Allardyce: Carroll was a key

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce hopes there is more to come from Andy Carroll after the striker's man of the match performance against Swansea City.



The on-loan Liverpool forward started his first game since November after injury and scored the winner to earn his temporary club just a third Premier League win in two months.

And Allardyce thought Carroll, who could join West Ham on a permanent basis in the summer, was the best player against Swansea despite not being fully fit.

"I think Andy has made the difference today, no disrespect to [Marouane] Chamakh and Carlton Cole," Allardyce told Sky Sports.

"He is a big strong lad with a lot of ability. As we saw today, it was not just about his heading ability, even though that was the winning goal.

"It was about his hold-up play, his movement and the trouble he caused Swansea. I think everybody else could build off Andy and we created numerous chances."

West Ham were denied by excellent Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel on several occasions but Allardyce was at least pleased to see his struggling team making opportunities.



"It has been a great day from that point of view and, as long as we keep creating the chances - particularly at home, we will sooner or later start putting more in the back of the net," he said.

Chamakh heads to West Ham on loan

West Ham have signed Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh on loan for the rest of the season.



With Andy Carroll currently sidelined through injury and Modibo Maiga set to depart for the African Nations Cup, Sam Allardyce was keen to bring in cover and approached Arsenal over the possibility of signing Chamakh.



The Moroccan striker has only managed to score eight goals in 40 league appearances for Arsenal but he will have the opportunity to rediscover his form at Upton Park.

West Ham confirm Cole return

Joe Cole's return to boyhood club West Ham on a free transfer from Liverpool has been confirmed.



The 31-year-old has signed an 18-month contract at Upton Park to end a miserable spell at Anfield.



Cole told his new club's official website: "It is a great move for me. This is where I learnt my trade and I'm happy to have another chance to be here. I've always loved West Ham and I hope I can give the club a few memorable seasons."



Cole emerged from the club's academy to sign professional terms in 1998 and helped them win the FA Youth Cup the following year, becoming a firm fans' favourite before leaving for Chelsea in 2003, when he became one of their first signings following Roman Abramovich's takeover of the club.



There, he won eight major trophies including three Premier League titles, was named in the Professional Footballers Association team of the year in 2006 and has won 56 full England caps.



But after joining Liverpool as a free agent, he was sent off on his Premier League debut and missed a penalty in his next appearance, a Europa League qualifying match against Trabzonspor. The poor start set the tone for a Reds career hampered by form and fitness problems and he was allowed to spend last season on loan at Lille.



He scored nine goals in 42 appearances for the French club and will have the opportunity to further rebuild his career at the club where he first made his name.



Cole said: "The timing was right for me to come back and I'm happy. I'm back in London and I'm delighted to be here. I want to be here and I want to make an impact.



"Sam (Allardyce, manager) didn't have to sell me the club for me to come back. I have had 18 months at Liverpool where I haven't played much football and Sam wants to play me.



"I'm going to need games to get back to my best, but I want to play football and come here and help the team to make an impact.



"I could see from the outside what a great bunch of lads we have here and there is a great spirit. I'm excited."



The warm reception he received from the Upton Park crowd when he returned with Liverpool last month, which he reciprocated by not celebrating his goal in the Reds' 3-2 win, was also a factor in his return.



"It was a big thing in me coming back, the fact that everybody here wants me to do well," Cole added. "The fans have always been great for me, whenever I have been back and also when I've been in the area visiting family.



"I feel like I owe the club a little bit as well because if it wasn't for West Ham I wouldn't be a footballer. This club's great youth-team coaches taught me the trade."



The Hammers lie 11th in the Premier League table after 20 games and Cole is optimistic about their prospects for the remainder of the campaign.



"The first season in the Premier League is always the toughest one and the boys have done brilliant to get 26 points on the board," he said. "We would like to match that in the second half of the season and crack on from there.



"We have got a lot of England internationals and a good strong squad here, so our home form is going to be vital."

West Ham sign Irish teenager

West Ham have signed Republic of Ireland Under-19 striker Sean Maguire from Waterford United on a two-and-a-half-year contract.



The 18-year-old finished joint top scorer in the League of Ireland First Division in 2012, helping Waterford to gain promotion as runners-up.



Maguire, who scored 13 goals in 24 appearances, told West Ham TV: "In summer 2011 the Waterford manager brought me in for a couple of training sessions and gave me a chance in the first team and I took it. Here I am now at West Ham and it's a dream come true really."



