10/08/2007 21:11
Alan Curbishley has revealed that, in the absence of Lucas Neill, Freddie
Ljungberg will take the captain's armband for our opening Barclays Premier
League match of the season against Manchester City tomorrow. After our
newly-appointed Club Captain was ruled out of the clash against Sven-Goran
Eriksson's team with a minor knee injury, the Hammers boss has confirmed
that Freddie - who is already Sweden's national skipper - will lead the team
out at Upton Park on his competitive debut for the Club. "Obviously we have
got a few contenders to take the armband," says Curbs. "We've got people
here who have been captain of their clubs and one or two who have captained
their country. "In the end, I plumped for Freddie because he has been there,
seen it and done it, and is the most experienced player in our side. "I
wanted to give it to someone who wouldn't see it as a pressure or allow it
to impact on their performance. Freddie will take it in his stride and, as
captain of Sweden, he knows what it is all about. "He has eased his way into
the squad since arriving," adds Curbs. "He is good with the lads and already
a big part of it. We are looking forward to seeing him tomorrow, and I had
no hesitation in naming him as captain."
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West Ham v Man City - BBC
Upton Park
Saturday, 11 August
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Coverage on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on Match
of the Day.
This will be a featured match on Saturday's Score - 1430 BST on BBCi and
bbc.co.uk/score
West Ham are without Lucas Neill and Scott Parker but their knee injuries
should only keep them out for one game. Craig Bellamy and Freddie Ljungberg
are in line to make their debuts, but Julien Faubert, Nigel Quashie and
Calum Davenport (hernia) are sidelined.
Manchester City new signings Vedran Corluka and Valeri Bojinov will not
feature unless they receive international clearance in time. With keeper
Andreas Isaksson injured, Joe Hart or Kasper Schmeichal stand by.
West Ham (from): Green, Wright, Spector, Pantsil, Ferdinand, Upson, Collins,
Gabbidon, McCartney, Ljungberg, Bowyer, Noble, Boa Morte, Etherington,
Mullins, Ashton, Bellamy, Zamora, Cole.
Man City (from): Hart, Schmeichel, Onuoha, Sun, Richards, Dunne, Corluka,
Garrido, Ball, Hamann, Geovanni, Fernandes, Elano, Ireland, Johnson, Petrov,
Bianchi, Vassell, Samaras, Bojinov, Corradi.
West Ham boss Alan Curbishley on continuing their winning run from the end
of last season: "If we make a start like that I would be delighted.
"West Ham is a big club and we made the back pages for the wrong reasons too
many times last season. "The club needs a solid season after four
topsy-turvy years - we are looking for a top-ten finish."
Manchester City Sven-Goran Eriksson: "There has been a bit of a revolution
here. "The biggest challenge in bringing so many players in is to make them
work together as quickly as possible. "It will take time to find our best
team but we still need to make a quick start to the season."
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West Ham v Man City preview -SSN
Summer spenders gear up for curtain-raiser
By Pete Allison Last updated: 10th August 2007
West Ham and Manchester City meet at Upton Park on Saturday, as City boss
Sven Goran Eriksson prepares to take charge of his new side for the first
time.
Both sides have been busy in the summer transfer window, and new faces will
be looking to gel quickly in order to get their clubs off to a solid start
with three points. Hammers boss Alan Curbishley is without skipper Lucas
Neill and midfielder Scott Parker, both of whom are sidelined with knee
injuries. New signing Julien Faubert will have to wait beyond Christmas to
make his debut, after suffering from a ruptured Achillies tendon in
pre-season, while Nigel Quashie and Calum Davenport will also miss out
through injury. Craig Bellamy and Freddie Ljungberg are both in line to make
their debuts in front of the West Ham faithful.
The omens are against Eriksson's side, who have only won one of their last
ten games on the opening day of the season. However, with their summer
spending proving to be one of the highest in the Premier League, their
captures may be able to fire them into early action. City are looking
troubled in goal, with first-choice shot-stopper Andreas Isaksson ruled out
with a fractured thumb. Eriksson will have to turn to either Joe Hart or
Kasper Schmeichel to fill in between the posts unless he makes a last-minute
addition.
