3-1
formation at Old Trafford and St James' Park, and 4-3-3 at St Mary's
Stadium, but results were not good – 4-0, 3-2 and 3-0 defeats, to be
precise. West Ham conceded ten goals and 52 goal attempts in those three
matches, at an average of 17.33/game. Following the international break,
Bilic switched – the Swansea home game aside, when he opted for a 4-4-2
'double six' formation with two deep-lying central midfielders – to a
three-man defence, with full-backs filling the wide midfield positions in a
3-4-3 system. With more defenders on the pitch, West Ham immediately looked
more secure and the space afforded to opposition forwards dried up. The
result? Just three goals and 37 goal attempts conceded – an average of
9.25/game – in four matches.

2. Putting in the hard yards

Put in the simplest terms, West Ham's players have run further in their last
four matches than they did in the previous three. In the opening three games
of the Premier League season, the Hammers covered an average of
101.41km/game. In the four since, they have covered an average of
107.08km/game. That is 5,670 metres or 3.52 miles more than they did in the
opening three matches. Individually, too, all six Hammers defenders upped
their 'distance covered' numbers in the four games played in September. As
these stats show, Winston Reid, Jose Fonte, Pablo Zabaleta, Aaron Cresswell,
Angelo Ogbonna and James Collins all covered longer distances/game in
September than they did in August: 0:00

3. Players winning their individual battles

While football is a team sport, games are won not just by teamwork, but by
players winning their individual battles on the pitch. For defenders, that
means winning aerial battles and tackles, positioning themselves in the
right place to make interceptions and clear the ball from the danger zone.
That also means keeping the ball when in possession because, if the
opposition do not have it, they cannot score! With the above in mind,
consider the bullet points below and you can see why the Hammers improved
their defensive performance in September: James Collins (80 per cent)
Winston Reid (79.25 per cent) and Pablo Zabaleta (62.33 per cent)
particularly dominant in winning their individual aerial battles The same
six defenders are keeping the ball better, raising their overall
pass-completion percentage from 76.3 per cent in August to 77 per cent in
September Of the six, Fonte, Ogbonna and Zabaleta have all markedly improved
their individual completion percentages in recent weeks

4. The Fonte/Reid factor

Winston Reid and Jose Fonte did not spend a single minute on the pitch
together in West Ham's opening three Premier League matches. However, aside
from the final 16 minutes of the 3-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday
23 September, when Slaven Bilic changed formation in a bid to overturn a 3-1
deficit, the pair have been on the pitch for every second of the Hammers'
four top-flight fixtures in September. As part of a three-man central
defensive unit against Huddersfield and West Brom, and then as a pair for
the visit of Swansea City, the experienced duo have shored things up
considerably at the back. In the 344 minutes Reid and Fonte have shared a
pitch (not including added time), West Ham have conceded three goals – or
one goal every 114.66 minutes. In the 286 minutes Reid and Fonte were not on
the pitch together, West Ham conceded ten goals – or one goal every 28.6
minutes.

5. Keeping the opposition at arm's length

It stands to reason that, the further your opponents are from your goal when
they are in possession, the less likely they are to score against you. The
numbers prove that theory to be true, with the number of times West Ham's
opponents have brought the ball into their final third and penalty area both
much lower in September than the preceding month. In August, the Hammers
conceded an average of 58.66 final third entries, 37 penalty area entries
and 22.67 crosses/game.
With the opposition closer to West Ham's goal, they gave up 17.33 shots,
9.33 shots from inside the penalty area and 6.67 shots on target/game.
However, in September, all those figures had fallen significantly. West Ham
conceded just 37 final third entries, 23 penalty area entries and 17.75
crosses/game, leading to far fewer chances being created and taken by their
opponents. In four games last month, the Hammers allowed just an average of
9.25 shots, 3.5 shots from inside their penalty area and 2.5 shots on
target/game.

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Carabao Cup fourth round ticket details confirmed
WHUFC.com

West Ham United can confirm the Club's allocation and Standard Ticket prices
for the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Tottenham Hotspur.

Slaven Bilic's side head to Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 25 October for an
8pm kick-off, with the winners going through to the quarter-finals.

The Hammers have been allocated 4,800 Standard Tickets, priced from £20 for
Adults and £10 for Concessions.

Standard Tickets in Level 1 will be priced at £20 for Adults and £10 for
Over-65s and Under-18s, with Level 2 priced at £25 for Adults and £10 for
Over-65s and Under-18s.

Standard Tickets will go on sale to Season Ticket Holders with 15+ Points on
Monday 9 October at 3pm, followed by Season Ticket Holders with 14+, 13+
Points and so on.

In the unlikely event that any Standard Tickets remain, these will go on
sale to Claret Members on Tuesday 17 October at 11am.
Full sale dates can be found by clicking here.

Supporters should note that Level 5 at Wembley will not be open for the
fixture, capping the capacity for the London derby to 50,835.
West Ham fans should also note that Official Travel will not be in operation
to/from this fixture.

The Club is currently awaiting finalisation of Accessibility Ticket prices.
Once confirmed, these will be published here.

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TUESDAY'S NEWS ROUND UP: BOARD BACKING BILIC, LANZINI HAS BEEN MISSED,
HAMMERS CHASING BRAZILIAN?
AUTHOR: DAN CHAPMAN. PUBLISHED: 3 OCTOBER 2017 AT 1:02PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Hello Everyone.

Apologies for not doing my round ups for a while, its just been a very busy
few months. However, I am back now and I can't wait to get these articles
going again. So here is what has been in the news today:

Slaven Bilic has been told that he has the full support of the West Ham
board until at least the end of the season. (Evening Standard)

I have to say, I think this is a poor decision from the board. I have been
one of Slav's biggest supporters during his time with us, but I just feel
that his time is now up. The performances on the pitch have not been good
enough, and Slaven's tactics have not been much better. I just feel like its
time to say goodbye, so that a new manager can come in with fresh ideas and
push us on to better things.

Pablo Zabaleta says that West Ham have missed Manuel Lanzini massively so
far this season. (Daily Star)

This is true. We have missed Lanzini greatly in the opening seven games of
the season. I do think that we will improve now that he is back, but that
remains to be seen whether we actually will. After all, the manager sets the
team up, and I have lost faith with the man in charge now, sadly.

Simone Zaza's father has lifted the lid on his sons miserable spell at West
Ham last season. (Daily Mail)

I feel sorry for Zaza. He had an awful spell with us, but I do feel that he
was misused by Slaven Bilic. I am not putting all the blame on Slav here,
but it is no coincidence that since leaving us he, Calleri and Feghouli have
all started scoring again. It makes you wonder.

West Ham have opened talks with Domingos Quina over a new contract, amid
reported interest from PSG. (Squawka)

I think we need to get him tied down quickly, before more teams come
calling. He is a talented kid, and the sooner this gets done, the better.

West Ham are interested in signing Brazilian midfielder Jesus. (Football
London)

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BILIC-THE STATS
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 2 OCTOBER 2017 AT 9:00PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Adam Leatherbarrow

This weekend we saw Sakho score a 90th minute winner against Swansea so that
means Slaven lives another day at the club, but win, lose or draw this
weekend should have been his last.

I am sick, tired and fed up of watching this club build up our hopes by
signing established players, to not be fully trained or coached by a so
called legend. Let's face it, Slaven is no West Ham legend he is a CULT
player who had a 14 month stay at the club. It's become apparent that the
low intensity training levels are affecting the players work rate during
matchdays and it comes across Slaven and his staff have lost the dressing
room with a number of players, most notably Diafra Sakho. DIAFRA scored the
goal and during his celebrations, took off his shirt and showed the world
his name… that goal wasn't for the club, that was a protest. He is our most
consistent striker in the team scoring 3 goals in total and this form has
earned him to be recalled to the Senegalese National Team… not bad for a
player who has started two cup games and some cameo premier league
appearances. But why isn't he starting in the premier league? I didn't agree
with his actions on transfer deadline day, but for the player to result to
actions that could affect his relationship with the fans surely indicates a
difference of opinion with Bilic… how ironic for a player who is backed by
the board, scores a winner to keep a man he doesn't like in a job.

Slaven Bilic has had enough time to turn things around and his win ratio
record is poor. As a player he has four cup honours (only in his native
country) and as a manager he has no honours, going by his tactics and
philosophy he is going about his career the wrong way by relying on
individual talent to keep him in a job. Payet was his trump card and Lanzini
is now, but when he hasn't got those cards his tactics are flawed.

Did you know that Slaven Bilic's career win ratio was 53.6% over 14 years…
His West Ham win ratio is 38.7%… he has dropped around 15% worth of wins in
his 2 and half year tenure at the club… that is simply not good enough,
regardless of the comparative leagues he has managed in, he has not won 65
fixtures being West Ham boss, that is just three games shy of as many games
Sam Allardyce won! Stats don't lie and stats prove he needs to go and we
need to employ someone BETTER.

The board need to act in sacking Slav NOW, not in December, not in march,
but they have to take action today. His contract runs out end of this season
so the compensation is around £3.5m plus the contracts of his staff and most
importantly the board need to get a world class manager in on a long term
deal. No manager of the highest calibre will accept a three year deal, the
board need to offer a seven year deal to allow that world class manager to
build from the current team. The club have a fantastic opportunity to get
Carlo Ancelotti in, he is a guy who has managed the best clubs in world and
most notably won trophies with those teams. He even built a legacy with
Parma to make them one of the best in Europe, managing Buffon, Cannavaro,
Crespo and even worked with former West Ham manager Zola. But it is his
8-year tenure at AC Milan and his short spell as Chelsea boss are the two
spells the board need to refer to, to make him the next West Ham boss. Also
he has just been released from his Bayern Munich contract so the board do
not have to spend the money to get him in.

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No fanfare for new Board member
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 3rd October 2017
By: Staff Writer

West Ham have defended their decision not to release a statement confirming
the sale of 10 per cent of the club to an American bussinesman. KUMB
revealed earlier this week that US-based J Albert Smith, a Founder of asset
management company GSO Capital Partners had purchased the shareholding
previously owned by representatives of Straumur.
And there was some surprise amongst fans when the club failed to announce
the change of ownership via their website - with the only reference to the
sale being tucked away on the website's 'Ownership' page. However when asked
why there was no information regarding the sale on West Ham's website, a
club spokesman rejected suggestions that the Board were attempting to
'hush-up' the change of ownership - insisting instead that the decision had
been taken out of respect to Mr Smith. "It's just an editorial decision,"
the spokesman told KUMB. "Our new 10 per cent owner doesn't desire a great
deal of fanfare." It is unclear at this stage whether Smith actively sought
to acquire a stake in West Ham, or if the shareholding is part of a larger
portfolio that included the West Ham shares. The price paid remains
undisclosed.

