WHUFC.com
Carlton Cole was once again on national duty as England beat Belarus on
Wednesday evening
14.10.2009
Carlton Cole earned his second England cap in five days as England concluded
their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win against Belarus
at Wembley on Wednesday. The striker came on in the 66th minute for his
sixth cap and just ten minutes later had a major hand in the Three Lions'
third goal. Cole, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Monday, drove a shot
along the floor on the angle which Belarus goalkeeper Yury Zhevnov could
only palm into the path of Peter Crouch, who was left with a simple finish.
Crouch had already given England an early lead when he slid home Gabriel
Agbonlahor's cross in the fourth minute. Shaun Wright-Phillips made it two
with a low drive on the hour mark. In something of a rarity in recent
England matches, Cole was the sole West Ham United representative on show,
with Matthew Upson an unused substitute and Robert Green suspended following
his dismissal against Ukraine on Saturday. The trio will all be hoping to be
involved in Fabio Capello's squad once more for the friendly with Brazil in
Qatar on 14 November.
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Reaching out to Denmark
WHUFC.com
The West Ham United Community Sports Trust are involved in another exciting
overseas project
14.10.2009
A group of West Ham United community coaches have taken the term
international break to new levels this month with a coaching initiative in
Denmark.
A delegation of ten from the club's 'Trainees and Mentors' scheme have
travelled to Horsens in the Scandinavian country to work with local
youngsters and coaches. After the significant success of summer programmes
at home and abroad including the club's China tour, it was another sign of
the West Ham United Community Sports Trust helping to shine a light globally
on what is being done to give back locally.
The two-week trip has seen the trainees swap their usual work at the club's
Beckton base to spend the first part educating young Danish people in their
methods and training through school work and practical sessions on the
pitch. The second week has then been all about those same youngsters helping
the trainees to run half-term holiday coaching courses for the local
children in Horsens.
A year in the planning, this scheme came about as a result of a partnership
with VIA University College, and football club AC Horsens in Denmark, backed
by Youth in Action the EU Programme for young people. The trainees were all
overseen by the club's Rashid Abba, who was head coach for the Premier
League during the Barclays Asia Trophy in Beijing and is vastly experienced
at working with aspiring youngsters.
The ten trainees, each in their second year at the club, are all in their
late teens or early 20s and hail from Newham and Tower Hamlets - the Hammers
heartland around the Boleyn Ground. After imparting their knowledge and
experience gained from the past year to those in Denmark, they will also be
put to work on their return to train those just starting out on the 'Trainee
and Mentoring' scheme.
Abba said: "This has been an exciting opportunity for the young people from
east London to share their skills and experiences with the young coaches
from AC Horsens.
"The Youth in Action funding is about encouraging intercultural diagloue
between young people from across the European Union, and our work in Denmark
is making an important contribution to both international co-operation and
social cohesion.
"This type of innovative project shows the true potential of young people
from Newham and Tower Hamlets, and provides them with the opportunity to
showcase their talents abroad. Everyone at West Ham United is rightly proud
of the outstanding job they are doing as international ambassadors for the
club."
Pia Hegner from CIRIUS, the External Assessment Agency for EU Programmes,
added they were delighted to be supporting the scheme. "I'm amazed to see
how the participants are enjoying and interacting in intercultural role
play. I'm also impressed and pleased to see so many female trainee coaches
from West Ham United are participating in this unique exchange trip."
The exchange part has led to the Danish higher-education students from VIA
University coming over to east London to write dissertations on the club's
community programme and how it works with impoverished communities in east
London. They are working in Mile End and Beckton, having earned the right to
travel over through their academic excellence.
Similarly the club's trainees were staying with local families in Horsens to
broaden their experiences. Bodil Klausen senior lecture and Intercultural
Co-ordinator from VIA University College: "I'm delighted to see the West Ham
trainee coaches coming to Denmark, working and living alongside with local
Danish host families.
