WHUFC.com
Alex Dyer's side will host the Barclays Premier Reserve League South leaders
Aston Villa on Tuesday
30.03.2010
Cristian Montano will be aiming to score his first goal at reserve-team
level on Tuesday evening after impressing for West Ham United's Under-18s.
The Colombian-born forward, recently back in action following an ankle
injury, has plundered nine goals in 14 starts for Tony Carr's FA Premier
Academy League side this season. Now 18, Montano has been offered his first
professional contract and is highly thought of by many at the club. However,
after six scoreless appearances for Alex Dyer's reserves, the South American
will be aiming to open his account when the Hammers entertain Aston Villa in
the Barclays Premier Reserve League South on Tuesday evening. Villa arrive
at Bishop's Stortford FC's Woodside Park unbeaten all season, but Dyer's
team are in good form, having beaten Chelsea and Arsenal away from home in
their last two matches. The Villans scored a hard-fought 2-0 victory at
Villa Park in the season's opening fixture on 1 September last year, and
Dyer will be hoping the likes of Montano, Junior Stanislas and Anthony Edgar
will fire his side to success this time around. Goalkeeper Marek Stech will
be given a chance to shine, while the reserves will again be captained by
promising defender Jordan Spence. Terry Dixon and Davide Ferrari, both of
whom were on target in the 2-0 win at Arsenal last week, are also available.
Aston Villa will produce a stern test, however, with the club's youngsters
having qualified for the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they face
West Ham's conquerors Newcastle United. Former Liverpool midfielder Kevin
MacDonald's side have won eight and drawn three of their eleven reserve
league matches this term. Kick-off at Woodside Park is 7pm, with tickets
available on the night. Admission is £3 for adults and £1 for children, with
season ticket holders admitted free of charge.
The club's official website will have live text updates on whufc.com from
6.45pm.
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Tuesday test for in-form Ladies
WHUFC.com
Gemma Shepherd has been in goalscoring form to help promotion-chasing West
Ham United Ladies
30.03.2010
West Ham United Ladies face a major meeting with FA Women's Premier League
Southern Division leaders Barnet on Tuesday night as they look to continue
their promotion challenge. The Hammers are on a high after an impressive 3-1
win at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. Tony Marshall's team recovered from a
goal down to secure a comfortable success courtesy of a Nina Downham goal
and two from Gemma Shepherd - the second of which was a spectacular 30-yard
volley. Becky Merritt hit the crossbar with a long-range free-kick in the
closing stages, while Downham also saw her diving header pushed aside by the
home goalkeeper. Following their victory, manager Marshall is targeting an
assault on the promotion places, with his side now just three points behind
second-placed Portsmouth. "We created a lot of chances throughout the game,
so that's what is pleasing," he said. "We've been notoriously slow starters
this season, but after we got the first goal, that set us on our way and the
belief was there that we were going to get something out of this. "We were
unlucky not to go in two or three up at half-time after that and that set us
up for the second half, and we had eight or nine chances. It was a good
all-round performance."
West Ham have lost just one of the 16 league matches they have contested
this season, but eight draws mean Marshall's team have some ground to make
up if they are to overhaul Barnet. With six fixtures remaining, the manager
still believes his players can close the nine-point gap between themselves
and the Bees. "We don't have the experience that someone like Barnet have,
but I think we could be there or thereabouts," he said.
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West Ham enter Dubai investment talks
ESPN Soccernet staff
March 30, 2010
West Ham United have opened talks with Middle East investors to become the
latest Premier League club seeking cash from overseas. Hammers co-owner
David Sullivan and vice-chairman Karen Brady are in Dubai for talks with
investors who are interested in buying the remaining 50% of West Ham United
plc, owned by Straumar. Current co-owners David Gold and Sullivan would
remain in control of the club, but the other 50% looks like falling into
foreign hands. That might not be very surprising any more, considering many
of the major clubs are foreign owned: Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea,
Manchester City, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Fulham and Sunderland.
Hammers fans, though, will be reassured that the condition of any sale will
be that club decisions remain in the hands of Gold and Sullivan. An insider
close to the talks told Soccernet on Tuesday: "I can confirm that David
Sullivan and Karen Brady are in Dubai talking to investors who are
interested in the 50% owned still by Straumar."
