West Ham United will take on League Two opposition in the Carling Cup second
round later this month
13.08.2008
West Ham United have been drawn against Macclesfield Town in the Carling Cup
second round draw.
The tie against the League Two outfit will take place the week commencing on
Monday 25 August at the Boleyn Ground. The sides have only ever met once
before. That came on 6 January 2002 when West Ham United won 3-0 away in the
FA Cup third round - Jermain Defoe scored twice and Joe Cole got the other.
Kevin Keen will have a particular interest as he ended his playing career at
Moss Rose. whufc.com will have full ticket information as and when
confirmed.
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Hammers to face Silkmen - KUMB
Filed: Wednesday, 13th August 2008
By: A Right Pair Of Writers
West Ham United will face Macclesfield Town at the Boleyn Ground in the
second round of the Carling Cup. Tonight's draw pitched the Hammers against
the Silkmen in what will be only the second competitive meeting between the
two sides. The only previous meeting came in the FA Cup third round six
years ago, a game won 3-0 by United in front of the BBC TV cameras.
Goalscorers that day were Jermain Defoe (x2) and Joe Cole. Macclesfield
reached the second round of the competition by virtue of beating
Championship Blackpool - two leagues above the Silkmen - 2-0 in the first
round last night thanks to goals from Shaun Brisley and Martin Gritton. The
match is due to take place in the week commencing 25th August 2008. The draw
will bring back a few memories for reserve team boss Kevin Keen who played
for, and briefly managed the Silkmen between 2000-2002.
Full second round draw
Ipswich Town v Colchester United
Coventry City v Newcastle United
Hartlepool United v West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United v Macclesfield Town
Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United
Cardiff City v MK Dons
Swansea City v Hull City
Rotherham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brighton and Hove Albion v Manchester City
Reading v Luton Town
Blackburn Rovers v Grimsby Town
Wigan Athletic v Notts County
Leeds United v Crystal Palace
Crewe Alexandra v Bristol City
Middlesbrough v Yeovil Town
Fulham v Leicester City
Queens Park Rangers v Carlisle United
Nottingham Forest v Sunderland
Burnley v Oldham Athletic
Southampton v Birmingham City
Bolton Wanderers v Northampton Town
Watford v Darlington
Preston North End v Derby County
Cheltenham Town v Stoke City
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Good riddance - KUMB
Filed: Wednesday, 13th August 2008
By: Staff Writer
Hammers triallist Ben Thatcher is set to sign for Ipswich Town today after
safely completing a medical. The former Millwall and Tottenham full-back
recently spent a week with the Hammers much to the fury of many United fans,
disgusted that the club should offer an opportunity to a player with such a
chequered history. However reports this morning suggest that Alan Curbishley
has finally accepted that Thatcher, a player with one of the worst
disciplinary records in football would not be accepted by United suporters -
despite comments made by the West Ham manager earlier in the week which
intimated that he may be offered a temporary deal. 32-year-old Thatcher
spent Tuesday undergoing a medical with the Championship side and is set to
sign a permanent deal later today. Town boss Jim Magilton told the club's
website itfc.premiumtv.co.uk: "It's moving forward now and we hope to bring
it to a conclusion on Wednesday."
Thatcher played twice for the Hammers during his trial period. He was
roundly booed by United fans at the weekend when featuring in the first half
against Villarreal.
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West Ham United: Premier League preview and prediction 2008/9 -
SquareFootball
Alan Curbishley is the bookies favourite to leave his club first this
season, and given that about half the division will lose faith in their
manager in the coming months its a fair bet that Curbishley will need a good
start to the season if he is to avoid coming under sustained pressure. But
the new signings do not look particularly exciting and with the credit
crunch hurting everywhere The Hammers are having to sell to buy this summer.
Last season West Ham drifted to finish in a comfortable tenth place on 49
points, the owners will inevitably expect more this season - but the squad
doesn't inspire much faith that West Ham can even match 2007/8. I'm
expecting West Ham to decline by three or four points and in the most
congested part of the table that could cost them two or three places.
TRANSFERS TO DATE Ins: Valon Behrami (Lazio), Balint Bajner (Liberty
Salonta), Jan Lastuvka (Shakhtar Donetsk, loan).
Outs: John Pantsil (Fulham), Bobby Zamora (Fulham), Richard Wright
(Ipswich).
RECENT LEAGUE FINISHES Recent league position: 10-15-9-26-24 Recent league
points: 49-41-55-37*-37*
SPREAD BETTING Sporting Index final position prediction: 11th Sporting Index
points prediction: 46 - 47.50 points
A buy will be profitable if West Ham can get 48 points or more; last season
they achieved 49.
Example: £10 buy West Ham season points at 47.5 West Ham get 58 points: You
win £105 West Ham get 53 points: You win £55 West Ham get 48 points: You win
£5 West Ham get 43 points: You lose £45 West Ham get 38 points: You lose £95
and so on
PREDICTION Finish 13th, 42-47 points
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Hammers handed Scharner injury boost - Echo
7:37pm Wednesday 13th August 2008
By Rob Pritchard »
WITH just over 48 hours to go until the start of the new Premier League
season, West Ham United's opening day opponents Wigan Athletic have injury
concerns. Austrian defender Paul Scharner, a consistent performer in each
of the last two campaigns, is "touch and go" after suffering an ankle injury
in the Latics' 6-0 pre-season win over Barnsley a fortnight ago. Scharner
scored Wigan's goal in the 1-1 draw between the two sides at the Boleyn
Ground last August 25. Meanwhile, England forward Emile Heskey is struggling
to overcome a groin injury and only resumed full training on Wednesday.
Assistant manager Eric Black told the Wigan Evening Post: "Unfortunately,
Paul is still struggling and hasn't started full training yet. "He did some
straight-line running on Monday but, with an ankle injury, that's not too
much of a problem to do. "It's once you start changing direction and turning
that the tendons and ligaments take more pressure on them. "I think it's
touch and go with him but we'll give Paul every chance to prove his fitness
ahead of the game."
Should Scharner fail to recover, his place at the heart of Steve Bruce's
defence is expected to go to former Newcastle United and Ipswich Town man
Titus Bramble. Up front, Heskey is hopeful of being fit, but Wales pair
Jason Koumas and Ryan Taylor are racing to be fit to feature at Upton Park
on Saturday.
"Emile still has a bit of tightness in the groin area but hopefully he'll be
okay to start training again (on Thursday)," Black added. "With regard to
our other injuries, Jason started training again with the squad (on Tuesday)
after a problem with his knee. "He trained for three days with the fitness
coach first and then joined up with the rest of us, which we're delighted
about. "Ryan has still got a problem with his shin but he's doing work with
the physios."
Bruce is expected to hand debuts to midfielders Lee Cattermole (£3.5million
from Middlesbrough), Olivier Kapo and Daniel De Ridder (£3.5million and free
respectively from Birmingham City) and Egyptian forward Amr Zaki, who has
arrived on a season-long loan from Zamalek.
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