Daily WHUFC News - 10th September 2013

Andy Carroll update
WHUFC.com
West Ham United can confirm that Andy Carroll picked up a new injury in
training today
09.09.2013

West Ham United can confirm Andy Carroll suffered an injury to his right
foot during his return to full training today. Although it is in the same
part of his foot as his previous injury, it is a new injury and therefore
there will be no prognosis until he has seen a specialist. whufc.com will
provide a further update when the relevant information is available.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce is sure the Hammers' trip to Spain last week will set them up
well for Southampton
09.09.2013

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes last week's international
break game against RCD Espanyol has set them up perfectly for their return
to Barclays Premier League action against Southampton on Sunday. Mark
Noble's penalty handed the Hammers a 1-0 win over their Spanish opposition,
and Allardyce was delighted to see his players put right the wrongs from the
defeat to Stoke City ahead of their next competitive match. The game also
gave valuable pitch time to several mambers of Big Sam's squad, and he
hailed the trip as a great success as West Ham now focus on their game at St
Mary's.
He said: "James Tomkins, Adrian in goal, Matt Taylor, Ravel Morrison - the
match practice side was very important for them on Thursday. "From the
aspect of tactical, technical and fitness, it was a very good workout. We
came through with no injuries and with a victory so it was a worthwhile
exercise in the international break. "For those that played against Stoke,
it was good to get that result out of their systems too. To get on the pitch
and play a competitive game of football, puts it a little more in the
distance, but they do have to remember that they didn't do as well as they
should have done against Stoke, and make sure they don't get that low in
terms of their performance again. "Not only was it a good game on Thursday,
but there were about 150 West Ham fans inthe corner singing away again, and
they turn up wherever we go."

Big Sam is convinced the Hammers can return to action with a bang against
Southampton, as long as they take the chances which come their way. He
added: "I'm looking for us to give the kind of performance we gave at
Newcastle and this time be more clinical. We've gone two games without
scoring a goal now, which is something I don't like, even though we've been
very good defensively. "We need to be putting the ball in the back of the
net more, so when a chance comes along at Southampton we must take it. "We
must perform to the level we did at Newcastle and take our chances, because
if we don't it will be a very tough game, because we've seen the improvement
they've made."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Honours even for Ladies
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Ladies came from behind to draw 1-1 with Lewes on Sunday
09.09.2013

West Ham United Ladies and Lewes were forced to share the spoils after a
hard-fought 1-1 draw at Ship Lane on Sunday. Lewes recorded a 3-0 win in
this fixture last season and the Hammers seemed keen to avenge that defeat,
coming close in the tenth minute after a thunderous Cherelle Albert effort
bounced off the crossbar and out for a corner. Albert continued to lead the
line well for the Hammers and acted as a focal point for the attack. She
showed considerable skill when she skipped past two challenges to put in a
dangerous cross after 21 minutes, but nobody was able to connect and it
drifted out for a goal kick.
The Hammers started playing further up the pitch as the Lewes team began to
frustrate their opponents, with another great cross by Kelly Blanchflower
failing to find a target. The Rookettes were still dangerous on the counter
and could have stolen the lead just before the break, but Naomi Cole skied
her shot over after good work from Kirsty Spice to get the cross away. The
second half kicked-off and almost immediately, Lewes were ahead. A corner
was drifted in perfectly for Cole to head home unmarked, with 51 minutes of
the game played. After the goal, the game became increasingly scrappy and
devoid of chances, as the Hammers laboured to create opportunities that were
few and far between, despite keen running from Blanchflower and Albert in
particular. As the last ten minutes beckoned, West Ham edged ever closer to
making a breakthrough with three close offside decisions going Lewes way.
They finally managed to breach the Rookettes backline after a clever run by
Albert, who managed to dribble to the byline and cut inside, releasing
Blanchflower. The cross was perfectly weighted and although the keeper
managed to get a hand to the shot, she could only watch as it trickled
lazily into the net. With the game all square, the last ten minutes were
back and forth as both teams refused to play for the draw. Lewes came
closest to breaking the deadlock at the death, after a slip by Lily Mellors
at the back let Kirsty Spice in to run at goal, but her drilled effort came
back off the post and away from danger.

