WHUFC.com
With two appearances under his belt, Savio is relishing the prospect of taking on the champions on Sunday
05.02.2009
Savio has settled quickly into life at West Ham United and is relishing the prospect of this Sunday's visit of Manchester United.
The Germany Under-20 star has made two substitute appearances for the club since his move from Brescia Calcio last month. Having been able to appear in the impressive 2-0 home win against Hull City and the professional goalless draw at Arsenal, Savio is understandably eager for more.
"I was very excited about being able to get on against Hull, where we won the match in a magnificent way, and then against Arsenal, where again we played a very good game and the team did a very good job."
In particular, coming on in last weekend's run-out at the Emirates with the match finely poised could have fazed Savio but he said Gianfranco Zola had given him confidence. With the crowd singing his name again, the forward entered the fray with 20 minutes to go and was a lively presence.
"He just said go on and show what you can do - the rest of the players also helped me a lot and it was easy for me to get involved straight away. Everyone has been helping me since I arrived, the manager, players and staff have helped me settle in straight away and that has been very good for me.
"I am looking forward to the next match against Manchester United and if I can play a part in this that will be good also."
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Pair receive international calls
WHUFC.com
Valon Behrami and Radoslav Kovac have been called-up by Switzerland the Czech Republic respectively
05.02.2009
Two more West Ham United players have been called up to represent their countries in next week's round of international matches. Midfielders Valon Behrami and Radoslav Kovac have been named in the Switzerland and Czech Republic squads for their respective friendlies against Bulgaria and Morocco. Behrami, who has been in superb form for the Hammers since arriving from Italian club Lazio last summer, will be hoping to win his 25th cap when the Swiss host the Bulgarians in Basel on Wednesday evening. The 23-year-old, who has scored two goals for his country, is one of three English-based players in Ottmar Hitzfeld's 20-man squad.
Kovac, who arrived at the Boleyn Ground on loan until the end of the season from Spartak Moscow last week, will hope to earn his 29th cap for the Czechs when they face Morocco in Casablanca on the same evening. Behrami and Kovac join James Collins and Jack Collison, both of whom have been named in the Wales squad for Wednesday's friendly with Poland in the Spanish city of Malaga. Captain Lucas Neill is in the Australia squad for their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Japan in Yokohama on the same date. England head coach Fabio Capello will name his squad for next week's friendly against Spain in Seville on Saturday.
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No move for ex-Chelsea star
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 4th February 2009
By: Staff Writer
Gianluca Nani has confirmed that West Ham will not be offering a contract to Italian midifelder Sam Dalla Bona. The 28-year-old former Chelsea player indicated earlier in the week that he would like the chance to join the Hammers after he was linked with a transfer deadline day move to London. However Dalla Bona's chances of landing a return to the Premier League evaporated tonight after Nani told Radio Kiss Kiss: "there is no chance that Dalla Bona could come to play for West Ham. "He is not a part of our plans. I am sorry to spoil his dream, but he could only come here to train with us."
Dalla Bona, who saw his contract with Napoli terminated by consent last month has been on the lookout for a new club since. He spoke favourable of the Hammers last week, telling reporters: "I have spoken to [Gianfranco] Zola and hope to return to London. I await his response." West Ham were linked with a deadline day move for the former Milan midfielder but that failed to materialise.
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Green - Savio still young
Hammers keeper urges patience with new boy
By James Dall Last updated: 5th February 2009
SSN
West Ham United goalkeeper Robert Green has called for patience over new signing Savio. Teenage striker Savio joined the Hammers from Brescia in the winter transfer window for a reported club record fee of £9million. Savio has made two appearances from the substitutes' bench for Gianfranco Zola's side since the switch, and has yet to open his goalscoring account. Green said in the Daily Star: "I'm sure it's a bit different from Brescia. "I'm sure he knows he's got a lot to learn, but he's very young and I think he knows he's not the finished product just yet."
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Nani scuppers Dalla Bona West Ham move
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Independent.co.uk
West Ham sporting director Gianluca Nani insists the Barclays Premier League side are not interested in signing Samuele Dalla Bona. The Italian midfielder, who spent four years at Chelsea before joining AC Milan in 2002, offered his services to West Ham having recently cut short his contract with Napoli. Dalla Bona revealed yesterday he had spoken to West Ham coach, and close personal friend, Gianfranco Zola with a view to returning to London, and was awaiting a reply.
However, the 27-year-old's hopes appear to have been dashed. "I'm sorry to disappoint Dalla Bona's dreams, but there is no chance he can play for us," Nani told Radio Kiss Kiss. "It's true that the player has asked to train with West Ham but we still have to give him a response. "Technically he doesn't enter into our plans and anyway we can't even sign him until July. "If he came to London, it would only be to continue to train."
