Bilic: We are really looking forward with optimism
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic expects his West Ham United side to 'pick up many, many points'
if they continue to play as they did at Burnley on Saturday. The Hammers
looked on course for a maiden away Premier League win of the season at Turf
Moor, where Michail Antonio netted his first goal of 2017/18 and the likes
of Manuel Lanzini, Chicharito and Marko Arnautovic contributed to an
attractive performance. West Ham's performance was slowed by Andy Carroll's
27th-minute red card, but Bilic's team continued to create chances, defended
resiliently and were only denied a win by a well-crafted Chris Wood
equaliser five minutes from full-time.
'We are looking forward with optimism'
Slaven Bilic was able to select a starting XI from his strongest squad of
the season at Burnley. Manuel Lanzini (pictured, below) made his first start
of the campaign, while Michail Antonio looked up to full speed and Marko
Arnautovic returned after missing the 1-0 win over Swansea City through
illness. The result was a fluid, attractive and incisive first-half
performance that was only slowed after the Hammers were reduced to ten men
by Andy Carroll's red card. The manager believes his team's display at Turf
Moor is a sign of things to come. "If you are comparing how we played in the
last game with how we played on Saturday, especially when it was eleven
against eleven, we were much better on Saturday. "We were dangerous, we were
attacking with many players and that's why we had really missed players like
Lanzini and Antonio, who is now back to his fitness and everything. It was
really good and we have to build on this. "I knew we would have a difficult
start, because we had to play three away games, but more than that we were
playing without three or four important players for us, especially if we're
talking about the players who are game-changers when we have the ball. "Now,
with Lanzini back, with Arnautovic back and with Michail Antonio getting
into his really good fitness after a long break, it is looking much better.
"We are really looking forward with a lot of optimism, if we continue to
play like this and work like this, then we should get many, many points."
'I can only praise the players'
Bilic was not only happy with the way his team created chances, both before
and after being reduced to ten men, but also with how hard they worked to
restrict Burnley's own opportunities. "It's a good point for us. It's like
kind of mixed emotions because we were so close to getting three points but
playing with ten men for so long is not easy. "We were really good when it
was eleven against eleven. We were winning the game, we were better and not
only controlling the game, but we were also really dangerous. "It was a big
blow for us when Andy got sent-off, but in the first 15 minutes of the
second half, when we had done one change, we were very close to scoring a
second one. "We defended well, we defended deep and we had to because they
were putting bodies up front and it was hard to stop them coming to the
situations to cross the ball or have a shot from 25 yards. We defended those
crosses really well until the last one, from which they scored. "It's a good
point for us. We wanted three because we were really good, but I can only
praise the players for their effort, for their quality and for their
performance."
'I have no complaints about Andy's red card'
Bilic was asked repeatedly about Andy Carroll's red card after Saturday's
game, as he fulfilled a series of interview requirements with Premier League
broadcast partners, radio reporters and newspaper journalists. The
consistent message was that the manager was not impressed with his No9's
decision to challenge Ben Mee for the ball just moments after he had been
booked for a similar incident with James Tarkowski. "I have no complaints
about the two yellow cards, to be fair. He is an experienced player. "OK the
first one can happen, but the second one, he has experience and he cannot go
into that challenge, especially when you are playing away from home, two
minutes after you got booked. "I'm very disappointed with what he has done.
It is important, but at the end of the day it's not very important if it was
deliberate or not, but you can't do it with that experience that you have."
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Fonte pleased with fighting spirit despite draw disappointment
WHUFC.com
Jose Fonte has expressed his disappointment at leaving Turf Moor with just a
point after a 1-1 draw with Burnley, but was pleased with the fighting
spirit West Ham United showed throughout the contest. It took a late Chris
Wood header to break down a resolute West Ham side who had taken the lead in
the 19th minute through Michail Antonio and played with ten men for the
majority of the contest, after losing Andy Carroll to a red card in the
first half. Fonte, who put in a strong performance in the back line, is
naturally frustrated that he and his teammates could not hold on for all
three points but is happy with the defensive nous the Irons displayed in the
contest. "Obviously, we're not happy but we have to take into consideration
how long we played with ten men," Fonte told whufc.com: "It's one point.
It's one more point, which is better than none, but we are disappointed
because we felt comfortable and we were defending well. But Burnley kept
coming and they kept crossing, and in the end, they got a good ball in and
they got their goal. We still managed to get one or two good chances to
kill the game or to at least to give us a more comfortable lead, but we have
to be happy with the fighting spirit and the steel that we showed. We move
on and now we have to beat Brighton at home."
Manager Slaven Bilic named what appeared to be an attacking line-up with the
likes of Chicharito, Carroll, Marko Arnautovic, Antonio and Manuel Lanzini
all starting. Fonte admits the starting XI may have looked like a mainly
offensive side but insists each player knew about their defensive
responsibilities as well.
The Portuguese international added: "The team looked attacking and we have
great attacking players going forward, but we also know that in this
division we have to do the job defensively as well. As long as we do that we
will be okay. "Maybe some will look at it as an attacking line-up but
everyone has to run and everyone has to defend."
The defender also gave his praise for goal-scorer Antonio, who netted his
first finish of the season in the draw with the Clarets. "We all know what
Michail offers. He's a powerful boy and he gives us a dimension of energy
and physicality. I'm not surprised he scored. He creates problems for
defenders. It's good to have him in the team." Fonte added his views on
Carroll's dismissal after two quick yellow cards in the 25th and 27th
minutes. The defender believes his teammate was unlucky to be sent off and
is hoping for more fortune when the Hammers return to action against
Brighton on Friday. Fonte added: "The first yellow card looked a bit rash to
me. The second one is perhaps a yellow but the first is a bit soft, in my
opinion. "We know Andy is a physical player and this is the Premier League.
Burnley had two big strikers playing as well and we had to fight with them.
It was the same for both sides but, to be honest with you, it didn't go our
way. "There were many, many fouls given that perhaps weren't fouls. But we
have to take it on the chin today and perhaps in the next game we will have
a bit more luck. We will take the point and the positives."
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Powell delighted with first goal against Manchester United
WHUFC.com
Joe Powell is thrilled to have scored his first goal of the season in West
Ham United U23s' 4-2 victory over Manchester United. A hat-trick from Toni
Martinez and Powell's finish secured an excellent victory for Terry
Westley's side on Sunday at the London Stadium in front of 1,483 supporters.
The 18-year-old expressed his delight at finding the net during the match
and also praised Edimilson Fernandes for his role in the build-up to his
finish. "It was great to score," Powell told whufc.com: "It was an amazing
feeling. I'm proud of the composed finish. "I thought Edi had a great game.
His run and pass for me for the goal topped his performance off." The
attacker also hailed Martinez's goalscoring exploits, with the Spaniard
finding the net three times to become the first player to score a hat-trick
at the London Stadium. He added: "It was also awesome to be a part of Toni's
first goal, which was the equaliser. He said to me before the game that he
had spoken to one of his cousins and said: 'I'm definitely going to get a
hat-trick today'. "He's always in the right place at the right time, and
he's a natural goal-scorer. He has scored the first hat-trick at the London
Stadium and that's incredible."
The first half saw Manchester United twice take the lead, but the Hammers
were level on the stroke of half-time thanks to Martinez. Powell revealed
that he spoke in the dressing room during the interval, calling on the team
to add more spark in a bid to find a win, with the atmosphere around the
team now incredible having secured the victory. Powell said: "I said in the
changing room at half-time that we had to turn it on, because we'd conceded
the two goals and it can be hard to win from that position. But coming away
with a 4-2 win has created a great buzz around the dressing room. "Going
into every game we all have the same mentality. We always want to win,
whether we're playing away, at Dagenham, or at the London Stadium. We went
into the game knowing how good Manchester United are so to beat them 4-2 is
a massive achievement."
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West Ham invite fans to pay tribute this Remembrance Day
WHUFC.com
West Ham United is inviting supporters to pay tribute to their fellow
Hammers fans this Remembrance Day. So, if your family member or friend is a
current or former serving member of the Armed Forces, the Club would like to
hear from you. Please send a short message to your loved one, along with a
photograph, to media@westhamunited.co.uk The Club has a long-held and close
relationship with the Armed Forces dating back more than a century, when the
13th Battalion of the Essex Regiment, better known as the West Ham Pals
fought during the First World War. More recently, the Hammers have regularly
welcomed members of 7th Battalion The Rifles, based in West Ham, and the
Royal British Legion to home matches in recent seasons. Both will be
represented when West Ham United mark Remembrance Day 2017 at the Premier
League fixture with Liverpool at London Stadium on Saturday 4 November.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Obiang shows his support for West Ham Ladies
WHUFC.com
There was a familiar face in the crowd at Rush Green when the West Ham
United Ladies played Coventry United on Sunday, as Pedro Obaing stopped in
to watch the girls in action. The midfielder played the second half of the
Premier League clash with Burnley on Saturday before visiting the Club's
training facility on Sunday to watch Greg De Carnys's team. The Ladies
unfortunately fell to a 2-1 defeat but Obiang was impressed with the ability
the side displayed during the contest.
"It's lovely to be here to watch the Ladies," Obiang told whufc.com: "I
thought they played really well and try to play really nice football. They
showed a lot of quality and I was very impressed."
The Spaniard made the day for a number of surprised fans by signing
autographs and taking pictures during his unexpected trip to Rush Green,
while the 25-year-old also enjoyed the football that the Ladies offered.
Obiang believes it's vitally important that the men's first team show their
support to the Ladies and the project that the Club are building around the
side. The No14 expressed his belief that West Ham is a family and everyone
is working towards the same cause. Obiang added: "Of course, we as first
team players have to support the club and the other teams, including the
Ladies. They are a part of the same team really. If we have the opportunity
to come down we should. It's good for us and it's good for them. "West Ham
is a family club. We have to be all together. That's the big thing. It's
important."
Jack Sullivan, managing director of the West Ham United Ladies, believes
Obiang's attendance at Sunday's fixture is a sign of just how committed the
Club is to developing women's football. He said: "It was fantastic to have
someone with first team player status come down and support the Ladies. It
shows you how far we've come in a short space of time and that the first
team are getting behind the Ladies as well. "He was in Burnley on Saturday
and he's here today. Him showing that support is one of the biggest things
for us."
West Ham Joint-Chairman David Sullivan was also at Rush Green for the Ladies
match with Coventry and was thrilled to see Obiang take the time to go to
the game. "It's just wonderful that, of his own volition, the player wants
to give back to the Club," Sullivan said. "I spoke to Pedro at half-time and
asked him why he came down. He said: 'I want to support the Ladies team. I
think that's absolutely wonderful."
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FORCED OPTIMISM FOR FRIDAY
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 16 OCTOBER 2017 AT 8:53PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @StevenMcCarthy9
Now before you complain about the cynical nature of this article, I am
hoping I can make you see it is more me trying to make the best out of a bad
situation! Friday night will see us take on Brighton without Andy Carroll,
I will give you my opinion as to why for me, this is a blessing in disguise.
I'll start off with the point perhaps best illustrated against Burnley in
the 57th minute, with a flowing move featuring Hernandez, Obiang and Lanzini
which Antonio could unfortunately not finish off. We cut through Burnley
like a hot knife through butter because the pace and technical capabilities
of our players shone through.
On Friday I think starting with Ayew or Sakho up top will force us to play
this fast and possession based style of football, far more so than we would
had Andy Carroll been on the pitch. We did get a goal through a defensive
mishap after a route 1 ball from Hart on Saturday, but you'd be lucky to get
those chances more than once every other match. The way to cut through the
physical and well drilled sides like Burnley or the newly promoted Brighton
is to give them something they didn't face week in, week out in the
Championship – Pace!
Pace is such an important part of the modern game and unless you are an
incredibly well drilled and physical side, as we were under Allardyce, Hull
were under Silva and teams like Burnley, Newcastle and Watford, again under
Silva are showing this season, you will be put to the sword by it! Yet we
are not strong enough defensively, and although I am not sure we ever can be
under Billic…What I will say for him is that we showed throughout the last
season at The Boleyn, he can get us playing fast and attacking football!
Payet, Lanzini and Antonio all regularly bombed forward, past defences
creating chances for themselves and the runners into the box.
Because of this the team was able to hold a far higher line to create more
pressure, keep defensive shape and increase the chances of retaining or
winning back possession. And I don't think that anyone can argue with me
when I say that what Carroll does not posses is pace…At least not that
comparable to the likes of Hernandez, Sakho or Ayew This inability to break
forward at speed is where I feel Carroll holds the team back for large
portions of the game. My ideal scenario (other than a consistantly fit
Carroll) would be to wear opposition teams down with a pacey attack for 75
or 80 minutes and then chuck an energetic and powerful Carroll if the game
is crying out for it, to chase down every ball, challenge every header and
take advantage of any fatigue or lapse of concentration from the opposition.
But being forced to play the option of either a pacy attacker in Ayew or
Sakho along side Hernandez or playing Antonio, Lanzini and Arnautovic in a 3
behind the Mexican, almost forces our hand in terms of a style of play we
use on Friday! Meaning that we will hopefully use that pace and break
quickly at every opportunity.
Let's get behind the team and see if they give Billic an even bigger
selection headache up top for games to come! Hopefully this isn't just
wishful thinking on my part and Friday night we will see an exciting West
Ham….because it's been what I've missed the most since we left The Boleyn!
By @StevenMcCarthy9
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GEORDIE SORE - WHEN A BATTERING RAM TRANSFORMS INTO A MAD BULL
By HamburgHammer 16 Oct 2017 at 08:00
WTID
Allow me to begin my column in somewhat chronological order for a change,
even if it means mentioning Concordia again right away, but the game I
watched on Friday evening strangely enough set the tone for the West Ham
game one day later. A malicious tone darkened by flaring tempers and hot
heads. If you bear with me you will see what I mean.
So, let me take you to the home "ground" of Bergedorf West, opponent of the
Concordia 2 boys for their most recent league encounter. Imagine a worn out
old cinder pitch under some dodgy orangey floodlights, surrounded by
high-rise flats on three sides, similar to the ones around Priory Road/Upton
Park. On the way from my parking spot to the ground, walking along a narrow
pathway close to a local schoolyard I was greeted by a local rat having
dinner under the cover of descending darkness. That didn't exactly fill me
with pre-match joy – Bergedorf isn't the nicest borough of Hamburg to begin
with, and Bergedorf-West is probably the worst area within the borough
borders, so you get the picture.
There were probably 30 spectators in all, including kids and dogs (and the
occasional passer-by returning home from the weekend grocery shopping).
The game was won 4:1 by the Cordi boys, with a lovely piledriver into the
top corner from 30 yards out and another one coming from a well worked
counter passing move. But the real story of this game was the tense
atmosphere between the players from the first whistle (and the referee's
inability to deal with it in a consistent manner), Cordi had two players
sent off for verbal misconduct, a third player who had been sent off shortly
before the final whistle was allowed to come back on after some unexpected
intervention from the opposition players who probably felt utterly
embarrassed at this point – with the game already lost on the pitch and the
ref all over the place. Oh yes, Cordi's assistant manager was sent to the
"stands" too in the process.
