Pompey loan for Potts
WHUFC.com
West Ham United defender Dan Potts is heading to Portsmouth for a month-long
loan
19.11.2013
Dan Potts has joined Sky Bet League Two side Portsmouth on loan until 21
December. The 19-year-old defender will get a second taste of the Football
League, having enjoyed a loan spell with Colchester United last season.
Potts has been a mainstay of Nick Haycock's Development Squad, who have
stormed to the top of the Barclays U21 Premier League with a fine start to
the season, scoring twice in six league appearances. He also started at left
wing-back in the Hammers' 2-0 victory over Burnley in the Capital One Cup
fourth round late last month. That first team run-out added to the ten he
has already made at that level in his fledgling career, and he will now
bolster his experience with a month at Fratton Park. Guy Whittingham's men
currently sit 16th in League Two, but are only six points off the Play-Offs
in a tight division and Potts could make his debut in a home match against
Scunthorpe United this Saturday. The Hammers youngster joins Elliot Lee
(Colchester United), Jordan Spence (MK Dons) and Paul McCallum (Torquay
United) out on loan at Football League clubs.
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Vice-Chairman hails exciting step
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Vice-Chairman Karren Brady oversaw a significant milestone
for the Olympic Stadium
20.11.2013
West Ham United Vice-Chairman Karren Brady hailed an exciting step in the
transformation of the Olympic Stadium to a UEFA Category 4 venue for the
Hammers on Wednesday. Ms Brady was present at the Stratford site along with
first-team stars Kevin Nolan, Joe Cole, Mark Noble and Mohamed Diame as work
to take down the floodlighting towers and begin the construction of a
stunning new roof was set to start. The iconic Stadium is undergoing a
process of change, which will see the new 84-metre span roof cover the
entire seating bowl, and retractable seats being installed to bring
supporters close to the action and giving the venue the highest grading for
football stadia. Ms Brady said: "It's a great milestone for us and our
supporters to see the conversion work start to take place. We always felt it
was critical, as did Newham and the LLDC, to the stadium's success that it
had retractable seating and a roof that covered them, and this is the first
part of that process. "The right solution has been found, not only to cover
the seats but also to create a fantastic atmosphere inside the ground. One
thing we're very proud of at West Ham is the atmosphere and the roof has
been designed to help with that. "It's a very exciting day for us, and one
of the other things from a community point of view is that the jobs we'd
always say we'd create have started to be created and it's fantastic to see
so many local people working here and continuing to carry the flame of the
good work the Stadium has already done."
The Hammers Vice-Chairman is excited by the prospect of the Hammers playing
in front of 54,000 passionate fans and is determined to provide a fitting
arena for the Club. She continued: "We have a strategy to do it [fill the
Stadium]. Part of creating the atmosphere is that it's full. We have a
policy that football should be affordable for everybody and that there
should be as many entry points as possible. "Whether you're Kids for a Quid
or a top executive who wants all the benefits that hospitality can bring,
there should be something for everybody at the Olympic Stadium. And it
should be something that the local community can enjoy, multinational
companies can enjoy as well and sit side by side. "We have made a
commitment that our Season Ticket Holders will get first rights to come. So
we're confident that we'll have a policy that will work. We know that we
have enough supporters to fill this Stadium but we also want to bring a new
generation of people into football, those that just want to be part of this
iconic Stadium. "We have a lot of young people in our area that don't have
anywhere to go or anything to do on a regular basis and we want the Park and
the Stadium to be a key part of delivering that legacy going forward."
From a technical standpoint, Balfour Beatty have been contracted to carry
out the roof works and their Project Director Stuart Fraser was on hand to
explain the process of the next eighteen months. He explained: "Technically,
this is an enormous challenge. The roof is going to be taken down over the
next four months and the lighting panels are starting to come down now.
"There are 14 of them in total, they weigh around 34 tons each. There are
cables around the tips of the tops of the lighting towers and essentially,
what's happening now is that the towers are tied together on a
circumferential cable, which provides stability. "We have to put in a new
network of cables across the venue, and this spider's web of cables is now
in place, which means we can start snipping the circumferential cables and
taking the towers down. "Once the lighting towers are down, we take down the
ceremonies' tripods, which are at the back of the roof. They were the
structures that were put into place to take the temporary cables during the
ceremonies. They come down next, and then we embark on taking down the
fabric of the roof, and gradually lower down the existing cable-net
structure. We're due to complete late February, early March of next year.
"Then, the deconstruction is complete and we start on the construction of
the new roof, which is 84 metres in depth, a very large span roof and one
which will cover the entire seating arena. "That will take a year, we will
complete in the Spring of 2015, which gives a period of five months to get
ready for the Rugby World Cup preparations."
On the subject of another football club being able to use the Stadium
alongside the Hammers, London Legacy Development Commission (LLDC) chief
executive Dennis Hone was clear in his organisation's standpoint. He stated:
"I have received a letter from [Leyton Orient Chairman] Barry Hearn
requesting a meeting and we will have a meeting. "I have read the House of
Lords report and their desire to see community use within the stadium -
which is a desire that we all share and are working actively towards - and
that there could be occasional use for Leyton Orient. "Mr Hearn and Leyton
Orient's stated position though is that they want to look at groundshare,
and his letter to me reiterates that. It goes further than occasional use
and talks about groundshare. "We've had detailed competition factors - we
ran two competitions - and the process of those competitions was robust,
they were transparent and they were tested in the courts and found to be so.
We're not going to do anything that re-opens those competitions and we're
not going to do anything that leads to a re-run."
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New chapter for Olympic Stadium
WHUFC.com
The next step in the conversion of West Ham United's new home at the Olympic
Stadium has begun
20.11.2013
West Ham United are celebrating another landmark step en route to the
Olympic Stadium, with preparations now underway to facilitate the venue's
magnificent new roof. With the stunning conversion of the iconic arena
moving on apace, the first of 14 floodlight panels are to be removed later
this week, such that construction of the new roof, twice the size of the
original, can begin in earnest next spring. This is but one of a series of
fundamental changes that are to be implemented prior to 2016, transforming a
world-class athletics arena into a state-of-the-art, UEFA Category four
football Stadium. West Ham United Vice-Chairman Karren Brady explained:
"This marks a key milestone in the stunning, £200 million transformation of
the Olympic Stadium - one that will culminate in an iconic new home for our
Club. "My team and I fought exceptionally hard on behalf of our supporters
to ensure these modifications, which we knew were of paramount importance to
our supporters, took effect. "The roof is a truly phenomenal design that
will enhance the iconic status of this sporting arena and help to lock in
the world-famous atmosphere that our supporters create when we play at home.
"There will also be an innovative seating solution that will bring fans
closer to the pitch, new hospitality areas and a bespoke Ticket Office and
Club Store. "It was vital for us that this Stadium offers an incredible
viewing experience for West Ham United fans and I think that will become
ever clearer as the conversion progresses. "We're wholly committed to
delivering a state-of-the-art home for West Ham United by 2016 that will
honour the Olympic legacy pledge. Today represents another significant step
toward that hugely exciting goal."
Measuring 84 metres at its deepest point, the world's longest cantilevered
roof will cover every single seat, thereby locking in the world-famous
atmosphere that West Ham have long been known to create. Additionally,
floodlights suitable for a football stadium will become a fully integrated
feature of the new roof, incorporating the existing lighting system. The new
floodlights will retain the look of the iconic triangular design made famous
during the 2012 Olympic Games.
While the roof will augment the acoustics and protect spectators from the
elements, the innovative seating solution allows intimate pitch-side views,
as well as the retention of a running track to honour the nation's Olympic
legacy pledge. Work to construct the 45,000sq metres roof is set to be
completed by spring 2015, prior to the fit-out of concessions, toilets,
turnstiles and hospitality areas. The Olympic Stadium will firstly play host
to five 2015 Rugby World Cup matches, before becoming the Hammers' permanent
home the following summer. In the interim, a bespoke Ticket Office and Club
Store are to be constructed, while the most important items from our current
home will make the short journey with us to help fans, players and staff to
settle in as quickly as possible.
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Jarvo wants to repeat 'incredible' win
WHUFC.com
Matt Jarvis believes West Ham United can emulate last year's fantastic home
win over Chelsea on Saturday
20.11.2013
Matt Jarvis wants West Ham United to emulate their 'incredible' victory over
Chelsea a year ago by downing the Blues again on Saturday. The Hammers
roared back from a goal down to defeat their west London rivals 3-1 in
December 2012. Twelve months on, the No7 believes he and his team-mates can
score another eye-catching Barclays Premier League victory over Chelsea.
Having found himself on the bench in recent weeks, the England winger is
also hoping to play a central role in this weekend's mouth-watering London
derby. "I think beating Chelsea was the highlight of last season really,
being at home, getting a fantastic win and it was just a really good time
for us, just before Christmas," Jarvis confirmed. "It was fantastic for the
fans and for us. "It was incredible. We came out second half, played some
fantastic football and dominated the game really. We scored three goals. "I
certainly enjoyed the game. Mo Diame came off the bench and was superb, but
I think the whole team played well and we really dominated the second half."
For Jarvis, last season's superb victory - West Ham's Team Performance of
the Season - was not the first time he has enjoyed success against the
Blues.
During his time at former club Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 27-year-old was
part of the side that defeated Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League at Molineux
in January 2011. When asked what the secret of overcoming Roman Abramovich's
expensively-assembled team is, Jarvis' own theory is a clear and simple one
- play well! "You have got to be on song and playing your best football. You
have to make sure that in every position you are beating your opponent and
hoping that they are not having as good a day as normal."
In recent weeks, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion have both played
well against Chelsea. The Magpies beat Jose Mourinho's side 2-0 at St James'
Park, while only a disputed added-time penalty denied the Baggies a famous
victory at Stamford Bridge. "I think there is always a chance you can beat
them. We did it last year. It has shown already in the league that everyone
is beating everyone. No one has been dominant at the moment, so hopefully we
can show the qualities we did last year and get a good result."
Jarvis is desperate to show his own quality, having found himself out of Sam
Allardyce's starting XI in recent matches. An automatic starter last season,
the wideman admitted he has not hit the targets he set himself at the start
of the 2013/14 campaign. Two factors Jarvis certainly is not blaming for his
lack of goals and assists is the absence of the injured Andy Carroll and the
4-6-0 formation the Hammers have favoured in their past five league matches.
"Of course, you understand why you are not playing, but it is frustrating
and you want to play every game. You have to work hard and make sure when
you get the chance that you can take it. "I think it has been tough. I have
been hoping to pick up more goals myself when we have not been playing with
a main striker. We have been having a lot of midfielders getting in the box,
so that when we do deliver a cross we still have two or three in the box,
which is always great for a wide man, but unfortunately we have just not
been able to convert the chances. "You are used to seeing a big man [in the
penalty area], but we have still been able to get players in the box. When
we look at the reviews of the games you can see there are players getting
into the box so that is not really a problem."
While many players enjoy the break afforded them by international football,
Jarvis has played twice since West Ham were beaten at Norwich City on 9
November, scoring twice in a friendly victory over former club Gillingham.
"You have to be confident in yourself. I have had a good international
break, played two friendly games and I feel good and if called upon I am
ready to play on Saturday. "It is not the same as the Premier League but it
is good to get two run-outs to improve your fitness and sharpness and be
ready if called upon." Whether or not he is called upon, Jarvis hopes to be
celebrating another famous victory over Chelsea come Saturday evening. "We
are at home, we have our fan base behind us, we need a good result and so
hopefully we can get one."
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The Big Interview - Graham Gooch OBE
WHUFC.com
West Ham United fan and England cricket legend Graham Gooch OBE is ready for
the Ashes
20.11.2013
While the Barclays Premier League season approaches the halfway mark, the
sporting attentions of much of the country will turn to cricket this week as
the Ashes begin in Australia. England arrive Down Under having won the last
three Ashes series and will be confident of winning four in a row for the
first time since the 1890s. One man who will have a key part to play in
England's success is the country's record Test run scorer, current batting
coach and lifelong West Ham United supporter Graham Gooch OBE. The Official
Website caught up exclusively with Gooch from Australia to ask him about the
Ashes, the role of backroom staff in international cricket and how he will
keep in touch with the Hammers from the other side of the world.
Graham, the Ashes are about to begin. England come into the series on the
back of a 3-0 series win at home and victories in 2009 and 2010/11.
Presumably, confidence is high that we can make it four in a row?
GG: "Confidence is high in the England camp, although our practice has been
hampered by lots of rain. I think three-nil in our summer series was not
true reflection on the standards of the teams it was closer than that. We
will have to play a lot better to win here Down Under."
Both teams have a few injury niggles and selection decisions to make ahead
of the First Test, so how important is it that every squad member can
contribute to the cause?
GG: "Injuries as you know are a part of sport and it is important now to
have a strong squad and not just a strong XI. Hopefully our injuries will
clear up in time for the Brisbane Test."
As in a football match, how important is it for England to make a solid
start to the series in Brisbane?
GG: "Getting a good start is important in a series as you need to make a
strong showing, set the tone for the whole tour. For me, 2010 was a
highlight in Brisbane. Alastair Cook scored a double hundred, Andrew Strauss
a hundred and Jonathan Trott a hundred. A scoreboard showing 517/1 in
oursecond innings can't be bettered."
A lot has been written in recent years about the growing backroom staff used
by England. You have been in the set-up for 40 years, so just how have
things changed behind the scenes in terms of support structures for players?
GG: "There are now many more backup staff than when I started, covering
every aspect of the touring party from coaching to medical to security staff
and media. On my first tour to Australia in 1978, there was a manager,
assistant manager, physio and that was it. Presently here in Australia there
is 17 backroom staff."
You famously trained with West Ham United during your playing days. How does
the training done by international cricketers differ from that done by
footballers? Do different types of player (batsmen/seam bowlers/spinners) do
different types of physical training depending on their role?
GG: "Training for the players nowadays is different to the standard net
practice of years ago. Training is now geared to stimulate the players,
challenging their techniques their mental application. We stress training
for fitness and concentration and above all encouraging them to think on
their feet for themselves."
Concentrating on specific areas, performance analysis is something used
widely at West Ham United. How is this tool used in cricket to give England
an edge over the opposition?
GG: "Yes we have an analyst with us here in Australia. In fact England
Cricket has a whole department focused on this aspect of the game. This work
is very important in backing up the coaches in terms of real-time
performance and feedback."
Nutrition has become a hot subject with the publication of the England
'cookbook' recently. On a serious note, how much have players' eating (and
drinking!) habits changed and how important do you think it is for England's
cricketers to eat the right things?
GG: "As for nutrition, the players are very aware and much more in tune with
this than when I was playing. Across the board cricketers and much fitter
and stronger these days, partly because every club has a department for
strength and conditioning."
In football, goalkeepers are the only players who receive specific
positional coaching on a daily basis. Do you feel football could benefit
generally from cricket's more specialised approach to coaching? (eg
defensive coaches, striker coaches, set play coaches).
GG: "Specialist coaching is important to look after every aspect of the
players' skills. Here in Australia England have a head coach, batting coach,
fast bowling coach, spin bowling coach, wicket keeping coach and fielding
coach. Nothing is left to chance. I think possibly football could improve
with this type of set-up."
You will be away from family, friends and West Ham United for months on end.
How do you keep in touch and, more importantly, will you be able to catch
the Hammers' matches on television Down Under?
GG: "With the Internet it is easy to keep in touch and up to date on all the
Hammers news, plus I can watch matches and highlights on the TV."
Are there any other Hammers among the playing/coaching staff?
GG: "I think I am the only West Ham fan here. Sometimes with our results
it's difficult to fight the Hammers corner here. We have to find some goals
from somewhere!"
Football matches have often used as part of training sessions by cricket
teams, presumably for a bit of light-hearted exercise. Who are the star
players among the squad/backroom staff?
GG: "Sorry but I don't know because we don't play football as warm-up here
with the team. It's too much of a risky for a possible injury."
Finally, watching England playing overseas on television, there is always an
abundance of football club-related flags on show, including many West Ham
United flags. Do you have much interaction with the supporters? How
important is that 'away' support to the team?
GG: "Cricket supporters always are a great part of a cricket tour. It's
fantastic to see the thousands who come with the Barmy Army. It makes a huge
difference to the team when they are singing at the matches. The players
love the songs and all that goes with it. They are a fantastic bunch."
*The Ashes First Test will start in Brisbane overnight between Wednesday 20
November and Thursday 21 November at midnight UK time, with the match being
screened live on Sky Sports 2 HD.
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Dan Potts: West Ham defender joins Portsmouth on loan
BBC.co.uk
Portsmouth have signed versatile defender Dan Potts from Premier League club
West Ham on a month's loan. The 19-year-old played two Premier League games
last season after a loan spell at League One side Colchester. His only
senior appearance so far this term came in West Ham's 2-0 Capital One Cup
win at Burnley last month.
Dan Potts factfile
Dan Potts
Born: 13 April, 1994
West Ham (2011-present) 11 appearances
Colchester (2012-13, loan) five appearances
"The thought of playing at Fratton Park before the sort of crowds that come
to Pompey is a really exciting prospect," Potts told the club website.
Potts, who has represented England at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20
levels, is the son of former West Ham captain Steve who played for the
Hammers between 1985 and 2002. He came through West Ham's youth system
before making his senior debut in the Championship in December 2011 - a 1-0
victory against Barnsley.
This season Potts has been been a mainstay of Nick Haycock's development
squad which sits top of the Under-21 Premier League, scoring twice in six
appearances. He is available to make his Pompey debut against Scunthorpe in
League Two on Saturday. "I just want to play first-team football, so
hopefully I can benefit the team and help us get some good results," Potts
said.
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Brady raises the roof
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 20th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
The first step in the two-year plan to convert Stratford's Olympic Stadium
into West Ham United's new home took place today. Watched by the likes of
club captain Kevin Nolan plus Londoners Joe Cole and Mark Noble*,
contractors began the long and arduous task of removing 14 large floodlight
panels - the first of which is expected to be detached later this week - in
order to vacate sufficient space for the new roof, the installation of which
will begin in Spring 2014.
"This marks a key milestone in the stunning, £200 million transformation of
the Olympic Stadium - one that will culminate in an iconic new home for our
Club," said Vice Chair Karren Brady. "My team and I fought exceptionally
hard on behalf of our supporters to ensure these modifications, which we
knew were of paramount importance to our supporters, took effect. "The roof
is a truly phenomenal design that will enhance the iconic status of this
sporting arena and help to lock in the world-famous atmosphere that our
supporters create when we play at home. "We're wholly committed to
delivering a state-of-the-art home for West Ham United by 2016 that will
honour the Olympic legacy pledge. Today represents another significant step
toward that hugely exciting goal."
The new roof, which will cover all 54,000 spectator seats in the revamped
stadium is expected to take a year to install. Twice the size of the
existing roof and with a span of some 84 metres, its cost forms the brunt of
the estimated £200million conversion. Brady also revealed that as well as
new hospitality areas which, it is hoped, will considerably raise the Club's
annual turnover, fans can also expect a "bespoke" ticket office plus a new,
on-site, Club shop. Due to open temporarily in Summer 2015 in order to host
the Rugby World Cup - of which the Olympic Stadium is one of 13 chosen
venues across England and Wales - the arena closes again shortly after for
another year to make the final changes in preparation for unveiling the
stadium at West Ham's new home in 2016.
