Daily WHUFC News - 4th October 2013

Hi Guys & Gals - I'm away for a week from Saturday so if anyone fancies
doing this for a week , let me know by close of play today. Thanks Peter

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Rav earns England U21 call-up
WHUFC.com
West Ham United midfielder Ravel Morrison has been included in the England
U21 squad for the first time
03.10.2013

West Ham United midfielder Ravel Morrison has been rewarded for his fine
start to the 2013/14 season by earning his maiden England U21 call-up. The
20-year-old, who has scored three goals in seven eye-catching appearances
this term, has been named in Gareth Southgate's squad for UEFA European U21
Championship qualifying matches with San Marino and Lithuania. The No15 will
travel with the Young Lions to face San Marino at Serravelle Stadium on
Thursday 10 October before returning to take on Lithuania at Ipswich Town's
Portman Road on Tuesday 15 October. Under Southgate, England beat Moldova
1-0 in Reading before drawing 1-1 with Finland in Helsinki in their opening
two qualifying matches for the 2015 finals in the Czech Republic. While he
has yet to be capped at U21 level, this will not be Morrison's first taste
of international football. The in-form midfielder scored on his England
debut at U16 level in a 6-0 Victory Shield victory in Northern Ireland in
November 2008. Three further caps arrived at U17 level in 2009 before
Morrison earned a solitary U18 cap in a 3-0 friendly victory over Poland in
Wycombe in November 2010. The game saw him line up alongside West Ham
midfielder George Moncur, Arsenal and England midfielder Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain and West Bromwich Albion's in-form striker Saido
Berahino, who has also been named in Southgate's squad this time around.
Morrison will meet up with his squad-mates at St George's Park following
Sunday's Barclays Premier League fixture at Tottenham Hotspur.

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Phillips proud of England call-ups
WHUFC.com
U18s assistant manager Mark Phillips has lauded four Hammers youngsters
called-up by England
03.10.2013

October is a big month for four West Ham United Academy youngsters, all of
whom have received their maiden England age-group call-ups. First-year
scholars Reece Burke and Kyle Knoyle have been included in the England U18
squad for the first time, while schoolboys Reece Oxford and Ben Sheaf have
been called into the U16 squad. West Ham U18s assistant manager Mark
Phillips has worked with all four during his time coaching within the
Hammers Academy and believes the quartet's individual performances this term
warrant their call-ups. Phillips, who until recently worked as the Club's
U16s coach and has been involved with player development for many years,
started by discussing the form of U18s right-back Knoyle and centre-back
Burke. The duo will hope to feature in two behind-closed-doors matches with
Hungary at St. George's Park on Friday 11 October and Monday 14 October,
"I'm delighted because those two thoroughly deserve their inclusion in the
England U18 squad," said Phillips. "Kyle has been a consistent performer
since he joined the Academy at the age of 13, while Reece has been with the
Club since the U9s. "In all fairness to Reece, and he'd probably admit this
himself, he is really on an upward curve. In the last year, he has really
come up and is at the top of his game. "They are both good users of the ball
and Reece, with his height, is quite dominant in the air in both penalty
boxes and he gets his fair share of goals. It's good for the Academy as a
whole that they have been called-up. "When you ask people about West Ham,
they tend to talk about flair midfield players and people who pass the ball,
but we are producing good defenders and we did, of course, produce Bobby
Moore!"
Moving onto Oxford and Sheaf, Phillips again believes the pair are fully
deserving of their inclusion in the England U16 squad for the Sky Sports
Victory Shield opener with Wales at Kidderminster Harriers' Aggborough
Stadium on Friday 4 October.

The Academy coach began by talking about two players whose names will not be
familiar to the vast majority of West Ham supporters. "Reece came into the
Club three years ago when he joined the U13s. He originally came into the
Club as a centre forward and probably had about two or three months there
before one of the coaches suggested he move to centre-back, and he hasn't
looked back from there. "He has learnt the position, has a thirst for
knowledge and is excellent in both boxes and has got a good passing range. I
think there is a lot of growth in him as a player as he has only been in the
Academy for three years. "Ben has been here since he was an U8. I've coached
him as an U10, U13 and U14 and he's a box-to-box, all-round midfield player
who can score goals. He is very good. "The Victory Shield is televised by
Sky Sports and the matches are played at stadia with a crowd and some
players really rise to the occasion, and I think Reece and Ben will, as Glen
Johnson did when he played in the same competition a few years back."

