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Imps squad have no fear of Hammers

Paudie O’Connoe: Imps have no fear of Hammers

Lincoln City skipper Paudie O’Connor can’t wait to play in front of a sold out crowd when the Imps take on our Hammers at the LNER Stadium in the  Carabao Cup third round tie.

After knocking out Premier League side Sheffield United on penalties in the previous round, O’Connor has belief City can put in a good performance against the Irons.

And he certainly doesn’t believe the League One squad should have any fear in their hearts as David Moyes’ side come to ensure they don’t slip over any banana skins.

 

“Imps have nothing to fear”

He pointed out that there was nothing to fear especially as the team were playing at home having gone to places like Bristol City, Sheffield United, and Southampton and given a very good account of themselves on all three occasions. Given that he sees no reason not to expect the same tomorrow evening.

Commenting on what his squad should expect he said: “It’s probably a bit of a step up, but we know we’ve got quality in the building and when we do have chances presented to us, we can take them.”

City’s can’t wait to play in front of a sold-out crowd saying: “The crowd is the part that I’m looking forward to the most.

“Obviously we’ve had it in the league before, but under the lights in a big cup game, when all the pressure is on the opposition – it’s going to be a good occasion and one we’re all looking forward to.”

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Hammer Bowen tells Irons fans “I’m becoming one too”

Jarrod Bowen has admitted he is becoming a real fan of “massive” West Ham.

The Hammers hero in his most forthright interview yet admits that when he arrived from Hull he had no idea how big the club was.

He is now our goal scorer supreme who has become one of the biggest names in the Premier League and his latest words on  Rio Ferdinand’s VIBE with FIVE: suggest that he may be getting closer and closer to signing an extension with the club.

Jarrod Bowen is the next in line for a new contract at West Ham with his deal expiring in 2025

He of course scored the winning goal which brought a trophy to the East end for the first time in years and declared that it was a really really big moment.

And he went on to reveal that he really was becoming one of us – a huge fan of the club he joined for just over £20 million.

And on being responsible for us winning that trophy he declared: “It’s a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment because you don’t realise how special something is until you win the trophy.

He added: “I didn’t realise how big the club was! There are fans everywhere. Where I live everyone is a West Ham fan, no Tottenham fans – or maybe they don’t want to tell me they are a Tottenham fan!

Bowen scored six goals and registered five assists in 38 Premier League appearances last season. and already has has four goals and one assist this term.

He wants to double that this term saying: “I’ve got to be the one who creates and scores goals, and that’s what’s expected of me.

Last season was not my best season, which people may forget because of the [Europa Conference League-winning] goal, but in terms of my standard I was not at a level I expected of myself.

“I’m always looking double figures goals and assists, 20-30 goal involvements a season. You look at Salah, Saka and [Riyad] Mahrez, their numbers are the benchmark for me.”

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Kudus return on cards

West Ham boss David Moyes is clearly set to make a number of changes to the team beaten at Liverpool although the London Evening Standard believes last week’s Euro league hero Mo Kudus is set to get a game.

In their preview of the match the ‘paper says that Danny Ings will start after failing to do so in the league this season and is  likely to be supported by Maxwel Cornet, Said Benrahma and  Kudus.

An experienced midfield could include Tomas Soucek and Pablo Fornals, while Konstantinos Mavropanos gets the nod in defence after a debut in the Europa League last week.

Here is the Standard’s predicted XI: Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Johnson; Soucek, Fornals; Benrahma, Kudus, Cornet; Ings

Claret and Hugh says: It looks a more than acceptable team but we would be hoping to see one or two youngsters involved in the shape of George Earthy, Divin Mubama and Lewis Orford. Both Ben Johnson and Conor Coventry could be included and we will all be keen to get another good look at Kudus who really does look the type of guy who can change games at a stroke. He looked as exciting as we had been led to believe when making a two goal debut after Uefa awarded him the first goal against TSC having originally called it as an own goal. He looks a player who could really make a League One team suffer.

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Fans vote on new Moyes contract

A huge majority of West Ham fans believe David Moyes needs to be offered a new deal at the club as he progresses through the final year of his contract this term.

Claret and Hugh contributor – under his Twitter profile Sean Whetstone @westhamfootball – has organised the poll which thus far has polled over 2000 votes.

It has been run on the anniversary of the manager’s  return to the club and asks supporters if they want to see his contract increased.

The Hammers board always make their decisions on this issue at the end of the final year which will be next summer although should they decide to do so talks are set to start around Christmas.

The poll will close at around midnight on Tuesday and thus far 71.1% say West Ham should extend the contract  with 28.9% saying no.

Based on our start this season and winning the Conference no surprise here and we will need to wait a few more months to see if the result remains the same.

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Olympiacos tickets on sale

The Hammers welcome Super League Greece leaders Olympiacos to the stadium  on Thursday 9 November and tickets have now gone on sale to season ticket holders.