West Ham United Ladies: Wayne, Houlihan, Sorenson (Skeillen 66), Reed,
Masters, Little, Crinean (Mellors 59), Bowers, Albert, Merritt, Blanchflower

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carroll crocked: confirmed
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 9th September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Andy Carroll is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after it was
confirmed that he has suffered a setback in his recovery from a heel injury.
Carroll, who cost the Club a cool £15million in the summer has not played a
game for West Ham since the end of last season. Earlier today, unconfirmed
reports appeared on the KUMB forum suggesting that the 24-year-old was set
for another lengthy spell of absence after suffering a re-occurrence of the
heel injury that has kept him out of West Ham's three opening Premier League
fixtures. And it has also suggested that the injury could keep Carroll out
for around three months - meaning that West Ham fans are unlikely to see
much of their new signing before Christmas. West Ham are yet to comment on
the news although the Club's unofficial spokesman, Jack Sullivan revealed
this evening [Monday] that Carroll had indeed suffered a new injury.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
PLEASE LET THIS NOT BE TRUE...
By Iain Dale 9 Sep 2013 at 18:35
West Ham Till I Die

Several people have been saying that Andy Carroll was injured in training
today, some even alleging that he left the training ground on crutches. I
think we can all agree that this is one time we would all be very happy for
an internet rumour not to be true.

UPDATE: More rumours. Hugh Southon at Claret & Hugh (a normally very
reliable source) is speculating on an operation and Andy being out for four
months. Bloody hell.

UPDATE 2: Latest from Claret & Hugh

Latest on Claret and Hugh:

CARROLL 'INJURY' UPDATE

Stories that Andy Carroll was seeen leaving the training ground on crutches
were tonight described as "impossible" by West Ham club sources. Major
rumours have emerged over the last few minutes that the big Geordie broke
down and limped away from the club on crutches. But a source at Upton Park
said: "If he did break down in such a way he wouldn't have been seen by any
members of the public. "He would have been taken inside the training
headquarters and away for an X-ray by car – that story doesn't add up." He
added that he hadn't heard anything regarding an injury but is currently
making inquiries and said: "It's not impossible that I would have heard but
I'd consider it unlikely."

UPDATE 3: It does seem to be true. Jack Sullivan has tweeted…

AC is injured but we don't know how badly. I will give you an update on him
as soon as we know.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHO OWNS WEST HAM?
By Sean Whetstone 9 Sep 2013 at 16:46
West Ham Till I Die

In January 2010 David Sullivan purchased a 50% controlling share in West ham
United for £52.5 million with CB Holdings representing the Icelandic banks
including Straumur retaining the remaining 50%. David Sullivan later split
his share holding on a 50/50 with his long term business partner David Gold.

In May 2010 the two Davids increased their share holding to 60% investing an
addition £8 million. £4 million of that investment is said to have gone
straight to CB Holdings with the remaining £4 million being fed back into
the club.

In August 2010 WHUFC.com released a statement saying they had found new
investors in the shape of John Harris CBE and Daniel Harris founders of Alba
group who are lifelong West Ham fans. Also included in this group is the
infamous Terence Brown, former Chairman of the club. Daniel Harris joined
the West Ham board as a non executive director to represent these new
investors and Terence Brown was made Honorary Life President of the club
following his investment.

Their investment of £4 million was believed to be in return for 3.8% of the
shares owned by CB Holdings. At the same time the two Davids increased their
share holding to 30.6% each (an increase of 1.2% of the shares between
them).

It is known that Terry Brown made £33.4 million from his original sale of
West Ham shares to the Icelandic's and received over a £1 million salary in
his final year as West Ham chairman. His original investment into West Ham
in the nineties is thought to have been in the region of just £2 million
when he took over from the Cearns family. As a twist of fate the two Davids
also originally owned 27% of West Ham which they purchased from Jack Petchey
in the late eighties. The two Davids later sold their shares to Terry Brown
but David Sullivan retained 4% right up to their compulsory sale when the
Icelandic's took over in 2006.

The Harris family owned the Alba group, a consumer electronics company with
well known brand names including Alba, Bush, Grundig & Goodmans. Their net
worth today is said to be over £150 million.

