WHUFC.com
West Ham United have terminated the contract of Gianfranco Zola
11.05.2010
West Ham United confirm that they have terminated the contract of Gianfranco
Zola. The Board of Directors would like to thank him for his contribution
and wish him well for the future. The Club will now be focusing its efforts
on seeking a replacement. The Club will be making no further comment on this
matter.
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West Ham sack manager Gianfranco Zola
BBC.co.uk
West Ham have sacked manager Gianfranco Zola after less than two years in
charge at Upton Park. The 43-year-old former Chelsea player, who had no
previous managerial experience at club level, took over from Alan Curbishley
in September 2008. He signed a new four-year deal towards the end of his
first term as West Ham finished ninth in the Premier League. But this season
they struggled and ended up in 17th place, only five points above the
relegation zone. A statement from West Ham read: "West Ham United confirm
that they have terminated the contract of Gianfranco Zola. "The Board of
Directors would like to thank him for his contribution and wish him well for
the future.
"The club will now be focusing its efforts on seeking a replacement. "The
club will be making no further comment on this matter."
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Hammers sack boss Zola
The Sun
WEST HAM have sacked manager Gianfranco Zola. The Italian kept the Hammers
in the Premier League this season but finishing 17th was not good enough for
co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan. And Zola was told his time at
Upton Park was up during a meeting this morning. A club statement said:
"West Ham have terminated the contract of Gianfranco Zola. "The board of
directors would like to thank him for his contribution and wish him well for
the future. "West Ham will now be focusing on seeking a replacement. No
further comment will be made on this matter."
Zola, who took charge in September 2008, was widely expected to achieve much
more this term with the likes of England internationals Rob Green, Matthew
Upson and Carlton Cole in his squad.
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COTTEE: BOARD UNDERMINED ZOLA
Sporting Life
Former West Ham striker Tony Cottee believes the timing of Gianfranco Zola's
dismissal was correct but criticised the club's new regime for undermining
the Italian during his reign at Upton Park. Zola has been sacked by the east
London club after a disappointing season which saw them narrowly escape
relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
Cottee is relieved Zola's future has been resolved now rather than rumbling
on over the summer. He told Sky Sports News: "I am pleased they haven't
messed around and it dragged on for months. "If they are going to do it, get
it done, but the fans will judge it on the calibre of the manager coming in.
"I think Gianfranco has done a decent job in difficult circumstances. "It
hasn't been easy for him, everything that could have gone wrong at West Ham
has gone wrong. "And at the end of the season Gianfranco and the players
have done well to stay up. "But having said that the results haven't been
good enough and obviously the board have now made a decision."
The arrival of new owners David Gold and David Sullivan in January saw a
weakening in Zola's position with Sullivan apologising to supporters for a
"shambolic" and "pathetic" performance against Wolves in March. There have
also been suggestions Zola was unaware of moves to make the entire first
team squad - bar Scott Parker - available for transfer and kept in the dark
over a bid for West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans. Cottee added: "What I
would criticise them (the board) for is not sacking him when they first
arrived at the club. "It did appear right from the start that Zola was not
their man. "Various things have happened through the season that have
undermined the management and the players, emails and things getting into
the press. That doesn't make for a happy camp. I don't think the board
handled it very well."
Cottee believes Croatia boss and former West Ham defender Slaven Bilic is
the man to transform the club's fortunes. He said: "The fans want a manager
who will bring success. The right man for me is Slaven Bilic, I think he is
head and shoulders above the other candidates. "I would love to see him
return to West Ham. "He has had a great experience with Croatia but they
didn't qualify for the World Cup and if West Ham could give him an escape
route I think he would take it. "He has a lot of passion for the club and
still has a place in London."
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West Ham sack Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola has been sacked by West Ham after just 18 months at Upton
Park.
Telegraph.co.uk
By John Ley
Published: 10:49AM BST 11 May 2010
One of the most anticipated departures in football was announced by the
Premier League club just after 10am today. It is understood that Zola was
sacked for a breach of contract, with West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and
David Gold believed to be unhappy with comments he made after it was
announced that all the players, apart from Scott Parker, would be available
for transfer. Zola to meet owners Zola responded by saying that if he was
Mark Noble or Valon Behrami he wouldn't be very happy to have heard the
news. Zola's meeting with Karen Brady, the club's vice-chairman, this
morning lasted just minutes before the manager was told of his fate. The
Italian's departure was inevitable after a succession of barbed comments
from Sullivan and Gold. After a defeat by Wolves at home, Sullivan posted an
apology for the performance on the club's website. In it he called the squad
"unbalanced", and described their recent performances as "pathetic", even
going as far as to say: "Nobody at the club should delude themselves that we
are a good team. The table at this stage of the season does not lie."
Indeed, Zola came close to quitting after a run of six straight defeats but,
after flying to his family home in Sardinia, he returned to pledge his
short-term future to the club. The former Chelsea legend was impressed with
the backing he received from his players, but his record has not been
impressive. In 80 games, Zola won just 23 while losing 36, a success rate of
just 29 per cent. After Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, his last in
charge, he responded to questions about his future with a short but polite:
"See you in the future," a clear indication that his time at the Boleyn
Ground was running out. And Sullivan's programme notes on Sunday claimed
that the team's efforts were "below the expectations at the start of the
season".
Avram Grant, who has performed a minor miracle in getting Portsmouth to the
FA Cup final, has emerged as the immediate favourite for the job. Other
contenders include former Blackburn and Manchester City manager Mark Hughes,
but he may prove too expensive. Former Spurs manager Martin Jol and one-time
West Ham favourite Slaven Bilic are also among the front-runners.
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Zola Fired
West Ham Till I Die
This is the official statement from the club. Very curt.
West Ham United confirm that they have terminated the contract of Gianfranco
Zola. The Board of Directors would like to thank him for his contribution
and wish him well for the future. The Club will now be focusing its efforts
on seeking a replacement. The Club will be making no further comment on this
matter.
I know I am probably in a minority but I think this is a great shame. Zola
never really had his own team and I think that given another season and a
bit of investment he could have made it a success. Interesting that there is
no mention of Steve Clarke. I wonder if he is contention to succeed.
probably not, but stranger things have happened.
I'd like to thank Gianfranco for his time at West Ham. At times the team
played some sublime football, and he made an enormous contribution to
improving players like Carlton Cole. He was clearly loved by the players and
it will be interesting to see if the players want to stay when they see who
his replacement might be.
Strangely, I have no immediate favourites to suggest as successors so I
invite you to come up with some ideas and we'll do a poll. The devil in me
would like to see Alan Pardew return, but I don't think that will happen,
and in all honesty, it probably shouldn't after what happened before.
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West Ham sack manager Gianfranco Zola after traumatic season
Zola's contract terminated with immediate effect
Board 'would like to thank him for his contribution'
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 11 May 2010 10.42 BST
West Ham United have sacked manager Gianfranco Zola after a traumatic season
which nearly ended in relegation. Zola, who took charge in September 2008,
led the side to just seven home wins in a campaign disrupted by public
criticism from the club's new co-owners, David Sullivan and David Gold. They
finished fourth from bottom, five points above Burnley. The announcement was
made following a meeting between Zola and the owners to discuss the club's
future structure. The future of his assistant Steve Clarke is unclear.
Mark Hughes and Slaven Bilic have been linked with the vacancy. A club
statement said: "West Ham United can confirm that they have terminated the
contract of Gianfranco Zola. "The Board of Directors would like to thank him
for his contribution and wish him well for the future. The club will now be
focusing its efforts on seeking a replacement."
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