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I'm surprised he's here
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 3rd October 2017
By: Staff Writer

The only English-born footballer to play in the Mexican first division
admitted that he was "surprised" to see former Hammer Ravel Morrison join
Atlas. The 24-year-old former Hammer recently joined the North American
outift, for whom he has already featured on three occasions, on a
season-long loan from Lazio - much to the surprise of Antonio Pedroza, who
moved from England to Mexico with his parents when he was a child. "I am
surprised he moved here," Pedroza, who played for Crystal Palace, Chiapas
and Cruz Azul amongst others told the BBC. "He has had a few problems but
that is football - sometimes you need to make this kind of move to be happy
to play and get back to a top league in Europe. Morrison will easily be the
star player for the team, but he needs to be really fit because the league
is very technical - less physical than the Premier League - but the players
can run and run and run for the whole game. "He should be OK because he is
technical and cleverer than any other player on the pitch. Teams are not
stacked with talent. If you are really good you can shine but you have to
take the initiative and I think that is what Morrison should aim to do.
"Though I find it difficult to understand why he joined halfway through the
season."

Despite Pedroza's concerns, Morrison's agent Dan Wilson insisted that
Morrison's team had done their homework before agreeing to send the former
England Under 21 to Central America for the season. "Atlas wanted a
statement signing," he added. "They got in contact and showed their serious
intent from the start to do everything to complete the deal. "We did some
research on the league and saw some big-name players playing there from big
European clubs. West Ham's Enner Valencia and Juan Iturbe of Roma to name
but two. It was a very difficult decision as he had options in Europe. "It
is a difficult decision to move to a new country, let alone a new continent.
But the club made him feel very important, went beyond their means and the
most important factor is that the coach counts on him."

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Pablo Zabaleta EXCLUSIVE: 'Sole creator' Manuel Lanzini been missed, West
Ham must improve
PABLO ZABALETA feels Manuel Lanzini's injury problems have hurt West Ham
dearly at the start of the season.
By Jack Staplehurst / Published 3rd October 2017
Daily Star

The Hammers' star playmaker has had two spells on the sidelines since
pre-season due to knee trouble. And that has seen Slaven Bilic's side
struggle for goals, having scored seven in as many Premier League games. On
Saturday, Lanzini was reintroduced to first-team action from the bench after
the hour mark to a rapturous reception at the London Stadium. With West Ham
players and Bilic earning boos from supporters for another drab performance,
they needed a spark.
Despite not being fully fit, Lanzini played his part in setting up the late
winner against Swansea. Breaking from deep, the 24-year-old Argentinian took
West Ham forward before passing to Arthur Masuaku, whose low cross found
Diafra Sakho at the back post, which saw all three substitutes combine.
Zabaleta was critical of the team's play in general, though, and openly
admits creativity in the side comes down solely to compatriot Lanzini. "I
think what we are missing at some points in the game is that creativity that
you need to create chances, to keep the ball," Zabaleta told Starsport.
"Sometimes we play so quickly that we gave the ball away so this is
something we need to improve. "We've been missing Manu so far this season
and he's probably the only player we have to create [chances], and at least
to keep the ball a little bit more. "[He is] a player to play in the hole,
between the lines, and that was a big difference when Manu came on."
Lanzini has taken on the mantle Dimitri Payet previously held, although he
needs support from those around him. Marko Arnautovic's absence against
Swansea due to illness further highlighted West Ham's problems with
consistency. Injuries and suspensions have often cost them under Bilic, who
has not been able to name his first choice front four of Javier Hernandez,
Arnautovic, Lanzini and Michail Antonio yet. On Arnautovic's absence being
felt too, Zabaleta added: "This is what I am saying, that's why we need to
improve. "It's seems like for a few moments we can play good [football], but
for some moments in the game we just gave the ball away so cheaply. "We need
to be more consistent, we need to be a good team from the first minute to
the end. With the ball, without the ball, sometimes we were so sloppy in the
game and that is no good. "We lost Marko [on Friday] with a high fever, he
was sick and ill, [Pedro] Obiang out too. It seems like every time we have a
problem with some players we cannot keep everyone fit for a long period,
everyone being consistent. "That is probably the only problem I can see at
this moment." West Ham are expected to finally have Lanzini, as well as
Arnautovic, back in their first XI at Burnley after the international break.
That will no doubt delight Hernandez who has been starved of service since
arriving in east London. The summer signing had just one touch inside the
penalty area against Swansea before being hooked. Andy Carroll's
availability has seen Chicharito pushed out wide, but Bilic could opt to
bench his target man at Burnley.

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West Ham hero Diafra Sakho undermines fragile Slaven Bilic as French
journalist posts online video
HITC
Damien Lucas

West Ham United goal hero Diafra Sakho has undermined manager Slaven Bilic
with a video posted online. Sakho and Bilic have endured a fractious
relationship since the Croatian took over from Sam Allardyce in 2015. The
Senegal striker has spent much of that time injured but feels he has had a
lack of game time on the rare occasion he has been fit. Indeed in the summer
Sakho took matters into his own hands and tried to force through a deadline
day move to Ligue 1 side Rennes. But West Ham refused to budge and now he is
fit Sakho is starting to play a part in helping the Hammers move up the
table - and perhaps keep Bilic in a job - with his late winner against
Swansea City last time out a case in point. No sooner had Sakho scored that
goal than he was already undermining Bilic, though, with a video doing the
rounds online and social media. The video shows French journalist Claude
Atcheba speaking into the camera while sat in a car next to Sakho saying "So
this guy saved somebody's butt today."
The video is unprofessional in the extreme, disrespectful and entirely
unhelpful as it only serves to undermine a manager on the brink. It also
begs the question if Bilic is so well liked by the players then why would
Sakho do such a thing. With behaviour like this it looks likely the striker
will be on his way out of the club at the next opportunity in January.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 3rd October 2017

Zabaleta: The subs had a great impact
WHUFC.com

Pablo Zabaleta hailed the depth of the West Ham United squad after all three
substitutes combined to give them maximum points against Swansea City on
Saturday. Diafra Sakho applied the finishing touch to score the only goal of
a game of few chances, after his fellow subs Manuel Lanzini and Arthur
Masuaku linked up to lay on the opportunity. Zabaleta admitted the Hammers
were not at their best, but had praise for the trio of subs who came on and
had a huge impact. "When you score at the end to win the game and get three
points, of course it's a great feeling," the No5 said. "I'm so happy and
pleased that we won the game, but it was not our best performance. We were
sloppy, especially in the first half. It was different when Manu came on. He
gave us more creativity, we kept possession better and that was good.
"Arthur is so fast, he has that pace going forward and he can cross. He did
it against Spurs, he did it on Saturday and I'm pleased for him. Also for
Sakho – it's not been the best start of the season for him and it's not easy
for everyone if you're not playing regularly, but's it's a long season and
on Saturday saw how important the subs can be. "That's why everyone has to
be ready. Even if you play ten minutes, you can have a huge role.
"That was the positive point for us – players came from the bench and had a
great impact on the game. We know we have a strong squad with big players
and I'm very pleased for them."

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Bilic: Rejuvenated Sakho, seeking improvement and a welcome break
WHUFC.com

Manager Slaven Bilic spoke to the daily newspapers following Saturday's 1-0
Premier League victory over Swansea City at London Stadium. The Croatian was
asked about a host of subjects, including Diafra Sakho's return to
goalscoring form and fitness, his side's performance levels and the effect
of the October international break.

Here is what he had to say...

'Balanced Sakho is doing his job'

Slaven Bilic says Diafra Sakho's return to full fitness has rejuvenated the
striker. The Senegal international missed virtually the whole of last season
after undergoing surgery for a long-standing back problem, but is now free
of pain and West Ham United are reaping the rewards. Sakho has been in
Bilic's matchday squad for all nine matches this season, featuring in eight
and scoring three goals, including Saturday's late match-winner against
Swansea City at London Stadium.
"Sakho, there have been stories about him in the transfer window and all
that, but he stayed and he's balanced his head here. He is training good and
that's why he is playing in most of the games, because he looks good and
sharp in training. That's why he came on, on Saturday, and he did his job.
That's why he's in my plans. "I spoke to him a couple of times but it's more
about him. His problem was that, the whole of last season, he was out and he
was injured and had problems and an operation. Now he feels fit and he is
training better and more regularly and, because he is training better, I am
using him and that is balancing his head.
"We didn't want to let him go. He had a couple of talks with the Chairman
and with me and it all helped, but it was mostly him, because if the person
doesn't want to do it, you can't make it good enough to play the game. It
was him who wanted to be here, for him and for us."

'It's time to up our performance levels'

Bilic says West Ham United's seven-point September has given his squad the
basis to kick on with improved performances after the international break.
The Hammers went into the last break a month ago without a Premier League
point, having conceded ten goals in defeats at Manchester United,
Southampton and Newcastle United. But September has been more fruitful, with
top-flight victories over Huddersfield Town and Swansea City at London
Stadium, a deserved point at West Bromwich Albion and a dominant Carabao Cup
third round win over Bolton Wanderers. While results have got markedly
better, the manager is demanding more, much more, when his players reconvene
for October fixtures with Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal
Palace. "Points-wise, since the last international break, which we went into
with zero points after three games and conceded against Manchester United,
Southampton and Newcastle, this is a big improvement. "In four games we have
seven points, three clean sheets, a good comeback against Spurs, which is
definitely much better, but I am the first one to say that we have to play
better and we have do to better. "I'm expecting now, with the players coming
back [for us to improve], and I know it sounds very shallow because you hear
it from managers on a weekly basis that they have lost confidence or don't
have confidence, but it is the truth and it happened to us on Saturday
because of the situation and importance of the game and everything. "We
didn't play good in the first half, apart from the first ten minutes – and
we always start good – and then as soon as you feel the opponent can hurt
you, can harm you, not with a goal but by keeping the ball, switching sides
or striking from 20 yards, you go 'Oh!' and you block and first half we were
quite poor. "Now, I'm expecting us to use this improvement, especially with
points and three clean sheets, to do much better, to play better, to
continue to gain points but also to produce better performances."

'International break will give us chance to get players fit'

When asked if he would rather his players were not disappearing to all
corners of the planet for international fixtures after picking up their
second Premier League win of the season, Slaven Bilic was in pragmatic mood.
Rather than trot out the old cliché about 'wishing we had another game
tomorrow', the manager pointed to the need to work on improving the fitness
of players who have either recently returned or are on the cusp of making
their comeback from injury absences. "I wouldn't say the break has come at
the wrong time. Some of the players have gone with their national teams and
the others can work on their fitness. "Manuel Lanzini has come back and
anyone who follows West Ham knows how important he is to us, so he can work
on his fitness also. Pedro Obiang and some other players will come back,
while Michail Antonio will use the time to improve his fitness. "It's good
to have a break now to sort it all out, to say 'OK guys, this was good, that
was good, this is what we need to improve', so it's not bad to have it."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Supersub Masuaku: I want to give Slaven a selection headache
WHUFC.com

Arthur Masuaku is hoping his super substitute appearances against Tottenham
Hotspur and Swansea City lead to more playing time after the international
break.
The No23, who could make his DR Congo debut in Libya on Saturday, has
created goals after being introduced from the bench in each of his last two
Premier League games. And, with a growing clamour among supporters for him
to be handed a start at Burnley next time out, Masuaku hopes to give manager
Slaven Bilic a selection 'headache' ahead of the trip to Turf Moor. "I feel
good and, in my opinion, I just have to keep focused even when I am not
playing and try to do my best for the team," said the 23-year-old, who has
provided outstanding crosses for Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho to score
for the Hammers. "That is working well for me at the moment. "I am happy to
keep working. In the last game [against Tottenham] I crossed and Cheikhou
scored and now I am even more happy because we won, as last week we didn't
manage that. "It is not frustrating not to start. The coach makes the
decisions and I have to give him a headache. I am still young."