He added: "People tend to say my best trait is my movement so hopefully I can show that here. I haven't been told yet which squad I will be in but I presume I'll be going into the reserves so I'll try to work my way up like I did at Waterford."

Joe Cole set for comeback

West Ham are set to make their first signing of the transfer window by bringing Joe Cole back to the club on a free transfer.



Liverpool are prepared to cancel Cole's current agreement at Anfield to ensure he gets a move away from the Reds this month and Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is set to land the player, although there is still interest from Harry Redknapp at QPR.



Cole came through the youth ranks at Upton Park before moving to Chelsea for £6.6m in 2003 prior to moving to Liverpool at the end of his contract in 2010.



His time with the Reds has been less than successful though, and he spent last season away on loan at Lille.



Liverpool are now prepared to let him move on for free and he seems set for a West Ham return.

Olympic Stadium D-Day

West Ham are favourites to be named the preferred tenants of the Olympic Stadium this morning.

 The future of the Olympic Stadium should become clearer today with the announcement of the preferred bidder.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is expected to award a lease to the Hammers, subject to conditions which are likely to include the installation of retractable seats over the running track.

West Ham were told they could not buy the stadium last year - the new occupants will be tenants.

One of the conditions of becoming tenants was keeping the athletics track, which ruled Tottenham out of the running as the North London club wanted to rip it up.

One sticking point at a meeting of the London Legacy Development Corporation this morning will be who funds an estimated £20m shortfall in the budget to convert the stadium to use for football.

If West Ham are granted the lease there could yet be legal issues, with Leyton Orient - who want to share the stadium - possibly mounting a challenge.

West Ham may also be required to hand over a share of profits to the public purse, because of the huge amount of taxpayers' money used to build the stadium.

There is unlikely to be any football at the stadium until 2015 at the earliest - and possibly not until the 2016-17 season.

A football business consortium and a consortium hoping to stage Formula One races there are also in the running.

But West Ham are favourites to win the bid because they are likely to have the least impact on the public purse in the years ahead.

Carroll targets more West Ham goals

Andy Carroll hopes he can follow up his long awaited first West Ham goal by finding the net against Manchester United and Chelsea.



Carroll headed home Joey O'Brien's cross in Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Tottenham to end his 1,062-minute Barclays Premier League goal drought.



The £35million man had been brought in on loan to provide the firepower for the Hammers, but manager Sam Allardyce has instead had to rely on Kevin Nolan for his goals this season.



Carroll was relieved to finally get off the mark for his new club and now hopes he can repeat the feat against top-flight heavyweights Manchester United and Chelsea on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.



"It was about time (I scored), to be honest," Carroll said. "I'm just grateful to have got off the mark and hopefully there will be more to come this week.



"I think I've put myself about and been involved in our goals in previous matches. "I think I've been doing well so it was about time one went in.



"It was a great ball in by Joey O'Brien and I just had to get up and head it across the keeper. That's what I did and thankfully it went in."



Despite Carroll's failure to find the net, West Ham have exceeded all expectations so far this season and currently sit eighth in the table.



But they were easily outclassed by a rampant Spurs side, who coasted to victory thanks to a Gareth Bale strike and a brace from former Hammer Jermain Defoe.



Defoe was allowed to open the scoring in a marvellous solo effort that saw him go unchallenged from near the half-way line. West Ham's defence then backed off Clint Dempsey, which allowed him to tee up Bale for Spurs' second.



Defoe wrapped up the win by tapping home into an empty net following a swift counter-attack that started after West Ham were dispossessed on the halfway line.



Carroll was unhappy with how his team wilted but insisted they should not dwell too much on the defeat.



"It was disappointing as we made mistakes for all three of their goals, really," Carroll told the club's website. "We should have done better, but they have taken their chances and obviously beat us.



"We have got a tough week with Manchester United and then Chelsea and Liverpool coming up. It'll be tough so we just have to put this behind us now and focus on Wednesday.



"This game is all gone now so we're going to have to concentrate 100% on Wednesday, which is going to be another tough game."



Defender James Tomkins echoed Carroll's sentiments, adding: "We didn't play at our best but we need to put it behind us quite quickly because we have another big game at Manchester United in a couple of days' time and the games are coming thick and fast.



"We don't need to dwell on the result because we have the points on the board and it's vital we go to Old Trafford with our confidence intact.



"We have to make sure we go to Manchester United 100% mentally."