WHUFC.com
Blair Turgott has been included in England's squad for the FIFA U17 World
Cup finals in Mexico
26.05.2011
West Ham United midfielder Blair Turgott will go for FIFA World Cup glory
after being included in England's squad for the forthcoming U17 version of
football's biggest tournament. The 17-year-old has played a massive part in
helping England to qualify for the competition, which takes place in Mexico
between 18 June and 10 July. The Young Lions have been drawn in Group C
alongside Uruguay, Canada and Rwanda. Turgott helped England to progress to
the World Cup by scoring two vital goals to help his country qualify for the
UEFA European U17 Championship finals, which were held in Serbia earlier
this month. There, England reached the semi-finals, automatically qualifying
them for the World Cup. The Hammers youngster has been capped 12 times by
England at U17 level since making his debut against Sweden in October 2010,
scoring three goals. Prior to that, Turgott was capped six times at U16
level, winning the Victory Shield and reaching the final of the Montaigu
Tournament in France. Unfortunately, Turgott will not be joined at the World
Cup by club-mate and long-time England colleague Matthias Fanimo, who is
still recovering from a knee injury suffered earlier this year. However, he
will not be the only West Ham representative at the finals, as Academy
Player of the Year Dylan Tombides has been called-up by Australia. England
kick-off their campaign against Rwanda in Pachuca on 19 June before facing
Canada at the same venue on 22 June and completing their group-stage
fixtures against Uruguay in Torreon on 25 June. Australia, meanwhile, take
on Ivory Coast in Guadalajara on 20 June and Brazil in the same stadium on
23 June before moving to Queretaro for their final Group F fixture with
Denmark on 26 June.
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Spector set for Gold Cup
WHUFC.com
Jonathan Spector is in the United States squad for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold
Cup
26.05.2011
Jonathan Spector has been included in the United States squad for the 2011
CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 25-year-old will appear in the tournament - the North
and Central American version of the UEFA European Championship - for the
second time, having lifted the trophy on his previous appearance in 2007.
Spector is one of eleven squad members to have won the trophy previously and
one of seven English-based players in Bob Bradley's 23-man selection. The US
will begin Group C play on 7 June against Canada at Ford Field in Detroit,
Michigan, before taking on Panama on 11 June at Raymond James Stadium in
Tampa, Florida. The group stage will end on 14 June against Guadeloupe at
LIVESTRONG Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Before the competition begins, the
Americans will meet up on Thursday before hosting FIFA World Cup holders
Spain in a friendly in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on 4 June. Spector, capped
30 times by his country since making his debut in 2004, was a starter when
the US defeated Spain 2-0 in the last meeting between the two nations at the
FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa in June 2009. The Illinois native
has enjoyed a fine season for West Ham United, making 21 appearances,
scoring four goals and collecting the Individual Performance of the Season
award for his outstanding display in the 4-0 Carling Cup victory over
Manchester United in November. Spector is one of two West Ham players set to
appear at the Gold Cup, as Pablo Barrera has been named in Mexico's squad
for the tournament. The Mexicans are in Group A alongside Costa Rica, El
Salvador and Cuba.
* Meanwhile, Danny Gabbidon and Jack Collison were both unused substitutes
on Wednesday night - along with former club-mates James Collins and Craig
Bellamy - as Wales lost 3-1 to Scotland in Dublin. The duo could figure when
the Welsh play Northern Ireland on Friday night.
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Red card woe for Wearen
WHUFC.com
Eoin Wearen was sent-off as Republic of Ireland drew with Ukraine in their
latest EURO U19 qualifier
26.05.2011
Eoin Wearen was sent-off as Republic Ireland were held to a goalless draw
with Ukraine in their second UEFA European U19 Championship Elite Round
qualifier on Thursday. The West Ham United midfielder was booked after 81
minutes before receiving a second yellow card deep into added-time as the
Irish followed-up a 1-0 win over Group 4 hosts Poland with another strong
defensive display in Koszalin. Wearen, who appeared as a second-half
substitute against the Poles, was in the action regularly against Ukraine,
but will now be suspended when Ireland complete their Elite Round qualifying
phase by facing Italy in Kolobrzeg on Sunday. Italy face Poland in their
second fixture on Thursday evening, having defeated Ukraine 1-0 in their own
opening match. The group winners will qualify for the final tournament,
which will be held in Romania between 20 July and 1 August.
