Daily WHUFC News - 20th January 2018

West Ham United v AFC Bournemouth: All you need to know
WHUFC.com

West Ham United welcome AFC Bournemouth to London Stadium in a Premier
League fixture this weekend.

Read on for all you need to know about this match!

Where and when?

West Ham United v AFC Bournemouth will be played at London Stadium on
Saturday 20 January.

The contest is scheduled for a 3pm kick-off.

How to follow:

Unfortunately, due to being a Saturday 3pm kick-off, this match is not
available for viewing in the UK. For worldwide broadcast schedules, click
here.
Live match updates will be provided through the official West Ham Twitter
account.
You can also follow the game live via our Matchday Blog on whufc.com.
You can also follow the match on our official Instagram, Facebook and
Snapchat channels.

Meet the opposition:

Team news:
West Ham United manager David Moyes will offer an update on his available
team during his press conference on Friday afternoon. Fans will be looking
for updates on Chicharito and Andy Carroll, who were both named as
unavailable for the midweek FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury Town by coaching
assistant Alan Irvine.

What they say:
"This weekend is a huge game. We've been playing well and we are at home.
For us, it's a good moment. We have to keep going and play our best
football."
Angelo Ogbonna

Match Officials:
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistant Referees: Lee Betts and Stephen Child
Fourth Official: Lee Mason

How to get there:

There are four Underground stations that supporters should utilise to reach
London Stadium: Stratford Station, Stratford International, Hackney Wick and
Pudding Mill Lane.

By Train

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Ogbonna: West Ham's defence is 'not just the five at the back'
WHUFC.com

Angelo Ogbonna has hailed the defensive work of West Ham United's
midfielders and attackers, saying the improvement in the team is not just
down to the players in the back-line. The Hammers take on Bournemouth this
weekend in the Premier League on the back of four games unbeaten in the top
flight, taking Irons up to 11th in the top flight. A victory over the
Cherries could take West Ham into the top half of the division, a clear sign
of the improvement in the side in recent weeks. Ogbonna has been a huge
aspect of the strong performances, receiving praise from supporters for his
efforts in the centre of West Ham's defensive line. But the Italian says the
Club's players in more forward roles should also receive credit. "I don't
like to talk about just a single player," Ogbonna said. "Marko [Arnautovic],
like Lanzini, like every striker, if they do the defensive part then it
helps us to do very well. "The defence is not just the five at the back.
It's the whole squad. That's why we've got the results."

The improvement in the team comes after a change in formation for the Irons,
with the side utilising three central defenders and wing-backs in recent
games.
Ogbonna previously played in this tactical set-up for Italy and at Juventus,
and is enjoying the new formation. He continued: "I used to play in that
role before when I played in Italy. In the game, we usually play five at the
back but sometime the situation changes and we play four at the back. It's
comfortable and it was a good decision to change. We got points on the board
from it."

The 29-year-old is delighted that West Ham are enjoying a positive run of
form and is eager for that run to continue on Saturday, against Bournemouth.
"I'm looking to Bournemouth – I'm not looking to the future, I'm looking to
the present. We have to keep concentration and get three good points. "It's
a good moment for us. This weekend is a huge game. We've been playing well
and we are at home. For us, it's a good moment. We have to keep going and
play our best football."

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U18s' Reece Hannam targeting first team opportunity
WHUFC.com

Reece Hannam is thrilled. And rightly so. The defender has just played a
crucial role in a huge win for West Ham United's U23s, helping his side to a
dominant 3-0 Premier League 2 Division 1 win away to Manchester United. "I
think I actually played well," Hannam said – a major understatement. "I
tried to do the simple things, and then when we 3-0 up I felt a bit more
comfortable trying different things. "It was definitely one of my better
games of the season. I don't feel like I've played that well but Terry
Westley told me it was one of my best matches of the campaign. That gives me
something to really build on."

Those who know Hannam will say it is rare for the 17-year-old to pat himself
on the back. An admission that he feels he performed against the Red Devils
is more than a fair reflection of the defender's showing. Hannam, who signed
a new deal in the summer, freely admits he is often never satisfied with his
efforts. It is not often he allows himself to savour a decent effort,
instead he is always looking for ways to improve. "I'm not often satisfied
often with my level or my performances. Even if I'm playing well, or someone
tells me I've had a good game, I feel like I need to improve on a number of
levels. "I haven't been happy with my performances so far this season, if
I'm honest. I do feel like I'm getting better and, certainly since Christmas
I reckon I've seen some improvements in the way I play. "I suppose that's
one way of improving, though, never being satisfied."

Hannam has been given chances to play for the U23s after impressing in the
U18s, but there is high competition for places at left-back in the Academy.
Vashon Neufville is slightly older and often plays at U23s level. While
Hannam is a regular for the U18s, he has his eyes firmly set on permanently
displacing his West Ham teammate. "I wouldn't say there's a rivalry between
Vashon and me, but we both know we're playing for the same position and I'm
actively trying to take his spot in the U23s," Hannam said. "I respect him
more than anything, though. We get on well and it's more a friendly
competition. We're pushing each other to be better and, even if you're in
the team, you can't rest on your laurels because there's another player
there who is ready to take your place."

As already established though, Hannam is not often satisfied, and the
left-back is harbouring ambitions of a place within the senior squad at the
Hammers. Manager David Moyes has shown the Academy is a part of his plan,
with the likes of Declan Rice, Domingos Quina, and Toni Martinez getting
chances in the first team since the Scot took charge in November. And Hannam
is eager to become one of the next names on that list. "I want to get into
the U23s regularly and perhaps even, if possible, get recognition in the
first team. There's a long way to go for that, though. "Even the chance to
train with the senior squad at Rush Green would be amazing. The boss has
shown he's willing to give youngsters a chance and it would be amazing to
earn that opportunity."

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Noble: We can't take our foot off the pedal
WHUFC.com

Mark Noble says West Ham United's home form will be vital to maintaining
their impressive Premier League form until the end of the season. The
Hammers play nine of their remaining 15 top-flight matches at London
Stadium, starting with Saturday's visit of AFC Bournemouth to east London.
And skipper Noble says the hosts need to ram home their advantage when they
tackle the Cherries. "We are in a good place at the moment, psychologically
and performance-wise, but we can't take our foot off the pedal because we
have four games coming up which are winnable," said the No16. "We know
Bournemouth are a fantastic team, but I hope we can continue the form that
we're in. If we can repeat the way we played at Huddersfield last weekend,
we'll have a good chance to do that. "We have got nine home games left out
of 15 and if we can win five or six of them, it will set us up really well.
If we can add a few away wins, that would be perfect."

Noble, who has been in fine form in recent weeks, scoring in victories at
Stoke City and Huddersfield Town to take his tally in Claret and Blue to 49,
says the circumstances of the Hammers' 3-3 Boxing Day draw at Bournemouth
would serve as extra motivation in the return fixture. West Ham came from
behind to lead 3-2 late on, only for Callum Wilson to snatch an equaliser,
despite being offside and converting with his arm. "Bournemouth denied us a
win late on down at their place on Boxing Day, but it's a tough place to go
and play, with a great atmosphere and the high tempo they play at, as
Arsenal found last weekend. "I'm hoping we can try and do the same to them
at our place."

If West Ham can replicate their second-half performance at Huddersfield last
weekend, Eddie Howe's team could be in for a torrid afternoon. Noble and
company scored three times and could have netted at least two or three more
in an irresistible period that had the skipper smiling in appreciation
nearly a week later. "I've said before that you don't really get the chance
to enjoy most matches as much as you should do, because you're too worried
about results, but that 20 minutes after half-time was so enjoyable to play
in. "I managed to get my name on the scoresheet early and then, after
half-time, the lads were absolutely brilliant."

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Hammers welcome brave Isla to Bournemouth game
WHUFC.com

West Ham United will welcome a very special guest to Saturday's Premier
League fixture with AFC Bournemouth. Three-year-old Isla Caton will lead the
Hammers out at London Stadium. Isla, from Hornchurch in Essex, was diagnosed
with a rare child cancer called Neuroblastoma – the same disease which
tragically took the life of heroic young Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery last
year – in March 2017. Brave Isla is currently undergoing an intense 15-month
course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment at Great Ormond Street
Hospital after the aggressive cancer spread to her bones and bone marrow.
Just 100 children in the UK are diagnosed with Neuroblastoma every year and
immunotherapy – which involves the injection of an antibody therapy – is not
currently available in this country.
Consequently, her parents Nicola Caton and Michael Hook want to raise more
than £190,000 for Isla to undergo specialist treatment in the United States.
The fundraising campaign has been backed by the Bradley Lowery Foundation,
the charity which was set up in memory of the gallant six-year-old who died
last year after forging a close bond with Bournemouth's former Sunderland
and West Ham striker Jermain Defoe, to fund treatment for youngsters
suffering from the same disease which took his life, as part of their
#CancerHasNoColours awareness-raising initiative. Nicola, who is joined at
London Stadium today by her husband, Bradley's mother Gemma and
representatives from the Bradley Lowery Foundation, welcomed West Ham's
involvement in the #TEAMISLA campaign.

"We are trying to raise £192,000 to get her to the USA as soon as she
finishes treatment to receive the Bivalent at the Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center in New York City, in the hope that it will prevent her
neuroblastoma returning," Nicola explained. "So many people have already
donated and helped with fundraising already and we will be holding more
events and trying to think of more ways to raise the money Isla needs but,
most importantly, we want to make as many people as possible aware of this
horrible cancer that affects children. "Isla is the bravest little girl we
have ever met and she has a long way to go through her treatment. We want to
give Isla the best-possible chance of fighting this terrible disease by
taking her to the US to undergo treatment not available in this country. "We
are grateful to West Ham United for the opportunity to raise both funds and
awareness for Isla and for the Bradley Lowery Foundation at Saturday's game
and are immensely proud that our little girl will lead out our football team
at London Stadium."

You can make a donation to #TEAMISLA via a bucket collection outside the
Stadium Store at London Stadium, texting the dedicated SMS donation service
ISLA14 £1 (or another amount) to 70070, or online at
www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/thebradleyloweryfoundation/islacaton

For more information about Isla's fight, and those of other courageous
youngsters battling Neuroblastoma, visit bradleyloweryfoundation.com

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Nick Davies returns to West Ham as Head of Fitness
WHUFC.com

Nick Davies has returned to east London to take up the role of head of
fitness under manager David Moyes, eight-and-a-half years after his first
spell with the Hammers ended. Welshman Davies brings with him a wealth of
experience at the highest level of football in this country, having
previously held the role of Head of Sports Science at Charlton Athletic,
West Ham, Birmingham City and Norwich City. The 39-year-old was recruited by
Moyes and joins a strong backroom staff that also includes coaches Alan
Irvine, Stuart Pearce, Billy McKinlay and Chris Woods and head of medical
services Gary Lewin. "It's strange to think it is a decade ago, but I joined
the Club under Alan Curbishley and had two really enjoyable years here, so
it's brilliant to be back and there is a little feeling of coming home, I
must admit," Davies explained. "Those couple of years were fabulous and
obviously I really enjoyed my time working with Alan. We had some big
characters at the Club in that time and it was a brilliant and inspiring
time to be around the place. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Ten years on from his first spell, Davies is back in Claret and Blue and
thoroughly enjoying his new role under another of the Premier League's
all-time great British managers. "I've been ever so impressed since I came
back. This is the first time I've had an opportunity to work with David and
I was delighted when it arose to come and be a part of his backroom staff.
"He is such a meticulous guy and his eye for detail is one of his things
that everyone at the Club is benefitting from.
"My introduction over the last five weeks has been an enjoyable one and I
feel I'm thriving here."

