WHUFC.com
Jonjo Heuerman is helping the club to honour the memory of Bobby Moore in a fitting way
24.02.2011
Jonjo Heuerman has had a day to remember ahead of a weekend to cherish. The nine-year-old Hammers-mad fan was a guest of the club at Chadwell Heath, as he geared up for his spectacular charity walk from Wembley to Upton Park in aid of the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research. He will finish in the centre-circle just before the kick-off against Liverpool in front of a sold-out Boleyn Ground crowd on Sunday afternoon - where he will be met by Chairman David Gold, who has described him "as a remarkable young man with a heart of gold".
Avram Grant was on hand to welcome Jonjo at the training ground as he arrived with dad Gary, mum Donna and sister Megan before player after player came over to say hello and wish him well. All were keen to hear at first-hand about the plans which will see him take on the cross-capital trek in memory of his nan Lyn and Bobby Moore, with both having lost their lives to bowel cancer. Moore passed away 18 years ago today - but will never be forgotten.
Jonjo, who perhaps rather sportingly is predicting a draw on Sunday with Thomas Hitzlsperger scoring, said: "The walk is very long and my Mummy and Daddy are helping me organise things. I want to raise £10,000 or more because my sister raised £9,500 for our local hospice in memory of my Nanny and I want to beat her amount. I am very excited."
Support has grown for Jonjo's walk with England stars Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard - the latter is set to greet him alongside Scott Parker on Sunday - among those backing the plucky youngster. He has also received Royal approval, with The Queen sending her "warmest good wishes" in an official letter.
Many fans are expected to cheer on Jonjo, with the Kent-based youngster being seen off from the national stadium by club legend Sir Trevor Brooking on behalf of the Football Association and Bobby's widow Stephanie Moore MBE. He will then travel through the city, stopping in Camden and Stratford overnight on Friday and Saturday before making his way to the Boleyn Ground. A large crowd is expected to gather around the World Cup winners' statue on the corner of Green Street and Barking Road on Sunday lunchtime where he will lay a wreath. It will then be on to the stadium where he will be greeted by the Chairman, SBOBET Chief Executive Bill Mummery and Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales just before the 1.30pm kick-off against Liverpool.
Having posed for pictures with Jonjo, West Ham midfielder Jack Collison underlined the squad's admiration. As a club and players, we are all supporting Jonjo's walk. It is obviously for a great cause. Everyone should get behind him. After all he has done, we are going to have try and reward him with a win, aren't we?"
Sir Trevor Brooking, Director of Football for The Football Association, said: "It's great to see a little lad like Jonjo taking on a challenge like this in memory of his Nan and one of our national heroes and of course raising money for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, an official FA Charity Partner. I wish him and his family all the best on his walk and look forward to seeing him greeted by the fans at Upton Park on Sunday."
Stephanie Moore, who founded the Bobby Moore Fund after the legendary No6's tragic death, in 1993, said: "Supporters of the Bobby Moore Fund come in all shapes and sizes and although Jonjo is very young, he has taken on a huge challenge. "He and his family have done a great job in organising this walk, raising vital funds for further research and increasing public awareness about bowel cancer. Jonjo is a great inspiration and I'm sure his Nan, particularly, would be very proud of him."
For more information about the Bobby Moore Fund visit www.bobbymoorefund.org or http://www.facebook.com/officialbobbymoorefund
For more information about Jonjo's walk, visit www.fornannyandbobby.piczo.com and to make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/fornannyandbobby
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Fixture changes for fans
WHUFC.com
Three Barclays Premier League matches in April and May have been moved after schedule changes
24.02.2011
West Ham United supporters should note three fixture changes to forthcoming Barclays Premier League matches.
The only home match affected is the visit of Manchester United on Saturday 2 April, which will now get under way at 12.45pm. Later that month, on Saturday 23 April, the trip across London to take on Chelsea will now start at 5.30pm.
Finally, the away game at Manchester City has been moved back a day to a 4.10pm kick-off on Sunday 1 May.
The club has already confirmed the FA Cup quarter-final at Stoke City will take place at 2pm on Sunday 13 February.
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Keen pleased with youngsters
WHUFC.com
Kevin Keen was all smiles following Tuesday's reserve-team victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers
23.02.2011
Kevin Keen has praised his young West Ham United players following Tuesday's 2-0 Barclays Premier Reserve League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The former Hammers and Wolves winger took charge of the second-string for the fixture at Bishop's Stortford and was rewarded with first-half goals from Cristian Montano and Anthony Edgar. While young professionals Montano and Edgar got their names on the score-sheet, scholars Dylan Tombides and Paul McCallum caught the eye with their intelligent and confident forward play. Overall Keen was delighted with his team's performance, saying: "I thought we played extremely well in the first half and scored two really good goals. "I'm pleased because the senior lads did well again and it was a good team performance. I'm very happy."
