Hart hoping for happy Shrewsbury homecoming in FA Cup
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Emirates FA Cup third round draw away to Shrewsbury Town
brought a broad smile to the face of Joe Hart. The Hammers goalkeeper was
born and raised in Shrewsbury and grew up dreaming of pulling on the shirt
of his local club. After excelling for the Shropshire county representative
team, Hart was snapped up by the Shrews at the age of 14. A year later, he
was named on the substitutes' bench in League Two, before former West Ham
striker Jimmy Quinn handed him a senior debut in April 2004, one day past
his 17th birthday. The 2005/06 season saw Hart, still just 18, establish
himself as Shrewsbury's No1 and win League Two Team of the Year honours,
England U19 international recognition and earn a big-money move to Premier
League Manchester City. The rest is well-documented history, but Hart will
never forget the town he called home for more than half of his life, nor the
club which gave him the springboard to become a footballing superstar.
"It's the first time I'll have gone back to Shrewsbury for a competitive
game, so I'm really looking forward to it," the 30-year-old confirmed.
"It's a beautiful town and a nice place to live. We are kind of on the edge
of everything in our own little world, but it's a great place, full of proud
people, and I have nothing but good things to say about Shrewsbury. It's my
home. "It was nice to be involved in the first team from such a young age.
They put me in the team when we were in non-league and we were just above
the drop zone, when I was only 17 or 18, and we managed to stay up, which
was good. They always had a lot of faith in me, which I really appreciated."
Hart was in the crowd last time Shrewsbury welcomed Premier League
opposition back in January 2003. That afternoon, David Moyes' Everton were
the visitors to Gay Meadow, where they were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by the
fourth-tier Shrews. Fifteen years on, Hart and Moyes will be back, albeit at
Shrewsbury's New Meadow stadium, which opened in 2007. While the England
goalkeeper and Scottish manager were on opposite sides last time out, they
will both be out to avoid another third-round shock. "Shrewsbury are doing
pretty well this year, so I'm sure it'll be a tough game for us," Hart
confirmed. "They moved into a new stadium and it took a while for them to
get used to it, so they've had some ups and downs, but they're flying high
at the top of League One this season, so it's looking good. "The FA Cup is
always a test, particularly away from home, whoever you are playing. Even if
you go to a non-league club, it'll be a big game and a hard one to win. "I
went to the game the last time they beat Premier League opposition in the FA
Cup, which was Everton back in 2003. I was there, but obviously I hope the
result is different this time around!"
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Pixie Lott surprises West Ham Foundation students
WHUFC.com
Students in Year Five at Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School in
Poplar received a huge surprise as popstar Pixie Lott stopped in for their
session with the West Ham United Foundation. Lott, who is a life-long West
Ham supporter, shocked the group of pupils on Tuesday as she dropped in to
participate in a Primary Stars lesson being given by coaches from the
Hammers Foundation. The popular singer helped the students to write poems
based on the theme of resilience for entry into the Writing Stars
competition, which the Premier League is running for Key Stage 1 and Key
Stage 2. Lott also took time to answer questions about her music and new
single, 'Won't Forget You', and talked to the students about showing
resilience during her life and career. "The Writing Stars competition is
amazing," she told whufc.com: "Anything that's going to encourage kids to
write and be creative, especially writing about positive messages like
resilience, is a real positive in my eyes. "Hearing them say things like
'achieve your dreams' and 'believe in yourself' is incredible. I really hope
that sticks with them for the rest of their lives. It's great that West Ham
are involved in this. It's such a positive and inspiring thing."
The singer was delighted to have the opportunity to put smiles on faces
during her visit, with Lott taking the time to give each student an
autograph while also posing for photos and offering advice for their poems.
She continued: "I've loved just chatting to the kids. They were so energetic
and I found out a lot about them – including what they want to be when they
grow-up. There's a lot of aspiring footballers and singers! "I've done a lot
of school visits and I just really enjoy it. I never got any of these sorts
of visits when I was at school and I would have loved it, so to be able to
do that for these kids, and others in other schools, is just amazing. It
brightens up their day, which brightens up mine."
Lott was invited to participate in a rhyme battle alongside ten-year-old
student Alfie, who bested the singer in the competition. Alfie said: "I've
had so much fun today. It was good to work with the coaches and I was so
surprised to see Pixie Lott. It was fun to do the rhyme battle with Pixie
and win as well. It was such a good day!"
Adam Walker, a football development officer with the West Ham United
Foundation, was full of praise for Lott's involvement in Tuesday's session
and for the Primary Stars scheme. "It's amazing like someone like Pixie can
give up her time to come and support the West Ham United Foundation, and
visit to the local schools," Walker said. "The children were amazed when
she walked in the door and the moment she did she had their complete
attention. "She's been really kind, polite and attentive. She's helped the
children out with their poems, got involved with our rhyme battles, which
were very funny, and also answered loads of questions. It's been an
immensely enjoyable session." He added: "It's a brilliant scheme. The
Premier League is a massive help too, with the backing they give us as a
Foundation. It allows us to go out and deliver the Primary Stars programme.
"The Writing Stars competition has got all of our schools engaged and ready
to enter. From that we're seeing some excellent poems and incredible
engagement in the subject."
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Powell: We're gutted but proud of Checkatrade achievements
WHUFC.com
Joe Powell admitted the whole squad are gutted after West Ham United's U21s
were eliminated by Luton Town in the Checkatrade Trophy round of 32. The
Hatters bagged a convincing 4-0 win at Kenilworth Road thanks to goals from
Lawson D'Ath, Aaron Jarvis, Kavan Cotter and Jordan Cook to put an end to
the Hammers' campaign in the competition. It was, however, a great
achievement to reach the knockout stages of the tournament; the east
Londoners were one of only four academy sides to advance from the group
stages from the 16 who entered at the start of the season. Powell, who
played the full 90 minutes at left-back on Tuesday, said the team is proud
of their accomplishments in the Checkatrade Trophy this season but are
hurting after the harsh defeat. "We believed we could win going into the
game," he said. "We had chances at 0-0, we had corners and then even at 1-0
we were still in the game. Our heads dropped a bit but we carried on. "At
2-0, the heads dropped again but I think we gave a bit more to prove we
wanted to stay in the game get something out of it, but it wasn't to be.
"We are proud of where we got to, but we're still not happy with the way the
game went and it's something we can look back and learn from it. But 100 per
cent, we're proud."
West Ham struggled to deal with the physical threat their League Two
opponents – currently top of the fourth tier – offered in Bedfordshire. The
second goal in particular came from a long ball down the middle of the pitch
and Powell declared it is a style of play the Hammers must learn to deal
with if they are to learn from the experience of playing in the competition
this season. "Playing long ball, that's something we're new to and we need
to work on that," he continued. "Playing U23 teams, everyone wants to get
the ball down, that's the philosophy everyone is taught as a kid – pass the
ball out from the back. "Playing Football League teams therefore is hard,
but it's something you need to be able to do playing at any level. You go to
the Premier League, you see it there too. "We need to adapt to that and try
and get better at that because it gave us problems tonight."
The Luton clash marked Terry Westley's side fifth defeat in a row – and
fourth to nil – and the youngsters will be looking to get back on track when
London rivals Tottenham Hotspur visit Dagenham and Redbridge's Chigwell
Construction Stadium on Monday. Tickets are priced at £5 and £3 for adults
and concessions respsectively, and supporters can pay on the door or show
their Season Ticket Holder card to enter for free for the 7pm kick-off.
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Westley: We must stay in these types of games
WHUFC.com
West Ham United under-21s Checkatrade Trophy campaign came to an end on
Tuesday evening after they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Luton Town at Kenilworth
Road. Trailing 1-0 at the interval, West Ham conceded three second half
goals bringing an end to what had, up until now, been a hugely positive
competition for Terry Westley's side. The Academy Director praised his
former side's performance, but admitted the final 4-0 score line was unfair.
I think we can say 4-0 is a little harsh in the end, the goals weren't great
I have to say that, not particularly well worked, but goals that grind you
down at this level" he explained. "If you can't stick with it, you will get
punished – we saw it against Wycombe and we saw it again tonight."
Sead Haksabanovic and Toni Martinez both went close for West Ham with the
score at 1-0, but the sucker-punch moment came when Aaron Jarvis got on the
end of a speculative long ball to strike past Nathan Trott in the 56th
minute. The Hammers struggled to recover from then on. "At half-time I
thought we were right in the game so I told the lads exactly that" Westley
explained. "They had to stay with the game, be tough and there was going to
be a moment in the game when the ball was going to drop for us and we were
going to have an opportunity. "But we didn't stay in it long enough to have
that opportunity, the second goal was too easy. It was just a 60-yard boot
up the pitch that we haven't dealt with well enough. "I'm disappointed that
we didn't keep in the game long enough because I felt our front players had
enough to hurt them but we didn't quite do that."
Luton struck twice more, the last of which in time added on after the 90'
but Westley insisted that even in defeat, matches like these against
Football League opponents are crucial to his players' development. "It would
have been nice to come back [to Luton] and win, but we haven't done that.
"The fundamentals of the game; tackling, running, defending properly and
clearing the ball; this is the hardest bit to learn at under-23 football
because everything is not always on the line but tonight it was. If you
don't win, you're out. Luton go through and good luck to them in the next
round."
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David Moyes: West Ham manager to target players with Premier League
experience
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport
West Ham manager David Moyes is expected to target players with Premier
League experience as he seeks to guide the club away from the relegation
zone. On Tuesday, the Hammers said a dispute with Sporting Lisbon over their
pursuit of William Carvalho had been resolved. But Moyes, who succeeded
Slaven Bilic last month, is not thought to want the Portugal midfielder in
January. West Ham have spent only three of the past 25 seasons outside the
top flight but are 19th in the table on 10 points. Moyes, who has been
assured he has money to spend during next month's transfer window, has
overseen three defeats and a draw in his four games in charge. While another
move for Carvalho is not being ruled out, it is understood Moyes feels
knowledge of English football is key if signings are to have an immediate
impact. Sporting said they were going to report the Hammers to Fifa for an
illegal pursuit of the 25-year-old midfielder in the summer. The Portuguese
club also made personal comments about West Ham owners David Sullivan and
David Gold. "Friendly relations between the clubs will resume," said a
Hammers statement.
In September, West Ham said they made a bid for Carvalho and released emails
that they claimed showed their official approach. But Sporting's
communications director Nuno Saraiva questioned the validity of the leaked
emails, which apparently showed a 25m euros (£22.8m) offer, as well
suggestions Sullivan was called a "liar" and a "parasite" in a Facebook
post. West Ham refuted the claims, called them "attention seeking", and
considered legal action. However, on Tuesday the Premier League club said:
"West Ham and Sporting acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based
in contacts between representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible
transfer of William Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. "The clubs
have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved. "There will
be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working together in the future."
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Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll fitness update ahead of West Ham's clash
against Chelsea
David Moyes has had to do without the pair for the past couple of games
Football London
ByTashan Deniran-Alleyne
18:30, 6 DEC 2017
West Ham United are reportedly cautious over Javier Hernandez's attempts to
win his race to return from injury against Chelsea at the weekend, but
expect Andy Carroll to be out of action for a little while longer. The
29-year-old handed David Moyes a massive boost by returning to full
first-team training after missing the last four Premier League games in
succession due to an injury picked up whilst on international duty with
Mexico last month. His last appearance came in the 4-1 home defeat by
Liverpool at the start of November - a result which sealed Slaven Bilic's
fate as manager - and in that period the Hammers have netted just twice
whilst sliding to second from bottom in the table by virtue of an inferior
goal difference to Crystal Palace. Having netted four times in 11
appearances since his move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, Hernandez's
availability will certainly come as a massive boost for Moyes in his
attempts to steer the East London outfit to safety and it may not be too
long before he can call upon the services of the ex-Manchester United
striker.
According to the Daily Mail, the Irons are hopeful that the Mexican will be
fit enough to take part in the derby against the Blues on Saturday. However,
there is some caution surrounding the striker as officials fear a setback if
he's rushed back too soon and therefore could be held back to ensure he's
fully fit for the clash with Arsenal four days later. Furthermore, the
report provides an update on Carroll - who has made just nine appearances
across all competitions this season - as he's yet to return to training and
will miss the London derby double-header, although it's believed his injury
isn't too serious and could make his return against former club Newcastle
United on December 23.
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Javier Hernandez set to hand West Ham major fitness boost by returning to
action against Chelsea
Javier Hernandez has been out since suffering a thigh injury on November 4
The Mexico international is yet to play under West Ham manager David Moyes
Hernandez could face Chelsea while Andy Carroll should be back this month
By Kieran Gill for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 13:32, 6 December 2017 | UPDATED: 14:27, 6 December 2017
West Ham are hopeful Javier Hernandez will be fit for their Premier League
clash against Chelsea with the striker back in first-team training. The
29-year-old has not appeared since a 4-1 defeat by Liverpool on November 4,
when he suffered a thigh injury. Yet Hernandez has re-joined his team-mates
at Rush Green and is facing a fitness test to be included in David Moyes'
squad on Saturday. West Ham will not want to bring Hernandez back too soon
and risk a setback, with another London derby coming up on Wednesday against
Arsenal. Meanwhile, Andy Carroll is further away and has not yet returned to
full training. The 28-year-old striker's injury is not long-term, however,
and he should be back in contention before Christmas. Carroll will want to
be fit for the visit of former club Newcastle on December 23 in particular.
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MOYES READY FOR U-TURN AS HE SEEKS FRESH DEAL FOR WEST HAM MANFeatured Image
Date: 6th December 2017 at 9:03pm
Written by: Josh Challies
Forever WestHam
West Ham boss David Moyes is set to make the biggest tactical decision of
his short tenure at the London Stadium so far, as he's set to commit a
U-turn with one player. The Daily Mail claim that Spanish goalkeeper Adrian
is set to be handed a new contract, with the 30-year-old impressing during
the recent defeat to Manchester City- where loanee Joe Hart was unable to
feature against his parent side. Adrian is widely reported to be set to
retain his position heading into this weekend's clash against Chelsea,
though he's still yet to sign a new contract and has previously spoken about
his frustrations due to a lack of first-team football.
Moyes is now desperate for the Hammers to push a deal for Adrian over the
line and any agreement is likely to come with assurances towards the
Spaniard that he will get first-team football, handing a huge blow to Hart's
World Cup aspirations with England.
Suitors for Adrian are not short with fellow strugglers Crystal Palace known
to be admirers but Moyes' goal looks to be to cement the future of the
veteran.
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West Ham can't afford to let Reece Oxford leave permanently
HITC
Jeorge Bird
The West Ham starlet is reportedly wanted on a permanent deal by his loan
club. Reece Oxford may not have progressed quite as expected since his
initial breakthrough into the West Ham United team two seasons ago, but the
prospect still has a very good chance of succeeding at the club. Capable of
playing as a centre-back or a defensive-midfielder, Oxford showed some very
encouraging initial signs for West Ham in the 2015/16 season but has since
endured some frustrating loan spells. Last season, for instance, Oxford was
unable to command a regular starting berth after joining Reading on loan for
the second half of the campaign. Meanwhile, this season he has been
restricted to just one minute of Bundesliga football for Borussia
Monchengladbach, with the 18-year-old finding himself in another frustrating
situation. Despite the lack of game time he has been afforded, however,
Monchengladbach are eager to sign Oxford on a permanent basis, as reported
by the London Evening Standard. Given Oxford's vast potential, West Ham
simply cannot contemplate letting him leave permanently, even if
Monchengladbach were to make an appealing offer. At the very least Oxford
deserves a sustained opportunity to show that he is worthy of a regular
place in the West Ham side, something which he could well be afforded next
season. Allowing Oxford to leave at this stage of his development could turn
out to be a disastrous move for West Ham, who should instead still see him
as a potential solution to the defensive issues that they have endured this
season.
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Does West Ham's interest in Sporting's Carvalho mean end for Noble?
HITC
Tom Seymour
West Ham have renewed their interest in Sporting's William Carvalho - if
they sign him what happens to Mark Noble? West Ham United may be set to
renew their interest in Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho after
relations between the two clubs have been repaired, according to the Sun.
The Hammers have released a statement saying the two sides have settled
their differences after a very public falling out between the two
hierarchies over the summer. Former manager Slaven Bilic was a keen admirer
of Carvalho - with a potential deal for the 25-year-old being the reason
behind the controversy between the two teams - and his replacement David
Moyes appears to also be interested. That is probably not good news for
captain Mark Noble, who has been greatly criticised for his performances for
West Ham over the past two seasons. Noble started Moyes' first game as boss
after being appointed Bilic's successor in a 2-0 defeat to Watford, but was
once again perceived to have a poor performance and has not played for the
Scot since. With Carvalho operating in a similar role to the 30-year-old in
central midfield and also being five years the Englishman's junior, if the
Portugal international does finally join the East Londoners then that could
see the skipper's opportunities reduce even more significantly.
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Report claims Everton-linked N'Zonzi favours London move... and West Ham
should not be discounted
HITC
Aiden Cusick
Gambling Times reporter Graeme Bailey claims West Ham United should not be
discounted in the race to sign Steven N'Zonzi, who is wanted by several
clubs including Everton. Speaking to France Football this week, N'Zonzi
confirmed his intention to leave Sevilla this winter, and could be sold for
less than his £35 million release clause. But despite the presence of his
former manager Sam Allardyce at Everton, N'Zonzi is said to favour a move to
London, where his son is residing.
Arsenal are another club linked this week, although Bailey's report states
that West Ham - and Chelsea, too - "should not be discounted" in the race to
sign the 28-year-old, which could also include Paris Saint-Germain.
Interestingly, bookmakers Bet Victor have already listed the Hammers at 8/1
to sign N'Zonzi in January, behind Leicester City (6/1) and favourites
Everton (5/1). West Ham are being tipped to move for a midfielder in
N'Zonzi's mould this winter, with Sporting CP's William Carvalho linked
again this week.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 7
Wednesday, December 6
Daily WHUFC News - 6th December 2017
West Ham United Statement: Sporting Clube de Portugal
WHUFC.com
West Ham and Sporting Clube de Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in
communication based in contacts between representatives from both Clubs in
respect of a possible transfer of William Carvalho was the cause of a
misunderstanding.
Subsequent to this, the Clubs have had positive communications and the
matter is now resolved. On this basis, friendly relations between the Clubs
will resume and there will be no barriers to both Clubs negotiating or
working together in the future.
