WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United defender Stuart Pearce speaks exclusively to the
official matchday programme
26.01.2009
Former West Ham United and England defender Stuart Pearce has given a
ringing endorsement of the jobs being done by Gianfranco Zola and Steve
Clarke.
In an exclusive interview with the official matchday programme for
Wednesday's visit of Hull City, Pearce praised the Hammers for choosing to
appoint manager Zola and first-team coach Clarke, who he played under at
Newcastle United. The 79-times capped left-back, who made 50 appearances in
claret and blue between 1999 and 2001, also discussed his role as England
Under-21 coach and his relationship with Fabio Capello during a wide-ranging
discussion.
"I think they've brought in a good manager who has brought a good mentality
to the club and wants to play football the West Ham way," said Pearce.
"Obviously he's an educated man who has done work similar to myself with the
Under-21s and wants to improve himself and be a success as a manager. I
think he's a good appointment for the club."
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West Ham complete Nsereko signing
By Simon Austin
BBC.co.uk
West Ham are set to announce the signing of 19-year-old Brescia striker
Savio Nsereko. The Uganda-born German will be a direct replacement for Craig
Bellamy, who moved to Manchester City last week. The fee for Nsereko has not
been revealed but it is expected to be a club record, topping the £7.5m West
Ham paid Liverpool for Bellamy in 2007. Hammers technical director Gianluca
Nani worked with the Germany Under-19 international when he was at Brescia.
The forward can play in a variety of attacking positions and was named
player of the tournament at last year's Uefa Under-19 Championship in the
Czech Republic, which was won by Germany. He was also reported to have
attracted interest from Italian giants Roma and Juventus. Nsereko has scored
three goals in 17 appearances for Serie B side Brescia this season. His
signing will reassure fans who had feared the Londoners would only be a
selling club during the January transfer window. Owner Bjorgolfur
Gudmundsson has been beset by financial problems in recent months and is
considering selling the club. But other than Bellamy, who was determined to
leave Upton Park, West Ham have only sold fringe players Matthew
Etherington, Lee Bowyer and Hayden Mullins. Meanwhile, both the Hammers and
Juventus have quashed speculation that Carlton Cole could be about to move
from east London to Turin. "We are very happy with the players we have in
the team and we will not make any moves in the January transfer market,"
said Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco.
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EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Nicholas Is Back on the Mic
West Ham Till I Die
Deck the halls, slaughter a goat, do whatever you do when you celebrate, but
I bring glad tidings. Yes, Jeremy Nicholas is back on the microphone at
Upton Park. Gone will be the moron who's done the DJing duties for the last
few months. Bubbles will be back, played at the right time. Mr Moon will be
back. Well, maybe not, but you never know.
I'm told that Jeremy's return is due in no small amount to the negative
reaction on here and other sites to his replacement. It is good that the
club can admit it made a mistake.
I bid you good night.
All is well and God is in her heaven.
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Savio Nsereko- The Last German
Just Like My Dreams
With everyone in the free and right thinking world (with the exception of
the club itself) seemingly aware that we have signed Savio Nsereko, I
thought I would post this rare interview/profile I discovered in the dark
depths of Al Gore's internet. It appears to be a couple of weeks old and my
German isn't the best these days so apologies for the occasional stilted
phrase and incongruous fact (given the latest developments).
Full name: Savio Nsereko
Date of birth: July 27, 1989
Birthplace: Kampala, Uganda
Nationality: German
2nd nationality: Ugandan
EU passport: Yes
Height: 176 cms/ 5.7ft
Weight: 73 kgs
In former times there was Matthäus, Klinsmann, Völler or Häßler - today it
is Savio Nsereko. The U-19 King of Europe keeps the German flag flying high
in Italy with Brescia Calcio. But for how much longer? Half of Europe courts
the attacking player- and also Bayern Munich has him in on their radar.
The Last German
There are players whose names portray their heritage, that sound German by
their very essence. Jürgen Klinsmann for example, or Rudolf Völler. Savio
Nsereko is not one of them. Nsereko was born on July 27, 1989 in Kampala,
the capital of Uganda. Yet apart from the national language of English, or
the dialect Swahili, he retains little else from his formative years. It was
in Munich where he grew up and it was in German that he learned to
communicate, fully embracing the Bavarian lifestyle. That remained the case
up until three years ago, when Italy came into his life.
Since then Savio Nsereko has represented the German flag with pride in the
Italian Serie B. In the summer of 2005 the then 16-year-old moved club and
country, swapping the familiarity of his first club, 1860 Munich, for an
unknown adventure with Brescia Calcio.
