Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has
called for third-party ownership of players to be stamped out. Taylor wants
Fifa to review its legislation in the wake of the Carlos Tevez affair,
saying: "Fifa now has to take the lead. "Otherwise, it's going to be
anarchy, and the game is going to be in the hands of third parties."
Argentine Tevez is clear to join Manchester United from West Ham. The PFA
chief executive added: "This is a warning of the problems that can ensue.
"Fifa needs to take the lead has to make sure that if there's going to be a
registration system for players, the onus has to lie with the clubs to hold
that registration. "Clearly this could raise all sorts of problems in the
same way you have clubs in the same competition owned by one owner. It comes
down to sporting integrity." Taylor also called on players to tread
carefully when sorting out their business interests. The PFA chief said:
"They must be very wary of allowing their rights to be owned by an outside
party. "Perhaps in light of new regulations on agents, the Premier League
and other leagues need to see all the relevant documentation at the time of
transfers."
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Match Preview - West Ham United v Manchester City - West Ham Online
Match Reporter - Mon Aug 6 2007
West Ham United v Manchester City
Saturday 11th August
Kick Off 3pm
Barclays Premier League
Ticket Information
Sold Out
So the waiting is almost over, pre-season is done and dusted and the circus
that is ex England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and his new master, ex Thai
Prime Minister Dr Thaksin Shinawatra roll into town.
And hasn't Mr Eriksson been a busy man in the short time he's been in
charge. At time of writing he had brought in 8 players and spent over £33m
of Dr Shinawatra's cash.
Elano has joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for £8m, Valeri Bojinov from
Florentina for £6m, Vedran Corluka from Dinamo Zagreb for £1.5m, Javier
Garrido from Real Sociedad for £1.5m, Geovanni from Cruzeiro on a free,
Rolando Bianchi from Reggina for £8.8m, Gelson Fernandes for an undisclosed
fee from FC Sion and Martin Petrov from Athletico Madrid for £4.7m have all
brought into the Sven dream but these players are going to take time to
settle and gel with Eriksson admitting he hadn't seen many play live himself
and he's had to put his faith in friends and videos when choosing his
transfer targets.
This coupled with an untimely injury to number 1 keeper Isaksson, make this
the ideal time to take on the new look Man City and Alan Curbishley will be
confident that the pre-season form his side have shown in recent games
against Southend, Norwich and Roma will be good enough to take all 3 points
and keep up our 100% record of opening day wins since our return to the
Premier League.
Current Form
West Ham
Lazio N lost 0-2
Leyton Orient A drew 1-1
MK Dons A lost 2-3
Southend A won 3-1
Norwich City A won 2-1
AS Roma H won 2-1
Manchester City
Doncaster Rovers A won 3-1
Orgryte IS A won 4-1
Carlstad United A won 4-0
Charleroi A lost 0-2
Shrewsbury Town A Won 2-0
Valencia CF H Lost 0-1
Manchester City lost away on the last game of the season to Tottenham and
will be looking to avoid a 2nd straight away defeat in the league and the
capital.
Stuart Pearce's Manchester City finished 14th having won 6 drew 3 and lost
10 of their away games, scoring 19 and conceding 28 in the process.
Alan Curbishley's West Ham will be looking for a 3rd straight league home
win and 5th straight league win in total after their stunning finish to the
season. West Ham finished just 1 place and 1 point behind Manchester City in
15th and won 8 drew 2 and lost 9 of their home games scoring 24 and
conceding 26.
History
Total league games
West Ham won 32 drawn 11 Lost 35
Last time we met
30th December 2006
Upton Park
Barclays Premier League
West Ham 0 Manchester City 1 (83 min Damarcus Beasley)
A late winner by American Demarcus Beasley 7 minutes from time made it a
miserable festive period for Alan Curbishley and the Hammers. The 1-0 defeat
being the 2nd of 3 straight defeats over the holiday period and completed
the double for Manchester City.
Line Ups
West Ham
Green
Dailly
Ferdinand
Gabbidon
Spector
Benayoun
Bowyer
Mullins
Etherington
Sheringham
Harewood
Manchester City
Weaver
Onuoha
Dunne
Distin
Jordan
Trabelsi
Ireland
Dado
Richards
Vassell
Corradi
Team News
West Ham United
No new injures as West Ham completed their pre-season games with an
impressive 2-1 win over top Italian side Roma.
Scott Parker is 50/50 to make his full debut with a knee injury. Julien
Faubert is on the long term injury list.
Craig Bellamy and Freddie Ljunburg are in line for their full debuts.
