WHUFC.com
All the early team news and background for Wednesday night's home encounter in the Barclays Premier League
09.02.2010
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United v Birmingham City
Boleyn Ground
Wednesday 10 February 2010
7.45pm
Referee: Mike Dean
• West Ham United return to home action with three new forwards - Benni McCarthy from Blackburn Rovers, Mido on loan from Middlesbrough via Eygptian side Zamalek and Ilan from French club AS Saint-Etienne - potentially in line for home debuts.
• Ilan scored on his first Hammers appearance away to Burnley last Saturday but it was not enough to help Gianfranco Zola's men avoid a 2-1 defeat. McCarthy, who started, and half-time replacement Mido - with shots cleared off the line and against the post respectively - also came close to finding the net.
• Prior to the 12 December 1-0 defeat at St Andrew's, West Ham United had not lost in five home and away meetings with Birmingham, all of which came in the top flight.
• Birmingham in eighth have more points (37) from 24 games than they managed in all of the 2007/08 season, when they were relegated. Consistency has been a major factor, with the Blues unchanged for the last dozen matches.
• While they have only scored 24 goals this season, they have only conceded the same number - fewer than Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
• This is the 82nd league meeting between the two sides. West Ham have won 26 and drawn 18 of the previous 81 contests.
• West Ham have not lost at home in the Barclays Premier League since the 5 December visit of Manchester United. Since then the club have drawn 1-1 with Chelsea, won 2-0 against Portsmouth and drawn 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers.
• Zola's men have drawn three of their last four games - Aston Villa (0-0), Portsmouth (1-1) and Blackburn Rovers (0-0).
• West Ham go into the weekend's game in 18th place in the Barclays Premier League, although a win could potentially lift the club to 14th spot.
• The teams last met at the Boleyn Ground on 9 February 2008, when Freddie Ljungberg's seventh-minute strike was cancelled out by James McFadden's 16th-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw.
• The lineups that day were:
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg, Bowyer (sent off 88), Mullins, Etherington (Camara 83), Ashton (Spector 89), Cole (Faubert 62)
Subs not used: Wright, Collison
Birmingham City: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Martin Taylor, Ridgewell, Murphy, Larsson, Muamba, Damien Johnson, McSheffrey (Parnaby 87), Forssell (Jerome 76), McFadden
Subs not used: Doyle, Nafti, Zarate
• West Ham have won 5-0 three times at home against Birmingham - in the 1962/63, 1963/64 and 1982/83 seasons. Birmingham's best away showing in east London came back on 16 November 1946, with a 4-0 win.
Last time out
Saturday 6 February 2010
Barclays Premier League
Burnley 2-1 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Behrami, Noble (Ilan 77), Parker, Collison (Stanislas 62), Cole, McCarthy (Mido 46)
Subs not used: Stech, Da Costa, Ilunga
Goal: Ilan 81
Sunday 7 February 2010
Barclays Premier League
Birmingham City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Birmingham: Hart, Carr, Dann, Johnson, Ridgwell, Bowyer, Ferguson, Larsson (Gardner 68), McFadden (Fahey 74), Benitez (Phillips 63), Jerome
Subs not used: Taylor, Vignal, Michel, Jervis
Goals: Phillips 80, 85
Last meeting
• The last meeting between the clubs came earlier this season at St. Andrew's, when Birmingham were 1-0 winners thanks to Lee Bowyer's 52nd-minute strike against his old club.
Birmingham City: Hart, Ridgewell, Carr, Dann, Johnson, Bowyer, Larsson, Ferguson, Jerome, Benitez (Fahey 89), McFadden (Phillips 89)
Subs not used: Maik Taylor, Carsley, McSheffrey, O'Shea, Vignal
West Ham United: Green, Gabbidon, Ilunga (Nouble 83), Tomkins, Parker, Kovac (Dyer 68), Noble (sent off 78), Faubert ,Stanislas (Collison 69), Franco, Diamanti
Subs not used: Spector, Da Costa, Payne, Kurucz
Old boys
• Matthew Upson played 128 games for the Midlands side during a four-year stay from 2003-07 before joining the Hammers. The former Birmingham captain scored five goals during his time at St. Andrew's.
• Lee Bowyer made 60 appearances for West Ham United in two spells. The first saw him play eleven games in a six-month spell before a move to Newcastle United in 2003. The midfielder returned to the Boleyn Ground in 2006 for a three-year stay, which saw him play 49 times, scoring five goals.
• Liam Ridgewell started off life in the West Ham United Academy before moving to Aston Villa in February 2001.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Alan Curbishley, Jimmy Bloomfield, Kenny J Brown, Julian Dicks, Eamonn Dolan, Harry Hooper, David Kelly, Stan Lazaridis, Mike Newell and Sam Small.
Head to head
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
12 December 2009 - Birmingham City 1-0 West Ham United
9 February 2008 - West Ham United 1-1 Birmingham City
18 August 2007 - Birmingham City 0-1 West Ham United
13 February 2006 - West Ham United 3-0 Birmingham City
05 December 2005 - Birmingham City 1-2 West Ham United
11 May 2003 - Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham United
Overall record v Birmingham City (all competitions) W 30 D 19 L 38
Referee
• Wednesday's referee will be Mike Dean, who last took charge of the Hammers with the 1-1 draw at the Boleyn Ground against Chelsea on Saturday 20 December.
• His last Birmingham fixture was the 0-0 draw with Manchester City on 1 November 2009, when he cautioned five players and sent off Barry Ferguson for a deliberate handball.
• He has refereed 27 matches this season, issuing 96 yellow cards and three reds.
• Dean, 41, began refereeing in 1985, starting out his career in senior football in the Northern Premier League.
• In 2004, Dean took charge of his first international match, a friendly between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland at Amsterdam Arena. That same year, he took control of the FA Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester United.
• In May 2006, he refereed the Championship play-off final between Leeds United and Watford at the Millennium Stadium. Last year, he was the man-in-the-middle for the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium.
West Ham United
• The Hammers have scored all seven of the penalties they have been awarded this season, a Premier League high.
• West Ham have scored 30 goals this season in the league with 12 different players on target. Carlton Cole leads the way (seven), with Alessandro Diamanti (five) and Guille Franco and Matthew Upson (three) next in line. Jack Collison, Junior Stanislas (two each), Ilan, Manuel da Costa, Mark Noble, the departed Luis Jimenez, Zavon Hines and Radoslav Kovac have also registered.
• Scott Parker has been cautioned eight times this season and Franco and Noble five. Julien Faubert, Cole, Collison and Kovac are each on four yellow cards, but will not be suspended if they receive a fifth as the FA disciplinary deadline has passed. Should any player reach ten cautions before the second Sunday in April, they will receive a suspension.
• Only Robert Green has played in every league game for the club this season. He is on a run of 111 successive league starts.
• Cole is on a run of 14 goals in 26 league starts since Boxing Day 2008 when he scored the second goal in a 4-1 win at Portsmouth.
• Alessandro Diamanti has the highest number of shots (56) and assists (four) at the club.
• Mark Noble has put in more crosses than anyone else (25).
• Central defensive partners Matthew Upson and James Tomkins lead the way in the defensive clearances and defensive blocks lists respectively. Upson has made 32 clearances, while Tomkins has 22 blocks.
Birmingham City
• Alex McLeish has been managing since 2001 and in December became the first Birmingham boss to win the Premier League manager of the month award.
• Sebastian Larsson, along with Didier Drogba, leads the league on goals scored direct from free-kicks, with three successful set-pieces this season.
• Larsson has made 62 crosses this season, more than any other Birmingham player.
• Lee Bowyer and Cameron Jerome are the top league scorers this season with five goals apiece, although the former also has one League Cup strike to his name.
• Roger Johnson has made more defensive clearances (74) than any other player in the top-flight this campaign.
• No Birmingham player has featured in every league game this season, with Joe Hart, Stephen Carr and Barry Ferguson all starting 23 of the 24 matches.
Team news
• It remains to be seen if Benni McCarthy will be fit to play after going off at half-time last Saturday with a knock to his knee.
• Mido and Ilan will both be pushing for a starting berth after impressive substitute appearances at Burnley.
• Alessandro Diamanti (knee) and Fabio Daprela (ankle) have both been back in training and will also be looking to force their way into contention. Kieron Dyer is also continuing to train fully.
• Danny Gabbidon (hamstring) and Guille Franco (thigh) are thought to be close to a full training return.
• Luis Boa Morte (knee), Calum Davenport (leg) and Zavon Hines (knee) are all long-term absentees. Boa Morte has been doing some light jogging around the Chadwell Heath pitches - having not played since his cruciate ligament injury in July.
• Birmingham have been unchanged for their last 12 matches, although Kevin Phillips may be pushing for a start after his two-goal show at the weekend. He had just returned from a three-game absence with a groin injury.
• Frank Queudrue, Garry O'Connor (hip) and Lee Carsley (ankle) have all had injury problems although the latter was an unused substitute last weekend.
• Birmingham made two signings during the transfer window, acquiring defensive midfielder Michel from Sporting Gijon and midfielder Craig Gardner from Aston Villa.
General info
• For ticket information, click here.
