03/10/2007 10:42
Following Robert Green's outstanding performance against Arsenal, the
football press and pundits have been linking the Hammers keeper with an
England recall when Steve McClaren names his squad later this week. Robert,
who says he is 'hopeful, but not expectant' of being in McClaren's plans for
the crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia, said of his
performance at the weekend: "I was disappointed to let in another goal. I
almost got to it but just couldn't quite get there. It was just one of those
things. "Fortunately I managed to save the ones I could save. You're playing
against a quality side in Arsenal and they're going to create chances. I
think it's been a long time since they played a game where they haven't
scored. You know it's going to be tough."
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Injury latest - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 4th October 2007
By: Matthew O'Greel
Scott Parker is likely to be out of action until the end of the month after
sustaining knee ligament damage against Arsenal last weekend. The midfielder
- who was making his league debut against the Gunners - limped off at half
time after damaging the same knee which had kept him out of action until
last weekend.
Initial fears were that the former Charlton man could be out of action for
some considerable time, although those worries were allayed following a scan
earlier this week. Meanwhile Craig Bellamy has sought a second opinion on
his troublesome groin injury which plagued him during the summer and
continues to keep him sidelined. "We don't think it is particularly serious
but we have to get to the bottom of it," Alan Curbishley said. "Since
Craig's been with us he's been wearing different orthotics to help an old
injury - and it has worked, but it has caused something else. "He's got a
groin strain, we don't think it is any more than that."
Bobby Zamora, who recently underwent a knee op is not due to return to first
team action until the end of October.
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Dailly makes return for Scotland - BBC
Veteran West Ham defender Christian Dailly has returned to the Scotland
squad for the Euro 2008 Group B qualifiers against Ukraine and Georgia.
Dailly takes the place of Sunderland's Russell Anderson, who is ruled out
through injury along with Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.
Derby County striker Kenny Miller returns from injury after missing the
victories over Lithuania and France. Sheffield United full-back Gary
Naysmith has also returned to fitness.
Dailly had been dropped from the squad for the matches against Lithuania and
France but is now playing more regular first-team football while on loan
with Southampton. Naysmith has recovered from a knee ligament injury and
in-form Miller from the hamstring injury that kept him out last time. Miller
scored on his Derby debut against Newcastle following his transfer from
Celtic before finding the back of the net again in a 1-1 draw with Bolton at
the weekend.
Scotland face Ukraine at Hampden on 13 October and travel to face Georgia
four days later.
Scotland squad
Goalkeepers: Gordon (Sunderland), Marshall (Norwich), McGregor (Rangers)
Defenders: Alexander (Burnley), Caldwell (Celtic), Dailly (West Ham), Hutton
(Rangers), McEveley (Derby), McManus (Celtic), Naysmith (Sheffield United),
Weir (Rangers)
Midfielders: Brown (Celtic), Ferguson (Rangers), Hartley (Celtic), McCulloch
(Rangers), Pearson (Derby), Robson (Dundee United), Teale (Derby)
Forwards: Beattie (West Brom), Boyd (Rangers), McFadden (Everton), Maloney
(Aston Villa), Miller (Derby), O'Connor (Birmingham).
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Scott Parker boost lifts gloom at West Ham - The Times
Gary Jacob
There were doubtless sighs of relief at Upton Park last night when Scott
Parker was told that he should be fit to play for West Ham United in about
three weeks.
The midfield player caused great concern when he limped off with a knee
injury at half-time during the 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at home to
Arsenal on Saturday, with fears that the injury could keep him out for three
months. Parker was playing his first league match for the club since
returning from two months out with an injury to the same knee.
A scan has revealed that the damage to the knee was far less serious than
feared. Parker has suffered medial ligament damage, which is expected to
heal in three to four weeks. He will miss the match away to Aston Villa on
Saturday, but he could return for the first game after the international
break, against Sunder-land on October 21, but more likely is the match
against Portsmouth a week later.
Parker joined the club for £7 million from Newcastle United this summer, but
he suffered a knee injury during the tour to Austria in preseason. Hayden
Mullins is expected to deputise in midfield alongside Mark Noble.
It is a blow to Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, who will be without
Kieron Dyer and Julien Faubert, the midfield players, for most, of if not
all, of the season. Nolberto Solano, the midfield player, has not played
since he joined from Newcastle on the final day of the transfer window in
August.
Curbishley is also without Bobby Zamora, who will be out for a further three
weeks after a knee operation, although the club hope that Craig Bellamy will
be able to return from a groin injury after the forward missed the past
three matches.
"At the start of the season we had Bellamy and Zamora up front and now
neither are playing and that is just how it is at the moment," Curbishley
said. "The losses of Faubert, Dyer, Parker and Bellamy are a big blow for
us, but players have come in and have got us where we are."
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How Will MOTD Cover The Aston Villa West Ham Game - West Ham Fans.org
Submitted by Neville Nixon on 3 October, 2007 - 21:21.
With only two Premiership fixtures being played this coming Saturday, those
in control at BBC sport will have to make a decision, how can they not give
West Ham United's game against Aston Villa at least half an hour's coverage,
even if the Wigan and Manchester United game turns out to be a goal fest?
There is a well known conspiracy theory that the Beeb has taken upon itself
to be judge and executioner in the 'Tevezgate' affair, a situation that has
been permeated by the fact that the Sheffield contingent of the BBC radio
and TV's overstaffed local facilities have made it their business to deify
'Cry baby McBabe' as some kind of fans braveheart, whereas in reality he is
no more than a cheap hustler, prepared to drag the reputation of his club
and their loyal fans through the mud in order to cover up his own
inadequacies in preparing his club for life in the top flight during their
brief tenure in the Premier League.