Dalla Bona, who joined Napoli from Sampdoria in the summer of 2006, has failed to make a single appearance this season and rescinded his contract with the club earlier this week.
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View From The Opposition : Manchester United
One McAvennieeeeee - Wed Feb 4 2009
West Ham Online
After the success of last weeks one, it just so happens I know a Manc so thought I would give it another go.
We welcome the FIFA club world champions to The Boleyn this weekend and with the Premiership theirs to lose, plus 3 cup competitions still available people are beginning to think is the Quintruple a possibility?
John Simpson a Man Utd Home and Away season ticket holder kindly answered our questions.
What are your thoughts on the season so far?
We are playing some of the best football I've seen and we are Top of the league, in a cup final, world club champions, and still in with a massive shout for FA cup and Champions league. So yeah I'm quite happy.
Expectations for the rest of this year?
Expectations or what I think is possible? I expect to stuff spurs in the Carling cup final and hopefully the wind will change at the final whistle and the saggy faced twitch merchant's face will stay like that. I also expect to win the Premiership – I think the FA cup and Champions League is possible but I won't be putting my house on it.
Tevez wasn't getting much of a look in while Shrek was fit – what is your view of the West Ham Boy?
I love him, every United fan I speak to loves him, his effort alone is something that is much appreciated. With so many games coming up for us even with Rooney fit I think Carlos has a massive part to play in our season. I just hope we het to keep him next year.
Does it embarrass you, not matter how many fans Old Trafford holds it is still a poor atmosphere?
I think that is harsh, yes we have a lot of day trippers and a lot of foreigners that doesn't help with the atmosphere but on European nights it excellent. But I guess you wouldn't know about that would you?
What player don't you think deserves his place in your starting line up?
We have a great squad and have to respect that some players that start some games wouldn't start others. We have a few players coming to the end of their career (Giggs, Ginge, Steptoe) but all still do a great job. If I was going to single out one player that I wouldn't have it would be Beratov. Not because he isn't good, he clearly is, but he is very lazy.
Player to look out for?
All of them – Except Tevez, Carrick and Rio. They never seem to play to their best when up against you for some reason.
Do you prefer London games as you get home quicker after the match?
HA HA – It is a Myth that people from Manchester don't support United, The majority of our Old Trafford support comes from Manchester, the only reason we get this label is because we are so well supported around the world which you'd expect of such a great club.
Where do you live?
Chigwell, Essex – but that doesn't mean my previous answer is incorrect.
West Ham could be called a bit of a Bogey Team for you – do you have any special message for Ludek Miklosko?
All smaller teams put in more of an effort when they play us, it just so happened that on that day it cost us the league. Miklosko will never be forgiven, nor I would imagine he'd expect to be.
What do you make of WHU this year?
I felt sorry for Curbishley as I didn't think he really did much wrong and I'll have to admit I thought the appointment of Zola was a mistake, but fair play to him he really has done well. With his and Steve Clarke at the helm they seem to have you playing some good stuff. Unbeaten in 9 games? Who would have thunk it?
Your view of West Ham fans?
Proper fans. By that I mean they turn up in numbers home and away and always vocally support the team – usually comical as well with their chants. The thing that separates them from a lot of fans is their self deprecating humour and realistic attitude.
If you could choose 1 player from our squad who would it be?
Carlton Cole....... Only Joking. Robert Green – How he isn't in the England set up regularly is beyond me.
What is your favourite animal/rude word combination?
Camel Jizzum
Favourite tree – and how far would you go to show your affection for that tree?
Japanese Cherry Tree – I'd bone it
Match prediction?
0-3
What is your response to people that will call you a number of insulting names because of your replies to these questions?
I'm sure i've been called worse – at least I know that banned bloke won't be able to say anything.
If you were Ruler of the World and Aliens invaded a kidnapped all our crisps and penny sweets and you only had enough money for the ransom of one of each what would you save?
Salt and Vinegar Discos and Black Jacks.
Thanks again to John for answering these questions
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West Ham Fend Off Liverpool Interest To Complete Herita Ilunga Signing
The former Saint-Etienne defender is set for a prolonged stay at Upton Park...
Goal.com
According to a report in British tabloid newspaper The Sun, left-back Herita Ilunga is set to extend his stay with east London-based outfit West Ham United.
It is reported that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had been impressed with the full-back's performances since joining the Hammers on loan from Toulouse at the beginning of the season; however, the Irons appear to have persuaded the former Espanyol and Saint-Etienne defender to stay at Upton Park. Apparently, West Ham will pay le Tefece €2.25 million (£2m) to complete the transfer on a permanent basis, with the 26-year-old poised to sign a four-year contract.