Davies, who worked under Irvine at Norwich, is just one of a host of
highly-qualified staff working as part of Moyes' backroom team. Lewin spent
more than a decade as England's lead physiotherapist, while the likes of
head physio Dominic Rogan, first-team physio Fraser Young, rehab fitness
coach Eamon Swift and head of performance analysis Jamie Osman all have
extensive top-flight experience. "There is calibre in every department and
it's definitely true to say we have got some really skilled, dedicated
individuals here "It's brilliant to be part of something which you feel can
get better and continue to evolve and ultimately help the manager maximise
what the players can deliver for him on a matchday from a physical
perspective."

*Full interview to appear in Saturday's Official Programme for the visit of
AFC Bournemouth.

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Junior Season Ticket upgrade offer for Palace
WHUFC.com

The Hammers have a London derby to look forward to on 30 January when
Crystal Palace visit east London and, with this being an evening kick-off,
if your child Season Ticket Holder can't make it you can upgrade to an adult
ticket at a discounted rate.

David Moyes' men will be hoping for a repeat of last season's 3-0 win over
the Eagles and you could upgrade your child's Season Ticket to an adult
ticket from as little as £15, with full upgrade prices as follows:

Band 1 £30
Band 2 £25
Band 3 £22
Band 4 £20
Band 5 £15

To upgrade your Under-16 Season Ticket, please call 0333 030 1966 (option
3)* now! Please note that Season Ticket upgrades must be done over the
phone.

Season Ticket Holders who have already upgraded their junior tickets will be
refunded in line with the offer price.

Once a ticket is upgraded, it can no longer be relisted on the Ticket
Exchange.

We know evening kick-offs are more difficult for our junior supporters to
attend, and this offer means we give every supporter the best opportunity of
ensuring they can use their tickets.

Meanwhile, the Ticket Exchange is open for this fixture. Click here to
relist or purchase now.

*Phone lines are open 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday.

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Team News: Chicharito back, Carroll update
WHUFC.com

West Ham United manager David Moyes has confirmed the Club should be able to
call on Chicharito, Declan Rice and Cheikhou Kouyate for this weekend's
match with Bournemouth. Chicharito was absent from Tuesday's FA Cup replay
with Shrewsbury Town, which coaching assistant Alan Irvine revealed was down
to illness. However, the Mexican was back in full training on Friday and
Moyes is confident he will be able to name the striker in his matchday
squad. Moyes also admitted that Rice suffered with a minor hamstring issue
during the week but feels the 19-year-old should still be okay for the clash
with the Cherries on Saturday.
Kouyate is also available for selection, per the manager, but a check will
be needed on Andre Ayew and Winston Reid will definitely miss out.
"Chicharito looks as if he's recovered from the flu, and he's trained
today," Moyes announced. "Andre Ayew is just feeling his hamstring a little
bit, so we will need to assess it tomorrow.
"Declan Rice also had a problem with his hamstring in midweek but I think he
will be okay. He's done a bit of training today so we're hoping he will be
okay. "Kouyate also trained today so we're hoping he will be fit. Kouyate is
back but Winston Reid, at the moment, is not training yet."

Moyes also elaborated on Andy Carroll's condition, after the Scotsman
revealed in his Evening Standard column that the England forward is
suffering from an ankle complaint. The Hammers No9 may require surgery, but
the Club will consider all options before deciding on the correct path. On
Carroll, Moyes added: "Andy is injured. We only found out yesterday when he
went for a scan. It showed up that he's got a problem and we're not quite
sure yet if it's going to need an operation or not. "We're getting two or
three specialists to look at it and get their opinions. When we've got that
we will be able to make the correct decision. "He scored two great goals
against West Brom a couple of weeks ago, so for us to lose him, it takes
away a big part of our armoury."

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Betway Insider's View of the Opposition: Bournemouth
WHUFC.com

A thumping win in the Premier League and safe passage into the Emirates FA
Cup fourth round have given West Ham United reasons to be cheerful. The 4-1
victory over Huddersfield Town last weekend saw the Hammers' leapfrog their
opponents and climb to eleventh in the table. The midweek win over
Shrewsbury, meanwhile, extended the club's unbeaten run to six matches in
all competitions. David Moyes' side are a good bet to extend that sequence –
and possibly move into the top ten. It was against Saturday's opponents
Bournemouth on Boxing Day that the current run began.
West Ham claimed a point that day, although it would have been three were it
not for the Cherries' controversial 93rd minute equaliser. And while the
visitors beat Arsenal last weekend to extend their own unbeaten run to five
games, they are winless in six on the road. West Ham's display at
Huddersfield was their most exciting of the season, and today's match should
be another thriller. The sides shared six goals at the Vitality Stadium last
month, while Bournemouth have netted two or more in their last five outings.
Eddie Howe's side are not as impressive in defence, however, having not kept
a clean sheet in any of their previous ten league games. While that run has
included fixtures against five of the top six, they have also shipped two
against Crystal Palace, Burnley and Brighton. West Ham's reinvigorated
attack, who have scored 15 in six, should therefore be able to expose their
opponents' defensive frailties. Expect top scorer Marko Arnautovic to be
among the goals again. The in-form Austrian hit two against Bournemouth in
that Boxing Day encounter and has scored six in his last seven league games.

Recommended bets
West Ham double chance and BTTS
Over 2.5 goals
Marko Arnautovic to score

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Moyes: 200 wins, Bournemouth's style & the 'magic' 40 points
WHUFC.com

David Moyes met with the media on Friday afternoon to talk all things West
Ham United ahead of Saturday's clash with AFC Bournemouth. The boss talked
the coming matches, transfer speculation, 200 Premier League wins and
avoiding relegation…

A target of 205 wins

A 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town last weekend gave Moyes his 200th win
in the Premier League as a manager, making the West Ham boss only the fourth
manager in history to reach this tally. The Scotsman has set himself the
target of reaching 205 – adding another five to his total – which he
believes will confirm West Ham's status in the Premier League for next
season. When asked about his wins, Moyes said: "205 is what I'm aiming for
at the moment because that would mean West Ham are definitely in the Premier
League. If we can get another five wins then I'm sure that will be enough to
keep us up."

Carroll injury creates opportunity

An injury lay-off for Andy Carroll was confirmed by Moyes during his
press-conference, which will spell more chances for the Club's other
strikers to play, according to the manager. Media speculation has seen a
couple of West Ham's attackers linked with a move, something Moyes has once
again denied, and he is looking forward to seeing which of the players takes
their chance when it is presented to themn. "I can see a situation where
more of them play, play more games, because we've got an injury to Andy,
we're not in any hurry to lose any players. "It just happens that we've got
four or strikers which can all do a really good job and we've also got one
or two who are in the team just now who are playing well. It's one of these
things where you've got to be ready, wait for your time and when your chance
comes make sure you take it.

Eddie Howe's 'good job'

Although Moyes is one of the Premier League's most experienced managers,
having been in charge for over 500 matches in the competition, this weekend
will mark Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe's 100th in the top flight. Moyes
has got nothing but respect for the job Howe has done on the south coast and
is impressed with the style of play expected of the Cherries. "I think he's
done a really good job at Bournemouth," he said on Howe. "I think he's given
them a real stability and a style. I used to play against Bournemouth as a
player when they were in the lower leagues, down the bottom end and I think
they look a good team. "They have got a defined style to the people they
bring into the club, how they look as if they want to work. You have to
admire them for a lot of the things they've done there."

Bournemouth will be a 'difficult game'

"I think Bournemouth have got a good attacking style, which always gives
them a chance of scoring," Moyes said on this weekend's opponents. "They had
a really big win against Arsenal and that can do good things for you. We
played them a few weeks ago and they had a little plug at us, and we had a
little plug at them, so overall, we know it will be a difficult game." The
game Moyes is referring to ended 3-3 on Boxing Day, and the boss admits both
sides could have won what was a 'strange' fixture. He added: "The last game
was strange. We were a bit unlucky in the end not to win it because of a
referee's decision. They would also say they had better chances and could
have won it before us. It was a strange game."

'Magic' number 40

A common belief in Premier League football is 40 points is enough for a team
to avoid relegation and, while Moyes says he's not set his team any targets,
he does consider 40 to be the 'magic figure'. He said: "I've set no targets
with the players but ultimately I think 40 was always a magic figure. I
might stand corrected there may have been an odd year when 40 was not enough
but over the years it was the magic figure. "It may not take that this year,
I don't know, but I think the sooner you get to it then the better chance
you have of staying in the league."

'There's no easy games'

"It sounds easy but all the managers in this half of the league will be
thinking there's no easy games," Moyes responded, when asked about West
Ham's coming run. After playing Bournemouth, the Irons will take on Crystal
Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Watford in the Premier League. Moyes
has dismissed the idea that this is an easy run of fixtures, saying:
"Everyone is difficult and I've not seen anything to necessarily suggest
that anyone is better than anyone else. "At the moment, we're in a good run
and we're doing okay. It's really important to keep that going because we
don't want to drop back nearer the bottom." The manager pointed to last
week's win over Huddersfield Town as the level of effort he wants to see
this weekend, and in the games to come. "I think what we've got at the
moment is hopefully, a little bit of momentum and we have got to keep it
going. The game at Huddersfield showed our improvements from our
performances and we're telling the team to do this again and give us an even
better performance."

'I'm a football supporter as well as a manager'

Moyes was questioned about his attendance at Chelsea's match with Norwich
City on Wednesday, amid speculation the boss was scouting transfer targets.
In response, he laughed: "I'm smiling because I'm amazed folks would be
surprised a manager is watching another game. That's part of our jobs as
managers.
"We do the team but also you go and watch other games, to watch players, to
watch tactics, to watch anything even as a football fan. People shouldn't
make a lot of it. I go to a lot of games. "I'm a football supporter as well
as a manager and I like to go and watch other games."

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West Ham United v Bournemouth
SAT 20 JAN 2018PREMIER LEAGUE
15:00
Venue: London Stadium
BBC.co.uk

Marko Arnautovic has been involved in nine goals in his last seven Premier
League matches.

TEAM NEWS
West Ham forward Andy Carroll faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering
a hairline ankle fracture. However, Javier Hernandez has recovered from
illness and Cheikhou Kouyate returns after missing the FA Cup win over
Shrewsbury Town. Declan Rice and Andre Ayew will face late fitness tests,
while Winston Reid is definitely out with a groin injury.

Bournemouth pair Joshua King and Junior Stanislas have been nursing
hamstring injuries and will be assessed. Manager Eddie Howe will recall
several players who were rested for the midweek FA Cup replay defeat at
Wigan.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Steve Bower: "This fixture will always have a small place in West Ham's
history as the first Premier League match to be played at the London
Stadium. It has been something of a rollercoaster ride for Hammers fans
since Michail Antonio's goal won the match that day. "The recent stability
though has offered genuine encouragement. Fifteen points from the last 24
under David Moyes has given them breathing space and belief with their added
goal threat. "They will be confident of continuing that run and ruining
Eddie Howe's 100th Premier League match in charge. He will hope
Bournemouth's victory over Arsenal will have a galvanising effect, although
they haven't won in their last nine visits to the capital."

