WHUFC.com
Although West Ham United had the weekend off, plenty of the club's players
have been in action
07.03.2009
Tony Stokes, Lee Bowyer, Jordan Spence and Joe Widdowson were all winners on
Saturday while Julien Faubert again failed to figure for Real Madrid.
Stokes has moved to Hungarian high-fliers Ujpest until the end of the season
and played for 66 minutes on his competitive debut as they drew level on
points with leaders Debrecen following a 2-0 home win against Siofok. Peter
Rajczi opened the scoring on 51 minutes before Tibor Tisza sealed the
victory in the dying seconds.
In the Championship, Bowyer played a full 90 minutes as Birmingham City won
1-0 at home against struggling Southampton thanks to a Keith Fahey goal. It
keeps the Blues three points ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who
maintained their charge for promotion to the Premier League with a 1-0 win
at Sheffield Wednesday. Neither Kyel Reid or Nigel Quashie figured for
Wolves.
In League One, Spence has been impressive for Orient since joining in
January until the end of the season - his second spell at the Matchroom
Stadium. The 18-year-old was back in his more familiar central defensive
position on Saturday and, although unable to avoid the opening goal for
Brighton and Hove Albion, he helped the team come back to win 2-1 -
crucially lifting them out of the drop zone.
Elsewhere, the 19-year-old Joe Widdowson got just under half-an-hour off the
bench as Grimsby Town romped to a 5-1 home win against mid-table Lincoln
City and move out of the bottom two in League Two.
Over in Spain, Faubert remained on the bench as Madrid failed to make it
eleven straight league wins in Spain with a 1-1 draw in the derby with
Atletico. Diego Forlan had put Atletico in front seven minutes before the
interval before Klaas Jan Huntelaar struck an equaliser close to the hour
mark.
In the English top flight, Calum Davenport was also unused substitute as
Sunderland were only just denied all three points in a 1-1 draw at home to
Tottenham Hotspur after Robbie Keane's late goal cancelled out Kieran
Richardson's opener. Finally, goalkeeper Jimmy Walker is back at West Ham
United after his successful loan spell at Colchester United came to an end
and Jack Jeffery helped Eastbourne Borough to a 1-0 home win against Wrexham
in the Blue Square Premier.
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Experience key despite defeat
WHUFC.com
Tony Carr will have been delighted to see his youngsters get a valuable
run-out at Under-18 level
07.03.2009
West Ham United Under-18s 1-3 Portsmouth Under-18s
A youthful West Ham United Under-18 side went down to a battling 3-1 FA
Premier Academy League defeat by Portsmouth at Little Heath on Saturday.
With the club's second-year Academy professionals being rested ahead of
Monday's reserve team fixture at Arsenal, Tony Carr named a lineup
containing a host of first-year professionals and schoolboys. Ahmed Abdulla
put the home side in front but the visitors were to battle back and score
three unanswered goals in the second half.
Despite their relative inexperience, however, the Hammers took the lead
through Abdulla on 16 minutes. The striker completed a sweeping move
involving Nick Barrett and Jack Werndly by slotting the ball past Pompey
goalkeeper Liam O'Brien.
The goal was no more than West Ham deserved for dominating much of the
opening half-hour against their older, bigger opponents from the south
coast. Christian Montano fired two shots off-target before Portsmouth
spurned a fantastic opportunity to level matters on 32 minutes.
A fine turn took Gael Nlundulu clear of his marker before he slotted the
ball through to Parcs Cowan Hall, but the striker could only slice his shot
wide after rounding home goalkeeper Peter Loveday.
West Ham United went into the half-time break a goal to the good, but it
would not be long after the interval before the visitors were back on level
terms. Less than 90 seconds after the restart, to be exact.
The equaliser came at the end of a flowing move involving Pompey captain
Marlon Pack, left-winger Pablo Navas and Cowan Hall, whose clipped cross was
headed in powerfully by the highly-rated Tom Kilbey from close range.
