WHUFC.com
A good run for Jordan Spence at Bristol City has earned him an England
Under-21 call
25.03.2011
Jordan Spence's superb form for Bristol City in helping them to three wins
in four Championship games since joining on loan has earned him a call-up by
England Under-21s. The versatile defender, who prefers to play at
right-back, was drafted in to Stuart Pearce's squad on Friday ahead of
Monday's friendly against Iceland in Preston, meaning he could line up
alongside club-mate James Tomkins. Spence has captained England at every
youth level up to the U20 age group but has yet to figure for the U21s. The
20-year-old's selection came after Micah Richards picked up a hamstring
injury in the 4-0 win away to Denmark on Thursday night. Spence and Tomkins
could face fellow Hammers defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson, with the Icelander
a mainstay in their defence.
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Gabbs and Greeny united
WHUFC.com
Hammers favourites Danny Gabbidon and Robert Green have supported three
special naval officers
25.03.2011
Robert Green and Danny Gabbidon may well be on opposite sides when England
travel to Wales on Saturday afternoon but they are also united in a common
cause.
The club-mates met a trio of serving Royal Navy officers at the start of
their Wembley to Cardiff charity walk over the last week - in aid of Help
for Heroes. Petty officers Andy Gibbs and Robert Brown committed to walking
168 miles, accompanied by support driver, warrant officer Dave Chandler, in
good time for the Wales-England UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier taking place at the
Millennium Stadium - a good job, considering they will be bringing with them
the matchball. Gabbidon said: "They are doing a great thing - we wish them
luck and it will be good to see the ball back at the Millennium Stadium when
the guys finish their walk at the match."
The trio first collected the ball from the Welsh Football Association and
national-team manager Gary Speed back in January. Once they make it to the
Millennium, they will stride on to the pitch to hand it over to the referee.
All proceeds will go towards the Help for Heroes appeal, with the Wembley to
Cardiff walk listed on their website at :
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/wembley-to-cardiff.html Green added: "The
Help for Heroes charity is one of two charities the England Footballers
Foundation are supporting, along with Cancer Research. We as a club also
support causes such as these and we hope that everyone puts their backing
behind the officers as they look to raise as much money as they can."
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Spence set to extend loan
Hammers defender likely to finish the season at Ashton Gate
Last updated: 25th March 2011
SSN
Bristol City expect to finalise the loan extension of West Ham United
defender Jordan Spence next week. Spence has made four appearances at
right-back for the Robins since moving to Ashton Gate on an initial month's
loan at the start of March. Robins boss Keith Millen revealed earlier in the
week that he had opened discussions with West Ham regarding an extension for
Spence. The 20-year-old also expressed his hope that a deal could be agreed
which would allow him to stay at Ashton Gate for the rest of the season. The
talks have progressed and Spence's extension is likely to be finalised
before City's next game against Doncaster Rovers on 2nd April.
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Karren Brady's football diary
The Sun
KARREN BRADY - First lady of football
Published: Today
Saturday March 19
WE have known for a long time it will take more than 40 points to be safe in
the Premier League this season. The figure might well end up at 43. At
football clubs, it's a default position to think only of the next match. In
reality, there's someone in every corner making calculations - me in mine at
the moment. And they tell me that even a point a game after today's draw at
White Hart Lane will take us to the usual tide-mark 40. The way we are
playing now I expect many more but it's simple to write that, much more
difficult to achieve. Against Spurs, we defend for our lives and we are
going to need more of this to retain the safety-hold we secure at 17th place
with our goalless draw. Typically, Scott Parker plays despite the death of
his father. I'd like to strike a medal for our captain's exceptional conduct
this season.
Sunday March 20
RIO FERDINAND has no reason to make a fuss over losing the England
captaincy. His recent record of appearances on the field is so low, he's
been practically leading from behind. Fabio Capello had little choice but to
find a new leader and I'm sure Ferdinand is big enough to understand that
absent captains are about as much use in battle as cuddly toys. There are
objections from fellow PL directors about the re-appointment of John Terry.
Most think he has been disloyal to those around him. Capello may believe
Terry is Julius Caesar in the making but others think he's more Silvio
Berlusconi. Terry has another Italian supporter in his Chelsea manager Carlo
Ancelotti and played well in the win over Man City that continues to
emphasise how badly another player was missed in the team's mid-winter
collapse. Step up Frank Lampard. Which begs the question most PL directors
are asking: Why not Lamps, Fabio?
Monday March 21
IF anyone has a strategy for combating the consequences of poor results, I'd
like to hear it. I've tried tact, honesty, silence, optimism and, yes,
evasion but none of them has really worked. Seemingly, from out of nowhere,
Aston Villa are in that state. They opted for the vast experience of Gerard
Houllier when Martin O'Neill walked out five days before the start of the
season and while many of us were impressed by the wisdom of the appointment,
he was never going to excite the juices of a band of supporters from
Birmingham who saw him as an unimaginative Frenchman whose better days were
behind him.
Whatever. Houllier has a different, continental philosophy compared with
O'Neill. Short-term at least, the change has only seen Villa slide into the
eight-team relegation zone and it is about as surprising as the appearance
of the moon at night that the fans are in revolt, demanding the guillotining
of heads, of whom Houllier's is prime. Manager-talk of all pulling together
tends to pull apart while a chief executive's pleas are often regarded as
lip service. I know, I've been there. With apologies to my neighbour Randy
Lerner, when you are trying to stave off relegation, as West Ham are,
secretly and inevitably you wish fellow strugglers all the worst.
Tuesday March 22
AFTER the humiliation of the World Cup 2018 bid, anyone standing against
Sepp Blatter as FIFA president is almost bound to win the FA's support.