Twitter: @SteveBowercom

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager David Moyes: "I think what we've got at the moment is
momentum. The game against Huddersfield shows we've improved, and we're
looking for more again. "I've set no targets for the players but 40 points
was always the magic figure and the sooner you get to it, the better."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "We've had to treat the past two results
exactly the same way as I don't think there's any point reacting with the
highs and lows of results when you're in my position. "We've been trying to
make sure we're as stable as we can be in preparation for this game. "The
mindset has had to change very quickly, as with three games in six days it's
a difficult period, there's a lot to think about."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION
There was a bit of controversy over the Cherries' late equaliser when these
sides drew 3-3 in December and David Moyes might feel he owes them one. I
think he will get a bit of revenge for that on Saturday.

Prediction: 2-0

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

There have been 23 goals in the last five meetings,. The average of 4.6
goals per match is the highest for any Premier League fixture to have been
played at least five times.
Sixteen of those 23 goals have been scored in the second half, and eight of
them have come in the last 10 minutes.
Bournemouth's only win in five visits to West Ham in all competitions was
4-3 at Upton Park in the Premier League in August 2015.
West Ham United

West Ham are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions (W3, D3).
They could win consecutive Premier League fixtures for the first time since
January 2017, when they followed a 3-0 home victory against Crystal Palace
with a 3-1 triumph at Middlesbrough.
David Moyes has collected 15 points from his last eight Premier League
matches, one more than he managed in his previous 28 matches in the
division.
The Hammers have scored 15 goals in six league games - they only had 14
goals after their opening 17 matches of the season.
Marko Arnautovic has been involved in nine goals in his last seven Premier
League matches (six goals, three assists).
Bournemouth

Bournemouth are unbeaten in four league games since Christmas (W2, D2).
The Cherries haven't won in their last nine games in London (D2, L7).
This will be Eddie Howe's 100th Premier League game in charge. At the age of
40 years and 52 days on the day of the game, he will be the third youngest
English manager to reach this milestone after Glenn Hoddle and Gareth
Southgate, who were both 38.
Bournemouth could score at least twice in five consecutive league matches
for the first time since a run of seven in a row in the Championship from
November to December 2014.
Callum Wilson has scored four Premier League goals in three matches against
West Ham, including a hat-trick in August 2015.
Wilson has also scored three goals in his last four Premier League
appearances.

SAM's verdict
Most probable score: 1-0 Probability of draw: 27%
Probability of home win: 49% Probability of away win: 24%
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale
at the University of Liverpool that is used to predict the outcome of
football matches.

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THE HAMMERS FIGHTING FOR A WORLD CUP SPOT
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 19 JANUARY 2018 AT 6:37PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Michael Fox

The season might only be just over half way through but focus is starting to
turn on the World Cup in the summer. The Hammers should be fairly well
represented, with around eight players all in with a shot of making the
plane for their respective countries.

With just a few months to go, we take a look at which players will be facing
a delayed summer holiday and checking in to a Russian hotel come mid-June…

JOE HART
It'll be interesting to see how Joe Hart's career goes over the next couple
of months. You get the sense it's make or break for the man on loan from
Manchester City. He's faced periods on the bench this season after failing
to be a commanding and strong number one for West Ham and it could affect
his chances of boarding the plane. There will be pressure on Gareth
Southgate to drop his first choice keeper, especially as David Moyes has of
late. That said he's still 8/13 to be in the final 23-man-squad, but it'll
be unlikely he'll return to the Olympic Stadium come August.

MANUEL LANZINI
Manuel Lanzini has had a fine season so far, so much so pundits are tipping
him for a move away from West Ham. Of course, he's one of us at the moment
and if he maintains his fantastic form will be joining up with the likes of
Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria over the summer. He made his debut back in
May and could help Messi gain the one medal he's currently lacking.
Argentina are at 8/1 to win the World Cup according to
sportsbets4free.co.uk, with both Lanzini and defender Pablo Zabaleta
expected to feature. The Argentines are also available at 15/8 to be the top
South American team in the tournament, with Brazil favourites at evens.

PABLO ZABALETA
Zabaleta will provide vital experience for Argentina and has been impressed
with David Moyes' reign since his arrival. The form of the former Manchester
City star has been mixed but in recent games has played like the Zabaleta we
know. It's almost certain he'll be on the plane to Russia and will likely be
a regular throughout the group stages.

DIAFRA SAKHO
By the time the World Cup comes round Diafra Sakho may no longer be a
hammer. The Senegalese attacker hasn't lit up the Olympic Stadium this
season and has been linked with Crystal Palace. He'll need first team
football if he's to get a place in Senegal's starting eleven, with the
African nation predicted to be one of Russia 2018's dark horses. They've a
talented side and if Sakho can get a good run of games and find some form
he'll be on the plane and could provide a pivotal role in a group which sees
them face Poland, Colombia and Japan.

JAVIER HERNANDEZ
Like Joe Hart, Javier Hernandez just hasn't done quite what was of expected
of him this season. The usually formidable striker has netted just four
times in 20 games, his worst record at a club and could be allowed to leave
in January. Clubs are sniffing around him but one thing is for sure, his
place in the Mexico team will not come into question. He's a hero for the
Central American nation with 49 goals in 99 games. He'll play a key role for
them, and it'll be interesting to see how his career pans out at West Ham
over the next couple of months, or maybe days.

JOSE FONTE
Jose Fonte played a key role in Portugal's Euro 2016 win and he'll likely
play in his final major tournament this summer. The 34-year-old has been out
since November but should still get the call come June having been an ever
present in 2017 for his nation. We'd like to see him back in a Hammers shirt
before that though and helping the resurgence of the club as Moyes continues
to get them climbing the table.

ANDY CARROLL
Andy Carroll is often rumoured to be making the squad ahead of a major
tournament, yet he's only ever been to one, way back in 2012. The truth is,
he does have something different which is the reason why Chelsea have been
sniffing round him this January. If he can stay fit (after his latest
setback), play well for the Hammers, as he has the last few weeks, he could
be a decent option for Gareth Southgate. His odds have shortened to make the
England squad recently and he's now 6/1 with some bookmakers, although as
high as 14/1 with other bookmakers. He could well worth a bet, especially if
he's banging them in for Moyes' men.

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GOLD AND SULLIVAN THE SELF STYLED 'MESSIAHS' EIGHT YEARS ON
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 19 JANUARY 2018 AT 6:57PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Written by @farehamhammer

The lies and Spin will never change. Some eight years ago myself and Enfield
Hammer warned what to expect from Gold and Sullivan, the self-styled
'Messiahs'. Or as they would like to have it, 'saviours' of our Club. They
rode into The Club as virtual knights in shining armour! Due to The Debt the
Club was in it made no business sense to buy The Club they said, they only
brought us because they were fans. They went into great detail of how bad
the debt was, over 100million and to make matters worse we were mortgaged to
the hilt. Loans had been taken out against the next two season's season
ticket money. If they had not come in and 'saved' us we faced financial
Armageddon, at the very least we faced administration at worst we could have
gone bust. R.I.P! West Ham United! They then turned their attention to the
players we had at The Club: "Weak and unbalanced". Was the most sombre
verdict from our 'knights' in shining armour. They would be taking NOTHING
out of The Club and paying Karren Brady's salary themselves. Investment? God
if it were not for Gold and Sullivan we would not have a bloody Club! Was,
the word on the street from West Ham fans everywhere! Mission accomplished:
Lower fan expectation.

Like a candidate running for President of The United States of America on
the campaign trail, repeatedly the level of debt got played out in the
media. We were even told that Mrs Brady went around and switched off the
lights at The Boleyn, as regards to manipulating the media, few can master
Gold and Sullivan. They are the kings of spin, they leak different stories
to different people. They have spun poor old Darren Lewis like a spinning
top this week regards Andy Carroll. I believe they wanted to sell him, as
they needed the money for down payments for transfers. Carroll was stitched
up making him look like a villain, all fell apart when Carroll was once
again injured.

They have run West Ham in exactly the same fashion as Birmingham City. Every
season ticket renewal time all sorts of top names are leaked, and as you
know now they don't happen. Still I think the all-time classic was the gem
while at St Andrews, they leaked the story that Diego Maradona (Yes
Maradona!) was closing in on a move to St Andrews. Of course, when the media
contacted Maradona, who was playing for Sevilla at the time, he said he had
never heard of them. Surprise surprise. One 'marquee' signing, a second one
costing some money, the rest freebies, cheapies and loan after loan that is
how this mob roll! On that basis there was no chance they were going to sign
William Carvalho, they got rudely exposed for the Carvalho 'phantom' bid,
but phantom 'bids' has been a way of life for the 'Messiahs' for some
twenty-five years. These boys are that tight they can peel an orange in
their pocket. Money, money and more money is what matters most to the
'Messiahs'. The move from The Boleyn was all about greed, I am convinced
they are involved in the property development The Upton Gardens, that will
be in place of The Boleyn Ground. Selling the Boleyn for virtual peanuts
does not sound right to me.



Many will never forgive them for selling The Boleyn Ground on premise of
taking The Club to the 'next' level, by bringing in "three or four" top
signings. Which has proven to be a load of crap! Yes, the 'Messiahs' are
certainly tricky customers indeed, but I don't buy into the theory that they
don't know how to run a football club or destroy are out to destroy The
Club. You certainly don't go out and spend £24 million on the likes of Marko
Arnautovic if you are planning to destroy The Club for starters. I would
argue that they know EXACTLY what they are doing. Many have said the
derogatory remarks regards, Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass, by Brady and
Sullivan were gaffes. Not at all! Both players are on a tidy whack and have
not lived up to expectations, they want them off the wage bill as quick as
possible, and have gone out of their way to make them uncomfortable. They
most certainly don't want them sitting around The Club being paid around
about £150,000 and not playing. Yes, it is crass, but football has
prostituted its soul for Sky Money a long time ago. I don't feel sorry for
Fonte and Snodgrass either. Why should any fan? If anyone had come in and
offered more dough to Fonte or Snodgrass, they would have demanded a move
and been off.

They also like the try before they buy method of signing a player. Almost
like taking a car on a test drive before you buy it. They pay an expensive
loan fee agree a fixed fee for a player if the player is successful. A
method which they used to get Lanzini. It was also a method that they used
to bring Tore and Zaza to The Club. Both players were flops and were sent
back. Saving the Club some 32million, which The Club would have had to pay,
if they had purchased the players outright. The down side of this is, that
some Clubs won't do business with you. There has been much criticism that
about Sullivan's role of 'Director' of Football. In the ideal world would
have been solely down to manager. But too many Clubs have been ripped off by
a combination of managers and agent. So, the ideal situation would have
been, the manager and Board working in tandem to bring players in.

Reality in most cases is totally different sadly eight years on and there
most certainly is no Champions League in sight, but on the pitch, itself we
are in far better shape than we were back then. We have a decent side but
not a strong squad. We are about four quality additions from being a very
good side. The window has been very quiet all round only Liverpool have
spent some serious dough. The money should have been spent in the summer,
signing Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic and getting rid of ten players to do
so, has left us paper thin and as David Moyes said we desperately need a
couple of midfielders. I think we will get a couple of loans in and no more.
Yes, it is tight arsed as usual…. but there may be more to it than that. I
would not at all be surprised if David Moyes is history in the summer, and
Rafa Benítez is installed as manager of West Ham United. Not that I think
that Moyes is a bad manager, it is just that deep down one senses Benítez is
the manager they really want. Who knows? They may have already sent Rafa a
copy of The Rise and fall of the Kray's. Let's face it with the 'Messiahs'
in charge anything could happen. As we speak. I have JUST HEARD… Sullivan is
closing in on Messi! He has offered Barcelona 900 MILLION… in staggered
payments of a fiver over 1000 billion years. Yes, it's been far from perfect
over these last eight years, but things could have been far worse. PLEASE Mr
Chairman cut the constant lies and spin!

