15/10/2007 15:50
Mark Noble is delighted to be back in the frame for England Under-21s when
they take on the Republic of Ireland in Cork on Tuesday night. The key West
Ham United midfielder was suspended for the 1-0 victory against Montenegro
in Leicester on Friday night having picked up a yellow card in each of the
previous two wins - 3-0 in Montenegro and 2-0 in Bulgaria when he also
scored. The good run has left England ahead of Portugal, always so
impressive at youth level but beaten 1-0 in Bulgaria on Friday, at the top
of qualifying Group 3 in the race to reach the 2009 European Under-21
Championship.
Although Stuart Pearce's England have nine points from nine, Noble admitted
he was a frustrated observer at the Walkers Stadium as Matt Derbyshire's
first-half goal settled matters. He said: "After being involved with the
last two matches and getting such good results, it was horrible to have to
sit on the sidelines and watch the boys play as I am one of those players
that just wants to play every game. Even though they did get a good result,
I obviously hope I am in the manager's thoughts but we will have to wait and
see.
"We are all really looking forward to the match, they have a lot of players
that are playing in the English league so it will be a good competitive
game. I know [striker] Billy Clarke particularly well from when I was at
Ipswich so it will be good to come up against him. We are going into the
match on the back of three victories and want to retain our place at the top
of the group as we know we face stiff competition for the qualifying places
from the likes of Portugal and Bulgaria so to get another three points and
stretch our lead at the top is vital."
In U21 qualifying, the ten group winners and four best runners-up will
advance to the October 2008 play-offs, where seven ties will decide which
teams join hosts Sweden at the eight-team finals in summer 2009. England
reached the semi-finals of the 2007 edition last June, thanks in part to the
20-year-old Noble and Anton Ferdinand, who is no longer eligible at this
level.
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An Evening with Billy Bonds - WHUFC
15/10/2007 15:44
West Ham United fans have the chance to spend time with a Boleyn Ground
legend when An Evening with Billy Bonds is held on Friday 30 November.
Organised by the Boys of 86, this is a unique opportunity for supporters to
sit and chat with the legendary defender and former manager, who will talk
at length about his time at the Boleyn Ground. The event will be hosted by
Tony Cottee and Tony Gale and will take place at the Prince Regent Hotel,
Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex. Several other former West Ham United players
will be in attendance.
The evening will include an auction of rare football memorabilia and raffle
as well as a chance to be photographed with the guest of an honour who will
also sign autographs. Tickets for An Evening with Billy Bonds cost £86 per
person, which includes a three-course meal and entertainment. These can be
purchased in tables of ten or on an individual basis. All individual tickets
will be allocated a table for the evening.
There is a limited supply of tickets and they will be sold on a first-come,
first-served basis. You can reserve your place by either emailing
theboysof86@yahoo.co.uk or by telephoning 07783 7040893.
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Gabbidon hits out at his critics - BBC
Danny Gabbidon has hit out at critics who have accused him of lacking
commitment when playing for Wales. The West Ham defender, 28, insists that
is not the case and also said he is not worried about the threat of being
dropped from the side.
"For people to say I don't care is nonsense because I've shown in all my
performances for Wales that I've always try and give 100%," he said. People
can say what they want, but we'll see what happens."
Gabbidon freely admits he and the other defenders are open to criticism
following the second half display in Cyprus on Saturday. "The performance in
the second half wasn't as good as it should have been and the goals we
conceded were poor," he said. "We have to look at ourselves as defenders and
say we should have done better with them. "That's why I was frustrated and
maybe I should not have been like that and shown my frustrations (on the
pitch) so much but that's how I felt at the time. "I put my hands up. I am
disappointed with the goals we conceded." He added: "If my place is under
threat then someone else can come in and do the job if they or the manager
thinks they can do better than me. "But it's not something I'm worrying
about."
Gabbidon said the players were not aware of talk about manager John Toshack
quitting, but said the chance to reflect on the game was a good one ahead of
Wednesday's game with San Marino. "We're obviously disappointed with the
result and we've got to try and get on with it and we've got another game to
think about," he said. "It was good to reflect on what went wrong and try
and re-focus and try and put things right on Wednesday."
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Cole a happy Hammer - SSN
Striker happy to stay at Upton Park
By Lewis Rutledge Last updated: 15th October 2007
Carlton Cole is hoping to establish himself in the West Ham side and go on
to have a long and successful career at Upton Park. The striker has spent
time at five different clubs over the last six years, but is happy at West
Ham after moving from Chelsea in June 2006. "I'm settled at the club and I
want to stay," he told Sky Sports News. "This is the first time I've
actually stayed at a club and done two pre-seasons with them, because
normally I'm off in the second pre-season. "I'm just happy that I'm doing
well now and hopefully I can stay and do better things for the club." Cole
played for Alan Curbishley at Charlton in 2003/4 and he is delighted to have
been reunited with the manager. But he has only made six appearances this
season, four as a substitute, and has yet to score. "I'm happy that I'm
working under Curbishley and I hope I can do well for him," said Cole.
"Every striker goes through times when they can't score but hopefully I'll
get that one goal and then the floodgates will open."
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West Ham Seek Director Of Football - West Ham Fans.org
Submitted by Neville Nixon on 15 October, 2007 - 17:17.
Alan Curbishley In line with many European and Premier League clubs, West
Ham United are to appoint a 'Director of Football'. The move, which has the
full blessing of current manager Alan Curbishley, is seen as an attempt to
put Hammers on a more business like and professional footing, with the
demand for home based players exceeding supply and a time lag before the
recent investments in the Academy come to fruition, the club have been
forced to a adopt a more pragmatic approach to their signing of players. It
is no secret that many of Alan Curbishley's signings are having injury
problems, and it is thought that perhaps better value may have been obtained
if the club had sought to buy from abroad, with the notable exception of
Julien Faubert who is also injured, as well as from the domestic market.