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UNCERTAIN TIMES AT UPTON PARK
By Tony Hanna 20 Nov 2013 at 15:13
West Ham Till I Die
The longer you have supported West Ham you the more you realise that nothing
is ever certain when supporting our club. Just when you think things are
looking pretty good along comes another spanner in the works. Relegations,
promotions, FA Cups, play off finals, European success, the Global Financial
meltdown and the Icelandic's, the Tevez affair, new stands, Lou Macari, the
'Arry and Billy breakup, Bobby Moore sold to Fulham, Peters to Spurs, Hurst
to Stoke, the Mile End mob and ICF hooligan years, the team of '86 with
Trevor, Devo, Billy, Alvin, Frank and Tony, Chicken Run replaced, John Lyall
sacked, cup defeats at Swindon, Mansfield and Blackpool, the passing of
Bobby, John and Ron, PD Canio, selling the new golden generation of Cole,
Ferdinand, Lampard and Carrick, the Beauchamp farce, Bobby, Geoff and Martin
winning the World Cup…….our motto should be "we are Moore than a yoyo club"?
To the present and the Olympic Stadium looms as possibly the biggest event
in the clubs history. However, before then we have the difficult task of
cementing our Premier League status. After our lofty tenth position last
season and an apparent strengthening of the team with Ravel, Downing and
Rat, this season should have been one where we could sit back and cheer the
team on without any fear of nasty surprises? Our clubs current precarious
position has been disguised in some ways by the fact we don't have a Premier
League quality striker. Well, we do – Andy Carroll, but of course we don't
know if and when he will play again. The last time we played Russian
roulette with no recognised strikers we were relegated. The expected return
of Andy has just been a conveyor belt of different dates, set backs and
rumours. When we did try to get good cover for Andy, apparently no one was
interested as they didn't want to be on the bench! Then when we did get two
strikers in, Cole and Petric, neither were fit and both look out of their
depth anyway?
So with January looming will Andy be back? If he is how long before he gets
fully fit and in form? How long before he is injured again? Knowing our luck
he will be back around Xmas and will get injured again just as the January
window slams firmly shut. Whilst 4-6-0 worked against Spurs it doesn't look
as though it is a recipe that will bring enough points long term for
survival. In many ways I think the best thing that may happen is that Andy
does not return this season, leaving the way open for us to negotiate with a
high profile striker in January with the knowledge that they will be playing
regularly. Whether that be a signing or a loan deal, it is of the utmost
urgency. If we go over the FFP then so be it, because without goals the
inevitable is unthinkable. But there again, nothing is certain when you
follow West Ham.
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WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE PROMISED SAVIO INVESTIGATION?
By Sean Whetstone 20 Nov 2013 at 08:21
West Ham till I Die
This time last year Karren Brady announced that West Ham had begun an
investigation into the reported £8.3 million transfer of Savio Nsereko from
Brescia in January 2009.
One year on to the week we are still none the wiser.
Savio made just one Premier League start during a seven-month spell at West
Ham "The deal is something I'm investigating," Brady said in her Diary
column in the Sun in November 2012. "Just before this board took over, the
club paid a huge amount to Brescia for the German Under-21 who took part in
a handful of matches and then departed for Fiorentina at a fraction of the
price."
Savio was once hailed "the talent of the century" in German football
circles, when Savio Nsereko won the 2008 European Youth Championship under
coach Horst Hrubesch.
He was sold to Fiorentina for a reduced fee of £3m according the Telegraph,
with Manuel da Costa going the other way as part of the deal. West Ham
retained the rights to 50 percent of the player's sell-on fee. Manuel Da
Costa who later had personal problems of his own was sold by West Ham for
1.5 million Euros.
Savio never broke into Fiorentina's first team and in January 2010 was
loaned out to Bologna
In July 2010, he was sent back to Germany, joining 1860 München on a season
loan; the loan agreement was however cancelled in October, after the player
was reported missing for a week before being found at his sister's place.
He was later loaned to Juve Stabia but after only one game with the club,
Savio was reported missing once again in September 2011. Fears have grew
over the whereabouts after he was officially reported missing in Italy.
Interpol joined the search to find the Ugandan-born German. The then
22-year-old hadn't been seen since texting his manager to say he wouldn't be
at training for 'personal reasons'
This led his club to ask for an unilateral rescission of the contract. He
was successively found in London.
Savio then moved SpVgg Unterhaching of the third division in Germany in
September 2012 for an undisclosed fee. In an interview on the club's
website, Nsereko cited his desire to play in his home town of Munich as one
of the motivating factors for his move. He was released by Unterhaching
after three months with the club.
In 2012 it is claimed he called his family from Thailand telling them he had
been abducted and demanding a sum of 3,000 euros (£2,400). However, police
arrested him after becoming suspicious at the small ransom demand. He later
claimed it was a misunderstanding.
Earlier this year he was back in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
According to German website Bild.de he stole a watch from his own team-mate,
Salvatore Amirante, who was recovering from a knee injury while playing in
the German regional leagues with FC Viktoria Koln.
In July this year he completed a free transfer move to an obscure Israeli
side called Hapoel Ironi Akko. Last season they finished bottom of the
Israeli Premier League table but survived by two points in the Bottom Half
Play off.
This year he was quoted as saying: "I made a lot of mistakes. In fact, I did
everything wrong that I could. I was handed a million Euro in cash thanks to
the move and earned 65'000 Euro (more than £50,000) a month at West Ham. I
lost grip with reality completely."
It is claimed for two of his birthdays, he flew himself and female friends
of his to Miami. In a private jet costing 160,000 Euros. "Nobody ever told
me how to deal with that amount of money" he said.
When Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Nani splurged £8.3 million on 19-year-old
German youth international Savio Nsereko in 2009 Scott Duxbury, West Ham;s
then CEO said "We are delighted to sign Savio, particularly with the fierce
competition for his services across Europe. He is an exciting prospect, who
Gianfranco Zola believes will prove a valuable asset for this club now and
in the years to come. It is a significant investment and shows our
determination to continue moving this club forward."
Zola, Nani and Duxbury are now all at Watford.
Will we ever know the truth about Savio and any dodgy dealings or is he just
a troubled youngster who didn't fulfil his potential? How much of did West
Ham pay and how much did we get back?
I asked West Ham's press office for an update to the Savio investigation
last week but received no update.
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West Ham United start conversion of Olympic Stadium new home for 2016
20 Nov 2013 19:20
The Mirror
West Ham United have revealed the next step they have taken in moving into
the Olympic Stadium. The club took to their Twitter account to show how the
stadium could look, as they prepare to move into their new home in 2016. A
picture of the potential stadium was uploaded alongside the words: "The next
step in the conversion of West Ham United's new home at the Olympic Stadium
has begun." The conversion includes the construction of a new roof, one of a
number of changes that will be implemented to transform the stadium from its
original athletics purpose. Hammers' fans will be no doubt delighted by the
proposed venue with the state-of-the-art looking spectacular in the image
uploaded, as current captain Kevin Nolan leads out his team mates.
Vice-Chairman Karen Brady revealed her happiness at what could be a huge
breakthrough for the stadiums future. She told the club's official website:
"My team and I fought exceptionally hard on behalf of our supporters to
ensure these modifications, which we knew were of paramount importance to
our supporters, took effect."
"It was vital for us that this Stadium offers an incredible viewing
experience and I think that will become even clearer as the conversion
progresses." Last month, Leyton Orient, who were vying with West Ham to
become the tenants of the stadium, lost their battle to award a ground
share. However peers in the House of Lords this week claimed that the League
One club should in fact be allowed to use the stadium, and put an end to the
squabble between the clubs.
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Thursday, November 21
Wednesday, November 20
Daily WHUFC News - 20th November 2013
Loanee round-up
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee and Paul McCallum were in Sky Bet Football League action for their loan clubs at the weekend
18.11.2013
Elliot Lee and Paul McCallum were in Sky Bet Football League action for their loan clubs at the weekend. The young West Ham United forwards unfortunately both ended up on the losing side, however. Lee played for 55 minutes in Colchester United's 2-1 League One home defeat by Swindon Town - the 18-year-old's fourth appearance for the U's. Defeat left Colchester 15th in the table ahead of Saturday's trip to Preston North End. McCallum played his fifth game for Torquay United, but the Gulls slumped to a 2-0 home League Two defeat by Chesterfield. Torquay sit in the relegation zone ahead of Saturday's away match at Accrington Stanley. Both players' loan spells are set to end after Saturday's games. Jordan Spence was left without a game on Saturday after MK Dons' League One trip to Oldham Athletic was postponed due to international call-ups.
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Potts positive over friendly form
WHUFC.com
Dan Potts was confident after the Club's recent friendlies yielded good performances
19.11.2013
West Ham United defender Dan Potts is in positive mood after the Club's recent showings over the course of the international break. While they may have been billed as friendlies, there was nothing too amicable about the way a West Ham United XI dismantled Gillingham 9-0 and then played out a tough 2-2 draw with Millwall. Potts played a full part in both matches and while Millwall fielded a stronger side than Gillingham, the defender was pleased with the attitude of the team on both occasions. Potts told West Ham TV: "We know that you can only play what's in front of you and face the team that they put out. "Last Tuesday it was a much younger team than we faced against Millwall but I thought in both games we've applied ourselves well. "Obviously against Millwall we came away with a draw but it was important also that we didn't lose."
Both matches provided valuable game time for some of the Club's senior players as well as handing some of the younger players a chance to impress.
Potts believes scheduling these sorts of games over the course of an international break helps the players to maintain their match fitness amongst their normal training schedules. "It's always good to have these types of matches in place. You want to keep ticking over, keep that match fitness up. "You can train all you like but when there aren't games there's nothing that you can do to resemble what you do in a game. So these sorts of games are very good over the course of the international break."
During the draw with Millwall, Potts and centre-back partner Pelly Ruddock were able to pit their wits against seasoned Championship and Wales international striker Steve Morison and Republic of Ireland forward Andy Keogh. Keogh and Richard Chaplow netted for the visitors and Potts was happy with the test provided. He said: "Any game you're involved in you have to enjoy playing, especially at Upton Park. They put a strong team out and I thought in the end that it was a very fair game. Both teams had chances and it ended up 2-2. "We obviously want to be playing against senior opponents, especially myself, and it was good to see that they had a strong team out. But overall it was a very good experience playing against Steve."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rat's World Cup dream dashed
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat's Romania were defeated 4-2 on aggregate by Greece in their FIFA World Cup Play-Off
19.11.2013
Razvan Rat's Romania drew 1-1 with Greece on Tuesday to see their FIFA World Cup dreams dashed courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate defeat. The Greeks held a 3-1 advantage ahead of the European Play-Off second leg at the National Arena in Bucharest and lengthened their lead through Kostas Mitroglou midway through the first half. Rat was substituted moments later. Romania levelled ten minutes into the second half through a Vasilios Torosidis own-goal, but the Greeks were able to hold on to secure qualification. Elsewhere, Winston Reid's New Zealand face a near impossible task when they take on Mexico in their Intercontinental Play-Off second leg in Wellington. The Kiwis, without the injured Reid, slumped to a 5-1 defeat in the first leg in Mexico City last Wednesday, need something close to a miracle to turn things around at the Westpac Stadium at 7pm NZ time on Wednesday (6am on Wednesday UK time).
Closer to home, Ravel Morrison was an unused substitute as England U21s romped to a record 9-0 Euro 2015 qualifying Group 1 win over San Marino in Shrewsbury on Tuesday. England stay top of Group 1, having collected 16 points from six matches played so far. Raphael Spiegel's own Euro 2015 hopes took a turn for the worse as Switzerland were defeated 2-1 at home by Ukraine in Thun on Monday. The Hammers goalkeeper was an unused substitute as the Swiss lost for the second time in five Group 5 qualifiers to leave them second in the table. Finally, Academy defenders Kyle Knoyle and Reece Burke have both been with England U18s at a special two-day training camp at St George's Park. Knoyle and Burke made their debuts in a recent friendly win over Hungary and will want to remain in the fold ahead of next season's UEFA European U19 Championship campaign.
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Rat injury scare
Kumb.COM
Filed: Tuesday, 19th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham left back Razvan Rat could add to Sam Allardyce's injury problems after he was withdrawn less than half an hour into tonight's World Cup play-off tie between Romania and Greece in Bucharest. Allardyce, who is already missing key first team players such as Andy Carroll and Winston Reid could now be facing the loss of the experienced full back who was making his 93rd appearance for his country. Details of the specific nature of the injury are yet to emerge, although Rat was clearly in some discomfort when leaving the field. Greece lead the match 1-0 at half time courtesy of a 25th minute Konstantinos Mitroglou goal.
* Ravel Morrison was an unused substitute as England Under 21s secured a record 9-0 win against San Marino at the Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury.
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Morrison benched
Kumb.COM
Filed: Tuesday, 19th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
Ravel Morrison was demoted to the bench for England's Under 21 European Championship clash with San Marino this evening. The young Hammer, who dazzled against Finland last week in a comfortable 3-0 win began tonight's game as a substitute when the two sides met at the Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury. Although he hasn't had the opportunity to wow the crowd this evening, earlier this week another of Morrison's training videos went viral after the young Hammer scored an outrageous back-heeled volley during an Under 21s training session.
England's Under 21s currently lead tonight's game 5-0 through goals from Michael Keane, Raheem Sterling, Danny Ings James Ward-Prowse and Tom Ince.
Team: Butland, Jenkinson, Robinson, Hughes, Stones, Keane, Ince, Ward-Prowse, Ings, Lingard, Sterling.
Subs: Shaw, Bond, Chalobah, Dier, Zaha, Bamford, Morrison.
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REMEMBERING ALAN DEVONSHIRE
By Tony Hanna 19 Nov 2013 at 14:19
West Ham Till I Die
In September 1976 West Ham made one of the best signings in the clubs history. Plucked from non-league Southall for a mere 5,000 pounds, little did we know then what a gem we had bought. Fourteen seasons and over 400 games later Alan Devonshire finally moved on and finished his career with 25 games at Watford. What is astonishing is that he only gained 8 caps for England? One of the most talented players ever to wear the Claret and Blue, his silky and graceful skills were a joy to watch. He struck up a telepathic relationship in midfield with Trevor Brooking that blessed the glory years that included the FA Cup final win in 1980, the League Cup final defeat a year later and our 3rd placing in the top flight in 1986 – our highest finish in the clubs history. His mazy runs down the left flank will be engraved in fans memories, especially the ones against Arsenal in the Cup Final that led to the only goal of the game and the one that led to his goal against Everton in the preceding semi final.
Results did not go our way immediately when Devo was brought into the side in October 1976. In his first 10 games we only won once, 5-3 at home to Spurs. But things would get better for a player who became a true legend of our club. His ability to glide past defenders was a joy to watch but also ensured in an era where the tackle from behind was fair game, that injuries would blight his career. Indeed he missed the whole of the 1984/5 season. Devo was also a player who suffered extreme nerves before games. He was encouraged to try and sleep on the physios bench before games and quite often had to be woken up just before the teams went out to play. Whilst the stats show he only scored 32 goals for West Ham a calculator would be needed to count the goals and chances he made for others.
Alan Devonshire is one past player that I have no doubt would have excelled in todays Premier League. The protection he would get from the law changes in the game together with the pristine playing surfaces would have him right up there with the superstars of the game. Nowadays, at the ripe old age of 57 he is managing Braintree Town after a successful stint at Hampton and Richmond Borough. On a recent podcast Devo gave tribute to both Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds for being inspirational in his career. Trevor for being the super player he was and Billy for being a great leader and always looking out for him. He also agreed with some of my own philosophies on todays game – mainly that the sideways/ backwards passes between defenders is harming the game as a spectacle. Coming from amateur football initially, meant that he worked a normal job for 18 months before the Hammers signed him. Therefore, he was always one player that had a true appreciation of how lucky he was to earn a living playing football. He loved playing for West Ham and especially the electric atmosphere filled evening games at Upton Park. One thing is for sure, when you went to watch Alan Devonshire you got entertainment and witnessed courage.
I was going to attach a video clip of one of Devo's best goals (against Chelsea), but true to my nostalgia series of "remembering" West Ham's legends, I found the goal amongst a collection of West Ham legend goals, enjoy a trip down memory lane
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West Ham keeping tabs on Portugal international Hugo Almeida
2013-11-19 11:50:55
Turkish-football.com
West Ham have been keeping tabs on Beşiktaş striker Hugo Almeida. Almeida still has a year left on his contract however, the 29-year-old has been reluctant to renew his contract on a lower wage. The Portugal international has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the Black Eagles over the renewal of his contract all season. Beşiktaş Director of Football Önder Özen told reporters back during the summer transfer window that Almeida's reluctance to accept a wage cut had forced the club into transfer listing the powerful striker. Özen said, "We need to restructure our wages and and negotiate a more reasonable contract deal with him. "We will consider offers for Almeida, especially if we can't reach an agreement regarding his wages." The Hammers have kept tabs on the Portugal international and were linked with a bid over the summer. Almeida has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League. It is no secret and I've said several times, I would like to play in England or Spain sometime," Almeida told Portuguese newspaper A Bola last summer. West Ham have only scored 9 goals this season the joint third lowest figure in the Premier League. Almeida joined Beşiktaş from Werder Bremen in 2011 on a €2 million transfer fee. The 29-year-old striker has seven goals and two assists in 12 appearances for the Eagles this season.
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West Ham news: Hammers close in on French veteran
Exclusive
by Robert Shepherd19th November 2013 9:36pm GMT
sportsdirectnews.com
West Ham are planning a January loan deal for ex-Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, SportsDirect News understands. The former France international, who plays for US side Portland Timbers, is keen on maintaining his fitness in the MLS close season and is looking at 'one final adventure' before he hangs up his boots. At 36, Silvestre would fit into West Ham's policy of signing experienced players beyond their best and his signature could coincide with the potential signing of Seattle Sounders forward, Clint Dempsey. The ex-Fulham is expected to join the east London side next month. A source told SportsDirect News: "Of course there is the whole financial fair play thing, but if Clint joins he is likely to be a 'pay-as-you-play-hire and Mikael would be just what we need - a centre-back comfortable on the ball." West Ham face Fulham at home this weekend.
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WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee and Paul McCallum were in Sky Bet Football League action for their loan clubs at the weekend
18.11.2013
Elliot Lee and Paul McCallum were in Sky Bet Football League action for their loan clubs at the weekend. The young West Ham United forwards unfortunately both ended up on the losing side, however. Lee played for 55 minutes in Colchester United's 2-1 League One home defeat by Swindon Town - the 18-year-old's fourth appearance for the U's. Defeat left Colchester 15th in the table ahead of Saturday's trip to Preston North End. McCallum played his fifth game for Torquay United, but the Gulls slumped to a 2-0 home League Two defeat by Chesterfield. Torquay sit in the relegation zone ahead of Saturday's away match at Accrington Stanley. Both players' loan spells are set to end after Saturday's games. Jordan Spence was left without a game on Saturday after MK Dons' League One trip to Oldham Athletic was postponed due to international call-ups.
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Potts positive over friendly form
WHUFC.com
Dan Potts was confident after the Club's recent friendlies yielded good performances
19.11.2013
West Ham United defender Dan Potts is in positive mood after the Club's recent showings over the course of the international break. While they may have been billed as friendlies, there was nothing too amicable about the way a West Ham United XI dismantled Gillingham 9-0 and then played out a tough 2-2 draw with Millwall. Potts played a full part in both matches and while Millwall fielded a stronger side than Gillingham, the defender was pleased with the attitude of the team on both occasions. Potts told West Ham TV: "We know that you can only play what's in front of you and face the team that they put out. "Last Tuesday it was a much younger team than we faced against Millwall but I thought in both games we've applied ourselves well. "Obviously against Millwall we came away with a draw but it was important also that we didn't lose."
