24/06/2007 14:09
Notable names in football have been committing their support to Creating
Chances, the Premier League's flagship community programme. Sir Bobby
Charlton and Gabby Logan have both signed up as Creating Chances ambassadors
while charities and good causes across the country are applying for the
chance to win a Barclays Premier League player.
'Places for Players' will see 60 Barclays Premier League stars make
appearances for successful applicants during September this year. The
players' time has been donated by all 20 Premier League clubs to help
charities and good causes drive awareness of their projects and create
fundraising opportunities.
Sir Bobby Charlton says: "It gives me great pleasure to be an ambassador for
such a worthwhile initiative. I have always been heavily involved in charity
work and have utilised the universal influence of football to aid social
change, so I'm delighted the Premier League has launched Creating Chances to
showcase all the great work its member clubs do all year round."
Gabby Logan says: "I am delighted to be an ambassador for the Premier League
Creating Chances project. The initiative is a great way for the Premier
League and its clubs to showcase the community work they do
behind-the-scenes, and by offering players, a host of charities and
community groups have a real opportunity to make their voices heard."
Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League, says: "We are
thrilled that Sir Bobby and Gabby have decided to support us as ambassadors
and that so many charities and good causes are applying for the chance to
win a player. With a week to go before the entry deadline, we are
encouraging all charities and good causes to make the most of this fantastic
opportunity and submit an application."
Local charities and good causes in the East London area are being invited to
apply for the opportunity to exclusively enjoy the benefit of a personal
appearance from a Hammers star. To apply simply download the pdf application
form at the top of the blue panel on the right hand side of this story or
alternatively click here
The closing date for all applications is Friday 29th June.
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Last chance to win a new Umbro kit!
25/06/2007 09:06
West Ham United fans have until 5.00pm today to enter our exclusive
competition to win a brand new Umbro home kit.
To enter the competition, you must be a registered member on whufc.com.
Registration is free, quick and easy, and will also enable you to access our
exclusive members area. To register, simply click here .
If you have already registered, simply ensure you are logged in before
answering the question and filling out your details in the form below,
before submitting no later than 5.00pm today.
Winners will be notified by email or telephone on Tuesday, June 26, and
asked to select their required kit size.
Good Luck!
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Spector enjoys Gold Cup glory with USA
25/06/2007 11:35
Jonathan Spector enjoyed international success on Sunday as he helped the
USA to victory in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.
The Hammers defender played an important part at right-back as the Americans
came from behind to grab a 2-1 victory over Mexico, thanks to goals from
Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber.
The game took place in Chicago - Jonathan's home town - at the Soldier Field
stadium in front of a sell-out crowd of 60,000, and their victory ensured
that the USA retained the trophy they won two years ago.
Jonathan will now jet off to Venezuela with his international colleagues to
begin another bid for glory in the Copa America, with their opening game
taking place on Thursday against Argentina.
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On your toes, son - KUMB
Filed: Saturday, 23rd June 2007
By: Matthew O'Greel
West Ham United are understood to have withdrawn the offer of a four-year
£10m contract from Yossi Benayoun.
The Hammers, frustrated by Benayoun's dallying and continued links with
Liverpool are said to have retracted the offer after the Israeli made it
clear that he wanted to move on - despite previously having agreed to sign a
new contract.
Liverpool saw an initial derisory bid of £3.5m rejected immediately by
United early in the week, before upping the offer to £4.5m.
The Hammers are said to be looking to engineer a player exchange with former
Newcastle and Blackburn striker Craig Bellamy - plus cash - coming the other
way.
Benayoun - who was signed by Alan Pardew for £2.5m in the summer of 2005 -
started his career in East London well and soon became a popular figure
amongst supporters.
But that support began to dwindle once it became clear that Benayoun's club
were playing second fiddle to his country.
On at least two seperate occasions the midfielder managed to play for Israel
depite declaring himself unfit for West Ham United immediately prior to
those matches - something that didn't go unnoticed by many fans who began to
question his priorities.
Earlier this year he was offered the massive deal which, his agent claimed,
Benayoun would happily sign.
But it became clear that all was not well when he returned from holiday, and
perhaps less of a surprise than it should have been when Liverpool - whose
very own Rick Parry defended Sheffield United in their tainted 'Campaign for
Fairness' last week - made their opening bid.
