Tuesday, January 6

Daily WHUFC News - II 6th January 2009

On this day: 6 January
WHUFC.com
Homegrown midfielder Ronnie Boyce - one of the club's most loyal servants -
is the focus today
06.01.2009

Anniversary
Ronnie Boyce
Date of birth: 6 January 1942
Club: West Ham United

East Ham-born Ronnie Boyce played 339 games in a 12-year career with West
Ham United - his one and only club. 'Boycie' is probably best remembered for
his brace of goals in the 1964 FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester United,
followed up by the winning goal against Preston North End at Wembley. A year
later, Boyce was celebrating at the Twin Towers again as West Ham United won
the European Cup Winners' Cup against TSV Munich 1860. Widely regarded as
the heartbeat of both those cup winning teams, Boyce earned the nickname
'Ticker'.

After retiring from playing, he served under John Lyall - where he played a
key role in the FA Cup successes 1975 and 1980 - and Billy Bonds as
first-team coach and took charge of one first team game as caretaker manager
in February 1990. He then succeeded Eddie Baily as chief scout in September
1991, a position he held for the next four years.

Other anniversaries

David Di Michele (1976), Ilie Dumitrescu (1969), Dave Swindlehurst (1956)

Classic match

Walsall 2-3 West Ham United
FA Cup third round
6 January 2001

Two goals from Freddie Kanoute add to Frank Lampard's sixth-minute opener to
help West Ham United through to the fourth round of the FA Cup in front of
9,402 fans at the Bescot Stadium.

It was to be a memorable cup run with the Hammers going to Old Trafford 22
days later and knocking Premier League champions Manchester United out.
Paolo Di Canio famously won the battle of minds against Fabien Barthez to
seal the victory with just 14 minutes left on the clock. United would go on
to beat Sunderland away in the fifth round before finally losing 3-2 to
Tottenham Hotspur at the next stage.

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Hartlepool v West Ham To Be Shown Live On ITV1
Vital Football

Hartlepool United's FA Cup fourth round tie with West Ham is to be screened
live on ITV1. Pools game against the Hammers will be broadcast across the
country at 12.40 on the 24th of January. Pools will recieve a payment on
£160,000 as a result of the game beng screened live. It's the first time
Pools have been live on ITV and our first terrestrial showing since the 1-0
FA Cup victory over Burton Albion back in 2003, which was live on BBC One.

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No Upson bid, say Villa
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 6th January 2009
By: Staff Writer

Aston Villa have denied reports suggesting that they have made a bid for
West Ham defender Matthew Upson. SkySports claimed earlier today that Villa
had made an £11million bid for the 29-year-old England international. Not
so, according to Villa boss Martin O'Neill who said this lunchtime 'there is
not an ounce of truth in it whatsoever'. An article posted on Villa's site
in response to the SkySports story read: "Aston Villa vehemently deny the
club have made a bid or an enquiry for West Ham defender Matthew Upson."
Villa would appear to be an unlikely target for Upson given his connections
with big rivals Birmingham City, for whom he played and captained before
joining West Ham United. However the Midlands club, who are enjoying an
excellent season failed to rule out a move altogether.

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Ilunga seeking resolution
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 6th January 2009
By: Staff Writer

On-loan full back Herita Ilunga wants to make his season-long loan move to
West Ham permanent - but warns that he won't wait forever. Ilunga, who
arrived on loan from Toulouse back in September has settled in well to life
in East London and has confirmed via his agent, Daniel Striani, that he
hopes the deal will be made permanent. The Hammers have an option to sign
the player until April according to Striani but have not yet made their
intentions clear - despite Gianfranco Zola stating recently that he is also
keen to thrash out a deal. And the agent sent out a clear warning today that
his client will start talking to other clubs if a full time deal isn't
offered soon. "As far as Herita is concerned, he is happy to stay at the
club and at the moment he is waiting for them to use their option to sign
him on a permanent basis," Striani told Setanta. "What I can reveal to you
is that West Ham fully intend to use their buy-out clause, but I can't tell
on what day or at what time.
"He could commit his future to the London club in January, but until that
day no meeting has been arranged with West Ham's directors. "West Ham have
the situation under control and are free to do what they want. As far as we
are concerned, Herita's agents have not contacted other clubs who could be
interested in signing him because we respect West Ham. "But of course if
they don't make a move to convert his loan deal into a permanent one, then
we will adopt a different attitude."
Ilunga, who was drafted in as a replacement for George McCartney has made 18
appearances for the Hammers this season, scoring his first goal for the club
in the 3-0 win over Barnsley last weekend.

