West Ham striker Carlos Tevez will be free to join Manchester United this
weekend, BBC Sport understands. The player's representatives and the Hammers
have agreed to compensation of about £2m and he can move as soon as the
Premier League approves the deal. Tevez will return from his holidays this
weekend to finalise a two-year loan move to Old Trafford on a salary of
£4.5m a year. United then have an option to buy Tevez on a three-year
contract for £30m. With the threat of High Court action on 22 August hanging
over negotiations, talks have been ongoing this week. All sides were keen
for the matter to be settled ahead of that time with the transfer window
closing on 30 August. Tevez's switch to United had stalled over who will be
paid the transfer fee. The Premier League and West Ham said the Hammers
should receive the fee but companies MSI and Just Sports Inc, which belong
to Tevez's representaive Kia Joorabchian, said they owned the striker's
economic rights. BBC Five Live's Nigel Adderley said: "West Ham need to
reach a settlement which proves to the Premier League they are the
significant beneficiaries of any transfer involving Tevez." Tevez,
meanwhile, has said he expects to join United, adding: "To play for a
super-club like Manchester United without any pre-season work behind me is
going to be a real handicap."
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Adios! - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 2nd August 2007
By: Gordon Thrower
It appears the long-running Carlos Tevez saga is about to come to an end.
Reports tonight suggest that United have come to an agreement with Kia
Joorabchian and his companies MSI and Just Sports Inc over the Argentinian
international's registration. It is believed that the two companies, who
claim ownership of any economic rights deriving from the transfer, have
agreed to pay 'somewhere between £1-3m' for the club to release Tevez from
his registration to enable his move to Manchester United to take place. The
deal will need to be ratified by both the Premier League and FA sometime
tomorrow (Friday 22nd August) as, in the event that the football authorities
fail to agree to the deal, Joorabchian will need to submit the appropriate
paperwork to the High Court to enable his legal action to take place. As far
as we are aware, Kevin McCabe has yet to comment, but we expect more
falsehoods and hypocrisy out of Yorkshire as soon as Sky can get a
microphone in front of the less than camera-shy property developer.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tevez set to seal United move - Sky
Deal for Argentine striker finally agreed
By Peter O'Rourke Last updated: 03rd August 2007
Carlos Tevez is expected to complete his protracted move to Manchester
United this weekend. Widespread reports claim West Ham and Carlos Tevez's
advisers have finally reached an agreement over the Argentine's
registration. All parties have been holding talks this week in a bid to
thrash out a deal with the threat of High Court action hanging over the
transfer. An agreement which will see the Hammers paid around £2million in
compensation is reported to have been agreed on Thursday night. It means the
settlement of the £30million lawsuit brought against West Ham by Tevez's
agent Kia Joorabchian has also been ratified. The Premier League and
Football Association are expected to sign off the deal on Friday allowing
Tevez to put the finishing touches to his move to Old Trafford. A two-year
loan deal is thought to be on the table that would cost United around
£5million a year with United then having the option to sign him permanently
on a three-year contract. The agreement is set to end long-running transfer
saga of the summer and finally see Tevez make the move to Sir Alex
Ferguson's side before the start of the season.
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Eggert eyes Tevez solution - Sky
Hammers chairman wants matter settled
By Lewis Rutledge Last updated: 02nd August 2007
Eggert Magnusson believes the Calos Tevez affair could be resolved in the
next 24 hours. The Argentine has been unable to complete a move from West
Ham to Manchester United this summer due to a dispute between the two clubs
and agent Kia Joorabchian. Fifa has refused to arbitrate on Tevez's contract
situation and the matter is due to be settled at the High Court on 22nd
August. However, negotiations are ongoing and Hammers chairman Magnusson
hopes Tevez's future will become clearer before the weekend. He admits it
would not be good for the player to start the season in limbo and would like
to see Tevez back doing what he does best. "He's a player so he should be
playing," Magnusson told Sky Sports News. Asked if the matter would be
resolved in 24 hours, Magnusson replied: "I hope so. I would be delighted of
course. "I just hope the whole thing will be settled soon."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers 'ready to release Tevez from contract' - Soccernet
West Ham are expected to announce tomorrow that they will release Carlos
Tevez from his contract and registration after they tonight agreed a deal
with his representatives. The end of the dispute will then allow the
Argentina striker to pursue a move to Manchester United. The agreement,
which still needs to be formally ratified by the Premier League and Football
Association, will see the Hammers paid between £1million and £3million in
compensation. The deal will also mean the settlement of the £30million
lawsuit brought against West Ham by Tevez's agent Kia Joorabchian. Lengthy
talks today ended with an agreement between both parties and tomorrow the
league and the FA should sign off the deal - Premier League lawyers have
been kept up to date the progress of discussions. Joorabchian will then be
able to try to sew up an agreement with United to allow the striker to join
up before the start of the season.
In the unlikely event of either side having a last-minute change of heart,
the only other avenue would be a lengthy High Court battle and there has
been an acknowledgement that that would be in neither party's interests.