• For travel information click here. Fans who drive to the Boleyn Ground should note that the Blackwall Tunnel is closed to southbound traffic between 9pm and 5am from Sundays to Thursdays until December 2012.
• Wednesday night's weather forecast is for a chilly night with temperatures set to peak just above freezing.
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Zola 'determined' for points
WHUFC.com
Birmingham City will be a tough challenge on Wednesday but Gianfranco Zola is ready for the fight
09.02.2010
Gianfranco Zola is expecting his players to take the game to Birmingham City on Wednesday night. The Blues arrive in east London with just one defeat in 18 matches - and that was to table-topping Chelsea - and with the luxury of having fielded an unchanged side for a dozen matches. Zola though is up for the fight and could hand home debuts to Mido and Ilan, as well as a recall to the fit-again Alessandro Diamanti The manager has prepared his team carefully and assured they will be up for it at a packed Boleyn Ground. "Birmingham are developing a reputation as a tough team to beat," he said. "We have watched them very carefully. "They are a very strong side. It is not going to be easy. We are determined, we are passionate about it. We are going to give it a very good go. We will see what comes out. The team is ready."
He repeated his call for strong fan backing, underlining how valuable they have been in recent weeks. "The fans have been fantastic for me and trust me I really enjoy what I am doing. I would love to give them all the satisfaction they deserve. "That is why I feel sorry that we are in this position. We should have more points. Trust me we will give our best."
While Benni McCarthy is likely to miss out after a "kick on his knee" against Burnley at the weekend, the manager has also been boosted by the return to training of Guille Franco. Goals have been hard to come by of late, with just two scored in four league games since the turn of the year, but the manager is not worried. "I would be more concerned if we weren't posing a threat to the opposition," he said. "The other day we could have come back at any time, we were very close. I think the team now has got more experience to pose a threat. That is something positive. "Mido was excellent on Saturday. He came on with confidence, with quality and with strength. I was really impressed with his performance. Ilan was quite a surprise. He was alive and got into very good positions. He scored one goal and he also had a couple of other chances. They were quite good. I was pleased."
Regarding Frank Nouble's departure, the manager said his month-long loan at West Bromwich Albion would prove invaluable. "He needed to go somewhere and play, just to keep it going. He has been doing very well and he just needs to play and keep improving his confidence and experience."
The manager also spoke of the high confidence among the squad. "The players are very committed to what we do. They believe in it. They are determined. Obviously the game against Burnley was unexpected and it has been a big blow but the fighting spirit is there and I am never going to give up."
He acknowledged the club's owners David Sullivan and David Gold would be especially motivated and that such spirit had filtered throughout Chadwell Heath. "They are excited. They want to win the game. Everybody does, not just because of that but because we want to move up the table. In the Premier League there is not one game which you can think is easy. "The players are focused on the job. They will do a good job. I am sure about that. Simple. We are just preparing and ready to play the game. We had just a quick chat to remind them that our job is to play and focus on the matters that concern us - scoring goals and helping the others to score goals."
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Nouble off to a flier
WHUFC.com
West Bromwich Albion have moved to the top of the Championship thanks in part to Frank Nouble's efforts
09.02.2010
Frank Nouble got off to a winning start for West Bromwich Albion after his loan club moved top of the Coca-Cola Championship with a 2-0 home win against Scunthorpe United.
The 18-year-old forward sealed his month-long switch to the Hawthorns earlier on Tuesday and was then named in Roberto Di Matteo's starting eleven. Nouble played 75 minutes in an attacking role on the left as Roman Bednar put West Brom on their way to victory before Gianni Zuiverloon wrapped up the victory late in the contest. With Newcastle United losing, West Brom have taken top spot.
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Purdy and Sadlier shine
WHUFC.com
Two of West Ham United's Irish youngsters have been back on international duty at U17 and U16 level
09.02.2010
Danny Purdy was on target for Republic of Ireland Under-17s on Tuesday night as they won 2-0 against Hungary at Dublin's Tolka Park while compatriot Kieran Sadlier has also been busy. Purdy, pictured with club colleague George Moncur, was involved in the first of a double-header of friendly fixtures against the Hungarians this week. The Academy forward kept his nerve to make the game safe after Frankie Sutherland had opened the scoring. Purdy, playing on the right wing, actually missed a penalty on 23 minutes with the score at 0-0 before the Irish took full control. He finally found the target on 66 minutes, as he played a one-two before cutting into the box to score. It was to be his last contribution before making way for Watford's Conor Smith two minutes later. Meanwhile, another Irish youngster on West Ham's books has returned to the club fold after again representing his country at Under-16 level. Hammers U15 attacker Sadlier appeared for his country in a four-nation tournament being played in Portugal. He played almost the entire match - a 1-0 defeat by the host nation - after being an unused substitute for the opening match against Italy. Sadlier missed out on a second appearance against the Netherlands in order to join a Hammers contingent heading to Bermuda for an international youth tournament being organised by club great Clyde Best. whufc.com will have a full preview on Wednesday morning.
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Sullivan pay-cut plea badly timed, says Zola
BBC.co.uk
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has criticised the timing of club co-owner David Sullivan's plea for all players and staff to take a voluntary pay cut. Sullivan said on Tuesday the club face "Armageddon" if they are relegated. Zola, whose struggling team face Birmingham on Wednesday, responded: "It would have been better to maybe talk to us before talking to a newspaper. Co-owner David Gold later said the pay-cut plea was merely a way of focusing attention on the need to save money. "If we can cut our salaries by 25%, that would solve our problems," Gold told BBC Radio 5 live. "But it's not something that you are actually going to go out and do."
Gold added that the intention of Sullivan's comments was to "send out the message to everybody at the football club that we have to address costs". The Hammers, who have debts of £110m, are in the midst of a relegation battle after taking only six points from their last 10 league games. They sit 18th in the table on the same points as next-to-bottom club Wolves. And Zola insists the focus should be on preserving their top-flight status, adding: "When an article comes before a big match I'm not happy - I don't think it is any good for the whole team. "The match is all that matters to me and the players."
However, Sullivan believes the financial situation is so dire at the club that it needs to be addressed immediately to prevent freefall should they go down. He fears West Ham could repeat the demise of Newcastle, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2009 after a season of off-field turmoil. "We are going to ask everyone at the club to voluntarily take a wage reduction," Sullivan earlier told BBC Sport. "I can't believe the contracts I've inherited. The club is in a mess and we all have to pull together. If we go down, I can't even consider the situation. "It'll be Armageddon if we go down. It'll be worse than what's gone on at Newcastle."
Sullivan revealed that Zola would be among those expected to take the cut, and added that anyone unhappy with the request could leave the club. "Gianfranco is highly paid and I think all managers in the Premier League are overpaid," said the Hammers' co-owner. Zola, who earns an estimated £1.9m a year, stated he was not at Upton Park for the money. "It is about working for something positive. I always enjoy working for this club. The money was something that came after," he said. Sullivan had earlier said: "Everywhere you look there is excess. Everyone is overpaid for the job they do. There are 110 mobile phones being paid for by the club and you have minor people with Blackberry phones and other types. "Already members of the administrative staff have come to us and said, 'look we know we are overpaid for the job we do but we are good people and we'd like to stay and we are prepared to take a voluntary wage cut'."
Sullivan and co-owner David Gold, who left Birmingham in November following Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung's takeover, took control of West Ham last month after buying a 50% shareholding. West Ham's new owners say they have uncovered the severity of the club's financial position over the past few weeks. They are actively looking to reduce the club's debts, with professional investors being approached for finance and the club have already had to make several people redundant. "We had a player liaison officer who just drove a few of the players around and he was paid £50,000 a year," revealed Sullivan. "We've had to make people redundant, we'll make other people redundant. There are people at the training ground who we don't even know what they do, there are so many people there. When we spend money we have to make it count."
West Ham also have to make their home games count, and they will be desperate to pick up vital league points against Birmingham in a match given added significance because of Sullivan's and Gold's links with the two clubs. The manner of Gold's departure from St Andrew's still causes angst, with the 73-year-old upset that he was not retained as chairman when Yeung took over. "I was at Birmingham City for years but I really want to give them a good whacking," he said. "I have great fondness for them, but it was sad the way it ended. They reneged on the decision to keep me on the board - that will always rankle. "After 17 years at Birmingham, I think we know how to run a football club, I am certainly a lot wiser than when I first started. "All I need now is for the team to start winning. Wednesday night will do for starters."
The past and present regimes at Birmingham have been involved in verbal spats over the past few months but Yeung's representative, Peter Pannu, said there will not be any bad blood on Wednesday. "The other party have taken over at West Ham and we wish them well. In fact, I did congratulate them myself," Pannu told the Birmingham Mail. "We are, after all, football people but work is work and we have to delineate on that very clearly. "I will shake hands in the boardroom. I have no problem with that and I have had a chance to have a conference with David Sullivan and David Gold. "We had a very candid chat. David Sullivan appears to be a very straightforward man. He speaks his mind - just like me. "I think people must understand we are all professionals so we know how to differentiate between right and wrong, work and personal. "I respect David Sullivan, he has got his stance, we have got ours and we agree to disagree."
