WHUFC.com
The reserves' game with Wolves has been postponed due to the wintery weather
05.01.2010
West Ham United reserves' match with Wolverhampton Wanderers scheduled for Tuesday night has been called off due to snow in the Midlands. whufc.com will have full details of the rearranged fixture in due course.
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West Ham United attracts 'lots' of potential buyers
By Bill Wilson
Business reporter, BBC News
The company that owns West Ham United has confirmed "a lot of people have shown an interest" in acquiring all or part of the London football club. CB Holding acquired the club last year after its Icelandic owners went bust. The owner has now hired Rothschild Bank to sound out potential investors in the Premier League club and says it has held "talks with a number of parties". Reported suitors include London finance company Intermarket and Asian tycoon Tony Fernandes. Former Birmingham City owners David Gold and David Sullivan are also reported to have shown an interest in the Hammers.
CB Holding, whose biggest shareholder is Icelandic bank Straumur, would neither confirm or deny the names of any potential buyers but said it had signed a number of interested parties to a confidentiality agreement not to reveal the progress of negotiations. However, last week Intermarket indicated that it hoped to put forward a bid for the club this week. Since then Intermarket has not made any comment except to confirm that it has been in talks with Rothschilds. Meanwhile, West Ham's owners say they do not have to sell. "We are looking for a good price for the club, we are in no hurry to sell, and under no pressure to do so," said a spokesman for CB Holding. "If we decided on a buyer or a specific partner for the club, we would make sure we did whatever was best for West Ham United." He said the club was not putting a price on either the whole club or portions of it.
A bid from former Birmingham City co-owner David Sullivan in December was reportedly worth £46m for a 50% controlling stake in West Ham. CB Holding also says that there is no pressure on West Ham to sell players in the current transfer window to raise cash for its owners. "If they do sell players then that money will be available to the manager [Gianfranco Zola] to buy further players for his squad," the spokesman said. "Our strategy is not to take money out of the club."
Chief shareholder Straumur has been bailed out by its own government , but the bank's position became more secure in December when a moratorium on its debt repayments was extended until September 2010. But with West Ham skirting the relegation zone it may be in the owners' interest to secure a sale of the club now rather than risk relegation and a drop in the potential selling price.
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Wolves postponed
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 5th January 2010
By: Staff Writer
Tonight's Premier Reserve League trip to Wolves has been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. The game, originally due to be played at Telford was switched to Wolves' home ground Molineux late yesterday due to the snow that is set to hit the Midlands later today. However Wolves have now postponed the fixture; the news confirmed on the club's website wolves.co.uk: "This morning's snowfall and freezing temperatures have already affected conditions both inside and outside Molineux, and to compound the situation further heavy snow is forecast for later on today. "Wolves had been keen to try and play the fixture if at all possible as boss Mick McCarthy had been planning to field a strong side of first teamers to give them valuable game time. "This prompted yesterday's decision to switch the game from Telford's New Bucks Head to Molineux."
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Diamanti dismisses Milan link
Italian fully focused on West Ham
By Simone Bargellini Last updated: 5th January 2010
SSN
West Ham forward Alessandro Diamanti has dismissed reports linking him with a move to AC Milan. The 26-year-old has been a bright spark whenever he has played for the Hammers this season, and rumours have circulated that the Rossoneri are interested in his signature. Diamanti has scored five goals in nine Premier League starts this term but has been unable to prevent West Ham sliding to the bottom end of the table. The former Livorno striker insists the transfer rumours are pure speculation, and that he is fully focused on avoiding relegation with the Hammers. "I know nothing of these items about Milan and honestly I'm not interested in them," he told milannews.it. "Right now I think only about the salvation of West Ham, I don't care about anything else. "What will I do in case of a calling from Milan in January? I don't know and I don't care, I think only of saving West Ham." West Ham have a crunch game against relegation rivals Wolves at the weekend, having lost on their last two outings.
