Friday, February 7

Daily WHUFC News - Carroll

West Ham United statement
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have issued a statement in response to the outcome of the
Independent Arbitration Tribunal
07.02.2014

Whilst West Ham United are obviously disappointed at the decision, as we
have made clear throughout, we respect the rules of football and shall abide
by them. Andy Carroll will now serve a three-match suspension, which will
rule him out of the Barclays Premier League fixtures at Aston Villa tomorrow
and at home to Norwich City and Southampton. He will be available for
selection again for the trip to Everton on Saturday 1 March.

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Daily WHUFC News - 7th February 2014

'We have to dig in'
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble is backing the Hammers to get over the loss of Andy Carroll at
Aston Villa
06.02.2014

Mark Noble has backed the Hammers to overcome the suspension of Andy Carroll
by claiming their first back-to-back league wins since 2012 this weekend.
Carroll will sit out Saturday's game at Aston Villa after the Club's appeal
against his red card in the Swansea match was dismissed. The No9 linked up
effectively with Kevin Nolan against the Swans, but his absence could give
another chance to Carlton Cole, who has notched four goals in his last ten
appearances. Victory at Villa Park could lift the Hammers as high as
eleventh in the table and Noble is focused on helping propelling them to the
relative safety of mid-table. He said: "Andy being suspended is obviously a
massive miss for us. For him to be back the way he was and then to miss him
for another three games is going to be tough, but we have to dig in and get
results without him. "Everyone will have to play their part to try and get
us three points away from home. "We're three points off eleventh, so getting
ourselves back in that pack with the win against Swansea was important. "It
would be good to go to Aston Villa and get the three points before another
winnable home game against Norwich. We're looking up rather than down at the
moment, and even though we're in the bottom three, I'm sure we can claw our
way back."

Noble has been delighted with the performances in West Ham's last two
fixtures, which not only yielded clean sheets against Chelsea and Swansea,
but also four points. The No16 believes that haul was fully deserved and
points to better times ahead in the coming months. He continued: "We've got
what we deserved from the last two games, which hasn't been the case all
season. "We've had a bit of bad luck with injuries, but to get four points
from the games against Chelsea and Swansea has been good for the camp. "It's
now eleven clean sheets which, along with Arsenal, is the joint-most in the
league. Our downfall was that we couldn't score goals and that's why we're
not in mid table or pushing higher. "We just need to work hard from now
until the end of the season and dig in - all the way from the bottom to
tenth nobody is safe and if we keep winning we'll drag more and more teams
into it."

Looking ahead to Saturday's trip to Aston Villa, Noble says the key could be
keeping their lively strike duo quiet. He explained: "Villa are a good team
at home, they counter well and they've had good results lately. But we know
we've got enough to go there and get a result. "Paul Lambert has had to
restructure the wage bill there, so he's done a good job with that. He has a
lot of young players who are working hard for each other and for the team.
"Then obviously they've got Benteke up front. We need to keep him and Gabby
Agbonlahor quiet and hopefully go there and get some points."

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Andy Carroll: West Ham may 'create monster' - Paul Lambert
BBC.co.uk

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is concerned that a "monster" could be
created if West Ham succeed in getting Andy Carroll's red card overturned.
The Hammers are to take legal action after failing in their appeal to the
Football Association over the striker's red card against Swansea last
Saturday.
Carroll is banned for three games, including Saturday's trip to Villa. "If
it is overruled then you create a monster of everybody wanting to do the
same," said Lambert. West Ham co-chairman David Gold said that he was only
taking the legal option because his side are third from bottom in the
Premier League and involved in a relegation battle. When asked if he would
go down a similar route if his side was facing the same situation, Lambert
replied: "It's hard to say. You can understand West Ham trying. "You'd have
to judge the incident on its merit. Everybody is going to be different,
whether they think something is dangerous or not. That is their own
perception."

The FA is refusing to comment, but the rules allow for clubs to take
disputes to arbitration and if necessary to the Court of Arbitration for
Sport. It is not clear if the ban would be placed on hold until the case has
been dealt with. Carroll, 25, was sent off after clashing with Swans
defender Chico Flores during his side's 2-0 victory.

