WHUFC.com
With the fans singing his name after another West Ham United goal, Guillermo
Franco is more than content
02.12.2009
Guille Franco has said he is living a dream at West Ham United and cannot
wait to run out in front of the fans again next weekend against Manchester
United.
The striker has already won the hearts of the Boleyn Ground faithful with
his all-action displays in the Hammers attack. He scored his third goal in
six starts for the club in last Saturday's 5-3 defeat of Burnley and left
the field on the hour to a huge ovation. With the fans singing his name, the
departing Franco returned the acclaim by turning to clap all four corners of
the stadium.
"The truth is I am very happy," he said. "West Ham have fantastic supporters
and of course I am happy to be playing and doing a good job so soon after
arriving here. The fact they are singing my name is really great and I am
glad I could give them a goal. They have been fantastic to me. I say to them
thank you very much. That is all I can say as I think they know what it
means to me to be here."
Franco played against Manchester United when Villarreal went to Old Trafford
for a UEFA Champions League encounter in September last year and earned a
fine goalless draw. A lone striker who hit the post in a close contest, he
was not overawed then - he regularly plays in front of 100,000 fans when
FIFA World Cup finalists Mexico play at the Azteca Stadium - and will not be
this weekend.
"Manchester United is a big game, a good test for us. I have played at Old
Trafford and I know what to expect. They are a strong team, but I think it
is a good match for us to play. We will have no fear and will approach it
with the right attitude. They are a strong team but we have to believe we
can win. I know Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick last weekend and we will
have to watch him."
The 33-year-old added: "I love life my here in London. It is a dream for me,
it is very special for me to be here. I am enjoying it so much and want to
bring the team and the fans more points. We want to continue in this way and
get more wins."
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Sunday service in stores
WHUFC.com
Christmas shoppers will be able to head to the Stadium store over the next
two Sundays
02.12.2009
The West Ham United club store at the Boleyn Ground will be opening on the
next two Sundays to allow shoppers to stock up on their favourite festive
gifts.
With the Lakeside store normally open all over the weekend, the Stadium
store will follow suit on Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 December. Opening hours
will be between 1pm and 5pm, with many great present ideas to be found.
There is something for everyone, young and old, so why not head along next
Sunday to make sure it is a claret and blue Christmas.
Also, anyone interested in ordering one of the special Katy Perry-inspired
basques - as seen on the MTV Europe Music Awards earlier this month - should
contact the store. The unique underwear has proved very popular and is
likely to prove a popular Christmas or Valentine's Day gift.
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Dyer pleased with improvement
WHUFC.com
A positive second half showing from the reserves left manager Alex Dyer
happy
01.12.2009
Alex Dyer was pleased with his reserve side's much-improved performance in
the second half of Monday night's 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City.
The vastly more experienced home side dominated much of the play in the
opening 45 minutes and went in at the interval two goals to the good thanks
to strikes from Jake Jervis and Damien Johnson. West Ham were a far greater
threat in the second period, however, and got back into the match through a
penalty that Frank Nouble won and converted. However, the visitors could not
quite find an equaliser as they tasted defeat for the first time in three
matches.
"In the second half they played more as a team and played more for one
another," Dyer said. "Frank got a goal back from a penalty that he won
himself. I thought that once we got the goal we could have had a result but
it wasn't to be.
"I was pleased with the second half performance as we worked hard and showed
that we learnt a little bit from the first half."
Dyer, whose side had gone into the game on a the back of a 5-2 victory over
Stoke City last week, attributes the turnaround to some open discussions in
the dressing room at half-time.
"We went in and ironed over a few things and they responded, which was
pleasing. They listened to what we had to say and took it on board.
"The performance second half was a lot better but they had given themselves
a mountain to climb as Birmingham are an experienced side. They had a few
senior boys who knew what they were doing and had played the game a long
time.
"But for us it was a good learning curve as we played well against Stoke and
if they want to go on to that next level that we always talk about,
consistency is the key."
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Double joy for Junior
WHUFC.com
Junior Stanislas told WHUTV he was happy to mark his birthday with a goal in
the 5-3 victory over Burnley
01.12.2009
Junior Stanislas insisted there was still a lot of work to be done after
celebrating his 20th birthday with a goal in the 5-3 Barclays Premier League
victory over Burnley. The winger netted the Hammers' second in a
thrill-a-minute contest at the Boleyn Ground, taking his tally to an
impressive nine in 29 appearances for the club. However, Stanislas, who
turned 20 on Thursday, told WHUTV that he and his team-mates were
disappointed at conceding three late goals to the Clarets, having earlier
romped into a 5-0 lead. "I'd never played in a game like that before," he
said. "There were a lot of goals. There were a lot of goals last week [in
the 3-3 draw at Hull City], but this time we've obviously won the game so
it's good for us. "I wasn't even thinking about my birthday when I was out
there, because that's gone a couple of days ago. Obviously the boys just dug
in and wanted to win."Scoring five goals and going five-nil up and then
conceding three goals is obviously disappointing, but we haven't won in a
while or won that often and we picked up the three points, so that was the
main thing. "At the same time, everybody in the dressing room was
disappointed that we conceded the three late goals, as well, because we were
hoping for a clean sheet."