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Zola hopes for fitness boost
Hammers boss confident of beating the drop
By Chris Burton Last updated: 5th January 2010
SSN
Gianfranco Zola is confident West Ham can steer a route to safety once they have everyone fully fit. The Hammers start the New Year perched just one place above the Premier League relegation zone, with only goal difference keeping them out of the bottom three. Worryingly, Bolton - the side directly below them - also have two games in hand and will be hoping a change in management at the Reebok Stadium will help to reignite their season. West Ham can, however, console themselves in the knowledge that they have yet to field their strongest side on a regular basis this season. Persistent injury problems have hampered Zola's plans throughout the course of the campaign and the Italian is adamant that once his key men return to the fold, the Hammers will start climbing the table. "Trust me, when we have everyone back, this team will be a different story," he said in the Daily Mirror. "It is going to be tough to beat. "We have important games coming, starting on Sunday (against Wolves). "If we play with the attitude we had against Arsenal (a 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat on Sunday) and the players are back, then we are going to be all right. I can write it down right now."
Zola has also seen his hands tied by ongoing financial troubles at Upton Park, but he is confident that he will not be forced to trim his squad during the winter transfer window.
"January is going to be quiet," he added. "Everybody knows the financial situation. I think we have stability and do not have big problems. I am not expecting to have anybody leaving."
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American lines up bid for West Ham
Unnamed North American completes due diligence
Banks believe anonymous bidder is safest long-term bet
Matt Scott guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 January 2010
The consortium of five banks who have lent money to West Ham consider the anonymous bidder the safest long-term bet. West Ham United's ownership saga could take a new twist after it emerged that Straumur's preferred bidder is an unidentified North American. The cash-rich investor, who has other sports interests, has completed due diligence on the club but is as yet undecided over whether to make a formal approach. Straumur, the Icelandic investment bank which owns West Ham, has had approaches from four verifiable parties: David Gold and David Sullivan, the former Birmingham City owners; the Canary Wharf-based Intermarket Group; the Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes and the unnamed North American.
It is understood that the first three parties have all provided indications of their intention to bid. It is expected that under any of those bids Straumur would retain a minority stake, with the bidders taking control through an injection of working capital. But Straumur is sticking to its £100m valuation of the club, a price which takes account of football and bank debts in the region of £80m, and it may yet reject all three proposals.
But if the North American matches any acceptable offer – and no formal bid has yet been received by Straumur's selling agent, Rothschild – he is almost certain to win favour.
It is to the anonymous bidder's advantage that he is seen as the safest long-term bet by the consortium of five banks who have loaned money to the club. Those lenders will have as big a say as Straumur in the sale process, since under the club's banking covenants they have the power of veto of any change of ownership: any deal they do not fancy would enable them to call in the club's debt, which is between £40m and £50m.
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Out of favour Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood lined up for surprise West Ham return
By Neil Moxley
Last updated at 1:35 AM on 06th January 2010
Daily Mail
Marlon Harewood could be set for a surprise cut-price move back to West Ham. The former Hammers striker had been on loan at Newcastle but Chris Hughton seems in no mood to take him to St James' Park on a permanent basis and the player has been sounded out about an Upton Park return. Gianfranco Zola is working within a restricted budget and would be able to prise him out of Villa Park for a fraction of the £4m that Martin O'Neill spent three years ago. Harewood is out of contract in the summer and, with Carlton Cole still sidelined and Zola's options restricted by the limited finances available, a switch back to the capital could suit both parties. Hull boss Phil Brown may also be interested in a permanent deal if O'Neill sanctions Harewood's departure. Newcastle remain keen on Leeds' Jermaine Beckford and offering Harewood the option of an extended stay could depend on the success of that pursuit.
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West Ham and Millwall mount defence over Carling Cup violence
West Ham face four charges, Millwall three
FA hearing expected to last for three days
Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 January 2010 20.30 GMT
The Football Association will tomorrow begin a three-day hearing into the charges brought against West Ham United and Millwall in the wake of crowd trouble before, during and after their Carling Cup tie in August last year, with both clubs expected to vigorously defend their positions.
Following the widely reported clashes, during which an innocent Millwall fan was stabbed and police made 64 arrests, both clubs were charged with having taken insufficient action to prevent missile throwing as well as violent, threatening and racist behaviour at the Upton Park fixture.