Masuaku's only previous Premier League start this season came in the opening
weekend defeat at Manchester United, when he played as a left-back in a flat
back four. However, the former Olympiacos star impressed playing further up
the pitch against Spurs and Swansea, using his pace, dribbling and crossing
ability to get past his man on the outside and deliver quality balls into
the opposition penalty area. Those assists came on the back of another
outstanding attacking moment against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup
third round, when he scored with an unstoppable 25-yard shot to complete
West Ham's 3-0 victory. "I like to go forward because when I was younger I
played left wing, so for me my best position is left wing-back," he
confirmed, when asked to name his preferred position.

On Saturday, Masuaku's assist – from a left midfield position – saw him
combine with fellow substitutes Manuel Lanzini and Sakho, with all three
giving the Hammers a noticeable boost following their arrival on the London
Stadium pitch. "We were speaking about this before we came on," he said. "It
is good, we came on and we played a big part for the goal so everyone was
happy for us."

Having secured their second victory of the campaign, Masuaku says the
Hammers cannot afford to be complacent, but rather should look to improve
their level of performance in an October month that sees them face Burnley,
Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace. "It was good to win," he
observed. "It was a very tough game against a good team, but we have the
three points and this is the most important thing for us. "It was difficult,
as Swansea played very well, but I have to be honest, I don't think we
played well, in my opinion. We have to improve and work hard in training
starting from next week. "We have to be positive because I think we have a
good team and a great squad, so let us keep working to get higher up the
league."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Henry's late leveller secures first point for U18s
WHUFC.com

Korrey Henry's late equaliser secured a first U18 Premier League point of
the season against Norwich City.

The 17-year-old midfielder, who recently revealed that Michail Antonio has
been mentoring him this season, popped up with just moments remaining to
snatch a deserved 1-1 draw for his West Ham United side.

Henry, who has now scored three of the Hammers' five league goals this
season, levelled after Anthony Spyrou's 74th-minute goal appeared to have
put the Canaries on course for victory at Little Heath.

"I was at the game and, as has been the case in all our previous games bar
our defeat at Arsenal in August, we were in the game, controlled possession
but did not have a cutting edge," said Academy Director Terry Westley.

"It was a similar story on Saturday and when we went a goal down late on, it
felt like a case of 'here we go again' and that it was going to be another
one of those days, but we kept going and got the equaliser right at the end
through Korrey Henry, securing our first point of the season."

Westley was an interested spectator as Steve Potts' side showed admirable
fighting qualities to grab a point, particularly as the starting XI was
sprinkled with schoolboys playing alongside and against full-time scholars.

"It was encouraging to see U16 players like our right-back Sam Caiger and
centre-back Josh Okotcha complete the whole match and acquit themselves very
well against more experienced opponents," he confirmed. "It was also nice to
see Alfie Lewis continue his comeback from injury and Conor Coventry
controlling the midfield."

"With U18 football, you have to look past the result and consider what we
are trying to do, which is develop players.

"We have been very good with the ball this season, as we were again on
Saturday, and now it is about finding that cutting edge on the pitch which
we have been missing previously."

U18s: Matrevics, Caiger, R.Longelo, Wells (c), Okotcha, Henry, Ngakia
(Watson), Coventry, Constantinou (Hamilton), Lewis, Costa Da Rosa
(E.Longelo)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
International Hammers: Who is playing where, who can reach Russia 2018 and
where can I watch?
WHUFC.com

The second international break of the 2017/18 season has arrived and West
Ham United players are heading off to represent their countries all over the
world.

There are plenty of 2018 FIFA World Cup places up for grabs, with the likes
of Joe Hart, Aaron Cresswell, Jose Fonte, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate
on the cusp of booking their place in Russia.

Here's all you need to know about the Hammers' international commitments
over the next fortnight...

Jose Fonte's Portugal are two wins away from booking their place at the 2018
FIFA World Cup
Which Hammers have been called-up for international duty?

A grand total of 20 West Ham United players have been called-up by their
respective nations, including eleven seniors and eight at age-group level.
They are...

Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Chicharito (Mexico), Aaron
Cresswell and Joe Hart (England), Jose Fonte (Portugal), Sead Haksabanovic
(Montenegro), Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho (Senegal), Arthur Masuaku
(DR Congo), Winston Reid (New Zealand), Robert Snodgrass (Scotland), Declan
Rice and Josh Cullen (Republic of Ireland U21), Martin Samuelsen (Norway
U21), Reece Oxford and Nathan Trott (England U20), Rihards Matrevics (Latvia
U19), Anthony Scully (Republic of Ireland U19) and Dan Kemp (England U19).

In addition, Edimilson Fernandes (Switzerland) and Domingos Quina (Portugal
U20) were both initially selected, but have since been forced to withdraw
through injury.

Joe Hart is one point away from a potential third FIFA World Cup finals
appearance
Who can qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals?

Chicharito's Mexico have already secured their place in Russia, and will
complete the CONCACAF Round 5 campaign unbeaten if they avoid defeat in
their final two qualifiers at home to Trinidad & Tobago and away to
Honduras.

Closer to home, Joe Hart, Aaron Cresswell and England need just a single
point from their final two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at home to
Slovenia or away in Lithuania to top European Group F.

Jose Fonte's Portugal also have their fate in their own hands in Group B,
knowing victories in Andorra and at home to Switzerland will seal their
passage.

In Africa, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate face an African qualifying
Group D fixture in the Cape Verde Islands, where they know a win could take
them top of the group, with just a home tie with bottom-of-the-table South
Africa to follow in November.

Sead Haksabanovic and Montenegro could qualify for their first-ever FIFA
World Cup finals
Where can I watch the Hammers on TV?

ITV, Sky Sports and BT Sport are the official broadcasters of 2018 FIFA
World Cup qualifiers in the UK, with ITV covering England games, Sky showing
the European matches and BT bringing viewers the African ties.

Starting in Europe, England's qualifier with Slovenia will be screened live
by ITV 1 on Thursday 5 October at 7.45pm - the same time Haksabanovic and
Montenegro host Denmark on the Sky Sports Red Button, and loanee Robert
Snodgrass and Scotland welcome Slovakia on Sky Sports Main Event/Football.

The Sky Sports Red Button will also host Arnautovic and Austria at home to
Serbia on Friday 6 October, and Fonte and Portugal's trip to Andorra the
following evening, with both ties kicking-off at 7.45pm.

Moving forward to Sunday, England's 5pm kick-off in Lithuania will be on ITV
1, while Montenegro's away game in Poland will be on the Sky Sports Red
Button, and Scotland's trip to Slovenia can be found on Sky Sports Main
Event/Football.

Finally, next Tuesday 10 October, Fonte's Portugal will hope to complete the
job at home to Switzerland, live on Sky Sports Main Event/Football.

What about the younger lads?

Aside from 18-year-old Sead Haksabanovic, whose Montenegro could secure
automatic qualification for the World Cup if they beat Denmark and Poland in
European Group E, eight other youngsters aged 20 or younger have been
called-up at various age-group levels.

Declan Rice and Bolton Wanderers loanee Josh Cullen are in the Republic of
Ireland U21 squad for home Group 5 ties with Martin Samuelsen's Norway – who
also host Germany in Drammen – and Israel in Dublin.

Nathan Trott and Reece Oxford, who is on loan at German club Borussia
Moenchengladbach, are in the England U20 squad for friendly matches with
Italy in Gorgonzola and at home to Czech Republic.

Sticking with the Young Lions, Daniel Kemp is in the England U19 squad for
friendlies in Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Finally, Anthony Scully's Republic of Ireland U19s host Azerbaijan, Cyprus
and Serbia in UEFA European Championship qualifiers in Waterford, while
Rihards Matrevics has been called-up by Latvia U19s for a training camp and
friendly matches in Riga.

Winston Reid and New Zealand are off to Japan for an international friendly
So, can you tell me the full story?

Of course! Here is a complete list of international fixtures potentially
involving West Ham United players - in chronological order. For simplicity,
all times are BST!

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Anthony Scully, Republic of Ireland U19 v Azerbaijan U19, UEFA European U19
Championship qualifying Group 7, Waterford, 4pm

Thursday 5 October 2017

Reece Oxford and Nathan Trott, Italy U20 v England U20, Friendly,
Gorgonzola, 4.50pm
Aaron Cresswell and Joe Hart, England v Slovenia, FIFA World Cup qualifying
Group F, Wembley Stadium, 7.45pm
Sead Haksabanovic, Montenegro v Denmark, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group E,
Podgorica, 7.45pm
Robert Snodgrass, Scotland v Slovakia, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group F,
Glasgow, 7.45pm
Declan Rice, Josh Cullen and Martin Samuelsen, Republic of Ireland U21 v
Norway U21, UEFA European U21 Championship qualifying Group 5, Dublin,
7.45pm

Friday 6 October 2017

Winston Reid, Japan v New Zealand, Friendly, Nagoya, 11.20am
Daniel Kemp, Czech Republic U19 v England U19, Friendly, SC Znojmo, 6pm
Marko Arnautovic, Austria v Serbia, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group D,
Vienna, 7.45pm

Saturday 7 October 2017

Chicharito, Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago, FIFA World Cup qualifying, San Luis
Potosi, 2.30am
Andre Ayew, Uganda v Ghana, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group E, Kampala, 6pm
Arthur Masuaku, Libya v DR Congo, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group A,
Monastir, 6pm
Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho, Cape Verde Islands v Senegal, FIFA World
Cup qualifying Group D, Praia, 6.30pm
Anthony Scully, Republic of Ireland U19 v Cyprus U19, UEFA European U19
Championship qualifying Group 7, Waterford, 7pm
Jose Fonte, Andorra v Portugal, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group B, Andorra
la Vella, 7.45pm

Aaron Cresswell hopes to make his competitive debut for England
Sunday 8 October 2017

Aaron Cresswell and Joe Hart, Lithuania v England, FIFA World Cup qualifying
Group F, Vilnius, 5pm
Sead Haksabanovic, Poland v Montenegero, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group E,
Warsaw, 5pm
Robert Snodgrass, Slovenia v Scotland, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group F,
Glasgow, 5pm

Monday 9 October 2017

Declan Rice and Josh Cullen, Republic of Ireland U21 v Israel U21, UEFA
European U21 Championship qualifying Group 5, Dublin, 3.30pm
Daniel Kemp, Slovakia U19 v England U19, Friendly, NTC Senec, 6pm
Marko Arnautovic, Moldova v Austria, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group D,
Chisinau, 7.45pm

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Anthony Scully, Republic of Ireland U19 v Serbia U19, UEFA European U19
Championship qualifying Group 7, Waterford, 7pm
Reece Oxford and Nathan Trott, England U20 v Czech Republic U20, Friendly,
St George's Park, 2pm
Martin Samuelsen, Norway U21 v Germany U21, UEFA European U21 Championship
qualifying Group 5, Drammen, 7pm
Jose Fonte, Portugal v Switzerland, FIFA World Cup qualifying Group B,
Lisbon, 7.45pm
Chicharito, Honduras v Mexico, FIFA World Cup qualifying, San Pedro Sula,
Midnight