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French battle to keep starlet - Sky Sports
By Patrick Haond - Created on 25 Jun 2007
Paris Saint Germain and Monaco are hoping to head off stern interest from
England to land Didier Digard.
PSG are the latest club to join the hunt for the 20-year-old - who is tipped
for big things after producing a series of impressive displays for Le Havre.
Scouts from West Ham, Aston Villa and Reading have also taken a keen
interest in the Under 21 international - but some of France's big hitters
are also keen.
Le Havre, though, have insisted that they are yet to receive a firm offer
for the player - who they value at ?2.5million (£1.6million).
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Next up - Dagenham & Redbridge v West Ham United - WHO
Match Reporter - Mon Jun 25 2007
Dagenham & Redbridge
Glyn Hopkin Stadium/Victoria Road
Saturday 14 July KO 3pm
Capacity - 6000
Ticket news
West Ham have received an allocation of 1,200
Terrace Tickets are
£12.00 Adults, £7.00 Seniors, £7.00 Under 16's
Tickets are on general sale
The Ground
The Victoria Road ground is a compact stadium which is very close to the
pitch and can generate an excellent atmosphere. The main Carling stand runs
three quarters the length of one side of the pitch, the last quarter is the
old family stand which is now allocated to away fans. Opposite the Carling
stand is a covered home terrace with uncovered terraces at each end behind
the goals.
The majority of away fans are allocated the Pondfield Terrace which holds
1200 fans. The terrace which is behind the goal is uncovered so we prey the
Great British summer doesn't let us down.
The seats are in what was the old Family stand on the side at the Pondfield
Terrace end of the ground. This stand has a roof.
Lets hear it for the beer
The ground has a social club which in the past has always allowed away fans
in for a small charge. Alternatively the main pub is The Eastbrook, from the
station walk past Victoria Road and then take a left into Dagenham Road and
the pub is on the right.
The Station is the closest to, well the station. It has somewhat of a rough
name but if you want a beer here, turn right out of the station and first
right into Shafter Road and the pub is on the left. A little further afield
is The Bull on the Bull roundabout. Turn right out of the tube station and
continue down to the roundabout where you'll see the pub.
Driving?
From the A13 take the A1306 towards Dagenham and then when you get to
McDonalds swing a left into Ballards Road. Follow this until you come to the
Bull roundabout and take the left into Rainham Road, passing Dagenham East
tube station on the left. Then left into Victoria Road and the ground is at
the bottom of this road.
Can I park here Guv?
There is a fairly large free car park at the ground itself if you get there
early enough. Alternatively there is plenty of street parking close by.
Letting the train take the strain?
The closest station is Dagenham East tube on the District line. Journey time
from Central London is between 30 & 40 minutes.
An alternative route is to take the C2C trains from Fenchurch Street to
Barking, journey time just under 15 minutes and change onto the District
line at Barking for the 10 minute journey to Dagenham East.
The ground is no more then a 10 minute walk from the station. Turn left out
of the station into Rainham road and then left into Victoria road and the
ground is at the bottom of this road.
Flying?
What to Dagenham?
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Why Would Sven Want Marlon? - West Ham Till I Die
June 25th, 2007
The rumours about Marlon going to Man City are surely wide of the mark. If
Sven Goran Ericksson becomes the new Man City manager I suspect he will go
for players he once chose for England. Marlon is not a 'Sven' type of
player. Remember, he was on fire the season before last and didn't get so
much as a call-up from Sven.
I know tabloid journalists have space to fill in these barren months, but
let the rumours at least have some semblance of truth!
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It's All Gone a Bit Quiet. - West Ham Till I Die
June 24th, 2007
Things seem to have gone rather quiet on the transfer front since the Bent
snub. He's signing for Tottenham tomorrow. I'd love to think we had a chance
of signing Benni McCarthy but I suspect he will be setting his sights at
Stamford Bridge. Eggert Magnusson has made clear we are after a pacy player
and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Defoe move was reactivated. Yossi
seems to be on his way to Liverpool and we are said to have tabled a £10
million bid for Shaun Wright Phillips. On his day he is a world beater but
there are too may days when he is not on his day. Wayne Bridge and Nickhy
Shorey are rumoured to be left back signings. Bridge is beyond his best so I
hope we stick to Shorey for that position. In terms of players leaving,
Marlon seems to be attracting the most interest and it looks as if we will
get around £4 million for him. Reo Coker must be disappointed that a big
club hasn't come in for him and we are surely right to hold out for £8-10
million for him.