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Ogbonna: There are positives to build on
WHUFC.com
Angelo Ogbonna says Sunday's performance at Manchester City gives the
Hammers a platform to build from, even if they were denied a point by David
Silva's late winner. West Ham fought bravely at Etihad Stadium and, for a
spell around half-time, Ogbonna's towering header had them dreaming of
becoming the first team to defeat Pep Guardiola's men this season.
Ultimately, City's second half possession and pressure was made to count by
goals from Nicolas Otamendi and Silva, and although Ogbonna was disappointed
to end up on the losing side, he said there was plenty to be proud of. He
said: "I think it was a positive performance for us, because after we lost
in midweek against Everton we've come back on Sunday and responded. Mentally
I think it's good for us, the way we approached the game. "The result is
difficult to take. It was a tough game but we scored in the first half and
were a little bit unlucky. "Against a big team it's difficult to keep the
ball, but we had our chance from a corner, and we counter-attacked with
Michail Antonio as well. "You have to stay compact against Manchester City
and then try to run in behind. We did that and I think we played a really
good game and maybe deserved to take a point home."
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Adrian: We need to continue to defend like we did at City
WHUFC.com
Adrian believes Sunday's defensive performance against Manchester City gives
his team plenty of reasons for encouragement ahead of two more fixtures
against Premier League high-flyers in the next week. West Ham follow their
narrow loss at Etihad Stadium by taking on Chelsea and Arsenal in
back-to-back home fixtures, with Adrian calling for the same solidity they
displayed in the north west. The Spanish keeper was making his first Premier
League start of the season, with the on-loan Joe Hart unavailable to face
his parent club, and he was thrilled to be able to play his part. "We made
things difficult for City," he said. "We decided to sit back and
counter-attack and we did quite well, we had our chances, and we even
managed to open the scoring. We knew that in the second half they were going
to push much more. They brought all the artillery they had into the pitch.
"In the end their big amount of talent defined the match. Silva scored an
amazing goal, we could have made it 2-2 but we lacked a little bit of luck
and missed that chance. But we must get something positive even in defeat
and, although we are not happy, I think we should continue with the line of
defending well and looking dangerous when attacking. "It was my first
Premier League game this season, I try to make it difficult for the coach
and give my best and I think I showed that I am still here and I hope to
have more minutes from now on. "It is clear that we have a difficult streak
against teams from the top of the table but it is also clear that all
Premier League matches are difficult. We have to always play with the same
mentality, to get points and go match-by-match."
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West Ham United become accredited London Living Wage payer
WHUFC.com
West Ham United has become an accredited London Living Wage payer at a
ceremony at London Stadium this morning on Tuesday. The Hammers become just
the third Premier League club to be accredited by the Living Wage
Foundation, after Chelsea and Everton. The commitment sees everyone at West
Ham United, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third party
contracted staff, receive a minimum hourly rate of £10.20, significantly
higher than the statutory minimum for over-25s of £7.50 per hour. The
Hammers have been paying all permanent employees at the level of the London
Living Wage since 1 June 2015, but previously could not be accredited by the
Living Wage Foundation due to some London Stadium staff not receiving the
London Living Wage. London Stadium's owners have now committed to pay their
employees the London Living Wage and are working on setting a timeline to
uplift their staff's wages, which means that West Ham United can now be
officially accredited. The Living Wage campaign is an independent movement
that originates from east London, which is supported by businesses,
organisations and people who believe 'a hard day's work deserves a fair
day's pay'.
The London Living Wage is independently calculated every year based on what
employees and their families need to get by. The calculation is based on a
social consensus of what people need for a decent standard of living and to
participate fully in society, including things like housing, transport to
work and heating, but also enough for small birthday celebration or a trip
to the cinema.
West Ham United Vice-chairman Karren Brady said, "We are absolutely
delighted to have secured the Living Wage Foundation's seal of approval as
an accredited London Living Wage employer, and hope to act as a good example
for all other Premier League clubs and big businesses in London. "The Living
Wage Foundation accreditation is something we have been working towards for
a long time, including lobbying the Mayor to help encourage our landlords to
commit to paying a fair day's pay, and we are over the moon to now be in a
position where we can finally become a recognised Living Wage employer. "The
football club isn't just made up of the eleven players on the pitch, and by
making this commitment we hope to ensure that West Ham United continues be a
place where the best talents want to ply their trade, and London Stadium,
Rush Green and Chadwell Heath are environments in which they can achieve
their goals. "We recognise the contribution of each and every employee at
the club, and rewarding and retaining our staff is a major part of that. We
take pride in the way we conduct ourselves as an organisation on and off the
pitch and by doing the right thing and paying the London Living Wage, we
hope this will urge other clubs to soon follow suit."
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said, "We are
delighted that West Ham United have become the third Premier League football
club to sign up as an accredited Living Wage employer, ensuring that all
their staff receive a real Living Wage that covers the cost of living.
That's a pay rise for almost 200 people, including cleaners and staff at
their training facilities. "The Living Wage badge is the mark of a
responsible employer and West Ham United are joining a movement of over
3,700 employers across the UK who are making sure that all employees can
live with dignity. "It's fantastic to see West Ham United's leadership and
I hope more football clubs will take their lead and follow suit."
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Moyes: Shrewsbury FA Cup tie will be a fantastic occasion
WHUFC.com
David Moyes is relishing an Emirates FA Cup reunion with Shrewsbury Town,
but knows there are plenty of Premier League points to play for ahead of his
return to Shropshire. Both West Ham United manager Moyes and goalkeeper Joe
Hart played for the Shrews earlier in their careers, with the former
totalling 108 appearances for the Shropshire club between 1987-90. The Scot
has since faced his old club twice as a manager, first in the FA Cup third
round during his first full season at Everton back in 2003, then in an EFL
Cup second-round tie at Sunderland in August 2016. "There is obviously a lot
of football to play and a very busy run of fixtures before we can focus on
the trip to Shrewsbury but I'm sure there will be a lot of excitement once
we get closer to the game," Moyes told whufc.com. The manager reached the FA
Cup final with Everton back in 2009 and would love to repeat that
achievement with West Ham, giving the Claret and Blue Army a first major
final in 38 years to enjoy and day out at Wembley in the process. "I know
how important the cup competitions are to West Ham fans, and I also know
they will give us great support up at New Meadow," he observed. Shrewsbury
got the better of Moyes' Everton back in January 2003, when the Shropshire
side were managed by Toffees legend Kevin Ratcliffe, but the former Shrews
defender did beat his old club when Sunderland scored a 1-0 victory at the
Stadium of Light last season. Shrewsbury will present a difficult obstacle
to overcome again this time around, with Paul Hurst's side flying high in
the League One table. Town have lost just five matches all season and are in
position to return to the second tie for the first time in 29 years. Moyes,
for one, is well aware of the threat posed by the Shrews, but will only turn
his attention to the Emirates FA Cup after his side have contended with a
busy Christmas and New Year period in the Premier League. "Shrewsbury are
going very well in League One, and it is a club I know well having spent
three years there as a player. "The tie will be a fantastic occasion for
them and we will give their team the utmost respect, but we have seven very
important Premier League matches to play before then and that is our only
focus at the minute."
West Ham, who have never met Shrewsbury previously in a knockout
competition, will travel to the New Meadow over the weekend of 5-8 January
2018. The date, kick-off time and ticket details will be confirmed in due
course.
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West Ham and Sporting Lisbon resolve William Carvalho dispute
BBC.co.uk
West Ham say the dispute with Sporting Lisbon over their summer pursuit of
Portugal's William Carvalho was caused by a "breakdown in communication" and
the matter has now been resolved. Sporting said they were going to report
the Hammers to Fifa for an illegal pursuit of the 25-year-old midfielder.
The Portuguese club also made personal comments about West Ham owners David
Sullivan and David Gold. "Friendly relations between the clubs will resume,"
said a Hammers statement. In September, West Ham said they made a bid for
the Portugal defensive midfielder and released emails that claim to show
their official approach.
But Sporting's communications director Nuno Saraiva questioned the validity
of the leaked emails, which purport to show a 25m euros (£22.8m) offer, as
well suggestions Sullivan was called a "liar" and a "parasite" in a Facebook
post. West Ham refuted the claims, called them "attention seeking", and
considered legal action.
However on Tuesday the Premier League club said: "West Ham and Sporting
acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based in contacts between
representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of William
Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. "Subsequent to this, the clubs
have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved. On this
basis, there will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working
together in the future."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MOYES' WEST HAM: ARE THE HAMMERINGS OVER?
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 5 DECEMBER 2017 AT 9:03PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Elliot Ramsden
On 3rd December, West Ham United almost did what many are starting to
believe is impossible: take points from Manchester City. At half-time, West
Ham had taken an unexpected lead via the head of Angelo Ogbonna and was
absorbing the City pressure well. But, almost inevitably, the home side
broke through with a goal from Nicolas Otamendi 12 minutes into the second
half and David Silva, with under ten minutes to go, to claim all three
points.
The biggest takeaway was how sharp Adrian was. The Spaniard fell out of
favour under the Slaven Bilic regime, being benched for some calamitous
showings early last season to give the net to Darren Randolph, only to
regain it for the last five league games of the season, keep three clean
sheets, and then be replaced by the loaned-in Joe Hart. He may belong to
league leaders Manchester City, and he may be England's long-standing
first-choice goalie, but Joe Hart has been very weak this season. In
contrast, Adrian's showing against City was mostly superb.
If Moyes were to give Adrian the nod for a stretch of games, it could very
well invigorate the back line with a new faith in their shot-stopper, as
Hart certainly hasn't earned it thus far. Their problems don't end in net,
of course; West Ham may have had the worst goal difference in the league by
the 15th game. The key to improvement isn't up top or net, it's in midfield.
West Ham are second-favourites to get relegated this season, sitting at 5/6
to avoid relegation in the Premier League betting, and the best way that
they can improve their chances of beating the drop is by making some savvy
and necessary signings in the January transfer window. What the Irons need
the most is a strong central midfielder who can hold up the ball, play smart
passes, read the play well enough to make interceptions regularly and, most
importantly, be a clinical tackler.
Through 15 games, West Ham had the worst disciplinary record in the Premier
League with 32 yellow cards, and two reds dished out to their players. But,
this was coupled with the team committing the 7th least fouls at 9.7 per
game, meaning that more of the tackles deemed as fouls were bad enough to
receive a booking.
One supposed transfer target has already taken himself out of the running.
Bournemouth's crafty midfielder Harry Arter has said that he wants to focus
on success for the club and manager that have given him a career, but there
are plenty of other options in the Premier League. West Ham United is still
a huge name in English football and have financial backing, so the club
could easily poach a star from one of the clubs sitting above them who can't
match West Ham's prestige. Aaron Mooy of Huddersfield Town has been
particularly impressive in all facets of the game and Dale Stephens of
Brighton & Hove Albion has proven himself to be a rock in front of the
Seagulls' backline.
However, if the Hammers aren't interesting in forking out Premier League
prices in January, there are a few good fits in the other European top
flights. Bruno Zuculini of Hellas Verona, for example, is a masterful
tackler and could be the midfield saviour that both move the ball well and
protects the defence. Also, assuming that the Hammers do pull themselves up
the table, Ruben Perez would be the perfect long-term fix. Currently on loan
to Leganes from Granada, Perez has been exemplary in the middle of the park
and would be an excellent, yet rather cost-effective, addition to the Irons.
It's going to be an exciting transfer window as all Premier League clubs try
to better themselves for the second half of the season, so with a clear need
for a
collected presence in midfield, West Ham should certainly be opening their
wallets for a new face.
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Board slash loan interest rate
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 5th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
News that the interest rate charged by David Sullivan and David Gold to West
Ham United FC has been reduced has been welcomed by fans. Speaking at last
week's meeting with supporters, at which KUMB was represented by deputy
Editor Gordon Thrower, vice chair Karren Brady revealed that the 7 per cent
interest rate previously charged had effectively been halved since April.
And that could mean in the region of an extra £1.5million per year being
made available to manager David Moyes, instead of going to the owners in
additional interest payments. David Sullivan and David Gold, to whom the
club still owes in the region of £45m-£50m have been charging West Ham the
vastly-inflated interest rate since 2011, costing the club circa £3m-£3.5m
annually.
However Sullivan and Gold will still be coining it in despite slashing the
interest rate charged, with the club still responsible for interest payments
worth around £2m per annum as a result. Speaking in an exclusive interview
with KUMB in 2013, David Sullivan insisted that charging interest on the
loan was mandatory. " it's not interest free - we're not allowed to," he
said when asked to detail the loan. However Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
and Newcastle United's Mike Ashley - to name but two - have both given
interest free loans to their clubs during the same period.
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West Ham back on 'friendly relations' with Sporting Lisbon after William
Carvalho fallout
Last Updated: 05/12/17 12:09pm
SSN
West Ham say "friendly relations" with Sporting Lisbon have resumed
following a war of words over the potential transfer of William Carvalho in
the summer. In September, the Hammers said they were pursuing legal action
against Sporting's communications director, Nuno Saraiva, after he claimed
the club received no proposals from West Ham for Carvalho, while also making
controversial remarks about co-chairman David Sullivan. Sky Sports News then
revealed two emails which appeared to show Sullivan's different offers for
the player but no deal for Carvalho was forthcoming in the end as
communication between the two clubs broke down.
However, West Ham say that relations between the two clubs are now back on
friendly terms. A West Ham statement said: "West Ham and Sporting Clube de
Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based on contacts
between representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of
William Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. "Subsequent to this,
the clubs have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved.
"On this basis, friendly relations between the clubs will resume and there
will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working together in the
future."
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Joe Hart faces fight for World Cup place with West Ham set to demote him to
the sub's bench
The Three Lions stopper is set to lose his place in the Hammers starting XI
to Adrian, who impressed against Man City
The Mirror
ByDarren Lewis
22:30, 4 DEC 2017
Joe Hart's World Cup place is in jeopardy with the England keeper set to be
demoted to the West Ham bench. Spanish keeper Adrian, who impressed at
Manchester City on Sunday, will keep the no.1 shirt for the foreseeable
future - starting on Sunday when West Ham host Chelsea. England boss Gareth
Southgate has already made it clear that he will favour players performing
regularly for their clubs when he picks his squad for Russia next summer.
Hart - whose £175,000-a-week wages are being subsidised by both City and
West Ham - was ineligible to play against his parent club due to the terms
of his loan deal. But Hammers boss David Moyes had already been unhappy with
the 30-year-old's previous performances. Adrian, also 30, pulled off a
string of fine saves for his injury-ravaged side at the Etihad as the Irons
threatened to cause a major upset against Pep Guardiola's team. During the
reign of Moyes' predecessor, Slaven Bilic, Adrian had threatened to quit
West Ham in January after Hart had come in to take his place. Now it is Hart
facing an uncertain future ahead of next summer. Everton's Jordan Pickford
has been impressive for club and country while Stoke's Jack Butland remains
highly-rated. Despite the quality of Wayne Rooney's wonder-goal at Goodison
last Wednesday night, Hart has been criticised for racing out of his box
only to play the ball to his former England team-mate instead to sending it
into touch. Hart was also accused of being at fault for Watford's second
goal in the Hornets' 2-0 win at Vicarage Road last month. The former
Shrewsbury stopper has defiantly refused to be cowed by his critics and was
regularly supported by Bilic until the Croatian's departure. But with West
Ham in the bottom three and fighting for survival, Moyes is ready to be
ruthless in his bid to try to save the club.
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West Ham renew interest in William Carvalho after healing rift with Sporting
Lisbon from summer row
William Carvalho wanted to join West Ham but club fell out with Sporting
Lisbon
Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold were labelled 'dildo brothers'
The relationship has now healed and West Ham may return for William Carvalho
By Kieran Gill for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 12:41, 5 December 2017 | UPDATED: 15:13, 5 December 2017
West Ham will be free to pursue William Carvalho in January after announcing
they are back on good terms with Sporting Lisbon. The Premier League club
have brought their war of words with the Portuguese side to an end – a very
public argument which involved several twists and turns. There were leaked
emails of supposed transfer offers, allegations of lies and public
name-calling, including West Ham's co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold
being labelled the 'dildo brothers'. Yet the announcement that it is all
water under the bridge leaves the door open for West Ham to return for
Carvalho with David Moyes set to be backed in the January window. Before
being sacked, Slaven Bilic was known to be interested in going back in for
the £30million-rated defensive midfielder after Christmas.
The club still like Carvalho and West Ham could now re-open talks. A
statement from the Premier League club read: 'West Ham and Sporting Clube de
Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based in contacts
between representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of
William Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. 'Subsequent to this,
the clubs have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved.
'On this basis, friendly relations between the clubs will resume and there
will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working together in the
future.' Carvalho was keen to move to the Premier League in the summer
before the two clubs came to blows.
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Reece Oxford could have benefitted immediately from Moyes' West Ham
appointment had he been there
HITC
Vincent Ralph
The West Ham United youngster is currently on loan in Germany, just when he
could have returned to the first-team fold. Of all Slaven Bilic's
questionable decisions while West Ham United manager, the decision to send
Reece Oxford on a two-year loan deal to Borussia Monchengladbach is among
the strangest.
The youngster showed at just 16 that he has what it takes to play regularly
in the Premier League and yet he was soon shunted aside and a failed loan
spell at Reading was followed by his trip to Germany. Oxford's current
situation is even more frustrating considering he could have been the
Hammers youngster with the best chance of making an immediate impact under
new manager David Moyes. The Scot has never been afraid to give youth a
chance and he would have surely found a place for Oxford, who can operate at
centre-back, right-back or as a holding midfielder. Considering the way West
Ham lined up against Manchester City last weekend, Moyes will need all the
top defenders and energetic midfielders he can get, with injuries and
suspensions likely to take their toll in the second half of the campaign.
As a consequence, Oxford could have been the solution to a whole host of
temporary problems in the months ahead, and yet instead he is sitting unused
on Monchengladbach's substitutes' bench. Declan Rice has already proved his
worth at West Ham and one can only hope that in time Oxford returns and does
the same. Some may suggest he did just that with his outstanding performance
against Arsenal but that game will only be remembered for so long.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Could Smolov and Hernandez work as a pair at West Ham?
HITC
Vincent Ralph
West Ham United are said to be tracking the Russian international. According
to the Daily Mail, West Ham United are interested in signing Fedor Smolov
from Krasnodar, but would the 27-year-old work effectively with Javier
Hernandez or force the Mexican international out of contention at the London
Stadium? Hernandez arrived at the London Stadium for a reported £13million
(Guardian) amid plenty of fanfare, with Hammers supporters feeling they
finally had the prolific striker necessary to fire them up the table.
