Ba set to head West Ham's potential firesale
Football Fancast
Written by James Kent
Mirror Football are reporting that if West Ham get relegated star
striker Demba Ba will be on the move, with Aston Villa, Blackburn and
Sunderland are all believed to be interested in the 25 year old. Though
Ba would be one of a number of players that are likely to move on
including; Scott Parker, Matthew Upson, Carlton Cole and Robert Green.
West Ham plays Blackburn this weekend in a match they really must win in
order to give themselves any chance of surviving; scouting has begun for
potential replacements in the event that they are relegated and need to
replace their top stars.
Aston Villa is understood to want to pair Ba with England striker Darren
Bent even if Gerard Houllier doesn't return as manager after his recent
health scare. Ba has made a strong impact on the Premier League since
signing from German club Hoffenheim in January for a fee that could rise
to £6m. Ba has scored 5 goals from his 10 starts, giving him a average
of a goal every two games in the Premier League.
Sunderland will need to add to their fire power in the summer with the
loss of Darren Bent to Aston Villa and Frazier Campbell to injury and
it's been reported they may look to sign up to three new strikers.
Blackburn will be looking for a striker in the summer that can score on
a more consistent basis than their current crop.
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Kean: Parker inclusion may backfire
ITV.Com
Blackburn manager Steve Kean claims West Ham will be taking a risk if
they play a less-than-fully-fit Scott Parker in the relegation clash on
Saturday.
Parker, the football writers' Footballer of the Year, has been
struggling with an Achilles problem but is desperate to help the bottom
club at Upton Park.
Kean however claims such a move could backfire on the Hammers. He said:
"It depends how fit he is. Sometimes if a player is not 100% fit and all
of a sudden has to go off that can have a psychological effect on the
rest of the team."
He added: "That was one of the factors we felt about Junior Hoilett over
the last few games. If he starts and he's not quite right and you have
to take him off after 10 minutes then people can say 'oh no, the
potential talisman is not on the pitch'."
Victory for Rovers will put them on 41 points and should assure them of
safety and Kean cannot see any reason why they should not triumph in London.
He added: "We do not fear these games - we are looking forward to going
and getting points because we are playing well.
"I think it will be an open game, I think they will come and try and
score in the first 15 minutes and will try and get at us. I don't expect
them to be cagey but to try to get the ball up front and try to get the
crowd on their side."
Blackburn will give late fitness tests to Hoilett, David Dunn and Michel
Salgado and Kean has predicted at least two of the trio will be
available for Saturday.
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Ba urges West Ham team-mates to turn performances into points
East London Advertizer
Striker confident can survive the drop
West Ham striker Demba Ba has urged his team-mates to turn their recent
good performances into points and ensure their team survive.
The Hammers are on a run of five consecutive defeats, but spirited
displays against Chelsea and Manchester City in the last two games has
not gone unnoticed by the former Hoffenheim striker.
Ba, who scored in the 2-1 defeat at Eastlands, feels the team are
capable of taking enough points from their final three games to climb
off the bottom of the table and avoid the drop.
"The season is not finished yet. We have three games to go and I think
if we do good in the last three games then we could save West Ham," said
the 25-year-old.
"If we give 100 per cent then if we stay up we will be happy, but if we
are relegated we will go with no regret, but we still have a big chance,
a really big chance.
"I think when you see the way we played the two last weeks, it should be
a surprise (that West Ham are bottom), because we had good games, but if
you miss the chances then you can't get the results.
"They were decent performances against both of them, but at the end of
the day we have got no points and football is just about getting wins or
getting one point to just go forward."
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Paolo Di Canio 'interested' in replacing Avram Grant as West Ham manager
Metro
Paolo Di Canio could be a surprise contender to take over as West Ham
boss, after his agent confirmed he was looking to break into management.
The former striker developed iconic status during his five year stay at
Upton Park, scoring 48 goals in his 118 appearances.
