29/10/2007 10:09
Alan Curbishley has urged Carlton Cole to "grab the opportunity" at Coventry
City on Tuesday and fire West Ham United into the Carling Cup
quarter-finals. The manager is hoping the striker can continue to impress as
he leads the line in the absence of Dean Ashton (knee), Bobby Zamora (knee),
Craig Bellamy (abdominal strain) and the cup-tied Henri Camara. Cole
performed notably in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Portsmouth, especially as he was
up against two experienced central defenders in Sol Campbell and Sylvain
Distin.
"Carlton was excellent at Portsmouth and I'd like to think that he won over
a few more people - including the West Ham fans - who again saw a little bit
more of him," suggested the Boleyn Ground boss who saw Cole nearly make it
two goals in two league games when he hit the crossbar midway through the
second half. "We know what he's got in his locker and, hopefully, he can
carry on.
"When I was at Charlton Athletic he had a successful loan spell with us and
he should never have left. At the time, we were the right club for Carlton
Cole but he then went to Aston Villa, where he got a bit lost before coming
back to Chelsea, where the same thing happened to him once again.
"When I arrived at West Ham United, I told him that he needed to get fitter
because he hadn't been playing. Since then, we've been waiting patiently and
after seeing it all become a bit mix and match up front, he's finally got
his opportunity because of the injury situation. He's now got to go and grab
it.
"Carlton's had it a bit tough in the past couple of seasons and he hasn't
had a chance to establish himself but, recently, he's been coming on and
getting chances. He's got to take strength from that because he's got a lot
more to offer than just being a target man.
"We don't seem to be very lucky at the moment as far as Ashton, Zamora and
Bellamy are concerned and, at Coventry, Carlton will probably be our only
available striker.
"Craig's injury doesn't appear to be too bad but there's something's still
niggling him when he's running. Although he had a recent groin operation,
it's an abdominal strain that hasn't really gone away since the summer but,
hopefully, we can get it sorted out quickly.
"Alongside Scott Parker, Ashton is up and running again and they're probably
the two players who are closest to coming back but the test will come when
Deano starts kicking a football. I'm so pleased that we've kept a big squad
together," revealed Curbishley. "It's really being tested right now because
the treatment room is quite full at the moment.
"Our injury situation will dictate how we have to play our next few games
and things might not be too cohesive but I'm pleased with the players, who
have come into the side and got results from tough games against Sunderland
and Portsmouth. Those squad players are going out there and doing the
business for us and long may that continue."
At Portsmouth, while Cole hit the bar, Nolberto Solano also twice had headed
chances to win it. "It would've been nice if Nobby Solano had nicked one of
those headers that came his way but it just wasn't to be," concluded
Curbishley, who will also be without his cup-tied Peruvian at the Ricoh
Arena on Tuesday.
"We're taking a lot of fans to Coventry City for the Carling Cup and we're
going to treat the tie with the importance it deserves. We're going for it
because we want to get through to the next round."
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More tickets for Bolton - WHUFC
29/10/2007 12:07
A number of tickets have become available for Sunday's Premier League home
match against Bolton Wanderers.
The tickets for the 4 November fixture are available to the general public
from the ticket office either in person or on 0870 112 2700 (option 1 or 3).
A number of these returned tickets can also be purchased online by clicking
here.
With the home team having taken four points from their last two league
fixtures, confidence is sure to be high at the Boleyn Ground. For the
visitors, the newly-appointed Gary Megson will be bringing his 19th-placed
Bolton side, eight points and eight places behind the Hammers, for the first
away match since his appointment.
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Captain wants the 'Wembley buzz' - WHUFC
Lucas Neill is looking forward to facing the cup challenge of Coventry
29.10.2007
Lucas Neill is ready to lead West Ham United into the quarter-finals of the
Carling Cup at Coventry City on Tuesday night. The club captain, writing in
his weekly blog on whufc.com, is up for another "important away game",
having played his part in the 0-0 league draw at high-flying Portsmouth on
Saturday. Neill was cup-tied when his former team Blackburn Rovers won the
League Cup in 2002 - extra incentive for him to dream of leading the team
out at the rebuilt Wembley.