Manchester United have already indicated a desire to take Tevez on the same
sort of loan package that saw Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano move to
Liverpool last season. That deal took some weeks before it was signed off by
the Premier League but with that transfer having already been picked over by
the lawyers, a similar deal for Tevez should go through much quicker. The
agreement with West Ham brings an end to a long-running and painful saga for
the club that began when former chairman Terry Brown signed Tevez and
Mascherano under banned third-party agreements last summer. The club were
fined £5.5million as a result by a disciplinary commission in April and that
led to an unsuccessful legal challenge by Sheffield United, who claimed they
should have been docked points.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Utd vs Roma: match preview - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 2nd August 2007
By: Matthew Coker
At long last, the waiting is nearly over. After three months of what has
laughably been called a summer, we are just week away from a return to some
proper football.
I am heartily looking forward to waving a cheery two fingers to all things
that could only exist in the close season, namely Big Brother, non-football
matters taking prominence on the most important page of the daily
newspapers, invasion of the KUMB message board by teeny boppers, the
infernal transfer rumours exaggerating player's pecuniary value and least
missed of all, Saturday afternoons spent in B&Q.
One week prior to the Premiership kick off, we welcome visitors from the
Eternal City, in the form of Associazione Sportiva (AS) Roma for the final
pre season friendly of the season, where we kick off at the Boleyn at 3pm on
Saturday afternoon.
Football wise, the Giallorossa's last campaign was a case of the doing just
about what was expected of them. The background to the last Italian season
was very much the Calciopoli scandal which for the need to keep things short
was a match fixing scandal that saw Juventus relegated to Serie B and points
deductions for Fiorentina, AC Milan and others.
Roma managed to stay out of the way of any accusations and the penalties
doled out to many of the usual title contenders paving the way for them to
compete for Lo Scuddetto as well as upgrading their Euro campaign from the
UEFA Cup to the top tier competition.
Our opponents finished as league runners up, though they were over 20 points
off the top spot and never really came close to the eventual champions,
Inter Milan. Success did come in the Italian Cup where they won the
competition beating Inter 7-4 over two legs, the tie effectively finishing
after they won the first leg by a 6-2 margin.
Their Champions League run came to a spectacular end as they were spanked
7-1 by Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was something of a shock to
most people in the football know, Roma had beaten the much fancied Lyon in
the previous round and had looked the better side in the first leg with
United, where they should have won by a bigger margin than the 2-1 result
that they achieved.
In respect of this pre-season, they have spend the last couple of weeks in
Germany where a pretty much first choice line up was beaten 4-0 by Borussia
Dortmund in their first game and another strong side drew 2-2 with Bayer
Leverkusen last weekend. It should be noted that their domestic season does
not kick off until August 26th and a lack of match sharpness told,
particularly in the first game.
The club coach is the popular figure of Luciano Spalletti, who previously
took minnows Udinese to Champions League qualification before Roma came
calling in time for the 2005/06 season. Stepping into a chaotic background
where four coaches had been in charge of the side in the previous season, he
changed the playing principle to one of all out attack, which helped to
break a Serie A record by notching up 11 consecutive victories.
Spalletti tends to favour a 4-2-3-1 formation with two holding midfielders
and three attacking midfielders, including two wingers, all feeding into the
main frontman, Francesco Totti.
It is impossible to think about Roma without Totti being the first player
that springs to mind. He has attained legendary status with the club's
supporters as a consequence of his world class football ability and his
loyalty that has seen him turn down opportunities to move to more successful
clubs. The first club to try to pry him away was AC Milan, when he was a
mere youth, a deal that was vetoed by his Mama, who was determined to keep
him close to her. Whether it is his devotion to the club's badge or the pull
of the maternal apron, Totti has exclusively played his club football for
Roma throughout his career.
Despite being given lone striker status, Totti is essentially what would be
described as a number 10, a playmaker or what the Italians call a
fantasista. His strengths lie in his ability to create chances and he is a
highly skillful manipulator of the ball and more than capable of taking
opponents on. He also has a lethal strike of a dead ball and is a free kick
specialist, especially from distance (worrying when you look at the number
of long rangers we have given away in pre-season). His prowess in front of
goal was underlined last season where his tally of 26 gave him the European
Golden Boot and this in spite of him missing six penalties.
Having had a quick ogle at the Totti on show, there are a few other players
to watch for at the weekend. Defensively, the team has just sold Christian
Chivu to Inter, splitting up the successful centre back partnership that he
had with Frenchman, Philip Mexes. Chivu's replacement will be Brazilian
centre back, Juan, who has captained his national side on occasion,
including the recent final of the Copa America. Roma also picked up the
highly rated Italian U21 prospect, Marco Andreolli, as part of the Chivu
deal. Christian Panucci is also at the club but missed last weekend's game
as a result of an injury picked up against Dortmund.