As this is a blog that doesn't encourage swearing and cursing I cannot tell
you the exact words the players used to rile each other up. Some of it was
in German, some in other languages (Russian, Turkish), but translated to me
afterwards by some of the players. It was basically about being of a certain
nationality (with some nasty adjectives added for dramatic effect) and also
boasting about having had sexual encounters with the other player's mother,
sister or girlfriend.
Strangely enough the referee was deaf towards any abuse dished out by the
home team, focusing on the wrongdoings of Cordi only. I have rarely
witnessed such a biased refereeing performance – if I didn't know for sure
that Bergedorf West are skint as a club I would have been convinced that the
ref had been bribed for this one. But even with two men down Cordi won
comfortably because Bergedorf West simply didn't play anything resembling
football, it was a throwback to the bad old days of kick and rush and half
their team looked like they should probably consider playing Rugby Union
rather than the beautiful game.
Which brings me to the West Ham game against Burnley. A contest that was
heavily influenced by the referee but also by the inability of our Geordie
leaping salmon to switch on his footballing brain just for a few minutes.
The only mitigating circumstance I can conjure up for AC is that the way he
goes into challenges is just the way he plays and probably also his biggest
strength and unique selling point as a footballer. Take those challenges
away from the man's portfolio and you might just as well not bother playing
him at all.
The problem with that is that referees no longer allow the kind of physical
challenges that were deemed as acceptable or even welcome in football years
ago. With his size Carroll will always find himself airborne in a position
where his elbows are likely to hit the opposing player in the face, neck,
back, whatever – and more often than not it will result in a foul being
given against Carroll, with a booking or straight red into the bargain as
well. Admittedly his first yellow was both harsh and unfortunate as Carroll
had his eyes firmly on the ball and surely didn't mean to hit or hurt his
oppponent.
The second one though, just 90 seconds later, was sheer madness and I
haven't got an inkling what the hell Carroll was thinking at that point. It
was the kind of challenge which would have left the average Castleford prop
bursting with pride, tackling an opponent like that – but this ain't rugby
after all, so as a football player you simply cannot throw away the game in
such fashion this early in the contest.
Players need to think more about what their actions on the pitch mean and
represent for their teammates. I have no doubt that we would have beaten
Burnley with eleven men. Looks like the Tower of Terror in Disneyland Paris
got to Carroll's head when he went there earlier with his family during the
international break.
It'd be harsh to insinuate that AC did spoil things for his teammates
deliberately, but you cannot ignore the disservice he has done to our cause
there. A win would have put us in a nice league position for the time being
and also boosted our confidence no end. We could really have done with two
wins in a row.
And with AC of course there is all that baggage going with him which has
been discussed on here at length: Numerous long-term injuries, high wages to
go with it, a limited gameplan whenever he is on the pitch, opposing teams
wising up in terms of how to deal with AC and minimising (or even
nullifying) his threat. And now this stupid and totally unnecessary sending
off on top of all the rest.
Similar to Arnautovic after his sending off against Southampton, AC needs to
be fined for this. He also needs to be told by Bilic in no uncertain terms
that this kind of conduct will not be accepted in future. As for the referee
in the Burnley game he surely put his mark onto the contest, being very
lenient at the start, but in my view letting some Burnley players off the
hook over the 90 minutes as well. In my book he didn't quite get the balance
right with his dishing out of cards, but at the end of the day we have only
ourselves to blame for not winning this.
It's a shame that the main talk after the Burnley game has been about the
sending off and the referee as we should really be taking a lot of positives
from the defeat, sorry, draw at Turf Moor.
Burnley are no mugs these days and even with ten men we gave them one hell
of a game. We played some beautiful passing football, even while playing
with one man down, our defenders (apart from the goal obviously) stood firm
and our team looked well up for it. We surely have the players to give us
more goals in the upcoming games, more points and better performances.
If you shoot yourself in the foot though with a loaded gun full of stupidity
and hot headedness (not for the first time this season either) you shouldn't
complain too much about losing points in the process. Discipline is the key
here and if it's not deeply engrained into the DNA of your team you are
going to suffer from it time and time again.
The good thing is that there is no break in league football for quite a
while now.
In fact our next fixture is looming large already as we will get the
opportunity to put things right later this week on Friday evening against
the Seagulls, flying into London Stadium from Brighton.
A highly winnable game. One where Carroll definitely will NOT start. A game
where we may and should keep the ball on the floor and move it with pace and
some panache. A game I am looking forward to a lot. Let's have a thoroughly
professional performance for once and give the players and the fans a game
that'll really boost our collective confidence.
PS: The less said about yesterday's league game of my Concordia lads (first
team) the better. They lost at the last placed team in the league 3:4. A
team that had scored just nine times in the previous 11 games. All four
goals Cordi conceded were basically presented to the opposition on a plate
or were caused by individual mistakes of the most embarrassing kind.
Cordi are no longer chasing for promotion at this point.
It's midtable mediocrity instead – not good enough for the ambitions
harboured by my local club…
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Gambling nearly cost me my marriage and children... but the penny dropped
and I ended up at Gamblers Anonymous and it has saved me
Betting companies used to love me, they laid on seats for me at concerts
I had accounts with seven or eight different companies in the end
I came out of hospital after cancer and carried on with the gambling
My wife Sarah made a decision to pack her bags and leave me
The penny dropped and it has been six years this month since my last bet
By John Hartson For The Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 15 October 2017 | UPDATED: 01:52, 16 October 2017
I can't tell you how much the betting companies loved me. They laid on seats
at concerts and invited me to their golf events. For 10 years a certain firm
I won't name even laid on a corporate table at Cheltenham races for me to
bring 10 friends. I didn't have to leave my seat all day. They just sent
staff in to take my bets. Those people just couldn't do enough for me. That
was clever of them. I was a deeply addicted gambler and they knew it. But no
one's going to say 'no' when the whole world knows you're on a big four-year
deal, there's £40,000 dropping into your account on a very regular basis and
you want to place a bet. It was worth their while to keep me happy.
It's when you start opening accounts with the betting firms that the roof
starts falling in for people, like me, who are addicted gamblers. It's like
Monopoly money then, because it's all on account. You're not holding the
notes in your hand. You're not seeing it go. I had accounts with seven or
eight different companies in the end — StanJames, William Hill, Ladbrokes,
Sunderlands and others. If one account runs down, you can use another. And
the accounts mean you can hide what you're doing very well. You can place a
bet while you're sitting down to dinner with your family or having a
conversation with your wife.
In my case, that's Sarah — the woman who kept things on the road for us in
the most challenging times you could imagine eight years ago. I'd been
diagnosed with cancer and while I was in hospital, in and out of
consciousness after major brain surgery, she was the rock of our little
family. She was pregnant, she looked after the children, she ran the
household and then — despite everything she had done — I came out of
hospital and carried on with the gambling. This was a man who earned
millions. My wife couldn't pay the bills. It was because of Sarah that I
stopped in the end. She'd had enough of my walking in from trips, ignoring
her and the girls, going straight to the TV and turning on a cricket match,
golf tournament or horse race I had £5,000 on. She made a decision to pack
her bags and leave me. 'I won't put my girls through this,' she said. I
remember those words like it was yesterday.
So the penny dropped then. I ended up at Gamblers Anonymous and it's saved
me. I've found other ways to protect myself, too. I do football TV analysis
work week-in, week-out, and every single penny goes into my wife's bank
account. It's six years this month since I last placed a bet and the effect
of having kicked it makes me feel free and alive. We've just bought a
beautiful piece of land south of Edinburgh, where we're creating a home. The
children are settling into their new surroundings. Betting companies are
everywhere in football — billboards, TV ads, the front of team's shirts. But
the advertising didn't make me bet or prevent me stopping. I started because
of the fruit machines in small working men's clubs in Swansea where I
started out washing pots years ago. It's not a quick fix of course. Even
though Gamblers Anonymous has groups in every city. And even though you can
ban yourself from bookies and casinos and install internet filters.
I've had calls from six Premier League managers in the past six months,
asking me to help a player with gambling problems. But I can just talk about
the difference between back then and now. I wake up every day, open my back
door, suck in the fresh air and give thanks that the past is over.
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West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta raps 'nasty' Andy Carroll as striker is
left facing a hefty fine
Andy Carroll is facing a hefty fine after his behaviour against Burnley
Carroll received two yellow cards as he was sent off during the 1-1 draw
Team-mate Pablo Zabaleta said 'Andy's challenges were a bit nasty'
By Jack Gaughan for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 15 October 2017 | UPDATED: 00:02, 16 October 2017
Andy Carroll is facing a sizeable fine after Slaven Bilic left Turf Moor
furious at his striker for two needless bookings inside 99 seconds. West Ham
were leading when Carroll elbowed both Burnley central defenders, James
Tarkowski and Ben Mee, in separate challenges just before the half-hour.
Hammers boss Bilic questioned why someone of the 28-year-old's experience
would be quite so reckless and will punish him. It is the second time this
season West Ham have had a man sent off before the break and defender Pablo
Zabaleta admitted they have disciplinary issues to deal with. 'It happened
with Marko Arnautovic against Southampton and now with Andy,' Zabaleta said.
'We need to look at those situations where we need to be more careful
because in the Premier League, playing with one player less for 80 minutes
is really hard. 'I think Andy's challenges were a bit nasty. We were 1-0 up
and we need to be a bit more clever in these situations. 'Andy is a big man.
From my point of view, it looks aggressive, especially the second one when
he knew he was on a yellow already. 'We need to try to play 11 v 11 for the
whole game, especially when you are winning 1-0. You cannot give an
advantage to the other team.' Burnley took their time capitalising, Chris
Wood's 85th-minute header eventually cancelling out Michail Antonio's
opener. That was the Kiwi's fourth goal since his £15million switch from
Leeds United in August. Wood said he feels at home in the Premier League.
'There's a lot more to come from me in my whole career. I do believe I am
suited to this division,' the 25-year-old said. 'I'm not the finished
article so I'm looking to improve, get better and get a lot more out of my
game. It's nice that I've been given the chance and I've been backed by the
gaffer to do so.
GRAHAM POLL'S VERDICT
Andy Carroll's act of stupidity rightly resulted in a red card. He was
booked after catching James Tarkowski with a flailing arm. Less than two
minutes later he ran at Ben Mee and smashed him with an outstretched arm.
It should have resulted in a straight red but Stuart Attwell settled for a
second yellow, which means Carroll avoids a deserved three-match ban.
Referee Attwell also failed to punish Joe Hart's foul on Chris Wood. It was
a clear penalty.
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WEST HAM POISED TO FINE CARROLL FOR RED CARD
LUKE OSMAN @LukeOsmanRS
ReadWestHam
West Ham manager Slave Bilic is set to fine Andy Carroll two weeks' wages
following his red card against Burnley, according to the Mirror. The ten-man
Hammers side managed to hold on to at least a point in the clash at Turf
Moor after Michail Antonio's opener was cancelled out by Chris Wood.
However, things could have been worse for West Ham, who played the majority
of the match with one man less after Carroll's antics. He received a booking
initially for leading with his elbow when challenging James Tarkowski in the
air. Then, just minutes later, he crashed into a duel with Ben Mee, leading
with his elbow once again, resulting in him receiving his marching orders.
Bilic was evidently furious with Carroll's discipline so early on in the
match, and is reportedly poised to deliver a hefty fine to him.
Carroll now faces a suspension, and will surely need to earn his place back
in the side when he returns.
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Pablo Zabaleta condemns West Ham team-mate Andy Carroll for 'nasty'
challenges that led to sending off
TheTelegraph
Steven Sutcliffe
15 OCTOBER 2017 • 10:30PM
West Ham United defender Pablo Zabaleta has condemned team-mate Andy Carroll
for the "nasty" challenge that led to his dismissal during Saturday's 1-1
draw at Burnley. Carroll received two cautions within the space of 99
seconds of the first half at Turf Moor, leaving Zabaleta and company in the
unenviable position of trying to defend a one-goal advantage for over an
hour. It proved a thankless task for a team that has won just once away from
home since February. Aside from the obvious numerical disadvantage, the loss
of Carroll's aerial prowess also left the visitors vulnerable during an
inevitable late bombardment, when Burnley fielded three 6ft plus forwards.
Chris Wood levelled affairs with an 85th minute header after Michail
Antonio's earlier goal and for the second occasion this season, a moment of
irrational belligerence had led West Ham to surrender points on their
travels.
"It is the second time we have had a player sent-off in the first half,"
Zabaleta said. "Marko Arnautovic against Southampton and now Andy Carroll.
We need to be more careful because in the Premier League, playing with one
player less for a long time is really hard. We were 1-0 up and we need to be
clever." Plainly frustrated, the Argentinian also suggested that the
aggressiveness exhibited by his team-mate - particularly as he launched
himself at Ben Mee to earn a second yellow card - had crossed a line of
acceptability. "Andy is a big man. He always goes 100 per cent for the ball
when the ball is in the air. From my point of view, it looks aggressive,
especially the second one when he knew he was on a yellow already," Zabaleta
said. "We can talk sometimes about situations where it's tough for the
referee but there is nothing to say about the referee (here). I think these
two challenges, Andy's challenges, were a bit nasty from my point of view."
The Burnley manager Sean Dyche, offered a similar assessment, suggesting
that the forward's judgement may have been impaired attempting a measure of
revenge for what he had deemed an earlier injustice. "As a player you
sometimes get locked in the moment," Dyche said. "I don't know Andy well
enough but maybe he's just had that. Maybe he felt the one before was
unjust, I don't know but it's fair to say he was moving at a good velocity
for a distance. "Everyone in the stadium thought he was going to make a big
challenge but he didn't and that's the way it goes. I've been a player and
you get in an emotional moment and you can't pull yourself out of it but
that's a question for him."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Tuesday, October 17
Monday, October 16
Daily WHUFC News - 16th October 2017
Kouyate: We've got the best fans in England
WHUFC.com
Cheikhou Kouyate was not a happy man after West Ham United's 1-1 Premier
League draw at Burnley. The midfielder admitted to feeling 'angry' after the
Hammers went ahead, were reduced to ten men by Andy Carroll's first-half red
card, then conceded an unwarranted equaliser to Chris Wood with just five
minutes to go. But the No8, who produced an all-action performance in a
deep-lying midfield role in a new diamond formation, says the players cannot
dwell on the frustration they felt after Saturday's stalemate. And Kouyate
also reserved special praise for the 3,000-strong Claret and Blue Army who
made the long trip to the North West on Saturday. "We are so angry because
it's possible to take three points from this game, but we took one point,"
he said. "This is football, though, so we just have to concentrate on the
next game because we need to take a lot of points. "Everybody fought and
gave everything – Jose, Reidy, all the defenders, all the strikers, Chicha –
but it's not easy to play with ten men. We fought from the first minute
until the end, but we just need to continue to work hard because every
player needed to win this game. "We were winning 1-0 until the 85th minute
and then took a goal, which was very hard for us."
For Kouyate, the disappointment of conceding so late was compounded by the
fact that West Ham had played so well for much of the preceding 85 minutes.
Both before and after scoring and being reduced to ten men, the visitors
created the better chances and played the better, more incisive football
against a Burnley side which started the weekend in sixth place. The Senegal
captain put the Hammers' impressive display down, in large part, to the
return of Manuel Lanzini to the starting XI. "We started very good because
we had Manu back and he is an unbelievable player. He takes the ball and he
takes the risk. "Then, in the second half, we had Pedro [Obiang] come in and
all the players were good, but it was not very good that we didn't take the
three points."