"We are all looking forward to that one," wrote Neill about the trip to the
Ricoh Arena, which like the weekend's game on the south coast will be
broadcast live on television. He added: "It has been chosen for Sky coverage
because they will be hoping for an upset but we aim to spoil their party and
Coventry's and put ourselves in that hat for the last eight and start to
create the Wembley buzz."
Should West Ham United overcome their Midlands rivals, they will go into
Saturday lunchtime's draw for the quarter-finals, to be played the week
commencing 3 December. The semi-finals then follow in January before the
final is played on Sunday 24 February. To get to the fourth round, the club
won 2-1 at Bristol Rovers in the second round, before a 1-0 home victory
against Plymouth Argyle.
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Cole out to 'keep on going' - WHUFC
A rejuvenated Carlton Cole is enjoying leading the West Ham United attack
29.10.2007
Carlton Cole is ready for a "massive game" on Tuesday as West Ham United go
to Coventry City with a place in the last eight of the Carling Cup up for
grabs.
Having scored his first goal of the campaign in the 3-1 win against
Sunderland on 21 October, the hard-working striker then led the line to
great effect against Portsmouth on Saturday - stretching the home defence
and linking up well.
Although it can be a difficult task to operate in isolation, Cole was just
happy to have the chance to prove himself in the West Ham United attack. "I
have played that system before for England and Chelsea so I knew what to
expect," he said. "It asked a lot of me to play up front against Sol
[Campbell] and [Sylvain] Distin.
"They are two great powerful centre-backs in the game and I am pleased I got
through it," Cole added. He nearly did more than that, working an excellent
opening in the 64th minute before sending a fierce shot crashing against the
Portsmouth crossbar. "I think I was a bit unlucky not to notch but that's
how the game goes," said Cole.
Such sentiments could be echoed by Nolberto Solano. The versatile
midfielder, on his first start for the club, twice eluded his markers to
ghost into the box only to then miss with headed opportunities. Cole had no
doubts his new team-mate would make them count in future. "Nobby has just
come into the side, he is going to get the goals and create anyway. We are
just happy we got a result and the goals will come."
Hammers fans will have every hope Cole can be the one to supply the end
product when West Ham United arrive in Coventry on Tuesday night. It was
after a two-goal show in the competition for Chelsea against Gillingham on 6
November 2002 that former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri made his claim
that he had "never coached a young player" like him.
Cole turns 24 on 12 November but he still has plenty of time to live up to
the early acclaim that also saw him win 19 caps for England Under-21s. A
goal or two against Coventry would be a step in the right direction. "That
is going to be a massive game for us," he said. "That could get us to the
quarter-finals. We just want to keep on going and try and get the results
and hopefully everything will drop in favour for us."
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Dowie fired up for 'fantastic game' - WHUFC
Coventry City manager Iain Dowie has spoken of his West Ham United memories
29.10.2007
Coventry City manager Iain Dowie is particularly looking forward to the
visit of West Ham United in Tuesday night's Carling Cup tie.
The Championship club's manager had two spells as a player at the Boleyn
Ground, having first scored four times in 12 appearances in 1991 before
playing a further 69 times, with nine goals, between 1995 and 1998. A fan
since childhood, Dowie revealed to Coventry's official website that he will
never lose his affection for West Ham United.
"I have very fond memories of them as a fan and as a player and I think it
is destined to be a fantastic game," said Dowie, who could of course call
upon another former Hammer in defender Elliott Ward. "I used to watch the
games from the North Bank and I am looking forward to pitting my wits
against them as a manager."
Dowie has, of course, come up against his boyhood club before as a manager,
most notably when he led Crystal Palace to a 1-0 victory in the 2003/04
Championship play-off final and promotion at the club's expense. However,
visiting fans can perhaps point to a more recent fixture as a good omen.
