Web Digest [ West Ham United ] - II 22nd June 2007

Spector aiming for final action in Gold Cup - WHUFC
22/06/2007 10:32

Jonathan Spector is hoping to enjoy some international glory this weekend
after the USA progressed to the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Hammers
defender was an unused substitute as his colleagues secured a 2-1 victory
over Canada in their semi-final in Chicago on Thursday, but will be hoping
to earn a recall on Sunday for the final against Mexico. Goals from Frankie
Hejduk and Landon Donovan secured the narrow semi-final victory, while
Leicester City midfielder replied for the Canadians. Just four days after
their Gold Cup final, also in Chicago, Jonathan and his team-mates will be
heading to Venezuela for the start of the Copa America campaign, against
Carlos Tevez's Argentina.

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Sir Trevor pays tribute to Under-21 spirit - WHUFC
22/06/2007 12:45

West Ham United legend Sir Trevor Brooking has paid tribute to the spirit
and character of the England Under-21 squad following their heartbreaking
exit from the European Championship semi-finals this week. The Young Lions -
including Upton Park trio Mark Noble, Anton Ferdinand and Nigel Reo-Coker -
were denied a place in the final following an unforgettable penalty
shoot-out defeat against hosts Holland, and the FA's Director of Football
Development was full of praise for their efforts. "The lads worked so hard
to get this far," said Sir Trevor. "Throughout the qualifying campaign, in
the Finals and on the training pitch, they have been committed to doing well
for England. "For the tournament to end in the way it did is heartbreaking
for them, but it is about how these players deal with that and learn from
it. It is all part of their education as England internationals and we hope
that these players will draw from that experience and benefit from it going
forward."
Sir Trevor also had a word of praise for another former Hammer, Stuart
Pearce, coach of the Under-21 side and now favourite to retain the post on a
full-time basis as England look to increase their commitment to developing
the county's young players. "Clearly our priority is looking to the future
and I believe we are committed to making the coach of this side a full-time
position," he said. "The past two weeks here in Holland show the importance
of the role and why it should be permanent. "Stuart Pearce has done
fantastically well in this tournament, the spirit in the camp has been great
and they really showed their character in the face of adversity against the
Dutch. They were seconds away from a place in the final, and Stuart, the
coaches and all the staff can be very proud of what they have achieved."

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West Ham's Paintsil eyeing exit - BBC
Michael Oti Adjei
BBC Sport, Accra

Ghana defender John Paintsil admits he might have to leave West Ham United
to save his international career. Paintsil joined the Hammers from Hapoel
Tel Aviv last year but has endured a miserable spell at the club, playing
just five times in the Premiership. Now with the 2008 African Cup of Nations
approaching in Ghana, Paintsil says he is weighing up his options. Paintsil
told BBC Sport: "I want to play, it's as simple as that. It is a difficult
situation for me." "I want to be playing for Ghana in every game and fight
for the red, gold and green colours. "But I know that club form is important
so all I can hope is that I can rectify that in the coming season. "My
future is important and I can't end up like this. "I am hoping that
everything works out well even if I don't get the opportunity at West Ham."
Despite enduring a difficult first season in England, Paintsil is impressed
with coach Alan Curbishley's support. "Alan Curbishley talked things over
with me and has assured me the club will take my interest into great
consideration in whatever decision they make about me," Paintsil said. "He
set my mind at ease with that conversation but it is has been a very
difficult situation for me. "The money I earn at West Ham is about a 1,000
times what I had in Israel but that means nothing if I am not playing.
"Sometimes I sit on the bench watching games and wonder why I do well at
training and never get to play. "I just chose to focus and keep training so
that when the chance comes, I won't disgrace myself. "I can't sit down and
complain all day so I rather put more hours into training and make sure when
I get the opportunity I won't blow it."