Having beaten FK TSC Bačka Topola 3-1 the club will be aiming to take a step towards the knockout stages and increase the financial bonuses they pick up through winning group games.

Season Ticket Holders are being informed by the official site at www.whufc.com to purchase by –  11am on Thursday

Claret Members will be able to purchase from 12pm on Thursday, with Season Ticket Holders also able to purchase additional tickets from this time.

The general sale begins from 9am on Friday with tickets available to purchase at eticketing.co.uk/whufc

Prices start  at £10 for Juniors and £30 Adults.

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Lincoln City v West Ham: All the details

The Irons kick off their Carabao Cup campaign with the away trip to Lincoln City tomorrow night and sadly the match will not being shown live.

We received a bye in the first round because of Euro involvement and as a result enter join the competition at round 32.

Lincoln are in 13th place in League One and although the game will not be live those who can’t attend the game can listen to all the action via BBC Radio London.

However www.whufc.com points out that due to EFL regulations the club are unable  to carry audio commentary on the website or the app for this fixture.

The game can however  be followed via West Ham’s blog on whufc.com, the app and across our social media channels.

The Hammers will wear their third kit and a minute’s silence will be held in memory of the late Lincoln City manager Colin Murphy, who died earlier this month.

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Kretinsky moves in on UK media deals

West Ham shareholder Daniel Kretinsky has now entered the auction to acquire the UK’s Telegraph Media Group, joining bidders including Daily Mail and General Trust, people close to the process have told the Financial Times.

Křetínský, is the second highest shareholder in the Hammers, owning  27% and signed a non-disclosure agreement last week to join the auction process for the parent company of The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator magazine.

He has sold his stake in French newspaper Le Monde, it has been confirmed. French billionaire Xavier Niel has bought Křetínský out of his stake in Le Monde.

The €50m deal was agreed privately in the past month and Křetínský will largely break even on his initial investment made in 2018, the French media claimed.
Niel’s holding company NJJ Presse, confirmed this week that it had bought Křetínský’s stake and made an “irrevocable commitment” to transfer the shares to the foundation.

 

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Hammers fans kept in the dark

By Hughie Southon

West Ham fans will remain in the dark over any plans David Moyes has for tomorrow night’s game at Lincoln City until just before kick off.

There will be no press conference held today or tomorrow as is usually the case for Premier League games.

Where a non live game is involved in the Carabao Cup there is no requirement for a presser to be held.

So we are left to guess at the sort of team the manager will field as he of course will be unavailable to give his thoughts on the fixture.

It will be interesting to see where Said Benrahma stands in this affair having failed to make any sort of appearance at Liverpool.

And this may also be a game which sees the likes of Conor Coventry, Ben Johnson and Konstantinos Mavropanos involved, with the first two having seen no first team action at all this season, and the Greece international performing well in last weeks Europa Cup match.

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West Ham Crest returns home

 

 

By Sean Whetstone

The unveiling of the Boleyn Ground/Upton Park Southbank West Ham Crest will go ahead this   Saturday (30th September) at the old Supporters Club in Castle Street close where the old Southbank used to be.

The event is scheduled to take place at 12.15pm with special guests and all welcome supporters group, Hammers United have announced.

West Ham United Supporters Club and their present tenants, UK Fitness Club, gave permission to display and submitted an application for planning permission to allow the installation to take place.

Hammers United helped buy the crest for £8,750 and has paid out £224 for planning permission They also paid £1350 for transportation, labour & scaffolding.

The crest has been in storage since 2016 and has now been restored with the help of volunteers.

The crest that is depicted appears to be circa-mid 1980’s, so would be a wonderful reminder to our historic past and a local reminder of the stadium which once stood close by.

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LLDC naming rights confidence at last

 

The chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has revealed she is “very confident” and “hopeful” of selling naming rights for the loss-making London Stadium during 2023, and therefore of reducing its operating deficit in the future.

Speaking to a meeting of the full London Assembly at City Hall back in March 2023 Lyn Garner struck an upbeat note, saying “we now have a number of sponsors engaged at quite a high level.”

She added that they were discussing a sponsorship deal encompassing the stadium and the park  and confirmed that Sadiq Khan is “very willing to get involved in the search for a stadium sponsor” at an appropriate time.

Six months later and there is no sign of any announcement or deal on the horizon and that prediction of a conclusion in 2023 now seems extremely unlikely with October just a week away.

West Ham have to be consulted about any naming rights partner and to our knowledge this has not happened pouring more cold water on LLDC CEO’s bold claims earlier this year.

With the London Mayoral election next May, Sadiq Khan is unlikely to get involved before any election and we could see a change of mayor with Conversative candidate Susan Hall neck and neck in the polls.

Hall could well have a different view of what to do with the London Stadium than her predecessor if elected.

London Assembly member Susan Hall tore into LLDC CEO Lyn Garner last December in a Budget and performance committee meeting about the London Stadium owner’s failure to progress on naming rights.