Tony Carr's youth team have already played at the Sky Blues this season, and
goals from the highly-rated Jack Jeffrey and Freddie Sears ensured a 2-0
away victory in the Midlands on 15 September. A similar result in Tuesday
night fourth-round fixture would no doubt go down well with the 4,000-plus
travelling supporters
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Faubert finding his way back - WHUFC
Head physiotherapist George Cooper has updated on the progress of Julien
Faubert
29.10.2007
Summer signing Julien Faubert is continuing to make solid progress as he
bids to recover from an achilles injury suffered in pre-season.
The French international winger was hurt in the 1-0 friendly defeat by Sigma
Olomouc on 17 July during the club's pre-season tour of Austria. It came
little more than a fortnight after he had moved to the Boleyn Ground from
Bordeaux in his homeland.
George Cooper, the club's head physiotherapist, today updated the latest
news regarding Faubert's condition. He said: "Over the last couple of weeks,
Julien has been jogging in a pool and the water has been getting shallower
and shallower so he can put more weight on it.
"That went really well so, as scheduled, he is now running on land which
will last six weeks." He added that the next step would be to focus on
special movements designed to develop muscular power. "The running will
intensify over that period and he will do jumping, plyometric movements to
strengthen his achilles. If that goes well, he will then be reintegrated
back into training."
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Curbishley admits injury woes - SSN
Hammers boss 'frustrated' by Bellamy blow
By Peter Fraser Last updated: 29th October 2007
West Ham manager Alan Curbishley has admitted his frustration with the
ongoing injury problems of Craig Bellamy. The striker came off at half-time
during West Ham's 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on Saturday after suffering a
recurrence of his abdominal injury. Bellamy recently underwent surgery on
the injury in a bid to resolve the problem, but the Welshman is now a doubt
for the Hammers' Carling Cup tie with Coventry on Tuesday. Curbishley has
admitted his annoyance at the repetitive nature of the injury, but says
Bellamy still has a chance of facing Coventry at the Ricoh Arena. "The
injury is difficult because he could come in, feel a lot better and want to
train," Curbishley told Sky Sports News. "It's an abdominal strain which, if
it flares up, feels quite uncomfortable like it did at the weekend. "It is
something that we have got to try and sort out because it is as frustrating
for him as it is for us. "There is obviously a problem there but not enough
for him, and for us, to have a complete overhaul."
Curbishley has also reiterated his irritation at the continuing injury woes
of his Hammers squad, which will see him travel to Coventry without the
likes of Kieron Dyer and Dean Ashton. "There is too much stop start for a
lot of the players," Curbishley added. "They are injured, they are coming
back and then they get injured again. There is no continuity. "But, we can
put a side out and we will go to Coventry on Tuesday and give it a go."
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Upson: Green's the man - SSN
West Ham goalkeeper backed for England call
By Peter Fraser Last updated: 29th October 2007
Matthew Upson has backed his West Ham colleague Robert Green to solve
England's goalkeeping woes. Upson believes Green, who saved a last minute
penalty in West Ham's 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on Saturday, is the man to
take over England's No.1 shirt for the vital Euro 2008 qualifier against
Croatia on 21st November. Current England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has
received heavy criticism following a string of shaky performances and
Hammers centre-back Upson believes Green now deserves his chance. Green also
produced a number of other fine saves at Fratton Park to keep Pompey at bay
and, following solid form all season, Upson believes England manager Steve
McClaren would be making a mistake to snub his team-mate. The West Ham
shot-stopper, who has been named in 24 England squads, earned his only cap
to date against Colombia in the 2005 tour of the USA and Upson believes the
time is now right to add to that tally. "He has been in awesome form all
season, strong and commanding" Upson told the Daily Star. "He has been
outstanding and if he keeps going like that I can't see how England can
overlook him. "I can't think why you would want to keep him out but he has
been in or around England a long time and maybe the case is that you start
to be recognised as just a squad member and not a serious contender. "That's
the danger but I think he is now stating a case to play. If you're in enough
squads and never actually playing you get pigeon-holed as a squad member.
