Ham's move to Olympic Stadium (Daily Telegraph)
West Ham United's proposed tenancy of the Olympic Stadium faces a
barrage of legal challenges after Leyton Orient joined Tottenham in
arguing that the financial basis of their bid is illegal, and challenged
the Premier League to withdraw its approval for the move from Upton Park.
West Ham are relying on a £40 million loan from Newham Council to
convert the Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Games, but Orient and
Tottenham, whose bid for the stadium was rejected in February, argue
that the loan breaches British and EU law preventing state aid for
private companies.
Tottenham and Orient are seeking a judicial review of the council's
decision to agree the loan to West Ham. Orient chairman Barry Hearn
revealed his intentions yesterday, 24 hours after Tottenham informed
Newham they were bringing legal action.
Spurs are seeking to overturn the Olympic Park Legacy Company's decision
to recommend West Ham for the stadium, or failing that, pressure London
mayor Boris Johnson and the Government into providing them with more
support for an alternative ground development in Haringey.
Hearn, who is funding the legal challenge with the £1 million proceeds
of Orient's FA Cup fifth-round replay at Arsenal, is acting because he
believes West Ham's move, and their promise to give away free or heavily
discounted tickets to fill the stadium, will put Orient out of business.
"This is about one thing only, stopping West Ham getting occupancy of
the Olympic Stadium," he said yesterday. "It's not about compensation,
alternative stadiums, it's about stopping them getting in there because
it will put us out of business."
Hearne is also challenging the Premier League's decision to approve West
Ham's move from Upton Park, an issue that will be heard by an
arbitration panel under FA rules in the next two weeks.
League rules state that the impact on other clubs has to be considered
when a club propose to move ground, and Hearn believes Orient's
circumstances have not been given proper weight.
Newham Council agreed to borrow the money over 25 years at preferential
rates available to local government and forward it to West Ham, who will
make repayments from ticket receipts. Newham taxpayers will be liable
for the debt in the event of default, but their mayor, Sir Robin Wales,
has argued that the borough is gaining a community asset.
Telegraph Sport understands that both clubs will argue that the loan
breaches state aid law because public money is being used to give West
Ham, a private company, advantage over its rivals.
Tottenham argue that Newham did not act equitably because the loan
constitutes state resources that were offered only to West Ham,
conferring on them an advantage over their rivals. They and Orient argue
that the loan was secured at a far better rate than West Ham could have
achieved privately, and that without the loan the club could not have
made the bid that they did.
Spurs and Orient also argue that Newham's support for West Ham, already
based in the borough, was irrational because were Tottenham to move to
the Olympic Stadium, it would double the benefits to the council and the
community. They also claim that the council had acted beyond its powers
— ultra vires – by using public funds to assist a commercial entity. At
the very least the challenges will further delay the agreement of a
lease between West Ham and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which was
scheduled for completion by March 31.
If Tottenham or Orient are successful in arguing that Newham's funding
is illegal, or in any of a series of other challenges being considered,
the OPLC could be forced to withdraw its support for West Ham and
restart the bidding process.
The applications for judicial review against Newham are part of a slew
of legal challenges against the Olympic Stadium decision.
Hearn is also seeking judicial review of the Government and Johnson's
decision to approve West Ham as preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are considering seeking judicial review of the
Government and mayor's decision, as well as the process by which the
OPLC came to recommend West Ham.
Among possible grounds of complaint is how the OPLC applied five
criteria on which the decision was based. Originally these were weighted
in favour of financial criteria only for the rules to be changed for the
latter stages of the bid.
Newham Borough Council, the OPLC and West Ham* all declined to comment.
(* Well that's a first!)
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Who framed Carlton?
The FA have refused to reveal exactly who was behind the decision to
charge Carlton Cole with 'improper conduct'.
England and West Ham striker Cole was charged with the offence after
comments he posted on Twitter regarding Ghanaian fans were picked up by
the FA. The 27-year-old has since accepted the charge and will face a
disciplinary panel later this week - and as a result, could be fined,
banned or both.
However when KUMB.com attempted to discover who exactly was behind the
decision to charge Cole, the FA refused to to reveal the identity of
those responsible.
John Manley, a member of the FA's Customer Relations team told us that
the decision-making panel consisted of 'ex-players, ex-managers and
fans' - although refused to reveal the identity or race of any of its
members, claiming that to do so would 'damage the panel's integrity'.
The panel, which consists of 'less than' a dozen individuals is randomly
selected from a larger pool of 'football people'. They may only act when
an alleged offence is reported - although Mr Manley conceded that the
story being brought to the FA's attention via the media would also count
as a reported incident.
Mr Manley also dismissed KUMB's concerns regarding a potential conflict
of interest, should the adjudicating panel contain representatives or
supporters of other teams fighting relegation along with West Ham United.
When asked why Cole was being charged for an off-the-cuff comment yet FA
darling Wayne Rooney was recently allowed to escape scot-free despite
elbowing an opponent - an incident that made a mockery of the FA's
'Respect' campaign - we were told that although most of the FA agreed
with the decision to censure Rooney, they were prevented from doing so
by FIFA rules.