Tickets for Friday's 7.35pm kick-off at Aggborough Stadium are on sale now
by calling 01562 823 931 or e-mailing info@harriers.co.uk

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Henderson loaned to Bournemouth
WHUFC.com
Goalkeeper joins fellow Hammer Jack Collison on loan with Championship club
Bournemouth
03.10.2013

West Ham United goalkeeper Stephen Henderson has linked up with Sky Bet
Championship side AFC Bournemouth on a three-month loan deal. The
25-year-old stopper joins up with Hammers team-mate Jack Collison on loan at
the Goldsands Stadium after he made his debut for the club in a 2-1 defeat
at Leeds United earlier this week. Henderson, who was on the bench for the
Hammers' two Capital One Cup ties so far this season, played 24 Championship
games whilst on a similar loan spell at Ipswich Town last season and will
now look to add to that tally with the Cherries. Bournemouth, who were
promoted from League One last season, have enjoyed a solid start to life at
the higher level and currently sit 13th in the table, with 13 points from
ten games. They are due to take on Millwall at home in their next fixture on
Saturday.

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Four out of four
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd October 2013
By: Dave Maslen

This week's round-up from the West Ham Ladies' camp...

Under 17s

The under 17s played away to Tigers FC and continued their good start to the
season with another win; the Hammers running out 7-2 victors.

Under 15s

The under 15s opened their campaign with a 9-1 thumping of FC Clacton at the
Hammers' new home ground at May & Bakers, Dagenham.

The 15s started off at a slow pace with the girls expecting the goals to
flow just as they did in their first league fixture last Sunday, but some
good defensive work from Clacton ensured the West Ham girls came in at half
time only 2-1 in front.

A little more application in the second half saw Hannah Humphreys get into
her stride and she quickly buried a double hat-trick. Grace Hill joined in
with an equally impressive three from good team play, with West Ham's
defence standing firm to deny Clacton any further chances.


Under 13s

The Under 13s played their first home fixture against FC Clacton and having
previously met in pre season they knew what to expect from this capable
side.

The game started with West Ham attacking from the off but a game Clacton
side kept everyone behind the ball, making progress towards the goal hard
work for the Hammers strike force. But with half time rapidly approaching
substitute Mia Seeley opened the scoring with a finely struck low shot that
beat the capable 'keeper.

The second half, as with the previous week, finally saw West Ham's
relentless pressure start to pay dividends. With Sophie Kelly scoring a
long-range shot and goals from Poppy Binding and Kelly Whealthall, the
Hammers found themselves with a four-goal lead.

To their credit, Clacton kept on pushing forward (often by way of counter
attack) but the game was going West Ham's way and four more goals - another
from Poppy Binding , two more from Kelly Whealthall and a second by Mia
Seeley - gave West Ham an 8-0 win.


Under 11s

After an excellent performance last weekend, The Under 11s travelled to
Tigers FC for their second league game of the season. On a slow pitch, the
girls forced the pace from the opening whistle and chances were soon being
created. Eventually, some of those chances started to result in goals with
some nice composed finishes.

Having secured a comfortable half time lead the girls stepped it up after
the break and played some good football. Whilst not quite reaching the
heights of the previous week, this was still a strong performance that the
girls will gain confidence from.

The opposition defended bravely for the entire game but could not prevent a
final score of 9-1 to West Ham; goalscorers on the day were Lauren Hart (3),
Jada Sealy (2), Lucy Brewster (2), Lily Brewster and Abigale Ridgway.

