Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

• ‘We must hold our own’ during visits to Liverpool and Manchester City • West Ham’s Sam Allardyce still in the dark over future • Charlie Austin blows penalty in goalless draw Chris Ramsey took a deep breath and sighed. The QPR manager had just been asked what his team needed to stay in the Premier League and he gave a grim prognosis. “We need to win two of the four games left …

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Prime minister faces mockery after making football slip-up before an audience in south London In football parlance, with which David Cameron may or may not be conversant, it was an astonishing own goal. Sports stars, fellow politicians and football fans around the country reacted with amused disbelief on Saturday as the prime minister appeared to forget his long-running claim to be an Aston Villa fan and postured as a West Ham United supporter. The clubs…

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Without his goals this season Queens Park Rangers would have long been dead and buried in the race for survival but Charlie Austin’s first half penalty miss in this otherwise dull scoreless draw has left Chris Ramsey’s team on the brink of a Championship return. The QPR manager had spoken before kick-off of his team requiring three victories from their remaining five games if they were to survive. Continue reading…

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If QPR are to accumulate sufficient points to stay up, Chris Ramsey will have marked this game as a must-win. The manager will be plotting trips to Anfield and the Etihad after this as matches they would not be expected to triumph in. West Ham, currently 10th and with one win from 12 in all competitions, are easing to the finish line and look to be there for the taking. Alan Smith Kick

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Freddie Sears tumbled down the divisions after a fairytale start at West Ham but is now chasing a return to the top flight under Mick McCarthy at Ipswich • Afobe keeps Wolves’ faint play-off hopes alive with strike against Ipswich It was love at first sight. Or so it seemed. It was 15 March 2008 and West Ham were drifting towards an inconsequential 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. There were 15 minutes left…

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• The Olympic Stadium’s legacy has been fought over for years and, after recent developments, the battle may continue • West Ham face compensation risk over state aid for Olympic Stadium refit • Question of state aid still lingers over West Ham’s luxurious new home Owen Gibson outlines the timeline of West Ham’s protracted move into the Olympic Stadium after fresh questions were raised regarding the switch. January 2003 : Lord Rodgers writes to prime minister Tony Blair, suggesting a…

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• Manager admits it was very important to arrest slump • ‘We played especially well until the injury to David Silva’ • Match report: Manchester City 2-0 West Ham • David Silva given all clear after leaving pitch on a stretcher Manuel Pellegrini said it was vital to bounce back from Manchester City’s two consecutive defeats after the 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday, with further relief arriving when David Silva, carried off on a stretcher during the match, confirmed his injury…

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Latest updates as Manuel Pellegrini’s side take on West Ham Email michael.butler@theguardian.com | Tweet @michaelbutler18 Keep up with all today’s matches around Europe 12.57pm BST On this day in 1958, one of City’s greatest-ever players Billy Meredith passes away. #mcfc pic.twitter.com/pCK7fmgCOW The Guardian did a nice little piece on Billy Meredith back in 2007, which you can read here . The pre-eminent player of his generation, Billy Meredith was described as the…

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• ‘Our players have let themselves down,’ manager says • Diafra Sakho injured for visit of Manchester City Sam Allardyce is not unduly concerned by how Manchester City will react to their slump, only that his West Ham side rediscover some of their early season consistency at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. A terrible run of form has seen City slip from second to fourth place in the Premier League but the Hammers …

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Out of contract in the summer and denied an escape to West Bromwich in February, the 31-year-old is throwing his energies into fundraising to help Sierra Leone deal with the Ebola crisis • Sierra Leone doctors on strike over inadequate equipment It is probably just as well Carlton Cole has learned to focus on the bigger picture. Otherwise, the West Ham United striker might well still be stewing over the call from…

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• Aaron Cresswell: ‘We must stay switched on to the end’ • Mark Hughes keen to better last season’s total points Aaron Cresswell accepts West Ham must learn to stay “switched on” until the final whistle to avoid seeing their fruitful season drift away. West Ham looked poised for a second successive home victory when leading 1-0 five minutes into injury time against Stoke, but Marko Arnautovic slammed the ball into the bottom left corner to secure a dramatic…

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Although unhelpful, fresh doubts over the long-term future of the West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, should not derail West Ham’s hopes of securing a top-half finish. The hosts have lost four of their past five matches and go into the game level on points with Stoke, who have lost their previous three. This hardly suggests a classic is in store but keep an eye on Peter Crouch, who…

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Speaking in the run-up to his team’s clash against Stoke City on Saturday, West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce concedes that the targets he set for the side in January are no longer within their reach. The team got off to a good start early in the season and were in the Premier League top four before Christmas, but have since dropped to ninth place. He also addresses West Ham’s chances of snagging a spot in the Europa …