FACT BOX
Prediction: West Ham 2 Man City 2
One to watch: Dean Ashton
Sky Bet odds: West Ham evens, draw 9/4, Man City 9/4
Recent signings Valeri Bojinov, Vedran Corluka and Elano will face a nervous
wait for their international clearance after the trio received their work
permits on Thursday evening. Should the clearance not be processed, the City
new-boys will be forced to wait on the sidelines to make their Premier
League debuts.
All further City summer signings are fit and ready for their first starts
for the club, with Rolando Bianchi, Geovanni, Gelson Fernandes, Javi Garrido
and Martin Petrov hoping to figure.
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West Ham v Man City: Preview - Soccernet
West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is determined to one day treat his
``blind-date'' Eggert Magnusson to the European adventure he has always
wanted.
Magnusson revealed his ambitious plans for West Ham include Champions League
football and a new 60,000-seat stadium by 2011. But after the tumultuous
experiences of last season, when West Ham eventually avoided relegation on
the final day, Curbishley wants to take things slowly. ``It was like a blind
date when I met Eggert for the first time at Christmas because we had never
even spoken before and I went on it not knowing what to expect,'' said
Curbishley.
``With everything that has happened over the last six months, the end of the
(Carlos) Tevez situation has been like a weight lifted off his shoulders.
``All he wants to do is talk about the club, what we can do and how we can
push on. Everything he does is with the club at heart. ``There is a lot of
criticism of foreign owners at the moment but we can only say good things.
He wants to push us on. Sometimes he wants to walk before we can crawl but
we are doing things the right way. ``The brief when I came in was that this
is a long-term plan and you can't set about that unless you build the
foundations and have a base. ``We need a nice solid season. The last four
years have been really topsy-turvy for West Ham - a play-off final they
lost, a play-off final they won, an FA Cup final they lost and a relegation
battle they won. ``We need a solid season where we can perhaps prepare the
base for pushing on, looking upwards rather than behind us. Top 10 is not
unambitious and it is not over the top. ``We are looking to finish on the
first page of the table on Ceefax, not the second.''
Sven-Goran Eriksson might have been dubbed `Ice Man' for the lack of emotion
he showed during his England days - but the new Manchester City manager has
revealed he will be as nervous as anyone when his team runs out at West Ham.
With eight new signings, none of whom have any Premier League experience,
and only a month to prepare, Eriksson realises there is an element of
unknown about his team. But, after almost seven years out of the day-to-day
club environment, the Swede cannot wait to get started. ``I will be
nervous,'' he said. ``You can feel the fact the games are about to start.
``I will be able to get up on Monday and count the points everyone has got.
``I always said the only thing I missed about being an international manager
was the daily work with the players. ``Now I am here and ready to go, so I
am extremely happy about it.''
With the search continuing for a senior goalkeeper to relieve the burden on
England Under-21 international Joe Hart and a stalled pursuit of midfielder
Mark Bresciano to revive, Eriksson feels it will be the end of the month
before he can start to set targets for his first season in English club
management.
However, after five-and-a-half seasons with England, Eriksson has been
around long enough to know how much of a positive impact a fast start can
have on the entire campaign, which is why he is not giving his squad a
settling-in period. ``There has been a bit of a revolution here,'' he said
``The biggest challenge in bringing so many players in is to make them work
together as a team as quickly as possible. ``Of course, it will take time to
find our best team and our fans will have to be patient. ``But we still need
to make a quick start because beginning well could be the difference between
three, four, or five league positions at the end of the season.''
City's trip to Upton Park represents the acid test of Eriksson's popularity
in England. Although he has received a warm and enthusiastic welcome from
City supporters, there remains a lingering fear he could become the target
of abuse from other clubs' followers, who were less than impressed by his
stint as England manager. Eriksson understands he may be subject to abuse
but does not believe it will be significantly worse than any other opposing
manager would get. ``I have never done anything wrong against West Ham, so I
don't expect any different kind of treatment,'' the Swede said. ``Of course
the away manager is not going to be as popular as the home one. I expect
that, but nothing else.''
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Prize for Geoff Hurst in pages of a gentler time - Telegraph
By Martin Smith
Last Updated: 1:55am BST 11/08/2007
West Ham v Manchester City (Saturday, Nov 18,1967)
Football in 1967 might just as well have been in the Victorian age for all
it resembles the matchday experience we know now.
Why, programmes cost just 6d, 2½ pence in today's money, compared to the
rip-off £10 at this year's FA Cup final.
