West Ham are understood to have made an offer for Newcastle captain and
England international Scott Parker. The midfielder, 26, played under Hammers
boss Alan Curbishley when they were both at Charlton and is believed to be
keen on a move to the capital. West Ham are in the market for a central
midfielder with skipper Nigel Reo-Coker set to move on in the summer.
But Curbishley's initial bid is thought to be considerably less than the
£8.5m Newcastle and Sam Allardyce want. Parker spent seven years with
Curbishley at The Valley and made his England debut against Denmark in 2003
before completing a £10m move to Chelsea. But with first-team opportunities
limited at Stamford Bridge, he moved to St James' Park in a £6.5m deal in
2005 and was made skipper last summer. However, reports suggest Parker has
struggled to settle in the north-east and would relish a return south. New
Magpies manager Allardyce is believed to be eyeing out-of-favour Manchester
City midfielder Joey Barton as a potential replacement.
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West Ham close to £7m Parker deal - BBC
West Ham are believed to be close to sealing a £7m deal for Newcastle
captain Scott Parker after fighting off late interest from Tottenham.
Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury held late-night talks with Parker's
representatives following Spurs' move. Parker is reportedly set to meet West
Ham officials on Thursday after a fee was agreed with the Magpies. The
England midfielder, 26, played under Hammers boss Alan Curbishley when they
were both at Charlton. West Ham are in the market for a central midfielder,
with skipper Nigel Reo-Coker set to move this summer. Parker spent seven
years with Curbishley at The Valley and made his England debut against
Denmark in 2003 before completing a £10m move to Chelsea. But with
first-team opportunities limited at Stamford Bridge, he moved to St James'
Park in a £6.5m deal in 2005 and was made skipper last summer. However,
reports suggested Parker struggled to settle in the north-east and was
targeting a move south. New Newcastle manager Allardyce is believed to be
eyeing out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton as a potential
replacement.
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Hammers close on Parker - Sky
By Peter ORourke - Created on 31 May 2007
West Ham are thought to be closing in on the signing of Scott Parker after
seeing off late interest from Tottenham. The Hammers tabled a bid for
Newcastle skipper Parker on Wednesday night and it is believed The Magpies
have accepted the offer. The news is reported to have alerted Tottenham to
Parker's availability, but West Ham have firmed up their interest to fend
off Tottenham's advances. Parker is now reportedly set to meet West Ham
officials on Thursday to discuss a possible switch to Upton Park. Hammers
boss Alan Curbishley is keen to bring in a new midfielder with Nigel
Reo-Coker set to move on and he has made Parker his top target.
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West Ham, Wigan know Riga price
tribalfooball.com - May 31, 2007
Levante president Pedro Villarroel has slapped a £3.5 million asking price
on star striker Mustapha Riga. The Ghana international wants a move to the
Premiership and is attracting serious interest from West Ham United, Wigan
and Middlesbrough.
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Parker to meet with West Ham today
tribalfooball.com - May 31, 2007
West Ham are seeing off Tottenham interest to land Newcastle midfielder
Scott Parker in an initial £7 million deal. The Daily Mail says West Ham
chief executive Scott Duxbury was involved in late-night talks with Parker's
representatives after Tottenham had declared their interest in the Newcastle
captain. It is understood from sources close to the player that Parker is
set to meet with West Ham officials today after the two clubs agreed a fee.
West Ham manager Alan Curbishley sees Parker as a potential captain and the
ideal replacement for current skipper Nigel Reo-Coker, who has handed in a
transfer request.
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Spurs miss out again - SpursWeb
By Neil Vaughan
Date: 31/5/2007
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR are set to miss out to West Ham United for the signature
of Scott Parker. The England international is on the verge of a £7million
move to Upton Park from Newcastle United after Hammers chief executive Scott
Duxbury held talks over a possible transfer last night. The Daily Mail
reports that Spurs are interested in the Newcastle skipper, but is expected
to link up again with Alan Curbishley after the two clubs agreed on a fee.
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PARKER NOW LOOKS WEST HAM-BOUND - Talk Of The Tyne
by Dylan Younger
Date: 31/5/2007
SCOTT PARKER is on the brink of leaving Newcastle to join West Ham. The
Hammers - who put a bid in for the midfielder yesterday - are now believed
to have agreed a fee in the region of £7 million for Parker. Tottenham
declared a late interest and tried to scupper the bid, but West Ham chief
executive Scott Duxbury put his club back in the driving seat with some
late-night talks with the player's agent last night. Parker is now set to
meet with club officials to discuss personal terms and arrange a medical.
