WHUFC.com
Kieran Sadlier has been called up by Ireland for a tournament in Portugal
22.01.2010
Young midfielder Kieran Sadlier has been called up to the Republic of
Ireland Under-16 squad for a four-nation tournament in Portugal. The
attack-minded Sadlier forms part of manager John Morling's 20-player squad
for the upcoming four-nation tournament, which takes place from 4-8 February
in the Algarve resort of Albufeira. Ireland will face Italy, Portugal and
the Netherlands during the round-robin event.
This is Sadlier's second call at Under-16 level, following his involvement
in the double-header with the Czech Republic in November.
Tournament schedule:
Thursday 4 February
Netherlands v Portugal - Nora Stadium, Ferreiras (1pm)
Italy v Republic of Ireland - Municipal Stadium, Albufeira (4pm)
Saturday 6 February
Portugal v Republic of Ireland - Nora Stadium, Ferreiras (1pm)
Netherlands v Italy - Nora Stadium, Ferreiras (3pm)
Monday 8 February
Portugal v Italy - Nora Stadium, Ferreiras (1pm)
Netherlands v Republic of Ireland - Municipal Stadium, Albufeira (4pm)
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Karren Brady risks good name with idea for 'West Ham Olympic'Ron Lewis
The Times
Karren Brady, the new vice-chairman of West Ham United, has risked upsetting
supporters just days after joining the board by suggesting the club's name
could be changed to West Ham Olympic.
Brady, the former Birmingham City managing director, joined the board of the
East London club this week after the takeover by David Sullivan and David
Gold, Birmingham's former owners.
Sullivan said that he would like West Ham to move from Upton Park to the new
Olympic Stadium in Stratford after the 2012 Games, but Brady has gone a step
farther by suggesting the club could eventually change the name they have
had since 1900, having originally been formed in 1895 as Thames Ironworks
FC.
The future of the Olympic Stadium after the Games has been a matter of much
debate. The stadium will cost nearly £500 million to build and will seat
80,000 spectators. But the present plans are to reduce the capacity to
25,000 after the Olympics and use the facility as an athletics stadium. "To
disqualify the stadium's only viable future that I know of is to make a
bonfire of the dreams of thousands of people in our underprivileged area,"
Brady said. "I love the idea of calling the club West Ham Olympic."
Manchester City's fortunes have thrived since their move from Maine Road to
the City of Manchester Stadium, which was built for the 2002 Commonwealth
Games, and Brady believes that a new stadium would give West Ham a similar
boost "To have the guaranteed future use of a 55,000-capacity stadium by
occupants who will regularly fill it must be the ideal answer for those who,
rightly, demand a sporting legacy from the 2012 Games," Brady said.
"There are obstacles, but it seems to me if architects can't take account of
a running track and find ways to build under the stands, then they shouldn't
be in business. It's madness to tear down an 80,000-seater to make it a
third of the size and then use the place for two or three athletics meetings
a year."
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Transfer rumours a plenty as Gold and Sullivan takeover
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 22nd January 2010
By: Thomas Rooney
It seems fairly standard that whenever a club is taken over by new owners,
that they are expected to buy every player under the sun. When this takeover
occurs in January, transfer speculation is likely to go into overdrive.
Early indications are that this is again to be the case in the next couple
of weeks for West Ham. David Gold and David Sullivan have taken over
proceedings at the Boleyn Ground and this has led to people presuming that
Gianfranco Zola will be able to spend some money between now and the end of
the month.
This probably will be the case. West Ham's relegation odds reflect the
trouble the club are in and Zola knows he needs to strengthen in certain
areas if the side are to be certain of avoiding the drop.
Who are the names he is being linked with though? Some reports suggest that
Zola has £8m to spend, so let's take a look at some of the rumours doing the
rounds.
Robbie Keane
The Tottenham striker hasn't had the best of times since returning to White
Hart Lane and West Ham are by no means the only club to have been linked
with him so far this month. A possible loan move for the player could be on
the cards.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
This name has been mentioned all over the show in the last few weeks.
Liverpool and Manchester City were reportedly after the Real Madrid striker
not so long ago. Now it seems that West Ham have joined the race to sign the
player with Stoke City and Tottenham also keen.