We'll see what the coming week has in store.
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North End chief waiting on Nugent - Team Talk
Preston chairman Derek Shaw does not believe David Nugent going on holiday
will have an effect on his possible transfer away from Deepdale.
North End have accepted offers from two clubs for the 22-year-old England
international, who has been strongly linked with Sunderland and West Ham,
and he spoke to at least one of them on Friday.
Shaw is now waiting for Nugent's agent to report back on the progress of
negotiations.
He told Preston's official website: "Of the two clubs we gave permission to
speak to David, we believe he met one on Friday.
"We are not sure at this stage if he has met the other club.
"We have been informed that David has now gone on holiday for a week and we
are hoping to get an update from his representative."
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Clubs 'poles apart' over Reo-Coker - TeamTalk
Aston Villa are likely to cool their interest in West Ham midfielder Nigel
Reo-Coker as the two clubs are "poles apart" over agreeing a fee.
Villa are happy to pay around £7million for Reo-Coker, who was part of the
England Under-21 side which reached the semi-finals of the European
Championships in Holland.
But sources close to Villa indicate the Hammers want in the region of
£10-£12million for the player who cost £500,000 when he moved to Upton Park
from Wimbledon five years ago.
Reo-Coker is believed to have spoken with the Hammers board in a bid to get
them to drop the asking price to what he feels is a realistic figure.
A Villa source said: "Reo-Coker wants to come to Aston Villa but in terms of
agreeing a price, the two clubs are poles apart."
Villa manager Martin O'Neill returns from holiday next week and is keen to
start rebuilding his squad before players report back for pre-season
training on July 4.
Villarreal striker Diego Forlan is amongst his striking targets as he seeks
to find a partner for John Carew.
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Prem rivals to battle for Eidur - TeamTalk
Newcastle, Portsmouth and Manchester United could lock horns in a bid to
sign Eidur Gudjohnsen following Barcelona's capture of Thierry Henry.
The former Chelsea forward had already been linked with a Nou Camp departure
this summer - but the impending arrival of Arsenal striker Henry will almost
certainly spell the end of his Catalan career.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to offload Alan Smith, and could see
Gudjohnsen as the perfect foil for Wayne Rooney in attack.
The Magpies and Pompey have also been linked to the classy Iceland hitman,
and all three clubs would have no problem finding the reported £8million
transfer fee needed to recruit the 28-year-old.
Barca signed Gudjohnsen from Chelsea for £8.2million last summer - but he
failed to hold down a regular first-team place under Frank Rijkaard and will
be behind Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o, Henry and Lionel Messi when the new La
Liga campaign starts.
Sunderland and West Ham have also been keeping tabs on Gudjohnsen's
situation as they seek to bolster their forward options.
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Shorey deal blow for Magpies - The Sun
By ANDREW HAIGH
June 25, 2007
NICKY SHOREY is set for a bumper new deal at Reading as Newcastle prepare a
£5million bid.
The England left-back has also been linked with a move to West Ham.
But Royals' boss Steve Coppell reckons Shorey's new big-money contract will
be worth every penny.
Coppell said: "Nicky's success has dictated a new contract. It was discussed
even before England came up.
"He may have only played because Wayne Bridge and Ashley Cole were injured,
but all the England scouts must have given him a good report.
"And he proved himself with his level of performance - I thought he looked
comfortable against one of the best teams in the world."
Stephen Hunt's future at Reading is unsure after Coppell revealed the Royals
will not enter talks about a new deal.
Coppell added: "We can't do 20 contracts at a time. We are doing it on a
rotational basis.
"Some may feel hard done by while others will think they are ahead of the
game.
"But in all my time as a manager I have never known one player offer to give
money back when they are playing crap!"