Both matches provided valuable game time for some of the Club's senior players as well as handing some of the younger players a chance to impress.
Potts believes scheduling these sorts of games over the course of an international break helps the players to maintain their match fitness amongst their normal training schedules. "It's always good to have these types of matches in place. You want to keep ticking over, keep that match fitness up. "You can train all you like but when there aren't games there's nothing that you can do to resemble what you do in a game. So these sorts of games are very good over the course of the international break."
During the draw with Millwall, Potts and centre-back partner Pelly Ruddock were able to pit their wits against seasoned Championship and Wales international striker Steve Morison and Republic of Ireland forward Andy Keogh. Keogh and Richard Chaplow netted for the visitors and Potts was happy with the test provided. He said: "Any game you're involved in you have to enjoy playing, especially at Upton Park. They put a strong team out and I thought in the end that it was a very fair game. Both teams had chances and it ended up 2-2. "We obviously want to be playing against senior opponents, especially myself, and it was good to see that they had a strong team out. But overall it was a very good experience playing against Steve."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rat's World Cup dream dashed
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat's Romania were defeated 4-2 on aggregate by Greece in their FIFA World Cup Play-Off
19.11.2013
Razvan Rat's Romania drew 1-1 with Greece on Tuesday to see their FIFA World Cup dreams dashed courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate defeat. The Greeks held a 3-1 advantage ahead of the European Play-Off second leg at the National Arena in Bucharest and lengthened their lead through Kostas Mitroglou midway through the first half. Rat was substituted moments later. Romania levelled ten minutes into the second half through a Vasilios Torosidis own-goal, but the Greeks were able to hold on to secure qualification. Elsewhere, Winston Reid's New Zealand face a near impossible task when they take on Mexico in their Intercontinental Play-Off second leg in Wellington. The Kiwis, without the injured Reid, slumped to a 5-1 defeat in the first leg in Mexico City last Wednesday, need something close to a miracle to turn things around at the Westpac Stadium at 7pm NZ time on Wednesday (6am on Wednesday UK time).
Closer to home, Ravel Morrison was an unused substitute as England U21s romped to a record 9-0 Euro 2015 qualifying Group 1 win over San Marino in Shrewsbury on Tuesday. England stay top of Group 1, having collected 16 points from six matches played so far. Raphael Spiegel's own Euro 2015 hopes took a turn for the worse as Switzerland were defeated 2-1 at home by Ukraine in Thun on Monday. The Hammers goalkeeper was an unused substitute as the Swiss lost for the second time in five Group 5 qualifiers to leave them second in the table. Finally, Academy defenders Kyle Knoyle and Reece Burke have both been with England U18s at a special two-day training camp at St George's Park. Knoyle and Burke made their debuts in a recent friendly win over Hungary and will want to remain in the fold ahead of next season's UEFA European U19 Championship campaign.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rat injury scare
Kumb.COM
Filed: Tuesday, 19th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
West Ham left back Razvan Rat could add to Sam Allardyce's injury problems after he was withdrawn less than half an hour into tonight's World Cup play-off tie between Romania and Greece in Bucharest. Allardyce, who is already missing key first team players such as Andy Carroll and Winston Reid could now be facing the loss of the experienced full back who was making his 93rd appearance for his country. Details of the specific nature of the injury are yet to emerge, although Rat was clearly in some discomfort when leaving the field. Greece lead the match 1-0 at half time courtesy of a 25th minute Konstantinos Mitroglou goal.
* Ravel Morrison was an unused substitute as England Under 21s secured a record 9-0 win against San Marino at the Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury.
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Morrison benched
Kumb.COM
Filed: Tuesday, 19th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
Ravel Morrison was demoted to the bench for England's Under 21 European Championship clash with San Marino this evening. The young Hammer, who dazzled against Finland last week in a comfortable 3-0 win began tonight's game as a substitute when the two sides met at the Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury. Although he hasn't had the opportunity to wow the crowd this evening, earlier this week another of Morrison's training videos went viral after the young Hammer scored an outrageous back-heeled volley during an Under 21s training session.
England's Under 21s currently lead tonight's game 5-0 through goals from Michael Keane, Raheem Sterling, Danny Ings James Ward-Prowse and Tom Ince.
Team: Butland, Jenkinson, Robinson, Hughes, Stones, Keane, Ince, Ward-Prowse, Ings, Lingard, Sterling.
Subs: Shaw, Bond, Chalobah, Dier, Zaha, Bamford, Morrison.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REMEMBERING ALAN DEVONSHIRE
By Tony Hanna 19 Nov 2013 at 14:19
West Ham Till I Die
In September 1976 West Ham made one of the best signings in the clubs history. Plucked from non-league Southall for a mere 5,000 pounds, little did we know then what a gem we had bought. Fourteen seasons and over 400 games later Alan Devonshire finally moved on and finished his career with 25 games at Watford. What is astonishing is that he only gained 8 caps for England? One of the most talented players ever to wear the Claret and Blue, his silky and graceful skills were a joy to watch. He struck up a telepathic relationship in midfield with Trevor Brooking that blessed the glory years that included the FA Cup final win in 1980, the League Cup final defeat a year later and our 3rd placing in the top flight in 1986 – our highest finish in the clubs history. His mazy runs down the left flank will be engraved in fans memories, especially the ones against Arsenal in the Cup Final that led to the only goal of the game and the one that led to his goal against Everton in the preceding semi final.
Results did not go our way immediately when Devo was brought into the side in October 1976. In his first 10 games we only won once, 5-3 at home to Spurs. But things would get better for a player who became a true legend of our club. His ability to glide past defenders was a joy to watch but also ensured in an era where the tackle from behind was fair game, that injuries would blight his career. Indeed he missed the whole of the 1984/5 season. Devo was also a player who suffered extreme nerves before games. He was encouraged to try and sleep on the physios bench before games and quite often had to be woken up just before the teams went out to play. Whilst the stats show he only scored 32 goals for West Ham a calculator would be needed to count the goals and chances he made for others.
Alan Devonshire is one past player that I have no doubt would have excelled in todays Premier League. The protection he would get from the law changes in the game together with the pristine playing surfaces would have him right up there with the superstars of the game. Nowadays, at the ripe old age of 57 he is managing Braintree Town after a successful stint at Hampton and Richmond Borough. On a recent podcast Devo gave tribute to both Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds for being inspirational in his career. Trevor for being the super player he was and Billy for being a great leader and always looking out for him. He also agreed with some of my own philosophies on todays game – mainly that the sideways/ backwards passes between defenders is harming the game as a spectacle. Coming from amateur football initially, meant that he worked a normal job for 18 months before the Hammers signed him. Therefore, he was always one player that had a true appreciation of how lucky he was to earn a living playing football. He loved playing for West Ham and especially the electric atmosphere filled evening games at Upton Park. One thing is for sure, when you went to watch Alan Devonshire you got entertainment and witnessed courage.
I was going to attach a video clip of one of Devo's best goals (against Chelsea), but true to my nostalgia series of "remembering" West Ham's legends, I found the goal amongst a collection of West Ham legend goals, enjoy a trip down memory lane
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham keeping tabs on Portugal international Hugo Almeida
2013-11-19 11:50:55
Turkish-football.com
West Ham have been keeping tabs on Beşiktaş striker Hugo Almeida. Almeida still has a year left on his contract however, the 29-year-old has been reluctant to renew his contract on a lower wage. The Portugal international has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the Black Eagles over the renewal of his contract all season. Beşiktaş Director of Football Önder Özen told reporters back during the summer transfer window that Almeida's reluctance to accept a wage cut had forced the club into transfer listing the powerful striker. Özen said, "We need to restructure our wages and and negotiate a more reasonable contract deal with him. "We will consider offers for Almeida, especially if we can't reach an agreement regarding his wages." The Hammers have kept tabs on the Portugal international and were linked with a bid over the summer. Almeida has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League. It is no secret and I've said several times, I would like to play in England or Spain sometime," Almeida told Portuguese newspaper A Bola last summer. West Ham have only scored 9 goals this season the joint third lowest figure in the Premier League. Almeida joined Beşiktaş from Werder Bremen in 2011 on a €2 million transfer fee. The 29-year-old striker has seven goals and two assists in 12 appearances for the Eagles this season.
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West Ham news: Hammers close in on French veteran
Exclusive
by Robert Shepherd19th November 2013 9:36pm GMT
sportsdirectnews.com
West Ham are planning a January loan deal for ex-Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, SportsDirect News understands. The former France international, who plays for US side Portland Timbers, is keen on maintaining his fitness in the MLS close season and is looking at 'one final adventure' before he hangs up his boots. At 36, Silvestre would fit into West Ham's policy of signing experienced players beyond their best and his signature could coincide with the potential signing of Seattle Sounders forward, Clint Dempsey. The ex-Fulham is expected to join the east London side next month. A source told SportsDirect News: "Of course there is the whole financial fair play thing, but if Clint joins he is likely to be a 'pay-as-you-play-hire and Mikael would be just what we need - a centre-back comfortable on the ball." West Ham face Fulham at home this weekend.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Tuesday, November 19
Daily WHUFC News - 19th November 2013
Hammers publish important research
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are leading the exploration into a rare neck and shoulder
condition
18.11.2013
West Ham United's Sports Medicine and Sports Science department have
published ground-breaking research into a little-known neck and shoulder
condition.
Hammers medical officer Dr Richard Weiler, a leader in the field of sports
and exercise medicine, and head of sports science and sports medicine Andy
Rolls have co-published a paper in the respected British Journal of Sport
and Exercise Medicine examining thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) in sport.
Mark Noble woke in 'agony' one morning in February 2013, with sharp, intense
pain in his right upper arm, restriction in movement in his right shoulder
and muscle weakness and tingling in his right hand. The midfielder was
immediately examined by Dr Weiler and Rolls, with the range of symptoms
leaving the medical staff considering four possible diagnoses: a mechanical
problem with the shoulder, a historical neck and spine injury, neuralgic
amyotrophy (a nerve-based shoulder condition) or TOS. Further investigations
pointed to Noble suffering from the painful but previously little-known
condition, where pain is caused by compression of the thoracic outlet - an
anatomical opening created by the first rib, collarbone and neck muscles
through which pass nerve fibres and blood vessels travelling from the heart
to the right arm.
Noble underwent scans to confirm the diagnosis of TOS, while also dismissing
the presence of an extra 'cervical' rib near to the player's neck - a
possible cause of the condition. After taking advice from a leading
specialist nerve injury clinic, it was decided to treat the condition by
'conservative management', asking Noble to rest for a month and using
painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicine. After two weeks, however, the
symptoms had worsened and the decision was taken to perform surgery on
Noble's thoracic outlet. During the operation, surgeon Marco Sinisi found an
enlarged neck muscle, soft tissue scarring and inflammation causing the
player's TOS.
To remedy the situation, one of Noble's neck muscles was loosened, while a
layer of tissue around the nerve fibres and blood vessels was also released
to relieve the pressure. Six weeks after surgery, the No16 returned to
action in the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw with Manchester United and
has had no further problems. Noble said: "I was in absolute agony and had
never felt pain like it before. With the other symptoms, I was obviously
worried about what was wrong. "The medical staff diagnosed the condition
and, thanks to them and to the surgeon and his team, I underwent an
operation and rehabilitation and am now pain-free and able to play football
again. "If publishing what happened to me can help other players to be
correctly diagnosed and treated too, then I am more than happy to help."
Dr Weiler praised everybody involved in treating Noble, as well as the
player himself, for working together towards a positive outcome. He said:
"Thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition in football and Mark was in a
great deal of pain, so it was fantastic to make the diagnosis so quickly.
"The work done by our own medical staff alongside surgeon Marco Sinisi and
his team was outstanding, and it was great to see Mark playing football
again so quickly. "This publication will hopefully benefit other medics and
athletes unfortunate enough to suffer from this condition and we thank Mark
for sharing his story to help others."
Rolls added: "This case illustrated the expertise both within and at the
disposal of the Club's medical department. Jointly, we were happy to publish
our findings for the benefit of others in the future." While TOS remains a
rare condition, it is one that has reportedly been diagnosed in a number of
high-profile athletes, including Chelsea defender Gary Cahill and West
Bromwich Albion winger Scott Sinclair. With little research into the
condition published previously, Noble, Dr Weiler and Rolls hope the case
will help others in a similar situation.
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Hammers support Anti-Bullying Week
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are supporting Anti-Bullying Week 2013 and Anna Kennedy
Online's Give Us a Break campaign
18.11.2013
West Ham United are proudly supporting Anti-Bullying Week 2013. Established
by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Anti-Bullying Week is taking place between 18
and 22 November 2013, with this year's focus on cyber bullying. The theme of
Anti-Bullying Week 2013 is 'The Future Is Ours - Safe, Fun and Connected'.
Anti-Bullying Week 2013 aims to equip children and young people to challenge
bullying behaviour, equip schools, colleges and youth service leaders with
resources to encourage youth-led anti-bullying initiatives and, thirdly to
educate those who work with children to recognise those who may be
particularly vulnerable to bullying through new technologies. Captain Kevin
Nolan said he and his team-mates were fully supporting Anti-Bullying Week.
"We are very proud to be supporting Anna Kennedy Online and Anti-Bullying
Week," said the skipper, who has two young children of his own. "There is
simply no place for bullying in our society today and we as a Club strongly
back important issues such as this to see that bullies are given that
message."
West Ham are also supporting the autism charity Anna Kennedy Online in their
own 'Give Us a Break!' anti-bullying campaign. Launched in April 2013 by
Anna and her autistic son Angelo, the campaign aims to raise awareness of
bullying of children with autism in schools and colleges. "I initiated Give
us a Break and contacted the Anti-Bullying Alliance and asked if they wanted
to work together," explained Anna, who has been working closely with West
Ham United for the past two years. "I looked at our own school and thought
that the lunch-time clubs really work for our children and that this is
something that mainstream schools can tap into. It will add more structure
to students affected by autism at break times. "This is working already in
many schools across the UK and I have received messages from parents who
follow me on social media sites and directly from Headteachers of Schools."
Give Us a Break! is also being supported by pop star Melanie C, Melanie
Masson from X-Factor, TV presenter and anti-child abuse and bullying
campaigner Esther Rantzen, author Kathy Lette and Strictly Come Dancing
stars Bruno Tonioli and Kristina Rihanoff. "With campaigns such as Anna
Kennedy Online, we can look to not only raise awareness of the problems so
that people can get help and support,but also look to do as much as we can
to make sure that we can get rid of bullying in the lives of not only the
vulnerable, but every child," added West Ham captain Nolan. "We all applaud
the work that Anna Kennedy Online has already carried out in the local
community, working with families affected by autism in Barking and Dagenham,
Harlow, Chigwell and Newham - all areas on the doorstep of the club. "We
hope that, by highlighting the work Anna Kennedy Online is doing, more can
be done to raise awareness of the problem and
more can be done to help families who are already facing the challenges of
bringing up an autistic child."
To show your support for Anti-Bullying Week, please visit the Anti-Bullying
Alliance website for a wealth of information and resources.
http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org/antibullyingweek
To find out more about the work done by Anna Kennedy Online, click here.
http://annakennedyonline.com/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham: Leyton Orient should hold direct discussions with LLDC
Last Updated: November 18, 2013 9:00pm
SSN
West Ham believe Leyton Orient should hold direct discussions with the
London Legacy Development Corporation over the Olympic Stadium. A House of
Lords report was published on Monday which recommended the two clubs work
together, and even suggests that Orient be granted occasional use of the
stadium.
Negotiations ended last March with the LLDC signing off West Ham as anchor
tenants, the Premier League side agreeing a 99-year lease with the stadium
to be transformed into a 60,000-seater venue in time for the 2016-17 season.
While Orient chairman Barry Hearn wants there to be three-way talks between
the two clubs and the LLDC, for West Ham any discussions should be just
between the League One club and the LLDC which owns and manages the stadium.
"Looking forward, our focus is solely on creating a stunning new home for
the club and its supporters in 2016, alongside a long-term legacy for the
community of east London," said a West Ham spokesman. "What goes on with
other interested parties is very much a matter for (Leyton Orient) and the
LLDC and not West Ham United. "We welcome the committee's comments and are
happy the House of Lords have recognised that West Ham United's selection
will ensure the stadium reaches its full legacy potential."
Orient welcomed the report and on their website a statement from Hearn read:
"I agree with the House of Lords recommendation - ourselves, West Ham and
the LLDC should sit down and work this out together once and for all.
"Leyton Orient is a local club which undertakes a huge amount of community
work in one of the poorest areas in London. "It has been said that Orient
did not bid enough to cover its costs of using the stadium, but we were
bidding within our means and against ourselves - we do not know what the
LLDC want from us because they will not tell us. "So we ask them again,
publicly, to say what we have to pay to share the stadium, a national asset
which is on our doorstep. "We are writing to the LLDC seeking a meeting so
that we can have an open and transparent discussion about what part we can
play in the future use of the Olympic Stadium."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tomas Rosicky monitored by West Ham
By Liam Power, Reporter
Filed: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 02:41 UK
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 06:06 UK
West Ham United are reportedly keeping a close eye on Tomas Rosicky's
contract situation at Arsenal this season, with a view to landing the
veteran on a free transfer next summer. Rosicky is out of contract at the
Emirates in June, with the offer of an extension thought to be based on his
long-term fitness and the completion of 25 appearances this season. The
Czech midfielder has already featured 11 times for the Gunners in a strong
start to the campaign that has now attracted the attention of Hammers
scouts, according to the East London Guardian Series. During seven years at
Arsenal the 33-year-old has been consistently hampered by long-term
injuries, including a hamstring tendon problem that kept him sidelined for
the entire 2008-09 campaign. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has kept faith
with the playmaker and is thought to be pleased with his form so far this
season, which included 90 minutes in a 1-0 win at former club Borussia
Dortmund earlier this month.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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WHUFC.com
West Ham United are leading the exploration into a rare neck and shoulder
condition
18.11.2013
West Ham United's Sports Medicine and Sports Science department have
published ground-breaking research into a little-known neck and shoulder
condition.
Hammers medical officer Dr Richard Weiler, a leader in the field of sports
and exercise medicine, and head of sports science and sports medicine Andy
Rolls have co-published a paper in the respected British Journal of Sport
and Exercise Medicine examining thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) in sport.
Mark Noble woke in 'agony' one morning in February 2013, with sharp, intense
pain in his right upper arm, restriction in movement in his right shoulder
and muscle weakness and tingling in his right hand. The midfielder was
immediately examined by Dr Weiler and Rolls, with the range of symptoms
leaving the medical staff considering four possible diagnoses: a mechanical
problem with the shoulder, a historical neck and spine injury, neuralgic
amyotrophy (a nerve-based shoulder condition) or TOS. Further investigations
pointed to Noble suffering from the painful but previously little-known
condition, where pain is caused by compression of the thoracic outlet - an
anatomical opening created by the first rib, collarbone and neck muscles
through which pass nerve fibres and blood vessels travelling from the heart
to the right arm.
Noble underwent scans to confirm the diagnosis of TOS, while also dismissing
the presence of an extra 'cervical' rib near to the player's neck - a
possible cause of the condition. After taking advice from a leading
specialist nerve injury clinic, it was decided to treat the condition by
'conservative management', asking Noble to rest for a month and using
painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicine. After two weeks, however, the
symptoms had worsened and the decision was taken to perform surgery on
Noble's thoracic outlet. During the operation, surgeon Marco Sinisi found an
enlarged neck muscle, soft tissue scarring and inflammation causing the
player's TOS.