"People ask: 'Is he good enough to step into the team?' He has been in a lot
of squads but has a low number of caps."
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Cole: it hurts - KUMB
Filed: Monday, 29th October 2007
By: Matthew O'Greel
Carlton Cole has admitted that fans' criticism of his recent performances
has affected his game. The 24-year-old striker scored his first goal of the
season against Sunderland last weekend, yet still found himself the target
of some ferocious abuse from some sections of the Boleyn Ground crowd. But
after another solid performance against Portsmouth at the weekend - a game
in which many hailed him as man of the match - he hopes that he is finally
turning the corner. "The West Ham fans have got on my back," he said. "But I
hope my relationship with them fans is on the upturn. "They have been on my
back and I got booed a lot, which hurts. But it's in my hands to try to
change them and get them on my side. "The fans are passionate about this
club, and if they don't want me in their colours they will always boo me.
But I will always give my best for my team-mates and my manager."
Cole has now turned to sports psychologist Daniel Abrahams in an attempt to
regain the form which had him touted as one of England's brightest young
talents when he burst onto the scene five years ago as a fresh-faced
teenager. "He is with me every day," said Cole. "He talks to me, he does a
lot. He addresses mental things you don't think about as a footballer.
"Some people have it naturally, some don't."
The striker - like winger Matthew Etherington - also revealed that he
thought he would be one of the names sacrificed during the summer as Alan
Curbishley and Eggert Magnusson went on a spending spree. "I had a long
think about my future in the summer," he added. "I didn't know if I was
coming or going, especially with the new money and new people coming in.
"But my friends and family told me to stick it out."
Cole is certain to start again tomorrow night at Coventry as Alan Curbishley
is without Dean Ashton, Bobby Zamora, Craig Bellamy (all injured) and Henri
Camara (cup-tied). Luis Boa Morte is likely to partner him in attack
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Silence is golden? - KUMB
Filed: Monday, 29th October 2007
By: Gordon Thrower
When you get home from the Bolton match on 4 November there will be
something different about KUMB.com's coverage of the match.
There'll still be match reports from East Stand Martin and (when I get back
from study leave) my own less accomplished efforts will also appear. However
what will be missing will be our coverage of the post match press
conference.
We've had access to the managers post-match for about four years now. We
were there when then QPR boss Ian Holloway went into a 20 minute ramble
about what a great game football was. We were there when a distinguished
journalist who ought to have known better cheesed off Alan Curbishley enough
for the Hammers boss to walk out after less than a minute. We even turned up
when Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't be bothered to. Twice.
But no more.
When we popped in to pick up a team sheet prior to the Sunderland game I was
told that we would not be welcome after the match any longer. When I asked
why no reason was given but I was told that the club's press officer,
Miranda Nagalingam, had issued an order that we were no longer to be allowed
in and that the order should have been effective from the start of the
season.
You may wonder what heinous crime we had committed to have been summarily
dismissed in this manner. I know I did. So we asked Miranda. We were given a
variety of reasons, none of which were particularly convincing.
Firstly we were told that The Premier League had issued an order banning
non-accredited journalists from attending press conferences. This at least
is partly true. The PL has indeed issued an edict that suggests press
coverage of matches should be restricted to those with accreditation. This
was alluded to in a spectacularly poor article written for the ESPN
Soccernet website by someone hiding behind the pseudonym "The Insider" who
bemoaned the fact that the press-box was full of "dozens of free-loading
tourists".
Well I'll admit I have availed myself of the odd sandwich if there were any
left over, and the very wonderful Milly has always made sure there's been a
warming cuppa waiting for me on a cold day. However, I don't go into the
press box. Never have. Furthermore, I suspect that having laid out the
better part of £800 for my season ticket, I may have paid a little bit more
to get into the match than "The Insider" which hardly qualifies me for
"freeloader" status!
