WHUFC.com
Robert Green and Matthew Upson helped England secure their place at the 2010
FIFA World Cup
09.09.2009
West Ham United duo Robert Green and Matthew Upson helped England to secure
qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa with a 5-1 victory
over Croatia on Wednesday. Green and Upson were both named in Fabio
Capello's starting eleven as England laid the ghosts of their ill-fated 2008
UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign to rest at Wembley.
Goalkeeping errors saw the Three Lions fail to reach last summer's
tournament in Austria and Switzerland, but Hammers No1 Green helped to
ensure their was no repeat as England won for the eighth time in eight
qualifying matches. Croatia, managed by former West Ham defender Slaven
Bilic, who scored three goals in 54 games for the Hammers between February
1996 and May 1997, were unable to secure the win they needed to have any
chance of delaying England's qualification.
Another ex-Hammer, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard both scored twice,
while Wayne Rooney was also target as England bettered the 4-1 victory they
scored in Zagreb a year ago. Lampard opened the scoring from the penalty
spot on eight minutes before Gerrard nodded home Aaron Lennon's deep
right-wing cross ten minutes later. Croatia tried in vain to make a game of
it after half-time, but Lampard's second - his 20th international goal -
settled matters on 59 minutes, heading home Glen Johnson's cross, before
Gerrard nodded Rooney's lob past the stranded Vedran Runje. With England
four goals up, Green was finally called into action, saving well from Niko
Kranjcar and Mario Mandzukic, only for Eduardo Da Silva to slam the ball
into the roof of the net to deny the 29-year-old a clean sheet 18 minutes
from time. At the other end, Runje's misery was complete on 77 minutes when
his mis-kick allowed Rooney to score England's fifth.
Elsewhere, Danny Gabbidon played for 74 minutes as Wales were beaten 3-1 by
Russia at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Defeat left John Toshack's side
fourth in Group 4, with nine points from eight games. Russia remain second,
a point behind leaders Germany.
Radoslav Kovac was an unused substitute as the Czech Republic thrashed
minnows San Marino 7-0 in Uherske Hradiste. The Czechs' victory enhanced
their chances of qualifying from Group 3. With two games remaining, they
trail second-placed Northern Ireland, who only have one match left to play,
by two points. Kovac and his international colleagues host fourth-placed
Poland and Northern Ireland in their final two group fixtures on 10 and 14
October respectively.
Jonathan Spector was the final Hammer in international action on Wednesday,
with the US travelling to Trinidad and Tobago for a vital World Cup
qualifier at midnight UK time.
The Americans went into the game sitting second in the six-team CONCACAF
group, with 13 points from seven matches. Leaders Honduras also have 13
points, with Mexico and Costa Rica just behind on 12. The top three
finishers qualify automatically, with the fourth-placed side facing the
fifth-placed South American finisher in a two-legged play-off.
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Dyer on WHUTV
WHUFC.com
Alex Dyer has paid tribute to the fans that cheered on the reserves in their
6-0 win over Birmingham City
09.09.2009
Alex Dyer has thanked the West Ham United fans who came to the Boleyn Ground
to watch his reserve side thump Birmingham City 6-0.
Some 1,250 packed out the lower tier of the West Stand and saw Allesandro
Diamanti score a brace on his debut, Zavon Hines grab a hat-trick and Valon
Behrami play nearly an hour on his return from a knee injury.
"It was nice to play a reserve-team game at Upton Park and it was great of
West Ham to let the people come in for free," Dyer told WHUTV. "It was good
for all of the school kids to come in and see their stars. Overall it was a
good night. The senior boys came in and helped the young lads and it just
made everyone raise their game a little bit."
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BMF nominated
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 9th September 2009
By: Staff Writer
The Bobby Moore Fund is one of five charities nominated to be the official
charity partner to the Football League this season. The charity, established
by West Ham and England legend Moore's second wife Stephanie in 1993 has
since raised more than £12million in order to help fight the battle against
bowel cancer - a fight Bobby himself lost at the age of just 51. Along with
the Care of Police Survivors, Everyman, Help for Heroes and Marie Curie
Cancer Care charities the BMF - whose logo is represented on West Ham's
junior replica kits - has been nominated to become the governing body's
official partner for the 2009/2010 season.
In order to decide which two charities should be submitted to a deciding
panel of Football League board members, visitors to football-league.co.uk
are being asked to vote for the organisation which they deem most worthy of
winning.
In order to cast your vote, simply scroll to the bottom of the page and
enter your selection.