Two minutes later, an almost identical move saw Kilbey through on goal
again, only for Loveday to block well with his legs. West Ham hit back
themselves immediately, but Danny Subuola could only fire a bouncing shot
against the outside of the post after latching on to Callum Driver's lofted
free-kick.
Subuola was made to rue his miss on 54 minutes when Portsmouth took the lead
in fortunate circumstances, Navas' cross flying over the head of Loveday
before bouncing back off the inside of the far post and into the net via the
unlucky goalkeeper.
Having gone ahead, Portsmouth took control of proceedings and only the
bravery of Loveday and a perfectly-timed challenge from left-back Driver
prevented Hall from adding to the visitors' tally.
West Ham continued to battle, however, and could easily have levelled the
scores at 2-2 had O'Brien not done brilliantly to keep out two Callum
McNaughton headers from Conor Okus corners.
As the young home side tired in the closing stages, Portsmouth added the
rubber stamp to their victory when Kilbey nodded in Pack's header with ten
minutes remaining.
Despite the final result, Carr and his staff will take great encouragement
by the performance of his team against a Portsmouth side with considerable
more experience than his own.
West Ham United: Loveday, Smith (Craig 57), McNaughton, Sanchez, Driver,
Werndly (Moncur 62), Barrett, Okus, Montano, Abdulla, Subuola
Subs not used: Mehmet, Hall
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England date for Spence
WHUFC.com
A regular for his country, Jordan Spence will add to his vast experience for
England later this month
07.03.2009
Jordan Spence has earned another international call-up after being named in
the England squad to face the Czech Republic in an Under-19 friendly.
Still only 18, the defender who has captained England at every youth level,
is on loan to Leyton Orient until the end of the season, and has excelled
for the League One side. Spence is also a key man for his country and should
figure when the Young Lions enter May's elite qualifying round for a place
in the UEFA European Under-19 finals to be held in Ukraine this July.
Standing in England's way are Scotland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and
the match against the Czechs - to be played at the Banks's Stadium home of
Walsall at 7pm on Wednesday 25 March - will be a vital warm-up. As well as
Spence, the squad includes players with top-flight experience like Jack
Rodwell (Everton), Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa) and Daniel Welbeck
(Manchester United).
Spence has played eight times for Orient since joining them for a second
loan spell in January, having been an unused substitute for West Ham in the
first three games of this season. His international pedigree is outstanding,
having been capped six times at U16 level, 30 times at U17, two times at U18
and seven times so far for the U19s.
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Savio loving Hammers life
German starlet delighted to be part of West Ham 'family'
By Chris Burton Last updated: 7th March 2009
SSN
Savio admits he now feels settled at West Ham and is enjoying being part of
a successful side. The Germany U19 international joined the Hammers from
Brescia in a big-money move during the January transfer window. He has been
eased into life in the Premier League, with Gianfranco Zola regularly
deploying him as an impact player off the bench. He has, however, made some
telling contributions during his limited time on the field and is beginning
to show the kind of form which persuaded West Ham to take a gamble on his
talent. "I'm enjoying it and am very excited about the matches I am playing
in," Savio told the club's official website. "The team played a fantastic
match at Wigan (a 1-0 win on Wednesday) and deserved to win. "The atmosphere
is very good. The team is doing well and we are very happy. We are like a
family more than a team and that's a very important thing."
West Ham currently occupy seventh spot in the Premier League table, which
could be good enough to secure European football for next season, and Savio
is confident the Hammers can maintain their recent fine form through to the
end of the campaign. "It is fantastic to have the opportunity to play in a
team like this and to do the things we are doing now," he added. "It is very
good that we are seventh and we have a great opportunity. I am sure we can
finish seventh and nothing is impossible. "We have only to focus on the next
match and doing well and at the end of the season we can see if it's
enough."