Bringing the story up to date, David Sullivan recently acquired a further
25% of shares in West Ham this July as part of a £25.5m restructuring of the
club's debt. The deal is thought to involve a swap of debt for equity after
David Sullivan & David Gold lent West Ham £35 million in the form of
personal loans with £1 million per annum of roll over interest as disclosed
in the 2012 financial accounts.

The share holdings now stand at:

1. David Sullivan: 55.6%
2. David Gold: 30.6%
3. CB Holdings representing Straumur & other Icelandic banks 10%
4. John Harris, Daniel Harris and Terence Brown: 3.8%

Karen Brady claimed in an interview with the Times in 2012 she also has a
'small shareholding' in West ham but it is not clear whether that is
included within the two Davids combined 86.2% share or as part of the 3.8%
owned by the other investors.

During the recent purchase of extra shares non executive director Bob Ellis
resigned from the board. Bob is a management consultant who describes
himself as a restructuring specialist on his Linkedin profile. It was likely
he represented the interests of CB Holdings until recently.

A new non Executive director was appointed to the West Ham board in July. He
is the former Non Executive West Ham chairman Andrew Bernhardt who now
represents CB Holding remaining 10% share holding in the club.

Some have questioned the timing of the recent purchase of extra shares. In a
recent interview with KUMB David Sullivan explained there was a deadline to
purchase a further 25% of shares but after speaking with Financial Fair Play
expert Ed Thompson of www.financialfairplay.co.uk I believe the actions
could also be related with a desire to comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play
rules which if nothing else shows ambition that the board believe we could
qualify for Europe via one route or another this season.

UEFA's rules require our losses to be below 45 million Euros over the
2011/12 and 2012/13 season combined. Any loss above 5 million Euros for the
two seasons combined has to be covered by an injection of equity.

Before the latest injection of equity by David Sullivan it is likely West
ham did not comply with UEFA FFP rules.

David Gold Karren Brady David Sullivan
If West Ham did not comply with these rules then we would be not be eligible
to play in UEFA competitions next season. We have to apply to UEFA in
advance. If you wait until you qualify it would be too late.

So maybe a top five or six position is a bit too ambitious this season but a
good cup to be crowned as League cup winners or even FA Cup winners or
runners up might be more within our grasp for an unlikely UEFA place next
season!

Further information on UEFA Financial Fair Play can be found at
www.financialfairplay.co.uk

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ARE WE REALLY COMPETING WITH ARSENAL TO SIGN CIPRIAN MARICA?
By S J Chandos 9 Sep 2013 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die

The number of reports linking West Ham with the Romanian striker, Ciprian
Marica, have increased markedly in the last couple of days. However, the
latest such story, in yesterday's Sunday Express, suggested that we are in
direct competition with Arsenal to sign the free agent and will probably
lose out to the north-London club. Yet, these 'Marica to Arsenal' rumours
have been circulating since June and have so far come to nothing. We know
that injuries to Podolski, amongst others, have left Arsenal short of
strikers and that a free agent could be an interim option. However, is
Marica a player that Arsene Wenger would be inclined to target? Does he fit
Wenger's model of the technical attributes that he looks for in a player?
Moreover, is the Romanian's goal scoring record good enough to even warrant
Wenger's interest?

Well, Marica's agent is certainly doing a good job talking up his client and
the prospects of a move to Arsenal. The agent, loan Becali, has declared
that Marica as a 'really great striker, who has already got experience in
western European football and so it's natural that big clubs are eyeing his
career. He's close to joining Arsenal, but we have to wait for the next
week.' Yet, does this description of Marica as a 'really great striker' hold
water, certainly based on his league and cup scoring record in Romanian and
Germany? Basically, he has approximately a 1 in 5 domestic goal scoring
ratio, although his international record is better with 22 goals in 63
matches (a 1 in 3 ratio).

It is, however, interesting that not only does Marica start more
consistently for his country, but they play him as a centre forward. Both of
these factors could explain his better record as an international striker. I
may very well be wrong about this, but Marica does not instantly strike me
as a typical Wenger signing. As we currently know to our cost, the failure
to adequately reinforce during the transfer window means that the player
selection criteria might alter slightly once it slams shut. In terms of his
preferences for a move, Marica might also prefer moving to a club with
involvement in European football. Such a preference would obviously militate
against West Ham. Also, much will depend on the terms that Marica is seeking
to sign on a Bosman deal. Those terms could possibly prove 'too rich for
West Ham's blood.'

