Matthew Upson demonstrated last night why there are increased calls for him
to earn an international recall
31.01.2008
Matthew Upson will find out at 3.30pm today whether he has earned a recall
to the England fold - and will have done his chances no harm with another
imperious display for West Ham United.
New manager Fabio Capello will this afternoon name a preliminary squad for
next Wednesday's home friendly against Switzerland. That will then be cut to
a smaller selection on Saturday evening. Speaking after a fantastic night at
the Boleyn Ground when he and Anton Ferdinand hardly gave Liverpool's
international-class strikers Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt a kick in a 1-0
win, Upson underlined his determination.
"I am very focused on achieving an England place," the 28-year-old
ever-present said "That is something that I am desperate to do. All I can
keep doing is playing well. I am looking to improve all the time and I am
really enjoying being at West Ham. We are playing some good football here. I
will keep working at it and see how far it takes me."
The seven-times capped defender is in a unique club of just two outfield
Premier League players who have played every minute for their clubs this
season - Stephen Kelly of Birmingham City being the other. However, he is
keen to emphasise the contribution of the whole squad. "It was nice to have
another clean sheet," Upson added. "It starts from the front, the strikers
and all the way through. As a back-four unit we were solid, limited them to
very few chances and we are very pleased."
Upson said he had no fears when Mark Noble stepped up to take the last-gasp
penalty that would decide matters. "I had every faith in Mark," he said. "He
is a good penalty taker, he has got a lot of bottle - a cool head on young
shoulders. He stepped up and really put it away nicely. It was a great
atmosphere, as evening games here are. To win against a big team like
Liverpool puts us in a nice position in the table. It all looks very
positive."
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Upson earns England recall - WHUFC
Matthew Upson has been named in Fabio Capello's preliminary squad for next
week's England friendly
31.01.2008
Matthew Upson has earned a recall to the England fold but there is no place
for Robert Green and Dean Ashton.
New manager Fabio Capello has named a 30-man preliminary squad that will be
cut to a smaller selection on Saturday evening. While Upson is named, there
is no spot for Green, who has been left out in favour of David James, Scott
Carson and Chris Kirkland, while the strikers ahead of Ashton are Emile
Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch.
Speaking after a fantastic night at the Boleyn Ground when he and Anton
Ferdinand hardly gave Liverpool's international-class strikers Fernando
Torres and Dirk Kuyt a kick in a 1-0 win, Upson had underlined his
determination. "I am very focused on achieving an England place," the
28-year-old ever-present said.
"That is something that I am desperate to do. All I can keep doing is
playing well. I am looking to improve all the time and I am really enjoying
being at West Ham. We are playing some good football here. I will keep
working at it and see how far it takes me."
The seven-times capped defender is in a unique club of just two outfield
Premier League players who have played every minute for their clubs this
season - Stephen Kelly of Birmingham City being the other. However, he is
keen to emphasise the contribution of the whole squad. "It was nice to have
another clean sheet," Upson added. "It starts from the front, the strikers
and all the way through. As a back-four unit we were solid, limited them to
very few chances and we are very pleased."
Upson said he had no fears when Mark Noble stepped up to take the last-gasp
penalty that would decide matters. "I had every faith in Mark," he said. "He
is a good penalty taker, he has got a lot of bottle - a cool head on young
shoulders. He stepped up and really put it away nicely. It was a great
atmosphere, as evening games here are. To win against a big team like
Liverpool puts us in a nice position in the table. It all looks very
positive."
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Noble called for U21 duty - WHUFC
Mark Noble is ready to continue his fine form for the Young Lions when they
play a vital qualifier next week
31.01.2008
Mark Noble has been named in the England squad to face the Republic of
Ireland in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier in Southampton next
Tuesday.
The 20-year-old received the news after scoring the crucial winning goal in
the 1-0 victory against Liverpool last night. When asked about his senior
national-team aspirations, he admitted his hopes of eventually breaking
through but is quite content for now with helping the Young Lions emulate
last summer's feat when they reached the semi-finals of the continental
competition.
"Obviously it is somewhere in the back of my mind but I am concentrating on
club football at the minute," said Noble, who has scored three goals in this
U21 campaign including two against the Irish in the previous meeting on 16
October. "We have got an important game coming up for the 21s, a qualifying
game. That is probably the most important thing and I will just keep playing
my football and doing as well as I can. If it happens it happens."
Stuart Pearce's Under-21 side are in a commanding position as they look to
reach the play-offs for the eight-nation finals in 2009, which will be
played in Sweden. England are leading the way in Group 3 with 16 points from
six games, six ahead of nearest rivals Portugal who have a game in hand. The
two nations meet in England's final qualifier on 5 September with only the
group winners and four best runners-up from the ten sections guaranteed a
play-off place.