However, Kouyate saved his warmest words of praise for the Claret and Blue
Army, who consistently out-sung the Burnley supporters at Turf Moor. "This
is not a surprise. We have the best fans in England, you know, and
everywhere we go the fans are coming and making noise for the team. "They've
just got to continue that for the next game."
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Hart's brave Burnley display rightly wins recognition
WHUFC.com
'England's Number One' sang the Claret and Blue Army following the final
whistle at Turf Moor on Saturday. Joe Hart had just produced his best
performance in a West Ham United jersey, helping his ten-man side secure a
deserved point at Burnley. With the Hammers playing without Andy Carroll,
who was sent-off, for more than an hour, Hart stood tall and repelled almost
everything the Clarets threw at him. The goalkeeper was brave, strong,
committed, organised and faultless with his handling, while it was his long
clearance that provided the assist for Michail Antonio's first-half goal.
No West Ham player on the pitch made more touches of the ball than Hart's
55, including the one key pass he completed for Antonio's 19th-minute
opener, which flew over Burnley defender Ben Mee to provide the perfect
through ball for his teammate. Defensively, Hart was almost unstoppable, and
had absolutely no chance when it came to keeping out Chris Wood's
frustrating late leveller, which came in the shape of a close-range header
from Johan Berg Gudmundsson's pinpoint right-wing cross.
The 30-year-old made three clearances and a successful tackle – albeit with
his arms – to prevent Wood levelling matters moments after Carroll's
27th-minute dismissal. Burnley unleashed 20 shots on goal, but just five of
them were on target, and Hart saved four of them. The first two came in the
opening 15 minutes, when he held a low shot from Scott Arfield and a strong
header from Wood. Those stops came after his first of those three brave
clearances, which saw Hart came off his line to punch Robbie Brady's teasing
cross clear of danger. The second was a similar punch as Burnley upped the
pressure in the moments before half-time, when the England international
launched himself into a crowd of bodies to repel Stephen Ward's delivery.
Hart's next meaningful action came just after the hour-mark, when he was
beaten by substitute Gudmundsson's long-range effort, but was alert enough
to grab the loose ball after it had hit the base of the post and the
goalkeeper's own back! Moments later, he showed reliable handling to hold
onto Steven Defour's shot from outside the penalty area. With Burnley
flinging cross after cross into the box aimed for the tall pair of Wood and
Sam Vokes, Hart and his centre-backs Jose Fonte and Winston Reid were
organised and resilient. With seven minutes remaining, Hart again put his
body on the line to punch the ball clear of danger, before being clattered
by his opponents. The ball went behind for a corner, but the No25 was
courageous enough to come from his line again and push Brady's dangerous
delivery to safety. Yes, Hart was finally beaten with five minutes
remaining, but his overall performance was one to be immensely proud of.
That much was recognised by the travelling fans, who sang his name, and one
of whom was rewarded with the goalkeeper's bright yellow West Ham United
jersey.
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Martinez hat-trick seals emphatic win over Manchester United
WHUFC.com
A Toni Martinez hat-trick helped West Ham United's U23s seal an emphatic 4-2
victory over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The Hammers youngsters
hosted the Red Devils in their first London Stadium fixture of the season
and despite going behind twice, went on to secure all three points thanks to
the Spanish striker's three goals and Joe Powell's first of the season.
Prolific frontman Martinez now has eight goals in ten U23 appearances this
season and deservedly took home the match ball after a stunning display in
front of 1,483 supporters. The clash began in the worst possible fashion for
the hosts, however. Ricky Sbragia's men instantly got on the front foot and
took the lead just two minutes in when Demetri Mitchell scored from Indy
Boonen's through ball.
Terry Westley's men took control of possession soon after, but it was the
visitors who were looking more dangerous, as DJ Buffonge's free-kick tested
Nathan Trott in the Hammers' goal. West Ham responded brilliantly, however
to the United pressure and after 26 minutes, they were level. Powell, taking
the ball from Sam Byram on the right hand side, swung in an inviting
delivery, and after Manchester United were unable to clear, poacher Martinez
pounced and smashed through the keeper's legs.
Now looking in the ascendancy, it came as a surprise when the Hammers were
pegged back eleven minutes later. Mitchell was again the scorer, following
in James Wilson's long shot which was fumbled by Trott and tapped home by
the winger. Unjust, it would have been, for the Hammers to go in at half
time behind, and Martinez made sure that would not be happening. This time
it was Nathan Holland – superb all afternoon – who was the architect. The
winger, drifting inside and out of United full-back Joe Riley, eventually
found space to curl in a beautiful delivery which West Ham's star striker
was able to power in with his head. And within two minutes of the restart,
predictably, Martinez had his third. Edimilson Fernandes, making his first
U23 start of the campaign after regaining his fitness, left Luke Shaw on the
United left for dead, getting to the byline and crossing into the
six-yard-box.
Martinez – in the right place at the right time – crashed home the header to
give the Hammers the lead for the first time. Though Sbragia's team were the
side looking to get back in the game, it was West Ham who looked more likely
to score again. And with 25 minutes remaining, they did just that.
Fernandes, stepping it up a gear as Manchester United began to tire,
stretched the visitors' defence and charged towards the box, laying it on a
plate for Powell to sidefoot home and complete the scoring.
Trott was beaten a minute later but Tosin Kehinde's long-range effort
smashed the crossbar, and later Dan Kemp was seemingly pushed over inside
the box, however referee Sam Purkiss saw nothing wrong with the coming
together. The Hammers, though, were able to comfortably see out the
remainder of the game and pick up their second Premier League 2 win in a row
– their fourth in total this season – to make sure it was an afternoon to
celebrate at London Stadium.
West Ham United: Trott, Byram (Johnson 76), Rice, Pask, Neufville, Coventry,
Powell, Kemp, Fernandes (Scully 83), Holland, Martinez (Hector-Ingram 72).
Subs not used: Matrevics, Rosa.
Goals: Martinez 26, 45+2, 47, Powell 64
Bookings: Powell 34
Manchester United: O'Hara, Riley, Shaw, Warren, Scott (Hamilton 49), Whelan,
Boonen (Williams 68), Kehinde, Wilson (Bouhi 49), Buffonge, Mitchell.
Subs not used: Richardson, Sang.
Goals: Mitchell 2, 37
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Hat-trick hero Martinez 'very proud' after London Stadium win
WHUFC.com
Toni Martinez was the headline act on an afternoon filled with star quality
as West Ham United under-23s ran out 4-2 winners over Manchester United at
London Stadium on Sunday. Martinez struck three times, with Joe Powell
adding the fourth, as the Hammers looked the comfortably superior outfit on
a glorious afternoon in East London. Despite falling behind inside two
minutes Terry Westley's side responded well, controlled possession and the
likes of Nathan Holland, Dan Kemp and Martinez were a constant threat.
Martinez celebrates goalThe Spaniard scored his first and second in the
opening 45' before completing the hat-trick soon after the restart. "I feel
delighted today" Martinez rejoiced. "I am really happy to get my first
hat-trick this season. I just try to do my work. I always think that the
best work I can do is to help my boys, to score goals and today was that
day."
Martinez becomes the first West Ham United player to score a hat-trick at
London Stadium, but rather than enjoying the celebrations of his individual
achievement, he was quick to heap praise on the rest of his West Ham
teammates. "I think the most important thing today was the teamwork and the
performance, I'm very proud for everyone. "Every week those boys play
incredible games and today everybody was perfect, everything we did was very
good and I'm very proud."
The Spaniard saved his best performance of the season for the biggest game
of the season so far but gave a special mention for the 1,843-strong crowd
who watched the game at London Stadium. "The fans were incredible today,
it's good to see so many people in the stands and it's very nice for us! It
helps the team and I'm happy we could win for them."
He has now scored eight goals in ten matches for West Ham United this
season, so can he continue his fine start? His answer was simple: "I hope
so!".
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Westley on win over Manchester United: It was a great day
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U23s boss Terry Westley labelled Sunday a "great day" as
1,483 supporters watched the hosts thrash Manchester United 4-2 at London
Stadium in Premier League 2. Spanish striker Toni Martinez was the standout
player, taking home the match ball after scoring a superb hat-trick, while
Joe Powell also got on the scoresheet for the Hammers. United were twice in
the lead – after just two minutes of play, the first time – but the Irons,
roared on by the home support, turned the game on its head to teach Ricky
Sbragia's men a lesson. Westley was naturally delighted after the full-time
whistle and praised the whole squad, in particular the first team players
who turned out on Sunday afternoon. "The win is important, and it could have
been wider," he said. "It was a great day for us. You play here [London
Stadium] three times, so to play here against Manchester United, one of the
biggest clubs, and with a great youth tradition, and win emphatically, is
great. "We have a good group, like we've always said. It may have taken
three years to collectively and culturally get what we want, but it the team
performs collectively, you have a better chance individually to stand out.
"The team comes first and I have to congratulate the three senior ones,
although they're all young. Edi [Fernandes], Sam Byram and Declan [Rice]
came into the team and really stamped some authority on the match, showed
some class and played properly. "That sets the standard when you come and
play here."
Rice, who captained the side to promotion last season, took the armband
again on Sunday and slotted back into the centre of defence as though he had
never been away. Fernandes grabbed two assists in an impressive display,
while Nathan Holland was also on top form, crossing marvellously for
Martinez's second goal.
You play here three times, so to play here against Manchester United, one of
the biggest clubs, and with a great youth tradition, and win emphatically,
is great
And of course, Westley could go without praising the striker who took his
goal tally to eight in ten games with the hat-trick. "He's the first West
Ham player to score a hat-trick at London Stadium and you won't take that
ball off him!" the Academy Director continued. "He's dangerous and effective
at this level. There aren't many who are scoring the volume of goals he is.
"It was great to have Dec back, but we don't want him back too long! You
want him to progress, you want him to play first team football. "You want
him, when you come back down, to be the outstanding player. He'll be
disappointed for the first goal. But put that to one side, his overall
performance, you'd pay money to come and see him play. "Holland can go past
anybody, and I've not seen a better player with the ball who is quick for a
very long time. He has to get better with movement and out of possession but
he's a huge threat. "We thought with Byram, [Josh] Pask, Rice and [Vashon]
Neufville, that we had a solid back four and with Nathan in goal, probably
our strongest this season, and with Edi, Kemp, Nathan and Toni we were
dangerous going forward. "I also though Conor [Coventry] and Powelly
controlled the game – they stopped and thought and were more effective."
The U23s are next in action in a week's time, when they travel west to take
on Chelsea in Division 1. Westley is hoping one or two things can be ironed
out before the clash, but is confident his side can pick up where they left
off. "We let a goal in after 15 seconds against Villarreal last week and it
was just about a minute here, so we need to get out of that. "You'll be out
of Premier League games if you do that. But our response and particularly
second half, we took control. They got frustrated and it left space for us
in the wide positions. "We've now set the standard, it's a great result, and
we'll rest tomorrow before going to look forward to playing Chelsea next
weekend."
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Hammers bested by Coventry Ladies despite Ezekiel-Meade wonder-goal
WHUFC.com
A stunning goal from substitute Andreya Ezekiel-Meade wasn't enough to stop
West Ham United Ladies falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry
United.
The away side took the lead in the 20th minute as Alison Hall headed home
via the cross-bar, although there was debate as to if the ball had actually
crossed the line. Ezekiel-Meade was introduced after half-an-hour and the
No9 smashed home a fantastic goal from distance after Coventry cleared a
corner. Efforts from Molly Peters and Amber Stobbs tested Coventry but the
away side secured the points when Hall swept home midway through the second
period. Peters looked like keeping up her recent goalscoring run early on
when a low shot went wide of the near post after just a few minutes, while
the striker also just missed out on a Rosie Kmita lobbed pass. It was the
away side that then look the lead on 20 minutes. Alison Hall met a precise
pass with her head, with the ball bouncing off the underside of the
cross-bar and down. After some initial confusion, the referee deemed the
ball had crossed the line and the away side were ahead.
Cherie Rowlands was forced into action with a couple of top saves to keep
West Ham just the one goal behind, while the Hammers made an early
substitution as Ezekiel-Meade came on for Auguste on 29 minutes. That
replacement was justified only minutes later as the forward unleashed an
unstoppable curling effort from distance, after Coventry had cleared a
corner, to draw the Irons level going into half-time. The Hammers started
the second period with a similar flair and flow, and Peters again came close
before Stobbs tested the Coventry goalkeeper with a free-kick. Peters then
forced a brilliant save by Coventry's Woods with a powerful effort, before
the away side took the lead for the second time as Hall swept home her
second with just 20 minutes left to play. The Hammers lost Rosie Kmita to
injury late on and, despite pushing hard for an equalising goal, the home
side struggled to break down a resolute Coventry defence.
West Ham United Ladies: Rowlads; Mackie, Wheeler, Austin, Auguste
(Ezekiel-Meade 29'); Cooper, Burr, R Kmita (M Kmita 89'), Stobbs;
Anderson-James (Chong 74'), Peters
Subs not used: Wealthall,
Goals: Ezekiel-Meade 36'
Coventry United Ladies: Wood; Buck, Wilcox, Sorensen, Cooper (Haigh 65');
Smith, Dermondy, Brook, Gauntlett, Steele; Hall
Subs not used: Miles, Jerrrim
Goals: Hall 20', 70'
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'We've shown a lot of progress' - De Carnys proud of Ladies
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies manager Greg de Carnys is proud of the week his side
have gone through despite losing 2-1 to Coventry United Ladies on Sunday.
Two goals from Alison Hall were enough to hand the Ladies a home defeat
although Andreya Ezekiel-Meade scored a fantastic long-ranged effort to draw
the home side level before half-time. The loss puts an end to an impressive
week for the Ladies team after a 5-0 victory over Swindon last Sunday and a
3-1 win at league leaders Charlton Athletic in midweek. But, despite the
loss, De Carnys can take a lot of positives from a week which saw the
Hammers take six points from a possible nine and score nine goals in three
games. "I think once I've allowed the disappointment of today's result to
subside I will reflect on this week as one where we've shown a lot of
progress," De Carnys told whufc.com. "We've got some results that our
performances deserved and we need to do that every week. We talk about
consistency and to ensure that you have to be ready every week. You've got
to be at it every week. I think that's what I'll take from this. I'm proud
of the team. "The way this week has come to an end is a shame. It's ended on
a down-note but the girls have worked very hard. Coventry are a strong side.
I think we did well against them today. There were things we could have done
better and we recognise that."
De Carnys also recognises that the Ladies now have the chance to consider
their last three games, having played three times in a week, with the next
match next Sunday at Crystal Palace. He added: "The girls now have a chance
to let this week sink in. They've not had more than two or three days
in-between games and now they've got a chance to realise what they have got
out of this week and try to reproduce the things that got them two wins. "I
think people are starting to take note of us as a team and rightly so.
Hopefully we can learn from today and be in a good place for next."
