WHUFC.com
Fans at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday were surprised to see a new name on the
Hammers bench
21.12.2010
When the Under-18s' fixture against Charlton Athletic was postponed just
before last weekend because of snow, 16-year-old Jake Larkins was probably
expecting a quiet weekend. Instead, the stocky teenager suddenly found
himself travelling on the first-team flight to Blackburn on Friday
afternoon. Larkins got a late, late call to join up with the senior squad
when Robert Green was withdrawn at the eleventh hour because he had not
recovered from minor surgery in time to make the trip. That meant Ruud
Boffin was elevated to No1 status for the pressure Barclays Premier League
match at Ewood Park and, with Marek Stech and Peter Kurucz already
sidelined, Larkins was designated as his cover on the bench. For the
youngster, who had kept a clean sheet for the Academy side in a 1-0 win
against Fulham the previous weekend, it was a welcome but hugely unexpected
call. "I had just got out of the shower on Friday afternoon when I found
out," the club's new No46 told WHUTV. "James [Saban] the kit man came in and
told me. Everything went so fast. I had to go to Stansted. I left Chadwell
Heath at 3pm and got there just in time at 4pm. I was lucky. "I had four
missed calls on my phone. I didn't know what it was before James told me I
had to travel with the team to Blackburn. It turned out to be a great
experience - especially warming up with [goalkeeping coach David Coles]
before the match. I'd love to do it again any day of the week."
Larkins was not overawed by the occasion, paying tribute to his coach for
making him as relaxed as possible while he was also delighted for Boffin who
"played very well". He added: "I thought it was going to be more intense but
nothing changed. I have worked with Colesy a couple of times and nothing
changed."
With Green expected to face Fulham on Boxing Day, Larkins will revert to U18
duty and faces a battle to dislodge Deniz Mehmet for starting duties in
January's FA Youth Cup fourth-round tie against either Manchester United or
Portsmouth. It will be back down to earth, but he knows he has to keep on
going. "I will have to work hard for it and see what happens I will try my
hardest."
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Ruud awakening
WHUFC.com
Ruud Boffin thoroughly enjoyed his Barclays Premier League debut at
Blackburn Rovers
20.12.2010
Ruud Boffin was all smiles after enjoying an impressive - if a little
unexpected - debut for West Ham United. The Belgian was handed his first
appearance between the sticks in Saturday's 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw
at Blackburn Rovers after Robert Green and Marek Stech were ruled out
through injury. Green underwent minor surgery last week, while Stech
suffered a hamstring injury in training. With regular No3 Peter Kurucz
recovering from a long-term knee injury, Boffin was given a maiden start at
Ewood Park. The 23-year-old coped admirably in doubly-testing conditions,
dealing with both Blackburn's aerial bombardment and sub-zero temperatures
with seemingly relative ease. Indeed, Boffin was extremely unfortunate not
to keep a clean sheet, making a miraculous point-blank save from Ryan Nelsen
before the New Zealand defender converted the rebound with his knee. "It was
nice, but it's always difficult to play on your debut. I found out on Friday
that I was playing when I realised that Rob was not travelling. From that
moment, I was ready to play. "It is a big step for me because it is one of
the biggest leagues in the world. When I was asked I'd have been stupid if
I'd said I didn't want to play!"
Boffin, who was backed-up by 16-year-old Academy stopper Jake Larkins, may
be new to the English game but he is not a complete rookie. The
Sint-Truiden-born goalkeeper made more than 60 league appearances for MVV
Maastricht before appearing in five Dutch Eredivisie - First Division -
matches for VVV Venlo. "I was used to it a little bit because I played a few
games in the First Division in Holland, but that game is totally different.
Here it is another country with a different type of football which is much
quicker. It was a challenge. "The boys came up to me and told me to do my
own thing and if I had to do anything, to do it well."
Having enjoyed a taste of the Barclays Premier League, Boffin is now hoping
to make a challenge to Stech to be Green's regular understudy.
"I hope to become the No2 goalkeeper now, of course."