24 year old, Daniele Di Rossi should feature as part of the holding midfield
duo of the side. He is a Romanista and a product of the youth team who has
been identified as a long term replacement to Totti as club captain, though
he has also been the subject of Spanish admiration and it seems his loyalty
to the club will be tested in the long term. He is a competitive player, as
shown by his dismissal for elbowing Brian McBride's boat in the World Cup
finals, but he returned to the Azzurri line up and featured in the final
where he scored in the penalty shoot out.
There is much flair in the attacking midfield, not least from Brazilian,
Mancini. He was initially earmarked as a replacement for wingback, Cafu, but
as time has gone on, his role has become more advanced, not least because of
the vital and spectacular goals that he has scored at club level. It is one
of modern football's mysteries as to why he has never featured for his
national side, but so far even Dunga, who has selected more European based
players than a Brazilian coach normally would, has overlooked Mancini. He
also missed last week's game through injury so is not certain to feature
against us.
The club has recently added Frenchman, Ludovic Giuly, to the staff and he
made his debut last weekend. He joined from Barcelona in a £2m deal and will
bring further flair and pace to the side. In the middle of the three will be
Simone Perrotta who has been with the club since 2004. It was much mentioned
by commentators during the last World Cup, that Perrotta was born in
Ashton-under-Lyme and it was therefore possible that he could play for
England. However, given the choice of playing for the country that you had
lived in since you were six years old and that has a realistic chance of
World Cup glory every time or having the job of trying to cover up for the
inadequacies of Frank Lampard, which would you do?
"Only one player had ever run up to the Roma end and given their fans a
one-fingered salute …. I just ran and ran, straight towards the Curva Sud,
where the Roma fans were sitting. The roar at my back, from Lazio's Curva
Nord, was spurring me on. I ran right under the fans, finger raised, face
contorted in a mixture of ecstasy, relief and fury."
Paolo describes the low key celebration of his first Derby del Cupolone
goal. Paolo di Canio – The Autobiography.
I will make an attempt to predict the outcome of this one, but the result is
clearly not most important factor of the afternoon. This final pre-season
friendly will be the one that gives us the greatest clues about what Curbs
intends to do by way of a line up on the opening day. The most interesting
choices are to be made at centre back, where I am guessing that Anton being
the quickest will be one of the starters alongside our £6 million number
six, Matty Upson.
The other Matty is the subject of the other main question, Etherington or
Boa Morte on the left as both have made positive contributions in the other
pre-seasons. There are also decisions to be made over who will keep Scott
Parker's place warm in the middle, Noble should start but who partners him
is open to discussion.
No doubt, match fitness will still be being sought in all areas and as many
opportunities to integrate newbies Freddie Ljungberg and Craig Bellamy with
the rest of the squad will be welcomed.
One point to mention regarding Ljungberg is that I've not seen my missus as
enthusiastic about a West Ham player since Di Canio's soap advert a few
years back. The combination of Totti on one side and Ljungberg on the other
has meant that she has already had the digital camera charged up last
weekend ahead of this game. I personally long for the days when players
looked like players as the Iain Dowies and Tony Adams of this world never
gave me cause to get down the gym, let alone moisturise.
Score-wise, these games often end in a draw, followed by a fairly pointless
penalty shoot out. I'll go for 2-2, with us coming second on penalties and
I'll put forward Anton to miss the decisive one.
Enjoy the game.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Craig Bellamy in more fighting talk - Telegraph
By Marc Isaacs
Last Updated: 1:36am BST 03/08/2007
Craig Bellamy is prepared to have a major altercation in the West Ham
dressing room this season if he feels it gives the club a boost in their
push for Uefa Cup qualification. Question marks were raised when Alan
Curbishley made the bold decision to spend £7.5 million to secure Bellamy's
signature from Liverpool during the summer, not least because of his
reputation as one of football's most controversial characters. The Wales
captain has certainly shown he can be one of the best strikers in the
English game, but has also attracted headlines for all the wrong reasons. He
was alleged to have attacked his Liverpool team-mate John Arne Riise with a
golf club on a training camp in Portugal ahead of last season's Champions
League first knockout round clash against Barcelona at the Nou Camp -
although Bellamy and Riise then scored in a 2-1 win. And before that Bellamy
was charged by police but found innocent of assaulting a 19-year-old woman
in a Cardiff nightclub.
So he could be forgiven for choosing to keep his head down and let his
football do the talking - but that is far from the case and he is intent on
causing more mayhem in the West Ham dressing room this season. He said:
"What happens when you step over the line [in the dressing room]? Is that
wrong? One of the best dressing rooms I have been in was at Celtic. "There
were fights and arguments every week. They won everything and got to the
Uefa Cup final. "They were all close friends but they demanded things from
each other. Are you out of order if you demand too much from your fellow
workmate? I don't know."
