West Ham United V Southampton

West Ham United -V- Southampton



Npower Championship


Venue: Upton Park
Date: Tuesday 14th February 2012
Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio;
text commentary on the BBC Sport website
Online:



TEAM NEWS


Championship leaders West Ham will be without influential captain Kevin Nolan for the top-of-the-table clash with second-placed Southampton.

Midfielder Nolan begins a three-match ban for his red card against Millwall.

Left-back George McCartney felt a tight hamstring in training but is expected to be fit, while striker Nicky Maynard could make his debut for the club.

Southampton boss Nigel Adkins has virtually a full-strength squad to choose from.

Saints welcomed back defender Jos Hooiveld after three weeks out with a hamstring injury for Saturday's 2-0 win over Burnley, meaning fellow centre-half Dan Seaborne remains the only absentee as he continues his recovery from the head injuries he suffered in an assault last year.

Skipper Dean Hammond and fellow midfielder Richard Chaplow could return to the starting line-up after they were rested on Saturday.


MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head


• This is the 95th time these clubs will go head-to-head. West Ham lead by 36 wins to 32 in all competitions.

• Southampton have bagged 10 points out of the last 12 available against the Hammers, and another maximum will clinch their first double over the East London club since 1997/98.

• If four goals are generated in this fixture, it will take the total featured in league matches between the pair to 250.


West Ham United


• West Ham are aiming to complete a fifth win in six Championship outings with victory in this top-of-the-table showdown. They are also vying for a five successive home league maximum.

• The current tally of 56 points after 29 games is their best equivalent return since the promotion season from the old Second Division in 1990/91, when 63 were bagged by this stage.

• Sam Allardyce's side have found the net in each of their last eight league games - the longest current scoring sequence in the second tier.


Southampton


• If Saints win it will be their 17th of this Championship season and will see them leapfrog the Hammers to reclaim the top of the table spot, lost three and-a-half weeks ago.

• Saturday's 2-0 home win over Burnley was only the third time Nigel Adkins side had mustered a victory in 11 league outings.

• The club with the strongest attack in the division, has so far not managed to win away from home against any of the top 14 clubs.

Really not looking forward to this game tonight , I just have a feeling that the pressure will get to the players and we will lose by the 1 goal again like at St.Marys tho I hope Iam proved wrong and we beat them and go four pts clear with a game in hand

COYI

I cannot see us stopping Saints from scoring so I just hope that BFS does not go with one up front and leave it until it is too late to bring some goalscoring players on !

Looking forward to the game though

COYI !!

woohoo looking very much forward to this. 1st place vs 2nd place. Should be a cracker. I have no idea what the outcome will be

Tony P wrote:I cannot see us stopping Saints from scoring so I just hope that BFS does not go with one up front and leave it until it is too late to bring some goalscoring players on !

Looking forward to the game though

COYI !!

He won't for this one, surely? Errr, I mean Tony

Tony P wrote:I cannot see us stopping Saints from scoring so I just hope that BFS does not go with one up front and leave it until it is too late to bring some goalscoring players on !

Looking forward to the game though

COYI !!

We all know that BFS will go with just the one striker I would like to see Maynard partner Cole upfront in a 442 But it will be 451 with Coloe on his own - when will he learn that will only score loads of goals when we have two strikers on the pitch . Its been proven already this season ....
V Forest 4-1 - formation 442
v Blackpool 4-0 - Formation 442
V Watford 4-0 - Formation 442
v Portsmouth 4-3 - Formation 442
When will he learn play 442 and we score ffs

Good point well ptresented Arran, unfortunately I think you are right and he will go with 4-5-1 (although he insists it 4-3-3!)

I put a few questions to the Saints Forum and this is the response I got

edpickett

Well Harry is not guilty due to being a cretinous stupid idiot... alledgedly.

As for the game against you? On current form you will beat us. We have had a raft of injuries and it took the wheels off our promotion push. Now we are struggling to intergrate those players back in.

Nigel Adkins has a plan a) 442 and a plan b) 4-1-2-1-2. Normally when plan a is failing plan b fails as well. We have a Japenese striker who I think will not cut the mustard and is a luxury buy. That said we have a game to get our act together, blood Lambert and Sharp and w**k out how to play to their strengths. Give Lambert a chance and he will take it so there is that danger.

Our best team?

GK - Davis
RB - Richardson
CB - Fonte
CB - Hooiveld
LB - Fox
LM - Lallana (the one to watch out for)
CM - Cork
CM - Schneiderlin/Hammond
RM - Guly
CF - Lambert
CF - Sharp

That said the chance of NA actually playing that team is slim. He has a fondness for David Connolly and De Ridder who are both pretty shit.

paddyb (The Exiled Saint)

There are seventeen games to the end of the season. Back in August if anyone had told me we would be second in the League by the following February I'd have seriously queried their use of pharmaceuticals. Most teams go through a bad patch which is not unusual in January and February, but perhaps we had it a bit too easy early in the season and a just a bit of hubris set in about Christmastime. But I think it ours to throw away.