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Rav gets England nod
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd October 2013
By: Staff Writer

Ravel Morrison has been included in the latest England Under 21 squad. The
20-year-old midfielder received his first ever call up for Gareth
Southgate's squad ahead of the European Championship qualifiers against San
Marino and Lithuania next week. Previously capped at under 16, Under 17 and
Under 18 level, Morrison - West Ham's leading goalscorer this season with
three to his name - has never represented the Under 21s before but earned
his place after impressing for the Hammers in the season's opening six
matches.

Full England Under 21 squad

Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Barnsley), George Long (Sheffield
United); Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal), Michael
Keane (Manchester United), Jack Robinson (Blackpool), Luke Shaw
(Southampton), John Stones (Everton); Tom Carroll (QPR), Nathaniel Chalobah
(Nottingham Forest), Will Hughes (Derby County), Ravel Morrison (West Ham
United), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton); Sammy Ameobi (Newcastle United),
Tom Ince (Blackpool), Jesse Lingard (Birmingham City), Nathan Redmond
(Norwich City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Wilfried Zaha (Manchester
United), Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion), Harry Kane (Tottenham
Hotspur), Danny Ings (Burnley), Nick Powell (Wigan Athletic).

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Police issue fresh warning about use of the 'Y' word, saying it may result
in arrest
Last Updated: October 3, 2013 8:50pm
SSN

Metropolitan Police have warned fans that the use of the 'Y' word at
football matches may result in arrest, beginning with the visit of West Ham
United to White Hart Lane this weekend. The issue has been much-debated in
recent weeks - with the Prime Minister David Cameron having his say and
heated discussion, both for and against, on Tottenham fan forums. A Police
statement read: "Some words - like the 'Y' word - which historically have
been perceived by some as acceptable, cause harassment, alarm or distress to
others, and people who use this language could be committing a criminal
offence." Chief Superintendent Mick Johnson, the match commander on Sunday,
told Sky News: "It does actually cause offence to some members of the Jewish
community. "We are going to go up to people first, engage firstly and try to
explain to them what it means. Hopefully people will take that warning and
desist from using the Y word. "Anyone who continues to use it or fails to
take on our advice may be subject to arrest." The Tottenham Hotspur
Supporters Trust have said they were aware of the police statement and are
seeking to clarify the position with club officials.

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Bournemouth loan West Ham keeper Stephen Henderson
Last Updated: October 3, 2013 7:17pm
SSN

Bournemouth have completed the signing of West Ham goalkeeper Stephen
Henderson on loan until the New Year. Henderson, who spent time with Ipswich
last season, will remain with the Cherries until January 2 and could be
thrown straight into the action against Millwall this weekend. Number one
Ryan Allsop is suspended while Darryl Flahavan picked up a thigh strain on
Tuesday evening having replaced Allsop after he saw red. "We felt we needed
to bring in an experienced goalkeeper who has played the level," manager
Eddie Howe told the Daily Echo. "He's a good shot-stopper, he's experienced,
a good kicker and good coming for crosses so he ticks all the boxes and we
are delighted to have brought him in."

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DON'T EVEN THINK OF USING THE 'Y' WORD
By Iain Dale 3 Oct 2013 at 20:40
West Ham Till I Die

On my LBC show tonight I interviewed Chief Superintendent Mick Johnson of
the Met about the fact that they have made clear that anyone – Tottenham or
West Ham fan – will be arrested if they use the so-called 'Y' word at the
game on Sunday. It's been a big subject of debate recently. I got this email
from someone who reads the site a couple of weeks ago. He's agreed I can
post it here. I can't pretend I wasn't deeply saddened when I read it.

FWIW, I was a West Ham supporter for 40 years. A Jewish West Ham supporter.
As a teenager I had the thrill of meeting John Lyall after a match,
receiving a jersey from my hero, Trevor Brooking, and being introduced to
the rest of the team by him. I stopped supporting West Ham after the game
against Tottenham last season. I do understand that it was only a small
section of the crowd who did the chanting. I also know that David Gold and
others pleaded with the fans not to do it. I also suspect that most of those
singing the chants aren't actually anti-Semitic. It's just an effective way
to distract the opposition players and supporters. But for a Jew, it is
virtually impossible to support a club which is also supported by a sizable
number of such people. Will my decision change anything? Certainly not. But
I am sad that the claret and blue of West Ham, so big a part of my life for
so many years, is gone.
How sad is that? A lifelong Hammer feeling he has been driven out of the
club he loves because of the idiotic antics of a small minority. You can say
he's overreacted but put yourself in his position. In many ways you can't
blame him. I hope West Ham fans will behave on Sunday in a way that our
emailer might reconsider his decision to take his footballing affections
elsewhere.