However, our contact at the PL said the decision should ultimately rest with
the club and, when we put this to Miranda, she admitted that the PL's edict
had little to do with her decision.
It was then suggested that I had been told at the start of the season that
we'd no longer be welcome and that I'd turned up every week anyway. This was
just nonsense. The club has contact details for both me and the editor and
Miranda even has my work email address but, until the Sunderland match,
nobody had said a word. Indeed, it's a little strange that, if that had been
the case, Miranda hadn't seen fit to say anything to me at any of the 5
conferences that she'd seen me turn up for this season.
The next excuse given was that there had been complaints from the Sunday
papers that we'd been putting the press conference transcripts up on the
site straight after the match on a Saturday night before they'd had a chance
to go into print. Well I'll have to plead guilty to that one (though by the
time I'd finished typing up Holloway's ramblings it must have been nearly
Tuesday!).
In my defence I would say that I rather foolishly thought that that was the
whole point of websites – that news appears instantaneously. Do the Sunday
papers issue similar complaints to www.bbc.co.uk? Are we that much of a
threat to their circulation?
Of course we did score heavily over the papers in one respect. It was our
policy to publish the managers' comments in full – the only edits were
normally grammatical, or, in the case of away managers, we might omit team
news that would be of little interest to Hammers. As far as I'm aware we
were the only place that would cover the conferences in such detail - even
the official site usually only gives edited highlights.
This is in stark contrast to the version you read in your Sundays, where
managers' comments are often selectively quoted to make a more sensational
read. Indeed I've lost count of the number of times I've pointed people on
this site to the full transcript of a conference with the words "what he
actually said was……" You'd think the club would be grateful wouldn't you?
Apparently not.
It seems a shame, that in a year when the new owners have done a lot to
improve relations and communications between the club and the fans, it has
now taken what many might consider to be a retrograde step.
Still on the bright side it'll give me an extra hour in the pub post match
and the long hours of typing on a Saturday night will be a thing of the
past.
Just don't tell 'er indoors!
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A View from The Ricoh - A Coventry fans view - West Ham Online
Match Reporter - Mon Oct 29 2007
What do you expect from Coventry this season?
The seasons following city have taught me never to expect anything from
Coventry. This season started full of optimism - on the verge of a takeover
to get us back in the black, finally got the right manager in place, he got
us playing good committed football, the players are fitter than I've ever
seen (and fitter than most teams in this league), we've got the nucleus of a
half decent squad for this league and we started brightly being up there for
the first few weeks and hammering Man Utd at Old Trafford. Then its slowly
ground to a halt in the last few weeks, takeover hit problems, transfer
embargo, on the verge of administration, talk of Dowie leaving, MD and
chairman "resigned", bids coming in for our players and basically up shit
creek without a paddle unless we find an investor very soon. At the start of
the season I expected/wanted a top half finish, right now I'd be happy to
just have a club come May.
Who have been your star men this season?
Our number 12 has without doubt been the star of the season so far. Also
Michael Mifsud has scored some important goals for us and can be a handful
for slower defenders. And Julian Gray who's been out for a few weeks
(coinciding with our poor form) has added a new dimension to our side, its
nice to have an out and our winger for a change. Stephen Hughes is a
completely different player too, he's been awful for the past couple of
seasons and has probably been our most consistent performer so far. On the
non-playing side our performance manager John Harbin has worked wonders with
the squad's fitness, we've scored 7 goals in the last ten minutes so far and
a lot of these have been down to the fact we can ware teams down and keep
going at them for 90mins.
Who do you think shouldn't be in your starting 11?
Tough question, on their day our entire squad has the ability to beat the
best in this league but there are a few who put in one decent performance
every 5-10 games but its unfair to single them out.
How did you rate your performances so far this season?
As I said before its typical City, we've been shit for years now and while
this season promised a lot at the start we've slipped back into the old
routine of being shit, not helped by the problems off the field.
Has Ian Dowie spent well?
