Lee Bowyer is looking forward to being in contention when Wigan Athletic
arrive for 2008/09 opening day
17.06.2008
Lee Bowyer cannot wait for the new season to begin after the announcement of
the fixtures for the 2008/09 campaign.
The West Ham United midfielder started last season in electric fashion,
scoring four goals in his first ten matches, and is looking to do the same
again starting with the arrival of Wigan Athletic on 16 August. Bowyer has
worked particularly hard in recent weeks to prove his fitness after
overcoming a groin injury. He said: "It's always exciting when the fixtures
come out because you get to see who you are playing when and when you have
got the big teams and also the newly promoted teams.
"I myself have never played against Hull so that is one I am looking forward
to and knowing what the first fixture is gives you something to work towards
and focus on being part of," he added. "If you look at the first eight games
it is a really good chance for a positive start." Bowyer's last appearance
came back on 9 February but he is confident he will enjoy better fortunes in
the coming campaign. It was against Wigan early last season that he scored
his first goal in claret and blue and he would relish a repeat next time
around.
"I have been in and working hard all summer to get fit and I am feeling good
so I have targeted that Wigan game to make a full return and it would be
even better if I could get another against them. After the way I started
last season and getting on the scoresheet a few times it was a very
frustrating second half to the campaign so I am looking forward to putting
that behind me." Click here for all the 2008/09 fixtures.
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American talent given a chance - WHUFC
Tony Carr will be heading to the United States and Canada as part of his
search for promising players
17.06.2008
Academy director Tony Carr will be casting his eye over young American
talent around West Ham United's high-profile trip to the United States and
Canada in July.
Over the past 12 months, the West Ham United Football Academy USA has put
forward 16 talented teenagers to train and be evaluated by the club's youth
coaches as they look for the next Freddie Sears or Mark Noble. Carr and
colleague Paul Heffer are now planning to identify a further ten players to
visit the Academy at Little Heath to complement the commitment to local
youngsters. They are staging a series of training camps featuring coaching
sessions and full-scale trial matches in Georgia, Illinois and Indiana as
well as around the first-team's pre-season matches in North America.
Carr has spoken about the potential he sees in young talent on the other
side of the Atlantic. "The enthusiasm with American youngsters to get better
and to play the game is unquenchable at the moment. There is lots of raw
talent in the US and some very good players. There is no question about
that. We had a boy come to our Academy who was on a European break and he
made a visit through our links in the US. We let him join in with our
Under-12 squad and this player was as good as anyone we had recruited
ourselves locally. We know the talent is there in the US.
"We are looking for a passion and enthusiasm of the game," Carr added when
asked what the Academy coaches are hoping to spot during their summer
programme. "You have got to love the game. You have got to want the football
at your feet every minute of the day to learn and hone those techniques. As
they progress and get older, the game gets faster and more physically
demanding so we are trying to produce and develop a player that can cope
with those demands later on. In the early years, it is just about developing
skill, technique and individuality. Those are things we can encourage and
the rest can come later."
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Estelle at MLS All-Star game - WHUFC
English singer Estelle will be taking to the stage at half-time of the
prestigious pre-season game next month
17.06.2008
West Ham United will not be the only Londoners taking part in the Major
League Soccer All-Star Game on 24 July as singer Estelle will perform in the
half-time show.
The R&B star will be singing her international hit American Boy, taken from
her second album Shine, during the high-profile game being played at the BMO
Field in Toronto, Canada. Geoff Hayes, vice president of special events for
Major League Soccer, said: "Estelle is an excellent representation of the
kind of artist that is ideal for a Major League Soccer special event. Her
chart-topping tracks in Europe, combined with her rising star status in
North America, amount to an exciting entertainment buzz and incremental
attention."
This is the fifth time the MLS All-Stars, potentially featuring the LA
Galaxy and England midfielder David Beckham, have taken on teams from
overseas. In the four previous games, Celtic FC, Chelsea FC, Fulham and
Mexican outfit CD Guadalajara have all come up short against the finest
players from the top league in the United States and Canada. For more
information on the MLS All-Star Game, please visit www.MLSnet.com. For more
information on Estelle, please visit www.estellemusic.com.
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All present and correct - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 17th June 2008
By: Staff Writer
Alan Curbishley could be just one man short of a fully fit squad come the
start of the 2008/09 season, according to whufc.com.