To remedy the situation, one of Noble's neck muscles was loosened, while a
layer of tissue around the nerve fibres and blood vessels was also released
to relieve the pressure. Six weeks after surgery, the No16 returned to
action in the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw with Manchester United and
has had no further problems. Noble said: "I was in absolute agony and had
never felt pain like it before. With the other symptoms, I was obviously
worried about what was wrong. "The medical staff diagnosed the condition
and, thanks to them and to the surgeon and his team, I underwent an
operation and rehabilitation and am now pain-free and able to play football
again. "If publishing what happened to me can help other players to be
correctly diagnosed and treated too, then I am more than happy to help."
Dr Weiler praised everybody involved in treating Noble, as well as the
player himself, for working together towards a positive outcome. He said:
"Thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition in football and Mark was in a
great deal of pain, so it was fantastic to make the diagnosis so quickly.
"The work done by our own medical staff alongside surgeon Marco Sinisi and
his team was outstanding, and it was great to see Mark playing football
again so quickly. "This publication will hopefully benefit other medics and
athletes unfortunate enough to suffer from this condition and we thank Mark
for sharing his story to help others."
Rolls added: "This case illustrated the expertise both within and at the
disposal of the Club's medical department. Jointly, we were happy to publish
our findings for the benefit of others in the future." While TOS remains a
rare condition, it is one that has reportedly been diagnosed in a number of
high-profile athletes, including Chelsea defender Gary Cahill and West
Bromwich Albion winger Scott Sinclair. With little research into the
condition published previously, Noble, Dr Weiler and Rolls hope the case
will help others in a similar situation.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers support Anti-Bullying Week
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are supporting Anti-Bullying Week 2013 and Anna Kennedy
Online's Give Us a Break campaign
18.11.2013
West Ham United are proudly supporting Anti-Bullying Week 2013. Established
by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Anti-Bullying Week is taking place between 18
and 22 November 2013, with this year's focus on cyber bullying. The theme of
Anti-Bullying Week 2013 is 'The Future Is Ours - Safe, Fun and Connected'.
Anti-Bullying Week 2013 aims to equip children and young people to challenge
bullying behaviour, equip schools, colleges and youth service leaders with
resources to encourage youth-led anti-bullying initiatives and, thirdly to
educate those who work with children to recognise those who may be
particularly vulnerable to bullying through new technologies. Captain Kevin
Nolan said he and his team-mates were fully supporting Anti-Bullying Week.
"We are very proud to be supporting Anna Kennedy Online and Anti-Bullying
Week," said the skipper, who has two young children of his own. "There is
simply no place for bullying in our society today and we as a Club strongly
back important issues such as this to see that bullies are given that
message."
West Ham are also supporting the autism charity Anna Kennedy Online in their
own 'Give Us a Break!' anti-bullying campaign. Launched in April 2013 by
Anna and her autistic son Angelo, the campaign aims to raise awareness of
bullying of children with autism in schools and colleges. "I initiated Give
us a Break and contacted the Anti-Bullying Alliance and asked if they wanted
to work together," explained Anna, who has been working closely with West
Ham United for the past two years. "I looked at our own school and thought
that the lunch-time clubs really work for our children and that this is
something that mainstream schools can tap into. It will add more structure
to students affected by autism at break times. "This is working already in
many schools across the UK and I have received messages from parents who
follow me on social media sites and directly from Headteachers of Schools."
Give Us a Break! is also being supported by pop star Melanie C, Melanie
Masson from X-Factor, TV presenter and anti-child abuse and bullying
campaigner Esther Rantzen, author Kathy Lette and Strictly Come Dancing
stars Bruno Tonioli and Kristina Rihanoff. "With campaigns such as Anna
Kennedy Online, we can look to not only raise awareness of the problems so
that people can get help and support,but also look to do as much as we can
to make sure that we can get rid of bullying in the lives of not only the
vulnerable, but every child," added West Ham captain Nolan. "We all applaud
the work that Anna Kennedy Online has already carried out in the local
community, working with families affected by autism in Barking and Dagenham,
Harlow, Chigwell and Newham - all areas on the doorstep of the club. "We
hope that, by highlighting the work Anna Kennedy Online is doing, more can
be done to raise awareness of the problem and
more can be done to help families who are already facing the challenges of
bringing up an autistic child."
To show your support for Anti-Bullying Week, please visit the Anti-Bullying
Alliance website for a wealth of information and resources.
http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org/antibullyingweek
To find out more about the work done by Anna Kennedy Online, click here.
http://annakennedyonline.com/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham: Leyton Orient should hold direct discussions with LLDC
Last Updated: November 18, 2013 9:00pm
SSN
West Ham believe Leyton Orient should hold direct discussions with the
London Legacy Development Corporation over the Olympic Stadium. A House of
Lords report was published on Monday which recommended the two clubs work
together, and even suggests that Orient be granted occasional use of the
stadium.
Negotiations ended last March with the LLDC signing off West Ham as anchor
tenants, the Premier League side agreeing a 99-year lease with the stadium
to be transformed into a 60,000-seater venue in time for the 2016-17 season.
While Orient chairman Barry Hearn wants there to be three-way talks between
the two clubs and the LLDC, for West Ham any discussions should be just
between the League One club and the LLDC which owns and manages the stadium.
"Looking forward, our focus is solely on creating a stunning new home for
the club and its supporters in 2016, alongside a long-term legacy for the
community of east London," said a West Ham spokesman. "What goes on with
other interested parties is very much a matter for (Leyton Orient) and the
LLDC and not West Ham United. "We welcome the committee's comments and are
happy the House of Lords have recognised that West Ham United's selection
will ensure the stadium reaches its full legacy potential."
Orient welcomed the report and on their website a statement from Hearn read:
"I agree with the House of Lords recommendation - ourselves, West Ham and
the LLDC should sit down and work this out together once and for all.
"Leyton Orient is a local club which undertakes a huge amount of community
work in one of the poorest areas in London. "It has been said that Orient
did not bid enough to cover its costs of using the stadium, but we were
bidding within our means and against ourselves - we do not know what the
LLDC want from us because they will not tell us. "So we ask them again,
publicly, to say what we have to pay to share the stadium, a national asset
which is on our doorstep. "We are writing to the LLDC seeking a meeting so
that we can have an open and transparent discussion about what part we can
play in the future use of the Olympic Stadium."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tomas Rosicky monitored by West Ham
By Liam Power, Reporter
Filed: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 02:41 UK
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 06:06 UK
West Ham United are reportedly keeping a close eye on Tomas Rosicky's
contract situation at Arsenal this season, with a view to landing the
veteran on a free transfer next summer. Rosicky is out of contract at the
Emirates in June, with the offer of an extension thought to be based on his
long-term fitness and the completion of 25 appearances this season. The
Czech midfielder has already featured 11 times for the Gunners in a strong
start to the campaign that has now attracted the attention of Hammers
scouts, according to the East London Guardian Series. During seven years at
Arsenal the 33-year-old has been consistently hampered by long-term
injuries, including a hamstring tendon problem that kept him sidelined for
the entire 2008-09 campaign. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has kept faith
with the playmaker and is thought to be pleased with his form so far this
season, which included 90 minutes in a 1-0 win at former club Borussia
Dortmund earlier this month.
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Monday, November 18
Daily WHUFC News - 18th November 2013
Rav completes awards double
WHUFC.com
Ravel Morrison made it a whufc.com awards double by scooping October's Goal
of the Month
17.11.2013
Ravel Morrison completed a clean sweep of West Ham United awards for October
by winning the whufc.com Goal of the Month vote. Having already taken the
Player of the Month honours, he polled a whopping 89% of the Official
Website vote to land the prize for October's best goal. The youngster's
stunning strike against Tottenham Hotspur, for which he picked the ball up
on halfway before beating Michael Dawson and clipping over goalkeeper Hugo
Lloris, caught the eye to win by a huge margin. Ricardo Vaz Te's overhead
kick against Manchester City took second place with 7%, while Elliot Lee's
effort for the U21s against Cambridge United was third.
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Rav does it again
KUMb.com
Filed: Sunday, 17th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
Ravel Morrison gave his fellow team mates another glimpse of his outrageous
talent this morning during an England Under 21s training session. Morrison,
who is currently with the Young Lions in preparation for their forthcoming
clash with San Marino wowed team mates by chipping goalkeeper Jack Butland
from just six yards out during a training session last month. And he went
one better today at St.George's Park earlier today when he left onlookers
audibly gasping with a cheeky backheel volley, that you may see below. The
young Hammer, who is strongly tipped to break into Roy Hodgson's full
England squad for next summer's World Cup Finals in Brazil has made three
appearances for the under 21s. All three games - against San Marino,
Lithuania and most recently, Finland last Friday - have resulted in wins for
England. England face San Marino this Tuesday - 19th November - in a
European Championship clash at Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hONKlo6HGWM
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West Ham and Leyton Orient criticised over Olympic Stadium dispute
Last Updated: November 18, 2013 12:13am
SSN
Lord Harris, the chair of the House of Lords Committee into the Olympic and
Paralympic legacy, has criticised West Ham and Leyton Orient following their
dispute over the future of the Olympic Stadium. West Ham will become anchor
tenants of the stadium - the centrepiece for London 2012 - from August 2016
after being awarded sole use of the venue by the London Legacy Development
Corporation. Leyton Orient wanted to share the venue with West Ham but lost
their bid to win a judicial review into the decision in September. The House
of Lords Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee was appointed to look into
the impact of the Games in London, particularly regarding regeneration and
sporting development, and although it did not specifically re-examine the
awarding of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham, Lord Harris did have some
strong opinions on the situation.
He told Sky Sports News: "We've not tried to re-visit the process. What we
are saying is that the rather unedifying spectacle of West Ham and Leyton
Orient fighting among themselves like two school children in the playground
arguing about who can go down the slide first is not really helpful. "The
Olympic Stadium is a national asset. We want to make sure that asset is used
to the full and that the community at large gets the widest possible
benefit."
When asked if that could potentially mean Leyton Orient ground sharing or
playing some of their games at the Olympic Stadium, he replied: "We want to
make sure all the different parties sit down and talk properly. We think it
may be possible to work in a different way. "It has to be economically
viable. You can't open up a huge stadium if there aren't going to be enough
people going into it to make it worthwhile. But the most effective use of
that stadium has to be in the national interests. It is a national asset -
let's make sure it is used as a national asset."
The committee's report into the legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games has now been published and Lord Harris has revealed there has been no
major increase in sporting participation in the country - one of the key
aims - since the Games finished. He said: "The London Games were probably
the most successful ever in terms of planning for a legacy. We could be
achieving even more and we have to work hard to continue to meet the
aspirations that were set in the first place. "Clearly there was a hope in
there was going to be a step change in sporting participation. In the event,
the long-term general improvement in sports participation has continued but
there is no evidence of a step change in the last year. "If anything,
figures have gone down. We can only continue to achieve the long-term
improvement in sports participation by sustained leadership and by making
sure there is investment in facilities and proper investment in physical
education. "I don't think the aspiration to improve sporting participation
has yet been delivered. It is still possible. It needs continued investment
- both in terms of physical education of school-age children and also in
terms of the improvements of local sporting facilities. "It is undoubtedly
the case that more should have been done more quickly to capitalise on the
enthusiasm. A lot of that momentum has been lost. Is it too late? Well, we
are embarking on a "decade of sport". Let's see what we can do to make sure
the "flame is kept alive"."
The committee has recommended two key changes going forward.
Lord Harris added: "First, it has to be made explicit which cabinet minister
has got responsibility taking forward all the aspects of the Olympic legacy.
There should be proper focus from the Government on that.
"Secondly, as far as London and east London is concerned, the Mayor of
London's office should take on the responsibility of the regeneration of the
area and be responsible for delivering that regeneration."
Lord Harris signed off by rating the legacy. "Good effort - could do an
awful lot better," he said.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
OLYMPIC STADIUM MAY INCLUDE 'OCCASIONAL USE' BY ORIENT SAY LORDS
By Sean Whetstone 18 Nov 2013 at 00:01
West Ham Till I Die
The House of Lords report on the Olympics is published today (Monday)
including their review of the legacy of the Olympic Stadium which both
Karren Brady and Barry Hearn gave evidence on.
It must be emphasised that although the House of Lords committee made a
number of recommendations, they have no legal powers to enforce their
recommendations are followed up or implemented.
The House of Lords select committee said was It is not for them to comment
on the fairness or otherwise of the OS bidding process, which has recently
been subject to a failed application for judicial review. In examining the
arguments over the Stadium's future use, they said 'we are concerned that
the central point is being missed: the Stadium is a national asset and the
focus should be on making the best use of it for the community and for the
taxpayer'. They also go on to say there is also the issue of the important
morale and leadership role two successful football clubs can have in their
local community, particularly in encouraging the motivation and aspirations
of less motivated children in education. 'Ongoing conflict and bad
relationships will only hinder the impact they can have on this vital work'
Lord Harris in the video interview below said "We were slightly disappointed
about the rather playground behaviour of some of the football clubs around
the future use of the Olympic Stadium'
Ongoing dispute
"The ongoing dispute over the Stadium has been a disappointing distraction.
We urge those concerned to think further on how the two most local football
clubs might work together, including whether any difficulties can be
ameliorated through wider community use of the Stadium, which may include
its occasional use by Leyton Orient FC if appropriate financial arrangements
can be agreed". They list this as Recommendation 12 in their report.
"We are reassured by West Ham United's firm guarantee that the quality and
quantity of seating for spectators with disabilities will not be compromised
by the re-design of the stadium. We hope that the Olympic Stadium will set a
gold standard for accessibility. We are concerned that by contrast the
position at many Premier and Football League stadia is unacceptable for
spectators with disabilities."
"We urge the Government to work with the football authorities and the Sports
Grounds Safety Authority to revise the licensing conditions under the Safety
of Sports Grounds Act 1975 to ensure appropriate and improved standards of
access and facilities for disabled spectators. They list this as
Recommendation 13 in their report.
Hindsight
Lord Coe defended why the Stadium wasn't designed with football in mind from
the beginning arguing that "nobody went into that bidding process saying
that this would be a single-use stadium". "We needed to build an Olympic
stadium. We were committed to a stadium in East London. That is where we had
proposed for the Games to go. We did speak … to football at the time that we
were putting the bid together. I am choosing my words carefully; there was
not a massive amount of interest, when we were thinking about what that
stadium might look like, post the Games, from football. By the time we got
to Singapore, we had a judgement to make, and that is why of course the
Stadium was in extremis designed to be reduced to a 25,000-seater
track-and-field facility with usage for other sports."
Chairman of London 2012 Forum, Richard Sumray argued that West Ham had in
fact been interested in taking over the stadium when he discussed the issue
with the Club in 2001. He regretted the counter proposals, which aimed to
put athletics "into the mix", which in his view "made the whole process of
finalising the ownership and uses of the stadium much more difficult. Early
on a decision should have been made to use the main stadium for football,
converting the warm up track to an athletics stadium. This would have been a
more sustainable and appropriate use of that part of the Park."
Barry Hearn & Karren Brady Evidence
Barry Hearn argued that the impact on Leyton Orient would be mitigated by
the option of a ground-sharing agreement to be reconsidered by LLDC. Karren
Brady confirmed that West Ham had entered its bid with the willingness to
share with other users but was not able to give a view on whether the club
felt another football club would be a feasible tenant. Mr Hone said that
Leyton Orient "was given ample opportunity to clarify and revise the
financial structure of its offer to share the ground but did not do so" His
view was that it "would have cost the public sector money to open the gates
to Leyton Orient for each of its games", in a 60,000 capacity stadium
because of the club's relatively low existing gates.
Is this Game Over
There you have it! I am sure Barry Hearn will grab onto the 'occasional use'
comment in recommendation 12 but it would be up to the LLDC & Newham to
agree what "appropriate financial arrangement" would allow this to happen
and the word 'occasional' seems to confirm they do not see it as a permanent
home for Leyton Orient.
I have no problem with Leyton Orient fans but surely this is finally the
time to give up on this pointless quest!
Barry Hearn failed in his second Judicial review. He also failed in an
attempt to lobby the Premier League saying they broke their own rules.
The Premier League insists its rules do not require it to veto such moves
but merely consider any negative impact in its overall deliberations.
His last throw of the dice could be to take this to the European courts.
He believes the LLDC's decision to hand West Ham tenancy of a £600-million
plus stadium for just £2m-a-year rent amounts to illegal state aid.
He is quoted as saying: "This is a huge sponsorship of a major commercial
enterprise, which we believe is against EEC rules."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BIG SAM'S TRANSFER POLICY
By ExWHUemployee 17 Nov 2013 at 16:00
West Ham Till I Die
I am sorry that I haven't written an article for a while but work
commitments have really stepped up recently. The international break has
given me a little window of freedom so I felt now was a good time to return
to the 'West Ham Till I Die' scene. I had been considering what my next post
would be for a while and wasn't certain until last night. I went to the pub
to watch the England game and the topic of Big Sam's transfers and whether
he has bought well or not came up and I thought yes let's take this to a
wider audience.
Sam's transfer successes are an interesting debate as there have been some
very successful ones and some not so successful. Those that follow me on
twitter know that I have always backed Sam and his two season record of a
promotion and a 10th place premiership finish would suggest it has been very
productive transfer policy. This season however a few questions have been
asked. The decision to spend the majority of our budget on an "injured"
forward and then spend the remaining budget on a winger as opposed to
another forward has been questionable to say the least. In this article I
will discuss who I believe are his best 5 signings and follow up next week
with his worst 5.
Here are my top 5 Sam successes.
1) Ravel Morrison. The talent was undeniable, the attitude and commitment
were major worries. Sam has successfully developed Ravel's mindset and we
now have a real gem on our hands. The potential of this young lad is huge. A
lot of credit must also be given to Birmingham City for their role in his
development whilst on loan there. The fact that Morrison is an outside
contender for a World Cup squad space shows how well he has performed this
year. The player joined for an initial £650,000 with appearance related
additions made for each game that he plays up to a total of approximately
£1.5m. If we were to sell the player tomorrow I think we would make a very
impressive profit, let alone in a few years times, but of course this is
something we should not consider and do our utmost to hold onto to him for
as long as possible.
2) Jussi Jaaskelainen. The timing of this article is not great for Jussi, as
it has been written on the back of a disappointing defeat to Norwich where
it is fair to say Jussi played a large part in snatching defeat from the
jaws of victory. There was a lot of criticism on twitter of Jussi and
references made to an article I wrote when he first joined. I was told and
wrote that he didn't figure for Bolton towards the end of his time there
because they felt he had real physical difficulties when diving to his
right. I was at first very worried about his presence between the sticks but
from January onwards I thought he was extremely consistent. My fellow
hammers clearly did too as he was voted the runner up in the Hammer of the
Year award. Until the Norwich game we had an extremely good defensive
record, especially away from home and I believe Jussi played a large part in
this. I thought we would miss Robert Green, we haven't.
3) Guy Demel. One of our most underrated performers. Signed on a free, he is
a vastly experienced full back having played in the top flight in Germany
and on the international scene for the Ivory Coast. He has been very solid
this season and been a part of an impressive back line. He is hardly a
spectacular performer but I would regularly grade his performances as 7/8
out of 10. He has performed consistently well in the premier league for the
club and should continue to do so until 2015 when his contract expires. The
fact that Guy retired from international football to prolong his West Ham
career when asked, shows the commitment he has to the club.
