Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

Liverpool have questions to answer in defence, Chelsea have selection issues against Manchester City and could Villa trouble Arsenal? Unless Thergothon , the pioneers of Finnish funeral metal, are about to head out on a resurrection tour, you’ll be hard pressed to find a gloomier band of brooders in England this weekend than the fans of the team who fail to win Saturday’s early kick-off. Hull City are in the grip of an ominous despondency, with the regime unpopular, the…

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• Sides want Cheikhou Kouyaté and Papiss Cissé for weekend • Communication difficulties after Senegal are knocked out Newcastle United and West Ham have initiated an attempted ‘airlift’ of Premier League players from Equatorial Guinea. With Senegal now out of the Africa Cup of Nations , Newcastle are keen to have Papiss Cissé back in time to play at Hull City on Saturday and West Ham United would like Cheikhou Kouyaté back for the trip to Liverpool the same day. The two …

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West Ham’s Alex Song is expected to return against former club Arsenal while Vincent Kompany may be available for Manchester City after injury Hugo Lloris is fit to start for Spurs despite being left bloodied in their win over Leicester. The keeper was caught in the face by Jamie Vardy at the end of the 2-1 Boxing Day win but is available to face United. Ryan Mason could return to the starting line-up following an …

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What team will Brendan Rodgers put out, Newcastle are in flux, Arsenal’s mental block and is this the end for Alan Irvine? There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that this section won’t be another thing about Steven Gerrard’s place in the Liverpool team. The bad news is that, well, it will be a little bit about Steven Gerrard’s place in the Liverpool team. Even with a squad laden…

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With Chelsea and City set for top two Premier League slots, nine clubs are chasing two remaining Champions League places • Match report: Sunderland 0-0 Chelsea • Match report: Southampton 0-3 Manchester City Those expecting an end to Southampton’s remarkable response to the summer exodus from the club, and a repeat of last season’s decline once a daunting run of fixtures arrived, should not feel too smug just yet. Sunday’s comprehensive defeat by Manchester City followed the loss of the influential Morgan …

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• Sam Allardyce highlights defence’s contribution in rise to fifth • Newcastle’s Tim Krul out for few weeks with ankle injury Shortly before Aaron Cresswell scored the goal that lifted West Ham into fifth place, he had the ball in Newcastle United’s half and options to his left and right. Andy Carroll was hurtling into the area anticipating a cross and Stewart Downing wanted a pass but Cresswell ignored them and sent a …

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If you cannot be good, be lucky. For long spells, West Ham searched in vain for inspiration as they tried to find a way past Newcastle United’s defence and end a run of three matches without a win. There were crosses, runs and set pieces but nothing was working. So, instead, they settled for a fluke, their victory secured when Cheikhou Kouyaté’s scuffed shot somehow reached Aaron Cresswell, who scored his …

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• Both managers face their former employers on Saturday • Newcastle were interested in Enner Valencia, says Pardew • Pardew: from man on the brink to miracle worker • Pardew praises Andy Carroll before return to West Ham Like Alan Pardew at Newcastle United, Sam Allardyce knows all about being the subject of crowd abuse and has served his time as a favourite for the sack. According to popular pre-season predictions neither…

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Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew have both had their detractors but now West Ham and Newcastle are sixth and fifth in the league respectively. Life has rarely been this good and Pardew’s Newcastle will arrive at Upton Park in a confident mood after winning their past five matches. Allardyce reckons that only Chelsea would provide a bigger test at the moment, so he will be pleased to have Stewart Downing available again after he missed West Ham’s defeat…

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• ‘I like Andy … I think he’s a terrific striker’ • Newcastle must cope with fully fit Carroll • Sam Allardyce will not take risks on Andy Carroll Alan Pardew would relish the chance to bring Andy Carroll back to Newcastle United but accepts a January reunion is unlikely. “I’m not going to hide from the fact that I like Andy,” said Pardew, whose renascent side must cope with a newly fit Carroll when they visit West Ham United on …