And while the Italian doesn't expect to be offered the role should Avram
Grant be sacked at the end of the season, he would have a hard time
resisting if Hammers chiefs David Gold and David Sullivan made an apporach.
Reports this morning claim West Ham have drawn up a seven-man hit list
of candidates to replace Grant, consisting of **** *******, Paul
Lambert, Malky Mackay, Chris Hughton, Slaven Bilic, Ian Holloway and
Martin O'Neill.
After the botched attempt to replace the Israeli with O'Neill earlier in
the year, it's believed the Northern Irishman would be reluctant to take
the Hammers hot seat should it be offered to him again.
QPR boss ******* will be managing in the Premier League next season
(barring an FA points deduction), as will Norwich's highly-rated coach
Lambert.
Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston has refuted suggestion the Holloway could
leave the Seasiders, even if they are relegated, saying: 'I certainly
hope Ian will be manager next season. And unless he's told you
different, he will definitely be the manager here next season.'
Former Hammer Bilic has never shown much desire to quit his post as
Croatia boss despite offers, while Watford man Mackay rejected the
chance to join Burnley in January and signed a new Hornets deal until 2014.
That leaves life-long West Ham fan Hughton as the most likely candidate,
as he's currently out of work and has valuable experience in the
Championship where he successfully guided Newcastle back to the Premier
League at the first attempt.
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Pre-season tournament announced
Knees Up Mother Brown
West Ham United are set to visit Switzerland this summer to take part in
the 50th Uhrencup.
The four-team competition - Europe's longest-running pre-season
tournament - will also include Swiss teams FC Basel and BSC Young Boys,
plus German side Hertha Berlin and is scheduled to take place between
8th-13th of July.
The Uhrencup, considered the most prestigious non-domestic trophy in
Switzerland traditionally takes place in the Brühl Stadium in Grenchen -
and has done since it was first held back in 1962.
The winners of the tournament are decided by points, with each team
playing two games (there are no knockout stages). The current holders
are VfB Stuttgart, who beat Young Boys, FC Twente and Deportivo La
Coruna to the trophy last season.
West Ham's participation will be the first by a British club since
Celtic in 2007, and the first by an English team since Ipswich featured
in the second tournament way back in 1963.
United are scheduled to face both Young Boys (11th July, 6:00pm kick
off) and FC Basel (13th July, 7:30pm kick off).
The full schedule is as follows:
Friday, 8th July
BSC Young Boys v Hertha BSC Berlin (7:30 pm)
Saturday, 9th July
Galaspiel, Borussia Dortmund v FC Zürich (6:00 pm)
Monday 11th July
BSC Young Boys v West Ham United (6:00 pm)
FC Basel v Hertha BSC Berlin (8:30 pm)
Wednesday 13th July
FC Basel v West Ham United (7:30 pm)
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Keane convinced Hammers will beat the drop
Irish Times
Soccer: Robbie Keane is convinced West Ham can beat the drop and hopes
to play his part in helping to see them safe. The Republic of Ireland
striker is currently taking in a short-term loan deal at Upton Park,
after slipping down the pecking order at Tottenham.
Injuries have prevented him from featuring as often as he would have
liked, but he has managed to net two goals in eight appearances for the
Hammers.
Keane is hoping to add to that tally over the next few weeks, with West
Ham left with just three fixtures in which to bridge the three-point gap
which separates them from Premier League survival.
"There are a few games to go and if we can get a few wins out of them,
if we can get nine or seven points, that could be enough," said Keane,
who is preparing for crucial clashes against Blackburn, Wigan and
Sunderland.
"It's so close down there for those of us that are involved in it, so
it's difficult circumstances, but I still think we have enough to get
ourselves out of it."
Keane's loan deal will expire at the end of the season, meaning he will
be due back at White Hart Lane over the summer.