Scott Duxburry, the Hammers' CEO, told the club's official website, "[West Ham have] exercised the option to keep Herita Ilunga at the club [on a] long-term [basis]. We are very happy with the business we have done." Manager Gianfranco Zola is quoted by The Sun as having said, "We really wanted to keep Ilunga; he has done fantastically well." The 26-year-old has played in 21 of West Ham's 24 Premier League fixtures this season, in addition to two FA Cup appearances.
Ricky Brooks, Goal.com
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Arshavin's move to Arsenal shows that transfer window is broken
Long-winded Arshavin transfer saga may not be over yet if one of Arsenal's rivals miss out on a Champions League place
Guardian.co.uk
Calling Lord Griffiths. On second thoughts, perhaps not. His Lordship has already done enough damage in his role as the head of an FA arbitration hearing into the Carlos Tevez affair that found that West Ham would have been relegated at the end of 2006-07 season instead of Sheffield United if the Argentine had never been allowed to sign for the London club.
Goodness only knows what the Nostradamus of the Inns of Court would have to say if Arsenal, having completed the signing of Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg a full 24 hours after the end of the January transfer window, now go on to edge out Aston Villa or Chelsea for a place in the Champions League. Quite a lot, one would speculate without too much concern about losing the deeds to the family bungalow. Remarkably - at least it would be to those of us who have never placed much faith in the judgement of our ermine-clad "betters" - he might well have a point.
"Substantively the deal was done before the deadline. It was lodged with us prior to the transfer window closing and we were satisfied that the deal was done in time," a Premier League spokesman said when pressed to explain why the transfer was allowed to proceed at such a late stage.
You would expect a journalist to make the case that words are important but on a day when the Premier League signed a new television deal worth more than £1bn, you would expect a Premier League spokesman to know better than anyone the value of words. I have no reason to know, but I have reasonable cause to imagine the spokesman concerned might wish he had measured his words, or at least one of his words, more carefully.
"Substantively" is uncomfortable, vague concept in an area where we have long been given to understand that only definitive will suffice. To suggest otherwise is it invite some uncomfortable questions, such as - when is a transfer deadline not a transfer deadline? Is it when the club and the player involved are so high-profile that a collapse of any deal would be substantively embarrassing for all of those involved, the Premier League included?
Such a suggestion will cause deep offence to some and send others scurrying through the records for past instances of transfers being approved after the deadline had passed. Indeed two were offered up last night - that of Benjani Mwaruwari from Portsmouth to Manchester City last year and the swap deal involving Ashley Cole and William Gallas in 2006. Both of these deals were indeed announced after the deadline passed but a subsequent examination of paperwork revealed they had been satisfactorily completed in time. With Zenit apparently failing to submit the necessary paperwork by the 5pm deadline on Monday and officials confirming there was a "slight issue" with documents submitted by Arsenal to the FA, the same cannot be said about the Arshavin deal. The inclement weather can hardly be cited as an excuse, either. The two clubs had been haggling over this deal for almost the entire duration of the window.
To the layperson all of this might seem more like nit-picking than evidence of anything sinister but it safe to assume that a highly paid barrister acting on behalf of, say, Aston Villa would not be inclined towards such a benevolent conclusion. There is a broader point to be made here about the madness of having a transfer window in the first place, but it has been made endless times over the years that it is hardly worth airing again.
Fifa, which made this ridiculous concept compulsory back in the 2002-2003 season, have a long and undistinguished record of not giving a damn what anyone else thinks, apparently believing that they know better than anyone else what is in the best interests of football. A messy, protracted court case involving the richest league in the world, a gaggle of expensive lawyers and a guest appearance from our favourite footballing soothsayer Lord Griffiths might shake them out of this deluded assumption.