"It is encouraging to see how well the trainees, from such a variety of
backgrounds, are integrating with both the Danish coaches and the
schoolchildren taking part in the scheme."
Mick King, CEO of the West Ham United Community Sports Trust, said the
Danish iniative was yet another step forward for the club. Similar schemes
are in the pipeline - including potential programmes in Amsterdam and even
as far afield as Trinidad - to show the world the West Ham way and at the
same time bring back valuable lessons.
The information gleaned does not just help the trainees themselves but also
sees a knock-on effect with them able to pass on their experiences and new
knowledge to others. "The trainees get to find out about themselves," King
said. "What it is like to live and work in another country is valuable for
them to see at first hand.
"Similarly the Danish players and pupils find out what it is like to be
coached and educated by people that aren't Scandinavian and aren't what they
are used to. We feel we have positive messages to take to others in terms of
our coaching and approach.
"The process promotes integration. Our trainees stay with Danish families
while they are over there. They are broadening their experience in every
way, not just on the pitch. It makes them better rounded invidivuals and
this is reciprocated when Danish students come to us in east London.
"The exchange develops new horizons for the Community Scheme by creating the
opportunity for young, inner-city talent to be recognised and showcased on a
global stage. The trainees are not out there on a holiday, they are being
taught how to be in a position of responsbiility and how to use that
positively.
"This initiative builds on the success achieved in Beijing, where our young
coaches made a significant impact. We are proud of our trainees as they
uphold the West Ham United tradition of using sport to educate and inspire."
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Nouble plays again
WHUFC.com
Frank Nouble was on the winning side again for the third time in a week with
England Under-19s
14.10.2009
Frank Nouble played his third game in six days as England Under-19s won 2-0
against Slovakia on Wednesday to top their qualifying group in the 2010 UEFA
European U19 Championship. The West Ham United striker played for 55 minutes
as England made it nine points from nine in qualifying Group 2, being played
in Slovenia. They had already qualified for the Elite round in the spring as
one of the top two in the section, and will be joined by Slovakia who have
finished runners-up. The Young Lions had already beaten Finland and the
mini-tournament hosts 3-1 on Friday and Sunday respectively. If they go all
the way to the eight-nation finals, they - and potentially the 18-year-old
Nouble - will be making a short trip across the channel to northern France
in July.
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Jack backs Kick It Out
WHUFC.com
As the club's new Kick It Out ambassador, Jack Collison will raise awareness
of the anti-racism drive
14.10.2009
West Ham United are looking forward to taking part in this year's One Game,
One Community week of action. Staged by Kick It Out, football's equality and
inclusion campaign, this year's initiative begins on Thursday with England
manager Fabio Capello also getting involved. The club has dedicated the
visit of Arsenal on Sunday 25 October as its Kick It Out match and will be
doing much to raise awareness ahead of the game. Capello is asking fans,
players, clubs and community groups from grassroots to the England team to
join him in supporting 1,000 events taking place during a fortnight-long
period to highlight diversity, equality and anti-discrimination across
football.
"Football is more than a sport. It is a phenomenon with an international
language all of its own," said Capello. "The One Game, One Community weeks
of action shows all that is good about football. Our ability to work and
live together and break down barriers should never be underestimated."
Jack Collison will succeed Carlton Cole as the club's Kick It Out
ambassador, but the whole squad will be united behind the cause. They will
wear Kick It Out T-shirts during training next week as well as in the
pre-match warm-up before facing Arsenal. Lord Herman Ouseley, chairman of
Kick It Out, said: "The overarching idea behind the weeks of action is that
the coming together of clubs, fans and local communities provides a focused,
highly visible message of anti-discrimination. But over and above this it's
about connecting clubs, players and their communities in a unified message
of diversity."