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West Ham v Birmingham 19:45
BBC.co.uk
Barclays Premier League
Venue: Upton Park Date: Wednesday, 10 February 2010 Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Coverage: Full commentary on BBC London Online, BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Live, local radio, Final Score & highlights on Match of the Day
TEAM NEWS
Recent West Ham signing Benni McCarthy is out of the game against Birmingham with the knee injury which forced his substitution on Saturday. Fellow new recruits Mido and Ilan are pushing for starts having impressed from the bench in the Burnley defeat.
Birmingham will be forced to change their starting line-up for the first time in 13 league games as striker Christian Benitez has an ankle injury. Two-goal weekend hero Kevin Phillips or Keith Fahey will replace him.
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West Ham (from): Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Collison, Parker, Noble, Kovac, Behrami, Diamanti, Cole, Mido, Ilan, Stech, Ilunga, Da Costa.
Injured: Boa Morte, Hines & McCarthy (knee), Davenport (leg), Dyer (hamstring), Franco (thigh), Gabbidon (hamstring).
Birmingham (from): Hart, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Fahey, Taylor, Phillips, Michel, Jervis, Vignal, Gardner, Parnaby.
Injured: Benitez & Carsley (both ankle), O'Connor (hip), Tainio (knee)
MATCH PREVIEW
West Ham's new owners welcome the club they served for over 16 years. David Sullivan and David Gold revived Birmingham City and have now returned to their East End roots to try and do the same for West Ham. Rather than blowing bubbles, the struggling Hammers have been blowing hot and cold this season. None more so than Saturday's defeat at Burnley when Gianfranco Zola's side returned empty-handed even though they could quite easily have taken all three points if they had taken their chances. Sullivan has spoken of financial "Armageddon" at West Ham if they are relegated at the end of the season. He has warned everyone at the club they face a salary cut in the coming months, after inheriting "a mess" and over-inflated wages. Zola, however, has criticised the timing of the comments ahead of an important match.
The two David's certainly left Birmingham in good hands when they appointed Alex McLeish manager in November 2007. Under his stewardship, the Blues are dreaming of Europe, rather than sliding towards the third tier as looked the case when the duo took control back in March 1993. Veteran striker Kevin Phillips could have left the club on transfer deadline day but McLeish opted to keep him. The 36-year-old responded with two late goals against Wolves last Sunday and may now make a second league start of the season.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Birmingham have enjoyed the lion's share of victories between the two clubs, winning 37 of 81 league meetings.
• The Blues have not won at Upton Park since a 2-1 victory in October 2002. Stern John scored both the Birmingham goals that day.
• West Ham have won three of the last five league encounters.
• The Hammers are winless in their last five Premier League matches.
• They have failed to score in the first-half of their last five league games.
• They have recorded only one win from 12 matches against clubs in the top half of the table, a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at the start of November.
Birmingham
• The Blues have lost just one of their last 15 Premier League matches, away to leaders Chelsea.
• All of Birmingham's last three league goals have been scored in the final 10 minutes.
• Alex McLeish's side have won three quarters of matches against clubs in the bottom half of the table; nine from 12 games.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
West Ham
Cole: 7 goals (7 league); Diamanti: 6 goals (5 league)
Birmingham
Bowyer: 6 goals (5 league); Jerome: 5 goals (5 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistant referees: Simon Beck & Simon Long
Fourth official: Keith Hill
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
West Ham (L1-2 v Burnley, a): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Parker, Behrami, Collison (Stanislas 62), Noble (Ilan 77), Cole, McCarthy (Mido 46). Subs not used: Stech, Kovac, Da Costa, Ilunga.
Birmingham (W2-1 v Wolves, h): Hart; Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson (Gardner 68), Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden (Fahey 74), Jerome, Benitez (Phillips 63). Subs not used: Taylor, Michel, Vignal, Jervis.
MOST RECENT MEETING
Birmingham 1-0 West Ham (12 December 2009)
Birmingham scorer: Bowyer 52
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Birmingham boss Alex McLeish ready for ex-owners clash
BBC.co.uk
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with his club's former owners when Blues visit West Ham on Wednesday. David Sullivan and David Gold have been very vocal since leaving St Andrew's, taking credit for Blues' fine season. "There's nothing like patting yourself on the back is there?" said McLeish. "Of course they deserve credit for the stability of the club, and they allowed me to bring in Scott Dann and Roger Johnson in the summer," he told BBC WM. "I was obviously frustrated in other things I tried to do over the last two years, but the one thing about David Sullivan and David Gold is they're always up front and told me 'this is what we have'."I had to bite my tongue and get on with it, but at least I knew where I stood, and from that point of view they were honest." Sullivan has been warning that his new club West Ham risk total meltdown if they fail to secure their Premier League future - and McLeish is well aware that the stakes are high for the Hammers. "West Ham really need the points, there's no doubt about it - they need them more than we do," he noted. "But at the same time we'll go down there with relish, we're coming off the back of a very good win against Wolves."
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Sullivan backtracks
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 9th February 2010
By: Staff Writer
David Sullivan has sought to explain comments he made regarding Gianfranco Zola and his squad in the wake of criticism from the manager. Sullivan revealed last night that he would be asking most of the club's employees to take a wage cut in the summer, just 48 hours ahead of the crucial Premier League clash with Birmingham. The new owner's comments were denounced by Zola at today's pre-match press conference due to their ill-timing, causing Sullivan to backtrack on some of his earlier comments - although he insisted that he was simply trying to fire up the team ahead of the visit of his former club. "I can see Zola's counter argument that these issues are best not brought to light so close to a game, and yes he has a point," said Sullivan. "I am not upset for him expressing it, however if my comments galvanise the team and they produce a performance then it would have been worthwhile. "I hope it bonds the team and the manager closer together, so they go out and say they are going to show everybody what they can do, what they are made of. People at West Ham have got to face reality. West Ham have won four of their last 24 games, so who can blame me for wanting to take a strong stance if that ends up motivating people? "But, no I am not going to take offence at Zola taking issue. He is a lovely man, and an honourable man, and a lovely person, so he is quite entitled to his opinion, and in some ways I sympathise with his view. I partly agree with it, but it is very much a subjective view, and if it wins us the game, then I will be happy to have said it."
With regards to the issue of requesting a ll staff to accept a 255 wage cut, he added: "You cannot impose a 25% cut in players' wages, you cannot cut their wages at all. They have contracts, so it cannot happen, you simply cannot enforce it however much you would like to. "The truth is painful though. We have figures based on staying up and figures based on relegation and I don't want to go there regarding how relegation would hit this club. But I have become an optimist. I believe we will stay up."
Zola, speaking earlier in the day had been critical of his employer's comments, telling reporters: "I think the article should have been done at another time, not just before a match. It would have been better to say that at another time and maybe talk to us before talking to a newspaper. That is my feeling."
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Zola slams Sullivan timing
Hammers boss angered by announcement on eve of crucial clash
By Ben Collins Last updated: 9th February 2010
SSN
Gianfranco Zola has slammed West Ham co-owner David Sullivan after revealing he will urge the entire staff to take a pay cut this summer. Sullivan and co-owner David Gold have been candid about the financial predicament facing the Hammers ever since they took over the club last month. They have revealed that West Ham have debts of £110million and in the latest interview, Sullivan said he will ask the players and staff to take a voluntary 25 per cent cut to slash the club's £60m wage bill. Manager Zola claims Sullivan did not consult him over the issue before announcing his plans to the media and he is angered by the timing of the latest story as it comes on the eve of the crucial home game with Birmingham - the club so recently owned by Gold and Sullivan. "I think the article should have been done at another time, not just before a match like tomorrow," said Zola. "It would have been better to say that at another time and maybe talk to us before talking to a newspaper. That is my feeling."
Zola's side are fighting for their Premier League survival and have taken two points from a possible nine since Gold and Sullivan took over. The Hammers are one point adrift of safety after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Burnley and Sullivan has said it would be "armageddon" if they were relegated. Yet, asked if the owners speak to the media too much, Zola replied: "It doesn't interest me. They can talk to the press as much as they want. "When an article like that comes before a big match like tomorrow, I'm not happy about that because I don't think it is any good for the whole team. "I just read the article this morning and that's it. The match is all that matters to me and the players. "I'm not thinking about relegation at all," added the Hammers' boss. "I'm thinking about getting the points that we should have had on the table. That is my only focus. That is why I am here.
"Since I have been here it has been a repetition of speculation and problems. To be honest, I'm fed up with that. I just want to carry on with football. "The players are committed to what we are doing. They believe in it and are determined. "The defeat against Burnley was unexpected and a big blow. But the fighting spirit is there and we will never give up."
Zola earns £1.9m a year, and Sullivan believes he and the rest of the club's staff are overpaid. "Personally I can say I am not here for the money," said the Italian coach. "Last year when I signed a contract I didn't even know how much I was going to earn. "I had a plan and a project and I liked what I was going to do. I didn't know what I was going to earn and then after a while the club called me in about a new contract. "It's not about money. It is about working for something positive. I always enjoy working for this club. The money was something that came after."