Before the match at Upton Park, musical entertainment was provided by the
British Legion Band, and the post-war world was a gentler, more mannered
place.
In welcoming Joe Mercer and the players and officials of Manchester City,
the programme editorial concluded: "We trust that their visit to London will
be a pleasant one, but need hardly add that from the Hammers' viewpoint we
hope their journey will not reap as good a reward as the last one [a 1-1
draw on the last day of the previous season]."
Inside there was a picture of Geoff Hurst, 16 months after becoming
England's World Cup hero, receiving the October 'Footballer of the Month'
award from the London Evening Standard.
"The award took the form of an engraved pair of tankards, one of which is an
automatic table lighter which goes into action as it is lifted," we were
told. You wonder if Sir Geoff still has them at home.
The black-and-white picture on the front, supplied by the Newham Recorder,
showed Brian Dear shooting just wide in a 3-1 win at Chelsea a fortnight
earlier. "We regret that the reproduction is not completely first-rate,"
noted the editor. "But this was due to the appalling weather, and the
cameraman did a good job in the constant rain."
Not that West Ham were in particularly good form at the time. "The immediate
objective must be to safeguard our First Division status," the match preview
ran, "and having achieved that situation we shall then be able to
concentrate upon the 'jam' which makes the 'bread-and-butter' more
palatable."
The bread remained unadorned at the end of the afternoon, however. Frank
Lampard Snr (above left, top), was given the run-around on his debut by
Francis Lee (below), who scored twice, as City made strides towards emerging
from the shadows of their Manchester rivals by winning the League for the
first time in more than 30 years.
Match details
West Ham United 2 (Peters, Hurst) Ferguson Burkett Cushley Moore Lampard
Redknapp Boyce Peters Brabrook Hurst Sissons
Manchester City 3 (Lee 2, Summerbee) Young Summerbee Lee Coleman Bell Doyle
Pardoe Heslop Oakes Book Mulhearn
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Sven and Freddie show their Swede sides - This Is London
10.08.07
Pinching the back of his left hand with his right this week, Sven Goran
Eriksson revealed exactly what he felt he learned in the six-and-a-half
years since he was last a coach at club level. "I have a harder skin now,"
Eriksson smiled. "What you call a thick skin." Manchester City manager
Eriksson today returns to where it all began for him in England, West Ham's
Upton Park, on January 13, Eriksson was visiting his first Premiership
ground as national coach and Sunderland won in east London to go second in
the table. Can he really believe that it is so long ago? And can he really
believe all that has happened to him in that time? "It has been a beautiful
six years," he added with another smile. All of it? "Well, I think in this
job you don't have all lucky days. You lose some football games, but that's
part of the job isn't it?"
Eriksson may certainly need to have one of his "lucky days" as he endeavours
to turn his eclectic group of footballers into something resembling a
Premier League football team. The City manager is likely to have players
from eight countries in his team today and one wonders just how he is going
to fit all of the interpreters in to the away dressing room. "Well, first of
all we're going to fix teachers to them so they will learn English and I
think one or two have already started with that,' explained Eriksson, who
has yet to sign a British player. "Secondly we try to teach them "right",
"left", "right", "hold it" and things like that, which is a common language.
"But it's not like in 90 minutes you have a long conversation with your
team-mates. It's more like 'come on', 'look up'. "I think the football
language is universal. But long-term they have to learn English, not only
for the football but also so they can feel at home in a new country."
Eriksson has successfully managed at club level away from his native Sweden
- in Portugal and Italy - and is perhaps entitled to believe that he knows
what he is doing. "As a manager, you're not getting worse with age. I think
you get better because you have more and more experience of football."
Eriksson will today come face to face with another Swede trying to show a
few people that he has lost none of his sparkle, West Ham midfielder Freddie
Ljungberg. Ljungberg went a little stale towards the end of his time at
Arsenal, as Eriksson did with England. It is pertinent to suggest that both
men need a good start with their new clubs.