* David Gill, Manchester United's 53-year-old chief executive is
currently a member of the FA board.
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Benni McCarthy reveals relationship breakdown with Avram Grant (The
Independent)
Benni McCarthy has revealed he cannot remember when he last spoke to
West Ham manager Avram Grant.
The 33-year-old left the Hammers after having his contract terminated by
mutual consent - he was left out of the Hammers' 25-man Barclays Premier
League squad for the second half of this season following the
transfer-window signings of Robbie Keane and Demba Ba..
The Hammers are currently in the Premier League's bottom three and
McCarthy admitted: "I don't really know when I last spoke to him - but
he's got a lot on his plate at the moment.
"I'm sure he could help his position if he'd maybe take a little bit
more time to speak to players more. That's what you do if you are a
manager and you have a good relationship with players, you get results.
"But I'm not the type of person to go to a manager and give them
ultimatums - they make decisions on what they see in training."
However, the South Africa international striker, who failed to score in
his 14 appearances after joining from Blackburn at the end of last
winter's transfer window. admitted he let himself down as his weight
increased.
He continued on Sky Sports News: "I let myself down. I just went hiding
under a rock because I couldn't deal with the fact I was injured.
"I never trained how I could train because obviously I was out for two
months (with a calf injury) so I wasn't allowed to train or anything -
it was just treatment, treatment, treatment."
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Tonks targets Villa victory (WHUFC OS)
Versatile defender James Tomkins said the squad were ready for the big
Boleyn battle with Aston Villa
James Tomkins is determined to help West Ham United avenge their
opening-day defeat when Aston Villa arrive at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday.
The England Under-2 1 defender was part of the Hammers team that lost
3-0 at Villa Park back in August, a loss that set the tone for a
disappointing first half of the season. Since then, the squad have
improved, even accounting for defeats in the last two matches at home to
Manchester United and away to Bolton Wanderers.
With six matches to go and the Hammers sitting one point and place
behind safety, this weekend's fixture will be a tense affair. "Villa is
a huge game," Tomkins told West Ham TV. "It is a six-pointer. Hopefully
we can make up for the first game this season. They are a good team but
we have to remember we are a good team as well. "
On the issue of survival, Tomkins said that the Hammers would need to
focus on the task in hand and not think too far ahead. He also believed
last year's experience at the wrong end of the table would prove
invaluable in keeping on top of the pressure.
"We have got a lot of experience from last year and it is pretty
similar. We have got to pick up the three points and that is the most
important thing. We need to get over 40 points to stay in the league.
"That is the way it is going. We need to take it one game at a time and
concentrate on Villa. We are still upbeat, we have had good results and
have shown we can beat anyone on their day."
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Big day for Bobby Moore Fund
Everyone at West Ham United will once again celebrate the life of the
club's most famous son
Saturday afternoon against Aston Villa will be a celebration of the Best
of British and Bobby Moore will rightly take centre-stage.
The charity named in his honour - the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer
Research UK - is being honoured with its annual Barclays Premier League
awareness match at the Boleyn Ground.
The Fund was set up by Stephanie Moore MBE following the death of her
husband Bobby Moore from bowel cancer in February 1993, aged just 51. He
would have been 70 last Tuesday and Stephanie has worked tirelessly to
make sure his legacy lives on in the most positive way.
She said: "April is bowel cancer awareness month so being able to use
the West Ham United match against Aston Villa to educate the fans about
the disease is a really valuable opportunity. Bobby was only 51 when he
died of bowel cancer.
"I want to make sure that all football fans know what the symptoms of
bowel cancer are because if it is detected at the earliest stage, more
than nine out of ten bowel cancer patients can be treated successfully.
"To be able to reach over 35,000 people with this life-saving
information is hugely important and really could save lives."
The club's principal partners SBOBET are once again showing their strong
support for the Fund. SBOBET are superb supporters of the charity, and
will yet again make a donation to the charity, as well as supplying
30,000 Fund flags that will be distributed among the crowd.
SBOBET Executive Director Bill Mummery said: "We are delighted to
continue our strong relationship with, and support for, the Bobby Moore
Cancer Fund. We began our relationship in 2008 and truly value the
outstanding work the charity does, including in research and development.
"It is an honour to provide funding towards their work and we look
forward to being part of their efforts in the coming years."
Bobby Moore Fund
Hammers captain Matthew Upson - who was the last player to wear the
club's No6 shirt before it was retired in Bobby's honour back in 2008 -
summed up the squad's determination to play their part. The players took
part in special awareness events this week and even trained in Bobby
Moore Fund T-shirts to show their support.
Upson said: "Everyone connected with West Ham is proud of our
relationship with the Bobby Moore Fund. The work they do is tremendous
for such an important cause and, on behalf of the players, I would like
to thank all our fans for the support they give.
"It is important that people make themselves aware of the key
information around bowel cancer. As players we promote healthy living
and there is no doubt that the vital work the Fund does helps to save
lives every single year."
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