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MY JOURNEY FROM GOONER TO HAMMER
By ExWHUemployee 3 Oct 2013 at 13:00
West Ham Till I Die

This post is different from my usual type of article but due to the recent
run of bad results and negative rumours surrounding the club on twitter I
have decided I want to reminisce about days gone by and talk about one of my
all-time favourite West Ham memories. I also noticed that some of the other
topics I intended to discuss have already been covered by other writers on
here.

As I have said on my profile on this website I was born to be a West Ham fan
with my dad and granddad both being very passionate about the club. I was
born in East London (Leytonstone to be precise) and have lived in the area
all my life, so I have Claret and Blue blood.

Unfortunately at the impressionable age of eight, that blood was stained for
a short period. I went to a school where almost everyone was an Arsenal fan.
All my close friends were fans and a lot of my family were too. It is here
that I must confess to a terrible sin that I committed. For a very brief and
shameful period I decided I would be an Arsenal fan. This disgraceful act
only last a few months however I "timed" it well as it was the year that
they beat Liverpool in the most dramatic of fashions to capture the title.
You would think this would have cemented my place as a gooner for life. In
fact it did the complete opposite. My dad and granddad were close to putting
me up for adoption but decided to decorate my bedroom claret and blue and
make me watch Trevor Brooking videos instead. For the next season I
"supported" Arsenal and West Ham. Of course this was still not acceptable.

Desperate times called for desperate measures and my dad and granddad
decided their final move was to buy me next season's full kit and more
importantly my first season ticket. I wore that BAC claret and blue shirt
with pride for my first ever visit to Upton Park to sit in the same seat
that I have for the last 23 years and the rest is history, the
transformation was complete!

I remember my first game well. It was against Portsmouth on the 29 August
1990 and it finished 1-1. Guy Whittingham a Portsmouth legend scored for
them and Frank McAvennie a West Ham legend scored for us. It wasn't the most
memorable game but it was a very special one for me. It ended up being a
great season for us, as automatic promotion was secured.

The one game that stood out for me and the one that had me hooked and
cemented as a West Ham fan for life was the game on the 14th April 1991. It
was the FA Cup Semi Final v Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. The fact that
we lost that game 4-0, it was spoilt by a disgraceful referring decision and
it stopped the dream final v Spurs and I still have that as one of my
favourite away games. It either shows I am sucker for punishment or
something magical must have happened.

Leading up to the game we had been hit by the controversy of Trevor Morley
being stabbed by his wife. It had been announced in the press that he had
recovered in time and I thought that it was fate that he would score the
winner, how wrong I was!

Everything about the day was exciting. My dad hired a mini bus between him
and eight mates. They filled the bus with cans of beer, hung scarfs from
every window, someone brought a big claret and blue old school bell which
was rung every time someone finished their can and the car tape player had
bubbles on repeat.

We drove up to Birmingham early, on a very hot day and checked into a hotel,
where the party had hired a function room to watch the Spurs V Arsenal
Semi-Final game before our match. The game was a great spectacle with Gazza
scoring a wonder goal and booking Tottenham's place in the final. One half
of the dream final was complete. The drinking continued and all members of
the group were quite legless to say the least (myself unfortunately not
included) and we made our way to the ground.

On the way to the match we walked through a park right near Villa Park that
was on a hill. I can clearly remember looking at the ground and just seeing
a sea of claret and blue. As we approached the stadium another very "merry"
man approached our group and gave me a big checked claret and blue flag!! I
was absolutely delighted. Of course I will never find out who this man was
but that claret and blue flag is still in my old room at my parent's house
and I will always be grateful for that moment. Unfortunately tight security
at the ground meant I had to leave the stick outside and never actually got
to wave it at the ground.