After an horrific season last year in terms of injuries Curbishley is set to
welcome back all of his sidelined players bar defender Jonathan Spector, who
could be out until the new year after sustaining a torn labrum.
Already back to full fitness and chomping at the bit are Craig Bellamy,
Matthew Etherington, Kieron Dyer, Julien Faubert and, most surprising of
all, Calum Davenport who broke his neck whilst on loan at Watford as
recently as January.
Meanwhile Matthew Upson and Lee Bowyer have also overcome the injuries which
saw them miss the end of last season - whilst Welsh duo Danny Gabbidon and
James Collins are also likely to be involved at some stage in pre-season.
Gabbidon - out since the end of last year with a groin-related problem - has
spent time in Italy recently receiving 'alternative therpy' in order to aid
his recovery. Collins - who tore a cruciate whilst playing for the reserves
at Portsmouth - has also received good news suggesting he could also feature
before August.
Finally, KUMB readers will be pleased to know that Nigel Quashie has finally
been located and is also set to return to action (after a year out with a
'foot injury') ahead of the season opener against Wigan on 16th August.
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Cass date released - KUMB
Filed: Tuesday, 17th June 2008
By: Staff Writer
'Cass' - the film based on the life of author and West Ham United supporter
Cass Pennant - is being released on 1st August. The film, directed by Jon S
Baird, details Cass's life story and his struggle against institutionalised
racism. The Hammers, which are a big part of the subject's life naturally
feature extensively. But according to Pennant in an interview with The
Times, the film is much more than just another hoolie-flick. "The heart of
the film is about a man's quest for his identity," he said. "If the heart of
the film was the ICF days then it would be over after 25 per cent of the
film, because the rest of it isn't about that at all." Pennant - who
describes himself as a 'reformed hooligan' - is played in the film by
Shakespearian actor Nonso Anozie, who was the youngest actor ever to play
King Lear and also recipient of the Ian Charleson Award for his role as
Othello. His on-screen nemesis is played by Paul Kaye, the actor known for
playing Dennis Pennis and more recently Kenny Marsh in the TV series Two
Thousand Acres of Sky. Also starring are the likes of Tamer Hassan (Football
Factory and Layer Cake) plus TV actress Nathalie Press.
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Digging Cole - KUMB
Filed: Monday, 16th June 2008
By: Staff Writer
Rumours linking United's Carlton Cole with a move to Sunderland continue to
abound. Last month The Daily Mirror reported that Roy Keane was set to
launch a bid for Cole having lost his main striker Kenwyn Jones to injury.
Now that link has resurfaced with The Shields Gazette claiming that Keane is
ready to make an offer for the former Chelsea man, who played a pivotal role
in West Ham's season last year. Surrey-born Cole joined the Hammers from
Chelsea two years ago this month for a fee in the region of £2 million.
Despite scoring within 30 seconds of his debut he went on to score just
twice more last season. This season he has scored six goals from 37
appearances. Current manager Alan Curbishley will be looking to recoup at
least the same amount his predecessor Alan Pardew paid Chelsea in order to
part company with the 6'3" forward.
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Hammers trying to get to the bottom of Bellamy incident - Guardian Series
WEST HAM are reported to have launched a probe in their attempts to get to
the bottom of an alleged bust up involving striker Craig Bellamy in Africa.
Hammers officials are thought to be trying to contact the former Newcastle
frontman about a fight during his charity mission to Sierra Leone. It is
claimed that the £7.25million record signing was thrown out of a casino in
Freetown after grabbing a charity worker in a headlock. The ex-Norwich man,
who's past has been blighted by a string of controversial incidents, was in
the country to promote his football foundation, but is thought to have got
into an argument during a drinking spree with his two minders.
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Hammers defender heads to Italy to try and solve injury problems - Guardian
Series
WEST Ham defender Danny Gabbidon is reported to have jetted off to Italy
this summer to try and cure his long-term injury problems. The former
Cardiff defender endured a frustrating campaign at Upton Park last season as
he was restricted to just 14 appearances for the Hammers. Persistent stomach
and pelvic problems, troubled the Welsh international for much of the
campaign, as he spent most of it on the sidelines with a large number of the
Irons squad.
