WHUFC.com
The manager believes his side can reach even greater heights over the coming months
13.02.2009
Gianfranco Zola insists there is much more to come from his West Ham United team. The Hammers have been in fine form in recent months, losing just one of their last nine matches in the Premier League and FA Cup - to champions Manchester United - and go into Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Middlesbrough brimming with confidence. With recent results and performances leaving many supporters and observers full of admiration for his side, Zola could be forgiven for resting on his laurels. Instead, the manager has vowed to take his West Ham side to even greater heights over the coming weeks. "This team hasn't peaked yet because there are players who can do much more. There are things we're doing automatically which is great but we can still improve, especially with confidence. But everything is coming along nicely. We are just at the beginning and we need to establish ourselves before trying to make another step."
While the work done by Zola, first-team coaches Steve Clarke and Kevin Keen and the club's technical and medical staff has clearly had a huge effect on the team's performances, the manager was also quick to praise the players themselves for their positive attitude towards their work. "I have improved a lot and that's down to the players helping me a lot and the staff have been fantastic to help me progress in the job. "This is one of the best atmospheres I have ever seen. The players are happy and are very keen for the job. They keep talking to each other about doing their job and getting better. This is one of the best sporting environments I have seen in my career and it's the right way to improve. "For me it [makes life] easy-peasy. When you have players like that, they do the job for you. I just have to keep encouraging them but conditions-wise it could not be better."
One player who has benefitted greatly from the positive atmosphere flowing through the club is Carlton Cole, whose superb all-round form led to a full England debut in Wednesday's 2-0 friendly defeat in Spain. The striker, who has scored ten goals this season, put in another impressive display in Seville, and Zola believes there is much more to come from the 25-year-old hitman. "Carlton is certainly one of those players who doesn't know how good he is. It's as simple as that. But because I've seen so many different players up close I can realise what kind of players I have in front of me. He is getting better and better. He is getting little bits. For me he is not near his peak. "Sometimes when he is holding the ball he reminds me of Mark Hughes. Hughes was fantastic at holding and protecting the ball. He is close to him [his level] but he is also very fast. He needs to improve his finishing a little bit but he's on the way."
While Cole continues to improve individually, Zola also restated his ambition to lead West Ham to greater heights collectively, starting with victory over Boro this weekend. Working closely with CEO Scott Duxbury and technical director Gianluca Nani, the manager is fully committed to the club's future success both on and off the pitch. "I am here. I am enjoying myself and my time. My job here is not finished. I always focus on the short term and I want to improve this team and to give something more. I haven't given enough. I have said many times is that my philosophy is not to worry about anything. This club has been fantastic for me and I'll give them everything."
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Parker signs new deal at West Ham
BBC.co.uk
West Ham midfielder Scott Parker has signed a new contract that will keep him at Upton Park until 2013. The 28-year-old was linked with a move to Manchester City in the January transfer window, but has now pledged his future to West Ham. Parker told the club's website: "I am very happy, pleased and excited - especially after all the speculation in the transfer window. "I can now put that to rest and sign a new long-term contract."
The former Newcastle and Chelsea player added: "In the last few weeks, the way the club is going and the direction that the manager and the board want to go, is something I want to follow. "By signing my new contract, it says that I want to do this as well. It also says a lot about West Ham. There have been a lot of negative things written, saying there was a crisis and all of that. "This shows that West Ham are in a position to keep their players when others want them and as a player and for the fans, that is a great thing. "The manager Gianfranco Zola showed a real desire to keep me. He sees me as a massive part of the squad and that meant a lot to me, especially when there were things being written everywhere. So I am delighted to sign."
Parker follows England strikers Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole in committing himself to the club long-term, while youngsters Jack Collison and Freddie Sears have done likewise. Zola said: "This is great news. Scott is an excellent player and it is good to have him at our service for more years. "We have a long-term view, and we need time to set up our project and give it a chance to grow. "The club are sticking to this policy and it is brilliant. It means we are really serious about everything that we have said."