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Gold set for legal battle
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 6th February 2014
By: Staff Writer

Co-chairman David Gold has indicated that West Ham United are prepared to
seek legal redress as a result of the FA's decision to uphold Andy Carroll's
red card against Swansea. The FA have rarely been swayed by public opinion,
as Brian Clough found out to his chagrin all those years ago. And so it was
the case again this week when a three-man quango decided to uphold Howard
Webb's decision to dismiss Carroll for violent conduct despite the Hammers
enjoying widespread public support - a rarity itself in recent times. Now
Gold says that the Hammers are prepared to go all the way to court in an
effort to have Carroll's appeal re-heard - an appeal against an appeal, if
you will. Talking earlier, he said: "We are hugely disappointed at the
outcome of the process. The last thing I want to do is go to some kind of
legal issue because I think it is a footballing issue. But we are fighting
for our lives. "If we were mid-table we would probably get on with it, but
we are fighting for our lives to retain our Premier League status and we owe
it to our fans, we owe it to ourselves. We are upset, we feel we have been
badly treated. "Most judgements are not made by three people, they are made
by 12 - that's why they are called juries. I believe if you had gone to the
FA Council and asked the 100 members, 75 per cent would have said it was not
a sending off. "If you just take three people, it may not be
representative."

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Ashton slams 'pathetic' Chico
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 6th February 2014
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammers striker Dean Ashton has labelled Chico Flores "pathetic"
after he contrived to get Andy Carroll sent off - but believes that the
striker's red card was warranted. Ashton, speaking exclusively to the KUMB
Podcast - which you may download here - hit out at the Spanish defender who
feigned injury in order to get Carroll sent off, a situation that referee
Howard Webb bought hook, line and sinker. "The actions of Chico Flores were
pathetic and it's good to hear even the Swansea fans come out and say how
they're disgraced by it," said Ashton. "It's a real shame that it's not been
overturned but I think it was a sending off, you just can't do that any
more. "I think Andy will admit he probably shouldn't have swung his arm
round. We all know that it's pretty pathetic and we all know that a few
years ago nothing would have happened, but nowadays you just can't do that."

And whilst Ashton - who was forced to retire from professional football at
the age of just 26 - believes that West Ham will avoid the drop, he
maintains their best chance of doing so is with a fit Andy Carroll in the
team. "With Andy in the side the team seems to gel and there's more of a
confidence when he plays," he added. "They look totally different and are
just too strong for some teams, as they showed at the weekend. "I'm
slightly worried for the next few games as everyone could tell what a
difference Andy made. In the last couple of games he's looked more like his
old self and that'll be a massive blow for Sam. But it gives the player/s
coming in a chance to step in and perform. "I said a few weeks ago, when
things looked a lot more bleak, that as soon as they get their better
players back they'd start to climb the league. I think that's already
showing now they have their best players in the team."

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West Ham seeking "legal redress" over Andy Carroll's red card
Last Updated: 06/02/14 5:15pm
SSN

West Ham's co-owner David Gold says the club are seeking "legal redress"
over Andy Carroll's red card because they have no alternative. The Hammers
want the Football Association to take the case to an arbitration panel after
referee Howard Webb's decision to send off the striker after a clash with
Swansea's Chico Flores was upheld by a three-man FA appeal's body. Carroll
is now facing a three-match ban which will see him miss West Ham's away game
with Aston Villa on Saturday, as well as home fixtures with Norwich and
Southampton. Gold believes Carroll's suspension could mean the difference
between relegation and top-flight survival. "We are hugely disappointed at
the outcome of the process," said Gold. "There is nowhere to go other than
to seek some kind of legal redress. It's not ideal, the last thing I want to
do is going to some kind of legal issue because I think it is a footballing
issue. "we are fighting for our lives. If we were mid-table we would
probably get on with it but we are fighting for our lives to retain our
Premiership status and we owe it to our fans, we owe it to ourselves." "But
we are fighting for our lives. If we were mid-table we would probably get on
with it but we are fighting for our lives to retain our Premiership status
and we owe it to our fans, we owe it to ourselves."