Having starred in two FA Cup third-round ties against Chelsea during a loan
spell at Southend United last season, Stanislas is now taking aim at another
'Big Four' club in the shape of Manchester United, who visit east London
next Saturday.
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Birmingham date change
WHUFC.com
The visit of Birmingham City to the Boleyn Ground in February will now take
place a day later
01.12.2009
The Barclays Premier League game with Birmingham City at the Boleyn Ground
has been put back a day to Wednesday 10 February 2010. The match has been
moved as Birmingham's previous game has been chosen for live television
coverage and will now be played on Sunday 7 February. Kick-off will be at
7.45pm
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Five of the best
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st December 2009
By: Staff Writer
So it's our old friends Arsenal once again in the FA Cup.
To get into the spirit of things, we decided to pick our favourite five FA
Cup goals against the Gunners. Given the lack of recorded material relating
to our earlier meetings - which include a memorable 6-0 thrashing of the
north Londoners back in 1946 - our choice was limited to the more recent
encounters. Still, some very memorable moments to mull over.
Where are they now?
Alan Dickens
Plaistow born Dickens made 231 appearances for United between 1982 and 1989.
Having failed to strike a rapport with the Boleyn faithful - mostly for not
being as good as Trevor Brooking, who he succeeded - he swapped east for
west, joining Chelsea. Spells in the lower leagues followed as Dickens'
career petered out and he left the game to become a black cab driver, a job
he now combines with his role as first team Coach for Barking FC.
Leroy Rosenior
Leroy spent four years at the Boleyn making over 50 appearances - but none
more memorable than when he became the unlikeliest of heroes in that FA Cup
tie in 1989. Having worked his way round several London clubs Rosenior moved
to the south west where he ended his playing days, before embarking upon a
career in management. He managed four clubs - Gloucester City, Merthyr
Tydil, Torquay (twice) and Brentford before calling a hiatus on a blossoming
career.
Alan Taylor
A real rags to riches story, Taylor left his mark on football in the 1974/75
season when he scored in every round - including a brace in the final
against Fulham - as the Irons won the Cup for the first time since 1964. His
career peaked the following season when he scored 13 goals and made a brief
appearance in the Cup Winners Cup Final before a series of injuries saw him
lose his place in the squad. Taylor moved to Norwich in 1979 and now owns a
newsagents in the City.
John Hartson
Signed by Harry Redknapp from Arsenal for £3.2million in what was one of the
former manager's shrewdest piece of business, the fiery Welshman became West
Ham's most prolific hitman since Geoff Hurst in 1997. Hartson scored 33
goals in 73 appearances before moving to Wimbledon - remember them? - for a
then-record £7.5million. A successful career at both domestic and
international level ended in 2007 before he was diagnosed with cancer
earlier this year. Having undergone emergency surgery Hartson is said to be
recovering well.
Sir Trevor Brooking MBE CBE
A one-club man, Brooking is one of the most celebrated players in the club's
history and rightfully takes his place alongside legendary names such as
Watson, Moore, Hurst and Bonds. A successful playing career - he won two FA
Cups and played in both Cup Winners Cup and League Cup finals whilst
featuring (albeit briefly) for England in the 1982 World Cup Finals -
preceeded an even more successful career once Brooking had hung up his
boots. He has been both manager and a director of West Ham United, a
director of a binding company (Colbrook), head of Sport England, Director of
Football Development at the FA and a TV pundit.
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West Ham United avoid hammer blow over accounts
Delay means rivals will not know situation before January
Matt Scott
The Guardian, Tuesday 1 December 2009
West Ham United have delayed filing their accounts again by taking advantage
of a loophole that has given them three months' grace. The club's accounts
to May 2009 had been due at Companies House last week but they instead
submitted a form that gives them extra time. It is the third time the
Hammers have used the device since the collapse of the business empire
belonging to their former owner, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. The club's
financial position remains opaque and were it not for the injection of a
seven-figure sum in working capital from their Icelandic owner, Straumur,
the latest development would have set alarm bells ringing over West Ham's
cash flow.