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Ex-factor for Curbs
Curbs sad at how things have changed at The Valley
Last updated: 8th March 2009
SSN
Alan Curbishley popped into the Goals on Sunday studio to reflect on the
contrasting fortunes of two of his previous clubs. The former Charlton boss
has seen the Addicks plummet from the top half of the Premier League to the
foot of the Championship table since his departure, while West Ham have made
steady progress since he left Upton Park earlier this season. Reflecting
first on the Hammers, he was quick to praise the impact that Carlton Cole
has made as a lone striker this season. Curbishley said: "What suits West
Ham with Ashton out is Cole playing down the middle on his own. He can do
that and I played him as a lone frontman a lot last year. "He brings people
into the game, he's got great movement and they are passing it well now.
People are looking like they want to join in and they're comfortable. "I had
Carlton Cole at Charlton and Paolo Di Canio was there at the time and we
spoke about him. "You could see that Carlton has got everything. He just
needs to take one or two more of his chances because perhaps his finishing
lets him down. "But this year he's picked up his goals and he's got the
confidence that he's leading the line. He's been given a run. "Last year I
found it difficult pairing him and Ashton together and played him a lot of
times on his own when Dean was out. That suited him. "Gianfranco's got a
little bit of a problem when Dean gets back because he's a terrific player.
The two of them perhaps are not compatible. "But at the moment the system
they're playing suits him."
Curbishley also said the defence and goalkeeper have provided the backbone
for West Ham's good form, along with the return of key players such as Scott
Parker from injury. He continued: "Also give credit to the back five because
they've kept a lot of clean sheets this year, which always helps. "Last
season, up until this time of the season, West Ham's defensive record was
the best outside the top four. It got smashed to pieces in March because we
shipped four at Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs all in one week. "But the back
four plus Robert Green have kept clean sheets and that always gives you the
confidence that you can go and score a goal. "The other thing is one or two
players are fully fit like Scott Parker, who was in and out last year and
never got his game going. "I think he's been really instrumental along with
Matthew Upson, who's in the England team now. "And with Carlton Cole the
spine is strong."
However, it has certainly not been a strong season for Charlton who have
suffered a dramatic fall from grace since Curbishley's 15-year tenure ended
in 2006. The club are currently cut adrift at the bottom of the
Championship, looking certain to be relegated to League One, and Curbishley
admits he has been stunned by how far his former team has fallen. However,
he said chopping and changing managers too often in the last two years has
contributed to their downfall. "I just think about how quickly it's
happened," he said. "You've got no divine right to stay in the Premier
League because it's so tough, but within two-and-a-bit years they find
themselves looking at going into Division One. "I went there on Tuesday to
watch the game against Doncaster and a lot of people were bewildered at why
and how it's happened. "But it has, so you've got to get on with it. It's
very disappointing. "It's to do with bad decisions. I was there for 15 years
and now they've had four managers in two years. "The decision-making has
obviously had a big effect. It's not worked and when you get on that
downward spiral it's very difficult to get out of it. "I could perhaps have
imagined Charlton coming out of the Premier League, but I can't imagine them
going down to Division One in such a short space of time."
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Savio Nsereko Pleased With Life At West Ham United
The young German striker is settling into life in the Premier League...
7 Mar 2009 15:02:08
Goal.com
New West Ham United signing Savio Nsereko has stated that he is enjoying
life at Upton Park and is intent on becoming a first team regular for the
club in the not-too-distant future. The 19-year-old German Under-19
international has started to force his way into Gianfranco Zola's first team
plans, and looks to have been a good piece of business for the London club.
The former Brescia player has played seven games as a substitute for his new
club and is hoping to become a big part of Zola's first team as he gains
experience of the Premier League. Speaking on the club's official website,
Savio said, "I'm enjoying it and am very excited about the matches I am
playing in.
"The team played a fantastic match at Wigan and deserved to win. "The
atmosphere is very good. The team is doing well and we are very happy. We
are like a family more than a team and that's a very important thing. "It is
fantastic to have the opportunity to play in a team like this and to do the
things we are doing now. "It is very good that we are seventh and we have a
great opportunity. I am sure we can finish seventh and nothing is
impossible. "We have only to focus on the next match and doing well and at
the end of the season we can see if it's enough."
Savio moved to Upton Park during the January transfer window for a fee in
the region of £9 million and is the first part of Zola's plan to rebuild the
club using the hottest young talents from around Europe.