4) Kevin Nolan. I was really torn as to include him in the top 5. There are
times when I barely notice him in games, times when I pray for him to be
substituted and with our current midfield options, times this season where I
do not want him to start. His contribution to the club since he has been
here however cannot be underestimated. The club was in a very bad way under
Grant with team morale and squad harmony at an all-time low. Kevin changed
this. He is a great captain and has created a very positive atmosphere
around the club, he is valued by all. He has been a positive influence on
Ravel and in the past has done the same for Andy Carroll. He scored 12 goals
in the championship and 10 in the premiership from midfield and those goals
were crucial to our successes of both years. The return of one goal this
season has been very disappointing and if he wasn't captain I think he would
have been dropped. Let's hope the much needed return of Andy Carroll will
reignite Nolan's form too.
5) Joey O'Brien. Another free transfer signing who has been a very valuable
squad player. He is predominately a right back but has played the early part
of the season at left back and is also there to cover centre back if needed.
When Joey started his career he was a midfielder so to have player as
versatile as him in our squad is very useful for cover. The times that we
have had to call on Joey he has rarely let us down. He is another popular
player at the training ground and someone who has certainly given us value
for money. Again, like Demel, he is hardly a world beater or the most
exciting player but he is consistent and has represented value for money.
Other players who for me just missed out on the top 5 are:
James Collins: Another player who received a lot of stick following the
Norwich defeat. Whilst he is prone to giving away needles free kicks, I felt
he was very solid last year. The fact that Luis Suarez was completely in his
pocket at Anfield was one example of his strong performances. I think he has
been a good signing and was unlucky to not make my top 5.
Ricardo Vaz Te: Again, I was torn between his inclusion. Of course during
the playoff winning season he was absolutely vital. He justified his
transfer fee ten times over that year. He didn't perform for me last year
and hadn't this year either until the last few games before his injury. He
wanted out and it wasn't until his deadline day transfer deal to Norwich
fell through that he started to hit some form, the timing of his injury was
very unfortunate.
Andy Carroll. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I was delighted by the deal to
bring Andy back. Most fans were singing "we want you to stay" and I was one.
When fit he is the best target man we could have got and the perfect forward
for our system. At this moment the 15m looks an expensive gamble that has
gone very wrong. I will not write this deal off yet and I am still delighted
we have him on our books, I just pray he returns from injury soon and stays
fit for the rest of the campaign.
Joe Cole. The returning hero who on his day still has the same class that
used to excite us so much in the earlier part of his career. Injuries and a
lack of games during Sam's reign meant he didn't make the top 5.
I know many will not agree with a lot of my choices and believe me I changed
this article a number of times. The differing of opinions is what makes
football so easy to talk about and I look forward to reading some of your
views when commenting on my post. Come on you Irons.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
JOB INJURED AGAIN?
By Sean Whetstone 17 Nov 2013 at 09:30
West Ham Till I Die
Joey O'Brien has been sent for a hamstring scan after suffering a problem
before the Republic of Ireland friendly win over Latvia.
JOB was forced to pull out from Ireland's warm-up ahead of their 3-0 victory
in Dublin.
"He's going for a scan. We are not sure," Republic of Ireland manager Martin
O'Neill said on Sky Sports News. "He just felt a little bit last night in
the warm-up. So even though there was an opportunity last night to play him,
we wouldn't have done so just because there might be some risk, so he is
going for a scan later on. It's his hamstring. He just felt a little bit
sore and it is just precautionary."
This is latest setback in a long string of injuries for Joey. Over almost
three years at Bolton battled knee & hamstring injuries, undergoing
operations which threatened to finish his career at one point.
He joined West on a free transfer on 30th July 2011 after being released by
Bolton.
In 2012 He told whufc.com: "It is sorted. It has been a long time since the
last operation on my knee and I think the main thing with long-term injuries
is just about playing as many times as you can and keeping on the pitch and
in the end the pain just goes. It is obviously something I still manage
every day in training with the staff here, but it just great to be back and
playing football again is amazing, it is great to be at the top again."
However his injury record at West Ham has included knee hip/thigh problems,
two hamstrings and a head injury.
Injury Record
Hamstring Scan West Ham United 15th November 2013
Knee Injury West Ham United 24th August 2013
Hip/Thigh Injury West Ham United 10th February 2013
Hamstring Injury West Ham United 1st January 2013
Hamstring Injury West Ham United 1st October 2012
He made 27 starts in 2011/2012 and 32 starts in 2012/2013 season and 6
starts in 2013/2014 despite his injury record.
UPDATE
A subsequent scan on Sunday has revealed no serious damage to the muscle but
JOB has been sent back to West Ham for treatment.
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WHUFC.com
Ravel Morrison made it a whufc.com awards double by scooping October's Goal
of the Month
17.11.2013
Ravel Morrison completed a clean sweep of West Ham United awards for October
by winning the whufc.com Goal of the Month vote. Having already taken the
Player of the Month honours, he polled a whopping 89% of the Official
Website vote to land the prize for October's best goal. The youngster's
stunning strike against Tottenham Hotspur, for which he picked the ball up
on halfway before beating Michael Dawson and clipping over goalkeeper Hugo
Lloris, caught the eye to win by a huge margin. Ricardo Vaz Te's overhead
kick against Manchester City took second place with 7%, while Elliot Lee's
effort for the U21s against Cambridge United was third.
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Rav does it again
KUMb.com
Filed: Sunday, 17th November 2013
By: Staff Writer
Ravel Morrison gave his fellow team mates another glimpse of his outrageous
talent this morning during an England Under 21s training session. Morrison,
who is currently with the Young Lions in preparation for their forthcoming
clash with San Marino wowed team mates by chipping goalkeeper Jack Butland
from just six yards out during a training session last month. And he went
one better today at St.George's Park earlier today when he left onlookers
audibly gasping with a cheeky backheel volley, that you may see below. The
young Hammer, who is strongly tipped to break into Roy Hodgson's full
England squad for next summer's World Cup Finals in Brazil has made three
appearances for the under 21s. All three games - against San Marino,
Lithuania and most recently, Finland last Friday - have resulted in wins for
England. England face San Marino this Tuesday - 19th November - in a
European Championship clash at Greenhous Meadow Stadium, Shrewsbury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hONKlo6HGWM
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West Ham and Leyton Orient criticised over Olympic Stadium dispute
Last Updated: November 18, 2013 12:13am
SSN
Lord Harris, the chair of the House of Lords Committee into the Olympic and
Paralympic legacy, has criticised West Ham and Leyton Orient following their
dispute over the future of the Olympic Stadium. West Ham will become anchor
tenants of the stadium - the centrepiece for London 2012 - from August 2016
after being awarded sole use of the venue by the London Legacy Development
Corporation. Leyton Orient wanted to share the venue with West Ham but lost
their bid to win a judicial review into the decision in September. The House
of Lords Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee was appointed to look into
the impact of the Games in London, particularly regarding regeneration and
sporting development, and although it did not specifically re-examine the
awarding of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham, Lord Harris did have some
strong opinions on the situation.
He told Sky Sports News: "We've not tried to re-visit the process. What we
are saying is that the rather unedifying spectacle of West Ham and Leyton
Orient fighting among themselves like two school children in the playground
arguing about who can go down the slide first is not really helpful. "The
Olympic Stadium is a national asset. We want to make sure that asset is used
to the full and that the community at large gets the widest possible
benefit."
When asked if that could potentially mean Leyton Orient ground sharing or
playing some of their games at the Olympic Stadium, he replied: "We want to
make sure all the different parties sit down and talk properly. We think it
may be possible to work in a different way. "It has to be economically
viable. You can't open up a huge stadium if there aren't going to be enough
people going into it to make it worthwhile. But the most effective use of
that stadium has to be in the national interests. It is a national asset -
let's make sure it is used as a national asset."
The committee's report into the legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games has now been published and Lord Harris has revealed there has been no
major increase in sporting participation in the country - one of the key
aims - since the Games finished. He said: "The London Games were probably
the most successful ever in terms of planning for a legacy. We could be
achieving even more and we have to work hard to continue to meet the
aspirations that were set in the first place. "Clearly there was a hope in
there was going to be a step change in sporting participation. In the event,
the long-term general improvement in sports participation has continued but
there is no evidence of a step change in the last year. "If anything,
figures have gone down. We can only continue to achieve the long-term
improvement in sports participation by sustained leadership and by making
sure there is investment in facilities and proper investment in physical
education. "I don't think the aspiration to improve sporting participation
has yet been delivered. It is still possible. It needs continued investment
- both in terms of physical education of school-age children and also in
terms of the improvements of local sporting facilities. "It is undoubtedly
the case that more should have been done more quickly to capitalise on the
enthusiasm. A lot of that momentum has been lost. Is it too late? Well, we
are embarking on a "decade of sport". Let's see what we can do to make sure
the "flame is kept alive"."
The committee has recommended two key changes going forward.
Lord Harris added: "First, it has to be made explicit which cabinet minister
has got responsibility taking forward all the aspects of the Olympic legacy.
There should be proper focus from the Government on that.
"Secondly, as far as London and east London is concerned, the Mayor of
London's office should take on the responsibility of the regeneration of the
area and be responsible for delivering that regeneration."
Lord Harris signed off by rating the legacy. "Good effort - could do an
awful lot better," he said.
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OLYMPIC STADIUM MAY INCLUDE 'OCCASIONAL USE' BY ORIENT SAY LORDS
By Sean Whetstone 18 Nov 2013 at 00:01
West Ham Till I Die
The House of Lords report on the Olympics is published today (Monday)
including their review of the legacy of the Olympic Stadium which both
Karren Brady and Barry Hearn gave evidence on.
It must be emphasised that although the House of Lords committee made a
number of recommendations, they have no legal powers to enforce their
recommendations are followed up or implemented.
The House of Lords select committee said was It is not for them to comment
on the fairness or otherwise of the OS bidding process, which has recently
been subject to a failed application for judicial review. In examining the
arguments over the Stadium's future use, they said 'we are concerned that
the central point is being missed: the Stadium is a national asset and the
focus should be on making the best use of it for the community and for the
taxpayer'. They also go on to say there is also the issue of the important
morale and leadership role two successful football clubs can have in their
local community, particularly in encouraging the motivation and aspirations
of less motivated children in education. 'Ongoing conflict and bad
relationships will only hinder the impact they can have on this vital work'
Lord Harris in the video interview below said "We were slightly disappointed
about the rather playground behaviour of some of the football clubs around
the future use of the Olympic Stadium'
Ongoing dispute
"The ongoing dispute over the Stadium has been a disappointing distraction.
We urge those concerned to think further on how the two most local football
clubs might work together, including whether any difficulties can be
ameliorated through wider community use of the Stadium, which may include
its occasional use by Leyton Orient FC if appropriate financial arrangements
can be agreed". They list this as Recommendation 12 in their report.
"We are reassured by West Ham United's firm guarantee that the quality and
quantity of seating for spectators with disabilities will not be compromised
by the re-design of the stadium. We hope that the Olympic Stadium will set a
gold standard for accessibility. We are concerned that by contrast the
position at many Premier and Football League stadia is unacceptable for
spectators with disabilities."
"We urge the Government to work with the football authorities and the Sports
Grounds Safety Authority to revise the licensing conditions under the Safety
of Sports Grounds Act 1975 to ensure appropriate and improved standards of
access and facilities for disabled spectators. They list this as
Recommendation 13 in their report.
Hindsight
Lord Coe defended why the Stadium wasn't designed with football in mind from
the beginning arguing that "nobody went into that bidding process saying
that this would be a single-use stadium". "We needed to build an Olympic
stadium. We were committed to a stadium in East London. That is where we had
proposed for the Games to go. We did speak … to football at the time that we
were putting the bid together. I am choosing my words carefully; there was
not a massive amount of interest, when we were thinking about what that
stadium might look like, post the Games, from football. By the time we got
to Singapore, we had a judgement to make, and that is why of course the
Stadium was in extremis designed to be reduced to a 25,000-seater
track-and-field facility with usage for other sports."
Chairman of London 2012 Forum, Richard Sumray argued that West Ham had in
fact been interested in taking over the stadium when he discussed the issue
with the Club in 2001. He regretted the counter proposals, which aimed to
put athletics "into the mix", which in his view "made the whole process of
finalising the ownership and uses of the stadium much more difficult. Early
on a decision should have been made to use the main stadium for football,
converting the warm up track to an athletics stadium. This would have been a
more sustainable and appropriate use of that part of the Park."
Barry Hearn & Karren Brady Evidence
Barry Hearn argued that the impact on Leyton Orient would be mitigated by
the option of a ground-sharing agreement to be reconsidered by LLDC. Karren
Brady confirmed that West Ham had entered its bid with the willingness to
share with other users but was not able to give a view on whether the club
felt another football club would be a feasible tenant. Mr Hone said that
Leyton Orient "was given ample opportunity to clarify and revise the
financial structure of its offer to share the ground but did not do so" His
view was that it "would have cost the public sector money to open the gates
to Leyton Orient for each of its games", in a 60,000 capacity stadium
because of the club's relatively low existing gates.
Is this Game Over
There you have it! I am sure Barry Hearn will grab onto the 'occasional use'
comment in recommendation 12 but it would be up to the LLDC & Newham to
agree what "appropriate financial arrangement" would allow this to happen
and the word 'occasional' seems to confirm they do not see it as a permanent
home for Leyton Orient.
I have no problem with Leyton Orient fans but surely this is finally the
time to give up on this pointless quest!
Barry Hearn failed in his second Judicial review. He also failed in an
attempt to lobby the Premier League saying they broke their own rules.
The Premier League insists its rules do not require it to veto such moves
but merely consider any negative impact in its overall deliberations.
His last throw of the dice could be to take this to the European courts.
He believes the LLDC's decision to hand West Ham tenancy of a £600-million
plus stadium for just £2m-a-year rent amounts to illegal state aid.
He is quoted as saying: "This is a huge sponsorship of a major commercial
enterprise, which we believe is against EEC rules."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BIG SAM'S TRANSFER POLICY
By ExWHUemployee 17 Nov 2013 at 16:00
West Ham Till I Die
I am sorry that I haven't written an article for a while but work
commitments have really stepped up recently. The international break has
given me a little window of freedom so I felt now was a good time to return
to the 'West Ham Till I Die' scene. I had been considering what my next post
would be for a while and wasn't certain until last night. I went to the pub
to watch the England game and the topic of Big Sam's transfers and whether
he has bought well or not came up and I thought yes let's take this to a
wider audience.
Sam's transfer successes are an interesting debate as there have been some
very successful ones and some not so successful. Those that follow me on
twitter know that I have always backed Sam and his two season record of a
promotion and a 10th place premiership finish would suggest it has been very
productive transfer policy. This season however a few questions have been
asked. The decision to spend the majority of our budget on an "injured"
forward and then spend the remaining budget on a winger as opposed to
another forward has been questionable to say the least. In this article I
will discuss who I believe are his best 5 signings and follow up next week
with his worst 5.
Here are my top 5 Sam successes.
1) Ravel Morrison. The talent was undeniable, the attitude and commitment
were major worries. Sam has successfully developed Ravel's mindset and we
now have a real gem on our hands. The potential of this young lad is huge. A
lot of credit must also be given to Birmingham City for their role in his
development whilst on loan there. The fact that Morrison is an outside
contender for a World Cup squad space shows how well he has performed this
year. The player joined for an initial £650,000 with appearance related
additions made for each game that he plays up to a total of approximately
£1.5m. If we were to sell the player tomorrow I think we would make a very
impressive profit, let alone in a few years times, but of course this is
something we should not consider and do our utmost to hold onto to him for
as long as possible.
2) Jussi Jaaskelainen. The timing of this article is not great for Jussi, as
it has been written on the back of a disappointing defeat to Norwich where
it is fair to say Jussi played a large part in snatching defeat from the
jaws of victory. There was a lot of criticism on twitter of Jussi and
references made to an article I wrote when he first joined. I was told and
wrote that he didn't figure for Bolton towards the end of his time there
because they felt he had real physical difficulties when diving to his
right. I was at first very worried about his presence between the sticks but
from January onwards I thought he was extremely consistent. My fellow
hammers clearly did too as he was voted the runner up in the Hammer of the
Year award. Until the Norwich game we had an extremely good defensive
record, especially away from home and I believe Jussi played a large part in
this. I thought we would miss Robert Green, we haven't.
3) Guy Demel. One of our most underrated performers. Signed on a free, he is
a vastly experienced full back having played in the top flight in Germany
and on the international scene for the Ivory Coast. He has been very solid
this season and been a part of an impressive back line. He is hardly a
spectacular performer but I would regularly grade his performances as 7/8
out of 10. He has performed consistently well in the premier league for the
club and should continue to do so until 2015 when his contract expires. The
fact that Guy retired from international football to prolong his West Ham
career when asked, shows the commitment he has to the club.
4) Kevin Nolan. I was really torn as to include him in the top 5. There are
times when I barely notice him in games, times when I pray for him to be
substituted and with our current midfield options, times this season where I
do not want him to start. His contribution to the club since he has been
here however cannot be underestimated. The club was in a very bad way under
Grant with team morale and squad harmony at an all-time low. Kevin changed
this. He is a great captain and has created a very positive atmosphere
around the club, he is valued by all. He has been a positive influence on
Ravel and in the past has done the same for Andy Carroll. He scored 12 goals
in the championship and 10 in the premiership from midfield and those goals
were crucial to our successes of both years. The return of one goal this
season has been very disappointing and if he wasn't captain I think he would
have been dropped. Let's hope the much needed return of Andy Carroll will
reignite Nolan's form too.
5) Joey O'Brien. Another free transfer signing who has been a very valuable
squad player. He is predominately a right back but has played the early part
of the season at left back and is also there to cover centre back if needed.
When Joey started his career he was a midfielder so to have player as
versatile as him in our squad is very useful for cover. The times that we
have had to call on Joey he has rarely let us down. He is another popular
player at the training ground and someone who has certainly given us value
for money. Again, like Demel, he is hardly a world beater or the most
exciting player but he is consistent and has represented value for money.
Other players who for me just missed out on the top 5 are:
James Collins: Another player who received a lot of stick following the
Norwich defeat. Whilst he is prone to giving away needles free kicks, I felt
he was very solid last year. The fact that Luis Suarez was completely in his
pocket at Anfield was one example of his strong performances. I think he has
been a good signing and was unlucky to not make my top 5.
Ricardo Vaz Te: Again, I was torn between his inclusion. Of course during
the playoff winning season he was absolutely vital. He justified his
transfer fee ten times over that year. He didn't perform for me last year
and hadn't this year either until the last few games before his injury. He
wanted out and it wasn't until his deadline day transfer deal to Norwich
fell through that he started to hit some form, the timing of his injury was
very unfortunate.
Andy Carroll. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I was delighted by the deal to
bring Andy back. Most fans were singing "we want you to stay" and I was one.
When fit he is the best target man we could have got and the perfect forward
for our system. At this moment the 15m looks an expensive gamble that has
gone very wrong. I will not write this deal off yet and I am still delighted
we have him on our books, I just pray he returns from injury soon and stays
fit for the rest of the campaign.
Joe Cole. The returning hero who on his day still has the same class that
used to excite us so much in the earlier part of his career. Injuries and a
lack of games during Sam's reign meant he didn't make the top 5.
I know many will not agree with a lot of my choices and believe me I changed
this article a number of times. The differing of opinions is what makes
football so easy to talk about and I look forward to reading some of your
views when commenting on my post. Come on you Irons.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
JOB INJURED AGAIN?
By Sean Whetstone 17 Nov 2013 at 09:30
West Ham Till I Die
Joey O'Brien has been sent for a hamstring scan after suffering a problem
before the Republic of Ireland friendly win over Latvia.
JOB was forced to pull out from Ireland's warm-up ahead of their 3-0 victory
in Dublin.