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Cole dreaming of WC spot
Hammers striker eyes England place
Last updated: 9th February 2010
SSN
Carlton Cole admits he is fully focussed on securing a place in England's World Cup squad. The West Ham striker has recently returned to action after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury. His absence forced him to miss England's last match against Brazil in Doha - but he is hoping he will be recalled by Fabio Capello for the friendly with Egypt next month. "England and the World Cup is my main dream and I would love to get back into the squad," Cole to the Evening Standard. "I know Mr Capello has been speaking regularly with the medical staff here to assess how things are going and that is a good sign because he cares about my fitness. "Hopefully, by the time the next squad is announced, I will be back to where I want to be and scoring goals. If I am doing that hopefully I will stay in his thoughts."
While sidelined, Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola has invested heavily in striking reinforcements with Benni McCarthy, Mido and Ilan all being brought in late last month.
But Cole is more than happy with having competition for his place. "As a striker you need to be kept on your toes so that you can produce the goods regularly," he said. "Now we have some good strikers, all competing with me for a place in the team. That can only be good for me and the club. "They are all good technical players, good with the ball. Their final pass is precise and their hold-up play is excellent. That's all you want in a striking partner. Hopefully the manager will find a way to keep us all happy. "I thought I did OK earlier in the season but sometimes I did feel I was too isolated up front. "Now I have much more support. We have the foundation in place now but we need to start scoring the goals which will help us climb away from the danger area. "I'm feeling much fitter now. I'm still searching for 100 per cent sharpness but that will come. I want to be firing on all cylinders before long because I still have those targets to reach."
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Pannu predicts amicable reunion
Blues' finance chief wishes previous owners well
By Ben Collins Last updated: 9th February 2010
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Birmingham's vice-chairman Peter Pannu insists it will be an amicable reunion when the Blues board renew acquaintances with previous owners David Gold and David Sullivan at West Ham. City travel to Upton Park on Wednesday to face the Hammers for the first time since Gold and Sullivan completed their takeover of the London club. Gold and Sullivan ended a 16-year reign at Birmingham earlier this season, selling to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung in an £81.5million deal. Yeung suggested there were "financial irregularities" under the former board, while Sullivan apologised for remarks about Yeung after a series of verbal exchanges between the Birmingham owners old and new. But Pannu, Yeung's right-hand man and the Blues' finance chief, claims there will be no bad blood at Upton Park. "The other party have taken over at West Ham and we wish them well," he told the Birmingham Mail. "In fact, I did congratulate them myself. We are, after all, football people. "But work is work and we have to delineate on that very clearly. "I will shake hands in the boardroom. I have no problem with that and I have had a chance to have a conference with David Sullivan and David Gold. "We had a very candid chat. David Sullivan appears to be a very straightforward man. He speaks his mind - just like me. "I think people must understand we are all professionals so we know how to differentiate between right and wrong, work and personal. "I respect David Sullivan, he has got his stance, we have got ours and we agree to disagree."
Since completing his protracted takeover in October, Yeung called in the West Midlands Police economic crime team over alleged "financial irregularities" at the club. Any criminal investigation was ruled out, although Pannu has now outlined the new board's concerns. "Carson Yeung has had to put in around £7.5m to cover backlogs and our due diligence team is still working away," he added. "Carson remains concerned about the bills he picked up. We are looking at it and whether there was an element of fraudulent (behaviour).
"The rhetorical question is whether Carson would have paid a pound a share had he known the true state of the finances. "There may or may not be certain authorities involved when we have concluded our investigation. I say no more than that."
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Zola blast at West Ham Owner
The Sun
By PAUL JIGGINS
Published: Today
GIANFRANCO ZOLA risked his West Ham future last night by making a blistering attack on new co-owner David Sullivan. Zola is furious Sullivan chose to tell SunSport about planned Upton Park pay cuts ahead of his manager and the players. The Italian is especially angry his boss went public on the eve of tonight's crucial Hammers clash with Birmingham. Zola said: "They can talk about players as much as they want. "But when an article comes out before a match like this match, I'm not happy. I don't think it's any good for the whole team. I haven't spoken to them about it. I just read the article. "I think that article should maybe have been done at another time. Before a match like this it might have been better to talk to us first before talking to a newspaper."
We revealed yesterday that Sullivan will ask Zola, who is aware Sullivan and joint owner David Gold are huge admirers of out-of-work Mark Hughes, to take a 25 per cent wage cut along with his squad. The plan is to slash the club's £60million salary bill. Zola added: "I'm not here for the money. When I signed a contract, I didn't even know how much I was going to earn. "I came here because I had a plan and a project and liked what I was going to do. Then the club proposed a new contract. "But it's not about money, it's working for something positive. I enjoy working for this club. The money came after."
Asked if he would take a pay cut, he declared: "I don't know what's going to happen. I only know now is not the right time for me to talk about it. "I cannot speak for the players. They are focused on the match and I know they will do a good job." West Ham were believed to be £110m in debt when Sullivan completed his takeover last month.
Ironically, his former club Birmingham are not in any debt. Sullivan claimed it would be 'Armageddon' if West Ham were to be relegated and also admitted he wondered if Zola was 'too nice' to be a manager. Zola declared: "If you want me to be horrible, I can be horrible. "Yet if you treat people with respect, they give you 100 per cent. I have seen people being horrible to others and they receive nothing. "I stick to my philosophy and this won't change it."
Zola insists he will not quit - yet - but warned Sullivan: "I am a person with principles and won't allow anybody to walk over my principles or my person. I hope that gives you an idea."
WEST HAM: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Behrami, Parker, Noble, Collison, Cole, Mido.
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Gianfranco Zola and Alex McLeish unite in criticism of new West Ham owners
Gary Jacob
The Times
Gianfranco Zola was at loggerheads with his employers on Tuesday night because of the Italian's perception that his position has been undermined and managerial style publicly questioned. The West Ham United manager was far from impressed with the timing of David Sullivan's request for the Italian and his players to take a pay cut to help the club's finances, coming on the eve of Wednesday night's crucial match against Birmingham City. The wider picture is that Sullivan, the co-chairman, is believed to be preparing the ground for a potential change of manager, with Mark Hughes his favoured choice, should Zola not turn around their fortunes soon. "I am too connected and tied up to the players," Zola said. "I have a relationship with them and we had a quick chat to remind them our job is to play football. I have a relationship with the supporters, who have been fantastic for me. I don't like to leave situations unfinished, but I am a person with principles and I won't allow anybody to walk over my principles."
The Italian, who will speak to Sullivan after Wednesday's game, made sufficient wealth as a player that his decision to become a manager was not based on money. He earns £1.8 million a year, about average in the Barclays Premier League. "I'm not here for the money," Zola said. "It's not about money, it's about working for something positive.
"They [the club's hierarchy] can talk about players as much as they want, but when an article comes before a match like this one, I'm not happy. Maybe they should talk to us first before talking to a newspaper. I give my honest answer, whether people like it or not. I don't really care the way it will be taken."
West Ham's season could be defined by six weeks in which, including tonight against Birmingham, they play host to Hull City and Wolverhampton Wanderers and play away to Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. "I feel sorry that we are in this position because we should have more than that," he said. "We have been dealing with so many problems, it is like a matryoshka doll. You open up a box and there's another problem."
His counterpart on Tuesday night had some strong words for David Gold, the former Birmingham chairman and now co-chairman at Upton Park. Alex McLeish was under great pressure last season when the previous board criticised his squad-building and made it plain that he would be out of a job if the team failed to win promotion. The Scot suggested that directors should leave managers to manage team affairs. "The spokesman for the football side should be the manager," McLeish said. "I have always believed that and I still believe that. We're in the biggest league in the world and it stands to reason that owners who put their own money into clubs should have a say. But there have to be some demarcation lines in terms of team spirit and togetherness."
McLeish, who admitted that he had crossed swords with Gold a few times during his time at Birmingham, should be motivated further after his former chairman said that he wanted West Ham to "whack" his team tonight. "I'll pin it up," he said. "They've done my team-talk for me."
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Zola launches astonishing attack on new West Ham owners
Published 23:00 09/02/10 By Marc Isaacs
The Mirror
Gianfranco Zola has blasted West Ham owner David Sullivan and insists he will not be undermined by anyone at the club. Zola was fuming when he read comments from Sullivan that the club is heading for 'Armageddon' if they get relegated, and wants his manager and players to take a 25 per cent pay cut. Even if West Ham manage to avoid the drop, Sullivan and his co-owner David Gold will have to slash the £60million wage bill to keep the east London club in business. Zola clearly wanted to let his feelings be known and showed it passionately during an emotional press conference at the training ground. But the Italian coach is adamant he will not walk away from the job and has sent a clear message to Sullivan and Gold that he will not tolerate interference. Zola said: "I am too connected and too tied up to the players. I have a relationship with them, I have a relationship with the supporters. "I don't like to leave situations unfinished but I am a person with principles and I won't allow anybody to walk over my principles or my person. I hope that gives you an idea. "Personally I can say I'm not here for the money. When I signed a contract I didn't even know how much I was going to earn. "I came here because I had a plan and a project and I liked what I was going to do. After a while the club called me in and proposed me a new contract. It's not about money, it's about working for something positive."
Despite the crippling financial situation at Upton Park, Zola is incensed by the timing of Sullivan's comments. The West Ham boss insists he knew nothing about a potential pay-cut and had to hold showdown talks with his players to keep them focused on tonight's game against Birmingham. Zola said: "I think that article should have been done at another time. "Before a match like this it would have been better to say that at another time, and maybe to talk to us first before talking to a newspaper. "They can talk about players as much as they want. But when an article comes before a match like this, I'm not happy about that. "I don't think it's any good for the whole team. I haven't spoken to them (the owners) about it."