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Sullivan reveals two job offers
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 26th May 2011
By: Staff Writer
David Sullivan revealed tonight that he has offered the vacant managerial
position to two candidates within the last 48 hours. West Ham's co-chairman,
speaking at the inaugural Supporters' Advisory Board meeting at the Boleyn
Ground tonight told the audience that one manager has rejected the offer -
whilst another is set to give his answer within the next 24 hours.
However Sullivan also admitted that he expected the offer - a £50,000 per
week contract plus a £1million-plus bonus for achieving promotion - to be
refused once again; news which will no doubt delight the tabloid press, who
have made the most of some of the club's - and the board's - ill-advised
decisions of late. The meeting was chaired by Sullivan who was assisted by
vice-chair Karren Brady, Olympic Stadium director Ian Tompkins and Academy
Director Tony Carr, who was recently voted as supporters' second choice to
replace Avram Grant behind Martin O'Neill.
A range of questions on the club's future were answered; we'll bring you
further details of the night's events later.
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Beautiful intentions
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 26th May 2011
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammers striker Iain Dowie has thrown his hat into the ring to become
West Ham's next manager. Dowie - whose sixth and most recent management
position ended after just two months in 2010 when he led Hull City to
relegation from the Premier League - told Sky Sports that he would be
extremely interested should the club come calling. "Anybody would be silly
not to be interested in a club like West Ham," he said. "You never know if
you will get that call or not, but I sense they may go for a slightly bigger
name and look to make a statement. You would understand that and there is no
problem with that. "You always think you can add a bit of a difference and
add a bit of value on the training ground. I always think it is important as
a coach to develop players and I think my record is fairly good at that.
We'll see; I've always said given the right opportunity that would be
right."
Meanwhile former Hammers striker Teddy Sheringham revealed that he was
backing temporary manager Kevin Keen to land the position full-time. "He's
a West Ham and he knows the club inside out," Sheringham told SSN. "He knows
the regime of the club and how they should play. To carry on producing the
football they're used to would be lovely to see again, so I'd give Kev a
chance." Current favourites to succeed Avram Grant on Betfair are Sam
Allardyce, Martin O'Neill and Chris Hughton. The current favourite amongst
supporters voting in a poll here on KUMB.com remains O'Neill, with Tony Carr
in second place.
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Dowie keen on Hammers job
Ex-Hammers striker open to Upton Park role
Last Updated: May 26, 2011 3:01pm
SSN
Former West Ham striker Iain Dowie has admitted he would be interested in
the vacant manager's job at Upton Park. West Ham are on the lookout for a
new manager following the dismissal of Avram Grant earlier this month.
Dowie, who has been of work since leaving Hull City in the summer of 2010,
admits he would jump at the opportunity of taking charge in East London.
"Anybody would be silly not to be interested in a club like West Ham," Dowie
told Sky Sports News. "You never know if you will get that call or not, but
I sense they may go for a slightly bigger name and look to make a statement.
You would understand that and there is no problem with that. "You always
think you can add a bit of a difference and add a bit of value on the
training ground. I always think it is important as a coach to develop
players and I think my record is fairly good at that. "I've always said
given the right opportunity that would be right."
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Player Reviews 2010/11 - Part 1
Vinny - Thu May 26 2011
West Ham Online
Player Reviews - 2010/11 - Part One
Here are the Player Reviews for 2010/11 Season. This 8th season running I've
done this and it started back in the Championship where we will sadly be
heading next season.
If the player has played at all during the course of the season they will be
reviewed. It may be interesting to note that West Ham have used more players
than any other Premiership Team this campaign.
We start with Goal Keepers and Defenders.
Goal Keepers
Robert Green
Like most of our players, it has been a difficult season for Robert Green.
The World Cup in South Africa went as badly as it could have done with his
terrible mistake against the USA. Coming back to Upton Park the fans really
needed to get behind him given the stick he would endure by opposition
supporters and as fans we gave him our full backing to which he seemed to
appreciate. Green kept just 5 clean sheets throughout the season as he
started 37 of the 38 league games. For the club to have kept so few clean
sheets is just another reason to why relegation was the end result. His
first mistake of the season came at home to Chelsea when he failed to hold a
shot from Drogba which eventually found its way into the goal from the
rebound.