West Ham boss Alan Curbishley said: 'I spoke to Freddie at great length
because I didn't want him to think he was doing us a great favour. The
minute he thinks that, West Ham fans will let him know. But if they think
he's putting it all in, they'll lap it up and he won't have heard a noise
like it.' Much has been made in some quarters of Eriksson's relationship
with other top-flight managers, especially those he clashed with during his
time with England. This week Eriksson was too busy trying to sign a
goalkeeper to attend a meeting of Premier League managers in London, but
said his confidant Tord Grip returned with good wishes from some of his
rivals. The Swede insists he will - unlike Arsenal's Arsene Wenger - honour
the British tradition of sharing a drink with his rival after a game but has
little concern for those who may try to portray him differently. "Do people
want me to fail? Well, I don't know," he said. "I have not thought about
that. But of course if they aren't Manchester City fans, they don't want the
other teams - including City - to do well."
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Hurst is a happy Hammer -The Sun
By JIM MUNRO
August 11, 2007
FORMER West Ham favourite Sir Geoff Hurst is backing his old club for a top
10 finish this season. Hurst, who scored a goal every other game in his
13-year career at Upton Park, is still a keen follower of the Hammers'
fortunes. West Ham pulled off perhaps the greatest of last-day escapes from
relegation in May. But a troubled season rumbled on into the summer as the
club faced several arbitration hearings regarding the Carlos Tevez affair.
"We got away with it last year, not being relegated and getting out of
trouble," said Hurst. "It was an absolutely amazing escape. Now with the
players they are buying - Ljungberg, Parker, Bellamy - they are serious
about what they want to do. With a new owner, Eggert Magnusson, in charge of
the business side of things and a manger, Alan Curbishley, who I think is
the right man for the club, I think from this year that we can have a
comfortable ride in the top half of the Premier League, maybe a run in the
cups, and then build from there."
Hurst, of course, is remembered for his hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup
final for England and feels that West Ham have another England hero in the
making in Dean Ashton. "Ashton's injury before the start of last season was
not just a blow for West Ham, it was a blow for England," Hurst said. "I
like him as a target man and bear in mind he wasn't at his fittest when he
joined West Ham from Norwich City in the January transfer window [in 2006].
"He'd lost a bit of weight in pre-season and was looking sharp. He looked a
good player and it should have been a big season for him, but he suffered
that nasty injury training with England before the season started and bang,
he lost a year. "He's now back to where he was before that injury and he
could have a big impact for the club."
As for West Ham's chances of making an impression this season? "Having
Ashton back is like having a new signing. "With the money we are spending
and the players we are buying, everybody will be looking to West Ham to do
well this year." Hurst spent the majority of his playing career at West Ham
but admits that he wishes he'd stayed on a bit longer. "I shouldn't have
left West Ham really," Hurst said. "I was annoyed that they were prepared
to let me go, in the days when the clubs had all the power and the players
didn't. "Of course that's completely the reverse today. I was probably a
bit hot headed, I guess, in those days and I felt that I had a lot more to
offer - which I did and had three good years at Stoke. "But I had another
year to run on my contract at West Ham and I should have at least stayed for
that and seen what they wanted to do. "It's probably the only thing I regret
in my career, or life, just jumping too quickly."
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Solano: I want to Ham it up - The Sun
By STEVE BRENNER
August 11, 2007
NOLBERTO SOLANO wants to quit Newcastle and has begged Sam Allardyce: Let me
go to West Ham. The Peruvian ace, 32, needs to move south to be near his
estranged wife and kids in London. He is available on a free and has been
left out of the squad for today's trip to Bolton. But he fears a move could
be held up in the backlash from the Kieron Dyer affair. Solano has a season
remaining on his St James' Park deal and fully expected to see it out under
the new regime of Allardyce. Then a series of off-field developments forced
his hand. Solano wants a two-year Upton Park contract, though Hammers boss
Alan Curbishley is only willing to grant him one for 12 months. Newcastle's
£5.8million midfielder JOEY BARTON has vowed to clean up his act. Barton,
24, this week pleaded not guilty to attacking team-mate Ousmane Dabo in a
training ground fight during his time at Manchester City - the latest in a
string of controversial incidents. But he said: "I'm a human being and I've
made mistakes - stupid mistakes. I'll make bad decisions and good decisions,
just like anyone else. "I'm learning. I'm not some superhuman robot just
because I play football."
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Dyer's capital move likely to be resurrected - the Times
George Caulkin
Kieron Dyer has been omitted from Newcastle United's squad for their match
away to Bolton Wanderers today and the England international is likely to
complete his controversial transfer to West Ham United. Relations between
the clubs soured last week when the deal collapsed, but Dyer and Nolberto
Solano, his teammate, are both expected to leave Tyneside.
