Mark Noble was in good spirits after the draw at Manchester City -
especially about Carlton Cole
22.01.2008
Mark Noble joked that Carlton Cole did not mean his sensational overhead
kick at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday.
The West Ham United midfielder knows how to find the net in style himself
but when asked to comment on his team-mate's vision and precision to take a
Freddie Ljungberg cross in stride, tee the ball up and then acrobatically
score, he initially claimed. "It was a great touch and overhead kick - but I
don't think he meant it. You know I think he tried to do something else!"
The 20-year-old soon revealed his true thoughts on the strike and Cole's
all-round game as the figurehead of the visitors' attack with Dean Ashton
absent. "I am just joking," he added. "It was a fantastic goal. He ran the
line well and we are just totally gutted that we haven't come away with the
three points. We deserved it, played well enough and I feel they got a bit
lucky."
Although the disappointment was felt throughout the side, Noble said some
perspective was also needed against a fifth-placed City side that have won
nine and drawn three of their 12 league games at home this season and just
edged past the Hammers at home in the FA Cup last Wednesday too. "They have
been good here all year," he said. "They have beat Man United and a couple
of the big teams, so we are happy enough with the point but it should have
been three.
"I thought we passed it well and caused them problems. It was a kind of
similar to the cup game. We played well in both games and we created a lot
more but couldn't score like last week." West Ham United remain in tenth
place but know a home win against Liverpool on Wednesday week will keep the
pressure on those just outside the European places. "We are a bit
disappointed but that's why they are doing well because they don't lose many
games," Noble concluded. "We will just keep chasing the pack now."
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Pony and Trap? - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Former Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni is being linked with West Ham
United's vacant Director of Football post. The club are set to announce the
new man imminently, and now the 68-year-old former Milan and Juve manager's
name has been thrown into the hat. Trapattoni has a long and illustrious
career behind him and is currently in charge of Austrian outfit FC Salzburg,
where he has spent the last two years. Hammers chairman Björgólfur
Guðmundsson is knwn to be a keen admirer of the Italian, who has won
numerous titles as a coach since taking his first managerial role with AC
Milan in 1974. Rumours that Trapattoni is set to replace Alan Curbishley as
West Ham United's manager are thought to be wide of the mark. The Italian
legend is the latest in a string of names to be linked to the new post.
Previous names rumoured to be in contention for the job include Franco
Baldini (now part of new England manager Fabio Capello's backroom staff) and
PSV's technical director Stan Valckx.
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Okay, Fred - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Freddie Ljungberg says that West Ham should be challenging for a Champions
League spot this season. Ljungberg, who is beginning to find his feet after
a poor start to his Hammers career made the bold claim following the Irons'
1-1 draw at Manchester City on Sunday. "My time in football has taught me
that you have to set your sights high if you are going to achieve anything
worthwhile," he said. "A couple of wins can really get you moving in the
right direction, and it is very tight behind the top three. "I looked at the
Premier League table before the weekend and we were only seven points off
fourth place with a game in hand over every club above us apart from
Liverpool - and we play them in our next home game. "I felt we were capable
of closing the gap and getting into the fight for fourth place, and I still
think that is possible even though it has opened up to nine points now."
ALthough not too many supporters will agree with Ljungberg at present the
Hammers have the perfect opportunity to close the gap on the clubs above
them in the coming month, with home games against Liverpool and Birmingham
and away matches at Wigan and Fulham to come.
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Tickets up for grabs - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
West Ham United have a small number of tickets available for next week's
Premier League clash with Liverpool. The date for the fixture has changed to
Wednesday, 30th January - a day later than previously planned - and as a
result the club have some tickets available for purchase, although these are
reserved for club members only. The match kicks-off at 7.45pm, and with no
game this weekend is the Hammers' next fixture.
Alan Curbishley is set to welcome both Dean Ashton and Matthew Etherington
back to his squad, whilst the previously-injured Nobby Solano and Craig
Bellamy could also be involved.
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Keegan linked with swoop for Hammers striker - Shields Gazette
WEST Ham striker Dean Ashton is the latest name to be linked with a move to
Newcastle United. This morning's Mirror says Kevin Keegan is considering a
£7m bid for the big striker, who he sees as a perfect partner for Michael
Owen.
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Newcastle want West Ham striker and Liverpool defender - Sunderland Echo
Newcastle United have once again been linked with a move for West Ham's Dean
Ashton. The striker was reportedly a target for Sam Allardyce before he left
St James's Park, and he's now on Kevin Keegan's shortlist, according to the
Mirror. Newcastle will also make a move for Liverpool left-back Jon Arne
Riise, the newspaper claims.
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Kevin Keegan wants West Ham's Dean Ashton - The Mirror
EXCLUSIVE
By Darren Lewis 23/01/2008
Kevin Keegan is interested in taking Dean Ashton to Newcastle from West Ham.