The next league game up at Stoke saw Green look as though he had totally
fallen apart with an erratic performance as he let the Stoke fans get the
better of him. But time would be a healer for Green's season as he came back
strong against Tottenham at Upton Park making a string of wonderful saves
and keeping his first clean sheet of the season.
The fans do seem to like Robert Green and I think this is down to West Ham
fans always having a good relationship with the goal keepers at the club.
There is a bit of banter between Green and sections of the crowd and he
always acknowledges the fans. As a goal keeper he has been up and down
during the season making some great saves as we know he can but then making
rash decisions which ultimately cost us goals.
There was just the one penalty stop this season as he saved a Matthew
Etherington Penalty in the second half of a FA Cup Quarter final game at
Stoke City. As team performances got worse, Green became more frustrated
which all seemed to come to a head against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium when
after a Bolton goal he proceeded to square up to team mate Mark Noble in an
unsavoury sight.
Green always comes across to me as a bit of an odd character and quite a
moody one at that. All that stuff with having 'England's Number Six'
actually sown on to his gloves did raise an eyebrow as I could not get into
that way of thinking. Yes, he may have said it to the press as a joke and
had some banter with the fans but to go as far as getting this on your
gloves always surprised me a little.
Green is a superb shot stopper and the way he was treated by England for one
mistake would surely have knocked anyone's confidence. He has played 196
times for the club and has become a mainstay of our team. I like Robert
Green and have been happy to have him as our goal keeper. With relegation it
would seem as though he will be leaving in the coming weeks but it wouldn't
shock me to see him in our starting line up come August.
In the Championship you need a good goalkeeper and Robert Green is as good
as any in the English game. If he does move on in the Summer he is one
player I am happy to thank for his effort he has put in at West Ham and he
can go away with this reputation at West Ham in tact and I think Green will
be remembered fondly by the West Ham supporters
Apps: League 37 (starts) Cup 7 (Starts)
Verdict: A tough season for him with many goals conceded. Playing with an
ever changing defence in front of him hasn't help. I fear he may be one of a
number of players leaving in the summer.
Marek Stech
Stech seemed to go into the season as our Number 2 keeper and made his full
debut in the League Cup tie at home to Oxford United where he kept a clean
sheet and put in a solid performances making a couple of good saves from
long range efforts. Manager Avram Grant kept faith with him in the next
League Cup tie which was a tricky trip to Sunderland where again Stech
performance admirably and looked as though he would have that number two
slot for all of the season.
The League Cup was proving to be his way into the side and in the next round
he took his place between the sticks again against Stoke City in the 3-1
victory after extra time. He found his game a little more tough with a
couple of static moments but all in all it was another decent display from
what seemed a competent keeper.
But then we signed Belgian Goal Keeper Ruud Boffin and from 20th November
2010, Stech was not named in a squad again. This seems to be because if he
plays two more games we will owe his former club Sparta Prague 600k. What
this means to his future at West Ham I do not know but it does not look good
and I would be surprised if he was retained this summer simply due to that
payment we would have to make.
Apps: Cup 3
Verdict: Looked a decent enough keeper and is only 21 years of age but with
a 600k payment needed if he plays two more games I cannot see our owners
investing this in him.
Ruud Boffin
23 year old Belgian Boffin was brought in as cover for Robert Green. He
signed from Dutch side MVV Maastricht for an undisclosed fee on a two year
contract.
He made his debut away at Blackburn Rovers after Robert Green was out
through injury. It was a tough baptism of fire for the young keeper to be
thrown in at the deep end in an important league fixture.
He made a few good saves although looked very suspect at crosses (which many
young keepers are) and was very unlucky with the one goal he conceded after
he had made a superb stop to keep the initial shot out. Having not watched
any reserve games it is difficult for me to comment on his ability as we
just haven't seen enough of him. But if the new manager continues to rate
him we may see more of him next season.