The initials MOTD could also stand for MOT'D, as if contained in a
certificate that shows an old hunk of junk is still a viable proposition, a
rather apt anachronism to describe the smug sanctimonious attitude of those
ex-players who earn a good shilling that is paid out of the BBC's licence
fees.
It will be interesting to see what drivel they come out with, perhaps the
Beeb will cancel the broadcast through lack of interest@? Oh no, that won't
be a problem, because they will be able to give saturation coverage to their
all time favourite team, Manchester United. You can almost hear their
drooling tones as they salivate at the prospect of not being spoken to by
Sir Al, Carlos Casteneda has to fill that role, but the BB Boys just lap it
up!
If a rich chairman is reading this perhaps he might decide to buy the Beeb,
however if he did he might find out it is just as ropey as one of 'Arry's
metaphorical cheap Escorts! (Ford of course) - Ed
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Player of the Month - September - West Ham Online
Vinny - Wed Oct 3 2007
DEAN ASHTON
Games in September
Reading (a)
Middlesbrough (h)
Newcastle United (a)
Plymouth Argyle (h)
Arsenal (h)
Dean Ashton is the player of the month for September after starting every
game and scoring three goals.
This month has seen West Ham win three games and lose two, with Ashton
scoring the third goal against Middlesbrough, the equalising goal against
Newcastle and the late winner at home in the league cup to Plymouth.
It has been fantastic to have Dean Ashton back in the side and scoring
goals. His fitness continues to improve and it seems he is at the heart of
every attack.
Against Reading he struggled at little with it being his first competitive
start in quite a while, but his performance against Boro' was very strong
and he capped off a good performance with a real strikers goal.
Despite losing at Newcastle, Ashton again caught the eye with not only his
goal but all round performance.
Again he showed us his goal scoring ability right at the death against
Plymouth scoring the goal which prevented extra time and sent us through to
the next round of the League Cup.
It was a big test up against the type of players Arsenal posses but he
looked sharp yet again and everyone is now sitting up and taking notice of a
player who West Ham fans have raved about for quite a while.
An England call up looks likely and although most West Ham fans would rather
him go no where near the England team for a while it is testament to a
player who has returned - and returned to form.
In second place was the much maligned Carlton Cole who contributed three
assists (two against Boro' and one against Newcastle) making it a decent
month for a player who I don't think many thought would play again for the
club after last season.
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Noble ready for Reo-Coker rumble - TeamTalk
Midfielder Mark Noble is expecting a tough test when he comes face-to-face
with former West Ham team-mate Nigel Reo-Coker. The Hammers take on Aston
Villa at Villa Park at the weekend and while Noble is looking forward to
reacquainting himself with England Under-21 colleague Reo-Coker, he insists
there will be no love lost when the game starts. He told the club's
official website: "It's going to be a tough test. I've played so much with
him so it's going to be a strange one. "Obviously I've played with him,
Marlon Harewood, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Luke Moore. "It'll be
a good game and there'll be a lot of banter before and after hopefully but
once you cross the white line friendships go out the window and it gets
serious on the pitch. "I'm sure they'll be geared up after letting a 4-1
lead slip against Spurs. They'll be upset and they'll want to put things
right but they'll also be looking to win all their home games so it's not
going to be easy."
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Ljungberg to hang up his boxers - Daily Mail
Last updated at 13:39pm on 3rd October 2007
West Ham midfielder Freddie Ljungberg is giving up his other job as an
underwear model. The former Calvin Klein advertising pin-up, who moved from
Arsenal in the summer, said: "It's weird to see yourself on billboards and I
don't really enjoy it now." "It depends on what sort of person you are, but
I don't really fancy it." NEXT FIVE GAMES: Saturday: Aston Villa (a); 21
Oct: Sunderland (h); 27 Oct: Portsmouth (a); 30 Oct: Coventry (a) (CC); 4
Nov: Bolton (h).
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Owen For West Ham £17m? - newcastelmad.co.uk
By Nu Mad Wednesday 3rd October 2007
Sam Allardyce has his own injury problems to deal with, but let's face it,
it could have been a lot worse if we hadn't 'dumped' our crocks over to East
London.
Kieron Dyer is obviously top of the list. And it took a brave man (Mike
Ashley) to hold out for an extra £1m for a player who hasn't played more
than half the games in a season for eight of the ten years he spent at St
James' Park. It wasn't so much "will Dyer get injured" ... it was a betting
game in the pubs on Tyneside on how many games he would play before being
ruled out for the rest of West Ham's season! He managed TWO and went down in
the third.
Now West Ham manager Alan Curbishley has spoken about Craig Bellamy's recent
injury and ongoing recovery, and Bellars has even refused (unlike him) to
listen to the club doctor ... and gone for a second opinion! Curbishley:
"He's trained Thursday and Friday perfectly, then felt sore again, so we've
had to pull him out again, so we have some thinking to do about the injury.
We don't think it is particularly serious but we have to get to the bottom
of it. "Since he's been with us he's been wearing different orthotics to
help an old injury, and it has worked, but it has caused something else.
"He's got this groin strain, which we don't think is any more than that."
And of course there is the ever-dependable Scott Parker. The man with the
100% record in coming second in 50-50 tackles. West Ham will discover today
whether the midfielder faces another spell on the sidelines after he limped
out of Saturday's 1-0 defeat against Arsenal with a knee injury. The
Hammers could be without Parker for some time after he went off with a
recurrence of the knee ligament injury which had kept him out for two
months.
With the January transfer coming nearer, do the Hammers fancy Michael Owen
for £17m; Emre £5m; Peter Ramage £1m; Celestine Babayaro £1; Damien Duff
£5m; and Shola Ameobi (free if you want him)?
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