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Parker pens new contract
Coveted midfielder to stay at Upton Park until 2013
SSN
Last updated: 13th February 2009
Coveted West Ham midfielder Scott Parker has signed a new long-term deal which will keep him at the Hammers until the end of the 2012/13 season. The 28-year-old was linked with a switch away from Upton Park in the January transfer window after West Ham owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson was hit by the credit crunch. But Parker - who has been a virtual ever-present this term - is happy to stay at a club where he feels wanted, especially by boss Gianfranco Zola.
He told the club's official website: "I am very happy, pleased and excited - especially after all the speculation in the transfer window - that I can now put that to rest and sign a new-long term contract. "In the last few weeks, the way the club is going and the direction that the manager and the board want to go is something I want to follow. "By signing my new contract, it says that I want to do this as well. It also says a lot about West Ham, there has been a lot of negative things written, saying there was a crisis and all of that. "This shows that West Ham are in a position to keep their players when others want them and as a player and for the fans, that is a great thing. "The manager showed a real desire to keep me. He sees me as a massive part of the squad and that meant a lot to me, especially when there were things being written everywhere. So I am delighted to sign."
Zola was delighted to secure Parker's services on a new long-term deal, saying: "This is great news. Scott is an excellent player and it is good to have him at our service for more years. "We have a long-term view, and we need time to set up our project and give it a chance to grow. The club is sticking to this policy and it is brilliant. It means we are really serious about everything that we have said. "When I first sat with (CEO) Scott Duxbury we said we want to do this in the right way and everything is going along so well. "Scott, (technical director) Gianluca (Nani) and I are working very well together and it is the key for the good results we are getting. Everyone is playing their part, not just the players and the technical staff. They have been brilliant."
Duxbury added: "Scott Parker is a hugely important player and his belief in the club's vision is a fantastic boost for everyone at West Ham United. "He has been tremendous this season, not only with his individual performances but for his example and leadership to the talented youngsters we have coming through.
"Added to the absolute assurances Gianfranco has given fans this week about his long-term commitment, this agreement is a further sign that we can all look forward. "Today's news underlines that a lot of nonsense has been written and said about this club in recent weeks. It is clear that even if external forces try to destabilise us, nothing will stand in the way of our football project and our efforts to bring success to this club and our supporters."
Meanwhile, West Ham reserve players Ashley Miller and Tony Stokes have joined Hungarian side Ujpest FC on a week's trial ahead of possible loan moves until the end of the season. Ujpest FC club director Istvan Salloi told Nemzeti Sport: "We'll see what they can produce but this is very positive that their arrival is the quick result of our relationships in London. "I hope the duo will stay with us and if they sign a contract then it will be a positive message about Hungary."
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Scott Parker signs new deal at West Ham
Parker had been linked with a move to Manchester City in January
Times Online
Scott Parker has signed a new contract at West Ham which commits him to the Upton Park club until the summer of 2013. The England midfielder had been linked with a move to Manchester City during the January transfer window and said he hoped that committing himself to a new deal would put an end to negative publicity surrounding the club. "I am very happy, pleased and excited - especially after all the speculation in the transfer window - that I can now put that to rest and sign a new long-term contract," he said. "In the last few weeks, the way the club is going and the direction that the manager and the board want to go is something I want to follow." "By signing my new contract, it says that I want to do this as well. It also says a lot about West Ham. There have been a lot of negative things written, saying there was a crisis and all of that. "This shows that West Ham are in a position to keep their players when others want them and as a player and for the fans, that is a great thing. "The manager (Gianfranco Zola) showed a real desire to keep me. He sees me as a massive part of the squad and that meant a lot to me, especially when there were things being written everywhere. So I am delighted to sign."
Parker follows Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole in committing himself to the club long-term, while youngsters Jack Collison and Freddie Sears have done likewise.
Zola said: "This is great news. Scott is an excellent player and it is good to have him at our service for more years. We have a long-term view, and we need time to set up our project and give it a chance to grow. "The club are sticking to this policy and it is brilliant. It means we are really serious about everything that we have said."
