Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

Jeff Randall, the Daily Telegraph columnist, is leaving the paper to join Babcock International as a non-executive director. His decision to step away from his full-time media commitments was revealed in July last year when he announced that he was to give up presenting his eponymous Sky News business show. In the Sunday Telegraph at the weekend, bidding “a fond farewell” to 30 years of financial journalism , he wrote about his time with the Telegraph group. He…

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Bendtner turns the tide, Nolan loses his mind, Mata’s strop elicits a cool response from Mourinho and Moyes morphs into Sir Alex 1) Could Arsenal finally see the benefit of Bendtner? In so many respects it was classic Nicklas Bendtner. On as a substitute against Cardiff City, he scored the crucial 88th-minute goal for Arsenal yet sprained his ankle in the process to be forced back off. As he limped round the fringes …

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West Ham’s relegation worries deepened as they sunk to a deserved defeat at fellow strugglers Fulham after their captain, Kevin Nolan, was sent off in the first half for kicking out at Fernando Amorebieta. Sam Allardyce’s side had taken an early lead thanks to Mohamed Diamé but Steve Sidwell equalised for the hosts before Nolan’s inexcusable folly left the already weakened visitors at a numerical disadvantage. Fulham, who were superior even before the red card, dominated the rest of the game and secured victory with a goal from Dimitar Berbatov…

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Injuries to key players and poor planning have left the manager exposed ahead of New Years’ Day six-pointer with Fulham Sam Allardyce has sent West Ham down before. When they were relegated in 2003, the side that stayed up at their expense were Bolton Wanderers. Their battle for survival went to the final day and ended with Allardyce dancing with Jay Jay Okocha on the pitch at the Reebok Stadium after the home team’s victory over Middlesbrough condemned West Ham to the Championship. …

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• Sunderland look to extend unbeaten run against Aston Villa • Crystal Palace v Norwich; Fulham v West Ham relegation six-pointers Vito Mannone not only believes history is bunk but he also considers that statistics are there to be confounded. Sunderland’s goalkeeper merely shrugs when people tell him that West Bromwich Albion in 2004-05 are the only Premier League team to have escaped relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas. “We need to believe something different,” says …

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• West Brom striker could face lengthy FA ban • Claims gesture was tribute to French comedian Saido Berahino was praising Nicolas Anelka’s contribution to this much deserved draw for West Bromwich Albion when he described him as someone who “leads by example on and off the field”. Little did the striker know then that those words would soon take on a different and distinctly dark connotation. Anelka is under investigation by the Football Association for the quenelle gesture, described in some quarters as the “reverse Nazi salute”…

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• Striker claims ‘quenelle’ was tribute to French comedian • Manager Keith Downing refuses to condemn action West Bromwich Albion’s caretaker manager Keith Downing refused to condemn Nicolas Anelka after the striker apparently made a far-right salute after scoring the first of his two goals in his side’s 3-3 draw with West Ham. Anelka has confirmed to Downing that he did perform what is known as a quenelle, or “reverse Nazi salute”, after…

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Come the end of this utterly absorbing contest, any doubts over West Ham’s capacity to score goals had disappeared, yet what remains real enough is the sense that this is a club in serious danger of being relegated. Six goals were scored, three by the hosts, and having lost the lead twice West Ham remain in the Premier League’s bottom three. It is now six games without a victory for Sam Allardyce’s men and for all the rare entertainment that was on show in this corner of east …

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Minute-by-minute report: Will the Hammers claw their way out of the bottom three against the managerless Baggies? Find out with Jacob Steinberg Jacob Steinberg

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• West Ham seek Premier League experience in January • ‘My concern is to make sure they can hit the ground running’ Sam Allardyce wants two new signings in January to make an immediate impact on West Ham United’s increasingly fraught battle against relegation. The manager suggested that players with Premier League experience would be the priority but he would also welcome those with big reputations from overseas. He remembers how the mid-season capture of Youri Djorkaeff had helped to save his Bolton Wanderers team in…

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Minute-by-minute report: It’s a big Boxing Day fixture list – follow all of the action with Sean Ingle Sean Ingle

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• Striker has leadership qualities, says his manager • Moyes praises Rooney after win over West Ham Wayne Rooney is Manchester United’s on-field force and is becoming a leader who now calls the shots in the dressing room, according to David Moyes. The manager offered the insight after another display of total football from the England forward, who drove United to this smoothly impressive victory over struggling West Ham. With Robin van Persie out for another three weeks due to a thigh injury, there had…