The Chelsea old boy was United's player of the year in the 2005/06 season
and still has a lot of fans in the St James' Park crowd. However, his
critics insists he does not offer the side enough in an attacking sense, and
Parker is believed to be keen on a return to London, where his wider family
is based. The lure of working with his former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley
at West Ham will also be a big factor. Magpies boss Sam Allardyce is now
being strongly linked with a move for Manchester City bad boy Joey Barton as
a replacement for the tough-tackling Parker. England midfielder Barton is
available at a discounted £5.5 million after a series of off-the-field
problems, but Everton and Middlesbrough are also thought to be keen.
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Hammers fight off Spurs for Parker - Daily Mail
Last updated at 10:20am on 31st May 2007
West Ham appear to be on the verge of clinching the £7million signing of
Newcastle and England midfielder Scott Parker after fighting off late
interest from Tottenham. West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury was involved
in late-night talks with Parker's representatives after Tottenham had
declared their interest in the Newcastle captain. It is understood from
sources close to the player that Parker is set to meet with West Ham
officials today after the two clubs agreed a fee. West Ham manager Alan
Curbishley sees Parker as a potential captain and the ideal replacement for
current skipper Nigel Reo-Coker, who has handed in a transfer request.
Parker, who is celebrating the birth of his third child this week, is keen
on a return to London where his family is based and a move to Upton Park
would see him link up again with Curbishley, his old boss at Charlton.
Parker made his England debut in 2003 while playing under Curbishley at
Charlton before completing a £10million move to Chelsea in January 2004. At
the end of that season Parker was named the Professional Footballers
Association's Young Player of the Year but first-team opportunities grew
increasingly limited at Stamford Bridge. He moved to Newcastle in the summer
of 2005 for £6.5million and was appointed captain at the start of last
season.
Newcastle's new manager Sam Allardyce is reported to be eyeing out-of-favour
Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton as a potential replacement for
Parker.
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No need for United to feel shame, West Ham were in the wrong - The Star -
Sheffield
I HAVE noticed that the Premier League and to some extent a minority of West
Ham fans are trying to slander our name and shame us, making out that we are
bad losers for 'not going down with dignity'. I am aghast to see that some
Blades are starting to buy into this blatant propaganda. Let us not lose
sight of the fact that it is not Sheffield United who should feel shame.
West Ham are in the wrong on this issue. They knowingly broke rule U18
enabling them to gain an unfair advantage on the field of play obtaining two
world class footballers from Argentina, who under normal circumstances, they
would be unable to afford or acquire. They also broke rule B13. They hid
this from the Premier League. They lied about it and misled the Premier
League to avoid a penalty and to gain an unfair advantage over other teams.
They did not bring it to the attention of the Premier league, as some would
like us to believe. They were discovered and pleaded guilty because they had
to, they had been caught. The independent panel was also at fault. It took
into consideration irrelevant factors in the decision making process – the
time of the year, and, most worryingly, the feelings of West Ham fans. If
the panel had a 'duty of care' to West Ham fans, then it also must take into
consideration the feeling of other fans, Fulham, Wigan and Sheffield United
et al, which it did not. The commission has left itself wide open to the
accusation and possible legal action of unfair discrimination against the
fans of other teams. The Premier League then made matters worse by failing
to establish whether the contract between West Ham and MSI was terminated by
both parties. Recent interviews with Kia Joorabchian indicate not. The panel
ordered the League to terminate the registration of Tevez. Either this did
not happen, or they allowed him to re register outside the transfer window,
which I believe is against the rules. Kevin McCabe should be commended for
standing up to the League, seeking truth and justice, not castigated for
being a bad loser. I also take my hat off to Wigan and Fulham, who have
shown that honour does still exist in football. We have no reason to feel
ashamed .
31 May 2007
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Curbs eyes midfielder reunion - Clubcall
20070531 09:04
West Ham have reportedly made a bid for Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker,
while Bobby Zamora and Anton Ferdinand are staying put. Hammers boss Alan
Curbishley is on the look out for a new midfielder this summer, as current
skipper Nigel Reo-Coker's future appears to be away from Upton Park with
Arsenal favourites to snap up the England Under-21 international. Parker,
who Curbishley managed while in charge at Charlton, is thought to be the
subject of a bid from the club.
