WHUFC.com
Dean Ashton is working hard on his rehab and has been boosted by his
team-mates' good form
29.11.2008
A good week for West Ham United following three victories at senior, reserve
and youth level was further boosted with the news that Dean Ashton continues
to make positive progress.
The 24-year-old, who has been sidelined by an ankle injury which he picked
up in training following the away game at West Bromwich Albion in September,
has stepped up his rehabilitation work. "I was able to start running on the
treadmill this week," said Ashton "I have been working hard since having
surgery in September, focusing on building and strengthening the ankle and
muscles in my calf.
"After surgery, you lose a lot of strength in your muscles, so this is been
the main part of my rehab work. But to do the running this week has seen me
step up a bit more again now in what I am doing."
While being on the sidelines can take its toll, Ashton said he is drawing on
his experience from a couple of years ago, when he had to recover from the
broken ankle that ruled him out of the 2006/07 season. "Back then, it was
all new to me and you can be in the dark about it all," he added. "But
because I have been through a similar time before, I know what to expect
more now.
"You know you will have days where there might not be much progress and then
there will be other days when you really progress. I know now why I may have
to do certain things and why I need to do them and when, so I feel good with
how things are going for me."
Although much of Ashton's rehab work has to be done on a one-to-one basis at
the moment, he has been keeping a close eye on his team-mates and how they
have been doing. It is a positive injury situation generally, with Danny
Gabbidon the only other long-term absentee.
He has been a regular at matches and was also delighted to see the team pick
up a well-deserved win away at Sunderland last weekend. "I think the lads
have been playing well, but were not getting the results to match them. But
now we have got two clean sheets in two matches and got a great win up at
Sunderland. There's no reason why we can't go on from there.
"There's some tough matches coming up, but as I said, we have been playing
well and when you have players in the team such as Craig Bellamy who has a
great goalscoring record, it is promising for us and there is no reason why
we can't look forward to a good rest of the season."
The aim for Ashton is also to play a part in that and he remains confident
of getting through the strenuous rehab work with a positive result. "There
are no targets as such, I want just want to carry on with what I am doing
and keep progressing every day and then playing some part in the season for
West Ham. That is the aim and I am working hard to achieve that."
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Swiss experience for Street
WHUFC.com
Young goalkeeper Adam Street got a valuable international taster with Canada
this past week
29.11.2008
Adam Street is returning to club duties at Chadwell Heath after a memorable
week with Canada's Under-20 side in Switzerland that included another
international cap.
The West Ham United goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with
the Swiss in Berne on Wednesday night. He could do nothing about a
spectacular opening goal from the home side but, once parity was restored,
proved one of the stars of the show in the second half with some superb
stops. It was his second cap at that level after a previous 1-1 draw against
Argentina back in May.
Ontario-born Street's involvement in the Swiss training camp meant he missed
this week's reserve-team victory against Portsmouth, when the visitors
coincidentally had full Canadian international Asmir Begovic in goal.
However, the 17-year-old has stepped up his experience with the second
string this season and has earned high praise for his progress from Ludek
Miklosko.
The young Canadians used their weeklong get-together as preparation for next
March's CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Trinidad & Tobago. Street, who could
yet emulate Craig Forrest in representing both West Ham United and Canada at
senior level, and his international team-mates are aiming to secure one of
four qualifying spots for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Egypt.
Meanwhile, England have already reached the September-October finals and
could boast several homegrown Hammers in their ranks, including Jordan
Spence, James Tomkins, Junior Stanislas and Freddie Sears. Street also
represented the Young Lions at U16 level two years ago before opting to play
for Canada. Hungary are also through from the European zone and could line
up with Balint Bajner spearheading their attack.
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Fanimo makes England bow
WHUFC.com
Matthias Fanimo made his England U16 debut on Friday night as they won the
Victory Shield
28.11.2008
Matthias Fanimo made his international debut on Friday night as England
Under-16s clinched the Victory Shield in fine style.