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Tomkins eyes repeat result
WHUFC.com
On a high after a fine showing with the U21s, James Tomkins is expecting
much away to Stoke City
14.10.2009
James Tomkins has spoken about the belief in the camp as West Ham United put
in the hard work at the training ground before Saturday's trip to Stoke
City. The West Ham United and England Under-21 defender cannot wait for the
Barclays Premier League to get under way again after the international
fixtures. He has fond memories of playing at the Britannia Stadium after a
tremendous defensive display alongside Matthew Upson in last season's 1-0
away victory.
He said: "We are working hard all the time in training and looking to
improve and we all believe, if we keep doing this, then the results will
improve. It is still early on in the season, but we are looking to turn
results around and will be aiming to try and do that starting this Saturday
against Stoke."
Tomkins remembers a "physical battle" against Tony Pulis's side, although
they also have a strong attacking reputation - particularly up front. As
well as former West Ham winger Matty Etherington, the match could also
feature summer signing Tuncay Sanli and lively forwards James Beattie and
Ricardo Fuller.
The young defender says he expects the same sort of game as that last
meeting on 2 May and is hopeful for a similar result. "It was a very
physical game, but we came away with all three points and we would look to
try and do that again. It is a noisy stadium with their fans, but that is
also good for an away team, it is good to play in front of that sort of
atmosphere and we are looking forward to the game."
Tomkins, returned to Chadwell Heath this week along with club-mates Junior
Stanislas and Zavon Hines following England U21's 6-3 win against FYR
Macedonia in Coventry. The match saw striker Hines bag a brace and Tomkins
playing a key role for the whole 90 minutes. Midfielder Stanislas was an
unused substitute.
"Yeah, it has been a good week and it was great to play for England again,"
he said. "Zav did great with his goals, but it is good to be back and now we
are only looking to the match with Stoke. We're not short of confidence, we
believe in the way we play, the way the manager wants us to play and we are
focusing on getting the right result."
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Candreva agent denies claims
Agent rejects speculation linking Italian midfielder with West Ham
Last updated: 14th October 2009
SSN
Antonio Candreva's agent has played down speculation linking the Italian
midfielder with a move to West Ham. Hammers coach Gianfranco Zola has been
linked with a move for the 22-year-old Livorno player. He coached the
midfielder while involved with the Italy Under 21 squad, but Candreva's
agent Andrea Moretti says they are not in negotiations.
Moretti told TuttoPremier.it: "There has been no contact. "It's true that
Zola knows Antonio well having coached him in the Italy U21 squad, but to
infer from this that we are in negotiations, is a long way away." Candreva
has made 33 appearances for Livorno since joining the Amaranto outfit on
loan from Udinese in the summer of 2008.
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Gold seeking new rush
Former Birmingham chairman loves thrill of the game
Last updated: 14th October 2009
SSN
Former Birmingham City chairman David Gold says he wants to get back onto
football ownership, although he is not actively seeking a club at present.
Gold ended a 16-year association with Birmingham after selling up, along
with former Blues co-owner David Sullivan, to Hong Kong businessman Carson
Yeung. The pair have now been linked with a bid for West Ham but Gold
insists he is not actively looking for a club at present. He told Sky
Sports: "I'm not actively canvassing - I'm taking a breather. I'm going to
smell the coffee, I'm going to just see where this takes me. "There's no
hurry, it's only just dawned on me in effect that it's the end of an era and
I look forward to the next stage of my life."
Asked specifically about West Ham, he replied: "I wouldn't dwell on the
problems or previous owners. "What I would say to you is that travelling to
Birmingham City Football Club and now having left them, it's a three hour
journey to get there and a three hour journey to get back. "So I'd like to
change that, now that I'm making a change in my life. I wouldn't want to go
north of Watford to a new club. "Is West Ham south of Watford? Yes it is,
but so is Brighton, Charlton, Southampton - there's lots. "And it depends -
it's also a question who wants us? I think we are a formidable trio -
(former Birmingham managing director) Karen Brady, David Sullivan and myself
- we've got a fantastic history of what we've achieved. "People will say
'yes but you've not achieved what Manchester City's achieved' but I would
say to them 'guys get yourself a life, we're not Manchester City - when we
took over Birmingham City we were in the third tier of football, it was a
club on the verge of not going into administration but disappearing off the
face of the earth.