Bellamy says he has got a lot to prove to the West Ham supporters this
season and wants to have the same impact that Carlos Tevez had at the club
last year. Tevez became a hero at Upton Park last season with his
performances in the final part of the campaign and Bellamy is hopeful he can
have a similar love affair with the fans. Bellamy said: "I can only do that
by playing well and obviously [Tevez] did that, so, if I perform, hopefully
I can get the respect. But that can only happen by playing well. "You are
always looking to prove things when you go to a new club. You are looking to
win the fans over. I am definitely looking to prove something but I have
nothing to prove to Liverpool. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to
play at that great club. "I have signed a five-year contract. I want to
cement my name here. When people talk about me, it will be about West Ham
and that is my motivation and drive."
Despite the club narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League last
season, Bellamy is confident that West Ham have enough quality in their
squad to push for a European spot this time. He said: "Every season is
different. The season before last I was at Blackburn and we talked about
getting into Europe and we achieved it so hopefully it will be the same here
with the same result. "It is very easy to talk things down and live in the
comfort zone and create no expectations because anything else would be a
bonus then. You see a lot of managers and players do the same. I learnt it
off Mark Hughes - why not expect and demand things of yourself? And that is
what I am trying to do here. "The players here have done it before. The
season before last they finished ninth and got into Europe via the FA Cup,
so hopefully we can go down the same route and hopefully it will be the same
result this time."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham agree £2m Carlos Tevez deal - Telegraph
By David Bond
Last Updated: 1:36am BST 03/08/2007
Carlos Tevez looks set to finally complete his move to Manchester United
after West Ham and the player's agent Kia Joorabchian agreed a £2 million
deal yesterday to release him from his contract at Upton Park.
Although the agreement still needs the approval of the Premier League and
the Football Association, there was growing confidence from all sides last
night that the tortuous saga was close to a conclusion.
A statement outlining the peace deal could be made today, provided there are
no last-minute hitches.
Under the terms of the agreement, MSI and Just Sports Inc, the two companies
who own Tevez's economic rights, will pay West Ham £2 million to effectively
buy him out of the remainder of his contract.
Although Joorabchian, the frontman for MSI and Just Sports, initially tried
to resist paying West Ham any money, the Premier League insisted the club
receive a fee in recognition of their decision to terminate the third-party
deals which landed them in trouble with the League in April.
As part of the settlement, Joorabchian has agreed to acknowledge that West
Ham did in fact own the player's registration and had a three-year contract
with the 23-year-old striker.
At the same time, he has agreed to halt his £30 million High Court action
against the club for ripping up the third-party agreements with MSI and Just
Sports to enable Tevez to play in the climax to last season's Premiership
campaign.
Tevez will now be free to sign for United and is likely to join his new
team-mates in time for Sunday's Community Shield against Chelsea at Wembley.
Obtaining official clearance for him to play is expected to take a little
longer, however. Having spent the last four months dealing with the fallout
from the player's arrival in English football last August, the Premier
League are unlikely to rush his move to Old Trafford.
Craig Bellamy in more fighting talk
However, news of the out-of-court settlement between West Ham and
Joorabchian may not be the end of the affair for the League.
The revelation on Tuesday that West Ham drew up a new third-party deal for
the player on Dec 1, following Eggert Magnusson's takeover at Upton Park,
has raised new questions over the League's handling of the case against the
club, which resulted in a £5.5 million fine rather than a points deduction.
Kevin McCabe, the chairman of relegated Sheffield United, said he was
considering legal action following the emergence of the new document, even
though West Ham claim it was never activated because Joorabchian and Tevez
failed to sign it until June.
"One of the reasons why West Ham were fined and not docked points by the
independent commission in April was that it was all done by the old regime
and that the new regime under Eggert Magnusson had clean hands," McCabe
said. "This document shows that was not the case. The whole thing is a
shambles and a disgrace to the national game, and we are weighing up our
options."
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Red Tevil - The Sun
By PAT SHEEHAN
August 03, 2007
CARLOS TEVEZ will move to Manchester United next week after a personal plea
to Kia Joorabchian. West Ham will pick up £2million and tycoon Joorabchian —
who owns the player's economic rights — pockets £10m. The Argentine striker
yesterday agreed a two-year loan deal at Old Trafford, with a further
three-year option, that will net him £22m in wages. Tevez persuaded
Joorabchian to accept the compromise offer, thrashed out by West Ham, that
satisfied the Premier League's demands over third-party ownership.
Joorabchian had insisted he would only pay West Ham £100,000 for releasing
Tevez's registration or go to the High Court seeking £40m damages from the
Hammers. As Tevez headed to United, England ace Alan Smith was all set to
quit for Newcastle in a £6m deal. Premier League chiefs had insisted Tevez,
23, was worth around £6m and after two days of talks aimed at stopping an
escalating legal battle, that valuation was dropped by £4m. A friend of
Tevez revealed: "Carlos has been talking at length to Kia because he wanted
the mess sorted out to everyone's benefit. "He loved playing for West Ham
and will never forget the way the fans treated him. Carlos has persuaded Kia
to pay them £2m to release him. "He feared the court case could drag on and
damage his career while he waited for the legal wrangles to be sorted out.