The manager also offered an update on the condition of Rosie Kmita, who was
forced from the field towards the end of the game after a heavy challenge –
one which required treatment for a number of minutes. Hopefully Rosie's
knock isn't as bad as first feared," he added: "She had a bad knee injury
not long ago and that was in her mind when it happened. She was a bit
frightened but hopefully that is all it is. "The physios will look at her in
the next few days."
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MATCH REVIEW: BURNLEY FC 1- WEST HAM UNITED 1
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 15 OCTOBER 2017 AT 11:31AM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Match Report by @WestHamAmerican
West Ham took a 1-1 draw against Burnley today at Turf Moor. For the
first match after the international break, Slaven Bilic's side looked to
build upon their late win against Swansea but faced a tough task in sixth
place Burnley. Surprisingly good defending and some controversial
bookings to Andy Carroll led the Hammers to settle for a single point in
early day action.
Midway through the opening half, West Ham found the score sheet when Joe
Hart punted deep into Burnley territory and Ben Mee was unable to put a trap
on the ball. Michail Antonio swiftly made Mee pay for the lapse by side
–stepping Nick Pope and slotting it into the open net.
Moments after the goal, Andy Carroll collected a pair of yellow cards in
about two minutes of play. First he elbowed James Tarkowski. Then he
elbowed Mee and just like that, West Ham found themselves a man down for
most of the match.
With a healthy squad, other than James Collins, Bilic had multiple threats
on the pitch. With the ten man line up West Ham still had opportunities.
Today was the first time Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini were able to start a
match together. They showed some strong play and Antonio had another good
shot on goal that Nick Pope was able to save.
After ceding "time of possession" to Burnley for most of the second half and
playing behind the ball for a good bit of the final moments, West Ham's luck
ran out as Chris Wood took a Johann Berg Gudmundsson cross and found the net
to equalise the match.
West Ham were able to weather the added time and leave Turf Moor with a
single point. For the home Clarets it's been a remarkable to start to the
season as they are firmly in the top half of the league and have really
impressed against the top traditional top six clubs this early season.
For Bilic, he will have to reevaluate whether his target man can continue to
be such a liability. Carroll has at least four bookings already in this
young season. With a healthy side and a Friday evening meeting with
Brighton, hopefully West Ham can finally gain some ground after such and
abysmal start to the 2017-18 campaign.
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Cork, Tarkowski, Mee (c), Wood, Brady, Hendrick,
Deofour, Ward, Arfield.
Subs: Taylor, Vokes (45'), Westwood, Long, Gudmundsson (45'), Barnes (81'),
Lindegaard
West Ham- Hart, Reid, Cresswell, Fonte, Zabaleta, Arnautovic, Kouyate,
Carroll, Lanzini, Hernandez, Antonio.
Subs: Adrian, Masauku (88'), Ogbonna, Obiang (45'), Noble, Ayew, Sakho
(75')
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Attendance: 20,945
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Slaven Bilic says sendings off are to blame for Marko Arnautovic's slow
start
Last Updated: 15/10/17 1:28pm
SSN
Slaven Bilic admits record-signing Marko Arnautovic has made a "slow start"
to his West Ham career. Arnautovic arrived from Stoke in the summer for a
fee worth up to £25m but the Austrian forward has yet to make a significant
impact. He was sent off in his second appearance, for a dangerous elbow on
Southampton's Jack Stephens, missed the next three games through suspension,
and then sat out the win over Swansea with illness. Saturday's trip to
Burnley saw Arnautovic restored to the starting XI but he was taken off at
half-time because the Hammers needed to reorganise following Andy Carroll's
sending off. Two months on from Arnautovic's debut, Bilic accepted that West
Ham fans have still to see the best of the former Werder Bremen forward.
Yes, he has made a slow start," said Bilic.
"But that is because he got suspended for three games and then he missed the
last game, because of the flu he got. "His slow start is because of his
mistake."This [substitution] was just tactical. He didn't go out because of
a bad performance, he was taken off because my staff and I decided we needed
an extra man in midfield. "I think it was a good decision."
The encouraging second-half display of his replacement, Pedro Obiang, and
the presence of fit-again Manuel Lanzini, could mean Arnautovic has a fight
on his hands if he is to retain his starting place. Andre Ayew and Diafra
Sakho were both unused substitutes in the 1-1 draw at at Turf Moor, giving
Bilic decisions to make in the coming weeks, "It is difficult but it happens
to most clubs in the moment they have all their players," said the manager.
"Not every team is in the position of Crystal Palace, all the strikers
injured or out. "You have a squad with numbers, because very rarely are you
in a position to choose from your whole squad."
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HAMMERS TO RACE SPURS AND BOURNEMOUTH FOR SIGNATURE OF PSV WONDERKIDFeatured
Image
Date: 15th October 2017 at 9:58pm
Written by: Forever Westham
West Ham are set to fight with both Tottenham and Bournemouth for the
services of PSV wonderkid Steven Bergwijn, reports The Sun. The 20-year-old
star has emerged as one of Holland's brightest young talents over the past
year, prompting scouts from a number of Premier League sides to watch him in
action. Tottenham are understood to lead the way in the race to sign the
Holland U21 international having been tracking him since his breakthrough
into the PSV first team last year. However West Ham too are extremely keen
on the youngster with manager Slaven Bilic eager to add both youth and pace
to his attacking line-up.
The Hammers have had a poor start to the season in many respects and
currently sit 15th in the Premier League table, a problem Bilic hopes he can
sort this January by making some new additions to his squad, Bergwijn
included. West Ham have also been linked with moves for Arsenal's Jack
Wilshere and Poland striker Lukasz Teodorczyk.
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'Delighted' Toni Martinez scores West Ham's first London Stadium hat-trick
in U23 win over Man United
JAMES BENGE
ES Sport
Young Hammer Toni Martinez hailed the work of his team-mates after becoming
the first West Ham player to net a hat-trick at the London Stadium. The
20-year-old striker, formerly of Valencia, scored West Ham Under-23s first
three goals in a 4-2 home win over Manchester United before Joe Powell
rounded off the scoring. Martinez has consistently impressed in West Ham's
youth teams – he has 14 goals and three assists in 17 Premier League games –
and will hope his form will earn him a chance in the senior squad,
particularly in light of Andy Carroll's suspension. "I feel delighted
today," Martinez said. "I am really happy to get my first hat-trick this
season. I just try to do my work. "I always think that the best work I can
do is to help my boys, to score goals and today was that day." Martinez
added: "I think the most important thing today was the teamwork and the
performance, I'm very proud for everyone. "Every week those boys play
incredible games and today everybody was perfect, everything we did was very
good and I'm very proud."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Cheikhou Kouyate was not a happy man after West Ham United's 1-1 Premier
League draw at Burnley. The midfielder admitted to feeling 'angry' after the
Hammers went ahead, were reduced to ten men by Andy Carroll's first-half red
card, then conceded an unwarranted equaliser to Chris Wood with just five
minutes to go. But the No8, who produced an all-action performance in a
deep-lying midfield role in a new diamond formation, says the players cannot
dwell on the frustration they felt after Saturday's stalemate. And Kouyate
also reserved special praise for the 3,000-strong Claret and Blue Army who
made the long trip to the North West on Saturday. "We are so angry because
it's possible to take three points from this game, but we took one point,"
he said. "This is football, though, so we just have to concentrate on the
next game because we need to take a lot of points. "Everybody fought and
gave everything – Jose, Reidy, all the defenders, all the strikers, Chicha –
but it's not easy to play with ten men. We fought from the first minute
until the end, but we just need to continue to work hard because every
player needed to win this game. "We were winning 1-0 until the 85th minute
and then took a goal, which was very hard for us."
For Kouyate, the disappointment of conceding so late was compounded by the
fact that West Ham had played so well for much of the preceding 85 minutes.
Both before and after scoring and being reduced to ten men, the visitors
created the better chances and played the better, more incisive football
against a Burnley side which started the weekend in sixth place. The Senegal
captain put the Hammers' impressive display down, in large part, to the
return of Manuel Lanzini to the starting XI. "We started very good because
we had Manu back and he is an unbelievable player. He takes the ball and he
takes the risk. "Then, in the second half, we had Pedro [Obiang] come in and
all the players were good, but it was not very good that we didn't take the
three points."
However, Kouyate saved his warmest words of praise for the Claret and Blue
Army, who consistently out-sung the Burnley supporters at Turf Moor. "This
is not a surprise. We have the best fans in England, you know, and
everywhere we go the fans are coming and making noise for the team. "They've
just got to continue that for the next game."
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Hart's brave Burnley display rightly wins recognition
WHUFC.com
'England's Number One' sang the Claret and Blue Army following the final
whistle at Turf Moor on Saturday. Joe Hart had just produced his best
performance in a West Ham United jersey, helping his ten-man side secure a
deserved point at Burnley. With the Hammers playing without Andy Carroll,
who was sent-off, for more than an hour, Hart stood tall and repelled almost
everything the Clarets threw at him. The goalkeeper was brave, strong,
committed, organised and faultless with his handling, while it was his long
clearance that provided the assist for Michail Antonio's first-half goal.
No West Ham player on the pitch made more touches of the ball than Hart's
55, including the one key pass he completed for Antonio's 19th-minute
opener, which flew over Burnley defender Ben Mee to provide the perfect
through ball for his teammate. Defensively, Hart was almost unstoppable, and
had absolutely no chance when it came to keeping out Chris Wood's
frustrating late leveller, which came in the shape of a close-range header
from Johan Berg Gudmundsson's pinpoint right-wing cross.
The 30-year-old made three clearances and a successful tackle – albeit with
his arms – to prevent Wood levelling matters moments after Carroll's
27th-minute dismissal. Burnley unleashed 20 shots on goal, but just five of
them were on target, and Hart saved four of them. The first two came in the
opening 15 minutes, when he held a low shot from Scott Arfield and a strong
header from Wood. Those stops came after his first of those three brave
clearances, which saw Hart came off his line to punch Robbie Brady's teasing
cross clear of danger. The second was a similar punch as Burnley upped the
pressure in the moments before half-time, when the England international
launched himself into a crowd of bodies to repel Stephen Ward's delivery.
Hart's next meaningful action came just after the hour-mark, when he was
beaten by substitute Gudmundsson's long-range effort, but was alert enough
to grab the loose ball after it had hit the base of the post and the
goalkeeper's own back! Moments later, he showed reliable handling to hold
onto Steven Defour's shot from outside the penalty area. With Burnley
flinging cross after cross into the box aimed for the tall pair of Wood and
Sam Vokes, Hart and his centre-backs Jose Fonte and Winston Reid were
organised and resilient. With seven minutes remaining, Hart again put his
body on the line to punch the ball clear of danger, before being clattered
by his opponents. The ball went behind for a corner, but the No25 was
courageous enough to come from his line again and push Brady's dangerous
delivery to safety. Yes, Hart was finally beaten with five minutes
remaining, but his overall performance was one to be immensely proud of.
That much was recognised by the travelling fans, who sang his name, and one
of whom was rewarded with the goalkeeper's bright yellow West Ham United
jersey.
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Martinez hat-trick seals emphatic win over Manchester United
WHUFC.com
A Toni Martinez hat-trick helped West Ham United's U23s seal an emphatic 4-2
victory over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The Hammers youngsters
hosted the Red Devils in their first London Stadium fixture of the season
and despite going behind twice, went on to secure all three points thanks to
the Spanish striker's three goals and Joe Powell's first of the season.
Prolific frontman Martinez now has eight goals in ten U23 appearances this
season and deservedly took home the match ball after a stunning display in
front of 1,483 supporters. The clash began in the worst possible fashion for
the hosts, however. Ricky Sbragia's men instantly got on the front foot and
took the lead just two minutes in when Demetri Mitchell scored from Indy
Boonen's through ball.
Terry Westley's men took control of possession soon after, but it was the
visitors who were looking more dangerous, as DJ Buffonge's free-kick tested
Nathan Trott in the Hammers' goal. West Ham responded brilliantly, however
to the United pressure and after 26 minutes, they were level. Powell, taking
the ball from Sam Byram on the right hand side, swung in an inviting
delivery, and after Manchester United were unable to clear, poacher Martinez
pounced and smashed through the keeper's legs.
Now looking in the ascendancy, it came as a surprise when the Hammers were
pegged back eleven minutes later. Mitchell was again the scorer, following
in James Wilson's long shot which was fumbled by Trott and tapped home by
the winger. Unjust, it would have been, for the Hammers to go in at half
time behind, and Martinez made sure that would not be happening. This time
it was Nathan Holland – superb all afternoon – who was the architect. The
winger, drifting inside and out of United full-back Joe Riley, eventually
found space to curl in a beautiful delivery which West Ham's star striker
was able to power in with his head. And within two minutes of the restart,
predictably, Martinez had his third. Edimilson Fernandes, making his first
U23 start of the campaign after regaining his fitness, left Luke Shaw on the
United left for dead, getting to the byline and crossing into the
six-yard-box.
Martinez – in the right place at the right time – crashed home the header to
give the Hammers the lead for the first time. Though Sbragia's team were the
side looking to get back in the game, it was West Ham who looked more likely
to score again. And with 25 minutes remaining, they did just that.
Fernandes, stepping it up a gear as Manchester United began to tire,
stretched the visitors' defence and charged towards the box, laying it on a
plate for Powell to sidefoot home and complete the scoring.
Trott was beaten a minute later but Tosin Kehinde's long-range effort
smashed the crossbar, and later Dan Kemp was seemingly pushed over inside
the box, however referee Sam Purkiss saw nothing wrong with the coming
together. The Hammers, though, were able to comfortably see out the
remainder of the game and pick up their second Premier League 2 win in a row
– their fourth in total this season – to make sure it was an afternoon to
celebrate at London Stadium.
West Ham United: Trott, Byram (Johnson 76), Rice, Pask, Neufville, Coventry,
Powell, Kemp, Fernandes (Scully 83), Holland, Martinez (Hector-Ingram 72).
Subs not used: Matrevics, Rosa.
Goals: Martinez 26, 45+2, 47, Powell 64
Bookings: Powell 34
Manchester United: O'Hara, Riley, Shaw, Warren, Scott (Hamilton 49), Whelan,
Boonen (Williams 68), Kehinde, Wilson (Bouhi 49), Buffonge, Mitchell.
Subs not used: Richardson, Sang.
Goals: Mitchell 2, 37
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Hat-trick hero Martinez 'very proud' after London Stadium win
WHUFC.com
Toni Martinez was the headline act on an afternoon filled with star quality
as West Ham United under-23s ran out 4-2 winners over Manchester United at
London Stadium on Sunday. Martinez struck three times, with Joe Powell
adding the fourth, as the Hammers looked the comfortably superior outfit on
a glorious afternoon in East London. Despite falling behind inside two
minutes Terry Westley's side responded well, controlled possession and the
likes of Nathan Holland, Dan Kemp and Martinez were a constant threat.
Martinez celebrates goalThe Spaniard scored his first and second in the
opening 45' before completing the hat-trick soon after the restart. "I feel
delighted today" Martinez rejoiced. "I am really happy to get my first
hat-trick this season. I just try to do my work. I always think that the
best work I can do is to help my boys, to score goals and today was that
day."