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Boffin savours debut feeling
West Ham goalkeeper enjoyed first taste of Premier League
Last updated: 20th December 2010
SSN
Goalkeeper Ruud Boffin has admitted it was a special moment to make his
first West Ham appearance against Blackburn. Avram Grant turned to the
23-year-old Belgian as Robert Green and Marek Stech were both ruled out
through injury, while regular No.3 Peter Kurucz is still recovering from a
long-term knee problem. And Boffin, who only moved to Upton Park at the end
of the summer, acquitted himself well as the Hammers fought back for a 1-1
draw.
He admits it was a daunting prospect to play in the Premier League but drew
on his experience from his days with Dutch club VVV Venlo. "It was nice, but
it's always difficult to play on your debut. I found out on Friday that I
was playing when I realised that Rob was not travelling. From that moment, I
was ready to play," he told the club's official website. "It is a big step
for me because it is one of the biggest leagues in the world. When I was
asked I'd have been stupid if I'd said I didn't want to play."
Challenge
Boffin added: "I was used to it a little bit because I played a few games in
the First Division in Holland, but that game is totally different. "Here it
is another country with a different type of football which is much quicker.
It was a challenge. "The boys came up to me and told me to do my own thing
and if I had to do anything, to do it well." Boffin is now aiming to play
more in the Premier League and would like to be considered Green's regular
understudy. He said: "I hope to become the No.2 goalkeeper now, of course."
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Keeper Boffin is shrink wrapped
The Sun
By CARL LONG
Published: Today
WEST HAM keeper Ruud Boffin revealed he called in a shrink to help him cope
with the stress of his Premier League debut. Hammers' fourth-choice stopper
got an SOS call-up for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Blackburn with Rob Green,
Marek Stech and Peter Kurucz all crocked. And the Belgian, 23, revealed: "I
found out on Friday I would be playing so I spoke on the phone to my mental
coach back in Belgium. "He gave me advice on coping without too much stress
after the kick-off. "I've played a few games in the Dutch First Division but
the Premier League is totally different. "The manager told me I began the
game nervously, but got better."
Avram Grant picked up Boffin from Dutch side MVV Maastricht in the summer.
And the keeper admitted: "Rob Green should be back next week but I will
continue to work hard and hope to get a couple more games." Striker Frederic
Piquionne has denied rumours he is set to quit West Ham for Aston Villa next
month. The Frenchman, 32, said: "Gerard Houllier wanted to take me to Lyon
while I was still with St Etienne. But I have not had a call from him."
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Av's not the man to save Hammers
IAN WRIGHT - Columnist
The Sun
Published: Today
IF West Ham are going to survive the drop this season they need a manager
who can inspire the players and rally the fans. And I don't think that man
is Avram Grant. My former club are rapidly approaching the point of no
return. They must either back their manager with hard cash to see him
through the transfer window or replace him now. There is no point in setting
him one target after another and simply hoping that things will turn out OK.
Because West Ham are going into Christmas bottom of the table and only one
team in the history of the Premier League has escaped relegation from that
position before.
I've seen a few of their games this season and it looks as though opponents
are happy to play at Upton Park because there's no chance West Ham are going
to come out all fired up by a rocket from the manager. Even the fans seem to
have stopped believing. They used to generate an incredible atmosphere
during my brief time at the club. But it's no longer the sort of backing you
get at grounds like Stoke or Everton. I have a lot of mates who are Hammers
fans and they and I are all very worried. Very few of them are confident
they can get out of this situation under Avram. The team has picked up a bit
in recent weeks but not enough to get out of the bottom three. They are
still not winning games. I have met Avram on a number of occasions and he is
a genuinely nice guy. I've not come across anyone in the game with a bad
word to say about him.
But is he a good manager? That's a question he must answer in the next
couple of weeks.
I am told David Gold and David Sullivan are giving Avram every possible
opportunity to save his job after handing him a four-year contract last
summer. But they understand the financial implications of relegation from
the Premier League and must do everything within their powers to protect
their investment. So they have to make a firm decision about the manager
while there is still time. The worst thing they could do would be to give
Avram money to spend on new players in next month's transfer window and then
decide to replace him at the end of January. It seems to me that Avram's
style is more suited to working with an established, top-end team. He did
well at Chelsea when he had experienced, international-quality players who
didn't need motivating. But he inherited an impossible situation at
Portsmouth last season and wasn't able to get the club off the foot of the
table. He's a very calm and relaxed fella but that's not what West Ham need
right now. They want someone animated and able to deliver a few home truths.
