Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson was an impressive performer on his first start for
West Ham United on Saturday
28.07.2008
Kevin Keen saw his men put in another strong performance in the 3-0 win at
Thurrock at the weekend and said the display bodes well for the season
ahead.
A Zavon Hines penalty, a strike from Freddie Sears and a Thurrock own goal
saw a West Ham United XI run out winners at Ship Lane. "It was a really good
work-out," said Keen. "It was very hot out there but we played some good
stuff, especially in the second half. The lads are getting stronger all the
time and it proved to be another very important step in building up fitness
levels as the new season approaches."
Keen was pleased to see both Matthew Upson and Sears get through their first
match back in action since the summer. No one who went on the North American
tour featured while Freddie Ljungberg is also absent following his exertions
at the European Championship.
The coach was delighted with the team display overall, including a strong
performance from central defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson on his debut. "Matt
and Freddie needed a game - Freddie got through the 90 minutes and Matt got
75 minutes. Both have come through with no effects and that will hold them
in good stead for the first team," he said.
"Holmar made his first appearance and showed some good things, especially in
the second half. Marek worked very hard and Zavon has started to put things
together very well now to give himself a chance." Keen added: "The most
important thing was we came away with no injuries - Zavon got a slight knock
but he will be OK - everyone came through, there were some good performances
out there, the lads are getting stronger all the time and that bodes well
for the reserves this year."
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West Ham Transfer Talk - Telegraph.co.uk
Latest news and gossip from West Ham.
Last Updated: 12:57PM BST 28 Jul 2008
West Ham will Captain Lucas Neill has denied he is on his way to Manchester
City and West Ham will rebuff any attempts from Mark Hughes to sell striker
Craig Bellamy. Versatile Switzerland international Valon Behrami has been
unveiled after the Hammers agreed £5 million terms with Serie A outfit Lazio
for the Swiss 'David Beckham' who joins on a five-year deal. Manager Alan
Curbishley is looking for an understudy to Robert Green (and possibly a
replacement after the former Norwch player voiced his unhappiness at not
being offered improved terms at the club) and Shaktar Donetsk goalkeeper Jan
Lastuvka, formerly of Fulham, has announced he is considering an offer to
join the club. Leicester and England under-19 international Joe Mattock is
tipped to join Curbishley's charges for the forthcoming season. Mattock, a
left-back, would cost around £2.5 million. Highly-rated Icelandic teenager
Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson became the first summer arrival at Upton Park after
the versatile defensive midfielder completed his transfer from HK Kopavogur,
followed by fellow teenager Balint Bajner. Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen
continues to be linked with a move to West Ham, and a return to the Premier
League, for £5 million. It is understood that his relationship with
Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson could convince him, although the East
End outfit face competition from Portsmouth and Newcastle to secure the
players services. Manchester United's Louis Saha and Marseille striker
Djibril Cisse are other possibilities but more outgoings are expected than
arrivals with the club keen to reduce it's unprecedented wage
infrastructure. West Ham plan to offer teenage striker Freddie Sears a
long-term deal in a bid to stave off interest from London rivals Arsenal and
Tottenham.
Fantasy Football Most Selected: Mark Noble, £3m
COMPLETED TRANSFERS
IN
Valon Behrami Lazio £5m
Balint Bajner Liberty Oradea Undisclosed
Orn Eyjolfsson HK Kopavogur Undisclosed
OUT
Richard Wright Ipswich Undisclosed
Bobby Zamora Fulham £5.8m
John Pantsil Fulham £500,000
Christian Dailly Rangers Free
Zavon Hines Chesterfield Season Loan
Ben Hunt Bristol R Free
Lorcan Fitzgerald Released
Lee Hales Released
Nolberto Solano Released
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West Ham manager Alan Curbishley could lose job says Nolberto Solano -
Telegraph
Alan Curbishley must guide West Ham to a top eight finish in the Premier
League this season or risk losing his job, according to Peru midfielder
Nolberto Solano.
By Matt Lawless
Last Updated: 1:08PM BST 28 Jul 2008
Solano, 33, was impressive in his only year for the east London side,
scoring four goals in 23 appearances, but was released by Curbishley at the
end of the season in an effort to reduce the club's costly wage bill. Some
supporters were calling for the former Charlton manager to resign last term,
losing patience following a succession of insipid performances and repeated
excuses over injuries which plagued their campaign. As a result, West Ham
have since taken decisive action on medical matters, increasing the level of
expertise in their sports science department to guarantee they do not suffer
another season of unprecedented injuries.