The five nominees
Care of Police Survivors
Care Of Police Survivors (COPS) provides support to the families of police
officers who die on duty.
Everyman
Everyman is a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of, and funds towards,
our research into prostate and testicular cancer.
Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes provides direct and practical support for our injured
service personnel. Hundreds of Thousands of ordinary people are currently
"doing their bit" to help us for some incredible wounded Heroes.
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Nurses provide hands on care, totally free, to give terminally
ill people the choice to spend their last days at home with their loved
ones. As well as cancer patients, they also care for people with other
terminal illnesses such as heart failure and dementia.
Bobby Mooore Fund
Bobby died at only 51 years old of bowel cancer. The campaign aims to raise
awareness of the disease to reduce the risk of people getting bowel cancer
and improve the survival rates of those affected. The BMF also hopes to
raise vital funds for bowel cancer research to reduce the number of people
affected, improve detection of the disease and find new and kinder
treatments.
http://www.kumb.com/story.php?id=124412
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Claret and blue lions
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 9th September 2009
By: Greg Mansell
West Ham are set to be well represented in tonight's vital 2010 World Cup
Qualifier for England versus Croatia at Wembley, knowing a win will secure
the Three Lions place for the finals in South Africa next summer.
Robert Green and Matthew Upson are all but assured of a place in tonight's
starting line-up, while front-man Carlton Cole will be hoping to make an
impact from the bench after recent encouraging cameos against the
Netherlands and Slovenia on Saturday.
Following excellent club form and injury to Portsmouth's David James, Rob
Green's has finally had the chance to stake a claim for the number one spot
under Fabio Capello, after years of being over looked by previous manager
Steve McClaren.
The continued exclusion of Green had prompted the former Norwich keeper to
don his now infamous 'England's number Six' goal-keeper gloves.
But a good performance tonight should at very least secure Green the number
two spot for South Africa next summer ahead of Manchester United's Ben
Foster, whose form has been erratic, while also presenting a real long-term
challenge to the injured David James.
Matthew Upson also looks set to again take his place in front of Green,
alongside captain John Terry in the centre of defence, in the continued
absence of former Hammers legend, Rio Ferdinand.
Upson has been Capello's preferred deputy when Terry or Ferdinand have been
out and a series of steady displays make the West Ham stopper another sure
bet to make the plane for South Africa, should England prevail tonight.
Carlton Cole faces a more difficult task to get game-time with Capello
likely to opt for Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney from the off. Tottenham
Hotspur's Jermain Defoe is also in white hot club form at present and has
mounted a strong claim for a starting berth and should he fail is likely to
be represent Plan B for Capello.
However, Cole has shown in recent friendlies against the Netherlands and
Slovenia his awesome strength represents a real problem for tiring defences,
so any Hammers fans in attendance at Wembley should be disappointed not to
see three Claret and Blue representatives on the pitch together with 15
minutes to go.
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Hammers defeated in youth clash
09 September 2009
Illford Recorder
Tottenham Hotspur 5
West Ham United 2
AN inexperienced West Ham under-18 side suffered a derby defeat last
Saturday after a disastrous first half performance. Missing the injured
Conor Okus and Callum McNaughton, along with Tony Brookes and Olly Lee who
were with the reserves, the Hammers struggled to come to terms with Spurs
and by half time were trailing 3-0 after two goals from Jose Paul Mpoku and
one from Kudus Oyenuga. Mpoku grabbed his hat-trick goal early in the
second half but 15-year-old Ryan Hall pulled one back for the Hammers and
then Sergio Sanchez scored a close-range header to make it 4-2. Danny
Subuola then came close to cutting the deficit even further but fluffed his
finish. Peter Loveday saved a Spurs penalty to maintain West Ham's faint
hopes of a comeback, but they were extinguished when Oyenuga netted his
second. "Tottenham were too powerful and too strong for us," said Academy
boss Tony Carr. "We were second best in most departments, but we did better
after half time and got the performance we were looking for."
West Ham: Loveday, Smith (Modelski 60), Brown, Lampe, Driver (Moncur 70),
Sanchez, Barrett, Wearen, Hall, Abdulla, Montano (Subuola 40).
