24/10/2007 12:23
Nigel Quashie's comeback from injury and the good progress of several young
players were the main positives for reserve-team coach Kevin Keen to ponder
on Wednesday. A 1-1 draw at Fulham last night followed the 1-0 home defeat
of Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago. The Hammers hero was Kyel Reid who
struck a deserved equaliser after the Cottagers had taken the lead in the
first half through Bradley Hudson- Odoi.
It was a battling performance which was notable for Quashie's first
appearance since being ruled out in March with an ankle injury. Aside from
the Scotland midfielder's return, the youngsters to shine were star man
Reid, captain Jack Collison and the attack-minded Jack Jeffrey.
"Nigel got through the match OK, which was good and he seemed to be fine
afterwards, so that will be a boost for him," said Keen, who also had
Jonathan Spector and John Pantsil to call upon. "Once again I had a great
attitude from the senior boys and this helps the younger players, who are
growing with confidence in each match."
The reserve boss was understandably pleased with the way his side dug in to
get the result at a very cold Motspur Park. "Fulham had more of the chances
in the first half, but we battled to keep in there and while we were a bit
disappointed to go in at the break one goal behind, I felt we had a lot more
to give.
"My half-time talk was about encouraging us to do more of the same in the
second half and a little bit more which I knew we had in us. So it proved
because we deserved to get back level and take something from the game."
That the visitors managed a point was in part down to Reid's fine display
with the winger continuing his excellent form. "Kyel was outstanding, he
gave a really top performance," Keen added. "He's going well, in both
training and playing consistently and is on the fringes of the first-team
squad. Playing like this will give him a real stake to catching the
manager's eye."
Keen also had words of praise for Jeffrey and Zavon Hines. "Both JJ and
Zavon more than held their own against some experienced players in the
midfield and I was delighted with them, said Keen. "The last two games have
been pleasing and the team have gained a lot of confidence from it all."
The reserves are next in action on Tuesday 6 November, when Arsenal are the
visitors to the Boleyn Ground.
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Carr expecting Arsenal reaction - WHUFC
25/10/2007 08:04
West Ham United youth academy director Tony Carr is looking for his team to
get back on track on Saturday in their second London derby in a week. The
Under-18s play host to Arsenal at Little Heath determined to make amends for
a 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic last weekend. Carr described that surprise
first defeat in seven as "just one of those games" and is expecting a good
response from his players, including the always lively Junior Stanislas.
After scoring 17 goals in three games and going unbeaten for six matches,
the Hammers youngsters saw their south London neighbours take all the points
with a solitary strike. For Carr, it was simply a case of an "off day" and
they will be looking to put it right against league leaders Arsenal.
He said: "Our performance was a bit below-par and that's going to happen
every now and then. I think we were more disappointed that we didn't play
that well or create any real chances for ourselves after scoring so freely
and being on top of our game over the last few weeks.
"But sometimes you need a game like this to get you on track again. When you
are winning and playing well, you think it will just go on. But sometimes
there will be a game when you have to change the way you have been doing
things and it was like that at Charlton."
The lack of goals last time out was not for the want of trying with both
Bondz N'Gala and Stanislas going close in the first half, before Oliver
Lee's header hit the post. Charlton went ahead ten minutes after the
interval through Danny Uchechi and were then able to hang on.
Rather than dwell on the defeat, Carr quickly turned his players' attentions
to the next capital contest. "Arsenal are a good side and at the top of the
league, but we gave them a good run-in last season and I am looking for the
boys to raise their game against them," he said. "But as I have said, we
have been in very good form ourselves of late and there's no reason why we
can't get back to that."
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Portsmouth tickets available - WHUFC
25/10/2007 11:31
A small number of tickets have been made available for the previously
sold-out fixture on Saturday evening at Portsmouth.
Tickets for the 5.15pm Premier League game at Fratton Park are £34 for
adults, £25 for seniors and £18 for Under-16s. Please contact the ticket
office on 0870 112 2700 (option 3) for bookings or further information.