Nsereko would be the latest member of a long line of German heroes, who
arrived in Italy to seek fame and honour. Ludwig Janda was the pioneer, then
the Schnellingers and Hallers, followed later by Matthäus, Klinsmann and
Völler. Now Nsereko is the sole standard barer of this exalted tradition,
the last German in Italy.
But for how much longer will he ply his trade in the second league in the
country of the World Champions. The question is about to be answered.
Interest From Bavaria
Brescia president Gino Corioni, who has already brought Luca Toni and
Roberto Baggio to Lombardy, openly admitted in a discussion on Radio Kiss
Kiss that Nsereko's prospective buyers stand in a very long queue: "Large
clubs, Italian and foreign ones, have already approached me about Savio.
Also Bayern Munich have been in very close contact."
Napoli Hot Candidate
As revealed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli, Palermo and Genoa have long
been the most persistent prospective buyers. Information leaked by the
largest Italian sports daily disclosed Napoli's director of sport Pierpaolo
Marino has already tabled an offer of five million euros.
Of course, the southern Italians have a good relationship with the
Rondinelle; Slovak midfield starlet Marek Hamsik, Italian international
defender Fabiano Santacroce and Daniele Mannini were all transferred in from
Brescia in the last few years.
"When Marek Hamsik was 19 years old, there was not as much interest in him
as there is now with Savio" revealed Corioni, speaking of his German jewel.
A starring role in the Under 19 European Championship, where he scored one
goal and had four assists on his way to be named player of the tournament,
was more than enough to provoke the attention. Since when, Brescia have had
to live with the fact that almost every week brings a new suiter for their
prize asset.
It is heavily reported in the English media that West Ham United are the
latest club to have Nsereko's name on it's purchase list. However the London
club, due to the financial crisis, might at the moment have a difficult
problem making the lucrative offer that would be needed to secure his
services.
Uganda, Germany, Italy
Nsereko remains unaffected by the clamouring attention and attendant wild
predictions for a spectacular future.
"The interest flatters me, but at the moment I am concentrating completely
on Brescia", he told internet site Golmania. "I would like to win promotion
with Brescia into Serie A."
Nsereko's history, itself, sounds like a modern football fairy tale. At the
age of just two years he was taken with his family from Kampala to Munich.
Once he was of an age, he then spent six years with TSV 1860 Munich,
steadily progressing with the Lions through all their youth teams. It was at
the age of 15 that the lure of Italian interest first became apparent.
Instead of trying his luck in Munich, it did not take Savio long to decide
to accept the offer from Brescia and succumb to the pull of Italy. He
departed in the summer of 2005, aged 16, the minimum age limit allowed by
FIFA for international transfer among European Union nations.
"I dreamed always of making my money as a professional in Italy. To put it
simply, Italian football fascinated me," Nsereko explained to the German
press. "Others like the combative football in England or the elegant
football in Spain. I like the tactical and technical approach in Italy."
A Little Like Owen
His football style does not seem to correspond to the cynical
result-orientated football of the Italians at all. "I live by my speed",
says Nsereko, rather than by strength. Indeed at just under 5ft 8", the
relatively diminutive Nsereko needs to be terribly quick- but it is a speed
allied with excellent technical abilities and exceptional football instinct.
With his stature and breath-taking dribbling, he is somewhat reminiscent of
the young Michael Owen. Others have compared him to Simao. A maker and taker
of goals, equally comfortable as an orthodox winger or operating centrally
further up the field.
Yet, of fame and glamour the flying forward has little or no interest.
Indeed, his actions on and off the pitch gives us hope for the new German
generation. The glittering world of the modern footballer's existence is
rather strange to him. Compared with the Beckhams and Ronaldos, Nsereko is
defined in contra-distinction.
Inter? No Thanks
A few months ago he received a solicitation from Milanese giants Inter.
Nsereko thought hard but kindly declined.
"I am a young player and need to practice and play. It would not have help
me there if I practiced with those stars only to watch them from the
grandstand at the weekend," explained Savio. "A change at that time would
have been simply not intelligent."
Perhaps this grounded personality has something to do with his first
professional coach in Italy. It was under the guidance of the imposing
Zdenek Zeman that he made his Brescia debut in May 2006 against FC Crotone.
He gained more chances in 2007–08.
Break-Through With The U-19s
The real break-through, though, came only in the past summer with the U-19,s
with the title secured by the victorious Germans. By the end every scout and
manager was aware of Nsereko and the whereabouts of Brescia.
"Before the tournament the Brescia coach Nedo Sonetti had the thought to
keep me with the team rather than let me participate", he recently told
Mediagol. "Thank God we decided, together with President Corioni, to go for
it."