We are more than a football Club, we're a way of life!

Farehamhammer!!

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Give Collins a new contract, say fans
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th January 2018
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United supporters have voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending
James Collins' contract beyond the end of the current season. The
34-year-old former Welsh international is out of contract this summer with
no sign of a new deal being offered. However a poll on the KUMB Forum has
resulted in 89 per cent of supporters voting in favour of extending Collins'
stay beyond the end of the season, whilst just six per cent voted against
(the remaining five per cent voting unsure). Collins, who first joined West
Ham from Cardiff in 2005 is currently enjoying his second spell at West Ham,
having spent three years at Aston Villa (from 2009 to 2012) before returning
to the Boleyn Ground. Earlier this week the Newport-born centre half was
linked with a £2million move to Brighton & Hove Albion, before privately
revealing that he has no interest in joining the Premier League newcomers.

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Only one ever present under Moyes
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th January 2018
By: Staff Writer

Central defender Angelo Ogbonna is the only West Ham United player to be
ever-present under David Moyes. The Italian central defender, who is
enjoying a productive season at the heart of the Hammers defence has played
every minute of all 15 games Moyes has been in charge of since succeeding
Slaven Bilic as Hammers boss back in November. Ogbonna's closest rival for
top spot is former Spanish under 21 Pedro Obiang, who whilst featuring in
every match has been substituted twice at half time. The duo are the only
two players to have been involved in all 15 fixtures. Completing the top
three is Arthur Masuaku, who has featured in each of the 15 matches managed
by the new boss bar the first, a 2-0 defeat at Watford on 19 November. In
all, Moyes has used a total of 26 players with the least used five - Diafra
Sakho, Edi Fernandes, Sam Byram, Dom Quina and Reece Oxford - having
featured in less than 10% of those 15 fixtures.

Squad usage at West Ham Utd under David Moyes
(From a maximum of 1,380 minutes)

1. Angelo Ogbonna 1,380 (100%)
2. Pedro Obiang 1,290 (93%)
3. Arthur Masuaku 1,272 (92%)
4. Pablo Zabalata 1,100 (79%)
5. Manuel Lanzini 1,079 (78%)
6. Aaron Cresswell 1,041 (77%)
7. Winston Reid 883 (65%)
8. Marko Arnautovic 875 (63%)
9. Cheik Kouyate 853 (63%)
10. Adrian 810 (60%)

11. Mark Noble 581 (41%)
12. Joe Hart 570 (40%)
13. Andre Ayew 518 (38%)
14. Declan Rice 440 (33%)
15. Michail Antonio 376 (28%)
16. James Collins 360 (27%)
17. Andy Carroll 336 (25%)
18. Javier Hernandez 276 (20%)
19. Reece Burke 210 (13%)
20. Josh Cullen 210 (13%)

21. Toni Martinez 139 (10%)
22. Diafra Sakho 115 (9%)
23. Edi Fernandes 90 (7%)
24. Sam Byram 89 (7%)
25. Dom Quina 87 (6%)
26. Reece Oxford 69 (5%)

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West Ham's Andy Carroll may need ankle operation, says David Moyes
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 19/01/18 12:04pm
SSN

West Ham boss David Moyes says Andy Carroll may need surgery on an ankle
injury which scuppered his chances of a move to Chelsea. Moyes confirmed in
his London Evening Standard column the England international "will not be
able to play again this month" after Carroll had a scan on Thursday. The
29-year-old, who has struggled with injury problems throughout his time in
east London, has been unable to train and missed West Ham's past three
games. Sky Sports News reported earlier this week that Chelsea had
approached the Hammers for Carroll, who is valued at £20m.
Moyes said: "What may defuse much of the speculation is that the ankle
injury Andy picked up against West Brom is sufficiently serious that he will
not be able to play again this month anyway and it could even need an
operation to put things right, although that has not yet been confirmed.
"The fact that some of our strikers have not been regulars in the team
recently has added grist to the rumour mill so I want to make it clear that
we have really good strikers."
It is understood West Ham were happy for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi to
be included as part of any deal for Carroll. But Moyes has "categorically"
denied he was at Chelsea's FA Cup third-round replay win over Norwich on
Wednesday to scout the Belgian, who has struggled to cement a place in
Conte's plans. The 54-year-old said: "I went to watch Chelsea play Norwich
in the FA Cup on Wednesday night and I knew that would increase the
speculation about Carroll and Chelsea with Batshuayi coming to us.
"Categorically, I did not go to Stamford Bridge to watch Batshuayi or any
other player in particular. "I like to get out and watch plenty of matches,
I hadn't seen Norwich this season and there were some players there who had
been mentioned to me as having been doing well."

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David Moyes distances West Ham from deal for Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi
By Hayley Fox
Last Updated: 19/01/18 4:56pm
SSN

West Ham boss David Moyes has distanced his club from a deal to sign
Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi and insists he was not at Stamford Bridge on
Wednesday to watch one player. Sky Sports News understands the Hammers have
been keen on Batshuayi as part of any deal that would have seen Andy Carroll
join Chelsea this month. Antonio Conte's hopes of landing Carroll appear to
be over after Moyes, who was spotted in the stands as Chelsea beat Norwich
in an FA Cup third-round replay, confirmed the England forward may need
surgery on an ankle injury. "I don't think people should make an awful lot
of it, I go to a lot of games. I'm a football supporter as well as a
manager," Moyes said ahead of his side's clash with Bournemouth. "We never
said we were interested in him (Batshuayi). We try not to talk about players
at other clubs because I'm there to watch a game and wasn't necessarily
there to watch anyone individually. "Carroll deserves (the interest)
because, over the years, he's been a handful to play against and he's
probably a bit of a dying breed of big centre-forwards, who are hard to play
against and offer something different. "We've said all along we've received
no official offer from Chelsea for a loan deal, we wouldn't have accepted it
anyway as we've said."
Moyes also refused to be drawn on whether the club were in for Inter Milan's
Joao Mario, who is said to be "open-minded" about a move to London. "I think
he's a name which has been mentioned but whether he's from Inter Milan or
Chelsea or wherever I'm not talking about players from other clubs," Moyes
added. "He's an interesting player, he's a good footballer and certainly
very talented."

West Ham are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games ahead of
Bournemouth's visit to the London Stadium on Saturday.

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West Ham v Bournemouth preview: Hammers seek back-to-back wins
Last Updated: 19/01/18 3:09pm
SSN

West Ham will be looking to build on their impressive result at Huddersfield
when they welcome Bournemouth on Saturday. David Moyes' side steamrolled
Huddersfield last weekend with Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini linking
up to great effect in a 4-1 victory. That stretched their unbeaten run to
four games although the Hammers haven't won back-to-back Premier League
games for over a year. Bournemouth also registered a victory last weekend
when coming from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1, which lifted them four points
clear of the relegation zone. However, Eddie Howe will be worried about his
team's overall defensive strength as they have not kept a clean sheet in
last 10 games since a 0-0 draw against Swansea in November.

Team news
Moyes has confirmed the club should be able to call on Javier Hernandez,
Declan Rice and Cheikhou Kouyate for this weekend's match with Bournemouth.
Chicharito was absent from Tuesday's FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury Town, but
was back in full training on Friday and Moyes is confident he will be able
to name the striker in his matchday squad. Moyes also revealed that Rice
suffered from a minor hamstring issue during the week but should be
available, while a check will be needed on Andre Ayew and Winston Reid will
definitely miss out.

Josh King and Junior Stanislas are pushing hard to be fit for Bournemouth.
Both forwards are continuing to battle hamstring complaints, and will be
assessed late on ahead of the London Stadium encounter. Howe will restore
his front-line stars for the West Ham trip, following the midweek 3-0 FA Cup
third-round replay loss at Wigan.

Opta stats
The five previous Premier League meetings between these teams have seen 23
goals scored at an average of 4.6 per game, which remains the highest
average for any Premier League fixture to have been played at least five
times.

Bournemouth have only won one of their five previous visits to West Ham in
all competitions (L4), a 4-3 win at Upton Park in the Premier League in
August 2015.

Sixteen of the 23 goals scored in this fixture in the Premier League have
been scored in the second half, accounting for 70 per cent of the goals;
indeed, eight have come in the final 10 minutes of matches (35 per cent).

The Hammers have scored 15 goals in their last six Premier League games -
one more than they'd scored in their opening 17 matches of the 2017-18
campaign.

This will be Eddie Howe's 100th Premier League game in charge - aged 40
years and 52 days on the day of the game, he'll be the third youngest
English manager to reach this milestone after Glenn Hoddle (38y 36d) and
Gareth Southgate (38y 150d).

David Moyes has collected 15 points from his last eight Premier League
matches (P8 W4 D3 L1), one more than he won in his previous 28 matches in
the competition (14).

Merson's prediction
These two teams are like a bag of revels. You see West Ham go to
Huddersfield and rip them apart, then they take 120 minutes to beat
Shrewsbury at home.
Then you see Bournemouth beat Arsenal, then go to Wigan to form a cup run,
and get turned over. Who knows, they could have gone far in the FA Cup.
Don't make excuses about Bournemouth having to stay up, Wigan have got their
own priorities trying to get out of League One! I don't know how Bournemouth
could stop Arnautovic, so I'm going for a home win, as he makes the
difference.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)

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West Ham have not given up on signing Joao Mario from Inter Milan
Last Updated: 18/01/18 10:06pm
SSN

West Ham have not given up on signing Joao Mario from Inter Milan, according
to Sky sources. The Portugal midfielder had told his advisers he was
reluctant to make the move, but he is now "more open-minded" about the idea
of moving to London. Inter will let him leave on loan with an option to buy.
Mario is not playing regularly for Inter and they are keen to raise funds by
selling a player they signed for £40m in the summer of 2016. He was a key
member of the Portugal team which won the European Championships in France
in 2016. The 24-year-old has made 15 appearances for the Serie A side this
season. Inter are currently third in the Italian top-flight standings.

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MATCH PREVIEW: WEST HAM V BOURNEMOUTH
By Dan Coker 19 Jan 2018 at 08:00
WTID

Blast from the past

In today's preview, we travel back to 11th April 1990; Margaret Thatcher was
in her final months as Prime Minister, Madonna's 'Vogue' topped the charts,
John Travolta and Kirstie Alley were in UK cinemas in Look Who's Talking
and, at a time of Poll Tax Riots and the Strangeways Prison Riots, West Ham
United ran riot as Bournemouth, competing at the opposite end of the Second
Division, visited east London.

Billy Bonds' Hammers ran out 4-1 winners in this Wednesday night encounter
in front of 20,202 spectators at the Boleyn Ground. Jimmy Quinn's strike was
deflected in for an own goal by ex-Tottenham defender Paul Miller before Ian
Bishop struck a beauty into the top corner from distance against his old
club after 23 minutes. David Coleman, who had celebrated his 23rd birthday
just three days previously, pulled one back before half-time for Harry
Redknapp's Bournemouth, lifting the ball over Ludek Miklosko after Luther
Blissett had outmuscled Colin Foster. Coleman tragically died in 1997.