"On top of that, Carlos has not been getting any wages and his fitness
levels dropped while he was out of the game. "Kia put the player before
business considerations even though it has cost him a substantial sum of
money. "He wants to see Tevez get on with his career and put all of this
behind him."
Tevez flies in next week to sign and hopes to be fit enough for the start of
United's title defence. It is understood he has already completed his
medical despite West Ham originally withdrawing their permission. His move
will bring an end to the long-running ownership saga with West Ham fined a
record £5.5m by the Premier League for infringing contract rules. Relegated
Sheffield United tried to get West Ham deducted points, that would have sent
them down instead. But the Blades were unsuccessful at a Premier League
arbitration panel.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers settle for £2m pay-off to release Tevez - This Is London
02.08.07
Carlos Tevez will finally sign for Manchester United after his 'owner' Kia
Joorabchian and West Ham reached an out-of-court agreement last night.
Joorabchian's company, MSI, have agreed to pay West Ham £2million to release
Tevez's registration and clear the way for him to complete his move to
United. The Premier League are expected to rubber-stamp the details of the
deal today, an action which will also end a very uncomfortable period for
chief executive Richard Scudamore. Tevez, 23, has long since agreed personal
terms with United and the Argentina forward will fly into the country this
weekend to tie up the details of his move.
***** He has already passed a medical at Old Trafford — before West Ham
withdrew permission for his move — so another will be a mere formality. ****
United will pay Joorabchian £10m to acquire Tevez on what is effectively a
two-year loan deal — worth £4.5m in wages a year to the player — and then
have the option to make the transfer permanent for another three years for a
further £25m. Last night's negotiations ended a long running and often
bitter dispute between West Ham and Joorabchian, who owned Tevez's economic
rights. Joorabchian, who masterminded the deal to bring Tevez and Javier
Mascherano to Upton Park from Brazilian club Corinthians last year, took
West Ham to the High Court to claim breach of contract. He believed an
agreement had been signed for Tevez to leave for £100,000 this summer but
the matter had become confused when the Premier League fined the London club
£5.5m in April for striking a deal which gave a third party influence over
the player. Joorabchian eventually decided that Tevez needed to return to
training and complete the move, without the prospect of a long drawn-out
court battle. After weeks of arguments, the parties clashed in court on
Tuesday with West Ham's lawyers querying the authenticity of a Tevez
signature on a contract amendment, dated December 1, 2006. Joorabchian had
hoped to secure the release of Tevez's registration for a lesser fee but was
concerned by the fact that the striker, after competing in the Copa America,
was still in South America, training alone as the Community Shield looms.
Tevez was desperate to take part in the Wembley showpiece against Chelsea on
Sunday but will not now feature. Instead, he will join up with his new
team-mates next week to start his preparation for the Premiership season.
For United, it marks a successful conclusion to another transfer hunt. They
have already added Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson to their
championshipwinning squad for a combined fee of more than £50m. Manager Sir
Alex Ferguson and his chief executive, David Gill, have always maintained
their belief that Tevez would be in their squad before the transfer deadline
on August 31 and they have been proved right.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers boss gambles on brawl boys as Dyer joins forces with old foe - This
Is London
02.08.07
Having set about dismantling a dressing room infamous for gambling,
drinking, fall-outs with fans and nightclub brawls, many will question Alan
Curbishley's decision to turn West Ham into his very own version of the
movie Fight Club. Gracing Upton Park this season will be Craig Bellamy —
think golf club and former Liverpool team-mate John Arne Riise's legs — and
then there's Freddie Ljungberg, who famously clashed with Swedish
international teammate Olaf Mellberg while on World Cup duty. With the
expected signing of Kieron Dyer, 28 , f o r £5million — he had a medical
yesterday prior to agreeing a three-year deal — there is a reunion with his
old mate Lee Bowyer, the pair having disgracefully come to blows on the St
James' Park turf while playing for Newcastle.
Anton Ferdinand, meanwhile, goes on trial for assault and violent disorder
in November — he vigorously denies the charges — over an incident outside an
Ilford nightclub. So it is safe to assume life at West Ham this season will
be anything but dull. What makes it perplexing is that Curbishley generally
avoided bringing in players euphemistically described as 'big personalities'
while managing Charlton. One notable expectation was the signing of
largerthan- life Italian striker Paolo Di Canio, ironically from West Ham,
which Curbishley admitted was a personal test of his man-management skills.
'I never asked anyone about him before he signed for us and the main reason
for that was because I didn't want to be turned off the idea,' he said in
his autobiography.
So how will Curbishley fare now?
Dave Bassett, who knows a thing or two about handling a lively dressing room
from his time with Wimbledon's Crazy Gang, said: 'You would describe the
moves as a calculated risk. But even if three out of four signings are
successful he has still pulled it off. Where it would be a disaster is if
all of them flop.
