Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

Updates from the Premier League and around Europe Feel free to email Simon or tweet @Simon_Burnton 4.27pm BST The penalty came when Shaqiri was clipped from behind, but Arnautovic blasts high! 4.25pm BST Five minutes ago Swansea were winning, Hull were down to 10 men and under the cosh, and the Swans were out of the bottom three. How swiftly things change. 4.25pm BST Boro make a mess of passing the ball…

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The story of Italian’s past decade provides an illustration of the difficulties experienced by so many creative players who set out to translate their talents to the manager’s role Gianfranco Zola left the manager’s job at Birmingham City on Easter Monday, the local paper said “with dignity”. His decision acknowledged the implications of supervising only two victories in 24 matches and he was praised for turning up to explain himself rather than slinking out of the back entrance. The manner of his…

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• Significant supporter unrest at Sunderland for first time this season • ‘They were to be expected. You have to take it’, says Moyes David Moyes felt the heat of significant supporter unrest for the first time this season as the Sunderland stands echoed with chants demanding the manager’s sacking during the 2-2 draw with West Ham . The anger directed at Moyes was all the more alarming as his rock bottom side turned in…

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Slaven Bilic sometimes becomes so frustrated with his West Ham players that he resorts to breaking dressing room tables during half time team talks. The Croatian jokes that he sources replacements at Ikea so the visiting team bus may well have had to take a detour via the Swedish emporium’s Gateshead super-store on its journey to Newcastle airport on Saturday night. Related: Tottenham keep pressure on Chelsea with hammering of Bournemouth Related: …

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• Top scorer holding out for new contract worth £70,000 a week • Slaven Bilic confirms Antonio has ‘significant’ hamstring injury West Ham’s talks with Michail Antonio over a contract have stalled, with the winger’s representatives holding out for a salary of £70,000 a week for the club’s top scorer. Slaven Bilic confirmed on Thursday Antonio will not play again this season after suffering a “significant” hamstring injury in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Swansea – …

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The Hammers’ 1-0 win over Swansea means they will probably avoid relegation, with their manager insisting the experience can make his team stronger Slaven Bilic once said he prefers to live life “on the front line”. He is not a man who believes sitting back and relaxing, having a pleasant time, is the way to get the most of the world. Given the season that West Ham are enduring, that might be just as…

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This week Slaven Bilic told his players that they must leave their egos in their beds if West Ham were to survive in the Premier League. Whether that was the decisive factor in the 1-0 win over Swansea that now leaves an eight-point gap between them and the bottom three is unclear, but the sighs of relief around the London Stadium at full-time could have knocked over the Orbit sculpture just outside. A Cheikhou Kouyaté …

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• Hammers are winless in seven and host 18th-placed side on Saturday • Bilic: ‘We either get a clean sheet or we concede more than two’ For the second season in succession West Ham United host Swansea City on a Saturday afternoon in spring but while some things stay the same others most definitely change. On that May day last year, Slaven Bilic’s men welcomed their opponents to Upton Park with realistic hopes of qualifying …

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• West Ham could be two points from drop zone if they lose to Swansea • Move to London Stadium has led to short-term dip, Bilic believes When West Ham United moved into the London Stadium last summer and began to dream about reaching the next level, presumably this is not what they had in mind. A season that was supposed to take pride of place in their application form to join the Premier League’s elite has turned into a scrap …

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This was the result that everybody at Arsenal had craved, not least Arsène Wenger and, in these fragile times, it was one that the club’s directors could greet with relief and a degree of elation. For them, it was Exhibit A in the case for continuity. Arsenal edged back into fifth place in the Premier League and, after the nervy but fortifying draw with Manchester City here on Sunday, it…

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• Board releases statement saying they have ‘100% faith’ in manager • West Ham are six points clear of relegation zone after defeat to Hull West Ham say they have “100% faith” in manager Slaven Bilic and his ability to lead the club. In the wake of a 2-1 loss to Hull which leaves the Hammers six points off the drop zone with eight games left, the club’s hierarchy moved to back their…

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Leroy Rosenior talks to James Richardson about his career on and off the pitch, including the racism he encountered in the 1980s and his managerial stints at Torquay – all 10 minutes of it – and Sierra Leone On this edition of Football Weekly Me ets , AC Jimbo sits down for an extended chat with former Fulham, QPR and West Ham striker Leroy Rosenior . The title of Leroy’s new autobiography, “It’s Only Banter”, refers to how the vicious racism he…

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Andrea Ranocchia’s late winner earned Hull another crucial home win in the fight to preserve their Premier League status and heaped more pressure on the West Ham manager Slaven Bilic. The Italian defender Ranocchia, signed on loan from Internazionale in January, headed home in the 85th minute to secure a 2-1 win. Andrew Robertson’s strike after the break had cancelled out West Ham striker Andy Carroll’s landmark opener. Related: Watford return to winning ways as Miguel Britos adds to Sunderland’s woes Related: Leicester…