Time will tell, but even if Wenger is not interested in the player, it has
been suggested that there might be competition for his signature, from other
sources, in the form of Lazio, Inter-Milan and Shaktar Donetsk. And, who
knows, perhaps the reality is that West Ham are targeting some other free
agent.

So apparently, the absence of business on deadline day was a case of some
you win, some you lose! And we allegedly lost out on three striker targets
on the final day, in the form of Romelu Lukaka, Demba Ba and Nicholas
Bendtner! That surprises me, because I thought that both Lukaku and Ba were
non-starters because the players did not want to move to West Ham; while it
was Crystal Palace who were on the verge of signing Bendtner, before Arsenal
pulled the plug on the deal with the failure of their bid to land Ba. So,
did we really have any realistic chance of signing any of the three?
Probably not. Never mind, we can still comfort ourselves with the club's
mantra that we signed some excellent players and completed our business
early.

Or perhaps not, because the very fact that the club are casting around for
free agent strikers is a clear admission that one bit of key business was
not completed early, in fact it was not completed at all! So, why not just
be up front and admit it. Say, the club are very pleased with the signings
that they did make (which is arguably justified), but unfortunately fell
short in its declared objective of signing a 2nd striker.Then explain that
while acknowledging this failure, the club are doing everything possible to
augment our strike force with a free agent signing, to ensure that results
do not suffer in the run up to the next transfer window.

I truly hope that the concerns regarding the current in-depth strength of
our strike force prove baseless. And we can, in the period leading up to
January, successfully position ourselves to enable us to improve upon last
season's 10th place finish. However, if a lack of fire power does conspire
to adversely impacts upon results, and our final league position, then spin
will be of little use in pacifying the justified discontent of Hammers
supporters.

SJ. Chandos.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Look To Hijack Arsenal's Move For Unattached Striker
by Steven Green September 9th, 2013
CaughtOffside.com

Hammers want to sign Romanian international. West Ham United are hoping to
steal a deal for Arsenal target Ciprian Marica on a free transfer before the
Gunners have time to do anything about it, according to the Daily Star.
Manager Sam Allardyce is desperate to add another striker to his ranks after
missing out on securing loan deals for the likes of Demba Ba, Romelu Lukaku
and Nicklas Bendtner as well as failing to offer former striker Carlton Cole
a deal after he failed to prove his fitness after being released at the end
of last season. Marica's agent, Ioan Becali, has said that the player is
likely to end up in England sooner rather than later after being released by
Bundesliga giants Schalke. "Marica is a really great striker who has already
got experience in western European football and so it's natural that big
clubs are eyeing his career," Becali told Prosport.ro. However, there are
reportedly a number of clubs looking into the possibility of taking him on
board and the fact that he only found the net six times last season doesn't
seem to have put anybody off. Shakhtar Donetsk and Italian duo Lazio and
Inter Milan have been credited with an interest, though it is Arsenal who
remain favourites to snap the 27-year-old up. Becali added: "He's close to
joining Arsenal, but we have to wait for the next week."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll suffers fresh foot injury in West Ham training
BBC.co.uk

West Ham striker Andy Carroll has suffered a fresh foot injury on his return
to training. The 24-year-old, a club-record £15m signing from Liverpool this
summer, has not played since picking up a heel injury in the final game of
last season. And the England man has now sustained a separate injury in
training on Monday. The club said: "Although it is in the same part of his
foot as his previous injury, it is a new injury." A West Ham statement
added: "West Ham United can confirm Andy Carroll suffered an injury to his
right foot during his return to full training. "There will be no prognosis
until he has seen a specialist." Carroll started 22 Premier League games for
the Hammers last season while on loan from Liverpool, scoring seven times.
He cost Liverpool £35m when he moved from Newcastle in January 2011, but
scored just six league goals for the club.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham closing in on free agent Mladen Petric
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th September 2013
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are close to landing Croatian international striker Mladen Petric
on a free transfer. The 32-year-old has been out of contract since being
released by Fulham at the end of last season and is understood to be close
to sealing a short-term move to the Boleyn Ground. Petric confirmed via his
Facebook page on Monday evening that he had undergone a medical with an
unnamed club and that he was close to signing a deal. Posting from a hotel
room, he said: "I passed the fitness test this morning and a medical this
afternoon. Now I'm looking forward to Nadal against Djokovic!"