Martinez becomes the first West Ham United player to score a hat-trick at
London Stadium, but rather than enjoying the celebrations of his individual
achievement, he was quick to heap praise on the rest of his West Ham
teammates. "I think the most important thing today was the teamwork and the
performance, I'm very proud for everyone. "Every week those boys play
incredible games and today everybody was perfect, everything we did was very
good and I'm very proud."
The Spaniard saved his best performance of the season for the biggest game
of the season so far but gave a special mention for the 1,843-strong crowd
who watched the game at London Stadium. "The fans were incredible today,
it's good to see so many people in the stands and it's very nice for us! It
helps the team and I'm happy we could win for them."
He has now scored eight goals in ten matches for West Ham United this
season, so can he continue his fine start? His answer was simple: "I hope
so!".
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Westley on win over Manchester United: It was a great day
WHUFC.com
West Ham United U23s boss Terry Westley labelled Sunday a "great day" as
1,483 supporters watched the hosts thrash Manchester United 4-2 at London
Stadium in Premier League 2. Spanish striker Toni Martinez was the standout
player, taking home the match ball after scoring a superb hat-trick, while
Joe Powell also got on the scoresheet for the Hammers. United were twice in
the lead – after just two minutes of play, the first time – but the Irons,
roared on by the home support, turned the game on its head to teach Ricky
Sbragia's men a lesson. Westley was naturally delighted after the full-time
whistle and praised the whole squad, in particular the first team players
who turned out on Sunday afternoon. "The win is important, and it could have
been wider," he said. "It was a great day for us. You play here [London
Stadium] three times, so to play here against Manchester United, one of the
biggest clubs, and with a great youth tradition, and win emphatically, is
great. "We have a good group, like we've always said. It may have taken
three years to collectively and culturally get what we want, but it the team
performs collectively, you have a better chance individually to stand out.
"The team comes first and I have to congratulate the three senior ones,
although they're all young. Edi [Fernandes], Sam Byram and Declan [Rice]
came into the team and really stamped some authority on the match, showed
some class and played properly. "That sets the standard when you come and
play here."
Rice, who captained the side to promotion last season, took the armband
again on Sunday and slotted back into the centre of defence as though he had
never been away. Fernandes grabbed two assists in an impressive display,
while Nathan Holland was also on top form, crossing marvellously for
Martinez's second goal.
You play here three times, so to play here against Manchester United, one of
the biggest clubs, and with a great youth tradition, and win emphatically,
is great
And of course, Westley could go without praising the striker who took his
goal tally to eight in ten games with the hat-trick. "He's the first West
Ham player to score a hat-trick at London Stadium and you won't take that
ball off him!" the Academy Director continued. "He's dangerous and effective
at this level. There aren't many who are scoring the volume of goals he is.
"It was great to have Dec back, but we don't want him back too long! You
want him to progress, you want him to play first team football. "You want
him, when you come back down, to be the outstanding player. He'll be
disappointed for the first goal. But put that to one side, his overall
performance, you'd pay money to come and see him play. "Holland can go past
anybody, and I've not seen a better player with the ball who is quick for a
very long time. He has to get better with movement and out of possession but
he's a huge threat. "We thought with Byram, [Josh] Pask, Rice and [Vashon]
Neufville, that we had a solid back four and with Nathan in goal, probably
our strongest this season, and with Edi, Kemp, Nathan and Toni we were
dangerous going forward. "I also though Conor [Coventry] and Powelly
controlled the game – they stopped and thought and were more effective."
The U23s are next in action in a week's time, when they travel west to take
on Chelsea in Division 1. Westley is hoping one or two things can be ironed
out before the clash, but is confident his side can pick up where they left
off. "We let a goal in after 15 seconds against Villarreal last week and it
was just about a minute here, so we need to get out of that. "You'll be out
of Premier League games if you do that. But our response and particularly
second half, we took control. They got frustrated and it left space for us
in the wide positions. "We've now set the standard, it's a great result, and
we'll rest tomorrow before going to look forward to playing Chelsea next
weekend."
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Hammers bested by Coventry Ladies despite Ezekiel-Meade wonder-goal
WHUFC.com
A stunning goal from substitute Andreya Ezekiel-Meade wasn't enough to stop
West Ham United Ladies falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry
United.
The away side took the lead in the 20th minute as Alison Hall headed home
via the cross-bar, although there was debate as to if the ball had actually
crossed the line. Ezekiel-Meade was introduced after half-an-hour and the
No9 smashed home a fantastic goal from distance after Coventry cleared a
corner. Efforts from Molly Peters and Amber Stobbs tested Coventry but the
away side secured the points when Hall swept home midway through the second
period. Peters looked like keeping up her recent goalscoring run early on
when a low shot went wide of the near post after just a few minutes, while
the striker also just missed out on a Rosie Kmita lobbed pass. It was the
away side that then look the lead on 20 minutes. Alison Hall met a precise
pass with her head, with the ball bouncing off the underside of the
cross-bar and down. After some initial confusion, the referee deemed the
ball had crossed the line and the away side were ahead.
Cherie Rowlands was forced into action with a couple of top saves to keep
West Ham just the one goal behind, while the Hammers made an early
substitution as Ezekiel-Meade came on for Auguste on 29 minutes. That
replacement was justified only minutes later as the forward unleashed an
unstoppable curling effort from distance, after Coventry had cleared a
corner, to draw the Irons level going into half-time. The Hammers started
the second period with a similar flair and flow, and Peters again came close
before Stobbs tested the Coventry goalkeeper with a free-kick. Peters then
forced a brilliant save by Coventry's Woods with a powerful effort, before
the away side took the lead for the second time as Hall swept home her
second with just 20 minutes left to play. The Hammers lost Rosie Kmita to
injury late on and, despite pushing hard for an equalising goal, the home
side struggled to break down a resolute Coventry defence.
West Ham United Ladies: Rowlads; Mackie, Wheeler, Austin, Auguste
(Ezekiel-Meade 29'); Cooper, Burr, R Kmita (M Kmita 89'), Stobbs;
Anderson-James (Chong 74'), Peters
Subs not used: Wealthall,
Goals: Ezekiel-Meade 36'
Coventry United Ladies: Wood; Buck, Wilcox, Sorensen, Cooper (Haigh 65');
Smith, Dermondy, Brook, Gauntlett, Steele; Hall
Subs not used: Miles, Jerrrim
Goals: Hall 20', 70'
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'We've shown a lot of progress' - De Carnys proud of Ladies
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies manager Greg de Carnys is proud of the week his side
have gone through despite losing 2-1 to Coventry United Ladies on Sunday.
Two goals from Alison Hall were enough to hand the Ladies a home defeat
although Andreya Ezekiel-Meade scored a fantastic long-ranged effort to draw
the home side level before half-time. The loss puts an end to an impressive
week for the Ladies team after a 5-0 victory over Swindon last Sunday and a
3-1 win at league leaders Charlton Athletic in midweek. But, despite the
loss, De Carnys can take a lot of positives from a week which saw the
Hammers take six points from a possible nine and score nine goals in three
games. "I think once I've allowed the disappointment of today's result to
subside I will reflect on this week as one where we've shown a lot of
progress," De Carnys told whufc.com. "We've got some results that our
performances deserved and we need to do that every week. We talk about
consistency and to ensure that you have to be ready every week. You've got
to be at it every week. I think that's what I'll take from this. I'm proud
of the team. "The way this week has come to an end is a shame. It's ended on
a down-note but the girls have worked very hard. Coventry are a strong side.
I think we did well against them today. There were things we could have done
better and we recognise that."
De Carnys also recognises that the Ladies now have the chance to consider
their last three games, having played three times in a week, with the next
match next Sunday at Crystal Palace. He added: "The girls now have a chance
to let this week sink in. They've not had more than two or three days
in-between games and now they've got a chance to realise what they have got
out of this week and try to reproduce the things that got them two wins. "I
think people are starting to take note of us as a team and rightly so.
Hopefully we can learn from today and be in a good place for next."
The manager also offered an update on the condition of Rosie Kmita, who was
forced from the field towards the end of the game after a heavy challenge –
one which required treatment for a number of minutes. Hopefully Rosie's
knock isn't as bad as first feared," he added: "She had a bad knee injury
not long ago and that was in her mind when it happened. She was a bit
frightened but hopefully that is all it is. "The physios will look at her in
the next few days."
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MATCH REVIEW: BURNLEY FC 1- WEST HAM UNITED 1
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 15 OCTOBER 2017 AT 11:31AM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Match Report by @WestHamAmerican
West Ham took a 1-1 draw against Burnley today at Turf Moor. For the
first match after the international break, Slaven Bilic's side looked to
build upon their late win against Swansea but faced a tough task in sixth
place Burnley. Surprisingly good defending and some controversial
bookings to Andy Carroll led the Hammers to settle for a single point in
early day action.
Midway through the opening half, West Ham found the score sheet when Joe
Hart punted deep into Burnley territory and Ben Mee was unable to put a trap
on the ball. Michail Antonio swiftly made Mee pay for the lapse by side
–stepping Nick Pope and slotting it into the open net.
Moments after the goal, Andy Carroll collected a pair of yellow cards in
about two minutes of play. First he elbowed James Tarkowski. Then he
elbowed Mee and just like that, West Ham found themselves a man down for
most of the match.
With a healthy squad, other than James Collins, Bilic had multiple threats
on the pitch. With the ten man line up West Ham still had opportunities.
Today was the first time Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini were able to start a
match together. They showed some strong play and Antonio had another good
shot on goal that Nick Pope was able to save.
After ceding "time of possession" to Burnley for most of the second half and
playing behind the ball for a good bit of the final moments, West Ham's luck
ran out as Chris Wood took a Johann Berg Gudmundsson cross and found the net
to equalise the match.
West Ham were able to weather the added time and leave Turf Moor with a
single point. For the home Clarets it's been a remarkable to start to the
season as they are firmly in the top half of the league and have really
impressed against the top traditional top six clubs this early season.
For Bilic, he will have to reevaluate whether his target man can continue to
be such a liability. Carroll has at least four bookings already in this
young season. With a healthy side and a Friday evening meeting with
Brighton, hopefully West Ham can finally gain some ground after such and
abysmal start to the 2017-18 campaign.
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Cork, Tarkowski, Mee (c), Wood, Brady, Hendrick,
Deofour, Ward, Arfield.
Subs: Taylor, Vokes (45'), Westwood, Long, Gudmundsson (45'), Barnes (81'),
Lindegaard
West Ham- Hart, Reid, Cresswell, Fonte, Zabaleta, Arnautovic, Kouyate,
Carroll, Lanzini, Hernandez, Antonio.
Subs: Adrian, Masauku (88'), Ogbonna, Obiang (45'), Noble, Ayew, Sakho
(75')
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Attendance: 20,945
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Slaven Bilic says sendings off are to blame for Marko Arnautovic's slow
start
Last Updated: 15/10/17 1:28pm
SSN
Slaven Bilic admits record-signing Marko Arnautovic has made a "slow start"
to his West Ham career. Arnautovic arrived from Stoke in the summer for a
fee worth up to £25m but the Austrian forward has yet to make a significant
impact. He was sent off in his second appearance, for a dangerous elbow on
Southampton's Jack Stephens, missed the next three games through suspension,
and then sat out the win over Swansea with illness. Saturday's trip to
Burnley saw Arnautovic restored to the starting XI but he was taken off at
half-time because the Hammers needed to reorganise following Andy Carroll's
sending off. Two months on from Arnautovic's debut, Bilic accepted that West
Ham fans have still to see the best of the former Werder Bremen forward.
Yes, he has made a slow start," said Bilic.
"But that is because he got suspended for three games and then he missed the
last game, because of the flu he got. "His slow start is because of his
mistake."This [substitution] was just tactical. He didn't go out because of
a bad performance, he was taken off because my staff and I decided we needed
an extra man in midfield. "I think it was a good decision."
The encouraging second-half display of his replacement, Pedro Obiang, and
the presence of fit-again Manuel Lanzini, could mean Arnautovic has a fight
on his hands if he is to retain his starting place. Andre Ayew and Diafra
Sakho were both unused substitutes in the 1-1 draw at at Turf Moor, giving
Bilic decisions to make in the coming weeks, "It is difficult but it happens
to most clubs in the moment they have all their players," said the manager.
"Not every team is in the position of Crystal Palace, all the strikers
injured or out. "You have a squad with numbers, because very rarely are you
in a position to choose from your whole squad."
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HAMMERS TO RACE SPURS AND BOURNEMOUTH FOR SIGNATURE OF PSV WONDERKIDFeatured
Image
Date: 15th October 2017 at 9:58pm
Written by: Forever Westham
West Ham are set to fight with both Tottenham and Bournemouth for the
services of PSV wonderkid Steven Bergwijn, reports The Sun. The 20-year-old
star has emerged as one of Holland's brightest young talents over the past
year, prompting scouts from a number of Premier League sides to watch him in
action. Tottenham are understood to lead the way in the race to sign the
Holland U21 international having been tracking him since his breakthrough
into the PSV first team last year. However West Ham too are extremely keen
on the youngster with manager Slaven Bilic eager to add both youth and pace
to his attacking line-up.
The Hammers have had a poor start to the season in many respects and
currently sit 15th in the Premier League table, a problem Bilic hopes he can
sort this January by making some new additions to his squad, Bergwijn
included. West Ham have also been linked with moves for Arsenal's Jack
Wilshere and Poland striker Lukasz Teodorczyk.
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'Delighted' Toni Martinez scores West Ham's first London Stadium hat-trick
in U23 win over Man United
JAMES BENGE
ES Sport
Young Hammer Toni Martinez hailed the work of his team-mates after becoming
the first West Ham player to net a hat-trick at the London Stadium. The
20-year-old striker, formerly of Valencia, scored West Ham Under-23s first
three goals in a 4-2 home win over Manchester United before Joe Powell
rounded off the scoring. Martinez has consistently impressed in West Ham's
youth teams – he has 14 goals and three assists in 17 Premier League games –
and will hope his form will earn him a chance in the senior squad,
particularly in light of Andy Carroll's suspension. "I feel delighted
today," Martinez said. "I am really happy to get my first hat-trick this
season. I just try to do my work. "I always think that the best work I can
do is to help my boys, to score goals and today was that day." Martinez
added: "I think the most important thing today was the teamwork and the
performance, I'm very proud for everyone. "Every week those boys play
incredible games and today everybody was perfect, everything we did was very
good and I'm very proud."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, October 14
Daily WHUFC News - 15th October 2017
Late Burnley goal sees Hammers draw at Turf Moor
WHUFC.com
West Ham United were forced to settle for just a point at Turf Moor after a late Chris Wood finish cancelled out Michail Antonio's first-half goal. The opening goal came in the 19th minute as Antonio met a pass forward from Joe Hart, slotting home comfortably after skipping past the Burnley goalkeeper.
The Hammers then saw Andy Carroll shown a pair of yellow cards in the space of three minutes, leading to the striker's dismissal and leaving the away side with ten men. West Ham battled hard and looked set to achieve an impressive away win at Burnley, but Wood's header found the bottom corner in the 85th minute to ensure the points were split between the two teams.