Unfortunately, a poor start to the campaign under Slaven Bilic meant that
plenty of West Ham's star names were underperforming, and Hernandez could
only do so much to stop the rot. Four goals in his first 10 league games was
not bad for a team struggling to create sufficient chances, yet a
badly-timed hamstring injury ruled him out just when new manager David Moyes
will be looking to stamp his mark on the side. If West Ham sign the prolific
Smolov, it will be with the intention of playing him in his natural position
as a central striker, but given he plays on his own for Krasnodar, with
support further back from the likes of Mauricio Pereyra and Viktor Claesson,
it is difficult to see the Russian playing effectively with Hernandez, who
himself will be seeking similar channels and opportunities to pounce. If
Moyes can find a way to play the pair as a front two, they could be
brilliant for West Ham, but the more likely scenario is that the Hammers
boss opts for one up front and then a secondary attacker such as Manuel
Lanzini, who can work his magic in the space left by a centre-forward.
Assuming that is how things ultimately play out, Hernandez may have to get
used to life as a super-sub, just as he did when he was last in England.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham surely taking gamble considering selling Andre Ayew back to Swansea
HITC
Jordan Harris
West Ham United are reportedly willing to consider selling Andre Ayew back
to Swansea City. According to a report from The Sun (print edition; 5th
December 2017; page 50), Swansea are interested in re-signing West Ham
forward Andre Ayew just over a year after selling him to the Hammers for £20
million. Interestingly, The Sun suggests that the Irons may be prepared to
let the 27-year-old return to the Liberty Stadium for half the price that
they paid for him.
That may not appear to be the best business, but given that he has scored
eight Premier League goals in 38 games, it would not be a surprise if a
number of Irons fans were urging the club to let the Ghana international
leave if they do receive an eight-figure bid. But perhaps it would be a
gamble for West Ham to let Ayew return to Swansea given where the two sides
lie in the Premier League table. As things stand, West Ham are 19th in the
top flight, while the Swans are bottom of the table and there is just one
point separating the two, while David Moyes' men find themselves three
points off safety. If Moyes feels that the £10 million they will receive
from Swansea is exactly what he needs to bolster his transfer kitty so he
can go out and get a target that will lead the Irons away from danger, then
he should have little hesitation about sanctioning a deal. But Moyes should
really consider whether selling one of their players to a relegation rival
makes sense at this stage of the season. The last thing he will want is to
sell a player to Swansea who then inspires them to get themselves away from
the bottom three and leave the Hammers in more trouble.
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EUROPEAN OUTFIT SEEKING PERMANENT DEAL FOR WEST HAM STARLETFeatured Image
Date: 5th December 2017 at 9:04pm
Written by: Josh Challies
West Ham risk losing one of their brightest youngsters after failing to hand
him chances that many feel he deserves, reports suggest. The Evening
Standard states Borussia Monchengladbach are still interested in making
Reece Oxford's loan stint in the Bundesliga a permanent move, despite the
youngster having failed to settle into the side this season. Oxford has been
on the bench for every league game this season and has made just one
appearance, coming on as a late substitute in a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim.
Despite the lack of football, Gladbach's sporting director Max Eberl spoke
about the club's continued interest to German publication the Rheinische
Post. "He's a top lad. He's come on well and we're very happy with him. It
takes time to find your feet in the Bundesliga, but we certainly want him to
stay. West Ham now have the final say."
Gladbach reportedly had a clause in Oxford's loan that could make a switch
permanent in the New Year if he reached a certain number of appearances but
that is now no longer possible, though Eberl still wants to pursue a deal.
"We could look into signing him anyway. When our injured players are back,
we're going to have quite a strong troop."
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Martinez's prolific ex-teammate set to be available for free, West Ham have
to move
HITC
Dan Coombs
West Ham must consider Valencia's wantaway forward Rafa Mir. West Ham United
should be on high alert over the possibility of signing Valencia forward
Rafa Mir.
The Hammer swooped on Valencia two years ago to sign Antonio Martinez, and
the forward has been prolific for their under-23 team, netting eight goals
already this season. Fans have been calling for Martinez to get a first team
chance, and it's only a matter of time. Now with Valencia youngster Mir set
to become available for free, West Ham should seek to double up on the
talented Spanish pair. Mir has scored 15 goals in 17 games for Valencia's B
team this season, but has refused to sign a new contract. Super Deporte
reported this weekend that he has now been dropped from the side as
Valencia's frustrations grow. He will be free to negotiate a pre-contract
agreement in January, while Valencia could be forced to sell to avoid losing
him for nothing. Mir is attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur and
Celtic, Super Deporte reported earlier this year. The 20-year-old would be a
smart investment for West Ham, and like Martinez, could be ready to
contribute straight away if he was just given a chance. West Ham's scouting
team came through to pull off the Martinez deal, and they should aim to do
the same for Mir, backed by David Moyes' knowledge of Spanish football from
his brief time in La Liga.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham and Sporting Clube de Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in
communication based in contacts between representatives from both Clubs in
respect of a possible transfer of William Carvalho was the cause of a
misunderstanding.
Subsequent to this, the Clubs have had positive communications and the
matter is now resolved. On this basis, friendly relations between the Clubs
will resume and there will be no barriers to both Clubs negotiating or
working together in the future.
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Ogbonna: There are positives to build on
WHUFC.com
Angelo Ogbonna says Sunday's performance at Manchester City gives the
Hammers a platform to build from, even if they were denied a point by David
Silva's late winner. West Ham fought bravely at Etihad Stadium and, for a
spell around half-time, Ogbonna's towering header had them dreaming of
becoming the first team to defeat Pep Guardiola's men this season.
Ultimately, City's second half possession and pressure was made to count by
goals from Nicolas Otamendi and Silva, and although Ogbonna was disappointed
to end up on the losing side, he said there was plenty to be proud of. He
said: "I think it was a positive performance for us, because after we lost
in midweek against Everton we've come back on Sunday and responded. Mentally
I think it's good for us, the way we approached the game. "The result is
difficult to take. It was a tough game but we scored in the first half and
were a little bit unlucky. "Against a big team it's difficult to keep the
ball, but we had our chance from a corner, and we counter-attacked with
Michail Antonio as well. "You have to stay compact against Manchester City
and then try to run in behind. We did that and I think we played a really
good game and maybe deserved to take a point home."
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Adrian: We need to continue to defend like we did at City
WHUFC.com
Adrian believes Sunday's defensive performance against Manchester City gives
his team plenty of reasons for encouragement ahead of two more fixtures
against Premier League high-flyers in the next week. West Ham follow their
narrow loss at Etihad Stadium by taking on Chelsea and Arsenal in
back-to-back home fixtures, with Adrian calling for the same solidity they
displayed in the north west. The Spanish keeper was making his first Premier
League start of the season, with the on-loan Joe Hart unavailable to face
his parent club, and he was thrilled to be able to play his part. "We made
things difficult for City," he said. "We decided to sit back and
counter-attack and we did quite well, we had our chances, and we even
managed to open the scoring. We knew that in the second half they were going
to push much more. They brought all the artillery they had into the pitch.
"In the end their big amount of talent defined the match. Silva scored an
amazing goal, we could have made it 2-2 but we lacked a little bit of luck
and missed that chance. But we must get something positive even in defeat
and, although we are not happy, I think we should continue with the line of
defending well and looking dangerous when attacking. "It was my first
Premier League game this season, I try to make it difficult for the coach
and give my best and I think I showed that I am still here and I hope to
have more minutes from now on. "It is clear that we have a difficult streak
against teams from the top of the table but it is also clear that all
Premier League matches are difficult. We have to always play with the same
mentality, to get points and go match-by-match."
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West Ham United become accredited London Living Wage payer
WHUFC.com
West Ham United has become an accredited London Living Wage payer at a
ceremony at London Stadium this morning on Tuesday. The Hammers become just
the third Premier League club to be accredited by the Living Wage
Foundation, after Chelsea and Everton. The commitment sees everyone at West
Ham United, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third party
contracted staff, receive a minimum hourly rate of £10.20, significantly
higher than the statutory minimum for over-25s of £7.50 per hour. The
Hammers have been paying all permanent employees at the level of the London
Living Wage since 1 June 2015, but previously could not be accredited by the
Living Wage Foundation due to some London Stadium staff not receiving the
London Living Wage. London Stadium's owners have now committed to pay their
employees the London Living Wage and are working on setting a timeline to
uplift their staff's wages, which means that West Ham United can now be
officially accredited. The Living Wage campaign is an independent movement
that originates from east London, which is supported by businesses,
organisations and people who believe 'a hard day's work deserves a fair
day's pay'.
The London Living Wage is independently calculated every year based on what
employees and their families need to get by. The calculation is based on a
social consensus of what people need for a decent standard of living and to
participate fully in society, including things like housing, transport to
work and heating, but also enough for small birthday celebration or a trip
to the cinema.
West Ham United Vice-chairman Karren Brady said, "We are absolutely
delighted to have secured the Living Wage Foundation's seal of approval as
an accredited London Living Wage employer, and hope to act as a good example
for all other Premier League clubs and big businesses in London. "The Living
Wage Foundation accreditation is something we have been working towards for
a long time, including lobbying the Mayor to help encourage our landlords to
commit to paying a fair day's pay, and we are over the moon to now be in a
position where we can finally become a recognised Living Wage employer. "The
football club isn't just made up of the eleven players on the pitch, and by
making this commitment we hope to ensure that West Ham United continues be a
place where the best talents want to ply their trade, and London Stadium,
Rush Green and Chadwell Heath are environments in which they can achieve
their goals. "We recognise the contribution of each and every employee at
the club, and rewarding and retaining our staff is a major part of that. We
take pride in the way we conduct ourselves as an organisation on and off the
pitch and by doing the right thing and paying the London Living Wage, we
hope this will urge other clubs to soon follow suit."
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said, "We are
delighted that West Ham United have become the third Premier League football
club to sign up as an accredited Living Wage employer, ensuring that all
their staff receive a real Living Wage that covers the cost of living.
That's a pay rise for almost 200 people, including cleaners and staff at
their training facilities. "The Living Wage badge is the mark of a
responsible employer and West Ham United are joining a movement of over
3,700 employers across the UK who are making sure that all employees can
live with dignity. "It's fantastic to see West Ham United's leadership and
I hope more football clubs will take their lead and follow suit."
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Moyes: Shrewsbury FA Cup tie will be a fantastic occasion
WHUFC.com
David Moyes is relishing an Emirates FA Cup reunion with Shrewsbury Town,
but knows there are plenty of Premier League points to play for ahead of his
return to Shropshire. Both West Ham United manager Moyes and goalkeeper Joe
Hart played for the Shrews earlier in their careers, with the former
totalling 108 appearances for the Shropshire club between 1987-90. The Scot
has since faced his old club twice as a manager, first in the FA Cup third
round during his first full season at Everton back in 2003, then in an EFL
Cup second-round tie at Sunderland in August 2016. "There is obviously a lot
of football to play and a very busy run of fixtures before we can focus on
the trip to Shrewsbury but I'm sure there will be a lot of excitement once
we get closer to the game," Moyes told whufc.com. The manager reached the FA
Cup final with Everton back in 2009 and would love to repeat that
achievement with West Ham, giving the Claret and Blue Army a first major
final in 38 years to enjoy and day out at Wembley in the process. "I know
how important the cup competitions are to West Ham fans, and I also know
they will give us great support up at New Meadow," he observed. Shrewsbury
got the better of Moyes' Everton back in January 2003, when the Shropshire
side were managed by Toffees legend Kevin Ratcliffe, but the former Shrews
defender did beat his old club when Sunderland scored a 1-0 victory at the
Stadium of Light last season. Shrewsbury will present a difficult obstacle
to overcome again this time around, with Paul Hurst's side flying high in
the League One table. Town have lost just five matches all season and are in
position to return to the second tie for the first time in 29 years. Moyes,
for one, is well aware of the threat posed by the Shrews, but will only turn
his attention to the Emirates FA Cup after his side have contended with a
busy Christmas and New Year period in the Premier League. "Shrewsbury are
going very well in League One, and it is a club I know well having spent
three years there as a player. "The tie will be a fantastic occasion for
them and we will give their team the utmost respect, but we have seven very
important Premier League matches to play before then and that is our only
focus at the minute."
West Ham, who have never met Shrewsbury previously in a knockout
competition, will travel to the New Meadow over the weekend of 5-8 January
2018. The date, kick-off time and ticket details will be confirmed in due
course.
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West Ham and Sporting Lisbon resolve William Carvalho dispute
BBC.co.uk
West Ham say the dispute with Sporting Lisbon over their summer pursuit of
Portugal's William Carvalho was caused by a "breakdown in communication" and
the matter has now been resolved. Sporting said they were going to report
the Hammers to Fifa for an illegal pursuit of the 25-year-old midfielder.
The Portuguese club also made personal comments about West Ham owners David
Sullivan and David Gold. "Friendly relations between the clubs will resume,"
said a Hammers statement. In September, West Ham said they made a bid for
the Portugal defensive midfielder and released emails that claim to show
their official approach.
But Sporting's communications director Nuno Saraiva questioned the validity
of the leaked emails, which purport to show a 25m euros (£22.8m) offer, as
well suggestions Sullivan was called a "liar" and a "parasite" in a Facebook
post. West Ham refuted the claims, called them "attention seeking", and
considered legal action.
However on Tuesday the Premier League club said: "West Ham and Sporting
acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based in contacts between
representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of William
Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. "Subsequent to this, the clubs
have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved. On this
basis, there will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working
together in the future."
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MOYES' WEST HAM: ARE THE HAMMERINGS OVER?
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 5 DECEMBER 2017 AT 9:03PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Elliot Ramsden
On 3rd December, West Ham United almost did what many are starting to
believe is impossible: take points from Manchester City. At half-time, West
Ham had taken an unexpected lead via the head of Angelo Ogbonna and was
absorbing the City pressure well. But, almost inevitably, the home side
broke through with a goal from Nicolas Otamendi 12 minutes into the second
half and David Silva, with under ten minutes to go, to claim all three
points.
The biggest takeaway was how sharp Adrian was. The Spaniard fell out of
favour under the Slaven Bilic regime, being benched for some calamitous
showings early last season to give the net to Darren Randolph, only to
regain it for the last five league games of the season, keep three clean
sheets, and then be replaced by the loaned-in Joe Hart. He may belong to
league leaders Manchester City, and he may be England's long-standing
first-choice goalie, but Joe Hart has been very weak this season. In
contrast, Adrian's showing against City was mostly superb.
If Moyes were to give Adrian the nod for a stretch of games, it could very
well invigorate the back line with a new faith in their shot-stopper, as
Hart certainly hasn't earned it thus far. Their problems don't end in net,
of course; West Ham may have had the worst goal difference in the league by
the 15th game. The key to improvement isn't up top or net, it's in midfield.
West Ham are second-favourites to get relegated this season, sitting at 5/6
to avoid relegation in the Premier League betting, and the best way that
they can improve their chances of beating the drop is by making some savvy
and necessary signings in the January transfer window. What the Irons need
the most is a strong central midfielder who can hold up the ball, play smart
passes, read the play well enough to make interceptions regularly and, most
importantly, be a clinical tackler.
Through 15 games, West Ham had the worst disciplinary record in the Premier
League with 32 yellow cards, and two reds dished out to their players. But,
this was coupled with the team committing the 7th least fouls at 9.7 per
game, meaning that more of the tackles deemed as fouls were bad enough to
receive a booking.
One supposed transfer target has already taken himself out of the running.
Bournemouth's crafty midfielder Harry Arter has said that he wants to focus
on success for the club and manager that have given him a career, but there
are plenty of other options in the Premier League. West Ham United is still
a huge name in English football and have financial backing, so the club
could easily poach a star from one of the clubs sitting above them who can't
match West Ham's prestige. Aaron Mooy of Huddersfield Town has been
particularly impressive in all facets of the game and Dale Stephens of
Brighton & Hove Albion has proven himself to be a rock in front of the
Seagulls' backline.
However, if the Hammers aren't interesting in forking out Premier League
prices in January, there are a few good fits in the other European top
flights. Bruno Zuculini of Hellas Verona, for example, is a masterful
tackler and could be the midfield saviour that both move the ball well and
protects the defence. Also, assuming that the Hammers do pull themselves up
the table, Ruben Perez would be the perfect long-term fix. Currently on loan
to Leganes from Granada, Perez has been exemplary in the middle of the park
and would be an excellent, yet rather cost-effective, addition to the Irons.
It's going to be an exciting transfer window as all Premier League clubs try
to better themselves for the second half of the season, so with a clear need
for a
collected presence in midfield, West Ham should certainly be opening their
wallets for a new face.
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Board slash loan interest rate
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 5th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
News that the interest rate charged by David Sullivan and David Gold to West
Ham United FC has been reduced has been welcomed by fans. Speaking at last
week's meeting with supporters, at which KUMB was represented by deputy
Editor Gordon Thrower, vice chair Karren Brady revealed that the 7 per cent
interest rate previously charged had effectively been halved since April.
And that could mean in the region of an extra £1.5million per year being
made available to manager David Moyes, instead of going to the owners in
additional interest payments. David Sullivan and David Gold, to whom the
club still owes in the region of £45m-£50m have been charging West Ham the
vastly-inflated interest rate since 2011, costing the club circa £3m-£3.5m
annually.
However Sullivan and Gold will still be coining it in despite slashing the
interest rate charged, with the club still responsible for interest payments
worth around £2m per annum as a result. Speaking in an exclusive interview
with KUMB in 2013, David Sullivan insisted that charging interest on the
loan was mandatory. " it's not interest free - we're not allowed to," he
said when asked to detail the loan. However Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
and Newcastle United's Mike Ashley - to name but two - have both given
interest free loans to their clubs during the same period.
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West Ham back on 'friendly relations' with Sporting Lisbon after William
Carvalho fallout
Last Updated: 05/12/17 12:09pm
SSN
West Ham say "friendly relations" with Sporting Lisbon have resumed
following a war of words over the potential transfer of William Carvalho in
the summer. In September, the Hammers said they were pursuing legal action
against Sporting's communications director, Nuno Saraiva, after he claimed
the club received no proposals from West Ham for Carvalho, while also making
controversial remarks about co-chairman David Sullivan. Sky Sports News then
revealed two emails which appeared to show Sullivan's different offers for
the player but no deal for Carvalho was forthcoming in the end as
communication between the two clubs broke down.
