Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

The Guardian looks at some of the best young talent coming through at Premier League clubs, identifying one player from each club born between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 1999, an age band also known as first-year scholars. We will then follow their progress over the coming years See how our 2014 picks have got on in the past 12 months Continue reading…

Read the full story

• Dutch coach expresses surprise at performance against West Ham • ‘Advocaat will be missed in the Premier League,’ says Slaven Bilic When Jeremain Lens’ exquisite lob gave Sunderland a two-goal lead Dick Advocaat began crying. A little later, the outgoing manager expressed surprise that his team had played so well. Those cameos confirmed two things: that Advocaat really was leaving and precisely why he wanted out. Sunderland’s best performance for months – …

Read the full story

Sunderland’s inability to take their chances, not to mention deal with adversity, again cost them dear on an afternoon when Dick Advocaat did nothing to contradict the impression he was preparing to bid Wearside farewell. Compounded by Jeremain Lens’s second-half dismissal, such collective home fragility allowed Slaven Bilic’s players to ultimately earn a comfortable point after falling two goals behind in the opening period. Continue reading…

Read the full story

• Fans accuse LLDC of ‘running scared of the taxpayer’ • LLDC fears publication could harm negotiations with other tenants Fans battling for transparency over West Ham’s tenancy of the Olympic Stadium have accused the London Legacy Development Corporation of “running scared of the taxpayer” after it appealed against a ruling to publish the contract in full. Last month the Guardian revealed that the Information Commissioner had ordered the entire contract to be published without…

Read the full story

• Bilic: ‘With three away wins you expect us to beat everybody 6-0 at home’ • Wes Hoolahan provided a league-leading fifth assist of the campaign Sometimes success can have a perverse impact. Slaven Bilic certainly had a point after West Ham scraped a late draw against Norwich City to escape a third home defeat from four when he said their stunning away form has led to too much being read into the home record. Four points from two games is …

Read the full story

• Howson escorted injured pigeon off the pitch in second half • Alex Neil: Jonny’s from Yorkshire, so looks after wildlife There was a brief moment of silence during West Ham United’s 2-2 draw with Norwich , the type you only get when there is a serious injury. On Sky Sports, Chris Kamara wondered if the game would be abandoned. Ten minutes into the second half, the referee’s whistle blew, the game was paused and Upton Park took a collective breath. Norwich’s Jonny Howson…

Read the full story

West Ham’s curious season continues. They might look unbeatable in the Premier League away from home but in their final season at Upton Park their record reads one win, two defeats, and one draw – even if this point garnered at the death will have felt like a victory. This was a game that could have gone either way, with a plethora of chances afforded to both sides, but after Nathan…

Read the full story

A supporter recalls many cherished memories watching his beloved team, first with his dad and then with his daughters, at their Upton Park ground, which is now to be redeveloped as flats This season my family will be losing an old friend: West Ham’s Boleyn ground, commonly known as Upton Park. The club is moving to the Olympic Stadium at Stratford and the old ground will become flats, and part of my family history will be erased. Once people had village churches to …

Read the full story

West Ham’s history makers, having sprung surprise wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, face a different pressure against Norwich on the basis they will be expected to win. They were favourites in both defeats this season, against Leicester and Bournemouth, and have thus far revelled when the underdog. Saturday’s visitors have a dour away record in the top flight, winning only one of their past 14 on the road, but have only been…

Read the full story

Click to enlarge , and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett’s verdict appears in Sunday’s Observer and here from Monday. Continue reading…

Read the full story

Bilic has got his team within touching distance of Premier League summit having spent a lot on new players one year before Olympic Stadium move Euphoric, a little bedraggled, flashing around his rock star’s poetic licence (he is after all still a guitar player in the progressive metal band Rawbau) Slaven Bilic just about got away with describing beating Manchester City at the Etihad last weekend as like walking into “a …

Read the full story

The stadium in London’s east end is hardly a hotbed of rugby union, but its first attempt at bringing other sports to an unfamiliar audience was a qualified success Rugby World Cup fever had definitely failed to reach Stratford High St, where a confused posse of French visitors rattled their cases past pound shops and market stalls. But, on the other side of Westfield, the cavernous temple to consumerism that acts as the gateway …

Read the full story

Today’s gossip needs to raise its game With Lord Ashcroft trying to hog the rumour-mongering, the Mill needs to raise its game. But the unenlightened football world appears to be lagging behind the upper classes when it comes to allegations of dead animal sex attacks so we’re out of our league on that score. We did think we were overhearing a conversation last night about what Brendan Rodgers does with…

Read the full story

Andy King’s header in the second period of extra-time saw Leicester through to the fourth round of the Capital One Cup after a 2-1 win over West Ham at the King Power Stadium. The tie looked destined for a penalty shoot-out until King, captain for the night, guided a Christian Fuchs cross into the top corner of the net and beyond Adrián, who had kept his side in the game with a string of saves. Continue reading…