Slaven Bilic named an attacking starting XI for the contest at Turf Moor with the likes of Andy Carroll, Chicharito, Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio all opening the match. That bravery paid off less than 20 minutes into the game as Antonio put the away side ahead. A long pass by Hart eluded the Burnley defence, which Antonio latched onto, rounding goalkeeper Nick Pope to slot into an empty net.
An impressive opening by the Hammers was marred slightly a few minutes later after Carroll was shown two yellow cards in quick succession by referee Stuart Attwell. The striker was deemed to have committed fouls which were both worthy of bookings, seeing Carroll sent off in the 28th minute. Despite losing Carroll West Ham remained composed defensively against Burnley's threat, limiting the home team to shots from distance in the opening period through Steven Defour, Scott Arfield and Robbie Brady. And the Irons could have doubled their advantage moments before the half-time whistle as Manuel Lanzini carved out some space just outside the box, only to see his shot well held by Pope.
The second half presented an early opportunity for Antonio to grab his second of the match but the forward just narrowly missed Lanzini's ball across the face of the Burnley goal, which trickled agonisingly away from his outstretched boot. Pedro Obiang, brought on at half-time for Marko Arnautovic, then saw a powerful shot well held by Pope, before Antonio forced another save from the Burnley goalkeeper. The effort came following a flowing team move involving Lanzini, Chicharito and finally Antonio – a certain goal-of-the-season contender had Pope not stopped the attempt at his near post. Burnley substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson struck the base of the post with an effort from distance. The ball then bounced back off Hart but the England international was able to claim. But West Ham's resolve could not hold as Chris Wood headed home in the 85th minute to draw Burnley level, bringing an end to a run of five consecutive wins for the Irons against the Clarets.
Burnley: Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Ward (Barnes 81'); Arfield (Gudmundsson 46'), Cork, Defour, Brady, Hendrick (Vokes 46'); Wood
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Taylor, Westwood, Long
Goals: Wood 85'
Yellow Cards: Defour 41'
West Ham United: Hart; Zabaleta, Reid, Fonte, Cresswell; Kouyate, Lanzini (Masuaku 88'), Antonio, Arnautovic (Obiang 46'); Carroll, Chicharito (Sakho 75')
Subs not used: Adrian, Noble, Ayew, Ogbonna, Masuaku
Goals: Antonio '19,
Yellow cards: Carroll 25' 27', Obiang 80'
Red cards: Carroll 27'
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Antonio hails 'good point' earned at Burnley
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is delighted to have netted his first goal of the season and to have earned a 'good point' away at Burnley on Saturday. West Ham United looked set for an impressive victory at Turf Moor courtesy of a first-half finish from Antonio, but had to settle for a draw after Chris Wood headed home in the 85th minute. Despite being frustrated with the result, having held the lead for so long, Antonio can see the positives from a tricky away test at Turf Moor – including his first finish of the campaign and another point on the board.
Antonio said: "It's my first goal of the season. I was getting a bit frustrated but I was able to get one today. It was a nice little assist by Harty. We managed to hold out for 85 minutes and then they managed to get their goal. I reckon it's a good point, away at Burnley. "We had started off with a nice goal from myself and we seemed in control. Then Carroll got sent off but we still seemed in control and, although they had more of the possession, they didn't create opportunities."
West Ham's strong start to the contest was marred by two quick yellow cards for Andy Carroll, who was given his marching orders in the 27th minute after a succession of aerial challenges. Antonio admitted that it was frustrating to be reduced to ten men so early in the game but the 27-year-old insists that the rest of the players are not annoyed with Carroll, suggesting the No9's first booking was unfair. "It's very frustrating cause we've got the lead and we were in control at the time," Antonio added: "But it's just one of those things in football. I do believe the first yellow was harsh. The second one is definitely a yellow but the first one was harsh. It's a part of football and we have to deal with it. "Obviously once we come in Andy said sorry to us, but it's just one of those mistakes. I did it myself last season. We can't hold him to it. We just need to carry on."
The pacey forward came close to doubling his – and West Ham's – tally in the second period after a beautiful flowing move. Antonio linked excellently with Manuel Lanzini and Chicharito to create a chance, only to see his shot saved. Antonio confessed: "I played that chance back in my mind ten times just on the pitch. It would have been one of the goals of the season had I managed to finish it off but I took it a little early. "In hindsight, I reckon I should have taken it onto my left and then shot. More opportunities will come for me though and hopefully I can go on a run now."
The No30 is remaining positive and believes the point gained from this weekend's trip to Turf Moor is a sign that the Hammers are improving and can continue to climb the table. He added: "Last month we did well. We got seven points on the board and now we've come here against a very good Burnley side and we've got a point with ten men. We're go on from here and we're already looking to next week. "We are showing what we can do. We are coming away and we are picking up points. The future is looking bright for us."
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Bilic: I've got mixed emotions after Burnley draw
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic felt a mixture of pride, anger and disappointment after his ten-man West Ham United side conceded late to draw 1-1 at Burnley. The Hammers looked on course for a first away Premier League win of the season when Michail Antonio scored after 19 minutes at Turf Moor, only for Andy Carroll to be sent-off for two bookable offences in the space of 100 seconds a short time later. The manager admitted to being frustrated with his centre forward, who was shown two yellow cards by referee Stuart Attwell after catching Burnley centre-backs James Tarkowski and Ben Mee in the head with his arm.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, West Ham defended resolutely and even created chances of their own to add a second goal, only for Chris Wood to head home Johan Berg Gudmundsson's right-wing cross with just five minutes of the 90 remaining. "I've got mixed emotions," Bilic told the press. "I'm proud of the team and how we played. When we were eleven against eleven, we were passing the ball and created a lot. "We scored the goal and we had the momentum but then that momentum was ruined or stopped by that couple of bookings in the space of two minutes which, for a player of Andy's experience and everything, basically you can't do that. "It wasn't deliberate, but you can't do that very early in a game and that was of course a big blow for us, although we defended well until half-time. "We wanted to put on extra legs with Pedro Obiang in the midfield with Manu Lanzini on the left side and to try to get the ball and create when we had the chance. Then we looked really good in the first 15 minutes of the second half and had two really good chances to score a goal which would have given us extra strength. "But it's very hard to stop an opponent for a long time who has an extra player getting in the position to put a good ball in or to shoot from 25 yards. We coped really well with those crosses, because they had bodies up front and we had bodies in our box, apart from that one good cross that we should have stopped because we had it two against one [out wide]. "Then again they had bodies in the box and put in a lot of crosses and we defended 95 per cent of them really well but it wasn't enough to get three points. When it happens really late in the game, you have those mixed emotions that you don't value this performance and this point as you would normally, or as it normally deserves to be. Because if it had stayed 1-0 it would have been heroic, but still one moment doesn't make it less heroic, as it's not easy to play with ten."
Bilic was asked repeatedly about Carroll's actions – for his reaction, whether he had spoken to the striker and what action he planned to take against him – but preferred to concentrate his answers on the incidents themselves, rather than any potential fallout. "I'm very frustrated and very angry," he admitted. "I have not spoken to Andy yet and I don't think about that [any punishment] now. "I said that I'm very disappointed, not with the referee's decision because it was [correct]. The first one can happen, but the second one cannot happen, especially when you play away, then you are asking for trouble. "I didn't speak with him at half-time, as I was concentrating on what to do in the game. I didn't see the challenge [from Tarkowski which left Carroll complaining moments before his bookings]. I only saw his couple of bookings. "It is extremely frustrating. What can I do? He is a very brave player and not a lazy player, he is a player who is committing himself and that's his virtue and is a big part of his game. [For the second booking], he wants to win all the balls in his space and it was just an unbelievably bad decision to even go there."
Bilic also conceded that his side could have had a penalty awarded against them when Joe Hart challenged Wood inside his area shortly after Carroll's dismissal. The England goalkeeper, who was otherwise exemplary, appeared to get ball and man, and referee Attwell opted to give a corner rather than a spot-kick – a decision the Hammers boss agreed with. "To be fair, I've seen that incident and if we were in that situation, make no mistake, I would expect a penalty but it wasn't like a blatant one because Joe didn't put his arms there and the ball went out sideways. I think Joe touched the ball and it was also after the red card and you can't give them all. It wasn't a blatant penalty, so you can't give every decision."
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REF WATCH – BURNLEY VS WEST HAM – STUART ATTWELL
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 14 OCTOBER 2017 AT 6:17PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
After a pretty dire 1-nil win at home to Swansea before the international break, we visited Turf Moor to play a Burnley side sitting 7th in the league before this game and only conceding five goals this season.
The referee appointed for this Saturday afternoon fixture was Stuart Attwell. Attwell has had a challenging career as an elite referee. He was demoted back in 2012 and has spent the majority of his time in the lower leagues. This is Attwell's third Premier League appointment of the season, in which he's made 61 appearances in total during his career, with over 200 appointments in the Championship, League One and League Two – I feel that Attwell needs to get an early foothold in the game with special focus and emphasis on player management and controlling the game without making rash decisions.
During the first half, Attwell looked nervous and looked like an official that was lacking confidence and I can only sympathise but to be within the Elite Select Group, you have to be up to the task.
Attwell did start the game well and within the first two minutes he had to make a decision on a foul from Cheikhou Kouyaté just inside his half. Attwell made the correct decision in my opinion to just speak to Kouyaté rather than branding a yellow card too early in the game. There wasn't anything cynical from the challenge, it was careless and slightly late. There are better ways to control the game in the early stages and player management is key.
Attwell did let a few challenges go in the first half, one being when Kouyaté was climbing to challenge the ball in the air but caught and clattered the Burnley man. Another was when Scott Arfield was late into a challenge with Michail Antonio and he caught the West Ham man on the half way line.
The biggest talking point of the half was Andy Carroll getting sent off for receiving two yellow cards with both incidences within 1 minute 40 seconds of each other. Referees this season have been harsh on occasions with the bigger men in the league, particularly those strikers who are big and strong like Chris Wood, Romeu Lukaku, Andy Carroll.
When it comes to jumping to challenge for a ball, you naturally use your arms for leverage but as a referee you have consider the following: Does the striker lead with the elbow? Was there intent to injure and/or harm the opponent? Is the players fist closed or open? The first challenge by Andy Carroll I genuinely thought he was unlucky to get a yellow card, there was contact but the contact wasn't deliberate to harm this opponent and leverage was key to win the ball. However, the second yellow card was a completely different situation and I understand why Attwell made his decision. The challenge by Carrol was extremely poor and I'll explain you why; When you saw Andy Carroll lead with his elbow and a closed fist, there was intent to harm from my perspective and it's an incredibly, stupid decision from Carroll.
In the second half, Attwell began to struggled and it's difficult especially when the decisions were simply a couple of metres in front of him and I have no defence for why he made those decisions. During the second half, Burnley's Ben Mee made at least three fouls, majority on Javier Hernandez, which accompanied a handful of fouls in the first half but Attwell had no intention to caution Ben Mee. I like to see referees manage the game without showing cards at every foul, like Attwell did well in the first half, however there is only a certain amount of times that a foul can be careless and persistently infringing laws of the game.
There were a handful of cautions in the second half with Pedro Obiang going into Attwell's notebook after an incredibly late challenge on Steven Defour. Obiang couldn't have had any complaints with Attwell's decision to caution him for this challenge.
Chris Wood and Winston Reid were both cautioned after Wood scored the equaliser in the 85th minute. Both players tangled in the goal mouth with Wood showcasing excessive force to push Winston Reid into the net, whilst Winston Reid was time wasting by holding on to the ball.
Overall, Stuart Attwell's performance was overshadowed by a number of decisions that were incorrectly awarded. It's about understanding the mindset of the referee performing on the biggest stage in the Premier League: the players are quicker, more talented, powerful – it's a completely different level to the Championship and other lower leagues in England. Attwell has a lot to do in terms of game management and player management to be up there with the best Elite's in England.
A note on West Ham, it's hard to comprehend that a team full of defensive minded coaches can't get experienced, professional players to close out a game with 5 minutes left. Am I being too harsh that we had 10 men for majority of the game? Maybe so, but these decisions are key for surviving in the Premier League and not being pulled into a relegation battle. The performance was a lot better than Swansea which I heard from multiple people that it was one of the worst games since moving to the London Stadium. Up next is Brighton at home for Friday Night Football live on Sky Sports – Another big game for us to secure the maximum points.
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Condemnation for Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th October 2017
By: Staff Writer
West Ham fans believe West Ham would have won at Burnley this afternoon - had it not been for Andy Carroll's lack of professionalism. The striker was dismissed after just 27 minutes of this afternoon's match with Slaven Bilic's side leading 1-0; the game ended up 1-1 after the hosts grabbed an equaliser five minutes before the end of full time.
Unsurprisingly the instant reaction from Irons followers was to condemn Carroll for his antics, which led referee Stuart Atwell to show two yellow cards within the space of just 90 seconds for two heavy, aerial challenges. "Thanks a lot Carroll!," wrote KUMB member Colours never run. "Same footballing intellect moment as Arnautovic, all of his own doing. The referee called it bang on sending off the idiot. A wasted opportunity to take all three points and really push on."
Meanwhile Clucking Bell believes the recent examples of indiscipline may require the manager's intervention. "Whilst AC wasn't quite as stupid as Arnie against Southampton, committing a worse offence less than two minutes after his first booking cost us the win," he argued. "Slaven needs to address the discipline within the squad."
And Peaches went a step further by suggesting that it would perhaps be prudent to cash in on Carroll during the next transfer window. "Everton want Carroll, I think we should sell," he added.
"We played a lot of good football with 10 men because we kept the ball on the deck. With 11 men we would have won. I'd like to see the same team [against Brighton next week], but with Sakho in for Carroll."
Finally, brothernero agreed that Carroll's dismissal was the game's main turning point - but believes West Ham were nevertheless unlucky not to hang on for all three points. "Before Carroll was sent off we were winning and passing the ball around nicely and looking to create and get in behind Burnley," he surmised.
"The red card changed that and was always going to make things tougher for us. In the end we were undone but a great cross and header after we had had to play with 10 men for an hour.
"Burnley are a decent side and one that is very very hard to beat at home - so it was a good point, with some luck and some bad luck on our part and a half decent performance. Carroll aside, you cannot knock the team or the manager tonight."
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Slaven Bilic angry with Andy Carroll red card as West Ham draw at Burnley
Last Updated: 14/10/17 8:08pm
SSN
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic lamented Andy Carroll's failure to use his experience after being sent off in the 1-1 draw with Burnley. Since Bilic took over at West Ham, the Hammers have picked up 12 red cards in the Premier League, three more than any other side and there were just 99 seconds between Carroll's first yellow card and his second in the 27th minute. The former Liverpool striker was booked after referee Stuart Attwell judged he led with his elbow in a challenge with James Tarkowski, and the game had barely resumed when he launched himself into another aerial challenge with Ben Mee, earning the third red card of his career.
West Ham were leading thanks to Michail Antonio's first goal of the season, but they were ultimately pegged back with five minutes remaining as Chris Wood met Johann Gudmundsson's cross to break their resistance. Bilic said of the game's key talking point: "Of course I'm angry [with Carroll]. He's a very experienced player. It wasn't deliberate but a player of his experience, you cannot do that two times in a couple of minutes - especially when you play away it's very likely you're going to get minimum a yellow card. "That's what happened very early in the game, and after that we knew it was going to be very hard, but we defended well and we were so close to getting all three points."