'Curbs has been around long enough. Perhaps the question mark is that in the
past he's never been in the market to go and buy these type of players. He
will realise that if he moves into the higher echelons of the so-called top
players, you've got to be able to deal with it.' Bassett is sure Curbishley
will have sought advice from others in the game before taking the plunge on
the likes of Bellamy and Dyer. He said: 'Dyer has had his problems but he is
at a good age. It might suit Dyer to be in London rather than in Newcastle.
He will not be such a big cheese in London as he was on Tyneside. 'Bellamy
is a talented boy. He is always going to have plenty to say but as long as
Curbs lays down what he wants, he'll have no problems.' Bellamy admits he
sees nothing wrong with giving his new team-mates a gee-up in his own
inimitable style. 'Is that wrong?' he asked. 'One of the best dressingrooms
I have been in was at Celtic. There were fights and argu-ments every week.
They won everything and got to the UEFA Cup Final. 'They were all close
friends but demanded things from each other. Are you out of order if you
demand too much from you fellow workmate? I don't know.'
Bassett sees no problem in players voicing their opinions and says there is
no need for them to be the best of friends, as long as they work together on
the pitch. He said: 'Every player doesn't have to like each another but
everyone has got to have respect for one another and the manager. When the
player puts on the shirt, the fact that you might not like him or you might
not necessarily have him round for dinner doesn't matter. 'Doing the job and
winning is what matters. It is not a leisure centre where you want everyone
to get on and have a chit-chat. You're there because winning matches is a
serious business.
'Players will have opinions and you have got be able to deal with that.'
Hammers fans worried that their side may make more headlines off the pitch
than on it can take comfort from the fact that Curbishley missed out on Joey
Barton. Shaping a group containing Bellamy, Dyer, Bowyer, Ljungberg and a
brawling Barton into a winning unit may have proved simply too risky — even
for Curbishley.
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Hammers up for Fight - the Mirror
By James Nursey And Martin Lipton 03/08/2007
Bad boy Craig Bellamy wants to see the West Ham dressing room become the
Premiership's unofficial Fight Club. With infamous brawlers Lee Bowyer and
Kieron Dyer set to be re-united in the East End, Alan Curbishley's training
ground could resemble a sparring gym more than a football club. Yet Bellamy,
whose Liverpool exit was confirmed after the golf club incident which left
John Arne Riise cowering in terror last season, believes bruising clashes
off the pitch can provide the impetus for the Hammers getting it right on
the field. Bellamy, forced out of Newcastle after his fierce clashes with
former manager Graeme Souness, insisted that the best way of forging a
winning spirit in any team is for a manager to encourage the tensions within
the dressing room to boil over. He said: "One of the best dressing rooms I
have been in was at Celtic where there were fights and arguments every week.
"They were all close friends but they demanded things from each other and
Celtic won everything domestically during that time and got to the 2003 UEFA
Cup final. "It is very easy to talk things down and live in the comfort zone
and create no expectations because anything else would then be a bonus. "You
see a lot of managers and players do that but I learnt off Mark Hughes at
Blackburn to expect and demand things of yourself and others and that is
what I am trying to do here. "I don't think you are out of order to demand
too much from a team-mate" It seems that Bellamy has taken upon himself the
role of winder-up-in-chief at his new club, where Curbishley had to battle
to assert his own authority last season. Yet the Hammers boss is clearly not
afraid of collecting players who come with a reputation as trouble-makers.
And Bellamy, branded "the nutter with the putter" after the flare-up with
Riise, will find no shortage of team-mates who have shown a willingness to
mix it with their colleagues in the past. While Dyer's St James' Park spat
with Bowyer was the most memorable, the pair have a longer track record of
excess, both on the pitch and in their off-field lives. Australian defender
and new Hammers skipper Lucas Neill is hardly a shrinking violet and
£3million recruit Freddie Ljungberg has twice gone head-to-head - and
fist-to-fist - with Swedish team-mate Olof Mellberg. Whether Curbishley
would take such a positive view of regular outbreaks of aggression by his
new signings is less likely, given that he sacked defender Andy Todd at
Charlton after a dust-up that left goalkeeper Dean Kiely with bruises and a
black eye. While players do not have to get on personally to work well
together - witnessed by Teddy Sheringham's non-relationship with Andy Cole
at Manchester United and the animosity directed at Emlyn Hughes by members
of the all-conquering Liverpool side under Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley -
punch-ups would normally lead to forced exits.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy sealed his Manchester United fate with Sir Alex Ferguson
when he fell out with new talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester City
decided that Joey Barton's clash with Ousmane Dabo last season was the straw
that broke the camel's back, while Edgar Davids lasted just a couple of
months at Tottenham after a flare-up with Robbie Keane. And of course, West
Ham's Chadwell Heath training ground was the venue for one of the most
shocking cases of player-rage ever witnessed, when John Hartson kicked
Israeli midfielder Eyal Berkovic in the head during a row in 1998.
Slugfest!
Kieron DYER
"The Suffolk Punch"
Age: 28 Height: 5ft 8in
Style: Bling in every sense, with a reputation to match. Ruck with Bowyer
came out of the blue. Injury-prone. Previous form: Cautioned by Newcastle
for urinating in public, wrote off Ferrari after crashing into a bridge
stanchion, Bowyer row.
