WHUFC.com
West Ham United will host either Manchester United or Portsmouth in the FA Youth Cup fourth round
15.12.2010
West Ham United have been paired with either Manchester United or Portsmouth in the FA Youth Cup fourth round. The Hammers won through to the last 32 with a comprehensive 5-0 third-round win over Aldershot Town at the Boleyn Ground last Tuesday. However, they will not learn the identity of their fourth-round opponents until United and Portsmouth meet on Monday 11 January 2011. Academy Director Tony Carr was happy to secure a home draw, despite the potential quality of the opposition. "It's an exciting prospect of everyone. Obviously, if we play Manchester United, the tie will have a certain ring to it but they have got to get past Portsmouth first. "Whoever we play, we are looking forward to the tie and are obviously pleased that we will be at home. "We shall have the United v Portsmouth tie watched and I shall watch the game myself so we will be fully prepared, whoever we play in the next round."
West Ham have already beaten Portsmouth 2-0 in the FA Premier Academy League this season and host Pompey at Little Heath in the reverse fixture on 22 January. The Hammers have not faced Manchester United at youth level since August 2008, when the pair shared an FA Premier Academy League goalless draw at Little Heath. West Ham have won the FA Youth Cup on three previous occasions, lifting the trophy in 1963, 1981 and 1999. The Hammers, who were the first club drawn out of the hat, reached the fifth round last season, defeating Plymouth Argyle and Queens Park Rangers before being defeated by Newcastle United at the Boleyn Ground.
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Parker, Green and Specs instore
WHUFC.com
A trio of Hammers heroes will be meeting fans at Liberty Romford and the Stadium Superstore
16.12.2010
Scott Parker, Robert Green and Jonathan Spector will all be instore this Christmas. Hammer of the Year winner Parker will be at the club's new Liberty Romford store from 2pm to 3pm on Tuesday 21 December while Green and Spector will be at the Stadium Superstore from 2.30pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 22 December. Anyone planning to attend the two events is advised to get there early to avoid missing out. In order to ensure as many fans are catered for as possible and to avoid exploitation by professional autograph dealers, players can only sign items purchased from the shop on the day.
Please note all appearances are subject to change for footballing reasons. All fans attending are advised to check whufc.com for the latest information including Christmas opening hours.
* West Ham United players Marek Stech, Peter Kurucz and Ruud Boffin will switch on the Newham General Hospital Christmas Lights at 6pm on Thursday 16 December.
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Dyer delighted with attitude
WHUFC.com
Reserve-team manager Alex Dyer was pleased with his players during Tuesday's friendly draw at Fulham
16.12.2010
Alex Dyer has praised the attitude of his West Ham United reserve team in their 2-2 friendly draw at Fulham. The manager was pleased with the approach shown by first-team squad members Radoslav Kovac, Herita Ilunga, Marek Stech and Zavon Hines, while Anthony Edgar also earned praise on his return after three months out following knee surgery. Olly Lee and George Moncur were both on target as the Hammers came back from a goal down at Motspur Park, only to be denied victory by an 88th-minute equaliser. "I was very pleased. It was a good afternoon's work and the boys worked hard all game. We had a couple of the senior boys playing and, as always when they've been with us, they put in a good performance. "Kovi was good in midfield and got 60 minutes under his belt, Herita also got 60 minutes and Zavon got 45 minutes. It was also nice to see Anthony back playing his first game for three months and he got 45 minutes, so it was a good afternoon's work. "They were two good goals. Olly got us back into the game at 1-1 with a very good free-kick from about 25 or 30 yards. George played a good one-two with young Sebby [Lletget] and bent one into the top corner, so it was good. "We were unlucky not to come away with the victory, but overall it was a very good performance by the lads."
Weather permitting, West Ham's second string round out 2010 by travelling to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a Barclays Premier Reserve League fixture on Monday evening. The Hammers have won three, lost three and drawn one of the seven league matches they have contested so far, chalking up impressive away victories at Everton and Liverpool along the way. With 13 games remaining, there is still plenty for Dyer and his squad to play for. Victory on Monday could lift West Ham into third place before the Christmas and New Year break.
Monday's fixture will kick-off at AFC Telford United's New Bucks Head stadium at 7pm.
Full match reports and reaction from Fulham and Wolves, as well as Dyer's review of the year, will appear in the matchday programmes for the Barclays Premier League visits of Everton and Wolves over the festive season.
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Grant handed West Ham ultimatum
BBC.co.uk
By Dan Roan
BBC sports news correspondent
West Ham must win at least one of the relegation-threatened club's next three games or manager Avram Grant will be sacked, BBC Sport understands.
Time is running out for Grant, 55, who has one win in 11 Premier League matches, leaving the club three points adrift at the bottom of the table. It is understood Sam Allardyce, sacked by Blackburn this week, is being considered as a replacement. West Ham play Blackburn away on Saturday and Fulham away on Boxing Day. A source said replacing the Israeli if he fails to meet the terms of the ultimatum would allow the club to make best use of the transfer window, giving the new manager "a chance to make the changes he wanted".