However, West Ham say that relations between the two clubs are now back on
friendly terms. A West Ham statement said: "West Ham and Sporting Clube de
Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based on contacts
between representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of
William Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. "Subsequent to this,
the clubs have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved.
"On this basis, friendly relations between the clubs will resume and there
will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working together in the
future."
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Joe Hart faces fight for World Cup place with West Ham set to demote him to
the sub's bench
The Three Lions stopper is set to lose his place in the Hammers starting XI
to Adrian, who impressed against Man City
The Mirror
ByDarren Lewis
22:30, 4 DEC 2017
Joe Hart's World Cup place is in jeopardy with the England keeper set to be
demoted to the West Ham bench. Spanish keeper Adrian, who impressed at
Manchester City on Sunday, will keep the no.1 shirt for the foreseeable
future - starting on Sunday when West Ham host Chelsea. England boss Gareth
Southgate has already made it clear that he will favour players performing
regularly for their clubs when he picks his squad for Russia next summer.
Hart - whose £175,000-a-week wages are being subsidised by both City and
West Ham - was ineligible to play against his parent club due to the terms
of his loan deal. But Hammers boss David Moyes had already been unhappy with
the 30-year-old's previous performances. Adrian, also 30, pulled off a
string of fine saves for his injury-ravaged side at the Etihad as the Irons
threatened to cause a major upset against Pep Guardiola's team. During the
reign of Moyes' predecessor, Slaven Bilic, Adrian had threatened to quit
West Ham in January after Hart had come in to take his place. Now it is Hart
facing an uncertain future ahead of next summer. Everton's Jordan Pickford
has been impressive for club and country while Stoke's Jack Butland remains
highly-rated. Despite the quality of Wayne Rooney's wonder-goal at Goodison
last Wednesday night, Hart has been criticised for racing out of his box
only to play the ball to his former England team-mate instead to sending it
into touch. Hart was also accused of being at fault for Watford's second
goal in the Hornets' 2-0 win at Vicarage Road last month. The former
Shrewsbury stopper has defiantly refused to be cowed by his critics and was
regularly supported by Bilic until the Croatian's departure. But with West
Ham in the bottom three and fighting for survival, Moyes is ready to be
ruthless in his bid to try to save the club.
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West Ham renew interest in William Carvalho after healing rift with Sporting
Lisbon from summer row
William Carvalho wanted to join West Ham but club fell out with Sporting
Lisbon
Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold were labelled 'dildo brothers'
The relationship has now healed and West Ham may return for William Carvalho
By Kieran Gill for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 12:41, 5 December 2017 | UPDATED: 15:13, 5 December 2017
West Ham will be free to pursue William Carvalho in January after announcing
they are back on good terms with Sporting Lisbon. The Premier League club
have brought their war of words with the Portuguese side to an end – a very
public argument which involved several twists and turns. There were leaked
emails of supposed transfer offers, allegations of lies and public
name-calling, including West Ham's co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold
being labelled the 'dildo brothers'. Yet the announcement that it is all
water under the bridge leaves the door open for West Ham to return for
Carvalho with David Moyes set to be backed in the January window. Before
being sacked, Slaven Bilic was known to be interested in going back in for
the £30million-rated defensive midfielder after Christmas.
The club still like Carvalho and West Ham could now re-open talks. A
statement from the Premier League club read: 'West Ham and Sporting Clube de
Portugal acknowledge that a breakdown in communication based in contacts
between representatives from both clubs in respect of a possible transfer of
William Carvalho was the cause of a misunderstanding. 'Subsequent to this,
the clubs have had positive communications and the matter is now resolved.
'On this basis, friendly relations between the clubs will resume and there
will be no barriers to both clubs negotiating or working together in the
future.' Carvalho was keen to move to the Premier League in the summer
before the two clubs came to blows.
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Reece Oxford could have benefitted immediately from Moyes' West Ham
appointment had he been there
HITC
Vincent Ralph
The West Ham United youngster is currently on loan in Germany, just when he
could have returned to the first-team fold. Of all Slaven Bilic's
questionable decisions while West Ham United manager, the decision to send
Reece Oxford on a two-year loan deal to Borussia Monchengladbach is among
the strangest.
The youngster showed at just 16 that he has what it takes to play regularly
in the Premier League and yet he was soon shunted aside and a failed loan
spell at Reading was followed by his trip to Germany. Oxford's current
situation is even more frustrating considering he could have been the
Hammers youngster with the best chance of making an immediate impact under
new manager David Moyes. The Scot has never been afraid to give youth a
chance and he would have surely found a place for Oxford, who can operate at
centre-back, right-back or as a holding midfielder. Considering the way West
Ham lined up against Manchester City last weekend, Moyes will need all the
top defenders and energetic midfielders he can get, with injuries and
suspensions likely to take their toll in the second half of the campaign.
As a consequence, Oxford could have been the solution to a whole host of
temporary problems in the months ahead, and yet instead he is sitting unused
on Monchengladbach's substitutes' bench. Declan Rice has already proved his
worth at West Ham and one can only hope that in time Oxford returns and does
the same. Some may suggest he did just that with his outstanding performance
against Arsenal but that game will only be remembered for so long.
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Could Smolov and Hernandez work as a pair at West Ham?
HITC
Vincent Ralph
West Ham United are said to be tracking the Russian international. According
to the Daily Mail, West Ham United are interested in signing Fedor Smolov
from Krasnodar, but would the 27-year-old work effectively with Javier
Hernandez or force the Mexican international out of contention at the London
Stadium? Hernandez arrived at the London Stadium for a reported £13million
(Guardian) amid plenty of fanfare, with Hammers supporters feeling they
finally had the prolific striker necessary to fire them up the table.
Unfortunately, a poor start to the campaign under Slaven Bilic meant that
plenty of West Ham's star names were underperforming, and Hernandez could
only do so much to stop the rot. Four goals in his first 10 league games was
not bad for a team struggling to create sufficient chances, yet a
badly-timed hamstring injury ruled him out just when new manager David Moyes
will be looking to stamp his mark on the side. If West Ham sign the prolific
Smolov, it will be with the intention of playing him in his natural position
as a central striker, but given he plays on his own for Krasnodar, with
support further back from the likes of Mauricio Pereyra and Viktor Claesson,
it is difficult to see the Russian playing effectively with Hernandez, who
himself will be seeking similar channels and opportunities to pounce. If
Moyes can find a way to play the pair as a front two, they could be
brilliant for West Ham, but the more likely scenario is that the Hammers
boss opts for one up front and then a secondary attacker such as Manuel
Lanzini, who can work his magic in the space left by a centre-forward.
Assuming that is how things ultimately play out, Hernandez may have to get
used to life as a super-sub, just as he did when he was last in England.
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West Ham surely taking gamble considering selling Andre Ayew back to Swansea
HITC
Jordan Harris
West Ham United are reportedly willing to consider selling Andre Ayew back
to Swansea City. According to a report from The Sun (print edition; 5th
December 2017; page 50), Swansea are interested in re-signing West Ham
forward Andre Ayew just over a year after selling him to the Hammers for £20
million. Interestingly, The Sun suggests that the Irons may be prepared to
let the 27-year-old return to the Liberty Stadium for half the price that
they paid for him.
That may not appear to be the best business, but given that he has scored
eight Premier League goals in 38 games, it would not be a surprise if a
number of Irons fans were urging the club to let the Ghana international
leave if they do receive an eight-figure bid. But perhaps it would be a
gamble for West Ham to let Ayew return to Swansea given where the two sides
lie in the Premier League table. As things stand, West Ham are 19th in the
top flight, while the Swans are bottom of the table and there is just one
point separating the two, while David Moyes' men find themselves three
points off safety. If Moyes feels that the £10 million they will receive
from Swansea is exactly what he needs to bolster his transfer kitty so he
can go out and get a target that will lead the Irons away from danger, then
he should have little hesitation about sanctioning a deal. But Moyes should
really consider whether selling one of their players to a relegation rival
makes sense at this stage of the season. The last thing he will want is to
sell a player to Swansea who then inspires them to get themselves away from
the bottom three and leave the Hammers in more trouble.
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EUROPEAN OUTFIT SEEKING PERMANENT DEAL FOR WEST HAM STARLETFeatured Image
Date: 5th December 2017 at 9:04pm
Written by: Josh Challies
West Ham risk losing one of their brightest youngsters after failing to hand
him chances that many feel he deserves, reports suggest. The Evening
Standard states Borussia Monchengladbach are still interested in making
Reece Oxford's loan stint in the Bundesliga a permanent move, despite the
youngster having failed to settle into the side this season. Oxford has been
on the bench for every league game this season and has made just one
appearance, coming on as a late substitute in a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim.
Despite the lack of football, Gladbach's sporting director Max Eberl spoke
about the club's continued interest to German publication the Rheinische
Post. "He's a top lad. He's come on well and we're very happy with him. It
takes time to find your feet in the Bundesliga, but we certainly want him to
stay. West Ham now have the final say."
Gladbach reportedly had a clause in Oxford's loan that could make a switch
permanent in the New Year if he reached a certain number of appearances but
that is now no longer possible, though Eberl still wants to pursue a deal.
"We could look into signing him anyway. When our injured players are back,
we're going to have quite a strong troop."
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Martinez's prolific ex-teammate set to be available for free, West Ham have
to move
HITC
Dan Coombs
West Ham must consider Valencia's wantaway forward Rafa Mir. West Ham United
should be on high alert over the possibility of signing Valencia forward
Rafa Mir.
The Hammer swooped on Valencia two years ago to sign Antonio Martinez, and
the forward has been prolific for their under-23 team, netting eight goals
already this season. Fans have been calling for Martinez to get a first team
chance, and it's only a matter of time. Now with Valencia youngster Mir set
to become available for free, West Ham should seek to double up on the
talented Spanish pair. Mir has scored 15 goals in 17 games for Valencia's B
team this season, but has refused to sign a new contract. Super Deporte
reported this weekend that he has now been dropped from the side as
Valencia's frustrations grow. He will be free to negotiate a pre-contract
agreement in January, while Valencia could be forced to sell to avoid losing
him for nothing. Mir is attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur and
Celtic, Super Deporte reported earlier this year. The 20-year-old would be a
smart investment for West Ham, and like Martinez, could be ready to
contribute straight away if he was just given a chance. West Ham's scouting
team came through to pull off the Martinez deal, and they should aim to do
the same for Mir, backed by David Moyes' knowledge of Spanish football from
his brief time in La Liga.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Monday, December 4
Daily WHUFC News - 5th December 2017
Rice: We were unlucky not to beat Man City
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice feels West Ham United were unlucky not to get the three points against Manchester City but reckons the Hammers' performance proved that some people had the wrong perception of the team. It took a late goal from City's David Silva to give Pep Guardiola's team the victory after Angelo Ogbonna had headed the Irons in front prior to half-time. Nicolas Otamendi had equalised for City just after the break. Despite losing the game Rice could find a lot of positives in West Ham's showing and the defender also feels his side's efforts went against what some pundits and football supporters expected to see.
"Without a doubt, there were a lot of positives to take from today's showing," The 18-year-old told whufc.com. "I think a lot of people thought we were down and out before the game even started. You read silly things and people seemed to believe we were going to come and get beat. "But I thought we were excellent today. We need to be putting in that effort every single week. We were just unlucky today. No one even thought we would score. To go 1-0 up at half-time at the Etihad – they are top of the league. It was a good moment for us. "We went in from the first half buzzing but we knew there was still 45 minutes to go. Second half, it just wasn't meant to be."
Despite ultimately losing the match on Sunday Rice thinks he and his West Ham teammates need to focus on the things that went well, and take those forward into the coming games. He added: "I think we just need to look at the positives. We've got to get into training on Monday, watch the game back, look at the positives and take that. That's the minimum every week now. That's the standard that we need to be setting every week. There's a lot to take from it."
The match with Manchester City marked Rice's first start for West Ham since David Moyes took charge of the team, with the Irish youngster relishing learning from the experienced manager. Rice was thrilled to get the nod to play at the Etihad Stadium and feels the experience of featuring against City's attackers – who have fired the team to the top of the Premier League – is one that he can learn a lot from. "I'm loving training under David Moyes and his coaches," Rice continued. "To get the start here, I never thought it would happen. Luckily, with the injuries, he's believed in me and he has put me in, and I was happy with my performance. "I'm only 18-years-old so to test yourself against the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne, Jesus and Silva, I'm only going to learn and get better from it. Today was a fantastic experience for me."
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Tottenham Hotspur away moved to Thursday 4 January
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur will take place on Thursday 4 January. The fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with a kick-off time of 8pm. The fixture had originally been provisionally scheduled for Sunday 31 December however, despite significant work by all stakeholders, the Safety Advisory Group at Wembley Stadium could only recommend a maximum crowd of 43,000. This was due to transport issues, primarily at local tube stations whose resources were being deployed elsewhere across London on New Year's Eve.
Following extensive discussions between stakeholders, a decision has been taken to move the fixture into the New Year so more supporters, home and away, can attend the game. Ticket and allocation details will be confirmed in due course.
We would like to apologise to supporters for the delay in confirming details for this fixture and for any inconvenience this may have caused.
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Hammers learn FA Cup third round opponents
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have been drawn away to Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup, sponsored by Emirates. The Hammers will travel to the New Meadow for the first time over the weekend of 5-8 January 2018 following Monday's draw. The two clubs have never met previously in the world's most-famous knockout competition, and have faced one another just four times in total, all in the old Second Division. Shrewsbury won both meetings in 1979/80, before West Ham won both the following season on their way to promotion.
West Ham have won the FA Cup on three occasions, in 1964, 1975 and most recently in 1980, and finished as runners-up in 1923 and 2006. The Shrews have never lifted the famous trophy, but did reach the quarter-finals in 1979 and 1982. Hammers boss David Moyes has compiled a positive FA Cup record during his long and illustrious managerial career, winning 17 and losing just 13 of the 37 ties he has been in the dugout for. The Scot led Everton to the final in 2009, where they lost to Chelsea, and the semi-finals in 2012.
A date, kick-off time and ticket arrangements for the tie will be confirmed in due course. Supporters should bear in mind that West Ham's Premier League fixture at Tottenham Hotspur has been moved to Thursday 4 January. The FA Cup final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19 May 2018.
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SAB meeting and fan feedback leads to positive improvements
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to confirm a number of new, positive initiatives for our supporters, following recent feedback from the all-new Supporter Advisory Board and other fan groups.
As part of the continued commitment to improving the overall supporter experience for West Ham United fans, both on matchdays at London Stadium and in general, the following actions have already been approved and organised with immediate effect:
Coverage of Sky Sports channels to be televised on the screens located around the inner concourses at London Stadium on matchdays, for two hours prior to kick-off, during the half-time interval and for one hour after the final whistle.
The trial of a new method for away match ticket sales that will see 10% of away allocations reserved for Season Ticket Holders and Claret Members, regardless of their accrued Priority Points or previous booking history. The Club have also committed to taking the full allocation for all away matches during this trial, up to and including the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on February 3. For more information, click here.
Sponsorship of the Hammers Supporters Club's new matchday venue at Stour Space, enabling the original and oldest supporters club the opportunity to invest much-needed funds to secure its future. Click here for the full story.
The tidying of the memorial garden on the site of the Boleyn Ground, along with a new commitment to manage the ongoing maintenance of the garden on a monthly basis. Additionally, the Club are in continued discussions with Upton Gardens developers Barratt London about future landscaping plans and will shortly launch a consultation plan with families to ensure a long-term solution that all West Ham United fans can be proud of.
A commitment to work with supporters to ensure that the Boleyn Ground's rich heritage and history is further recognised at locations around London Stadium, with artwork in place for the start of the 2018/19 season.
The Supporter Advisory Board enjoyed a hugely positive and constructive first meeting of the season at London Stadium recently.
The new SAB sees an even broader representation from the many different sections of the Club's large and diverse fanbase, including young supporters, senior supporters, women, families and away match-attending supporters.
This is in addition to the members already representing large groups, such as WHUISA, Pride of Irons, Club London, Bondholders, the DSAB and large online communities, along with representatives from the different seating areas at London Stadium.
The two-hour meeting was chaired by Vice-Chairman Karren Brady, who praised the dedication and commitment of members that has ensured continued improvement to the overall supporter experience since the Club moved to London Stadium last year.
SAB members Cathy Bayford and Trevor Bright, who represent ambulant disabled and wheelchair-using supporters and chair the separate Disabled Supporters Advisory Board, gave a presentation on the fantastic work and progress made by the DSAB in recent months, while members were also shown the diversity and inclusion video, recently created to signal the Club's devotion to providing an environment and positive matchday experience for all supporters.
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Help local families feel part of the community this Christmas
WHUFC.com
Stratford Circus Arts Centre are raising £12,000 to make Christmas a magical one for hard pressed families in Newham who otherwise simply wouldn't be able to afford a seasonal treat for their children. Full Hearts, Full Tummies will offer 600 hot meals and tickets for festive show The Ramshackle House for just £1.
Two in five children in Newham live in poverty, with their families facing increasing challenges during winter. Full Hearts Full Tummies gives families an opportunity to come together and forget their worries, socialise and share in this joyous experience.
Please Get Involved!
Full Hearts Full Tummies relies solely on your donations in order to make this festive season a magical one for the children and families of Newham. Please consider donating this Christmas.
One donation, twice the impact!
Thanks to The Big Give from noon on Tuesday 28 November until noon on Tuesday 5 December or until the money runs out, The Big Give will match your donation (any amount up to £5000), making your gift go twice as far at no extra cost to you. Remember, only donations made in this time will be doubled!
Please donate here: https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/donation/to/65464/27440/stratford-circus-arts-centre/full-hearts-full-tummies
Contact Mia, Development Manager via email: mia@stratford-circus.com if you'd like to further support Full Hearts Full Tummies.
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Westley hoping to mark Luton return with Checkatrade win
WHUFC.com
Terry Westley will return to Kenilworth Road for the first time in 22 years when West Ham United take on Luton Town in the first knockout-round of the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday. Westley joined the Bedfordshire club as a Youth Coach before he became First Team manager in the Spring of 1995. Back then, as he is now, Westley was responsible for the development of a number of young players from the academy setup.
Former West Ham and England defender Matthew Upson is one of a long line of players who benefitted from the guidance and coaching of Westley during their teenage years. And 22 years on, Westley still has fond memories of his time at Luton Town. "I spent many years at Luton as the coach and then also as former manager before I left," he explained. "It's club that were in the Championship under David Pleat when I joined as the Youth Coach, we had a wonderful time in terms of the players we produced who went on and played at the highest level."