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Guvnor becomes the Don - The Sun (Arrogant Tosser!! DW)
By MIKE ANSTEAD
June 25, 2007
NEW MK Dons boss Paul Ince has compared his move from Macclesfield to
Thierry Henry's switch to Barcelona!
The ex-Manchester United and Liverpool ace has succeeded Martin Allen at the
club formerly known as Wimbledon.
Ince saved Macclesfield from relegation to non-league after joining them in
October.
But he has decided to accept a new challenge as he attempts to climb the
managerial ladder.
Ince said: "This has been a tremendously difficult decision for me. My heart
has said stay with Macclesfield Town but my head has been telling me to go
to MK Dons.
"It feels like the decision Thierry Henry has had to make regarding going to
Barcelona.
"They have significantly more resources for me to work with and as I am
ambitious to make it to the very top, I think I have to go for it.
"I will always remember my time here at Macclesfield - this was where I
started my managerial career - and I hope that our supporters will
understand why I am moving on.
"We came here last October to do a job - to keep Macclesfield in the
Football League - and we did it."
Macc chairman Rob Bickerton added: "Paul is a very special person and a
fantastic manager.
"We tried our best to keep him at the club but we must accept that these
things happen in football."
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Hammers remain striker's only exit route - Eat Sleep Sport.com
Mon, Jun 25 2007 11:30
Charlton have confirmed West Ham are still the only club to have matched
their £17million valuation for in-demand striker Darren Bent.Tottenham boss
Martin Jol is still scouring the market for a new striker as Mido looks set
to move on and it was reported over the weekend that they were on the verge
of securing a £16million record swoop for Bent this week. However Addicks
chief executive Peter Varney has hit out to rubbish the claims that a deal
had been struck, saying only the Hammers have matched their full valuation
of the England international but he has already snubbed a move to Upton
Park.
"West Ham matched our valuation," Varney told Sky Sports News.
"As a result of that, we gave them permission to talk to Darren but he
declined to join them.
"No other club has matched our valuation and therefore, despite all the
speculation in the press today, that remains the situation."
It remains to be seen if Bent will opt to stay at the Valley and play
Championship football next season if no other club comes in for him with the
required fee. However he might decide to join West Ham if they are the only
top flight side willing to give him an immediate return to the Premiership
come the end of the summer transfer window.
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Hammers Eye up new SWP Bid! - Vitalfootball.co.uk
After yesterday predicting that Manchester City may try and take
Wright-Phillips home, the tabloids today offer a different perspective on
the matter.
It seems that West Ham are prepared to open their biscuit tin and offer
Chelsea £11 million for the winger.
However, the transfer is far from being concluded with Wright-Phillips`
advisors wary of their client signing and then ending up in the Championship
due to the ongoing Tevez row.
Also, it`s being reported that Wright-Phillips has been reported as
suggesting that he doesn`t want to miss out on Champions League action next
season.
It would also appear that Chelsea would prefer a larger bid form the Hammers
to even be prepared to come to the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, we`d like to hope that none of the above impacted upon the
enjoyment Wright-Phillips must have felt at seeing Ricky Hatton emerge
triumphant, once again, on American soil.
Tomorrow, no doubt, we`ll be discussing this saga even more. Never mind, it
keeps life quite interesting!
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Sven in link to Hammers ace - Eat Sleep Sport.com
Mon, Jun 25 2007 10:43
West Ham striker Marlon Harewood will reportedly become Sven-Goran
Eriksson's first signing for Manchester City if he takes the job.The former
England coach is set to be announced as the new manager at Eastlands during
this week following ex-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's takeover of
the club. And, despite rumours of a £50million transfer kitty at his
disposal, the Swede is said to be preparing a swoop on the Hammers for the
27-year-old, who has been told he no longer figures in the plans of boss
Alan Curbishley.
It is thought Eriksson is a huge fan of Harewood, who he sees as a younger
version of former England hitman Emile Heskey, and would like to take him as
part of a little and large partnership possibly involving Newcastle's former
Liverpool and Real Madrid star Michael Owen.
Despite Harewood suffering in West Ham's relegation battle last term and
only finding the net on four occasions, Eriksson would still face a battle
with the likes of Birmingham, Fulham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth to secure
the £4million-rated player's services.
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