And having also made just 24 appearances in the claret and blue the previous
season after an impressive first campaign at Upton Park following his
arrival from Cardiff in the summer of 2005, it seems that Gabbidon finally
wants to get to the root of his problems. And with the 28-year-old recently
missing out on international duty, Red Dragon's boss John Toshack revealed
that the player has headed abroad to see a top specialist in his attempts to
be ready for pre-season. He said: "We know that Danny is not really
progressing anywhere near as much as we would like. He has gone to Italy for
treatment."
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Hammers on the look-out for US talent - Guardian Series
WEST HAM'S academy director Tony Carr is on the lookout for young talent
across the pond during the club's high-profile trip to the United States and
Canada in July. So far, the Hammers' football academy in the USA has
recommended 16 players to be evaluated by the club's youth coaches over the
last year, and Carr will return with the goal of finding 10 more players to
visit the academy in Little Heath. Training camps are to be held in Georgia,
Illinois and Indiana, while there will be some around the team's friendlies
in North America. And Carr is enthusiastic about what he might find across
the Atlantic.
"The enthusiasm with American youngsters to get better and to play the game
is unquenchable at the moment," Carr told the club's website. "There is lots
of raw talent in the US and some very good players. There is no question
about that. Asked what qualities he was looking for in a player, Carr said:
"We are looking for a passion and enthusiasm of the game. You have got to
love the game. You have got to want the football at your feet every minute
of the day to learn and hone those techniques. "As they progress and get
older, the game gets faster and more physically demanding so we are trying
to produce and develop a player that can cope with those demands later on.
In the early years, it is just about developing skill, technique and
individuality. Those are things we can encourage and the rest can come
later."
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Third-party agreement with elite benefits - The Times
Martin Samuel, Sports Writer of the Year
While independent arbiters under the umbrella of the FA were preparing to
assess the precise amount of financial damage one club (West Ham United) may
have caused another (Sheffield United) by entering into illegal, third-party
agreements, over at Stapleford Park, a stately home near Melton Mowbray in
Leicestershire, two very different pleas on the same subject were being
heard by the chairmen of Premier League clubs at their annual meeting.
Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, was making a strong
case for the abolition of loan transfers between member clubs. He considered
them a serious flaw in the structure of the modern game and believed that
they could provoke conflicts of interest. Given the wealth of the league, he
said, they were unnecessary. Clubs in the first tier of English football
were sufficiently well rewarded not to need to borrow players from rivals.
In turn, he argued, it was wrong that a player should appear on one payroll
but be expected to try his heart out for a rival.
Had Scudamore taken his argument to the logical conclusion, he would have
made the point that loans are a form of third-party interference as well
because a loaned player cannot appear against the club who own his permanent
contract, so the wealthiest teams in the league are guaranteed to play
certain matches against weakened opponents. For example, if Fraizer
Campbell, the Manchester United forward who was the best player in Hull
City's promotion campaign last season, signs up for another year at the KC
Stadium, he will not turn out against United in two matches, but he will
play against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, and Hull will be stronger
opposition for it.
Technically, there is nothing to stop an elite club placing the talented
young players from outside their first-team squad throughout the league,
like booby traps. The potential problems are clear and Scudamore has argued
against the loan system for several years (he made a similar speech at the
2007 annual meeting, too). Put to the vote again this year, however, he was
defeated by 18 to one, with Chelsea not present (Peter Kenyon, the chief
executive, had left at the end of the first day). Aston Villa were the only
club who saw sense and put what was best for football above self-interest,
although even their attitude may have changed had the naysayers' vote been
taken first and Villa's representative had realised that he was going to be
in a minority of one.
The loan system is popular because there is a mistaken belief that it
benefits the smaller clubs and gives them access to players they could
otherwise not afford. This is highly debatable. If Campbell could not be
loaned to Hull next season, he may tire of life in the reserves at United
and seek a permanent move, which would be of longer-term benefit to the
smaller clubs. Under the present system, however, United get to release him
and keep him. One can see why the elite like the idea, but Hull miss the
point if they think they are getting a good deal.
The richest clubs play both ends against the middle. Campbell gets his
Premier League experience and then returns to Old Trafford, perhaps to use
his newfound confidence against the team who helped to train him up. Maybe,
if Birmingham City had not had such easy access to temporary solutions they
would have been in a greater hurry to nurture their own talent, rather than
paying players who were passing through and were not good enough to maintain
their Premier League status.