Nick Turner, Goal.com
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NO GUD FOR HAMMERS
Club must be sold by summer as owner pleads for time
News Of The World
By ROB SHEPHERD, 07/03/2009
WEST HAM must still be sold by the end of the season to safeguard the club's
financial future. Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson has asked a court
in Reykjavik for three more months breathing space to sort out his collapsed
business empire. The holding company which owns West Ham could eventually
come come under the control of Icelandic administrators acting for banks and
creditors. That is why club officials led by chief executive Scott Duxbury
are trying to negotiate a sale before summer. Although it is said there have
been five indicative bids, there are only two serious contenders. One is
believed to be Indian tycoon Anil Ambani. Despite claims by Gudmndsson that
West Ham is worth £250million, the true market value would appear to be
nearer £100m. Any buyer would have to take into account whatever the Upton
Park outfit end up having to pay Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez
affair. It is said one of the leading bidders is trying to cut a deal with
Blades chairman Kevin McCabe. The potential bidder wants to try and hammer
out a compensation deal ahead of a tribunal hearing charged with setting the
payment which starts on March 16.
Sheffield United have put in a claim for £43.5m.
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Cole convinced West Ham "going places"
08.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
Carlton Cole is convinced West Ham United are "going places" under manager
Gianfranco Zola. The new England cap told WHUTV: "We are going places and
hopefully we can just keep on going to the end of the season and see where
it gets us. "Judging by the Wigan performance, we showed the grit we have
got, the team-work. Everyone has gelled together and is on the same
wavelength. The goal is an example of how the team is cooperating for each
other and I am so happy that things are falling into place."
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Fry impressing at West Ham
08.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
Matthew Fry has impressed West Ham United management this season. The
18-year-old centre-half has thrived this season, wearing the captain's
armband for the Academy side and more recently making the step into the
reserve team. Fry told whufc.com: "I am trying to learn as much as I can
from bigger and better players and take what I can from them into my game.
"Playing in front of crowds and more experienced players is brilliant and I
just want to get out there and keep doing my thing."
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Walker leaves Colchester for West Ham return
08.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
Jimmy Walker has left Colchester to return to parent club West Ham United.
The 35 year-old goalkeeper was on-loan at Colchester for the past three
months.
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Curbishley: West Ham boss Zola benefiting from Cole emergence
09.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
Former West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley says Gianfranco Zola is
benefitting from the resurgence of Carlton Cole this season. He told Sky
Sports: "What suits West Ham with Ashton out is Cole playing down the middle
on his own. He can do that and I played him as a lone frontman a lot last
year. "He brings people into the game, he's got great movement and they are
passing it well now. People are looking like they want to join in and
they're comfortable. I had Carlton Cole at Charlton and Paolo Di Canio was
there at the time and we spoke about him. "You could see that Carlton has
got everything. He just needs to take one or two more of his chances because
perhaps his finishing lets him down. "But this year he's picked up his goals
and he's got the confidence that he's leading the line. He's been given a
run. "Last year I found it difficult pairing him and Ashton together and
played him a lot of times on his own when Dean was out. That suited him.
"Gianfranco's got a little bit of a problem when Dean gets back because he's
a terrific player. The two of them perhaps are not compatible. "But at the
moment the system they're playing suits him."
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New chance for West Ham crock Behrami
09.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United wing-back Valon Behrami has had a second scan to assess the
extent of a knee injury that is likely to keep him out for the rest of the
season. Behrami sustained the injury during the 1-0 victory against
Manchester City in the league last week.
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West Ham owners must wait for Reykjavik court ruling
09.03.09 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United's owners will learn this week whether breathing space has
been granted to complete the sale of the club. A creditor, who is owed
around £4 million, has been seeking to freeze some of the assets of
Björgólfur Gudmundsson, the club's owner, but a court in Reykjavik adjourned
its decision after a hearing on Friday, says The Times. The takeover
process, which should be completed by the summer, is being led by banks owed
money by the club.
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