The 14-year-old West Ham United forward was a late substitute in the 2-0
home win against Scotland that made it three wins in three in the
round-robin tournament. On a freezing foggy night, he put in a couple of
lively runs and showed real attacking intent with the chances he had. Kenny
Swain's men had already beaten Northern Ireland 6-0 and Wales 1-0 and only
needed to avoid defeat at the Sincil Bank home of Lincoln City.
Fanimo was the second homegrown Hammer from Tony Carr's academy to feature
in the mini-tournament, after striker Robert Hall appeared in the previous
two contests. England have won the last seven editions of the Victory Shield
and Fanimo followed in the footsteps of a long line of West Ham United
players to appear in the competition including Trevor Brooking, Joe Cole and
Jordan Spence.
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Liverpool match preview
WHUFC.com
All of the early team news and background ahead of Monday's Barclays Premier
League match at Anfield
28.11.2008
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool v West Ham United
Anfield
Monday 1 December
8pm
Referee: Peter Walton
WHUTV - Full audio commentary
Introduction
* West Ham United travel to Liverpool for their second consecutive away game
in the Barclays Premier League. The team will be on a high following the 1-0
win at Sunderland last time out.
* Manager Gianfranco Zola has another strong squad to choose from after more
senior players returned to training as he pits his wits against Rafael
Benitez.
* Zola's side sit 14th in the table prior to the weekend's fixtures, with
five wins and two draws and a goal difference of minus five from their
opening 14 fixtures. The home side are joint top, but sit below Chelsea on
goal difference having won ten and drawn three of their opening 14 games.
* Last weekend's win pushed West Ham United four places up the table and
victory at Anfield could see them climb to seventh, depending on results
from games played earlier in the weekend. Liverpool could move three points
clear of Chelsea, who play Arsenal on Sunday.
* The visitors will be looking to record their first win on Merseyside since
14 September 1963. The London side have lost on their last seven visits
there since goals from Frank Lampard and Marc Keller helped secure a 2-2
draw in February 1999.
* Home form is a different story, though. Last season Mark Noble scored a
last-gasp penalty to give West Ham United a memorable 1-0 win at the Boleyn
Ground on 30 January.
* After ending a run of 25 games without a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with
Portsmouth, Robert Green and the West Ham United defence have earned two in
a row, following the shut-out against Sunderland.
* West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker said: "We can go there and try to
take the game to them, which I'm sure we're going to, play some nice stuff
and you never know. Fulham went there last Saturday and got a result and we
go there full of confidence with two clean sheets. We'll see if we can keep
the run going."
* Speaking to the club's official website about the injury to Fernando
Torres, Liverpool manager Benitez said: "We have [Robbie] Keane and when we
bought him it was with the idea that he can score goals. We also have Dirk
Kuyt, David Ngog and Ryan Babel. Hopefully they can score enough goals and
we can talk about Fernando in three weeks' time. We have shown enough
quality and character without him and hopefully we can do it again."
* West Ham United are next in top flight action in another Monday fixture,
at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December. Liverpool have a Saturday game
away at Blackburn Rovers on 5 December.
Last time out
Sunday 23 November 2008 - Sunderland 0-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Collins, Upson, Ilunga, Faubert (Boa Morte
76), Parker, Bowyer (Mullins 61), Behrami, Bellamy (Di Michele 87), Cole
Subs not used: Lastuvka, Davenport, Collison, Sears
Goal: Behrami 20
Wednesday 26 November - Liverpool 1-0 Marseille
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio (Dossena 46),
Mascherano, Alonso, Kuyt (Leiva Lucas 85), Gerrard, Riera (Benayoun 63),
Torres
Subs not used: Cavalieri, Keane, Babel, Kelly
Goal: Gerrard 23
Team news
* Parker sat out training on Thursday and Friday with a virus, but is
expected to train over the weekend and should be ready to take his place on
Monday.
* Kieron Dyer continues to impress his manager in training and is edging
ever closer to a return. Mark Noble and Jonathan Spector are also in
training following calf and hip injuries respectively.
* The return of those players mean Danny Gabbidon and Dean Ashton are the
only long-term absentees.