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Dazzling Diamanti desperate for Hammers bow
09 September 2009
East London Advertiser
By JONATHAN CLEGG
Alessandro Diamanti admits he is desperate to make his West Ham debut at
Wigan this weekend after offering fans a tantalising glimpse of his ability
with a two-goal cameo for the reserves. Diamanti curled home two free-kicks
in West Ham's 6-0 Premier Reserve League win over Birmingham City on Tuesday
night in his first appearance in a claret and blue shirt since his £4m
switch from Livorno. The 26-year-old forward was the driving force in a
dominant victory at Upton Park, which also saw teenager Zavon Hines net a
hat- trick. Now Diamanti is eager to make his full Hammers bow as he
attempts to build on an impressive start to his career in England. "I can
not wait to show my quality. Playing here is an excellent feeling and I was
very excited," Diamanti told the club's website. "The team did well and had
a good game and I'm very happy about that."
Fellow new signing Manuel Da Costa, who also played in the match, has
revealed his determination to repay West Ham for rescuing him from his Serie
A nightmare. The 23-year-old joined the Hammers last week as part of the
deal that sent Savio Nsereko to Fiorentina, bringing to an end a miserable
spell in Italy. Da Costa failed to settle in Florence after moving from
Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, where he had emerged as a promising defender
under Ronald Koeman. He made just one league appearance for the Viola before
being shipped out on loan to Sampdoria, where the centre-half again failed
to secure regular first-team football. Da Costa suffered a fresh blow when
he was omitted from Fiorentina's Champions League squad last month, but the
he is now desperate to revive his career at Upton Park. He said: "I have
spoken to Gianluca Nani and Gianfranco Zola and they have both said that
they want to give me an opportunity to relaunch my career. "They have told
me that they have confidence in my abilities and that is why I was happy to
accept West Ham's offer. "For me now the most important thing is to
establish a place in the team since I have come from a period in which I
played very little. I want to convince Zola and the technical staff that I
am a player they can count on.
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Tony Cottee: Gael Kakuta affair highlights success of Tony Carr's way
East London Advertiser
09 September 2009
West Ham's reputation for producing young footballers is almost unmatched in
this country so anything affecting the development of youngsters is an
important issue for the club.
That's why this week's controversy over Gael Kakuta joining Chelsea could
have a major impact at Upton Park. The Blues have been banned from any
transfer activity until January 2011 after they were found guilty of
inducing the teenager to quit Lens and come to Stamford Bridge. Now it looks
as though the whole system of youth development will be under review and in
my view it's about time because this has been a problem for a good few
years. Football has changed so much since the Bosman ruling came in and
together with the academies system, it's completely changed the face of the
sport. The biggest outcome has been the massive influx of foreign players,
not just in this country, but in all the major leagues throughout the world.
Football is a global game now and that has trickled down into youth level.
Clubs are scouring the globe for the best young talent and trying to lure
them away from their local clubs without paying a penny. That's not right
and UEFA president Michel Platini is correct to look at bringing in a ruling
that will protect the clubs that bring through and develop young players.
Clubs like West Ham put time, effort and a huge amount of money into
bringing up players and it's not right that the biggest teams in Europe can
whisk them away for nothing. In my view, there are two simple solutions.
First, you need to ban all transfers of players under the age of 18. What
that means is that at 12 or 13 years old, a young player has got to make his
mind up about where he is going to sign and then he's got to stick with that
club. He'll do his two-year apprenticeship there and if he's good enough
once he reaches 18, he'll either sign a professional deal with that club or
choose to join another club for a transfer fee. Obviously you need to be
careful because in some ways it puts the pressure on at a younger age. We
don't want a scenario where kids as young as 12 are being harassed by agents
or clubs. The key thing has always got to be protecting the young players
and their families and you don't want to find a solution only to realise
afterwards that you've opened another can of worms. But in some ways,
forcing clubs to make earlier judgements about players might offer more
protection for youngsters.
There aren't many children at 12 years old who are considered a sure thing
because so many things can affect their development - will they grow? Will
they stay committed for football? How will they react to playing against
bigger or better opponents? The other thing that needs to be addressed is
the issue of foreign players in the academies. In my view, you should not be
allowed to sign players from abroad to play in your youth team side. Look at
Cesc Fabregas. There's no way he should be playing Arsenal because he was
developed by Barcelona. But Arsene Wenger persuaded him to leave Spain and
under current UEFA rules, he's considered a homegrown player. That doesn't
make sense. Clubs should be forced to develop British players or at least
restricted to one or two foreign players in their youth team squads. In
turn, that will protect our national teams because British kids will get
more opportunities to develop and progress at big clubs. Of course, all of
this only highlights what a fantastic job is being done by West Ham, and in
particular Tony Carr. We've already seen Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Junior
Stanislas and Josh Payne play for the first team this season and the first
three are Premier League regulars.