And he was defiant about speaking out against his bosses at this time. "I don't really care which way it will be taken. For me it's important I get the team in the right way."
With West Ham sliding back into the bottom three following their defeat at Burnley on Saturday, the last thing Zola needed was his owner trying to destabilise the team ahead of such a big game. He is confident he has the full backing of his players and hopes they will not be affected by a possible pay cut at the end of the season. "We just had a quick chat to remind them our job is to play football and focus on the matters that really count on the pitch. Scoring goals and not allowing the other team to do that. "Fortunately the players are focused on the match and I know they will do a good job tomorrow. Simple."
Zola is regarded as one of the nice guys in the football world, but was also angry to see Sullivan compare him to Ossie Ardiles, who took Tottenham to the brink of relegation in the 1990s. The former Chelsea player admits he will not change his management style just to suit Sullivan and believes he can still become a top manager in England. "Do I have to be horrible to do the job? If you want me to be horrible I can be horrible as well. I don't understand this. I have known a lot of people I have treated with respect and they have given 100 per cent. I have seen people being horrible to others and they receive nothing. I stick to my philosophy and this won't change it. "Whether my way is correct and is the best way, I don't know. But if I were different, and doing my job in a different way, I think I would be a failure because I have to be always what I am. Then the results will judge me."
And he even compared the web of intrigue at the club to a Matryoshka, the Russian dolls that come one inside another. "We have been dealing with so many problems it is like a Matryoshka. You open up a box and there's another box then another box and another box. For me it has been the same with problems; you sort one and then another one comes out."
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David Gold: West Ham could become another Leeds if they get relegated
Published 23:00 09/02/10 By James Nursey
The Mirror
David Gold reckons relegation with West Ham would be far more disastrous than suffering the drop previously with Birmingham. Gold and David Sullivan became joint-chairman at Upton Park last month after paying £25million a piece for a controlling stake in the club. The pair have fulfilled a lifelong ambition after both growing up supporting the Hammers. But they made their name in English football in charge of Birmingham after buying the club in 1993 and saving them from bankruptcy. City suffered two relegations during their reign in 2006 and 2008. But Gold and Sullivan sold Brum last October to Carson Yeung for £81.5million with the club en-route to consolidation back in the Premier League. Now they are desperate for the cash-strapped Hammers to stay in the top-flight too ahead of tonight's home game with City. Gold admits relegation would be a total disaster as the club's debts are £110million and fears they could end up in financial turmoil like Leeds who went down in 2004. "Fans are expecting and we have to deliver," said the 73-year-old Essex-based tycoon. "For pride and financial reasons it would be desperate if we were relegated and will shatter our dreams. "Whilst in the past we have got Birmingham City promoted, we have always budgeted for relegation just in case. "We ensured if we did ever get relegated that we were favourites to get promoted which we did on two occasions. "But in this case we have inherited the club and it doesn't bear our trademark of prudence. "There is no question relegation would be a complete disaster for West Ham United. "It is right to concern ourselves and right to work hard to improve the situation both in results and in preparing ourselves for the unthinkable. "The last time a club like West Ham was relegated with this type of debt was Leeds. "They went from one disaster management team to the next and went from disaster to disaster."
Gold is yet to see his beloved Hammers win after taking charge with Sullivan three games ago. But the East Ender is continuing to support manager Gianfranco Zola after bringing in Ilan, Mido and Benni McCarthy before the transfer deadline. And Gold is optimistic West Ham will survive this season despite slipping into the bottom three following defeat at Burnley. He added: "I believe very strongly we will stay up. "We have three new players and what we did by bringing in those three strikers shows our intent and it should give us the edge. "This gives Franco a chance. "He has these three new strikers, they have to be bedded in and now is the time to judge him."
Gold insists there will be no split loyalties tonight despite 16 years as chairman of Birmingham City, where he enjoyed a good relationship with the club's fans. He said: "I would like to go to a Birmingham home match sometime and express my feeling towards them. "They know we had a great relationship and I hope that will remain forever. "But on Wednesday they will know we are fighting for our lives - Birmingham aren't. "I am sure proper Birmingham fans will understand we are desperate for points and to avoid relegation. "Birmingham aren't in danger of going down and I would suggest one of the reasons is because Gold and Sullivan left a legacy of arguable the best side in 20 years or maybe more. "It was us that brought in the two centre-backs that are making a difference and put together this squad."
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Carson Yeung to snub David Sullivan and miss Birmingham's trip to West Ham - Exclusive
Published 23:00 09/02/10 By James Nursey
The Mirror
Carson Yeung is set to miss Birmingham's game tonight at West Ham - and snub David Sullivan's olive branch. The Hong Kong tycoon is in Paris on business and unlikely to be back in time to attend this evening's Premier League match. Sullivan hoped to present Yeung with a blue and white gold and diamond broach and cufflinks specially made when he owned City. Sullivan intended the gesture to be a peace offering following frosty relations since Yeung's original aborted attempt to buy the club in 2007. Yeung finally got Birmingham from Sullivan and the Gold brothers last October in an £81.5million deal. But relations between both camps remain tense after Yeung called in the West Midlands Police Economic Crime Team to probe the club's books. Yeung was infuriated at inheriting liabilities totalling around £11million on arrival at St Andrews plus a huge bill for Karren Brady's settlement package. He was also astonished to learn Sullivan and Gold paid themselves a combined consultancy fee advance of £420,000 before leaving. Sullivan and Gold have since bought a controlling stake in West Ham for £50million. Now a delegation of Birmingham officials are due at Upton Park tonight but the party is unlikely to include chairman Yeung. City vice-chairman Peter Pannu said: "Carson remains concerned about the bills he picked up. "We are looking at it and whether there was an element of fraudulent misrepresentation. "Carson has had to put in around £7.5million to cover backlogs and our due diligence team is still working away. "There may or may not be certain authorities involved when we have concluded our investigation. "The official conversations we had with the other side, they were willing to return some money to the club, which was rejected by Carson. "The sum of money we want back to wrap it all up is substantial."
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Zipping It
West Ham Till I Die
Since they took over the club, Messers Sullivan and Gold have never been off the media. Every day there is another newspaper report about the disastrous state of the club's finances. Every day, one of them gives an interview to 5 Live or TalkSport. Don't get me wrong, I think in many ways they have made a good start. But you know what? I think a period of silence would be welcome. Clearly this is something Gianfranco Zola would agree with. Today in the Daily Mail, David Sullivan talks about the need for salary cuts in the summer. He may be right. But why air this dirty linen in public? Zola has issued a quick riposte…
The article [by Sullivan] should have been done at a different time instead of just before a match like tomorrow's. "It would have been better to say what was said at another time and, maybe, talk to us [the players and staff] before the newspapers." He added: "I am not happy about it, I don't think it does any good for the team.
Quite so. Careless talk costs points. And possibly managers.
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You Never Know What You Have Till It's Gone!
West Ham Till I Die
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! The club need to learn from today's unfortunate events and learn quickly! The principle lesson being that you cannot conduct your club's affairs via the media in this way. They may have got away with it in the relatively calm regional backwaters of Birmingham, but this is a high profile London club that (especially in recent years) is in the constant glare of media attention.
Both Gold and Sullivan seem to have publicly backed off from the earlier reported comments, with Sullivan acknowledging the fact that players are contracted and you cannot not just rewrite the salary levels guaranteed by those contracts. So, just what has this episode achieved, apart from causing uncertainty, internal division and discontent! Absolutely nothing!
I tell you what, it makes you appreciate the influence that Duxbury previously exerted at the club. I know that he was not universally popular and that as CE he probably must take some responsibility for the financial state of the club. However, subsequent events have shown that Duxbury skillfully walked a tight rope in the last couple of seasons. He faced massive pressure and a virtual vacuum at board level. Yet he managed the situation, ensuring that, in spite of the media feeding frenzy around the club, things were kept under control. Duxbury knew that the club could not afford for it to be publicly acknowledged that the club's financial affairs were as bad as they were. He bought time via 'creative accounting' and consistently projected the 'Party line' that the club was financially stable and self-sustaining. This bought us time and crucially kept the PL 'fire sale' vultures at bay.
Duxbury kept his nerve in the face of intense pressure from the banks, preserved the integrity of the squad and dealt well with incidents such as Bellamy's transfer request. I think that in retrospect, and under these difficult set of circumstances, Duxbury holding things together was a near miracle and was to his credit. Yes, he was implicated in the farce around the Tevez affair, but he was obviously acting under instruction . Also, it is conveniently forgotten by some that the PL/FA joint investigation found that there was no evidence of the club breaking rules after the first PL Tribunal decision. This was a vindication not only of the club, but also of Duxbury himself.
As for Zola, well done for telling it the way it is at the pre-match press briefing. He was absolutely right to criticise any media comments that unsettle the players and undermine his preparation of the team for this vital game. It has to be acknowledged that there are certain lines of demarcation between the board and management that must always be observed. One of these is that nothing that the board does should interfere with the manager's pre-match preparations.