In the second half, Quinn won a penalty which was dispatched with the usual
aplomb by Julian Dicks, who would be voted Hammer of the Year a month later
(the first of four occasions that he would win the prestigious prize). Dicks
would also finish as top scorer with 14 goals from 52 matches. Northern
Ireland striker Quinn was again involved for the fourth goal, heading Stuart
Slater's cross back across goal for 'Mad Dog' Martin Allen (pictured above)
to nod home from close range. My video below shows the goals from this game.



The Hammers would end the 1989/90 campaign in seventh place in the Second
Division, two points adrift of the play-offs despite finishing as the
division's joint highest scorers with 80 goals, while Bournemouth would
finish 22nd out of 24 teams and were relegated. Leeds won the Second
Division, Liverpool won the First Division title and Manchester United won
the FA Cup.

West Ham United: Ludek Miklosko, George Parris (Steve Potts), Tony Gale,
Colin Foster, Julian Dicks, Kevin Keen, Ian Bishop, Martin Allen, Stuart
Slater, Jimmy Quinn, Trevor Morley (Frank McAvennie).

Club Connections

A decent number of players have turned out for both West Ham United and
Bournemouth. Jermain Defoe and Hammers Academy product Junior Stanislas are
currently on Bournemouth's books while Carl Fletcher played for both clubs
and is currently youth team manager with the Cherries. Ex-Bournemouth
midfielder Paul Mitchell, who made one league appearance for the Hammers in
1994, is back with the Cherries as a correspondent for Opta Sports. Other
players to have appeared for both clubs include:

Goalkeepers: David James, Stephen Henderson and Marek Stech.

Defenders: Everald La Ronde, Bill Kitchener, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Brignull,
Reg Parker, Keith Rowland, Elliott Ward, Bobby Howe and Horace Glover.

Midfielders: Ian Bishop, Trevor Hartley, Bobby Barnes, Tommy Southren, Jimmy
Neighbour, Emmanuel Omoyinmi, Tony Scott, Anthony Edgar, Scott Mean, Matty
Holmes, Dale Gordon, Jack Collison and Patsy Holland.

Strikers: Nicky Morgan, John Arnott, Mark Watson, Zavon Hines, Steve Jones
and Ted MacDougall.

Harry Redknapp played for and managed both clubs. Former Hammers player John
Bond went on to manage Bournemouth, while Jimmy Quinn played for both clubs
and also managed the Cherries.


Today's preview focuses on a wing-half who experienced limited playing time
at West Ham United before enjoying a lengthy career with Bournemouth. Keith
Miller (pictured) was born in Lewisham on 26th January 1948. He joined the
Hammers from Walthamstow Avenue and made his debut at the age of 20 as a
substitute in a 2-2 draw against Ipswich at Portman Road on 23rd November
1968. He did not appear for the senior side again in 1968/69 but did appear
once more from the bench early the following season, in a 1-0 defeat at
Nottingham Forest on 30th August 1969. Miller's only start for the Irons
came in a 2-2 draw with Leeds at the Boleyn Ground on 2nd April 1970.


After three appearances for West Ham United, the 22-year-old Miller moved to
John Bond's Fourth Division Bournemouth in the summer of 1970 for a fee of
£10,000. He played 103 consecutive games after arriving and won promotion to
the Third Division in his first season with the Cherries under the
management duo of former Hammers Bond and Ken Brown, playing alongside
fellow ex-Irons Trevor Hartley, Tony Scott and Pat Holland (on loan). He
almost won successive promotions the following season as Bournemouth
finished third in the Third Division. Miller went on to captain the club and
played 383 matches for Bournemouth, scoring 19 goals – he stands fifth in
the Cherries' all-time appearance charts, behind Steve Fletcher (628), Neil
Young (430), Sean O'Driscoll (423) and Ray Bumstead (415). He was rewarded
with a testimonial against Tottenham in 1980.

Miller, who turns 70 next Friday, settled in Dorset after retiring from
playing and was interviewed at half-time in last season's match between
Bournemouth and West Ham on the south coast.

Referee

The referee on Saturday will be Martin Atkinson, who most recently refereed
our 1-1 home draw with Leicester in November. He was also in charge of our
3-0 home defeat to Brighton in October and our 4-0 opening weekend defeat at
Manchester United on 13th August. 2017/18 is Atkinson's 13th as a Premier
League referee. Since West Ham United achieved promotion back to the top
flight in 2012 Atkinson has refereed 19 of our league matches, officiating
in nine wins for the Hammers, two draws and eight defeats.

Atkinson is pictured above refereeing our 3-1 win at Bournemouth in January
2016. He also refereed the Hammers' FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford in
March 2016, when he turned down appeals for a penalty after Marcos Rojo
appeared to have tripped Dimitri Payet and failed to spot Bastian
Schweinstieger's block on Darren Randolph as Man Utd equalised late on. He
refereed last September's 4-2 home defeat to Watford and October's 1-0 win
at Crystal Palace, when he controversially sent off Aaron Cresswell for two
very harsh yellow cards in quick succession. His other Hammers appointments
last season were our 3-1 win at Middlesbrough in January and our 3-0 defeat
to Arsenal in April.

Possible line-ups

The Hammers are without Jose Fonte, Edimilson Fernandes, Michail Antonio,
Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho, while Winston Reid is a major doubt. Cheikhou
Kouyate and Chicharito could return.

Bournemouth are set to be without the injured Tyrone Mings and Jermain
Defoe. Junior Stanislas and Josh King could return from thigh injuries.

Possible West Ham United XI: Adrian; Zabaleta, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell,
Masuaku; Kouyate, Noble, Obiang; Lanzini, Arnautovic.

Possible Bournemouth XI: Begovic; Smith, Francis, Ake, Steve Cook, Daniels;
Lewis Cook, Gosling; Fraser, Ibe; Wilson.

Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!

P.S. WHUISA are running a survey to garner your views on away ticketing, the
results of which will be shared with the club. Please take the short survey
and ensure your voice is heard by clicking here

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 19th January 2018

Reece Burke recalls his battling Premier League debut
WHUFC.com

The scorer of the winning goal in Tuesday's FA Cup replay, Reece Burke,
explains why a hostile London derby against QPR made for a day he'll never
forget...

The build-up

Almost 16 months had passed since Reece Burke had made his first team debut,
aged 17, in an FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest. Though the result was not
one to remember for the centre-back and other young players who were
introduced to Hammers fans that day, the boyhood West Ham supporter would no
doubt treasure the afternoon he pulled on the Claret and Blue for the first
time. Now for the league debut, the youngster must have thought. But Burke
was forced to bide his time, get his head down and continue to work hard in
the development side in which he was making great strides forward. The
following summer was fruitful for the defender, too. Burke travelled to New
Zealand with the first team for their pre-season tour, before returning to
the UK to score the winner in a 3-2 victory over Sampdoria. Shortly after,
he signed his first professional contract with the Club. The stage was set
and in April 2015, his time finally came, when manager Sam Allardyce
selected the then-18-year-old to start alongside James Collins in defence in
a London derby against Queens Park Rangers. "I got told the day before that
I would be starting," recalled Burke. "It came as a bit of a surprise
because I hadn't played for the first team in a competitive game for a
while.
"And to be told I was going in straight from the start came as a shock, to
be honest. I was a bit nervous which I think is natural, but the lads said
that was normal, so I just tried to focus and look forward to the game. "To
be a West Ham fan about to play my first Premier League game, obviously I
was excited but the focus has got to be on the game straight away to be
fair."

The match

QUEENS PARK RANGERS 0-0 WEST HAM UNITED
Premier League, Saturday 25 April 2015, Loftus Road

Queens Park Rangers: Green, Onuoha, Dunne, Caulker, Hill (Suk-young 65),
Phillips, Barton, Sandro, Henry, Zamora, Austin
West Ham United: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Burke, Cresswell, Downing,
Kouyate, Noble, Jarvis (C.Cole 55), Nolan, Valencia

Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 18,036

With five matches left to play in the Premier League, West Ham were sitting
in the mid-table security of tenth place. Opponents QPR, however, were
fighting for their lives at the bottom, two points from safety. It was set
to be a busy afternoon for Burke and his fellow defenders. Alongside the
youngster was Collins, with full-backs Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell
either side of the centre-back partnership. With the solid midfield duo of
Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate in front and Adrian in goal, Burke was well
protected, but nevertheless, a performance was needed against a battling
Super Hoops team led by boss Chris Ramsey. "They were a tough side to play
against at the time," said Burke, looking back on his big day. "As a
defender, you had to be focused because you knew they could go direct or
play in front of you. "I got a few tackles in, cleared a few balls and I
remember early doors I nearly scored as well. I can't remember who swung in
a corner, but I got up and nearly put a header in. "I was playing to the
left of Ginge and he was really helpful. He was in my ear the whole game,
telling me what to do and guiding me through it. "He's obviously really
experienced and he just helped me through, which is what you need as a young
centre-back coming into a game like that."

In the first half, Collins was penalised for a handball inside the penalty
area but Charlie Austin, stepping up from 12 yards, was denied by Adrian in
goal. The Hammers went close when Cresswell's free-kick was saved by Rob
Green at the other end, but late on, Richard Dunne thought he had won it for
the Hoops before his header was ruled out by referee Mike Jones. The
Hammers held on for a point, which would eventually see their tally of 47
steer them to a 12th-place finish.
"To get a clean sheet as a defender, you can't do much more and I was really
happy with the way it went," said Burke, proud of his performance. "Early
doors they got that penalty but Austin missed, so it was happy days and we
defended really well after that. "Under Big Sam we always had a good focus
in training on keeping clean sheets and making sure we did the basics so
that was good for a defender like myself. You can't complain with a clean
sheet away in a London derby."

The reaction

Burke went on to start the next four matches in the Premier League for
Allardyce's side but it was his first he decided is his favourite so far in
Claret and Blue.
He added: "It was just a whole new experience for me, having the West Ham
fans clapping me and the team at the end, having been in that crowd many
times before. It was great. "The whole family were there too and I was
pleased for them to watch me play that first league game. It was one of
those you don't forget.
"QPR is a very closed-in ground, it's very tight and the fans are right on
top of you. For a Premier League debut, I couldn't have asked for a better
atmosphere away from home. The atmosphere was a joke! It was so good.
"Getting a clean sheet definitely gave me confidence going into the next few
games as well, because I think I started the next three or four in the
league after that. It went from there so doing well in that QPR match worked
out well."

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Former Hammer pays tribute to 'standard bearer' Regis
WHUFC.com

Former West Ham United striker Bobby Barnes has paid a heartfelt tribute to
the late Cyrille Regis, who passed away this week at the age of 59. Capped
five times by England, centre forward Regis was one of the first black
footballers to make a significant impact on the British game and inspired
many youngsters from similar backgrounds to take up the game. Among those to
follow in the footsteps of the West Bromwich Albion favourite was Barnes,
four years his junior, who graduated from the Academy of Football before
playing 54 times in Claret and Blue.

