Daily WHUFC News - 8th February 2013

Noble set for Twitter Q&A
WHUFC.com
West Ham United midfielder to answer your questions on Friday
06.02.2013

Got a question that you would love to ask West Ham United midfielder Mark
Noble? Your chance will come later this week, as the Hammers man will be
taking part in a live Q&A session on Twitter on Friday! We'll be sitting
down with the 25-year-old after training and he will be answering the best
of your questions live on the club's Official Twitter page. If you are not
already following us, then make sure you join the 139,000 who are, and keep
looking out for a confirmed time for Noble's Q&A on Friday - use the
#ASKNOBES hashtag to get those questions to us on the day.

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Joint-Chairman confident ahead of Villa
WHUFC.com
Joint-Chairman David Gold looks ahead to Sunday's Barclays Premier League
clash at Villa Park
07.02.2013

David Gold was thrilled to take his seat in the Directors Box for West Ham
United's Barclays Premier League win over Swansea City, having been laid low
with a bout of pneumonia. Thanks to a brief stay in hospital, the
Joint-Chairman is now fighting fit once more and relieved to be back in the
thick of things at such a crucial stage of the season. With a win under his
belt on his return to the Boleyn Ground, Mr Gold has high hopes for Sunday's
all-important clash against Aston Villa. Speaking exclusively to West Ham
TV, he said: "I'm feeling so much better. It was pneumonia, and luckily my
daughters got me into hospital and within a week or so I was beginning to
feel better. So here I am! "When you're poorly and the team's having a bad
run, you're anxious to get back and be amongst it and do whatever you can.
And because of the transfer window being open as well, it's frustrating,
you're lying there feeling ill, but at the same time desperate to get back."


Looking ahead to the weekend trip to Villa Park, the Joint-Chairman believes
West Ham's squad is stronger than ever, with astute January signings made
and key personnel back from injury. "I'd like to think it's going to go the
way we would like it, which is that we'd go there and win," he said.
"They're going through a terrible time, but you can't believe that's going
to last through the season, at some time they're going to recover. "But I
think we're strong, and we're getting stronger. The squad is not only
strengthened by the incoming players but also by a number of players
returning from injury, in particular, Jack Collison and Andy Carroll. These
are fantastic additions to the squad so we should be in as good a shape as
we have been, if not our best shape going into Aston Villa."
For exclusive access to the full-length interview, in which the
Joint-Chairman shares his views on a busy transfer window and West Ham's
away-day fortunes, login or subscribe to West Ham TV using the link below.

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Taylor expects big things from Carroll
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor lauds the return of Andy Carroll and expects him to play a big
part in the Hammers' run-in
07.02.2013

Matt Taylor is convinced that Andy Carroll's match-winning performance
against Swansea City is a sign of things to come, now that the England
striker is enjoying a clean bill of health. Carroll's imperious display at
the Boleyn Ground last Saturday will have convinced most that he is already
back to his best, but Taylor insists there is still plenty more to come from
the 6'3 forward. Though injuries have restricted 24-year-old Carroll to just
ten Barclays Premier League starts this season, Taylor is confident Carroll
will have a considerable say in West Ham United's fortunes between now and
the season's end. "I think what you probably saw against Swansea was the tip
of the iceberg," said Taylor. "Hopefully when Andy gets a good run of games
under his belt, he'll start scoring some more goals and prove to be another
vital member of the squad for us. "It's just nice to see him score and I'm
sure he'll be happy first and foremost to play 90 minutes but also to score
a goal and the winning goal, that's fantastic. "He gives us a different
dimension in terms of the way that we can play and utilise his strengths.
He's a very good player, but we need to make sure we keep him fit now.
That's imperative from now until the end of the season. "Injuries are part
and parcel of football. Andy's a very good player but also the other players
that we've got that have come in when Andy hasn't been playing have also
done very well and are also very good players. "It's just one of those
things in football, you get injuries and Andy has been unfortunate. He's
disappointed that he hasn't been fit for the majority of the season, but
hopefully he'll continue to stay fit now until the end of the season."