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1966 World Cup win 'not even a distant memory' for the England heroes
suffering from dementia
JIM VAN WIJK
PHIL BARNETT
ES Sport

Sir Geoff Hurst fears his lifelong friend and World Cup-winning team-mate
Martin Peters would no longer recognise him or remember their achievements
in 1966.
Peters, who played alongside Hurst for England and West Ham, suffers from
Alzheimer's. Hurst scored three and Peters got the other in a 4-2 victory
over West Germany at Wembley 51 years ago which still remains the high point
in the history of the England national team. But Hurst knows there is little
chance of being able to enjoy moments reminiscing with his old friend about
the glory days under Sir Alf Ramsey and at Upton Park, or indeed of Peters
ever recovering from such a debilitating disease. "It is very, very
difficult, whether he would recognise me or know me," Hurst told Press
Association Sport when asked whether he or others had tried to maintain a
friendship with Peters. "We have discussed it with his wife and family, and
we have left it that we would not get involved, apart from my wife talking
to his wife, and I think she appreciates that, to have someone she can talk
to and discuss how Martin is. "It is heartbreaking for the people involved,
and almost impossible to understand how difficult it is for the families. It
is a disease which doesn't get better. "If you have a physical disease, or a
broken leg, you can recover from it and get better in time, with dementia it
only goes one way, albeit at different levels. "That is the awful thing
about it, because it is not going to get any better than it is today, in
fact it is going to deteriorate. "My wife Judith speaks closely with
Martin's wife, Kathy, almost daily. "It is not necessarily the person
themselves - who is not aware that they have dementia - it is the huge,
enormous effect which it has on the carer, the husband or wife, the family
members, which is all terribly difficult."
Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles, who also played alongside Hurst and Peters in
the World Cup final, are suffering from forms of dementia too. Fighting the
disease is a cause close to Hurst's heart, and he has joined the Alzheimer's
Society Memory Walk campaign, which is aiming to help raise around £9million
to improve care, fund research and create lasting change for people affected
by dementia. The 75-year-old will open his local event, which is one of 34
walks planned across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, at Pittville Park
in Cheltenham on October 8. "(Dementia) is becoming one of the most serious
illnesses and it is increasing," Hurst said. "My involvement with the
players from my (1966 World Cup) squad who have got it is seeing how the
families deal with it all, and it is arguably one of the most debilitating
aliments families can face. "I grew up with some of them from when I was
just 16, so for me it was something which I really felt I had to get
involved in."
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of England's World Cup win, but the
likes of Peters and Stiles, the enforcer at the heart of Ramsey's side,
would now often struggle to recall their achievements. Hurst said: "It is
extremely sad, because a lot of your life is about memories of the past over
many years with your family and friends (and) that now is all clouded in
mystery. "Sadly for the players involved, (winning the World Cup) is not
even a distant memory."

Alzheimer's Society is urgently calling on people to unite against dementia
- register now at memorywalk.org.uk to find a walk

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Conflicting reports on Reece Oxford as West Ham academy chief claims he's
staying in Germany
The Hammers youngster is on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach for two seasons
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
19:15, 2 OCT 2017

Confusion surrounds the future of West Ham youngster Reece Oxford and his
two-year loan deal with Borussia Monchengladbach with differing reports on
what is happening with the teenager. Reports emerged last week that the two
clubs had agreed to terminate the loan deal in December with Oxford yet to
make an appearance for the Bundesliga side and a source close to the player
revealing his disappointment at the decision. The Hammers youngster has yet
to play for his new employers but did make a couple of appearances in
pre-season friendlies for Gladbach, where he impressed. But now, Hammers
academy chief Terry Westley has told West Ham fansite Claret & Hugh that he
has no idea why Oxford would be leaving and the teenager has no intention of
going back to east London yet.
Westley said: "I have no idea where the story has come from but Gladbach
tell me they like him and were pleased with his performances in two friendly
games and like his attitude in training. There is certainly no suggestion of
him coming home unless they know something they haven't told me. "He has his
own apartment and is really enjoying that and his life in the country."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jamie Redknapp points out key stats about Slaven Bilic, urges him to start
two West Ham players
HITC
Olly Dawes

West Ham United beat Swansea City 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. Pundit Jamie
Redknapp has told the Daily Mail that he thinks West Ham United boss Slaven
Bilic should hand starts to Arthur Masuaku and Diafra Sakho after the
international break. The Hammers needed a result when they took on Swansea
City on Saturday afternoon, having lost 3-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur –
and it proved to be a stressful game for everybody associated with West Ham.
Whilst Bilic's men were in the ascendancy for much of the game, but couldn't
find the crucial goal as Andy Carroll hit the crossbar, leaving fans to
believe that a 0-0 draw was on the cards. However, Arthur Masuaku picked out
Diafra Sakho in injury, and the Senegalese forward snatched the winning goal
to give West Ham a last-gasp 1-0 victory in dramatic circumstances. Masuaku
and Sakho combining for the goal was somewhat ironic, given that their
introductions onto the pitch as substitutes were met with boos from
disgruntled West Ham fans, with the goal vindicating Slaven Bilic's
decision.
The result eases the pressure on Bilic, who has overseen four defeats in the
first seven games of the new Premier League season, leading to speculation
about his future at the London Stadium. Now, pundit Jamie Redknapp has told
the Daily Mail that the pressure on Bilic is baffling, as he has the best
points-per-game ratio of any West Ham boss, even better than Alan Curbishley
and Harry Redknapp. After suggesting that West Ham should stick with Bilic,
he urged the Hammers boss to start Masuaku and Sakho against Burnley after
the international break, praising both players for their impact against
Swansea. "You wouldn't know it from the pressure he has been under but
Slaven Bilic has the best points-per-game ratio of any West Ham manager in
the Premier League," said Redknapp. "His 1.37 points per game puts him ahead
of Alan Curbishley on 1.32 and my dad on 1.31. Despite a poor performance
against Swansea, Bilic deserves credit for changing the game by sending on
super subs Diafra Sakho and Arthur Masuaku." "They gave West Ham much more
energy and purpose in the final third and both should start at Burnley in
the club's first game after the international break," he added.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
STRIKER THREATENS JANUARY WALK-OUT IF LACK OF PLAYING TIME CONTINUESFeatured
Image
Date: 2nd October 2017 at 9:50pm
Written by: Forever Westham

Striker Diafra Sakho has dealt a huge blow to West Ham after insisting he
could still leave the club this January if isn't granted more playing time
by manager Slaven Bilic, reports the Daily Express. Sakho scored the only
goal as West Ham beat Swansea 1-0 at the London Stadium on Saturday, to take
his total to the season to three, making him the Hammers' joint top scorer
alongside Javier Hernandez. However, despite his impressive scoring record,
the Senegalese has featured irregularly for the Hammers so far this season
and while he remains focused on proving his worth, insists he could leave
the club in January if his game time doesn't pick up. "It's not easy to show
what I can do, or prove to the people what I can do on the pitch, when I
only play for 10 minutes." said the 27-year-old. "But I don't need to knock
on the manager's door – I showed what I can do, I have to force my way into
the team."

Sakho infamously tried to force a move away from the London Stadium to Ligue
1 side Rennes on deadline day this summer, but was denied a move by West Ham
owners David Gold and David Sullivan who insisted he stayed in East London
and was not for sale. "I was very close to leaving but now I'm here and I'm
enjoying the little time I've had on the pitch to prove myself. "In my head
I just want to enjoy being part of this team and we will see what happens in
January."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'VE BEEN SAKHO'D - DIAFRA THROWS SLAV A LIFELINE
By HamburgHammer 2 Oct 2017 at 12:24
WTID

What a bloody relief! Saturday's game was not a game that will be kept in
your private collection and which you will watch with your grandchildren
talking about the good old days. It was a cagey affair pretty much from
start to finish and it was easy to see how Swansea up to that point had not
conceded an away goal all season.
Spurs failed to score against them and that should stop any serious bouts of
moaning on our part.

Yes, it was painful to watch, especially the first half. Yes, I would like
to see a bit more running, pressing the opposition more often and earlier
and a bit more creativity as well.
I would obviously love to see us dispatch opponents like Swansea in more
comfortable fashion, beating them to the tune of a 3:0 or 4:1, but that
would only happen if a) we were playing with more confidence and generally
more skill and panache all over the pitch and b) if Swansea made loads of
mistakes. They didn't. They were very very solid and extremly hard to break
down.

Special kudos therefore has to go out once more to Slaven Bilic. Once again
he didn't care about the crowd booing his substitutions. But just like
against Huddersfield the subs were spot on actually, Masuaku and Sakho
working in perfect harmony, combining masterfully, creating the kind of goal
which is worth winning any contest, even a frustratingly cagey/boring one
such as this.
Thousands of "fans" who left the premises early missed the goal of course
but probably beat the traffic into the bargain, but at the end of the day we
beat a well drilled and disciplined side to get a much needed win and give
Bilic some very welcome breathing space.

It can't be easy hearing a new likely replacement manager's name every week,
sometimes seeeing even several flavours of the week getting leaked on
selected social media platforms and blogs – and still trying to do your best
managing the team, with your contract running out at the end of the season.
I understand that Bilic gets criticised by the fans, he ain't immune to that
and he shouldn't be. At this point he isn't getting the best out of his
players and performances together with results need to improve, granted.

However, let us please not forget that he more likely than not firmly
expected Carvalho to arrive from Sporting. I have no doubt that the player
would have turned out to be the missing piece of the jigsaw for us, a guy
solidly linking defense and attack, making both better at the same time. If
you believe that money has been stashed away in our transfer funds for
January or next summer and that a new manager coming in would be able to
spend even 50 or 60 million (net spend), think again!

Our board are mediocre, spending mediocre amounts of money and we shouldn't
be surprised at all if another 11th or 10th placed league finish is pretty
much our ceiling again this season. If you reckon there is a manager out
there who can get our squad to finish in 7th place or higher, with the same
players, and who would be willing to sign for us, working under
Gold&Sullivan and a restrained budget, fair enough!
I'd like to hear his name and wish our board good luck with the interview,
trying to sell the next level dream to another poor sod willing to fall for
it.

It was interesting to read about American Albert "Tripp" Smith buying the
remaining 10% of the West Ham shares from the Icelandics. Apparently the
director of private equity giants Blackstone bought them shares purely as a
private investment rather than as a getting the foot in the door tactic
instigated by Blackstone, but it is still interesting insofar as apparently
Sullivan would have liked to buy those shares from the Icelandics himself,
yet the sellers thought otherwise.

Apparently Tripp Smith just likes football/soccer/West Ham and maybe he is
indeed merely after a personal financial roll of the dice with a bit of a
kick to it, pardon the pun!
But let's wait and see if Blackstone will remain on the outside looking in
for long or if there is maybe a bit more to it all.
Blackstone, if they were to come in at some point in future, don't sound
like a long term plan either of course.
They tend to buy or invest in companies, streamline their operations, make
them successful businesses in the marketplace and sell them on at a profit.
Maybe though they could bring the kind of financial muscle to help with the
purchase of the Olympic Stadium a few years down the road, who knows ?
Surely West Ham owning the OS, knocking on the door of Champions League
football would fetch a better selling price than West Ham renting the OS
finishing in 11th place.