Young forwards Tombides and McCallum did impres, but, as an Academy product himself, Keen knows the pair have plenty more work to do before they can establish themselves in the first-team squad. "Dylan did very well. We've got to keep his feet on the ground because he is a young lad and he is improving. The timing of his runs and his touch are good and he has a chance of coming through and becoming a West Ham star, but that's only if he keeps his feet on the ground. "You've got to work hard in any business, not just football, to get to the top and I'm sure that Tony Carr and myself will be able to keep his feet on the ground. He has a long way to go and has two or three years to mature but his movement off the ball is very good. "It was Paul's first game at this level. He's come from Dulwich Hamlet and looked good in the first half, when he and Dylan formed a partnership that looked quite promising."
At the back, centre-back and recent Bishop's Stortford loanee Callum McNaughton and goalkeeper Marek Stech also drew praise from Keen, who was pleased with the reserves' first clean sheet in five matches. "I thought Callum McNaughton also had the best game I've ever seen him have. I thought he was probably our best player. "I've got a lot of time for Marek. I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper who could be the No1 at this football club. I think he's a really good player and he made some things that other 'keepers would find difficult look very, very easy."
The reserves return to action next Tuesday evening, when Arsenal are the visitors to Woodside Park. Kick-off is at 7pm, with admission costing £3 for adults and £2 for concessions and free for Boleyn Ground season ticket holders. Parking is free.
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Wednesday will not sign Benni McCarthy, says Megson
BBC.co.uk
Sheffield Wednesday boss Gary Megson says it is highly unlikely the club will sign West Ham striker Benni McCarthy or defender Henrita Ilunga. The Owls held talks about bringing in the pair who are not included in West Ham's 25-man Premier League squad. But Megson told BBC Radio Sheffield: "To be perfectly honest I don't think it is going to happen, certainly in Benni McCarthy's case. "Whether anything changes with Ilunga's case - we will have to wait and see."
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18 years
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 24th February 2011
By: Staff Writer
Today marks the 18th anniversary of the passing of West Ham's greatest player of all time - Bobby Moore.
The Barking-born former Hammers captain died in February 1993 from bowel cancer, yet astonishingly continued to work right up until his death - news of which was greeted with incredible scenes at the Boleyn Ground as football supporters from all around the world converged upon Upton Park to pay their respects.
Memories of the only Englishman to lift the World Cup are scattered around Upton Park. From the statue at the junction of Green Street and Barking Road to the site of the old South Bank stand that carries his name today, Moore's memory lives on at the club where he spent the vast majority of his playing career.
In 1993 Bobby's wife Stephanie established the Bobby Moore Fund in partnership with Cancer Research UK to help raise money for research into bowel cancer and for public awareness of the disease. If you'd like to make a contribution to the fund, you may do so by visiting their website at www.cancerresearchuk.org/bobbymoorefund.
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Drink has ruined my career.. but I still let my hair down twice a month and play poker
The Sun
By CHARLIE WYETT
Published: Today
The Sun
REPUTATIONS are important in football. Unfortunately for Roy Carroll, he doesn't have much of one. This is a man who had four years at Manchester United, played for Northern Ireland and recently won awards at Denmark's Odense. Considering his position as a keeper, he should be in his prime at 33. Instead, he will head to a gym near his Essex home today in a bid to keep fit on his own as he cannot find a club. Carroll has a reputation, all right, but one as a heavy drinker and a bit of a gambler. He accepts most fans remember him for conceding The Goal That Never Was, a lob from Tottenham's Pedro Mendes which he fumbled a few yards over the line yet, incredibly, the strike was never given. Managers forgive that sort of stuff. They are, however, more concerned about the rumour mill and whether a player will apply himself in a professional manner.
Yet Carroll has every right to feel aggrieved. It seems a decision to confront his demons and check into rehab in 2006 while at West Ham for alcohol issues continues to haunt him. Carroll feared this sudden downward spiral could have killed him so he sorted it. He fiercely maintains these problems were addressed and have not been a major issue since. As for the gambling, during that spell at Upton Park he did indeed play poker for money - and owed a fair amount to team-mates at one stage - but Carroll stresses booze was the main problem which needed treating. After 18 months in Scandinavia - where he won keeper-of-the-year accolades without any stories at all of boozing and gambling while being praised for his good behaviour and attitude - Carroll now realises getting a club in this country is not as simple as he expected. He left Derby for Odense in August 2009 where, ironically, he would be brought in above Anders Lindegaard, now the new No 2 at Old Trafford. Carroll said: "I signed a three-year contract and planned to move my wife and two children there. "But my son, Jordan, is dyslexic and in the end, I felt the move - with him having to learn Danish at school - would be too much for the boy.