Roy Millar, UEFA's technical observer, bestowed upon Nsereko the 'Player of
the Tournament' award, saying: "The best player in the tournament for me has
been Nsereko. He can go inside on his right foot to make you a goal, or can
go wide left and get in behind defenders."
It was a defining moment for Savio, who was about to miss the biggest game
of his career to date. In the semi-final he saw his second yellow card and
was suspended for the final game against his adopted country of Italy.
Posted by Trilby at 17:48
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Portsmouth Beat West Ham & Everton To Loan Deal For Real Madrid & Argentina
Star?
Premeirshiplatest.com
Submitted by Scott Harkness on Mon, 2009-01-26 18:07.
West Ham United, Portsmouth, Everton Premiership Transfer News Portsmouth
are reportedly on the verge of sealing a loan-deal for Real Madrid's
Argentine International striker Javier Saviola, beating Premier League
rivals Everton and West Ham Utd to the transfer. The 27-year-old has been
deemed surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu and is desperate to attain
regular first-team football. An initial loan deal will take the striker to
Fratton Park, with the possibility of the move being made permanent. Saviola
has had little chance to impress for the Spanish champions after starting
just one Primera Liga match this season, and coming on as a substitute a
further six times, scoring one goal in the process. Saviola (pictured left)
first moved to Spain to join Spanish giants Barcelona from River Plate in a
£15million transfer in 2001, moving to Real Madrid after loan spells at
Monaco and FC Sevilla in 2007. But his lack of first-team action, from being
behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul and new signing Klaas Jan Huntelaar in the
pecking order, has led the Argentinean to request a loan-move from the
Bernabeu. Saviola's contract at Real Madrid runs until 2010, so if he is
happy with his loan-move to Fratton Park, it's likely Real will want the
loan-move to be made permanent in the summer.
On Monday, Portsmouth boss Tony Adams secured two more transfers. FC Porto
midfielder Pele – real name Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos – has joined the club,
with the former Inter Milan midfielder moving to Fratton Park on-loan until
the end of the 2008/09 Premiership season. Also joining Tony Adams' team is
West Ham United defensive midfielder Hayden Mullins, with the 29-year-old
former Crystal Palace youth player signing a three-and-a-half year deal with
the club.
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Club angry over 'outrageous article'
Sheffieldunited-mad.co.uk
By Bladesmadeditor Monday, 26th January 2009
Sheffield United FC are frustrated over the content in the column written by
Martin Samuels in the Daily Mail...
Samuels who is lead to believe to be a supporter of West Ham United has
criticised the Blades in many different aspects on numerous occasions in his
column which he writes in the Daily Mail. This time, he published an article
regarding the transfer of Matthew Spring to Charlton Athletic. He has
accused United of wrongdoings when they clearly haven't, as the statement
below published by Sheffield United analyses the situation.
'Sheffield United are 'frustrated' with the publication in a national
newspaper of a story concerning the non-appearance of former player, Matthew
Spring, in the FA Cup fourth round match against Charlton Athletic. Earlier
this month, the midfielder ended his loan deal with the Blades and returned
to Luton, before transferring to Charlton. The Addicks offered an
arrangement whereby they would not play Spring in the cup match against his
former club. However, Daily Mail sport journalist Martin Samuel, continuing
his reporting of the so-called Tevez affair, today suggested that Spring did
not play 'on the basis of possible third party interference from Sheffield
United' "This is an outrageous article and wholly inaccurate. We have not
broken any Football Association and Football League rules," said United
Chairman Kevin McCabe. "For some time now Mr Samuel - whether at The Times,
his past employers, or at the Daily Mail where he now works - has pursued a
crusade against Sheffield United," added Mr McCabe. "As usual his reports
are without foundation and I suggest he concentrates his time on reporting
the truth rather than spurious allegations. "I gather Martin is a West Ham
supporter so, maybe, in some clumsy way, he believes his regular attacks on
the Blades helps to protect their wrongdoings over the Tevez affair."
Charlton have also released a statement, and that reads: "Daily Mail
journalist Martin Samuel, writing in his column claimed the Blades had no
right to come to a 'gentleman's agreement' with the Addicks that the
midfielder - who signed for Charlton from Luton Town - should not play in
the match because he wasn't officially a United player. "But in fact the
deal was stipulated in the initial negotiations regarding the premature
ending of Spring's season-long loan at Bramall Lane from the Hatters.
Although not a permanent signing, Spring was registered to the Blades.
"The Addicks agreed that if United released Spring from his loan
commitments, thereby allowing the transfer of the Luton player to The Valley
to go through, manager Phil Parkinson would not field the player in any
potential FA Cup fourth-round tie between the two clubs.