Keegan is a big admirer of the 24-year-old striker and sees him as the
perfect foil for Michael Owen. The new Newcastle boss is ready to test the
Hammers with a £7million bid, particularly as Mark Viduka has so far been
unable to make a substantial impact at St James' Park. Keegan is also
desperate to add John Arne Riise to his squad and will lodge an opening
£6.5m bid.
Riise has been a central figure at Anfield since his £4.6m move from Monaco
in 2001, making over 300 appearances. King Kev has money to spend and his
third Premier League target in the transfer window is Chelsea's Wayne
Bridge. That is in addition to trying to pull off the transfer coup of the
season by capturing David Beckham, possibly on loan, from LA Galaxy. Mirror
Sport understands there has not yet been a bid for Ashton and that West Ham
will fight any attempt to prise the striker - a key part of boss Alan
Curbishley's plans - away from Upton Park. Meanwhile, Keegan has told Harry
Redknapp to drop his interest in Shola Ameobi. The Portsmouth boss is ready
to launch a £3m bid for the striker, who was frozen out by former Toon boss
Sam Allardyce.
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West Ham move for Ipswich's Moore
tribalfooball.com - January 22, 2008
West Ham United are moving for Ipswich defender Sammy Moore. The Sun says
Hammers boss Alan Curbishley wants Moore signed this month
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Medical experts back Man Utd's Ronaldo after penalty miss
tribalfootball.com - January 22, 2008
Medical experts have come to the defence of Manchester United star Cristiano
Ronaldo over his spotkick gaffe against West Ham last month. United lost the
game 2-1, with Ronaldo's penalty miss opening the door for the Hammers to
storm back from one goal down to win through headers from Matthew Upson and
Anton Ferdinand. A top neurologist has claimed that animated perimeter
boards could have affected Ronaldo when he stepped up to take his spotkick.
Dr Bahador Bahrami of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University
College, London cites Ronaldo's miss at West Ham on December 29 as just one
instance of a player possibly being distracted by the animated LED boards.
He has suggested that the Portuguese star's concentration may have been
disrupted by the LED advertising board behind the goal - which at the time
was bookmaker JAXX - West Ham's online betting partner - which was moving to
the left, the same direction that Ronaldo aimed his shot. He told the Daily
Mail: "Studies have shown that if you are reaching for something, the human
brain corrects for background movement, so you could end up missing the
object you are aiming for. "If the player's brain was attempting to focus on
the ball and ignore the moving image in the background as he took the shot,
this could have had a similar effect."
However, the subliminal effect of West Ham's sponsor has been played down by
JAXX themselves. "I'd love to say that we set the whole thing up, but this
is a simple animated graphic that has been in use all season at more than
one Premiership club," said Mark Irvine, Managing Director of JAXX UK. "From
my own experience as a football fan, I know that LED boards can be divisive
as some fans find them distracting but, even if this is true, it's the first
time I've heard of a result actually hinging on an animated logo. "It would
be interesting to take the concept one step further, perhaps with home clubs
flashing up 'Shoot to the Left!' or 'You're Gonna Miss!' as away players
prepare to take a penalty. I'm not sure what the FA would make of it
though."
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Paintsil relieved after all-clear - Setantaq
by Laurent Picard, 22 January 2008
Ghana full back John Paintsil has been released from hospital after
collapsing on the pitch during the first game of the African Cup of Nations.
The defender did not have an heart attack as had been feared, but was just
sick following a violent contact during a header with a Guinean player. West
Ham's defender is now ready to play again and is part of the squad that will
face Namibia on Thursday. The Black Stars won their first game in the
competition thanks to Sulley Muntari's missile and a victory against poor
Namibia, who were hammered by Morocco on Monday, is expected from the host
country.
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Arsenal in Walcott West Ham swap; Newcastle want super pair! - Sportigo
Tue, Jan 22, 08 15:13
Mark Apostolou
Rumour has it – and let me reiterate that these rumours do not begin with
me; I am merely passing them on – that Arsenal are keen on signing West Ham
keeper Robert Green (Daily Express). Any move involving Green was expected
to wait until the summer, but now it has been revealed that a swap deal
could be in the offing.
A while back it seemed that Arsenal's Danish giant Nicklas Bendtner may be
moving to Upton Park, be it on loan or possibly even permanently, perhaps
involving an exchange for Green. But attention has now switched from
Bendtner to his team-mate Theo Walcott, who may be offloaded as Arsene
Wenger looks to try to secure the services of one of the best keepers in the
Premier League.
This doesn't seem likely to me – first off, Manuel Almunia has shown his
boss that he is more than capable of being the starting keeper and they have
a more than capable back-up in Lukasz Fabianski , so I don't see there is
much chance of bringing in such a big-name keeper as Green. Another back-up
stopper is the more likely target. While it's true that Walcott has been a
bit of a mixed bag this season, he is still maturing and, at just 18, still
has time on his side and will surely be a big star in the future, and
therefore unlikely to be a candidate to leave the Emirates.