After defeat to Wycombe Wanderers last week, West Ham's U21s finished second in their Checkatrade Trophy South group and, despite still qualifying, missed out on a visit to Forest Green in this next round. Instead, the trip to Kenilworth Road is their reward.
Westley is extremely proud of his side for achieving qualification from the group stages, and despite a difficult November which saw the Hammers fall to four successive defeats, he is excited by the challenge of taking on another Football League opponent. "It'll be an interesting game, they're top of League Two so it will be tough but that is the level these lads want to be competing at.
"I'm looking forward to going back and I hope the players look forward to going there and putting on a spirited display."
image: http://www.whufc.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/GettyImages-173764616.jpg
Elliott LeeThere will be a further element of interest with Luton now the home of a number of former West Ham Academy graduates.
With this the first time the two clubs have met at any level since March 1994, it will be the only opportunity many of the ex-Academy players will have had to play against their former club.
"There will be a few of our former lads playing, Dan Potts, Olly Lee and Elliot Lee," Westley said.
"It is not just because of my connection with the club, but there'll be an edge to the game in terms of the West Ham connection too.
"Everyone's really looking forward to the tie and hopefully we can come out on top and progress to the next round in a tournament we have taken seriously this season."
Westley worked closely with forward Elliot Lee from 2014-2016 while his brother Olly, Dan Potts, Pelly Ruddock and Marek Stech are all ex-Hammers from before Westley joined the club.
Hammers supporters who want to support the U21s on Tuesday can purchase tickets in advance by calling 01582 416 976. Away fans should request tickets in the Oak Road Stand.
Tickets will also be available to purchase on the night of the game from the Oak Road turnstiles and they are priced at £5 and £1 for adults and concessions respectively.
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Pep Guardiola 'learns lesson' from Manchester City's win over West Ham
BBC.co.uk
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the 2-1 win over West Ham showed him how to unlock packed defences that are "almost impossible" to break down. For the second time in three matches, City came from behind to extend their winning run to 13 Premier League games. Guardiola brought on Gabriel Jesus to partner Sergio Aguero in attack for the second half, with Kevin de Bruyne operating deeper in midfield. "I learned to attack a bit differently," said Guardiola. "Normally we don't play with two strikers and two wingers. Maybe to attack this kind of defence it is much better. "They didn't want to play. When they lost the ball, they didn't press. They just went back with 10 players in the box. It has happened the last three games. It is almost impossible."
Last Sunday, City rallied to win 2-1 after conceding the opening goal at Huddersfield before netting a late winner against Southampton at home three days later. In both those games, Raheem Sterling got the late goal but on Sunday it was David Silva who scored in the 83rd minute after Nicolas Otamendi cancelled out Angelo Ogbonna's goal for West Ham. Victory meant Guardiola's side re-established their eight-point lead over Manchester United, who they play at Old Trafford on Sunday (16:30 GMT). City's victory also equalled the longest winning run within a top-flight season, matching Sunderland and Preston (1891-92), Arsenal (2001-02) and Chelsea (2016-17).
Argentina striker Aguero and Brazil forward Jesus have started just two games together since September, having combined more regularly in the season's opening games. But Jesus' half-time introduction against West Ham in place of defender Danilo paid dividends and Guardiola seems likely to revisit the tactic.
"With two strikers in the box, we can play the same way, with the same patience and the same quality. It is good news for me in the future," he said."How we attacked in the second half was much better."
Guardiola is also adamant he is "preparing a team to win" this week's Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, despite City having already qualified for the next stage and the Manchester derby being four days later. "Hopefully no-one will have injuries. I said to the players the guy who doesn't want to play in Donetsk, let me know please," said the Spaniard. "It is a big opportunity to win 18 points from 18 points. Kevin [de Bruyne] will have two or three days off, he is suspended. The best way to prepare for the United game is by playing good."
'A real chance' for West Ham
West Ham manager David Moyes was impressed with his side's performance against City and believes they have "a real chance" of avoiding relegation.
The Scot has only picked up one point since succeeding Slaven Bilic, and the Hammers remain second bottom of the table, three points from safety. Moyes was particularly impressed with the "effort and energy" of his players as they held out for almost 60 minutes against one of the Premier League's most potent attacking sides. The Hammers were defensively solid and threatened to score before and after the first-half lead given to them by Ogbonna - with Diafra Sakho firing wide in the dying minutes. "We missed two good chances in the first half and had one right at the end," said Moyes. "We tried to stay in the game and play on the counter attack. Defensively we did a great job. "I always think we will get away [from the relegation zone]. I don't think we will be in trouble. I think we have a good team, good players. "The only [game] that has been a disappointment was the Everton one."
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Tottenham v West Ham: Fixture moved to 4 January for safety reasons
BBC.co.uk
Tottenham's New Year's Eve game against West Ham at Wembley has been moved to 4 January because of safety concerns. The Premier League made the decision after the stadium's management limited the crowd for the original date to 43,000, less than half the capacity. This was due to transport concerns, as resources at nearby tube stations are being deployed elsewhere across London. The match, to be played two days after Spurs visit Swansea, will kick off at 20:00 GMT.
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#REFWATCH: MIKE DEAN – MANCHESTER CITY VS WEST HAM
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 3 DECEMBER 2017 AT 8:35PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
Last season, I described Mike Dean as 'oozes arrogance and his admiration for the spotlight' and my opinion has not changed. Mike Dean continues to frustrate me with his game and player management. I completely appreciate that Mike Dean is a seasonal pro in the Premier League and was on the FIFA list between 2003–2013 until he turned 45 and was retired from international duty, but confidence is completely different to arrogance.
It was a first half to remember for West Ham and David Moyes: Drilled, hard to break down and breaking with the ball – not consistently but it's a platform to build on. It could have been a nightmare opening 70 seconds for West Ham when in-form Raheem Sterling went down inside the West Ham penalty area. Mike Dean, who was officiating his first West Ham Premier League game this season, was in the perfect position to wave away appeals from the Manchester City players. This decision was actually quite straightforward for Mike Dean, Sterling felt the slightest of touches and hit the deck, a blatant attempt to deceive the referee. No free kick nor punishment from Mike Dean and play continued.
With West Ham defending extremely well against a petrifying Manchester City front three, Declan Rice was the first player to receive a caution after bringing down Leroy Sane who was 10 yards into the West Ham half. It was the correct decision from Mike Dean and with 73 minutes left on the clock, Rice had to watch his challenges for the rest of the game.
Consistency is huge for referees and it's something that is widely discussed, especially at elite level. Nicolás Otamendi was the wrong side of Arthur Masuaku when he cynically tripped the West Ham man. Mike Dean was spot on to award the foul but there was no further punishment for the Man City defender. Mike Dean cautioned Declan Rice earlier in the half for tripping Sane in a similarly promising position, so why didn't Dean caution Otamendi? It's a lack of consistency and it wasn't for the first time during the game, this season or in fact as long as I've been watching Mike Dean.
Throughout the second half, West Ham had their backs to the wall defending well and Mike Dean continued to be frustratingly wrong with his decision making. The Manchester City players are known for their theatricals and this was proved with Sterling diving in the second half, with playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and overrated Fabian Delph, both who also embarrassingly deceived Mike Dean. The free kick, which infuriated me the most, was Fabian Delph's dive when Declan Rice committed himself into a sliding challenge 20 yards from goal. It was such a clear and blatant dive, I cannot come to grips on how Mike Dean came to that decision when he was behind the play and took up a good position. It's the theatricals that Mike Dean failed to judge and the second phase of that free kick led to Man City's equalising goal.
I do welcome a review from The FA and wonder whether they will take any retrospective action on either Raheem Sterling or Fabian Delph, a stronger case on Delph as the free kick subsequently lead to a game changing moment. Everton's Oumar Niasse was banned for 2 games after deceiving the referee vs Crystal Palace under new laws that began at the start of the season. The incidents are subsequently reviewed by an independent three-person panel which when reviewed, they decide whether the match official had been deceived by an act of simulation.
Mike Dean continued his inconsistency when Manual Lanzini was completely clattered by Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala. Dean was visually telling the West Ham players that it was a coming together between two players, but in fact Mangala jumped into the back of Lanzini when the West Ham playmaker was accelerating on a counter attack.
There were a couple of cautions in the final quarter of the second half with Kevin De Bruyne hacking down Arthur Masuaku which was a relatively easy decision to make as well as in the final stages when Adrian, who was impressive throughout the game, came rushing out his 18 yard box and caught Gabriel Jesus.
Overall, I have a prolonged issue with Mike Dean and the way that he handles himself throughout the game. My advice to any up and coming referee to watch only a handful of referees: Howard Webb, Mark Clattenburg and Michael Oliver, these referees were and are at the top of their game and as a role models for future referees. Human error is inevitable, I make mistakes and I referee youth leagues in Kent, and you need thick skinned. I put my hand on my heart and say that you have to be personable as a referee, it's not about getting on with people, you're in a cordon of emotions with players, managers and fans, but you need to earn that respect.
On a number of occasions, Mike Dean has been so arrogant with his decision making, even when his decision is wrong and continues to act in the same way every game, it my way or no way. Game management is incredibly important to a referee, it's understanding the best position and almost preempting the play. Player management is, for me, one of the most important part of your artery. When I referee, I talk to the players, I explain why I have given that decision. When Mike Dean makes a decision, he shuns the players which shows a lack of respect in my opinion.
A note on West Ham, I was fearing the worst coming into the game and thought Man City would put six or seven past us after the diabolical performance against Everton on Wednesday. With Chelsea and Arsenal coming up in the next ten days, I hope that Moyes can continue to work on the defensive side and work on breaking on the counter attack.
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Don't give up on us, defender tells famous fan
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 4th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
Angelo Ogbonna has told celebrity supporter James Corden not to give up hope of West Ham avoiding relegation, after the latter insisted he'd had never felt as "hopeless" before a match. The defender scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham against league leaders Manchester City yesterday, which was good enough to send the Hammers into the break with a slender lead. However City recovered after the break and went on to win the game 2-1 - albeit with the assistance of a dreadful call from Mike Dean, who awarded a free kick that never was to the hosts in the lead-up to their equaliser. Posting on twitter ahead of the game, LA-based Corden insisted that "I don't remember the last time I felt this nervous or hopeless before a match."
But following West Ham's narrow defeat, Italian international Ogbonna replied to Corden in order to insist that he - and all supporters - weren't quite ready to give up the ghost.
"Don't lose your hope @JKCorden," he replied. "We have shown we can can play head-to-head vs the first one in the league. "We will go up through the standings. If you come back in town for the holidays, come see us at the Stadium. We Irons stick together through good times and bad times."
* Meanwhile, fellow centre half Declan Rice has thanked David Moyes for placing his faith in his for yesterday's clash at the Etihad. "I'm loving training under David Moyes and his coaches," he said following the game. "To get the start here, I never thought it would happen. Luckily, with the injuries, he's believed in me and he has put me in, and I was happy with my performance. "I'm only 18-years-old so to test yourself against the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne, Jesus and Silva, I'm only going to learn and get better from it. Today was a fantastic experience for me."
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Man City 2-1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 4th December 2017
By: HeadHammerShark
"So how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose"
- ABBA, "Waterloo"
Well then. How does one assess a match in which your team is at longer odds to win 1-0 than the opposition is to win 7-0? A game in which your team takes a half time lead and defends tenaciously, but ultimately loses late on and drops more precious points? An away fixture in which we have to measure our progress not through tangible rewards like points, but instead through more prosaic measurements such as how long it took to concede? Glorious defeats are still defeats after all, and lots of games like this litter the fixture lists of relegated teams. How can it be then, that I feel somewhat more positive about life than I did this morning? How can it feel like a win when we lost?
Can four people dressed like this really be wrong?
At the most base level, this is simply a result of us not caving and losing by the tennis scores that have been the customary outcome whenever we have gone up against bigger teams lately. In fairness, that hasn't tended to be the case away from home, where there is less onus on us to come out and attack and as such we can keep a better defensive shape. For fifty minutes here, we performed a very impressive impersonation of a top flight football team as we kept Man City at arms length and forced them into ambitious shooting from long distance. In fact, I haven't seen so many shots fly over a bar in such quick succession since I last made the mistake of going for a drink with my Polish mate, Pete.
But putting aside all of that, I think what was really the most encouraging part of all this was that there seemed to be clear evidence of a plan and a commitment to sticking to it by the players. Ask yourself, when did you last see that? Even the glorious high of that cup win at Spurs seemed to be driven by some kind of magic pixie dust that settled on a couple of players and took the crowd with them and just blitzed us through. And while we might not like to admit it, that can happen in knockout games when opposition players get distracted and start to focus on the weekend and teams can take risks they might not otherwise take. But here, we did it on a day when it really mattered. Whisper it, perhaps, but we looked a little like one of those old David Moyes sides.
***
"We all disagree, I think we should disagree, yeah
Is this it?"
- The Strokes, "Is This It"
But how excited can we really be about "it" when we lost the game? After all, eight minutes from a point might as well be eighty for all the impact it had on the league table. In fact, as a result of this weekend we are now below Crystal Palace in the league table despite the fact that they played the first month of the season using their ballboys as a back four.
My take is that we at last displayed some level of discipline in our defensive duties and, crucially, the team were prepared to trust the system and each other to carry it through. It wasn't pretty or terribly ambitious, but when your opposition literally have a billion more pounds than you to spend on their team then I don't really feel like that should be a factor. City players and Pep Guardiola can make all the snide asides they want about time wasting and parking the bus but when we are but a month removed from the nation state of Abu Dhabi demanding that Brighton and Bournemouth give them a larger share of the Premier League television money they can, quite frankly, fuck right off. And when they get there they can fuck off again, as the great Malcolm Tucker might say.
Parked the bus did we Fabian? Fuckety bye, son.
In fact, Pep, if you hope that more teams will attack you then why don't you give us David Silva and a wage cap? Until then, slip on your hipster Adidas sambas and your Northside t-shirt and piss off on your skateboard back to your cave of oil money bullion and stop telling teams with 5% of your resources how to play.
As it was, we went into this game in the middle of our customary winter injury crisis and emerged with yet another muscle injury as Cheikhou Kouyate limped off in the first half. All hail Gary Lewin! That withdrawal had a big impact as it pushed Antonio out wide where he was pressed into lots of defensive work, which is usually a prelude to something disastrous like a rip in the space time continuum or a new Robbie Williams album.
Oddly, Man City looked nothing like the glorious attacking force that we are used to seeing as they huffed and puffed their way through the first half, with lots of possession and territory but very little by way of clear cut chances. Indeed, the best chances of the half came when Antonio got free at a corner and was unable to guide a flick on into the roof of the net and Manuel Lanzini pounced on a loose ball to fire at Ederson. With just a minute to go, however, Lanzini and Aaron Cresswell worked a short corner to allow the latter a better angle with which to hit the first man. Instead, he surprised us all by finding an unmarked Angelo Ogbonna who thumped home an opener that might not exactly have been deserved but did not flatter us.
I realise that not everybody puts much faith in Expected Goals, but this map from Michael Caley pretty much adheres to my view of that first half and highlights the excellent defensive performance. There seems to have been some view of it as us playing a three at the back system, with Cresswell as a centre back and Antonio as the lone striker. I didn't see it quite that way, as I thought it was a traditional flat back four with the full backs tucked in very tight and the wide players instructed to get back and provide cover at every opportunity. Arthur Masuaku did this pretty well and also managed his customary thing whereby he made several long weaving runs upfield, going past three or four players, and then following them up with periods of play where he looked like he was in a Testimonial.
Unfortunately, we couldn't keep that level of solidity and eventually we were simply overrun by a team who possess brilliant attacking players at every turn. The winner came just eight minutes from time and was wonderful, as Kevin de Bruyne picked out David Silva at the back post with a ludicrously pinpoint cross, and the Spaniard athletically volleyed it home. Scant reward for all that effort, but evidence enough that the gulf in class was pretty wide.
The equaliser was truly the goal that sank us, as the longer we went without conceding after half time, the more we had to cling to. It came from a free kick awarded for a Fabian Delph dive (Delph, the last bastion of footballing morality) meaning it was a passage of broken play when there are players in the box who aren't normally there. And so it was that Jesus made a run and crossed for Nicolas Otamendi, of all people, to stab it home. Until that point, Adrian had looked fairly unbeatable in a way that Joe Hart has never yet done in claret and blue.
We still had a couple of half chances to snatch something when Marko Arnautovic broke late in the half but his first cross was too high for Antonio and his second was turned just past the post by Diafra Sakho. By such fine margins can relegation seasons hang.
***
"We're movin' up, we're movin' up
It's been a lot to change, but you
Will always get what you want"
- Two Door Cinema Club, "Something Good Can Work"
What really needs to happen now is that these brief elevations in performance levels actually need to start producing something. It's tough on David Moyes, who has not had a preseason and has inherited a team that look knackered, unfit and lacking in confidence, but there is no time for sentiment. Turning this around is a huge job, and these are spirited baby steps, but sadly, getting the team to perform to a level just below that of the opposition is still a recipe for going down. It is a sobering thought that for all of these small, incremental gains, we are currently in a worse position than we were under Avram Grant, Patron Saint of the Incompetent, at the same time in 2010/11.
The half time TV analysis of this game was interesting, as Jamie Carragher suggested that West Ham were deliberately not advancing from their defensive shape to engage City's attackers. What this ensured was that we left no space behind our defenders and instead kept them in front of us. This led to lots of pointless passing and those long range shots that Adrian was happy to wave into the stratosphere.
Now, I'm sure that Slaven Bilic tried to instil those sorts of plans in his players too, but to a layman like me it never looked like they stuck. Yet here was a defensive plan frustrating the worlds best coach and forcing him to switch to a 4-2-4 system that eventually overwhelmed us. While it may not have worked today, what games like this can do is give players confidence in their management staff that they have some workable ideas that will serve them better against lesser opposition in the future. Very few teams have a David Silva to turn to, after all.
This won't happen every week, Declan
I also have to hold my hands up and acknowledge that Declan Rice was more than worth his starting place. I have generally not joined in the clamour for young, inexperienced players to be thrown into the team, but the Irishman was outstanding here and stood firm against world class opponents. Certainly, Sergio Aguero seems to have gone off the boil - not the first man to pay the price for a long weekend in Amsterdam - but Rice was assured in his defensive work, even allowing for an early booking, and he deserves an extended run, if only because both Reid and Collins are so injury prone that the disruption caused by their frequent absences is an increasing problem.