Yes probably, he didn't get much and we spent most of the summer waiting for
the elusive takeover to go through so we could have a few million to splash
out on a couple of key players. That obviously hasn't come. Quite a few of
the new arrivals were free transfers so I guess they don't count, of the two
big money deals (that we haven't paid for yet) Leon Best still has a lot to
prove, he's not been great so far but has also been out injured a fair bit.
Gary Borrowdale from Palace has been solid but unspectacular, but does look
a half decent prospect for the future given his age.
Speaking of Dowie, how's our old leg-end getting on?
Overall he's doing a fantastic job under very difficult circumstances, and
he's a genuinely nice bloke to boot (this part maybe retracted if he leaves
us for Leicester).
How do you rate your new ground and do you miss Highfield Road?
The Ricoh is one of the best new grounds in this league in my opinion.
However I'm not a big fan of soulless flat pack stadiums on the edge on
town, they just encapsulate all that's wrong with modern football. It will
never be as good as Highfield Road (even though Highfield Road was a bit of
a dump in all honesty) and I still miss the old place a lot. Also we've had
problems with the seating arrangements so we've not really got a singing
section, which gives the place hardly any atmosphere at all.
What's your view on the Carlos Tevez affair?
A lot of my family are from the blue half of Sheffield so anything that
causes the dirty blunts suffering is widely applauded by me.
How do you think West Ham will do this season?
Mid-table obscurity, probably finishing about 12th. You've made a few good
signings but I still wouldn't be wholly convinced by Curbishley if I was
you. Also in the purchase of Bellend you've got a poisoned apple, while he
possesses a great talent (probably your best player on paper) you just know
that at some point he's going to revert to his usual tricks and cause more
trouble than he's worth.
What West Ham players worry you most?
To be honest it looks like you're better players are out, Bellend would have
scored without doubt, and I've always like Ashton and Zamora. Whilst not a
worry, Rob Green is one of my favourite keepers and I remember him keeping
us out on more than one occasion.
How do you view West Ham fans?
In general I've always liked West Ham as a club. Plus in the few away days
I've had at Upton Park it's always been a friendly enough place to have a
few beers before and after the game (that's what we base most of our
opinions of other fans on).
Any recommendations for those travelling up to Coventry on Tuesday?
The Ricoh is a pain in the arse to get to. If you're coming by train early
it might be worth just getting a few beers in the city centre and then
getting a taxi up to the game which will probably cost no more than a
tenner. Also there's a permit holders only parking zone of nearly 2miles
round the ground and being a big match the wardens will be out in force, so
I wouldn't risk parking on the street.
What are you favourite flavour crisps (site joke)?
Ready salted McCoys.
Prediction?
Who knows! If we're up for it we could give you a decent game, with all your
injuries there's no one in your side that really stands out as a threat, you
look particularly weak at the back. That said, you're the Premiership side
and really should beat us quite comfortably. I'll optimistically go 1-1 and
we either nick it in injury time or it goes to penalties.
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DOWIE CAN'T WAIT FOR HAMMERS CLASH - Sporting Life
By Sean Taylor, PA Sport
Iain Dowie is looking forward with relish to Coventry's Carling Cup
fourth-round tie against West Ham - the club he supported as a boy. The Sky
Blues boss has fond memories of the Hammers having also spent four years as
a player with the London side. Dowie remembers seeing West Ham lose to
Liverpool in the League Cup final in 1981. Incidentally, the Hammers beat
Coventry at the semi-final stage that year. "West Ham were my team as a kid
when I used to go and stand on the North Bank," said Dowie. "I was very
lucky to play for the team I supported as a boy and I have some great
memories there. "I remember them losing in the final of this competition
some years ago in a replay against Liverpool when they had the likes of
Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking and Alvin Martin. "It has always been a
great club with a great tradition and they are a well-supported club. But
having said all that, of course, I will want to beat them."
