With the club going well at the start of the new season, all at West Ham
United are focused on the future
02.10.2008
West Ham United are in positive mood before the weekend visit of Bolton
Wanderers and the chance for a third straight Barclays Premier League
victory.
Talks are progressing well with regard to a new shirt sponsorship deal and
an announcement is expected in the near future. Negotiations are ongoing
with several potential partners and it is hoped this process could even be
concluded soon after Sunday's match when the team will look to build on the
form that has taken them up to fifth in the early standings.
The club continues to consider all options with regard to last week's FA
arbitration panel ruling and will provide any update via whufc.com as and
when appropriate. Our position is that this matter is in the hands of our
lawyers and will be dealt with efficiently without disruption to the first
team. This will allow the management to concentrate solely on moving West
Ham United forward and delivering on-field success.
West Ham United Owner and Chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson said: "As I am
sure our fans would agree, Gianfranco Zola has made an excellent start and I
am very pleased with his appointment. The work done by the club's CEO Scott
Duxbury and the Board to bring Gianfranco and Steve Clarke to the club and
to implement a new technical and medical infrastructure should be applauded.
It is clear to see that the first-team squad under the new manager remain
focused on the task in hand and determined to achieve the success that will
move the club forward."
Commenting on the spirit at the club in the match programme for Sunday's
game against Bolton, manager Gianfranco Zola said: "This is my fourth game
and things are going very well. I have a good relationship with Scott
Duxbury. This week we had a meeting at the training ground and I am really
pleased with the way things are progressing. We are trying to establish a
positive working group here and everybody is playing their part in the
success of the team."
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Many happy returns, Sir - KUMB
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2008
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United legend Sir Trevor Brooking is 60 years old today.
The former United and England midfielder was born on 2nd October 1948 and
went on to make 635 appearances for West Ham - his only English club - and
47 for his country. He later went on to briefly manage the Hammers and take
a place on the board before joining the FA, for whom he acts as the Head of
Football Development.
Brooking was born in Barking three years after the end of the second world
war and was a regular visitor to Upton Park as a child - although his
favourite player at the time was the great Johhny Haynes. After staying on
an extra year at school in order to finish his GCE's the academic Brooking
joined the Hammers at the age of 16, making his first team debut two years
later in a 3-3 draw at Burnley (a game most memorable for the fact that West
Ham's goalscorers were the World Cup-winning triumverate of Moore, Hurst and
Peters).
Brooking went on to make over 600 appearances for the club in a career that
spanned three decades. Only Bobby Moore (646), Frank Lampard (674) and Billy
Bonds (793) have represented the Hammers on more occasions. In those 17
years he played in two FA Cup Finals, a League Cup Final and a Cup Winners
Cup Final. His 47 appearances for England, where he forged a formidable
partnership with Kevin Keegan included a late appearance in the 1982 World
Cup Finals in Spain - although both players had their tournaments ruined by
injury.
Following his retirement in 1984 Brooking joined the BBC as a pundit where
his continual references to West Ham only served to endear him to United
followers further. In 1999 he became Chairman of Sport for England, during
which time he gave KUMB.com this exclusive interview looking back on his
playing career.
In April 2003 Brooking, at the time a non-executive board member of West Ham
was appointed caretaker manager in the wake of Glenn Roeder's health
problems. Despite narrowly failing to save the club from relegation he
remained in charge during the summer before Roeder returned to take the
helm.
In December of that year he was appointed Director of Football Development
at the FA, a position he holds to this day. However his greatest crowning
glory came in June 2004 when he was knighted for his services to football,
something he described as 'a wonderful honour and a huge privilege'.
Brooking is still a regular follower of the Hammers and is often seen as a
casual observer at matches both home and away. KUMB.com would like to extend
our best wishes to Sir Trevor and wish him a very happy 60th birthday.
Trevor Brooking: Stats
Appearances
West Ham United: 635 (4th highest); 102 goals (8th highest)
England: 47; 5 goals
Hammer of the Year awards
Winner: 1983/84; 1977/78; 1976/77; 1975/76; 1971/72
Runner-up: 1981/82; 1972/73; 1967/68
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West Ham United fears eased over banks - Telegraph
West Ham owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson has reassured fellow directors that
the club's finances will not be affected by Iceland's troubled banking
sector.
By Jeremy Wilson
Last Updated: 11:57PM BST 02 Oct 2008
It follows the announcement earlier this week that Straumur-Burdaras, the
investment bank, has agreed a $537 million (£300 million) deal to buy assets
from Gudmundsson's Landsbanki, Iceland's oldest and second-largest bank.