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Quashie back - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 23rd October 2007
By: Matthew O'Greel
Midfielder Nigel Quashie made a return to action tonight after some six
months on the sidelines. Quashie - who has made just a handful of
appearances for the Hammers since a £1.7m switch from WBA last January -
played a full 90 minutes for the reserves, who drew 1-1 with Fulham at
Motspur Park. West Ham's goal on the night was scored by winger Kyel Reid,
cancelling out Bradley Hudson-Odoi's first-half injury time opener.
Stiffs boss Kevin Keen told whufc.com: "I think a draw was a fair result.
They had the first half and we had the second, but I was pleased with our
attitude and performance, from both senior and younger players."
West Ham United: Stech, Pantsil, Widdowson, Tomkins, Spector, Quashie, Reid,
Stokes (Hales 45), Collison, Jeffrey, Hines.
Subs not used: Edgar, Miller, Fitzgerald, Stanislas, Spence.
Fulham: Etheridge, Cumber (Thompson 30), Leijer, Omozusi, Ashton,
Hudson-Odoi, Brown, Milsom, Timlin, Kuqi (Uwezu 62), Ehui.
Referee: J.Farries.
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Hammers starlet tipped to make it - Daily Mail
Last updated at 12:21pm on 25th October 2007
West Ham's reserve team coach Kevin Keen is tipping Kyel Reid to break into
the first team. The winger scored in the second string's 1-1 draw at Fulham
and Keen said: "He's going well, in both training and playing consistently,
and is on the fringes of the first-team squad."
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Fulham plan bid for West Ham's Zamora
tribalfooball.com - October 25, 2007
Fulham are planning a £4 million bid for West Ham striker Bobby Zamora. The
Mirror says Zamora, 26, only signed a new long-term contract at West Ham a
year ago tying him to his local team until 2011. But the ace faces a fight
to win his place back when he returns from a knee injury. Zamora's situation
has alerted Sanchez who rates the former Brighton star highly and is
desperate for more firepower. Fulham have scored just 12 goals in ten league
games this term and failed to net in their last three.
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New Injury Set-Back For West Ham's Parker - goal.com
West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker has suffered another set-back in his
bid to recover from a knee injury. West Ham's former Newcastle captain
Scott Parker was due to return from a knee injury against Fulham reserves on
Tuesday night but was forced to pull out and is now expected to be out for
another two weeks. Parker, 27, has been plagued by injury since arriving at
the Boleyn Ground from Newcastle in a big-money summer transfer. He has
played just two games for the Hammers and has been plagued by the damage to
his knee ligament, sustained during a pre-season friendly against Lazio.
Better news for West Ham manager Alan Curbishley was the return of Scotland
midfielder Nigel Quashie in Tuesday's reserve team match. Quashie had been
out since March with ankle and foot injuries, but he came through the game
without a problem.
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Toffees are too hard for West Ham Ladies - Ilford Recorder
25 October 2007
FA Tesco Women's League Cup
West Ham United 1 Everton 4
West Ham manager Tony Marshall went into this second round tie against a
side who had just returned from UEFA Cup duty asking how far his Hammers
side would have to progress before making it into the top flight? His answer
was that apart from a spell of three goals in 13 minutes just before the
interval, this young West Ham team know what they have to do. England
international Fara Williams netted on 31 and 44 minutes, either side of an
Amy Kane strike. Jody Handley added a fourth midway through the second half
but the Hammers did force a consolation in the closing stages thanks to Katy
Ling's piledriver. The Hammers are back to league action this weekend, when
they entertain Crystal Palace at Harlow Town FC.
West Ham: Smith, Roache (Gilmoor 45), Barling, Stetford (Rogers 60), Coombs,
Morgan, Hoy, Pittuck, Ling, Grafton, Crinean (Harrison 60). Subs: Duxbury,
Munroe.