Curbs has two and a half years left to run on his current contract, unless
things go really belly up he will see out the job for that length. Even if
the club progresses on the schedule it's owners have set out it is still
likely that the current manager would 'move upstairs', that was part of the
original plan. (The one that was conceived before, during and after Alan
Pardew's tenure as manager!) With the level of investment at West Ham
looking to be further extended by the construction of a new stadium it is
obvious that the club needs to modernise both in terms of it's business plan
and also with regard to the fundamental core values of what has always been
a 'family' club. The perception of West Ham has always been that of gallant
losers as opposed to clinical winners, a club that sells it's jewels in
order to prop up the wayward dealings of it's board and one that hovers
between the top flight and the second tier. Like it or not the new owners
want something different, they still want to retain the club's core values
but know that the whole infrastructure will need restructuring sooner rather
than later, and that their are more pro's than cons to adopting a more
'European' approach. - Ed
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Transfer speculation: Andrew Johnson to West Ham United (£12 million) -
SquareFootball
Hugh Larkin
The Sunday redtops aren't noted for accuracy but the People may be on the
case about Andy Johnson. All doesn't appear to be well at Goodison for the
England striker and it seems David Moyes can't guarantee Johnson a starting
berth. Competition has increased at the club with Yakubu's arrival, the
emergence of Victor Anichebe and the form of James McFadden. James Vaughan
is still to come back too. When he first arrived Johnson was the undisputed
Number 1 striker and with Euro 2008 coming up he's probably getting a
feeling of déjà vu. Relegation with Crystal Palace effectively ended his
hopes of a trip to World Cup 2006. West Ham made an enquiry over the summer
and may well test the water again in January. Andy Johnson may be prepared
to go to seek regular first team football, although with Dean Ashton and
Craig Bellamy at Upton Park it's not certain to be easier.
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Cole happy at West Ham
tribalfooball.com - October 15, 2007
Carlton Cole says he's happy at West Ham United. "I'm settled at the club
and I want to stay," he told Sky Sports News. "This is the first time I've
actually stayed at a club and done two pre-seasons with them, because
normally I'm off in the second pre-season. "I'm just happy that I'm doing
well now and hopefully I can stay and do better things for the club." Cole
played for Alan Curbishley at Charlton in 2003/4 and he is delighted to have
been reunited with him at Upton Park. But he has only made six appearances
this season, four as a substitute, and has yet to score. "I'm happy that I'm
working under Curbishley and I hope I can do well for him," said Cole.
"Every striker goes through times when they can't score but hopefully I'll
get that one goal and then the floodgates will open."
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Collins booked in for physio meeting - TeamTalk
James Collins will be assessed by the West Ham physio team on Monday
afternoon after he was forced to return home from Wales duty. Collins was
forced off before half-time on Saturday in Wales' 3-1 Euro 2008 qualifying
defeat to Cyprus. He had scored his first goal for his country in the 3-1
reverse and initially felt he could still be in contention for Wednesday's
qualifier in San Marino. But after a day of intense treatment Collins was
sent back to his club where a further assessment on his persistent calf
injury will take place. It is a bitter blow for Collins, who has struggled
with the injury for several months, and it kept him out for a long spell
last season before a late-season comeback helped the Hammers avoid
relegation. Collins said: "I have hurt my calf again and I really do not
know what is going on with it. "I have been struggling with it for a while
now, it is the third time I have done something to it. I need it to be
looked at."
Wales, who have cover in defence in the shape of Craig Morgan and Steve
Evans, have decided not to call up a replacement for Wednesday's match. They
travel on Monday with a deep gloom hanging over the squad after the debacle
against Cyprus.
Initially boss John Toshack implied he was considering his position, but
since he has made it clear he will not be resigning.
Collins defended Toshack, insisting: "It is not down to the manager, who is
as gutted as anyone. "A few words were said in the dressing room afterwards
and that sometimes needs to be the case. There are a lot of experienced
players in there who have had their say."
Football Association of Wales secretary general David Collins had talks with
Toshack on Sunday and said: "It was a very disappointing performance. We
were looking to take six points from these two games but we now have to lift
ourselves and go to San Marino. "I do not think we can have any complaints
about the result because they were the better side. That is all I can say,
we just did not play. "When you consider how we played against Slovakia in
the previous match (which Wales won 5-2) and then you see this, it is
difficult to work it out."
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West Ham to launch £12 million striker bid - all3points.com
15th October 2007
By Staff Writer
West Ham are lining up a £12 million bid for Everton's unsettled striker
Andy Johnson according to reports over the weekend.
The Sunday People claims that Johnson's relationship with David Moyes has
broken down to a level where the player wants a move away from the
merseyside club. The paper claims that Hammers boss Alan Curbishley is still
determined to bring another top class striker to the club and will offer
Johnson around £65,000 a week to tempt him.
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West Ham swoop for England striker
Ham are set to swoop for £12-rated striker Andrew Johnson according to the
national newspapers.Sunday's People claimed that the Everton striker's
relationship with boss David Moyes has broke down and that the player is
keen on a Move to West Ham United. Alan Curbishley is said to be confident
of landing the striker in the January transfer window. The paper suggests
that Curbishley wants another top-class striker to compete with Craig
Bellamy and Dean Ashton, and that Johnson will be tempted by a
£65,000-a-week move to Upton Park.
Last Updated: 15 October 2007 8:13 AM
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