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YouGov polled 200,000 people to find that Liverpool fans think they are funny, QPR supporters enjoy chess and Stoke City fans like Ann Summers. Do these character traits feel familiar? Arsenal fans follow Piers Morgan on Twitter, can be feckless and are “willing to sacrifice free time to get ahead with their careers”. Fun. Continue reading…

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While big names grab the headlines, a host of players have escaped front-page attention but are key to their sides fortunes 10 talking points from last weekends action Congratulations Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Sergio Agüero, Graziano Pellè and all the other headline-making acts in the Premier League this season youre flying. Keep up the good work. But what of the unsung talents, those who have been over-shadowed by more prominent names…

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We round up our favourite pics from Saturdays and Sundays matches in the top flight Continue reading…

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The Guardian has identified some of the best young talent coming through in the Premier League, picking one player from each club born between 1 September 1997 and 31 August 1998, an age band also known as first-year scholars. We will then follow their progress over the next five years On Tuesday: 40 of the best young players in the world Continue reading…

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We round up our favourite photographs from the top flight grounds Continue reading…

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So the rumours of Newcastle’s interest in Andy Carroll appear to have cooled some what since they surfaced around two weeks ago. It’s difficult to see why a move back to Newcastle wouldn’t work for all three parties, apart from how much it would cost the Magpies to take him off our hands. Yes, we’re… Read more »

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Our pick of the best images from around the top-flight grounds on Saturday and Sunday Continue reading…

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From the culling acumen of Louis van Gaal at Manchester United to the loan coup and strong hints of promise at West Ham, the fans have their say on the transfer window With the Glazer debt squeezing the club for nine years they have acted only when they thought their lavish sponsorship deals and a return to the top-four were in jeopardy. Our squad had become bloated with mediocre players. Louis van Gaal is a…

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Is Manchester Uniteds loan of Radamel Falcao going to make all the difference as they seek a Champions League return, or will it just be another in a long list of failed last-minute signings? Transfer window club-by-club ins and outs Interactive: how much have clubs spent? Jim White has packed away his yellow tie and Premier League chairman are putting down their pens with quivering hands as the biannual jamboree that is…

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Premier League clubs spent a record £835m in the summer transfer window. How would you grade their business? Premier League transfer window interactive Continue reading…

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All your summer signings from Radamel Falcao to Joe Cole, who signed for whom in the Premier League transfer window Arsenal solved their striking problem with a last-gasp deal for Danny Welbeck, but otherwise wasted little time in getting their major business done, with Alexis Sánchez, Mathieu Debuchy and David Ospina all coming in shortly after impressive World Cup showings. They were joined by the young defender Calum Chambers, who joined the Southampton…

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Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce need patience and luck to avoid the early-season sack at Newcastle and West Ham respectively The computer game Football Manager categorises the “job status” of its fictional coaches in four bands: secure, stable, insecure and very insecure. Few actual Premier League managers would admit to belonging to the first two brackets. In a profession in which even the perceived best are only three consecutive defeats removed from …

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A team-by-team guide to the likely starting line-ups in the Premier League, and how they compare to each teams best XIs last year Continue reading…

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Eye-catching summer captures from Arsenals goalkeeper David Ospina to Rémy Cabella in the final third for Newcastle United Continue reading…

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How LVG has changed Uniteds mindset; QPRs new system looks vulnerable; and rebuilding Southampton is a task and half Part 1: season previews from Arsenal to Manchester City Continue reading…

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In the second half of their previews, WhoScored analyse Manchester United under Louis van Gaal, Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino and Southampton under Ronald Koeman Statistical previews: Arsenal to Manchester City Having ended David Moyes tenure as manager and replaced him with the vastly successful Louis Van Gaal, who comes to Old Trafford on the back of a fantastic World Cup performance in Brazil, United fans are optimistic this season. A disappointing campaign culminated in their worst…

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