FA Premier Women's
Reserve League
Portsmouth 3 West Ham United 0
The Hammers second string's winning streak came to an end on the south coast
against a powerful Portsmouth side in a top-of-the-table clash. West Ham
clung on bravely in the first half with keeper Chloe Coombs tipping a long
range shot on to the bar and Jay Blackie making several vital tackles in
midfield. The breakthrough came on 30 minutes when Pompey netted from close
range. After the interval, the hosts created plenty of chances and finally
scored from one of their many corners, despite the best efforts of Kerry
Scott and Charmaigne Benjamin. It was not all completely one-way traffic as
Vicky King hit the post, while Chelsea Fowler went close from distance. The
Hammers were finally killed off when Pompey netted in injury time though.
Manager Steve Coombs said: "We missed a couple of players today but we have
a few home games coming up which we are looking forward to.
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Premier League Rumour Mill: Reading and Fulham chase Hammers forward - DailY
Mail
Last updated at 10:08am on 25th October 2007
Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed wants to go shopping in the January sales
and West Ham striker Bobby Zamora is top of his list. The Harrods owner will
hand £4million to Cottagers manager Lawrie Sanchez in an attempt to bring
the former Spurs and Brighton striker along the District Line from Upton
Park. Zamora has been injured this season but is likely to fall behind Craig
Bellamy and Dean Ashton when the Hammers have a fully fit first-team to
chose from.
Reading are also monitoring developments and may launch a counter offer to
take him to the Madejski Stadium.
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West Ham's Solano: Gordon goal is mine
tribalfootball.com - October 24, 2007
West Ham midfielder Nobby Solano is claiming his 'goal' scored against
Sunderland last weekend. Solano insists he will write to Premier League
chiefs to try to claim West Ham's second goal in their 3-1 victory over
Sunderland on Sunday.
The effort went down as a Craig Gordon own goal after Solano's shot hit the
post and went in off the unfortunate goalkeeper.
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Newcastle boss Allardyce taking West Ham's Neill to court
tribalfootball.com - October 24, 2007
Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce is suing West Ham defender Lucas
Neill and his agent Peter Harrison for £645,000 in a dispute over a land
deal. Allardyce and Harrison were implicated last year in the BBC Panorama
investigation into football corruption, when Harrison claimed payments to
Allardyce's son Craig could smooth the transfer of players to the Reebok,
says the Daily Mail. Allardyce denies any wrongdoing.
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Academy boys return to earth - Newham Recorder
24 October 2007
Charlton 1 West Ham United 0
AFTER five wins in their last six games, including thrashings of Cardiff
(6-0), Chelsea (4-1) and Millwall (7-3), West Ham's Academy team came down
to earth with a bump with defeat at Charlton. Oliver Lee and Bondz N'Gala
came closest for West Ham, but for much of the match they found themselves
under the cosh against a powerful Charlton outfit and Czech youngster Marek
Stech had to be at his best to keep them at bay, especially in the first
half. He could do nothing about Danny Uchecki's second half winner however,
and West Ham will look to bounce back this Saturday at 11am when they
entertain Arsenal at Little Heath.
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Dailly stays at the Saints - Newham Recorder
24 October 2007
WEST HAM defender Christian Dailly has extended his loan spell at
Southampton for a second month. Dailly, who celebrated his 34th birthday on
Tuesday has played five games for the Saints, helping them to win three of
them.
Manager George Burley said: "We brought him in for a month as we had other
players coming back from injury, but we have lost more players and we are
short of numbers.
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Peru dares wins! - Newham Recorder
24 October 2007
THE only contribution that Nolberto Solano had made at West Ham before
Sunday's game was the sound of his trumpet serenading the staff down at the
Chadwell Heath training ground, writes DAVE EVANS. Signed on a free transfer
from Newcastle on deadline day almost two months ago, he quickly became the
forgotten man of West Ham, having apparently disappeared to darkest Peru.
However, that all changed at Upton Park against Sunderland as with 17
minutes to go, both Solano and Luis Boa Morte came off the bench to turn the
game in the Hammers' favour.