After narrowly avoiding relegation last season West Ham sacked former manager Gianfranco Zola and signed former Portsmouth boss Grant on a four-year contract. Despite sweeping aside Manchester United in the Carling Cup, defeats to Sunderland and Manchester City mean that the club have collected only 12 points from 17 league matches. Grant has faced an injury crisis at Upton Park, deprived of the services of Jack Collison, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Valon Behrami, Kieron Dyer, Carlton Cole and Mark Noble for significant periods of the season. In addition, several of his players are out of contract at the end of the season. The club's owners David Gold and David Sullivan are sympathetic to Grant, but are aware only once in 18 years of the Premier League has a team bottom at Christmas survived the drop. "Dismissing Avram is not something the board wants to do" said the source. "The club are aware that we were lucky to avoid relegation last season, and that Avram inherited a 'Championship-rate' squad. "He's also had a dreadful run of injuries, but we can't get to the beginning of the window and not do something if things don't improve."
Survival specialist Allardyce has an unparalleled track record in digging clubs out of trouble. He took over Rovers when they were 19th in the table and kept them in the Premier League.
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78% Say No to Allardyce
West Ham Till I Die
600 of you voted in the Big Fat Sam Poll on whether you think Sam Allardyce should be considered as a successor to Avram Grant. 78% said no, but 22% said yes, which is rather higher than I would have anticipated. Some strange folk out there…
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Hammers linked with O'Hara swoop
Wednesday 15th December 2010 15:54
TeamTalk
West Ham boss Avram Grant reportedly wants to bring Jamie O'Hara to the club on loan from Tottenham when the transfer window opens next month.
The Hammers boss is keen to take O'Hara on loan for the rest of the season, having been impressed with the midfielder during their time together at beleaguered Portsmouth last season. According to the Daily Mail, the 24-year-old is close to returning from a back injury that has kept him out all season, but faces a tough task breaking into a Tottenham side who are flying. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has spoken of the need to cut the burgeoning first-team squad, with Robbie Keane, David Bentley and Giovani dos Santos expected to be shown the door next month. O'Hara may still have a long-term future at White Hart Lane, but a six-month loan to regain fitness and form may be mutually beneficial. The former England Under-21 international was voted Pompey's player of the year during their inevitable march towards relegation last season and he played an instrumental role in the south coast club reaching the FA Cup final, in which they were beaten by Chelsea.
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London 2012 Olympics: Premier League sanction Tottenham switch to Olympic Stadium
The Premier League will not block Tottenham's potential move to the Olympic Stadium after ruling that neither Spurs nor West Ham would be in breach of the organisation's rules if they move to Stratford.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter 7:32PM GMT 15 Dec 2010
Both clubs, competing to take on the stadium after the 2012 Olympics, sought clarification from the Premier League that there would be no barrier to relocation, and were told earlier this month that they would not face any objection. The Premier League's ruling comes with negotiations between the two clubs and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, owners of the stadium, set to extend into the new year. The OPLC had initially set itself a deadline of Dec 31 to select a favoured candidate. That deadline has now slipped however, with the preferred bidder expected to be selected next month. A spokeswoman for the OPLC said they remained on track to sign final contracts with the stadium tenant by the final deadline of the end of March 2011. The Premier League's decision will be welcomed by Tottenham Hotspur, who are pursuing the Stratford bid at the same time as working on their initial Northumberland Park development next door to White Hart Lane.
West Ham had hoped that given the distance Spurs would be moving — 5.3 miles as the crow flies according to the Premier League's measurements — they might be prevented from relocating. With West Ham already based in the same borough, Newham, as the Olympic Stadium they were unlikely to face any opposition from the league. After considering the issue, however, the league board has ruled that it would not object to either club moving. Any club moving ground requires league approval. The Premier League will only allow relocation if a number of criteria are met, including whether the new location is "appropriate" bearing in mind the "relationship between the locality with which by its name or otherwise the club is traditionally associated".
It also considers whether the new location will "adversely affect [Premier League or Football League] clubs in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location". West Ham United believe that were Spurs to get the stadium they would be encroaching on their traditional territory. Meanwhile, Tottenham and England defender Ledley King has been banned from driving for 56 days after being clocked at more than 100 mph in a black Mercedes CL. King, 30, of Cuffley, Hertfordshire, had previously admitted speeding on the A14 near Newmarket, Suffolk, in June, and was sentenced when he appeared before magistrates in Sudbury.
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Avram on the brink
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 15th December 2010
By: Staff Writer
Fresh reports are suggesting tonight that Avram Grant could be just three games away from the sack. An unnamed insider at the Boleyn Ground has told the BBC that the under-pressure Israeli - whose team have won just two of their 17 Premier League fixtures this season - was informed today that he has just three games to save his job. "Dismissing Avram is not something the board wants to do," said the source. "The club are aware that we were lucky to avoid relegation last season and that Avram inherited a 'Championship-rate' squad. He's also had a dreadful run of injuries, but we can't get to the beginning of the window and not do something if things don't improve."