"I really loved it in Denmark but I was only coming home twice a month and I missed my family and, to be honest, I missed English football. "Odense understood, were brilliant and cancelled my contract during their winter break. I thought I would find another club reasonably easily. "But that has not been the case. It has pretty much ruined my career, the drink thing. Managers keep bringing it up - drink - and it is so frustrating. "I was never an alcoholic. It was a problem, I admit, because it was getting worse and worse. "Now I can go out twice a month, go out with friends and have a drink. There is nothing wrong with letting your hair down. "But I want to play football. At the moment, I sit in the house thinking 'why isn't anyone interested in me? Are they worried about me regarding the drink?' "Even if it is a deal until the end of the season, I would like to prove my point. "Look at Brad Friedel, David James, Edwin Van Der Sar - he's got better with age. But my reputation's made things tough. "At West Ham I suffered a back injury, was out for six months, had been replaced by Robert Green and I became really depressed. "I went through a stage of my life when I was binge drinking. I was stupid. "All I wanted to do was go out and drink. I then woke up one day and said this could not continue. "I thought if I don't sort it out, I'd end up six foot under. "At training on Monday and Tuesdays, I didn't want to know. Alan Pardew was wonderful with me, though, and was very understanding. "I went into rehab and ended up in the news pages of your paper. "Yet my mistake was that I tried to push it under the carpet and I never spoke about it publicly, like I am today. "Since then, whenever something bad has happened or I made a mistake, it has been 'Roy Carroll has a bad attitude - he drinks and gambles'. "At West Ham, we played poker in the team hotels but it was never the major problem. "I still play poker with friends now and I enjoy it. "As for going to the bookies, I do not understand racing or know why anyone would want to put money on football as there is no enjoyment in that."
Yet Carroll also found mud sticks. He found himself the subject of rumour again at Derby when a match against Norwich provoked some strange betting patterns linked to the Far East. Carroll had been sent off while Norwich keeper David Marshall let in a soft winner. He brings up this subject and admits: "There was stuff sort of pointing the finger without actually naming me, while Marshall was also mentioned. It was frustrating." Yet ask Carroll about life under Alex Ferguson at United and a broad grin appears. He won a Premier League medal in 2003 and an FA Cup medal 12 months later and admitted: "Sir Alex brought me on against Millwall with five minutes to go because he said I'd done well in the semi-final. "He actually offered me a new four-year contract in 2005 but would not guarantee first-team football. "Yet he was always fantastic with me and, even when I left, he always said if I ever needed anything I should ring."
The son of an English soldier who moved to Ulster in the 1970s, Carroll admits he will never live down that night against Spurs on January 4, 2005. He said: "It's football. Freak accidents happen. I know that's what I am most famous for - 'the goal that wasn't'. "The worst thing about it was I ended up moving to West Ham and Spurs fans live round here in Epping. It was a nightmare!" As for now, Carroll said: "I just want to play and, while I am keeping myself fit, it's not the same as training each day. "I do not want to look like I'm desperate, crying to get back in, but I would really like to return. "I feel I have several years left in me and I do not want to go back into Europe. I just want a chance in England."
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All Ba None
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
DEMBA BA has gone the long way round from Watford to West Ham. The Hornets were just one of six clubs to have rejected the Hammers' impressive new striker who is driven to make it in the Premier League. Ba, 25, said: "I had a good time at Watford, that was why I wanted to come back. "That was my first taste of English football and it has stuck in my head ever since." Senegal international Ba has scored two goals in two starts and leads the forward line for Avram Grant at home to Liverpool on Sunday. It marks the end of a huge road trip for the determined £6million hitman who has been turned down more times than your duvet at home. Barnsley, Swansea, Stoke, Auxerre and Lyon all declined his services. But now he gets his big chance in the middle of a relegation battle. Paris-born Ba, who trekked around Europe's football outposts from the ages of 16-20, added: "I was rejected from Watford and then a few years later I'm playing against Liverpool in the Premier League. It feels good. "When I want something I will do everything I can to have it. And that doesn't just go for football - that goes for my life. "I was brought up to have respect for each person you meet in life. "I know if I don't fight I'm not going to make it because people are not going to give it to me. "And the best place for me to show the fight is on the football pitch."