Lee BOWYER
"The Cockney Urchin"
Age: 30 Height: 5ft 9in
Style: Attack dog of a midfielder, with a hairtrigger temper and a
preference for handing it out without much notice Previous form: Running
spat with David Beckham, incident in an East London McDonalds, acquittal
over Leeds nightclub accusations, on-field punch-up with Dyer
Freddie LJUNGBERG
"The Flying Swede"
Age: 30 Height: 5ft 9in
Style: Punk rock fan and Calvin Klein model with a rebellious streak and
happy to kick Arsenal in the guts after his move to the Hammers. Previous
form: Two major punch-ups with Olof Mellberg at the 2002 and 2006 World
Cups. Sparked the first by mocking the defender's "Matalan" dress sense.
Craig BELLAMY
"The Cardiff Cruncher"
Age: 28 Height: 5ft 6in
Style: Abrasive counter-puncher, never short of an opinion. Happy to mix it
with team-mates, managers or opponents. Previous form: Stand-up rows with
Graeme Souness, text message war with Alan Shearer, throwing a chair at
Newcastle coach John Carver, golf club assault on John Arne Riise
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Tevez: It's over at last - The Mirror
£2M deal will let Carlos join United today
By Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer 03/08/2007
Carlos TEVEZ can join Manchester United today after a deal was reached
between West Ham and Kia Joorabchian's MSI over the Argentina striker's
registration. Weeks of increasingly fractious negotiations ended with MSI
agreeing to pay the Hammers around £2million for Tevez's registration and
contract.
That figure - far more than the £100,000 MSI were initially prepared to pay
- will bring the matter to a close without the need for a messy High Court
case in which the Hammers stood to be accused of illegally tearing up their
contract with Tevez's third party owners. Once the deal is formally ratified
by the Premier League and the FA today, it will allow United to complete
their agreement with Joorabchian over the Argentine and apply for the
striker - now officially a free agent - to be registered as an Old Trafford
player. But the Premier League and West Ham could still find themselves on
the receiving end of a huge compensation claim from Sheffield United who
maintain Tevez should not have been allowed to score the goals that
effectively relegated them last term.
Last night there was a sense of relief at Upton Park at the end of a long
and bitter spat which has benefited nobody. Talks went on throughout
yesterday to find an agreement after the two sides faced the prospect of a
messy and potentially embarrassing court case. But a breakthrough finally
came as MSI's lawyers stepped back from all-out conflict to find a
resolution acceptable to both sides, even if it has seen the investment
company pay far more than they wanted to free Tevez from his entanglement
with the Hammers.
West Ham insist the payment is not a transfer fee for the player, but a
settlement which recognised that Tevez was under contract with the club, and
that a compensation payment was required. There is still the possibility
that the Premier League, which will go through the terms of the deal with a
fine toothcomb, may not give its approval. United will sign Tevez on an
initial two-year deal, paying £10million up front, with an option to
complete his £30million signing at the end of that period.
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Neill's Champions dream - The Mirror
03/08/2007
West Ham Lucas Neill has revealed a burning desire to play in the Champions
League - but doubts he can achieve it with the Hammers. The Australian
international, 29, admits Alan Curbishley's side might not be big enough to
fulfill his ambitions and would love to play for one of the Big Four and
play in Europe. Neill said: "I have surpassed all my dreams. I always wanted
to be a professional soccer player and I always wanted to play for
Australia, so to do both at 17 and then 18 was something. "I wanted to play
Premier League and I did that at 21. I was hopeful of captaining Australia
and did that at 28 and 29. I hoped to help take Australia to a World Cup and
I've done that. I still want to play for one of the Big Four in the
Champions League. "I want Australia to qualify for the World Cup and I want
us to win the Asian Cup, but my goal now is to help other Aussies set and
achieve their goals. I can do that now I am where I am." Neill, who moved to
this country on his own to play for Millwall when he was only 17, says any
young Australians who go to England must stand on their own two feet. "I
left home for the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra when I was 15 so
I was quite mature when I went to England at 17 in as far as I could wash my
clothes and I knew the basics of cooking," he says. "The club wanted to give
me a maid but I said no. I grew old before my time." But Neill admits there
were growing pains. Neill said: "I got sucked into being the young and
single lad living in London and all it has to offer. "Every now and then I
showed a little bit of unprofessionalism." He dismisses with a wave of his
hand the notion he was being a normal young Aussie bloke on an overseas
adventure. "Just a normal guy?" he asks. "Well, I'm not a normal guy. I
can't have the life other people have and I had to realise that. "I was
quick to correct myself because if you don't you'll get found out.
"Australians only get one chance in England, so you give it everything
you've got. We're different from the English guys because we don't take it
for granted. We can't."