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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says Manchester United deserved their 3-1 win over the side on Saturday

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• Part 1: Arsenal to Manchester City Manchester United – Shaun O’Donnell – Observer reader 6/10 This was always going to be a transition season regardless of us being champions. Moyes knew the lack of quality in midfield needed addressing but left it until the last day of the transfer window and bought a player who he played further up the pitch. That our best midfielder has been a 40-year-old winger speaks volumes. Moyes seems to have handled Rooney well and he has carried …

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Manchester United’s crisis of confidence appears to be over. It could simply be down to the good fortune of meeting four teams from the bottom half of the table in the league run up to the end of the year, but after the consecutive home defeats to Everton and Newcastle, David Moyes has seen his side put together four straight wins in different competitions with only one goal conceded. As that goal came less than 10 minutes from the end of this all too…

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• Men fined total of £123,000 for obtaining personal data • Mobile phone bills of Karren Brady accessed by investigator Three men who pleaded guilty to spying on West Ham as the club were bidding for tenancy of the Olympic Stadium have been fined. Howard Hill, 59, from Stockport in Greater Manchester, was given a £100,000 fine at Southwark crown court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to obtaining personal data contrary to the Data Protection Act 1998. Richard Forrest, 31, from Crawley, West Sussex, was…

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Manchester United manager David Moyes says striker Wayne Rooney may play against West Ham this Saturday after nursing a groin injury

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Manchester United have not lost three consecutive home league games since 1979 and after 1-0 defeats to Everton and Newcastle United, they would be mortified with similar against West Ham. Sam Allardyce’s side beat Tottenham Hotspur to reach the Capital One Cup semi-finals. That win came at White Harte Lane from a losing position and with Old Trafford less of a fortress now, the visitors will fancy their chances of leaving with something. Jamie Jackson…

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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says his side will be in the firing line in Saturday’s away clash at Manchester United

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• Van Persie and Carrick likely to miss West Ham • Rooney to be assessed by club on Saturday Nani has added to Manchester United’s injury woes after their manager David Moyes said he would be out for a “few weeks” with a hamstring problem. The Portugal winger has not featured since the home defeat to Newcastle on 7 December and has recently been linked with a move to Juventus. “Nani has a hamstring injury which is a little bit worse than we thought,” said Moyes. “He is probably…

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• Winger confident about next game at Manchester United • Hammers consider taking Robbie Keane on loan The West Ham forward Matt Jarvis believes the club’s progress into the Capital One Cup semi-finals can act as a springboard for an improvement in their league form as they seek to gain reward from Saturday’s trip to Manchester United. Victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday – their second success at White Hart Lane this…

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• Midfielder to miss Chelsea and West Ham matches • Arsenal struggling to stay ahead in title race Jack Wilshere has been banned for two matches after giving Manchester City’s fans a one-fingered salute on Sunday and will miss the Premier League derbies against Chelsea and West Ham United. Arsenal are struggling to keep their noses in front as the title race reaches its crucial festive period and the loss of the England midfielder could seriously hamper their ambitions. Wilshere reluctantly agreed to accept the Football Association’s …

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James is joined by Barry Glendenning , Jacob Steinberg and Gregg Bakowski for more award-winning podcast action. Plenty for the pod to get stuck into, including: West Ham’s defeat of Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup, Sunderland’s super fit team beating Chelsea in extra-time, and a preview of the big one between Arsenal and Chelsea. James Horncastle is on the phone to preview the Milan derby and run the rule over the new Watford manager. Giuseppe Sannino. Plus, there’s the pod’s favourite…

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Tottenham caretaker manager Tim Sherwood says the team are hugely disappointed after their 2-1 loss to West Ham

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• Caretaker manager says ‘immediate future up in the air’ • Sam Allardyce praises ‘brilliant effort’ from West Ham Tim Sherwood reflected the sense of chaos and upheaval at Tottenham Hotspur when he said that he did not know whether he would take charge of the team at Southampton on Sunday, after his managerial debut ended in a 2-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final defeat by West Ham United. The club’s youth co-ordinator, who was…

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• Manchester City take on West Ham in other last-four tie • First leg to be played in week of 6 January Sunderland’s reward for beating Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup is a last-four encounter with the four-times winners Manchester United. Gus Poyet’s side ousted José Mourinho’s men with a victory in extra time at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday and they will welcome United, who comfortably beat Stoke , in…

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