The FA is refusing to comment on the unprecedented case, but the rules do
allow for clubs to take disputes to arbitration and if necessary to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport. It is not clear however whether the player's
ban would be placed on hold until the case was dealt with. Gold claimed most
people would view the red card as wrong and that Carroll had been trying to
shrug off Flores. He added: "We are a club that understands there are rules
and we abide by them. But you have every commentator and 80 per cent of the
media saying it wasn't a sending off. "Yet Howard Webb reviews the situation
afterwards and says he stands by his judgement and when it goes to appeal
and three guys stand by Howard Webb you feel 'how can this be right'. "We
are upset, we feel we have been badly treated. "Most judgements are not made
by three people, they are made by 12 - that's why they are called juries. "I
believe if you had gone to the FA Council and asked the 100 members 75 per
cent would have said it was not a sending off, but if you just take three
people it may not be representative."

Gold said Carroll's presence could be crucial for the rest of West Ham's
season. He said: "Of course it could. You can see the impact he has on our
football club. I feel sorry for him as well - he was absolutely mortified.
"He was shrugging the guy off, okay he has messed his hair up but I don't
think you should get sent off for messing somebody's hair up. "There was a
lovely tweet about Chico Flores saying he went to Vidal Sassoon and is now
in intensive hair."

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Mark Noble backs West Ham to cope without Andy Carroll
Last Updated: 06/02/14 5:10pm
SSN

Midfielder Mark Noble believes that West Ham can still get positive results
without Andy Carroll. The Hammers will be without star forward Carroll as he
serves a three-match ban for violent conduct, and is set to miss the
upcoming games against Aston Villa, Norwich and Southampton. But Noble is
still confident that West Ham will be able to build on last Saturday's 2-0
victory over Swansea City. The 26-year-old told the London Evening Standard:
"Andy being suspended is obviously a massive miss for us. "For him to be
back the way he was and then to miss him for another three games is going to
be tough but we have to dig in and get results without him. "Everyone will
have to play their part to try and get us three points away from home.
"We're three points off eleventh, so getting ourselves back in that pack
with the win against Swansea was important. "It would be good to go to Aston
Villa and get the three points before another winnable home game against
Norwich City. "We're looking up rather than down at the moment and even
though we're in the bottom three, I'm sure we can claw our way back."

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Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has some concerns on West Ham appealing Andy
Carroll's red card
Last Updated: 06/02/14 11:23pm
SSN

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert reckons a successful West Ham appeal on Andy
Carroll's red card against Swansea may lead to chaos in the game. The
Hammers are trying to seek an arbitration panel hearing into Carroll's
sending off during their 2-0 win over Swansea last weekend. This week a
three-man Football Association appeal's body upheld the decision of referee
Howard Webb to dismiss Carroll following a clash with Chico Flores. Speaking
ahead of Villa's Premier League clash with West Ham, Lambert insists he
understands West Ham's reasoning. But the Scot also feels a dangerous
precedent could be set the case goes before an arbitration panel as that
would give other clubs the opportunity to ignore future FA decisions. "I
don't get involved in somebody else's business. It's up to West Ham and what
they want to do," said Lambert. "I don't know the ins and outs. All I know
is they're debating trying to get him off. It's not my remit, it's for West
Ham. "But if is overruled then you create a monster of everybody wanting to
do the same. That's what could happen."

Asked whether he would go down a similar route if the circumstances were the
same and Villa striker Christian Benteke was in the dock, Lambert added:
"It's hard to say. You can understand West Ham trying. "You'd have to judge
the incident on its merit. Everybody is going to be different, whether they
think something is dangerous or not. That is their own perception. "Whether
West Ham see they've a chance to get it rescinded, I don't know."