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Hammers shun Upson bid
Villa fail with first offer
Last updated: 6th January 2009
SSN

Aston Villa have had a bid rejected for Matthew Upson, skysports.com
understands. The England international is being tracked by a host of clubs
including Manchester City, Tottenham, former club Arsenal and Villa. Now
boss Martin O'Neill, who is looking to bolster his options in January, has
lodged a bid to try and prise Upson away from Upton Park. It is believed
Villa offered West Ham around £11million for the former Arsenal stopper -
but the East London club rejected the bid. West Ham do not want to lose
Upson - currently rated as one of the best defenders in England. Villa do
look set to come back for the 29-year-old, but it may take a deal nearer
£16million to persuade The Hammers to sell. Despite their off-field issues,
West Ham have insisted they do not want to lose their best players and have
already fended off interest in Craig Bellamy and Scott Paker, as well as
Upson.

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Villa deny approach
O'Neill denies Upson bid
Last updated: 6th January 2009
SSN

Aston Villa have denied making a bid for West Ham defender Matthew Upson.
Villa have been amongst a host of clubs linked with a move for the England
defender.
Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham are all said to be readying a bid for
the 29-year-old. However, Villa have insisted that they have not made an
approach for Upson. Indeed Villa boss Martin O'Neill dismissed any interest
in Upson. "There is not an ounce of truth in it whatsoever," he told Villa's
official website.

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No Truth In Upson Report
www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk

Aston Villa vehemently deny the club have made a bid or an enquiry for West
Ham defender Matthew Upson. A morning report has suggested that the club
have had an offer rejected by the Hammers for the England defender. But
manager Martin O'Neill insisted: "There is not an ounce of truth in it
whatsoever."

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Hammers Chasing World's Best Kid
by Ben Blackmore , 06 January 2009
setanta.co.uk

West Ham are interested in bringing Savio Nsereko – one of the world's best
young strikers – to Upton Park, according to the player's agent. Nsereko
currently plays for Brescia but is attracting a huge army of admirers after
being voted the best player at the European Under-19 championships. Napoli,
Genoa and Roma are among his trailors, but The Hammers may hold a trump card
in sporting director Gianluca Nani. Nani used to work at Brescia, and agent
Patrick Bastianelli revealed talks were held just last week. "The sporting
director of West Ham is Gianluca Nani, former sports director of Brescia,
who knows very well the qualities of Savio," Bastianelli told Tutto Napoli.
"We talked about Savio no more than a week ago. "In those talks Gianluca
confirmed his will, and that of Zola's, to bring the player to West Ham."
However, should a deal go through, it appears Hammers fans may have to wait
until the summer. "I believe that Savio will stay in Brescia until the end
of the season, but there is a possibility that he could be bought in January
and left in Brescia."

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Exclusive: Ilunga to sign with Hammers
by Laurent Picard , 06 January 2009
setanta.co.uk