Nikos Tzouroudis, who has worked with Fiorentina and Verona, has arrived as
chief medical officer joined by leading Serie A osteopath Marco Cesarini and
rehabilitation physiotherapist Giorgio Gasparini, all appointed by the
club's Italian technical director Gianluca Nani. Yet Solano insists
Curbishley, who is the bookmakers favourite to be the first manager in the
Premier League to be dismissed this season, must deliver success or he will
struggle to retain his job.
He said: "He will get another season, but if they don't do well there could
be a problem as there is pressure on him to finish in the top eight."
Solano believes he can still offer a great deal in the Premier League and
has returned to pre-season training at West Ham's Chadwell Heath training
complex in an effort to maintain his fitness, hopeful he can secure a
contract with a top-flight team. His likely destination, however, appears
to be to the MLS in America, where he is considering a lucrative offer to
become David Beckham's new colleague at LA Galaxy after discussing terms
with his former Newcastle coach Ruud Gullit. "My first thing is to try and
stay in the Premier League but I spoke to him (Gullit) a couple of weeks ago
and he is very interesting," he added. "I am happy that he tried to get me
to move over there and give me another opportunity to play at a good level
of football. "We will see. This week will be crucial for me."
West Ham, meanwhile, have returned from their pre-season tour of America,
where they were defeated 3-2 by an MLS All-Star XI, and prepare to face
League One Peterborough at London Road tomorrow evening. Recent £5 million
signing Valon Behrami from Lazio is set to make his unofficial debut, after
the Swiss international was introduced to his new team-mates for the first
time in training today.
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West Ham coach Keen happy with Eyjolfsson debut
tribalfootball.com - July 28, 2008
West Ham reserves coach Kevin Keen was happy with the debut performance of
central defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson in their friendly victory over
Thurrock. "Holmar made his first appearance and showed some good things,
especially in the second half," Keen told whufc.com.
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Boa Morte to Sunderland for £3m - Cmon Yu Irons
Media reports are saying that Roy Keane will be making West Ham an offer fo
£3m for Boa Morte, now that is definitley a decent offer for a player that
just cant get things right at West ham. I cant understand why Alan
Curbishley thinks he has something to offer or the potential to offer
something anyway, in some instances, and i mean very short instances he does
show some talent, but always manages to fumble a tackle or a pass when it
matters most.
We need to let the guy go and at least let him prove his quality to some
other club as he surely cant show it with us, it cant be much fun being
booed each week by his own fans. As for Curbs being the 5/1 favourite to be
sacked this season, i truly believe that will depend on his first 6 games,
and we all know that Slaven Bilic is waiting in the wings to secure his job
as manager.
This post was submitted by Terry Gray
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Marc Crosas: Sensational Barcelona Starlet Targeted by Celtic But Perfect
for Everton, West Ham, Sunderland & Newcastle - New Football Pools.com
Celtic and Sevilla are reportedly interested in Barcelona starlet Marc
Crosas this summer. The 20-year-old playmaker has returned to the Camp Nou
from a 6-month loan spell with French Champions Lyon where he made 8 League
appearances (3 starts) and 3 Cup appearances (1 start).
Crosas is the latest bright attacking midfield playmaker to step off the
Barcelona production line that produced the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta,
Giovani Dos Santos, Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas. The youngster has yet to
make a League appearance for the Catalan giants but has appeared in 3 Copa
Del Rey matches and once in the Champions League.
The young Spaniard made his first team debut for Barca against CF Badalona
in a Copa del Rey 2006-07 second-leg match, as a substitute to Andrés
Iniesta in the 76th minute and was subsequently named in the Barcelona squad
who competed in the FIFA Club World Cup 2006 in December, in Japan.
At 5 ft 7, Crosas is a typical Barca playmaker and has been likened to Euro
2008 Player of the Tournament Xavi by team-mate Lilian Thuram in the past.
His main strengths are his ability on the ball and his immaculate passing.
He is also the younger cousin of Barca goalkeeping team-mate Albert
Jorquera.
The youngster is expected to be loaned out this summer as he would struggle
to play in the current Barcelona side with so much talent ahead of him as
Celtic and Sevilla are the front runners for his services.
However, there are a number of Premier League sides lacking the penetration
this talented Spaniard could provide such as Everton, West Ham, Sunderland
and Newcastle. Therefore, don't be surprised if English sides swoop for the
player. Wherever the starlet ends up, expect to be hear his name mentioned a
lot in the future.