Initially I smirked when reading the nickname of the guy, "Tripp". It's a
rather unfortunate moniker, innit ? It reminded me of the "Only Fools And
Horses" pilot episode in which Rodney was nervously asking Del Boy in the
pub if Trigger was named such because he was carrying a gun. Luckily enough
it was just down to him looking like a horse after all…maybe it's the same
with Tripp…;-))

I'd feel slightly more at ease if that geezer (who is now also a new
director at West Ham) was nicknamed "Smithy" or "Berty", but "Tripp" it is
and I hope his investment will turn out to be a decent trip(p) for everyone
bleeding claret and blue.

This season for me already feels like a done deal. Another midtable finish
with a few highs and plenty more lows and hiccups along the way. Bilic will
be allowed to run down his contract while every two weeks we will read on
certain blogs that there are another two or three must win games coming up
for Bilic to save his job (until the end of the season). I see no realistic
chance really for Bilic to earn himself another deal unfortunately. We will
then eventually stumble upon another guy, who will get lured to the club
with the promise of playing home games in a 66K seater stadium, complete
with stellar marquee signings and subsequent next level progression, more
likely though ending up having to make ends meet with a transfer kitty that
would make Watford blush with shame.

We will start a new circle, with the new guy leaving or running down his
contract as well after two or three seasons. I've said it before: There is
no long term strategy or discernible plan at West Ham. We are treading water
and the board are happy with that as long as we stay on the Premier League
gravy train and as long as there is a manager in office who can be thrown
under the bus at will, thereby conveniently diverting any potential blame
and anger away from the board to the poor sod in the dugout.
It is what it is of course. Listen to Bubbles and the words of our anthem
don't exactly scream "NEXT LEVEL! CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL!" at you, do
they ?

On a local level, Sunday was not much to write home about either, with a
much worse result though. A devastating, lackluster and gutless surrender
from the Cordi boys away to Rugenbergen. 1:5 is a scoreline that simply
should not happen, even on a bad day in this league. The game was being
played on a turnip field disguised as a football pitch, including flattened
molehills and small holes that were littered all over the patch, sorry,
pitch. I know, the opposition had to play on the exact same surface, but as
a home team surely they were very much used to the lay of the land in
contrast to Concordia.

Our goalkeeper tried to clear a dangerous backpass into touch, one minute
before halftime, but unfortunately a deflection from one of the turnips
resulted in the ball going into his own net. It was symptomatic of the kind
of game that was about to unfold in the second half. Well, you win some, you
lose some, but my team looked lost and disinterested out there, not good.

Luckily Concordia don't have long to wait to redeem themselves as there is a
cup game tomorrow afternoon, at home to Victoria Hamburg as it's a bank
holiday (Day of German Unity). For West Ham we need to endure another
international break yet again before we head off to Turf Moor, hopefully
putting in a better performance oop north to claim all three points. It only
takes another one or two wins now to put us right back on track. I hope we
see Hernandez and Sakho starting that game, with Carroll to come on, causing
some havoc among the Burnley defense for the final 30 minutes. Bilic of
course may see things differently.

But it's still Super Slav for me and I wish the man nothing but the best.
Hopefully the players give us a performance against Burnley to make the
manager smile and the fans proud, wherever they may be. COYI!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Change of Date for Checkatrade Fixture Against West Ham
Bristolrovers.co.uk

Rovers' Checkatrade Trophy tie against West Ham at the Mem will now take
place on Tuesday 31st October, kick-off 7:45pm. The fixture was scheduled to
take place on Tuesday 24th October but has now been rearranged due to West
Ham's involvement in the Fourth Round of the Carabao Cup. So far Rovers have
played just the one game in this season's Checkatrade Trophy, registering a
5-1 victory at Wycombe Wanderers earlier in September.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
More Bolton woe for Cullen & Burke as West Ham duo benched for loss to Aston
Villa
The on-loan Hammers pair have found life at the Championship club tough this
season
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
15:15, 2 OCT 2017

Reece Burke and Josh Cullen found themselves benched once again for Bolton
at the weekend as they were beaten by Aston Villa as the Trotters continued
their worst start to a season in 115 years. The West Ham duo joined the
Championship whipping boys on loan for six months back in August, with them
both leaving the Hammers pre-season training camp in Germany at the time to
complete their moves to Bolton. But, like with Reece Oxford and his loan
switch to Borussia Monchengladbach, it is not working out for either Cullen
or Burke as they have been sat on the bench for the past couple of games and
not getting any time on the pitch. The duo - particularly Cullen after his
brilliant spell at Bradford City - arrived at the club with burgeoning
reputations but were both called out by Trotters boss Phil Parkinson for
"trying too hard" to impress amid criticism from fans and now, they aren't
even being given the chance to try.
Speaking about the pair, Parkinson said recently: "Reece has made a couple
of decision-making errors I have never seen him do before, and it's just
that bit of pressure, Josh is the same but we have been asking him to do a
man's job and covering a lot of ground in the centre of the midfield. At
times he hasn't had much help."
With the Hammers keen to see the pair develop during their spells away,
seeing them not getting any game time off the bench for the past two games
will surely be a concern for Slaven Blilic and also for Terry Westley, who
could be utilising them in West Ham's PL2/U23 squad in division one of the
structure. In the same game this past weekend though, another Hammers loanee
in Robert Snodgrass continued his impressive form for Steve Bruce's
rejuventated Villa, with the Scotsman earning rave reviews for his
contribution.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham ace Diafra Sakho fires Slaven Bilic shot: I could quit in January
if I don't play
DIAFRA SAKHO says he could still quit West Ham in January if he does not get
more playing time.
By PAUL BROWN
PUBLISHED: 00:00, Mon, Oct 2, 2017 | UPDATED: 00:08, Mon, Oct 2, 2017
Express.co.uk

Sakho came off the bench to score a last-gasp winner for the Hammers to ease
the pressure on under-fire manager Slaven Bilic. But despite coming in from
the cold after his failed attempt to force a move to Rennes on deadline day,
the Senegal striker admits his future is still in doubt. Sakho is out of
contract at the end of the season and has been challenged to earn a new deal
by Bilic after being forgiven for going AWOL. But the 27-year-old said:
"It's not easy to show what I can do, or prove to the people what I can do
on the pitch, when I only play for 10 minutes. "But I don't need to knock on
the manager's door – I showed what I can do, I have to force my way into the
team. "I was very close to leaving but now I'm here and I'm enjoying the
little time I've had on the pitch to prove myself. "In my head I just want
to enjoy being part of this team and we will see what happens in January."
Sakho wanted to leave so badly he flew to France for a medical with Rennes
before returning on deadline day desperate to force through the move. But
his day ended in farce when he decided to stop at the races, where his
agent's horse was running, before club officials refused to meet him. Some
of Sakho's Hammers team-mates were watching the events unfold on live TV,
but Pablo Zabaleta insists all has since been forgiven. "It has not been the
best start of the season for him, after those problems at the beginning of
the season when he went to France, then came back and he has been injured
too," said Zabaleta. "Personally, I always try to understand players'
situations. But what happened, only Diafra knows. "If you staying here, just
give everything you can for this club because you can't believe how
important you are. You are a great player. Swansea goalkeeper Lukas
Fabianski needed lengthy treatment after getting clattered by Andy Carroll
but said: "I'm pretty stiff after the collision but I guess that's all part
of the game when you play against him. I know what to expect.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's surprise match-winner Diafra Sakho back in Slaven Bilic's plans:
'we did not want to let him go'
Telegraph.co.uk
Sam Dean, london stadium
1 OCTOBER 2017 • 10:30PM

At 3.20pm on the final day of September, Sakho sat on the West Ham bench at
the London Stadium. From there, he would have heard the boos of the home
fans as his toiling team-mates found the going hard against an obdurate
Swansea. Those jeers intensified when Sakho was introduced to the fray in
favour of Javier Hernandez, but they soon turned to cheers when the striker
became the surprise match-winner in the final minute. It made for quite the
turnaround, and also provided vindication for his manager Slaven Bilic.
Firstly for the substitution and secondly for refusing to let Sakho depart
for Rennes in the summer. Asked how close Sakho was to leaving the club,
Bilic joked that the 27-year-old was "on the horse" but said "we did not
want to let him go". After an injury-plagued campaign last year, Sakho is
now firmly back in his manager's plans. "There have been stories about him,
in the transfer window and all that," said Bilic. "He stayed and balanced
his head here. "He is fitter, he is training better, he is sharper, he is
quicker. You can see that he is injury-free and he is doing well in
training."

Sakho's intervention relieves some of the pressure on Bilic after a
difficult start to the season, but West Ham's total lack of creativity on
their own patch will remain a major concern. Bilic has essentially been
under pressure for a year. That is largely due to soulless performances like
this, at West Ham's grand new home. Rafael Benitez has been linked with the
West Ham job, while there were even reports that Carlo Ancelotti could be
tempted by a move to east London. "It does not affect me," Bilic said. "If
it affected me I would be dead by now. It is not about the last few days, it
is almost a year now. Do I enjoy this situation? No. But does it affect me?
No, I am trying to do my job."

The international break will allow players such as Manuel Lanzini and
Michail Antonio, neither of whom were fully fit yesterday, to work on
getting back into top condition. West Ham now have a welcoming run of
fixtures, but BIlic knows they must improve. "I am the first one to say we
have to play better and we can be better," he said. For Swansea, their
struggles continue in front of goal. Paul Clement paired Tammy Abraham with
Wilfried Bony in attack, but neither posed a serious threat. Swansea have
scored just three goals all season. "They are not playing to their
potential," said Clement of his attackers. On Abraham, the 19-year-old
striker on loan from Chelsea who has scored plenty of goals in the
Championship and at junior international levels, Clement said: "This is the
biggest step for him. "In the Championship [for Bristol City], he scored a
really good amount of goals. But this is the Premier League. The difference
is big. Now he has to work towards closing the gap. "He is not the only one
out there. Everyone needs to raise their standard."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Blackstone Exec Tripp Smith Buys 10% Stake In West Ham United
Published October 2, 2017
SpotsBusinessDaily.com

West Ham United has become the latest Premier League club to gain investment
from the U.S. after a senior Blackstone exec acquired a 10% holding in the
east London team, according to Ahmed & Massoudi of the FINANCIAL TIMES.
Tripp Smith, a senior managing director of Blackstone and co-founder of
asset management group GSO Capital Partners, has become a minority owner of
the club, according to three people familiar with the deal. West Ham
"remains under the control of its largest shareholders," British
entrepreneurs David Sullivan and David Gold. Smith acquired the 10% stake
from CB Holding, an Icelandic group that gained the holding after the
collapse of Iceland's Stramur Investment Bank in '09, according to a source.
Smith has become a director of West Ham United's parent company, according
to documents filed in Companies House on Friday, while the Icelandic
director, Daniel Svanstrom, "left the group." The price paid by Smith for
his stake "remains unclear." West Ham and Blackstone declined to comment
(FT, 9/29). In London, Jack Rosser reported though fans would be
"understandably excited" by the appointment of Smith, who bought the 10%
stake using his own funds, the 52-year-old has "no ambition to increase his
share or take a majority." Furthermore, due to a clause in the London
Stadium lease agreement, Sullivan "cannot sell to another buyer within the
next four years" (EVENING STANDARD, 9/30).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Reece Oxford "massively disappointed" to cut loan deal away from West Ham
short
The teenager hasn't made much of an impact in his short stay in Germany
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
06:30, 2 OCT 2017

