Evening news round-up for Friday 16/12/16 by 337hammer.
Bilic – We have a great chance.
West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic believes his side have a great chance to build their confidence further this weekend as they look to add to Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory over Burnley against Hull City on Saturday. And with Saturday’s London Stadium opponents Hull having only picked up four points from a possible 24 on their travels this season in the league, the Croatian is confident of another positive result at the weekend.
He said: “We spoke about this couple of games, three to four games in this busy period when we played against Spurs, Manchester United twice, Arsenal and Liverpool. It was an extremely difficult schedule. “That period came and we started with three points and we have a really good chance again tomorrow. This period has come and we have started with three points. They are in good form, they create, but we have a good chance. “Not because we want to but we need to continue like this and get a few more places on the table. If that happens, we can expect better performances. Nothing can give you confidence better than victories.” whufc.com
What do you think of our chances tomorrow? Win, lose or draw? What team and formation would you like to see?
Bilic expects Payet to stay with West Ham.
Reports in France this week claimed Hammers star Payet could be on his way to Manchester United, with fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial heading in the opposite direction. But West Ham boss Bilic said: “I can’t see any truth in that. Regarding Payet, not regarding Martial. He is a good player, a great player. But I don’t see this happening.
“Do I expect Payet to stay? Of course. Great players are always the centre of interest. Payet is one of the best in the world and they are always the ones who are linked with the big clubs. But I hope, and I expect, he will stay with us.” sport.bt.com
Slaven hails AC’s A1 attitude.
Slaven Bilic says a ‘very positive’ Andy Carroll could start his second game in four days when Hull City visit London Stadium on Saturday. Having had such a long lay-off with a knee injury, Bilic was initially only expecting Carroll to start one game this week, but the No9’s attitude may have convinced the manager to let his centre forward loose on the Tigers from the kick-off.
“To be fair I said after the [Burnley] game he was supposed to play 30 minutes and not to start but to come from the bench, but I spoke to him and he had done enough training and came on a couple of times against Arsenal and Liverpool,” the manager explained. “Then the plan was for him to play for 60 minutes on Wednesday, but then I asked him at half-time and he was really good and went on until 80 minutes. “He is very positive and that makes my very positive.” whufc.com
Do you think Andy Carroll will start tomorrow? If he does would you like to see someone playing closer or just off him? Surely his qualities are better used if someone is around him to pick up his knock-ons or collect the ball from him after he has held it up?
Duo insist the beautiful game can wait until they are sitting pretty in the table.
Darren Randolph has warned West Ham fans that points on the board must take priority over sexy football. He said: “We would all really love to play attractive football week in, week out, but for me personally – and I’m not sure if the manager and the fans want to see sexy football – I want to put points on the board. “When you start moving up the table, maybe your confidence starts to come back and you start playing again, but for now it’s all about the points. “We cannot relax because we need to get as many points on the board as we can after the last few months, and I hope the fans understand that.
Noble, whose first league goal of the season proved the difference against Burnley, laughed at Randolph’s ‘sexy’ football target and joked: “Well, he has clearly got different things on his mind! “The performance against Burnley wasn’t great – but I don’t care, to be honest. It is always hard when you are in the position we are in, but four points from the last two games is massive for us. “If you offered me another 2-1 win against 10 men thanks to a penalty and an own goal, I would snap your hand off for another three points. mirror.co.uk
What do you want to see? At the moment are the points more important than the performance? Do you want to win ugly or do you think we should be able to find a balance? Or, will the decent performances only start again once we have more points, are higher up the table and the players confidence returns?
Cheikhou Kouyate urges Slaven Bilic to sign Kara Mbodji.
West Ham defender Cheikhou Kouyate has urged manager Slaven Bilic to sign his friend Kara Mbodji, who he has compared to Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany. The Hammers have made a disappointing start to the season and are expected to be busy in the January transfer window as they bid to stave off the threat of relegation in the new year.
And Kouyate thinks his former Anderlecht team-mate Mbodji would be the perfect fit for the Hammers should they wish to reinforce their defence when the window opens. The Senegalese international told Belgian newspaper DH: “He’s made for the Premier League. Plus, it’s the league that makes him dream, like a lot of Senegalese players. “I hope he can come here quickly. I’m certain he’ll do well too because he’s built like Vincent Kompany.” talksport.com
If Mbodji is as good a Kouyate suggests then surely he is worth a look?
Simone Zaza free to leave West Ham in January.
West Ham have told Simone Zaza he can leave the club in January, according to Sky sources. The Italy striker joined the club on loan from Juventus in August and West Ham have decided not to take up the option of making the move permanent. Zaza has failed to score in 11 appearances and he has missed the past two games with a knee injury.
West Ham would have to make the move permanent if Zaza plays 14 times. A senior source at the club has told Sky Sports News HQ that Zaza would “probably” be returning to Juventus next month. skysports.com
Personally, I hope ‘probably’ means definately!
Sevilla join Roma in race for West Ham star.
Sevilla are looking at making an offer for West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang, according to tuttomercatoweb.com. The midfielder moved to Sampdoria after making his way through Atletico Madrid’s youth academy, and he made his debut against Juventus in a Serie A game in 2010. He has been capped by Spain up at Under 21 level but he is eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea through his parent’s ancestry.
The Spaniard has become a regular for the Hammers this season but Roma have been heavily linked with Obiang in recent weeks, and there was also rumours of a move to Fiorentina in the summer after the player struggled for game time last season. So far this campaign though, Obiang has made 18 appearances in all competitions, but has yet to score or provide an assist. foreverwestham.com
Would you be happy to see Obiang leave? I like him in the team and think he is the only truly defensive midfielder in form that we have. Håvard Nordtveit is also meant to be a defensive midfielder but has hardly been used in his favoured position so far. Maybe his performances might be better given time in his natural position…
Great teams have a strong ‘spine’! Carroll – or another powerful presence – and Reid could be there for us but too much is expected of Noble to complete the link! If he wasn’t Captain he would be vulnerable, but survival is at stake and no player is more important than the Club! We must find a right back, central defence cover, someone to play off Carroll and a midfielder capable of ‘pulling the strings’, to use the old parlance. Maybe one of our youngsters could have it in him with proper nurturing!