The booking for Rice was interesting as referee Mike Dean refused to apply the same rigidity to his decisions for City defenders. Both Otamendi and Mangala should have been booked for first half fouls, which would have at least forced them to be a little more timid in their second half tackling. As they weren't, City just kept fouling us with impunity on the rare occasions we forayed forwarded. It's a little trick that served Ranieri's Leicester well in the season they won the league, and is an oft underplayed element of Premier League defending these days.
However, where we really lost out in the second half was in the way we dropped deeper and deeper, inviting them on to us with no real way out. Giving Antonio defensive responsibility is fraught with danger, especially when he is such a strong outlet at the other end. There is a dream I have where he and Sakho terrorise less progressive teams with their pace and power. However, even Arnautovic was sucked back into defensive roles and what that meant was we could never relieve pressure by advancing further up the pitch in possession. Lots of aimless balls went into the corners and by the end we were basically putting on a touring version of Zulu.
***
"Let me go on,
Big hands I know you're the one"
- Violent Femmes, "Blister In The Sun"
One thing that was also different this week was that we had Adrian in goal. David Sullivan's £4m summer vanity project, known to his mum as Joe Hart and "Good try, Joe" to his defenders, was ineligible as he is technically still a Man City player, although Pep seems to have more time for Nathan Redmond than he does for Hart these days.
The Spaniard did nothing to deserve being dropped in the first place, and was excellent here again. Neither goal was his fault and he pulled off a number of excellent diving stops to keep us at parity. He has no weakness to his left, unlike Hart, and seems to inspire a certain level of confidence in the team that isn't there when the "England No.1" is between the sticks. It's a bit harsh to blame Hart as the defensive set up in front of him this season has been mostly imaginary, but it was still a vainglorious signing by Sullivan in an attempt to get some big names into his side to deflect criticism from his prior failures.
The folly of that policy was laid bare here, as it was tempting to imagine how that £4m of wages could have been better utilised as we got to seventy minutes and an exhausted Antonio desperately needed replacing and we had only untried youth players available.
There is a rumour doing the rounds that Hart has a clause in his deal that demands he is played when he is available, and if so, he'll return on Saturday against Chelsea. I don't blame him for that, by the way, as this is a World Cup year and he couldn't run the risk of losing his England place due to not playing. However, for us to agree to that is ludicrous. He was never anything more than a minimal upgrade over Adrian, at best, and by not playing the Spaniard we have cost him his own chance of regaining his position as 3rd choice Spanish keeper. Given that, he will be off at the earliest available opportunity, and who can blame him. What a nonsense.
This is the kind of crap that so frustrates me about the way the club operate off the field. A completely unnecessary signing that wasted valuable funds in a transfer window where Sullivan presumably knew he was going to be significantly reducing our net spend. I'm sure it's tedious for you all to hear me vent about this, but we are teetering very close to a catastrophic situation for the club and the hubris of Sullivan in believing he is suited to overseeing the situation is a huge factor in that. Take the injury to Kouyate - the continual loss of first team players to muscle damage should be a huge warning sign to a thoroughly modern club. A qualified Director of Football would be investigating that and demanding an upgrade to performance in that area. Sadly, at West Ham, unless a question can be resolved with a phone call to an agent, it simply doesn't get asked.
Interestingly, a reader asked me on Twitter during the week what were my criteria for a Director of Football and I struggled to answer because of the character restriction. This in itself is telling, because it should be a huge job that encompasses broad and wide ranging responsibilities across the club, with responsibility for lots of different staff members.
I would start by saying that the departments of recruitment, scouting, analytics, sports science, medical, player development (Academy) and player welfare should all report to that position. It's a role that requires an ability to manage across a wide area and has a pseudo CEO look because delegation and flexibility seem key to me. Rather than hiring an ex manager who is looking for a short cut back to the dugout, the person would probably be someone with a business background and experience in sport, without any requirement to have played the game at a high level. Perhaps most importantly of all would be the requirement that this person shape the philosophy for the entire organisation. It's hard to overstate how demoralising it can be to work somewhere with no direction and no obvious plan for the future. Employees like certainty and structure - even those at football clubs.
What I wouldn't suggest is a club chairman with five relegations to his name, who never leaves his house or speaks to junior staff and holes himself up in his office ringing agents until 4am trying to drive down loan fees for players that any reasonable analyst could tell him won't fit his side.
I'm sorry for continuing to bang this particular drum, but in this odd time we live in where the club appear to be canvassing opinion from every possible corner, the single best thing West Ham fans could do right now would be to turn their attention away from the lack of places to rest their pints at half time on the concourses and demand some proper corporate governance and leadership from those who own the club.
***
"Don't give me love or, no, none of that stuff
Cos, it's yer money I'm after, baby"
- The Wonder Stuff, "Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More"
So as we leave today behind and look forward, we return home for back to back games with Chelsea and Arsenal. The former seem a bit more mortal this year, and probably represent our best hope of getting something even though Eden Hazard's return to form seems a bit terrifying.
But perhaps the most interesting part of our return back to the stadium is the report that was issued by the Mayor's office last week into the costs around the conversion of the Olympic Stadium to its current state. Jon Lines writes a good review of the situation at Brace The Hammer which fills in a lot of blanks you may have. I've added a few bits here, but where I get anything wrong please let me know. It's a complex area and I have really only skim read the report. But a lack of expertise certainly didn't stop any of the people involved in the deal so I'm not worrying either.
Cheers lads
The report, by Moore Stephens, should be read through the prism of the political situation in London at present. The games were won under the Labour Mayor, Ken Livingston who made the decision - along with Tory Seb Coe - that the stadium would maintain an athletics track after the games and that no concessions would be made to the desire of Premier League teams to be involved in the process. This fateful decision would end up costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions, as it would become evident in later years that a stadium with no anchor tenant would be the white elephant the British bid had promised not to leave behind.
Ironically, IOC President Jacques Rogge would later state that there was no firm requirement for an athletics track to be retained as part of the stadium design, confirming that at least in some part, this was an ideological decision on behalf of former Olympic champion, Coe.
Thereafter, the political landscape changed as Boris Johnson was elected Mayor, meaning that the entire world could watch our opening ceremony and say "My God, he's their Mayor?". Johnson would reopen the stadium issue once again by seeking an anchor tenant to provide a greater legacy than a 25,000 seater athletics stadium that would likely rust in the London rain. In 2011, he selected West Ham as that tenant with an agreement that we would effectively take over running of the stadium, with responsibility for the costs of conversion and maintenance in exchange for retaining all profits associated with the deal.
This proposal, as revealed in the report, was markedly different to the version we have now and essentially involved West Ham agreeing to play in the Olympic Stadium as was, athletics track and all, with a canvas roof above. I don't know either.
However, fellow bidders Spurs and Leyton Orient and an anonymous complainant would appeal this decision, quoting EU State Aid rules (oh, the irony). Amid a feverish political climate, Johnson shelved that idea in between insulting some foreigners, and re ran the bid process with the central plank being that the Government would retain full ownership of the stadium and run the business profitably for the taxpayer. This would mean that a tenant such as West Ham would gain access to the ground for a small number of days each year, with the rest of the time being taken up with other profitable events to make money for the taxpayer.
In reality those appeals from Spurs and Leyton Orient saved West Ham hugely, as the reality of playing in the stadium with next to no money spent on conversion would have been horrendous. What they also did was cost the taxpayer an incredible amount as those costs would later spiral wildly, as West Ham's demands increased substantially now that we weren't paying for it. The decision to rerun the bid process would generate huge costs for the taxpayer - a point that the current Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, was looking to highlight with the publication of this report.
Even more ironic was that Spurs never had any particular desire to move to Stratford, but instead merely wanted to use it as a stalking horse to get the Mayor to commit to providing funding for their own stadium redevelopment in Haringey. That was successful as they are now receiving tens of millions of public money to assist with their project - you'll remember that irony I mentioned earlier - and had the added effect of convincing Karren Brady to commit to keeping the athletics track as part of West Ham's bid.
My own feeling is that West Ham were, not unreasonably, concerned that if the Spurs bid were to be chosen and if they were to move into Stratford it could signal the end of our dominance of the East London and Essex catchment area. As such, they sought to differentiate themselves by committing to the track, even though grounds that have done this are usually as atmospheric as morgues. What does become clear reading the report is that the fan experience is not central to anything that has been done with the stadium.
Fast forward to 2017, and what the report is showing is that the deal West Ham negotiated is so ludicrously one sided that the best projected year for E20 - the company running the stadium for the Greater London Authority - is a ten million pound loss. Much of this is due to the fact that West Ham's annual rent is £2.5m, when the cost of running the ground is closer to £11m. Additionally, the famous retractable seating has proven to be a disaster, with the company contracted to deliver it going bust and the replacement system required at short notice for the Rugby World Cup an expensive exercise. West Ham fans will also realise that it doesn't retract. Johnson's fingerprints are all over that process too.
The summary of the report is essentially that the current situation is not tenable, with so much public money being used to prop up a poorly negotiated, one sided deal that hurts the taxpayer. The problem with that is there aren't any terribly good options available. Sadiq Khan has announced that his office will take control of the stadium from E20 which I suspect will mean a squeeze on any of the services provided by the landlord. Expect to see stewards, safety officers, security officers and any other staff reduced as much as legally possible by the Mayor. Great news for fans.
In Jon's summary article above he suggests that West Ham will inevitably end up paying more due to Khan's desire to rescue the situation. I disagree with this, largely because there isn't anything Khan can do to renegotiate the deal unless he offers up something in return. That might be a greater slice of naming rights or a reduction in the amount due to the Treasury in the event they sell the club. Therefore, Khan can talk about a new deal but in all likelihood nothing much will change. There may be an attempt to leave the stadium in athletics mode after the next event, but presumably that will be met with a strong legal challenge from West Ham on the grounds that they will have sold season tickets to fans in those seats.
Given all of that, and there is a whole load more to this which I'd encourage you to read about on this excellent thread on the KUMB Forum, I can only really see a long term solution whereby we take over the stadium. Let's face it - the Mayor could save millions for the taxpayer now simply by giving Sullivan and Gold the keys. Of course this won't happen because the political nature of the situation prevents it, but it does it mean there is going to be a public focus on the costs of the London Stadium. Generally, such PFI arrangements can be loss making forever, but now that Khan has made it so public I do wonder if something will happen further up the line.
There is then a question as to exactly why Sullivan and Gold would ever bother to take on the ownership of a ground when they could stay as they are and reap all of the same benefits for just £2.5m a year. But while there are plenty who will think that this is a great deal for West Ham, it should be noted that I don't support a balance sheet, and what's good for our owners hasn't generally translated into good things for the team, and furthermore West Ham fans are taxpayers too, and have every right to be as outraged as anyone else about this appalling waste of public funds.
Should the owners buy or acquire the ground, I don't see them investing in making it the arena for football that we want to be with proper retractable seating and (somehow) a steeper rake for the stands. But, if they were to own it, then it would make the purchase of West Ham a far more attractive proposition for external investors. It's a long way to go from where we are now, but in the longer term I can't really see that it's palatable to the public purse - and those Newham resident West Ham fans who saw their council chuck £40m into the pot - to continue setting fire to ten million quid a year. If they were going to do that they could have just bought us Robert Snodgrass last January and called it quits. Nothing will happen quickly, but something will happen there. Keep an eye on it.
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.
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David Moyes should take heart from defeat at Man City - his West Ham side showed they are up for the fight
The Scot saw his side take an unexpected lead at the Etihad, but two second-half strikes completed the comeback for the Blues
The Mirror
David Anderson
ByDavid Anderson
Football And Boxing Correspondent
21:20, 3 DEC 2017
At the final whistle, he exchanged a quick handshake with Pep Guardiola before walking onto the pitch to applaud the away fans. Then after a brief word with Brian Kidd and a hug from his old Everton pal Mikel Arteta, David Moyes disappeared down the tunnel to reflect on what might have been. However Moyes should not have been too despondent. Yes, the stats will show he has managed just one draw from his four games in charge and that West Ham remain deep in relegation trouble in 19th place - three points below the safety line. But his side deserved something for the way they successfully frustrated Manchester City's all-star attack and might have nicked a result if Diafra Sakho had shown more composure in front of goal in added time.
West Ham delivered the improvement Moyes demanded after the midweek debacle at Everton and they showed the fight needed to win a relegation scrap.
Moyes saw enough to believe he can haul West Ham out of trouble well before May. "I've always thought that we will get away and I don't think we will be in trouble," said the former Manchester United and Sunderland boss. "I think we have a good team, we have good players and today's performance gives us hope that it can be done. "We gave ourselves a chance against one of the top teams and we have got a lot of top teams coming up in the next few weeks."
Moyes suffocated City with his 5-4-1 formation and made no apologies for defending in such depth after Guardiola moaned about their lack of ambition."I want our football to be attacking, but we were playing against a team where you hardly get the ball," he said. "I'm here to try and get a result for West Ham, not to make Man City look good."
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West Ham United boss David Moyes risks losing Diafra Sakho in the January transfer window
Sun 3 Dec
HITC
John Verrall
@JohnVerrall
West Ham United boss David Moyes has not started Diafra Sakho since taking charge at the London Stadium. David Moyes is running the risk of losing Diafra Sakho, by not starting him for West Ham United.
Sakho has become frustrated with a lack of opportunities at West Ham, and even a managerial change does not seem to have helped nudge the Senegalese striker up the pecking order. Sakho was only named as a substitute yesterday, as West Ham took on Manchester City, with a returning Michail Antonio favoured to start. Antonio is just coming back from injury, and isn't even a natural striker, so for Sakho that decision must have been particularly hard to take.
West Ham United's Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the only goal of the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and... And Sakho's comments from last month, about his own future, prove that Moyes may be taking a huge risk over losing the forward in January. "It's not easy to show what I can do, or prove to the people what I can do on the pitch, when I only play for 10 minutes," Sakho said to the Daily Star. "But I don't need to knock on the manager's door – I showed what I can do, I have to force my way into the team. "I was very close to leaving, but now I am here and I am enjoying the little time I've had on the pitch to prove myself, and after the international break we will see if I can get more. "In my head I just want to enjoy being part of this team and we will see what happens in January."
Sakho actually was introduced after 40 minutes during West Ham's match against Manchester City, but that was only due to injury striking.
And Sakho's lack of game time since Moyes took charge is unlikely to convince the striker that sticking around at the London Stadium is his best option, with the transfer window set to re-open next month.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Declan Rice feels West Ham United were unlucky not to get the three points against Manchester City but reckons the Hammers' performance proved that some people had the wrong perception of the team. It took a late goal from City's David Silva to give Pep Guardiola's team the victory after Angelo Ogbonna had headed the Irons in front prior to half-time. Nicolas Otamendi had equalised for City just after the break. Despite losing the game Rice could find a lot of positives in West Ham's showing and the defender also feels his side's efforts went against what some pundits and football supporters expected to see.
"Without a doubt, there were a lot of positives to take from today's showing," The 18-year-old told whufc.com. "I think a lot of people thought we were down and out before the game even started. You read silly things and people seemed to believe we were going to come and get beat. "But I thought we were excellent today. We need to be putting in that effort every single week. We were just unlucky today. No one even thought we would score. To go 1-0 up at half-time at the Etihad – they are top of the league. It was a good moment for us. "We went in from the first half buzzing but we knew there was still 45 minutes to go. Second half, it just wasn't meant to be."
Despite ultimately losing the match on Sunday Rice thinks he and his West Ham teammates need to focus on the things that went well, and take those forward into the coming games. He added: "I think we just need to look at the positives. We've got to get into training on Monday, watch the game back, look at the positives and take that. That's the minimum every week now. That's the standard that we need to be setting every week. There's a lot to take from it."
The match with Manchester City marked Rice's first start for West Ham since David Moyes took charge of the team, with the Irish youngster relishing learning from the experienced manager. Rice was thrilled to get the nod to play at the Etihad Stadium and feels the experience of featuring against City's attackers – who have fired the team to the top of the Premier League – is one that he can learn a lot from. "I'm loving training under David Moyes and his coaches," Rice continued. "To get the start here, I never thought it would happen. Luckily, with the injuries, he's believed in me and he has put me in, and I was happy with my performance. "I'm only 18-years-old so to test yourself against the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne, Jesus and Silva, I'm only going to learn and get better from it. Today was a fantastic experience for me."
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Tottenham Hotspur away moved to Thursday 4 January
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur will take place on Thursday 4 January. The fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with a kick-off time of 8pm. The fixture had originally been provisionally scheduled for Sunday 31 December however, despite significant work by all stakeholders, the Safety Advisory Group at Wembley Stadium could only recommend a maximum crowd of 43,000. This was due to transport issues, primarily at local tube stations whose resources were being deployed elsewhere across London on New Year's Eve.
Following extensive discussions between stakeholders, a decision has been taken to move the fixture into the New Year so more supporters, home and away, can attend the game. Ticket and allocation details will be confirmed in due course.
We would like to apologise to supporters for the delay in confirming details for this fixture and for any inconvenience this may have caused.
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Hammers learn FA Cup third round opponents
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have been drawn away to Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup, sponsored by Emirates. The Hammers will travel to the New Meadow for the first time over the weekend of 5-8 January 2018 following Monday's draw. The two clubs have never met previously in the world's most-famous knockout competition, and have faced one another just four times in total, all in the old Second Division. Shrewsbury won both meetings in 1979/80, before West Ham won both the following season on their way to promotion.
West Ham have won the FA Cup on three occasions, in 1964, 1975 and most recently in 1980, and finished as runners-up in 1923 and 2006. The Shrews have never lifted the famous trophy, but did reach the quarter-finals in 1979 and 1982. Hammers boss David Moyes has compiled a positive FA Cup record during his long and illustrious managerial career, winning 17 and losing just 13 of the 37 ties he has been in the dugout for. The Scot led Everton to the final in 2009, where they lost to Chelsea, and the semi-finals in 2012.
A date, kick-off time and ticket arrangements for the tie will be confirmed in due course. Supporters should bear in mind that West Ham's Premier League fixture at Tottenham Hotspur has been moved to Thursday 4 January. The FA Cup final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19 May 2018.
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SAB meeting and fan feedback leads to positive improvements
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to confirm a number of new, positive initiatives for our supporters, following recent feedback from the all-new Supporter Advisory Board and other fan groups.