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• Manager says he is planning ahead regardless of situation • Allardyce is out of contract at West Ham in the summer • Sherwood returns to Tottenham and a very complex legacy Sam Allardyce is yet to discover whether he will remain West Ham manager next season, but he is planning ahead regardless. Allardyce is out of contract in the summer, leading to speculation over his long-term future at the east London club, who are …

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The veteran striker’s lob against West Brom last weekend was the latest in a collection of stunning goals and his finishing and awkward presence up front will be key to QPR’s survival hopes, starting against Aston Villa on Tuesday • Ramsey puts Sherwood friendship aside to keep QPR up • May 2005: Bobby Zamora strikes gold for the Hammers Joleon Lescott must have thought he had the situation under control. The West Bromwich Albion…

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• Win leaves Leicester awaiting crucial games with relegation rivals • King: ‘It proves to everyone that we mean business’ Leaning against the wall of the corridor outside the Leicester City press room, Nigel Pearson was around three minutes into a typically rambling and discursive response to a straightforward question when a door banged open and to the ill-concealed relief of the assembled journalists, his opposite number Sam Allardyce jovially demanded his presence to share…

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Injuries have badly disrupted the Wales midfielder’s career but he is determined to find another club despite being released by Ipswich Town in December Jack Collison is reminiscing about the start of his obsession with football. He remembers that he always had a ball at his feet, whether he was going to the shops or to the park, and that he would dribble around the cushions at home, pretending he was Paul Scholes. Chelsea were his team and he…

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• Sunderland manager outlines plan to steer north-east club to safety • Sam Allardyce toasts first West Ham United win since January For a man who had just watched his new side succumb to a cruel late defeat that hung on a questionable refereeing decision, Dick Advocaat was in a surprisingly talkative mood. Sunderland’s new manager veered away from criticising Lee Mason for his failure to spot Nenê’s blatant foul on Sebastian Larsson in the build-up to Diafra Sakho’s…

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All the action from Upton Park Advocaat demands Sunderland play as a unit to prevent first drop Email: alan.smith.casual@theguardian.com | Tweet: @alansmith90 6.18pm GMT That’s your lot for this half. There were very brief spells of excitement – Defoe shooting over early on and Song’s volley saved by Pantilimon – but apart from that it has been dull. Back in a bit. 6.16pm GMT 45 min +1: We should be thankful for that. 6.15…

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Dick Advocaat’s rescue mission begins at Upton Park. Sunderland replaced Gus Poyet with the Dutchman after the chastening 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa and hope that he can steer them clear of relegation. Advocaat will see the trip to east London as a good opportunity to hit the ground running as West Ham have not won in the league since 18 January and are likely to be without several key players, including

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• Alleged incident followed Bedfordshire league match • Premier League career ended when he was stabbed in legs • Davenport suffers ‘serious’ injuries after being stabbed The former West Ham defender Calum Davenport has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a team-mate after a local league match in Bedfordshire. Davenport, who plays for Elstow Abbey FC who are top of Division One of the Bedfordshire County Football League, was detained after a man in his thirties received a…

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Arsenal made it five Premier League wins in a row here with a straightforward victory against a well-drilled but pallid West Ham. In the process Arsène Wenger’s team kept up the pressure on second-placed Manchester City and played some delightful attacking football with Mesut Özil, Oliver Giroud and Aaron Ramsey all combining beautifully. If at times in the second half Arsenal seemed a little distracted, a team with half an eye on ticking this match …

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• Wenger admits Walcott was difficult to convince last time • James Tomkins out of West Ham’s trip to Emirates • Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere ruled out of England qualifier Arsène Wenger has suggested that he is steeled for another Theo Walcott contract saga but he believes that the climate might have shifted in Arsenal’s favour this time. Walcott signed his last deal in January 2013 , which was worth £100,000 a week over three and a half years, and it …

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In a perfect world Arsène Wenger would be casting an eye towards Tuesday’s Champions League second leg in Monaco and tailoring his team accordingly, but so tight is the battle for top-four places, and so slender are Arsenal’s chances of progress to the quarter-finals after their first-leg disaster and 3-1 defeat, he has no margin for error against a West Ham side who have slipped to 10th but are still very …

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• West Ham short in defence for their trip to Arsenal • Tomkins recently signed a long-term contract with the club • Enner Valencia lacerates big toe after stepping on broken teacup West Ham United have been hit with yet another injury blow with the club confirming the defender James Tomkins has suffered a dislocated shoulder. The 25-year-old has recently signed a new long-term contract until 2020 with the Hammers but could now miss several …

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Arsenal will need to be on Song, Swansea must not be so narrow-minded in midfield against Liverpool and time Rafael got his chance for Manchester United The injuries are starting to bite again for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy , Mathieu Flamini and Abou Diaby are all long-term absentees; Aaron Ramsey has only just returned; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s hamstring went against Manchester United ; the similarly hamstrung Gabriel Paulista is …

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