They need someone who can get ALL the players riled up, not just Scotty
Parker. It was only a year ago that Carlton Cole was playing for England, so
there is no questioning his quality. You only have to look at the way he
destroyed Manchester United in the Carling Cup the other week to see what he
is capable of.
But the fans are on his back before he's even touched the ball these days
and you have to say that the manager is not getting the best out of a player
who is capable of scoring the goals his team need to stay up. I genuinely
hope Avram can turn things around in their next few games against Fulham,
Everton and Wolves. But it's not looking good for him and I really don't
know who the club will turn to if they decide to change the manager. What I
do know, though, is that West Ham is a great job for any manager who can get
it right.
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Sidwell close to Hammers move after agreeing terms
Published 23:00 20/12/10 By Alan Nixon
The Mirror
West Ham will sign Steve Sidwell from Aston Villa to help their survival
campaign - with a cut-price move set up yesterday. Experienced midfielder
Sidwell was in London for a medical and is sorting out personal terms on a
move that will end his stay at Villa and give him first-team football. Boss
Avram Grant has been pleading for reinforcements and the club's negotiators
have come up with the former Arsenal, Chelsea and Reading man after failing
to land Joey Barton from Newcastle. Sidwell is joining for the start of the
window as Hammers know there is no time to lose in their bid to stay up. The
cost of the deal will depend on their survival this season - and in the
future. Hammers will pay a small sum up front, with extras on bonuses. But
the move makes sense if Sidwell can bring some extra drive and experience to
their small squad. Villa are happy to ship out Sidwell as they trim some of
their big earners under the orders of owner Randy Lerner. He was one of
their best-paid players after Martin O'Neill talked him into moving, one of
many expensive legacies from the former manager's time. Hammers are willing
to take on Sidwell's whole package as they know the cost of relegation would
be crippling. However insiders maintain that this does not mean the sale of
Scott Parker. Ironically Sidwell and Parker were in a similar boat in their
times at Chelsea when both joined the Stamford Bridge club but failed to
make an impact before swiftly moving on. Sidwell's exit will give Gerard
Houllier more money to spend - and wages to add - to Villa as he plots his
own changes.
However Villa are finding it hard to land their targets because of Lerner's
desire to keep the salaries in check - and there could be trouble ahead for
the Frenchman as he tries to recruit better players.
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West Ham look to hijack Everton move for Dieumerci Mbokani with five-month
loan offer
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 2:35 AM on 21st December 2010
Daily Mail
West Ham are trying to sign Monaco striker Dieumerci Mbokani on a five month
loan deal. The Congo international only joined Monaco from Standard Liege
for £7million in the summer but has struggled to settle and is keen to
kickstart his career with a switch to the Premier League. However, the
problem could be obtaining a work permit. Although Congo have a wealth of
talent, and club side TP Mazembe reached the final of the Club World Cup
against Inter Milan, the country is ranked a lowly 124th in the world and
West Ham may have to go to an appeal. Everton have monitored the 25-year-old
for the past 18 months and may yet launch their own bid to sign him if other
targets fall through but West Ham are in the driving seat. Mbokani, whose
first name means 'Thank You God', was also wanted by Roma, Liverpool and
Birmingham in the summer. He scored 35 goals in 81 games for Liege and has
eight in 14 for his national side. Although he has not found his form in
France, Avram Grant believes his style is better suited to the Premier
League.
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West Ham striker Frederic Piquionne insists he has held no talks over
January Aston Villa move... for now
By STEVE GOODMAN
Last updated at 2:38 AM on 21st December 2010
Daily Mail
West Ham striker Frederic Piquionne has denied rumours that he is set to
quit Upton Park for Aston Villa next month. Villa boss Gerard Houllier is
reportedly interested in the Frenchman, 32, who joined the Hammers from Lyon
during the summer after a loan spell with Portsmouth. Houllier tried to
sign Piquionne four seasons ago when he coached Lyon and the striker played
for their local rivals St Etienne. 'I read in the papers about Aston
Villa's interest in me, but I have not had a phone call from Gerard
Houllier,' the France international said. 'He wanted to take me to Lyon
while I was still with St Etienne. But there have been no concrete
approaches for the time being.'