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FA CAVE INTO WEST HAM DEMANDS FOR ARBITRATION PANEL AT 11AM TODAY
By Sean Whetstone 7 Feb 2014 at 00:14
West Ham Till I Die

Darren Lewis broke the news in the Daily Mirror just before midnight that
the FA have caved in to West Ham's demands for arbitration. A three-person
panel will consist of one from each side and a mutually agreed third It is
claimed The FA have only agreed to arbitration in the Andy Carroll case to
prevent West Ham going to the High Court on Friday morning over the 3 match
ban. The hearing has been scheduled under the FA's Rule K for 11am Friday at
a venue to be arranged. Both parties will choose one person each to sit on a
three-man panel. A third will have to be agreed upon. West Ham have stood by
a number of points made in a letter put to the FA by top barrister Lord
David Pannick QC They insisted that Andy Carroll should have had a personal
hearing and that although the Commission maintains an "obvious error" has to
have been made such wording doesn't exist in the rules.

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WEST HAM DEMAND AN ARBITRATION HEARING OR WILL SEEK HIGH COURT INJUNCTION
By Sean Whetstone 6 Feb 2014 at 09:00
West Ham Till I Die

Details have emerged in the papers this morning of the letter to the FA and
the grounds West Ham are allegedly demanding an arbitration appeal panel is
convened under rule K of the handbook.

West Ham could demand the FA bring arbitration proceedings under rule K of
their rules. Such an arbitration would be limited to a challenge to the
validity of the decision on the grounds of ultra vires ( Latin: 'beyond
powers') including error of law, irrationality or procedural unfairness. An
arbitration would probably take place behind closed doors before a new FA
three-person tribunal. The process could take weeks rather than days, and it
is likely that the 3 match ban would be suspended pending the result of the
arbitration if permitted by the FA.

West Ham's first argument appears to be it is against normal justice that
Andy Carroll was not allowed to appear in person in front of the panel. The
second and main claim is said to be around the FA's claim there has to be an
'obvious error' in Howard Webb's decision for the red card to be overturned.
West Ham claim this statement is fundamentally flawed as it is not in the FA
or Premier League rule book. The letter is believed to have been written by
Lord David Pannick QC on behalf of the club says the structure of the FA
appeal process is legally flawed. If the FA refuse an arbitration hearing it
is claimed West ham will seek a high court injunction to allow Andy Carroll
to play on Saturday. There are claims it could bring the whole current
appeal panel system down if successful.

West ham could also attempt to bring judicial review proceedings in the high
court, but our chances of getting this type of action are very unlikely. In
a previous challenge to the setting up of the Premier League in 1992, the
high court decided that the FA was not subject to judicial review. Another
option is the Court of Arbitration for Sport.


Update

David Gold has broken his silence over the recent events and said "We are
hugely disappointed at the outcome of the process.There is nowhere to go
other than to seek some kind of legal redress. It's not ideal, the last
thing I want to do is going to some kind of legal issue because I think it
is a footballing issue.But we are fighting for our lives. If we were
mid-table we would probably get on with it but we are fighting for our lives
to retain our Premiership status and we owe it to our fans, we owe it to
ourselves.The FA is refusing to comment on the unprecedented case, but the
rules do allow for clubs to take disputes to arbitration and if necessary to
the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It is not clear however whether the
player's ban would be placed on hold until the case was dealt with. We are a
club that understands there are rules and we abide by them. But you have
every commentator and 80 per cent of the media saying it wasn't a sending
off. Yet Howard Webb reviews the situation afterwards and says he stands by
his judgement and when it goes to appeal and three guys stand by Howard Webb
you feel 'how can this be right. We are upset, we feel we have been badly
treated. Most judgements are not made by three people, they are made by 12 -
that's why they are called juries.I believe if you had gone to the FA
Council and asked the 100 members 75 per cent would have said it was not a
sending off, but if you just take three people it may not be
representative."

Gold was also asked whether Andy Carroll missing 3 games would have an
impact. He replied "Of course it could. You can see the impact he has on our
football club. I feel sorry for him as well - he was absolutely mortified.
He was shrugging the guy off, okay he has messed his hair up but I don't
think you should get sent off for messing somebody's hair up.There was a
lovely tweet about Chico Flores saying he went to Vidal Sassoon and is now
in intensive hair."