Benni McCarthy
The rumour of the Blackburn striker coming to the club may well have some
weight behind it, with David Gold revealing that he would be a "good
acquisition" as West Ham search for a striker to lead the line for them in
the remainder of the season.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
I can assure you that you haven't travelled back in time to the summer when
this former Chelsea player was linked with the Hammers constantly. He moved
to Monaco in August, but has failed to settle. He has yet to score his first
goal for the club either. Will he finally make a move back to the Premier
League?
So, these are the main four names being linked in the last couple of days.
You may well have noticed that they are all strikers. This is probably
because the new owners have promised two new attacking players by the end of
the window.
More than anything else, West Ham need goals so this is understandable. With
the retirement of Dean Ashton and the injuries to Carlton Cole, Zola would
have been looking to bring in at least one forward regardless of the
takeover situation.
With Gold and Sullivan on board though, the quality of player that the
Italian can bring to the club will hopefully be increased. With that in
mind, given the choice, I would probably go for Keane and Van Nistelrooy...
Can any of these the players boost West Ham's Premier League chances?
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Karren Brady proposes Hammers be renamed West Ham Olympic
Idea for new name linked with move to Olympic Stadium
'I love the idea of calling the club West Ham Olympic.'
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 January 2010 02.30 GMT
West Ham United's new vice-chairman, Karren Brady, has said she likes the
idea of renaming the club West Ham Olympic if they make their proposed move
from Upton Park to the London 2012 stadium. Brady, who has been brought to
West Ham by the new co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold, with whom she
worked at Birmingham, told the Sun: "To have the guaranteed future use of a
55,000-capacity stadium by occupants who will regularly fill it must be the
ideal answer for those who, rightly, demand a sporting legacy from the 2012
Games. "Maybe our way is a short-cut to a new West Ham headquarters but to
disqualify the stadium's only viable future that I know of is to make a
bonfire of the dreams of thousands and thousands of people in our
under-privileged area. "I love the idea of calling the club West Ham
Olympic." She said opponents of a move by West Ham to the Olympic Stadium
"must be a bit blind or a bit crazy".
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We can be West Ham Olympic
The Sun
KARREN BRADY - First lady of football
TO West Ham fans I'll make a single pledge - while we are on the board, we
will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the
financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down. It's true that the job
facing the new owners at Upton Park is more challenging than the rebuilding
demanded when we confronted the ruin that was Birmingham City 17 years ago.
The starting point is very different. West Ham are struggling in the top
flight but have a charismatic boss, Gianfranco Zola, and excellent No 2,
Steve Clarke, and some very good players. So the footballing prospects are
bright. At St Andrew's when this 23-year-old long-haired young woman in a
mini-skirt - me - accompanied David Sullivan to discuss a takeover, it was
like walking into a wreck named Doom. Within two hours David held a piece of
paper saying we owned the pile of bricks, a leaky pitch and a team going
nowhere. That night the city's papers yelped 'Cockneys Go Home'. Compare
this with two months of intense negotiations conducted with five banks and
their lawyers. When it came to the deadline, we weren't sure until two hours
before the announcement that we'd won the battle with our plan which is part
bold and part cautious. On my list of objectives first things first, we have
to remain in the Premier League. That's why Gianfranco has been told he may
add to his playing staff. The target I find most bracing is to move the club
away from the Boleyn which does no more than serve a purpose and take it to
- where else? - the 2012 Olympic Stadium only a couple of miles away. Yes, I
know all sorts of barriers have been erected against it but, as the old
advert used to say, "You know it makes sense".
It does so in so many positive ways that I think opponents of the move must
be blind or a bit crazy. To have the guaranteed future use of a
55,000-capacity stadium by occupants who will regularly fill it must be the
ideal answer for those who, rightly, demand a sporting legacy from the 2012
Games. Manchester City showed how it could be done and the Commonwealth
Games stadium is now a sporting focal point and a sound contributor to the
city council's coffers. I see West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium as a
way of settling its future for decades, invigorating the whole site and
providing a wonderful new activities centre for East Londoners and the
county of Essex. There are obstacles but it seems to me if architects can't
take account of a running track and find ways to build under the stands,
then they shouldn't be in business. It is madness to tear down an
80,000-seater to make it a third the size and then use the place for two or
three athletics meetings a year. The London Organising Committee for the
Olympic Games (LOCOG) would not only be chucking out seats but also the
potential for hundreds of jobs and a regular income - that one day will pay
for the building of the stadium itself. Maybe our way is a short-cut to a
new West Ham headquarters but to disqualify the stadium's only viable future
that I know of is to make a bonfire of the dreams of thousands and thousands
of people in our under-privileged area. I love the idea of calling the club
West Ham Olympic. The other aims on my list are to create stability,
motivate everyone and communicate to ensure people know what they are doing.