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Robbie is put on ice
The Sun
By VIKKI ORVICE
Published: 24 Feb 2011
WEST HAM are using an ice chamber to speed the recovery of striker Robbie Keane from a calf injury. Team-mate Jack Collison has also been using the chamber as he recovers from knee surgery. Midfielder Collison said: "Robbie and I had to sit in the chamber at minus 140 degrees for five minutes at a time. "We had to share the chamber with boxer Frank Bruno. It was great to meet him but he made us look really weak as he was in there doing all kinds of exercises while Robbie and I just sat there trying to keep warm." West Ham boss Avram Grant hopes to have Keane, 30, on loan from Spurs, back next month.
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Lomas returns to West Ham as reserves manager
Published 23:00 24/02/11 By Alan Nixon - EXCLUSIVE
The Mirror
Steve Lomas is heading back to West Ham – as reserve team boss. The former Hammers skipper beat several other ex-players to the prestige post following a spell in charge at non-League St Neots Town. Lomas, 37, left Upton Park in 2005 and jumped at the chance of a comeback.
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Villa tracking England keeper Green
Published 23:00 23/02/11 By John Cross
The Mirror
Gerard Houllier is eyeing West Ham keeper Robert Green to replace Brad Friedel. American veteran Friedel, 39, is set to leave Aston Villa this summer for the MLS in his homeland, and Houllier is already looking at potential replacements. England keeper Green is on his radar and West Ham are aware of Villa's interest in their current first-choice keeper. Green went into the World Cup as England's No.1 keeper, but his notorious blunder against the USA was the worst moment of his career and he has been trying to rebuild his reputation in the months since. The ex-Norwich keeper's form has improved recently and he has regained his place in Fabio Capello's set-up. West Ham would want around £6million for Green - and his big-money contract at Upton Park may be another reason for them to sell.
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Avram Grant will have fully fit squad for West Ham's relegation battle
Five key players will be back from injury within a month
Keane, Obinna, Upson, Collison and Dyer to return
Jamie Jackson
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 February 2011 22.06 GMT
Avram Grant should have all of his West Ham first-team squad fit within a month for the crucial end of season run-in and their battle against relegation.
The Israeli is missing five frontline players – Robbie Keane, Victor Obinna, Matthew Upson, Jack Collison and Kieron Dyer – who are all absent due to injury. Keane, who signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season and scored on his West Ham debut in the 3-1 win at Blackpool this month, has a calf injury which is responding to treatment in an ice chamber and he is likely to return to action within four weeks.
Collison, a long-term absentee since suffering a cartilage injury playing for Wales last March, is also being treated in an ice chamber, and is three weeks away from a return. The 22-year-old's rehabilitation is being monitored carefully as he suffered a knee injury earlier in his career but he is likely to resume full training within a fortnight. Upson, who has tendinitis in an achilles, may not now need to go abroad to see a specialist and may resume playing again in two weeks' time.
Dyer has stepped up training this week following a thigh problem and he will be ready to return next week. The club hope Obinna, who scored five goals in two games before he suffered a foot injury in early February, may be back in contention for Liverpool's visit on Sunday after missing West Ham's last two matches.
Thomas Hitzlsperger, who finally made his competitive debut for the club in Monday night's 5-1 defeat of Burnley in the FA Cup fifth round, has reported no adverse reaction to his first outing since early August and is available to Grant.
Liverpool have confirmed the departure of the former managing director Christian Purslow from the club. Purslow left his post following the club's takeover by the company now known as Fenway Sports Group last October but had been retained as a special adviser and non-executive director.
Purslow was brought in by the former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2009 and played a key role in negotiating the acrimonious sale of the club last year. Purslow said: "I have been happy to be available to provide support for the new owners during the transitional period since the sale but now Liverpool FC is in excellent shape for the future, and in safe hands, it is time for me to concentrate fully on other business interests."
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Demba Ba: Pressure to stay up? I don't feel it after my troubles
By SAMI MOKBEL
Last updated at 1:44 AM on 25th February 2011
Daily Mail
Sitting next to him at the club's training ground, it was not difficult to see why Demba Ba has been heralded as the man who can save West Ham from relegation. At 6ft 3in and built like a tank, the Paris-born Senegalese striker has the physical attributes to deal with the bruising nature of Barclays Premier League football. Avram Grant has likened Ba to Didier Drogba. He is strong, powerful and quick with a knack of hitting the back of the net. Two goals on his first West Ham start against West Bromwich Albion earlier this month backed up the manager's claims.