"So I don't think we've done a bad job so they'll be people that will feel
that we could join them, whether in a joint venture, in various capacities,
various combinations of ownership. "So I think that will begin to happen
once I get over this mourning period."
But Gold said he definitely wants to get back into football at some point as
he loves the buzz of the game. "(I) just have to have this adrenalin kick
every now and then and only football gives it. "I'm the chairman of five
companies as I speak - I was chairman of ten companies only five years ago
but no business gives me the thrill that being in football does."
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Gold-en Hammer
The Sun
By HUGH SOUTHON
Published: Today
DAVID GOLD has hinted he and David Sullivan will move to buy West Ham now
they have sold Birmingham City. Gold said: "I was a West Ham youth player,
was born across the road, my mum was a lifelong supporter and myself and
David once owned 30 per cent of the club. "So you can draw your own
conclusions." Gold and Sullivan are looking for a new Premier League
challenge after the co-owners sold Brum to Hong Kong tycoon Carson Yeung
last week. And Gold added: "There are other clubs - although I can promise
you that, after 16 years of travelling up and down the M1, we won't be going
any further north than Watford!" The Hammers' asking price has now dropped
to £100million but that is understood to exclude about £50m of debt. But
Gold and Sullivan, who made £80m from their Birmingham deal, could land the
Hammers for around £50m in equity as the club's Icelandic owners want out.
Gold, 72, insisted MD Karren Brady would be joining them in whatever venture
they next take on. He said: "Yes, we'll soon be back - the three of us
because we are a formidable team. "We will be lurking in the background and
I think many clubs would be glad to see us arrive! "The debts that appear to
be at West Ham seem huge - I'm not sure I could face what is going on there
- but West Ham do need help and quickly. "It is a club close to my heart and
I would love to be involved with them."
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West Ham dismiss Davis Sullivan's offer to buy club
West Ham United have flatly dismissed an approach by David Sullivan to take
over the club.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Jason Burt
Published: 8:06PM BST 14 Oct 2009
The former Birmingham City co-owner, along with the club's former managing
director Karren Brady, held a preliminary discussion with chairman Andrew
Bernhardt last week.
However Sullivan is believed to have made clear that he wanted to take over
West Ham without paying anything – the sale price is thought to be around
£100 million – because he argued that the club were suffering from
spiralling debts. Sport on television Despite their financial crisis, West
Ham's debts are thought to be around £40-45 million although Sullivan
included, in his valuation, outstanding transfer fees and payments around
the signing of players which are, not normally, factored in when debt is
evaluated. Sullivan also pointed to the losses made in the last set of
available accounts and the money that has to be factored in payments to
Sheffield United over the Carlos Tévez affair. However West Ham believe he
is simply trying to take advantage of the situation and argue that if he was
a serious buyer he would be willing to make a realistic offer. Sullivan has
further irritated West Ham with his comments about the club's financial
position. His former co-owner at Birmingham, David Gold, has also floated
the prospect of investing in West Ham but, again, no progress has been made.
West Ham's owners CB Holdings, set up by the creditors of former owner
Bforgulfor Gudmundsson, mainly the Icelandic bank Straumur, are determined
to try to gain the best possible price if the club are sold.
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Hammers' debts force Sullivan to think again
By Soccernet staff
ESPN
October 15, 2009
David Sullivan has spoken of his concern for West Ham United after
preliminary talks over a possible takeover highlighted the club's desperate
financial state. Sullivan, a West Ham fan as a child, is looking for a new
club after selling his stake in Birmingham City. But he has baulked at an
asking price of £100 million considering the level of debt at Upton Park. He
claims that the situation is so dire that the club's entire future is in
question. "The debts that appear to be at West Ham seem huge,'' Sullivan
told the London Evening Standard. "I'm not sure I could face what is going
on there, but West Ham do need help and quickly. I hope someone gets
involved in the next week or next month or two; otherwise they could be in
the Championship or bust, or both.'' It could mean Sullivan and partner
David Gold could be forced to look at other clubs. "As one door shuts
another one opens,'' said Sullivan. "West Ham is a club close to my heart,
and I would love to be involved with them.''