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Andy Carroll row: FA bow to West Ham's arbitration demands to keep
sending-off saga out of High Court
Feb 06, 2014 23:43 By Darren Lewis
The Mirror

The FA have sensationally agreed to arbitration in the Andy Carroll case to
prevent West Ham going to the High Court on Friday morning over the
striker's red card. A hearing has been scheduled - under the FA's Rule K -
for 11am Friday at a venue to be arranged. Both parties will choose one
person each to sit on a three-man panel. A third will have to be agreed
upon. The FA have declined to comment, but this fresh twist comes after
hours of talks on Thursday between the FA's lawyers and West Ham's legal
team in a desperate bid to prevent the club shattering the disciplinary
system. The Hammers had remained hell-bent on heading for the High Court
after the FA initially refused arbitration over the failed appeal against
Carroll's sending off last Saturday. Co-chairman David Gold confirmed their
intention to follow through with their threat to take out an injunction
blocking the red card and freeing up Carroll to play in their massive
relegation scraps away to Aston Villa on Saturday and at home against
Norwich on Tuesday. That would have caused pandemonium as every club has
signed up to an agreement that the decision of an Independent Commission is
final. But Gold said before Thursday night's fresh development: "We are
hugely disappointed at the outcome of the process. "There is nowhere to go
other than to seek some kind of legal redress. It's not ideal, the last
thing I want to do is going to some kind of legal issue, because I think it
is a footballing issue. But we are fighting for our lives. "If we were
mid-table we would probably get on with it but we are fighting for our lives
to retain our Premier League status and we owe it to our fans, we owe it to
ourselves."

West Ham, however, had stood by a number of points made in a letter put to
the FA after consultation with highly-respected QC Lord David Pannick. They
insisted that Carroll should have had a personal hearing and that although
the Commission maintains an "obvious error" has to have been made such
wording doesn't exist in the rules. Mirror Sport understands the Hammers
were actually ready to stand down if the queries in their letter had been
answered to their satisfaction. They were unhappy with the response on
Thursday, however, and decided on their controversial course of action soon
afterwards. Carroll was sent off by World Cup Final referee Howard Webb for
appearing to strike Swansea defender Chico Flores in the Hammers' win at
Upton Park. Replays showed minimal contact and that Flores had exaggerated
his reaction but a three-man Independent Panel threw out the Hammers' appeal
on Tuesday.

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FA in talks with West Ham lawyers to keep Andy Carroll red-card row out of
the High Court
Feb 06, 2014 22:31 By Darren Lewis 2
The Mirror

The FA's lawyers are locked in talks with West Ham's legal team in a
desperate bid to prevent the club shattering the disciplinary system over
Andy Carroll in the next 24 hours. At the time of writing, the Hammers
remained hell-bent on heading for the High Court after the governing body
refused to go to arbitration over the club's failed appeal against Carroll's
sending off last Saturday. The east Londoners are now set to go through with
their threat to take out an injunction blocking the red card and freeing up
Carroll to play in their massive relegation scraps away to Aston Villa on
Saturday and at home to Norwich on Tuesday night. A move to the law courts
on Friday morning would cause pandemonium as every club has signed up to an
agreement that the decision of an Independent Commission is final. The FA
were understood to be sticking by that position. West Ham, however, are
standing by a number of points made in a letter put to the FA after
consultation with highly-respected QC Lord David Pannick. They maintain
Carroll should have had a personal hearing and that although the Commission
maintains an "obvious error" has to have been made, such wording doesn't
exist in the rules. Mirror Sport understands the Hammers were ready to stand
down if the queries in their letter had been answered to their satisfaction.
They were unhappy with the response on Thursday, however, and decided on
their controversial course of action soon afterwards. Co-owner David Gold
said: "We are hugely disappointed at the outcome of the process. "There is
nowhere to go other than to seek some kind of legal redress. It's not ideal,
the last thing I want to do is going to some kind of legal issue because I
think it is a footballing issue. But we are fighting for our lives. "If we
were mid-table we would probably get on with it but we are fighting for our
lives to retain our Premier League status and we owe it to our fans, we owe
it to ourselves."

Carroll was sent off by World Cup referee Howard Webb for appearing to
strike Swansea's Chico Flores in the head with a swinging arm at Upton Park.
Replays showed contact to be minimal and that Flores had exaggerated his
reaction to it. A three-man Independent Panel, however, threw out the
Hammers' appeal on Tuesday.

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