We cannot complain, we've got a good coach, with a team chosen by him and an very supportive CEO. You will know our away support is top rate and the majority of of our home fans are great. However, and I know this is the same at Upton Park, some soon get on the teams back if they perceive matters aren't going there way.

Who'll be there at the end of the season?

Gosh! Well, I've got great respect for Big Sam ever since he first started in management with Bohemians, in Dublin; I also think Chrissie Houghton has, against all the odds, got the Blues going well; and Malchy's Bluebirds are singing a fine tune. I'd hate to see Blackpool, led by that would be West Country Yokel, get their noses in front. We're going for bust; it would be pointless to say otherwise.

Will we stop up? I doubt it, a bit like yourselves and West Brom; we'll do a bit of yo-yoing.

As for 'Arry. Well, to be honest when he first came to us I was overjoyed, as he was a great exponent of the West Ham style, which I so much admire. But he let us down very badly and should he be found guilty of cheating the halt and lame, the disabled and the old, then I hope he does some time in the Scrubs!

Enjoy the season, but don't have too much a good time on Tuesday next!

*** Harry's free!!!!!

Wisbech Saint

As before I think you'll beat us. As our bad patch goes on, and on.

As for 'Arry I thought he'd get off. Even the judge indicated 'Arry was a man of honour. wonder who the judge follows?

snowey

A good mate of mine who is an avid Iron says that West Ham are like Christmas decorations, they both go down after Christmas. Do you reckon that the trend will continue?
As for Hairy Rightcrap, never liked him, never rated him as a 'great manager'.
Took us to relegation and then skulked off back to Skates. Then he left to go to his 'spiritual home' but it wasn't West Ham, instead it was Spurts, that must have really stuck in your craw.
Twitchy, teflon Bagpuss and over-all dodgy bastard.

anthony85uk

West ham I think are the best team in the league, I think now your at the top you will find it hard but not from us, all these other teams that are creeping around too, we havent played welll consistently in months and will struggle to get automatic but were in a good position and have some good players who can turn that around.

west ham have been lucky with some games, eg pompey game and did need some extra players I think to carry on winning every game, I think your guys will beat us though as they will play up for that game completely

Harry also brought property in pompey, southsea to be exact that he couldnet get planning permission on, since that he kept it for ages and when those riots happened last year (none in pompey surprisingly) they burnt down and he got a good insurance pay out.

BFS said on Talksport this morning that he will be playing a 4-3-3 as statistically we have had the most success with that formation this season

Possible sausage and I am still looking peeps , I dont know if any will w**k , its a case of try and try again

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Nicked

I`ve heard some strange things said in the build up to a big-match but none as strange as what one of the Southampton players has, supposedly muttered.

Billy Sharp, fresh from scoring his first goal for his new club against Burnley after moving from Doncaster, had this to say as the preparations continue for the clash of the Championship titans,

"This is a bigger match for West Ham than us. The pressure is on them as leaders and playing at home."

What?

Somebody explain why the pressure is on us?

If we win we`re four points clear with a game in hand.

If we draw, we`re two pints ahead with a game in hand and even, god forbid, we were to lose we`d only be two points adrift but still with a game in hand.

Billy mate, I`d say the pressure is on you lot more than us!

They are amongst us

Teams are out

West Ham United: Green, O'Brien, Taylor, Faye, Reid, Tomkins, Noble, Collison, Faubert, Vaz Te, Cole
Subs: McCartney, O'Neil, Lansbury, Baldock, Maynard

Southampton: Davis, Richardson, Fox Fonte, Hooiveld, Schneiderlin, Cork, Lallana, Guly, Sharp, Lambert
Subs: Martin, Hammond, Puncheon, Lee, Connolly

Same keeping us guessing as usual.

Assuming Taylor will be left back and Tomkins in midfield again.

Guess what ... Its a 451/BFS version of 433 ffs BFS why dont start with two bloody strikers upfront on there own in a normal 442

where is the match stream link ??????

Radio at the mo
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will let you know if I find some visual link

can only get radio

Di Canio

finguck championship no bloody streams ?!

ooooooooooooooooo

Come on West ham Vaz te sounds like he could become a very good player for us - seems he unlike the rest of our strikers apart from maynard has an eye for the goal

we need to take these chances

Lost my radio link , uk only

this one works: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Come on west ham !! lets put one of these chances in before they get a chance to score please