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West Ham close to deal for Leicester's Mattock
tribalfooball.com - July 28, 2008
West Ham United are in advanced talks for Leicester City fullback Joe
Mattock. The Daily Star Sunday says the England U21 international will move
to Upton Park for £2.5 million.
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West Ham on red alert as Cisse wants to return to England - Daily Mail
By Sportsmail Reporter Last updated at 1:24 PM on 28th July 2008
Djibril Cisse is keen for a return to the Premier League, putting West Ham
on red alert. Cisse's close friend, Samir Nasri, who has signed for Arsenal,
claims the former Liverpool striker wants to return to England. The
26-year-old French international, now playing for Marseille, enjoyed a mixed
stint in the Premiership after joining Liverpool in 2004. Much-maligned for
his inability to obey the offside rule, the unfortunate Cisse suffered a
broken leg against Blackburn in 2004, before suffering the same injury on
the eve of the 2006 World Cup for France.
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Fabricio Coloccini: Newcastle the Only Club to Make Offer Though West Ham
Interested - New Football Pools.com
Newcastle have emerged as the front runners for the signature of Argentine
international defender Fabricio Coloccini as his agent Marcelo Lombilla
revealed they have made a bid. Lombilla had this to say, "The only offer
that I received is from Newcastle, which I communicated (to Deportivo)."
The Spanish press are reporting that Coloccini is on the verge of leaving El
Riazor, after failing to join the rest of his team-mates on their pre-season
training camp to Venezuela. The 26-year-old has been linked to the Premier
League in the past with Liverpool's Rafa Benitez, West Ham and Tottenham
previously showing a strong interest. However, it would seem the Magpies may
now be in pole position.
Coloccini is an experienced international having won 29 caps for his country
(1 goal) and has been playing in Europe for much of his career. He has
played for 7 different clubs including Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo (loan), AC
Milan, Alaves (loan), Atletico Madrid (loan), Villarreal (loan) and finally
Deportivo. He joined Milan in 1999 but only made 1 League appearance for the
club as he was continually loaned out, mainly to Spanish clubs.
The Argentine is renowned as a tough tackling, robust defender and enjoyed
arguably his most consistent season of his career after making 38 League
appearances for his Spanish club who finished a disappointing 9th in the
Primera Liga. He has been linked with both Spanish giants Real Madrid and
Barcelona in the past but could be heading to the Premier League if the Toon
get their way. Coloccini was also part of the Argentine side that won both
the 2001 U20 World Championship and gold at the 2004 Olympics.
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HAMMERS TALK: Argentina star staying with Deportivo - Guardian Series
11:30am Monday 28th July 2008
WEST HAM target Fabricio Coloccini has distanced himself from speculation
linking him with a move away from Deportivo La Coruna by insisting he is
happy in Spain. The Argentina international has been heavily linked with a
move to the Irons in recent weeks, as well as local rivals Tottenham and
Newcastle. But the 26-year-old has quelled any talks of a move by affirming
his desire to remain at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor. "As I have always
said since the rumours came out, I will stay at Deportivo La Coruna,"
Coloccini told Sky Sports News. "I am in contract and I am happy. I am
perfectly well at my team and for the moment and for what I know, I will
continue playing at Deportivo La Coruna. "I didn't say in any moment that I
wanted to leave La Coruna or that I had a real offer. "After I played the
games for the the Argentinean national team I got disconnected from
everything. "If I have to leave La Coruna it depends on the club. It depends
if they receive an important offer for my transfer. "For the moment there
hasn't been any official proposal, the club hasn't received anything."
La Coruna club president Miguel Angel Lotina echoed Coloccini's sentiments,
as he was recently quoted as saying that the defender was an integral part
of the team and that allowing him to leave would have an adverse effect on
the squad, given his considerable influence.
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Solano says Curbishley battling to keep West Ham job
tribalfootball.com - July 28, 2008
Released West Ham midfielder Nobby Solano believes Alan Curbishley will
struggle to keep his job if they fail to finish in the top eight this
season. "He will get another season, but if they don't do well there could
be a problem as there is pressure on him to finish in the top eight," Solano
said before he played with his 12-piece Salsa band, Geordie Latinos, to
celebrate Peru Independence Day in London yesterday.
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Solano tells West Ham's Green to buck up
tribalfootball.com - July 28, 2008
Nobby Solano says former West Ham teammate Robert Green shouldn't be
complaining about his £28,000-a-week contract. "The figures may be
speculation, but it not bad for a goalkeeper," Solano said. "He had a chance
to get more last year [when he signed a new deal] and if a player continues
to do well, a big team will come in for him."
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