'Am I the new Didier Drogba? No. I'm Demba Ba!' he says. 'I'm not somebody else. I have so much respect for Drogba. For me he is like an idol. I love Drogba, I love the way he is on the pitch. It was the same with Thierry Henry at Arsenal. 'But I'm not looking at them when I'm playing, I just want to be Demba Ba - nobody else.' Confident words for someone who is three games into his career in England. But speaking to the 25-year-old, you sense that he always knew the Premier League was his destiny. To say he was relaxed is an understatement. Dressed in trendy jeans and a chunky knitted jumper, you would not have known Ba was the man Hammers fans were pinning their survival hopes on. But once you discover the struggles behind his quest to make the grade as a professional, you understand why maybe, just maybe, West Ham have found a striker with the bottle to drag them out of trouble. The sinking feeling of rejection was something Ba had become accustomed to as a teenager. He was told 'Thanks, but no thanks' after trials with Watford, Barnsley, Swansea, Lyon and Auxerre.
He finally got his big break with French fourth division side FC Rouen, where 22 goals in 26 games earned him a move to Belgian side Mouscron before German club Hoffenheim paid €2.75million (£1.26m) for him in 2007. 'If there is pressure on me to keep West Ham up then I don't feel it because at the end of the day, football is a game,' explains Ba. 'There are far worse things in life than fighting relegation. There was more pressure on me when I was looking for a club. 'I didn't know where my life was going, that was real pressure. I've had so many trials in the past that didn't work out but I still wanted to make it as a footballer. 'I was between 16 and 19 at the time, but for me it wasn't tough. Many people maybe couldn't handle it but if you want something you have to go and get it. 'I don't fear rejection, I know what I'm able to do and knew if I didn't fight, I wouldn't make it. People were not going to give it to me for free.'
But Ba's dream of Premier League football so nearly did not happen. Hoffenheim's refusal to sanction his departure in January led to him going on strike to force through a move. It worked and he insists he has no regrets, saying: 'People don't know what happened in January. All I can say is I made my choice that I wanted to go. I had the chance to come to England but again it was difficult. When people don't give you respect, why should you still work with them?' Instead of playing against Liverpool on Sunday, Ba could easily have been lining up for Stoke against West Bromwich a day later. Playing for Mouscron against SV Roeselare in 2006, Ba turned sharply and injured his left knee, leaving him with a problem that has plagued his career. He missed the end of last season with Hoffenheim when the injury flared up and a £7.1m move to Stoke collapsed last month after a medical flagged up the problem.
Sportsmail understands West Ham only agreed to sign Ba after structuring a deal that will see the Hammers pay Hoffenheim based on the number of games he plays. The very mention of a problematic knee was the trigger for Ba, just for a moment, to depart from his cool exterior. He insisted: 'I don't know why we are still talking about it. The knee is fine. I had surgery and the rehab didn't go as well as it should. So it's completely normal the knee isn't 100 per cent. But I can play football, I know how to manage it.'
But now he has fulfilled his Premier League dream could he stick it out with the Hammers in the Championship? His answer was far from convincing.
'We have to look at the next couple of weeks before looking at the next couple of years,' he said. 'I'm not thinking about relegation. I'm only thinking about winning games.'
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How I was nailed by the Hammer! Thomas Hitzlsperger, the new enforcer in West Ham's midfield
By JAMIE REDKNAPP
Last updated at 1:38 AM on 25th February 2011
Daily Mail
I remember Thomas Hitzlsperger from a mark he left on the top of my right foot during a routine Liverpool training session one afternoon. He was late, very late. I can recall cursing him and swearing in his direction. He was a young teenager on trial, eager to please, and he had made an impact initially because he kept the ball - a useful skill for a midfielder. He had been invited to join the first team and I remember his close control, his neat passing and, of course, his screamer of a shot with his left foot.
They are qualities that have since earned him 52 caps for Germany, the armband of the national team and the nickname 'Der Hammer'. He will be well liked at Upton Park and a good partner for Scott Parker. Having missed the season up until now, his long-range goal against Burnley in the FA Cup announced his arrival in the first team and it will feel like a new signing for Avram Grant. I know how much Avram was excited by the signing of Hitzlsperger from Lazio in the summer and how much West Ham have missed him, following an injury collected on international duty in pre-season.
I've followed his career since that tackle on me, especially at Aston Villa, when he scored some excellent long-range goals. West Ham were busy in the transfer window and not everything has gone their way with the injuries to Robbie Keane and Matthew Upson. But Hitzlsperger is some good news, along with Demba Ba. Both urgently need to make an impact if West Ham are to escape.
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