"I first heard the sad news about Cyrille when someone sent me a text,"
Barnes, who is now deputy chief executive of the PFA (Professional
Footballers' Association), told Ken Dyer in Saturday's Official Programme
for the visit of AFC Bournemouth. "I honestly didn't believe it because he
looked after himself so I rang [Cyrille's long-time West Bromwich Albion
teammate] Brendon Batson and he confirmed it. "Cyrille was someone we all
looked up to, even going back to when I was making my way in the game. He
had gone through so much, along with Laurie Cunningham and Brendon and as a
young black player, you looked at him and said to yourself: 'He's taken so
much on our behalf. He's the standard bearer who has come through so much –
and thrived.' "People have often asked me what it was like when I was coming
through and yes, there was a certain awareness but back then, a lot of it
went over my head, to the extent that I was determined to do what I set out
to do, whatever anyone else said or did. "Cyrille was four years older than
me and he went through it in those early years. Since then I have spoken to
him a lot. "I remember England playing Spain in Madrid in 2004 and there was
a lot of racial abuse of several of our black players even then. I recall
talking to Cyrille afterwards and actually having a laugh because we both
agreed: 'Do you know what? That wasn't that bad compared to how it used to
be!
"I remember the days when it was so bad, the National Front were dishing out
leaflets outside the Boleyn. "We tried to lighten things when we could. I
remember we played up at Newcastle one day and I used to get so much stick
up there – bananas and all sorts – so the lads said 'we're going to give you
a bit of support Bob. We want you to lead us out for the second half and
show them what we're about'. "Naively I marched out of the tunnel, looked
behind me and I was the only one there. The rest were still in the tunnel!
"We all looked up to Cyrille, though. He was the big brother, if you like.
Our generation of black players had so much respect for him, as a friend but
also a pioneer. As Dion Dublin said: 'All of us have come through on
Cyrille's shoulders because he paved the way'. Even the current generation
of black players have so much to thank him for. "As a man, he was always
humble and respectful and as a player, he was a powerhouse. He got five
England caps but should have won far more than that. "The first thing I did
when I heard the news was to go on line and watch the goal he scored against
Norwich. I had to see it again for myself. He has four or five opponents
trying to pull him back on a muddy pitch and it's though they're not there.
He just slams the ball in from 35 yards. "He wasn't that tall but he was
built like a heavyweight boxer."

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Vashon Neufville - The new left-back in the changing room
WHUFC.com

With Arthur Masuaku busy establishing himself as a firm fans' favourite and
Aaron Cresswell impressing in a new role in West Ham United's back five, it
would be easy to ignore another left-back emerging behind the scenes. But
Vashon Neufville does not want to be ignored. And after being handed a spot
in the Hammers' first-team squad for the first time nine days ago, it is
clear his hard work is beginning to pay off. The young left-back did not get
on the pitch against Shrewsbury Town in the original Emirates FA Cup
third-round clash between the two sides, but that taster of senior action
has left the defender hungry for more. "It was amazing to be involved,
especially in the FA Cup," Neufville, still only 18-years-old, reflects. "It
was the first time and I've been thinking about it for a while. Hopefully
there are plenty more chances for me to do it again and maybe get on the
pitch."

Should the full-back continue his impressive form for the Club's U23 side in
Premier League 2, he will not have to wait long until that chance finally
comes.
A former England U16 and U17 international, the youngster's talent is
obvious and, as a player who flies down the left-wing for the U23s before
tearing back to help his team defend, Neufville encapsulates what it means
to be a modern-day full-back. They are not skills that come overnight for a
young player, though, and the likes of Masuaku, Cresswell and Paul Konchesky
– who is often found mentoring young Hammers at Chadwell Heath – have been
key influences on the defender. "Both the first team left-backs Cress and
Masuaku are great players so I always watch what they're doing on the
training pitch and learn from them," Neufville explains. "If I get the
chance to replicate how they play then maybe that increases my chance of
being able to fill in for them at some point this season. They are both
brilliant at getting forward and delivering crosses and they can defend too.
"Paul has also really helped me this season, not just on the pitch. He has
helped with my lifestyle and given me all his experience. "It's great to
have players around the training ground who have been involved with the Club
in the past, like Jack Collison and Matt Upson too, and you can always ask
loads of questions. You can always keep on learning."

A former England youth international, Neufville will be hoping to be
involved in some capacity tonight but, should another opportunity elsewhere
to gain senior experience present itself, the teenager is keen. "I want to
get some senior experience this season, that's the aim for the second half
of the campaign," he says. "Hopefully I can get out on loan somewhere this
month and play some League football. That's the aim but we'll wait and see."


Wait and see we will, but if Neufville continues in the same vein, the wait
for a first senior appearance and the chance to put what he has learned into
practice will soon be over.

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Cullen eyeing Premier League chance
WHUFC.com

Josh Cullen is eyeing up a Premier League chance after impressing in both
games of the Hammers' Emirates FA Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town. Cullen
returned from a loan at Bolton Wanderers, alongside matchwinner Reece Burke,
to play his part in the cup tie and wants to add to his one Premier League
appearance for the Club so far – in the famous 3-0 win at Liverpool at the
start of the 2015/16 season. Now with plenty of experience under his belt
from those loans at Bolton and Bradford City, Cullen is convinced he is
ready to kick on, "Pushing on in the Premier League is the aim," he said.
"It's great to be back – I want to play for West Ham and going out on loan
is about improving and developing to get that chance to play for West Han.
"I'm delighted to get two appearances under my belt, two starts, and it's
great to have that faith shown in me. I want to push on from here."

Tuesday's replay was Cullen's first London Stadium outing since the official
opening against Juventus, so he was delighted to be back and share the
winning moment with his fellow Academy graduate Burke. "It was good to be
back out there," he added. "It's a great feeling to play in front of the
West Ham fans. It was a tough game and credit to Shrewsbury for making it
tough for us but we're through and now we can push on to the next round.
"I'm buzzing for Burkey to get the goal. It was one of them – he's made a
great contact with it, struck it nicely and it's pinged off the bar and gone
in, "He's got good technique, he's not a head it and kick it centre half,
and I'm delighted for him."

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Huddersfield 1-4 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th January 2018
By: HeadHammerShark

"Just a perfect day, problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own, it's such fun"
- Lou Reed, "Perfect Day"

And that will do very nicely indeed. In a season that seems to have been
tinged with a sense of disappointment from the moment that we started the
year with all the well drilled organisation of the Hawaiian Emergency Alert
team, and then slammed shut the transfer window with a slightly incredulous
"Is that it?", it must be said that in those brief, tantalising moments when
things have been good, they've been almost perfect.

Mark Noble. His legs have gone. Literally, in this case.

Two down to Spurs at Wembley and then roaring back to triumph 3-2; that
thumping 3-0 win at Stoke; Chelsea kept at arms length and poked like a
tiger for a 1-0 victory; the last gasp home winners against Swansea and West
Brom that masked the inadequacy of what had gone before. All moments to
remember and a reminder that when the stars align and the gods are with us,
then West Ham can serve up great days just like anyone else.

And what was even better about this one was that it almost sprang from
nowhere. After twenty minutes of this game it wouldn't have been a surprise
if a great celestial hand had appeared from the clouds, picked up the John
Smith's stadium, turned it upside down and shaken it, while yelling "IS THIS
THING ON?".

It wasn't for a lack of effort on behalf of either side, but the stars
weren't aligning for anybody. The home team huffed and puffed but never
looked like causing us any damage, while we continually got Manuel Lanzini
on the ball in dangerous positions, only for his radar to malfunction.
Shades of that Hawaiian Emergency Alert team once again. Overall, I'm not
sure I've seen so much effort produce so little of value since Madonna last
starred in a film.

In such circumstances, the tropes demand that you either need a moment of
individual brilliance or catastrophic error to conjure up a goal. And so it
was that Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lossl lined up a goal kick, noticed that
all his defenders on the edge of the box were marked and still passed it to
the one of them anyway. This is a tactic which the Terriers have used
regularly all season, and for all I know it could be a key component of why
they have done so well. But in that moment, with the way that Lanzini,
Arnautovic and Noble were aligned, it was fairly clear that we had set
ourselves up with the expectation that they would try this, and thus just
looked ludicrous.

So Lossl found Joe Lolley, Arnautovic hassled the young man, and Noble stole
it from him and ran through to coolly bend it round the keeper for a barely
deserved lead. It was an interesting passage of play because we had already
forced Lossl to go long from goal kicks previously and won the ball back as
a result. What I liked about this was that we were prepared for it and it
worked so well it resulted in us scoring. I might be doing Bilic and his
staff a disservice, but that feels like exactly the kind of attention to
detail that was so frequently missing from his latter day teams. By
contrast, whether it's towels on the sideline for long throws, or minimising
the gaps between midfield and defence, you sense that there are no stones
being left unturned by Moyes in the search for an edge. This goal would be
Exhibit A for why that's a Very Good Thing.

***

"When I'm outside in a real good mood
You could almost forget 'bout all the other things"
- Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, "Over Everything"

It was at this point that I started to get a nagging sensation that I'd seen
that goal somewhere before. I'm always hugely appreciative of opposition
goalkeeping incompetence, as I often mention to my eldest daughter Barthez,
and Lossl was definitely ringing some bells here. And then it came to me.

Finn Harps.

I shall say no more, but I shall simply invite you to watch this clip.
Thirteen year old me nearly burst a blood vessel laughing at this the first
time round. I think Lossl might have been channelling his inner Finn Harp
here.

***

"Are you hoping for a miracle?"
- Bloc Party, "Helicopter"

So with a one goal lead to protect and Huddersfield looking insipid, it felt
very much to me like we could sit on that advantage and possibly snatch a
second on the break. This is why my opinion should always be taken with a
Super Sized pinch of salt.

Approaching half time, we were still playing disjointedly when Lolley picked
up a loose ball wide on our left, cut into the box under minimal challenge
and curled a sumptuous equaliser inside Adrian's far post. The finishing in
this game really deserved a better showcase – similar to when when you see a
band you like on The Andrew Marr Show at nine on a Sunday morning and Chris
Grayling is tapping his foot away on the sofa. If that was a goal from
nothing, then it at least better reflected the balance of play in a game
where neither side was really doing anything of note.

But if goals from nothing are your thing, then Marko Arnautovic seems to be
your man. It took him just eleven seconds of the second half to latch on to
a speculative Kouyate flick on, pull it out of the air, baffle Tommy Smith
and drill home a fine low left footed shot. In that moment the entire
Huddersfield team talk was consigned to the waste paper bin, and we could
once again retain our shape and look to hit them on the break. It was a
moment of sublime skill and a far more difficult finish that it looked at
first glance.

Thereafter, we looked like we might score with every attack, as Huddersfield
decided to give defending a miss and move to a "Rush Goalie" formation that
I haven't seen since leaving school. We duly took advantage with a
beautifully crafted first goal for Lanzini, which he finished smartly. He
then helped himself to a second when Arnautovic went full "T-Rex out of the
enclosure", leaving a trail of mangled bodies behind him until his strike
partner arrived to smash home the loose ball like some glory hunting
Velociraptor. The Austrian celebrated with all the relish of a dad who had
just discovered his kids have changed the Sky Q pin.

But here's the thing about Moyes' West Ham. We continue to win in very
unlikely ways. Now hold on, because I know you might be spluttering at the
mouth and wondering how I could possibly find fault with a 4-1 victory, so
let me firstly say that I am not. This was a wonderful win. A perfect day.
But let me sound a note of caution, because this is The H List after all,
and you can go elsewhere for cheerleading if that's your thing.