Possibly a chimp would have done. Instead, they have been encouraged by the
candidacy of Qatar's Mohammed bin Hammam who needs no other proof than that
the World Cup 2022 is to be held in the tiny, desert sheikhdom to show that
he is smart. He could be the perfect answer to the 'Splatter Blatter'
campaign to prevent the Swiss heading FIFA for a fourth term of four years.
By the end of it, Blatter will have reached the tender age of 79.
Even so, I urge a little caution. I don't know what promises Hammam can
fulfil towards the FA and even whether any would be cashable. I imagine he
is regarded as an ultra-ambitious turncoat, too big for his sand-shoes, by
Blatter's people who worked so hard for Qatar's ludicrous bid. Should he
lose heavily, the scraps left of England's credibility as a power in
football will be good only for the bin.
Wednesday March 23
STRONG FA criticism of Sir Alex Ferguson for his angry blast at referee
Martin Atkinson reminds me Avram Grant is preparing his defence of a similar
charge of improper conduct for comments after our FA Cup defeat at Stoke.
The degree is hugely different. Sir Alex's fury led him into territory where
he could be accused, as he is today, of risking damage to football
integrity. Far from saying too much, Avram spent part of his Press
conference trying to say nothing of Mike Jones' reffing until he replied "I
think yes" to a question as to whether he thought Jones was "trying to even
things up" after a poor penalty decision in our favour.
At a personal hearing on April 7, I think he'll say the ref might have been
subconsciously influenced by that decision, a far cry from attacking his
integrity, something I have never known Avram to do. He respects referees
and made little more than a murmured aside in the wake of a controversial
match. The FA's charge is flat on its back. I suspect Avram is a victim of a
backwash against Sir Alex.
Thursday March 24
HERE we are again at a lavish lunch held monthly at a venue a Premier League
chairman owns or at least walks around as if he does. The topic is salary
caps, which are successful in the USA and therefore an attractive option to
all but one of the group. That's me, the only woman. I call the idea "salary
crap" because capping players' wages would demand so many rules and such
policing it would be a nightmare to operate. My bottom line is this: Why do
you need an alternative to saying "No" to players' - or rather agents' -
demands? Next: Why do we have to hide behind rules? I point out we are a
global game and our clubs are subject to competition for players' services.
Outside America you can barely find an American Football pitch or baseball
diamond. If a player doesn't earn in the USA, he doesn't earn much
elsewhere. "You're right," was the general opinion around me. So I order a
cream cake and eat it ever-so-smugly.
Friday March 25
THERE is much commonsense in Gordon Taylor's recommendation of sin-bins and
a five-yard exclusion zone around referees. The PFA chief executive realises
the game is being smeared by the peevish behaviour of some players who can't
take the whistle as final answer. Why men behave in such a manner, I haven't
a clue.
Trouble is that enforcing a stand-away would lead to more yellow cards and,
as Taylor implies, there are too many already. We are already suffering from
yellow fever. His answer to this disease is the sin-bin - 10 minutes or so
off the pitch for players whose sins are serious but do not warrant him
being sent off. Far too many games are unbalanced by dismissals for two
yellows. It works in other sports, why not football? Or are good ideas too
disturbing for old man Blatter?
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Robbie Keane: I have no intention of retiring from Ireland duty
30-year-old denies he would be prepared to stand aside
Keane will win 105th cap against Macedonia in Dublin
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Friday 25 March 2011 17.16 GMT
The Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane has denied that he has any
intention of quitting international football. The striker, currently on loan
at West Ham United from Tottenham Hotspur, appeared to suggest in January
that he would happily move aside if a younger, fitter striker came through
the ranks to take his position in the Irish side. However, he was quick to
clarify his comments as he prepared to win his 105th senior international
cap in Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia. "I will make it
clear: I have no intention to retire at all. I want to play as long as I
can," he said. The 30-year-old will lead his side out for the 40th time
against Macedonia, equalling Andy Townsend's record in the process. "I think
you have seen over years, I have always been committed and always wanted to
play for my country, and that will never change," Keane said. "I don't like
to predict what is going to happen in three or four years' time with
injuries and what have you. I will just take each campaign as it comes, look
forward to this campaign and hope we can qualify. "I was just asked the
question that if someone came in and the manager felt it was time for me to
be pushed aside, I would be fairly happy. If someone young and fit came in
and did a better job than me, I would be happy enough."
Keane has missed most of the last six weeks with a calf injury which has
restricted him to 22 minutes of senior football for West Ham and a little
more than an hour for the reserves but, he is confident he is fit enough to
play after returning to action a fortnight earlier than expected with the
help of ice chamber treatments which proved more eventful than he might have
thought. "It's an ice chamber that myself and one of the lads went to, and
Frank Bruno was there as well," Keane said. "He was in there singing Danny
Boy, which was a bit bizarre. "You do two sessions a day of nine minutes.
You go in for four minutes, come back out, go on the bike for a few minutes
and go back in again. You don't want to be in any longer than that, trust
me. But it was good, it's probably healed me a lot better."
But if Keane is fighting fit once again after a frustrating spell on the
sidelines, the news of his defensive colleagues is not as good. Richard
Dunne will start after shaking off the shoulder injury which has kept him
out of action for the last few weeks, but his usual central defensive
partner, Sean St Ledger, has been ruled out with a knee problem sustained in
a training ground collision with Ciaran Clark on Tuesday. With Shay Given
and John O'Shea already missing, Trapattoni's defence will have an
unfamiliar and inexperienced look about it with the goalkeeper Keiren
Westwood, Darren O'Dea and Kevin Foley having just 12 caps between them, and
none of them in competitive games.
Ireland starting line-up: Westwood; Foley, Dunne, O'Dea, Kilbane; McGeady,
Gibson, Whelan, Duff, Keane, Doyle
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