Meanwhile, Taylor was understandably glad to record another Barclays Premier
League win, though he saw no reason to be relieved after the final whistle
on Saturday. "I wouldn't say relieved, but it's just nice to win a game of
football," he added." I don't think there needs to be a relief, to be
honest, because it's not as if we're sitting at the bottom of the table and
hadn't won for goodness knows how long. "It was just nice to get three
points. But to be brutally honest, our home form has been pretty good, so we
weren't too worried going into the game. Obviously we knew it was going to
be a tough game, they had a lot of possession. I'm pleased for Andy getting
a goal as well. "Let's just continue to build on what's hopefully going to
be a good period from now until the end of the season."

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Driver banking on home comforts
WHUFC.com
Dev Squad skipper Callum Driver is relieved to be homeward bound after two
tough away days
07.02.2013

Callum Driver is setting his sights on Friday's return to 'fortress' Rush
Green, after the Development Squad suffered a first defeat in the Barclays
U21 Premier League Elite Group at Tottenham Hotspur. The Hammers won all but
one of their six contests at Rush Green in the competition's first group
phase and entertain West Bromwich Albion on Friday night. It will be a first
home fixture for the U21s since 30 November 2012, which the hosts lost 1-0
to Blackburn Rovers, having already been crowned Group 1 champions.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old skipper Driver, who spent two months last term on
loan at npower League Two side Burton Albion, is hopeful the modest
surroundings will play in to their hands. "We've had good results at Rush
Green, I think we've only lost there once all season," Driver told West Ham
TV. "It's not the greatest place to come to if you're an away team but we
enjoy playing there. I haven't been there [for some time], so I don't know
what the pitch is like, but it'll be good to get back to the fortress."

Driver, the only ever present in this season's Development Squad, revealed
that manager Nick Haycock had some stern words for the players at half-time
in Monday's 3-2 defeat . It had the desired effect, however, as West Ham
piled on the pressure after the break. "Nick was a little bit disappointed
with us," Driver added. "Obviously conceding the goals that we did, he gave
us a kick up the backside to get us going again, and I think it worked. It
showed in the second half which we dominated. "The second-half performance
was a lot better than the first. We started slowly, and then had a good
period in the first half, where our confidence grew and we started playing.
We were unlucky not to get the result. "Conceding just before half-time
didn't help. It's not the greatest time to concede. It's something that
we've tried to avoid in games before, but a lapse of concentration has not
helped us. "We had plenty of chances that on another day we'd probably have
taken and won by three or four. But we were unlucky not to get them, we've
hit the post, George Moncur has had one that's hit the keeper, so we're
unfortunate not to get the result."

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Matt Taylor pays tribute to Andy Carroll after striker scored against
Swansea
Last Updated: February 7, 2013 12:16pm
SSN

Matt Taylor has paid tribute to Andy Carroll after the striker scored the
winner against Swansea on Saturday. Carroll has been plagued by hamstring
and knee injuries since joining on loan from Liverpool last summer but has
recently rediscovered his form. And Taylor is confident the 24-year-old can
play a pivotal role in helping Sam Allardyce's men build on their
11th-placed spot. "I think what you probably saw against Swansea was the tip
of the iceberg" said Taylor. "Hopefully when Andy gets a good run of games
under his belt, he'll start scoring some more goals and prove to be another
vital member of the squad for us.
"It's just nice to see him score and I'm sure he'll be happy first and
foremost to play 90 minutes but also to score a goal and the winning goal,
that's fantastic.
"He gives us a different dimension in terms of the way that we can play and
utilise his strengths. "He's a very good player, but we need to make sure we
keep him fit now. That's imperative from now until the end of the season."