Scott Duxbury, the Hammers chief executive, added: "Scott is a hugely important player and his belief in the club's vision is a fantastic boost for everyone at West Ham. He has been tremendous this season, not only with his individual performances but for his example and leadership to the talented youngsters we have coming through. "Added to the absolute assurances Gianfranco has given fans this week about his long-term commitment, this agreement is a further sign that we can all look forward. "Today's news underlines that a lot of nonsense has been written and said about this club in recent weeks. "It is clear that even if external forces try to destabilise us, nothing will stand in the way of our football project and our efforts to bring success to this club and our supporters."
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Carlton Cole reminds me of Mark Hughes, says Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola reckons he can see shades of Mark Hughes, his old Chelsea team-mate, when he watches Carlton Cole in action and he is hoping West Ham's fledgling England striker will prove just as adept in helping him savour more FA Cup glory.
Telegraph
By Ian Chadband
Last Updated: 8:59PM GMT 13 Feb 2009
The fifth-round meeting with Middlesbrough at Upton Park on Saturday rekindles special memories for Zola since it was against them that he celebrated what he calls his happiest hour in football, Chelsea's 2-0 victory in the 1997 Cup final at Wembley. Hughes picked up a winner's medal alongside him that day and now the Italian cannot help comparing Cole, who earned his international debut against Spain this week, to his brilliant Welsh former team-mate. "More than any other player, he reminds me of Hughes, especially when he's holding the ball up," said Zola. "Hughes was fantastic at holding and protecting the ball; Carlton may be not as good as him but he's very close. "He's also very fast. All he has to improve is his finishing, which is maybe not as good as his control of the ball, but he's on the way, he's working hard and I'm sure he'll fill that gap."
Zola is credited with bringing the best out of the 25-year-old whose career began at Chelsea just as the Italian's was nearing its conclusion. He has been impressed by a recent hot goalscoring streak during which Cole has netted in six of the last nine West Ham games and was disappointed that his one opportunity in England's match against Spain ended with his goal-bound shot being scrambled off the line. Yet he is convinced that Cole will continue to improve dramatically. "He is one of those players who doesn't even realise how good he is," said Zola. "He doesn't realise completely but he's getting better and better and, for me, he's not even near to his peak yet."
West Ham midfielder Scott Parker signed a new contract on Friday which ties him to the Premier League club until 2013.
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Brown fizz and Green Street is the real thing
Joseph Gobbels would have felt the grooming of a five-year-old to be 'one-sided and prejudicial'
Guardian.co.uk
Russell Brand
Last Sunday I took a friend's five-year-old son to Upton Park to see the Hammers beaten by Manchester United. It was part of a campaign to indoctrinate young Oliver into a life of supporting West Ham and the vehemence with which I undertook his inculcation would be frowned upon by even the most ardent stalwarts of al-Qaida; "Calm down," they might say, "let him make his own mind up."
The first half was goalless and Oliver was sat with his father and was far more interested in Coca-Cola, which he, like most children, unquestioningly regards as some celestial liquor; were he not so stupidly young I would assume that he thought it to contain properties that grant eternal youth – perhaps it does, he does look young, perhaps that's his secret. Somehow Coca-Cola, which is essentially just a brown drink, has successfully convinced a five-year-old that their product is more important than a Premier League clash between the champions of Europe and the most romantic club in the world.
The young man's mind remained enraptured with effervescent sludge through the first 45 minutes and during the half-time interval – usurping even the presence of West Ham legend Tony Cottee, who visited us in our corporate, corporeal box (sorry, it's just you get a cup of tea with crossed hammers on the saucer – who can resist that? Who?). Tony may, in dimensional terms, be smaller than a sexy little bottle of Coke, but he certainly has a lot more fizz, but in the eyes of a child "there ain't nothing like the real thing".
I determined that in the second half I would enthuse the youngster with the prospect of a squandered life of unfulfilled potential; following West Ham is the football-supporting equivalent of glue-sniffing, so obviously the first thing I had to do was separate him from his fuddy-duddy daddy, who was granting the malleable tot all manner of superfluous autonomy and care.