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QUARTET IN HAREWOOD HUNT - Sky
By Peter ORourke - Created on 22 Jun 2007

A quartet of Premier League clubs are chasing West Ham striker Marlon
Harewood. West Ham are ready to let Harewood move on and the news has
alerted Birmingham, Fulham, Portsmouth and Aston Villa. Birmingham have
already seen one bid rejected by West Ham for the speedy forward as the
Premier League new boys look to bolster their attacking options for next
season. Harewood is keen to resolve his future soon as he prepares for a new
challenge after four years at Upton Park. The player's representative, Mick
McGuire confirmed there are no shortage of admirers for Harewood. "There are
four Premier League clubs who have expressed an interest in signing Marlon,"
McGuire told skysports.com. "Birmingham have already seen one bid turned
down by West Ham for Marlon. "Fulham, Portsmouth and Aston Villa are also
keeping tabs on the situation. "Marlon is keen to secure his future and we
are hopeful of sorting a deal out."

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Defender set for Valley exit - Clubcall
20070622 13:55

Bolton are being linked with a £3million swoop for Charlton's Luke Young but
face competition from Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa. Young has been
told he is now free to leave The Valley after Alan Pardew snapped up France
Under-21 skipper Yassin Moutaouakil and Bolton are among the clubs who are
interested. Moutaouakil has arrived in a £400,000 deal from Chateauroux and
Pardew is now thought to be willing to let Young move on to the highest
bidder. Meanwhile, Pardew's latest recruit is delighted with the move and
cannot wait to get started. "Alan Pardew knows me well, he has seen me play
many games, and when I met him face-to-face I had a good feeling about him,"
the 20-year-old revealed.

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Paintsil accepts likely West Ham exit
tribalfooball.com - June 22, 2007

John Paintsil admits he's likely to leave West Ham United this summer. Ghana
fullback Paintsil told BBC Sport: "I want to play, it's as simple as that.
It is a difficult situation for me. "I want to be playing for Ghana in every
game and fight for the red, gold and green colours. "But I know that club
form is important so all I can hope is that I can rectify that in the coming
season. "My future is important and I can't end up like this. "I am hoping
that everything works out well even if I don't get the opportunity at West
Ham."

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Blackburn join West Ham, Everton in Fernandes race
tribalfooball.com - June 22, 2007

Benfica midfielder Manuel Fernandes admits he doesn't know where he will be
playing next season. After last season's spell in England on-loan at
Portsmouth and Everton, Fernandes' exploits in the U21 European
Championships have attracted the interest of West Ham United. "I don't know
what'll happen," Fernandes said last night. "If I return to Benfica, I'll do
so happily. But we'll just have to wait and see." Meanwhile, DN says
Blackburn Rovers and AZ Alkmaar are ready to move should Benfica drop their
£12 million asking price.

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Sven will lead raid on West Ham once he takes over at Eastlands - Daily Mail
Last updated at 13:02pm on 22nd June 2007

Sven-Goran Eriksson is set to become the Premiership's highest paid manager
on an &8million package at Manchester City - and will begin the rebuilding
task at Eastlands by launching a bid for Nigel Reo-Coker. Thai billionaire
Thaksin Shinawatra is closing in on his takeover of City and will give
Eriksson, his first choice in a list of four managers he wants to fill the
hotseat, a &50m transfer kitty to revive the club. Thaksin said: "Sven has a
very good reputation, he is a very capable coach. "He has good connections,
especially with the main players in the UK and Europe and that would help
the club in getting new players to join in the future." Along with Newcastle
striker Michael Owen, West Ham's wantaway skipper Reo-Coker is top of the
Swede's hitlist. The midfielder is seen as a perfect replacement for Joey
Barton, who left City to join Newcastle, and is likely to be available for
around £8m after an impressive series of displays for England Under-21's at
the European Championships in Holland. While the Hammers have been resigned
to losing Reo-Coker for some time, their hopes of hanging on to Carlos Tevez
appear to be diminishing as the forward nears a move to Real Madrid. The
Spanish champions are in talks with the Argentine's representatives over a
£30m move, although Inter Milan are also believed to be interested. Another
likely departure from Upton Park is Yossi Benayoun, who is the subject of
renewed interest from Liverpool. The Reds are set to offer &4.5m - &500,000
short of the Hammers' valuation of the Israeli midfielder - but West Ham
boss Alan Curbishley is hopeful of tempting Craig Bellamy to east London in
return. Liverpool value Bellamy at &12m, but the Hammers hope a
cash-plus-Benayoun offer will seal a deal for the Welshman.