That reputation for playing kids and giving youngsters a chance will
continue to be a big draw for us - and if UEFA impose new rules on homegrown
players, that could be a major advantage. You can throw all the money you
like at your youth set-up - Chelsea have spent £62m on youth transfers under
Frank Arnesen without any real success - but if the infrastructure isn't
right, you won't develop top players. Ultimately it comes down to the
scouts and the youth team manager and how you bring up and bring through
your young players. Credit to Tony Carr, because we've obviously got it
right. We're able to identify the right players and coach them in the right
way, and while Chelsea and Spurs struggle to produce homegrown players, we
are consistently developing Premier League performers. Now all we've got to
worry about is holding on to them once they're in the team.
Tony Cottee was talking to Jonathan Clegg.
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Da Costa: I'm the Man (uel)
Newham Recorder
09 September 2009
MANUEL DA COSTA is determined to repay West Ham for rescuing him from his
Serie A nightmare. The 23-year-old joined the Hammers last week as part of
the deal that sent Savio Nsereko to Fiorentina, bringing to an end a
miserable spell in Italy. Da Costa failed to settle in Florence after moving
from PSV Eindhoven, where he had emerged as a promising defender under
Ronald Koeman. He made just one league appearance for the Viola before being
shipped out on loan to Sampdoria, where the centre-half also struggled. Da
Costa suffered a fresh blow when he was omitted from Fiorentina's Champions
League squad last month, and the Portugal international is desperate to
revive his career at Upton Park. He said: "I have spoken to Gianluca Nani
and Gianfranco Zola and they want to give me an opportunity to relaunch my
career. "For me now the most important thing is to establish a place in the
team since I have come from a period in which I played very little. I want
to convince Zola and the technical staff that I am a player they can count
on."
Da Costa has fond memories of his previous experience of English football
after playing for PSV in a 2006 Champions League match against Liverpool. "I
remember when I played for PSV against Liverpool it was a fantastic
atmosphere," he recalled. "In English football the passion of the supporters
really appeals to me. I am excited to be playing in London.
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£100m - Hammers count the cost of Eggy's big splurge
Newham Recorder
09 September 2009
BAD NEWS seems to be so synonymous with West Ham at the moment that you may
have thought that Britain's current fall guy - prime minister Gordon Brown -
had come out in support of the club, writes DAVE EVANS. Calum Davenport,
Jack Collison's sad loss and the ugly scenes at Upton Park for the Carling
Cup clash with Millwall have put West Ham on to the news pages of the
tabloids as well as the sports pages. And so it is no surprise that the club
seemed to have stumbled into another crisis with the news that they lost a
staggering £37.4m in the year ending 2008. These accounts, published over a
year late by West Ham, paint a grim picture of the financial state of the
club, with finance director Nick Igoe describing the business strategy
during the period leading up to May 2008 as "fundamentally flawed".
The situation is made worse by the fact that the collapse of shirt sponsor
XL, which cost the club around £4m, and the out-of-court settlement with
Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez affair, which set West Ham back
another £26m over five years, are not included on this set of accounts. Debt
may be the word of the moment, but West Ham seem to have more than their
fair share. In the previous accounts, the debts were stated as £54m, but it
seems that one year of decadence under former chairman Eggert Magnusson has
plunged that nearer to £100m. Igoe also revealed that West Ham broke banking
rules over the repayment of their debt, and only the goodwill of the banks
prevented them from more serious trouble. "The scale of operating losses and
wages caused the group to breach certain banking coven-ants in 2007-08,"
Igoe explained in the report. "Although the group's banking syndicate waived
these breaches, a business strategy which relies on the goodwill of the
group's bankers to waive covenant breaches is fundamentally flawed."
It is unclear how common this sort of practise by the banks is when dealing
with debt-ridden football clubs. West Ham's deficit of around £100m is
chicken feed compared to some Premier League teams. As of May 2008, Arsenal
owed £416m, Fulham £197m, Manchester United £699m, Manchester City £147m and
Liverpool around £300m. All of those clubs, bar Fulham, have turnovers far
in excess of that of West Ham as well as billionaire owners to make such
debts managable. When you look at some of the profligacy involved at West
Ham during this period, it is clear to see that much of the fault lies with
former owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. He put Magnusson into the hot seat and
allowed his fellow Icelander to go on a massive spending spree both in terms
of transfers and wages. Allegedly, Magnusson and chief executive Scott
Duxbury would check with Gudmundsson as to whether they could afford to
continue spending and the owner gave them the all clear, suggesting he was
funding it with his own money, when in reality he was doing it via bank
loans. It is a small leap from that to work out how the current economic
crisis in Iceland originated. "It is clear with the benefit of hindsight
that not all of the investment undertaken in the playing squad in the period
under review was prudent," Igoe continued. "West Ham purchased three
high-profile players in 2007-08 at a combined cost of £20m with total annual
wages in excess of £12m. Those players made 36 starting appearances between
them in the season."