Both players have requested a move for personal reasons. In the case of
Solano — a popular figure among Newcastle supporters — the development is
surprising, but the Peruvian is undergoing difficulties with his family and
is said to favour a move to London or Spain. Dyer's children live in
Ipswich. It is not beyond possibility that the pair may renew acquaintances
at Upton Park.
Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, raised his club's asking price for Dyer
from £6 million to £8 million in protest at West Ham's alleged conduct over
the matter and that appeared to block the deal, but a compromise beckons. A
similar amount for both players — Solano is 33 this year and about to enter
the final year of his contract — would equate to decent business.
Sam Allardyce has backed Ashley's stance, but he has no use for unsettled
players and neither is expected to figure at the Reebok Stadium. As far as
Dyer is concerned, after the disappointment of seeing his proposed transfer
collapse, as well as being a target of abuse by Newcastle supporters, the
manager does not consider him in the necessary frame of mind to play.
With Albert Luque expected to leave for Levante, there may be a number of
departures in the coming days and, as things stand, replacements are a
distant prospect. "There are no new faces," Allardyce said. "This week has
ended up with a little frustration at the fact that a couple of big targets
have not come off and at this stage look like they won't."
With Michael Owen, Joey Barton and Shay Given injured and Scott Parker, the
erstwhile skipper, having decamped to West Ham, Allardyce will name Gérémi,
his signing from Chelsea, as captain for the Bolton fixture. He is expected
to field a 4-3-3 formation, fitness permitting, with Alan Smith selected in
midfield and Obafemi Martins and James Milner operating wide of Mark Viduka
in attack.
Middlesbrough and Sunderland are vying for Mido's signature, with the Egypt
international agreeing personal terms and completing the first half of his
medical on Teesside yesterday. Sunderland were reported to have improved on
their original £6 million offer to Tottenham Hotspur last night in an
attempt to swing the deal back in their favour. Dean Whitehead, the
Sunderland captain, has agreed a contract extension that should keep him on
Wearside until 2012.
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Curbishley closes in on deal for Dyer and Solano - northern echo
KIERON Dyer is expected to complete his controversial transfer to West Ham
next week after he was left out of the Newcastle squad for this afternoon's
Premier League curtain-raiser at Bolton.
And with fellow Magpies midfielder Nolberto Solano also hoping to clinch a
deal to Upton Park before the transfer window closes, Hammers boss Alan
Curbishley is lining up an £8m double deal that will enable both clubs to
save face following last weekend's unseemly stand-off.
Dyer's proposed move to West Ham collapsed last Friday when Newcastle
chairman Mike Ashley dramatically raised his asking price from £6m to £8m at
an advanced stage of negotiations.
That led the Hammers to pull out of discussions and their Icelandic
chairman, Eggert Magnusson, has subsequently claimed that the Magpies should
be "embarrassed" by their conduct in the affair.
Behind the scenes, however, discussions between the two clubs are understood
to have continued and a compromise agreement is expected to be signed next
week.
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce had claimed that Dyer was available for
selection for this afternoon's game but, after training with his team-mates
yesterday morning, the England international was not asked to board the team
coach that left for Lancashire.
Solano is also understood to have been omitted from the United squad after
he too informed Allardyce of his desire to move to London this month.
The Peru international's family are now based in the capital and, after
spending more than eight years on Tyneside during two separate spells with
the Magpies, the 32-year-old is keen to end his career in the south.
Curbishley had initially hinted that Solano could be a possible alternative
to Dyer, but with the South American able to play at right-back as well as
in midfield, it now appears that both players could be on their way to east
London next week.
Allardyce will be disappointed to lose Solano, a player who has always
proved popular with the St James' Park faithful. But by allowing him to
leave with Dyer, the Newcastle boss will be ensuring that he is able to
bring in a right midfielder of his own before the transfer window swings
shut. Allardyce has already brought in seven players this summer and Geremi,
one of his earliest summer signings, was yesterday appointed as Newcastle's
official club captain.
The former Chelsea midfielder takes over the position that was vacated when
Scott Parker completed his £7m move to West Ham at the start of the summer.
Both Joey Barton and Shay Given have captained the Magpies during their
pre-season programme, but after successfully skippering the side in last
weekend's 1-0 win over Sampdoria, Geremi has been handed the position on a
permanent basis.
9:10am today
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