Manchester City
Eriksson will step up his search for a keeper this week to see off an injury
crisis when first choice Isaksson fractured his thumb. Last seasons number 2
Nicky Weaver has left the club for Charlton and if Eriksson isn't able to
recruit a keeper in time he will have to choose between rookies Kasper
Schmeichel or England U21 keeper Joe Hart.
A whole host of players could be in line for their full City debut.
Likely line ups
West Ham
Green
Neill
Upson
Ferdinand
McCartney
Ljunberg
Bowyer
Noble
Boa-Morte
Ashton
Bellamy
Manchester City
Schmeichel
Richards
Onuoha
Dunne
Garrido
Elano
Johnson
Fernandes
Petrov
Ireland
Bianchi
Betting
West Ham 5/6
Draw 11/5
Man City 11/4
Referee -
Prediction
West Ham United 2 Manchester City 0
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Ljungberg takes off the gloves for West Ham - Telegraph
By Marc Isaacs
Last Updated: 1:26am BST 07/08/2007
Freddie Ljungberg believes the potential 'fight club' assembled at West Ham
can help them challenge for a European place this season. The Swedish
midfielder had a training ground bust-up with Olof Mellberg on the eve of
the 2002 World Cup and is just one of several faces in the West Ham squad
who have run into trouble for an altercation with one of his team-mates. Few
could forget the infamous brawl between Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer in April
2005 when the Newcastle pair were sent-off for fighting on the pitch during
the 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa. Add to that Craig Bellamy and his off the
pitch reputation - which includes an alleged assault on his former Liverpool
team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club - and manager Alan Curbishley
could have his hands full in the forthcoming campaign. But Ljungberg says it
is healthy for the players to show their emotions and feels it will only
benefit the club as they look to challenge for major honours in the next few
years.
Ljungberg said: "If we control it well, it can be great. A lot of players
here are aggressive but they are great players at the same time. When we
played with Arsenal a couple of years ago, we had a lot of players who
weren't afraid to get their foot stuck in. "You need a bit of a spark inside
you to be a great player. If you can control it, it's fantastic because as a
player it's always good to know the team are with you. It makes the group
stronger if you know you are all in it together."
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Hammers refuse to give up on Dyer - TeamTalk
West Ham will not up their £6million offer for Kieron Dyer - but believe
they can still land the midfielder if they pay Newcastle up front. Dyer had
been on the point of moving to Upton Park after the clubs agreed a fee of
£5million up front plus a further £1million depending on appearances.
Newcastle then decided they had under-valued the player and demanded a
further £2million causing West Ham to pull out of the move. It is understood
the Hammers are still interested in Dyer, who has already passed a medical,
but will not go above £6million. They may, however, be willing to pay all
the money up front. Dyer himself has been left in limbo with Newcastle
making it clear they were happy for the midfielder to leave. West Ham were
furious with the sudden price hike - they had been given written
confirmation of the acceptance of their offer until Newcastle's change of
mind. The club are also keen to make a point that they will not pay over the
odds for any player - they want to stress that the Icelandic consortium who
own the club will not spend unnecessarily. Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce
has defended the club's decision to block Dyer's move, while West Ham boss
Alan Curbishley has insisted the deal was now "definitely off". Allardyce
said: "If Curbs started it, then we are more upset than they are, that is a
fact. "Why? That is confidential. He is not as upset as we are about West
Ham. "In the end, we decided he was under-valued. We escalated the valuation
to what we thought was realistic and West Ham did not want to roll with it.
"Kieron is back with us, a top player with a squad who are growing. "Will it
be difficult for Kieron? It's life, isn't it? He has got a contract. You
sign it. The length of the contract means you are employed by an employer,
something happens, it doesn't work, you come back and get on with it. "If
anything else happens in terms of West Ham increasing their offer, then
great. If they don't then clearly they don't value him as highly as we do."
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Hammers stand firm on Dyer - The Sun
August 07, 2007
WEST HAM have told Newcastle they will not be held to ransom over Kieron
Dyer. Furious chairman Eggert Magnusson refuses to budge on the £6million
offer that was accepted — only for the Toon to demand an extra £2m just
before the midfielder, 28, was due to sign. Eggy is prepared to revive the
deal by paying the cash in one hit instead of £5m plus top-ups if the
Hammers qualify for Europe. But Toon boss Sam Allardyce claimed West Ham
were trying to get Dyer on the cheap. He said: "We decided he was
under-valued and West Ham did not want to roll with it. "If they increase
their offer, great. If they don't, they clearly don't value him as highly as
us."