* It will have been a busy week as five more West Ham United players went
out on loan, bringing the total number to eight. James Tomkins went to Derby
County, Kyel Reid was loaned to Blackpool, Southend United borrowed Junior
Stanislas, Jordan Spence moved to Leyton Orient and Jimmy Walker will spend
five weeks at Colchester United. The quintet joined Bondz N'Gala, Josh Payne
and Nigel Quashie, who are already gaining experience away from the Boleyn
Ground.
* Tomkins and Reid had performed particularly well for the reserves in the
2-0 win over Portsmouth on Tuesday. David Di Michele, Freddie Sears, Luis
Boa Morte, Walter Lopez and Calum Davenport all played a key role in the
game as well to further demonstrate the options available to Zola
* Liverpool will be without Torres, who suffered a hamstring injury after
their win over Marseille. Full-back Andrea Dossena is the favourite to
replace Fabio Aurelio, who is out for a few weeks with a calf problem.
Background
* The teams last met on 5 March 2008 at Anfield, when a Fernando Torres
hat-trick helped Liverpool to a 4-0 win.
* The lineups were:
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Mascherano,
Alonso, Babel (Pennant 76), Kuyt (Benayoun 63), Torres (Crouch 82)
Subs not used: Itandje, Hyypia
Goals: Torres 8, 61, 81, Gerrard 83
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson (Spector 63), McCartney,
Solano (Ashton 69), Noble, Mullins, Ljungberg, Boa Morte, Cole (Zamora 69)
Subs not used: Wright, Pantsil
* West Ham United's last win at Anfield, on 14 September 1963, came courtesy
of goals from Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. Jim Standen also saved a
penalty from Ronnie Moran in the match.
* If selected, Craig Bellamy will be making his 200th career Premier League
appearance against one of his former clubs. The Welshman made 42 appearances
for the Reds, scoring nine goals.
* Liverpool, meanwhile, could boast two former West Ham United players.
Yossi Benayoun made 72 appearances for the club, while Javier Mascherano
played seven times in a loan spell in east London.
* Robert Green is the only West Ham United player to have featured in every
minute of every Premier League game this season, while Matthew Upson has
also started every league match.
Head to head (last six meetings, league unless stated)
5 March 2008 - Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United
30 January 2008 - West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool
30 January 2007 - West Ham United 1-2 Liverpool
26 August 2006 - Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
13 May 2005 - West Ham United 3-3 Liverpool aet (FA Cup final)
26 April 2006 - West Ham United 1-2 Liverpool
Overall record v Liverpool (all competitions): W 23, D 33, L 60
Barclays Premier League fixtures
Saturday 29 November 2008 (All 3pm kick-off unless stated)
Aston Villa v Fulham
Middlesbrough v Newcastle United
Stoke City v Hull City
Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers
Wigan Athletic v West Bromwich Albion
Sunday 30 November 2008
Chelsea v Arsenal, 4pm
Manchester City v Manchester United, 1.30pm
Portsmouth v Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
General information
For ticket information, click here For details on getting to Anfield, click
here
Weather: The forecast is for a cold but bright day. The temperature is not
expected to get above 5C.
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Zola relishing Reds challenge
West Ham boss wary of Liverpool
Last updated: 28th November 2008
SSN
Gianfranco Zola is looking forward to taking his West Ham side to Liverpool
on Monday and has played down the significance of Fernando Torres' injury.
Torres is set to be sidelined for between two and three weeks with a
hamstring problem and will not face the Hammers, but Zola accepts that
Liverpool are strong in all departments. The Reds are currently second in
the Premier League table and Zola realises it will be difficult for his men
to come away with a positive result. The Italian knows it is crucial for
West Ham to defend well but insists his players will also look to attack.
"Torres is a very important player for them," said Zola. "I don't know
whether they'll change the way they play but he is important for them.
"Liverpool have a big squad so if Torres doesn't play they can play (Robbie)
Keane or (Ryan) Babel. So they'll still be a threat for us. "They've got
enough options to cause us problems so obviously we're going to try to stop
them and play our game.
"They haven't lost at home yet so it's a huge challenge but the reward will
be huge if we win. "We are going to play our match the way we normally play.