"He's going for a scan. We are not sure," Republic of Ireland manager Martin
O'Neill said on Sky Sports News. "He just felt a little bit last night in
the warm-up. So even though there was an opportunity last night to play him,
we wouldn't have done so just because there might be some risk, so he is
going for a scan later on. It's his hamstring. He just felt a little bit
sore and it is just precautionary."
This is latest setback in a long string of injuries for Joey. Over almost
three years at Bolton battled knee & hamstring injuries, undergoing
operations which threatened to finish his career at one point.
He joined West on a free transfer on 30th July 2011 after being released by
Bolton.
In 2012 He told whufc.com: "It is sorted. It has been a long time since the
last operation on my knee and I think the main thing with long-term injuries
is just about playing as many times as you can and keeping on the pitch and
in the end the pain just goes. It is obviously something I still manage
every day in training with the staff here, but it just great to be back and
playing football again is amazing, it is great to be at the top again."
However his injury record at West Ham has included knee hip/thigh problems,
two hamstrings and a head injury.
Injury Record
Hamstring Scan West Ham United 15th November 2013
Knee Injury West Ham United 24th August 2013
Hip/Thigh Injury West Ham United 10th February 2013
Hamstring Injury West Ham United 1st January 2013
Hamstring Injury West Ham United 1st October 2012
He made 27 starts in 2011/2012 and 32 starts in 2012/2013 season and 6
starts in 2013/2014 despite his injury record.
UPDATE
A subsequent scan on Sunday has revealed no serious damage to the muscle but
JOB has been sent back to West Ham for treatment.
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Sunday, November 17
Daily WHUFC News - 17th November 2013
On this day - 17 November
WHUFC.com
An emphatic win in 1971 sends the Hammers into the League Cup semi-finals
17.11.2013
Classic match
West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United
League Cup
17 November 1971
A Bryan Robson hat-trick fired Ron Greenwood's West Ham United into the last
four of the League Cup, as they eased past Sheffield United on this day 42
years ago. Robson's haul, in addition to a Clyde Best double, proved plenty
to book a semi-final tie against Stoke City. Following a 2-1 win in the
Potteries, the Hammers lost 1-0 at home, sending the tie to a replay. After
a goalless draw in a first replay at Hillsborough, Stoke prevailed 3-2 in
the fourth meeting, this time at Old Trafford, to see Greenwood's men out of
the competition.
Complete record - 17 November
1923 Burnley 5-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1928 West Ham United 0-1 Portsmouth (Division One)
1934 West Ham United 2-0 Sheffield United (Division Two)
1951 Doncaster Rovers 4-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1956 Middlesbrough 3-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1962 West Ham United 2-2 Fulham (Division One)
1965 Grimsby Town 2-2 West Ham United (League Cup)
1971 West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United (League Cup)
1973 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1979 West Ham United 2-0 Swansea Town (Division Two)
1984 West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland (Division One)
1990 West Ham United 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Division Two)
1991 West Ham United 0-0 Liverpool (Division One)
1997 West Ham United 4-1 Walsall (League Cup)
2002 West Ham United 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
Played 15, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 4, Scored 24, Conceded 21
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Chambers up for the Cup
WHUFC.com
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup
16.11.2013
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup after West Ham United were drawn against Bristol
City.
The Hammers will meet the Robins when they enter the competition at the
Round of 32 stage after City overcame Peterborough United 1-0 to earn a home
tie against Nick Haycock's Development Squad. A date has yet to be set for
the match, which will take place at Ashton Gate, and Chambers believes the
competition will provide a taster of what awaits in the future. He told West
Ham TV: "We've got a similar competition at youth team level with the FA
Youth Cup. "With the Under-21 Cup now it gets us ready for the real FA Cup
and the pressure that goes with being one loss away from going out, so I
think it will be good for us."
Chambers and his teammates have enjoyed a strong start to their Barclays
Under-21 Premier League season and currently sit proudly on top of the table
after nine matches. They've tasted defeat just once but the defender says
the squad will not underestimate their opposition. "We don't fear anyone but
we respect whoever we play against. Whether it's Bristol City or Arsenal we
show no disrespect to any team we play against and we'll try our best to
play to our maximum."
The versatile defender is comfortable at right-back or centre-back and has
not been limited to appearing for the Under-21s this season. Chambers has
played 90 minutes in all of the Club's three Capital One Cup wins and has
had further chance to impress the first team coaching staff over the current
international break. The 18-year-old played the whole match on Friday as a
West Ham United XI drew 2-2 with Millwall in a behind closed doors friendly
match and Chambers feels the match was an excellent test. "It was a very
good game. They came with a strong squad and we had a few seniors out there
ourselves. The young lads that came in, myself, Pottsy, (Dan Potts) and
Pelly Ruddock all did well and I think it was a good game. "It's always a
good experience playing against people that are playing in the football
league week in, week out. The guy I was up against today, Andy Keogh, did
well and like I said it was a good experience for me."
With the Development Squad currently experiencing a four-week break in
league fixtures, Chambers feels games against opposition such as Millwall
serve the players well. "Playing in these games is always a good experience
and training is good for us, but we're preparing ourselves to play against
seasoned professionals, so these games are always helpful for myself and for
the senior lads who don't play week in, week out. "I wouldn't say it's hard
to keep focus because obviously we have a good training schedule to keep us
in top shape. These games always help when we don't have regular league
fixtures. I wouldn't say it's hard to keep focussed on the league because we
have games like this which are also good experiences for us."
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U18s triumph against Royals
WHUFC.com
Djair Parfitt-Williams netted a treble as the Hammers' U18s came out on top
against Reading
16.11.2013
A hat-trick from the returning Djair Parfitt-Williams fired West Ham United
Under-18s to a convincing 3-1 victory over Reading on Saturday morning. The
winger returned to Steve Potts' starting XI after missing four games through
injury and he turned in a brilliant display at Reading's training ground,
providing the goals that extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to eight games.
The victory also sees the U18s move above the Royals into fifth place in the
Barclays U18 Premier League and coach Tony Carr MBE insists it was a
comprehensive win. He told whufc.com: "We thought Aston Villa last week was
as good as we've played this season, I would agree with that and I think
we've carried on from that performance. "It was a very complete performance,
we played well, created good goal-scoring opportunities and took them. I
thought they were gracious in defeat. "Eamonn Dolan, an ex-West Ham United
player, is their Academy Manager and he came up to me after the game and
said we were the better team and we thoroughly deserved the victory. We were
pleased with our performance and hopefully we can keep it going until the
Christmas break."
In an open contest the Hammers forged a two-goal lead early in the first
half, before Reading struck back to halve the deficit by half-time. Both
sides hit the bar in an entertaining second half before Parfitt-Williams
sealed both his hat-trick and the three points. The winger's goals added to
the two he has already bagged this season and Carr was pleased that the wide
man was on hand to finish off three of the numerous openings created by the
away side. "I thought he played very well, but having said that I wouldn't
say we were a one man team today," he added. "It was very much a team
performance and Djair was on the end of some very good team movements, so
credit to him. "It doesn't take away from the fact that it was a very good
all round team performance and I wouldn't like to single anyone out although
Djair will grab the headlines because of the hat-trick which ought to be
noted."
After a rough start to the season of only one win in five games, the team
are now flying under the guidance of Potts and Carr. With the team's
unbeaten run fast approaching double figures, Carr reckons the team are full
of belief in their ability right now. "We've put consistent results together
and the boys are playing with lots of confidence. We're going into games now
believing that we can win them so it's breeding more confidence and that's
good for them, their futures and their progress."
The Under-18s are next in action when they take on Fulham at Little Heath on
Saturday 23 November, with a kick-off set for 11am.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REMEMBERING CLYDE BEST
By Tony Hanna 16 Nov 2013 at 14:58
West Ham Till I Die
Quick for a big man, powerful and strong, a more athletic looking player you
will never see. Clyde had it all but never became the finished article. That
may seem a bit unfair on a player who is somewhat of a legend at Upton Park,
but for those who did see him play, I am sure most would agree he never
fully realised his true potential. Clyde had all the assets to be a
superstar of the game. When he did score it was normally a beauty – a net
ripping shot or an unstoppable header. Whilst he did infuriate all too
often, he is very warmly remembered.
He played seven seasons at West Ham from 1969 to 1976 and played 221 games,
scoring 58 goals. Born in Bermuda, Clyde Best was one of the first pioneers
for the modern black footballer in England. There weren't many black players
playing in the old first division back then and Clyde suffered taunts and
abuse from away fans on a regular basis. Clyde just had to get on with it as
there were no laws or guidelines to protect such things happening forty
years ago. Black or foreign players were very few and far between in the
early seventies and racism was completely unbridled.
At just 19 he made his first big mistake but at least he did learn from it.
Clyde joined Bobby Moore, Brian Dear, Jimmy Greaves and physio Rob Jenkins
in a late night, or should I say early morning, drinking session the night
before an FA Cup tie at Blackpool. The Hammers were favourites to win the
game but were beaten 4-0. The booze party was splattered all over the sports
pages just a few days after the game. Ron Greenwood was not happy! He wanted
all four sacked but was persuaded that fines would be sufficient. However,
Dear left the club within weeks and Greaves retired some months later. Clyde
kept low for a while! He was probably lucky that Bobby Moore had been one of
the culprits or perhaps Ron would have got his way? In his early seasons
Clyde benefited from playing alongside Geoff Hurst and in the 1971/2 season
he scored 23 goals. Following Hurst's move to Stoke though, Clyde scored
just 34 more times in a Hammers shirt and in 1976 moved away to play in the
United States.
Clyde Best played twice for Bermuda, amazingly his debut was at fifteen.
This again illustrates the natural raw talent that Clyde was. He also
coached the Bermuda national side from 1997 to 1999. In 2004 Clyde was the
first athlete to be inducted into the Bermuda Sports Hall of Fame and in
2006 he was awarded an MBE for services to Bermudian football and to the
community.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ALOU DIARRA COMEBACK?
By Sean Whetstone 16 Nov 2013 at 09:00
West Ham Till I Die
Alou Diarra is poised to return to first team action after originally being
ruled out for the rest of the season after anterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction in August.
Diarra needed surgery after injuring his knee in the Capital One Cup 2-1 win
over Cheltenham. After making it through three West Ham Development games it
is claimed he is now in the first team squad and available for selection for
the Chelsea home match. Diarra, played 90 minutes in West Ham 9-0 win over
Gillingham game on Tuesday and said after the match 'I am happy to now be
doing my job, playing football, and my recovery has been amazingly quick'.
He also played in West Ham XI friendly against Millwall on Friday.
West Ham are believed to have paid a fee of around £2.5 million in August
2012 for Diarra from Marseille who were keen to get his hefty £60,000 a week
wages of their books. By January this year his days seemed numbered after he
claimed he was lied to by West Ham & agents.
After just five appearances in a West Ham shirt, Diarra claimed he was
deceived by West Ham when they tried to lure him to Upton Park in the
summer.
'The speeches were so positive,' Diarra told L'Equipe. 'I was told that I
was a priority for the manager' 'At 31-years-old, I wanted to find another
league, and Marseille needed to reduce their wage bill, so it suited
everyone 'It was England, London, West Ham, a popular club with a true
identity. It was an opportunity to settle in the Premier League. I did not
ask, I trusted 'After a few weeks, I realised that there were a lot of lies.
This agent has fooled me. Some people have made money on my back.
Admittedly, I have three year contract but I'm not unhappy financially, but
I came to play, not to take an early retirement. I am positively at breaking
point.'
Allardyce responded at the time saying "It is a fact of life, I look at the
situation and play what I consider the best team, and because of Alou's
long-standing injury he has found it hard to adjust to what is needed in the
Premier League. If he is unhappy, he just has to tell me what he wants to do
and we'll see how we go from there. We'll have that discussion and we'll
make a decision after that on his future."
Not long after these exchange of words in the media he was shipped out to
Rennes on a six month loan and his West Ham career seemed at an end.
However, pre-season he was back seemed ready to make peace with West Ham. He
told the club website "I want to fight this season with West Ham, I'll give
100 per cent in training and I'll wait for my chance. I want to give my best
for West Ham and we'll see. I'm ready to play in the Premier League now.
Pre-season has gone well. We work hard every day, and we've only lost one
game so it has been a good start for us"
The question is where exactly will Diarra fit back into the team and is he
likely to be given a chance to repay some of the estimated £5 million we
have invested in transfer fees and wages?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll fitness lift to give West Ham boss Sam Allardyce early
Christmas present by returning to action
16 Nov 2013 22:28
The Mirror
Andy Carroll is set to give West Ham manager Sam Allardyce an early
Christmas present by returning to action next month. The £15million striker
has been absent all season, plagued by a succession of injuries. Carroll has
been sent to Amercia and Belgium in a bid to regain fitness after he damaged
an ankle during pre-season. He suffered a setback after returning to
training but intensive treatment looks ready to pay off. The 24-year-old has
pencilled in a comeback against Sunderland at Upton Park on December 14 in
the Premier League for his first appearance of the season, but may have to
wait a week after that.
Allardyce will be looking to re-inforce his squad in January and may make a
move for former Fulham and Tottenham striker Clint Dempsey, who is available
on loan from Seattle Sounders during the MLS close season. Longer-term,
Allardyce could move for Finnish star Tim Vayrynen, 20. He is out of
contract in a year and it would take only £500,000 to sign him from his club
FC Honka.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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WHUFC.com
An emphatic win in 1971 sends the Hammers into the League Cup semi-finals
17.11.2013
Classic match
West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United
League Cup
17 November 1971
A Bryan Robson hat-trick fired Ron Greenwood's West Ham United into the last
four of the League Cup, as they eased past Sheffield United on this day 42
years ago. Robson's haul, in addition to a Clyde Best double, proved plenty
to book a semi-final tie against Stoke City. Following a 2-1 win in the
Potteries, the Hammers lost 1-0 at home, sending the tie to a replay. After
a goalless draw in a first replay at Hillsborough, Stoke prevailed 3-2 in
the fourth meeting, this time at Old Trafford, to see Greenwood's men out of
the competition.
Complete record - 17 November
1923 Burnley 5-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1928 West Ham United 0-1 Portsmouth (Division One)
1934 West Ham United 2-0 Sheffield United (Division Two)
1951 Doncaster Rovers 4-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1956 Middlesbrough 3-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1962 West Ham United 2-2 Fulham (Division One)
1965 Grimsby Town 2-2 West Ham United (League Cup)
1971 West Ham United 5-0 Sheffield United (League Cup)
1973 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1979 West Ham United 2-0 Swansea Town (Division Two)
1984 West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland (Division One)
1990 West Ham United 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Division Two)
1991 West Ham United 0-0 Liverpool (Division One)
1997 West Ham United 4-1 Walsall (League Cup)
2002 West Ham United 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
Played 15, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 4, Scored 24, Conceded 21
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chambers up for the Cup
WHUFC.com
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup
16.11.2013
Leo Chambers is looking forward to playing a part in the inaugural U21
Barclays Premier League Cup after West Ham United were drawn against Bristol
City.
The Hammers will meet the Robins when they enter the competition at the
Round of 32 stage after City overcame Peterborough United 1-0 to earn a home
tie against Nick Haycock's Development Squad. A date has yet to be set for
the match, which will take place at Ashton Gate, and Chambers believes the
competition will provide a taster of what awaits in the future. He told West
Ham TV: "We've got a similar competition at youth team level with the FA
Youth Cup. "With the Under-21 Cup now it gets us ready for the real FA Cup
and the pressure that goes with being one loss away from going out, so I
think it will be good for us."
Chambers and his teammates have enjoyed a strong start to their Barclays
Under-21 Premier League season and currently sit proudly on top of the table
after nine matches. They've tasted defeat just once but the defender says
the squad will not underestimate their opposition. "We don't fear anyone but
we respect whoever we play against. Whether it's Bristol City or Arsenal we
show no disrespect to any team we play against and we'll try our best to
play to our maximum."
The versatile defender is comfortable at right-back or centre-back and has
not been limited to appearing for the Under-21s this season. Chambers has
played 90 minutes in all of the Club's three Capital One Cup wins and has
had further chance to impress the first team coaching staff over the current
international break. The 18-year-old played the whole match on Friday as a
West Ham United XI drew 2-2 with Millwall in a behind closed doors friendly
match and Chambers feels the match was an excellent test. "It was a very
good game. They came with a strong squad and we had a few seniors out there
ourselves. The young lads that came in, myself, Pottsy, (Dan Potts) and
Pelly Ruddock all did well and I think it was a good game. "It's always a
good experience playing against people that are playing in the football
league week in, week out. The guy I was up against today, Andy Keogh, did
well and like I said it was a good experience for me."
With the Development Squad currently experiencing a four-week break in
league fixtures, Chambers feels games against opposition such as Millwall
serve the players well. "Playing in these games is always a good experience
and training is good for us, but we're preparing ourselves to play against
seasoned professionals, so these games are always helpful for myself and for
the senior lads who don't play week in, week out. "I wouldn't say it's hard
to keep focus because obviously we have a good training schedule to keep us
in top shape. These games always help when we don't have regular league
fixtures. I wouldn't say it's hard to keep focussed on the league because we
have games like this which are also good experiences for us."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
U18s triumph against Royals
WHUFC.com
Djair Parfitt-Williams netted a treble as the Hammers' U18s came out on top
against Reading
16.11.2013
A hat-trick from the returning Djair Parfitt-Williams fired West Ham United
Under-18s to a convincing 3-1 victory over Reading on Saturday morning. The
winger returned to Steve Potts' starting XI after missing four games through
injury and he turned in a brilliant display at Reading's training ground,
providing the goals that extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to eight games.
The victory also sees the U18s move above the Royals into fifth place in the
Barclays U18 Premier League and coach Tony Carr MBE insists it was a
comprehensive win. He told whufc.com: "We thought Aston Villa last week was
as good as we've played this season, I would agree with that and I think
we've carried on from that performance. "It was a very complete performance,
we played well, created good goal-scoring opportunities and took them. I
thought they were gracious in defeat. "Eamonn Dolan, an ex-West Ham United
player, is their Academy Manager and he came up to me after the game and
said we were the better team and we thoroughly deserved the victory. We were
pleased with our performance and hopefully we can keep it going until the
Christmas break."
In an open contest the Hammers forged a two-goal lead early in the first
half, before Reading struck back to halve the deficit by half-time. Both
sides hit the bar in an entertaining second half before Parfitt-Williams
sealed both his hat-trick and the three points. The winger's goals added to
the two he has already bagged this season and Carr was pleased that the wide
man was on hand to finish off three of the numerous openings created by the
away side. "I thought he played very well, but having said that I wouldn't
say we were a one man team today," he added. "It was very much a team
performance and Djair was on the end of some very good team movements, so
credit to him. "It doesn't take away from the fact that it was a very good
all round team performance and I wouldn't like to single anyone out although
Djair will grab the headlines because of the hat-trick which ought to be
noted."
After a rough start to the season of only one win in five games, the team
are now flying under the guidance of Potts and Carr. With the team's
unbeaten run fast approaching double figures, Carr reckons the team are full
of belief in their ability right now. "We've put consistent results together
and the boys are playing with lots of confidence. We're going into games now
believing that we can win them so it's breeding more confidence and that's
good for them, their futures and their progress."
The Under-18s are next in action when they take on Fulham at Little Heath on
Saturday 23 November, with a kick-off set for 11am.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REMEMBERING CLYDE BEST
By Tony Hanna 16 Nov 2013 at 14:58
West Ham Till I Die
Quick for a big man, powerful and strong, a more athletic looking player you
will never see. Clyde had it all but never became the finished article. That
may seem a bit unfair on a player who is somewhat of a legend at Upton Park,
but for those who did see him play, I am sure most would agree he never
fully realised his true potential. Clyde had all the assets to be a
superstar of the game. When he did score it was normally a beauty – a net
ripping shot or an unstoppable header. Whilst he did infuriate all too
often, he is very warmly remembered.