Herita Ilunga's agent has told setanta.com in an exclusive interview that
the full back expects to sign a permanent deal with The Hammers shortly.
Toulouse defender Ilunga has been in an impressive form since his summer
capture by West Ham, and the Congolese is waiting in the wings to commit his
future to the Upton Park outfit. One of the 26-year-old's agents, Daniel
Striani, has revealed that the East London side plan to use their buy-out
clause in order to secure the African's services.
The representative is hopeful the Premier League club will thrash out terms
with Toulouse in the close future. Striani told setanta.com: "His situation
is crystal clear: Herita is on loan from Toulouse to West Ham, who have an
option to sign him until April. "What I can reveal to you is that West Ham
fully intend to use their buy-out clause, but I can't tell on what day or at
what time. "As far as Herita is concerned, he is happy to stay at the club
and at the moment he is waiting for them to use their option to sign him on
a permanent basis. "He could commit his future to the London club in
January, but until that day no meeting has been arranged with West Ham's
directors. "West Ham have the situation under control and are free to do
what they want. As far as we are concerned, Herita's agents have not
contacted other clubs who could be interested in signing him because we
respect West Ham. "But of course if they don't make a move to convert his
loan deal into a permanent one, then we will adopt a different attitude.
"The club's economical situation doesn't worry me at all, I'm sure they will
be able to face the challenge. And they have important players in their
squad that could help them raise some cash if needed."

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Upson Bid Rejected
West Ham Till I Die

The papers are full of reports that West Ham have rejected an £11 million
bid for Matthew Upson from Aston Villa and are holding out for £15 million
for Scott Parker from Manchester City. Parker is said to be on £70,000 a
week at West Ham! But Arsenal are also said to be interested in Upson, and
are willing to part with Nicholas Bendtner as part of a swap deal. I suppose
the only saving grace in all of this is that there aren't many mentions of
Robert Green. Long may that remain so.

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Roma, Napoli And West Ham Chase Savio - Agent
Goal.com

Brescia's exciting young talent, Savio, is being chased by a clutch of clubs
from all over Europe, according to his representative...
Brescia trequartista Savio Nsereko seems destined to become the epicenter of
the January transfer window which will officially open tomorrow in Italy.
The 19-year-old ace has drawn attention from several sides during the first
four months of the campaign, namely Inter and Napoli, but his agent Patrick
Bastianelli has now declared that the line of suitors is getting bigger. "I
can confirm that Savio is being tracked by Italian, English, Spanish and
German teams," he admitted to TuttoNapoli.net. "We cannot forget that he was
named the best player of the Under-19 European Championships, which Germany
won by defeating Italy in the final.
"He would clearly love to join Napoli, but I cannot deny that Genoa and Roma
are also in the race. "Furthermore, West Ham sporting directo Gianluca Nani
knows full well Savio's qualities, since he worked with Brescia, and we
talked about the lad a week ago, as [Gianfranco] Zola would like to bring
him to London." The attacking midfielder came up through the youth ranks at
Monaco 1860, but has been with Brescia since 2005 and has become very
attached to the Rondinelle. "I believe he will remain in Lombardy until the
end of this season," continued Bastianelli, "however, he could be sold this
month and stay here on loan. "What I know is that Brescia are aware of his
talent and have no intention of giving him away on the cheap."

Vince Masiello, Goal.com

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Everton & West Ham In Michael Johnson Transfer Tussle
Goal.com

Manchester City are prepared to let promising midfielder Michael Johnson
leave due to his persistent injury problems...
Manchester City are prepared to listen to offers for young midfielder
Michael Johnson, according to a report in the British tabloid the Sun. While
the 20-year-old is held in high regard at Eastlands, it is thought that the
club are becoming increasingly frustrated with his injury problems. The
England under-21 international caught the eye with his impressive form last
season, but, after starting six games this campaign, he has missed the last
four months of action. With money no longer an object to the Citizens, it is
claimed that manager Mark Hughes is ready to offload the 'new Steven
Gerrard' as he has more established transfer targets in his sights. Born in
Urmston, Greater Manchester, Johnson grew up supporting Leeds United but
rose through the youth ranks at Everton before moving to City in 2004. It is
thought that Toffees manager David Moyes is keen to bring him back to
Goodison Park, although cash-strapped West Ham are reported to be the
favourites to secure his signature.

Ricky Brooks, Goal.com

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Palermo chief Sensibile in London for West Ham transfer talks
06.01.09 | tribalfootball.com

Palermo chief Pasquale Sensibile is in London today. Sensibile is
understood to be meeting with West Ham United technical director Gianluca
Nani. Palermo are keen to discuss available players at cash-strapped West
Ham, including midfielder Valon Behrami.

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