As this shot map from Caley Graphics shows, while there wasn't much of a
threat all day from Huddersfield while we displayed almost unheard levels of
ruthlessness in our finishing. I was somewhat shocked when I saw the low xG
of our chances, but that is kind of the point of xG - to remove the inherent
biases of our own opinions. And so hats off to Noble, Arnautovic and Lanzini
for their classy finishes. As it was, our best chance actually might have
fallen to Kouyate who couldn't redirect an Ogbonna header just inches from
the line, after a corner.

But the reason for my nagging concern is that we won't score four goals
every week from six shots on target. We won't score last minute winners
every week. We won't keep Chelsea quiet for 85 minutes every week. We won't
have three shots to Spurs 31 and get a 1-1 draw every week. And if you think
that is all just a load of overly negative shit, then ask yourself whether
either of Bilic or Pardew were able to sustain their habit of going a goal
down all the time and still winning. Regression to the mean is a bitch, yo.

And yet, with every passing fixture Moyes seems to conjure up ever more
unlikely results. And here we are, with one defeat from our last eight
fixtures and up to eleventh in the table. It is truly impressive what he has
been able to achieve with a simple devotion to proper organisation and an
ability to actually coach and improve players. I'm not yet ready to commit
to Moyes on that long term deal, primarily because this sample size isn't
anywhere near big enough, but also because I would like to see more of those
wins like we had at Stoke. An impressive, dominant, no doubt about it,
"Alexa beat these fuckers like a piñata", kind of a win.

Because, for all the excellence on display here, I'm not sure it's entirely
sustainable in the long run to lean so heavily on keeping things tight and
hoping that our midfielders cum forwards will conjure something up. And in
fairness to Moyes, perhaps the best thing about this little resurgence is
how underwhelmed he seems to be with it all. As if he can't quite get over
how low the bar is in East London. He reckons we have a long way to go until
we're close to the level he wants us at and I reckon he's right. That said,
if the road is going to be long, then a few pleasant diversions such as this
will go a long way toward easing the burden.

***

"Oh, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now"
- Bob Dylan, "My Back Pages"

If the calling card of the Moyes regime has been his ability to rejuvenate
players, then perhaps the shining example has been Mark Noble. I remain
convinced that Noble was either injured or unfit at the start of the season,
as it turns out that a 70 yard Croatian long jumper might not have been
right at the cutting edge of elite athlete fitness preparation. Since his
return to the side under Moyes he has been exemplary, and has done a
marvellous job of thumbing his nose at unbelievers like me.

What I really noticed on Saturday was how much sharper he looked during the
many short sprints that are the staple diet of the modern day Premier League
midfielder. While Noble always has loads of time on the ball and always
looks to retain possession in tight areas, I think he is also benefitting
from the new system. With less ground to cover, he seemed more explosive and
quicker over those short distances. His goal was a case in point, but
generally I thought he did his work brilliantly and was the best player on
the pitch, even allowing for the performances of Arnautovic and Lanzini.

I always think that laymen like me probably make far too much of formations.
I strongly doubt whether professionals care too much about the concept of a
3-4-3 vs a 3-5-2, but instead focus simply on their tasks and the space on
the pitch they are either supposed to attack or defend. Because ultimately,
football is really just a game about space and trying to gain supremacy of
it.

But if you divide the pitch up into five sections lengthwise, I think you
can visualise why Noble seems to be better utilised in this system. None of
this is an advanced tactical revelation, by the way, but instead just
something I've been thinking about for a while.

If you look at the pitch in this way - and I stress again that I am not a
qualified coach or the second coming of Ron Greenwood - I think it's easier
to see that in this 4-2-3-1 formation you demand a lot of your central
players. The two central midfielders have to laterally cover all five
sections between them, unless the advanced three are hard workers and
prepared to track back all day. Of course, if they are Dimitri Payet,
Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini then you might as well cast a couple of
spells and get yourself a pet hippogriff to do it.

Similarly, the two centre backs need to be able to provide a solid, mobile
base and allow the full backs to roam high up the pitch and try and get
overloads out wide. We worked this pretty well in 2015-16 when Noble and
Kouyate were imperious, and we had one of Europe's best players drawing all
sorts of defensive cover on our left wing. With two mobile full backs, and a
generally weak division, we were able to ride this formation all the way to
the cusp of the Champions League.

But in the intervening years, the ravages of time and injuries have taken
their toll. Certain players have visibly declined, and I counted Noble among
them. But in this new system, there are some obvious advantages for him.
Firstly, he can now park himself in the middle of that midfield three and
have a greatly reduced amount of space to police. Now Obiang and Kouyate can
drift out wide to provide support for those isolated wing backs. Noble,
meanwhile, can sit in the middle and control possession against the weaker
teams, and he did that here splendidly.

It helps, too, that he has a solid three behind him meaning that his
backtracking should be reduced as well. There are flaws of course, and the
wide areas continue to look a vulnerablity that we have seen repeatedly
exposed, but as an overall platform it all seems pretty stable, although
even as I write this all out, I feel like we might need to check that
Zabaleta's legs are still attached given all that running he has to do.

I don't know how much weight any of that would carry with qualified coaches,
but to my uneducated mind it makes some sense. That deep lying style allows
us to compress the space well, and reduce the stress on older legs, but does
also rely on the front men having to cover lots of ground ahead of them. In
that sense, the renaissance of Arnautovic has relied as much upon his off
the ball work as his goalscoring. Note that he was missing and Hernandez
started at Wembley, when it looked like we couldn't have hurt them even with
a Sherman tank. Which is kind of ironic given that Obiang unleashed a
Howitzer to open the scoring.

As I mentioned above, I'm not entirely sure all of this is sustainable, but
it feels very much like Moyes has cut his cloth to fit the players he has
available to him. A better centre back and he might be able to revert to a
back four, a better central midfield and he might be able to go to a pairing
in there and push forward another body to help Arnautovic. Whatever he
decides, I still think we need to some warm bodies this month.

***

"I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together"
- The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"


So for all of that praise directed towards Noble and the defensive shape of
the team, the most eye catching piece of our performance was the front two
of Lanzini and Arnautovic. By deploying them as a pair, Moyes continued his
policy of slinging players into advanced positions when he doesn't trust
them to do any tracking back, with Antonio being the first deployed in this
manner.

Talking to a Newcastle supporting friend on Monday morning, he said
something which made me laugh, but actually makes some sense. He said that
we were using Arnautovic in a similar way to Ronaldo.

After I stopped screwing up my face, I thought about it, and it's not quite
as insane as it seems. It's insane, of course, but not as bad as, say,
turning to Robert Snodgrass as the answer to your January problems.

Anyway, both Arnautovic and his Portuguese doppelgänger are tall, strong and
quick wide forwards who have been converted into central strikers and both
possess unusual gifts for someone in the position. Now let's get that into
perspective - Ronaldo has almost refined the role of what a central striker
looks like, so to compare him directly with a player in the bottom half of
the Premier League after a good game away at Huddersfield would be well Tim
Sherwood.

But what my friend was getting at, was more that we have abandoned the
traditional demands of our strikers and are instead playing a very different
way. Arnautovic is certainly strong enough to compete for balls and do the
traditional grunt work of a striker, but where we really want to get him is
isolated with defenders so he can run at them and beyond them. In a similar
style to Ronaldo, if nowhere near the same level, we are asking him to use
his physicality to lead counter attacks and stretch teams.

Take our last goal for example. That is not a goal that can be scored unless
he has the pace, skill and power to get to the ball and then bulldoze into
the area. None of our other players could have done that and it is a huge
feather in the caps of Moyes and his coaching staff that they have
engineered this development.

And yes, that third goal.

When did you last see us play like that? I can't remember a move of that ilk
since the Carlton Cole screamer at Wigan, and while we played well in that
2015-16 season, we haven't mustered up anything that good since moving to
the London Stadium. What was encouraging was that the goal actually
showcased exactly what you want from a team in our situation. We pressed
high, won the ball back, our midfielders shuffled it around until finding
Arnautovic in space and a stepover later Lanzini was showing Chicharito what
he's missing. A perfect goal on a perfect day.

***

"This is a tale of two city situations, a mutual appreciation
Away from narrow preconception"
- Super Furry Animals, "Juxtaposed With U"


Which brings me to our transfer window. I'm not necessarily climbing the
walls at the lack of activity, because the team's resurgence has lessened
the threat of relegation considerably and if they can finish the month
unbeaten we should be in full ascent up the side of Mt Mediocrity. An
unheard of state of affairs when Brighton were pulling us to pieces all
those weeks ago.

That being said, I think we need players still, but I'm starting to develop
a weird, zen like faith in Moyes' ability to mine points from the most
unpromising of situations. In the same way that when Charlie's Angels: Full
Throttle came out and suddenly they could all fight like Neo from The Matrix
without any explanation for it, I feel the same way about Moyes. I don't
know what he's doing, or why it's happening but let's just go with it.

That West Ham back three

But the strangest rumour abounding about West Ham at the moment is the one
linking Andy Carroll to Chelsea. When this emerged initially I assumed it
was simply the sound of column inches being desperately filled or Carroll's
agent angling for a new deal and overshooting the runway a little bit, but
now it refuses to die down.

Like most Hammers fans I'd be prepared to drive him over there myself except
I don't own an ambulance and I can't be doing with him pulling a hamstring
turning over the radio when we hit traffic on the M25. I know plenty might
keep him, but he's a disruptive force to the team purely because he confuses
how we want to play. Send him West and let Conte sort that out, and if we
get Batshuayi back in exchange then I could certainly live with that.
Besides, the Champions League deserves to see Andy Carroll. They've had it
too easy for too long, with their perfectly manicured pitches and slick
passing football and now it's time for their Hawaiian Missile Warning. Here
comes General Zod, Europe. Prepare to kneel.

Big Andy - Stick that up yer bleeding San Siro

But tragically, the other January tale that I seem to be hearing on repeat
is the story of us trying to get Robert Snodgrass back from his loan spell.
Not content with slagging him off for a year, and ignoring the not
insignificant question about where he would play in this line up - it is
really twisting my melon that after their fucking shambles of a transfer
window this time last year, these dickheads have searched every inch of the
globe, scanned YouTube into the wee hours and decided that the answer to
their problems is.....the same guy that they signed last year and didn't
know how to utilise.

Never change West Ham. I love you. You're perfect.

*I'm sorry this one was late and indeed was written as we were playing
Shrewsbury. Life gets in the way sometimes. Still, chapeau Reece Burke.

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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Memories of days like these
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 18th January 2018
By: Paul Walker

It's about time to be positive… and yes, I know that's the last thing you
expected to hear from me after such a long time being a cynical old bugger
where West Ham are concerned. But after the last 20 months of calamity,
under-achievement, laughable transfer windows, rain reaching 20 rows back in
the Bobby Moore lower and referees like Bobby Madley, there is a time to see
the good side of things. These last few weeks, one league defeat in eight,
great away wins at Stoke and Huddersfield, stuffing Chelsea, making Spurs
sick, it goes on. Hard to believe so much has changed since David Moyes
arrived in November.