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Give George your support: Worthington - Belfast Telegraph
Friday, June 22, 2007
By Graham Luney and Mark McIntosh

Nigel Worthington today pleaded with Northern Ireland fans to welcome George
McCartney back into the international fold now that the West Ham defender
has revealed that he wants to play for his country again. McCartney upset
the Green and White Army when he declared that he would NOT play for the
national side while Lawrie Sanchez was in charge. The former Sunderland
skipper fell out with Sanchez and put his international career on hold ahead
of a match in Malta back in August, 2005. In truth McCartney's decision
didn't hurt Northern Ireland as since then they have gone from strength to
strength and indeed are in with a chance of qualifying for Euro 2008 after
picking up 13 points in their last five matches and currently lie third
behind Sweden and Spain in Group F. Clearly though Worthington wants all
hands on deck for the remaining six matches, starting at home to
Liechtenstein in August - and that definitely includes Premiership players
like McCartney, who is set to add to his 22 caps. "Northern Ireland fans
realise we only have a handful of Premiership players in our squad - we
aren't the biggest country in the world and we don't have the biggest
collection of players," said Worthington. "We can't pick and choose when it
comes to putting a team together and I think it's wonderful we now have a
player of George's ability, nature and quality in the squad "The big thing
he is saying is 'I want to come back and play for my country again' - it's a
massive boost for us. "I hope our fans, who are always brilliant, will
welcome him back and support him like the rest of the players."
Worthington said it was important that McCartney was given time to make the
right decision. "I had a good chat with George and encouraged him to go away
and think about things, talk things over with his family and decide what he
wanted to do," added Worthington. "It was important he chewed things over
and took time to make the right decision. The second time I spoke to him he
said he wanted to play for his country again and it's great news for us, him
and his family. "I never thought for one moment George was definitely going
to come back and play for us but I am absolutely delighted he has made that
decision. "
McCartney - who later admitted that his decision to stop playing for
Northern Ireland was "probably a big mistake" - had several rows with
Sanchez who hinted he "picked" his games. The versatile defender said he
"never feigned an injury" but Sanchez questioned McCartney's commitment to
Northern Ireland.
Worthington added: "What went on between George and Lawrie is nothing to do
with me. But now he's ready to return and be of great benefit to Northern
Ireland again. "He's an experienced Premiership player and if he has a good
pre-season behind him and he is fit come August I would like to think he
will be in the squad for the Liechtenstein game."

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Sadler relishing Konchesky battle
Jun 22 2007
By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

MAT Sadler today insisted that he would be ready for the challenge if Paul
Konchesky joined Blues from West Ham United. Sadler has signed a new
three-year contract with the club, knowing full well that his place is under
threat. The left-back said that there was no question about him not
re-committing his future to his home-town team. "It was always the plan,"
the 22-year-old told the Mail. "I am more than happy to stay here. I've seen
other people all leave Birmingham and play for different sides all over the
country. "They've left their family and friends behind but this is where
I've always wanted to be. "I've got the bonus of everyone still being around
me, I'm from Birmingham, I support the club and we could be in for a very
exciting future, which I want to be a part of."
Blues have lodged a £2million bid for Konchesky and are set to step up their
interest. The former England international can also play wide left in
midfield to good effect, which has been overlooked. "It will be a tough
battle to get in next season but I will look forward to it," admitted
Sadler. "What else can I do? Start saying I want first-team football or I
will go elsewhere, or fight for myself and the team I want to play for? "At
the moment there is me and Gary McSheffrey for the left-hand side. I don't
know what the state of play is with Julian Gray but I think it looks like
he's leaving. "We seem pretty set on the right-hand side with Stuart Parnaby
coming in, so I'm sure the gaffer is thinking the left needs looking at. "I
think any Premier League club has to have strong competition for places, at
least two players for each position, and I'm sure it will be no exception
here. I am confident that given a chance I can perform well and contribute."
Sadler was withdrawn from the firing line by boss Steve Bruce during the
Championship run-in. Stephen Kelly moved to left-back and Bruno N'Gotty's
experience was called upon at right-back. Sadler, though, proved himself
more than capable in the top-flight when he returned to the fray after
long-term injury problems in April 2006 as Blues battled relegation. "It was
so disappointing to come out of the Premier League, I've never forgotten how
bad it felt," he said. "I think back to our last home game against
Newcastle, and they had Michael Owen coming off the bench - the sort of top
players you want to be facing every week."

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