The only potential stumbling block is that the Magpies have valued the
26-year-old at around £8.5million and the Hammers are not thought to be
offering anywhere near that amount. However with Parker, who cost Chelsea
£10million in January 2004 before moving to St James' Park in summer 2005,
looking for a move back to London, West Ham are hopeful of securing a deal.
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce is said to be looking at taking Manchester
City's £5.5million midfielder Joey Barton to Tyneside as a replacement.
Meanwhile, a report in the Times claims West Ham have told central defender
Ferdinand and striker Zamora, that they will not be allowed to leave this
close-season. Ferdinand in particular was expected to be on his way after a
falling out with the manager last term, but his end-of-season form alongside
James Collins looked to have saved him.
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Defender lined up for contract talks - Clubcall
20070531 08:59
Reading are reportedly planning to offer full-back Nicky Shorey a much
improved contract to ward off interest from clubs like West Ham. The
25-year-old, who joined the Royals in a bargain £25,000 deal six years ago,
still has two years left to run on the three-year deal that he signed at the
start of last season. However, following an excellent debut campaign in the
top flight with the Royals, the vultures are already circling the Madejski
Stadium. West Ham boss Alan Curbishley has been linked with Shorey, while
Tottenham boss Martin Jol is also thought to be pondering a raid for the
former Brentford man, whose form this past season has seen him thrust into
England coach Steve McClaren's squad for Friday's Wembley friendly against
Brazil and next Wednesday's Euro 2008 showdown with Estonia. Royals boss
Steve Coppell will be loathe to lose such a key member of his squad though,
which is why the club are willing to reward him for his fine form with a new
deal. Shorey has confirmed he will enter talks with the Royals after he has
got his international duty and wedding over with as he prepares to marry his
fiancee, Emily, on Saturday. He said: "I'm just thinking about England.
After the honeymoon I'll sit down with Reading and see where we go from
there."
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Champions league or bust for deluded Reo-Coker - all3points.com
31st May 2007
By Dan Halton
Having handed in a transfer request West Ham's captain has played his last
game for the club but will not be sorely missed by Dan Halton.
"Every action has a reaction, and you have to be careful with your actions
and think about what you are doing and how it will affect other people." -
Reo-Coker speaking to the Sunday Times, 7 May 2006
There's a fine line between ambition and arrogance. Over the course of the
past year Nigel Reo-Coker has displayed far too much of the latter. An
energetic and vital cog in the West Ham machinery that impressed in their
first year back in the Premiership, he should have been buckling down for
more of the same come the start of last season but instead threw his toys
out of the pram when the club allegedly rebuffed enquiries from Arsenal and
Manchester United without informing him.
His head suitably turned, performances on the pitch deteriorated to the
extent that fans and ex-players justifiably turned against him. Only the
bigger games seemed to interest him, ironically scoring his only goal of a
wretched season against Manchester United before arrogantly cupping his ear
to the Bobby Moore Stand in angry non-celebration. Yet the captain's armband
stayed with him – a decision Alan Pardew was to regret when he was sacked
after a dreadful start to the season. If your captain has lost interest in
driving the club forward then the rest of ship will follow.
"I can confirm that Nigel has handed in a transfer request. I am surprised
as captain he is being allowed to leave." - Agent Tony Finnigan, 26
May 2007
Alan Curbishley took over from Pardew but undeterred Reo-Coker still wanted
out and submitted a transfer request in January, making his intentions
crystal clear. When it was turned down and the transfer window had shut
quotes attributed to the midfielder suddenly appeared in the media stating
his desire to help West Ham stay in the Premiership. A deal had obviously
been struck. In return for keeping the captaincy and doing what he is paid
to do the club would allow him to leave in the summer. Not one West Ham fan
can have blinked at the announcement this week from the Reo-Coker camp that
he had played his last game for the club.
"I am a very loyal person but to play at my best I need to be happy. I made
a promise to West Ham fans that I would help keep this club in the Premier
League and I have done that." -
Reo-Coker after the 1-0 win at Old Trafford, 13 May 2007
Curbishley's despair at the Baby Bentley culture he discovered at West Ham
pointed the finger squarely at the likes of Reo-Coker. One look at his
cringeworthy MySpace website tells you all you need to know about the man.