Before the game West Ham had won the pre match dog race and I was ready to
see us win, however we all know what happened in the match. Tony Gale was
sent off for a professional foul ( a rule that had been introduced only
weeks earlier). It was a ridiculous decision and we ended up losing the game
4-0 in the most unjust manner. Inside as a youngster I was actually gutted
and could have cried but it was the West Ham fans that made it all
worthwhile. The atmosphere was amazing. Despite us losing all I could hear
all game was various West Ham chants. I seem to remember Billy Bonds' Claret
and Blue army going on for at least 10 minutes continuous. I recall singing
bubbles at the top of my voice and feeling such pride that this game was
being shown to all my Arsenal supporting friends back home.

After the game we headed back to the hotel where we were all staying and the
drinking and chanting continued till the early hours despite the result. My
dad told my mum that I was well looked after and in bed by 8 o'clock this
wasn't true! I was in the middle of them all now conducting the chanting.

When I got into school on the Monday I couldn't have been prouder to be a
West Ham fan. I took a lot of stick about the result but it didn't matter as
I supported a team who had some of the best supporters in the land!

Unfortunately my first league away game was far less memorable. A 1-1 away
draw at Charlton where the only thing of real note from that game was the
debut of the Canadian "legend" Alex Bunbury. It is however these highs and
lows that makes being a West Ham fan so special. COYI

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THE £36 MILLION POUND BILL WEST HAM FACES IN JANUARY
By Sean Whetstone 3 Oct 2013 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die

On the very day that the January Transfer Window opens West Ham face some
rather large bills which need to be re-paid or refinanced.

Note 20 on page 32 of West Ham's 2012 Financial accounts explains the terms
of our current bank loans.


It explains the primary bank loan to West ham of £30,527,000 provided by a
syndicate of five banks and secured freehold land including the Boleyn
expires on the 31st December 2013.

A further two unsecured loans are both repayable a day later on 1st January
2014. £5,167,000 is due to CB Holding ehf (The Icelandic company which
inherited West Ham through its major share holding in Straumur)

A further £1,058,000 is also due on 1st January 2014 to ALMC ehf (formerly
known as Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank)

This amounts to a grand total of £36 million which needs to be re-financed
or paid off by the day the January transfer window opens.

It is a common misconception that all multi millionaires like our chairman
keep tens of millions of cash in the bank. Successful business men like our
owners will make their money work for them in different investments most of
which will not be liquid or easily converted back to cash.

In the case of David Sullivan much of his wealth is tied up in a vast
property portfolio through his property company Conegate Holdings which has
£245m of assets, £110m of long term debts and £35m cash in the bank.

I am sure it is wishful thinking to believe that David Sullivan will use
this £35m in the bank of this property company to wipe out the remaining
debts at the end of this year. This business needs working capital to buy
and invest in new properties otherwise it would of used some of this cash in
the bank to pay back some of its £110m of long term debts.

This same property company already owns 12.5% of West Ham and has loaned it
£16 million pounds.

In 2011 Conegate sold the 999-year leasehold of the old Radio Times buidling
(35 Marylebone High Street) to a pension company for £32.3m

This is almost an identical amount to what our owners invested into West Ham
after our relegation to the Championship.

Unless West Ham makes a statement in January we won't know how they intend
to re-finance or pay off these £36m of loans. The financial accounts for
that period will not be released until 2015. How this affects any possible
January transfer window budget remains to be seen.

UPDATE:

Since this article was published I became aware that David Sullivan covered
some of the question of re-financing in his Interview with Graeme Howlett
from KUMB.com in August.

When Graeme asked about the extra 25% of shares Sullivan acquired in West
Ham he replied:

"It was all to do with restructuring the bank debt. If I bought these shares
they would take over the bank debt which ran out in December. It's been
renewed for another three years and I've put a bit of money into the bank
debt as well. It's complicated really"

So it appears the pressure is now off for January.

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