He played seven seasons at West Ham from 1969 to 1976 and played 221 games,
scoring 58 goals. Born in Bermuda, Clyde Best was one of the first pioneers
for the modern black footballer in England. There weren't many black players
playing in the old first division back then and Clyde suffered taunts and
abuse from away fans on a regular basis. Clyde just had to get on with it as
there were no laws or guidelines to protect such things happening forty
years ago. Black or foreign players were very few and far between in the
early seventies and racism was completely unbridled.
At just 19 he made his first big mistake but at least he did learn from it.
Clyde joined Bobby Moore, Brian Dear, Jimmy Greaves and physio Rob Jenkins
in a late night, or should I say early morning, drinking session the night
before an FA Cup tie at Blackpool. The Hammers were favourites to win the
game but were beaten 4-0. The booze party was splattered all over the sports
pages just a few days after the game. Ron Greenwood was not happy! He wanted
all four sacked but was persuaded that fines would be sufficient. However,
Dear left the club within weeks and Greaves retired some months later. Clyde
kept low for a while! He was probably lucky that Bobby Moore had been one of
the culprits or perhaps Ron would have got his way? In his early seasons
Clyde benefited from playing alongside Geoff Hurst and in the 1971/2 season
he scored 23 goals. Following Hurst's move to Stoke though, Clyde scored
just 34 more times in a Hammers shirt and in 1976 moved away to play in the
United States.
Clyde Best played twice for Bermuda, amazingly his debut was at fifteen.
This again illustrates the natural raw talent that Clyde was. He also
coached the Bermuda national side from 1997 to 1999. In 2004 Clyde was the
first athlete to be inducted into the Bermuda Sports Hall of Fame and in
2006 he was awarded an MBE for services to Bermudian football and to the
community.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ALOU DIARRA COMEBACK?
By Sean Whetstone 16 Nov 2013 at 09:00
West Ham Till I Die
Alou Diarra is poised to return to first team action after originally being
ruled out for the rest of the season after anterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction in August.
Diarra needed surgery after injuring his knee in the Capital One Cup 2-1 win
over Cheltenham. After making it through three West Ham Development games it
is claimed he is now in the first team squad and available for selection for
the Chelsea home match. Diarra, played 90 minutes in West Ham 9-0 win over
Gillingham game on Tuesday and said after the match 'I am happy to now be
doing my job, playing football, and my recovery has been amazingly quick'.
He also played in West Ham XI friendly against Millwall on Friday.
West Ham are believed to have paid a fee of around £2.5 million in August
2012 for Diarra from Marseille who were keen to get his hefty £60,000 a week
wages of their books. By January this year his days seemed numbered after he
claimed he was lied to by West Ham & agents.
After just five appearances in a West Ham shirt, Diarra claimed he was
deceived by West Ham when they tried to lure him to Upton Park in the
summer.
'The speeches were so positive,' Diarra told L'Equipe. 'I was told that I
was a priority for the manager' 'At 31-years-old, I wanted to find another
league, and Marseille needed to reduce their wage bill, so it suited
everyone 'It was England, London, West Ham, a popular club with a true
identity. It was an opportunity to settle in the Premier League. I did not
ask, I trusted 'After a few weeks, I realised that there were a lot of lies.
This agent has fooled me. Some people have made money on my back.
Admittedly, I have three year contract but I'm not unhappy financially, but
I came to play, not to take an early retirement. I am positively at breaking
point.'
Allardyce responded at the time saying "It is a fact of life, I look at the
situation and play what I consider the best team, and because of Alou's
long-standing injury he has found it hard to adjust to what is needed in the
Premier League. If he is unhappy, he just has to tell me what he wants to do
and we'll see how we go from there. We'll have that discussion and we'll
make a decision after that on his future."
Not long after these exchange of words in the media he was shipped out to
Rennes on a six month loan and his West Ham career seemed at an end.
However, pre-season he was back seemed ready to make peace with West Ham. He
told the club website "I want to fight this season with West Ham, I'll give
100 per cent in training and I'll wait for my chance. I want to give my best
for West Ham and we'll see. I'm ready to play in the Premier League now.
Pre-season has gone well. We work hard every day, and we've only lost one
game so it has been a good start for us"
The question is where exactly will Diarra fit back into the team and is he
likely to be given a chance to repay some of the estimated £5 million we
have invested in transfer fees and wages?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll fitness lift to give West Ham boss Sam Allardyce early
Christmas present by returning to action
16 Nov 2013 22:28
The Mirror
Andy Carroll is set to give West Ham manager Sam Allardyce an early
Christmas present by returning to action next month. The £15million striker
has been absent all season, plagued by a succession of injuries. Carroll has
been sent to Amercia and Belgium in a bid to regain fitness after he damaged
an ankle during pre-season. He suffered a setback after returning to
training but intensive treatment looks ready to pay off. The 24-year-old has
pencilled in a comeback against Sunderland at Upton Park on December 14 in
the Premier League for his first appearance of the season, but may have to
wait a week after that.
Allardyce will be looking to re-inforce his squad in January and may make a
move for former Fulham and Tottenham striker Clint Dempsey, who is available
on loan from Seattle Sounders during the MLS close season. Longer-term,
Allardyce could move for Finnish star Tim Vayrynen, 20. He is out of
contract in a year and it would take only £500,000 to sign him from his club
FC Honka.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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Saturday, November 16
Daily WHUFC News - 16th November 2013
Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Alou Diarra on returning to the pitch, his first-team hopes and watching
France's FIFA World Cup Play-Off
15.11.2013
Bonjour everyone,
I am happy to now be doing my job, playing football, and my recovery has
been amazingly quick. I am surprised, like everybody, but we've taken our
time and worked hard together and my knee is steady and I can play. I played
90 minutes in the game on Tuesday against Gillingham and I think this was my
last test. Now, I think I am available for the first team and hopefully I
will train hard to have a chance to play with West Ham United. I am not
feeling 100 per cent just yet, but my knee is feeling stable and stronger.
With every training session I will get better and I am happy to be playing
because it was eight hard weeks.
I was very unlucky because I did a good pre-season, but football is like
that. I must accept my injury and I have worked hard to come back. Now I'm
on the pitch and I try to do my best and am available for the team now. I
will train hard every day to try to play in the Premier League. Maybe I will
be involved against Chelsea. I hope so. I hope I will be ready, but it is up
to the manager.
Before then, I will be watching the World Cup Play-Off matches between
France and Ukraine. France is my country and I hope we will go to the World
Cup in Brazil next year. We were in a very difficult qualifying group with
Spain, who went through automatically. Now, I think the Play-Off is 50-50.
It will be difficult to play in Kiev. I have played before against this
team, Ukraine, and it is really hard to play against them away from home.
France must score one away goal and they will have a chance to go to the
World Cup.
I was a lucky guy because I played in the World Cup final in 2006. It was my
best experience in my job and I can talk about it with the young players,
which is amazing. The feeling was one you cannot feel before or after. I
have too many pictures in my head of that final - Zinedine Zidane's penalty
kick, his red card, the great atmosphere in Berlin and the penalty shootout
we ultimately lost. We were very unlucky to lose this final because I think
we were better than Italy and played better football.
The World Cup is a big event and a country like France must be there in
2014. England, Brazil and the other big countries will be there, so the
France squad must not miss this World Cup. It will be hard to go through,
but we can. We have good players like Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema
playing for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, so they must go to the World Cup.
It will be great for us as a country and a people if we could go to the
World Cup.
A bientôt,
Alou
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carlton Cole nets in Millwall draw
WHUFC.com
A West Ham United XI played out a 2-2 friendly draw with Millwall at the
Boleyn Ground
15.11.2013
A West Ham United XI played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Millwall this
afternoon in a friendly at the Boleyn Ground. Carlton Cole followed up his
goal against Gillingham on Tuesday with another here as he pounced on a
loose ball in the box to cancel out Andy Keogh's opener. Richard Chaplow
put the Lions back in front with a smart finish after a nice team move but
they weren't ahead for long as a trialist turned home Modibo Maiga's centre
for the equaliser.
Neil McDonald took charge of a home side which featured a blend of youth and
experience against a strong Sky Bet Championship outfit. A Hammers team
which included 16-year-old goalkeeper Sam Howes behind a young back four,
had the better of the opening exchanges with Cole going close after his
header from a George McCartney cross flew just over the bar with seven
minutes gone. The visitors did however occasionally threaten on the
counter-attack and took the lead courtesy of such a move after 14 minutes
when Lee Martin got to the byline and swept in a cross for the onrushing
Keogh to head past Howes. Just two minutes later and the trialist came close
to levelling the scores but saw his close-range volley saved by former West
Ham keeper Stephen Bywater. The Hammers were on top and with half an hour
gone they found the equaliser as Cole turned the ball home after it fell at
his feet from a Matt Jarvis corner. With five minutes remaining to half-time
Maiga came close to handing the Hammers the lead when he struck a powerful
left-foot shot which flicked the outside of the post.
After the interval, the trialist had a golden chance to put the hosts in
front when Maiga's low cross found him at the back post but he could only
pick out Bywater with his sliding finish. Jarvis had a shot beaten away as
the home team pressed before Chaplow found himself unmarked at the back post
but could only unleash a wayward volley from Martin's through ball. In the
68th minute though the midfielder did find the back of the net as Howes saw
his kick charged down allowing Keogh to slide a pass through to Chaplow who
applied the finish from close range. Both sides then made several changes
with the home side introducing Taylor Miles and Danny Whitehead for Jarvis
and Joe Cole. West Ham had only been behind for eight minutes when the
trialist was in the right place to meet Maiga's centre with a cool header.
As the game headed towards a stalemate the Hammers created a couple of late
opportunities as they pushed for a winner. First, substitute Matthias Fanimo
provided a deep cross which found its way to Maiga but the front man's
header was off target. With just a matter of minutes left another
substitute, Blair Turgott, came agonisingly close to winning the match as he
raced into the box, latching onto to Maiga's through ball but his low shot
just rolled wide of the far post.
West Ham United: Howes, Ruddock, Potts, Chambers, McCartney, J.Cole (Miles),
Trialist (Fanimo), C.Cole, Maiga, Jarvis (Whitehead), Diarra (Turgott).
Subs not used: Burke, Knoyle
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
International round-up
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat's Romania were defeated in Greece in their FIFA World Cup
Play-Off first leg
15.11.2013
Razvan Rat and his Romania team-mates face an uphill task to reach Brazil
2014 after being defeated 3-1 in Greece in their FIFA World Cup Play-Off
first leg in Athens on Friday evening. Rat was booked late on to cap a
disappointing night for the Romanians, who fell a goal behind to Kostas
Mitroglou before Bogdan Stancu equalised. Dimitris Salpingidis put Greece
ahead almost immediately before Mitroglou put the Greeks in the driving seat
ahead of next Tuesday's second leg in Bucharest.
Elsewhere, Joey O'Brien was an unused substitute as Republic of Ireland
began the Martin O'Neill/Roy Keane era with a 3-0 friendly win over Latvia
in Dublin. Robbie Keane was among the Irish scorers. He will hope to earn
his sixth cap against Poland in Poznan on Tuesday 19 November.
Jack Collison has been added to Chris Coleman's Wales squad for their
international friendly with Finland at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
Hammers midfielder Collison joins James Collins in the Wales party with the
pair looking to add to their 16 and 43 caps respectively.
Ravel Morrison helped England continue their fine start to their UEFA U21
Championship qualifying campaign by recording a 3-0 win against Finland in
Milton Keynes on Thursday evening. Morrison played 83 minutes and will
expect to feature again when England host San Marino in Shrewsbury next
week. Gareth Southgate's team will be looking to continue their unbeaten
start to their qualification campaign, which has seen them take 13 points
from their opening five games. Morrison earned his first call-up to the
Under-21s for their last round of qualifiers, and scored in the 5-0 mauling
of Lithuania. The Young Lions are set to take on Finland at Milton Keynes
Dons' stadiummk on Thursday 14 November, before moving on to Shrewsbury
Town's Greenhaus Stadium for the San Marino clash on Tuesday 19 November.
Also set to represent his country in this next set of internationals is
Mohamed Diame, who has been named in the Senegal squad for the second leg of
their FIFA World Cup Play-Off against Ivory Coast on Saturday 16 November.
Senegal are 3-1 down following the away leg and will have to play the home
match in Morocco as they are currently serving a suspension from playing
matches in Senegal due to crowd disturbances.
Winston Reid missed New Zealand's 5-1 2014 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental
Play-Off first-leg defeat in Mexico due to an ankle injury. He will also
miss the second leg in Wellington next Wednesday.
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On this day - 16 November
WHUFC.com
The Hammers blew Wolves away on this day 39 years ago
16.11.2013
Classic match
West Ham United 5-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Division One
16 November 1974
West Ham struck five as they swept aside their visitors from the Midlands to
move up to seventh in Division One. Having sat 22nd and last just ten games
previously, this high-scoring victory meant they had only lost one game in
their last ten and were up to seventh. Bobby Gould netted one of his 13
goals that seasibm as Trevor Brooking, Frank Lampard and Billy Jennings also
got in on the act. A penalty from Billy Bonds completed the rout and
maintained a good run of results for the Hammers as they went unbeaten in
their next six league matches.
Complete record - 16 November
1929 Leeds United 1-3 West Ham United (Division One)
1935 Manchester United 2-3 West Ham United (Division Two)
1946 West Ham United 0-4 Birmingham City (Division Two)
1956 West Ham United 5-0 Stoke City (Division Two)
1963 West Ham United 2-2 Leicester City (Division One)
1968 West Ham United 4-0 Leicester City (Division One)
1974 West Ham United 5-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Division One)
1985 West Ham United 2-1 Watford (Division One)
1996 Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
Played 9, Won 6, Drawn 2, Lost 1, Scored 25, Conceded 13
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Howes happy with form
WHUFC.com
Schoolboy goalkeeper Sam Howes has established himself in West Ham United's
U18 side
15.11.2013
West Ham United's superb Barclays U18 Premier League form has been based on
impressive performances all over the pitch. The Hammers' seven-match
unbeaten run has seen them score 16 goals but, perhaps more importantly,
concede just five. Sam Howes has kept goal in six of those seven matches,
conceding just three goals in the process. The England U16 stopper is a
schoolboy who turned 16 just last week, but the youngster has established
himself as West Ham's No1 at U18 level this season - his sixth at the Club.
"I joined West Ham for the beginning of the U11 season," Howes revealed. "I
started off at Crystal Palace where I was noticed playing against West Ham.
I left Crystal Palace and approached West Ham, who offered me a trial, so I
took the great opportunity and have never looked back on it since."
Howes' development saw him play four times for the U18s last season, while
he was also invited to train alongside the first-team goalkeepers. "At first
it was a big shock to me when my goalkeeper coach Jerome John took me over
to Chadwell Heath to train with the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was a
great achievement and later that year they asked me to warm up with the
first team before the home game against Wigan. That has to go down as one of
my favourite footballing moments to date."
Still an U16 in age-group terms, Howes splits his time between training and
education at Rush Green, where the Academy has established a partnership
with Robert Clack School. On the pitch, the teenager has passed almost every
test so far. "The season has been going really well so far with being
involved in the U18s a lot this year already. That's great for me to get the
experience with the older lot, not just on but off the pitch as well. "We
are on a run as a team with some very good wins over some big teams. As an
individual I'm training with the first-team 'keepers nearly every week,
which is unreal to learn off the likes of Jussi, Adrian and Rapha [Spiegel].
"Martyn Margetson has made me feel very welcome in the group as well and I'm
very honoured to work with such great goalkeepers who I learn a great deal
from. "We find ourselves the first ones out in the morning on the training
pitch and the last ones in. JJ and Marge are two great coaches and I enjoy
working with them both because I learn so much. "I've known and worked with
JJ for nearly six years and loved being coached by him and learnt so much
that I can take up to the first team with Marge. I've only started properly
training with Marge this year and am still learning a lot, but what I know
about both of them is they will give up their time to help you through
training and give you tips to improve your game. "I get plenty of advice
from Jussi as well. He's a great guy, a true professional and a great role
model to youngsters. To learn from a guy who has over 400 Premier League
games under his belt is massive for a young 'keeper learning like me. He
helps me with technical things so like hand shape and this has made a big
improvement in my game."
Howes' form, which he will hope to take into Saturday's Barclays U18 Premier
League fixture at Reading, has seen him capped by England at U16 level.
Should he continue to improve, more international honours will surely
follow. "Representing my country was the best moment of my career to date. I
always dreamt as a young kid of putting the Three Lions shirt on and singing
the national anthem. "Playing in the games was just unreal and I couldn't
believe it had happened, I was speechless for days. It felt just right as
well, and like all the hard work had paid-off. Now I have to keep improving
and raising the bar."
Finally, anyone who attended the U18s' 3-1 win over Aston Villa last weekend
will have noticed Howes wearing special 'poppy' gloves to mark Remembrance
Day. "I wore them to show my support to the members of our Armed Forces who
aren't with us anymore. These inspirational people put their lives on the
line for us to have the safest lives possible. Another reason I wore them
was to show my respect to their poor families. They are great and fantastic
people and I'm happy to support them with the gloves."
West Ham take on Reading in the Barclays U18 Premier League at Hogwood Park
on Saturday, with kick-off at 11am.
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'It was a good test'
WHUFC.com
First team coach Ian Hendon was pleased with Friday's workout against
Millwall
16.11.2013
West Ham United contested their second behind closed doors friendly of the
international break when they took on Millwall at the Boleyn Ground on
Friday.
The Hammers drew 2-2 against an experienced Millwall outfit, with the home
side's goals coming from Carlton Cole and a trialist. George McCartney and
Alou Diarra got vital match minutes under their belts as they step up their
comebacks from injury, while there were also run outs for the likes of Matt
Jarvis and Joe Cole. "It was a very useful workout," first team coach Ian
Hendon said.. "It was the second game in a week for some of the players who
have been on the fringes of the side, and a couple who are coming back from
injury. "Millwall brought a very strong side over and that was what it was
about - a workout for the players, and it ended in a creditable 2-2 draw.
"The manager here is very keen to get these games on, to keep the players
playing and it also gets the ones coming back from injury into the swing of
things. "You can train five or six days on the bounce, but you don't get the
same stimulus in training as you do in a match situation, so it is important
that we keep that going and it was a good game on Friday."
The Hammers side also included a youtful element and Hendon was pleased with
how they coped with Millwall's threat. He added: "It was a good test for our
young players. We had a back four with Pottsy, Leo Chambers and Pelly
Ruddock amongst it, and they were playing against Steve Morison, who is a
Welsh international and Andy Keogh, who has a lot of experience. "The boys
did alright - they are always being watched by the manager, myself and Macca
to see who is progressing, and who is ready or nearly ready to be in and
around the first team."
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What was the point in West Ham signing them?
Date: 16th November 2013 at 2:59 am
Written by: Jordan Marsden |
Forever West Ham
Mladen PetricWest Ham's striker crisis has been well documented so far this
season, the lack of a cutting edge up front has led Sam Allardyce into
playing without a recognised forward. Allarydce and the board felt that two
strikers would be enough for the season even though Andy Carroll was already
on the injury list. Claims they tried their best is just not good enough and
we are really feeling the effects of that gamble now. When the news broke
that Carroll's lay off was going to be extended there was panic at the
Boleyn ground, which led to the free signings of Mladen Petric and Carlton
Cole. To chase players with the ability of Romelu Lukaku and Fabio
Quagliarella throughout the summer window and end up with Petric and the
re-signing of Cole was a huge let down.