One-season wonder, big-time charlie, the epitome of the selfish and deluded
Premiership generation. There's a lot of names you can call some players but
true professionals perform season after season, feel privileged to be given
the club captaincy and earn respect over a number of years. West Ham stayed
in the Premier League but you will find a queue of players who contributed
to the cause ahead of our beloved captain. I find it hard to believe the
attitude let alone the ordinary form of Reo-Coker will have impressed men
such as Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson who are notoriously meticulous in
their attention to detail when it comes to potential players' personalities
and backgrounds.
"At the end of the day he never felt wanted but I am sure he will have a
bright future elsewhere." - Finnigan again
Not content with being plucked from the obscurity of Milton Keynes in 2004
to play in front of 35,000 fans at Upton Park as opposed to one man and his
dog at the National Hockey Stadium, Reo-Coker holds the honour of being the
youngest captain West Ham has had since Bobby Moore. An honour he has
tarnished over the past season with his childish actions. Promotion to the
Premiership in 2005 saw Reo-Coker flourish and having missed out on a place
in the World Cup party for Germany last summer his stock could not have been
higher. A time to repay the faith Pardew and the fans had in him from the
start perhaps? Not for Nigel.
"Money does talk now. I'm prepared for that. If I have to move and my career
lies elsewhere eventually, so be it." - Sunday Times interview, 7 May 2006
West Ham was simply a stepping stone for him. He does not have the quality
nor personality to demand the Champions League football he so craves. He can
tackle, track back and deliver a safe pass sideways but ostensibly he is an
ordinary footballer who is a long way off the finished article. A midfielder
who doesn't score enough goals and picks up too many yellow cards will have
to do better to attract the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United. The
latest is that he is holding out for one of these two to step in amidst
interest from more realistic suitors in Aston Villa, Newcastle and
Tottenham. No doubt his agent and self-confessed guardian Tony Finnigan has
inflated the Reo-Coker ego to such an extent that anything less than a
top-four team would be seen as disrespect. I mean this man is the England
Under 21 captain…
"A general is the safeguard of the nation. When this support is in place,
the nation will certainly be strong. When this support is not in place, the
nation will certainly not be strong." - Sun Tzu from the Art of War
So it's goodbye to the numerous misplaced passes, poor final balls,
multitude of yellow cards, turning in performances on a whim, silly dance
celebrations, dismissive waves to the crowd, cupped-ear arrogance of the
goal against Man U and having a captain whose loyalty is only to himself.
Nigel often quotes the Art of War as being an inspiration to him as a
leader. Time for him to blow the dust off that book for his next career
move.
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Curbs says don't believe the hype - Harlow Citizen
By Tess McDermott
WEST Ham boss Alan Curbishley has told fans to ignore the heightening
transfer speculation in the press. The club has been linked to a series of
high-priced targets including Eidur Gudjohnsen, Craig Bellamy, Darren Bent,
Tal Ben-Haim and Ecuadorian Carlos Tenorio, with up to a dozen players
speculated to be leaving the Hammers in the summer in what has been quoted
as a £40m squad overhaul. But Curbishley said: "People are assuming and just
writing what they want. Of course there will be some changes, there are at
every club in the summer. But you have to be sensible and a lot of what is
written is just speculation." The manager was on holiday last week and
returned to business on Tuesday with a meeting with Eggert Magnusson. He
said: "I am sitting down with the chairman almost everyday and we will do
the right thing for this club. As I have said in the past, you will know
who's coming in when they're here sitting beside me. That's how I do
business."
Magnusson told the West Ham website: "There is bound to be a lot of
speculation over the summer about our playing squad. It is normal in a
transfer window - who is going, who we want to bring in. "We are ambitious
for this club and what we can achieve next season. We want to strengthen the
squad and to build on the positives of the 2006/07 season. I'm proud of what
the club has achieved and now we can move forward. "We will work hard over
the summer to prepare for next season and that includes keeping our best
players who want to play for us." He cited the new contract for Yossi
Benayoun as a sign of the club's commitment to its players, saying: "We are
very ambitious and Yossi is a big part of our plans. "We are looking forward
to bringing in exciting new signings but we must also make sure we keep hold
of the hugely talented players we already have."
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