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Shorey: I'm a loyal Royal - The Sun
August 07, 2007
NICKY SHOREY insists he is going nowhere despite rejecting Reading's offer
of £20,000 a week. West Ham boss Alan Curbishley was alerted when Shorey,
26, turned down the new contract. But the Royals' longest-serving player,
said: "I am just keeping my options open. "Nothing is set in stone and I do
not want to leave. "I still have two years left on my contract. "It is a
great team and I think we will have another really good season."
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Shorey insists: I'm not going to join West Ham - This Is London
07.08.07
Nicky Shorey insists he is not about to quit Reading despite turning down a
new deal. The full-back still has two years left on his contract but West
Ham want to sign him and could make a £5million move this week. Shorey, 26,
said: "I don't want to leave. I'm fully committed to Reading. It would be
wrong to start talking about moving or going to a big club. I'm just keeping
my options open."
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Dyer compromise could be Hammered out - Daily Mail
Last updated at 17:28pm on 6th August 2007
West Ham will not budge on their £6million offer for Kieron Dyer - but the
England midfielder's transfer could be revived if Newcastle accept a
compromise deal. Dyer had been on the point of moving to Upton Park after
the clubs agreed a fee of £5million up front plus a further £1million
depending on appearances. Newcastle then decided they had under-valued the
player and demanded a further £2million causing West Ham to pull out of the
move. It is understood the Hammers are still interested in Dyer, who has
already passed a medical, but will not go above £6million. They may,
however, be willing to pay all the money up front. Dyer himself has been
left in limbo with Newcastle making it clear they were happy for the
midfielder to leave. West Ham were furious with the sudden price hike - they
had been given written confirmation of the acceptance of their offer until
Newcastle's change of mind. The club are also keen to make a point that they
will not pay over the odds for any player - they want to stress that the
Icelandic consortium who own the club will not spend unnecessarily.
Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has defended the club's decision to block
Dyer's move, while West Ham boss Alan Curbishley has insisted the deal was
now "definitely off". Allardyce said: "If Curbs started it, then we are more
upset than they are, that is a fact. "Why? That is confidential. He is not
as upset as we are about West Ham. "In the end, we decided he was
under-valued. We escalated the valuation to what we thought was realistic
and West Ham did not want to roll with it. "Kieron is back with us, a top
player with a squad who are growing. "Will it be difficult for Kieron? It's
life, isn't it? He has got a contract. You sign it. The length of the
contract means you are employed by an employer, something happens, it
doesn't work, you come back and get on with it. "If anything else happens in
terms of West Ham increasing their offer, then great. If they don't then
clearly they don't value him as highly as we do."
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Big Sam Having A Giraffe With West Ham - West Ham Fans.org
Submitted by Neville Nixon on 6 August, 2007 - 18:25.
Having seen his beloved club had two of its best players Yossi Benayoun and
Carlos Tevez tapped up by Liverpool and Manchester United, Hammers chairman
Eggert Magnusson has taken Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce's attempts at
extorting an extra £2 Million for the transfer of Kieron Dyer personally.
Having agreed a £6 Million fee, which was £2 Million above Hammers original
offer, Newcastle then waited until Dyer had a medical and had agreed
personal terms before deciding to increase the player's value by a further
£2 Million.
Most press reports about West Ham United begin with the prefix of 'money
bags West Ham' or 'cash laden Hammers' or copylines to that effect, but
Magnusson and his manager Alan Curbishley are in no mood to suffer the
further ignomy of clubs taking the rise.
Ironically, a price tag of £6 Million would have been about right for 28
year old England International Dyer last year, but with the new Sky money
awash in the Premiership, Newcastle probably DID under value the player, but
that was their mistake, and there is now no way on this planet that Eggert
and Curbs would countenance doing further business with the Bar Codes. Of
course Scott Duxberry could intervene and try and broker an 'undisclosed'
deal that would see Newcastle receive the fee they require but subject to
stringent performance and appearance related payments, both clubs wouls save
face, but one gets the feeling that there isd a certain amount of afters
between Curbs and Fat Sam following their respective interviews for the
England manager's job, which could well mean the Dyer deal becoming dead in
the water, many fans will be relieved, but Dyer would have been a useful
addition to the squad, a bit of a risk, but more a highly strung Alfa than
clapped out Escort. - Ed
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Tevez move shows West Ham in embarrassing light - eufootball.biz
England - 07 August, 2007
After initially swearing it had done the right thing in the Carlos Tevez
affair, English West Ham directors have again blotted the club's name. West
Ham admitted it was not honest in its dealings with the league when Tevez
was signed last year. That prompted the final bit of movement in the Tevez
affair, as he was transferred to Manchester United. The club was found
guilty of acting improperly and withholding vital documentation over the
Tevez's ownership. The age of taking a club at its word seems to be gone in
the Premier League. "West Ham have admitted that they were not clean and
open with us last August when they signed Tevez," Premier League chief
Richard Scudamore said. "We will have to be more circumspect when dealing
with clubs from now on."