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It will be no walk in the Park for Kovac at West Ham
8:00am Thursday 5th February 2009
Guardian Series
WEST HAM's latest signing Radoslav Kovac will go head-to-head with Scott Parker for the right to play alongside Mark Noble at the heart of the team's midfield, according to assistant manager Steve Clarke. The Czech international joined the Hammers last week on loan until the end of the season from Russian side Spartak Moscow, and brings with him a wealth of experience from his country's World Cup 2006 and European Championships 2008 campaigns. The 29-year-old has been brought in to bolster Gianfranco Zola's midfield options, as well as provide cover at centre-half, where he is also adept at playing. However, it is Parker's place that is most under threat from the new man, as Clarke revealed that Kovac's best position is to play as the team's midfield marshal, protecting the back four. After a sluggish start to the season, Parker has upped his game considerably, and was a vital cog in the well-oiled defensive machine that shut down Arsenal's attack on Saturday. And Clarke insisted that Kovac will have his work cut out if he is to displace the former Chelsea charge when he regains match fitness, as his arrival has coincided with the Russian off-season. "He is a good signing for us because he can play in the midfield where we are a little bit short just now," Clarke said after watching the team earn an impressive 0-0 draw at the Emirates. "He can also play at the back. He is an experienced player, a Czech Republic international, who passes the ball well, which we like. "He is not a forward going player, he is more defensive, but he gives us good balance to the squad, and we have lost a few players in the window, so it is nice to bring one in. "Ideally he is a central midfield player just sitting in front shielding the defence, but he has to get past Scottie Parker first. "He knows he is coming into a team that is doing very well, so he will have to be patient and wait for his chance."
Meanwhile, the Hammers' only permanent signing of the January window Savio Nsereko got his second taste of Premier League action, as he looked lively during a 20-minute cameo against Arsenal. The 19-year-old forward received a rousing reception from the Irons' faithful when he made his debut, a late substitution appearance, during the 2-0 win over Hull City last Wednesday.
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Behrami: Hammers team spirit is our secret weapon
8:00am Thursday 5th February 2009
Guardian Series
HAMMERS midfielder Valon Behrami insists the secret behind the side's impressive recent run of results is nothing more than good, old-fashioned team spirit. West Ham took their unbeaten sequence to eight games with arguably their most notable scoreline, a goalless draw against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the off-field dramas – there has seen growing speculation about the club's financial position circulating the air waves, as well as five players leaving Upton Park for pastures new this month – the team have blossomed in the face of adversity. Goals have started to flow from the boots of resurgent pair Carlton Cole and David Di Michele, while the back four of Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, James Collins and Herita Ilunga are developing into a resolute unit. Gianfranco Zola has encouraged his players to play with smiles on their faces since his arrival in October last year. And Behrami admits it is that enjoyment factor which has seen the team escape the throes of a relegation battle and put themselves in contention for a UEFA Cup place, with the team currently occupying eighth place in the table.
"We are a good team. When we work all together we are a good team and I think the most important thing is our team spirit," said the Switzerland international after the team's 0-0 draw with Arsenal. "Every single player is fighting together to do better every day so our secret is our team spirit. "During the negative moments, when we lost four games in a row, the manager was always saying positive things to the team, every time he would laugh with the team, so when we go to the training ground you enjoy working hard. The spirit is stronger than before and I think that is his secret."
That approach has paid dividends for Behrami in particular, as the 23-year-old has been the embodiment of hard graft in a West Ham shirt. Despite arriving in East London with a reputation as a 'pretty boy', the midfielder's refusal to shirk a tackle and his tireless displays have seen him become an instant hit with the fans.
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United hold no fear for in-form Irons, says Behrami
East London Advertiser
05 February 2009
By JONATHAN CLEGG
Valon Behrami believes West Ham can continue their stunning form against the Premier League's big four when champions Manchester United visit Upton Park on Sunday. The Hammers extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with a battling goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium last weekend and the club have now picked up points at Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal this season. Leaders United will present a daunting challenge as Sir Alex Ferguson's side enter this weekend's meeting on a seven-game winning streak. But Behrami is confident the Hammers are capable of shocking the title favourites and improving on their defiant display against the Gunners. He said: "United are a very big team, but we are at home in front of our supporters and we will try all together to get a good result.
"We know it's going to be very tough but we are confident for every game. Not too much because then you can make a lot of mistakes. "But we are a good team. It was a good result [at Arsenal] but we know we can play better, we can keep the ball better and we are at home, so we will try to do better than [last weekend]."
The 23-year-old has been instrumental in West Ham's recent run and his energetic performances have established the midfielder as a firm favourite with Hammers fans. Yet Behrami insists that manager Gianfranco Zola deserves the credit for the club's success, adding that the Italian's positive attitude has helped foster a powerful bond at the club. "Every single player is fighting together to do better every day and our secret is our team spirit," he said. "During the negative moments, when we lost four games in a row, the manager was always saying positive things to the team. [Now] the spirit is stronger than before."
West Ham's unbeaten streak has taken the club to eighth in the table and the Hammers are just four points adrift of the league's top-six. But Behrami is adamant that it is too early to think about challenging for European qualification. "We shouldn't worry about looking at the table now," he said. "We have to work hard and at the end of the season, hopefully we will have a chance to get into Europe. "But it's too early to talk about it now - we have to carry on doing what we're doing and try to do better each day.
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