As part of the continued commitment to improving the overall supporter experience for West Ham United fans, both on matchdays at London Stadium and in general, the following actions have already been approved and organised with immediate effect:
Coverage of Sky Sports channels to be televised on the screens located around the inner concourses at London Stadium on matchdays, for two hours prior to kick-off, during the half-time interval and for one hour after the final whistle.
The trial of a new method for away match ticket sales that will see 10% of away allocations reserved for Season Ticket Holders and Claret Members, regardless of their accrued Priority Points or previous booking history. The Club have also committed to taking the full allocation for all away matches during this trial, up to and including the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on February 3. For more information, click here.
Sponsorship of the Hammers Supporters Club's new matchday venue at Stour Space, enabling the original and oldest supporters club the opportunity to invest much-needed funds to secure its future. Click here for the full story.
The tidying of the memorial garden on the site of the Boleyn Ground, along with a new commitment to manage the ongoing maintenance of the garden on a monthly basis. Additionally, the Club are in continued discussions with Upton Gardens developers Barratt London about future landscaping plans and will shortly launch a consultation plan with families to ensure a long-term solution that all West Ham United fans can be proud of.
A commitment to work with supporters to ensure that the Boleyn Ground's rich heritage and history is further recognised at locations around London Stadium, with artwork in place for the start of the 2018/19 season.
The Supporter Advisory Board enjoyed a hugely positive and constructive first meeting of the season at London Stadium recently.
The new SAB sees an even broader representation from the many different sections of the Club's large and diverse fanbase, including young supporters, senior supporters, women, families and away match-attending supporters.
This is in addition to the members already representing large groups, such as WHUISA, Pride of Irons, Club London, Bondholders, the DSAB and large online communities, along with representatives from the different seating areas at London Stadium.
The two-hour meeting was chaired by Vice-Chairman Karren Brady, who praised the dedication and commitment of members that has ensured continued improvement to the overall supporter experience since the Club moved to London Stadium last year.
SAB members Cathy Bayford and Trevor Bright, who represent ambulant disabled and wheelchair-using supporters and chair the separate Disabled Supporters Advisory Board, gave a presentation on the fantastic work and progress made by the DSAB in recent months, while members were also shown the diversity and inclusion video, recently created to signal the Club's devotion to providing an environment and positive matchday experience for all supporters.
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Help local families feel part of the community this Christmas
WHUFC.com
Stratford Circus Arts Centre are raising £12,000 to make Christmas a magical one for hard pressed families in Newham who otherwise simply wouldn't be able to afford a seasonal treat for their children. Full Hearts, Full Tummies will offer 600 hot meals and tickets for festive show The Ramshackle House for just £1.
Two in five children in Newham live in poverty, with their families facing increasing challenges during winter. Full Hearts Full Tummies gives families an opportunity to come together and forget their worries, socialise and share in this joyous experience.
Please Get Involved!
Full Hearts Full Tummies relies solely on your donations in order to make this festive season a magical one for the children and families of Newham. Please consider donating this Christmas.
One donation, twice the impact!
Thanks to The Big Give from noon on Tuesday 28 November until noon on Tuesday 5 December or until the money runs out, The Big Give will match your donation (any amount up to £5000), making your gift go twice as far at no extra cost to you. Remember, only donations made in this time will be doubled!
Please donate here: https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/donation/to/65464/27440/stratford-circus-arts-centre/full-hearts-full-tummies
Contact Mia, Development Manager via email: mia@stratford-circus.com if you'd like to further support Full Hearts Full Tummies.
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Westley hoping to mark Luton return with Checkatrade win
WHUFC.com
Terry Westley will return to Kenilworth Road for the first time in 22 years when West Ham United take on Luton Town in the first knockout-round of the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday. Westley joined the Bedfordshire club as a Youth Coach before he became First Team manager in the Spring of 1995. Back then, as he is now, Westley was responsible for the development of a number of young players from the academy setup.
Former West Ham and England defender Matthew Upson is one of a long line of players who benefitted from the guidance and coaching of Westley during their teenage years. And 22 years on, Westley still has fond memories of his time at Luton Town. "I spent many years at Luton as the coach and then also as former manager before I left," he explained. "It's club that were in the Championship under David Pleat when I joined as the Youth Coach, we had a wonderful time in terms of the players we produced who went on and played at the highest level."
After defeat to Wycombe Wanderers last week, West Ham's U21s finished second in their Checkatrade Trophy South group and, despite still qualifying, missed out on a visit to Forest Green in this next round. Instead, the trip to Kenilworth Road is their reward.
Westley is extremely proud of his side for achieving qualification from the group stages, and despite a difficult November which saw the Hammers fall to four successive defeats, he is excited by the challenge of taking on another Football League opponent. "It'll be an interesting game, they're top of League Two so it will be tough but that is the level these lads want to be competing at.
"I'm looking forward to going back and I hope the players look forward to going there and putting on a spirited display."
image: http://www.whufc.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/GettyImages-173764616.jpg
Elliott LeeThere will be a further element of interest with Luton now the home of a number of former West Ham Academy graduates.
With this the first time the two clubs have met at any level since March 1994, it will be the only opportunity many of the ex-Academy players will have had to play against their former club.
"There will be a few of our former lads playing, Dan Potts, Olly Lee and Elliot Lee," Westley said.
"It is not just because of my connection with the club, but there'll be an edge to the game in terms of the West Ham connection too.
"Everyone's really looking forward to the tie and hopefully we can come out on top and progress to the next round in a tournament we have taken seriously this season."
Westley worked closely with forward Elliot Lee from 2014-2016 while his brother Olly, Dan Potts, Pelly Ruddock and Marek Stech are all ex-Hammers from before Westley joined the club.
Hammers supporters who want to support the U21s on Tuesday can purchase tickets in advance by calling 01582 416 976. Away fans should request tickets in the Oak Road Stand.
Tickets will also be available to purchase on the night of the game from the Oak Road turnstiles and they are priced at £5 and £1 for adults and concessions respectively.
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Pep Guardiola 'learns lesson' from Manchester City's win over West Ham
BBC.co.uk
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the 2-1 win over West Ham showed him how to unlock packed defences that are "almost impossible" to break down. For the second time in three matches, City came from behind to extend their winning run to 13 Premier League games. Guardiola brought on Gabriel Jesus to partner Sergio Aguero in attack for the second half, with Kevin de Bruyne operating deeper in midfield. "I learned to attack a bit differently," said Guardiola. "Normally we don't play with two strikers and two wingers. Maybe to attack this kind of defence it is much better. "They didn't want to play. When they lost the ball, they didn't press. They just went back with 10 players in the box. It has happened the last three games. It is almost impossible."
Last Sunday, City rallied to win 2-1 after conceding the opening goal at Huddersfield before netting a late winner against Southampton at home three days later. In both those games, Raheem Sterling got the late goal but on Sunday it was David Silva who scored in the 83rd minute after Nicolas Otamendi cancelled out Angelo Ogbonna's goal for West Ham. Victory meant Guardiola's side re-established their eight-point lead over Manchester United, who they play at Old Trafford on Sunday (16:30 GMT). City's victory also equalled the longest winning run within a top-flight season, matching Sunderland and Preston (1891-92), Arsenal (2001-02) and Chelsea (2016-17).
Argentina striker Aguero and Brazil forward Jesus have started just two games together since September, having combined more regularly in the season's opening games. But Jesus' half-time introduction against West Ham in place of defender Danilo paid dividends and Guardiola seems likely to revisit the tactic.
"With two strikers in the box, we can play the same way, with the same patience and the same quality. It is good news for me in the future," he said."How we attacked in the second half was much better."
Guardiola is also adamant he is "preparing a team to win" this week's Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, despite City having already qualified for the next stage and the Manchester derby being four days later. "Hopefully no-one will have injuries. I said to the players the guy who doesn't want to play in Donetsk, let me know please," said the Spaniard. "It is a big opportunity to win 18 points from 18 points. Kevin [de Bruyne] will have two or three days off, he is suspended. The best way to prepare for the United game is by playing good."
'A real chance' for West Ham
West Ham manager David Moyes was impressed with his side's performance against City and believes they have "a real chance" of avoiding relegation.
The Scot has only picked up one point since succeeding Slaven Bilic, and the Hammers remain second bottom of the table, three points from safety. Moyes was particularly impressed with the "effort and energy" of his players as they held out for almost 60 minutes against one of the Premier League's most potent attacking sides. The Hammers were defensively solid and threatened to score before and after the first-half lead given to them by Ogbonna - with Diafra Sakho firing wide in the dying minutes. "We missed two good chances in the first half and had one right at the end," said Moyes. "We tried to stay in the game and play on the counter attack. Defensively we did a great job. "I always think we will get away [from the relegation zone]. I don't think we will be in trouble. I think we have a good team, good players. "The only [game] that has been a disappointment was the Everton one."
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Tottenham v West Ham: Fixture moved to 4 January for safety reasons
BBC.co.uk
Tottenham's New Year's Eve game against West Ham at Wembley has been moved to 4 January because of safety concerns. The Premier League made the decision after the stadium's management limited the crowd for the original date to 43,000, less than half the capacity. This was due to transport concerns, as resources at nearby tube stations are being deployed elsewhere across London. The match, to be played two days after Spurs visit Swansea, will kick off at 20:00 GMT.
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#REFWATCH: MIKE DEAN – MANCHESTER CITY VS WEST HAM
AUTHOR: SAMTWHWREF. PUBLISHED: 3 DECEMBER 2017 AT 8:35PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden
Last season, I described Mike Dean as 'oozes arrogance and his admiration for the spotlight' and my opinion has not changed. Mike Dean continues to frustrate me with his game and player management. I completely appreciate that Mike Dean is a seasonal pro in the Premier League and was on the FIFA list between 2003–2013 until he turned 45 and was retired from international duty, but confidence is completely different to arrogance.
It was a first half to remember for West Ham and David Moyes: Drilled, hard to break down and breaking with the ball – not consistently but it's a platform to build on. It could have been a nightmare opening 70 seconds for West Ham when in-form Raheem Sterling went down inside the West Ham penalty area. Mike Dean, who was officiating his first West Ham Premier League game this season, was in the perfect position to wave away appeals from the Manchester City players. This decision was actually quite straightforward for Mike Dean, Sterling felt the slightest of touches and hit the deck, a blatant attempt to deceive the referee. No free kick nor punishment from Mike Dean and play continued.
With West Ham defending extremely well against a petrifying Manchester City front three, Declan Rice was the first player to receive a caution after bringing down Leroy Sane who was 10 yards into the West Ham half. It was the correct decision from Mike Dean and with 73 minutes left on the clock, Rice had to watch his challenges for the rest of the game.
Consistency is huge for referees and it's something that is widely discussed, especially at elite level. Nicolás Otamendi was the wrong side of Arthur Masuaku when he cynically tripped the West Ham man. Mike Dean was spot on to award the foul but there was no further punishment for the Man City defender. Mike Dean cautioned Declan Rice earlier in the half for tripping Sane in a similarly promising position, so why didn't Dean caution Otamendi? It's a lack of consistency and it wasn't for the first time during the game, this season or in fact as long as I've been watching Mike Dean.
Throughout the second half, West Ham had their backs to the wall defending well and Mike Dean continued to be frustratingly wrong with his decision making. The Manchester City players are known for their theatricals and this was proved with Sterling diving in the second half, with playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and overrated Fabian Delph, both who also embarrassingly deceived Mike Dean. The free kick, which infuriated me the most, was Fabian Delph's dive when Declan Rice committed himself into a sliding challenge 20 yards from goal. It was such a clear and blatant dive, I cannot come to grips on how Mike Dean came to that decision when he was behind the play and took up a good position. It's the theatricals that Mike Dean failed to judge and the second phase of that free kick led to Man City's equalising goal.
I do welcome a review from The FA and wonder whether they will take any retrospective action on either Raheem Sterling or Fabian Delph, a stronger case on Delph as the free kick subsequently lead to a game changing moment. Everton's Oumar Niasse was banned for 2 games after deceiving the referee vs Crystal Palace under new laws that began at the start of the season. The incidents are subsequently reviewed by an independent three-person panel which when reviewed, they decide whether the match official had been deceived by an act of simulation.
Mike Dean continued his inconsistency when Manual Lanzini was completely clattered by Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala. Dean was visually telling the West Ham players that it was a coming together between two players, but in fact Mangala jumped into the back of Lanzini when the West Ham playmaker was accelerating on a counter attack.
There were a couple of cautions in the final quarter of the second half with Kevin De Bruyne hacking down Arthur Masuaku which was a relatively easy decision to make as well as in the final stages when Adrian, who was impressive throughout the game, came rushing out his 18 yard box and caught Gabriel Jesus.
Overall, I have a prolonged issue with Mike Dean and the way that he handles himself throughout the game. My advice to any up and coming referee to watch only a handful of referees: Howard Webb, Mark Clattenburg and Michael Oliver, these referees were and are at the top of their game and as a role models for future referees. Human error is inevitable, I make mistakes and I referee youth leagues in Kent, and you need thick skinned. I put my hand on my heart and say that you have to be personable as a referee, it's not about getting on with people, you're in a cordon of emotions with players, managers and fans, but you need to earn that respect.
On a number of occasions, Mike Dean has been so arrogant with his decision making, even when his decision is wrong and continues to act in the same way every game, it my way or no way. Game management is incredibly important to a referee, it's understanding the best position and almost preempting the play. Player management is, for me, one of the most important part of your artery. When I referee, I talk to the players, I explain why I have given that decision. When Mike Dean makes a decision, he shuns the players which shows a lack of respect in my opinion.
A note on West Ham, I was fearing the worst coming into the game and thought Man City would put six or seven past us after the diabolical performance against Everton on Wednesday. With Chelsea and Arsenal coming up in the next ten days, I hope that Moyes can continue to work on the defensive side and work on breaking on the counter attack.
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Don't give up on us, defender tells famous fan
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 4th December 2017
By: Staff Writer
Angelo Ogbonna has told celebrity supporter James Corden not to give up hope of West Ham avoiding relegation, after the latter insisted he'd had never felt as "hopeless" before a match. The defender scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham against league leaders Manchester City yesterday, which was good enough to send the Hammers into the break with a slender lead. However City recovered after the break and went on to win the game 2-1 - albeit with the assistance of a dreadful call from Mike Dean, who awarded a free kick that never was to the hosts in the lead-up to their equaliser. Posting on twitter ahead of the game, LA-based Corden insisted that "I don't remember the last time I felt this nervous or hopeless before a match."
But following West Ham's narrow defeat, Italian international Ogbonna replied to Corden in order to insist that he - and all supporters - weren't quite ready to give up the ghost.
"Don't lose your hope @JKCorden," he replied. "We have shown we can can play head-to-head vs the first one in the league. "We will go up through the standings. If you come back in town for the holidays, come see us at the Stadium. We Irons stick together through good times and bad times."
* Meanwhile, fellow centre half Declan Rice has thanked David Moyes for placing his faith in his for yesterday's clash at the Etihad. "I'm loving training under David Moyes and his coaches," he said following the game. "To get the start here, I never thought it would happen. Luckily, with the injuries, he's believed in me and he has put me in, and I was happy with my performance. "I'm only 18-years-old so to test yourself against the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne, Jesus and Silva, I'm only going to learn and get better from it. Today was a fantastic experience for me."
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Man City 2-1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 4th December 2017
By: HeadHammerShark
"So how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose"
- ABBA, "Waterloo"
Well then. How does one assess a match in which your team is at longer odds to win 1-0 than the opposition is to win 7-0? A game in which your team takes a half time lead and defends tenaciously, but ultimately loses late on and drops more precious points? An away fixture in which we have to measure our progress not through tangible rewards like points, but instead through more prosaic measurements such as how long it took to concede? Glorious defeats are still defeats after all, and lots of games like this litter the fixture lists of relegated teams. How can it be then, that I feel somewhat more positive about life than I did this morning? How can it feel like a win when we lost?
Can four people dressed like this really be wrong?
At the most base level, this is simply a result of us not caving and losing by the tennis scores that have been the customary outcome whenever we have gone up against bigger teams lately. In fairness, that hasn't tended to be the case away from home, where there is less onus on us to come out and attack and as such we can keep a better defensive shape. For fifty minutes here, we performed a very impressive impersonation of a top flight football team as we kept Man City at arms length and forced them into ambitious shooting from long distance. In fact, I haven't seen so many shots fly over a bar in such quick succession since I last made the mistake of going for a drink with my Polish mate, Pete.
But putting aside all of that, I think what was really the most encouraging part of all this was that there seemed to be clear evidence of a plan and a commitment to sticking to it by the players. Ask yourself, when did you last see that? Even the glorious high of that cup win at Spurs seemed to be driven by some kind of magic pixie dust that settled on a couple of players and took the crowd with them and just blitzed us through. And while we might not like to admit it, that can happen in knockout games when opposition players get distracted and start to focus on the weekend and teams can take risks they might not otherwise take. But here, we did it on a day when it really mattered. Whisper it, perhaps, but we looked a little like one of those old David Moyes sides.
***
"We all disagree, I think we should disagree, yeah
Is this it?"
- The Strokes, "Is This It"
But how excited can we really be about "it" when we lost the game? After all, eight minutes from a point might as well be eighty for all the impact it had on the league table. In fact, as a result of this weekend we are now below Crystal Palace in the league table despite the fact that they played the first month of the season using their ballboys as a back four.
My take is that we at last displayed some level of discipline in our defensive duties and, crucially, the team were prepared to trust the system and each other to carry it through. It wasn't pretty or terribly ambitious, but when your opposition literally have a billion more pounds than you to spend on their team then I don't really feel like that should be a factor. City players and Pep Guardiola can make all the snide asides they want about time wasting and parking the bus but when we are but a month removed from the nation state of Abu Dhabi demanding that Brighton and Bournemouth give them a larger share of the Premier League television money they can, quite frankly, fuck right off. And when they get there they can fuck off again, as the great Malcolm Tucker might say.
Parked the bus did we Fabian? Fuckety bye, son.
In fact, Pep, if you hope that more teams will attack you then why don't you give us David Silva and a wage cap? Until then, slip on your hipster Adidas sambas and your Northside t-shirt and piss off on your skateboard back to your cave of oil money bullion and stop telling teams with 5% of your resources how to play.
As it was, we went into this game in the middle of our customary winter injury crisis and emerged with yet another muscle injury as Cheikhou Kouyate limped off in the first half. All hail Gary Lewin! That withdrawal had a big impact as it pushed Antonio out wide where he was pressed into lots of defensive work, which is usually a prelude to something disastrous like a rip in the space time continuum or a new Robbie Williams album.