With him safely perched upon my knee I had full access to his brain via his little lughole. I gave him his own whispered, personal, highly partisan commentary which made up for what it lacked in factual accuracy with bone-chilling propaganda, anti-Manc-scaremongering and filthy lies. Here are some exerts from that commentary which Joseph Goebbels would've called "one-sided and prejudicial".
First I had to set up the distinction between the teams – "the ones in white, Ollie, usually they wear red and are called the Red Devils – because they are so evil. In fact that fella way out on the right, No7, juggling the ball, see him? He can only do that as he makes daily, human sacrifices to Satan." He looked up at me with his beautiful, open face: "Really, uncle Russell?" I stared into the perfect eyes that searched my own for signs of duplicity. "Yes." I replied unflinchingly "Usually little boys." He nodded nervously. "The ones we like are in claret and blue, they are brave men and they love children." He eyed me quizzically: "They seem confused – they keep kicking the ball out." "They're just excited," I said.
When Ryan Giggs scored a rare right‑footed goal, I told Oliver that Manchester United win matches because they have more money than us and they cheat. I pointed to Mark Noble and said: "He's from Leytonstone, where you're from – one day you could play for West Ham." I don't know if Mark Noble is from Leytonstone or if Ollie could ever cut it as a pro, but I said it with commitment and I saw that he was beginning to be seduced.
When vocal waves of disapproval went around the ground – condemning the woeful refereeing – Ollie took his hands from over his ears and began to join the mob; I rewarded his compliance with more delicious cans of tooth decay. By the match's end I had entirely brainwashed the innocent – we stepped into the disgruntled, ambulant sea that is post-whistle Green Street while I louchely tattooed the willing youngster with the insignia of the ICF. The process made me question my own inherited allegiance; was I conveying a valuable gift to the next generation or bequeathing a miserable burden upon the progeny of a chum?
Has supporting West Ham made me a happier man? This can never be ascertained, of course, and was only even examined in retrospect, after I'd been into the club shop and bedecked the boy in claret and blue from the top of his head to the tip of his shoes. Having learned the lessons of the carbonated sex-pop company that consumerism is the way to a child's affections, I served up cuddly toys, pencil cases, kits and an alarm clock – all tokens of his new enforced identity.
Richard Dawkins rightly scoffs at the idea of "a Muslim baby or a Christian birth", observing that these attributes are acquired and not innate and that it would be absurd to refer to a baby as a "Stoke City fan" or a "violinist" – perhaps that's why these non-genetic traits are so zealously pushed. As yet I have no sons and thus hope in my dotage, should that ever be achieved, I'll seek comfort as the light dies from a man I once held, amidst a crowd that to him then seemed infinite, and we'll talk of faded dreams in claret and blue.
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Parker inks new £80,000-a-week West Ham deal
14.02.09 | tribalfootball.com
Scott Parker's new West Ham United deal is worth a cool £80,000-a-week, it has been revealed. The Sun says Parker has signed a new £80,000-a-week contract keeping him at West Ham until 2013. Midfielder Parker, 28, joins Carlton Cole and Dean Ashton plus young stars Jack Collison and Freddie Sears in agreeing long-term deals. Robert Green and Matthew Upson are next on Hammers' hit-list for talks.
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West Ham boss Zola likens Cole to Man Utd legend Hughes
14.02.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has likened Carlton Cole to his former Chelsea teammate Mark Hughes. "Sometimes when Cole is holding up the ball he reminds me of Mark Hughes," said Zola. "Hughes was fantastic at holding and protecting the ball. "Carlton is close to him but also very fast. He needs to improve his finishing a little bit but he's on the way. "I've had to put my arm around his shoulders — well, I think I did but he's a bit too tall so maybe it was his waist!
"That's because Carlton is certainly one of those players who doesn't know how good he is. Simple as that. But because I've seen so many different players up close I can realise what kind of players I have in front of me. "He's getting better and better. For me he is not near his peak."
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