As a raw novice to football at 23, I hadn't fully understood how vital these
things were to the internal workings and, therefore, the fans of a club.
I now have a wealth of experience and have listened to non-playing staff and
realised I am the new vice-captain of what has been a rudderless ship. That
ends now. I intend to be vice-chairman of a smart, cost-effective and
professional outfit. From early talks, I realise that the staff love the
club and their jobs and are willing to listen, learn and go into action. We
must generate a lot more non-turnstile cash. Within a year I made the first
trading profit in modern history at St Andrew's. One day, though, the
bailiffs called to tell me we had to pay the milk bill, or else. It was for
£22.50 and I only wish that was the extent of our debts at West Ham.
Multiply the figure by at least a couple of million. David Sullivan and his
joint chairman David Gold were always Hammers mad but around Birmingham
David G was always careful not to offend Blues fans by saying so too loudly
while David S was less so. He revealed at Tuesday's Press conference he
wanted 'everyone to know I am paying Karren Brady's salary because I don't
want her to be a burden or baggage to the club'. Well thanks, David.
Baggage, indeed! But neither of the chairmen hold grudges.
David S has had plenty of fall-outs with managers but to his credit he is no
obsessive sacker and wants only to make suggestions and be in the loop. For
a long time they resisted cries for the head of Trevor Francis and never
gave in to impatient choruses against Steve Bruce and Alex McLeish. In the
league, there isn't a safer job than Gianfranco Zola's.
There'll be a brush and broom at Upton Park but no bulldozer. Twice before
David Sullivan was on the threshold of the West Ham boardroom and within
minutes of grasping the club's deeds he woke me up at midnight to say "We've
done it".
I have never, in over 20 years of knowing him, heard such emotion, passion
and absolute dedication to do the right thing for West Ham and lead it back
to stability and beyond.
Hammers fans, you have a soul mate, an absolute world-class business brain,
and English gentlemen running your club in David Sullivan and David Gold. We
just pipped Asian businessman Tony Fernandes who summed up perfectly what we
believe when he said: "I see West Ham as the unpolished diamond of the
Premier League." I like Tony and I hope he'll be part of the new era that is
dawning over Upton Park. For us, the Cockneys have come home.
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Hammers In Hunt for Klass
The Sun
By HUGH SOUTHON
WEST HAM want AC Milan striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar - after being snubbed by
Ruud van Nistelrooy. Hammers new owners David Sullivan and David Gold
offered the Real Madrid hitman £100,000 a week to join but he has signed for
Hamburg. That puts Huntelaar, 26, top of the Hammers wishlist but Arsenal
and Spurs are also in the hunt. Hammers co-chairman Gold said: "He's a top
player and its important to get a striker in before the window slams shut.
"We might have to pay between £70,000-£100,000 a week for a short loan
period for the right person."
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McCarthy close to agreeing West Ham loan move
Published 23:00 22/01/10 By Alan Nixon
The Mirror
West Ham are ready to sign Benni McCarthy from Blackburn Rovers ON LOAN for
18 months - to get round a work permit problem. Hammers want to take the
South African striker as the first capture in the new David Sullivan and
David Gold regime, but they are being inventive to pull off the move.
McCarthy would struggle to get a new work permit with the Hammers because he
has been in international exile for over a year and his caps quota falls
short. However McCarthy's Blackburn work permit covers the rest of his
contract which runs until the summer of 2011 - so West Ham can take him on a
loan basis and pay a rental fee rather than a transfer fee. Rovers may take
around £1.75 million for McCarthy and get his big wages off their payroll,
with Hammers prepared to pick up his contract - and the player just
desperate to move for first-team football.
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Bolton and West Ham in transfer fight for Burnley star
Published 23:00 22/01/10 By John Cross
The Mirror
Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle is a cut-price target for Bolton and West
Ham. Carlisle, 30, is out of contract at the end of the season and Burnley
may struggle to keep the centre half who has impressed in the Premier
League. Several Championship clubs are also monitoring developments as
Burnley have yet to offer him a new deal as they battle
relegation.
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