However, Lansbanki have said that the deal with Straumur would result in "no
material loss or gain" for the company. A statement said: "Following this
transaction, Landsbanki will consolidate its corporate and commercial
banking operations in Europe through its overseas banks and branch network."
Gudmundsson, 67, who has been the chairman of Landsbanki since 2003, has
also consistently stressed his long-term commitment to West Ham. It is
understood recent worldwide economic developments have not significantly
impacted on his own diverse business empire or a personal fortune that is
estimated at $1.1 billion.
However, Iceland's banks and its economy have come under close scrutiny
recently, with the situation made worse by a sharp slide in the Icelandic
crown. West Ham, having restructured their wage bill during the summer, were
recently forced to cancel their shirt sponsorship deal with XL after the
travel firm went into administration. The deal, signed last year, was worth
£7.5 million over three years. The London club are also facing a £30 million
compensation claim from Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez affair,
although yesterday they submitted their statement of appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. An FA independent arbitration tribunal
has ruled in Sheffield United's favour, but West Ham believe the Yorkshire
club have a moral obligation to agree to take the case to the CAS. Depending
on the outcome of West Ham's appeal, the tribunal is not due to rule on any
damages award to Sheffield United before next February.
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Defender back better than ever - TeamTalk
West Ham defender James Collins believes he is "fitter and stronger than
ever" following his return from an eight-month spell on the sidelines. The
Welsh centre-back played 70 minutes in the Hammers' reserve team victory
over West Brom on Tuesday night, his first taste of action since suffering a
cruciate knee injury in January.
The 25-year-old defender revealed to the club's official website that his
comeback went as smoothly as could be expected. He said: "Everything's fine.
I'm just happy to have got some more minutes under my belt," he added. "I
felt a bit stiff and a bit tired towards the end so I came off as a bit of a
precaution. It's what I need. "It's just nice to be back on the pitch. I can
build on that now. Collins insists he always believed he would work his way
back to full fitness, despite the serious nature of the injury. He
continued: "The surgeon who did my knee is top drawer. A couple of years
before, Jimmy Walker did his knee in the play-off final a lot worse than
mine and the same surgeon did his operation - and he's come back. "I knew I
had the best surgeon around doing my operation and I'm feeling fitter and
stronger than ever."
Collins knows he still has plenty of work ahead of him if he is to break
into Gianfranco Zola's first team, with the Hammers having plenty of
strength-in-depth in the centre-back department. "It's always good to have
competition for places. It keeps everyone on their toes," said the Wales
international. "Training is really sharp so everyone has got to be on top of
their game in the team. That can only be healthy for West Ham."
While Collins is not looking too far ahead on his return, he insists he sees
his future at Upton Park. "I signed a new contract last summer so I can see
myself at West Ham for a long time," he added. "I've always said it is a
great club and they've been great to me since me and Danny (Gabbidon) both
came from Cardiff City. "I've always enjoyed it here, I love living in
London and it's a great football club."
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Tristan sweating on West Ham decision
03.10.08 | tribalfootball.com
Spanish free agent Diego Tristan hopes to learn tomorrow if he has won a
contract at West Ham United. The ex-Spain international is a free agent
following his release from Livorno and said: "If nothing changes, I will be
training until Saturday. "Then we will talk and take a firm decision."
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Gudmundsson delighted with early impact of West Ham boss Zola
03.10.08 | tribalfootball.com
West Ham United owner and chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is delighted with
Gianfranco Zola's early impact. Gudmundsson told whufc.com: "As I am sure
our fans would agree, Gianfranco Zola has made an excellent start and I am
very pleased with his appointment. The work done by the club's CEO Scott
Duxbury and the Board to bring Gianfranco and Steve Clarke to the club and
to implement a new technical and medical infrastructure should be applauded.
It is clear to see that the first-team squad under the new manager remain
focused on the task in hand and determined to achieve the success that will
move the club forward."
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Collins: My future is with West Ham
03.10.08 | tribalfootball.com
James Collins was delighted with his comeback game for West Ham United this
week. The Wales defender was captain for the 4-3 win against West Bromwich
Albion on Tuesday in his first competitive game since a knee injury suffered
back in January. Gianfranco Zola watched Collins in action and the defender
told whufc.com: "It's brilliant. Since the first day he came in it gave all
the boys such a lift. "You can see that the football we're playing at the
minute is like football we've never played before. The boys have risen to
the challenge. We've got two wins in the Premier League already under him
and long may that continue."
Collins is only focused on the future. "I signed a new contract last summer
so I can see myself at West Ham for a long time," he said. "I've always said
it's a great club and they've been great to me since me and Danny both came
from Cardiff City. I've always enjoyed it here, I love living in London and
it's a great football club to be at the moment. Hopefully it will continue
for a long time."
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