There appears to be little future for the 30-year-old frontman at Spurs,
but he is keen to put any talk regarding his next move on hold until his
commitments with the Hammers have come to an end.
"We'll see what happens," he said. "I'm just concentrating at the moment
on trying to keep West Ham in the Premier League. We will see what the
situation is in the summer."
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Alpari (UK) sponsors West Ham United's End of Season Gala Dinner
Alpari (UK) Limited ("Alpari (UK)"), a leading global foreign exchange
("Forex", "FX") broker, is proud to be the official Main Event Sponsor
of this year's West Ham United End of Season Gala Dinner on 16 May 2011,
with over 800 guests expected including many current stars and
footballing legends. Alpari (UK) will also present the Best Team
Performance award at the event, held at Grosvenor House on London's Park
Lane.
"West Ham United is a club with a long history and track record. The
gala dinner is a great occasion to celebrate the club's highest
achievers and we are proud to support the event this year."
Andrey Vedikhin, CEO of Alpari (UK), says: "We are proud to be the main
sponsor of the West Ham United gala dinner. It is a great opportunity
for Alpari (UK) to be associated with a football club so well respected
and steeped in tradition. We look forward to celebrating with the
winners of the awards on the night."
David Stuart, COO of Alpari (UK), adds: "West Ham United is a club with
a long history and track record. The gala dinner is a great occasion to
celebrate the club's highest achievers and we are proud to support the
event this year."
West Ham fans wanting to attend the gala dinner can still do so by
contacting the club's corporate sales department on 0871 221 2700.
Tables of ten and a limited number of individual places are available now.
The entire first-team squad – as well as some famous names – will be in
attendance for this glittering event which will be highlighted by the
crowning of the 2010/11 Hammer of the Year. Scott Parker will be hoping
to make it three consecutive wins, a feat that only five-times winner
Sir Trevor Brooking has achieved since its inception for the 1957/58 season.
Several other seasonal awards will also be handed out on the night
including the Best Goal, Save of the Season, Players' Player of the Year
and Top Goal Scorer awards.
You can have your say today by going to whufc.com to cast your vote.
About Alpari (UK)
Alpari (UK) Limited is an award-winning foreign exchange ("FOREX",
"FX"), CFD and precious metals broker headquartered in the heart of the
City of London and with offices in Germany, China and India. Alpari (UK)
is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in
the United Kingdom. FSA Register number 448002. Company No. 05284142.
Alpari (UK) is an independent entity within the group of Alpari companies.
With a history dating back to 1998, the Alpari companies are among the
world's fastest growing providers of online Forex trading services, with
more than 50 offices in cities in over 20 countries, including London,
New York, Shanghai, Dubai, Moscow, Mumbai and Frankfurt. Combined, the
companies look after over 440,000 customer accounts*, generating monthly
trading volumes in excess of $160 billion (November 2010), and employ
over 550 people* worldwide.
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Jacobsen - Players to blame
Hammers defender offers support to manager
Sky.Com
West Ham defender Lars Jacobsen says the players are to blame for their
struggles and not manager Avram Grant.
The Hammers are fighting for their lives as they are bottom of the
Premier League with just three games left in the season.
Grant has come under fire for West Ham's poor form with reports
suggesting the club are looking at possible replacements for the Israeli
should they fail to secure survival.
However, Jacobsen believes it unfair to shift all the blame on the
shoulders on Grant and claims the players must take a good at themselves
for the below-par showings this term.
"I can only speak for myself, and I've enjoyed working with him [Grant]
and I've had a good season under him," Jacobsen told onside.dk.
"It may well be that we have not got the points we should, but you never
know if it would have been different with another manager.
"It's us playing and it would be very wrong for a player to criticize
the manager. "
Lars Jacobsen on Avram Grant Quotes of the week
"As a player you need to look at yourself. "It's us playing and it would
be very wrong for a player to criticize the manager. "It is us players
who need to look at ourselves and perhaps we should have done better
during the season."
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