The club need to cut out lose comments and unnecessary speculation. Media statements from the board need to go via one person, probably the very personable David Gold, and be guided by a communications professional and a overall strategy to proactively use the media, rather than being used by it!
I think that it is generally recognised that tomorrow night could be a season defining game. The PL results tonight mostly went our way (Burnley's limitations being cruelly exposed!) and we must get a win to get out of the bottom three and follow that up with the defeat of Hull City on Saturday. If we can go into the Man Utd away match on 27 points, losing that match will not be a total disaster, as long as we then pick up the pace against Bolton. It is all to play for and we can get out of this hole if the tactics, team selection & player attitude and application is right.
I sincerely hope that Zola and Clarke can gee that players up and get them in a combative mood for the match. We need to treat the game like a cup final and blow Birmingham City away with a passionate, fiery and committeed display of attacking football. We so desperately need one of those inspired matches under the floodlights at Upton Park that we have all experienced and enjoyed over the years. And we fans need to play our part by creating a 'red hot' atmosphere on the night.
Zola should have kept the players back after training this week to show them inspiring footage of previous relegation battles. Matches like the 4-2 defeat of Man Utd in the last match of 1976-77, the famous 'obscene effort' 1-0 defeat of Man Utd at the end of 1990-91, the victories over the likes of Villa, Blackburn and Liverpool in 1994-95 and the Hartson-Kitson inspired revival of 1996-97. It would show them the desire and skill that they will need to emulate in the coming weeks!
COYI!
SJ. Chandos.
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Crunch time for Zola as McLeish marches on
BBC.co.uk
By Mark Orlovac
West Ham versus Birmingham is not normally the most attractive of Premier League fixtures, but for once it might just be a must-see. The Hammers, debt-ridden and waging a war against relegation, face a Birmingham side basking in rude financial health with European football on the horizon. And watching from the sides two contrasting characters. West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola faces crunch time after a detour from his Mr Nice profile to criticise joint-owner David Sullivan, Birmingham's Alex McLeish simply wondering whether an unlikely push for European football can be maintained.
BBC Sport profiles the two managers ahead of Wednesday's game.
BACKGROUND
Zola: Gifted midfielder. The 43-year-old won 35 caps for Italy and had spells with Napoli and Parma before joining Chelsea in 1996. His skill, style and amiable character made him a crowd favourite at Stamford Bridge and he was voted the club's greatest-ever player by fans. He gained experience as Italy's Under-21 assistant and was given his first managerial job at West Ham after replacing Alan Curbishley.
Date appointed: 11 September, 2008
McLeish: Rugged defender. The 51-year-old spent all of his playing career at Aberdeen, winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 under boss Sir Alex Ferguson while collecting 77 caps for Scotland. Became manager of Motherwell and also led Hibernian, Rangers and Scotland before joining Birmingham following the departure of Steve Bruce.
Date appointed: 28 November, 2007
RECORD
Zola: Led the Hammers to a ninth-placed finish in his first season in charge. Has had to cope with financial restraints and a series of off-the-field problems with the club's long-running ownership saga coming to an end in January when Sullivan and David Gold took control.
League record for West Ham: P59 W16 D18 L25 Pts66
(Win ratio - 27%)
McLeish: Unable to keep Birmingham in the Premier League in his first season but retained his job and won promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking. McLeish was linked with a move away from St Andrew's last summer because of an alleged row with the board but remained in charge and managed them through Carson Yeung's takeover in October last year.
League record for Birmingham: P94 W38 D30 L26 Pts144
(Win ratio - 40%)
PLAYERS BOUGHT
Zola: The Italian's first transfer window in 2009 was spent trying to resist the overtures for Matthew Upson and Scott Parker although Craig Bellamy did leave for big-spending Manchester City. Zola signed Savio Nsereko for a reported club record £9m fee but the winger made just 11 appearances and left in August last year in a swap deal with Fiorentina defender Manuel da Costa. Midfielder Radoslav Kovac and forward Alessandro Diamanti arrived last summer while three strikers, Benni McCarthy, Ilan and Mido, were added to the squad in the latest transfer window to bolster Zola's attacking options.
McLeish: Birmingham were busy in the transfer market last summer, bringing in the likes of defender Gregory Vignal, goalkeeper Joe Hart, midfielders Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer, striker Christian Benitez and forward Giovanny Espinoza. In this year's January transfer window, McLeish signed playmaker Michel from Sporting Gijon but missed out on big-name targets such as Ryan Babel, Kenwyne Jones and Roman Pavlyuchenko with the club later admitting that boasts of a £20m-£40m kitty were "not particularly helpful".
RECENT FORM
Zola: Not good. West Ham have only picked up one victory in the last league 10 games and have had four wins all season. Saturday's 2-1 defeat at fellow strugglers Burnley confirmed that the Hammers are in a relegation dog-fight.
Current league position: 18th
FA Cup: Third round (lost to Arsenal)
Carling Cup: Third round (lost to Bolton)
West Ham average home attendance: 33,313 (94% of capacity)
McLeish: Very impressive. Apart from a recent 3-0 reverse at home to Chelsea, Birmingham have not lost in the league since the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on 17 October. They have held the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool this season and have picked up eight points from their last five games.
Current league position: 8th
FA Cup: Fifth round (playing Derby on 13 February)
Carling Cup: Third round (lost to Sunderland)
Birmingham average home attendance: 24,845 (82% of capacity)
WHAT THE CHAIRMAN SAYS
David Sullivan on Zola: "Of all the managers I have dealt with he is the nicest. The question is, is he too nice? Ossie Ardiles was the nicest guy you could meet but look what he did to Tottenham. Time will tell. We don't sack managers, we don't panic. We will see over the coming months how good a manager he is. We are prepared to give him time, we don't judge a manager on one or two games."
Carson Yeung on McLeish after taking over in October: "I will be supporting the manager. We have an excellent management team. Our aim is to work hard to secure our position in the Premier League, not only for this year but for many years to come."
WHAT THE FANS SAY
On Zola:
From TomkinsWorldClass on 606: "Zola is perfect for West Ham as he is a very young manager with huge potential, so given time he can develop our top youngsters and he can grow. We need to give him time because he is a great man, a great coach and has the potential to become a great manager. I for one will laugh at other fans who called for his head when we have success."
From aintreehammer on 606: "I must have been one of the few West Ham fans who wanted mid-table stability under Alan Curbishley rather than possible catastrophic relegation under a nice bloke who was a great footballer. Sure, he did well last season but didn't Glenn Roeder in his first season? Then look what happened! I appreciate the difficulties he has had to face, but some of the signings have been very poor."
On McLeish:
From Bluenosethruandthru on 606: "So we didn't make the signing that we were all hoping for. We have had a fantastic season so far, the team have responded and given everything asked of them, we are nearly safe. McLeish and the players deserve a pat on the back, the manager will not want to destroy the dressing room by bringing in high earners mid season."
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West Ham United v Birmingham City: preview
Read a full match preview of the Premier League game between West Ham United and Birmingham City at Upton Park on Wednesday Feb 10 2010, kick-off 19.45 GMT.
Telegraph.co.uk
By John Ley
Published: 6:00AM GMT 10 Feb 2010
Wednesday, February 10
West Ham United v Birmingham City
Upton Park
Kick-off: 19.45 GMT
TV: Highlights MotD.
West Ham are desperate for a win, a point not lost on new co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, the former owners of Birmingham. The 2-1 defeat at Burnley extended West Ham's run without a win in five League games. Birmingham, meanwhile, arrive with just one defeat in their last 15 Premier League games. When the teams met at St Andrews in December, a goal from former Hammer Lee Bowyer earned Birmingham the points before Mark Noble was sent off. Gianfranco Zola must now decide who to play in attack. Benni McCarthy joined Carlton Cole at Burnley but he got a knock and Mido could start. But Zavon Hines, Guillermo Franco and Luis Boa Morte are still injured. Birmingham were hoping to be unchanged but Christian Benítez is ruled out with the ankle injury suffered in a challenge from Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann in the weekend derby at St Andrews. McLeish has to decide whether to give a rare start to veteran Kevin Phillips, after the 36-year-old came off the substitutes' bench to score twice against Mick McCarthy's side, or to push James McFadden into attack and draft Keith Fahey into the wide left role. Defender Stuart Parnaby is back in the squad after recovering from a back problem.
West Ham United (4-4-2): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector; Collison, Noble, Parker, Behrami; Cole, Mido.
Birmingham City (4-4-2): Hart; Carr, R Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell; Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, McFadden; Phillips, Jerome.
Referee: Mike Dean. Matches: 16. R2 Y71.
This season: Birmingham 1 West Ham 0.
Last season: N/A.
Stat of the game: Birmingham have won only once in their last 10 League visits to Upton Park.
Betting tip: Hard for the Hammers; a 0-0 draw at 15-2.
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Alex McLeish thanks former owners for providing easy team-talk
Gold and Sullivan hope West Ham 'thrash' Blues this evening
'The spokesman for the football side should be the manager'
Stuart James The Guardian, Wednesday 10 February 2010
Alex McLeish has admitted that David Gold and David Sullivan interfered with footballing matters when they owned Birmingham. Alex McLeish will pin up David Gold and David Sullivan's comments in the dressing room at West Ham United tonight to motivate his players. Gold said yesterday: "I really want to whack Birmingham" and the other former Birmingham owner Sullivan added, "I hope they get thrashed five-nil".