Capped 45 times for his country, Petric spent his entire career in
Switzerland and Germany prior to joining Fulham in 2012. He marked his debut
for the Cottagers with a brace against Norwich but scored only three more
goals - all before Christmas - during his season-long stay in west London.
West Ham's need for an additional striker became even more pressing today
following the disappointing news that Andy Carroll has sustained yet another
ankle injury. This was confirmed by the Club in a brief statement on Monday
night. "West Ham United can confirm Andy Carroll suffered an injury to his
right foot during his return to full training today," it read. "Although it
is in the same part of his foot as his previous injury, it is a new injury
and therefore there will be no prognosis until he has seen a specialist."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has suffered a new foot injury
Last Updated: September 9, 2013 10:55pm
SSN

West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has suffered a new foot injury and is
waiting to see a specialist to learn the extent of the damage. Carroll has
yet to play for West Ham since completing a club record £15million permanent
move to Upton Park from Liverpool over the summer. The England international
scored seven goals in 24 Premier League appearances on loan at West Ham last
season, but had been hampered by a heel injury. That injury had prevented
Carroll from featuring in pre-season and manager Sam Allardyce had
previously been hoping the 24-year-old would be fit to return before
September. However, Carroll only started full training again on Monday and
he was immediately struck down by a fresh injury problem. The club confirmed
the setback in a statement and are now waiting for the former Newcastle
forward to visit a specialist for a more detailed diagnosis . "West Ham
United can confirm that Andy Carroll suffered an injury to his right foot
during his return to full training today," read a statement on West Ham's
official website. "Although it is in the same part of his foot as his
previous injury, it is a new injury and therefore there will be no prognosis
until he has seen a specialist. "whufc.com will provide a further update
when the relevant information is available."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WE NEED TO PLAY VAZ TE UP FRONT IN A 4-4-2
By Iain Dale 9 Sep 2013 at 22:22
West Ham Till I Die

OK, time to buckle down and avoid the temptation to panic. We're all gutted
that Andy Carroll is going to be out for a considerable period of time, but
there's no alternative but to think how we can get over this. Bear in mind
too that Joe Cole and Stewart Downing are out for between three and six
weeks. There's no question we need to add at least one striker to our squad
– now probably two. Carlton Cole needs to get himself fit as soon as he
possibly can and we need to move heaven and earth to persuade Ciprian Marica
to sign as soon as possible. Lee Clayton reports that Mladen Petric, who
scored 5 in 23 for Fulham last season is also on our radar.


It seems to me that when the circumstances change, a manager has to adapt to
them. I don't know how we can continue to play Allardyce's preferred
formation. Surely now is the time to revert to 4-4-2. We don't have the
players now to play 4-3-3 or 4-5-1, but if he does stick to this formation
he must surely drop Maiga in favour of Ricardo Vaz Te. Vaz Te has played as
a centre forward for much of his career. The fact that Allardyce hasn't
played him there for the last season and a bit was ostensibly the reason for
his untimely transfer request. That saga needs to be put behind them and
Allardyce needs to put his arm around Vax Te's neck and administer some
inspirational TLC. And then he needs to play Elliot Lee alongside him. That
would then mean a midfield four of Noble, Diame, Nolan and Morrison. We
don't need wingers for this formation. Alternatively Jarvis could play
alongside Vaz Te as a second striker.

It's a depressing evening, but let's not all head to Beachy Head. We've been
in worse scrapes than this.

UPDATE 22.39: The club website has just posted this statement…

West Ham United can confirm Andy Carroll suffered an injury to his right
foot during his return to full training today. Although it is in the same
part of his foot as his previous injury, it is a new injury and therefore
there will be no prognosis until he has seen a specialist. whufc.com will
provide a further update when the relevant information is available.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://vyperz.blogspot.com