In January, amid uncertainty about what compensation would be due to
Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez saga, the club's auditors refused to
sign off their 2008 accounts, leading to them being 15 months out of date by
the time they emerged in September. Since then there has been added pressure
from other difficult-to-quantify liabilities. The club is taking legal
advice over an appeal against Alan Curbishley's successful claim for unfair
dismissal, which could amount to more than £3m. The uncertainty over Dean
Ashton's injured ankle, which could lead to him retiring from the game, is
also likely to have contributed to the situation.
West Ham will hope that by the time their 2009 accounts are published, in
February, any off-pitch surprises will be behind them. At least, come
January, they will not have demonstrated to circling Premier League vultures
just how bad things have become.
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Carlton Cole to see specialist as West Ham hope for swift return
Striker may be on the sidelines for only five or six weeks
Hammers will also be without Matthew Upton for United game
David Hytner
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 December 2009 21.26 GMT
West Ham United have sent Carlton Cole to see a specialist in order to
discover how long he will be out with knee ligament damage. The club is
hopeful that the injury is not as serious as was first feared and is likely
to mean five or six weeks on the sidelines rather than four months. Cole
suffered the problem during the first half of Saturday's 5-3 home win over
Burnley. He played on and scored a 43rd- minute penalty, his seventh goal of
an encouraging season, but he was unable to reappear for the second half. He
has undergone scans but the club needs the specialist's opinion before they
will be able to confirm how long Cole is to be out. West Ham play Manchester
United at Upton Park on Saturday, and they will also be without Matthew
Upson, who has not yet recovered from hamstring trouble, and Valon Behrami,
who has had keyhole surgery to his knee cartilage and will be unavailable
for three weeks. Kieron Dyer, though, came through 75 minutes for the
reserves against Birmingham City last night and is expected to be named
among the substitutes, while Mark Noble, James Tomkins and Alessandro
Diamanti believe that they are fit enough to feature.
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WEST HAM: Dyer comes through unscathed against Birmingham
11:05am Tuesday 1st December 2009
Guardian Series
KIERON DYER enjoyed a another successful outing for West Ham's reserves
during their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Birmingham City on Monday. The
midfielder came through the game unscathed, prompting suggestions that he
may be included in Gianfranco Zola's squad for the visit of Manchester
United on Saturday. A largely inexperienced Hammers side lined up against
the Blues, with Terry Dixon resuming his partnership with Frank Nouble up
front, after the pair impressed during last week's 5-2 demolition of Stoke
City. However, first half goals from Jake Jervis and a deflected Damien
Johnson effort put Birmingham 2-0 up at the break. Nouble hauled West Ham
back into the game when he went over in the area under a challenge from
Johnson before dusting himself off to convert the spot-kick. However, Alex
Dyer's side were not able to find the all-important second goal.
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West Ham hopeful Carlton Cole's knee injury is not as bad as first feared
West Ham United are hopeful that Carlton Cole will be out for only four to
five weeks after the striker underwent a scan on his injured knee on Monday.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Jason Burt
Published: 7:30AM GMT 01 Dec 2009
The club played down claims that the 26 year-old would be ruled out for up
to four months after he damaged ligaments in the 5-3 victory over Burnley on
Saturday. Although the initial prognosis is hopeful, the scan results are
being analysed, which has led to an anxious wait for manager Gianfranco
Zola. Cole is an important player to his plans, having scored seven goals
this season. West Ham have also made it clear that they have no intention of
selling Cole.
The striker recovered quickly from a hamstring strain which had ruled him
out of England's recent friendly against Brazil. He will hope for another
reasonably swift return to ensure he does not jeopardise his World Cup hopes
or West Ham's prospects of remaining in the Premier League. However, even in
the best-case scenario he will not play until the new year, which rules him
out of at least six league matches and the third round of the FA Cup, at
home to Arsenal. "It's his right knee. He hit his knee and twisted it a
little bit," Zola said after Saturday's game. "If it's ligaments then, yes,
it could be a while. Everybody knows how important Carlton is for us." West
Ham are also likely to be without midfielder Valon Behrami for three weeks
with the Swiss international due to undergo surgery on a knee injury to
rectify a cartilage problem. Matthew Upson, who missed the Burnley game with
a hamstring strain, should return this weekend. The problem for Zola is that
although he does not have to sell in the January transfer window, neither is
he expected to have funds available to recruit. Kieron Dyer was scheduled to
play for the reserves last night as he attempts to regain fitness.
Meanwhile, West Ham announced on Monday that they have submitted planning
permission for a new training ground based at Rush Green. The club already
own the 29-acre site, which is two miles from their current facility at
Chadwell Heath, Essex. The proposals were submitted to Havering Council and
a decision is expected early next year.