Clearly, the Hammers slipping deep into the relegation mire will not aid the
talks. The Dubai summit comes on the back of two successive home defeats
against Wolves and Stoke City, which has put the club's Premier League
status in jeopardy. West Ham need to stay up to attract investors, and so
any buyout of Straumar's 50% will be contingent on West Ham's survival as
the Middle East big-hitters want to invest in the Premier League. Little
wonder the pressure is so intense on manager Gianfranco Zola and his West
Ham team as the stakes couldn't be higher. Sullivan has already told
Soccernet that it would cost the Hammers in excess of £40 million in year
one alone if they went down, but it would also cost them the investment the
club urgently need. Gold and Sullivan's master plan is to use the investment
for a major overhaul of the playing staff in the summer. It could see West
Ham joining the big boys such as Manchester City and Chelsea in the hunt for
top talent, and that would be a major attraction for the manager, though
whether or not it is Zola remains to be seen. Any significant boost in
investment and the increased transfer kitty that would come with it could be
an attractive proposition for a big-name boss to take on the challenge of
the Upton Park managerial hotseat.
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West Ham prepare complaint against Fulham
ESPN Soccernet staff
March 30, 2010
Relegation-threatened West Ham United are considering lodging a complaint
against Fulham for resting some of their best players at Hull City to
prepare for their historic Europa League quarter-final with Wolfsburg on
Thursday. The Cottagers left top-scorer Bobby Zamora, captain Danny Murphy
and Ireland international Damien Duff out of the matchday squad for the
defeat at Hull, a result which put greater pressure on the Hammers'
relegation plight. West Ham have now examined the regulations as they
contemplate an official complaint against their fellow London club. The
Hammers have estimated it will cost them in excess of £40 million in the
first year alone if they go down. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson, who has been
touted for Manager of the Year and as an English candidate to succeed Fabio
Capello, made six changes from the starting team which went out of the FA
Cup to Tottenham the previous week and clearly had an eye on the big prize
in Europe. Fielding a weakened side allowed the Tigers to complete a
relatively comfortable 2-0 victory at the KC Stadium on Saturday, with goals
from Jimmy Bullard and Craig Fagan. Hodgson was unrepentant in making the
decision with the Cottagers comfortably placed in 11th position in the
league and with a vital Europa League clash against Wolfsburg five days
later as the only prize left for Fulham to mark such a wonderful season. "If
you win the game making changes then you congratulate yourself on the squad
system," Hodgson told Fulham's official website. "If the team that gets a
chance doesn't win the game then of course people say, 'had the other
players played they'd have won'. "We played seven matches in 27 days in
February. We played eight in 24 days in March and we've got another seven or
eight in 25 or 26 days in April. I don't think it's fair for anyone to
suggest that we can do that with 11 players."
Formidable at Craven Cottage, the manager can argue that Fulham have been
generally woeful on the road this season with just one win and a pitiful 11
goals scored. Having secured their Premier League survival and knocked out
Juventus in the Europa League already, Hodgson has made no secret of the
fact that he was concentrating on Thursday's tie. A West Ham insider told
Soccernet: "We are checking the rules. Roy Hodgson said on Match of the Day
he rested players as they had a lot of games coming up starting with
Wolfsburg this week. Hull got very lucky with Fulham fielding a very weak
side as they play Wolfsburg on Thursday. "Let's hope they beat Wolfsburg and
stay in the competition and do the same for us when we play them."
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Fans take a dim view of plot to tackle Rory
www.WhyDelilah.co.uk | Published: Tuesday 30 Mar 2010
by Anthony Munday
A STOKE fan has complained after he was left with a restricted view of
Saturday's Premier League match at West Ham because advertising boards were
moved to hamper City's long throw expert Rory Delap. Paul Ruane says he and
at least another 80 supporters were affected by the hoardings, which were
put much closer to the Upton Park pitch than usual to impede Delap's
deliveries. The 48-year-old IT professional says he and wife Carolyn, who
had knee replacement surgery last week, were eventually moved to alternative
seats adjacent to a segregation zone behind one of the goals. A further
dozen or so City fans were also relocated, but Ruane said those who remained
in the lower section of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand had to contravene
ground regula tions by standing up to see the match. He said: "The
combination of the perimeter wall and the advertising boards meant we could
see very little of the pitch without standing up. "The first five or six
rows were affected and there were 14 of us in each row. "I spoke to one of
the stewards who said he had never seen the boards in that position before
in the 10 years he had worked at West Ham. He also confirmed the stewards
had not been briefed on why the boards were there. "It seemed West Ham were
seeking to gain an advantage by restricting the run-up for the taking of
throw-ins by Stoke City players."