West Ham said it had torn up the third-party agreement with Tevez and
re-registered Tevez for their last few games of the season, during which he
helped keep the club in the Premier League. Media Sports Investment (MSI)
and Just Sports Inc, which owns the player's economic rights, remained
steadfast that it was not so. West Ham will receive a GBP 2 million fee for
Tevez's registration , with approval from the Premier League.
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'West Ham has been dragged down. This hurts me most'
Donald McRae
Tuesday August 7, 2007
The Guardian
I am a busy, busy man," Eggert Magnusson says animatedly as, on the
threshold of a new Premier League season, the West Ham United chairman
reaches for his favourite adjective to underline his place at the heart of a
footballing soap opera. During his "busy" nine-month tenure at Upton Park,
trouble and strife have stretched from a bitter relegation battle and
miraculous last-day escape to dubiously tangled transfer deals and High
Court writs. A few other time-consuming factors - including deceit and
dissent from overpaid players and a threatened points deduction - have
ensured that the Icelandic multi-millionaire has never felt bored since
switching his trade from biscuit-making to Premier League wheeler-dealing.
"I like to be busy," he says. "This is why I am always so upbeat at West
Ham. Every morning I wake up there is a tough new challenge. Even these last
few months, where there has been so much pain with the Tevez saga, there
have been moments of joy. It has been a great time."
Off the field it has been impossible to detect any trace of greatness in the
row over the ownership of Carlos Tevez, whose outstanding contribution as a
footballer was symbolised by the goal he scored at Old Trafford to confirm
West Ham's salvation last May. After Sheffield United's subsequent failure
to overturn a Premier League decision merely to fine West Ham £5.5m for
breaking the rules with regard to third-party ownership of players, rather
than strip them of points, Magnusson has been embroiled in a legal squabble
with Tevez's agent, Kia Joorabchian, over which party had the right to sell
the Argentine striker to Manchester United. The controversy offered a
definitive snapshot of football's murky business.
"I was never concerned that the ruling would go against us," Magnusson
argues. "In this affair it has often been forgotten that the player was
always registered with West Ham. There was so much [speculation] that was
never correct."
He is preparing himself for a final public statement on Tevez this Thursday.
Until then, citing legal restrictions and the need "to make a fresh start",
he chooses instead to address the view of his manager, Alan Curbishley, that
West Ham have become "public enemy No1". Magnusson winces at the changed
perception of a club once regarded as a noble academy of English football.
"It does hurt me because the club has been dragged into this in a negative
way by some of my colleagues. West Ham has been dragged down and I don't
think this is correct. This hurts me most, because what a few people decide
should not be a burden to the whole club.
"The other sad thing is that Tevez got caught in the middle. He's a great
lad, so enthusiastic about football and success, and I would have loved to
have seen him [again] in a West Ham shirt. I really tried to make that
possible but, as a great player, he had ambitions to play in the Champions
League."
West Ham received only £2m for Tevez - with Joorabchian netting a healthy
profit for himself - but the club have spent heavily during the off-season.
Having paid a possibly inflated £23.5m for Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker,
Freddie Ljungberg and the now injured Julian Faubert, Magnusson has been
accused of bringing an overheated economy to boiling point. Niall Quinn,
Sunderland's chairman, has claimed that, as a result, "agents are having an
absolute beano . . . what horrifies me is people who've made money out of
property or biscuit tins telling a class act who's managing their club who
they should be signing . . ."
"I was very surprised to see this," Magnusson says. "He has done some great
things at Sunderland but I think there was more frustration in those remarks
than blame on us. I know better - but I have a high regard for Niall Quinn."
In also rejecting criticism of the wages paid at West Ham, Magnusson insists
that "the figures have been totally distorted. I don't understand it". The
discrepancy arises when reputable sources claim that Parker, Bellamy,
Ljungberg and, most astonishingly of all, Lucas Neill are paid £70-72,000 a
week whereas Magnusson has said in the past that his top players earn
£55,000. He hesitates when asked about that £55,000 ceiling: "Well, we have
a basic wage structure and we are there or thereabouts and we don't want to
surpass that. That is still the case."