Apps: League 1
Defenders
Lars Jacobsen
The Danish right back was signed on Transfer Deadline day from Blackburn
Rovers on a free transfer and a one year contract. To why Blackburn were
happy to let a player leave to go to another Premiership team for free did
strike me as odd initially but given that Jacobsen is not exactly anything
special makes it seem a little more understandable.
At the time of his signing we were desperate for a right back. Why we had
not been able to get one in earlier I do not know as it was Winston Reid who
had started the season away at Aston Villa in the right back slot an put in
a woeful performance. With only Julien Faubert in the squad who could play
in this position (I use the word 'play' lightly) Jacobsen and West Ham
seemed the perfect fit.
In his first few games he looked solid and dependable with a good ability in
the tackle despite having no pace. But as we saw as the months went on
Jacobsen was your quintessential footballer with nothing about him. On
uninteresting statistic is that Jacobsen did not receive one booking over
the course of the season. For a right back who would be used to challenging
wingers I found this surprising.
It is difficult to even remember a game where he had an impact although his
best games came in both the home and away matches against Tottenham
especially in the home game when the over hyped Gareth Bale could not find a
way past the no nonsense Dane and was totally snuffed out.
An inoffensive player and one who if he leaves will be forgotten quickly.
Apps: League 22 (1 sub) Cup 2
Verdict: A desperation signing at the time when we had failed to bring in a
full back of decent quality. Filled the gap well enough but in a season
where our defence was truly awful I wouldn't expect another deal for
Jacobsen.
Julien Faubert
Voted the WHO Hammer Of The Year runner up last season and with no right
back bought in during the summer it seemed as though Faubert was going to
see a lot more action in this position. Oddly he started the season as an
attacking right winger away at Aston Villa where he was dreadful. He
reverted back to the right back position for the following game bus as time
went on you could see how weak he was and how desprately we needed to
replace him. Jacobsen came in and Faubert hardly played again coming in and
out of the side depending on if Jacobsen was injured or cup tied.
The last game he took any part in is when he started away at Everton in the
2-2 draw. And then he was out of the team completely with even centre half
James Tomkins being preferred to him at right back.
Faubert's West Ham career has been pretty poor since he signed for big money
back in 2007. Injury hampered his first season and then we saw how bad he
was as an attacking right winger he simply reverted to right back because we
had no one else. I think he is a poor player and has a horrible attitude. I
cannot wait to see him leave the club but I do not see who would take him on
at this moment in time because he must be on an outrageous wage given the
money we were spending at the time of his signing.
He can't attack, he can't defend - what good is he to West Ham?
Apps: League 7 (2) Cup 7
Bookings: 2
Verdict: Lost his place to an average player which tells you everything you
need to know about the waste of time that is Julien Faubert.
Jordan Spence
Spence made his debut at the back end of last season coming on as a sub in
the final game. He played 12 times for the reserve team this season and was
sent out on loan to Championship side Bristol City in March 2011 where he
played 11 times.
With injuries mounting up in defence Avram Grant recalled him from his loan
spell and surprisingly thrust him into the team for the crucial away game at
Wigan. It was a strange decision for Grant to make (although he made many)
and Spence struggled to cope with the pace of the game with Wigan focussing
most of their attacks down his side.
He is a player who continues to develop and I don't think we have really
seen how good or bad he is at this point. With our relegation Spence looks
certain to feature in the next campaign as he aims to make the right back
slot his own.
Apps: League 2
Verdict: Has gained Championship experience with a couple of club over the
last few season and will look to cement his place in our team.
Tal Ben Haim
After much speculation Ben Haim finally signed for the club in August on
loan from recently relegated Portsmouth. The deal was a loan spell till
January with a view to make the move permanent. His first few games were
largely poor displays with him looking very erratic and uneasy when on the
ball
His performance up at Wolves saw him start at left back and look a liability
for most of the game. He was played at right back, centre half and left back
in his short time at the club. In fact he started just eight games.
Ben Haim put in his best performance in the cup demolition of Manchester
United when he played at left back and was superb. He was strong in the
tackle and bullied the Manchester United winger Bebe who looked as though he
was going to burst into tears when Ben Haim dumped him to the floor.