Oddly, Man City looked nothing like the glorious attacking force that we are used to seeing as they huffed and puffed their way through the first half, with lots of possession and territory but very little by way of clear cut chances. Indeed, the best chances of the half came when Antonio got free at a corner and was unable to guide a flick on into the roof of the net and Manuel Lanzini pounced on a loose ball to fire at Ederson. With just a minute to go, however, Lanzini and Aaron Cresswell worked a short corner to allow the latter a better angle with which to hit the first man. Instead, he surprised us all by finding an unmarked Angelo Ogbonna who thumped home an opener that might not exactly have been deserved but did not flatter us.
I realise that not everybody puts much faith in Expected Goals, but this map from Michael Caley pretty much adheres to my view of that first half and highlights the excellent defensive performance. There seems to have been some view of it as us playing a three at the back system, with Cresswell as a centre back and Antonio as the lone striker. I didn't see it quite that way, as I thought it was a traditional flat back four with the full backs tucked in very tight and the wide players instructed to get back and provide cover at every opportunity. Arthur Masuaku did this pretty well and also managed his customary thing whereby he made several long weaving runs upfield, going past three or four players, and then following them up with periods of play where he looked like he was in a Testimonial.
Unfortunately, we couldn't keep that level of solidity and eventually we were simply overrun by a team who possess brilliant attacking players at every turn. The winner came just eight minutes from time and was wonderful, as Kevin de Bruyne picked out David Silva at the back post with a ludicrously pinpoint cross, and the Spaniard athletically volleyed it home. Scant reward for all that effort, but evidence enough that the gulf in class was pretty wide.
The equaliser was truly the goal that sank us, as the longer we went without conceding after half time, the more we had to cling to. It came from a free kick awarded for a Fabian Delph dive (Delph, the last bastion of footballing morality) meaning it was a passage of broken play when there are players in the box who aren't normally there. And so it was that Jesus made a run and crossed for Nicolas Otamendi, of all people, to stab it home. Until that point, Adrian had looked fairly unbeatable in a way that Joe Hart has never yet done in claret and blue.
We still had a couple of half chances to snatch something when Marko Arnautovic broke late in the half but his first cross was too high for Antonio and his second was turned just past the post by Diafra Sakho. By such fine margins can relegation seasons hang.
***
"We're movin' up, we're movin' up
It's been a lot to change, but you
Will always get what you want"
- Two Door Cinema Club, "Something Good Can Work"
What really needs to happen now is that these brief elevations in performance levels actually need to start producing something. It's tough on David Moyes, who has not had a preseason and has inherited a team that look knackered, unfit and lacking in confidence, but there is no time for sentiment. Turning this around is a huge job, and these are spirited baby steps, but sadly, getting the team to perform to a level just below that of the opposition is still a recipe for going down. It is a sobering thought that for all of these small, incremental gains, we are currently in a worse position than we were under Avram Grant, Patron Saint of the Incompetent, at the same time in 2010/11.
The half time TV analysis of this game was interesting, as Jamie Carragher suggested that West Ham were deliberately not advancing from their defensive shape to engage City's attackers. What this ensured was that we left no space behind our defenders and instead kept them in front of us. This led to lots of pointless passing and those long range shots that Adrian was happy to wave into the stratosphere.
Now, I'm sure that Slaven Bilic tried to instil those sorts of plans in his players too, but to a layman like me it never looked like they stuck. Yet here was a defensive plan frustrating the worlds best coach and forcing him to switch to a 4-2-4 system that eventually overwhelmed us. While it may not have worked today, what games like this can do is give players confidence in their management staff that they have some workable ideas that will serve them better against lesser opposition in the future. Very few teams have a David Silva to turn to, after all.
This won't happen every week, Declan
I also have to hold my hands up and acknowledge that Declan Rice was more than worth his starting place. I have generally not joined in the clamour for young, inexperienced players to be thrown into the team, but the Irishman was outstanding here and stood firm against world class opponents. Certainly, Sergio Aguero seems to have gone off the boil - not the first man to pay the price for a long weekend in Amsterdam - but Rice was assured in his defensive work, even allowing for an early booking, and he deserves an extended run, if only because both Reid and Collins are so injury prone that the disruption caused by their frequent absences is an increasing problem.
The booking for Rice was interesting as referee Mike Dean refused to apply the same rigidity to his decisions for City defenders. Both Otamendi and Mangala should have been booked for first half fouls, which would have at least forced them to be a little more timid in their second half tackling. As they weren't, City just kept fouling us with impunity on the rare occasions we forayed forwarded. It's a little trick that served Ranieri's Leicester well in the season they won the league, and is an oft underplayed element of Premier League defending these days.
However, where we really lost out in the second half was in the way we dropped deeper and deeper, inviting them on to us with no real way out. Giving Antonio defensive responsibility is fraught with danger, especially when he is such a strong outlet at the other end. There is a dream I have where he and Sakho terrorise less progressive teams with their pace and power. However, even Arnautovic was sucked back into defensive roles and what that meant was we could never relieve pressure by advancing further up the pitch in possession. Lots of aimless balls went into the corners and by the end we were basically putting on a touring version of Zulu.
***
"Let me go on,
Big hands I know you're the one"
- Violent Femmes, "Blister In The Sun"
One thing that was also different this week was that we had Adrian in goal. David Sullivan's £4m summer vanity project, known to his mum as Joe Hart and "Good try, Joe" to his defenders, was ineligible as he is technically still a Man City player, although Pep seems to have more time for Nathan Redmond than he does for Hart these days.
The Spaniard did nothing to deserve being dropped in the first place, and was excellent here again. Neither goal was his fault and he pulled off a number of excellent diving stops to keep us at parity. He has no weakness to his left, unlike Hart, and seems to inspire a certain level of confidence in the team that isn't there when the "England No.1" is between the sticks. It's a bit harsh to blame Hart as the defensive set up in front of him this season has been mostly imaginary, but it was still a vainglorious signing by Sullivan in an attempt to get some big names into his side to deflect criticism from his prior failures.
The folly of that policy was laid bare here, as it was tempting to imagine how that £4m of wages could have been better utilised as we got to seventy minutes and an exhausted Antonio desperately needed replacing and we had only untried youth players available.
There is a rumour doing the rounds that Hart has a clause in his deal that demands he is played when he is available, and if so, he'll return on Saturday against Chelsea. I don't blame him for that, by the way, as this is a World Cup year and he couldn't run the risk of losing his England place due to not playing. However, for us to agree to that is ludicrous. He was never anything more than a minimal upgrade over Adrian, at best, and by not playing the Spaniard we have cost him his own chance of regaining his position as 3rd choice Spanish keeper. Given that, he will be off at the earliest available opportunity, and who can blame him. What a nonsense.
This is the kind of crap that so frustrates me about the way the club operate off the field. A completely unnecessary signing that wasted valuable funds in a transfer window where Sullivan presumably knew he was going to be significantly reducing our net spend. I'm sure it's tedious for you all to hear me vent about this, but we are teetering very close to a catastrophic situation for the club and the hubris of Sullivan in believing he is suited to overseeing the situation is a huge factor in that. Take the injury to Kouyate - the continual loss of first team players to muscle damage should be a huge warning sign to a thoroughly modern club. A qualified Director of Football would be investigating that and demanding an upgrade to performance in that area. Sadly, at West Ham, unless a question can be resolved with a phone call to an agent, it simply doesn't get asked.
Interestingly, a reader asked me on Twitter during the week what were my criteria for a Director of Football and I struggled to answer because of the character restriction. This in itself is telling, because it should be a huge job that encompasses broad and wide ranging responsibilities across the club, with responsibility for lots of different staff members.
I would start by saying that the departments of recruitment, scouting, analytics, sports science, medical, player development (Academy) and player welfare should all report to that position. It's a role that requires an ability to manage across a wide area and has a pseudo CEO look because delegation and flexibility seem key to me. Rather than hiring an ex manager who is looking for a short cut back to the dugout, the person would probably be someone with a business background and experience in sport, without any requirement to have played the game at a high level. Perhaps most importantly of all would be the requirement that this person shape the philosophy for the entire organisation. It's hard to overstate how demoralising it can be to work somewhere with no direction and no obvious plan for the future. Employees like certainty and structure - even those at football clubs.
What I wouldn't suggest is a club chairman with five relegations to his name, who never leaves his house or speaks to junior staff and holes himself up in his office ringing agents until 4am trying to drive down loan fees for players that any reasonable analyst could tell him won't fit his side.
I'm sorry for continuing to bang this particular drum, but in this odd time we live in where the club appear to be canvassing opinion from every possible corner, the single best thing West Ham fans could do right now would be to turn their attention away from the lack of places to rest their pints at half time on the concourses and demand some proper corporate governance and leadership from those who own the club.
***
"Don't give me love or, no, none of that stuff
Cos, it's yer money I'm after, baby"
- The Wonder Stuff, "Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More"
So as we leave today behind and look forward, we return home for back to back games with Chelsea and Arsenal. The former seem a bit more mortal this year, and probably represent our best hope of getting something even though Eden Hazard's return to form seems a bit terrifying.
But perhaps the most interesting part of our return back to the stadium is the report that was issued by the Mayor's office last week into the costs around the conversion of the Olympic Stadium to its current state. Jon Lines writes a good review of the situation at Brace The Hammer which fills in a lot of blanks you may have. I've added a few bits here, but where I get anything wrong please let me know. It's a complex area and I have really only skim read the report. But a lack of expertise certainly didn't stop any of the people involved in the deal so I'm not worrying either.
Cheers lads
The report, by Moore Stephens, should be read through the prism of the political situation in London at present. The games were won under the Labour Mayor, Ken Livingston who made the decision - along with Tory Seb Coe - that the stadium would maintain an athletics track after the games and that no concessions would be made to the desire of Premier League teams to be involved in the process. This fateful decision would end up costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions, as it would become evident in later years that a stadium with no anchor tenant would be the white elephant the British bid had promised not to leave behind.
Ironically, IOC President Jacques Rogge would later state that there was no firm requirement for an athletics track to be retained as part of the stadium design, confirming that at least in some part, this was an ideological decision on behalf of former Olympic champion, Coe.
Thereafter, the political landscape changed as Boris Johnson was elected Mayor, meaning that the entire world could watch our opening ceremony and say "My God, he's their Mayor?". Johnson would reopen the stadium issue once again by seeking an anchor tenant to provide a greater legacy than a 25,000 seater athletics stadium that would likely rust in the London rain. In 2011, he selected West Ham as that tenant with an agreement that we would effectively take over running of the stadium, with responsibility for the costs of conversion and maintenance in exchange for retaining all profits associated with the deal.
This proposal, as revealed in the report, was markedly different to the version we have now and essentially involved West Ham agreeing to play in the Olympic Stadium as was, athletics track and all, with a canvas roof above. I don't know either.
However, fellow bidders Spurs and Leyton Orient and an anonymous complainant would appeal this decision, quoting EU State Aid rules (oh, the irony). Amid a feverish political climate, Johnson shelved that idea in between insulting some foreigners, and re ran the bid process with the central plank being that the Government would retain full ownership of the stadium and run the business profitably for the taxpayer. This would mean that a tenant such as West Ham would gain access to the ground for a small number of days each year, with the rest of the time being taken up with other profitable events to make money for the taxpayer.
In reality those appeals from Spurs and Leyton Orient saved West Ham hugely, as the reality of playing in the stadium with next to no money spent on conversion would have been horrendous. What they also did was cost the taxpayer an incredible amount as those costs would later spiral wildly, as West Ham's demands increased substantially now that we weren't paying for it. The decision to rerun the bid process would generate huge costs for the taxpayer - a point that the current Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, was looking to highlight with the publication of this report.
Even more ironic was that Spurs never had any particular desire to move to Stratford, but instead merely wanted to use it as a stalking horse to get the Mayor to commit to providing funding for their own stadium redevelopment in Haringey. That was successful as they are now receiving tens of millions of public money to assist with their project - you'll remember that irony I mentioned earlier - and had the added effect of convincing Karren Brady to commit to keeping the athletics track as part of West Ham's bid.
My own feeling is that West Ham were, not unreasonably, concerned that if the Spurs bid were to be chosen and if they were to move into Stratford it could signal the end of our dominance of the East London and Essex catchment area. As such, they sought to differentiate themselves by committing to the track, even though grounds that have done this are usually as atmospheric as morgues. What does become clear reading the report is that the fan experience is not central to anything that has been done with the stadium.
Fast forward to 2017, and what the report is showing is that the deal West Ham negotiated is so ludicrously one sided that the best projected year for E20 - the company running the stadium for the Greater London Authority - is a ten million pound loss. Much of this is due to the fact that West Ham's annual rent is £2.5m, when the cost of running the ground is closer to £11m. Additionally, the famous retractable seating has proven to be a disaster, with the company contracted to deliver it going bust and the replacement system required at short notice for the Rugby World Cup an expensive exercise. West Ham fans will also realise that it doesn't retract. Johnson's fingerprints are all over that process too.
The summary of the report is essentially that the current situation is not tenable, with so much public money being used to prop up a poorly negotiated, one sided deal that hurts the taxpayer. The problem with that is there aren't any terribly good options available. Sadiq Khan has announced that his office will take control of the stadium from E20 which I suspect will mean a squeeze on any of the services provided by the landlord. Expect to see stewards, safety officers, security officers and any other staff reduced as much as legally possible by the Mayor. Great news for fans.
In Jon's summary article above he suggests that West Ham will inevitably end up paying more due to Khan's desire to rescue the situation. I disagree with this, largely because there isn't anything Khan can do to renegotiate the deal unless he offers up something in return. That might be a greater slice of naming rights or a reduction in the amount due to the Treasury in the event they sell the club. Therefore, Khan can talk about a new deal but in all likelihood nothing much will change. There may be an attempt to leave the stadium in athletics mode after the next event, but presumably that will be met with a strong legal challenge from West Ham on the grounds that they will have sold season tickets to fans in those seats.
Given all of that, and there is a whole load more to this which I'd encourage you to read about on this excellent thread on the KUMB Forum, I can only really see a long term solution whereby we take over the stadium. Let's face it - the Mayor could save millions for the taxpayer now simply by giving Sullivan and Gold the keys. Of course this won't happen because the political nature of the situation prevents it, but it does it mean there is going to be a public focus on the costs of the London Stadium. Generally, such PFI arrangements can be loss making forever, but now that Khan has made it so public I do wonder if something will happen further up the line.
There is then a question as to exactly why Sullivan and Gold would ever bother to take on the ownership of a ground when they could stay as they are and reap all of the same benefits for just £2.5m a year. But while there are plenty who will think that this is a great deal for West Ham, it should be noted that I don't support a balance sheet, and what's good for our owners hasn't generally translated into good things for the team, and furthermore West Ham fans are taxpayers too, and have every right to be as outraged as anyone else about this appalling waste of public funds.
Should the owners buy or acquire the ground, I don't see them investing in making it the arena for football that we want to be with proper retractable seating and (somehow) a steeper rake for the stands. But, if they were to own it, then it would make the purchase of West Ham a far more attractive proposition for external investors. It's a long way to go from where we are now, but in the longer term I can't really see that it's palatable to the public purse - and those Newham resident West Ham fans who saw their council chuck £40m into the pot - to continue setting fire to ten million quid a year. If they were going to do that they could have just bought us Robert Snodgrass last January and called it quits. Nothing will happen quickly, but something will happen there. Keep an eye on it.
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.
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David Moyes should take heart from defeat at Man City - his West Ham side showed they are up for the fight
The Scot saw his side take an unexpected lead at the Etihad, but two second-half strikes completed the comeback for the Blues
The Mirror
David Anderson
ByDavid Anderson
Football And Boxing Correspondent
21:20, 3 DEC 2017
At the final whistle, he exchanged a quick handshake with Pep Guardiola before walking onto the pitch to applaud the away fans. Then after a brief word with Brian Kidd and a hug from his old Everton pal Mikel Arteta, David Moyes disappeared down the tunnel to reflect on what might have been. However Moyes should not have been too despondent. Yes, the stats will show he has managed just one draw from his four games in charge and that West Ham remain deep in relegation trouble in 19th place - three points below the safety line. But his side deserved something for the way they successfully frustrated Manchester City's all-star attack and might have nicked a result if Diafra Sakho had shown more composure in front of goal in added time.
West Ham delivered the improvement Moyes demanded after the midweek debacle at Everton and they showed the fight needed to win a relegation scrap.
Moyes saw enough to believe he can haul West Ham out of trouble well before May. "I've always thought that we will get away and I don't think we will be in trouble," said the former Manchester United and Sunderland boss. "I think we have a good team, we have good players and today's performance gives us hope that it can be done. "We gave ourselves a chance against one of the top teams and we have got a lot of top teams coming up in the next few weeks."
Moyes suffocated City with his 5-4-1 formation and made no apologies for defending in such depth after Guardiola moaned about their lack of ambition."I want our football to be attacking, but we were playing against a team where you hardly get the ball," he said. "I'm here to try and get a result for West Ham, not to make Man City look good."
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West Ham United boss David Moyes risks losing Diafra Sakho in the January transfer window
Sun 3 Dec
HITC
John Verrall
@JohnVerrall
West Ham United boss David Moyes has not started Diafra Sakho since taking charge at the London Stadium. David Moyes is running the risk of losing Diafra Sakho, by not starting him for West Ham United.
Sakho has become frustrated with a lack of opportunities at West Ham, and even a managerial change does not seem to have helped nudge the Senegalese striker up the pecking order. Sakho was only named as a substitute yesterday, as West Ham took on Manchester City, with a returning Michail Antonio favoured to start. Antonio is just coming back from injury, and isn't even a natural striker, so for Sakho that decision must have been particularly hard to take.
West Ham United's Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the only goal of the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and... And Sakho's comments from last month, about his own future, prove that Moyes may be taking a huge risk over losing the forward in January. "It's not easy to show what I can do, or prove to the people what I can do on the pitch, when I only play for 10 minutes," Sakho said to the Daily Star. "But I don't need to knock on the manager's door – I showed what I can do, I have to force my way into the team. "I was very close to leaving, but now I am here and I am enjoying the little time I've had on the pitch to prove myself, and after the international break we will see if I can get more. "In my head I just want to enjoy being part of this team and we will see what happens in January."
Sakho actually was introduced after 40 minutes during West Ham's match against Manchester City, but that was only due to injury striking.
And Sakho's lack of game time since Moyes took charge is unlikely to convince the striker that sticking around at the London Stadium is his best option, with the transfer window set to re-open next month.
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