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West Ham to build new training complex at Rush Green
Published 23:00 30/11/09 By Mirror Football
The Mirror
West Ham want to build a new training ground at Rush Green. They have
applied to Havering Council for planning permission after buying the 29-acre
site two miles from their current Chadwell Heath complex. A decision is
expected early next year and if they get the go-ahead, boss Gianfranco Zola
and his squad will get state-of-the-art training facilities. Club chief
executive Scott Duxbury called it "a major step forward."
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More Ruthless in Front of Goal, But ….
West Ham Till I Die
Conceding those three dodgy second half goals was hardly the professionalism
that I was looking for prior to the match. Some might say that we switched
off after our fifth goal, but personally I think that we suffered from both
Cole and then Franco going off. With their exit we lost our ability to hold
up the ball and retain possession in Burnley's half. Consequently, the ball
kept going right back down our end, putting increased pressure on our make
shift defence.
We also started defending too deep and the midfield did not provide the back
four with sufficient cover. Burnley's three goals were almost identical,
with two from wide left and the other one coming from wide right positions.
For the first, Eagles was given far too much time and space on the ball by
Spector and Gabbidon. Why did they not push him wide or, better still, one
make the challenge while the other doubled up on him? The truth is that
Eagles should never have got the cross into the box in the first place and
once he did either Da Costa or Illunga should have cleared it.
For the second, Spector again failed to stop the cross and Da Costa should
probably have intercepted the subsequent ball in to the box. For the third,
they clinically carved open our defence on the right side and there was a
total failure to pick up Eagles on the edge of the box. Zola is quite
right to state that we must defend higher up the pitch and the midfield must
provide better cover for the back four. For example, it would be an
interesting exercise to plot Kovac's covering position for all three goals?
I think that itis fair to state that, at the moment, we are falling down on
the basic abc of defending, rather than the the xyz!
But enough of the down side of life at planet Upton Park! What about the
positives from the Burnley match?
For a start, I was far more impressed with the quality of our finishing.
The first goal was superb, Parker's quick free kick reminded one of Bobby
Moore's quick thinking to find Geoff Hurst for the equaliser in the 1966
World Cup Final. Equally impressive was Collison's well timed run and
finish. Stanislas buried his chance with skill from an acute angle. And if
Parker bought Moore to mind in creating the first, then there was shades of
Hurst about Franco's near post run and header. That was a classic West Ham
move in the Greenwood era and Hurst was its greatest exponent. I have often
wondered why the near post run is not used more often in the contemporary
game. Because when it is done right it is very difficult to defend! With
his recent near post goals against Sunderland and Burnley, we obvious have
a brand new exponent of this particular attacking move in the form of
Guillermo Franco.
Apart from his goal, Franco's all-round play was excellent, particulary his
retention of the ball, vision and passing. Parker's performance in midfield
was Herculean in its magnitude. High praise indeed, but no over-estimation.
He was everywhere during the game, breaking up attacks one minute and
surging forward the next. He must surely be playing the best football of
his career at the moment.
Stanislas' development is also worthy of note. Whilst admittedly, he could
improve on the defensive side of his game, offensively he is shaping up very
well. That was Junior's fourth league and cup goal of the season and that
ability to finish, as well as his pace and skill on the ball, promise much
for the future.
In fact, the West Ham goal scoring statistics for the season, as a whole,
illustrate that goals are starting to come from a variety of positions
across the pitch. So far this season, the following players have scored the
specified number of league and cup goals:
Cole (7), Stanislas (4), Franco (3), Diamanti (2), Collison (2), Upson (2),
Noble (2), Hines (2), Illunga (1) Jimenez (1) Da Costa (1)
That's 11 different scorers, with three strikers, five midfielders and three
defenders adding to our tally. That's 27 goals in total for the season
and in, terms of the league, we have a very respectable goal difference
considering that we are currently 17th in the PL and leaking goals at a
worrying rate. Imagine how much better it would have been if we had we
managed to retain last season's superior defensive standards!
These are all positives, even if there are injury related, dark clouds
threatening to rain on our parade . Lets hope that the news on Upson, Cole,
Behrami and Diamanti is positive and they are back sooner rather than later.
The absence of an experienced target man to lead the line is a particular
worry if Cole is out for any length of time. Lets also hope that the recent
stories on the sale of Green and Upson prove to be the same empty
speculation as the similar stories that circulated during last year's winter
transfer window.
Next up, a real test! Man Utd at Upton Park, one of our favourite fixtures
of the season. Zola and Clarke will need to sort out the defensive lapses
in order for us to get a result on the day . . . . but history tells us not
to bet against it!
SJ Chandos.
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