As the games went on I thought Ben Haim looked quite decent and although he
was in the defence who were crushed 5-0 at Newcastle I was thinking we would
keep him on when January came around but with the club wanting to bring in
two other domestic loan signings (Bridge and Keane) Ben Haim was the fall
guy and was returned to Portsmouth, missing out on the registration deadline
and not playing any club football again.
Ben Haim was obviously way past his best, but he did a decent job in the
time he was at the club and just as he was finding some decent form he was
sent packing.
Apps: League 8 Cup 4
Bookings: 4
Winston Reid
The Official site kept us guessing about the World Cup International star we
were about to sign and it was all a little anti climatic when it turned out
to be 22 year old New Zealand International Winston Reid. In fairness he did
play in the World Cup and he did score a goal for his country, but I don't
know about anyone else, but I knew f*ck all about who he was or what he was
like as a player.
We were told he was a centre half and that he as signed for an undisclosed
fee apparently in the region of £4m. It is now that you can't help but think
that figure must be way off and was simply some sort of Savio spin to make
out we are spending money.
Reid was picked to start in the opening fixture at Aston Villa but instead
of playing at centre half he was playing at right back and he had one of
those nightmare debuts. He hadn't played in any of our Pre Season fixtures
so to be chucked in (Grant would do this with Spence later in the season)
seemed an odd selection. Reid was subsequently taken apart by any player who
wanted to take him on and was promptly dropped from the starting line up for
the next game.
In fact Reid wouldn't take part in another game until 27th November when we
played Wigan at Upton Park and he came on as a 50th minute substitute for
the injured Lars Jacobsen.
He would have to wait until January to make another appearance as he was
brought on as a 90th minute sub when we were leading 2-1 at Goodison Park
and whilst it was not all his fault, his missed tackle did end up leading to
the equaliser.
All in all Reid had been struggling and has made no impact on the team
whatsoever. He looked far from gaining a first team place but with injuries
to Upson, Gabbidon and Tomkins he was called upon to play in his preferred
position of Centre Half.
He started two games in a row against Birmingham at Upton Park and away at
the Hawthorns in the 3-3 draw with West Brom. He was awful in both and
scored a terrible own goal in the game against West Brom.
Quite frankly Winston Reid has looked pretty damn awful since coming to the
club and despite scoring his first goal in the FA Cup Game against Burnley I
have not exactly been impressed with him.
I would suspect he will be here next season, but despite dropping down a
division he needs to make massive improvements.
Apps: 3 (4) Cup: 4 (1)
Goals: Cup: 1
Bookings: 1
Verdict: Hyped up by the club in the summer but has been poor in his few
displays.
James Tomkins
I like Tomkins and think he is an excellent defender who may be prone to the
odd mistake but has worked hard to cut these out of his game. He may not
look it but the boy can put in as tough a performance as you need your
centre half to display. He tackles hard and not afraid to battle with bigger
centre forwards who look to bully him out of the game.
He had a tough start to the season playing poorly against Aston Villa and
being dropped from first team action. Tomkins actually didn't start again
until the end of November against Wigan. He deserved his chance in the game
and didn't look back, starting many of the remaining games.
Tomkins put in a great display against Everton and I stated in my report:
"Another warrior like performance from Tomkins who really knows how to dig
in. He was tough and solid and threw himself at everything. Brilliant once
again."
Disappointingly he only managed to score one goal and that game in the 1-3
home defeat to Manchester City.
Tomkins was played at right back by Avram Grant in the FA Cup Quarter final
at Stoke and did have a poor game (although he should have been awarded a
penalty) and was unlucky to be dropped for the next few games in another
bizarre Avram Grant decision. He has expressed his desire to stay at the
club and I for one am very happy about this because James Tomkins gives
everything he has when he is wearing a West Ham shirt and I think he has a
lot of ability which I am sure we will be seeing next season.
Apps: League 18 (1) Cup: 9
Goals: League 1
Bookings: 3
Verdict: Tough season at times but he continues to develop into a good
player.
Danny Gabbidon
I was surprised he was here at the start of the season as I would have
thought moving on would have been best for both player and club. But he
stayed at the club and played a lot of game during the season. Gabbidon
started 24 league games which compared to his 8 from last season it was a
much better season in terms of overcoming his injury problems.