Reece Oxford is said to be "massively disappointed" at the decision between
West Ham and Borussia Monchengladbach to cut short his loan stay with barely
a quarter of it finished. The 18-year-old defender joined the German side on
a two-year loan deal this summer but has yet to play a single minute of
competitive football in Gladbach. football.london understands the two sides
have agreed to terminate the loan deal in December of this year and Oxford
will return to London.
It follows on from another disastrous loan spell at Reading in the
Championship last season, where Oxford managed just 201 minutes of action in
six months.
The Sun reports they were told by a confidant of Oxford: "Reece hoped the
move to Germany would work out better than it has, but it's time to come
back.
"Monchengladbach play a certain way and had a system in place before they
signed Reece, and for some reason he has not fitted into what they are
doing. "If he's not going to feature after they were hammered 6-1, then when
will he?" Oxford burst on to the scene at the start of the 2015/16 season
when he lined up for the Hammers in their 2-0 win at Arsenal on the opening
day of the Slaven Bilic era at West Ham but the past 18 months have seen his
chances limited and also, his stock tumble despite signing a long-term deal
in east London when he turned 18.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic is safe after last-minute win at home
to Swansea City... but for how long?
West Ham's winner vs Swansea shows the players still dig deep for their boss
Diafra Sakho's late goal may have saved the job of Hammers boss Slaven Bilic
With tales of dressing room strife running rife, this will have encouraged
Bilic
By Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 1 October 2017 | UPDATED: 22:54, 1 October 2017

It was the perfect opportunity for West Ham's players to show Slaven Bilic
had lost the dressing room. To chuck it in, paving the way for a new
manager. Defeat by Swansea would have had grave consequences for the Hammers
boss. Instead, Bilic watched his team dig in, with substitute Diafra Sakho's
last-minute goal clinching victory. It was probably a job-saving victory. As
is often the case when a manager is on the brink, tales of Bilic losing the
faith of his players are rife. On this evidence, the Croat need not worry
too much. Swansea have never kept a clean sheet away at West Ham, conceding
75 goals in 32 games. West Ham were not great. Did they deserve three
points? Probably not - but when your job is on the line, you find out
whether the players are with you. On Saturday, Bilic got the answer he
wanted. 'You can talk about the quality of our performance, but we won the
game because we didn't give up,' said Bilic. 'We didn't raise the quality of
our game unbelievably but if I am on the pitch and I don't care, it was the
perfect situation not to care, to say OK, but we didn't. We forced that
goal. 'I didn't see any ill-discipline in the camp. On the contrary, I felt
we wanted to do it all together. Are they doing it for the manager or
themselves? At the end of the day, it's not important. 'We are
professionals. What matters is that they want to do it. What is behind that,
do they do it for themselves, their families or for the manager, it's not
that important.'
You get the impression, however, that Bilic knows there may be dissenters.
Javier Hernandez's stroppy face after being substituted for eventual
match-winner Sakho in the 68th minute was a picture. So, too, was Sakho's
decision to charge instantly back down the tunnel, stopping briefly to hand
his shirt to a lucky supporter, instead of milking the euphoria of his
last-gasp winner. There is unrest in the stands, too. West Ham were booed
off at half-time and Bilic was booed for his decision to replace Hernandez
with Sakho. This result will keep him safe for now. One defeat from the last
five games is an improvement after a poor start to the season.

Defeats by Burnley and Brighton after the international break, though, would
put Bilic back in trouble. His contract expires at the end of the season and
sources have indicated the likelihood of Bilic landing an extension is
'non-existent'. One point from a possible 12 doesn't make positive reading
for Swansea's Paul Clement, either. Getting loanee Tammy Abraham firing
would help his cause. Two Premier League goals from six starts represents a
promising start to the 19-year-old's top-flight career after just two
substitute league appearances for parent club Chelsea. Clement has vowed to
stick by the England Under 21 forward, saying: 'He needs a coach that is
patient. I know what it's like and I know what the Premier League is about.
'When you are playing week in, week out against strong defenders, who play
for their national team, the step up is big. Now he has to work on closing
that gap.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slaven Bilic mutes the mutiny at the last but West Ham's battlers need a
plan
The manager praised his side's refusal to give up against Swansea but
fraying tempers in the stands suggest fans' favourite is using up the last
of his goodwill
Jacob Steinberg
Sunday 1 October 2017 22.30 BST
The Guardian

Midway through the first half, Slaven Bilic switched his wingers. Michail
Antonio went left, André Ayew went right. It was a sure sign that Bilic's
tactics were malfunctioning.

In theory it made sense for West Ham United to start in a 4-4-2 system,
which plays to the strengths of both Andy Carroll and Javier Hernández, for
the first time this season. Yet a plan that looks good on paper will never
work if players are confused by their instructions and in practice West
Ham's ponderous approach rarely stretched Swansea City. There was no flow,
no rhythm, and the disgruntled atmosphere at the London Stadium grew to a
mutinous pitch when Diafra Sakho replaced the ineffective Hernández in the
78th minute.

A dire game was drifting towards a goalless draw and for the first time
there was a sense of the narrative shifting against Bilic, whose hold over a
hitherto adoring public seemed to be slipping, belatedly allowing the board
to contemplate sacking the Croat without having to worry about a supporter
backlash. Hernández furiously shook his head on the bench and the crowd
sympathised with the £16m striker's incandescence at having made way instead
of Carroll.

Yet a prominent theme during the past 12 months has been West Ham's knack of
grinding out an ugly win just when Bilic is thought to be on the brink. It
happened on several occasions last season and the pattern continued when
Sakho, who tried to engineer a move to Rennes in the summer, vindicated
Bilic's unpopular decision by converting a cross from his fellow substitute
Arthur Masuaku in the 90th minute.

There was a similar vibe when West Ham responded to losing their first three
games by earning an unconvincing victory against Huddersfield Town last
month and there is a temptation to conclude that winning while playing
poorly is proof that a decent team will break out once confidence comes
flowing back. It is partly this sense of longing that has protected Bilic,
an intelligent and charismatic man who speaks articulately and wears his
heart on his sleeve.

He is hard to dislike, which explains the desire to see him do well. Other
teams in West Ham's position might have downed tools in an attempt to force
their manager out, but Bilic's players continue to fight for him, masking
the lack of any discernible style of play by demonstrating their battling
qualities.

"I see that they want to do it," Bilic said. "After the first three games,
when we were on zero points, I didn't see no discipline in the camp. On the
contrary, I felt that we wanted to do it all together. Are they doing it for
the manager or themselves? At the end of the day, it's not important.

"You can talk about the quality of our performance today but we won the game
because we didn't give up. We didn't raise unbelievably the quality of our
game in the second half, but if I am on the pitch and I don't care, it was
the perfect situation not to care. But we didn't. We forced that goal."

The problem is that the longer this persists, the more Bilic will come
across as a motivational cheerleader rather than a tactical mastermind. That
might be enough to keep West Ham out of the relegation zone but it is not a
solid foundation for success.

Having risen to 15th after picking up seven points from four games, West Ham
have an opportunity to build after the international break. "Now I'm
expecting for us to do much better," Bilic said.

He is safe for now, but ultimately this was the kind of uneven performance
that shows why his long-term future is less certain. Unless Bilic can snap
them out of the wearying cycle of constantly needing a scrappy win to ward
off a major crisis, West Ham will have few compelling reasons to extend his
contract at the end of the season.

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

http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 2nd October 2017

CLUB OWNERSHIP, MONEY BALL, FINANCES AND A NEW INVESTOR
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 1 OCTOBER 2017 AT 8:10PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @StevenMcCarthy9

I find myself as dismayed and disappointed, as many of you do with the start
of our season and the end of the transfer window. This won't be another
board out article nor will it be one where I am "up the owners arse!" as I
was so eloquently accused of being the other day. What it will be is a
totally unbiased and neutral view of finances under their owners at this
point. This week I think I have finally grasped just how much damage the
high expectations set by our owners have caused. I'll also focus upon
exactly how they are attempting to try and compete with the resources they
have. How I believe that they simply cannot do, compete without outside
investment, so buckle up, this is a long one.

Before I am accused of making excuses and being on the owners side, I will
give my personal opinion on the investment into the club: I personally feel
in the past 2 summer windows, we were tricked into believing the owners
would spend big on a 20+ goal a season striker and the "top talents" around
Europe. That in the end we have payed the price for looking at cheap deals
on potential or ageing players and quantity of players brought in, rather
than looking to wisely spend on quality. However when you take a step back,
what we did was pay high wages, high agent and signing on fees whilst
writing large appearance fees to a number of under par players! So we did
in fact spend, we just did so in different ways, paying a certain Algerian a
few million in a signing fee and big 70,000 a week wages (before various
bonus fees). I cannot and will not defend that, because whilst you can sign
players "cheaply" in the modern game due to contract lengths and in
Hernandez's case a release clause. I think we should have really dug deeper
and been willing to spend more, because in my opinion in terms of league
finishes, TV rights and potential European competitions, it would have more
than paid itself back.

A perfect example of this is the Carvalho debacle, we have all heard the
basics by now and we all know that despite a player, who is generally very
highly regarded having a release clause many saw as low, we refused to meet
said price.
We wanted to pay a rumoured 8million euros upfront and the rest on an
instalment and clause basis. Which club would accept that for their star
players? I know we certainly fought hard to keep Payet and subsequently
tried hard to achieve 25 Million. In my opinion, we simply took the mick.
We low balled and relied on the hope that Club Sporting would rather sell
than pay Carvalho a loyalty bonus of 5million Euros and in the end, we got
strong armed and firmly f'd…with the use of our own well publicised sex toy.



But now I've swerved any hint of board loving, this window in particular, we
felt the vast resources of numerous Premier League clubs do nothing short of
eclipse us in terms of spending! Some were expected in the forms of
Manchester City and United, Liverpool and Chelsea, however I keep hearing
the same and ultimately un-researched angry shouts about the likes of
Everton, West Brom and Leicester outspending us as a lack of ambition, this
is simply not the case. I hate seeing teams around us grow over us just as
much as any other fan! We should be looking to finish above and around
teams like Everton and West Brom. I believe had we spent wisely last
summer, and further added to this year with the players brought in, this
challenge would be something the fans would not even be questioning.
However, let's take a look at precisely why it is: Why have we been left
behind in terms of spending by these clubs? The long and short of it is
outside investors or outright ownership in the case of clubs like Everton,
Leicester, West Brom and Bournemouth.

First up, that team I always see popping up on my twitter feed with fans
baying for each other's blood!