Considering Solano had spent the previous week playing World Cup qualifying
games with Peru against Paraguay in Lima and Chile in Santiago, it was a
miracle that he was ready to step out for his West Ham debut. "He has been
at the club for five weeks, but four of those have been international
breaks, so he has only trained five times for us," revealed West Ham manager
Alan Curbishley, who took a gamble on replacing local hero Mark Noble with
Solano.
"He arrived back in the country on Saturday morning from Chile, and I just
felt that he would be better used as a sub."
He was. Within five minutes of his arrival he had almost put in Craig
Bellamy, before he met Boa Morte's low cross to rifle a shot against the
post and then watch with glee as it rebounded off the woodwork, hit Craig
Gordon and went in.
The pint-sized Peruvian is looking to claim the goal, though his chances of
being successful seem as likely as Frank Lampard winning a popularity prize
at Upton Park. "I'm going to try and claim the goal," he said
optimistically. "Perhaps if the ball hadn't have hit the keeper it would
have come back to me anyway! "If Rio Ferdinand is claiming his goal
yesterday then I will be claiming mine," said the South American who scored
48 goals in his two spells with Newcastle United. "The most important thing
is that we won and I don't care if they give it to me or not. It was very
sweet to score my first goal, especially as a former Newcastle player
against Sunderland. "I've already had a few texts from some friends in
Newcastle and they're very happy."
So was Solano wondering when he was finally going to get a chance to show
the West Ham fans what he can do?
"It's been frustrating, but we have a big squad and I just had to wait for
my chance," he explained. "I've just played two games with Peru and I didn't
realise I would be involved today. "It was a 13-hour flight and they're six
hours ahead so I'm a little tired, but I'm fine. I want to be involved, I've
been waiting for my chance, but now I've got an opportunity and I'm going to
get more."
Solano is not exactly a stranger to a lot of the West Ham players. There is
a whole herd of former black and white striped players at Upton Park these
days and Solano feels that could work to his advantage. "There are a lot of
familiar faces here with Craig Bellamy, Scotty Parker, Lee Bowyer and Kieron
Dyer, so I'm very pleased to come here and try and help the club move
forward into the top eight," he said. "We've got a big challenge this year,
it's a big club and we just want to win as many games as we can."
Solano quickly built-up an understanding with Bellamy on Saturday and it is
that sort of teamwork and speed of thought that could undo Portsmouth's
defence on Saturday at Fratton Park. "It will be tough at Portsmouth, but
all Premier League games are tough," he said. "But if we prepare properly
and are positive then we can win. "Today we were quite lucky because we
didn't create many chances, so if we go there and create chances and defend
better, then we can do well."
Many West Ham fans had doubts about the little winger when he signed for the
Hammers. At 32 he is no spring chicken, but he has the experience of being
in English football since 1998 when Kenny Dalglish bought him for the
Geordie boys just two weeks before he was given the sack. Curbishley has
already avoided that potential disaster and he knows exactly what sort of
player he has brought to Upton Park. "The reason I brought him in is because
of what he did today. He has a great first touch, he brings people into the
game and he calmed us down," said Curbishley,
What happens when Freddie Ljungberg is fit again remains to be seen, not to
mention Dyer and Julien Faubert, but on this performance, it seems that West
Ham have another experienced player who could help them achieve their
ambitions for this season.
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Did Noble eat all the pies? - Newham Recorder
24 October 2007
MARK NOBLE'S early substitution from Sunday's game against Sunderland
brought with it the wrath of many West Ham fans, but manager Alan Curbishley
he quick to make light of the situation. In the build-up to the clash, Sky
TV took the 20-year-old Canning Town boy out to a traditional East End pie
and mash shop to sample the local delicacy.
It was a little light-hearted piece, but though he might have expected to
take some stick from his team-mates for doing it, he was perhaps not
expecting his manager to chime in as well. "One or two of the players looked
tired out there today," said Curbishley. "I see that Mark Noble had pie and
mash before the game; perhaps he had two or three pies I don't know, because
he looked a bit leggy out there!"