We're not a team that can go there and sit back and wait and wait. "We have
different qualities but obviously our defensive side is going to be vital.
When you play a side better than you, you have to look after the defensive
side of the game and that's what we've been focusing on this week. "But
we're not going to be sitting waiting for something to happen."
Zola has also admitted that he would rather have former Chelsea team-mates
Frank Lampard and John Terry in his team than Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. He
admires Gerrard but, having played with Lampard, regards the Blues
midfielder as one of the best in his position. Zola explained: "I'm very
divided but I'd have to have John Terry and Frank Lampard, no disrespect to
anyone else. "I know them very well and they were fantastic players for
Chelsea. "Frank Lampard is an excellent player because he can defend, he can
clear, he can help the team to create and he can finish it. "He's a
fantastic player to have in your team. He's excellent and also scores
important goals in important matches. The same goes for Gerrard."
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Parker fit to tackle Liverpool
TeamTalk
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has a fully-fit squad at his disposal for
Monday night's Premier League clash at Liverpool (8pm). Midfielder Scott
Parker has missed training the last couple of days because of illness but
will be fit to start at Anfield. Craig Bellamy should lead the attack
against his former club and Valon Behrami, who scored last weekend's winner
against Sunderland, will retain his place in midfield.
West Ham (from): Green, Stech, Neill, Ilunga, Gabbidon, Lopez, Dyer, Parker,
Ashton, Bellamy, Etherington, Cole, Boa Morte, Upson, Noble, Mullins,
Spector, Collins, Faubert, Stokes, Walker, Lastuvka, Diego Tristan,
Davenport, Reid, Bowyer, Sears, Di Michele, Collison, Tomkins.
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Liverpool v WEST HAM: Zola with full squad to choose from for Anfield trip
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 5:13 PM on 28th November 2008
Daily Mail
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has a full squad at his disposal for Monday
night's Premier League clash at Liverpool. Midfielder Scott Parker has
missed training the last couple of days because of illness but will be fit
to start at Anfield. Craig Bellamy should lead the attack against his former
club and Valon Behrami, who scored last weekend's winner against Sunderland,
will retain his place in midfield.
Provisional squad: Green, Stech, Neill, Ilunga, Gabbidon, Lopez, Dyer,
Parker, Ashton, Bellamy, Etherington, Cole, Boa Morte, Upson, Noble,
Mullins, Spector, Collins, Faubert, Stokes, Walker, Lastuvka, Diego Tristan,
Davenport, Reid, Bowyer, Sears, Di Michele, Collison, Tomkins.
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LIVERPOOL v West Ham: Keane has his chance to impress
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 5:19 PM on 28th November 2008
Daily Mail
Robbie Keane will get an extended chance to impress as Liverpool plan for
the loss of hamstring injury victim Fernando Torres, who could be out for
three weeks.
Keane was left on the bench for the midweek Champions League win over
Marseille, but is expected to start against West Ham on Monday. Italian
full-back Andrea Dossena is likely to replace Fabio Aurelio, who is out for
two weeks with a calf injury.
Provisional squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Dossena,
Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, Babel, Kuyt, Keane, Ngog, Riera,
Cavalieri, Lucas,
Insua, El Zhar.
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West Ham look to reduce compensation payout over Carlos Tevez affair
The Times
Sheffield United have revised to £60 million their estimate for loss in
income from relegation, which a panel has said came about due to West Ham
breaching league rules by playing Carlos Tevez
Gary Jacob
The chances are increasing that West Ham United and Sheffield United will
agree an out-of-court settlement to end their bitter dispute arising from
the Carlos Tévez affair. West Ham have had access to their rivals' financial
books, giving them a good gauge of the cost of relegation.
The results showed that the Yorkshire club suffered a drop of about £8
million in income from their football activity after being relegated from
the top flight two seasons ago. Overall, income fell by £12 million and
ticket income was reduced by £1.5 million. West Ham will claim that the real
cost of relegation is substantially less than that claimed by Sheffield
United, but the picture is complicated and the Bramall Lane club will say
that other factors must be taken into account.
Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United chairman, blamed the loss of £3.5 million
on their relegation — compared with a £2.7 million profit a year before —
which in turn he attributes to West Ham breaching Premier League rules in
their signing of Tévez, the Argentina forward. "One can only ponder as to
the potential turnover and profitability that may have been achieved were it
not for the circumstances and events emanating from the Tévez affair,"
McCabe said. "We will simply not back down or walk away from tackling
head-on those organisations responsible for the shameful actions and events
that have tarnished English football."
McCabe felt vindicated when an arbitration panel ruled that West Ham were
liable to pay compensation, but it has become clear that the East London
club will exhaust legal avenues to contest the ruling, delaying making
payments. West Ham, who engaged Paul Chaisty, QC, and Wilson Horne, a
barrister, both from Kings Chambers in Manchester, are scrutinising every
element of Sheffield United's income and expenditure to estimate the cost of
relegation.
Should West Ham find justification to drive down that figure, there is a
feeling that Sheffield United may be willing to settle out of court to avoid
the embarrassment of compensation being significantly lower. Sheffield
United have revised to £60 million their estimate for loss in income from
relegation to take into account a second year outside the top flight, but
that does not include costs. Compensation of between £10 and £15 million
plus costs could be closer to the mark.
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Zola Won't Have To Sell - Curbishley
Goal.com
Former West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley believes his successor at the
job, Gianfranco Zola, won't have to offload players in January. And he feels
the current Hammers squad is strong enough to do the club proud. Despite the
East Londoners' well-documented financial problems, precipitated by owner
Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson's exposure to the banking crisis in Iceland, and
exacerbated by legal set-backs as Sheffield United pursue compensation over
the Carlos Tevez affair, Curbishley believes Zola can hang on to his best
players in the January transfer window. And even if the club can't afford to
buy in reinforcements, the ex-manager is confident the existing squad is
good enough. "I was under the impression that there's not going to be a fire
sale there at Christmas or in the New Year," the former Hammers boss told
Setanta Sport's Friday Football Show. "What is there is what Gianfranco's
got to work with. "They have got a strong backbone as a side – Green, Upson,
James (Collins) if he stays fit, Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy, Behrami.
"There's a decent squad there."
However, Curbishley added that the intense glare of the media spotlight at
the Boleyn Ground means anything negative is over-exposed. "Someone said to
me when I went to the club that West Ham receive more column inches in the
press than the top four teams," he said. "It just seems to be that sort of
club. We were desperate to be on the back pages for the right reasons. "We
had a comfortable season last year and looking for better this year but, lo
and behold, it's bad news on the back pages again."
The Hammers go to Anfield on Monday to tackle joint league leaders
Liverpool, with Curbishley insisting that good results will lead to positive
headlines. "They've got to start, hopefully, letting the football do the
talking," he said, "but it's a tough game on Monday at Liverpool."
Mark Hinton, Goal.com
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Zola shrugs off sack talk
Ananova.com
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has laughed off suggestions in Liverpool's
official club magazine that he will be sacked if his side do not win at
Anfield on Monday evening. The Italian has had some disappointing results
since taking over in September, but won at Sunderland last weekend for the
Hammers' first league triumph in eight attempts. Liverpool's magazine said:
"Experiencing the same nerve-jangling predicament is a prospect the Upton
Park board won't relish and they may decide to move before it is too late."
It continued: "A defeat on Monday night, particularly if the scoreline is
similar to last season (4-0), could be another nail in the coffin of Zola's
short managerial career in East London." However, Zola claimed such comments
do not worry him. "I'm not really concerned about these things," he said.
"That doesn't change my attitude, my way to think. "We will see. But it
would certainly make me focus a little bit, even more, on what I have to do.
I know what my position is, I have to give the results to this club. "I know
with the wrong results my position might be difficult but that doesn't
really give me too much pressure. "I'm 100% focused on doing my job as best
as I can. But what others think doesn't matter to me." Zola added: "It's
very strange. They can say whatever they want - it doesn't really bother me.
I know what I have to do, I know what my task is. I don't really give too
much attention to those things."
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