Anyway, Scudamore's first defeat on loans did not turn out to be the half of
it. After that the 19 clubs discussed a proposal by Portsmouth to make
another change to loan regulations, with equally alarming effects.
Portsmouth wanted to scrap a rule that had been brought in last season and
won unanimous support for their proposal. And although what was eradicated
was a stupid rule, poorly conceived and inadequate in addressing the problem
that it was designed to solve, its replacement will take football back to
the bad old days of the nod, the wink and the carve-up.
Indeed, it goes farther by placing that type of arrangement above board and
in writing. In a climate in which the ramifications of the Carlos Tévez
affair are unresolved, that Premier League chairmen should be so willing to
endorse the potential for third-party interference is remarkable; in
essence, it exposes all their outrage and concern on this issue previously
as a self-serving, hypocritical sham.
You may remember the controversy over Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper,
and the role he played in the title race in 2006-07. Howard had been on loan
from Manchester United since the start of the season and the loan was made a
permanent transfer on February 14, 2007, with Everton paying a £3million
fee. Loan transfers can be made constant at any time in the season and are
not subject to transfer-window restrictions, but when Everton played United
at Goodison Park in April Howard did not appear and his place was taken by
an understudy, Iain Turner, whose mistakes were largely responsible for
United's win.
David Moyes, the Everton manager, and Ian Ross, the director of
communications, explained that as part of the terms of the transfer deal,
Howard could not play against his former club that season if the match was
significant to United's title ambitions, even though his registration was by
then wholly owned by Everton. The Premier League subsequently confirmed this
as a contravention of third-party interference rules and conducted a
half-hearted investigation that lasted less than 48 hours and came to an
abrupt and convenient end on the day United won the title with the
announcement that, because nothing was written down, it was only a
gentleman's agreement between the clubs and could not be proved.
Sheffield United turned out to have a similar arrangement with Watford, the
buyers of Steve Kabba, who joined with the private understanding that he
would not play for his new club when the teams met. The Premier League was
being made to look ridiculous. West Ham had been, rightly, brought to book
over third-party agreements that were never acted upon, yet these
gentleman's agreements had been applied and the governing body was powerless
to stop them. At the annual meeting last summer the loophole was closed, but
in an unsatisfactory manner.
Instead of outlawing any hold that a club have over a player the moment he
has been sold and determining to investigate thoroughly a convenient absence
from the teamsheet for a particular fixture, the Premier League introduced a
rule by unanimous vote saying that a loaned player would no longer be able
to play against his former club that season, even if his loan deal was made
permanent. This was the opposite of what should have happened and, like all
bad laws, it was exposed as such within months, in this instance by the
transfer of Jermain Defoe from Tottenham Hotspur to Portsmouth.
Defoe joined Portsmouth on January 31, 2008, the final day of the transfer
window. There were no stipulations on Tottenham's part and they were happy
for Defoe to play against them when the teams met on March 22. Yet when the
date came round it transpired that Defoe was subject to a Premier League ban
because his transfer had initially been a loan, made formal with an agreed
fee of £7.5million four days later. The reason was that Portsmouth intended
to finance the deal by selling Benjani Mwaruwari to Manchester City at the
same time, but there were complications in that transfer and, unsure of
getting the money in time, the South Coast club had made Defoe a loan
acquisition before completing the deal when Benjani's move was finalised.
Despite an honest administrative procedure, resulting in a transfer that was
above board, with all sides looking to do the right thing, Portsmouth had
fallen foul of the new law.
It was clear that the rules, although black and white, were flawed. It would
have been easy to have removed the defects and kept the clarity. All
transfers to be made final, any suspicious activity to be investigated.
Portsmouth did not propose that. They wanted the grey area to be
reinstalled. This is why, from next season, when a loan transfer is made
permanent the clubs will decide between themselves whether or not the player
can face his former team-mates. That clause is then inserted in the
contract.
It is still a carve-up, but now it is a legally endorsed one: a return to
back scratching, and doing a mate a favour. As it stands, a selling club can
pocket the money and keep the right to pick elements of the opposition team
in at least one match. Manchester United could have pulled Howard out of
Everton's team but would have done so with formal, official blessing.
Meanwhile, English football continues to debate the ramifications of
third-party agreements, while enshrining one aspect of them in the rulebook.