He may have been hiding behind a little humour, but he was not wrong in his
assessment of the midfielder, who has starred so often in his short time in
the Hammers' first team. He looked half a yard slower than he would normally
be, while he gave the ball straight to Sunderland players in dangerous
positions, twice in a matter of four minutes. He still had his good moments
though. His free kick picked out an unmarked Lee Bowyer at the far post for
what should have been West Ham's second goal, while he also managed to clear
Dickson Etuhu's header from a corner off the line.
The player won't have been happy with his overall performance on the day
though, and despite the reaction of many of the fans, in the cold light of
day, they probably wouldn't have been either.
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Green happy at the Hammers - Newham Recorder
24 October 2007
ALAN CURBISHLEY and Rob Green apparently know why the West Ham goalkeeper is
not in the England squad. However, they are not saying anything and
therefore the rest of the country - bar Steve McClaren - is still in the
dark on the saga. Not that it matters to Green, who continued his fine form
by making a stunning save from Grant Leadbitter on Sunday to help West Ham
overcome Sunderland. "The lads who are in the England squad are there on
their own merits and if I don't get picked then I won't lose any sleep over
it," he said, showing his goalkeeper's union card. "I'm very happy playing
for West Ham and this is motivation enough for me." Manager Curbishley
heaped praise on Green for his magnificent save from Leadbitter, but again
the player himself was staying cool about it. "It is what you train for," he
said modestly. "He hit it well and probably wouldn't want to hit it any
better, but thankfully I managed to get a couple of fingers on it and push
it on to the post." Green had been linked with a move to Arsenal, but the
27-year-old is happy to be at Upton Park. It's fantastic to play here," he
said. "It is a passionate crowd. They will tell you what they think, one way
or another, and you would rather it be like that." There is less than a
month before England's friendly in Austria on November 16, and then the big
clash with Croatia at Wembley on November 21, and if Green is not in the
squad for those games, then maybe he never will be. Is there something we
don't know?
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Solano: Gordon's not having that goal, it's mine - Daily Mail
Last updated at 13:20pm on 24th October 2007
Nolberto Solano insists he will write to Premier League chiefs to try to
claim West Ham's second goal in their 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Sunday.
The effort went down as a Craig Gordon own goal after Solano's shot hit the
post and went in off the unfortunate goalkeeper.
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West Ham begins search for technical director - eubiz.net
England - 24 October, 2007
English West Ham will open up the position of technical director, looking
for someone who will take care off all non-first-team business. The club has
sought out opinions from various experts on the matter, and is searching for
someone with contacts throughout the continent. The new position will not be
responsible for transfers, but is expected to play a major role in the
development of the youth team. There is speculation that West Ham will seek
out a foreigner for the role.
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Hammers boosted by midfielder's reserve comeback - Daily Mail
Last updated at 13:29pm on 24th October 2007
Kyel Reid scored for the reserves in their 1-1 draw at Fulham last night.
Midfielder Nigel Quashie (below) made his first appearance since injuring
his ankle in March. Defenders John Pantsil and Jonathan Spector also lined
up in a young Hammers' second string.
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Solano claiming Hammers strike - TeamTalk
Nolberto Solano will try to claim West Ham's second goal in their 3-1 win
over Sunderland - even though it has been recorded as an own goal. The Peru
international, a free transfer from Newcastle, came off the substitutes
bench to fire a shot which hit a post and then bounced back off Black Cats
keeper Craig Gordon before rolling into the net for a 2-1 West Ham lead. It
seems unlikely the Premier League goals panel will award it to Solano but he
says: "I'm going to try to claim it." He told the club's official website:
"Perhaps if the ball had not hit the goalkeeper it would have come back to
me anyway. "But the most important thing is that we won and I don't care if
they give it to me or not. It will always feel very sweet to score my first
goal, especially as a former Newcastle player against Sunderland. "I've
already had a few text messages from some friends in Newcastle and they are
very happy. We're very pleased with the three points. I haven't been
involved with the team until now but I got an opportunity and I'm delighted
we got the win after losing tree in a row."
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