Birmingham travel to Upton Park with McLeish admitting that he believes his team are safe from relegation after accumulating 37 points but West Ham are anything but secure. "I'll pin them up," said McLeish. "They've done my team-talk for me. Thanks a lot the two Davids."
Although Sullivan and Gold appointed McLeish as Birmingham's manager in November 2007, the relationship between the respective parties had started to break down following relegation to the Championship at the end of that campaign.
McLeish gave a flavour of the frustration he felt when he said that managers, rather than club owners, should offer their thoughts on the "football side". McLeish said it is vital there are "some demarcation lines" to protect the spirit within the dressing room and claimed that Sullivan and Gold had crossed those during their time at Birmingham.
"In my experience in football, the spokesman for the football side should be the manager. I have always believed that and I still believe that," said McLeish. "The game has changed. It's showbiz. We're in the biggest league in the world and it stands to reason that owners who put their own money into clubs should have a say. But there has got to be some demarcation lines in terms of team spirit and togetherness." Asked whether Sullivan and Gold crossed those lines, McLeish replied: "A couple of times."
Birmingham's improvement in form has coincided with the change of ownership with Carson Yeung replacing Gold and Sullivan in October last year. Since then Birmingham have lost only twice in 19 matches, against Arsenal and Chelsea, with that remarkable run of form propelling the club to eighth in the Premier League and almost certainly guaranteeing another season in the top flight with 14 matches remaining.
"It's a fantastic achievement because at the beginning of the season the pundits couldn't see where the goals were coming from and they thought we would be relegation candidates. We've changed a lot of people's minds," said McLeish, who is expected to start with Kevin Phillips on the bench tonight despite the striker's two goals against Wolves on Sunday and an ankle injury ruling out Christian Benítez.
Despite describing Birmingham's position as "pretty secure", McLeish expressed his confidence that there will be no easing off over the next three months. "There are players in the dressing room with aspirations of doing even better in the game and players who have been through it all and have been used to winning. People like [Barry] Ferguson, [Lee] Bowyer and [Stephen] Carr. They will be relentless.These guys will not down tools."There will certainly be no shortage of incentive this evening. "It was important to get the victory over Wolves. If we had gone down there after a defeat, or having dropped points, we would have been a bit more anxious," said McLeish."But now we go there with relish and knowing that these three points are hugely significant. I know the fans are really desperate to win this one."
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Gianfranco Zola puts job on line with attack on West Ham co-owners
I won't be walked over, declares West Ham's manager
Italian angry after David Sullivan reveals plan for wage cuts
Mikey Stafford guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 9 February 2010 22.38 GMT
Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, is irritated by the owners' speaking publicly about pay cuts before speaking to the players. Gianfranco Zola has put his future at West Ham United in doubt by telling the club's new owners that he will not allow anyone to "walk over my principles" after warnings of pay cuts at the London club and the suggestion that Zola could be "too nice" to be a successful manager.
Today the co-owner David Sullivan, on the eve of tomorrow night's crucial match with his previous club Birmingham City, warned of a financial "Armageddon" at West Ham and promised pay cuts this summer for all staff, including the players and Zola.
While the Italian said he had no desire to walk away from the club, he hinted that he would not suffer excessive interference from Sullivan and David Gold, who bought 50% of the club last month.
"I don't like to leave situations unfinished but I am a person with principles and I won't allow anybody to walk over my principles or my person," said Zola.
Despite claiming that he "speaks and communicates a lot" with Gold and Sullivan, the West Ham manager knew nothing of their plans to cut wages during the summer, whether the club – currently third from bottom in the league – avoid relegation or not. The first he saw of Sullivan's plans was in the newspapers, immediately before training.
For Zola – preparing his under-performing team for the visit of Birmingham, who have lost only once in 18 matches – it was the timing rather than the substance of Sullivan's statement that rankled. "I think that article should have been done maybe at another time," he said. "Before a match like this it would have been better to say that at another time, and maybe to talk to us first before talking to a newspaper."
The Italian reacted with surprise when told Sullivan had compared him to Ossie Ardiles, the affable but unsuccessful Tottenham manager of the early 90s. Commenting on his manager's demeanour, Sullivan said: "The question is, 'Is he too nice?' Ossie Ardiles was the nicest guy you could meet but look what he did to Tottenham."
Zola pointed to his success last season, when he guided West Ham to ninth in the league after replacing Alan Curbishley in September. This term has, in comparison, been a disaster with doubts over the club's finances and a spate of injuries contributing to the record of just four victories. Third from bottom, above Wolves only on goal difference, only Portsmouth have gathered fewer points.
"This year, obviously, so far the job has not come out the way it should, but the season is not finished," said Zola, who compared West Ham's problems to opening a Russian doll. "To be honest we have been dealing with so many problems it is like a Matryoshka, no? You open up a box and there's another box then another box and another box. For me it has been the same with problems; you sort one and then another one comes out."
West Ham have taken just two points from a possible nine since Gold and Sullivan paid £44m for their stake, with the Icelandic bank Straumur retaining the other 50%. Zola, in his first managerial role, has had to adapt to Gold, and in particular Sullivan, taking a heavy interest in the day-to-day running of the club.
"I am not getting in to a debate about I am like this and they are like that. I am what I am and I respect that they are different," he said. "There is no concern there and it's not my interest to judge them."
One of the new owner's first signings, Mido, accepted a basic salary of £1,000 a week and Sullivan has expressed disbelief at the club's wage bill: "Every position is overpaid, whether in administration or on the playing side."
High earners may be sold in the summer to reduce the club's debt, estimated to be over £100m. Zola and his assistant, Steve Clarke, are paid £1.9m and £1.2m per annum respectively.
"I came here because I had a plan and a project," said Zola. "Then, after a while, the club called me in and proposed me a new contract. It's not about money, it's about working for something positive."
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Sullivan refuses to back down after Zola outburst
Wednesday, 10th February 2010
Cityam.com
WEST HAM co-owner David Sullivan last night refused to apologise to Gianfranco Zola after suggesting the manager was overpaid. Sullivan also riled Zola for hinting he would ask all of the hard-up club's staff to take a pay cut in the summer. The Italian hit out at the comments yesterday, criticising the timing, ahead of tonight's clash with Birmingham, and the lack of consultation. But despite reaffirming his admiration for Zola and insisting he sympathised with his reaction, Sullivan stood by his remarks, saying he hoped they would have a positive effect. "I hope it galvanises the team and the manager together," he said. "I'm not going to take offence at Zola taking issue. He's a lovely and honourable man, so is quite entitled to his opinion, and in some ways I sympathise with his view. I partly agree with it, but it is very much a subjective view, and if it wins us the game, then I will be happy to have said it."
Zola had earlier said: "It would have been better to say that another time, not just before a match, and maybe talk to us before talking to a newspaper." Sullivan also insisted he wants to keep Zola in charge despite the Hammers being 18th in the Premier League. He added: "I have no thoughts of changing the manager in the next few days, or for the rest of the season, for that matter. And hopefully for many years to come."
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MARTIN SAMUEL: Gianfranco Zola is like Ossie Ardiles... nice bloke, but as useful as Bungle in a fight to the death
Last updated at 1:55 AM on 10th February 2010
The club shop at West Ham United has a turnover in the region of £5million and breaks even. This may come as a surprise. It certainly did to the new owners. If a retail premises is not turning a profit this usually means there is a surplus of stock, unsold. In West Ham's case there are approximately 26,000 kits from last season's order of 85,000 piled up in a warehouse. When David Sullivan and David Gold took over, the requisition was already being submitted for next year's kit. The order: 85,000. Now the full horror of the last decade of misrule at Upton Park is unfolding, the truth is revealed. It is not, as ever, a parable for all football. It does not epitomise or define the Premier League era. It is a simple tale of a group of people who did not have a clue. If the club is on the verge of bankruptcy and the chief executive is earning £300,000 and driving an Aston Martin it says nothing about football and everything about him, and the nature of personal responsibility.
Gold and Sullivan estimate that Kieron Dyer may end up costing the club £30m for a handful of appearances, and basket case transfers of this enormity are understandably eye-catching. Yet the devil is in the details. Eggert Magnusson, the former chairman, paid his personal assistant almost double the going rate of most secretarial jobs advertised in the Crème de la Crème section of The Times. Compared to the amount dribbling down the drain courtesy of misplaced faith in Dyer's fitness, it was chickenfeed, but expanded throughout a club, and woven into the fabric of the business, it explains why West Ham teeter on the precipice.
All departments are dysfunctional because of years of inadequate leadership. Any shortcomings on the field are devastatingly mirrored in the administration. Terence Brown, the former chairman, still commands a raft of complimentary tickets, for home and away games. One consultant was due a payment of £10,000 for advising on how successfully the
club interacted with its supporters via its website. There is, to date, no evidence of how this was achieved in any professionally recognised manner. If there were ideas, proposals, admonishments, they would appear to have been verbal. Maybe the analyst stuck his head round the door and gave somebody a thumbs-up.