Failure to see out the match means that West Ham have won only one of their last 12 away games in the Premier League, so they will welcome returning to the London Stadium next to face Brighton in the Friday Night Football game in their bid to move further away from the relegation places. Having been denied a record-equalling sixth Premier League win against a single side, Bilic added: "It's a bit of mixed emotions. I have to praise the guys as we got a point and we played for so long with 10 men. We had some good periods in the game even when we were down by one man.
"In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we had a couple of really good chances. It's hard to stop them crossing the ball from good areas. They put bodies up, but we defended most of those good crosses but we didn't mark well for the goal. "But I would say we played good, especially when we were 11 against 11 when I thought we were dominant and dangerous, which I expect now that we have most of the squad back and fit. "I'm quite pleased with the work-rate, with the fitness and also with the quality. If we continue to play like this we should get many more points."
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BURNLEY 1, WEST HAM 1. PLEASED AND DISAPPOINTED.
By David Hautzig 14 Oct 2017 at 17:09
WTID
When your teenage daughter is able to cut through the truly neurotic thinking that is part and parcel with being a football supporter, you're probably in a pretty weak position debate-wise.
"Dad. There were no games last weekend. You were pretty calm, didn't go through any f-ed up mood swings. Things were good. But this morning you're a wreck again and yet you say you're happy it's back. How on earth is that healthy"?
Pause.
"Did you do your Spanish homework"?
It's become virtually cliche to call a game like this crucial. Mathematically it wasn't. Psychologically it was pretty damned important. The stats showed that starting Carroll would be a good move, with Burnley giving up more corners than any team in the EPL thus far. They also have given up more total shots than any other side, but a large percentage of them have come from outside the eighteen yard box. So a poacher like Hernandez would be sensible at the very least. But we've seen how Bilic handles having those two on the pitch together, and needless to say the reviews have been Luke warm. But with Lanzini in the starting eleven along with Arnautovic and Antonio, it had to be called a positive lineup from our manager.
The first five minutes were a punchfest. Too bad I don't write about ice hockey because that wording could have been fun. West Ham won a corner thanks to Lowton's face, but after taking it short the ensuing delivery into the box was punched away by Pope. A moment later Hart showed his version of Football Fisticuffs when he punched away a cross from Defour. I had a feeling we would see a lot of this today.
In the thirteenth minute, Burnley likely should have opened the scoring when Wood lost Zabaleta on a run into the West Ham penalty area. Lowton sent a deep cross that found Wood all alone in front of Hart. Left would have scored. Right would have scored. But straight ahead was an easy save for Hart.
You cannot teach pace. I don't know who said that, but I know it's a sports cliche. In the 19th minute, Hart intercepted a long cross. He took one look and saw Antonio off to the races. The ball landed at the right foot of Mee, but he couldn't control it. Yes, that will go down as a mistake by the Burnley defender. But Antonio stayed with it, touched it around Pope, and slotted it home.
Burnley 0
West Ham 1
In the span of seconds, West Ham's day went from promising to dumb. Andy Carroll went up for a header against Tarkowski, and caught him with an unintentional elbow. Atwell showed him yellow. It could be argued that Carroll did catch him in the face, so intention isn't as relevant. But the second one was pure knuckleheadedness. Carroll flew into Mee, chasing a long ball, and flattened him. NFL scouts would have been impressed. You didn't need to wait for Atwell to reach into his pocket to know what was coming. The lack of discipline from Carroll, knowing he was on a yellow, was as infuriating as the idiocy shown by Arnautovic at Southampton.
I guess we will see Sakho and Hernandez against Brighton on Friday.
The day should have gone from very bad to incredibly awful in the 32nd minute when Brady threaded a ball to Wood, who had split open the West Ham defense. Hart dove out to meet the ball, met Wood's feet, and a penalty would have been no surprise. But Atwell pointed to the corner instead, and West Ham could be thankful for the charity.
The first half carried on as one would expect, with Burnley using the extra space on the pitch to dominate possession. The moved the ball side to side, but The Hammers back line did their job well. Burnley couldn't manage anything other than a few long range shots that didn't find a target. In fact, West Ham had what could be considered the best chance of the half post Carroll lunacy when Arnautovic and Lanzini combined at the top of the Burnley area but The Jewel's shot was deflected harmlessly into the waiting arms of Pope.
Halftime
Burnley 0
West Ham 1
The second half started with a sensible substitution. Arnautovic and his 25 million pound price tag gave way for Obiang and his, what was it, four million pound receipt? Even though that was a defensive move, West Ham started the second half on the attack and came inches from scoring a second. Hernandez rolled a perfectly weighted pass for Lanzini in the box, who then whipped the ball across the face of goal where Antonio just missed it at the far post.
A few moments later West Ham again showed more endeavor with ten men when Zabaleta, Lanzini, and Obiang worked the ball well at the top of the Burnley eighteen yard box but Obiang couldn't get much power into his shot and it floated softly into Pope's arms.
Burnley had a chance to level the game in the 55th minute when Fonte gave up a silly foul twenty five yards from goal, giving Brady a chance to show what he can do from a set piece. But the West Ham wall showed what they can do and West Ham averted danger.
The 57th minute brought us the best bit of football West Ham have shown all season. A back heel pass from Obiang set off a series of quick passes that culminated with Pope making a diving save on Antonio. Moments later a long cross from Defour somehow eluded everyone in the West Ham penalty area, including a diving Lowton and went out for a goal kick. Minutes later Brady sent a beautiful ball in between Reid and Fonte that Vokes chased down, but there was nobody there to poke it in. Minutes later Gudmundsson fired a long range curler that beat Hart, bounced off the post, and landed right in front of a grinning Hart. Two minutes later Defour tested Hart with a long range shot, and the England number one handled it easily.
Burnley had another chance handed to them by Atwell in the 71st minute when they were awarded a free kick from thirty yards out. The ball bounced off the wall, and the rebound shot went off Lanzini and out for a corner. West Ham handled it well, but all they could do was hoof it down the pitch and wait for the next Burnley onslaught.
Bilic removed Hernandez in the 74th minute and inserted Sakho. Hernandez was clearly angry at the move. Ian Dowie on television thought it was the correct move. I would have taken Antonio off, both because he looked spent and because Hernandez had shown what he can do in a ten man setup at Southampton. That's not a criticism of Bilic. Just an opinion.
My goodness, Obiang has a longer name than I was aware. Pedro Mba Obiang Avomo. That's what the FotMob app calls him. Very formal app I must say.
Burnley continued to search for a late equalizer, and they finally got it in the 85th minute when Gudmundsson beat Cresswell down the right and sent a
Burnley 1
West Ham 1
The announcement of four extra minutes could not have been met with joy by the visitors. It was likely very easy for West Ham supporters to visualize a late Burnley winner. But despite the disappointment of Wood's late goal, our version of Claret & Blue held on for the point.
Final Score
Burnley 1
West Ham 1
Mitigating circumstances. Other than stupidity, that's the term that will dominate West Ham's thinking. It's hard to judge how much we have improved since Newcastle. The results absolutely indicate an upward trajectory. But the performances have been mixed. But had Carroll not….OK, no more pejorative adjectives about him, I think we would have won. But you never know.
At the end of the day, with the still fragile state we are in as a club, I'll stay satisfied with the point.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham United were forced to settle for just a point at Turf Moor after a late Chris Wood finish cancelled out Michail Antonio's first-half goal. The opening goal came in the 19th minute as Antonio met a pass forward from Joe Hart, slotting home comfortably after skipping past the Burnley goalkeeper.
The Hammers then saw Andy Carroll shown a pair of yellow cards in the space of three minutes, leading to the striker's dismissal and leaving the away side with ten men. West Ham battled hard and looked set to achieve an impressive away win at Burnley, but Wood's header found the bottom corner in the 85th minute to ensure the points were split between the two teams.
Slaven Bilic named an attacking starting XI for the contest at Turf Moor with the likes of Andy Carroll, Chicharito, Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio all opening the match. That bravery paid off less than 20 minutes into the game as Antonio put the away side ahead. A long pass by Hart eluded the Burnley defence, which Antonio latched onto, rounding goalkeeper Nick Pope to slot into an empty net.
An impressive opening by the Hammers was marred slightly a few minutes later after Carroll was shown two yellow cards in quick succession by referee Stuart Attwell. The striker was deemed to have committed fouls which were both worthy of bookings, seeing Carroll sent off in the 28th minute. Despite losing Carroll West Ham remained composed defensively against Burnley's threat, limiting the home team to shots from distance in the opening period through Steven Defour, Scott Arfield and Robbie Brady. And the Irons could have doubled their advantage moments before the half-time whistle as Manuel Lanzini carved out some space just outside the box, only to see his shot well held by Pope.
The second half presented an early opportunity for Antonio to grab his second of the match but the forward just narrowly missed Lanzini's ball across the face of the Burnley goal, which trickled agonisingly away from his outstretched boot. Pedro Obiang, brought on at half-time for Marko Arnautovic, then saw a powerful shot well held by Pope, before Antonio forced another save from the Burnley goalkeeper. The effort came following a flowing team move involving Lanzini, Chicharito and finally Antonio – a certain goal-of-the-season contender had Pope not stopped the attempt at his near post. Burnley substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson struck the base of the post with an effort from distance. The ball then bounced back off Hart but the England international was able to claim. But West Ham's resolve could not hold as Chris Wood headed home in the 85th minute to draw Burnley level, bringing an end to a run of five consecutive wins for the Irons against the Clarets.
Burnley: Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Ward (Barnes 81'); Arfield (Gudmundsson 46'), Cork, Defour, Brady, Hendrick (Vokes 46'); Wood
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Taylor, Westwood, Long
Goals: Wood 85'
Yellow Cards: Defour 41'
West Ham United: Hart; Zabaleta, Reid, Fonte, Cresswell; Kouyate, Lanzini (Masuaku 88'), Antonio, Arnautovic (Obiang 46'); Carroll, Chicharito (Sakho 75')
Subs not used: Adrian, Noble, Ayew, Ogbonna, Masuaku
Goals: Antonio '19,
Yellow cards: Carroll 25' 27', Obiang 80'
Red cards: Carroll 27'
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Antonio hails 'good point' earned at Burnley
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is delighted to have netted his first goal of the season and to have earned a 'good point' away at Burnley on Saturday. West Ham United looked set for an impressive victory at Turf Moor courtesy of a first-half finish from Antonio, but had to settle for a draw after Chris Wood headed home in the 85th minute. Despite being frustrated with the result, having held the lead for so long, Antonio can see the positives from a tricky away test at Turf Moor – including his first finish of the campaign and another point on the board.
Antonio said: "It's my first goal of the season. I was getting a bit frustrated but I was able to get one today. It was a nice little assist by Harty. We managed to hold out for 85 minutes and then they managed to get their goal. I reckon it's a good point, away at Burnley. "We had started off with a nice goal from myself and we seemed in control. Then Carroll got sent off but we still seemed in control and, although they had more of the possession, they didn't create opportunities."
West Ham's strong start to the contest was marred by two quick yellow cards for Andy Carroll, who was given his marching orders in the 27th minute after a succession of aerial challenges. Antonio admitted that it was frustrating to be reduced to ten men so early in the game but the 27-year-old insists that the rest of the players are not annoyed with Carroll, suggesting the No9's first booking was unfair. "It's very frustrating cause we've got the lead and we were in control at the time," Antonio added: "But it's just one of those things in football. I do believe the first yellow was harsh. The second one is definitely a yellow but the first one was harsh. It's a part of football and we have to deal with it. "Obviously once we come in Andy said sorry to us, but it's just one of those mistakes. I did it myself last season. We can't hold him to it. We just need to carry on."
The pacey forward came close to doubling his – and West Ham's – tally in the second period after a beautiful flowing move. Antonio linked excellently with Manuel Lanzini and Chicharito to create a chance, only to see his shot saved. Antonio confessed: "I played that chance back in my mind ten times just on the pitch. It would have been one of the goals of the season had I managed to finish it off but I took it a little early. "In hindsight, I reckon I should have taken it onto my left and then shot. More opportunities will come for me though and hopefully I can go on a run now."
The No30 is remaining positive and believes the point gained from this weekend's trip to Turf Moor is a sign that the Hammers are improving and can continue to climb the table. He added: "Last month we did well. We got seven points on the board and now we've come here against a very good Burnley side and we've got a point with ten men. We're go on from here and we're already looking to next week. "We are showing what we can do. We are coming away and we are picking up points. The future is looking bright for us."
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Bilic: I've got mixed emotions after Burnley draw
WHUFC.com
Slaven Bilic felt a mixture of pride, anger and disappointment after his ten-man West Ham United side conceded late to draw 1-1 at Burnley. The Hammers looked on course for a first away Premier League win of the season when Michail Antonio scored after 19 minutes at Turf Moor, only for Andy Carroll to be sent-off for two bookable offences in the space of 100 seconds a short time later. The manager admitted to being frustrated with his centre forward, who was shown two yellow cards by referee Stuart Attwell after catching Burnley centre-backs James Tarkowski and Ben Mee in the head with his arm.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, West Ham defended resolutely and even created chances of their own to add a second goal, only for Chris Wood to head home Johan Berg Gudmundsson's right-wing cross with just five minutes of the 90 remaining. "I've got mixed emotions," Bilic told the press. "I'm proud of the team and how we played. When we were eleven against eleven, we were passing the ball and created a lot. "We scored the goal and we had the momentum but then that momentum was ruined or stopped by that couple of bookings in the space of two minutes which, for a player of Andy's experience and everything, basically you can't do that. "It wasn't deliberate, but you can't do that very early in a game and that was of course a big blow for us, although we defended well until half-time. "We wanted to put on extra legs with Pedro Obiang in the midfield with Manu Lanzini on the left side and to try to get the ball and create when we had the chance. Then we looked really good in the first 15 minutes of the second half and had two really good chances to score a goal which would have given us extra strength. "But it's very hard to stop an opponent for a long time who has an extra player getting in the position to put a good ball in or to shoot from 25 yards. We coped really well with those crosses, because they had bodies up front and we had bodies in our box, apart from that one good cross that we should have stopped because we had it two against one [out wide]. "Then again they had bodies in the box and put in a lot of crosses and we defended 95 per cent of them really well but it wasn't enough to get three points. When it happens really late in the game, you have those mixed emotions that you don't value this performance and this point as you would normally, or as it normally deserves to be. Because if it had stayed 1-0 it would have been heroic, but still one moment doesn't make it less heroic, as it's not easy to play with ten."
Bilic was asked repeatedly about Carroll's actions – for his reaction, whether he had spoken to the striker and what action he planned to take against him – but preferred to concentrate his answers on the incidents themselves, rather than any potential fallout. "I'm very frustrated and very angry," he admitted. "I have not spoken to Andy yet and I don't think about that [any punishment] now. "I said that I'm very disappointed, not with the referee's decision because it was [correct]. The first one can happen, but the second one cannot happen, especially when you play away, then you are asking for trouble. "I didn't speak with him at half-time, as I was concentrating on what to do in the game. I didn't see the challenge [from Tarkowski which left Carroll complaining moments before his bookings]. I only saw his couple of bookings. "It is extremely frustrating. What can I do? He is a very brave player and not a lazy player, he is a player who is committing himself and that's his virtue and is a big part of his game. [For the second booking], he wants to win all the balls in his space and it was just an unbelievably bad decision to even go there."