Where will it end? Maybe at next year's annual meeting it will become
permissible for the selling club to nominate who the transferred player does
turn out against as well. Maybe they could secure a commitment that he will
be well rested before a particular match against important rivals. "As well
as not playing against his old mates at Manchester United, the party of the
first part will also be left out of the game at Wigan Athletic on Saturday,
March 19, to make sure he is ready to give Arsenal a right good stuffing on
Wednesday, March 23 ..."
Although, on second thoughts, maybe those details will just be limited to
gentleman's agreements instead. After all, we wouldn't want too much of this
dark material formally entering the rulebook. People may begin to think the
game was dodgy.
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Bellamy funds children's academy in Sierra Leone - Reuters
Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:22am BST
By Katrina Manson
FREETOWN (Reuters) - West Ham and Wales striker Craig Bellamy is funding a
650,000-pound football project to help children in Sierra Leone. Education
and community projects will go hand-in-hand with the 14 new leagues and 68
youth teams that Bellamy is also setting up throughout the poor West African
country, the player says. "This trip is to show my face and to show how
serious I am," he told reporters beside a beach after a kickabout with fans
in the steamy capital Freetown on Sunday. "It will be my second home. I have
no doubt about it."
The academy will be set up on 25 acres of land in the fishing village of
Tombo on the country's Atlantic coast while the new leagues will help to
spot young potential. "I want this done properly, to an international level.
I don't want any young children, if they have talent, to be overlooked,"
said Bellamy, 28.
"It will make the national team stronger. There's talent everywhere."
England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand funds a football
academy in Uganda and this month announced plans to set up another in
Nigeria.
On Saturday, Bellamy watched Sierra Leone beat South Africa 1-0 in a World
Cup and African Nations Cup qualifier. As hosts, South Africa are guaranteed
a place at the 2010 World Cup finals but their poor form has been worrying
fans. Unlike South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, Sierra Leone is deeply
poor and ranks bottom of the United Nations development index, a broad
measure of quality of life. Bellamy first visited Sierra Leone last year,
making a point of stopping at every dusty roadside football pitch to join
in. "It was overwhelming: you either don't want to come back or you fall in
love," he said. Teams in the new leagues will be rewarded not only for
winning matches but for fair play, school attendance and community projects
too. He said the academy should be running within a year. "I'm not looking
at getting the next Drogba, as long as every child leaves ready with a good
education," he said, referring to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba from nearby
Ivory Coast. "I'm not looking to gain anything from this opportunity --
except every couple of years to change 250 children's lives." "They know
everything about the Premier League," said Bellamy, who was mobbed
everywhere he went, as fans chanted his name and demanded autographs.
A car he was travelling in was so enthusiastically greeted by local
supporters beating on the roof and bonnet that it got dented. "I feel a
little bit embarrassed with the attention I get here -- but why not make
yourself useful?" he said. Sierra Leone is recovering from more than a
decade of civil war that finished in 2002 and was infamous for its
AK47-toting child soldiers and rebels hacking off people's limbs with
machetes. Youth unemployment runs high and more than 70 percent of Sierra
Leoneans live below the poverty line. "They have been through a lot of
problems," Bellamy said. "It's difficult coming here...You can't understand
how people live like this, and then how strong are these people. "Children
and their fathers and grandfathers have all been given a gun; and now my aim
is to throw them a football."
(Editing by Alistair Thomson)
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Midfielder targets Latics repeat - TeamTalk
Lee Bowyer is hoping for a repeat of last season's goalscoring performance
against Wigan when West Ham open their campaign on August 16. Bowyer, who
missed most of last season with a groin injury, is now close to full fitness
and is relishing the start of the new campaign. The midfielder was on the
scoresheet when The Hammers drew 1-1 with Wigan in the second game of last
season and he would love to do it again at Upton Park . Bowyer told the
club's official website: "It's always exciting when the fixtures come out
because you get to see who you are playing when and when you've got the big
teams and also the newly-promoted teams. "I myself have never played against
Hull so that is one I am looking forward to and knowing what the first
fixture is gives you something to work towards and focus on being part of.
If you look at the first eight games it is a really good chance for a
positive start.
"I have been in and working hard all summer to get fit and I'm feeling good
so I've targeted that Wigan game to make a full return and it would be even
better if I could get another against them. After the way I started last
season and getting on the scoresheet a few times it was a very frustrating
second half to the campaign so I am looking forward to putting that behind
me."
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