Read the full story

• Manchester City midfielder says top flight is now more competitive • Touré rejects idea of being rested for Capital One Cup Yaya Touré believes the Arsenal Invincibles will never be emulated because the Premier League has become more competitive, while the midfielder is unconcerned after Manchester City lost their unbeaten domestic record to West Ham . The 2-1 defeat was the first time their defence had been breached in the league after City had recorded five wins from five games. It…

Read the full story

Author’s history details mutual dependence along with colourful anecdotes I’ve just read a delightful book about the media’s relationship with football, From the back page to the front room: football’s journey through the English media by Roger Domeneghetti.* It was published towards the end of last year but it didn’t get the publicity it warranted, or enough reviews for that matter. That was a pity because it is chock full of fascinating facts and

Read the full story

Today’s whispers are doing the best they can Manchester United reckon that their policy of signing 18-year-olds from the continent is goer and will dip their toe in the water once more in January, pointing said toe in the direction of Heerenveen’s Jerry St. Claire Juste and whisper softly into the wind: “come hither,” according to the Daily Star. The young centre back only made his first-team debut in January this year but is now a regular in …

Read the full story

• City lose 2-1 at home for second time in a week following Juventus loss • Second-placed West Ham have now beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and City away For perhaps the first time since Manuel Pellegrini’s Cool Hand Luke act arrived at Manchester City the Chilean’s mask slipped after this second 2-1 defeat at home in five days. West Ham United’s fine victory had a jubilant manager, Slaven Bilic, likening his emotion to entering a hostelry “full of girls” and Pellegrini visibly…

Read the full story

Slaven Bilic’s West Ham are turning into away specialists. Three of their four victories this season have been on their travels and as the wins have come at the Emirates, Anfield and now the Etihad, no one could accuse them of going about it the easy way. This was not quite as gobsmacking as the first two, except that Manchester City did happen to be top of the league with a 100…

Read the full story

Premier League updates from the 5.30pm BST kick-off at the Etihad Vincent Kompany’s passion makes him prone to injury, says Pellegrini And email nick.miller@theguardian.com or tweet @NickMiller79 6.50pm BST 60 mins: Change for West Ham, as Moses goes off and is replaced by Michail Antonio, the deadline day signing from Nottingham Forest. 6.50pm BST 59 mins: Kolarov lines up a shot from about 30 yards, and it sails well, well wide and…

Read the full story

• Manchester City captain to miss visit of West Ham because of calf problem • Nicolás Otamendi likely to make first start since £32m move from Valencia Manuel Pellegrini believes Vincent Kompany’s intensity makes the defender vulnerable to injury, though he says it is difficult to ask Manchester City’s captain to change his approach. Kompany will miss Saturday’s game against West Ham United and Tuesday’s Capital One Cup trip …

Read the full story

• Manuel Pellegrini confirms captain’s calf injury has not healed in time • Nicolás Otamendi could be brought in to replace Kompany Vincent Kompany will miss Manchester City’s games against West Ham United and Sunderland due to a calf problem and is to be assessed ahead of next week’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur. The captain suffered the injury in Tuesday evening’s 2-1 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League group match. It was the 10th occasion Kompany has …

Read the full story

• London mayor: ‘I would be perfectly happy to publish the details’ • Information commissioner ruled controversial deal must be disclosed The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has insisted he is “perfectly happy” to see the details of West Ham’s Olympic Stadium contract published but claimed that the club was seeking to take legal action to block it. Johnson, who oversees the London Legacy Development Corporation as mayor but is no longer chairman of the …

Read the full story

• West Ham owners spent more than £40m in the summer • West Ham would now need to sell to buy again in January The West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan is braced for the club to record a loss of up to £17m over their final season at Upton Park after a summer of heavy spending in the transfer market aimed at ensuring they start life at the Olympic Stadium in the …

Read the full story

• Freedom of Information request for full disclosure successful • Club and LLDC had claimed details covered by ‘commercial confidentiality’ Campaigners for transparency over West Ham’s move to the Olympic Stadium have scored a major victory after the Information Commissioner ruled the terms of the deal should be made public , the Guardian can reveal. Both the London Legacy Development Corporation and West Ham had long argued that the deal for the largely-taxpayer-funded stadium should remain buried …

Read the full story

Managers give their responses after Dimitri Payet scored twice to give West Ham United a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday at Upton Park. Newcastle manager Steve McClaren says there’s no excuse for his team’s performance, despite the players having to walk the last mile to Upton Park due to traffic. West Ham manager Slaven Bilić is full of praise for his players Continue reading…

Read the full story