Bilic also conceded that his side could have had a penalty awarded against them when Joe Hart challenged Wood inside his area shortly after Carroll's dismissal. The England goalkeeper, who was otherwise exemplary, appeared to get ball and man, and referee Attwell opted to give a corner rather than a spot-kick – a decision the Hammers boss agreed with. "To be fair, I've seen that incident and if we were in that situation, make no mistake, I would expect a penalty but it wasn't like a blatant one because Joe didn't put his arms there and the ball went out sideways. I think Joe touched the ball and it was also after the red card and you can't give them all. It wasn't a blatant penalty, so you can't give every decision."
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REF WATCH – BURNLEY VS WEST HAM – STUART ATTWELL
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 14 OCTOBER 2017 AT 6:17PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
After a pretty dire 1-nil win at home to Swansea before the international break, we visited Turf Moor to play a Burnley side sitting 7th in the league before this game and only conceding five goals this season.
The referee appointed for this Saturday afternoon fixture was Stuart Attwell. Attwell has had a challenging career as an elite referee. He was demoted back in 2012 and has spent the majority of his time in the lower leagues. This is Attwell's third Premier League appointment of the season, in which he's made 61 appearances in total during his career, with over 200 appointments in the Championship, League One and League Two – I feel that Attwell needs to get an early foothold in the game with special focus and emphasis on player management and controlling the game without making rash decisions.
During the first half, Attwell looked nervous and looked like an official that was lacking confidence and I can only sympathise but to be within the Elite Select Group, you have to be up to the task.
Attwell did start the game well and within the first two minutes he had to make a decision on a foul from Cheikhou Kouyaté just inside his half. Attwell made the correct decision in my opinion to just speak to Kouyaté rather than branding a yellow card too early in the game. There wasn't anything cynical from the challenge, it was careless and slightly late. There are better ways to control the game in the early stages and player management is key.
Attwell did let a few challenges go in the first half, one being when Kouyaté was climbing to challenge the ball in the air but caught and clattered the Burnley man. Another was when Scott Arfield was late into a challenge with Michail Antonio and he caught the West Ham man on the half way line.
The biggest talking point of the half was Andy Carroll getting sent off for receiving two yellow cards with both incidences within 1 minute 40 seconds of each other. Referees this season have been harsh on occasions with the bigger men in the league, particularly those strikers who are big and strong like Chris Wood, Romeu Lukaku, Andy Carroll.
When it comes to jumping to challenge for a ball, you naturally use your arms for leverage but as a referee you have consider the following: Does the striker lead with the elbow? Was there intent to injure and/or harm the opponent? Is the players fist closed or open? The first challenge by Andy Carroll I genuinely thought he was unlucky to get a yellow card, there was contact but the contact wasn't deliberate to harm this opponent and leverage was key to win the ball. However, the second yellow card was a completely different situation and I understand why Attwell made his decision. The challenge by Carrol was extremely poor and I'll explain you why; When you saw Andy Carroll lead with his elbow and a closed fist, there was intent to harm from my perspective and it's an incredibly, stupid decision from Carroll.
In the second half, Attwell began to struggled and it's difficult especially when the decisions were simply a couple of metres in front of him and I have no defence for why he made those decisions. During the second half, Burnley's Ben Mee made at least three fouls, majority on Javier Hernandez, which accompanied a handful of fouls in the first half but Attwell had no intention to caution Ben Mee. I like to see referees manage the game without showing cards at every foul, like Attwell did well in the first half, however there is only a certain amount of times that a foul can be careless and persistently infringing laws of the game.
There were a handful of cautions in the second half with Pedro Obiang going into Attwell's notebook after an incredibly late challenge on Steven Defour. Obiang couldn't have had any complaints with Attwell's decision to caution him for this challenge.
Chris Wood and Winston Reid were both cautioned after Wood scored the equaliser in the 85th minute. Both players tangled in the goal mouth with Wood showcasing excessive force to push Winston Reid into the net, whilst Winston Reid was time wasting by holding on to the ball.
Overall, Stuart Attwell's performance was overshadowed by a number of decisions that were incorrectly awarded. It's about understanding the mindset of the referee performing on the biggest stage in the Premier League: the players are quicker, more talented, powerful – it's a completely different level to the Championship and other lower leagues in England. Attwell has a lot to do in terms of game management and player management to be up there with the best Elite's in England.
A note on West Ham, it's hard to comprehend that a team full of defensive minded coaches can't get experienced, professional players to close out a game with 5 minutes left. Am I being too harsh that we had 10 men for majority of the game? Maybe so, but these decisions are key for surviving in the Premier League and not being pulled into a relegation battle. The performance was a lot better than Swansea which I heard from multiple people that it was one of the worst games since moving to the London Stadium. Up next is Brighton at home for Friday Night Football live on Sky Sports – Another big game for us to secure the maximum points.
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Condemnation for Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 14th October 2017
By: Staff Writer
West Ham fans believe West Ham would have won at Burnley this afternoon - had it not been for Andy Carroll's lack of professionalism. The striker was dismissed after just 27 minutes of this afternoon's match with Slaven Bilic's side leading 1-0; the game ended up 1-1 after the hosts grabbed an equaliser five minutes before the end of full time.
Unsurprisingly the instant reaction from Irons followers was to condemn Carroll for his antics, which led referee Stuart Atwell to show two yellow cards within the space of just 90 seconds for two heavy, aerial challenges. "Thanks a lot Carroll!," wrote KUMB member Colours never run. "Same footballing intellect moment as Arnautovic, all of his own doing. The referee called it bang on sending off the idiot. A wasted opportunity to take all three points and really push on."
Meanwhile Clucking Bell believes the recent examples of indiscipline may require the manager's intervention. "Whilst AC wasn't quite as stupid as Arnie against Southampton, committing a worse offence less than two minutes after his first booking cost us the win," he argued. "Slaven needs to address the discipline within the squad."
And Peaches went a step further by suggesting that it would perhaps be prudent to cash in on Carroll during the next transfer window. "Everton want Carroll, I think we should sell," he added.
"We played a lot of good football with 10 men because we kept the ball on the deck. With 11 men we would have won. I'd like to see the same team [against Brighton next week], but with Sakho in for Carroll."
Finally, brothernero agreed that Carroll's dismissal was the game's main turning point - but believes West Ham were nevertheless unlucky not to hang on for all three points. "Before Carroll was sent off we were winning and passing the ball around nicely and looking to create and get in behind Burnley," he surmised.
"The red card changed that and was always going to make things tougher for us. In the end we were undone but a great cross and header after we had had to play with 10 men for an hour.
"Burnley are a decent side and one that is very very hard to beat at home - so it was a good point, with some luck and some bad luck on our part and a half decent performance. Carroll aside, you cannot knock the team or the manager tonight."
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Slaven Bilic angry with Andy Carroll red card as West Ham draw at Burnley
Last Updated: 14/10/17 8:08pm
SSN
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic lamented Andy Carroll's failure to use his experience after being sent off in the 1-1 draw with Burnley. Since Bilic took over at West Ham, the Hammers have picked up 12 red cards in the Premier League, three more than any other side and there were just 99 seconds between Carroll's first yellow card and his second in the 27th minute. The former Liverpool striker was booked after referee Stuart Attwell judged he led with his elbow in a challenge with James Tarkowski, and the game had barely resumed when he launched himself into another aerial challenge with Ben Mee, earning the third red card of his career.
West Ham were leading thanks to Michail Antonio's first goal of the season, but they were ultimately pegged back with five minutes remaining as Chris Wood met Johann Gudmundsson's cross to break their resistance. Bilic said of the game's key talking point: "Of course I'm angry [with Carroll]. He's a very experienced player. It wasn't deliberate but a player of his experience, you cannot do that two times in a couple of minutes - especially when you play away it's very likely you're going to get minimum a yellow card. "That's what happened very early in the game, and after that we knew it was going to be very hard, but we defended well and we were so close to getting all three points."
Failure to see out the match means that West Ham have won only one of their last 12 away games in the Premier League, so they will welcome returning to the London Stadium next to face Brighton in the Friday Night Football game in their bid to move further away from the relegation places. Having been denied a record-equalling sixth Premier League win against a single side, Bilic added: "It's a bit of mixed emotions. I have to praise the guys as we got a point and we played for so long with 10 men. We had some good periods in the game even when we were down by one man.
"In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we had a couple of really good chances. It's hard to stop them crossing the ball from good areas. They put bodies up, but we defended most of those good crosses but we didn't mark well for the goal. "But I would say we played good, especially when we were 11 against 11 when I thought we were dominant and dangerous, which I expect now that we have most of the squad back and fit. "I'm quite pleased with the work-rate, with the fitness and also with the quality. If we continue to play like this we should get many more points."
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BURNLEY 1, WEST HAM 1. PLEASED AND DISAPPOINTED.
By David Hautzig 14 Oct 2017 at 17:09
WTID
When your teenage daughter is able to cut through the truly neurotic thinking that is part and parcel with being a football supporter, you're probably in a pretty weak position debate-wise.
"Dad. There were no games last weekend. You were pretty calm, didn't go through any f-ed up mood swings. Things were good. But this morning you're a wreck again and yet you say you're happy it's back. How on earth is that healthy"?
Pause.
"Did you do your Spanish homework"?
It's become virtually cliche to call a game like this crucial. Mathematically it wasn't. Psychologically it was pretty damned important. The stats showed that starting Carroll would be a good move, with Burnley giving up more corners than any team in the EPL thus far. They also have given up more total shots than any other side, but a large percentage of them have come from outside the eighteen yard box. So a poacher like Hernandez would be sensible at the very least. But we've seen how Bilic handles having those two on the pitch together, and needless to say the reviews have been Luke warm. But with Lanzini in the starting eleven along with Arnautovic and Antonio, it had to be called a positive lineup from our manager.
The first five minutes were a punchfest. Too bad I don't write about ice hockey because that wording could have been fun. West Ham won a corner thanks to Lowton's face, but after taking it short the ensuing delivery into the box was punched away by Pope. A moment later Hart showed his version of Football Fisticuffs when he punched away a cross from Defour. I had a feeling we would see a lot of this today.
In the thirteenth minute, Burnley likely should have opened the scoring when Wood lost Zabaleta on a run into the West Ham penalty area. Lowton sent a deep cross that found Wood all alone in front of Hart. Left would have scored. Right would have scored. But straight ahead was an easy save for Hart.
You cannot teach pace. I don't know who said that, but I know it's a sports cliche. In the 19th minute, Hart intercepted a long cross. He took one look and saw Antonio off to the races. The ball landed at the right foot of Mee, but he couldn't control it. Yes, that will go down as a mistake by the Burnley defender. But Antonio stayed with it, touched it around Pope, and slotted it home.
Burnley 0
West Ham 1
In the span of seconds, West Ham's day went from promising to dumb. Andy Carroll went up for a header against Tarkowski, and caught him with an unintentional elbow. Atwell showed him yellow. It could be argued that Carroll did catch him in the face, so intention isn't as relevant. But the second one was pure knuckleheadedness. Carroll flew into Mee, chasing a long ball, and flattened him. NFL scouts would have been impressed. You didn't need to wait for Atwell to reach into his pocket to know what was coming. The lack of discipline from Carroll, knowing he was on a yellow, was as infuriating as the idiocy shown by Arnautovic at Southampton.
I guess we will see Sakho and Hernandez against Brighton on Friday.
The day should have gone from very bad to incredibly awful in the 32nd minute when Brady threaded a ball to Wood, who had split open the West Ham defense. Hart dove out to meet the ball, met Wood's feet, and a penalty would have been no surprise. But Atwell pointed to the corner instead, and West Ham could be thankful for the charity.
The first half carried on as one would expect, with Burnley using the extra space on the pitch to dominate possession. The moved the ball side to side, but The Hammers back line did their job well. Burnley couldn't manage anything other than a few long range shots that didn't find a target. In fact, West Ham had what could be considered the best chance of the half post Carroll lunacy when Arnautovic and Lanzini combined at the top of the Burnley area but The Jewel's shot was deflected harmlessly into the waiting arms of Pope.
Halftime
Burnley 0
West Ham 1
The second half started with a sensible substitution. Arnautovic and his 25 million pound price tag gave way for Obiang and his, what was it, four million pound receipt? Even though that was a defensive move, West Ham started the second half on the attack and came inches from scoring a second. Hernandez rolled a perfectly weighted pass for Lanzini in the box, who then whipped the ball across the face of goal where Antonio just missed it at the far post.
A few moments later West Ham again showed more endeavor with ten men when Zabaleta, Lanzini, and Obiang worked the ball well at the top of the Burnley eighteen yard box but Obiang couldn't get much power into his shot and it floated softly into Pope's arms.
Burnley had a chance to level the game in the 55th minute when Fonte gave up a silly foul twenty five yards from goal, giving Brady a chance to show what he can do from a set piece. But the West Ham wall showed what they can do and West Ham averted danger.
The 57th minute brought us the best bit of football West Ham have shown all season. A back heel pass from Obiang set off a series of quick passes that culminated with Pope making a diving save on Antonio. Moments later a long cross from Defour somehow eluded everyone in the West Ham penalty area, including a diving Lowton and went out for a goal kick. Minutes later Brady sent a beautiful ball in between Reid and Fonte that Vokes chased down, but there was nobody there to poke it in. Minutes later Gudmundsson fired a long range curler that beat Hart, bounced off the post, and landed right in front of a grinning Hart. Two minutes later Defour tested Hart with a long range shot, and the England number one handled it easily.
Burnley had another chance handed to them by Atwell in the 71st minute when they were awarded a free kick from thirty yards out. The ball bounced off the wall, and the rebound shot went off Lanzini and out for a corner. West Ham handled it well, but all they could do was hoof it down the pitch and wait for the next Burnley onslaught.
Bilic removed Hernandez in the 74th minute and inserted Sakho. Hernandez was clearly angry at the move. Ian Dowie on television thought it was the correct move. I would have taken Antonio off, both because he looked spent and because Hernandez had shown what he can do in a ten man setup at Southampton. That's not a criticism of Bilic. Just an opinion.
My goodness, Obiang has a longer name than I was aware. Pedro Mba Obiang Avomo. That's what the FotMob app calls him. Very formal app I must say.
Burnley continued to search for a late equalizer, and they finally got it in the 85th minute when Gudmundsson beat Cresswell down the right and sent a
Burnley 1
West Ham 1
The announcement of four extra minutes could not have been met with joy by the visitors. It was likely very easy for West Ham supporters to visualize a late Burnley winner. But despite the disappointment of Wood's late goal, our version of Claret & Blue held on for the point.
Final Score
Burnley 1
West Ham 1
Mitigating circumstances. Other than stupidity, that's the term that will dominate West Ham's thinking. It's hard to judge how much we have improved since Newcastle. The results absolutely indicate an upward trajectory. But the performances have been mixed. But had Carroll not….OK, no more pejorative adjectives about him, I think we would have won. But you never know.
At the end of the day, with the still fragile state we are in as a club, I'll stay satisfied with the point.
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