Coventry, who have yet to concede a goal in the competition, humbled Premier
League champions Manchester United in the previous round. Dowie is looking
for another monumental effort from his players when the Hammers visit the
Ricoh Arena on Tuesday night but he insists that the fans also have a part
to play. "The win at Old Trafford required enormous amounts of energy and
effort to play with the level of intensity that we did, and we will need the
same kind of performance against West Ham. "The fans that travelled to Old
Trafford were absolutely terrific and they helped us win that night, no
question. They can play their part again by getting behind the team and
spurring them on. "To get a team of West Ham's calibre at the Ricoh Arena is
great and hopefully the supporters will respond by packing the stadium out
because I am sure they are all looking forward to it as much as we are."
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Elliott Ward is set for Hammers reunion
Oct 29 2007
COVENTRY City centre-back Elliott Ward admits he can't wait to face his old
club West Ham. The defender says that tomorrow (Tuesday) night's Carling Cup
clash with the Premier League outfit is a mouth-watering prospect. "I was
obviously pleased when West Ham were pulled out of the hat but a bit
disappointed that it wasn't at Upton Park because I haven't been there since
I left. "I think it would have been good to take our fans there and put them
under pressure at home," he said. "But we are at home and we haven't got
anything to lose. "They have got to come here but if we apply ourselves
right then hopefully we can get a good result. "I still know a few of the
lads down there and we will see what kind of team they put out, but whatever
it is we will be up for it. "I think they rested a few last time but you
never know. Everyone's priority is the league but if we were to get to the
quarter finals it would be great.
"We will just have to see what the Hammers throw at us."
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Joining The Green Party... - Football365
Posted 29/10/07 13:06EmailPrintSave
When West Ham fans chanted on Saturday to 'England's Number One', Robert
Green raised six fingers. He knows his place and we're presuming that's
behind Paul Robinson, David James, Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland and the
injured Ben Foster. Do we give Steve McClaren too much credit in assuming
that he must be on his way up that list?
Green must surely now play in the friendly against Austria later this month
and then, performance permitting, in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia
that may or may not be a dead rubber.
We accept that McClaren could not drop Robinson for the games against
Estonia and Russia after missing the chance to make the right decision prior
to the last set of games, but now they can be no excuse for picking the
Spurs stopper - assuming he is fit - ahead of any other goalkeeper.
Carson is playing well for Villa, but he has not caught the eye like Green -
who made a total of eight saves in one game against a rampant Arsenal, has
saved two penalties already this season and pulled off arguably the stop of
the campaign with a fingertip save to deny Sunderland's Grant Leadbitter
last week.
James is of course in fantastic form but he is also aged 37 and is not a
long-term option. McClaren was right to bring him back into the England
fold, but it was pointless unless he had the balls to play him. Surprise,
surprise, he didn't.
Looking at the statistics, Green's saves-to-shots ratio is the second best
of any English goalkeeper, but the first is Steve Harper, and he is not
Newcastle's first choice so is unlikely to be considered for his country.
Green saves a healthy 79.55% of shots on target, while Robinson's total of
58.14% is frankly embarrassing. Green might be behind Manuel Almunia (a stat
that must make fantastic reading for Jens Lehmann), Brad Friedel and Petr
Cech, but he is ahead of any serious rival for the England jersey. England's
number one? He should be.
Sarah Winterburn
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Harry's fury as Pompey pay the penalty - Portsmouth.co.uk
Benjani reflects on the penalty miss
The Premier League's top goalscorer missed the last-ditch penalty which
meant the Blues had to settle for a 0-0 draw against West Ham at Fratton
Park on Saturday. Benjani, pictured above, shouldn't have even been taking
the stoppage time spot-kick after Daniel Gabbidon handled the ball. Rob
Green easily saved the 29-year-old's weak penalty, which proved to be
virtually the last kick of the game. Boss Redknapp, right, explained it
should have been Sulley Muntari or Niko Kranjcar who stepped up. But Benjani
grabbed the ball after Mike Dean pointed to the spot.
That led to Redknapp ripping into him in the dressing room after the game.