At the moment it seems that both signing are indeed just a waste of time,
the former Fulham striker is currently out injured and what we have seen of
our beloved Cole has not been great. To have signed these forwards and then
to play six in midfield with no focal point just shows that Allardyce has no
faith in the new signings, or Maiga. Will they play any part in our season?
I am not sure at all, I can see all three getting released or sold in the
January transfer window to open up wages for a loan signing or two!
With not one goal from a striker this season its worrying times for West
Ham, Cole and Petric seem to be pointless signing. I hope they can get a run
of games and score a few goals but I am not optimistic of that happening.
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West Ham fan Winstone calls time on home matches
Last updated Fri 15 Nov 2013
West Ham fan Ray Winstone has revealed he no longer goes to watch matches
because fans do not allow him to watch the game in peace. The actor, who is
the face of Bet 365 adverts shown at half-time during live football games,
grew up in Plaistow and is a devoted West Ham fan. But The Sweeney star told
Reader's Digest: "The thing that changes - and I don't mean this horribly
because I've been to West Ham all my life - is that I used to love being in
the crowd and just sitting there with the boys having a laugh. "Then I found
I couldn't because people will talk to me all through the game - I'm not
moaning about it, they were just talking - but I want to watch the game with
my mates. So you think, I've got a few quid so I'll get a box. But then how
can you say you're the same as everyone else?"
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Morrison the best youngster Ferguson ever saw
ESPN staffNovember 15, 2013
ESPN.com
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson said
Ravel Morrison was the best 14-year-old he had ever seen. Manchester-born
Morrison came through the ranks at Old Trafford before Ferguson sold him to
West Ham United in January 2012 after the 20-year-old had a series of
disciplinary problems. Morrison, who spent last season on loan at
Birmingham, has broken into the West Ham side this year and is their
five-goal top scorer, as well as becoming a regular for the England
Under-21s. Ferdinand, working as a pundit on BT Sport, said: "I would pay to
watch him train let alone play in a match. Ever since the first day I saw
him, my old boss [Ferguson] said: 'Have a look at this boy.' "He was taking
the mick out of everyone on the pitch when he was about 14. The manager
thought he was the best player he had seen at that age. "He trained with the
first team at about 16 and Darren Fletcher said to me: 'He runs with the
ball, he just runs with it and he's almost looking at me while he's running
with the ball, and waiting for me to make a move and then he reacts.' "The
top players can do that - they react to a defender's movements." Mike
Phelan, Ferguson's former assistant, last month defended the decision to
allow Morrison to leave Old Trafford, but Hammers boss Sam Allardyce said he
feared United would try to re-sign the player.
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WHUFC.com
Alou Diarra on returning to the pitch, his first-team hopes and watching
France's FIFA World Cup Play-Off
15.11.2013
Bonjour everyone,
I am happy to now be doing my job, playing football, and my recovery has
been amazingly quick. I am surprised, like everybody, but we've taken our
time and worked hard together and my knee is steady and I can play. I played
90 minutes in the game on Tuesday against Gillingham and I think this was my
last test. Now, I think I am available for the first team and hopefully I
will train hard to have a chance to play with West Ham United. I am not
feeling 100 per cent just yet, but my knee is feeling stable and stronger.
With every training session I will get better and I am happy to be playing
because it was eight hard weeks.
I was very unlucky because I did a good pre-season, but football is like
that. I must accept my injury and I have worked hard to come back. Now I'm
on the pitch and I try to do my best and am available for the team now. I
will train hard every day to try to play in the Premier League. Maybe I will
be involved against Chelsea. I hope so. I hope I will be ready, but it is up
to the manager.
Before then, I will be watching the World Cup Play-Off matches between
France and Ukraine. France is my country and I hope we will go to the World
Cup in Brazil next year. We were in a very difficult qualifying group with
Spain, who went through automatically. Now, I think the Play-Off is 50-50.
It will be difficult to play in Kiev. I have played before against this
team, Ukraine, and it is really hard to play against them away from home.
France must score one away goal and they will have a chance to go to the
World Cup.
I was a lucky guy because I played in the World Cup final in 2006. It was my
best experience in my job and I can talk about it with the young players,
which is amazing. The feeling was one you cannot feel before or after. I
have too many pictures in my head of that final - Zinedine Zidane's penalty
kick, his red card, the great atmosphere in Berlin and the penalty shootout
we ultimately lost. We were very unlucky to lose this final because I think
we were better than Italy and played better football.
The World Cup is a big event and a country like France must be there in
2014. England, Brazil and the other big countries will be there, so the
France squad must not miss this World Cup. It will be hard to go through,
but we can. We have good players like Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema
playing for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, so they must go to the World Cup.
It will be great for us as a country and a people if we could go to the
World Cup.
A bientôt,
Alou
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Carlton Cole nets in Millwall draw
WHUFC.com
A West Ham United XI played out a 2-2 friendly draw with Millwall at the
Boleyn Ground
15.11.2013
A West Ham United XI played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Millwall this
afternoon in a friendly at the Boleyn Ground. Carlton Cole followed up his
goal against Gillingham on Tuesday with another here as he pounced on a
loose ball in the box to cancel out Andy Keogh's opener. Richard Chaplow
put the Lions back in front with a smart finish after a nice team move but
they weren't ahead for long as a trialist turned home Modibo Maiga's centre
for the equaliser.
Neil McDonald took charge of a home side which featured a blend of youth and
experience against a strong Sky Bet Championship outfit. A Hammers team
which included 16-year-old goalkeeper Sam Howes behind a young back four,
had the better of the opening exchanges with Cole going close after his
header from a George McCartney cross flew just over the bar with seven
minutes gone. The visitors did however occasionally threaten on the
counter-attack and took the lead courtesy of such a move after 14 minutes
when Lee Martin got to the byline and swept in a cross for the onrushing
Keogh to head past Howes. Just two minutes later and the trialist came close
to levelling the scores but saw his close-range volley saved by former West
Ham keeper Stephen Bywater. The Hammers were on top and with half an hour
gone they found the equaliser as Cole turned the ball home after it fell at
his feet from a Matt Jarvis corner. With five minutes remaining to half-time
Maiga came close to handing the Hammers the lead when he struck a powerful
left-foot shot which flicked the outside of the post.
After the interval, the trialist had a golden chance to put the hosts in
front when Maiga's low cross found him at the back post but he could only
pick out Bywater with his sliding finish. Jarvis had a shot beaten away as
the home team pressed before Chaplow found himself unmarked at the back post
but could only unleash a wayward volley from Martin's through ball. In the
68th minute though the midfielder did find the back of the net as Howes saw
his kick charged down allowing Keogh to slide a pass through to Chaplow who
applied the finish from close range. Both sides then made several changes
with the home side introducing Taylor Miles and Danny Whitehead for Jarvis
and Joe Cole. West Ham had only been behind for eight minutes when the
trialist was in the right place to meet Maiga's centre with a cool header.
As the game headed towards a stalemate the Hammers created a couple of late
opportunities as they pushed for a winner. First, substitute Matthias Fanimo
provided a deep cross which found its way to Maiga but the front man's
header was off target. With just a matter of minutes left another
substitute, Blair Turgott, came agonisingly close to winning the match as he
raced into the box, latching onto to Maiga's through ball but his low shot
just rolled wide of the far post.
West Ham United: Howes, Ruddock, Potts, Chambers, McCartney, J.Cole (Miles),
Trialist (Fanimo), C.Cole, Maiga, Jarvis (Whitehead), Diarra (Turgott).
Subs not used: Burke, Knoyle
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International round-up
WHUFC.com
Razvan Rat's Romania were defeated in Greece in their FIFA World Cup
Play-Off first leg
15.11.2013
Razvan Rat and his Romania team-mates face an uphill task to reach Brazil
2014 after being defeated 3-1 in Greece in their FIFA World Cup Play-Off
first leg in Athens on Friday evening. Rat was booked late on to cap a
disappointing night for the Romanians, who fell a goal behind to Kostas
Mitroglou before Bogdan Stancu equalised. Dimitris Salpingidis put Greece
ahead almost immediately before Mitroglou put the Greeks in the driving seat
ahead of next Tuesday's second leg in Bucharest.
Elsewhere, Joey O'Brien was an unused substitute as Republic of Ireland
began the Martin O'Neill/Roy Keane era with a 3-0 friendly win over Latvia
in Dublin. Robbie Keane was among the Irish scorers. He will hope to earn
his sixth cap against Poland in Poznan on Tuesday 19 November.
Jack Collison has been added to Chris Coleman's Wales squad for their
international friendly with Finland at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
Hammers midfielder Collison joins James Collins in the Wales party with the
pair looking to add to their 16 and 43 caps respectively.
Ravel Morrison helped England continue their fine start to their UEFA U21
Championship qualifying campaign by recording a 3-0 win against Finland in
Milton Keynes on Thursday evening. Morrison played 83 minutes and will
expect to feature again when England host San Marino in Shrewsbury next
week. Gareth Southgate's team will be looking to continue their unbeaten
start to their qualification campaign, which has seen them take 13 points
from their opening five games. Morrison earned his first call-up to the
Under-21s for their last round of qualifiers, and scored in the 5-0 mauling
of Lithuania. The Young Lions are set to take on Finland at Milton Keynes
Dons' stadiummk on Thursday 14 November, before moving on to Shrewsbury
Town's Greenhaus Stadium for the San Marino clash on Tuesday 19 November.
Also set to represent his country in this next set of internationals is
Mohamed Diame, who has been named in the Senegal squad for the second leg of
their FIFA World Cup Play-Off against Ivory Coast on Saturday 16 November.
Senegal are 3-1 down following the away leg and will have to play the home
match in Morocco as they are currently serving a suspension from playing
matches in Senegal due to crowd disturbances.
Winston Reid missed New Zealand's 5-1 2014 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental
Play-Off first-leg defeat in Mexico due to an ankle injury. He will also
miss the second leg in Wellington next Wednesday.
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On this day - 16 November
WHUFC.com
The Hammers blew Wolves away on this day 39 years ago
16.11.2013
Classic match
West Ham United 5-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Division One
16 November 1974
West Ham struck five as they swept aside their visitors from the Midlands to
move up to seventh in Division One. Having sat 22nd and last just ten games
previously, this high-scoring victory meant they had only lost one game in
their last ten and were up to seventh. Bobby Gould netted one of his 13
goals that seasibm as Trevor Brooking, Frank Lampard and Billy Jennings also
got in on the act. A penalty from Billy Bonds completed the rout and
maintained a good run of results for the Hammers as they went unbeaten in
their next six league matches.
Complete record - 16 November
1929 Leeds United 1-3 West Ham United (Division One)
1935 Manchester United 2-3 West Ham United (Division Two)
1946 West Ham United 0-4 Birmingham City (Division Two)
1956 West Ham United 5-0 Stoke City (Division Two)
1963 West Ham United 2-2 Leicester City (Division One)
1968 West Ham United 4-0 Leicester City (Division One)
1974 West Ham United 5-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Division One)
1985 West Ham United 2-1 Watford (Division One)
1996 Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
Played 9, Won 6, Drawn 2, Lost 1, Scored 25, Conceded 13
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Howes happy with form
WHUFC.com
Schoolboy goalkeeper Sam Howes has established himself in West Ham United's
U18 side
15.11.2013
West Ham United's superb Barclays U18 Premier League form has been based on
impressive performances all over the pitch. The Hammers' seven-match
unbeaten run has seen them score 16 goals but, perhaps more importantly,
concede just five. Sam Howes has kept goal in six of those seven matches,
conceding just three goals in the process. The England U16 stopper is a
schoolboy who turned 16 just last week, but the youngster has established
himself as West Ham's No1 at U18 level this season - his sixth at the Club.
"I joined West Ham for the beginning of the U11 season," Howes revealed. "I
started off at Crystal Palace where I was noticed playing against West Ham.
I left Crystal Palace and approached West Ham, who offered me a trial, so I
took the great opportunity and have never looked back on it since."
Howes' development saw him play four times for the U18s last season, while
he was also invited to train alongside the first-team goalkeepers. "At first
it was a big shock to me when my goalkeeper coach Jerome John took me over
to Chadwell Heath to train with the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was a
great achievement and later that year they asked me to warm up with the
first team before the home game against Wigan. That has to go down as one of
my favourite footballing moments to date."
Still an U16 in age-group terms, Howes splits his time between training and
education at Rush Green, where the Academy has established a partnership
with Robert Clack School. On the pitch, the teenager has passed almost every
test so far. "The season has been going really well so far with being
involved in the U18s a lot this year already. That's great for me to get the
experience with the older lot, not just on but off the pitch as well. "We
are on a run as a team with some very good wins over some big teams. As an
individual I'm training with the first-team 'keepers nearly every week,
which is unreal to learn off the likes of Jussi, Adrian and Rapha [Spiegel].
"Martyn Margetson has made me feel very welcome in the group as well and I'm
very honoured to work with such great goalkeepers who I learn a great deal
from. "We find ourselves the first ones out in the morning on the training
pitch and the last ones in. JJ and Marge are two great coaches and I enjoy
working with them both because I learn so much. "I've known and worked with
JJ for nearly six years and loved being coached by him and learnt so much
that I can take up to the first team with Marge. I've only started properly
training with Marge this year and am still learning a lot, but what I know
about both of them is they will give up their time to help you through
training and give you tips to improve your game. "I get plenty of advice
from Jussi as well. He's a great guy, a true professional and a great role
model to youngsters. To learn from a guy who has over 400 Premier League
games under his belt is massive for a young 'keeper learning like me. He
helps me with technical things so like hand shape and this has made a big
improvement in my game."
Howes' form, which he will hope to take into Saturday's Barclays U18 Premier
League fixture at Reading, has seen him capped by England at U16 level.
Should he continue to improve, more international honours will surely
follow. "Representing my country was the best moment of my career to date. I
always dreamt as a young kid of putting the Three Lions shirt on and singing
the national anthem. "Playing in the games was just unreal and I couldn't
believe it had happened, I was speechless for days. It felt just right as
well, and like all the hard work had paid-off. Now I have to keep improving
and raising the bar."
Finally, anyone who attended the U18s' 3-1 win over Aston Villa last weekend
will have noticed Howes wearing special 'poppy' gloves to mark Remembrance
Day. "I wore them to show my support to the members of our Armed Forces who
aren't with us anymore. These inspirational people put their lives on the
line for us to have the safest lives possible. Another reason I wore them
was to show my respect to their poor families. They are great and fantastic
people and I'm happy to support them with the gloves."
West Ham take on Reading in the Barclays U18 Premier League at Hogwood Park
on Saturday, with kick-off at 11am.
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'It was a good test'
WHUFC.com
First team coach Ian Hendon was pleased with Friday's workout against
Millwall
16.11.2013
West Ham United contested their second behind closed doors friendly of the
international break when they took on Millwall at the Boleyn Ground on
Friday.
The Hammers drew 2-2 against an experienced Millwall outfit, with the home
side's goals coming from Carlton Cole and a trialist. George McCartney and
Alou Diarra got vital match minutes under their belts as they step up their
comebacks from injury, while there were also run outs for the likes of Matt
Jarvis and Joe Cole. "It was a very useful workout," first team coach Ian
Hendon said.. "It was the second game in a week for some of the players who
have been on the fringes of the side, and a couple who are coming back from
injury. "Millwall brought a very strong side over and that was what it was
about - a workout for the players, and it ended in a creditable 2-2 draw.
"The manager here is very keen to get these games on, to keep the players
playing and it also gets the ones coming back from injury into the swing of
things. "You can train five or six days on the bounce, but you don't get the
same stimulus in training as you do in a match situation, so it is important
that we keep that going and it was a good game on Friday."
The Hammers side also included a youtful element and Hendon was pleased with
how they coped with Millwall's threat. He added: "It was a good test for our
young players. We had a back four with Pottsy, Leo Chambers and Pelly
Ruddock amongst it, and they were playing against Steve Morison, who is a
Welsh international and Andy Keogh, who has a lot of experience. "The boys
did alright - they are always being watched by the manager, myself and Macca
to see who is progressing, and who is ready or nearly ready to be in and
around the first team."
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What was the point in West Ham signing them?
Date: 16th November 2013 at 2:59 am
Written by: Jordan Marsden |
Forever West Ham
Mladen PetricWest Ham's striker crisis has been well documented so far this
season, the lack of a cutting edge up front has led Sam Allardyce into
playing without a recognised forward. Allarydce and the board felt that two
strikers would be enough for the season even though Andy Carroll was already
on the injury list. Claims they tried their best is just not good enough and
we are really feeling the effects of that gamble now. When the news broke
that Carroll's lay off was going to be extended there was panic at the
Boleyn ground, which led to the free signings of Mladen Petric and Carlton
Cole. To chase players with the ability of Romelu Lukaku and Fabio
Quagliarella throughout the summer window and end up with Petric and the
re-signing of Cole was a huge let down.
At the moment it seems that both signing are indeed just a waste of time,
the former Fulham striker is currently out injured and what we have seen of
our beloved Cole has not been great. To have signed these forwards and then
to play six in midfield with no focal point just shows that Allardyce has no
faith in the new signings, or Maiga. Will they play any part in our season?
I am not sure at all, I can see all three getting released or sold in the
January transfer window to open up wages for a loan signing or two!
With not one goal from a striker this season its worrying times for West
Ham, Cole and Petric seem to be pointless signing. I hope they can get a run
of games and score a few goals but I am not optimistic of that happening.
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West Ham fan Winstone calls time on home matches
Last updated Fri 15 Nov 2013
West Ham fan Ray Winstone has revealed he no longer goes to watch matches
because fans do not allow him to watch the game in peace. The actor, who is
the face of Bet 365 adverts shown at half-time during live football games,
grew up in Plaistow and is a devoted West Ham fan. But The Sweeney star told
Reader's Digest: "The thing that changes - and I don't mean this horribly
because I've been to West Ham all my life - is that I used to love being in
the crowd and just sitting there with the boys having a laugh. "Then I found
I couldn't because people will talk to me all through the game - I'm not
moaning about it, they were just talking - but I want to watch the game with
my mates. So you think, I've got a few quid so I'll get a box. But then how
can you say you're the same as everyone else?"
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Morrison the best youngster Ferguson ever saw
ESPN staffNovember 15, 2013
ESPN.com
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson said
Ravel Morrison was the best 14-year-old he had ever seen. Manchester-born
Morrison came through the ranks at Old Trafford before Ferguson sold him to
West Ham United in January 2012 after the 20-year-old had a series of
disciplinary problems. Morrison, who spent last season on loan at
Birmingham, has broken into the West Ham side this year and is their
five-goal top scorer, as well as becoming a regular for the England
Under-21s. Ferdinand, working as a pundit on BT Sport, said: "I would pay to
watch him train let alone play in a match. Ever since the first day I saw
him, my old boss [Ferguson] said: 'Have a look at this boy.' "He was taking
the mick out of everyone on the pitch when he was about 14. The manager
thought he was the best player he had seen at that age. "He trained with the
first team at about 16 and Darren Fletcher said to me: 'He runs with the
ball, he just runs with it and he's almost looking at me while he's running
with the ball, and waiting for me to make a move and then he reacts.' "The
top players can do that - they react to a defender's movements." Mike
Phelan, Ferguson's former assistant, last month defended the decision to
allow Morrison to leave Old Trafford, but Hammers boss Sam Allardyce said he
feared United would try to re-sign the player.
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