Everton:

Everton spent big after the £90million sale of their most coveted asset in
Lukaku! However the spending we have seen from them was done so with the
sale and added riches of a new owner and the money he brought to the club as
the biggest factors. Farhad Moshiri is said to be worth twice the total of
Gold and Sullivan combined at an estimated figure of over £3billion!
Moshiri is a well known character to anyone following the football money men
as his ties to an eager to spend and unhappy board member at Arsenal, in the
form of Alisher Usmanov are clear. Now whilst the Arsenal man has publicly
stated he isn't a part of the Everton takeover, his investment company USM,
which possesses vast holdings in Russian mining and metals, and digital
corporations has pumped money into Everton by sponsoring its Training
ground…yes. A deal rumoured to be worth £30million over 5 years…for a
training ground sponsorship! If we want to go into the realm of gossip, it
is rumoured that Usmanov is said to be so unhappy at Arsenal's fall from
grace that he is considering selling his shares completely and buying into
Everton. Usmanov is worth an estimated 15 Billion Dollars…a figure almost
10 times that of Gold and Sullivan combined. I am not stating we should not
be ambitious and spend, but when being realistic about it, in terms of
finance I think that even removing the rumour of personal investment from
Usmanov we cannot compete financially with Everton when you view the
sponsorship and future developments they have planned. This is a club who
are looking to achieve a similar goal stated by our owners, to compete for
top 4 eventually, they are not setting there sights on the League yet, but a
trophy and strong finish. One thing Everton are doing very differently (and
I will add, that in my opinion they are doing properly) is building their
own stadium at the Bramley Moore dock with a proposed capacity of 55,000.
The city council have already agreed to the proposed deal and hinted at
financial aid in the project, this allows Everton a greater budget toward
the transfer funds and player wages they already have. However this new
investment and now secure plan for growth and future increase in gate money
has also allowed Everton the chance to sustainably offer the same large
wages we at West Ham were able to give through our ticket sales, marketing
and overall turnover.

Take for example Wayne Rooney, Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen who are all
supposedly on over 100,000 a week. Yannick Bolasie on 80,000 and both
Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford on 90,000 a week. The overall Everton
wage structure is now growing beyond ours. At the moment, we have
Hernandez, Arnautovic and Hart are all on high wages at our club, said to be
over 100,000 a week. Why is it that Everton can offer this? Well Moshiri
instantly cleared Everton's debt with a loan, giving them a much stronger
base upon which to develop the above plans.

In our case we were well and truly in the midst of a potential financial
meltdown before G&S were involved, something that was only made worse by our
impending relegation. From there on, it was an uphill climb for the owners
to settle our debts and make us an attractive proposition for lucrative
investment from sponsors, based on anything other than club history. It
was only by securing the high capacity of the London Stadium that we are
able to sustainably give multiple players high wage contracts. Hernandez is
on 140,000 a week before bonuses, this is a figure that had we remained at
The Boleyn we would more than likely have only been able to offer to 1
player. However now we are seeing the likes of Lanzini and Antonio being
touted as high earners onto of the Hart and Arnie contracts mentioned
previously, with the club having the ability to offer far higher wages
across a squad than we have ever had at the club.



West Brom and Bournemouth are interesting points of debate and the main
reasons for me writing this long article.
Both have been the beneficiaries of outside investment and whilst the full
scale of the Chinese investors finances is not entirely clear, I was able to
find that Lai Guochuan, the outright owner of West Brom is said to in the
latest "conservative" estimate I could find online for his net worth be
around 2.8Billion GBP! And that is without the backing of his Chinese
investment group. They however have no known plans to develop a stadium and
will be relying solely on owner wealth and marketing turnover from now on.
And the aforementioned Bournemouth now have the considerable finance of 25%
steak holder in the form of US based investment group Peak6. Going off
figures online I found with a simple google, this company is worth almost
$12.2Billion. Bournemouth also show plans of future stadium development and
with that in mind they have been able to buy big in terms of both funds and
wages.

What we do have in favour of us though, is our position in terms of overall
revenue. As of July 17th we are placed at 15th by Forbes in terms of the
Worlds Richest Clubs, but this creates a notion that I think is dangerous
for fans.
It is giving us purely the amount of money generated by the club alone
during a financial year and it's judged value by way of assets and marketing
power. We are marketed at a value of 634million dollars, with a revenue of
$213million. This is were our budgets are made under Gold and Sullivan, we
take out loans based upon our value and ability past and present to pay
those loans.
The more money we make, the more money we can spend, However what we cannot
do financially is compete with the mentioned Billionaires above. To put
this into context, Gold and Sullivan are said to be worth around 1.4Billion
GBP combined. We are simply unable to compete on a larger scale with clubs
who have such investment available.

I want to say thank you for reading the article if you made it this far! I
believe that with wise spending we can easily cement a top 10 place for
years to come, however we cannot hope to compete at a top level on anything
other than a freak like Leicester season if we cannot find investment for
the owners due to the mind boggling numbers we are seeing spent these days
The news that American Billionaire J.Albert "Tripp" Smith has purchased a
10% stake in our club is fantastic! Personal Wealth estimates and figures
were hard to find on this man, as the sale was done through him alone and
unlike Bournemouth, there is seemingly no group behind him. What I did
manage to find was that he had sold his company GSO Capital Partners for a
cool $1billion (Dr.Evil stance). Purchasing a 10% stake in our club does
mean we can have the added deep pockets of Mr.Smith behind us, but also
means that Gold and Sullivan remain in majority control. Which regardless of
your views on their ownership does mean that we are experienced and dare I
say, steady hands when it comes to the running of our football club.

But before I finish this article, I believe that the best way for us to
really make up for a lack of spending this Summer is to make the London
Stadium a place players from the opposition hate to come! And I hope this
season we can replicate the electric atmospheres we witnessed against Spurs
and even West Brom last year.

Thank you Ex and all @TheWestHamWay should they post this, I'm
@StevenMcCarthy9 and thanks for reading

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CHANGES AFOOT
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 1 OCTOBER 2017 AT 7:53PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
By Malcolm Atkins @malatk

Amid all the talk around our form, league position and Slav's future, a
rather interesting week off the field seems to have almost slipped by.

The 10% of the club that was still owned by the Icelandic connection was
sold to a very rich American by the name of J. Albert (Tripp) Smith – no, I
had never heard of him either. A bit of research , well google search,
showed that he is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, an investment
capital operation that bought the company, GSO, that Tripp and two
colleagues formed and grew.

This seems to have made relatively small waves so far, which is odd in
itself. Blackstone are big players, handling Billions of Dollars' worth of
investments for their clients and themselves. Apparently Tripp has invested
independently rather than as part of Blackstone, however it seems unlikely
that this is the result of some sudden sentimental fondness for football in
general or West Ham in particular. Although it is stated he has no plans to
increase his holding, GSO's modus operandi has been to invest themselves in
organisations they recommend to their clients, I suspect there is more going
on here than anyone is saying. That may be a good or bad thing. On the
surface, access to Billions could be very exciting, however these guys are
in the process of making money, that is not necessarily bad for the club as
they would want to build the brand but I guess we will have to wait and see.

So will Gold and Sullivan sell? I know they claim they intend to keep it in
the family but – well, they would say that wouldn't they! David Gold's
daughters have their own business interests and the Sullivan boys are a long
way off being ready to run a premier league club. I have always believed
that is the plan, build the value of the club and sell on, maybe keeping a
seat on the board in the process if possible. What about the timing though?
Well I started this thought process adding 2 and 2 and making 5, looking at
a possible combination of events. I read that the penalty clauses for
selling the club (following stadium move) last five years, I was wrong – it
is nearly ten. The five years tied in with the other news of the week.
Birmingham looks set to be awarded the commonwealth games for 2022. So how
does that affect West Ham? Well they are going to upgrade the athletics
stadium in Birmingham into a shiny new 50,000 seater arena which would
reduce to 25,000 after the games.

With the Olympics not due back for a generation and the world's having been
in London this year it will be some time before another major games is in
the UK, the prohibitive cost of transforming the London Stadium and West
Ham's right to influence dates would leave the Birmingham stadium ideally
placed to be UK Athletics preferred home.

I initially though the Commonwealth dates tied in to the penalty clauses but
was wrong! What my searching did tell me though is that the clauses are not
that spiteful; especially as the formula to be used factors in debt. The
more debt, the lower the penalties; which would go a long way to explain the
model of loans from the directors to the club. The interest they are
recouping would offset the penalties. A 350 million pound sale would mean
around 19 million in penalty clauses paid to the public purse, 95 million
debt to be paid off (Mostly to Gold and Sullivan) would leave 265 million
for Gold and Sullivan – a profit of around £130 million over what they have
paid for shares so far (source City AM.com) – so the figures work for them!

That is not to say that the Commonwealth games are not relevant. A new home
for Athletics would clear the way for the stadium to be sold to West Ham.
Money could be recouped to the taxpayer, Athletics would have its own
stadium and the London Stadium could be reworked into a permanent football
ground.

All of this makes West Ham extremely attractive to potential US investors
already well aware of the Premier League brand. London is one of the most
important cities in the world; hence the board being so keen to promote the
London name and the Premier League is the biggest brand in football.

This is not meant to knock Gold and Sullivan, they are not perfect but those
of us that have long felt West Ham are a potentially much bigger club than
they have ever demonstrated are vindicated by Gold and Sullivan being able
to sell 52000 season tickets. That combined with the potential of owning the
stadium which sits a couple of miles from one of the centres of world
finance makes West Ham, as I have said, quite an attractive prospect.

For me, and I could be way off, a lot of things fall into place. The debt
model, the relative recent silence from the board and the reduction in squad
size; this coupled with caution with funds at a time when it should be
freeing up and the procrastination around Bilic's position. Are they at the
beginning of moves to sell up? I could be wrong as I say but I believe this
recent acquisition of 10% is the precursor to a take-over. We shall see.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United 1-0 Swansea City
By Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic felt a sense of "relief" after Diafra Sakho's
late goal secured victory over Swansea and eased the pressure on him. The
atmosphere at London Stadium had been tense with fans unhappy about the
performance of Bilic's side for the majority of the game. But Sakho eased
some of the scrutiny on Bilic when he got on the end of fellow substitute
Arthur Masuaku's cross in the 90th minute and stabbed the ball home from
close range. "It is a relief, a great three points for us," Bilic said. "I
know it is shallow when the manager says there is pressure, but that makes a
difference. "To keep the support of the crowd we need to keep producing
minute after minute and we did not do that in the first half. The guys on
the bench lifted the team and crowd."

Swansea were positive with their approach but a long-range effort from
Wilfried Bony, parried by Joe Hart, in the first half was the best they had
to show for their endeavour. Home fans chanted "sacked in the morning" at
Bilic when his side trailed 3-0 in a 3-2 defeat by Tottenham last weekend.
For the most of this contest there was little respite for the Croat as his
side laboured against a disciplined and organised Swansea side. Indeed there
were jeers and boos for Bilic's double substitution when Masuaku and Sakho
were introduced for Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew. Ultimately, the
49-year-old's decision to throw on both players made the difference, though,
as Masuaku's superb run and cross found Sakho's perfectly timed run. With
West Ham's next three matches against Burnley, Brighton and Crystal Palace,
Bilic will hope the confidence from this victory can spur his side on to
greater things.