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Mullins making midfield mark - WHUFC
Going head to head with high-class opponents like Steven Gerrard brings out
the best in Hayden Mullins
31.01.2008
Hayden Mullins has again demonstrated why he is such an invaluable part of
the West Ham United starting eleven.
The energetic midfielder turned in another dynamic display in the 1-0 win
against Liverpool, helping to nullify the threat of Steven Gerrard and
setting the tone for the forward players to attack the visitors. Yet, as
illustrated by a ProZone statistic in the matchday programme, he is much
more than just a destroyer - having completed 107 of his 115 passes in the
previous three games for a completion rate of just over 93 per cent.
Nevertheless, Mullins, who has not missed a league game since 10 November,
clearly relishes midfield battles against top-quality opposition. "That is
why we set up with the three in there because we know how dangerous Stevie
is and it was a good game," he told WHUTV. "You love playing against players
like that who are so big in the game and it is a good test for yourself," he
said.
"Having kept them out and made it nil-nil at half-time, it was a good
incentive for the boys to go on and do what we did. We are very delighted,"
he added, as he turned his attention to the counterattack move by Freddie
Ljungberg and Matthew Etherington that led to the penalty winner for Mark
Noble. "It was a great way to win a game, scoring in the 93rd minute. They
kicked off and the game was finished."
Despite the noise that filled the Boleyn Ground at the end, the 28-year-old
admitted the match was perhaps not as exciting as the 2-1 home win against
the champions a month ago but still felt the team thoroughly deserved the
victory. He said: "We didn't really do as well as we did against Man United
and take the game to them from the word go but we were solid enough.
"We had a couple of chances here and there, restricted them and thankfully
we got the penalty at the end. We deserved the three points. We were seeing
the game out, being professional and just keeping it tight at the back. We
was lucky to get a breakaway with Matty and Freddie, they exchanged a few
good passes and we nicked the penalty. Everyone is absolutely delighted."
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Camara cup dream is over - WHUFC
Henri Camara's goal was not enough to help Senegal through to the Africa Cup
of Nations knockout stages
31.01.2008
Henri Camara's dream of 2008 Africa Cup of Nations success is over after
Senegal were eliminated at the group stage in Ghana.
On his first start after two substitute appearances, the 30-year-old striker
scored his side's goal - a confidently-taken 36th-minute equaliser - in the
1-1 draw against South Africa that only served to confirm both teams'
elimination from the continental competition in Ghana. With two draws and a
defeat, Senegal finished third in Group D - a disappointing end to Camara's
third finals campaign.
Camara will now return to London but he would not have been eligible for
Saturday's trip to Wigan Athletic, the club that loaned him to West Ham
United in August. While the Senegalese forward is heading back to England,
club-mate John Pantsil is preparing for the host nation's quarter-final
against Nigeria on Sunday. The right-back played the full 90 minutes in all
three of Ghana's group-stage wins.
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Upson in - but no Green - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 31st January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Matthew Upson has been called up for Fabio Capello's first England squad -
but once again Rob Green and Dean Ashton have been overlooked. The Hammers
defender, who has four caps to his name has been included in the provisional
30-man squad for the friendly against Switzerland next week.
The only two new caps in what is a surprisingly unadventurous selection are
Aston Villa's Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Full England squad
Goalkeepers
David James, Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland
Defenders
Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, Curtis Davies, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson,
Ledley King, Nicky Shorey, Wes Brown, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards,
Matthew Upson, Jonathan Woodgate
Midfielders
Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Jermaine Jenas, Owen
Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Shaun Wright-Phillips,
David Bentley
Strikers
Emile Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch
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Call-up for Noble - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 31st January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Mark Noble has been named in Stuart Pearce's under 21 squad to face the
Republic of Ireland next week. Nine-times-capped Noble, who has scored three
goals for the under 21s was the only Hammer named in the squad for the
European Under-21 Championship Qualifier, which is being played at
Southampton's St Mary's Stadium. The biggest surprise inclusion in the squad
is Tottenham's Aaron Lennon who was widely tipped to be named in Fabio
Capello's full squad, which is due to be announced later tonight. You can
catch the game live on Sky next Tuesday (6th February); kick-off is at
7.45pm.
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England's number one (and six and nine) - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 31st January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Alan Curbishley has backed calls for Rob Green to be included in Fabio
Capello's first England squad. The United stopper was rarely called upon
last night in the 1-0 win over Liverpool but had another solid performance
to further enhance his chances of selection. With Paul Robinson out of the
frame and David James in his twilight years Capello will be looking furter
afield to find a regular number one - and Curbishley sees no reason why
Green can't be the man.