I normally wouldn't dream of saying "I told you so" about anything, although
it is a phrase I use frequently with the boy scouts I watch the Irons with.
But you lot, well I doubt I would get away with it. But here goes. I told
you so! Moyes arrived accompanied by a cloud of sneering. This followed a
combination of Salford-San Sebastian-Wearside managerial rubbish from a man
many felt had seen his best time and would never reclaim his Everton halcyon
days. So, I offered you then a piece about the Moyes I had witnessed working
for a decade. To no real surprise, I was subjected to a considerably amount
of "you don't know what you are talking about" and worse, from all and
sundry. Particularly the previously-mentioned boy scouts. But to even a
little surprise from myself, Moyes has answered his critics, got a firm grip
of our lifeless, disinterested squad, made some tough decisions and planted
us in mid-table and the fourth round of the FA Cup.

It is far too early to try to suggest that the corner has been turned, that
Moyes is the new messiah in east London, because football has a nasty habit
of kicking you in the nuts when you think things are OK and the new manager
is a genius. I suggest any wandering Stoke fan reading this takes notice of
the last remark when they consider the bizarre appointment of Paul Lambert.

I recall a jouno friend telling me he gave up on him at Villa because his
Scottish accent was totally indecipherable and what you did understand was
gibberish anyway. Having experienced Kenny Dalglish (his accent, not his
coaching) I take the point.

Moyes ,in some ways, finds himself in a good position. If he's only here for
six months, he might as well tackle head-on the problems at the LS,
regardless of who he upsets. If it works, he's got another couple of years
here, if it fails then he'll go somewhere and get a job, the Aussies and the
Yanks are always a good option!
He sorted the goalkeeping problem, dumping Joe Hart. The haters got their
way and I doubt any of them will comment on the wonder save that stopped
Shrewsbury's Stefan Payne when clean through in Tuesday's replay. The Moyes
haters, the Mark Noble haters, have seemingly gone very quiet, thankfully.
Noble has relished his role in central midfield and has been outstanding
under Moyes. Moyes, himself, must think he is akin to James Corden parting
sheep. The points whisperer.

Moyes' overall record now with us is P 15 W 5 D 5 L 5 F 19 A 19. In the
league he has taken 16 points from 36. He has now easily surpassed Slaven
Bilic's league record this season before he got the boot.. Slav took nine
points from 33 before his demise. Moyes has also sorted a defence, and
hopefully realises we are much more solid when James Collins plays alongside
Angelo Ogbonna. In fact, we have lost only once this season when these two
are paired together. Oggy can, and now is, looking like a classy Italian
defender who could play for Juventus.

On other occasions, with Winston Reid around, he looks like one of those
Italian waiters in a kick-about on Rimini beach, some of us will recall from
the old days before the Cockneys discovered Florida. If our much-loved board
fail to give Collins a new contract, they want shooting. He may not be able
to play every game, but he is our toughest, most reliable defender. One more
year surely, with his character crucial to the dressing room these days,
would be worth it. He starts each season as fourth choice and is in the
side by November. There are so many on daft, laughably expensive contracts
at West Ham, this needs to be sorted quickly, Sully.

As for the sharp end, Moyes has decided that any combination of Andy
Carroll, Chicharito and Andre Ayew does not work. And Diafra Sakho is
swinging the lead, cheating the club and us and seemingly inventing injuries
to get away, so he has ceased to exist. So Arnie and Manu are being allowed
to run riot up front, their technique, first touch, passing quality and
movement giving us a sharp edge. Michail Antonio, when he decides to be fit,
is the back-up. Bet he would die for a first touch like Marko Arnautovic! I
recall saying that Moyes can organise a side, make them tough to beat, make
them fitter and will get results. It may not be pretty, but like the old
Everton, it is effective, and that's what we needed when he took over.

So it's with a little smugness that I can say, "I told you so". Trick now is
for Moyes to keep this run going and not make me, and himself, look a mug.
Now I wouldn't change it for the world, lets make that clear, but being a
West Ham fan isn't always that easy! Not for us the sense of expectation and
laughable entitlement (that's you, Tottenham) that surrounds the big clubs,
the two Manchester giants, Liverpool, and the two major clubs in London,
Arsenal and Chelsea.
There's usually a whole week of public, media and TV outcry when they don't
win, or at least find a soft referee who makes sure they do. Then there's
us. Not quite the same, is it? It occurred to me this weekend that I am
approaching 60 years supporting West Ham. First game in 1958, first away
outside London the '64 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough. I reckon that I
have watched West Ham in 70+ stadiums, including Wembley, over those years.

Now I'm nothing special here, there are countless old codgers like me who
have travelled the land and beyond supporting the Irons. And you get used to
being disappointed, heartbroken at times, or regularly cheated by the
aforementioned dummy referees. Yes, I mean you and your like 'Bobby
Bad-ley'.

So away days like Huddersfield are few and far between. David Cross's four
goals at Spurs, a couple of fives at Chelsea, Paolo's day at Old Trafford,
even the wins by Slav's side at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. They
all sit long in the memory.

So us travelling fans are used to nonsense. Which makes the overall display
at Huddersfield special. Not just the sublime goals, but the whole team
performance. The plan, the organisation, the working and covering and
support play, even Cheikhou Kouyate did some running.

Me and the lad had one of the best days out in years, even the Yorkshire
police were smiling and helpful. Pity they can't show the West Midlands lot
how it's done, We even found a 'happy' Huddersfield fan on the way home who
showed us where the nearest off licence was for a celebration shandy.

Our fans were excellent, even out-singing the home fans and silencing that
infernal drummer. But, to his credit, he has a sense of humour. Serenaded
with "where's the wanker with the drum" at 4-1 down, he responded with a
slow funereal beat in response. It'll be a shame if Huddersfield go down.


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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West Ham fail in attempt to recall Robert Snodgrass from Aston Villa
By Danny Gallagher
Last Updated: 18/01/18 1:10pm
SSN

West Ham have failed in their attempt to recall winger Robert Snodgrass from
his loan at Aston Villa, Sky sources understand. The Sky Bet Championship
side have refused to allow the Scotsman to leave Villa Park and return to
his parent club midway through the season. It is understood the original
deal did not contain a recall option. Scotland international Snodgrass
joined Villa in the summer after being deemed surplus to requirements under
then-manager Slaven Bilic. But Bilic was sacked in November following the
Hammers' poor start to the season, and new manager David Moyes was keen to
have Snodgrass at his disposal for the remainder of the campaign. With Villa
keen to hold on to their loan signing, Snodgrass is expected to remain in
the Midlands until the summer. West Ham signed Snodgrass from Hull for £10m
last January and the club's hierarchy are not keen to spend additional money
on releasing the 30-year-old from his loan agreement.

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Swansea interested in West Ham forward Andre Ayew
By Kaveh Solhekol
Last Updated: 18/01/18 10:00am
SSN

Swansea are interested in bringing West Ham forward Andre Ayew back to the
club, according to Sky sources. West Ham value the 28-year-old at £20m - the
price they paid Swansea to sign him in August 2016 in what was then a
club-record deal. But a deal between the clubs is unlikely, with sources
close to Ayew insisting he is not keen on a return to the Liberty Stadium.
The Ghana international joined Swansea from Marseille in 2015 and enjoyed a
superb debut campaign in England, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances. Ayew
has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular at West Ham since
his move to the club, netting 12 goals in 50 appearances. Sky sources
understand Swansea are also interested in Ayew's West Ham team-mate Diafra
Sakho.

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Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario turns down West Ham loan
Last Updated: 17/01/18 11:28pm
SSN

Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario has decided against joining West Ham on
loan, according to Sky in Italy. The Serie A side were happy to let the
24-year-old move to the Premier League on a loan deal. Inter signed the
midfielder from Sporting Lisbon for £40m in the summer of 2016. Joao Mario,
who was a member of the Portugal side which triumphed at the 2016 European
Championships in France, had been previously linked with a move to
Manchester United by newspaper reports. He has had to make do with a
bit-part role at the San Siro this season as coach Luciano Spalletti has
largely preferred Marcelo Brozovic in attacking midfield positions. Sky
Sports News reported earlier this month that David Moyes had considered
moves for Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny and now-Valencia midfielder
Francis Coquelin.

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Andy Carroll tells West Ham he is unable to train amid Chelsea interest -
but ankle scans indicate no problem
The Irons have yet to receive a formal bid - loan or otherwise - for their
29-year-old striker
The Mirror

Chelsea target Andy Carroll has told West Ham he is unable to train. Carroll
claims he has an ankle injury, but scans taken by the Hammers are understood
not to show a problem. The forward has missed West Ham's last three games,
including Tuesday night's FA Cup replay win over Shrewsbury. The Irons have
yet to receive a formal bid - loan or otherwise - for the 29-year-old
striker from Chelsea. However, West Ham are aware that Chelsea want a loan
move for their target man, who has 18-months left to run on his
£100,000-a-week deal. The Hammers would prefer a permanent deal and would
be interested only in offers over £20million for their player. Carroll
opened his league account for the season to help West Ham come from behind
to beat West Brom a fortnight ago. He was on the bench for the 1-1 draw with
Spurs two days later when he came on for the final five minutes. Chelsea
have been targeting a tall striker and also have Crystal Palace's Christian
Benteke among their options.

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Marko Arnautovic will have a rough ride at Wigan in FA Cup clash, vows
Latics captain Sam Morsy
Wigan beat Bournemouth 3-0 on Wednesday night to reach FA Cup fourth round
The League One leaders will face West Ham at home next weekend
Captain Sam Morsy vows to meet Premier League side with a physical approach
By Joe Bernstein for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 14:06, 18 January 2018 | UPDATED: 14:06, 18 January 2018

Wigan Athletic are promising to give West Ham's Marko Arnautovic a tough
time at the DW Stadium later this month as they revive memories of their
famous FA Cup triumph in 2013. Wigan booked a fourth round date with The
Hammers by trouncing another Premier League side Bournemouth 3-0 on
Wednesday night. Three Latics players were booked as they rattled
Bournemouth physically and skipper Sam Morsy, who scored the first goal,
wants them to make life as uncomfortable as possible for "Mad Marko". 'I'm
not sure how Arnautovic will feel about coming to the DW Stadium. If you're
playing against teams two divisions higher, the chances are their players
are going to be better technically, tactically and physically. So you have
to have an equaliser somewhere, whether it's the weather, the atmosphere.
'We have to do everything 100 per cent to try and match them up. You want to
test yourselves against the top players. We're in a really confident place,
the lads are flying. 'We go into these games believing and thinking we are
going to win. Not just thinking let's give a good account of ourselves.'

Wigan are top of League One under Paul Cook and have a proud FA Cup record
in recent years. They beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley to lift the trophy
in 2013 with an injury-time winner from Ben Watson. The following year they
defeated City again at The Etihad en route to the semi-finals. 'Any Wigan
fan, the first thing they will talk about is the FA Cup win and Ben Watson's
goal,' added Morsy, who scored the opener against Bournemouth. It was
massive, the biggest moment in the club's history. We want to go on a run
again. Let's see how far we can go.' Ironically, Wigan also beat Bournemouth
in a third round replay five years ago en route to winning the cup.

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Andy Carroll: West Ham striker facing a month out injured
BBC.co.uk

West Ham United striker Andy Carroll is facing an extended spell on the
sidelines due to an ankle injury. It is not know precisely how long the
England forward will be out for but the minimum is likely to be a month, and
it could potentially be much longer. Carroll has only made one late
substitute appearance since scoring twice against West Brom on 2 January.
The injury is likely to end any hope the 29-year-old has of moving during
the current transfer window. Chelsea had been linked with the former
Newcastle and Liverpool striker, although manager Antonio Conte has refused
to discuss any interest in the player.

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