Swansea solid but lack cutting edge

Swansea managed just 10 shots on target before this encounter, which head
coach Paul Clement blamed on a hectic end to the transfer window. Their play
was largely tidy and they used the ball intelligently, with Renato Sanches
in particular catching the eye for the visitors. However, there was a stark
lack of cutting edge to Swansea's play. Despite the presence of Tammy
Abraham, Jordan Ayew and Bony - for the first half at least - they managed
just one shot on target in the entire contest. "A combination of the
delivery and the movement need to be better in the final third," Clement
said. "We are closer to getting the balance right, but there is still work
to be done."

Swansea's first away defeat sent them into the bottom three and, unless
Clement gives them more bite in attack, another relegation battle beckons
this season.

Man of the match - Andy Carroll (West Ham)

The powerful striker's partnership with Javier Hernandez never really
clicked but he was a menace to the Swansea backline. Carroll seems to be
getting sharper and his all-round workrate was unrelenting. He was
unfortunate not to score when he struck the corner of the goal with an
improvised shot.

Swans lose away record - the stats

This game produced a total of just 15 shots; only Burnley v Huddersfield on
23 September featured fewer in the top flight this season (13).
West Ham have registered three clean sheets in their last four Premier
League games, after managing none in the five before that.
Swansea conceded their first away Premier League goal in 495 minutes of
action and suffered their first away defeat of the season.
Four of the 10 Premier League games where winning goals have been scored in
the 90th minute or later in 2017 so far have been against Swansea.
Diafra Sakho netted his first Premier League goal since November 2016, when
he scored against Manchester United.
Six of West Ham's seven league goals this season have come in the second
half, which equates to a league-high 86% proportion.

'Fans have a right to their opinion' - what they said

West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart: "It was a difficult atmosphere in some ways.
I'm never going to criticise the fans, they come here and pay their money
and have a right to their opinion. "We have to focus on the win. We have had
seven points since the international break [at the beginning of September].
"It is on all of us to take the pressure off. We don't get sucked into the
speculation, we just stick together and fight hard."

Clement expects better from Swansea attackers

Swansea head coach Paul Clement: "I think the result was a little harsh in
that I don't think that they weren't better than us as such. "We just did
not defend that last attack very well. They created a really good scoring
chance, which is what we didn't do. "We did not stop the cross coming in,
did not defend it in the box and if you concede that late you do not give
yourself much chance."

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: ""We did not play well in the first half
after a good first 10 minutes, making basic mistakes and Swansea were much
better on the ball. We have to play better and we can play better. "The
changes were crucial with Manuel Lanzini, Arthur Masuaku and Diafra Sakho
coming on. "We played a very offensive formation in the first half but
lacked the link between the defence and attack and that was why Lanzini made
a big impact."

What's next?

West Ham face a tricky trip to Burnley on Saturday, 14 October (15:00 BST),
while Swansea host newly promoted Huddersfield at the Liberty Stadium at the
same time on the same day.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Keeping a fully fit West Ham squad happy is 'impossible' for Slaven Bilic
JACK ROSSER
ES Sport

Slaven Bilic believes it will be impossible to keep all his West Ham
forwards happy as they return to full fitness. Bilic welcomed Manuel Lanzini
back to the fold during their 1-0 win over Swansea City, while Michail
Antonio recovered from a groin injury picked up a week ago. The Hammers
manager, has had persistent battles with injuries to key players over the
past twelve months, now knows he has hard task in finding balance in the
squad. "My job is not to make them happy," Bilic said. "I mean it is a bonus
if they are all happy, but it is impossible to have all the players happy.
"I have to make a fine balance between being solid and being dangerous when
we have the ball. "Sometimes it gives you a headache, who you will play when
they are all fit. But my job is to look after the team and to treat every
one of them in a good and decent way, then to try and keep them [on their]
toes for the whole season. "Put it this way, if Diafra Sakho and Arthur
Masuaku weren't on their toes last week or the week before they shouldn't be
able to perform like this [combining for the winner], and that is what I
have to do."

The Hammers would have been at their full complement going forward if it
were not for Marko Arnautovic's absence. The summer signing withdrew from
the squad on Friday night through illness, but come the end of the
international break, Bilic should be a full roster to pick from - meaning
there is plenty to think about for the manager. "But you are right," Bilic
added. "When we are thinking about our team I want to be solid and you have
to be solid when you play on this level of football but we were trying to
build a team that can also play with the ball and pass with the ball and be
dangerous, so it is good to have them back."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WEST HAM 1, SWANSEA 0. LATE RELIEF TO CALM THE STORM.
By David Hautzig 30 Sep 2017 at 17:15
WTID

When Carlo Ancellotti was sacked by Bayern Munich the other day, my heart
skipped a beat. I recalled the time when it was reported, or maybe
manipulatively leaked, that Karen Brady was after the Italian a few years
back. Every sense of logic and common sense told me that replacing Bilic
with Ancellotti was an absurd pipe dream of the highest order. But I decided
to ask a friend of mine who knows the former Milan, Madrid, Chelsea, and now
Bayern manager if there was any reason for me to fantasize.

No was the pretty succinct answer.

I made my feelings about Slaven Bilic known after the Newcastle match. While
many agreed with me, and with Sean Whetstone in his rather controversial
piece the other day, there were those that expressed….displeasure, shall we
say….with both of us. Sean took far heavier punches than I did, I must
admit. Just imagine if Nigel Kahn had let either of us feel his wrath!

There was a healthy dose of irony in the starting eleven to me. When we were
chasing Andy Carroll after his loan spell, I remember the almost minute by
minute updates on Twitter. I genuinely believed signing him would virtually
guarantee we wouldn't ever have to look over our shoulders. Once that bubble
burst from his almost comical injury list, I always thought his return to
the lineup would be the panacea to all that ailed us. That has all changed.
So when the original projected lineup today did not include him, I was
pleased. Then Arnautovic caught my son's ear infection or what have you, and
there he was. Number Nine. And my spirits dropped. Which may be unfair, but
that's how I felt. Then there was a clamor that Bilic was going to set us up
4-4-2, but I wasn't so sure. When things seem obvious for us, it never
happens. Today didn't go according to plan, but at least it ended well.

West Ham asked the first question in the fourth minute when Cresswell sent a
cross into the box. Antonio met the delivery near the far post and slammed a
volley into the ground. It bounced high and towards the far post, forcing
Fabianski into a diving save with his right hand.

The next ten minutes were a little worrying in that Swansea had more of the
possession by some margin, and when the home side did get the ball they
either ran wildly with it, eventually losing it, or sent a pass to nobody.
It culminated in the 15th minute when Bony received the ball just on top of
the West Ham 18 yard box. Fonte and Reid backed off, and Bony let it go.
Hart made a diving save, and the contest thankfully stayed at nil-nil.

By the time we hit the halfway mark of the first half, the crowd at The
London Stadium sounded restless. With good reason I might add. Swansea had
enjoyed 70% of the possession, and West Ham looked rather dire. Bilic
switched Antonio and Ayew on the flanks, but it had so little impact it took
minutes for me to notice the change. Passes were terrible, touches were made
of lead, and the side looked genuinely lost. Against a side with more
quality, it could have been a much uglier scene. I looked for things to be
optimistic and hopeful about. The Blueberry pie from a terrific local farm
that the wife was bringing home later came to mind immediately.

From the perspective of clutching at straws, West Ham at least made everyone
pay attention in the 37th minute when Antonio sent a long pass to Carroll on
the right wing. Not exactly where you want Carroll to receive the ball, but
whatever. Carroll crossed to Ayew in the box, not exactly where you want
Ayew to receive a high cross, but whatever. Ayew sent a weak header that
Fabianski cradled like a stuffed animal, but whatever.

West Ham looked a bit better in the final five minutes of the opening half,
sending in a few crosses for Carroll and Company to chase. We even won a
corner. Thank heavens for small favors.

Halftime
West Ham 0
Swansea 0

If you wanted a highlight that described West Ham this season so far, Mark
Noble's complete mis-kick in our penalty area at the start of the second
half would be perfect. And in all fairness, Noble played well against Spurs
and wasn't as awful as the rest of the side in the first half today. So I
wasn't having a go at the captain.

In the 53rd minute, I thought West Ham were going to open the scoring when
Antonio looped in a cross from the right to the far post. When Carroll began
his run to meet the ball, I thought he would get there. In the end, he was
half a yard short. Would that signal an upturn in fortunes on the day? Time
would tell.

The crowd went from restless to openly annoyed in the 58th minute when Ayew
lost the ball while attempting a run into the Swansea penalty area, which
was followed quickly by an awful cross from Cresswell, which was then
followed by Noble losing the ball when West Ham were on the offensive. It
was all going quite badly at that time, and West Ham needed a spark.
Something to give the crowd a reason to liven up.

Cue Manuel Lanzini for Noble. I would have taken Ayew off, but what do I
know?

By the 70th minute, something dawned on me. Despite playing the 4-4-2 so
many were asking for, I couldn't recall Hernandez seeing the ball. At all.
Which only added to my concern about what I was watching and what we were in
store for the rest of the season. This squad should look at least like a
competent Premier League side, and we didn't by a country mile.

In the 75th minute, West Ham were extremely fortunate to not go down one-nil
when Olsson ran the ball from the left to the top of the West Ham penalty
area and tried a curling shot on goal. If there had been more curl on that
shot, it would have gone in because Hart was beaten. The fact I was ready to
accept an abject nil-nil draw at that point wasn't a good omen.

I scared the absolute life out of my poor cat in the 86th minute when
Masuaku sent a low cross into the box that Carroll got a little touch on and
curled a shot towards goal. Fabianski didn't move, and the ball looked to
move in slow motion as it floated and then banged against the post. I
slammed my fists on the desk holding up my IPad, causing it to fall down. My
electronics looked a lot like my team.

If there has been one man on West Ham that has made a difference when he has
come on this season it has been Masuaku. The past few matches have seen him
deployed as a substitution on the left side of midfield. He has shown skill
and endeavor, particularly with his crossing. In the 89th minute, he made a
run down the left that looked almost exactly like the one he did last week
to set up Kouyate's goal. Today, he delivered a ball that beat two or three
Swansea defenders and Sakho was there to tuck it in to the top corner of the
net.

Final Score
West Ham 1
Swansea 0

"What a good change from the manager. Well done the manager. Great change.
The manager has made an inspirational decision for me" said Tony Gale. I'd
add the Sakho inclusion to that commentary, because those two made the
difference to me. And despite the concerns that remain for me about Bilic,
he was the man that made those changes so he must be applauded for them.

There was a very famous basketball coach and executive for the Boston
Celtics named Red Auerbach. Think of him as the Fergie of basketball. He won
more NBA Championships than I can even count. One of his best players, and
one of the best players in the history of the sport was John Havlicek. And
he almost never started a game. In fact, the NBA has an award for the best
"Sixth Man" that was created in his honor. Auerbach used to say he didn't
care who started a game for him, that it was more important who finished it.
Maybe Bilic could borrow that ideal and twist it a bit because for me the
eleven who finished the match deserve to wear the shirt in two weeks. Or
maybe not.

I'm just happy we won.

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