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David Sullivan in takeover talks with West Ham
Ken Dyer
14.10.09
Evening Standard
David Sullivan has held preliminary talks with West Ham about investing in
the cash-strapped Premier League club. Sullivan and former Birmingham
co-owner David Gold are both keen to return to football after selling their
stake in Birmingham to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung and have targeted
West Ham, the club Sullivan supported as a boy, as their first option.
Sullivan, though, has painted a bleak picture of West Ham's current plight
and may be put off by the asking price of £100million to take over the club
who are believed to have debt well in excess of £50m. "The debts that appear
to be at West Ham seem huge," said Sullivan yesterday. "I'm not sure I could
face what is going on there but West Ham do need help and quickly. I hope
someone gets involved in the next week or next month or two, otherwise they
could be in the Championship or bust, or both."
West Ham, owned currently by CB Holdings who, in turn, are owned largely by
Icelandic investment bank Straumur-Burdaras, have made no public reply to
Sullivan's comments but it is understood that although initial talks in the
last couple of weeks involve a possible injection of cash, a complete
takeover is still a possibility. Their financial position, following the
departure of former chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, is precarious but they
have no plans for a fire sale of players to raise cash in January. Sullivan
and Gold, who is being kept informed as talks progress, are among several
investors interested in West Ham and Straumur, who must answer to creditors
by the end of the year, continue to run the club in accordance with a
self-financing policy. They remain keen to sell but may prefer to wait until
the financial climate improves. That would make things difficult for manager
Gianfranco Zola, who has already been forced to sell defender James Collins
to Aston Villa before he could buy Alessandro Diamanti from Italian club
Livorno. Sullivan and Gold, who was also brought up in the east end, are
enthusiastic about buying into West Ham but are nervous about the level of
the debt and the team's League position. There has been talk of a rift
between Zola and technical director Gianluca Nani but Zola has denied there
is any problem. The former Chelsea star, though, would welcome fresh
investment in the club. "As one door shuts another one opens," said
Sullivan. "West Ham is a club close to my heart and I would love to be
involved with them."
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West Ham fan David Sullivan holds talks over investing in cash-strapped
Premier League strugglers
Daily MAil
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 11:47 AM on 14th October 2009
David Sullivan has held talks with West Ham about investing in the club he
supported as a boy. Sullivan and former Birmingham co-owner David Gold are
looking to get back into football after selling their stake in City to
Carson Yeung. But with the Hammers believed to have debts of more than
£50million, the asking price of £100m could put the pair off.
'The debts that appear to be at West Ham seem huge,' said Sullivan. 'I'm not
sure I could face what is going on there but West Ham do need help and
quickly. I hope someone gets involved in the next week or next month or two,
otherwise they could be in the Championship or bust, or both. 'As one door
shuts another one opens. West Ham is a club close to my heart and I would
love to be involved with them.' West ham are owned by CB Holdings who, in
turn, are owned largely by Icelandic investment bank Straumur-Burdaras. The
club has made no public reply to Sullivan's comments but it is understood
that although initial talks in the last couple of weeks involve a possible
injection of cash, a complete takeover is still possible. Sullivan and
Gold, who is being kept informed as talks progress, are among several
investors interested in West Ham and Straumur, who must answer to creditors
by the end of the year, continue to run the club in accordance with a
self-financing policy. The Hammers have managed just one win and two draws
from seven Premier League games and sit second from bottom in the table.
Sullivan, along with chief executive Karren Brady, left Birmingham once it
was confirmed Yeung's takeover was going through. Gold stayed on in the hope
of remaining as chairman during the transition but Yeung wanted to bring in
his own people.
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