Ruane has raised the issue with fellow Stoke fan Malcolm Clarke, who is
chairman of national body the Football Supporters' Federation. Clarke also
spoke at length to the stewards, but the advertising boards were still not
moved. Ruane said: "Myself, my wife and a few other Stoke fans were moved to
other seats just as the game was about to kick-off. "We had to go up and
down steps and across a busy concourse and we missed a few minutes of the
match. "The fans who were not relocated were either encouraged to break
ground regulations by standing up or could not see the game. The tickets
sold to Stoke City fans were not advertised as restricted view. "However, I
would like to thank the stewards who did their best to help in a situation
that was clearly not of their making."
Ruane, who lives at Trentham Lakes and has not missed a Stoke game, home or
away, for seven-and-a-half years, has written to complain to West Ham United
and Trading Standards. He added: "I hope for a swift response and would
expect a full apology from West Ham and compensation for the fans who were
affected." "It's not just a case of getting our money back because what
happened ruined the whole day. Supporters spend a lot of time and money to
follow football and deserve much better." Clarke added: "I will be writing
to complain to the authorities myself. "I thought it was deplorable for West
Ham to try to gain an advantage on the field to the detriment of the
supporters who pay to watch."
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Capello eases concerns
Italian not losing sleep over goalkeeping dilemma
Last updated: 30th March 2010
SSN
England manager Fabio Capello has no concerns about playing Steven Gerrard
and Frank Lampard in the same midfield, providing they are both in good
form. The pair have come in for criticism at times this season after
inconsistent displays, with the off-colour performances of Gerrard the
subject of specific scrutiny. But both impressed at the weekend when Lampard
scored four times in Chelsea's demolition of Aston Villa and Gerrard
excelled when moving into an orthodox central midfield role in Liverpool's
victory over Sunderland. If that form continues, Capello is not worried
about the duo's ability to play alongside one another for England at the
World Cup in June. The Italian told Gol Television: "I think good players
can always play together, but a lot depends on what kind of form they're in.
"In a team you have to play the players who are in the best possible form.
That said, both are important players who are very talented and that's why I
say I believe they can play together. "In fact, they've shown on many
occasions that they are the kind of players who can swing a match your way."
There has also been much made regarding Capello's goalkeeping options for
the finals in South Africa, with David James, Robert Green, Ben Foster and
Joe Hart all failing to make the position their own. But England's manager
said: "I'm fairly happy. We've got Green, James who is older and
experienced, and Hart, who is young. I don't think we have a problem when it
comes to goalkeepers."
Capello also reiterated that there is time for Manchester City left-back
Wayne Bridge to reconsider his unavailability for England selection in the
wake of the John Terry saga, which saw the Chelsea defender stripped of his
country's captaincy. He said: "The players know that I believe the armband
must go to a player who can be an example to youngsters. And what happened
with Terry was not good. "That's why I explained to him that he could not
continue as captain but would continue to be a leader on the pitch and
important player for us. "As for Bridge, he has time to change his mind.
The situation is still very raw for him."
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Green backing for Zola
Hammers keeper defends 'hamstrung' manager
Last updated: 30th March 2010
SSN
Robert Green feels Gianfranco Zola has been 'hamstrung' with selection
problems and has called on the players to continue working hard. Zola
announced on Monday that he was 'determined to carry on' as West Ham manager
after considering his future over the weekend in the wake of recent results.
The Hammers have lost six consecutive Premier League games to slip down the
standings and are currently outside the relegation zone on goal difference
alone. But Green believes it was clear in the 1-0 defeat to Stoke on
Saturday that Zola was doing his utmost to revive the team's fortunes. The
England goalkeeper also thinks that Zola's job has been made more difficult
by an injury crisis this season, while it has been difficult for the club to
keep a settled squad due to the delicate financial situation. "He's a great
man and a great manager and you could see on Saturday that it's not through
want of trying," said Green. "He's been hamstrung through the season with
selection problems and players leaving and injuries and things like that and
he's just putting out the teams that seem fit for the games."
Green insists the players are right behind the Italian and has urged his
team-mates to stay calm in attacking areas to end their problems in front of
goal. He explained: "It's up to us to put in the effort that we did on
Saturday and to have the confidence to carry on playing and play more
football in and around the final-third which, hopefully, will make the
difference."
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