Grant's missive is to win at least one of West Ham's next three fixtures - at Blackburn, Fulham and then home to Everton - else face bing fired just six moonths after being unveiled as the successor to Gianfranco Zola, himself fired by David Sullivan and David Gold despite achieving better results than Grant.
A KUMB.com poll revealed last week that three in five supporters wanted to see the back of Grant immediately, with only one in four wanting to give the new manager time to rectify the club's situation.
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Varney won't vanish.. Ollie
The Sun
Published: Today
BLACKPOOL plan to see off West Ham by sealing a permanent £250,000 deal for Luke Varney. The on-loan Derby striker's five Premier League goals have raised the Hammers' interest and they can make a move when the transfer window opens. However, the Seasiders have already offered Varney terms and hope to seal an agreement this month. The 28-year-old can talk to other clubs next month but Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is eager to push through a permanent arrangement.
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West Hammill
The Sun
Published: Today
WEST HAM have joined the hunt to snap up Barnsley's Adam Hammill The winger has been a massive hit for the Championship side this season, scoring seven goals since signing from Liverpool in the summer. Wigan, Everton, Wolves and Blackpool have all been linked with the 22-year-old star, who has a £500,000 buy-out clause in his contract.
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West Ham eyeing Allardyce - report
Published 09:22 15/12/10 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
Sam Allardyce could make a quick return to the Premier League with West Ham, according to reports. The Hammers are claimed to be giving serious consideration to replacing Avram Grant with the sacked Blackburn manager. The Israeli has been summoned to an Upton Park board meeting, at which he is expected to be told he must take points from the rock-bottom Hammers' next run of games, against Blckburn, Fulham and Everton. "We very much want to stick by him, but it will be make-or-break time over the next few weeks," one senior club insider told the Daily Telegraph. But West Ham may have to move quickly if they want to land Big Sam. Allardyce is believed to be booked on a flight to Dubai today, having lined up TV work, and is thought to be looking for a managerial job in the Middles East after turning down Al-Ahly in the summer.
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Obinna: Slow start has Hammered us
Published 23:00 15/12/10 By Neil McLeman
The Mirror
Victor Obinna has admitted West Ham have not recovered from losing their first four league games of the season. The Irons are set to spend Christmas in dreaded last place after winning only two matches out of 17. And in a meeting on Sunday after the Manchester City defeat, the Upton Park board made clear to manager Avram Grant that results had to improve quickly. The Hammers have lost only five of their last 12 matches - the same as Arsenal and only one more than Chelsea. But Grant's side have drawn too many matches, including sharing the points at home to newly-promoted West Brom and Blackpool. Yet loan signing Obinna reckons the damage was done back in the summer when West Ham were caught cold and conceded 12 goals in their first four games. And they have not got out of the bottom three since. "We didn't start very well," said the Nigerian. "Losing the first four games wasn't very good for the team. It has really affected the team. Gradually we have been trying to pick up the rhythm. It has not been easy. "The Premier League is one of the toughest leagues in the world. Obviously it is the fastest in terms of physique. You have to be prepared 100 per cent."
Grant's position at the club is under more strain with the sudden availability of two possible replacements. Stratford-born Chris Hughton played for the Hammers between 1990-92 and his father still lives near the Boleyn Ground, while Sam Allardyce, sacked by Blackburn this week, is a more experienced alternative. West Ham go to Ewood Park on Saturday at the start of a run of four matches against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League which will decide Grant's future. The Hammers also travel to Fulham on Boxing Day before hosting Everton and Wolverhampton.
Grant needs at least two wins from the four games to convince the board to allow him to spend in the January transfer window. The Israeli manager is desperate to keep hold of midfielder Scott Parker but Carlton Cole could be sold to raise further transfer funds. The alternative is the loan market with Tottenham's Jamie O'Hara, who was outstanding at Portsmouth under Grant last season, a possible target now the 24-year-old has recovered from a back injury. Obinna revealed he sought advice from Pompey legend Kanu before moving to Upton Park on a year's loan this season with the option to buy next summer. "I have been having a wonderful time since I have been here," said the winner of November Player of the Month award after his first Premier League goal against Wigan. "Basically, it doesn't depend on me. I come from Inter Milan and Inter Milan has a say in everything concerning me staying in a West Ham shirt."
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Prem trio lining up for Wigan keeper Al-Habsi
Published 23:00 15/12/10 By Football Spy
The Mirror
Bolton manager Owen Coyle has kick-started a three-club auction for keeper Ali Al-Habsi. The 29-year-old is on loan at Wigan but is also interesting Fulham and West Ham. Coyle said: "If a bid comes in we'll sit down with Ali and his advisers and look at it. We knew he was a top goalkeeper when we loaned him out."
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