He had to fill in at left back with the lack of a replacement for Herita
Ilunga. Gabbidon has bags of experience but looked as shaky as a teenager in
certain games with his backtracking and poor anticipation.
It remains to be seen whether the Welsh International will be offered a new
deal as his contract is out this summer. I still find it hard to believe we
are talking about the same player who won Hammer Of The Year in 2005/06
season. He was so impressive during that campaign and if he does leave
during the summer w will have fond memories of one great season.
Criticism of his performances on Twitter saw a strong worded reply from
Gabbidon and a fine from the FA for his comments. Injuries have taken their
toll and although he seems to have overcome this Gabbidon is not a player
you feel comfortable having at the heart of your defence.
Apps: League 24 (2) Cup 1
Bookings: 4
Verdict: You should feel pleased having a player of his experience in the
side but he hasn't shown consistent good form during the season.
Manuel Da Costa
It seemed as though Da Costa had cemented his place at centre half when he
went on a six game in row starting place but off the field problems
involving an incident at a night club halted his progress and he could very
well serve a prison sentence later in the year. Da Costa is an excellent
defender in the air and he wins a large percentage of headers when up
against all types of defenders. When the opposition side would play the ball
long I thought Da Costa was generally dominant.
The thing with Da Costa is if you get a player up against him with any sort
of decent movement he struggles to anticipate their action and often looks
all over the place.
After losing to Arsenal on October 30th 2010, Da Costa would not start
another game for the club until 7th February 2011 away at West Brom in the
3-3 which he and Reid at the centre of the defence were quite terrible.
A few games later away at Tottenham he performed really well but in the
Manchester United home game we would see the best and worst of him as he
marked Rooney out of the game in the first period only to fall apart in the
second half and Rooney scored a hat trick. Despite his inconsistent displays
I believe Da Costa is a good centre half and capable of getting better. This
of course all depends on whether he gets sent down for another display of a
football being a complete idiot.
He would be an excellent player to have in the Championship.
Apps: League 14 (2) Cup 3
Goals: League 1 Cup 1
Bookings: 4
Verdict: Missing for a large period which was a shame as he was beginning to
show some good form. Would be great to keep him.
Matthew Upson
It is easy to point the finger at Matthew Upson for part in our downfall
given that he is the Captain and a highly paid one at that. Upson has taken
a lot of flak when maybe it was a little unfair at times but when you have a
player like Scott Parker in the team questions will be asked about the
passion shown from the player who has been designated as the one to lead the
side on the pitch.
For me Upson has had a poor season not because of his lack of desire but
because he is simply getting older and has past his best. I think we saw
some of his best during his first couple of seasons at the club but the
performances have been getting worse and he looks slow and mistake prone.
I can't help but think he had a bit of World Cup syndrome in that he reached
a height of his career by playing for his country in the World Cup (despite
how shit the display was) which is much what happened to Trevor Sinclair all
those years ago when it just seemed as though something had been lost when
he came back from World Cup duty and that little bit extra to give in games
was lost.
Maybe I am wrong when I say he lacked passion because there were games where
we needed him to drive the team on and pick them up when a goal had been
conceded but instead he seemed sedated and past caring.
It is hard to really know what has gone on behind the scenes and I can only
really comment on what I have seen on the pitch over the course of the
season but something with Matthew Upson wasn't right. When the club needed a
player to spout some pro club rubbish they would reel out Scott Parker or
maybe another player but never Upson.
Around February time Upson seemed to be picking up form like the rest of the
team but this all seemed to end away at Bolton where he put in a quite
shocking first half performance and in the subsequent game against Aston
Villa he was misjudging the flight of the ball and constantly messing up his
clearances. As I said, it might be too easy to dig out Upson just because he
isn't a shouter on the pitch and doesn't go diving into tackles, but I
cannot help but feel he could have done a lot more to get us through the
season, and just think he didn't do enough. His contract is out at the end
of the season and even if we had stayed up I do not think may supporters
would be eager to see him stay,
Apps: League 30 Cup 4
Bookings: 4
Verdict: The Club Captain struggled for a lot of the season and despite
still being a solid if unspectacular centre half his time at West Ham has
come to an end.