The Pompey boss admitted he actually felt guilty for blasting a gutted
Benjani after he had launched his tirade. Redknapp watered down what was
actually said in the dressing room. He said: 'I shouted at him and I feel
bad now. 'I said "what were you doing Benji, you silly boy?"
I shouldn't have said that. I probably spoiled his Saturday night and he
won't have eaten his fish and chips. 'If he'd have scored, I would still
have given him a rollicking. He wasn't supposed to take them – it is not
his job. 'Kranjcar or Muntari were down to take it – either one of them are
good penalty-takers and when Niko got hold of the ball, I was happy with
that. 'But then Benji took it off him.'
Asked if he could have done anything to stop him from taking the penalty,
Redknapp quipped: 'It was hard from where I was to run on the pitch, jump on
him and take the ball away from him. I couldn't quite get there. 'People can
sit there and go "at least he had the bottle to take it" and all that
rubbish, but at the end of the day, he wasn't down to take penalties.'
Despite Benjani's failure to turn one point into three, Redknapp still holds
the seven-goal hitman in high regard. Redknapp said: 'I love him. He works
so hard – he's a great lad. 'He worked his socks off for us as usual, but he
won't be taking another penalty, that's for sure.' Benjani's miss was the
second time Pompey have failed from the spot this season.
Kanu saw his spot-kick saved against Liverpool at the same end of the ground
and had those two penalties been converted, Pompey would now be sitting in
third place in the Premier League. Redknapp said: 'We've had two games where
we could have had four extra points. Two poor penalties have cost us. 'You
need to put your foot behind the ball and blast them. 'If you sidefoot them
and the keeper guesses right, he saves it.'
Last Updated: 29 October 2007 12:03 PM
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Birmingham, Fulham move for West Ham's Zamora
tribalfooball.com - October 29, 2007
West Ham United striker Bobby Zamora is a target for a Premiership auction.
Fulham are battling Reading and Birmingham for Zamora, who remains a
required player for Hammers boss Alan Curbishley.
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Hammers striker Bellamy faces more time out after fresh injury setback -
Daily Mail
Last updated at 10:24am on 29th October 2007
Craig Bellamy is to see a specialist about the persistent abdominal injury
which has disrupted his West Ham season so far. The Welsh international
striker was hoping that a hernia operation performed in Munich three weeks
ago by Dr Ulrike Muschaweck, the same surgeon who operated on England
striker Michael Owen, had solved the problem. Bellamy, though, again felt
discomfort in the first half of Saturday's Premier League 0-0 draw with
Portsmouth and will miss tomorrow's Carling Cup fourth round tie at
Coventry. "Craig isn't too bad," said West Ham manager Alan Curbishley, "but
when he runs around something is niggling in the abdomen region. "He won't
play tomorrow night and it's something which hasn't really gone away since
the summer. "Hopefully now we can get it sorted out quickly."
Considering the wretched luck Curbishley has had with injuries so far this
season, his patched-up side have performed well. At Coventry tomorrow night
though, the West Ham manager has only one fit recognised striker available
in Carlton Cole. Bellamy is already out and his first choice striking
partner Dean Ashton is still not ready to return following a knee ligament
injury sustained at the beginning of October. Bobby Zamora is also on the
injured list while Henri Camara is cup-tied along with Norberto Solano.
"Perhaps we used up our luck at the end of last season," admitted
Curbishley. "The treatment room is quite full at the moment. We kept a big
squad and it is being tested now.
"The injuries have given the rest of the squad their chance and they're
going out there and doing the business for us. Long may that continue."
Lee Bowyer looks likely to be recalled at the Ricoh Arena tomorrow while
goalkeeper Robert Green, who was yet again West Ham's hero when he saved
Benjani's injury time penalty at Fratton Park, will be rested, with Richard
Wright coming in. Green's outstanding display was another reminder to
England and Curbishley said: "I've spoken to Steve McClaren about Dean
Ashton's fitness and Robert Green also got a mention in the conversation.
"The message to Robert at the moment is 'keep going' and see what happens."
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