With hindsight, the biggest misfortune that befell West Ham United was that the club was not relegated in the season of the Carlos Tevez scandal. It would have been impossible for Magnusson to behave with such scant regard for reality in the Championship and many of his profligate excesses would have been curtailed. Yet even had he been unable to make vanity purchases such as Freddie Ljungberg, there would have been a sobering reckoning one day. The Armageddon time that is predicted if the club is relegated this season would have happened some day. West Ham, as a business, or as a sporting institution, did not inhabit the real world.
Maybe they still don't. Never has the phrase 'too good to go down' been more optimistically misused on a football team than on Gianfranco Zola's this season. West Ham went down with 42 points in 2003, the biggest total of any relegated club since the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995 (next on the list of unfortunates are Sunderland and Bolton, who accrued 40 points in 1996-97 and 1997-98 respectively). To put this into perspective, the same points total last season would have given West Ham a 13th-place finish, eight points clear of Newcastle United. This season, at the current aggregate of points per game, West Ham are on course to reach 33.25. The lowest points total recorded by a team staying up in a 38-game Premier League season is 34 by West Bromwich Albion in 2004-05. The signs are not encouraging. Even a purely subjective analysis of the two eras would suggest trouble ahead.
The West Ham team that went down in 2003 was a different class from the one fighting relegation now, and included David James, Glen Johnson, Trevor Sinclair, Joe Cole and Jermain Defoe, most of whom would walk into the current team (James and Rob Green might battle it out; the rest, no contest). Yet the new owners are growing increasingly frustrated at being told that this will not be a relegation season. There is a point at which positive self-belief meets complacency and the pair have dined on expenses at West Ham for too long. Perhaps the dose of reality Sullivan introduced by talking of 25 per cent wage cuts in the summer was ill-timed, but the problem is one of extremes; West Ham has shifted from a land of plenty to one of austerity with no middle ground.
It is also a complication that to even half-question Zola's ability to retrieve the situation feels a little like taking a pot-shot at Bambi. He was such a lovely footballer and is such a nice man. Everyone says it, even the new regime. There is a universal will for him to succeed. And yet does Zola know what is required to keep a team in this division?
Sullivan mentioned the dreaded name this morning, comparing Zola to Ossie Ardiles, another of nature's gentlemen and a wonderful player, who as a manager seemed as well equipped for a duel to the death in England's top division as Bungle from Rainbow would be in a cage fighting arena. Zola introduced three new strikers in the transfer window to a squad that has kept two clean sheets in all competitions since August, when he sold central defender James Collins to Aston Villa.
West Ham keep it tight away from home, only letting in two goals more than Manchester City, but the record at home is poor: 20 conceded in 11 League games, the worst ratio in the division. On Sunday, Zola was at Chelsea to watch the match with Arsenal and was warmly greeted by many who saw him in the press room. He was smiling and charming, as always. Meanwhile, on a television in the background, Birmingham City were mounting the fight back against Wolverhampton Wanderers that stopped West Ham slipping from 18th to 19th place and enduring a thoroughly miserable weekend, considering the defeat at Burnley and the fact that Hull City had, against the odds, beaten Manchester City.
Yet West Ham play Birmingham tonight. So, if Zola was out watching football, why at Stamford Bridge and not St Andrew's? No doubt there will have been West Ham scouts present in the Midlands, no doubt tapes will have been studied and preparations made this week, but if David Moyes, the Everton manager, whose team are now safe, bothered to make the trip to Chelsea in advance of their visit to Goodison Park, is Zola truly so insightful that he could learn nothing from seeing Birmingham, first-hand?
Or is he, like the rest of them, merely convinced that West Ham are too good to go down, which is why they will need 110,000 replica shirts next season. Hurry, while stocks last.
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WEST HAM v Birmingham: New boy Benni McCarthy ruled out with knee injury
By Sportsmail Reporter Last updated at 4:27 PM on 09th February 2010
Daily Mail
Striker Benni McCarthy misses West Ham's home match with Birmingham with a knee injury picked up against Burnley on Saturday. Long-term casualties Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and Guillermo Franco are still sidelined but Alessandro Diamanti returns and otherwise manager Gianfranco Zola reports a clean bill of health.
Team (from): Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Collison, Parker, Noble, Kovac, Behrami, Diamanti, Cole, Mido, Ilan, Stech, Ilunga, Da Costa.
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West Ham co-owner David Sullivan unable to sack Gianfranco Zola until end of season
David Sullivan cannot sack Gianfranco Zola as West Ham United's manager until the end of the season because of an agreement he struck when he took control of the club but last night there were serious questions over the Italian's immediate future.
Telkegraph.co.uk
By Jason Burt
Published: 7:30AM GMT 10 Feb 2010
Telegraph Sport understands that under the "shareholders agreement" between Sullivan, co-chairman with David Gold, and Straumur, the stricken Icelandic bank, as part of last month's takeover deal the manager cannot be removed until June. However, following Sullivan's outspoken, and poorly-timed, attack on Tuesday and his demand that the players and staff take a 25 per cent pay cut in the summer, Zola is believed to be furious at further destabilising at the club and is considering his own position. Sport on television Zola, whose team take on Birmingham City on Wednesday night in a crucial Premier League match, said he was "too connected and tied up to the players" to resign.
But, in a clear warning, he added: "I don't like to leave situations unfinished but I am a person with principles and I won't allow anybody to walk over my principles or my person. I hope that gives you an idea."
Since gaining control of the club Sullivan has maintained he intended to support Zola but it's clear that the manager may eventually feel undermined and walk out. It's even been suggested that he may quit in the summer in any case having, he hopes, guided West Ham to safety. The deal not to sack Zola was struck, it's thought, with West Ham's former chairman Andrew Bernhardt. This was partly to maintain some stability at the club but, more importantly, to ensure that Straumur – which retains a 50 per cent stake - is not partly exposed to the liability of paying off Zola or his assistant Steve Clarke. Zola signed a new three-year deal at the end of last season and earns £1.9 million a year while Clarke's salary is £900,000.
Sullivan and Gold agreed to the stipulation when they acquired half of the club in return for paying £20 million – £15 million of which is working capital – with Straumur, one of the main creditors of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, staying as co-owners for now. But if Zola walked out, or felt forced to quit having been undermined, it means he would not be entitled to any compensation.
Sullivan has insisted that he will give Zola time – and has pointed to his record of only getting rid of two managers during his years at Birmingham City – but it is understood that he has misgivings over the Italian and whether he has the stomach for a relegation battle. Sullivan, while he was in negotiations to buy West Ham, considered making a move for former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes, and offering him a heavily-incentivised contract until the end of the season, with a bonus paid if West Ham avoided relegation.
Hughes's name has come up again in recent days but, as the Daily Telegraph revealed last month, he is already in negotiations to be become Turkey's new coach and is not believed to be interested in taking over at Upton Park. West Ham gained just two points from three games since the takeover and have slipped into the bottom three with Sullivan warning yesterday that relegation would signal an "Armageddon" at the club which, he claims, is £110 million in debt. Sullivan has also put forward a plan to ask "everyone to voluntarily take a wage reduction" while he will seek other savings and redundancies. He added that Zola would be among those expected to accept the pay cut and said that anyone unhappy with the request could leave. "Gianfranco is highly paid and I think that all managers in the Premier League are over-paid," Sullivan said. He also cast doubt over whether or not he wants to keep Zola, saying he is maybe "too nice" to be a successful Premier League manager. He said: "Ossie Ardiles was the nicest guy you could meet but look what he did at Tottenham. Time will tell. Zola will prove himself over the next few games." Ardiles was sacked after less than a year in charge of Spurs. Zola reacted with irritation to the claims. "I don't understand this," he said. "I stick to my philosophy and this won't change it."
Zola added: "Look, it doesn't interest me. It really doesn't. They can talk about players as much as they want. But when an article comes before a match like this match, I'm not happy about that. "I don't think it's good for the whole team. I haven't spoken to them [the owners] about it. I just read the article this morning... after 10 days it's been a continuous repetition of problems and speculations. To be honest, I'm fed up with it. I just want to carry on with football."
If they wanted to sack Zola now they would have to gain the agreement of Straumur. Sullivan hinted at this in his first press conference, having bought West Ham, when he said that he and Gold had gained "operational and strategic control" of the club but added that there was a limit to the financial decisions they could make unilaterally. They have an option to buy the other half for at a fixed price for the next four months and then at another price after that.
Top 5 Upton Park problems...
1 West Ham believe they need to reach an agreement to either pay off Kieron Dyer or force the 31-year-old midfielder into retirement. Dyer earns £60,000 a week.
2 Last week David Sullivan met former manager Alan Curbishley, who is demanding £3 million in compensation after winning his constructive dismissal case. West Ham are prepared to pay £1 million but Sullivan hopes Curbishley will settle for less.
3 Dean Ashton retired at the end of last year. He agreed a pay-off of one year's wages, with West Ham battling for £7 million compensation from the FA's insurers as his ankle injury occured while on England duty.
4 Sullivan believes West Ham are over-staffed. He is seeking cuts across the board and wants everyone to accept a 25 per cent pay cut in the summer.
5 He is also examining whether he can take legal action against the lawyers who advised West Ham throughout the Carlos Tevez affair which has cost them more than £20 million in compensation to Sheffield United.
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