West Ham are also accused of failing to prevent their fans from invading the pitch after they ran on in the wake of each of their goals during a 3‑1 extra-time win. In total West Ham face four charges and Millwall three, with both clubs facing the possibility of sanctions that could include heavy fines if they are found guilty.
Neither club would comment yesterday ahead of the hearing, which is expected to last until Friday and will be heard by a three-person independent panel.
Both clubs have previously indicated that they will vigorously defend themselves against the charges, claiming that they had liaised extensively with police and done all they could to prevent disorder.
The trouble took place inside and outside Upton Park, with 50 of those arrested later being charged with offences including pitch invasion, assaulting police, breaching banning orders, GBH and violent disorder.
West Ham's Carlton Cole and Millwall's Jason Price also alleged they were racially abused by supporters.
"We will be pleading not guilty to all charges and defending our position vigorously," said Millwall's chief executive, Andy Ambler, when they were announced back in October. "It is a frustration to us that we are committing significant resources of time, energy and money towards having to defend ourselves in the face of these charges."
Millwall, who have employed the barrister Jim Sturman to conduct their defence, are likely to argue that they flagged up concerns about potential problems with ticketless fans after their initial allocation of 3,000 was halved on police advice.
West Ham are likely to tell the FA they complied with requests made by a police-led safety advisory group, which met twice before the match, and point to the fact that there were no direct clashes between the opposing supporters inside the ground.
A 43-year-old Millwall fan, described by police as an "innocent family man", was stabbed in front of his teenage sons during violence outside the stadium.
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Tommaso Rocchi Is Not Leaving Lazio For West Ham Or Palermo - Agent
Rocchi's agent confirms the striker will stay in Rome...
Jan 5, 2010 7:00:09 PM
Following increasing speculation linking Lazio forward Tommaso Rocchi with a move to West Ham, the player's agent has admitted the striker now looks set to stay with the Biancocelesti. Rocchi, who recently claimed to have rejected a move to Zenit St. Petersburg, has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League with Gianfranco Zola reportedly keen to bring the 32-year-old to London in a bid to help the Hammers stave off relegation. However, the player's agent, Fabio Parisi, has denied that an approach has been made from either West Ham or Italian club Palermo who are also said to be interested in securing Rocchi's services. "Right now this is nothing new, he [Rocchi] is not required by either West Ham or Palermo, he said, according to Tuttomercatoweb. Finally, Parisi went on to echo statements from Rocchi himself, declaring his client's desire to stay with the club he joined from Empoli over five years ago. "I believe that, barring any dramatic events, he will remain at Lazio."
Rupert Fryer, Goal.com
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Alessandro Diamanti not interested in AC Milan move
By Soccernet staff
ESPN
January 5, 2010
West Ham forward Alessandro Diamanti has distanced himself from reports that he is attracting interest from Italian giants AC Milan. Diamanti, 26, joined the Hammers from Livorno in the summer and has scored five goals in 14 Premier League appearances for his new club, as well as scoring in the FA Cup defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the weekend. His performances for fellow Italian Gianfranco Zola have been encouraging and Corriere dello Sport reported on Tuesday morning that Diamanti was a potential target for Milan, along with Sampdoria star Antonio Cassano. However, Diamanti claims that helping West Ham avoid relegation is his only focus with the Hammers currently sitting in 17th place, outside the relegation zone by virtue of a superior goal difference. "I know nothing about these stories that I want to go to Milan. To be honest they do not even interest me," the 26-year-old told milannews.it. "Right now I am thinking only about the salvation of West Ham. I do not care about anything else."
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Agent: Hammers chasing Clerc
TeamTalk
Francois Clerc's agent says struggling Premier League club West Ham are interested in signing the Lyon defender. The right-back has won 13 caps for France during his career and is currently battling for a first-team place at Lyon with Anthony Reveillere. Frederic Guerra, who represents the player, admits that a switch is possible for the 26-year-old in January but it is more likely he will decide his next move in the summer. "Francois Clerc is a possibility, but probably for free in the summer," Guerra told sport.co.uk.
"The Premier League club interested in the player is West Ham United for now. But only West Ham from the Premier League. A few others from France and Europe."
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