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Hammers set to earn £3m from deal on Tevez - The Independent
By Sam Wallace
Published: 03 August 2007
The Carlos Tevez saga approached its endgame last night with both sides
preparing to settle on a deal that would allow the player to be released
from his current contract with West Ham for a fee that would earn the club
up to £3m. Sources close to the negotiations said they hoped to make an
announcement today.
At the heart of the issue is West Ham releasing the Argentine from the new
contract that he signed with the club in April after the ruling that the
previous agreement he had with them was illegal.
Tevez's four-year deal with West Ham will potentially, under the terms of
the settlement currently being negotiated, be dissolved which will allow him
to move to Manchester United for a fee that will be paid directly to the
companies that own his "economic rights". Last night it appeared both sides
had acted to ward off the possibility of the case going to the High Court on
22 August by coming to an agreement that would earn West Ham up to £3m for
giving up the registration.
It is important that they earn some money from the transfer because
otherwise it would appear to the authorities that nothing has changed from
the original illegal third-party contract.
Eggert Magnusson and his legal team will sanction the deal only if it is
carried out with Premier League approval. They would hold Tevez's
registration until he was transferred but the money generated by that move
would effectively go to Kia Joorabchian's companies Media Sports Investments
(MSI) and Just Sports Inc (JSI) companies, who own Tevez's rights.
They could benefit by up to £20m depending on the kind of deal they can
agree with United. However, that deal will only take place once the current
settlement under negotiation is agreed with West Ham.
While it is has been suggested that United already have a loan deal in place
for Tevez, Joorabchian will want to maximise his returns on the player's
registration if he is forced to pay out a multi-million pound settlement to
release him from West Ham.
The saga began when West Ham signed Tevez and Javier Mascherano under banned
third-party deals. The club were fined £5.5m by a disciplinary commission.
That led to a failed legal challenge by Sheffiield United, who claimed the
Hammers should have been docked points.
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West Ham pave way for Tevez move with £2m deal for release
Andy Martin
Friday August 3, 2007
The Guardian
West Ham are expected to announce today that they will release Carlos Tevez
from his contract and registration after they last night agreed a deal with
his representatives. The end of the dispute will allow the Argentina striker
to pursue his move to Manchester United.
Tevez's representatives, Media Sports Investments, have agreed to pay West
Ham £2m to release the player. The agreement still needs to be formally
ratified by the Premier League and Football Association but they are
expected to sign off the deal today.
The deal will also mean the settlement of the £30m lawsuit brought against
West Ham by Tevez's agent, Kia Joorabchian. The Hammers had demanded £5m for
Tevez, with Joorabchian willing to pay only £10,000 and the matter was
heading for the high court until yesterday's breakthrough.
The Premier League had insisted that West Ham must receive around £6m for
Tevez, who was instrumental in keeping the Hammers in the Premiership last
season, but the league appears to have shifted its stance.
Tevez will move to Old Trafford for two seasons on loan, with Media Sports
Investments, the company fronted by Joorabchian, and Just Sports Inc, which
owns the player's economic rights, receiving £10m. United have the option of
making the deal permanent for a further £20m. The player will earn around
£3.5m a season and could make his debut against Reading at Old Trafford on
Sunday week. There were reports that the 23-year-old had already completed a
medical even though Upton Park had refused permission.
The agreement brings an end to a saga for the club that began when the
former chairman, Terry Brown, signed Tevez and Javier Mascherano, now at
Liverpool, under banned third-party agreements last summer. The club were
fined £5.5m as a result by a disciplinary commission in April and that led
to an unsuccessful legal challenge by Sheffield United, who claimed West Ham
should have been docked points. Tevez's arrival at Old Trafford has allowed
Sir Alex Ferguson to take stock of his striking options and, with an
embarrassment of riches in attack - new signings Nani and Anderson will also
compete to partner Wayne Rooney - the United manager yesterday allowed Alan
Smith to move to Newcastle United for £6m.
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Spector backs West Ham's USL agreement
tribalfooball.com - August 02, 2007
West Ham United's USA international defender Jonathan Spector is delighted
with the club's ground-breaking partnership agreement with United Soccer
Leagues (USL). He told whufc.com: "This is a great move to share the West
Ham United Academy system with clubs throughout the USA through the USL. I
look forward to welcoming American teams, coaches and players to Upton Park
and the training ground."
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West Ham chairman keen to see Tevez move on
tribalfooball.com - August 02, 2007
West Ham United chairman Eggert Magnusson is prepared to see Carlos Tevez
complete his move to Manchester United. "He's a player so he should be
playing," Magnusson told Sky Sports News. Asked if the matter would be
resolved in 24 hours, Magnusson replied: "I hope so. I would be delighted of
course. "I just hope the whole thing will be settled soon."
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West Ham offer bumper contract to Reading's Shorey
tribalfooball.com - August 02, 2007
West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is still keen on signing Reading defender
Nicky Shorey. The 26-year-old has not signed a new deal with the Royals,
despite talks, and the Hammers are willing to pay him around
£40,000-per-week, says the Daily Mail.
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