Herita Ilunga
The good people of WHO voted Ilunga their Player Of The Season in 2008/09
season. He then signed a permenant contract with the club, had a dire season
in 2009/10 and had another awful campaign this time around. In fact he has
been so out of form he didn't even make the 25 man squad in January and had
to sit out the rest of the season as he was not elgable to play. This says
it all about how bad he has become and surely his time at the club is over.
He started the season in the left back slot but had a nightmare against
Villa and in the next game at home to Bolton he wasn't much better.
Once the first four games were played he found himself out of the side but
came back for a run of four games between the end of October and into
November. With no other left back option (having got rid of the promising
Daprela in the summer) we were having to play centre halves Tal Ben Haim and
Danny Gabbidon at left back.
Rumours also began to circulate that Ilunga was not the 29 years of age that
he claimed to be and was in fact well into his thirties. This may also
explain him being dumped from the squad completely.
Whatever has happened it is just another in the long line of West Ham f*ck
ups and Ilunga is a player that regardless of our Premiership status needed
to be offloaded.
His last performance for the club came in the FA Cup game against Nottingham
Forest but with Wayne Bridge having just signed as few days later Ilunga
would find that he was not longer needed by the squad.
Apps: League: 10 (1) Cup 1
Bookings: 1
Verdict: Loss of form and the fact he is 46 years old all mean that Ilunga
had another awful season and the sooner we see the back of him the better.
Wayne Bridge
Signed on loan from Manchester City in the January Transfer window with the
club picking up his alleged 90k a week wage the signing of Bridge I thought
was something of a coup as there are not that many better left backs than
him in the Premiership. His debut against Arsenal reminded many of a certain
Scott Minto as he was at fault for all three goals and looked so bad it was
almost laughable.
But the following game at Everton he looked much better and the following
games at Blackpool and West Brom saw him play very well as he was almost
playing as an attacking left winger the amount he got forward. As the team
started to lose form Bridge found himself to eager to get forward and was
caught the wrong side of the attacking players too often and some of these
occasions led to goals.
Given that we were eventually relegated the signing of Bridge will probably
go down as a failure but I saw enough of him to know that he is a good
player who will get in to many Premiership sides starting elevens. I think
if we had have retained our Premiership status the owners would have made
every attempt to secure his services on a permanent basis. But as it is this
expensive gamble didn't work out and like Robbie Keane will not be missed by
the West Ham fans.
Apps: League 15 (1) Cup 3
Verdict: Looked good at times and seemed to have solved our left back
problem, but he was brought in to ensure we stayed up - and we didn't.
Part 2 will be up in a few days time.
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Now Villa have hots for Scott
Published: Today
The Sun
ASTON VILLA have joined the race to sign Scott Parker. The midfielder is
sure to leave relegated West Ham this summer with Tottenham and Liverpool
are leading the chase. But ambitious Villa are ready to fight for the
£10million-rated ace. Parker is 30 and the Midlands club have previously
targeted younger players with more of a sell-on value. But his performances
in a struggling side could persuade owner Randy Lerner to part with his
cash. Villa will raise money from the sale of winger Ashley Young should he
get the £15m move he wants to one of the Champions League-chasing clubs.
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Billy Davies in frame for West Ham job
Published 23:01 26/05/11 By John Cross - EXCLUSIVE
The Mirror
Billy Davies last night emerged as a shock contender for the West Ham job.
Nottingham Forest boss Davies has been left on the brink at the City Ground
after the club's defeat in the Championship play-offs. But West Ham are
believed to be keen on him, despite also lining up ex-Bolton, Blackburn and
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce for Upton Park. West Ham co-owner David
Sullivan even told a fans' group on Thursday night that a British manager
had been offered the job, but admitted there were factors blocking an
immediate appointment. Sullivan refused to name the candidate. Fiery Scot
Davies has had his problems and fall-outs at Forest but has a proven track
record of leading clubs into the play-offs and to promotion. Allardyce had
seemed to be red-hot favourite, but it is understood that he has made it
clear that he wanted complete control of transfers and permission to bring
in his own backroom staff. Davies however, may not be a popular appointment
with the fans as the club know that supporters have reservations about his
style of football.
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