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Revealed at last: The real reason Cristiano Ronaldo missed that penalty at
Upton Park - Daily Mail
Last updated at 16:34pm on 22nd January 2008
If Manchester United lose their Premier League title by a couple of points
they could well blame the flashing advertising boards at Upton Park. It was
there that Cristiano Ronaldo blazed a penalty wide instead of putting United
2-0 up against West Ham last month. And late in the game, headers from
Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand made the usually lethal Ronaldo pay for
his glaring and inexplicable miss. However, research has now discovered that
the miss might not be so inexplicable after all. A top neurologist has
claimed that animated perimeter boards could affect results of matches and
has called upon the Premier League to undertake "a detailed study to prove
or disprove the subliminal effects of the boards."
Dr Bahador Bahrami of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University
College, London cites Ronaldo's miss at West Ham on December 29 as just one
instance of a player possibly being distracted by the animated LED boards.
He has suggested that the Portuguese star's concentration may have been
disrupted by the LED advertising board behind the goal - which at the time
was bookmaker JAXX – West Ham's online betting partner – which was moving to
the left, the same direction that Ronaldo aimed his shot. He said: "Studies
have shown that if you are reaching for something, the human brain corrects
for background movement, so you could end up missing the object you are
aiming for. "If the player's brain was attempting to focus on the ball and
ignore the moving image in the background as he took the shot, this could
have had a similar effect."
However, the subliminal effect of West Ham's sponsor has been played down by
JAXX themselves. "I'd love to say that we set the whole thing up, but this
is a simple animated graphic that has been in use all season at more than
one Premiership club," said Mark Irvine, Managing Director of JAXX UK. "From
my own experience as a football fan, I know that LED boards can be divisive
as some fans find them distracting but, even if this is true, it's the first
time I've heard of a result actually hinging on an animated logo. "It would
be interesting to take the concept one step further, perhaps with home clubs
flashing up 'Shoot to the Left!' or 'You're Gonna Miss!' as away players
prepare to take a penalty. I'm not sure what the FA would make of it
though."
The use of noise and visual displays to intimidate opponents is nothing new.
It is not unknown for teams to artificially raise the decibel level. The
NFL's Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots recently accused the
Indianapolis Colts of pumping artificial crowd noise into the RCA Dome
during key points of their AFC clash to prevent the offence hearing their
quarterback Tom Brady's play-calls.
After an investigation, NFL chiefs said the allegations, refuted by the
Colts, had no foundation. But with so much at stake, Dr Bahrami has called
upon Premier League chiefs to undertake further study into the possible
effects of LED boards: "In order to prove or disprove the subliminal effects
of the boards, a detailed academic study would be necessary, looking at how
players react in different situations through the course of the game," he
added.
"The Premier League may then wish to consider its conclusions."
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Arsenal To Launch £7m Green Bid? - Goal.com
The Daily Express claims that Arsenal want to sign West Ham goalkeeper
Robert Green. Could Robert Green be heading to the Emirates Stadium? A
report in the Daily Express has claimed that Arsenal are willing to offer
£7m for the West Ham goalkeeper. Jens Lehmann's future at Arsenal is more
than a little insecure, even if the German does opt to stay at the club
beyond this January, but Arsene Wenger is seemingly not content to rely
solely on Manuel Almunia and Lukas Fabianski in goal. Hammers man Green has
been outstanding this season has been tipped by many to prise the England
goalkeeper's jersey from the much-maligned Paul Robinson and previously
unconvincing Scott Carson. Wenger, meanwhile, was particularly impressed by
Green's abilities during last season's encounter between at the Emirates, in
which the keeper played a blinder was West Ham stole a 1-0 win.
Goal.com UK
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Defender' set to snub Hammers - Clubcall
20080122 11:42
Reading defender Nicky Shorey looks set to snub a move to West Ham in order
to sign a new contract at the Madejski Stadium. West Ham boss Alan
Curbsihley has been on the trail of Shorey for the past 18 months and a
£4million move during the current transfer window was expected. Newly
installed Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan was also said to be an admirer of the
left-back, but despite the interest, he looks to be staying where he is much
to Reading boss Steve Coppell's delight. The England defender has put an
end to all the speculation by stating he is hopeful of signing a new deal at
the club that will make him the highest paid player in the Royals history.
The deal on the table is said to be worth £25,000 a week and Shorey said:
"I'm hopefull we can come to an agreement."
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Arsenal to offer £7M for West Ham keeper Green
tribalfooball.com - January 22, 2008
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees West Ham United No1 Robert Green as the
solution to his goalkeeping problems. The Daily Express says Wenger is ready
to offer £7 million to take Green across London as a replacement for
want-away German veteran Jens Lehmann.
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Trapattoni linked with West Ham move
tribalfootball.com - January 22, 2008
Giovanni Trapattoni is being linked with West Ham United. The former Bayern
Munich and Benfica coach, currently with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, is
being mentioned as a candidate for the football director's job at West Ham.
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