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The former Sevilla and Mali striker is proud of his faith and would rather be known for working with orphans than his footballing achievements Fredi Kanouté jokes that he has joined a rock band but none of the motley crew he is touring with claims to be a professional musician. Instead the former West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla striker shares stages around the world with extraordinary characters such as Emi Mahmoud, a former Darfur…

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With eight weeks to go, fans assess the season so far, and what lies ahead • Click here for part 1: Arsenal to Manchester City What’s the mood among fans? The games are coming thick and fast – you expect that when you end up in the Europa League but belong in the Champions League. Most fans would take winning in Stockholm over fourth place but both are attainable. Then for some big work in the summer: we’re…

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In an exclusive book extract, the former Fulham, QPR and West Ham forward recalls the racism he faced in the 1980s, including being spat at by a schoolboy I remember going to play at Leeds for Fulham in 1984. Playing there is never dull and on this occasion, the locals were in particularly boisterous mood. We got a throw-in down at the big Kop end that housed the fanatical home support. Paul Parker …

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Today’s tittle-tattle is in your town tonight A photo of a beaming Riyad Mahrez holding one thumb aloft features on the front page of Spanish daily Sport. The Leicester playmaker has apparently made it his “objective” to secure a move to Barcelona , but tellingly there seems to be no great indication that the Spanish side are hugely interested in bringing him to Camp Nou. Worryingly for Arsenal fans, Hector Bellerín also gets a mention, with the full-back …

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Established stars speak about top-flight football the way we talk about office jobs but players with one appearance remember just how surreal and exciting it is By Stephen Tudor for The Set Pieces , part of the Guardian Sport Network When Premier League legends describe what it’s like to play at the highest level they usually reduce it to cliché, like you or I would if we were detailing our work environment on…

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Today’s fluff is scrounging a lift Home, says the Mill from beneath a pile of crisp packets, nail clippings and loose change in its hovel, is definitely where the heart is. Therefore no one should be remotely surprised that Wayne Rooney has decided 13 years at Manchester United was basically an extended gap year and, before he morphs into the character Tim Key plays in the sort-of funny E4 comedy of that name, he’s shedding…

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Not for the first time this week Kasper Schmeichel was the Leicester City hero. Robert Snodgrass’s free-kick had squirmed through the Leicester wall and fallen to Andy Carroll and a dramatic West Ham United equaliser looked inevitable. Carroll drew back his left foot and prepared to land the decisive blow. He made solid contact with the ball. The crowd was poised, ready to lift the roof off the London Stadium. But there he…

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Arsène Wenger overcomes resistance to change, Aitor Karanka wants fighters more than Stewart Downing, and José Mourinho has more pressing concerns than getting revenge at Chelsea One of the many criticisms routinely directed at Arsène Wenger concerns his tactical conservatism and it is fair to say that he has seldom deviated from his preferred and predictable 4-2-3-1 in recent years. But on the back of a crucial drop in form Wenger has actually started the last two games with a new plan, playing…

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The jubilation on the touchline said it all, as Eddie Howe was mobbed by Joshua King, who wheeled away after scoring a hat-trick to earn Bournemouth a much-needed first win this year. King and Benik Afobe both missed first-half penalties before the Norway striker scored his ninth, tenth and eleventh goals of the season in a character-building home win against West Ham United, that lifts the …

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Form-wise Bournemouth are in trouble. Winless in their past nine matches and conceding goals at a worrying rate. However, Eddie Howe’s side will be feeling good after working tirelessly to draw 1-1 at Old Trafford last time out. Equally, West Ham will be buoyed by Michail Antonio’s return. Slaven Bilic can count on Antonio and Andy Carroll terrorising Bournemouth’s shaky defence. Graham Searles Kick-off Saturday 3pm Continue reading…

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• France international says he was regressing in Premier League • ‘I could have gone to war last summer. August was badly managed’ Dimitri Payet has said he left West Ham United in January because he was bored with playing for Slaven Bilic’s team in the lower half of the Premier League table. The France international joined Marseille for £25m after citing family problems as the reason he wanted to return to his former club and refusing…

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Millwall and Lincoln are in the mood for further upsets, José Mourinho has a tactical teaser at Chelsea and Rangers at risk of Old Firm derby embarrassment The FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday is a fitting way for Neil Harris to celebrate two years in charge of the club he loves. Regardless of the result, the club have been upwardly mobile under Harris, the club’s all-time record goalscorer. Harris …

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West Ham were outnumbered, ground down and eclipsed by a dynamic team that is leaving the rest of the Premier League far behind This was the kind of result to drain any lingering optimism from the chasing pack. A victory to drum in the reality that, for all Antonio Conte’s protestations to the contrary, Chelsea’s pursuit of the title has taken on the feel of a procession. They weathered some turbulence at times here , their backline heaving …

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