"At that time, Charlton had still to beat Norwich City in a third-round
replay, while United had yet to meet Leyton Orient, their third-round tie on
3rd January having fallen victim to the weather."
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West Ham set to snare Brescia striker Nsereko in potential £10m deal
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 2:09 AM on 27th January 2009
Daily Mail
Savio Nsereko was last night putting the finishing touches to a transfer
which could make him West Ham's most expensive player. West Ham have agreed
to pay Brescia £5million, which could rise to almost £10m depending on the
success of the 19-year-old striker. The Germany youth international, who
speaks good English, is expected to sign a four-and-a-half- year deal and
will inherit the No 10 shirt worn by Craig Bellamy before his £14m move to
Manchester City. Juventus, Napoli and Roma were interested in Uganda-born
Nsereko, who trained with West Ham yesterday.
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West Ham complete £9m signing of Savio Nsereko
The Mirror
By Darren Lewis 27/01/2009
Gianfranco Zola smashed West Ham's transfer record yesterday to complete the
£9million signing of Brescia striker Savio Nsereko. The Ugandan-born German
is a straight replacement for Craig Bellamy, who signed for Manchester City
for £14m last week. Hammers boss Zola beat off a host of other clubs to sign
19-year-old Savio, who had been on the club's radar for several months -
even before Bellamy demanded to leave Upton Park. His fee is a club record,
topping the £7.5m West Ham paid Liverpool for Bellamy in 2007 and the
youngster gets a fourana-z-a-z-half year deal. He could make his debut
against Hull tomorrow. Hammers technical director Gianluca Nani worked with
the Germany Under-19 international when he was at Brescia. Savio can play in
a variety of attacking roles and was named player of the tournament at last
year's UEFA Under-19 Championship in the Czech Republic, which was won by
Germany. He has scored only three goals in 17 games for Serie B side Brescia
this season but is expected to become a huge hit in East London.
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Tomkins delighted with new West Ham chance
27.01.09 | tribalfootball.com
James Tomkins was delighted to be involved in West Ham's FA Cup victory over
Hartlepool. The young defender told whufc.com: "Obviously it was brilliant
for me [to play at Hartlepool]. I also played against Barnsley which was
good and we've kept two clean sheets. If I can keep impressing the manager
then it will help me, but the way we're playing at the moment it's going to
be difficult for me to break into the team in the Premier League. "He's
given me two run outs in the FA Cup so hopefully I can impress him and he
can depend on me when he needs me."
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West Ham chief Duxbury: Mullins' Portsmouth move good for all
27.01.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United chief Scott Duxbury says manager Gianfranco Zola was happy
with the sale of Hayden Mullins to Portsmouth. He told whufc.com: "I would
like to thank Hayden for his valued contribution. I wish him well and have
no doubt that our supporters will give him a good reception whenever he
returns. Gianfranco has been clear about allowing players on the fringes to
get first-team football elsewhere if the opportunity arises and - given the
fee, his age and his desire to play regularly - this deal is good for all
parties. "The manager has also spoken about improving the squad and I am
working closely with him and technical director Gianluca Nani to make this
happen. Any new arrivals will complement our blend of experienced
internationals and homegrown youngsters. Our aim is simply to continue
progressing in the league and the FA Cup, and build for the future at West
Ham United."
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West Ham put on-hold move to new training ground
27.01.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United's move to a new training ground is on-hold. The Daily Mail
says the financial meltdown at West Ham is so serious following the collapse
of owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson's business empire that the proposed switch
of the club's training facility from Chadwell Heath to the Ford sports
ground in Dagenham will not now go ahead. West Ham can afford the £1m cost
of the site, but not the refurbishment.
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Pay cut imminent for West Ham's Neill
27.01.09 | Andrew Slevison
West Ham skipper Lucas Neill will be forced to take a pay cut no matter
which club he plays for. The Aussie defender has been linked with former
club Blackburn Rovers but manager Sam Allardyce has said that he will pay
Neill no more than $A63,000 per week if he was to return to Ewood Park.
Neill currently earns $A115,000 per week at West Ham but the financial
situation the club is in will force him down to $A42,000 which is reportedly
the club's final offer.
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West Ham fail with bid for Cardiff winger Ledley
27.01.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United have failed with a bid for Cardiff City winger Joe Ledley.
The Sun says Cardiff have rejected West Ham's £5 million offer for Ledley.
Everton, Spurs, Wigan, Fulham and Stoke are watching the midfielder too. But
Bluebirds chairman Peter Ridsdale said: "Joe is not for sale."
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