Darren Bent was reputedly offered more money by West Ham than Tottenham
Hotspur, for whom he signed in the summer, but the £17m transfer fee offered
by Magnusson was truly startling. Is Bent worth £2m more than Thierry Henry?
"It's difficult to estimate that. Players like Darren Bent - young, English
and with a proven track record that they can score goals - will always be
highly prized. If he keeps scoring goals he will still be worth a lot in
three years' time. And of course my manager knew all about him. Darren Bent
is a very good young man."
Kieron Dyer has a more complicated persona, yet Newcastle United exhibited
their own wayward streak last week when the club's new owner, Mike Ashley,
scuppered the midfielder's transfer to West Ham by raising the fee from a
generous £6m to a bizarre demand for £8m at the last minute. Magnusson is
plainly angered.
"It was very unexpected. We thought we had agreed everything with the club
and when he'd had a medical everything was finished but we then just got a
message from the owner that he wanted a higher price. This is something I
have never experienced before in football, because they had already given us
permission to speak to the player. So of course I was very disappointed."
Curbishley, at least, has been spared the prospect of reuniting Dyer and Lee
Bowyer after their mid-match fisticuffs while team-mates at Newcastle in
2005. He already has enough to cope with in managing a group of players who
often appear as interested in their Baby Bentleys and mid-season holidays as
Premier League survival.
"Several factors made us pay last season," Magnusson agrees. "I had to do
some drastic things to change them." Yet Curbishley's appointment was far
from an immediate success. After one victory in eight games, Magnusson
concedes that "I was very worried then. I could tell there was something
wrong with the club and it took Alan some time to get it right. But I never
allowed myself to give up hope and say, OK, we are going to be relegated.
When you are chairman the last thing you want to show is desperation or
despair. I might have had my own bad feelings during some nights but I
always looked optimistic."
One of the more endearing facets of Magnusson's character remains his
footballing passion. He regularly visits West Ham internet chat sites - as
an observer rather than a participant - in an effort to "grasp the mood of
the fans. It is very important to know what people are thinking. In football
you deal with people and emotions. It's a much more sentimental business
than biscuits or money-market shares.
"That's why the win at Old Trafford on the last day was my sweetest moment.
But at the time I was like a deflated balloon. I couldn't even enjoy it
until some days had passed because it was unbelievable. It took almost a
week for the joy to sink in and understand what we had done."
Everything was different a year ago. "Last August I had no idea I would
become involved in the Premiership," the 60-year-old says. "That only
started in September and until then I had been thinking of retiring in
America. I have some properties there and while I'd been very involved with
Uefa and Fifa, and also the Icelandic Association, I was thinking about
[retirement] then."
Yet when Magnusson was approached by a consortium led by Tony Cottee he was
transfixed. The prospect of entering a high-profile business as consuming as
Premier League football swamped the charms of a quiet retreat to America.
Cottee and his original partners were replaced by an Icelandic double act in
Magnusson and Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, the former footballer turned
billionaire banker, as they completed an £85m takeover last November.
"I have a very good partner in Bjorgolfur [who owns 95% of the controlling
company, WH Holding]. We have known each other for almost 50 years and this
is very important for West Ham to understand - we are together and we have
this drive for football.
"It takes time but in two years I think we will be fighting for Uefa and
even Champions League positions. The fantasy is that in 10 years we will see
the team playing Champions League football regularly in our new stadium. We
want to model ourselves on clubs like Barça and Madrid who have great
marketing aspects. I think it is possible to compete with this kind of
club."
Magnusson barely blinks at the suggestion that a 60,000-seat stadium in
London would cost in the region of a quarter of a billion pounds. "That
figure is not so far away if you take into account transportation costs. We
are waiting at the moment for a decision over a certain piece of land and we
will have a decision by the end of the year - but I am sure we will build a
new stadium. We have the fan-base to need this capacity."
Magnusson's excitement is palpable. If it sometimes looks as if his bald
dome will explode with passion, he insists that "I am in good health because
I run whenever I have time. I run for an hour, maybe more. I could run a
marathon but I won't - I am so competitive that I would hate it if some
youngster passed me. I am going to concentrate instead on being busy with
West Ham. This is just the beginning."
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West Ham play tough with Newcastle over Dyer
tribalfooball.com - August 06, 2007
West Ham United have told Newcastle's it's down to them if Kieron Dyer is to
move to Upton Park. Furious chairman Eggert Magnusson refuses to budge on
the £6million offer that was accepted - only for the Toon to demand an extra
£2m just before the midfielder, 28, was due to sign.Eggy is prepared to
revive the deal by paying the cash in one hit instead of £5m plus top-ups if
the Hammers qualify for Europe.
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