"He's done fantastically well for us," he said. "I know England are very
thorough in the games they look at and I know they've been to every game.
"But it's not such a bad thing for Capello to come and watch us because
we've got several English players and they're all trying to impress. "It's
not just Rob Green, there's a few more out there - so perhaps he'll start
coming down to the East End - if he can find it - and have a look at some of
our players because they're doing fantatically well and waiting for a
chance."
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Hammers on the box - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 31st January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
West Ham United's trip to Everton has been re-scheduled for a later start
having been selected for live broadcast. The game takes place on Saturday,
22nd March and will now kick off at 5.15pm rather than the previously
arranged 3pm start after being selected by Setanta for a live showing. It is
the second year in succession that West Ham's trip to the Blue side of
Stanley Park will be shown live. Alan Curbishley's side will be hoping to
fare rather better than Alan Pardew's did last year when the Hammers went
down 2-0 to goals from Leon Osman and James Vaughan. West Ham's last win at
Goodison Park came as recently as two seasons ago when a David Weir own goal
and a Bobby Zamora strike gave the Irons a 2-1 win in thier first season
back in the Premiership.
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Ex Hammers on the move - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 31st January 2008
By: Matthew O'Greel
Former West Ham goalkeepers Roy Carroll and Stephen Bywater have both made
deadline day moves. Bywater, who left East London in August 2006 after eight
years with the Hammers has joined Championship outfit Ipswich Town after
being bombed out of Derby by new boss Paul Jewell. Meanwhile Roy Carroll,
who spent nearly two years with the Irons between June 2005 and July 2007
has joined the Rams on loan for the rest of the season from Rangers.
West Ham confirmed yesterday that Christian Dailly had been allowed to join
Rangers on loan until the end of the season, when his contract is due to
expire. Dailly was the second player to leave the club during this transfer
window following Hogan Ephraim's £500,000 switch the Queens Park Rangers.
The Hammers are unlikely to make any new signings before the window closes
at midnight tonight.
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Curbishley Urges Fans To Lay Off Boa Morte - Goal.com
West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley has urged Hammers' fans to stop
booing Luis Boa Morte. West Ham beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground last
night with a last-gasp Mark Noble penalty that saw them consolidate their
top ten position. But for manager Alan Curbishley, there was a blot on the
evening, and that was the club's fans' treatment of Portuguese winger Luis
Boa Morte. The former Arsenal, Southampton and Fulham forward was roundly
vilified for missing a golden opportunity to put West Ham ahead when the
score was still 0-0. "It's happened a couple of times," lamented Curbishley.
"They need to get behind the players. Luis has been out a month and came
back at Manchester City and put everything in." Curbishley felt that Boa
Morte gave his all against Liverpool, too, as he continues his return from
hamstring trouble. And he explained why he had to take Carlton Cole off late
in the game. "It wasn't popular because people think that it is a forward
coming off, but Steven Gerrard was running riot and I had to do something
about it. I put Jon [Spector] on there to try and stop that and he did.
Sometimes you have to do things in games that perhaps people don't see but
we have to do it."
The booing of Boa Morte was, however, the one sour note on an otherwise
highly encouraging night for the East London club. It was the first time in
12 meetings that they had beaten Liverpool, and Curbishley was full of
praise for the way his team worked for the result. "It was a fantastic
result for us," Curbishley told the officisl West Ham website. We have had
to keep it tight, work ever so hard. Everybody played their part, Greeny
made the saves when he needed to and the back four once again have stood
really firm. We've got a terrific defensive record and we needed it. I am
delighted for the players.
"It was mentioned yesterday that West Ham have had a turbulent record
against Liverpool. I wasn't fully aware of it. As they have shown all
season, they gave everything. We are chopping and changing a lot of the time
but they have given everything. It is nice when you get the result in the
last minute and we will take it."
Regarding Noble's late, decisive penalty that won it, Curbishley said he
left it up to the players to decide who was going to take responsibility.
"Reina's good on penalties and I saw Dean Ashton walking towards it as well.
Mark took the one at the Birmingham, while Deano was the penalty taker last
year but Mark took it and put it on the spot. He was confident I think but
you have to ask him how confident."
Curbishley added: "We have got to keep the run going," looking ahead to
Saturday's trip to Wigan Athletic. "We have had to use everything we have
got. We have had players playing out of position, we have had to change
things during the game and perhaps put people in unfamiliar places. They
have shown great character. I think West Ham fans should be looking at them
and saying what they are producing is fantastic - a great attitude."
Mark Hinton, Goal.com
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