The last part of that statement seems to be something of a red herring. The
players concerned were Freddie Ljungberg, Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer, and
the fact that two of them were injured for most of that season is certainly
not West Ham's fault - paying the transfer fees and the wages in the first
place certainly is. West Ham's increased salaries for players took their
wage bill to turnover rating to 78 per cent, but when you compare it to
other Premier League clubs, it is a figure that is not alarming, despite
Igoe stating that it was "unsustainable".
In the same year, West Brom, managed 80 per cent, Wigan 89 per cent with
Stoke City at a staggering 106 per cent so West Ham's figure does not seem
so out of the ordinary.
Yet it is obvious that West Ham over-reached themselves in the days of
Magnusson, and they are still paying for those mistakes today. The sales of
Bellamy, Anton Ferdinand, George McCartney, Bobby Zamora, Hayden Mullins,
Matty Etherington, James Collins and Savio have helped to recoup some money
and slash the wage bill, but at what cost to the first team? And things are
likely to get worse before they get better. The accounts for the period up
to May 2009 are already overdue, and West Ham fans must hope that there are
no more skeletons in the cupboard waiting to leap out.
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Diamanti shines!
Newham Recorder
09 September 2009
WEST Ham's latest rough diamond - Alessandro Diamanti - showed more than a
glimmer of talent on his first outing in claret and blue on Tuesday night.
The £6m signing from Livorno netted two stunning free-kicks as the Hammers
battered Birmingham City 6-0 at Upton Park. Zavon Hines also enjoyed his
evening with a hat-trick, while 18-year-old skipper Bondz Ngala netted, and
Swiss international Valon Behrami made his long-awaited return after six
months on the sidelines with a knee injury. But it was Diamanti, playing in
a free role behind Hines and Frank Nouble, who really caught the eye with an
impressive display of playmaking. The 26-year-old, who is yet to play a top
flight match in his career, looked classy showing outstanding close control
and a powerful shot with his left foot. Reserve team boss Alex Dyer was also
able to award debuts to Manuel Da Costa and Davide Ferrari. Defender Da
Costa, who joined from Fiorentina as part of a swap deal for Savio Nsereko,
looked calm and composed in the Hammers defence, showing little of the
nervousness that blighted his time in Italy. And the 18-year-old Ferrari, on
a season-long loan from Brescia, looked lively in his preferred role as an
attacking right-back. Hammers' coaching staff will now monitor the fitness
of Behrami after his return to West Ham colours, but the player himself was
delighted to be back in action. "I enjoyed it a lot. For me, I've had a very
hard six months," said Behrami. "I am not scared about my injury. Now it is
up to the manager what he is thinking about me.
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West Ham, Spurs target Toni again admits he could quit Bayern Munich
10.09.09 | tribalfootball.com
Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni has again declared he could quit in January.
West Ham United and Tottenham are monitoring Toni's situation and he said:
"First I have to be fit again, then I am not worried. "But if my services
are not required, I will consider a transfer. I will not be a burden to the
club, though, and if I have to sit on the bench for a while I will. "But I
have a desire to play. I am a striker and I want to play for Italy at the
World Cup." Toni, who was linked with a move to England over the summer, is
contracted to Bayern until 2011 and insists he would be happy to see out
that agreement in Germany. "I am looking beyond January, since I am sure
that I will stay here," he added. "If it was up to me, I would fulfil my
contract."
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Behrami hails quality of West Ham youngsters
10.09.09 | tribalfootball.com
Valon Behrami has hailed the quality of West Ham United's youngsters. In
Behrami's comeback game this week, Zavin Hines, Fabio Daprela and Davide
Ferrari all featured in the 6-0 thumping of Birmingham City reserves. And
the Swiss midfielder told whufc.com: "It was a great game and a great team.
We have a lot of young, good quality players and that is a very good thing
for this club. Every single young player is very good and has quality. West
Ham United must be happy about this because I think we have a great future."
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