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Financial fair play draws closer as Premier League chairmen vote in favour
Last Updated: February 7, 2013 6:23pm
SSN

Premier League clubs have voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of introducing
financial restrictions, according to West Ham joint-chairman David Gold.
Representatives of the clubs initially met in December to discuss proposals
which would impose short-term limits on wage rises and force clubs to work
towards breaking even. The 20 members agreed to reconvene this week, when 14
votes were required to approve the proposals. Full details of the agreement
are expected to be disclosed later on Thursday, but Gold emerged from the
vote to tell Sky Sports News: "The clubs supported change. "We've all voted
and it was overwhelmingly supported. Some clubs are a little concerned, but
the vast majority voted in favour. "That will now go to the board for
putting into rules, and we'll vote on that in April. "It's not a salary cap,
it's a restraint on over-spending. If clubs increase their revenues then
they can increase their spending. We have got restraint, that's the
important thing." The possibility of regulation has arisen against the
backdrop of UEFA's Financial Fair Play initiative. Under UEFA's new rules
clubs are being forced to minimise losses or risk the possibility of
exclusion from European competition from 2014/15.

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Premier League clubs facing points deduction if they breach new spending
controls
Last Updated: February 7, 2013 7:35pm
SSN

Premier League clubs will face a points deduction if they breach new
spending controls, chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed. The 20
club chairmen agreed to two significant controls on Thursday - to limit
players' wage bills from next season and to longer-term measures that will
restrict the amount of losses clubs can make to £105million over three
years. Clubs whose total wage bill is more than £52m will only be allowed to
increase their wages by £4m per season for the next three years, but the cap
does not cover extra money coming in from increases in commercial or
matchday income. Scudamore said: "As all things in our rulebook you will
subject to a disciplinary commission. "The clubs understand that if people
break the £105m we will look for the top-end ultimate sanction range - a
points deduction. "Normally we stay silent on sanctions as the commission
has a free range but clearly if there is a material breach of that rule we
will be asking the commission to consider top-end sanctions."

The vote for financial regulations could hardly have been closer, with only
13 of the 20 clubs voting in favour, with six against and Reading
abstaining. It meant that the 'yes' vote only narrowly achieved the
necessary two-thirds majority of the 19 votes cast. Clubs sources say
Fulham, West Brom, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Swansea and Southampton all
voted against. Scudamore said there would be an "absolute prohibition" on
clubs reporting losses of more than £105m over the next three years with the
first sanctions possible in 2016. Of the 20 clubs in the top flight, only
Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have reported losses of more than
£105m over the last three years, according to the most up-to-date published
accounts. The regulations have come about against the backdrop of UEFA's
Financial Fair Play (FFP) initiative.

Under UEFA's new rules clubs are being forced to minimise losses or risk the
possibility of exclusion from European competition from 2014/15. Scudamore
admitted that their own FFP measures would mean it will take longer for
benefactor owners to achieve success, but that it would still be possible.
He said: "The balance we have tried to strike is that a new owner can still
invest a decent amount of money to improve their club but they are not going
to be throwing hundreds and hundreds of millions in a very short period of
time. "While it has worked for a couple of clubs in the last 10 years, and I
am not critical of that, if that's going to be done in the future it's going
to have to be over a slightly longer term without the huge losses being
made. "I think at £105m you can still build a very decent club with
substantial owner funding but you have to do it over time, you can't do it
in a season."

Chelsea won the Premier League two years after Roman Abramovich's takeover,
and Manchester City's title success came three years after Sheikh Mansour's
takeover. Any club making any loss of over £5m a year will have guarantee
those losses against the owner's assets. "In some ways that's the most
significant part; this is a three-year rolling system of secure funding -
it's one year at the moment," added Scudamore. The ceiling when the wage
increase restrictions kick in will be £52m next season, £56m the following
year and £60m in 2015-16. Only seven of the current top-flight clubs would
be under that ceiling at the moment.

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