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Fitness worries deepen gloom for Avram Grant at West Ham
Five first-teamers unable to train more than twice a week
Owners willing to splash out on a star signing next month
David Hytner
guardian.co.uk, Monday 20 December 2010 23.00 GMT
Avram Grant's battle against relegation from the Premier League at West Ham
United is being undermined by fitness concerns, which include five of his
first-team squad being unable to train more than twice a week. The defenders
Danny Gabbidon and Herita Ilunga, the midfielders Luis Boa Morte and Kieron
Dyer and the striker Carlton Cole have to be nursed along because of
deep-seated injury problems.
West Ham are bottom of the table, with only two wins from 18 games and the
manager is under intense pressure. Grant has complained about the thinness
of his squad and his concerns have now been laid bare. The latest
illustration of his difficulties came on Friday, after he had named his
starting XI in the morning for the away fixture at Blackburn Rovers. He
promptly lost two of his line-up in training – one of them, the forward
Victor Obinna – and, on the eve of Saturday's game, he lost a third, Valon
Behrami, to a hip injury in the warm-up.
Gabbidon and Boa Morte completed the 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at a
sub-zero Ewood Park, where Dyer was withdrawn in the 82nd minute and Cole
introduced as a 57th-minute substitute. Ilunga did not play.
Adding to the state of flux for Grant is the fact that four of his players
are out of contract in June – Gabbidon, Dyer, Matthew Upson and Lars
Jacobsen – and a fifth, Obinna, is due to return to Internazionale when his
loan deal ends.
West Ham's owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, are desperate for Grant to
turn around the club's fortunes and prove a success. The club's next three
fixtures are away at Fulham and at home to Everton and Wolves. Sullivan and
Gold would be willing to splash out on a star signing next month, most
likely a striker, in an effort to spark the revival but the state of affairs
at Upton Park makes selling the club to potential new players more
difficult.
Grant lost his main summer acquisition, the midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger,
to serious thigh damage before he had kicked a ball for the club – he will
be out until well into the new year – and, in some ways, that set the tone
for what has been a spluttering season, pockmarked by an assortment of
injuries and problems.
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West Ham United willing to take Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane on
loan deal in bid to beat the drop
West Ham United are to join the bidding for Tottenham Hotspur's Robbie Keane
by offering the striker a six-month loan deal with the option of a
three-year contract should he help keep them up.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Jason Burt 11:00PM GMT 20 Dec 2010
Keane is surplus to requirements at Spurs with manager Harry Redknapp
desperate to move him on so he can make room in his squad. Aston Villa and
Birmingham City — who have both wanted Keane in the past — have been linked
with new moves, as have Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton, while there
have been suggestions that the 30 year-old could be used as a makeweight to
tempt Newcastle United into selling Andy Carroll. West Ham have been offered
Keane before and will resist Spurs' attempts to use the negotiations as a
way of obtaining Scott Parker. Spurs are also hoping to move Jamie O'Hara to
Upton Park and he is also interesting West Ham, who would have made a move
for the midfielder in the summer had he not been injured.
Given that O'Hara is still to recover from his back injury, it may well be
that West Ham turn to Aston Villa's Steve Sidwell, with a deal understood to
be under negotiation.
That could lead to the departure of Valon Behrami, who is anxious to return
to Italy because his wife has failed to settle in London. Despite the
possibility of one — or both — of Keane and O'Hara joining West Ham, the
Premier League's bottom club remain adamant that they will not sell Parker.
Keane returned to Spurs at the beginning of last year, from Liverpool,
signing a four-year contract for a £12 million fee, but fell out of favour
and is no longer in Redknapp's plans. Despite uncertainty at West Ham over
whether Keane is worth his £65,000-a-week salary, the club's hierarchy also
realise they not only need to bolster their attack — with just 16 goals in
18 league matches — but also need stronger characters in the dressing room.
An inquiry has been made about Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor.
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